Brother Gary Wednesday Evening 10/31/12

Brother Gary Wednesday Evening 10/31/12

Isa 59:19  So shall they fear the name of the LORD from the west, and his glory from the rising of the sun. When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the LORD shall lift up a standard against him.

It is vital that we have the presence of God and His Spirit real in our heart and soul.  Sometimes the flood of the enemy seems so wide; hurricane Sandy had a 1000 mile sweep.  God has a way of helping us whatever situations that we find ourselves in.

2Co 4:15  For all things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God.

The thought of the abundant grace is that we would have an abundance of the inspiration of the Divine upon our heart.  There are many points of influence that visit all of us.  It isn’t a sin that they visit nor is the thought that the influence would even be sinful. 

As an example: I was telling Kayla that it would be nice if we had more land so that we would be able to rotate Karen’s berries rather than have to do it the way that we do.  More important is that the abundant grace abounds to the glory of God.

There is an abundant grace: above everything that would be tangible in this life, God has ordained that we be saved, sanctified, know our place, and know our gift.  We need to have inspiration of the Divine so that our gift isn’t over looked or left begging by looking for a place to plant more berries.

2Co 4:1  Therefore seeing we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we faint not;

2Co 4:2  But have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully; but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God.

Paul was saying that we’ve received something real and important from God that is of value so great that anything that would jeopardize us from being able to fulfill our calling, we denounce it.  Denounce anything that would ruin our testimony.

2Co 4:3  But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost:

2Co 4:4  In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.

It is sad how blinded men, women, the elderly, boys and girls, and religious people are of how good God really is.  Salvation is the sweetest thing:  to be saved, not just in words, but to have a living reality of being born again and serving God with our whole heart and soul.  They are blinded and the gospel is hid to the lost.

2Co 4:5  For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake.

We don’t have a gospel according to Gary Kelly or any other man.  We don’t preach ourselves.

2Co 4:6  For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

2Co 4:7  But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.

We are so blessed to have this treasure in an earthen vessel.  We are blessed to have the Gospel of the Lord in our earthen vessel. 

We are going to have times of trouble.  Many think that getting saved puts them on easy street.  No, when you get saved, you are inducted into the army of the Lord.  There will be times of rejoicing and of refreshing.  There are times when we will feel like that we are troubled on every side.

Adam Clark seemed to have enjoyed sports and relates this to sports completely.  Matthew Henry doesn’t use sports as the example at all.  But no matter, after you get saved you may feel like you are troubled on ever side.  You may feel that you are all closed in. 

Isa 31:5  As birds flying, so will the LORD of hosts defend Jerusalem; defending also he will deliver it; and passing over he will preserve it.

Sometimes we may feel that we are in the middle of the battle with the battle all around us.  That is a part of life and that isn’t just the case for God’s people.  We may feel that, but we are not distressed.  Millions feel this way and don’t have a way out because they don’t have faith in God.

When we have God, we have someone on our side.  Real life is not having a perfect family.  Trouble all around us will happen in any family.  When we have difficulties with family troubles, we cannot just walk away from then.  You can choose your friends, but you cannot choose your family. 

If there is one that gravels you to no end, get a hold of the abundant grace of God.  We need to have abundant grace when we have troubles on every side.  We live in a day when there are financial troubles on every side.  You may be careful financially, but you don’t know what may happen tomorrow. 

2Co 4:8  We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair;

2Co 4:9  Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed;

2Co 4:10  Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.

Troubles will come, we will have health problems.  I am concerned, there is something going wrong with my dexterity, I don’t realize even how close I am to things sometimes.  I’m not even troubled with what it might be.  I am just trying to get my work done.  What good will thinking about it do?  We are troubled but not distressed.  With every temptation, God will make a way of escape.

We are perplexed but not in despair.  There will be times when you don’t know what to do other than pray.  Pray.  That is what to do.  Not in despair.  Not utterly at a loss.  There is something that you can do, you can pray.  You are not without help in this life if you are saved.

Persecuted but not forsaken.  It will come to all of us.  Someone will pick you out and will make your life rough.  They will find fault with you.  It is not worth making a big deal over.  I have the promise that I will not be forsaken.  We need to realize that God will never forsake us if we stay true to Him. 

Don’t let others in your life make your life miserable.  God is still God.  They may choose to mock you and say bad words in front of you, don’t let that move you.  God can give an abundant grace.

Cast down but not destroyed.  There will be times in the cycles of the body that our emotions will be down.  Paul was a man of God that was greatly used of God.  He said that you will be cast down but not destroyed.  We don’t have to have a lot of emotion or uppers to be saved.  We can have faith in God.

2Co 4:15  For all things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God.

2Co 4:16  For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.

I want to live inspired of God.  I want to be inspired because God is real.  I want to see souls saved, and encouraged and serving God.

I am determined that I am not going to lose my way.

2Co 4:17  For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;

2Co 4:18  While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.

Considering what Jesus bore, my cross has been pretty light.  It is just for a moment, it will not last very long.  The sun will come up again.  In a few days the sun will be shining in Atlantic City, New Jersey.  The Delaware River was already over the banks before the tide came in.  if you go there next year you will probably find that people will have planted flowers there and there will be boardwalks rebuilt.

This is how our life is, our light afflictions, they are passing.  Don’t get murmuring or complaining, that will take you to a road that you don’t want to go down.

After the Chicago fire one of the wealthy men that could have retired and moved somewhere else so that someone else could do the cleanup, told them, get the shovels, my employees will need a job.  I could go somewhere else, but I’m not going to.  I’m going to help clean up.  This is the way God is.  Stay true to God. 

Look not at things that are seen.  There is an unseen hand that always takes care of His people.