Malachi 3:1-4a:  “Behold, I am going to send My [a]messenger, and he will [b]clear the way before Me. And the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple; [c]and the [d]messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight, behold, He is coming,” says the Lord of hosts. 2 “But who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears? For He is like a refiner’s fire and like [e]fullers’ soap. 3 He will sit as a smelter and purifier of silver, and He will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, so that they may present to the Lord [f]offerings in righteousness.4 Then the [g]offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the Lordas in the days of old and as in former years.

We normally don't think of fire as a blessing. 

Yet, fire can be used as a tool.

Every time you heat silver it gets a little more pure. Just a tiny bit of heat makes the silver turn black -- does nothing good for it. And too much heat will ruin the silver. God knows how to apply just enough heat to us to refine us. 

Matthew 3:11-12:“As for me, I baptize you [a]with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove His sandals; He will baptize you [b]with the Holy Spirit and fire. 12 His winnowing fork is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clear His threshing floor; and He will gather His wheat into the barn, but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”

Weeds need to be thrown into the fire and burned up -- in real life and in us. 

A holy fire. God mentions fire in the Bible 368 times.

God spoke to Moses in a burning bush.

A column of fire led the Israelites at night.

Fire consumes but is also refines.

Acts 2:1-3:  When the day of Pentecost [a]had come, they were all together in one place. 2 And suddenly there came from heaven a noise like a violent rushing wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 And there appeared to them tongues as of fire [b]distributing themselves, and [c]they [d]rested on each one of them.

Refining in us continues every day. More and more getting rid of the old and becoming the new.  God knows we can't fix ourselves by ourselves. We need Him to do lasting changes. 

God refines for a purpose.

1 Peter 1:6-7:  In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various [a]trials, 7 so that the [b]proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which [c]is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ;

Rejoice in the process.

Correction, discipline, Don't we discipline them out of love? God does the same thing. 

God has to relight our fire sometimes. He's got to kick the coals, restart the flame if He must. We do best when we work with HIm.

"It hurts me more than it hurts you."

Jesus sees the pure silver in the raw material in us. He knows the good that's in there. 

It's work to get something shaped out of what you see. It's work to hammer and shape. God is with us all the time. it's a whole lot easier if you work with Him.

Hebrews 12:29, "our God is a consuming fire."

All to develop a deeper relationship with God. We want our children to move in the right direction. God wants the same for us.

It's pure when the craftsman can see his reflection in the precious metal. God wants to see His reflection in us.

No recording this week, but I'll try and type out some really good notes! The sermon was on discernment. 

P.T. Barnum said, "There's a sucker born every minute."

2nd largest income for Nigeria are the scam emails to US citizens saying if they send them money they'll get a bunch back. 

"Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God; and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; and this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world. You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than He who is in the world. They are from the world; therefore they speak as from the world, and the world listens to them. We are from God; he who knows God listens to us; he who is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error." 1 John 4:1-6

There are a lot of spiritual scams. In Christan church some pastors have angles. We have to be careful. John was dealing with gnostics. The believed Jesus became Jesus at the baptism, that the Holy Spirit possessed HIm and made Him Jesus. The Holy Spirit doesn't possess us like demons possess people. 

There's a reason for discernment.

1 John 4:1 -- Test the spirits. 

Satan can't stop the message but he can and will twist it. People say it doesn't matter what you believe as long as you believe in something. Wrong!

We must believe the Bible. Satan slides things off to the side. We can be like the frog in the boiling water.

We have to hold all things up to the light of God.

2 Thessalonians 2:3-4: "Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God.

2 Thessalonians 2:9-11: "that is, the one whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power and signs and false wonders, and with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved. And for this reason God will send up on them a deluding influence so that they might believe what is false,"

Satan and his deception -- Satan usually doesn't look evil. He comes across as sophisticated, polished, glamorous at times. 

"Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves." Matthew 7:15

"For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light." 2 Corinthians 11:13-14

Satan will make it really appealing to follow Him. It's not about the miracle. It's about the miracle worker.

Who is performing the miracle and what does the miracle point to?

Discernment is based on Jesus.

"that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved; for with the heart man believes, resulting in righteousness, and the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation." Romans 10:9-10

It's about Jesus.

You believe. You confess that belief. You submit to that belief. 

Don't be fed magic beans.  Being a believer is not having a magic ticket. We aren't promised riches and fame and easy lives. 

We cannot be partial believers. Sort out the false things.

The one that is in you is greater than the one in the world.
:
Satan is much more popular than Christ because he's got the candy store and he likes to feed a person's lust.

Truth is often uncomfortable. The truth might be painful to hear but its for your benefit.

I care more about you than your hurt feelings. God doesn't water down His truth.

If we don't have the Holy Spirit how can we discern? We must be a Christn first to get discernment.

To become a Christian you gotta let go of the world.

Submission is the hardest part because we have a hard time of letting go of the easy, of the "it's good for me" mentality.

My will not yours.

All about me or all about He.

The challenge comes when Satan tires to take away your testimony, your witness.

High standard. I try to use discernment.

When Satan tempted Jesus, he used scripture.

Jesus rebuked Satan with the Word.

A.W. Tozer's list of questions to ask about teaching.

#1 How does it reflect my relationship with God?

#2 How does it affect my attitude toward Christ?

#3 How does it deal with scripture?

#4 Does the teaching lift up self or crucify self?

#5 What does this teaching do to my relationship with other believers? Divide or unify?

#6 Does it glorify the world? 

#7 How does this teaching affect my view of sin? 

(So last week I suddenly broke our recorder beyond repair. I ordered a new one, received it on time -- Praise the Lord -- but then we somehow didn't get the sermon recorded. I will clean up the glitches and hopefully have the sermon recording next week. This week I only have the notes, but I will from now on write out the scriptures I site so you can read them as you read these notes. Thanks for stopping by. Following are today's sermon's notes):

Our Redeemer and our commitments:

"'He is not here, for He has risen, just as He said. Come, see the place where He was lying. And go quickly and tell His disciples that He has risen from the dead; and behold, He is going before you into Galilee, there you will see Him; behold, I have told you.'" Matthew 28:6-7

He came from heaven for us. He knew what the end result would be. He came willingly. He knew it wouldn't be a pretty death. 

"Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but, emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore also God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE SHOULD BOW, of those who are in heaven, and on earth, and under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." Philippians 2:5-11

"Therefore, He had to be made like His brethren in all things, that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people." Hebrews 2:17

What do we do with that sacrifice now?

100 million people in the USA claim they are Christians. Why are we not having a greater impact on our society?

Why is it so hard to read the Word of God if we truly believe it is the Word of God? 

Why aren't we telling more people about Jesus Christ and the way to Heaven if we truly believe Jesus when He says He is the only way to the Father and that if a person doesn't accept Him that person is bound for hell. There is only one way to heaven. Why are we willing to allow our fellow humans to die without the truth?

We lack in our commitment. The only things people commit to these days are cell phone plans or mortgages. And these can be broken. If we are Believers there are three commitments we MUST make:

#1 Commitment to Christ Jesus. 

"And He was saying to them all, 'If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.'" Luke 9:23

The cross we carry is nothing compared to what Jesus carried. Daily we are supposed to carry the cross. 

(Told the story of Bob the "Cross Walker"). 

We need to carry Jesus with us everywhere and all the time. 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 (366 leap year) days a year. There is no vacation. It should be so much a part of us that we can't exist without Christ.

Do we notice if we don't have our cross with us?

The whole world's inside that purse (talking about what women carry in their purses and never leave home without them. One woman's purse in the congregation reportedly weighed 75 pounds. ...well, Shannon says that was a joke, but it was heavy). 

Make Jesus Christ central and all of your life. We must have God with us all the time. Jesus is in front of us, behind us, beside us and within us.

#2 Committed to our Family. We must be so committed to our family that our family is part of us. 50% of marriages end in divorce. In the church the statistic is the same. 

#3 Committed to God's church. 

"not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more, as you see the day drawing near." Hebrews 10:25

You don't need to go to church to be a Christian, but you do need to go to church to stay on the path. The more active you are in your faith, the more you will be attacked by the enemy.

The fellowship, the studying, walking through the door is a commitment. We come here in the day not in the night.

Back in the U.S.S.R. you'd end up in prison or killed for worshipping or telling others about Jesus Christ. Here, it is easy to worship -- it is still legal. But it is so easy to just not go since we take it for granted.

Do your kids need to ask if you will be going to church Sunday morning? Do they know it is what you do or is it just a sometimes thing? Do they see that you are committed?

We have a choice, most of us, to attend church. Do you stay home at the slightest sign of sickness but then Monday morning when you still feel the same you go to work? Where are our priorities?

If we are truly committed, we will have an impact.

As an individual, what is your impact?

Do you know where your cross is?

Let's not let our cross get lost. Because when you need it the most you will know exactly where it is. Always have Jesus with you. Every day!  Every hour! Every minute! Every second!

"'Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.'" Matthew 28​:19-20

This is not a request. It is a command.

This is our job -- winning souls for Christ.

"But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all men generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him." James 1:6

If you don't know how, ask!

If you need wisdom, ask!

It is God's will to give us wisdom. Ask Him. He will give it. 

He wants us to be well armed.  He committed to us. To follow Jesus, get rid of what's in the way. The rich young ruler had riches in the way. Some have family in the way. Others have their own dreams in the way. Whatever is stopping you from following Jesus wholeheartedly, get rid of it.

Get off the couch.

Get your face in the Word.

"And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as a dead man. And He laid His right hand upon me saying 'Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last, and the living One; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades.'" Revelation 1:17-18

​Jesus is alive and well. He loves us. He wants us to follow Him.

(Sermon notes taken by Jane)

John 15:1-8.
​
"Remain in Me" and I'll remain in you.

Jesus saw a vine that was prepared and dressed. He knows what's coming (His crucifixion and resurrection).

We are control freaks.

Earliest word often is "mine."

But all things belong to God.

The fruit we bear is not from ourr efforts. It's from God.

​We should constantly be seeking to be better fruit bearers.

There are times we try to force the fruit. This is not possible (for us to truly bear fruit).

Galatians 5.

Self-control.

Rarely do we say, "I want self control."

Love one another.

In loving someone we often have to forgive -- especially the people who have wronged us.

Let it go. Let the Spirit lead.

Pruning. Pruning is aggressive. There's not much left after pruning.

If it's not bearing fruit it goes.

Prune --

A sucker root -- gotta pinch it off.

All this excess take a lot of energy. What may look good on the outside is often unnecessary. 

Tie up the branches. More air and more sunshine.

We need things cut out out of our lives that are hindering production. Sometimes good things gotta go.

We can't do it on our own.

New movement is a personal trainer in fitness coach.

1. We have to be connected to the Vine. The branch doesn't have a root system.

2. We have to allow the pruning. "Prune me, Lord."  When a branch is pruned there is trauma to the branch. It will heal. The vine heals the branch. Don't put your mind on what you've lost.

3. We need to stay in the light. The world is living in the dirt. We must seek the light. Fill one hearts and minds with the Word and the things of God. What we fill ourselves up with is what will come through.

The fruit of the World is rotten (money, fame, accolades, success.). Bad fruit can kill the plant. Fertilize our minds, hearts and spirit. If you aren't full of the Word you'll be full of the world.

God wants us to be in constant communion with Him. If it's a daily interruption something probably needs to go.

Focus early and often on God.

Another job of the vinedresser is to guard the fruit. If we don't guard the fruit it will be stolen. Being attacked by a loved one is devastating. God will help us.

We don't have to fix a broken branch. God will heal it. 

Scars often remind us of some stupid things we did. We have to actively cut out the rotten spots.

​Joh 15:15-17.

(Sermon notes take by Jane):

Spring is hopeful.

In winter we get short of Vitamin D. We need sun to replenish it. 

Genesis 8:22. The constant rhythm of seasons is a promise from God.

Renewal of life.

Song of Songs 2:11-13.

Plowing and planting and expectation time.

Plant in hope.

Are we plowing our own hearts? Turning over fresh soil? Getting rid of the fallow ground?

Jeremiah 5:23-24.

Two reasons to plow:

#1 To plant.

#2 To get soil more fertile.

Do I have fallow ground in my heart?

Seeds God wants to plant in my heart can't be planted in fallow ground.

Do I have any fallow places in me?

Ground has to be soft to accept seeds. It has to be soft down deep so roots can grow.

Right now is the time to soften up. 

Spring was the season of war and preparation in biblical times.

We prepare our hearts for the seed.

Be ready for war (spiritual war). If we let the weeds go they will take over.

Jesus Christ isn't our honey-do list.

Our faith can't be an unfinished project. It has to be our #1 priiority.

John 11:23-24.

John 11:25.

Acts 2:38-39.

Spirit indwells each Believer.

Indwell= permanently fixed, permanently there.

He's given the Spirit for obedience.

1 Corinthians 6:19-20, "you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body." (20)

WHY?

1.) Mark of Ownership by God. We are meant to be changed by the Spirit.

2.) Downpayment of heaven. 2 Corinthians 5:4-5  Spirit as pledge/deposit.

2 Corinthians 4:7.

"For the love of Christ controls us." 2 Corinthians 5:14a

3.) Helps us overcome our fleshy nature. Satan loves to distract us with the world. "If it feels good, do it." "It must be right if I don't get cauht."

Every day I deny my flesh.

Everyday I start over.

The one you feed the most is the one who will win.

4.) Spirit intercedes for us.

Romans 8:26-27.
Titus 3:4-7.
2 Corinthians 3:18
Galatians 5:25-32.

Fruit is the manifestation of growth.

Step by step walking in the Spirit.

Without the Spirit there is no real understanding.
​

Following are the notes I took from today's sermon. Wow -- it is worth listening to. It is very challenging personally and socially.

Text taken from Revelation 2:1-7.  Walking in this means "actively walking for a purpose" or patrolling. Jesus is patrolling His churches (Rev 2:1).

Ephesus was a successful church. It was about 40 years old at the time of this letter. Many had been involved in it: Paul, Timothy, Apollos, Aquila and Priscilla. It was one of the churches doing it right. Every letter starts with what the church is doing right.

1. Labor to the point of weariness.
2. Perserverance -- ability to carry on.

Apostles in this passage means missionaries. The church at Ephesus was good at discerning right from wrong. The church held to right from wrong.

"Yet, I hold this against you." Rev. 2:4

"You have left your first love."

Meaning you have divorced your first love. Without love, the rest of it means nothing.

You're consistent. The reason you do things went from a desire, a burning passion for Christ was replaced with obligation -- this is a red flag for us to do something.

Are we like Ephesus?

Have we lost our passion, our love?

"Remember therefore from where you have fallen, and repent and do the deeds you did at first"
Rev 3:5a

You gotta come back -- you can do it right. Love, love, love, love. If we've gotten too busy doing other stuff -- without love it's all worthless. God's a jealous God. He doesn't want anyone to slip away.

Christ never abandons us. Never. You know right from wrong. Great. So now, come back. That child-like faith. Repent -- turn back to God. Remember from where we came from.

1. Spend more time in worship, praising God. It is one of the first things to go when our faith goes stale.
We cannot add to the time we have here on earth. We can add to the quality of our time. If I don't make an effort I will only remember the negative. We need to see God at work.

2. We need to surround ourselves with others who are passionate about Jesus. We are here to support each other. We need this connection. We need each other. We're here to help each other get recharged. We need to guard that first love. He should feel us holding onto Him.

Imagine what Father wants from us -- Hold my hand. Jesus said we have to have the faith of a child. Let's reset ourselves. 

Jude 17-25

"Keep yourselves in the love of God" (21)

build "yourselves up on your most holy faith" (20)

When people look at me, do they know I love Jesus? We have to have that first love in our lives.

Somehow I forgot! I forgot the take the recorder this morning so I really tried to take good notes (except for the time I had to take Hawken out of the sanctuary and when I absolutely had to go get a cup of coffee). 

It was a great sermon, I mean really great. I wish you could have been there! But I hope you can find some inspiration in these notes. See below:

Businesses will do inventory after the first of the y ear so they can make necessary changes. Today is one day closer to our death, one day closer to Jesus' return; one day closer to standing before God's judgment seat.

Look back at what has happened this year and ask yourself these questions.

1. Have I gotten closer to God? We have to be seeking God. We have to read His word.

2. How was your prayer life in 2016?

3. What's your relationship with your brothers and sisters in Christ? Especially those in your local church body?

4. What's your relationship with with people who aren't part of the Church? Those who need Jesus Christ? Those who God brings into your life?

"You are the salt of the earth" Matthew 5:13a

We should be letting the light shine. 

When people need light, they should know where they can go to get some light.

How can we be better, brighter bolder? Be honest. This is the time to examine ourselves (not condemn ourselves -- find the places where we can improve).

Philippians 3:13-14

Evaluate.

But don't beat yourself up.

Be approachable.

How long will I give it a try? Am I going to persevere?

You're either growing or dying.

Work hard. Work at it. If there's something we can't do we learn how. We work at it. Today is now. What can we do? What can we learn to do better?

What we should do this year:

1. Grow in the Word. 
2 Timothy 3:14-17
We need to be well-equipped workers. Ask God to show you something in the Word today. We must read our Bible daily.

2. Pray. Ask yourself, how would you teach someone to pray? Show them. Do it. To get better at prayer just do it.

3. We must try to get closer to our brothers and sisters in Christ. This takes us to be honest and vulnerable and humble. We need to be engaged. We need to open up to each other. Pray for those you see who are having a bad day.

4. Sharing the gospel with people. How do you share anything with anyone? I gotta open up and expose my heart? What does it take for you to share your heart? You gotta trust a person. They won't bear their need for Christ to you unless they trust you and believe you care about them.

"I don't care what it looks like. I don't care what you think"  (Jesus to those who criticized him)

I know they need Jesus so I have to build relationships with people who don't know Jesus. It's not an accident who you live next to; who you see every day. It's God saying, "Here you go! Here's your opportunity."

Ask yourself:

Where do I need to grow?

Who can I talk to? Who can I open up to? 

​Let 2016 be a year of conquest!