When Faith is Tested

FAITH:  Forsaking All I Trust Him. 

We say that we have faith, but rarely, when we re tested, do we exercise that faith that we are so readily to say that we have.  The Bible describes faith as, "the substance of thigns hoped for, and the evidence of things not seen."  (Hebrews 11:1) 

So in actuality, we are to exercise our faith as a muscle, growing from the act of faith, and showing our faith by our commitment to and trust (belief) in the Savior. 

The next step in the ladder of Christian growth is the step of service.  Many Christians have faith for salvation, but the true test comes when we actually have faith for daily provision, and in turn give our complete dedication to the One (Jesus) who supplies that need.  I supposed the best example of tru faith is Abraham, who followed God.  Abraham's obedience to go to a place that he had never seen before and follow the Lord basically, "to the ends of the earth", is a prime example of true faith---which many people would label as "blind faith".  Blind people have to have a guide, so must we--who is your guide?  Is it that check that comes regularly?  Or do you pray over every bill and secure that help from the One who secured your eternal home? 

Let's dissect the words for the acrostic of faith:

1.  Forsaking:  literally means leaving it and never thinking about it or wanting anything to do with it again.

2.  All:  Everything and Nothing....giving everything to Him and allowing nothing to stop you from giving it all to Him.

3.  I :  personal pronoun--literally means you and yourself.

4.  Trust:  Believe

5.  Him:  Jesus and all that He says to you about what you need to do and Himself and how He will do what He promises to do.

I want to challenge you this week, month, year, or however long it takesyou...Have Faith In God!!!


---Pastor Fryer

Christ's Triumph Means Your Transformation!!! (Part 2)

What Are The Steps To Transformation???

1.  Salvation by grace, through faith--Ephesians 2:8-9; II Corinthians 6:2--If you have never asked Jesus to come into your heart, be your Savior, and forgive you of your sin, then today is the accepted time--NOW IS THE DAY OF SALVATION!!!

2.  Make Him the Lord of your life---John 12:24; Mark 12:30-31; Proverbs 3:5-6

3.  Consecrate your life to only allowing Him (Jesus) to make your decisions for living and giving to God and others.  II Corinthians 6:14-16.  Don't allow yourself to becomes friends with the world. (I John 2:15-17)  Don't allow yourself to depend on the fellowship of the world to be your motivation.

4.  Completely give up what you want in life and replace it with what He (Jesus) wants.  Allow Jesus to be your example in true Christian living.  Matthew 26:39; I Peter 2:21.

5.  Be someone that Christ can rely on to complete His calling.  (Matthew 28: 19-20)  Be that bridge that Christ can use to His ultimate purpose and plan.  (Ephesians 2:10_

6.  Let Jesus sign the debt for you and keep the deed that only will be known in eternity how much you truly sacrificed for the Master.  (Revelation 22:3-4, 9, 14).  Let me challenge you, Christian, to let Jesus be in charge--BE TRANSFORMED!!!

--Pastor Fryer

Who Do You Know?

Who do you know who needs Jesus?
Who do you who needs a friend?
Will you bring them to the Savior?
Will you bring them in?
--unknown


What is a Missionary?

1.  A missionary is one who will endure hardness as a soldier of Jesus Christ and will not complain about it.

2.  A missionary is one who will meet the needs of the lost so that the Master gets the credit--to the glory of the LORD!!!

3.  A missionary is one who works for the night is coming when no man/woman can work.  "I must work the works of him while it is day, the night cometh when no man/woman can work."

4.  A missionary is one who works well with others and is a team player for the Mawster for the cause of Christ.

5.  A missionary is one who shares the Love that Jesus has for others and is willing to give totally of him/herself to the cause of Jesus so that others can receive Him into their hearts and lives.

So, will you be "ONE WHO"?  It's not a difficult task, but it is a task that requires submission and putting Spiritual Things in "an order of importance".  We get excited about the things we like to do, but is it always what Jesus wants us to do?  How can you be a missionary this week?  Are you praying about meeting others who need that "word of encouragement"?  Let me challenge you, Christian, to live with "Eternity's Values in View".

---Pastor Fryer

The Whole Armor of God (part 3)

The third piece of armor is the Shield of Faith.

When teaching the armor of God, we teach that the Christian puts on the armor of one specific reason---to be protected from Satan and the tricks (wiles) that he dangles in front of the Christian.  The unprotected Christian fall every time for the tricks that satan puts in front of them, but the protected Christian wins the battle because the Lord is first and holding the armor to PROTECT the child of God. 

The shield of faith is a piece of armor that is acquired by the Christian exercising the muscle of Faith, or putting our trust in Jesus, God, and the Holy Spirit to "guide us into all truth."  It is important that we see the true faith that we can exercise in the Trinity to be our protectors.

But according to Proverbs 1:25-32, if we choose not to regard the protection against satan that God affords to us, we are on our own.  And we will fall every time, because God is not invited into our lives to protect us from the wiles (tricks) of the devil.  However, those who "hearkeneth unto me (God) shall dwell safely, and shall be quiet from fear of evil. 

So, the choice is yours Christian.  You can either live your life from calamity to calamity and live in fear, or you can trust in the Lord (Proverbs 3:5-6), put your faith in Him, and put on the "whole armor of God", to be protected from the wiles (tricks) of the devil.  The choice is yours and yours alone.

That's why some Christian live defeated lives, and some have total victory in their lives, and are constantly showered with God's blessings.

Choose whom you are going to trust......

---Pastor Fryer

Who Pays The Price For Commitment?

1.  Those who are willing to take the chance of living completely for the Lord Jesus.

2.  Those who are not afraid of saying Jesus' name in a praise way, not taking His name in vain.

3.  Those who cannot think of anything else but to glorify the Lord Jesus in all of their life's goals and ambitions.

4.  Those who are totally surrendered and submitted to His bidding and His calling.

5.  Those who have said "yes" to the Master and are willing to follow Him no matter where it may lead.

6.  Those who can say "I did all of what I did for Jesus, not for anyone else, but for Him."

7.  Those who want to hear Jesus say, "Well done thou good and faithful servant."

See, paying the price does not mean that at the drop of the hat you are offended.  It does mean, however, that if you are offended, you give it to Jesus and keep on working, because the servant is not greater than his Lord.  Jesus paid it all--all to Him I owe.  Sin had left a crimson stain.  He (Jesus) washed it white as snow.  Are you willing (remember that's a servant's attitude) to allow the hurt, hjabits, and hangups of the past to be placed under the blood and to be put on the Master? 

That's what He wants you to do, but you have to be submitted to Him.  Allow Him to take all of your offense and nail it to His cross.  He is better equipped to deal with it--than you!!

What Do You Consider Too Much For Jesus?

Or...what do you consider a Sacrifice?

1.  Some consider a sacrifice being encouraged to come to Sunday School and Church on Sunday morning and Sunday evening.  Others consider Wednesday Evening services too much.  One hour of my time is surely enough.

2.  Others consider giving of their time, talent, and treasure too much and are reluctant to give anything to Jesus.

3.  Some consider some jobs to be "too low" for them and they only want to have teh "Upper Curst" jobs.

4.  Some consider that their opinion is more important than others therefore they should get more recognition than others.

What is sacrifice?  Defined is : Giving of something when don't necessarrily have it to give".....  So are we all sacrificing?  Or are we just "giving"?  Pastor Wise taught this:  that there is the tithe--giving of 10 percent;  there is the offering--giving extra to God's work; and there is the sacrifice---giving  of time, talent, and treasure when you don't really have it to give--whether strength, money, or ability. 

What do we as a church need to sacrifice for the cause of Christ?  Have we been "stretched to the limit"?  Read about those who gave all they could in Hebrews 11.  The main reason they are in the Patriarchial Hall of Fame is because they were "stretched" and passed the test. 

Christian, what can "stretch" you individually to be more of a sacrificial Christian?

What can I give HIM, poor as I am
If I were a shepherd, I would give a lamb
If I were a wise man, I would do my part
What can I give HIM, I'll give HIM my heart.

Maybe you've already given Jesus your heart in salvation, but you've never truly given Him your all in being sactified, in service, in sacrifice.  It is a growing process and none of us have "arrived", but you will not begin the process unless you are willing to give up somethings that are tearing you down and making you "bound" to the world and the worldly philosophy with which we are faced in every aspect of our earthly lives. 

Let me encourage you to start just being here more and asking God what He wants from you.....

---Pastor Fryer

What Is The Cost of Being A Committed Disciple?

1.. You must be born again.  Having Jesus in your heart will be your first step to being a committed disciple of Jesus Christ.  Jesus told Nicodemus in John 3:3, "ye must be born again." 

2.  You must be a baptized believer in Jesus.  After salvation, being baptized is the main, first step of obedience. 

3.  You need to be a tithing member, reading your Bible on a daily basis, praying on a daily basis, witnessing for Jesus whenever the situation arises, and attending church (Sunday School and all church services).  WHY?  II Peter 3:18---a slacker of any of these cannot grow to full maturity in Jesus Christ.  You cannot expect a child to grow without proper nourishment and so it is with the "child of God."

4.  To be a committed disiple after all these things (1-3) are dealt with, there is one main ingredient...giving your entire life, body, family, marriage, etc to the complete ownership of Jesus Christ.  Letting Him be the controller of what happens in your life.  Going to the backseat of the car and letting Him have the wheel.  Then and only then does your salvation, your church, your children, your family, and yes, even your very existence become His completely and you will notice in your life that you will experience less satanic dominance, satanic influence and less satanic resistance concerning your wanting to serve the Lord.  Just tell satan, "You're not going to defeat me in this move of mine to serve Jesus."  Do as Jesus did, "Get behind me, satan."  Start quoting verses (that's why we encourage scripture memorization).  Being faithful to church and to the things of Christ takes hard work, but thre is a great reward if we just follow Him.  Let me challenge you, Christian, fight the good fight of faith---but don't try it on your own---include Jesus---let Him be your first line of defense against satan.  Satan cannot stand against the Master--it is impossible for 'ole slippery foot to succeed against God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit.

----Pastor Fryer

It's Time To Be Faithful--First Timothy Chapter 2

Service or Circus

Let all things be done decently and in order is a basic principle for the conduct of the ministry of the church.  Paul is exhorting young Timothy because the members of the church in Ephesus were disobeying God's Word.  Paul counteracts this tendency, by reminding them of their spiritual responsibilities.

1.  The Men--Praying vs 1-8

     A.  The priority of prayer--vs 1

            Our hearts must be right with God and with each other.  Matt. 6:5

           When a local church ceases to depend on prayer, God ceases to bless its ministry.

     B.  The variety of prayer -- vs 1

           Supplication carries the idea of offering a request for a felt need.  Prayers emphasizes the sacredness of prayer.  Prayer is an act

           of worship, not just an expression of our wants and needs.

           Intercessions -- petitions--I Tim. 4:5 -- its basic meaning is to draw near to a person and converse confidently with them.

           Giving of thanks--we need to not only give thanks for answers to prayer, but for who God is and He does for us in His grace.

               Ps. 100

           Prayer and supplication with thanksgiving.  Phil. 4:6  Daniel practiced this kind of praying.  Dan. 6:10-11

     C.  The objects of prayer -vs- 1-2 "all men"

           There are no people outside the influence of believing prayer.

           We should pray for the unsaved, people nearus and far away, for enemies as well as friends.  For those in authority.  Nero was

           emporer.  It is for our own good. Vs 2.

           Quiet refers to circumstances around us and peaceable refers to a calm attitude within us.

     D.  The reasons for prayer vs 3-4

           The word good is a key word in Paul's pastoral epistles--I Tim. 1:8, 18; 2:3; 3:1; 7, 13; 4:4, 6; 5:4, 10, 25; 6:12, 13, 18, 19;

           II Tim. 1:4; 2:3; 4:7; Titus 2:7, 14; 3:8, 14

It's Time To Be Faithful--First Timothy 1:18-20

I.  Preach Sound Doctrine  1:1-11
II. Proclaim the Gospel  vs 12-17
III. Defend the Faith vs 18-20

   Paul uses military language "Charge" which means "an urgent command handed down from a superior officer" I Tim. 1:3
   The soldiers task is II Tim. 2:4 and not please himself.
   Vs 19--He changes illustrations from army to navy.  "Hold faith and a good conscience" which keeps us on track.
   The conscience can be defined as "the inner voice which warns us that somebody may be looking".
   Professing Chrsitians who "make shipwreck" of their faith do so by sinning against their consciences.
   Bad Doctrine starts with bad conduct and usually with secret sin.
   "Delivered unto Satan" vs 20 - implies an apostolic discipline.  I Cor. 5:5 and disassociation from the local church.  The verb "learn" vs 20 means to learn by discipline.  When a Christian refuses to repent, the local fellowship should exercise discipline.  Matt. 18 excluding them from the protective fellowship of the Saints which maeks them vulnerable to the attacks of Satan.  Job 1-2; Luke 22:31-34.  Churches should be balanced exposing Satan.  John 8:44, I Tim. 4:1; and preaching sound doctrine. 1:10.