LIFE'S VOYAGE

Some of you set sail in big ships; you put to sea to do business in faraway ports.  Out at sea you saw God in action, saw his breathtaking ways with the ocean:  With a word he called up the wind—an ocean storm, towering waves!  You shot high in the sky, then the bottom dropped out; your hearts were stuck in your throats.  You were spun like a top, you reeled like a drunk, you didn’t know which end was up.  Then you called out to God in your desperate condition; he got you out in the nick of time.  He quieted the wind down to a whisper,  put a muzzle on all the big waves.  And you were so glad when the storm died down, and he led you safely back to harbor.  So thank God for his marvelous love, for his miracle mercy to the children he loves.  Lift high your praises when the people assemble, shout Hallelujah when the elders meet!  (Psalm 107:23-32 MSG)

LIFE AT BEST IS UNCERTAIN
As brief as our lives are, a person is indeed foolish if they attempt to journey on life’s uncharted seas without God. Let no day pass without praising and thanking God for the multitude of blessings that He bestows upon us daily. Since we cannot be sure about tomorrow, let us glorify His Name today.

“Behold, Thou hast made my days as a handbreadth; and my lifetime as nothing in Thy sight”. (Psalm 39:5)

“You do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away.” (James 4:14 NASB)

"Man, who is born of woman, is short of days, and full of trouble. Like a flower he comes forth and withers. He also flees like a shadow and does not remain.”  (Job 14:1-2)

WE ARE MUCH LIKE THE FRAIL SHIPS OF OLD

Doubtful in severe storms; increasingly fragile with the passing years; battered when tossed upon the rocks; helpless when run aground upon the unseen sand bars and uncharted reefs of life.

1. Storms of doubt; fear; distress; confusion; disappointment, etc.

2. Rocks of temptations; opposition (often by family and friends)

3. Sandbars of discouragement; weariness in well doing.

Some storms are of our own making while other storms are beyond our control or power to prevent. But we must never forget that however frail or weak we may be, His grace is always sufficient and His strength is always accessible to us.

“He said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for My strength is made perfect in weakness.”  (II Corinthians 12:9)

THE STORMS OF LIFE REVEAL THE POWER OF GOD

Almost any ship can safely sail on calm seas...but the seas of life are rarely calm. The power of God is revealed when we have exhausted our strength. God knows our frail condition. “Then they cry out to the Lord in their trouble, and He brings them out of their distresses. He calms the storm, so that the waves are still. Then they are glad because they are quiet; so He guides them to their desired haven.” (Psalm 107:27-30)

God has a purpose in every storm, shipwreck, tragedy, disease, or whatever comes upon His children. All these things do not necessarily come from God but they are used by God to bless and strengthen our faith.

Chance, happenstance or “luck” play no part in the life of the life of a godly Christian. There is a divine purpose for every thing that happens in our lives. For Paul, the ship-wreck at Malta became an opportunity to win that island to Christ. The blessings that come out of the trials and tribulations we experience may not become immediately obvious to us as they did to Paul on that occasion, but hold firm to the truth of Romans 8:28 and in God’s time, they will.

“If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.” (Colossians 3-4)

Stay focused! Keep your eyes on Jesus, all the while remembering that to those who “seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, all these things will be added” to them. (Matthew 6:33)

Live victoriously, knowing that “God will supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:19)

Bits and Pieces of Sermon by Kenneth Trent

WHERE THERE IS NO VISION, PEOPLE PERISH

Solomon, in his wisdom and under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit wrote, "Where there is no vision the people perish."  Proverbs 29:18

Once God has given us a vision we must never let people distract or discourage us, but we must also continue to listen to the Lord for His guidance and direction as we move forward.  In Nehemiah 4:6-12 – 6, we see God gave Nehemiah a vision and there were people with little faith that became a discouragement to that vision. Where God is at work, the enemy is also at work. Rebuilding the wall of Jerusalem was certainly no exception to this. When people take kingdom priorities seriously, Satan stirs up agitators to block the work of God. Nehemiah did finish the wall and God’s vision was accomplished in spite of all the opposition and seeds of discouragement that were planted. Nehemiah faced the threats and did three practical things:

1. He prayed to the Lord and asked for Divine intervention (v.9)
2. He Placed a a guard day and night to meet the threat (v.9)
3. He Reorganized the priorities (v.13 - “Therefore I stationed some of the people behind the lowest point of the wall at the exposed places, posting them by families, with their swords, spears and bows.”)
4. He asked the people to get focused in the Lord and to praise Him (verse 14“…Don’t be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome…”)

As it was with Nehemiah and so many others, it is with us as well. Once God gives us a burning vision within us to be a blessing to the Kingdom and to the King's people then we must take time, make time, to quietly listen to the Lord as He guides us into His glorious future.

When you start doing things on your own and refuse to follow God’s Vision he will not punish you but he will let you go and suffer the consequences. As a loving father God will be right there waiting for your to return to His arms of love. Just accept Divine guidance and leave this Church today with the attitude of a conqueror. You are victorious, you are blessed, you are God’s chosen child and even if people try to discourage you can always lift up your chin and tell them who you are in Christ. 

How does the Lord want us to achieve this?   After waiting God answers Habakkuk.

And then God answered: 
 “Write the vision.
        Make it clear on tablets
            so that anyone can read it quickly.
The vision will still happen at the appointed time.
    It hurries toward its goal.
    It won’t be a lie.
    If it’s delayed, wait for it.
    It will certainly happen.
    It won’t be late.
(Habakkuk. 2:2-3 GWT)


1. Connect:  Jesus had a team He "did life" with. He ate with them, walked with them, and ministered with them. He developed meaningful relationships with them and developed a strategy through which all humankind could be reconciled. 

The early church connected in very natural, organic ways: "Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts" (Acts 2:46 NIV). They loved to eat a good meal together, laugh together, and pray together in one another's homes as well as in their large temple gatherings.

2. Grow:  Jesus "grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man" (Luke 2:52 NIV). Once you have connected in relationship within the church, it is time for you to grow!

3. Serve:  Serving enables us to use our gifts in the body of Christ and in the world so we can become all God has created us to be. We are poised as weapons in God's hand to do great exploits and accomplishments for His kingdom: "For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do" (Eph. 2:10 NIV).

 ~Bits and Pieces of Sermon by Antonio Silveira

~Through life experience, I have found sharing a God-given vision is an important way to ensure the calling is fulfilled. It is His purpose and plan for you to share you vision with others. (Habakkuk 2:2)  ~Joan Hunter

Growing in the Knowledge of God - Day 17 - Knowledge Will Increase Sorrow and Grief

The second downside to receiving the knowledge of God in your life is that it will start to increase your sorrow and grief over different things. This incredible piece of revelation is coming from King Solomon. Here is what he says:

“For in much wisdom is much grief, and he who increases knowledge increases sorrow.” (Ecclesiastes 1:18)

What I believe God is trying to tell us with this piece of revelation is that once you start to receive His knowledge not only on the personal things in your life, but also on the “big picture” with the way that He has things set up – your eyes will be opened and you will start to “see” things from God’s perspective and viewpoint.

And once you are able to start to see things from God’s point of view – then sorrow and grief will start to set in. Why? Because you will have developed a good understanding of the big picture and why things are the way they are.

You will see that there really is a God and a devil, a heaven and a hell, and that there really is good and evil and that everyone is being tested in this life.
You will see that we all have to be born into an imperfect, cursed, and fallen world as a result of what happened in the story of Adam and Eve.

You will see that God has given each of one of us a free will, and as a result, a certain amount of people are going to choose to live this life on the dark side. As a result, a certain amount of people are going to end up getting murdered, robbed, raped, killed, abducted, cheated, scammed, and hurt in this life. Bad things are going to happen to even good people.

As a result of the curse of Adam and Eve still operating on this earth, we also have to put up with all kinds of different sicknesses, illnesses, diseases, accidents, and eventually the physical death of our bodies. People will suffer, and in some cases, there will be extreme suffering.

You will see that not everyone is going to make it into heaven, that the Spirit of God will not strive with a man forever in trying to get him saved. As a result, a certain percentage of human race is going to end up in the worst and most horrible place imaginable.

You will start to grieve and cry out for the lost, especially for the ones who will refuse to accept what Jesus has done for them with His death on the cross.
Once you sit back and see the big picture for what it really is – you won’t be able to stop the sadness and sorrow that you will feel at times on all the bad and terrible things that can happen to anyone of us at anytime.

This is why King Solomon was able to come to this kind of revelation after he had received the knowledge and wisdom of God for his life. He was able to see the big picture for what it really is.

The knowledge that you will receive from God is like being given a two sided coin. On the one side is the “dark picture” – with all of the above things hitting you straight in the face.

There is no getting around it. This is the way things are, and this death that we see on a daily basis will not stop until Jesus comes back to us in His second coming to set up His 1000 year Millennium Kingdom. Until that event happens, we are all going to have to put up with demons and bad and evil people who will choose to live this life out on the dark side.

But there is also the other side of that same coin – the “good picture.” This life of death will not last forever. God the Father has made a way of escape for all of us from the fires of hell in the death and person of His Son Jesus Christ.

All can get saved and completely born again by accepting Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior. As a result, we will all get to go straight to heaven when we die and cross over.

We will all end up with brand new, spiritual, glorified bodies that will never age, corrupt, or deteriorate ever again. We will never know disease, sickness, or death in any way, shape, or form ever again!

When Jesus comes back to set up His 1000 year Millennium Kingdom, God will be taking out Satan, all of his demonic spirits, and all the bad and unsaved people who have ever lived on this earth. All the bad apples – angelic and human – will be forever banished from the eternal scheme of things – and we will all be able to live happily ever after with God the Father, Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, all of God’s good angels, and all the rest of saved humanity that has ever lived in a new heaven and a new earth.

There will be no more wars, no more terror, no more crimes, and no more disorder. We will all live forever in the heavenly environment that God had initially intended for all of us to live in.

Once the knowledge of God starts to get released in your life, you have to stay on top of this game and make sure that you see what is real truth. God will give you His eyes in which to see things from His perspective.

His truth will start to set you free, but realize that this is a two sided coin – and that you will see both the good side and dark side of this life and why things are they way they are. As a result, there will be times that you will experience sadness, grief, and sorrow in this life that will cut right through you like a knife.

~Bits and Pieces of Bible Knowledge.com

To Receive a Discerning Heart

Father, I thank You for creating within me a wise and discerning heart, so that I am able to distinguish between right and wrong.

This is my prayer: that my love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that I may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to Your glory and praise, O Lord.

Father, I trust in You with all my heart and lean not on my own understanding; in all my ways I acknowledge You, and You will make my paths straight. Through Your precepts I get understanding; therefore, I hate every false way. Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.

Joseph, in Genesis 41:39-41 niv, was described as a discerning and wise man who was put in charge of the entire land of Egypt. As You were with Joseph, Moses, and other strong, godly men and women in the Bible, so shall You be with me. You will cause me to find favor at my place of employment, at home, or wherever I may be.

I make [special] request, [asking] that I may be filled with the full (deep and clear) knowledge of Your will in all spiritual wisdom and in understanding and discernment of spiritual things—that I may walk (live and conduct myself) in a manner worthy of You, Lord, fully pleasing to You and desiring to please You in all things, steadily growing and increasing in and by Your knowledge [with fuller, deeper, and clearer insight, acquaintance, and recognition].

Because Jesus has been made unto me wisdom, I listen and add to my learning; I discern and get guidance, understanding what Your will is.

In the name of Jesus I pray, amen.

    1 Kings 3:9 niv     Proverbs 3:1-4
    Philippians 1:9-11 niv     Colossians 1:9,10 amp
    Proverbs 3:5 niv     1 Corinthians 1:30
    Psalm 119:104,105 amp     Proverbs 1:5
    Genesis 41:39-41 niv     Ephesians 5:17 niv
    Joshua 1:5

Prayers That Avail Much Word Ministries, Inc.