Sunday Service

Well, good morning, welcome. When I got up this morning, it was 10 degrees warmer than it has been the last few days. And I thought, oh, are we in for a rain today? And after a while, the Sun's showed up and it's beautiful. I think spring might be on the way for some of you Bible studies this week. The guys are going to be at the Baptist Church at 10 on Tuesday. I encourage you to come and join us. It's a great time of fellowship and really growing in the Lord. Do you know where the ladies, the ladies are going to be here here at 10:00 on Tuesday morning. So, you're free to come to either one guys or gals.

There is a board meeting after the church today for the new members of the board. So just a reminder stick around for a little bit and we have some things to go over that start with a word of Prayer.

Our dear father, he Lord and King, we thank you for your goodness, in your love, towards us, that really covers Us day-by-day. You are, truly a God who is faithful and true to the people who call upon your name and we are thankful and we are blessed to know you. We pray that you would be with us as we rejoice and you this day, may your spirit be here in power and strength to touch our lives in deep weighs. We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ, Our Mighty Lord and Savior. Amen.

Our Sunday school class this morning. I teach first second, third graders, we have the lesson on following Jesus and house. When we want Falls, somebody we need to get to know them better and what we talked about Nicodemus and how he came to Jesus at night and to learn more about him. So he could follow him and we're getting our first song is, I'll follow with rejoicing.

Sage, do you want to leave me?

I am with rejoicing.

Say, willy willy.

Are you staying?

Play Dream. Lean On Me.

Play. Ashley will leave me.

What is rejoicing?

Paisley will leave me.

May I have to come forward for the offering place.

Let's pray. Our Father in heaven. We thank you again for your Mighty goodness to us for. You are a faithful God and may we be faithful and return by giving to you, a portion of what you have. So bestowed upon us, we ask this in the precious name of Jesus Christ, Our Mighty savior. Amen.

Thank you, Jerry.

Well, work, including our Series today, on the building Godly character, we're going to take a look at wisdom today and that is so important for our lives. I reading this morning is taken from Psalm 31 verses 1 to 3 In you Lord, I have taken Refuge. Let me never to be put to shame deliver me in your righteousness during your ear to me. Come quickly to my rescue. Be my rock of Refuge a strong Fortress to save me. Since you are my rock and my Fortress for the sake of your name, lead and guide me. And we need a rock in the Fortress for our lives. A few prayer announcements, Darlene is home now and she actually had a pretty good night last night sleeping well. So we need to continue to pray for her recovery. Also pray for Nick he's doing better. He's wearing a neck brace now is get to go see the doctor on the 28th so those are good things going in the right direction. Will pray that the Lord continues to work and he'll there.

Pray for Mary Lou and her continuing recovery and then Tanya has to pray for her father. Kim, who is that actually scheduled for a surgery today and is going to head in this week removal of a, this is

Pray that everything would go well for that. Let's pray.

Our precious father, you who are Mighty and true and holy, and know our hearts and our request that cry out before you and we know that you do answer and he'll indirect in your way. And so may we trust in that way and trust that you will guide each and every circumstance father, our greatest prayer is for the lives of the people around us to know you was Lord and savior because father life doesn't change apart from knowing Jesus Christ. Otherwise were just all headed in the wrong direction. But when we come to know Christ, we headed in the right direction, towards Heavenly glory, and ain't Eternal peace. That can only be found in that direction.

Father, we pray that you would make us through Witnesses and testimonies to the love of Christ to the others in our community. We do pray for the needs that have been mentioned and we think of Darlene as she continues the process of recovery. I know the back. Pain is a serious issue and pray that you would be there to help the doctors to bring about at least some rest. If not healing on this issue. We thank you that our heart rate is settled in and we pray that that would become normal for her. We do think of Nick as you continue to go day-by-day with him and we pray that he would begin to get relief as he gets to go to see the doctor next week. We think of Mary Lou and your continuing healing and really a cover recovery for her life, and we pray that we would continue to hear positive things in that direction, going in, healing and father, we do pray for Kim. As he goes in for surgery this week. Lord may you watch over and protect him and pray that this is the final step in this fight against diabetes. We pray for your Mighty touch and healing up on his body. Lord, we know that there are many here who have unspoken request that haven't been mentioned and our hearts go out for those requests. No matter what they are, father for, you know, running so far heart and those dealings with relationships, with health issues, with financial issues. Father, those are all issues that run across our minds and we sometimes don't think to mention them, but father, you know, them would pray that your touch would be upon them. And now, father, is we head into the continuation of this service, where we lift your name up and honor you through song. Through prayer, go through your word, may you bless Richley and enrich our hearts and draws closer to you. We ask this in the precious name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

All Creatures of our God and King.

Call rushing winner.

Clouds that sail in heaven.

Appraisal.

Is God from whom all blessings flow?

All things their creator.

The spirit three-in-one.

New York.

Unforgiven.

Except.

Tell me because you died and rose again. I'm forgiven because you were forsaken. I'm accepted. You were

and it's module.

I'm forgiven because you were forsaken, I'm accepted.

because,

Amazingly. Amazing Love.

Spinach module.

Looking at the sun has set you free. You, our friend here, the sun has set you free. You are free.

NEX. My Joys, you are amazing. Love you. My king would die for me. True and it's my joy.

In a hurry.

Alright, well let's start with a word of Prayer. Almighty. Father, you are The Guiding Light for our lives. In so many ways and we look to you today to guide our thoughts. As we look at your word, may yet become a live-in. Us May it producing us a character that is alive and real in our walk with you. We pray that your spirit would be active today. The touch each of our hearts, for father, we need you but we know it takes your strength and your power to get there. And so you guide us, Lord, and touch my heart. That as I speak, I would truly speak the words that you've laid upon my heart and not my own for father, you're the one that will change your heart today in this room, change a life. And you alone. So bless us in this. Oh Lord Mighty and true in the Name of Christ. Our Savior, we ask these things. Amen. What we are looking at the last episode. It is really the end of Jesus's Sermon on the Mount and he's concluding it by really addressing the issue of all these sad and how we are depended upon that for our lives. If we truly believe who Jesus Christ really is for our lives, we are going to face a lot of things in life in Jesus talks, a lot about how we are to deal with each of those circumstances in what we do. But the Fayette focus is keeping our eyes upon him for. He is the author of our face and we need to trust them. My favorite him is Great Is Thy Faithfulness, looks at God and how he has touched. Is life. Is we've gone through it and and what a difference it does make for it and it does it need to make a difference for each of our lives. And so we're going to go take a look at what is real wisdom. Today and real wisdom begins with our trust in the Living God and what he does for us, we see that episode played out with Peter. We know that he's on the lake of Galilee and his turmoil and rising and flowing in. The disciples are afraid because their boat is with water in here. Jesus is walking in the water and Peter looks up and says let me come to you and so he does he gets out and he walks on the water, why? Because his focus is on Jesus Christ.

It's just when he looks away from Christ that he begins the sink. And we need to remember that in our lives. You don't know, practical sense. Mary, and I are on to it a few times and our lives as we've looked at him. One of those issues was when Mary, and I were on the eyelid roads, ministering there, and we just felt did God might be moving in a different direction. And so we were to get our Visa done there. And we'd going in up a few times to the headquarters there and ask them about our visas and they said, oh yeah, it's only it's in there on the way and yet it wasn't coming about. And so we laid it before the Lord, we laid a fleece before the Lord and said, Lord, if you want us to stay and Minister here and Rose, then our visa to come about by December 1st. You know, this was in September, give up couple of months, two and a half months there. If not, I will head home. And so are we laid that at the, at the Lord's feet and after checking, probably weekly with the business that said, oh no problem, it's on its way and it never happened. And so December 1st. We decided to head back to the States. And so we made Port, reservations, who leave in a plane on the 21st. So we have 20 days to get everything done, including selling all the electronics, we had because you're being hookups don't match American hookups. At one of the things we had to salvage our car. We had a Toyota sedan and we want to sell it. And we prayed the Lord and asked him. Well, what price should we set on this? And we felt like it was leading us to set the price at 6 thousand Euros and over the next few weeks. I had offers of Euros for it or 200 Euros for it. And like just said, Lord, I don't know where this is going, but we're going to stick with the price. So we did. And finally, on the very last week, actually, the last day it could have happened. We had a young man, and ask to take it for a test drive. You took it for a test drive and he said, I really like it. And I want to purchase it for six thousand Euros. We have wow. Praise the Lord. He said, he said, I want you to use it until you because you need a car to get around with. So wow, that's miraculous. But there was one other thing that we had to do in order for it to to make the transition action. We had to go to the emissions control station to get it in Mission Control. Yes, on the emissions control. So we knew that this was a process that might take a while. So I, we went on Eon and they said, well, do you have an appointment? We said, no, you can't get it done. If you don't have an appointment, And I said, well, this is the last day that we can possibly do it. So somehow we need that appointment as well. We can't do that. So why don't you go upstairs and talk to the director? And so, we did, we went upstairs and we talked to the director and the director said, well we can't do anything. And we are both praying, we're saying, Lord, we don't know where this is going but we trust that you will open the way for us. And he said, well, if you go down and talk to the guy that does Emissions Control, ask him if he'll just do it real quick for you today and we said, okay well Lord if that's the way the great we trust you, we went down there. We talked to him and he said, nope, not going to do it. Okay, Lori. We still trust in you. We know you have the way. So we go back upstairs, and we're talkin the guy. And he said well, he said no way said, okay. So he signs this paper and he gives it to us. Is that there you go? You're done.

Well, okay Lord. What an answer. What an answer? Well we had a number of situations like that and that whole episode and wonderful time of seeing God's Mighty hand leading us back which ultimately led us to Oregon where we Minister didn't Church in, Butte Falls for seven and a half years and then leading us here to minister as well. So the Lord is good and he guides and directs but to keep our eyes and our upon him. You know, I never forget that control, no matter what the circumstances might show. In each of those circumstances where the person said, no, we had to believe that there was a yes in there somewhere along the way that God had the answer for us and Duck. And so, that's a call for each and everyone of us. And that's where Jesus is going. When he gets to the end of this tremendous, sermon on the mouth, that takes up actually, three chapters of the Book of Matthew. That's an amazing amount of amount that was given to that sermon. But it says he gives a challenge here at the end of the sermon in a few 724. He says there for anyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice. It's like a wise man who built his house on the rock.

Notice the word inputs of the words and put them into practice, is he? That's really important because we can all say are you can go through the neighborhood and hear people say, yeah, I believe in God.

But they don't put it into practice in anything they do. And God says, you do not only do you have to believe, but you have to practice what I've told you to demonstrate that. You truly do believe. What I'm trying to tell you about. And so when God looks at a life and, you know, he looks at the depth of our lives and where our hearts are not where our words are Yep. Looks at the very depths of our lives. And so, when we think about it, you know, where we're going in this life, we need to realize that no matter what the direction we feel like we're going. Our eyes need to be focused on Jesus Christ and what he desires for our lives. No matter the circumstances, no matter the circumstances, Matthew 7:21 got jumping back, just a few verses Jesus hits on this issue. Very powerfully. He says, not everyone who says to me, Lord Lord will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my father. Who is in heaven? You see a lot of people say, Lord Lord. But do they do, the will of God. And that's a key issue. And sometimes we think it's just simply play, praying the prayer and all is good and done. And that's not what Jesus is saying. What are you saying is? Yeah, you believe the prayer, but you act that prayers. Well, you make it a part of your life, the words are important, but God looks at the Deeds, you know, where are you going with? What you say you're going, you know, enough, you know, and this isn't just something that it is being said, by Jesus right here, it's spread throughout scripture old and new testament old testament. You go to Isaiah or Jeremiah or any of the other and it calls people to action. Not just words. To not just bring your sacrifice but start behaving, as I've called you to do. And that's what I think. We find it in Ezekiel chapter 33 verse 31, Ezekiel writes, my people come to you as they usually do and sit before you to hear your words. But they do not put them into practice their mouths speak of love, but their hearts are greedy for unjust gain. You know, where are your lives? Where are the things that you're looking for? And if if no matter what you're doing, if your eyes aren't focused on the Living God, it's not going to make any difference to what you're into what you're doing. Because God wants to be a part of each and every part of our Lives. Not just those times when we attend church or we decide to go pray or when we have to really crack the Bible open, he wants us to not only see what he has for us, but to do what he has for us. It's our action and that's what Jesus is Calling the people to. He's saying here, I've told you what to do. Now, the expectation is that you'll go out and you'll start doing what I told you about. Make it a part of your life, do it? You know, James is a big one on, do it. He, he talks about that a lot particularly in the second chapter. First chapter James 125e says, but whoever looks intently into the perfect law, that gives freedom and continues in it. Not letting what it what they have heard, but doing it, they will be blessed and what they do. You know God's perfect word, tells you what you want to do. Now I want you to do it, you know, it's we look at Joshua as he's called, you know, God comes to him before he leaves his land and he says, hey, I'm going to go with you. I'm going to bless you wherever you go. But pay attention to my word and do what it says, or I'm not going to be with you. Okay. It's a call for each and every one of us to remember that God wants us to be involved. In doing what he's called to do. Here is real wisdom. James 3:13

Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their Good Life by Deeds Done in the humility that comes from wisdom. Do you want real wisdom? Real understanding?

Where have you built your life? Have you built your life on Jesus Christ in his words and what he has to say? Are you building it on your financial power? Are the people, you know? You know, where you live.

If it's not on Jesus Christ, then it's shaky soil. It shaky soil. In life. Is not going to be good. God says, build your life on me and what I have to say,

Each of us is going to face trials in our lives. Every one of you can look back on your life and say, yeah, you know, maybe even in this last week and the trials and the difficulties facing in life. And Jesus looks to that, in the next two verse Matthew 7:25, trials are going to come our way, the rain came down the streams Rose, and the winds blew, and beat against the house. Yet, it did not fall because it had its foundation on the rock. The rains will fall in this life, you know, and it'll all wash things away or it will have no effect depending upon where we have placed our strength. Our power is Jesus our Fortress, Is he our strength in this life? Are we dependent on other things? Other things in this life?

Speaking of ordeals Peter 1st, Peter 4:12 says dear friends. Do not be surprised at the fiery. Our deal that is come on you to test you as though something's are happening to you you know you ever get to that point where you say God why do you allow this to happen in my life and Peter say for the that's not strange. It's, the every It just happens in life, we have difficulties. We have struggles that we're all going to face, but where's the foundation? You know, our battle is, sometimes we think about his life, remember that, Paul point us in the right direction? Officiants, chapter 6, when he looks at the after the battle were in and he says we're we're fighting those principalities in the Heavenly Realms, don't you realize it. And the only way to do it is to stand firm in God and then it gives us that armor. That is a part of our lives. That helps give us a sense of where our strength and our power lies. But he says it doesn't happen unless it is done. By the power of God. And his work in our lives.

Be ready for those storms, as matter fact, it's God who actually works in those storms in life. You know we face those different storms and it helps us to look back and say wow didn't God, change our lives here, was that a miraculous work. He did then he really touched the lives of others. What he did to us, and this is step and we can look back on those points in life. And normally, they are result of the battles we've faced in this. Sometimes it happen when we're new Believers in Christ. And other times after we've been walking with the Lord a long time, we have a little story in scripture about a young man who had been born blind and he was going blind through his life, probably was in his 20s or 30s. And Jesus came along and take some mud and puts it on his eyes and says, go on down to the local pool and wash your eyes. and the guy does it, and He sees for the sly. An amazing thing, you know, and then the challenge comes along, you know, it happened on the Sabbath day. You're not supposed to heal on the Sabbath because that's not good.

You're not supposed to wash your face on the Sabbath because that's not good. I just called before the Sanhedrin. John 9:13, they brought to the Pharisees. The man would have been blind. Okay, so here is his challenge. What are you going to believe? Are you going to believe who healed you and healed, your blindness that you had for all your life?

Are you going to follow the Mankind's rules? Think about that for your own life? If you've received Jesus Christ as your lord and savior, you are blind. You are in pain but God touch your life and he allowed you to see for the first time through his ministry in your life and all of a sudden he says follow me. Where you going to go. And that's what this guy is being asked, you know, where you've been born blind. Well, who did this to you? Well, I don't know, he didn't tell me his name.

Well, don't you realize that that was wrong and that was sinful that he did this. He says. You know. I was blind. And now I see. You know. What do you have made of that? You know, eventually Jesus goes and talks with him and he gives his life completely to him. But remember, we were blind. We could not see until we came to Christ, he makes a difference and he wants to be the foundation for our lives that rocks rock. That keeps us in the storms of life. He wants to deliver us and you know, if we allow him to deliver us if we depend upon him and trusted them through those difficulties in straw and trials, we're blessed known as Jesus went through the early part of his Sermon on the Mount. He talked about the blessings, you know, and he was blessing, a lot of people that most of the world was that, you know, they're there morning, they're sick, why would you bless them? But he gets down to the end of that little section in Matthew 5:12 and he says rejoice and be, glad because great is your reward in heaven for the same with persecuted the prophets who were before you they persecute you.

There's blessing for standing for Jesus Christ in this life and God calls us to those files in life that we faced, or we can receive the black things that God desires to give, we will be delivered. In this life, if we try. In the solid foundation of Jesus Christ. We will be delivered. Psalm 34:19 the righteous person may have many troubles, but the Lord delivers them from them. All as David some, he says this times in scripture, Psalm 37. And he also Says this, if you trust in God, you'll deliver you. Do you believe that? You know, that's where faith comes in our faith. That Jesus Christ. Truly is going to deliver through those issues but you know, makes the difference in our lives. It makes us realize where our trust needs to be found in him. You knowing, even if we are destroyed

Well, we trust in him. We have an eternity of blessing it had. Remember the blessing is an eternal blessing when we trust in the Living, God, he is the one that makes the difference in our lives both now, and for the future.

But there's two choices. One choice is to trust in. Jesus Christ of the circumstances, my life are just not trust in him and Jesus gives the other half. Now in verses 26 and 7 of Matthew 7. But everyone who hears these words of mine. And does not put them into practice. Is like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. The rain came down, the streams Rose, and the winds blew and beat against the house and it fell with a great crash.

You know, where do you put your trust? if you put your trust in your financial stability, you're going to crash you, ultimately crash your put your trust in your physical abilities. You will crash you put your trust in mankind and their abilities to help you. You will crash and fall. It's only as we put our trust in the Firm Foundation of Jesus Christ and his powerful word that makes all the difference in our lives, that we truly can move forward.

Back to James. 122 do not. Merely listen to the word and so deceive yourselves do what it says. And Jesus is saying to what I tell you and life will be good. Eternal life will be excellent. And it caused us to strive to do our very best and each cakes in then. Remember when Jesus says be obedient to the word, it means being obedient to the whole word, do all that I've asked you to do and strive to be the very best at this strive to recognize him in each of those moments we face in life, where the doors are battles, are good times or whatever, we're facing, we need to strive to be the very best that we can possibly be.

Here's the foolish, man. James 220. You foolish person. Do you want evidence that faith without Deeds is useless? And he goes on to describe the life of Abraham, okay? Abraham trust, nobody went to Canaan to view the land and God said, yeah, I'm going to give you the land and everything and he gives him his son and he raised his son up and the Sun is going strong. God comes to him and says, okay, bring him time to sacrifice that son. Do you trust me? Do you trust me? This is the sun. I promised you to have that was going to be the foundation of your life. You trust me when I ask you to sacrifice him

Yeah.

He said, okay. Bundled up his goods and took him to Mount Moriah ready to sacrifice him.

God stopped him and said now I know.

so each of us faces those moments, we face those trials, in our lives where God challenges us Do either walk by faith, trusting that he will guide you through or we try to figure out some other way to get around this.

God says, I don't want you to do that. I want you to trust me the whole way just as Abraham trusted me, I want you to trust me. Here's the end result, there's a choice that you and I have to make in life. Each time, we faced life day-by-day, the struggles, Proverbs 5:23, for lack of discipline. They will die. Let us Dre by their own great folly. Either choose to stand on, Jesus Christ and find success in. In life. Are you rely upon something else? And you fall foolishly. In this life. Success in life is not when good things come your way. Success in life. Is when we trust that God is working out his great work in our Lots.

It's trusting him along the way. Proverbs 1:7 conclude with this, the fear of the Lord, is the beginning of knowledge but fools despise wisdom. And instruction.

God wants you to fear Him. Because he knows the right way. It's not a fear, like I'm scared of him. It's a fear because if I trust him, I know things are going to go. Well, if I don't trust him I'm going to falter and fail in this life.

And you can look at lines on Earth and say, well ask I lived a pretty good life. Do you know and he didn't? Trust God. Really. When he stands before the Living God, at the end of time and he is Judge by the Lord. And he didn't. Trust God, where is his end? Not a happy ending.

God calls us to trust in him to stand firm on that foundation and that's wisdom. Do you want to be a wise person or a foolish person? The wise person says? Okay, Jesus Christ, I trust you through this circumstance that you brought to my life today right now. And do that every time. Every time that's real face, that's real. Trust in the Living God. That's what faith is all about.

To do otherwise. It's just simply to operate as a fool in this world. and then if you want to be a fool,

are you going to trust the Living God? Let's pray.

Our Father in Heaven, how thankful we are that you are the mighty one who really gives us all that we need in this life. But there is that call. Trust me. Trust me. Leave that I know the way. Father. Even in this. we need to rely upon you because you're the one that gives us the strength to trust you.

And so father as much as I call and he's here today to trust you. I also call on you to give us the strength of the faith to say, okay, I do trust you. I do want to give this portion of my life into your hands.

God isn't this? Oh, Lord and help us to walk into powerful and perfect light of your presence. We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ, Our Mighty savior, Hitman. Shall we stand?

Free music.

7.