Pleasant Grove Baptist Church January 30, 2019 at 03:35AM

from Pleasant Grove Baptist Church http://bit.ly/2TiJkEd
via IFTTT Do you live by faith? We like to say yes... But do we really? Or do we instead plan everything out ourselves, figuring out the best we know with what resources we have? These are not the same thing, this is not faith. Do we walk by the spirit, or by our own skills and understanding? Do we "do our best" or do we follow Christ? Tough questions, tougher answers if we be honest. When was the last time you stepped out on faith, knowing God would provide but not having any idea how? When have you obeyed, without concern for the consequences of that obeying? When have you taken that first step, with no clear vision of the second? This is the stuff of faith. And yet, as we see here, God has prepared the way! The Passover meal and accommodations was already set up! All they had to do was obey the steps, and those steps would lead to a unseen unknown destination. God works at both ends, preparing the destination for our walk of faith. How sad to live by our own abilities, our talents, our wisdom. How sad to miss the blessings God has in store! What if the disciples had taken it upon themselves to arrange the Passover "as best they can"? What if they had done what we do daily? What if they had used mans ways instead of God's way and just "did their best"? Sin. Plain and simple. Sin. Doing anything "our way" or "man's way" is sin. And it misses the great preparation God has for us. Whatever His plan is for your life, for this day... You can be sure that God has already arranged everything on the other end. It waits for you. But to realize that blessing you must step out in faith. Follow the what guidance you have. As you take each step, the plan unfolds. Jesus did not give these guys an address or name. He said to go meet a guy carrying water. That's it! Can you go today, and meet a guy carrying water? Will you follow the lead of that still small voice inside to take that first step, not knowing where it leads? Scary? NO! This is peace! Trust God, know that the room is prepared already. Know that He would never leave you nor forsake you. You are in His hands if you walk by faith. Anxiety comes when we try to do our best, when we make plans, when we rely on our own best abilities and talents. Peace comes from trusting God in every situation and following His lead. But how do you follow God's lead like this? How do you KNOW when He say to go find a guy carrying water? Simple. Follow Jesus' example. Pray. Don't say a prayer, no. Pray. Get alone with God and pour your heart out. Spend all night seeking His will. Learn to hear His voice. Pray, not say prayers. Open your heart and be honest with God. Wait for Him. Trust that He will speak to you. And wait. "But I have too much to do to spend all night in prayer" you say? Why? What? What will you do before hearing God's direction? Is that not sin? Living life on our own abilities? How is that faith? No.... Pray. Seek. Knock. Lay your own wants down. Die so that you may live. Radical? Yes. Life is radical when you live for Christ. The room awaits, prepared for you already. Will you go seek a man carrying water today? Will you take that first step?

Pleasant Grove Baptist Church January 21, 2019 at 04:18AM

from Pleasant Grove Baptist Church http://bit.ly/2Hrm05R
via IFTTT This life is not life, it is a school. We tend to think that this life is important, and it is, but not for the reason we think. This life is important because it is training for the real thing! This life is our education, true life states when we graduate from here. Jesus speaks here of final judgement. But there is a critical point easily missed. The final home for the righteous was created at the same time as our universe. When God spoke the Earth and stars into being, He also created a final home. A heavenly home. A place for the righteous who graduate from this life. Perhaps it's best to think of this life as no more than our"college days" where we train for the future. We do not stay in college forever, the goal of college is to graduate. So it is with this life. Our life in this planet is intended to end, so that we can move on to the real thing! That's one reason Jesus warned over and over to not get attached to this world not the things in the world. This is not reality! This is school, not life. We are all leaving here at graduation. Are you ready? That's the question. Are you ready? Have you been cleared of your debt of sin through Jesus blood? Have you shown fruits of repentance from your selfish ways? Have your died totally to selfish ambition and desires? There is a new home waiting for you. But first we need to get through school. We need to graduate. . Are you ready for real life?

Pleasant Grove Baptist Church January 14, 2019 at 03:43AM

from Pleasant Grove Baptist Church http://bit.ly/2ALUKcs
via IFTTT Reasoning for selfishesness. This scripture exemplifies one of the core problems America suffers from today. We as a people have lost the desire to know truth. When debates and arguments ensue in person or on social media, the goal is usually not truth, but winning. Selfish ambition. Sin. The church leaders that Jesus questioned here faced a delima within their own minds, but they couldn't even see the real problem. Look at their reasonings and you see it is not even about truth, not about principle or scripture. They only considered the consequences of each possible answer. Selfishness! They cared more about themselves than the truth they claimed to possess. This is why Jesus called them "open faced tombs" a symbolism that fits perfectly ! How often do we do this today? How often do our thoughts drift to "what will happen if I say this or that". NO! Put that selfishness aside! Why do you care? Do you now possess the right or authority to pick and choose based on what happens to you, the lowly messenger? Does life spring from you speaking , or from the words you speak? The arrogance of manipulating the truth based on personal consequences is staggering! Truth is truth. Words bring truth. We are never told to measure our words by the personal benefits or consequences they may bring. We are told to spread the Gospel, speak truth, perservere, die to self, life only for Christ. We are not even in charge of results! We do not make things happen! We only do the work. We are the laborers, not the master. How dare we consider the outcome of speaking truth and think "we" can control that outcome. The only control we have I over our own choices; speak truth, speak lies, or remain silent. Jesus calls us to choose truth, and speak it in love. Do not worry about outcome, it is not in your hands. This is faith. Trust. Know that the God who authored truth will bring the fruit when you do the labor. Be strong, bold, but only for truth in love. The church leaders could not answer Jesus that day, because they did not live in truth. They did not possess truth. They did not know truth. They did not even consider the actual question Jesus asked ! They never contemplated scripture. They never sought truth, they just considered the personal consequences of the answer Beware of people like this. Beware of yourself if you see yourself in this scripture. Beware of taking stands not on principle. Beware of words based on consequence, not truth . In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. Speak the Word.

Pleasant Grove Baptist Church January 09, 2019 at 03:59AM

from Pleasant Grove Baptist Church http://bit.ly/2CZSnUQ
via IFTTT How incredibly sad! Here was the author of all truth, the keeper of light and understanding, and these very learned men of the church we're afraid to ask Jesus anything. Why? Because His wisdom had shut down both the Sadducees and Pharisees. They tried to trap Him and failed. Their wisdom was lacking, too earthly. So they were afraid. What were they afraid of? loosing. Third encounter with Jesus was not about finding truth, but winning. They just wanted to win the argument, at all costs. And it did cost them. They missed the truth. We must be very careful not to make this same mistake. When "defending" the truth, we can sometimes shift into the mode of "trying to win", and therefore loose. As soon as we try to win instead of find truth, we are blind. This happens on social media frequently. People argue about important topics, each trying to prove the other wrong. But neither accepts the possibility that they are wrong themselves. And in the end... Because they are afraid of loosing, one blocks the other. Truth is truth, and valuable. We must speak truth, but always recognizing that we may be wrong in anything we think we know. It is the humility of recognizing error in ourselves that keeps us on the path to truth. These religious leaders dis not seek truth, they only sought to prove their own opinion. They missed the chance of a lifetime... To chat with the author of Truth in person. Don't miss out. Seek truth. Let the Holy Spirit, our teacher and guide, speak to us even in the midst of an argument. Never let emotion speak without the filter of the Holy Spirit. Weigh each word. Listen for evidence that you are wrong. Stay humble. Truth is valuable enough to admit we are wrong on the path to finding it.

Pleasant Grove Baptist Church January 07, 2019 at 03:51AM

from Pleasant Grove Baptist Church http://bit.ly/2FcU96N
via IFTTT Are you ready? One does not attend a formal event in informal attire. It is not allowed. Jesus uses that simple age old fact to bring us a warning... Be ready! He isn't talking about our clothing. Nothing so superficial as clothes or jewelry matters in heaven. Nothing of this Earth can prepare us for that event. In fact, that's the point. Nothing of Earth. When we try to make ourselves worthy, it is like dressing for heaven in worldly clothes. All the things we do to improve ourselves... Is like filthy rags before a holy God. We simply do not posses the wardrobe of heaven, it is not found on this fallen planet! Stop trying! Stop trying to measure up, to change, to be"better". It's pointless! Just relax and let the transforming work of the Holy Ghost clothe us. Only He can dress us for heaven. Only He can clothe us appropriately. In fact, all those things we do to be better? They can not enter heaven. Things off Earth, of man, worthless! How dare we bring our own works, our own righteousness, our own accomplishments into the presence of God? No! It is not allowed in heaven. We must not hold onto this life or anything of this life. There was another story of one who hung onto to the world... A sad story. Redemption had come, new clothes granted freely, but this individual could not leave her own life behind. She looked back. I refer to Lott's wife. As they left the evil citie, they were warned not to as much as look back. Go forward into God's hands, don't long for anything of our past life, not even the good of it. But she did and because she looked back, she never reached safety. We can not take anything of us into heaven. We dare not look back. We are only accepted into heaven when clothed with heavenly clothes, perfect robes washed in Jesus blood and fitted perfectly by the sanctifying work of the Holy Ghost. None of our works, or goodness, our sacrifice is acceptable. It's all Him, not us. So relax, fall on your knees ask for heavenly clothes. Ask for the Holy Spirit to get you ready for entry into heaven. Ask to be stripped of everything from your own efforts and clothed with pure white robes glowing with God's glory. Then you may enter the wedding feast of heaven, a new person. Pure and holy.

Pleasant Grove Baptist Church January 02, 2019 at 03:03AM

from Pleasant Grove Baptist Church http://bit.ly/2An5BcI
via IFTTT Are you resisting God's hand? Consider Lazurus. He knew Jesus, apparently quite well. Yet when Lazarus became ill, Jesus delayed. Now sure, we know the rest of the story, but let's stay here for a minute. There is a lesson we don't want to miss! Lazurus died. Sick, hurting, suffering. God answered the prayers for health with a simple "no". Lazurus continued to suffer. Put yourself in their shoes for a moment, sick, suffering, Jesus healed all the others, but yet you get worse. Your "friend" that calmed the storm is to busy to come see you when you need Him most. God overlooks you. You suffer. Get worse. Days pass. Still worse, no word from heaven. What would you do? How would you feel? How often do we resist God's ultimate miracle by rejecting suffering? Lazurus had to get sick and die. To suffer. To have no hope. To go beyond hope, into actual death... Into "It's over" territory. If lazurus had resisted, if he had refused God's will, would the great miracle have happened? You see, Miracles arise from great suffering, from "beyond hope". If we reject the suffering, if we concentrate our prayers on "getting better", or "getting delivered", and feel rejected when nothing happens, we may miss the miracle God wants to do! Perhaps God intended to raise the dead in your life, but first... There must be death to ride from! Why would we pray "your will be done" and then complain when things go "bad"? How can God work a miracle unless a miracle is the only hope left? Suffering then, becomes the key to success! Lazurus's suffering and death served a great purpose. This event became the "last straw" for the Jewish religious leaders, the one that convinced them that Jesus had to go. There was no other way to preserve their own power but to kill Jesus. You see, lazurus's suffering for a time became a critical cog in the great machinery of salvation for the world! Do you pray for God's will to be done in your life? Do you mean it? If you do, don't be surprised if you are lead down a path of death and suffering. Rejoice! God is at work! If you have faith that His hand is on you, then relax. Let Him work His plan with you. Seek Him daily, hourly even, so that you don't miss it. But relax, rejoice, something is in the works! Our life is not about pleasure, not about confort, not even about "us" at all. Our life is about the Creator of the universe, the savior of the world. Lazurus knew this. I think that's why God picked him for this mighty miracle, this eternal moment in history. Because he was willing to suffer. Are you willing? Will you accept anything at the hand of God? Are you ok with suffering, going beyond all hope? Do you trust God? Those that trust to this point, never give up faith, they are the ones who hear... "Lazurus, come forth!'