How Does God See People and Why Does It Matter?
Form Jeremiah 50-51 Pastor Steve takes us through the scriptures from Daniel to Luke and Isaiah to Revelation defining God’s desire for people of all races. God has always loved His creation and has always sent His messengers to warn them of the upcoming wrath.
The Light of God’s Presence is Coming for Us All
Isaiah 60
19 “The sun shall no longer be your light by day,
Nor for brightness shall the moon give light to you;
But the Lord will be to you an everlasting light,
And your God your glory.
20 Your sun shall no longer go down,
Nor shall your moon withdraw itself;
For the Lord will be your everlasting light,
And the days of your mourning shall be ended.
21 Also your people shall all be righteous;
They shall inherit the land forever,
The branch of My planting,
The work of My hands,
That I may be glorified.
Can you imagine being a nation in exile because of your sin against God and hearing these words of a future promise in a future place like nothing you ever heard of before? What a wonderful and redeeming God that we have. He has been in the habit of saving His people for a very long time. And not only does God save His people but He has eternal plans for all of them. The Apostle John has a similar view of eternity recorded for us in Revelation.
Revelation 21: 22 But I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. 23 The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light.
Yes, our God is still in the business of saving His people and preparing an eternal place for them.
In the light of the loss of my friend, Pastor Phil, who went home to be with the Lord during the night, I have given more consideration to the passing from this life to eternity with God. God creates life, sin takes life. But sin only takes physical life for the soul that God created was designed to live forever. So all who leave this body with their sins removed through the blood of Christ and faith in that grace, in God’s eyes don’t die, we just go from this life to His life. We leave this confusion to God’s eternal peace and understanding. Phil now knows more than we can ever know in this life and truly is in the presence of our Lord, where we will one day be. At the end of this life sin’s curse has its last hurrah but the sorrow is short lived for the one who leaves us. We will understand this one day and will enjoy rejoicing with Pastor Phil and with all who have died in Christ.
At church last night Stefani and Kendall gave the message. They spoke on the Cause and on prayer. It is a joy to see our young people getting it and ready to bring their friends to what they have come to know. Keep them all in your prayers as some have started school and face the challenges of standing for Christ every day.
Have a great day in the Lord,
PS
Good News is Coming, for a change
Isaiah 60
1 Arise, shine;
For your light has come!
And the glory of the Lord is risen upon you.
2 For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth,
And deep darkness the people;
But the Lord will arise over you,
And His glory will be seen upon you.
3 The Gentiles shall come to your light,
And kings to the brightness of your rising.
4 “Lift up your eyes all around, and see:
They all gather together, they come to you;
Your sons shall come from afar,
And your daughters shall be nursed at your side.
5 Then you shall see and become radiant,
And your heart shall swell with joy;
Because the abundance of the sea shall be turned to you,
The wealth of the Gentiles shall come to you.
God has predicted many things for the future of His people. What a day it will be when the nation of Israel will come to the light of God and will fully dwell in His light. What a day for them when the world is in darkness but they will know the light of God in its full radiance. So great will be the light in them that the Gentile nations, living in darkness, will come to them in the light. All of the wandering sons and daughters of Israel will see the light and will come home to their families and to their nation. The people of Israel and Gentiles who come to their light will see and will become radiant and their hearts will swell with joy as God brings His great abundance to them.
I must ask, has this day come yet? Why of course not. Israel is a pariah to many and a marginalized nation to others. The land of Israel is not a place of the light of God nor a place of the incredible blessing of God. No, this day has not yet come, but by the word of Lord, it is coming! In a time when all news is bad news, let’s focus on some good news that is yet to come.
There will come a day when there will no longer be haters on the right nor on the left. We won’t have to read the news to find out the bad things that happen for there won’t be any bad things happening. The darkness of sin will be consumed with the light of the Lord and we, walking in His light, will understand all things. God’s justice will be executed and it will be perfect justice. Sin will be defeated and Satan will be bound. There will be a new earth in which righteousness dwells. Can we say with the hymn writer, “Oh, Lord Jesus how long, how long, ere we shout the glad song, Christ returneth, Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Amen”
I trust you can join us tonight for all of our Wednesday night activities. We have Kids club, Youth group, and adult Bible study and prayer meetings. It all starts around 7:00. We need a few new workers for the Fall Kids4Truth program. Please let me know that you want to help with this great training ministry for our children.
I updated the website last night with three of the past messages. Got a little behind but got caught up.
Have a great day in the Lord,
PS
Helping the Lost Cast Down Imaginations
2 Corinthians 10:7-11 From this familiar passage talking about casting down imaginations and every high thought and bringing them into captivity, Pastor Steve takes a look at the work of God in the salvation of sinners. Conversion is a spiritual battle that we get to be a part of when we seek to give out the gospel of Christ.
Make Sure That God Alone Gets The Glory
2 Corinthians 10 Paul addresses the church instructing us to make sure that when we give glory it needs to go to God. In his day, Paul wrote against the mutual admiration society who compared themselves among themselves. We are not to be like them but to do our best and give God the glory.
Keep a Single-Focus on Christ
In 2 Corinthians 11 Paul wrote challenging the believers to not be drawn away by deceptive teachings from a single focus on Jesus Christ. In this message Pastor Steve addresses this passage for today’s Christ followers.
Are you availing yourself of God’s comfort?
2 Corinthians 1:3–5
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort,
4 who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.
5 For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also abounds through Christ.
My pastor friend, Phil White of New Manna Baptist Church in Downers Grove, is being moved today from Bolingbrook Adventist Hospital to Joliet Area Community Hospice. His wife Dedre, daughter and son, Maya and Malek, need the comfort of the Father today. I met with Maya this morning at the hospital; her dad is in the bed, asleep since noon yesterday. We talked about life and how God has placed in us a love for life. We talked about life in heaven where there is no more sorrow and no more sickness. We prayed for God’s comfort.
How is your comfort? Do you go to the God of all comfort who has promised to comfort you in all of your tribulations with the comfort that He gave to the Lord Jesus in His tribulations? If God could comfort Christ during His time of being sacrificed for our sins, then God can comfort us in any tribulation we face. Do we avail ourselves to that comfort? Dear friends, the comfort is there for your. God has the comfort you need to the level of your tribulation.
I have witnessed the comfort of God in my friend’s family members. Though they don’t like what is happening, we are lovers of life, they have God’s comfort in their souls. Oh how different God’s comfort is when compared to those who do not know it. Whatever you face and whenever you face it, you can go to the God of ALL comfort and He will bring the comfort to your soul that you need. “Thank you Lord for being the God of all comfort to the White family today.”
Yesterday Bobbi and I celebrated 36 years together. I am thankful for a wife that loves Jesus and seeks to submit to God’s word and God’s Spirit. She is thankful for a husband who seeks the same things. Yes, God has blessed us but not because we are special. I believe that God has blessed us only in proportion to our determination to be faithful to Him. As we practice self-sacrifice we see greater blessings. Whenever we have practiced selfishness the blessings ceased. We both saw parents who were committed to Christ and we had family members who were not. The differences were obvious and by God’s grace we have remained faithful to Him and thus to each other. Thank you God for your blessings. Thank you Bobbi for putting up with me.
