Power or Effort?

If you didn’t realize it before I started this series, there are some remarkable similarities between Bixby, Corinth and probably any other city we could name.

This past Sunday, we looked at how the Church in Corinth was beginning to move in their own effort and strength. What they failed to realize was that as men their fruits were limited and their effectiveness was doomed to failure because they were working from a purely self-motivated mindset.

Sounds like something all of us have been guilty of in some capacity or another.

If we’re doing something on our own without God, and we’re struggling at it, then we’re trying to work in our own strength. That’s a sure sign of failure and will only result in our nature working against us. Not only that, but when it's our effort, most times, our work will never reach heights of significance.

Have you noticed how most people, who work in their own strength or in their own effort, are often double minded or even multi-minded? James 1:8 says that a "double minded person is unstable in all his ways."

If there are days you are confused and deeply divided, if you find your values are being compromised, that is not God's best for you. Try to quit working in your own strength, in your own effort and allow God to use His power through you.

There is one simple key to operating in the power of God and not in your own effort…we must enter His presence.

Remember in Exodus 33 how he yearned for God’s presence whether in the desert or in the Promise Land. Israel wasn't about to move into the Promise Land in their own effort. Moses refused to go anywhere, including the Promised Land, unless they were being lead by God’s presence. Moses told God, unless you go before us, we'll stay here. We will not leave your presence.

Don't you wish we could say what Moses said. In God's presence, our thinking becomes right, and peace, joy, and love become more evident in our hearts.

If we step away from it or try to operate in our own strength, then it can spell trouble for us. Start your day in the presence of God through prayer, Daily Bible Reading, praise and worship. And then CHOOSE to seek His presence throughout your day.

The kingdom of God is not a matter of talking, it's a matter of power. Power is received in God's presence.

Love,

Pastor Steve

PS. Make a commitment this week to pray this prayer found in Exodus 33:13-14: "Dear God, I pray that you would be pleased with me, continue to teach me your ways so I may know you and continue to find favor with you, and so that your presence will go with me, and you will give me rest."

Multiplication or Division…

It sounds funny, but every time I've ever heard a message on Corinthians, my immediate thought has always been “Oh no, someone must be fighting in the Church… here comes a another message on unity.”

But that's not what inspired our latest series at Bixby Community Church. Our purpose in looking at the books of First and Second Corinthians isn't to focus on what we’re doing wrong, but to focus on what we’re doing right. Our aim is to get better, so we can come up higher and learn how to respond to life. The six week goal is to understand the connection between Corinth and Bixby.

This last week, we looked at the spiritual concepts of multiplication and division. It’s curious how anytime we multiply in numbers as a church or grow in maturity, there’s always a test of division put before you.

In the beginning, when Paul first went to Corinth, Paul faced that same test. But, the Lord had a Word for him and I believe it’s the same Word He has for us today: "Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent. For I am with you, and no one is going to attack and harm you, because I have many people in this city” (Acts 18).

Saints, there are countless people in Bixby who need to hear this message...and it is our call to keep on speaking to these people and compelling them to come into this Sanctuary to be restored!

Paul wasn’t afraid to speak out against the church. In fact when he was writing to them in Corinth he wrote about the good, bad and ugly. Take a look at his first comments in 1 Corinthians 3. He wastes no time in chastising them for becoming too worldly. Sounds like the Church today, doesn’t it? People who confess the Lord Jesus as Savior and who claim to live in the kingdom of God, conforming to the ways of the world.

The bad and the ugly in Corinth were found in the hearts of a stubborn people. They didn't need God, and they certainly did not care about His vision for their lives. All they could focus on were trivial issues and preferences. These people became corrupt and started to manipulate others only to benefit themselves and divide the church.

How could they help people when all their focus was on themselves? The simple answer is, they couldn’t! That's why Paul reprimanded them and reminded them of who they were in God…His temple, created to do good works of service.

By building others up, we multiply… by building ourselves up, we divide. It’s that simple. Division ultimately leads to destruction. Multiplication leads to the fulfillment of the vision God has for our community: The vision of marriages being restored, teenagers obeying their parents and making Godly decisions for their life, the vision of helping single mothers, and teaching people how to have an abundant life!

It's really not that hard to multiply and fulfill this vision. If we just multiply love at home, at work, and at church ...things will change.

There’s no simpler rule than that to multiply love across this community.

The secret is to get our eyes off ourselves and onto Jesus. We need to ask God to help us think right so we can be a witness of His life-saving grace in Bixby and in our own home.

Above all else, we must learn to multiply our love,

Pastor Steve

Prevailing Proofs…

The last message of the Promise of Awakening series was on Easter Sunday 2010. It was such a significant service. I felt the Holy Spirit fall on me in a very special way.

If you’ll remember, when Jesus was resurrected, people looked for proof of the resurrection. Was the stone rolled away? Was the body gone? Were Jesus’ footprints found on the tomb floor? Of course people wanted proof…this was quite a miracle. If we were there we probably would have wanted to see the proof too.

Not surprisingly, people today are still seeking proof of the resurrection. But, the sad part is, most people seem to be looking for evidence of resurrection in others instead of within themselves.

The question we should be asking is this: “Is there proof of Christ’s resurrection in my life?”

As a Christian, you should have three blaring pieces of evidence of the resurrection in your life.

First, are you moving toward purpose, fulfilling the call on your life? Second, do you outwardly profess your faith in Jesus? Finally, are you exhibiting inward peace that can’t be defined as anything else but the peace of God?

How you answer these questions demonstrates the proof of God’s resurrection power in YOU..

The church will receive the promise of awakening when the people rise up in their resurrection! It’s great to have intellectual knowledge of the resurrection. It’s great to know that Jesus is alive – now PROVE IT!

The proof of awakening is in a church rising up. The proof of awakening is in what you do in your life, the quality of the decisions you make, and in the relationships of the people you touch.

Saints, Jesus has been resurrected… now allow His Holy Spirit to awaken you today.

Love,

Pastor Steve

PS Oh, and don't forget to lie down on the inside sometime.

A Path to Patience…

Have you ever prayed, “Lord give me patience…right now”?

Wouldn't it be nice if it worked that way? It would except for the fact we’d all be spoiled brats if it did.

Whether you are a new believer or have been walking with the Lord for a while, sooner or later you learn that God’s timing is often not ours.

Galatians 6:9 says, “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” It’s that proper time that requires our patience the most, but it can also benefit us the most.

We need to believe the things we think about and long for will come to pass. The word God gave us, the vision we have, the dream we have, the desire in our hearts that we’ve been hanging onto for years will bear fruit…if we’re willing to rest in Him. Remember the scripture, God will not be mocked; we will reap what we have sown.

Would it hurt any of us to be more patient? Oh sure it may hurt our flesh. I tend to get antsy a four way stop signs. But, does it really hurt us that badly to wait? Of course not, in fact, it could benefit us in more ways than we can imagine.

If we became more patient as a people, we would become a better father, mother, husband, wife, student, leader, child of God. Say this to yourself: A path of patience leads to a perfect outcome. Now, say it again.

You will never question an outcome of the Lord if you are on a path of patience. As a person led by the spirit, when you stay on a path of patience you can rejoice and celebrate knowing you can expect a PERFECT outcome!

Who doesn’t want to see better outcomes for their life? Staying on a path of patience will enable you to receive perfect, Godly outcomes.

You can do it; you can become more patient.

Love,

Pastor Steve

A Perfect Plan

If there’s one simple truth I want you to know today, it’s this…

God’s way is not man’s way. Sounds simple, but it’s a fact.

Sometimes, we do everything in our own power to know what God’s plan is for our lives. But, I’m here to say, unless we’re staying in the word, praying, fasting and giving…odds are it won’t be revealed to us. Never forget the power of the 3-fold cord – praying, fasting and giving.

The plans God has for you are pretty clear in scripture. Jeremiah 29:11 says God’s plans are good and not evil and are meant to prosper you. God also has a plan to win the world for Christ by equipping us to be significant in this life so we can lead people into eternal life through abundant living.

As it says in Ephesians 4, God’s plan is to give the Body of Christ the 5-fold ministry of apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers to prepare the Body for works of service so that the Body of Christ is built up and becoming mature. In short, God’s plan is for believers to be built up so they can grow up!

Remember, our lives are fishing bait for others.

Our lives should attract unbelievers to come to a knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. It is through Kingdom living and growing in Christ that we become equipped to do works of service for the glory of God.

That’s what BCC is all about…becoming equipped to do works of service for others. And so with that, I have a couple of questions for you.

How much are you contributing to the work of BCC? How much are you contributing to being the church of the Lord Jesus Christ?

I am not referring to financial contributions, although God does ask for that, I am calling you to works of service that begin with your heart.

The call that is placed on your life is to make a difference in the lives of those around you. God’s perfect plan for your life is to be mature in Christ and to be prosperous so that you can give to others.

Love,

Pastor Steve

A Perfected Mind

Clearly, our mission as a church is to impact the community with the power and grace of God. To help single mothers, couples seeking divorce, teens that are lost, older people seeking purpose - we gather together to help people. But, there’s absolutely no way we can do that…unless our thinking is right!

Our church’s vision is about living in the Kingdom of God; it’s not about food or drink…it’s not about what we wear or where we live. The Kingdom of God is right thinking, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. The best example of right thinking in the scriptures we can find is with Jesus.

What would happen if we let our minds take on the mind of Christ? What could happen in this community if we started to think more and more like Jesus?

The most significant prayer I could ever pray over you is to ask God to help you think right. Imagine if we let the mind of our Master be the Master of our minds. Pray that prayer everyday: “Father God, let the mind of my Master become the Master of my mind.”

Faulty thinking will lead you to negative reactions and responses. Think about it… you cannot get a bad result if you are thinking right. If right thinking means we have the mind of Christ, what do you think that centers around? How about love? If you are thinking love…how can your outcomes ever go bad?

But when our thinking does go south, when thoughts enter our mind that are not Godly, we must take them captive and reconcile them with God’s Word. The battlefield of the mind is most often where we are attacked. Sometimes, thoughts of temptations come but the Lord promised he would always provide a way of escape when we use God’s Word to defeat the temptation.

Sometimes thoughts come to us challenging us about who God said we are. Saints of God, I don’t want there to be any doubt in your mind about who you are. You are fearfully and wonderfully made, in the image of God, chosen, set apart, more than a conqueror and victorious in this life. You mean so much to God that he sent his son, Jesus, to die for you. That’s how much you mean to God.

If you have any doubt who you are today, stop doubting and believe what God says about you.

Love,

Pastor Steve

A Peculiar People

What does an awakened people look like?

Well, they look peculiar. What’s another way to say it? Well, I guess you could say, we are unique, set apart, or just living in the Kingdom of God.

What does it mean to be a peculiar person? Peculiar people do things God’s way. We look different than the world. God would say we are a chosen people, and so we need to act like it.

If we begin to act like peculiar people and develop peculiar habits, the habits of the people would become the habits of the church, and at that point, we would become more effective in fulfilling the vision of the church.

Several weeks ago, I gave you 7 habits of peculiar people to help you become more effective in your walk with the Lord. Remember the bookmark I gave you? Allow me to refresh your memory. Peculiar people:

· Understand Scripture as the guide for their daily life

· Seek God daily in prayer

· Are devoted to following Christ no matter what

· Live each day guided by the Holy Spirit

· Are accountable to God’s house and His people

· Are obedient in separating themselves from the spirit of the world

· Seek to serve the body out of thanks to God

Think about these habits… take an inventory. Who are you becoming more like? Are you living the habits? A highly effective church is full of people with habits that make a difference not only in their lives, but also in their community.

I believe these habits will impact your life unto to the fourth generation.

If it quacks like a duck, then it’s probably a duck…you are a peculiar people so be peculiar.

Love,

Pastor Steve