August’s 2nd Saturday Sustenance

Breakfast

Menu: Bacon, Biscuits with butter, jam and syrup, eggs.


Study: What Shall We Say?

Our Theme has been take someone with us; anyone, everyone

  • Reality is the time is near? How near? don’t know.

  • Although, it’s not like there’s not enough room, everyone will not go.

  • People will recognize signs. Signs of truth and signs of false prophets.

They will decide for themselves and the unsure will ask questions, and they will ask us.

Prefacehow do we know what to say?

  • how do we answer?

  • the example: when someone says I am the Messiah doing signs and wonders …

The Bible says …
there will be false prophets  Matthew 24:4-5
And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.   For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. 2 Corinthians 11:13-15; Acts 20:28-31

WWon’tJD/WWillJD
Won’t – come in my name with lies and deceptions;
Mark 13:21-23
And then if any man shall say to you, Lo, here is Christ; or, lo, he is there; believe him not:
   For false Christs and false prophets shall rise, and shall shew signs and wonders, to seduce, if it were possible, even the elect.
Will – He’s coming to take His People home. Matthew 24:31-36

http://www.heartlight.org/wjd/luke/0531-wjd.html

What we don’t …

  • go too deep

  • don’t sweat the deep stuff;

  • know is who we are dealing with

Parable of the Soils (Luke 8:4-8)

(v. 11). The hardened soil—those alone the path—are those whose hearts have never been open to the gospel, who never responded positively to the Lord Jesus Christ. The scribes and Pharisees seem generally to fall into this category. The gospel makes no impression on them whatsoever. Satan immediate snatches the gospel from their hearts, so that there is no response, no new birth, no fruit.

 

The second soil—the shallow soil—represents those who positively (joyfully) respond to our Lord’s teaching, but only due to an inadequate grasp of its implications. These folks respond positively to the word because they think that it is a kind of “prosperity gospel,” a gospel which promises only good times, blessing, happiness, and bliss. The quickness of the response is an indication of their lack of depth, or their lack of perception as to what the gospel really means. And, let me quickly add, this is not due to our Lord’s misrepresentation of the gospel. It is the result of selective hearing, of hearing only the good and pleasant things, rather than hearing of the costs involved in discipleship, of which our Lord often spoke. A simple reading of the Sermon on the Mount will show how our Lord carefully represented the blessings and the costs of following Him.

 

The third soil, the thorny soil, represents those who have a more complete grasp of the cost of discipleship, but who have never rid themselves of the “cares of this world.” Their concerns for money and for pleasure outgrow their seeking first the kingdom of God, and thus their priorities are reversed. It is not that the people represented by this thorny soil do not understand the costs of discipleship, but that they are not willing to pay the price. It is not lack of knowledge which causes them to err, but lack of commitment, lack of dedication.

 

The fourth soil, the good soil represents all those whose hearts are prepared for the gospel, and whose lives are uncluttered with competitive interests and values. In this fourth soil the word not only bring forth life, but the plant comes to maturity and it bears fruit.

 

In the gospel accounts we find that these four types of soil describe nearly all of those who heard the gospel of the kingdom. We find those who immediately rejected it; those who too quickly accepted it, those who fizzled out over a longer period, and those who endured and who bore fruit. These four types of soil also provide us with a grid by means of which we can categorize church-goers today. How few are those who can be called “good soil saints.”

The kind of Christian which pleases the heart of God is not one which makes a dramatic start and then dies out, nor one whose commitment to Christ is slowly choked out by worldly desires. The kind of Christian which pleases God is that one which thoughtfully hears the gospel, understands its implications, and then consistently grows and matures, and which bears fruit as a result.

https://bible.org/seriespage/parable-soils-luke-8:4-21

what we do

  • cite the source Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. 1 Thessalonians 5:21

  • keep it simple; keep it true

  • don’t be afraid of what you don’t know – He knows everything.

Luke/12
11″When they bring you before the synagogues and the rulers and the authorities,
do not worry about how or what you are to speak in your defense, or what you are to say;
12for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.”
Matthew 10:19-20
But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given what to say,
for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.
Exodus 4:12 Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say.
Luke 21:15
For I will give you words and wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict.

The bottom line is it is not in our control no matter how much we care .
Luke 21:16 – And ye shall be betrayed both by parents, and brethren, and kinsfolks, and friends; and [some] of you shall they cause to be put to death.

 

2 Timothy 3:1-7
This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts, Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.

 

Not everyone is going …
The ruler of this world (the devil) has blinded the minds of people who don’t believe. They cannot see the light (truth) of the Good News—the Good News about the glory of Christ. Christ is the One who is exactly like God. —2 Corinthians 4:4 (ERV)

but make a way and let God do what He do. Live a legacy; write a letter.

Shake the Dust from Your Feet – Luke 9:3-5
He said to the apostles, “When you travel, don’t take a walking stick. Also, don’t carry a bag, food, or money. Take for your trip only the clothes you are wearing. When you go into a house, stay there until it is time to leave. If the people in the town will not welcome you, go outside the town and shake their dust off of your feet. This will be a warning to them.” (ERV)

http://www.heartlight.org/wjd/luke/0531-wjd.html

“Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.  For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;  And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.  But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry.”

 

Key Thought:
Some folks are determined to reject the message of Jesus. There are many reasons why this is true, but they all boil down to one truth—Satan has poisoned their hearts to the good news of God’s Kingdom in Jesus Christ. Rather than keep beating our heads against a wall that the evil one has erected in the heart of someone, God calls us to move on in our efforts to reach others. If we are in the same family or office or neighborhood and have regular proximity to them and can’t move on, then we are called to live our faith before them and pray that our actions will demonstrate the faith we profess and win them before the day of Christ.

http://www.heartlight.org/wjd/luke/0531-wjd.html

Today’s PrayerFather, please give me wisdom to know the best way to share the message of Jesus with all those that I know who are not yet Christians. Father, I recognize that only you can break down the barriers Satan erects in the hearts of those who reject your message. Help me know when it is best to move on and leave that work to you. In the lives of those near and dear to me, please use my daily faithfulness as one of the influences used to win their hearts for Jesus, in whose name I pray. Amen.2 Timothy 4:2-5

http://www.heartlight.org/wjd/luke/0531-wjd.html