The Bible

These are my notes from a sermon I head a few years ago at Crosswind Community Church in Genoa, IL by Pastor Jim Freund. This was one of those sermons you take notes on and you always remember it and look back on often.

The Bible

Basic Instruction Before Leaving Earth.

2 Timothy 3:16-17

1. It's God's word to us.

2. It's reliable (trustworthy, dependable, certain, unfailing, true.)

3. It's relevant. What makes it relevant? God never changes and mankind's need is still the same, among other things.

4. It helps us distinguish truth from error. It is the measuring stick by which we are to evaluate all things.

5. It equips us for living for God. (2 Timothy 3:17)

6. It has the power to change lives. (Isaiah 55:10-11)

7. God commands us to bind it in our minds and in our hearts. (John 8:31-32, Joshua 1:8, Acts 20:32, Mathew 4:4, Romans 15:4, John 6:63) (Look at the results.)

Psalm 19:7-10

8. It is the food for the Spirit and Soul. (1 Peter 2:2-3, Isaiah 55:2-3)

9. It is powerful to save. (Romans 1:16, 1 John 5:13)

10. It is a Mirror. (James 1:23-24)

11. It is the discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. (Hebrews 4:12)

12. It is a seed, generative and life-giving. (1 Peter 1:23)

13. It is water, the power to purify. (Ephesians 5:26, Psalm 119:9, 1 Peter 1:22)

14. It is a lamp that illuminates and guides us. (Psalm 119:105)

15. It is a consuming fire. (Jeremiah 20:9, Luke 24:13-35)

16. It is a hammer to break the hardest heart. (Jeremiah 23:39)

17. It is a healing agent. (Psalm 107:20)

18. It is a sword, a weapon against the devil. (Ephesians 6:18)

19. It is a source of faith. (Romans 10:17)

20. It is a life giving source. (John 6:68, John 20:30-31)

Joshua

I am attempting to read through the bible. Specifically the Old Testament to better understand the New Testament. I read Joshua back in January 2011. Here are the verses that stood out to me as I read it.

Joshua 1:6-9
Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their ancestors to give them.
“Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go.  Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.  Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.”

Joshua 4:20-24
And Joshua set up at Gilgal the twelve stones they had taken out of the Jordan. He said to the Israelites, “In the future when your descendants ask their parents, ‘What do these stones mean?’ tell them, ‘Israel crossed the Jordan on dry ground.’ For the LORD your God dried up the Jordan before you until you had crossed over. The LORD your God did to the Jordan what he had done to the Red Sea[b] when he dried it up before us until we had crossed over. He did this so that all the peoples of the earth might know that the hand of the LORD is powerful and so that you might always fear the LORD your God.”

What are our Spiritual Markers in our life today?

Joshua 5:15
The commander of the LORD’s army replied, “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did so.

Joshua 6:10
But Joshua had commanded the army, “Do not give a war cry, do not raise your voices, do not say a word until the day I tell you to shout. Then shout!”

Joshua 6:19
All the silver and gold and the articles of bronze and iron are sacred to the LORD and must go into his treasury.”

Joshua 7:1
But the Israelites were unfaithful in regard to the devoted things; Achan son of Karmi, the son of Zimri, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took some of them. So the LORD’s anger burned against Israel.

Achan:
1. Coveted- saw something that was not his, wanted it.
2. Took it- stole it.
3. Hide- He hide it in his tent.
How many times do we hide our sin/try to cover it up. God has given us a simple uncomplicated way for us to deal with our sin. We must acknowledge it, confess it, and repent of it. 1 John 1:9
Sin will destroy us. We must allow Jesus to cleanse us.

Joshua 7:5
At this the hearts of the people melted in fear and became like water.

Joshua 7:12-13
That is why the Israelites cannot stand against their enemies; they turn their backs and run because they have been made liable to destruction. I will not be with you anymore unless you destroy whatever among you is devoted to destruction.


Joshua 8:30-34
Then Joshua built on Mount Ebal an altar to the LORD, the God of Israel, as Moses the servant of the LORD had commanded the Israelites. He built it according to what is written in the Book of the Law of Moses—an altar of uncut stones, on which no iron tool had been used. On it they offered to the LORD burnt offerings and sacrificed fellowship offerings. There, in the presence of the Israelites, Joshua wrote on stones a copy of the law of Moses. All the Israelites, with their elders, officials and judges, were standing on both sides of the ark of the covenant of the LORD, facing the Levitical priests who carried it. Both the foreigners living among them and the native-born were there. Half of the people stood in front of Mount Gerizim and half of them in front of Mount Ebal, as Moses the servant of the LORD had formerly commanded when he gave instructions to bless the people of Israel.
Afterward, Joshua read all the words of the law—the blessings and the curses—just as it is written in the Book of the Law.

How many bible verses do you know? How many songs/lyrics do you have memorized? We struggle to read a chapter of the bible and journal our thoughts. Here Joshua copied the book of the law and then read it out loud.

Joshua 9:14
The Israelites sampled their provisions but did not inquire of the LORD.

Every decision big or small we need to "inquire" of the LORD.

Joshua 10:25
Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Be strong and courageous.

Joshua 10:42
All these kings and their lands Joshua conquered in one campaign, because the LORD, the God of Israel, fought for Israel.

Isn't it cool that God fights for us.

Joshua 14:8
I, however, followed the LORD my God wholeheartedly.

What things prevent us from following the LORD wholeheartedly?
There are no giants or walled cities that GOD can't conqure.

Joshua 15:13-16
 So Joshua said to the Israelites: “How long will you wait before you begin to take possession of the land that the LORD, the God of your ancestors, has given you?

Joshua 18:3
So Joshua said to the Israelites: “How long will you wait before you begin to take possession of the land that the LORD, the God of your ancestors, has given you?

Man up. How long will it take you to "MAN-UP to your responsibilities. Don't just sit back and expect to be served. Serve the LORD and MAN-UP.

Judges 22:5
But be very careful to keep the commandment and the law that Moses the servant of the LORD gave you: to love the LORD your God, to walk in obedience to him, to keep his commands, to hold fast to him and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul.

Deuteronomy 6:4-9
Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.



Colossians

Thanksgiving and Prayer

1:9 “fill you with the knowledge of His will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding.”
1:10 “Live a life worthy of the Lord”

The Supremacy of Christ

1:17 “He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.”

Paul's Labor for the Church

2:4 “I tell you this so that no one may deceive you by fine sounding arguments.”

Freedom From Human Regulations Through Life with Christ

2:8 “See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.”

Rules For Holy Living

3:5 “Put to death, therefore whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.
3:9-10 “Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with it's practice's and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of it's creator.”
3:13 “....forgive as the Lord forgave you.”
3:17 “And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.

Rules for Christian Households

3:23 “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord not for men.”

Further Instructions

4:2 “Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.”
4:6 “Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt so that you may know how to answer everyone.

Final Greetings

4:12 “Wrestling in prayer, that you may stand firm in all the will of God, mature and fully assured.”



Colossians 1:9-14

For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please Him in every way, bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened in all power according to his glorious might so you might have great endurance and patience, and joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. For He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. (Colossians 1:9-14)



Application and Prayer

1. Fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding

2. Live a life worthy of the Lord and may please Him in every way

3. Bearing fruit in every good work

4. Growing in the knowledge of God

5. Being strengthened in all power according to his glorious might so you might have great endurance and patience

6. Joyfully giving thanks to the Father



Notice in verse 12 it says, “giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you”. It does not say we will be qualified or when we qualify, it says, “the Father, who has qualified you”.

Look in verse 13 it says, “For He has rescued us”. It doesn’t say when we are rescued or we will be rescued, it says, “He has rescued us”.

Lastly look at verse 14 it says, “we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” We are talking about Jesus. “Kingdom of the Son he loves, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”.

My Story part 2

Please read the first part of "My Story". Here is a link to it http://wayneski1.blogspot.com/2008/03/my-story.html

Every story has a beginning, middle, and an end. It amazes me that we only see the beginning and middle, only God knows the end. After 5 1/2 years at Crosswind Community Church, God put it on our hearts to move on and attend another church. I sensed His voice over a year ago and just laid it on the alter of prayer until His timing. Our main reason for leaving was 1. the long drive, 2. we wanted to be in a small group bible study in the Dekalb area and 3. we were really not connected to anyone at Crosswind other than a few people because of the distance. Don't missunderstand me Crosswind is a great church and the pastor is a true "Warrior" that I would go into battle with him anyday of the week. I was involved in a Men's group and we became a "Band of Brothers".  I would recommend it to anyone looking for a church who lived in that area.

We narrowed it down to 4 churches. 
(I hesitate to name the churches we visited because my impressions may  be different than someone elses seeking to find a church and I don't want to talk bad about God's church. I have learned, and I posted in a previous post, that if you ever find a "perfect church don't join it because you might mess it up.") 
 One of the four was a church plant that never got off the ground called Connect Church. I meet with the pastor one day and everything sounded great but in the end they could not find a place to meet and worship. So the second church, the first church we actually visited, was a great church. We were welcomed and after meeting with the pastor I was encouraged and happy with what I saw in this church. It seemed like it had everything we wanted in a church.

The next church we went to I was really excited about going to. I was impressed with their website and I heard nothing but great things, however it turned into a sad experience. We got there a few minutes before service started and as service was starting we took Madison to the nursery only to find the nursery worker was not there. We went into the worship center and the service was good and the sermon was bible based but nobody noticed that we were visitors and nobody talked to us or welcomed us. I would have to say we will not go back to that church again.

The 4th church is the one we are attending now, Harvest Bible Chapel. Wow is all I can say about it. It seems like God has his hand in everything we see and are apart of at Harvest. Harvest Bible has everything we wanted in a church from small groups to a actual Sunday School class for Madison. I believe that we as Christians are saved to serve not saved to sit. I am praying for an oppurtunity to serve in some way at Harvest. We are not joining this church right away. We are still checking it out and seeing if it as a fit for our family.

Like I have said in another blog post, I have learned a few things in my Christian walk and being apart of different churches.


1. If you ever find the "perfect church", don't join it you might mess it up.

2. Embrace your church heritage, be proud of it.

3. Do one job in the church and give 100% at that one job. Don't do anymore jobs because you can't give a full 100% at those jobs and manage a family too. One or the other suffers.

4. Don't look down on another Christian because they don't go to the same kind of church you do, or that, that church down the road believes a little differently than your church. We are all part of the body of Christ if we have Jesus as our Savior. Baptist, Methodist, 1st Christian, ect, ect.

5. We all should have one thing in common and that is Jesus. Isn't that enough.

The Cross

I like driving around to different towns and looking at churches. Almost every church has a cross or a cornerstone somewhere on the outside of it's building.

In the church I was a member of one we had a cross behind the pulpit. If we were to measure the distance from the cross to the wall on the left it would be the same distance as the wall on the right to the cross.


This cross if you looked closely was made out of stained glass. The cross that Jesus died on was stained with His blood. Jesus died on that cross so that we could spend eternity with Him.

And if we go outside no matter where you stand on the church property, from the far corner of the parking lot by Wee Worship to the far corner of the field, or any of the entrances if you look to the church you will see the cross on the roof.

It it so important that we as Christians keep the events of the cross in the center of our christian walk, our lives. The fact that God so loved the world that he gave His only Son that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life.