The Cross

Have you ever done something, that when you were finished you were completely and emotionally drained. This past week we began a series on "The Cross". We are going to go to the cross the last Sunday of every month. In preparing for this sermon, God convicted me of many personal things and gave me a bold word to share with Family by Faith. Our faith family accepted the word and I believe many laid open their hearts after confronting the cross. Please pray for our faith family as we continue to confront the crisis of the cross.

I was born in 1962. For as long as I can remember, people have talked about wars and natural disasters that occur and that these are signs of the last days. Of course, I know the urgency was around the things that were happening around the world. It is amazing how war and events make people get real serious about the possibility of the coming of Jesus.

Even though all of these things are pointing toward the end times. Could it be, even as we look at the signs, that we have taken our eyes off the road? In some places, we may even be in danger of running off the road.

I am more convinced than I ever have been that the thing we have to fear is something that might happen internally in the church or in our personal lives that would cause us to become less and less sensitized to the spiritual truth. You see, we don't wrestle with flesh and blood.

Ephesians 6:12 tells us that we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against rulers of darkness.

The physical persecution and all the rest of the end times will happen only after a successful campaign has been waged to make the gospel of Christ null and void or unworkable in the lives of professed believers. The scripture tells us that there will be a deception that will deceive if possible the very elect.

At this point I have to make sure you are aware of something.

The enemy has the majority of this planet in his grasp.

Let's look at the cross and see if we have taken the cross out of the church. Are the churches that claim to preach the cross not really doing it.

Galatians 6:14, "But God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ."

Galatians 1:6-8 has Paul telling the church at Galatia that he cannot believe that the church has turned away so quickly from Christ. They have turned to a different gospel.

Do you see, what is missing in this other gospel is the cross. Today, there is salvation being preached without the cross. Most think that when we read about the false or other gospel we think of Buddha or New Age, or sex and dregs. What Paul is talking about is a gospel that is similar to what you know, but without the cross.

Now I know that in many places it seems that there is a great revival going on. We see churches with thousands of people, wonderful music, and amazing programs. But look out. It doesn't matter how successful a particular ministry may appear to be or a program or event. If the cross is not the door through which the people come, you can rest assured that the revival or the success of the ministry is not the work of God.

You see, in the 21st century, many say they preach the cross. But what they are not preaching is the crisis of the cross. The crisis of the cross is the part that has to do with right and wrong. It leads to a confrontation of the cross. It leads us to confront our sins head on.

We fail to preach a message that calls for repentance. When we fail to do that we are actually strengthening the cause of the evil in the world.

As God looked down on a sin sick world of people bound in the prison of sin, full of fear and despair, full of doubt, He saw a world without peace or hope. And to this kind of world He sent His only Begotten Son. So Jesus came to earth. He took on Himself the fragility of human flesh, and He told all who would listen:

Matthew 11:28, "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest."

This is the invitation of the cross. It is a call to everyone who is sick of sin. Jesus was calling out to all who were tired of the binding chains of powerful evil habits and sin. Jesus was calling everyone who was tired of lying, the cheating, the adultery, and the depression of a selfish life. He was saying, I know you are weary from dragging your chains around; you are tired of sleepless nights.

Jesus died on the cross not only to forgive sin, but also to break its crushing power in our lives. Sin destroys bodies. Worst of all, sin shuts off al communion with God. Read Isaiah 59:2

Christ church is not a supper club or and entertainment building. It is a hospital for sin sick souls. But when sin sick people come in and are comforted in their sins, when they are not made to confront the cross. That is a betrayal to the Gospel.

You see, the cross is essentially a confrontation with our sinful lifestyle.

We must not forget that the door to heaven is not love, but the cross. A person that has not come by the way of the cross will manifest love that is not love at all but a self indulgence and selfishness which masquerades as love.

So what are we called to do?

Luke 9:23, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me."

Luke 14:27, "And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple."

When Jesus says that we must take up our cross, He is calling on us to die because that's what crosses are for. We must die to self so that when we follow Him our focus is not on our things but on Jesus Christ.

Galatians 2:20, "I have been crucified with Christ, it is no longer I who lives, but Christ lives in me; and the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me."

These days, what is missing in many churches about the cross is that the sinner who comes to the cross of Christ must be prepared to die to sin. Christ did not die that we might continue to live our lives in sin. This is why the preaching of the cross must always be accompanied by a call to repentance and self denial. There are many that are deceiving themselves into thinking they have the real thing, when at best their lives are in spiritual gridlock.

But with that all said, I need to share something exciting. The wonderful truth is that if we die with Jesus, then we also come into glory of His resurrection and into newness of life. His cross is our cross, His death is our death, and His resurrection is our resurrection. This then is the true meaning of the cross.

Today, we are often asked, how then are we going to bring the unchurched into the church. Understand, you can bring the unchurched to the church and then can still be dead in trespasses and sin. The issue is not how are we going to bring people back to the church, but how shall we bring men and women, young and old, to the foot of the cross.

We cannot go on as we are. What we have is killing us.

Our only hope is to go to the cross-- not just to go to the cross and watch Jesus die there, but go there and die with Him.

"I have been crucified with Christ, it is no longer I that lives but Christ lives in me."

I pray that you go to the cross daily. If you are living in these binding chains of sin, I would love to pray with you and share the cross and what being on your knees daily for Him is about. If you are looking for a church that is focused on the cross and knows that our adoption into the family of God is only possible because of the cross, we would love for you to worship with us.

Your brother in Christ,
Randy
James 1:27

Forgiveness

Family by Faith wants to thank you for your faithful prayers for all God is doing. God has brought unique people with unique talents and abilities to worship and fellowship with our faith family. God is preparing for us for His next move within His perfect timing. Please be in prayer for us as we listen to God and follow His direction. Many of you know me, but for those that don't, I am EXCITED. I know that is hard for you to believe. God is building up in me the passion necessary to know that we must follow Him completely. Once again, please pray for us as we begin to build what He has already ordained.

Also, be in prayer as we celebrate Sanctity of Life this Sunday. If you church in not celebrating this important Sunday, we would love for you to worship with us. Please be in prayer for birthmothers around the world who are having to make a decision about life and death. Pray that they understand that the life they are caring is God made and God loved.

This past week we talked about forgiveness. An easy word to say but a difficult word to understand and to accept. It is hard for us to forgive others that have slighted us or hurt us in some way. So it must be even harder for God to forgive us for the sins that we personally know about in our own lives. It is hard for us to accept.

If you had to give advice to someone that was falling back into old habits of sin. They tried to overcome the temptations but with little success. They no longer sensed the warmth of the relationship with Christ. The more they sin, the worse they felt and the more frustrated they become in their attempt to live the Christian life. What would that advice look like.

Let's try and understand what they are going through or what you or someone you know is going through. Let's understand God's forgiveness.

1. Define the problem.

Isaiah 53:6 "All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, EVERY ONE, to his own way; and the Lord laid on Him the iniquity of us all.

Here it tells us that sin is where we turn away and go astray. It is interesting that this verse makes sure that everyone know that there is no one excluded.

Romans 14:23 tells us that whatever is not from faith is sin.

We are to live a life of faith, which is a life of dependence on God. When we do not live by faith in God, we are living independently of God and His power. We are relying on our own resources to live life. This is the opposite of faith, and therefore, the apostle Paul calls it sin.

So what is the source of sin?

Mark 7:20-23 tells us that what comes out of a man is what defiles a man. He gives us many examples and finishes with verse 23, "all these evil things come from within and defile a man."

2. What is the solution to the problem of sin?

Hebrews 10:10-18

This scripture shows us what Jesus accomplished at the cross. He was the One sacrifice for our sins, FOREVER. This is repeated in 4 of these verses. He was the ONE offering. What then is the basis for our forgiveness? Verse 14 said that by this one offering, He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified. Sanctified tells us that we are prefect through His blood from the cross.
Christ died for the sins that you have committed and the sins you will commit. He has already paid the price.

Since we all sin, we need to know how we can daily experience God's love, forgiveness and fellowship.

3. The role of confession.
1 John 1:9, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness."

Many people have misconceptions and negative feelings about the idea of confession. However, God says confession is necessary to maintain our fellowship with Him.

Definition of confession: To agree with God that my specific attitude or action is displeasing to Him and therefore is sin.

Because He loves us unconditionally, we do not need to fear Him. We can approach Him with confidence to confess our sins, knowing He will not reject us. He has already forgiven us.
Once you have confessed all known sin to God, we are able to experience God's forgiveness and freedom from guilt. Feelings of guilt sometimes linger because Satan's desire to discourage us through such feelings.

1 Peter 5:8, "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.

The Bible teaches that Christ death, burial and resurrection is the basis for the forgiveness of all of our sins, even the ones we will commit in the future. Confession enables us to make real in our daily experience what God has already done for us through the cross. It enables us to experience His love instead of living under a cloud of guilt.

Romans 5:1, "Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ."

Do have this peace? The only way to have this peace is to have Jesus Christ as Lord of your Life.
If you do not have this peace or are struggling with guilt, I would love to talk with you. I would love to pray with you and share that God remembers our sin no more. I hope you have that peace today.

Your brother in Christ,
Randy
James 1:27

Let the Peace of God Rule Your Hearts

I am sorry I have not sent out anything over the last two weeks. Well…we have had so much going on as many of you have.

We had an incredible Christmas Eve service. Family by Faith has had a great start to 2010. God has given us a vision of the next steps for our faith family. We are so excited about God's amazing vision and His watch care over us.

The reason for delays in writing is that Teresa and I have adopted another child. Alexa Grace was born on Jan. 5th. Today is the 15th and we are still in Florida. We are waiting on the state of Georgia to approve for us to bring Alexa Grace into the state.

I had developed a frustration yesterday because we should have been home. But God gave us a peace and has allowed us to develop an incredible relationship with Lonzo and Caroline Douglas. They are the parents of some members of our church. They are godly parents and grandparents that I have loved getting to know. We have talked about scripture and the state of the church. We often get caught up into what we think the church needs to be and where we think it is going. Then, we talk to those that have such a peace with God and you can hear God speaking to you through them. They own a big farm and the peace and quite has been wonderful. Scripture tells us in Psalms 46:10, "Be still and know that I am God". We have had a chance to be still and hear God and meditate on His word.

It is funny how God works when you are not expecting God to work. That is what has happened this week. We have a wonderful new baby girl and God showed His magnificence through that birth. We have developed a relationship with some godly parents (and grandparents) and they have taught us so much in a few days. God had this planned all along. And God has given me a chance to "Be still and know that He is God".

So after being very frustrated, I sat back this morning and realized that God had this planned all along and that these are times I will NEVER forget.

Please be in prayer for our church and faith family as we move forward. We are celebrating "Sanctity of Life Sunday" on the 24th. Please pray for all mothers that are faced with a decision. We will have our first Lord's Supper on the 31st. Also, we are going to start up our men's and women's ministries in February.

God is amazing. Be patient and allow Him to work in ways that only He understand. And remember Colossians 3:15, "And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful." Allow His peace to rule and in all things be thankful. I know it is easy to say that frustration is a natural human emotion, but if we allow that peace to rule in our lives, we will see His work and we will always be thankful.

If you do not have a place to worship this Sunday, we would love for you to worship with us at 10:30. Be a part of things that can only be explained as God. We love each of you and thank you for your prayers. www.familybyfaith.com
Your brother in Christ,

Randy
James 1:27

Who do you say I am?

The holiday's are one us, whether we are ready or not. I hope that everyone has a joyous holiday that you can celebrate and worship with family and friends.

This past Sunday was so special. In the middle of the holiday rush, we had a chance to celebrate one of the most precious gifts that God gives, a baby. We had our first baby dedication. The night before, as I was thinking about this precious little one, I began to think about the baby Jesus. I thought about the needs and actions of the little girl that we dedicated. She cries when she is hungry or wants to be held. She needs a shoulder to lay her head on and someone to comfort her when she is scared or just needs love. It made me think about our Christ when He was that age. All of His needs were the same. And God placed Him with a mom and dad that would provide for these needs. God placed this precious little one in this family for the same reason. She needs THESE parents to take care of her needs.

Secondly, God did not need Joseph. Jesus was God on earth, so He didn't NEED Joseph. He is God. But if you look at the role Joseph played in Jesus life, taking Him to the temple, teaching Him what it is to be a man, and Joseph named Him, we see that God had a role for this father. With little ones we often over look the role of the father. The father was important enough that He sent an angel to talk with Joseph and to give clear instructions. Joseph was needed in Jesus life. I beg that ALL father's understand their role and the importance of their role. And I hope that all father's see the importance that God places on their role.


I don't know how many of you have seen the show, "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire". There was one line that was made very famous that people quoted all the time.

"Is that your final answer?"

If you were asked today who you thought Jesus was, what would your answer be. The answer is critical.

If we want to get a glimpse of the question above, we can see it in Matthew 16:12-15.

Jesus is in Caesarea Philippi. A region know for it's idol worshipping. Jesus asks the disciples who people say that He is. They respond with John the Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah or one of the prophets. But then He asks the real question.

Matthew 15:15 says, "But who do you say I am?"

Are you willing to bank eternity on who you think Jesus is?

We can look in many directions to see who people say Jesus is. Let's look at three.

1. Let's ask humanity.
A. From the past
We read that people say that He is John the Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah or one of the prophets. But said many other things about Jesus.
They said He was:
A lowly carpenter- Mark 6:3
A sinner- John 9:24
A fool- John 10:20

Even Jesus half brothers had harsh things to say about Jesus- John 7:3-5

Think about this, if people said these things while Jesus was here on earth, imagine what people say when He is not here.

B. Present
Jehovah's Witness- Michael the Archangel is no other than the only begotten Son of God, Jesus Christ (New Heavens and New Earth)

Islam- Jesus is not more that a mortal whom Allah favored and made and example to Israelites. (Sura)

Mormons- that Lucifer the son of the morning is our elder brother and the brother of Jesus
Jesus was married at Cana of Galilee and had many wives (Journal of Discourses)

These are just a few. All around people have an opinion concerning Jesus Christ. Some think he is a good man. Others a good teacher. What is sad is that nothing I have shared so far is even close to the truth.

2. Let's ask heaven.
A. God the Father
Matthew 3:17 "This is my Beloved son, in whom I am well pleased."

B. The Angels
Matthew 1:23 - Immanuel (God with us)
Luke 1:32- Son of the Most High

C. Scripture
John 1:1, 14, Philippians 2:5-11, Acts 2:36, Acts 10:36
His is Lord, this implies His control
He is deity.
His is the One chosen by God to be the Messiah.

D. The Savior- What a person says about themselves is important
John 14:9- "He that hath seen Me, hath seen the Father"
John 6:36- "I am the bread of life"
John 10:11- "I am the good shepherd"
John 10:36- "I am the Son of God"

C.S. Lewis said, Jesus is either a liar, lunatic or Lord. If you had to decide who He was, which would you chose?

3. Let's ask our own hearts.
You have read from man. We have seen that, among the human race, there are those who deny that Jesus is the Son of God, and the only way of salvation. We have testimony of people whose lives have been changed by Him.

You have read enough to be convinced that Jesus Christ is someone that we must make a decision about.

Here are a few questions.

1. Is He just a baby at Christmas, of is He the crucified and risen Lord of your life?
2. Is He a way to God, or THE way, THE truth and THE life?
3. is He a good man, a great teacher and a prophet, or is He the Son of God and you only hope for salvation?
4. Is He a liar or a lunatic? Or is He your Lord?
5. What is your testimony today? Has there ever been that moment in time when you trusted Jesus and Him alone for salvation of you soul?
6. Has there been a time when you saw yourself as a sinner and Him as your only hope?

After Jesus asked the disciples, in Matthew 16, who they thought He was, Peter stood answered.

Matthew 16:16 "You are the Christ, the son of the living God."

Who do you say He is?


What is your final answer?
Is your answer the right answer that will guarantee you a home in heaven when you leave this world?

Are you saved? Is that your final answer?

Do you want to be saved? Is that your final answer?

Will you come to Jesus today? Is that your final answer?

The questions are vital but the answers are critical.

I would love to share who Christ is and what He has already done for your life. If you need to talk, please contact me. You can email me or contact me through our website, www.familybyfaith.com

John 3:16 tells us that God loves you so much that He sent His Son to die for you so that you can come to Him TODAY.

I will be praying for you.

Your brother in Christ,
Randy
James 1:27

Where do you find your self worth?

Where has this year gone. What an amazing year it has been in my personal life, my families life, and our faith family. Who would have thought at the beginning of the year I would be pastoring a church and that we would have our church open and worshipping and praising God every Sunday. God is amazing (I think I say that every week) in how He works in and through people. When we open our hearts to His calling and leading, the trip is incredible and we find His leading and timing are perfect.

As you think back on all that has occurred in your life over 2009, some good and some not so good, in family, job and life, where do you find your self worth? Do you find your self worth in your job, your financial situation, your friends? We sure for self worth in so many areas. It would be easy for each of us to read this and think that we don't try and find our self worth in earthly things, but the truth is many of us do.

Irving Berlin, the composer of "God Bless America" and "I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas", was being interviewed by a journalist one day. The journalist asked him if there was a question that he had always wanted someone to ask him. His response was yes. Here is the question, "What do you think of the hundreds of songs you've written that didn't become hits? My reply would be I think they are all wonderful and precious to me."

God, too, has an unshakable delight in what and whom He has made. He thinks all of His children are wonderful, and whether they are a "hit" in the eyes of others or not, He will always think they are wonderful.

Our self worth will not be found in the things we won or positions we acquire. Our self worth will not be in the friends we keep or awards we win.


So, where do we find our self worth?
2 Corinthians 10:12-18 we find three principles that a child of God should consider in seeking their self worth.

1. Avoid human comparisons (humility)

Verse 12 tells us not to compare ourselves with others because those that do that are not wise.

People around us measure their own themselves against their own personal opinions and compare themselves to others around them. When we go in for the end of the year review, our temptation is to give our list of reasons we are better than other workers or give our brag list.

Let's see what Paul tells us to do in Philippians.
Philippians 2:3-4
3 Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. 4 Let each of you look out not only for his won interests, but also for the interests of others.

In this scripture the phrase "lowliness of mind" often confuses people. The Greek work that this comes from translates closer to "a deep sense of humility". What he is saying is that everything should be done by the power of the Holy Spirit. It is not natural for a human to put themselves last. This can only be done without His power.

2. Resist inaccurate exaggerations (honesty)

In verses 13-16 Paul boasted within the "sphere" of his ministry that God had given him.

Do you ever get frustrated when you work hard on something and others take credit. That is both lying and stealing. That is what was occurring here in scripture. Many of the religious people were taking credit for what others had done, including Paul, and then telling others how God worked through them.

Often we are tempted to exaggerate of take claim for something if it will help us get ahead.

Romans 15:20 tells us, "And so I have made it my aim to preach the gospel not where Christ was named, lest should build on another man's foundation."

Paul would not build on another man's foundation.

Resist exaggerations so that people can see us living Christ like.

3. Seek only God's praise (Integrity)

Verse 17-18 tells us to ONLY glory in the Lord and that we should not commend (praise) ourselves but seek only God's praise.

Integrity is defined as a steadfast adherence to a strict moral and ethical code.

Paul began this section of scripture by saying that he was not going to place himself among the group that praised themselves. The reason he would not was that the Lord would commend him as a faithful worker.

1 Corinthians 4:5 tells us our praise will come from God.

All throughout this passage Paul has been very careful not to boast in himself but in the Lord and His works. He has shown great integrity because he follows God's calling for his life and follows the directions given. For us this is the Holy Bible.

Humility, honesty and integrity are spiritual essentials for Christian maturity.

It is about guidance of the Holy Spirit in your lives. It is about looking at the example that God gave us and that was His son, Jesus Christ.

My favorite scripture is Mark 10:45. "Christ came to serve and not be served."

If we are servants then we understand our place and will not boast, exaggerate or live in selfish ambition or conceit.

The only way you can do this is to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. It is not natural for sinful man to live a servants life. It is what we are called to do.

If you do not have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, I would love to talk with you sometime or would love to help you find someone to talk to. Please email me or contact me through our website www.familybyfaith.com. Also, if you are looking for a place to worship, please join us on Sunday morning @ 10:30.

Please be in prayer for our Christmas Eve service. We are hoping to reach many that are not churched. God is dong amazing things in our faith family. Please be in prayer as we minister to the all those that he has brought and will bring into our faith family.

Thank you all for you many prayers during 2009.

Your brother in Christ,
Randy
James 1:27

Seeing with your eyes

As we prepare for the holidays, where do your eyes go? Do they look at all the toys your children want? Do they look at the fine clothes or jewelry you always wish you had?

The problem is not always our desires, the problem is our eyes. What do we see? Do we see what we want or what HE wants for us.

John Piper says, "Five seconds of honey on the tongue will show you more sweetness than ten hours of lectures about the sweetness of honey."

Psalms 34:8 tells us, "Taste and SEE that the Lord is good."

Until God gives you a taste of His goodness all the theology in the world will not give you a knowledge of His goodness that changes your eyes and saves your soul.

What prevents us from seeing God? I want to discuss, HOW we can see God.

In the book of Job, we see the most righteous man on the earth. Job 1:8. He was so godly that the Lord took pleasure in pointing him out to Satan. Yet even though Job had a great love for God, he hadn't realized everything about God's character. There were characteristics that Job would come to realize only through adversity.

Let's start at Job 42:1-6
1 the Job answered the Lord and said:
2 I know that You can do everything, and that no purpose of Yours can be withheld from You.
3 You asked, "Who is this who hides counsel without knowledge?" Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know,
4 Listen, please, and let me speak; You said, "I will question you and you shall answer me."

These verses show Job telling God that he understands that He is wiser and that His wisdom makes Job's wisdom look like ignorance. He confesses that God is absolutely sovereign. In other words, God is God.

So, before we can see God:
1. We must be humble and understand God's sovereignty.

2. To humble ourselves before God, we must become a broken and changed person.

Job 42:5-6
5 I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees You.
6 Therefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.

Job was a broken and changed man. Now I have to say that I learned this week that the word broken is used too often. I talked with those that said they have been told, the reason they are going through a season in their life is because God was breaking them.

I believe what this scripture shows is that the reason Job was broken and changed was because he had an intimate awareness of his own sin and his need for a personal relationship with God.

Isaiah 6:5, "I am a man of unclean lips."
Luke 5:8 shows Peter saying, "Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord."

You see, if we don't feel grieved about our sin, and deeply unworthy of God's goodness, then we need to pray that God would show Himself. That He would not just be doctrine and scripture anymore, but instead would become an awesome, infinite holy, and wonderfully sovereign that we would TASTE and SEE Him.

3. Before we can see Him we must have our eyes checked by the Light.
Matthew 6:22-23 tells us that the lamp of the body is the eye. It asks us if we are full or light or darkness.

Of course what this is talking about is spiritual eyesight. The only way to safely navigate through times like these is by seeing life through God's eyes.

4. To see life through His eyes, we must intimately know Him.

Matthew 11:28, " Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."

When you are hurting, when life treats you badly, crawl up as close as you can to the One who loves you unconditionally and get to know Him. See that He is awesome, holy and wonderfully sovereign.

5. The see God.

Job 42:5, " I have heard of You by hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees You."

Job saw the characteristics of God that he had not seen before. Yes it was through tribulation unimaginable, but more so it was because he focused on God and not all that was around him.
While seeing God in things around you, see God in scripture. The 66 books of the bible are given to us so that we can see God; to know Him, to understand Him, to cooperate with Him, to trust Him, and to love Him.

John 17:3, "And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent."

I pray that you know this eternal life. If you have never experience God in this way or understand what eternal life means, I would love to talk with you. If you do not live near, find someone to discuss this most important experience with. You can contact me through our website, http://www.familybyfaith.com/

I am praying for you today.

Please be in prayer for our Christmas Eve service. If you are close and would like a place to worship, we would love to have you.

Your brother in Christ,
Randy
James 1:27

Spiritual Optimism

Have you ever walked into a store to ask directions (most guys don't) and when the person responds you can tell by the look in their eye they are not sure, so you go to the next store to ask. How would you like it if your surgeon told you they were going to give it the good old college try. You would be looking for another surgeon. You want people that are sure and confident. You want to look in there eyes and see a YES and not a NO. We can sense that. How I am not sure but I know we can.

David was a true spiritual optimist. When he talked to Saul he had a YES on his face, but for different reasons than those above. Those people speak from optimism because of life experiences. David speaks because of his perspective.

We define a pessimist as someone who sees a problem and then concentrates on the reasons why something can not be done.
A spiritual optimist is one who sees the same problem, but they see it from the perspective of God's presence.

In 1 Samuel 17 we read the account of David and Goliath. We have heard this story many times. I just want to look at it a different way. Many read this story and see that you can accomplish anything as long as you put your mind to it. Some say that the story tells them that the bigger they are the harder they fall. Others have even said that it shows you don't need all the fancy garb to be successful, just the basics. Well, I am not sure that any of those is what God was showing us here.

Starting at verse 32, David knew that here was an opportunity for God to display His power. Have you ever gotten excited about the opportunity in your life for God to display His power?

In verses 34-37 David explains his past victories. He has killed a bear and a lion with his bear hands. What David wanted to show Saul was that these past victories did was give him faith to trust God for victory over Goliath. Have you ever stood in front of someone to explain your past victories? When they heard your victories, did they hear about you or did they understand you had enough faith to trust God for your victories?

The response Saul gives at the end of verse 37 was amazing, "Go, and the Lord be with you". After days of men moaning about victory being impossible and that they have no one to battle the giant, this is the first time Saul sees that God is central in this matter.

As we move on to verse 46-47 we see David standing in front of Goliath telling him what is about to happen. (maybe the first recorded version of trash talking)

Toward the end of verse 47 David put the contest into proper perspective, "for the battle is the Lord's". It is not man against man, but light versus darkness, good versus evil.

So we see that David is a spiritual optimist. He saw the same problem all the Israelite men saw, he just saw it from the perspective of God's presence. It was about what God can do through us not what we can do on our own.

The New Testament has this same theme. There is one modification. In the Old Testament, God acted in a great way so that men would know that He is the Lord. In the New Testament, God has acted in Christ in a great and mighty way (through His life, death and resurrection) so that all men might eventually acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of the Father.

I look at many scriptures trying to show this and the one I wanted to share was Colossians 1:13-20. Please read all of this scripture when you have time. I would like to point our just a few highlights.

Verse 14- we have redemption through His blood
Verse 16- All things were created through Him and for Him
Verse 17- and in Him all things consist
Verse 18- He is the head of the body, the church
Verse 20- having made peace through the blood on His cross.

These verse show the lordship of Christ over creation, the church, and the individual Christian.
These verses show where our spiritual optimism should come from. As we lean on Jesus Christ, just as David leaned on God, we can walk into that tough situation as a little boy but know that we have a big God on our side.

As I was preparing for this message, a phrase continued to pop into my head. I have shared over the last several months all that God has done through our small church. God continues to show how amazing He is. So I think with that in mind the following may be appropriate for our church. Not because of the numbers but because of the perspective we should always have. Every church should have this perspective.

"little church, BIG God"

I will end this by making sure you understand that when I am talking about optimism I am not talking about how to feel good about yourself, or how to get ahead in life, or how to get that next promotion. What I am talking about is our dependence on the One that is the creator of all and is the King of kings and Lord of lords.

Philippians 4:13 tells us, "I can do ALL things through Christ who strengthens me". It is not about me about Him who strengthens me.

If you don't know Jesus Christ or know what He has done for you so that you can have this spiritual optimism in the face of any giant, please contact me or a pastor in your area.

Please continue to pray for us as we move forward into December and 2010. We have many things going on. Please be in prayer for our Christmas Eve service. If you are looking for a service to attend, we will be having our service from 6:00-7:00 on Christmas Eve. Please look at our website to find directions. www.familybyfaith.com

Also be in prayer as we move into January and observe Sanctity of Life Sunday. If you church does not observe this critical day, please encourage your pastor to research and plan on celebrating on this day.

Once again, if you do not have somewhere to worship, we would love for you to worship with us at Family by Faith. If you have children, we would love for you to check out our dynamic children's worship and study time.

Thanks to all of those that continually pray for us and are supporting us. We love you and please never hesitate to communicate with us anything we can do for you.

Your brother in Christ,
Randy
James 1:27