EmeraldBaptistMessages: January 2015

From time to time, alongside the sermons preached on Sunday mornings, a copy of the Pastor's Pen from the weekly bulletin will be included as a blog entry. This weeks copy complements the two part sermon series on "Stewardship". May God bless you richly as you listen and read!!!

It is no surprise as you read this that our community has fallen upon hard times and many individuals are being put out of work while businesses close the doors or file for bankruptcy. In this dark and gloomy financial environment it is essential we keep a Godly perspective on our circumstances, noting importantly that God often sees our situation differently than we do.

Taking some direction from the Apostle Paul’s example, we discover that Paul over the course of his life learned a state of being that is extremely valuable: Contentment!

In Paul’s letter to the Christians in Philippi (Philippians 4:12) he writes, “I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed of hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.” This is not to say that Paul didn’t consider the tough times to be hard going, it’s rather that he knew that in those tough times he had a strength made available to him that was a manifestation of the power of God flowing into and through him. As he continues in verse 13, “I can do everything through Him who gives me strength.”

The good times can bring great blessings to our lives, but they can also bring snares that originate in the pit of hell. You see we can become too dependant on the ample resources that God has brought into our lives and forget that our true security lies not in material possessions but in the Faithful God who provides all of our resources. We can get too caught up in the things of this life and forget that our new life in Christ is more about eternal blessing than the pleasing benefits we can enjoy in this present temporal existence.

That is why Paul also writes in 1 Timothy 6:6-7, “… godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it.” The phrase “great gain” can be readily translated “mega-profitable”. Herein lies the secret to big profits, profits that will not be limited to our life here below. Every good and perfect gift comes from God, but the greatest treasure of all is to know the giver above the gift and to live our lives with a desire to obey Him and seeking to be like Him. He will look after us! You’ve got to be content with that!

EmeraldBaptistMessages

Thursday, 29 January 2015

Stewardship #2 "Managing God's Resources" 25th January 2015

Pastor's Pen 25th January 2015 "The Secret to Big Profits"

Thursday, 22 January 2015

Stewardship #1 "Stewarding God's saving grace" Sunday 18th January 2015