Sunday, August 30, 2020

Good News

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The Sacred Scriptures were inspired by the Holy Spirit, preserved by the hand of God, and passed down through the centuries from generation to generation. The two primary divisions of these Holy Scriptures, the Old Testament, and the New Testament, fuse together to tell one story, it is the story of the redemption of mankind from the power of sin. 

The word Testament means Covenant or agreement. The Old Testament covers thousands of years and was sealed, or guaranteed, by the blood of sacrificed animals. The Prophet Jeremiah foretold a day when God would make a New Covenant which would be written in the hearts of His people. This New Testament, God said, would include eternal forgiveness and He would remember their sins no more. (Jeremiah 31:31ff)

The Old Covenant judged sin in the life of sinners. The New Covenant has the power to separate sinners from their sin. The Old Covenant was fulfilled in the sinless life of Jesus Christ and the New Testament was sealed by His perfect atoning blood. God’s promise to create a new and eternal covenant with man is available now to any person who believes this Good News. If a person believes they can receive Jesus into their heart by faith. (Romans 10:9ff & Ephesians 2:8ff) Salvation is free to all who call on the name of Jesus. 

The message of the Gospel is simple. God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son and whoever believes in Him will not perish but will receive eternal life. (John 3:16) This is the message the Apostle Peter preached everywhere he went, even when he journeyed to the ancient city of Babylon along the Euphrates.

It was from Babylon in about the year AD63 or 64 that Peter, in the last few years of his life, sat down to write a letter to people living in what is now modern-day Turkey, who had accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.

The world was in chaos in those days and Believers in Jesus were the new target of world leaders. Even Emperor Nero, leader of the Roman Empire, began to persecute Christians, arrest leaders of the Church, and make it illegal for people to congregate to worship Jesus and share the Gospel of Christ with others. The two great needs of that day were the same two great needs we see in the midst of the chaos of our world today.

The First Need: Proclaim the Good News about Jesus to the whole world.

The Second Need: Inspire and encourage every Born-Again Believer with the eternal message of the New Covenant Gospel.

Let’s read from the letter God inspired Peter to write for us today.

1 Peter 1 NLT

1 ¶  This letter is from Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ.

I am writing to God’s chosen people who are living as foreigners in the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia.

2  God the Father knew you and chose you long ago, and his Spirit has made you holy. As a result, you have obeyed Him and have been cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ.

May God give you more and more grace and peace.

3 ¶  All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is by his great mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live with great expectation,

4  and we have a priceless inheritance — an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay.

5  And through your faith, God is protecting you by his power until you receive this salvation, which is ready to be revealed on the last day for all to see.

6 ¶  So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you have to endure many trials for a little while.

7  These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold — though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world.

8  You love Him even though you have never seen Him. Though you do not see Him now, you trust Him; and you rejoice with a glorious, inexpressible joy.

9  The reward for trusting Him will be the salvation of your souls.

Here are my Take-Aways from the Apostle Peter’s letter to us today:

1.   V.2) God the Father knew us and chose us long ago …

2.   (v.3) It is by His great mercy that we have been born again.

a.   Now we live with great expectation

b.   All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

c.    We have a priceless inheritance – kept in heaven for us …

                                         i.    Beyond the reach of change and decay

                                        ii.    And through our faith …

3.   (v.5) God is protecting us by His power …

a.   Until we experience this salvation

b.   Which is ready to be revealed on the last day

c.    And everyone is going to see what we believed … Glory!!!

4.   (v.6) There is a wonderful joy ahead …

a.   Even though we must endure many trials but for a short season

b.   (v.7) These trials will show us and others that our faith is genuine and well-placed in Jesus …

c.    We will not be ashamed that we believed Jesus (Psalms 25:2; Isaiah 50:7; Romans 5:5; 9:33; 1 Peter 4:16; 1 John 2:28)

5.   (v.9) The reward for trusting Jesus will be the salvation of our souls.

a.   We love Jesus even though we have never seen Him

b.   We trust Him and rejoice with a glorious, inexpressible joy

                                         i.    Those without Christ have no trust, no hope, no joy …

                                        ii.    Do not let anyone or anything take your joy away

                                      iii.    The joy of the Lord is our strength … (Nehemiah 8:10)

                                      iv.    Trust in Jesus …

These are timeless lessons from the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Accept them and share them with others. You will never be ashamed or regret you did.

Psalms 27:14  Wait on the LORD; Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the LORD!

Sunday, August 23, 2020

Fall Family Church

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This morning we are going to be reading our text from the New Testament Book of Hebrews, chapter 10. While you find our text for today allow me to say that:

I am so glad you have joined us this morning at Church On The Rock Church Online. I believe in Church Online and I am so proud to be able to share the word with you today. I see broadcast Church as a valuable tool that is being used by God all around the world, especially in these strange times. And, for those of you who are unable to attend in person for various reasons and in many different situations around the globe, Church Online may be your best source and only access to Church.

37 years ago, just after starting the first Church I pastored, in a small community of just a few hundred people in Northeast Texas, I shared a vision with my congregation. The Lord had put it on my heart to raise $3,000 from the dozen families who attended our Church and use it to purchase a satellite dish, a Kloss Nova-beam projector, and a 10-foot diagonal screen.

It was my vision to be able to give my congregation the best preaching, singing, and ministry of the Gospel available anywhere in the world. I had faith we could do it and so I called a distributor in Dallas and committed to the purchase and set a pick-up date. It took only a month for us to raise that money. People sold cows, took on extra work, made cakes, and gave in faith until we had the money.

My dad and a deacon named Joe Cruse drove to Dallas and picked it all up on a 16’ lowboy trailer. Several of us were waiting when they pulled in the Church driveway that evening. We had already gotten the bolt pattern by mail and had the concrete pad poured and the electricity and most of the cables laid. We unloaded the base and had it in place before dark.

The following week we assembled that 14’ dish, turned on the receiver and started scanning the sky trying to find the right elevation and azimuth. We used walkie-talkies to communicate between me working the receiver in the sanctuary and the guys outside, cranking, turning, and aiming the dish.

It’s a little humorous now but it was alarming back then. I don’t remember if it was the Westar, Satcom, or Galaxy satellite we finally found and tweaked in until we could scroll through the 14 channel possibilities, we were told were available on each platform. But, when we started getting a less than completely fuzzy picture, everybody came inside to see what we could see on that big screen sitting front and center on our Church stage.

Most of the channels on that satellite had those color bars and a humming tone. It would take about 15 to 20 seconds to change to the next channel and wait for it to fully tune in to get a clear picture. Everything was going along well, and we were all excited with our success, right up to the moment the next channel came up and started to get really clear. It was the playboy channel and we were all caught off guard. So off guard in fact that nobody said a word and we all must have went into shock. Finally, probably 2 seconds, but it seemed like forever, somebody shouted … “turn it!”, and then it took forever again for the images to fade out and then the next channel started to get clear. It was somebody preaching the Word of God.

We had found our channel, Word of Faith Satellite Ministries … right on the flip side of the Playboy channel. Let me tell you, this made several of our monthly satellite preaching services really tense for me and a few guys … especially during thunderstorms. I could just see our whole congregation of good and godly families worshipping along or listening to the word and all of the sudden Hugh Heffner appear on stage with his disciples. Thankfully, that never happened again but, as a result of that first experience, I became so aware just how close the world was to the doors of the Church and how devastating it would be to let it in.

You have heard me say this before but for the sake of redundancy, allow me to say it again. The Church is:

·        The Bride of Christ

·        The Body of Christ

·        The Family of God in Heaven and on the Earth

We are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation. We are a very special people chosen by God to show the world the praises of Him Who has called us out of darkness into His marvelous light. (1 Peter 2:9)

 We are a called-out and called-together people. New creations in Christ Jesus. Soldiers of the cross having put on the whole armor of God, lifting up the name of Jesus as our banner, marching into all the world and proclaiming Christ as Savior and Lord.

We the members of the Church of the Living God are not ashamed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ for it is the power of God unto everyone who believes regardless of their color, custom, culture or past. Our God is an all-consuming fire and He has given us His own Spirit to guide, guard and govern us on the earth.

For centuries, the world has tried to infiltrate the Church, intimidate the Church, delegitimize the Church, and rob us of the influence God has given us to convert souls and change lives. They have not and they will not succeed. Do not believe what the world has to say about the Church.

The Church of the Living God is alive and well. We are bigger and stronger, more powerful and more productive, growing faster and going farther than ever before in the history of mankind. Our message is a message of love and grace and our ministry it to all who will hear His Word and give their hearts to Jesus. The Church of the Living God is alive and well yet, The Church is only one generation away from extinction. We cannot stop here.

We have a work to do in the world and also a work to do in the Church. Unfortunately for them, not every Church is located in Texas. We are fortunate to have great leadership in our great State who are Born-Again Christians and understand the value of the Church to our families, communities, our state, the nation, and generations to come all over the world. The strength of the Church has been and always will be the strength of our nation.

Have you found Hebrews 10 yet? If not, you may want to just follow along with me on the bottom of your screen and don’t forget, you can always rewind or re-watch if you want to hear it again. And take time to share this on your timeline or text a friend with the link. Ok, now for our text:

Hebrews 10

24  And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works,

25  not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.

This is clearly written to the Church. The world at that time, and in each generation since, was trying to intimidate Believers in Jesus and keep them from meeting and encouraging one another. Peter and John had experienced the government of their day threatening them and trying to shut them down. Their response was simple:

Acts 4:19  But Peter and John answered and said to them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you more than to God, you judge.

Paul faced similar threats as well from city governments, state governments and even from the empire, not counting the mobs who disrupted his meetings. Several believers were arrested and put into jail for nothing more than gathering with others to worship Jesus and hear the word.

When the writer of Hebrews gives these divine instructions to us from the Holy Spirit, he understood what it might cost some in the days to come. Nonetheless, these words were written for such a time as this. I believe we can see the Day approaching. Let’s take a moment to break this down:

·        Not forsaking = to leave behind; to withdraw from; to abandon

·        Assembling = (n) found only 3 times in the Bible. 2 times in this verse.

o   A complete collection

o   A gathering (understood for the purpose of worship)

·        Together = same Gk word as assembling.

·        Manner = Custom or habit prescribed by lethargy or law

·        Exhorting = Gk: parakaleo – to invite, invoke, implore; intreat; specifically to encourage. (to call alongside and encourage)

·        So much = vast quantity; large amount in number

·        The more = in greater degree; better by far

·        See = perceive; become aware of (literally or figuratively)

·        Day = literally a day; figuratively a period; defined by content

·        Approaching – drawing near or at hand; close; nigh

The Day of the Lord references - 1 Corinthians 3:13; 1 Thessalonians 5:2; Philippians 1:10

Our responsibility to assemble together with other believers is not just a privilege but is rather a duty given to us by God. Why would some forego this duty? Here are the top 5 Reasons Why Believers Don’t Assemble

1.   Fear of persecution, arrest, or loss of status among peers.

2.   Lack of interest often due to lack of involvement.

3.   Doubt of duty or diminished sense of value.

4.   Neglect, which is at times present in many areas of a person’s life.

5.   Dislike, disagreement, or dissatisfaction with the Pastor, Church leadership or others in the Church.

We have a sacred duty to assemble together when we are able and at times even in the face of opposition. This is important to God and His plan.

As I said earlier, I believe in Church Online and am thankful that those who have no other access or opportunity to join a congregation in person are a part of our Church family. However, for those who can attend Church in person, I want to encourage you to not grow comfortable at home or get  out of habit of going to Church.

Our staff pastors and eldership understand and agree that not everyone can or should congregate at this time. However, we want to remove any concerns we can and reasons why you might not feel comfortable being in a larger group. For this we have all agreed to offer a new Fall Family Church schedule with you and your family in mind.

Beginning Sunday, September 6th, we will be adding a few more weekly opportunities for you to enjoy and participate in an on campus, in person, Church service of your choice each week. We are asking that you choose a service time that best meets your needs or the needs of your family. We will do everything reasonably possible to provide a comfortable and safe environment. Each service is expected to last approximately 1 hour, with the exception of Sunday mornings, which will be a few minutes longer.

Beginning September 6th, Church services at Golden Triangle Church on the Rock will be offered:

·        Sunday Mornings        10:30am On Campus           11am Online

·        Tuesday Mornings       11am On Campus

·        Wednesday Mornings  11am On Campus

·        Wednesday Evenings     7pm On Campus                 7pm Online

·        Thursday Evenings        7pm On Campus

Each service on campus will offer an opportunity to participate in worship, communion, corporate prayer for our nation, and the preaching of the Gospel.

Saturday, August 15, 2020

Who?

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I had a dream Friday night. My father-in-law, Lewis Boston, who is already gone to his heavenly reward, brought an old friend to my Church wanting him to join. When I acted surprised, Lewis, looking a lot younger than I’d last seen him and real happy responded with that little laugh and smile he would have when he was excited about telling me something. He said, “Who is going to teach him how to live his life now that he’s born-again?”

When I woke up, I was unable to get away from his words and that excited smile on his face. The question of who was going to teach people how to live their lives once they receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior kept going over and over in my mind. I felt like the dream was from God. The importance of the Church and the teaching priests became increasingly evident. God needs the Church to teach His children how to live their lives with a Biblical world.

This dream is the 3rd confirmation of a spiritual encounter I had with God on July 4th, 1982. I had set aside some time to pray and fast and had secluded myself in a trailer house owned by my parents in Simms, Texas. I had moved a keyboard there the day before and I as worshipping the Lord and singing a song, “Within the veil, I now come …”. While caught up in worship I felt such a strong presence of the Lord and I was a little afraid to open my eyes. I know that sounds strange but that’s what I felt.

When I did open my eyes and looked to my left, towards the kitchen, I could see what appeared to me to be a haze and it was moving and rolling, not like smoke but more like light fog or haze – a misty appearance. I stood and continued singing and slowly walked towards the kitchen. When I got to the doorway, I felt the haze on my skin, it was cool and almost wet without being wet. I don’t know how else to describe it, but it was thick without being heavy. It was evident I had stepped into something spiritual and I dropped to my knees and on down on my face and began to weep.

I have no idea how long I was there but at some point, I heard myself crying out to God saying the same words over and over. It was a deep heart-felt guttural cry. I kept saying “God bless your people, bless your people God …”

It was strange. It was like I was listening to myself as though I was listening to someone else. I could hear my spirit crying out to God and at the same time I was thinking, “I’m glad that is what I’m asking for instead of something else.” Then, all of the sudden I heard a loud thundering voice that interrupted both what I as praying and what I was thinking. If anyone else had been there I don’t imagine they would have heard anything, but it was thundering to me and the words shook me and penetrated my soul.

God said, “I have blessed My people, now go and teach them how to walk in My blessings.”

With that the cloud withdrew and I lifted myself up onto my knees and saw that the floor in front of me was wet with my tears and crying. That day is a marked day for me in that I received from the voice of the Lord my calling to be a teacher of the Word, the Will, and the Way of God.

So, Friday night’s dream confirmed God’s desire once again to see His children taught how they can life a life pleasing to Him. Of course we know this is nothing more or less than the call that is upon each one of us as followers of Christ. The only marching orders Jesus ever gave the Church was to go into all the world and preach the Gospel, teaching converts to live as He lived. Let’s read that Great Commission Jesus gave His followers.

Matthew 28

16 ¶  Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had appointed for them.

17  When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some doubted.

18  And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.

19  “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

20  “teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.

Back to verse 17 – And when the eleven disciples saw Jesus, they worshipped Him: but some doubted. 

Which ones doubted? What did they doubt? Why did they doubt?

The Greek word translated into the English word “doubt” used by Matthew to describe how some of the disciples felt in that moment is the Greek word “distazo” = to think twice; to have second thoughts.

I can certainly understand how these followers of Jesus would have second thoughts. They had been with Jesus for years and had seen Him heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils, feed the multitudes, and preach the living Word of Almighty God … how could they ever measure up and carry on His work? 

Perhaps you also have second thoughts. Maybe you worship Jesus but doubt if you can actually make a difference … I know I have. I have asked myself on several occasions if I am making a difference … I often feel I’m inadequate for the task at hand. But then I read the rest of the Great Commission. Jesus continued by saying …

“I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

Jesus chose His followers they did not choose Him. (John 15:16)

·        Jesus has chosen you.

·        Jesus Believes in you.

·        Jesus needs you.

·        Jesus will be with you and you will bear fruit.

·        Worship Jesus and don’t think twice about your value to Him.

·        You have been authorized and empowered to make disciples of Christ

·        You are the best He has … just like the eleven … you can do it!

 Let’s not get distracted or begin to have second thoughts. We cannot afford to get sidetracked, detoured, derailed, or disillusioned by the devil and all the problems that surround us and our times. The things going on in our nation with the rioting, looting, shootings, COVID19, political divisions, international conflicts, and the upcoming presidential elections, are but signs that we are living in the last days.

1900 years ago the Elder Apostle John said it was already the last hour of this age. Certainly, we are now in the last minute if not the very last few seconds before the close of the age. End-time prophecies are beginning to unfold in real time.

The plan of God has not changed nor has the Great Commission gone out of date. Here is what Jesus wants you to do.

1.  Worship Him.

2.  As you go, wherever you go, make disciples.

a.   How?

b.   What does “make disciples” mean?

                                         i.    Make new friends

                                        ii.    Introduce them to Jesus

                                      iii.    Teach your friends how to live for Christ

1.   Old friends

2.   New friends

3.   Siblings

4.   Children

3.  Work ‘til Jesus comes.

a.   It shouldn’t be long now …

b.   So let’s get started today.

       

Don’t worry … Jesus is will be with you every step of the way!

Sunday, August 9, 2020

Protection-Based Politics in the Bible

Gtcotr/ss080920

Today we are going to discuss the frustration, anger and injustice caused by Hardness of Heart and Protection-Based Politics in the Bible.

In Jesus’ day there were two main forms of government:

1.   The Roman Government which served the wishes of Caesar.

2.   The Jewish Government made up of three main political parties.

a.   Sadducees were conservative aristocrats who were anti-spiritual intellectuals. They did not believe in the resurrection or angels but did believe in law and order. They were mostly made up of the priesthood and they were in charge of the Jerusalem Temple and it was their source of income. They desired to keep the status quo and felt it their duty to interpret the law as it was written and given by Moses. Nothing remains of their own writings if there were any. All we know about them comes from their enemies. We picture them as a relatively small elite group of wealthy privileged people. They only agreed with the Pharisees on one issue … let’s murder Jesus.

b.   Pharisees were liberal progressives made up mostly from the middle class. The Pharisees were the largest and most popular political party and they were always getting on to Jesus for something. He ate with sinners, healed on the sabbath, His disciples did not wash their hands and did not follow the customs and traditions of the fathers, (i.e. oral law). Their greatest claim to power was that they believed they were the trustees of the oral law. They believed Moses received the commandments in two parts, one written and one oral. Whenever the written law did not fully answer a question or settle a conflict, they believed they were the ones solely responsible to interpret what God meant between the lines and through the loopholes. Therefore they believed they could make it up as they went along.

c.    Herodians were in bed with the Romans and they favored Greek customs. They were more worldly and not so religious, and they favored Roman law and way of life.

d.   There were other small groups which made little difference such as the Essenes, Galileans, Zealots, Scribes, which were the lawyers, and then the Sanhedrin.

e.   The Sanhedrin was the Jewish high council. It was the court of Jewish law. It seems all of the political parties were mostly filled with hypocrites as Jesus indicated more than once.

 The three main Jewish political parties had differing platforms but cooperated to form government, preserve power, and keep their jobs. Although ruled and occupied by Rome, Jewish law and the Jewish legal system held great power over the life of every Jew. Romans most often did not interfere in the Jewish state of affairs. The Sanhedrin could tax, arrest, punish, flog, and imprison Jews and only needed Roman permission to publicly execute a person unless it was a spontaneous stoning for a whole list of things a person could do in violation of the written or oral laws.

These parties did not quite know what to do about Jesus. People loved Him and He was so clever every time they tried to trick Him into breaking the law. Besides this, Jesus refused to belong to any party and called them all hypocrites. In politics, if you cannot get a person’s support you, you destroy them. And that is exactly what they all conspired to do to Jesus.

·        The High Priest, Caiaphas the Sadducee, and his Sanhedrin council

·        The Pharisees

·        And the Herodians

Mark 3 NKJV

1 ¶  And He entered the synagogue again, and a man was there who had a withered hand.

2  So they watched Him closely, whether He would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse Him.

3  And He said to the man who had the withered hand, “Step forward.”

4  Then He said to them, “Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?” But they kept silent.

Jesus attempted to reason with these parties because all they had was reason and logic to guide them and they did not have the Spirit. Jesus appealed to their compassion, but they were unimpressed. They were afraid of losing their phony high ground of ungodly tradition and were standing by only what they believed was best for them and their party even if it killed everyone else – except them of course. So they were silent.

5  And when He had looked around at them with anger, being grieved by the hardness of their hearts, He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored as whole as the other.

6  Then the Pharisees went out and immediately plotted with the Herodians against Him, how they might destroy Him.

Jesus was angry with them … mad at them … filled with indignation concerning them because they were more concerned about preserving their party platform than they were about people. They were supposed to be taking care of the nation and the nation is people, not politics.

Jesus was grieved at their callous hearts towards people with needs. This man with a withered hand, at least hindered and possible unable to work and provide for his family, was nowhere on their radar. They did not care.

All the Pharisees and Herodians did was to protect their hierarchy and traditional platform and governing institution. What they were really afraid of was that Jesus might join one of the other parties or perhaps start His own. What Jesus really wanted was for the leaders of the people to:

Stop arguing over who’s right and start doing what’s right.

But their hearts were calloused, and they could not be touched with the feelings and needs of others. They were missing the very reason why their group should exist at all. They had fallen into the devil’s snare of protection-based politics. Perhaps even worse … protection-based theology – they had convinced themselves that God was on their side.

When something is as hard as their hearts had grown, it is almost impossible to make an impression on it. Even Jesus, the Son of God, their own Promised Messiah and Savior of the World could not get through to them. They were hard-hearted and Jesus was mad at them!

What was their response? “Let’s conspire together to murder Jesus.” Well, just to let you know … Jesus was murdered once, and Jesus is not going to go to the cross for you again. The next time someone sees an angry Jesus, it is not going to end so well for them. The should have changed …

These political parties of Jesus’ day wanted to argue over who is right and did not care about what was right. That is what being hard-hearted will do to you. Hearts do not get hard overnight however, there remains a remedy for those who will just listen to the simple wisdom of Jesus and change.

“Is it better to do good or to do evil … to save life or to kill?” Do not keep silent! Answer up … look around … help save lives, all lives, including the unborn children being ripped from the womb by hard-hearted politics. It is a hard-hearted political doctrine that says we have to choose between a mother’s rights and a child’s life … Why can’t we love them both!

Hebrews 4:7  Again He designates a certain day, saying in David, “Today,” after such a long time, as it has been said: “Today, if you will hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts.”

Isaiah the prophet rightly prophesied and Paul remembered and in:

Acts 28:27  “For the hearts of this people have grown dull. Their ears are hard of hearing, And their eyes they have closed, Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, So that I should heal them.”’

Action Items for this week: Hearts – Ears – Eyes

1.   Check your eyes … what do you see – is this the best we can do?

a.   Champion what is right instead of who is right.

b.   Cast your vote for Jesus every chance you get

c.    Serve in His Kingdom with passion and purpose

2.   Check your ears … align yourself with Christ – what are you hearing

a.   His platform is the Gospel

b.   His passion is people

c.    His purpose is salvation

3.   Check your heart … do you understand what Jesus wants?

a.   Are you more concerned about politics or people?

b.   Jesus wants us to care less about who is right and more about what is right. God’s Word, Will, and Way is what’s right!