Making a Differencewith Pastor Phil Erickson

Dec 28th …And Gave Glory To The GOD Of Heaven – The Saturday Morning Post by Pastor Ted Stahl

“And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth. These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth. And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies: and if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed. These have power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophecy: and have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to smite the earth with all plagues, as often as they will. And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them. And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified. And they of the people and kindreds and tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies three days and an half, and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves. And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth. And after three days and an half the Spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them. And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them. And the same hour was there a great earthquake, and the tenth part of the city fell, and in the earthquake were slain of men seven thousand: and the remnant were affrighted, and gave glory to the God of heaven.” (Revelation 11:3-13)

Good morning. When I read this passage, I started thinking about Ben and Robert: two friends who went home to be with the Lord. I thought about my Uncle Frankie, he’s been eating very little and sleeping all the time. I thought about my older brother, Harry, how he was having difficulty breathing during our Christmas get-together. This March he will turn 71 (I’ll be 60 in February). We are all stamped with an expiration date that only God can change. As I look near the bottom of my computer screen, I see a picture of Melissa. I am comforted in knowing she is with the Lord, though I still miss her. But there is a great deal of comfort to be found in this passage…

Notice that there were two witnesses.

Did you know that when you have Jesus, you are never alone? Jesus is always with you. This is what the Lord told Joshua…

“Now after the death of Moses the servant of the LORD it came to pass, that the LORD spake unto Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ minister, saying, Moses my servant is dead; now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, thou, and all this people, unto the land which I do give to them, even to the children of Israel. Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you, as I said unto Moses. From the wilderness and this Lebanon even unto the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and unto the great sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your coast. There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life: as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee. Be strong and of a good courage: for unto this people shalt thou divide for an inheritance the land, which I sware unto their fathers to give them. Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest. This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success. Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.” (Joshua 1:1-9)

And according to Hebrews 13:5, God makes the same promise to us: He will never leave us, nor forsake us. So you are never going to be alone.

Secondly, notice that God had a job for them to do. He has a job for us to do also. And these two witnesses went forward with their work in the power of God. Nothing could stop them until there work was completed. What stops you? Jesus told us that without Him we could do nothing. These men went forward in the power of the Lord (Acts 1:8). When their testimony for the Lord was completed, God had another job for them to do: to die. Their work on earth was not over yet. The beast overcame them and killed them, but their lives were in the hands of the One who gave them life.

Are you sitting on the shelf, self-imprisoned? Are the devils celebrating the fact that you are no longer a threat? Do you long to get back into the Lord’s work? Have you been dead too long? It’s time to resurrect…

“And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified. And they of the people and kindreds and tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies three days and an half, and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves. And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth. And after three days and an half the Spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them.” (Revelation 11:8-11)

And we know that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge (Proverbs 1:7), and wisdom (Proverbs 9:10). Then look at what happened…

“And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them. And the same hour was there a great earthquake, and the tenth part of the city fell, and in the earthquake were slain of men seven thousand: and the remnant were affrighted, and gave glory to the God of heaven.” (Revelation 11:12-13)

Because of Jesus, we are never alone.

Because of Jesus, we have a testimony.

Because of Jesus, we have the power to share that testimony.

Because of Jesus, we can witness in death as well as life.

Got Jesus?

Peace. (1John 5:11-13)

Dec 21st The Perfect Gift – The Saturday Morning Post by Pastor Ted Stahl

“Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death. Do not err, my beloved brethren. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.” (James 1:13-17)

Good morning. My wife asked me what I wanted for Christmas, and I did not know. Don’t laugh: do you know what you want for Christmas? There was a time when I could answer that question. Something would catch my eye, either on TV or in a catalog, and I thought I really wanted whatever it was. Now that I’m old, I guess I’m not impressed by the things of this world. There was a time when I was amazed at new technology. I saw a commercial the other day for a new wristwatch. One that could just about everything a smart phone could. Amazing how far LSI (Large Scale Integration) has come: cramming all that stuff into a wristwatch. Okay, maybe I’m a little impressed; do I want one? Na, I’d probably have the screen shattered within the first month. What do you want for Christmas?

“And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.” (Genesis 3:6)

And you know what happened after that. That ‘gift’ Adam received from Eve caused the downfall of all mankind. But James 1:17 tells us…

“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.” (James 1:17)

Let me give you three characteristics of the Perfect Gift…

1) It costs the giver, not the receiver.

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)

2) It is perfect: exactly what you needed.

“For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 6:23)

3) It is made to be shared so others will benefit from the gift also.

“As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.” (1Peter 4:10)

This Christmas, let’s try to stay focused on God’s Perfect Gift…

Turn your eyes upon Jesus,

Look full in His wonderful face;

And the things of earth will grow strangely dim

In the light of His glory and grace.

Merry Christmas! (Luke 2:13-14)

Dec 13th Memories of a Friend

Today’s Passage – Colossians 1 – 4 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – click here to view the text from the Blue Letter Bible website)

(Second Milers also read –Psalm 61 – 65; Proverbs 13)

Scripture Memorization for December – The Incarnation

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

Read a great article by Pastor Bob Gray Sr.– “Why?“

Watch the Growth Points video by Pastor Chappell – “Pressing Into the New Year with Godly Passion“

Read the “1213 Evening and Morning“ devotion for today, by the late Charles Haddon Spurgeon.

Read previous posts from today’s passage – “The Importance of Discipleship” and “Plugged In“

“Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints.” – Psalms 116:15

I received the news yesterday morning that a dear friend, Ben Thompson, passed away to Heaven after battling with pneumonia for the past couple of weeks. I first got word of his illness two Sunday’s ago and even though his condition was listed as critical, I was sure that Ben would pull through. Our family prayed and our church prayed, and for a time it seemed as if his condition was improving, but for some mysterious reason, the Lord chose to take him home.

I got to thinking about Psalm 116:15, which is a verse that I have quoted hundreds of times in order to try to comfort those that were hurting. I know that our loss is Heaven’s gain, and I also realize that Ben is in a “far better” place and would not desire to return to this earth again even if he could. But, I must confess that sometimes I get a little selfish and complain to God a little because the “life” of a friend like Ben is precious to me also, and even more precious to his family. Frankly, there are quite a few people that I can think of that I would like to send in Ben’s place. But, far be it for me to question God. He is always right in what he does.

When I was first saved, I used to wonder why people would get so excited talking about Heaven. Don’t misunderstand, I wanted to go there someday, and I certainly didn’t want to go to Hell; but to be truthful, life on earth wasn’t all that bad from my perspective. In fact, it was pretty good. At that point, as a young man in my twenties, I hadn’t really experienced the death of a close loved one; I knew little sickness or suffering personally, and I enjoyed many of the pleasurable things that this life could offer. As time goes on, however, I have learned that life on this earth can be very painful, and extremely sorrowful at times, and even though there are still many joys associated with living here inside the will of God, I find that more and more I am longing to go to that wonderful place where sin, sorrow and sickness will be no more. And no more death!! No more saying good-bye to people I love.

Thank you, Ben, for being a friend. I don’t use that word casually. I know thousands of people, but I only have a few that I call friends, and I really can’t spare any more. Thanks for the great conversations we had on the many, late Sunday night trips to and from Texarkana. Thanks for buying dinner for me and my son on more than one occasion at that all-night restaurant in Atlanta. Thanks for being available for breakfast or lunch every time I came back to town. Thanks for loving me and my family. Thanks for being my friend. I will miss you, and look forward to seeing you again soon.

Thank you, Thompson family, for being a consistently faithful and godly testimony for the Lord Jesus Christ. You never waiver. You were a tremendous inspiration to me when I was in college, and you are even more so to me now. You have the prayers and sympathy of my family, and our church as well. We love you!

Dec 7th The Builder – The Saturday Morning Post by Pastor Ted Stahl

“Finally, brethren, farewell. Be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of love and peace shall be with you. Greet one another with an holy kiss. All the saints salute you. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen. The second epistle to the Corinthians was written from Philippi, a city of Macedonia, by Titus and Lucas.” (2Corinthians 13:11-14)

Good morning. Paul is concluding his letter to the Corinthians. Under the dictation of the Holy Spirit, he writes us a To-Do list…

Be perfect (complete).

Be of good comfort.

Be of one mind.

Live in peace.

Matthew Henry gives a good explanation of these in his commentary…

“(1.) To be perfect, or to be knit together in love, which would tend greatly to their advantage as a church, or Christian society. (2.) To be of good comfort under all the sufferings and persecutions they might endure for the cause of Christ or any calamities and disappointments they might meet with in the world. (3.) To be of one mind, which would greatly tend to their comfort; for the more easy we are with our brethren the more ease we shall have in our own souls. The apostle would have them, as far as was possible, to be of the same opinion and judgment; however, if this could not be attained, yet, (4.) He exhorts them to live in peace, that difference in opinion should not cause an alienation of affections – that they should be at peace among themselves. He would have all the schisms that were among them healed, that there should be no more contention and wrath found among them, to prevent which they should avoid debates, envyings, backbitings, whisperings, and such like enemies to peace.”

Paul wrote in 2Corinthians 13:10…

“Therefore I write these things being absent, lest being present I should use sharpness, according to the power which the Lord hath given me to edification, and not to destruction.” (2Corinthians 13:10)

If the Apostle Paul came to your church, would he have to use sharpness to get you to do what was right? Or, could he be uplifting Generic Viagra, building you up: edifying you. In 1Corinthians 14:12…

“Even so ye, forasmuch as ye are zealous of spiritual gifts, seek that ye may excel to the edifying of the church.” (1Corinthians 14:12)

And in verse 26, “…Let all things be done unto edifying.”

When you edify someone, you build them up in the Lord: train them as a child in the way they should go, and they will help someone else; and so on.

Today the teens are going to the Youth Congress out in New Egypt, NJ. They will be receiving a Christian Life Journal. I would ask them to add one more question to the daily page if it is not already there: “What did I do to edify someone today?”

If we answer that question on a daily basis, we will be focused on what Jesus was focused on: others. If we get our eyes off ourselves, and look to the needs of others, edifying them, God’s work will get done.

Let me leave you with an example that my wife and I are very thankful for. Two actually: one from God, and one from someone unknown…

December 6, 2013, is my daughter’s 38th birthday. Camille and I celebrated by going over to the grave, adding new flowers, and a few other Christmas items. It had been raining and drizzling all day. When we got to the cemetery, God held back the rain. We were edified: God reinforced the fact to us that He is in control. He cares for us in the little things, as well as the big. Just think about it: the Creator, who spoke everything we have into existence cared enough about us to hold back the rain while we went to the grave. Just a note: as we drove away, the rain came down in buckets! God is good!

Part two of this is also a part of what inspired this blog today. Somebody had come and visited Melissa’s grave earlier, and left a message written in the ground behind the gravestone. Maybe the message was from God too. I know we received much joy from reading it, and knowing that someone else cared. The message simply said, “I LOVE YOU.”

Peace! (JOY: Jesus, Others, You)

Nov 30th Can You Imagine – The Saturday Morning Post by Pastor Ted Stahl

“Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.” (1Corinthians 1:10)

Can you imagine what our churches would be like if we were “perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment”? Can you imagine all the souls getting saved and baptized each week because they want what we have? Can you imagine the impact we would have on our communities, on our states, on our country? Can you imagine? Even the liberals may get converted!

It came to Paul’s attention that there were contentions among the members of the church at Corinth. It had gotten to the point where Paul had to plead with the church to be of one mind. Paul wrote in Philippians chapter 2…

“Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: [6] Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: [7] But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: [8] And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.” (Philippians 2:5-8)

Jesus, who is God the Son, was in the form of God, and thought it not robbery to be equal with God. If He were not God, He would have been steeling glory and worship from God. That would be sin, and that would make His sacrifice worthless, and He would have never risen from the grave. But He is God, and being God, He is perfect, and He rose from the grave, and all the glory and honor and worship goes to God.

Can you imagine if we were all of that same mind? Jesus, as God, humbled Himself putting on flesh and became a man, and was obedient even unto death on the cross. All that because He loved us. Can you imagine if we had the same love for each other? But of course we would have to be of the same mind and under control of the God the Holy Spirit to come close to that.

With the Holy Spirit in control, the life of the Christian, and the life of the church, would be showing the fruit of the Spirit…

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, [23] Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. [24] And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. [25] If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. [26] Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another.” (Galatians 5:22-26)

Can you imagine if we had the same mind? How about the same judgment? God’s mind and His judgment are available to us from the same place: the Holy Bible: the Word of God. God’s Word has everything we need to have His mind and judgment. How can we make it our own?

1) PRAY…

“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)

2) READ…

“Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed thereto according to thy word.” (Psalm 119:9)

3) LEARN…

“Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.” (Psalm 119:11)

Can you imagine?

Peace. (Psalm 34:14)