Categories
Bible Preaching

100

Apostolic Life Cathedral | Sept. 8, 2024 | 10:00 AM

Text: Psalms 100:1-5

(1)  Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands.

(2)  Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing.

(3)  Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.

(4)  Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.

(5)  For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.

This week, Apostolic Life Cathedral will be celebrating 100 years of existence here in the Guyandotte section of Huntington, WV.

100 years with all the joy and pain, gain and loss, births, graduations, weddings, life and death.

100 years of sound doctrine, new births, and ministries born and sent out.

100 years of capable and visionary leadership: Forbush, Kitchen, Harper.

100 years of shepherds leading God’s people and often going out into the streets, hollers, along creeks and riversides searching for stray sheep who left the safe pasture of the Church.

Look around the cathedral this morning and you will see that there are sheep missing from the fold.

Men and women, boys and girls, missing from this sheepfold.

The Good Shepherd is calling their name, just like he calls your name when you go missing.

Why? Jesus is interested in lost sheep.

“For thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I, even I, will both search my sheep, and seek them out.”[1]

Jesus loves His sheep.

Before He went to the Gentiles, He first searched and reached for “the lost sheep of the house if Israel.”[2]

To find that one lost sheep Jesus will lead the 99 to a safe pasture, leave them there and go looking for 1.

1 out of 100 is as valuable to Jesus as the 99.

Do you see Him searching this morning?

Looking high and low for one lost sheep.

Ezekiel 34:12, “As a shepherd seeketh out his flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered; so will I seek out my sheep, and will deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day.”

“…we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.”

“(11) For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost.  (12)  How think ye? if a man have an hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray, doth he not leave the ninety and nine, and goeth into the mountains, and seeketh that which is gone astray?  (13)  And if so be that he find it, verily I say unto you, he rejoiceth more of that sheep, than of the ninety and nine which went not astray” (Matthew 18:11-13).

And what rejoicing there is when He finds that one lost sheep.

There is rejoicing in heaven when one sinner repents.

It doesn’t matter what your station, gender, job, career, education may be.

Everyone can and will at one point in their walk with God stray and be lost,

BUT the Shepherd comes looking, seeking, searching.

Luke 19:10, “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.”

When Jesus Comes to Lodebar

2 Samuel 9:1-13

(1)  And David said, Is there yet any that is left of the house of Saul, that I may shew him kindness for Jonathan’s sake?

(2)  And there was of the house of Saul a servant whose name was Ziba. And when they had called him unto David, the king said unto him, Art thou Ziba? And he said, Thy servant is he.

(3)  And the king said, Is there not yet any of the house of Saul, that I may shew the kindness of God unto him? And Ziba said unto the king, Jonathan hath yet a son, which is lame on his feet.

(4)  And the king said unto him, Where is he? And Ziba said unto the king, Behold, he is in the house of Machir, the son of Ammiel, in Lodebar.

(5)  Then king David sent, and fetched him out of the house of Machir, the son of Ammiel, from Lodebar.

(6)  Now when Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, was come unto David, he fell on his face, and did reverence. And David said, Mephibosheth. And he answered, Behold thy servant!

(7)  And David said unto him, Fear not: for I will surely shew thee kindness for Jonathan thy father’s sake, and will restore thee all the land of Saul thy father; and thou shalt eat bread at my table continually.

(8)  And he bowed himself, and said, What is thy servant, that thou shouldest look upon such a dead dog as I am?

(9)  Then the king called to Ziba, Saul’s servant, and said unto him, I have given unto thy master’s son all that pertained to Saul and to all his house.

(10)  Thou therefore, and thy sons, and thy servants, shall till the land for him, and thou shalt bring in the fruits, that thy master’s son may have food to eat: but Mephibosheth thy master’s son shall eat bread alway at my table. Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants.

(11)  Then said Ziba unto the king, According to all that my lord the king hath commanded his servant, so shall thy servant do. As for Mephibosheth, said the king, he shall eat at my table, as one of the king’s sons.

(12)  And Mephibosheth had a young son, whose name was Micha. And all that dwelt in the house of Ziba were servants unto Mephibosheth.

(13)  So Mephibosheth dwelt in Jerusalem: for he did eat continually at the king’s table; and was lame on both his feet.

Jesus will take His search to Lodebar

Lodebar simply means “pastureless,” or no pasture.[3]

It is a place where lost sheep find themselves.

Barren, rough, no place to forage, no safety, no security…

Lodebar was where the Shepherd-King David found Mephibosheth (“dispeller of shame”),[4] the lost prince.

When the Shepherd finds His lost sheep, He also drives away the shame of the past.

Luke 15:6, “And when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbours, saying unto them, Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost.”

Do you feel lost this morning?

“…broken, hurting, marginalized…” do you often think you are “ignored and overlooked or worse, despised and abused.” Maybe it’s “due to your own mistakes of perhaps someone who was supposed to care” for you failed….do you now pass your days in a state of hopelessness, unable to believe that your life will ever be different.”[5]

The Shepherd is searching for you.

He wants to put you at His table.

He will erase the years of shame.

The lost sheep hears the shepherd’s voice:

“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.”[6]

Text: Psalms 100:1-5

(1)  Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands.

(2)  Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing.

(3)  Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.

(4)  Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.

(5)  For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.

[1] Ezekiel 34:11,

[2] Matthew 10:6, 15:24

[3] Strong’s. H3810.

[4] Strong’s. H4648.

[5] Paraphrased. https://churchsource.com/blogs/ministry-resources/god-of-new-beginnings

[6] John 10:27-28

Categories
Bible Teaching

Love & Humility

Apostolic Life Cathedral | Sept. 22, 2024 | 10:00 AM

Text: John 13:33-35

(33) Little children, yet a little while I am with you. Ye shall seek me: and as I said unto the Jews, Whither I go, ye cannot come; so now I say to you.

(34) A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.

(35) By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.

God prepares you for what you will face in life by teaching you how to serve others with Love & Humility.

The Passover – The Last Supper (John 13:1–38)[1]

The disciples crowded through the door into the large upper room, eager to eat the Passover supper with Jesus.

Peter and John had arrived early to make everything ready, and the room was filled with the scent of roasted lamb, fresh-baked unleavened bread, vegetables, and vinegar. No one had eaten since noon, and now it was late evening. Everyone was hungry.

They all hurried to take their places, reclining on mats and cushions around a low table. No doubt many of them tried to sit as close to Jesus as possible. John had taken advantage of his role as organizer of the meal to ensure he was right next to Jesus.

Judas sat on the other side of Jesus. Both sat in places of honor…

However, No one made use of the large ceremonial jars full of water and the towels by the door they had just entered. Their feet were soiled with the dust, debris, and filth from the roads and streets they just walked.

There was no servant present and not one of the disciples was willing or thoughtful enough to take on that lowly role and wash the other’s feet.

When they had all gathered, Jesus said, “With desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer: for I say unto you, I will not any more eat thereof, until it be fulfilled in the kingdom of God” (Luke 22:15–16).

Jesus broke the bread and passed it around the table, telling them this bread was His body, which was broken for them. He passed around the cup of wine, saying, “This cup is the New Testament in my blood, which is shed for you” (Luke 22:19–20).

The moment was solemn and holy.

Yet a low, muttered argument started up among the disciples. Perhaps those relegated to the far end of the table were casting envious glances at John, Judas and the others who had positioned themselves closest to Jesus.

The old argument was flaring up again…

Somehow, despite following the humble Jesus, there developed a debate and a point of contention among the disciples. In their pride they began to argue among themselves:

“And there was also a strife among them, which of them should be accounted the greatest” (Luke 22:24).

Jesus took one last opportunity and turned it into a teachable moment.

At other times, Jesus had stopped them and taught them the greatest of them should be the servant of all, but His words had not reached them.

Jesus decided to send a much stronger message and without whispering a word, Jesus rose from supper, wrapped a towel around His waist, poured a basin full of water, and approached the table. He knelt at the feet of the first disciple, placed his foot into the basin, washed it clean, and then dried it with the towel around His waist.

A hush settled over the room.

Embarrassment. Confusion. Conviction.

Jesus was preaching a message more powerful than any other—one that would change the disciples’ lives forever. Actions speak louder than words.

Jesus Served His Disciples Because He Loved Them

Jesus loved His disciples enough to humble Himself and wash their feet. Jesus did not just tell His disciples He loved them; love moved Him to action.

Many people are happy to be served, but few are happy to serve.

Do you want to know if you have a heart for others?

How do you respond when you are asked to serve others?

In Jesus’ day, the lowliest servant or slave was expected to wash feet. That task was dirty and demeaning, yet Jesus willingly served because it was needed.

He saw a need and loved His disciples enough to meet that need.

Jesus loved His disciples enough to give them a powerful object lesson.

He knows that infighting will tear His church apart.

You will not be who Jesus called you to be as long as you are wrapped up in petty positional politics.

The church has no time to be weighed down with popularity contests and posturing.

Jesus loves you too much to let that be your future.

He loved His disciples too much to see them distracted by such selfish ambitions. So, He lovingly humbled Himself and intervened.

This was no surprise; Jesus had already shown humility and was about to example it even further:

Philippians 2:7–8, He “made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.”

Jesus loved His disciples enough to wash their feet, and He loved you enough to die on the cross for you.

Jesus Corrected Peter’s Objections

All the other disciples seem to have submitted without protest, but when Jesus reached Simon Peter, Simon Peter asked in disbelief, “Lord, dost thou wash my feet?” (John 13:6).

The use of the honorific “Lord” is noteworthy here. Clearly, Peter was focused on the disconnect between Jesus’ status as his Lord and Jesus’ humble actions of a servant. Peter could not understand what was happening. In his typical brash way, Peter protested, “Thou shalt never wash my feet” (John 13:8).

Why do you think Peter refused to let Jesus wash his feet?

Peter probably had been thinking he was going to be the greatest in the kingdom of God. Maybe he had even been arguing that exact point with the other disciples. After all, didn’t Jesus give Peter the keys to the kingdom of Heaven? (See Matthew 16:18–19.)

Yet in that moment, Peter was getting a very different picture of what leadership of the church might look like.

He was either so convicted that he felt unworthy of Jesus’ service, or he was recoiling from the idea that the greatest in the Kingdom might be expected to serve in this way.

Jesus corrected Peter: “If I wash thee not, thou hast no part in me.”

Peter replied: “Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head.”

Jesus Modeled Service and Humility

Jesus now had His disciples’ undivided attention.

His words would sink in deep.

He asked them if they knew what He had done to them. Were they self-aware enough to take the lesson to heart?

Jesus drove the lesson home:

“Ye call me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you.”[2]

They learned a lesson that they never forgot.

I Will Serve Others in Love and Humility as Jesus Directs Me

That lesson is just as much for us today as it was for them then.

Pride and the desire for higher position is just as much an issue in the church today as it was among the disciples in the first century AD.

If we are not careful, we can engage in hero worship, putting leaders on a pedestal only Jesus should occupy.

And if leaders are not careful, they can begin to think they belong there.

Jesus’ example brings us back to the reality He taught His disciples another time when they were disputing about who should be the greatest. “And he sat down, and called the twelve, and saith unto them, If any man desire to be first, the same shall be last of all, and servant of all” (Mark 9:35).

Never forget that the greatest among us is to be the servant of all.

The most important person in the Church is not at the top, but at bottom, humbly serving everyone out of love.

Your greatness in God’s Kingdom is directly related to how many people you love and serve; not how many people love and serve you.

Jesus Prepares Us

Jesus repeatedly warned His disciples of what was coming.

He even tried to brace them for another great shock.

One of those sitting around the table, who had just eaten the Passover supper with Him and whose feet He had just washed was going to betray Him.

Someone in the room—someone in Jesus’ small circle of disciples—was a traitor.

Jesus told them to brace them and to prove His deity and foreknowledge: “Now I tell you before it come, that, when it is come to pass, ye may believe that I am he.”[3]

Here again is one of Jesus’ numerous “I AM” statements sown throughout the Book of John, the Gospel that heavily focuses on Jesus’ deity.

Jesus knew Judas’s betrayal would shake the other disciples, but it may also increase their faith, understanding He had a plan all along.

Finally, Jesus dipped a piece of bread into the wine vinegar and handed it to Judas. Immediately, Satan entered into Judas, and Jesus told him, “That thou doest, do quickly.”

Judas left immediately, and Scripture records it was night. Judas stepped out of light into darkness, literally and figuratively.

Jesus Gave a New Command to Love One Another as He Loved Us

Even as hatred and greed drove Judas into darkness, in the upper room Jesus was talking about love.

“A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another” (John 13:34).

It seems strange that Jesus mentioned a new commandment, considering how much He had already taught about love.

Love the Lord thy God.

Love your neighbor as yourself.

Love your enemies.

But this was the first time Jesus specifically told the disciples to love one another.

Perhaps, in light of their earlier arguing over position, He felt it was necessary to spell it out.

He did not simply say, “Love one another,” but He added, “as I have loved you.”

The love we are to show one another is a humble, self-sacrificing love. This kind of love would impel Jesus to wash the disciples’ feet and die for them.

The kind of love we are supposed to have for each other is both challenging and inspiring.

Of all the proofs of discipleship, selfless love for one another is the one Jesus points to above all others.

By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another” (John 13:35).

No wonder I Corinthians 13 says no matter how eloquent and spiritually gifted we are, without love we are nothing.

If we give all we have to the poor or even our bodies to be burned, without love we are nothing.

A life of humble, loving, self-sacrifice is the most eloquent proof of discipleship.

Just as Jesus Prepared the Disciples,

He Prepares Us for What We Will Face

Jesus knew He was giving His disciples a seemingly impossible mission.

Soon He would be gone, leaving them with the task of spreading the gospel across the world and establishing God’s kingdom on earth.

But Jesus did not leave them unprepared. He lived His life as an example in front of them. They saw how He was moved with compassion and healed the sick, cleansed the lepers, and raised the dead.

They saw how He pitied the crowds and fed them with bread and fish.

They saw how He took authority over demonic spirits. Even they had gone out two by two, preaching, healing, and casting out demons. They had seen how Jesus humbly ministered to the simplest needs.

Jesus walked in supernatural power and served in menial tasks.

Then Jesus gave them hope by promising that He would rise again on the third day as a convincing testimony to His deity.

He promised them the power of the Holy Ghost. The Holy Ghost would teach them all things and bring all things He had spoken to them to their remembrance (John 14:26).

The Holy Ghost would give them power to be witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8).

Through the power of the Holy Ghost, the early church would turn their world upside down.

Just as Jesus prepared His disciples, He also prepares us.

We have His life of love as an example through the pages of Scripture. We can experience His authority and also feel the calling to meet the simplest needs of those around us through humble service.

And we too can receive the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit living in us, speaking through us, and empowering us to change our world.

Amy Carmichael, “One can give without loving but cannot love without giving.”

Bishop Edwin S. Harper, “Jesus didn’t give His apostles scepters, but He gave them towels because He commissioned them to serve, not to be a Lord over God’s heritage.”

[1] SOURCE: UPCI Quarterly. Fall 2024. Lesson 1.4

[2] John 13:13–15

[3] John 13:19

Categories
Bible Preaching

What Shall We Do?

Apostolic Life Cathedral | Sept. 29, 2024 | 10:00 AM

Acts 2:37-39

(37)  Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?

(38)  Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

(39)  For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.

Three Responses to Conviction:

  1. Ignore it
  2. Kill the messenger
  3. What shall we do?

The Ark of the Covenant, where the Glory of God was manifest:

  • Had become a legend of mythical status by 63 BC when the Roman general Pompey the Great conquered Jerusalem.
  • It is said that he entered the Temple, looked around, entered the Holy of Holies, touched nothing and left.
  • History records that he said he didn’t understand what the big deal was, it was just an empty room.
  • The Ark was gone.
  • It disappeared about the time the Babylonians conquered the Jews in 586 BC.
  • Perhaps, Jeremiah hid it in Mt. Nebo. Nevertheless, it was gone.

Empty ritual, dead formalism, right doctrine, BUT…

No Power! – No Presence! – No Glory!

Without the Holy Spirit we are helpless

We need to learn to get back to waiting – “wait in Jerusalem until”

Turn your face to God

Receive His Power – Linger in Presence – Seek His Glory

Are you curious and hungry?

John 3:1-8

(1)  There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews:

(2)  The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him.

(3)  Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

(4)  Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born?

(5)  Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

(6)  That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

(7)  Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.

(8)  The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.

Luke 24:45-49

(45)  Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures,

(46)  And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day:

(47)  And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.

(48)  And ye are witnesses of these things.

(49)  And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.

Acts 2:1-4

(1)  And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.

(2)  And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.

(3)  And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.

(4)  And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

Two responses:

  1. Go on as usual with ritual, habit and going through the motions
  2. Fall on your face and seek God’s Presence, Glory and Power

Categories
Bible Preaching

The Battle for the House

Apostolic Life Cathedral | Aug. 18, 2024 | 10:00 AM

Psalms 127:1, “Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.”

God desires to dwell in the midst of His people.

David – “…when kings go to battle…”

  • 2 Samuel 11:1-18
    • Put the Ammonite king’s crown on his head
    • Pride of life
    • Ammonite king, numbered the people not the fighting men
    • Human spirit
    • 70,000 people dead
  • 1 Chronicles 20:1
    • Uriah
    • Bathsheba
    • Lust of the flesh
    • 2 people die
    • Sword never leaves the house of Davud
    • Amnon
    • Civil war

1 Corinthians 15:58, “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.”

  • Stedfast – firm, settled
  • Unmoveable – not to be moved from its place. Firmly persistent.
  • Always abounding – at all times, to be in excess, exceed, excel.

“…In the work of the Lord…” – “Except the Lord build the house”

Categories
Bible Preaching

The Joyful Sound

Apostolic Life Cathedral | July 28, 2024 | 6:30 PM

Text: Psalms 89:15-17, “(15)  Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound: they shall walk, O LORD, in the light of thy countenance. (16)  In thy name shall they rejoice all the day: and in thy righteousness shall they be exalted. (17)  For thou art the glory of their strength: and in thy favour our horn shall be exalted.”

Psalms 1:1-6, “(1) Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.  (2)  But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.  (3)  And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.  (4)  The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away.  (5)  Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.  (6)  For the LORD knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.”

Blessed = “Happy”[1] is the condition.[2]

Go deeper = “to be straight, level, right, to go forward, be honest, prosper.”[3]

The joyful sound is the call to celebrate, to rejoice, to continually delight in:

  1. The Name of the Lord
  2. The Righteousness of the Lord

Tonight, the Holy Ghost is calling you to respond with a joyful sound for all that Jesus did for you and all that His name brings to bear in your life.

Rejoice in all that God did for you to walk a straight, level, righteousness path of prosperity and purpose.

The Samaritans knew about that joy: “(5) Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and preached Christ unto them. (6)  And the people with one accord gave heed unto those things which Philip spake, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did. (7)  For unclean spirits, crying with loud voice, came out of many that were possessed with them: and many taken with palsies, and that were lame, were healed. (8)  And there was great joy in that city.”

“There was great joy in that city.”

How many here tonight want to see that same great joy in Huntington and the Tri-State Region?

It is God’s Will for the The Joyful Sound to echo along the riverbanks, valleys, and hillsides of our community:

We have heard the joyful sound:

Jesus saves! Jesus saves!

Spread the tidings all around:

Jesus saves! Jesus saves!

Bear the news to ev’ry land,

Climb the steeps and cross the waves;

Onward! ’tis our Lord’s command;

Jesus saves! Jesus saves![4]

The Joyful Sound – Jesus Saves!

Every day, Jesus Saves!

God is calling for repentance…to be part of the joyful sound.

Paul was in Athens on Mars’ hill when he saw the altar written TO THE UNKNOWN GOD and he began to tell them of the one that they, in their superstition, were ignorantly worshipping.

Saying, “that they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us: For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring. Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man’s device. And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent:”

Repentance, led by true godly sorrow, will bring the joyful sound.

The fruit of mercy is restoration. The fruit of grace is maturity.

Unfortunately, life has a way of causing you to lose sight of what originally created the happy condition…the joyful sound.

What was once exciting and revealing, full of life and rewarding, has now become mundane and lost its vitality.

The daily life is at war with the joyful sound: “Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation. Selah” (Psalms 68:19).

We should come daily to His storehouse of blessing.

The problem is we have become so busy doing the work we forget the relationship with the God of the work.

Oftentimes, people fail because they have their spiritual life, their prayer life, their relationship with Jesus on autopilot.

Like a pilot in a plane, or a driver in a car, you are content to sit disengaged and apathetic.

What once drove your passion has now become drudgery.

The work that inspired is now nothing more than perspiration.

The hope that enlarged your heart and gave you faith is now a vague memory, like the beauty of nature you miss will cruising by unbothered by what is just outside your window.

You have become trapped with the thought that you just need to get the job done.

You have stopped hearing the joyful sound.

This is why you are to become renewed daily in the spirit of your mind.

Turn off the of auto pilot, disengage the cruise control,

Look around you and see all the beauty, blessing, and opportunity!

The need and possibility around you

Paul wrote, “I have fought a good fight…I have kept the faith,” but he did not stop fighting.

It is time to recapture that joy that originally caught you:

  • Is. 12:3, “Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation.”
  • Is. 55:12, “For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.”
  • 1 Peter 1:7-9, “(7)  That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ: (8)  Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory: (9)  Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.”
  • Is. 9:3, “…they joy before thee according to the joy in harvest, and as men rejoice when they divide the spoil.”
  • Acts2:1-4

You are going to have to press into it. To reach for it. To recapture the joyful sound: “Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:13-14).

To press means you will have to disengage the cruise control.

Revelation 19:6-7, “(6)  And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth. (7)  Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.”

[1] Strong’s. H835.

[2] Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible. Psalm 89:15.

[3] Strong’s. H833.

[4]  Priscilla J. Owens. (1882). We Have Heard the Joyful Sound.

Categories
Bible Preaching

Your Season of Refreshing

Apostolic Life Cathedral| July 21, 2024 | 10:00 AM

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8, “(1)  To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: (2)  A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; (3)  A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; (4)  A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; (5)  A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; (6)  A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; (7)  A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; (8)  A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.”

The Invitation: Matthew 11:28-30

(28)  Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. (29)  Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. (30)  For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

A Refreshing Invitation:[1]

  1. Come to Me.
    • Attach yourself to Jesus
    • A call to intimacy
      • Experience His
        • Tender love for us
        • Delight in us
        • Longing to be with us
      • The “with Jesus” principle – they took note of them that they had been with Jesus (Acts 4:13).
  2. Take My yoke.
    • Transformational learning-by-example
    • Two oxen harnessed togetherEnter the yoke = submission to the Master
    • It’s not about your brilliance, but willingness to submit to the yoke
  3. Learn from Me.
    • Training a new young ox  =  custom fitted yoke
    • Emphasis on learning from someone, not independent study
    • Study, prayer, solitude, fasting, service
    • Grace is a teacher, and it is not cheap:
      • “Grace is the treasure hidden in the field…a man will go and sell all that he has. It is the pearl of great price…a man will sell all his goods to obtain it. It is the call of Jesus Christ at which the disciple leaves his nets and follows him. Grace calls us us to follow Jesus Christ, and to willingly yoke ourselves to Him. It is costly because it costs a man his life, and it is grace because it gives a man the only true life. It is costly because it condemns sin, and grace because it justifies the sinner.”[2]
    • You were bought with a price
  4. You will find rest.
    • First time “rest” is mentioned is in Genesis 2:1-3, “(1)  Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. (2)  And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.” God rested because He delighted in the goodness of His creation: “And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day” (Gen. 1:31).
    • Our rest today is not about our weariness, tiredness and exhaustion, but to delight in His goodness and provision.
    • The rest of the Holy Ghost – “For with stammering lips and another tongue will he speak to this people. To whom he said, This is the rest wherewith ye may cause the weary to rest; and this is the refreshing: yet they would not hear” (Isa 28:11-12)”
    • “Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord;” (Act 3:19).

Today, right now, is Your Season of Refreshing

[1] Tom Nelson. (2021). The Flourishing Pastor. Paraphrased

[2] Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Paraphrased.

Categories
Bible Preaching

The Silver Palace and the Cedar Boards

Apostolic Life Cathedral | Aug. 25, 2024 | 6:30 PM

Text: Song of Solomon 8:6-10, “(6)  Set me as a seal upon thine heart, as a seal upon thine arm: for love is strong as death; jealousy is cruel as the grave: the coals thereof are coals of fire, which hath a most vehement flame. (7)  Many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it: if a man would give all the substance of his house for love, it would utterly be contemned. (8)  We have a little sister, and she hath no breasts: what shall we do for our sister in the day when she shall be spoken for? (9)  If she be a wall, we will build upon her a palace of silver: and if she be a door, we will inclose her with boards of cedar. (10)  I am a wall, and my breasts like towers: then was I in his eyes as one that found favour.”

The Silver Palace and the Cedar Boards

Eph. 6:24, “Grace be with all them that love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity. Amen.”

In sincerity = Margin, “with incorruption.” With a pure heart; without dissembling; without hypocrisy.[1]

There is a search going on tonight in this service. Like a detective snooping for clues,

A dog sniffing for that hidden morsel of food,

A child shaking that wrapped gift trying to figure out what is on the inside.

The search is on and Jesus is here, right now, in this moment searching:

“…the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth” (John 4:23-24).

The Lord is pursuing men and women, boys and girls, who have decided to totally give their whole spirit, soul and body to Him.

It is a love search.

At the same time, there is in each of us a longing to love and to be loved.

It is part of the divine spark in each of us that we received when “the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul” (Genesis 2:7).

The Lord is still looking for this who  will “fear the LORD thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the LORD thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul, to keep the commandments of the LORD, and his statutes, which I command thee this day for thy good?” (Deuteronomy 10:12-13).

When Jesus finds you will He discover that you “love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity?”

No hint of corruption? With a pure heart? No pretend affection? A love without hypocrisy?

Is your relationship with Jesus a firm wall of live, or is there a door, an entrance open to the enemy of your soul?

Tonight, the enemy want to destroy your relationship with God by placing on you the trap shame.

The “disintegrating power of shame began in the garden of Eden”[2] (Gen. 2:25-4:1).

Here was a beautiful garden of perfection and here was where Eve was beguiled, seduced and tricked because of the cunning craftiness of the whisperer – the serpent – who appealed to her desires:

  • Lust of the flesh – she saw that “the tree was good for food”
  • Lust of the eyes – “that it was pleasant to the eyes”
  • Pride of life – “and a tree to be desired to make one wise”

The moment Adam and Eve ate of that tree of knowledge of good and evil it set into motion a satanic plan that has been the spearhead of the devil’s attack on all those who love God and want to be faithful.

They were previously unashamed, but now shame made them run and hide from the lover of their soul.

And the Lord still went searching for them…

You see, “While human guilt reflects the experience of having done something wrong, shame conveys that there is something inherently wrong with us. Shame is a reality we feel deep within us, telling us, reminding us, we are bad, that somehow we are not enough.”[3] It is the lie that you possess a fundamental evil and have no hope.

I want to tell you tonight, anyone who tries to place that reality on you is a tool of the enemy, unsafe and should be avoided.

“By its very nature, shame likes to hide and is often silent and subtle,”

…but “Perfectly secure and safe in the love of Christ, we can choose not to hide…”

“…the more vulnerable I am with safe people around me, the more emotionally resilient I am and the more joy I experience even in times of difficulty and suffering.”

And the most safe person to be around is the Lord Jesus Christ.

There is a beautiful integration, an integral union, an integrity of relationship between you and Jesus that the enemy cannot stand.

It is a wall of love that you and God build together.

It acts as a bulwark against the enemy.

Since God’s love never fails, then satan will test your love, or try to divide through tools of disintegration to weaken and loosen the wall.

There is something to be said of this wall of love that stands firm on integrity.

Psalm 101 is known as the integrity psalm:

  • “I will sing of mercy and judgment: Unto thee, O LORD, will I sing” (Psalm 101:1, KJV).
  • “I will sing of steadfast love and justice; to you, O Lord, I will make music” (Psalm 101:1, ESV).
    • Mercy, Steadfast love, is “sticky love.” “It is the sort of love you can’t shake off. It sticks to you through every high and low, every success and failure, every malfunction and sin,” every victory and defeat.[4]
    • Sticky Love holds that wall together and helps maintain its integrity.

Shame would try to disintegrate that wall of love, but God’s mercy, His steadfast love, attaches you to Him.

The enemy wants to destroy that attachment by disintegrating the wall of relationship, mutual trust and integrity between the betrothed bride and her Groom.

Remember:

The devil works overtime to steal (by stealth), to kill (slay, slaughter), to destroy (put out of the way entirely, abolish, to ruin, render useless)[5]

The Lord has said:

  • Deut 7:8, “…because the LORD loved you…
  • Jer 31:3, “The LORD hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.”
  • Mal 1:2,  “I have loved you, saith the LORD.”
  • Jn 3:16, “For God so loved the world…”
  • Ro 5:8, “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. 
  • Eph 2:4-5, “But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ…”
  • Eph 5:1-2, “Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children; And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour.”
  • 1 Jn. 4:16, “God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.”

Nothing can separate, disintegrate, remove, or detach you from God’s love:

Romans 8:35-39, “(35) 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 thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the laughter.  (37)  Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that 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 creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

“We have a little sister, and she hath no breasts: what shall we do for our sister in the day when she shall be spoken for? If she be a wall, we will build upon her a palace of silver: and if she be a door, we will inclose her with boards of cedar.”

  • The little sister is the gentile bride, the church
  • The Silver Palace is the blessing and favor of God: strength, beauty, enlarge, adorn
  • The Cedar Boards God’s attempt to protect you from your own mistakes and shame until you are mature enough to maintain your own integrity:
    • Weak in faith, but not rejected by God. He encloses, strengthens and fortifies until the bride is mature in faith.“Cedar is a soft and deliciously fragrant wood. The resin and oils in the wood make it inedible to termites.”[6] = Sticky Love
    • Cedar boards are strong and beautiful and durable.

The young brides reply, “I am a wall, and my breasts like towers: then was I in his eyes as one that found favour” (SoS 8:10).

Now mature and ready to be married, she has been faithful and maintained her love for the Groom with Integrity.

[1] Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible. Ephesians 6:24.

[2] Tom Nelson, The Flourishing Pastor

[3] Ibid.

[4] Ibid.

[5] Jn. 10:10

[6] https://holderpest.com/blog/3-building-materials-that-do-not-require-termite-control

Categories
Bible Preaching

Two Gardens -Melvin Kuntzman

Apostolic Life Cathedral | Sept. 29, 2024 | 6:30 PM
Categories
Bible Preaching

It Is Finished – Dr. Gardner C. Taylor

Truly Educated
Back in my student days we were taught that a truly educated person is not one who knows all the answers. We were taught that a truly educated person is one who knows where to find the answers. Well, I for one lay bold claim to being a religiously educated person; better still, I lay strong claim to being educated as a Christian. I know not, I confess, the answers, but thank God, I do know One who knows the answers, who knows the end from the beginning and who does promise to answer if we call upon him.
Taylor, Gardner C., from the sermon “A Cry for Guidance.”
The Words of Gardner Taylor Volume 2.
Ed. Edward Taylor. Valley Forge: Judson Press, 2000. p. 25
Categories
Bible Preaching

The Removal of Humiliation -J. T. Pugh

J. T. Pugh preaching the now classic sermon “The Removal of Humiliation” during the 1988 Because Of The Times conference in Alexandria, Louisiana.

Happy Birthday to me!