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Posted January 31, 2025
THE “CHRISTIAN AGENDA” OR THE KINGDOM OF GOD?
Here’s the choice we face, as believers in North America:
Am I pursuing the Christian Agenda?
Or am I pursuing the Kingdom of God?
Why a choice? you say. Is not the Christian Agenda the same as the Kingdom of God? Are not the leaders of our Biblical Christian faith making clear the demands of God’s Kingdom in this pagan world? After all, the Christian Agenda makes a lot of sense.
Are we not to hold life sacred?
Are we not to guard the sanctity of marriage?
Isn’t it important to make sure that Christian values are written into the laws of the land?
And if it becomes necessary to compromise with the dark powers to achieve these goals, surely God understands. God is blessing our efforts abundantly these days. Christian values are on the rise in Washington and across the continent. True, there is a resurgence of “faith” in many places. Huge assemblies of believers are popping up in cities from coast to coast. Christian TV and radio and publishing are thriving. The Christian Agenda is having an impact.
But does the Christian Agenda manifest the Kingdom of God?
Does it truly reflect the gospel of Jesus?
Is it producing men and women who are crucified with Christ, dead to themselves and alive to the Father’s will?
WHERE THE CHRISTIAN AGENDA AND THE KINGDOM OF GOD PART WAYS
1. Power
It all comes down to power. What kind of power drives us? What kind of power do we rely on as we make our way through this troubled world?
There are only two kinds of power, as far as the Kingdom of God is concerned:
The power of this world, and the power of the cross.
According to scripture, the power of this world—money, the sword, political influence, etc. — is spiritually tainted, because it thrives on deceit.
And we know where deceit comes from.
The power of the cross, by contrast, never deceives, is always true.
The power of the cross pierces the darkness of this world with Light.
Jesus kept his distance from the powers of this world, as he spread the gospel of the Kingdom. Again, and again Jesus ignored this world’s movers and shakers.
When they tried to get Jesus to flee from Herod’s sword, he defied the threat and called Herod a fox.
When they sought to trap Jesus into a conflict with Caesar, he replied, “Give Caesar what is Caesar’s and God what is God’s.”
Yet, wrapped in apparent weakness, Jesus exercised unspeakable power.
The Spirit of God moved through his hands to heal the sick, open blind eyes, set captive minds free from demonic oppression.
By this power Jesus forgave sinners and raised the dead.
And this power, the power of the cross, flowing through the Holy Spirit, was the only gift Jesus passed on to his followers, as he returned to the Father.
But here’s a truth that professing Christians have overlooked down through the centuries:
The power of the cross never allies itself with the power of this world.
The power of the cross spurns political influence, rejects those short-cuts to success which Satan relentlessly offers us. Jesus never turns to Caesar or Herod or Wall Street to help his cause. He solved that issue in his wilderness temptation once-and-for-all.
You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve.
2. Money
“You cannot serve God and Mammon.”
Can you picture Jesus standing before those multitudes appealing for funds?
Do we ever hear him promising prosperity to those who give him their “seed money”?
Did he ever send his disciple out to “raise support for the work”?
Jesus and the disciples had to buy food, pay for lodging, give financial help to the needy along the way. But we never hear him asking for money. Jesus practiced what he preached.
“Seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be yours as well.”
Jesus did not ignore money. In fact, Jesus insists that we are to be faithful to God in the way we use money.
“If you have not been found faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will entrust to you the true riches?”
Money was Jesus’ servant; never his master. Nor was money ever the source of a moment’s anxiety.
By comparison, the Christian Agenda is all too often advanced and sustained by money. Money becomes the Master, while we pay lip service to God.
“If we had more money, we could do more good.” Hence the constant fund-raising, making money the engine that keeps the work going. So how does all this square with the Master’s warning?
“You cannot serve God and Mammon.”
3. Celebrity Leadership
Does our Christian Agenda come from Jesus? Or has this agenda been created by the celebrity leadership of the Christian world in North America?
A handful of high-profile leaders in the Christian world wield overwhelming influence over the minds of millions of believers. We listen and conform because these leaders are, after all, highly respected. Why shouldn’t we listen and conform?
But our Lord counsels us to beware— and think!
He holds us accountable when we allow our faith to be molded by Christian leaders with an agenda—an agenda which clearly deviates from our Lord’s gospel of the Kingdom.
“You shall know them by their fruits.”
4. Hierarchy
The Lord Jesus commands us to avoid hierarchies and titles.
“But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all brethren. And call no man your father on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven. Neither be called masters, for you have one master, the Christ. He who is greatest among you shall be your servant; whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.”
Never mind the fact that for centuries and centuries our churches have been controlled by hierarchies. Even churches which claim to be free of clergy have often slipped into some form of top-down control.
But the Kingdom of God can only function with power from heaven when the “CEO and board of directors” mentality gives way to a lowly servant-leadership.
Our Lord repeated this truth again and again, yet it has been largely ignored.
5. The Kingdom
“The time is fulfilled; the kingdom of God is at hand! Repent, and believe the good news!”
From the day Jesus stepped out of the wilderness and spoke those words, he never deviated from his one focus: The Kingdom of God.
All his parables, all his teachings were one relentless call to leave this world and its ways behind, and enter God’s Kingdom.
God’s Kingdom, God’s World….
Where God’s will is done as it is done in heaven.
Where Truth conquers lies.
Where Resurrection Life conquers death.
Where the Lamb’s blood conquers sin.
The Kingdom is not a set of doctrines we subscribe to.
The Kingdom is not a tightly controlled organization with headquarters in Brooklyn, New York.
The Kingdom is a life we live under the power of the cross.
And this life is made clear, and made possible by only one person: our Lord Jesus. The Kingdom belongs to God alone.
The Kingdom which Jesus opens to us as we soak up the New Testament gospels, is far simpler and cleaner than our “Christian Values” and “Christian Agendas” and “Christian Programs.”
If we take the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5, 6, and 7) or the Kingdom Parables (Matthew 13) or Jesus’ Upper Room Discourse, (John 13-17), we cannot miss the difference in tone and spirit from the “Christian Agenda” presently advanced by today’s evangelical leadership.
Our Lord warns us: we’re not all going to make it into the Kingdom.
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the Kingdom of Heaven, but he/she who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.”
So where is my heart?
If my heart is in the Kingdom of God,
I am an alien and an exile in this world.
I am in this world, but no longer of this world.
Just as surely as I cannot serve God and Mammon at the same time, I cannot belong to God’s Kingdom and this world at the same time.
We thank God for teachers and servant leaders who strive to help us walk the walk of discipleship.
But our Lord Jesus makes clear that each of us is responsible to weigh what’s being taught against his simple call to follow him all the way.
All the way to a cross. His cross, and ours.
The Narrow Door, which leads to life in God’s Kingdom
Prayer: Merciful Lord, bring us back to your Kingdom. Forgive us for our agendas, vendettas, and attitudes which lead us away from your Kingdom. Open our eyes and hearts when we veer from following you, when we forget what you teach us, when we forget the lives you call us to. Open our ears and minds to recognize lies and deception, especially when it comes from Christian leaders. Help us to stop grasping for power and change through worldly leaders and laws. And yes, help us to reject and spurn these shortcuts continuously offered by Satan. Instead, may we grasp the power available to us if we would but embrace it, the power of your cross. A power that brings the change we desire in supernatural, holy ways. A power that brings healing, life, redemption, and freedom from darkness and pain. A power that brings your Spirit, your presence to the lost. Help us to keep our faith in you, to trust you…instead of celebrity, money, and hierarchy. Help us to think, to see, and to discern when these are leading us away from your gospel. Instead, may we follow you, follow you all the way…allowing nothing to deviate us from pursuing you, from pursuing your Kingdom and finding that narrow door that leads to heavenly life for us and for those whom we touch. Amen.
Message: Richard E. Bieber 2018 Sharable/Printable Copy
Featured Artists: Courtesy and kindness of Melani Pyke Website: melpyke.com
#ChristianAgenda #KingdomOfGod #Expect #WaitingForSomeoneToAsk # #MelaniPykeArt
Posted January 24, 2025
WAITING FOR SOMEONE TO ASK
“Where two or three are gathered in my name, there I am in the midst of them.”
…..How we love to quote those words of Jesus. Especially when the numbers are down. “It’s just us few, but Jesus is here.”
Is he? Do we really believe he’s here with us, or are we trying to console ourselves?
If we are truly gathered in Jesus’ name during these blessed times of fellowship, and if Jesus is actually in our midst in the power of his Spirit, shouldn’t there be some evidence?
If Jesus is really with us, is it too much to expect something to happen?
Something redemptive.
Something supernatural.
Something that sends us forth from the assembly….
….strengthened, empowered, knowing that we have seen Light; we have heard from heaven.
In Jesus’ flesh-and-blood ministry everywhere he went things happened.
The boat is about to sink in the storm. He says, “Peace be still!” The storm’s over.
The crowd has been with him so long they’ve run out of food. He takes five little loaves and two fish, gives thanks, and feeds them all.
Blind Bartimaeus hears a crowd moving by. “What’s going on?” Next thing you know, this blind man sees for the first time in his life.
The wedding feast is falling on its face. People are leaving because there’s no more wine. Suddenly, gallons and gallons of wine. The feast is restored.
But notice, in every case someone besides Jesus triggers it.
“Lord save us, we’re perishing!” Then he calms the storm.
“Lord, dismiss the crowd. Let them go out and buy food.” Then he feeds them.
“Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Then Bartimaeus receives his sight.
“They have no wine.” Then the wedding feast is restored.
Always someone triggers it.
Someone asks.
Some cry of need is raised.
Then he acts.
On the other hand, we are told that when Jesus was in Nazareth, his home town, he could do no mighty work there because of their unbelief. Nobody in Nazareth expected anything from this man. “After all, we’ve seen him grow up. He’s nothing special!”
So nothing happened. The atmosphere of unbelief was so strong that he didn’t do anything except to take a few sick folks aside and heal them.
So if we are in Jesus’ name, and he is in our midst, yet nobody expects anything to happen, nothing does happen.
If there’s…. no urgency, no cry of need, no expectation….
Then we have another lovely service. When it’s over we smile at each other, shake hands and go home to lunch.
If Jesus is in fact among us in our assembly, surely he expects—and we ought to expect—more to happen than that!
We ought to leave the assembly like those disciples left the wedding feast at Cana….
….stirred, awed, empowered with renewed faith!
This act in Cana of Galilee was the first sign Jesus gave, the first glimpse of his glory. And his disciples believed in him. (John 2:11)
Jesus and the disciples are at the wedding feast to celebrate with the bride and groom. Jesus didn’t bring a sermon in his back pocket in case they asked him to preach. He was there like any other guest, to wish the couple well.
…..Until Mary comes along and says, “They have no wine.”
“O Woman, what have you to do with me? My hour has not yet come!”
She ignores his protest and turns to the servants. “Whatever he tells you to do, do it.” And you can just picture her marching off into the kitchen like a good Jewish Mom, confident that her son will take care of things. She doesn’t know how, but she knows that he’s going to come through!
“Okay,” says Jesus, “Fill the water jars with water.” Six stone jars are there, capacity, 20 –30 gallons, for the Jewish rite of purification. So they fill the jars. “Now draw some out and take it to the steward of the feast.” Suddenly it’s not just wine, but the best wine this guy ever tasted! A sign that Israel’s wedding feast is about to be revived by this man.
A sign for the eyes of the disciples alone.
They see glory. They are awed. Their faith is revived.
….All because one woman triggers it with a request. You could almost say a demand.
It was because….
Mary asked. Mary expected. Mary believed.
And Jesus made it happen.
He opened the window of the Father’s kingdom, and suddenly this world’s water becomes the wine of heaven.
This same Jesus is in our midst every time we gather in his name. All it takes is two or three men and women of faith mixed in the multitude, and he’s with us. But like the wedding feast at Cana, nothing happens until somebody comes along and triggers it by asking.
Here are three things we have to learn to do every time we gather. If we will do these three things as we come together, we will see signs of the Kingdom—things the Lord himself will do among us that will amaze us, that will stir our faith.
So along with our thanksgiving and praises, when we gather for worship…
- We need to come asking.
- We need to come expecting.
- We need to come believing.
Asking
Come indeed with thanksgiving and praise in your heart for God’s unspeakable mercy, but don’t be afraid to ask!
You have a health problem? Bring it!
You’re worried about your child? Bring that.
You’re in a financial crunch? Bring that.
Some personal issue? Bring that.
You desperately need renewal in the Holy Spirit? Bring that.
Bring it to the Lord. Lay it before him. Speak it.
Or perhaps, like Mary, you’re concerned about the “wedding feast” of your own assembly. You want to see your congregation thrive and grow in the Spirit, and even in numbers. Come with that request as the cry of your heart.
“O, but doesn’t the Lord have more important things to deal with than my little requests? What right do I have to burden him with these things?”
True, we don’t have any rights. We don’t have any claim based on our worthiness. But we do have his clear command and his promise.
Ask and you shall receive.
If you ask anything in my name, I will do it.
Nothing happened in Nazareth because nobody was asking.
Something wonderful happened in Cana because one woman asked.
Start with whatever burdens your heart and ask.
Expecting
Secondly, even while you are giving thanks and praise to God in the assembly….
Come near to the Lord expecting.
Expect that this thing you are asking him to do for you will be done. Because he hears you. Because he loves you, struggling saint (like the rest of us) that you are. What good does it do to say, “Lord help me!” and then mumble to yourself, “But I really don’t think he will.” Which is what most of us do.
Expect! Expect, not because you’re worthy, but because he’s good!
Mary expected. Jesus didn’t give her much encouragement—“Woman, what have you to do with me, my hour has not yet come!”—She didn’t see anything or hear anything to give her hope. But she knew his heart. She firmly expected that he would do something to save this faltering feast.
Who knows how he’s going to answer your cry? Just leave it with him and expect that he will take the need which you laid at his feet and do something with it.
Believing
And finally, while you’re giving thanks and praise to God for his goodness, believe!
Believe that this thing you asked for is now in God’s hands.
It’s taken care of.
Believe enough to start giving thanks for the answer, even though you still see nothing.
Mary didn’t see anything to encourage her. That didn’t stop her. “Whatever he tells you to do, do it,” says Mary to the servants. She believes in spite of his protest and walks off into the kitchen.
Follow her example. Walk out of the assembly believing that the cry of your heart, which you have expressed, has already been answered in heaven.
Here’s a question people are beginning to ask themselves in ever greater numbers: What’s the point of going to church, if nothing significant ever happens there? Why bother? So folks are drifting away. Countless young adults in our society haven’t a clue about what can happen, what should happen, what will happen, when the Lord Jesus is at the wedding feast.
All it takes is someone to trigger it….
Someone to ask, to expect, to believe.
Don’t blame the other folks if nothing happens in your assembly. Bring your need, the one that’s uppermost in your heart—for yourself, for your child, for more life in the assembly—you name it.
Bring it to the Lord and ask.
Expect him to answer.
Believe that it’s done.
And start giving thanks.
A prayer:
Lord Jesus, we want to repent of our “theoretical faith” that never really believes anything. We want to become children before you. Each of us in the Body brings to you a need, a cry for help. We lay it before you. Cause our wedding feast to come to life as you manifest your glory to each of us, by answering our cry in whatever way you choose. Amen. (REB)
Prayer: Yes Lord, we believe in your power, we believe in your goodness, we believe in your mercy. We believe you can take care of our needs, our concerns, our fears, and our hopes. We bring them to you now. We speak them before you. And Lord, we expect that you will answer our cries for help. And we also expect that your answer will be so perfect, so glorious that we will know that it was you, only you who could answer our prayers in such a way. We want to be awed by your glory, by your power, and by your mercy. And Lord, we ask that your miraculous hand bring unbelievers, doubters, and the lost to their knees in awe as well. Amen.
Message: Richard E. Bieber (2007 Nova Scotia sermon) Sharable/Printable Copy
Featured Artists: Courtesy of Sophia Murphy (on Facebook) and Jenny Allio Website: jennyallio.com
#Ask #Believe #Expect #WaitingForSomeoneToAsk #SophiaMurphyArt #JennyAllioArt
Posted December 31, 2024
DIVINE COURAGE
Be strong.
Be courageous.
Be of good courage.
A dominant thought for many this new year is “I sure hope next year will be better than last year”. For some people this past year was a tough year and for others it was a wonderful year. For the ones for whom it was a tough year, some of these overwhelming, difficult things that happened to them were beyond their control. If the company they’re working for downsizes or goes overseas, or if a loved one died, or if their car broke down, or if somebody close got very sick. These are things which we really don’t have to have regrets about because we didn’t have any control over their occurrence.
But the things in our past that cause us problems, even now, are those things of which we had some control. Along the road we travel, at certain points a door would be opened by the hand of God himself, a door of opportunity. And God would not only open the door but cause us to see through that door to the other side, wonderful things.
-A new way to deal with a problem.
-The possibility of a prayer life that’s much richer than we now have.
-The elimination of an attitude from our lives.
-Some wonderful and new change that we could make.
And the Lord says,
“go in and take it, it’s yours”.
Many times as we stood before that open door, we thought about it and longed to go through, and we weighed the cost to go through that door.
– “I have to let go of this, I have to let go of that
– I have to get rid of this attitude.
– I have to make this and that change in my life”.
And many times, after thinking it over …. we would simply move on, deciding to return to the door at a more convenient time. After we traveled a mile or two, we decided to go back and return only to discover that when we returned, the door of opportunity was now shut.
It’s important for us to remember that whenever God opens a door of opportunity for us with his hand, it remains open only for a period of time and then that door goes shut. And if we don’t go through it when it’s open, we’re out of luck.
Towards the end of his ministry, Jesus stands on the brow of the hill, looking down over the city of Jerusalem and weeps for Jerusalem and speaks to it and says,
“How I wish today that you of all people would understand the way to peace. But now it is too late, and peace is hidden from your eyes. Before long your enemies will build ramparts against your walls and encircle you and close in on you from every side. They will crush you into the ground, and your children with you. Your enemies will not leave a single stone in place, because you did not recognize it when God visited you.” (Luke 19:42-44)
The door was open and they didn’t go through.
The people of Israel are camped on the very borders of the promised land. The God of Israel opens the door and shows it to them and says
“There it is, it’s yours”.
And they look through that door across the Jordan River and they see a land flowing with milk and honey. A Beautiful land. Ah, but there are also giants in there, walled cities, armies. And they grow fearful. And as they stand before that open door hesitating, wrestling with their own fear…time ticks by.
Now remember this is the same God who brought these same people across the sea out of Egypt….
Fed them with manna from heaven;
Gave them water out of the rock;
Guided them with a pillar of fire at night, a cloud in the daytime;
Gave them the law from Sinai.
The same God who blessed them and blessed them and blessed them.
But now as they stand on the very edge of the purpose of this journey, and God says, “go in through the door which I’ve opened for you”, they hesitate.
And when they finally make up their minds to go through…
…. It’s too late. The door is closed.
And the people of Israel wander around the wilderness for 40 years while that generation dies off and the little ones that they worried about being massacred in this invasion, grow up. Forty years pass, God opens the door again and says
“there it is, it’s yours go in and take it”.
After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, the Lord said to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ assistant, “Moses my servant is dead. Now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, into the land that I am giving to them, to the people of Israel. Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given to you, just as I promised to Moses. From the wilderness and this Lebanon as far as the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites to the Great Sea toward the going down of the sun shall be your territory. No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you or forsake you. Be strong and courageous, for you shall cause this people to inherit the land that I swore to their fathers to give them. Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to do according to all the law that Moses my servant commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success wherever you go. This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” (Joshua 1:1-9)
Be strong.
Be courageous.
Be of good courage.
And this time they go in and they take the land. Now what’s the difference between the first time he opens the door and the second time?
Have the Israelites become stronger? No!
Have the Giants shrunk in size? No!
Have the walled cities fallen apart, No!
The only difference is that the first time they stood before the open door and shrank with fear. And the second time they stood before the open door and they waxed strong in courage. Courage from God himself.
And it was that courage that took them through.
Whenever God opens a door… to go through the door involves risk, change, disruption. Something that requires on our part some kind of courage.
And if we don’t exercise the courage and live in that courage…. we don’t walk through it.
Now, as we stand at the beginning of a new year and look down through into this year, not really able to see what’s going to happen, the most significant and wonderful thing is not that we’re beginning another calendar year, but that for us at this specific time, and in this specific place …. the same God who opened the door for the Israelites…
…. opens the door for us.
You’re not reading this by accident. God has something particular, something specific for you today. And it’s important for you to see that the door he opens for you now is a door that will be open for a season, which the length of only God knows.
The Blessings of Going Through the Door
This door that’s open to us will bring us into three very specific blessings if we walk through the door.
A Life Lived in the Presence of God
First, it’s a door that brings us into a relationship with God. …. An experience of his presence far more real and consistent than any practicing the presence of God we have ever known up to now.
A Unity with each other in love.
Secondly, walking through this door will bring us into a unity with each other in love…. far more real, genuine, lasting, true…. than any kind of unity we have ever known.
A Place of Fruitfulness
And thirdly, going through this door will bring us into a place of fruitfulness, effectiveness in serving God… Much more powerful and abundant than we have ever experienced up to now.
But to go through this door… takes courage.
Since then, we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens. Jesus, the son of God, let us hold fast our confession, for we have not a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sinning….
Let us then with confidence, draw near to the throne of grace, that we may have received mercy and find grace to help in time of need (Hebrews 4:14-16 )
Let us then with confidence, boldness, courage draw near to the throne of Grace.
Our relationship with God is lived in one of three places in the layout of the temple.
The Outer Court
The Holy Place
Behind the Veil…the Holy of Holies
The Outer Court
For many of us, we’ve been spending most of our lives in the outer court. Which means that we have been religious. We go through the routines of religion. We go to church, we believe in the right set of doctrines, we repeat the right prayers, we listen to the right preachers, and associate with the right people. Acting the right way and behaving religiously…. But we have no living, burning, sense of the presence of God in our daily life.
The Holy Place
Then perhaps we have moments when we move up from the courtyard into the holy place where the lampstand and the showbread are. There we get some glimmer of life, some sense of God, some thirst for him, and we comprehend a word here and there that whets our appetite, but we’re still outside the presence of God in our actual daily living.
Behind the Veil
Then there’s this thick veil. Behind the thick veil is the Holy of Holies where the spirit of God hovers over the mercy seat, where the presence of God dwells among his people, Israel.
A Life Lived in the Presence of God
But now God says to us, “I’ve opened the veil. I sent my son, He cut through that thing. I want you to come into my presence, the door is open. I want you to live and dwell in in my presence 24 hours a day”.
Now, many of us feel that that’s what we’ve always wanted. “If only I could really walk with God and talk with God the way the prophets did, in the way Jesus did.” And we’re waiting for an angel to come and take us by the hand and do it for us, or seeing a great vision, or hearing bells ring. But even if an angel comes, or a vision, or bells ring, or whatever…. it’s still going to be necessary for us to go through the door. It doesn’t just happen for us, there are things that we have to take initiative in.
This is one of them. We get up in the morning, go into our prayer closet, shut the door, and cry out, “Lord, I need you today. I have to have your presence. Draw near to me, I don’t know what I’m going to do if you don’t”. That’s a good prayer.
But many times, if we’ll only be quiet enough, we’ll hear God saying. “I’m already here. I’ve already come to you. Now I want you to draw near to me. The door is open, I want you to practice my presence”.
And to do that….
…. to live in the presence of God all the time requires courage.
Because to live in the presence of God all the time means that we can’t drag those attitudes around with us, and we can’t fool around with these habits that drain us of our vision, and we can’t forever be wasting our time.
We have to let go.
Are we willing to?
A Unity with each other in love.
Secondly, the door that God opens for us is a door that will take us into a unity with each other that’s absolutely gorgeous, beyond anything we’ve ever, ever imagined.
A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another. (John 13:34)
Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. (1 John 4:7-8)
We’ve all dreamed about the ideal church. “If I could only find people that I feel compatible with, people that I could truly join myself to then how wonderful it would be and I could function in a New Testament church”. And the Lord says, “well, what about these people?” And we say, “wait a minute Lord, you don’t really mean these people here?”
When a person gets married they don’t marry the first one that comes along. They wait for the right one. But even after they’ve met the right one, the biggest part is to make a commitment. You got the right one now are you willing to go through the door and commit yourself to this person for the rest of your life, to accept this person the way he or she is, to stick with them
Now, it may be that God would call us to other places as the years pass and some of us may be in the Soviet Union, in Mexico, or Canada, or who knows where? But for now, wherever you are, if you’re going to find unity… that is where you start.
And unity, the unity of love is a matter of walking through a door, committing yourself to these people, and sticking with them?
Accepting them, honoring them, loving them, serving them, working with them.
They belong to you and you belong to them. You leave your independence and you join yourself to them with your will.
You commit yourself to them.
But to do that and to really do it and to practice it day after day, and week after week, takes courage.
A Place of Fruitfulness
Finally, the Lord opens for us today a door into a fruitfulness beyond anything we’ve ever imagined. Tremendous fruitfulness.
Peter- Peter was a fisherman and he’d been fishing all his life. But he never saw a catch like this before.
Getting into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, he asked him to put out a little from the land. And he sat down and taught the people from the boat. And when he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” And Simon answered, “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.” And when they had done this, they enclosed a large number of fish, and their nets were breaking. They signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. (Luke 5:3-7)
Peter never saw anything like it before. It was the sign of the beginning of a totally new life. A ministry beyond anything he ever dreamed of. And then he went out and he lowered his net into the sea of this world and drew people into the Kingdom.
The woman at the well- The woman at the well knew a lot of men. She’d been married five times and was living with number six. She had a very great gift for attracting men. But this woman had no idea that she would be used by God to draw men to the Messiah.
Just then his disciples came back. They marveled that he was talking with a woman, but no one said, “What do you seek?” or, “Why are you talking with her?” So the woman left her water jar and went away into town and said to the people, “Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?” They went out of the town and were coming to him. (John 4:27-30)
The door that is being opened for us at this time involves fruit, being able to draw people to Jesus. Not by the ones and the twos, but by the dozens, perhaps by the hundreds.
Not getting them into a particular church building.
But getting them into the Kingdom.
And this is being offered to us now.
The door is open. Go in and take it.
But again to do that requires courage. But it works because we know that if we’re going to go out and mingle with the multitudes of this world, and really identify with them, and be one with them, and open our mouths, and say what’s on our hearts, and manifest the love of God.
It is going to require an exposure of our lives…. in a way we have been unwilling so far to do.
It’s going to involve risk ….
It’s going to take courage.
So where do we get the courage to go through this door?
God spoke to Joshua and he said to Joshua.
“Be strong and of good courage.
Be not afraid.
Neither be dismayed for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go”.
Joshua knew that when he crossed the Jordan River there was going to be trouble.
There are going to be battles.
There are going to be difficulties.
His own people are going to get mad at him.
He’s going to be in the squeeze a thousand times.
But it won’t matter because Joshua now has come to that place where he has the courage of God.
Divine courage is nothing other than to have your heart inwardly at rest in God.
If the heart is inwardly at rest in God, storms can rage around us, all kinds of things can go wrong but we can keep right on going.
For many of us, it’s the other way around; outwardly we’re lethargic, we’re dull, we’re half asleep most of the time. But inwardly, we’re restless, we’re at war, we’re going fifteen directions at once, we’re afraid and angry, and in conflict and bitter. Our hearts never settle down.
The courage of God is to put that in reverse and to let the heart come to rest.
If the heart comes to rest in God, settles in God…. then come what may, when things can go wrong, we can act decisively and keep moving
Our Lord from the time of his baptism and his temptation lived in a battleground. The whole life that he lived was a battle from that point on. And every time things got hairy; He knew what to do. He went to his Father. He found rest in his Father. He got apart and drew strength.
Before he faced the cross, he goes into the Garden of Gethsemane and he gets this thing settled with his Father. He sweats blood, but he gets it settled. And when it’s settled he gets up from his knees and says “all right, here they are”. The mob comes and takes him and he conquers Satan, death, hell, and sin.
Now he wants to give us that rest today.
“Come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest”.
“Come to me”.
And you say? “Well, I’ve got all my life, I know it by heart, I’ve come, and I’ve come, I’ve come fifteen times and nothing ever happened. But you haven’t got there, you haven’t got there until you begin to experience rest. And the answer is, you gotta keep coming. Don’t quit. If you quit, you’re not serious.
You keep coming and keep coming to him anyway.
You come until your heart begins to find that rest he promises.
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me,
for I am meek and lowly of heart and you will find rest for your souls,
This isn’t just an evangelistic appeal, this is for everybody, believer and seeker.
Believers in Jesus whose hearts are all messed up with anxiety and fear, with vanity, bitterness, and resentment can’t have the courage of God to go through that door. Nor can the seekers….
….until our hearts come to center on him.
And now as he opens that door and invites us to come in, into union with God, into union with each other, and into a life of fruitfulness.
“Come, he says, I’ll give you the courage, if you’ll come to me”.
May God help us to respond to that in whatever way is meaningful to us. But if we’re going to walk through the door and seize the opportunity and make the most of it while the door is open, it’s going to take courage. So, he says to each of us now each according to her place or his place
“Come to me all you who labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and lowly of heart and you will find rest for your souls”.
And in that rest, you will take courage.
And by that courage, you’ll walk through the door.
Let’s Pray:
Lord God, the doors that we pass by in our lives, the doors that we ignore, the doors we’ve hesitated and stood before for so long, in conflict with ourselves. We put them all behind us and we trust them to your mercy and grace.
But now as we stand at the beginning of this year, as we stand before the door you’re holding for us now, we beseech you, Lord God to so deal with us so that will give up our trifling with holy things, and our hesitating with things that are of eternal significance and enable us to begin to move.
We pray Lord, as the door opens upon us, that you would help us to respond to your command to be strong and of good courage.
We pray that your spirit would help us as we hear the call of Jesus to draw near, to respond until we begin to find that rest and to not be at peace until in anything we do, until we find that rest. Help us Lord God to begin to move and to act this day. We ask it in Jesus’ name.
Prayer: Yes Lord, give us the divine courage to open our hearts wider to you than we ever have in this new year, to embrace your presence like we have never done before. What a gift you offer us, to have your very presence, your rest, your strength, your peace, your comfort as we face uncertain tomorrow’s. Thank you, thank you. May we accept your blessings and never let go. Amen.
Message: Richard E. Bieber January 2, 1983. Sharable/Printable Copy
Link to the 1983 audio of this sermon
Featured Artists: Courtesy of Gwen Meharg from her now deleted website drawneartogod Website: Her newer website which features her newer abstract art gwenmehargart.com
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Posted December 24, 2024
HIS BIRTH IN US
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my Word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.” (Isaiah 55: 8-11)
When the Eternal Word takes on human flesh…, it prospers in the things to which God sends it, and accomplishes that which he purposes — in ways that are higher than our ways.
For example, if we were preparing for God to visit this world in visible form — let’s say we were put on a “committee” to prepare for his arrival to this planet — surely we would plan it as a reception for a king.
We would build him a palace.
We’d invite the nations’ top leaders to come and welcome God Incarnate to this earth.
There would be special clearance for television crews, reporters, while the world’s best-known saints would be given seats of honor for the occasion.
If in some way the whole world were convinced that God is about to come, wouldn’t there be a scramble! The preparations would make the Olympic games look primitive. Church dignitaries would not be far behind the politicians falling over themselves, rolling out the red carpet.
No wonder it’s so hard for us to grasp what happened in Bethlehem!
Because, when God chooses to enter the human race, He comes in a way directly opposite of anything we could imagine.
He comes, not as a celebrity, but as a baby — a baby born in a cow barn.
This baby grows up and remains poor all his life —
meek, utterly simple.
No king ever invites this man to his palace.
No government ever sends ambassadors to pay their respects.
He heals the sick, casts out demons, feeds the hungry, raises the dead, speaks words such as no human mouth has ever spoken.
The demons know who he is, the wind and the waves obey him,
….but no human being has any conception of who this man is, none, except those who are poor in spirit.
No man, no woman feels the power of the mighty Word who has become flesh, except those who are willing to do what he did….
…to become babes.
For unless you turn and become as children you will in no wise enter the kingdom of heaven.
In order to enter the kingdom of heaven we have to find the door, Jesus, and we can only find that door when we become poor in spirit, child-like, receptive, teachable.
For your thoughts are not my thoughts, neither are your ways my ways says the Lord.
For us to be able to absorb those high thoughts of God, to truly enter into the ways of the Holy One, we have to do what the Incarnate Word did — we have to go down.
We have to humble ourselves — empty ourselves of our presumed glory, and become babes.
Judas (not Iscariot) said to him, “Lord, how is it that you will manifest yourself to us, and not to the world?” Jesus answered him, “If a man loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.” (John 14:22-23)
If we humble ourselves, love him, trust him enough to keep his Word, this child who was born in Bethlehem
….will be born in us….
….and everything that Jesus is at this moment before the Father in glory…everything he is before the angels in heaven…everything he is before the demons….
….he becomes in us.
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given and the government shall be upon his shoulders. And his name shall be called Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. (Isaiah 9:6)
When we humble ourselves, and love him, trusting him enough to keep his Word….
….this baby is born in us ….
….and the government of our lives is on his shoulders, and his name in us…. becomes Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
The Wonderful Counsellor in us:
He makes his home with us, He becomes in us the Wonderful Counsellor –
If a man (or woman) loves me he will keep my word, my father will love him (her), and we will come to him and make our home with him.
John 14:23b
He counsels us with the counsel of heaven,
He guides us with wisdom that is not our own,
He leads us in ways that are higher than our ways,
He gives us thoughts that are higher than our thoughts.
Perhaps I’m inclined to do something foolish — to spend money on something I don’t need, when my children are going hungry. Or I’m tempted to do something that gratifies my vanity. Of course, the Wonderful Counsellor in me, checks me — warns me. But I go right ahead and do this foolish thing. Soon the Wonderful Counsellor within me brings me under conviction.
I find no peace until I repent and come back to him.
Once again I become child-like, teachable.
In this way I am guided by the indwelling Christ into ways that are not my own.
Before long his Word coming from my mouth does not return empty but accomplishes that which He purposes and prospers into things in which He sends it.
His Word that comes from my mouth: does not return to empty, but accomplishes what He desires and achieves the purpose for which He sends it.”
The Mighty God in us:
When this child is born in us, he lives in us as the Mighty God.
If a man/woman loves me, they will keep my word, and my father will love them and we will come and make our home there.
He makes his home in us as the Mighty God,
so that….
-the might,
-the power,
– and the strength that is in him….
…. perfects itself in our weakness.
I am no longer driven by my fear of men, or by anxiety about tomorrow, or by my worry about what is going to happen next.
In a way that is beyond my comprehension….
I am given love, power, and a sound mind….
….For the Mighty God lives in me!
For God has not given us a spirit of fear but of love and power and of a sound mind.
II Timothy 1:7
As the Mighty God begins to move in us, live in us, and direct us….
…..the chains of Satan are broken…
…..the gates of death yield to our advance.
The Word of God in our mouth does not return empty, but accomplishes that which He desires and achieves the purpose for which He sends it.
The Everlasting Father in us:
When this child is born in us, the Everlasting Father lives in the temple of our bodies.
If a man loves me he will keep my words and my father will love him/her and we will come and make our home with him.
He makes his home in us as the Everlasting Father. When the Lord dwells in us, the Father dwells in us.
Our Father who art in heaven hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come…
We’re not only asking for the kingdom at the end of the age, we’re also asking for the kingdom of God to come and dwell in us now.
Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
When the Everlasting Father is given freedom to move in us….
When we yield to his direction….
….the lost sheep are brought home, the sick are healed, the discouraged are lifted up…
….by means of the healing that flows through us.
The Word of God in our mouth does not return empty, but accomplishes that which He desires and achieves the purpose for which He sends it.
When this child is born in us, he lives in us as the Prince of Peace.
The Prince of Peace in us:
He makes his home in us as the Prince of Peace.
If a man loves me he will keep my word, my father will love him and we will come and make our home in her… in him.
He says “Peace, be still!” to that storm raging inside our hearts, and there is calm.
Through us, He begins to spread peace to others.
From within us — He rebukes Satan, commands him to leave. Satan the divider of the brethren, the accuser of the brethren — is driven from the assembly, and there is peace.
The Word of God in our mouth does not return empty, but accomplishes that which He desires and achieves the purpose for which He sends it. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways says the lord. But as the heavens are higher than the earth so are my thoughts higher than your thoughts, and my ways higher than your ways.
Yes, to enter into these high ways of the Living God,
We have to go down —
We have to empty ourselves of ourselves.
We have to descend to a place lower than we have ever been.
We have to humble ourselves, and become children before God.
If we love him, trust him enough to act on the light he gives us even as we read these words…
He will be born in us afresh.
He will live in us….
-as the Wonderful Counsellor,
-as the Mighty God,
-as the Everlasting Father,
-as the Prince of Peace.
And of the increase of His government in us, and of His peace in us there will be no end.
Open yourself to receiving this Christmas present from God.
Open your heart — He will give you the best gift of all —
He will give you himself.
And He will live in you as the Wonderful Counsellor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.
Prayer: Lord, you promise us that your word will not return empty. That you will accomplish what you desire and purpose. And you have promised that your Kingdom will be born in us, that you will live in us. May we open ourselves to your promises, to your love. May we go down, let go, and allow You, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father to enter us. May we choose to be guided continuously by you, Wonderful Counsellor. May we still ourselves and allow your peace to permeate us and flow from us, Prince of Peace. And yes, yes, open our hearts so we can receive your most precious gift to us, You Lord, beautiful, wonderful, You. Amen.
Message: Richard E. Bieber 1983 Christmas Sermon
Sharable/Printable Copy
Link to the 1983 audio of this sermon
Featured Artists: Wayne Pascall Website: waynepascallart.com
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Posted November 1, 2024
STRENGTH WITHIN … FOR WHAT’S NEXT
“….I will put my law within them, and I will write it upon their hearts; and I will be their God and they shall be my people. And no longer shall each man teach his neighbor and each his brother saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest….“
Jeremiah 31
With the election over and the dust settling on a weary nation, millions will be searching looking for meaning amid the absurd events which are disrupting their lives on every level. Political discord and social upheavals batter our weary nation.
Prices out of control
The collapse of the middle class
Bitterness over the lost and broken lives
The trillions wasted on funding wars around the world
People will be searching the Internet, the news, tic toc, You tube, social media to offer solutions…for answers that make sense, that feed the soul.
They will be searching for a “prophecy” which gives them hope.
We have heard considerable talk in religious circles in recent years of what is supposed to be a reliable “prophecy”: that soon there will be a “born-again, Spirit-baptized President” in the White House, who will turn the nation to better things. Some feel that this prophecy has already been fulfilled. Others are looking for further evidence of spiritual power to flow from the White House, either from the man (woman?) who is soon to arrive, or from one of his successors.
Here is a prophecy which won’t be so popular. Time alone will tell which prophecy is correct.
Perhaps in a coming election, a man comes to power in this land who appears to be everybody’s dream. He claims to know God and to be filled with God’s Spirit.
The nation responds with enthusiasm to this President.
“We’ve had enough crime!” says the leader. “Amen!” And amazingly, crime recedes.
“We’ve had enough unemployment!” “Amen'” Imaginative new projects open and soon every one is working.
Patriotism surges. Mass rallies are held from one end of the country to the other, and wherever the President comes to address them, the people cheer and raise their hands in salute. The President goes on weekly television-30 minutes a week–and everything in the land stops while the beloved leader addresses his people.
Everyone is so grateful for this new order, this wonderful sense of national purpose that they fail to notice that every dissenting voice is strangely silenced. A newspaper takes a stand against certain policies of the President. In three days that newspaper is shut down. Midnight arrests begin to occur at the homes of people considered uncooperative.
By the time the nation wakes up to the fact that it has been taken over by a “Democratic Dictatorship,” it’s too late. Secret police are everywhere. Our Saturday and Sunday gatherings are now visited by informers who report every evidence of disloyalty. Speaker after speaker is taken off to jail as inconspicuously as possible.
Farfetched? Unless there is a swift and genuine cleansing of the spirit of this land, such things are inevitable.
And the very ones who should be the salt of the earth to preserve this land from the now-spreading spiritual rot, represent the growing edge of the disease. I’m talking about large numbers of religious folks … “believers” who, without realizing what they’re doing are giving up the control of their minds and spirits to other men, letting their wills be ruled from outside.
It is bad enough that the general populace is letting its values be warped, its sense of reality twisted by the mind-manipulators who sell makeup, mouthwash, cars and beer.
But such things are tame compared to the mass hypnosis which is practiced at those giant gatherings of “believers” which have become so popular.
It doesn’t matter whether it’s thirty thousand in a huge arena or a handful of unstable people playing with spiritual fire in someone’s living room. When the leader tells the people to raise their hands, and every hand goes up, when he commands them to say “Amen” every three minutes during his talk, and they respond, this man is teaching their wills to submit to his command.
Whatever experience they have—spiritual or emotional—is going to be tied to him.
And unless by the grace of God they quickly make the transfer from this leader to Jesus, they will be in bondage for a long time. Perhaps forever.
They are on their way to bondage of mind and soul.
Is it not true that many of us are far more dependent on people around us for our sense of purpose than on the Spirit of God within us?
I don’t operate this way!” you may say. But if you depend on people around you for your strength instead of the Spirit of God within you, your life will be directed from outside by men and women, by your favorite human idol, instead of from the inside by God.
Yes we are to bear one another’s burdens, encourage, exhort, rebuke, speak to one another in psalms, hymns and spiritual songs, and not neglect assembling together. But we are to do these things as people who are being directed from within…. by God’s Spirit.
If your life is directed from within by God, you will never blame your spiritual condition on those around you……
“No wonder I’m dry, I’m not getting fed!
My brothers and sisters don’t love me as they should!
My husband is a slob!”
If you’re dry, it’s because the spring within your heart has been neglected.
Because the gift which is within you has been allowed to stagnate.
And the only one who can get that spring flowing again is you—-by presenting your inner soul, your heart to the only One who is able to touch it with healing. Jesus.
I will put my law within them and I will write it upon their hearts
“…..that according to the wealth of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in the inner person, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith…..” (Ephesians 3)
Jesus of Nazareth talked to large numbers of people at certain times. He fed five thousand. Who could count the number of healings which occurred as those thirsty multitudes drew near seeking life?
But Jesus made clear that when it comes to following Him, you do it as an individual.
If any man (or woman) thirsts, let him come to me and drink.
If any man (or woman) would come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross and follow me.
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me…
And when people make the choice of their own free, uncoerced will—-to become His disciples, the Master deals with them as individuals…. Always!
“I am the vine, you are the branches.”
Connection with the divine is an inner thing.
You Pharisees are so careful to clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside you are filthy—full of greed and wickedness! Fools! Didn’t God make the inside as well as the outside? So clean the inside by giving gifts to the poor, and you will be clean all over. (Luke 11)
Then if anyone tells you, ‘Look, here is the Messiah,’ or ‘There he is,’ don’t believe it. For false messiahs and false prophets will rise up and perform great signs and wonders so as to deceive, if possible, even God’s chosen ones… (Matthew 24)
Don’t go out into the wilderness or into the secret chambers. Don’t turn to leaders, the media, the Internet.
The God your heart thirsts for is right where you are!
The Spirit who will open your eyes to see your Messiah and know Him afresh… is closer to you than the air you breathe.
And the only one who can open the door of your heart so that He will enter afresh..is you.
no preacher can do it
no evangelist
no spiritual heavy
no exorcist can do it
I pray that according to the wealth of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in the inner person.
The prayer is being prayed for you by believers on both sides of the grave. Nor is there any question about God’s desire to answer that prayer.
But will you let God strengthen you with power by His Spirit in the inner person?
It will never happen as long as we draw all our strength from Brother So-and-So or Sister So-and-So. “Oh, I don’t know how I could make it without Brother So-and-So to show me the way!”
Nor will we ever be strengthened with might by God’s Spirit as long as we sit around blaming other people for our problems.
A blame-filled heart is a prayerless heart.
And a prayerless heart is a barren heart.
Nor will we ever be strengthened with might by God’s Spirit in the inner person as long as we insist on taking things into our own hands.
Aaron took things into his own hands when he made the golden calf. If he had waited on God he would have been given help to deal with the unruly mob.
Saul took things into his own hands when Samuel delayed to come and offer the sacrifices in Gilgal. Saul offered the sacrifices, which he had no authority to do.
When the pressure increases we are always tempted to resort to our old ways, to run to our old unreal escapes.
We need to wait for the only strength which can hold us in the storms…
…the Spirit of God.
And if we stop and turn our hearts to the living God, wait upon Him and ask, the Spirit will come.
He has been promised. There is no such thing as asking and not receiving. Line up your heart with the prayer which the Church in glory now prays for you, “Lord, that I might be strengthened with might by your Spirit in the inner man,” and it will be done.
I pray….. “That Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith”
This prayer is being prayed for you right now. The answer is sent by God to the very door of your heart. Will you say, “Yes”?
Many of us have wanted Jesus as a kind of traveling companion, someone for company along the road.
But to dwell in our hearts?
The only way we will ever know His companionship and His mercy and love is…
…if we let Him dwell in our hearts.
And He will dwell in our hearts only through faith…
If we believe Him.
If we listen to the things He is trying to tell us.
If we trust the things He has already told us.
If we obey Him.
As many as received him, as believed on His name, to them He gave power to become sons of God…..
He who believes in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live…..
This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent.
Countless men and women down through the centuries have said, “Believe in me!” and left behind them a trail of ruined lives. Whole nations have placed their implicit trust into the hands of some unstable man with a swollen ego and a silver tongue.
The only man in all creation who has the right to say, “Believe in me,” is the Lamb who laid down His life for this wayward race. Those who have put their trust in Jesus and not in some warped doctrine or some grandiose dream have remained sound and whole through all storms.
No man can do your believing for you. No angel.
You have to do it for yourself.
The truth you seek is knocking at the door of your inmost heart,
but you have to open the door of your heart and say, “Lord, come in.”
If you do this afresh,
Jesus will indeed come into your heart and be your strength within.
“Now to him who by the power at work within us is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, for ever and ever. Amen”
And because you have strength within, no storm outside will ever blow you around.
And from within, out of your heart will come rivers of living waters…
…. to bless those around you.
Prayer: Lord, we want to believe only you, we want to listen to only you, we want to trust only you and we want to obey only you. We want living water to flow out of us to bless others. But we have been misled. Jesus, rescue us from the forces we’ve made ourselves vulnerable to…. in the name of our own security, in the quest for power. Instead give us the vision and the desire to draw our strength from within, from what you have given our inner selves. If we don’t have the strength that you offer us, we ask for it now. Be our strength. We open the door of our inmost heart to you, precious Lord. Come in, come in. Amen.
Message: Richard E. Bieber A sermon from 1976. Dick updated and edited this sermon in 2003, 2008 and 2012. This is a compilation.
Sharable/Printable Copy
Link to the 1976 audio of this sermon
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11/24 Don’t They Appreciate Me
10/27 Desperation
10/20 A Voice In the Wilderness (2009)
10/20 A Voice In the Wilderness (Date?)
10/13 Interpreting the Present Time
9/22 I Myself Will Be the Shepherd of My Sheep
9/8 Children or Men?