Bulletin 6-27-10

 

Monday, June 28

  7:00pm                                    Teen Movie Night - Teen Center

Tuesday, June 29 

 10:00am                                   Ladies Bible Study - Room 162

Wednesday, June 30

  5:00pm                                    God & Country Rally - The Idaho Center, Nampa

  6:45pm                                    Men’s Group, Study of Acts - Rm 160

Thursday, July 1

  6:30am                                    Men’s Prayer—Chapel

Saturday, July 3

 9:00am                                    Garden Work Day

 Sunday, July 4

   8:45am                                  Orchestra Practice

   9:30am                                  Sunday School

 10:45am                                 Family Worship Service

 

June 27, 2010 Pastor Tim Pusey

GOD CAN MAKE YOU STRONG

Joshua 1:1-9

Series: “What Do I Need to Know for Life?”

Lesson Four (Joshua)

June 27, 2010

 

Cindy and I have a friend from one of our pastorates who has gone through circumstances in recent months that are beyond my comprehension.  Bob was in medical school when he and his wife Christi were in our church in the Cleveland, Ohio area.  They were such a great couple and so faithful to the church despite the time demands of med school.  They left Cleveland and we left Cleveland, but we still kept track of one another.  Maybe three or four years ago now, we got the awful word that Christi had died suddenly after the birth of their second child.  We were so saddened for Bob and the kids.  By this time, he was a doctor in the U.S. Navy.

 

We followed on Facebook as Bob got remarried last summer to Jenn.  His two little boys were in the wedding and we saw lots of cute pictures of them.  Jenn and Bob soon found themselves expecting a honeymoon baby even as Jenn became mom to Bob’s two little guys.  We were all happy for Bob—it seemed like a fairytale ending.  A couple of months ago now, we followed in Facebook as they approached the delivery date of their little girl—and then with sudden horror we saw Bob’s pleas for us to pray for Jenn, that “it didn’t look good.”  And what we soon learned was the Jenn died in childbirth—just as Christi had a few years earlier.

 

It seemed so surreal!  I don’t think I’ve ever known any other women who died in childbirth, and our friend Bob—who is a medical doctor, of all things!—has now lost two wives in childbirth and now finds himself a single parent again, now with two little boys and a baby girl!

 

What’s been so amazing is to watch, even from afar, Bob’s faith as he deals with this.  Oh, he grieves—and you hear it often.  But there’s still a strength that seems to come through.  I’m sure it’s not something Bob ever dreamed he’d have to go through—not once, and certainly not twice!  But I have seen a strength of character in this man that has clearly been the Lord’s healing touch upon Bob.  Bob is living out a strength that goes beyond what Bob could ever be apart from the Lord in his life.

 

So, how would you respond if something like that happened to you?  Could you make it through it?  What if you got the report of incurable cancer this week?  What if you lost your job tomorrow morning?  What if your spouse filed for divorce?  What if God asked you to go and do something that seemed way off your personal radar screen for the future?

It seems to me that the way of the world is to go one of two directions with such challenges: “give up” or “buck up”!  We either give up and resign ourselves to despair, defeat, depression and maybe even suicide, or we buck up by trying to pull ourselves up by the bootstraps and forcing ourselves to make our way through it with all our personal human resources.  And while the latter seems like the best way, it falls far short when all we’re relying upon is ourselves, because in our humanness, we have limited resources—and unfortunately, our problems and challenges don’t seem to be so finite!

 

It also seems to me that God has a better way for His people—and that it’s far more effective!  God’s way is not for us to give up and wallow in personal defeat and discouragement; neither is God’s way for us to simply buck up by pulling ourselves up by the bootstraps and relying purely on our own resources.  God’s way is to come alongside us and walk with us through even the darkest and most challenging times in our lives—promising to see us through to the other side.

 

There’s a man named Joshua in the Old Testament who learned God’s way to approach the most overwhelming challenges in life—and it’s his story that we’re going to consider this morning.  We’re in the fourth week of our summer series on life lessons we can learn from heroes of the Bible that I’ve called, “What Do I Need to Know for Life?”  We’ve considered Abraham, Joseph, and Moses already.  Today we look at the man named Joshua.

 

The name “Joshua” has come to have special meaning in our family.  Over 27 years ago, Cindy and I had determined that if the twins we were expecting were boys, one of them would have been named “Joshua.”  I’m guessing that if we’d have ended up with Justin, Joshua and Jared as the names of our three kids, that I’d still be tripping over the names!  But our twins were girls, and yet, as the years unfolded, it became apparent that our daughter Kara would marry a young man named Joshua—so we finally had our Joshua after all.  Then some of you know the story of how Kara’s twin sister Krista followed us to Idaho and soon fell in love with another Joshua and married him—and it does seem kind of weird that our identical twin daughters are both married to guys with the same name, doesn’t it?!

 

Well, this is another Joshua.  And while we sometimes call our first Josh “the Original Josh,” the Joshua of the Old Testament is, from a biblical perspective, truly “the Original Joshua”!  Let me tell you something of his story.

 

We don’t know anything about Joshua’s upbringing, other than that his father’s name was “Nun”—not n-o-n-e but N-u-n!  Joshua was a soldier.  The first time the Bible mentions him, he was commanding the Hebrew army which gained the upper hand against their enemy as long as Moses held up his staff.  Moses’ brother Aaron, helped support Moses arms as he held up the staff and the army won the battle.

 

When the Hebrews reached the southern border of the Promised Land of Canaan, Joshua was among the twelve scouts whom Moses sent ahead to evaluate the prospects of conquering the land.  Ten recommended against invading, warning of giants and heavily fortified cities.  Only Joshua and Caleb urged the people to press on, saying that God would give them victory.  The masses chose the majority opinion, and for their lack of faith God sentenced the Israelites to 40 years of wandering in the desert—and Moses was denied the privileged of entered the Promised Land himself. 

 

Of the adults alive at the time, only Joshua and Caleb would live to set foot in the Promised Land.  And, after Moses died, God turned to Joshua, the one who had become Moses’ assistant, and told him that he was now to lead the people into the Promised Land.  It wasn’t just a matter that they were to move into unoccupied spaces—they would have to go to battle against some powerful enemies in order to gain control of the land the Lord had promised to give them.

 

That’s where our passage of scripture picks up this morning.  Turn with me to the first chapter of the Old Testament book of that bears the name of the man we’re talking about today—Joshua.

[Read Joshua 1:1-9, NIV]

 

We need to understand that what God was asking of Joshua was no small thing.  And to be entrusted with the responsibilities that Moses had carried was likely overwhelming to Joshua.  Joshua was very likely intimidated by the greatness of his predecessor Moses and the awesomeness of his own responsibility—which is why the Lord kept speaking to Joshua in this brief passage about courage and strength.  Joshua would need them both!  Faced with this task, Joshua must have been shaken under a pressing sense of his own inadequacies.  He needed to hear the Lord’s words, “Be strong and courageous…as I was with Moses, so I will be with you.”

 

The truth is that God lays before each of us challenges in life that seem absolutely overwhelming—and he doesn’t allow us to go through such things in order to defeat us, but rather to prove His strength.  If you haven’t faced overwhelming challenges yet, brace yourself because they’re coming!  They happen to us all in one way or another—and likely in multiple ways!  We may try to prepare ourselves for such challenges (and we should what we can), but there are some things you simply can’t prepare for!

 

I was talking with one of our men just Thursday morning after the men’s prayer time.  Richard Grif and his wife Jackie have come to our fellowship several months ago from the Twin Falls area, and Richard is faithful to the men’s prayer time and we often get to share over breakfast afterward.  Richard and I got to talking this week about his battle with cancer, and he commented that he never expected to be battling cancer.  It’s changed his whole outlook on life.  For example, he can’t make plans for something six months away because he never knows how he’ll be feeling and whether or not he’ll be up to it.  He talked with me a bit about what it’s like to live with the reality that the cancer will some day return and he knows he’ll not be as likely to defeat it this next time.

 

Health crises and physical pain, relationship messes and heartaches, and things like financial problems and challenges on the job just happen in life!  That’s not to excuse responsibilities we might have for them happening, as is sometimes the case, but still we’re faced with them in the course of real life!  I’ve just had to accept across the years that life is messy!  We also have to put beside these the challenges we assume when we respond to the Lord’s promptings and willingly walk into what is for us unchartered territory that is often difficult and pushes us outside our comfort zone! 

 

These are the things of life that have the potential of knocking the wind out of our sails!  These are the real life scenarios that cause many to give up or to throw away the paddle and just drift with the current!—and it’s understandably so, because such circumstances have a way of altering our lives or our expectations from life and making us feel that life is simply out of control!  There are a lot of things we end up facing that we never thought we’d face!

 

But God’s encouraging word to us today is that we can be strong and courageous as we face overwhelming challenges because the Lord has promised never to leave us or forsake us!  Joshua was reminded that the secret of Moses’ success had been God’s presence with him, and it would be the secret of Joshua’s success as well.  And, friends, it’s still the secret of success for every follower of the Lord.  It is by His presence in our lives that we face otherwise overwhelming challenges with strength and courage—not giving up nor simply bucking up ourselves, but rather learning to lean on the Lord as He wants us to do. 

“As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you…Be strong and courageous.  Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”  (Joshua 1:5, 9)

 

Some of us in the office the other day got to talking about the blessing of having parents who cheered us on and encouraged us in life—realizing that there are many who never had that.  My parents did that well—cheered us boys on, and let us know that they believed in us and that they stood by us!  What a blessing!

 

That’s kind of what was happening in the first chapter of Joshua—the Lord was cheering Joshua on, expressing his confidence in Joshua but also promising to stand by.  He was saying to Joshua—

“Strength!  Courage!  You are going to lead this people to inherit the land that I promised to give their ancestors.  Give it everything you have, heart and soul…Don’t be timid; don’t get discouraged.  God, your God, is with you every step you take!” (Joshua 1:6, 7, 9, The Message)

God saw promise in Joshua!

 

And God does not just look for super-humans who can help Him accomplish what He wants to accomplish.  He sees promise in each of us—and He’s in the business of helping us discover and life out a lifestyle of promise.  Scripture reveals lots of personal stories of how God worked in the lives of ordinary people to do extraordinary things—and, in it all, God sees promise in us.  It’s kind of like God takes on the qualities of a great coach or an insightful teacher who gets all excited about what we can become if we use the gifts He’s given us and realize the full potential of what it means to have the Lord with us wherever we go.

 

If we’ll hear God’s Word to us today, we’ll understand that we don’t need to wimp out even when faced with the greatest challenges of our lives!  Defeat is not a given!—even when the circumstances may spell defeat!  The Lord says, “I will be with you.  I won’t give up on you; I won’t leave you” (The Message). 

 

So ours is a lifestyle of promise as God wills it to be, but the reality is that many of us live beneath our privilege and blessing.  Many of us—even followers of Christ!—back away from the promises and live lives clouded too often by discouragement.  Too often we’re defeated by temptation or suffering or circumstances that seem out of our control—and we forget the promise that the Lord is with us and that we can find strength and courage in Him!  With the Lord by our side, we can face the challenges of life assured of ultimate victory!  We don’t need to be afraid or intimidated! 

 

I was talking with someone this week about the way in which we too often let the bullies in life intimidate us and wound us and leave us figuratively cowering in a corner when God has pronounced upon each of us strength and courage because He is with us!  Too many of us are still carrying around our wounds from childhood when others found something to taunt and tease us about—all probably stemming from their own sense of inadequacy!  But it did something to us within, didn’t it?  And God wants to deliver us from it just as He delivered Joshua from fear and intimidation!  God speaks courage and strength into our lives!

 

And instead of focusing on our fears and the size of our challenges and problems, we need to throw our energies into total devotion and obedience to the Lord.  Instead of being consumed with fear and anxieties and discouragement, we need to center our attentions on our full devotion to the Lord and what He wants us to do.

 

For Joshua, that meant accepting the reality that Moses, their strong leader, was dead and gone—and that God now had a mission for Joshua.  It was bigger than Joshua—and Joshua needed to understand from the get-go that he would have to depend upon the Lord with all his heart, soul, mind and strength.  He would need to be centered in on the Lord and on the way of the Lord.

 

It’s the same for us.  Like Joshua, we need to obey all of the Word of the Lord—

“Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go.  Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth ; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it.  Then you will be prosperous and successful.” (Joshua 1:7-8)

We need to incorporate God’s Word into every part of our lives—and we need to obey it and not just rationalize disobedience.  We’ve been focusing on the blessing and privilege of God’s Presence in our lives—but it’s important that we recognize the double edge of the Gospel.  One side is the edge of promise—the other is the edge of condition.  If we’re to enjoy the promise of His Presence and His strength, we must take seriously the condition of total obedience to Him.  We need to take God’s Word to us seriously and we need to obey Him in all things!

 

We need to be wary of any image of Christianity that is geared to us getting what we want to satisfy our own personal pleasures.  God is not some kind of genie in a bottle whose sole purpose is to bring us personal pleasure.  God, our Heavenly Father, loves us and, as our Creator, knows what is best for us.  He has given us choice, but the way of true blessing is the way of humble submission and faithful obedience to Him and to His ways.

 

This promise of blessing and strength and courage is not all-inclusive.  In other words, the person who isn’t a follower of Christ must first confront the fact that he or she is not in vital relationship with the Living God!—even though they can be!  That’s the starting point!  God asks us to confess our sins and be willing to turn from them.  His promise is to forgive us our sins and to purify us from all unrighteousness.  That’s the basis of our relationship with Him—and it’s foundational in order to experience His countless blessings!  But when we come to Him and experience the restoration of relationship with Him, the promises of Joshua chapter 1 are the promises God has for us too!

 

And the words from this chapter are so powerful, aren’t they?!  How often have I found encouragement and strength and courage in God’s words to Joshua—

“As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.  Be strong and courageous…Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” (Joshua 1:5, 9)

 

Every Christian needs to learn to live by these words!  What a great lesson for us all to learn—and re-learn—as we come upon the challenges of life that threaten to utterly knock the wind out of us.

 

I remember vividly a moment when the Lord spoke words of strength and courage to me as I faced such a challenge in life.  The Lord seemed to be pushing me out of my comfort zone and calling me to do something that I feared I was incapable of doing.  And in a quiet moment in His Presence, I dared to ask, “What do you think of this, Lord?”  And His word to me was almost audible,

“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Corinthians 12:9)

It was as if He was saying to me, “Let’s just get this straight now—you’re not adequate for this task, but I am.  And that is all that matters.”

 

So was God’s word to Joshua on a day long ago…and God’s Word to you today.  Accept the power of His presence in your life and embrace the courage that is yours through Him.  Child of God, be strong and courageous!  The Lord your God will be with you.  He will never leave you nor forsake you!  Do not be terrified!  Do not be discouraged!  He will be with you wherever you go!

June 20, 2010 Pastor Tim Pusey

GOD USES ORDINARY PEOPLE IN EXTRAORDINARY WAYS

Exodus 3:1-15; 4:1-17

Series: “What Do I Need to Know for Life?”

Lesson Three (Moses)

June 20, 2010

 

A dad, passing by his teenage son’s bedroom, was astonished to see that his bed was nicely made and everything was picked up.  Then he saw an envelope, propped up prominently on the pillow that was addressed to “Dad.”  With the worst premonition he opened the envelope with trembling hands and read the letter—

Dear Dad—

It is with great regret and sorrow that I’m writing you.  I had to elope with my new girlfriend because I wanted to avoid a scene with you and Mom.  Stacy is so nice, but I knew that you would not approve of her because of all her body piercings and tattoos, and the fact that she is much older than I am.  There’s also the matter that she’s pregnant.

 

Stacy says that we’ll be very happy together.  She owns a trailer in the woods and has a stack of firewood—enough for the whole winter.  We share a dream of having many more children.

 

Stacy has opened my eyes to the fact that marijuana doesn’t really hurt anyone.  We’ll be growing it for ourselves and to make extra money for other things we need.  Meanwhile, we’ll pray that science will find a cure for AIDS so Stacy can get better.  She deserves it.

 

Don’t worry, Dad.  I’m 15 and I know how to take care of myself.  Someday I’m sure that we’ll be back to visit so that you can get to know your grandchildren.

 

Love,  Your son John

 

P.S. Dad, none of the above is true.  I’m over at Tommy’s house.  I just wanted to remind you that there are worse things in life than a report card.  That’s in my center desk drawer.  I love you.  Call me when it’s safe to come home.

 

Well, on this Father’s Day, I wanted to remind you all again that parenting isn’t for sissies!  Every time I dedicate a precious little baby and look at a young couple who have entered the world of parenting, I think to myself, “You have no idea what you’ve just signed up for!”  And there’s no way they could know!  And dads, I want to thank you for all you do for your families and I want to encourage you to hang in!  I know it’s not always easy!  I know what it’s like to feel like you’re not adequate for the task!  But what I want to remind you of this morning in our lesson from one of the great heroes of the Bible is that God uses ordinary people—people just like you and me!—in extraordinary ways.  He can take ordinary guys and make them into great dads! 

 

Of course, the same is true for us all.  God uses ordinary people in extraordinary ways.  He always has—and always will!  How else could people like you or me hope to make a difference in anyone else’s life?!  It’s through the Lord that we can make a difference in the life of a teenager or a child.  It’s only as this extraordinary God works in and through our lives that we can ever hope to make a difference in the life of a friend or a stranger.

 

We’re in week three of our summer sermon series centering around the lessons we can learn from the heroes of the Bible.  It strives to answer the question, “What do I need to know for life?”  In Abraham’s life, we’ve already been reminded of the life lesson, “God can be trusted.”  Last week we learned through Joseph’s life that “We win when we forgive.”  Today we turn to the life of Moses.

 

While Joseph and his family had generations before been welcomed in the land of Egypt, now their descendants, called Israelites, had become slaves to the Egyptians.  Moses was born into an Israelite family, and early on God spared Moses’ life from an otherwise certain death in the holocaust of Israelite babies in the land of Egypt.  As a result, Moses was raised as the adopted son of a princess in Egypt.  Though raised in affluence, he fled Egypt in fear after killing a man whom he had seen beating an Israelite.  Fleeing to the country of Midian, Moses settled down and had a family, making his living by tending the flocks of his father-in-law.

 

That’s where our scripture passage picks up today.  Look with me at the Old Testament book of Exodus, and let’s begin at chapter 3—

[Read Exodus 3:1-15; 4:1-17, NIV]

 

Chapter three opens with God Almighty appearing among the ordinary—to an ordinary shepherd on an ordinary mountainside by an ordinary bush.  And in the midst of the ordinary, God did that which was extraordinary!  And so our lesson today is simply, “God uses ordinary people in extraordinary ways.”

 

Honestly, most all of the biblical heroes we’re looking at this summer were, by the standards of their own world, fairly ordinary types: a nomad, a couple of shepherds, a couple of fishermen, a poor widow, a young girl.  And that helps me, because when I look in my mirror I see someone who is incredibly ordinary—and if it took someone who is extraordinary to accomplish anything of value for God’s Kingdom, then my life could never count for much at all!

 

But you know, the truth is that even those who may be seen as the most extraordinary people in the world today are fairly ordinary at the end of the day—people like politicians, entertainers, wealthy business people, the incredibly successful.  I remember being told, “They put their pants on one leg at a time just like we do!”  They started out as babies—crying and messing their diapers just like the rest of us!  And if they live long enough, famous people will get old—just like we will!  And they’ll get wrinkly and slow down like we will, and, in the end, they’ll die, just like the rest of us will.

 

But the thing I want us to grasp today is that God works through the ordinary to do that which is extraordinary.  It’s a God thing!  And we must dare to believe that He can do it!—and that He can do it through our lives!

 

But the problem is that we ordinary-types resist God’s word to us because we can’t always see ourselves beyond our ordinariness! (Isn’t that a great word!)  Just like Moses made excuses, we have our excuses—and those excuses can keep us from stepping up to the plate to become all God wants us to become.

 

Moses evidently saw that he was ordinary!—and he was full of excuses, wasn’t he, when God called Him out for an extraordinary task?  Let’s look at them. (Moses’ excuses:)

1. I can’t do what you’re asking!

The cocky young man of Moses’ younger days was long gone.  He’d endured some hard knocks in life that had knocked the snot out of him!—like most of us have experienced at some point.  And so Moses was overwhelmed with the tremendous responsibility God was calling him to.  His more eloquent words in verse 11 of chapter three—“Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?”—was just another way of saying, “I can’t do what you’re asking!”

 

And God’s most wonderful response to Moses’ excuse was, “I will be with you.”  But it seemed to go right over Moses’ head.  He wasn’t ready to hear it.  So he kept making excuses. 

 

The second was—

1. I don’t know enough!

What Moses actually said was, “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’  Then what shall I tell them?”  Moses just didn’t feel prepared.  Every deity in those ancient times had his own personal name.  People believed it was necessary to know a god’s name in order to approach him in prayer or to ask for his help.  Beyond that, the name revealed the deity’s character.

 

And this is where God revealed His name—His character—to Moses, responding, “I AM WHO I AM.  This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’”  There’s a whole other message in this self-revelation of God, but suffice it to say that the Holy God was making it clear to Moses and to the Israelites that while all other being are derived from something or someone, are limited and changeable, He is none of those things.  God alone has always been and lives forever.  He is absolute and self-dependent, and cannot be changed.  And what God wanted Moses to catch is that He alone lives forever and thus His resources are inexhaustible.  He doesn’t get tired and need to rest.  He never runs out of supplies.  He simply IS and always has been!

 

But still Moses’ insecurities were not satisfied, and his excuses continued.  The third excuse was found at the beginning of chapter 4—

1. People won’t believe me!

Moses feared that people wouldn’t find him credible as a leader and as a spokesman for God—and, from a purely human perspective, I suppose most of us understand why Moses would feel that way.  He apparently hadn’t demonstrated star-studded success up to this point!

 

And this is where God provided Moses with the three miraculous signs we just read about.  Moses’ staff—the rod he carried with him—became a snake when he threw it down as God instructed him, and then became a rod again when Moses picked it up!  Then Moses’ hand instantly showed unmistakable signs of leprosy—a terrible skin disease—one moment, and was whole again a moment later.  The third sign was simply that Moses was to take water from the Nile River and pour it on the ground, and it would instantly turn to blood.

 

But still Moses wasn’t convinced.  He really was a stubborn guy, wasn’t he—maybe a lot like some of us!  All Moses had to say after God performed these miraculous signs before him was,

1. I don’t have the skills!

“O Lord, I’m not very good with words.  I never have been, and I’m not now, even though you have spoken to me.  I get tongue-tied, and my words get tangled!” (NLT)  And it seems to me that God was starting now to get a little irritated with Moses, saying, “And who makes a person’s mouth?  Who decides whether people speak or do not speak…is it not I, the Lord?  Now go!  I will be with you as you speak, and I will instruct you in what to say” (NLT).

 

And still Moses was immobilized by his fears and his feelings of inadequacy.  So his last excuse was more of a statement than an excuse—

1. I really don’t want to do this!

What Moses said was, “O Lord, please send someone else to do it!”  And scripture says that’s when God got angry with Moses!  He still wasn’t going to let Moses off the hook, but God offered to provide Moses a spokesman in Moses’ brother Aaron.  Of course, if you know the rest of the account of Moses, you know that Aaron brought some major problems along with him—no doubt Moses would have been better off had he not pushed God to give him this assistance.

 

The truth is that God always gives us what we need in order to carry out what He asks us to do!  And when God makes it clear what He wants us to do, and we keep hesitating with all of our excuses, what it’s simply revealing is that we don’t trust God enough—we don’t trust God to help us carry out what He’s asking us to do.

 

Oh, Moses isn’t the only one who makes excuses, is he?  He isn’t the only one who makes excuses when God speaks directly into our lives and asks us—just ordinary people—to do that which from our perspective seems pretty extraordinary.  I think our excuses sound a lot like Moses’ excuses—

1. I can’t do what you’re asking.  It’s just not feasible in my life right now.  It’s just not possible. 
2. I don’t know enough.  I don’t know enough about Who you are to help others learn to follow you.  I can’t disciple someone else—I’ve still got so much to learn myself!
3. People won’t believe me.  They’re not going to find me credible.  Why would someone listen to me talk about Christ?  Why would they listen to me?
4. I don’t have the skills.  I don’t speak well enough to teach even a class of children.  I can’t sing good enough to be in the choir.  I can’t even pull weeds good enough to work in the church garden!
5. I really don’t want to do this!—please ask someone else!  It’s just too far out of my comfort zone, and I just really want to pass on this one, Lord!  Don’t you know I don’t like to do such and such?  And I’ve always said, “I’ll never go there” or “I’ll never do that!”  So why are you asking me to do it, Lord?  This just doesn’t fit my personal agenda!

And then there are the excuses that so reflect our times—

1. I don’t have the time.  You know, the truth is that we have time for what we want to make time for!  We make time for what we value.  And while I understand that we have to prioritize things in our lives, I’m guessing that God doesn’t take too kindly to our excuse that we don’t have enough time when He’s the One prompting us to do something!
2. My life’s been too messed up.  Just remember, Moses was a murderer—and God didn’t let him off the hook!  The longer I live the more amazed I am at how God redeems lives.  It’s really a beautiful thing!  God’s not nearly as stuck on your past as you are—and frankly, He wants to help you get over it!
3. I’m not smart enough.  People who know more than we do or are more educated than we are often intimidate us, and, granted, some seem to enjoy intimidating the rest of us!  But the old adage is true, “People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.”  One of the great influences in my life was my grandfather who had only an 8^th grade education—but his heart for God was hard to miss, and he made a huge impact on a lot of people!
4. I have to take care of myself first.  Our culture has a way of making gods out of our selves.  And while I understand that we have to give conscientious attention to keeping ourselves healthy and whole as persons if we’re going to be useful to the Lord and to others over the long haul, our society’s focus on our selves easily steps across the threshold into that which is absolutely ungodly!  I still remember how appalled I was the first time I saw the magazine called “Self.”  And on our recent vacation, we passed a church called, “The Church of Self-Realization”—and it was as if the message is clear that we’re not worshipping God, we’re worshipping our selves!  I’m guessing they draw big crowds!

 

1. ________________________________________

 

I started to list a 10^th excuse, but I concluded that what I would suggest might reflect too much of a personal bias, so I’m going to let you fill in the 10^th one.  What excuse are you giving God today to put off something that He’s prompting you to do or be or share or give?  You fill in the blank.

 

In all of our excuses, it seems like we fail to perceive that the extraordinary God is the One who makes the difference in our lives.  Without Him, we’re limited in what we can do.  Only when we know we can’t do it, can we do it by the grace and power of God!

 

That’s how it was for Moses.  God actually had to get Moses to the point where Moses was thoroughly convinced of his own inadequacy before God could do in and through Moses’ life what only God can do! 

 

It happened to David, too.  David was able to kill a giant even when he was just a young man, but God had to put him through the experiencing of hiding for his life in dark caves, hunted like a wild animal, before David would see how weak he was on his own.  It was after that that God made David the king.

 

It was the same with Elijah.  While he was a prophet who was brave enough to confront the mighty king and queen of the land, he wasn’t quite as brave as he seemed.  God sent Elijah out into the desert for his training.  Like the brook he watched dry up, Elijah concluded that his life was no more than a dried-up brook.  He discovered through that experience and other dark days that without God he was nothing, but that with God he had everything he needed!

 

The Apostle Paul learned the lesson too.  You might say that he was slow learner!  But he came to the place where he could declare,

Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’ power may rest on me.  That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties.  For when I am weak, then I am strong. (2 Corinthians 12:9b-10)

 

I suppose it’s a paradox—a puzzling one, but it’s only when we know we can’t do it that we can indeed do it by the grace and power of God.  Over and over we find that it’s true: God use ordinary people in extraordinary ways.  And because that’s true, He can use you and me, and He will use us, if we’ll let Him.  Will you?

Pastor Tim’s Blog

ANNIVERSARIES AND REDWOOD FORESTS

 

Cindy and I enjoyed some relaxing days along the California Coast recently.  Along with walking the beach, we also got to take a stroll through a redwood forest.  The trees are so fascinating, so stately and so beautiful—as tall as you can see and wider at the base than most any tree I’ve ever seen!  The way in which they grow in clusters has always fascinated me: small trees sprout up around the mother tree with the roots all intertwined for strength.  It’s the primary reason they last so very long!  And even when the mother tree at the center dies, the sprouts—now tall and strong on their own—have a firm foundation found in the interwoven root system.

 

During our days in California, I was looking for a 60^th anniversary card for my parents.  60 years…Wow!  Our family will all get together next month to celebrate the anniversary together, but as the actual date of the anniversary was approaching, I had hoped to find an appropriate card.  There were cute cards and drippy cards and trendy cards…but none seemed just right!  Then I came upon a card that simply featured a picture on the front of the mighty redwoods, and I decided that was exactly what I was looking for!  I wrote some appropriate words inside and sent it—for there could be no better symbol to celebrate a 60^th wedding anniversary than the tall, stately, incredibly long-living redwoods!

 

I wish I could tell you that all the weddings I’ve performed across the years will last 60 years or more.  One wedding I did imploded during the honeymoon!  Of course, many couples don’t live long enough to celebrate 60 years of marriage, and Mom and Dad are blessed to still have one another.  But death’s not what keeps so many marriages from making it for the long haul.  (And, if you’re one who did all you could do to keep a failing marriage together, and still experienced divorce, please don’t feel beat up by my words.)  Oh, how I long to see more redwood forest kind of marriages!

 

Do you think God wants our marriages to last for a lifetime?  Yep…He sure does!  And do you think He has the power to help us make that happen?  Yep…no doubt about it!  So what’s the problem?  Could it be that too often we’re not letting God work in our lives and in our marriages the way He wants to?  Yep…probably so!  Could it be that we get so consumed with our own selfish desires and ambitions that we lose sight of the needs of our spouse?  Yep…sorry to say!

 

After we’d attended a worship service at a church in California the Sunday we were there, we passed another church whose name hit me like a lightning bolt.  It was called “The Church of Self-Realization.”  Boy!  Does that ever say in a nutshell what’s wrong with our culture!  “Phooey on worshipping God…let’s just worship ourselves!  It’s all about ‘me’ anyway!”  That really bugged me!  And I think that’s exactly why we don’t have more 40^th, and 50^th and even 60^th wedding anniversaries.

 

If you’re married, I pray God will help you and your spouse to make it for the long haul…think (and pray!) in terms of a redwood forest marriage.  God bless you, my friend!

Bulletin 6-13-10

Monday, June 14
                          Teen Camp at Trinity Pines (grades 9-12)
7:00pm Teen Movie Night ~ Teen Center

Tuesday, June 15

Teen Camp at Trinity Pines (grades 9-12)
10:00am Ladies Bible Study ~ Room 162
6:30pm  Women’s Ministries Presents: Box Dinner Exchange

Wednesday, June 16

Teen Camp at Trinity Pines (grades 9-12)
6:30pm Student Ministries Worship
6:45pm Choir
6:45pm Making the most of your personal Bible Study ~ Rm 166
6:45pm Men’s Group, Study of Acts ~ Rm 160
7:00pm Family Swim at Meridian Pool

Thursday, June 17

Teen Camp at Trinity Pines (grades 9-12)
6:30 am Men’s Prayer ~ Chapel
7:00pm Discipleship class ~ Room 162

Friday, June 18

 Teen Camp at Trinity Pines (grades 9-12)
7:00pm Manifest 2010 ~ Boise First Community Center

Saturday, June 19
9:00am Garden Work Day
10:00am  Funeral for Craig (Skip) Crawford ~ Cloverdale Funeral
5:00pm Ambassador’s Class Event ~ Concert on Broadway

Sunday, June 20
8:45 am Orchestra Practice
9:30 am Sunday School
10:45 am Worship Service
                        Children’s Church

June 13, 2010 Pastor Tim Pusey

WE WIN WHEN WE FORGIVE

Genesis 50:15-21

Series: “What Do I Need to Know for Life?”

Lesson Two (Joseph)

June 13, 2010

 

I grew up in a world enamored with heroes like “Superman” and “Batman.”  I don’t remember ever pinning a towel on my shoulders to have a cape like Superman’s, but I wouldn’t be surprised if my friends and I had done that along the way.  I did always think it was cool the way Superman could fly—but then, such an ability would be wasted on me because I’m not very fond of heights!

 

The truth is that I also grew up hearing the accounts of other heroes—and, as the years passed, those were the heroes that captured my attention.  They had simple names, like David, Joseph, Paul and Peter.  Their life stories come from the Bible, and while I’ve long ago forgotten the escapades of Superman and Batman, I’m still learning lessons from the heroes of the Bible.  That’s what this summer sermon series is about.  I’ve called it, “What Do I Need to Know for Life?”—and each week we’ll be focusing in on a different hero from the Bible whose life story seems to capsulate an important lesson that each of need to learn in order to become all that God wants us to be.

 

Last week, Brent Peterson kicked off the series as he focused our attention on Abraham—and the lesson from Abraham’s life is that “God can be trusted.”  This morning we go to the end of Genesis—the first book of the Bible—to consider a life lesson from a man named Joseph.  Before I read the passage of scripture, let me give you the skinny version of Joseph’s life. 

 

Born into a large family of boys, he was the favored son and his older brothers hated him for it.  They happened upon an opportunity to get rid of him and to make some money in the process, so they sold him into slavery and he was taken away to Egypt.  Even as a slave, though, Joseph flourished in his work and was trusted as a man of integrity.  He was a servant to Potiphar, a powerful Egyptian official.  Potiphar came to trust Joseph, seeing that the Lord was clearly at work in Joseph’s life.  Potiphar expanded Joseph’s responsibilities and his authority.  But Potiphar’s wife was after something else from Joseph, and when Joseph refused her advances, she accused him of trying to rape her—and Joseph was thrown into prison.

 

Even in prison, Joseph flourished and the warden eventually put Joseph in charge of all the prisoners.  God gave Joseph unusual spiritual discernment which enabled him to interpret people’s dreams, and this God-given ability became Joseph’s ticket out of prison.  When the Pharaoh, king of all Egypt, had a dream no one was able to help him figure out, someone remembered Joseph’s God-given ability, and Joseph was brought out of prison and asked to interpret Pharaoh’s recurring dream.

 

The dream told of seven years of abundance which were to be followed by seven years of drought and famine.  Satisfied that God himself had helped Joseph interpret the dreams and recognizing Joseph’s unusual wisdom and discernment, Pharaoh put Joseph in charge of the whole land of Egypt—second only to Pharaoh himself in terms of power and authority, administrating all the resources of Egypt through the seven years of abundance in order that the nation would survive the seven years of famine.

 

The seven years of abundance came, as did the years of famine thereafter.  Joseph was so successful in preparing Egypt for the famine that people from other nations were coming to Egypt begging for food.  Joseph’s older brothers also came to Egypt to buy food for their families and found themselves standing before Joseph—the brother they had sold into slavery years before.  They had no idea it was Joseph, but he recognized them immediately.  Eventually, in a tremendously emotional scene, Joseph revealed his identity to his brothers as they stood fearfully before him.  Joseph assured them that he intended them no harm—that he believed that God had worked good in spite of their actions against him. 

 

The lesson from Joseph’s life is the lesson of forgiveness.  It’s the lesson that declares that we win when we forgive.  The passage we’re turning to this morning picks up on Joseph’s story a bit further in time, just after their father Jacob had died.  Turn to the last chapter of Genesis and let’s read from Genesis 50, beginning at verse 15—

[Read Genesis 50:15-21, NIV]

 

Joseph had the perfect opportunity for revenge!  It was in the palm of his hand—and yet he chose to pass on it.  The ten older brothers who had exerted their power over the little brother they resented were now humbled under his authority.  And while Joseph had every human reason to hold a grudge against them, he chose—by God’s grace—to forgive.  He let go of his grievance against them.

 

I suppose some might conclude that Joseph hadn’t endured real hurt and pain from them—or he would have sought revenge.  But, no!  Think again of the circumstances.  If you’ve never read Joseph’s story before, go back and read Genesis 37 to 50 this week.  The wounds were real!—as real as the forgiveness he offered his offenders.

 

You see, if we go down the route that Joseph’s hurt wasn’t real, we might be tempted to excuse our lack of forgiveness by saying, “well, obviously, someone hurt me worse than Joseph had been hurt!”—therefore, justifying the resentment we hang onto.  But the wounds Joseph’s brothers inflicted upon him and the circumstances they put into motion changed the course of his life!  By human standards, Joseph had every reason to be bitter and angry—but he refused to give into that.

 

Why do you suppose Joseph wept in receiving the message from his brothers—the plea which had supposedly come from their father before he died to forgive the boys for what they’d done to Joseph?  Do you suppose maybe Joseph wept because he saw how they were tortured by their fears of what he might now do to them?  Might it be that he wept because it broke his heart that his brothers couldn’t trust him?  Or might it be that he wept in sadness over the years spent apart—now lost and irretrievable?

 

Let’s note that Joseph had learned the lesson of forgiveness years before this scene.  He had learned it when he was thrown into a dark prison cell on the false charges that he had raped his master’s wife.  But he hadn’t done it!  He didn’t deserve to be there!  But somehow God had helped Joseph focus instead on the development of integrity in his life.  It was incredibly important to Joseph—and that’s why I believe he’d have been tempted to become bitter when in prison over false charges!

 

In one of my pastorates, I followed a man whose leadership style is one I would describe as manipulative and coercive.  And while that appeared to work for him, it’s an approach to leadership and particularly to pastoral ministry that I simply do not like.  In fact, it’s offensive to me.  And that’s why it was incredibly hurtful to me when a few people, early in my pastorate, interpreted my words and actions through the filter of what they had seen in the earlier leader and concluded that I too was manipulative and coercive in my dealings with people.  It was terribly discouraging to me!  That’s why I believe Joseph—who obviously was passionate about maintaining integrity—would have been especially vulnerable to bitterness when he was falsely accused of sexual perversion!

 

But what we see in Joseph’s life is a tremendous example of forgiveness.  We need to see the fullness and beauty of forgiveness—and how that forgiveness set Joseph free himself.  It really is true we win when we forgive!  When his brothers came to him, he recognized their consuming fear and it genuinely broke his heart.  His choice to forgive set him free from the anger and resentment that could have seethed within him.

 

I want us to look again at his statement to them recorded in verse 20.  It’s one of the most powerful statements I know of regarding forgiveness.  He said,

“You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.” (Genesis 50:20)

“You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good…”  Joseph didn’t ignore the reality of their evil intent, but he chose to see that God had worked even through the circumstances they had put in motion.  God had worked for Joseph’s good and for the good of thousands and even millions of people in Egypt whom he had been able to help.  Joseph could see that despite the actions of his brothers, God had worked in and through his life.  And that helped him to let go of resentment and forgive them.

 

This scene from Genesis 50 wasn’t the first time Joseph had spoken such words to his brothers.  I’ve always loved the scene found in Genesis 45 where Joseph is standing before the brothers who had long before betrayed him.  He had everyone but his brothers leave the room—and he wept so loudly that it was heard all through the building! 

 

Imagine the moment when Joseph gained his composure long enough to announce to his brothers, “I am Joseph!”  Imagine how dumbfounded they must have been that the brother they thought they’d washed their hands of forever had now stepped back into their lives—and held their security in his hands!  The tables had been turned!  And the secret they had carried for so long would be exposed! 

 

But he called them close to him and said,

“I am your brother Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt!  And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you…it was not you who sent me here, but God…” (Genesis 45:4-5,

Joseph was coming from a solid conviction that God had never lost control of his life—despite what was done to him! 

 

And however you may think of the sovereignty of God, none of us will ever be able to fully explain the mysteries of the divine will of God and the part that human decisions play in how God works out His plan.  I’m guessing that many of us will be anxious to ask the Lord such questions when we get to heaven!  But in the meantime, we do well to follow the example of people like Joseph who did not allow the actions of others to deter their devotion and dependence upon God—and dared to believe that God had not somehow allowed the actions of others to mess up God’s ultimate will for their lives!

 

I’m reminded of the powerful words left to us from the Apostle Paul in Romans 8—

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28)

Of course, to say this is one thing, but to hold to it relentlessly as Joseph did throughout dark days and years of betrayal and lonely years in prison is a whole other thing!  It reflects faith of the highest kind!  Such faith opens the door to forgiveness that, in turn, sets us free!

 

I suppose that, on the surface, we think of forgiveness as merely the absence of bitterness and the choice not to seek revenge, even if it is handed on a silver platter as it was to Joseph!  But the kind of forgiveness we see in the life of Joseph goes far beyond that.  Joseph saw their fear and reassured them that he did not hold their offense against them.  He spoke kindly to them.  One translation described them as talking “heart to heart”!  Joseph did more than not retaliate—Joseph acted redemptively.  He urged them to bring their families and resettle with him in Egypt where he promised to provide for them!  Sometimes we understate forgiveness to merely be a matter of not acting out our anger against another, when forgiveness is truly a determination to replace such vengeful actions with actions of kindness and genuine concern.

 

And by choosing to forgive, Joseph won!—in so many ways.  Let’s consider a few of the ways in which he was a winner by choosing to forgive.

• He had peace of mind—rather than the inner turmoil of resentment.  Bitterness is like a cancer that eats us up from the inside out.  Joseph had peace of mind instead.
• Joseph probably enjoyed a better life because his life wasn’t under the control of unbridled anger and bitterness.  Have you ever been around a bitter person?  Bitter people are generally unhappy in life—and that was not the case for Joseph.
• He was set free to be more effective in his life’s work and calling.  When we’re consumed with resentment, we’re too preoccupied to be at our best at anything in life.  It occupies our mind and infiltrates our attitudes.  It has a treacherous way of taking over everything else in life.  But Joseph threw his energies into serving God and others and he did it well!  It was just another way in which he won by forgiving others.
• He also gained back his brothers!  Just imagine!  They had spent virtually their whole lives apart.  I’m sure he had longed for family—often wondering how their lives were going, and wishing so very much that he was still part of it.  But in choosing to forgive he gained his brothers back!  It was marvelous!
• And probably most important is the matter that Joseph experienced peace with God.  Forgiveness is the way of the Lord.  He is the God of mercy and grace.  We are in relationship with Him purely because of His mercy and His willingness to forgive us—and scripture makes it clear that receiving God’s forgiveness and offering such forgiveness to others go hand in hand.

 

Have you ever had someone offend you?  Have you ever had someone treat you unfairly or say unkind things to you?  Have you ever been abused or taken advantage of?  Have you ever suffered the results of the ungodly words or actions of someone else?  It’s real, isn’t it?  And it’s just part of life!  And the truth is that sometimes the offense is intended and other times it isn’t, even though our hurts are just as painful.  But however we were offended, like Joseph, we’re confronted with the matter of how we’re going to respond.

 

And before you jump too quickly to conclude that this doesn’t relate to you, please understand that there are many people who spend their whole lives acting out their bitterness and resentment toward how they were treated at some point in life.  Our early years have tremendous sway in shaping our lives—and some of you may need to be set free from all the wounds and hurts you’ve carried all your life—and if you don’t see how they’ve shaped your life and your relationships, maybe you need to ask those around you if they see that in you.  You might be surprised by what you’d hear.

 

And, for each of us, it comes down to a decision.  Will we choose to forgive?  And, if you think it’s optional, please understand the great emphasis Jesus put on forgiving others—and how we must be willing to forgive others if we are expecting God to forgive us.  Remember his words in the Sermon on the Mount—“Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (Matthew 5:44). 

 

And the truth is that, just as Joseph won by forgiving, so do we win when we forgive those who have somehow wronged us!  Let’s consider some of the ways—

• We gain peace of mind when we forgive those who have hurt us—and are thus able to shake off the inner turmoil of resentment.  That peace of mind does a great job of quieting those fiery conversations you have within your mind with those who have hurt you!  When we let go, we experience peace within!
• Our quality of life is so much better when we learn to forgive—because our lives aren’t under the grip of bitterness and resentment. 
• When we refuse to hold grudges against others, we’re able to be far more effective in our work and in our calling—because we’re not saddled with this consuming anger!
• We’re also far more fit for healthy relationships—at home and beyond.  If you’re consumed with bitterness, you’d likely find that other people enjoy being with you a whole lot more if you’d knock the chip off your shoulders!  And though restored relationships must be allowed from both sides, the truth is that when we let go of grudges we become the kind of people whom others are drawn to and open to.
• And, best of all, when we choose to forgive others, we experience peace with God.  He is the One who had taught and modeled forgiveness.  It’s His way!  And we experience the fullness of peace with God as we learn to forgive others.  And in the context of this relationship, He increases our capacity to love and care for others and to truly forgive them—because it’s so much a part of His character!

 

Please forgive me if you’ve heard me tell this story before, but it seems to sum it up so well.  It’s a story told by Corrie ten Boom—whose writings I long ago became fascinated with.  Corrie’s family were Dutch Christians in Holland when Jews were being hauled off to Nazi concentration camps during the Holocaust.  They risked their lives hiding Jews in their home, and Corrie and her sister and their father were all imprisoned when caught doing so by the Nazis.  Her sister Betsie and her father were killed in the death camps, but Corrie survived the awful ordeal and later spoke and wrote to millions, sharing her story.

 

After the war, her travels took her to broken, war-torn Germany with the message that God forgives.  At the close of one such service, she saw a man making his way toward her.  One moment she saw the overcoat and the brown hat; the next, a blue uniform and a visored cap with its skull and crossbones.  Let me read her words, as she can tell it better than I can—

It came back with a rush: the huge room with its harsh overhead lights; the pathetic pile of dresses and shoes in the center of the floor; the shame of walking naked past this man.  I could see my sister’s frail form ahead of me, ribs sharp beneath the parchment skin…The place was Ravensbruck and the man who was making his way forward had been a guard—one of the most cruel guards.

 

Now he was in front of me, hand thrust out: “A fine message, Fraulein!  How good it is to know that, as you say, all our sins are at the bottom of the sea!”

 

And I, who had spoken so glibly of forgiveness, fumbled in my pocketbook rather than take that hand.  He would not remember me, of course—how could he remember one prisoner among those thousands of women?  But I remembered him and the leather crop swinging from his belt.  I was face-to-face with one of my captors and my blood seemed to freeze.

 

“You mentioned Ravensbruck in your talk,” he was saying.  “I was a guard there.”  No, he did not remember me.  “But since that time,” he went on, “I have become a Christian.  I know that God has forgiven me for the cruel things I did there, but I would like to hear it from your lips as well. Fraulein,”—again the hand came out—“will you forgive me?”

 

And I stood there—I whose sins had again and again to be forgiven—and could not forgive.  Betsie had died in that place—could he erase her slow terrible death simply for the asking?

 

It could not have been many seconds that he stood there—hand held out—but to me it seemed hours as I wrestled with the most difficult thing I had ever had to do.  For I had to do it—I knew that.  The message that God forgives has a prior condition: that we forgive those who have injured us.  “If you do not forgive men their trespasses,” Jesus says, “Neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses.”

 

I knew it not only as a commandment of God, but as a daily experience.  Since the end of the war I had had a home in Holland for victims of Nazi brutality.  Those who were able to forgive their former enemies were able also to return to the outside world and rebuild their lives…those who nursed their bitterness remained invalids.  It was as simple and as horrible as that.

 

And still I stood there with the coldness clutching my heart.  But forgiveness is not an emotion—I knew that too.  Forgiveness is an act of the will, and the will can function regardless of the temperature of the heart.  “Jesus, help me!” I prayed silently. “I can lift my hand.  I can do that much.  You supply the feeling.”

 

And so woodenly, mechanically, I thrust my hand into the one stretched out to me.  And as I did, an incredible thing took place.  The current started in my shoulder, raced down my arm, sprang into our joined hands.  And then this healing warmth seemed to flood my whole being, bringing tears to my eyes.  “I forgive you, brother!” I cried.  “With all my heart.”

 

For a long moment we grasped each other’s hands, the former guard and the former prisoner.  I had never known God’s love so intensely, as I did then.  But even so, I realized it was not my love.  I had tried, and did not have the power.  It was the power of the Holy Spirit as recorded in Romans 5:5, “…because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.”

 

Let us pray.

Pastor Ron’s Blog

There has never been a greater need in the church for revival than right now. The second coming of Christ is nearer than ever before. Prophecies are being fulfilled every day. There is a growing urgency for a spiritual awakening.

According to Charles G. Finney there are seven indicators that will be present when a church is on the verge of a spiritual awakening.

l. When the sovereignty of God indicates that revival is near.

2. When wickedness grieves and humbles Christians.

3. When there is a spirit of prayer for revival.

4.When Christians are willing to make sacrifices to carry out the new movement of God’s Spirit.

5. When Christians confess their sins…

6. When the attention of ministers is dedicated toward revival and spiritual awakening.

7. When ministers and laity are willing for God to promote spiritual awakening by whatever instrument He pleases…then revival comes.

The Scriptural formula for revival is very clear in Second Chronicles 7:14: “If my people who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” It is time for each of us to look into our hearts and examine where we are in light of the second coming of Christ.

Let us pray the prayer of the hymn writer, William P. Mackay, “Revive us again; fill each heart with Thy love. May each soul be rekindled with fire from above.” Prayer remains the key to power through the Holy Spirit.

Pastor Tyler’s Blog

WHAT IS OBEDIENCE?

Since November, my youngest cousin and I have been in the habit of talking on Sunday nights. We have already read through one book, and we are close to finishing our second. The book we have been reading is the book by Henry Blackaby, Experiencing God. My cousin, for the first time, is in fact experiencing God. About four years ago my cousin lost his dad to an unexpected blood clot. He was in his senior year of high school and it’s left a great impression on him.

This week went just like any other week; we spent a good 45 minutes talking about what we had read, what we learned, and what is presented to us as a challenge in our life. This past week he presented a question to me that really was a good question. The question he asked was simple, “What is considered disobedience to God?”

The question came after reading chapter 18 in our book. The chapter is titled, “Joining God Requires Obedience.” That’s a question that I don’t really ask a whole lot. I would imagine it’s not a question any of us asks very often. And while we may not be asking that question of ourselves, how often do we ask that question of the people or the world around us?

“You cannot stay where you are and go with God. You cannot continue doing things your way and accomplish God’s purposes in His ways. Once you have adjusted your life to God, His purposes, and His ways you are prepared to obey Him…Obedience is the outward expression of your love for God.” –page 247-248, Experiencing God.

Adjusting our life to God’s pattern, to His plan, and to His purpose is not an easy task. We often run into the conflict of our desired plan or His perfect plan. That word adjustment has been a word that continues to challenge me as I’ve read this book. I’ve had to ask myself repeatedly, “How well am I adjusting my life to be in step with God’s plan?”

Throughout God’s Word, he continually speaks of obedience being the greatest thing we could do in showing our love for Him. I think of the story about Saul and how Samuel rebuked him for not obeying God’s command to destroy an entire village. Saul however thought he was doing a noble thing by taking the best and giving it as an offering to the Lord. The Lord, through Samuel said in I Samuel 15:22, “Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams.”

It’s easy for us to measure the many things we DO in sacrifice to the Lord. The offering we give to Him, the rituals we keep…yet in the end, all he asks of us…is to obey. The question asked of me was, “How do I determine if I’m disobeying God?” I think the best answer I could give and did give my cousin is found in His Word. Am I living according to His Word? Am I close enough to Him to hear His voice? Do I even recognize His voice in my life? God is always extending a call to us…are you able to determine what it is He is asking of you today? Might I extend a challenge to us all, to grow in our relationship to the Father, and as we do, may we out of love…honor Him with our obedience!

Bulletin 6-20-10

 

Monday, June 21

Genesis Girls Camp at Trinity Pines (grades  1-3)

  7:00pm ~ Teen Movie Night ~ Teen Center

 

Tuesday, June 22

Genesis Girls Camp at Trinity Pines (grades  1-3)

10:00am ~ Ladies Bible Study ~ Room 162

 

Wednesday, June 23

Genesis Girls/Boys Camp at Trinity Pines (grades  1-3)

  6:30pm ~ Student Ministries Worship

6:45pm ~ Choir

  6:45pm ~ Making the most of your personal Bible Study ~ Rm 166

  6:45pm ~ Men’s Group, Study of Acts ~ Rm 160

 7:00pm ~ Children’s Ministries Garden Night    

Thursday, June  24

Genesis Boys Camp at Trinity Pines (grades  1-3)

  6:30am ~ Men’s Prayer ~ Chapel

 

Friday, June 25

Genesis Boys Camp at Trinity Pines (grades 1-3)

 

Saturday, June 26

  9:00am ~ Garden Work Day

   

Sunday, June 27

  8:45 am ~ Orchestra Practice

  9:30am ~ Sunday School

10:45am ~ Worship Service

Children’s Church

 

May 30, 2010 Pastor Tim Pusey

GLANCING BACK—PLOWING FORWARD
Joel 2:28-32
May 30, 2010

I’ve rediscovered something I enjoy doing since moving into our house here in Idaho two years ago. Since I was a little kid, I’ve enjoyed watching plants grow. I have vivid memories of planting flowers and watering them regularly when I was just a kid—and getting all excited when they grew and flourished! And now that our kids are raised and out of college and are all married, I feel more free than ever to browse the aisles of Home Depot or Lowes or local nurseries and pick up plants that I want to add to our front yard or back yard. And my wife never even fusses when I come home with more plants!

In the past couple of weeks, I dug out two undesirable trees which were in our yard when we bought the house and replaced them with trees that better fit the locations, and then this past week planted more than a dozen perennial plants I came across at local stores. I suppose if it’s a vice, it’s a relatively cheap vice—and one that pays off in beauty in the long haul!

Monday I spent four hours in the yard—planting and mulching and trimming some things. And now and then, in the midst of my efforts, it felt good to just stand up, try to straighten my back out (something that’s a little harder than it was a few years ago!), and just take a good look at what I’d accomplished! It felt good! And gave me encouragement to keep going!

I suppose the title of my sermon this Sunday almost presupposes a farmer’s perspective—Glancing Back—Plowing Forward. And I need to confess to you that I’ve never plowed a field once in my life! (Somehow, I’m guessing that doesn’t shock most of you!) But I do believe that in life there is merit in occasionally glancing back to see how we’re doing and what’s been accomplished and see if there are corrections that need to be made—but we do so only to help ourselves better anticipate what is ahead so that we can keep plowing forward. That’s always the goal!

That’s what I want us to do today. As you’ve heard, we’re going to conclude our service today by rededicating the old bell that hung in our old church at the corner of Pine and Main Streets (if you see Pine and First Streets on the plaque by the bell, understand that Main Street was originally called First Street). But before we do, I want to share with you a passage of Scripture from the Old Testament prophet Joel—chapter 2—and I’d like to apply those truths to us and to our church today. The truth is that this Old Testament passage had a special role in the birth of the Church in New Testament times—for Peter quoted extensively from this passage on the Day of Pentecost after the Holy Spirit had been poured out upon the followers of Jesus. It was the text of Peter’s sermon that day. Listen now, as I read—
[Read Joel 2:28-32, NIV]

It was a marvelous time to which the Word of the Lord pointed through the prophet Joel in these words! The words were a message of hope for those who first heard it. God was speaking words of reassurance into the lives of some very frightened people in Jerusalem. Joel and his original audience probably heard the words as a message to Israel alone, but, as we look back upon the passage and how things unfolded, we can clearly see that the Lord’s message went far beyond those who first heard it.

From a New Testament perspective, Joel’s words pointed to the pouring out of the Holy Spirit upon the Early Church which we read about in Acts 2. And from a current perspective, we can reasonably say that we are still living today in the Era of the Holy Spirit. The promise is that the Holy Spirit would be poured out upon all people, that our sons and daughters will “prophesy,” that our old men will dream dreams and our young men will see visions. And while “the great and dreadful day of the Lord”—the day of judgment—is to be feared, the promise is clear: that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. There will be deliverance for all who turn to the Lord in submission—and those who are saved need have no fear of the Day of the Lord.

Let me clarify something. We miss the meaning of “prophesy” if we think of it primarily as a foretelling of the future. The prophets of old were as much involved in “forth-telling” the truths of God’s ways—telling it as it is, so to speak, and declaring the character of the Lord. They proclaimed His righteousness and justice, His grace and mercy, His love and compassion, and His special word to them in their situation—whether it be encouragement, comfort, challenge or judgment.

And the indication that people will prophesy, dream dreams and see visions is not an indication of unrelated phenomena as much as they all relate to the outflow of a very real and vitally close relationship with the Lord. It’s in the context of such a close relationship with the Lord that He communicates His Word and His understanding to individuals who then communicate it to others. On the human level, we might look at prophecy as an ability to speak to others out of a deep personal knowledge of God as well as a God-gifted insight into the lives of people.

And the goal has always been and will always be “changed lives”—lives that have been delivered and redeemed! And when we speak of signs and wonders, I wonder if there can be anything as remarkable and as wonderful as a life that has been redeemed?!—the one who has fallen put back on his/her feet; the addict set free; the wounded healed; and, most notable, the sinner forgiven and made new in Christ!

When you go back to the Hebrew word for “spirit,” we find that it means “wind” or “breath.” In a sense, God’s Spirit gives life to all people—He “breathes life” into us. The promise then from Joel is that God will breath new life into all who call upon the Lord for salvation—and that’s essentially the Good News of the Gospel of Jesus Christ!

I’ve said that I want us to glance back a bit this morning. Why? Why look back? Because when we glance back we see how the Lord has worked in marvelous ways in the past—both in our individual lives and even in His Church! Why glance back? Aren’t we just supposed to focus on the present? And isn’t the past out-of-date and irrelevant anyway?

One of the reasons we glance back to the past is because it’s clearly a biblical principle. Glancing back in time is woven into the fabric of the Old Testament and the New Testament. In the Old Testament, we have the special holidays—their annual feasts—which were to serve as reminders to them of God’s faithfulness in the past and the assurance of His power and grace to work in their lives in the present and in the future. It gave them hope and assurance. It’s in the New Testament that we have Jesus initiating for us the Lord’s Supper, by which we are to look back and be reminded of the price He paid for our salvation and the depths of His love and grace for us.

You see, we don’t live in a historical vacuum. It’s probably naïve, not to mention foolish, for us to ever think that we can ignore the past and just focus on the future. Sure, when God has forgiven our past or even when God has forgiven others who may have brought hurt into our lives, we aren’t to focus on the past—but it’s still true that glancing back can help us appreciate the powerful way God redeems lives and it can remind us of how much God loves each one of us.

Our personal stories of faith become important to us and to others. That’s what so many of us have enjoyed about our Sunday evening Prayer and Praise times—as we’ve heard how the Lord has worked powerfully in the lives of fellow Christians. It’s inspiring! It’s one of God’s blessings for us all—and it serves a tremendous purpose in our lives!

Every congregation—every church—has its story to tell, too. These stories are rich in the mercies and faithfulness of God—and they’re meant to be told in order to strengthen and encourage us in plowing forward into our future! It’s part of the unique fabric that makes us who we are—and it most certainly impacts how the Lord uses us now and in the future.

I’ve related stepping into the pastorate of an established church to marrying into a family that is rich in its own history and stories—and when you step into it, you’re absolutely clueless of that past. When I married into Cindy’s family, my curiosity prompted lots of questions about their family’s past. I knew that Cindy had had a brother who died at the age of 8 when she was just a baby, having spent his entire life in an almost vegetative state due to a cerebral hemorrhage as an infant. She learned more about her brother Gary in our first few years of marriage than she’d ever learned simply because I started asking questions—knowing that this heartache had surely impacted Cindy’s family in tremendous ways and thus impacted in secondary ways the life of the one whom I had married!

Coming to Valley Shepherd 2 ½ years ago, I’ve asked a fair amount of questions here and there about the past—because I want to know how the Lord has worked in this church in past and how He has shaped the faith of this particular body of believers! Knowing that we were going to rededicate the bell this morning, I asked more questions even this week to find out more about us. And what I’ve come to believe is that the old bell that we’re about to rededicate is a tremendous symbol of our mission as a church and of our role in this community!

Let me show you something. [Show old picture of Meridian.] Lila Hill, our local historian, who probably knows more about the history of Meridian than everyone else put together, told me that this is the oldest known picture of our town. There are just a few buildings in it—that’s it! If I’m recalling right, the picture was taken about 1897. Boy! Has this town come a long way since then! And do you see the church on the left side of the picture? [Go to slide of picture with arrow added.] That’s the first church built in Meridian—and what I want you to catch is that the old bell we’re rededicating this morning was hanging in that church belfry! Isn’t that cool?

That church was the Methodist Episcopal Church South, and when they merged with the northern Methodists in 1916, putting behind them the factions from the Civil War, the group of people who had recently started the Church of the Nazarene here in town bought that church building—along with that bell—from the Methodists and it became the Church of the Nazarene. Here’s what it looked like in 1916 when we bought it from the Methodists. [Show picture of old church.] By the way, we paid just $1200 for that building and property back then!—and they had paid just $16 for the lots they had bought in 1894 on which they built it! That building was torn down around 1954 and a new brick building put in its place—the older brick part of our former church facility that’s on the corner of Pine and Main Streets today. And the bell was reset in the belfry and was there until we came to this property.

The bell we’re rededicating this morning represents our connection with the very heart of this community! The founders of this community first put that bell into place—and it can be for us a rich symbol of commitment to our community. And, recognizing that it first hung in a Methodist Church, it represents the richness of our Wesleyan theological heritage—that so much of our theology as a church is founded on the teachings and practices of John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist Church.

This bell represents the many years that our congregation has been proclaiming the Gospel in Meridian! The bell was there from the beginning! It’s certainly one of our last links to our beginnings as a community! But think of the people whose lives have been transformed by the grace of Jesus Christ across the years—through the ministry of this congregation. We heard one of those stories from years past at Bernice Johnson’s funeral recently—as the minister who preached her funeral told how through Bernice’s persistent influence, his children, and then his wife, and then he came to know Christ through this church—and the Lord sent him out many years ago as a pastor (now in Colorado).

Let’s do something fun here for a moment. I want you to think through when you became part of Valley Shepherd Church and stand up when I speak of the years you became part of this congregation—and remain standing until I have you all sit down. We started in 1916. Do we have anyone who was part of the church prior to 1920? Who of you came into the church before 1945? Before 1970? By 1990? Let’s add now those who came to this church between 1990 and our move to this facility? Now those who have come in the last 2 ½ years since we started worshiping here? And what I want you to see are the lives that have been impacted by the Gospel across these years! God has been faithful in changing lives! He’s been faithful in helping children embrace faith in Christ! He’s been faithful in helping teenagers make their way through critical years! He’s been faithful in helping homes become places of grace and faith! Thank the Lord! You may be seated!

But now our task is to move forward, isn’t it? And the encouragement and strengthened faith we receive from glancing back helps us to do that! And we must plow forward—and we desperately need the power of the Holy Spirit in order to be effective in the mission He has entrusted to us!

Let me remind you of our simple mission statement:
PASSION FOR GOD
COMPASSION FOR PEOPLE
We are to give ourselves wholehearted to the Lord—to love Him and serve Him with wholehearted abandon! And out of that love, we are to give ourselves in service to others—seeing their needs and caring for them, striving in all we do to point them to the ultimate source of help in their lives—Jesus Christ.

And it takes us all! That’s part of the power in the word of the Lord through the prophet Joel. He declared,
I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
Your old men will dream dreams,
Your young men will see visions.
Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days…
And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. (Joel 2:28-29, 32)
The work of the Gospel is for us all—men and women, young and old—all regardless of our status in life. The Holy Spirit is poured out upon us all that we might all be part of God’s redemptive work in our world! The Lord wants us all to see ourselves smack dab in the middle of His planned future for His Church!—and He promises to equip us with His Holy Spirit for the otherwise overwhelming challenge!

And while we recognized those this morning who have sensed God’s call into ministry as a primary vocation, we need to acknowledge that anyone who is a follower of Christ has been called into ministry! The Bible doesn’t make a huge distinction between clergy and laypersons—and some of you may not even know what the terms mean. (Which might not be so bad!)

Every follower of Jesus Christ is called to be part of His redemptive work in this world—to represent Christ in our corner of the world, to bring hope to hopeless people, to share with others the reality that God’s ways are better than our ways, to proclaim the love of God for each person and to help them realize the grace and mercy of the Lord for them. Those who proclaim the Gospel best don’t have canned speeches to recite to others—rather, they know how to love people. They’ve learned how to listen, to care, and to empathize. And as we journey with the Lord, the Holy Spirit gives us insight about what to say, the right timing for when to say it, and boldness to be honest, personal and clear in helping people respond. All the while, we’ve got to be willing to “get our hands dirty” in responding to human needs around us—being willing to take a stand, to speak out boldly and fearlessly, and get involved—sharing our time, our money, and our energies to make a difference in people’s lives.

Glancing back, that’s what prompted people of this congregation to get involved in ministries like Upwards and the Meridian Foodbank—as well as our garden ministry and our backpack ministry which work hand-in-hand with the foodbank. That’s why we encourage our people to work with Love, INC here in Treasure Valley, and with Hands of Hope. It’s why we encourage mission trips. And it’s why we’re looking ahead to starting a ministry called Celebrate Recovery—a tremendous tool to help people find in Christ the help and strength to overcome all kinds of hurts and addictions. And it’s how we make a difference in the lives of people!

Just this week I had a couple of conversations which reminded me of what the church is really all about and how we can make a difference in people’s lives. One came from a guy on our church softball team—and how the Lord had put before him an unexpected opportunity to impact one a family member who has seemed to be so far from Christ. Another came from one of our dear ladies who asked me to pray for a young neighbor of theirs going through great hardships. She shared how she and her husband have been praying for this young man’s salvation and the salvation of his live-in girlfriend—and just trying to reach out to them in love every way they could. And it was clear to me that they saw that the Lord had put this young couple next door to them for a purpose! That’s how we make a difference in the lives of people!

I’ll never forget the story of a pastor friend of mine who was about to begin a new pastorate. They had a wayward son who had created great heartache for them. The son had determined that even though he had moved out on his own, that he wanted to move with his parents. The pastor hesitantly and with embarrassment explained the situation to his new church board, and that church board responded, “Pastor, you let your son come, and you let us love him into the Kingdom.” And that’s exactly what happened too!

It’s how we make a difference in people’s lives! And it’s what we’ve all been called to do. It’s what the mission of Christ’s Church has always been—to love others into Christ’s Kingdom. The old bell we’re about to rededicate is a great reminder of God’s faithfulness across many years to reach out redemptively in this community to draw people to Himself. It’s still what He wants to accomplish! And you and I can be part of that great mission—and God wants to pour out His Holy Spirit today upon men and women, upon young and old, in order that we might together be effective in helping others understand their great need for what the Lord alone can do for them. Just as the Lord has delivered us from our sins, He wants to deliver others—“and everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved”!