Sat, 19 May 2012 15:18:13 -0800WeeblyMon, 28 Jun 2010 12:43:15 -0800http://fbccv.net/2/post/2010/06/bystander-to-gods-glory.htmlGod is amazing.  The things that He does are beyond my comprehension.  In my pilgrimage as both a believer and a pastor, I am learning that God works best when I strive the least.  When I am worried, I'm not trusting in God's love and willingness to act.  When I drive myself into fatigue, I am depending on my resources and not the incredible power of the Creator of the Universe.  When I rest in faith, God responds and meets the need.  When I step back from trying to make things happen, my faith frees God to accomplish the things He wanted to do all along.
God doesn't need me in order for Him to accomplish His will, but He chooses to answer prayers and bless the faith of those who trust Him.  He can see right into our hearts, and He knows if we are resting or wrestling in our spirits.  He knows if we are depending on His resources or counting our own chickens.  He can read the depths of my heart and see if I am clinging to His perfect peace or grasping at straws to deal with my next set of problems.
If I'm to be honest with myself, I've got to realize that God doesn't share His glory of accomplishment, and that destroys my pride.  Even if God lets me participate in the thing that brings Him glory, I am responsible to give up to Him all the glory when He brings things to pass.  The best way I know to say it, is that I'm a bystander to His glory.  I have the awesome privilege of being a part of bringing about His will on earth and basking in the glory of His power and pleasure; yet, all of the power comes from Him--the weight of the work rests squarely on His shoulders--and it is my blessing to stand back, and to watch, and to be in awe!
]]>Tue, 23 Feb 2010 06:24:28 -0800http://fbccv.net/2/post/2010/02/exposing-antichrist.htmlJohn, of all the apostles, was the only one to describe antichrist.  He revealed that antichrist was a spirit, a type of person, and a unique individual all having the same agenda.  Here are some characteristics of antichrist:
--opposed to God--His authority, His Son and His Spirit
--hostile toward the gospel
--antagonistic toward the doctrine of Christ's deity or His humanity
--substitutes human achievement, false religion, and personal experience over God's word and the truth of the gospel
--wars against the people of God and seeks to harm or disarm devoted followers of Christ
--a spirit of deception with unique ability to draw others into wrong thinking
--charismatic enough to draw people away by means of their weaknesses
--the spirit and individuals that operate in that spirit have been around since the days of the apostles
--they possess spiritual knowledge but deny the atoning death of Jesus Christ
--is on a course to hell and is determined to bring all its followers with it
There are all kinds of false or man-made belief systems that captivate our thinking and affect our emotions--from belief in ghosts to UFO's, from many roads leading to heaven to faith in Turin's shroud--people are drawn toward the mystical, the magical, the unknown and the unprovable.  We are made for God, but we are bent toward the cheapest of substitutes.  Antichrist is that spirit which takes advantage of that weakness and draws us away from the truth through our passions, our intellect and our pride.  Our greatest weapon against the spirit of antichrist and those who indulge it is humility and surrender toward God, assurance of our salvation and sonship, and a clear witness in the world.  We must also monitor what we take in, lest we be taken in.

Bro. Don
]]>Fri, 19 Feb 2010 06:07:52 -0800http://fbccv.net/2/post/2010/02/getting-dressed-up-for-ministry.html"But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts." (Romans 13:14)  Every day, we get up and get dressed for the day.  What we're planning on doing has a lot to do with what we put on or take off.  To get showered and clean, we undress.  To go hunting in winter, we dress heavy and warm.  For crabbing at the beach, we might wear shorts and flip-flops.  Paul told the Romans to put on Christ, to wear God's Spirit like clothing. 

When he wrote similar words to the Colossians, he said, "But now you yourselves are to put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth. Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds, and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him, where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor free, but Christ is all and in all. Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do."

The process is simple:  through repentance toward dead and unfruitful works and attitudes, we bare ourselves before God and ask Him to make us clean.  We take off lying, wrath and filthy language; then, we are ready to put on new clothing, holy attire suitable for a godly walk.  We put on mercies, patience and kindness, accessorizing with love, forgiveness and  peace.  When we are fully dressed up in the covering a right relationship to God and the fullness of His Spirit provides, we are protected from dangerous elements, covered from shame, and we become beacons to the world of Jesus Christ and His righteousness.  When we put on the Lord Jesus Christ, His works become ours, and any glory that comes to us belongs to Him.
]]>Sun, 07 Feb 2010 14:03:09 -0800http://fbccv.net/2/post/2010/02/on-spiritual-warfare.htmlEphesians 6, verse 10 and following describes the war we are in as Christians--not with one another, and not even with the lost world around us, but against Satan's attacks in an invisible realm.  We have vulnerabilities that we need to own up to--our bodies get tired and irritable, hormones change, hunger kicks in.  Unless we are filled with God's Spirit and clothed in His armor, our words and actions can become ungodly reactions.  Our greatest weakness is thinking that we can do anything in our own strength.  The kind of pride that flies into a day never thinking twice about asking God for His help and power sends us naked and defenseless before a world infected with with sin and darkness and Satan who seeks to devour us.  We need God's armor so that, at the very least, we can withstand the devil's onslaught and remain standing on the day that trouble comes.
   The Belt of Truth - God's truth found in his word.  This means the things God said are true, and the rules about believing and confessing truth to others.  Adding to or taking away from scripture, false doctrine, false accusations and malicious gossip are all enemies to the truth of God that protects our emotional fortitude and spiritual integrity.
   The Breastplate of Righteousness - Taking this piece of armor begins with accepting the righteousness of the Lord Jesus in place of our own.  Self-righteousness is spiritual nakedness.  Finding that we have allowed God to give us the righteousness of His Son, we can then allow Him to work through us and produce righteous works through our lives.  The Breastplate of Righteousness works from the inside out.
   The Shoes of Readiness - Called in scripture "the preparation of the gospel of peace", these spiritual shoes consist of how ready we are to tell others about Jesus Christ--His gospel, salvation, kingdom and return.  Just as we are not ready to leave the house without our shoes on, we are not ready to meet the world unless we are prepared to confess Jesus to those we meet, always having an answer to anyone who asks about the hope that is in us.
   The Shield of Faith - Faith is more about who God is than who we are.  God's character is certain--He cannot lie, He never fails, He is all powerful, and He knows us and cares for us more than a sparrow that falls or the grass of the field.  Our faith is the manner in which we fully rest in God's character, setting aside worry and sadness and taking up hope and joy unspeakable.  When our heart is happy and secure in our God, we can deflect any of Satan's fiery darts.
   The Sword of the Spirit, the Word of God - Drawn from the pages of the Bible, God's word hidden in our hearts becomes a sword that can swiftly silence false doctrines, passionately reach lost souls, joyfully comfort the brokenhearted and mercifully empower the fallen.  God's word, in the power of His Spirit can both cut and heal, convict and confirm, rebuke and restore.  By His word, the lost are given eternal life and the proud are condemned to destruction.  His word is alive and powerful.
God has prepared these defenses for us, but it is up to us to take them upon ourselves daily - not just the rote prayers of saying, "I take on the belt of truth" and "I put on the breastplate of righteousness", but submitting our wills to the power of the Spirit, standing firm on truth, yielding our bodies as instruments of righteousness and believing God's word with all conviction.  The battles that come may be severe, and all we may be able to do at times is stand, but dressed in God's armor, we will stand and we will prevail!
]]>Mon, 01 Feb 2010 06:08:57 -0800http://fbccv.net/2/post/2010/02/blessed-be-the-tithe-that-doesnt-bind.htmlSunday's message was on giving.  Here are a few of the highlights:
     God is mainly concerned with our HEARTS.  If he has our hearts, the rest will come.
     Christians are no longer under the law; however, tithing did not originate with the law.
     Although (Gentile) Christians are not under the law, we are are certainly not supposed to be BENEATH it.
     Christians standards in all of life, especially giving, should never be reduced to a level equal or inferior to the law.
     People, even Christians, can still give place to greed, doubt, selfishness, control, hoarding and self-rationalization.
     Tithing is a minimum standard--a measuring rod, if you will--that helps us see our hearts' truest motives.
     Tithing, unlike giving above the tithe, is specific to the needs and working of the body as a whole.
     Tithing yields our control over a part of our increase to the body of Christ.  Giving is what we have full control over.
     Giving doesn't even start until tithing ends.  If the tithe is the Lord's, giving it to someone else is stealing.
     God asks the same from everyone--to give according to their increase.
     Those who fail to give and tithe put the burden of ministry on those who are faithful.
     Those who are faithful in all of their giving have God's full promise of provision.
    
]]>Wed, 27 Jan 2010 18:42:28 -0800http://fbccv.net/2/post/2010/01/preaching-the-parables.htmlWe started a study Sunday on the parables and mysteries of the Bible.  The first parable of Jesus was the one of the sower who sowed among different soils.  I've heard preachers use this to describe different kinds of Christians, but I believe the seed is the word of the kingdom (i.e. the gospel) and the ones who produce fruit are true believers.  It's easy for us to look at outward appearances--a quick decision to follow the Lord, spiritual excitement or shedding of tears--but the proof that God's word has found a place to live, grow and thrive is when genuine fruit is produced.  Jesus was teaching at a time when religious leaders all around Him were claiming to be the real deal, but were in truth lovers of money, proud and murderous.  Their lack of fruit, despite their religious reputation, showed that God's word had never taken root in their lives.  Others like the rich young ruler, Nicodemus or the parents of the blind man healed in John chapter nine, knew the truth--even believed it--but would not follow Christ because of the cost to their reputations.  What I'm saying is that the only way to know for sure is by a daily walking in right relationship to God in which His Spirit in us is consistently bearing good fruit.  We don't need to settle for religious experiences or charismatic euphoria.  We need to walk with God and allow His working in us to give us all the assurance we need that we are His forever.
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