Volume No. 2011 Issue No. 07 Date: February 20, 2011
Publication of the BIBLE BAPTIST MINISTRY, 48 Alexie Rd, Hanover Township, PA 18706
Phone: 570.829.5216 pdmikBBM@aol.com pastormiklas@aol.com
I Samuel 17:20-29 the little shepherd boy David was instructed by his father Jesse to take some food to his brothers who were fighting the Philistines. When David got to the battlefront, he heard the giant Goliath breathing out threats against God's people and challenging them to provide a champion from their ranks to come and do battle against him. David's brother Eliab came up and said in verse 28, And Eliab his eldest brother heard when he spake unto the men; and Eliab's anger was kindled against David, and he said, Why camest thou down hither? and with whom hast thou left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know thy pride, and the naughtiness of thine heart; for thou art come down that thou mightest see the battle." It is here that David asked in verse 29, "What have I now done? Is there not a cause?”
Sad is the one who has no cause for which he can live and die.
Sad is the one who has no vision to reach boys and girls and men and women with the gospel of Christ.
Sad is the one who has no goals in his life, family or ministry for which to work and pray.
David said, "What do you mean go back and take care of a few sheep? A lot of folks can take care of sheep. Only one guy with a slingshot can lick the big giant. Let me at him. There is a cause I have burning in my soul." As a result this little shepherd boy did what all the mighty men of Israel couldn't do. He got caught up in a cause. He said let me at him, "I'll slay that giant."
When DAVID had a cause he conquered Goliath. When David lost his cause, he couldn't conquer his lust.
When SAMSON had a cause, he won many battles. When Samson lost his cause, he couldn't resist the temptation to show affection to Delilah.
When SOLOMON had a cause, he was the wisest man in the world. When Solomon lost his cause, he couldn't control his own evil passions for strange women.
When SAUL had a cause, he conquered the kingdom. When Saul lost his cause, he could not even conquer his own jealousy.
When a CHURCH has a cause it's a force with which to be reckoned. But when that cause is lost, a number of things change. So what causes a church to lose its cause?
A church begins to lose its cause when the members rely on the personality of the Pastor, rather than praying for the power of God to fall upon the pulpit and the pew.
A church begins to lose its cause when the Pastor and members lose their motivation to win souls. The newness is gone. The honeymoon wears off. Soon discouragement and disillusionment set in.
A church begins to lose its cause when the Pastor and then the members lose their vision. I must work to keep my vision clear. If I lose my vision for people, the people will perish.
A church begins to lose its cause when the older members settle down or quit. In God's dear name, please get back up and live by your cause either until the uppertaker or the undertaker.
Some years ago I received an e-mail from a missionary, whose communiqué ended with these words:
DOUBT sees the obstacles, FAITH sees the way!
DOUBT sees the darkest night, FAITH sees the day!
DOUBT dreads to take a step, FAITH soars on HIGH!
DOUBT questions, “Who believes?” FAITH answers “I!”
I challenge those of you who have a BURDEN and a VISION to go through 2011 different and determined to do something about them May God’s blessing be upon you this week as you read and meditate on the sermon taken from Matthew 5:43-47, “How to Treat Our Enemies in the Family of God.”
In His Amazing Grace,
PS: If possible during 2011, would you please consider helping us in this faith ministry? Your donation will help us to continue to “stand in the gap” in “teaching others also.” After you have given your tithes to your church and taken care of your pastor, would you please consider giving either a yearly gift, or a monthly offering? Remember for the purposes of financial accountability, we have placed this ministry under the Green Street Baptist Chapel of Edwardsville, PA. Checks made out to Green Street Baptist Chapel, memo to the Bible Baptist ministry and mailed to Bible Baptist Ministry 48 Alexie Rd, Hanover Township, PA 18706 will be applied to this ministry.
PPS: In order to access the Weekly SERMON, please click the link to Weekly Sermon Library, where you will be able to choose: Plain Text (TXT), Microsoft Word document (DOC), Rich Text (RTF), Web Page (HTML) or PDF (Portable Document Format), any of the format(s) you desire. After you decide on the appropriate format(s) you may then print a copy of the Weekly SERMON, save it to a file on your computer, or download it and save it to a disk for future use. Your use of this material is meant to be flexible.