IMPACT BAPTIST CHURCH-Making disciples using Christmas

My latest message about how to make disciples for the Lord Jesus Christ by using the most common Christmas symbol.

https://youtu.be/Pg9VYkfxIuU

IMPACT BAPTIST CHURCH-What does it mean to be a disciple of Jesus Christ?

https://youtu.be/f7HH0vdL0F4

THANKFULNESS-THE MARK OF BEING FILLED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT

EPHESIANS 5:15-21

¹⁵ Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, ¹⁶ making the most of your time, because the days are evil. ¹⁷ So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. ¹⁸ And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit, ¹⁹ speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord; ²⁰ always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father; ²¹ and be subject to one another in the fear of Christ.

Paul has been talking about a life and church that is filled with the Spirit in this passage.  Verse 18 has been the key verse, the idea of being overtaken by the desires of the Holy Spirit and not those of this world.  In its contex, a person who lives a Spirit-filled life is one who lives life for the sake of redemption while reflecting the character of God (vv. 15-17).  But that is not all that Paul discusses.  He also points out that if the lives of the individual Christians are focused on a Spirit lead life, so will the local church.  That church will be filled with the singing of the psalms from the Old Testament, hymns that teach and communicate our faith in Christ, and spiritual songs that talk about all that God has done for us personally through Christ (v. 19).

Another earmark of a church filled with individuals who are filled with the Holy Spirit is thankfulness.  Paul pointed out in 5:4 that thanksgiving is very important to the Christian in life and the preservation of godliness.  God created us to be people of thanks, giving Him praise.  After all, it is no small thing that Christ has done on the cross.

Now Paul brings this to a deeper level.  Thanksgiving is a part of a Spirit-controlled life.  Being thankful shows a life immensely focused on who God is, what He had done for us in Christ, and how He is working in our lives today.

Yet Paul is not satisfied with this discussion to stop here.  He places the conversation in light of not only the Spirit-filled life but that of the life of the local church as well.  A Holy Spirit led church may not be one who has a huge service, great programs, or the most inventive way of doing things.  Insted, it will be a church filled with graciousness toward her Lord.

The key word here is “always.”  We all have a willingness to be thankful at times.  Yet the Holy Spirit impressed on Paul to use this word.  We are to “always” be thankful!  It is an imperative for the Spirit-controlled life. A person giving constant thanks to God, through the Lord Jesus is going to be one who is filled with the Spirit.  The same is true of the local church!

Therefore, it would be logical to assume that thanksgiving would be a natural form of evangelism.  In a thankless world, thankful people are unique!  So rather than focusing on our next big church campaign maybe we should focus on what Christ has done for us through His cross and His resurrection.  And through thankfulness tell others, making disciples for Him.  In Colossians 3:17 Paul notes “Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.”

Lessons

-Thanksgiving is the results of a Spirit-controlled life.

-Thanksgiving is imperative to the Spirit-focused church.

-Thanksgiving has a high value of evangelizing the world.


Let me know what you think,
Steven Swaim
Founding President, Be Devoted Ministries
Church Planter, Impact Baptist Church Fate/Royse City TX

Please check out my book Walking Faith:  A Journey from Then to Now through James:
at Xulon Press 
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or Amazon.com

THE CHALLENGE OF THE ENEMIES IN OUR LIVES

(2 CHRONICLES 20:1-19)

Now it came about after this that the sons of Moab and the sons of Ammon, together with some of the Meunites, came to make war against Jehoshaphat. ² Then some came and reported to Jehoshaphat, saying, “A great multitude is coming against you from beyond the sea, out of Aram and behold, they are in Hazazon-tamar (that is Engedi).” ³ Jehoshaphat was afraid and turned his attention to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. ⁴ So Judah gathered together to seek help from the Lord; they even came from all the cities of Judah to seek the Lord.

⁵ Then Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the Lord before the new court, ⁶ and he said, “O Lord, the God of our fathers, are You not God in the heavens? And are You not ruler over all the kingdoms of the nations? Power and might are in Your hand so that no one can stand against You. ⁷ Did You not, O our God, drive out the inhabitants of this land before Your people Israel and give it to the descendants of Abraham Your friend forever? ⁸ They have lived in it, and have built You a sanctuary there for Your name, saying, ⁹ ‘Should evil come upon us, the sword, or judgment, or pestilence, or famine, we will stand before this house and before You (for Your name is in this house) and cry to You in our distress, and You will hear and deliver us.’ ¹⁰ Now behold, the sons of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir, whom You did not let Israel invade when they came out of the land of Egypt (they turned aside from them and did not destroy them), ¹¹ see how they are rewarding us by coming to drive us out from Your possession which You have given us as an inheritance. ¹² O our God, will You not judge them? For we are powerless before this great multitude who are coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are on You.”

¹³ All Judah was standing before the Lord, with their infants, their wives and their children.

¹⁴ Then in the midst of the assembly the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jahaziel the son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, the Levite of the sons of Asaph; ¹⁵ and he said, “Listen, all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem and King Jehoshaphat: thus says the Lord to you, ‘Do not fear or be dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours but God’s. ¹⁶ Tomorrow go down against them. Behold, they will come up by the ascent of Ziz, and you will find them at the end of the valley in front of the wilderness of Jeruel. ¹⁷ You need not fight in this battle; station yourselves, stand and see the salvation of the Lord on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem.’ Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out to face them, for the Lord is with you.”

¹⁸ Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell down before the Lord, worshiping the Lord. ¹⁹ The Levites, from the sons of the Kohathites and of the sons of the Korahites, stood up to praise the Lord God of Israel, with a very loud voice.

When The Enemy Closes In

            There are times in our lives when we all feel a bit overwhelmed.  Like the whole world is closing in on us and the enemy is marching into our lives unannounced, unprovoked, and in force.  At that moment there are one of four possible responses:  panic, shoulder up to meet the challenge head on, become withdrawn, or turn to Someone greater than ourselves for help.  This passage we are about to look at is an example how we should respond

A Kingdom Under Attack

            Jehoshaphat was king over Judah when they came under attack by three separate nations which, for whatever reason, decided to ally against them.  What makes it more shocking is that these were nations who were considered kindred people:  Moab, Ammon, and Edom.  Moab and Ammon where the children of Lot (the nephew of Abraham) and his two daughter’s unrighteous sexual encounters found in Genesis 19:30-38.  Edom was a nation developed from the children of Esau the brother of Jacob in Genesis 32:3 and 36.  In his prayer before the Lord, Jehoshaphat points out in verse 10 that Israel was forbidden to drive out these nations by God according to Numbers 20:17-21.  Even though, through the years these nations had been brought under subjection by different Kings of Israel, there was never an attempt to drive them out.  So one can see the shock and surprise of being attacked with the sole purpose of destroying them.

            The other thing to see is the complete size of these armies!  They were not coming with a small force.  In fact verse 2 notes, “…‘A great multitude is coming against you…’”  At this point in history Judah stands alone against them.  The nation had been split because of the unrighteousness of Solomon and his son according to 1 Kings 11:29-40 and 12:1-20 as well as 2 Chronicles 10.  The northern kingdom of Israel was severally weakened at the defeat of Ahab her king and the overthrow of its administration by Jehu in 2 Chronicles 18:28-19:3.  At this point there is no one to turn to for help in this world.

The Panic

            It would be amiss for any of us to assume that panic did not enter the heart and possibly the population at the revelation of what was occurring.  Verse 3 notes that Jehoshaphat was afraid, as would anyone.  Where does he turn?  What should he do?  How should he handle this situation?  The one thing we can say about this king was that he did not shoulder up thinking if he just mustered up enough men and if their strategies were smart enough they could defeat this invasion.  The other thing he did not do was withdrawal.  He did not attempt to run and hide from the situation.  Being the good king that he was verse 3 reveals that even though he was afraid, he “…turned his attention to seek the LORD…”  Just to be understood, he alone did not do this, but this was expected to be done by everyone in the kingdom.

The Action of Turning to Yahweh

            Verse 3 clearly states that Jehoshaphat proclaimed a fast, therefore the call to seek Yahweh’s face is made.  Verse 4 shows the concern of the citizens by them assembling in Jerusalem at the temple to seek the face of the LORD, together.  They understood the gravity of the situation and knew, as did their king, that they as a nation could not overcome this combined foe alone.  They needed help and it was not coming from any other source.

The Prayer of Confidence

            Jehoshaphat’s prayer is intriguing.  He is not ignorant of his history, the scriptures, the character of God, or his position in this time of difficulty.  His prayer shows depth of knowledge from the Scripture and humility.  He proclaims who God is, who they are in His sight, and what He has done for them.  With no restraint they beg for help from Him. (vv. 5-13)

God’s Revelation

            This time of prayer and humility brings revelation from Jahaziel a prophet of God and family of the Levitical order.  The word of God to the people is three fold:  1) the enemy is not to be feared (v. 15a), which was a promise made to Joshua in Joshua 1:7-9 when he was preparing the nation of Israel to take the land; 2) the battle belongs to the Lord (v. 15b); and 3) they needed to go out and face the enemy in order to see what God was about to do for them (vv. 16-17). 

The Correct Response

            If this moment were to be Americanized on film there would be a great uprising and call to arms.  But, this is not America, it is Judah and their response was as it should be, an act of deep worship of this great God.  Verses 18-19 bring out that they worshiped in prayer and in song.  They had sought God, God had answered, and now they were thankful for His grace shown to them.

Lessons

·         Great enemies will raise up against us and often in great number from unexpected sources.

·         We should seek God when our enemies stand against us.

·         We should be prepared to hear a word from God when we seek Him.

·         When we hear from God we should worship Him for His great word.

·         God will do the fighting for us.

·         Extra thought:  Maybe if we followed this way of living and worship in our churches we would hear more from God.

Please contact me with any speaking engagements please contact me contact me at:

StevenSwaim@Bedevotedministries.com

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