The Living And Abiding Word (1:22-2:3)

1. As Christians, we are but pilgrims in this world; our lives are but
   a sojourn toward our true home which is in heaven
   a. But as we travel through this life, we are not left without a
      "spiritual roadmap"
   b. To guide us on our journey, God in His grace has given us His
      wonderful Word, contained in the pages of what we call the Bible

2. What is sad is the fact...
   a. That many people go through their lives and never seriously
      consult this book which can direct them to heaven
   b. That even many Christians go through life ignorant of much of its
      content!

3. I am hoping that in the course of this newsletter...
   a. I can awaken any such people to the value of the wonderful Word
      of God
   b. And that I can impress upon you the importance and necessity of
      reading the Word of God on a daily basis

[In an effort to do so, I encourage you to open your Bibles to 1 Pet 1:
22-2:3, where we read of the nature of God's Word .

Within this passage of scripture, we can glean various attributes possessed by the Word of God that make it so wonderful.
Consider, then...]

I. THE WONDER OF GOD'S WORD

   A. IT LIVES AND ABIDES FOREVER
      1. Verses 23-25 stress this point:
         a. "not of corruptible seed, but incorruptible"
         b. "which lives abides forever"
         c. "the Word of the Lord endures forever"
      2. Jesus has also spoken of the indestructibility of the Word of
         God - Mt 24:35
      3. History has borne out the fact that despite man's efforts to
         destroy and do away with it, the Bible continues to endure
         forever
         a. The efforts of Diocletian
            1) In 303 A.D. he proclaimed an edict requiring Christians
               and their sacred scriptures to be destroyed
            2) But within 25 years, the succeeding emperor ordered that
               50 copies be made and distributed at government expense!
         b. The claims of Voltaire, the French atheist (who died in
            1778)
            1) He boasted that within 100 hundred years of his
               lifetime, Christianity would be swept from the earth
            2) But only fifty years after his death, his own printing
               press and house were being used by the Geneva Bible
               Society to produce stacks of Bibles!
      4. How true, then, is the statement of Isaiah as quoted by Peter
         in 1 Pe 1:24-25

   B. IT CAN CAUSE ONE TO BE BORN AGAIN
      1. There is a law of science known as the Law of Biogenesis which
         states that "life begets life"
      2. Because the Word of God is what it is, it is able to produce
         spiritual life!
       What is it?
         a. It is "incorruptible" seed which "lives and abides forever"
            - 1 Pe 1:23
         b. It is "living and powerful" - He 4:12
         c. As Jesus said: "...The words that I speak to you are
            spirit, and they are life." - cf. Jn 6:63
      3. When a person receives the Word of God and obeys it, he or she
         is truly born again! - cf. Ja 1:18

   C. IT CAN PURIFY THE SOUL
      1. Notice carefully: "Since you have purified your souls in
         obeying the truth..." - 1 Pe 1:22
      2. By obeying the truth (the Word of God), our souls are purified
        - cf. Jn 17:17
      3. That is because the truth contains the gospel, which when
         believed and obeyed, results in the remission of sins by the
         blood of Christ!

   D. IT CAN PRODUCE CONTINUAL GROWTH
      1. "...desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow
         thereby," - 1 Pe 2:2
      2. Spiritual growth as a Christian is totally dependent upon the
         Word of God!

[Do you see why the Word of God is too wonderful to neglect?
There is no way you can destroy it, and if you desire to be born again and grow spiritually,
it is impossible without the incorruptible seed of the Word of God!

Now if we desire to allow the Word of God produce in our lives its desired effect (spiritual life and spiritual growth),
 there are at least two things mentioned by Peter which are essential...]

II. GROWING BY THE WORD OF GOD

   A. FIRST, WE MUST PREPARE THE SOIL OF OUR HEARTS
      1. Just as when we prepare the ground for planting a garden
         a. We cleanse the ground of all insects and weeds
         b. So that seeds can grow unhindered
      2. Likewise, there are things Peter says we must lay aside...
         a. MALICE - an evil disposition, malignant spirit, a desire to
            injure another
         b. GUILE - that is, craftiness
         c. HYPOCRISY - deceptive and deceitful actions and attitudes
         d. ENVY - feelings of unhappiness because another has that
            which one desires for oneself
         e. EVIL SPEAKING - slanderous and defamatory statements about
            others
         -- For the Word of God to flourish in our lives, we must rid
            ourselves of these things
      3. Note also that these attributes must be rid of, if we are to
         be able to "love one another fervently" (as commanded in 1 Pe
         1:22)

   B. SECOND, WE MUST HAVE THE PROPER DESIRE FOR THE WORD
      1. Peter illustrates the proper desire...
         a. We are to be like "newborn babes" who desire milk - 1 Pe 2:
            2-3
         b. Just as babies "long" for milk, we are to "long" for the
            Word of God
      2. Do our present attitudes toward the Word of God indicate such
         longing?
         a. Do we demand regular feeding upon the Word of God?
         b. If we feasted upon food as often as we feasted upon the
            Word of God, would we survive physically? - cf. Mt 4:4;
            Ps 119:165; Jer 15:16
      3. Failure to have this longing for the Word of God is a main
         reason for the lack of spiritual growth in many today
         a. It is why many do not overcome sin in their lives - cf.
            1 Jn 2:14
         b. It is why many never become the godly men and women you
            would expect of Christians who have been such for 5,10,15
            years or more
      4. A question I often raise:
         a. If we do not read, study and meditate upon the Bible
            daily...
         b. If we go year after year, failing to read through the Bible
            on a regular basis...
         -- Can it be said that we have the proper desire for the Word
            of God?

CONCLUSION

1. The Word of God is too wonderful for Christians to neglect! Yet I
   dare to say that there has been a wholesale neglect of the Word of
   God among Christians in the Lord's church today

2. "If indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious", as Peter
   says, if you have been born again by the Word of God,
   make Bible reading an intricate part of your daily life!

If you have not even obeyed the gospel, why not do so this very day? For the wonderful Word of which we have been speaking is contained within the gospel (cf. 1 Pe 1:25b; Mk 16:15-16).

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Laughter does good like a medicine.

A doctor, a lawyer, a young boy, and a preacher were out for a Sunday afternoon ride in a small private plane.
Suddenly the plane developed engine trouble. In spite of the best efforts of the pilot the plane started to go down.
Finally the pilot grabbed a parachute, yelled to the passengers that they had better jump, and bailed out.

Unfortunately there were only three parachutes remaining.
The doctor grabbed one and said "I'm a doctor. I save lives, so I must live." The doctor jumped out.

The lawyer then said, "I'm a lawyer and lawyers are the smartest people in the world. I deserve to live!"
He grabbed a parachute and jumped.

The preacher hugged the little boy and said, "My son, I've lived a long and enjoyed a full life.
You are young and have your whole life ahead of you. Take the last parachute and go in peace."

The little boy handed the parachute back to the preacher and said, "Not to worry, Pastor.
The smartest man in the world just jumped off the airplane with my back pack."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Did you ever wonder why people read the Bible a whole lot more as they get older?
The answer is simple -- they're cramming for their finals!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
One day Mr. Edwards fell unconscious with a heart attack. His wife quickly called 911.
The ambulance delivered Mr. Edwards to the nearest Emergency Room, which was located in a Catholic hospital.
Immediately the ailing man was taken to the OR for heart surgery.

The operation went well. When Mr. Edwards regained consciousness,
he was reassured by a Sister of Mercy, who was waiting by his bed.

"Mr. Edwards, you're going to be just fine," said the nun, gently patting his hand.
"We do need to know, however, how you intend to pay for your stay here. Are you covered by insurance?"

"No, I'm not," the man whispered hoarsely.

"Then can you pay in cash?" asked the nun.

"I'm afraid I cannot, Sister."

"Well, do you have any close relatives?" the nun persisted.

"Just my sister in New Mexico," Mr. Edwards answered. "But she's a humble spinster nun."

"Oh, I must correct you, Mr. Edwards," said the Sister of Mercy. "Nuns are not spinsters.
Your sister is married to God."

"Wonderful," said Mr. Edwards. "In that case, please send the bill to my Brother-in-law."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Once upon a time a Pastor named DiTullio spotted Tom, a member of his congregation who was looking particularly sad that day.

"What's wrong, Tom?" asked Pastor DiTullio in a concerned voice.

"My plow horse has gone blind, Pastor, and I can't afford to feed her if she can't work. Hate to do it -- I love that old nag -- but this afternoon I got to shoot her."

"Don't do that, Tom. Let me have her. I'd love to have a horse, blind or not."

Tom gladly agreed.

Over the following months, the Pastor diligently worked with the blind horse, teaching the animal
to move forward when he said, "Praise the Lord," and to halt when he said, "Amen."

Well then ... one fine day Pastor DiTullio figured his horse had learned enough to be taken for a test ride.
The Pastor mounted the animal and said, "Praise the Lord."
The horse obediently trotted off. After riding several miles, the Pastor decided to stop for lunch and said,
"Amen." Without hesitation the horse came to an instant stop.

After eating, Pastor DiTullio remounted and said, "Praise the Lord." The horse trotted forward.

Suddenly the Pastor realized they were headed toward the edge of a great high cliff.

"Whoa! Whoa!" shouted the Pastor, but the horse kept on trotting toward the cliff.

At the very brink of disaster, the Pastor suddenly remembered and yelled, "Amen!"
The horse instantly halted, inches away from the cliff's edge.

With a huge sigh of relief, Pastor DiTullio devoutly raised his eyes toward heaven and said, "Praise the Lord!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

There was a huge pecan tree in the cemetery, just a short ways from the fence. One day two boys sneaked into the cemetary and filled up a bucket with pecans. The bucket was so full that several pecans rolled away and came to a rest against the cemetary fence.

The two boys then sat down by the tree, out of sight, and began dividing the nuts between them.

"One for you, one for me. One for you, one for me," said one boy.

Cycling down the road near the cemetery came a third boy named Joey.
As Joey passed the graveyard, he thought he heard voices from inside the cemetery and slowed down to investigate.
Sure enough, Joey heard, "One for you, one for me. One for you, one for me."

Joey immediately knew what was going on."Oh wow!" he shuddered.
"It's Satan and St. Peter dividing the souls at the cemetery!"

Joey sped down the road and found old Mr. Finch with a cane, limping slowly along.

"Come quick!" Joey shouted. "You won't believe what I heard! Satan and
St. Peter are down at the cemetery dividing up the souls!"

Mr. Finch scowled and yelled, "Shoo you brat! Can't ya see I'm finding it hard to walk as it is?"

After Joey made several more urgent pleas, Mr. Finch reluctantly hobbled to the cemetery and heard,
"One for you, one for me. One for you, one for me."

"Boy, you've been tellin' the truth!" Mr. Finch exclaimed in a whisper.
"Let's get closer and maybe we'll get to see the Devil himself."

Shivering with fear, Joey and Mr. Finch edged toward the fence, still unable to see the source of the voices.

Then they heard, "One for you, one for me. And here's another for you and another for me.
There, that's the last of them. Now, let's go get those nuts by the fence, and we'll be done."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A cannibal ate a priest and got very sick. Upon visiting the witch doctor and telling of his symptoms,
the witch doctor asked how he had cooked the priest. The cannibal replied that he had broiled him.

Hearing this the witch doctor exclaimed, "Well no wonder you're sick! He was a Friar!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Pastor Luigi was walking down the street when he came upon a group of several boys, all of them between 10 and 12 years of age.
The group surrounded a dog. Concerned lest the boys were hurting the dog, Pastor Luigi went over and asked,
"What are you boys doing with that poor animal?"

One of the boys replied, "This dog is just an old neighborhood stray.
We all want him, but only one of us can take him home.
So we've decided that whichever one of us can tell the biggest lie will get to keep him."

"You boys shouldn't be having a contest telling lies!" Pastor Luigi exclaimed.
He then launched into a ten-minute sermon against lying, beginning,
"Don't you boys know it's a sin to lie," and ending with, "Why, when I was your age, I never told a lie."

There was dead silence for about a minute. Just as Luigi began to think he'd really gotten through to them,
the smallest boy gave a deep sigh and said, "All right, Pastor, you win the dog."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Forwarded from Pastor Bud Votaw

 Dear Pastor Leonard,
 
   I just recently received this of the Lord, you have been a blessing to me in the past months, and the Lord impressed me to sow this seed in your direction, may those who read be empowered to prosper.
 
God richly & abundantly bless you today, and always.
 
In Him,
Pastor Bud Votaw

Tuesday, May 25, 1999

From Trial To Liberty

Foundation Scripture: First Peter 1:1-25 verse 6
                                            James 1:2-5
                                            Acts 5:41
                                            Romans 5:3

Opening: The Body of Christ is the Church of the Lord Jesus Chist; it
                    is anointed to do as He did. As He instructs, and leads them
                    to do, and as they come out of present problems, they glory
                    in the victory and the liberty. The tribulation, trial, and
                    temptations faced are not authored nor created by the Lord,
                    but, by the choices we have made. He will turn the trial into
                    liberty.

Question: Once you are free from the present trial, temptation, and tribulation what are you going to do with the knowledge of your freedom?

 First Peter 1:6 & 7
     "...Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations:
       That the trial of your faith, being more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be to the praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:..."

James 1:2-5
    "...My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations;
        Knowing, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.
            But let patience have perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.
        If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask ask of God, that giveth to all liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him."

I. God is not the author of bad things
      A. Bad things are from one, or a combination of sources which are:
            1. satanic influence
            2. human error or bad choices resulting in negative fruit

B. Circumstance and situations

C. Actions of others, and the receiving of the offence, and remaining unforgiving.

The need to understand why we go through what we go through sometimes on our journey in the Lord is vitally important; the attitude we have while going through it determines the vision of our faith outlook.

   People make choices and they say it's God's will, and then when the choice turns out to be a disaster they get mad at God! What are they mad at God for? They made the choice. They are wanting God to supercede the human will and make them do right! God will not do this, because He wants the person to choose His way because they trust and love Him.

II. Three steps to Prosperity:
       A. Problem Recognition
              1.) The problem isn't the source of faith, nor is it the need for faith to come,
                    faith is for the believing of the Word which is the answer to it.
              2.) Situational ethics are compromise which strengthens problems.
              3.) People are never the root of the problem.

       B. Promise Revelation
              1.) The promise is the Word which applies to the problem.
              2.) The Word produces the fruit, the faith, and the force or anointing.
              3.) The Word is promised to produce inwardly the vision of the promotion.

       C. Promotion Progression
              1.) Promotion comes from God.
              2.) Timing is relevant to promotion.
              3.) Maturity is relevant to promotion.
            
Summation: Patience must be exercised in every step, the complementing fruit is faith. Where fruit is manifesting the force of it is also present. One must activate the faith by the doing of the Word that is applicable.

III. Power of Patience
        A. The power of being sound or constant ( Second Timothy 1:7)
            1.) Luke 8:15; 21:19
            2.) James 1:3-4
            3.) Second Thessalonians 1:4
            4.) First Timothy 6:11, 12
            5.) Titus 2:2
            6.) James 5:10, 11
            7.) Second Peter 1:6
            8.) Revelation 13:10
            9.) Hebrews 12:1-3

        B. Once we have prayed, it is important to never go back on our
              prayers (Mark 11:24).

        C. The miracle action is stopped when confessions of doubt come out the mouth, or
              when the admission of doubt is active in your consciousness (Luke 8:13-15)

D. The Word is God's part of our prayer life.

        E. The power of patience is released by a three-fold decision.
              1.) Decide God's Word is true.
              2.) Decide to act only in faith.
              3.) Decide to speak only faith.
         
        F. A quality decision releases the force of patience.

IV. Why count it joy? Nehemiah 8:10
         A. Joy is our strength
            1.) Ephesians 3:14-21
            2.) Colossians 1:6-11
            3.) Psalm 105:42-45
            4.) Romans 14:17; 15:13

         B. Joy is spiritual force
             1.) Galatians 5:22
             2.) Philippians 1:4

I have addressed the issues in people's lives that are dealing with high amounts of stress, frustration, aggravation, and disappointment: they are "hit and missing it" in their faith-stand. The need for consistency is what attacks apathy, complacency, and the negativity of the situation.

Nugget: There are emotions that result from every circumstance, situation,
                 and problem. To allow the emotional response to rule is to permit
                 carnality to rule where the immaturity is not changed by the Word.
                  
"...As a tree grows in the earth, and comes forth of its own season, and bears forth fruit... so will My people, says the Lord. The needed seeds are now coming into the hands of Fathers' children... teach them to plant, teach them how to select the field, and instruct them in the righteousness of patience, says the Lord.
     The failure has been in the comparing of one with another, one does not compare oranges with apples, nor do you compare giftings with giftings... My way is to develop the fruitfulness of each tree in Me, and the uniqueness of each is pertinent to the overall growth of the Garden of God. The repentance of the people is strongly needed in the areas of seeking the personality, and not the person of the Holy Ghost.
     I will work My Word in those who patiently wait on the Father as the Husbandman, He will ordain, and He will edict the edifier... many will come to the rising of truth in the midst of problems. The determining is at hand, and even at the door.
     Come forth in joy, patience, and persistance of faith, stand at the edge of the miracle, and see that I the Lord am God, and there is none other, says the Lord."