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God Works in Us

11/15/2020

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For the last few weeks we have been discussing Luke 18:27; "But He said,  “The things which are impossible with men are possible with God.” We  have seen that with our salvation, and walk with Jesus we do not have a  chance of living a victorious life on our own. Then we saw that with God it  is possible! And, today I would like to look at how it is that God works in  us! As we consider what that means to you and me, we end up right back  at the question of absolute surrender. If we are honest with ourselves this  lack of absolute surrender is our greatest hindrance, and the need of  absolute surrender is the greatest need in our lives, and our walk with  Jesus. This is why the Holy Spirit cannot fill us, set us apart for His use,  and give us the victory in Jesus that turned the world upside down in the  early Church. This is the reason the self-life continues to control our lives,  and in turn we fight for control to feed our love of self. It is self that leads  us to believe that we have it all together when in reality we don't have a  clue what it means to be absolutely surrendered to God as Jesus was. 
I find myself wondering, can I ever be absolutely surrendered to Jesus as  my heart yearns for? Is there really hope for me? That is why I am so  thankful, "the things which are impossible with men are possible with  God." That is the thing about faith and trust; with God when we can  believe it, it is a reality! The other side of that is that if we cannot truly  believe it is true for us personally, it is not a reality! Friends, if we can take  God at His word and believe Him when He says He will make us men and  women of absolute surrender, then it is a done deal! Because our God  promises He will not only give us this absolute surrender, but He will keep  us there! 
 If we can believe our Lord is able to raise us up every morning with the  assurance that He is in charge, and He is working out our life for us. Then 
it is already a reality, even if we cannot see it yet. That is the promise of  Philippians 2:13 "for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for  His good pleasure." 
Some of us are weary of thinking about sanctification. We pray, we long  and cry for pure hearts, and loving, caring thoughts that truly put God and  others before ourselves, and yet it seems so far off! 
Friends, the one truth about sanctification that is totally scriptural, and  totally effective is: "The things which are impossible with men are possible  with God." It is only God that can sanctify us! Paul, tells us that God will  give us, "according to the riches of His glory." When we consider the  riches and glory of God, can you imagine just how much God is offering us  through life in Jesus; if it is according to His riches and glory? He is  offering the power of an almighty God to fill our lives! He is offering you  and me the gift of an indwelling Savior! Can our God offer us anymore than  this? 
Let me leave you with a passage from "Absolute Surrender" page 68,69 
""The things which are impossible with men are possible with God." All  around you there is a world of sin and sorrow, and the Devil is there. But  remember, Christ is on the throne, Christ is stronger, Christ has conquered,  and Christ will conquer. But wait on God. My text cast us down: "The  things which are impossible with men"; but it ultimately lifts us up high -  "are possible with God." Get linked to God. Adore and trust Him as the  omnipotent One, not only for your own life, but for all the souls that are  entrusted to you. Never pray without adoring His omnipotence, saying:  "Mighty God, I claim Thine almightiness." And the answer to the prayer will  come, and like Abraham you will become strong in faith, giving glory to  God, because you account Him who hath promised able to preform." 
As we absolutely surrender, and if we can truly believe His promise - it is  already a don’t deal.

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God Can

11/7/2020

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Last week I shared with you how I discovered that with man it is  impossible to have victory in Jesus. We are not capable on our own and  we end up in a state of helpless despair, living a wretched Christian life,  without the joy and strength and victory that We long for. This is why we  see so many miserable, angry Christians whose lives have become, either  a drudgery and gloom, or they go the legalist, self-righteous route which is  just as much a waste of time, but momentarily fulfilling because you can  compare yourself to others and have a little control that way. And all this  misery and heartache because we have not learned that we have to  humble ourselves and then learn the other vital lesson: With God all  things are possible!  
Friends, every single day of our lives, is supposed to be proof positive that  God works impossibilities; everyday of our lives can be a day where our  Lord makes impossibilities possible by His power. If that's not exciting  then we don't have a pulse! This is everything we need in our walk with  Jesus. 
We have an all powerful God that we have the privilege of loving and  worshipping. And we must learn this one lesson: We do not need a little of  God’s power so we can accomplish our desires for Him. We need all of  Jesus power and grace living in us, to give us a life of victory over what  used to be impossible for us. Then we will be overwhelmed with the love,  joy, peace and all of the Holy Spirits gifts that will fill our lives. 
 All of our walk with Jesus is a demonstration of God's unlimited power.  "With God nothing is impossible!" Look at the miracle of the virgin birth.  Consider the power of the resurrection. All of this is humanly impossible!  We don't even understand it! The apostle Paul was a good example of this 
very truth. He said: "I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much  trembling, and...my preaching was...in demonstration of the Spirit and  power." If we look at this from the human side there was nothing but  feebleness, but from the divine side their was unlimited power! And this is  true of every person who gives their will to Jesus. If we can only learn this  lesson fully and give a wholehearted, undivided surrender to Jesus we will  have a life beyond anything we have imagined. Every hour and every  moment we will experience unlimited power of the Holy Spirit. 
We have a God who spoke and the earth was created. He created light out  of darkness! Can you imagine the power of this omnipotent God in the  work of our redemption? Look at Abraham. God called him to leave his  home and head out without a clue where he was headed. Then God  trained him through many trials to trust Him and see Him as the all  powerful God that would never leave him and give him a son at a hundred  years of age. We read that Abraham believed God. He trusted that God  would fulfill His promise. He made mistakes, but God stayed with him  through that as well! We have a willing patient God! 
 Maybe the greatest reason we hold God back from accomplishing what  He would love to do in our lives, is that we want to work it out partly  ourselves and then let God help us when it gets to big for us. That cannot  be! We must come to Jesus utterly helpless! As Americans who are control  freaks to say the least, we completely subscribe to the belief "that God  helps those who help themselves." But when it comes to salvation and our  walk with Jesus this could not be farther from the truth. If we can just  surrender absolutely and allow God to do His work, He will do a glorious  work in our lives. 
All throughout the Old Testament we see God's servants trusting in an all  powerful God to accomplish impossibilities when they were helpless to  defend themselves. That same God is alive today and wants to do the  same for each of us. And yet some of us continue to want God to give us a  little help, while we are still in control. That is not God's way and He longs  for us to say: 
"I can do nothing. Jesus must and will do it all." 
In worship, in work for God, in sanctification, in obedience to our Lord, we  can do nothing of ourselves; it is our part to simply give ourselves to the 
Holy Spirit and trust that He will "work in us to will and do His good  pleasure." When we can learn this all important lesson: the things which  are impossible with men, are possible with God." Then God will reveal  Jesus in our lives, and the Holy Spirit will be the one in control. It is then  that the self-life will fade away and we can glorify our Lord beyond  anything we have yet imagined. 
It is possible with God; and it is our privilege to claim His deliverance.  Let's do it now! Put ourselves in absolute surrender and let Him do the  impossible in our lives today!
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Man Cannot

10/11/2020

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Last week we saw that there are two vitally important lessons that we as  Christians must learn. 
The first is that in the spiritual life we may put forth every effort and still fall  flat on our face! We may then redouble our efforts and fall flat on our face  even worse than before. We may even keep trying with all we have and  always fall on our face. And yet all to often we still do not learn this simple  lesson: With man it is impossible to serve God and Jesus! Peter spent  three years with Jesus, he spent day and night with Jesus and still didn't  learn it. He just couldn't understand this vital lesson until he had denied  his Lord and came to the end of his rope. It was only when he lost all  confidence in himself, then he learned it! 
Let's look for a moment at the process Peter went through to learn this  lesson. First he fights against it; then he submits to it, then reluctantly  and in despair; he finally accepts it willingly and rejoices with all his  heart.  
I remember well the beginning of my walk with Jesus. I had no concept of  this truth, but I had been converted and had the joy of the Lord in my  heart. So I began to fight the fight; I was sure I could win this fight, I was  sincere and determined, and God would help conquer my life of sin and  selfishness. And yet right out of the gate I fell flat on my face in an area I  hadn't even considered a threat! I was devastated. How could this  happen? I needed to be more careful, I needed to put on my game face. I  made stronger resolutions and grander vows and cried to God for help,  and yet I found myself flat on my face again. And it was at this point that I  wondered, have I not truly given my life to God? But as I considered my 
options I knew that I had to have Jesus help if I was ever going to live this  holy life that I wanted so badly. 
After failure, after failure, after failure I begin to realize that for me to live a  holy life was impossible. But I couldn't accept that! My life before Jesus  was awful! I hated it, I couldn't give up the hope of a new life. There was  no other hope for me so I fought on, for years! I finally came to the point  where I concluded that God must have never expected me to have a life of  victory. It all seemed a mystery to me. I was living a life of misery and  failure in stead of a life of rest and joy and victory. And I began to see that I  could never live that life of victory; it was impossible! My Christian life  became a life of misery and despair. 
I do not think that I am the only one of us who has experienced or is  experiencing this; where I came to the conclusion that I cannot do it! It is  impossible! With this knowledge that I could never live a life of victory in  Jesus. I concluded that it was still the best life I would ever have on this  earth and I would at least be a blessing to others if possible. It was about this time that the Lord put into my hands a compilation of  writing by men and women like Charles Trumbull, Rosalind Goforth,  George Muller, Ellen White, Hudson Taylor, Mead MacGuire, the Unknown  Christian and many more. And God used these writings to show me that  yes victory in Jesus is an impossibility for me! But with God it is more  than possible! That in Jesus we can be renewed and transformed. And  then the cry of my heart was: Lord, please show me this truth! Lord, I must  understand what it means to die with Jesus. Show me what it means to be  filled by the Holy Spirit and have Jesus living in my life. 
Passages like Galatians 2:20 took on a whole new meaning to me: 
"I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives  in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of  God, who loved me and gave Himself for me." 
Philippians 2:13 finally came alive in my live: 
"for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good  pleasure."
That it is God who works in us! It is God who gives the power to  accomplish what He desires. This is the first great lesson in our Walk With  Jesus: "It is impossible for me, my God; let there be an end of the flesh  and all its power, an end of self, and let it be my glory to be helpless." 
Friends, I praise God with all my heart for this wonderful teaching that  makes us helpless! 
When we come to the point where we realize it is not us and God that win  any victories in the battle with self. It is when we realize that there is no us.  When we see that we cannot do it, then we are on the right track, if we  allow ourselves to be led. When we put the us aside and delight in  absolute surrender! It is then and only then that real life in Jesus begins. It  is beyond us, we must fall down on our faces and learn this most  important lesson: we are utterly helpless! Then God will come to "work in  you, both to will and to do." 
We are very hopeful that we will be able to be worshipping at church next  Sabbath with a brief and modified service. So check your emails! God is  going to take this seemingly bad situation and make it a God thing!!!
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Impossible with Man

9/13/2020

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These last few weeks we have been looking at the life of Peter and how his life was transformed as he surrendered his life of self to Jesus. Like Peter we can deceive ourselves into believing we have it all together until we meet Jesus face to face and He says; as He did to the rich young ruler, "You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." We are told that the young man went away sorrowful. It was then that Jesus turned to His disciples and said, "How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!" The disciples could not believe their ears, and responded, "Who then can be saved?" And it is a good question - do any of us really have a chance of being saved? It is a question that I have struggled with, and I bet you have as well. That's why I'm so thankful that Jesus doesn't leave it there, but goes on to say in Luke 18:27 "What is impossible with man is possible with God." 
In this simple passage we find two significant thoughts. First: salvation and us following Jesus and therefore living a holy life is an utter impossibility. 
Second: what we can never accomplish on our own is completely possible if Jesus is living in us and through us. 
And these are the two greatest lessons we can learn in our Christian life! For me it took many years and I still struggle with this simple truth, that in my walk with Jesus I can do nothing. That my salvation is a complete impossibility for me. And when I get this lesson right, which I do for periods of time. Then the second lesson seems to be just as big of a challenge. And that is that I must surrender every part of my life to Jesus and let Him truly come in and live. If we can learn these two lessons our walk with Jesus is one of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, 
faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Every other aspect of our walk with Jesus falls into place. 
Not only understanding, but truly accepting that we cannot live a righteous life in the self life; and that it only happens if we allow the Holy Spirit to fill us with Jesus is the only way we will ever have the assurance of salvation and have the Fruits of the Spirit fill our lives. Anything short of complete surrender and allowing the Holy Spirit to fill us with Jesus is just a show. It is dry bones! It is a waste of effort and we are living out the the message to the Laodicean Church. "We are lukewarm...rich, and do not need a thing." Unfortunately we know the rest of the message to the Laodicean Church. "But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked." These two lessons in Luke 18:27 are vitally important for us to understand and apply in our lives. 
Next week I want to look at why man cannot and then the next week we will look at God can. And I hope you will not just skim over these studies. Understanding these simple truths are crucial to our salvation and our lives being filled with Jesus!

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Peter- Transformed

8/30/2020

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Last time we looked at Peter's Repentance and what it took to prepare Peter for deliverance from self. Just a short while later we see Peter on the day of Pentecost preaching boldly and publicly by the leading of the Holy Spirit. Peter was truly a changed man. Peter's whole nature was changed! What Jesus started in the life of Peter with that look, was perfected when he was filled with the Holy Spirit. This is where we see Peter Transformed. 
Just weeks before we saw Peter deny his Lord in spite of his insistence that he would never deny Jesus. In this Peter showed how little he knew himself, and yet in 1 Peter he writes, "If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rest on you." this is not the old Peter that we see! This is the very Spirit of Jesus breathing and speaking through him. But he doesn't stop there, "But rejoice in as much as you participate in the suffering of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed." This is not the same Peter at all! 
I encourage you friends, to truly look at the life of Peter and see a man utterly changed! The self-pleasing, the self-seeking the trusting in self is gone! Peter was filled with the Spirit and the life of Jesus. He was filled with the Holy Spirit and Peter was a brand new man. Peter's story has to be the story of everyone of us who truly want to be crucified with Jesus and have Him living in our lives. Peter's life teaches us a couple lessons that I would like to briefly consider. 
The first lesson: We can be earnest, godly, devoted believers and still have the power of self very strong in our lives. 
This is a sobering, scary thought to me! Just shortly before Peter denied Jesus, he had cast out devils and healed the sick; and yet the power of self, the love for self caused him to betray his Lord. Dear Church Family we must realize that even though we love our Lord. Even tough we honestly desire to live for Jesus; it is possible that the self-life in us can keep the power of God from doing the mighty work that He so much wants to do. Our God wants more than anything else to double and triple His blessing. He wants to give us ten times the blessing we have allowed Him to give us so far! 
We have talked about Peter's pride; we talk of how impetuous he was. How self-confident he was. And it all came down to one thing, self! Jesus said, "Deny self." Peter didn't get it, and every failing he had came from that! 
Andrew Murray puts it this way, "What a solemn thought, and what an urgent plea for us to cry: O God, do discover this to us, that none of us may be living the self-life! It has happened to many a one who had been a Christian for years, who had perhaps occupied a prominent position, that God found him out and taught him to find himself out, and he became utterly ashamed, falling down broken before God. Oh, the bitter shame and sorrow and pain and agony that came to him, until at last he found that there was deliverance! Peter went out and wept bitterly, and there may be many a godly one in whom the power of the flesh still rules." Absolute Surrender page 56 
As I have read through the life of Peter I am convicted that these words are talking about me. That I must allow the Holy Spirit to fill my life with Jesus, as I have not allowed Him to do up to now. I am ashamed to admit it, but transparency trumps shame every time! 
The second lesson: It is the work of our lovely Savior Jesus through the Holy Spirit to root out the self-life. 
How was it that the self-willed, self-loving Peter became the courageous Peter of Pentecost and the writer of first and second Peter? It was because Peter allowed Jesus to take control of his life. It started with that look of love at his betrayal of Jesus and Peter was broken and wept bitterly. It then continued throughout the rest of Peter's life. 
And the beautiful, lovely Jesus who led Peter to Pentecost is waiting to take charge of our lives if we are willing to surrender our self-life, our self- comfort, our self-pleasing and self-will to Him! 
Let me close with Andrew Murray's answer: "It is Christ Jesus who can rid you of it; none else but Christ Jesus can give deliverance from the power of self. And what does He ask you to do? He ask that you should humble yourself before Him."

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Peter Repentance

8/2/2020

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So far we have looked at “Peter the Devoted Disciple of Jesus”, and “Peter Living the Life of Self.” This week we will consider Peter's Repentance. 
Peter denied Jesus three times in a fashion that makes us cringe when we read the story. I am so thankful the story doesn't end there, but tells us that Jesus looked at Peter; and it was that look of love and forgiveness that broke the heart of Peter. He saw his awful sin and failure and just how far he had fallen, and "Peter went out and wept bitterly." 
Can you imagine the shame during those next few hours as Peter watched Jesus be hung on a cross and buried in a tomb. I wish I could tell you that I have no idea what he went through, but I have denied my Savior so many times, and put Jesus back on that cross more times then I even want to admit. If we are honest, each of us have been there and hurt our Lord and Savior. We have had a Sabbath like Peter experienced of despair and shame; wishing it could have been different! 
We have been there! "My Lord is gone, my hope is gone, and I denied my Lord. After that life of love, after that blessed fellowship of three years, I denied my Lord. God have mercy upon me!" Absolute Surrender page 53 
I am not sure I can fully realize just how far Peter fell, but I have been there! The other side of this story is that this was the turning point in Peter's life. The next day on resurrection morning Peter received the news that the tomb was empty. That evening he met with the other disciples. Then by the sea Jesus asked Peter: "Do you love me?" Three times, Jesus reminded him that he had denied Him just as many times. 
Even now, I am reminded how many times I have denied my Lord! The beauty is that it was at this time that Peter began his transformation. And Jesus promises that He will, and is transforming our lives so that we can say, 
"Lord you know that I love you!"

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Peter Living the Self Life

7/6/2020

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Last week we looked into the life of Peter the Devoted Disciple of Jesus. We saw that Peter was a man of surrender - he gave up everything he had for Jesus and yet something was still missing. 
You remember that right after Jesus had said to Peter; "Flesh and blood has not revealed it unto you, but your Father which is in heaven," Speaking of Peters belief that Jesus was the Son of God. Jesus then went on to speak about the suffering He would go through and Peter dared to call Jesus down: "Be it far from thee, lord; this shall not be unto thee." It was then that Jesus had to call Peter down: "Get thee behind me, Satan; for thou savorest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men." 
This was Peter trusting in himself! Trusting his own wisdom and actually telling the Savior that He can't go and die. Peter was a man of absolute surrender. Peter was a man ready to obey and submit his life to Jesus. He was a man of faith to the point he trusted Jesus to step out of a boat and walk on water. Peter had spiritual insight, so that he saw Jesus as the Son of God and yet Peter trusted in himself and his wisdom. Just shortly after this we see Peter right in the middle of a squabble with the other disciples, about who would be the greatest in Jesus kingdom. He wanted to be number one! He wanted to be in control and believed that it was his right to be first and best. He desired his own honor above others. Peter's life of self was strong! He gladly left his vocation and old life, but not his old self. 
When Jesus spoke of His suffering and said to Peter: "Get behind me, Satan" He went on to say: "If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me." Friends we cannot follow 
Jesus until we are willing to put others before ourself. Self must be utterly denied. What does that mean for you and me? 
When Peter denied Jesus, we read in God's word that he did it three times; "I do not know the man" ; he was saying, "I have nothing to do with Him - He and I are not friends; I have no connection to Him." Jesus told Peter that he must deny self. Self had to be ignored, it had to be rejected. This is what true discipleship is all about; but Peter did not understand and could not obey it. And then what did we see happen? Jesus said to him, "Before the cock crows twice you will deny me three times." Do you remember peters response? "Though all should forsake you I will not. I am ready to go with you, to prison and death." 
Peter meant every word of that! He intended to do just what he said; but Peter did not know himself. He did not believe he was as bad as Jesus said he was. 
All of us can probably think of individual sins that come between us and Jesus, but what are we going to do with the self-life which if we are honest with ourselves is all filthy and is our very nature? What are we going to do with our flesh that is often under the power of sin? What are we going to do with our spirit to have to be in control and have it our way? What we need friends Is deliverance! Peter didn't have a clue of his true self and his self-confidence denied his Lord. It is either God's way or ours; it is either self or Jesus! 
Notice that Jesus uses the word deny twice. He says to Peter the first time, "Deny self" ; then the second time, "You will deny me." It is one or the other, this is the only choice we have; we must either deny self or deny Jesus. We are in the middle of the Great Controversy - two great powers are at war! There is the self-nature which is the power of sin, and there is Jesus which is the power of God. One or the other must rule in our life. 
It was self that caused the most beautiful angel in heaven to become Satan, because he wanted to exalt self. Self was the reason for the fall of man. Adam and Eve wanted something for themselves. We have inherited their nature and like them we must choose between Jesus and ourself. Are we in control or is Jesus? Does it have to be our way, or do we put others first as Jesus did? 
If you took the challenge to read through the gospels this year, you are in for a great blessing! I encourage you not to shy away from this challenge just because it may be difficult. God has a wonderful blessing in store for you!

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Peter the Devoted Disciple of Jesus

6/29/2020

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Last week we began a study on the life of Peter and how his life relates to our surrender and walk with Jesus. This week we will look at Peter the Devoted Disciple of Jesus. 
You remember that Jesus called Peter to give up his life and livelihood of fishing and follow Him. Peter never hesitated and could later say, "We have forsaken all and followed you." Peter was a man of absolute surrender; he gave up everything to follow Jesus and was ready to obey at a moments notice. When Jesus said, "Launch out into the deep, and let down the net." 
Peter didn't hesitate. He knew that there were no fish there, they had been working all night and caught nothing; even so Peter said to Jesus, "At your word I will let down the net." Peter in spite of what he thought or believed submitted his will to Jesus. And Peter was a man of great faith. When he saw Jesus walking on the sea, he immediately said, "Lord, if it is you, bid me come unto you"; and when Jesus said come, he stepped out of the boat and walked on water. 
Peter was also a man of great spiritual insight. When Jesus asked the disciples: "Whom do you say that I am?" Peter answered without hesitation, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." Peter couldn't see that on his own, he saw it because the Holy Spirit told him it was so. And Jesus called him the rock, having the keys of the kingdom. Peter was a splendid man and devoted disciple of Jesus. If Peter was living today, 
we would say that he was an advanced Christian. And yet Peter was not even converted according to Jesus. 
This gives me pause as I look at my life, and I have to ask myself: am I an advanced Christian or am I like Peter wanting and in need of a conversion? I hope each of us are willing to carefully consider the life of Peter, and like Peter allow our hearts to be broken and filled with Jesus!

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Peter

6/21/2020

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We are living in uncertain times that are unprecedented in my lifetime. But I want to remind you that we are safe in the hands of a Savior who loved us so much He was willing to leave the safety and joy of Heaven so He could come to our dark world to give us direction and Hope. Regardless of what comes we are in the hands of a God who loves us and has promised He will never leave us. Keep your eyes on Jesus! 
We have been looking at Surrender and how it relates to our Walk With Jesus for the last couple months and I want to continue in that vein, just with a little different focus. This week and for the next four weeks we are going to be looking at the life of Peter and how his repentance relates to Surrender and specifically to our walk with Jesus. 
Let's start with a Bible passage from Luke 22:61, 62 
"And the Lord turned and looked at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how He had said to him, “Before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.” So Peter went out and wept bitterly." This is where everything changed in the life of Peter. Peter was not in any condition to follow Jesus at this time, because he had not come to the end of his rope; he did not know who he really was and could not follow Jesus. It was only when his heart was broken and he wept bitterly that the change came. Jesus had told Peter: "When you are converted, strengthen your brethren." This is that crucial moment when he is converted from self to Jesus. 
I praise God for the story of Peter. His story gives me more comfort than any other story in the Bible. When I consider his character with all of his 
failures, and what Jesus did for Peter through the power of the Holy Spirit, it thrills my heart, because there's hope for me, and there's hope for you. 
But we must remember, before Jesus could fill Peter with the Holy Spirit and make him that "new creation" that we find in 2 Corinthians 5:17, he had to go out and weep bitterly; he had to be humbled and so do we. 
If we are going to understand this clearly I believe there are four points that we need to look at. Over the next four weeks we are going to look at Peter the Devoted Disciple of Jesus; next, Peter Living the Life of Self; then, Peter's Repentance; and last, Peter Transformed. 
This will be an exciting study so I hope you are willing to take the time to read each part of Peter's life! 
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Honoring the Holy Spirit

5/26/2020

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Friends, we are safe in the hands of Jesus! Nothing that is happening has escaped His notice and I’m here to assure you He has everyone of us safely in his hands. 
We have been looking at surrender and most recently the Holy Spirit and how surrender to the Holy Spirit impacts our walk with Jesus! And what a wonderful blessing comes when the Holy Spirit is allowed to lead and direct our lives and our Church, and when it is expressed in our obedience to Him. 
We have been reflecting on the story of Barnabas and Paul when they were sent out as missionaries. What great and miraculous power went with them as they were directed by the Holy Spirit. It was the Holy Spirit that hindered Paul from going again into Asia and led him to Europe. And the reason they had such great power; and miracles followed them everywhere they went, was because they were being led by the Holy Spirit. I am so thankful that this gift of the Holy Spirit was not just for the early church and these missionaries alone. No! We too can have this great blessing and be led step by step and see the same results in our ministry today! 
The Holy Spirit has been called "the executive of the Holy Trinity." The Holy Spirit not only has power that is readily available to us, but He offers the Spirit of love for each other and a dark world that needs Jesus just as much as you and me. We may look around us and say, "why don't we see more of that love that not only loves those that love us, but loves just as passionately those that hate and abuse us?" This is what we saw in the early disciples - unwavering love for those that wanted them dead! And 
why don't we see more of that kind of love? Why are we not blessed and led like these early missionaries? There can only be one answer. We have not honored the Holy Spirit as we should have done. I know these are not soft, sweet words, but can we say it's not true? Our cry should be: 
"God forgive me that I have not honored the Holy Spirit as I should have done, that I have grieved Him, that I have allowed self and the flesh and my own will to work where the Holy Spirit should have been honored! May God forgive me that I have allowed self and flesh and the will actually to have the place that God wanted the Holy Spirit to have." Absolute Surrender page 48. 
Friends we are weak and feeble, where God through our surrender to the Holy Spirit wants to give us love and power! That's what I want and pray for you and me. Will you pray this prayer with me?

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    Pastor Brad

    Pastor Brad Traxler is the pastor of the Wrangell SDA Church. Brad Traxler is the husband of forty years to Cheryl, father to Kimberly and Ryan, and grandfather to Brad, Kevin, William, Eamon, Zairhen, Seraphina, and Zeelyah. He holds a BA in Theology and has been pastoring churches for twenty years. The greatest passion of His life has been to share Jesus. 

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