Dear Father in Heaven: Thanks for this day, dear Lord, and thanks for watching over me today. Thanks for the great ministry team you placed with Carry The Light. Lord, how blessed we are to have a team that really works well together. Lord, in the name of Jesus, I ask Your healing hand upon my Aunt Romaine, our son Matthew, upon Patsy and Burt, upon Bob, Sharon, and Eleanor. Lord, be with John Riddlesberger and his family as they mourn and rejoice in the homegoing of their dear mother. Praise God we know where we are going when our assignment on earth is finished. Comfort them, Lord. Please, Lord, be with Dave, Duane, and Neil as they round out this part of their assignment for You. Bless their remaining concerts. Lord, help us as we keep moving forward to help the needy at Christmas and long into the New Year. Help us to give freely to those in need and help us to sort out those who are trying to take a free ride. Help us really reach those folks with Your love about Your grace and Salvation through You. Now, Dear Lord, please help me with the message today and then dispatch it for me. In the Name of Jesus, I pray. Amen.
Dear brothers and sisters, yesterday I talked about a time to be silent and a time to speak. I mentioned how my daddy once in awhile would just say to me "Shut up and Listen." My dear cousin Martha mentioned to me about her daddy, my Uncle Les, who was a brother to my daddy. She said "it reminds me of my own dad. Every time I put my 'foot in my mouth,' it reminds me. He used to like the saying, 'It is better to remain silent and be thought ignorant than to speak and remove all doubt.'" Thanks, Martha, for putting a smile on my face and bringing back memories of my dear Uncle Les.
I would like to really thank God for a great ministry team. This morning we had a sing-along at The Bridges where I pastor and Dolores plays the piano. Most often on sing-along days, Grant, Wanda, and Pam,our ministry team, goes along with Dolores and myself. Well, this morning about one hour before we were to go, my pain level went nuts. You who know me, know that God has blessed me with pain and being able to carry a lot of it while working for Him. (Yes, it is a blessing, folks.) Anyway, as the pain shot up it was far beyond what I could function with. My blood pressure went sky high and I was doubled over in pain. I put a call for Grant and Wanda to see if they were on their way and would stop for Dolores. I went to bed. God is good, the sing-along went on and God took care of my extreme pain and brought the blood pressure down to normal. When you have a ministry team and let God head it up, things keep going on without one person. GOD IS GOOD, ALL GLORY AND PRAISE TO HIM.
Please keep praying for Patsy, Burt, Sharon, Bob, Eleanor, Dan, Baby Ali, Matthew, and all those on this line that need the touch of Jesus. Please pray for President Obama and those leaders in Washington, DC. Pray for John Riddlesberger whose mamma has passed away at age 100. I know I am missing some requests, but it is time to get to the message. A Time!
Thursday, November 21, 2013, A Time (Day Seven).
Ecclesiastes 3:8 - A time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace. (NIV)
Let's first look at the second part of this verse. A time for war and a time for peace. All throughout the Bible we can read of wars, and since Bible times, and the Bible is still the best group of books ever ... But since it was first written, wars are still going on, the Bible still holds true. Each day in the paper we see of wars. Some now might be just called "gang fights," but trust me, they are gang wars. There are wars between races, some just verbal you might say. But with all the wars going on, none is bigger than the wars that are going on against those of us who love Jesus. The Bible tells us of this. And you can read about it in the paper. Yes, remove God from this, remove God from that, my brothers and sisters, that is war against Christians. But listen to these words.
Matthew 24:6 - "You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. 7 Nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are the beginning of birth pains." (NIV)
Psalm 46:6 - Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall; He lifts His voice, the earth melts. 7 The Lord Almighty is with us; The God of Jacob is our fortress. 8 Come and see the works of the Lord, the desolations He has brought on the earth. 9 He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth; He breaks the bow and shatters the spear, He burns the shields with fire. 10 "Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among all Nations, I will be exalted in the earth." 11 The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. (NIV)
I want to sum up the scriptures that God gave me for the message today by telling you this. God is in control. Put your faith in His loving arms and He will take care of you. We can read in Ecclesiastes that there is a time for war, and we can see it daily as I have mentioned. Sometimes it might seem like war right in one's family with all the fighting going on. But we see the all-out war, and for those who over the years have lost loved ones on the battlefields of the world, they know the real pain that most of us do not know when it comes to wars. For those who left body parts on the battlefields, their struggles go on daily. For all of us, we need to find comfort in the Lord. Yes, there is a time for war, but thee is also a time for peace. While full peace will come when our Lord Jesus returns for us, we can still find peace in the midst of the storms of war by reading the scriptures like the one above which I have brought down for you.
Psalm 46:11 - The Lord Almighty is with us; The God of Jacob is our fortress. (NIV)
Psalm 46:10 - "Be still and know that I am God!" Yes, that is our Lord God speaking, folks. BE STILL AND KNOW THAT HE IS GOD, AND HE IS STILL IN CHARGE. Get into The FORT, get into THE FORT. Now you ask, how do I get into THE FORT? Whee is the door? Folks, get into THE FORT, by getting into THE WORD, which is found in your Bible. Get into THE FORT, by praying to our Father through His Son Jesus. Get into THE FORT, by asking God into your heart. SOMEONE SAY AMEN!
Now let's look at
Ecclesiastes 3:8 - A time to love and a time to hate. (NIV)
Brothers and sisters, we see throughout the Bible how we are to love. We see it in the two great commandments. Love The Lord and Love Your Neighbor and if we do those we will love all things. But wait a minute, the scripture tells us there is "A time to love and a time to HATE." So what about this hate thing? Brothers and sisters, that is so easy. We must hate sin. When I see what is going on when pastors say they are showing God's love when they pastor a "gay wedding" ... No, No. You must love the person, the sinner, as we are all sinners, but we must not love the sin, and that is what a gay marriage is. Again, we must love the sinner and hate the sin. So there in one sentence, and I will say it again.
There is a time to Love. (Love God and love the sinner.) And a time to hate. (Hate all sin.) Amen.
Dear Father in Heaven, help us to love You and love our neighbors as ourselves, and Lord, that means love You and then love sinners. Help us do that and really hate sin, help us each day to distance ourselves from sin. Anoint us to do Your work without crossing into supporting sins. In Jesus' Name, I pray. Amen.
And with the words of Jesus, I close this series.
John 14:27 - "Peace I leave with You, My peace I give you." I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid." (NIV)
Now go forth and share your blessings, and you can share by loving the sinners and hating the sins. Love ya. Pass that love on, please.
Pastor Dan
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