Brother Gary Sunday Evening 11/2/14

Brother Gary Sunday Evening 11/2/14

Pro 3:5  Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.

Pro 3:6  In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

This scripture came to me recently and I felt that it was designed to give me personally good counsel.  The portion that spoke so vividly to me was, “In all thy ways.” 

This is November 2014.  In the thought of the summer and all the things that we had to take care of because it was summer, our lawns, garden, company, and I was thinking of the many fall projects that I have and I am sure that many of you have that I need to get done as we enter into this fall season.

November is the month of thanksgiving and December is the month of Christmas.  Some of you saints have plans to be gone: some thanksgiving, some Christmas, some the New Year’s season. 

God spoke to me on my ways, of being a husband, having a small piece of property and the things that we need to get done.  God spoke to me, “In all thy ways acknowledge God.  It is important that we begin with God in every work and every endeavor.  It is not the thought of, “Don’t make plans.”  The thought is, “Begin with God in your plan making.” 

We have all experienced the thought, “It would probably be good to do this or that.  I am not saying it is not good.  The thought is, “Begin it with God.”  If it is not the time or the will of God you will know that it is not the time or the will of God.  God is so marvelous in dealing with us.

There are things that are in the will of God.  In the spiritual realm there are a lot of things that God will be in, but it is important that we begin it with God.  Every purpose, every endeavor, and every responsibility:  In all thy ways acknowledge Him.

Seek God at the beginning.  You might be here tonight and say, “I am in this further than I wish I was before I started seeking God on it.”  You cannot go to the beginning if you are already in it.  You can: not take another step until you surrender to God and say, “I am this far, if it is not your will…”  It is always best to let God lead us.

Everything is a work of faith.  Whatever is upon your heart to do for God this week, yes we want to be faithful in our devotions, we know that, believe that, we take care of that, and that is good.  But God may have other things that He wants you to do.  It is vital that we come to GOD and say, “God, I can pack my life with things that are not sinful, but I want my life to be filled with things that count for God.

When God begins dealing with us and we feel like, “I need to… whatever the case might be, write a letter, go to someone’s house, invite someone to your house, or pray for some precious soul from the prayer request this morning or this evening.  The knowledge that we have of the needs of souls, “God is there anything that you want me to do?” 

We don’t know what small beginning God will work to work a mighty work.  Sometimes we have the attitude, “This is a little thing.”  God is in little things.  Many people are waiting for something great big and are disappointed because it didn’t come, the reason is that they didn’t seek God and trust Him in the little things.

Trust God for continual support.  Anything that we need to do in the literal or the spiritual, in the church property or rest home services, it doesn’t always fall in like clockwork.  Sometimes there are hurdles that we have to overcome.

The song that we sang, “More than a conqueror”, as we sang it, I could feel the power of the Holy Spirit in that song.  When you know that God has laid a burden on your heart, begin carrying that burden.  I am ready to supplicate before God and pray for every child that has ever been in BST or Sunday school. 

Some of them were here as children and today they are parents.  Ashely was in Vacation Bible School one season.  She was here for two or three days and sought God during that season.  We were told, “Ashley will not be here tomorrow but we appreciate what you have done here.”  The next day she was here.  Deany said, “she enjoyed it so much that we didn’t want to take that benefit from her.”

If we can see one soul get back to God then it will be worth it all.  I am not convinced there will be only one.  There is wonderful power in prayer.

It is important that we begin the course right.  We have all started on a project and then wished we would have realized where we were headed.  On this spiritual journey, begin the course right.  “God, that which you have laid upon my heart and want me to do, help me to begin it right.” 

The way to begin it right is to get before God and say, “God help me to get this thing lined up right,” and stay before God.  Begin on course.

Sometimes we start in the thought, “I am going to learn this; I am going to memorize Phil 4:8; I’m going to get 1 Corinthians 13 down.”  I give myself a test at home.  “Can I remember what this thing says?”  I never get 100% but I am happy if I get half or 75%. 

When it comes to spiritual things, begin the course right and then stay on course.

Too many times people give up before the answer comes.  It is not because they didn’t begin right, it is because they didn’t stay on course.  Young people have brought to me the thought, “Let’s be good without God.”  It is not going to happen. 

We don’t need any more examples of the shipwreck that young, middle aged, or old make when they try to live without God.  The greatest benefit is to begin with God and then let Him direct your path.

Pro 3:1  My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments:

Pro 3:2  For length of days, and long life, and peace, shall they add to thee.

Pro 3:3  Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart:

May God help me and this congregation realize, “God I need your mercy.”  It is not the thought that we are going to depart from God or go our own way.  We need the compassion of God.

How wonderful truth is.  How vital it is.  There is nothing sadder than people that have known truth and lose it.  Sometimes they never find God, never find truth again. 

During the time of Sister Dorothy’s family in Eureka aging and dying, I met a man that I had known as a child; we went to church together.  He got up at one of the memorial services and said, “My father used to come to here to preach. 

His dad, Larry Lotterlay, invented the cinder block and became very wealthy.  At the end of the service I shook his hand and said, “I think we have met before when you were a child and I was.”  He said, who are you?  I helped him to know.  The next service he was looking for me and asked me, “Who are you and who are you in fellowship with?” 

When I was 25 years old his father was an elderly man.  As I was talking to him I asked him, “What do you think of the old paths of the Church of God?  He said, “I have found a better way.”  That means that those old truths that had brought the church of God to the highest place that it had ever been, he thought he had found a better way. 

We want to ever keep real the mercy of God.  Brother Jack Klemstein was glad to get back, not to groups or people, but to the sure foundation of the Word of God.  Truth, be satisfied with truth.

I am not going to say where our path will lead us, I am not of the mentality that it is going to get littler and littler, or bigger and bigger.  The path that God has for me, I want to be right there.  God can be in big numbers and in small numbers.  The important thing is that we are right on the path.

Pro 3:4  So shalt thou find favour and good understanding in the sight of God and man.

Pro 3:5  Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.

Pro 3:6  In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

Pro 3:7  Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil.

Keep humble before God and keep it real how much we need God.  The wise man said, “Be not wise in thy own eyes.”

This is how it will affect you:

Pro 3:8  It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones.

As a little child in the womb of the mother receives all it needs from the cord that is attached, let us stay properly related to God that that strength that we need we receive.  There is strength that we draw from one another and from the Word of God; we draw strength from the wells of salvation with joy. 

There will be times that we feel the desperate need of strength.  In reality it all has to come from God.  Some people are good at flattery and building people up, and so on.  The thing about inflation, when the source turns off, soon the air begins to come out.  When we draw our strength from God, it is sure.

It will be marrow to thy bones.  There is something about our natural bones that if they were hollow they would not have strength.  There is something about that marrow within them, about the cells, the oxygen coming into the bones that makes them strong.

If there ever was a day, I feel it and this audience feels it tonight, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.  Everyone in this audience would say, I feel my desperate need of His strength.  That strength comes from God meeting with us.  He has a way of bringing strength to our soul and bones so that we can carry. 

It brings us health.  I want to be healthy.  We as a church want to be healthy mentally, and spiritually.  We want to be healthy in the thought that we go before God and say, “God we are in grief for America.”  We are in grief for every child that will go to the schools in Western Montana without their face washed, without breakfast, without the love of a parent.  Wherever there are children that is the way it is.  Laws that used to protect children are ignored today. 

Strength, if you and I don’t have strength to turn the battle to the gate, if we don’t have the strength of God come into our soul so that we can stand, then who is going to?

Pro 3:9  Honour the LORD with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase:

God has been wonderful.  You go into our cupboards and cellars, there is food there.  God has been wonderful, he has sustained us mentally, physically, spiritually, and emotionally.

Pro 3:31  Envy thou not the oppressor, and choose none of his ways.

Envy not the unjust man.  There are a lot of men that oppress people.  You can feel their oppression.  You can feel them oppressing.  Many of them have a great collection of material things and wealth. 

Don’t envy the oppressor.  Don’t choose any of his ways.

Pro 3:32  For the froward is abomination to the LORD: but his secret is with the righteous.

The froward is the rebellious.  They are an abomination: that which is disgusting to God. 

Rev 21:8  But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.

The abominable is that which is disgusting to God.  May God help me, and may God help everyone that is here to begin every work with God. 

Whatever path that God has chosen for you to be on and you are there: the purpose, the work, and the challenges that are there, begin them with God and then keep God on board all the way through.

Pro 3:7  Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil.

Pro 3:8  It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones.

Fear God and depart from evil so shall it be strength to thy bones.