May 29, 2008 by Pastor Matt.

Last night we talked from Hebrews 4:12.  The Word of God is living and active able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.  Verse 13 says that NOTHING is hidden from God’s sight.  Therefore God uses His Word and the Holy Spirit to convict us of our sin.  That may sound pretty depressing.  There is no sin that we can hide from God.

HERE’S THE GOOD NEWS!!!

Look at verses 14-16.  God sees our sin, but He does not leave us high and dry.  He sent His Son Jesus, to become our Great High Priest.  This Great High Priest is someone who came down from His throne in Heaven to become a man.  This Great High Priest is someone who can sympathize with our weaknesses (we have many).  This Great High Priest is someone who has been tempted in EVERY way and did not waver into sin.  This Great High Priest is someone who has mercy and grace on standby, ready and willing to give in our time of need.

SO MY QUESTION IS…

 Why do we try and hide our sin from the one who wants to give us mercy and grace?  When caught in and trouble, why do we not quickly ask for forgiveness?

EASY ANSWER

We are stuck in the quagmire of pride.  We think that admitting our sin and weakness will show God that we are not the perfect Christian.  We think that others may realize that we are sinners.  Even in our time of need, we think that we, in our own strength, can free ourselves of sin and despair. 

NOW WHAT DO WE DO?

EVERY TIME we sin, we seek the forgiveness of God.  We receive His grace and mercy in our time of need.  We go to our Great High Priest when tempted with sin.  We look at what the Great High Priest would have done when in our situation.  We humble ourselves before the cross of Christ and trust in Him for our everyday salvation.

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May 27, 2008 by Pastor Matt.

Proverbs 27:2 - “Let another praise you, and not your own mouth; A stranger, and not your own lips.”

Proverbs 27:21 - “The crucible is for silver and the furnace for gold, and each is tested by the praise accorded him.”

Pride is the root sin that almost every other sin sprouts from.

For many of us pride is the sin that we battle every day.  In school, we try to do the best we can.  We study for good grades and work for extra credit.  When we’re with friends we try to share our vast knowledge on each subject.  We try to share the stories that paint ourselves in the best light possible. 

I tried to be the class clown in high school.  I wanted people to like me more than anything.  I even did certain service projects so that people at church would think I was a good little Christian.

When people praise you for your academic success.  When people praise you for your good behavior.  When people praise you for your godly behavior.  When people praise you for your accomplishments.  How do you respond?  That is the test.

The test is not the praise from others.  The test is how you respond to that praise.  Are you quick to praise yourself?  Are you quick to receive all the glory for your accomplishments? 

I pray that as you look at the Proverbs, you will be ready to be tested.  Your will be more aware of when you are being tested, so that when you are tested, you will be ready to give the glory and praise to the One who deserves it. 

To Him be all glory and honor and praise.  Amen.

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May 23, 2008 by Pastor Matt.

Proverbs 3:3-4  “Do not let kindness and truth leave you; Bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart.  So you will find favor and good repute in the sight of God and man.”

Most often we take a look at Proverbs 3:5-6.  We really like these verses because they speak of how if we trust the Lord, He will straighten our paths.  They are fantastic verses.  But look at the previous two verses. 

Importance of kindness and truth

Kindness and truth is essential to finding favor and being of good reputation in the eyes of God and men.  Why?  Ephesians 4:15 says that we are to speak the truth in love.  Notice how truth is preceded in both of these verses by love and kindness. 

Our culture agrees with these verses only in the backwards sense.  Our culture says that you should always speak the truth because that is loving.  It does not say to speak the truth in love.  If you tell a person that they are stupid, ugly, and mean, you are seen as being brave for speaking the truth to them.  You are seen as a revolutionary for telling someone what you think with no concern for their feelings or hurting someone else.  When this is said, the intention is to hurt someone else and/or make you feel better.

The opposite is true of Bible following believers.  When speaking the truth, the point is not to hurt someone else and/or make you feel better, the point is to bring people to Christ and a God-honoring life. 

There is two ways to take the advice of these verses:

1. As the person who must deliver a hard truth to a friend or fellow student.

     a. You FIRST must be in prayer before you confront that person.  You must pray not only that you are doing this out of a loving kind heart to see this person be all that they can be for the glory of God, but that you will come across as loving and kind during your conversation.  You SECONDLY need to ask questions of the person you are talking to.  As a rule, accusations stir up the accused, questions difuse arguments.  Ask questions to get to the truth of the matter.   You cannot judge their heart or motives so ask what they were thinking when they said or did such and such.

2. As the person who will receive a hard truth to hear.

     a.  You FIRST must look at the evidence presented and evaluate your life to see if what is being presented is true.  It is your first fleshly (sinful)  instinct to be defensive and assume that you could never be wrong and the person talking to you has to be in the wrong.  You SECONDLY must not immediately take care of the issue.  If the person bringing the evidence is right, you must ask for forgiveness to God and whoever else was involved.  If the person bringing the evidence is wrong, you must go to that person and kindly in love tell them the truth of why you said what you said or did what you did.

They importance in binding kindness and truth to your life, is that you will find favor with God and man.  This is true, because when kindness and truth are used together, friendships can be restored.  You will be respected by others.  And you are following God’s Word.

Challenge: Let kindness always precede truth in your responses to siblings, parents, friends, or teachers.

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