Wait On The Lord

Wait on the Lord

"Yet those who wait for the LORD Will gain new strength; They will mount up with wings like eagles, They will run and not get tired, They will walk and not become weary."

-       Isaiah 40:31 NAS95

 

The word to wait here in this text in some translations is translated as hope, "those who hope in the Lord" still will have strength. The key thing is the word's object is the Lord. Without the Lord there is no strength.

 

Therefore, to wait is to patiently look to the one that will deliver you. This wait is not in vain. This wait is coupled with trust and expectancy of a powerful God that can do all things. This wait comes from the knowledge of the Lord never fails. His love endures forever, and his power is without end. There is nothing that is impossible for God.

 

To hope in the Lord shows the same type of action with trust in the Lord. So whether you wait or hope you know that God will come. The Lord is our hope. This hope is our salvation. The Lord will deliver his people from death. You shall wait on the Lord and be of good courage. Hope in the Lord the savior of your soul.

 

Prayer:

Lord, teach me how to wait on you. Teach me your awesome ways. I want to know you in your power, love, and mercy. Show me your faithfulness Lord as I wait on your promises. I wait on you as I put my hope in you Lord, my God my salvation. Amen.

 

By: Samuel T. Duren, Zion Baptist Church

 

Faith...

Faith is the evidence of God…

^"And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him" (Hebrews 11:6 NLT).

 

         Faith in God is undeniable trust in the solid proof and evidence of God. The evidence of God's greatness is all around us. God's record is good. God's love has stood the test of time because his faithfulness towards his creation. The response to all the evidence of God is obedience. Faith in God is obedience. The faithful people of God do his good and perfect will.

Children of God are still called to do the will of God. Seek God's kingdom here on earth as is in heaven. Desire for his will be done in your life by your Faith in God. Faith placed in God leads to experiencing his presence and his power.

         God will rewards his faithful children who seek after him. Seek the Lord your God and experience how great is his love for you. Desire to know God's presence in your life by allowing his Spirit to lead you as you submit your life to Jesus Christ. Embrace the love of God as you walk in faith seeing his power in all of your life.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Samuel T. Duren

Joy of Being One

Joy of Being One

"Make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose" (Phil. 2:2 NASB).

The church serves one God through the only begotten Son of God, Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ revealed to us the gospel that shows us we are the church. The church should always be focused on the same gospel message. The gospel message should lead to unity in the Spirit and working out he mission of the gospel in his church. 

The gospel teaches us about God's love for the world. This love is what should be lived out in every believer. This love will lead to healing and restoring broken relationships. This love forgives and endures hardships out of love. This love will also make strong the relationships that are established already in the bond of Christ to endure future hardships. This love is what holds community, families and churches together. Love keeps us united.

Christ's love for us was shown in his sacrificial death on the cross for our sins. Love is sacrificial and giving. This gospel of unselfish love is the message we should be reflecting in our daily lives.  All who call on the Jesus Christ as Lord should be one in purpose to serve the Lord as one. This unity will bring joy and unity in God's church demonstrated in love as one.

Prayer:

Lord, make us one. Soften my heart to be focus on your will and desires above mine. Help me to seek unity and peace in all things for your gospel sake. Amen.

See Christ in Scripture

“Then beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures.”

(Luke 24:27 NAS95)

We can find Christ in all the scripture. Look to see Christ and you will find him. Look for God in his Word and you will discover the God who is the author of the world salvation. To know Christ is to know his word. His Word teaches us who he is. The world will teach you who they believe Jesus is and they will often time contradict the word of God. 

Read God's word to understand God's word. Meditate on God's word to have his word in your heart. Meditation is not a vain repetition of words. Meditation of God's word is thinking of how the word applies to your heart and the conviction you feel from God's word. Meditation should lead to a response to God's word of asking the question, "Now how do I live in view of God's word?"

Let us move from asking what would Jesus do. Let us now seek what is God's will. This concrete specific desire leads to factual work that is described in God's word. This will eat us to live out God's word and be like his Son Jesus and know doing what Jesus wants all his children to do in loving obedience. 

Prayer:

Lord, I want to see you in all your glory in your word. Minister to my heart as I read your word. I give all of me to you. I let go my ideas, agenda, and personal perception. Awaken me to your power and purpose in my life that I may walk in total humility and obedience in your will. Amen

Correct The Wise

Correct The Wise

"Anyone who rebukes a mocker will get an insult in return. Anyone who corrects the wicked will get hurt.

 So don't bother correcting mockers; they will only hate you. But correct the wise and they will love you.

Instruct the wise, Andy they will be even wiser. Teach the righteous, and they will learn even more." (PROVERBS 9:7-9 NLT).

Seek wisdom and embrace being corrected. Those who seek wisdom welcome those who correct them. They embrace being corrected because it will make them wiser. Wisdom is good and the ones who seek righteousness and wisdom will be even better. So seek wisdom and the kingdom of God and his righteousness and see the joy of God's wisdom fill your life. Proverbs 9:10 further encourages us by saying, "Fear of the Lord is the foundation of wisdom. Knowledge of the Holy One results in good judgment." Embrace wisdom and the benefit of wisdom in your life.

The mockers are the ones who scorn wisdom and and suffer for the lack of wisdom. Mockers are not looking to grow from correction. Instead they insult anyone trying to correct them. They are set in their ways. They believe their way is right and there is no need to change. God desires for his creation to grow in wisdom and seek understanding of the true living God. Mockers reject wisdom and therefore reject God in their life.

This proverb also describes the frustration of dealing with obstinate, hard headed, and stubborn people set in their ways. The leads to ponder why bother trying to help those who reject your help. The frustration of trying to correct them leads to only hurting you. They hurt you in return for trying to help them. Love them and pray for for them. Pray for their repentance.Pray that they will seek wisdom and turn from their pride. Pray they seek the wisdom and righteousness of God the Father. When they seek wisdom and you correct them they will love you. Just as we love God who corrects us because he loves us and saved us through his Son Jesus Christ.

Samuel Duren

www.zionbcpeoria.com 

Thank you for helping to Build A Better Community

Samuel T. Duren

Senior Pastor

W: 309-676-4828

Www.zionbcpeoria.com

Sermon: Forgivness that Gives Way to Love

Desire Worship

Desire Worship

"As the deer longs for streams of water, so I long for you, O God." (Psa 42:1 NLT-SE)

To love the Lord is to love worship. To love worship is to love to be in God's presence. To be in God's presence will lead one to totally adore him and worship him or shake and tremble in terror. To know God is to know he is good and to be in his presence is where you desire. To not know God is to not know the light and love darkness and fear his appearing. Christians who love the Lord are men and women waiting for his appearance and are excited to be in his presence in times of worship. 

Devoted followers of Christ desire God like a deer longs for streams of water. We are created for God's glory and what better way to give God glory in worship. Worship is not limited to songs and corporate worship. Worship is shown in honoring your spouse, caring for your children being men and women of integrity at your place of employment and in community. Worship brings God honor. You should desire to bring God's glory in your life each and everyday because of his great love for you and the change He made in you trough the cross of Jesus Christ. 

Samuel T. Duren, Pastor

Be Complete

Be Complete: Be complete by having endurance during various trials of your faith knowing that it will make you stronger as you trust in the Lord.

Have Faith In God

Mark 11:22 (NLT)

²² Then Jesus said to the disciples, “Have faith in God.

Having faith in God means to trust in God. God is faithful God is reliable, faithful and unchangeable. God is worthy of trust. So it is not how much faith one has that makes the difference but in whom on places their faith. “Have faith in God”.

 Jesus tells his disciples to have “Faith in God” to teach them that their faith is not the source, but God is the source. What they disciples will be able to do is not based on how much faith they have, but where they place their faith. Faith in God is the power. When the disciples move depending and relying on God they see the power that comes from having faith in God. 

Do not fall short with the excuse of not having enough faith. Have faith in God. God is God Almighty, the Great I Am. Faith in God means that God is doing the action. Have faith that God is able to do what he said he will do. Have faith that God know’s what is best for his people. Have faith that whatever may come to face you in life, God will bring you through. Have faith that what you are going through God is able to use for His good and for His glory and it will make you better, stronger and wiser. 

Following Flawed But Changed

Following Flawed But Changed: Jesus can use you even when you think you are useless. Life is empty and unproductive with out Christ. When you let him in and follow his instructions life becomes more productive than ever before wit

Still Number One

"He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything" (Colossians 1:18 NAS95).

What place does Jesus have in your life? If you were to list the people who are first in your life what comes first to mind? Would it be your spouse, children, parents significant other or pet? This question triggers who has priority in your life. 

You may place people or things before Christ but he is still number one. When the proper recognition of Jesus and his person and place in all of the world is placed in ones heart all other things will line up in order. 

For Jesus is the head of the body, his church. He is the beginning and and the ending. The Alpha and the Omega. He is the firstborn form the dead to show all hat he is first in everything. He is eternal. 

Jesus when on this earth showed us how to be last so that he would become first. "So the last will be first, and the first will be last" (Matthew 20:16 NIV). When we put Christ first in our life and ourself last, we will see the beauty and the supremacy of Christ working in our life and others. Christ first in your line of sight will keep your eye on the prize and the higher calling and seeking to live a life worthy and submission to the great, mighty and glorious Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Prayer of Reflection:

1. Praise God for his rule and authority over the world and his life.
2. Ask the Lord to reveal where I have not allowed you to be Lord in my life. Repent.
3. Pray for wisdom and knowledge to how to live according to His will and seeing God truly first in life in all areas.

My Heart, My Reflection

"As in water face reflects face, So the heart of man reflects man." (Proverbs 27:19 NAS95)

 

            What is in you heart will come out in words and in actions. Jesus uses parables to teach his disciples that he has called in the character that is needed to follow him in Luke 6. 

"For there is no good tree which produces bad fruit, nor, on the other hand, a bad tree which produces good fruit.

44           "For each tree is known by its own fruit. For men do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they pick grapes from a briar bush.

45           "The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth what is good; and the evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth what is evil; for his mouth speaks from that which fills his heart. ^[1]

Therefore what is in your heart will be evident in your life. The fruit of your labors and the words of your mouth reflect this. This is why the Psalmist wrote in Psalm 19:4, "Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart Be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD, my rock and my Redeemer." This is after one has confessed known sins and asks God to seek his heart and to reveal his hidden faults before him. This is needed for as Jeremiah 17:9-10 shows us, "That the heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick; who can understand it? I, the Lord, search the heart, I test the mind, even to give each man according to his ways, according to the results of his deeds."

This leads to ask then what can I do to strengthen my hearts condition? The answer is the obedience to God's word. We need to be doers and not hearers only.  This will lead to seeing the good fruit in ones life and the words reflecting what is in ones heart. This should lead us to liking what we see. God's word will help us to see what we may not like about ourselves and help us to see where we can grow and be better followers of Jesus Christ.

Reflection Questions:

1.     Where is my treasure? What is my treasure?

2.     How do others see me? Do I see myself this way?

3.     What sins and faults to do I need to bring before the Lord to repent?

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^[1] New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update (LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995), Lk 6:43–45. All scripture will be NASB unless noted differently.