Making God Smile

Close your eyes and….. QUICK…. Tell me what God looks like. 
 

A little boy had been drawing a picture on the kitchen table for a long long time.  Finally his mother got curious and asked him, “Son, what are you drawing?”  He replied, “I am drawing a picture of God”.  His mother softly smiled and said, “Son, no one knows what God looks like.”  The little boy stated, “They will when I am done.”

So when you closed your eyes and pictured God…. what came to your mind? 

Was He angry with white flowing hair and holding a lightning bolt? 

Was He gentle and kind with a small child sitting on His knee? 

Did He resembling your father or grandfather? 

Your pastor often makes a statement about “giving God glory”. 

What does “giving God glory” look like?  What does that even mean?

How can a weak flawed human being do anything that pleases the Creator of the universe? 

Or better yet, WHY would Almighty God, the King of Kings, who has armies of angels at his disposal, find ANYTHING that I can do, remotely interesting?   

“He has showed you, O man, what is good.
And what does the LORD require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
and to walk humbly with your God”
Micah 6:8

#1.  Act Justly

“Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God

the Father means caring for orphans and widows
in their distress and refusing
to let the world corrupt you.”
James 1:27

#2.  Love Mercy

 While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and sinners came and ate with him and his disciples.

 When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples,
“Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”   
 On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.
But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ 
For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
Matthew 9:9-13

#3.  Walk Humbly With God

 You do not desire a sacrifice, or I would offer one.
You do not want a burnt offering.
The sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit.
You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, O God.”
Psalm 51:16-17

So our spiritual take-away from this is, as God does His transforming work in our heart, it is be revealed in our attitude toward God and other people. 

In “church-speak” we call that the “fruit of the Spirit”. 

 But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control.  There is no law against these things!

 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there.
 Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives.”
Galatians 5:22-25

GVCC sermon FORGIVENESS

Garden Valley Community Church

Pastor Shane Moffitt                           April 29^th 2012

“1 Corinthians 13 ~ LOVE” series

LOVE IS FORGIVING

Love doesn’t keep a record of wrongs that others do                       1 Corinthians 13:5b

As God has not kept any books on my sin, so I must not keep records on other’s sin

Romans 4:8; Psalm 32:1-2; Psalm 103:12;                          2 Corinthians 5:19; Colossians 2:13-15

  The ultimate test of love is when somebody hurts you.  How do you respond?

FORGIVENESS IS NOT

1) It isn’t conditional

It’s not based on someone else’s response

Luke 23:34 “Father, forgive them….”

2) It isn’t resuming a relationship without changes

a)     Demonstrate genuine repentance

b)    Make appropriate restitution

c)     Over time, rebuild trust

3) It isn’t forgetting what happened

     This requires a new level of spiritual maturity

     KNOW God can bring GOOD our of BAD

     Genesis 50:20, Romans 8:28

     WHAT IS GENUINE FORGIVENESS?

#1. Giving Up My RIGHT To Get Even

          “never pay back evil with more evil…”

                                                Romans 12:17-21

#2.    RESPONDING To Evil With Good

      “...do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, and pray for those who mistreat you.”    

                                                 Luke 6:27-28

#3.    REPEATING THE PROCESS

      “Peter asked, ‘"Lord, how often should I forgive someone who sins against me?  Seven times?’  ‘No.’ Jesus replied, ‘seventy times seven!’”                

                                                  Matthew  18:21-22

·        How do you know when you’ve genuinely forgiven somebody? 

·        When You can pray for God to bless them 

THE SECRET OF FORGIVENESS

REMEMBER how much God forgave YOU

      “Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you                    

       must forgive others.”  Colossians 3:13

     "Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you."  Ephesians 4:32, Colossians 2:13-14

READ: The “Lord’s Prayer” ~ Matthew 6:9-13

·        Lord, forgive me to the degree I forgive others

Fruit Trees

Michele and I prepared a spot inside a deer fence, and planted fruit trees. 

I found it amazing that when you purchase fruit trees, all you get is a 4 foot long stick. 

The stick doesn’t look like much. 

As I dug holds to the prescribed depth, Michele carefully put nutritious compost and water in for the roots to draw from.   

We are a couple weeks into our fruit tree adventure, and already I notice green buds and tiny leaves showing up.

The trees require an amazing amount of protection, not only from deer and gophers, but also from ants and all sorts of hungry bugs that would like to feast on the tender new trees. 

I find myself studying pesticides to see what I can do to protect the little trees and give them a fighting chance for survival. 

My friend Marty has quite an orchard.  And he was telling me that if I water too much, the roots will rot. And if I over-fertilize, the trees will overdose and die.  There is more to this than I ever imagined. 

Marty has already began coaching me on the fall pruning responsibilities.  The removal of dead branches, shaping and forming the branches to insure a good harvest the next year. 

This whole process reminds me of caring for new Christians. 

They require protection until they know God’s Word well enough to recognize false teaching.  And they require protection until their faith has grown to the point where they rely on the Holy Spirit’s leading. 

They require healthy nutrition to insure they have a strong foundation and deep roots in God’s Word.  They need to be fed “the milk of the Word” until they have a firm grasp of the basics.  If you dump too much “meat” on them too fast, they become discouraged and miss much of the vital foundation laying process.

They require protection from predators.  Satan has an army of detractors that thrive on causing confusion and false teaching.  Satan likes to push new believers faster than they are ready.  This puts them in danger because they don’t have a spiritual foundation that will stand in storms and testing.  You will know if this is happening because they tend to “major on the minors”.  They focus on insignificant divisive things that leave them weak and vulnerable and fail to grasp the vital meat & potatoes that God provides for their spiritual health.

I could go on with this but a passage of God’s Word does a wonderful job of explaining this in Matthew 13:

³ He told many stories in the form of parables, such as this one: “Listen! A farmer went out to plant some seeds.⁴ As he scattered them across his field, some seeds fell on a footpath, and the birds came and ate them. ⁵ Other seeds fell on shallow soil with underlying rock. The seeds sprouted quickly because the soil was shallow. ⁶ But the plants soon wilted under the hot sun, and since they didn’t have deep roots, they died. ⁷ Other seeds fell among thorns that grew up and choked out the tender plants. ⁸ Still other seeds fell on fertile soil, and they produced a crop that was thirty, sixty, and even a hundred times as much as had been planted!

¹⁸ “Now listen to the explanation of the parable about the farmer planting seeds: ¹⁹ The seed that fell on the footpath represents those who hear the message about the Kingdom and don’t understand it.Then the evil one comes and snatches away the seed that was planted in their hearts. ²⁰ The seed on the rocky soil represents those who hear the message and immediately receive it with joy. ²¹ But since they don’t have deep roots, they don’t last long. They fall away as soon as they have problems or are persecuted for believing God’s word. ²² The seed that fell among the thorns represents those who hear God’s word, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the worries of this life and the lure of wealth, so no fruit is produced. ²³ The seed that fell on good soil represents those who truly hear and understand God’s word and produce a harvest of thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times as much as had been planted!” Matthew 13:

Really?

FaceBook. What an odd world FaceBook is. It can be used as a force for good or a force for evil. More often than not, it is a force that vacuums up massive amounts of time with very little to show for it. However, I am observing a few trends in FaceBook that I find highly beneficial. For one thing, it is a very effective way to rally the Saints together in prayer. If you have a prayer request that is heavy on your heart -- all you have to do is post it and it will go viral. In an hour, you WILL have hundreds of Saints offering prayer cover for whatever burden you are carrying. How cool is that? A more humbling side of FaceBook is my old army buddies post pictures of our service in Central America. Yea, not a time that I care to relive. However, I find relief in knowing that I have been honest about my military experience and didn't try to "remake" myself into a super-Christian. My time in Central America was a maturing experience that God has been able to use as a refining process for me. I was looking through some of the pictures they posted and honestly, most of them involved parties that were in no way, pleasing to God. I am able to sit back and reflect and thank God for transforming my life into a tool for His service and pleasure. I find it encouraging to observe the transformation process and then look forward with great anticipation to what God is going to do NEXT in my life. However, with that in mind, I was reading Paul's letter to the Corinthian Church and realized that they were a train wreck. There was little right in their church and God was confronting their sin and confusion. Then I ran across 1 Corinthians 11:1, "and you should imitate me, just as I imitate Christ." Tell me that this verse doesn't make you sit back and reflect on your life. Does your life reflect the life of Jesus Christ? To the point you are comfortable telling others to follow your example? Not often do I look to Heaven and think, "Really? Me? That's the best plan you could come up with?" Of course, I humbly acknowledge that God in his unlimited wisdom, never, ever makes a mistake or a slip in judgment..... but me, in my extremely limited wisdom, frequently fails to grasp what God had in mind when He works His plan. Does my attitude reflect the attitude of Jesus Christ? Philippians 2:5 "You must have the same attitude that Jesus Christ had." Do I want the people who know me best, to watch my life, and imitate my relationship with God and other people? The spiritual take-away from this blog is: "If people imitate my life -- will their lives please God?" Or.... do I need to make some changes????? Offer this prayer: "Holy Spirit, my heart is open to your guidance right now. Please let me know where I need to make changes in my life. Please move my heart and mind to places that makes God smile. I am holding nothing back, please look in every private dark corner of my heart and shine Your light in areas that need transforming. I commit my life, my thoughts, my actions, my attitudes, my desires, my goals -- to You right now. In Jesus name, Amen"

Change

My wife insists that “Change is always good”.

Albert Einstein said, "The greatest power in the universe is man's resistance to change".  I would debate that with him ~ merely because he neglected to consider God in his thought process ~ but overall, I think his idea holds water.   

There are some things I don’t mind changing….take SOCKS for instance.  Change is good.    

The reason I am on this rant is, my sleep pattern has changed AGAIN. 

I was in a pretty good routine.  I would go to bed and write my blog and drift to sleep.

Yes, my blog put me to sleep.  Confession is good for the soul. 

When I started my blog, my intent was not to create a sleep aid but – the good Lord works in mysterious ways. 

However, this week the unthinkable happened.  I actually started falling asleep when my head hit the pillow.  WHAT is that all about? 

So now I have to find a new time to write my blog. 

You would think that I could do it first thing in the morning, when I am fresh and alert.  ‘

But that is when I do my Bible study and practice my guitar. 

Needless to say, I am in a quandary.  (first time I have ever used the word “quandary”) 

So what is our spiritual take-away from this life observation?

“What I have done to get to where I am – is NOT what I need to do to get to where I am going”

And don’t ask me where I got that saying, I have no idea, but I really like it.

What I did to achieve success (or in some cases “failure”) is not what I need to do to move forward in my life. 

“No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.”   Philippians 3:13-14

“Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.”  Romans 12:2

Spiritual Retreat

On the dash of your car, is at least 1 "idiot light". On some cars it is a "check engine light", on others it is a "low oil" warning light. And on all cars, when your gas gets dangerously low, a warning light of some sort comes on and gives you a heads up. The good Lord designed us the same way. We need to daily recharge our spiritual batteries, and if we don't, we begin to run on our reserves. And it doesn't take long before we are in the land of "burn out". If we continue to forge ahead and neglect our spiritual life, eventually we begin to see "warning lights". One of those warning lights is a lack of desire to study God's Word. After being away from it for a while, it just gets easier and easier to ignore. Another warning light is a desensitization to sin. We can walk closer and closer to the darkness that this world offers and you find that it no longer bothers you. A third warning light is a desire to impress people with our appearance of religion than impressing God with our humility, honesty, and love. So, by now you know if your spiritual soul is "dry". So, what do you do about it? I call it, a "Spiritual Retreat". The Bible records Jesus regularly going alone up on a mountain to pray. I will give you some thoughts I have on "Spiritual Retreats": #1. Take a Bible without a lot of study notes in it. You want to hear what God has to say to you.... not what God had to say to someone else. This is about your personal relationship with God. #2. Keep a notebook and pen handy. As you hear God's voice, take notes. Sometimes, that is the difference between simply "reading" God's Word and "studying" God's Word..... jotting down what you learn from His Word. #3. Turn off your cell phone and iPad. Silence distractions. #4. Be alone with God. If you are going to be with God -- then BE with God. #5. No devotional study guides. They may be marvelous but they will draw your attention away from God's voice. "Be still and know that I am God." Psalm 46:10 "Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God." Luke 6:12 "And early in the morning, while it was still dark, He arose and went out and departed to a lonely place, and was praying there." Mark 1:35 "But He Himself would often slip away to the wilderness and pray." Luke 5:16 Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.” Mark 6:31 It would be TRAGIC -- if at the end our my life -- I stood before God and had to say: "God, I was never able to devote just a day to being with You, because there was always something else to do."

Thoughts on Anger

~ ANGER ~
200 years ago Thomas Jefferson wrote, “When angry, count to 10 before you speak.  If very angry, a hundred.” 
100 years ago Mark Twain wrote, “When angry count to four.  When very angry, swear.”
Most of our movies today,  “When angry, blow them away.”
Anger is expressed in our relationships in a lot of different ways. 

In anger in relationships, we have one of two strategies. 

#1.  skunks

#2.  turtles. 

A skunk is the one who, when an argument occurs, you sort of spew.  Everybody in the room knows how you feel.  You stink up the place, and you want everybody to know. 

Then there are turtles.  When the bad times come, your head goes right back in the shell. 

Neither of those ways work. 

God has a better way to deal with the anger we sometimes feel in our lives.

ANGER in itself is NOT a sin. 

It is what you DO with the anger that becomes problematic. ANGER is a God given warning light that tells you when something is wrong

We get angry when:                   unaccepted, unappreciated, unsupported, unprotected, uncertain

6 “C”s of Fair Fighting

(1)  NEVER Compare

(2)  NEVER Condemn
(3)  NEVER Command
(4)  NEVER Challenge
(5)  NEVER Condescend
(6)  NEVER Contradict

Anger moves us in 1 of 3 ways: 

(1)    AGAINST people in anger
(2)    AWAY from people in fear 
(3)    WITH people in love

GVCC Sermon "God Pleasing Anger"

Garden Valley Community Church Pastor Shane Moffitt                         April 22^nd 2012

“1 Corinthians 13 ~ LOVE” series
Love Is Patient

“Love is patient and kind.                                              

 Love is not jealous or boastful                                       

or proud or rude.                                                             

It does not demand its own way.                                         

It is not irritable,                                                                    

and it keeps no record of being wronged.” 

Corinthians 13:4-5 NLT                               

“Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters:

You must all be quick to listen,                  

slow to speak, and slow to get angry.                              

Human anger does NOT produce

the righteousness God desires”       James 1:19-21 

         EVERY conflict results in either a

BREAKDOWN or a BREAKTHROUGH
It is determined by how you handle your ANGER

“But now is the time to get rid of anger, rage, malicious behavior, slander, and dirty language.  Don’t lie to each other, for you have stripped off your old sinful nature and all its wicked deeds.”     Colossians 3:8-9

~ “God Pleasing” ANGER ~

#1. Admit Uncontrolled Anger is SIN

·        “A fool gives full vent to anger,
but a wise man keeps himself under control”                  
                                                   Proverbs 29:11
·        “Like a city whose walls are broken down
is a man who lacks self-control”    Proverbs 25:28  
                               
·        “‘In your anger, do not sin’
Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry,
and do not give the devil a foothold”     Ephesians 4:26-27 

#2.    Guard Your Relationships

·        “Do not make friends with a hot-tempered man,
do not associate with one easily angered
or you may learn his ways and get yourself ensnared”                              
Proverbs 22:24-25  
·        “A gentle response defuses anger,
but a harsh word stirs up anger”  Proverbs 15:1

#3.    Seek God’s Help  

·        “Refrain from anger
and turn away from wrath:
do not fret – it leads only to evil”                                                     
Psalm 37:8  
·        “Don't worry about anything;
instead, pray about everything. 
Tell God what you need,
and thank Him for all He has done. 
If you do this, you will experience God's peace…”   
                                                 Philippians 4:6-7

Pastor Shane

For years, I have signed off on e-mails and letters, “Pastor Shane”. 

Recently someone asked me why I do that.

I suspect they thought I was trying to gain some kind of credibility, like putting “Doctor” or “Reverent” in front of a name. 

However, my motivation is more Biblical. 

I noticed that when the Apostle Paul wrote his letters in the New Testament, he usually began them by clearly stating his position as an “Apostle of Jesus Christ”. 

For me, this accomplishes 2 things:

(a)  It reminds ME that God “called” me to be His representative and that comes with great responsibilities and obligations
(b) It reminds ME that everything I say must be in agreement with God’s Word

A couple years ago, I received an e-mail that was a political joke.  I thought it was in fairly good taste and it made me laugh.  So I passed it along without giving it much thought.   

Well….

I was surprised at the backlash I received from people offended by the political joke.  For the most part, my critics were in agreement that I, as a pastor, should not be offending people with differing political views than my own. 

My immediate response was, honestly, anger. 

This is America and we have a thing called “freedom of speech” here and last time I checked, that applied to pastors also. 

Then the good Lord gently began to feed me Bible verses and let them simmer in my heart for a couple weeks.

“When I am with those who are weak, I share their weakness, for I want to bring the weak to Christ. Yes, I try to find common ground with everyone, doing everything I can to save some.”  1 Corinthians 9:22

So we are Christ's ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, "Come back to God!" 2 Corinthians 5:20

I don't speak on my own authority. The Father who sent me has commanded me what to say and how to say it.” John 12:49

Jesus told them, "My message is not my own; it comes from God who sent me.”

John 7:16

So our spiritual take-away from this is:

May the words of my mouth
and the meditation of my heart
be pleasing to you,
O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.

Psalm 19:14

Recharged Batteries

My amazing church sent me to Missoula this week,
to the Rocky Mountain Shepherd's Conference.

As a rule, I am not much of a "meeting" kinda guy..... ever.
However, the good Lord was clearly nudging me to go so.... I go.

I arrived and crawled into my motel room and took a nap.
For me, that is unheard of.
My mother never could get me to take a nap.
So I have either entered a new "season" of my life
or I "needed" to attend this conference
(perhaps both options are correct).

I got up this morning and attended every session.
Each session simply got better and better.
Finally, tonight at 7 pm, I attended the keynote late session.

The late session began with Pastor Joel Bahnam playing his acoustic guitar and singing.
My heart softened as he sang and the good Lord began his "restoring" ministry in my soul
(Psalm 23).

Then Pastor Rick Weinert opened God's Word and for an hour, travelled from Genesis to ..... well, Ephesians 4 (if he had more time, I am sure we would have visited Revelation).
He is a highly challenging speaker that focuses on introducing people to the Gospel and moving them immediately into a lifelong transforming process called "Discipleship".

Tonight I sit in my room, rested, my soul restored, my mind focused on the tasks ahead, and my spirit in a healthy relationship with my Lord. How cool is that?

Thank you Garden Valley Community Church.

And the icing on the cake is, the Rocky Mountain Bible Mission (www.rmbible.org) is a group of a couple hundred pastors that minister in small country towns (mostly in very small churches).

Once God moved me past my preconceived idea that these were mega church powerhouse types..... I found myself surrounded by men & women that love God and are serving in churches much like ours. I am not alone.


"....you are a chosen people.
You are royal priests, a holy nation,
God’s very own possession.
As a result,
you can show others the goodness of God,
for he called you out of the darkness
into his wonderful light.
Dear friends,
I warn you as “temporary residents and foreigners”
to keep away from worldly desires
that wage war against your very souls.
Be careful to live properly
among your unbelieving neighbors.
Then even if they accuse you of doing wrong,
they will see your honorable behavior,
and they will give honor to God when he judges the world.
1 Peter 2:9-12

A Tasty Morsel

Nothing gives me more joy than discovering a Bible verse that is layered with depth and Truth. Digging into it is like mining for precious gems.

Tonight I am scheduled to attend a conference seminar on.... (frankly, I am not sure). All I know for sure is.... I'm not going. The walls of the motel are so thin, I can actually hear the seminar music bleeding through the walls. So technically, I should get 1/2 credit for attending.

At the foot of my bed is a 1/2 eaten pizza and a pile of books begging to be read. Who am I to refuse them. I wish I could say, "The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak" but truth.... my spirit and my flesh are voting to finish the pizza and lose myself in a pile of books. So....

Back to my story, I was chugging through one of the books on my "dying to read list" and ran across Isaiah 35:8-10:

And a great road will go through that once deserted land.
    It will be named the Highway of Holiness.
Evil-minded people will never travel on it.
    It will be only for those who walk in God’s ways;
    fools will never walk there.
Lions will not lurk along its course,
    nor any other ferocious beasts.
There will be no other dangers.
    Only the redeemed will walk on it.
Those who have been ransomed by the Lord will return.
    They will enter Jerusalem singing,
    crowned with everlasting joy.
Sorrow and mourning will disappear,
    and they will be filled with joy and gladness.

This is like a rich piece of cake that demands small bites. And those small bites demand to be savored. You know, the delicacies that make your eyes roll back in your head and that fleeting thought of, "I could die right now and have no regrets" kind of flavor.

I will refrain from preaching a sermon right now because..... well, I can't take up an offering.... so, where is the motivation?
(that was humor folks, relax)

Think about these verses, roll them around in your brain. They are rich.

Line 1: The "great road" is God's plan of Salvation for mankind.

Line 2: The "highway of holiness" is where God's children will travel to meet with their Heavenly Father.

Line 3: "Evil minded people" refuse to repent of their sin and accept God's free gift of Salvation.

Line 4: "only for those" who have believed in their heart that God raised His Son from the dead and make Him LORD of their lives.

I could keep going like this through this whole passage.
This was written about 700 years BEFORE Jesus was born.

Isaiah knew that God had a plan, from eternity past, that would address man's sin problem. (read Isaiah 53)

Isaiah knew that God's plan would be life changing and that not everyone would trust Jesus Christ as Savior.

Your spiritual take-away is:
"Do you know Jesus Christ as your Savior?"

“Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”
They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus
and you will be saved,
along with everyone in your household.”
And they shared the word of the Lord
with him and with all who lived in his household.
Acts 16:30-32

“You can enter God’s Kingdom
only through the narrow gate.
The highway to hell is broad,
and its gate is wide
for the many who choose that way.
But the gateway to life is very narrow
and the road is difficult,
and only a few ever find it."
Matthew 7:13-14