Dear Father in Heaven: Thanks for a great Friday and thanks for all You do for us each and every day of our lives. Thanks for now opening my eyes and making me more and more aware each day of what all You do for us. Please, Lord, forgive me of my sins as You also forgive others as they ask in faith. Lord, please touch Ruby, Patsy, Burt, Baby Ali, and the Oiler family. Touch Helen, Barbara, and Lord, please bless Dave, Duane, and Neil as they shift gears in their ministries. Dear Lord, anoint us to do Your work each day and anoint Dolores' fingers as they stiffen from age. Lord, thanks for sending help to Carry The Light and thanks for the food that came in just yesterday. Now, Lord, please bless me with a message and then dispatch it for me, and also help me get the message ready for Sunday. In Jesus' Name, I give thanks, praise, and lift my prayers to the Father. Lord, please now fill me with the Holy Spirit. Thanks, I love You. Amen.
Dear brothers and sisters, we went to hear Dave, Duane, and Neil last evening for their final formal concert in Perry County. It was wonderful, filled with The Holy Spirit and good singing. Pray for these men of God and their families as they say they are going to retire. I know they will be just shifting gears, as there is no place in the Bible that tells us we are to retire from God's work, or working for God. Brothers and sisters, we have lots of prayer requests, and I will post them on Monday. I need to get working on the message and get things ready for tomorrow. Plus, we were blessed yesterday over and over again and I have a lot of food in the trailer that needs to be off-loaded. God is so very, very good.
Do you need food, or do you know someone who does? We are now making our Christmas list and on December 7th we will be packing for them. On December 14th, we will hand it out. It is exciting, very exciting. Again, if you need food, please let us know, call and talk to Dolores and we will get you fixed up. Also, Santa's House will be open on Black Friday and Saturday, bring those little ones and let them hear the real story of Christmas right from old St. Nick. And if they are good little children, they will receive gifts. Call for directions and times. Use my cell number for this, 717-991-0754. Ho, ho, ho. Let me get to the message, Following.
Friday/Saturday, November 22/23, 2013, Following.
Psalm 23:6 - Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my Life, and I will dwell in the House of the Lord forever. (NIV)
Matthew 4:18 - As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers, Simon, called Peter, and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. 19 "Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men." 20 At once they left their nets and followed Him. (NIV)
Philippians 3:17 - Join others in following my example, brothers, and take note of those who live according to the pattern we gave you. (NIV)
When you are following, use the four (4) second method except when following Jesus, then, brothers and sisters, get as close as you can get. When I learned to drive, my daddy, who taught me, told me to pay attention to what was going on all around my vehicle. He taught me to use mirrors as my old truck was a Panel truck. To this day I pay attention to my mirrors and I get really upset when there is a car following very close or even more so when it is a big truck. In our area it seems we have a lot of big dump trucks that love to be near to me. Then we have those who follow close and are on the phone or texting in that car or truck. Yes, brothers and sisters, we need to have a safe following distance. What is a safe following distance? Well, it depends on what is going on. A safe following distance on the road is to use the counting system. Hey, if you count to make your kids behave, you can count to be safe in the car. One works, the other does not. Here is how the 4-second following distance works. Note a line on the road or a sign on the side of the road. When the rear of the vehicle ahead of you passes over it, count one Mississippi, two Mississippi, three Mississippi, four Mississippi, and your front bumper should be passing that spot. No nearer. If you pass it and you just said one, or two, then you are too close. And it works at any speed. So when you are driving, "count off" for that following distance. If someone is too near you, slow down, this gives you extra room in front, and if they do hit you, you do not become the "ham" in the middle of the sandwich. Yes, it is much better to be an "open face" sandwich than being between the bread.
Okay, example number two. You just got up from a great lunch, it included a burger or hotdog and some baked beans. Do not follow others who had the same meal. If you do so, you could get "gassed out." Did I just say that? I just cannot help myself some days. However, let's look at when we are following Jesus and His word. We want to follow Him as nearly as near can be. If we let the following distance get too far, if we are following but are back a distance, Stan or one of his evil workers will surely slip in between, and you could wind up following the master of deceit. God led me to several scriptures today, one is what happens when we do follow our Lord Jesus, and it is found in Psalm 23:6. Surely, goodness and Love will follow us! Yes, folks, if we follow Jesus His love will follow us and when His love follows us, we will have goodness and mercy with it.
I used the example found in Matthew about following when Jesus called His disciples who were fishing. God will call us. Last evening we heard lots of good music, but we also heard how these men of God, Dave, Duane, and Neil, were called and how they over the years followed the call. They indeed picked up their nets and followed Jesus, and they are not going to stop following Jesus, just changing gears tad. Have you picked up your net and followed Jesus? And do you do that each day? Then I was guided to Philippians 3:17. In this scripture Paul was telling others to follow him. That is okay, for he is following Jesus. We who God has appointed pastors and workers in the fields for Him need to be an example here on earth for others to follow, but hold on, we had better be doing it right, for if not, we are going to be held accountable for doing it wrong.
Right now there are United Methodist Ministers lining up to support the pastor who performed a gay wedding. They are saying this was done in love. No, no, folks, do not get confused, we must love all people, but we must not get mixed up with the sins. Times are changing, folks, BUT GOD'S WORD IS NOT!!!! His love goes on forever and ever, and not once does He change the guidelines. Jesus still calls us to pick up our nets and follow Him, but He does not tell us to go break commandments and His law as we follow Him. No, we are to get nearer and nearer to Him. You must be careful, stay near and not let Satan or this political correctness or FEEL GOOD STUFF get between you and the Lord.
Yes, get the correct following distance, and even if you are following a pastor's words, or others like Dr. Charles Stanley, get out your Bible, check the facts for yourself, and FOLLOW JESUS. Amen.
Dear Father in Heaven, thanks for helping us to follow You. Forgive us when we slip and pick us up when we fall. In the Name of Jesus, I order Satan out of my life and off of this line. Protect this line and the folks who use it as we "pick up our computers and follow you." In the Name of Jesus, I pray. Amen.
Now go forth sharing your blessings which came from Jesus and setting a good following distance for all things in your life. Love ya. Pass that love on, as you follow Jesus. Pastor Dan
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