Salvation Wednesday 9/16/15 Gifted (2)

Dear Father in Heaven: I love You and I give thanks this day for You loving me. Lord, You have answered so many prayers for us. In fact I know You have heard and answered all of them. Help me to learn that no is sometimes an answer to prayers that we do not like to hear. Lord, we know that You know what is best for us. Dear Lord, please be with those folks at Young's United Methodist Church as they bring school children in to their church for a released time ministry. Lord, it seems people do not want You in public schools, so it is wonderful that You have opened the doors at some public schools for the children to leave and go to a church for studies about Jesus. God, please bless those involved, and may this ministry grow. Today, Lord, it is Salvation Wednesday on this line. Please help us seek out the lost and lead them to Your feet. Lord, please put a message on my mind on the subject You have given me. Help me to write it and then please help me to get it dispatched. In the name of Jesus, I give praise and ask my prayers. Amen.

Dear brothers and sisters, within 20 minutes after I finished the message yesterday I received a call from a dear friend with the email address of Dr. Ben Carson. All honor and glory to God. Please remember t let me know what gift from God you might have. Please cover Young's Church on their wonderful ministry with God's children. Let me get to the message, Gifted.

Salvation Wednesday: September 16, 2015: Gifted (Day Two)

Proverbs 18:16 - A gift opens the way for the giver and ushers him into the presence of the great. (NIV)

I used this scripture yesterday to just open the door about gifts. I want to look at how a gift can be used in some ways that are wrong. Here are just a few examples and since we are hearing so much about politics lately, let us look at those gifts given by lobbyists to our folks in Washington, DC, and in our State Capitals. Recently Donald Trump admitted that his money has purchased him many things from politicians.

I want to walk you back a few years when a salesman walked into my office at Central Dauphin. He showed me this really good looking watch which maybe was worth $10. He opened the box and said, "How would you like to have this watch?" I said that would be nice and he closed the box and handed it to me and I put it inside my suit coat pocket. Then he said all I had to do was buy a 55 gallon drum of his brand of cleaning product and I could  have it. Now that became a bribe. Yes, that gift became a bribe, and I wanted nothing to do with it. So I told him he should leave and I was not ordering any of his product. Then he asked for the watch back, and I said no, you gave it to me as a gift. And he left and never returned, and I gifted the watch to someone else.

Acts 20:35 - In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus Himself said; "It is more blessed to give than to receive." (NIV)

I want to tell you about a person whom I know very well. Their gift from God is to help others by supporting them in a Christian way. By supporting them not wanting to be thanked, therefore I will not use their name. This person knows that they will be blessed even more by God, because you cannot out-give the Lord when you give for Him from your heart. They will receive rewards in Heaven also.

While it is nice to receive a gift, do you not get a better feeling when you are giving gifts to others?

Let me talk a tad about spiritual gifts.

1 Corinthians 12:27 - Now you are the body of Christ and each one of you is part of it. 28 And in the church God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, also those having gifts of healing, those able to help others, those with gifts of administration and those speaking in different kinds of tongues. 29 Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? 30 Do all have the gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? 31 But eagerly desire the greater gifts. (NIV)

Brothers and sisters, take a good look at all those gifts. Is there one of you who would lay claim to all of them? Let me answer that one for all of us. NO!! I do know of people who have more than one of them. In a church setting, many people make up the church, no one person can do it all. Some churches, some churches do not even believe in all of them. I wonder what would happen if a person were sitting in one of those big, big Lutheran churches when they received the power of the Holy Spirit and they would jump up and speak out in tongues. So which gift or gifts might you have? I told you about one person already and they have the gift of being able to help others. I would say that most of our firefighters, police, etc., would have that gift also, for there are many ways of helping others. Tomorrow we will look even further as there is one gift all should have, and if you do not have that one, well, let us save that until tomorrow. Anyone want to tell me what that gift is that all should have?

Today is Salvation Wednesday, and it is a gift, a real gift, to be able to talk to people about Salvation, then pray with them, leading them to Jesus and then help them find a really good church.

Now please go forth, working for Jesus and trying your very best to lead in one or two lost sheep. Love ya.

Pastor Dan