Sunday_Service

Good morning everyone from Hawaii to all parts of the world, welcome to The Church Ministries 55th Sunday sermon, not counting the two special Christmas services. It has been a hard year with this affliction and know one knowing what I had, and me not being to exercise like I have for the last 23 years it has taken a great toll on my life, mind, body, and spirit. Plus the spiritual warfare has been so intense and we know there are chosen people all over this world who are under great attacks right now, and we are all pleading with the Lord, and everyone is wondering what is going on, plus as I have said before that Satan and his agents are really causing a great havoc with pastors, we are losing 1500 pastors a month, and they are changing careers, why would anyone want to stop serving the Lord? What could possibly be more exciting then working for the living God? It has been hard for me, I to was out there in the world in the old competition race, and I thank my God he pulled me out of all of that. I am so glad He sent me back to school and placed my head in that bible everyday, it has been a tough long group of years trying to get by, but I am so happy God did what He did, when He did.

Today I am just shooting from the hip, and I am just going with the flow of the Holy Spirit, many times I end up doing this, and I get a bit perplexed when it does get late on Saturday that always means that the people in India get this sermon late because they are 14 hours ahead so I want to get the sermon up and running , but I can tell you many times I am up so late I do have to apologize to my brothers and sisters any where past Greenwich Mean Time, and that is only 10 hours ahead of Hawaii. There are pastors and ministers that take these sermons print them out and take them far into the jungle or deep into places where there is not any type of technical comforts. Christmas has been a tough week for all preachers doing double sermons, and I mentioned before in the Christmas service that a few days ago, I was under so much attack that I almost didn’t even have a Christmas sermon, and the camera decided to not function with just a push of the wrong button, and I had some beautiful areas to photograph, the black lava pools and the mix with the fresh water and the salt water, I was so heartbroken. When I finally got the one button fixed and it was already dark, and I couldn’t take any pictures, all I could do was take pictures of the darkness of the storefronts waiting on the pictures to be put on CD. We have a good old digital camera and I don’t have the setup to put them directly into the computer so I have to each week have the pictures put on CD, but I know it is the words and the prayers and the worship that is most important, but you see I wanted this church to be different and stand out or set apart to be more biblical, I will tell you one thing this church isn’t very rich or wealthy but I feel that is better anyway, we are basically getting by but we do have to pray a lot and follow Phil. 4:19 constantly. And then we had to send out Christmas cards and email cards and design them and then write something edifying with the Joy of Christ and find the right pictures and so on, so I myself and this church have been very busy.

Dear Lord God of infinite mercy, of infinite excellency, who hast sent forth Your Holy Son into the world to redeem us from an intolerable misery, and to teach us Your ways and directions of life, and Your inspirations of Christianity, and to forgive us an infinite debt of sin. We are all gathered here to praise You and to worship You, and thank You for the Joy that we all shared yesterday with the celebration of the birth of Your Son on Christmas Day. Please grant us the Holy Spirit, to flow through this house of worship, and anoint each and everyone of us and bring to light that our understanding and all our services may be so prepared to accept to the discipline and doctrine of our great teacher our Lord Jesus. Father, please here our prayer that we may be prepared in mind and will, to die for the testimony of Jesus, and to suffer any affliction or calamity that shall offer to hinder our duty, or tempt us to shame or sin or any type of abandonment of our faith or belief. We all want to be in truth and in strength and let our faith be the pinpoint of a good life and a strong shield to repel the fiery darts of the devil. Father, You are the author of a our expectations, of modest desires, of our confidence, and of a never failing love to You, our God, and to all varieties and races of our world. Father, please guide us when we come upon portions of unbelievers or uncharitable and desperate people. O Lord grant us to be supported by the strengths of faith in all temptations, and that we may be refreshed with the comforts of Spirit of Truth in all our sorrows, and may bear the burdens through the peace of our Lord. We need to help and be compassionate for the frailty, sicknesses, or helplessness of our neighbors, by the support of Your love. We all welcome the yoke of Jesus and that it may become easy to us to carry, and that our love may reflect upon all the miracles of Your grace. For Your grace that You gave to us we only want to return it into an increase for Your glory, from earth to heaven, and we are here to perform Your duties not for Your rewards, only to bring joy gladness, and praise to You. We still suffer from imperfections of the flesh and we are still growing in love day by day, and hopefully our hearts may arrive to the ultimate goal of an eternal and never ceasing love, through Jesus Christ our Lord the Son of Your love, the author of our hope, and the author and finisher of our faith, in which we thank You O Lord God, Father of heaven and earth, with Your Holy Spirit, be all glory and love and obedience and dominion, now and for ever. In Jesus Name, Amen.

Mary was standing outside the tomb crying, and as she wept, she stooped and looked in. She saw two white-robed angels sitting at the head and foot of the place where the body of Jesus had been lying. "Why are you crying?" the angels asked her. "Because they have taken away my Lord," she replied, "and I don't know where they have put him." She glanced over her shoulder and saw someone standing behind her. It was Jesus, but she didn't recognize him. "Why are you crying?" Jesus asked her. "Who are you looking for?" She thought he was the gardener. "Sir," she said, "if you have taken him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will go and get him." "Mary!" Jesus said. She turned toward him and exclaimed, "Teacher!" "Don't cling to me," Jesus said, "for I haven't yet ascended to the Father. But go find my brothers and tell them that I am ascending to my Father and your Father, my God and your God." Mary Magdalene found the disciples and told them, "I have seen the Lord!" Then she gave them his message. John 20:11-18 NLT

On Christmas day we come to hour to have a completely restored joy, which is even richer and deeper as we unfold the fullness of the Saviors life, not just focusing on the birth. Christmas tells of the first coming of Christ to the earth, with blessings for a lost world. But Jesus was lost to His disciples when He went down to the darkness of death. Mary’s message is of a Savior coming back from the darkness, and rising again, beyond death, to achieve the immortal life. Only part of the joy comes with the birth that we all celebrate at Christmas, but as Christians our fullness of joy comes from us, as we communicate and explain of the accomplished redemption and glorious victory over death and the grave. For much hope was lost on that Friday of Christ’s death; now the stars are shining again, never again to be concealed, hidden, or any casting of shadows.

So this is really the Christmas message. It tells not merely of a Savior born, but also a Savior that has lived, obeyed, suffered, died and rose again, and is able therefore to save the utmost all who come unto God by Him. The Shepard’s and the Magi found but a babe when they came to see the newborn King. We see our Savior with the stamp of the nails in His hands and feet, who has created a full and glorious redemption and salvation for the whole world.

Jesus appeared to Mary after He had come again from death; however death had not snuffed out one beam of His brightness or intensity. The resurrection was a form and prophecy of the future resurrection for all who believe in Him and have faith as well as love in Him. It shows us therefore that death does not mean destruction, or is not the end of life. It is but an occurrence, an experience, and life goes on afterward without loss or damage. We must to try to learn this blessed truth in our hearts, without any doubt. Life is not worth living when it is bounded by earth’s little perspectives, we all must reach out into immortality that is the joy that is presented before us. That is the Merry part of Christmas, we are celebrating life upon life. Without a doubt we do not really begin to live or lives, until we are fully conscious of the happiness and purity living with the grown Christ Child in heaven with complete immortality.

In this world we face many complications, we search for God’s love and we do receive it. Sometimes we do not recognize it. We are surrounded by all different types of sin and barricades from the evil one. The light keeps pressing forth and we just don’t see it, even though we search for it continually, we are blinded by satan and surrounded by his darkness. We keep pressing towards the light but the darkness overwhelms us. Each day we ask for a day of peace and contentment and it just does not come. There comes a time where it is natural to wake up and have all your senses and you are faced not with one or two areas of darkness but many, and they submerge the light like a massive cloud. You call to God and ask for that time of peace and you wave and beat your arms at this cloud of darkness that is trying to over power the light. You see at times little gaps and openings of light breaking through the darkness that is your hope. These openings and gaps of light are your gifts of compassion and love to add to Gods reassurance of hope. I stand as a Christian full of love, optimism, and devotion for all people. I find my joy by serving others. During that service I see a great light of realization bringing that joy to others. When others do not accept or benefit from the joy, in enters another cloud of darkness to circle around me. Many times I call out to the Lord to remove the clouds of darkness because I know myself as a simple man that cannot move these many clouds. I call His Name, I know He hears me, but the darkness remains. I understand fighting the darkness makes me stronger as I try to swim out of this blur, to hear and see through this haze. I know you can not have darkness and light in the same area, but I remain surrounded, even as a child of light, a beacon, strong and full of light. We can not ask why this continues, and how is it possible. We do know the light will shine forth like the sun, at the time edited by God, as we wait in inquisition. God has impeccable timing and I trust in Him. I have tried all different ways to escape from this cloud of darkness, the promises, the faith, the love, the prayers, the word, the hope, the blood, the obedience, and the understanding of an intimate relationship, but still I remain in deeper darkness, and it gets darker as the gaps and openings diminish but the true light is still breaking forcefully through. My patience has not left me, but the weariness, uneasiness, the sorrow, the tears and the waiting has just amplified into a disappointed expectation. I am exhausted and discouraged, but I know and have that inner strength, that is, Christ in me, and I will soon soar out of this darkness on the wings of eagles.

We all prosper once we realize that all we need is Christ; everything we could possibly ever need has been given to us through Christ and from Christ. The knowledge of truth that lay within our hearts, plus knowledge in faith makes our souls prosperous. So the more the strength of our faith, the more warm our love will be, and the more we will be in comfort and to be able to comfort others. The Father has given us a gift worth far more than anything we could possibly ever think of, His own Son. What is the most important thing to God? What would be the most important thing to any father, his children. So our God has given us His Son, and He watched what His son had to go through so we could all be rooted and founded upon Him. So our Father as it says has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in Christ. So that is why we praise Him. If we have Christ we don’t need anything else, so that is the mystery and the hidden treasure, our beloved Jesus. When we receive every spiritual blessing we also have the benefits of knowing God, plus along with these blessings we have forgiveness, insight, salvation, being part of the family of God as His children, plus the gifts of the spirit, and we also know that every gift is eternal coming from heavenly realms or places. Christ is the calmer and is Head of the body, the church. All grace and strength are from Him. All fullness of value and righteousness of this strength and grace are for us. It is an amazing factor that God’s love for us can not even be measured, we then understand that thin red line of redemption intertwining through us, and we should be constantly rejoicing in hope and love for the gift that God has already given us. So the gift of Christ is far more than we could ever ask, we don’t need to ask God for anything, because everything we could ever need He has already given us. Once we all realize how precious and valuable the Lord Jesus is, there really isn’t any reason to ask God for any little things, because we have everything we need in Christ.

We know that Jesus is our strength and our life and breath, and that is all that we really need. We are all human and still living in the flesh, are there are times where you need people, people close to you, may it be family, friends or your children, people that you admire, care about; love, or just general friends and acquaintances that you are close to. To give you that extra hope confidence, love, compassion, and understanding, or maybe just someone that will listen, to give you that extra drive to go on. May it be just with a few words, or a gentle smile, or maybe a word of just saying the future will be eternal with Christ, and with joy, and the life we live now does serve a purpose, but not a purpose for ourselves. Our purpose is for Christ and His people and the church.

The love you have all given me, and the love of Christ guiding me, has made a great change in my life and eventually, I in return can make a change for others. The same would exist for anyone that is suffering unjustly, partially, or unreasonably. Because if my spirit is edified and uplifted than it is far easier for me to find the words to uplift and pray and to say the right things or words to others. If we cling too much to this world, then the future for the world to come will not be as we picture it.

We are all the part of the body of Christ and we need to strengthen the chain, not to weaken the links, we have to consider each other first, this way the entire body of Christ will be in full readiness and fully armored, to defeat the evil that dwells within our flesh, also with others within the world.

Prayer is our most powerful weapon next to the word of God, to fight against the evil darkness’ and powers of this world. Prayer is the light of God, which carries and guides us through the darkness of this generation. We are fighting a fallen world and broken generation. If we don’t try to repair it now our children will suffer, which is plain and simple to understand. I often wonder what it would be like without Christ and the Spirit being a non-Christian, with no scripture or word to guide us through this life and darkness, I guess if you are without Christ you would (not) notice that the walls per say are defiantly falling in on us, and on top of us, and it seems that only a chosen few realize what is taking place.

We as Christians are the major foothold of the survival of civilization. With out us, even though many of us are hidden and unseen the civilization as we know it now, would be a living hell. Even to some Christians the walls that are falling in on us are presently unseen. And to others(non- believers) they don’t care about eternal life, or don’t understand it, or really don’t think that it exists, they only care about today and themselves, and some only believe that this is the only life that they have. So it is very understandable that they act in the way they do. All for self, all for today, wanting everything right now, to not be patient, or to even understand about waiting upon the Lord.

It doesn’t make much sense to me, how could it make sense to them? That is why we as Christians must be out there to witness, show our kindness, being more or less like Christ, and to perform the great commission. So are we doing this? Are we doing what Jesus asked us to do? Then the great task still avails, how do we get them to listen? They have this temporary power, and potency, and certain particular forces, and edges with this wealth, they don’t think or need that they should listen, they will say I am a good person and I do help people with a few things, the fact remains they should be helping people with a lot of things, but that is not up to me to judge.

All things are given by God to each and every individual. We again as Christians have to find a way to reveal the true light and purpose, of the true objective to life, and the presence of God.

Christ is our strength and we need the unity of friendship and fellowship to go on. Just last week when I spoke about evil using others to manipulate towards the destruction of others, so today our base is to edify others, and ourselves within our own realm, to preach and teach the love of Jesus, and who we can save in and from this fallen world.

As I see and read and write back to many prayer requests, the evil one is using money as a major stronghold, people don’t want their honor to be destroyed, it seems money is one of a major concern on our prayer networks today; Of course the top requests are health problems. People are loosing jobs, careers, houses, cars, you name it, and it is all about finances. Most are not relying on Christ, or the truth of Christ, or the word of Christ. And the reasoning behind a lot of marriage breakups is finance situations.

Christ is all and in all, Christ is our strength and our provider and our might which gives us the ability to stand firm. Still people need to survive; our system of proposed or worldly leadership forgets the suffering of our own people. It seems the rich are all afraid to share, or they don’t want to share, or they never experienced what it was like to be poor, or they have no true knowledge of what the poor have to go through to survive. Maybe this will be our next project to educate the rich, on what and how it is to be poor, and hear the cries of a baby totally innocent and hungry, and how the mother feels, and the thoughts that go through a mother’s mind, to feed her children. We must educate also that the rich would receive blessings that would be poured upon them not only in this life, but in the life to come, if they could only help the suffering brothers and sisters of this world.

What else can we say? We have to plant seeds first before something will grow, if the seed does not get planted then the fields of life will be empty. So we as Christian workers are to plant seeds, may it be with edification, education, compassion, communication, and words that come from the Father through the Spirit of God.

Our future lies on what we do today. If we go on about our business and our own concerns daily, thinking only of ourselves, the future could be a desecrated wasteland.

It takes many years for a tree to grow, and if seeds are not planted now, our future will end up with small spouts and tiny bushes that can be swayed and uprooted by the wind, weather, and nature. Did you ever try to move a large tree, with roots growing deep into the soil, you realize that you can’t move it, and most of the time any force of nature can not move it. So the time is now to plant seeds.

As we come to a close to this week I am almost without words, I thank You Father that I had the strength to complete two sermons back to back, plus build two web pages. I wish to thank all our congregation and all our visitors. Dear Heavenly Father, most gracious and eternal God, the helper of the helpless, the comforter of the comfortless, the hope of the afflicted, the bread of the hungry, the drink of the thirsty, and the Savior of all them that wait upon You. We bless and glorify Your name, and adore Your goodness, and delight in Your love, that You have once more given us the opportunity of receiving the greatest favor which we can receive in this world, even the body and blood of my dearest Savior. O Lord take from us all feelings and emotions to sin or vanity, do not let our feelings and emotions dwell below, but soar upwards to the element of love, to the seat of God, to the regions of glory, and the inheritance of Jesus, that we may hunger and thirst for the bread of life, and the heart of elect souls, and may we know no other love but the love of God, and the most merciful Jesus. Amen.