John 8
Freedom!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Tuesday, June 16.
Kimberly and I traveled to Scotland for our 20th wedding anniversary and as I walked in the Highlands I cried out at the top of my lungs, FREEDOM! Just like William Wallace in the movie Braveheart! This great man from Scottish history gave His life at 35 for Scotland to be free from English tyrannical rule.
Jesus Christ gave His life for all of humanity to be free by rescuing us from Satan’s grasp and sin’s oppression!
Are you free?
Jesus exclaims in John 8:36, “So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”
You are free to be generous and giving.
You are free to be loving and forgiving.
You are free to be caring and serving.
You are free to reflect the glory of God by how you love, care, and steward God’s creation! He designed you and made you to be an Image Bearer!
Jesus submitted his own life, words, and actions to the will of His Father. He gave up his rights and emptied himself (Philippians 2:5-11), not to live for Himself, but to give His life as a ransom for many (Matthew 20:28). We marvel at Jesus, at His life and His death—His freedom in both!
You are free to live in the Spirit for Jesus, to be alive in Christ. I pray for you, that you will live the truth of Galatians 5:1: “For freedom Christ has set you free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.”
Seize the moment and be generous—giving today to display your freedom from fear; be loving—forgiving today to demonstrate deliverance from hate; and be caring—serve others today to declare your rescue from self.
If you need any practical assistance or would like to receive a personal phone call, please dial the phone number below and someone from FBC will call you soon.
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John 7
Discouragement Derails!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Monday, June 15.
Do you ever feel discouraged and just want to quit?
In John 7:5, we learn this about Jesus’ ministry, “For even his own brothers did not believe in him.” In verse 1 we learn that Jesus stayed away from Judea because the Jewish authorities “were waiting to take his life.”
Have you ever felt like you could do so much more good if you had people in your corner who believed in you? If only you had more support and less opposition…
Jesus knew what it was like to have an unsupportive family, but He did not let that discourage Him from being faithful to do God’s will in His life. In fact, from a human perspective, Jesus had much more going against Him because not only was His family not believing in Him and the religious systems were actively against Him, but the support system He did have was composed of a ragamuffin group of followers that didn’t seem to get it half of the time.
Many people would have just quit and moved on! A lack of support, opposition, and being misunderstood are breeding grounds for discouragement. But Jesus kept His eyes on the Father, on God’s love for Him and God’s will for His life. That kept Jesus securely centered on who He was and why He was doing what He was doing. Jesus listened to the right voice!
Do you let discouragement derail you? Do you allow setbacks to prevent you from going forward? Do you focus on the ones who do not believe in you or the One who does believe in you?
Seize the moment and keep your eyes on Jesus, the author and finisher of your faith. When you are feeling discouraged and want to quit, get back in the yoke of Jesus and trust God to help you finish strong.
If you need any practical assistance or would like to receive a personal phone call, please dial the phone number below and someone from FBC will call you soon.
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Responding to the Promises of Jesus (Week 2)
The Promise of Discipleship!
Written and delivered by Pastor Jerry Ingalls to the First Baptist Church of New Castle, Indiana.
Jesus invited His first followers in Mark 1:17, “Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men.” This was Jesus’ invitation to come to Him and learn how to be in relationship.
I believe the promise of following Jesus is the primary place that churches, as organizations and as people, need to return to a biblical understanding of what it means to respond to the promises of Jesus. Jesus doesn’t say, “follow Me and get to work.” Jesus says, “follow Me and I will transform your story through relationship!”
There are key conceptual metaphors (images), Jesus uses to illustrate this point. One of those images is the John 15 teaching of the vine and branch. Listen to John 15:1-5,
I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.
The branch doesn’t think about getting to work at producing fruit, it remains united with the Vine. The branch only gets stronger and healthier because of union with the Vine. If the branch tries to get busy producing fruit on its own, then the branch bends and threatens to snap under the heavy burden of carrying that which it was not ready for. Fruit comes in its own time! The branch is pruned through the Father’s love—fruit only comes from the trinitarian work of God!
Churches all over America are bending and threatening to snap under the pressure. Many pastors and missionaries, elders and church leaders, and quality volunteers already have snapped under the unrelenting pressure to lead an organization in the global mission of Jesus Christ. Primarily because the mission can only be accomplished by a people who are in union with Christ. No amount of organizational genius or leadership charisma can make up for the essential ingredient the church needs to be successful to its mission: transformed people who are first faithful to following Jesus Christ and bearing fruit through the pruning of the Father and indwelling presence and power of the Holy Spirit!
For the decades I have been involved with the church, it has felt like we had a job description and we have worked hard to get busy “being on mission.” Even doing it, regardless of our connection to the Vine, the health of our own souls, the vitality of our own relationship with Jesus. We prodded one another to bear fruit instead of encouraging one another to abide in the Vine. In the name of Mission, many a church has become a dried out branch. It’s producing something, but is it producing anything that will stand the test of fire? Only God knows!
One of our church leaders shared this with me, “A tree in the vacant lot next door was still producing leaves on all its major branches, but a large storm came along and toppled the tree to within a few feet of our house. The inside was actually nearly hollow. But you never would have known by looking at the outside. This can often be said of the church. External health does not always reflect internal (heart) health.”
I have personally seen the damage a burned out missionary does in the foreign mission field and I have personally been the burnt out pastor in the American church. Today, I am here to tell you that there is a better way—the new way of the Spirit. This new way was ushered in with Jesus Christ nearly 2,000 years ago.
Hear the connection to Jesus’ fruit imagery, as Paul teaches us the new way in Romans 7:4-6,
Therefore, my brethren, you also were made to die to the Law through the body of Christ, so that you might be joined to another, to Him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God. For while we were in the flesh, the sinful passions, which were aroused by the Law, were at work in the members of our body to bear fruit for death. But now we have been released from the Law, having died to that by which we were bound, so that we serve in newness of the Spirit and not in oldness of the letter.
Larry Crabb explains of the old way of the letter as opposed to the new way of the Spirit,
Perhaps, like me, you’ve been working hard to figure life out, to get it right so things go well. The Bible calls that approach the old way of the written code. No matter how dressed up in Christian language, the old way will not form you spiritually. It leads to inward emptiness, churning, unbearable pressure.[1]
Crabb is describing the life of freedom through Jesus Christ’s invitation into the new way of the Spirit, the life of grace in His easy yoke. Paul elaborates in Romans 8:15-17, the new way of the Spirit is animated by the Trinitarian fellowship of God,
For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, “Abba! Father!” The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.
The work of the Holy Spirit is not only to draw us into a relationship with God, but to then transform us into the Image of Christ. The most important thing I can ask you to do is to submit yourself to the work of the Trinitarian God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—so that you will reflect the Image of the One who saved you.
God desires for you to reflect Him through your love, care, and stewardship of His Creation.
The church are those who are called to be in relationship with Jesus; to abide in the Vine or as another conceptual metaphor (image) of this relationship says, to rest in His easy yoke.
Jesus is the One who builds His Church and Jesus is the One who produces fruit on our branches because His Father sends the Holy Spirit flowing through the Vine into us.
It is the Holy Spirit who fulfills the promise of Jesus, “I will make you become,” in the Mark 1:17 call of discipleship: “Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men.” Jesus coupled his invitations to discipleship with a promise, and that promise with the new way of the Spirit, as Paul explained in Romans.
The promise is fulfilled in a disciple as the follower submits the entirety of his/her life to the yoke of Jesus and learns from Him. The same original Koine Greek Word for “Follow Me” is used in Jesus’ invitation of Mark 1:17 is also used for “Come to Me” in Matthew 11:28-30, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
The call to Christian discipleship is a call to follow Jesus, to come to Him and in Him to be transformed. Paul says in Romans 8:29, “For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren.”
God’s will for your life is to be transformed to the point that you look like Jesus, from the inside out, to be “conformed to the image of His Son.” God’s will for your life is that you will be His representative, His ambassador on the earth; His faithful steward of all that He entrusts to you.[2]
All of that is grounded in the concept of you being made by God as an Image Bearer from Genesis 1:27. In following Jesus, you are on the journey of being restored back to your original intent—as a redeemed and restored Image Bearer—to becoming the best version of who God designed you to be!
This happens in the yoke! This happens abiding in the Vine! This happens when you follow Jesus! It is the work of the Holy Spirit to conform us into the image of Christ so that we can carry on His work—to become fishers of people—to reflect God’s love and grace to all. As another leader shared, “We are fishing for people to rescue them from darkness and captivity, and to reconcile and restore them back into the family.”
This journey is what happens when you follow Jesus. Paul explained in Romans 12:1-2:
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.
The Koine Greek word translated “transformed” is metamorphoō. This is where we get the English word metamorphosis. Ruth Haley Barton describes this process of metamorphosis as “the process by which a caterpillar enters into the darkness of the cocoon in order to emerge, eventually, changed almost beyond recognition.”[3] This is the work of forming us in the image of Christ through the Word and Spirit, through His Truth and grace.
Jesus made it very clear that this was an impossibility apart from God, as He said in John 14:26, “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.” Jesus’ call to Christian discipleship is an invitation into union with Himself, sealed by the Holy Spirit (ref. to Ephesians 1:13-14). The indwelling of the Holy Spirit is what fulfills the promises of Christian discipleship in our lives. This is the work of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit!
The call upon every disciple is to follow Jesus, to come to Him, and it is the promise of Jesus Christ to experience rest for their soul, the life of faith, walking in the Spirit, the abundant life, all with a new life purpose. In all of these promises, the fulfillment is found in and through a mature Christian life. In Ephesians 4:13, Paul defined this maturity with one standard for all believers: “until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.”
We are called to become like Jesus, to be in union with Christ, each day of our lives, until the day God perfects us in His presence (Philippians 1:6; 2:13). This process of transformation, promised by Jesus and explained by Paul, happens in the yoke as the disciples learn from Jesus how to be like Him. It only happens when we abide in the Vine. In other words, it only happens when we wholeheartedly commit ourselves to a relationship with Jesus.
While the results of the transformation are the work of God alone, there are practical lifestyle choices that a disciple must make to imitate Jesus Christ and, then, become like Him.
Because it is in the yoke of Jesus Christ that one becomes mature—submissive to the Father’s calling and empowered not by the flesh, but by the Holy Spirit. Paul used the word τέλειος, translated “complete”, to describe the aim of all church ministry in Colossians 1:28-29,
We proclaim Him, admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom, so that we may present every man complete in Christ [italics added]. For this purpose also I labor, striving according to His power, which mightily works within me.
Again referencing Ephesians 4:11-13, the reason God gives the church spiritual leaders is to bring about mature (same Koine Greek word τέλειος) followers of Jesus:
And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ [italics added].
Though no person will perfectly reflect Jesus Christ to the world, in this life, God invites us to remain/abide in our relationship with Him until the end; not getting busy on a job description, but in living an intimate life of union with Jesus. This is our response to the promise of Jesus for Christian discipleship: to focus on our relationship with God, not get busy for God.
Every disciple who continues to follow Jesus Christ can be confident of this completed work as Paul promises, “For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus” (Philippians 1:6).
This is the life of faith, hope, and love that proclaims the gospel—your transformed story will bring thriving to our communities to the glory of God. This is revival! It’s a promise!
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FOOTNOTES:
[1] Larry Crabb, The Pressure’s Off: Breaking Free from Rules and Performance (Colorado Springs, CO: Waterbrook Press, 2012), 1.
[2] One of our church leaders commented, “I have always been struck by the language used in Ephesians 6:19-20. Paul, who of course was in prison when he wrote this Epistle, says he is ‘an ambassador in chains’ for the Gospel. It’s a very striking visual for me, (especially having touched the post Paul was tied to in the Bema in Corinth) because while we have freedom in Christ, there are also many things that chain us, some out of our control and some of our own making. Politics, family dynamics, workplace protocols, financial limitations all can make our work as ambassadors feel ‘heavy.’ Yet another burden Christ invites us to let go of in the yoke.”
[3] Ruth Haley Barton, Sacred Rhythms, 12. One of our church leaders added, “A caterpillar does not ‘strain’ or ‘work hard’ to become a butterfly. It is transformed by a process working inside it. it will naturally become a butterfly if it continues to do what caterpillars are designed to do.”
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John 6
Fresh Bread!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Saturday, June 13 and in continued partnership with our local and state health departments, FBC is now in Stage 4. Praise God! I hope to see you at church tomorrow. Please join us in person if you feel safe and are feeling healthy. The doors open at 10 for our 10:30 am service.
Do you enjoy fresh bread, whether homemade or store bought? Do you have a favorite doughnut shop, maybe Jack’s, where you can buy a fresh doughnut? I think we all would agree that fresh bread is better than stale bread or even day-old bread.
John 6 is so rich, so packed full of the life-giving teachings of Jesus. Listen to Jesus serve fresh bread in verses 35-40,
I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst. But I said to you that you have seen Me, and yet do not believe. All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. This is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day.
Seize the moment and enjoy the fresh bread of Jesus’ words. Hear Jesus’ daily invitation to sit and enjoy His presence in your quiet time with Him. Come to Me, all who are hungry and thirsty, and I will satisfy your heart, mind, body, and soul. Jesus wants to give you fresh bread today.
If you need any practical assistance or would like to receive a personal phone call, please dial the phone number below and someone from FBC will call you soon.
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Hymn: I Have Decided to Follow Jesus
I Have Decided to Follow Jesus
(This is a special devotion prepared by Pastor Ken for today…)
Matthew 16:24 is another “follow me” scripture
“Then Jesus said to his disciples, ‘If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross and follow me.'”
Again, it is our choice to decide to follow Jesus!
The hymn, “I Have Decided to Follow Jesus” is based on the last words of a man in Garo Assam, India. Welsh missionaries had come to this area with a gospel message of love, peace and hope, While not welcomed by everyone, a missionary was able to lead a man, his wife and his two children to the Lord. The man’s faith was contagious, and began to spread in the village, which angered the village chief. They were brought before the chief and were told to renounce their faith or face public execution.
Moved by the Holy Spirit, the man began to sing “I have decided to follow Jesus, No turning back.”
They ordered his children killed
“Will you deny your faith?” asked the chief.
“Though no one join me, still I will follow…no turning back”
They ordered his wife killed.
“Will you now deny your faith and live?” asked the chief.
“The cross before me, the world behind me…no turning back.”
They ordered his execution and he was killed.
But a miracle took place!
The chief said, ‘Because he was willing to die for a man from far away, that lived some 2000 years ago, there must be some remarkable power and I want to taste that faith!” And he and the entire village gave their hearts to the Lord and followed Jesus!
I have decided to follow Jesus;
I have decided to follow Jesus;
no turning back, no turning back.
though none go with me, I still will follow;
though none go with me, I still will follow;
no turning back, no turning back.
the world behind me, the cross before me,
the world behind me, the cross before me;
no turning back, no turning back.
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Come! Follow me!
Come! Follow me!
“Jesus called out to them, “Come! Follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people!'”
In the Synoptic Gospels, the term ‘follow me’ is used 23 times, and only by Jesus. If you look at each of those instances, an action was required first. Here, it is ‘Come’.
We cannot follow someone until we surrender and give up the direction we were going. We have to take our focus off of what we want to do, and say, “Yes! I will follow You, Jesus!”
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John 5
Absolute Dependence on Jesus!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Wednesday, June 10.
It’s not a common image anymore, but it was a common sight in the times of Jesus, up to not very long ago even here in rural Indiana. Two animals united by a yoke in order to share the burden of the work by going 2 x 2 into the fields. This ag image is one of my favorite concepts of following Jesus—not just for ministry work, but for everyday life.
Listen to Jesus discuss His life and ministry in the yoke of His Father. From John 5:19-20, “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does. Yes, to your amazement he will show him even greater things than these.”
Jesus is giving glory to the Father after He heals a great many people. But what did Jesus do: He points people to the source and inspiration of all of His works—His relationship with the Father!
God’s heart for each of us is to be yoked with Christ so that His word can direct our steps and the Holy Spirit can bear fruit in our lives, all for the glory of the Father! All that we can think to do or have the power to do flows out of our intimate union with Christ. Apart from Him, we can do nothing. It was the same for Jesus!
Seize the moment and submit your day to Jesus by getting in His yoke every morning through prayer, scripture reading, and times of invitation to His presence. Don’t go into the fields by yourself. It is only in absolute dependence on God that we can do the works that God has for us to do. Just like Jesus!
If you need any practical assistance or would like to receive a personal phone call, please dial the phone number below and someone from FBC will call you soon.
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John 4
Finding Common Ground with People!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Tuesday, June 9.
Have you ever ended up having a meaningful conversation with someone you didn’t know very well? Have you ever initiated a spiritual conversation with someone that was difficult for you?
John 4 shares with us the story of Jesus’ unplanned conversation with a Samaritan woman who went midday to get her water from the well. The timing of her getting water, when the other women were not there, indicates she was a social outcast. But by the end of the story, this one conversation with Jesus transformed her life and she became the catalyst of change for her community. All because of what appears to be a circumstantial conversation that goes from a request of water to the offer of eternal life.
Jesus started the conversation on common ground. With a safe request in John 4:7, “Will you give me a drink?” While we see amazing, miraculous events unfold from this encounter, I just want us to dwell on this moment. For many of us, the biggest miracle would be to reach out to someone we don’t know to intentionally initiate a spiritual conversation with them.
It will change your life if you start training yourself to look for common ground with people instead of focusing on what is different about you and another person. Remember, you will always find what you are looking for. If you are looking for a bridge between you and another person, you will find it. If you are looking for a barrier, you will also find that.
Seize the moment and build bridges with people by looking for common ground with them. Ask God to give you open eyes and a willing heart to follow Jesus into a conversation. You never know how one spiritual conversation can transform a person’s life.
If you need any practical assistance or would like to receive a personal phone call, please dial the phone number below and someone from FBC will call you soon.
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John 3
Make More of Him!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Monday, June 8.
When people are going through a prolonged season of hardship one of my recommendations to them is to find ways to love and serve other people. Why? Because it’s good medicine for their souls! It takes their attention off of themselves and on to helping another person.
Listen to a portion of John the Baptizer’s famous statement about himself in John 3:27-30, “A man can receive nothing unless it has been given him from heaven. You yourselves are my witnesses that I said, ‘I am not the Christ,’ but, ‘I have been sent ahead of Him.’ He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice. So this joy of mine has been made full. He must increase, but I must decrease.”
As Christians, we are the bride of Christ with Jesus as your bridegroom! You are a friend of God! What great joy it brings into your life to tell others about Jesus! May you experience the fullness of joy as you share the love of God with people—in word and deed.
This is how we make more of Him and less of ourselves. Not by tearing ourselves down or having a false humility, but by living our lives for His glory. John has given us the recipe for a joy-filled life. Be a friend of God, be the bride of Christ, and make more of Him than you do of yourself!
Seize the moment because you have an opportunity today to increase the name of Jesus in your own life, in the life of your family and friends, coworkers and classmates. Pray right now as you start the day to have your heart and mind open to each opportunity. Seize the moment!
If you need any practical assistance or would like to receive a personal phone call, please dial the phone number below and someone from FBC will call you soon.
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Responding to the Promises of Jesus (Week 1)
The Promise of the Holy Spirit!
Key Verses: Romans 8:28-30; John 16:13-15; Galatians 3:1-3; Romans 15:13
God has given us every opportunity to respond to His promises. God makes a way for us to experience His promises by giving us a choice of how we live our lives. Or in my personal short-hand: every promise comes with a praxis (practice of life).
Let’s learn together by looking at Romans 8:28-30 twice. The first time to learn the promises and the second time to hear the invitations to practice them. I want to teach you this because most of us were taught to do the first and not the second. The Apostle Paul wrote,
And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.
There are many promises of God found in this passage. (You may find more because I’m not trying to be exhaustive in this teaching.) Here are seven promises:
- God works good out of evil.
- God knows His own (“predestined”).
- God responds to those who love Him.
- God calls people to accomplish His plans (2x).
- God justified us.
- God established His priority for His children—to become conformed to Jesus! We call this Christlikeness and it is internal transformation that leads to visible fruitfulness.
- God glorified us. [side note: check out Ephesians 2:1-10]
So rich! I could easily spend a year or more teaching you about God from each of these, there is significant depth of biblical and theological thought around these amazing promises, found in 3 verses. But this not a series to give you more head knowledge about the promises, though many of you will learn a lot. I want everyone who believes the promises of God, to walk in the promises of God as a way of life (a praxis). For your stated faith to lead your everyday life!
This sermon series is intentionally called, “Responding to the Promises of Jesus!” Over the next 7 sermons, I will be teaching you how to work thee promises of God from your head as doctrine to your heart as attitudes and then into your everyday life as behaviors.
Yes, you heard me right: to work the promises! We are not saved by works, it’s all grace. But don’t be misled in a cliché view of grace, because while grace is opposed to us earning favor with God, grace is not opposed to us exerting effort in a real relationship with God. And every relationship takes both sides investing time and energy to get to know the other person.
This series is designed to teach you how to live in an intentional rhythm of life that forms you in Christ, from the inside out. My prayer is that the Holy Spirit will help you develop a lifestyle of personal practices to strengthen your living faith. For you to live a grace-paced life!
My ultimate goal is two-fold: (1) to those of you who already believe, for you to have a living faith and to persevere in the promises of God, no matter your circumstances; and (2) to demonstrate to those who do not yet believe, that Christianity is true to its every promise, that Jesus is the Son of the Living God who has invited you to find rest and peace and love and hope and eternal life in Him alone. Jesus keeps His promises so I plead with you to give Jesus your heart for He alone is worthy of your most sacred possession—your very life, now and forever.
Let’s get into today’s specific learning objective: we are invited to seek first God in our lives by making His promises our priorities! [say that again] We can only fulfill God’s plan for our lives when our heart’s priority is God’s priority for us. As already stated from Romans 8:29, God’s priority for us is Christlikeness from the inside out! Transformation into a new creation!
In other words, we are to choose to live according to His promises and that ultimately, is what it means to “claim the promises of God.” It’s not lip service. It’s a complete revolution for rightful authority of your soul.
We are to live our lives not with a head-faith alone for head knowledge does not demonstrate maturity in Christ. That is a mistake many pastors and churches has made; the assumption that a seminary degree qualifies a person to lead the church has led them and many churches to great heartbreak. Maturity in Christ is when your whole-life embraces the promises of God. It is resting in the easy yoke of Jesus because He alone sets your pace and direction.
Let’s listen to Romans 8:28-30 for the second time, but this time, instead of hearing the promises of God as doctrines to believe and debate, let’s look at the promises of God as invitations to make lifestyle choices that build our lives on the promises of God. Listen to Paul’s words again:
And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.
Here are seven ways we must choose to walk in the promises of God:
- I have to choose to believe that God can work good out of evil days and painful circumstances. I must daily form a new way of looking at the world and learn how to trust God even in the darkest of times. To hand on to faith and trust Him.
- I must remember that God knows me and wants a real relationship with me. I don’t need to hide from God when I make mistakes. God knows me through and through and loves me anyways.
- I make the choice every day to build my life and identity on the truth that God loves me. There is nothing more important about me than the way I think about God in my most private thoughts. This shapes my response to people and situations and determines if I live in peace.
- I have a life purpose that has been established by God. I build my life on these priorities so that I can have integrity in all my decision making. I am a part of God’s rescue mission to reflect my God and His glory through the way I love, care, and steward His creation.
- I choose to rest in Jesus’ finished work on the Cross, and not strain for acceptance in my anxious works. I am saved by grace and there is nothing I can do to cause God to love me more or love me less. I don’t have to perform for you and you don’t have to perform for me.
- God is conforming me to the image of His Son so I choose to partner with this promise by spending time with Jesus every day to think and act like him until all day every day is experienced in His presence. I make time for to be still and know that He is God. I make time to read me Bible, pray my prayers and listen for His voice. I listen to worship music throughout the day to keep my heart centered on Him. I make time for spiritual friendships that keep me accountable and graceful in how I think about and treat others. I practice loving my wife as Christ loved the church and we invest time in teaching our children about Jesus.
- My life is secure in God’s eternal glory so I can live for God’s glory alone. God has already made me His ambassador by giving me His glory, so I choose today to learn an eternal perspective on situations and people. I represent Him and His sovereign rule, not me and my self-interest. I don’t stand up here to tell you what I think, but to communicate His Word.
Allow me now to finish today’s teaching, by focusing on how all this is possible, because we are not humanists, we are Christians with a biblical worldview! My job is not to motivate you to go out there and get it done now that you know the truth. That would either we be religious legalism which is the “heavy-burden” of the Pharisees or it would be motivational speaking using cognitive-behavioral therapeutic techniques. Neither are faithful, biblical preaching. God’s plan is for each of us, individually, and all of us, collectively, to reflect the very image of Christ to the world, therefore God has provided a way for us to live according to all of His promises.
All the promises of God are ours in Jesus and it is through the promises of Jesus Christ that we can respond to and live accordingly. Listen to Jesus’ promise from John 16:13-15,
But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take of Mine and will disclose it to you. All things that the Father has are Mine; therefore I said that He takes of Mine and will disclose it to you.
We cannot live according to the promises of God apart from the promise of Jesus to give us the Holy Spirit. As Jesus taught in John 15:5, “Apart from Me you can do nothing!”
Do you believe that? The early church struggled to believe it and live according to it! Listen to Paul rebuke the Galatians who struggled to live according to what they so quickly believed about God’s grace in Jesus Christ. Paul very directly said to the Christians in Galatians 3:1-3,
You foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified? This is the only thing I want to find out from you: did you receive the Spirit by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?
I leave all of us with these same questions. May we each learn the truth about ourselves and respond to the promises of Jesus Christ for the Holy Spirit. There is freedom for you in your response.
Allow me to pray God’s Word, from Romans 15:13, over you to give you hope for the journey you have before you this week: “Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”
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John 2
Living for an Audience of One!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Saturday, June 6.
Who determines whether you are doing a good job in your life? Whose opinion of you is shaping your personal well-being and the efforts of your life?
In John 2:23-25, Jesus responded to the clamoring of people, “Now when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many believed in his name when they saw the signs that he was doing. But Jesus on his part did not entrust himself to them, because he knew all people and needed no one to bear witness about man, for he himself knew what was in man.”
So quickly, Jesus’ actions have caused both great applause and passionate anger. With these came the very human pressure to give Himself over to their attention and opinions. Jesus’ did not!
Jesus was focused on leading people out of slavery to their own sin, and Jesus couldn’t set us free if He was enslaved to our fickle public opinion polls. Jesus did not allow either the complaints or the applause to get into His heart or mind. He stayed true to His Father’s words and secure in His Father’s love.
Our culture teaches us the value of self-worth, but even that, when we are honest, is slavery of the highest order—to self! Jesus came to give each of us a Christ-worth that is given in love, established by faith, and sealed for eternity by God’s Holy Spirit making His home in us!
May our views of ourselves be determined by how much Jesus loves us. It is only in Jesus’ love that we are set free to truly love others because we are now secure in the Father’s love.
Seize the moment and be free of the public opinion polls in your own life. Give 100% of your heart loyalty to Jesus and live for an audience of One and the applause of His nail-scarred hands!
Have a great weekend! God bless you!
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John 1
God’s Empathy to Become One of Us!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Friday, June 5.
We have an empathy OPPORTUNITY in our country, communities, and churches! For too long, we have been such an egocentric people that we can’t imagine that someone else might see a situation different than us. If we are going to have a future, we must learn empathy! This is the ability to share the feelings and experiences of another person. To put on their skin and to walk in their shoes. With empathy, a lot of wonderful conversations would begin. This is our time and Christians are the ones who can change everything!
Why us?
Because Christianity was birthed in empathy! Our whole faith is about the empathy of a holy God for His lost children. Listen to John 1:14, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
This is one of my favorite verses about Jesus’ birth. God who is spirit took on flesh and dwelt among us; this is the incarnation! Jesus Christ is God’s empathy—He literally put on our skin and walked in our sandals.
Why would God, who is holy and sovereign over all things, do such a thing? Why did God enter into our human experience and become one of us?
Love! That’s why! God shared in a human’s temporary life so that we can forever live in God’s eternal life! Empathy is driven by love and for love! Empathy is the way of Jesus!
Seize the moment and first learn to walk in the sandals of Jesus. In doing so, He will lead you to be willing to show empathy to put on someone else’s skin and learn what it’s like to walk in their shoes.
If you need any practical assistance or would like to receive a personal phone call, please dial the phone number below and someone from FBC will call you soon.
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Luke 24
Heart on Fire!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Thursday, June 4.
What causes your heart to burn within you? Is it heartburn or is there a passion inside your heart?
There’s a big difference!
Today, we are reading from the last chapter of Luke. If you have been reading along with me, you have now read all three of the synoptic gospels. Congratulations! Tomorrow, we start the Gospel of John. May the Holy Spirit open your heart and mind to fall in love with the Jesus of the Bible, as if for the first time. That is my prayer for all of us.
In Luke 24:13-35, the story of Jesus revealing Himself to two of His disciples occurs over the sharing of a meal. Jesus had walked from Jerusalem to Emmaus with them and they did not know that they were walking with the resurrected Lord, but in the sharing of a meal their eyes were opened as Jesus breaks the bread. Listen to Verses 30-32,
When He had reclined at the table with them, He took the bread and blessed it, and breaking it, He began giving it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they recognized Him; and He vanished from their sight. They said to one another, “Were not our hearts burning within us while He was speaking to us on the road, while He was explaining the Scriptures to us?”
Did the bread Jesus serve them give them heartburn? No, the phrase is an idiom! The resurrected Jesus excited them—they felt passion as He opened up the Word to them as He walked and talked with them. His Presence lit a fire in their hearts!
Seize the moment and go the Table to meet with Jesus each and every day. The resurrected Lord wants to meet with you and break bread with you. Don’t let the stress of your circumstances give you heartburn, but let Jesus’ Presence with you set your heart on fire!
If you need any practical assistance or would like to receive a personal phone call, please dial the phone number below and someone from FBC will call you soon.
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Luke 23
Prevailing Voices!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Wednesday, June 3.
What voices are winning the day in your life? The loudest? The most emotional? The pleasing?
These are the questions that come to my mind when I read Luke 23:18-25.
Listen to verse 23, “But they [the crowd of accusers] were urgent, demanding with loud cries that [Jesus] should be crucified. And their voices prevailed.”
There was no evidence of any guilt. Both Herod and Pilate found no reason to crucify Jesus. But Jesus was sentenced to death anyways!
Listen to verse 24, “So Pilate decided that their demand should be granted.” Pilate released a guilty man (Barabbas) and sentenced an innocent man to death. Why? Because it was politically expedient…
Yes, that is true, but because the wrong voices prevailed in his life! The voices that got louder and more demanding for their own way, even though there was no content or clarity in the words. Have you ever noticed that when people have no strong rationale for their points of view, they often resort to emotionalism, volume or violence, intimidation or manipulation to get their way—to win the day?
What voices are prevailing in your life? What voices are prevailing in your home and in your church? What voices are prevailing in our communities and country?
The Spirit of Truth invites you today to get quiet so that you can listen to the wisdom of God’s Word through the Bible and prayer, to ask the Holy Spirit to teach you through your Bible reading, and by then hiding it in your heart so that you can apply it in your daily life.
Seize the moment and pay attention to what voices you are allowing to prevail in you. If it is not God’s Word guiding you, what or who is guiding you? Who or what is really prevailing in your life?
Your life will reflect the god you serve.
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Luke 22
Victory over Evil!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Tuesday, June 2.
Do you ever feel like there is an active force opposing you and any good that you try to do?
Years ago I memorized Jesus’ words from Luke 22:31-32, “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.”
Sifting wheat is a violent action of separating the grain from the stalk and chaff; it is a process of literally tearing the wheat apart. Satan’s desire for Simon is to violently tear him apart; to separate him from God’s promises and purposes; to tear Peter away from God’s plan for his life. That’s what Satan wants to do to all people who confess Jesus as the Son of the living God—“the thief comes only to steal, kill, and destroy!” (John 10:10)
Jesus is our Living Redeemer who sits at the right hand of God, the Father, praying for us today. It is by faith that we overcome evil! As the Bible teaches us, “Greater is He who is in us, than he who is in the world” (1 John 4:4). If God is for you, who can stand against you?
What can you do when you feel there are forces actively working against you and those you love?
Seize the moment and take the higher ground by praying! Stand firm against Satan who asks to sift you as wheat. Jesus’ promise that your faith will not fail will come true in your life, as it did in Peter’s and as it has in my own life. Turn back to God today and strengthen your family in Christ. Never forget, Jesus is praying for you!
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Luke 21
Keep Your Chin Up!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Monday, June 1.
It’s Monday and for that reason alone, some people are struggling to have a good attitude. Add to that the current social unrest of our nation and many are discouraged, if not despairing.
I say to you this morning: Friend of God, don’t give yourself over to despair or discouragement. Keep your chin up! It’s a choice!
In Luke 21, Jesus foretells of the dark days that would usher in His second coming. Jesus says in Luke 21:27-28, “And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. Now when these things begin to take place, straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”
I love those words: “straighten up and raise your heads.” In other words, keep your chin up! In the midst of hardship, death, destruction, and so much going the wrong direction in the world, we, the followers of Jesus Christ, are to remain firm in our faith, resolved in our hope, and steadfast in our love.
Why? “Because [our] redemption is drawing near” (28).
Jesus is our Living Redeemer and as His second-coming draws near we are to remain watchful and hopeful for Him, allowing our faith to superintend our emotions. No matter what may be happening right now remember this truth, “My Redeemer Lives” (Job 19:25)!
Is there a difficult circumstance you must deal with today? Ask Jesus to walk with you through this time. God is with you so keep your chin up!
Are you facing a difficult relationship decision? Trust God in your most important decisions and remember that God will never leave you nor forsake you, so keep your chin up!
Seize the moment and make a choice today: Live your life with faith, hope, and love! By keeping your eyes on Jesus, He will keep your chin up!
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A Call to Prayer!
A Call to Prayer!
Key Verses: John 14-16
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Sunday, May 31.
Today is Pentecost Sunday and we have been planning a different kind of service to remember Pentecost and to celebrate the birth of the Church, so please plan to watch the service online at www.newcastlefbc.com, on our YouTube page (search New Castle FBC), or watch us on Facebook Live. If you are healthy, feel safe, and will follow the safety protocols in place, then you are welcome to join us in person for our 10:30 am service.
We need to pray for PEACE, because “the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God” (James 1:20).Pray for PERSPECTIVE, because “the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere” (James 3:17).
Pray for PATIENCE, because of God’s “kindness and forbearance and patience” toward us all (Romans 2:4).
And pray for an OUTPOURING of His wisdom and direction for our leaders and officials who are dealing with this crisis. Ask God to change hearts and heal this divide in our nation.(You can see Franklin Graham’s original request by clicking HERE.)
Please expect today’s service to not only be special because its Pentecost Sunday and Graduation Sunday, but also because instead of a normal sermon, I will be leading us in petitioning the Lord through scriptural promises.
Seize the moment and pray this morning—be the Church we are called to be. Our communities and nation need us to fight this battle with prayer and in love. May the Holy Spirit lead us deeper into His presence and grant us His peace. We are His image bearers—hope bearers!
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Luke 20
Honest Conversations!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Saturday, May 30.
Do you find it difficult to have an honest conversation with people in today’s world?
Luke 20 narrates a series of conversations where the religious leaders are trying to catch Jesus in His words so that they can justify their desire to murder Him. Listen to one in Luke 20:3-7,
Jesus answered and said to them, “I will also ask you a question, and you tell Me: “Was the baptism of John from heaven or from men?” They reasoned among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say, ‘Why did you not believe him?’ “But if we say, ‘From men,’ all the people will stone us to death, for they are convinced that John was a prophet.” So they answered that they did not know where it came from.
Jesus is trying to expose the duplicity of the religious leaders. And they immediately calculate the cost of each answer as if the truth was a commodity to be nuanced and peddled for their power and profit. The religious leaders are not interested in the truth; only themselves.
Are people any better today?
I don’t know about you, but I’m tired of what our inability to have an honest conversation is doing to our communities. The truth should not be shaped for influence and power. The truth should not be peddled for personal profit. Jesus said, “the truth shall set you free” (John 8:32).
Honest conversations are the only way to have substantial and life-giving relationships.
Is your communication going to be full of double-dealing and calculation or are you just going to be honest with yourself and others? Do you have a friend in your life you are willing to listen to give you honest insights about you and your life?
Seize the moment and start with an honest conversation with God. He’s waiting for you to take time this weekend to spend time getting to know one another.
If you need any practical assistance or would like to receive a personal phone call, please dial the phone number below and someone from FBC will call you soon.
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Luke 19
Pray for Our Nation!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Friday, May 29.
How are you responding to the news and current events? Are you being moved by compassion to pray for our nation, our communities, the people, and our future?
Listen to Jesus cry out for Jerusalem in Luke 19:41-44, “And when he drew near and saw the city, he wept over it, saying, ‘Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. For the days will come upon you, when your enemies will set up a barricade around you and surround you and hem you in on every side and tear you down to the ground, you and your children within you. And they will not leave one stone upon another in you, because you did not know the time of your visitation.'”
Whatever the future may hold, you can trust that the Lord is good and just in all that He does. The Lord is holy and sovereign; whatever may happen God will use it for His glory. God uses nation-states and empires according to His will and desire. He is the Living Hope for all creation.
Are you putting your hope in Jesus as you watch the news? Are you trusting in Jesus as you see how people are reacting and behaving around our communities?
I invite you to start praying the way Jesus taught His disciples to pray: “Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven” and then follow Jesus wherever He made lead you. The Church of Jesus Christ is the hope of the nations because we are the hands and feet of Christ to our communities and nations.
Seize the moment and cry out to God for His mercy for our communities and nations. Jesus is the only One who can give us peace.
Remain calm and pray… God is with us!
There is a perfect storm brewing out there, will you join me in praying today for our nation?
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Luke 18
Your Deepest Need!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Thursday, May 28.
In Luke 18:41, Jesus asks the question, “What do you want me to do for you?”
The story is told in Luke 18:35-43, a blind beggar cries out: “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” (38). Even though he is rebuked by those around him, this blind beggar cries out louder and louder: “Son of David, have mercy on me!” (40).
This got Jesus’ attention. The blind beggar was socially ridiculed for crying out to Jesus, but he boldly risked their scorn for a chance to get to Jesus. He needed something only God could give him (Luke 18:27). And Jesus responded to his faith!
I wonder if you need something that is so deep, such a pressing need in your life, that you would be willing to face people’s rebuke and ridicule to cry out to Jesus.
Do you even know your deepest need? What would you ask for if you were in the place of this blind beggar?
Not a want…
Not a temporary fix…
Not a band-aide on a gushing artery wound…
The truth is that without God in our lives, we are all blind beggars, in need of healing, in need of deliverance, in need of what only He can give. Does that truth offend you… maybe that’s your deepest need!
Seize the moment and put yourself in the shoes of this blind beggar from 2,000 years ago: “If Jesus asked you, ‘What do you want me to do for you?’ what would you say?
Your answer reveals a lot about you.
I pray for you that the Lord Jesus Christ may lead you into a sincere faith as you cry out to Him today for the deepest need of your life. Remembering these words from Luke 18:27, “What is impossible with man is possible with God.” May the Lord heal, bless, deliver, and rescue you today. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.
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Luke 17
The Home of God!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Wednesday, May 27.
The concept of being a part of a kingdom is so foreign to American sensibilities. We are an independent people, it’s a big part of our national identity and self-narrative, so we struggle to understand authority, headship, submission, and all the realities of living under the rule of a king. Therefore, we struggle to know exactly what Jesus is saying when He declares the Kingdom of God.
There is a biblical theme that allows us to understand the kingdom teaching by looking at the Kingdom of God as the Home of God with God as the Father and us being restored to His sovereign rule through the headship of Jesus Christ.
Listen to Luke 17:20-21, “Once, having been asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, ‘The kingdom of God does not come with your careful observation, nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is in you.”
What a beautiful thought: the Home of God is in you! Jesus came to usher us into His Father’s Household.
This is your salvation! When you believe in God and put your faith in His Son Jesus Christ, then He seals you with a guarantee through the living presence of the third person of the Trinity—the Holy Spirit (Eph. 1:14; 2 Cor. 1:22). Salvation is your invitation to and participation in the Trinitarian fellowship of God.
God has made His home in you!
Seize the moment and believe for the Home of God is here. The kingdom of God is here, not as a geopolitical empire with borders and laws, but as a home to experience the Father’s love for eternity. You are home in God because Jesus made a way for you and the Holy Spirit has made His home in you—rest in God!
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Luke 16
Every Soul Matters!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Tuesday, May 26.
Each and every person has a soul! Souls are eternal and each has intrinsic value. That means people matter, every one of them, regardless of whether you like them, agree with them, or feel like they bring value to you or your view of the world. To relate kindly only to the people who help make your life work better for you may be simply utilitarian to you, but it is evil as a habitual practice. It’s dishonest!
The Parable of the Shrewd Steward from Luke 16:1-13, highlights how followers of Jesus are to be household managers of their wealth to influence people for God’s glory—to help bring them to the Father. Verses 8-9 makes the point of the story, “The master commended the dishonest manager for his shrewdness. For the sons of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than the sons of light. And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous wealth, so that when it fails they may receive you into the eternal dwellings.”
Has God blessed you with the ability to work hard? Praise God! Now win souls by working hard, starting businesses, and creating jobs that produce wealth for the work force, so that more money can go to bless others, support ministries, and the work of the Kingdom.
Has God blessed you with wealth and the influence it brings in the world? Praise God! Our culture values people with money more than all others so use that temporary influence to win souls because you can lose it all in a heartbeat.
No person is better than another because they have money. So invest what God has entrusted to you, not into a false sense of self-worth as defined by the world, but what matters for eternity. Use stuff to gain people for God’s Kingdom! The harvest fields are ripe. I’m praying for workers!
Seize the moment and make an eternal investment today.
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Luke 15
A Day to be Thankful!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Monday, May 25. Happy Memorial Day! Take time to pause and remember that our freedoms in this nation are not free!
Who are you thankful for today?
Listen to Luke 15:31-32, “‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. It was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.’”
This is from the Parable of the Lost Son. It emphasizes the two earlier parables “The Lost Sheep” & “The Lost Coin”, but this one has a twist in it.
God is the central character of each parable: God is like the good shepherd who goes to great lengths to find the one lost sheep; God is like the woman who goes to great effort to find the one lost coin; and God is like the father who eagerly waited to receive back His lost son.
The twist in this parable is that, unlike the other two, no one went looking for that which was lost. The Father stayed home… Who was supposed to go looking for the younger son?
Luke 15 sets us up with expectancy: someone is going to go searching for that which was lost and when the natural older brother doesn’t do his job…we are left confused and hurt!
Jesus’ parable causes our hearts to yearn for our true elder brother to come search for us: to seek and to save that which was lost.
The three parables not only show us the heart of God, but teach us the mission of Jesus Christ. Jesus is the elder Son, sent by His Father to search for us, to bring us Home…
Seize the moment and rejoice in God’s rescue of His children! Today is a great day to be thankful! Freedom is not free—the elder Son paid the price! May your life tell His story!
Today is a great day to be thankful! Have a great Memorial Day and God Bless you!
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Responding to the Plan of God – Week 6
2020: A Year of Celebration!
Image Bearers Steward their Relationship with Jesus!
(John 21:15-22; Luke 22:31-34 & Romans 12:1-8)
Memorial Day Weekend
What is most important to you?
Let’s take a moment to ask God to tell each of us the truth. I invite you to a conversation with Jesus that God is initiating through me to you. As we go to prayer right now, with each person entering into a space of grace, hear Jesus ask you: “Do you love Me more than these?”
Time of Silence
From John 21:15-22, listen to a dramatic exchange between Peter and Jesus with Jesus starting the conversation with Peter the same way God just started the conversation with each of us:
So when they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me more than these?”
[Peter] said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.”
[Jesus] said to [Peter], “Tend My lambs.” [Jesus] said to him again a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me?”
[Peter] said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.”
[Jesus] said to [Peter], “Shepherd My sheep.” [Jesus] said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me?”
Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, “Do you love Me?” And [Peter] said to [Jesus], “Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You.”
Jesus said to him, “Tend My sheep. Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were younger, you used to gird yourself and walk wherever you wished; but when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands and someone else will gird you, and bring you where you do not wish to go.”
Now this He said, signifying by what kind of death he would glorify God. And when He had spoken this, He said to him, “Follow Me!”
We usually cut this story short, in verse 17 with Jesus’ third “tend my sheep” and talk about how Jesus is forgiving Peter for his three denials after his boastful declaration that he would never forsake Jesus. From Luke 22:31-34, we hear this earlier exchange between Jesus and Peter:
“Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has demanded permission to sift you like wheat; but I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail; and you, when once you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.”
But [Peter] said to Him, “Lord, with You I am ready to go both to prison and to death!”
And [Jesus] said, “I say to you, Peter, the rooster will not crow today until you have denied three times that you know Me.”
While this conversation and Peter’s actions are the context for the exchange between the resurrected Jesus and the demoralized and discouraged Peter in John 21, we must keep reading to the end, verse 22.
“If I want [John] to remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow Me!”
Jesus doesn’t give you a job to do or a comparison to make with someone else’s life, but a relationship to have with Him!
This is what is first and foremost in the heart of God for all of His Children. So, I say to you, repent and return to your first love. Steward your relationship with God as your most precious possession and most important choice! Everything else flows out of what is on the throne of you heart. What is most important to you?
“Tend My Sheep” and forget that Jesus’ first and last words to all His disciples are “Follow Me” (Mark 1:17 & John 21:22).
Christians, especially those diligent serious ones, became like Martha—worried and bothered about so many things! And they forsake the one thing that actually makes them a Christian—though they do plenty in the name of Jesus, are the spending time seeking the face of Jesus?
“Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things; but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her.”
I have heard people, church goers and great volunteers, even comment that if we were all like Mary then who would get the work done… My answer is: God through us instead of us for Him. I wonder if we’ve tried to co-opt the Christian life that is for a Kingdom not of this world into making our lives work out better for us in the here and now.
We are worried and bothered about so many things because we have forgotten that we are human beings, not human doings! Our primary job is to follow Jesus by getting in His yoke and learning from Him how to be “gentle and humble heart”, then we no longer be “weary and heavy-burdened” by all that presses upon us, but we will find “rest for our souls” in the finished work of Jesus, the sovereign grace of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit.
Therefore, today, I am calling you to back to the biblical priority of your life as Image Bearers of God—your relationship with God through the only mediator Jesus Christ.
Hear this invitation from Paul’s words in Romans 12:1-8.
“I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.”
Every member of God’s Family is invited to be absolutely dependent on God (“a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God”). This is the only way for His body—the Church—to function under one rightful authority—the headship of Jesus Christ (emphasized in 1 Corinthians 12:12-30).
This is a posture of your heart and a priority of your life. As Pastor Andrew Murray wrote in his 1897 classic Absolute Surrender,
Oh, become nothing in deep reality, and, as a worker, study only one thing—to become poorer and lower and more helpless, that Christ may work all in you. Workers, here is your first lesson: learn to be nothing, learn to be helpless. The man who has got something is not absolutely dependent; but the man who has got nothing is absolutely dependent. Absolute dependence upon God is the secret of all power in work. The branch has nothing but what it gets from the vine, and you and I can have nothing but what we get from Jesus.[1]
“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”
Paul calls us to eliminate false worship and competing distractions from your life (seeing messages #2 & #5). Apart from this, members of God’s Family are chasing after the desires of their own hearts, which God wants to give you, but only after you seek Him first (Matthew 6:33).
It’s like I often teach you, your relationships (marriage, family, etc.) are for your holiness before your happiness, your sanctification before your satisfaction, your godliness before your goals. If you try to use people to make yourself happy you will neither be holy nor happy, but if you seek first godliness in your relationships, you will find you are both happy and holy.
Idolatry with people, work, hobbies, etc. is a subtle shift. You can enjoy the best this world has to offer, God has created it for us to enjoy, but let us not be like those in Romans 1:25-32:
For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error. And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper, being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful; and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them.
Jesus has established it that the world will know those who are following Him and Him alone. Those who follow Jesus will walk in oneness with Him, just like Jesus walked in oneness with His Father (John 17:11 & 22). Paul knew this and called every follower of Jesus to respond to the grace of God. From Romans 12:3-8,
For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.
We are absolutely dependent on God and mutually dependent on one another as fellow members! Humbly seeing oneself by the measure of faith given to us by God allows for God’s Family to be at its best and most reflective of God’s glory. We are the one body of Christ being built up in love for the glory of God (Ephesians 4:11-16). This is the work of the Holy Spirit—the faith and the gifts all coming together so that we are seen as one mature body with Jesus Christ as our head.
When the world sees you, they see what you reflect and what you reflect is your god. That’s the way God designed you as His Image Bearer. What are you reflecting? That’s what tells you who or what your god is! And your god is always what is most important to you.
That’s why it is important to realize that Jesus’ conversation with Peter ends with these words, because they are the words that the Gospel of John ends for every believer: “If I want him to remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow Me!”
Listen to the Message here:
To watch the video click HERE
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Andrew Murray, Absolute Surrender, 76.
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Luke 14
The Rest of God!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Saturday, May 23.
It’s Memorial Day Weekend, so, let’s talk about rest…
Luke 14 starts with Jesus in the home of a prominent Pharisee, surrounded by experts in the Law, but there is also a man there who is suffering from dropsy. While it is against the religious rules of the day to do any work on the Sabbath, Jesus asks a question in Luke 14:3 that strikes to the heart of why He came: “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not?” As they stare at Jesus blankly, He takes hold of the man and heals him and then asks the experts in Luke 14:5, “If one of you has a son or an ox that falls into a well on the Sabbath day, will you not immediately pull him out?”
Jesus came on a rescue mission to pull people out of the effects of the Fall, to bring people Home to His Father, to usher in the rule of God. Actually, Jesus was not rebelling against the sabbath itself, He was actively reforming the Sabbath back to God’s original intent. He was demonstrating the Kingdom of God where it is done on earth as it is in Heaven. The heart of God’s rest is the proclamation of God’s rescue from slavery!
When you rest in God you are free from the tyranny of the urgent and you are doing the most important thing! When you rest in God you are pointing back to the 7th Day when God ceased from His work to give creation His delight. When you rest in God you are pointing towards the Day of the fullness of God’s perfect rule once again: to the New Heaven and New Earth.
Seize the moment and rest! Will you prioritize time this Memorial Day weekend to enter into the rest of God?
If you need a more personal touch from your church than this daily phone call, please dial the phone number below and someone will call you today. We are praying for you!
YOUTUBE:
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