Baptist City Blog

Stop Feeling Your Way Through Life

Genesis 27:23

"And he discerned him not, because his hands were hairy, as his brother Esau's hands: so he blessed him."

Isaac made a tragic mistake that many people make everyday and that was that he trusted his feelings instead of his common sense and principles. Isaac sent Esau to kill a deer so they could have venison to eat as he planned to give him the family blessing over the meal. Rachel, loving Jacob more than Esau, conceived a plan that Jacob could deceive his father and get the blessing for himself. When Jacob came to Isaac his father for the blessing, Isaac could not believe that he found the deer so fast. So, he asked him to come so that he could feel him, for Esau was a hairy man and Jacob was not. When Isaac felt Jacob, the verse above says, "...he discerned him not, because his hands were hairy, as his brother Esau's hands:..." Isaac gave the blessing to Jacob all because he felt like Esau.

Christian, feelings will get you into trouble. There are too many people who live their life based upon feelings only to see heartache follow. You cannot trust your feelings for they are based upon the emotion of the moment and not upon principles of the Word of God. There are three areas in life where you should not live by feelings.

First, don't make decisions based upon feelings. Many people get themselves into trouble because they base decisions upon feelings. Young people lose their purity because they base a decision upon feelings. People marry someone only to regret it later in life because they base their relationship upon feelings. People join the wrong church because of feelings. Simply put, don't let your feelings make a decision, but make your decisions based upon biblical principles that you have previously set up.

Second, don't spend money based upon feelings. There are many people trying to dig their way out of debt because they bought on feelings. Just because you feel like you should buy something doesn't mean you should purchase it. Money should be spent because it is in your budget to do so. You can purchase things based upon feelings by putting them in on your credit cards, but the credit card bill will eventually come due. Stop spending on feelings and only spend money on things that are in your budget.

Last, don't follow God by feeling. I often hear the statement, "I feel the LORD would have me..." When someone says this they are basing their decision to follow the LORD upon feelings. You will often hear people say, "I feel the LORD is leading me to..." Let me ask you, if you are basing something upon how you feel, what are you going to do when the feeling is gone? There will be many times when there are no feelings, but you still must serve God. When the feelings leave, you better have something more than just a feeling that you based your decision upon. You should not follow the LORD based upon feelings, but you should follow Him because the Word of God tells you to do so.

Christian, be careful about feeling your way through life. You would be better off living your life following the principles of the Word of God. Feelings are based upon so many other factors that are not concrete. You could have good feelings about something because you feel good that day or because you are having a good day; however, when you are having a bad day or are not feeling as well you will find that your feelings won't lead you to do anything but quit. Let God's Word and biblical principles guide you, and you will find that you won't get yourself in the quandary of trying to fix unwanted problems that your feelings led you into.

Is Any Thing Too Hard?

Genesis 18:14

"Is any thing too hard for the LORD? At the time appointed I will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son."

An amazing question is posed in this verse, "Is any thing too hard for the LORD?" This question is posed after Sarah was told that she was going to have a child in her old age. Sarah laughed because she knew it was physically and scientifically impossible for her to have a child; however, God asked her this question to get her to understand that though it may seem too hard for man, that He is a God Who can do the impossible.

Christian, I simply want to remind you that no matter what you face in your life that there is nothing too hard for the LORD. If God can cause the sun to go backwards ten degrees, then He can help you with your problems. If God can cause the wall of Jericho to crumble, then He can help you with your problems. If God can create a world in seven days, then He can help you with your problems. If God can raise Lazarus from the dead, then He can help you with your problems. If God can part the Red Sea for Moses and the children of Israel, then He can help you with whatever problem you face. If God can keep the fire from touching the three Hebrew children, then He can help you with your problems. If God can shut the mouths of lions, cause the deaf to hear, make the dumb to speak, cause the lame to walk, make the blind to see, cause the sun to rise and set, control the planets in their orbit and make your life to exist, then He can most certainly help you with all that you face.

God answers the question, "Is any thing too hard for the LORD?" in Jeremiah 32:17 when He says, "Ah Lord GOD! behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee:" God said in Isaiah 59:1, "Behold, the LORD'S hand is not shortened, that it cannot save;..." What an exciting thought that the hand of God is strong enough to handle any situation in your life!

I don't know what you are facing today, but is your situation too hard for the LORD? Christian, don't let the Devil lie to you that the LORD cannot take care of you. If the LORD fed Elijah in the wilderness with a raven, then He can feed you in your dire financial times. You may not know from where the finances are going to come from, but God can certainly take care of your financial needs.

Is it too hard for God to salvage the life of a friend or family member who seems too hard to be changed? Let me remind you that Jesus turned the Maniac of Gadara into a normal person. This man was a wild man. This man was considered a freak. This man literally ran around naked. Yet, the power of God was able to reach into his life, save his soul and turn him into a normal person. It doesn't matter how far your child, spouse or friend have gone in life, God is powerful enough to change their life.

I could not begin to touch on every situation in life, but I simply want to remind you that your situation is not too hard for God. You may think that your situation is hopeless, but God thrives on taking hopeless situations and turning them into miracles. You may need a miracle, but God is a miracle working God. Don't give up! Your situation is not too hard for the LORD. He can work it out, you must simply believe that He can and not give up.

The Power of Imagination

Genesis 11:6

"And the LORD said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do."

The power of an imagination is amazing. What the mind can picture can be powerful and must be controlled to keep it from imagining the wrong things. The imagination of an individual starts from childhood and continues through adulthood. When I was a child, I can remember how my imagination would help me to enjoy playing with the most simple things. My brother and I would take the stripes on our bedspread and make them the streets for our matchbox cars. A friend of mine and myself would take sticks and treat them like guns and we would go through the forest acting like we were soldiers fighting a war. Our imaginations created the scenes in our minds and the actions that we performed.

The people in the verse above used their imagination, but they used it in the wrong manner. You will notice that they imagined building a tower to Heaven. Their imagination caused them to unite for one cause. Their imagination gave them drive. Their imagination caused them to sin. Their imagination led to focus that would let nothing restrain them from fulfilling their dream. The actions of these people prove that adults still have an imagination, and that the imagination can be used for good or bad.

You must be careful what you allow your mind to imagine. One's imagination shows their creativity, but creativity can be used for good or bad. If the imagination of an individual is not kept under control, then their imagination can lead to sin. God says in 2 Corinthians 10:5, "Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;" If a person does not control their thought life, then their imagination will create wrong dreams and desires. Much of what Hollywood produces is the result of an uncontrolled imagination. The writers of their movies allow their minds to imagine the wrong things, and it produces the wrong pictures. If you don't control what you allow yourself to think about, then you will have problems with your imagination.

On the other hand, a mind that is controlled by Christ can produce a good imagination. Philippians 2:5 says, "Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:" When we allow the mind of Christ to control our mind, then our imagination will create right desires. A good imagination will drive the Christian to do great things for God. A good imagination will cause a Christian to stay focused on the will of God. A good imagination will give the Christian the wherewithal to keep going through adverse circumstances. A good imagination will not allow obstacles to restrain them from doing what God has laid on their heart.

You have a choice, you can either have a bad imagination that will lead to sin, or you can have a good imagination that will drive you to do more for God. Be careful what you allow your mind to think about. If you will allow the Spirit of God to control your mind, then the Spirit of God will give you a good imagination. Everyday you need to yield your mind to the Holy Spirit of God and ask Him to control your imaginations. Ask Him to cause you to have the right thoughts and to keep you from having thoughts of foolishness and sin. Be careful what you allow your eyes to see, for your eyes will feed your imagination. Let your imagination be one that would glorify God with the images it creates. If you will let the Holy Spirit control your imaginations, then you will find that it will lead to right actions.

"Ät the Cross medley" is the song of the week now at www.baptist-city.com.

Some music from FBC Hammond's 8/19/12 services are now up at www.baptist-city.com,

God's Three Expectations

Revelation 14:7

"Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters."

Any Christian who truly wants to please God would want to know what God expects from them. Knowing His expectations would help any Christian to live a better life. I often tell people that God always gives the answer to everything in life. God has not placed you on Earth without giving you the expectations for how you should live. The verse above shows us three expectations that God has for every Christian. Each of these expectations will help you in becoming a better Christian.

First, God expects you to fear Him. One of the most misunderstood subjects in the Scriptures is the fear of God. Many believe that fearing God is having an attitude of fear toward Him. God would never want anyone to be afraid of Him. You are afraid of someone because of what they might do to you. The fear of God is simply having a respect of His power.

Years ago my wife and I used to travel with a fifth-wheel trailer. Many of the churches we held meetings in had no electrical connections for a fifth-wheel trailer. I learned how to hook up my trailer straight into the electrical panel. Preachers would often ask me if I wanted them to shut the whole panel off. I always responded that the only thing I wanted was for them to stay away so that I could work without any interference. I knew inside of that panel was the power to give us electricity to power our fifth-wheel trailer. Yet, I also knew that the same power that could benefit us to live comfortably could hurt me if I didn't respect or fear it.

That is exactly what the fear of God is. Fearing God is realizing that His power can help you to do the works that He commands you to do; however, that same power can hurt you if you don't live according to His Word. God expects you to fear Him, not so that He can hurt you, but so that you can use that power to serve Him.

Second, God expects you to give Him glory. With everything you do in life you should strive to give God the glory. Too many Christians want to take credit when they should be giving credit to God. Christian, God deserves the credit for your successes because He is the One Who gives you the wherewithal to do those things. Don't become so self-centered that you try to take the credit that belongs to God. If you will lift God up by giving Him credit, in return He will lift you up in the eyes of man.

Finally, God expects you to worship Him. Worshipping God is not going to church, but worshipping God is living a life that is pleasing to Him. Psalm 29:2 says, "Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name; worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness." Notice, holiness is what God calls worship. In other words, every time you do right you are worshipping God. If you want to fulfill God's expectation of worshipping Him, then be sure to live a life that would please Him.

God's expectations are not unreal. You will find that if you will obey one of these expectations, then you will obey them all. All three expectations are interwoven with each other. I challenge you to start everyday reminding yourself of what God expects from you. If you will live according to God's expectations for you, then you will most certainly please Him with your life.

Does that title sound like a paradox? Listen to that sermon and one more by Dr. Jack Hyles for the week of 8/19/12 now at www.baptist-city.com!

Which Were Prepared

Revelation 9:15

"And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men."

We often overlook the little phrases in verses that are as important to our lives as the context of the whole chapter. In the verse above, God is unleashing His wrath upon the world. It says that God loosed four angels to carry out this task. What is interesting is that these angels were prepared for their task. They weren't haphazardly given a task to do at the last minute, but they were given the task well ahead of time, and they prepared for at least a year to carry out their task. According to this verse, they prepared and planned for a whole year, and every month, day and hour how they were going to do the task that God wanted them to do.

The success of every task is accomplished in the preparation. It doesn't matter how much talent one may have, it only matters how much preparation is made. The act on the stage is not what measures the success, it is the preparation in practice that determines the success. It is not the plays on the field that determine a team's success, but it is the hours of watching film and practicing plays that determines the success of a team. I would rather have a team that has less talent but works hard in their preparation than a team that has great talent but does little preparation. Success is made in the preparation, not in the performance. Sure, we enjoy the performance of success, but all the hard work and preparation behind the scenes is what allowed the success to happen.

If you are going to be successful in your life, career or endeavor, then much attention must be given to the preparation time. You may have talent that will give you some success, but great success will only happen if there is much time given to preparation. You cannot have great success without great preparation.

Success starts in the preparation of your annual goals. The verse above says that the angels prepared for a year. You should start preparing for events a year ahead. Planning for an event a week or month ahead will only cause you to have to rush the preparation. Prepare ahead in your finances. Don't wait until you are pushing your senior years to start planning for your retirement. Plan for your retirement years prior to it.

Moreover, every month preparation should be made for upcoming events. For instance, I start preparing for upcoming revival meetings a month in advance. Don't get me wrong, my schedule is planned annually, but my detailed planning for a meeting is done a month in advance. I start preparing my mind for the meetings of the month. I start looking for the sermons I will preach at that church a month in advance. My purpose for this is that it allows my mind to take truths that I will preach and tailor those truths to that church. You should work on next month's events this month.

Furthermore, you should live each day with a daily schedule. Start your day by planning what you will do. Plan to accomplish things that day. Don't let a day go by when you haven't accomplished something. Have a schedule for tasks that you must accomplish that day.

Finally, plan what time you will do each task. When a time comes for you to do something, then give your full attention to that task. Don't worry about your next task, for you can give your next task the attention needed when the scheduled time comes. Give the task at hand your complete attention.

Success will always be determined in the preparation. Don't ever treat the time of preparation as insignificant. How much you prepare will determine the degree of success you have. If you spend little time preparing, then you will have little success; however, if you spend much time and effort in preparation, then you will find great success.

Everything From Beginning to End

Revelation 1:8

"I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty."

When reading a book, you want the beginning, ending and everything in between to be something that is good. There are times when the beginning isn't as good as the in-between and ending. Then, there are times when you have to be patient between the beginning and the ending because it is not real interesting. Unfortunately there are also times when the ending is not as good as the beginning and the in-between. When you read a book you want it to be good from the beginning to the end.

God says that He is the "Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending,..." God is the complete package. God is the One with which everything begins. He is the One Who consists in between, and He is also the One Who will end all things. There is nothing lacking with God. With God you have a good beginning. With God you can have a good in-between. With God you can have a good ending. God is everything, and He can make everything good if you will allow Him to be a part of your life from beginning to end.

God says that He is the beginning. In other words, you should not start anything without beginning with God. God started everything when He created this world, so why would you not include Him when you begin things in your life. The beginning is certainly one of the most important aspects of how you set the foundation for everything else to be built upon. If you want a good day, then you should begin your day with God. If you want a good marriage, then you should begin it with God. If you want a good family, then you should begin it with God. If you want a good career, then you should begin it with God. Before you start any endeavor, you should always decide that you are going to begin with God.

There are some who did not begin with God, but let me assure you that God is also everything in-between. So, you did not start off right, then include God now and get everything back on track. If you began with God, then don't forsake Him in the middle of everything. God not only got you going right, but He will also keep you going right. Christian, don't make the mistake of forsaking God when you are in the in-between of your life. It is during this time of your life or endeavor that you need Him the most. Many people start right, but they leave God in the in-between stages of life. If you start your day off with God, then don't forsake God in the afternoon. If you start your marriage off with God, then don't forsake Him after you have seen some success in your marriage. Many people start off with God and experience blessings from Him only to forsake Him because of those blessings. Those blessings came because you started off with God, and they will continue if you will keep Him in the in-between of life.

Finally, be sure to end right. Don't get to the end of your life, marriage or endeavor and forsake God. If you want your ending to be a good ending, then you had best keep God in it as well. I have watched people include God in their beginning and in the in-between of life, only to forsake Him in their ending. You will regret forsaking God in the end. Your ending is how people will remember you. Don't let your ending ruin a whole life of good because you forsook God at the end.

God is the beginning, ending and the in-between. If you want everything in your life to be good, then you need to include God in every stage of life. Don't let one part of your life become a bad story. If you will keep God in every stage of your life, then you will find a great story when it is all over. If you find one part of your life is not good because you didn't include God, then begin now to include Him. God can still make a good story out of your life if you will allow Him to work in your life. Wherever you are in your life, let God be a part of it.