Good News Church Yukon, Ok

This month is a transitional month. Summer is ending, and autumn is upon us. Similarly, our life is full of transition periods, where we are needing to switch from our current state to what God has planned for us next. In other times, God may be wanting us to stay planted and dig in with endurance. It is important to exercise trust in God and patience in following his best plans for us.

If we aren't careful, we substitute people where there should be God. We start to rely upon others rather than God. It is of utmost important to make God your source. People are fallible and will let you down, but God is your creator who loves you and will always provide for you. It is especially important that when God provides for us, we do not mistakenly attribute it to other powers, but we must instead go back to God and thank him.

I'd like to speak to you on an Ephesian prayer. It serves as a framework for a prayer expecting growth and good things in the future from God. God is our heavenly father and has good plans for us, and we must be open to what he has planned for our lives. Regardless of what you have faced in the path, God's desire is to heal you and guide you into his perfect plan for your life.

When you go through the letters that Paul wrote, you come across many prayers that he prayed. It is important to distinguish between what was a benediction versus a prayer and their intended use cases. In particular I would like to focus on a prayer spoken by Paul over the church of Ephesus. We are encouraged by the content of this prayer to expand our expectations for what God can do for us.

I was in my office praying today and felt impressed with the word "forward," as in the phrase of "going forward." If you think about it, in the Bible there is so much emphasis placed upon us moving forward. For example, Jesus describes that if anyone were to follow him, he needs to deny himself, pick up his cross, and follow him. The Christian walk is a concept of moving forward.

I want to speak to you on the all-important ministry of the Holy Spirit. He is the member of the godhead that you have the most contact with in this modern era. The Son of God came to live on earth and died for our sins. Before returning to heaven, Jesus spent much time talking on the Spirit of God and the important role he would play for Christians in the church age. The baton was being passed, and what Jesus had meant for the believers at that time was to be transferred to the Holy Spirit. Let's look at Jesus' teaching on the Holy Spirit in John and see what insights we can obtain.

How do you know if you're mature? It can't just be age, as we have all seen people who are older but have failed to mature along the way. Life is not always predictable, but how we handle and adapt to situations can be a great indicator of what maturing we have accomplished and what is still lacking. Spiritual maturity is a very important topic emphasized by scripture that I hope to expound on for you in this message.

Language is one of the most vital cornerstones of human culture. Entire civilizations are built upon a foundation of a common language. It is therefore important that we recognize the power of the heavenly language that God has empowered us to speak in tongues of the Spirit. This act returns us to God's original plan for his church and permits us to truly connect with God in a way that our minds may be unable to. When our mind fails us or does not have the words, the groanings of our Spirit allow for the self-edification and intercession that needs to occur.

I want to talk to you on one simple topic: try again. Sometimes only a small adjustment is needed in order to obtain breakthrough. When temptation comes to give up, we should instead consider another approach and pray that God would encourage us. Rather than just give up, God would will that we instead persevere and earnestly give it another effort. One of Jesus' earlier miracles was when he told the disciples to let down their nets although they had fished all night and caught nothing. They could have resisted Jesus' call for them to try again, but instead they listened, and benefitted greatly for it.

I'd like to tell you about a man named Obed-Edom from the Old Testament. Through a series of events, he came to have the Ark of the Covenant in his home and cared for it for several months. Initially, this seemed like a coincidence, but it turned into a blessing. The Bible describes how he, his children, and their descendants were blessed by the Lord in all aspects of life because of his proper handling of the Ark. In the New Covenant, we are all invited to share in this same blessing from God. If Obed-Edom received such blessings from having a holy object for a few months, how much more will we, who are indwelled by the Spirit of God, be blessed!

I'd like to talk to you about protecting the most precious thing in your life, the Holy Spirit. There are many things that mean a lot to us, like our career or home, that are transient. But our relationship with the Holy Spirit is infinitely more valuable: it is our connection with the eternal spirit of God. The Old Testament describes the outcome of a man who valued God's Spirit that inhabited the Ark of the Covenant and cared over it for some time. God blessed him, and his family, and his descendants. There is a lasting blessing on the man who values the Holy Spirit.

I want to read to you about a man in the Old Testament who was known as Obed-Edom. Through a series of events he came to possess the Ark of the Covenant at his home and take care of it for several months. What started as a coincidence became a blessing for him, as the Bible describes how he and his children, and their children had a blessing upon them by the Lord in all facets of life that was as gratitude for his proper handling of the Ark. In the New Covenant we are all welcomed to take part of this same blessing from God. If Obed-Edom gained it from having a holy object for a few months, how much moreso we who are indwelled by the Spirit of God!

The most important desire of my heart is to help the Lord fulfill his plans on the earth. Although God is omnipotent, he has always honored free will and works with man. It is for this reason that Jesus remarked that, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few." God needs us to live in a way that honors him and shuts every door on sin in our lives. It is imperative that we are fully dedicated toward service to God and possess willingness to submit to his will. To put this all simply -- God needs you, as a laborer and as a Christian.

I and many others feel there is a common sense of community in Yukon. Our Ministerial Alliance group here is no exception and is a wonderful collection of pastors in the community that gets together and shares support and news with one another. Tonight I am joined by a good friend of mine from that group, Reverend Mark Borseth. He is a testament to the importance of ecumenical connection in a local community among Bible-believing Christians. The denominational differences that separate us should not distract from the mutual sense of brother and sisterhood that we share. 

If you live very long, you'll receive bad news at some point. Life is full of discouragement. The various events of life are guaranteed to leave you with at least a few scars. Therefore, the importance is not what happens to us but how we respond. The discouraging thoughts that come to us, do not have to go through us. We have talked about Joshua in the Old Testament and his response to discouragement, but I'd like to talk to you now about how Paul is our example in the Church Age of dealing with discouragement. We are never alone in our battle to stay encouraged.

I want to speak to you out of Ephesians 5, about characteristics of a spirit-filled life. When someone says they believe in a spirit-filled life, they are not referring to an abstract concept. The Bible describes specific signs that follow a life heavily influenced by the Holy Spirit's presence. It is not God's will that only some would be sensitive to the Holy Spirit. It is a second baptism that all believers are invited to partake of.

If you live very long, you are going to face some discouragement, it is a natural part of life. When you go to the Old Testament in the book of Joshua, you see that one of the primary things God told the next leader of the Israelites was to not be discouraged -- "be of good courage." Israel faced a great task, that of setting the promised land. God knew they would face adversity and wanted to encourage them, thus these words. In the modern church age God's message carries on to us: regardless of what darkness we see in the world, we must remember God is in control.

Did you know that God talks to you? Even when you don't recognize God's voice, he is still speaking to you. I can think of many instances where I or someone I knew "had a feeling" that something bad was going to occur. God is speaking to our spirits constantly. The important part of being a Christian which brings empowerment is learning to recognize these messages and answering God's call.

I have felt impressed recently to speak on moments where I have felt God's call on me or visions to me. I feel that the next topic for me to share with you is times where I have witnessed a supernatural act from God carried out through his people. The passage of 1 Corinthians describes the spiritual gifts that have been given to the church as a blessing. It's safe to say that there are millions of Christians who are ignorant about spiritual gifts. In fact, there are probably more ignorant about them than informed. It is important to be informed for the tools God has given to equip the church. As such, I would like to share some occasions where I have witnessed these acts and the change that came about.

It is a wonderful thing to have your prayer answered by God. Some have referred to the passage of Jeremiah 33:3 as "God's phone number" in that it describes how to get God' attention. But the reality is actually quite simple: God will answer you whenever you call out to him. God will not abandon us in our time of need. His love for us means he will answer to us as a good heavenly father. God's answer to us will show us things that were hidden previously -- all we have to do is call out to him and he will answer.