messages by rev rick warren

December 17, 2014 at 6:39 am (Messages By Rick Warren)

rick warren

Rev Rick Warren
GOD’S WORD: YOUR SIGNPOST FOR LIFE

“All scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right.” (2 Timothy 3:16 NLT)

One night after teaching at a pastor’s conference, my family decided to go to the beach at about 9 p.m. — that’s typical for the Warrens. So there we were at Capistrano Beach, frolicking in the ocean, and having fun. Then someone in our family saw this little sign that was posted in the sand that said, “Contaminated water. Stay out.” That sign represented an authority and very clearly told us, “Don’t you dare put even a toe in this water!”

Why was that sign posted? To ruin my fun? To make my life a big bummer? No! It was there for my own health. How should I react to that authority?

I could reject that authority and say, “This is a stupid sign! I know better than this sign, so I’m going to go ahead and play in the water anyway.”Or I could say, “This sign is out of date. It was for another time and another age. And it really doesn’t apply to me because it’s out of date, I’m sure.”

Or I could say, “This sign doesn’t really mean what it says. When it says ‘Stay out,’ that’s just someone’s interpretation. I interpret the words ‘Stay out’ as meaning ‘Go right ahead!’”

Or I could say, “I’m sure God would want me to ignore this sign, because God wants me to have fun.”

Throughout the Bible, God says things like “Don’t have premarital sex.” You may say, “That’s out of date. That’s wrong. I don’t like it. That’s your interpretation,” but it’s still the truth. Why was the sign set up there on the beach? To keep me from disease, from danger, and possibly even death. It was for my own benefit.

The Bible is filled with all kinds of rules and commands. Why? Because God is a loving God. Everything that’s in the Bible is not there to make your life miserable; it’s there to protect you. It’s there for your health. It’s there for your good. A loving God who knows more than you gave you the rules for life. If you ignore them, you only get hurt.

The Bible says, “All scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right” (2 Timothy 3:16 NLT). God’s Word is your signpost for life.

In fact, making God’s Word the authority of your life is a stress reliever, because if you don’t have an authority in your life, you’re going to listen to all kinds of conflicting opinions. One day you’ll decide this, another day you’ll decide that, and then one day you can’t decide, and indecision causes stress. But if you decide that God’s Word is going to be the authority of your life, it simplifies your decision-making.

Talk It Over

How would you describe your attitude toward the Bible?
What is the evidence in your life that God’s Word is your authority for how you live?
Describe a time in your life when you followed God’s leading from his Word and as a result felt relief from stress or pressure.

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messages of note

December 17, 2014 at 6:31 am (Messages of Note)

JOHN LASTER

Rev. John Lancaster
REMEMBER YOUR SPIRITUAL FIVE A DAY

As Christians we may no longer be ‘of’ the world, but we are certainly ‘in’ it, and that means we live our lives in a toxic atmosphere polluted by the influences of the World, the flesh and the devil. Unless we are extremely watchful, we unconsciously absorb substances which can seriously affect our spiritual well- being. We need to take the spiritual equivalent of the ‘five-a- day’ recommended for our physical health.

We need a daily heart check

“Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the well-spring of life,” says Proverbs 4:23. “ Examine yourselves,” says Paul in 2 Corinthians l3:5, “to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves.”

The heart is the nerve centre of our personal life, from it flows our motives, desires, attitudes and choices. It is also the place where the flesh wars against the Spirit, where ‘polluted things hold empire over the soul’. We need to pray daily with the psalmist, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me.”

We need a balanced diet of the Word of God

We need the spiritual nutrients, the vitamins and proteins that with the Spirit‘, he wasn’t offering advice but issuing a command. By using the continuous present tense (‘be continually filled‘) he was stressing the need for Christians to recognise their utter need of the Spirit’s enabling power and consciously seek a fresh infilling.

It is not enough to have ‘had the baptism’ in the Spirit 5O years or 50 days ago; daily we need to open our minds, hearts and wills to all that the Spirit desires to
do within us. If you don’t drink, you’ll die of thirst.

We need to exercise our minds and hearts in daily prayer and worship

“Seven times a day I praise you for your righteous laws,” cried the psalmist. How long those times were we do not know, but they formed a rhythm we would do well to follow.

Under the threat of death, with secret service agents lurking beneath his window, Daniel followed the normal pattern of his life, praying three times a day. We too need to open the windows of the soul ‘towards Jerusalem’, looking beyond the imposing structures of our contemporary pagan world to where the real power and glory lie — at the throne of God.

We need to participate in the fellowship of the body of Christ

“The New Testament,” said John Wesley, “knows nothing of solitary Christianity.” It is impossible to live a healthy spiritual life without receiving
and contributing to the fellowship and ministry of the local church. Hence Hebrews lO:24-25 warns us against neglecting that fellowship, while stressing the blessing that mutual encouragement brings.

As Church of England cleric John Donne reminds us, “No man is an island, entire of itself.” Whether we like it or not, we belong to the body.

There is much more in God’s menu for his family — a rich diet of good things – but this basic five—a-day will help keep us healthy and give us an appetite for second helpings!

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