Making a Differencewith Pastor Phil Erickson

Aug 10th Stick With It

Today’s Passages – Isaiah 48 – 52; Proverbs 10

(Second Milers also read – John 13 – 14; Memorize – Mark 11:24)

“The Lord GOD hath opened mine ear, and I was not rebellious, neither turned away back. I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair: I hid not my face from shame and spitting. For the Lord GOD will help me; therefore shall I not be confounded: therefore have I set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be ashamed.” (Isaiah 50:5-7)

The passage referenced above speaks of Christ, and what He endured when He went to the cross. Of course it is important to remember that Isaiah penned these words over 700 years before the time that Christ would suffer for our sins. When I read these verses I can’t help but be astonished at the determination of our Lord. Knowing full well what He would face, He determined to stay the course. He didn’t deviate to the right or to the left: He set [His] face like a flint. You could say that He was “bullheaded” when it came to the will of God.

I am embarrassed at how often I have wanted to quit the will of God. There have been many times that I have made decisions for the Lord; and then have turned back from fulfilling them. I am often only faithful to the will of God when the skies are clear and the weather is fair. I desire to be the type of person that first discovers what God wants from my life; and then determines to follow the course that God has charted, no matter what circumstances may arise. I have heard it said that every decision we make for the Lord will be tested. Now we need to be very careful about these decisions. Make sure that it is, in fact, God that is telling you to do it. Don’t get caught up with the emotional pressure that men can put on you; but once you know that it is God, obey Him and stay the course. Don’t quit when times get tough! It is my desire to pass the test; It is my desire to stick it out even when it makes no human sense to do so.

How about you? Have you gone back on anything that you determined at one time to be the will of God. The Bible tells us that the gifts and calling of God are without repentance. (Romans 11:29) God hasn’t changed His mind. Have you?

Aug 9th Ordained Works

Today’s Passages – Isaiah 44 – 47; Proverbs 9

(Second Milers also read – John 11 – 12; Memorize – Mark 11:24)

“Thus saith the LORD to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have holden, to subdue nations before him; and I will loose the loins of kings, to open before him the two leaved gates; and the gates shall not be shut;” (Isaiah 45:1)

“For Jacob my servant’s sake, and Israel mine elect, I have even called thee by thy name: I have surnamed thee, though thou hast not known me.” (Isaiah 45:4)

“I have raised him up in righteousness, and I will direct all his ways: he shall build my city, and he shall let go my captives, not for price nor reward, saith the LORD of hosts.”(Isaiah 45:13)

The prophecies of God are amazing. Isaiah wrote this book about 750 BC, which was during the reign of the Assyrian Empire. We know from history that Assyria would be conquered by the Babylonians; and then later the Babylonians would be overtaken by the Medes and Persians. Cyrus, was a Persian king that was “raised up” by God to release the Hebrew captives and make a proclamation to re-build the temple in Jerusalem. The fascinating thing about this is that Isaiah was writing about Cyrus, by name, hundreds of years before he was born. Consider this verse referring to Jeremiah:

“Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.” (Jeremiah 1:5)

According to this verse and the verses from Isaiah, God knows us before we are even born, and ordains us for a specific purpose. Better than that though is the fact that God actually “forms” us for a specific purpose. God created Jeremiah to be a prophet. God created Cyrus to deliver the captives from Persia and to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem. God created me to be the husband of Cindy Erickson; the father of my four children; and to be the pastor of Jersey Shore Baptist Church. These are a partial list of what I was hand made and hand picked to do. God chose me before I was born to fulfill a purpose for Him.

God has chosen you for a purpose as well. He has created you and custom designed you to fulfill His will. What is that purpose? Have you discovered it yet? Max Lucado calls this purpose your “sweet spot”; it’s the thing that you were made for. God formed you, and ordained you; and He even knew your name before you were even born. Amazing! Happy people are the people who have found God’s will for their lives and are fulfilling it.

“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.” – (Ephesians 2:10)

Aug 8th God Forgives and Forgets – Do You?

Today’s Passages – Isaiah 41 – 43; Proverbs 8

(Second Milers also read – John 9 – 10; Memorize – Mark 11:24)

“I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins.” – (Isaiah 43:25)

“Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.” – (Isaiah 1:18)

“As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.” – (Psalm 103:12)

The verses listed above are very encouraging to me. Each of these Scriptures speak of God’s forgiveness primarily to the people of Israel; but in a broader context, they apply to all who have “called upon the name of the Lord”. It is certainly a wonderful truth that God forgives our sin. Of course, forgiveness is only possible through the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. The wrath that we deserved was poured out upon Him. However, God goes beyond just forgiving us: He forgets our sins as well. To forgive is one thing, but to forget is another level entirely. The phrase “blotteth out” has the idea that the record of our sin has been completely expunged (removed).

Now let’s try to apply this wonderful attribute of God to our own relationships. We are supposed to be like God, aren’t we? If we are saved we are being conformed to the image of Christ, and we have God on the inside of us transforming us to be like Him. If all that be true, then we should be able to forget like God forgets. We say that we forgive someone who has wronged us, but we often replay mentally (or re-tell verbally) the act that was committed against us. In other words, the act has not been blotted out completely in our minds. We store the thing that was forgiven in a special compartment where we can retrieve it again in case we need it. We often pull it back out when a new violation is committed. We are keeping score in our minds. God does not do this. He removes the record altogether. Real forgiveness will lead us to blot out the act altogether; not that their will be no consciousness of the act; but it will not be allowed to be dredged back up again for some future judgment against the offender.

I have one more thought. God does not only forgive sin, and erase the record; but He also refuses to record any future violations. It is like getting a completely free pass from the penalty of your sins. Don’t believe me?

Aug 7th (No Title)

Today’s Passages -Isaiah 37 – 40; Proverbs 7

(Second Milers also read – John 7 – 8; Memorize – Mark 11:24)

Aug 6th The Saturday Morning Post by Pastor Ted Stahl

Today’s Reading: Isaiah 33-36, Proverbs 6, and John 5-6.

Today’s Passage: Proverbs 6:16-23: “These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him: A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief, A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren. My son, keep thy father’s commandment, and forsake not the law of thy mother: Bind them continually upon thine heart, and tie them about thy neck. When thou goest, it shall lead thee; when thou sleepest, it shall keep thee; and when thou awakest, it shall talk with thee. For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life:

Good morning. Sorry I’m late, but I just found out something: I can not get on to the administration part of this website using the updated version of Internet Explorer. I had to get on using Google Chrome. That was a little easier than casting the demons out of my computer. Praise the Lord, there will be no computers in heaven, only Books! And in the Book of Proverbs (how was that for a transition), chapter 6, we have a few verses that would make me cringe. That is until I got saved. Verses 16 through 19 was me. I could give you an instance in my life for each of these 7 abominations. And before you start judging me, you should take inventory of your own life because we all have sinned. So until you are perfect, you had better put down your rocks and leave.

What I want to focus in on is verses 20-23. Our Heavenly Father gave us His Word, the Bible, or, as Dr. Kent Hovind would say: “Biblical Instructions Before Leaving Earth.” The Bible is where your godly, earthly father and mother got their commands and the law. Listening and obeying what the Bible says affects us three ways according to verse 22…

1) When thou goest, it shall lead thee…

King david wrote in Psalm 119:105-106: “NUN. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. I have sworn, and I will perform it, that I will keep thy righteous judgments.”

The Bible was King David’s lamp that would light his path, and show him the direction he should go.

2) When thou sleepest, it shall keep thee…

You can get a better nights sleep if you know your salvation is secure. Jesus said in John chapter 6, verses 37-40: “All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. And this is the Father’s will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day. And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.” And in 1John 5:12, the Bible says, “ He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.” If you have Jesus, then Jesus has you and will in no wise cast you out: your salvation is secure.

3) When thou awakest, it shall talk with thee..

Hebrews 4:12 tells us: “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” And also 2Timothy 3:15-17: “And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.” And God the Holy Ghost will teach you and bring to light the Scripture (see John 14:26). The Bible is God’s Word to us and God uses the Holy Ghost to bring His Words to life and speak to you: He indwells every believer.

Not a believer yet? Not 100% sure of your salvation? Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved.

Peace. (John 3:16, Romans 10:13).

Aug 5th All Talk

Today’s Passages – Isaiah 29 – 32; Proverbs 5

(Second Milers also read – John 3 – 4; Memorize – Matthew 7:7 – 8 )

“Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men:” – (Isaiah 29:13)

“He answered and said unto them, Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.” – (Mark 7:6-7)

“Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.” – (2 Timothy 3:5 )

I find these verses to apply very well to the Christianity that is prevalent today. People know about God, and they claim to be followers of God; but in truth they know very little about God. Oftentimes their concept of God is really a figment of their own imagination, not at all based upon the truth of the Word of God. Oftentimes these people will view true Bible believers as being narrow minded. Though I don’t claim to know everything about God, and I certainly am not perfect in my fellowship with Him, I recognize that the God of the Bible is a holy, omnipotent God who not only is loving, but also is just.

If you want to find out what God is really like, you will have to look to the Word of God; and if you want to worship Him, you must meet Him on His terms. He is God.

Aug 4th Babes

Today’s Passages – Isaiah 24 – 28; Proverbs 4

(Second Milers also read – John 1 – 2; Memorize Matthew 7:7 – 8 )

“Whom shall he teach knowledge? and whom shall he make to understand doctrine? them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts. For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little:” – (Isaiah 28:9-10)

he immediate context of chapter 28 of the Book of Isaiah has to with God’s people, the children of Israel (see verse 5). However, according to verses 7 – 8, we find that God’s people have gotten away from His will, and have become drunkards. Verse 8 states that they “err in vision, they stumble in judgment”. In many ways they are like little children. In our text verses above, God says that He cannot teach people like this because they are babies. In order for God’s people (then or now) to learn the deeper truths of the Word of God, they must grow up. Unfortunately, we have many Christians today that have never matured spiritually, and though they have been saved for many years, they are still spiritual infants.

Consider, some of these New Testament verses that deal with the same subject:

“As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby: If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious.” – (1 Peter 2:2-3)

Milk is where we all get started. It is certainly not wrong for a baby to drink milk. My son and daughter-in-law have been blessed with a wonderful new baby boy, Jaxon Philip. Jaxon does not eat what the rest of us eat yet, because his little body cannot handle it. He drinks milk. Likewise, baby Christians need milk. The milk for the new believer should consist of the foundational truths of the Word of God. Passages that deal with salvation, and the security of the believer, etc. Babes in Christ should be instructed through a biblically sound discipleship program. Our church uses Daily in the Word, which was developed by veteran missionary John Honeycutt. It is amazing to me, however, that many new believers will never complete the discipleship program, and as a result the majority of them never mature.

“And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ. I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able.” – (1 Corinthians 3:1-2)

The Apostle Paul teaches us that baby Christians can cause a lot of problems within the local church, because they do not think spiritually. Their minds have never been renewed with the mind of Christ. Therefore, they reason as the world reasons, and they fail to understand or discern the purposes of God.

“For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat. For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.” – (Hebrews 5:12-14)

The writer to the Book of Hebrews tells us that there should be a lot more teachers of the Word of God out there, but unfortunately too many believers who have been saved for a number of years have never graduated from the nursery.

So what is the solution to this problem? How can you grow and mature in the Lord so that He can teach you the deeper truths of the Word of God so that you can be a more effective ambassador for Him? Here are three thoughts:

1  Spend time in the Word of God every day. Develop a routine of daily devotional reading, along with some Scripture memorization. This website provides a Bible reading format that allows you to go through the entire Bible at least once per year.

2  Faithfully attend all of the services and Bible studies at your local church.

3  Complete a good discipleship program.

If you will be faithful to do al three of these, you will mature spiritually, and you will grow enough to where God will be able to trust you to teach the truths of the Word of Life to others.

Aug 3rd A House Divided Against Itself

Today’s Passages – Isaiah 19 – 23; Proverbs 3

(Second Milers also read – Luke 23 – 24; Memorize Matthew 7:7 – 8 )

“And I will set the Egyptians against the Egyptians: and they shall fight every one against his brother, and every one against his neighbour; city against city, and kingdom against kingdom.” (Isaiah 19:2)

“And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand.” (Mark 3;25)

As we read through this portion of the Book of Isaiah, we see that God is pronouncing judgment on all of the nations that have been enemies to God and His people Israel. In chapter 19, we see that God is dealing specifically with the Egyptians. The Egyptians had been an enemy to the people of God throughout much of their history. Perhaps, they were not as bad as some; yet still God states here that some judgment is coming.

My thought for this morning surrounds verse 2. Part of the judgment that was going to come to Egypt was a battle from within its own borders; a fight among its own inhabitants; a civil war. Our nation faced this same type of conflict 150 years ago. It was perhaps the ugliest battle America would ever face: neighbor against neighbor; brother against brother. We found that it was impossible for the nation to move forward until its inner struggle was settled.

I have noticed that we oftentimes face a similar type of judgment in our families and in our church: a division on the inside; a battle, not with an invading army, but with an injured brother. When a church moves away from fighting the external battle against the world and the devil, it then begins to fight amongst itself. It seems that by nature we are fighters; and to some degree we ought to be. We ought to fight against the sin and darkness of this world; we ought to hate the devil; and we ought to be striving together in order to bring the gospel to the people around us. Oftentimes we forget who the real enemy is and we take up arms against each other. Satan is very wise and understands that if he can get us to destroy each other, he won’t have to destroy us himself.

We see that this problem is also prevalent inside the home. Parents are not always in one accord, but are often at odds with one another. They fight about finances, about child-rearing, and about alot of other things. All of this division is rooted in pride, with each individual insisting on getting his and her own way. Shame on us.

The cure for this problem is simply to recognize the battle is not within, but without. When we get busy fighting for the Lord, we will not have time nor desire to fight each other.

Aug 2nd Do You Need An “I” Exam?

Today’s Passages – Isaiah 14 – 18; Proverbs 2

(Second Milers also read – Luke 21 – 22; Memorize – Matthew 7:7 – 8 )

“How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.” – (Isaiah 14:12-14)

Five times in this passage, we see Lucifer (Satan) using the phrease “I will”.  Did you ever notice how much we use the word “I”. We, like Satan, are full of ourselves. Satan fell because of his pride, and must of us have the same problem. We would never admit it, but we are really the “god” of our own lives. We worship orselves. We are really not much different than Satan. It is natural to exalt ourselves, and it is very diffficult to humble ourselves; but humility is required for us to surrender to Christ. In order to be saved, we need to humble ourselves, and in order to live the spirit filled life, we must continually abase ourselves and lift up Christ. Easier said than done.

“O magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together.” – (Psalm 34:3)

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

“Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.” – (Proverbs 16:18)

Aug 1st Shine The Light

Today’s Passages – Isaiah 9 – 13; Proverbs 1

(Second Milers also read – Luke 19 – 20; Memorize – Matthew 7:7 – 8 )

“The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.” (Isaiah 9:2)

The verse of Scripture referenced above deals with the birth of Christ. When Christ was born in the earth, he poked a huge hole in the darkness of a world that had been without light for a long time. Christ is light, and light equals righteousness and holiness; and it is also synonymous with spiritual understanding. The Bible says of God:

“Who coverest thyself with light as with a garment: who stretchest out the heavens like a curtain:” (Psalm 104:2)

“Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.” (John 8:12)

Light is not something that God has or something that God can produce; it is what He is. Peter, James, and John saw a glimpse of this light on the Mount of Transfiguration. John saw it again when he was on the Isle of Patmos and given the Revelation. Paul saw this light on the road to Damascus when the Lord gloriously saved him. All of these examples were actual physical manifestations of the light of God. However, when He came, He revealed to the world more than just Physical light: he delivered to the world a spiritual brightness that many had seen and received; and many more continue to receive to this day.

My thought for the day is: if Christ came and delivered this light to us 2000 years ago, and many millions have received this light from Him via the Holy Spirit; then why is this world still very dark. Jesus told us to shine the light to the dark world around us:

“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”(Matthew 5:16)

You would think with all of the millions of lights out there that should be shining, the world would be pretty bright; yet it continues to dwell in darkness. Why? Because God’s people are not allowing the light of Christ to radiate and reflect through them to the world around them. They are covering their candles with a bushel instead of elevating it on a candlestick. Three thoughts regarding the failure of the Christian to shine the light of Christ:

1  We fail to shine the light when we fail to separate from the darkness. Instead of increasing our light, we often participate in things that are very dark: things that are inconsistent with light. Light repels darkness; they cannot dwell together. So in order for the Christian to dwell in darkness, He has to douse His light. He has to quench the Spirit of God that dwells within Him.

“And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.” (John 3:19)

By the way, unfortunately, the verse above oftentimes applies to the Christian as well as to the world.

2   We fail to shine the light when we fail to saturate ourselves in the light of the Word of God.

“Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.” (Psalm 119:105)

“The entrance of thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple” (Psalm 119:130)

3  We fail to shine the light when we shield the light from reaching those around us. This has more to do with fear than anything else. We have the light, and we desire to shine it; but we are so intimidated by the world around us that we conceal it. It is time that we decide to take a stand, and decide once and for all whose side we are on. We belong to God. We owe this world nothing but the light of Christ. Get out of the way, and let His light shine through you.

“That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world;” (Philippians 2:15)

Note – the above post is an edited version of a post that I did last year on this passage. It was a better thought than what I was planning to post today, but I will briefly share a quick thought from chapter 10:

“And in that day thou shalt say, O LORD, I will praise thee: though thou wast angry with me, thine anger is turned away, and thou comfortedst me. Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the LORD JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation. Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation. And in that day shall ye say, Praise the LORD, call upon his name, declare his doings among the people, make mention that his name is exalted. Sing unto the LORD; for he hath done excellent things: this is known in all the earth. Cry out and shout, thou inhabitant of Zion: for great is the Holy One of Israel in the midst of thee.” – (Isaiah 12:1-6)

The “day” that the Bible is referring to in this chapter is the Millennial reign of the Lord Jesus Christ, which is still in our future. The passage is really written to Israel, but it can be applied to the church also in many ways. As we have been reading in Isaiah, we have seen that Israel has been through a lot of trials and tribulations through the years, mostly as a result of their own disobedience to God; but here in chapter 12, Israel’s problems are over. They are living surrendered to their Messiah, and they are at peace with everyone, literally enjoying a paradise here on the earth. This is all wonderful, but the thought that I wanted to share with you this morning is that Israel sings this beautiful song of praise to God after they receive the blessing. I find that we often do the same thing. When things are good, we praise the Lord, but when things get dark, our praise is missing. Would to God that we could become mature enough spiritually to praise and worship the Lord even in the tough times. We still have a lot to be thankful for because of what He has already done for us; and we can look to what lies ahead for us in the future, and find an unending list of blessings that we can rejoice about and praise Him for today.