Colossians 3
Putting Off the Old to Put On the New!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Monday, December 7.
Have you ever seen a house roof where the owners kept putting on layers of new shingles without taking off the old?
If you don’t put off before you put on, you may still end up with a leaky roof! You have to get underneath the surface.
Listen to Paul teach about putting off in Colossians 3:8-10: “In these you too once walked, when you were living in them. But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.”
Just like with a new roof, the new life in Christ is a partnership with the Holy Spirit to take off the old, deal with what is underneath the surface, and put on the new!
Here’s are three daily steps to remember:
- INVITE THE HOLY SPIRIT! Recognize you can’t do it on your own so invite the God to be your general contractor. Pray!
- GET INTO GOD’S WORD! It is through the Bible that the Holy Spirit will direct your steps, ensuring the old is taken off and the new is being put on according to God’s plans.
- MAKE A COMMITMENT! Remain faithful day in and day out during this construction project. This is a long slow obedience in the same direction. Don’t bail before the blessing!
Seize the moment and live in God’s grace! We can do nothing apart from Him.
If you would like to receive a personal phone call today, all you have to do is dial the phone number below right now and one of us will call you soon.
YOUTUBE:
Read more...
The Promises of Christmas – Week 2
“The Promise of Love!”
Galatians 4:4-7 & 1 John 3:1-3 (NAS95)
Christmas is the true story of the first royal visitation of Jesus Christ!
I want you to think about how upside down the story of Jesus’ birth really is, especially, when you think about who Jesus is and claimed to be. Jesus claimed to be, and is, in fact, nothing less than the Son of God, the second person of the Trinity, the incarnate God, the Savior of the World.
That alone, the fact that this person came to earth for a royal visitation, is enough to shake the foundations of the world, but the Christmas story is not only miraculous—for the incarnation and the Virgin birth are supernatural in and of themselves are enough to stop the presses and cause a collective sigh throughout all of history—but the Christmas story is also upside down because of the scandal of who God chose to be the main players of this story:
- A poor rural teenage girl from a backwater village gets pregnant before she is married (add an angelic visitation to the virgin birth announcement to add some legitimacy).
- A hardworking Carpenter wants to break off his engagement to his fiancé because she is the aforementioned unwed pregnant teenage girl who, also, said that an angel visited her (add another angelic visitation to the story to keep him in the relationship).
- A parallel miracle happens as the closed womb of the aged Elizabeth is opened, which harkens back to the miracle of Abraham and Sarah (add another angelic visitation to Zacharias, who didn’t believe the angel and was struck mute until it was fulfilled with the birth of John the Baptizer).
- Fast forward 9 months to the angelic visitation to the shepherds who were the first to come and worship Jesus the Christ, born in an animal stall, placed in a manger, and wrapped in the not-so-royal swaddling cloths. He was, literally, born in a barn.
Does this sound like what the royal visitation of God should be like? Really!?!
Jesus should have been born to an important family in an important location. There should have been no scandal around his parentage or birth location, and the first witnesses should have at least been a class of people who could testify in court (side note: isn’t it interesting how shepherds were God’s chosen first witnesses to Jesus’ birth and women were God’s chosen first witnesses to Jesus’ resurrection?).
You couldn’t make up a story as ridiculous and as unbelievable as this one. If this was a religious conspiracy to take over the world, then it is a horrible one! Amazingly, this IS the story of the royal visitation of God to His creation! I would have made it a big deal, filled it with pomp and circumstances, with important people in important places, and notable eyewitnesses.
The miracle of Jesus’ birth is not only found in the incarnation and virgin birth, but also in its scandal to the power structures of those God came to save and redeem. The fact that it happened in a way that no powerful person would want the story of his or her birth to be told is evidence unto itself! Let’s be honest, Christmas is a scandal of epic proportions to the powers and principalities of this world! Christmas was very different on purpose!
That’s because Christmas was not a power play, like Caesar’s census. Caesar wanted to show the world how powerful he was by counting how many people were under his authority. Rather, Christmas is a love story where God entered into His creation, compelled by love, to become one of His people in order to save and redeem His people back to Himself.
Paul explains this in Galatians 4:4-7,
But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. Because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” Therefore you are no longer a slave, but a son; and if a son, then an heir through God.
The unbelievable reality of the first royal visitation of God is that “God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him” (John 3:16-17).
Christmas is about God’s love and the promise of His adoption into His family! The Father sent His Son into the world so that we can share with Jesus in having God as our “Abba! Father!”.
Love compelled God that first Christmas! John declares in 1 John 3:1-3,
See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God; and such we are. For this reason the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is. And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.
Love still compels God and His love compels us to live according to the promise of Christmas, the promise of Immanuel, God is with us—the Love of God has come to redeem us! Listen to this powerful explanation:
In like manner, we should be compelled by the love of Christ. If our reading of Scripture, as illumined and applied by the Spirit, does not release the compelling love of Christ in us and through us, then our hearts are not right with God, and our service constitutes nothing more than ashes upon a rusty altar! For it is not our love to Christ that is in view here, but rather it is the love of Christ working in us—mastering, driving, and compelling us. It is the love of God “poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us” (Rom. 5:5). Such compelling love never flags, never falters, never fails. It is “the expulsive power of a new affection.”[1]
We learn that the promise of love, like all of God’s promises, comes with the praxis to love in 1 John 4:7-21:
Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love. By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has seen God at any time; if we love one another, God abides in us, and His love is perfected in us. By this we know that we abide in Him and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. We have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son to be the Savior of the world. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. By this, love is perfected with us, so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment; because as He is, so also are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love. We love, because He first loved us. If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from Him, that the one who loves God should love his brother also.
These are the promises of Christmas—that we would walk in the same love of God’s first royal visitation. Every promise of God comes with a praxis—a lifestyle that was modeled by Jesus Christ for us to walk in. Jesus is the greatest example of love this world has ever been given. We should do likewise!
Paul teaches us about Jesus’ example of surrendering all for love in Philippians 2:5-11:
Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Jesus emptied Himself by coming from Heaven to earth to show us the only way to the Father for He is the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6). This is the promise of the first royal visitation and we are still awaiting its completion when Jesus will return. Until that Day, we are to empty ourselves so that His love can fill us.
Jesus taught us love by intentionally turning the world upside down with the love of God and introducing His Kingdom—the upside-down Kingdom where the conquering King comes through the virgin womb of a teenage bride.
Jesus invites us to turn the world upside down by loving and living like Jesus did—as witnesses of the upside-down Kingdom; the same way that the conquering King defeated the principalities and powers of this world, by allowing them to crucify Him upon that rugged old cross. Jesus was compelled by love to pay the price for our redemption—He gave us His all—He surrendered all so that what had been turned upside down could now be filled with a new life, a new love!
The key to understanding Jesus’ first royal visitation was that from the beginning to the end, it was intended to turn you upside down so that you could be emptied of your pride; so that, you can be filled with love!
We are still waiting for Jesus’ second royal visitation. Until that Day, we are called to love one another on earth as it is in Heaven—to continue the work of the upside down Kingdom, the proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, as misunderstood and opposed as it is by the powers and principalities of this world.
We are invited to turn the world upside down through His revolutionary love of Jesus Christ that came to earth in the womb of a poor rural teenage girl named Mary who risked everything with these faithful words of full surrender: “Behold, the bondslave of the Lord; may it be done to me according to your word” (Luke 1:38).
Footnotes:
[1] Stephen F. Olford and David L. Olford, Anointed Expository Preaching (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1998), 301.
You can listen to the message here:
You can watch to the message HERE.
Read more...
Christmas Hymn: Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee
Christmas Hymn: Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee
One of my favorite versions of this song comes from the movie, “Sister Act 2”, adding some soulful singing and a gospel choir, they brought the audience to their feet. When they were done, someone said “I have never heard or seen it sung with such joy and enthusiasm! It was as if they meant every word they were singing.”
YOUTUBE:
God of glory, Lord of love;
Hearts unfold like flow’rs before You,
Op’ning to the sun above.
Melt the clouds of sin and sadness;
Drive the dark of doubt away;
Giver of immortal gladness,
Fill us with the light of day!
Earth and heav’n reflect Your rays,
Stars and angels sing around You,
Center of unbroken praise;
Field and forest, vale and mountain,
Flow’ry meadow, flashing sea,
Chanting bird and flowing fountain
Praising You eternally!
Ever blessing, ever blest,
Well-spring of the joy of living,
Ocean-depth of happy rest!
Loving Father, Christ our Brother,
Let Your light upon us shine;
Teach us how to love each other,
Lift us to the joy divine.
Which the morning stars began;
God’s own love is reigning o’er us,
Joining people hand in hand.
Ever singing, march we onward,
Victors in the midst of strife;
Joyful music leads us sunward
In the triumph song of life.
Read more...
Colossians 2
Religion or Relationship?
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Friday, December 4.
It is my greatest desire that you will be a follower of Jesus!
Paul explains in Colossians 2:20-23, “If you have died with Christ to the elementary principles of the world, why, as if you were living in the world, do you submit yourself to decrees, such as, ‘Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch!’ (which all refer to things destined to perish with use)—in accordance with the commandments and teachings of men? These are matters which have, to be sure, the appearance of wisdom in self-made religion and self-abasement and severe treatment of the body, but are of no value against fleshly indulgence.”
Paul states the uselessness of “self-made religion,” and to be completely transparent, I’m not interested in leading us in, or passing on to others, that which does not work, simply for the sake of tradition. Only Jesus saves!
So, as Paul did for the followers of Jesus in Colossae, I pray Paul’s prayer from Colossians 2:6-10 for you today: “Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude. See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ. For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form, and in Him you have been made complete, and He is the head over all rule and authority.”
Seize the moment and follow Jesus. Spend time with Him today.
May we each, through time spent with the Living God in prayer and study of His Word, know the difference between the trappings of man-made religion and the promises of God-given relationship.
If you would like to receive a personal phone call today, all you have to do is dial the phone number below right now and one of us will call you soon.
YOUTUBE:
Read more...
Colossians 1
Prominent or Preeminent?
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Thursday, December 3.
This morning, I want to introduce you to a big word we rarely use: preeminent.
Listen to Paul use this word in Colossians 1:15-20, “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.”
In other translations, “preeminent” is replaced by, “first place in everything” and “supremacy.”
In other words, to be preeminent means that God wins in all things and His ways rule the world.
Is Jesus prominent in a few areas of your life or preeminent over your life? Another way to ask that question is: Do you want to be a fan or a follower of Jesus?
There is a chasm between the two. One leads to rest and the other to frustration. One is under grace and the other is under the law.
Jesus always has been and always will be preeminent. The question is to what extent you acknowledge that and live according to what you say you believe.
Seize the moment and fully surrender to Jesus’ preeminence.
If you would like to receive a personal phone call today, all you have to do is dial the phone number below right now and one of us will call you soon.
YOUTUBE:
Read more...
Philippians 4
Spiritual Nutrition!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Wednesday, December 2.
Nutrition is important—not only in your physical diet, but, also, in your spiritual life.
Just like it matters what you put into your body through your mouth, it matters what you put into your mind, heart, and soul through your eyes and ears. It matters what you think about, what you say, and what you do.
Let’s learn from the final chapter of Paul’s letter to the Philippians some spiritual nutrition guidelines to live by if you want to be a healthy person:
- SERVE EVERYTHING UP WITH JOY! Paul testifies in Philippians 4:4, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.”
- SALT EVERYTHING WITH THANKFULNESS! Paul commands in verses 6-7, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
- THINK HEALTHY THOUGHTS! Paul teaches in verse 8, “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.”
- BE SATISFIED WITH YOU HAVE BEEN SERVED! Paul witnesses in verses 12-13, “I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me.”
- TRUST GOD FOR YOUR DAILY BREAD! Paul concludes with verse 19, “And my God will supply every need of yours according to the riches in glory in Christ Jesus.”
Seize the moment and focus on your spiritual nutrition!
What shapes your steady diet?
If you would like to receive a personal phone call today, all you have to do is dial the phone number below right now and one of us will call you soon.
YOUTUBE:
Read more...
Philippians 3
Press On!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Tuesday, December 1.
Did you know that today is day #259 of these daily phone calls? Pastor Ken and I are 100% committed to persevering with you through this pandemic and through this second surge and through the holidays and into 2021.
One of the psychological tests the Army would do in the US Army Ranger School would be to give us false finish lines and then push us past them. This was done in various ways, whether in pushing us through very long nights and days of movements with heavy equipment loads on our backs or on routine runs that did not end when expected or hours on the rocks training our bodies. All of this physical work, was really mental work, training us to persevere and be resilient.
You may not know this, but the book of Philippians was my favorite book in the Bible when I was going through Ranger School. We may not be in a military school right now, but today’s reading from Paul is essential to our Christian lives in the midst of this Covid-19 pandemic. Paul teaches us in Philippians 3:10-14:
I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
Seize the moment and press on to the goal of becoming like Jesus! Now is a great opportunity; don’t waste it! Persevere!
If you would like to receive a personal phone call today, all you have to do is dial the phone number below right now and one of us will call you soon.
YOUTUBE:
Read more...
Philippians 2
Walk like Jesus Walked!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Monday, November 30.
The Christ Hymn of the New Testament church was recorded by Paul in Philippians 2:5-11:
Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Based upon Jesus’ example, Paul calls maturing Christians to a life of humility and love in Philippians 2:14-18:
Do all things without grumbling or disputing, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain. Even if I am to be poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrificial offering of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all. Likewise you also should be glad and rejoice with me.
Seize the moment and ask the Holy Spirit to help you walk faithfully with Jesus today.
That looks like:
- Doing all things without grumbling and disputing (14)
- Rather, walking blamelessly and innocently in the world so that you can shine (15)
- Holding fast to Jesus and the Bible—the Word of life (16)
- So that you can love God and love people for the glory of God (17)
If you would like to receive a personal phone call today, all you have to do is dial the phone number below right now and one of us will call you soon.
YOUTUBE:
Read more...
The Promises of Christmas – Week 1
1st Sunday of Advent
“The Promise of Hope!”
John 1:1-14 (NAS95)
Hope is a “trustful anticipation, particularly with reference to the fulfillment of the promises of God” (International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, Revised, 751).
“Hope is, therefore, not irrational, but rather is based upon God, who has proven himself faithful. Biblical hope is hope in what God will do in the future. At the heart of Christian hope is the resurrection of Jesus” (Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible, 997).
“If we have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are of all men most to be pitied.”
Christian hope is not a misplaced belief in our human ability to work for a utopian life here and now—as we are all learning, no amount of political ideology or medical science is going to save us, nor will greater education or a larger economy is not going to save us, our jobs or recreation, our families or friends, or anything else can save us. Progress is not the hope we thought it was!
God’s severe mercies have occurred throughout history, time and time again, to teach humanity that there is only One in whom we can hope. Currently, this contemporary outpouring of mercy has left many depressed and aimless as God teaches us the One object of biblical hope.
I am here to proclaim that it is for this very reason that we celebrate Christmas, year after year! Hope in Christ is the currency of heaven that entered creation in such a novel way that we are still searching for ways to express this miracle of Christmas. It was at the first Christmas that the object of Christian hope came into focus in a way that was unlike anything that had ever a happened in history—it is the miracle of the incarnation—Emmanuel—God is with us! We celebrate His first coming and we anticipate a time in which He will come again!
The scripture passage for the first Sunday of Advent is from John 1:1-14:
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. There came a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness, to testify about the Light, so that all might believe through him. He was not the Light, but he came to testify about the Light. There was the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man. He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.
This is the mystery of the incarnation—the hope of Christmas—the hope of Christianity—the hope of humanity! Christmas celebrates the coming of a living hope—the hope of Jesus Christ!
Allow me to share with you a guiding image for the incarnation:
As a magnifying glass concentrates the rays of the sun into a light burning knot of heat that can set fire to a dry leaf or a piece of paper, so the mystery of Christ in the Gospel concentrates the rays of God’s light and fire to a point that sets fire to the spirit of man. And this is why Christ was born and lived in the world and died and returned from death and ascended to His Father in heaven … Through the glass of His incarnation He concentrates the rays of His Divine Truth and Love upon us so that we feel the burn, and all [spiritual] experience is communicated to [people] through the Man Christ. (Thomas Merton, New Seeds of Contemplation, 150).
The union of God and man is the focusing of God’s way, truth, and life to humanity. As Jesus explained in John 14:6, “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.”
Listen to an ancient witness express the importance of this truth, writing in the voice of Christ:
Follow Me. I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Without the Way, there is no going. Without the Truth, there is no knowing. Without the Life, there is no living. I am the Way which you must follow, the Truth which you must believe, the Life for which you must hope. I am the inviolable Way, the infallible Truth, the unending Life. I am the Way that is straight, the supreme Truth, the Life that is true, the blessed, the uncreated Life. If you abide in My Way you shall know the Truth, and the Truth shall make you free, and you shall attain life everlasting (Thomas à Kempis, The Imitation of Christ, 219).
Furthermore, Peter teaches us in 2 Peter 1:2-4 of this miracle of our union with Christ, made only possible because of God making Himself known to us in such a concentrated form as the Christ:
Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature…
To fulfill His promise, God takes the miraculous step towards us and that is the miracle of Christmas—this is our hope—God is with us! He came in the flesh and for a special relationship with His people. So that, we may partake in the divine nature.
“remember that you were at that time separate from Christ, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.”
But God, being rich in mercy, proclaimed in a new way these ancient words: “I will be your God and you will be my people” (Mike Beaumont and Martin Manser, The Handbook of Bible Promises, 23–24). Jesus Christ came to unite us to God in fulfillment to His ancient covenants.
“I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your descendants after you.”
“Then I will take you for My people, and I will be your God; and you shall know that I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.”
“You shall be My people, And I will be your God.”
This has always been the message of God to His people and it is the concentrated focus of why God came in human form so that we know Jesus as the way, the truth, and the life, the only way to the Father (John 14:6).
“For we are the temple of the living God; just as God said, ‘I will dwell in them and walk among them; And I will be their God, and they shall be My people.’”
In fact, the Bible ends, with this subject as the focus of the Revelation 21:3-7,
And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.” And He who sits on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” And He said, “Write, for these words are faithful and true.” Then He said to me, “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost. “He who overcomes will inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be My son.
This is the promise of God being with us! And unlike promises and contracts that mean nothing to people in today’s world, God’s promise of special relationship (covenant) has been legally ratified through a blood sacrifice—the shed blood of Jesus Christ on the Cross of Calvary.
This promise was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary, but then (the promises cannot be limited to Christmas alone!), Jesus suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. The third day He arose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty, when He shall come to judge the living and the dead. Apart from this creed—our faith—we have no hope for the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting.
This is our faith and our only hope—Christ is the most clearly visible, most concentrated focus of Light that pierces our hearts with God’s love! Let us bring Him into focus for all to see this Advent season because Jesus, the Christ of Christmas, is the reason for the season.
You can listen to the message here:
You can watch to the message HERE.
Read more...
Christmas Hymn: O Come, All Ye Faithful
Christmas Hymn: O Come, All Ye Faithful
Tomorrow begins the Advent Season, so we will focus on the hymns of Christmas in the upcoming weeks.
John Francis Wade fled England because of the Jacobean rebellion. As a refugee, he needed to find a way to make a living. He started teaching music and copying music and hymns for private use, since everything had to be scripted by hand. He took the Latin text of Adeste Fideles and put it to music and published it in 1743. It quickly became prominent Christmas hymn of the Roman Catholic church, being brought back to England from France as English Catholics returned.
An Anglican minister named Rev. Frederick Oakeley, came across Wade’s Christmas carol while he was preaching at Margaret Street Chapel in London. In 1845, Oakeley translated the song to O Come, all Ye Faithful, Joyful and Triumphant!
Both of these men had a deep love for Christmas and for hymns, and though they lived a hundred years apart, they both wanted to proclaim the message to everyone…Come, joyful and triumphant, and the adore Him born the king of angels!
Decide today that you are going to WAKE UP every morning during this advent season and be determined to share the joy of the season and the message of love that came to us over 2000 years ago!
YOUTUBE:
O come, all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant,
O come ye, O come ye, to Bethlehem. Come
and behold him, born the King of angels;
Refrain: O come, let us adore him, O come,
let us adore him, O come, let us adore him,
Christ the Lord.
sing, all ye citizens of heaven above! Glory
to God, all glory in the highest.
Yea, Lord, we greet thee, born this happy
morning, Jesus, to thee be all glory given.
Word of the Father, now in flesh appearing.
Refrain.
Read more...
Philippians 1
Walking in the Promises of God!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Friday, November 27.
Paul starts with a promise from God in Philippians 1:6: “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.”
Paul moves to prayer in verses 9-11: “And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.”
Paul then gives us some perspective in verse 12: “I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel.”
Paul finally gives us the plan in verse 21: “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”
In life, all four of these elements are important to living the victorious life in Christ:
- a promise to claim;
- a prayer to pray;
- the right perspective on circumstances; and
- a plan to walk in.
Without one of these four elements you may find yourself overwhelmed by an anxious mind or fearful heart, aimless in your life, and buried in your circumstances. It is my desire to help you choose the better way—the way of the Spirit, which is the crucified life in Christ.
When we live by the promises of God we truly walk in union with Jesus Christ and experience God’s best for our lives. As Peter promised us in 2 Peter 1:4, “For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature.” This is God’s will for our lives!
Seize the moment and walk in the promises of God.
If you would like to receive a personal phone call today, all you have to do is dial the phone number below right now and one of us will call you soon.
YOUTUBE:
Read more...
Ephesians 6
The Proactive Prayers and Petitions of Thanksgiving!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Thursday, November 26. Happy Thanksgiving!
Paul teaches us in Ephesians 6:18, “And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.”
What a beautiful passage! It is a partner passage to Philippians 4:6-7, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.”
Both of these Scriptures exhort us to use prayer as an offensive, proactive weapon in the Spirit of God. We have been equipped to face any giant because we remember that the battle belongs to the Lord. We simply get to be witnesses to His faithfulness!
Never forget that the context of Ephesians 6:18 is putting on the full armor of God.
So, how do we join with God in this battle for the hearts and minds of individuals, families, communities, and nations?
We have to make sure we are only using the weapons of the Spirit so that you can stand firm on the Rock of Jesus Christ:
- Praying in the Spirit on all occasions;
- Making petitions and requests in everything; and
- Giving thanks to God in all of our prayers, petitions, and requests.
Let me summarize these in one statement: “The Proactive Prayers and Petitions of Thanksgiving are our greatest weapon!”
We so often forget that thankfulness is not a reactive emotional response to our circumstances, but, rather, our proactive awareness of God’s faithfulness in everything.
Seize the moment and pray in the Spirit on all occasions through the proactive prayers and petitions of thanksgiving! Your thanksgiving is your continual praise to God!
If you would like to receive a personal phone call today, all you have to do is dial the phone number below right now and one of us will call you soon.
YOUTUBE:
Read more...
Ephesians 5
Be a Wake-up Call!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Wednesday, November 25.
Have you ever been asleep and someone turns on the light in the room? It definitely wakes you up!
Paul teaches us in Ephesians 5:8-14, “For at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret. But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible, for anything that becomes visible is light. This is why it is said, ‘Wake up, O sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.’”
Darkness is a lack of the true substance—light! Before Christ, we all were darkness. The Bible teaches us that before Jesus we were cut off from God—literally “dead in [our] transgressions”, but in Jesus we are the light of the world because we are now “alive with Christ” (Ephesians 2:4, 5).
Thank you Jesus for loving us so much that He would take our death (our darkness) for us so that we can share in His life (His light)—we are now the light to the world only because He is the light of the world (Matthew 5:14-16)! He is alive in us. We have gone from death to life!
Just like when the light is turned on in that dark room and you go from being asleep to suddenly awake, Christians are saved to be a wake up call to the world proclaiming, “wake up, O sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”
Seize the moment and be a wake-up call to all you encounter! Shine!
If you would like to receive a personal phone call today, all you have to do is dial the phone number below right now and one of us will call you soon.
YOUTUBE:
Read more...
Ephesians 4
Walk in a Manner Worthy!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Tuesday, November 24.
Are you walking in a manner worthy of the calling of Jesus Christ?
Paul says in Ephesians 4:1-3, “I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”
The Koine Greek word translated “worthy” means “fitting or proper in corresponding to what should be expected—proper, properly, fitting, worthy of, correspond to.”
So, when Paul exhorts us to walk in a manner worthy of the calling, he is saying: ensure your life corresponds with the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Do you live like someone who has been saved? When people see you, do they think of God’s grace—do they see Jesus?
Speaking of grace, a major emphasis of Paul’s writing is that we can’t do this on our own power, but under the authority, or power, of the Holy Spirit.
From Ephesians 4:1-3, Paul gives some criteria to know whether you are walking in a manner worthy of the new life we have been given by God’s grace through Jesus Christ:
- Humility
- Gentleness
- Patience
- Bearing with one another in love
- Eager to maintain unity of the Spirit
- Eager to maintain the bond of peace
Interestingly, there are some intersections between these criteria and Paul’s fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22-23.
So, how are you doing in your walk? Does your life demonstrate Monday-Saturday what you proclaim when you gather as His Church on Sundays? This is our faith and our witness.
Seize the moment and walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called.
If you would like to receive a personal phone call today, all you have to do is dial the phone number below right now and one of us will call you soon.
YOUTUBE:
Read more...
Ephesians 3
Praying Big Prayers!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Monday, November 23.
Paul prays big prayers for the congregation in Ephesus in Ephesians 3:14-21:
For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God. Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.
Through Jesus Christ’s sacrificial death on the Cross of Calvary we are invited—commanded—to approach the throne of grace boldly, with confidence. We are to pray big prayers according to the revelation we have been given of our God.
I have heard many people say they don’t pray big prayers because they think God has more important things to take care. That kind of attitude shows our lack of understanding of God’s perfection and immensity, and that is why Paul prays for you to know how BIG God is—intimately and thoroughly. Paul prays for you to filled with all the fullness of God. These are big prayers; are you praying big prayers for your family, church, community, and world?
I’m praying big prayers for you and Jesus’ Church. Would you join me in prayer?
Seize the moment and pray God’s Word today. Pray the promises of God.
If you would like to receive a personal phone call today, all you have to do is dial the phone number below right now and one of us will call you soon.
YOUTUBE:
Read more...
Responding to Jesus by Giving Thanks – Week 4
A Table of Blessing
A Little History: The pilgrims did not have it easy on that first trip. They landed in November near Plymouth Rock and had no time to prepare for winter. They had to rely on whatever they could find by foraging and getting by on what they could find.
Governor Bradford proclaimed a time of celebration after their first harvest.
In Psalm 9, David writes,
I will thank you, Lord, with all my heart;
I will tell of all the marvelous things you have done.
I will be filled with joy because of you.
I will sing praises to your name, O Most High.
I will praise the Lord at all times.
I will constantly speak his praises.
I will boast only in the Lord;
let all who are discouraged take heart.
Come, let us tell of the Lord’s greatness;
let us exalt his name together.I prayed to the Lord, and he answered me.
freeing me from all my fears.
Testimony: The Upchurch Family (5:36)
Psalm 66
Shout joyful praises to God, all the earth!
Sing about the glory of his name!
Tell the world how glorious he is.
Say to God, “How awesome are your deeds!
Your enemies cringe before your mighty power.
Everything on earth will worship you;
they will sing your praises,
shouting your name in glorious songs.”Come and see what our God has done,
what awesome miracles he performs for people!
Give Thanks for all those around us!
We do it all for Jesus!
I do nothing for the applause of man, but I do everything for the applause of his nail scarred hands.
We have been in this facility for almost 16 years. (31:34)
We began in a house in 1910 and now, for many of you, you are back in your house!
We have lost some of our saints this week. (34:00)
But we celebrate! We know where they are.
You can listen to the message here:
You can watch to the message HERE.
Read more...
Hymn: Come, Ye Thankful People, Come
Hymn: Come, Ye Thankful People, Come
“It is good to give thanks to the Lord,
to sing praises to your name, O Most High” (ESV)
The first thanksgiving was decreed by Governor Bradford in 1621 in honor of the pilgrims’ harvest. But it wasn’t until 1941 that Congress passed a bill proclaiming the fourth Thursday of each November as Thanksgiving Day. And this hymn has become a tradition of this holiday. So what is the history of this hymn?
Henry Alford was born in 1810, and was raised by his Anglican clergy father and grandfather to have a special love for God’s Word. He became a renowned biblical scholar, earning his degree from Cambridge. He was later assigned to be the vicar of a small parish and connected well with the people there because he had a knack for explaining things in a way the simple people could understand.
He wrote this hymn to celebrate the beautiful harvest festival in the English countryside. He wanted everyone to join in, recognizing the glory of God’s breathtaking creation and lovingly responding to a faithful God with praise!
Wake up and recognize all that God has done in your life! Why? Because a thankful heart is pleasing to God!
“Come, ye thankful people, come!Raise the song of harvest home.All is safely gathered in, ere the winter storms begin;God our maker doth provide, for our wants to be supplied.”
YOUTUBE:
raise the song of harvest home;
all is safely gathered in,
ere the winter storms begin.
God our Maker doth provide
for our wants to be supplied;
come to God’s own temple, come,
raise the song of harvest home.
fruit as praise to God we yield;
wheat and tares together sown
are to joy or sorrow grown;
first the blade and then the ear,
then the full corn shall appear;
Lord of harvest, grant that we
wholesome grain and pure may be.
and shall take the harvest home;
from the field shall in that day
all offenses purge away,
giving angels charge at last
in the fire the tares to cast;
but the fruitful ears to store
in the garner evermore.
bring thy final harvest home;
gather thou thy people in,
free from sorrow, free from sin,
there, forever purified,
in thy presence to abide;
come, with all thine angels, come,
raise the glorious harvest home.
Read more...
Ephesians 2
The Gift of Hope!
Early this morning, as I was spending time with the Lord, in His Word and in prayer, I received the sad news that our beloved sister in the Lord, Gay, passed away. Please join me in praying for her family and friends as we all grieve this loss. Also, please join me in praying for the family and friends of our beloved sister Vee Ann who passed away last week. I will be conducting her service tomorrow morning. While we grieve our losses, let us surround these families with faith, hope, and love.
We all need faith, hope, and love in these dark days so let us turn to God’s Word for the living hope—Jesus Christ.
Listen to Ephesians 2:4-9, “But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.”
The only hope that will never disappoint us is our hope in God’s love to us through faith in Jesus Christ. “But God”, those two words in Scripture change everything. Never forget those two words, no matter how difficult your trials and tribulations, “but God”…
Death – but God
Disease – but God
Depression – but God
Disappointment – but God
COVID-19 – but God
Seize the moment and rest in the promises of God for your life and the lives of your loved ones. Whatever giant you may be facing today, “but God”… This is the gift of hope!
If you would like to receive a personal phone call today, all you have to do is dial the phone number below right now and one of us will call you soon.
YOUTUBE:
Read more...
Ephesians 1
Thankful to be Blessed!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Thursday, November 19.
I’ve noticed that more and more people are using the word “Blessed!” to describe themselves, their families, and their situations.
Listen to how Paul starts off his letter to the Ephesians in 1:3, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.”
In the NIV, the first “blessed” is translated “Praise” as in “Praise be to the God and Father…” That should tell us something right away about this rich word.
It is true and right for a Christian to say they are blessed; for in Christ we have every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. This is an amazing truth of God’s Word and one of the promises of God to us! Praise be to God who has done this and given this gift to us!
What does it mean to be blessed? It means that we are forgiven and adopted by the Father, redeemed through the shed blood of Jesus Christ, and sealed by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Please keep reading Ephesians 1:3-14 to learn more.
Jesus Christ has blessed us, brought us to God, by taking all the curses of God that we deserve for our sin onto Himself and has given us His relationship with God—His righteousness (2 Corinthians 5:21). In Christ, God will never withhold any blessing from you because you rightfully and legally belong to Him as an adopted son with right of inheritance as one of His chosen people.
That is a Good Father. This is your heavenly blessing as a child of God!
Seize the moment and be thankful: you have been blessed to be a blessing!
If you would like to receive a personal phone call today, all you have to do is dial the phone number below right now and one of us will call you soon.
YOUTUBE:
Read more...
Galatians 6
The Right Time for Right Relationships!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Wednesday, November 18.
Have you ever had a hard time with relationships?
Paul exhorts us in Galatians 6:1-2, “Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted.”
Let me highlight three simple principles to help us have right relationships:
- “ANYONE” means every person and “ANY TRANSGRESSION” means any and all offenses which you can think or imagine. We need to make a premeditated decision to forgive and grant grace to people.
- We are called to restore the person “in a spirit of gentleness.” Gentleness is a fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22, 23) which means if you feel like you can’t do this all the time every time, you are right! God invites you to submit to His Spirit and let Him love people through you! As Christians, we don’t represent ourselves or our self-interest; we represent Jesus and the Kingdom of God.
- Focus on being healthy. Right now, people are ¾ of the way to a meltdown and we are all feeling it. I truly believe many people are walking around looking like they have it all together, but at the moment, they have the emotional intelligence of a teenager. Paul says, “Keep watch on yourself, lest you be tempted.” We are called to be emotionally and spiritually intelligent enough to rise above the hot mess of our circumstances to be different; to not give ourselves over to the offenses and irresponsible behaviors of the people around us.
With all that is happening, right now is the right time to focus on right relationships!
Seize the moment and remain faithful to God and others.
Have a wonderful day!
If you would like to receive a personal phone call today, all you have to do is dial the phone number below right now and one of us will call you soon.
YOUTUBE:
Read more...
Galatians 5
True Freedom!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Tuesday, November 17.
What does the Bible say about our freedom?
Paul explains in Galatians 5:1, “For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.”
From what has Christ set us free? In one word: sin. Sin is rebellion against God and His revealed will for our lives. The Bible teaches us that we all have gone our own way and done what it is right in our own eyes and that prevents us from being members of His household (Romans 3:23). You see, sin separates us from God and from the true freedom He has for us.
Sin breaks relationships! That’s the bad news, but what is the good news?
But, when we confess our sin, and turn away from its control of our lives by surrendering to Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we receive eternal life and are set free from sin; we are now forgiven to live a new way—“the new way of the Spirit” (Romans 7:6).
In a renewed relationship with God!
In Galatians 5:13-14, Paul says it this way, “For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’”
Love! Love is the test of your freedom! The test of your freedom is how you walk in the Spirit which is most clearly made visible in how you think about and treat other people.
True freedom is the freedom to live and love in healthy relationships—first with God and then with others.
Seize the moment and walk in true freedom—Love God and love people!
Have a wonderful day!
If you would like to receive a personal phone call today, all you have to do is dial the phone number below right now and one of us will call you soon.
YOUTUBE:
Read more...
Galatians 4
Live the Real Deal!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Monday, November 16.
Do you know how bankers learn the difference between real money and counterfeit bills?
They study the real thing so that they know what is right and true.
In the same way, Paul calls us not to live according to the “elementary principles of the world”, but according to the Word of God. Listen to Galatians 4:3-7:
In the same way we also, when we were children, were enslaved to the elementary principles of the world. But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” So, you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.
Listen to three contrasts between the counterfeit and the real:
Press into God so you can know the real from the counterfeit?
Seize the moment and live for the real deal—you are not a slave to fear, you are a child of God!
Have a wonderful day!
If you would like to receive a personal phone call today, all you have to do is dial the phone number below right now and one of us will call you soon.
YOUTUBE:
Read more...
Responding to Jesus by Giving Thanks – Week 3
“The Perfect Prayer for All Circumstances!”
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (NAS95)
Let me just confess, up front, that I have been tested on this sermon… every step of the way this week. I am preaching this message to you as a fellow learner of the Way of Jesus. So much has been going on and frankly, not a lot of it has been praiseworthy. As we approach this teaching, I do so with humility towards its application, but with conviction of its truth!
Please pray with me…
I was taught that when you don’t know what to pray, then you say the most important two words you can say to God—“Thank You!” Thanksgiving is worship!
“Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”
Today, I am going to emphasize and try to make sense of “in everything give thanks” because Paul teaches us that “this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” As hard and nonsensical as this command sounds, Paul backs it up with a statement that cannot be denied… it is the will of God to give thanks in everything.
“For this is the will of God, your sanctification.”
There is that big statement again, “the will of God”… but this time, it is for our sanctification!
Let’s play the wonderful systematic theology game called “connect the dots”: our ability to give thanks in all circumstances is connected to our sanctification. Here is the interpretation that has a built in application: I cannot fulfill the will of God to give thanks in all circumstances apart from the consecrating work of God to make me holy unto His plans and purposes—my sanctification. The only way to pray the perfect prayer of thanksgiving in all circumstance—to cultivate the attitude of gratitude—is by being in union with Christ, yoked to His easy yoke and light burden, abiding in His vine, carrying my cross, built on the rock…
“But we should always give thanks to God for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth.”
This is getting deep! How deep are you willing to dive into God’s Word? Our ability to give thanks always for all the people who are the beloved brethren of the church is not dependent on our abilities, but is connected to the reality that we, each one of us, are the chosen of God, who have been set apart/consecrated for this purpose by the Spirit and faith in the truth.
Thankfulness is a work of God’s Spirit that has been gifted to us and is being worked out in us through the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit as walk by faith and not by sight.
Let’s follow the logic loop here and see the importance of this to our discipleship: God’s will for my life is that I pray without ceasing while always rejoicing and giving thanks to God in all circumstances. This is possible because God’s will for my life is my sanctification, which is God’s work to choose me and set my life apart, make me holy, consecrated for God’s plans and purposes, for His glory and my good. When I am able to sincerely pray the perfect prayer, it is because I am on the journey of sanctification! Therefore, the more I can honestly say “Thank you” to God in all my circumstances the more God is at work in me for His glory.
“Thank. You. Those two hallowed words reverently dictate what you ought to be, what you can be, what you will be. They are your rallying points to build courage when courage seems to fail, to regain faith when there seems to be little cause for faith, to create hope when hope becomes forlorn.”[1]
Your sanctified self, the best version of you to the glory of God, is always giving thanks and always rejoicing because the more we seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness (Matthew 6:33), the more we will then trust that God is working all things together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purposes (Romans 8:28)!
“For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son.”
Do you know the big fancy word for being conformed to the image of His Son? Sanctification!
The ability to pray the perfect prayer is intimately connected to God’s perfecting work in our lives. It’s that simple. Our gratitude and ability to intimately express it to God is a shining light to God’s glory in us—the reality that we are in union with the One to whom we give thanks!
“Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!”
Does it sound impossible to give thanks in all circumstances? Does it sound impossible to pray the perfect prayer every time in every situation?
“Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass.”
Say “Thank You” to the One who can bring about His will in your life in every circumstance. Turn to Him each and every time. He invites us to complete surrender—absolute dependence.
That is what this is about—it is about a life-perspective that looks for the opportunity to be a part of God’s perfect and pleasing will in all things, but it requires an emptying of self, a forsaking of the paradigm—my will be done. You have heard me say: “every crisis is an opportunity.” That is truth, but it requires a sanctified mind to see that truth and believe it in the way we respond.
“Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.”
What does it mean that this presenting of yourself as a “living and holy sacrifice” is “your spiritual service of worship”? It is the ultimate commitment of praying the perfect prayer no matter what—it is faith in God and trust in His will; it is thanksgiving unto God for who He is, what He has done, is doing, and will do in every circumstance!
Your spiritual service of worship is to be sanctified to a place of continual praise to know and walk in what is God’s will, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. It is the life of believing God for His promises!
The perfect prayer of giving thanks in every circumstance is God’s will for your life because it will transform you through the renewal of your mind. It is circular logic and it requires to grace to enter into the flow. It is the river of life and its current will nourish you and lead you.
We cannot live lives of gratitude until we have surrendered ourselves to the One who has given us all things and in all things teaches us to give thanks. We can only bear the fruit of gratitude as we love Him and give ourselves to Him. And the more we love Him and give ourselves to Him the more we learn to trust Him, the more we thank Him, the more we love Him and give ourselves to Him.
It is a perpetual cycle of thanksgiving, which is our eternal destiny—our perfect union in glory—the life of complete worship, which truly, to be frank, is the life of absolute surrender! This is the only way to have rest for your soul—it is the life of the yokefellow who has learned to be completely submissive to the will of the Father—gentle and humble in heart—like Jesus, who lived by the power of the Spirit. It is the life that abides in the Vine and bears much fruit.
The perfect prayer… those two hallowed words… Thank. You. I can’t think of a time when it is not the perfect prayer even though I can think of plenty of times in my own life when it was not the prayer I prayed. May the Lord close the gap between my will and His will until there is not a circumstance in my life that thank you is not the first and last words on my lips.
You can listen to the message here:
You can watch to the message HERE.
Footnotes:
[1] I don’t expect many people to catch this, but I just want to point out that this is a modification of a memorized section of General Douglas MacArthur’s 1962 “Duty, Honor, Country” speech that all West Point cadets must memorize and recite so many times in their Academy years that it is tattooed to their brains. J
Read more...
Hymn: Praise Ye the Lord, the Almighty
Praise Ye the Lord, the Almighty
“Let all that I am praise the Lord; with my whole heart, I will praise his holy name. Let all that I am praise the Lord; may I never forget the good things he does for me.” (NLT)
We owe a debt of gratitude to Catherine Winkworth for translating this German hymn of Joachim Neander. He was born in 1650 was a fifth-generation minister of the gospel. But he was not just “born” into the “family business.” As a twenty year-old, he joined a group of students intent on going to St. Martin’s Church in Bremen to cause trouble during the service, only to be convicted by the message he heard. A few years later, he became the rector of the German Reform Church’s Latin School at Dusseldorf.
He loved nature and would go on worship walks, especially in a beautiful gorge near Dusseldorf, that would later be named after him called Neander Valley. He would usually compose hymns and sing them to the Lord during this time. When he was 30, while battling tuberculosis, he wrote these words:
Praise Ye the Lord, the Almighty, the King of Creation.
O my soul praise Him, for He is Thy health and Salvation.
Here is yet another hymn that came out of a time when it would have been easy to follow the advice of people like Job’s friends that told him to just curse God and die. But Joachim Neander chose to seek God and declare his praise to Him as long as he had life and breath.
Wake up! Don’t let your circumstances dictate or decide how or when you will praise God. Remember, He is with you always, and desires us to worship Him in all things.
YOUTUBE:
If you would like to read the words to this hymn or hear the melody played, click on this link:
LYRICS:
O my soul, praise him, for he is your health and salvation!
Come, all who hear; now to his temple draw near,
join me in glad adoration.
sheltering you under his wings, and so gently sustaining!
Have you not seen all that is needful has been
sent by his gracious ordaining?
surely his goodness and mercy shall daily attend you.
Ponder anew what the Almighty can do,
if with his love he befriends you.
All that has life and breath, come now with praises before him.
Let the Amen sound from his people again;
gladly forever adore him.
Read more...
Galatians 3
Absolute Dependence!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Friday, November 13.
We all have favorite passages of the Bible. One of my favorites is Galatians 3:3 because of its deep impact upon my testimony as a pastor who is learning to be totally dependent on the Word and Spirit and no longer dependent on my own competencies and charisma.
Listen to Paul’s questions in Galatians 3:3, “Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort?”.
I was on a silent retreat in 2015 when this Scripture came alive and spoke personally to me. The Lord was graciously teaching me, and is still teaching me, absolute dependence on Him—a full surrender—a forsaking of all—a crucified life. This was the beginning of the journey that has led me to learn the life of a Yokefellow; the life of the easy yoke of Jesus Christ (Matthew 11:28-30).
When we learn to work from grace and restfully work, then we can do much for God without hurry in our souls because our souls are at rest in Him. We learn that all things, from justification to glorification and every step of sanctification along the way, comes only from grace and not from anything we can do! When we learn to stop being foolish and trying to do on our own power only what God can do through His Holy Spirit, then we stop fighting against God’s will for our lives—our sanctification, which is our conformity to the image of Christ for the glory of the Father through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
Seize the moment and learn to submit to the work of the Holy Spirit in you. This the life of faith. This is what it means to believe.
Have a wonderful day!
If you would like to receive a personal phone call today, all you have to do is dial the phone number below right now and one of us will call you soon.
YOUTUBE:
Read more...