A Day to Remember

Seven years ago today, our country experienced probably the most heart-wrenching event in our history. At 8:46 am American flight 11 hit the North Tower of the World Trade Center. At 9:03, United flight 175 hit the South Tower. Shortly thereafter, American flight 77 hit the Pentagon, and United flight 93 crashed near Shanksville, PA.

There were 2,975 fatalities, excluding the 19 hijackers: 246 on the four planes (from which there were no survivors), 2,603 in New York City in the towers and on the ground, and 125 at the Pentagon. An additional 24 people remain listed as missing. All of the fatalities in the attacks were civilians except for 55 military personnel killed at the Pentagon. More than 90 countries lost citizens in the attacks on the World Trade Center.

All across our country, people are remembering those who lost their lives as victims, and those who gave their lives in the rescue effort. Won't you take a few minutes to stop and pray today:

• Pray for God's peace on the families who today will again remember those that were lost. The husbands and wives who will never again return from work. The son's and daughters that will never again call mom or dad, sister or brother.
• Pray that God would protect our country from attacks by those who have hate in their hearts.
• Pray that we as a nation could find it in our hearts to forgive.
• Pray for an outpouring of God's love and mercy upon those who would seek to kill and destroy. The only hope for peace is the gospel message of peace.

"How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, Who bring glad tidings of good things!" Rom 10:15

9/11 Tribute Video - click to watch

The Coming Storm

So Hanna is on her way towards us. Better stop by the store this afternoon, before the crowds, and get some water and batteries, and make sure that generator works!

Here at CCW, we are watching the storm tracker closely, and changing things as needed (we will not be holding our cookout this Sunday, bummer!). As well, we’ll be notifying our men to be ready to lend a helping hand to anyone in the body that has a need.

Storms come and go here in the coastal Carolina’s. Some are worst than others, but afterwards we pick up the pieces, clear the debris, patch the roof, and we move on with life. The storms become a distant memory.

But storms can come into our personal life as well. Death, division, financial stress, marital conflict; and we should be prepared for those as well. Instead of batteries and water, our preparation is prayer, the word of God, and FAITH.

In Mark 4, the disciples encountered a storm while at sea (the worst place to be!):

And they awoke Him and said to Him, "Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?" Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, "Peace, be still!" And the wind ceased and there was a great calm. But He said to them, "Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?" Mark 4:39-40

What is Jesus telling us? That storms come into our lives, sometimes unannounced (there is no radar tracking!). When they come, what we can do is turn to Jesus! We need not be fearful, because our Lord is with us, right there in the boat, and He has complete command over the storms of life.

He calms the storm, so that its waves are still. Ps 107:29

There are stages in life when there is no storm, no crisis, when we do our human best; it is when a crisis arises that we instantly reveal upon whom we rely. If we have been learning to worship God and to trust Him, the crisis will reveal that we will go to the breaking point and not break in our confidence in Him. (Oswald Chambers)


...till the whole world hears,

Pastor Clay

Samson the Nazirite

Judges 13:2-5 Now there was a certain man from Zorah, of the family of the Danites, whose name was Manoah; and his wife was barren and had no children. And the Angel of the LORD appeared to the woman and said to her,

"Indeed now, you are barren and have borne no children, but you shall conceive and bear a son. Now therefore, please be careful not to drink wine or similar drink, and not to eat anything unclean. For behold, you shall conceive and bear a son. And no razor shall come upon his head, for the child shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb; and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines."

In this passage, Sampson is chosen by God to live the life of a Nazirite, from the womb, and all of his life.

There were three conditions a Nazirite had to observe:
• He could not touch a dead body of any kind.
• He was not allowed to drink wine or strong drink, or even to have any contact with the grapes.
• He was to let his hair grow long.

The Nazirite was to follow these conditions as a sign that he was called, set apart, and visibly chosen for a specific task for the Lord.

These Old Testament provisions, again, are symbolic snapshots of things which hold true in our spiritual life today. A Nazirite in the Old Testament symbolizes sanctification, so how can we apply this to our lives today?

In the New Testament, "sanctified" means "set apart” for a particular purpose." Those of us who know Jesus Christ as Lord are said to be sanctified, to be set apart to serve him. And the same three conditions obtained under the Nazirite vow are true for us in the spiritual realm:

#1 We are not to touch anything dead.
We are to have nothing to do with the old life. We are not to go back and attempt to resurrect the old life, the flesh which has been crucified with Christ, and try to live out of that resource. Paul says in his letter to the Colossians:

Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. (Col 3:2-3)

We have been given a new life, a resurrection life, which Paul says is life indeed.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. (2 Cor 5:17)

#2 Find our satisfaction in the Lord
We should find our joy not in the things of this life, from wine or any other natural thing, but rather, from the Spirit of God. The prophet Habakuk wrote:

Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation. (Hab 3:18)

#3 Long Hair?
The provision regarding long hair is very interesting. In the Scriptures long hair is said to be a shameful thing for a man (1 Cor 11:14). It is a sign of weakness. This refers, of course, to excessively long hair--longer than the accepted length for women at any particular time. Even though long hair was considered shameful, the Nazirite would put himself under that condition in order to indicate his weakness, because his strength would grow out of that weakness.

The same is true for us. The Scriptures say that where we are weak that is where we are strong.
For when I am weak, then I am strong. (2 Cor 12:10)

If we sense our need for dependence upon another resource, if we are not counting upon our own credentials, our own strength, our own abilities--that is proper recognition of our weakness. It is in weakness that we discover our strength in our indwelling Lord.

So, just as a Nazirite was to fulfill these three conditions of separation, we too have been called, set apart, and chosen for a specific task by the Lord.

It is also interesting that Samson was called to be a Nazirite from his birth, which was unusual. Ordinarily a person would take this vow later on in life, generally for only a short term. But Samson was to be one from his birth.

We, as well, are Nazirites from our birth, our new birth. So from the moment we are born into God’s family, we are called, set apart, and visibly chosen for a specific task.

(this application nugget was taken from our Wednesday evening study of Judges, click here to listen to the entire message, or other messages from our Judges study)

...till the whole world hears,

Pastor Clay

Serving @ CCW

To the servants of the Lord!

I use that phrase specifically, because recently I have had a few people ask “How can I get involved at Calvary Chapel?”

As I have taught from the pulpit, it is a natural response for someone attending our fellowship to at some point think; “Hey, I’d like to get more connected to the fellowship!” While there are many ways that we can develop connections socially, one of the most rewarding aspects of being in a church is finding your place to serve the Lord!

I heard someone say recently “It’s a blessing to serve the Lord”, and it truly is! Not only that, but it really does take the concerted effort of many volunteers to pull off a church service every week! And, there is always room for more!

So, say your kinda new to the church, you’ve been coming a while, and you want to get ‘involved’. Well, here’s how:

1. First – head over to the Info Desk located in the church lobby (It’s the big desk with lots of signs and things on it!).
2. Talk to one of our cheerful Info Desk volunteers, and ask them for a “Servant Information Sheet”. This will tell us a little about you, and what your area’s of interest are.
3. Fill out the Servant Information Sheet, and hand it back to the person at the Info Desk.

It’s that simple! Someone from our ministry will be in contact with you within the week to discuss with you how you might fit in at CCW!

(If you are internet savvy, head on over to our Volunteer Ministry web page, and all the information you need is just a click away!)

At Calvary Chapel, we love to worship God, teach His word, and minister to His people – and you can be a part of that! What are you waiting for!

Current Areas of Opportunity:

• Children’s Ministry
• Helps Ministry
• Ushers & Greeters

...till the whole world hears,

Pastor Clay

This Week @ CCW

Greetings saints in the Lord!

It has been a busy week at CCW – we held our men’s breakfast (35 guys – awesome!), started our Foundation 103 series, held our first Small Group Leadership training, and that was just one week!

On top of all that, we have been watching the events in the Republic of Georgia unfold, and praying for our friends there. It seems that things have calmed down a bit, however we should not think that Russia is finished intervening in the affairs of this small nation. The difficult part is that while the politicians talk, people are suffering. Please continue to pray for the people and the YWAM DTS staff in Georgia (holtsingeorgia@gmail.com).

We are going to hold our Baptism this Sunday at Wrightsville Beach, pray for good weather! Click here for info and directions.

...till the whole world hears,

Pastor Clay

calvaryofwilmington.blogspot.com

Georgia Says Russians Bombing, Looting Gori, Violating Truce

BREAKING NEWS — Russians have bombed and looted the city of Gori outside the breakaway province of South Ossetia on their way deeper into the country, witnesses said Wednesday.

Read the full story here

Send a prayer to our missionaries Dennis & Korrine Holt here

Russia orders halt to war, Georgia sceptical

Latest Rueters update -

OSCOW/TBILISI, Aug 12 (Reuters) - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev ordered a halt to military operations in Georgia on Tuesday but Tbilisi cast doubt on the announcement, saying Moscow was still bombing towns and villages.

Another Update from Georgia

This is from Jenny, one of the staff from DTS in Tbilisi.
------------------
Hello brothers and sisters,

This is Lauren again--Jenni wrote this morning asked me to forward you all another update for her:


I just received an update that the Russian troops are not stopping. People/different countries are trying to mediate peace, but the Russians are still going. They've occupied Gori (it's a town that is/was a military center) and the Georgian troops are heading to Tbilisi to protect the capitol. I don't know how it all happened for sure. One person said that the Russians took it, one said that the Georgians left and the Russians walked in, but whatever the case, Gori is occupied. I am actually not in Tbilisi, I'm still in a small village about an hour away, and we are very safe so far. But I have many friends in Tbilisi, including Marina and her kids David & Irma, so part of me is still in Tbilisi. Also, there is another problem, since some places have been bombed, there has been a flood of refugees entering Tbilisi, and other cities, and it's creating quite some problems. The refugees are breaking into houses to steal food and stuff, so that's part of why I'm really worried about Marina. People in Tbilisi are just in panic and the president is on the television every hour trying to calm people down.

Many of you responded to my last email with the advice to leave. I want to say I appreciate your concern, but it's still not in my plans. Of course I'm scared (and really trying to give my fear up to God), but I'm ready. I don't feel like He has told me to leave, and I don't want to. Many people have left with their families and I understand why, they are responsible for more than just themselves. But I am choosing to stay, and I'm praying for God's strength to do that. Who knows, maybe it will all end tomorrow, maybe it will continue for a while. I have no idea, but God knows and I'm trusting and learning to trust Him in that and also with my very life.

Please pray for us, especially for my friends in Tbilisi. Please continue to pray for Georgia and also for Russia. And most of all, pray that neither Georgia or Russia would win the battle, but that GOD would win.

" Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord."
Psalm 27:14

Update on Georgia

For the next few days I'll be posting updates on the situation in the Republic of Georgia.

Russia Forces Move to Within 35 Miles of Tbilisi
Monday, August 11, 2008

Video - Russian Planes Bomb Georgia

Youth 25

Hey I want to let you know about something we are planning later in August… YOUTH 25!

What is Youth 25? Well, you know we are working to finish off the Youth Building next door, to make space for our ever-expanding Youth Ministry, as well as free up some classrooms for the younger kids, and we are going to need some dough to finish the project!

As I thought of sharing this with the Calvary Community, it occurred to me that many people may think “I can’t afford to give hundreds of dollars to the youth, so I cant be involved.” But in fact, that is just not the case! God can do a lot with a little (as we recently learned in our study of Gideon). If many give a little, it adds up to a lot!

We just completed the electrical work, and are about to start the plumbing – we need about $2500 for the plumbing. Guess what, if 100 people give $25, that equals – you guessed it - $2500!

So coming up Sunday August 24th, we are going to have “Youth 25” Sunday. We are asking everyone to bring $25 with them to church, and plop it into the Youth 25 buckets (our youth will be manning the stations!), and let’s see what God does!

And if you cannot bring $25, just bring what you can – every little bit helps us reach our goal!


...till the whole world hears,

Pastor Clay

Can You Feel It?

Can you feel it? There is an excitement in the church. I’m not sure how to describe it, but I sense that God I moving in a powerful way. I sense in the people that I have met with over the past few weeks. I sense it in the worship service. I sense it in the new people that I see coming in each week. I sense it in a new surge of purpose and focus.

I sensed it last night when we were finishing up our study of Judges chapters 6-8, in the account of Gideon. How God loves to take people – sometimes people of little faith, people that are the “least of their clan”, and use them in a mighty way!

Gideon was a guy that, well, had little faith and was a bit timid! He was amazed that God would use him. He kept asking for more signs and confirmations. But God used him anyway!

Gideon was willing to go and tear down the family altars (Judg 6:25). Are there altars in our lives that need to come down? Gideon was faithful in the small things, and he started right at his own house. Gideon stepped out in faith – in small ways. Then, God used him in a mighty way!

I believe that God wants to use Calvary Chapel of Wilmington in a mighty way, and that we are just scratching the surface of what He is going to do. All that’s required of us is that we take that next step of faith towards His purpose and His calling!

Don’t forget to plan on coming to the beach with us this Sunday for our Baptism. Come a little early and hang out!


...till the whole world hears,

Pastor Clay
calvaryofwilmington.blogspot.com

Being a Deborah

Greetings Saints in the Lord!

Last night we looked a really interesting account of Deborah, the only female judge to serve in Israel (girl power – yea!). One of the interesting dynamics was between Deborah and Barak. God had called Barak to gather the armies of Israel and go to war with Jabin, who was oppressing Isreal. Barak basically said “I’ll go, but only if you (Deborah) will go with me.” Deborah didn’t lead the army, or fight in the battle, but her presence and her words gave confidence and strength to Barak to complete the task. He could not have done it without her. It can be that way in our own lives, in that sometimes we need a “Deborah” to be there for us. We are stuck in bondage or oppression, we know that God has called us out, and that He will deliver us. But we need someone to speak strength and encouragement to us along the way.

That is what the Christian life is supposed to be – each of us encouraging one another, praying for one another, speaking strength into each others lives.

Think about someone you know that may be going through a hard time. Why don’t you call them up, or email them, and speak some words of strength and encouragement to them? It may help them to win the victory!

Look forward to seeing you all on Sunday, as we examine Matthew 5, “The Temptation of Christ.”

...till the whole world hears,

Pastor Clay

Nothing Like a Cool Room

Greetings Saints in the Lord!

I pray that this weeks edition of the Calvary Connection finds you blessed and encouraged in the Lord!

I have some good news this week – we have air-conditioning at the church again! Praise the Lord! Our new units were installed this week, and they are running fine, so we’ll be nice and cool this Sunday, no matter what the temperature is outside! (also, we have a chain-link fence going up to protect our new units!) Thank you all for your patience during this time.

Next, I was blessed to see some donations last week for the Youth Building construction project. Zech and I spent some time this week looking over the space and getting things rolling again. From the looks of the children’s classes on Sunday mornings, we REALLY need the space! Once the space is finished, we’ll move the youth over to their “own space” and free up some classrooms for the younger kids. Please continue to pray and to give towards the project.

Lastly, I have been seeing a lot of new faces at the church. Would you all help us welcome these new folks? If you see someone you don’t know, go up to them and introduce yourself. Make them feel wanted and loved - everyone wants to be wanted, especially when they come to a new place.

I look forward to seeing you all on Sunday, as we dig deeper into the Gospel of Matthew.

...till the whole world hears,

Pastor Clay

Want to know whats happening @ CCW? Go to our web calendar! Be sure and bookmark it!

R U Wise?

Today we had a really cool service, being July 4th weekend, we had some good tie-in with "Freedom", even rolling in several songs in that theme, including "I Am Free", one of me personal favorite U2 type worship songs! To wrap up the worship segment, I spoke about the biblical foundation of our country's government, and then my daughter Chelsea sang the Star Spangled Banner. She totally rocked. People cried. It was awesome!

In the service we looked at Matthew 2 where the "wise men" seek out Jesus, and worship Him. There is a really interesting comparison with the three characters in the situation: Herod, the scribes, and the wise men.

In Herod, we find a man who came against Jesus in a pretty big way, even killing all the male children in the Bethlehem area in an effort to snuff out the Savior. The comparison is the person who is against anything that has to do with God or Jesus - the "antagonist."

Then there were the scribes and Pharisee's. These guys should have known who Jesus was, but they just didn't care. Like the person who "knows about God", or even "believes in God", but is not really interested in a relationship with Jesus - this person is ambivalent towards the Lord.

Then there were the wise men. These guys were not even Jewish. They could n't even worship at the temple, yet the read the scriptures, and they believed! They put their belief into action, making a 500 mile road trip to go and see the Lord Jesus! And when they found Him, they "fell down and worshiped Him!"

These guys understood something - that there is a God, and He sent His Son Jesus Christ to this world to die - for me and you - so that we might live with Him forever. Have you made Him your King?

If you missed the message, click here for the audio.

Freedom Day

This week finds us heading into July 4^th weekend. Independence Day, the day we celebrate our freedom. But what are we free from?? Our Founding Fathers would tell us plainly:

• Free from tyranny
• Free from taxation without representation
• Free from unreasonable search and seizure
• Free from cruel or unusual punshment

What freedoms do we enjoy?

• Freedom of religion
• Freedom of speech
• Freedom of assembly
• Freedom to keep and bear arms
• Freedom of due process, a trial by jury, to face our accuser, etc.

(taken from Declaration of Independence, the US Constitution, and The Bill of Rights)

Gallant men gave their lives for this cause, fought and died for this cause, all so that today we can enjoy the life that we live in the greatest country in the world. As we enjoy this weekend (maybe at home because we cant afford to drive!), lets remember the price that was paid for our freedoms.

But there is a greater freedom still that God has endowed upon man, the freedom that is found in Jesus Christ

Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." They answered him, "We are Abraham's descendants and have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free?" Jesus replied, "I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. John 8:32-35

As Christians, we have a two-fold reason to celebrate, first the freedoms we enjoy as US citizens, but greater still the eternal freedom we have in Christ.

In Christ, we are:

• Free from bondage (Luke 4:18)
• Free from sin and death (Rom 8:2)
• Free from condemnation (Rom 8:1)
• Free from accusation (Col 1:22)
• Free from the power of sin (Rom 6:7)

And we are truly free – Free to love, free to worship, free to commune with the Lord, free to approach the throne of grace boldy!

May you all have a blessed July 4^th!

...till the whole world hears,

Pastor Clay

The Big Rip-Off

No doubt you have heard about our little situation last week. Some not-so-nice people came to our church Friday night, and tore apart two of our air conditioning units for the copper inside. They caused thousands of dollars of damage, to get at best $50 at the scrap dealer.

Our first thought might be "how could somone rip off a church? To steal from the Lord's house?" But after the anger wears off, we are left with the cleanup; putting things back together again, and installing some security (fencing and video cameras) to fend off the next set of thieves.

In a way, this is a picture of the world we live in. The bible tells us that our adversary is a thief and a destroyer. He goes around looking for opportunities to rip us off! He destroys everything he touches. Unfortunately we often give him the opportunities that he seeks, leaving our lives unguarded. Then after he rips us off, we have to clean up the mess, and hopefully we learn and install some additional security measures.

But our security is not fences and video survellance. We are to remain guarded against our enemy by:

• Being obedient to God's word
• Worshiping Him in spirit and truth
• Remaining close to the congregation in fellowship and accountability
• Seeking His face in prayer and thanksgiving
  

As we study the book of Judges on Wednesday nights, we can see the long-term ramifications of drifting away from the Lord. The picture is not a pretty one! The encouragement is "be watchful, be prayerful, and be worshipful!"


Till the whole world hears,

Pastor Clay

Back from our little respite

Greetings saints in the Lord!

Whew! Our family has been back from vacation only a few days, and it seems like a month of stuff has happened! We had a great time of rest and relaxation last week, and now we are back and ready to go back about the business of the Lord! Let me share just a few things with you…

Barbara Dickson
Most of you know that one of our dear saints, Barbara Dickson, went to be with the Lord last week. Barbara lived a very full life, which included a tragic accident four and one-half years ago that almost cost her life. Through the miraculous intervention of the Lord, Barbara recovered and has been cared for by her family. Barbara went home peacefully last Friday night at Cape Fear Hospice, surrounded by her family. There will be a memorial service here at the chapel on Saturday, June 21^st, 11 am.

Children’s Ministry
With the departure of our dear brother and servant Kevin, who faithfully oversaw the Children’s Ministry for the last year, we are in a place of transition in the ministry. My wife Tammy has assumed the overseer role of the ministry. Please keep the ministry in prayer as we make the transition in leadership. For those who serve and have children in the ministry, there will not be any drastic changes. We are planning a teacher training meeting in August to prepare all teachers and workers for the fall.

Holy Grounds
You may be wondering what is going on with the coffee shop venture next door, Holy Grounds. We the leadership have been in prayer for the last month over how to proceed with that venture. Given the financial slowdown that we experienced in the early part of the year, we were considering if the Lord was leading us in a different direction. Last week we came to the decision that we need to move forward with completing the renovation of the space, and use it for the Youth Ministry (Jr & Sr High). This will allow us to free up classroom space in the main building for other children’s classes that are getting crowded. At some point in the future, if the Lord provides, we can open the space for a coffee shop, however at the moment we do not have the financial recourses to complete the coffee shop part of the project. We welcome your prayers, as well as your giving gifts towards the completion of the project.

New Studies
We are starting up two new studies in the bible. Yesterday we opened the book of Judges, which will be our mid-week study for the next few months. Judges is an incredible study of the sinful nature of man, and the merciful nature of God! Also, this Sunday we start a new book; The Gospel of Matthew. Matthew is an awesome account of the life and ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ.

One of the cool messages of Judges is “no matter what man does, God is still on the throne!” This is something that we must remember through all things – the blessings of life, and the trials of life. There is a God, He loves and cares for you, and He will work in your life…. IF you will seek His face!

...till the whole world hears,

Pastor Clay

Ownership vs Stewardship

In our last installment, we talked about how the New Testament believer lives under grace and not the law, and how we are to give as we purpose in our hearts. This week, we are going to look at how that grace is played out in a practical way in our lives. How we are not commanded by the law to give to the Lord, but we are grateful recipients of God’s blessings, and we want to give to Him, because we understand that we are stewards!

As we noted earlier, when it comes to giving, some Christians will say “I am not under law, I am under grace” as a way of explaining why they do not regularly give to the Lord. But when this excuse (excuse my bluntness!) is rolled out, it reveals that the person has completely missed the basic principle of ownership vs stewardship.

If we go all the way back to Adam and Eve in the garden, we see that God gave Adam and Eve some specific instructions:

Then the LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it. And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, "Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die."
Gen 2:15-17

In other words, God gave them stewardship over everything. They could utilize all of the resources of the entire world, except for one thing: The tree of knowledge of good and evil. That tree was off-limits. If they ate of that tree, they would die. Everything else they were free to partake of, free to utilize.

Being good stewards over God’s creation was literally life to them. Taking something that God had told them was not theirs, meant death. So, when Eve, and then Adam, ate of the fruit of that tree, they experienced death. In this one act, revealed a change in perspective: They placed themselves into the role of owners, rather than stewards. They determined that they were capable of deciding what resources that they would use.

In a similar way, God has give us stewardship over all that He has brought into our lives – namely our abilities, our gifts, our income, and our increase. Notice I said what He has brought into our lives, because in fact we brought nothing:

For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.
1 Tim 6:7

We brought nothing into this world. Whatever we have, God has given us. We are, therefore, stewards of what the Lord has given us. Look at the exhortation that Paul gives to those whom God has blessed with much:

Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy. Let them do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to give, willing to share, storing up for themselves a good foundation for the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.
1 Tim 6:17-19

So we see that some will be blessed more than others, and God calls that person to trust in the Lord, to do good works, and to be ready to give, etc. Paul tells us that there is a reward for that person in heaven if they are faithful in this.

In Luke 12 Jesus gave a parable:

"The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully. And he thought within himself, saying, 'What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops?' So he said, 'I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods. And I will say to my soul, "Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry."' But God said to him, 'Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?' "So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God."
Luke 12:16-21

Jesus told this parable in the context of a man who wanted to be sure he got “what was his” (his inheritance). Jesus pointed out to this man that, in fact, nothing was his. And this man’s attitude towards his abundance (“my crops”) caused his judgment. Jesus calls this “laying up treasure for himself.” It belies a perspective that “this is mine, why should I give any of it away?” This man failed to realize that God had blessed him, and he should have honored the Lord in response to that blessing.

The same holds true in our life: Nothing that we possess is mine, it all belongs to God. We are but stewards of His resources, and I believe God is watching to see how we manage and use the resources He has given us. We can choose to “lay up treasures for ourselves”, or we can choose to honor the Lord with out increase. And I for one believe that when we are faithful stewards in regards to the one area that God calls us to, the firstfruits, God honors that obedience.

For a great illustration, 2 Chronicles tells us how King Hezekiah enacted reforms throughout the nation, and he called on all the children of Israel to bring the firstfruits into the house of the Lord. For seven months the tithes came in. When it had been collected, Hezekiah looked at the mounds and questioned the Levites (perhaps he wondered if the people had anything left to eat!). The Levites responded:

"Since the people began to bring the offerings into the house of the LORD, we have had enough to eat and have plenty left, for the LORD has blessed His people; and what is left is this great abundance."
2 Chron 31:10

If we are being faithful, especially in giving Him the firstfruits (which is all He asked for), then He will be able to bring more into our lives, because He knows He can trust us. God was doing exactly what He promised in Dueteronomy:

"Then it shall come to pass, because you listen to these judgments, and keep and do them, that the LORD your God will keep with you the covenant and the mercy which He swore to your fathers. And He will love you and bless you and multiply you; He will also bless the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your land, your grain and your new wine and your oil, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flock,
Deut 7:12-13

And what is echoed in the NT:

God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work. 2 Cor 9:7-8

What does all this mean? It means that for me to honor God with my giving is to acknowledge that He is my God, that He is my provision, and that I know full well that all I have and all I receive comes directly through His hands into mine. It means that I realize that I am not an owner, but a steward of all that God has entrusted into my life. It means that I have an appreciation that God has allowed me all things to enjoy, and that He only encourages me to be free and give to His house and His work in a cheerful and obedient way.

Pastor Clay

The Blessed Life - Part II: Blesings and Curses

Below is the second installment in our teaching series "The Blessed Life."

I received some good feedback from the first article, and I pray that this will continue to grow you in the Lord!

Pastor Clay
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Robbing God?

Many of us are familiar with this scripture:

"Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed Me! But you say, 'In what way have we robbed You?' In tithes and offerings. You are cursed with a curse, For you have robbed Me, Even this whole nation. Mal 3:8-9

This scripture is often used to beat the flock into tithing, but let's look at the reality of what God is saying here.

• The tithe belongs to Him
• He considers it robbing from Him if we withhold it (the same as not paying something you owe)

OK. Those two points need no expounding on. We get it! But there are two additional points that we should look at

• If we withhold the tithe, we are cursed with a curse
• If we give the tithe, we are the recipients of a blessing!

Curses

A curse is simply a state that is the opposite of blessing, where things don't work, where our efforts are hindered. The simple way to think of this is: When I am withholding from God what is rightfully His, then I don't have the power of God on my work, my business, and my efforts to get ahead.

I can't think of a better example that that of Achan. We recently went through Joshua where God had told the Israelites that when they went into Jericho

"all the silver and gold, and vessels of bronze and iron, are consecrated to the LORD; they shall come into the treasury of the LORD" (Josh 6:19). (if you missed the message, CLICK HERE to listen and get the notes)

In other words, the loot from Jericho was the firstfruits, andit belonged to God. The rest of the cities that they conquered, they could keep all the loot they could hold.

What happened? A man named Achan took some of the loot for himself. And when the Israelites went into the next battle, they were defeated - powerless against their enemies. When Joshua asked God "what happened?", God told Joshua

"My covenant which I commanded them. For they have even taken some of the accursed things, and have both stolen and deceived; and they have also put it among their own stuff." Josh 7:11

God called the stuff that was taken "accursed things", because it was stolen from God. And the result of this theft was that the power of God was no longer with the Israelites. They were ineffective, hindered.

I am not trying to be overdramatic here, but when we withhold from God what is rightfully His, we are effectively signing our own "Declaration of Defeat." And we can't blame God, He told us what to do, we just didn't do it!

Now, before we get too depressed, let's rejoice that the opposite is also true!

If I am faithful to give to the Lord what is His, then instead of a curse on my efforts, I can expect a blessing. The world's wisest man told us:

Honor the LORD with your possessions, And with the firstfruits of all your increase; So your barns will be filled with plenty, And your vats will overflow with new wine. Prov 3:9-10

Solomon probably knew something about provision - he was also the worlds richest man! God tells us in the next verses in Malachi:

Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, That there may be food in My house, And try Me now in this," Says the LORD of hosts, "If I will not open for you the windows of heaven And pour out for you such blessing That there will not be room enough to receive it."And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, So that he will not destroy the fruit of your ground, Nor shall the vine fail to bear fruit for you in the field," Mal 3:10-11

What this means is that if I am faithful to God the area of giving, it unlocks the blessings of God upon my life, and my efforts will not be hindered. God will bless my efforts! He will keep the enemy from hindering my efforts. We will have the power of God behind me!

Now stop and think about this for a second: What would I prefer, the blessings of God on my efforts, or a curse on my efforts? Well, that is a no-brainer. (I'll take blessings for $100, Alex.)

Let's take it a step further: Do I believe what God says? (this is a "yes or no" question in case you were wondering!)

But now comes the hard part: Am I willing to put my belief into practice?

You see, to say "I believe", but then not act on that belief, is not really belief at all. It is self-serving. It's saying "God, I want your blessings, but I am not really into this obedience thing."

Law or Grace?

Now some people will say "But Pastor Clay, that is the Old Testament. That's the law. I am no longer under the law, but grace." True, we are no longer under the law, but that does not give us liberty to disobey God.

The Israelites had made the same type of assumption that they didn't really need to obey all this "old stuff" anymore, and God told them straight up:

"For I am the LORD, I do not change;
Mal 3:6

Even though we are in the "age of grace", we still know that murder, adultery, stealing, and lying are sin. None of these "laws" went away when Jesus died on the cross. Jesus said

"Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. Matt 5:17

Paul taught the church at Corinth:

So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work.
2 Cor 9:7-8

"So let each one give as he purposes in his heart. " Some might see this statement as meaning "so I can give whatever I purpose in my heart". That is exactly correct.

The first question is: Where is your heart? Do you love the Lord? Do you see that all that you have comes through His hands? Is your heart open to what He wants for your life, His plan, His purpose?

The second question is: What do you purpose in your heart? Do you want the blessings of God and the power of God on your life, your business, your job? If Then give according to that which you purpose in your heart. If you want big blessings, give big!

But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.
2 Cor 9:6-7

The Unchanging Principle

Paul was affirming the unchanging principle that had been established by an unchanging God - Give to the Lord, and He will bless you. This is not a formual; He does not bless "because we give", He blesses because He see's our heart!

And that is where I see our church growing and flourishing. As we learn to be faithful and give to the house of the Lord, "And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work".

When we as a church are giving abundantly, God is going to bring into our lives the resources that will ensure that we have abundance for every good work. That means that the "good works" that God has put on our heart as a church to do, they will be fully funded!

The Blessing of Giving - Part I

The Principles of Firstborn and Firstfruits

Recently one of our Elders, John Schardt, shared with our congregation that we are experiencing some financial difficulty as a church. Simply put - our offerings are down. We are having to scale back ministry and salaries.

We as a leadership team have been praying for several months regarding our church finances, and one of the things that God has put on my heart is this: In my efforts to not make people feel "pressured" about giving, I may have been remiss in not teaching the congregation what God has to say about our finances, specifically in the area of tithing.

You may recall, that "Giving" was one of our areas of focus for 2008 from our News Years exhortation. I believe the the time is now to share with you some truths from the Word of God regarding giving to the Lord. So for the next few weeks I will be sending out a series of teaching articles on the subject. Later on we will explore this subject deeper in a pulpit teaching series.

I also want you to know that the reason to teach the congregation about finances is not so that "the church will have more money", but so that you can experience the full blessing of God in this area of your life!

I pray that this series will enrich your lives, and reveal a new perspective of God's unchanging principles. May you be richly blessed.

Pastor Clay

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First, let me say that I view the lack of funds in the church as an indicator of a spiritual situation in the lives of the congregation. The issue is not how much money we have, but "what does God want to teach us about money?"

Fact: there are approx 500 verses in the bible that deal with prayer, approx 500 verses that deal with faith, but there are over 2000 verses that deal with the subject of money and possessions. Jesus talked about money in 16 of His 38 parables. Clearly, from the bible's standpoint, God wants us to understand His principles concerning money and possessions.

Why? Perhaps it is because money is a test of our faith & our priorities. Money is something that is near and dear to us. We need it to live. We use it to buy stuff that we need, and stuff that we want. How we manage money reveals volumes about what is important to us.

In this first issue, we are going to explore two principles: The principles of the firstborn and firstfruits.

Principle of Firstborn

The principle of firstborn is found throughout the bible, from Exodus to Revelation.

The first place we see this principle is in Exodus 13:

"Consecrate to Me all the firstborn, whatever opens the womb among the children of Israel, both of man and beast; it is Mine."
Ex 13:1-2

Here, God makes a declarative statement; "the firstborn is Mine". In fact, sixteen times God makes this statement in Exodus: Every firstborn was to be sacrificed or redeemed. Every time an animal delivered its firstborn, it was to be sacrificed to the Lord. If it were born unclean (with a spot or blemish), then it was to be redeemed.

But the firstborn of the animals, which should be the LORD's firstborn, no man shall dedicate; whether it is an ox or sheep, it is the LORD's. And if it is an unclean animal, then he shall redeem it according to your valuation, and shall add one-fifth to it; or if it is not redeemed, then it shall be sold according to your valuation. Lev 27:26-27

This principle was true for man as well, as the firstborn sons of Israel were to be set apart for service to God; they were to be the priests! Later on, after the golden calf incident, God set apart the Levites for His service (and also re-affirmed the principle of the firstborn):

"Now behold, I Myself have taken the Levites from among the children of Israel instead of every firstborn who opens the womb among the children of Israel. Therefore the Levites shall be Mine, because all the firstborn are Mine.
Num 3:12-13

Why is this important? This is a picture of our redemption in Christ, as when Jesus approached John the Baptist, John proclaimed

"Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!
John 1:29-30

Because man is born with a sin nature, we were born 'unclean'. We need to be redeemed. God redeemed us to Himself with the perfect, spotless, Lamb of God. Jesus was God's 'firstborn", His only begotten Son.

So this principle is not based on "we do all the giving", but in reality God gave to us first. God gave to us first, while we were yet sinners; He gave us His Son Jesus Christ. He gave us something that we could never put a price tag on. I mean, how much would you pay to be assured heaven? Everything you had!

The Principle of Firstfruits

Having noted that, there is a parallel principle that ties into the principle of the firstborn, and that is the principle of the firstruits.

The first of the firstfruits of your land you shall bring into the house of the LORD your God. Ex 23:19

This scripture tells us two things: Bring your firstfruits, and bring them into the house of the Lord. Let's look at these two points.

First Things First
The bible doesn't tell us "give God what is left over". It says to give God the first. When an animal gave birth to it's first offspring, that first offspring was given to the Lord. When the crops were harvested, the first were given to the Lord.

How does this apply to us? When we sit down and write our bills, the first check we write should be our tithe to the Lord. This may sound somewhat ritualistic to some people, but trust me, this has meaning. What we do first says something about what we hold to be most important.

You see, as fallen people we are naturally selfish. Think about it, when the paycheck comes, our mind goes to the things we want or need to buy. Bills, clothes, dinner out, parts for my motorcycle. We hope that there is something left at the end so we can splurge a little. Why is it that our first thought is not "I get to give to the Lord!"

Guess what, God knows how we are. So God, in His infinite wisdom, tells me that I need to sit down and give to Him first, to establish a pattern in my life where I am thinking "Praise the Lord, I can give to the Lord! Thank you for your provision Lord!"

Think about it; When we give to the Lord first, it says "Lord I trust you."

Faith Before Feelings
How many times have we run out of money before we run out of bills? Or we have to determine what we pay now, and what we pay later? When we are in this situation, it can seem easy to skip the tithe (we certainly can't let our cable TV get shut off!). Our feelings tell us "I have bills to pay! I have stuff I need!". We feel bound to our bills. But what that says is "God, these bills are a higher priority than you are."

In other words, it requires an activation of our faith to give the tithe first. Giving the tithe first says "God, I am going to be obedient to you, and trust you for the rest." Faith is being obedient to God when we cannot see the outcome. Faith is knowing that it may require the supernatural hand of God to meet our budget needs.

Think about it:

• The first animal was to be given to God; there were no guarantees that more animals would be born.
• The first of the crop was to be given to God; there were no guarantees that more crops would come up.
• God told Abraham to give his firstborn son, and at Abraham's age, it was a certainty that there would be no more children!

When we give to God first, we are saying to God "I trust you". Do you think He will let us down? In my own experience, the answer to that question is unequivocal - NO! God will always come through! Why? Because it is His promise!

"Then it shall come to pass, because you listen to these judgments, and keep and do them, that the LORD your God will keep with you the covenant and the mercy which He swore to your fathers. And He will love you and bless you and multiply you; He will also bless the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your land, your grain and your new wine and your oil, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flock, Deut 7:12-13

So when Satan comes at you and puts the thought in your mind "you're going to go broke if you tithe", you can respond: "No I won't, because God's Word says that God is going to bless me, and He will rebuke the devourer for my sakes!"

The House of God

Our scripture said to "bring your firstfruits into the house of the Lord, your God." It didn't say "give your firstfruits to whom you feel led". That means we don't give our firstfruits to a TV ministry, or to a missionary, or to some other organization as our "tithe". Now don't get me wrong, giving to worthwhile ministries and supporting missionaries are important, but we are not to take away from our giving to the house of the Lord in order to do so.

We've all heard Christian say "I gave to so-and-so ministry (or person) as my tithe." Think about it; would you send part of your mortgage payment to another bill? I'm sure they would understand. Thankfully, God does not foreclose on us (!), but we should heed the point: The firstfruits belong to God, and it belongs in His house!

Paul echoed this to the church at Corinth:

For it is written in the law of Moses, "You shall not muzzle an ox while it treads out the grain." Is it oxen God is concerned about? Or does He say it altogether for our sakes? For our sakes, no doubt, this is written, that he who plows should plow in hope, and he who threshes in hope should be partaker of his hope. If we have sown spiritual things for you, is it a great thing if we reap your material things? 1 Cor 9:9-11

The church is the place that we go for spiritual feeding, for ministry to our families. It is where we turn when we are having difficulties. It is where we turn when we have a financial need.

But more than that, the church is a place where we come and communally worship the Lord! And guess what, our giving is a form of worship. That's why giving is a matter of the heart:

God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work. 2 Cor 9:7-8

When our hearts are turned to the Lord, we are fully aware that all that we have is a gift from Him. He is the source of our provision. When we give the tithe, it is an act of worship, acknowledging God as our provider. And God promises us, that when our heart is in this place, He will direct to us "all sufficiency in all things", so we will "have an abundance for every good work!"