Pleasant Grove Baptist Church April 30, 2019 at 03:32AM

from Pleasant Grove Baptist Church http://bit.ly/2GHVjX0
via IFTTT Peter was sleeping, and deliverance arrived. Sleeping is of course a necessary part of our life. We can not live without sleep, and must sleep often regardless of circumstances. Yet, there seems a powerful symbolism here. Remember Jesus sleeping in the boat while the disciples panicked about the raging storm? They woke Jesus as they thought they were sinking to their death. Jesus rebuked their unbelief. Peter, was in that boat. Peter was panicking with the rest at the storm. This scripture, just a few years later, has Peter now facing certain death, chained between two guards, confined behind multiple walls and guards. There is no escape, authorities had just killed another disciple. Surely Peter was next. And now.... Peter was the one sleeping! What a powerful transformation! Peter had progressed from the fearful, anxious, panicking disciple to the calm peaceful sleeping apostle. How? In between Peter's panic and Peters peaceful sleep we're two major events. Resurrection and Pentecost. The resurrection cemented the fact that Jesus was the Messiah and that all authority was in His hands. But that did not change Peter. After resurrection we see Peter still hiding in the shadows. Pentecost transformed Peter into an apostle, a powerful spokesman who fears none but God himself. Pentecost allowed Peter to sleep peacefully facing certain death. And while Peter was sleeping, deliverance arrived. He was not awake pleading with God to rescue him. He was not trying to escape. He was not frantic or depressed or worried. He was not plotting his defense. Peter was at peace when deliverance comes. It is peace in a storm that demonstrates faith and trust. Peter didn't care what happened to him, Peter had already died and given his days to Jesus. Peter knew that Jesus controlled the future. So, what was there to fear? So often in life we face storms. We panic. We are still in the boat as a disciple. Why? Perhaps we still hang on to our life. Perhaps we have not given full authority to Jesus over our days. Perhaps we do not truly trust that God loves you as an individual. Perhaps we do not believe that Jesus directs our daily walk. This story is a symbol of stepping out of the boat, and walking like Jesus, with Jesus, through the "clothing of power" at Pentecost. We find peace when we trust. The storm matters not. The certainty of evil matters not. We follow God and remain at peace. This covers all areas of life. Health, politics, finances, daily schedule. Everything. We find peace when we put it all in God's capable hands and trust Him, then just follow the principles of scripture. Sleep peacefully and see if God will deliver. For example, in recent years we have faced difficult choices in politics. On several fronts there just didn't seem a good choice. Many, if not most, panicked. They saw the storm and feared death. This panic caused a fear that in turn caused them to do anything to avoid what they feared, even compromising the principles of scripture. The fear drove them to do unrighteous acts of voting against clear mandates in scripture. Driven by fear of God not honoring His promises, they took matters into their own hands and "did what was necessary in man's wisdom" to block the worser evil. In the end, they chose the lesser evil that had the best chance, and the result? They won. We got the lesser evil and thereby lost because evil won. There are many such examples, where we panic and get busy following man's wisdom because "God is not acting so we must". Anxiety, worry, panic. Man steps out and acts... Tries to escape, driven by fear of evil. But in this scripture, Peter slept. And then, while sleeping at peace in trust, deliverance came. Perhaps God has not acted yet because we are still working under our own wisdom and power? He can not rescue us while there is any chance that we might assume credit from our own actions. He loves us too much to feed our pride. God waits until we give up, and sleep. Rest. Trust. The lesson? Simple... No matter what. Wait on God in trust and peace. Do what is necessary in accordance to God's word, never compromise, never give up. The angel came while Peter slept at peace. Find your own peace in trusting Jesus, and an angel may come to bring deliverance, if not... That's ok too.

Pleasant Grove Baptist Church April 24, 2019 at 03:30AM

from Pleasant Grove Baptist Church http://bit.ly/2UTUi83
via IFTTT Where did Saul find this strength? Consider Moses. Raised in the palaces of Egyptian royalty, educated in the best schools, trained in the skills of the greatest nation on Earth. And yet, when Moses finally sought to help his oppressed kindred, he was powerless. He was scared. He gave up and ran. Moses found his strength after 40 years as a Shepherd in the desert, at the face of a burning bush and God's voice. Saul, followed a very similar path. Born a jew, raised in the church, taught by the best scholars of the Bible, trained by the peak of church leadership, and Saul persecuted Jesus. He found strength on a lonely road facing the light of Christ and the voice of God. Seclusion, hardship, light. Those are the hallmarks of finding strength. The education of Moses and Saul was the best of the best, yet both men were useless at best, dangerous at worst. These men enjoyed all that earthly wisdom had to offer and it accomplished nothing. It's Jesus. Falling facedown in the light of Christ, the righteousness of God. Being filled with the Holy Spirit inside and out. Walking in communion with God, the source of all truth. Jesus. So often we seek strength through other means. We seek wisdom from other sources. We drink from the well of man, instead of the living Waters of Jesus. Why? Pride. The fundamental sin of man since the garden of Eden is still seeking to be like God, through our own means. Evil. Satan proclaimed "you will be as God, knowing good and evil" and we listened, and we listen still. Tempted of our own evil desires to be someone, gain authority and power. Evil. We charge out in search of that forbidden fruit that can make us like God... Without God. The answer? The cure? Meet Jesus. Face the light of Christ. Allow yourself to fall to the ground in His presence and be blinded to the world, cast into the desert to find the burning bush. Strength is not found in man, not in education, not in books, not even in the bible alone. Wait.. what? Not in the Bible? Saul studied deeply the exact same Buble that Jesus preached from, the Bible that you and I read today, and still Saul persecuted Jesus, murdered the saints. The Bible alone will not save you, will not strengthen you. Remember Satan knows the scriptures inside and out and is still condemned and evil. Jesus said to "wait until you are clothed with power from on high". And on the day that happened there was tongues of fire. The burning bush, the light of Christ. There in is strength. Then and only then can we become warriors for Christ, witnesses of the greatest story since the creation. Strength, wisdom, truth, life all comes from meeting Jesus, in person, and being filled with His presence. Then and only then can all the education and training we have had become useful. Only the wisdom of the Holy Spirit can bring truth to the scriptures we read. It's all Jesus. Seek Him first, and live in strength.

Pleasant Grove Baptist Church April 19, 2019 at 03:10AM

from Pleasant Grove Baptist Church http://bit.ly/2GxkNHK
via IFTTT Good Friday? No, Jesus was not crucified on a Friday, but something fabulous did happen on this day! Something we can take comfort in today. The fact of crucification on Wednesday was covered a couple days ago, today we want to take a look at what DID happen on Good Friday. This is the day that the committed women bought and prepared the spices and herbs to anoint Jesus' body in the tomb. The very fact that the women did this shows great courage and commitment. There was no angel calling them to do this. No law. No requirement at all except their own hearts. They had spent the last few years ministering to and honoring Jesus. They were not about to stop because the nation had turned against Him! They were not about to stop because He was now dead. Their love and comittment drove them on to do what they could, to honor Jesus further any way they knew. So they spent this day preparing to anoint His precious body one more time. An act of selfless love. And you know what amazing? No one stopped them, not even an angel! There was no reason for them to do this, it was a pointless act because Jesus would rise before they ever delivered their package of love. The angles knew this. God knew this, and yet they were not stopped until.... They arrived at the tomb. Then the angels informed them. Why not appear to them on Friday, before they wasted a day on this? Sometimes in life, God allows us to continue down the wrong path for the right reason, so that we might end up at the right place at the right time for an even greater blessing than we can fathom. These women were mightily blessed , beyond comprehension for their day. They were single handedly the first witnesses of the empty tomb! They were given the task of telling the world for the first time, "He is risen". Spending their money on spices, spending their day Friday preparing them, and heading to the tomb at the earliest possible moment was rewarded with being the first in the world to utter "He is risen". Wow! In our lives, this happens also. Sometimes God lets us continue our work, expecting a certain outcome. Yet we discover that the outcome we expect is not God's plan, something much greater is! Why doesn't He tell us and change our work, our expectation? I think there are two reasons. 1. It doesn't matter. God is so powerful that He can use any situation for His outcome. It doesn't matter what or why we do things, He can turn them into a step of His plan. 2. If we knew the truth of where we were headed, we might either not go, or race ahead and miss it. So God often lets us continue moving forward, sometimes doing pointless things that we think are critical, so that we will end up in the right place at the right time to be blessed beyond our dreams. What is the lesson here? Relax! Things do not matter nearly to the extent that we think they do! Peace is found when we realize that situations mean nothing. God can turn anything and everything around, because it is all His plan anyway! He put the desire in the hearts of these women to minister to Jesus. They just kept going, and God honored that and blessed them in fabulous ways. So take heart, what you do today may well end up being useless, pointless, complete waste of time. But God is still guiding your path, setting your step in the direction He needs, to bless you beyond your comprehension. Trust Him! Find peace is His strength. Were these women disappointed that they didn't get to use their spices? That they had wasted their hard earned money and time on that ministry that didn't even happen? Of course not! They were overjoyed to discover the truth, they got to proclaim "He is risen!". There is no regret in that, no disappointment. There is joy overshadowing everything that led to that moment. Relax! Take heart! Regardless of what you find yourself working on today, God is working on your blessings.

Pleasant Grove Baptist Church April 17, 2019 at 03:05AM

from Pleasant Grove Baptist Church http://bit.ly/2KKKokH
via IFTTT Jesus Crucified Today, the Wednesday before Easter. Yes, contrary to popular tradition, Good Friday is not a biblical holiday. In fact, it is directly contrary to the Gospel. Worse, celebrating Good Friday as the day of Christ's resurrection destroys His own testimony as to being the Savior. Let's take a look at WHY this is so important. Jesus Himself declared that there would be one and only one sign as to his being the messiah. There is only one way that we know that Jesus is the Messiah, and not anyone else. This one defining characteristic is important, because Jesus said it was ! All the other miracles and works done by Jesus have been duplicated by others, impostors. Those other works do not testify to being Messiah. They are reproducible. This is why we have so many competing religions in the world, so many have looked to other things, things that are reproducible. And thereby get misled into a different gospel, a different messiah, a different path of life. It is this one sign that sets Jesus apart, that testify to the validity of the Gospel as presented in the Bible. What is this mighty single sign? Jesus says: Matthew 12 38 Then some of the scribes and Pharisees told Jesus,[a] “Teacher, we want to see a sign from you.” 39 But he replied to them, “An evil and adulterous generation craves a sign. Yet no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah, 40 because just as Jonah was in the stomach of the sea creature for three days and three nights,so the Son of Man will be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights. Here Jesus uses the same terminology as in the creation story, specifically listing time periods not vague timeframes. three days and three nights, as in evening and morning each day of creation. Specific. Even the Church leaders viewed this as an actual specific time period. When they went to Pilat, they reiterated the specific three day promise. Matthew 27 62 Now the next day, that followed the day of the preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees came together unto Pilate, 63 Saying, Sir, we remember that that deceiver said, while he was yet alive, After three days I will rise again. 64 Command therefore that the sepulchre be made sure until the third day, lest his disciples come by night, and steal him away, and say unto the people, He is risen from the dead: so the last error shall be worse than the first. It is very clear that those who witnessed this expected three full days before the resurrection. But you can not get three days from a Friday cruxifiction to a sunday morning resurrection. Jesus promise is invalidated by altering the timeline. And the good part is, it is not necessary! Scripture clearly lays out the proper timeframe, if we just take the time to look at what the Bible actually says. First a look at the proper time line: Wednesday - crucifixion at 9am, Death at 6pm, burial by sundown. Thursday - a "high sabbath" Friday - a normal day Saturday - the weekly sabbath Sunday - the day of resurrection Now, keep in mind that the jewish way of accounting for time is night before day. So saturday night is our friday at 6pm to our saturday morning at 6am. The jewish saturday day is our saturday from 6m to saturday at 6pm. Night before day. Scripture says that this particular week had two different sabbaths. A weekly sabbath as normal, on saturday, which begins our friday night at 6pm. But also there was a High Sabbath, a special yearly celebration of passover followed by the feat of unleaven bread. Jews called all of God's appointed days "sabbath" but there was regular sabbath (saturday) and special, or "high" sabbath for other days of the week when a holiday fell. So we have a special sabbath on thursday, which started on our wednesday evening at 6pm. That is why they were in a hurray. They could not allow men to hang on a cross dyeing when the sabbath started. This is in the law of moses. So they had to break the men's legs to cause a quick and early death. Except when they came to jesus at 3pm, he had already died by giving up his spirit to God. They did not break his legs, but pierced his side to make sure. Then the clock was ticking. They had only about 3 hours to get them off the cross and buried before 6pm came and the high sabbath started. John 19:31 New American Standard Bible Then the Jews, because it was the day of preparation, so that the bodies would not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), asked Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away. We see in John 19:40-42 that they found a tomb closeby, and used it to lay Jesus body. The women were with them and watched the stone be rolled into place. (MAtthew 27:61). Now, that means that the women could not yet have purchased the spices and herbs to anoint his body with. And they could not buy any because the high sabbath started when there was no commerce at all, and no work. They had to wait. But if this was friday as tradition teaches, how could they already have the spices purchased and ready by sunday morning at daybreak. SAturday was a sabbath when there was no commerce and no work. They would have had to sin to follow the Good Friday tradition! No, they did not sin. The ladies rested and observed the high sabbath of thursday and then went out friday to purchase and prepare spices. Then the rested again on the weekly sabbath. The story line only works if the scripture of the extra "high sabbath" is honored on thursday. So it fits only when Jesus is crucified on WEdnesday, buried before sundown, and then spends three full days and three full nights in the grave to rise sometime during saturday night before daybreak. IT's not Good Friday, that destroys the Gospel. IT is Good WEdnesday! How can God honor such glaring mistakes with His word, especially when JEsus made such an important declaration that this ONE SIGN was the one. No other graves are empty! Muhammad, Confucius, All of the other prophets and would be messiahs are DEAD. Their graves are full. Only the tomb of jesus is empty, and it emptied on the third day, just as He declared it would. If Jesus rose any other day, his own prophesy would be untrue and thereby he would have lied, and not be the messiah! This is important! and fortunately... if we ignore the church tradition and stick with scripture, it works! JEsus spent three days and three nights in the earth, dead, in a tomb. Then He rose of his own free will. Jesus died when He willed to die, and rose when He willed to rise. He had full right to do so, because he was the only one sinless! Muhammad? HE sinned. HE was not perfect, and thereby he had to die in his own sins. JEsus on the other hand had no sin, no guilt, and thereby could let his body die, and rise it up as He desired. Jesus is not just a teacher, not just a prophet, not just a good person. He is our messiah, our saviour, he is perfect and died only because of our sin, not His own. HE is different, and the ONLY human ever to have the right to not die for their own sins. Jesus is the way, the truth, the life, and the ONLY path to God, because only his tomb is empty to this day. You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free!

Pleasant Grove Baptist Church April 14, 2019 at 07:36AM

from Pleasant Grove Baptist Church http://bit.ly/2VOcDQE
via IFTTT Easter Week: Why is this important? Jesus Himself declared that he ONLY sign He would give us that He is the messiah is the sign of Jonah, three days and three nights in the grave. When we allow tradition to reverse truth in this matter, we destroy the proof of Jesus as the Saviour. Matthew 12:39-40 King James Version (KJV) 39 But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas: 40 For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. Jesus was crucified on Wednesday, not Friday. He rose on Sunday just before sunrise. That accounts for three full days and nights in the grave. This is easily supported by scripture. This chart gives a great description of the timeline and supporting scripture.

Pleasant Grove Baptist Church April 09, 2019 at 03:03AM

from Pleasant Grove Baptist Church http://bit.ly/2GaLHox
via IFTTT He preached Jesus. Only Jesus. What else is there to talk about that effects the life of man? What truth can be important enough to spend time on? It truly is all about "Jesus and Him crucified". That is the good news! The point here is that everything since the garden of Eden points to Jesus. Every scripture, every story. Why? Because He is man's only hope. Without Jesus, there is nothing. Without Jesus all is a waste. Even if you followed the law down to the letter, perfectly, without fail all of your life. Even if you could, heaven would not be your destination. Nothing man can do makes him worthy of life in heaven with God. While it is true that man cannot keep the law, the truth here is that even if he could, it wouldn't matter! Man already sinned. "In sin did my mother conceive me". We are each born of a sin filled race called mankind. Man was condemned to death by his actions thousands of years ago. We truly have no hope beyond this life, without Jesus. Jesus was born of a virgin, thereby inheriting no sin from Adam. That is why the Christmas story is so important. Jesus had no original sin, no debt to pay. Yet He was full human. And, the best part, He chose of His own free will to take the sin of all of mankind on Himself and die in our place. That is the only reason we have a future, a chance, a hope. Grasping this truth is what makes songs like "amazing Grace" come alive with meaning, depth, and tears. We truly are a wretched and lost being. We are nothing but dust destined to become dust. Yet He loved us and died a horribly painful humiliating death to pay our debt in full, a debt we could never pay. Don't ever get caught up in thinking we "deserve" anything but judgement and death. We are not worthy of life. But through Jesus' death we are granted life, out of pure grace and love. We live, because He lived. We do not die, because He died. So preach Jesus. All of the old testament preaches Jesus. Everything points to Jesus. All of the new testament points to Jesus. He is the beginning, the middle, and the end. Don't waste time on things that do not bring the message of the good news, of Jesus, to the world . Preach Jesus and Him crucified

Pleasant Grove Baptist Church April 05, 2019 at 03:40AM

from Pleasant Grove Baptist Church http://bit.ly/2K8khUr
via IFTTT This is how it's it supposed to be! Signs and wonders along with preaching! Hearing and seeing by the hand and word of God. Over and over in the New testament we see this pattern. Where God moved, there were both physical signs, wonders of God's miracles in people's lives releiving suffering, along with annointed preaching of the Gospel. These two go together. In fact, Jesus Himself proclaimed that "these signs shall follow them who believe". Do you believe? Do the signs and wonders of God follow you? Are your words validated by mighty works of God touching people's lives? In your church do signs and wonders abound among the people? The teachers? The preacher? If not, why not? There was a time in Jesus life when He did not do many signs among a people due to their unbelief. The people who would receive, refused. That is certainly a possibility. When we are focused exclusively on the world and it's cures, the miracles of God can be refused. But that was only once in Jesus' life. Today we live in an age when this promise, this reality of the Gospel, seems nonexistent. The church does not heal the sick, doctors do. The church does not free the captives of demons or addictions, professional do, programs do. Churches are full of the same things as in the world, the same suffering. The people within the church run to the world for deliverance just like those in the world do. Where is this promise? That is a good question. And the answer, all answers, are to be found on your knees. Prayer. Seeking God. Giving up all selfish ambition, all evil motives, all dreams, goals, desires. Gone. Laid at the foot of the cross by a broken and contrite heart. The answer is found in the revelation that we are hopeless, powerless, useless without that cross. A deep understanding that the best works of the most accomplished and capable trained professional are but rubbish in the eyes of God. The answer is find with an end to praising the works of man in order to cherish the works of God. This is revival! All through history, when God brings revival to a society, that revival has 2 things: anointed preaching that changes hearts plus signs and wonders of God's power moving. But, it is not launched in a committee meeting, it is launched in a prayer meeting. The seeds of revival are planted when a group fall on their face, giving up everything of self and crying out to God to move. And persisting until He does. Then, when the preaching comes it is followed, validated, and advertised by mighty works of God's hands. You see, God's power only flows through a clean and transparent vessel. The more of us that exists, the less God's power will flow. He loves us too much to flow power through us when we might think we actually had something to do with it. When we think we are worthy, capable, trained. He will not use pride, only humility. He will not use self worth, only brokenness. Signs and wonders? They do follow them that believe. God is still desiring to heal the sick, cast out demons, raise the crippled, set those captive free. And He does so to the extent His people seek Him first. He moves to the extent that eyes are on Jesus, not credentials. Would you be like Philip? Your words validated and advertised by mighty signs and wonders of people being touched physically, emotionally and spiritually? That is the call of God on your life. Not to become a preacher necessarily, but to live the Gospel. Many decades ago. When I was a young man, I was staying the weekend at Grandma's. At one point she had a need to climb a ladder, I forget why. It was just myself and grandma alone in the garage. I was maybe around 8 to 10 years old. As I watched her step down that ladder she tripped and fell, hurting her ankle quite badly so that she could not stand. I tried to help her up, but she wouldn't have it. She said "no, pray for me". I did, in my childish and untrained way. Immediately she smiled, stood up, thanked God, and walked out perfectly fine. I, on the other hand, was in shock! For her, it was normal life. She trusted God at His word and God showed up. This is the Christian Life. Know the heart of God so much by spending time with Him, by submitting to His will in everything, so that when He moves it is not a surprise. Miracles touching needs should be the norm, not the exception! Philip walked this life of signs and wonders along with powerful preaching. So can we. So can you. Philip was not "special", he was an example. God does not change, He waits. He waits for a clean and transparent vessel that will seek God's glory, God's praise, God's presence, God's power in all things. Be that saint, and touch the world for Christ!

Pleasant Grove Baptist Church April 01, 2019 at 03:45AM

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via IFTTT "I see the heavens opened up..." This is the beginning of the great reward for the saints of the living God. He is waiting to take us home! When Stephen was finished, when he had done all that God had for him to do, and the world, the "church" turned against him, Stephen saw Jesus waiting to take him home. What a glory! God always has a plan. In some instances the plan is deliverance. The prison doors were opened by an angel to let the saint walk out freed by God's own power. But in other cases, such as Stephen, the plan is to indeed let evil end the life of a saint and take them home to heaven. Either way, there is a plan. It was not God's plan for Stephen to walk away from this group seeking to stone him. Deliverance to fight another day might have seemed the greatest miracle, but in fact no. God's plan was to honor Stephen with the title of first martyr. God's plan was to shock the world of the new saints to test them and their resolve. God's plan was eternal rest for Stephen, he had done well. Do you know God's plan for you? Is it deliverance to fight another day or is it eternal rest, or somewhere in between? The point is, God has a plan, for you, for today. That plan is the goal of our daily walk. Faith is accepting the fact that God has a plan for every detail of our life, and accepting that what happens is indeed that plan. Now sure, we make mistakes. We frustrate the plan of God and end up with consequences for our mistakes and sins. But, never can we alter God's plan. Never can satan alter God's plan. God is still God and is in complete control! So what then when life is hard? Accept it on faith! Are we to accept the good days as God's plan and not the challenging days? Are we to take the blessings and not the disciplines? How is that faith? Who gave us the right to pick and choose, as if God missed something and bad things happened? God is God. Period. End of story. He has a plan for you and is working out that plan. He will not be thwarted! This is the key to removing anxiety, worry, stress from our life. Accept that what is happening is somehow in God's plan for you, and seek Him! As Stephen said in his final discourse before they rose to stone him, God's plan was for the children of Abraham to spend 400 years in a foreign land as slaves, mistreated and oppressed, babies murdered, horrible living conditions. THAT was God's plan for them! Think about the generations of people who suffered at the hands of the Egyptians and never saw deliverance! They lived God's plan! So we, today, are living in God's plan. Based on His wisdom, our past, His desires, He has a plan all worked out for you. And through this plan His glory will be revealed. Our job? Faith, seek, submit, honor by relaxing and accepting God's plan. At the end of it all, on our final day, Jesus stands waiting to escort us into the glory of heaven. That is when we are finished here and our faith is complete.