Dignity

Posted on by pastordavidturner

When you don’t know who you are, the enemy can lie to you. When you don’t know what you have, the enemy can steal from you.  In this series of messages, God has been speaking to us about our inheritance-what we have in Christ as His blood bought children.  We need to know who we are and what we have in Christ so we can walk in confidence into all God has for us.

In this message, we explore our inheritance of financial dignity.  Though this truth entails more than finances, there is a dignity we have as children of God who have promises from God.  That dignity can free us from the easy traps of envy and fear and empower us to be extravagant givers, wise investors, and content enjoyers of life.

Enjoy!

Faith Reasons

Posted on by pastordavidturner

I’ve heard many people say, “I think too much. That is my problem.” Thinking too much is never the problem. It’s what you are thinking about that is the problem. 
Unbelief reasons. Fear reasons. Pride reasons. So many people reason according to misinformation or even lies. Many people reason according to what is right in their own eyes. This is what leads to bad decisions.

But did you know faith also reasons? Faith simply believes God and accepts the truths of His Word. This shapes the way we think which in turn leads to the right decisions.

Consider how people of faith reason…



DAVID reasoned that since God was on his side he could defeated a man many times stronger and more skilled than him. He simply concluded that God was stronger than a man. He declared, “You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts” (1 Samuel 17). 

Isn’t that the most logical conclusion: God+me=unstoppable?

ABRAHAM reasoned that if God had made a promise He would keep it. This led him to trust and obey God. Romans 4 says of him, “being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform.” When asked to sacrifice Isaac, the son given by the promise, Abraham reasoned in faith that God would raise him from the dead (Hebrews 11:19). He simply calculated His decision based on God’s character. 

He factored God’s faithfulness into the equation.


PETER reasoned that if Jesus could walk on water that he could also walk on water. His faith reasoned something like: “Well Jesus can do it, and I am a follower of Jesus, so if He says I can do it, then I can do it because He gives me power to do what He does.” Peter had already experienced miraculous provision and healing when he obeyed Jesus and depend on His power. And so walking on water was more of the same. His faith reasoned, he asked Jesus, “Tell me to come to you.” Jesus said, “Come”. Peter walked on water. 

Simple math for believers: Jesus says I can do it = I can do it.   

This is how faith reasons. What seems illogical to unbelief is logical to a person of faith. The person of faith is not being illogical, they are simply reasoning from faith rather than from unbelief. A person of faith comes to a conclusion based on the information they’ve received from God. The truth changes their perspective. 

So use your mind to trust God. Think like a believer. Reason in faith.  Think too much about His word rather than about, well, whatever else you have been thinking about. Reason in faith.

Here is a good place to start: 

Romans 10:17 “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”

If your mind believes what it hears, then hear God’s word. We need our minds renewed. When our mind is renewed our character and choices and life are transformed (Romans 12:1-2). Listen to faith filled preaching and read the bible.  

Psalm 1:2 “But his delight is in the law of the Lord, And in His law he meditates day and night.”

Think about and speak out loud God’s word–His way of thinking. Let His mind change your mind. 

Return To Where You Began

Posted on by pastordavidturner

Have you received a promise and rejoiced?  and then after the promise came hardship and delay?  Did you struggled in faith?  Well, you are not alone.   And just like Abraham, the father of our faith, you can return to where you began.

Abraham was called by God to leave his family, his comfort zone, and his financial safety net. He left everything because he heard God and trusted in His promises (Check out Genesis 12 and Hebrews 11 for more of the story).

When Abraham arrived in the land of Canaan he heard God say, “To your descendants I will give this land.” So he built an altar as an act of worship to God. This altar was a symbol of his faith—of his joy, his gratitude, his confidence, his resolve to follow God.

This altar was a symbol of his faith—of his joy, his gratitude, his confidence, his resolve to follow God.

But then Abraham was confronted with an economic crisis, a drought and famine. After the promise came hardships and delay.  Abraham struggled in his faith. His character was tested. Abraham went down to Egypt where it was safe. He lied, putting his wife in danger, to save his own skin.  Hint: don’t follow that example. 

But after his failure came restoration. Genesis 13 describes Abraham’s return: he came out of Egypt and returned “to the place where his tent had been at the BEGINNING, between Bethel and Ai, to the place of the altar which he had made there at FIRST. And there Abram called on the name of the Lord (Genesis 13:3-4).”

“…to the place of the altar which he had made there at FIRST.” -Genesis 13:4

Did you see that!? He returned to where he BEGAN. He returned to the place he had FIRST built an altar. He went back to the place God had spoken, to the place he believed God, to the place of joy, of confidence, of resolve, of thankfulness. He returned to faith.

Do you need to return to faith? Do you need to remember what God has promised you? Do you need to remember joy, confidence and thankfulness? Do you need to return, rebuild an altar of faith, worship and call on God’s name?  Well, you can. Just like Abraham you can return to where you began.  God’s mercy is new today. He is waiting for you to turn to Him, and cry out for His help.

And here is a good place to begin: like Abraham, be “strengthened in faith, giving glory to God (Romans 4:20).” Worship.  Boast about God.  Praise Him.  Find His promises in the bible and shout, “Thank you!”

 

 

 

 

Refreshing Worship part 2

Posted on by pastordavidturner

Part 1: Refresh the heart of God with your praise

Part 2: when God is refreshed, he refreshes you.

When God is refreshed, he refreshes us. When we praise him, he sits down; when he sits down, his brings his kingdom (Psalm 22:3)– his kingdom full of joy, peace, righteousness, freedom, wisdom, and power. He has everything you need! God created us so we could enjoy him and he could enjoy us. Bring him joy through worship and you will encounter the presence of the Lord full of his enjoyment of you.  


Acts 3:19
Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, 


Psalm 23:5
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over.

Give God a sacrifice of praise; pour out all your heart in worship. You will find your heart flooded with peace and joy. God is an extravagant giver and we were created to be filled with his joy and pleasure. 


Psalm 16:9-11
Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoices; My flesh also will rest in hope.10For You will not leave my soul in Sheol,Nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption.11You will show me the path of life;In Your presence is fullness of joy;At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

When God appeared to Abraham (recorded in Genesis 18), Abraham first honored God, hosting his presence, seeking to refresh God’s heart. Only THEN was the power of God released, only THEN was Abraham’s prayer answered.  


Genesis 18:9-10
THEN they said to him, “Where is Sarah your wife?”So he said, “Here, in the tent.”10 And He said, “I will certainly return to you according to the time of life, and behold, Sarah your wife shall have a son.”

Abraham and Sarah had a promise from God; they waited 25 years to conceive a child together. When God appeared to Abraham and his presence was honored, Abraham’s desire became reality.  The power to fulfill God’s promise was received when God’s presence was received. 

Refresh the heart of God with praise and he will refresh your heart with the blessings and promises of his kingdom. 




Refreshing Worship part 1

Posted on by pastordavidturner

Refresh the heart of God with your praise.

Abraham, a man of faith who understood what pleases God, did not expect God to serve him but postured himself to serve the Lord. When God appeared to Abraham (recorded in Genesis 18) he bowed down and asked for God to stay for dinner. His desire: that God would be refreshed. That is the heart of a person who worships God in spirit and truth.  

Genesis 18:4-5
[Abraham said] Please let a little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree. 5 And I will bring a morsel of bread, that you may refresh your hearts.

Words of praise from your own mouth is like giving God fruit to eat. Just as a fresh, juicy piece of watermelon on a hot, summer day refreshes you, so God’s heart is refreshed by our praise.  

Hebrews 13:15-16
Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name. 16 But do not forget to do good and to share, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.

The priests of Israel were commanded to offer animals as sacrifices to God; these holy BBQs were pleasing to God. But David tells us it’s not meat God is after, but rather our heart.
Our songs of praise, from a sincere and humble heart of faith, is like a sweet smell to God. Just like the smell of BBQ or fresh apple pie makes your mouth water and draws you like a magnet to the source of the smell, so God is drawn to our sincere praise.

Leviticus 1:9
And the priest shall burn ALL on the altar as a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire, a sweet aroma to the Lord.

Psalm 51:16-17
For You do not desire sacrifice, or else I would give it;You do not delight in burnt offering.17The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit,A broken and a contrite HEART—These, O God, You will not despise.

1 peter 2:5
…you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 

When you praise God, you invite him to be with you; you prepare a place for him to sit like Abraham did in Genesis 18. Just as we are honored when someone invites us to dinner and prepares something special for us, so God is honored when we praise him. He feels comfortable, welcome, and at rest to sit down and spend quality time with us.

Psalm 22:3
But You are holy, Enthroned in the praises of Israel.

Do you want to please the Lord? Do you want to refresh his heart? Then offer him a sacrifice of praise. Brag on God, boast about him, thank him for who he is and what he has done for you.

You praise will refresh his heart and attract him to you.