I hope everyone had a great Jesus filled Christmas?Please be in prayer for me to have Spirit inspiration for the upcoming years worth of messages. I look forward to the year 2020 and the next new decade of ministry.
2020 & Beyond
In the next decade I will turn 50!
Both of my kids (at home) will graduate high school.
Possibly all my kids will be graduated and settled into their professions.
My Grandsons will be middle schoolers, Oden will be off to Highschool!
We will experience “empty nest”
I hope to see the coming of the Lord!
Press On!
There are certain things we know are going to happen and many that will catch us by surprise. One thing I know is that we can live in the good or bad of the past and we can’t be afraid of the future. We must Press On!
That is the word God has for us today, Press on!
· You’re going to have your days, but press on!
· The devil is going to temp you but, press on!
· You’re going to feel defeated but, press on!
· There will be days when the bed feels better than the life outside of it but, Press On!
· There will be days when you sin but, press on!
· Thee will be days we fail but, press on!
· GET THE PICTURE YET?
Philippians 3 (NIV)
Philippians 3 (NIV)
No Confidence in the Flesh
3 Further, my brothers and sisters, rejoice in the Lord! It is no trouble for me to write the same things to you again, and it is a safeguard for you. 2 Watch out for those dogs, those evildoers, those mutilators of the flesh. 3 For it is we who are the circumcision, we who serve God by his Spirit, who boast in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh— 4 though I myself have reasons for such confidence.
If someone else thinks they have reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5 circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; 6 as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for righteousness based on the law, faultless.
7 But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. 8 What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. 10 I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.
12 Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13 Brothers and sisters, 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, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
1. Flesh Will Fail
· What out for the dogs of the flesh!
o 2 Watch out for those dogs, those evildoers, those mutilators of the flesh.
· Misery loves company
· Every dealer needs an addict
· Every disease needs a host
· Every rumor needs a carrier
· Every devil needs a human to carry out their influence.
When I am in the flesh i CAN"T be in the Spirit!
· 1 Thessalonians 5:5
You are all children of the light and children of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness.
o 2 Corinthians 6:14
[ Warning Against Idolatry ] Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?
· 1 John 1:5
[ Light and Darkness, Sin and Forgiveness ] This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.
· Everyone of us has played in the dark before. I for one know, if you continue playing in the dark sooner or later you will become lost in it!
Zeke and I were tracking a deer I shot and it was around 11pm we traveled farther into the woods and we got turned around. My compass on my phone was my guide but all of a sudden, my compass spun around on me and I had no idea what direction we were going. At the same time, we heard a pack of coyotes howling and moving in. I think they found my meat before I did. Zeke asked if we were lost and I said, we will be ok. We pressed on! We pushed through a thicket that was all thorns, soon I saw a lighted area ahead of us and knew that the field edge was close. We left the dark of the woods to the safety of the light. We got in the truck and Zeke looked over at me and said, "dad, there might have been a tear running down my cheek but my fists were ready to fight!"
· We had to Press on to get out of the dark! Some today need to know that its time to stop playing in the dark, it’s time to restore the journey of your life, it’s time to get your fists ready and your feet moving. Its time to press on toward the light!
2. There’s No Confidence in the Flesh
· 3 For it is we who are the circumcision, we who serve God by his Spirit, who boast in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh— 4 though I myself have reasons for such confidence.
· Our confidence comes through Christ!
· Psalm 71:5
For you have been my hope, Sovereign Lord, my confidence since my youth.
o Jeremiah 17:7
“But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him.
· This confidence we have can also be translated as boldness. Our boldness or courage comes from the Holy Spirt.
· Without the Spirit in us we lack confidence, become fearful, stay trapped in our weaknesses, and do nothing!
· The Spirit in us helps us to press on!
· In my flesh I am weak but in Him I am strong.
· The willingness to fight doesn’t come from the human spirit it is much bigger than that.
· As human we have limits, it is only through the Spirit of God can we press onward toward tomorrow!
· Philippians 4:13 (KJV)
13 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.
· Through Christ alone can I press on!
3. Defined by Christ NOT My Past
· 7 But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. 8 What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. 10 I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.
· Whatever WERE gains to me I NOW consider loss!
· Nothing in my past is bigger than the Jesus in my present!
· Anything I accomplished without Him wasn’t for Him.
· We all have an anchor in our lives.
· Our past or His presence!
HOARDERS
· Gods plan for my life is more important than the garbage of my past.
· (Hoarders TV) Every hoarder starts with a small collection.
· That small collection turns into an overwhelming pile.
· Soon become the garbage that they dwell in!
· There is life outside of your pile! His name is Jesus!
· Press on through the garbage and grab ahold of His presence!
· 10 I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.
· When we press on in the Spirit, we can press through the sufferings of this life knowing we have confidence in who carries us. Power in who drives us, and life in who has resurrected us!
4. PRESS ON!
· 12 Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13 Brothers and sisters, 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, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
· Press on even though we don’t have it all figured out.
· Press on even though we don’t understand it.
· Press on even though we don’t know what tomorrow bring.
· How? Because Jesus is my driving force.
· But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead,
· Forget the garbage, don’t get lost in the pile of the past, PRESS ON!
· 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
· There is a prize for pressing on. You may not see any reward on this earth which might not sound too appealing to you at this point but, the reward for pressing on will be given to us in eternity. We have an eternal prize awaiting us, not a material thing that fades away like a Christmas gift forgotten, it is a crown hand made by God forged and molded through pressing on through this life. Keeping our eyes on the maker of the crown Jesus Christ!
· James 1:12
Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.
I don’t know what your 2019 looked like but I say press on toward 2020. Not in the flesh, not in our own power, not in our past, but in Him who gives us the hope of our future, press into 2020 with Jesus!
We can't blame our past or our present on the devil. The devil didn't make you do it. The devil is not to be blamed for our sin. He simply offers us a suggestion and then sits back and watches us make his suggestion a sinful reality. Press on through his bad advice!
I am still waiting on one gift that I am have made for Tanya. Sure, I wanted it in time for Christmas, but the email update said it was being crafted and will come after it has been personalized and finished.
Your crown is being crafted, it is being personalized, press on to receive the finished product!
PRESS ON IN CHRIST!
Until next week!
Pastor Butch