The Treasure

"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.  Matt 13:44 

 

Have you ever noticed that one of the greatest needs that a person has is to be valued?  To be needed, even treasured, by someone?  Some people will go to almost any length to prove that they are valuable.  And the sad fact is, that need is almost never fully met.  No matter how much we feel valued by that others; at some point we’re always let down.

 

So, why would we be designed with this ‘need’ that seems to go unfilled?  It almost seems cruel.  But in reality, its not cruel – it’s destiny.  I believe God placed that great need to be valued into our very soul to draw us to the only source where that need can be met – to Him!  Saint, you need to know this:  God loves you!   Actually God treasures you, and He was willing to give all that He had in order to obtain you!  That, my friend, is true value.

 

Join us Sunday as we look at how God treasures you, how He considers you a “Pearl of great price!”

 

Pastor Clay

From Sunday

This is from the message on Sunday, for some reason I felt led to post it!
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Matt 13:1 Another parable He put forth to them, saying: "The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field; 25 but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way. 26 But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared. 27 So the servants of the owner came and said to him, 'Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?' 28 He said to them, 'An enemy has done this.' The servants said to him, 'Do you want us then to go and gather them up?' 29 But he said, 'No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, "First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn."'"

31 Another parable He put forth to them, saying: "The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field, 32 which indeed is the least of all the seeds; but when it is grown it is greater than the herbs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches."

33 Another parable He spoke to them: "The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal till it was all leavened."

36 Then Jesus sent the multitude away and went into the house. And His disciples came to Him, saying, "Explain to us the parable of the tares of the field."
37 He answered and said to them: "He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. 38 The field is the world, the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are the sons of the wicked one. 39 The enemy who sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels. 40 Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age. 41 The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, 42 and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!
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Some interpret parable of the mustard seed as meaning the “kingdom will grow mysteriously very big, and shelter people.” But I have two problems with this…

1. There has never in history been a mustard plant that grows into a tree. That would be abnormal, a monstrosity.
2. Whenever birds are noted, they speak of evil.

A better interpretation and one that fits better with the context of Jesus topic would that Jesus is warning about the Kingdom – I.E. the church, becoming big – organized – and becoming a monstrosity. In many ways the institutionalized church has become like the monstrous mustard plant, and the evil birds have roosted in its branches.

As for the parable of the leaven, your bible commentary might say that this is a picture of the “kingdom of God spreading all through the world…” The problem I have with this explanation is that in the bible, leaven is always associated with sin.

And check it out - three measures is the exact amount of meal customarily used in a grain offering to God, and leaven has absolutely no place in a grain offering.
This looks to me like a picture of a warning that sin cannot be hidden in the kingdom – because like leaven it will spread and corrupt the entire lump.

Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? 7 Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. 1 Cor 5:6-7

Summation - There have been so many wrongs done in the name of the church, and so many strange doctrines and practices, that some people hesitate to even admit that they belong to a church. It has gotten to the point where if someone says “I am a Christian”, that statement in and of itself doesn’t hold a firm meaning, because there are so many “brands” of Christianity. You have to dig deeper, identify a creed: “exactly what do you believe?”

That’s why many churches have a “Statement of Faith”, so that people can know what they believe. Things like: We believe Jesus is the Son of God, and the He rose on the third day, that the bible IS the inerrant word of God, etc, etc. Things that should be common understanding for a New Testament church.

When you think about it, it is ludicrous that we would even have to have such a document. It shows just how apostate the church has become.

In essence, I believe that in the parable of the tares, Jesus is:

… talking about the danger of institutionalizing His Church
… talking about the danger of having hidden sin – agendas, personal gain, corruption in His Church
… talking about people that seem to be in the Kingdom (the church), but are not really His people
… telling us that there is an adversary that comes against the Kingdom of God – that adversary is Satan.

He is telling us that our enemy will try and destroy the church from within.

But it also tells us this: We don’t have to worry or get upset about it. We don’t have to try and “root out the tares”. See the parable explains that trying to root out the tares before the harvest will damage the wheat. It tells us that going on witch-hunts and trying to identify the ‘posers’ and remove them will only hurt the church.
No – the separation of the wheat and the tares – the true church from the imposters – will be done by the angels at the end of this age.
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Matt 25:31-43
"When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. 32 All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. 33 And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. 34 Then the King will say to those on His right hand, 'Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:

41 "Then He will also say to those on the left hand, 'Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels: 42 for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; 43 I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.'
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The bible also tells me to “not judge”:

"Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Luke 6:37

The bible also tells me that we are to love one another:

By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another." John 13:35

In other words – it means that I am to love God, fulfill my personal purpose, and not worry too much about the tares – God will sort them out!

But… the parable also tells me that there will come a time where God will separate the wheat from the tares, the sheep from the goats. What will be the determining factor? How many good deeds? How many sins? How many times you went to church, or prayed, or gave money?

No – NONE of those things will determine whether someone goes into the kingdom – it is not a ‘weighing of good or bad”, but a separation of those who are God’s from those who are not. The determining factor will be “are you a wheat, or a tare?”

In other words – what is your identity? Are you of Gods children? Have you placed your faith in Jesus Christ, accepted Him as the Messiah, made Him YOUR King? If you have, then Jesus’ sacrifice at the cross has become your sacrifice – His death has become your death – and His righteousness has become your righteousness.
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"There is none righteous, no, not one; Rom 3:10

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, Rom 3:23


8 But what does it say? "The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart" (that is, the word of faith which we preach): 9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. 11 For the Scripture says, "Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame." 12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. 13 For "whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved." Rom 10:8-13

Separating the Wheat from the Tares

Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father.  Matt 13:43

 

It’s that time of the year.  It’s time to prepare for battle, to arm ourselves, to get tough, to go to war.  Our opponent is tenacious; he spreads like wildfire, and is difficult to eradicate.  My plan is to prosecute a war with extreme prejudice.  But once I have achieved victory, and killed all of those weeds in my yard, I’ll have a beautiful green yard, all summer long!

 

The fact is, there are certain things that need to be weeded out or separated.

 

    * Buy a pineapple;  you cut out the core and the skin. 

    * When some food in your refrigerator gets that ‘fuzzy’ look, you toss it out.

 

We separate good from bad, the useful from useless, the working from broken.  The issue many people have is that they don’t want to accept the fact that one day God is going to separate the righteous from the lawless.  “How could a loving God send anyone to hell” they ask.  My response would be “how could He not?”  Do we really want the evil and lawlessness of this world following us into the Kingdom of God?  It would make heaven no better than earth, only we would be living forever in a corrupted place.

 

God’s plan is just the opposite:  He wants a reality for His people that will be uncorrupted.  A existence of beauty, love, and harmony.  A place where we, as God’s people, will shine forth as the sun.

 

In His Service,

 

Pastor Clay

 

What’s in a Parable?

Storytelling has existed since the beginning of time. People have used stories to pass on ancestry, traditions, and significant historical events. Story’s have been used to communicate thoughts, ideas, and moral and social codes. In ancient times stories were carved, scratched, painted, printed, or inked onto wood or bamboo, ivory, bones, pottery, clay tablets, skins (parchment), bark cloth; basically any material available. Stories have been written on paper, illustrated on canvass, and in modern times recorded on audio and video medium, and stored electronically in digital form.

Jesus often used a type of story called a parable. The word "parable" comes from the Greek word parabolē, which describes a fictive illustration in the form of a brief narrative, by which spiritual and moral matters might be conveyed.

The Parable of the Sower is a great example. Jesus used the parable to paint a word picture in our mind of a man sowing seeds in his field, throwing them all around. The seeds fall into different areas, land on different soil, and each soil type produces a different result for the planted seeds. In telling this parable, Jesus communicates a powerful message about God, about His word, about our lives, and about our ministry to others.

Join us Sunday as we look at begin our study of several parables Jesus used to communicate the principles of God’s Kingdom to us!

Moving Along

Man things are moving along with the youth building! Last week Zech and Jake finished the floors (thanks Jake - Immaculate Flooring!), and the concrete stain looks REALLY COOL! Today Dan and Robin came in and hung all the lighting, black track lighting with really cool heads - another sweet touch! And I started putting up the trim. The red mahogany looks really nice.

We are working hard for an April open. I really really really will put up some pics this week.

Clay

Cleaning Heart

"When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest, and finds none. Then he says, 'I will return to my house from which I came.' And when he comes, he finds it empty, swept, and put in order. Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first.
Matt 12:43-45

In this statement, Jesus hits us with something that we all tend to do: Cleaning up the outside.

How many times have you heard someone say “Man, I’ve got to clean up my act?” And then they’ll commit to stopping some habit, or they’ll decide to start doing a good deed. But when you check in with them a few months later, things are worse than ever!

What happened? That person focused on changing the outer person, without first changing the inner person. They took a broom, went through the house, swept everything clean, stood back and thought “great, everything looks clean!” But let me tell you, as the father of two young boys, one sweep does not clean the house! Ten minutes later the ‘twin-tornados’ come back through, and it looks like a bomb went off!

Jesus is telling us that we cannot just “clean house,” we have to “clean heart!” And there is only one way to a clean heart. It’s not a program, or a new regimen, or a new outlook: It is the person of Jesus Christ, who came not to “reform” but to “regenerate!”

PC

Just Awesome!

Wow - that's all I can say. Sunday was just - wow. God is doing a great work in our midst. People are being broken before the Lord, coming to repentance, the worship service was just anointed. I love God, and I love God's people.

PC

The Unpardonable Sin

Have you ever thought that something you did was so bad that God could never forgive you? Have you every wondered if you had done so many wrong things in your life, that they could never be righted?

If so, I have good news for you - God's grace and forgiveness is all-encompassing, and all-including! There is no sin against God, or His Son Jesus, or another person, that cannot be forgiven! When Jesus was on the cross, He said "It is finished", and He meant it!

But there is one sin that cannot be forgiven, the unpardonable sin, and that is the "blasphemy of the Holy Spirit." This particular sin confuses many people, and some wonder if they have somehow committed it, and thus condemned themselves to an eternity of damnation.

What is the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit? Join us Sunday, and together we'll explore this teaching of Jesus Christ.

Pastor Clay


In His Service,

Pastor Clay

Dont Rock the Boat!

For the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath." Matt 12:8

Ever know someone who always "rocks the boat?" There are some people who are always stirring things up!

We tend to have a negative opinion about that person, but there are times when it can be a good thing to rock the boat, to stir things up. A person that stirs things up in a positive way can also be noted as "an agent of change." When we are able to impart change to something that has gotten stale, something that has gotten 'off-track", then we are implementing "positive change."

That is exactly what Jesus was doing as His ministry progressed. Under the Pharisees, worship had become stale, routine, and legalistic. Jesus came and brought new life, new wine into old wineskins, if you will. But the Pharisees were not happy at all about this change.

Chapter 12 begins a new period in Jesus ministry, when the Pharisees began to actively oppose and plot against Him. And the first point of opposition was the Sabbath.

Join us Sunday as we explore the Sabbath, and the Lord of the Sabbath!

Pastor Clay

The Lead Sled

Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light." Matt 11:29-30

Ever feel like your pulling a lead sled? Through two-feet deep muck? In the dead of winter? I could go on, but you get where I am going!

There are times in our lives that we are ‘doing-doing-doing’, but nothing seems to get done. Times when we are ‘going-going-going’, but we just can’t seem to get anywhere.

Question: During those times, do you ever stop and ask yourself “why am I doing this?” Then, examine the answer. Why are you involved in this activity, or doing that project? Is it because you feel like you are ‘supposed to’, or someone ‘expects you to’, or even worse, you have no idea why you are doing it?

Then ask yourself this question: “Is this something that God wants me to do?” Here’s why: I have found that Jesus’ yoke is, you guessed it, easy. His burden is, right again, light. In other words, when God puts you on something, it’s not a drag. It’s not going to weigh you down. His plan for you is tailored specifically just for you – a perfect fit! That’s not to say there won’t be some effort required, and some diligence, but you wont find yourself behind the lead sled, in two feet of muck, in the dead of winter.

“But”, you might say, “what is my yoke?” Well, that is the cool thing, we get to seek Him for guidance, trust Him for direction, and allow Him to set our feet on this right path!

Blessings from Raleigh (where I am helping my mom with a few things this week), and I look forward to seeing you all on Sunday!


...till the whole world hears,

Pastor Clay

Trying to fit in

For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, 'He has a demon.'The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, 'Look, a glutton and a winebibber, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!' But wisdom is justified by her children." Matt 11:18-19

Sometimes it seems like you just cant win. No matter what you do, someone is there to point out how wrong you are.

For example, some people criticized John the Baptist. He dressed funny, he ate bugs, he was always talking about repenting. He just didn't fit in.

Jesus, on the other hand, did fit in - too well. He hung out with sinners, forgave a prostitute, He just spent too much time with the wrong people.

I suppose there are two lessons here:

1 - Be careful before you judge. Some people are different, but how do you think God see's them? Does God think they are weird? I beleive God see's past our weirdness, and He loves us for who we are!

2 - Be careful trying to please people. When you know what God wants you to do, DO IT! Don't worry about what people say. You will never please everyone, but there is one that you should always seek to please - God!

For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ. Gal 1:10

...till the whole world hears,

Pastor Clay

God's Reward System

"He who receives you receives Me, and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me. He who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet's reward. And he who receives a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man's reward. And whoever gives one of these little ones only a cup of cold water in the name of a disciple, assuredly, I say to you, he shall by no means lose his reward." Matt 10:40-42 NKJV

Do you ever worry that you will miss out on something?

Maybe you tried playing the lottery, and you didn't win anything. Perhaps you invested in some real estate, and now you are underwater. Maybe you feel you boss doesn't appreciate your efforts, and you may never make the salary you feel you deserve.

This life has it's ups and downs. We can have seasons where we are receiving, being blessed, and all is good! There are other times when we feel undervalued, unappreciated, and unrecognized!

Jesus is encouraging us to look beyond the rewards of this world, and instead focus on the rewards of His Kingdom!

Join us Sunday as we explore God's Reward System!

In His Service,

Pastor Clay

Real Life

Greetings Calvary Community!

Another week is closing out on us, a week that has been full of events! Most notably, we are watching the largest spending bill ever to be signed into law (for my particular take on this, visit my personal blog, clayritter.blogspot.com, which is completely personal and in no way connected to Calvary Chapel {disclaimer!}).

We live in a world where there is conflict between Democrats and Republicans, liberals and conservatives, but most of all between living for God, and living for self.

Jesus is clear - if we live for Him we will be in conflict with the world. The question we have to come to terms with is "Do I seek to please God, or myself?" For the most part, the people in our world seek to live for themselves. Jesus tells us to do the exact opposite, and by doing so we will in fact find that which we long for the most: A fulfilled life.

Join us Sunday morning for an in-depth look at Jesus teaching: He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it.


In His Service,

Pastor Clay

Ambassadors

Dear saints, this Sunday we’ll be looking at part two of our “Ambassador” series, Matthew chapter 10. Last week we saw how Jesus picked twelve men who were not special in any way, other than the fact that they were ‘empowered’ by Jesus for the work He called them to. I hope that you were able to see yourself somewhere in the mix of those twelve men. We don’t have to be specially educated, or particularly gifted, in order for God to use us in a mighty way! We only need to have a heart that says “I will follow you Lord,” and a willingness to seek Him for the power to minister. Each one of us can be effective Ambassadors for Christ if we’ll seek Him for the empowerment!

Looking forward to Sunday!

Pastor Clay

Sent Out

This Sunday we’ll move into a new time in Jesus ministry, He sends out the twelve to preach the gospel. It must have been an exciting time for the disciples. Having been personally taught by Christ, He now empowers them and sends them out to put into action the things He had taught them. As well, they were probably a little unsure of themselves. How would it go? Would people receive them? Would they be able to handle the situations?

In a similar way, it’s an exciting time for our church. Our society is in a time of trial and stress. People are searching for answers, and nervous about their future. And we, the disciples of Christ, have been entrusted and empowered to go out into this environment to preach the good news of the gospel! We bring a message of hope, of peace, and of promise! Like the disciples, we might feel a little unsure of ourselves. But like the disciples, we have the power of Jesus Christ, the empowerment of His Spirit. Let’s do like the disciples and step out in faith and obedience, and watch God work marvelous things!

Pastor Clay

Two Down!

Great News!

This past week we were able to get two more milestones behind us with the Youth Building: We passed our plumbing and mechanical rough-in inspections! That puts us closer to our goal of getting the building finished, and open for the youth!

In the next few weeks, we will begin scheduling "work days", as we'll have lots of things to get done: Insulation, sheet-rock, painting, etc!

We will also be holding "Building Fund Raisers" to get the remaining work funded.

God is moving in so many ways here at CCW: The Women's ministry, men, youth, worship, outreach; We are so blessed to be a part of what He is doing!

I look forward to seeing you all Sunday!
In His Service,

Pastor Clay

The end of the world as we know it!

Seeing the media reports these days, we are being warned at every turn; The "financial crisis," the "mortgage crisis," the "job crisis," the "global warming crisis," the "Israeli-Palestinian crisis," and today I even read that scientists believe a solar storm could wipe out our power grid of our world any day! You would think that its the end of the world as we know it!

OK, I am over-dramatizing, but if you think about it, we do exist in a world of uncertainties. We are buffeted by forces beyond our control. But there is one force, one power, that remains constant: God!

As we delve back into the gospel of Matthew, we will continue on our journey of studying the life of Jesus Christ, who came into a dying world to bring life. Jesus knew the struggle that we would face in a world tainted by sin. He came to proclaim the gospel of truth and life; That we can know life, abundant life, through trusting Him; That we can have eternal life, through placing our faith in Him; That He came to set us free, free to live!

Looking forward to seeing you all on Sunday!

In His Service,

Pastor Clay

A New Thing

So it is January 1st, 2009. A new year! It's a time that we look at our lives and take stock of ourselves. Common New Year’s resolutions are: to quit smoking, to stop drinking, to manage money better, exercise more, eat better, and spend more time with family. Sadly, most people never stick with their resolutions; Many exercise machines rust away in the shed after a few uses!

Many Christians make New Year’s resolutions to pray more, to read the Bible every day, and to attend church more regularly. These are great goals. However, these New Year’s resolutions fail just as often as the non-spiritual resolutions, because there is no power in a New Year’s resolution.

We, as God's people, would be better served seeking Him, praying and asking if there are things that He would have us to focus on, and ask Him to give us the power to change according to His purpose.

Even better, we could seek Him for direction for our new year: Are there new things God wants to do in and through us in this coming year? As I said Sunday, God is into "new things", new things that He will do in our lives and in our world. New things that will further His Kingdom, and draw people into His love.

I pray that this will be a fantastic "new year" for you, in the Lord, as He works in and through you!

Behold, I will do a new thing,now it shall spring forth; Shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. The beast of the field will honor Me, the jackals and the ostriches, Because I give waters in the wilderness and rivers in the desert, to give drink to My people, My chosen. This people I have formed for Myself; They shall declare My praise. Isa 43:19-21 NKJV

In His Service,

Pastor Clay

Worship the King

I read an interesting article this morning that noted a shift in the mindset of the American people from the gilded excess of the past, to a more frugal lifestyle. Seventy three percent of the people in one study noted that they were planning to curtail their Christmas spending.

I believe that there is a real ‘gut-check’ happening in our country, and people are beginning to come to terms with the reality that they cannot keep buying and buying, and go deeper and deeper into debt. While this may be a bad sign for the retail industry, I think it will have some positive affect out our society as a whole. The current economic situation is dire, and many people will be affected. But we must realize that God often uses these types of situations to draw our hearts back to Him.

Perhaps people will focus less on shopping for Christmas, and pay more attention to the things that really matter: Family, friends, helping those who are struggling, and recognizing the Person that Christmas is intended to recognize – our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

This Christmas, take time to be with those you love. Take time to be a blessing to someone who is hurting. Take time to worship the King, who was given to this world as a sign of God’s eternal and unconditional love for us. Worship the King!


...till the whole world hears,

Pastor Clay

What in the world is going on?

Greetings Saints in the Lord!

I have been intrigued at some of the events that have been taking place in the last few weeks. A big uproar in Seattle Washington over the Christmas display, a sitting governor accused of trying to sell a Senate Seat, world-wide recession, A $700 BILLION dollar bailout, with more of our money being ponied up to help someone (except you and I!). What in the world is going on?

I’ll tell you, the world stage is being set, things are happening right before our eyes, like birth pangs:

"Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, claiming, 'I am the Christ,' and will deceive many. 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. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. Matt 24:4-8, 14 (from New International Version)

Dear people, the world stage is being set for the inevitable return of the King! Let’s remember the real “reason for the season” – the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, the Lord!

Don’t forget that this Sunday is the last week to reach out and share the love of Christ with someone, the outreach to the Seamen’s Center, Calvary Gives Back (to the military), and our Christmas blessing.

Look forward to seeing you all Sunday!

...till the whole world hears,

Pastor Clay