Pentecost 2014 - THE GIVING OF THE LAW

For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel 

after those days, says the Lord:

I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts;  

and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.

H E B R E W S   8 : 1 0

P e n t e c o s t   S u n d a y  +  J u n e   8 ,   2 0 1 4

GOOD MORNING FRIENDS OF FCC!

Trust this letter finds you resting in the love of Christ.  He certainly loves you. 

This Sunday is PENTECOST. The Jews celebrate Pentecost as the day that Moses received the 10 Commandments, written by the finger of God on tablets of stone at Mt. Sinai. (See Exodus 20)

The Christians celebrate Pentecost as the day that God baptized the disciples in the Holy Ghost and wrote His Commandments on their hearts as they prayed in the Upper Room.  (See Acts 2).

Filled with the Holy Ghost, the first Christians testified, “God purified our hearts,” (Acts 15:9), and with great grace and great power (Acts 4:33) they went everywhere speaking the Word of God with boldness, to everyone both Jews and Gentiles.  Pentecost changed them.  Pentecost created the Church.  And Pentecost changed the world. 

Pentecost changed the disciples inside and out.  Human hearts—or human wills—are incomplete, incapable, and impure without the Spirit of God. 

Without the Spirit we cannot clearly see or understand God’s will. 

Without the Spirit we tend to resist God’s will—even though we know we shouldn’t. 

Without the Spirit our love is self-centered.

Without the Spirit our judgments are biased.

Without the Spirit our lives are intemperate and sense driven.

But when the Spirit of Holiness is welcome into our hearts we are altogether different.  We sing, “I once was blind but now I see.”  We gladly testify, “Not my will, but Thine be done.”  We love selflessly, judge lovingly, and walk in the Spirit joyfully.

Those who are filled with the Spirit, led by the Spirit,

and sanctified by the Spirit are truly free to do what they please

—and what they please is to please the Lord.

Without constraint, demand, mandates, or rules—the Spirit filled, Spirit-loving people of God, hunger for holiness, crave Christ-likeness, and live prayerful and careful lives without regard to what the world is doing or saying.  They are, “Filled with His goodness, lost in in His love!

Surely this is the need of our day—people who will do what they ought to do and love doing it. 

We ought to forgive—and we love forgiving.

We ought to give—and we love giving.

We ought to obey God—and we love obeying God.

We ought to love everyone, our friends and enemies—and we love loving our friends and enemies.

We ought to live holy and separate from the world—

and we love living holy and separate from the world.

We ought to be teachable—and we love being taught.

We ought to be disciplined—and we love being disciplined.

We ought to be led by the Spirit—and we love being led by the Spirit.

We ought to live as citizens of heaven—and we love living as citizens of heaven. This world is not our home.  With reckless abandon we reject the expectations and demands of this world’s culture and we joyfully embrace Christian culture.

But how can this be?  How can we who are born with a self-centered, prideful, sensual, and sin-loving nature be so changed that we not only know what we ought to be, but can truly be what we ought to be? 

THERE ARE NO SHORTCUTS TO THE UPPER ROOM. 

I have often wondered why so many years passed from Adam’s fall to Abraham’s call.  Why was it that so many generations  passed before Moses walked down Sinai with the Commandments?  And why did God wait more than a thousand years after King David before sending that notable “Son of David”— “His only begotten Son into the world,” paying the price so that whosover will could be “born of the Spirit?”

The answer must lie in our Creator’s omniscient understanding of human nature.   God knows people.  He knows our abilities and our capabilities.  He knows that we are spiritual beings, created in His image, having a physical experience.

When Adam and Eve disobeyed God’s law¹ they died.  They didn’t die physically, but the Spirit of God which brings life to the spirits of men was withdrawn.  They died spiritually. 

Before the Spirit of God could be fully restored to the sons and daughters of Adam they would have to know the wage of sin.  Tragically, their sin metastasized immediately.  By the 4^th chapter of Genesis we have the first murder.   We need to experience and understand the depravity of life outside the garden.

Before the Spirit of God could fill the hearts of God’s people they would have to recognize the voice of God.  Certainly Noah recognized God’s voice.  Abraham recognized God’s voice.  These notable examples were exceptional in their day.  We need to recognize God’s voice.

Before the Spirit of God could be restored, God’s people would have to see that redemption would come at the price of blood.  Enslaved by Egypt, deliverance would only come to the children of Israel when the blood of a spotless lamb would be sprinkled on the posts and lintels of their doors. “When I see the blood, I will pass, I will pass over  you.”  We need to sacrifice.

Before the Spirit of God could write the law of God in the hearts of His people, they would have to know and acknowledge God’s holy and righteous standard.  “Thou shalt have no other Gods before me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image.  Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.  Remember the Sabbath Day and keep it holy.”  These are truths that men would have never fully known or appreciated unless God himself wrote them to us.  We need Sinai—to know God’s law. 

Before the Spirit of God could renew a right spirit within us, we needed to loathe the wrong spirit that is within us.  So the Prophets were sent to expose sinful hearts and to exalt a day when God would, “…give them one heart…put a new spirit within them…and take the stony heart out of their flesh.”   We need God’s perspective and we need God’s promise.

Before the Spirit of God could perfect our sin ridden souls, we needed a spotless Lamb who would not only show us the face of God, but show us the heart of God.  We needed a perfect Savior who would shed His perfect blood and rise again in His perfect body.  Then Jesus came!  Oh the glory of His Presence, Oh the beauty of His face!  We need a Savior.

And then, we need an upper room!  In Acts 2 at that first Christian Pentecost, the disciples were in one accord in one place—in the Upper Room!  We need a place where we resign to do God’s will in God’s way.  We need a place where we are at one with Him—where we love Him without any reservation.

Then the day of our personal Pentecost will come.  A day when “the Spirit answers to the blood and tells me I am born of God!”  A place where “His Spirit bears witness with my spirit that I am the child of God.”  A place where we “receive power after that the Holy Ghost is come upon us.”  A place where our hearts are “purified by faith.”

We need a personal Pentecost.  THIS IS OUR NEED. THIS IS OUR PRAYER. AND THIS IS OUR EXPECTATION.

Pentecost can be repeated,                       Saints of God can be victorious,            Pentecostal Fire is falling,

For the Lord is just the same,  Over sin and death and hell,    Praise the Lord it fell on me

Yesterday, today, forever,                         Have a full and free salvation,                Pentecost Fire is falling,

Glory to His precious name.    And the blessed story tell.                        Brother let it fall on thee!

HOPE TO SEE YOU THIS WEEKEND AT FCC! If we can help you in any way please let us know.  We love and appreciate you every one!

Onward!

Pastor Richard M. Jones

FAITH COMMUNITY CHURCH –  A Crusaders Church of America

2969 North Lindbergh Blvd, St. Louis, Missouri  63074

Telephone (314) 298-5840; Cell (314) 607-1424

E-mail: PastorRick@FCCStLouis.org          www.pastorrickjones@blogspot.com

¹ Eating the fruit off the forbidden tree was only wrong because God said it was wrong.  The fruit was delightful in appearance, delicious in taste, and there is really nothing wrong with desiring to be wise.  But the issue was really not the fruit itself.  The issue was obedience.

FINANCIAL UPDATE:  Thank you for giving to the Lord!  I’m sorry to say, that in what is traditionally our worst month for giving, we have $5000 of bills that we have not been able to pay from last month.  Over the last few months our giving has taken a hit. Now we are facing $8000 of bills that we must cover this month in addition to the $5000 from the previous months.

Our expenses included a $950.00 Elevator Inspection (required by law), HVAC repair that totaled $850.00, plus the day to day operation expenses including our Insurance ($450), Utilities ($1200), and Bus Ministry Expenses ($400).    We need to raise $13,000 this month to clear the bills that are past due and to meet this month’s obligations (Our mortgage is $2900 of that total). 

Please join us in praying for a financial miracle in the Month of June.  We have seen God work miracles in the past. We are sure that He is still able today! 

You may give by bringing an offering, by mailing your gifts (FCC, 2969 N Lindbergh, St Louis, MO 63074) or by logging onto our web page at www.FCCStLouis.org.  The online gifts are much appreciated and immediately available.  The downside is that there is a fee that we must pay for each online gift.   However you decide to give, or if you cannot give but you can help us pray,  be assured of our sincere appreciation and deep gratitude.

CELL PHONE: (314) 607-1424

TEXTING: Pastor Rick at (314) 607-1424

TWITTER:  Onward7

EMAIL:  rmjones58@aol.com  or PastorRick@FCCStLouis.org

BLOG: www.PastorRickJones.blogspot.com

WEB: www.FCCStLouis.org

YOUTUBE: Pastor Rick Jones @ youtube.com

ARE YOU WORRYING ENOUGH?

"Sometimes it seems we never stop worrying. We worry about the food we eat and the air we breathe. If we own property, we worry about whether it will keep its value, and if we don't, we worry about whether we can afford to. We are worried about antibiotics. We are worried about carbs. We are worried about whether our children are tough enough. And when our worry seems to have reached an intolerable pitch, we read a study saying that we should worry about whether we worry too much, lest we stress ourselves to the point of sickness." From a Book Review cited below.

JESUS SAID, "But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. TAKE THEREFORE NO THOUGHT FOR THE MORROW: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof." MATTHEW 6:33,34

PHILIPPIANS 4:6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.

1 PETER 5:6 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, 7 casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.

SO WHY WORRY? WHEN YOU CAN PRAY...

http://online.wsj.com/articles/book-review-the-norm-chronicles-by-michael-blastland-and-david-spiegelhalter-1401751847?KEYWORDS=norm

GIVE ME 5! - ARE THERE SPIRITUAL SHORTCUTS?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_Cyve1YApQ&list=UUpUmxduWvxlTv1C-2JA4xtw&index=2

CARE LESS CHRISTIANS

JESUS impressed and pressed His disciples: “Watch!” he warned. Only those who are “Ready” will be at the Marriage feast.  (See the Parable of the 10 Virgins, Matthew 25:1-13)

The Writer to the Hebrews was clear, “Pay careful attention…don’t slip…” (Hebrews 2:1)

Paul urged, “Wake up!” Don’t walk like “fools.”  (Ephesians 5:14)  Look around you, the days are evil, he wrote.

Since everything is headed for destruction, and everyone is headed for judgment, Peter pressed, “Be diligent” (2 Peter 3:14).  Make every effort, do all that you can do to be ready for that moment.

The Scriptures couldn’t be clearer.  Live your life for Christ at the cutting edge—at that wonderful place where the will of God intersects with your life. 

Yet, one of the greatest hazards confronting Christians is CARE-LESS-NESS.

Some call it “apathy.”  The word means exactly what it sounds like.  “A” means “not,” or “without.” “Pathy” means “Passion.”  Apathy means “without passion.”

Everyone who has tasted and seen that the Lord is good knows that they ought to be CAREFUL, PASSIONATE, ACTIVE Christians. 

Many who have started to follow Christ know that they are not as CAREFUL, PASSIONATE, and ACTIVE as the Lord wants them to be.

BUT THOSE WHO ARE IN THE GRAVEST DANGER ARE those who know what they ought to be but for some reason THEY JUST DON’T CARE ANYMORE.

Sometimes married couples go through times when their passion for one another cools.  Only fools suggest those couples should head for divorce court.

Expert counselors know, “If you go through the motions, you will soon feel the emotions.” 

Husband, take your wife a bouquet of flowers and hold her close when you meet.  Wife, dress nicely, fix your hair like he likes it, and greet your husband with a smile and a tender kiss. 

When a husband treats his wife like he did when he was trying to win her, it’s amazing how those emotions return.  When a wife begins to treat her husband like she did when she was trying to capture his heart, she too will feel her love renewed. 

AND SO IT IS WITH THE BRIDE OF CHRIST!

Knowing all that the LORD JESUS has done for us, and understanding the ETERNAL CONSEQUENCES for ourselves and for those who are looking to us for spiritual guidance, we make a conscious choice to do the things we ought to do, even if we don’t feel like doing them.

WE READ THE WORD OF GOD.  The less you read the Word, the less you believe the Word.  God always blesses those who immerse themselves in His Word.  Start with Philippians.

WE TAKE TIME TO TALK TO GOD.   Absence doesn’t make the heart grow fonder—it makes the heart grow colder.  Relationships require communication. Be intentional as you pray—allowing time for God to speak to you.

WE GATHER WITH GOD’S PEOPLE.  The Bible urges us, “Forsake not the assembling of yourselves together…”  There is an amazing spiritual chemistry that happens when God’s people gather together to worship Him.  Between services we reach out to other Christians for encouragement and help.

WE INVEST IN HELPING OTHERS.  Nothing will revive passion-less Christianity like following our Lord’s example of ministering to others.  This may include sharing our faith, but it is the sacrificial giving of our time and talent and  caring for those in need that restores the joy of the Lord in us.  After Jesus washed the disciple’s feet He encouraged them “You’ll be happy if you follow my example.”

WE WALK, TAKING SMALL STEPS AT FIRST, WITH THE LORD.  Carelessness is spiritually paralyzing.  That’s why it’s important to get up and get moving, even taking small steps.  There is great comfort and assurance for those who walk with the Lord.

So if CARE-LESS-NESS has robbed you of your JOY IN THE LORD, seek HIM now.  Then intentionally, with or without feeling, take these 5 steps. 

Then when the cry goes out, “Here Comes the Groom!” you’ll be ready, with your spiritual lamp fueled by the Holy Spirit and a blazing with the love of God.

WHO ARE WE? OUR ANSWER DETERMINES OUR DESTINY

WHO ARE WE?

“The day after Christmas would normally have been a quiet day in Washington D.C., above all on Capitol Hill.  But December 26, 1941 (71 years ago) was different.  It was only nineteen days after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, and both the Senate chamber and the overflow gallery were packed to hear British Prime Minister Winston Churchill address a joint session of Congress.

With the Capitol ringed by police and soldiers, the lectern bristling with microphones, and the glare of unusually bright lights in the chamber for the film cameras, Churchill started his thirty minute address with a light touch  “If my father had been an American,” he said, “and my mother British, instead of the other way around, I might have gotten here on my own.  In that case this would not have been the first time you would have heard my voice.”

Churchill then rose to his central theme.  Britain was standing alone, but reeling.  Most of Europe lay prostrate under the Nazi heel.  Hitler was well on his way to Moscow.  Half of the American Navy was at the bottom of the Hawaiian harbor, and there was little or no air force to rise to the nation’s defense.  He therefore delivered a stern denunciation of the Japanese and the German menace, and warned about “the many disappointments and unpleasant surprises that await us” in countering them.

At the heart of the prime minister’s address was a famous question to his listeners in light of the Japanese aggression: “What kind of people do they think we are?  Is it possible that they do not realize that we shall never cease to persevere against them until they have been taught a lesson which they and the world will never forget?”

All crises are judgments of history that call into question an existing state of affairs.  They sift and sort the character and condition of a nation and its capacity to respond.  The deeper the crisis, the more serious the sifting and the deeper the questions it raises.  At the very least, a crisis raises the question “What should we do?”  Without that, it would not amount to a crisis.

Deeper crises raise the deeper question “Where are we, and how did we get here?”  Still deeper crises raise the question Churchill raised, “Who do other people think we are?”—though clearly Churchill saw the ignorance in the Japanese mind, rather than in his hearers’.  But the deepest crises of all are those that raise the question, “Who do we think we are?” when doubt and uncertainty have entered our own thinking.

This last question poses a challenge and requires a courage that goes to the very heart of the identity and character of those in crisis, whether individuals or a nation.  Only in a response that clearly says and shows who they are can they demonstrate an answer that resolves the crisis constructively and answers history’s judgment by turning potential danger into an opportunity for growth and advance.

History is asking that question of America now: What kind of people do you Americans think you are?”   We are now nearly eight decades after the Great Depression, seven decades after Pearl Harbor and World War II, four decades after the tumultuous and influential sixties, two decades after the collapse of the Soviet Union and the bipolar world, one decade after September 11 and in the midst of two of the most revealing and fateful presidencies in American history.   

The sifting of America has come to a head, and the question, “Who are you?” or “What kind of people do you think you are?” or “What kind of society do want America to be” is now the central question Americans must answer.

Another time of testing has come.  Another day of reckoning is here.  This is a testing and a reckoning—let me say it carefully—that could prove even more decisive than earlier trials such as the Civil War, the Depression and the cultural cataclysm that was the 1960s.  As citizens of the world’s lead society and leaders of Western Civilization you Americans owe yourselves and the world a clear answer at this momentous juncture of your history and international leadership—a moment at which an unclear answer or no answer at all are both a clear answer and a telling symptom of the judgment of history.” 

Os Guiness, A FREE PEOPLE’S SUICIDE

BRITAIN’S PRIME MINISTER WINSTON CHURCHILL asked, “What kind of people do they think we are?”

OS GUINESS asks “What kind of people do we think we are?”

JESUS asked, “Whom do you say I am?”

Matthew 16: ¹³ When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?

¹⁴ And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets.

¹⁵ He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?

¹⁶ And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.

¹⁷ And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.

¹⁸ And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

¹⁹ And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

Ultimately it is our answer to our LORD’S question that determines our identity, our personality, and our destiny.

WHO DO YOU SAY I AM?…DETERMINES OUR IDENTITY for it is our faith in Him that delivers us from the kingdom of darkness into the glorious liberty of the children of God.  Praying for the Christians at Colossae the Apostle Paul rejoices: 

Colossians 1: ¹² Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light:

¹³ Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:

¹⁴ In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:

¹⁵ Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:

¹⁶ For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:

¹⁷ And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.

¹⁸ And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.

¹⁹ For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell;

²⁰ And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.

²¹ And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled

²² In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight:

WHO DO YOU SAY I AM? -- DETERMINES YOUR PERSONALITY – the very expression of your character, your-self.   Christ will have nothing to do with half-hearted, half-measures.  He demands all of you.  Our response to His demand determines our behavior, our traits, our persona. 

When asked why my mother in law is so careful about living the Christian life one lady explained, “Oh, she’s a Christian through and through!”

WHO DO YOU SAY I AM? –DETERMINES OUR DESTINY!  There will be no Christ-haters in the City of God.  There will be no Christ-deniers in the City of God.  There will be no almost-persuaded in the City of God.  There will be no half-hearted Christians in the City of God.  There will be none without splinters in their hands—for Jesus invites, if any man will come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross and follow me! 

ALL THAT THRILLS MY SOUL IS JESUS

http://youtu.be/t1RNmnio_NU

I would also highly recommend this message by Nathan Purdy of Northern Ireland.

http://new.livestream.com/holinessonline/ihc14/videos/4892389

Have a blessed Lord's Day!

THE LORD WILLING I'M PREACHING THIS MORNING ON "DID NOT OUR HEARTS BURN WITHIN US?"

AND THIS EVENING "SO SEND I YOU."

Pastor Rick Jones
FAITH COMMUNITY CHURCH + A CRUSADERS USA CONGREGATION
2969 N. Lindbergh Blvd., St. Ann, MO 63074   Cell Phone (314) 607-1424; Fax (314) 298-7442
BLOG: www.PastorRickJones.blogspot.com ; WEB: www.FCCStLouis.org

ITS SATURDAY NIGHT - NO ONE WHO CARES LIKE JESUS

IT'S SATURDAY NIGHT - NO ONE WHO CARES LIKE JESUS!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RS64b6QN6cs&feature=youtu.be