I pray that the Lord has given you an incredible week thus far. We had a wonderful time in the presence of God on Sunday, followed by a time of fellowship at the end of the day. I took my final ordination test on Tuesday morning (thank you for your prayers this week). This test concludes the journey that God placed Bonnie and me on for the last 3 years. That initial period of time was a “beginning” filled with concerns of the unknown path laid out before us; however, it was also filled with complete trust in God, knowing that He would take us exactly where He wanted us to go. And as we watch God’s hand at work in our community, we are excited of what His next steps will be for us.
This Sunday’s morning message was a continuance of our “Beginnings” series. Just as my wife and I had a difficult “beginning” 3 years ago with our pathway, so have some other people that God has used over time. For starters, Bob Wieland is a Vietnam War veteran who lost his legs to enemy shrapnel during his tour of duty. Bob has always had tough beginnings during his life, but he has always persevered and given God all the glory for the successes in his life. From walking across the United States on his hands for hunger awareness to racing in the NYC and LA marathons, Bob knows that success is not measured from where you start, but where you finish. Moses had a tough beginning while leading the children of Israel through the desert, but God placed him in a position to succeed (Numbers 11:14-16). Unfortunately for the children of Israel, they did not trust in God for their success in the Promised Land and God banished those who disobeyed Him from entering the Promised Land (Numbers: chapters 13 and 14). It is interesting to note that one of the two men allowed into the Promised Land, Caleb, is from the same tribe of Israel as Jesus Christ is from—the tribe of Judah. And, because of Caleb’s obedience, he was allowed to enter into the Promised Land; because of Jesus’ obedience, we are able to enter into the presence of God (our “Promised Land”) for all of eternity.
We also learned on Sunday morning that if we want to have successful outcomes to these difficult beginnings, we need to keep ourselves holy. Why is this so important? Thanks to the blessed resurrection of Jesus Christ, we are a holy priesthood, able to commune with God. Able to present acceptable spiritual sacrifices (obedience, prayer, praising God, good deeds, giving of material possessions) to God through Jesus Christ. What an amazing gift to be given! But it comes with amazing responsibility, as well. Therefore, we have to continue to abstain from sinful desires so that God may be glorified through our lives. Remember, though, it is not how we live that saves us from eternal death, it is the saving grace God grants us through our faith in the blood of Jesus Christ that guarantees our eternal life in Heaven. If you don’t know how to receive that saving grace, it is very simple. Just tell God you know you’re a sinner; that He gave His only son, Jesus, over to men; man crucified Him on a cross; but Jesus rose from the dead and gives us eternal life because of His resurrection. If you believe this in your heart and confess it with your mouth, you will be saved. Just as Moses went to God for help with his beginning, so can you go to Jesus to help you with your burden of sin—Jesus is the load “Lightener”. To really insure success to your “beginning”, connect with a church that not only talks of the life of Jesus Christ, but also lives it out on a daily basis (if you want breathtaking success, make sure they believe in the Gifts of the Holy Spirit—I Corinthians: chapter 12).
During Sunday evening worship, we were visited by the Holy Spirit through a tongue and interpretation. God was encouraging us to praise Him, but not just with words and songs. He wanted us, as worshippers, to praise Him with all of our hearts, with all of our souls, and with all of our minds (this is very similar to what Jesus told us in Matthew 22:36-38, when He gave us the “greatest commandment”). We continued our study of the book of Revelation by examining chapter 13. In this chapter, the antichrist and false prophet are revealed to the world. In addition, the mark of the beast (“666”) is forced upon humanity. This mark, or number, will be the only way people will be able to do any kind of buying, selling, etc. in the global economy of that day. However, we will see later in the book of Revelation that the acceptance of that mark means eternal death and separation from God. During this time, the antichrist will be seeking to destroy all things and people associated with God. This is a time that no one should experience. In fact, it is avoidable through the acceptance of Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior (see previous paragraph). For when this is happening on earth, we will be awash in the presence of God in heaven—there is no better place to be at any time.
Have a wonderful week and may God bless you in different ways,
Pastor Claude
