Calvary Chapel of San Antonio

"The problem I am led to deal with today is this one: what if one lays claim to being with Jesus but, by his/her actions, instead appears to be scattering (v.23)? This is what each one of you has to decide internally and individually. Do you really belong to Jesus? If so, your relationship is much more than just hoping you’ve somehow managed to get to heaven. It means you are gathering with the Lord—doing His will and spreading His message. If you are not doing those things, how is it possible to seriously think you are saved? Today we have to decide."

"I am going to remind you of lots of things you already know! But I also want to remind you that knowing something involves responding to it, not just being able to recite it. Notice here who it is that is warning us. There are lots of people (I was one of them) who say that the Bible is just a book written by men and has little value for our sophisticated society. They say that the Bible does not claim Divine authorship for itself. WRONG! Right here we are told that the OT Scriptures (Psalm 95:7-11) were written by God the Holy Spirit! One of the strengths of our faith lies in the fact that when people argue with you about your Bible, they are really arguing against God."

"This is a different occasion altogether than when Jesus was asked by His disciples to teach them to pray in Matthew’s gospel. For the disciples, learning to pray was essential. It seems they sensed the need to learn; in a few short months Jesus will

be gone. They will be on their own and they need to know how to seek God for direction, strength. The disciples did not ask Jesus to teach them to do miracles, nor did they ask Him to teach them to preach. They wanted to learn the secret of His powerful prayer life!"

"We have to remember that the true test of someone’s faith comes over the long haul.

Anyone can have an emotional experience; it takes true conversion to survive trials and persecution. That’s what the writer is saying—if you hold on, if you don’t turn to anything or anyone else, if you remain faithful to Jesus, we are His house! "

"Ahaz was warned. He was asked to believe. But because he refused, the desolation is utterly unthinkable. That’s exactly what results when we refuse God’s help. Please learn from Ahaz’ refusal and destruction. Being with Jesus is better by far. Repent and believe… today!"