Pastor Josiah introduced Nancy and Nathan Saucedo who will begin a new ministry-Marriage and Family. Nancy and Nathan have been attending FC for two years and are very enthusiastic about supporting married couples and their families. Satan has been attacking marriage Nathan emphasized, and Nancy and he want to encourage couples as they navigate through these times. The first meeting of the group will be August 2 after which the movie Migration will be shown outside for the whole FC community.
Pastor Josiah then reminded the congregation that FC’s mission is to culture like Christ, and the vision is Jesus. As we study the Red Letters, we learn who Jesus is and His heart through His words. The topic this week is” Red Letters: The Narrow Way.”
The first area of concern was about hypocrisy.
“Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. For you will be
treated as you treat others. The standard you use in judging is the
standard by which you will be judged. And why worry about a
speck in your friend’s eye when you have a log in your own? How
can you think of saying to your friend,’Let me help you get rid of
that speck in your eye.’ when you can’t see past the log in your
own eye? Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye; then
you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye.”
Matthew 7:1-5 (NLT)
Hypocrite means “an actor or pretender.” How easy it is to judge others for their sins and yet to excuse your own sin. However, the verses in Matthew direct us to not worry about the speck in our neighbor’s eye but to look at the log in our own eyes. We are not to pretend that we are so holy and our neighbor is not. “This gives the church a bad rep, where we’re always tearing each other down instead of building each other up.”
That is the opposite of what the Lord Jesus commanded us which is to “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Mark 12:31 (NLT) Those whom I treasure and who treasure me care about me
enough to hold me accountable when I sin. I can accept their truth because it is wrapped in
love, and I know their true feelings for me. “As iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a
friend.” Proverbs 27:17 (NLT) One time I was talking to a former colleague, and Larry heard our conversation. He softly commented,”Bitter, huh?” Those two little words shocked me and helped me evaluate my heart attitude and words. I repented and asked the LORD to forgive me. Then I thought about how the person had encouraged me in my walk with the LORD. Larry’s comment helped me realize my bitterness, which encouraged me to repent and to thank the Lord for bringing the other person into my life.
Jesus is the standard by which we want to live. His words and actions were consistent. Help us, LORD, to think, speak and act like You who changed us from the inside out. David asked the LORD to
“search me, O God, and know my heart; try me and know
my anxieties; and see if there is any wicked way in me,
And lead me in the way of the everlasting.” Psalm 139:23 (NKJV)
May we pray this same prayer so that we can be a true reflection of Jesus to those living in the darkness.
Another significant point was from Matthew 7:6. “Don’t waste what is holy on people who are unholy. Don’t throw your pearls to pigs! They will trample the pearls, then turn and attack
you.” (NLT) “The value of wisdom or correction is not appreciated by those who don’t
desire it for themselves thus they have no ears to hear it.” May we be willing to hear the
correction from a brother or sister in the LORD just like Larry said to me. It helped me release
some destructive bitterness and transformed me to thank the LORD for the suggestion this
person had made-to read The Bible Through the Year. The Bible daily reading has changed my love for the LORD because He talks to me daily through His word-two chapters in the OT, one NT chapter, a psalm and a proverb. What a gift!!!
In addition, Luke 10 states
“If you enter a town and it welcomes you, eat whatever is set
before you. Heal the sick and tell them, ’The Kingdom of God
is near you now.’ But if a town refuses to welcome you, go out
and say, ’We wipe even the dust of your town from our feet to
show that we have abandoned you to your fate. And know this-
the Kingdom of God is near!’” Luke 10:8-11 (NLT)
“Then he said to the disciples, ’Anyone who accepts your message
is also accepting me. And anyone who rejects you is rejecting me.
And anyone who rejects me is rejecting God, who sent me.’”
Luke 10:16 (NLT)
Jesus can be received or rejected. Let us pray that with whomever we share Jesus, may
accept Him as their Savior. I have been praying for unsaved loved ones for years. At this point they have not accepted Him, but I know who He is and how He has walked me “through the valley of the shadow of death” more than once. I pray for Jesus friends to interact with them and to reflect Jesus into their lives. I know how He transformed me to lean more on Him. When Larry was diagnosed with cancer last year, I was so discouraged and sad. Then the Holy Spirit reminded me “Everyday is a gift.” That is how we got through the cancer diagnosis, treatment and continued doctors’ appointments.
Going back to Matthew 7, we learned about a “healthy posture of prayer.”
“Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for.
Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking,
and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who
asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to every-
one who knocks, the door will be opened.” Matthew 7:7-8
(NLT)
I keep on asking for salvation for my loved ones, and one day I will hear that they celebrate
Jesus as their Savior. I keep seeking for the LORD to send Jesus friends or dreams and visions to these loved ones, and one day I will find that to be true. I keep knocking at the door, and one day, it will be opened. Our Abba Father wants the best for us and our loved ones.
As we pray to the LORD, we learn from Matthew 7 that “if you sinful people know how to
give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good
gifts to those who ask him.” Matthew 7:11 (NLT) What an amazing assurance. You know how
as a parent or grandparent you love to bless your children and grandchildren. How much more our heavenly Father, our Abba Father, wants to bless us. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16 (NIV)
After teaching on consistency of thought, word, and deed, the acceptance or rejection of Jesus, and a healthy posture of prayer, Pastor Josiah reminded us that the way is narrow.
“Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is
the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who
go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way
which leads to life, and there are few who find it.” Matthew 7:13-24
((NKJV)
Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. No one can come to the Father but through Him.
John 14:6 Jesus said in John 10:9 “I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be
saved.” (NIV) We have the promised of life, life abundantly through the LORD.
The paramount point is “Entering into relationship with Jesus is also to walk in His ways.”
How to negotiate through life in these times is only through the gate and letting the Shepherd lead us with His staff and rod. May we reflect His love and sacrifice to a sick and broken world.
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