Here’s a short sermon on the Lord’s prayer. I was both blessed and challenged in God’s Word while preparing the message. I hope it is likewise a blessing and a challenge to you!
Author: Micah Felber
Pastor Micah's burden is to glorify God through building His church. He has a passion for preaching God’s word and sharing God's truth. He loves working with people and helping them succeed.
Focus on Eternity!
In James 1:9-11, we see two very different life situations. One person is dirt poor and the other is very rich. And yet, both are commanded to look past their present circumstances and rejoice in what Christ has done for them. Because present things fade, you must focus on eternity. We all come to Christ in the same, humble way. We all can rejoice in His exaltation!
Wisdom: Free for the Asking
We don’t like asking for help. We want to be self-reliant. While this is natural, it leads to unbiblical tendencies. We serve an all-powerful God who has told us to ask Him for help. James 1:5 states…
If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.
Because God gives wisdom freely, you must confidently ask Him for wisdom!
How to Respond to Hardship
We avoid hardship. This is a normal response to hardship but it is not a spiritual response to hardship. James 1:2 states…
My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations.
The word “temptations” here in James is referring to spiritual trials. James has a different response to hardship! I want to challenge you with this truth: because trials are beneficial for your faith, you must rejoice in trials. This is not the way that we normally think about hardship. And yet, joy is the biblical response to trials.
You need organization. Consider using tools!
Organization is always important and this is especially true in church work (1 Corinthians 14:40). If you are like me, you need help organizing. My thoughts are usually scattered. My brain skips five steps to arrive at logical but seemingly unrelated conclusions. Logical progression gives you the breadcrumbs to help other people arrive at your conclusion.
I love tools that help me achieve logical progression! Let me introduce you to Mindnode. It is beautiful software that works like my brain. I use Mindnode for two main purposes: for organizing ideas before writing papers and for sermon notes. I especially like that collapsible branches let me quickly go from details to big picture or vise versa. If you have a scatterbrain, this software may be of help.
I outlined a men’s campout devotional in mindnode with this result.
I found Mindnode extremely helpful when studying out the role of pastor for my recent article. If you are interested in Mindnode and in studying out what you believe on the role of pastor, here is a link to get you started.
The Psalmist’s Despair (and how he finds joy)
Discouragement and sorrow are very real and unavoidable feelings. The writer of Psalm 42-43 asks a very blatant and honest question of himself: “why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me?”
It would seem that the psalmist knows why he is discouraged. He mourns due to oppression (42:10) that feels like a sword in his bones (42:11). Desiring fellowship with God, he feels spiritual distance. He even asks God “why hast thou forgotten me?” (42:9) and “why dost thou cast me off?” (43:2). He poetically feeds himself with tears (42:3).
The psalmist truly does have reason to sorrow!
He objectively looks at himself and observes that he is discouraged. Then, he prescribes an incredible remedy for his own discouragement. Rather than organize a pity party, he objectively chooses to praise God!
Furthermore, the psalmist directly ties praising God with the emotion of joy (43:4)! He converts his discouragement into joy through the act of praise.
Are you discouraged today? Praise is not a feeling but rather it is a choice. You must choose to praise God despite your feelings. Only then will you begin to experience joy.
Personally, I have a playlist that I listen to when discouraged. Eileen Berry and Molly IJames well express the distress of Psalm 42-43 before turning to God in praise. Their song, “In Your Silence,” has been at the start of my playlist since I first heard it. May it be a blessing to you as it has been to me!
In Your word I find the echoes of the questions in my mind;
Have I fallen from Your favor, is Your ear to me inclined?
When Your silence is unbroken, though my prayer ascends each day,
Father, keep my faith from failing in the face of long delay.While You wait in gracious wisdom and my doubts begin to rise,
I recall Your loving kindness, and lift my hopeful eyes.
While Your hand withholds the answer, I will not withhold my heart.
I will love you in Your silence, I will trust You in the dark.When the troubled thoughts within me hold me wakeful in the night,
And the shadows that surround me seem to hide me from Your sight.
Father, bring to my remembrance mercies shown in days gone by.
Help me rest upon Your promise: You will not neglect my cry!While You wait in gracious wisdom and my doubts begin to rise,
I recall Your loving kindness, and lift my hopeful eyes.
While Your hand withholds the answer, I will not withhold my heart.
I will love you in Your silence, I will trust You in the dark.
Sale on The BE Series Bundle: Paul’s Letters
I have long respected and appreciated Warren W. Wiersbe’s BE series. It is a devotional commentary set that answers questions that I didn’t think to ask and well applies Scripture passages for practical life. I own the entire series.
Usually, each book in the series sells for about $10. However, right now there is a digital sale going on!
The best deal I’ve seen so far is the nine book set of “Paul’s Letters” which is selling for $1.99. That is $85 less than normal and a great deal!
Typically, these sales are just for the day so act fast!
Proverbs 23:6-8 – The “Hospitality” of a Stingy Man
Proverbs 23:6-8 reminds us that insincere hospitality is repulsive.
Eat thou not the bread of him that hath an evil eye, neither desire thou his dainty meats: For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee. The morsel which thou hast eaten shalt thou vomit up, and lose thy sweet words.
Solomon warns against enjoying the food of a stingy man (lit. “evil eye”). The food may look good but stay away if it is not sincerely given. It appears that the stingy man values his food more than he values his guest. What a shame! This lack of hospitality becomes repulsive once the meal is finished and makes the guest regret saying anything complementary.
Application
- Only accept hospitality that is sincerely given.
- Be a blessing with sincere hospitality!
Proverbs 22:6 – Train Up a Child…
Several years back, I visited Bedford, VA to see the National D-Day Memorial. While there, I happened upon a dear older lady who attended a good local church. Well, I say “attended” but Betty (name changed) hadn’t been there much since her kids left the house. She was discouraged and heartbroken. Betty said that she lost her faith in the Scriptures, in her local church, and in God. You see, Betty’s children had made really bad decisions over the past decade since her husband passed away. She had clung to Proverbs 22:6 to prove that her children would turn out and now she believed that God had failed her and her family.
Proverbs 22:6 states…
Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.
Has God really failed this woman? No.
First, the book of Proverbs is full of “truisms.” This means that Proverbs is an excellent source of general knowledge and “street smarts.” But, this also means that you can’t claim that every proverb will always happen exactly as stated. It is generally true that children with godly parental influence will turn out to be godly individuals. But, don’t expect God to take away your child’s free will! Even children with godly parents have the free will to make bad, life-altering choices.
Second, every verse in our English Bible has been translated from another language. The book of Proverbs was originally written in Hebrew. Here’s what it looks like in Hebrew.
חֲנֹ֣ךְ לַ֭נַּעַר עַל־פִּ֣י דַרְכּ֑וֹ גַּ֥ם כִּֽי־יַ֝זְקִ֗ין לֹֽא־יָס֥וּר מִמֶּֽנָּה׃
Wow, that’s quite different! And, it is an incredibly difficult passage to translate. This verse, like much of Proverbs, is a one-verse saying in ancient poetical form. I have great respect for the translators but in this instance I respectfully disagree with their translation. Here is another legitimate (and I believe correct) translation of Proverbs 22:6.
Dedicate a young man upon the entrance of his chosen path (or vocation) that even when old he will not turn aside from it.
While still a truism, this passage now has an entirely different intended challenge. It is a challenge for elder members of society (and parents) to help a young man remember life-changing events in his life. Take weddings for example. Abby and I will always remember the commitment that we made to each other on June 20, 2015. In part, we will always remember that day because of the many people who came to “dedicate” us to our chosen path.
Application
- Know your Bible genres.
- Make dedications a memorable and sacred event (for the good of the dedicatee).
What Happens After Death?
This past Saturday, a dear family friend passed away. We mourn with his family at their loss and yet we rejoice with him at his gain. He is finally experiencing what Paul knew to be true when he stated “for to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21).
Why is death gain?
Death is not always gain. The Scriptures tell us that there are two places where one can go after death: with Christ or apart from Him (in hell). The Scriptures also tell us that you must choose during your lifetime where you will spend eternity (John 3:16). Every person on earth has a problem: we have broken God’s law. This is called sin (Romans 3:23). Sin violates God’s holy nature (Revelation 4:8) and means that we cannot spend eternity with Him (Romans 6:23). Mankind was not intended for hell, but it becomes man’s just dwelling because of sin (Matthew 25:41). Hell is separation from God. However, God loved us so much that He prepared a means of forgiveness through His Son, Jesus (John 3:16). Those who admit their sin to Him and and ask for forgiveness will be saved from their sin (Romans 10:13). Death is gain for those who have been forgiven because it means eternal unity with Jesus Christ (Philippians 1:23).
Would I like to be with Christ?
If you love serving yourself, then you would hate eternity with Christ. Heaven isn’t about you. Does this statement surprise you?
Being with Christ is a byproduct of salvation. Christ forgives men from sin to transform their lives (Titus 2:11-14). The sin-forgiven man should act like Christ, thus the term “christian.” Christians are saved from sin and should no longer enjoy things that displease God (Titus 2:12, 14). Christians are to live in wisdom, righteousness, and godliness (Titus 2:12) for the glory of God (1 Corinthians 10:31). At death, we no longer feel the urge to sin (Romans 6:7) and are therefore free to serve Christ (Romans 6:18)! If you love serving Christ, then you will love being with Him forever!
What will we do in eternity?
- We will serve Him (Revelation 22:3). As we focused on in the last section, heaven allows perfect service. We are freed from sinful desires and can fulfill our created purpose of glorifying our wonderful Creator. There are many aspects to our service. Rather than going into all of them, let me challenge you to post your favorite part of anticipated service as a comment below (include scriptural support).
- We will see God’s face (Revelation 22:4). Even Moses was denied the privilege of seeing God’s face here on earth (Exodus 33:20, 23). Yet, it is the privilege of every servant in eternity to see God’s face. Scripture also tells us that seeing God for who He is will make us imitate Him (2 Corinthians 3:18; 1 John 3:2). In eternity we have full access to our Creator!
- We will reign (Revelation 22:5). This does not mean that we will reign over others, but rather it anticipates our exaltation. God exalts His faithful servants (James 4:10)! In eternity, we will be eternally exalted!
Application
- Accept God’s gift of salvation.
- Live to serve God.