NewDayvotional

From the pastor for the people

Groups Guard You From Being Easy Prey for Satan

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1 Peter 5:8 says “Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” Satan’s goal is to rip your spiritual head off and he’s looking for people who are vulnerable. Satan’s like a wolf – he’s going to go after the easy target – after those not in a group, because they don’t have the same spiritual protection that believers in a group have. It’s too hard to get to someone that has the spiritual protection and covering a group provides. Satan’s just going to go after someone that’s all alone.

In a group you have people watching out for you. Take a look…

  • 1 Thessalonians 5:15 says “…always seek after that which is good for one another…” NASB Do you have that? Do you have someone or a group of people looking out for your spiritual good?
  • Hebrews 13:17 says of church leaders “…they keep watch over your souls as those who will give an account.” Your group facilitator and the other members of your group have the responsibility to watch out for your soul. Don’t you like the sound of that? I do! I like the idea of others who are watching out for my soul. Mark 8:36 says you can forfeit your soul (What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul?). Well, you won’t forfeit your soul (turn away from the Lord or become easy prey for Satan) when others are watching out for it.

In this way groups help guard you from becoming easy prey for Satan. To sign up for a growth group visit www.newdaychurch.cc/groups

Groups Guard Against Discouragement

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It can be discouraging living with Christian values in a non-Christian world.

  • The world says: If you want to be great in my eyes, get others to serve you. Jesus says: If you want to be great in my eyes, serve others.
  • The world says: Get rich or die trying. Jesus says: Store up your treasures in heaven, not on earth.
  • The world says: Retaliation. Jesus says: Turn the other cheek.

For a Christian, life in this world can sometimes feel like an uphill battle, like swimming upstream, like going across the grain – and this can lead to discouragement. Well God knew that discouragement was going to come – which is why he gave us groups. Groups help guard against discouragement. Take a look…

  • The apostle Paul instructed the believers at the church in Thessalonica to “…encourage one another and build each other up…” (1 Thessalonians 5:11) cf 1 Thessalonians 4:18, 2 Corinthians 13:11, Hebrews 3:13) Our spiritual balloons get deflated all week and group is the place where we blow them back up! You may feel like an outsider living as a Christian in a non-Christian culture, but at group you’re encouraged to spend some time with people of like precious faith.
  • The author of Hebrews writes “…let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, 25 not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching” (Hebrews 10:24-25). A spur is used to kick a horse in the side which urges it to move forward or keep going. That’s what we do with each other when we gather – we encourage each other to keep going – to keep living our lives for Christ in the midst of a pagan culture. Many have given up and abandoned their faith because they had no one to spur them on – to encourage them to keep going.
  • We read in James 5:16 “…pray for each other…” Not only do we get a spiritual boost from being together, we also get a spiritual boost from praying together. At some point in each group we take time to pray for each other. We lift up each others needs before God in prayer. Someone from my group emailed me the day before I wrote this message. He said his brother in law was in the emergency room and asked us to pray. Well, he had a small army of people lifting up his brother in law in prayer. This is what happens in group and throughout the week.

Discouragement can capsize your faith! But groups guard this from happening.

To sign up for a growth group visit www.newdaychurch.cc/groups

Jesus’ Three Jobs

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Jesus has three primary jobs in the Bible: Prophet, Priest and King.

  1. Let’s talk first about his role as Prophet. Moses said in Deuteronomy 18:15, “The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you…” Moses was the mouthpiece of God to the nation of Israel. When he said God would raise up a prophet like him, he meant in the sense that the prophet would be the mouthpiece of God, as he was. Well what do we read of Jesus? In John 14:24 Jesus said, “These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.” When Jesus came to earth he spoke the words of God about how mankind could be saved from the penalty and consequences of sin. So Jesus was the fulfillment of Moses’ prophecy. Jesus was the Prophet Moses spoke of.
  2. Now let’s talk about Jesus’ role as Priest. In the Old Testament the high priest was the supreme ruler over the nation of Israel. Well Hebrews 6:20 tells us that Jesus has become our High Priest forever. And as High Priest, Jesus is the supreme ruler over the church. As the high priest was the supreme ruler over the nation of Israel, so Jesus, as our High Priest, is the supreme ruler over the church.
  3. Finally, let’s talk about Jesus’ role as King. Jesus told us to pray in Matthew 6:10, “…your kingdom come…” That’s because one day, Jesus will rule as King over his kingdom here on earth during his thousand year reign (We’ll actually be covering this in week five of this series). Isaiah spoke of this time when he wrote in Isaiah 9:6, “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders…” At Jesus’ first coming he was the suffering servant who died for our sins. But at his second coming he will be the King of kings and the Lord of Lords.

Now, in the past Jesus primarily played the role of Prophet. In the future Jesus will primarily play the role of King. But in the present, Jesus primarily plays the role of High Priest. You see, until the consummation of the age, Jesus will play a role in the salvation of mankind. And Jesus wants the same to be true of us! If you haven’t found a role to play, click here to check out some of the serving opportunities at New Day.

What’s Jesus Doing in Heaven? Part 1

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We simply must understand what Jesus is currently doing in heaven. If we don’t understand what role He is currently playing in heaven, we’ll never understand what role we must currently play on earth. So what’s Jesus doing in heaven?

First, He’s serving as High Priest (Hebrews 6:20). As a kid I was a paper boy. As a teen I was both a waiter and painter. In college I was host at a fancy restaurant. After college I was a youth pastor and currently I serve as lead pastor over New Day. Over the years I’ve had a number of different jobs. Well, when you read the Bible you learn that the same is true of Jesus. In the Bible Jesus has three main jobs.

  1. Prophet. Moses said in Deuteronomy 18:15, “The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you…” Moses was the mouth piece of God and in this sense Jesus was the fulfillment of this prophecy. In John 14:24 Jesus said, “These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.” In other words, Jesus came as the mouthpiece of God, telling mankind what God said about how to be saved from the penalty of sin.
  2. Priest. In the Old Testament the high priest was the supreme ruler over Israel. Well Hebrews 6:20 tells us that Jesus has become our High Priest forever (the supreme ruler over the church).
  3. King. Jesus told us to pray in Matthew 6:10, “…your kingdom come…” That’s because one day, Jesus will rule as King over his kingdom here on earth during his thousand year reign (We’ll actually be covering this in week five of this series). Isaiah spoke of this time when he wrote in Isaiah 9:6, “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders…” At Jesus’ first coming he was the suffering servant who died for our sins. But at his second coming he will be the King of kings and the Lord of Lords.

In the past Jesus was Prophet. In the future Jesus will be King and in the present, Jesus is High Priest. His role changes from time to time, but until the end of the age, Jesus will always play a role in the salvation of mankind – and he wants the same to be true of us. At New Day we have a bi-annual ministry fair so you can find a role to play in the salvation of mankind. Jesus is working to see people saved and expects us to do the same. So in this last week of ministry fair let me implore you to find somewhere to serve if you haven’t already (click here to see some of our current serving opportunities).

Some people, practically speaking, have entered ministry retirement. They used to serve but don’t anymore. But retirement isn’t a biblical concept when it comes to serving the Lord. After God created the world he rested, but he didn’t retire. When mankind messed up the good world God created, God went right back to work, implementing his plan of salvation through Abram. After Jesus died on the cross for our sins, he didn’t retire – he returned to the Father to play a new role in the salvation of mankind. Jesus said in John 5:17, “My Father is always working, and so am I.” Now if anyone ever deserves to take a break, Jesus does, right? But he’s not resting. He’s working to see people come to know Jesus. What about you? Jesus is serving as High Priest. Where are YOU serving?

How to Cultivate a Pure Heart: Part 3

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The Bible gives us at least six ways we can cultivate a pure heart before God. In this post we’ll look at the third way we can do that.

God says, if I’m going to keep my heart pure, then third, I need to read my Bible. Hebrews 4:12 says, “For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” If you want to keep your heart pure, you need a filter for your heart – and God’s Word is a heart filter. It filters out ungodly thoughts and attitudes.

Do you know what the lint filter is on your dryer? Well early on in marriage neither Kristin nor I knew that dryers had lint removers. We only discovered the lint remover because our dryer began to malfunction. When we removed the filter, there was this gargantuan pile of lint that had accumulated over the last year. I seriously could’ve fashioned a small pillow from all the lint. It was crazy! Well that filter captures the little fibers that fall off your clothes during the drying process. The filter removes them from the drying cycle.

This is what God’s Word does to the ungodly attitudes and thoughts that want to set up residence in our hearts. God’s Word filters them out.

  • We might have a complaining heart if we’ve never read Philippians 2:14 which says “Do everything without complaining…”
  • A bad attitude might take root in your heart if you’ve never read Philippians 2:4 which says “You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.”
  • Gossip might take root in your heart if you’ve never read Proverbs 16:28, “…a gossip separates close friends.”

You see, God’s Word filters out the sinful things that corrupt the purity of our hearts. This is why the psalmist wrote in Psalm 119:11, “I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.” So make sure your only intake of God’s Word doesn’t happen on Sundays. God’s Word is an essential part of keeping our hearts pure.