Ignorance is very dangerous! For instance, this week, with temperatures below zero, we had our parking lot cleared and salted. However, if we were in Alaska, we would not use salt. Do you know why all roads in Alaska are never salted? Because it would attract the salt-deprived moose. So, instead, they spread gravel & sand on the roads.

One of the most important instructions Jesus gives us is to not add or take away from the Word of God (John 5:19, 30; 12:47-50). This warning is again given in Revelation 22:18. I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book, (ESV).

However, the Bible does not cover every theological question we may come up with. It just covers what God wants us to do and not do. So, we may say, God does not expressly say we cannot use mechanical instruments in worship, so we will just go ahead and speak for Him. Friend, that is the very dangerous sin of willfulness or presumption. You see, God has given us everything we need for life and godliness (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

Many years ago, the two sons of the first High Priest decided they knew better than God. Here is their story: Leviticus 10:1–2 (ESV) — 1 Now Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer and put fire in it and laid incense on it and offered unauthorized fire before the LORD, which he had not commanded them. 2 And fire came out from before the LORD and consumed them, and they died before the LORD.

You see, God had authorized specific instructions for the source of the fire: Leviticus 16:12–13 (ESV) — 12 And he shall take a censer full of coals of fire from the altar before the LORD, and two handfuls of sweet incense beaten small, and he shall bring it inside the veil 13 and put the incense on the fire before the LORD, that the cloud of the incense may cover the mercy seat that is over the testimony, so that he does not die.

So, is “presumption” a sin? If you are not yet convinced, read these scriptures:

• Psalm 19:13 (ESV) — 13 Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me! Then I shall be blameless, and innocent of great
  transgression.
  • 2 Peter 2:10 (ESV) — 10 and especially those who
  indulge in the lust of defiling passion and despise
  authority. Bold and willful, they do not tremble as they
  blaspheme the glorious ones,

A good rule of thumb is to stick with what God
commanded. Every Sunday we, at the Summit Church of Christ, come together to worship as God commanded:

• We sing with the heart (Eph.5:18f; Col.3:16)
  • We give cheerfully as we’ve prospered (1 Cor.16:1f;
  2 Cor.8-9)
  • We take the Lord Supper (Acts 20:7; 1 Cor.11:23ff)
  • We preach and teach (1 Cor.4:17)
  • We pray (Acts 12:5)

Like Noah (who didn’t use anything but gopher wood), we don’t do less or more than we are commanded.

Genesis 6:22 (ESV) — 22 Noah did this; he did all that God commanded him.

 

The day the sad birds started circling over Jacob’s head probably started like just any other day. But then the sons turn up with evidence for Jacob to identify. Through tear-drenched eyes, Jacob’s broken heart sobs: “It is my son’s robe. A fierce animal has devoured him. Joseph is without doubt torn to
pieces” (Gen.37:33).

All his sons and daughters tried in vain to console Jacob. Instead, he said: “No, I shall go down to Sheol to my son, mourning” (Gen.37:35).

Grief hurts so bad! Friends say they understand – but they don’t. From the depths of your soul, you realize that life as you knew it is over. In its wake is confusion and questions without answers. Even good people say unhelpful things. Your heart is shattered – and somewhere deep inside you realize your heart is going to need rebuilding and healing. It was because Jacob loved Joseph so deeply that the pain was so bad.

Yesterday, Billie Rogers shared this with me: “Grief never ends… But it changes. It’s a passage, not a place to stay. Grief is not a sign of weakness, nor a lack of faith… It is the price of love.” — Unknown

For Jacob, and all of God’s people, death is not the end. It took a while, but eventually, Jacob heard these joyous words: “Joseph is still alive, and he is ruler over all the land of Egypt” (Gen.45:26). To which he replied: “It is enough; Joseph my son is still alive. I will go and see him before I die” (Gen.45:28).

Friend, soon and very soon a joy-filled day will arrive. Because everyone who lives and believes in Jesus Christ shall never die. Do you believe this (John 11:26)?

All to Jesus I surrender,

All to him I freely give,

I will ever love and trust him,

In his presence daily live.

 

This is the beginning of the well known song found on page 662 in our Hymnal.  In Psalm 37:7 we are told: Surrender yourselves to the Lord and wait patiently for Him.

 

Last week the Elders presented to you the budget for 2019 and we challenged you to be the church that God wants us to be.  We talked about the churches in the New Testament.  One did not have unity, one had left their first love, and another one was neither hot nor cold for the Lord; they were just lukewarm.  You were challenged to guard that Summit did not fall into these habits; to make us a church that serves the Lord and strives to be a church of action.

 

Our Theme for 2019 is DISCIPLESHIP.

 

Discipleship is Obedience. Jesus said “If you love me, you will obey what I command.” John 14:15.  We were commanded to go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.  You may not be able to go into other countries to teach and work, but what about your own neighborhood, your community, your church?  What can you do to obey God’s commands right here?

 

Discipleship is Prayer.  We are praying for God to open doors for us in 2019. You don’t feel comfortable talking to others? You can always talk to God.  Pray that He will open the heart of the gentleman who owns the land adjoining our church.  Pray for the impact that we could have in the community with an all-purpose building.  Pray that God will send a youth minister or a couple to fit the needs of our church.  Praying is a part of discipleship and you don’t even need to leave your home to do it.  Pray for the people in our community and our country. Pray for our leaders and our nation.

 

Discipleship is Love.  1 Corinthians 13 tells us the characteristics of Love.  Patience and kindness are among those.  You can be a disciple by showing Love and kindness everywhere you go and in all things you do.  Do people you meet daily know you are a Christian by the way you talk and act?  Our world needs the acts of kindness and love now more than ever.

 

Jesus said, “If you remain in me, and my words remain in you, ask what you will and I will give it to you.”  (John 15)  You cannot remain in God’s word if you are not daily reading the Bible. Make this the year that you increase your Bible study.  Sunday night and Wednesday Bible studies are good ways to get into the word and to fellowship with other disciples.

 

Brothers and sisters, You are a disciple.  Summit is your support and your help as you work to spread the Lord’s message.  Take that first step… Surrender All.

 

No sooner do you commit to the better 20.19 version of yourself, than derailment threatens. So, how do you get back on track? Positive mental attitude will seldom work!

However, a regular daily focused meditation will (5-12 minutes every day of this year). Begin by identifying one thing you would like to change about yourself. In other words, determine the one thing that you can stop & start doing that will drastically change your life.  For instance, I can stop overeating on junk food and start eating healthy non-toxic foods.

Start by GATHERING all information that comes into your mind.  Identify both the positive truths & the negative lies.  2 Corinthians 10:5 (ESV) — 5 We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God and take every thought captive to obey Christ.

Second, bring attention to that thought through FOCUSED REFLECTION. As you do this, let go of anxiety (Phil.4:6). Focus on God guarding your heart and mind – while letting His peace wash over you (Phil.4:7). Now decide to build a new memory. Change from the perpetual negative focus that has caused the derailment. Instead, focus on the new positive truth God has revealed to you. Philippians 4:8 (ESV) — 8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.

Third, WRITE your “God revealed truth” down to consolidate your memory and bring clarity to your focused reflection.

Fourth, REREAD what you have written. Evaluate where you are and where you need to be.

Fifth, ACTION. James says faith without works is dead (Js.2:20). This final step should be repeated several times a day.

Friend, the key is daily focused meditation (all 5 steps). It will take at least 3 weeks before your Recovered Resolution will be part of your New Habits.

 

“I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.” John 8:12 (NLT)

 

Jesus Christ is the Creator of life, and His life brings light to all of mankind. When we follow Jesus, the true Light, we can avoid walking blindly through life in the darkness of sin. He lights the path ahead of us so we can see how to live and through His light He removes the darkness of sin in our lives.

 

As the Light, Jesus represents God’s presence, protection and guidance. Let Christ guide your life and you’ll never stumble in darkness again.

 

“Naaman’s servants went to him and said, ‘My Father.  If the prophet had told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it?” 2Kings 5:13 NIV

Aren’t we all a bit like Naaman?  We expect SOMETHING BIG.  We want a SIGN. We think we must do GREAT THINGS.  If everyone thought they had to run a half marathon or climb Mt. Everest to become Christians, I suspect we would see a BIG spike in interest in the Church.  People like the idea of their own hard work paying off.  It is where our pride gets the best of us. We say, “I fought my way to the top”, “Pulled myself up by the boot straps”, “He is a self-made man” or even, “I converted him”.

The truth is that we can never work hard enough to earn our own salvation.  It is a gift that is easily received by those who are willing to follow the simple instructions in God’s Word.  We must, as the song says, humble ourselves in the sight of the Lord.

Acts 2:38 reads, And Peter said to them “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit…” That’s it, it is THAT simple! Once you have confessed your faith, then 1. Repent – feel or express sincere regret about one’s wrongdoing or sin and turn away from it AND 2. Be baptized for the forgiveness of your sins – be buried/immersed in water to be cleansed by the blood of Jesus.

Once we have obeyed and been baptized, then the journey to being a disciple begins.  We learn, and grow, and strive, and teach so that we will remain faithful until death.

 

Yesterday, as I was preparing my supper, I accidentally sliced off the top tip of my left-hand middle finger. I was in a hurry because I had an appointment to get to before our mid-week Bible study. However, I could not ignore the unrestrained bleeding. Since I did not want to be stuck in the ER for the next 4 hours, I went to our local Alexandria Kentucky fire station. Without question but with a lot of compassion they took care of my immediate need.

Could you imagine living in a world where greed, ego, bad habits, and the need for power does not exist? Instead, you live in a world filled with gratitude, appreciation, care, and compassion.

This is the world that Jesus created for us, as Christians, to live in. A world where we would shine like stars on a dark night. A world where we consider what we would like someone to do for us, and then turn around and do it for them.

Yes, I do live in this world! Every year the Summit Church of Christ surprises Douwene I with an extremely generous gift. This year was no exception. Words can never fully express the gratitude, appreciation, care, and compassion we feel for each one of God’s Saints at Summit.

Thank You!