How the bible is crazy accurate - Ezekiel 29

Earlier this year during our “Basics” series, I taught a message on the bible, and why we can trust it (listen HERE).  In that message, I noted that one of the key reasons we can trust the word of God is its predictive accuracy: Every prophecy given in the bible has come to pass with 100% accuracy!

Today I ran across two small prophecies related to Egypt, buried in the book of Ezekiel, that reminded me of what Jesus said, “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my word shall not pass away” (Matt 24:35).

The first prophecy is in Ezek 29:14-15:

I will restore the prosperity of Egypt and bring its people back to the land of Pathros in southern Egypt from which they came. But Egypt will remain an unimportant, minor kingdom. It will be the lowliest of all the nations, never again great enough to rise above its neighbors. Ezek 29-14-15

In this prophecy God is telling Ezekiel that He will use Nebuchadnezzar to crush Egypt, but after forty years He will bring the Egyptians back to their land, however “Egypt will remain an unimportant, minor kingdom.  It will be the lowliest of all the nations, never again great enough to rise above its neighbors.” This was spoken during a time when Egypt was a strong nation with a long history of being a mighty empire.  Today Egypt is still a country (just as God said), but she has never regained her previous glory and power.  With an economy in shambles, Egypt is one of the lowliest of nations in that region.

The other prophecy is contained in verse 21:

“And the day will come when I will cause the ancient glory of Israel to revive, and then, Ezekiel, your words will be respected. Then they will know that I am the Lord.”  Ezek 29:21

Think about it, Israel is once again nation, and it’s the strongest nation in that region (economically and militarily).  No one messes with Israel.  And what about Ezekiel’s words?  True to His promise, Ezekiel’s words are part of our bible today, the most widely printed and sold book in all of history.  His words are studied by scholars and laymen alike, and Ezekiel is held up as one of the major prophets in the bible.

Jesus was right:  “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my word shall not pass away” Matt 24:35

Pastor Clay

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

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

The Cost of Compromise

In 1 Samuel 11 we come to an interesting little side drama.  The tribes of Reuben, Gad and Manasseh had settled on the east side of the Jordan River 350 years earlier (Joshua 1).  This location left them at risk militarily, as they were somewhat separated from the other tribes. Sure enough, right after Saul becomes king, an Ammonite king by the name of Nahash, sets a siege against the city of Jabesh Gilead.  The people of Jabesh, not wanting to die, decided to make a deal. A compromise. They sent a message to Nahash, saying “We’ll serve you as slaves if you will let us live.” Nahash’s response was quick and to the point, “No problem, you can be my slaves, and I’ll let you live.  Oh, and you have to let me poke out the right eye of all your men.” Wow.  I doubt that was what the men of Jabesh had hoped for.

But this example makes me think of how important it is for us, God’s people, to never compromise with our enemy. Who is our enemy?  The world, the devil, and our flesh!

See we are faced with decisions every day of our lives. Some are big, some are small, but every decision has at least two paths. One is to do what is best and right in obedience to God and His word.  The other options are usually some form of compromise.  The God option often looks hard, and may affect something we want or desire.  The other options may seem easier, but may require us to compromise something in obedience to God and His word.  We may weigh those compromises, thinking “it won’t be that bad.”  Right. 

The fact of the matter is that there is always a price to pay for compromise. We may think it’s the ‘easier way’ but in fact that compromise will cost us more than we ever bargained for.  A pastor once told me “sin will take you farther than you wanted to go, keep you longer than you wanted to stay, and cost you more than you wanted to pay.”  Word.

When faced with a decision it’s important to remember that God does have a better way, we just have to come to the place in our life that we are willing to trust Him for that better way.

Join us Sunday for 1 Samuel 11, “The Cost of Compromise”.

… till the whole world hears,

Pastor Clay

Hiding

In 1 Samuel 10 we find Saul, having been chosen by God to be the first king of Israel, I would have to guess feeling a little bewildered.  I mean think about it:  One day he is out looking for some lost donkeys, and the next day the prophet Samuel is anointing him king of the nation. Things are happening fast! Saul is not only told he will be king, but Samuel also tells him some very specific and supernatural things that will happen to him on his way back home, then after seven days Samuel will come to him and give him further instruction.  Sure enough, everything that Samuel told Saul came to pass. 

Then comes the big day, when Samuel gathers all of the people to the town of Mizpah to present their new king. Of all the tribes of Israel, one man will be chosen.  The selection process begins: The tribe of Benjamin is selected, then the family of Matri, then from that family God singles out one man, Saul! But Saul is nowhere to be found, and when Samuel inquires to the Lord, God responds, “There he is, hiding among the equipment.” Not very king-like!

Why would Saul hide on what was surely the biggest day of his life?  

    Was it humility, not wanting the attention? 

    Was it self-doubt, not sure that he could live up to the challenge? 

    Or was it self-preservation, where Saul wasn’t really sure he wanted to follow this call of God on his life? 

Perhaps the bigger question is this:  What would Saul do when faced with the reality of God’s better plan for his life?  Would he embrace it, or would he run and hide from it?

Perhaps we should ask ourselves the same question. Since last week we discovered that God not only has a plan for our life, He has a plan that is better than anything that we could ever come up with, we now have a decision to make: Will we embrace Gods better plan, or will we run and hide from it?

Join us Sunday for 1 Samuel 10, “Hiding”

… till the whole world hears,

Pastor Clay

A Better Plan

Have you ever found yourself in a situation where you were looking for one thing, and found something else?  Something that was completely different? Something that was better? 

Sometimes in life we will go in a direction, or set off on a mission, and we think we know what we’re looking for, we think we know where we are going, but we come to find out that God has an altogether different plan. A better plan.

Some twenty-five years ago I went looking for something.  In 1985 I had just moved back home, and after I moved in my mom informed me that she thought I needed help!  So she gave me an ultimatum: Get some help for my “alleged” substance abuse problems, and I could live there. Now mind you, I didn’t think I needed any help, but apparently she thought I did, and if I wanted to crash at her house I was going to have to play by her rules. I had a pretty good job at the time, so I called our “Employee Assistance Hotline”, and told them I might, perhaps, drink a little too much, and could they recommend something for that.  They gave me another number to call, and within a few hours I was enrolled in some kind of program meeting ”thing” that I had to be at that next Tuesday night. So that evening I got the address, got in my truck and drove over to an office park, walked into this room full of people I didn’t know, where some guy named Woody was up front talking about getting sober or something, I really wasn’t paying much attention to Woody. My attention was focused on a cute little blond chick up on the front row that I felt like I really needed to introduce myself to.

Now I tell you this because on that day back in November of 1985 I thought I knew what I was looking for, I thought I knew what I was doing, I thought I knew where I was going.  But I came to find out that God had a completely and radically different plan for me, a better plan, and I really didn’t have a clue. It was several years before I was able to put together the pieces and begin to understand what God was doing in my life on that night in 1985.

In 1 Samuel chapter 9, we find a young man named Saul in a very similar situation. Saul is on a mission to find some lost donkeys, but he ends up finding out that God has a completely different plan for his life.  A better plan. Join us Sunday for the rest of the story!

…till the whole world hears,

Pastor Clay

I want it - NOW!

Have you ever had something that you really wanted? And as you pondered that thing, and thought about it, the desire became greater and greater.  And so you ask the Lord “Lord, give me _______. (fill in the blank)” Perhaps you had good intentions… 

“Lord if you give me this job, I’ll have more money to tithe with.”

“Lord if you’ll let us get this bigger house, we can use it to hold small groups in and minister to more people!”

“Lord if you’ll make her go out with me, I can win her to Jesus and we can serve you together!” 

"Lord it’s gonna be awesome!"

But tell me something; in those instances where God granted that wish, when He answered that prayer and gave you what you asked for, how many times did it work out well? I can tell you that many of my requests to God have turned out to be total duds. When I got what I thought I really wanted, it caused me more problems than I had bargained for.  

When we got that new job, it demanded so much of our time that it took us away from serving the Lord.   

When we got that big house we had to work so hard to keep it we never had time to hold small groups. 

When that girl or guy did go out with us, they ended up drawing us away from the Lord instead of us drawing them to God. 

See our problem is two-fold:

#1 We cannot see the future

#2 The desires of our flesh are often the driving force behind our motives.

But guess who can see the future?  Guess who is not affected by those desires?   If you guessed “God”, you guessed right on both accounts! We think we know what’s best for us, what we really need, but in reality we don’t have a clue what’s best for us.  And sometimes God will allow us to have what we want, so that we can see for ourselves that His way is always best. In 1^st Samuel chapter 8 we see God giving the nation of Israel exactly what they want, even though it’s not what’s best. 

 

It’s a hard thing to admit that we don’t know what’s best for us, but a wise person will accept the fact that God knows what is best in every situation, and that He always has our best interest at heart.

Join us Sunday as we continue our study of 1^st Samuel, chapter 8

... till the whole world hears,

Pastor Clay

For real?

I ran across this article today - for real?


Athiests and agnostics know more about religion according to new survey

to be sure, this doesn't apply to Calvary Chapel folk!  Do you guys know who Martin Luther was?

PC