The Unlikely Preachers

From a message by Pastor Love
GGWO Sunday Evening 5/30/2010
The Gospel was preached, not just by Matthew, Mark, Luke and John but by many, some of whom we would find least likely.

John 11.  Gospel according to Caiaphas.   The chief priests and pharisees said "what are we to do?  If we let him alone everyone will believe in Him and everything will be taken away form us..."  They were very concerned about the popularity of Jesus.  All they could think about was "job security" if the popularity of Jesus continued to grow.  Caiaphas said "it's better that one man should die so that the whole nation doesn't perish."   John 11:50.  He wasn't thinking about preaching the Gospel but that is what he was doing.  Verse 51 "He did not say this on his own, but as high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the Jewish nation,".  

John 19  Pilate said Jesus was their king.  But they crucified Him.  Pilate wrote an inscription "Jesus the Nazarene - the King of The Jews".    John 19:19-22: "Pilate had a notice prepared and fastened to the cross. It read: JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS. Many of the Jews read this sign, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and the sign was written in Aramaic, Latin and Greek. The chief priests of the Jews protested to Pilate, “Do not write ‘The King of the Jews,’ but that this man claimed to be king of the Jews.”

Pilate answered, “What I have written, I have written.”   

Pilate is in essence saying "it is written".  Pilate writes the first Gospel tract. 

Matthew 27: 3-4  When Judas, who had betrayed him, saw that Jesus was condemned, he was seized with remorse and returned the thirty silver coins to the chief priests and the elders. “I have sinned,” he said, “for I have betrayed innocent blood.”

Judas said that Jesus blood was innocent.  That is the truth.

Three things were spoken by these men and they are The Gospel

1.  One man must die  (Caiaphas)

2.  He is the King of The Jews and it is written (Pilate)

3.  His blood was not like ours which is sinful.  His blood was sinless and incorruptible.  (Judas)

These individuals proclaimed God's message.  How much more for us whose hearts have been redeemed.  We go wherever we have the opportunity.  We preach the message with the time that we have left.

We number our days.  Let's go preach the gospel that Caiaphas, Pilate, and Judas preached.  If God used them, He can use us.

Clothing Ourselves

Notes from trip home and visit to DCPM church, Pastor J. Parry (Sunday May 2, 2010)
Colossians 3:12 - "Therefore as God's chosen people, holy an dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.
God makes us a family, with brothers and sisters in Christ. We don't choose them, God does, but it is left to us to live with them as one. We can do that only by clothing ourselves in
Compassion - Mental compassion is willingness to look past faults and not hold a person to a strict standard. Emotional compassion is to suffer with someone. Job's friends showed emotional compassion but not mental compassion.

To show compassion, meditate on the cross. We all fall and fail. The only way to get through it is by grace.

Kindness - Do what is best for someone, what makes them most like Jesus. It doesn't necessarily make the person feel good. Kindness makes us grow. For example? He upholds and sustains us with His mighty arms. It's Hebrews 10:24 - spur one another on.

Humility happens when we don't push out our own agenda, when we don't have a sense of entitlement. How can I benefit others? Sacrifice seen through the lens of self-interest makes absolutely no sense. If we expect something greater than suffering than we expect something better than the perfect Lamb of God. The church is a corporate body, not a competitive business.

Gentleness does not mean wearing kid gloves, but we are only as hard as we need to be. Like pulling a child out of traffic, it may mean a firm touch. Jesus broke people down so He could rebuild them. Gentleness brings the truth in love. We cannot beat ourselves up and expect to be helpful. Churches should be gentle. Some churches have the spiritual equivalent of lupus, where the body attacks itself.

Patience is long-suffering or long burning. It is bearing with hardship and sometimes indignity for a long time. James says it's only because of God's patience that we are saved.

Battleground or Playground?

Crystal passed on these notes from a Bible Study with Pastor Love.

Pastor Love
May 4, 2010

We as believers are in a constant battlefield. The devil is going especially after the young people because the devil knows that whatever a young person decides to go forward with- they are the future and the devil is keeping a close watch because he knows if a young people decided for the Lord- then he knows that his future/fate is even closer.
We are literally in a battlefied and it is only by the grace of God that we will make it and those kids/teens will make it,
1 Peter 5:8- Devil is our adversary- Don't ever forget the devil's main goal 24/7 is to destroy us.
Our life is a battleground/field- however if we view our life as a playground- we will become a victim rather quickly.
We must acknowledge that we are in a battle.
However, remember that God always goes before us and we will have victory.
Next, there are 3 Fighting Positions that we as believers must have/do:
1. Sweeping aside- The past is the past. Stop questioning about what you could have done. Put the past behind you. Hebrews 10:17
2. Gritting your teeth gesture- "Whatever it takes- stepping outside of your comfort zone. Taking a step of faith.
3. Ultimate Power Stance- On our knees -we have got to pray.
It does not matter to God how we pray but rather that we pray & talk to him.
Luke 11:1
**Remember- Prayer is talking to God, pouring out your heart to Him.
Fellowship with Him. There is no certain or perfect way to do it but We NEED to DO IT.
We can't do it by ourselves.**