This morning in our prayer time at the church, we were talking about the disappointment with the vote yesterday. Both issues passed concerning abortion and marijuana. The good news is that we live in a county that is pro-life. The bad news is that we live in a state that is not. I personally think about all the false advertising that was prevalent and realized again how some good people can be deceived. But our God is still active in the chaos. In the midst of a State that allows abortions to take place, I still carry the conviction of life and have a new urgency to promote that God is in control.
I read Psalm 36 which is concerning human wickedness and God’s love. David points to two reasons why the wicked person turns to ungodliness. There is no thought of God, and they have a flattering opinion of themselves. In essence, they have no view of God and are always thinking of themselves. David reminds us that in the midst of wickedness, we meditate on God because nothing in the spirit realm has changed. God is still faithful to us in the midst of wrongdoing. God’s love is priceless. You cannot put a number on it. When we look to God as our source then we will experience the abundance of his provision and find satisfaction. No matter the outcome, God is still in control. This only reminds us that we are living in a mission field. People are hopelessly lost, and we have words of life to give them. We must work together to see the name of Jesus raised, sought after, and proclaimed to this city and beyond. Be encouraged today by God’s Word. Psalm 36:5-12 5 Your steadfast love, O Lord, extends to the heavens, your faithfulness to the clouds. 6 Your righteousness is like the mountains of God; your judgments are like the great deep; man and beast you save, O Lord. 7 How precious is your steadfast love, O God! The children of mankind take refuge in the shadow of your wings. 8 They feast on the abundance of your house, and you give them drink from the river of your delights. 9 For with you is the fountain of life; in your light do we see light. 10 Oh, continue your steadfast love to those who know you, and your righteousness to the upright of heart! 11 Let not the foot of arrogance come upon me, nor the hand of the wicked drive me away. 12 There the evildoers lie fallen; they are thrust down, unable to rise. Just remember, this vote may have made abortion legal up to 40 months but being legal does not make it right. God is for life from conception and this only shows us what obstacles are before us. I pray for these obstacles to become stepping stones of God’s grace. In the midst of evil, God still moves. Keep your eyes and your faith on God and His provision. May God give you a peace that will help you to walk in confidence of His provision in this day the Lord has made. Joy in Jesus! Pastor Mike Hope to see everyone at the Harvest Dinner on Sunday night. We have lots to celebrate!
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First of all, I want to thank our church for appreciating our staff on Sunday. We are so blessed to serve alongside such a wonderful congregation. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.
On Sunday after my message, Sarah Shroll talked to me about a letter she received from her birth mother. Sarah was adopted to a beautiful home where a mother and father loved her and provided for her when she was just a baby. As a result, she is able to see the hand of God in her life from birth to now. Her birth mother was at an abortion clinic ready to get an abortion when she felt the Lord telling her not to proceed but to have this child. She wasn’t able to care for her new infant and chose to let her go in hopes that someone else could raise her. Sarah is praising the Lord that her mother had the courage to make a difficult choice. Because of that, Sarah has experienced the love of Jesus each and every day. She married Kyle Shroll and they have a beautiful family with 3 wonderful girls. Isn’t God good? All because of a choice for life. 26 Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. 28 And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” Genesis 1:26-28 7 then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature. Genesis 2:7 We are all made in the image of God and bear that image to glorify the Lord in heaven. God’s hand is involved in giving and breathing life into His creation. I praise the Lord because we are all wonderfully made from conception. Let me encourage you to vote “No” on Issue 1 this Tuesday, November 7. This vote is so important in sending out a message to the rest of our Nation about lining up with God’s ways. Pray as if this ballot depends on your prayers alone. We can’t forget about Issue 2 that will be voted on as well. It is a ballot initiative that would legalize and commercialize recreational marijuana in Ohio. Issue 2 has been shrouded in lies and misinformation. Proponents of Issue 2 are attempting to fool voters into missing the devastating impacts on children, families, and businesses in the other states that have already legalized and commercialized marijuana. As a slew of deceitful ads on marijuana are hitting the airwaves, it’s important that we clear the smoke so that Ohioans don’t vote based on myths and political propaganda but understand the facts on why we must vote No on Issue 2. It is time for the church to stand up and be heard by a lost world. He has chosen to speak through each one of us. May God intervene in this vote in a powerful way. I am looking forward to coming together on Sunday and worshipping the God who goes before us in all things. Joy in Jesus! Pastor Mike Whenever you read in the Scripture the concept of walking, it’s talking about the conduct of our lives. There are two ways that anyone can be walking. They can choose to walk in the Spirit or walk in the flesh. There is a difference. The outcome is also different.
Galatians 5:16-18 16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. To walk by the Spirit is to walk the direction God wants you to walk in. It is fully relying on God to show you and give you the strength to be able to maintain that direction. We are to rest in the Lord but that doesn’t mean there is no action on your part to walk by the Spirit. The Spirit will not do all the work. We are to commit to putting one step in front of the other and trust the Spirit will lead. Have you ever walked on a moving sidewalk in an airport before? Some choose to stand there, but if you really want to move, you can walk while relying on the conveyer belt to take you to your destination quicker. To walk by the Spirit is to be able to recognize when it is the Spirit leading and not the flesh. That is why we read the Word of God, pray, come to worship or discipleship opportunities. It puts us in tune with the Spirit of God in order to know the direction we are to go. The enemy of our soul will try to get you to walk according to the flesh which is contrary to the Spirit. Many times, the flesh will try to pull us away from the things of God. Jesus experienced this in the garden of Gethsemane. Jesus was on His way to the cross and He knew what the will of the Father was. The Scripture said His soul was sorrowful. He even prayed, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me, nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will” (Matthew 26:39). Jesus had asked the disciples to pray but they were overcome by the flesh and fell asleep. Jesus told them, “Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit is indeed willing, but the flesh is weak” (Matthew 26:41). The choice you make will lead to different outcomes. Walking according to the Spirit will lead to a victorious life. You will have the fruit of the spirit exemplified in your life. I have heard it said that in verse 18 when it says, “But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law,” is the difference between being powered by batteries that need recharged from time to time versus being plugged into an electrical outlet. Paul isn’t talking about the law of Moses, he is talking about the “law principle.” That would be trying to work up your own strength to have victory. That is the form of flesh in a good way. Your strength should come from the Lord and His Word. Paul even tells us what the works of the flesh are in verses 19-21. Go and look them up, I don’t want to make it that easy on you. The examples are even longer than he mentions because he says at the end – “and anything similar.” Let me encourage you to exercise walking by the Spirit by coming to our last Spiritual Renewal service tonight at 6:30pm. Actually, come and bring your family and eat with us at 5:30pm. There is something for everyone at 6:30pm. Joy in Jesus! Pastor Mike Beginning on Sunday, October 22, we will begin our Spiritual Renewal (Revival) Services. It is going to be a wonderful time of growth together as a church. Let me lay out how we plan to approach this time together.
11 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds[a] and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, 14 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. 15 Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, - Ephesians 4:11-15 I want to zero in on verse 13 where Paul says, “Until we all attain to the unity of the faith and the knowledge of the Son of God.” We are setting up a time for exponential spiritual growth and understanding as individuals and as a body. It will be good to come together and get into the Word of God. There will also be aspects of fellowship and breaking of bread together. It reminds me of what Acts 2:42 says the church was devoted to. Our children will be focusing on the Armor of God as they meet while we have our services in the Worship Center. They will be excited to learn together how the Lord gives them tools in the faith to grow and be protected every day. Maturity brings a sure footedness in the faith. Our walk is more secure and confident in the only true source of life – Jesus Christ. Have I told you that I am excited to be together as a church for this 4-day renewal? Let me lay out the schedule.
Donations for the meals will go toward our Hands of Hope fund where we gave to the recent Apostles Build for Habitat for Humanity. If you are planning to come for the meal, please text the word – Dinner – to 419.422.8660 or click here to let us know you are coming. This will give us a good idea of how many meals to plan for. If you are available at the last minute, please join us anyway. As you can see, we are pulling all stops out for you and your family to come to these services. There will be times of fellowship and eating around the table, learning, and being encouraged from God’s Word, and prayer. Have I told you it’s going to be a great week? Be intentional and plan now to come just like you planned to watch your favorite football team this weekend. Joy in Jesus! Pastor Mike I have always heard that when you get older, time goes faster. I am a believer in this statement. I can’t believe we are nearing the middle of October. It seems like the weather has changed overnight and the leaves in my yard continue to fall at a breakneck speed. Along with Fall comes harvest season. Farmers are preparing to bring in the corn. It is important that the crops are ready and dry for storage purposes. I don’t want to go any further because I would have to pretend I know about the process, and I am not ready to receive phone calls from farmers correcting me in my analogy.
Jesus had something to say about the harvest. 35 And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction. 36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; 38 therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” Matthew 9:35-38 It is especially exciting around the church today because the trusses are going up on our new addition. I pray that means we will be seeing some good progress in the coming days. I can’t help but get excited for the possibilities this will open for us. At our church board meeting last night, we had some of our staff join us as we were dreaming about some future possibilities and opportunities. Can I remind you at how blessed we are as a church to have a unified, holy spirit-filled leadership? It is a joy to work with all the people of our church. Our future looks bright, and I get excited dreaming with our leadership. Coming in this next year we are exploring how we can utilize our building and space in a creative way with the many new families attending this past year. I need for you each to pray for how the Lord will stir your heart in helping us to take in a ripe, hungering harvest. We are going to be looking for several teachers for children, youth, and adults. For some, that means fanning the flame of passion the Lord has been stirring up inside of you. For others that may mean attending the Discover Findlay First class offered during Boost on Wednesday nights. Whatever the case, we want to build a team of ministers that will handle the number of people attending our church. We are in exciting days! It was just a few days ago that about 30 people gathered together on Zoom with Pastor Nabil from Odessa Church in Ukraine and pray for their safety and ministry. It was a wonderful time of realizing that God is the Lord of the church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. The same is true here in Findlay. A battle may be raging around us but our God is on the throne, and we are overcomers through the blood of the Lamb (inward faith) and by the word of our testimony (outward faith). Would you begin to pray for the Lord to speak to missional people in our church to step into these areas of need by faith? We are called to sew because you never know. It maybe you who God is preparing. Joy in Jesus! Pastor Mike 16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
Do you make prayer a priority? If so, how do you do that? Prayer is more than a set time, although that is a big part of it. It is a frame of mind. It is a trust issue. Does your walk reflect the amount of trust you have in a big God? Afterall, He has promised to take care of all your needs. I believe that is why the Apostle Paul can be forthright with his three admonishments. They aren’t suggestions. They are imperative. Your spiritual energy depends on it. Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, and give thanks in all circumstances. That pretty much covers every moment of every day. All things are possible when you put God first in all circumstances. Let me share with you a few opportunities to celebrate moving forward and trusting the Lord for His timing. City Prayer On Saturday at 10:00am, we will gather downtown at the plaza and pray as a community. Would you join us? This is going to be a great time of joining with other churches as we call upon the Lord together. I am praying for 150 from our church alone. Discover Findlay First Starting tonight at 6:45pm, we have another round of classes for Discover Findlay First. There are 3 sessions to attend to get the full picture. Come and find out what is going on and our plan to reach our city for Christ. Do you ever wonder why we do what we do? Join us tonight at 6:45pm. Prayer Around the World On Monday at 10:00am, we will be meeting in room 104, across from the office, with the church in Ukraine. Pastor Nabil and several church leaders from around Europe will join us by Zoom. Would you join me as we pray for the persecuted church and those in the middle of war? They will be with us live. May the Lord richly bless you today and open doors you never thought were possible. Joy in Jesus! Pastor Mike This morning I gathered with a few people from our church for our Front Row Prayer Ministry. If you are available at 6:30am to 7:30am on Wednesdays, we would love for you to join us in the Worship Center. We spend an hour praying for the needs of the people of our church. We also pray through the alphabet two times a year for every family. Today we were on the letter, “M.” So if your last name starts with an “M” then you and your family were prayed for specifically today.
I began our prayer time by praying Ephesians 6:10-20. If you are familiar with the word, then you will know that this section is on spiritual warfare. There are times when you feel the battle more than others, but we know it is always present. I want to zero in on verse 16 this morning. Ephesians 6:16 6 In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; Notice that this verse says to take up the shield of faith in all circumstances. Some translations will say, “in every situation.” This is being obedient to God’s view on all matters. This is talking about the good, the bad, and the ugly. It encompasses everything we go through on a daily basis, including the good things. Yes, the enemy will try to get you off course with some good things happening in your life. One of the enemy’s tactics is to divert you when you least expect it. I am praying for the Lord to strengthen our faith in Him. God promises to be with us in every circumstance and He is not only a Promise Maker, He is a Promise Keeper. He will do that and more. Isaiah 41:10 10 fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Today I choose to take God at His word, believe, and obey it. Acting in faith is like activating a divine fire extinguisher. It will put out any flaming arrow meant to harm you, your witness, and your outlook on the future. Stay grounded in God’s word and let it be what you dwell on. It’s time to let go of past hindrances in all shapes and sizes. I want to mention something we have for the men of our church. Sometimes we get started in a rhythm and some don’t get the memo. Every Saturday morning at 7am, I meet with our men for Warpath. We are over by 8:15am so you can be a part of the activities of the day. We have it early enough to be sharpened along the way. I would love to have you join us. Come through the office door and bring your Bible. This Sunday we will be in Revelation 15 as we take “A Fresh Look at the Last Book.” It will be good to be together as we worship the King of all kings. Joy in Jesus! Pastor Mike 8 For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. 9 Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead. 10 He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again. 2 Corinthians 1:8-10
God allows situation in our life to appear hopeless in order to remind us that we get our strength from Him. Paul was in a hard situation even though he was following God’s leading. He goes as far as to saying that he was at the end of his life. Have you ever been there? You feel like you are doing things right and are listening to the voice of God and yet you still find yourself in a hopeless predicament. We are reminded that even though you serve the Lord with your whole heart, that doesn’t guarantee a life without difficulties or sorrows. Sometimes it feels like you are far away from where God is. Don’t believe the lies of the enemy. God is still near. We need to trust the Lord and keep on leaning into His word and His ways. Many times, you can come out on the other side trusting God more and going deeper with the Lord. I am not asking you to ignore your emotions. I am simply suggesting that you give God your emotions, fears, and anxieties. He has the power to raise the dead so He is able to deliver you. Mark down Saturday, October 7 at 10:00am and plan to join us for City Prayer. It will be at Dorney Plaza, and I am asking our whole church to come and join in prayer with others in our community. I am already praying for the Lord to bring us together in our City more than He has before. As we lead up to the vote in November concerning life and parental rights, we need to take every step possible to ensure that we can be found doing all that we can to protect the ones who can’t speak for themselves. The language on the ballot is very confusing and can sound innocent. It is titled, “The Right to Reproductive Freedom with Protections for Health and Safety.” If you would like a sign encouraging people to vote “No” in November, stop by the church office and pick one up. We have a few. If we know it will harm a life, then don’t be afraid to share it. Keep trusting and seeking the Lord. Joy in Jesus! Pastor Mike 31 “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, 32 not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the Lord. 33 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 34 And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.” Jeremiah 31:31-34
God announced that a day is coming where He will relate to human beings in a new way called the new covenant. This covenant is not based on law or animal sacrifice, but on the sacrifice Jesus made on the cross. It is amazing to think that God will put His teaching directly on our hearts. That means that these desires to obey God come from within and not from an outside source. We not only have the law, but through Christ, we have an internal desire to obey his law. It gives new meaning to the following verses: 12 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure. Philippians 2:12-13 Obedience activates the word and work of God in our lives. Notice I said the work of God and not our work. For the New Testament Greek word for obedience is (hupakoe), which is two words put together that means, “hear under.” We hear with a heart that comes under the authority of the word spoken. When God speaks, we submit to His authority and obey. So obedience doesn’t start with activity, it starts with sitting and hearing. That is why your time with the Lord every morning is so crucial. It is in a sense your first act of obedience that sets you up for more obedience to follow. Guard your time with the Lord because satan doesn’t want you to be prepared for a victorious day in the Lord. We cannot expect to live in the blessings of God if we are not willing to commit to daily radical obedience. Make this day a day of responding to God’s Word as you trust Him with all things. Sunday is coming and we will be in Revelation 14. May God draw you closer as you serve Him today. Joy in Jesus! Pastor Mike We have been going through the book of Revelation on Sunday and this past week we ended the message by comparing the antichrist and Jesus Christ. The enemy is going to do all that he can to thwart God’s plan and get a foothold in our lives as believers. If he is going to tempt Jesus, then he will definitely try to tempt each one of us and try to throw us off course.
In Matthew 4:1-10 we find the temptation of Jesus. First, we will note that it looks like it was God’s idea for his Son to be tempted. It says, “Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil” Matthew 4:1. This reminds us that God was not on the defense but on the offense. He was reminding the devil that His Son was more powerful because of the foundation of his heart and life. Jesus was the “second man” or “last Adam” (1 Corinthians 15:45, 47). We read about the first Adam in the garden found in Genesis 3. He gave in to Satan after his temptation and the end result was expulsion from the garden. It not only impacted him, but it included mankind. We were sentenced to a “wilderness” with no spiritual nourishment or relationship with God. The last Adam, Jesus Christ, went into the wilderness to defeat Satan in order to escort us back into the garden. The devil has been watching Jesus go without food, so he naturally begins to test Jesus with bread. As we see, he is no match for Jesus. It is interesting that the living Word used the written Word to deal with the enemy of the Word. That gives us a good tactic in resisting the tempter and being victorious on the other side. The fact that we are being tempted should not discourage you. Having the Word at our fingertips should encourage you to saturate. Tonight, we begin our Midweek Boost Sessions. There are many to choose from. I hope you come and be intentional at preparing for your next opportunity to put the devil in his place. Whether you are new to our church, have been here forever, are young or old – there is a place for you tonight from 6:45pm – 8:00pm. May the Lord help you to do whatever it takes to be victorious this week. Joy in Jesus! Pastor Mike |
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Rev. Mike McClurgSenior Pastor, Findlay First Church of the Nazarene Archives
March 2020
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