Bible Sermons Online

Posts Tagged ‘Faith’

Dan Edelen has written powerfully about the illusion of control, especially in North America:
Fact is, you and I don’t have any. Control is an illusion created by our culture. We in America idolize the self-made bootstrapper, yet if we can’t control whether or not we take our next breath, then ultimately, we are not in control of our lives.

Most people in America, most Christians even, have their minds fogged by the illusion of control. And the illusion is easy to believe because we surround ourselves with gadgets and services that perpetuate it. We read books, especially self-help tomes, that reinforce that we can be masters of our personal kingdoms. We are told that getting ahead is all about our own efforts. Our society holds out a roadmap that shows that if we just work hard enough, we can walk from the mall entrance to Neiman Marcus.

But if you’ve lived long enough, you begin to see what we have been fed about controlling our lives is a lie. Sometimes, no matter how hard we work toward a goal, it never arrives. Sickness intrudes. Randomness strikes. A butterfly in China flaps its wings and a tornado destroys a palatial estate accrued through decades of sweat. In the great mall of life, we end up in Spencer Gifts staring at black light posters instead of negotiating down the price of a Botero at Neiman.
Too true. And whether or not Dan’s predictions about the current economic downturn ever come to pass, his observations that faith is the opposite of control is dead-on. posted by Milton Stanley at 11:47 AM

View the Original article

Are we living in the end times? Is Armageddon upon us? If God’s two witnesses came proclaiming the message that we were in the final seven years of our present day world, would anyone listen?

Are Christians being given the full message of the Gospel? Or are the Clergy choosing to keep some information to itself? Is the church in a huge cover up because they are so involved with building bigger churches and directing more people to their television ministries? Has money become the bottom line and teaching people how to hear from God the last thing on their agenda?

I am an author of a Christian book. In my endeavor to spread God’s message I naturally felt that my market should be directed to the churches. So I began by mailing a picture of my book cover and information on how to purchase my book to the surrounding churches in my state. Months passed and hundreds of mailings were sent out. The majority of the churches would not post my information on their bulletin boards.

I was shocked and I questioned why they wouldn’t give their church members access to this book. Maybe it was because I was a woman? Or could it be because I had been an upholster for the past thirty-two years. Of course it could be because I had no theologian education. As I questioned their lack of interest many biblical stories came to my mind.

Amos was a farmer, David a shepherd, Peter a fisherman, Paul a tent maker, yet they were all called by God. Jesus was a carpenter and He was the very Son of God and the Savior of the world. It seemed that according to the Bible I didn’t need any credentials, just a calling from God.

If this is the case then why weren’t the churches allowing their congregations the knowledge that my book existed? Here is the letter I mailed out to the churches:

Dear Church Leader,
I wanted to personally invite you and your congregation to read this book, It answers in detail the reason for our present day life experiences, using my life as an illustration. We want all churches from all religious backgrounds to post the cover and how to purchase this book on their bulletin boards.

So many Christians are depressed and they play the blame game when something bad happens to them in their life. They are worried and upset over the unbelief of some of their family members. They are concerned about raising their children in a world filled with chaos. Christians want to know why they have cancer or why their child died in Iraq. This book answers all of these questions using my life and biblical truths.

This book is filled with encouragements and answers to the hard questions we face in life. Families will be brought together, parents will understand their teenagers, and it will teach us not to judge. This book eliminates the debates over homosexuality, divorce, and abortion. It is clear and easy to understand; it will break down the barriers of misunderstanding and reveals a truth that is being hidden.

This book will help your leaders and teachers be better councilors and deliver messages that are more effective to the congregation. It will draw more people into your church so God can meet the needs of the church less people. The words in this book will explode into revelation that will ignite a fire in the hearts of all mature Christians who need the right ingredients in order to meet the needs of their unchurched family members and friends.

Then a letter came and I was excited. A chief under-shepherd of a large church was kind enough to answer my questions. He gave seven reason why he wasn’t going to let anyone know about my book. Here’s what he wrote:

1. I don’t know what message your presenting.

2. You seem to place ‘my life’ first and biblical truths’ second, in terms of sources for truth.

3. I’m always suspicious when someone tells me they’ve found ‘hidden truth’.

4. I’m also suspicious when someone tells me that a book (other than the Bible) will draw people, make messages better, or explode into revelation.

5. I don’t know your denominational affiliation. Are you Mormon, Jehovah’s Witness, Moonie, 7th Day Adventist?

6. I’m leery of people who say “GOD TALKED TO ME”, because those words often precede words that contradict scripture.

7. I’m also hesitant because you’ve mentioned the issue of homosexuality, but give little indication of where you stand.

He concluded his letter with these final words. “In short I can’t recommend a book that I don’t know. Hope this has been helpful.”

Why are Christian people not being given the resources that are available so they can make up their own mind? Are the pastors afraid of new teachings? Or are all Christian lay people incapable of making good decisions, so the pastor’s need to keep their congregations in the dark?

Maybe we live in the dark ages where the Priest did all of their sermons and scripture readings in Latin, because they didn’t want the ordinary, uneducated people to understand “The Words of God”. This way the people had to believe what they said was the proper way to serve and worship God.

I knew it! I knew it! I knew it! Or if you are like me, you say (in rapid succession) IknowIknowIknow!

I say that all the time when something blows up in my face that I knew would blow up in my face, but I thought I could handle it. Like assembling Christmas toys the night before or eeking one more trip on a bad tire. Pazzowi! on the I-15.

For wiser heads, your “I knew it!” moments are moments of vindication, like when you read a murder mystery novel and, having fingered the culprit a few chapters earlier, come to the climax—you were right! Or when a daughter comes home with an engagement ring, a son comes home with his fiancée for the first time, and you knew if from that first date they had this day would come.

Blow up in your face or blessed assurance. You judge what the disciples discovered after Jesus appeared to them in Galilee and

Then They Knew.

1.He is alive.

2.His powerful Word was true.

After Jesus rose from the dead, he did not stay with his disciples 24/7. He appeared to them at various times. For example, John gives us the third time (in his Gospel) that Jesus appears to most of the disciples. It came about this way.

The disciples had gone to Galilee as the Easter angels had instructed them. Old habits die hard. Most of the group had been fishermen. “I’m going out to fish,” Simon Peter told them. “We’ll go out with you.” So off they went in their boat, working all night, throwing the nets out, hauling them in. “That night they caught nothing.” Just like old times!

As the dawn breaks, there’s some fool on the shore. “Friends, haven’t you any fish?” Couldn’t he wait for the fish market to open? “No,” they answered, none too happy about it. “Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.”

Well, what kind of stupid advice was that? Like they weren’t casting their nets on either side of the boat? And a guy from shore giving them directions on fishing is like a fan in the left field bleachers calling a put-out at home base instead of the ump calling the runner safe. But they obeyed the stranger’s words—God only knows why.

“When they did they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish.” Then one of them knew—John says to Peter, “It is the Lord!” And Peter, Peter quickly puts on his robe and jumps into the water—swimming to shore to be with Jesus. It was only about 300 feet to swim. The other disciples don’t even try to pull the net in, because they can’t! It’s too full of fish! They decide to limp into shore, dragging the flapping, fighting fish behind them, with three sets of hands holding on to the hem of the net for dear life.

And they get to shore. And Jesus has breakfast ready—fish and bread cooking on the red-hot coals. But he tells them, “Bring some of the fish you have just caught,” and who but Peter clambers into the beached boat, walking to the back, grabbing the net and, with a rush of adrenaline, hauls the whole net onto the shore! Not even a grunt or a groan! And not a tear in the net for that many fish in it—153! They counted them afterwards, compared notes and counted them again—153 lunkers, big fish that would fetch a great price at the market.

“Come and have breakfast,” And as each of them took some of the fish from his hand and the bread that he was passing out to them, not a one of them asked who the stranger was, because they knew it, they all knew it, then they knew it was Jesus.

What do we know because of this story? Why was it so important that John just had to put it into his Gospel?

The first thing, and this better never be overlooked–otherwise we may end up like those sophomoric agnostics who can’t really say whether Jesus existed at all, much less rose from the dead—the first thing the story teaches us is that Jesus is alive. He bodily rose from the dead. We worship a living God, not a dead one.

He talks to the disciples, interacting with them. Your imagination can only tell you what you already know. Jesus on the shore is not the disciples’ imagination, because he tells them to do something they would not do–throw your net on the other side of the boat when you had caught nothing all night.

He moves things around. He has the fire going with fish and bread already on it. He eats the food in front of their eyes–no big thing. And the food stays in his body, because he is not a ghost, he is a living, breathing, human being. And he gives them the food and, as they take it from his hand, they can touch his fingers, touch his hand, the sleeve of his robe brushes against their forearms.

He is alive. This was no vision, this was not their imagination toying with them. This was no dream. He is alive. And the fish and bread hit the spot, too.

Which is just what you would expect from Jesus. Always there with exactly what is needed right when it is needed. Like the feeding of the 5,000, 5,000 hungry followers who had paid so much attention to Jesus’ teaching and his healings that day that they forgot about getting some food into themselves until it was going to be too late for some of them, and Jesus fed them all with five pitas and two small fish—a little boy’s lunch. Or like when that demon-possessed man threatened to cut Jesus’ first sermon in Capernaum short and Jesus, instead of being unnerved by the heckler, cast the demon out, proving his authority even over evil spirits, but even more, helping that poor victim who had been long oppressed by that evil spirit. Or like when they had been joking and laughing as they were coming into the narrow gates of Nain and they ran smack into a funeral procession, the only son of a poor, widowed woman, and Jesus turns around, makes them put the bier on the ground and brings the young man to life again! If you needed a knife, Jesus wouldn’t get you 10,000 spoons. After working hard all night fishing, the men were famished and Jesus’ breakfast hit the spot.

And it jarred their memory. This is how it had all began. On this lake. In a boat. Fishing all night, catching nothing. When Jesus had sat in Peter’s boat, teaching the people and then he turns to Peter and tells him to put out his boat for a catch of fish. “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and have caught nothing, yet because you say so, we’ll go fishing.” And the net was so full of fish almost as soon as it hit the water it started to rip as he and Andrew were hauling it in and they had to get John and James to come out in their boat to help and even at that, both boats were so loaded with fish that they were almost sinking. Peter’s first reaction was to tell Jesus to find a better man to befriend, because he was just a sinful fisherman. And Jesus had told him, “Don’t be afraid, from now on you will catch men.”

And what he said came back to them, and what he had told them, they knew, they just knew, they would be fishers of men. His powerful Word was true.

He is alive. They knew it. Thanks to their candid and honest eyewitness testimony recorded in Gospel stories like this, we know it. Jesus is alive.

But it would be tragic to stop there. It would be like a couple getting married and focusing so much on the wedding day, that when the next day dawned, they’d say, “Now what?” and have not a clue on what to do for the rest of their lives.

Now what? Go back to those powerful words of Jesus. Why did he appear in this way to his disciples? Wasn’t it to hammer a second point home to them, a point that they could see and smell, a point they could touch and taste? Jesus wanted them to spread the Good News. As they ate that fish, they knew all of Jesus’ words were true and they were just going to have to make room for them in their hearts for the rest of their lives.

Now what? Some of you will have children graduating from high school soon. Others have just had children being confirmed—15 confirmands, the most ever in this congregation’s history. Some will have children graduating from our preschool and kindergarten in just a few weeks. And most of those people have been coming pretty regularly, I won’t say always, but pretty regularly, to church. Now what? Is church just good for your kids? Is church just good for the little ones? Or is the Good News of Jesus good for you, too, whether you are in your 30s, 40s, 50s or—how do we put it on our worshiper register cards? 60+. For you to stop coming to church now that the kids are out of the house or graduated from some level or other would be like the disciples in our story today thinking, “Hmm, Jesus is alive after all. Well, I’ve kind of put that part of my life behind me.”

No, they knew that the message Jesus had given them, the mission he had given them, no matter how many twists and turns the story had taken, that message was still good and their mission was still a go. They were going to be fishers of men with a message that would transform the world.

And so are you. And so am I. We have shown that message applied to us because we saw to it that our children received that Christian training as much as we were able to give them while they were still under our roofs. That message still applies to us, to hear that Good News for ourselves, to spread that Good News to others, whether it’s helping out at church in the worship service as an usher, greeter or nursery staffer, whether it’s showing God’s love to members who need it, or helping to keep the church looking great, or bragging up our Lord and Savior as we invite people to come to our church with us.

All of us, at one time, were without a church home, whether because of a move or because we had become deservedly alienated from a church which didn’t hear Jesus’ message and follow his mission. We joined this church. We attended this church. As firmly as we believe the Lord Jesus still lives, so we firmly believe the Lord Jesus still has a mission for us.

Can I steal a little thunder from next week’s sermon? Next week we are going to observe “Walking Together Sunday.” Pastor Matt is going to preach on how Jesus’ life and work makes us one in the faith. And that oneness extends to brothers and sisters in the faith that we have never met in your life and probably will never meet until the life to come. Because of their following the mission the living Jesus set before them, this church is a reality. The start-up manpower came from them. The start-up money came from them. Times are not as good in the homeland of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod as they have been. Smalltown, Michisconta, the backbone of our synod, is dying because there’s no work for the next generation and our churches which used to feed our synod their sons and daughters and dollars are on life support themselves. Some churches have gotten lazy and don’t hit the streets to share the message of Jesus with others. Some, even some leaders, have missed opportunities, relied on old excuses and have set our church back at least a decade in doing what should be done. And here you and I are, sharing a spiritual breakfast with our risen Savior. Will you and I settle back and think, “Well, Jesus is risen, I hope somebody spreads the news”? Or will we embrace that mission with all our hearts? Jesus is risen! Believe the Good News. Celebrate that Good News on Sundays. And spread that Word, knowing that this church of ours will rise and fall, not because of the efforts and grandiose plans of far-away leaders in a far-away land, but this Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod of ours will rise or fall because of the efforts made by the faithful in Green Valley Evangelical Lutheran Church and in countless congregations of like-minded believers.

Then They Knew.

1.He is alive.

2.His powerful Word was true.

IknowIknowIknow! It doesn’t have to always blow up in our faces. Jesus wants me to tell others about him. I knew it! I knew it! I knew it! Jesus wants me to keep coming to church to keep my faith strong. Well, now that we know these things, we will be blessed by doing them.

Rev. Don Pieper is a minister in the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod. He has devoted his life to

sharing the Gospel of Christ to all of Gods people. For more information about the Green Valley

Evangelical Lutheran Church visit us atwww.gvelc.com or call

702-454-8979 .

Ask for Pastor Don or Pastor Matt.

There is a most important truth revealed in the verse “You will not attain true goodness until you give of what you love,” (Surah Al ‘Imran, 92) One of the most basic qualities that leads people to “goodness” in the true sense is “altruism.” The word itself means the willing and immediate renunciation of things a person possesses, loves and values. It means being prepared when necessary to undergo all kinds of difficulty and trouble for the values one believes in or those whom one loves, and to do all in one’s power on their behalf with enthusiasm, determination and will. It means being able to renounce one’s own interests when faced with a choice between them and the values one upholds and the people one loves and to make all kinds of material and other sacrifices for their sake.

However, human passions have been created with a predisposition towards poor moral values such as selfishness and egotism. Unless properly trained, these selfish emotions come to completely dominate a person’s moral framework. Such a person thinks mainly of himself rather than of anyone else. He always wants the best, the most attractive, the most perfect of everything for himself. Yet he also expects everyone else to demonstrate understanding and self-sacrifice. Whenever he encounters any difficulty he expects those around him to undergo risks and inconvenience for him, and to support him even to the extent of foregoing their own interests. He desires to protect his own wishes and interests and to ensure his own ease and comfort. In an adverse situation a person may be able to renounce many things he values – in the name of protecting his or her interests and preventing any harm from coming to him. Allah has revealed this excessive selfishness in the human spirit in the Qur’an:

Truly man was created headstrong – desperate when bad things happen, begrudging when good things come. (Surat al-Ma‘arij, 19-21)

It is possible to free one’s spirit from this weakness by understanding faith and living by the moral values of the Qur’an. Someone who understands the truths revealed in the Qur’an and the moral conception commanded by Allah will achieve a state of morality capable of exhibiting altruism at any moment of his life. That is because in the verse “It is the people who are safe-guarded from the avarice of their own selves who are successful” (Surat at-Taghabun, 64), Allah has revealed that it is safeguarding their desires from this vice that will lead people to salvation in this world and the next.

Allah has created the human conscience in order for people to protect their passions from evil and to attain the kind of moral values beloved of Him. The voice of that conscience shows people the way to avoid all forms of wickedness and to attain what is good. The deep love and powerful fear of Allah in the heart of a true believer prevents him from being vanquished by the wickedness of his desires. Knowing that the true purpose behind his existence in the life of this world is to attain Allah’s approval, such a person seeks to spend every moment of his life behaving in such a way that will be pleasing to Allah. He knows that the life of this world is but short, and that a person must strive for the eternal life of the Hereafter. He never forgets that all the interests he obtains here are transitory, after which he will have to render account to Allah. He knows that those who seek to ensure their own desires and interests in the life of this world, instead of seeking Allah’s approval, mercy and Paradise, may be rewarded with eternal suffering in the Hereafter. On the other hand, Allah will recompense altruistic moral values with goodness and beauty in this world and by eternal, incomparable blessings in the next. In the Qur’an, Allah imparts these glad tidings to people who behave morally,

Those who do good will have the best and more! Neither dust nor debasement will darken their faces. They are the Companions of the Garden, remaining in it timelessly, for ever. (Surah Yunus, 26)

So Allah gave them the reward of the world and the best reward of the Hereafter. Allah loves good-doers. (Surah Al ‘Imran, 148)

… If anyone desires the reward of the world, We will give him some of it. If anyone desires the reward of the Hereafter, We will give him some of it. We will recompense the thankful. (Surah Al ‘Imran, 145)

When one thinks of self-sacrifice, however, what comes to mind should not be solely giving away part of one’s material possessions, that part which represents more than one actually needs for oneself. Self-sacrifice is a way of life that stems from strength of faith and dominates a believer’s entire life. This spirit of altruism needs to be present within a sensitivity of conscience to everything going on around a person. Altrusim means a person seeking to feel himself responsible on every matter, from social problems to the oppressed, persecuted, starving and needy people all over the world, and striving to find a solution to them. It is the employment of one’s reason and conscience at the highest possible level, without ever saying, “There are plenty of people with the means and resources to resolve all these issues, so let them do it.” It means those with a “vestige of good,” as revealed in the verse: “Would that there had been more people with a vestige of good among the generations of those who came before you, who forbade corruption in the Earth, other than the few among them whom We saved. Those who did wrong gladly pursued the life of luxury that they were given and were evildoers” (Surah Hud, 116), Muslims who believe, who listen to the voice of their consciences and fear Allah, acting in the knowledge of their responsibilities.

When we look at the events experienced by Muslims throughout the course of history we see that they have always been able to overcome troubles and diffculties in this way. Beginning with the Prophet Muhammad (saas), made a role model for all humanity by Allah, and his companions, Muslims have always lived this moral framework in the best manner possible and have been a means whereby, with their superior solidarity and instances of self-sacrifice, Islam and the moral values of the Qur’an have spread all over the world. The superior moral values and generosity of the Prophet (saas) are revealed thus in the hadiths:

* The Prophet (saas) was the most generous of people in auspicious deeds. The Prophet (saas) was more generous even than the wind blowing from the direction of good.

* He never said “I do not possess such” when asked for something and never begrudged anything asked of him.

* Abu Zerr told me the following: “Son of my brother! I went to the Prophet’s (saas) side. Taking my hand, he said, ‘Abu Zerr! Even if I had as much gold and silver as Mount Uhud I would wish to spend it in the way of Allah, leaving not a farthing behind’.”

The Prophet (saas), the finest role model for Muslims with his superior moral values, encouraged the faithful to be generous in these words during a sermon:

* In one of his sermons, after giving thanks to Allah he [The Prophet Muhammad (saas)] said: “O People! Know that Allah has chosen Islam for you as your religion. Adorn your Islam with generosity and pleasing moral values. I wish you to know that generosity is a heavenly tree, with its roots in Paradise and its branches in this world. Those of you who have generosity will adhere to one of those branches, and that branch will carry him to Paradise. As for parsimoniousness, that is a tree with its roots in Hell and its branches in this world. Whoever clings to one of those branches by being parsimonious, it will carry him to Hell.” Later the Prophet (saas) again said, “Be generous in the way of Allah.”

The companions of the Prophet (saas) who were ready to unquestioningly give up their goods and lives in order to gain the approval of Allah exhibited great examples of self-sacrifice throughout their lives. Since they possessed a sure and certain belief in Allah and the Hereafter they never regarded giving in the way of Allah (infaq) as representing any kind of loss; on the contrary, they saw it as an important opportunity to gain the love of and closeness to Allah. As revealed by Allah in the verse: “And how is it with you that you do not give in the way of Allah,when the inheritance of the heavens and the Earth belongs to Allah? Those of you who gave and fought before the Victory are not the same as those who gave and fought afterwards. They are higher in rank. But to each of them Allah has promised the Best. Allah is aware of what you do.” (Surat al-Hadid, 10), those who sacrificed their property in times of difficulty acted in the knowledge of the value of that action in the sight of Allah.

Therefore, all Muslims must take these superior moral values of our Prophet (saas) and his companions as role models for themselves, and must compete with one another to help those in need. It must never be forgotten that self-sacrifice performed with true sincerity is most valued in the sight of our Lord and a marvellous opportunity for Muslims who seek to attain the infinite blessings of Paradise.

Under the pen name of Harun Yahya, Adnan Oktar has written some 250 works. His books contain a total of 46,000 pages and 31,500 illustrations. Of these books, 7,000 pages and 6,000 illustrations deal with the collapse of the Theory of Evolution. You can read, free of charge, all the books Adnan Oktar has written under the pen name Harun Yahya on these websites www.harunyahya.com