Making a Differencewith Pastor Phil Erickson

Apr 19th, 2012 The Glory of the Lord

Today’s Passage – 1 Kings 8 – 9

Second Milers also read – Mark 9 – 10; Psalms 91 – 95; Proverbs 19

The Scripture Memory Passage for April – 1 Corinthians 13

Listen to this morning’s Scripture song – Psalm 89:1

Read an older post from this passage – “Forgive”

“And it came to pass, when the priests were come out of the holy place, that the cloud filled the house of the LORD, So that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud: for the glory of the LORD had filled the house of the LORD.” – (1 Kings 8:10-11)

As we study Israel’s history, we know that there were many times that they were not where God wanted them to be, spiritually speaking. Often in their history Israel would forsake their God, and err into immorality, and idolatry. These were times when God would be forced to bring judgment upon His people in order to get them to turn back to Him. However, in today’s passage, we see Israel as right with the Lord as they had ever been. They had just completed building the Temple of God, and today was the day that the entire nation was gathered together in order to dedicate the temple (and themselves) to the Lord. God was well pleased with Israel at this time, and He demonstrated His approval with a physical appearance of his presence. Verse 11 tells us that “the glory of the Lord had filled the house of the Lord”.

I have been saved for over twenty years now, and I have been involved in the local church since I was born again into the family of God; and I have experienced the wonderful blessing of seeing God’s presence in the midst of His church. I did not see a physical manifestation of His presence, as these Israelites did, but I did experience the glory of God, nonetheless. Unfortunately, I have also seen the times when God’s presence was apparently absent from our church. Hindsight often provides a better perspective for analyzing the ingredients that went into the times when God seemed to be all over His church. When I look back at the times in our ministry when God was really working in a marvelous way among us, with many being saved and baptized, and wonderful Spirit-filled services, I can see that there were specific ingredients that were present. These same ingredients were present in our text today.

1  There was unity – God wants His children to be “in one accord”. A quick study of the early church from the Book of Acts will reveal that they were all together; they were all moving in the same direction.

2  There was humility – Notice in Solomon’s prayer that He recognizes that the people were prone to get away from God. He admits completely that these people were in God’s hands, and that it was God that blessed them. Notice:

“If they sin against thee, (for there is no man that sinneth not,) and thou be angry with them, and deliver them to the enemy, so that they carry them away captives unto the land of the enemy, far or near; … Then hear thou their prayer and their supplication in heaven thy dwelling place, and maintain their cause, And forgive thy people that have sinned against thee, and all their transgressions wherein they have transgressed against thee, and give them compassion before them who carried them captive, that they may have compassion on them:” – (1 Kings 8:46, 49-50)

3  There was complete tenacity and loyalty toward God. These people were all consecrated to the Lord. They were not doing that which was right in their own eyes, they were pursuing God. They were not chasing after the world with all of its idols, and all of its immorality. They were not only separated from the world, but they were also separated unto the Lord. These people wanted to please the Lord. They were focused on God. They gave up two weeks of their lives to serve and sacrifice to the Lord.

We can see God’s glory in our churches again today if we have these three ingredients in place. I want to see God move in our church. I want to see Him do great thing in the midst of this world that denies Him. He’s just waiting for us to get on board.

Apr 18th, 2012 Use Your Gifts for the Lord

Today’s Passage – 1 Kings 6 – 7

Second Milers also read – Mark 7 – 8; Psalms 86 – 90; Proverbs 18

The Scripture Memory passage for April – 1 Corinthians 13

Listen to this morning’s Scripture song – Psalm 61:1 – 3

Not every Christian is gifted by God to be a teacher or a preacher. In this passage, we see Hiram, a man from Tyre, who was uniquely gifted by God to make all of the works of brass that were to be used in the Temple. Back in the Book of Exodus, we saw two other fellows. Bezaleel and Aholiab, who were also uniquely filled with wisdom (gifted) to build the Tabernacle in the Wilderness. As far as we know, these men never taught the Scriptures; they were not priests, or prophets; but they were greatly used of the Lord.

We have many people in our churches today who have also been uniquely crafted by the Lord to fulfill His purpose. They may be builders, like the men referenced above. They may be men or women that have a knack for cleaning, or landscaping. These are all very necessary and important jobs in the service of our churches today. As I read this passage today, I thought of a man in our church who was used of the Lord to build our platform in the auditorium along with the sound booth. He did a wonderful job, and our church building is much more beautiful and functional as a result of his using his gifts for the Lord. We also have some folks in our church that like to cook, and when we have a dinner of some kind, these people go to work, preparing delicious food for the rest of us to enjoy. They work mostly behind the scenes, but their work is very important to the Lord.

God tells us in 1 Corinthians 12:

“But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him.” – (1 Corinthians 12:18)

Not every member is an eye or an ear: some are hands, some are feet. Not everybody is a preacher or teacher; and those that are gifted in areas other that teaching are just as important to the work of the ministry as those who teach or preach.

What is your gift? What is your sweet spot? The thing that you were born to do. Hiram was born to make brass, and he did it very well. God will be well pleased with your life if you find the thing that He has equipped you to do, and then do it for His glory.

“And king Solomon sent and fetched Hiram out of Tyre. He was a widow’s son of the tribe of Naphtali, and his father was a man of Tyre, a worker in brass: and he was filled with wisdom, and understanding, and cunning to work all works in brass. And he came to king Solomon, and wrought all his work.” – (1 Kings 7:13-14)

Apr 17th, 2012 Do You Lack Wisdom?

Today’s Passage – 1 Kings 3 – 5

Second Milers also read – Mark 5 – 6; Psalms 81 – 85; Proverbs 17

The Scripture memory passage for April – 1 Corinthians 13

Listen to this morning’s Scripture song – Psalm 55:17

Watch “Growth Points – Three Trends That Doom A Church’s Influence” by Pastor Chappell

Read another post from today’s passage – “Almost Heaven”

“And now, O LORD my God, thou hast made thy servant king instead of David my father: and I am but a little child: I know not how to go out or come in.” – (1 Kings 3:7)

“And all Israel heard of the judgment which the king had judged; and they feared the king: for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him, to do judgment.” – (1 Kings 3:28)

“If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.” – (James 1:5)

1 Kings chapter 3 is a wonderful illustration of the principle found in James 1: if you lack wisdom, you can ask God for it. Solomon recognized that he had a big job to do, and limited knowledge and ability. He admitted that he was like a little child. God likes when we see ourselves as little children. Unfortunately, all too often we are so puffed up with pride that we think we are almost godlike, knowing everything. God gave Solomon the wisdom he needed so that he could fulfill God’s will for his life. We even see an example in vv 16 – 28 of Solomon’s wisdom in action.

We need God’s wisdom today more than ever. The world that we live in is offering us all kinds of advice as to how we should live and raise our families; but oftentimes this worldly wisdom is not wise at all. We need discernment so that we will know what we should and shouldn’t do; but we need to ask. I believe the most important step in the acquisition of wisdom is acknowledging that our little, finite, human minds don’t know everything. We need God to help and guide us through all of the complexities of life. Just this morning as I was walking and praying, I was thinking about how limited I really am. I just can’t put all of the pieces together at times. But, I know that God can. Instead of trying to figure it all out on my own, I can spend my time much more profitably by simply asking God for His help. The Scripture says that “he upbraideth not”, meaning He won’t hold back, and He won’t scold us for asking. He wants us to depend upon Him. Moms and dads need God’s wisdom so that they can raise godly children. We need wisdom at our jobs, and in our churches. It’s available to us from the Lord simply by asking.

Oh, and by the way, I would be remiss in mentioning that the greatest collection of God’s wisdom has already been recorded for us in the Word of God. But, you already know that, because you spent time reading it this morning.

Apr 16th, 2012 I Will Be King

Today’s Passage – 1 Kings 1 – 2

Second Milers also read – Mark 3 – 4 ; Psalms 76 – 80; Proverbs 16

Scripture Memory for April – 1 Corinthians 13

Listen to this morning’s Scripture song – Psalm 51

“Then Adonijah the son of Haggith exalted himself, saying, I will be king: and he prepared him chariots and horsemen, and fifty men to run before him.” – (1 Kings 1:5)

In our passage today, we have King David on his death bed, and the kingdom unsure about who will take his place after he passes on. God had made it clear to David that his son Solomon was to be his successor (1 Chronicles 22:9), but David had been very quiet about revealing the will of God to the people. As a result, one of the king’s other sons – Adonijah – saw an opportunity to seize power. He made a conspiracy with Joab and Abiathar to take control of the kingdom. With the backing of the military and the temple, it would be difficult to stop him. He called all of the king’s sons (except Solomon), and all of the important men of Judah (except Nathan the prophet and Benaiah, one of David’s mighty men) to announce that he was king. Solomon’s mother, Bathsheba, finds out about the conspiracy and reveals it to the king. Now David has to act. He command Zadok the priest, and Nathan the prophet to anoint Solomon to be king over Israel. Had David been clear to the people about the Lord’s will previously, the kingdom would have avoided all of this unnecessary turmoil.

My thought this morning is about the phrase spoken by Adonijah, “I will be king”. Isn’t it inside all of us to seize control of our lives away from the reign of God. God wants to be king in our lives, but we are constantly trying to knock God off the throne and assume power. Recognizing that this little battle rages within us, we must daily acknowledge and submit to God’s authority in our lives. Every time self begins to elevate itself, we must consciously abase him, and yield our allegiance to the Holy Spirit of God. We are really no different than Adonijah. Our pride causes us to lust for the dominion and power that does not rightfully belong to us. The key to successful Christian living is submission to the will of God. He is the only King.

“For whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.” – (Luke 14:11)

Apr 22nd, 2011 God Takes Care Of His Own

Today’s Passage – 1 Kings 15 – 17; Proverbs 22

(Second Milers also read – Mark 15 – 16; Memorize Philippians 3:8 – 11)

“And the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening; and he drank of the brook.” – (1 Kings 17:6)

“And the barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the cruse of oil fail, according to the word of the LORD, which he spake by Elijah.” – (1 Kings 17:16)

The setting for our text this morning is the northern kingdom of Israel, which at this point is under the reign of wicked King Ahab and his wife Jezebel. You will remember that at this time the nation of Israel was divided into the northern kingdom (which retained the name Israel), and the southern kingdom of Judah. Now King Ahab of Israel was a very bad king, doing “…more to provoke the LORD God of Israel to anger than all the kings of Israel that were before him”.  (1 Kings 16:33)  As judgment for the idolatry in the land, God brought forth a drought that lasted for three years. Though the people of Israel were suffering terribly from the shortage of water and also the shortage of food that resulted from the lack of water, God still took care of his own. Elijah was fed by the ravens at the brook Cherith; and then he was miraculously provided for through an unending supply of meal and oil, along with the widow woman from Zarephath and her son.

As I reflect on this passage, I am reminded of what David said through the inspiration of God:

“I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.” – (Psalm 37:25)

In my lifetime, I have never experienced a famine such as the one that Israel faced here in our text; but I have lived through some tough economic times. However, during the worst of times, God has always taken care of me and my family. It is interesting that in this chapter of Scripture, God reminds us of two ways that He miraculously provides for our needs during these tough times. First, He supplies us from unlikely sources. The ravens were Elijah’s first source of provision, not unlike the manna that fell from heaven during the wilderness wanderings. I remember when I was in Bible college. Those were certainly some tough days financially. I believe that God was testing our resolve to finish school by allowing us to struggle. Yet, during those years, God provided miraculously more times than I can count. One time, He used a group of co-workers to graciously supply food and Christmas presents for my children. Another time, God used my brother Bill and his wife to graciously help us. Another time, God laid it upon some one’s heart to pay part of my school bill; my mortgage payment was anonymously paid on more than one occasion.  We were awed and humbled by the miraculous provision of God during this period of our life.

The second way that God provided for Elijah, and in this case the woman and her son, was that He allowed what they already had (the oil and the meal) to last longer. You will remember also that as Israel wandered in the wilderness their shoes and clothes did not wear out for the entire forty years. This is just as much of a miracle as the provision through the ravens. God said through Malachi, that He would “rebuke the devourer” (Malachi 3:11) if the people would put God first. Haggai told the people that their bag of money was full of holes (Haggai 1:6), because they had not put God first. I know what it is like to have a wallet “full of holes”; but I also know what it is like to have things last long beyond their lifespan. When I first started tithing as a young Christian I thought that God would miraculously take care of all of my financial problems through some big gift of money; but instead, He provided by causing us to plug up some of the “holes” in our check book. The car didn’t break down, and the kids didn’t get sick as much. We were spending a lot less.

God has been good to my family through the years. I have no regret whatever about the decision Cindy and I made twenty years ago to tithe, and to give offerings above the tithe. God has always been faithful to us. If you are struggling in your finances, let me encourage you to trust God by putting Him first in your life.

“But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” – (Matthew 6:33)

“Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.” – (Luke 6:38)

“Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.” – (Malachi 3:10)

Apr 21st, 2011 Be Careful Who You Trust

Today’s Passage – 1 Kings 12 – 14; Proverbs 21

(Second Milers also read – Mark 13 – 14; Memorize Philippians 3:8 – 11)

My attention this morning is drawn to chapter thirteen and the account of the prophet that was sent from the southern kingdom of Judah with a message for Jeroboam, the king of the northern kingdom, Israel.  He was sent with a message of judgment to Jeroboam:

“And he cried against the altar in the word of the LORD, and said, O altar, altar, thus saith the LORD; Behold, a child shall be born unto the house of David, Josiah by name; and upon thee shall he offer the priests of the high places that burn incense upon thee, and men’s bones shall be burnt upon thee. And he gave a sign the same day, saying, This is the sign which the LORD hath spoken; Behold, the altar shall be rent, and the ashes that are upon it shall be poured out.” (1 Kings 13:2 & 3)

At the end of this unpleasant meeting with Jeroboam, this un-named prophet is asked to go back with Jeroboam to get something to eat and to receive a reward.  The prophet flatly refuses to go with Jeroboam because he was given strict instructions by God not to eat in Israel.  On the way home, however, another man claiming to be a prophet asks him to go with him and get something to eat.  This man lies to him and tells him that God told him that it was OK.  As a result, the prophet from Judah goes with him; but soon discovers that he was tricked into disobeying the clear commandment of God; and it cost him his life.

Christian, you and I need to be careful who we listen to.  Sometimes people pretending to represent God will come to us and try to get us to do things that are clearly against the plain teaching of the Word of God.  We are to trust the Bible, and we can trust the men and women that preach and teach the Bible correctly; but the Bible itself is always the final authority.  Be careful who you trust.

By the way, we also saw in chapter twelve that Reheboam listened to the counsel of the young men, rather than the counsel of the old men. The result was that the kingdom of Israel was split into two kingdoms. Again, we see here that you have to be very careful about who you listen to. I am not saying that it is always unwise to listen to young men, but we should always include in our cabinet of counselors some older men (and ladies) who have demonstrated that they have godly wisdom.

Apr 20th, 2011 Not Very Wise After All

Today’s Passage – 1 Kings 10 – 11; Proverbs 20

(Second Milers also read – Mark 11 – 12; Memorize – Philippians 3:8 – 11)

“For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods: and his heart was not perfect with the LORD his God, as was the heart of David his father.” – (1 Kings 11:4 )

A good friend of mine, Pastor Charlie Horton, once told me that there are three things that will take a preacher down: ladies, lucre, and liberalism; or maids, money, and modernism. That statement has proven to be true. In the twenty years plus that I have been a Christian, I have seen many men of God wander out of the will of God; and in all of these cases it was one of those three things that caused them to veer off of the path. In our text, we see that Solomon’s problem primarily was the ladies. He had 1000 wives and concubines. Wow! How can it be that this man is know for his wisdom? Can you imagine having 1000 mother-in-laws? It would not have been so bad if all of these women shared the same love for the Lord that Solomon had; but, unfortunately, many of these women were heathen women that worshipped other “gods”. In order to please these women, Solomon accommodated for their false worship within the borders of Israel, and Solomon, himself, began to participate in the idolatry. Not very wise.

I do not thing that women were the only attraction that lured Solomon out of the will of God. He was also very wealthy: wealthier than any man that ever lived. Jesus spoke about the difficulties that wealth imposes upon a right relationship with God. Wealth can certainly be a stumbling block also. The text also makes it clear that the ladies lured him into heresy. So, ultimately, Solomon fell prey to all three of the traps mentioned above. The tragedy is that Solomon was a very wise man, and should have seen the dangers ahead of time. I think he deliberately wandered off of the path. He chose to go astray with his eyes fully opened.

Passages of Scripture such as this scare me. Solomon was a much wiser man than I could ever be, yet he blew it. I have seen many others fall in my time that had a lot more on the ball than me. It scares me, because I know that it could happen to me also. I hope it scares me enough to stay as far away from these traps (and others) so that I will finish my course inside the perfect will of God.

Apr 19th, 2011 When God Moves In

Today’s Passage – 1 Kings 8, 9; Proverbs 19

(Second Milers also read Mark 9 – 10; Memorize Philippians 3:8 – 11)

“And it came to pass, when the priests were come out of the holy place, that the cloud filled the house of the LORD, So that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud: for the glory of the LORD had filled the house of the LORD.” – (1 Kings 8:10-11)

As we study Israel’s history, we know that there were many times that they were not where God wanted them to be, spiritually speaking. Often in their history Israel would forsake their God, and err into immorality, and idolatry. These were times when God would be forced to bring judgment upon His people in order to get them to turn back to Him. However, in today’s passage, we see Israel as right with the Lord as they had ever been. They had just completed building the Temple of God, and today was the day that the entire nation was gathered together in order to dedicate the temple (and themselves) to the Lord. God was well pleased with Israel at this time, and He demonstrated His approval with a physical appearance of his presence. Verse 11 tells us that “the glory of the Lord had filled the house of the Lord”.

I have been saved for over twenty years now, and I have been involved in the local church since I was born=again into the family of God; and I have experienced the wonderful blessing of seeing God’s presence in the midst of His church. I did not see a physical manifestation of His presence, as these Israelites did, but I did experience the glory of God, nonetheless. Unfortunately, I have also seen the times when God’s presence was apparently absent from our church. Hindsight often provides a better perspective for analyzing the ingredients that went into the times when God seemed to be all over His church. When I look back at the times in our ministry when God was really working in a marvelous way among us, with many being saved and baptized, and wonderful Spirit-filled services, I can see that there were specific ingredients that were present. These same ingredients were present in our text today.

1  There was unity – God wants His children to be “in one accord”. A quick study of the early church from the Book of Acts will reveal that they were all together; they were all moving in the same direction.

2  There was humility – Notice in Solomon’s prayer that He recognizes that the people were prone to get away from God. He admits completely that these people were in God’s hands, and that it was God that blessed them.

3  There was complete tenacity and loyalty toward God. These people were all consecrated to the Lord. They were not doing that which was right in their own eyes, they were pursuing God. They were not chasing after the world with all of its idols, and all of its immorality. They were not only separated from the world, but they were also separated unto the Lord. These people wanted to please the Lord. They were focused on God. They gave up two weeks of their lives to serve and sacrifice to the Lord.

We can see God’s glory in our churches again today if we have these three ingredients in place. I want to see God move in our church. I want to see Him do great thing in the midst of this world that denies Him. He’s waiting for us to get on board.

Apr 18th, 2011 Greatly Used of the Lord

Today’s Passage – 1 Kings 6 – 7; Proverbs 18

(Second Milers also read – Mark 7 – 8; Memorize – Philippians 3:8 – 11)

Not every Christian is gifted by God to be a teacher or a preacher. In this passage, we see Hiram, a man from Tyre, who was uniquely gifted by God to make all of the works of brass that were to be used in the Temple. Back in the Book of Exodus, we saw two other fellows. Bezaleel and Aholiab, who were also uniquely filled with wisdom (gifted) to build the Tabernacle in the Wilderness. As far as we know, these men never taught the Scriptures; they were not priests, or prophets; but they were greatly used of the Lord.

We have many people in our churches today who have also been uniquely crafted by the Lord to fulfill His purpose. They may be builders, like the men referenced above. They may be men or women that have a knack for cleaning, or landscaping. These are all very necessary and important jobs in the service of our churches today. As I read this passage today, I thought of a man in our church who was used of the Lord to build our platform in the auditorium along with the sound booth. He did a wonderful job, and our church building is much more beautiful and functional as a result of his using his gifts for the Lord. We also have some folks in our church that like to cook, and when we have a dinner of some kind, these people go to work, preparing delicious food for the rest of us to enjoy. They work mostly behind the scenes, but their work is very important to the Lord.

God tells us in 1 Corinthians 12:

“But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him.” – (1 Corinthians 12:18)

Not every member is an eye or an ear: some are hands, some are feet. Not everybody is a preacher or teacher; and those that are gifted in areas other that teaching are just as important to the work of the ministry as those who teach or preach.

What is your gift? What is your sweet spot? The thing that you were born to do. Hiram was born to make brass, and he did it very well. God will be well pleased with your life if you find the thing that He has equipped you to do, and then do it for His glory.