Roland gave me the following update to post so that our church members could see what the Lord is doing:

“Here is great news for the Enabled Ministries from Friday night, December second. First of all, we had twenty-one addicts show up for Bible study. Class went great. After an hour and a half, we had four raise their hands indicating their need of Christ as their personal Savior.

Before group even started, two teenagers were out walking in the downtown area. Pastor Max and I started talking with the kids. The next thing I witness is those two kids quoting the sinners prayer and trusting in Jesus Christ for their eternal salvation.

From my viewpoint as a work at Enabled Ministries, there is great progress. We do have a few flaws to work out. For example, now that we have twenty or more regulars, we intend to hold down a good structure so we can assist these twenty people with needs they may have.

Our goal is to help out in any way we can without enabled the problem.”

Roland Stone

Tonight, at the Enabled Ministries, our study will be around the Scripture John 17:17 which says, “Sanctify them through they truth: thy word is truth.”

Jesus Christ is here speaking to His Father.  Christ is making this request for His disciples.  One thing that we can learn from this is that it is imperative that we live in and according to the Word of God.  The word sanctify means to make holy or separate.  Christ is asking His Father to do this to the disciples.

1.  Sanctification is a Work of God.  It is God Who does this work in the lives of His children.  This is beyond positional sanctification.  When it comes to practical areas of living, we must rely upon the Lord to will and do of His good pleasure.

2.  Sanctification is accomplished by the Word of God.  The Agent that the Father will use to sanctify His children is the Word of God.  This is not simply for the sake of salvation.  We know that faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word of God; but please keep in mind the context.  This means that believers need to be continually immersed in the Word of God.  We must abide in Christ, and His words must abide in us.

3.  Sanctification is the Will of God (I Thessalonians 4:1 – 8).  This is what God wants.  The Lord clearly sets us apart at the moment that one is born again; but, again, is there a sanctifying work of God that continues to transform the believer daily (Romans 12:1 – 2)?  The answer is emphatically, “YES”!  This work is accomplished as we yield to the Word of God on a daily basis.  Spend time with Christ in His Word.  Observe to do according to what is written therein.

The failure for most is that they try to DO what is right without BEING right first.  Sanctification is the Lord’s work in salvation; and it is the Lord’s work in service.  The call to believers today is to yield yourselves as instruments of righteousness [to God].  Read the Word of God.  Meditate upon the Word of God.  Obey the Word of God.

“Sanctify them through they truth: thy word is truth.“

This is no new passage, but it certainly is one that should truly make us think.  Proverbs 30:24 – 25 says, “There be four things which are little upon the earth, but they are exceeding wise: The ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the summer…”

1.)  ”…a people not strong, yet…” – There is no excuse given for NOT accomplishing what must be done.  All things are possible with God, and believers should not look for excuses to NOT accomplish what must be done.  Consider the following for which we often make excuses: walk with the Lord; commitment to the Lord’s work; soul winning; discipleship…etc  In our minds we seem to be able to justify our own personal neglect of God’s Word and His commands.

2.)  ”…they prepare their…” – I don’t know when the last time was that you were able to see an ant working, but rarely do you ever see them by themselves.  There is usually a long line of ants working for the same cause.  Team work is essential to accomplishing the Lord’s work.  We are laborers together with God.  The Lord’s work is not designed to be accomplished by the one who seeks all of the attention, nor is it designed for those who, with good intentions, try to do everything themselves.  We must be actively training leaders!

3.)  ”…meat…” – The ants work together to prepare “…meat…”  This is their sustenance during the winter.  It is what matters most.  They do not vainly waste away their time on what matters least.  Believers must spend time working on that which matters most.  One area that has certainly increased in ministry is the administrative work associated with ministry.  While it is necessary, in many respects, we must manage ourselves within the time allotted to be sure that we spend time doing what matters most.  Meeting, winning, baptizing, and discipling people must not take a back seat.  Do not settle for the “good” in life; go for the “best”!

4.)  ”…the summer…” The ants know that they have a limited time within which they can work.  Interesting!  I wish we understood this too.  It is high time to awake out of sleep (Romans 13:11).

If you desire to be exceeding wise, consider what the Word of God says about this little creature.

The best Bible reading application for my iPad and iPhone is the Olive Tree Bible application.  It allows you to annotate, highlight, create notes from study and many more things.  One of the only challenges that I found was that when I would pull up my notes on my computer, I would have to log on to their website.  Well, now they have created and application that syncs with the changes you have on your other devices.  In other words, the study notes from “there” sync with my laptop!

What will this allow me to do?

1.)  I will be able to access highlights and study notes from any device at any time.

2.)  It will allow copying and pasting of notes to Evernote, Word, or Pages for further edit and creation of sermons and studies.

3.)  It will allow quick editing of study notes without having to go online and log in at the Olive Tree website.

By the way, the Olive Tree software is free!

This past Monday, two men [Glen & Roland] from our church were walking the streets in Middletown.  They came within about 200 yards of Middletown Middle School when they found something that was terribly disturbing and very sad.  They came across a needle that had been left on the sidewalk.  There is no question that this needle was intended to be used for purposes that are not very good.

This is a sobering reminder that the work of Grace Baptist Church and the Enabled Ministries is still well-needed in our community.  Please pray for the ministry as they continue to meet this next Friday.

Proverbs 29:20 says, “Seest thou a man that is hasty in his words? there is more hope of a fool than of him.”

We would not generally consider that a fool [silly or stupid] is an individual who has hope of a good end.  Here, when comparing between an individual who speaks before he thinks and a fool, the Word of God says that there is more hope of a fool than of him.  Everyone has an opinion, but it does not mean that it is right; nor does this mean that it should be stated.  Wisely ponder your words before you speak.  Otherwise, the end result is inevitable.  There is less hope for us than a fool when we do not wisely control our tongues.  Consider

1.)  Does what I am going to say glorify the Lord?

2.)  Does the speech edify [build up] someone?  This could include rebuke or exhortation.

3.)  Will I later regret having made the statement?

4.)  If Jesus Christ was in the room [right now] would I still say what I am going to say?

Thank you to everyone who participated in the Friday night Thanksgiving dinner at the Enabled Ministries.  Over forty individuals received a meal.  These forty, plus the ten workers represented over fifty individuals who took part in the evening.

There was just enough food, and there were many new faces there.  Praise the Lord for His goodness to us.  In addition, Roland Stone gave a brief testimony that the Lord used to lead many to Himself.  There were several people who trusted the Lord as Savior!  Praise the Lord!

Keep this important ministry in your prayers.  If you are interested in helping on Friday nights, please email Bro. Fernandez @ mfernandez@grace-middletown.com.

In his chapter entitled Thy Word is Truth, J.I. Packer emphasizes what it is to understand and obey God’s Word.  In closing the chapter he asks and answers a question in a very powerful and thought-provocative manner:

What is a Christian?  Christians can be described from many angles, but from what we have said it is clear that we can cover everything by saying: True Christians are people who acknowledge and live under the word of God.  They submit without reserve to the word of God written in “the Scripture of truth” (Dan. 10:21), believing the teaching, trusting the promises, following the commands.  Their eyes are upon the God of the Bible as their Father and the Christ of the Bible as their Savior. [Packer, J.I., Knowing God (IL: IVP Press), p. 116]

J.I. Packer has a book entitled Knowing God.  Yes, it has been a best seller; but besides that he highlights Biblical truths about God, God’s nature, and man’s knowledge of God.  The distinction that is being made is between those who have a great deal of knowledge ABOUT God and those who personally know God, through Jesus Christ.  He uses Daniel and there three Hebrew boys as the basis for these thoughts.  Here are the four thoughts he gives [Packer, J.I.: Knowing God , pp. 27 - 31]

1.)  Those who know God have great energy for God.  

2.)  Those who know God have great thoughts of God.

3.)  Those who know God show great boldness for God.

4.)  Those who know God have great contentment in God.   

George Muller said, “It has pleased the Lord to teach me a truth, the benefit of which I have not lost, for more than for teen years.  The point is this: I saw more clearly than ever that the first great and primary business to which I ought to attend every day was to have my soul happy in the Lord.”

The great drought amongst believers today is a lack of truly knowing God (Phil. 3:10).  We have books, pamphlets, and many other resources that teach strategy and men’s wisdom; but we must get back to the simplicity of quietly spending time in private with our Lord.  The time must include God’s Word, prayer, and daily meditation upon God’s Word.

Our children are learning methods and means, but they are missing the MOTIVE for all of those things.  This is primarily because we have made much about DOING rather than first BEING.  This is evidenced by a misdirected zeal, if any at all.  This is seen by how believers speak about God.  In their speech they reveal small thoughts about God.  Why NOT ask God to use us to conquer this world for Christ?  Why not expect that every believer in the New Testament church should be actively seeking to win their city to Christ?  We spend time asking God for comfort and fail to see what God wants done and is doing in this world.  Why is this?  It stems from our little view of God.

Parents, do not seek the easy road in life.  In all that we do, we must grow in knowing the Lord more.  This will change our way of thinking.  Do not ask if your son or daughter played the piano at the recital perfect.  Ask how that skill can be used to win the world.  Do not ask if your student is making straight “A’s” but how that God-given intellect can be used to get the Gospel to this world!  Do not seek to simply train your children in fine arts, but let the fine arts TRULY be nothing more than a perfected tool in the hands of God Almighty so that the world can hear about Jesus Christ.

Where does the change in this mindset begin?  It begins when we recognize how little we truly know God and how little time we spend meditating upon His Word.  As a result of this humbling admission, we renew our commitment to having our souls happy in the Lord each morning.  Do you really know God?  Please don’t give the status quo answer.  If you really know God, where’s the evidence?  What has the Lord taught you about Himself recently in personal devotions?  How has that truth been applied practically in your life?

II Corinthians 12:7 – 10 says, “And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.”

When trouble arises, the common response of many people of our day is to attempt to control and change the circumstances.  If it is trouble at work, they look for another job.  If it is trouble with their children at school, they look for a new school.  If it is trouble at church, they seek another church.  Is this kind of response Biblical?

One of the indispensable truths we learn from the Word of God is that there are difficulties through which we walk, but God’s desire is that we would accept His grace and know His strength more through the trials.  As parents, leaders, teachers, and believers, we will either teach the youth to run from problems or to trust the Lord through the problems.  We will either teach them, by our actions, that God’s grace is sufficient or that our happiness is superior.

God’s grace is sufficient, and though we may speak this truth, our actions must prove this to be what we believe.  Do not run.  Do not attempt to control the circumstances.  Let go, and let God provide the grace that is sufficient.  Learn through the trial, and come forth as gold on the other end of the trial.