Making a Differencewith Pastor Phil Erickson

Jul 23rd A True Friend

Listen to Sunday Morning’s Message – “First Day on the Job” from 2 Kings 3

Today’s Passage – Proverbs 25 – 27 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – click here to view the text)

(Second Milers also read – Luke 1 – 2; Psalms 106 – 110; Proverbs 23)

Scripture Memory for July – Hebrews 1

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

“Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.” – (Proverbs 27:6)

“Thine own friend, and thy father’s friend, forsake not; neither go into thy brother’s house in the day of thy calamity: for better is a neighbour that is near than a brother far off.” – (Proverbs 27:10)

“Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.” – (Proverbs 27:17)

Chapter twenty-seven of the Book of Proverbs includes the word “friend” several times. I have posted some of them above. From these verses we can get a better, Biblical understanding of what a true friend is. The world would have a broader definition for friendship, but the Bible is much more specific about what a friend is, and what a friend does. We each may have many acquaintances, and people that are friendly at times to us; but if we were to really apply the Biblical understanding of true friendship, we would have to conclude that the number of real friends we have is few.

The Bible tells us that a true friend is there for us no matter what. We have all probably heard the expression, “fair weather friends”. This type of person is the one that will be your friend as long as you have something to offer them. I remember years ago when I was newly saved, my wife and I were attending a church in Toms River, NJ. We were both very young Christians, and we had a hard time establishing relationships with some of the other couples that were there. There was one man that all of a sudden began to take an interest in me. He invited us over to his house, and he really seemed to be trying to reach out to us. I was very flattered, but then this man began to tell me about a business venture that he wanted me to be a part of: something that was going to eventually make me very rich, but at first would require an investment on our part. When this man finally realized that I didn’t have any money to invest in his business, he stopped being nice to me. This man was not my friend. He was friendly as long as he thought I could benefit him in some way. A real friend is not merely concerned about what he receives from the relationship, but is instead focussed on what he can offer to it. True friends will also remain friendly through the good times and the bad.

“A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.” – (Proverbs 18:24)

The Bible also tells us that a true friend will not be someone that tells us what we want to hear, but rather tells us what we need to hear. I want my friends to help me be a better me. In order for that to happen they will need to be open and honest with me. There are many things about me that I cannot see. My flesh has set up protections that insulate me from facing myself. My pride causes me to think that I am always right. But I know that can’t possibly be true. So God has placed some people in my life who love me enough to tell me what I often do not want to hear about myself. Don’t misunderstand, these friends do not spend all of their time criticizing me, but they will straighten me out when I need it. The greatest friend that I have, besides the Lord, is my wife. She doesn’t pull any punches with me: she loves me enough to tell me what I need to hear.

Of course, the Lord is the greatest friend that we have because He gave His life for us. A true friend will give himself unconditionally to those that he loves.

“Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” – (John 15:13)

Jul 22nd Don’t Quit

Today’s Passage – Proverbs 22 – 24 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – click here to view the text)

(Second Milers also read – Mark 15 – 16; Psalms 101 – 105; 19 Proverbs 22)

Scripture Memory for July – Hebrews 1

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

“If thou faint in the day of adversity, thy strength is small.” – (Proverbs 24:10)

Many years ago, before I went to Bible college, I saw a poster similar to the picture above, hanging on the door of a walk-in freezer in the stock room of one of the supermarkets that I delivered to. I asked the clerk if I could make a copy of it, and I put that picture on my refrigerator at home. When we moved to Texas to go to Texas Baptist College the picture managed to remain with us, and ended up once again on our refrigerator. Bible college was tough, and there were many times that I contemplated quitting; but I would often look at that little poster, and remember that God had called me into the ministry, and He specifically revealed His will to me about where I should go for training, and I should finish what He had called me to do. That poster served for those three years as a reminder of the fact that no matter how hopeless the situation might seem, God would always bring me through, if I would just not quit.

There were many “war stories” that I could share from those college days, but one particular time stands out in my memory. It was the August before my senior year at the college, and it was registration time for the fall semester. I didn’t have a dime to my name. I was struggling to pay all of my bills, and even just put food on the table;  and I knew that I was going to have to pay the college something in order to get enrolled for my final year. To make matters worse, I still owed them money from the semester before. At first, I wasn’t even going to attempt to go through the whole process of choosing classes, etc. I mean, why bother? They weren’t going to let me in anyway; but for some reason, I went down to the college, and started to go through the motions of registering. When I finally got to the final step of the process – this was the part I really dreaded – meeting with the comptroller of the college, Brother Shaw, I timidly entered his office waiting to get yelled at, or maybe even laughed at. I explained my situation to him, and I remember him saying to me, “Brother Erickson, let’s just see what it says in our records.” He went to his computer and told me that not only was there no balance due from the previous semester, but there also was $1000.00 already paid for the new one. I couldn’t believe it. I just sat there with my mouth open, while he sat there grinning at me. To this day, I have no earthly idea where that money came from, but I do know that God taught me a great lesson that day. Don’t give up. No matter how hopeless the situation might seem, keep getting up and doing what God has called you to do. Don’t quit. There is always hope in the will of God. There have been many other times in the ministry where God has miraculously come through to help in time of need, He always came through. He may not always do what we want Him to do, but He always fulfills His will. We just have to hang in there, and stay faithful.

Jul 20th How Good Is It!

Listen to Wednesday Night’s Message from the series – “Turning the World Upside Down”

Today’s Passage – Proverbs 16 – 18 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – click here to view the text)

(Second Milers also read – Mark 11 – 12; Psalms 91 – 95; Proverbs 20)

Scripture Memory for July – Hebrews 1

Listen to this morning’s Scripture song – Psalm 48:1 & 2

Jul 19th Clean the Crib But Keep The Ox

Today’s Passage – Proverbs 13 – 15 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – click here to view the text)

(Second Milers also read – Mark 9 – 10; Psalms 86 – 90; Proverbs 19)

Scripture Memory for July – Hebrews 1

Listen to this morning’s Scripture song – Psalm 47:1

Read – “What Vacation Time Means To A Pastor” – by Pastor Chappell

“Where no oxen are, the crib is clean: but much increase is by the strength of the ox.” – (Proverbs 14:4)

Every Sunday afternoon, immediately following the morning service, we clean the auditorium and bathrooms of our church to make it ready for the evening service. I am often amazed at how dirty our building can get, especially considering that it was only in use for a few hours. There are lying bulletins everywhere, and the hymnbooks are everywhere except where they should be. We find candy wrappers and water bottles in various places. Sometimes, I even find chewed gum stuck to a chair or on the floor. Yuk! The place is a mess. But I thank God for the mess, because the mess indicates that people were using the building. There are times when I get a little tired of cleaning it, but if I didn’t have to clean it, it could only be because nobody was coming to our services.

I have determined that I will never get the mindset that the building that God has given us is to be some sort of museum for the Saints of God to observe and admire. I want our building to be functional, and practical; and I want it to be used by our people as much as possible, and as often as possible. And if it is being used, it is going to get dirty, and at times things are going to need to be repaired. I have been spending a great deal of time this summer painting and upgrading parts of our building. The rooms that were finished last month already have some marks on the walls. Praise God! That means that people: men, women, children, souls are coming to the House of God, and are getting the help that they need. I will keep cleaning the crib, but I think I am also going to keep the oxen as well.

Brother Hyles tells a story about a man that was complaining about the oily messes made in the parking lot by all the busses that were used to bring boys and girls to church. He reminded the man that D.L. Moody brought in a lot of children too, and the horses used to pull the wagons in those days were a whole lot messier.

Jul 18th My Biggest Problem

Today’s Passage – Proverbs 10 – 12 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – click here to view the text)

(Second Milers also read – Mark 7 – 8; Psalms 81 – 85; Proverbs 18)

Scripture Memory for July – Hebrews 1

Listen to this morning’s Scripture song – Psalm 34:6

Jul 16th Have You Consider the Ant?

Listen to Sunday Morning’s message – “Where is the Lord God of _______?”

Today’s Passage – Proverbs 4 – 6 (Click on the references to listen to the audio)

(Second Milers also read – Mark 3 – 4; Psalms 71 – 75; Proverbs 16)

Scripture Memory for July – Hebrews 1

Listen to this morning’s Scripture song – Psalm 25

Read – “Massacred for the Faith” by Pastor Chappell

“Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise: Which having no guide, overseer, or ruler, Provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest. How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard? when wilt thou arise out of thy sleep? Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep: So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth, and thy want as an armed man.” – (Proverbs 6:6-11)

I remember a few years back, our assistant pastor, Ted Stahl, was sitting on the curb in back of our church and he was staring down at the ground. I was curious as to what he was doing, so I asked him. He answer was even more curious: he said that he was obeying the Bible. By this point, he had my full attention, so I probed even deeper, and asked him what he meant by that. He told me that the Bible commanded him to consider the ants, and as I looked closer I could see that Pastor Stahl was actually observing some ants as they were going about their business. I will have to agree that the ants are fascinating creatures. They seem to be always busy, working together to accomplish their goal.

Christians ought to have some of the qualities of ants. Our society is filled with lazy people who seem to have little purpose in life, but that shouldn’t be said of us. we should be busy, diligent people who are able to work well with other people to accomplish God’s will for our lives.

As I have read through the Book of Proverbs, I have noticed that there are certain themes that reappear again and again. One of these is the subject of laziness (the Bible uses the terms slothful; and will also call a lazy person a sluggard).

“I went by the field of the slothful, and by the vineyard of the man void of understanding; And, lo, it was all grown over with thorns, and nettles had covered the face thereof, and the stone wall thereof was broken down. Then I saw, and considered it well: I looked upon it, and received instruction. Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep: So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth; and thy want as an armed man.” – (Proverbs 24:30-34 )

The above passage speaks of a man who, because of his laziness, has neglected his field to the point where it was overgrown with with weeds. I feel that way in my life sometimes. I notice that there are times when I lose focus, and allow things to fall into neglect. It happens in all areas of my life as well. Sometimes, I may neglect the spiritual priorities, and at other times I may become lazy in one of my responsibilities as a father or husband. I get lazy. Laziness seems to be a bigger problem for me in the summertime.

God expects us to be fruitful. God expects us to be busy and productive. Here are some things that will help me stay on track to fulfill the things that God expects from my life:

1  Have a schedule – determine what time you need to get up, and how much time is needed to do what you have to do. Go to bed early, and get up early. Avoid the time wasters like the internet and television.

2  Set Goals – what do you want to accomplish this year; this summer; this week; tomorrow? Attempt to get a lot of things done. You may not get to them all; but you will accomplish a lot more than if you don’t set goals. “he who aims at nothing hits it every time”. Set spiritual goals; goals for tasks around the house; etc.

3  Be accountable to someone. This is the problem that many preachers have. They have no earthly boss standing over them with expectations. If I am not careful, I will let this lack of accountability cause me to get lazy; get up later; leave earlier, etc.

4  Stay motivated. I listen to preaching and leadership lessons from Godly pastors around the country to stay challenged. What motivates you?

We will have to give an account of our lives to God someday. What did we do with our time? Were we productive? Did we fulfill God’s will for our lives? Or did we sleep in? Don’t be lazy. Get up and do what God has called you to do. Be like the ant.