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The Gospel of Liberation!

dbyrd — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 17:48:05 +0000

The Gospel of Liberation

Galatians 5:1 tells us “It is for freedom that Christ has made us free. Stand firm then, and, do not let yourself be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.” John 8:32 says, “you shall know the truth and the truth will set you free.” Truly the message of the gospel is a message of freedom. Freedom from sin, condemnation, guilt, shame, spiritual oppression, habits, and anything else that doesn’t exalt Christ in our life, or bring edification to the body of Christ. This is the message we preach, but sometimes I wonder if this is the message we live. It has been said that to know about a truth is not the same as living a truth. I believe the words of Francise Frangipane are true that we only truly believe that parts of the Bible that we are putting into practice, and everything else is religious rhetoric. The question today is, “has the truth of the gospel really set you free?”

Has the message we preach to others made such an impact on our own lives so as to set us free to live the life Christ has called us to? The power of the message we preach lies within the influence that message has on our own lives. If the message hasn’t set us free to live the liberated life for Christ how can we expect it to work for others to whom we share? I think it will not. If it will not work for us it will not work for others. If there is to be power in our witness then there must be a trying of the message in our own life. The message of liberation must needs have done it’s work in our own life if it is to have influence to change another.

Far too often we want people to do as we say, not as we do, but the truth of Scripture lays out the example of living such a life as to be imitated by others who see you. In 1 Cor. 11:1 the apostle Paul says, “Follow my example as I follow the example of Christ.” Think about that. Can you tell others around you to follow your example. Can you say, go to church like I go to church, or have a prayer life the way I have a prayer life? How about your giving, loving, serving, and caring? Can you tell others to do these things the way you do them, knowing that you have laid a good example of Christ likeness in these areas? How about witnessing to the lost, or leading your family in discipleship? I believe that if we are going to have influence in our community then the message must first influence us. If we are going to preach a liberating message that message must first liberate us.

As I write this I find myself under conviction and having to repent, because there are so many areas that I myself don’t live to such a standard as to be able to say, “do this as I have done.” So understand in the writing of this I don’t condemn you, but just as the spirit has challenged me to step it up, I challenge you. Lets evaluate our walk and see where we need to make adjustments, and then take those things to Christ and ask for his Spirit to lead us as we strive to live in such a way as to set the example of Christ likeness for all those with whom we have influence.

The Bounty of The Destitute!

dbyrd — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 14:55:36 +0000

Good morning Saints of God,

I was reading Oswald Chambers today and was blessed by what he had to say. I think you will like it. It comes from “My Utmost For His Highest” November 28th, page 247.

Be blessed,

Bro. David

“Being justified by his grace…” Romans 3:24

The Gospel of the grace of God awakens an intense longing in human souls and an equally intense resentment, because the revelation which it brings is not palatable. There is a certain pride in man that will give and give, but to come and accept is another thing. I will give my life to martyrdom, I will give myself in consecration, I will do anything, but do not humiliate me to the level of the most hell deserving sinner and tell me that all I have to do is to accept the gift of salvation through Jesus Christ.

We have to realize that we cannot earn or win anything from God; we must either receive it as a gift or do without it. The greatest blessing spiritually is the knowledge that we are destitute; until we get there our Lord is powerless. He can do nothing for us if we think we are sufficient of ourselves, we have to enter into His Kingdom through the doors of destitution. As long as we are rich, possessed of anything in the way of pride or independence, God cannot do anything for us. It is only when we get hungry spiritually that we receive the Holy Spirit.

My prayer: God, give us the revelation that we cannot do this on our own. We cannot honor you, serve you, or bring you glory in and of ourselves. We need the power of your Spirit to fill us so that our lives will reflect your glory. Lord, we need you everyday, for everything, at all times. May you empty us of ourselves, our pride, our self sufficiency, and our self exaltation, so that we can be filled with your sweet Holy Spirit.

Welcome to First Baptist, St. Joseph

dbyrd — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 16:25:57 +0000

Come worship with us!

Through His Cross We Find Hope!

dbyrd — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 15:09:10 +0000

1 Cor. 1:18 “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”

Why The Shaking?

dbyrd — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 17:37:36 +0000

I have been praying for revival. Praying for God to move in such a great and mighty way that it is undeniable that God’s kingdom has been manifest. For an outpouring of his spirit that brings brokenness, renewal to our spirit, and a harvest of souls like we have never seen. As I pray I keep hearing in my spirit the word “Shaking”! As I go to Scripture I open to Hebrews 12:18-29 which talks about Moses quaking in fear, and the Lord shaking all that can be shaken in heaven and on earth.

I believe that we as a church are in a time of shaking. Now as we think about shaking the image that comes to my mind is that of an earthquake. You all know that an earthquake is the release of tremendous power caused by the tectonic plates of the earths surface as they move, and they are always moving even though it is slow and mostly undetected. (Sorry my science teacher is coming out. Please keep reading, I am going somewhere with this.) As these plates move against each other pressure builds until the force is so great that the plates reach a breaking point at which time the pressure that has been built up is released and the surface of the earth trembles. Now we know that sometimes this moving is very insignificant and barely felt, but at other times this moving is great and causes great destruction and transformation of the landscape that is affected by the moving. This moving has caused the destruction of entire cities, the production of great lakes as the chasm created by the quake is filled with water, and even mountains as the earth is pushed upward. It was an earthquake that caused the Mississippi River to flow backwards for hours in 1812. The power of an earthquake is almost more than we can even comprehend.

Now to my title, “Why the shaking?” There are several reasons why the Lord sends a shaking to his people. Let me remind you that everything God does is for our good and his glory, so don’t be deceived into thinking that shaking is bad or is a punishment from God. No the shaking is just a tool God uses to move us into his glory.

I think the Lord uses the shaking in our life to first of all show us our weaknesses. When everything in our life is stable, secure, prosperous, and generally going good we tend to drift away from our spiritual disciplines, and devotion to the Kingdom, and slowly settle into a rut of existing and trusting in our own abilities to get us through. Because there is nothing major going wrong we think everything is right, so our prayer life, evangelism efforts, and passion for holiness take a back seat and slowly start fading away. It is in the shaking that we are reminded of our weaknesses and our utter helplessness to make a difference in our world without the power of Christ at work is us. Now I’ve never been in an actual earthquake, but I can imagine the helplessness one feels as the ground beneath his feet begins to move uncontrollably, and the fear of uncertainty that grips his heart not knowing when it will stop and how much damage will be done. It’s in the atmosphere of uncertainty and the revelation of our helplessness that God shows us our true need for his power in our life. Jesus said, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” The shaking of God brings us to remember that we can’t control anything, and that without Christ we are helpless and hopeless in this world. In other words, the shaking reveals to us our spiritual poverty.

Next I think the Lord uses the shaking to draw us to himself. When we are able to see our poverty and realize that our material prosperity doesn’t necessarily equate to spiritual prosperity, we are faced with the fact that if we are to be a lighthouse for Christ then we have to get plugged into the source. The problem with always walking in prosperity and never having a challenge is that we, as I mentioned before, start trusting in ourselves, and we also tend to grow complacent and comfortable even though the demonstration of Holy Ghost power and the fruitfulness of Godly righteousness isn’t evident in our life. I believe that God uses times of shaking in our life to draw us out of complacency, and draw us to his heart so that we can no longer live in our comfortable disillusionment that all is ok. It has been said that the greatest enemy of the church is apathy. I would agree. How can we grow comfortable when all around us a world is in desperate need of the power of the gospel to change their lives. But the problem is that when the trouble of the world is so far away it doesn’t move us to action. An earthquake in California doesn’t send me running for cover, but let the ground beneath my feet begin to move and it will be a different story.

Lastly I think the Lord uses the shaking in our life to free us from “every weight and sin that so easily besets us”. Heb. 12:1 Now we all know what sin is, but what is the “weight” the writer of Hebrews is talking about? I think that the weights are the things in our life that is not necessarily sin, but anything that hinders us from walking in and working out the kingdom of God in our life. Those things that hinder our spiritual disciplines, our witnessing, our praying, and our desire to fulfill Gods purposes for our life. Heavy debt, selfish pleasures, the desire to have more when less will do, the mindset of mediocrity which settles for just enough God to get by, the desire to please men more than God, and the longing for the trappings of this world over the fruit and demonstration of the Holy Spirit in our life are all weights that can and will beset us. And don’t think for a minute that you can handle these things and not become a victim of a besetting weight or sin. It’s in our pride and self sufficiency that we fall. That’s why the shaking is designed to bring us to repentance, not just confession. To repent means to turn away from something and start going in another direction. Confession just admits to something, but doesn’t change direction. In the shaking God is calling for repentance. For a shaking off of everything that hinders us from walking in the fulness of God. I think this is what God is saying in Heb. 12:27 “And this word, Yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain.” (Italics mine) Now the question is, “How hard will God have to shake to get these weights and sins from us?” The answer to that is one that only you can answer. The truth is if we want business as usual, then we need to keep doing business as usual! But if we want revival, an outpouring of God’s Spirit, and a life changing experience with God for our church and community then we have to allow God to do the work in us that he desires to do. Uncomfortable or painful as it may be, we must present ourselves as living sacrifices so that Christ can work in us and through us a revival that will change our nation. It’s time for another great move of God in FBC St. Joe! God is shaking us, will we awaken to his call and be the catalyst for bringing revival to this land? I say, YES WE WILL!!

Are you a prophet?

dbyrd — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 14:49:50 +0000

Blessings in abundance to all,

As I meditate on the significance of the Christmas season I am amazed at what this time of celebration can mean for those who are believers. I spoke Sunday about the message of fear not that the angels brought to the shepherds and how they became the first evangelist of the message of Christ when they went into the city and spread abroad the good news of Christ’ birth. This is important to us in our everyday lives, because like the shepherds most of the church is not serving in a “ministry” position, but rather in a “secular” position. (I put those terms in quotations because as believers there is no such thing as a ministry or secular position. We are ministers and witnesses for Christ wherever we are, and whatever we do, but for the sake of clarifying that we all don’t work in a church I used those terms.) The shepherds were not “ministers” as we would think of the priest or pharisee, or other religious service, but this day they became prophets who were telling the truth to all who would listen, and probably some who wouldn’t. Not the most likely candidates to fill this position from our point of view, but very likely and capable from God’s. I was reading in Amos 3 today and found verses 7&8 which speak to this kind of experience. “Whatever the Lord plans to do, he tells his prophets. Everyone is terrified when a lion roars – and ordinary people become prophets when the Lord God speaks.” CEV King Saul in the Old Testament experienced this when he joined in with the prophets and started prophesying. Like Saul, the shepherds had a radical experience with God that they couldn’t keep to themselves. It was an experience that moved them from the routine of their mundane life to becoming evangelist telling the good news of a savior that was born.

Now the question! Have you so experienced Jesus? Has he so radically moved in your life to drive you to share your faith and good news with those around you? I must confess that life has a way of getting us into the rut of the routine where we just exist as we move through the motions of our everyday life. But the truth is “when God speaks ordinary people become prophets!” It was the prophet Amos who also gave a prophecy that there would come a famine in the land. Not a famine of food or of water, but of hearing the word of the Lord. Amos 8:11 We know that this famine did indeed happen as there were about 300-400 years from the time of the last prophets (called the inter-testament period) until John the Baptist came on the scene. I don’t know if that famine was due to God not speaking or the people not listening, but I do know that today God is speaking to all who have ears to hear. As believers we have the Holy Spirit living inside our hearts, so we have access through the blood of Jesus to the Father. This tells me that if we are having a famine of hearing the word today it’s because we aren’t listening. Often times the silence in our life concerning our Lord and our faith is due to not hearing the Lord as he speaks. My prayer is that we would cultivate a relationship with the Father so that we will hear when he speaks. I think we cultivate this kind of relationship by practicing the four spiritual disciplines of a believer: praying, reading our Bible, going to church, and witnessing. My prayer today is that God will speak as clearly to you as he did the shepherds on the night of Jesus’ birth, and that we will be so moved by what we hear that we couldn’t help but share.

Merry Christmas,

Bro. David

Jesus! What a Name!

dbyrd — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 15:16:32 +0000

What a Name! The Bible says that it is a name in whom the Gentiles will trust, and of whom the Comforter (The Holy Spirit) would testify.Matt. 12:21, John 15:26 We also know that there is “no other name under heaven whereby mankind can be saved.” Acts 4:12 Rom. 10:13 tells us that “whosever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” And let us not forget Phil. 2:9-11 ”Wherefore God also has highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee shall bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

Dear saints of God, as you go this week let this name be with you to bring you comfort, hope, courage, and strength. The name of Jesus has a way of bringing cheer to our soul like nothing else will. It’s better than a cold glass of water on a hot dry day. It calms a troubled soul, and energizes the weary. There is nothing else like it. Let me encourage you this week to think upon, speak, sing, and trust in “The Name”, JESUS!! It will do you good and help you too.

Be blessed,

Bro. David

Jesus Name Above All Names

Jesus, name above all names

Beautiful Savior, glorious Lord

Emmanuel , God is with us

Blessed Redeemer, Living Word

Sushi – Jonah 1:1-2:10

webmaster — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 22:53:15 +0000

1:1 Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, 2 “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it, for their evil has come up before me.” 3 But Jonah rose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. He went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish. So he paid the fare and went on board, to go with them to Tarshish, away from the presence of the Lord.

4 But the Lord hurled a great wind upon the sea, and there was a mighty tempest on the sea, so that the ship threatened to break up. 5 Then the mariners were afraid, and each cried out to his god. And they hurled the cargo that was in the ship into the sea to lighten it for them. But Jonah had gone down into the inner part of the ship and had lain down and was fast asleep. 6 So the captain came and said to him, “What do you mean, you sleeper? Arise, call out to your god! Perhaps the god will give a thought to us, that we may not perish.”

7 And they said to one another, “Come, let us cast lots, that we may know on whose account this evil has come upon us.” So they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah. 8 Then they said to him, “Tell us on whose account this evil has come upon us. What is your occupation? And where do you come from? What is your country? And of what people are you?” 9 And he said to them, “I am a Hebrew, and I fear the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.” 10 Then the men were exceedingly afraid and said to him, “What is this that you have done!” For the men knew that he was fleeing from the presence of the Lord, because he had told them.

11 Then they said to him, “What shall we do to you, that the sea may quiet down for us?” For the sea grew more and more tempestuous. 12 He said to them, “Pick me up and hurl me into the sea; then the sea will quiet down for you, for I know it is because of me that this great tempest has come upon you.” 13 Nevertheless, the men rowed hard to get back to dry land, but they could not, for the sea grew more and more tempestuous against them. 14 Therefore they called out to the Lord, “O Lord, let us not perish for this man’s life, and lay not on us innocent blood, for you, O Lord, have done as it pleased you.” 15 So they picked up Jonah and hurled him into the sea, and the sea ceased from its raging. 16 Then the men feared the Lord exceedingly, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows.

17 And the Lord appointed a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.

2:1 Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the belly of the fish, 2 saying,

“I called out to the Lord, out of my distress,
and he answered me;
out of the belly of Sheol I cried,
and you heard my voice.
3 For you cast me into the deep,
into the heart of the seas,
and the flood surrounded me;
all your waves and your billows
passed over me.
4 Then I said, ‘I am driven away
from your sight;
yet I shall again look
upon your holy temple.’
5 The waters closed in over me to take my life;
the deep surrounded me;
weeds were wrapped about my head
6 at the roots of the mountains.
I went down to the land
whose bars closed upon me forever;
yet you brought up my life from the pit,
O Lord my God.
7 When my life was fainting away,
I remembered the Lord,
and my prayer came to you,
into your holy temple.
8 Those who pay regard to vain idols
forsake their hope of steadfast love.
9 But I with the voice of thanksgiving
will sacrifice to you;
what I have vowed I will pay.
Salvation belongs to the Lord!”

10 And the Lord spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah out upon the dry land.

Check out this sermon here.

Abyss – Psalms 130:1-8

webmaster — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 18:47:47 +0000

1 Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord!
2 O Lord, hear my voice!
Let your ears be attentive
to the voice of my pleas for mercy!

3 If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities,
O Lord, who could stand?
4 But with you there is forgiveness,
that you may be feared.

5 I wait for the Lord, my soul waits,
and in his word I hope;
6 my soul waits for the Lord
more than watchmen for the morning,
more than watchmen for the morning.

7 O Israel, hope in the Lord!
For with the Lord there is steadfast love,
and with him is plentiful redemption.
8 And he will redeem Israel
from all his iniquities.

Check out Part 1 here.

Check out Part 2 here.

Deficit – Luke 4:16-30

webmaster — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 21:10:19 +0000

¹⁶ So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read. ¹⁷ And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written:
¹⁸ “ The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me,
Because He has anointed Me
To preach the gospel to the poor;
He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to the captives
And recovery of sight to the blind,
To set at liberty those who are oppressed;
¹⁹ To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD.”

²⁰ Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him. ²¹ And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” ²² So all bore witness to Him, and marveled at the gracious words which proceeded out of His mouth. And they said, “Is this not Joseph’s son?”
²³He said to them, “You will surely say this proverb to Me, ‘Physician, heal yourself! Whatever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in Your country.’” ²⁴ Then He said, “Assuredly, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own country. ²⁵ But I tell you truly, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, and there was a great famine throughout all the land; ²⁶but to none of them was Elijah sent except to Zarephath,in the region of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. ²⁷And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet, and none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian.”
²⁸ So all those in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath, ²⁹ and rose up and thrust Him out of the city; and they led Him to the brow of the hill on which their city was built, that they might throw Him down over the cliff. ³⁰ Then passing through the midst of them, He went His way.

The word “deficit” has become a commonplace term that most anyone in any arena of life has come to understand due to the global financial crisis on our planet today! This economic disaster or “deficit” -( lack of; less than the total amount it should be)did not happen overnight, it was brought on by a selfish attitude overall and a chain of unwise decisions over many years. The same has happened in the Church world today, just as it did in the times of Christ. Many have decided not to believe and trust fully in God, and the life of Faith in Him that He has called all His people to live out each and everyday of their lives. As a result, due to their unbelief,some have slipped into short seasons of doubt(Faith Recession), or long term seasons of doubt (Faith Depression).Which puts us in a huge Faith Deficit!

The same account of the text in Luke chapter four is also found in (Mark 6:1-6)-it says, “1Then He went out from there and came to His own country,2And when the Sabbath had come, He began to teach in the synagogue. And many hearing Him were astonished, saying, ”Where did this Man get these things?” And what wisdom is this which is given to Him, that such mighty works are performed by His hands! 3Is this not the carpenter, the son of Mary, and brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon?” “And are not His sisters here with us?” So they were offended at Him! 4But Jesus said to them, ” A prophet is not without honor except in his own country, among his own relatives, and in his own house.” 5Now He could do no mighty works there, except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them. 6And He marveled because of their UNBELIEF. Then He went about the villages in a circuit, teaching.

One of the biggest traps for a Christian today is to doubt the ability that the Lord has to do many miraculous things in our life. When this is the choice that we make in that particular moment we are operating “in the red” which is a poor spiritua-economic state to be in! In essence we have begin to walk by what we can see and have forgotten that a life of faith is to be lived by trusting and believing 100% in the God that we have pledged our heart and life to! We have been encouraged in God’s Word to “walk or live by faith and not by sight!-(2 Corinthians 5:7)

However through many situations, issues, and circumstances that life throws our way we decide to not believe in the ONE-Jesus Christ, the Son of God that has all the answers and solutions to all of our personal problems as well as all the problems of the world today. Let’s all begin to BELIEVE more in the ONE who has given eternal life to all that have called on His Name and has cried out for forgiveness of sin, to be set free from death, hell, and the grave!

Get out of your Spiritual Faith “Deficit”- Believe in the Position, the Purpose, and the Power of Jesus Christ!

To listen to this sermon, click HERE.