Taste and See

Here is my message from a few weeks ago.

Taste and See

Psalm 34:8

Sunday, January 8th, 2017- MRWC

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Well, good morning everyone! It’s super awesome to be up here this morning. This hasn't happened in well over 6 months, so I ask for your patience, as I could be somewhat rusty…. So bear with me if you please.

I do want to say thank you for the Love and Prayers that you have sent our way; please keep them coming; we’re not out of the wilderness as of yet. 

Normally at the start of a New Year I like to pick one verse, or even issue a challenge that we can all be a part of as the year rolls on. 

Pastor Mike preached an excellent message last week called; “This one thing” and if you missed it, I want to encourage you to head on over to our website and check it out. It will challenge you to do one thing for God this year. 

While I don’t know what 2017 holds for me or for anyone of you, I do know the One who does. 

I know and believe that God is completely sovereign and that He controls all things, and He knows and sees all things. 

Nothing that happens in 2017 will scare God, nor will there be anything happen in 2017 that God will not be able to handle. 

Because God is all knowing, all-powerful and everywhere present, He is more than able to handle whatever comes our way this year. 

What we must do this year, is turn to Him and seek His face.  

So before moving on, lets pause and thank God for His unmistakable Presence in our church and her people because we have seen Him do Great things! 

PRAY

If there would be one Scripture passage that I could leave with you for the entire year, a passage that you and I could reflect on again and again, it would be the one found in Psalm 34:8.

In Psalm 34:8 David says: “Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him. (Psalm 34:8, NIV) 

No matter what happens to us in 2017—When Trump occupies the Oval Office, when the economy sinks even more that it already has, if your house blows up, if you were to lose everything that you own in an instant, God would still want us to take refuge in Him. 

WHY? 

Because the Bible reminds us that God would still be in control. “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.

2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,3 though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.” (Psalm 46:1-3, NIV) 

Even if all hell were to break loose on the earth, God would still be with us, to help us make sense of it all. 

And what we’re to do in these hard times is not run away from God, but to run to God and let Him be our refuge. 

Let God protect us. Let God be our stronghold. Let God be our fortress.

ILLUSTRATION- Think about it for just a second. 

Who, but God, is truly able to offer us peace in an un-peaceful world?  

Who, but God, is able to bring us rest in a restless world? 

Who, but God, is able to fight all our battles? 

Who, but God, is able to fend off the attacks of the Enemy when his sole purpose is to destroy us? 

NO ONE. 

There is no one like God. Our God is not one of many gods, our God; the God of the Bible, is the One True God. 

There is no one who can protect us like God can protect us. There is no one who can offer us the kind of security that God offers us. There is no one who can be our refuge, no one but God. 

This, I think, is why David wrote what he did in Psalm 62:  “I wait quietly before God, for my victory comes from him. 2 He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress where I will never be shaken….” 

5 Let all that I am wait quietly before God, for my hope is in him.6 He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress where I will not be shaken.

7 My victory and honour come from God alone. He is my refuge, a rock where no enemy can reach me.

8 O my people, trust in him at all times. Pour out your heart to him, for God is our refuge.” (Psalm 62: 1-2, 5-8, NLT2)

There is no one who is able to protect us from the storms of life the way that God is able to protect us. 

Psalm 91:1-2 says: “Those who live in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty. 

2 This I declare about the Lord: He alone is my refuge, my place of safety; he is my God, and I trust him.” (NIV)

Are you placing your trust in God? 

If you do, if you make God your only source of refuge, your only source of protection, your only source of hope, then: 

“The Lord says, “I will rescue those who love me. I will protect those who trust in my name. 

15 When they call on me, I will answer; I will be with them in trouble. I will rescue and honour them. 

16 I will reward them with a long life and give them my salvation.” (Psalm 91:14-16, NLT2)

God wants to be our only source of protection. If we make Him our source of protection, He will fill us with all that He is. 

And that my friends, is what each of us so desperately need. 

David, in Psalm 34:8 would have us “taste”: meaning “to see, to discover by experience” that God is good, and we will be blessed if we take refuge in Him. 

ILLUSTRATION- It’s like enjoying a good steak. We won’t know the steak is good if we just look at it.  

We won’t know the steak is good if we only take it out of the wrapper. 

The only way that we will know that the steak is good is if we crack open the BBQ, smother that steak with BBQ sauce, cook up some mushrooms, green peppers and onions…. the only way we’re going to know if the steak is any good, is by consuming it. 

It’s the same idea here. The only way that we will ever know if God is really good, is if we taste of His goodness.  

If we come to Him and allow Him to be our refuge and strength. 

If we allow Him to fill us with His Holy Spirit, if we take refuge in Him, we will lack no good thing. 

"If anyone is thirsty,” Jesus said, “let him come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him." (John 7:37b-38, NIV)

Do you trust in God for strength, for protection, for living water or do you trust in yourself? 

Are you hoping that you can fix all your problems, or are you hoping and trusting in God to fix your problems?  

You see friend, God is more than able to help you, to rescue you and to save you; all you have to do is “taste and see that the lord is good.” (Psalm 34:8, NIV)

Some of us are only nibbling at God. We are coming to Him when it is convenient for us.

When we’re in a mess, we cry out to God and make all kinds of promises that we don’t really intend to keep; we just want help. 

What God wants all of us to do, regardless of who we are—or who we think we are—is to taste Him—to take Him at His Word and make Him our life. 

It’s not time to fool around; it’s time to get serious about God and the things of God. 

Are you snacking on God or are you feasting on Him? “Taste and see that the LORD is good…” (Psalm 34:8a)

And, because God is good, we will never lack anything good. 

This does not mean that we will have a big car and a nice house and a rich bank account, those things are nice, but they are not necessarily good. 

What this promise of never lacking anything good means is that we will never lack anything good. 

God will not supply all our greed’s, but He will supply all our needs. (And he has done that very thing!)

Look at verses 9-10 of Psalm 34: “Fear the Lord, you his godly people, for those who fear him will have all they need. 

10 Even strong young lions sometimes go hungry, but those who trust in the Lord will lack no good thing.” (NLT2)

Look also at Psalm 23:1 “The Lord is my shepherd; I have all that I need.” (NLT2)

Now look at Matthew 6:33: “Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.” (NLT2)

If we taste and see that the Lord is good, if we make God our refuge, if we seek Him with all that we are, He will give us all that we need. 

ILLUSTRATION- Every time we go to Halifax, Beth and I see the Lord at work. 

Believe it or not, its very expensive to travel to and from the hospital in Halifax. 

There have been times when our bank account has been quite low, and each and every time it has, God shows up in a miraculous way with money at just the right

 time. Each and every time. 

God has been looking after us, not only with me receiving good physical care, but also with monetary provisions. 

Friends, the God who provides for my family wants to be the God who provides for you.

One of the Names of God in the Old Testament is Jehovah-Jireh. It literally means “God will provide”. 

God wants to provide for you all that you need, both this year and in the years to come, if we live that long. 

In fact, we are to be praying for God to provide: Jesus said these words in Matthew 6: "This, then, is how you should pray: "'Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, 10 your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

11 Give us today our daily bread….” 

(Matthew 6:9-11, NIV)

Because God is good, He will provide all that you and I will ever need. We may have to wait for a while, but ultimately He will provide as He sees fit. 

But you know friends; if we want to experience all the good things that God has for us, we must, as Psalm 34:14 says: “Turn from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it.” (NIV)

The only way that we can ever experience the true blessing from the Lord is if we stop and surrender our lives over to Him. 

Surrender is the only way that we will be able to walk in complete peace. 

Have you surrendered to the Lord? Are you seeking the Prince of Peace? Are you making Him your refuge—your hiding place, your stronghold? 

There is great victory that comes from trusting in the Lord, from making God our all. 

David said it best when he wrote: “The LORD is my light and my salvation-- whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life-- of whom shall I be afraid?” (Psalm 27:1, NIV) 

If you have not placed your trust in the Lord, or if you are only taking bits and pieces of God, then you are missing out on God’s best. 

You are missing out on the provision of God, on having God walk with you each moment of the day. 

So what do I want you to do with what you’ve just heard? This one thing:

1. Stop snacking and start feasting! 

God doesn't want for us to come to Him when we feel like it. God wants us to come to Him all the time. 

To tell Him what’s bugging us, to tell Him what makes us happy, to tell Him what we need, to tell Him what we desire… 

Paul wrote in Philippians 4: “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. 

7 Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.” (Ph. 4:6-7, NLT2)

Don’t just snack on God. Climb right up to the table and start feasting on Him and on His goodness…

If there is one verse that I can leave with you, one verse that you memorize and one verse that stays with you all year, make it be this one verse, found in Psalm 34;8 

For this one truth is what we will need to get us through all of the things 2017 will send our way: “Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.” (NIV)

As the team comes back to lead us in song, if you'd like to spend some more time feasting on the Goodness of God, I want to encourage you to find a friend where you are and have them pray with and for you…

Or you might want to come up to the alter and have a few people gather around and pray for you here… 

Whatever you want to do, I want to encourage you right now to make a commitment to God that you will begin to feast on Him and His goodness. 

Post it notes from God

This post is a sermon that I preached at MRWC on Sunday, July 31. Enjoy, and let me know what you think.

Post-It-Notes from God, Part 2

Jesus is coming! Matthew 24-25

Sunday, July 31st 2016-MRWC

We are in week two of a brand new sermon series called, Post it notes from God, Part two. 

Post-it notes are wonderful. They are designed with one purpose in mind: to remind you of something. 

ILLUSTRATION- I use PIN all of the time. If you were to look in my office, you would see PIN all over my bulletin board, as well as a few of them across my window ledge. 

Some of these PIN contain important reminders, while others of them contain Scripture verses that I am tying to memorize, or verses that I need to be reminded of. 

One of these verses just so happens to be the verse PM talked about last Sunday, Isaiah 26:3&4 “You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you! 4 Trust in the Lord always, for the Lord God is the eternal Rock.” (NLT2) 

The Bible is full of PIN worthy verses and we asked some of you to submit to us your favourite Scripture verse or even a verse or two that leaves you scratching your head. 

Today’s lesson is a head scratcher. We will be looking at Matthew chapters 24&25, which talk about the 2nd coming of Jesus Christ. 

Before we do so, let me give you a disclaimer or two: First of all, The first advent of Jesus— His First coming to this earth— was only seen by a handful of people. 

His second Advent will be seen by everyone, everywhere. and I will give you a reference for that as we move along. 

The second thing I want to say is that I don’t claim to be a prophet— that is to say, I am not the final authority on this matter. 

There is much about the Second Coming of Jesus that I don’t know about, but there are some things I do know, and because I believe the Bible is the whole word of God, without errors or contradictions, I believe that Jesus is coming back.  

So, I am trusting God to take the words you are about to hear, and apply them to our lives, and trust that He will make sense of it all, so before we get too heavy, let’s pray

PRAY- God Help us….

As Jesus and His disciples were walking around the temple grounds, looking at the remarkable buildings, Jesus made an interesting statement, found in Matthew 24:2:

“Do you see all these buildings? I tell you the truth, they will be completely demolished. Not one stone will be left on top of another!”  

(NLT2)

This statement about the destruction of the Temple leaves the disciples scratching their heads, so when they are finally alone, the Disciples dig a little deeper: “Tell us, when will all this happen? What sign will signal your return and the end of the world?” (24:3, NLT2)

What Jesus said next, recorded for us in the next several verses, is substantial, and has left more than one person asking a question or two, so in an effort to make it as clear as mud, there are three truths we need to know, that come from Jesus’ mouth as He answered His Disciples’ question. 

First of all, Jesus is coming back! 

People way smarter than me have come up with 3 different ideas/ theories/ scenarios as to when Jesus is be coming back. 

While I don’t want to loose you in the woods, it will help us understand a little bit of the Master’s words as found in Matthew 24.

The first scenario of when Jesus is coming back for His church is before things in the world get bad. I mean bad-er than they are now. Before Trump or Clinton takes over the Oval Office… (Ok, I added that last part).

This belief is called Pre-Trib. Christ will come back for His church before the time of Great Tribulation begins. 

Another view point is that Christ will come back for His church at the mid-way point during 

the great Tribulation. Mid-Trib. 

Jesus will take His church out of here before things get really really bad. 

Still another view point of view is that Jesus will not come back for His church until the time of great Tribulation is over; this is called Post-Trib.

After the world has gone to hell in a hand basket, after more violence and destruction that we could possible imagine has taken place, then Jesus will come back for His church.  

Which view point is right? 

YES. 

From reading Matthew 24, one can glean that Jesus is speaking about all three time periods in this one chapter. 

While we may not know for sure when Jesus is coming back for His church, we need to understand that Jesus is coming back. 

We must agree to this, because Jesus Himself said He was coming back. 

Take a look at Jesus’ words in as recorded in Matthew 24 starting at verse 23: “if anyone tells you, ‘Look, here is the Messiah,’ or ‘There he is,’ don’t believe it. 

24 For false messiahs and false prophets will rise up and perform great signs and wonders so as to deceive, if possible, even God’s chosen ones. 

25 See, I have warned you about this ahead of time. 26 “So if someone tells you, ‘Look, the Messiah is out in the desert,’ don’t bother to go and look. Or, ‘Look, he is hiding here,’ don’t believe it!

27 For as the lightning flashes in the east and shines to the west, so it will be when the Son of Man comes.” (Matthew 24:23-27, NLT2)

Jesus promised that everyone will stand up and take notice that He has come back for His church. 

You won’t need a magnifying glass to see this take place, nor will you hear about it on CNN. 

When Jesus comes back for His church, everyone, everywhere will know about it. 

In fact, Paul reminds us that “at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,11 and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Phil. 2:10-11, NIV)

The First truth we need to learn from Jesus’ answer to the Disciples question as found in Matthew 24:3, is that Jesus is coming back! 

The second truth we need to learn from these two chapters is that while Jesus is coming back, we don’t know when! 

ILLUSTRATION- I have been fortunate enough to travel to the West African Country of Ghana on three different occasions. 

Each time I have travelled to Ghana, it has been part of a teaching team, training would be pastors in the teachings of TWC. 

On my most recent trip to Ghana, back in 2013, I happened to notice a giant billboard, similar to the ones we would see on the 4-lane going to Fredericton. 

What this billboard said caught my attention, and the attention of the rest of my team. It told us that the End of the World would take place in June of 2013. 

While reading the USA today app on my iPad last week, I happened to notice an article that said the End of the World would take place on July 29th, 2016. 

Seeing as we’re all here, the end of the world didn't happen on either of those two dates. 

People have been trying to predict when the end of the world will happen, ever since they found out that the world was coming to an end. Each and every time, these people have been, what I like to call, wrong. 

While we do know that Jesus is coming back for His church, we simply do not know when this will happen.  

Let’s see what Jesus had to say on this issue. Look at Matthew 24 starting at verse 35: “Heaven and earth will disappear, but my words will never disappear. 

36 “However, one knows the day or hour when these things will happen, not even the angels in heaven or the Son himself. Only the Father knows. 

37 “When the Son of Man returns, it will be like it was in Noah’s day. 

38 In those days before the flood, the people were enjoying banquets and parties and weddings right up to the time Noah entered his boat. 

39 People didn’t realize what was going to happen until the flood came and swept them all away. That is the way it will be when the Son of Man comes. 

40 “Two men will be working together in the field; one will be taken, the other left. 41 Two women will be grinding flour at the mill; one will be taken, the other left. 

42 “So you, too, must keep watch! For you don’t know what day your Lord is coming.

  43 Understand this: If a homeowner knew exactly when a burglar was coming, he would keep watch and not permit his house to be broken into. 

44 You also must be ready all the time, for the Son of Man will come when least expected.” (NLT2)

From reading this passage, we understand that only God Himself knows when the end will come. No one else. Not CNN, not Nostradamus, not Justin Trudeau. 

But from reading this passage, we can understand that the end will come when we least expect it. 

Just as it was in Noah’s day, so it will be when the end comes. People will still get up and go to work, people will still eat and drink, and even get married. 

Life will go on as usual, and when we least expect it, that is when the end will come. 

“You also must be ready all the time, for the Son of Man will come when least expected.” (Matthew 24:44, NLT2)

What does it mean to be ready all of the time? Well, for one thing we must make sure our hearts are at peace with God. Confess any unconfessed sin, and live for God. 

But live ready also means keeping short accounts with those around you. If you’ve done something to someone else, make sure you take the time to clear it up….

Love for God is displayed by loving others; which leads us to the third truth we need to learn from Matthew 24&25:

Because Jesus is coming back for His church, because this world will pass away, we’ve got to be busy doing something for Jesus. 

What is that something? Well, let’s take a look at Matthew 25:31-46: “when the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit upon his glorious throne. 

32 All the nations will be gathered in his presence, and he will separate the people as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will place the sheep at his right hand and the goats at his left. 

34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. 

35 For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. 36 I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.’

37 “Then these righteous ones will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? 

38 Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? 39 When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?’

40 “And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’

41 “Then the King will turn to those on the left and say, ‘Away with you, you cursed ones, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his demons. 

42 For I was hungry, and you didn’t feed me. I was thirsty, and you didn’t give me a drink. 

43 I was a stranger, and you didn’t invite me into your home. I was naked, and you didn’t give me clothing. I was sick and in prison, and you didn’t visit me.’ 

44 “Then they will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and not help you?’

45 “And he will answer, ‘I tell you the truth, when you refused to help the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were refusing to help me.’

46 “And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous will go into eternal life.” (NLT2)

This is a sobering section of Scripture that demonstrates that faith in God isn't enough. We must do something for Jesus, because of Jesus. 

Hear me out on this one Church, we don’t do good works to get saved— the Bible is crystal clear on that truth: “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God…” (Eph. 2:8, NIV)

We don’t do good work to get saved, we do good works because we are saved. 

We will be generous with our time, talent and treasure, b/c we belong to Jesus.

We will give to those in need, b/c we belong to Jesus. 

We will pray for those who are in need, b/c we belong to Jesus. 

We may even go and help those who are in need, b/c we belong to Jesus. 

We will do good works because we are doing something in Jesus’ name. 

As Pastor Andy Stanley once said: “You can’t do everything for everyone, but you can do something for someone.”  

What can you do for someone in the name of Jesus, knowing that He is our soon coming King?

Is there someone who is down on their luck and needs a helping hand?

Is there someone who needs a visit from you?

Jesus reminds us that whenever we do something in His Name: feeding, giving drink, showing hospitality, offering clothing, we are actually doing it as unto Him. 

So, what are you doing for Jesus? 

For what it’s worth, we can only do something for Jesus if our heart is right with Jesus. If our heart isn’t right with Jesus, we’re just showing off, and God doesn't like a show off… 

So think— more specifically— pray about what you can do for Jesus knowing that He is coming back at an unknown hour. 

My heart has been breaking as of late— hopefully yours has as well, at all the senseless violence that has taken place around the world. 

From the shootings in the USA to the killing of a priest in Normandy, each day seems to bring with it more and more heartache.

The question becomes: “What are we to do in the meantime?” 

Before Jesus takes His church out of this world, before the end of the world takes place, how, what are we to do in this world?

The Psalmist asked a similar question in Psalm chapter 11: “When all that is good falls apart—- it seems that we’re there now—- what can good people do?” (Psalm 11:3, NCV)

The very next verse gives us the answer: “The LORD is in his holy temple; the LORD sits on his throne in heaven.” (Psalm 11:4, NCV)

Though our world is quickly falling apart, God is still God. He is still on the throne. He is still in control. God is able to rescue the perishing. He is still ready to save us. 

So what do I want you to do with what you’ve been hearing???

Quite simply, and quite difficultly: Trust God. 

I want you to trust God with your life. If you haven’t surrendered your life over to the Lordship of Jesus Christ, today is that day. 

The days are getting worse and worse, and only Jesus is able to give you the peace that is so desperately needed in this world. 

The Scriptures teach us that: “Today is the day of salvation” (2 Cor. 6:2, NLT2)

If you have yet to surrender your life to Jesus, you’re not ready for His  second coming. Don’t leave this place, unless you have placed your trust in God. 

For those of you who have already placed your trust in God, You need to trust Him with the future, trust Him with Your future. 

God is not in the business of forgetting His children. God will not leave you alone, God will not abandon you. 

When you turn on the news and see another shooting or terroist attack, get on your knees and pray: “God, I trust you. I don’t know what’s going on, but help me to trust that you are still in control of everything, me included.” 

As our team comes back to lead us in a very appropriate song, I’d like for us to spend a few moments actually looking up at God. I’d like for us to actually turn our eyes on Jesus, as He is our only hope. 

The truth this morning is that Jesus is coming back, but we don’t know when, so we’re going to do something for Him, and that starts as we turn our eyes upon Him.

song- Turn your eyes upon Jesus- Look up

We read these words in 2 Peter 3: do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. 

9 The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare. 

11 Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives 12 as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming.” (NIV)