SERMON --FAITH - PRAYER - HOPE - PATIENCE

FAITH-PRAYER-HOPE-PATIENCE

Almighty Father, Lord Jesus, Holy Spirit, that great and wondrous TRINITY, Wrap your mighty cloak of mercy and stamina around everyone within the sound of my voice. Being shut up in this pandemic is not an easy nor pleasant task. Depression can quickly set in. Boredom is no friend of ours here. We ask Lord to Unleash the creative juices in our bodies, arm us with great patience with the promise that soon, we will see a gradual end to the sequestration, and be able to receive friends and family. We thank-you Lord for caring and guiding us to SHELTER AT HOME as the Israelites did during the PASSOVER, being protected from the pestilence by Your mighty arms. We look forward to the return of crystal blue skies and wispy clouds and the opportunity to receive visitors again. Thank-you Jesus for loving us! Hear our voices as we PRAISE YOU, AMEN

[HYMNS: Amazing Grace / All Hail the Power of Jesus]

Do you know that each one of you is so special in the heart of our Lord. He knows the exact number of hairs on your head, He is aware of every thought and every fear or concern. That is part of the Lord's message today, that He loves you and is a jealous and protective Father over His children, His Church, His future Bride.

SERMON

You and I are no longer "SPRING CHICKENS" , although moments come upon me where I think that I still can climb trees and stack ladders on trash cans expecting to survive the fall. (Its a man thing!) Mat 18:3-4  [Jesus says] "Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.  (4)  "Whoever then humbles himself as this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

By the Gift of Grace, our Lord offers to each of His creation salvation from sins, and victory over death.  ... "THE WORD IS NEAR YOU, IN YOUR MOUTH AND IN YOUR HEART"—that is, the word of FAITHwhich we are preaching,  that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; Rom 10:8-9

FAITH Faith is the first word in our study this day. It seems the older we get, the smarter we are, the less FAITH we lean on. Conversely, the younger we are the more apt it is that we easily embrace FAITH. A child's deep belief easily embraces that which cannot be seen. FAITH is that Godly characteristic that empowers us to believe deeply in that which we cannot see or touch while in this fleshly tent. GOD plants the seeds of FAITH in us but it is up to us to feed and water it.   And [JESUS] said to the woman, "Your faith has saved you; go in peace." Luk 7:50 We are to be good stewards of His gift of FAITH by doing our part! Be a kid again in your FAITH.

PRAYER This gift is our immediate spiritual cellular and internet connection to Almighty JESUS in His kingdom. The carrier for this celestial service is the HOLY SPIRIT. The Holy Spirit makes the connection and properly packages our pleadings, making them presentable to our Lord. Prayer is our moment by moment, day by day, direct connection for advice, guidance, truth, love and rescue. More importantly, PRAYER becomes our source of divine companionship and Brotherly, Fatherly Love and support.   Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. Php 4:6 The Lord LOVES to hear your voice at any hour at any time. Talk with Him. Pray as a child would to his or her father. Be a kid again.

HOPE When we combine FAITH with sincere PRAYER we instantly receive His gift of HOPE. Empathetic pain and distress comes over me when I hear that someone has given up all hope. Know this please, that as long as GOD exists, HOPE never expires.   Hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us. Rom 5:5 The GREAT TRINITY, Father, Son, Holy Spirit has ALWAYS been. There has never been a time in which THEY were not. HOPE is a big deal and with JESUS, HOPE IS ALIVE and waiting to be tapped. HOPE is Eternal. Hope is ALWAYS a gift of the Child in us. Be a kid again!

PATIENCE Of all the things that we have thus far covered, FAITH, PRAYER, HOPE, things that are uplifting and positive, NOW COMES THE DOWNER, PATIENCE!!! I can sense the shock because Patience is not a strong suit for just about everyone. Patience has a relative named DISCIPLINE. Another relative, perhaps a cousin is personal RESPONSIBILITY. These are connected and required words that many of us just don't care for.  It is with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, Eph 4:2 It is through the exercise of PATIENCE that our continuing prayers are effective. Our LORD does not wear a wrist-watch. He answers prayer on His time-line. We are the ones tied to the cruelty of the ever ticking second hand of the clock, GOD is ETERNAL where only TODAY exists. In Eternity, it is ALWAYS TODAY. This very moment! In this moment, BE A KID AGAIN but WITH PATIENCE!

Oh Mighty Creator, Lord Jesus, Holy Spirit, hear our pleadings as we forge ahead in isolation. Help us to increase our FAITH, and PRAY with conviction and passion, to fill us with HOPE as You continue to protect us from this pestilence. Grant us the strength to be ever so PATIENT and perhaps unleash that special quality, long dormant in us, to come to You as a child, Your child O Lord, Through Christ Jesus, AMEN

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THE GOOD SHEPHERD

  Jesus said, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me. {Joh 14:6} ;

Jesus said again, "Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. {Joh 10:7}

At the very moment that Jesus drew His last breath on that old rugged cross...

Behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth shook and the rocks were split.  The tombs were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised;  and coming out of the tombs after His resurrection they entered the holy city and appeared to many.  Now the centurion, and those who were with him keeping guard over Jesus, when they saw the earthquake and the things that were happening, became very frightened and said, "Truly this was the Son of God!" {Mat 27:51-54}

For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit. {1Pe 3:18}

For through Him we both have our access in one Spirit to the Father.  So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God's household. {Eph 2:18-19}

Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus,  by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh,  and since we have a great priest over the house of God,  let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.  Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful;  and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds,  not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near. {Heb 10:19-25}

Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.  For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin.  Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. {Heb 4:14-16}

Say His name. Call on Him to enter your heart. Welcome Him to change you into a vessel for His purposes using the talents and characteristics that He gave you while you were yet in your mother's womb. Before you drew your first breath. Praise Him and welcome Him, let Him lead you in all that you do now and forevermore, AMEN

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ENCOURAGEMENT FOR THE SENIOR LIGHT BEARERS

CALL TO WORSHIP FOR OUR ASSISTED LIVING FACILITIES

Psa 117:2  For His loving kindness is great toward us, And the truth of the LORD is everlasting. Praise the LORD! {HYMN} Sweet Hour of Prayer 2:08, Joslin Choir

SERMON SYNOPSIS

God has gifted us this time on earth in order that He might observe the decisions we make during our pitifully short journey, 60, 70, 80 or 90+ years. It is a time frame that simply does not register on the Eternal time-line. Its a BLINK! Its not unlike a "Heavenly Audition". God also gifted us our talents, characteristics, personality; all those things that make us individual and unique. In addition, God gave us the power of REASON and DECISION. Where we end up spending ETERNITY rests on the decisions we make. That's right! It is YOU and YOUR DECISIONS that determine Heaven or Hell!

OPENING PRAYER

OH LORD, Mighty Creator, hallowed be Thy name. Being sequestered, having movements monitored, or restricted is a tough thing to deal with. We all want so bad to do what is right, and need to stay safe. We lift all of this up to You, Lord. All we can do, Lord, is to Obey Your will, pray, and leave it up to You to will the departure of this PESTILENCE. Lord Jesus, guide us, through the Holy Spirit, to make decisions based on what is pleasing to YOU, Lord. Even in the darkest night, with patience we wait and by Your mighty will, the LIGHT of the SON will come shining through. Open our hearts to this, Your message on this Lord's day, AMEN.

SERMON

A.W. Tozer was an American Preacher that was so immersed in God that God immersed HIMSELF in the preacher! On this Lord's Day, we will examine a portion Tozer's work on The NEW Man and Man's decisions - From:  God's Pursuit Of Man:

A.W. writes: The truth received in power shifts the basis of life from Adam to Christ and a NEW set of motives goes to work within the soul. A NEW and different Spirit enters the personality and makes the believing man NEW in every department of his being. His interests shift from things external to things internal, from things on earth to things in heaven.  He loses faith in the soundness of external values, he sees clearly the deceptiveness of outward appearances, and his love for and confidence in the unseen and eternal world become stronger as his experience widens. 

Some in error believe that once you have said "The Prayer" You're IN!

TOZER CONTINUES: With the ideas here expressed most Christians will agree, but the gulf between theory and practice is so great as to be terrifying. For the gospel is too often preached and accepted without power, and the radical shift which the truth demands is never made. There may be, it is true a change of some kind; an intellectual and emotional bargain may be struck with the truth, but whatever happens is not enough, not deep enough, not RADICAL enough.  The "creature" is changed, but he is not "NEW."  And right there is the tragedy of it. The gospel is concerned with a NEW life, with a birth upward onto a NEW level of being, and until it has effected such a rebirth it has not done a SAVING work within the soul.                 

SUMMARY

Salvation does not come in the absence of CHANGE. The change must be remarkable, permenant, and on-going, ever evolving until that "Last Breath". Rev 2:25 - 'Nevertheless what you have, hold fast until I come.

CLOSING PRAYER

Father, keep us strong, keep us focused on the prize. Let us be creative, loving, and very PATIENT. Praise you Father, Praise you Jesus, Praise you Holy Spirit, AMEN.

BENEDICTION AND CLOSE

Psa 19:14  Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart Be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD, my rock and my Redeemer.

DOXOLOGY

Praise God, from Whom all blessings flow;

Praise Him, all creatures here below;

Praise Him above, Ye heav'n-ly host;

Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost

Amen

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HE LIVES -- HE HAS RISEN

HE LIVES....HE HAS RISEN

Sunday morning, just as the sky was greeting the faint glow of the sunrise, Mary Magdalene stood at the tomb of Jesus. It was empty. The guards that had been posted were scared out of their minds over what they had just witnessed! Mary heard a voice behind her, and not recognizing him, Jesus said to her, Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking? Supposing him to be the Gardner, she said to him, “Sir, if you have carried Him away, tell me where you have laid Him, and I will take Him away.” Jesus then said to her,...MARY!{Jon 20:15-16} In that very instant, her spiritual blinders were removed and the full recognition and realization of what Jesus had been teaching suddenly made sense. In the days ahead the whole world would likewise know the truth of His resurrection and God's promised Salvation.

For many of you, this may be the very first time that Easter is being celebrated without an in-person church service. Be assured that this is a first for all of us suddenly battling a global pandemic and having restricted movement of people in nearly 180 countries. Here in our Assisted Living Facilities, Nursing Homes, rehab Centers and Hospice EVERYONE, Residents, Techs or Aides, Admin, Kitchen, Maintenance, Activities, Nursing, Leadership, are all serving as STRONG THREADS in these great communities. Jesus said, “YOU SHALL ALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND ALL YOUR SOUL, AND ALL YOUR MIND! And YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF”. {Mat 22:37-39} This PESTILIENCE has arranged for us the opportunity to practice exactly that! Neighbor helping and loving each other and in doing so in the LOVE that GOD has given each of us.

Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus, Holy Spirit, we are a community of Godly people and today we celebrate the beginning of the New Covenant consecrated in the Holy Blood of You only begotten Son, The Christ. On this EASTER, fill us with your divine strength and give us wisdom, courage, stamina, energy, creativity, patience and most of all---Fill us with Your precious LOVE. These dark clouds will soon depart and the sunshine will return. We all mourn the many losses of life from this bug, and hail the recoveries, giving THANKSGIVING to the majority who were “Past-Over” by this plague and scourge all around the globe. We are like individual puzzle pieces that all must fit together creating the fullness and the strength needed to overcome through YOUR mighty grace and in YOUR Tender Mercy. In the name of all names, JESUS our Savior, Blessed EASTER, Blessed Resurrection, AMEN

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PALM SUNDAY -- 2020

PALM SUNDAY, THE TRIUMPHAL ENTRY MARKING THE FIRST DAY OF THE LAST AND HOLY WEEK --   And the blind and the lame came to Him [Jesus] in the temple, and He healed them. {Mat 21:14}

The Jewish of the day had a completely different mind-set about the coming of the Messiah. It certainly did not match up with that which they were about to witness as the Lord entered Jerusalem. A David type of visual was expected, well muscled, strikingly handsome, riding a magnificent stallion and a well used and polished sword hanging from the belt. For most, this was the expectation.

For those who would believe and who had already, in their hearts, received the wondrous ability to see the TRUTH with their own eyes, no disappointment would be had as the humble Savior entered the Holy City. The scales of unbelief would be removed from their gaze;

Mat 21:1-13  When they had approached Jerusalem and had come to Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples,  (2)  saying to them, "Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied there and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to Me.  (3)  "If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, 'The Lord has need of them,' and immediately he will send them."  (4)  This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet:  (5)  "SAY TO THE DAUGHTER OF ZION, 'BEHOLD YOUR KING IS COMING TO YOU, GENTLE, AND MOUNTED ON A DONKEY, EVEN ON A COLT, THE FOAL OF A BEAST OF BURDEN.'" 

(6)  The disciples went and did just as Jesus had instructed them,  (7)  and brought the donkey and the colt, and laid their coats on them; and He sat on the coats.  

(8)  Most of the crowd spread their coats in the road, and others were cutting [Palm] branches from the trees and spreading them in the road.

We read in Psalm 92:12-15  The righteous man will flourish like the palm tree, He will grow like a cedar in Lebanon.  (13)  Planted in the house of the LORD, They will flourish in the courts of our God.  (14)  They will still yield fruit in old age; They shall be full of sap and very green,  (15)  To declare that the LORD is upright; He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him.

(9)  The crowds going ahead of Him, and those who followed, were shouting, "Hosanna to the Son of David; BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD; Hosanna in the highest!" 

(10)  When He had entered Jerusalem, all the city was stirred, saying, "Who is this?"  (11)  And the crowds were saying, "This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth in Galilee."  

(12)  And Jesus entered the temple and drove out all those who were buying and selling in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who were selling doves.  (13)  And He *said to them, "It is written, 'MY HOUSE SHALL BE CALLED A HOUSE OF PRAYER'; but you are making it a ROBBERS' DEN."

The priests and temple operators could plainly see that this whole JESUS thing was now well out of hand. This was now the second time Jesus had sacked the circus environment hucksters selling their wares to the poor worshipers. The crowds were enormous, and the religious rulers knew full well that the comfortable life style the Romans afforded them to keep the peace was about to have a most unfavorable outcome for them, and all the money they were making in the name of God. (sound familiar?)

As the Holy Week progresses please find the time to open Your Bible and read from John, Chapter 12 and Verse 12 straight through to the end of Chapter 17. You will be so very blessed.

Lord Jesus, we know through scripture the horror and suffering that awaits you in this Holy History. Our voice gets stuck in our throats with emotion as we attempt to imagine the events unfolding. Lord, know that we who believe and have received do share in Your suffering and death on that old cross to the degree that we are forever redeemed through this selfless and most Godly propitiation resulting in our very lives. Praise You Lord Jesus, Praise You for all eternity, AMEN.

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THE PESTILENCE -- DARKNESS BEFORE THE DAWN

DARKNESS BEFORE THE DAWN

Dad took me on my first fishing trip into the Gore Canyon when I was about five. When we climbed out of the tent, Oh my, it was so very dark. As we stumbled along following the railroad tracks that were set beside the Colorado river, I could barley see my hand in front of me. Dad said not to fear, "it is always darkest before the dawn". Dad took my hand and my fear drained away.

Over the next several weeks we will nationally experience the crest of that mighty wave and a pipeline full of people that are currently infected with CV-19. Let there be no doubt that this will be a very tough and trying time for many of us throughout the U.S.. Let us not forget that this pestilence is GLOBAL and few places on this earth have been spared.

Let's take a moment to say thank-you to each and every wondrous and caring soul that works and serves in our tiny communities. [ALF's, REHAB, HOSPICE, NHF's] Thank-you for being here, for doing what you do best, giving of yourselves to others, being our helps and guides, our safety beacons, OUR FRIENDS! Though we may not always say the words, WE LOVE YOU! Thank-you for whoGod made youto be!

  We have the opportunity to be a part of something greater than us; getting a handle on this outbreak. PRAY HARD. The global pipeline of infected people is full. The United states is no exception. Thousands of folks that picked up the bug weeks ago will now begin to suffer through the full measure of this virus. The majority are expected to come through well without major intervention. A large number of precious souls will suffer greatly, and will strain the very fabric of our national medical capability. PRAY HARD.   A sizeable number of victims of this infection will not survive. This is the reality. You will hear and see numbers that will astound and deeply sadden. PRAY HARD. Know this: God is a jealous Father, He protects His own, those who carry His Holy Spirit in their hearts, when fear surrounds us we can and will hear His quiet voice, "it is always darkest before the dawn".

Let there be NO DOUBT, God is speaking to all of us!

LORD GOD, Mighty Creator, Lord Jesus, Holy Spirit, hear our pleading! Over the next several weeks we will learn of the great cost that this pestilence has wrought upon this earth, and on this nation. Gird us with Your divine protection, fill us with Your most excellent courage and stamina to do our part, to love each other, to strengthen our Faith and know that You are a great Father, holding our hands, telling us "it is always darkest before the dawn". Father God, may I recite portions of Psalm 9 as I close this prayer; I will be glad and exult in You; I will sing praise to Your name, O Most High. -- The LORD also will be a stronghold in times of trouble;  And those who know Your name will put their trust in You, For You, O LORD, have not forsaken those who seek You.  Sing praises to the LORD, -- Declare among the peoples His deeds, In the Name of Christ Jesus, Comfort us, Hold our hands, Bring us through, AMEN.

HIS WILL BE DONE!

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