November 1, 2009 Pastor John Glick
Super - Success or Loser, Romans 3:27-28. What can we boast about doing to earn our salvation? Nothing at all. Why? Because our salvation is not based on our deeds. It is based on what Christ has done in our faith engine. We are saved by faith in Christ, not by the good deeds we do. May God add His blessing to the reading of His Word. Thats from the Living Bible which says what I really want to say. Do you know the difference between the secret doers of this world and the moderate successers? And the losers? Do you think a lot of times , well, I must be a loser because look at the situation I am in. Think about that some. The difference between the people at the top - who are standing on top of a ladder - or hanging in the middle or standing at the bottom - is only one thing. Those at the bottom and the middle and the good thoughts they live by. Somehow we get into the habit of hanging on to the worst scenario in our life. That is the ending of our life. That's the way we feel. We are on the bottom. We can never go anywhere. We can never climb to the top. We can never win. Some people can never relate to other people. Some people have never learned to respect other people. Some people have never learned to manage money. I have trouble with that. The only trouble is I don't have money to manage. You have to have some to practice on. Some never learn to be positive. I used to be a much more negative person than I am now. A lot of it I did just to be that way to get people to comment. One day a District Superintendent took me aside and wanted to know why I was so negative. I couldn't say, not truthfully. I couldn't say, "I just want to agitate you". But that is really what it was. I learned that is not the way to be. We have to learn how to relate to people, and not use them. I never have much of that problem, now. I used to. I have had trouble with many people. There is some people that I can't relate to yet. Others I can. Others, I don't try. Its just the way life is. It is something we have to learn to do. I don't know if I ever learned it completely. I learned its best not to bring in too many leaders in the Church who are untalented or unchristian or unknowledgeable people. That doesn't sound very good, I know. I discover in the Church - I am talking about the whole Church. The whole contry - hundreds of thousands of us. So many of our leaders are unknowledgeable to the nth degree. I think of one who became a Bisop from Cincinnati, Ohio. I was privilaged one time to go with a group of men to his Church. He took us through the rigmarole of what he went though to become a Bishop. Also, what he was doing in his Church that was growing like mad - just leaps and bounds. In our Church in Oakland, we grow by the person. His Church grew by the 100's. I went in that day to walk through the Church. Right in the middle of the Church was a gymnasium. There was a group of ladies. I thought they were doing ballet, but they were doing exercising. I didn't stop to watch, I kept going. That was no place for me. After the walk-through was over, we went into a side room where he wanted to speak to us. He sat down and let someone else speak. He sat down and he had a little satchel. He put it on a chair and sat on it. Pretty soon he laughed and said, "You guys probably wonder what I am doing". He opened the satchel and had some kind of padded material for a soft seat on his chair. I thought it was some kind of great, mind boggling thing he was doing there that was going to help us learn something. He had a bad back. Sometimes we are something that we are not. Not for long, but we can do it for a while. I try to fool people into thinking I am smart. That doesn't last long. I see heads back there shaking right now. I know that didn't work. You have to think about how we are going to win in the Church. How we are going to win this game of life. The game of life is greater than we as individuals. It's so great that we have to take many things into consideration and deal with them every day. Some of them are good, some are bad, some of them hurt, some of them don't. We have it all. We go through a gamit of stuff.
I think of John Wesley. He was the founder of the Methodist Church. His ideas, his thoughts, his actions - Back in early life he appeared to be a loser. He was taken into the Angelican Church in England, and was ordained as a priest. It was his hope that he could do some good. He became a missionary to the United States of America. As a missionary, he was in Georgia. In the South, he failed. He didn't build the Church. He didn't get a great calling. He didn't make a lot of money. He didn't send anyone out to do anything spectacular. He didn't get a top notch appointment which is what he hoped for. He was a failure. Then he went back to England. On his way back on the ship was a group of Morovians - not missionaries, just Christians. There he learned more about Jesus Christ than he ever did before in the Angelican Church. When he got home, he thought about it and he prayed about it. He prayed and gave his life to Christ. He said, "I knew I was changed". I wasn't something that was happening out of a book. I felt my heart was changed. "I felt" - thats what we want as Christians. We want that change in our life. We want to be changed as Christians. That is the whole idea behind it. From a man who was filled with dispair, he became a man who was filled with Christ. It made all the difference in the world in his life. He met Jesus Christ at the altar call one night.
We can meet Jesus at the altar of this Church. He is here waiting for us. Now, we get tired of hearing the preacher say, "Come to the altar and get saved". Many times we say, "I've been to the altar several times". I go to take communion. I'm talking about coming to Christ. Come to Jesus Christ. I'm not talking about coming to the preacher. I'm talking about coming to Christ. That is what we need for each one of us. John Wesley was a changed man. He was no longer a loser. Now, he went on to be a super-success.
Look at ourselves today. What are we? Are we a super-success? Maybe a moderate success? Do we feel like a loser? Lets get over the loser. I can accept for all of us that we have a long way to go. What is success? Success is having Jesus Christ as Lord of our life to the point that nothing in this world can take it away from us. Do you have Christ in your life to the nth degree? Do you have Christ in your life so that nothing is going to come between you and Christ? Even the battles in your life. You pray to Him and you don't feel like you are getting an answer. You are asking for help and you don't feel like He has helped you much. You haven't let that come between you. You still believe in Christ. Christ is the answer. He ultimately is. We just have to be patient.
I think of Moses as a good example of that. Moses was a man who God raised up and saved in a situation on the Nile River, if you remember. They put him in a basket of reeds. The King's daughter came and found him and raised him. He was with her for forty years. He became the man who would ultimately be the King of Egypt. That is what he was there for, because he was a great man. Until one day, he discovered his roots - who he really was. He wasn't an Egyptian at all. He belonged to that group of slaves. His mother was a slave. Hid dad was a slave. He had to mix straw with water to make slush. Then one day he found an Egyptian task master beating one of his family, and Moses killed him. He buried him in the sand. You don't hide a thing like that. The Egyptians found out. Then Moses had to run. He had to run off into the wilderness by himself.
Remember the story? Moses met God at the burning bush? There was a bush over here with a fire that didn't burn up. He went aside to see what in the world was going on. God said, "Take off your shoes. You are standing on Holy ground". Have you met your burning bush yet? Have you seen the fire? Have you seen God? Have you seen the flame? Have you heard God speak to you? Take off your shoes, you are standing on Holy ground? In your house? This is where god makes something Holy by being crowded together and having rituals. God wants to be in your heart. If God is in your heart, you are on Holy ground. Very Holy ground. You need to realize that. God sets the prisoners free as well. He sets them free - why remain a prisoner? Get free - get set free. You know, that is the way. The way it is supposed to happen. Anyone who is saved is going to Heaven. Everyone who is saved is going to Heaven. That is a promise. The promise of eternal life - that is your heritage. That is what you deserve when you become a Christian. What about all of our loved ones? They don't feel the same as I do or go to Church. They don't believe in God like I do. They have problems. God has a problem with them, too. He set you free, so you can tell others how to be set free, too. In a sense, this makes it imperative that we the Church tell the community right outside our door about our God. It is one thing to set in here and fellowship together. It is another thing to go out there and see people who don't know God in order to see them saved and their lives changed. It doesn't mean they will be wiser, more beautiful, or richer. It means they are under the care of God. You can tell them what eternal life is all about. What it means to accept God, to live for Him. To know that your life is saved, no matter what happens to you in this world. You are saved in Christ. We have to remember that. You say to yourself, "How can I do that"?
We have to take a positive approach to life itself. That is what makes you a super-sucess. Take a positive approach - I am not going to let it get me down. Be positive in your own faith, in your own salvation. Your own Church, in your everything. After all the Bible tells us positively that Christ is all and over all. Christ is in charge. If we can just get Him into our minds and realize the preacher is not in charge of the Church. The congregation is not in charge of the Church. Christ is. We are under the promise of Jesus Christ. Christ is there to save everyone of us from our sins. He is there to save our life and to give us hope. Something to think about.
You are a winner. As a Christian, you are a winner. Live your victory. Start living it. Know that you are a winner. Know that you have won the battle with sin - won the battle with destruction and hate, and all the rest of it. You have won. Things don't look that much better yet. You have won, because Christ is now in charge of your life. He is in charge. It may not look like it to you. You may not feel that you have made a turnaround and changed just like that. You did.
Be positive. Share your victory with others not your sadness - not your defeats. Share your victories. There are victories out there. Be positive. You are part of a winning team. God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, the Church, and you. That is a unit you can't beat. That is something that can't be defeated. We can rail against it, hate it, speak against it, but can't beat it. It's there. God can do great things through those who don't care if God gets all the credit. Well, I raised the members of Church last year by five. I want credit for that. I raised the number by fifty, I want credit for that. I raised it by 100, I want credit for that. I didn't do anything. I got credit for that. What are we? A super success? Moderate success? or losers? Lets don't be losers. Moderate success is far better than being a loser.
Winning Christians are all part of the plan. We put our hearts with God. We share together in large victories. We share together in sorrows. We share together in losses. We share together in a lot of things. When we have our sins forgiven that means we are going to inherit eternal life. We are going to live forever. I am not going to live forever like this. There will come a day - one of these days - when I lay aside this mantle. Where will my spirit be? What will my spirit be doing? A week from now, a year from now. What will it be like? Think about that. Are you a winner? a loser? a super-success? I want to be a super-success. I can't be that. There were times when I felt like it. There were other times when I didn't feel like it. There were other times when I felt like a super loser. I believe God has given me super victories. Victories that I can't even explain. That will be God's doing. God can take something bad and make it good. Trust in Jesus Christ who really takes away our sins and does something for us. We are set free to seek the best things in life. Now - Today. We are set free to seek friendship with one another on the highest level. I think that is very important. We are set free to seek co-operation with like minded Christians in all walks of life, in all languages, and so on.
Romans 5:1-2 says,"Therefore, since we have been made right in God's sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God's glory". We can become a super-success by becoming a positive thinker, a positive believer. It all happens in Christ. It is not what I do or what I think or what I want. It is what I want to do for Christ that makes all the difference. Have you surrendered your all for Christ? Have you given to Him your hurts, your failures, pains, your victories, your success? Have you given all to Christ? We are going to sing a closing hymn right now. I want you to think about what I said. At the end of the hymn, I am going to give an invitation to come to the altar, and just talk with Christ. I am not asking you to do anything with me. I won't bother you. Come and talk to Christ. Ask Him to change the situation in your life, and to change you to be more like Him. Ask Christ to do something for you. (Three people came to the altar for prayer).
October 25, 2009 In God's Service Pastor John Glick
Pastor Glick read in the Bible 2 Timothy 2:15-26. Work hard so you can present yourself to God and receive His approval. Be a good worker, one who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly explains the word of truth. Avoid worthless, foolish talk that only leads to more godless behavior. This kind of talk spreads like cancer, as in the case of Hymenaeus and Piletus. They have left the path of truth, claiming that the resurrection of the dead has already occurred; in this way, they have turned some people away from the faith.
But God's truth stands firm like a foundation stone with this inscription: "The Lord knows those who are His". and "All who belong to the Lord must turn away from evil". In a wealthy home some utensils are made of gold and silver, and some are made of wood and clay. The expensive utensils are used for special occasions, and the cheap ones are for everyday use. If you keep yourself pure, you will be a special utensil for honorable use. Your life will be clean, and you will be ready for the Master to use you for every good work.
Run from anything that stimulates youthful lusts. Instead, pursue righteous living, faithfulness, love, and peace. Enjoy the companionship of those who call on the Lord with pure hearts.
Again, I say, don't get involved in foolish, ignorant arguments that only start fights. A servant of the Lord must not quarrel but must be kind to everyone, be able to teach, and be patient with difficult people. Gently instruct those who oppose the truth. Perhaps God will change those people's hearts, and they will learn the truth. Then they will come to their senses and escape from the devil's trap. For they have been held captive by him to do whatever he wants.
May God add His blessing to the reading of His Word. I once heard of a preacher who said he could preach as good a sermon from Sears & Roebuck catalog as he could from the Bible. If you ever heard him preach, you would say that is true. He preached about the same as he would from the catalog. Theologically speaking, he was about as far from God as the Sears catalog. That sometimes happens. You know, the Bible says the blind can not lead the blind. You have to follow God to become a Christian worker. We have to be Christians to DO Christian. I want to think and talk about it today.
I am thouroughly convinced that our Church School or Sunday School teachers and leaders as well as preachers need to be on the same level. We need to be on the same page. We need to be trying for the same thing, to lead our people to know Jesus better. The whole purpose of Church is to get united with Jesus. He ultimately is our leader. He ultimately is our hope. He ultimately is our all and all. Without Jesus you are really lost. Without Jesus we are absolutely alone. We can only be without Jesus by rejecting Him. We really don't want to do that. The first basic dimension of the Church is our Christian commitment to Jesus. How much commitment do you have to Him? How much commitment to Jesus do you really have? You say, "I went to the altar one time and I prayed". We may say, "I pray every night when I go to bed". Are we really close to Jesus? Is there a connection at all? Are we just mouthing words? Are we just doing what others do? Sort of a I'll do as you do if you will do as I do and together we will do it. Real education and good evangelism go together. I'm thinking more of Sunday School than I am of Church. We really need to be educated to be smart Christians. We need to know what Christ is all about. What has Christ done this morning for us? What is He going to do? As you sit there in your seat with thoughts of your own, what is Christ doing for you? How much are you allowing Christ to do for you? Let me reword that. Do we allow Christ to do anything for us? Carrying that a little farther, how do we allow Christ to do for us? The answer is very simple - we simply ask. Jesus, come into my heart. Jesus abide with me or live with me. Jesus will you do something so I know you are there? Make a move - do something so I will know you are there. See, we have the feeling someimes that God - Jesus is far from us. He doesn't want to be close to us. He doesn't want to associate with us. Actually, the only way we can be far from Him is for us to reject Him. God wants nothing more in this world than to be close to you. That is what God is for. That is what He really wants.
Too often, Church and Sunday School become sounding boards just for the preacher - not for Sunday School teachers or the leaders of the Church to sound off their ideas and their thoughts. We put God in the background. We set Him aside. God - I'm behind the pulpit. I'm in charge. You just sit there and mind your business. That's not the way it should be. God you are in charge. This is your Church. We have a problem sometimes when the preacher invites people to come to the altar.
Back in the old Methodist Church years ago, they had what they called a mourners bench. Any of you know what the mourners bench was? Its what we call the altar. The deacons of the Church would sit up front. They didn't have a choir as such. They would sit up here close to the mourners bence. Anyone who came to the mourners bench came to mourn. Mourn what? Their sins. They came to mourn because they thought they were not good enough for God to save them. They came to ask God to save them. The deacons of the Church would come and pray with them. Not a bad idea at all, really. We can use all the prayer we can get. We can use all the prayer help we can get. The Church needs more prayer. If you listen to some of the prayer that goes on in some of the Churches, you can see why some Churches are not very strong. We have lost a sense of prayer. We have lost a sense of the Holy. We have lost a sense of God. We have let it slip away. We just haven't denied God - God get away from us. We haven't done that al all. I find myself doing the same thing as anybody else when I have a few extra moments. I usually head for sports channels. I get the ball game score, or look for a game. I watched the Buckeyes yesterday. Watched them win. I cheered for them. I was happy when they won. I would be unhappy if they lost. I was there and watched it. I didn't pray for them. I didn't pray against them. I didn't wish the other team bad luck. Years ago when I played ball, I prayed that the star of the team would break a leg before he got to us. I don't do that anymore.
Lets go back to Sunday School. There are very few people who are convinced that Sunday School is important anymore. It is - it is very important. I realize that I haven't been the greatest supporter of Sunday School. I've tried to give it my interest. Sunday School can lead to commitment. We need commitment to the Church. The thing that we need out of Sunday School at Church more than anything else is commitment to God and His purpose. That is a word that's not used very much anymore. What are you commited to? You commit to your job for one thing. Anymore, we who are commited to jobs aren't really as commited as we ought to be. Commitment is kind of a lost word. I believe we have to reinstate the Bible as a primary source of everything we do. The Bible has the answer to everything. That is what we need to get back to, is the Bible. That is what I am really trying to get down to this morning. As Church workers we need to get back to the Bible and its teaching. The Bible says in 2 Timothy 3:16-17; "All scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip His people to do every good work". It is telling us what we need to do for God. What we are doing is serving God. We are not just here to hear the preacher. That would be a lost cause. We are not here to study the Bible - that would be a lost cause due to we are not able to discern enough scripture. We need to be able to share with each other and see it being lived out in our lives.
When people look at the Church and they see who is here. Lets say somebody stands across the street and watches us as we leave this morning. Are they going to say, "There goes a great group of people"? Those are the people who were in Church. Are we making an impression at all as Christians? We worry about the youth of the community. Are we making any impression on the youth at all? Do we need to ask our self the hard question - why? What more chould I do? What more can I say? The point is to make an impression. We want to try to lead people to Christ.
Lets go back to Church. Here in the Church, we neglect prayer. We listen to the preacher. We don't remember in a couple of hours what the preacher said. What do we get from going to Church? Not much answer is there? Some come here because Mom and Dad made them. Anybody come to see God? Did anyone come to hear God preached? Did anyone come to hear the Word of God read, or to read the Word of God? Do we want to know what God has in store for us for the week? Do we realize that God has something in store for us this week? How do we obtain this? By sitting here listening to the preacher? The preacher is simply the teacher of God's Word. That is all. The preacher is not the Holy man, the leader, the boss, or any such thing. He is here to teach the Word of God. You say, "I can't understand it - it is full of Thee and Thou". All you have to do is read it. You will begin to understand it. You will get the idea. You will realize what it says. It is saying that you can have a good life. As a matter of fact, you can have eternal life. You can have real life. Not only that, but you can tell others, "You can have real life. Hey, there is something better than this. There is something better than what we are living. There is a better way to go, than where we are going. There is a better way to do what we are doing. There is a better way of thinking than what we are thinking". Life can be a lot better - if we let God do it. That is what God is saying - Let me in. God will help us do what we need to do.
If our Church or Sunday School is to be evangelistic, we have to be the evangelist, all of us. Not just me - all of us. We need to find God for our self. Then we reach out and help others find God. I have to begin to lead. You each have to begin to hear, and let God direct your future. Let God direct your life. Let God get a hold of you.
Let me close with this. As a young man, I dabbled with it. I wanted God, I accepted Him. I still kind of played around with it. I went to the Laurelville Church one night. The preacher had started the Church in the old schoolhouse there. I went in one night and the place was packed. During the message, one of the men sitting in the back got up and started to run. He ran inside. I was completely worn out by the time he got done running. He was happy. He was listening. He was doing something. I was sitting there hearing the same thing, and I wasn't doing anything. He got a lot more out of it. He became a minister. He stuttered. He talked so fast that you could hardly understand him. Churches didn't turn him off when he had something to say. What I am saying is that it doesn't matter who we are, how well we speak, or don't. It is only what we allow God to do in us. I'm pleading with you today, Church - Let God have His way with us. Let God lead us. Let's not hold Him off at arms length. Let's not push Him away. Let's quit thinking we have all the answers. I know the Bible. It doesn't say just thee and thou, or that. What does it say? WE NEED GOD MORE THAN ANYTHING ELSE. THIS IS GOD'S CHURCH. Let God be God in this Church. Get with God and you have an unbeatable comination. Nothing can beat you - nothing, Church worker. The preacher can preach a sermon out of a Sears & Roebuck catalog just as well as he could the Bible, that's true. We need to get more out of what we are doing as a Church. We need to put more into it. Let the Church be the Church in the community where we live. The Church is here to make a difference. It is not just here because it's called a Church. God is the reason. Out there in the community is another reason.
Lets pray. Father, the blind can't lead the blind. Father, I don't know if I have said anything that makes any difference. I pray that you will take my blind words, and sow them in the hearts of these people. Let them begin to be used and motivated to reach this community for Christ. Help us to do what you want us to do. Help us to be what you want us to be, to say what you want us to say, go where you want us to go. Just do what you want us to do. Help us to think this over in our minds. Where do we go from here? Thank you for blessing us. Thank you for your Church. Thank you for these people. Thank you for the privilage of preaching here. Thank you for all you mean to all of us. Thank you for Jesus. It is in Jesus name I pray. Amen
Everyone was invited to come to the altar for prayer about how to serve God better in the Church and the community
9-13-2009: How Can I Experience Hope in the Midst of Fear? Bible: Matthew 13:1-9. Read verses 1 and 2. One of the Churches I served had services on the Muskingum river. A fellow had a rowboat and we took the boat out on the water. I stood in the boat and preached. Its exciting to preach anywhere you are. It is really exciting to stand up in a rowboat and try to preach. You stand up and try to be still, but the water keeps moving the boat up and down.
Read verses 13:3-9. He who has ears to hear, let him hear - He who has ears to hear, let him hear. Jesus spoke by a parable. A parable is a common sense scene of ordinary life which He applied to something spiritual. In this case, the sower went out to sow some seeds. What the parable is trying to say is that we are the sowers. We go out and sow the WORD. When you talk with your neighbor about Jesus, the Church, about religion, - whenever you speak the WORD, you are sowing seed. It is seeds of Faith. I think we need to realize that, and live God's WORD to sow more efficiently. As we sow, some people aren't listening to something new to contemplate or think about. I am just here - that's the way we are.
The Bible verses say that some seeds fell by the wayside. That means they went to the empty air. Empty hearts and empty minds. That's the poor ground. You need to know that. The verses say that the birds came and ate the seed sown in bad ground. The seed was on top of the ground, and the birds came to eat it. I remember back when farming, the birds pick the seed right out of the ground when the seed is barely covered. That's not going to do any good. The seed is gone, so there won't be any crop from that seed. This means the people who don't understand what Jesus is saying.
Secondly, some seeds fell on stony places. There was no depth of soil for these seeds to fall on. We see that a lot in life. People will just not listen to what God has to say. People don't want to believe the Word of God. You would be honestly surprised to know how many people believe that the Bible is anything more than just another book you get at the library. They don't believe its God inspired - not God written, but God inspired. If you read it carefully, you will find that God did inspire men to say what is important to God. It took a great crowd of theologians to determine what scripture was written by God out of men's minds. I don't know how it was determined, what is scripture and what is just good or interesting reading. There are a lot of good books that are interesting reading of scripture. They are not scripture. Scripture is the Word from God Himself. The Bible was written by men who were moved by God to write - record what God has to say. It takes somebody who is really into God to hear God's voice. I've tried to "hear" for God's voice and I have "heard" God.
I've told you many times of my big old chair in the living room that is for my praying time. That' where I kept my Bible, notebooks, prepared sermons, and so on and so forth. I prayed for God to speak to me and He did. One time that was really important to me - I wrote in my notebook to ask God to speak to me about a certain situation. God spoke to me. I wrote down in my notebook what God spoke to me, and every word of it came true. Every word - that came into my mind. I began to listen more closely until I could feel it was God. Other times, I could sit in my chair and look out the window and see squirrels that were entertaining. When God spoke, I coud tell it was Him - not because of an audible voice, but I knew He was speaking to me. The point for me was DON'T DOUBT. So thats kind of the way it goes.
Some seeds fell among thorns. We allow so much to come between us and God. That's the thorns. God is trying to speak to all of us. That is why we come to Church. We come to Church to hear God speak to our heart. We come to hear God, not the preacher. Maybe you come to hear the preacher - thank you, but you come to hear God speak, not me. God has the words of life. God is speaking to you today, if you will listen. God speaks to your heart. Don't be afraid, and that is what I fear. Don't be afraid to believe that God is speaking to you. Don't be afraid to believe what God is speaking into your heart. It CAN be true. You will make mistakes - I can - I do. God speaks to you, and God will continue to speak to you. The thorns are unbelievers - people who try to tell us that we are afraid. I remember one of my best friends talking to me one day. He was a music teacher and was going to a higher college level. I don't remember what about religion was said, but his reply to was "Are you still babbling about that stuff?". Shortly after, he was badly mangled in an automobile accident. He died a short time after that. I wondered if he ever made his peace with God. He had a good reason. We have the idea that just because we don't see God that's the end of it. We have to face God personally. He is going to judge you.
Other seed fell on good ground. Now that is the ground we want to be on. We want to be on the good ground. Jesus is saying that we are either on the wayside and lost, or on the good ground and He can use us. Today, I am pleading for the good ground. When the sower sowed into the earth, three/fourths of what was sown was lost. Is that any indication of what the world is like today? Three/fourths of the world "lost"? Maybe less than three/fourths of the world is listening to God today. Even some of today's theologians writing and speaking - I wonder if its really from God. I have no right to judge them and I don't. I still wonder if that is really from God. I still wonder if that is really from God. I still have to determine for myself if it is true. I wonder - God what are you trying to tell me? Are you trying to tell me he is wrong, or I am wrong or nobody is wrong, or I am just judging. I imagine it's the last one that I did. You know, we understand the New Testament Bible if we will read it and let God speak to our hearts. Sometimes when we read the Bible we say, "I can't understand all that stuff. It's 2000 years old - Is it relevant?" YES, IT IS RELEVANT. It is as true today as it was 2000 years ago. God is speaking just as truly today as He did then. God is telling us things if we will listen. God is showing us things - even weather patterns and things like that. God is using them, if we will just listen. If we ask, answers are given. God will answer. God, what are you trying to tell me? God, what do you really want me to know? If you persevere, God will let you know.
I ask you today, are you on good ground? Are you hard and stony? Thin or poor ground? Or just plain hard?
How can I experience hope in the midst of fear? Fear - I don't know God or God doesn't care about me. I have that problem at times. I have tried to prepare a sermon, for example, and nothing would come - my mind was blank. I asked, "God, have you left me?" One day, the disciples said to Jesus, "Master, why do you speak in riddles? Why don't you tell us plain out what you have to say?" Jesus answered, "It was not given for you to know everything". I think its that way with us. If I knew everything God was doing today, I would worry myself to death. When we give Jesus His place in our hearts, and give God's Word a place in our understanding, it works out to be good. It really does. Usually after a situation is over, we understand it better now than we did before. We say, "I couldn't have done it without God".
To sum it up, God will meet us more than halfway in the problems of our lives. He gives us Hope in the midst of fear. Yes, He is our Hope. This is a fearful world we are living in. He is our Hope. I am not looking for Washington to settle the problems of America. I have very little trust in Washington. I do trust God. Jesus closed His teaching with, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear". If you have ears to listen to this, today you hear. Hear what Jesus has to say - not the preacher or anyone else. JUST JESUS. We can have Hope in the midst of this time of our fear. THE HOPE IS JESUS.
Closing Prayer: Lord Jesus, we do come to you with Hope in our hearts and thank you for all you do for us. We bless you, we glorify you. We realize you are speaking to us. Help us to hear more plainly your voice. Thank you for loving us. In your Name we pray. Amen
9-20-2009: How can I Feel Secure in an Insecure World? Pastor John Glick.
I might explain for visitors the brick pile that is up here this morning. They are a brick wall. A while ago, I preached a sermon on the hole in the wall. The wall represents the Church. The holes represent members who are not presently attending Church. They are inactive, so part of Project Hope is reaching out to the community and to our members. We put up the brick wall with holes in it to illustrate where we stand. As you can see, the wall is not very big. It would not make a very big Church, just these few bricks. The three bricks sitting in front of the pile are for members who are in nursing homes, so can't attend Church here in Oakland. I just wanted you to know what all these bricks mean.
(Pastor Glick read Philipians 4:1-20 to the congregation). May God add His Blessing to the reading of is Word. May we have understanding in what God is trying to say today. Sometime ago, I heard Oral Roberts say in reference to two familiar scriptures, "I can do - I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Verse 19 is also written for people of today, "My God - will supply all your needs from His glorious riches, which have been given to us in Jesus Christ". God will supply all your needs from His glorious riches, which have been given to us in Jesus Christ. God will supply, but will do it in a certain way. Thats what I want to think with you on this morning. Very simply, I can do anything with God helping me. I can do anything God asks me to do. God will see to it that I do it, if I am thankful enough to God. God will help me. That's what it boils down to. You know our faith in God sometimes lags - lags terribly. We get tired of seeing other people do things that seem insane. Other people going places - everything. We want that too. We can't have that, because we have not yet received from God enough to purchase it. We lack in what we have in faith for God. Its through God we get. Its not by my effort, if the Church can grow or die. Its not by what I do. Its what God does through me that helps the Church along. Its not what I do for God, its what God does for me.
It's the same in your life. It's not what you do for God, its what you allow God to do with you to make your life really worthwhile. God supplies our needs. He doesn't supply everything we want. I don't read anywhere that God supplies our wants. God supplies our needs. What do we need? What we need first of all is love. We need to be accepted. We need to understand that God is supreme and God made us just as we are. God had a reason and a point to do it. I can't understand why God made me look like this, but He did. There must have been some point, but I kon't know what it was. God made me like this. Why did God make me poor? Why didn't God put me in a wealthy family? - Depending on what you call wealthy - We have love, we have each other. We don't have so many things, but we have each other and what is acceptable in life.
There's not much difference between being a victor and being a victim. Its pretty hard not to be one or the other. We want to go through life being accepted. We go through life accepting things just as they are no matter what it is. It doesn't work that way. We are either a victor or a victim. We are one or the other. I think of the words in that old Sunday School Hymn, "This is My Fathers World". "Let me never forget that through the wrong goes on so strong, God is still the ruler yet". No matter what we may think. If look out across the world this morning and see what a beautiful place it is - My God is still in charge. He never let it go back to us. He never gave us total rule over this earth. I am sure you have many times thought, "I am my own boss". " I am self assured, and I know what I am doing". I quit some time ago saying that I have a sound mind. The point is I am not just a self made man. God made me what I am. I have, I think, become closer to God in some of my past illness, accidents, and so on that I've been through. God still has a job for me to do. There is still something out on the horizon for me. I don't know what it is. I'm not afraid of it. God still has something there for me. God still has a job for me to do for Him. Not for me, its for Him. I think many of your are the same way. God is taking care of you because He has something in mind for you. Something wonderful. Now, I'am not saying your are going to become president of the USA, or that you are going to become wealthy, or even healthy. I'm not saying these things, because I don't know. God has something for us. He has something for everyone. We need to understand that.
One morning, at a Church near Roseville, Ohio, a number of years ago, I was sitting on the front porch. We had a Church in the country, and the parsonage was a big old farm house. On the front porch, I was praying and reading my Bible. The sun was shining in on me, a beautiful morning. Under two big elm trees, as I was looking up at the sky through the trees, I realized that not all the branches are alive. In those trees, still attached to the trunk were many dead branches - no leaves, no life, no nothing - just sticks standing out from the trunk. As I looked it came to me that we are like that. The Church is like that. How many this morning are really tuned in to God? I don't mean by a physical feeling. Do you feel God is in you this morning? Do you feel that God is dealing with you? Did God speak to your mind when you got up this morning? You say, "I wasn't listening". Then we should listen for God. God isn't going to speak in an audible voice. He is going to speak in your mind. He will speak and you will hear Him.
When you read sometimes, you will see something that God spoke just to you. I just know that was meant for me. We understand that God does us that way. You see - all those dead branches were all in place - exactly where they were when they were alive. That's the way it is with some of us. We are still in place, but there is no life. We are still there. We are still taking up space. We are still eating the food, we are still using what God has given us to use for the same life, but there is no real life. We are just like those limbs. You know, we can do all things if we are still attached to the living vine that is pumping life through us. The trunk of the tree pumps life to the limbs. The limbs don't give life to the tree. The limbs produce the leaves, and they bear the fruit, and they look pretty. The trunk of the tree is not a thing of beauty. The leaves are beautiful. This Fall, the leaves will turn colors, and be even more beautiful. That's the way its supposed to be, but if they are dead, there won't be any fruit, there won't be any leaves, and there will be no fruit. They are good only to be dragged away to be burned. Thats what we do with dead wood, we burn it. I think of that as our lives. One time we are like that, dead wood good only to be burned. God knows that. God can see us in that light. I think we have to realize the Bible says you shall know them by their fruits. You will know them by what they do. Know them by what they amount to or what they accomplish. The promise is that God said He will supply all your needs. Can we believe God? The problem is that we don't believe. We don't believe that when things are really going wrong for us that God is still providing our needs. When things go wrong at the house - when everything breaks down at once - everything at the same time. One time, the stove stopped working, the dryer quit working, the washer broke down, the car wouldn't start. They all happened at the same time. We don't need that, but its going to happen. We need to know how to handle it. We need to know God will take care of it. God is there. God cares.
In the scripture verse 13, we read that I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. ALL things. There is nothing we can not do in Christ. Without Christ, there is not much we can do. You see, that is the difference.
Verse 19 shows that God supplies all your needs by or through Jesus Christ. I have found even when I couldn't see the end of the matter anyway. God always supplies the needs. It never fails. I may not like everything that happens. I may not be totally satisfied with the way its supplied. He does it His way. God doesn't do things my way. He does things His way. He supplies every need. He takes care of it.
Dead branches are those that are just hanging on doing nothing, just hanging there. We see that sometimes in Church, dead branches just hanging on - not doing anything - just hanging there. What is the Church for anyway? We are in Project Hope - reaching out to give hope for the community, and to members long gone, or the members that have no interest. We try to make it "Hope in the Church". Our Hope is not in the Church. Our Hope is in God. God can use our supply. God is able to bring about everything. God is able to provide. When you are hungry, you don't go to the grocery store to buy a meal. You go to buy food to prepare a meal. We have that same thing with God. We ask God to care for us and God does. God can see to it that we make the meal. We have to do some of it ourselves. Such as in times of trial or testing. In the storms of life, some of the dead branches fall out. One winter, we had an ice storm. In that ice storm, the elm trees were covered with ice until the limbs broke that were smaller than my arm. They all broke off and fell to the ground. They were taken to a place by themselves and burned. I think that's the way its going to be with us. If we don't realize who God is and what God is. We need to get connected to God, so we are stronger. The fruit we bear is not for ourselves.
There is an apple tree down the road here that I've watched all fall. Last year, under that same apple tree, about every Sunday morning two deer ate apples under the tree. There were no apples this year, and no deer. Its just a dead tree. The apple tree didn't eat its own fruit, the deer did. That's the way it is with us. We don't eat our own fruit. We don't see the fruit of our labor. The result of our effort is to serve God. We just provide. That is what we have to realize with God. God provides so others can have. We are talking about Heavenly things using trees as an illustration. We have to realize that God provides for us. God provides a Church for our community. Its not just for the few people who sit in it on Sunday morning. The Church is here for a beacon, a light - a source of Hope for the whole community - and members are not just going to sit here and look like it. They are to reach out to others, some who may never be in the Church. We need to give them Hope. That's what Hope is for. Hope is to make a difference in our lives. The scripture also says that you will know a person by the fruit they bear. If there's no fruit - Now what kind of fruit? Our relationship with others. The scripture says to stand fast in the Lord. Rejoice in the Lord. Be bold. Read scripture and re-listen to God. If you really want to live what the scripture says, determine where your lack is and come to Jesus and ask Him to strengthen that lack and build you up. Most of us don't want to be what God wants. We don't want to be bold. Don't want to reach too far. Don't want to look too far. The Bible say to Ask, Seek, Knock. That's what Hope is all about. If the people out there can see the Hope of the people "in here", they might want that Hope too. If they see no Hope, they don't want it. They don't want to see the "long-faces" and the arguments in Church. There are holes in the wall. Where do you fit in?
Closing Prayer: Heavenly Father, we thank you this morning that you enlighten our minds for what we are, what we ought to be. Lord have your way with us. Forgive us our shortcomings. In Jesus name, Amen
Closing Hymn: Leaning on the Everlasting Arms
9-27-2009: Where God is When I am Struggling. Pastor John Glick
This morning, I want to preach the final sermon of the series on Project Hope. Where is God in our struggles? I kind of narrowed that down to STRUGGLES, why we struggle. We need an adjustment in our thinking sometimes. We need changes in how we see God and how He is dealing with us. We come in here every Sunday morning and read scripture and have a sermon. Do we really feel the presence of God among us? When we come in, do we really feel God is here? Do you really feel God is in your Church? We sometimes say yes whether we do or not. Is God really that close to us? Are we really that close to God? Close that we could feel it and know God is here?
When you are at home fixing pies, can you feel Gods presence? When the oven is hot and the pie is ready to come out and you are in a hurry. You burn your fingers - can you feel the presence of God? You see, God is there, and God is doing what God needs to do. When you are at work, or driving to work, or driving home - do you feel the presence of God? Most of us would have to say no, not really. Back when I was preaching just south of Zanesville, the hospital was in Zanesville. It was about a half hour trip to the hospital and into a room to see somebody. During that time, I would pray and say, "God I am just going to go, you go ahead of me and do the work and make the arrangements and I will go and represent you". God did that. God did a lot of good things. I've seen the hand of God at work at many other times and in many things. There have been times I'd like to see the hand of God at work and didn't. It wasn't that He wasn't there. It was simply that I wasn't there.
Where is God when I am struggling? God was right there when I was struggling just as He was right there in a victorious situation. In the book of Philippians, 1:12-21. (Pastor Glick read the verses). After verse 13, he said that Paul, the writer of Philippians, was chained to a wall in prison, and speaking about his chains. Then, the rest of the verses were read.
I want to say to you this morning that the days of miracles are not over yet. There are still many miracles. We see miracles every day, but we don't call them that. We have become so hardened to what God can do in this world that we can't see Gods miracles happen every day. I saw it this morning as we were driving here. I looked out across the broad corn fields, the hay fields with bales of hay still laying in the fields. I saw the gardens that produced food and comfort to people all summer. Nice homes that will keep people warm and cared for this winter. Gods abundance in supply is beyond my mind. I've seen it so many times. The days of miracles are not over yet. As we drive different places, I see the miracles in America. We live in a land that is a miracle. When you drive anywhere, you see all there is to see, you realize it's a miracle. If you go anywhere else in the world, you are not going to see that. Here we just take it for granted, and we get stuck. We expect God to make everything available to us. We receive it, but we don't care. There is something wrong. A Sunday School teacher was describing how Lot's wife looked back and was turned into a pillar of salt. A little boy raised his hand and added his words to the situation, "My mommy was bringing me to Church last week and she turned around and turned into a telephone pole".
When I read the Bible, both the Old and the New Testament, I read marvelous stories or accounts of people who trusted in God. Miracles happened. I ask myself, why don't miracles happen now? Why is it when I need God, He is not there? I just don't recognize Him. It isn't God who changed His mind, its us. It isn't God who changed the rules, its us. We do things like that. There are two reasons people are doubters. We doubt God's existence. We doubt He can do anything for us. Did you ever get down on your knees to pray and feel foolish? Why am I doing this. I am the only one here, why am I doing this? Back when I was about 15 years old, I went into a little Church we attended. It was not even as big as this Oakland Church. I knelt right down here at the altar. It was just about dusk that night. I prayed and prayed, and I finally prayed God if you are hearing me, give me a sign. About that time there was a racket and a disturbance that scared me to death. I left the Church and literally ran home. I thought God had come and was about to drop a brick on me, or something. Sometime later, I realized that on the outside above one of the windows on the west side of the building there was a hole where birds were flying in and out. Apparantly, what I heard that night were birds going in and of that hole. I don't know that. That is how to settle the problem of what I heard. The thing is that God spoke to me. God really let me know He answered my prayer. He let me know He was there. People are doubters.
The news people are satanic as far as I'm concerned. News reports coming out down-play the miracles of God and actually the reality of God. In times before, God got credit for things we didn't understand. It was an Act of God. Today, if you read your insurance papers, you will find in there right at the bottom, "Anything else is considered an Act of God, and so not covered". Those are not the exact words, but that is what it means. Yet they deny the existence of God. When it comes to insurance, I've had a lot of Acts of God, so I am stuck with paying for the problems we have. They would pay for a $25 claim, but not a $2,500 claim. That makes sense as human nature.
We do see miracles happen. When I am hurting, when I need God - where is He? The point is I don't keep in contact with Him enough that He is there right when I need Him. Someone could say to me, "I can see you standing there, but I don't see God anywhere". You won't see God with your human eye. You can only see Him if you are understanding. God speaks to you when sometimes you are doing something you know you shouldn't do, and you feel like you could go through a hole in the ground. That is God speaking to you for your wrong. When you are saying something you know isn't true - you feel terrible about it. Thst is God speaking to you. Don't tell me you never said something that wasn't true. That is God speaking to you. He really is.
What kind of miracles do we have in the Bible? The kind of miracles we read about in the Bible are those in the Old Testament - the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, the parting of the Red Sea, the Wall of Jericho fell, three Hebrew boys freed from the fiery furnace, Daniel saved from the lions den. God delivered them every time. In the New Testament, Jesus healed the blind, Jesus fed 5000 people, Jesus cast out demons, raised Lazarus from the dead, cured an epileptic boy, healed a woman with severe female problems, He healed lame people. The important part of this message is right there. In the Old Testament, God handled the issues. In the New Testament, Jesus handled them. The thing I want you to understand today - Jesus is here. Why do we pray, always ending In Jesus Name? It is because we can't come to God without Jesus. We can't come to God alone. We come through Jesus. He is everything.
Miracles - I read a book that says there is no such thing as miracles. I saw a program on TV. They were showing miracles you wouldn't believe. Well, I don't believe them, not on TV. It is too easy to fool you with TV. There is one miracle that is more important than any other, and that is being raised from our sins by Jesus Christ. That is having a new life. That is having something really wonderful happen. We are dead in our sins and trespasses until we ask God to forgive our sins. That is the point we have to understand. We need to know the source of our problem. The source of our problem is the old Devil. We have to decide with confidence that the Word of God is true and God will do what He says. He will - I promise you, He will. Philippans 1:6 - be confident that He who has begun a good work in you will continue until the day of Jesus Christ. What God says He will do, He will do. We have to believe it. If we don't believe it, He doesn't have to do it. I believe with all my being that the day of miracles is still here. I believe that God is going to supply for us.
Where is God when I am struggling? Right here. (Pastor Glick put his hand over his heart). Right inside you. Put your hand on your heart. That is where you touch God. God really speaks to you. In the Old Testament, God used ordinary people to do the extraordinary things. Believe it. Believe God cares how you are this morning. God cares about your situation, whatever it might be. He hears your prayers. The rest of today, and each day - look for God to do something. Not just do somehing, do something good.
Let us pray. Father God, we thank you today for your presence here. We thank you that you are present when we are struggling. I pray for these people here. Forgive us our sins. Cleanse our filthy hearts, bodies, and souls. Lord, come into us and live there. Change us into what You want us to be. Forgive all our sins. We will live for you. Thank you Lord for saving our souls. Now Lord, help us to be willing to live for you. In Jesus Name, I pray. Amen
10-11-2009: Psalms Rev. Earl Bishop (Pastor Glick absent due to a wedding).
The Lord put a hymn book right in the middle of the old Testament. Did you know that's what the psalms are? There are 160 of them. Some early documents were found with "guitar chords" - not for a guitar as such, they were for some kind of harp. They were like guitar chord markings in most of these hymns, these psalms. They were used for people to play a tune on the harp. Most of the scripture is basically and primarily us speaking to God. Heartfelt prayers of people discouraged, and distressed with the enemy of God. If you read through the psalms, which is a marvelous thing to do, - If you read through the psalms, you find that you are expressing yourself to God. You think about that a little bit. What it means to cry out to God. Oh Lord, how long? How long are you going to let the enemy destroy and devastate? How long do I have to go through this entire trouble? Create in me a clean heart, Oh God. Renew a right spirit within me. Ask me not away from your presence and your Spirit.
Psalm 85 has some of my favorite verses. Let me read it. You sent a favor to your land, Oh Lord. NOW - Who is talking here? The writer of the psalm. Hey, Lord you did a favor to your land. You restored the forces of victims. You forgave the iniquity of your people. You covered all of their sins. Praise God! You set aside all of your wrath, and poured out your blessings. Then these wonderful words. I wish we could read them over and over again in our prayers. Restore us again Oh God our Savior. Throw away your displeasure toward us. Will you be angry with us forever? Will you prolong your anger through all generations? Will you not revive us again? Revive us that your peolpe may rejoice in you. Show us your unfailing love, Oh Lord, and grant us your salvation. NOW - Is that God talking to us? Or is that us talking to God? Who is praying here? WE are praying. We are asking God to restore us again. Revive us. Take away your displeasure from us. Lord, help us out. We are in a woeful situation.
Then Psalm 51. Surely I have been a sinner, sinful from the time my Mother conceived me. Surely you desire truth. You teach me. You cleanse me. Wash me and I will be whiter than snow. Let me hear joy and gladness. Let me have joy in being cleansed from my sins and all my iniquities being blotted out. Create in me a clean heart, Oh God, and put a renewed and steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of - WHAT - What does it say? (A young man said "YOUR"). Your salvation. See, that is why you should bring your Bibles to Church and have them open while the preacher is preaching. He saw the joy of your salvation. Do you have the joy of God's salvation? Grant me a willing spirit to sustain me, then I will keep and practice your ways. Sinners will turn back to you. Again, as you read through the psalms keep this basic concept in mind, that you read the psalms asking God in Prayer.
Wouldn't it be wonderful if we had a real revival? I want to read something else to you. I copied this out of a history book, a Church history. It was in a Methodist Church during the winter of 1833. Do some of you remember that? A wonderful revival lasted 18 days. It was held in the Church and conducted by a list of men who were preaching. The Holy Spirit came in power on the people. Such was the impact that at 5 o'clock in the morning meetings were held. Now today, at 5 o'clock in the morning, only the television is on, if even that. 18 days of that. Sometimes the meetings were at private homes, and sometimes in the Church. You mean that folks got up and prayed a 5 o'clock in the morning? That's what it says here. After breakfast, there would be a re-gathering in the Church. Didn't they know any better than to stay home? Inspiration was the thing. Then in rapture and conversion they sang, "Oh Happy Day That Fixed My Charge to be Like My Savior and My God". You think something washappening here? It wasn't just morning folks. At midnight, the Holy Spirit led them in. They didn't know when to quit and go home. The spirit of God was mightily present, and hearts and minds were being revived again. This is not a story, its history. This is a reality that happened. After midnight, some of them returned home, but often after retiring, the Holy Spirit was so strong that neighbors would be called and prayer meetings held. What would happen today if you got a call at 3 o'clock? Hey, come on over - we are having a revival. I guess they didn't know any better. 300 souls were led from darkness into light. They were happy in the Redeemers love. Do you know where this happened? In Newark First Methodist Church in Newark, Ohio. That is why the Church has lived and continued to live. The children were converted and the others continued on to serve the Lord and the Church continued on. The Gospel continued to be preached. Why? It's founded out of revival. How did all of us get here? That big revival at Pentecost. Do you know how they had a revival at Pentecost? They prayed for 10 days. They got together in the upper room and they continued to pray. 10 whole days. They got things straightened out with God in their hearts, with each other, etc. That's good for christians everywhere. I remember one Sunday morning during a sermon, a lady got up on one side of the Church and walked down the aisle and sat down next to another woman. She confessed something to her. There was something bad between them. In Church? You see, the Holy Spirit was working. That can make peace with everyone. God is able, if we are willing. He is able to do exceeding and above all asked of Him. When we are willing. That's just a little aside.
Again, the psalms are beautiful hymns written by people praying as many still are today. Let's look for a few minutes at the First Psalm in the Bible. Blessed is the man - We need to realize they were writing in that context at that time. It's a generic term meaning humans. I like to use the word "persons". Blessed is the person who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners, or sit in the seat of the mockers. NOW - do you want to be blessed? It is a 3 stage progression that brings about the blessing. Does not walk in the counsel of the wicked. Does not sit in the counsel of the ungodly mockers. Walk in the way of the Godly. Stand in the way of the righteous. Sit in the seat of the praisers. NOW - you want to be a praiser. It says Godly counsel, Godly companions, and that develops into Godly character. What is the character of the upright according to the Word of God? Praise is the character of the upright.
Psalm 32 or 33 = Praise is the character of the Godly. Now some people manage to praise the Lord in the difficult situations. Here is the most difficult situation that you can imagine. It's their character to do so, because it is their nature. How did they get that nature? They started in Godly counsel. Where did they get that Godly counsel? It started with the Word of God. This is the way, walk to Him. It continues on in the fellowship of the believers. I'm so glad I'm a part of the family of God. What do you want a family for? That gives you support and strength and help along the way. I listened to Bob Schuler on television last night. His daughter brought the message. One of her expressions was how she was living in a college dorm in Michigan. The family was living out in California. Her room-mate committed suicide. She was distraught and didn't know what to do. It just so happened in God's working that Bob Schuler was at a meeting at the college in Michigan. She left the dorm, ran across the campus, and knocked on the meeting room door. A person came to the door. She said, "I've got to see my daddy". She depended on him. She knew he would know what to say to her. That happened in her experiences over the years when driving back and forth to things, and they talked. The fellowship of believers. I said do not forsake yourselves in assembling yourselves together.
Blessed is the person who walks in Godly character, who seeks God's companionship of Godly people and righteous people. Even a scientist delights in the way of the Lord, and he meditates once in a while when the television isn't on. Other things need done, the wheels need greased. He meditates in His presence. What is it? Day and night. It is a continuation, you see. Consistency - its not when I have something I can't handle. Deal with it day and night. Be consistent. He is like a tree planted by water. It yields fruit in its season. The leaves do not wither. The wicked are like chaff. The wind blows them away. Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment or sinners in the assembly of the righteous of the Lord. He watches over the way of the righteous. The way of the wicked will perish. God gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life.
I have some homework for you. I won't be back next week to check on you. I'll leave it to you to go back to the first psalm and read that through it meditatively. See what the Lord has for you. God will counsel. God has compassion. God has graditude. The character of the upright is in His hands. Praise the Lord. If a place in your heart needs fixing, what better place than right here, right now. We can love you, we can pray for you, we can listen.