Reasonable Service

Today we are on our way to South Carolina. We will be with Pastor Blackwell at Westside Baptist Church. I hope that we will be able to be an encouragement to his people for the cause of world evangelism.

James 2:26 – “For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.”

You say you have faith that God is going to do something great, maybe something specific in your life, but the question according to the book of James is what are your doing to prepare or work toward this great work?

In James chapter two James gives the example of someone in need of warm clothing. He wants you to imagine this person coming to you and asking for help, and in faith you say depart in peace and be warmed and filled. How did those eloquent words help that person in need? They didn’t. They probably just soothed your conscience. Your faith was worthless.

If you really had faith in that situation you would have taken action maybe out of your own resources, if you had something to give, or helped the person find what he was in need of somewhere else.
If you really have faith, according to the book of James, works will follow. So, where are your works? You say you know/have faith, that God wants you to be a missionary. Where are the works that follow that faith? Are you pursuing it every day in the books you read, the people you follow, and the work that you exhaust yourself in? Your faith is worthless unless it is backed up by works!

What kind of faith do you have?

In Christ-Centered Counseling by Charles Solomon, the author talks about how to view the presenting problem. Here is some of what he has to say about the issue.

He states that the presenting problem is the reason the person seeks out counseling. This is what the person seeking counseling sees as the problem in his life. This is not always the case.

But many times after buying into what the counselee sees as the problem, we as disciplers set about to help remove this problem from the counselee’s life.

It could be a marital, financial, or job related issue. But what we don’t see and we do not understand is that this may be the very thing God is using to remove the self-life out of that person.

Galatians 6:2 tells us to bear one another’s burdens. It does not tell us to remove it completely.

We put ourselves between the person and God becoming an accomplice in trying to subvert God’s plan when we try to remove these burdens out of their life because these, many times, are the very things God is using to gain full surrender in the life of the disciple.

Well Corli and I are in the process of celebrating our 6th anniversary. I thank God for my beautiful wife. I have no idea what I would do without her. I definately married up. She is an amazing woman and I am so thankful that God created me such a wonderful helpmeet.

Right now we are Emmanuel Baptist Church in Fort Myers, Florida. We are in a round-robin type conference between three local churches. We were at a missions banquet tonight at Tri-City Baptist Church in Port Charlotte, Fl. Tommorrow morning we will be at Emmanuel Baptist Church and then tommorrow night we will be at Seagate Baptist Church in Naples, Fl.

When we leave Florida we will head to South Carolina for a meeting on Tuesday night.

Hebrews 13:15 – “By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name. 16 But to do good and to communicate forget not: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.”

Because of Jesus you and I can sacrifice unto God. Sacrifice can only happen now, while you are living. When we arrive in Heave the privilege of sacrificing our life, resources, and talents for the Lord will come to an end. The time is now!!!

You have the continual opportunity while still here on earth of sacrificing to God. How often do you take advantage of this opportunity? In a general sense, sacrifice is simply something that brings praise to God.

Here in this verse the Bible says “the fruit of our lips giving thanks to His name.” When is the last time you sacrificed in this way? It is so easy and convenient yet so neglected by Christians. Who gave you the house you live in? Your health? Your children? Your mate? Your job? Let the sacrifice of praise come from your lips unto the living God.

Don’t just stop with sacrifice of praise continue into sacrifices of service and stewardship. Notice the next verse says, “But to do good and to communicate forget not: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.
It is great to praise God with the fruit of our lips but if we don’t sacrifice unto God by serving Him and giving unto Him we then our praise is vain/empty. In other words put your money where your mouth is.

God loves a cheerful giver!!! One who gives his life, his resources, his abilities to God. We not only give these things in the house of God but everyday to our neighbors (all those around us).

God is well pleased with this kind of praise and sacrifice. Take time today and praise the Lord with your mouth, your deeds, and your giving.

SOUTH AFRICA MISSION TRIP

Port Elizabeth, South Africa, Africa

The purpose of the South Africa mission trip is designed to allow the Pastor/student/laymen the opportunity to experience a cross-cultural environment, get first-hand experience in third world church planting, and be forever impacted by seeing the field for themselves.

Education, Service and Leadership opportunities will include but are not limited to:

 Involvement in the infant stages of a church plant:

Pastors/Students/laymen will have the opportunity to get involved in the foundational phase of a new church plant.

You will walk the streets of South Africa’s heartbreaking townships spreading the Good News. You will have opportunities to teach, preach, and exercise your God-given gifts on the mission field.

 Madiba Bay Baptist Church:

Madiba Bay Baptist Church is just over 2yrs old and will be the primary church the student/laymen or Pastor will serve in.

Here you will find opportunities to teach (children, youth, and adults), preach, and sing. There are also opportunities to teach in the Bible institute. The possibilities and opportunities are endless.

We would like to know your interests and where you feel you are gifted as we could utilize your skills to help aid this local church.

The church is located in kwaZakhele, Port Elizabeth. The city of Port Elizabeth itself is home to over 1 million people.
The local population is primarily made up of Xhosa, Afrikaan, and English people. Inside the city you will find a majority of the people speak Xhosa, followed by English and Afrikaans. You will be able to minister at Madiba Bay in English, as English is the median language of the country.

 Village Outreach
Many Xhosa villages lie just a short distance outside of Port Elizabeth and further out. The Pastor/student/laymen will have the opportunity to do an evangelism trip to one of the targeted villages.

Other Details of the Trip:
o Approximate Date: September 13-24th 2010

For more details write to coffey@totheworld.org

Hebrews 10:24, 25 – “And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: 25 Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.”

Let’s take notice of the commands given in these verses and see how they can impact our Christian life:

1. Consider One Another – In other words – think of others, consider how you can encourage others, stir up others, think of how you can move others- to show love and do good works!!!

Have you considered this lately? When is the last time you made an effort to encourage, move, stir up someone to show love and do something good for the Lord with their life? How about today? Call someone, visit someone, send a card or letter and encourage someone in Lord to do something good in the name of the King of Kings!!!

2. Don’t Forsake – The word forsake means to desert. Have you deserted God, His house, and His people?

If you were in a war and in the heat of the battle you took off and did your own thing you would be considered a deserter. It would only take one time for this to be true of you. I don’t need to say that we are in a war. The stakes are high, and the souls of men are on the line. Your brothers and sisters in Christ need your encouragement but have you deserted them?

I know that missing church one time is not the end of the world and is not forsaking the church but it could be that on that one day your brother or sister needed you and you weren’t there because of some lesser cause and they didn’t receive the encouragement they needed from you on that day. We should think of missing church as a LAST resort kind of choice.

Don’t stop going to church meetings. Don’t stop meeting together with other believers. Don’t give up your meetings with other believers. When you have developed a habit of missing church you have officially forsaken the assembly.

In contrast to forsaking the Bible encourages us to rather meet more frequently as we see the Day of the Lord getting closer. That is today friend, let’s be more faithful and do all we can to meet up with the brethren as much as possible.

3. Exhort One Another – The best way to exhort/comfort others is face to face and that is exactly the context of this statement. Just after telling the reader not to forsake the brethren – he says exhort them and do it more and more as the Day of the Lord gets closer.

What is your tendency? Have you become more and more disinterested in meeting with the brethren? Are you becoming a forsaker? Acknowledge this problem today and begin a new habit of meeting whenever the doors are open with those you will spend all eternity with.

Build a reputation of being an encourager!!!

Last night we were at Drakestown Baptist Church, Temple, GA. We had a great time with Pastor Doug Weaver. He gave us plenty of time to tell the people about our ministry and after the service we had some food and fellowship.

During the fellowship I found out that Pastor Weaver is the older brother of Herman “Thunderfoot” Weaver, former NFL standout. Some of you may remember his playing days. He is now a Christian speaker through Thunderfoot ministries.

Here is his BIO:

Herman “Thunderfoot” Weaver was a punter with an 11 year career in the National Football League from 1970 through 1980. Herman spent 7 years punting for the Detroit Lions and 4 years with the Seattle Seahawks. During his career, Herman punted 693 times for 27,897 total yards. In 1975, Herman was named the NFC Punter of the Year and in 1988 the Sporting News called Herman “One of the Top 20 Punters of All Time”. During his storied career, Herman was teammates with some of the games greats; players like Greg Landry, Lem Barney, Charlie Sanders, Alex Karras, Jim Zorn and Steve Largent. Herman still holds the dubious all-time NFL record for the most punts blocked in a career at 14 (you’ve got to be known for something).

If you have a problem with overspending or do not have a budget then I would recommend Dave Ramsey’s book Financial Peace.

Here are some highlights from Dave Ramsey’s book Financial Peace:

The Envelope System

He says “one way to make sure you don’t overspend is to get on the envelope system.”

Here is how it works:

Allocate however much money you desire and can afford to spend on the following categories each month:

1. Grocery
2. Restaurants
3. Gas and Oil
4. Car repairs and Tires
5. Laundry/Cleaning
6. Toiletries
7. Baby-sitter
8. Cosmetics
9. Hair Care
10. Blow money
11. Entertainment

One of the keys to this system is to pay with cash instead of cards, and checks as it will hurt more and you will think twice before spending when you pay with cash.

It helps with not overspending but it also helps you keep track of how much you spend each month on each category and then you can make the needed adjustments.

You are not keeping within your budget if you are robbing Peter to pay Paul. In other words if you are taking money from the grocery envelope to pay for hair care you are
breaking the budget. You must keep disciplined and only spend the money that is designated to that category.

You may need to add more envelopes and discard others as your lifestyle may be different from the one proposed.

Hope this helps. Remember discipline is the key to freedom. If you discipline yourself to a budget then you can enjoy the freedom of being debt-free and also enjoy being stress free as a result.

Genesis 15:1-11

1. Abraham Wants to Go to the __next level__.
• Whereby shall I know… v. 8
• I know you can bless me.
• I know you can give me success.
• I want to make sure I have it.
• “What do I have to do to go to the next level with you God?”

2. God requires a _commitment____________.
• If you want more it’s going to cost you more.
• Are you willing to do what it takes?
• You’re going to have to make a sacrifice. V. 9
• You’re going to have to endure some dark times. V. 12
• I will meet with you at a new level. V. 17
• I will make a covenant with you. V. 18
• New levels require new commitments.

3. We willingly make __offerings___________ to God.
• Study our Bibles, pray more and seek God.
• Witness and testify of God’s goodness and glory.
• Lay aside weights and live a holy life for God.
• Give more time to God’s work

4. The Buzzards come to __Defile___________ our sacrifice.
• The buzzards will defile our offering.
• Buzzards of criticism that hurt our feelings.
• Buzzards of other things that steal our time.
• Buzzards of worldly indulgences that defile our life.
• Buzzards of wrong influences that keep us from God.
• Buzzards of pride. Buzzards of envy. Buzzards of fear.

5. We Must Be Diligent to ___Drive__________ the Buzzards Away.
• Anyone can make an offering.
• Anyone can go to the altar and make a decision.
• If you are going to go to the next level you’ll have to DRIVE THE BUZZARDS AWAY.