Sermon: "Spiritual Boot Camp" by Rick Shabi, Oct 6 2018

very good about putting the slideshow together for us a very enjoyable thing so if you will you will do that I know that they would they would have appreciate that and we'll all look forward to that as well I think I started off I didn't welcome the people who are listening in on the web if we have any visitors with us welcome to you welcome to you as as well I don't normally mention anniversaries but I see we have a notable one here Doug and Belinda will be celebrating 20 years of marriage tomorrow and congratulations to you we have the others as well the Douglas is over 60 years and the pro Tula's and the BAL rupes as well let me let me remind you just briefly of a couple things there as well you know we had this local church bulletin board that was put together for us it hasn't been used much if at all over the last few months and and I've noticed you know people have asked questions about could this happen it could that happen we'd like to share this with someone I would like to see us start using that it could almost become like as much as I hate to use the word Facebook it could almost become like a Facebook for the church you know it's a place for us to just kind of share announcements with each other then we don't have to take the time through email emails or or put them in there but if you have something notable in your life pictures you'd like to share things that you have to offer that you're getting rid of that you think someone else might be able to make use of that's the place for it and we will get to you again you've got the URL for it there in the announcement but I'd like to see us start using that I noticed in talking to one of the pastors up in up in Jackson that in Jackson Billy and Jekyll Island you know they do that they do it all through email and he said it can become overwhelming at times and I said yeah we have a venue for that we just haven't haven't used it much so I'd like to see us start using that and what else do we have coming up yeah if you would like to serve sometimes when we come back from the face we kind of like starting a new new time now if you would like to serve in some areas please say Doug John Johnson or me or Dave remar and and we will let you serve in whatever you want teens we talked before the faced about a teen weekend where you'll be doing the ushering the counting we got a serve a net volunteer as well as a song leader volunteer so we've got that scheduled for November 3rd so you and Dave prime are and the Johnson could be preparing for that and we will all be looking forward to that weekend I think that's enough I think that's enough for announcements we can talk more about that as the month goes on but let's get into this let's get into the sermon you know the first week back from the feast it's always I always contemplate and ask God what what is the congregation need you know what do we talk about when we first come back from the Feast you know for nine days if we count the Sunday opening night service and I hope everyone realizes the Sunday opening night service at the thesis is much a part of the observing the Feast of Tabernacles as the first holy day in the last holy day and the Sabbath in between as we come back from the time where we've been able to be with each other for nine days and if you were up in Jekyll for the holy day or the Sabbath before 10 days we've heard messages every day we've been in the Bible every day and you come back I hope on a high and I hope on Tuesday you missed you missed being able to be with everyone and being able to be in church and being able to share good conversation with everyone in the fellowship that comes along with the feast because that's a very important part of our fellowship and training as well as the the church services that we go to so I hope we all came back more committed to God more determined to be in his kingdom as I was here for part of Doug's message to you know have that vision before us that that would motivate us that we really want and we really believe what God has offered offered to us so what do we talk about on the first day and I thought well you know it's kind of like when the kids come back from summer camp and we have many of the children who go to summer camp and they come back and after seven days with each other they are motivated they're on a high and the challenge to parents is is how do we keep that going how do we keep that going throughout the year and how do we not just they just not fade back into the way they were as they go back to school and back in the neighborhoods and all the things that they do how does that happen and the same challenges for us because as we come back from the feast we go back into the world back to our jobs back into school back into our neighborhoods back into our you know maybe routines that may or may not be all that good but God wants us to keep the motivation and keep the momentum going that we need to if we really did appreciate the feast if we really did get a taste of God's kingdom if we really want it we have to be determined that we have to make ourselves make ourselves be ready now there's a quote that I'm gonna give you is by Bobby Knight everyone's heard of Bobby Knight I think I was in school at Indiana University and the early years of Bobby Knight when when and he's a very interesting character later on a company I worked for we brought him in as a guest speaker and he's he you know he is controversial and he's got a lot of problems but he had some good insights on how to motivate people and what it takes to be what it takes to make it to what you want it to be let me read you this quote that he gives he says the will to win the will to win is not nearly as important as the will to prepare to win everyone's got the desire to win right if you're on a college basketball team you want to win if you're an NFL player you want to win if you're on a high school team you want to win if you're in the Church of God you want the kingdom of God you want to be there everyone has the desire to win and that's a good thing but that desire and that will is not as important as the will to prepare to win because if you aren't willing to put the time into it if you aren't willing to make yourself do what needs to be done you're not gonna win you're not gonna be a champion in the church's standpoint and the spiritual end you're not going to be in the kingdom of God if you're not willing to do your part the preparation that it takes simply not going to be there God will give us the tools he will give us His Holy Spirit but the Holy Spirit alone isn't going to get us into the Holy into the kingdom it's what we do with the tools that God gives us it's what we do with the opportunities that God gives our way for education fellowship the time to be together the learning that we do the study time we do it's all there but he won't do it for us his kingdom will come with or without us but we have to put the time into it we have to put the effort we have to have the will to prepare for his kingdom if we're not willing to do that don't wear one day we're going to be very very sorry so he says the will to win is not nearly as important as the will to prepare to win everyone wants to win but not everyone wants to prepare to win now in the church that's certainly true everyone wants the kingdom of God does everyone want to do what's necessary to be in the kingdom of God because sadly the Bible tells us not everyone has the will to do what it takes to be in the kingdom of God not everyone has the will to use the Holy Spirit the way that God wants us to not everyone everyone wants to win but not everyone wants to prepare to win preparing to win is where the determination that you will win is made now without God's Spirit none of us are gonna be in the kingdom without God's Spirit none of us win in that form of the of the praise there with God's Spirit it's possible without it it's impossible so in one way yes he does it all for us Jesus Christ died for us yes he did it all for us but we have our part to play back in first Peter back in Purse Peter he kind of outlines for us some of the things that we do how do we prepare to win what is God looking for us to do how do we be sure that we're doing our part that we will be ready for the kingdom of God and not just wanting it but actually preparing for it and doing the things that we is required of us to be there because God is very clear in the Bible this type person this type person this type person won't be there it will be people who are dedicated it will be people who through their lives and through the choices they make have shown God I want what you want I want to be who you want me to be first Peter to first Peter 2 in verse 1 he says therefore laying aside all malice all deceit hypocrisy envy and all evil speaking putting all those things behind us as newborn babes desire desire the pure milk of the word that you may grow thereby it takes it takes desiring the pure milk of the word to grow you know there's analogies throughout the Bible on what it takes to grow Paul is very good about talking about the desire that we need to have you know he uses the sports analogy and then talking about the people who run races and they have to be ready they have to prepare they just don't go out one day and say hey I want to run a race they prepare for months and months in advance he talks about soldiers you know soldiers have to be prepared you know you're not a good soldiers because you put the uniform on and say I want to be a good soldier there's bootcamp that you go through and all the men who have served in the Army or Milkman's or navy or somewhere know what boot camp is we are in a spiritual boot camp as we go forth from the Feast of Tabernacles as we look toward the kingdom we have to discipline ourselves to be in a boot camp to get ready for the kingdom of God to develop that desire to prepare to develop that will to prepare to do and not just hear and know what God says we heard many good messages at the feast wherever you are but if we don't desire it if we don't have the will to make it happen if we don't have the will to do what is required instead of just hearing it knowing it we're going to be very sorry individuals one day to a blown the opportunity that God has given us so he says as newborn babes desire the pure milk of the word that you may grow thereby if if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious so at the feast did we taste that the Lord is gracious at the feast did we taste that the way of God is good as what we experience there is that the way we would like to live in harmony and peace and with people all believing the same thing not having any of the ill effects or influences of the world having left all that behind and being able to enjoy those eight and nine days apart from our everyday lives and knowing that for eternity it will be that way if if indeed we have tasted what God has given us then indeed we will should have the will to be in the kingdom do we have the desire do we have the desire or the will to prepare for the kingdom because God isn't going to accept any of us just the way we are it simply isn't going to happen so let's talk about that a little bit today let's talk about spiritual boot camp and what we can do in our lives to be sure that we are doing what God wants us to do and expects Christian soldiers Christian people who are preparing themselves Christian people who are putting themselves on a diet of if you will a healthy diet a healthy spiritual diet so that they pee and become spiritually healthy spiritually vibrant spiritually energetic spiritually awake spiritually zealous let's go back to Romans 12 verses 1 & 2 verses that you know well but verses that we can talk about here because here Paul tells us what the what the process is in verse 12 or chapter 12 verse 1 he says I beseech you therefore brethren by the mercies of God that you present your bodies a living sacrifice a living sacrifice we have heard those words hundreds of times if we've been in the church for a while a living sacrifice but did we really taken the time to know what does it mean a living sacrifice what is God looking for us to do is he looking for us just to not work on Saturdays and come to church is he looking for us just to be there on holy days as he's looking for us just to give tithes it's a living sacrifice a day-to-day 24 hours a day seven days a week sacrifice that God is looking for a living sacrifice and if indeed we've tasted of the graciousness of God and we want that Fitness a living sacrifice that we need to be working toward if indeed we want the kingdom of God and we're willing and we want it then we have to be willing to prepare for it and part of that preparation is a living sacrifice is the goal of God not one foot in the world and one foot in the church eventually both feet firmly in God's way living his way at home at church with people in the church and our dealings with people outside the church 100% committed living sacrifice you know Jesus Christ Jesus Christ talked about I'll save that for later let's go on chapter 12 verse 1 I beseech you therefore brethren by the mercies of God that you present your bodies a living sacrifice holy acceptable to God which is your reasonable service Jesus Christ died that our sins could be forgiven he saved our lives he gives it he's given us life he's given us a future God has made promises to us it's our reasonable service how can you say anything anything other than we owe everything to God so if he says I want your bodies as a living sacrifice that's reasonable because without him without his promises we have absolutely nothing to live for or to look toward verse 2 and don't be conformed to this world don't be like them don't try to don't try to win favor with them don't be conformed to the world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind you have to change the way you think the way you thought before that has - over the course of your life as you prepare to win and I put win in quotes as you prepare to be in God's kingdom you have to change the way you think you can't think the way you used to think anymore there's a transformation that's going to happen that doesn't happen automatically when you're baptized and you receive Holy Spirit there are some things that change but we don't change the way we think automatically we have to make some conscious decisions along the way and when we're in boot camp well we're in boot camp those of you been in the military you know you have someone thinking for you this is what you do now you're not doing that you're not going there this is the time you'll wake up this is the time you'll eat this is the time you'll go to sleep you're not going anywhere this week and everything is decided for you God expects us to put that ourselves through that same drill not easy to do not easy to do he'll tell us what we need to do but he doesn't make us do it in one sense if he would come down and every time you know like it says in Isaiah 30 of the millennium tap us on the shoulders and say none no that's not the way to do that this is the way to do that this isn't the way to react to that comment that's been made to you this is the way to do it it would be easy but he expects us to do that ourselves and to be monitors using his Holy Spirit and using his word to see how we react and to padding our patterning ourselves after Jesus Christ transforming your mind it's not an easy thing not an easy thing to do be transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God and then in verse 3 he tells us the very first thing we need we have to be humble if we're thinking of ourselves highly if we're thinking that we're someone you know what we're missing the boat don't think of anyone more highly than yourself be very humble as you go about the process of preparing preparing for the kingdom and developing that is will to prepare for the kingdom so today I want to I want to just talk about three steps three steps that we have in in getting ready for the kingdom in preparing for the kingdom in developing the will to prepare for the kingdom point one point one of those of you who are in Jekyll this will sound very familiar to you so I'm not going to spend a lot of time on it we have to choose and commit to God's Way in Jekyll I gave a sermon on choices and how our choices are so important if we turn back to Deuteronomy 30 verse 19 the only scripture I'm going to turn to in in this section but I can't give this sermon without without bringing this up Deuteronomy 30 and verse 19 one of the hallmark verses of the Bible or verses of the Bible under inspiration you know it's recorded I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you that I have set before you life and death blessing and cursing you have two choices so what he's saying can win or lose basically it could be a winner or you can be a loser I set before you life and death blessing and cursing therefore such an easy choice choose life who wouldn't choose life if I went out on the corner I said I'm setting before you two days choose life or death blessing cursing what would you choose every single 100% of the people who say I choose life he'd have to be an idiot not to choose life right so he says choose life that both you and your descendants may live but choosing life and saying the words is easy doing it is another story doing and choosing life is something you know at the end of our lives God's going to look at the choices that we make every choice that we make day in and day out will we be at services or do we sleep in do I be a little dishonest at work or do I be perfectly honest do I cheat on my taxes a little bit or am i perfectly every choice we make no matter how little or how insignificant it tells God and programs our mind we choose life at the end of our physical lives or when Jesus Christ returns whatever comes first he will be looking at what we've done the pattern of our lives the choices that we've made the decisions that we've made along the way and he'll say you know what what they've done they've chosen life they've proved it to me that they will choose life because what they did day by day they were faithful in little and now I see they will be faithful in much what we do day to day counts what we do day to day and the pattern that we're setting for ourselves the way we're training our minds the commitments that we make the choices that we make matter and every day of our life we're in boot camp every day of our life we have to look at ourselves and think what are we doing are we patting our patterning ourselves for life or are we kind of hedging our bets since none of us kind of still on the way to death I'll just kind of hold this over here and do this well the question we have to ask for ourselves is the kingdom of God worth it is the kingdom of God worth committing truly committing and choosing and making the choices every day every day that would tell god I choose life I choose life and there's a pattern of thinking that goes along with that it only happens well we are disciplining ourselves and we are making ourselves do what God says through his Holy Spirit he will give us the power to do okay so that's that's point one point two point two we just read here in Romans 12 we have to sacrifice we have to sacrifice the old saying is those who have played sports have heard it no pain no gain no pain no gain if you're not giving up something if it doesn't hurt a little bit then you're not preparing then you're trying to take the easy way out and there is no easy way into the kingdom of God there is not the broad way that we enter into but by the narrow gate we enter into and few there be the Bible says that find it sacrifice sacrifice if we play sports before shoulders soldiers were sacrificing our life is no longer ours if we go on a diet for health reasons or just because we want to be a different weight their sacrifice involved just don't do it automatically the world will want to tell us you know just eat this for a few days and whatever a few weeks and everything will happen but no it's it's there's some commitment that's there too because the sacrifice that we make as we're soldiers as we commit to God it has to be a life long commitment the rest of your life not just until not just until you graduate from boot camp not just until you hit that desired weight not just until the sickness goes away or the illness goes away the rest of your life sacrifice sacrifice it's it's not easy to do but it's something that we have to program our minds for as God leads us that we are willing to give that up forever whatever that may be you know Jesus Christ back in Matthew 16 talked about that very thing again words we know very well but I don't know that we actually stop and think about what he said about what we need to do if we're going to follow him that if we're going to be in his kingdom Matthew 16 and verse 24 Christ said to his disciples that's them then that's you and me today if indeed we're following him if indeed we are studying him and the words he said and have a and realize our goal is to become like him because he is the example that we need to be following Christ said to his disciples if anyone desires to come after me but that's what you want let him deny himself let him deny himself you got to say no to some of the things that you may be really fine fun to do that aren't commensurate with God's Word maybe the things that aren't healthy to you that you've got to say no I can't do that anymore maybe to some family members you have to say no I can't do that anymore maybe you have to say to yourself no I can't do that anymore I can't be lacks I can't be apathetic I can't can be complacent I can't allow myself that because that isn't what God's Word says I need to know it I need to discipline myself I need to sacrifice my will and give it to God if we're not willing to do that I don't know I don't know that we'll be ready for the kingdom of God the way that God expects us to be developing the will to prepare for his kingdom if anyone desires if anyone says I want you I want to follow you let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me for whoever desires to save his life will lose it if we think we're gonna fool God and say I got one foot over here yet God's okay if I do this and if I I have an exemption from doing this I don't have to obey Him and all these things because I don't like that or I don't want to do it or it's not convenient or this family member doesn't want me to do it or I really want to do this instead whoever desires to save his life that means I want to do the things that I want to do as opposed to the things that guy clearly says I need to do or I should be doing whoever desires to save his life will lose it but whoever loses his life whoever sacrifices his life whoever is willing to give it up to follow God implicitly but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it he'll find eternal life no pain no gain that's just simply the way it is that's what God has called us to and we were baptized or if we're considering baptism that's what we commit to we choose life then we do the things and are willing to sacrifice whatever may impede on our convenience comfort family relationships whatever it might be we're willing to sacrifice that in order to please God let's go back to the Sermon on the Mount in chapter 5 Matthew 5 in Christ is is speaking here he kind of freely use as a graphic a graphic example of how serious he is about the sacrifice we need to make you know here in Matthew 5 he's talking about and he expands the commandments you know he says it's not okay just to not kill physically kill your brother you I don't even want you hating them and warning them that he says it's not okay just not to physically commit adultery don't even look at another woman to lust after her and verse 29 of Matthew 5 he says this if your right eye causes you to sin pluck it out and cast it from you now we've had those words a lot of times in our life he isn't saying that he really wants people to go out and pluck their eyes out but he's making a point if there is something that you are doing that keeping you away from God something that just kind of always tempts you something that you always fall prey to that you're simply disobeying God because that's the way it is he says get rid of it it's better to pluck your eye out if there's something that you're doing something that you're looking at something that's there that keeps you from being totally yielded to God pluck it out no one's gonna really do that right no one's gonna go physically do that but he's making a very graphic point and he says for his more for you that one of your members perish than for your whole body to be cast into hell or into the lake of fire now verse 30 follows snuff pieces and if your right hand if there's something that you're doing that that's causing you to to be apart from God if your right hand causes you to sin cut it off cast it from you it's more profitable for you that one of your members perish than for your whole body to be cast into hell words that we read over but they have really real meaning behind them he's saying lay aside everything that comes between you and God and we know we know what we're doing if we're not obeying God completely we know and many times we've justified in our minds it's okay it's not okay maybe we need time to come to the realization that what God says he really means and that the only people that will be in his kingdom are those who have fully yielded to him and that have learned through the course of their lifetime to continually improve themselves continually purify themselves continually becoming more like Jesus Christ the only ones and he'll do that and he'll lead us to it and he'll give us the strength to do it but we've got to make the decision he's told us what we need to do but he's not gonna make us do it'd be so much easier if he would but it has to be us we have to sacrifice we have to as it says in Hebrews 12 verse 1 we have to lay every lay aside every way to a sin that does so easily ensnare us now we have to go on to perfection if we want if we want what God wants us to have so a spiritual boot camp it's not for not for the faint of heart spiritual boot camp or any endeavor that we take no matter if it's improving health improving finances improving relationships we have to do it God's Way and it's always going to require some sacrifice on our part let's go back to Isaiah 58 you know as we talked about as we talk about food and the Bible uses an awfully lot of analogies where food is concerned fasting is certainly a sacrifice isn't it I mean well we have to do without food and water for a day or even if we do a modified fast where we do do you know just don't even have a certain thing in our diet for a separate periods of time or maybe for the rest of our lives that we just determined that is no longer the thing that is healthy or that I can be eating and there's plenty of choices that we can make in our lives today of things that you know may be lawful and may not be unclean and definition of the Bible but probably just aren't good for us physically and there's certainly a lot of things in our life spiritually that we have to look at and say that's just not good for me spiritually either I need to cut that out completely I need to cut it out completely and be committed to that for the rest of my life and Isaiah 58 you know it talks about the fast we talked about this a little bit on atonement I'm not going to read a lot about it here but it fits into this section well in verse 6 God says it's fasting as a sacrifice is something that we give up because we seek Him because we are preparing ourselves for him because we want what he has to offer verse 6 he says this is this is isn't this the fast that I have chosen to loose the bonds of wickedness and isn't that what God wants us to do make choices sacrifice because we no longer want our minds the influences of this world the influences of our friends and family to negatively affect us anymore we want to be free to worship God and to grow closer and closer to him isn't this and we can just replace fast with sacrifices is this the sacrifice that I've chosen to loose the bonds of wickedness to undo the heavy burdens and some of those heavy burdens can really hold us down if we ask God he can eliminate those over time to let the oppressed go free and that you break every yoke isn't it to share your bread with the hungry isn't that a sacrifice that when you see someone in need you go and you kind of do what you what they need done isn't it to share your bread with the hungry that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out when you see the naked that you cover him and not hide yourself from your own flat those are the sacrifices I'm looking for that's the attitudes that I want I want you to do those things not just know that you should do those things I want you to do those things I want them to you to build them into the pattern of your life I want them to do to build them into your mind that over time they become you and when you think and when you see you spring into action not the way it used to be well we might have done something far different with than what these verses say and when we do those things when we truly seek God when we are willing to do the sacrifices and do what he says in the detail as well as in the much in verse 8 look what results your light will bring forth will break forth like the morning your healing shall bring south shall spring forth speedily your righteousness will go before you the glory of the eternal shall be your rear guard you will call and the eternal will answer you will cry and he will say Here I am isn't that what we want isn't that what we're sinking isn't that what we want to have that relationship with God that we're so close to him doesn't happen automatically but as we discipline ourselves and as we sacrifice and consciously make the decisions to deny self and choose God day to day we will see we will see and we will begin to feel that closeness with God and the joy and the the joy and the well just the joy that's there you'll see your attitude improve you'll see you'll see the positive begin to improve you'll see your health and your spiritual health and you'll feel alive and you'll feel energetic and you'll feel motivated and you will be looking for the kingdom of God and you will begin desiring it more than you ever have before but it won't happen until we make the choice to do it to use what God has given us and as we feel that and as we feel God's presence in us just like I hope we felt God's presence in whatever feast site we were in I hope we make the decision we would never go back we never want to go back to life the way it was before we never want it to be the way it was we want it to be the way it is but improving even beyond that never go back and when we taste what is righteous when we taste God's goodness when we taste his graciousness we never want to go back just like when we succeed in whatever endeavor we have and we taste and we know we've done it right we've done the detail we prepared to win whatever that might be you determine I will never go back because it just doesn't have the appeal anymore because we know what our lives led us to and now when we begin to do what God's will is we see what life can be beyond that but it takes it takes sacrifice it takes us wanting to do that and disciplining ourselves to do it so point two he's got to be willing to sacrifice got to be willing to sacrifice no pain no gain point three I kind of touched on we go into a little more detail we have to focus focus and discipline ourselves we simply have to make ourselves do things you know second Corinthians 10:5 you don't need to turn there but you remember the set of verses that we Paul is talking about bringing down strongholds the things in our mind that that hold us back the things that are just so in there that it's just really hard we don't even realize sometimes how strong those opinions are are those those situations in our lives and it's God's Spirit that has to kind of make that realization to us and then we have to chip away at it with decisions we make to get rid of those strongholds but he makes a comment at the end of that section he says we must bring every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ every thought into captivity you know how important that is no detail that is every thought none of us are there none of us are there at all that we brought every thought into captivity to Christ that takes focus that takes us thinking about everything we do every day that takes us asking God reminding ourselves every day several times during the day who we are what we want what we're here for what God wants us to be what we need to work on the strongholds that need to be brought down the sacrifices that need to be made made focus total and complete focus bring every thought there's a submission our goal is to bring every act into submission to God and into obedience to bring every choice we make into concert with what his word is to bring every attitude into agreement with what his Bible is and what his word says that's what we need to do Jesus Christ is our standard and he was perfect and that's what he wants us working toward not seventy-five percent they're not fifty percent they're not even ninety-five percent there he wants us to have the goal of perfection perfection will never attain it in this life but when Jesus Christ returns or if we're alive when he returns we'll have it at that time because our lives will have become a pattern that we seek God and do his will and have the focus and determination to do what he wants us to do just like the basketball players have to go through the drills every day just like the basketball players you know Bobby nice time I know he was verbally abusive and he would let him have it but you know what the sound players and the good players they listened to him and they adapted their game to what he did just like coaches do now just like God wants us to do listen and adapt yourself to the pattern that is Jesus Christ that's bringing every thought into submission and every action into submission because he's shown us the way shown us the way to the kingdom are we willing to invest the time and sacrifice our minds and hearts to do that I've got a quote here quote here I don't remember who who who gave this I didn't write it down but says retraining the mind the body and the soul involves the continual process of readjusting our thinking it's an adjustment of our moral and spiritual thinking to the mind of God retraining the mind body and soul involves the continual process of readjusting our thinking that's a tall order through all our lives we have a pattern of how we do things even in the church we have a pattern of how we do things we get here a certain time mo well several are here every single week no matter what some decide it's okay to take a day off and I use the Sabbath often because it's the easiest thing to talk about some have a pattern of thinking and they've adjusted their minds to thinking it's okay God's given me a free pass on this one no he hasn't he's waiting he's waiting how do we act in our lives how do we act in Sabbath services are we paying attention to what is being said you know there was a time in my life as much younger and an area that we were in I wasn't just getting much out of services at all one day I told myself you know I have got to make myself learn something from every single message I hear no matter how it's delivered no matter if I've heard it a hundred times before or whatever and I made myself listen and I made myself go home and out of every sermonette and sermon I heard I made myself learn something from it and I made myself focus on it I made myself realize and you know what I began to appreciate every message I heard because I've gotten myself into a pattern of I kind of know it I've heard this as the time I was 10 years old we never we never stopped learning we never stopped growing we never stopped doing those things we need to continue to do and make sure we are using the to fools that God gives us not allowing ourselves to just pat ourselves on the back and think I've heard it all before because that's an attitude we never want to have happen to us let's go back again to first Peter you know if we're gonna transform our minds transform the way that we think transform the way that we act react make decisions we started off here let's go back to first Peter 2 and he says we got to do some things consciously and first one he says you have to consciously lay aside all malice deceit hypocrisy envy and all evil speaking you have to make the choice I'm not doing that anymore I'm going to be the same at church as I am at the office as I am at home I said in the neighborhood as I am when I'm playing sports I'm going to be a Christian 24 hours a day seven days a week I'm not gonna speak evil anymore I'm simply not going to let myself do that now I may catch myself doing it but I'm gonna stop because I have to retrain my thinking and the only way to retrain your thinking is to stop in the process and say I can't do that that's not what God wants us to do that's not the way we are all those things in the ESN that does so easily beset us we have to say I won't do that I have to lay it aside that's part of the past that can't be me if I truly want to be in the kingdom because that's part of our preparation the will to prepare the will to get ready for the kingdom and then he says in verse two as newborn babes desire the pure milk of the word that you may grow thereby you know the Bible is the basis of our faith of all of truth it is the only source of truth complete truth on the face of the earth today is the Bible this is our constitution this is our life book this is our instruction book this is our motivation book this is our future this is our present this is everything this is the book that we need to be looking to we need to desire it and not find ourselves thinking I don't want to read the Bible today I've read I've read it through six or seven times now we need to desire it you know we eat the same things I mean if you have you don't eat steak four or five times in your life and say I've had steak enough I'd ever I don't want to do it anymore you still desire it you have to develop a desire for the word and that's where we have to be and that's where where we need to be now he says here as newborn babes and certainly as babies as we're growing up and as were children they need the pure milk that comes from from the work from the mother as Christians we need the pure milk that comes from the Word of God we need to know that this is where our time should be this is where our reading should be and there's times in our lives if we've been around for a long time that we may need to go back we may need to go back to the point where we go back to having the pure milk of the word again let's go to Hebrews five Hebrews five and verse 11 the author of Hebrews here is he's writing to the Hebrews he sees some people who have been in the church for a while and they should have progressed more they should have progressed beyond having just the milk they should be doing more he says but he says in verse eleven I'm just gonna look at the last few words of verse eleven there because it's a situation or a condition that we all better be aware of he says since you have become dull of hearing you're not listening you're not paying attention the words have become commonplace and you think I heard it before do you know what dull of hearing means that sometimes it just doesn't get through not me dull of hearing I'm not paying attention anymore I've tuned it all out I don't want to hear it since you become dull of hearing for though by this time you ought to be teachers you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the Oracles of God and you have come to need milk and not solid food Wow you need to go back and you need to reprove again what the truth of the Bible is you need to go back to some of the basic doctrines earlier in her next chapter in chapter 6 he talks about doctrine of repentance baptism laying on of hands for everyone who partakes well you've come to need milk and not solid food verse 13 for everyone who protects only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness for he's a babe we partake of those of the word of God we begin to learn it but just knowing it is not enough James tells us that right James 1 what is the 2225 in that area just knowing it is not enough there's no credit for just being able to recite back with the way of God is to the plan of God is or the commandments of God is no no you don't get any reward for that except maybe on a Sabbath school you might get the gold star but the job is applying it doing it and that's where focus comes in we know the commandments we know what we need to do we have to make ourselves do them and comes from knowing we're tolling God we're showing God day by day do we choose life or do we choose the way of the world do we choose our own way do we choose the way of death and futility it comes from sacra because the things that we have to give up are the things that we need focus on often this means we put ourselves against what the Word of God doesn't say I can't do that or I must do that even though I don't want to even though it's inconvenient even though it's not the thing I want to do I must do that I must develop that pattern in myself so he says you know as we grow we early on we learned the Word of God we understand it we take it in but then we have to apply it we are never skilled in the word of righteousness until we start practicing what we what we learn solid food belongs to those who are a full age that is those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil practice progressing through life being able and going closer and closer to the way Jesus Christ was and having the mind of Christ more and more as time goes on it only comes by a conscious decision God's not gonna make us do it he's going to give us the tools but we have to use the strength he gives us we have to use the understanding he's given us we have to use the tools the Bible and the tools he gives us but we have to know the Word of God and if we feel that we've drifted a little bit if we feel that we're not really preparing for the kingdom of God if we feel that we're just kind of there but not really excited about it and we think that we're okay and that God's okay with how we are think again there's not one of us in this room there's not a human being alive today that would say that can say and that God would agree with them you're okay the way you are not one not one we all have a ways to go now we have to exercise what it is and we have to train our minds using God's Holy Spirit and allow Him to renew and restore and transform us into the mind that he wants us to have back in first Corinthians 3 Paul faces very same issue with the Corinthian church and you remember the Corinthian church we've talked about it in some of our Bible studies and the Corinthian church they were all baptized they were people of God but as Paul looked at them they had some issues that they were dealing with and so he wrote this book of first Corinthians to them into verse chapter 3 and verse 1 he says this brethren I brethren could not speak to you as the spiritual people as to spiritual people but as to carnal as to babe's in Christ so he said to them he remembers they've been going for a while and he says I can't speak to you as spiritual people what speaking to you as babes I see carnality among you I see your own pride in front of you I see you doing what you want to do I see you tolerating what you want I see you choosing your way rather than God's way I see you not sacrificing anything throughout the book he lays it out for him the things they need to do I fed you with milk and that was solid food for unto now until now you were not able to receive it and even now you're still not able after all these years you still don't get it you're still back at the principles the basic principles that you have to work on by this time you should have they should have become you they should dock they should dominate your thinking there's things that you should automatically think God first or there's a choice it's God first not family first not friends first not convenience first not comfort first not work first not school first God first should be the automatic way of thinking that we have that when we practice it and we train our minds and let God train our minds that's where we go to I brethren I swear that already and even now you're still not able for you are still chiral for where there are Envy strife and divisions among you are you not carnal and behaving like mere men there's any Envy in our lives if there's any strife in our lives if there are any divisions in our lives if there's anything that's left unresolved in our lives we're still carnal we're still carnal and we need to go back to the Word of God and see what his will is and be willing to sacrifice our own will anything to get back to where God wants us to be if we're not willing to sacrifice self we won't be in God's kingdom if we're gonna stand on ourselves and stand on our merits and stand on what we want to do and insist that God's okay with it we're not going to be there we simply have to do what God wants us to do and that takes focus determined focus day by day what am i doing why am i doing this what should I be doing and training ourselves just like you were in boot camp this is what I need to do and I will make the determination to do it Paul the Bible they talk about food it's the same thing you do when you go on a diet for health reasons or weight reasons you gotta embarrass your everything you gotta weigh everything is this what I should be eating is it okay for me to just cheat on this a little bit and it's also got to be I'm progressing because for the rest of my life the rest of my life I know what happens when I eat the spiritual things that I ate I know who I am when a the physical things I've eaten I know who I am and what I become and if I go back to that way it's going to be the same thing all over again the change the God wants in us is for the rest of our lives for the rest of our lives and that's a mindset that we must we must determine let's go back and look at a couple verses in the Old Testament Joe job 23 joke 23 and verse 12 I'm gonna read verse 11 - because it follows the same principle of what we've been talking about here job 23 11 my foot has held fast to his steps I've made myself follow God I know his way and I have held my my foot has held fast to his steps God gives the Holy Spirit he enables us to do it we have to we have to do it I've kept his way and did not turn aside first 12 I have not departed from the commandment of his lips I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my necessary food isn't that interesting I treasure God's words more than my necessary food the things that I have today I would rather have God's Word they're more important to me than the food and water I have everyday you know there's food that we eat there's food that we eat and unfortunately you know sometimes we have to take supplements as well because we don't have all the nutrition in our food that we would want and so there's a whole industry out there with supplements and I know a lot of us take the supplements and it's a good thing to take those vitamins and those herbs and whatever that we do to supplement what we're doing but no one lives on supplements alone no one lives on supplements alone not going to go very far if you're living on supplements alone you got to have the food first and supplement that it's the same with the Word of God the Bible is the Word of God it's the necessary food we've got beyond today programs we've got beyond today magazines we've got websites we've got sermons online we've got a whole host of things that you can spend all your time looking at those things and listening to those things they're great supplements but if we don't have our eyes and our minds in the Bible then we are missing the boat we are becoming nutritionally deficient all those things are good as supplements but the Word of God is the food that we need to be looking at studying and making ourselves be part of every single day and I would say do whatever it takes to do you know some people tell me I don't even know what to study I study and it's like it's the same I've read all this before you know if you have to take a pen and paper out and start writing down start in Genesis and just start copying every verse go to Deuteronomy to start writing it all down go to math you go to axe go to Roman's start writing it down I guarantee you when you engage all the senses and you show God I'm determined to listen to read your word and to understand it you will begin to feel his his spirit flowing and you will begin to understand do whatever it takes but views first and our primary food is the Word of God and use the other supplements but don't use only them don't use only them okay let's look at Jeremiah as well Jeremiah 15 he's got something to say about the Word of God and food as well Jeremiah 15 and verse 16 Jeremiah 15 verse 16 your words your words God were found and I hate them your words were found and I ate them and your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart for I am called by your name Oh Lord God of hosts eat the Word of God focus on it make yourself do it do what God wants you to do it takes discipline it takes focus it takes making yourself do it consciously making yourself do it let's go back and look at an example here of Nehemiah you know to focus and to discipline ourselves is something that we simply have to do and God listens when we do those things back in Nehemiah chapter 1 remember Nehemiah he was the one who eventually went and he completed the building of the Temple in Jerusalem built the wall the walls and the gates around and everything before that it was just kind of laying and ruin the building it just stopped everything had just stopped on it was just laying there without anything to do maybe some of our lives are the same way we started the building but we haven't really completed it we haven't allowed God to do things we're not really working at it anymore kind of letting part of our lives lie in ruins and we're not really working on it the way that we should be here in Ionia Maya 1 verse 1 it says it came to the past and the month of Kislev in the 20th year of the reign of King Artaxerxes I was in Shushan the Citadel and Hannah Hannah Nye one of my brethren came with men from Judah and I asked them turning the Jews who had escaped who had survived the captivity and concerning Jerusalem and they said to me the survivors who are left from the captivity in the province are there in great distress and reproach the wall of Jerusalem is broken down and its gates are burned with fire state of disrepair no one was finishing it no one was working on it anymore they kind of just gotten ok with a temple where it was and it was just all just it will stay that way but Nehemiah asked what is it and notices reaction so it was when I heard these words I sat down and wept and I'm warned for many days I was fasting and praying before the God of heaven God something needs to be done that temple needs to be completed the work needs to keep going on it's been sitting there in ruins it's been sitting there at the status quo there's stuff that has to be done yet and Nehemiah God urged him and sometimes in our lives God will urge us and he'll put a thought into our mind and we know we need to do that sometimes we do it sometimes we might just after a day or two think we just get on with our lives and kind of let that thought fade Nehemiah didn't do that he sat and he mourned and he fasted it says and then he prayed a very notable prayer he says I pray Lord God of heaven o great and awesome God you who keep your covenant and mercy with those who love you and observe your Commandments what God to answer your prayers need to be observing His commandments and love him in the way that he asks us to love him let your ear be attentive and your eyes open that you may hear the prayer of your servant which I pray before you now day and night not just once day and night I will continually implore you because this is what you have urged me to do I don't know how to do it Nehemiah was a cup bearer in the king in the king's court he didn't have the latitude or the opportunity just go where everyone and do whatever he wanted to do he was a man under he was a man under authority he could only go where people told him to go I don't know god I want to do this I know it needs to be done I'm going to ask you day and night and he continued to do that he continued to do that and you can read through the rest of his prayer here and he admits something that what we have to do in our prayers as well repent before God acknowledged the mistakes we've made acknowledge we're not perfect acknowledge the sins that we individually and even collectively make before him and ask God to lead us and correct us verse 11 he concludes he's the Lord I pray please let your ear be attentive to the prayer of your servant and to the prayer of your servants who desire to fear your name who are preparing their minds and who want to fear your name not just want the temple built but who want to do what your will is and let your servant prosper this day I pray this day God my will is that you would do it today open up the door for it to happen today sometimes our prayer is like that right god I need this today god I need healing today god I need this answer today God I need the answer to this relationship problem today god I want it done quickly and that's kind of natural we all had that process nehemiah wanted it done to that day God doesn't always answer on that day because God wants us to have our training and our focus and to see where our will really is this is just a passing thought this is just something that kind of caught our fancy at that point and we'll just in a day or two forget about it didn't happen with Nehemiah chapter 2 verse when it came to pass in the month of Nisan that's the first month of the year but you go back and you can see for four months four months he was asking God open up away this is important the temple needs to be built has to be completed I want to do it and I don't have the I need you to open up the door to do that it came to pass four months later in the 20th year of King Artaxerxes when wine was before him that I took the wine and gave it to the king I had never been sad in his presence before well if you're a cup Bearer in old times the king expected you to be cheerful he wasn't interested in having someone there who had a sad face in a sad countenance that wasn't what his job was at all he was supposed to be cheerful and nehemiah society never appeared that way before and the King had the latitude if he didn't like your disposal or your attitude or the way you look to say away with him life is over and Nehemiah knew that but here he was and this day he was sad he'd never been like that before and the king said to me why is your face sad since you were not sick this is nothing but sorrow of heart so rightfully Nehemiah became afraid oh wow I'm not pleasing the King he can kill me he can kill me I've never been this way before but Nehemiah didn't let his dreadful fear stop him from doing what he had to do through months of training through months of channeling his thoughts not Channel he saw straining his thoughts training his mind praying to God let this happen open the door be attentive to our prayer the temple needs to be done we need to do something about it when the king told him he was ready without hesitation to say exactly what was in his heart I said to the king may the King live forever why should my face not be sad when the city the place of my father's tombs lie waste and his case are burned with fire why this is why I'm sad he didn't hesitate he didn't try to cover it up and say oh you know no everything's okay sorry about that and whatever he was ready he knew what his mission was he wasn't afraid he didn't let that to it he was ready with an answer because he had trained his mind that's where his focus had been for four straight months day in and day out he made himself do what was right he made himself pray that prayer and sometimes when we're facing the things we have to be like that Widow in Luke 18 that kept petitioning the judge not giving up faith to the fight to the point where finally judge said okay I'm tired of hearing it give her what she wants and God wants to see are they really is he really is she really committed to this or is this just a pansy fancy and in a week we'll never hear about it again we have to train ourselves to do what God wants us to do day and night boot camp focus every thought in submission is the goal every action in submission to the goal and then seeing the light and seeing the spring in our step and seeing the energy and seeing the vitality and seeing the zeal that results from that nehemiah did it and he was ready when the opportunity rang he was there with his answer because he had trained his mind and that's where his focus had been and the king said to me what do you request notice what nehemiah did the first thing he did because he'd been trained I asked God I prayed to the God of heaven is our minds trained that way when we ran into a problems the first thing we think I need to pray to the God of heaven when we get sick is the first thing we think I need to pray to the God of heaven or is our first thought go someplace else and then we pray to the God of heaven when their troubles arise in our life - the first thing we do is we pray to the God of heaven because that's what we've trained ourselves to do over the course of our lifetime is that we pray to God first we ask his will first we petition him first we put him first in everything we do it's a pattern of life and we have to discipline ourselves to do that because God's the very first commandment you have to put me first you have to think of me first you have to trust me first you have to ask me first and like Nehemiah you have to be patient and you have to be you have to be committed and you have to wait sometimes you wait and that's a blessing because God sees what's in our heart and eventually he will answer it's a training aspect and a training process that we go through in life let's go back to Hebrews 10 Hebrews 10 Hebrews 10 verse 37 when we do it when we when we do it when we try it when we commit ourselves to God when we sacrifice when we make the decision and we put ourselves through the spiritual boot camp just like we might in some other activity our life we will see the results we will see the results in verse 36 of Hebrews 10 says for you have need of endurance you need to endure to the end you need to keep strong you need to keep yourself focused you need to not give up you not need to not just go back to the way you were you have need of endurance so that after you have done the will of God you may receive the promise for yet a little while and he who is coming will come and will not tarry now the just shall live by faith their faith is in God and God alone they wait for God and God alone the just shall live by faith but if anyone draws back my soul has no pleasure in him if you give up along the way if you think yeah you know what I'm gonna backslide a little bit I'm gonna go back to the way I was it'll be okay my soul has no pleasure in him God says keep moving forward keep focused keep that this is the rest of your life what you are doing you will do from here until the day that Jesus Christ returns Hebrews 6 verse 11 Hebrews 6 verse 11 we desire that each one of you show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope until the end that's what we should pray for each other that's what all of us want to see that we would all have the diligence the commitment the focus be willing to sacrifice our own will our own ways to God the same diligence to the full assurance of hope until the end that you don't become sluggish but imitators who through faith and patience inherit the promises we've enjoyed a great feast we've tasted of the goodness of God and he would say keep up that work keep up that motivation keep your focus on him put yourself through spiritual boot camp train your thinking make yourself do what God wants you to do never forget him because he's the author and finisher of our faith and without his Spirit we will fall short without his word we will fail as well let's develop not only or have not only the desire to be in God's kingdom but let's desire and have the will to prepare to be in his kingdom Thank You mr. Chevy well if you take your hymnals and please stand we have one last opportunity to sing our praises to our great creator page 26 oh god we have heard page 26 and afterwards we'll be bled in the closing prayer by mr. Joshua amido age 26 [Music]

Channel: United Church of God Orlando

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Length: 68min 22sec (4102 seconds)

Published: Sat Oct 06 2018