Poem: I Should Like To Write

Poem: I Should Like To Write

By Dave “Doc” Rogers

© 20090322

 

I should like to write

 

‘Tis a proper English thing to say

 

I should like to write

A whimsical fancy, a childish foray

 

I awake from dreams of stories grand

Of adventures and quests, might of hand

Of perils and dangers, a hero’s stand

Pushing off bed my feet to floor land

 

I stumble to shower; heat, soap, wake

Dreams on hold, this the road I take

The office, the people, my heart ache

Reality hit, no time to make

 

The creative, delayed one more time

Swirling within, thought in mystic rhyme

Stories worth telling; to not, a crime

Dearest held at bay; pain felt, sublime

 

Money to be had, work is required

Labor in exchange, skill to be hired

Time given in compulsion now mired

Boards, the meets, the endless task list sired

 

To sit and retell stories well done

From rising to falling, the day’s sun

The pen and paper, my companion

Alone with my thoughts, working day one

 

I should like to write

 

‘Tis a proper English thing to say

 

I should like to write

A whimsical fancy, a life’s foray

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Through To The End, Part II

Through To The End

Part II

 

Part I – Review

I.                    Vision, Plan, Action, Follow Through:

– Genesis 11:24-32 KJV

a.       Terah spoke forth the vision to go to Canaan

b.       Terah planned on going to Canaan and left Ur of the Chaldees

c.        Terah stopped his action in the middle of his journey and stayed in Haran

d.       Terah did not complete his journey into Canaan but stayed in Haran and died

 

II.                  Vision, Plan, Action, Follow Through:

– Genesis 12:1-8 KJV

a.       Abram received the vision while in Haran

b.       Abram made his plans and collected all he had

c.        Abram departed to fulfill the vision

d.       Abram followed all the way through to Beth-El where the Lord God appeared to Abram.

 

Part II

 

I.                    God has a plan and a purpose for your life.

 

For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope. – Jeremiah 29.11 NRSV

 

II.                  God wants to share His plan for you.

 

‘Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.’ – Jeremiah 33.3 NKJV

 

‘Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord…’ – Isaiah 1.18 KJV

 

In Part I, you were given an exercise to write out your vision, plan, actions, and checks.

Did you?

 

III.               Terah planned to go to Canaan but stopped in Haran. What is stopping you?

 

In Part I, you were given an exercise to write out your situation as it relates to your vision, your obstacles, and your action steps to get you back on track. Did you?

 

IV.                VISION, Plan, Action, Follow Through

 

Where there is no vision, the people perish… King James Version

Where there is no vision, the people cast of restraint… American Standard Version

Where there is no vision, the people are unrestrained… American Baptist Publication Society

Where there is no vision, the people run wild… Berkeley Version

– Proverbs 29.18

 

Without FAITH it is impossible to please God. For he who comes to God must believe [know in his heart] that God is a rewarder of those that diligently seek God.

– Hebrews 11.6

 

People will go around like a wild animal doing whatever seems good or right to them at that moment, directionless.

Give people clear vision, clear direction, and they will achieve the impossible.

V.                  Vision, PLAN, Action, Follow Through: By FAITH …

Executing Vision … believe it, plan it, do it

 

By FAITH Abram [who became Abraham] when he was called out to go into a land he knew not he left. – Hebrews 11.8

 

Now FAITH is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. … Through FAITH we understand that the worlds were framed by the Word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear. – Hebrews 11.1,3

 

Key words:

 

Faith – From the Middle-English feith, Old French feid, Latin fides meaning faith, belief, trust from the Latin fidere to trust or confide in; from NT Greek pistis meaning persuasion, credence, assurance, belief, faith, fidelity.

 

Substance – From the Latin substantia meaning to ‘under’ stand or to make firm for standing; from the root of substare meaning to  be, be present, to exist.; in NT use in Hebrews 11.1, hupostasis, from Greek, meaning confidence, assurance.

 

Hope – From Anglo-Saxon hopa meaning hope or expectation; from Anglo-Saxon hopian to hope, to have expectation; from NT Greek, elpis meaning favorable and confident expectation.

 

Evidence – From Latin evidentia meaning clearness from evidens meaning clear; having the Latin roots of e from and videre to see; from NT Greek elegehos meaning proof/reproof, conviction.

 

Understand – From Middle English understanden, from Anglo-Saxon understandan meaning to stand under; from NT Greek noieo to exercise the mind, observe, to comprehend, heed, consider, perceive, think, understand.

 

So we can say …

Right at this moment in time our hope, confidence, belief, trust is the firm reality upon which we can stand things which we put our favorable and confident expectation. It is the proof, reproof, and conviction of things not seen just as if they were seen. It is through our hope, confidence, belief, and trust that we make a firm foundation upon which to build in reason the exercise of our mind to comprehend, heed, consider, perceive, and think that the worlds were framed by the Word [rhema or spoken word or command] of God…

–  Hebrews 11.1,3 [Rogers’ Expositors’ Translation]

 

‘The Lord answered me: Write the Vision. Make it plain. It is for an appointed time. It will speak and it will not lie. Though it tarries, wait for it. Surely it will come to pass. It will not wait. The just shall live by FAITH.’ – Habakkuk 2.2-4 [abbrev by me for emphasis]

 

If you believe God gave you the vision, write it out.

 

If you believe God gave you the vision, write it out, make it plain.

 

If you believe God gave you the vision, write it out, make it plain, get partners so they can run with it.

 

If you believe God gave you the vision and you have written it out and you have made it plain and you have been getting partners then … keep going. Though it seems like you are only waiting on it to happen, wait for it. It will surely come to pass. Trust God. Live by your Faith.

 

VI.                Vision, Plan, ACTION, Follow Through: Hear and Do

 

‘But be you doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, his is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass. For he beholds himself, and goes his way, and straightway forgets what manner of man he was. – James 1.22-24

 

You have a plan for action, now act!

 

But, I don’t know if it will work or if it is right or God’s will for my life?

 

Nike = Just do it!

 

Nike: Greek for victory.

 

The runner from Marathon to Athens said one word, “Nike.”

 

VII.             Vision, Plan, Action, FOLLOW THROUGH: Faith and Works

 

‘… Faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. But, someone will say, ‘You have faith and I have works.’ Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. … Faith without works is dead.’ – James 2.17-20

 

“Action speaks louder than words.”

 

“Put up or shut up.”

 

“Do or do not. There is no try.”

 

But what if I fail?

So. You found out what didn’t work. Take another swing.

– Thomas A. Edison was asked when he reached the 5,000^th element for his light bulb if he would give up. He said he discovered 5,000 things that didn’t work.

 

“We choose to go to the moon. We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is the one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win, and the others, too.” – President John Kennedy at Rice University, 1962

– July 21, 1969 02:56 UTC [Zulu], Commander Neil Armstrong stepped onto the surface of the moon. Less than 7 years after the speech made by the President in Houston Texas.

 

Vision, Plan, Action, FOLLOW THROUGH: Faith with works

 

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Essays: Washington, D.C. Is Not The Enemy

Washington, D.C. Is Not The Enemy

by Dave “Doc” Rogers

© 20090315

It is typical of political parties and pundits to vilify the opposition. The heroes of the modern age are those that can deride, denigrate, and defame with skillful impunity. Or, so they think. Those same barb-tipped arrows of accusation and caustic prose are volleyed back coated in virulence in support of their own heroes. This vilification in times past reached levels so significant that horrors too vile to recount here were made upon individuals who rightly, or wrongly, deserved some form of judgment.

 

How sad.

 

This saddens me as a human and as a citizen of the USA. For whatever the current intents of their hearts, all initially made statements to be of the people, for the people, and placed in office by the people. What manner of people have we become that we are so accepting of a person until they seek political office and happen to be one of those opposition party members?  We talk nicely of one to another while face to face. We cast words as daggers once a way from ear shot or visual range. Do we now take sport on those in whom we have elected to high office? Should we follow the lines then for the great Circus waiting for our doled out bread and blood sport upon the sands below? Have we become so base as to accept that as pleasure?

 

Washington, D.C. is not our enemy.

 

Nor are the elected bodies within state capitals or county seats or mayoral councils.

 

I have voted Republican since turning 18 years of age. Not because a radio or television personality of controversy told me I should. I voted Republican in the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s because the other options were not acceptable to me. Does that make me a Republican and one of “them” or “Yeah! He’s on our side!” guy? No, not really. In my study of history, I would have voted FDR, Truman, JFK, and Johnson. They were the right men at the right time in history pushing the right agenda that benefitted the USA and, most importantly, its citizens. Incidentally, I would have voted for Nixon and Ford if I could have. Nothing against Mr. Carter but I think Mr. Ford was the better choice in 1976. I was 15. No one was listening to me then. The impactful thing to consider here is not the political party but the job description. If in doubt, return to the original documents for clarification. [Example: http://www.usconstitution.net/const.pdf]

 

In my observation of the political process from the volatile 1960s through the decades since, I have never grasped the near maniacal zealous fervor that some had for their candidate or political party. It seems that every two years, we in the USA forget that we have to live with these people in other times and rail vehemently upon one to another. And those who parasitically make their living off of their political hosts continue to buffet their meal ticket opposition while sycophantically aggrandizing their favored hosts in hopes to curry position or the grail of a GS20+ post.

 

I once thought, in my naiveté of studying Western Civ, that the USA could stand an Oliver Cromwell of our own. I have since studied Mr. Cromwell more diligently. History is well to have just one. The costs in association with the benefits are no longer acceptable or tenable. No, rather than a Cromwell, let us have a Washington or a Lincoln. Let us have another Wilson, Roosevelt, or Reagan. Rose or emerald colored glasses you say? No, not really. What these men and others did was to bring disparate peoples together in commonality of purpose unlike their predecessors were able to do. They provided a refocus of energies toward common purpose and unity. We the People of these United States could stand someone of their caliber. Not to be unkind to Mr. Obama, I am certain that he started with the greatest of intentions to be inclusive, to drive toward a common purpose, to strive for unity within the US of A. Passing bills and signing them into law with a majority House and Senate is creating euphoria of purpose but not success. Success should not be defined in pet projects getting approved, but in coalitions who work together for common cause, for common purpose, for common gain.

 

The lesson learned from Mr. Cromwell is this. The man with the military controls the government and having the will and the heart intent can redirect at want the direction of a people. Several in history learned this lesson too well. Mr. Cromwell, to his credit, did impact the Parliamentary thinking of the UK which led to its current variations which far exceed in general favor the Parliaments of Cromwell’s times.

 

Washington, D.C. is not our enemy. No these freely elected or appointed by the freely elected are our fellow statesmen, our neighbors, and our representatives to our national platform. We should do all we can to free them of the parasites that slowly suck their resolve away. We should do all we can to remind them of Mr. Lincoln’s words so solemnly spoken over the fields near Gettysburg that they are part of a government of the people, by the people, and for the people; lest by our omission this form of government should be removed from the face of the Earth*.

 

[*Source: http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/gadd/gatr1.html]

 

Washington, D.C. is not our enemy. Those men and women that gave up their other pursuits to trade their time in support of ours and our freedoms should be held daily before our Creator to remind us that we should pray they have clarity of mind, strength of character, tenacity of will, sober of thought, zeal in duty to their nation and their constituents.

 

The work in governing such a populous and prosperous nation is not without its difficulties. It is difficult from the standpoint that great energies must be expended daily to establish uniform justice, insure domestic tranquility and peace, provide for our common defense, promote our general welfare, and secure – if at all possible – the blessings of liberty for ourselves and those that come after us. Any other activity by our national government is off task and off mission.

 

Washington, D.C. is not our enemy but those who are currently there could be off task, off mission. It is our duty, our responsibility to them to remind them to be on task, to take responsibility and to hold those who represent us accountable for that charge and oath that has been placed in their care.

 

Those powers specifically assigned to the States belong to the States and should not, if our Constitution is held sacred, be otherwise removed.

 

Those powers or responsibilities not specifically stated to either National or Statutory governments should not be self appropriated by either level of government. Those powers or responsibilities that are specifically in the hands of the people to do must be done by the people; not the many and severally governments. It would do well for governments to follow the example attributed to David Stern “Davy” Crockett, US Representative from Tennessee. Rather than support a bill that would use tax dollars to pay a war widow, he offered and challenged his counterparts to give of their salaries for 1 week.

 

It is not the position of the government to be the supporter of the people. It is the position of the people to be a supporter of the government. It is as Mr. Lincoln noted famously a government of, by, and for the people. To do other would be to remove the freedoms so many gave of their highest efforts and prices to insure.

 

The greed of power, the lust of something without personal cost, the inebriation of victory not sated, the flattering batting of eyes and lips tells lies or deceits to puff one up. These are all the curses within and without Washington, D.C. My dear brothers and sisters in cause, in country, and in creation are ensnared in a devious trap of intrigue promulgated by the best writers of suspense and mystery. Gamemasters who try to remain nameless play parlor conversations as maestro musicians their instruments. Supposed players become the played. Few ever discover the truth of the game. Or the domino gets pushed and another generation begins to play the game.

 

I lament for my country as the goodly resources of man, material, and industry are squandered at the insatiable lusts of immediacy. The exceeding wealth of the few increases at the detriment of the many. No “-ism” would resolve this plight. No lack of a deity or the false piety of the self-serving will provide succor. Alas, the great works of the past come to an end. I can see it on the horizon. It comes quickly like a harbinger of dearth.

 

Mr. Obama’s marketeers spun well his campaign of “Hope.” It was as if there had not been any in years. Short memoried marketeers only pursuing a check from those pursuing a dream fed by those pursuing control. The main ‘hope’ spun was the Demos would be back in office. The reality is a loss of hope has begun to prevail. Lemmings running with glee after a pied piper who does not see the precipice ahead. Inebriation in strings of victories fawning fans have hypnotized the pied piper along with his lemmings in train. Does anyone see the event horizon?

 

The one thing Mr. Cromwell sought and did not find in his life time was accountability by those governing. Mr. Hamilton pursued it at personal cost. Mr. Washington pursued it with a life time of service to his king, colony, and new country. Other voices cried out for it in their times and seasons. It seems in each generation a great example, a voice, is needed who cries out for ‘Common Sense’ as with Mr. Paine in his day.

 

Washington, D.C. is not our enemy. The occupant and proponent for this party or that party is not our enemy. They are our representatives. We put them where they are. Should we not also require … yes, require them to account to us their actions on our behalf? I will answer the rhetorical for us … yes.

 

Call, write, email, speak to, voice, petition, demand your representatives in your representative government to be respondent to your demands and your notice. They are to be held accountable to you for how they caretake your government.

 

They are not ‘gods,’ nor aristocrats, nor oligarchs, nor autarchs, nor untouchables because of a political role they play in a city far or not so far from you.

 

They are your government representatives. Require their accountability.

 

When was the last time you heard from your rep, senator, mayor, councilman, alderman, county commissioner, governor, or president on the state of your state? If they don’t communicate, fire them and put a new one in office that will.

 

Washington, D.C. is not our enemy. We are if we do not govern those that govern us.

 

DJR.

© 20090315

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Through To The End

Through To The End

 

 

“And Nahor lived nine and twenty years, and begat Terah: And Nahor lived after he begat Terah an hundred and nineteen years, and begat sons and daughters. And Terah lived seventy years, and begat Abram, Nahor, and Haran. Now these are the generations of Terah: Terah begat Abram, Nahor, and Haran; and Haran begat Lot. And Haran died before his father Terah in the land of his nativity, in Ur of the Chaldees. And Abram and Nahor took them wives: the name of Abram’s wife was Sarai; and the name of Nahor’s wife, Milcah, the daughter of Haran, the father of Milcah,  and the father of Iscah. But Sarai was barren; she had no child. And Terah took Abram his son, and Lot the son of Haran his son’s son, and Sarai his daughter in law, his son Abram’s  wife;  and they went forth  with them from Ur  of the Chaldees,  to go  into the land  of Canaan;  and they came  unto Haran,  and dwelt  there. And the days of Terah were two hundred and five years: and Terah died in Haran.”

                “Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee: And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.

“So Abram departed, as the LORD had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him: and Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran. And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother’s son, and all their substance that they had gathered, and the souls that they had gotten in Haran; and they went forth to go into the land of Canaan; and into the land of Canaan they came. And Abram passed through the land unto the place of Sichem, unto the plain of Moreh. And the Canaanite was then in the land. And the LORD appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land: and there builded he an altar unto the LORD, who appeared unto him. And he removed from thence unto a mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, having Bethel on the west, and Hai on the east: and there he builded an altar unto the LORD, and called upon the name of the LORD.”

– Genesis 11:24 through 12:8 KJV

 

I.                    Vision, Plan, Action, Follow Through:

a.       Terah spoke forth the vision to go to Canaan

b.       Terah planned on going to Canaan and left Ur of the Chaldees

c.        Terah stopped his action in the middle of his journey and stayed in Haran

d.       Terah did not complete his journey into Canaan but stayed in Haran and died

 

II.                  Vision, Plan, Action, Follow Through:

a.       Abram received the vision while in Haran

b.       Abram collected all he had and his nephew

c.        Abram departed to fulfill the vision

d.       Abram followed all the way through to Beth-El

 

1. Have you been given a vision, an idea, a goal, a concept of what you would like to do or can do?

 

1. Have you acted without vision or a plan? What were the results?

 

1. Have you acted on a vision with a plan but failed to go all the way there? What stopped you?

 

1. Have you completed a journey, a visualized goal or plan?

What were the results of you going all of the way through to the end?

How did that make you feel?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I.                    God has a plan and a purpose for each of us.

 

For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope. – Jeremiah 29.11 NRSV

 

‘Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.’ – Jeremiah 33.3 NKJV

 

Q: What plan or purpose has God communicated to you?

Q: What is the vision and purpose God has spoken into your life?

 

Exercise:

–          Write out your vision, that thing you want to accomplish.

–          Write out your plan to achieve that

–          Write out your action steps to achieve your plan

–          Write out what checks and milestones you will need to keep you on track

 

II.                  Knowing that obstacles come and things may distract you from your vision, what steps can you take to keep you from staying in your personal ‘Haran’?

Q: Are you currently in your own ‘Haran’?

Q: What can you do to get out of there?

 

Exercise:

–          Write out your current situation as it relates to your vision.

–          Write out your current obstacles to achieving your vision.

–          Write out your action steps necessary to get you on track with your vision.

 

III.               Vision, Plan, Action, Follow Through:

Q: Do you have a vision or a plan or a theme or a thing you want out of life?

Q: What would it take for you to get there? What would you have to do?

Q: What is stopping you from acting on that today?

Q: What is stopping you from being able to follow all of the way through to the end?

 

Exercise:

–          Write out your vision, make it plain.

–          Write out the details. Count the cost, detail the needed resources, list the people who can help, and what steps need to be accomplished?

–          Of those things in your plan, what can be acted on today? Tomorrow? Next week? Next month? Next year?

–          What decision points, milestones, checks, reminders, or mechanisms do you need to help you follow all of the way through to the end?

© 2009 Dr. David J. Rogers for Creekside Connect – a community outreach of TrueNORTH Church Frisco TX

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SEED FAITH

SEED FAITH

 

Mark 4.26-32

²⁶And he said, So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed into the ground; ²⁷And should sleep, and rise night and day, and the seed should spring and grow up, he knows not how. ²⁸For the earth brings forth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear. ²⁹But when the fruit is brought forth, immediately he puts in the sickle, because the harvest is come.  ³⁰And he said, Whereunto shall we liken the kingdom of God? or with what comparison shall we compare it? ³¹It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when it is sown in the earth, is less than all the seeds that are in the earth: ³²But when it is sown, it grows up, and becomes greater than all herbs, and shoots out great branches; so that the fowls of the air may lodge under the shadow of it.

 

I.                   Farmers understand the miracle of seed. Jesus understood it too.

 

II.                Scientists have yet to figure out the trigger that causes a seed to turn on and grow

 

III.             Have you ever grown anything

 

IV.             The Kingdom of God is like a mustard seed

 

V.                It does not make sense to take your expensive assets, plant them in dirt, and wait to chance that something will come of it … yet that is farming

 

VI.             Matthew 6.11, Luke 11.3 … Give us this day our daily bread

 

VII.          II Corinthians 9.10

Now he that ministers seed to the sower both minister bread for your food, and multiply your seed sown, and increase the fruits of your righteousness.

 

VIII.       II Corinthians 9.11

Being enriched in every thing to all bountifulness, which causes through us thanksgiving to God.

 

IX.             Luke 6.38 – Key on two parts of this verse.

Give, and it shall be given unto you; … For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.

 

Trust God. For the same measure that you trust Him in all things and with all things it will be measured back to you.

 

Let us pray.

© 2009 Dr. David J. Rogers

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TOAST Your Money … Partnering with God

TOAST

Tithe

Offering

Alms

Special Giving

Taxes (Giving to Caesar what is Caesar’s)

Partnership

 

 

I – T.O.A.S.T.

 

            T.O.A.S.T. is the tithe, the offering, the alm, the special giving, and taxes. TOAST is giving out of what GOD has entrusted to you. TOAST is His partnership with you.

            Throughout the Bible we are shown giving. From Cain and Abel’s first offerings in Genesis to the giving according to works in the Revelation of John. The first giving shown in the Bible is not normally considered giving.

 

“And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed.” – Genesis 2.8 KJV

 

“And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.” – Genesis 2.15 KJV

 

            The Lord God created a place that was pleasurable to Him, Eden. In the midst of the place that was pleasurable to God, He made a garden. In the garden, he placed Man, to watch over it and tend it. God gave the garden in the place that was pleasurable to Him to Man. God let Man partner with Him and shared the garden in Eden. This was the first of many partnerships that God desired.

 

            In the parable of the Talents, Jesus showed the Kingdom of God was a trusted partnership.

 

“For the kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods. And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey.” – Matthew 25.14~15 KJV

 

            In this trusted partnership, there was the expectation of having to give an account.

 

“After a long time the lord of those servants cometh, and reckoneth with them.”

– Matthew 25.19 KJV

 

            In the kingdom, God seeks partnership. God tested the hearts of Man with whether they would partner with Him. His next partner was Noah, then Abram/Abraham.

Abram heard God and obeyed.

 

“Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee: And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed. So Abram departed, as the LORD had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him:…” – Genesis 12.1~4a

 

II – Tithe

 

Abram did as the Lord God commanded. While wandering through Canaan, his nephew became a prison-of-war, a spoil-of-war. Abram went after his nephew. When he returned, Abram took a tenth of all and gave it to God as a gift through the priest of God.

 

“And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God. And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth: And blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all.”

– Genesis 14.18~20 KJV

 

The word tithe comes from the Anglo-Saxon word teóthe, meaning the tenth part. The word in the Bible is the Hebrew word ma’asrâh, meaning tenth. It referred to a tenth of your increase. Genesis 14 is the first note in the Bible of one tenth of the increase being given to GOD via his priest. 

 

In Genesis 28, Jacob makes a vow unto GOD.

 

“…If GOD will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on, so that I come again to my father’s house in peace, then shall the LORD be my God; …and of all that thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto thee.” – Genesis 28.20~22 KJV

 

And, GOD blessed Jacob. He followed a pattern set by his grandfather, Abraham. Jacob partnered with God.

 

“And all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land, or of the fruit of the tree, is the LORD‘s; it is holy unto the LORD. And if a man will at all redeem ought of his tithes, he shall add thereto the fifth part thereof. And concerning the tithe of the herd or the flock, even of whatsoever passeth under the rod, the tenth shall be holy unto the LORD.” -Leviticus 27:30-32 KJV

 

“Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.”

-Malachi 3:10 KJV

 

Hebrews 7:1-19 covers the tithe now being received by a more permanent high priest, Jesus Christ. The tithe is still received and used.

 

“For this Melchisedek, king of Salem, priest of the most high GOD, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings, and blessed him; to whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all; first being by interpretation King of righteousness, and after that also King of Salem, which is, King of peace; without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days, no end of life; but made like unto the Son of God; abideth a priest continually. Now consider how great this man was, unto whom even the patriarch Abraham gave the tenth of the spoils. And verily they that are of the sons of Levi, who receive the office of the priesthood, have a commandment to take tithes of the people according to the law, that is, of their brethren, though they come out of the loins of Abraham; but he whose descent is not counted from them received tithes of Abraham, and blessed him that had the promises. And without all contradiction the less is blessed of the better. And here men that die receive tithes; but there he receiveth them, of whom it is witnessed that he liveth. And as I may so say, Levi also, who receiveth tithes, payed tithes in Abraham. For he was yet in the loins of his father, when Melchisedek met him. If therefore perfection were by the Levitical priesthood, (for under it the people received the law, ) what further need was there that another priest should rise after the order of Melchisedek and not be called after the order of Aaron? For the priesthood being changed, there is made of necessity a change also of the law. For he of whom these things are spoken pertaineth to another tribe, of which no man gave attendance at the altar. for it is evident that our Lord sprang out of Juda; of which tribe Moses spake nothing concerning priesthood. And it is yet far more evident: for that after the similitude of Melchisedek there ariseth another priest, who is made, not after the law of the carnal commandment, but after the power of an endless life. For he testifieth, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedek. For there is verily a disannulling of the commandment going before the weakness and unprofitableness thereof. For the law made nothing perfect, but the bringing in of a better hope did; by the which we draw nigh unto God. – Hebrews 7:1-19 KJV

 

The tithe is for His storehouse. The word store means to collect against a future use. The storehouse would be the place where those things collected would be stored. The storehouse would be for local use. The local church is now that storehouse. The local church is there to support the community. The local church is the storehouse in your community. The tithe is brought to the local storehouse, the local church, to feed and support the local community. It is there to give GOD goods, services, and currency to meet the needs in the local community. Therefore, your tithe should be paid to the local church wherein you attend. Bring your tithe, the whole tithe, to your local church that GOD might use it to feed the needs in your community and beyond.

 

III – Offering

 

            The offering was / is a gift to God out of what you have. An offering is separate from the tithe. An offering is something, whether goods, services, or currency, that you have set aside or dedicated to give to someone else as unto God. You are not looking to receive anything in return from the recipient. It is a free-will gift to them. In older days, when an offering was made it cost the giver something. The offering or gift was considered to be completely given over to GOD. Usually, the offering was delivered as a sacrifice on an alter and consumed by fire. When you give, decide in your own heart what you will give and release it to GOD and to the purpose you are giving it.

 

“Let each one do just as he has purposed in his heart; not grudgingly or under compulsion; for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed; as it is written, He scattered abroad, He gave to the poor, His righteousness abides forever. Now He who supplies seed to the sower and bread food, will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness; you will be enriched in everything for all liberality, which through us is producing thanksgiving to God.” – 2 Corinthians 9:7-11 NASB

 

“Give to everyone who asks of you, and whoever takes away what is yours, do not demand it back. And just as you want people to treat you, treat them in the same way. And if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, in order to receive back the same amount. But love your enemies, and do good, lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He Himself is kind to the ungrateful and evil men. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. And do not judge and you will not be judged; and do not condemn, and you will not be condemned; pardon, and you will be pardoned. Give, and it will be given to you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, they will pour in to your lap. For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return.” – Luke 6:30-38 NASB

 

“Jesus speaking to the rich young ruler: One thing you lack: go and sell all you possess, and give to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” – Mark 10:21 NASB

 

“Jesus speaking to his disciples: Truly I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or farms, for My sake and for the gospel’s sake, but that he shall receive a hundredfold times as much now in the present age, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and farms, along with persecutions; and in the age to come, eternal life.” – Mark 10:29-30 NASB

 

If you decide to give all of your possessions to GOD that does not mean you have to become a hermit or homeless. You can become a steward of all that GOD puts in your hands to do and oversee. Simon Peter gave up everything to follow Jesus, but he still had his wife and he still had the tools of the fishing trade. So let each one of you do just as you have purposed in your heart and give as GOD shows you the needs to be met. In the first century Church, the Bible says they had all things in common. If they saw a need in the church, they met it. They gave it as an offering to GOD. 

 

IV – Alms

 

Alms are gifts to the poor. Those that are in need do not care about bigger issues in life. They are interested in getting through that day. Like the widow with her two mites of money, they are looking for real assistance from a real God. The people of God who are partners with God can easily be that answer.

 

“He who has pity on the poor lends to the LORD, and He will pay back what he has given.” – Proverbs 19:17 NKJV

 

“For the poor you have with you always.” – John 12:7 NKJV

 

“Now the multitude of those who believed were of one heart and one soul; neither did anyone say that any of the things he possessed was his own, but they had all things in common.” – Acts 4:32 NKJV 

 

“Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘LORD, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? When did we see you a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’”

– Matthew 25:37-40 NKJV

 

“Pure and undefiled religion before GOD and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.”

– James 1:20 NKJV

 

            Alms is your opportunity to show the love of God substantially through giving of things, substance, shelter, currency, or just plain human kindness. People who are in need want more than just stuff. They also want to know somebody really cares. You can show them that in the sharing of alms.

 

V – Special Giving

 

            Moses, David, and Solomon asked for special giving when they went to build the Tabernacle and the Temple. And, the people gave abundantly of their gold, silver, and other precious things. Paul asked of the Church in Corinth.

 

“Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given order to the churches of Galatia, even so do ye. ²Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come. ³And when I come, whomsoever ye shall approve by your letters, them will I send to bring your liberality unto Jerusalem.” -1 Corinthians 16.1~3 KJV

           

           

 

VI – Taxes

 

            Taxes are those things due to the government. There was even a government in Biblical times. These funds help to provide for the maintenance of the government and services that the government provides. Jesus even paid taxes and accepted that as due process for government.

 

“And Jesus answering said unto them, Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s. And they marvelled at him.”

– Matthew 12.17 KJV

 

“And when they were come to Capernaum, they that received tribute money came to Peter, and said, Doth not your master pay tribute? He saith, Yes. And when he was come into the house, Jesus prevented him, saying, What thinkest thou, Simon? of whom do the kings of the earth take custom or tribute? of their own children, or of strangers? Peter saith unto him, Of strangers. Jesus saith unto him, Then are the children free. Notwithstanding, lest we should offend them, go thou to the sea, and cast an hook, and take up the fish that first cometh up; and when thou hast opened his mouth, thou shalt find a piece of money: that take, and give unto them for me and thee.”

– Matthew 17.24~27 KJV

 

            The paying of taxes, or tribute as stated in the New Testament, allows for the functioning of government. And, since you are partners with God, it allows God to partner with you in the government. Paul, while in Rome, wrote that the Church and Christians should be submitted to the government and pay what is due to the government.

 

“Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God:  the powers that be are ordained of God. Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation. For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same: For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil. Wherefore ye must needs be subject, not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake. For for this cause pay ye tribute also: for they are God’s ministers, attending continually upon this very thing. Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour.” – Romans 13.1~7 KJV

 

VII – Partnership / T.O.A.S.T. Your Money

 

            God said we were made in His image and likeness. God said we are to rule and reign with Him, and that through Christ Jesus. Those not born descended from Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are adopted into His family and all those blessings through Christ Jesus. God sent His only begotten son, Jesus, that there might be peace between Him and His children. If God went to such extremes to repair the breech that was between Him and us, would it not also follow that the same covenants and relationship He had with Adam and has with Jesus is also ours? Yes, it is so. God partnered with Adam. God partnered with Noah. God partnered with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob/Israel. God partnered with Moses, His friend. God partnered with Joshua. God partnered with David. God partnered with Solomon. God kept showing us through history that He is willing to and wants to partner with us. Are we willing to partner with Him?

            The fruits of our increase are the evidence, the bi-product, of partnership and blessings. Those that partner with God have the tendency to all ways have something better happen to them. More people are blessed because Man partners with God in the things that God is doing. He has already said through Jesus, no less, that if we partner with Him and are faithful over a few things He will promote us knowing we will be faithful over many things.

            TOASTing your money, your time, your efforts, your talents, your fruits of your increase will allow God to partner with you in larger and larger ways. The first place to start that partnership is through the Lord Jesus Christ. Accept the cross. Ask Jesus to forgive your past; your sins, your everything. Lay aside everything that so easily besets you and press on toward the upward call of God in Christ. Then take whatever you have and begin to TOAST your money, your time, your talent, your everything. Partner with God and let God show you what the possibilities are.

© 2007 Dr. David J. Rogers

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Believe • Confess • Do • Rejoice

Believe • Confess • Do • Rejoice

Jesus Christ is LORD!

 

I.                     Believe • Confess • Do • Rejoice

 

Believe, confess, do, rejoice; Jesus Christ is LORD. It is such a simple phrase, easily remembered. But, what does it mean? In our modern, American society, phrases are coined. Phrases become catchy. Phrases become meaningless through repetition. But, those same catchy, coined phrases can be useful. The Lord gave me this catchy little phrase. Within its short, pithy expression are the roots and seeds to eternal life; an overcoming life; a life without shame or remorse; a life without the judgment to come.

“Believe, confess, do, rejoice” is not just a phrase. It is a conscious act of the will to do. Just like accepting what Jesus said is truth and what He did is true. It is a conscious act of the will to believe what He said and did, confess what He said and did, do what He said and did, and rejoice over what He said and did.

Believe, confess, do, rejoice. It is more than just an expression of words in a phrase. Inside its meaning is the secret to success in anything you do in this life. More importantly, when applied to the things of God, it is a phrase that leads to eternal life and blessings here on earth. Let me explain.

 

II.                   Believe

 

A motivational speaker once penned, “What the mind conceives, and the heart believes, you can achieve.” Jesus once said, “All things are possible to him who believes.” (Mark 9:23) Belief is important. It is the first step to action. Belief is action on a concept that it is real or do-able; that it is possible and therefore do-able or able to be performed. Belief is trust in a person or a thing. Belief is living that it is possible, it is truth. Belief accepts that it, whatever “it” is, is true. The first step to any action is “you gotta believe.”

Believing is action. It is a choice. You must choose to believe or disbelieve. Believing is living what you hold as true. Believing is putting your “heart” – your mind, will, and emotions – into a thing. It is adjusting your suppositional truth to conform to a newly established truth and acting on that truth. The truth is GOD exists. It is a paradigm shift in mental acknowledgement to search, know, and accept that truth. Whether your mind can grasp the full impact of who GOD is does not matter. What matters is accepting the truth, acting on it, and moving forward with that knowledge.

 

 

 

III.                 Confess

 

Confession is the outward, spoken acknowledgement of what you believe. There is power in the words of your confession. The Bible says there is life and death in the tongue. (Proverbs 18:21) Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. (Matthew 12:34) With words GOD spoke the stars into place. (Genesis 1:14~19) Likewise, your confession contains power over your life and the life of others. Choose your words wisely.

Confessing is action. The root meaning of the word “confess” is speaking. It is declaring that hidden or secret thing; usually referring to guilt or shame or erring. But, it is more than that. It is what you hold dear within you. It is the act of engaging the mind and the body to speak forth. There is power in your confession. Those things you say and believe will come to pass. Blessing or cursing, whatever you speak becomes possible. Hearing the Spirit of the LORD and engaging your spirit with your words spoken has the same power as GOD’s when He formed the heavens. Those things you say will come to pass. So, be careful of your words, your confession.

 

IV.                Do

 

Do is all about action. It speaks movement. It speaks action. It speaks decision and action on decision. “Do” requires motion. You cannot sit on a couch and act on anything in passivity… the lack of action. “Do” is all about doing some thing. It is not a passive word. It requires action.

Doing is action. In doing those things Jesus said do, they will bring life everlasting and blessing in this life now. To do a thing you must decide and act. It requires thought and effort. Doing has effect. It has consequences. Doing requires effort on the part of the doer; the one doing the action, putting forth the effort. Once a thing is done, it cannot be undone.

                Doing is action. Doing requires thought, decision, effort, motion, and consequence. Your action causes other actions or reactions. Things happen when you decide to do a thing then act on it.

                Doing is effort. It will require effort to do a thing. You cannot screw in a light bulb without first deciding to put in the light bulb, finding the light bulb, locating the proper light socket, finding out what you would need to reach the light socket, climbing that ladder or step stool to reach the socket, locating the bulb to put into the socket, placing it in the socket, and carefully tightening the bulb into place. All of this effort, this “doing”, was spent on replacing or adding a light bulb. The consequence of these actions is now you have light, whenever you need it. Doing is deciding to do a thing with the motion and effort to do the thing you decided to do.

 

V.                  Rejoice

 

Rejoice means to revisit joy or to revisit something that made you exceedingly happy. Rejoice is emotive and motive. It is action. You cannot feel joy without action. You cannot feel joy without there being a change in your inward being. It is action. You cannot “rejoice” without making the conscious effort to do so. To get up and cheer with a full lunged shout requires decision, choice, and action. You must choose to rejoice and act over that thing in which you “rejoice.”

Rejoicing is action. Rejoicing is an effort, an outward expression of the happiness you have found. Ballplayers have their joy renewed whenever they make a great play or win their game or match. But, the joy is temporary. You must decide to be joyful, to express happiness. King David of Israel was noted to encourage himself in the Lord. He created his own “joy” in the Lord. He could have looked at his very difficult situation and had despair. But, instead, he renewed his joy, trust, and confidence, in the Lord. When your favorite ballplayer plays well or wins the game, you are excited, full of joy. You may even scream and shout for your team or favorite ball player. Quickly, you lose that joy to the cares of this world, to whatever thing comes next in this life you live here until the next time they play. You have hope and excitement until you see their joy again. In the same way, both Jews and Christians have hope; hope that the coming of the promised Lord is soon; that the fulfillment of prophecy is so very close; that the King of Israel will be made manifest as King of kings and Lord of lords.

                 

VI.                Jesus Christ is LORD!

 

Jesus Christ is Lord. That is the simple, basic truth of the matter. Regardless of what you believe, Jesus Christ is Lord. GOD, the creator of the universe and all that there is, gave lordship over all that He made to His only begotten Son, Jesus, that all who might believe on Jesus could be co-heirs with Him. The life that Jesus led, the works that He did, the sacrifices He made, the promises made to Him, and the promotion GOD gave Him makes Jesus worthy to be King of kings and Lord of lords. More than the sun shines and gravity works, Jesus Christ is Lord. It is immutable. Accept this as fact. Your belief or disbelief is irrelevant to the truth. The truth, no matter whether you accept it or not, is still the truth.

Jesus said He came to give life and life more abundantly. (John 10:10) But, before we can act on this life and life more abundantly, we have to decide and act. We have to believe. We have to speak out what we believe. We have to put out effort and do according to what we believe if we want to achieve that which we believe. And, there will be times to enjoy that which we believed, that which we confessed, and that which we put forth effort to do.

 

VII.              Believe • Confess • Do • Rejoice

 

Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved.

Acts 16:30~31; Romans 10:9~11

 

Confess Him as Lord. For with the mouth one make confession unto salvation. If you confess your sins, He is faithful and just to forgive your sin. Jesus did not come into this world to condemn it, but that through Him all might be saved. Those who confess Jesus as Lord will be saved.

Romans 10:9~11; I John 1:9; John 3:16~17; Luke 10:27~30

 

Do all the things He has commanded you, according to His Word the Holy Bible and by His Spirit. The Spirit and the Word are One.

Matthew 7:24~25; James 1:22

 

Rejoice! Again, I say rejoice! Rejoice if you have done these things for your name is written in the Lamb’s Book of Life. Jesus was and is the Lamb of GOD come to take away the sin of this world.

Psalm 150; Philippians 4:3b~4; Revelation 3:5; 20:12; 21:27; John 1:29, 36

 

Jesus Christ is Lord!

 

The Grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.

Amen.

 

© 2006 Dr. David J. Rogers /  Pastor – Bethel Grace Church, Charleston SC USA

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Building a House for God

Building a House for God

 

“Now, I have prepared with all my might for the house of my God…”

– I Chronicles 29:2 KJV

 

I.                     Building a House for God

 

“Lo, I dwell in a house of cedars, but the ark of the covenant of the Lord remainth under curtains.” – I Chronicles 17:1b KJV

 

Now, King David had been king of Israel for some time. Whenever he went to worship the Lord God of Israel, he went to a tabernacle made of tents and cloth while he lived in a palace of cedars, fine furniture, and luxury. This began to bother King David that he should live so well and the Lord God of Israel dwelt in tents. He desired more for his God than that. His heart was that God should also have the best of things and a house worthy of His name. So, King David of Israel began to pursue just that.

                Look around your life. Does God, the God of the Holy Bible, the Father of Jesus your Savior, the Gifter of the Holy Spirit; does He have a better place in your life than you do? Is He at least equal? If not begin building Him a house in your life that He might dwell in it.

 

II.                   Preparation

 

“Now, I have prepared with all my might for the house of my God…”

– I Chronicles 29:2 KJV

 

                When King David of Israel made this statement it was many years… years after he first decided he would like to build a house for God. He desired a house for God that would be great and of great fame throughout the world.

 

“… and the house that is to be builded for the Lord must be exceeding magnificent, of fame and of glory throughout all countries: I will therefore now make preparation for it. So, David prepared abundantly before his death.” – I Chronicles 22:5 KJV

 

               

III.                 Counting the Cost

 

King David set out in preparation, before the building of the House of God, all the pieces and craftsmanship needed to build the House. He set aside, in store, all the money needed to start the work and all the detailed plans to build it. This is detailed in I Chronicles 22:14~16, 23: et al, 28:11~18, 21, 29:2~9.

 

IV.                Construction

 

Solomon, after being made king of Israel, returned to King David’s desire to build a house for God. (II Chronicles 2~3) King Solomon pursued the best materials and the best persons he could find to work the materials so that God’s house would be without equal in all the world.

 

V.                  Furnishing

 

King Solomon contracted with the best craftsmen to make exacting and excellent furnishing for the House of God. (II Chronicles 4) In exacting detail, he had his servants craft the instruments, implements, stonework, pillars, and all the utensils for service in God’s House.

 

VI.                Consecrating

 

Once everything was made that needed to be made, once everything was built that needing building, once everything was crafted that needed to be crafted, once everything was in place that needed to be in place; King Solomon called the elders, heads of the tribes of Israel, the chief fathers of Israel, and all the men of Israel to Jerusalem to bring the Ark of the Lord from its resting place in the Tabernacle of David to the House of God, the Temple in Jerusalem. Then, they began to offer sacrifices without number and praise unto the God of Israel. (II Chronicles 5:1~7)

 

“It came even to pass, as the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the LORD; and when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of music, and praised the LORD, saying, For He is good; His mercy endureth forever: that then the house was filled with a cloud, even the house of the LORD; so that the priests could not stand to minister by reason of the cloud: for the glory of the LORD had filled the house of God.” – II Chronicles 5:13~14 KJV

 

VII.              Living in the House

 

The rest of the history of Israel shows their respect and lack of respect for the House that King David desired and King Solomon built for God. From time to time the kings and the people of Israel returned their hearts back to God and the house that was made for Him. Solomon built a house for God. Zerubbabel and Jeshua rebuilt a house for God. Herod rebuilt a house for God. Let us build a house for God.

Can we build a house for God? The Bible says yes we can.

 

“What? Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost…”

– I Corinthians 6:20a KJV

 

                Using the pattern above (Building the House, Preparing the House, Counting the Cost, Constructing the House, Furnishing the House, Consecrating the House, and Living in the House), let us look at how we can build a House for God in our own lives.

                The house was built for us. David, in the Psalms, shows us how we are “fearfully and wonderfully” made by the hand of God. (Psalm 139:14) We were “predestined” to be with Him. (Ephesians 1:5, 11) We have been given the house that He desires to inhabit. Then, let us accept this habitation and build a life that is pleasing to God. Let us give Him a place where we can sacrifice and make offerings unto our God. Since we have been given a worthy house usable to praise our God, let us begin then the preparation of the house for service to Him.

                How do we prepare for so great an undertaking? King David spent his latter years working out the details for a house he would never build. Many kings and elders after him took it upon themselves to build, rededicate, rebuild, or build anew a house for God. So, how do we prepare? In the same way they did. First, they decided in their hearts they would build a habitation unto God, the LORD GOD of Israel. Then, they set about finding what was needed. You are that building. What do you need in your life to be the habitation of God? What cleansing, what sanctification do you need in your life so that you can be acceptable as a place of meeting, a place of sacrifice, a place of praise and worship unto our God?

                The Bible is the starting place. You must begin with building a firm foundation of the study, knowledge, and understanding of God’s Word, the Holy Bible. From there, let the Words that God speaks from His Bible act as the laver to cleanse you, to sanctify you, to separate you from the things of this world. Prepare yourself with a right understanding and a right humility. Circumcise your heart, cut away the things of this world from your inward being. Walk in separation unto your God, the LORD GOD of Israel.

                Count the cost. What will it cost you to walk this way? What did it cost God to allow you to come near Him? There is a price. In the garden in Eden, Adam’s price of disobedience was spiritual death, tilling the soil, fighting with thorns to be fed from the earth. A further cost was the shedding of blood to cover his nakedness in his flesh. (Genesis 3:21) It will cost you something to be disobedient to God. Because of Adam’s sin and curse, you have to labor for your gain. Under the Law given to Moses, blood had to be shed to cover the sin of Israel. You will have to put out some effort, yes even struggle at times, to get close to God. Jesus shed His blood at the Cross to cover your sins. You must accept that sacrifice and let that blood cover you just as Adam was covered by the shedding of blood and just as Israel was covered by the shedding of blood under the Law. There is a cost, a price.

                Constructing the house of God is laborious. To construct it well, to ensure it will stand for eternity, it will require hard work on your part. You build it and support it with the truths of God; and that only through His Word the Bible, confirmed by His Holy Spirit. To build well, it is a meticulous, detailed, process to change from your base perspectives and understanding to the perspectives and understanding that only God can provide. It is a life-long process. Just as God gifted men and women craftsmen for Moses, David, Solomon, Zerubbabel, and Herod; God will send to you gifted men and women to help you refine your house into a house worthy of God.

                Furnishing your house is through good works. Just as in the world today, there are artists in stone or paint or film that do incredible “works” in their media of choice and finding those, paying for those, and putting them in the right spot takes time and contemplation. Follow the Biblical examples to do good works to fill up your house unto God. Let your house be well furnished with great works that are as exquisite works of art to bless the Lord, your God.

                Consecration means to separate for a specific purpose and no other purpose. Consecrate your life, your house, to the specific purpose of habitation with God, to be a praise and a worship unto Him. And, do no other thing with your life. If there is a thing in this world that you are doing or someone wants you to do but it is not pleasing to God, do not do it. That is no longer a part of your life. Your life is pleasing to God; and God only.

                Living in the house is your daily task. Paul said in Romans 12:1 to present yourself as a living sacrifice. It is your reasonable service. According to God and His reasoning with Paul, this act of daily building a house where God and you can dwell together is your reasonable, logical, acceptable, it makes sense to do it, service – a task not so much for you as the one to whom you are giving it.

                Build for yourself a house unto God.

               

© 2006 Dr. David J. Rogers / Pastor – International Community Church Frisco TX

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God does not lie

God does not lie

 

God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? Or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good? – Numbers 23:19 KJV

 

I.                     God does not lie

 

In the opening text, God shows us several things by what He told Moses. God is not a Man. God does not lie. God does not have the need to repent, turn away from the path He is taking. God does speak. God is able to do what He says.

God’s history with Man is God backing up what He said He would do and teaching us the right way to think, to act, the right attitude to have; and, the consequences of our actions.

In Genesis 4 we see where Cain brought an offering before the Lord but the Lord favored Abel’s over Cain’s, and Cain’s attitude, his heart, was wrong. The Lord spoke to Cain in instruction, wisdom, and warning. Cain did not heed the words of the Lord and it lead to the death of Cain’s brother by Cain’s hand.

God sees more than we do. He sees beyond our current circumstances. He includes all of our circumstances into His vision; the possible outcomes, the desirable outcomes, and our attitude in the midst of those events.

God has no need to deceive. He tells the truth. We may not like the truth He tells us, but God tells the truth. It is His way. God loves us. We are His children, His offspring, and His creation by His own hand for His own sake. Why would He lie? If we are His and are to be like Him, what benefit is there to Him to deceive us? There isn’t. From the simple beginnings in the Garden in Eden to the present day, it has been God’s goal, His objective, to make us into His image, to make us like Him. What profit is there for us to deceive, if we are to be like Him?

 

II.                   God is not a man

 

“God is not a Man that He should lie.” The simple truth here is that Man is not like God. Man deceives. Man deceives himself. Man deceives others. Man has borne false witness. Adam set the pattern, Eve followed it, it was passed on to Cain, and it has followed down through all generations; save Jesus alone.

                Since Adam, Man has explored the “what if…” That is a dangerous place. Man was created in the image and likeness of God, but Man explored the “what if.” Then when that failed, he blamed someone else for that failure. “It wasn’t me. It was the woman you gave me.” “It wasn’t me. It was the serpent. He deceived me.” [Genesis 3] There is a price to be paid when you test the “what if” and the “what if” goes against the word of God. Adam, Eve, and Cain all discovered the price to be paid for going against God’s word.

                God is not a Man. There is no deception in Him. There is no need to deceive. There is no need to say one thing and actually do another. Has He said? Will He not do? One of the great values of the Judeo-Christian Bible is the history of God speaking to Man then performing exactly as He said He would. Sadly, the Bible is also a history of Man saying he will do one thing and actually doing another. Or, saying he will do one thing and deceiving himself he does another thing entirely.

 

III.                 Has He said

 

The Judeo-Christian Bible, the canon text we know as the Holy Bible, is replete with examples of God (YHWH Elohim) speaking; and that mostly to His elect. The very simple fact is God, the Lord God of the Bible, speaks. He will talk with us. Whether we want to listen or not, He will speak to us. We can deceive ourselves that He does not speak to us “mortals,” that He no longer speaks to us – His “Church,” that He doesn’t exist therefore cannot speak. We can deceive ourselves that we are too full of sin and therefore unholy and He will not speak to one so vile and unholy.

We can deceive ourselves that the sun does not shine, fire does not burn, snow is not cold, and gravity does not work. We can do that, but… The sun does shine. Fire does burn. Ice is cold. And, gravity does work. It is the same with God. God spoke before all of these things could take place.

 

IV.                Has He not done it?

 

Everything that God has said is surely done as if it has already happened. The entire Bible is full of examples where He said a thing would happen, and then it did. In God’s mind, those things are “so done, they are did.”

Noah builds an ark 100 years before he had children to assist him, just on the word of God. Then, it rains just as the Lord said.

Abram becomes Abraham. Sarai becomes Sarah. And, they give birth to a son in their old age, just as the Lord said.

Isaac sows during a famine and reaps a 100 fold harvest, just as the Lord said.

Moses went back to Egypt, showed God mightier than all the gods and knowledge of Egypt, delivered Israel, carried Israel through the Red Sea, carried Israel through the desert, and showed many mighty deeds from the Lord God; just as the Lord said.

Joshua overcame all the cities, peoples, and the nations he came against and possessed the land promised to Abraham; just as the Lord said.

Samson became strong and punished the Philistines, just as the Lord said.

Samuel, Elijah, Elisha, Isaiah, Ezekiel, Jeremiah, Daniel, and many others spoke the words of the Lord. Many were able to see those words come to pass within their lifetimes. Others did not, just as the Lord said.

Mary, cousin to Elizabeth, became pregnant without assistance of man, just as the Lord said.

John the Baptist went into the wilderness of Judea, preached repentance, and proclaimed the coming of the Lord; just as the Lord said.

Jesus was born, grew to manhood, repented for sins He did not commit, was water baptized by John his cousin unto repentance, preached to good news of the Kingdom of God, and fulfilled those things spoken about the Messiah by the prophets; just as the Lord said.

Peter went the way the Lord said. Paul went the way the Lord said. All of the disciples who became apostles of Jesus’ gospel went and did just as the Lord said.

In my own life, God has said a thing and it has come to pass, just as the Lord said.

 

V.                  In the fullness of time

 

Now, there are things that have yet to occur. I assure you they will in their time because God has said it. But, things must occur in their right timing, in the fullness of time.

Has God said something to you? Has it yet occurred? If not, it will because God has said it.

 

For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it. – Isaiah 55:10~11 KJV

 

                God compares His words, the statements that come from Him, to the things of earth that Man has come to know with surety. It rains and snows. They water the earth. Things grow and give seed. Some of those seeds and fruits are taken by Man for food. These things are known as fact, as surety. So is the Word of God. In addition, God commits that His Word will not come back to Him until it has completed that for which He sent it.

                Just as rain and snow are needed by plants for growth, just as plants grow and give their seed in their season, just as Man must harvest the plants for food when it is the right timing; so is the fulfillment of God’s Word in its season. For Man to harvest the fruit and seeds of plants for food we must wait for the fullness of time to gather the harvest; otherwise, the fruit and seeds are useless or harmful to us as food. So is the Word of God. We must wait until all things are ready for His Word to come to pass; otherwise, His Word will not benefit us as fully as it might.

                God can raise you up and make you exceedingly prosperous. He is able to do that. But, if you are not prepared, if those you need are not prepared, if the market demand for your product is not prepared, then you can fail exceedingly well.

God is not interested in a momentary fix; although He can do that too. God is interested in you on an eternal, forever and ever with Him, basis. There are things that He must do. There are things you must do. There are things others must do to allow you to do what He needs you to do. Are you doing what you can do now? Are you waiting on the Lord for His fullness of time? Are you preparing yourself for that thing He said He would do in your life? Are you partnering with Him like Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob / Israel, Moses, Joshua, Samuel, David, Elijah, Elisha, Daniel, Jesus…?

God has said. God will do. Just as He said He would do, He will do. He has no need to say a thing to say a thing. If He says a thing, it will come to pass just as He said it would. God does not lie. If God has not given you a promise of a thing directly, look to His Word, the Holy Bible, for His promises to the children of Israel, for His promises to the Church, for His promises to all of those who will hear Him and walk with Him. Those are His words to you. And, God will speak to you.

 

Thus saith the LORD the maker thereof, the LORD that formed it, to establish it; the LORD is his name; Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.

– Jeremiah 33:2~3 KJV

 

                Call to Him, the creator of Heaven and Earth. Call to Him, supp with Him, dwell with Him, and let Him dwell with you. Let Him have every facet of your life and He will give you every facet of His life. It will no longer be what can God do for me today but what can we do together today, Lord? His words are sure. He does not lie. He does not deceive. He has said. It will come to pass.

                I have no greater comparison of the surety of God’s Word than God has said it, therefore it will come to pass.

 

© 2006 Dr. David J. Rogers / Pastor – International Community Church Frisco TX

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Unbelief… Lord, Help My Unbelief

Unbelief… Lord, Help My Unbelief

 

And it came to pass, that when Jesus had finished these parables, he departed thence. And when he was come into his own country, he taught them in their synagogue, insomuch that they were astonished, and said, whence hath this man this wisdom, and these mighty works? Is not this the carpenter’s son? is not his mother called Mary? And his brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas? And his sisters, are they not all with us? Whence then hath this man all these things? And they were offended in him. But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, save in his own country, and in his own house. And he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief. – Matthew 13:53~58 KJV

 

I.                     Unbelief limits God

 

Jesus, throughout the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John did many mighty miracles and testified of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Yet, when he returned to his home town and gave them the same testimony, they rejected his testimony and did not believe him. They held onto their unbelief.

 

The same God that made the heavens and the earth, that showed himself mighty to Enoch, to Noah, to Abraham, to Isaac, to Jacob, to Joseph, to Moses, and to all the children of Israel for forty years in the desert could not do anything for these people… although they were sick, infirm, blind, deaf, afflicted with various sufferings, he could do nothing for them because of their unbelief.

 

Question: What are you doing that limits God from working the miraculous in your life? Are you holding onto your unbelief?

 

II.                   Unbelief limits You

 

Matthew 17:14~20 “Because of your unbelief…”

 

In this passage we see where a father came to the disciples of Jesus asking them to help him with his afflicted son. The disciples of Jesus, those who had been with him, could not relieve this boy’s suffering. Jesus said it was because of their unbelief.

 

You can receive the best instruction. You can be called, anointed, and appointed. But, if you do not believe what is said to you, you can do nothing; even though it was said that you could.

 

Question: Have you received instruction in faith toward God? Are you called, anointed, even appointed but nothing seems to happen? Have you been told you can but you cannot?

 

In verse 21, Jesus said this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting. He meant time with God in solemn discussion where your mind and heart are only on him and denying the desires of your flesh to spend time with God. When nothing is more important to you than spending time with God nothing shall withstand you.

 

Question: Do you spend time alone with God? Is God more important to you than everything else?

 

III.                 What are belief and unbelief?

 

The English word belief comes from the Middle English word beleve or beleafe and the Anglo-Saxon word geleafa, to believe. Both roots mean the same, “an acceptance of something as true[1].”

 

The English word unbelief means “un” not + “belief.” Or, not believing; a withholding of or lack of belief. Basically, it is choosing not to believe.

 

Since this is the New Testament we are studying, we should look at the words they were using.

 

Peitho (3892[2]): root verb meaning to convince as by argument; to rely by inward certainty; to believe, have confidence, to trust.

Pistis (4102): persuasion, credence; was used to convey assurance, belief, to believe, faith, or fidelity.

Apistos (571): to disbelieve, an action; to be something untrustworthy.

Apistia (570): faithlessness; disbelief; unfaithfulness, disobedience; unbelief.

 

Belief and unbelief take their roots from a verb, a word used to describe an action. Therefore, we can say to believe or not to believe requires an action. An action in a human requires a decision, a choice to be made. The will is involved.

 

Question: What is your will telling you to believe or not to believe?

 

 

IV.                Lord, help my unbelief

 

Mark 9:14~29 “…and the father of the child cried out…”

 

Again, we see where the father of the stricken child comes to the disciples and cannot find help. He comes to Jesus and Jesus asks him “can you believe?” And, instructs him “All things are possible to him who believes.” Immediately, the father of the child cries out with tears, his heart full of passion for his child, “Lord, I believe, help my unbelief.” Jesus immediately responds by action on the request of father of the child. Jesus helps his unbelief by showing the father that God was capable.

 

Jesus’ disciples came to him afterwards and asked Jesus privately, “Why could we not cast it out?” Jesus responded, “This kind can only come out by nothing but prayer and fasting.”

 

Question: Where are you in your unbelief?

 

V.                  Simple Math

 

Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father. And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it. – John 14:12~14 KJV

 

The works that Jesus did we can do also, if we believe the things Jesus said are true and do the things Jesus did. It was Jesus’ practice to spend time in prayer and fasting; to spend time with the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; doing the things that were pleasing to Him. Jesus trusted (had faith, confidence, trust) what God said was so. It was truth. It was not optional.

 

Question: Do you believe God? Are His words truth to you?

 

Study the Word of God, the Holy Bible; reason with God over it; act on it with surety, as if it was truth. It is like simple math. 1+1=2 If God said it (1) and you act on it (+1) then you get the result of that combination (=2). It is that simple.

 

Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out? And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you. Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting. – Matthew 17:19~21

 

(1) Belief (faith, confidence, trust)

Or

(-1) Unbelief (no faith, no confidence, no trust)

 

(+1) Plus the power of the God through Jesus

 

(=) Equals action; that action is dependent upon you.

 

God plus unbelief equals the expected result; exactly what you expected, nothing. 1-1=0

God plus belief equals the expected result; exactly what you expected, whatever it was you believed. 1+1=2

 

Question: What are you in the equation? Are you +1 (belief) or (-1) unbelief?

 

The action of belief or unbelief is yours to make.  The decision is yours only. Without your belief that God is faithful and sure to fulfill (fully fill to the full) His Word, He can do no mighty works in your life?

 

Question: What is it that you want from God? What is it that God said He will do in your life? What seems too impossible to believe?

 

Whatever it is, give it to God. Trust God that He is faithful and just and will do all these things that He said He would, according to His Word, the Holy Bible, and according to what His Spirit has said to you. The Father, the Son, and the Spirit are one and the same, from everlasting to everlasting. Has He said? Will He not do?

 

For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it. – Isaiah 55:10~11 KJV

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[1] Webster’s New Twentieth Century Dictionary Unabridged, 2^nd Edition

[2] Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible

© 2006 Dr. David J. Rogers / Pastor – International Community Church Frisco TX

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