If you have ever attended church, you probably heard "just trust God"

Sometimes, that seems very easy

Sometimes, not so easy

Sometimes, trusting God is downright hard!

"Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: when His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph,

before they came together she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit.

And Joseph her husband, being a righteous man and not wanting to disgrace her, planned to send her away secretly.

But when he had considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying,

"Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.

"She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins."

Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet:

"BEHOLD, THE VIRGIN SHALL BE WITH CHILD AND SHALL BEAR A SON, AND THEY SHALL CALL HIS NAME IMMANUEL," which translated means, "GOD WITH US."

And Joseph awoke from his sleep and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took Mary as his wife, but kept her a virgin until she gave birth to a Son;

and he called His name Jesus."

Joseph had a hard decision to make

He obviously loved Mary

What if you were in that situation today?

Joseph was chosen by God also

Now, after hearing from the angel, Joseph still had to make a decision

Most of the time, in our lives we know what we should do, but it is hard

Our friends and families sometimes make it harder

If Joseph trusted God, he would be mocked and shamed

Perhaps, those who were the closest to him would reject him

But if he didn’t trust God ……..

This is a situation we often find ourselves in, and it is hard

Trusting God doesn’t mean there won’t be struggles

You may still go through some very hard times

We know, from scripture, that Joseph and Mary did go through hard times

Ultimately, it is how God brings you through these times

So, do you really trust God? He is the one that already knows the outcome.

We know that this year has been like no other in our lifetimes

But GOD!!

Do you trust Him even when it is hard?

Today is the day to solidly put your trust in Him for all eternity.

Will you receive Him today?

Sometimes, when you talk to people about salvation, they give excuses

One of the most often given is, "God surely wouldn’t want me"

Many people struggle with low self esteem

Some just know they have lived a rough life so far

Either way, they will tell you they are just ordinary and not worthy

Today, I want to talk about the most well-known woman in the Bible

Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee called Nazareth,

to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the descendants of David; and the virgin's name was Mary.

And coming in, he said to her, "Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you."

But she was very perplexed at this statement, and kept pondering what kind of salutation this was.

The angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with God.

"And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus.

"He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David;

and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end."

Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I am a virgin?"

The angel answered and said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you;

and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God.

"And behold, even your relative Elizabeth has also conceived a son in her old age; and she who was called barren is now in her sixth month.

"For nothing will be impossible with God."

And Mary said, "Behold, the bondslave of the Lord; may it be done to me according to your word." And the angel departed from her.

Of course, the woman I’m talking about is Mary, the mother of Jesus

Mary was a young lady of around 13 or 14 and she was engaged

This was the norm for those days and there is no mention of anything special

She would more than likely have been illiterate, as most women were

She probably worked about 10 hours a day

The scriptures would have been taught to her by her father

The angel said "Greetings, favored one" and this perplexed her

She didn’t see anything special about herself

In fact, prior to this moment, there wasn’t anything special

Why was she a favored one?

Because God choose her!

You see, when God calls you and you accept,

It changes everything

But this was Old Testament

Has anyone ever heard of Billy Graham?

How about Lee Strobel?

How about George Riek, Sharon Vittor, or Hugh Ellis?

You see, it isn’t what you have to offer, it is what God has to give

We are all just ordinary, but God still loves us and wants a relationship with us

It is when we say yes to God that He changes us

Will you go from Ordinary to Extraordinary today?

2020

For many people it has become synonymous with worry

There has been plenty to worry about this year right?

Pandemic, a word we all wish we could forget

Record number of Hurricanes, we all learned some Greek this year

Civil unrest, most of us thought this couldn’t happen like it did.

Election fatigue, everyone is there right?

Worry seems to have come standard with this year model.

Matt 6:25-34

This entire passage is Jesus speaking and the first thing He says is don’t worry.

That seems easy to say and very hard to do. How can I not worry.

Jesus says do not worry because your Heavenly Father will take care of you.

How do we know that?

Vs 26-30

Jesus says God feeds the birds and clothes the flowers so He will take care of you.

In other words in order to not worry we have to be thankful

If you are sitting here today you have much to be thankful for!

During this season of Thanksgiving did you pause and thank God for the blessings?

We have so much to be thankful for because as bad as things are……

They could be even worse!

In looking around and surveying what we have to be thankful for…..

We begin to seek Him and trust Him

Vs 31-33

Do not worry but seek first the Kingdom of God

When we seek Him first meaning this becomes the greatest priority

All these things will be added unto you

What things, what you eat, what you drink, what you wear

In other words all of life’s needs will be taken care of

Don’t worry, be thankful and Seek God First

Look at vs 34

This passage closes showing us that worry isn’t productive

Each day has enough trouble of it’s own!

There is only one way for us to deal with this and that is to trust God

Do you know the only one that can take care of you?

The Presidential election is Tuesday; so please VOTE!

People have become very passionate about elections and winners and losers

Some people are threatening to leave the country if their candidate loses

There have been reports of people becoming physically ill

The phrase “He’s not my President!” rings out all over the place

This means that whoever is elected is placed there by God

"Surely God did not intend for that person to be President!"

There is no authority except from God and those that exist are established by God

So understand this, whoever becomes the next President, God placed them there

We call the President the "Commander in Chief"

But God is the "Commander and Chief"

He has the authority and He is the leader

Daniel 4:35

He gave all authority to Jesus, who intercedes on our behalf

This is still "One Nation Under God" and believers must act like it

If our Nation doesn’t humble themselves and pray

Then how can we be a Godly Nation

Believers, your duty is to vote on Tuesday

But, it is also to lift up the President that God appoints in prayer daily

How is that possible if you don’t personally know the one with all authority?

The Commander and Chief gave all authority to Jesus

Jesus stands with his nail scarred hands calling you to Him today

Don’t be consumed by the next 4 years! Instead, are you ready for Eternity?

Have you ever looked around your house and realized you were out of space.

When that happens the first thought is, "YARD SALE!"

The first thought is, "I have to get rid of some stuff!"

Our lives are like our houses, often times we need to get rid of stuff.

Hate is something that has no business being in our life anyway.

When they came to the place called The Skull, there they crucified Him and the criminals, one on the right and the other on the left.

But Jesus was saying, "Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing."

And they cast lots, dividing up His garments among themselves. And the people stood by, looking on.

And even the rulers were sneering at Him, saying, "He saved others; let Him save Himself if this is the Christ of God, His Chosen One."

The soldiers also mocked Him, coming up to Him, offering Him sour wine, and saying, "If You are the King of the Jews, save Yourself!"

Now there was also an inscription above Him, "THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS."

One of the criminals who were hanged there was hurling abuse at Him, saying, "Are You not the Christ? Save Yourself and us!"

But the other answered, and rebuking him said, "Do you not even fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation?

"And we indeed are suffering justly, for we are receiving what we deserve for our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong."

And he was saying, "Jesus, remember me when You come in Your kingdom!"

He poured out nothing but love, and he was hated for it to the point of death.

But instead of hate, Jesus simply showed more intense love.

Well, that is Jesus, and we can’t live up to that because we are flesh.

June 17th, 2015
Emmanuel AME Church massacre in Charleston SC

Within 24 hours, at the bond hearing, family members told the shooter, "I forgive you"

When asked how they could do that, they said God was with them.

Because Jesus was fully flesh, we can draw strength from His earthly life.

Hate is a cancer that eats you up from the inside.

The only way to get rid of hate is to be filled with Love.

If you are filled with hate, there is no room for love.

Are you willing to be filled with Love, God’s Love, today?

Storms can be terrifying

Some storms in life are, in nature, like hurricanes

Other storms in life happen within our lives like financial difficulties, and relationship issues

No matter which type of storms come; the fact is, they come

Most of us would be happy if these storms would just pass over us

Sometimes they do, but often, we must go through the storm

and He said to them, "Let us go over to the other side of the lake." So they launched out.

But as they were sailing along He fell asleep; and a fierce gale of wind descended on the lake,

and they began to be swamped and to be in danger.

They came to Jesus and woke Him up, saying, "Master, Master, we are perishing!"

And He got up and rebuked the wind and the surging waves, and they stopped, and it became calm.

And He said to them, "Where is your faith?"

They were fearful and amazed, saying to one another, "Who then is this, that He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey Him?"

Even if whoever is with you can’t do anything, it is still better

For a believer, the great thing is we are never alone!

Believers sometimes get this false thought that, as long as Jesus is with them, there will be no storms

We were never promised that!

In fact in John 16:33 Jesus says, in this world you will have trouble

So, instead of thinking there will be no storm, prepare to go through them

In June, everywhere you look people are saying "Get prepared for Hurricane season"

Being prepared doesn’t stop the storms, but at least you are ready

They didn’t know what He would do and were astonished at what He did

They just knew they should call on Him

The point is, as we go through the Storms of life, our Father is with us

He may not calm the storm as quickly as we want, but He is with us

The second part of John 16:33 says, take heart I have overcome the world

I am always amazed at how Jesus brings us through storms

Where is your faith? Yes, there are going to be storms in this life.

But if you have faith, He will go through the storm with you.

After the storms, we are usually stronger than before and more faithful

Are you storm ready?

Do you know the one that will take you through the storm?

Labor Day

The first celebrations of Labor day were municipal ordinances in 1885

Oregon was the first State to make it law in 1887

U.S. Congress passed the Labor Day act on June 28, 1894

Labor day celebrates the social and economic achievements of workers

We are designed to be workers not place holders

Too many Christians today have forgotten the old Hymn “We’ll Work Til Jesus Comes”

John 9:4 NASB

"We must work the works of Him who sent Me as long as it is day;

night is coming when no one can work."

This is a Labor of Love

"And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world,

according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience.

Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind,

and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.

But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions,

made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),

and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,

so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;

not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.

For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works,

which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them." Ephesians 2:1-10 NASB

First of all, let us understand that we were all once sinners

Verses 1-3

Today, as you sit here or watch on Facebook, you are either dead in sin, or you were

But GOD

Verses 4-6

Because of HIS great LOVE

By GRACE you have been saved or can be saved

Vs. 7

He saved us to show us His grace and kindness over and over again

Are you wrapping your head around this?

Jesus performed a Labor of Love by dying on the Cross to save YOU!

Verses 8-9

Salvation doesn’t come from you or your works it is grace given not earned

I want you to pay close attention to verse 10

"We are His workmanship" meaning He created us, not by chance

We’re not an accident that crawled out of an explosion, we are designed by God

We are designed for "Good Works" which he has already prepared

This Labor of Love means that as Christians, we are designed to work for Him

I am convinced the decline of the church is largely attributed to not WORKING for Him

On this Labor Day weekend, will you decide to "Work 'Til Jesus Comes"

Right now in our world, so many people feel hopeless; and we can show them the Hope

It is time to get back to work for Him!

Do you know who I’m talking about?