“Getting Excited Part 4”

Isaiah 66:18–19a ¹⁸“For I know their works and their thoughts, and the time is coming to gather all nations and tongues. And they shall come and shall see my glory, ¹⁹and I will set a sign among them. And from them I will send survivors to the nations, to Tarshish, Pul, and Lud, who draw the bow, to Tubal and Javan, to the coastlands afar off, that have not heard my fame or seen my glory.

          We have put a lot of thought and work into our festival, “The Gift of Peace.”  God knows of our thoughts and why we thought them, He also knows our works and the cheer we felt as we did them.  Sometimes the labor is hard and takes us out of our comfort zone or our daily routine.  Biblically we can consider Abraham, Joseph, the Prophets and Moses. They too had thoughts and they were not always as positive as God would have liked them to be.  However, each of these historic people saw some of the fruits of their labor and gave glory to God for what they saw and what was yet to happen.

          We might not see all of the fruits of our labors, but we will see more fruits as we continue to labor towards God’s commission we read in Matthew 28:18-20.  It is looking at the little things along the way that allows you to see the fruits of your labor. This is easy to see in the life of Joseph. There might be set backs on the way, however if you look close enough you will see the gains.  Abraham, Joseph, The Prophets, and Moses saw little gains and they were excited to see these gains.

          I know that I have seen a lot of these little gains throughout my life when I look back at where I’ve been.  I see these little gains continuously every day as well as I realize what God is showing me.  My excitement grows as God shows me what gains He has lead me to be a part of.  We can all grow in our excitement as God is showing all of us the little gains happening all around us every step God takes with us and we take with Him.

Isaiah 66:19b–20 And they shall declare my glory among the nations. ²⁰And they shall bring all your brothers from all the nations as an offering to the Lord, on horses and in chariots and in litters and on mules and on dromedaries, to my holy mountain Jerusalem, says the Lord, just as the Israelites bring their grain offering in a clean vessel to the house of the Lord.

          Along with every little gain follows a larger gain and this larger gain is filled with pure excitement as it also is made up of pure joy.  When we get excited over the little things, we can give God the glory and in return God will build your excitement.  God wants you experience the excitement that He provides, especially when it comes from His Glory, because it brings excitement to Him as well.

          Just think about as we reach out to all of our brothers in mankind to let them know we care, these brothers get excited to see this care.  This excitement grows as we all feed off from God’s word, His promises, and especially as we realize how he works His gift of salvation for us.

          Isaiah 66:21–23 ²¹And some of them also I will take for priests and for Levites, says the Lord.

²²“For as the new heavens and the new earth

that I make shall remain before me, says the Lord,

so shall your offspring and your name remain.

²³From new moon to new moon,

and from Sabbath to Sabbath,

all flesh shall come to worship before me,

declares the Lord.

          These verses we just listened to should bring us great excitement.  Here God tells us that we have something to look forward to, that not only will there be a new heaven and a new earth but they will remain.  That is, God is making us something that will not fade, or disappear, or be destroyed, but something to remain for all eternity.  This comes from the words of our Lord that we read in John 3:16-17.  God gave us His Son to save us not to condemn us.

          Jesus Christ chose to die for those whom God calls His own, and we are all His own.  Jesus chose to die so that we could have eternal life.  And in this new and exciting time looking forward to the new heavens and earth; we will not only live in this place but have an eternal exciting relationship with our God. Amen.

Written by: Pastor Curtis A. May

“Getting Excited Part 3, By Faith”

Jeremiah 23:16 ¹⁶Thus says the Lord of hosts: “Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you, filling you with vain hopes. They speak visions of their own minds, not from the mouth of the Lord. ¹⁷They say continually to those who despise the word of the Lord, ‘It shall be well with you’; and to everyone who stubbornly follows his own heart, they say, ‘No disaster shall come upon you.’”

            We live in a world that is being taken over by Hollywood through actors and actresses who played a role of a smart person, or some great politician, or an airline pilot.  We are allowing our world to be changed by role models that think because they played a wise and great person in a movie they too are great and wise and become philosophers and profits in their own mind.  These people play a make believe scenario of life and now are convincing people they are life’s experts.  And, for what?  So they can justify their own sin by convincing you if they do it, it is ok for you too.  

Hebrews 12:3 ³Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted.

Jeremiah 23:17-18 ¹⁷They say continually to those who despise the word of the Lord, ‘It shall be well with you’; and to everyone who stubbornly follows his own heart, they say, ‘No disaster shall come upon you.’”

            ¹⁸For who among them has stood in the council of the Lord

to see and to hear his word,

or who has paid attention to his word and listened?

            At one time in the history of mankind, actors and actresses were look down upon as people who were too lazy to work.  Don’t misunderstand me, there is a lot of work in their business however acting a part of Moses is not the same as being Moses, nor does it make you an expert on Moses.  You see these people and others count on your faith being little to none.  The false prophets of our time want to take advantage of your human nature, and obscure your sinful nature to make it look all good.  Where is your faith and how easy are you trapped by the unknowledgeable?

            Faith in God described, is to believe in what you have been told by God will happen even if you cannot see it before it happens.  What faith is not is doing it yourself because you’re afraid that it won’t get done otherwise.  In the book of Hebrews chapter 11 the author writes a list of examples of faith.

Hebrews 11:17–31 ¹⁷By faith Abraham, offered up Isaac his only son, Abraham considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead,  (all of the “By Faiths” is paraphrased)

²⁰By faith Isaac invoked future blessings on Jacob and Esau.

²¹By faith Jacob, when dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph,

²²By faith Joseph, at life’s end made mention of the

            Each of these people did not see the promise given by God in their life time, yet they still had faith in God’s promises.  Their faith comes from believing that God will fulfill all of His promises in heaven and in the new earth, and in the new Jerusalem to come.

²³By faith Moses, when born, was hidden for three months by his parents, because they saw the child was beautiful, and were not afraid of the king’s edict.

²⁴By faith Moses, refused to be the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, ²⁵choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. ²⁶He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward.

²⁷By faith Moses left Egypt, not being afraid of the king, as he endured seeing him who is invisible.

²⁸By faith Moses kept the Passover and sprinkled the blood, so that the Destroyer of the firstborn might not touch them.

²⁹By faith the people crossed the Red Sea as if on dry land,

            Though Moses and the Hebrews with Him did not see the promised land, their offspring’s did.  Though the promised land on earth did not welcome them, they are all being welcomed into the promised land of God’s kingdom of heaven.

³⁰By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after encircled 7 days.

³¹By faith Rahab the prostitute did not perish with the disobedient, because she had given a friendly welcome to the spies.

            By faith we come to worship the one who is not seen

By faith we believe that Jesus Christ died for our sins.

By faith we read and study the word of God and take it as the inerrant and inspired word of God.

By faith we believe that our baptism in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, cleanses us from all sins and assure our name to be written in the book of life.

By faith we believe that when we take the bread and wine with the word of God that we are taking Jesus Christ’s true body and blood.

By faith we, help our neighbor and forgive one another.

By faith we have the courage to step out of our comfort zone and know that God’s will for us to succeed is real.

By faith we know that our little church congregation can give the gift of peace and that we might be part of the heart of God.

Hebrews 12:1–3 ¹Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, ²looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

            By faith Jesus Christ endured the pain, suffering and humility to the cross, and died on that cross trusting that He did not die in vain.  So then, by Christ we have been given faith, for God keeps all of His promises and has promised His Son that this act of grace and mercy needed to be accomplished to save His fallen and misplaced children.  We are misplaced through our sin, that is, we are separated from God.  However God through Christ Jesus bought us back denying deaths hold on us by giving us mercy as we deserve death.  And God gives us eternal life, a grace we do not deserve, He washes us and clothes us to be perfect with the blood of the one who is perfect Jesus Christ our Lord.  By faith we can be excited in that we have a God who loves us into eternal life and relationship with Him.  Amen.

“Getting Excited Part 2 Giving by Faith”

Luke 12:22–23 ²²And he said to his disciples, “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on. ²³For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing.

            Rusty notices us getting ready; he sees all the signs and usually figures out that Anita and I are going somewhere.  You know when Rusty has figured out that we are going somewhere especially when he runs to the door leading to the cars and waits nose pointing to the edge of the door where it will open.  Then comes the let down, those sad puppy eyes stare up at you as you try to explain it will be to hot or to cold in the car and we would not be able to take him in with us when we get to where ever we are going. 

It takes Anita half the trip to get over seeing Rusty standing there at the door feeling rejected, froze in his tracks and looking like he’s ready to give out big puppy tears.  And then…, we come home Rusty is waiting at the door wagging his tail, jumping up and down for joy so glad to see us that you wonder if he really was sad that he couldn’t come along.  Of course Rusty is expecting a plastic bag to grab out of our hands and tear open to find a new toy just for him.  And if we don’t have the bag, Rusty runs to his toy box grabs an old toy, one or two days old, and brings it to us so we can chase him around as he plays keep away with us, he usually wins. 

Rusty seems to be excited to be with us and wants to be with us all the time.  So his sadness, when we have to leave him behind, is just temporary and short lived at least until we come back home.  It never ceases to amaze me, Rusty finds ways to keep excited about our return, whether we bring him a new toy or not.  Rusty is very much a part of our lives and he wants us to be very much a part of his life too.  Maybe that is why a dog is God spelled backwards.  Dogs are an example of the will of God in the form of wagging tail.

Hebrews 11:1–4 ¹Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. ²For by it the people of old received their commendation. ³By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.

⁴By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts. And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks.

By faith Rusty knows he will be fed, loved, and cared for even when it doesn’t quite go his way.  Abel had a faith like that and gave to God by his faith.  Rusty doesn’t wag is tail because he feels he has to, Rusty wags his tail because he wants to show his excitement to be with us.  Cain felt he had to give; Abel was able to give by true faith and love.  Dogs don’t give out blind love, but they give out genuine forgiving love.  I have seen dogs turn on masters who continually abused them.  James says he will show you his faith by his works.  Works come from having faith in that God will provide the way to succeed in His will.

Matthew 7:16-17 ¹⁶ You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? ¹⁷ So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit.

            Thus the difference between the giving of Abel and Cain.  Abel gave unselfishly by faith and love and was excited about it.  While Cain selfishly gave and felt it was something he had to do and lacked in faith and love.

Hebrews 11:5–6 ⁵By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death, and he was not found, because God had taken him. Now before he was taken he was commended as having pleased God. ⁶And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.

Our Faith can be strongest in that we through the word of God know we have a God who loves us.  We know that God loves us because He has given us His word written and through His promises that are written for us God shows His love too.  We can be assured of our Lord’s sincerity is genuine as He has worked Himself to death to give us the assurance of our salvation.  Our Lord shows His love for us by dying on a cross to pay for our adoption so that we too can be the children of God.  This is why we seek after Him, that He has made us His forever.

Hebrews 11:13–16 ¹⁴For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. ¹⁵If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. ¹⁶But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.

            What a gift to be given at the door of our new home, life eternal, paid with great love so great that He did not count it as a sacrifice but He counted it as love.  Jesus Christ our savior, the one whom we can have faith in that our hopes to have eternal life and relationship with Him is assured through His works and by His faith in the Father.

Luke 12:22–34 ³²“Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. ³³Sell your possessions, and give to the needy. Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. ³⁴For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

            Our treasure is Jesus Christ, His heart is with us so that our heart can be with Him.  It would be worth having a tail to wag just to show the excitement that our Lord grows in us each day we ponder on the salvation he has given to all, wanting for all, perfecting for all.  Amen.

Written by Pastor Curtis May

“Getting Excited In Christ Part 1”

Colossians 3:1–4 ¹If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. ²Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. ³For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. ⁴When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

          Why are you not excited about your life with Christ?  The answer could be as simple as this; your focus is on the here and the now.  We are asking, “Where am I in the scheme of life?”  “How close am I to the rich man’s life?”  Or, “have I provided enough for myself to live a leisurely vacation for the rest of my life?” Well, leisure and vacations are nice, no work, no worry, just enjoy. 

Vacations are the simple life of leisure that lasts for a week or two, or if you can afford it maybe a month.  And then, it’s over; we scurry back to our life of humdrum thoughts of wishing our life were like a vacation all the time.  Of course we know that if life was always a vacation we’d soon want something more, and who does not want more?  No, we’re not excited about our life with Christ because we are too busy being worried about making this life exciting or our life to be heaven here and now.

Luke 12:16b–20 ^1b6 “The land of a rich man produced plentifully, ¹⁷and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ ¹⁸And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. ¹⁹And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.’ ²⁰But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’

          Where were we?  Not that I am trying to continue a conversation that I forgot where I had left off.  Rather I am asking, where were we, when we first started together as a congregation struggling to survive and wanting to grow? 

          This is an experiment you can try and it really works so I’m told.  This experiment might tell us about ourselves and where we were and where we can go. 

Take a 16oz. mason jar and put some live fleas in it.  You might have to stop the flea treatments you give your pets, take off their flea caller, or just see if your husband has some in his beard.  A full beard might produce more fleas; I’m not sure about foo-man-chooes or goatees.  Well, once you have the fleas in the jar screw the top on the jar so the fleas don’t escape and go back to where you found them. 

Now comes the exciting part, watch your captive audience as they try to jump out of the jar.  You will notice that the fleas will jump and bounce off the top of the jar’s lid.  Ouch, that’ll leave a mark.  As they continue to jump and hit the lid with their tiny little heads, they realize that they cannot go any further.  The fleas lose heart and they start to jump to only 3/4s of the way up the jar.  After awhile all of the fleas get used to the idea it is only safe at the 3/4s mark and they all succumb to that height of jumping. 

          Now comes the interesting part.  When someone comes along and takes the lid off the jar, what do you think happens to our little fleas?  Well one thing is for sure they don’t flee as you might expect.  Our free fleas though free to flee continue to only jump 3/4s of the way up the jar they have gotten used to living in.  They have been trained to a comfort zone of 3/4s and less of what they had before when they could have jumped out of the uncovered jar.

The fleas don’t get excited that they are fleas free to flee their captivity.  They don’t get excited because they are still living in their here and now.  They are captives of their comfort zone, and fear being free to flee their flea bitten captivity.

          Luke 12:21 ²¹So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”

          Our lives they come and go in the flash of time, and when you think of eternity, our life is not even a blink of an eye; nor is the time our planet has existed.  The sadness we might face here and now will not even be a measurable fleeing flea bitten moment. In fact when you stop and really think about it, our life here and now is a mixture of sad and happy.  And if we have had happiness at all regardless of our sadness there is a joy waiting for us that is an eternity and our time of sadness was the least of all.  And Christ perfects all our eternal joy and happiness.

          A student from Africa once asked me why we wear such ornate crosses.  He went on to say that it was the instrument that took away our savior in such a bloody way, and we wear it as an ornate decoration.  It took me some time to think this through, but I eventually answered him.  It is true that our Christ died a terrible death on the cross, shedding His blood for all of us.  The true instrument that killed our savior is our sin and not the cross.  The ornate designs of the crosses we wear signify the contrast of what happened on the cross.  Jesus who was perfect died to give us the sinner a life of pure joy and not this life but our life with Him when He comes to take us all to the place He has prepared for us. 

          John 14:1-4 ¹ “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. ² In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? ³ And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. ⁴ And you know the way to where I am going.”

          I’m excited for Christ, even though I am a sinner He has assured my life eternal and gives me freedom to flee the captivity of sin and have an eternal relationship with Him forever and ever, Amen.  And this He does for you too.  Christ is building that excitement in you too. Amen.

Written by: Pastor Curtis A. May