Tag: Salvation

Sermon Podcast: “Living for God” by Captain Scott Strissel

New Sermon Podcast is up follow it here: http://scottstrissel.podomatic.com/entry/2013-06-23T11_08_34-07_00

Image

1 Peter 4:7-11 (NIV)
7 The end of all things is near. Therefore be clear minded and self-controlled so that you can pray. 8 Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. 9 Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. 10 Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms. 11 If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.

Sermon Transcript:

Living For God

How to live consistently as a Christian:

1) Be Clear__ Minded__ (v7)

Clear minded implies that we can’t be of two minds about our faith in Jesus…it’s either all in or nothing!  Peter is reminding us that our commitment to God is complete not just a portion but everything…body soul and mind.

Do you have doubts?  Do you struggle with worry?  Are you fearful that you aren’t good enough for this cause of Christ?  Wrong…don’t let second guessing hold you back either!   The mind can be a battle ground that Satan likes to prowl, but if we allow him access he will give you doubt, give you uncertainty of your mission and cause you to doubt you were even called in the first place!

2)Be  Self-Controlled (7b)

Secondly in order to live for God you have to be disciplined.  That’s what self-control means.  How do you control what you put into this body of Christ? How do you maintain your devotion life with God?  How do you continue to live for Him and be clear-minded? You have to exercise self-control and be disciplined.  Our lives can be chaotic at times, we may get so busy that we forget to pray or read His word and that’s when we can starve our spirit.  Did you know that our spirits require sustenance?    How else can we continue to live for God if we’re not reading what He has said to us?  How else can we continue to live for God if we aren’t feasting on his promises and finding peace with His still small voice?  Why are we to be disciplined?

  • Why?  so that you can Pray!(v7)

We some- times doubt prayer…and its effectiveness.  We sometimes doubt that prayer is really THAT vital.  Have you ever had someone tell you that they would pray for you?  Have you ever felt the effects of people gathered together to pray for you?  Sometimes we treat prayer as if it is a secondary after thought.  We pray to get ourselves out of trouble…we pray when times get difficult, but do we actually treat prayer as a primary weapon?

Do you consider prayer to be a primary weapon?  IF you haven’t before I would like for you to consider the potency and power of prayer!  Prayer is vital but it shouldn’t just be used as a reactive weapon…you know what I mean by reactive don’t you?  Prayer shouldn’t be something we just do when something bad happens to us…or happens to someone else.  Prayer ought to be a proactive discipline we should strive to hone in our own life.  Instead of prayer being a reactive thing that we do, we should instead pray over every area of our lives… “Lord thank you for my family, how blessed I am that you have given me this group of dysfunctional people…” Ok maybe not quite like that…but you get what I’m saying?  Pray for people and reflect on the blessings that God has given you!  When we arm ourselves with proactive prayer…do you know what takes place?  We have placed everything already at God’s feet!  We essentially are saying the Lord’s prayer when we do this in that we’re stating in our actions “Lord, thy will be done…in all of my life!”  Living for God implies that our conversations with God are not just reactionary prayers of petition…but we are arming ourselves with His might and His power.  This type of prayer life creates too in us a disciplined lifestyle.  We begin to expect His responses, we begin to converse with Him as freely as if we were talking to a good friend.  We begin to find His hand in our lives and through the things that we experience.  He guides us into a deeper relationship with Him which is holiness.

3) Love_______Deeply_ because it brings

  Forgiveness and Acceptance_(v8)

3rdly in order to live a godly life we ought to love deeply.  When we love deeply and without any kind of hidden agenda or selfish motives we begin to experience Agapa love.  Agappa love is godly love.  Love that permeates who God is…that’s the kind of love that sent Jesus to the cross for us.  That’s the kind of love that doesn’t want us to remain in a state of sinfulness but wants a right relationship with us.  Godly love is something that far too few possess.  When we fulfill that first command to Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.'”  What we are saying is I no longer put the needs of myself first.  I no longer wish to be God in my life…but I am giving God his rightful place in all things.  And in the same breath I am then saying I will also love others as I love myself.

How can this be?  People are tough to love aren’t they?  Especially if those neighbors are seemingly unloveable people.  Yet we are called to love them as we love ourself.  DO YOU?

If we get this love of God right…the rest falls into place.  If we can worship our Lord with all of our hearts instead of just a portion, then we can do this other thing regarding loving our neighbors.

When we love deeply as this scripture passage says we begin to focus less on the transgressions of our neighbors and instead focus more on the grace and love of God who first loved us in our awful state.

This passage says love covers over a multitude of sins…let me ask you…has someone sinned against you?  Has someone wronged you so painfully?  Has someone hurt you to the point that you can seem to find it in your heart to forgive them?  Let God help you…You can’t possibly do this on your own.  You aren’t supposed to.   But when we love as God first loved us this paves the way for healing.  This paves the way for forgiveness and reconciliation.  It won’t be easy, but His grace is enough!  His power can do the impossible!  Do you believe that?

4) Use the Gifts  God_ has given you!

            (V.11)

“Living for God” 1Peter 4:7-11

0

Not a part of the Holy Eucharist?

Image

I had an interesting conversation today. It took place in the parking lot on my way to see someone in the hospital. There in the hospital parking lot this gentleman spotted my uniform and inquired if I was a member of The Salvation Army. I indicated I was indeed and he proceeded to tell me that we did great work for people in need…I could almost hear the ‘BUT’ coming a mile away. Finally after a few additional compliments he came to his ‘but’, when he said, “But you guys are not completely a part of God’s family because you don’t have His holy Eucharist inside you.”

Image

Wow, what do you say to a complete stranger in a parking lot after only a few pleasantries have just been exchanged? There really wasn’t time to delve into it right then and there, I was on a mission of sorts to visit a parishioner. I found it interesting that in a parking lot I was engaged in a theological conversation…I didn’t have the time to engage.

So since I didn’t then, let me tell you what I would have said.

His argument: We (The Salvation Army & most Protestants) Are not completely a part of the body of Christ because we don’t have the holy Eucharist in us.

I couldn’t disagree more with his pompous take on theology! What he essentially struck me as proud and even elitism. Does God desire practice over faith? Often times religious conflict comes from theological misunderstandings or staunch stubborn persuasions. His assertion was that because we do not practice Communion or partake in Eucharist we are not a part of Christ. Hmm…was it the work of bread and wine that spurred the disciples into converting many at the day of Pentecost? Was it bread and wine that brought the Apostle Paul to the knowledge of Christ?

No! In fact I would contend that the Holy Spirit is an element that many high churches miss out on in their practice of Eucharist. Sure the practice can become ritualistic and lose its meaning, but His Holy Spirit is not mentioned enough within their church practices. How can one participate in Communion/Eucharist and completely miss the point of such a ceremony?

Is the practice of such a ceremony an act of Salvation? I would contend again that it is not! In fact, there are still many churches who say that if people do not partake in Eucharist they aren’t saved. How can this be? Did Jesus say ” Do this in remembrance of me to be saved?” No! He simply said, “Do this in remembrance of me”. What is ‘this’ that Jesus refers to? Was it solely the breaking of the bread and drinking of the wine? I do not believe it to be so. When Jesus later prayed to the Father that his disciples be One just has He and the Father were One, I believe there is significance there. Jesus wanted unity, peace amongst his followers. When they were to fellowship over a meal together, whether it was the Passover or even a simple shared meal the remembrance, I believed was conveyed in their meeting, not just the elements of Eucharist.

Secondly what makes the Eucharist holy? What is holy anyway? I’m sure there will be those who may disagree with me and that’s fine but where does Holiness come from? The only true source of Holiness is God himself. Who is able to bless something in order to make it holy then? Man? Are we ever worthy enough to make something holy in and of our own selves? I’m not denying that His Holy Spirit can’t indwell within us and work through us, but to claim that something is always holy just because of practice is foolish.

When we understand the source of Holiness, then how much weight should we then place of ritual? Is Communion in and of itself a source of Salvation? No. Who does provide Salvation and Redemption from our sins? Jesus himself, through His sacrifice…and “If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9) Did Paul indicated anything in there about breaking bread and drinking wine to save your soul? Is that how we gain access to ‘the body’? No. Confession, belief and faith are the ingredients, if you will, for our salvation!

So what is Eucharist then?

Don’t get me wrong, I am not condemning its practice here by any means. What I am condemning is the ingrained denominational notion that if one does not practice Eucharist regularly they aren’t a part of the body of Christ. That is simply foolishness and a slant to the scriptures that was never meant to be. Should we participate in Communion in church? I think that there is a time and place for it. I think that some very sacred moments can come from it, but do I think that it ought to be practiced every Sunday? No, and here’s why. It loses significance and symbolism, and instead of something sacred can become monotonous and mundane.

Lastly, to the churches who teach that Eucharist is mandated and lack of practice is detrimental to our salvation…think again. Stop dividing the body of Christ! We become elitist when practice replaces holiness, and judgement is measured out by the hands of man. Salvation belongs to Christ, and those who call upon His name will be saved.

There is no perfect church here on earth, just imperfect people striving to be like Christ. When we allow His indwelling to be evident in the outpouring of our faith then, perhaps we have the authority to speak on such things.

0

At War…(Poem)

 Image

I am at war…

Blood and bone

Skin and pain

Spirit and brokenness.

Can’t you hear the cries?

As men try to save

Try to be brave

Try to inflict pain

On the enemy?

I just want to be

Set free

To be whole again

To fight this sin

Within and

Come out clean.

Can’t you hear

these yearnings?

These longings

As these hands,

This heart

Beckons for something

More.

I am at war…

A war I cannot win

Something deep inside

More than this bloody tide

Unseen by human eyes

I’ve bought into all the lies

But my spirit is

Never satisfied. 

War…pain

Can’t fight this refrain

Without salvation

And hand to pull me out

To set me up and

Let me stand on feeble

Feet of atrophy. 

Set me free dear Lord

Set my feet upon your rock

Without your strength

Without your hope

All is lost. 

0

Becoming Gollum

Image

“For where your treasure is, there your heart is also” Matthew 6:21

In J.R.R. Tolkien’s epic fantasy novels “Lord of the Rings” we meet a curious creature named Gollum.  He’s a vile creature and yet something to be pitied as the sorcerer Gandalf has said. Gollum is obsessed with The Ring.  He even calls it his “precious”.  Yet we catch just a short glimpse of what Gollum looked like before he turned into this vile, repugnant creature.  He too was a Hobbit from some shire, and he too had friends and family.  Then the ring captures his attention one day as he mistakenly discovers it and he kills one of his own to claim it for himself…Gollum is born.

He was never supposed to be this way.  He wasn’t created to live out his days in total and complete subjugation to this evil that is the ring, yet he is a slave to it, and a direct result of his slavery is this ugly transformation into a despised and tortured creature.

We’re all Gollum.  Every single one of us has been bound by sin and subjected to enslavement to our “precious”.  Since the fall of man, when Adam and Eve broke God’s heart in the garden of Eden, try as we might we couldn’t break our obsession with sin…and so sin transformed us.  We were at one time created in the very image of God, but because of sin that image is now marred within us…there is still some resemblance but it’s faded.

What is our ‘precious’…is it an obsession with stuff?  Could our ‘precious’ be relationships? How about money, or our jobs, or our kids…there are many, many things with which sin enslaves.  Whatever consumes most of our time, whatever we think about incessantly becomes our god.  What is your god?

Our Heavenly Father has, since the fall of man, attempted to bridge this void that is sin between us.  We have all fallen and so Christ became our bridge, through His sacrifice on the cross, between us and God.  Christ has taken ‘the ring’ from our possessions, died for us so that our resemblance to God could be restored.  What love to have taken our place!  He knew we couldn’t save ourselves and so He came to our level and took upon himself our enslavement…and it didn’t end there.  He was strong enough to conquer sin and death and open the doors of heaven for us.

We are all Gollum…but we don’t have to remain that way any longer!  We can be free!  If you have been set free by Christ, what’s stopping you from sharing this with others who are still captured in their enslavements?  This good news must be shared to help set the captives free!

We don’t’ have to be fallen and rejected any longer!  We can be transformed and renewed by the grace of God and the salvation of Jesus Christ.  Will you let go of your ‘precious’ and give Him a try?  If you do, you will find yourself set free indeed!

0

RSVP: Reserve Space for Victory in Paradise!

“Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost. Give ear and come to me; hear me, that your soul may live. I will make an everlasting covenant with you, my faithful love promised to David… Seek the LORD while he may be found; call on him while he is near…You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands.” (Isaiah 55:1-3,6,12) 

 

Image

What do you do when you are invited to a party?  You send the RSVP or call in your RSVP and you confirm (if schedule allows) that you will attend.  Your response is required so that the party host will know who will attend and how many to plan for.  It’s not only polite to return your RSVP, it is an important response and action on your part…in essence you are saying “I will be there!”

In the above passage of Isaiah, the invitations for forgiveness have been sent out by God.  He wants to make what was broken whole again.  The prophecy of Messiah (Jesus) is evident in two key verses two chapters back:

 Isaiah 52:13 “See, my servant will act wisely; he will be raised and lifted up and highly exalted.” &

Isaiah 53:12 “Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.”

Forgiveness is at hand, the RSVP has been hand delivered to all of us, and the Host of this Redemptive party is awaiting our response.  The most telling portion of chapter 55 in Isaiah is verse 6…it says “Seek the Lord while he may be found...” It is a frightening proposition here because He seems to be saying to us, ‘make up your minds while you can.’  The implication is that our RSVP has an expiration date and we ought not postpone our response.

Forgiveness and redemption is ours, the Host of Heaven stands at the front door inviting us in…what will your response be?  Either we enter and accept His love and forgiveness or we don’t because soon that door will be closed…soon we will all be standing before Him, and in contrast, probably the most frightening passage in all of scripture is Matthew 25:31-46 when Jesus himself states clearly that the day is coming  when the King will separate the sheep from goats and He will say to the goats (those who have not accepted His invitation to forgiveness and redemption)  “‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.'” (Matthew 25:41)  

We have this contrast of those who will accept the invitation and those who will not.  Yet there is hope…there is time, but if you haven’t accepted the invitation, don’t let this time slip away.  Redemption draws near, your RSVP is requested…what will your answer be?

 

0

At the door…Salvation comes. (Poem)

Dear Lord, 

you know these feeble hands

and waning strength

ebbing away as the ticking hand progresses

You know my thoughts 

and how they stray wondering 

further then a troubled runaway…

I can’t pretend in your presence

I can’t put up a front before you

You see right through me like 

a window pane freshly washed

this house is open, doors unlocked

I cannot hide from you 

not deny any skeletons yet residing.

yet you come to me

you still come to my level

and embrace me like everything

is alright…I know it’s not

and yet you remind me again

that your sacrifice has made me clean

you have made it right

made it right for me…

how can I accept this? 

when I know i’m a mess? 

How can I agree to this

when I can’t forgive who I am 

the battle isn’t about what you are

and what you’ve done

but what I am and where I’ve been…

how can I let you in? 

How can I let you see me like this? 

Yet your grace, your face

your love your hope 

surrounds me completely.

It’s too good for me and yet

you let me see that you grant 

this gift to me freely!

Such amazing love,

such unmerited grace

falls upon me in this place

and I am whole again

I am so much more than I used to be

you have mended me 

you have set me free…

and so I no longer let you stand

at the door on my front porch

but I let you in and let this 

salvation thing in me begin.  

Image

1

Whispers or the love song? (Poem)

There is a whisper 

breathless and full of repine 

counting down the ifs

the and couldas and the shouldas…

the well is full of these regrets

with night as black as coal 

and eyes that stare menacingly back

as if in reproach and in contrition. 

Were it so and the hands of time

were to cooperate 

the hands of man might undo

that which enslaves the mind, body and soul.

We are all slaves. 

Shackled, broken, held against our

will, our identities wiped away 

how wretched it must be

to remain if freedom loomed 

with open door and nail pierced hands.

Though the whispers may continue

we do not have to listen anymore.

For there is a far better song

a lyric sewn with love

webbed with compassion 

and grafted like our blood line

to our Father. 

Yes, the whispers might continue

but give ear to the song of love

for it beckons and grants a much kinder 

destination without chains or remorse. 

Image

 

 

0

In the Arms of God (Poem)

In the arms of God

I am complete again.

In the arms of God

This soul latches onto peace.

His arms, of might and glory

Redeeming me at such a cost

I was lost but enfolded now

Beneath His sacred saving hand.

 

In the grace of God

I will make my stand

In the grace of God

All things of heaven and man

Become focused through his love

In the grace of God

I am made right again

Unmerited, undeserved

Yet here I stand

In the grace of God.

 

The very heart of God

Is my forward focus

I am not whole but for Him

The very heart of God

Compels me onward

And through the

blood of Christ I win.

Standing boldly

Love surrounds me

I am but His and his alone. 

 Image

0

Jesus, Zombies & Humanity – Sermon

photo (15)

Sermon Link is below:

Jesus, Zombies & Humanity – Sermon.

John 6:44-69 (NIV) 
44 “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day. 45 It is written in the Prophets: ‘They will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who listens to the Father and learns from him comes to me. 46 No one has seen the Father except the one who is from God; only he has seen the Father. 47 I tell you the truth, he who believes has everlasting life. 48 I am the bread of life. 49 Your forefathers ate the manna in the desert, yet they died. 50 But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which a man may eat and not die.
51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.” 52 Then the Jews began to argue sharply among themselves, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?”
53 Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. 54 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. 55 For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink.
56 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him. 57 Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. 58 This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your forefathers ate manna and died, but he who feeds on this bread will live forever.” 59 He said this while teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum. 60 On hearing it, many of his disciples said, “This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?” 61 Aware that his disciples were grumbling about this, Jesus said to them, “Does this offend you? 62 What if you see the Son of Man ascend to where he was before! 63 The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life. 64 Yet there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus had known from the beginning which of them did not believe and who would betray him. 65 He went on to say, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled him.” 66 From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him. 67 “You do not want to leave too, do you?” Jesus asked the Twelve. 68 Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. 69 We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.”

Jesus spoke in the temple…about Zombies…”Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day..”(54)

I.  Jesus taught a difficult message (v60)

He declared himself the only way to the father and also that He was the bread of life that had come down from Heaven.  He was teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum…many came to listen and he had his disciples there which number way more than 12 at this time. 

 

II.  The of God will sometimes offend (v61)

 

III.  Do we have faith or doubt? (v64)

 

IV.  Declare who Christ is correctly!  (67-69)

0

White as snow

Image

 

Like snow falling 

white, resplendent

bright enough to blind

and as I place

a muddied footprint

within its folds

I am washing away my filth

something beyond me

something I can not compose

has brought me

thus far

here today…

cleansed,

washed clean

so that I reflect

not the crimson

but the fallen white

refrains of purity.

I am whole again. 

0

Blog at WordPress.com.

Up ↑