Fearless

Our journey in 1 Samuel has been quite a ride! But what is really amazing to me is that wherever we are in God’s word, there is application that speaks directly into our lives today: as individuals, and as a church.

Last week we looked at 1 Sam 13:1-14 as an encouragement that we never want to find ourselves in the situation where we are lamenting “what could have been, if only I had obeyed God!”  This message challenged me, as I know it did many of you, that we should seek to live our lives in full obedience to God, no matter what He calls us to.  For in that obedience we will find our true fulfillment, our purpose for which we were created!

For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. – Eph 2:10

But stepping out in obedience can be a little risky.  Actually it can be very risky.  What if we fail?  What if God isn’t with us?  What if…??

This Sunday we’ll be introduced to a young man who believes God, and is not afraid to put that belief to the test.  While his dad Saul sits under a tree, Jonathan goes up to face the Philistines with only his armor-bearer at his side.  There is only one word to describe this young man, Jonathan:  Fearless!

I love it.  Just when it looks like things are going south, their leader has failed them, most of the men have melted away into the forest or into caves, here comes this young man, fearless and full of faith! 

It never ceases to amaze me what God can do through a single person.  Imagine what He can do through five people, or ten people, or a hundred saints, full of faith and fearless!

Join us Sunday at 9 & 11 am, 1 Samuel 13:15-14:23 – Fearless.

… till the whole world hears,

Pastor Clay

What could have been...

“You acted foolishly,” Samuel said. “You have not kept the command the LORD your God gave you; if only you had, he would have established your kingdom over Israel for all time.” 1 Samuel 13:13

It’s a moment you never want to have. A 13:13 moment.

A 13:13 moment is that moment you realize what you could have had, if only you had ______ (fill in the blank).

What a scary verse this is. Besides the fact that you have a double instance of an unlucky number (13:13), what Samuel is saying to Saul should be a cautionary note to all of us: I never want to say “I could have had the blessing of God, if only I had…”

See, when we think about the consequences of sin or disobeying a specific instruction from God, we usually focus on the negative consequences that happen to us as a result.

…if you sleep around, you could get an STD or get pregnant.

…if you cut a corner at work, you could lose your job.

…if you ignore God’s calling, you could end up in the wrong career.

Those are definitely bad consequences, but there is another side of the equation that we should consider:  If we are unwilling to obey God, we may miss an incredible blessing that God has planned for our lives.

...the ministry you could have had.

...the marriage you could have had.

...the life you could have had.

Last week I challenged you to go home to fast and pray, and seek the Lord as to what He would have for you.  

...what ministry He has for you.  

...who He wants you to reach out to. 

...what He wants you to invest in His kingdom.  

Whatever God is asking of you, believe me, it’s not about what He wants from you. It’s what He wants for you.

And you can have it, if only you will…

Join us Sunday, as we return to our study of 1 Samuel 13.

... till the whole world hears, 

Pastor Clay

Audacious Prayers

This morning, as we do every Wednesday, our pastors came together to pray for YOU, the church.  It’s a great time of fellowship and unity, praying in agreement for the ministries and the people! 

But I wanted you to know that we are not just praying, we are PRAYING BIG.  We are asking God to do BIG THINGS in our church.  Not so much “make us the biggest church,” but rather “Lord, do big things in the life of every person that we come in contact with!”

• When a person walks in that is addicted to alcohol or drugs, God we ask you to do a big thing: Break the bondage of addiction and set them free!
• When a marriage is on the rocks, God we ask you to do a big thing:  Remove the anger and bitterness, and set that couple on a path of reconciliation in love and humility.
• When a family is struggling financially, God we ask you to do a big thing:  Open the windows of heaven and pour out a blessing that cannot be contained!

We often proclaim how big our God is, and how great His power is, but do we pray expecting big and great things?  I have to admit, sometimes I don’t.  Sometimes I pray and ask for the minimum.  Why do I do that?  Perhaps because I'm not sure God will come through, so only ask for a little bit, and if nothing happens, then perhaps no one will notice.  Enough of that! God is changing how I pray.  No more little prayers.  No more asking for the bare minimum. From now on I want to pray big prayers. Audacious prayers!

James had it right when he said

“You do not have because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures” -- James 4:2-3

Jesus told His disciples that if they had faith, they could move mountains…

“Truly I tell you, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and it will be done. If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.” – Matt 21:21-22

I’ll be honest church; there are some mountains in our midst that need to be moved.  There are some big things God wants to do, and we wont be able to do them without the power of God on our lives (Eph 1:18-21).

Will we believe God for the big things?  Will we even ask for the big things?

Church, I believe we should ask for the big things.

Will you go?

Each week I use the lead article in the Calvary Connection to give a preamble to the message that God has given me for Sunday.  This week will be no exception. 

The message this week will be a check up, a snapshot of where we are as a church.  Many of you were here this past January when I laid out the vision that God had given us for 2011.  I shared some of the challenges we faced, as well as the work that God was leading us into. This week I went back and looked at my notes from that meeting, and it was pretty cool to see how God has been moving and working in the areas we talked about! But as is usually the case, there is still work to do.  There are areas that God still wants to grow us, and even stretch us as a church.

And so now as we head into the final chapter of 2011, we need to do a little status check: To celebrate what God has done, and also to press in to some areas that still need some attention.

The question is never “will God do a work”, the question is always “will I engage in what God is doing?”  The question is never “why doesn’t God bless me,” the question is always “am I putting myself in a position for God to bless me?”

God is moving in our church. God is blessing.  Are you a part of it?

So get ready church, God is not finished!

… till the whole world hears,

Love your enemy?

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven…” – Matt 5:43-45

Sometimes it can be hard to love your neighbor, especially when he blows his leaves into your yard, or his huge dog comes over and relieves himself in your next to your front walk.  I have a neighbor that throws some loud parties that go on well into the night.  These people can really get on our nerves, and love isn’t exactly the feeling that we are having. Yet we are still to love them. OK, I can do that.

But Jesus doesn’t just tell us to love our neighbor; He goes on to tell us to love our enemies. OK, so exactly who is our enemy? Is it the guy that cut us off from traffic?  Is it the woman who broke line in front of us at the movie theater? What about the guy that smashes out a car window and steals a laptop? These people may be harder to love, but hey we’re Christians!  We can do all things through Christ who strengthens us!

But what about the men that spent years working on a sinister plan; learning how to pilot a jet airliner, studying flight plans, and figuring our what flights had the most people aboard. The men who boarded several planes, murdered the flight crews, commandeered those aircraft, and flew them and the passengers into the tallest buildings in New York city? How are we supposed to love the men who knew their actions would kill and injure thousands of innocent people? How are we supposed to love the people who are, even as I write this, planning more sinister attacks against us? Certainly no one, not even God, would expect us to love those men. Or would He?

Join us Sunday as we take the Lords Supper together, and reflect on Jesus teaching regarding love.

… till the whole world hears,

Pastor Clay

Life after Failure - 1 Sam 12

Then Samuel said to the people, “Do not fear. You have done all this wickedness; yet do not turn aside from following the LORD, but serve the LORD with all your heart.
– 1 Sam 12:20

Choices.  We’ve been talking about them a lot recently.  Specifically how our enemy, the devil, will attempt to connive or intimidate us into making a bad choice. Satan will use every trick in his little book of tricks to cause us to make a choice that will bring pain and affliction into our lives, and then he’ll use that choice against us and tell us what a failure we are as Christians.  (Man, I hate that guy!)   

Then last week we looked at the rescue of Jabesh Gilead, and how that is a picture of how God is willing and able to come to our rescue when we call upon His name, even after a bad choice.  An awesome truth for sure!  One of the promises we learned was from Lamentations:

Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, “The LORD is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.” – Lam 3:22-24

(Interestingly, Lamentations was written by the prophet Jeremiah as he lamented the destruction of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar; God’s punishment upon Israel for their disobedience)

But what about those choices we make that we cannot undo? Some things just cannot be ‘undone.’ There is no delete button in life.  What happens in the aftermath of a wrong choice that sets in motion permanent changes in our life that we cannot undo?  Is there life after failure?

1 Samuel chapter 12 gives us hope in that situation.  Not a fairy-tale hope that time will be erased, and our life restored to be exactly the way it was before; but hope that God will once again move and work in our lives.  Hope that He will form new lives for us that can be a blessing to us and to others.  New lives where we can live for Him and enjoy the blessing and peace that only God can give to us.

We may not be able to erase the mistakes of our past, and we may have to live in the reality of that choice for the rest of our life on earth.  That husband or wife may never return.  That person we wronged may never forgive us.  But if we will turn to the Lord, and serve Him in truth with all of our hearts, He will give us new life that will glorify Him.  I don't know about you, but that is a promise that gives me hope!

Join us Sunday for “Life after failure”

…till the whole world hears,

Pastor Clay