Tag Archives: Pastor Pete Friese

“Black & White” 1 John 3

by • on 11:20 PM • in Sermon Notes

 

John now begins 1 John 3 saying:

1a Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God!

A. What an awesome privilege that God has given to each of us as believers –

            1. That we should be called the ‘children of God!’

B. I don’t think that anyone of us can fully appreciate how blessed that we are in this sense

            1. The alternative is to be called the children of the devil

C. That is in fact what Christ said to the Pharisees in –

John 8:30-44
30 As He spoke these words, many believed in Him. 31 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.”

33 They answered Him, “We are Abraham’s descendants, and have never been in bondage to anyone. How can you say, ‘You will be made free’?” 34 Jesus answered them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. 35 And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. 36 Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed. 37 “I know that you are Abraham’s descendants, but you seek to kill Me, because My word has no place in you. 38 I speak what I have seen with My Father, and you do what you have seen with your father.” 39 They answered and said to Him, “Abraham is our father.” Jesus said to them, “If you were Abraham’s children, you would do the works of Abraham. 40 But now you seek to kill Me, a Man who has told you the truth which I heard from God. Abraham did not do this. 41 You do the deeds of your father.” Then they said to Him, “We were not born of fornication; we have one Father–God.” 42 Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and came from God; nor have I come of Myself, but He sent Me. 43 Why do you not understand My speech? Because you are not able to listen to My word.

44 You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.

D. What a great privilege to know JESUS CHRIST as Personal Lord and Savior

            1. This is the message of the Gospel!

John 3:16
16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

E. Jesus Christ is God’s ONLY BEGOTTEN SON;

            1. But as God’s ADOPTED CHILDREN-

                        a. We are called the children of God!

1b Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him.

A. Not everyone is a child of God

            1. Sometimes I hear people say that “We’re all the children of God” – but that’s not true

B. Only those who have repented of their sins and put their faith in Jesus Christ have become

            1. “The CHILDREN of God”

C. The world can’t identify with us

            1. They don’t know us, or understand us

            2. They CAN’T because they DON’T KNOW GOD

D. The world can’t understand how you and I can get up on a perfectly good Sunday morning

            1. And GO TO CHURCH!

            2. To the world, they can’t identify with that

E. “The sun is out, the day is beautiful, why waste it in church around other people?”

            1. John says the WORLD DOES NOT KNOW US…because they don’t know God

            2. They don’t have a PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP with Jesus Christ

F. Many people have an INTELLECTUAL RELATIONSHIP with the Lord;

            1. They know OF HIM, but they are not IN HIM

G. And only those of us who have been given this privilege of being called the children of God

            1. Can identify with one another
2 Beloved, now we are children of God;

A. I love how TENDER  John is!

            1. His maturity in the Lord over all the years of walking with Christ have matured him

            2. He loves those whom he is writing & he is writing those whom he loves

                        a. There is no struggle in John’s heart to IDENTIFY himself w/ the family of God

                        b. In fact he sort of DELIGHTS in it!

B. “Beloved of God”

            1. NOW — we are the children of God

C. We don’t have to wait until the end to find out how the story ends;

            1. NOW – TODAY we know HOW the story ENDS because

2. WE ARE the children of God!

Romans 8:35-39    Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 As it is written: “For Your sake we are killed all day long; We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.” 37 Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. 38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

D. For all of us who have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ;

            1. We already KNOW the END of the story

            2. We can SLEEP TIGHT and not let the BED BUGS BITE

                        a. Because no matter what happens…

                                    i. We ARE NOW called the CHILDREN OF GOD!

2b and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.

A. As CHILDREN OF GOD…

            1. We are all WORKS of PROGRESS

            2. NONE of us are COMPLETE

            3. None of us are at the point where God is finished with us

                        a. If we were, God would take us home

B. But because God’s not done with us, we are all WORKS IN PROGRESS

            1. And God has commanded us to be PATIENT with one another

            2. We can’t hurry that process in OUR OWN LIVES

            3. And neither can we hurry that process in the LIVES of another FAMILY MEMBER

                        a. And I’m ok with that!

C. I think that one of our greatest struggles as Christians, is to get in a HURRY to MATURE

            1. Or to think that we can HURRY the PROCESS of God’s timing in others

D. Maybe it’s even for the PROCESS of SALVATION

            1. “I’m anxious to see my husband or wife or children come to know the Lord”

            2. But John says here that we can’t hurry that process

E. God is working on each of us individually- in HIS TIME, according to HIS PLANS

            1. We have not yet experience FULL MATURITY…

            2. But we know that when Christ appears, we will be LIKE HIM

                        a. We will each be completed at that moment & receive our glorified bodies

F. A lot of people are confused over 1 Cor 13:9-13, let’s look at that passage:

1 Corinthians 13:9-13
9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part. 10 But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away. 11 When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things. 12 For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known. 13 And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

G. Many people doctrinally believe that verse 10 has already been fulfilled in the coming of Christ

            1. Yet as Paul states here, it hasn’t been fulfilled yet

H. Right now, you and I see in a mirror dimly, but at the BEMA SEAT we shall then see the Lord

            1. FACE TO FACE

I. We only know IN PART TODAY;

            1. We don’t have a full understanding

            2. We are not yet fully mature in Christ

            3. As God’s children, we are all WORKS IN PROGRESS

J. And one of God’s great promises to each of His children is found in –

Philippians 1:6    being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ;

K. God began it and He will complete it, and ONE DAY in the FUTURE;

            1. When CHRIST IS REVEALED

            2. We shall be LIKE HIM

            3. For we shall SEE HIM as He is!!!
3 And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.

A. Isn’t that wonderful that God has given us the incredible PRIVILEGE of BEING PURE?!

            1. We no longer need to be CONTROLLED by the PASSIONS of our FLESH

            2. God has BROKEN THAT BONDAGE that our flesh had over us

B. As children of the world, we were DOMINATED and MASTERED by our FLESH;

            1. But as CHILDREN of God, we have been SET FREE

John 8:36       If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.

C. We’ve been set free and given the privilege of DAILY CHOOSING to live

1. A SANCTIFIED life in Christ

D. All of God’s true children have this hope of one day seeing Him FACE TO FACE

            1. And it is through this FUTURE HOPE that we LIVE a PURIFIED LIFE

E. I’m going to DAILY SEEK to cleanse my life from everything that does not glorify God

            1. “Lord what else in my life should not be a part of my life?”

            2. “Is there anything in my life that needs to go?”

F. So all who ‘have this hope’, PURIFIES HIMSELF, even AS CHRIST IS PURE
4 Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness.

A. Paul says in –

Romans 6:1-7
What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? 2 God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? 3 Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? 4 Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. 5 For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection: 6 Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. 7 For he that is dead is freed from sin.

B. God has freed us from sin, and as children of God

1. We can no longer allow sin to master us

C. We may and WILL WRESTLE with sin,

            1. But as God’s children, we can no longer allow it to ABIDE IN US

            2. When we sin, we are CONVICTED and REPENT and RESTORED

            3. We may FALL, but we get back up and seek restoration in CHRIST
5 And you know that He was manifested to take away our sins, and in Him there is no sin.

A. Jesus Christ was and is SINLESS and He came for ONE PURPOSE

            1. To TAKE AWAY our SINS

            2. He didn’t die for HIS OWN SINS but for the sins of the world

                        a. So John says –

6a Whoever abides in Him does not sin.

A. The ONLY WAY to REMAIN FREE from the bondage of SIN is to ABIDE in Christ

            1. Because Christ is SINLESS…

            2. As we ABIDE IN HIM… we will live sinless lives

B. When a person falls in sin, it may not necessarily be because a person isn’t saved;

            1. But rather, as a CHILD OF GOD,

            2. SIN will overtake us when we FAIL to ABIDE in CHRIST

                        a. He is PURE and we too are MADE PURE as we ABIDE in Him!

6b Whoever sins has neither seen Him nor known Him.

A. The word ‘sins’ here is PRESENT TENSE – LIFE STYLE

1. Those who live in sin are not really saved

B. The true child of God, cannot abide in a sinful life

            1. A TRUE CHRISTIAN may be a PRODIGAL SON for a SEASON;

            2. But eventually, he/she will come back to their senses and RETURN to the Lord
7a Little children, let no one deceive you.

A. Many false gospels going out today declaring that you can live in sin and still be a Christian

            1. But John is saying ‘don’t let anyone deceive you’

7b He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous.

A. The evidence of salvation is a righteous lifestyle

            1. If I say that I am a CHRISTIAN – CHRIST-LIKE,

            2. Then I will PRACTICE RIGHTEOUSNESS

B. Again if God is PURE and I am IN GOD;

            1. Then I WILL BE PURE

C. “Don’t let anyone deceive you into thinking that –

1. You can claim to be IN GOD if you are IN SIN
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.

A. Everyone who LIVES/ABIDES in sin is demonstrating WHO CHILD they really are

            1. He who LIVES IN SIN belongs to their father the DEVIL

B. Everyone who is IN CHRIST has been given the POWER OVER SIN

            1. Christ has DESTROYED the power of SATAN over the CHILDREN OF GOD

9 Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God.

A. If I go out and plant a pumpkin seed this spring,

            1. That pumpkin seed doesn’t have to TRY to GROW INTO A PUMPKIN

            2. Neither does it NEED TO FEAR becoming a WATERMELON, squash or a bean

B. When you plant a PUMPKIN SEED, it will NATURALLY BECOME WHAT IT IS

            1. Whoever has been truly BORN AGAIN, will grow in CHRISTLIKENESS
10 In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother. 11 For this is the message that you heard from the beginning, that we should love one another, 12 not as Cain who was of the wicked one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his works were evil and his brother’s righteous.

A. The difference between the children of God and the devil are seen in two specific areas:

            1. Righteousness & Love

B. Those who live RIGHTEOUS and LOVE his BROTHER is of God

            1. Those who LIVE IN SIN & are BOUND BY HATRED

a. Belong to their father the devil

C. “Let know one deceive you”

            1. Not even your own mind

            2. These are the measurements of TRUE SALVATION

“In this we know that we are the children of God, in that we love one another”
13 Do not marvel, my brethren, if the world hates you.

A. They hate each other, why shouldn’t they hate you too?!

            1. Hate is just a natural emotion from the unbeliever

B. Jesus said “out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks”

            1. A person doesn’t hate you because you are such a TERRIBLE PERSON

C. Rather the world hates you because they are FULL OF HATE, like their father the devil

            1. And out of the abundance of their hearts, their mouths speak

D. Out of the abundance of LOVE the CHILDREN of God speak;

            1. As out of the abundance of the heart of HATE, the children of God speak

E. The true evidence of salvation is demonstrated in RIGHTEOUSNESS & LOVE;

            1. Or LACK thereof
14 We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love his brother abides in death. 15 Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. 16 By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.

A. Satan so oftentimes will beat us up trying to convience us of our lack of salvation;

            1. But here Jesus says, you can be assured that you are saved in your love for the breather

B. If you DON’T LOVE your brethren;

            1. Then you really don’t have ANY ASSURANCE of being God’s child

C. Is God love? YES!!!

            1. Then if we ABIDE IN CHRIST, we will be ABIDING IN LOVE!

D. How do we know that we are IN CHRIST?

            1. “By this shall all men know that you are My disciples, that you LOVE one another!”

E. HATRED for another Christian, a desire for their HARM or DESTRUCTION is satanic

            1. And those who have such feeling ABIDES IN DEATH
17 But whoever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him? 18 My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth.

A. The Apostle James puts it this way –

James 2:14-17  What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food,
16 And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit? 17 Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.

B. True salvation is not only meted out in RIGHTEOUSNESS and LOVE, but ACTION

            1. TRUE LOVE ALWAYS produces WORKS

“My deeds don’t save me, they simply reveal my salvation.”

C. This too is what John is saying

            1. “Don’t just say you LOVE SOMEONE, SHOW THEM!”

D. If your brother whom you say you love has a need, and you have the MEANS;

            1. Then don’t just talk about LOVING HIM;

            2. SERVE HIM

            3. Give to Him from that which God has given you

E. Does it mean more to have someone tell you that they love you, or to have them show it?

            1. Like the greeting card once a year….

                        a. “Well I rarely tell you how much I love you, but you know I do…”

                        b. Yeah, WHATEVER!

F. If you REALLY LOVE ME, then SHOW ME!!!

            1. Don’t just have someone write it out in a card once a year & think that’s good enough

            2. “Ok, now I can justify my DEAD EMOTIONS for another 12 months, got the card!”

G. John says “if you see your brother in need, and you shut up your heart towards him…”

            1. Then how does the love of God abide in him?

            2. The truth is, it doesn’t

            3. God’s love REALLY DOESN’T ABIDE in that person’s heart

H. If you see your WIFE EMOTIONALLY DISTRAUGHT –

1. And you shut up your heart towards her,

2. How can you say ‘the love of God abides in you’ – it really doesn’t!

18 My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth.
19 And by this we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before Him. 20 For if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things.

A. Also in, 1 John 4:18, John says:

1 John 4:18    There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.

B. As we abide in Christ, in His RIGHTEOUSNESS, LOVE and DEEDS

            1. PERFECT LOVE casts out all fear

            2. How often our hearts condemn us, only to find that we’re not abiding as we should be

21 Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence toward God.

A. Abiding in Christ produces total assurance or confidence in our walk with Christ

            1. My EMOTIONS may run ALL OVER THE MAP

            2. But as I abide in Christ, my CONFIDENCE is established!

22 And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight. 23 And this is His commandment: that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another, as He gave us commandment. 24 Now he who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. And by this we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us.

A. How do we abide in Christ?

            1. Simply by keeping His commandments

B. We are SAVED BY GRACE through FAITH;

            1. But we ABIDE in Christ by keeping His commandments

C. As we keep His commandments, we abide in Him, and He in us

Conclusion:

 

John 15:1-8
1 “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser.
2 Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit.
3 You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you.
4 Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.
5 I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.
6 If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned.
7 If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.
8 By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.

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Calvary Connection – Feb. 6, 2011

by • on 8:28 PM • in Bulletin

Welcome to Calvary Chapel Buffalo!

February 6, 2011

Pastor Pete Friese

Pastor Pete’s Message:

“20/20/20″

Exodus 16:1-13

 

What’s happening today/this week at CCB:

Nursery Workers Today – 2/6/11 Stephen, Laci and Bethany

This Morning: Communion

Tonight 6:00 pm –NO HOME FELLOWSHIP TONIGHT

Wednesday 6:30 pm –JOB study will resume in the Sanctuary

Thursday 6:30 p.m. Elders & Deacons Meeting in Pastor Pete’s office

Nursery & Children’s Information

DROP OFF children ages 0-3 before announcements. Please provide necessary info to our workers for your children’s needs. Our workers will notify you if your child needs you! Parents are encouraged to use the cry room if you would like to console your child during the service to minimize distractions & the service being broadcast on KSLW in the sanctuary.

PICK UP – Please wait outside the nursery for your child & his/ her belongings

3 year olds now stay downstairs in the nursery for the entire service

4 year olds can go to Children’s Worship in the Basement of the main bldg

in the large Youth room.

Children ages 4-10 can be dropped off in the Basement of the main bldg in the large Youth Room before announcements. They will then dismiss to their SS classes. Teachers will bring them back over to the sanctuary after they are dismissed.

STIR UP THE GIFTS! – Would you consider helping with these ministries?

KSLW RADIO BROADCAST we need a few extra hands to help with the live radio broadcast on Sunday mornings especially if Pittman’s can’t make it over the mountain and Dustin and Mike are out plowing snow. We have many people that listen in live every Sunday so if you can help please see Keri Pittman.

GREETERS Would you like to pass our bulletins on Sundays? See the Longs

CHILDREN’S WORSHIP We could use one more person once a month to help out with Children’s Worship. The teens will help you get songs ready and lead the children in worship. If you can help out please see Jeff Wing.

Radio – Sound – Children – Nursery – Office – Cleaning – Computers – Grounds keeping – Greeting

CHILDRENS CHURCH/ CHILDREN’S WORSHIP continues today in the basement of the main bldg in the large youth room.

NEW!!! PREACH THE WORD WEBSITE / BLOG SITE Listen to past studies, link to the radio station to listen live, download study notes, join discussions and receive e-mail updates from Pastor Pete’s blog at preachthewordradio.com

BULLETIN ANNOUNCEMENTS – Please email your bulletin announcements to:

jane_long50@yahoo.com or call 217-2338.

Weekly Prayer Focus – Pastor Nels Nelson

Sheridan Calvary Chapel

“The cost of food in the kingdom is hunger for the Bread of Life”

~John Piper

PRAISES

Wonderful progress and breakthroughs for Greyson Hull!

Thanks to those of you who volunteer in KSLW and the bookstore!

Pastor Pete, Celeste and Bethany are back in the saddle!!

PRAYERS

Church finances – for God to provide for our needs in this rough economic time

Those suffering with cancer – grace and mercy upon them and their families

Howard Brightman – healing from surgery

Pastor Nels’ – caring for elderly parents

Wanda Mechum’s mother- critical condition, open-heart surgery, faulty heart valve

Those who need a good job – favor at this time in a tough economy

Spiritual Warfare in our church, our families our homes

Single parents / Singles – God’s provision, guidance and encouragement

Parents – wisdom in raising their children to honor the Lord in this season

Our fragile nation – risk of our religious freedoms at stake, economy

Pray for the peace of Jerusalem – “I will bless those that bless thee”

Military – Ben Johnson, Adam Fink, Bridger Vaselin, Isaiah Adams, Nick Williams;

Kirk Simeral and their units deployed throughout the world

REMEMBER TO PRAY FOR THOSE THAT WE SUPPORT

Siloam Ministries – Al Schubert

Vision Beyond Borders – Pat Kline

Gospel for Asia – Mark Devandrappe

Gospel Recordings – Surrendra Shrethra

Compassion Intl Children – Asiimlie, Jordan & Kaline & families

KLWD & KWCF radio

A NOTE FROM PASTOR PETER:

Dear Church Family,

What a joy it is today to walk in the presence of God’s amazing grace! Thank you all for your prayers and giving us this time of rest and refreshment. Also, thanks to everyone who filled in during our absence, we know that you were all greatly blessed. Our total recovery from burn-our will take many months, but having had 30 days to recuperate has been a great start. Per doctor’s orders, we will be slowly adjusting back into a new schedule here at CCB. For the month of February, we have been instructed to limit our weekly work days and hours, but we plan to be fully adjusted to our new schedule by March 1st. Thank you all again for your continued support and prayers as we seek to fulfill the work of the ministry; God has yet to do even greater miracles! We love you!! Pastor Pete and Celeste

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“20/20/20″

by • on 6:05 PM • in Announcements

Good morning dear Calvary family!

We’re back and I’m in the office today if anyone needs anything. We are looking forward to seeing you all this coming Sunday. God has great things in store for CCB in the coming year and I am so excited to see all that God has planned for our little ministry.

Just reminder that we will be corporately partaking of the Lord’s Table together, and as always, Celeste will be leading us in a wonderful time of “LIVE” praise and worship!!!!

Also, I will be teaching on the subject of the importance of God’s Word. The title of our study will be “20/20/20” and we will be briefly looking at Exodus 16 for our text. What I will be sharing this coming Sunday will radically change everyone’s life, I guarantee it! It has radically changed everyone who has ever participated, and it is sweeping the church globally – in a getting back  to the power of God’s precious Word!

Sunday’s message is for everyone who is hurting, lonely, desperate, discouraged, depressed, having marriage problems, having parenting problems, relationship problems, wanting a closer walk with Christ, and for all who simply want to directly hear the voice of God speak to your heart.

Are you thinking about divorce? You need to be here. Are you thinking about running? You need to be here. Are you thinking about not coming? You need to be here, God will change your life!

Has your Christian walk become boring, dull, legalistic, ritualistic, mundane, a drag, empty-desert? Have you lost the joy of serving Jesus? Has your church attendance become a drudgery? Are you missing God’s peace, contentment and direction for your life? Do you have any major decisions that you need to make, presently or upcoming? Do you have anything at all that you are struggling with, or need God’s wisdom, or understanding, or insight??? Then join us and bring everyone you know who is struggling or simply wanting a closer walk with Christ, because you will be radically changed after our time together this coming Sunday. See you Sunday!

For His great glory,

Pastor Pete

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Calvary Connection 12/12/10

by • on 2:31 PM • in Bulletin

 

LOOKING AHEAD

December 19th  – Church Christmas Party – White Elephant * Youth Skit *

December 24th – Christmas Eve Service 6 pm

January 20th – Heart Sisters Kick Off Party Fellowship Hall 6:30 pm

February – Ladies Fellowship  “Prayer Journal Workshop” Date TBA  

Welcome to Calvary Chapel Buffalo!

December 12th   2010  

Pastor Pete Friese

   9:00 am – Morning Prayer

   9:30 am – Coffee is on in the kitchenette – Fellowship Time

   10:00 am – Worship Service

   10:00 am – Children’s Worship in the Fellowship Hall ages 4-10 

                                Pastor Pete’s Text: I John 2:15-17

      The Battle For My Heart

For a copy of today’s’ study, please leave your name at the sound-table and the number of copies you need and it will be ready

for you next Sunday! Copies $2.00 each

 

Listen Live 24/7! KSLW 99.5 FM streaming at www.preachthewordradio.com

 

* Thank you for being on time / lessens distraction during announcements

* Please keep children away from the stage, instruments and sound table

* Please turn off cell phones or set on vibrate

* NO FOOD OR DRINKS other than water in the sanctuary

                         

 Nursery ages 0-2  DROP OFF – on the landing at the top of the stairs. You will be given a number for your child and if you are needed that number will flash on the screen during the service. 

PICK UP -  please wait outside the nursery for your child and his/her belongings. Thanks for your cooperation!

Children 3 & up are invited to participate in our worship service. Children will be dismissed to Children’s Church after the singing!

If you plan to keep your babies downstairs during the service we ask that you sit in the back or in the cry room during the teaching to minimize distractions for those in the service, live on the radio, and those who are editing the message for KSLW. Thanks!

 2/21 Angie, Caleb, Suzanne, Leah  2/28 Kasandra, Ashley, Adam

 What’s happening this week at CCB

Tonight 6:00 pm –NO HOME FELLOWSHIP UNTIL JANUARY

Tonight 6:00 pm Youth Group – Play practice in the fellowship hall

Wednesday 6:30 pm – inductive & interactive Job Study

 Weekly Prayer Focus – Story Community Church

 Nursery & Children’s Information

DROP OFF children ages 0-3 before announcements. Please provide necessary info to our workers for your children’s needs. Our workers will notify you if your child needs you! Parents encouraged using the cry room if you would like to console your child during the service to minimize distractions & the service being broadcast on KSLW in the sanctuary.

 PICK UP – Please wait outside the nursery for your child & his/ her belongings

3 year olds now stay downstairs in the nursery for the entire service

4 year olds can go to Children’s Worship in the Fellowship Hall

Children ages 4-10 can be dropped off in the fellowship hall for Children’s Worship before announcements. They will then dismiss to their SS classes.  Teachers will bring them back over to the sanctuary after they are dismissed.

 Nursery Workers 12/12 Adam, Ashley, Jakob 12/19 Angie, Tiffany, Alescea

  STIR UP THE GIFTS! – Would you consider helping with these ministries?

KSLW RADIO BROADCAST  assist with Sunday morning service being put on KSLW, it’s pretty easy so see Keri Pittman today about getting on the rotation to help with that!

GREETERS Would you like to pass our bulletins on Sunday mornings? See the Longs

Radio – Sound – Children – Nursery – Office – Cleaning – Computers – Grounds keeping – Greeting

NURSERY NEED  Thank you to those who stepped up to help the Tetens in nursery. What a blessing you are! The special need for January has been filled

GOSPEL FOR ASIA CHRISTMAS this year as a church we will be focusing on the Gospel for Asia ministry that allows you to donate $ for chickens, rabbits, goats, mosquito nets , wells and many other items that entire families can use. Catalogs are on the back table!

WHITE ELEPHANT CHRISTMAS PARTY   NEXT SUNDAY!  at 6:00 pm in the Fellowship Hall. Bring your favorite holiday treat, soup, sandwiches or snacks. If you want to participate in the White Elephant please bring a hideous or useless gift to exchange! One gift per household please.

NEW!!! PREACH THE WORD WEBSITE / BLOG SITE Listen to past studies, link to the radio station to listen live, download study notes, join discussions and receive e-mail updates from Pastor Pete’s blog at preachthewordradio.com

CHRISTMAS EVE SERVICE  we will be doing a Christmas Eve service so if you would like to participate, please let Celeste know this week so she can work you into the rotation. Invite a friend out for this special evening of worship.

HEART SISTERS  In lieu of Secret Sisters for 2011, we will be starting a new program called Heart Sisters. The emphasis is friendship, fellowship and ministering to one another one to one rather than doing things for one another anonymously. If you would like to participate, please take a form and turn it into Celeste by January 1st. We will have a kick off party for 2011 on January 20 and you will be paired with another lady from our church and given a calendar and some instructions to get you going on this fun new ladies program. For more info on how it works or other questions, see the flyers or talk to Celeste.

CHRITSMAS TEA  A special thanks to the ladies who helped with the set up, serving and clean up for the Christmas Tea. It meant so much to have your help in making it such a lovely night! May God bless each one of you who helped – Love, Celeste

“Who can add to Christmas? The perfect motive is that God so loved the world. The perfect gift is that He gave His only Son. The only requirement is to believe in Him. The reward of faith is that you shall have everlasting life.”                               – Corrie Ten Boom

PRAISES

Thanks to those of you who keep up with snow removal – you are appreciated!

PRAYERS

Church finances – for God to provide for our needs in this rough economic time

CCB has many needs for volunteers to step forward – pray for obedient hearts

Those suffering with cancer – grace and mercy upon them and their families

Pastor Nels’ mother recovering from back surgery at age 92

Safe travel for the Hulls coming home this week

Those who need a good job – favor at this time in a tough economy

Ashley Teten – due at any time – healthy baby and safe delivery

Spiritual Warfare in our church, our families our homes

Single parents / Singles – God’s provision, guidance and encouragement

Parents – wisdom in raising their children to honor the Lord in this season

Our fragile nation – risk of our religious freedoms at stake, economy

Pray for the peace of Jerusalem – “I will bless those that bless thee”

Military – Ben Johnson, Adam Fink, Bridger Vaselin, Isaiah  Adams , Nick Williams

               Kirk Simeral and their units deployed throughout the world

 REMEMBER TO PRAY FOR THOSE THAT WE SUPPORT

Gospel for Asia – Mark Devandrappe  Siloam Ministries – Al Schubert

Vision Beyond Borders  - Pat Kline, KSLW,  KLWD & KWCF radio

 Gospel Recordings – Surrendra Shrethra

Compassion Intl Children – Asiimlie, Jordan & Kaline & families

NOTE CHANGES!  Monthly Events  Communion – 1st Sunday of the month

Men’s Breakfast – 3rd Sat of the mo 7am ~  Ladies Brunch – 4th Sat of the mo 9am

Workers on the Wall 2nd Sunday of the month * Baby Dedication – 3rd Sunday

Elders/Deacons Meeting 2nd Thurs * Potluck 1st Sunday of the month – noon

Jr / Sr High Youth Group – Sunday nights 6 pm during Adult Prayer time

Sunday Night Prayer time located at the Frieses’ 425 S Cummings 6:00 pm

Church Address  40 N  Desmet, Buffalo Wyoming 82834   Phone 307-684-8725  

Church Website and download church calendar  calvarychapelbuffalo.com

NEW! KSLW Office Hours Tuesday & Wednesday 10-3    Sundays 9:30 am

 KSLW  Phone 307-684-5134  

Pastor’s Study Day is Friday ~ no calls please   

Pastor’s day off/ family day is Monday ~ no calls please

If Pastor Pete is unavailable please contact one of the elders/ deacons

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“Trust in the Lord with all your Heart”

by • on 6:15 AM • in Exhortation

Proverbs 3:5-12 (NKJV)
5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding;
6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.
7 Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the Lord and depart from evil.
8 It will be health to your flesh, And strength to your bones.
9 Honor the Lord with your possessions, And with the firstfruits of all your increase;
10 So your barns will be filled with plenty, And your vats will overflow with new wine.
11 My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, Nor detest His correction;
12 For whom the Lord loves He corrects, Just as a father the son in whom he delights.

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1 John 1:1-10

by • on 8:16 PM • in 1 John

“Family Traits”

1 John 1:1-10

 

Introduction

 A. John’s 1st Epistle is like a family photograph album

            1. It describes those who are members of the FAMILY OF GOD

 

B. Just as children resemble their parents;

            1. So God’s children have His likeness too

 

C. This letter describes the similarities

            1. When a person becomes a child of God;

                        a. He receives the LIFE of GOD—-ETERNAL LIFE

 

D. And one of the things that John is going to teach on is that;

            1. All who have received ETERNAL LIFE…

                        a. Will SHOW IT in very DEFINITE ways

 

Evidences of ETERNAL LIFE:

  • The acknowledge of Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior
  • They LOVE GOD
  • They LOVE the CHILDREN of God
  • They OBEY His COMMANDMENTS
  • And they DO NOT go on SINNING

 

 

E. These are some of the HALL MARKS of ETERNAL LIFE

            1. John wrote this Epistle so that all who have these family TRAITS…

                        a. May KNOW that they have ETERNAL LIFE (1 John 5:13)

 

F. The book of 1 John is UNUSUAL in many ways in that:

            1. Neither the AUTHOR, nor the RECIPIENTS are named

                        a. Doubtless, they knew each other well

 

G. One of the other traits that we will notice as we study this Epistle is that:

 

“Extremely deep spiritual truths are expressed in such short, simple sentences, with a vocabulary to match.”

 

H. Too often I think that what some people FOOLISHLY PRAISE as ‘deep preaching’

            1. Is really just UNCLEAR or MUDDY preaching

 

“A MIST in the PULPIT, results in a FOG in the PEW.”

 

I. I have a very SIMPLE mind;

            1. I need to have things SIMPLY, THOROUGHLY explained to me

                        a. In SIMPLE TERMS

 

J. And that is what JOHN does here in his 1ST LETTER

            1. He ‘puts the FOOD on the BOTTOM SHELF!’

K. Somebody once wisely stated that the Pastor should always remember that –

            1. He is FEEDING SHEEP, not GIRAFFES

            2. So keep your TEACHING SIMPLE

Background and Theme

 

A. The Epistle of John was written probably sometime between A.D. 80-95

            1. John also wrote the GOSPEL of JOHN

            2. And the book of REVELATION when he was on the ISLAND of PATMOS

 

B. At the time John was writing this letter;

            1. A FALSE SECT had ARISEN which became known at ‘GNOSTICISM’

            2. Gk. Gnosis = knowledge

 

C. These GNOSTICS professed to be CHRISTIANS;

            1. But they claimed to have ADDITIONAL knowledge…

                        a. Superior to that of what the Apostles taught

 

D. They claimed that a person could not be COMPLETELY FULFILLED;

            1. Until he had been initiated into their deeper “truths”

 

E. Some taught that MATTER WAS EVIL;

            1. And that THEREFORE the MAN JESUS…

                        a. could NOT be GOD

 

“Gnostics made a distinction between Jesus and Christ.”

 

“The Christ”

  • Was a divine emanation which came upon Jesus at His baptism and left before His death
    • Perhaps at the Garden of Gethsamane
  • According to the Gnostics, JESUS DID DIE;
    • But the CHRIST did NOT DIE

 

F. There doctrinal position taught that:

 

“The heavenly Christ was too holy and spiritual to be soiled by permanent contact with human flesh.”                                                      – Gnosticism

 

G. In short, they DENIED the INCARNATION

            1. That JESUS is the CHRIST

 

H. And that JESUS CHRIST is both:

            1. GOD and MAN

I. John realized that these people, though PROFESSING to have ETERNAL LIFE;

            1. Were not TRUE CHRISTIANS

 

J. So he WARNED his READERS against them;

            1. By showing that the Gnostics did NOT HAVE…

                        a. The MARKS of TRUE CHILDREN of God

 

K. According to John…

            1. A person either is a CHILD OF GOD or he is NOT

            2. There is NO IN-BETWEEN ground – NOT — ‘a little bit saved/ almost saved’

 

L. That is why this Epistle is filled with such EXTREME OPPOSITES –

            1. LIGHT and DARKNESS

            2. LOVE and HATRED

            3. TRUTH and LIE

            4. DEATH and LIFE

            5. GOD and the DEVIL

M. At the same time;

            1. John also liked to DESCRIBE people by their HABITUAL BEHAVIOR

N. In discerning between CHRISTIANS and NON-CHRISTIANS;

            1. He does not BASE his CONCLUSION on A SINGLE ACT…

                        a. But rather on what CHARACTERIZES a PERSON

 

“Even a BROKEN clock tells the correct time twice in every 24 hours; -But a GOOD clock tells the correct time regularly!”    -William McDonald

 

O. So too the GENERAL, DAY-TO-DAY behavior of a Christian is HOLY & RIGHTEOUS

            1. And BY THIS he is KNOWN as a CHILD of GOD

 

P. While John often uses SIMPLE WORDS, the THOUGHTS are often DEEP

            1. And therefore sometimes DIFFICULT to UNDERSTAND

Q. As we study this book, therefore we should pray that

1. The Lord will give us UNDERSTAND of His Word

2. And to OBEY the TRUTH as He reveals it to us

1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life—

 

A. John begins now in stating that Jesus Christ is –

            1. The TRUE FOUNDATION for all FELLOWSHIP

 

B. There can be NO TRUE FELLOWSHIP –

            1. With those who hold FALSE VIEWS about Him

 

C. VV 1-2 teach His ETERNITY and –

            1. The REALITY of His INCARNATION

 

D. The SAME ONE who EXISTED from all ETERNITY with GOD the FATHER…

            1. CAME DOWN into this world as a REAL MAN

 

E. The reality of His Incarnation is indicated by the fact that the Apostles:

            1. HEARD Him

            2. SAW Him with their eyes

            3. They actually HANDLED Him

 

F. The ‘WORD of LIFE’ — Jesus Christ—

            1. Was not merely a PASSING ILLUSION

            2. But was a REAL PERSON in a BODY of FLESH

 

 

2 the life (Christ) was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and declare to you that eternal life (Christ) which was with the Father and (Christ) was manifested to us—

 

A. Here John confirms that the ONE who was with the FATHER;

            1. The ONE John calls ‘THAT ETERNAL LIFE’

                        a. Became FLESH & dwelt among us

                        b. And was SEEN by the APOSTLES

 

“I am glad that my knowledge of eternal life is not built on the speculations of philosophers or even theologians but on the unimpeachable testimony of those who heard, saw, gazed at, and handled Him in whom it was incarnate. It is not merely a lovely dream, but solid fact, carefully observed and an accurately recorded fact.”                                                                                                            – Unknown

 

3 that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ.

 

 A. John and the other Apostles did not keep this wonderful news a SECRET

            1. And NEITHER should we—

 

B. They realized that the BASIS of all FELLOWSHIP is found here

            1. And so they declared it FREELY and FULLY

 

C. John states here that all who receive the testimony of the apostles have – 

“Fellowship with God the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ!”

 

D. Notice that God’s Son is JESUS CHRIST;

            1. They are ONE in the SAME person

            2. And that Person is the SON OF GOD!

 

“Jesus”

  • Is the name given to Him at Birth
  • And therefore speaks of His HUMANITY

 

“Christ”

  • Is the name that speaks of Him as GOD’S ANOINTED ONE, the MESSIAH

 

 

E. Therefore in the name of JESUS CHRIST-

            1. We have a WITNESS to His HUMANITY and to His DEITY

 

“Jesus Christ is very God of very God.” – Nicene Creed

 

 

4 And these things we write to you that your joy may be full.

 

A. John now declares why he is writing concerning the subject of FELLOWSHIP

            1. That reason is so that ‘Our JOY may be FULL’

 

B. John REALIZED that the WORLD is NOT CAPABLE of providing-

            1. TRUE and LASTING —–JOY———

 

“This JOY can only come through a PROPER relationship with the LORD”

 

C. When a person is in FELLOWSHIP with the FATHER and the SON;

            1. He will have a DEEP-SEATED JOY —

a. That CANNOT be disturbed by EARTHLY circumstances

 

D. As one Poet once stated:

 

“The source of all his singing is high in heaven above.”

 

E. The JOY OF THE LORD produces an ABILITY to LIVE ABOVE our circumstances –

1. Even though we may not be able to ESCAPE them

F. Life is often VERY DISCOURAGING;

            1. Yet as we WALK in FELLOWSHIP with God

            2. It RESULTS in JOY that SUPERSEDES our ENVIRONMENT
5 This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.

 

A. ‘FELLOWSHIP’ describes A SITUATION where 2 or MORE people –

            1. SHARE things in COMMON

 

“Fellowship” is a communion or a partnership

 

B. John is INSTRUCTING his readers as to the REQUIREMENTS for fellowship with God

            1. And if you notice here (v. 5), John APPEALS to the TEACHINGS of CHRIST

                        a. Now remember that John walked & lived with Christ

                        b. He knew & experienced 1st hand what Jesus taught –

c. And what it took to break his fellowship with God

C. What did Jesus Christ teach? He taught that -

            1. ‘God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all.’

 

D. By this John MEANT that GOD IS ABSOLUTELY HOLY

            1. He is absolutely RIGHTEOUS

            2. He is absolutely PURE

 

“GOD CANNOT LOOK WITH FAVOR ON ANY FORM OF SIN.”

 

Hebrews 4:13       And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.

 
6 If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.

A. So since God is HOLY and PURE;

1. Then in order for us to have FELLOWSHIP with HIM;

2. We CANNOT WALK in DARKNESS

a. There can be NO HIDING of SIN

 

B. LIGHT and DARKNESS ———CANNOT exist w/in a person’s life at the same time

            1. Any more than they can EXIST TOGETHER in the SAME ROOM of a home

 

C. If a man is WALKING in DARKNESS

            1. Then he is NOT in FELLOWSHIP with GOD

 

“A man who says he has fellowship with God and habitually walks in darkness was never saved at all.”                                        – William McDonald

 

 
7 But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.

 

A. On the OTHER HAND;

            1. If one WALKS in the LIGHT-

            2. THEN he CAN have FELLOWSHIP with the Lord Jesus Christ & with other Believers

 

B. As far as John is concerned, a man is either in the LIGHT or in DARKNESS

            1. If he is IN LIGHT…then he is a MEMBER of the FAMILY of God

 

C. If he is LIVING in DARKNESS;

            1. He does not have ANYTHING in COMMON with GOD because

                        a. There is NO DARKNESS in GOD at all

 

D. The only way Christians can have true fellowship with one another is to WALK in LIGHT

            1. “And the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin”

 

E. And it is the SHED BLOOD of JESUS CHRIST that PROVIDED God with a –

            1. RIGHTEOUS basis on which He can FORGIVE SINS

 

 
8 If we say that we have no sin (corrupt, evil nature; ‘old man’- sin nature), we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

 

A. So FELLOWSHIP with God REQUIRES that we –

1. ACKNOWLEDGE the TRUTH concerning ourselves

B. If we DENY that we have a SINFUL NATURE;

            1. Then we are living in SELF-DECEPTION and UNTRUTHFULNESS

C. Notice that John makes a DISTINCTION between ‘SIN’ (v. 8)

            1. And ‘SINS’ (v. 9)

 

“SIN”

  • Refers to our corrupt, evil nature

 

“SINS”

  • Refers to evils that we have done

 

 

D. We have a SIN NATURE;

            1. But as BORN AGAIN CHRISTIANS, we are no longer to be mastered by our FLESH

            2. We are not to be CONTROLLED by the LUSTS of our FLESH

 

Romans 6:1-14
1 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? 2 Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? 3 Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? 4 Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. 5 For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, 6 knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. 7 For he who has died has been freed from sin. 8 Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, 9 knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him. 10 For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. 11 Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord. 12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts. 13 And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. 14 For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.

 

E. So though we still have a SIN NATURE;

            1. We are NOT to be REGULATED by our sin nature

F. By the POWER of the HOLY SPIRIT through our NEW IMPLANTED nature;

            1. God has given us VICTORY over our SIN NATURE, to NOT LIVE in SIN

 

“Conversion does not mean the eradication of the sin nature. Rather it means the implanting of the new, divine nature, with power to live victoriously over indwelling sin.”                                                                                        -W. McDonald

 

ILLUSTRATION:

  • Indian Chief and the 2 dogs “which one wins? The one I feed the most.”

 

9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

 

A. In order for us to be in fellowship with God and our fellow BELIEVERS, we must be saved;

            1. In order to REMAIN in fellowship with God and our fellow BELIEVERS…

                        a. We must confess our sins

Types of Sins:

  • Sins of commission  (A Sin of Commission is to know something is wrong… and do it anyway.)
    • Sins of omission  (failure to do something one can and ought to do.)
      • Sins of thought  (stuff that takes place in our minds)
        • Sins of act  (Actions)
          • Secret sins (only God sees these)
            • Public sins  (visible/ known to all)

 

B. We must drag OUR SINS into the OPEN before God

  • Call sin what it is—SIN
    • Agree with God over them – (can’t walk in darkness & expect fellowship w/ Him)
      • Forsake them  – (Genuine REPENTANCE, not just clean out GUILT)

 

“True confession involves forsaking of sins”

 

 Proverbs 28:13       He who covers his sins will not prosper, But whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy.

 

C. When we do that, we can claim the promise that-

 

“God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness”

 

D. The FORGIVENESS that John is talking about here is PARENTAL;

            1. NOT —-JUDICIAL

  

“Judicial Forgiveness”

  • Judicial forgiveness means forgiveness from the penalty of sins –
    • Which the SINNER receives when he trusts Christ to be his Savior
  • It is called ‘JUDICIAL’  because it is GRANTED by GOD, acting as JUDGE

 

 E. BUT WHAT ABOUT SINS a person commits AFTER CONVERSION?

            1. As far as the PENALTY is concerned-

            2. The price has already been paid by the LORD JESUS on the cross of CALVARY

“Parental Forgiveness”

  • As far as fellowship in the Family of God is concerned, the SINNING SAINT needs PARENTAL FORGIVENESS; the forgiveness of His Father
  • We obtain parental forgiveness by confessing our sins

 

“We need judicial forgiveness only once; that takes care of the penalty of all our sins-past, present, and future. But we need parental forgiveness throughout our Christian life.”

 

F. When we ‘CONFESS our SINS’;

            1. We must BELIEVE on the authority of God’s Word-

                        a. That HE FORGIVES US!

 

“If God forgives us, then we must be willing to forgive ourselves.”

 
10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.

 

A. The Holy Bible tells us that ‘ALL HAVE SINNED’

            1. To DENY THIS, would make God a liar

B. If a person refuses to AGREE with God that they are a SINNER;

            1. Then they really have NO NEED for a SAVIOR

Luke 19:10        “for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”

 

  

CONCLUSION:

#1. In order to have fellowship with God, one must be SAVED / ETERNAL LIFE

 #2. To have fellowship with God, does NOT REQUIRE lives of SINLESSNESS

 #3. When we have SINNED, we must CONFESS it to God, and FORSAKE it

  

“And He will be faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from ALL unrighteousness!”

 

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Introduction to Job

by • on 6:39 PM • in Job Study, Sermon Notes

“Introduction to Job”

  Job 1:1                                                  

Pain is the universal experience of all human beings. Everyone experiences pain at some point in their lives, and during that season of suffering, they often ask the same question: “Why? Why God? Why now? What did I do to deserve this?” These are haunting questions that echo within our minds and find no real answer.

            Life is difficult. That blunt, three-word statement is an accurate appraisal of our existence on this planet. No one could argue the point that life is punctuated with hardship, heartaches, and headaches. Most of us have learned to face the reality that life is difficult. But unfair? Something kicks in, deep within most of us, making it almost intolerable for us to accept and cope with what’s unfair. Our drive for justice overrides our patience with pain. Consider this example:

            You’re a single parent living 1200 miles from a job offer that comes to you from Houston. So you give serious thought to moving you and your three children (who are all under the age of fifteen) down south so that you might get a much better job working for a lot more money in a company that is really moving ahead. You make the move as you begin working for Enron. You find yourself fulfilled and stretched. Things are really looking up. You’re doing so well you decide to invest in the company’s stock. They money is good, your future is bright, and the news is out that this is the blue-chip company to be a part of. They’re even naming the new stadium in Houston after the Enron Corporation. Then one day you overhear some troubling comments at the water fountain.

            The scuttlebutt around the office isn’t encouraging. You doubt it, you question it, and in fact you put it out of your mind because, after all, your entire retirement funds are there, your health benefits are there, and your financial security is there. Suddenly, almost before you can blink, you get a pink slip, and it’s all over. You lose everything. It’s not your fault-you were doing a good job. You moved for all the right reasons, and now there’s the threat of losing your house. Life is difficult as you ponder telling the kids.

            A couple of days later you’re showering and you notice a small lump under your left breast. Your stomach turns. You can’t believe it. Two days later the biopsy reveals that you have an aggressive malignancy. Oh, I failed to mention, three years ago your husband ran off with his much younger and attractive assistant and, by the way, they’re doing great. Both of them have new cars, secure, well-paying jobs, and no kids. And you? You’re going to move in with your aging parents, neither of whom is all that healthy, and their little home has only three bedrooms. One day the full load hits you: Life is not just difficult, it’s downright unfair. Welcome to Job’s world.

Eugene Peterson, in his paraphrase of The Old Testament, says this in his introduction of Job:

                        It is not only because Job suffered that he is important to us. It is because he suffered in the same ways that we suffer-in the vital areas of family, personal health, and material things. Job is also important to us because he searchingly questioned and boldly protested his suffering. Indeed, he went “to the top” with his questions. It is not the suffering that troubles us. It is undeserved suffering. Almost all of us in our years of growing up have the experience of disobeying our parents and getting punished for it. When that discipline was connected with wrongdoing, it had a certain sense of justice to it: When we do wrong, we get punished.

                        One of the surprises as we get older, however, is that we come to see that there is no real correlation between the amount of wrong we commit and the amount of pain  we experience. An even larger surprise is that very often there is something quite  the opposite: We do right and get knocked down. We do the best we are capable of  doing, and just as we are reaching out to receive our reward we are hit from the  blind side and sent reeling.                              – Eugene Peterson, The Message

Those words describe precisely what happened with Job. Life was not simply difficult, it became absolutely unfair.

            Job was a man of unparalleled and genuine piety. He was also a man of well-deserved prosperity. He was a godly gentleman, extremely wealthy, a fine husband, and a faithful father. In a quick and brutal sweep of back-to-back calamities, Job was reduced to a twisted mass of brokenness and grief. The extraordinary accumulation of disasters that hit him would have been enough to finish off any one of us living today.

            Job is left bankrupt, homeless, helpless, and childless. He’s left standing beside the ten fresh graves of his now-dead children on a windswept hill. His wife is heaving deep sobs of grief as she kneels beside him, having just heard him say, “Whether our God gives to us or takes everything from us, we will follow Him.” She leans over and secretly whispers, “Just curse God and die.” Pause and ponder their grief-and remember the man had done nothing to deserve such unbearable pain.

            Misery and mystery are added to the insult and injury of Job’s real-life disasters. As he sits there covered with skin ulcers that have begun erupting with pus, swelling his body with fever and giving him a maddening itch that will not cease, he looks up into the faces of three friends who arrive on the scene. They sit and stare at the man for seven days and nights without uttering a word. Just imagine. First, they don’t recognize him, which tells you something of the extent of his swelling and the sores that covered his body. The sight causes them to be at a loss for words for a full week. Unfortunately, they didn’t remain silent. When they finally did speak, they had nothing to say but blame, accusation, and insult. “You’re getting what you deserve.” Though they shaped their cutting remarks in much more philosophical terms, they proved unmerciful. His pain only intensified.

            His misery turns to mystery with God’s silence. If the words of his so-called friends are hard to hear, the silence of God becomes downright intolerable. Not until the thirty-eighth chapter of the book does God finally break the silence, however long that took. If it were just a few months, try to imagine. You’ve become the object of your alleged friends’ accusations, and the heavens are brass as you plead for answers from the Almighty, who remains mysteriously mute. Nothing comes to you by way of comfort. It’s all so unfair; you’ve done nothing to deserve such anguish.

Job was human like the rest of us, and he was angry with God at times for allowing these tragic events to occur in his life. But his trust in God never wavered. The ability to trust God in the midst of suffering is a difficult task, yet one of the things that helps me is to remember God’s faithfulness to me in the past. Today I can look back at times of suffering in my own life that happened years ago and see God’s faithfulness throughout. I couldn’t see it as clearly at the time, but today I have a much better understanding of it all. This ability to see God’s faithfulness in the past has helped me wait patiently on God in present difficulties, knowing that He is faithful. I know He’s working in the midst of this current crisis just like He has in the past, and I need to trust Him. I like how Brennan Manning addresses this issue of trust:

                        Unwavering trust is a rare and precious thing because it often demands a degree of courage that borders on the heroic. When the shadow of Jesus’ cross falls across our lives in the form of failure, rejection, abandonment, betrayal, unemployment, loneliness, depression, the loss of a loved one; when we are deaf to everything but the shriek of our own pain; when the world around us suddenly seems a hostile, menacing place-at those times we may cry out in anguish, “How could a loving God permit this to happen?” At such moments the seeds of distrust are sown. It requires heroic courage to trust in the love of God no matter what happens to us.                                                                                                 -Ruthless Trust

            Times of intense pain and suffering remove all the shallow, superficial cliché’s of “Sure, I trust God.” To still love God and remain fully devoted to Him in the midst of suffering, to love Him even when you think He is unfair and callous is true love, true devotion, pure trust.

Hebrews 12:1-13 (NKJV)
Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls. 4 You have not yet resisted to bloodshed, striving against sin. 5 And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons: “My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, Nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him;
6 For whom the Lord loves He chastens, And scourges every son whom He receives.”  7 If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten? 8 But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons. 9 Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live? 10 For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness. 11 Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. 12 Therefore strengthen the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees, 13 and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be dislocated, but rather be healed.

Yes, God allows terrible things to happen in our lives, but during these times we must remember that we are not alone. Many have traveled the road of suffering before us like Job, like Jesus, and have been able to patiently endure.

One final thought. I believe that God allows seasons of suffering to occur in the life of every believer to test not only the reality of their faith but also the extent of their love for Him. You can’t fake your love while in pain. What I really believe in my heart and how I really feel about God and whether or not I really trust Him all become evident through season of suffering.  The ultimate proof of my love for God is demonstrated by absolute trust and surrender. These can only be proved true in the crucible of suffering. When you can say “Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him”(Job 13:15 (NKJV), you know that your love for God is real.

Questions:

1. How does God describe Job? Did the Lord consider Job to be a godly man or an ungodly man?

2. What 2 aspects of Job’s character and action does God highlight in verse 1?

3. What does it mean to be “blameless / perfect”?

Psalms 37:37 (NKJV)
37 Mark the blameless man, and observe the upright; For the future of that man is peace.

“Blameless does not mean perfect; it means he did not compromise with moral evil. He was a man whose business dealings were handled with integrity. He kept his word. He dealt fairly with others. As a result, he was respected by those around him, whether within or outside the family. He was upright. He was man of character”                                                                             – Chuck Swindoll

4. What does it mean to be “upright”?

Psalms 7:10 (NKJV)
10 My defense is of God, Who saves the upright in heart.

Psalms 11:2 (NKJV)
2 For look! The wicked bend their bow, They make ready their arrow on the string, That they may shoot secretly at the upright in heart.

5. What does it mean to “Fear the Lord”?

 

Job 28:28 (NKJV)
‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, And to depart from evil is understanding.’ ”

“To ‘Fear the Lord’ means to ‘respect who He is, what He says, and what He does. It is not the cringing fear of a slave before a master but the loving reverence of a child before a father, a respect that leads to obedience.” Wiersbe

“The remarkable thing about fearing God, is that when you fear God you fear nothing else, whereas if you do not fear God you fear everything else.”               – Oswald Chambers

“The Bible often speaks of the value of fearing God, especially in Proverbs and Psalms; and it is always in the sense of reverential respect. Fear in the sense of respect considers God a friend. Fear in the sense of dread considers God an enemy. Christens, as followers of Christ, should fear God as a friend, knowing that we should reverence Him.”                                        -David Jeremiah

6. What does it mean to “Shun evil”? Is that always easy?

Areas we are turn away from:

‘False gods’

Genesis 35:1-2  Then God said to Jacob, “Arise, go up to Bethel and dwell there; and make an altar there to God, who appeared to you when you fled from the face of Esau your brother.” 2 And Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, “Put away the foreign gods that are among you, purify yourselves, and change your garments.

‘Wine’

1 Samuel 1:12-14    And it happened, as she continued praying before the Lord, that Eli watched her mouth. 13 Now Hannah spoke in her heart; only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard. Therefore Eli thought she was drunk. 14 So Eli said to her, “How long will you be drunk? Put your wine away from you!”

‘False Ways’

Psalms 119:29  Remove from me the way of lying, And grant me Your law graciously.

‘All Types of Evil’

Isaiah 1:16  “Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; Put away the evil of your doings from before My eyes. Cease to do evil

‘False Worship’

Amos 5:21-23   “I hate, I despise your feast days, And I do not savor your sacred assemblies. 22 Though you offer Me burnt offerings and your grain offerings, I will not accept them, Nor will I regard your fattened peace offerings. 23 Take away from Me the noise of your songs, For I will not hear the melody of your stringed instruments.

Matthew 15:7-9   Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying: 8 ‘These people draw near to Me with their mouth, And honor Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me. 9 And in vain they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ “

7. Why does God begin the book of Job by describing Job’s character?

Conclusion:

From the very first verse it is established that Job was a man of faith-he was a man of proven integrity who feared God and pushed evil away.

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Wednesday Night – Job Study!

by • on 7:24 PM • in Exhortation, Uncategorized

I’d like to personally invite you to come out and join us tonight @ 6:30 pm, right here at CCB for our weekly inductive book of Job study. Tonight we’ll be studying chapter 1:6-22. Along with our study we’ll be interactively answering these questions:

1. What indications are there that God’s evaluation of Job-“blameless and upright”-was correct even though he was initially blessed with prosperity?

 2. In this very ancient document, Satan appears as an angelic adversary with free access to God’s presence, unlike the devil in the New Testament. What does Satan accuse Job of (vv. 9-11)?

 3. For what good reasons could God agree to a contest that would affect Job and his family so painfully?

 4. How would you respond to someone who charges that religion is only for those who can’t make it on their own?

5. Though Job apparently is unaware of God’s approval, what signs indicate that this is important for Job?

6. How does Job react to the first test (vv. 20-22)?

7. In what ways is Job’s response (v. 22) different from responses people make today to life’s hard blows?

8. As will be apparent later, Job’s response included questioning God about the apparent injustice of his situation. What would have been seen as sinful behavior in Job’s reaction?

Have any great insigthts? Come and join us tonight as we grow together in the study of this wonderful book! God bless!

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Sunday’s Teaser!

by • on 7:27 PM • in Sunday Teaser

Praise God! Come out and join us tomorrow morning at 10 am, here at CCB, 40 N DeSmet, Buffalo Wyoming. It’s going to be another awesome day of praise and celebration as we gather togehter through Worship and the Word!

Tomorrow, I’ll be continuing our series through the book of 2 Timothy 3:14-17, as we study the process of being made complete and throughly equipped for every good work. Praise God, He’s not done with us yet, and He will complete the work that He has begun in us! If for any reason you won’t be able to join us in our sanctuary, please join us live right here on Preach the Word Radio at 10 am mountain time. God bless!

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