2015 Maranatha Baptist Church .. Covington Indiana

ROOTED & GROUNDED

“That the LORD sent a prophet unto the children of Israel, which said unto them, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, I brought you up from Egypt, and brought you forth out of the house of bondage; And I delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of all that oppressed you, and drave them out from before you, and gave you their land; And I said unto you, I am the LORD your God; fear not the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but ye have not obeyed my voice.”

Judges 6:8–10

The Children of Israel failed in their assigned task to drive out all of the inhabitants of the Promised Land. They made progress during the days of Joshua and those who knew him, but once that generation was gone, they settled into an uneasy coexistence with the Canaanites. When God rebuked them for their failure, He revealed that Israel had a misplaced fear. Rather than fearing God and trusting Him, they were fearing the gods worshiped by their neighbors. As a result, they refused to obey God and claim the victory that He had promised to deliver into their hands. When we fear the wrong thing, wrong actions are certain to follow.

It may seem counter-intuitive, but fearing God actually makes us more courageous. “In the fear of the LORD is strong confidence: and his children shall have a place of refuge” (Proverbs 14:26). That is because the fear of God places us in a position of obedience that leads to a place of safety and blessing. When we fear men or circumstances more than we fear God, we are on a path of trouble. However, if our faith is strong, our courage will be as well, and our obedience will place us on the path to victory.

Rooted Principal : 

If we view God as He really is, it will not be hard for us to find the courage to obey Him.

Abiding in His Presence

John 15:1-4  I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.

How many times did you use the word abide this week? probably not once. We have said "Lets go' or "hurry up.." We tend to use lingo that keeps us going but words like abide usually come rarely..

Webster defines the word abide this way "to remain or settle down" Our world today places such emphasis on being upwardly mobile , that the very thought of remaining with something or someone has negative connotations. Americans are on the move from relationship to relationship , state to state, company to company spouse to spouse and church to church.. The tragedy is that fewer people are finding God and abiding in a close-knit relationship with Him. Even television has trained us to point that about six minutes from now your are going to need a commercial break from this blog... You will want to set down your tablet and go to the fridge and get some water or a coke . Culture conditions us to be in motion- constantly on the go. 

The Lord Jesus Christ spoke the words in our text .. NO fewer then eight times in this passage He tells His disciples "Abide in me. Remain with me" Settle down into a relationship with me" Let it be normal and natural that we would commune together day by day and moment by moment" 

In this passage, Jesus was somewhere between the upper room and the Garden of Gethsemane, quite possibly surrounded by vineyards. In John 15 , Jesus was not inviting His disciples to "try Him out" or "see what it might be like" He was inviting them to remain with Him. What does it mean to abide , personally, with Jesus Christ? It is just some figurative concept or is it something we can really enjoy? What does it mean to abide in the presence of Christ?

Sermon on a Stick

                                               LOT: THE MAN WHO LINGERED 

Genesis 19:16       And while he lingered, the men laid hold upon his hand, and upon the hand of his wife , and upon the hand of his two daughters ; the Lord being merciful unto him; and they brought him forth,and set him without the city..   
I.
              A. WHEN LOT LINGERED
                         1.  When it was time for decisive action
                         2. When His godly uncle was praying for him
                         3. When Heavenly messengers were urging him to go
                         4. When Judgment was imminent
                         5. When he know better than to linger
                         6. Comments by J.R. Ryle
                                a. Slow when he should have been quick
                                b. Backward when he should have been forward
                                c. Loitering when he should have been hurrying
                                d. Clod when he should have been hot
              B. WHY LOT LINGERED
                       1. He Made a wrong Choice early in life (Gen 13:5-11)
                       2. He found fellowship with sinner ( Gen 13:11-13)
                       3. He had raised his family in Sodom
                       4. He treasures were all in Sodom
                       5. He felt too old to start again
                       6. Sodom was home
              C. ARE YOU LINGERING LIKE LOT?
                        1. Do you know more truth then you live ?
                        2. Do you believe in heaven but don't long for it ?
                        3. Do you know time is short but live as if it were long ?
                        4. Do you build your life around things below ?
                        5> Do you understand the battle but consort with the enemy?
                       6. Do you say you love Jesus but don't truly live for Him ?

Wisdom from the word

The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel; To know wisdom and instruction; to perceive the words of understanding;

Proverbs 1:1–2

Industrialist Charles Schwab was a key figure in Andrew Carnegie’s steel empire. Frustrated with his inability to get everything done, he once reluctantly agreed to meet with a consultant named Ivy Lee, who was recommended to him by John D. Rockefeller. Schwab had little use for consultants, but since Rockefeller recommended Lee so highly, he scheduled the meeting. Lee’s proposal was elegantly simple.

He told Schwab to make a list of the six most important things he could do the next day to further the overall health and function of U.S. Steel. At the end of the day, Schwab was to review the list, move anything that had not been finished to the top of the next day’s list, and then add enough items to make a total of six again. Within fifteen minutes, the meeting concluded. Lee told Schwab to follow this practice for thirty days, and then send him a payment based on how much Schwab thought the advice was worth. After the month ended, Schwab sent Lee a check for $25,000!

This story illustrates the great value of receiving instruction in wisdom. Wisdom can be defined as “skillfulness in the use of knowledge.” It is more than just education and the accumulation of facts. Wisdom is being instructed in God’s views and values and living accordingly. It is so important, in fact, that God has given us an entire book of Scripture designed to instruct us to live wisely.

Throughout this year, we will be studying in these devotions the wisdom recorded in Proverbs. This book is the written advice that Solomon wrote and compiled for his son Rehoboam, to help prepare him to do right and lead the nation of Israel. May we apply our hearts to wisdom today and throughout our lives.

Principle: 

Allow God’s Word to guide the development of your values and live by its principles, and you will receive the benefits of wisdom.

Monday Minute

" No Learning can make up for the failure to pray, No earnestness, no diligence, no study, no gifts will supply its lack "- E.M. Bounds

WISDOM IN THE WORD

For the turning away of the simple shall slay them, and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them.
Proverbs 1:32

I read about a young man just starting out in business who told his pastor that he would be faithful to tithe and asked for God’s blessing on his work. The man was faithful to give as he had promised, and his income continued to increase. He became one of the highest givers in the church. But as his income continued to grow, it got harder and harder for him to feel good about writing a check to give so much money to God.
Finally he called the pastor and said, “I made six million dollars last year. I can’t afford to give God six hundred thousand. What can I do?” The pastor responded, “How about I pray that God reduces your income back down to where you can afford to tithe!” It didn’t take long for the businessman to decide that tithing was a better deal. That story illustrates one of the dangers that comes with God’s blessing. As we get more, it can become an idol that we worship and lead to our destruction.

Paul warned Timothy about false teachers who would come in and equate prosperity with God’s blessing, “supposing that gain is godliness” (1 Timothy 6:5). We should not fall into the trap of thinking that because someone has more they must be receiving God’s favor. The popular message that God wants all of His children to be rich and financially well off is not grounded in Scripture. In fact what the Bible teaches is that while God does bless people with prosperity in some cases, in other cases material gain is actually part of His judgment. The destructive power of the love of money leads those who have some to want still more. They are never satisfied or content, thus missing the blessing of God’s peace.

Examine your heart carefully to be sure that money has not taken God’s rightful place.