Sermon Notes

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This past week we looked at the part of the prayer in Nehemiah 9:13 that talks about how God gave His people His commands, laws, and regulations that were “good and just and right”.

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Who is God?

That’s what we’ve been asking the last couple of weeks. And the answer isn’t, “He created everything”, or “He’s omnipotent” or any other such general, overarching descriptive, as true as those statements may be.

What we want to know is, “Who is God…to me?” What is it of this wonderful and awesome Creator & Being that I can grab hold of and make personal to my life, my situations, my destiny? Who is God…to me?

As we look at Nehemiah, we come to verse 12 of Chapter 9 and read the part of the prayer where the people reflected on God’s showing up in a grand, yet very personal way. It says, “By day You led them with a pillar of cloud, and by night with a pillar of fire to give them light on the way they were to take.”

There are 4 very personal things we can take from this and apply to our lives in answering “Who is God…to me?”

I’d like to share with you just the first one in this Faith Notes, and that is “He is the God who guides us”.

Psalm 37:23-24 says, “The Lord makes firm the steps of the one who delights in Him. Though he may stumble, he will not fall, for the Lord upholds him with His hand.”

Listen to this excerpt from a book called, “Silent Giants” –
“Two days after arriving, I departed St. John’s. A low overcast covered the city. As I climbed through the clouds, the ground and sky dissolved into a white glow. All sense of motion, of up and down, were lost. My senses told me I am suspended in an immense milk bottle.

My world shrinks to the single square foot of the control panel as I fly by instruments. The artificial horizon confirms my wings are level. The airspeed indicator is steady at 100 miles per hour. The altimeter shows I have reached 1,000 feet and am climbing. Good.

I pay particularly close attention to the artificial horizon in the middle of the panel. Inside, a tiny gyroscope spins four hundred revolutions a second. Just as a child’s toy gyroscope returns to its original position when nudged, the gyroscope inside this instrument never moves regardless of what the plane around it does. Attached to the gyroscope is the instrument’s face, a symbolic representation of the invisible horizon outside the windows.

As I start a climbing turn to the left, the instrument horizon falls away and drops to the right, just as the real horizon is doing somewhere outside. This tiny instrument has given me a three-inch window into the world outside the clouds.

As I level the wings, my body says the gyroscope is wrong. That it has somehow malfunctioned. I am not level, I am diving to the right. The physical sensation is almost overwhelming. But I believe the instrument, which says all is well. This is vertigo and almost every pilot experiences it at some time.

No pilot can fly by the “seat of the pants” in clouds. Here, your normal senses of feel and balance are useless—and deadly—if believed. You must fly the instruments, not what you feel.”

Our emotional and mental vertigo will tell us that we need to make a correction, adjust course, surely the gyroscope of God’s Word, which never changes and is never impacted by outside circumstances, is off somehow.

But even when things don’t make sense, even when it doesn’t feel right, even when all around us seems like a giant white milk bottle and we’re right in the middle of it, we must rely on the instrument of God’s Word, on the gauge of the Holy Spirit telling us to hold steady, that all is well. Instead of flying by the seat of our pants and taking matters into our own hands which leads to a deadly outcome, we put our faith in God who will lead us along the path of life He has for us, without fail, and with pinpoint accuracy.

We must “fly the instruments”.

If you’d like to hear the rest of this message entitled “The Pillar”, click on the link below and go to the media tab. There you’ll find This and all the messages from Faith by which to be strengthened.

Have a blessed week in Christ and remember to “fly the instruments”. His Word will never fail to guide you with pinpoint accuracy all the days of your life.

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I want to share with you an excerpt from this past Sunday’s message, “Who Is God?” We’re looking at the prayer the Isrealites prayed to God in Nehemiah Chapter 9, the longest recorded prayer in the Bible, as they reflect on the nature and character of God. There is an ebb and flow to the history recorded in this prayer. It documents God’s steady and continual faithfulness in spite of the people’s vacillating commitment to God.

As part of my message, I made the following suggestion that I’d like to pass on to you –

“Too often we ask God why. “Why am I going through this? What am I struggling? Why am I lonely? Why am I sick? Why am I unhappy? Why?”
But maybe we shouldn’t ask “why”, but “what”, as in, “What are you trying to show me, Lord, about myself? What are You trying to show me, Lord, about You?” “What do You want me to learn from this?” “What area of my life is this revealing that is not yielded to You, not crucified to You, not submitted to You?” “What can I do in this to trust You more?” “What can I do in this to be more like Christ, to allow His Spirit to govern me and not my flesh?”

Suddenly, our struggles take on a different light, don’t they? Think about it. They go from being a victim who is absorbed in self pity and can’t see the forest for the trees to being someone who sees the spiritual significance in things, where we can grow and learn and mature and be victorious and be more like Christ and through our struggles die more to the flesh and live more in the Spirit.

So don’t ask “why”, but “what”. It’ll change everything in how you look at struggles. And be ready to be blown away by the perspective shift it brings when the Holy Spirit reveals the powerful truths He’ll reveal.”

If you’d like to hear the entirety of this message, click on the link below. The podcast can be quickly and easily downloaded. Or, go to your App Store and search for “Connect At Faith”. You’ll see our Faith logo. Download the App and stay connected to all that is going on at Faith, including hearing the podcasts, getting daily encouraging scriptures, and reading past Faith Notes.

Ask this week “what” When facing a struggle. See what happens.

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When Jesus told the disciples about the signs of the last days, they didn’t stop what they were doing and sit on a hill somewhere to wait. They remained busy. Life continued. Ministry continued. The Church hadn’t even been birthed yet!

Just after He described the signs of the end times in Luke 21:34-37, Jesus said, “Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you suddenly like a trap. For it will come on all those who live on the face of the whole earth. Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man.” Each day Jesus was teaching at the temple, and each evening he went out to spend the night on the hill called the Mount of Olives.”

Each day He continued to teach. And each night He spent the night on the Mount of Olives. He stayed busy. He stayed focused. He kept His eye on the ball. He fulfilled His Father’s will.

The fact is, Jesus is coming back. It may be today or it may be tomorrow. No one knows for absolutely sure, except all signs point to it being very, very soon.

When I heard this for the first time as a child it brought a new reality to my life, but it it didn’t cause my life to cease or be on hold. I’ve been busy.

I’ve grown up, gotten married, raised a family, served the Lord in ministry, enjoyed wonderful times of fun and refreshing and relaxing. I’ve lived!

But I’ve lived with the understanding that what I do on the earth matters. The choices I make have an eternal significance. I’ve lived my life when Heaven in mind. My decisions in life have always been in light of eternity.

When you hear , “Jesus is coming”, it’s not a call for us to stop living, but to live in light of eternity. Enjoy your life. Plan for the future! Raise your family. Go on vacations. Invest wisely. Get a great education. Engage in the community. Fulfill your God-given destiny!

But do it all with eternity in focus. Balance this day and this life with eternity and eternal life.

Either extreme is unhealthy and unscriptural. Let’s live our lives to the fullest for the glory of God until Jesus comes to take us home!

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Philippians 4:6-7, “Do not be anxious about anything. Instead, in every situation, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, tell your requests to God. And the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.”

A man once sought to find the perfect picture of peace, but could find none to satisfy him. So he began a contest. All around the world painters submitted their rendition of what true perfect peace looked like.

On that day, one by one each picture was revealed. Each more breath taking and wonderful than the other. Finally two pictures remained.

The first was unveiled with an amazed silence over the audience. In front of them was a mirror-smooth lake reflecting lacy, green birches under a soft blush of the evening sky. Along the grassy shore, a flock of sheep grazed undisturbed. Surely this was the winner.

The man with the vision uncovered the second painting himself, and the crowd gasped in surprise. Could this be peace?

A tumultuous waterfall cascaded down a rocky precipice; the crowd could almost feel its cold, penetrating spray. Stormy-gray clouds threatened to explode with lightning, wind and rain. In the midst of the thundering noises and bitter chill, a spindly tree clung to the rocks at the edge of the falls. One of its branches reached out in front of the torrential waters as if foolishly seeking to experience its full power.

A little bird had built a nest in the elbow of that branch. Content and undisturbed in her stormy surroundings, she rested on her eggs. With her eyes closed and her wings ready to cover her little ones, she manifested peace that transcends all earthly turmoil.

What is peace? Someone once said that true peace is not the absence of trouble, but the confidence that God is with you in and through your troubles.

In these troubling times in which we live, oh that we would allow the peace of God to rule our hearts and our minds, so He might keep us in perfect peace as we keep our hearts and minds stayed on Him.

I’ve got so much more to share, and you are welcome to listen to the sermon podcasts we have prepared for you online, where I’m continuing in my series “Signs Of The Times”.

There are several ways to do this.

First, search for the “Pocast” App on your smart phone in your App Store and down load it. It’s free. Then type in “Faith Assembly” and you’ll see our logo. Click on it and it’ll download all the recent message from Faith to your phone. That way you can listen to it anytime.

If you don’t have a smart phone, go to www.ConnectAtFaith.com and you can listen to it off our website. Just click on the “media” tab and choose which message you’d like to hear.

You can also pick up a CD copy after each service for only $1.

I look forward to seeing you at church Wednesday at 6:30pm for our midweek gathering. We have opportunities for all ages to grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ.

You can also go to our ConnectAtFaith website to see the latest bulletin and ALL the activities and opportunities available to you.

Please take advantage of these times and invite a friend.

Have a blessed week and we’ll see you at church!