Burns Church of Christ

‘Speak, LORD, for your servant is listening.’ I Samuel 3:9

Samuel was a young man in the service of God when God selected him to be the next judge of Israel and the “king maker”.  But before he would be any good to God he had to listen.  Once he did this he was ready to be God’s person.

That’s the way it is for us as well.  It is only when we listen that we can move into God’s service.  The problems we face in today’s world could be solved if men would listen.

We live in a world of spiritual stagnation.  We have stopped listening to God.  We come to church and go away unchanged.  Do we not realize that what is said in the services is God speaking to us?  When we read the Bible and sing songs and hear sermons, are they not God’s way of communicating with us?

Modern preachers are not spokesmen for God like the prophets of old but when they properly exegete the Word God is speaking.  Are we listening? It is not that God is dead or silent.  We are just not listening.

God is not without witness in our world.  His word is still living and active. (Hebrews 4:12)  The line to God is closed, not because God is not speaking, but because we are not listening.

God will speak to us in our worship this morning.  Will we listen?  God will not suddenly appear in our building today.  But you can be sure that he will speak to us.  Will we listen?

Be aware of God wanting to communicate with you today and open your ears to His voice.  Watch carefully the words of the songs.  Be attentive to the reading of the Word.  Find something in the sermon that God wants you to hear.  As we commune around the table, what is God saying to you?

Confession is good for the soul, they say. If it’s so good, how come nobody does it?

I’ve heard a lot of confessions made at church over the years. Most of them go something like this: “I’ve not been the Christian I should be. I’ve struggled and let folks down. Please pray for me.” There’s nothing wrong with this confession, but it’s not really confessing much. There’s not a single Christian who couldn’t make that confession. None of us are always the Christians we should be. All of us struggle. Everyone fails somebody sometime—and we certainly all need prayer!

I suggest this week that you confess something—something real, something meaningful, to someone you know and love. I suggest you then confess to God.

In New York City a few years ago an art student created a project that sparked great public interest. It’s called Post Secret. People were given addressed post cards with a blank backside—and asked to share a secret that nobody else knew. The results have been incredible—so much that several books have now been published containing these revealed secrets. People have confessed almost everything: fears, dreams, hopes, abuses, crimes, and psychoses! People were thrilled at an opportunity to get something off their chests.

The thing that saddens me most about these books is that these confessions were made to no one. They were made to an uncaring public, to a book publisher. There is no support for the individual.  There is no relationship. There is no forgiveness.

That’s not how Christian confession works; it is an immensely personal experience. It is humbling and pride-crushing. It is a key element to salvation and it is necessary for Christian fellowship. See what passages like  Romans 10:9-10 and 1 John 1:9-10 can do, lived in your life this week.

“If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.” James 4:15

James is a practical man as he writes his book. If you want to get some practical advice for your daily living, read this little book. In the paragraph that contains the above verse, James has talked about making plans for the future. Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.

Most of us will make plans for the future and will expect to accomplish what we plan. Planning is certainly a legitimate activity. But why does James seem to downgrade it. Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow.

There is more to the statement than meets the eye at first look. How true it is that we don’t know what will happen tomorrow. We are not even sure what will happen today. Tomorrow may never come for us. You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.

It is not that James doesn’t want us to plan for tomorrow. It is not that he forbids advanced planning. What he really wants is for us to realize that tomorrow is the Lord’s and we must never make plans without Him in mind. You ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.”

Making plans for tomorrow or next week or next year is only as secure as our plans for including God in them. Any success that we might have tomorrow will depend on whether the Lord gives us tomorrow. If tomorrow never comes then what? Will we be in relationship with Jesus that will sustain us if tomorrow never comes. Planning with God in mind just makes sense in our world of insecurity and uncertainness. It is good and right to say we will do this and that tomorrow IF THE LORD WILL.

You alone are the LORD. Nehemiah 9:6

Our understanding of God governs everything else about our lives. What we do on Sunday. What we do on Monday-Saturday. How we work at our job. How we treat our neighbor. Where we spend our money. What activities we choose to participate in.

Nehemiah came back to Jerusalem in 445 B.C for the express purpose of rebuilding the fallen walls of the city. He was a man of one mind. He was able to get the people focused on the task at hand. Along with Ezra the scribe, he was successful in getting the people to acknowledge their sin and bring praise to God.

The rest of the verse above has the focus of all our praise to the God of creation. You alone are the LORD. You made the heavens, even the highest heavens, and all their starry host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them. You give life to everything, and the multitudes of heaven worship you. The God who created this world and sustains it is worthy of all praise.

Perhaps in this 21st century of skepticism and doubt, it would be good to go back and reflect on the creation of the world. We are met on every hand with what the scientist had found out about the earth. We are led further into a world of nothing to a world of nothing. Matter created all life and matter is easier to deal with than a God of all power.

Our world is floundering on the brink of total disaster. There is no fear of God in the heart of today’s citizens. While our world collapses men are moving away from the one who can bring stability to society. We must stand in the gap and proclaim the God of the Bible and be sure that we have our ducks in order in our own faith.

It is not enough to out argue the world we must out live the world. Grow in our understanding of God and grow closer to Him. That is where the hope of the world lies.

At our last Fellowship Meal, we took a few minutes to honor the kids who worked so hard in Bible Bowl 2009. Everyone took home a special “Bible Bowl News” paper, and heard recaps of scores and awards. What you might not have heard, was that our kids entered the Sweet 16 in 3rd place. Not that there’s any competition involved, but that’s better than Walnut Street, White Bluff, or any other congregation in the county! :) We’re proud of their hard work!

If you’d like a taste of what they learned, check out Zipped PDF’s of Bible Bowl Questions, and the Newsletter. Way to go teams!!

Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men. Ephesians 6:7

If you want to study one of the great characters of the Bible you only have to go to a man by the name of Caleb. He was that other spy that came back from the first trip to Canaan and with Joshua stood with God and said that the land could be conquered with God’s help. The other ten said it couldn’t be done and preferred to go back into the wilderness for forty years.

I punched in the word “wholeheartedly” into my computer and five times the word applies to Caleb. He is said to have followed the LORD wholeheartedly.’ (Num. 32:12; Deut. 1:36; Josh. 14:8, 9, 14). One translation gives the phrase as “He stuck to his guns, heart and soul.”

What does it mean to wholeheartedly serve the Lord? It may be defined with what it is not. It certainly is not half-hearted commitment to the Lord. It is not a take-it-or-leave form of service. It is more than one hour each week dedicated to serve Him. Most of us could tell others what it is not.

“Whole” and “heartedly” seem to go together. When one’s heart is wholly committed to something the whole mind and strength and soul are in harmony with the direction of one’s life. There is no question where your heart lies and your allegiance is focused.

The passage above is in the context of slaves serving their masters. Paul enlightens us and confirms what it means to serve wholeheartedly. Obey them not only to win their favor when their eye is on you, but like slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart.

Not just when you think others are looking. We are not trying to please men but God, who tests our hearts. (I Thess. 2:4) Be wholly doing the will of God from your heart.