Last week we talked about Saul meeting Jesus on his way to Damascus. We talked about the first thing in becoming a man or woman of God is to accept Jesus Christ into your heart with true repentance.
After that has occurred the next step is a change takes place in your heart and life. Such a change that others see it. Many don't understand it but clearly a change has taken place.
In Acts chapter 9 we see a definite change has taken place in Saul's life. A man named Ananias is told by Jesus to go to Damascus and find Saul:
Acts 9:11 "Get up and go to the street called Straight," the Lord said to him, "to the house of Judas, and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, since he is praying there.
1. The first thing you find in Saul's life - He prayed, he talked to God. There are so many scriptures telling us to pray:
Matthew 5:44 But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,
Matthew 9:38 Therefore, pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest."
Matthew 18:19 Again, I assure you: If two of you on earth agree about any matter that you pray for, it will be done for you by My Father in heaven.
Mark 11:24 Therefore I tell you, all the things you pray and ask for--believe that you have received them, and you will have them.
Luke 22:40 When He reached the place, He told them, "Pray that you may not enter into temptation."
Ephesians 6:20 For this I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I might be bold enough in Him to speak as I should.
1Thessalonians 5:17 Pray constantly.
Do you believe in prayer? Do you pray?
Acts 9:12 - 16 In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias coming in and placing his hands on him so he can regain his sight." "Lord," Ananias answered, "I have heard from many people about this man, how much harm he has done to Your saints in Jerusalem. And he has authority here from the chief priests to arrest all who call on Your name." But the Lord said to him, "Go! For this man is My chosen instrument to take My name to Gentiles, kings, and the Israelites. I will show him how much he must suffer for My name!"
2. God had a plan for Saul's life. In Jeremiah 29:11 we read this:
Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you"--this is the LORD's declaration--"plans for your welfare, not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.
Do you believe God has a plan for your life? Are you living it?
Acts 9:17a So Ananias left and entered the house. Then he placed his hands on him and said, "Brother Saul,
3. Saul had a new family. He came with a group of men who were going to help him bring back the Christians at Damascus - we don't hear of Saul following that group ever again.
Who do you fellowship with - is it your new family - or those of the past who led you the wrong way?
Acts 9:17b the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road you were traveling, has sent me so that you can regain your sight
Act 9:18a At once something like scales fell from his eyes, and he regained his sight.
Saul was blind but now he can see. In the book of John a blind man meets Jesus and Jesus heals him. When asked by the Pharisees who healed him he simply answers:
John 9:25 He answered, "Whether or not He's a sinner, I don't know. One thing I do know: I was blind, and now I can see!"
4. He will give sight to the blind. He will open our eyes to see and learn about Him.
Acts 9:17c and be filled with the Holy Spirit."
5. He will fill you with the Holy Spirit.
What happens when you are filled with the Holy Spirit?
Acts 1:8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come on you, and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."
John 15:16 You did not choose Me, but I chose you. I appointed you that you should go out and produce fruit and that your fruit should remain, so that whatever you ask the Father in My name, He will give you.
Galatians 5:22 - 23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, gentleness, self-control. Against such things there is no law.
2Corinthians 3:18 We all, with unveiled faces, are looking as in a mirror at the glory of the Lord and are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory; this is from the Lord who is the Spirit.
Ephesians 5:18 And don't get drunk with wine, which leads to reckless actions, but be filled by the Spirit:
The Holy Spirit will give us the power and desire to be His witnesses. The Holy Spirit will change our lives. We no longer have the desires we had before. He will give us love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, gentleness, and self-control. With the Holy Spirit living in us we will look like Him, God's glory will be mirrored through us. Talk about a change!
Are you His witness wherever you are? Are you producing fruit? Do you believe in prayer? Are you producing fruit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, gentleness, and self-control? Do others see Christ in you?
How do you know you are filled with the Holy Spirit?
· Do you have a greater love for Christ?
· Do you have a greater love for God's word?
· Is prayer more important to you?
· Are you more concerned for those who do not know Christ as Savior?
· Are you experiencing a greater boldness, liberty, and power in witnessing?
Acts 9:18b Then he got up and was baptized.
Acts 2:38 "Repent," Peter said to them, "and be baptized, each of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
6. Saul takes on a new identity - obedience in baptism - showing the whole world that he is not ashamed to testify that he is now a follower of Jesus Christ.
Acts 9:19 And after taking some food, he regained his strength. Saul was with the disciples in Damascus for some days.
Jesus tells us:
Matthew 18:20 For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there among them."
Hebrews 10:25 not staying away from our worship meetings, as the manner of some is; but encouraging each other, and all the more as you see the day drawing near.
As Paul ends this verse: but encouraging each other, and all the more as you see the day drawing near. Even Paul was telling people to be ready for Jesus to come back - Go to church! Fellowship with other followers of Jesus Christ.
7. Saul had fellowship with other followers of Jesus.
Acts 9:20 Immediately he began proclaiming Jesus in the synagogues: "He is the Son of God."
8. Saul testified to others who Jesus is.
Acts 9:21 But all who heard him were astounded and said, "Isn't this the man who, in Jerusalem, was destroying those who called on this name and then came here for the purpose of taking them as prisoners to the chief priests?"
People saw the change in Saul's life. They knew and remembered who Saul was and what he did. But now they see the new and changed Saul.
Romans 6:4 Therefore we were buried with Him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too may walk in a new way of life.
2Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away, and look, new things have come.
9. Christ will change your life and your lifestyle. Do people see the change that Christ has made in your life? Or are you the same person you have always been.
Acts 9:22 But Saul grew more capable and kept confounding the Jews who lived in Damascus by proving that this One is the Messiah.
10. Saul grew in Christ.
How do we grow?
2Timothy 2:15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
What are we to study? The Word of God.
When we come to Him He tells us we are like newborn infants:
1Peter 2:2 - 3 Like newborn infants, desire the pure spiritual milk, so that you may grow by it for your salvation, since you have tasted that the Lord is good.
But we don't stay infants. If Ellie, who is almost 3 years old, would still be crawling and drinking from a bottle, and eating baby food, we would think that something is wrong. The same way in living the Christian life. We are to grow by feasting on the living Word of God.
Are we growing this morning?
Are you growing in Him? How much time do we spend in God's word?
11. In these few verses we also see forgiveness - not on Saul's part but on the part of Ananias and those disciples who gathered around Saul. If we think of Saul and what he was doing to the early church and the disciples:
Acts 8:1 Saul agreed with putting Stephen to death. On that day a severe persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout the land of Judea and Samaria.
Acts 9:1 Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord.
Today we would consider Saul an ISIS leader or Al-Qaeda leader, searching and finding Christians and putting them to death, the same way we see Christians being murdered today.
If God called you to go and visit one of the ISIS leaders today and gave you instructions what to do, would you go and do it? That is what these men of God were told to do. To accept Saul as one of them - first forgiveness had to take place.
Christian - has that kind of change taken place in your heart that you forgive others for the things they have done to you?
What about the change in your life this morning?
1. Do you pray?
2. Do you believe God has a plan for life and are you living it?
3. Do you realize you now belong to a new family?
4. Do you know you were born blind but now you see?
5. Do you know you have the Holy Spirit living in you?
6. Have you been obedient in baptism?
7. Do you fellowship with other believers? Do you come to church every service?
8. Do you share with others who Jesus is and what He has done for you?
9. Are you living a changed life?
10. Do you grow by reading God's Word?
11. Do you forgive?
I read this question a long time ago:
If you were arrested for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?
Has there been a change in your life?
There is nothing more thrilling as a pastor than to watch God transform a Saul into a Paul. I have seen that in many of you. But I have also seen some who have kept their identity as Saul and not allowed God to transform their life into a Paul who don’t want to give up their old life.
Today is Father’s Day and I am so thankful that one day my dad allowed God to take over his life and he was transformed from a life of Saul to a life of Paul. If he had not done that I probably would not be standing here today as your pastor.
I am thankful that one day Tex Clark allowed God to transform his life from Saul to Paul or my wife would not be here with me today. You see your decisions will affect the lives of others. Paul’s certainly did.
What about you this morning – dads – have you made the choice to receive Christ into your heart? Have you made the choice that you want your life changed from a Saul to a Paul? Do you want that change to take place in your life?
Sunday, June 21, 2015
June 14, 2015- The Life of a man of God- Pastor Mike Rosensteel
A couple of weeks ago I had planned to preach on the Armor of God and had started preparing for that sermon. But I have realized that many are not ready for the battle. I believe many in our church need to know who God is and His power over sin, His power over the evil one.
Last week as Pastor Joe spoke he asked the question "how holy do you think God is" and "we will live on the edge of where we believe that holiness is". How close to the edge of sin do we live that we honestly think that God will tolerate in us? How much do we trust and have faith in Him because that is where we will live our lives.
Scripture gives us many examples of how we as followers of Jesus Christ should live our lives. I want us to look at the life of one man. The life of a man of God.
Who in the New Testament do we learn so many things pertaining to the Christian life than the Apostle Paul?
We first hear of Paul in the book of Acts. Luke wrote the book of Acts or the Acts of the Apostles. In 2 of the books that Paul writes later, we find that he and Luke are working together:
Colossians 4:14 Luke, the dearly loved physician, and Demas greet you.
2Timothy 4:11 Only Luke is with me. Bring Mark with you, for he is useful to me in the ministry.
But in the beginning of Paul's life this was not the case.
In Acts chapter 6 there is a dispute - a complaint in the church among 2 different groups of Jews. The one group was complaining that the other group were overlooking their widows as they were handing out the food. So we find the first Trustees being voted on to take care of these matters. One of the men - full of faith and the Holy Ghost, was Stephen.
Acts 6:8 Stephen, full of grace and power, was performing great wonders and signs among the people.
God was moving in this man's life. God's plan that He had for Stephen long before he was ever born was being lived out. Stephen was having an impact on people's lives. But what always happens when we are following the will of God - opposition:
Acts 6:9 - 15 Opposition arose, however, from members of the Synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called)--Jews of Cyrene and Alexandria as well as the provinces of Cilicia and Asia--who began to argue with Stephen. But they could not stand up against the wisdom the Spirit gave him as he spoke. Then they secretly persuaded some men to say, "We have heard Stephen speak blasphemous words against Moses and against God."
So they stirred up the people and the elders and the teachers of the law. They seized Stephen and brought him before the Sanhedrin. They produced false witnesses, who testified, "This fellow never stops speaking against this holy place and against the law. For we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs Moses handed down to us."
Does any of this sound familiar? Sounds like the trial that Jesus got. But there was something they could not deny:
Acts 6:15 All who were sitting in the Sanhedrin looked intently at Stephen, and they saw that his face was like the face of an angel.
When Acts chapter 7 starts, Stephen speaks. He goes through the patriarch's, Moses, crossing the Red Sea, 40 years in the wilderness, up to the Sanhedrin murdering the Son of God.
Acts 7:58a They threw him out of the city and began to stone him.
What an awful sight this must have been. These men had already been a part of the trial and crucifixion of Jesus Christ, and now the murder of another follower.
Now Luke introduces us to Saul:
Acts 7:58b And the witnesses laid their robes at the feet of a young man named Saul.
Saul was there, he agreed with and watched the murder of the first Christian to die for the cause of Christ.
Acts 8:1 - 4 Saul agreed with putting him to death. On that day a severe persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout the land of Judea and Samaria. Devout men buried Stephen and mourned deeply over him.
Saul, however, was ravaging the church. He would enter house after house, drag off men and women, and put them in prison. So those who were scattered went on their way preaching the message of good news.
Even though scripture tells us that Saul was ravaging the church, the gospel was still being shared and people were coming to Christ.
Saul was generally regarded by the rabbis as one of the most promising young men in Judaism. As to zeal, he outstripped all of his fellows.
As he watched the growth of the Christian faith, known as "the Way", he saw in it a threat to his own religion. So believing he was right in doing so, he set out to destroy this "false religion".
Acts 9:1 - 2 Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord. He went to the high priest and requested letters from him to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any men or women who belonged to the Way, he might bring them as prisoners to Jerusalem.
His desire to bring these prisoners back to Jerusalem for their trial and punishment. In Acts chapter 22, Saul who God changed his name to Paul gives us his purpose in arresting those who belonged to the Way and how he met God along the way.
To live a life for God, you must first know God. God will reveal Himself to us in His own way. It might be at church, it might be at youth camp, it might be while mowing grass. God and only God knows when and where.
At the end of Acts 21 and through chapter 22, Paul finds himself in custody for sharing the gospel. The people wanted to put him to death but he is given permission to share with the angry crowd what I would call his testimony. This is how Saul met God:
Acts 21:40 After he had given permission, Paul stood on the steps and motioned with his hand to the people. When there was a great hush, he addressed them in the Hebrew language:
Acts 22:1 - 11 "Brothers and fathers, listen now to my defense before you." When they heard that he was addressing them in the Hebrew language, they became even quieter. He continued, "I am a Jewish man, born in Tarsus of Cilicia but brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel and educated according to the strict view of our patriarchal law. Being zealous for God, just as all of you are today, I persecuted this Way to the death, binding and putting both men and women in jail, as both the high priest and the whole council of elders can testify about me. After I received letters from them to the brothers, I traveled to Damascus to bring those who were prisoners there to be punished in Jerusalem.
"As I was traveling and near Damascus, about noon an intense light from heaven suddenly flashed around me. I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, 'Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?' "I answered, 'Who are You, Lord?' "He said to me, 'I am Jesus the Nazarene, the One you are persecuting!'
Now those who were with me saw the light, but they did not hear the voice of the One who was speaking to me.
"Then I said, 'What should I do, Lord?' "And the Lord told me, 'Get up and go into Damascus, and there you will be told about everything that is assigned for you to do.' "Since I couldn't see because of the brightness of that light, I was led by the hand by those who were with me, and came into Damascus.
Paul met Jesus Christ. Luke tells us that Paul was in this blind state for 3 days until God calls a man named Ananias to go and meet Paul. He continues to tell his testimony:
Acts 22:12 - 16 Someone named Ananias, a devout man according to the law, having a good reputation with all the Jews residing there, came and stood by me and said, 'Brother Saul, regain your sight.' And in that very hour I looked up and saw him. Then he said, 'The God of our fathers has appointed you to know His will, to see the Righteous One, and to hear the sound of His voice.
For you will be a witness for Him to all people of what you have seen and heard. And now, why delay? Get up and be baptized, and wash away your sins by calling on His name.'
The scripture says "wash away your sins by calling on His name".
There is only one way to become a child of God, that is asking Him to forgive you of all your sin, and He will wash all of them away!
This was the beginning of the life of a man of God. Paul's life was changed - completely! Never again did he go after those in the Way to arrest them and put them to death - he became one. True repentance shows itself in a changed life, in a complete about face, a turn around.
I've said many times it is a change from going south on route 522 heading to Winchester (like all of us were born heading towards) and making a complete a turn-around and heading north. You no longer walk in darkness but now you walk in the light.
You might say what do we do with the sin problem? In the book of John we find the answer. Jesus is at the temple complex in Jerusalem:
John 8:3 - 11 Then the scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman caught in adultery, making her stand in the center. "Teacher," they said to Him, "this woman was caught in the act of committing adultery. In the law Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do You say?" They asked this to trap Him, in order that they might have evidence to accuse Him. Jesus stooped down and started writing on the ground with His finger.
When they persisted in questioning Him, He stood up and said to them, "The one without sin among you should be the first to throw a stone at her." Then He stooped down again and continued writing on the ground. When they heard this, they left one by one, starting with the older men. Only He was left, with the woman in the center.
When Jesus stood up, He said to her, "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?" "No one, Lord," she answered. "Neither do I condemn you," said Jesus. "Go, and from now on do not sin anymore."
That's true repentance - "Go, and from now on do not sin anymore."
Jesus then tells them that He is the light of the world - He will light our path - He will give us strength. He knows the hold that sin has on our lives - and He knows that only He can set us free from it. It is a choice. We don't know any more about this woman. We don't know what choice she made. Did she say yes to Jesus and allow Him to change her? Or did she decide to continue to live her life the same old way - in darkness? If you were in her shoes what would you have chosen?
Jesus died on the cross so that you might have forgiveness of your sins - all of them, and so that you might have a changed life. He died on the cross so that your life would be changed from darkness to light:
John 8:12 Then Jesus spoke to them again: "I am the light of the world. Anyone who follows Me will never walk in the darkness but will have the light of life."
John 3:7 Do not be amazed that I told you that you must be born again.
What is the first step in living the life of a man or woman of God? Knowing Him in a personal way. How do you do that? We find that answer also in the book of John. These verses many of us know them by heart:
John 3:16 - 18 "For God loved the world in this way: He gave His One and Only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world that He might condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. Anyone who believes in Him is not condemned, but anyone who does not believe is already condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the One and Only Son of God.
Revelation 3:20 - 22 Listen! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and have dinner with him, and he with Me. The victor: I will give him the right to sit with Me on My throne, just as I also won the victory and sat down with My Father on His throne. "Anyone who has an ear should listen to what the Spirit says to the churches."
There are many today that think and believe that there are many ways to get to heaven, many ways to have your sins forgiven, many ways to have your life changed. Many today make their own way to heaven, they pick and choose what they want to believe, they make excuses for themselves and the sin they commit trying to justify it. Satan has this world living in mass confusion.
Where are you today? Do you truly believe what the Bible tell us?
Do you believe that He is returning soon? Scripture after scripture tells us that He is. He tells us what the world is going to be like before He returns.
Matthew 24:4 -13 Then Jesus replied to them: "Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying, 'I am the Messiah,' and they will deceive many. You are going to hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, because these things must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places.
All these events are the beginning of birth pains. "Then they will hand you over for persecution, and they will kill you. You will be hated by all nations because of My name. Then many will take offense, betray one another and hate one another. Many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. Because lawlessness will multiply, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be delivered.
There is a scripture in Isaiah that is being fulfilled right before our eyes. Yesterday there was a conference being held about the drought situations on the earth. Representatives from California, which is in drought conditions now, were there. One of the key speakers was a Jewish man from Israel. His speech - they are now producing water from the desert.
Isaiah 41:18 – 20 I will open rivers on the barren heights, and springs in the middle of the plains. I will turn the desert into a pool of water and dry land into springs of water. I will plant cedars in the desert, acacias, myrtles, and olive trees. I will put juniper trees in the desert, elms and cypress trees together, so that all may see and know, consider and understand, that the hand of the LORD has done this, the Holy One of Israel has created it.
Who is a true friend? A true friend is one who will tell you the truth no matter if it will jeopardize the friendship. Someday I will have to answer to what I shared with you. If I just preached sermons that made you feel good and didn't share with you of Jesus's love for you and the change He wanted to bring in your lives, and if I didn't share the truth that sin will send you to Hell, what kind of pastor would I be? What kind of a true friend would I be?
Luke tells a story of true friendship:
Luke 5:18 - 25 Just then some men came, carrying on a mat a man who was paralyzed. They tried to bring him in and set him down before Him. Since they could not find a way to bring him in because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and lowered him on the mat through the roof tiles into the middle of the crowd before Jesus. Seeing their faith He said, "Friend, your sins are forgiven you."
Then the scribes and the Pharisees began to think: "Who is this man who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God alone?" But perceiving their thoughts, Jesus replied to them, "Why are you thinking this in your hearts? Which is easier: to say, 'Your sins are forgiven you,' or to say, 'Get up and walk'? But so you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins"--He told the paralyzed man, "I tell you: Get up, pick up your mat, and go home."
Immediately he got up before them, picked up what he had been lying on, and went home glorifying God.
These men were willing to risk all for their friend. They didn't care what anyone else said or did or felt, they just wanted to get their friend to Jesus.
I am willing to do the same for you.
Do you know Jesus?
John 14:6 Jesus told him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
How do you begin a life of a man or woman of God? You must go through Jesus Christ, the author and finisher of our faith.
Do you know Him? Are you ready to meet God? Do you want to begin the life of a man or woman of God?
Last week as Pastor Joe spoke he asked the question "how holy do you think God is" and "we will live on the edge of where we believe that holiness is". How close to the edge of sin do we live that we honestly think that God will tolerate in us? How much do we trust and have faith in Him because that is where we will live our lives.
Scripture gives us many examples of how we as followers of Jesus Christ should live our lives. I want us to look at the life of one man. The life of a man of God.
Who in the New Testament do we learn so many things pertaining to the Christian life than the Apostle Paul?
We first hear of Paul in the book of Acts. Luke wrote the book of Acts or the Acts of the Apostles. In 2 of the books that Paul writes later, we find that he and Luke are working together:
Colossians 4:14 Luke, the dearly loved physician, and Demas greet you.
2Timothy 4:11 Only Luke is with me. Bring Mark with you, for he is useful to me in the ministry.
But in the beginning of Paul's life this was not the case.
In Acts chapter 6 there is a dispute - a complaint in the church among 2 different groups of Jews. The one group was complaining that the other group were overlooking their widows as they were handing out the food. So we find the first Trustees being voted on to take care of these matters. One of the men - full of faith and the Holy Ghost, was Stephen.
Acts 6:8 Stephen, full of grace and power, was performing great wonders and signs among the people.
God was moving in this man's life. God's plan that He had for Stephen long before he was ever born was being lived out. Stephen was having an impact on people's lives. But what always happens when we are following the will of God - opposition:
Acts 6:9 - 15 Opposition arose, however, from members of the Synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called)--Jews of Cyrene and Alexandria as well as the provinces of Cilicia and Asia--who began to argue with Stephen. But they could not stand up against the wisdom the Spirit gave him as he spoke. Then they secretly persuaded some men to say, "We have heard Stephen speak blasphemous words against Moses and against God."
So they stirred up the people and the elders and the teachers of the law. They seized Stephen and brought him before the Sanhedrin. They produced false witnesses, who testified, "This fellow never stops speaking against this holy place and against the law. For we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs Moses handed down to us."
Does any of this sound familiar? Sounds like the trial that Jesus got. But there was something they could not deny:
Acts 6:15 All who were sitting in the Sanhedrin looked intently at Stephen, and they saw that his face was like the face of an angel.
When Acts chapter 7 starts, Stephen speaks. He goes through the patriarch's, Moses, crossing the Red Sea, 40 years in the wilderness, up to the Sanhedrin murdering the Son of God.
Acts 7:58a They threw him out of the city and began to stone him.
What an awful sight this must have been. These men had already been a part of the trial and crucifixion of Jesus Christ, and now the murder of another follower.
Now Luke introduces us to Saul:
Acts 7:58b And the witnesses laid their robes at the feet of a young man named Saul.
Saul was there, he agreed with and watched the murder of the first Christian to die for the cause of Christ.
Acts 8:1 - 4 Saul agreed with putting him to death. On that day a severe persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout the land of Judea and Samaria. Devout men buried Stephen and mourned deeply over him.
Saul, however, was ravaging the church. He would enter house after house, drag off men and women, and put them in prison. So those who were scattered went on their way preaching the message of good news.
Even though scripture tells us that Saul was ravaging the church, the gospel was still being shared and people were coming to Christ.
Saul was generally regarded by the rabbis as one of the most promising young men in Judaism. As to zeal, he outstripped all of his fellows.
As he watched the growth of the Christian faith, known as "the Way", he saw in it a threat to his own religion. So believing he was right in doing so, he set out to destroy this "false religion".
Acts 9:1 - 2 Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord. He went to the high priest and requested letters from him to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any men or women who belonged to the Way, he might bring them as prisoners to Jerusalem.
His desire to bring these prisoners back to Jerusalem for their trial and punishment. In Acts chapter 22, Saul who God changed his name to Paul gives us his purpose in arresting those who belonged to the Way and how he met God along the way.
To live a life for God, you must first know God. God will reveal Himself to us in His own way. It might be at church, it might be at youth camp, it might be while mowing grass. God and only God knows when and where.
At the end of Acts 21 and through chapter 22, Paul finds himself in custody for sharing the gospel. The people wanted to put him to death but he is given permission to share with the angry crowd what I would call his testimony. This is how Saul met God:
Acts 21:40 After he had given permission, Paul stood on the steps and motioned with his hand to the people. When there was a great hush, he addressed them in the Hebrew language:
Acts 22:1 - 11 "Brothers and fathers, listen now to my defense before you." When they heard that he was addressing them in the Hebrew language, they became even quieter. He continued, "I am a Jewish man, born in Tarsus of Cilicia but brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel and educated according to the strict view of our patriarchal law. Being zealous for God, just as all of you are today, I persecuted this Way to the death, binding and putting both men and women in jail, as both the high priest and the whole council of elders can testify about me. After I received letters from them to the brothers, I traveled to Damascus to bring those who were prisoners there to be punished in Jerusalem.
"As I was traveling and near Damascus, about noon an intense light from heaven suddenly flashed around me. I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, 'Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?' "I answered, 'Who are You, Lord?' "He said to me, 'I am Jesus the Nazarene, the One you are persecuting!'
Now those who were with me saw the light, but they did not hear the voice of the One who was speaking to me.
"Then I said, 'What should I do, Lord?' "And the Lord told me, 'Get up and go into Damascus, and there you will be told about everything that is assigned for you to do.' "Since I couldn't see because of the brightness of that light, I was led by the hand by those who were with me, and came into Damascus.
Paul met Jesus Christ. Luke tells us that Paul was in this blind state for 3 days until God calls a man named Ananias to go and meet Paul. He continues to tell his testimony:
Acts 22:12 - 16 Someone named Ananias, a devout man according to the law, having a good reputation with all the Jews residing there, came and stood by me and said, 'Brother Saul, regain your sight.' And in that very hour I looked up and saw him. Then he said, 'The God of our fathers has appointed you to know His will, to see the Righteous One, and to hear the sound of His voice.
For you will be a witness for Him to all people of what you have seen and heard. And now, why delay? Get up and be baptized, and wash away your sins by calling on His name.'
The scripture says "wash away your sins by calling on His name".
There is only one way to become a child of God, that is asking Him to forgive you of all your sin, and He will wash all of them away!
This was the beginning of the life of a man of God. Paul's life was changed - completely! Never again did he go after those in the Way to arrest them and put them to death - he became one. True repentance shows itself in a changed life, in a complete about face, a turn around.
I've said many times it is a change from going south on route 522 heading to Winchester (like all of us were born heading towards) and making a complete a turn-around and heading north. You no longer walk in darkness but now you walk in the light.
You might say what do we do with the sin problem? In the book of John we find the answer. Jesus is at the temple complex in Jerusalem:
John 8:3 - 11 Then the scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman caught in adultery, making her stand in the center. "Teacher," they said to Him, "this woman was caught in the act of committing adultery. In the law Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do You say?" They asked this to trap Him, in order that they might have evidence to accuse Him. Jesus stooped down and started writing on the ground with His finger.
When they persisted in questioning Him, He stood up and said to them, "The one without sin among you should be the first to throw a stone at her." Then He stooped down again and continued writing on the ground. When they heard this, they left one by one, starting with the older men. Only He was left, with the woman in the center.
When Jesus stood up, He said to her, "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?" "No one, Lord," she answered. "Neither do I condemn you," said Jesus. "Go, and from now on do not sin anymore."
That's true repentance - "Go, and from now on do not sin anymore."
Jesus then tells them that He is the light of the world - He will light our path - He will give us strength. He knows the hold that sin has on our lives - and He knows that only He can set us free from it. It is a choice. We don't know any more about this woman. We don't know what choice she made. Did she say yes to Jesus and allow Him to change her? Or did she decide to continue to live her life the same old way - in darkness? If you were in her shoes what would you have chosen?
Jesus died on the cross so that you might have forgiveness of your sins - all of them, and so that you might have a changed life. He died on the cross so that your life would be changed from darkness to light:
John 8:12 Then Jesus spoke to them again: "I am the light of the world. Anyone who follows Me will never walk in the darkness but will have the light of life."
John 3:7 Do not be amazed that I told you that you must be born again.
What is the first step in living the life of a man or woman of God? Knowing Him in a personal way. How do you do that? We find that answer also in the book of John. These verses many of us know them by heart:
John 3:16 - 18 "For God loved the world in this way: He gave His One and Only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world that He might condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. Anyone who believes in Him is not condemned, but anyone who does not believe is already condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the One and Only Son of God.
Revelation 3:20 - 22 Listen! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and have dinner with him, and he with Me. The victor: I will give him the right to sit with Me on My throne, just as I also won the victory and sat down with My Father on His throne. "Anyone who has an ear should listen to what the Spirit says to the churches."
There are many today that think and believe that there are many ways to get to heaven, many ways to have your sins forgiven, many ways to have your life changed. Many today make their own way to heaven, they pick and choose what they want to believe, they make excuses for themselves and the sin they commit trying to justify it. Satan has this world living in mass confusion.
Where are you today? Do you truly believe what the Bible tell us?
Do you believe that He is returning soon? Scripture after scripture tells us that He is. He tells us what the world is going to be like before He returns.
Matthew 24:4 -13 Then Jesus replied to them: "Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying, 'I am the Messiah,' and they will deceive many. You are going to hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, because these things must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places.
All these events are the beginning of birth pains. "Then they will hand you over for persecution, and they will kill you. You will be hated by all nations because of My name. Then many will take offense, betray one another and hate one another. Many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. Because lawlessness will multiply, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be delivered.
There is a scripture in Isaiah that is being fulfilled right before our eyes. Yesterday there was a conference being held about the drought situations on the earth. Representatives from California, which is in drought conditions now, were there. One of the key speakers was a Jewish man from Israel. His speech - they are now producing water from the desert.
Isaiah 41:18 – 20 I will open rivers on the barren heights, and springs in the middle of the plains. I will turn the desert into a pool of water and dry land into springs of water. I will plant cedars in the desert, acacias, myrtles, and olive trees. I will put juniper trees in the desert, elms and cypress trees together, so that all may see and know, consider and understand, that the hand of the LORD has done this, the Holy One of Israel has created it.
Who is a true friend? A true friend is one who will tell you the truth no matter if it will jeopardize the friendship. Someday I will have to answer to what I shared with you. If I just preached sermons that made you feel good and didn't share with you of Jesus's love for you and the change He wanted to bring in your lives, and if I didn't share the truth that sin will send you to Hell, what kind of pastor would I be? What kind of a true friend would I be?
Luke tells a story of true friendship:
Luke 5:18 - 25 Just then some men came, carrying on a mat a man who was paralyzed. They tried to bring him in and set him down before Him. Since they could not find a way to bring him in because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and lowered him on the mat through the roof tiles into the middle of the crowd before Jesus. Seeing their faith He said, "Friend, your sins are forgiven you."
Then the scribes and the Pharisees began to think: "Who is this man who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God alone?" But perceiving their thoughts, Jesus replied to them, "Why are you thinking this in your hearts? Which is easier: to say, 'Your sins are forgiven you,' or to say, 'Get up and walk'? But so you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins"--He told the paralyzed man, "I tell you: Get up, pick up your mat, and go home."
Immediately he got up before them, picked up what he had been lying on, and went home glorifying God.
These men were willing to risk all for their friend. They didn't care what anyone else said or did or felt, they just wanted to get their friend to Jesus.
I am willing to do the same for you.
Do you know Jesus?
John 14:6 Jesus told him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
How do you begin a life of a man or woman of God? You must go through Jesus Christ, the author and finisher of our faith.
Do you know Him? Are you ready to meet God? Do you want to begin the life of a man or woman of God?
May 31, 2015 Rock Bottom-Pastor Mike Rosensteel
Rock Bottom
(Play You tube video - Craig’s Rescue Story)
Rock Bottom means to reach the lowest possible level.
Who here has ever hit rock bottom? Who feel they are at rock bottom right now? How many have ever said or thought or asked God this question "why me God?" If you answered yes to any of these questions -you are not alone.
Hitting rock bottom has come to people ever since creation. Do you think that Adam and Eve hit rock bottom after that first sin and they were cast out of the Garden of Eden? Do you think they hit rock bottom after their first born Cain murdered his brother Abel?
It has come to followers of God and to those who are not followers. God gives us example after example in His word about those hitting rock bottom and what to do about it. There are so many examples that we don't have the time to share each one.
Psalms 40:1 - 5 For the choir director. A Davidic psalm. I waited patiently for the LORD, and He turned to me and heard my cry for help. He brought me up from a desolate pit, out of the muddy clay, and set my feet on a rock, making my steps secure. He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear, and put their trust in the LORD.
How happy is the man who has put his trust in the LORD and has not turned to the proud or to those who run after lies! LORD my God, You have done many things--Your wonderful works and Your plans for us; none can compare with You. If I were to report and speak of them, they are more than can be told.
When you read about David’s life, you will find him in this state more than once. What did he do? Scripture tells us that the Lord heard his cry. David talked to God and waited patiently, which tells us that the relief did not come quickly, he never doubted that his prayer would be heard, and made up his heart and mind to continue believing, and hoping, and praying, till his answer came. Those whose expectation is from God may wait with assurance, but must wait with patience.
Hosea 6:1 Come, let us return to the LORD. For He has torn us, and He will heal us; He has wounded us, and He will bind up our wounds.
Isaiah 40:31 but those who trust in the LORD will renew their strength; they will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary; they will walk and not faint.
Jeremiah the prophet lived in the final days of the crumbling nation of Israel. He was, appropriately, the last prophet that God sent to preach to the tribes of Judah and Benjamin. God had repeatedly warned Israel to stop their idolatrous behavior, but they would not listen, so He tore the 12 tribes apart, sending the 10 northern tribes into captivity at the hands of the Assyrians. Then God sent Jeremiah to give Judah the last warning before He cast them out of the land, decimating the nation and sending them into captivity in the pagan kingdom of Babylon, we know it today as Iraq.
Jeremiah, a faithful, God-fearing man, was called to tell Israel that, because of their unrepentant sin their God had turned against them and was now prepared to remove them from the land at the hands of a pagan king whom He called “My servant”.
Jeremiah, who was only about 17 when God called him, had sorrow over the fate of his people, and he begged them to listen. He is known as “the weeping prophet,” because he cried tears of sadness, not only because he knew what was about to happen, but because no matter how hard he tried, the people would not listen. He found no human comfort. God had forbidden him to marry or have children and his friends had turned their backs on him. So, along with the burden of the knowledge of the judgment coming, he also must have felt very lonely.
In his book Jeremiah maintains his call to prophecy to his people which leads him to admissions of personal grief, anguish, and fury of what it is like to do the work of God for forty years and to receive in return little more than condemnation and hatred from those to whom he has been sent to announce the demands of God. If you read the book of Jeremiah you will a see a prophet - a sad, weeping man of God hitting rock bottom.
Jeremiah 25:1 - 11 This is the word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah in the fourth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah, king of Judah (which was the first year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon). The prophet Jeremiah spoke concerning all the people of Judah and all the residents of Jerusalem as follows: "From the thirteenth year of Josiah son of Amon, king of Judah, until this very day--23 years--the word of the LORD has come to me, and I have spoken to you time and time again, but you have not obeyed.
The LORD sent all His servants the prophets to you time and time again, but you have not obeyed or even paid attention. He announced, 'Turn, each of you, from your evil way of life and from your evil deeds. Live in the land the LORD gave to you and your ancestors for ever and ever. Do not follow other gods to serve them and to worship them, and do not provoke Me to anger by the work of your hands. Then I will do you no harm.
"'But you would not obey Me'--this is the LORD's declaration--'in order that you might provoke Me to anger by the work of your hands and bring disaster on yourselves.' "Therefore, this is what the LORD of Hosts says: 'Because you have not obeyed My words, I am going to send for all the families of the north'--this is the LORD's declaration--'and send for My servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and I will bring them against this land, against its residents, and against all these surrounding nations, and I will completely destroy them and make them a desolation, a derision, and ruins forever.
I will eliminate the sound of joy and gladness from them--the voice of the bridegroom and the bride, the sound of the millstones and the light of the lamp. This whole land will become a desolate ruin, and these nations will serve the king of Babylon for 70 years.
Why did God allow His chosen people to hit rock bottom? Because of their disobedience and to open their eyes to the truth.
Why does God allow those who don't believe in Him to hit rock bottom? So that they might search for Him and find Him.
People are hitting rock bottom today and turning to all kinds of things to meet that longing in their heart because Satan is confusing them into what they believe and what not to believe.
Scripture tells us that in the last days there will be those who don't believe there is a God, or there are many gods. There will be those who don't believe the scripture that God created everything.
I have had my son Matt teach about the creation in the Bible. He uses an illustration about there has to be a creator using a simple piece of candy - a twizzler. A twizzler is made up of about 16 different ingredients.
Now who here this morning would believe that over millions of years and through the evolutionary process that a twizzler would just appear? No because to have a twizzler, there must have been a designer and creator in this case The Hershey Company.
Let's take one part of the human body - the brain. I choose this because I have a surgeon who has actually seen my brain and admits that I actually have one - even though he says it is small!!
I did a google search on Brain Facts and found some amazing things: The human brain controls the central nervous system by way of the cranial nerves and spinal cord, the peripheral nervous system and regulates virtually all human activity. The brain is made up of over 100 billion nerve cells with each brain cell connected to around 10,000 other cells, which equals around 1000 trillion connections in your brain.
With this information on just a small part of your body - would you be inclined to believe that over millions of years and through the evolutionary process that your brain just came to be or would you think that there was a designer and creator of your brain?
Revelation 4:11 Our Lord and God, You are worthy to receive glory and honor and power, because You have created all things, and because of Your will they exist and were created.
Hebrews 11:6 Now without faith it is impossible to please God, for the one who draws near to Him must believe that He exists and rewards those who seek Him.
We find so many faithful followers in scripture when it comes to hitting rock bottom. We find several while they were in exile that Jeremiah warned about. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego would not bow down to worship King Nebuchadnezzar- regardless of the punishment.
Daniel 3:15 - 23 Now if you're ready, when you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, drum, and every kind of music, fall down and worship the statue I made. But if you don't worship it, you will immediately be thrown into a furnace of blazing fire--and who is the god who can rescue you from my power?" Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied to the king, "Nebuchadnezzar, we don't need to give you an answer to this question. If the God we serve exists, then He can rescue us from the furnace of blazing fire, and He can rescue us from the power of you, the king.
But even if He does not rescue us, we want you as king to know that we will not serve your gods or worship the gold statue you set up." Then Nebuchadnezzar was filled with rage, and the expression on his face changed toward Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. He gave orders to heat the furnace seven times more than was customary, and he commanded some of the strongest soldiers in his army to tie up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and throw them into the furnace of blazing fire.
So these men, in their trousers, robes, head coverings, and other clothes, were tied up and thrown into the furnace of blazing fire. Since the king's command was so urgent and the furnace extremely hot, the raging flames killed those men who carried Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego up. And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego fell, bound, into the furnace of blazing fire.
Can you picture this scene? These 3 Hebrew men would not bow down to the king. These 3 men would not bow down to the pressures of the world, these 3 men even though their stand for God was going to mean death. These 3 men chose to be obedient to God no matter what the world was going to do to them.
Do you think maybe these 3 men who had been taken from their country, who were standing firm to the teaching of God, who were now facing death, that maybe their lives were hitting rock bottom - how could their lives be any worse?
Do we feel that way sometime? The world puts pressure on us to do certain things. I remember when I played Little League Baseball as a kid that games were never scheduled to be played on Sunday or even Wednesday because that was church times. God came first even in the eyes of non-Christians. But now we play and practice on those days and Christian people go along with it. I wonder what would happen if we would take our stand like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego did and say no - what would happen.
I know its tuff taking a stand like this, when my sons played baseball and wrestled Sunday sports were just starting and we as a family had to make a decision. We put God first. It was hard sometimes watching our boys not getting to participate like the other boys. Not getting the trophies and ribbons like the other boys got. Sometimes you felt like you just hit rock bottom. You might say you were mean parents for not allowing your sons to participate like other kids. We always let those decisions up to them to make. They chose to follow God. I don't see that those decisions hurt them any.
Look how Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego's choice to follow God not only affected their lives but the lives of others also:
Daniel 3:24 - 29 Then King Nebuchadnezzar jumped up in alarm. He said to his advisers, "Didn't we throw three men, bound, into the fire?" "Yes, of course, Your Majesty," they replied to the king. He exclaimed, "Look! I see four men, not tied, walking around in the fire unharmed; and the fourth looks like the Son of God." Nebuchadnezzar then approached the door of the furnace of blazing fire and called: "Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, you servants of the Most High God--come out!" So Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came out of the fire.
When the satraps, prefects, governors, and the king's advisers gathered around, they saw that the fire had no effect on the bodies of these men: not a hair of their heads was singed, their robes were unaffected, and there was no smell of fire on them. Nebuchadnezzar exclaimed, "Praise to the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego! He sent His angel and rescued His servants who trusted in Him. They violated the king's command and risked their lives rather than serve or worship any god except their own God.
Therefore I issue a decree that anyone of any people, nation, or language who says anything offensive against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego will be torn limb from limb and his house made a garbage dump. For there is no other god who is able to deliver like this."
Jesus says this:
Mark 8:34 - 38 Summoning the crowd along with His disciples, He said to them, "If anyone wants to be My follower, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life because of Me and the gospel will save it. For what does it benefit a man to gain the whole world yet lose his life? What can a man give in exchange for his life? For whoever is ashamed of Me and of My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels."
When I think of a life hitting rock bottom I also think of Job. Here is a man who lived for God. Scripture tells us He was a man of perfect integrity, who feared God and turned from evil. He prayed for his family - scripture says it was his regular practice.
Job 1:6 One day the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came with them.
Job 1:9 - 11 Satan answered the LORD, "Does Job fear God for nothing? Haven't You placed a hedge around him, his household, and everything he owns? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions are spread out in the land. But stretch out Your hand and strike everything he owns, and he will surely curse You to Your face."
God allowed this to happen and in just a few hours Satan took away all Job had plus all his children. Do you think Job's life hit rock bottom?
Job 1:20 - 22 Then Job stood up, tore his robe and shaved his head. He fell to the ground and worshiped, saying: Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I will leave this life. The LORD gives, and the LORD takes away. Praise the name of the LORD. Throughout all this Job did not sin or blame God for anything.
Satan determined to destroy Job and have this man turn his back on God returns:
Job 2:4 - 5 "Skin for skin!" Satan answered the LORD. "A man will give up everything he owns in exchange for his life. But stretch out Your hand and strike his flesh and bones, and he will surely curse You to Your face."
Job 2:7 - 9 So Satan left the LORD's presence and infected Job with incurable boils from the sole of his foot to the top of his head. Then Job took a piece of broken pottery to scrape himself while he sat among the ashes. His wife said to him, "Do you still retain your integrity? Curse God and die!"
After having all you own and all you children taken from you, and now your health, do you think you would hit rock bottom? Do you think Job did? As a Christian it doesn't mean that you have sinned when you hit rock bottom. God will use these times to teach you, to reveal Himself to you in a way that draws you closer to Him, or He might use a rock bottom experience to draw other to Himself through you.
Job 2:10 "You speak as a foolish woman speaks," he told her. "Should we accept only good from God and not adversity?" Throughout all this Job did not sin in what he said.
God allows rock bottom experiences to come into our lives. To the unsaved, He brings allows them so that we will call upon Him and receive Him. To the Christian, He allows them that we will draw closer on Him and depend on Him and not ourselves. He also uses our testimony to draw people to Himself and to draw Christians closer.
I want you to know this morning that nothing ever comes into our lives that takes God by surprise. There is a purpose and plan for each of us designed by God. His plan is for all of His creation to know Him. No matter what we go through in this life, no matter what rock bottom experience we may face in this life, God loves us and desires to restore each of us to Himself so that we will spend eternity with Him. Listen to what He tells Jeremiah He will do at the end of those 70 years in captivity:
Jeremiah 29:10 - 14 For this is what the LORD says: "When 70 years for Babylon are complete, I will attend to you and will confirm My promise concerning you to restore you to this place. For I know the plans I have for you"--this is the LORD's declaration--"plans for your welfare, not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.
You will call to Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.
I will be found by you"--the LORD's declaration—
In our rock bottom experiences do we call on Him and wait patiently for His answer to come?
In our rock bottom experiences do we call on Him to receive Him and allow Him to take over our lives?
(Play You tube video - Craig’s Rescue Story)
Rock Bottom means to reach the lowest possible level.
Who here has ever hit rock bottom? Who feel they are at rock bottom right now? How many have ever said or thought or asked God this question "why me God?" If you answered yes to any of these questions -you are not alone.
Hitting rock bottom has come to people ever since creation. Do you think that Adam and Eve hit rock bottom after that first sin and they were cast out of the Garden of Eden? Do you think they hit rock bottom after their first born Cain murdered his brother Abel?
It has come to followers of God and to those who are not followers. God gives us example after example in His word about those hitting rock bottom and what to do about it. There are so many examples that we don't have the time to share each one.
Psalms 40:1 - 5 For the choir director. A Davidic psalm. I waited patiently for the LORD, and He turned to me and heard my cry for help. He brought me up from a desolate pit, out of the muddy clay, and set my feet on a rock, making my steps secure. He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear, and put their trust in the LORD.
How happy is the man who has put his trust in the LORD and has not turned to the proud or to those who run after lies! LORD my God, You have done many things--Your wonderful works and Your plans for us; none can compare with You. If I were to report and speak of them, they are more than can be told.
When you read about David’s life, you will find him in this state more than once. What did he do? Scripture tells us that the Lord heard his cry. David talked to God and waited patiently, which tells us that the relief did not come quickly, he never doubted that his prayer would be heard, and made up his heart and mind to continue believing, and hoping, and praying, till his answer came. Those whose expectation is from God may wait with assurance, but must wait with patience.
Hosea 6:1 Come, let us return to the LORD. For He has torn us, and He will heal us; He has wounded us, and He will bind up our wounds.
Isaiah 40:31 but those who trust in the LORD will renew their strength; they will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary; they will walk and not faint.
Jeremiah the prophet lived in the final days of the crumbling nation of Israel. He was, appropriately, the last prophet that God sent to preach to the tribes of Judah and Benjamin. God had repeatedly warned Israel to stop their idolatrous behavior, but they would not listen, so He tore the 12 tribes apart, sending the 10 northern tribes into captivity at the hands of the Assyrians. Then God sent Jeremiah to give Judah the last warning before He cast them out of the land, decimating the nation and sending them into captivity in the pagan kingdom of Babylon, we know it today as Iraq.
Jeremiah, a faithful, God-fearing man, was called to tell Israel that, because of their unrepentant sin their God had turned against them and was now prepared to remove them from the land at the hands of a pagan king whom He called “My servant”.
Jeremiah, who was only about 17 when God called him, had sorrow over the fate of his people, and he begged them to listen. He is known as “the weeping prophet,” because he cried tears of sadness, not only because he knew what was about to happen, but because no matter how hard he tried, the people would not listen. He found no human comfort. God had forbidden him to marry or have children and his friends had turned their backs on him. So, along with the burden of the knowledge of the judgment coming, he also must have felt very lonely.
In his book Jeremiah maintains his call to prophecy to his people which leads him to admissions of personal grief, anguish, and fury of what it is like to do the work of God for forty years and to receive in return little more than condemnation and hatred from those to whom he has been sent to announce the demands of God. If you read the book of Jeremiah you will a see a prophet - a sad, weeping man of God hitting rock bottom.
Jeremiah 25:1 - 11 This is the word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah in the fourth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah, king of Judah (which was the first year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon). The prophet Jeremiah spoke concerning all the people of Judah and all the residents of Jerusalem as follows: "From the thirteenth year of Josiah son of Amon, king of Judah, until this very day--23 years--the word of the LORD has come to me, and I have spoken to you time and time again, but you have not obeyed.
The LORD sent all His servants the prophets to you time and time again, but you have not obeyed or even paid attention. He announced, 'Turn, each of you, from your evil way of life and from your evil deeds. Live in the land the LORD gave to you and your ancestors for ever and ever. Do not follow other gods to serve them and to worship them, and do not provoke Me to anger by the work of your hands. Then I will do you no harm.
"'But you would not obey Me'--this is the LORD's declaration--'in order that you might provoke Me to anger by the work of your hands and bring disaster on yourselves.' "Therefore, this is what the LORD of Hosts says: 'Because you have not obeyed My words, I am going to send for all the families of the north'--this is the LORD's declaration--'and send for My servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and I will bring them against this land, against its residents, and against all these surrounding nations, and I will completely destroy them and make them a desolation, a derision, and ruins forever.
I will eliminate the sound of joy and gladness from them--the voice of the bridegroom and the bride, the sound of the millstones and the light of the lamp. This whole land will become a desolate ruin, and these nations will serve the king of Babylon for 70 years.
Why did God allow His chosen people to hit rock bottom? Because of their disobedience and to open their eyes to the truth.
Why does God allow those who don't believe in Him to hit rock bottom? So that they might search for Him and find Him.
People are hitting rock bottom today and turning to all kinds of things to meet that longing in their heart because Satan is confusing them into what they believe and what not to believe.
Scripture tells us that in the last days there will be those who don't believe there is a God, or there are many gods. There will be those who don't believe the scripture that God created everything.
I have had my son Matt teach about the creation in the Bible. He uses an illustration about there has to be a creator using a simple piece of candy - a twizzler. A twizzler is made up of about 16 different ingredients.
Now who here this morning would believe that over millions of years and through the evolutionary process that a twizzler would just appear? No because to have a twizzler, there must have been a designer and creator in this case The Hershey Company.
Let's take one part of the human body - the brain. I choose this because I have a surgeon who has actually seen my brain and admits that I actually have one - even though he says it is small!!
I did a google search on Brain Facts and found some amazing things: The human brain controls the central nervous system by way of the cranial nerves and spinal cord, the peripheral nervous system and regulates virtually all human activity. The brain is made up of over 100 billion nerve cells with each brain cell connected to around 10,000 other cells, which equals around 1000 trillion connections in your brain.
With this information on just a small part of your body - would you be inclined to believe that over millions of years and through the evolutionary process that your brain just came to be or would you think that there was a designer and creator of your brain?
Revelation 4:11 Our Lord and God, You are worthy to receive glory and honor and power, because You have created all things, and because of Your will they exist and were created.
Hebrews 11:6 Now without faith it is impossible to please God, for the one who draws near to Him must believe that He exists and rewards those who seek Him.
We find so many faithful followers in scripture when it comes to hitting rock bottom. We find several while they were in exile that Jeremiah warned about. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego would not bow down to worship King Nebuchadnezzar- regardless of the punishment.
Daniel 3:15 - 23 Now if you're ready, when you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, drum, and every kind of music, fall down and worship the statue I made. But if you don't worship it, you will immediately be thrown into a furnace of blazing fire--and who is the god who can rescue you from my power?" Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied to the king, "Nebuchadnezzar, we don't need to give you an answer to this question. If the God we serve exists, then He can rescue us from the furnace of blazing fire, and He can rescue us from the power of you, the king.
But even if He does not rescue us, we want you as king to know that we will not serve your gods or worship the gold statue you set up." Then Nebuchadnezzar was filled with rage, and the expression on his face changed toward Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. He gave orders to heat the furnace seven times more than was customary, and he commanded some of the strongest soldiers in his army to tie up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and throw them into the furnace of blazing fire.
So these men, in their trousers, robes, head coverings, and other clothes, were tied up and thrown into the furnace of blazing fire. Since the king's command was so urgent and the furnace extremely hot, the raging flames killed those men who carried Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego up. And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego fell, bound, into the furnace of blazing fire.
Can you picture this scene? These 3 Hebrew men would not bow down to the king. These 3 men would not bow down to the pressures of the world, these 3 men even though their stand for God was going to mean death. These 3 men chose to be obedient to God no matter what the world was going to do to them.
Do you think maybe these 3 men who had been taken from their country, who were standing firm to the teaching of God, who were now facing death, that maybe their lives were hitting rock bottom - how could their lives be any worse?
Do we feel that way sometime? The world puts pressure on us to do certain things. I remember when I played Little League Baseball as a kid that games were never scheduled to be played on Sunday or even Wednesday because that was church times. God came first even in the eyes of non-Christians. But now we play and practice on those days and Christian people go along with it. I wonder what would happen if we would take our stand like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego did and say no - what would happen.
I know its tuff taking a stand like this, when my sons played baseball and wrestled Sunday sports were just starting and we as a family had to make a decision. We put God first. It was hard sometimes watching our boys not getting to participate like the other boys. Not getting the trophies and ribbons like the other boys got. Sometimes you felt like you just hit rock bottom. You might say you were mean parents for not allowing your sons to participate like other kids. We always let those decisions up to them to make. They chose to follow God. I don't see that those decisions hurt them any.
Look how Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego's choice to follow God not only affected their lives but the lives of others also:
Daniel 3:24 - 29 Then King Nebuchadnezzar jumped up in alarm. He said to his advisers, "Didn't we throw three men, bound, into the fire?" "Yes, of course, Your Majesty," they replied to the king. He exclaimed, "Look! I see four men, not tied, walking around in the fire unharmed; and the fourth looks like the Son of God." Nebuchadnezzar then approached the door of the furnace of blazing fire and called: "Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, you servants of the Most High God--come out!" So Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came out of the fire.
When the satraps, prefects, governors, and the king's advisers gathered around, they saw that the fire had no effect on the bodies of these men: not a hair of their heads was singed, their robes were unaffected, and there was no smell of fire on them. Nebuchadnezzar exclaimed, "Praise to the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego! He sent His angel and rescued His servants who trusted in Him. They violated the king's command and risked their lives rather than serve or worship any god except their own God.
Therefore I issue a decree that anyone of any people, nation, or language who says anything offensive against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego will be torn limb from limb and his house made a garbage dump. For there is no other god who is able to deliver like this."
Jesus says this:
Mark 8:34 - 38 Summoning the crowd along with His disciples, He said to them, "If anyone wants to be My follower, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life because of Me and the gospel will save it. For what does it benefit a man to gain the whole world yet lose his life? What can a man give in exchange for his life? For whoever is ashamed of Me and of My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels."
When I think of a life hitting rock bottom I also think of Job. Here is a man who lived for God. Scripture tells us He was a man of perfect integrity, who feared God and turned from evil. He prayed for his family - scripture says it was his regular practice.
Job 1:6 One day the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came with them.
Job 1:9 - 11 Satan answered the LORD, "Does Job fear God for nothing? Haven't You placed a hedge around him, his household, and everything he owns? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions are spread out in the land. But stretch out Your hand and strike everything he owns, and he will surely curse You to Your face."
God allowed this to happen and in just a few hours Satan took away all Job had plus all his children. Do you think Job's life hit rock bottom?
Job 1:20 - 22 Then Job stood up, tore his robe and shaved his head. He fell to the ground and worshiped, saying: Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I will leave this life. The LORD gives, and the LORD takes away. Praise the name of the LORD. Throughout all this Job did not sin or blame God for anything.
Satan determined to destroy Job and have this man turn his back on God returns:
Job 2:4 - 5 "Skin for skin!" Satan answered the LORD. "A man will give up everything he owns in exchange for his life. But stretch out Your hand and strike his flesh and bones, and he will surely curse You to Your face."
Job 2:7 - 9 So Satan left the LORD's presence and infected Job with incurable boils from the sole of his foot to the top of his head. Then Job took a piece of broken pottery to scrape himself while he sat among the ashes. His wife said to him, "Do you still retain your integrity? Curse God and die!"
After having all you own and all you children taken from you, and now your health, do you think you would hit rock bottom? Do you think Job did? As a Christian it doesn't mean that you have sinned when you hit rock bottom. God will use these times to teach you, to reveal Himself to you in a way that draws you closer to Him, or He might use a rock bottom experience to draw other to Himself through you.
Job 2:10 "You speak as a foolish woman speaks," he told her. "Should we accept only good from God and not adversity?" Throughout all this Job did not sin in what he said.
God allows rock bottom experiences to come into our lives. To the unsaved, He brings allows them so that we will call upon Him and receive Him. To the Christian, He allows them that we will draw closer on Him and depend on Him and not ourselves. He also uses our testimony to draw people to Himself and to draw Christians closer.
I want you to know this morning that nothing ever comes into our lives that takes God by surprise. There is a purpose and plan for each of us designed by God. His plan is for all of His creation to know Him. No matter what we go through in this life, no matter what rock bottom experience we may face in this life, God loves us and desires to restore each of us to Himself so that we will spend eternity with Him. Listen to what He tells Jeremiah He will do at the end of those 70 years in captivity:
Jeremiah 29:10 - 14 For this is what the LORD says: "When 70 years for Babylon are complete, I will attend to you and will confirm My promise concerning you to restore you to this place. For I know the plans I have for you"--this is the LORD's declaration--"plans for your welfare, not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.
You will call to Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.
I will be found by you"--the LORD's declaration—
In our rock bottom experiences do we call on Him and wait patiently for His answer to come?
In our rock bottom experiences do we call on Him to receive Him and allow Him to take over our lives?
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