Sunday 8.30.09: The Treasure Chest

God has set aside and dedicated certain things for a particular purpose. It's the way He has designed things to be. They are God's non-negotiables!

This Sunday we looked at what is in God's Treasure Chest that He has "sanctified" or "set aside" for Himself that we are NOT to touch. We should NEVER touch what is already in God's Treasure Chest - tithes, offerings, and ourselves. We challenged Faith Chapel to give to God what already belongs to Him and do NOT take it back.

God also asks for the FIRST FRUIT and not our leftovers. Don't stall in your obedience - give your FIRST fruits to God.

Also, we had a wonderful time of worship today! If you missed it, the presence of God was so powerful after worship in second service, we had a call for salvation and many people came down for prayer. Great presence of the Lord! I'm excited and ready to see what God is going to do at Faith Chapel next week. Don't miss it!

Tame the Terrible Tongue

When I was a kid, my mom and I would stay up late and watch movies together. We enjoyed the classics, the war pictures, and of course, the Westerns. I am sure it was in one of those movies that I first heard the expression, "forked tongue."

I found that the "Indianism" was really used in the late 1700's to indicate a liar or a deceiver. It was first found in written form, and used to describe the Indian's relationship with government attorneys. They thought they lied, who would have guessed it?

So how can we tame the terrible tongue? James has some lessons I shared from this past Sunday's message:

1. Be quick to listen, and slow to speak- James 1:29

2. Keep a tight rein on your tongue- James 1:26

THINK

T- is it true?

H- is it helpful?

I- is it inspiring?

N- is it necessary?

K- is it kind?

3. Refuse to tear others down- James 4:11; 5:9

4. Speak only what is true- James 5:12

5. Pray for God's help in taming the tongue- James 3:8

Let's all realize that what we say and how we say it is incredibly important. You possess the "power of life and death" in the tongue (Prov. 18:21).

A Man of God

I had the pleasure of sharing this past Saturday with the Faith Chapel men's group on being "A Man of God". There were about 100 of us who gathered for a great breakfast and fellowship. I love being in front of smaller groups, and get especially charged when speaking to men.

"Man of God" is an expression that continues to amaze me about Godly men in the Bible. They would show up and people would say, "There is the man of God." What a wonderful reminder of how our lives are to reflect the image of our Maker. So when people see us they know and feel that they have been in His presence.

2 Tim. 3:1-5 “But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. 2People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, 4treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— 5having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them.”

We know first hand the perils of living a godless life. The results are all around us. There is something in us that intrinsically knows right from wrong. We have to make living a Godly life a priority.

Priorities of Godly Living

1. God has set apart the Godly for Himself- Ps. 4:3

2. God listens when the Godly pray- John 9:31

3. Godly men mourn when injustice is executed - Acts 8:2

4. Godly sorrow brings repentance- 2 Cor. 7:10,11

5. Godliness provides present and future blessing- 1 Tim. 4:8

6. Godliness produces contentment- 1 Tim. 6:6; 11

Plan for a Godly Life

A Godly life must be pursued

1 Tim 6:11 “But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness.”

Titus 2:11-14 "For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. 12It teaches us to say "No" to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, 13while we wait for the blessed hope—the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, 14who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.”

Godliness is conformity to the character of God, and obedience to His will. How committed are you because of your love for God to becoming a godly person? What areas of your life are needing attention in your pursuit of God?