Harvest Baptist Church

 
 
Luke 12:48, “...For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required…”

When Queen Victoria was a child, she didn’t know that she was in line for the throne of England.  Her teachers, trying to prepare her for the future, were frustrated because they couldn’t motivate her.  She just didn’t take her studies seriously.  Finally, her teachers decided to tell her that one day she would become the Queen of England.  Upon hearing this, Victoria quietly said, “Then I will be good.”  The realization that she had inherited this high calling gave her a sense of responsibility that greatly affected her conduct from then on.

Our text is taken from the parable of the steward and his servants.  It speaks of being prepared for the Lords return.  All that are of the household of faith are to be found serving each other in the things of the Divine Kingdom, and together, living, and laboring as unto the King.

In Field and Track, one of the events is the relay race.  This requires that each team member run a lap and at the end pass the baton to the next runner, who in turn runs his lap.  It is a great privilege to be on this team, but it requires that one gives his all when it is his turn to run his lap.  These runners practice over and over again the taking of the baton.  This is done to ensure that there is not a slowing down of the runner and also to make sure that the baton is not dropped in passing to the team mate.

We, as Christians, have been handed a great responsibility that has been passed down through the ages, that of accomplishing the Lord’s purpose here on earth.  I am afraid that we , modern day Christians, have fumbled the hand off and either slowed the race, or even worse, dropped the baton altogether and failed to reach the finish line of our race for Christ.

If we are going to stay in the race and realize  what a great privilege it is to be a child of God,  fulfilling the responsibility that has been entrusted to us, we first must know what the Lord has passed on to us.

HE HAS GIVEN US HIS EXAMPLE
John 13:15, “For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you.”  I Peter 2:21, “For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps:”

He handed us a living pattern of how we are to live and to serve Him. He  loved  beyond measure those that didn’t respond to His love. He labored unceasingly in order to reach people. He was humble beyond measure. He had His priorities right. His own words enlighten us as to how we are to serve Him, Mark 10:45, “For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.” Are we following the example of our Lord in how we serve others?

HE HAS GIVEN US HIS PRESENCE

Hebrews 13:5, “...I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.”
Matthew 28:20, “...and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.”

He doesn't send us out to accomplish His mission alone, He goes with us every step of the way.  He has handed us His very presence, and yet I am afraid that we have neglected Him.  We have forgotten that He is aware of all that we are and all that we do.  How we fail in passing Him on to others!

HE HAS GIVEN US HIS TASK
Acts 1:8, “...ye shall be my witnesses”

We are those to whom He has entrusted the most precious message, the Gospel.  Our responsibility is to go forth with this message and share it with those who have not yet trusted the Lord as their Savior.

The Word of God states, ”For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost,” Luke 19:10.  Our Lord has passed the baton unto us to carry on His mission here on earth, but are we about His business?  Have we dropped the baton and stalled the race?

We have been entrusted with the most wonderful news that one could ever hear, and according to our text, “...for unto whomsoever much has been given, of him shall be much required…”
  
HE HAS GIVEN US HIS POWER

Acts 1:8, “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you; and ye shall be my witnesses…”

The Lord has never asked us to do something that He has not also given us the power to accomplish. According to Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”  Nothing done through our own human ability can ever achieve spiritually beneficial results.  It is His mission, not ours, It is His ministry, not ours, so only His power can accomplish it.

But what are we doing with the power that has been entrusted to us?
   
HE HAS GIVEN US THE KNOWLEDGE THAT HE IS COMING AGAIN
John 14:3, “If I go to prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself…”

This will be a wonderful day, but it will also be a day of accounting.  Not whether we have had the privilege of being His, but rather of the responsibilities that have been handed to us in our race here.  This ought to cause each of us to examine our own race and see if we have grasped the baton firmly and fulfilled the responsibility to run well, or have we dropped the baton and ended or slowed our race.
 
FOLLOW ME 01/01/2010
 
Matthew 4:18-19, “And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter and Andrew his brother, casting their net into the sea: for they were fishers. And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.”

From Mathew 1 to Chapter 4, thirty years have passed. During these years we have the birth in Bethlehem, the flight to Egypt and the return to Nazareth. Then we have the thirty silent years when the Lord was growing up and becoming the man that would soon begin His earthly ministry. At the beginning of which we see John the Baptist declaring Him to be, “The Lamb of God.” After His baptism by John there is the temptation in the wilderness.
In our text we see a new beginning for the Lord as He begins his earthly ministry by choosing the first of His disciples, Peter and Andrew. He calls out to them to, “Follow Me,” a call that He still issues to all of His followers today.
As we begin this New Year each of us ought to come to the place where we hear this same call to us and determine that we also will follow Him wherever he leads. Allow me to use this article to share with you some important areas where he wants us to “Follow Him!”

FIRST, THERE IS THE “FOLOW ME” OF FAITH
Verse 19, “And He saith unto them, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.”

Here we see Peter and Andrew busy at their daily work. They were busy making a living providing for their families. We are not sure but they could have been struggling with some of the same problems of life that we face.
Then, came along Jesus. He comes to where they are working. That is always what He does, He comes to where we are and He always meets us in our time of need that all men have, the need of a personal relationship with Him through faith.
The Christian life begins and continues with faith. Ephesians 2:8, “For by grace are ye saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God.” Romans 1:17, “The just shall live by faith.” 

The first thing one must do is to ensure that they have trusted the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior, what a wonderful way to begin the New Year!

SECOND, THERE IS THE “FOLLOW ME” OF FISHING FOR MEN
This is probably the most neglected call of a Christian. And the result of this neglect is seen through diminished church attendance as well as few joyful Christians. The Lord’s intention for every Christian is to bring others to Him and help them to come to the knowledge that they also can have the blessings of eternal life.
There is great joy in the life of a soul winner. Psalm 126:5-6, “They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.”
One of the great joys is seeing someone else birthed into the family of God, and then knowing that they will be in Heaven with us forever. Many are missing out on the greatest joys of Christianity be never winning one soul to the Lord.
Many churches have all kinds of programs but unfortunately, they have forgotten the reason for having these programs is to win people to Christ. This year may all of our programs and members realize that the most important reason for having these is to win and mature others for Christ.\

THIRD, THERE IS THE “FOLLOW ME” OF FULLL SURRENDER
Matthew 16:24, “Then said Jesus to his disciples, if any man will come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.”
Here is the call to self-denial, one of the hardest things for people to do. We live in the society that says, “I deserve this,” or “I want this.” Yet Christ remind us that if we want the blessings that are available, we must deny our desires and strive to accomplish His. Full surrender of self brings full victory for the Christian.
As we look in the New Year with all its known possibilities and opportunities, we must come to the place where we are willing to Follow Him if we are going to be successful for Him and victorious in our Christian lives.
May the blessings of Christ be upon you and your family throughout this coming year and may this be the year that we find ourselves following Him in every area of our lives, personally and together as His church. 

Happy New Year!
 
 
Isaiah 40:3, “The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.”

This is the time of the year when everyone starts preparing for Christmas. The stores have already stocked their shelves with Christmas decorations and gifts. Christmas music fills the mall. Houses are beginning to show signs that Christmas is just around the corner.

At our home, we too are making preparations for Christmas. The house has been cleaned, the decorations and trees have been set and the outside lights are being placed. This truly is a wonderful time of the year.

It always amazes me that mostly everyone celebrates this time, yet many want to deny the fact that it is a time when we celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. It seems hypocritical to me. If they want to remove the thought of Christ then they should be willing not to celebrate with the rest of us. How utterly ridiculous to restrict the placing of those things which remind us of the true reason for this season and still want to have all of the benefit of the season.

But, with all of the preparations for the holiday, let us not forget that there are some very important areas that we ought to prepare as well. These are those that often we overlook. What are these?

We Ought to Prepare Our Hearts as Well
We ought to make sure that our hearts are right with God as we take time to celebrate the birth of His dear Son. First, to make sure that we have a heart that is in tune with God, simply, make sure that we have trusted the Lord Jesus as our personal Savior. Make sure that we have placed our faith in Him and in Him alone. Second, make sure that our hearts  emulate the true meaning if this special time, showing and sharing the love of our dear Lord to others, looking at the needs of others and letting them know that they are loved and cared for. How often do we take others for granted? How often do we forget to think about others during this time? I am glad that Jesus had me in His mind as He came into this world.

We Ought to Prepare Our Priorities
Just as we re-arrange our homes to display this season we ought to be willing to re-arrange our priorities to show our respect for this season. As we give more thought and time to the true reason why we celebrate this season everything else will fall in place. Most of us will be spending time with family and friends during Christmas and that is wonderful, but should we not also make sure that we spend quality time with the One who has made this season possible? Let me encourage you not to neglect the opportunities to be in the church, read your Bible, and pray. Most of us would not miss a great sale in one of the stores and many have stood in long lines just to make the right purchase. We think nothing of fighting the crowded stores in search of some desired gift, yet often state, that the church is too crowded and uncomfortable during this time of the year. Matthew 6:33, “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness: and all these things shall be added unto you.” Let’s make Christ the highest priority this year.

We Ought to Have the Proper Thought about Gifts
Ask any child what they look forward to at Christmas and most will tell you, “It is getting what I asked for” If we are all truthful we would admit that we all like to receive gifts, and there is nothing wrong with that. It seems that we have become a very self-centered nation in these later years and we place importance upon what we want.
The Bible states that, “God so loved the world that he gave His only begotten son…” True love always places the importance on giving rather than receiving. We say that we really love the Lord and yet what do we give Him on His birthday? What do we do to show Him that we have the real love of Christ in our hearts. He was willing to give up everything for us. What are we willing to give up and share with others? Maybe this year our priority ought to be,
“What can I do for someone else?”
“How can I demonstrate the love of Christ to others?”

I have mentioned the idea of the Christmas jar during a service. What a wonderful way to be an encouragement to someone else and certainly show the love of Christ. Can we make this Christmas about someone else instead of us? Can we truly prepare our lives for the real meaning of Christmas? Can this Christmas make a difference in my life as I allow it to make a difference in someone else’s?

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

 
 
Psalm 100:4, “Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and unto his courts with praise: be thankful unto him and bless his name.”

Thanksgiving is just around the corner and it is one of my favorite times of the year. I look forward to getting together with our church wide Thanksgiving Dinner, as well as being with family and friends to celebrate the holiday with the blessings of a wonderful dinner. My hope is that each of you will have a great time celebrating this day with others who share the common bond of blessing from the God of all creation.

Much to my dismay, this holiday seems to be forgotten holiday. Go into any store and you will find Halloween costumes and decorations on one side of the isle and Christmas items on the next, but there is hardly, if any, Thanksgiving decorations to be found. Maybe this is because we live in a day of what seems to be great prosperity and bounty. Maybe it is because many today feel that they have achieved on their own the blessings they enjoy and feel that they do not need to give thanks to the God who ultimately has blessed our homes and nation. Thanksgiving is truly more of a religious holiday rather than a commercial one which means little profit for businesses, so why invest time and money in something with little return?

We have lost the true meaning of why we celebrate this special day and what it should mean to each of us. My desire this month is to share some of many things for which I am thankful and trust that it might cause all of us to take an inventory as well.

I AM THANKFUL THAT GOD IS A GOOD GOD
Psalm 106:1, “Praise ye the Lord, O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good: for his mercy endureth forever.”

I am thankful for a God who is good at all times. For a God whose mercy and grace is everlasting and that His desire is for good toward me. For that I ought to be thankful daily. For that I ought to praise Him, not just at this time of year, but all year long.

I AM THANKFUL FOR GOD'S UNFAILING MERCY
Psalm 107:1, “O give thanks unto the Lord, for he is good: for his mercy endureth forever.”

Mercy is God's withholding from us that which we deserve. We ought to be thankful everyday that God's great mercy is an enduring mercy that is forever and ever. When I trusted him as my savior, He allowed me to be a part of His great family. This is a blessing that I will enjoy throughout eternity.

I AM THANKFUL THAT GOD IS ALWAYS NEAR ME
Psalm 145:18, “ He is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth.”

Jesus' promise is that He, “will never leave me.” Everyday, I enjoy the presence of God. No matter what I face, no matter when the trial comes, He is always there. There is no great comfort as I go through life, knowing that the Almighty God, Who is in-charge of all circumstances of life, is continually with me.

AM THANKFUL FOR ALL THE PRAYERS THAT GOD HAS ANSWERED
Psalm 118:21, “I will praise thee: for thou hast heard me, and art become my salvation.” Jeremiah 33:3, “Call unto me and I WILL ANSWER thee and show thee great and mighty things which though knowest not.”

What a blessing to have a God who hears my prayers and has the ability to answer those prayers. We recently celebrated Friend Day and God answered our prayers by giving us a great day. Over and over again, He proves Himself by granting the answers to my prayers.

I AM THANKFUL FOR MY ETERNAL HOME HE IS PREPARING FOR ME
John 14:2, “...I go to prepare a place for you.” Psalm 26:6, “... and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.”

I AM THANKFUL FOR THE ETERNAL PRESERVED WORD OF GOD
Psalm 119:89, “Forever, O Lord, thy word is settled in heaven.”
II Corinthians 9:15, “ Thanks be to God for his unspeakable gift. “

I AM THANKFUL FOR THE GIFT OF GOD'S OWN SON
I hope this has given you some things to think about Thanksgiving time and I hope you are as thankful for these as I am. A happy Thanksgiving to everyone!

 
True Friendship 10/17/2009
 
Proverbs 27:17. "Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend."

On Sunday, October 25th we will be celebrating a special "Friend Day". I trust that each of us have done all we can to make this Sunday a great success by inviting someone to be our friend on this day.

The dictionary defines a friend as "a person known well and you like, but not related." It also defines the word friend as, "acting like a friend." I do not know a better way of being a friend and being friendly, then to be concerned over the spiritual well being of those we truly care about.

Our passage tells us that a real friend is someone who builds you up. They will help you to become a better person. Surely, the only way one can accomplish this is by knowing that they have Jesus as their personal Savior

I want to share with you this month some aspects of true friendship. How can each of us help others to become better people? What can we do to share others that we are a true friend?

A True Friend Encourages
A true friend will encourage others to accomplish what they have to do. They will seek to support you, even in the toughest of times.
Each of us have gone through trials and troubles that, if we had our choice, we would not chosen to go through. Nevertheless, we know that we must. It is during these times when we need a true friend, one who will encourage us and support us during the darkest hours.

There is a story of a little boy whose mother had sent him to the store to buy a loaf of bread. He was gone much longer than it should have taken and when he finally returned, his mother asked, "Where have you been? I've been worried about you." "Well," said the boy, there was this boy the side of the road with broken bicycle so I stopped to join him." "I did not know you knew anything about fixing bicycles," his mother said. "I don't," he replied, I just stayed there and cried with him."

A news paper in England ran a contest to find the best definition of a friend, the winning entry was, " A true friend is one that comes when everyone else goes."

A True Friend Exhorts You
A true friend is one who will do all they can to help strengthen someone else.

Gen. Ulysses S. Grant had a problem in alcohol. His chief of Staff, John Rawlins confronted him and persuaded him to make a commitment to give up his drinking.

Today, in front of the Capital building in Washington DC, there is a statue of Grant sitting on his horse. At the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue is Rawlings park, where another, rather common statue stands of Rawlings, the man responsible for keeping General Grant on his horse.

A true friend will tell you what you need to hear in order to help you be all that you can be. Proverbs 27:6, "Faithful are the wounds of a friend."

A true friend tells you what you ought to know and then helps you do what you ought to do.

A True Friend Empowers you
A true friend will help you be successful in whatever God wants you to accomplish with your life.

In the fifteenth century, in a tiny village near Nuremberg, lived a family with eighteen children. Dad, who was a goldsmith by trade, had to work eighteen hours a day just to put food on the table. Two of the boys had a great dream, but knew that their father would never be able to pay for their schooling in the arts. These two made a pact, they would flip a coin and the winner would go off to school while the other would go down the mines and work, providing for others' education.

Albrecht won the coin toss and and went off to school, Albert went to work in the mines. For four years he labored and provided for his brother. After graduation he returned to a hero's welcome and told his brother, "Now its your turn." Albert replied, "No, for me it is too late. The work in the mines have caused my fingers to be smashed and now I suffer arthritis to where I could never bold a brush."

For the rest of his life Albrecht took care of his brother and painted a picture that most of us know, it is called "The Praying Hands". True friendship is being willing to do whatever is required to help another succeed.

I hope that you have determined to be a true friend to someone by encouraging them, exhorting them and empowering them to be your friend on "Friend Day". The success of this is truly up to each of us. Let's do all we can to make sure that it is the success for our Lord.