Below the Waterline-5

Child Dedication (Wade and Harrison Farnham)

Subject: Child Dedication

Synopsis: The parents desire blessing, a witness of their resolve, and help from the church.

I. Preparations

A. Have music stand & anointing oil in front of Communion Table.

B. Make sure mic is on.

C. Call for and meet parents there.

D. After parents have come forward, Pastor asks:

1. Do you desire to do as Hannah in 1 Samuel by dedicating Harrison & Wade to the Lord?

E. Parents answer:

1. Yes.

II. Introduction

A. This morning we have the delight of dedicating Harrison and Wade Farnham to the Lord.

At the same time the presenting of a child in dedication is a serious matter.

Harrison has been already been dedicated to the Lord, but these 2 are kind of inseparable!

B. As we dedicate these 2 handsome young men to God, we will ALL be accepting responsibilities, but we will also recognize the responsibility which God has promised to take upon Himself toward each life which is put into His care.

C. As this mother and father bring Harrison and Wade before this church this morning, I believe I hear them saying 3 things:

1. First, that they want God’s will to be done in and God’s blessings on Harrison and Wade.

2. Second, that they want witnesses to their resolve to raise Harrison and Wade in a Christian home according to God’s will.

3. Finally, they are saying that they need our help.

D. Prayer

1. Prayer for dedication service and those involved.

II. God’s Blessings

A. First, I want to say that Jesus takes great pleasure in blessing Harrison and Wade

1. The scriptures tell us how He feels towards children.

B. In Mark 10:13-16 we read that in a particular place …

Mark 10:13-16 (NIV) People were bringing little children to Jesus to have Him touch them, but the disciples rebuked them. 14 When Jesus saw this, He was indignant. He said to them, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. 15 I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” 16 And he took the children in his arms, put his hands on them and blessed them.

2. In Matthew 18:14 NIV Jesus said: … your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should be lost.

C. We also read in:

1. Psalm 103:17-18 (NIV) … from everlasting to everlasting the Lord’s love is with those who fear him, and his righteousness with their children’s children— 18 with those who keep his covenant and remember to obey his precepts.

D. May the Lord use my hands and my voice as we pray over Harrison and Wade.

Pastor takes Harrison and Wade ...

2. Anoint

3. Pray

E. We recognize that these 2 boys are God’s responsibility.

We TRUST Him to keep them in His perfect care.

He WILL watch over their lives — He already has, He is doing so right now, and He will continue to watch over them.

We believe God’s perfect will to be done in their lives.

III. A Christian Home

Hand Harrison and Wade back to parents while saying:

Harrison and Wade belong to the Lord, but God is entrusting the 2 of you to watch over, protect, nurture and train them.

Church, these parents have embarked on a difficult endeavor.

1. They recognize that there are many challenges and difficulties that lie ahead.

2. But I believe that they know that Jesus will go with them and help them as they pray and as WE pray with them and for them.

3. Hebrews 13:5 (NIV) … God has promised, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”

B. Mom and Dad, the first responsibility for Harrison and Wade is yours. So …

1. Before God, to whom you have brought these boys for dedication, I charge you:

i. That you live an exemplary life before Harrison and Wade so that they may, by your example, know what it is to be a Christian;

ii. That you make your home a “school” where they shall receive Christian instruction;

iii. That you will see that they are taken to church for additional instruction;

iv. That you pray for their salvation and that you endeavor to lead them to accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior.

2. If you are willing to accept this charge, answer, “I will.”

C. Prayer

1. Anointing and prayer for parents.

IV.The Church’s Help

A. Church, these parents need your help:

1. To pray

2. To encourage

3. To be a good, a true example of Christ’s redemption.

The church has the huge responsibility of being a positive influence for God in the lives of these boys.

I have recently heard a song by Anne Wilson called Sunday Sermon. Some of the lyrics say:

Seven years old, third row pew John 3:16, something changed in me Red letters coming off the page Flooding my heart with amazing grace I knew then I believed And those roots run deep

Oh, I’ve been through some faith-shaking hard times, yeah But nothing's gonna make me forget

Every one of those Sunday sermons Every time that choir would sing I could hear my Savior calling, telling me how much He loves me No matter what the world throws at me I know His word is true It all started with heart-stirring, spirit-moving Sunday Sermons

Devil gon' try and take me out of that church But you can't take the church out of me

Oh that God would make me that kind of preacher and make us that kind of church!

B. Will the church stand?

C. The church, which through its pastor, accepts a child in dedication, assumes a responsibility before God.

1. In view of this responsibility, I charge you who are members and adherents of this church:

That you will do all you can to provide and support a place of worship and instruction in this community where Harrison and Wade may hear the full counsel of God’s Word;

That you will all covenant together to set an example by your lives and to maintain an atmosphere in this church which shall inspire them to desire the Christian way of life;

That as God reminds you, you will pray for Harrison and Wade salvation.

2. Those of you who are willing to accept this charge, please answer, “With God’s help, we will.”

D. Prayer

1. For congregation.

2. Seated after prayer.

V. Close

A. On the authority of God’s Word, and as a minister of Christ’s Church, I affirm that — if we faithfully keep our pledges to God — God will:

1. Through the Holy Spirit convict Harrison and Wade of sin as they come to an age of accountability;

2. Make the love of Christ, His Son, known to them;

3. Bless and guide His children throughout all their life.

B. Congratulation, certificate, etc

Today is Pentecost Sunday

We could look at this day in so many ways:

As [shah - vah- oot]

The Jewish word for this day.

A word that literally means “weeks”

It marks the conclusion of the Counting of the Omer (associated with the wave offering of a sheaf of ripe wheat).

Described in: Deuteronomy 16:9–12 (NASB95) “You shall count seven weeks for yourself; you shall begin to count seven weeks from the time you begin to put the sickle to the standing grain. 10 “Then you shall celebrate the Feast of Weeks to the LORD your God with a tribute of a freewill offering of your hand, which you shall give just as the LORD your God blesses you; 11 and you shall rejoice before the LORD your God, you and your son and your daughter and your male and female servants and the Levite who is in your town, and the stranger and the orphan and the widow who are in your midst, in the place where the LORD your God chooses to establish His name. 12 “You shall remember that you were a slave in Egypt, and you shall be careful to observe these statutes.

So the Jews see this as an agricultural celebration of the first fruits of harvest

A celebration commanded IN the Torah

Interestingly, tradition says that this is the day the Torah, the Law of Moses, was given on Mt. Sinai

Other traditions tell us Pentecost is the day of King David’s death

But as we can clearly see in the Bible …

This is the day the church began — the true birth of the church.

Not a tradition, but a truth declared in Acts 2

s Acts 2:37–41 (NASB95) Now when they [the Jews and proselytes gathered in Jerusalem for Pentecost] heard this, they were pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brethren, what shall we do?” 38 Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 “For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself.” 40 And with many other words he solemnly testified and kept on exhorting them, saying, “Be saved from this perverse generation!” 41 So then, those who had received his word were baptized; and that day there were added about three thousand souls.

We also see this as the day the Holy Spirit was poured out in fulfilment:

Of Joel 2:28–29 (NASB95) “It will come about after this That I will pour out My Spirit on all mankind; And your sons and daughters will prophesy, Your old men will dream dreams, Your young men will see visions. 29 “Even on the male and female servants I will pour out My Spirit in those days.

It is also a fulfilment of Jesus’s prophecy/promise given in the Great Commission as recorded in:

Luke 24:45–49 (NASB95) Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, 46 and He said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ would suffer and rise again from the dead the third day, 47 and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. 48 “You are witnesses of these things. 49 “And behold, I am sending forth the promise of My Father upon you; but you are to stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.”

They did and He did. They tarried, stayed in Jerusalem and God poured out the Holy Spirit with the sound of rushing wind, supernatural tongues of fire, and supernatural tongues of praise in languages the 120 had never learned.

So many ways we can think about Pentecost, but especially today…

In this concluding sermon in a series of sermons about being weighty below the waterline …

We remember that through the power of the Holy Spirit we become People of His Presence and Glory, who powerfully and consistently and manifest His anointing, because we are a sanctified people of the Word and Prayer.

Through the power of the Holy Spirit our ship stays upright so that even when it gets knocked sideways by waves (and it WILL!)

or our sails get blown parallel to the horizon (and they WILL!)

— yet through the weightiness the Holy Spirit imparts below the waterline of our lives, we come back up again instead of going all the way over like Mike Plant’s boat the Coyote that I talked about in the first sermon of this series.

You can listen to it on Facebook or YouTube. Look for the sermon preached on May 1st

It’s Real!

Yes! This power that I have talked about in 4 previous sermons is real!

It’s not make believe — it is the inheritance of the saints.

I like what Francis Chan says:

“The world is NOT moved by love or actions that are of human creation ...and the church is NOT empowered to live differently from any other gathering of people without the Holy Spirit. But, when believers live in the power of the Spirit, the evidence in their lives is supernatural. The church cannot help but be different, and the world cannot help but notice.”

Folks I have spoken of the weight we need below the waterline of our lives for as a PERSONAL blessing of God’s presence — but it is so much more than that!

Jesus said in: Acts 1:8 (NASB95) … you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall BE My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.”

Only through the power of the Holy Spirit can the boats of our lives stay upright in stormy times.

THAT is a witness to those outside of relationship with Jesus.

Holy Spirit power causes us to be witnesses WHEREVER we go — wherever He calls us to go — wherever we are in the center of His will for our lives.

Witnesses by our lives lived in defiance of the storms of life.

A defiance characterized by peace, by joy, by perseverance.

A defiance characterized by our boats staying upright when those of others get blown over.

The world is desperate for such a true witness of God and almost exclusively, God chooses to give that witness THROUGH the church.

Now I recognize what God is doing among the Muslims.

Today’s Worldview Magazine talks about how a missionary to Buddhists was jealous

READ PAGE 15

So, the reality is that Muslims needed a supernatural witness of Jesus — God is doing it supernaturally — apart from the direct ministry of missionaries or pastors.

Nevertheless, this supernatural revelation of Jesus IS STILL COMING THROUGH THE CHURCH.

Because the church has been and IS praying — THAT is why God is manifesting Himself in dreams and visions.

The 1 billion Buddhists of this world need the same supernatural witness.

Whether God wants to use supernatural visions and dreams.

Or if God wants to use His church in a supernatural way — like Sister Patsy tells of the church in Florida where the Holy Spirit manifested Himself in what looked like flames of fire so that the Fire Department was called.

But it wasn’t a literal fire — it was the flames of the Holy Spirit.

It was God manifesting Himself through a church that surrendered itself to be used by Him.

A people who were crying out for a move of the Spirit.

People were drawn to the fire.

God can do the same among Buddhists.

The question is: Will we pray, as the area missionary director writes: To Change the Map?

We can start that prayer tonight at 5:00 pm.

We can be a house of prayer FOR all nations — intercessors on behalf of the nations.

Intercessors for the over 1 billion Buddhists to have a supernatural encounter with Jesus.

Intercessors for THIS hurting, divided, violent nation.

Today we begin 30 days of prayer for the USA.

Please pick up a Prayer Guide from the Literature table.

Didn’t Gina do a good job of displaying photo albums?

Each day at 8:00 am, through our various media platforms, especially Facebook, I will lead a very brief prayer using the guide.

As we pray, God can not only manifest Himself in supernatural ways among Muslims and Buddhists.

He can not only manifest Himself in other areas of this nation

But, He can supernaturally manifest His glorious presence right here at New Life Family Church.

IF ...

IF ...

We obey our text: Ephesians 5:15–21 (NASB95) Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, 16 making the most of your time, because the days are evil. 17 So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. 18 And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit, 19 speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord; 20 always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father; 21 and be subject to one another in the fear of Christ.

Careful How We Walk

God is calling us to sobriety and vigilance.

This is NOT a day for casual, careless living — not there has EVER been a day for Christians to live in such a way.

Vs. 8 of this chapter in Ephesians tells us that:

Ephesians 5:8 (NASB95) [we] were formerly darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord; walk as children of Light

NOT unwise, but wise through the anointing of the Holy Spirit.

Walking, living like the sons of Issachar described in: 1 Chronicles 12:32 (NASB95) [they were], men who understood the times, with knowledge of what Israel should do, …

That’s what the Holy Spirit will do in our lives — IF. If we will be ask Him to do so.

Walking out lives that are impactful, effective for God as we “make the most of our time.”

Walking in the leading of the Holy Spirit because the days are evil.

Understanding the Will of the Lord

Not being foolish, but seeking the will of God.

Making it foremost in our lives.

Isn’t it interesting that our text tells us that the opposite of foolishness is seeking an understanding of God’s will?

NOT prioritizing getting ahead at work.

NOT prioritizing comfort in retirement

NOT prioritizing accumulating this world’s stuff

Prioritizing knowing and understanding God’s will for our lives.

Not Full of the World

I know our text says “do not get drunk with wine,” but I think the scripture implies something beyond alcohol.

Too many, even Christians, are drunk on the things of this life, of this world.

As I’ve been saying for a few weeks now, we cannot have more of God, more of the Holy Spirit without letting go of the things of this world.

To be saturated with the Holy Spirit while being saturated with this world is IMPOSSIBLE.

May we turn away from the world and turn fully towards God.

Full of the Spirit

Being saturated with the Spirit.

Completely yielded to His control.

Romans 8:5–8 (NASB95) For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. 6 For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, 7 because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so, 8 and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

Galatians 5:24–25 (NASB95) Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.

Will WE Cry Out for Fresh Wind?

So, on this Pentecost Sunday 2022, will we cry out for Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire?

So that we can:

speak to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs,

So that we can sing and make melody with our hearts to the Lord;

So that we will be found: “ always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father;”

So that we can “be subject to one another in the fear of Christ.”

If that is your desire this morning, please stand with me and lift up your hearts in prayer as the worship team comes to the platform this morning.