The Open Word (Audio)

Have you ever seen the sun shine through a small break in the clouds on an overcast day? It's like the glory of the Lord shining down on us. Pastor David reminds us that God is so good to give us glimpses of heaven through nature. We have teasers all around us on a daily basis. We need to be looking for them, and not so busy that we miss everything around us. Choosing to see the Lord in the small stuff can change our attitudes for the better. Happiness and joy are choices that we make ourselves!

Have you ever had an opportunity to share Jesus with someone and you shy away because you think they wouldn't go for it? Maybe they're an intimidating person, and it might be embarrassing if they say no. Pastor David reminds us to let God be the judge. By choosing not to share, we've judged that person. The Lord is the only One Who knows a man's heart. He is the only One Who can see if they'll accept Him or not. We're to simply plant the seed. What happens next is out of our hands.

Have you ever felt completely out of control? Maybe even as you listen you're in a tailspin. Pastor David is encouraging us to put everything in perspective. God is God, and we are not. He is the one with the power and ability to handle everything in our lives. We aren't supposed to be carrying this burden alone. We're reminded of that repeatedly in the Word. When we finally let go and let God, we're much more at peace. That doesn't mean that there are no trials, but that we're not alone in them.

Often times, when we arrive at church, we're in a rush and aggravated about something. Then we try to get into worship, and wouldn't you know it, so and so is doing their usual clapping off beat. Satan attacks on Sunday mornings. He will make anything that can go wrong happen! Pastor David wants to remind us to take a deep breath, and remember Who we serve. Entering into worship is a choice. No matter what is happening around us, our connection time with the Lord is up to us alone!

Have you ever had times when you weren't too impressed with the worship at the service you attended? Maybe because it wasn't your favorite leader, you didn't get as much out of it as you usually do. Pastor David wants to remind us to meet with God during worship. If we're actually entering a state of worship towards God Almighty, then who ever is on the microphone won't matter. We're not there as music critics. We're there to meet with God, and nothing should hold us back from that!

Do you ever stop to think that everything that is happening around us is orchestrated by the Lord? No, He isn't causing all of the evil or harmful things to happen. But He does use them to accomplish His good work. He allows that which He hates to accomplish that which He loves. Pastor David is reminding us today to keep Jesus as the center of our lives. We can get caught up in current events and all the evils in the world. But we need to keep in mind the Lord is at work in spite of it all!

There are so many people out there that say there are discrepancies in the Bible, and that makes it invalid. What Pastor David is reminding us of is that people see events in different ways. If you ask different witnesses of a crime what happened, you will get varying answers and descriptions. However, that doesn't mean the crime didn't happen. So, as we read different people's views of what happened that are recorded in the Bible, we just need to consider what it would have been like.

God is a just God. He is patient and long suffering. He loves us so much that He waits for us to come to Him instead of blotting us out like we probably deserve. Pastor David wants to encourage us to keep sharing the Lord. We may think that someone is a lost cause, but only God knows their hearts. We just need to keep showing them Jesus through our lives, and praying that they'll come to the knowledge of Jesus as Savior. What an awesome gift to us to be used in such a powerful way.

We are warned time and again through scripture not to be lukewarm. It's really easy to fall into the trap of busyness. We can be on fire for the Lord, then we have things that need to get done, so we set Him aside. The next day comes and again we do the same. We're not out there sinning up a storm, but we're also not spending the time with Him that we should. Pastor David is urging us to not get caught up in the culture of busy. We need to make time with Jesus a priority in order to stay close to Him.

There are countless schools of thought on self improvement. People seek worldly knowledge and betterment more now than ever. Pastor David encourages us to seek Biblical knowledge. We can have all of the degrees in the world, but if we don't know Jesus, we're in a bad spot! Seeking to know God and know His Word puts us in a place of wisdom and peace. Many people today are very intelligent, yet they're completely unsettled. They need Jesus just as much as everyone else does in the world!