Jesus made numerous "I am" statements as recorded in John's Gospel. During this message, we examine what Jesus meant when He made the statement, "I am the true vine."
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We all struggle with temptation. Sex, drugs, anger, idolatry, and the list goes on and on...BUT God has promised that we can overcome any temptation that comes our way. Join me as we take a look at what the Apostle Paul said about temptation and how to overcome it.
Being a father is one of the greatest experiences I've ever had. The joy of seeing my kids grow and learn and develop character is beyond description. I would say that being a father/parent is the 3rd greatest gift that God gives a person (the 1st being salvation/relationship with Him and the 2nd being marriage) but I have found that this gift comes in many packages. Aside from all the joyous things I mentioned above, there is another aspect of being a parent that I consider to be a tremendous gift. That gift is the lessons you can learn about your relationship with the Heavenly Father by being a father (or mother). Let me explain what I mean. From time to time my kids can push my buttons. (I know that's hard to believe) Here's an example. One day I told my daughter to do something and being the typical 9 year old that she is she began to argue with me, questioning why she had to do whatever it was I had told her to do. After a minute or so I became so aggravated that I said to her, "Why can't you just do what you are supposed to do?" As soon as the words came from my mouth I felt a Spiritual slap to the back of my head and I could hear those same words being directed toward me from the Father up in Heaven. It was a humbling experience and one that has stuck with me. Parents, let me encourage you. The next time you are disciplining your children; the next time you are instructing them on the proper way to act; the next time you are picking them up after they fall down; the next time you are taking care of them when they are sick; the next time you allow them to make a mistake and learn on their own; the next time you wrap your arms around your kids to protect them and show them you love them, remember this-how much more would your Father in Heaven do this for you. And when your children are disobeying you, think about how much more you are disobeying your Father in Heaven. This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God; nor is anyone who does not love his brother. -1 John 3:10 Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! -Matthew 7:9-11 "All of us must die eventually. Our lives are like water spilled out on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again. But God does not just sweep life away; instead, He devises ways to bring us back when we have been separated from Him." (2 Samuel 14:14) Do you ever feel worthless? Like you have strayed so far from God that you can not find your way back. Like you do not deserve God's forgivess. Do you feel like "water spilled out on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again." I know I have. In fact, recently, I have been struggling so much that not only did I feel like "water spilled out on the ground" but I felt as though the "ground" had soaked me up and there was no way to make things right. Thankfully, God is an amazing Father who is always making the effort to reconcile our relationship with Him. As the verse says, He is always devising ways to bring us back to Him. If you are feeling like there is no hope, you have strayed to far away, I want to encourage you today to take to heart what this verse in 2 Samuel teaches us: 1. God did not stray away from you. It was you who wandered off. 2. God values you and His relationship with you, that is why He devised the way to bring you back to Him (Jesus) 3. You have to open your eyes and pay attention to what God is doing around you so that you will not miss His attempts to restore the relationship between you and He. 4. You must take action and allow God to work in your life. I heard a pastor say yesterday, "You can't steer a parked car." God can't help you change if you just sit there and do nothing.
I used to be the type of Christian that thought that putting something down (ie. drugs and alcohol) was as easy as pie because it was easy for me. I couldn't understand how some people who said they wanted to stop and prayed for God's help to stop, would continue to use. I mean, I had no problem stopping (or did I). You see, I put down smoking pot (after a brief time of battling it out in my mind) and drinking without a problem but God has opened my eyes to see that I still struggled (or still struggle) with other issues that in His eyes are just as bad. Addiction as a whole isn't confined to just drugs and alcohol, it encompasses any habit or practice that one might find themselves devoted to doing. God has used many of the circumstances in my life over the last couple of years to help me to see the bigger picture. First let me stress that I firmly believe in the power of the Holy Spirit to take an addiction away from a person on the spot. I know He has done that with many of you and that its probably why many of you struggle just as I struggled to understand why others can't stop. The problem isn't their prayer or God, its their willingness to stop and by willingness I mean what steps and/or actions they are willing to take to stop. Physiologically, drugs and alcohol affect certain portions of the brain that deal with impulse behavior making it harder for the person to say no and make rational decisions on the spot. Why, then, can some people quit cold turkey and others not? Well, although drugs/alcohol affects the portion of the brain as stated above, some are affected more than others. So, whats my point? Well, to all you Christians out there that struggle with the same lack of understanding that I had, open your eyes. This is a huge problem that needs to be addressed because we are turning our backs on people that need Jesus because we think that they do not want to change but the reality is that nobody desires to be an addict. Yeah, some choose to live a party lifestyle but again, noone desires to be an addict. Now, for those who have a family member who struggles, it's hard. Now, for those of you out there that might be struggling with addiction (any addiction) there is help but as I stated earlier, what are you willing to do to stop. The first place to start is with God, pray earnestly for His forgiveness and His help. Secondly, seek extra help through recovery groups, counselors, programs, etc. Why this second step? Sometimes the problem isn't wanting to quit its knowing how to turn down the temptation and these types of programs can help a person learn to live apart from the addiction. There is one program that I feel strongly about called "Celebrate Recovery" where a person will learn to live a life apart from addiction with the focus being on Christ. They have an acronym for recovery: R ealize I'm not God; I admit that I am powerless to control my tendency to do the wrong thing and my life is unmanageable. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Earnestly believe that God exists, that I matter to him, and that he has the power to help me recover. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Consciously choose to commit all my life and will to Christ's care and control. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Openly examine and confess my faults to God, to myself, and to someone I trust. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Voluntarily submit to every change God wants to make in my life and humbly ask Him to remove my character defects. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Evaluate all my relationships; Offer forgiveness to those who have hurt me and make amends for harm I've done to others except when to do so would harm them or others. Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God. Reserve a daily time with God for self examination, Bible readings and prayer in order to know God and His will for my life and to gain the power to follow His will. Yield myself to God to be used to bring this Good News to others, both by my example and by my words. Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Remember, you are not alone in this. You have a ton of Godly people who have come before you who have struggled as well. We consider the Apostle Paul to be one of the greatest Christians ever. He wrote the majority of the New Testament, and yet he considered himself to be the chief of sinners and even stated: To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." and he also stated that he struggled with doing the things that he shouldn't do and not doing the things that he should. Sound familiar. Like I said, you're not alone; but let me warn you, do not use this as a crutch or an excuse because Paul also said: It is God's will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; that each of you should learn to control his own body in a way that is holy and honorable, not in passionate lust like the heathen, who do not know God; and that in this matter no one should wrong his brother or take advantage of him. The Lord will punish men for all such sins, as we have already told you and warned you. For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life. Therefore, he who rejects this instruction does not reject man but God, who gives you his Holy Spirit. -1 Thessalonians 4: 3-7 Don't give up! Strive to finish the race!
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