Untitled Sermon (2)

Create in me a pure heart

Psalm 51:10 NLT

Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a loyal spirit within me.

Proverbs 4:23 NLT

Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.

What does it mean to gain the favor of God?

Does it mean I am successful in my career?

does it mean I have a nice house?

Will I gain the riches of Solomon?

Over the last year we have been seeking a lasting revival that will light a Holy Fire in Crosswind church members to grow the kingdom of God.

Last month we were given a message about pursuing God with reckless abandon, Pursuing Him until we get the answer.

Are we pursuing Him like the Woman with the issue of blood, Are we pursuing Him like the crippled man who was lowered through the roof. Are we as persistent as the lady in Mathew 15:27, who was pleading for her daughter who was possessed by a demon.

As I am writing this message I wonder why we don’t experience revival and what is the block in our life. We ask God for His favor and provision thinking that his favor and provision is related to income, shelter, food, and clothes. Yet when I see the disciples after Jesus ascended I see people who truly had God’s favor. but many of them didn’t have income, shelter, and went hungry. What does it mean to have God’s favor. For the apostle Paul and most of the disciples, God’s favor meant they were beaten, whipped and throne in Jail.

Today if look at people I admire who display the favor of God, the ones I admire most have very little. They have given up everything to fulfill God’s will. We can go back to Mother Terrisa, Mark Buntain, and a friend of Liza and mine named Maile who is in India working with Project Rescue to reach women and children who caught in the slavery of human trafficking.

As I see the favor of God on peoples life I recognize it has nothing to do with career, wealth, shelter, and success in a materialistic way, and everything to do with their desire to spread the Gospel as God’s will leads them.

We tend to complicate the message of the Gospel. We transform the basic message of Christ on the Cross to an exogetical manifestation of God’s dispensational eschatological eternal existance where by He reveals Himself in Christophonies and Messianic manifestations of his radiant glory.

You might be asking “What did I just say?” I DON’T KNOW!!

The bottom line is the message of the Gospel is easy to understand.

I want to walk you through it. It the desire of God to restore humanity to Himself by taking the punishment we deserve and placing it on His Son Jesus. After his death on the cross he arose from the grave alive redeeming all who receive Him to God. Following his ascension into heaven He sent His Spirit to dwell in us.

Many people have asked if God is God why did He have to endure the punishment of the Cross.

I believe their are two reasons for this.

to show how ugly Sin is to Him

Walk the congregation through the death of the cross

To show how much more beautiful His grace is.

For many of us here it was that simple message that lead us to Christ and the purity of that message gave us a zeal for God.

Somehow that zeal has dwindled for many of us.

Why?

Many of us over time loose the purity of out faith. the simple message of :

John 3:16 NLT

“For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.

God’s favor will fall on those who decide to sell out to God. to give up their will for God’s. Those who risk their comfort zone for spiritual battles leading to the salvation of others.

You tube video “How to restore your lost fire for God”

you tube video “Last days of heavy darkness in the world 2021.”

I’m not gonna sit this out any more. I’m going to get off the bench and I’m going to ask for the ball so I can be a part of the victory God gives us.

The greatest battle we take in this faith is the battle against self.

Our Greatest enemy is not people criticizing us, people who hurt us with their words.

Our Greatest enemy is ourselves when we go against the Word of God. When we replace what God says is right and replace it with what we say is right.

As believers in the Word of God most of us struggle with the idea of tolerance toward the worlds values.