Tag Archives: spiritual growth

Pastor Wrinkles: House On Fire Pt. 9

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The Word of God is a bridge that connects Earth with Heaven and Heaven with Earth.- Joseph Elon Lillie

The Word of God is a bridge that connects Earth with Heaven and Heaven with Earth.- Joseph Elon Lillie

So, we come to another opportunity to study and discuss the Book Of Acts together. If you have missed any of our previous discussions you can find them here

http://wp.me/P39vIx-Gh – House On Fire Page

Now here is our discussion for the day:

We are beginning Acts chapter 4.

While Peter and John were speaking to the people, they were confronted by the priests, the captain of the Temple guard, and some of the Sadducees. 2 These leaders were very disturbed that Peter and John were teaching the people that through Jesus there is a resurrection of the dead. 3 They arrested them and, since it was already evening, put them in jail until morning. 4 But many of the people who heard their message believed it, so the number of believers now totaled about 5,000 men, not counting women and children. Acts 4:1-4 NLT

The disciples were arrested by the Sadducees for preaching the resurrection. It is interesting to note that the disciples were not breaking any Roman law, but the Jews were acting on what amounted to current “anti-terrorism” legislation. The Romans forbade anything that could cause riots and the Jews of that day took advantage of  the rioting laws to squelch anything they saw as troublesome to their doctrines. The disciples were frequently arrested for disturbing the peace or to stop them from “inciting a riot.”

The doctrinal issue the Sadducees and Pharisees are struggling with is found in Acts 4:5-12

The next day the council of all the rulers and elders and teachers of religious law met in Jerusalem. 6 Annas the high priest was there, along with Caiaphas, John, Alexander, and other relatives of the high priest. 7 They brought in the two disciples and demanded, “By what power, or in whose name, have you done this?”

8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers and elders of our people, 9 are we being questioned today because we’ve done a good deed for a crippled man? Do you want to know how he was healed? 10 Let me clearly state to all of you and to all the people of Israel that he was healed by the powerful name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene,[a]the man you crucified but whom God raised from the dead. 11 For Jesus is the one referred to in the Scriptures, where it says,

‘The stone that you builders rejected
    has now become the cornerstone.’[b]

12 There is salvation in no one else! God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved.”

The claim of course is that not only did Jesus die and rise from the dead but that He is the messiah.

For our discussion today let’s take a look back at Acts 1:6 and then a second glance at Acts 4:5-12

So when the apostles were with Jesus, they kept asking him, “Lord, has the time come for you to free Israel and restore our kingdom?” 

Tell me how did Peter’s view of the Kingdom of God and his work in it change between ascension day and his arrest by the Sadducees? (Acts 1:6)

Pastor Wrinkles; He Completes Me Pt. 6

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and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power. Col. 2:10

and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power. Col. 2:10

We continue today with our discussion from Colossians 2:10. I hope you have been blessed by these offerings. If you by chance have missed any of our last “Complete Me” posts you can find them here:

http://wp.me/p39vIx-IQ Written sermon- He Completes Me Pt 1

http://wp.me/p39vIx-IU Written sermon- He Completes Me Pt. 2

http://wp.me/p39vIx-J8 Written sermon- He Completes Me Pt. 3

http://wp.me/p39vIx-Ju  Written Sermon He Completes Me Pt. 4

http://wp.me/p39vIx-K4 Written Sermon He Completes Me Pt. 5

Today we continue in our topic speaking about our completion in supernatural strength.

 Dear reader you must know that, the Bible tells us that we are not only complete in our salvation and in our sanctification but we are also complete in supernatural power to accomplish the purposes of God for our lives.

God has big plans for you and for your life. He says it this way.

“For I know the plans I have for you,” says the LORD. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.” Jeremiah 29:11

 Many of you are looking at the plans God has shown you and you are saying “God that is impossible.” You are absolutely right. Accomplishing the plans of God for your life in your own strength is impossible but you are not working under your own power you are working under God’s power and you are complete in Him. You are complete in the supernatural strength of God to be able to do all the miracles which are going to have to be done in order for you to succeed in the plans of God.

Ask Paul the Apostle if he thought he was capable of fulfilling the plans of God for His life. By his own confession he said,

“8 We think you ought to know, dear brothers and sisters,[a] about the trouble we went through in the province of Asia. We were crushed and overwhelmed beyond our ability to endure, and we thought we would never live through it. 9 In fact, we expected to die. But as a result, we stopped relying on ourselves and learned to rely only on God, who raises the dead. 10 And he did rescue us from mortal danger, and he will rescue us again. We have placed our confidence in him, and he will continue to rescue us.” 2 Cor. 1:8-10

Experiences like this caused him to come to the conclusion

I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. 13 For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength. Phil. 4:13

Soooo…What area of your life do you have to begin believing you are supernaturally strong in?

Pastor Wrinkles: He Completes Me Pt. 5

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and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power. Col. 2:10

and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power. Col. 2:10

We continue our conversation today regarding Colossians 2: 6-10 with our concentration being on verse 10. If you have missed any of the previous posts they can be found here:

http://wp.me/p39vIx-IQ Written sermon- He Completes Me Pt 1

http://wp.me/p39vIx-IU Written sermon- He Completes Me Pt. 2

http://wp.me/p39vIx-J8 Written sermon- He Completes Me Pt. 3

http://wp.me/p39vIx-Ju He Completes Me Pt. 4

Now today we will discuss the subject of sanctification…

If you have asked Jesus into your heart then you are complete in your salvation. You can take nothing away from it and you can add nothing to it. Christian if you have asked Jesus into your heart you do not need to keep asking him over and over. You have asked He has responded. You are saved and unless you go to Him and say Jesus I don’t believe in you I no longer want you in my life you are saved because you are complete in your salvation.

But not only are you complete in your salvation you are also complete in your sanctification. “Sanctification” is a long Christianese word for being holy.

and “holy” is a short little Christianese  word meaning you are set aside for special purposes by God to live righteously, that is to live defeating sinful attitudes and actions on a daily basis. You are complete in your holiness. The moment the Holy Spirit entered you and filled you up and saved you unto eternal life you were set aside for special purposes by God. The Bible says it this way:

Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20 you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies. I COR. 6:19,20

Christ died for you. You can live for Him. You have the ability to walk in righteousness over every sin and addiction.

“on July 3l, 1838 on the Island of Jamaica, a man named William Knibbs, gathered 10,000 slaves for a great praise gathering. They were celebrating the New Emancipation Proclamation Act that would abolish slavery on the island. They had built an immense coffin and into it were placed whips, branding irons, chains, fetters of all kinds, slave garments and all the things that represented the terrible slavery system that was now coming to a welcome end.

At the first stroke of the midnight bell, Knibbs shouted out, “The monster is dying.” At each stroke of the bell that followed this cry was repeated and the great crowd began to join in the cry. At the twelfth stoke 10,000 voices cried out, “The monster is dead, the monster is dead, let us bury him.” They then screwed the coffin lid down and lowered it into a huge grave and covered it up. That night, every heart rejoiced and 10,000 voices grew hoarse, shouting and crying with joy. Once they were in bondage to slavery, but now they were free.

There is a tragic side to this story. While many rejoiced in their new liberty and freedom, there were some slaves, that lived in remote areas of the island, that did not know they had legally been set free. Because they didn’t know, for many years after the Emancipation Proclamation had been made a law, they still continued to serve their slave masters. Their former masters successfully kept the news from them as long as they could. By law they had been declared free men and did not have to live as slaves any longer. However, ignorance of the truth kept them in bondage.
Now let me tell you an even sadder story. Today, if we’d hear a story of something like that happening, we’d be shocked, sympathetic and even angry. But the truth is, the same type of thing is happening in our day. Jesus Christ, because of his victory against sin on the cross, has issued an Emancipation Proclamation of liberty and freedom from sin to everyone on this earth. But like some of the Jamaicans were, there are those today that just don’t understand that they no longer have to live as slaves to sin any longer, and the devil is trying to keep them in that mind set.
The message of the cross is this: Satan has been defeated and sin’s penalty has been paid. We no longer have to surrender to sin or be controlled by Satan. We can belong to Jesus and live to please God.” Bill Lobbs

You see we are complete in sanctification, but we still struggle sometimes don’t we? What do you think causes the struggle?

Pastor Wrinkles: He Completes Me Pt. 4

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and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power. Col. 2:10

and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power. Col. 2:10

We have been looking at Colossians 2:6-10 over the last few days and have been speaking about our completion in Christ. If you have missed any of the discussion you can find it in the following blog posts:

http://wp.me/p39vIx-IQ  Pt. 1

http://wp.me/p39vIx-IU Pt. 2

http://wp.me/p39vIx-J8 Pt. 3

Now here is what I am thinking about completion today:

The moment you come to Jesus …the moment you believe He died for your sins… the moment you receive Him as Lord and Savior you are completely saved… that is you are granted eternal life in Heaven. That is the GOOD NEWS that the Bible teaches!

But the Bible also teaches says that all who do not receive Jesus die separated from God and are consigned to a sinner’s Hell. I know that is not a popular thing to preach these days but it is the truth.

11 For Jesus is the one referred to in the Scriptures, where it says,

‘The stone that you builders rejected
has now become the cornerstone.’[b]

12 There is salvation in no one else! God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved.” Acts 4:11-12

16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.

18 “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. John 3:16-18

 

Many will say “that’s unfair Pastor J why would a loving God only provide one way for men to get to Heaven? Why can’t every man choose His own way?”

The answer is simple: Because man is not God. Only God can save.

It is not unmerciful that God did not provide a hundred ways to Heaven. It is a mercy that He provided any way at all when He did not have to.

That said, those who have asked Jesus into your heart  are complete in salvation. We can take nothing away from that salvation and we can add nothing to it. Christian, if you have asked Jesus into your heart you do not need to keep asking him over and over to save you. You have asked He has responded. You are saved and unless you go to Him and say “Jesus I don’t believe in you I no longer want you in my life.” you are saved because you are complete in your salvation.

Has the idea that Jesus is the only way to Heaven ever offended you?

Pastor Wrinkles: Special Touch North East Getaway

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100_3301A group of us from area churches recently spent a week serving the disabled community of New England at the North East Special Touch Getaway. This was a fantastic week of God-sightings and heart-warming ministry.

I have so many stories I could share but I will share just this one. One of our getaway guests approached our table after breakfast one morning and said to us, “Y’know I am one of the lost boys.”

“What do you mean Addie?” Pastor Joe asked.

“I won’t ever grow up.” She said laughing.

We all raised an eyebrow at that, which wasn’t lost on her.

“I’m serious.” She said. “God has told me I am no longer to be childish but I am to be child-like.”

Now that preaches!

Here are some other photos from our time away:

Photo: "Holy, holy, holy, merciful and mighty..."

 

Pastor Wrinkles: He Completes Me Pt. 3

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10 and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power. Col. 2:10

10 and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power. Col. 2:10

Today we continue with part three of last week’s sermon entitled “he Completes Me” from  the book of Colossians 2:6-10

If you have missed the beginning of our discussions here you can find them at:

http://wp.me/p39vIx-IQ

http://wp.me/p39vIx-IU

Now for today’s sharing:

What does it men to be “complete in Him?”

Well first it means that you are complete in your salvation. We so need saving! You see, the Bible tells us that every human being has a problem. That problem is called sin. Sin is that nature inside of us which causes us to make wrong choices, evil choices. We all have it within us. We have all made choices we regret. There isn’t one of us who can look at our lives and say “I have never done a single thing wrong.”

Most of us refer to this part of our personality as our weakness but sin is not really a weakness; It is a power that enslaves us to doing wrong. It is a power that separates us from God.

The Bible says it this way.

we have already shown that all people, whether Jews or Gentiles,[c] are under the power of sin. 10 As the Scriptures say,

“No one is righteous—
not even one.
11 No one is truly wise;
no one is seeking God.
12 All have turned away;
all have become useless.
No one does good,
not a single one.”[d]
13 “Their talk is foul, like the stench from an open grave.
Their tongues are filled with lies.”
“Snake venom drips from their lips.”[e]
14     “Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.”[f]
15 “They rush to commit murder.
16     Destruction and misery always follow them.
17 They don’t know where to find peace.”[g]
18     “They have no fear of God at all.”[h]

19 Obviously, the law applies to those to whom it was given, for its purpose is to keep people from having excuses, and to show that the entire world is guilty before God. 20 For no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands. The law simply shows us how sinful we are.

Romans 3:9-20

But God in His mercy did not leave us to solve our problem alone. He sent Jesus to die on the cross and to rise from the dead. When Jesus did that he made it possible for us to be saved to enter  “salvation”.

 Romans 3  doesn’t end with people remaining bound up in sin it goes on to say…

 But now God has shown us a way to be made right with him without keeping the requirements of the law, as was promised in the writings of Moses[i] and the prophets long ago. 22 We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are.

23 For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. 24 Yet God, with undeserved kindness, declares that we are righteous. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins. 25 For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood.

Now that’s what I call good news!

Pastor Wrinkles: House On Fire Pt. 8

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The Word of God is a bridge that connects Earth with Heaven and Heaven with Earth.- Joseph Elon Lillie

The Word of God is a bridge that connects Earth with Heaven and Heaven with Earth.- Joseph Elon Lillie

 

So this evening I would like to return to our discussion regarding the Book of Acts. If you have missed any of our last discussions you can find them here http://wp.me/P39vIx-Gh . Go ahead! Take a gander and add your two cents. I would love to hear from you. 🙂

Let’s pick up where we left off in Acts chapter 3:11-26

Peter Speaks to the Onlookers

11 While the man held on to Peter and John, all the people were astonished and came running to them in the place called Solomon’s Colonnade. 12 When Peter saw this, he said to them: “Fellow Israelites, why does this surprise you? Why do you stare at us as if by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk? 13 The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his servant Jesus. You handed him over to be killed, and you disowned him before Pilate, though he had decided to let him go. 14 You disowned the Holy and Righteous One and asked that a murderer be released to you. 15 You killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead. We are witnesses of this. 16 By faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know was made strong. It is Jesus’ name and the faith that comes through him that has completely healed him, as you can all see.

17 “Now, fellow Israelites, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did your leaders. 18 But this is how God fulfilled what he had foretold through all the prophets, saying that his Messiah would suffer. 19 Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord, 20 and that he may send the Messiah, who has been appointed for you—even Jesus. 21 Heaven must receive him until the time comes for God to restore everything, as he promised long ago through his holy prophets. 22 For Moses said, ‘The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own people; you must listen to everything he tells you. 23 Anyone who does not listen to him will be completely cut off from their people.’

24 “Indeed, beginning with Samuel, all the prophets who have spoken have foretold these days. 25 And you are heirs of the prophets and of the covenant God made with your fathers. He said to Abraham, ‘Through your offspring all peoples on earth will be blessed.” 26 When God raised up his servant, he sent him first to you to bless you by turning each of you from your wicked ways.”

Our questions for discussion:

If you were Peter how would you feel delivering this message to this particular crowd of people?

 

 

 

If you were the crowd how would you feel hearing it? What would you do?

Pastor Wrinkles: He Completes Me Pt. 2

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Olde Centre Church, Jesus the Good Shepherd

Olde Centre Church, Jesus the Good Shepherd

 

 

Yesterday I published Pt. 1 of last Sunday’s sermon at Cornerstone Church, “He Completes Me”. If you missed that you can catch up by going to http://wp.me/p39vIx-IQ.

Now today’s submission begins:

“You are complete in him” now those are powerful words; At least they made me sit up and take notice. Christian are you complete in him? Do you feel complete in Him?

“He completes me”…that is a statement we usually reserve for the deepest of romantic statements. In fact “You complete me” is right up there with the very cheesiest of romantic sentiments…like

” Once in awhile,
Right in the middle of an ordinary life,
Love gives us a fairy tale.”
Unknown

Or
” Love is like a butterfly, it settles upon you when you least expect it.”
Anonymous

 

Or

” if I could rearrange the letters of the ABC’s I would put U and I together and next to each other forever….”
Anonymous

Yet God uses this statement to speak of our relationship to Him. He says in Colossians 2:10 “You are complete in Him.”

Let’s explore that thought a bit:

The word “complete” is actually the Greek word “pleroo” which means “filled to the brim.” If you are a follower, a disciple of Jesus, according to the Book of Ephesians chapter 1 He has sent his Holy Spirit to dwell inside of you and you are full to the brim with God. If you have not yet made a decision to give your life to Jesus you do not have God living in you or with you but you could have. All you need to do is ask Jesus to take control of your life and you can begin a relationship with Him as your God.

Let’s pray together- Dear Lord Jesus I realize I want you to be my God and king this day. I invite you to come into my life and take charge of it. You be my God and I will be your servant. Please forgive me for every wrong thing I have done which has set me at odds with you. By your cross Jesus I ask you to make peace between me and the Father God. I thank you that is now done. I believe it and I receive it by faith now. Thank you for filling me up to the brim with your Spirit. Amen!

So tell me what do you think it means to be complete in Jesus?

Pastor Wrinkles: He Completes Me Pt. 1

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I had the opportunity to preach at Cornerstone again this week. I have been so blessed by the work God has given me to do among the people of this region. I  honestly have to say, I don’t know why Jesus chose me for this labor of love but I am so glad He did! I have prayed for you dear reader that this sermon, broken down into bite-sized chunks for you reading pleasure, would be exactly what you need to hear each day!

Let us begin!

Colossians 2: 6-10 reads

 As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, 7 rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it[a] with thanksgiving.

8 Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ. 9 For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily;10 and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power.

 

You go ahead and meditate on these verses tonight.I will begin my thoughts on this tomorrow. 🙂

Heaven Pt. 126

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Mel4

 

“Then I said, “O LORD, God of heaven, the great and awesome God who keeps his covenant of unfailing love with those who love him and obey his commands,” Neh. 1:5 NLT

I love the fact that we serve a God of covenants. I am studying through the Book of Malachi with our Wednesday night group and this week we had opportunity to discuss the nature of contracts VS. covenants. We learned…

“With a contract, if one agreeing party does something in violation of the contract then it is considered broken. The whole contract becomes null and void. Basically the signers of a contract agree to hold up their ends as long as the other signatories hold up theirs too.

With a covenant, both parties agree to hold up their ends regardless of whether the other party keeps their part of the agreement. A violation of a covenant by one party doesn’t matter as far as the other party’s responsibility to continue to do what they agreed to do.” Purposelydifferent.com

God has made a covenant of UNFAILING LOVE …not a contract a covenant with those who love and obey his commands.  Because God knows our race and its weakness so well He has made himself responsible to hold up all ends of this covenant. He is responsible for His love for me and out of that love for me He even creates love for Himself in me and the ability to obey His commands.  It is only because of his work at all that I can be called one of those who love him and obey his commands. In fact without God’s saving work among the people of the world there would be no group of those who love Him or obey His commands.

“No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them, and I will raise them up at the last day. John 6:44

 

 

9For in Christ lives all the fullness of God in a human body. 10So you also are complete through your union with Christ, who is the head over every ruler and authority.

11When you came to Christ, you were “circumcised,” but not by a physical procedure. Christ performed a spiritual circumcision—the cutting away of your sinful nature. 12For you were buried with Christ when you were baptized. And with him you were raised to new life because you trusted the mighty power of God, who raised Christ from the dead.

13You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins.14He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross. Colossians 2:9-14

As my friend Angela is known to say, “We serve an amazing God!”