Making a Differencewith Pastor Phil Erickson

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.

Jul 31st Here Am I! Send Me

Today’s Passages – Isaiah 5 – 8; Proverbs 31

(Second Milers also read – Luke 17 – 18; Memorize – Matthew 7:7 & 8 )

And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here am I! Send me.” (Isaiah 6:8)

Just a quick thought from the Word this morning. God is looking for laborers. He has something for all of us to do; but will we surrender to God’s calling on our life. Years ago, I was at a missions conference at Ocean Count Baptist Church in Toms River, NJ. I was a brand new Christian and very excited about my new faith. I was looking for a job to do for the Lord. I already worked in the parking lot; I cut the grass; I cleaned up the chairs after the Sunday School. I wanted to serve God any way I could. The missionary preached a message about the need for laborers in God’s vineyard. At the invitation he asked this question: “If God were to call you to serve Him full-time, would you surrender?” To me that was a no-brainer. He didn’t say that God was calling me; he just said that God may call me, and if He did, would I be willing to go? I said yes, and went forward at the invitation. I honestly thought that there would be many people down at the altar, but there was just one other man. I now look back on that moment as the time I began to realize that God had a special plan for my life.

God has a special plan for you as well; but will you be willing to heed the call of God. The pay isn’t the greatest, but the benefits are out of this world. Why not say “Here Am I! Send me” to God’s call.

Jul 30th Who Do You Dine With? – The Saturday Morning Post by Pastor Ted Stahl

 Today’s Reading: Isaiah 1-4, Proverbs 30, and Luke 15-16

Today’s Passage: “Then drew near unto him all the publicans and sinners for to hear him. And the Pharisees and scribes murmured, saying, This man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them.” – Luke 15:1-2.

Good morning. In our passage today, we can easily see that the Pharisees and scribes forgot where they came from. The Bible does say that we are all sinners, and none of us are righteous. The only righteousness we have is the righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ that was imputed to us. Our own righteousness is as filthy rags. The Pharisees must have skipped over that verse in Isaiah. Here are a few ways to tell if you are a Pharisee.

Do you murmur (talk, gossip, spread lies or even truths) about others? “This man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them.”

Do you look down at others while lifting yourself up? “And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess. And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted. (Luke 18:10-14)

Do you get upset when you are corrected? “But the Jews did not believe concerning him, that he had been blind, and received his sight, until they called the parents of him that had received his sight. And they asked them, saying, Is this your son, who ye say was born blind? how then doth he now see? His parents answered them and said, We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind: But by what means he now seeth, we know not; or who hath opened his eyes, we know not: he is of age; ask him: he shall speak for himself. These words spake his parents, because they feared the Jews: for the Jews had agreed already, that if any man did confess that he was Christ, he should be put out of the synagogue. Therefore said his parents, He is of age; ask him. Then again called they the man that was blind, and said unto him, Give God the praise: we know that this man is a sinner. He answered and said, Whether he be a sinner or no, I know not: one thing I know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see. Then said they to him again, What did he to thee? how opened he thine eyes? He answered them, I have told you already, and ye did not hear: wherefore would ye hear it again? will ye also be his disciples? Then they reviled him, and said, Thou art his disciple; but we are Moses’ disciples. We know that God spake unto Moses: as for this fellow, we know not from whence he is. The man answered and said unto them, Why herein is a marvellous thing, that ye know not from whence he is, and yet he hath opened mine eyes. Now we know that God heareth not sinners: but if any man be a worshipper of God, and doeth his will, him he heareth. Since the world began was it not heard that any man opened the eyes of one that was born blind. If this man were not of God, he could do nothing. They answered and said unto him, Thou wast altogether born in sins, and dost thou teach us? And they cast him out.” (John 9:18-34)

Are you upset or angry at only these three questions? Remember: if the shoe fits, you still have a choice whether to ware it or not.

And if you listen to someone talking about another person, think about this: is that person also talking about you to others when you’re not around? Sorry – didn’t mean to make you paranoid – but that’s the way it is with gossipers, back stabbers, and the like. We need to accept others the way they are. Compared to others, we may know a little bit more, or a little bit less. Compared to God: we know nothing.

Peace. (John 13:34)

Jul 29th Without Spot

Today’s Passages – Song of Solomon 5 – 8; Proverbs 29

(Second Milers also read – Luke 13 – 14; Memorize – Hebrews 1:8)

“How fair and how pleasant art thou, O love, for delights!” – (Song of Songs 7:6)

Jul 28th A Wonderful Story of Love

Today’s Passages – Song of Solomon 1 – 4; Proverbs 28

(Second Milers also read – Luke 11 – 12; Memorize Hebrews 1:8)

“He brought me to the banqueting house, and his banner over me was love.” – (Song of Songs 2:4)

I must confess that I would rather write about a subject this morning that I have a better understanding of. The Song of Solomon is a wonderful account of love and marriage, but I must confess that I do not comprehend all that is contained in this beautiful story. I know that there is a literal, earthly story here about the love between a husband and a wife. It is clear from the passage that Solomon is the husband; but trying to figure out the identity of the wife with certainty is rather difficult as we know that Solomon had 700 of them (and 300 additional concubines). It is thought by some that this beautiful woman is Abishag, the woman who ministered to Solomon’s father in the last days of his life. We know that she was a Shulamite woman (6:13). At any rate, she is obviously Solomon’s first wife, before he had sinned by marrying so many other women.

The broader implication of this book is that Solomon is a type or picture of the Lord Jesus Christ; and his bride is a picture of the Church. It was a strange thought for me when I first learned that I was part of the Bride of Christ. I guess the man in me rebels against the feminine identity; but as I have grown through the years I have learned to accept and even somewhat understand the meaning of it all. I do love my Lord Jesus. I want to grow and learn to love Him more, but in order to do so I must learn to love myself a lot less.

As I said in the beginning of this thought, I don’t understand all that this love story has to tell us; but I love story nonetheless from both an earthly perspective, and from the spiritual picture that it represents.

Jul 27th Sharpen Your Axe

Today’s Passages – Ecclesiastes 9 – 12; Proverbs 27

(Second Milers also read – Luke 9 – 10; Memorize Hebrews 1:8)

“If the iron be blunt, and he do not whet the edge, then must he put to more strength: but wisdom is profitable to direct.” – (Ecclesiastes 10:10)

I have been enjoying this devotional reading of the Book of Ecclesiastes as there are so many nuggets of truth. I actually had a hard time deciding what to write about this morning. I had considered doing something on Ecclesiastes 9:11, or 10:1; but I beleieve the verse above will be the most helpful for us today.

Solomon says that if a man does not “whet the edge”, he will have to add a little strength in order to be able to accomplish the goal. Whetting (or sharpening) the edge allowed the blade to penetrate deeper into the wood with less strength. It helps accomplish the goal without as much effort. Solomon is using this illustration to teach us about life. At the end of the verse he says that wisdom is profitable to direct. Acquiring wisdom is like sharpening the axe or whetting the edge. It will help you do the job with less difficulty.

God has given us a lot of things to do in life. In order to accomplish the things that the Lord has for us, we will need to acquire some wisdom. Wisdom makes us more proficient and helps us to accomplish the tasks at hand. God says that He will give us the wisdom that we need if we simply ask for it in faith.

“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)

We can get God’s wisdom from the Word of God; through prayer; and from the counsel of those who are wise.

I do not think that God is minimizing or belittling the value of hard work, either. There are a lot of things that I find myself doing where I am perhaps not as wise as someone else. In these situations I will have to work a little harder than that person, but  I can still accomplish the goal.  However, if I am going to be the best that I can be at all that God has given me to do. I will need to ask for wisdom. I need His wisdom to be a good husband and father. I need wisdom in order to pastor the people of God at the church. I need wisdom for every task that I perform, and so do you. Work hard, but if you want to get the most out of each swing, you will want to sharpen your axe.

Jul 26th Promises, Promises

Today’s Passages – Ecclesiastes 5 – 8; Proverbs 26

(Second Milers also read – Luke 7 – 8; Memorize – Hebrews 1:8)

“When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou hast vowed. Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay. Suffer not thy mouth to cause thy flesh to sin; neither say thou before the angel, that it was an error: wherefore should God be angry at thy voice, and destroy the work of thine hands?” – (Ecclesiastes 5:4-6)

Back when my grandfather was a young man, a man could get a loan simply by promising with a handshake that he would pay it back. People in those days kept their word. They followed through on what they said they would do. Today it is much different. Many people today are not at all trustworthy. They are quick to promise, but often slow to keep their word. God says here in our passage this morning that we should be slow to make promises, but once a promise is made, we should do everything we can to keep it.

I want to encourage all of you that are reading this thought this morning to think (and pray) very carefully before you commit yourself to something. Don’t let pressure or emotion cause you to agree to do something that you may not be able to fulfill. I remember years ago I gave a pledge in January that I would give a certain amount of money per week toward that year’s faith promise missions offering. I was making good money at the time, and I did not think that there would be any problems. However, later that year, my family and I packed up to move to Texas to go to Bible College. I was no longer in a financial position to keep that committment, but I had made a promise, and I knew our church’s missions program was depending on that offering. Cindy and I agreed that we should sacrifice some things in order to fulfill our pledge. I haven’t always kept my promises in life, but I am very glad I kept that one.

Today we live in a world that is lacking basic trust, and the reason we don’t trust one another is that we do not keep our word. We say one thing and do another. We make promises to people and to God that may be well meaning, but ultimately we fail to follow through. Let’s stop making promises that we can’t keep. And when we do give our word, let’s keep it.