Weekly Seed of Faith 9.9.2023

Seed of Faith – Life In The Spirit   By Pastor Dave  

“And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you.” Romans 8:11

Dear Faithful Seed Sowers,

Greetings! It’s been few long weeks of doctor visits for me: extreme pain in my neck and left shoulder plus a hernia that needs surgery. The hernia surgery is scheduled for 11-8-23. I should only be down a week. The neck and shoulder aren’t such an easy fix. I’m growing bone—from my skull, my spine, and then having free floaters in my neck and shoulder area. In order to get an MRI, I need three weeks of PT. The earliest PT appointment they had was 10-8! As my wife would say, Pastor needs prayer.

Speaking of prayer, It is my prayer that as you read the SEED OF FAITH each week that you come to grow in the LOVE of GOD, the GRACE of CHRIST, and the POWER of the HOLY SPIRIT. That’s The Seed’s mission statement and it’s my prayer for you.

If you have been reading the Seeds of Faith for the past month, you will remember that we are spending time in Romans 8.  I encourage you to take and read chapter 8 of Romans several times—why not daily?  Ask the Holy Spirit to speak to you again and again of God’s unending love and outrageous grace just for you. This chapter has it all!

Last week we looked at what a life in Christ might be.  This week we take a little dip in the deep waters of living a life in the Spirit. (These “seedlings” are but a portion of my weekly messages. You can always ask  for the complete manuscripts of the weekly messages.)

Romans chapter eight has been called by theologians “one of the greatest chapters in the Bible”. An old German commentator named Spener said, “If the Bible was a ring and the Book of Romans a precious stone, chapter 8 would be “the sparkling point of the jewel.”[i]

Many commentators have divided this chapter into different headings for the thirty-nine verses it contains. In the NIV Bible there are three sections, “Life in the Spirit”, “Present Suffering and Future Glory”, and “More Than Conquerors.” Chapter 8 is all about the Holy Spirit and the work that the Holy Spirit does within us as we live our life “in Christ.”  In the first seven chapters of Romans there have only been two mentions of the Holy Spirit: a passing reference to “the Spirit of holiness” in chapter 1, verse 4, and the other is found in chapter 5, verse 5 where the Holy Spirit is described as the pouring out of the love of God within our hearts—so twice in the first 7chapters, and now 20 times in Chapter 8. When something is repeated in the Bible, pay attention.

Second Corinthians 3:17 says, “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” Romans 8 could be named the chapter of “freedom through the Holy Spirit”.

Romans 8 begins with the promise: there is therefore now no condemnation in Christ and it ends with there is now no separation in Christ. Isn’t that the gospel? No CONDEMNATION. NO SEPARATION. What good news here in Chapter 8.

The position that Paul wants the Christian to know is that they are free.

We are free from condemnation.

Why? Because of what Christ has done for us on the cross.

A good so what question at this point is, “Do I know the freedom I have in Christ?”

Paul writes these words to the us from the Book of Galatians, “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.” (Galatians 5:1)

Do you know the freedom that you have in Christ?

Paul tells us here in Chapter 8 that our position in Jesus is that we stand free with no condemnation. What GOOD NEWS. We stand free, without any condemnation.

So how do we put this freedom into practice?

That is what Paul will explain in the next fifteen verses.

In this next section we have some great big theological themes like incarnation, atonement, justification, and sanctification. I want to slow down and read these verses and interject a thought or two.

Again, and always, when you read the living word, put yourself into the story. The Apostle Paul is writing around 57 AD. He’s writing from the Greek city of Corinth, just 3 years after the 16 year-old Nero became the Emperor of Rome. Are you in this story? Perhaps we are in a small home church in Rome, and we heard that Paul has written us! Rome was a tough city to be a believer in. How we long for the words of Paul.

“For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature,” (Romans 8:2)— the law is powerless to save us because of our sinful nature.

“God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering.” (Romans 8:3) God is the one who is doing all the action here, we are not.  We are saved by grace.  God chose to send His One and Only Son (this is the incarnation) to become like us — a human. Jesus was a sin offering in order to fulfill the law.

“And so he (GOD) condemned sin in sinful man, in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit.(Romans 8:3-4) Just pause and ponder that powerful statement. God chose to put all the sin of humankind upon His One and Only Son so that, through His One and Only Son, the righteous requirements of the law are met… for you and for me.  We can never meet the righteous requirements of the law. Only one man can and did: Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.

“Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so.” (Romans 8:5-7) Notice how many times Paul uses the word “mind” –five times. Paul contrasts the mind of sinful people with the mind of those who live according to the Holy Spirit.

As we put ourselves into the story, we also must put the story into our hearts and minds. Here’s a few “so what” questions:

What about your mind?

What is your mind set on?

What do you spend your time and money on?

What do you think about the most?

There is a clear warning here … the sinful mind is hostile to God.

“Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God. You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. (Romans 8:8-10)

Paul challenges us here and begins to step on our toes.  What are we being controlled by? Paul makes it clear that a mind set on the works of the flesh leads to death, while the mind set on the Spirit leads to life. As we listen to Paul’s words, are we setting our mind on the Spirit of Life?

I was reading the end of Deuteronomy this past week and was reminded of the challenge that Moses gave to the people before they entered the promise land.  Listen to this verse from Deuteronomy 30:16— “For I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commands, decrees and laws; then you will live and increase, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land you are entering to possess.” Deuteronomy 30:16

I read a disturbing statistic in one of my Christian emails this past week. Do you know that 26 million Americanshave mostly or completely stopped reading the Bible during COVID? “Currently, only 10 percent of Americans report daily Bible reading.” [i]

If there are 500 people reading this message, the statistics say that 450 aren’t reading their Bible daily, only 50 are.  Instead of letting that statistic discourage you, resolve today to make it a priority to read and study God’s Word. Be one of the 10%-ers.

Paul is telling us that in order for us to live in the freedom that Christ provided us on the cross, we need to know what this book says. Lamentations tells us that God’s word is new every morning. I’ve been reading my word daily since 1987 and I can tell you that there are many days when I read something I’ve never read before—and I read this Bible through each year.

SO WHAT?

This theological process of living a life in the Spirit is called sanctification— or holy living. There is an awe-inspiring connection between the presence of the Holy Spirit in the life of a Christian.  The manifestation of the Spirit’s power and presence brings control, and peace, and knowledge and grace and so many good things. The presence of the Holy Spirit in our life brings about our sanctification—we are actually being made holy as we repent, confess, submit and surrender to the inner work of the Holy Spirit within us. It’s honestly amazing to me to be a pastor and to watch this transformation take place in people. It’s why I do what I do.

What Paul is saying is that “if the Spirit of God lives in you, you will be controlled by the Spirit.” It’s a daily wrestling match for each of us. Sometimes we are good, and our halo shines brightly. Sometimes we fail and regret soils our halo. But…each new day we are given “new mercies” in order that we learn to live in the freedom that Christ bought for us on the cross.

Corrie ten Boom offered an insight into this marvelous truth: “I have a glove here in my hand. The glove cannot do anything by itself, but when my hand is in it, it can do many things. True, it is not the glove, but my hand in the glove that acts. We are gloves. It is the Holy Spirit in us who is the hand, who does the job. We have to make room for the hand so that every finger is filled.”

That is what it means to make room for the Holy Spirit to live within us. We are the glove. The Holy Spirit is the hand in the glove.

SO WHAT, Pastor Dave”?

POSITION, PRACTICE.POWER. PRESENCE.

Position — Do you know the freedom that you have in Christ?

Practice — What are your daily devotional practices like so that you are filled with the Holy Spirit? Are you in the 10% club?

Power — Glove or no glove? Are you allowing the Holy Spirit to sanctify you each moment of each day? Is your glove empty, just sitting on the shelf? Or is your glove full of the living word of God, empowering your heart and soul and mind to make “holy” decisions that give you life and freedom?

In the fall of 1987 I started reading my bible daily. I read 5 psalms, and a chapter of Proverbs each day. Here I am 36 years later still reading 5 psalms and a chapter of Proverbs (plus a gospel and a ton of other theology) and there are days I look and think, “I’ve never noticed that before.” Why? Because God’s mercies are new for us each morning.

No condemnation. No separation. Remember that.

God loves you and so do I,

Pastor Dave

 

Copyright © 2018 THE SEED CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP, All rights reserved. May you be blessed by God’s grace and love. You are receiving this email because you signed up for our weekly devotionals.   Our mailing address is: 6450 Emerald Street Alta Loma, California 91701   Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.

Weekly Seed of Faith 8/18/2023

Seed of Faith – A Life In Christ  By Pastor Dave  

“Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are IN Christ Jesus.” Romans 8:1

“For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:38-39

Romans Chapter 8:

No condemnation — in Christ!

No separation – in Christ!

Dear Faithful Seed Sowers,

Greetings in the love and joy and peace of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ—who is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow! Praise God!

We will be working through some of the passages in which Paul teaches us that we have a new “LIFE IN CHRIST.”

Do you know that the words “IN CHRIST” are used 119 times just in Paul’s letters alone?

Paul wrote thirteen letters to the churches plus his letters to Timothy, Titus, and Philemon.  “IN CHRIST” is a dominating theme for Paul. It is fitting that the apostle Paul, who received the revelation of the mystery of the union of Jew and Gentile into one body, should coin a phrase to describe those incorporated into one body. This body is, of course, the body of Christ, the church. Pentecost is the church universal’s birthday; the day the promised Holy Spirit fell upon those who believed in Jesus.

I have a handout with a few of the 119 times where Paul tells us what life is like in Christ. If you would like one —- email me at: pastordave@theseedchristianfellowship.com and I will email you back a copy!

I would like to spend the next few minutes on verse one of Chapter 8 of Romans—possibly one of the greatest chapters in all of the living word!  In the Greek verse one is only eight words.  But these eight words are powerful and give us a promise of the freedom we have in Christ. I’m going to go over the verse as it is in presented in the Greek lineup—not in the English.

No! — oude

The first word in the Greek is an adjective with an emphasis.  The word is “No.” This word is weak in the English translation. In our texts it is a simple negative, like most other negatives. In the Greek text “no” (oude) is strongly emphasized. First, it is not the simple negative “ou” but the compound and therefore the stronger negative “oude.” Second, it occurs at the beginning of the sentence, which intensifies the negation. This word “oude” can be translated, “not one, nothing, no one, none, or just plain no.” The strong emphasis could be translated with a double negative like “no, nothing — no, not one— no—none— no,  no one–or simply no no!”

It’s important to note that this word Oude (NO, NO!) describes the noun “condemnation” for anyone who is IN CHRIST. There is simply no, no, no, not one, nothing, none—no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus! That’s great news.

Therefore!— ara

The second great word in this sentence is “therefore.” To what does it refer?  Does “therefore” bring us back to the arguments of the struggle with sin in chapters 7, chapter 5 or chapter 3 of Romans? NO,NO! Most scholars say that Paul’s “therefore” is all inclusive, pointing back to the entire argument of the epistle—all 7 chapters prior!  The Good News that Paul is telling us is this—- there is no, not one, nothing, none, no, no, no condemnation for us. What Paul is really saying is this, “You know everything else I’ve written in this letter—in the previous 7 chapters…well all of that was to come to this: THEREFORE…there’s NO CONDEMNATION if you believe in Jesus Christ.

Why?  Because God’s work done in Jesus Christ (through his life, death and resurrection) and through the the Holy Spirit’s coming at Pentecost—this all leads us to this one thing: there is now “no condemnation” for any person who is “in Christ”.

Now!— vuv

“Now” is a time word, pointing to the change that has come about as the result of our believing in the work of justification that Jesus Christ made possible by his death. Before we believed IN CHRIST, we stood condemned by God. We were due to suffer the penalty of an eternal death for our sins, the “wages of sin” being “death”.  But once we believe in Christ…therefore, there is now no condemnation.

Now — not tomorrow.

Now — not next week.

Now — not next year.

Now — not when you get your life together.

Now — not when you do good works for your sins.

NOW — is translated with words like, “at this present time, now, at this very time, just now.”

I love that word!

This past week, I was captured by that word in 2 Corinthians 5:5 — “NOW it is God who has made us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.”

I truly believe that God wants us to live in the now and not the the tomorrows or yesterdays. Will Rogers once wrote these profound words about living in the “NOW.” This is what he said, “Don’t let yesterday use up too much of today.(1)

I know that I have at times allowed yesterday’s mistakes, sins, and failures to hold me back. What we are learning today is that if we are “in Christ,” yesterday’s sins contain no condemnation for us. Zero. None.

So What?

Now is the time to receive the undeserved and unearned gift of grace that God has given to us through Jesus’ death on the cross and His resurrection and ascension into heaven —no, not one, none, nothing — no condemnation.

Condemnation — katakrima

This Greek word means that there has been a legal decision in a court case and the verdict is guilty. Did you hear that? “Guilty” was our status! If we were to read the opening chapters of Romans, we would see that we are to be condemned as sinners. We were condemned sinners, subject to the outpoured wrath of God. But suddenly Jesus entered our world and died for us, bearing the wrath of God in our place, and there is NOW “no condemnation” fort hose who are in Christ.  

This is such a groundbreaking chapter in the Bible. Chapter 8 starts with THERE IS NOW NOCONDEMNATION for those IN CHRIST JESUS…and ends with…THERE IS NOW NO SEPARATION from the LOVE OF GOD for those of us in Christ.

You see, what will happen when we each face the “Day of reckoning” is that we will have the greatest defender of all stand with us before the judge of all. No matter what the enemy says about us—the grace of God will cover us—if we are in Christ! Instead of a GUILTY verdict, our Lord and Savior will deliver to us a NOT GUILTY verdict—all because he paid the price of our sin on that cross at Calvary.

Oude ara vuv katakrima….

OUDE: No, nothing, no not one thing, no none, no no one, no, no, no….

ARA: Therefore…and not just chapter 7, 5 or 3…but the whole kicking kaboodle of the Bible and the fall of man has been covered by the blood of Jesus…

VUV: NOW….not yesterday, not when you were little, not in your teen years, not in your college years (OH BOY) no…not then…but NOW…just now…today, not yesterday…

KATAKRIMA: NOT GUILTY….

That’s not Greek to us anymore! How about in English? “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are IN Christ Jesus. ”Romans 8:1

Let’s take a moment to pause and ponder the great grace of Jesus who pardons us…now might be a goodtime to say, “I’m sorry. Please forgive me”

I don’t know about you, but I want to run around right now and shout, “HEY! I am IN CHRIST, people! I AM LIVING IN CHRIST!”

Hey, sow a seed of faith in you today. Then go plant that seed into your family, friends, strangers, etc. Who doesn’t need to hear the living word of Jesus Christ? Not GUILTY. Saved. Justified (Just as I’ve never sinned), forgiven.That big gavel in the judges hand is going to slam onto the desk and, if you are a believer, if Jesus Christ is your lord and Savior, you are going to hear over and over again, NOT GUILTY.

Your “SO WHAT?” homework for the week: How does this SEED OF FAITH make me feel? Give me 3 words that describe how you feel knowing there’s no condemnation for you? Here are my three: free, forgiven, unafraid.

“Father God, I believe. I believe Jesus is your only son who died for my sins. Forgive me. Set me free to live in Christ…today and tomorrow. Thank you that after a long and  surly court case—you have declared me NOT GUILTY and I am free from all condemnation. Help me to turn from my wicked way and to learn how to live the rest of my life in Christ. God, help me. Amen.”

God loves you and so do I,

Pastor Dave

www.theseedchristianfellowship.com

Copyright © 2018 THE SEED CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP, All rights reserved. May you be blessed by God’s grace and love. You are receiving this email because you signed up for our weekly devotionals.   Our mailing address is: 6450 Emerald Street Alta Loma, California 91701   Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.

Weekly Seed of Faith 8/5/2023

Seed of Faith – Holy Spirit Power  By Pastor Dave  

“‘In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy. I will show wonders in the heaven above and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and billows of smoke. The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord. And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” Acts 2:17-21

 

Dear Faithful Seed Sowers,

It is my prayer that each of us grows in the grace of Jesus Christ and that we get so full of this amazing grace that we go in the power of the Holy Spirit sowing SEEDS of faith in our world. God’s love and grace are transformational, so get out there in your world and sow those seeds of faith!

God wants us to know His Ways and desires for us to be empowered by His “Ruach” Holy Spirit to live Holy lives, bearing much fruit in Him. Have you ever thought that God wants us to live a holy life? Salvation. Sanctification. Glorification. Three powerful words and three powerful life transformations. Salvation—we believe Jesus is God’s only Son, who died for our sins, then rose triumphant on the 3rd day. Sanctification—from the moment we are “saved”, we grow further and further into sanctification; being made holy in Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit. Finally, we take our last breath and we arrive in heaven—glorified. Triumphant.

So let’s start with a first “so what?” Holy. Are you trying to live a holy life?

In Ezekiel, the prophet gave these words to the Jewish people. “And I will put My Ruach —Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in My statutes and be careful to obey My rules.”  (Ezekiel 36:27)

You might not know the name Angelo Dundee, but you have undoubtedly heard of Muhammad Ali, probably the most famous professional boxer of all time. For more than two decades, Angelo Dundee was in Muhammad Ali’s corner, literally. He was Ali’s cornerman! He is the one who made Ali float like a butterfly and sting like a bee. He also trained fifteen other world boxing champions. Angelo Dundee described his job as a cornerman this way: “When you’re working with a fighter, you’re a surgeon, an engineer, and a psychologist.”[i]

As followers of Jesus Christ, we have someone even better than a surgeon-engineer-psychologist in our corner we have the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the third PERSON of the Trinity!

The disciples were told to “go and wait” for the promise gift that Jesus would give. One note that we should see is that the disciples were obedient, and they went and waited and waited and waited. They waited ten days and then whoosh the Holy Spirit came in like a mighty wind and tongues of fire filled the place and everyone who was in the room. In verse four we read these words from Dr Luke, “All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.” (Luke 2:4)

The Greek word for “all” means “all.” All one hundred and twenty of those gathered were filled, which means in Greek to be “generously supplied or overflowing” with the Holy Spirit. After being generously filled, they then began to speak. The Greek word for speak is one of those present active verbs which means the act of speaking never stopped. The Holy Spirit filled them generously and repeatedly so that they could continue to speak over and over again.

Imagine with me that you have decided to go sailing. The problem is that you know next to nothing about sailing. So, you go to the store, and you purchase several books to find out what is involved. You carefully read them and then you talk to a veteran sailor who answers questions for you. The next day, you rent a sailboat. You examine it closely to make certain that everything needed for a successful sailing experience is present and in good working order. Then, you take your boat out onto the lake. Your excitement is at a fever pitch, though you’re also afraid. But you follow the instructions you have read, and the counsel received from the experienced sailor, and you launch your boat into the water. You carefully monitor each step and hoist the sail.[ii]

At that precise moment you learn a crucial lesson. You can study sailing. You might even be able to build a sailboat. You can seek from the wisest and most veteran of sailors. You can cast your boat onto the most beautiful of lakes under a bright and inviting sun. You can successfully hoist the sail. But—and this is a big “but”—only God can make the wind blow!

“You and I can study the Bible…. We can orchestrate a worship service according to biblical guidelines. We can do everything that lies in the power of a Christian man or woman. But only the Spirit can make the wind blow inside that service!

The power of the Holy Spirit was what enabled the disciples to continually speak about Jesus. It was the power of the Holy Spirit that put wind in the sails of the disciples to go and make disciples of all nations. It was to power of the Holy Spirit that the birthed the church and on the day of Pentecost three thousand people were added.

So What?

At the closing of our reading in verses seventeen through twenty-one, we hear the quote from Joel that says that Holy Spirit will be poured on all people: Young men, old men, servants, men, and women, will prophesy. The Holy Spirit will show wonders in the heavens and signs below. But the promise is this: all who call on the name of the Lord will be saved. The Greek word for “saved” means “to be rescued, delivered, healed, to keep safe, and unharmed.”

When I finally came to faith in Christ a verse from Romans eight forever changed my life. It was Romans 8:15-16 — “For you did not receive a spirit that makes you aslave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry,“Abba, Father.” The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’schildren.” Romans 8:15-16

It was the Spirit of sonship that forever changed my life. What I heard was that God wanted to be my Father and I would be His son and he would be with me forever. Then verse sixteen said that it was His Spirit that would testify to my spirit that the presence of the Holy Spirit would never leave me. It was that promise of the presence of the Holy Spirit that forever changed my life. (January 1981)

Tesla. Chevy. Nissan. Porsche. Audi. VW. A dozen major carmakers are now building electric vehicles, and the market is expected to grow.

But there is a problem: The charging ports are all over the cars.

When you go to a gas station to fill up your gas-powered car, you can be pretty sure that you will pump gas into the tank from the side of the car, near the rear. But where do you put the charger into your electric car?

Could be the front. Or the back. Or one of the sides. Very confusing.

In Korea, the car-maker Hyundai recently embarked on a project of building public charging stations in Seoul, and they wanted to accommodate as many car brands as possible. According to Fast Company magazine, they tapped the consulting firm McKinsey to design a universal charger that would easily work with any electric car.

The result was the “Hyundai Hi-Charger,” and you will never guess what inspired its design. “Self-serve car washes,” says a partner at McKinsey. “They have the sprayer hanging down from the top and it kind of rotates around.”

Same with the Hyundai Hi-Charger. It has a beacon, featuring a glowing halo. The halo rotates and drops the charging cable in just the right spot, depending on the make and model of your electric car.[iii]

It is a universal charger.

The promise of Pentecost is that God is with us, always with us, and this is true for all Christians, not just those labeled Pentecostal or Charismatic. It echoes the promise made when Jesus was given the name Emmanuel, which means “God is with us” (Matthew1:23). The Holy Spirit is our Universal Charger, hovering above us and within us. Bringing us the healing, help, wisdom, knowledge and guidance we need, in every time, place, and situation.

Let me ask you again? Except let me word it a little differently: How are you doing allowing the HOLY SPIRIT (the universal charger) to grow the HOLY in you?

If we could only get a glimpse! We’ve been saved and sealed with God’s very own holy spirit. Maybe it’s a good time to pray?

”Holy Spirit, I want my life to grow in holiness. God has promised never to leave me, never to forsake me. Today, maybe show me just one thing I can do, just one thing I can say, just one thing I can read that will feed my spirit and grow my roots deeper in Jesus Christ. Amen.”

I’m praying for you. I pray for you each day. Do you know why I went into ministry? My biggest hope is to watch lives be transformed by God’s grace, love, and power!

Hey, sow a seed of faith in you today. Then go save the world.

See you Sunday.

God loves you and so do I,

Pastor Dave

www.theseedchristianfellowship.com

Copyright © 2018 THE SEED CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP, All rights reserved. May you be blessed by God’s grace and love. You are receiving this email because you signed up for our weekly devotionals.   Our mailing address is: 6450 Emerald Street Alta Loma, California 91701   Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.

Weekly Seed of Faith 6.2.2023

Seed of Faith – Go and Wait By Pastor Dave  

Then the Lord replied: “Write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets so that a herald may run with it. For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay.” Habakkuk 2:2-3

On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” Acts 1:4-5

Dear Faithful Seed Sowers,
In verses four and five of the books of Acts, I was stopped in my study with the words “wait” and “promise.”  I know that there are many words in these verses that we could spend a lot of time on. We could talk about the command that Jesus gives. Why is it so hard to follow Jesus’ commands? We heard hurry and“ Go and Tell.” We heard “Go and Make.” Now we hear “Do Not Leave Jerusalem.” Is Jesus thinking clearly!?  Jerusalem is not a safe place. Does not Jesus remember what happened the last time they were all in Jerusalem? Wait! Wait in Jerusalem!

We can hardly wait for our phone to connect to the internet as the little circle goes round and round. A funny side note, I know a woman who was directed by the Holy Spirit to pick the word WAIT as her word of intention two years ago. She truly learned how to wait that year.
The Greek word that Dr. Luke uses for “wait” is “perimeno” and it is a present active verb that mean that the action is continuous– to “stay in one place and anticipate or expect” over and over and over again. Never stop waiting. Keep on waiting.

I think of Abraham and Sarah waiting almost 80 years to have a baby. I think of Daniel in the lion’s den waiting for God to rescue him in the morning. I think of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego waiting in a fiery furnace. I think of Moses and the Israelites waiting and wandering in the wilderness for forty years. It was forty days that the Israelites waited when Goliath stood and challenged them and mocked God. Then David showed up with a sling shot and five smooth stones. Zechariah and Elizabeth waited for years for their baby, John the Baptist. How about the paralyzed man at the Pool of Bethsaida? He waited for 38 years to be healed. Martha and Mary waited for Jesus to show up but then their brother died. Lazarus had been dead four days by the time Jesus showed up and what does he do? Resurrection time! Those are just some of the stories of the people in the bible who are waiting.

Are you waiting on Jesus? You, my friend, are in great company.

Jesus commanded the disciples to wait for the promise. The promise was the Holy Spirit. The person and the power of the Holy Spirit. In next week’s SEED OF FAITH we will spend some more time talking about the Holy Spirit—just wait!
But rest assured. When Jesus promises something — it will come to be fulfilled. It would be good to hold onto some of the promises in the Bible. One of the best promises we have been given is that we will have the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Remember the ending of Matthew. Jesus gave the Great Commission and said — “Remember I will be with you always even to the end of the age.”

So What?

We can all be witnesses. Can I Get A Witness!?
Here is your SO WHAT PASTOR DAVE homework for the week: As you wait, pray. Yep. When you go the grocery store and are waiting in line, stop, look around and pray for the people you see. Do the same at the gas station, at the doctor’s, everywhere you go—and as you are forced to GO AND WAIT…why not try praying for the places we go and people we see? I always ask the Holy Spirit to give me the people’s heart as I pray. We never know how our prayers will affect another heart. Let me give you an example: 31 years ago our eldest daughter graduated from High School. We threw a big party for her and invited everyone we knew! A young girlfriend of our daughter’s came to the party but decided she was to shy to come in. She dropped off her gift and left. My wife is a terrific communicator and she sensed that this young girl needed prayer. She prayed for her, asked our daughter who she was, and then Jac sent her a card thanking her for coming to the party and leaving a gift. Inside her card my wife enclosed a magnet—a GOD loves you magnet.
You are going to have to read next week’s SEED OF FAITH in order to understand how important it is in the kingdom of God for us to learn to wait. Let’s put Habukkuk to memory: Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay.

We sang a song last week by the group CAIN called THE COMISSION. Somewhere in the song we sang, “I have the purpose…God has the plan.” May we always remember that. The song is not IN MY TIME…but IN HIS TIME. God will make all things beautiful IN HIS TIME.

Want to know what happened in 31 years time with this young lady?

WAIT.

God loves you and so do I,
Pastor Dave
www.theseedchristianfellowship.com

Copyright © 2018 THE SEED CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP, All rights reserved. May you be blessed by God’s grace and love. You are receiving this email because you signed up for our weekly devotionals.   Our mailing address is: 6450 Emerald Street Alta Loma, California 91701   Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.

Weekly Seed of Faith 5/16/2023

Seed of Faith – Just Show Up  By Pastor Dave  

Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:16-20

Dear Faithful Seed Sowers,

After Easter worship, my wife and I jumped on a plane! That’s right, as soon as worship services and the egg hunt were completed, my wife and I flew to Texas in order to show up for five of our two grandsons’ baseball games for the week. What a joy and blessing it was to be there. Our younger grandson plays high school base ball and had two great games.  Of course, I could brag and show you videos and pictures. His older brother is a freshman in college. If you don’t know this, college sports are a whole other beast of athletism. Mason is a lefthanded pitcher. He is one pitcher on a team of 20 pitchers. Freshman usually have to pay their dues and that translates to: we sat in the stands and watched an all-day during double hitter and only saw our grandson warm up! We left Waco at 10 am, drove to Dallas, spent the day and returned home at 10 pm. It was a long, 12-hour day. Our grandson may not have gotten the chance to pitch in the game but the important thing is that we showed up. We cheered the team on (they won one, lost one.) We were able to watch our grandson snag balls during infield practice, and warm up in the dugout. After the first game, he was able to talk with us for a few minutes in the stands. He apologized for not playing and that we drove such along way for that. We told him, “Mason, just remember to show up. Life isn’t about showing up because you’re the star of the game. Life is just about showing up no matter what.”

When Jesus met Mary Magdalene and the other Mary in the garden by the empty tomb, He told them not to be afraid, but He actually told them more. Listen to Jesus’ words … Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.” Matthew 28:10

If you have read the Bible, you know that there are many resurrection appearances of Jesus that have been recorded. The New Testament indicates that there were at least ten appearances of the risen Lord, plus another appearance to Paul some years later. As we noted in our opening reading of the Gospel of John, Jesus appeared in the Upper room not once but twice. In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus appears to the disciples walking down the road to Emmaus after the resurrection.  In John we find Jesus appearing to the disciples on the seashore in Galilee and cooking fish tacos for their morning breakfast. We hear of Jesus forgiving Peter three times by asking Peter to love Him and feed His sheep. Did Jesus do that so that He and bff Pete were “even up” for the three times that Peter denied knowing Jesus? Maybe.  In eight of these appearance accounts, Christ gives an explicit commission, and in five of the eight he commands his followers to go into all the world and preach the gospel.

Our reading in Matthew comes after breakfast by the sea. Some scholars suggest that the timing of Matthew’s account is some fifty to fifty-five days after the resurrection. We could spend some time trying to put all the pieces together chronologically, but I do not think that is what we are called to do.

In Matthew, Jesus gives some powerful action points that are necessary for His followers to follow in order to fulfill their supreme mission on earth–to reach the mountain peak of their calling, as it were. These action points I would like to address over the next few Seeds of Faith: show up, worship, obedience — go make, baptize, and teach.

Notice the ending of verse 10 and the action in verse 11.  The women were told to go and tell the disciples (hiding in the upper room) to go the Galilee for there they would see Jesus. You know what the disciples did? They went.  That is what verse eleven tells us. They showed up, they were available.

I wonder how often I have failed to show up. I try and listen to what God is trying to tell and ask of me through the Holy Spirit each moment of each day. Sometimes I miss the boat and the result is I miss the opportunity to see God at work in my life and in the lives of others.

While we were in Texas, my wife and I went to one of my favorite Christian book stores (Mardel) to walk around and browse the books and Christian art. We picked out only a few books this trip knowing that we only had so much room in our 48 pound suitcases! We were standing in the checkout line—which was long—and my wife started waving all the other people behind us to go ahead of us. They only had one or two items and we had 7 books and we were in no hurry. The lady just in front of my wife thanked us because she only had a small amount of time before she had to go pick up her kids and she had prayed that she’d get in and out in record time. You know my wife, they talked about kids and then my wife noticed the title of the two books this woman was buying, The books were by Lysa Terkeurst! She was buying Lysa’s newest book called, “You’ll Get Through This”. The woman saw my cross and asked if I was a pastor. Then she shared with us that she was going through a messy divorce. They had been married 35 years and he just left for another younger woman. By now she was crying. Jac asked her about the books she has read by Lysa. Turns out, she has read almost all of them—except, she missed GOOD  BOUNDARIES AND GOODBYES—the very study our SEED BOSSY women are studying this Spring! Jac was like, “NO! NO! You need to get this book before you get that book! This boundaries book is the precursor and foundation of that book! First, you need to know about boundaries and good byes!” You got it, I had already left the line and had gone to pick up the study guide and the book. Jac is leading the women’s study at the SEED. While I was gone, the woman told Jac, “OK. I will go home, go to work and make more money and come back and get that study in two weeks.” After the woman checked out, Jac asked her if she could wait just another moment for a blessing. You got it. THE SEED bought this woman the tools she needed to finish her mountain climbing for this season. Oh, how she cried. After we were done checking out our own 7 books, we went off to the side of the checkout aisle and prayed for this broken-hearted person. Jac wrote down an encouraging note in her book, showed her how to access the 6 videos online and left her cell phone number.

SO WHAT?

Point number one!  Show up — be available. As we were listening to the Christian radio in Waco, a caller shared that she had participated in the local PAY IT FORWARD TUESDAY last week. You know, you’re in the drive up line and someone pays for the car behind them? This person drove through the bistro and said, “ I want to pay for mine and for the car behind me.” The next Tuesday this woman showed up again and the bistro told her that the last time they paid it forward—20 cars!

What I’m trying to tell you is that you don’t always go out and say, “Here I am. Showing up!” Sometimes you simply are nothing but available. You’re there and ALL OF A SUDDENLY…there’s an opportunity to watch God work…and God may even be using you to do just that!

That’s what Jesus is commanding here. “Go tell the family of God to JUST SHOW UP. I’ll take care of the rest.”

See you Sunday!
God loves you and so do I,
Pastor Dave

www.theseedchristianfellowship.com

Copyright © 2018 THE SEED CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP, All rights reserved. May you be blessed by God’s grace and love. You are receiving this email because you signed up for our weekly devotionals.   Our mailing address is: 6450 Emerald Street Alta Loma, California 91701   Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.

Weekly Seed of Faith 3/18/23

Seed of Faith – Salt and Light   By Pastor Dave  

“You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything, but is thrown out and trampled underfoot.“You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid. No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:13-16

 

Dear Faithful Seed-Sowers,

It is my prayer that you are staying healthy and are walking with Jesus as you season your world.

This a two-part message. This week will talk about being a little salty. Next week, we will see how light can shine.

In the days of Jesus, and for many centuries thereafter, salt was the most common preservative used. There were no refrigerators, no deep freezers in ancient times. Salt was used to keep things from going bad and becoming rotten, particularly meat. When Jesus said, “You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything, but is thrown out and trampled underfoot” Jesus was telling His disciples that they were called to be the preserving agent in a decaying world.

This simple principle from Jesus is that you and I are called to be a preserving force in our world–wherever we are called to live, work, play and worship.

Think of it this way — salt that never leaves the box on the shelf will do no good in preserving anything. To be effective, salt has to be rubbed into the meat. Have you gone into the grocery store and looked at all of the “rubs” they have for seasoning your steak? In this same way, we must allow God to use us as flavorful seasoning (rub) for our homes, workplaces, neighborhoods, families, and churches. A small amount of love and kindness goes a long way in making our world a better place.

Sodium is an extremely active element found naturally only in combined form; it always links itself to another element. Chlorine, on the other hand, is the poisonous gas that gives bleach its offensive odor. When sodium and chlorine are combined, the result is sodium chloride–common table salt–the substance we use to preserve meat and bring out its flavor.

Love and truth can be like sodium and chlorine. Love without truth is flighty, sometimes blind, willing to combine with various, contrary doctrines. On the other hand, truth by itself can be offensive, sometimes even poisonous. Spoken without love, truth can turn people away from the gospel. But when truth and love are combined in an individual or in a church then we have what Jesus called “the salt of the earth,” and we are able to preserve and bring out the beauty of our faith.

The other day I went to the grocery store to do some shopping. I went to buy juice for home communions, I came across an insight on flavoring. I was holding a bottle of Blueberry Pomegranate Juice. There was a picture of a ripe pomegranate spilling its exotic, glistening seeds onto mounds of fat, perfect blueberries. I read the ingredient list: “Filtered water, pear juice concentrate, apple juice concentrate, grape juice concentrate.” Where was the blueberry? Where was the pomegranate? Finally, I found them, fifth and seventh in a list of nine ingredients.

By law, food ingredients are listed in descending order of weight. Meaning a product contains the greatest proportion of the first ingredient on the list and successively less of those farther down the list. According to the jug in my hand, it contained mostly water—a few other juices, with just enough blueberry and pomegranate for flavor and color.

In the bottom corner of the front label in small, easy-to-miss, were the tell-tale words: “Flavored juice blend with other natural ingredients.” The enticing pictures and clever labeling were decoys used to sell a diluted, blueberry-pomegranate flavored product convincingly disguised to look like something it was not. I put the juice back on the shelf. I chose the juice that was more costly—but it had more of what I was looking for.

So What?

That jug of juice made me think, what if we had an ingredients list printed on us?

Would Jesus be the main ingredient?

If not, how far down the list would He be?

Would our “label” accurately represent our contents?

Or would we falsely project a misleading outward-appearance that cleverly masked our diluted ingredients? Our packaging may be convincing. We may look and sound like the real thing but what if someone came looking for Jesus and found something else?

Oliver Wendell Holmes once said, “I might have entered the ministry if certain clergymen I knew had not looked and acted so much like undertaker.” (Today In The Word, June, 1988, p. 13).

More than a hundred years ago the atheist philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche reproached a group of Christians. Nietzsche said: “Yuck, you make me sick!” When their spokesman asked why, he answered, “because you redeemed don’t look like you are redeemed. You are as fearful, guilt-ridden, anxious confused, and adrift in an alien environment as I am. I am allowed. I do not believe. I have nothing to hope for. But you people claim you have a Savior. Why don’t you look like you are saved?” (Brennan Manning, Souvenirs of Solitude, 2009, Colorado Springs, NavPress)

Every Sunday my loving wife prays for me before church. Every Sunday she concludes with the same prayer, “Lord, help Dave to be funny. Let him reflect the peace and joy he has in knowing you. Amen.” Knowing Jesus really is the best part of my life. And Jesus wants us to be SALT to our world. He wants us to RUB off on others. It only takes a small amount of salt to flavor whatever we are using it on; the same way with us—it only takes a small amount of the love of Jesus to rub off on those in our tiny sector of the world. That’s our job: to be the SALT of the earth.

I leave you with your “SO WHAT?” homework:

  • Am I the SALT of the Savior? Divide my life into who I am, what I’m doing, and where I’m going—and let’s spread the love of God everywhere we are.
  • What if I had an ingredients list printed on me? Would Jesus be the main ingredient? What do I need to do in order to be more like Christ?

My prayer for you today: Be funny! (Just kidding.) Seriously, let’s take some time to sit with this SEED OF FAITH. Let’s look at our lives. If I’m the SALT of the EARTH, am I RUBBING off on those I live with? work with? worship with? Everywhere I go, am I seasoning others with God’s tremendous love? “Dear Father, I want others to know you and to experience your grace and love and forgiveness. Help me to fill my heart, mind, soul, spirit, body and strength with your living words of life so that I can be a living, walking, talking gospel of Jesus Christ. I don’t want Jesus to be the last ingredient on my label; I want Jesus listed first. Help me to be more like Jesus. Amen.” 

See you Sunday! 

God loves you and so do I,

Pastor Dave

www,theseedchristianfellowship.com

Copyright © 2018 THE SEED CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP, All rights reserved. May you be blessed by God’s grace and love. You are receiving this email because you signed up for our weekly devotionals.   Our mailing address is: 6450 Emerald Street Alta Loma, California 91701   Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.