HCC Monthly Harvest Seed
James 4:7 - Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.
Psalm 144:1 (NLT) - Praise the Lord, who is my rock. He trains my hands for war and gives my fingers skill for battle.
John 10:10 (AMP) - The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance [to the full, till it overflows].
We are in a war. Whether we want to be or not, we are.
We need to recognize that fact and face it head on.
The purposes of Jesus and Satan could not be more opposite of one another.
Jesus comes to bring us abundant life and the ability to enjoy life.
Satan comes for no other reasons except to kill, steal, and destroy.
One of the most sobering facts about life is that all of us have a supernatural enemy who’s aim it to use both pain and pleasure to make us blind, tear down, make us miserable and to cause us to lose our relationship with God Almighty.
Satan is evil. His wickedness knows no limitations. He is brutal and has absolutely no love, compassion or sympathy. He has no remorse for the pain and suffering he causes.
He will cause incredible damage, fear, terror, and destruction and miserably enjoy every part of it.
He leads us to sin causing issues between us and God. He causes immense personal anxiety, cheapens the life that God values so much. He destroys marriages, corrupts nations, accuses each person of things true and untrue until we can’t even stand ourselves. He condemns us to death until we agree with him.
Jesus didn’t come to condemn the world, although He is the only one who can as the righteous judge.
He came that the world though Him might be saved.
Satan attacks you and me and then tells us that we are crazy and that nothing is actually happening and even if there was, there is nothing that we can do about it, he is the original gas lighter.
I want to look at a few things to remember while we are fighting this good fight of the faith.
There are two main parts to spiritual warfare – Submitting and Resisting
James 4:7 - Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.
When it comes to spiritual warfare many people only quote half of this verse. – Resist the devil.
I believe that this is a trick of the devil because it is an incomplete strategy and it is incomplete obedience to God’s word.
~ To Submit means to yield, obey and to follow. – One definition - accept or yield to a superior force or to the authority or will of another person. To Surrender.
The reason that so many people have a difficult time resisting the devil is because they have never fully surrendered their life to God.
Someone needs to hear this – resistance is all about not surrendering, it is about opposing. If you have already surrendered to one, the battle is already won because you cannot surrender to both sides.
For many the warfare is difficult because they have not chosen a side. Now as Believes we have obviously chosen a side. We are on the Lord’s side.
In order to fight effectively against our enemy, we must be fully committed to the will and ways of God.
~ To Resist - to exert force in opposition. to fight against or oppose something or someone: to refuse to accept or be changed by something: to withstand, strive against.
There is no such thing as passive resistance. Even being passive aggressive is still actively being aggressive with attitude and not actions.
Satan has come to kill, steal, and destroy. All of these actions must be actively resisted in every area of our lives. Our walk with God, our marriage, our health, our finances, our relationships with others.
Titus 2:11-12 (NIV) - For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. 12 It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age,
The grace of God teaches us to say yes to Jesus and No to the devil. The start of resisting the devil starts with us using our voice for a resounding NO. No more, No further, Not on my watch, Not in my family, Not in my Life.
Jesus came to give us abundant life – Choose life and choose to live. – It is no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me.
Deuteronomy 30:19 - I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live;
Choose – Someone needs to hear this – resistance is a choice. It is a choice to obey God and to choose life.
It is choosing to live and to thrive. Not just to survive. It is rejecting the devils attack and his lack and choosing the abundance of peace, provision and protection that God offers.
We have been conditioned to believe that resistance can be done with very little thought and very little effort. – That is a lie.
True warfare is resisting the lies the devil tells us and actively choosing to believe the Word of God and His truth.
I choose to believe the Word of God over the lies of the enemy. I want to remind you that we are not fighting for victory but from a position of victory. Jesus has already won!
Remember that you are loved. Have an amazing September!
Pastor Marvin & Dawn
Image by Gioele Fazzeri from Pixabay
HCC Monthly Harvest Seed
Ezekiel 22:30 - So, I sought for a man among them who would make a wall and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found no one.
A few years ago, two policemen were sent to issue a citation to a resident for not keeping their yard cut. It was a civic code in this town. They encountered a widow, who had recently lost her husband. She apologized, because she was physically unable to do the work. The two policemen came back after their shift and cut her lawn and trimmed the hedges. They didn’t ignore the requirements. They became part of the solution. They filled in the gaps.
I call people like this – Gap people.
Gap people see when there are things that are needed and they step in to fill the hole to make something complete.
Every day we encounter gaps. Some are small and some are large.
Gaps happen. Gaps in floors, gaps in bricks, gaps in windows. Teeth gaps, road gaps, roof gaps, and foundation gaps. They mark spots that are broken and in need of repair.
God has called us to fill in the gaps in people’s lives spiritually and in the natural.
As followers of Jesus Christ, we have been given the ministry of intercession.
God is looking for people who will stand in the gap for others. Those people who will close the gaps or the areas where the enemy can get in.
Most people, when they think of intercession, think of prayer. While there is intercessory prayer for people, the type of prayer that goes to God on behalf of others.
The idea of intercession is so much more.
Intercession is something that you choose to do. It is a gift in the sense that you are doing something for someone else but it is not a spiritual gift that you either have or do not have.
There is no need to over spiritualize something that is so powerful and also so practical.
Everyone is called to be and can be an intercessor in one way or another.
The word "intercede" comes from the Latin "inter" meaning "between" and "ced" meaning "go". To intercede literally means "go between".
Think of a brick wall, the mortar in the joints goes between the bricks. That mortar "goes between", or "intercedes", between the bricks to bind them together and strengthen them. Without the mortar "going between" the bricks, the wall would collapse.
If you want to break down a wall, the easiest way is to start where there are gaps in the mortar. You start chopping and chipping at those sections and soon the entire wall will lack the support it needs and will give way.
Satan looks for the gaps and begins to chip away at a person, a family, or a nation in their place of weakness to cause them to be destroyed.
Those who intercede fill in the gaps so that there is no place of weakness. It is the picture of a soldier stepping in to fill the gap in a defensive line so that the line is strengthened and there are no gaps that the enemy can infiltrate.
Nehemiah was a gap person and he inspired people to rebuild the wall around Jerusalem that had been destroyed.
Moses was a gap person. When the anger of God was kindled against Israel Moses pleaded on their behalf.
Exodus 32:11 - Then Moses pleaded with the Lord his God, and said: “Lord, why does Your wrath burn hot against Your people whom You have brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand?
This is what Jesus did for us. Jesus is the ultimate gap filler.
Jesus filled in the gaps on our behalf by going to the cross. He defeated and destroyed the works of the devil when we could not.
He overcame sin, death, and the grave when we could not.
He paid the debt that we owed to God on our behalf so that the wrath of God could be appeased by the blood of the spotless Lamb of God.
1 Peter 2:24 (NLT) - He personally carried our sins in his body on the cross so that we can be dead to sin and live for what is right. By his wounds you are healed.
(AMP) - He personally carried our sins in His body on the cross [willingly offering Himself on it, as on an altar of sacrifice], so that we might die to sin [becoming immune from the penalty and power of sin] and live for righteousness; for by His wounds you [who believe] have been healed.
When it comes to filling in the gaps God is simply looking for people who are willing to be available.
Ezekiel 22:30 - “I looked for someone who might rebuild the wall of righteousness that guards the land. I searched for someone to stand in the gap in the wall so I wouldn’t have to destroy the land, but I found no one.
When God spoke to the prophet Ezekiel He said – “I am looking for someone to stand in the gap”.
Do not miss the simplicity of this. I just need someone who will stand.
Just stand right here in this space. Just stand.
Too often we overcomplicate things. Jesus didn’t say I am looking for a skilled stone mason.
He said if we are going to rebuild the wall of righteousness in society, I need someone to just stand right here next to the other people that are standing. Now we have a complete wall of righteousness.
People who will stand for the ways of God and refuse to move or budge.
When it comes to spiritual warfare Jesus said in Ephesians 6
Ephesians 6:13-14a - Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.14 Stand.
(AMP) - Therefore, put on the complete armor of God, so that you will be able to [successfully] resist and stand your ground in the evil day [of danger], and having done everything [that the crisis demands], to stand firm [in your place, fully prepared, immovable, victorious]. 14 So stand firm and hold your ground,
Just stand and hold your ground.
Just stand.
God is looking for people who will make themselves available to fill in the gaps.
Isaiah 6:8 - Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: “Whom shall I send, And who will go for Us?” Then I said, “Here am I! Send me.”
I believe that in our day God is looking for people with the Spirit of Isaiah. Here I am send me. Choose me.
Every time I read this verse; I see Horshack from Welcome Back Kotter with his had up in class to be called on. OHHH, Mr. Kotter!
In Ezekiel’s day there was no one willing to take a stand and fill in the gaps.
May that not be so in our day.
I am excited about unpacking this message for us as a church.
I believe that God is raising up a people who will stand in our society as people of righteousness in a wicked society. People who will stand as symbols of hope pointing to Jesus in a world that needs hope. People who will stand and protect those that need shielded from the evil that is in the world.
May the Lord Bless you and your family. Remember that you are loved.
Pastor Marvin and Dawn
HCC Monthly Harvest Seed
John 8:31-32 - Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. 32 And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”
When Jesus gave the Great Commission, He commissioned those who followed Him to go and make disciples. He did not instruct them to go and make believers; He said disciples. There is a big difference between a believer and a disciple. There is even a big difference between those who identify as a Christian and those who identify as a disciple.
James 2:19 - You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble!
Satan and the demons (the fallen angels) are believers, but they are not disciples. This reality is usually an eye opener for many people.
A disciple is someone who not only believes the Word of God but who has been taught to allow the Word of God to completely transform their life for the Glory of God.
I want to say it again that there is a big difference in being a believer of Jesus Christ and a disciple of Jesus Christ.
A Disciple is someone who has moved from being the recipient of the church’s mission to being responsible for the church’s mission.
A True Disciple is a follower of Christ.
Mark 1:17-18 (AMP) - And Jesus said to them, “Follow Me [as My disciples, accepting Me as your Master and Teacher and walking the same path of life that I walk], and I will make you fishers of men.” 18 Immediately they left their nets and followed Him [becoming His disciples, believing and trusting in Him and following His example].
As Followers we surrender the being the leader of our own life. The very first call to the very first disciples were – follow me.
Following Jesus isn’t simply an adherence to a set of beliefs but a commitment to a Way of Life.
This is why the first disciples were called followers of – The Way. Jesus is the Way the Truth and the Life.
2 Corinthians 5:17 (NLT) - This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!
As a follower our life now belongs to Him. He is our Master and our Lord.
Matthew 7:20-23 (NLT) - Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions. 21 “Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter. 22 On judgment day many will say to me, ‘Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.’ 23 But I will reply, ‘I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God’s laws.’
Luke 6:46 - “But why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do the things which I say?
To follow means that we will go where He wants us to go, when He wants us to go and do whatever He commands us to do.
Much of what passes for Christianity is simply an acknowledgement and agreement with a set of beliefs with no real semblance of what a disciple truly is.
Luke 9:57-62 - Now it happened as they journeyed on the road, that someone said to Him, “Lord, I will follow You wherever You go.” 58 And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.” 59 Then He said to another, “Follow Me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” 60 Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and preach the kingdom of God.” 61 And another also said, “Lord, I will follow You, but let me first go and bid them farewell who are at my house.” 62 But Jesus said to him, “No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”
Notice how all of these people have a “but first”. Anytime we have a “but first” Jesus isn’t first. He is either our first or He is not. – Is Jesus truly your first?
A key mark of a Genuine Disciple is obedience.
A disciple is not someone of blind obedience. They walk by faith and not by sight. True faith is not blind, in fact it sees clearly.
An obedient disciple is someone who lives in the Fear of the Lord. They know that He is God. They live their life in awe and in reverence of who He is as God.
They obey not because they are afraid of God but because they desire to please God.
When Jesus called us to make disciples, He told us to teach them to OBEY ALL that He has commanded.
Obedience to God is not an option of discipleship, it is a prerequisite for being a disciple.
Matthew 21:6 - So the disciples went and did as Jesus commanded them.
John 14:15 (AMP) - “If you [really] love Me, you will keep and obey My commandments.
For the Disciple The Word of God is not only life, it is our way of life. The Life of a disciple is found in the word. We are word driven and Spirit Led.
A Disciple is obedient to the teachings and the commands of Christ.
Disciples don’t just believe the Word of God they obey it because they live by Faith.
James 2:18-20 - But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. 19 You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble! 20 But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead?
What is dead faith? Faith without obedience to the Word of God.
A Genuine Disciple Loves Christ above all others.
Remember Love is…. Not love feels.
For the disciple there is no divided allegiance. This is hard for people to grasp.
True love is marked by unhindered devotion.
Mark 12:30 - And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment.
Luke 14:26 - “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple.
People ask me if I love God more than my wife and kids. Yes.
But the truth is I can love them best when I love God first.
Love is a choice not a feeling. Never confuse attraction with love.
To be a true disciple of Christ is to have a love for Him that is above all others.
Above opinions, Loyalties, ambitions, affections, desires, and relationships.
This is a disciple. This will challenge all of us. The fact is many people think this is too extreme.
Yet this is the type of devotion that God requires.
A Genuine Disciple must be willing to forsake all.
Luke 14:33 - So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple.
(AMP) - So then, none of you can be My disciple who does not [carefully consider the cost and then for My sake] give up all his own possessions.
This is hard for so many people.
For many people there is something in their life that holds a special place. A thing, A person, a position, a possession.
Different people are built differently. For some it is easy to move on from people or things. For others they cannot give up money or fame.
The Life of a disciple is not easy. It is a narrow way.
Matthew 7:13-14 - “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. 14 Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.
Sometimes is almost seems like Jesus is talking us out of following Him. Difficult, narrow.
What He is saying is make sure that when you choose to be my disciple that you consider the cost. – There are very few who are willing to do it.
Mark 10:29-30 - So Jesus answered and said, “Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My sake and the gospel’s, 30 who shall not receive a hundredfold now in this time—houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions—and in the age to come, eternal life.
A disciple realizes that the cost of giving up everything is nothing compared to what Christ has to offer.
There will come a time in life when all of us will be tested about our belief about the cost and if it is worth it or not.
Disciples understand that in order to increase they must first decrease and God must increase.
There is so much more that we will uncover this month as we study what it means to be a genuine disciple.
Our walk with God is meant to be deeper, sweeter and more life impacting than we could ever imagine. My prayer is that this month we will all take some time to take an inventory or our lives and see that we are a genuine disciple.
May you take time to rest this summer and be refreshed. Remember that we love you and that we are praying for you.
Pastor Marvin Dawn
Image by Franck Barske from Pixabay
HCC Monthly Harvest Seed
James 5:11- (NLT) - We give great honor to those who endure under suffering. For instance, you know about Job, a man of great endurance. You can see how the Lord was kind to him at the end, for the Lord is full of tenderness and mercy.
The Bible is full of people who endured suffering.
Stephen was martyred. Paul encountered persecution, beatings, shipwrecks, and a thorn in the flesh the Bible calls a messenger of Satan.
Perhaps no one is better known for their suffering and trouble quite like Job.
The Bible tells us that God blessed the second half of Jobs life even more than the first part.
There is something that we admire about those that have been through seasons of pain and have endured.
We get to see the other side of pain. The side where a person comes out the victor, has gained wisdom, they are emotionally and spiritually healed, and we see the blessing of God.
James 5:11 (AMP) - You know we call those blessed [happy, spiritually prosperous, favored by God] who were steadfast and endured [difficult circumstances]. You have heard of the patient endurance of Job and you have seen the Lord’s outcome [how He richly blessed Job]. The Lord is full of compassion and is merciful.
The good news is that there is the - other side of pain.
Jesus told us that in this world there would be trouble but to take heart because He has overcome the world.
Life is never free from challenges. It just isn’t.
For those without Jesus there is just the trouble. For the Christian there is always the other side of pain.
For Job there was a definite ending point. But understand his children had died, his fortune had to be rebuilt, he had to recover from his sickness and he had to mend the awkward relationships he had with his friends.
For Job there was an ending and a new beginning but there was also the other side of the pain.
The other side of pain is like the other side of a coin. It is the value that we gain from the painful experience.
Our opening verse says that we honor those who have suffered with endurance.
The word endurance contains the ideas of patience and perseverance. It talks about people who have waited and gone the distance and had stood in faith long enough to experience the benefits that come with enduring the suffering.
James 1:2-4 (NLT) - Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. 3 For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. 4 So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.
James tells us to consider it a joy. Another version says to count it all joy.
I love this truth - we get to choose how we consider things. We can choose to consider our trials as an opportunity for joy or we can choose to see them as a waste of time, energy, and pain.
The instruction here to all of us is to consider it an opportunity for joy. Those who do so understand the saying – no pain – no gain.
If life is going to have trouble, pain, challenges, and hardship then we might as well get something out of the experience.
People who do this are what I call, part of, the – Oil and Dimond club.
Grapes must be crushed to make wine
Diamonds form under pressure
Olives are pressed to release oil
Seeds grow in darkness
God is shaping, forming, and growing us in remarkable ways. It is when life is hard that God is working things out for us.
I come from a family of people who have tense muscles. We have knots on our knots. I have found that when I go to get a massage, when I am in the most pain is when I need the most pressure to bring relief. There is this wonderful tiny little Asian lady that can blast the knots right out of my back. While most people who go to get a massage and want the spa experience that brings relaxation, I get someone inflicting what many would consider torture. When she is done, I can move, feel limber and although I am literally bruised, I am better.
The other side of my pain is healing, freedom and the ability to do what God has created me to do.
One of the things that we learn on the other side of pain is that God will always bring you through.
Whenever I read about the life of Paul and the things that he endured I am amazed. Beatings, Shipwrecks, persecution, imprisonment.
When I read about the people in the hall of faith in Hebrews 11. I see something amazing; they were always brought THROUGH.
Psalm 23:4 - Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
(NLT) - Even when I walk through the darkest valley,
Notice they didn’t build a house and live there. They went through. They didn’t camp out there.
I love the old Song by Andre Crouch– Through it all. –
Through it all, Through it all, I’ve learned to trust in Jesus, I’ve learned to trust in God.
Life is never as wonderful as our Facebook page may imply.
It has its fair share of pain, imprisonment, beat downs, and ship wreaks. But at the end of the day God breathed unimaginable resiliency into the human spirit.
It is a result of us being created in the image of God. Some experience more pain than others and we all have different capacities for grit. However, the fact of the matter is you are capable of more than you realize.
One of the reasons we are so unaware of our capacity is that we spend most of our life trying to avoid challenges and risk. We invest more time seeking comfort, predictability, and safety than we do adventure and testing.
~ Someone said - At the end of the day the human spirit is more enduring and capable than we realize. We cannot discover the sail of longsuffering anywhere else than it the waves of suffering.
God will bring you through.
An important part of endurance is the found in the patience of waiting.
Someone needs to hear this – many times the amount of pain that we suffer is in direct proportion to our ability or inability to wait well.
It takes time to transform and become all that God wants you to be.
I remember growing up with the song – Bullfrogs and butterflies, we’ve both been born again.
In the process of transformation is the awkward stage of development. You aren’t what you were but you are not quite what you will be. You feel awkward and look awkward. You can’t crawl and you can’t fly or hop. You are vulnerable but you are safe.
It can be a painful and difficult time.
God is moving you from being able to crawl to being able to fly. From being awkward to being something beautiful.
Abraham and Sarah were given a promise but instead of waiting on God they took matters into their own hands. They created child but it was not the child of a promise it was the child of their own doing.
In our pain there will be opportunities to settle.
I’m sure Hagar was a nice lady and she was available.
Because Abraham allowed his pain and disappointment to settle in, He and Sarah were willing to settle instead of wait. It leads to more problems.
The other side of pain teaches us that to patiently wait on God to COME THROUGH on His promises is always the best way.
Abraham and Sarah still received the promise. If they had only waited, they would not have had to deal with the complications that they created.
Take it from someone who has been through pain and sorrow and seen firsthand in my life and in the lives of others that God will bring you through. Refuse to settle.
He is faithful! Remember this. At the end of this painful life, if a beautiful and painless and joy filled eternity. That really is the other side of Pain!
You are greatly loved. Have a fantastic summer season!
Pastor Marvin & Dawn
Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay
HCC Monthly Harvest Seed
John 13:14-17 - If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. 15 For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you. 16 Most assuredly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master; nor is he who is sent greater than he who sent him. 17 If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.
WOW!!! – If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.
The truth is that many people have no idea what it really means to be great.
We have sold people a bill of goods that leaves most people feeling like they have accomplished little with their life and that they don’t quite measure up to expectations; theirs, God’s or other people. - Many today feel like they are falling short.
For generations now we have challenged people to be great.
This idea drives people. It pushes them. Pushing is better than being stagnant or lazy, yet this drivenness totally misses the fact that Jesus yoke is easy and His burden is light.
For many this desire for greatness is not an adventure but a heaviness that weighs them down needlessly.
We tell people that God wants to do great things in and through their lives and that is true except we offer it as a challenge and a forgone conclusion that everyone should be great at everything.
We teach people that God wants to do BIG things.
What we tell them is that if they are faithful, they will achieve fame, fortune, they will have a platform and if they do everything just right, they will have few enemies and one day retire in complete comfort.
Unusual or considerable in degree, power, or intensity.”
“Wonderful; first-rate; very good.”
“Notable; remarkable; exceptionally good.”
It seems popular to define greatness as perceived success. If you have power, money, and status, then the world calls you great.
Sometimes it’s chance; sometimes it’s not.
~ William Shakespeare. - “Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them,”
Greatness, in the world’s eyes, is about material possessions and accomplishments. Nothing wrong with these things. – But if we are not careful, they become our god. – This god has a name mammon. The Bible is clear that you can’t serve both.
The American Heritage Dictionary defines success and greatness as “The achievement of something desired, planned, or attempted.” That’s a pretty broad definition. There are people who are aiming at nothing and hitting it every time.
The second definition is “The gaining of fame or prosperity” or notoriety.
That is not a godly definition of success at all. Lots of people have fame and prosperity, but they do not have true success.
Success and greatness need to be redefined.
It’s not just doing something grand or big.
In fact, not everybody is called to do something big.
Ephesians 2:10 – For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
God has a plan and a purpose for everyone’s life.
There are no small roles or small plans there is just God’s plan for you. No competition, no comparison with anyone else. Just God’s will for you. Period.
The invitation to greatness is an invitation to be like Jesus.
John 13:16-17 - 16 Most assuredly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master; nor is he who is sent greater than he who sent him. 17 If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.
I love this. We are invited to be LIKE Jesus.
While Jesus was loved, He was also hated.
John 15:18 - “If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you.
While Jeus did miracles, there was always the pull of those who had needs.
While Jesus overcome death, He had to first endure the cross.
Greatness begins when we come to the place that we realize that life is not all about us but all about Jesus.
John 15:8 (AMP) - My Father is glorified and honored by this, when you bear much fruit, and prove yourselves to be My [true] disciples.
Greatness is found in fruitfulness. Fruitfulness is so much more than what we accomplish in life.
It is when our character and life honor God by producing the Fruit of the Spirit.
Galatians 5:22-23 (NLT) - But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!
The Desire for greatness is really a desire for significance.
Everyone wants to know that they matter and that their life matters.
Many people’s pursuit of greatness is really just a search for significance.
All of us have read stories of people who have reached the pinnacle of their profession. They have the money, have received the rewards and their lives are simply empty.
I have been a student of history. The truth is many of the people that we honor like our Presidents or people like British Prime Ministers have gotten to the end of their lives only to realize that they are a shell of themselves. Everything that they ever wanted and worked for came at too high a price and delivered very little of what was promised.
All of those who got to the top realized that the other side of the mountain is a steep drop off.
Sometimes significance is found in the seemingly insignificant.
~ It’s the small habits. How you spend your mornings. How you talk to yourself. What you read and what you watch. Who you share your energy with. Who has access to you? That will change your life.
Greatness happens as we are faithful in the little things.
Matthew 25:23 - His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’
People who will do the will of God, the right way at the right time, treating people correctly and making sure things are done well with a good attitude. – That is faithfulness.
If we are good stewards of what God gives us, He will increase us and give us more.
Remember that God is a rewarder of those who diligently seek HIM.
I want to remind you that everyone has been given gifts, talents, and abilities.
Not everyone has been given the same amount and not everyone has been given the same skills. We are just called to be faithful with what we have.
We are not to compare ourselves with what others have. That is not what matters.
What is significant is what we do with what God has entrusted to us.
This month I want to give you an invitation to greatness. This has nothing to do with numbers, results, popularity, or riches. It has everything to do with faithfulness.
The truth is that many of the hero’s of the Kingdom of God are known to very few people. Their accomplishments have not been recorded in newspapers or blogs. What they have been – is recorded in heaven and know by God Himself.
There is so much more to this message that I look forward to sharing with you. I will leave you with this though. Jesus said that if you want to be great in God’s Kingdom you must be the servant of all. Remember – You are Great servant of God!
You are loved.
Pastor Marvin & Dawn
HCC Monthly Harvest Seed
Mark 9:20-23 - They brought the boy to Him. When the [demonic] spirit saw Him, immediately it threw the boy into a convulsion, and falling to the ground he began rolling around and foaming at the mouth. Jesus asked his father, “How long has this been happening to him?” And he answered, “Since childhood. The demon has often thrown him both into fire and into water, intending to kill him. But if You can do anything, take pity on us and help us!” Jesus said to him, “[You say to Me,] ‘If You can?’ All things are possible for the one who believes and trusts [in Me]!”
“All things are possible to him who believes.”
That is faith.
~ Faith is not about how much you believe. Faith is about believing that the one you believe in is…believable.
1Thessalonians 5:24 - He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it.
Every family, every home, every church has an atmosphere about it.
The Atmosphere is a culture of beliefs, values, attitudes, behaviors, and principles. They can be spoken or unspoken but everyone can feel them and most people over time understand them.
An atmosphere of faith is something that you develop and live by intentionally.
Strategic faith is an atmosphere of trusting in God for everything.
It is a position of expectancy that the believes God will do awesome and mighty things. That He is a God who loves us and answers our prayers.
Strategic Faith expects God to do what He said He would do. It expects to see God move in power and to do supernatural things as the ordinary course of life.
Strategic faith is hope and confidence in God.
Strategic faith responds to life and approaches life with optimism because it believes that God is working all things out for our Good.
~ Helen Keller (A Christians who was both deaf and blind) – Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence.
Someone said that faith is like electricity. You can’t see it but you can definitely feel it and you know the light and power that it is able to produce.
~ C.S. Lewis – Faith is the art of holding on to things your reason has once accepted in spite of your changing moods.
Strategic faith is an atmosphere that desires to please God above all else to such an extent that it results is a lifestyle of radical obedience.
Strategic faith means that you have made trusting God an intentional, deliberate and necessary first part of your life.
Strategic is a choice and a plan.
Our faith is only as great as the God that we believe in.
This means that we intentionally live in such a way that we know God is great and we believe that God is Good.
How big is your God?
~ A little boy was asked, “How many gods are there in the world? “One God,” he replied. “How do you know that?” said the skeptic. “Because there is only room for One. Since heaven and earth can’t contain Him, how can anyone else fit?”
You can trust a big God!
Choosing the strategy of trusting a God who is over all and the creator of all and who is the most powerful of all creates an atmosphere of victorious living.
I love the saying that we are living From a position of victory, not for a victory!
God has already won! WE are already victorious! – Because of this fear doesn’t stand a chance!
Because of this we don’t view ourselves as underdogs or victims – We know that we are Overcomers and MORE than Conquers in Christ Jesus.
People and churches that knows this live a life that believes the Word of God.
They Know…
I can do all things through Christ!
If God is for us, who can be against us!
Nothing, Absolutely nothing – is impossible with God! – With God all things are Possible!
An atmosphere of faith has moved past questioning those things and intentionally moved into the realm of living those truths.
The early church had this type of atmosphere.
When they gathered to pray the Holy Spirit showed up in power. They expected and saw that people were saved. Miracles happened – they were not out of the ordinary occurrences they were everyday experiences.
Restoration happened in people’s lives. – Forgiveness abounded and God restored people’s health and peace. There were many that went jumping and leaping and praising God. Even enemies of the church had dramatic encounters with God that transformed them. – The Apostle Paul is just one story.
There was an abundant supply. – There was such unity among the people of God that when there were needs everyone contributed so that those needs were met. These things don’t just happen they are a strategic choice to let God be God!
We are in our year of Koinonia. When we have FELLOWSHSHIP with the Holy Spirit an atmosphere of faith is inevitable.
When we choose to trust God for everything, we know that anything and all things are possible. There will be times God says – “NO”. There will be times that He tells us to wait. There will be times that He changes our plans. While those things shake people. It will not rattle those who have strategically chosen faith as their default position in life. A life that desires to completely live a life that is pleasing to God and a life the radically trusts Him in everything.
This month we are looking at living life strategically. Intentionally. May the Lord bless you and your family.
Know that you are deeply loved. -
Pastor Marvin and Dawn
Image by PayPal.me/FelixMittermeier from Pixabay
HCC Monthly Harvest Seed
John 19:28-30 - After this, Jesus, knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, said, “I thirst!” Now a vessel full of sour wine was sitting there; and they filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on hyssop, and put it to His mouth. So, when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit.
It is important that we remember that without the crucifixion there is no Resurrection.
Because He lives, we can now live in relationship to God and free from the curse of sin and death. – He is the resurrection and the life.
What took place on the cross was bloody, violent, and repulsive.
If we had been there to watch it, we would not have only been uncomfortable, it would have left us traumatized for life. It was something that most people couldn’t even watch let alone do to another human being.
The prophet Isaiah described what the crucifixion would look like.
Isaiah 53:3-5 - He is despised and rejected by men, A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. Surely, He has borne our griefs And carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed.
(NLT) - He was despised and rejected— a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief.
We turned our backs on him and looked the other way. He was despised, and we did not care. Yet it was our weaknesses he carried; it was our sorrowsthat weighed him down.
And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God, a punishment for his own sins! But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed.
You cannot read or hear these words as a child of God and not be moved.
While we know that the crucifixion had to happen, we love the Resurrection because the ordeal is over.
While we all love Christmas, we love the Resurrection even more. At Christmas the work still laid ahead. At the Resurrection we are reminded that the work had been done.
The truth is that resurrection helps us understand an important truth – that the end of something is better than the beginning.
Ecclesiastes 7:8 - The end of a thing is better than its beginning; (NLT) - Finishing is better than starting.
It is exciting to start a project, it is much better to know that it has been seen through to completion. (A house, building it – remodeling)
The Resurrection reminds us that Jesus finished what He started.
When Jesus was hanging on the Cross Just before He died, He said three of the most important words ever declared in History – “It is finished”.
Those words “it is finished” is a translation of the Greek word tetelestai, a word that means to end, to bring to completion, to bring to a conclusion, to complete, to accomplish, to fulfill, or to finish.
When it comes to the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross that word tetelestai holds a wealth of meaning. This word is a word full of nuance that actually speaks to many things that Jesus finished on the cross.
The word tetelestai for one of its meanings is a business term.
It is used to signify the full payment of a debt. – Nothing sounds as good as hearing the words – “Paid in Full”. It is good to purchase a car but there is nothing like knowing all the payments are finished.
Romans 6:23 - For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
When a debt had been fully paid off, the parchment on which the debt was recorded was stamped with tetelestai, which meant the debt had been paid in full.
This means that once a person calls Jesus the Lord of his or her life and personally accepts His sacrifice, no debt of sin exists for that person any longer.
The debt is wiped out because Jesus paid the price for sin that no sinner could ever pay.
Jesus took our place. He paid the debt we owed for our sin. And when we, by faith, repent and receive Him as Lord, we are set free!
Romans 6:10 (AMP) - For the death that He died, He died to sin [ending its power and paying the sinner’s debt] once and for all; and the life that He lives, He lives to [glorify] God [in unbroken fellowship with Him].
1 Peter 1:18-19 (NLT) - For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And it was not paid with mere gold or silver, which lose their value. 19 It was the precious blood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God.
When Jesus uttered those words “It is finished!” it was His declaration that the debt was fully satisfied, fulfilled, and complete. His blood utterly and completely cleansed us forever.
Glory to God!
We used to sing a song. – He paid a debt He did not owe; I owed a debt I could not pay, I needed someone to wash my sins away.
And now I sing a brand-new song amazing Grace. Christ Jesus paid the debt that I could never pay.
The cry “it is finished” was also a military term. A battle cry of victory!
While Jesus was making a statement of obedience to the Father it was also a declaration of victory!
A true champion doesn’t shout in the face of their enemy. They lower their voice and they make a statement that makes their enemies blood run cold.
There is no greater champion than Jesus.
1 John 3:8 - He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose, the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.
When Jesus said “It is Finished” He was saying that He had defeated death Hell and the grave.
Jesus hadn’t resurrected yet but He was declaring His intentions.
He was saying to the devil you didn’t win.
Someone needs to hear this, Jesus isn’t going to defeat the devil, the devil is already defeated.
We aren’t going TO a place of victory; We are already IN a place of victory.
In the name of Jesus, WE HAVE THE VICTORY.
Lastly the word Tetelestai is used to depict a turning point.
It is finished means that one season is over and a new season is beginning.
It declares that we are now in a different time, a different epoch.
When Jesus exclaimed, “It is finished,” it was a turning point in the entire history of mankind, for at that moment, the Old Testament (Covenant) came to an end — it was finished and closed — and the New Testament (Covenant) began.
The Cross was “the Great Divide” in human history. When Jesus cried out, “It is finished,” He was shouting that the Old Covenant had ended and the New Covenant had begun!
Remember HIS-Story is divided into BC and AD. Before Christ and After death.
Just like Jesus literal life, OUR lives are divided into two parts.
Before Christ and after we accept Christ and die to ourselves.
The Old has gone, the New has come. We are new creatures in Christ Jesus. This is amazing!
We are in an entirely new season of life.
Three powerful and life transforming words… “It is Finished”.
May the Lord bless you and your family this Resurrection Season.
Remember that you are dearly Loved,
Pastor Marvin & Dawn
Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay
HCC Monthly Harvest Seed
Philippians 3:10 – that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, 11 if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.
(AMP) - And this, so that I may know Him [experientially, becoming more thoroughly acquainted with Him, understanding the remarkable wonders of His Person more completely] and [in that same way experience] the power of His resurrection [which overflows and is active in believers], and [that I may share] the fellowship of His sufferings, by being continually conformed [inwardly into His likeness even] to His death [dying as He did];
This year our focus is on Koinonia. The Fellowship that we have with each other and the Fellowship that we have with the Holy Spirit.
One of the ways that we grow in the Holy Spirit and in our relationship with God is to Fellowship with His Sufferings.
We don’t like to talk much about suffering in the church.
For many it is an uncomfortable thing although all of us experience.
Suffering for Christ and with Christ is talked about often in the Word of God.
~ Dallas Holm – One of today’s great worship leaders and song writers said –
Here in America (and elsewhere) we have so-called ministers and ministries that unashamedly proclaim that Christians should never suffer…anytime, anywhere! Their theology (or lack thereof) is illustrative of their complete ignorance of sound biblical teaching, and their insensitivity to suffering saints. I believe it also evidences a kind of elitist spiritual arrogance that is truly breathtaking! Scripture simply calls them “false teachers.”
Fellowship and suffering? Sounds like oil and water…incompatible…opposites, unable to be together in any meaningful way.
Yet, Paul in a profound (Holy Spirit inspirited) way is able to wrap words around this sacred place of intimacy and aloneness, love and fear, peace and conflict, healing and pain…fellowship and suffering. When we walk with Jesus, We will suffer through life’s trials, but in the process of our pain we have the opportunity to fellowship with our friend, Jesus.
His sufferings become our sufferings and our sufferings become His.
- Fellowship is the union of friends sharing similar interests or problems. To suffer is to feel pain or distress.
Precious fellowship with our Savior is where we learn of Him, grow in Him and become like Him.
Webster’s definition of fellowship: companionship, a mutual association on friendly terms, a partnership or joint interest, as a fellowship of pain.
Someone said that - Our partnership of pain with Christ is an equally yoked venture with the owner of all you have—He is for you. In pain the Spirit takes you to intimate places you have never been, so you can take others to intimate places they have never been.
Suffering comes in all sizes and shapes, for many different reasons and in many different seasons.
~ Charles Spurgeon - God’s people have their trials. It was never designed by God, when he chose his people, that they should be an untried people. They were chosen in the furnace of affliction; they were never chosen to worldly peace and earthly joy. Freedom from sickness and the pains of mortality was never promised them; but when their Lord drew up the charter of privileges, he included chastisements amongst the things to which they should inevitably be heirs. Trials are a part of our lot; they were predestinated for us in Christ’s last legacy. So surely as the stars are fashioned by his hands, and their orbits fixed by him, so surely are our trials allotted to us: He has ordained their season and their place, their intensity, and the effect they shall have upon us. Good men must never expect to escape troubles; if they do, they will be disappointed, for none of their predecessors have been without them. Mark the patience of Job; remember Abraham, for he had his trials, and by his faith under them, he became the “Father of the faithful.” Note well the biographies of all the patriarchs, prophets, apostles, and martyrs, and you shall discover none of those whom God made vessels of mercy, who were not made to pass through the fire of affliction. It is ordained of old that the cross of trouble should be engraved on every vessel of mercy, as the royal mark whereby the King’s vessels of honor are distinguished. But although tribulation is thus the path of God’s children, they have the comfort of knowing that their Master has traversed it before them; they have his presence and sympathy to cheer them, his grace to support them, and his example to teach them how to endure; and when they reach “the kingdom,” it will more than make amends for the “much tribulation” through which they passed to enter it. – (Morning and Evening-March 8, Charles Spurgeon)
Soon after Paul's conversion, Ananias delivered a word from the Lord to him.
Acts 9:16 - For I will show him how many things he must suffer for My name’s sake.”
It was to be more than the personal distress of shame, rejection, persecution, and hardships. He would suffer through shipwreck, stonings, beatings, and afflictions of body and soul. He would joyfully suffer the loss of all things. In triumph over all these personal sufferings he would proclaim,
Romans 8:18 - For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.
There is a glory that God wants to reveal in all of us. There are some things that we only learn, gain, and grow in only through suffering.
It is through suffering that we really learn to know Christ.
God helps us prepare for suffering by teaching us and showing us that through suffering we are meant to go deeper in our relationship with Christ.
You get to know him better when you share his pain. The people who write most deeply and sweetly about the preciousness of Christ are people who have suffered with him deeply.
It is amazing how quickly our suffering draws us to a greater intimacy with Jesus.
Think about the times you have shared with your spouse through times of suffering. This is when you really got to know one another. To understand one another.
It is a time where you drew from each other more deeply than you thought possible.
It is when you learned to be tender to each other in ways that deeply affect you.
Suffering was part of the calling of Jesus. – He came to be a living sacrifice. The same is true of us.
Philippians 3:10a - that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection,
Suffering is God’s way of drawing us close to Himself.
Our pain and our struggles help us to know Jesus in all His ways.
Isaiah 53:3 - He is despised and rejected by men, A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.
You really don’t know Jesus until you are familiar with the man that knew sorrow and was acquainted with grief. – Jesus was familiar with pain. In all of its forms.
Job was a man of great faith who served God. God had a lot of very good things to say about Job. It was in all of the trials that Job faced that He really got to know God. It was through the painful times that job entered into a greater intimacy and understanding of God.
Job 42:5 - “I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, But now my eye sees You.
When you realize that God really sees you is the moment that you really begin to see God for who He is.
Stephen was faithful in His stand for the faith and it was in the middle of his suffering that all of heaven began to open.
Acts 7:55 - But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God,
1 Peter 4:14 - If you are reproached for the name of Christ, blessed are you, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. On their part He is blasphemed, but on your part, He is glorified.
God reserves a special coming and resting of His Spirit and His glory on His children who suffer for his name.
One of the purposes for suffering is that our relationship with God might become less formal and less artificial and less distant and become more personal and more real and more intimate and close and deep.
Suffering is personal, intimate, painful and powerful. The effect that it has on our lives for His glory and for our benefit is almost impossible to quantify.
In our year of Koinonia I am confident that we are going to grow deeper in our relationship and understanding of the Holy Spirit. Get ready…. It will be worth it all.
Remember that you are loved,
Pastor Marvin & Dawn
Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay
HCC Monthly Harvest Seed
Luke 2:8-14 – Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. 10 Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. 11 For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.” 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: 14 “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”
Merry Christmas to you and your family. During this festive and busy time of the year. I pray that you will know the goodness and the presence of God in your life in a very precious and unique way. I am excited to share this message with you.
Dona Nobis Pacem – is Latin for – Give us peace or grant us peace.
This is part of the Latin mass from the text of Agnus Dei. Agnus Dei – means Lamb of God.
I was introduced to this beautiful short song when watching the show MASH. It is a favorite of our family to watch at Christmas time. In the middle of a war, in the middle of the battles and trials of life is the reminder that God came to bring peace on earth and goodwill toward men.
Ralph Vaughan Williams composed the Dona Nobis Pacem three years before the outbreak of World War Two. In that moment the world needed that prayer – “Give us peace.”
Our world and people individually need to know the hope of Peace that is offered to us by God. Peace is the opposite of fear, it is also the opposite of war. The angel’s message to the shepherds was – “Do not be afraid”. Peace calms the soul and settles the chaos and confusion that rages within us.
Christmas time reminds us in a very special way that one of the most precious gifts that Jesus gives us is the gift of peace.
John 14:27 - Peace, I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
(NLT) “I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.
We live in a world that is troubled and afraid on many fronts.
God invites us into his peace. His peace is unlike the world’s way of peace. The world is temporary, situational, and dependent on many variables. The gift that Jesus gives us is the abiding presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives. He will never leave us or forsake us.
We need Christmas peace. When Jesus entered the world, it was a time of incredible turmoil; life was hard for most people alive at the time. The world was in desperate need of a Savior and at just the right time is history, (HIS-story), Christ was born. WE NEEDED CHRISTMAS. On that first Christmas. HIS -Story was about to become OUR story.
In the Bible there is a word for peace that is used over four hundred times. In the Hebrew it is the word Shalom, in English it is peace. Shalom is a word that speaks of more than the absence of strife, it speaks of quiet and wholeness to every part of who we are, spirit, soul, and body. Peace, harmony, wholeness, completeness, prosperity, welfare and tranquility.
Biblical scholars tell us that shalom signifies a number of things, including salvation, wholeness, integrity, soundness, community, connectedness (to others and to God's creation), righteousness, justice, and well-being (physical, psychological, spiritual).
When prophesying about the coming Savior Isaiah puts peace at the core of His purpose. Isaiah 9:6- For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
When I was preparing my heart for this message, I kept hearing the Lord speak to me the words – Prince of Peace. The Peace That Christ Brings is something far deeper and far different than what many experience.
Christmas peace is far deeper than one silent night bathed in the glow of a fire and Christmas lights. Moments of tranquility will never sustain us for a lifetime.
Someone said in a devotional- “IF our expectations for Christmas are gifts and time with family, we have set our expectations too low.”
No Christmas carol can fix a broken heart. No amount of decorations can beautify the results of an ugly relationship and no amount of presents can replace what has been lost.
All of those things are enjoyable and have their place.
We are thankful for them. Christmas is so much deeper. It is the celebration of the coming of Christ and His redemption of mankind.
Many people look at the world today and wonder where is this promised peace? Jesus made it clear that He would bring peace on earth but before He ushers in worldwide global peace, He had a higher agenda. The day is coming to this world when there will be no more wars and no more sin and death, when the lion will lay down with the lamb.
The peace of Jesus transcends our situations. It surpasses our bank accounts, our sickness or the fulfillment or lack of fulfillment of our plans and dreams.
He promises a peace that passes understanding. In the middle of circumstances that should unnerve us, our faith and trust in God releases a peace that our emotions and senses can’t understand. We are not victims but victors. We are not helpless but have the help and hope of God Himself.
Our God is Jehovah Shalom – God our peace.
Philippians 4:6 -7 - Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
Anxiety and anxiousness are just other words for fear.
It is worry that has moved past concern and into the realm of believing that our problem or problems are bigger than God, or that God is not really interested in them.
Worry is not just us having a problem, it is us having a problem that is bigger than us and thinking that it is up to us to solve it.
Christmas is all about us having a problem that is bigger than we are and that we had no hope of fixing on our own. We could not fix our sin problem or the results of our sin. Physical and spiritual death. God took care of all of that. The answer to our worries and fears is the same answer for our sins. We need to take them to God.
Someone needs to hear this today – God is not worried about anything.
When we give our fears and anxieties to Him, He gives us His peace. His peace becomes our peace. We exchange our fear, for His calm, His hope and His answers. The Bible promises us a peace that passes understanding.
Many people have a temporary peace on Christmas day. They allow the holiday to allow them to forget for a day. Yet there is a lingering thought that everything will still be there tomorrow.
God’s peace surpasses understanding. It overrides our thinking and reasoning and gives us a sense that all is well even when the problems are still there.
God promises a peace that will guard our heart and mind. – It will protect our thinking and how we think about things. It will guard our inner man and all that matters to us. He is the God of our peace and our Prince of Peace. The peace of God doesn’t just sustain us it propels us forward in His plan for our lives.
Christmas is all about the gift of His son. Jesus is the master gift giver. He is the gift that keeps on giving.
He is full of surprises.
Matthew 7:11- If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!
This Christmas may you be blessed with the wonderful gift of God’s peace. God is full of surprises. Don’t let them startle you. May they thrill your heart and calm your spirit and inspire you with faith.
I would like to leave you with a Christmas blessing found in the book of Romans.
Romans 15:13- Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Dona Nobis Pacem – Give us Peace.
Merry Christmas!
Pastor Marvin and Dawn
Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay
HCC Monthly Harvest Seed
2 Timothy 3:13 - But evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived.
The Bible tells us that Satan is a liar and the father of lies.
John 8:44–45 (AMP) - You are of your father the devil, and it is your will to practice the desires [which are characteristic] of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks what is natural to him, for he is a liar and the father of lies and half-truths. 45 But because I speak the truth, you do not believe Me [and continue in your unbelief].
Satan is the exact opposite of Jesus.
Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.
Right now, we all have a sense that we are being lied to about everything.
It is hard to trust almost anything that anyone says.
You and I are being lied to on a regular basis. In fact, our entire culture is riddled with deception.
We have governmental agencies like the (Food and Drug Administration) to oversee the ridiculous claims made by advertisers and retailers.
We have social media claiming to “monitor the truth” in our news so that we are not lied to as they manipulate what they want us to see and hear.
Our Government opened and closed what it called an office of truth that was so close to the Nazi’s ministry of truth that it could not hold up to the back lash it was so obviously wrong.
The Bible tells us that in the last days people lying and deceiving will grow worse and worse. That people will be deceiving others and being deceived themselves.
We are in those times.
The Bible tells us that in the last days even the very elect or God’s Chosen ones will be deceived if it is possible.
Matthew 24:24 - For false Christ’s and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.
That is a powerful statement. If possible. – The truth is that those who are walking in the Holy Spirit will have discernment. Most of God’s elect won’t be fooled. They will be lied to but will be able to see through the lies.
But some who are not paying attention and some who just don’t really want to know will be deceived.
Satan uses every sort of duplicity to lead people away from Truth and into the tangled and confusing realm of Deception. Truth has been outrageously violated in every area of society.
Deception is when you are lied to and you believe it.
Some other words that describe it – Misinformation, disinformation exaggeration, subterfuge, sleight of hand, fake news, distraction, counterfeit, camouflage.
2 Corinthians 11:14 - And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light.
The word deception could be defined as communication or behavior that is meant to leave others with a false impression.
Here are some ways that deception is being sown in our culture today:
• Disinformation: deliberately misleading or biased information; manipulated narrative or facts; propaganda.”
• Doublespeak: evasive, ambiguous language that is intended to deceive or confuse.
• Duplicity: deceitfulness in speech or conduct, as by speaking or acting in two different ways to different people concerning the same matter; double-dealing.
• Fabrication: to make up a story or facts for the purpose of deception.
• Falsehood: Contrary to fact or truth.
• Fraud: deceit [or] trickery… perpetrated for profit or to gain some unfair or dishonest advantage.
• Half-truth: a statement that fails to divulge the whole truth… or using a portion of truthful information to make a lie seem more trustworthy.
• Hypocrisy: a concealment of one’s real character or motives… a deceitful show of a good character, in morals or religion; a counterfeiting of religion.” Actor – To pretend to be something or someone that you are not.
• Lie: a falsehood uttered for the purpose of deception; an intentional violation of truth.
• Scam: a confidence game or other fraudulent scheme, especially for making a quick profit; swindle.
• Subterfuge: a cleverly disguised way or strategy used to evade a rule, escape a consequence, hide something. Deceit used in order to achieve one's goal.
Deception has become a part of our culture.
2 Timothy 3:7 - always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.
Lying has become so common place that we almost expect it and are shocked when people are actually honest.
Lying has become ubiquitous in our culture. We expect that every time a politician opens their mouth that they are lying.
When news is dispensed, we are confident that it is no longer being reported accurately but with the slant and stats manipulated to make them say what they want us to hear so that we will believe what they think is best.
Law has become so nuanced that no one really understands what a lawyer is saying except other lawyers.
The disciples asked Jesus what would be the sign of His coming and the end of the world and the first thing He told them was deception.
Matthew 24:3-5 - Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?” 4 And Jesus answered and said to them: “Take heed that no one deceives you. 5 For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many.
Jesus gave many signs, but the first sign Jesus told them about contained a clear warning of a wide-scale deception that would emerge in the last part of the last days — and the need for people to prepare and guard against it. Jesus said, “…Take heed that no man deceives you.”
Take Heed – Pay attention, Live with your eyes wide open, have your Spirit in step with the Spirit of God. – Be decerning.
The word “deceive” is used to depict this period when it will look as if delusion is taking over the world.
It is the Greek word which means to lead astray or to wander off course. This word “deceive” could depict a single individual who has wandered far off course, or it could describe a whole nation or nations that have morally veered from the position once held to be true.
That describes today. – In many ways our world is delusional.
~ Someone said – “Human beings are willing to believe anything, as long as it caters to what they want.”
Satan understands this and has developed philosophies, religions and belief systems that sound so reasonable that they keep us from God because they tell us exactly what we want to hear.
2 Timothy 4:3 (AMP) - For the time will come when people will not tolerate sound doctrine and accurate instruction [that challenges them with God’s truth]; but wanting to have their ears tickled [with something pleasing], they will accumulate for themselves [many] teachers [one after another, chosen] to satisfy their own desires and to support the errors they hold,
We often think this just means religious teachers and pastors. This goes far beyond that. This includes actual educators (Children and Collegiate), entertainers and so-called experts.
~ Rick Renner – People in the last days will become supernaturally hoodwinked — that is, they will be ensnared by an unparalleled period of deception on every front. This period of deceitfulness will be so intense that people will believe what is false over what is obviously true, even denying facts and truths that are common sense and that nature itself teaches. It will mark a time when wrong belief and delusion will pervade every realm of society. This is the clear teaching of prophetic Scripture about developments that will occur at the conclusion of this age.
I believe that Christians should be the most discerning, wise and aware people in the world.
Why? Because we are people of the Word and people of the Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Wisdom and discernment.
If anyone can spot and know the difference between the truth and a lie it will be a Christian who walks in the Spirit and who lives by Faith.
This month we are going to unpack this in a big way.
Continue to walk and live in the Truth. You will be of those who know the difference and do not walk in description, Spiritual or otherwise.
Remember you are dearly Loved,
Pastor Marvin and Dawn
Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay