10
Dec '19
Raising Up the Next Generation for Ministry
10
Dec '19
For 20 years, I have had the privilege to work at one of the nation’s premier science laboratories owned by the Department of Energy.
This laboratory is now over 50 years old – and for those of you in the building and utility business – you know 50 years is about how long these systems last without major reinvestment. I am amazed every day with the physical actions that a very dedicated work force conducts to keep the old place up and running. Actions that not many people know about and most take for granted and so much so, we don’t plan as well as we should to prepare for replacing a seasoned workforce just a few years from retirement.
Again today, as I was hearing about two major waterline breaks and a site wide problem with our building security system, I thought about the parallels in the spiritual world and how critical even urgent it is to grow up the next generation here too.
Bringing this a little closer to home at our church – Faith Assembly – there are countless people I call spiritual giants, operating as prayer warriors and servant leaders in any number of our ministries and meeting needs (some of which not many people even know about). Several of these people are retirees, near retirees, and others in the midst busy lives. They serve with a happy heart for the Lord and for the local church body. Importantly, they are mentors and models seeking to raise up the next generation to serve after them and in their footsteps.
Without raising up the next generation at our places of employment and churches, how will these places be sustained to not just survive but to thrive?
2 Corinthians 9:12
This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of the Lord’s people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God.Ephesians 4:12
…to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up.
If there is no next generation, who will be there to know how to repair the next waterline? In the local body, who will be there to pray and serve in the various ministries God has given us?
- If you are one of our more seasoned spiritual giants, I thank God for you. Keep going.
- If you are a more seasoned person without a specific ministry focus, I also thank God for you and submit it’s never too late to serve in whatever way God calls you. Get involved. There is no retirement in the Kingdom of God.
- If you are one of the not-so-seasoned currently serving the body, I thank God for you and your willingness to be mentored as the next generation. Keep learning, serving and growing. God is using you for to reflect his glory.
- If you are one of the not-so-seasoned not currently serving the body, I also thank God for you and submit that the body needs you. God knows whom He will call; so please be in prayer as to how He wants to use you and be open to His prompting. You will find community, growth, and God will use you for His glory.
Revelation 2:19
I know your deeds, your love and faith, your service and perseverance, and that you are now doing more than you did at first.
Over the past 23 years of my service for the Kingdom and my observation of others in service over this same period, I have found time and time again that God is faithful and His promises are true – He equips those He calls! God bless you as you serve.
Author:
Elder
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03
Dec '19
Exercising Your Faith
03
Dec '19
What does it mean to exercise your faith? Personally, I think it’s putting your faith into action. Just like the muscles in your body will atrophy without use, so will your faith muscles.
Let’s look at 2 Kings 4: 1-7.
There was a widow whose husband was a servant to the prophet Elisha. She says to Elisha, “you know your servant, my husband, feared the Lord and since his passing the creditor is coming to take my sons to be his slaves for payment.” So, Elisha says to her, “what would you have me do? What do you have in your house?” She responds by saying she has nothing in her house but a jar of oil. So, Elisha tells her to go and borrow vessels from all her neighbors – empty ones – and do not gather just a few.
Once she has all she can borrow, she was instructed to shut the door behind her and her sons. Then, Elisha told her to take the jar of oil and fill all the empty vessels she borrowed. So, she did as the prophet had instructed her to do. She started to fill the first empty vessel. When that one was full, she went to the next and the next until she asked her son for another. Her son said there were no more to be filled. Suddenly the oil stopped flowing from her jar. She did as Elisha said and sold the oil. She had enough to pay off her debt and live on the rest.
How did the widow exercise her faith?
How did the widow exercise her faith?
- She asked for help – She knew Elisha was a man of God and knew some kind of help might happen.
- She obeyed – had her sons go borrow all the empty vessels they could from their neighbors.
- She exercised her faith – she physically started to pour the oil out of her jar into the empty borrowed vessels.
Do you think her faith was stronger after she filled all the empty vessels with her little jar of oil? I think she took her faith to new heights.
In Ephesians it says to be strong in the Lord and His mighty power. So, it’s not what we can do, but rather what God can do through us.
It says in Hebrews 12:2 “We should fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith.”
Bottom line is this, whenever your faith is tested; make sure you put your faith into action. You will build your faith in the Lord, but more importantly, the Lord is glorified through the action of exercising our faith.
How much exercise have your faith muscles gotten lately? When we take action build them, our faith will get stronger, we will feel more courage, and the Lord will be glorified through us.
Author:
Elder at Faith
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18
Nov '19
Bread or a Stone – What Will You Offer the Lord?
18
Nov '19
There isn’t a person among you who would give his son a stone if he asked for bread,is there?
Matthew 7:9 (ISV)
Many of us are familiar with Matthew 7:9. Although this scripture is rich with lesson as it was intended, for our purpose however, we’re going to focus on the topics of asking, giving, and the gift. You and I will remain the ‘giver’ as noted in the scripture, the ‘receiver’ will be God and the gift will remain bread or a stone.
- The bread – giving of ourselves to serve others. Allowing God to use us to minster to others or share the material blessings He’s given us for the sake of the kingdom.
- The stone – knowing God called us to move out of our comfort zone to meet the needs of someone else. We reason with ourselves, giving us the opportunity to ignore the need, ignore the call, and give God a stone.
Bread or a stone?
It’s here the bread and stone in Matthew 7 took on a different meaning for me. My husband and I were praying about how God might use us to minister to others. We couldn’t find peace or direction. Did we believed God wanted us to share? Were we allowing a situation to lead us to share? Were we really in a position to do this? These questions kept us in constant doubt. One day as I pondered the need to make a decision, this thought came to me, “if you have bread will you give God a stone?” I didn’t question it nor whom it came from; I knew it was from the Father. What relief that question brought to the decision making – easy peasy when you know what to ask, right?
I would have welcomed it if the thought could have been a ‘one and done’ but – not so. God intended to work more deeply in my heart than I counted on, making sure this question was solidified for me: “if you have bread will you give God a stone?”
I tried to ignore the question.
After trying to ignore answering it, I needed to come to terms with the question God asked me. Unfortunately I had to confess, all my life I decided whether I would serve others when God called me, or I would ignore His voice and serve myself. It grieves me to say, if I took the stones I’ve given God and built a wall with them, I’m confident it would dwarf the Great Wall of China.
The bread God offers us is not to satisfy the needs of our body, but to satisfy the needs of our soul. He gives bread that brings life instead of death. It’s the greatest sacrificial servant act that could ever be offered.
Do not work for food that perishes but for food that lasts for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you because God the Father has set His seal on Him.
John 6:27 (ISV)The bread of God is the one who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.
John 6:33 (ISV)Jesus told them, “I am the bead of life. Whoever comes to me will never become hungry,
and whoever believes in me will never become thirsty”.
John 6:35 (ISV)
He changed my heart.
That’s how Matthew 7:9 changed my heart. When I know the Lord is asking me to serve Him now, and I feel my flesh rise up offering reasons to doubt, I ask myself the question: “Cindy, if you have bread will you give God a stone?” I’ve committed myself to stop and answer the question. It helps me stay centered regarding what is right and who I am in God. Because of this, it has become a precious blessing to serve when He calls.
Reason being, I want the Father to have every crumb of bread He desires to do His work – no matter what. What I’ve called sacrifice is really not sacrifice at all! It is disciplining my flesh, allowing the call to serve become a blessing.
The next time you’re faced with making the choice to serve or not, take time to ask yourself the question: “if I have bread will I give God a stone?” My hope is you will choose to serve.
Author:
Church Development
Faith Assembly
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12
Nov '19
Lord, Give Me Faith!
12
Nov '19
“I may be weak, but Your Spirit is strong in me. My flesh may fail, but my God You never will.”
These are the lyrics to a song called “Give Me Faith” written by Elevation Worship. I’m not sure about you, but these lyrics speak to me every single day of my life. I can think of times where I let my wife down by something I said or did. Or times when I messed up by acting a certain way while competing in sports. Or the countless times in a day when I fail God by not trusting what He says.
“Give me faith, to trust what you say. That you’re good and your love is great.”
God’s word – the Bible – is full of wisdom and is truly the guide to living a life with Christ. I have to continually ask God to help me in my faith of what he says. From everyday situations like how I respond to someone who has made me upset, to major life situations like losing a friend or family member.
God tells us in His word that he will never leave us or forsake us.
There are countless examples of men and women in the Bible who trust God and live out their faith. We can look at Abraham and his predicament to sacrifice his own son. Was that ever God’s plan… I don’t believe so. God’s plan was for Abraham to take the next step of faith and trust in his relationship with him. We can look at the life of Joseph. Joseph went through a lot of trials and unfair treatment, but he never lost his faith in God and continued to trust him through the those times. GOD NEVER LEFT Joseph.
It’s easy to trust God when things are going well, but our true test of faith comes when life gets a little bumpy.
Just because we follow Jesus and are Christians, doesn’t mean life will be easy. But we can trust God’s word that He is good and His love for us is great. That he will never leave or forsake us and has a good and perfect plan for each of our lives.
I believe the first step in growing our faith and trust in Jesus is to recite the lyrics that I first mentioned. “I may be weak, but Your Spirit is strong in me. My flesh may fail, but my God you never will.” I know in my own life that this is a daily process to acknowledge that I am a sinner in need of a Savior. Through my weakness, He is strong.
Please take the time to listen to “Give Me Faith” by Elevation Worship. Pour out your heart to God and ask him to Give you the faith to trust what He says. Because He is good and His love is great.
Author:
Worship leader
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01
Nov '19
New Wine – God Pouring New Life into Us
01
Nov '19
In our church, we sing a song called New Wine. It has a lot to do with the condition of our heart. Jesus said in Mark that new wine is never placed into old wine skins because as the aggressive fermentation process permeates the skin – a previously used skin that is already worn and saturated will burst with the pressure.
Mark 2:21 – 22 (NASB) “No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; otherwise the patch pulls away from it, the new from the old, and a worse tear results. No one puts new wine into old wineskins; otherwise the wine will burst the skins, and the wine is lost and the skins as well; but one puts new wine into fresh wineskins.”
Mark’s implication is that our hearts are like wine skins, and God is always looking to pour new life from Himself into them. If our hearts are worn and saturated with an older fragrance, an older fermentation, we are not able to receive the new life He wants to pour into us.
Lamentations 3:22 – 23 reminds us, “The Lord’s lovingkindness indeed never ceases, for His compassions (mercies) never fail. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.” (NASB)In Isaiah He says, Isaiah 43:19 (KJV) Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.
As creatures of habit, it’s easy to slip into even spiritual patterns that eventually become stale. While we may be content with the stale condition of our hearts, that sentiment may not be shared by the One who knows us and loves us most.
What God is looking for from us is a soft openness to His continual outpouring of His mercies (Lam. 3). That softness is actually what creates a new wine skin in us.
David said in Psalm 51:10, “Create in me a clean heart, oh God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me”.Paul put it this way, “If any man is in Christ, he is a new creation. Behold, old things have passed away all things have become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17).
That softness before Him gives Him the perfect conditions for creating something new in you and me. He pours in His newness of life and we are able to grow in Him as His Spirit permeates through the walls of our heart permanently becoming part of us down to the smallest fiber.
He instills in us a flavor and an aroma of His personal presence in us, and His character begins to flow from us as it matures into the fine quality of His vintage or timeless Holiness.
But, if we are stubborn, selfish, arrogant, rebellious or sullied by addiction to what we personally want, then He is unable to pour in Himself since the skins – our hearts- are too weak to sustain or withstand Him.
Today is a good day to start over… fresh.
Ask Him to create in you a new heart… to do something new in you… and show you how His mercies are new every morning.
check out The song, make it your prayer, and surrender to the work He is doing in your life today..
Author:
Lead Pastor, Faith Assembly
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16
Oct '19
Trust in God’s Plan
16
Oct '19
How many times do we say something we believe in our heart, but turn around the next second and do the opposite? When things are going smoothly in life we praise His name with no problem, but what happens when we get a bump in the road? Do we continue to practice what we believe? Or do we question our beliefs, get angry, lose trust, or even turn away from Him? It is so easy to say we trust God, but when things do not go our way do our actions match our words?
Look at the life of Joseph. He was thrown into a well, sold by his brothers, thrown into jail for something he didn’t do, yet he continued to trust in God’s perfect plan knowing that God was with him through it all. Eventually Joseph would become a major leader in Egypt who would forgive his brothers and save his family from the famine. WOW! I’m not sure I could say that I would do that – but what an amazing example to hear and be encouraged by.
Proverbs 3:5-6 says
Trust in the Lord with all your heart; lean not on your own understandings. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.
God has a plan for our lives and much of the time we will not know exactly what it’s supposed to look like – that’s when trust comes into play.
Our faith and trust in the one true God needs to be all-consuming in our lives. That way, when we do encounter those bumps we can say with confidence, “God has my back…even when I question the path and things just don’t make sense”.
I am preaching to myself as much as I am encouraging you. Practice having trust and confidence that God has you in the palm of his hand and guiding you through life.
Take ahold of his hand and continue walking even when you cannot stand -He will carry you through.
So how can we raise our kids to have faith and trust in God’s plan like Joseph?
With God’s help.
Because we can’t raise our kiddos without his help.
Because we can’t raise our kiddos without his help.
Be an example.
Our kids are watching our every move. When things don’t go as planned, use those as teaching moments to encourage them to trust in God’s plan. It might be a failed test, a loss on the field, a sick relative, or a disappointment from a friend. It’s not fun to go through those hard times with our kids. But it’s how we will respond and move forward with them after that will be a witness to our unfailing faith in God’s plan.
Our kids are watching our every move. When things don’t go as planned, use those as teaching moments to encourage them to trust in God’s plan. It might be a failed test, a loss on the field, a sick relative, or a disappointment from a friend. It’s not fun to go through those hard times with our kids. But it’s how we will respond and move forward with them after that will be a witness to our unfailing faith in God’s plan.
When we fail.
….and we will….daily….just get back up and go at it again. That is what is so amazing about our Heavenly Father…he never leaves us.
….and we will….daily….just get back up and go at it again. That is what is so amazing about our Heavenly Father…he never leaves us.
Author:
Jordan Bivins
Faith Kids ministry leader
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