Brother Gary Sunday Morning 7/12/15

Brother Gary Sunday Morning 7/12/15

Psa 119:17  GIMEL. Deal bountifully with thy servant, that I may live, and keep thy word.

Psa 119:18  Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law.

Psa 119:37  Turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity; and quicken thou me in thy way.

There will always be those things in the world that our flesh and the spirit of the world will make attractive no matter our age.  David mentioned them as vanities.  Those things that will not work to the betterment of our soul or another’s soul. 

The Word of God is full of the thoughts of “Lord give me a vision.”

Eph 1:15  Wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and love unto all the saints,

Eph 1:16  Cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers;

Paul said, “Ever since I heard that you turned from idols to serving the true and living God, I have ceased not to pray that:”

Eph 1:17  That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him:

Paul prayed for the saints at Ephesus that they would have the spirit of wisdom.  I have been burdened for us as the church at Paradise that God would give us a strong unction from God.  He can do it for He is God. 

God is a God of wisdom, He is the God of all power, He is the God of all places, and He has all wisdom.  Paul prayed that they would not only receive the spirit of wisdom but also the spirit of revelation in the knowledge of Him. 

In our individual life, those of us that are saved are saying, “God I want to take two steps forward.”  God has a way of uncovering things.  God has a way of in our own life showing us, “You know, you are not dealing with this in the right way.  You need to let me help you to have a vision of how to deal with this.”

Sometimes people are ashamed of things in their life or in their family and they keep it on the inside and it becomes a great weight to them.  God wants us to be able to have God help us to say, “This is what it is, exactly as it is.  Help me to receive from you a vision and a spirit of revelation that I will know how to handle this so that instead of it holding me down and hindering me, I can move forward.”

Everyone loves their family and wants to see them prosper.  Sometimes there are things in their lives that only God can help us to know how to deal with.  If we don’t then our life will be focused on vanity.  Focused on things that will have no positive affect in our life.

God give me a vision:  the eyes of their understanding being enlightened.  I am a grandparent burdened for my grandchildren.  I feel a heavy burden to know how to communicate to them that I love them and to help them to know how to serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. 

I am not taking from the parent’s job but I am not running from my burden. 

We want God to give His vision to us.  Those that have teenage children, those that are struggling with overcoming cancer, to all of us: may God help us all to have a vision of how to handle what is in each life. 

As a husband, we understand that we are to be responsible for that weaker vessel.  The day will come when our wife will not be as strong as she used to be.  We have to draw lines, “I’m not trying to be a big boss, but I want you to stay healthy.”  You have to take care of your wife and children and your grandchildren.

Eph 1:18  The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,

Our hope of our calling is first to be saved, to be sanctified and then to take care of one another.  God help us to know how to help one another. 

The riches of the glory of the inheritance in the saints:  May God give us a vision of the good things that He has for us.  Eye has not seen, ear hasn’t heard, neither has entered into the heart of man the things that God has prepared for those that wait on Him and that love Him.

God wants to cause you to enjoy the inheritance that He has for you.  The Holy Spirit is a portion of our inheritance.  He comes and is so wonderful, I thought in my own personal life, of the inheritance of His Word being a light unto our feet and a lamp to our path. 

My thought always goes to how wonderful God is to each one in this audience.  God wants to direct your next step.  He wants you to have a vision, he wants your eyes anointed with eye salve so that you will have a vision.

There is an enemy that sets snares for every soul.  Unless God anoints your eye, you may think that “This is an opportunity of a lifetime.”  You have heard the teaching of a snare and how it grabs you.  The harder you pull the tighter it grasps you.  Only Jesus can open up that snare. 

God always leads.  There are snares to be recognized, and there are definite roads to travel where God says, “This is where I will command the blessing over and over again.”

Eph 1:19  And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power,

May you and I desire to see how great His power is.  We may be in a situation where we wonder, “Will I have the strength and the courage to stand?”  There is strength and there is courage.

The bible teaches us that His power is exceedingly great toward us.

Eph 1:20  Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places,

Often writers, preachers, testifiers, singers, story tellers…, there are times that they are not lying, but they want to get to a definite point.  “I want you to see that He went from the cross to the tomb.”  He left out about Him being forty days on earth, of Him ascending to the Father.  He wanted you to know that “And now He is setting at the right hand of the Father.”

There are times that we are praying as hard as we can and exercising faith and God lets us know that Jesus is at the right hand of the Father interceding for us.

You may be here and have a longing for that rest and peace, to know that your sins are forgiven.  There is a loneliness to each soul that is unsaved.  You may be longing for that friend that sticks closer than a brother.  There is a way to start a whole new life.

You students may wonder, “Will I be able to stay saved this school year?” This Jesus that gives us power is far above all principality.

Eph 1:21  Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come:

It may seem that everything is working against you and that is part of life, but Jesus is far above it.  If it seems that there are people on your case and they are winning the case and you are losing, when it seems that those that gather against you are more than those that gather for you, may God give you a vision that He is far above all principalities.

There are people that have much persuasion and friends in high places, there is another thought to consider and that is that Jesus is far above all principalities and powers.

You may feel torn and overwhelmed with life.  Even children feel overwhelmed with life.  People much younger than me feel overwhelmed with life.  We need a vision of God on His throne and Jesus at the right hand of the Father. 

Before the Gospel Day, Isaiah saw the Lord high and lifted up.  He began to hear angels all over the temple echoing, “Holy, Holy, Holy.”  Then another angel would begin to echo, “Holy, Holy, Holy,” and then another and another. 

The scripture says that the presence of God filled the temple.  It had an effect on Isaiah.  He recognized his need.  I want to preach and exhort to myself and never forget it.  When you come into the presence of the Holy God, He is always ready to meet the need.

There are many spirits in the world that bring fear, unbelief, and accusation.  There are spirits that as the Psalmist said, “Why go I mourning because of the oppressing of the enemy?”  Just when you want to do your best for God the enemy comes along to oppress.

My mother understood the oppressing hand of the enemy.  When you feel anything less than holiness and less than God saying, take two steps forward.  You don’t want to stay around that spirit.  You want to get into the presence of God where the angels say, “Holy, Holy.”

Because Isaiah had sin in his life God dealt with that.  The angel took a coal and by the word, the fire of God, He was cleansed.

When we find ourselves in difficulty and we get into the presence of God, whatever need it would be, “I need to be sanctified, I need to move up here, I need to…”  Whatever the need, God always deals with the issue and then He supplies the need.

Eph 1:22  And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church,

Eph 1:23  Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.

There are a lot of names, individuals that have a personality that they know what is best for their life and for everyone else’s too.  Don’t fall subject to their spirit.  If someone is controlling your life by keeping you upset all the time, by making plans without consulting you, the head of every man is Jesus and He is above every name.

You may say, “If I do what God wants me to do, then what will so in so say?”  I want to tell you, “Know what God wants you to do.”  If you do that then you have all of heaven behind you and all the saints behind you. 

He is above every name not only in this world but also in that which is to come.  Every one of us will give an account to Jesus.  You will stand before Him and you will not be able to blame your husband, and you will not be able to blame your wife.  Every one of us will give an account to God. 

I am going to give an account of how I’ve lived and how I’ve preached.  You are going to give an account of how you’ve measured, lived, and the message your life preached.

He has put all things under His feet.  You and I can be more than a conqueror through Jesus Christ.  He is the head over all things to the church.  We are His body, the fullness of Him that filleth all in all.

Lord give me a vision.  Those beautiful fruits of the Spirit:  Love, joy, peace...  It is the design of God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit of God that we be filled with all of those things.

Pro 29:18  Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.

Where there is no vision the people perish.  Lord give me a vision.  Wouldn’t it be a sad thing after God has been so good to Karen and I, if I would lose my vision and perish?  

He has been wonderful.  When I was so sick, I spent almost all day and all night in bed.  Isn’t it wonderful that God rescued me from the jaws of sin that had me bound in 1965?  The service would go way past this afternoon just with the things that God has kept me from.

With no vision not only will the lost perish, but I will perish.  If you and I don’t have that strong conviction of how terrible sin and a bad attitude is.  How terrible slothfulness and lukewarmness is.  How terrible worldliness is.  It is terrible.  It is destroying minds and souls. 

This congregation is full of good mothers.  How sad it is to see mothers that don’t want to be mothers.  Grandmothers, I am not telling you to buy them gifts, but I am telling you to love your grandchildren.  Mothers in Israel, love those little children. 

You may say, “Every time I try to love so-in-so there is a resistance.”  Make sure it is on their part.  Love them anyway.

The revelation of Jesus Christ, given by God to show His servants things that must shortly come to pass.  It was an uncovering.  It deals with the seven churches, every church age.  Then it comes to our church age, “Buy gold tried in the fire.” 

Buy that which will always stand.  I have heard it preached as many things.  I believe they are all true.  I believe that true love is Gold.  Gold tried in the fire:  true riches.

Have white raiment and your nakedness covered: your spiritual nakedness covered.  The three unclean spirits like frogs come from the mouths off the false prophets and are looking for someone that has let down, become lukewarm, has an attitude, they want to plaster them with an unclean garment.

We don’t want unclean garments and we don’t want spots on our garment.

Rev 3:18  I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.

I prayed this morning and this week that we just finished, “God anoint my eyes with eye salve that I might see.”

I don’t know what vision that you would need this morning.  It could be a very personal vision, “I am stumbling over this thing all the time.  I am thinking and fretting over this thing that in the light of eternity will all be over.” 

It could be that you find it easy to be agitated with people. And you find yourself stumbling over it.  It could be that you are all wrapped in the problems that you have.  You have to get them to God.

There is a vision, I saw it in the youth revival, “God may want me to do it this way or that way.”  God speaks to you.  You are at liberty to come to the altar whenever the Spirit of God comes to the congregation.  Come and pray.