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Click below for the worship set for Sunday: Worship Music - GOSPEL OF MARK PROJECT (weebly.com) Worship is a powerful weapon we have been given to fight our battles in the spiritual warfare we are all entangled in. As Jesus was coming into Jerusalem in what we call the 'Triumphal Entry' in Matthew 21; Jesus enters into the temple and cleanses it of its idolatry and business mindedness. This then causes the blind and lame to come to Him and the children began to shout “Hosanna to the Son of David”. The chief priests and scribes become indignant about the children shouting those words in the temple and the ask Jesus if He hears what they are saying. Jesus responds to them with an Old Testament text that provides insight into the power of worship and praise. Jesus says in Matthew 21:26b-- And Jesus said to them, “Yes; have you never read, ‘OUT OF THE MOUTH OF INFANTS AND NURSING BABIES YOU HAVE PREPARED PRAISE FOR YOURSELF’?” Isn't it beautiful that the Almighty Lord, Creator of all things has prepared to use infants and nursing babies for praise for Himself? The power of simple, innocent worship out of the mouths of the children of God. What's very interesting about this verse is that Jesus slightly changes the original text in Psalm 8:2. Psalm 8:2 says: From the mouths of infants and nursing babies You have established strength Because of Your enemies, To do away with the enemy and the revengeful. Jesus has interchanged the word 'strength' in Psalm 8:2 for the word 'praise' in Matthew 21:16. Why do you think this is? One of the reasons is because Jesus is providing insight into the power and strength when simple children praise. When we look at the original text that Jesus is quoting from, we see that when we as children praise, there is strength provided. When we as children praise, the Lord establishes His strength on our behalf. When we as children praise, the Lord does away with our enemy and the revengeful spirits that afflict us. Today, if you find yourself under the attack of the enemy, become like a child again and run to your Father in praise and adoration. Open your mouth and let praises flow in the presence of your enemy, and then rest and see the strength that your Father will provide. Click on the below file for a wonderful, in-depth, encouraging teaching from Derek Prince on Victory in Praise. I pray that it blesses you as much as it has blessed me over the years. 
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Ephesians 2: 19-22: 19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God’s household, 20 having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone, 21 in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord, 22 in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit.
My wife and I are finishing up building a house (yes we picked the year of a pandemic to build a house, good times). And what is amazing to me about building this house is how it all comes together. A group of workers builds the forms for the slab, then any sub floor wiring and plumbing must be done before the slab is poured. The framers come in next and before you know it this parade of contractors, workers and builders comes through in an orchestrated style by the builder to reach the final product. Similarly we see in Ephesians that we to are part of a grand, intricate and beautiful building project. In a carefully orchestrated manner we are building on the 'foundation of the apostles and prophets' with 'Jesus Himself being the corner stone.' On this foundation will come the nations of the earth, 'fitted together' in a beautiful tapestry of culture. Now that is a temple. And God calls us to an active role in this building process. When Jesus calls to his first disciples and invites them to become fishers of men, He is inviting them to help create the grandest building project that will last for all eternity. What role do you feel God has called you to in the church?  Revelation 7:9-12 9 After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could count, from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, and palm branches were in their hands; 10 and they cry out with a loud voice, saying, “Salvation to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.” 11 And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures; and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, 12 saying, “Amen, blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might, be to our God forever and ever. Amen.”
What made you decide to choose Believers Church as your home? Was it the music? Was it the teaching? Did you meet people you were able to connect with? In God's church on this earth we tend to gather with those whom we are like minded with. The saying holds true, 'birds of a feather flock together.' But this in no way will reflect the Kingdom of God. We read in Revelation things that get me jazzed up for the coming of God's Kingdom:
What are your God given unique qualities that you bring to the Kingdom? How can you use those unique qualities now to advance God's Kingdom on this earth?  Genesis 12: 1-3
Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go forth from your country, And from your relatives And from your father’s house, To the land which I will show you; 2 And I will make you a great nation, And I will bless you, And make your name great; And so you shall be a blessing; 3 And I will bless those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.” Genesis 15:1-6 After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying, “Do not fear, Abram, I am a shield to you; Your reward shall be very great.”2 Abram said, “O Lord God, what will You give me, since I am childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” 3 And Abram said, “Since You have given no offspring to me, one born in my house is my heir.” 4 Then behold, the word of the Lord came to him, saying, “This man will not be your heir; but one who will come forth from your own body, he shall be your heir.” 5 And He took him outside and said, “Now look toward the heavens, and count the stars, if you are able to count them.” And He said to him, “So shall your descendants be.” 6 Then he believed in the Lord; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness. In Genesis we read of Abraham whom God makes a covenant with and includes the promise of many descendants (Genesis 12:2). God promised that the number of Abraham's children would rival that of "the dust of the earth." Not just the Jewish nation but many nations and kings would proceed from him (Genesis 17:6). And to think that this promise was given to an older, childless couple. God fulfilled his promise and Abraham gave birth to the nation of Israel and many other nations through Hagar (details in Genesis 16). Well the problem with kids is they tend to get in fights with one another, and if you have kids you wil understand. Inside the family we call this sibling rivalry when that escalates to kingdom versus kingdom we call these wars. This broken nature in humans began with the first family in Genesis 4 which resulted in murder. This is far from God's design for our family for our country or the nations. But God not only promised many nations but a chosen seed in Abraham's son Isaac that would bless the nations. And since then we have seen the nations grow and with it the brokenness as well (the wars seem to only get worse). Jesus would come as that fulfilled blessing promised to Abraham and it can be seen in his final command to us before ascending into heaven: Matthew 28:18- 20 18 And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 [e]Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you [f]always, even to the end of the age.” We have become fishers of men. God the Father is reconciling the nations, all of them, back to Him through His Son and by the Holy Spirit. And God is calling us to cast the net! Is their a group of people that you easily associate with? Is their a group of people. a culture, a community, or a nation that you feel like God is calling you to 'cast you net' in?  John 15:12-17 12 “This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends. 14 You are My friends if you do what I command you. 15 No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you. 16 You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name He may give to you. 17 This I command you, that you love one another.
One of my favorite quotes from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is 'Love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into a friend." Those are pretty strong words from a man who used peace in a time where violent words and violent actions were the weapons used by his opponents. This desire to choose love would eventually cost Dr. King his life but his legacy lives on today. Jesus in greater fashion would war with love and calls his disciples to do the same. Loving others changes hearts. Just as God called Simon and Andrew to become 'fishers of men' so we are called to pursue others and restore them to right relationship to Christ and the bait we use for our fishing expedition is not biblical knowledge, not a compelling theological argument or a legal requirement that someone obey God's law. The chosen bait we use is God's love working in us and through us. How has God's love been manifested in your own life? How has God called you too demonstrate His love to others? When met with adversity, what can help you respond in love instead of fear or anger?  Mark 1:16-20 16 As He was going along by the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew, the brother of Simon, casting a net in the sea; for they were fishermen. 17 And Jesus said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men.” 18 Immediately they left their nets and followed Him. 19 Going on a little farther, He saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who were also in the boat mending the nets. 20 Immediately He called them; and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants, and went away to follow Him.
There is something very striking about this story as we begin to look at Mark 1:16-20 and it starts in verse 16. Two words stand out in this verse, 'He saw.' He being Jesus, saw Simon and Andrew living their lives and doing the vocational work they would do any day of the week. Deeply involved in their profession, working to provide for their families, trying to make ends meet, these men were working class Jews making an honest living. We don't know their background; Were they well versed in the Torah? Did they regularly attend synagogue and observe the Jewish festivals? We don't know and honestly for Jesus it didn't seem to be a prequalification. Jesus saw these men and he met them using a working class analogy. 'Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men.' What is the modern day equivalent of this? I am not sure but one thing I do know. Jesus' engagement with Simon and Andrew had a resounding impact and in verse 18 we see they 'immediately' followed Christ. What would cause you to leave your job, leave your family, leave the successful lifestyle you have led for years to follow someone? What type of impact would that person have to have on you for you to immediately drop everything and leave? In life, especially in western culture we can get caught up in our vocation as our identify. Think about when you meet a new person, one of the first questions we ask someone is: 'What do you do for a living?' It's completely understandable as vocation typically takes up a majority of our day to day lives. It's a source of income, a source of pride and we have been taught that to work hard and earn a living is a good thing (and hear me, it is). But a good thing can become a bad thing if it becomes a god thing (little g is intentional there). And above all else we must be ready to answer the call of Jesus in our lives. If you are a believer in Christ then God has kingdom impacting things for you to do; He sees you and is calling you. And my prayer for each of us is that we would be a people that puts Christ above all things and that we are immediately obedient to his call. Questions: What are some of the things that may cause you to not immediately obey the call of Christ? What are some of the unique ways God has met you and worked in your life? Are there times in your life that you have put your vocation ahead of God's plan? (by the way you could be in full time ministry and this can still be an issue) |
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