Sunday_Service

Dear Heavenly Father, Please help us all this day to learn your truth, please have the Holy Spirit come upon us as we listen or read the words and sounds of Your heart, Your truth, so we may be better sons and daughters, for you O’Lord. Please speak to us, through your Spirit, please tell us what you want us to hear. Tell us what you want us to learn. Tell us how to get us through this fallen world. Teach us O’ Lord, your wisdom, and your knowledge, so we have a better understanding of You, and Your Son Jesus, and what happened to us, and how we are able to obtain the righteousness of your Son Jesus, so we can have a better closeness to You, and our fellow man, In Jesus’ mighty name, Amen.

Good morning everyone, now that we celebrated the day of love yesterday, and the day of togetherness and the sharing of special presents, candy and cards, with all expressions of , tenderness and devotion towards our special loved ones, families, and friends. To all extent of all things, yesterday was a day of husbands and wives, and mothers and fathers, grandmothers and grandfathers took steps to perform an act of a special getting together for an day of joy and love. To share their words and terminologies, of hope and affection, maybe over a special dinner or a private get together, a movie house, a play, a concert, or some other performance. Here also is the same expression of a son to his mom, and grandmother, or a daughter to her mom or grandmother, or maybe even whole families getting together, with all the joys of the children running around playing, and special neighbors and guests, showing the expressions of love. The day of the heart, the day of pink and red flowers and bows, a day in this country were girl and boy, male and female, of all races, colors, and creeds show all they can to demonstrate the ultimate compassion for each other. It also is a day for visits to the nursing homes, the hospitals, far away homes, apartments or farms, for all that special greeting of different, kinds of consideration, sympathy, care, and kindness. I wish we could celebrate that kind of love like that everyday. That is the way God and Christ wanted it be, ever since creation of the world in the Garden of Eden, with Adam and Eve, thousands of years ago.

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Love never fails.1Cor.13:4-8a

Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

And concerning you, my brethren, I myself also am convinced that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge and able also to admonish one another.

But I have written very boldly to you on some points so as to remind you again, because of the grace that was given me from God,

to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles, ministering as a priest the gospel of God, so that my offering of the Gentiles may become acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.

Therefore in Christ Jesus I have found reason for boasting in things pertaining to God.

For I will not presume to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me, resulting in the obedience of the Gentiles by word and deed,

in the power of signs and wonders, in the power of the Spirit; so that from Jerusalem and round about as far as Illyricum I have fully preached the gospel of Christ.

And thus I aspired to preach the gospel, not where Christ was already named, so that I would not build on another man's foundation;

but as it is written,

" THEY WHO HAD NO NEWS OF HIM SHALL SEE,

AND THEY WHO HAVE NOT HEARD SHALL UNDERSTAND." Rom. 15:13-21

I didn’t have any of this sermon planed, I am just following the Holy spirit, basically that is the way it should be done. Most preachers plan and take notes and prepare all week, on what they are going to say, I find myself doing it sometimes, I was going to preach on something entirely different, and I had no Idea it was going to lead into these verses, in fact I was going to talk about the manipulation, domination and intimidation, within our churches today. And how Satan uses these three principal tactics to break apart, divide separate and destroy the church and body. But that is not what we are supposed to do. We are to let the spirit of God lead us into the teaching about love in Christ, and His word. Please notice verse 20, how that I might not want to build on another mans foundation,and I don't, I'm here to preach Christ crucified and the knowledge of Christ , and what he has done for us. Most of us know the general stories through the 4 gospels, but as things that went on this week and in my life and in my health, I am not doing any better. As you all know I still have a strange infection in my mouth that has made it impossible to chew and eat properly. Last Tuesday, I almost keeled over from weakness. I have also come across a few non- love experiences with doctors, but as the word says in Matt. 5:43-48

"You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

We are still supposed to love everyone no mater how you are treated, and pray for them, and to not even hold a grudge against anyone, In the last verse (48) Jesus finished up this love section in the word, that we are to be perfect like our heavenly Father is perfect. That is our duty to care and pray even though we are hurt. In my situation we are talking more or less maybe a life or death situation, who knows, I still haven't found out what kind of sickness I have yet. So I guess the good Lord is still at work with in me, to make me be perfect, but I still live in the flesh. Being a witness for Christ is more or less the same word for martyr, so I figured if I have to die from this affliction that will be fine too. That is when I have to depend totally on the Lord , and not doctors, because some of the doctors have broken my heart. But what are we supposed to do? Still love them, and pray for them, right?

If you all new my story some or most of you would have a different view of what you would be doing right now, but that is where total trust in God comes in. I have considered the fact that I might die, so let us swing over to 2Tim 4:6-8 these verses are more or less taking about Paul’s hope in death, not that I want to die, but here are his words;

For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith; in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing.2Tim.4:6-8

I guess in Paul’s mind of a drink offering consisted of wine poured out on the alter as a sacrifice to God. (Gen.35:14, Ex. 29:41). It’s fragrance that was considered pleasing to God. Paul viewed his life as an offering to God, I guess that is the way I view it myself. I am devoted to God, and everything I try to do is for Him, and His children, we all sin and we still live in the flesh. see Rom 7:14-25;

In Roman athletic games, a laurel wreath was given to the winners, a symbol of triumph and honor; it was the most desirable prize in ancient Rome. But this particular crown may be some other type of a crown, or just a reward when we get to heaven. When ever we face discouragement, persecution or death, we know our reward will be with Christ in heaven.

"Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

"Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me.

"Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.Matt. 5:10-13

But the fever for 3 months has been rough, and the weakness, in my system is a hard one, but the point of the

matter is I have no other doctor to go to, I am on this island and I have to wait till March 4th, to see another neurologist, and that is a maybe. I could possibly wake up tomorrow and be healed. My whole is life is depending and trusting on God, the good view point is the churches prayer ministry, in which we have established a lot of prayer warriors and I have maybe a half a million people praying for me now. That is love, that is an example of Christianity, the caring and the pure love and devotion. Every time I open up my email there is at least 10 prayers there, that people are praying, with choice words that are all different, and most of them make me cry. Plus the fact, I am under severe attack, constantly, because the devil does not want me praying for people, and preaching the word. So that is when I moved over to Phil. 3. The fact remains that I have Christ, and what does matter is I have gained Christ, to know him more, to feel His touch. This affliction and all these trials have to make me stronger, and getting to know Christ even more deeply, and all the fear is gone. To have Christ in you, and to have the mind of Christ, is the whole key to life. Whether you live or die, it is important to be close to Him, to almost hold Him, and the more you suffer the more you get closer to Christ, because of the way Christ suffered for us, you learn to be more like Him through suffering, plus you also gain particular type of wisdom, and maybe that is the whole purpose of our life here now.

I once thought all these things were so very important, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done. Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the priceless gain of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I may have Christ and become one with him. I no longer count on my own goodness or my ability to obey God's law, but I trust Christ to save me. For God's way of making us right with himself depends on faith. As a result, I can really know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead. I can learn what it means to suffer with him, sharing in his death, so that, somehow, I can experience the resurrection from the dead!Phil.3:7-11

I don't mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection! But I keep working toward that day when I will finally be all that Christ Jesus saved me for and wants me to be. No, dear brothers and sisters, I am still not all I should be, but I am focusing all my energies on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I strain to reach the end of the race and receive the prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us up to heaven.

I hope all of you who are mature Christians will agree on these things. If you disagree on some point, I believe God will make it plain to you. But we must be sure to obey the truth we have learned already.Phil.3:12-16

Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates his brother is still in the darkness. Whoever loves his brother lives in the light, and there is nothing in him to make him stumble. But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness; he does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded him.1John 2:9-11

This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. 1John 1:5-7

Dear Father, we love you, thank you for showing us your love, thank you for sending your Son Jesus Christ, to help us, through His suffering, and His death, that we may have life. Please comfort all our brothers and sisters, this week, and please send your healing power to all that are afflicted, for by His stripes, we are all healed. In the Loving Name of Jesus, Amen