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.