At the time of this writing the H4U team is all set for our Ozamiz outreach, all geared up for another battle…the battle for souls of men. It is not easy to fight battles. We can’t imagine the how hard it is unless we’re in the middle of it. But we know this in some degree – in the battles we fight each day. Some battles are a bit closer to home. Sometimes neighbors disagree; sometimes people battle not with guns or fists, but with words. There are also battles of ideas. If you believe in God and the Bible, you may find your beliefs under attack in the college classroom or in conversations with unbelieving friends. But I believe some of the fiercest battles are those fought inwardly—within oneself. They are private battles with pain or physical illness, depression, financial difficulty, grief, worry, stress, frustration, loneliness, temptation, and you could go on and on.

The question is: How are we going to find our way through? Well, the Psalmist, David the king, gives us the answer. His day, too, was one of trouble: “May the name of the God of Jacob protect you” (Psa.20:1b). There is where our refuge lies — in the name of the God of Jacob. Only God is adequate for the situation. If you are not resting upon the God of Jacob, you will never make it. What do you and I do when we face a day of trouble? We tend to panic, don’t we? We want to cast about for some kind of maneuver to accomplish what we want. We tend immediately to start manipulating, bringing pressure, trying to use trickery or dishonest methods in the situation. But the God of Jacob is our refuge and trust. David closed his psalm with these words – “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God. They are brought to their knees and fall, but we rise up and stand firm (Psa.20:7).”

Chariots and horses were the most dreaded war machines of David’s day. The world today has its sources of confidence, too. But they will not suffice. There is nothing wrong with them, as such, except that they are not adequate for the task. David well knew that horses and chariots are needed in battle, but he also knew that if they are all you are going to trust in, you will not have much of a chance. Horses and chariots are not enough without the Lord of glory behind them.

What do you trust in today? What are you relying upon? There are many modern equivalents to these horses and chariots. You could say, “Some trust in ancestry and education; but I will rely on the Lord my God for power.” “Some trust in tranquilizers and pills but I will rely upon the Lord my God.” “Some trust in wealth and property, but I will trust in the name of the Lord my God for provision.”

Here is the note of faith, the quiet, confident expression of a man who has learned where true power lies, the only source of power in the world. And so he says, “I am not going to trust in anything secondary, but I will trust ultimately in the working of the Lord my God.” David’s confidence in the saving power of Jehovah assured him of victory. Beloved, we do well if we do the same!

“My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from him.” (Psa.62:1). If you are of average weight and height, here is what you will go through in an average 24-hour period: Your heart will beat 103,689 times. Your blood will travel 168 million miles, as your heart pumps approximately 4 ounces per beat. You will breathe 23,040he 23,040
English: King James Version (1611) - KJV
Izbrano poglavje ne obstaja!

WP-Bible plugin times, inhaling 438 cubit feet of air. Your stomach will take in 3.5 pounds of food and 2.9 quarts of liquid. You will lose 7-8 pounds of waste. If you are a man, you will speak 4,800 words. If you are a woman, you will speak close to 7,000 words. You will move 750 muscles, and exercise 7 million brain cells. No wonder we’re tired!

“How long would this continue…how long should I hold on…would this ever end?”

But there is weariness much more draining than physical fatigue. It’s the kind of weariness you feel when you just don’t know if you can go on another day. It’s the weariness a father feels when his child is doing wrong. It’s the weariness a friend feels who has been abandoned or misunderstood. It’s the weariness a wife feels whose husband has rejected her. It’s the weariness which can take a toll on even the most seemingly successful individual – even a child of God, a servant of God.

Have you ever become so weary, so tired of life’s battles? And worse, all your resources – material, emotional and mental are already depleted that you have nothing left so you just want to give up? If anyone was ever weary, David was (read Psa.62). He had grown weary from the constant assaults of his enemies! He is so worn out and tired that he is about to fall down and collapse. David asked what we also ask when we are in the midst of troubles, “How long?” “How long would this continue…how long should I hold on…would this ever end?” Yet in the midst of his weariness he is able to find rest – where? In a Liquor Bar? In Drugs? In Entertainment? No. In God alone (read vs.1) –

Beloved, there is place of rest for the weary – and it is in God alone. Jeremiah 6:16Jeremiah 6:16
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16 Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk therein.  

WP-Bible plugin – “Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls. But you said, ‘We will not walk in it.” When we are in the weary times of life, it is as if we have reached a crossroads and we must now choose which way we will go. In this passage God is telling us that we must choose the good way because that is the only way to “find rest for your souls.”

He listens. He cares…. simply REST in Him!

The opposite is there is no rest for the weary when they will not listen to God and choose to go their own way rather than “the good way.” What is “the good way” that Jeremiah wrote about? It is fulfilled in Jesus Christ. Jesus said, “I am the way” (John 14:6John 14:6
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6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.  

WP-Bible plugin). He also said, “Come to me all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28Matthew 11:28
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28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  

WP-Bible plugin). Truly, Jesus is the good way — the only way — that provides rest for our souls. Call on Him. Pour all your heart out. Let go. Let Him fill you with love and grace. He listens. He cares….and simply REST in Him!

Today the whole nation commemorates the dead. Cemeteries are filled with people remembering their loved ones who passed away. Death. A very unpopular, not-part-of-daily-conversation kind of a word. We avoid going to funerals if possible and we never just drop by a funeral home to have a cup of coffee. We work out and lose weight and lower our cholesterol and we try to be careful so that death won’t come too close to us. But sometimes death comes and knocks at our door. Other times death breaks the door down and comes barging into the living room whether we like it or not.

Sometimes death stares us in the face and we don’t know what to do or how to respond…

Death is never easy to deal with. Most of the time we can avoid it or try to postpone it or keep it far away from us. But sometimes death stares us in the face and we don’t know what to do or how to respond. In fact, the longest walk you’ll ever take is the walk away from the grave of someone you love. If you have never done that, you can’t imagine how difficult it is. To walk away and feel as if the world has come to an end. It is the longest walk and the saddest day. Every step takes you away from the tombstone of a broken dream. And what is worst is: hell awaits those who do not have Jesus! But there’s good news. Imagine this conversation between a Christian and Death –

CHRISTIAN: Hello, Death, my old enemy. My old slave-master. Have you come to talk to me again? To frighten me? I am not the person you think I am. I am not the one you used to talk to. Something has happened. Let me ask you a question, Death. Where is your sting?

DEATH, sneeringly: My sting is your sin.

CHRISTIAN: I know that, Death. But that’s not what I asked you. I asked, where is your sting? I know what it is. But tell me where it is. Why are you fidgeting, Death? Why are you looking away? Why are you turning to go? Wait, Death, you have not answered my question. Where is your sting? Where is, my sin? What? You have no answer? But, Death, why do you have no answer? How will you terrify me, if you have no answer? O Death, I will tell you the answer. Where is your sting? Where is my sin? It is hanging on that cross. God made Christ to be sin—my sin. When He died, the penalty of my sin was paid. The power of it was broken. I bear it no more. Farewell, Death. You need not show up here again to frighten me. God will tell you when to come next time. And when you come, you will be His servant. For me, you will have no sting.

Where is my sin? It is hanging on that cross.

If you are a believer of Christ, Death need hold no more terror in your life. For Christ “Tasted Death” for us, and triumphed over it on that First Easter Morning. That first Easter morning will ever be known as THE DAY DEATH DIED! So rejoice this morning that through Christ we have eternal life!

Intimacy

Jesus desires to have a very meaningful loving relationship with you. He loves you more than you will ever know. As Paul was praying for the Ephesian church, he prayed that they might know the length, the breadth, depth, the height of the love of Christ which he said, “passes knowledge”. The love of Christ is so great, so intense, so deep and so rich you’ll never know the full depth of His love. Jesus said to his disciples, “Greater love has no man than this that a man will lay down his life for his friends.”

Jesus loves you more than you will ever know and He desires that His love for you will spark a responsive love in your own heart as it did with His disciples. John wrote, “we love him because he first loved us”. As we come to understand His love for us, it strikes within our hearts a responsive cord. I find my heart responding to His tremendous love for me. As my heart responds to His love, I’m drawn unto Him in this deep loving relationship. As the Lord said to the Nation of Israel through the Old Testament prophet, “I have loved you with an everlasting love, therefore have I drawn you with loving-kindness”.

You remember His message to the church of Ephesus? It was a church that had all kinds of commendation. They were a working church, they were a discerning church. Yes, they even have their theology right. And yet the Lord said, “I have this against you in that you have left your first love. Repent and go back and do the things you did at first”. The Lord is calling the church to come back to that first love, to come back to that deep, intimate loving relationship.

There are many people who have not yet experienced this loving relationship with God. They go to church as sort of a performance kind of an activity or sometimes out of obligation. They have a sense of obligation to be moral and to be community pillars and to live a proper life and it’s proper to go to church, it’s accepted culturally. Church to them is an obligation, a duty. They don’t really know the intimacy of a relationship with Jesus - that glorious loving relationship where you are just caught up in rapture with His glory, with His beauty, with the wonder of His love for you. Where you just sit at times just letting your cup overflow with the consciousness of His love and of His presence and of His goodness, where you pour out your heart and soul to Him and your expressions of love. So when you come into this loving relationship with the Lord, you know the joy. You know the glory, you know the excitement of His presence, the excitement of your heart being so filled with love and the one that you love is there, He’s with you.

This is the theme of our Night of Psalms tonight. Come out and let’s express our love and devotion to the Lord together. But don’t wait for tonight. Let’s do it this morning as we come to worship Him!

With all the uncertainties in the world today, the fear and insecurities produced by the worsening times, one got to have a sure foundation, a secure future and a hope. As Christians, we are so blessed that we have this foundation in Christ, anchored in hope. Once again, we see that this “faith and love spring from hope”(vs.5). In Paul’s letter to Titus he writes about “a faith and knowledge resting on the hope of eternal life (Titus 1:2Titus 1:2
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2 In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began; In: or, For  

WP-Bible plugin). Peter also talks about the significance of hope, “In his great mercy he had given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil, or fade - kept in heaven for you, — who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.”

We hear the word “hope” used frequently. We “hope” for a good report. We “hope” to be able to reach some goal. We “hope” for the best. Most of the time we seem to use “hope” as wishful thinking…or, “Bason” (in tagalog, “Sana”). But that is not what this hope is about. The hope that Paul and the Bible point to is different,

1. It’s a hope based in fact. We are not engaging in mere positive thinking. Our hope is grounded in the promises of a real God-man, Jesus. We believe He went to the cross willingly and rose from the dead victoriously. We base our hope on God’s testimony and revelation over the years.
2. It is a hope that cannot be overcome by difficulties. The Bible tells us the truth about life. It doesn’t promise things will be easy. In fact, it tells us that this world and everything in it is going to pass away. It tells us that the world in which we live in infected with a cancer that is more deadly than the most devastating cancer we know. It’s a cancer called sin. Our hope is not anchored in present circumstances but in a promise for the future. It is the hope of eternity that keeps us going through the rough times of our lives. Our hope is one that changes the way we face the trials and tragedies of life.
3. It is a hope that alters the way we live. Our hope is for the day when we will stand before the Lord and hear those wonderful words, “Welcome Home, children!” We look for the day when this world will be cast aside. And because our sights are set on heaven our response to the annoyances, obstacles and disappointments of this world changes.

We must ask ourselves: Is Our Focus Clear? A child of God is called to look beyond this world to the next. It is natural to care for our body. It is appropriate to be concerned for our families. We are right to want to live this life to the fullest. But if our PRIMARY concern is with this life we have our priorities confused. Why give so much priority to that which is temporary and give so little attention to our soul which is eternal? Shouldn’t it be the other way around?

So beloved, when all the scaffoldings of life are removed, our earthly security is shaken and man’s promises turn out to be a false hope, HOPE IN JESUS! You are so secure in Him…in the palm of His loving hand!

When you’ve done all you could to the best of your ability, with all the preparations and perspirations, and still it seems that all your hard work will come to nothing – there’s nothing left to do but to trust God, to let Him take care of the rest. And He did it again! That’s another testimony of God’s ability to come through as demonstrated to us at the Dapitan concert. And beloved, He is worthy to be trusted!

An Old Testament story illustrates the futility of relying on something other than the Lord for help. The Philistines have defeated the Israelites in battle, and they’ve captured the Ark of the Covenant. They put the Ark in their temple, next to a statue of their god, Dagon. The next day they find the statue, fallen on its face before the Ark. They stand it up again, only to find it the following day, toppled over again, this time with its head and hands broken off.

That’s pretty amusing, but the story gets very serious after that. The Philistines are stricken with disease, and they send the Ark from city to city to save themselves from God’s anger. You can read it in 1 Samuel 5 and 6. You would think they’d realize, “Hey, we’re worshipping the wrong god!” Instead, they decided to stick with the idol that has failed them. But God says, “I am the Lord, and there is no other; there is no God besides Me” (Isaiah 45:5Isaiah 45:5
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5 I am the LORD, and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me:  

WP-Bible plugin). Idols don’t have to be something as blatant as statues we bow to. They can be more subtle things, like our possessions or people we look up to. Is your idol a car, or a house, or your work? Is it some celebrity? Or is your idol yourself — your looks, your status? In short, what is it that dominates your thoughts and your activities? If these idols were taken out of your life, would it seem unfulfilling and empty?

Any idol will disappoint you. Cars and motorcycles will break down. Our bodies and our looks will deteriorate. Money and homes can be devalued, or lost in a moment. The people we look up to will fall flat on their faces. Only God and His word will remain, and they are unchanging and sure. As Paul says in 1 Corinthians 8:41 Corinthians 8:4
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4 As concerning therefore the eating of those things that are offered in sacrifice unto idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is none other God but one.  

WP-Bible plugin, “We know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is no other God but one.” Put your faith and your trust in Him alone!

Pressing on toward the goal

Last Sunday we indeed had an awesome time as a church celebrating our anniversary. I was in awe of what God has done in the past, that meditating on it during worship I found tears flowing down my cheeks. But I also know that we’re not to glory in the past and live there. We need to press on to know the Lord – press on to fulfill His purposes for us. The apostle Paul wrote, “ Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” (Phil.3:13-14)

Walk by faith and not by feeling

Every muscle
of
the runner
is burning
The word used for “press” in Philippians 3:14Philippians 3:14
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14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.  

WP-Bible plugin carries in the meaning of “strong exertion.” Every muscle of the runner is burning. He can see the ribbon. He has only a few more feet to go in the race. He must press on. It is the same in our lives as Christians. There are times when it just gets hard. But it is then that we learn what it means to walk by faith and not by feeling. You can’t live on an emotional high as a Christian. You must pace yourself in this race you are running. You can’t expect that every time you go to church, you will have some great emotional encounter with God. Sometimes you will. Sometimes you won’t. Growing up and learning to walk by faith are part of spiritual maturity.

When you first made a commitment to Christ, you discovered the joy and wonderful peace that comes from being forgiven. But you must realize that this is a walk by faith. You must press on even when it gets hard. Maybe, as you have been running, you have found yourself in a place where you are dragging burdens, sins, or other things along. Maybe you find that you don’t even know why you are running the race anymore. Maybe you have become discouraged.

Jesus gives us the strength to press on

Look up and remember that it is Jesus whom you are running for. Two thousand years ago, He loved you so much that He went to the cross and died there. He shed His blood for you. Then He rose again from the dead. Because He did that for you, you can live for Him today. He will give you the strength to press on…until we see Him face to face!

Moses’ statement of faith

“Lord, you have been our dwelling place throughout all generations.” (Psalms 90: 1-2Psalms 90: 1-2
English: King James Version (1611) - KJV
90 A Prayer of Moses the man of God. A Prayer…: or, A Prayer, being a Psalm of Moses ¹ Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations. in…: Heb. in generation and generation ² Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.  

WP-Bible plugin) — This is Moses’ statement of faith. A statement declaring that the same God who has been their protector and provider in the past will still supply every need for life and security!

Living in a world of ever increasing change

You see, we live in a world of ever increasing change. The population has increased from one billion in 1850 to 2 billion in 1930 to 3 billion in 1960 to 5 billion in 1989 to 6 billion at the end of the twentieth century. The speed at which we can move people and things has grown as well. In 1800 a horse could gallop at 20 mph. Not much later with the advent of the train we could ride at 100 mph. In 1952 the first passenger jet soared at 500 mph. The Concorde jet, introduced in 1979, topped that speed cruising at 1,200 mph. Now astronauts orbit the earth at 16,000 mph. Technology advances 100% every two years now. This is especially evident with the computer.

We can always count on Him

Change is a fact of life, yet we are creatures who need stability. We want institutions we can count on. We desire relationships of commitment. We need constants just to make sense out of the world. And God is THE Immutable One we can depend on. In a life of unceasing change God is utterly consistent. As such, God is the most reliable being in the universe. We can always count on Him. Regardless of how temporary and insecure the circumstances seem, we can rely and put our hope in the Eternal God whose truth and promises do not change with the times.

Trust in Him today!

Even if hard times, unexpected times, horrible times, confusing times come to our life God is our safety and refuge. It is a wise man who stays in the shelter and care of the Lord regardless of the situations in life! If you have left the safety of His presence…today if you will turn to God He will be a safe place for you during the hard times of life. Trust in Him today!