Does God Like You?

Pastor Deb speaks on God's favor.

Does God like you? That may sound like an odd question to ask but there are reasons for asking it.

The bible says that all good and pleasing gifts come from God. It is God's desire to give us gifts. The most wonderful gift that He has ever given mankind is salvation; NO MAN can earn it… it is a free gift that we can accept if we so desire. But there are other gifts that God would like to give us too but they don't necessarily come free - these gifts come with the price tag of obedience. When we become obedient to God and we begin to seek His will, He will offer to us those things that will help us in our walk of faith which are wisdom, favor and blessings.

Last week we spoke about wisdom. I spoke to you about how God's word describes it as a beautiful woman. God tells us to avoid the woman named Folly who will only get us into trouble, and leads us nowhere but to the depths of hell.

The gift of wisdom; we learned comes with the price tag of beginning to fear the Lord.

This week we are going to discuss favor. Favor is a word that is spoken about in the bible over and over again, but still is misunderstood and overlooked.

But what is this favor about? Well I'm sure all of you have heard the word favor being spoken of in such ways as… "Will you do me a favor?"Or "I have a favor to ask of you."

The definition of Favor:

Something done or granted out of goodwill, rather than from justice.

The state of being approved or held in regard.

Actually when we look at the 1^st definition we can see of what I spoke earlier - that God obviously gave all mankind favor when He offered His Son to die in our place to save us from our sins. He offered us this gift out of goodwill because justice would have been death. All of us are sinners…there's not a one of us who is not bent to evil.

But God also offers up to us favor as in definition 2. We can be looked at by God as: Approved of or held in high regard.

God speaks of this word favor right off the bat in the beginning of the bible in Genesis 4:4, 5 Adam lay with his wife Eve and she became pregnant and gave birth to Cain. She said, with the help of the Lord I have brought forth a man. Later she gave birth to his brother Abel. Now Abel kept flocks, and Cain worked the soil. In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the Lord. But Abel brought fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock, The Lord looked with FAVOR on Abel and his offering, but on Cain and his offering he did not look with FAVOR. This scripture goes on to point out why it is that God did not look with favor upon Cain's offering. It says that "Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast. Then the Lord said to Cain, "Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted?"

Whereas the key to wisdom is fear of the Lord, the key for favor is obedience.

God tells us that obedience is the answer to most of the struggles we will have in our faith…but if we do continue to be obedient to God's will then we can surely receive so much, much more than what we've known.

Now something big that I want you to understand…God gives people favor but that doesn't mean that He has favorites. Because His word tells us that He shows no partiality to man, He loves all mankind equally; but He definitely isn't pleased with all people in the same way. He may love you, but does He like you? Obviously, this happens. It is possible to love someone but not like them. How many of you out there have loved someone but really don't like them?

So, my opinion is that God loves everyone which is why He was willing to offer His Son to die for them but that when He likes you and is pleased with you that He will give us favor.

Don't believe me; how about all these scripture references where God says that He was pleased with someone?

Psalm 41:11 I know that you are pleased with me, for my enemy does not triumph over me.

And of course Jesus….Matthew 3:17 and a voice from heaven said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased."

In the lives that we live, we like those people who are kind, listen, are fair to us and help us out. God too, likes us when we show kindness, listen to others, and are fair with the people that we come into contact with.

How do you get favor?

· By following the commandments.

· By seeking after God's will.

· By imitating Jesus and following after Him in all things. What are your dreams for your life? I can tell you right now that you can have them if you begin to do those things that would make Christ like you. You can receive favor to receive those dreams. I am a big proponent of asking God for favor – I can tell you truthfully that I have prayed for favor for me and my family and I can tell you that I have been given opportunities where I shouldn't have ever had opportunities, but they've come because God made it happen; He gave me favor.

If you have a call to accomplish anything for God, anything at all, you can receive favor to accomplish it.

Moses himself asked God for favor…Exodus 32:11, But Moses sought the favor of the Lord his God.

Gideon spoke to the angel of the Lord and said to him… in Judges 6:17 if now I have found favor in your eyes give me a sign that it is really you talking to me.

Luke 1:30 the angel said to Mary – "do not be afraid, you have found favor with God."

Throughout the bible you can see over and over again that anyone who had a mission from God also received His favor to accomplish it.

Noah had a big task set for Him but Noah had favor. Genesis 6:8 But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.

The Favor comes not only from Him, but also from man who is around us; so that we can accomplish the things that God has set before us.

Genesis 39:2-4 The Lord was with Joseph and he prospered and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master. When his master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord gave him success in everything he did, Joseph found favor in his eyes and became his attendant. Potiphar put him in charge of his household and he entrusted to his care everything he owned.

Ruth 2:10 she exclaimed to Boaz "why have I found such favor in your eyes that you notice me – a foreigner?"

1 Samuel 2:26 and the boy Samuel continued to grow in stature and in favor with the Lord and men.

2 Samuel 14:22 Joab said, "today your servant knows that he has found favor in your eyes, my lord the king, because the king has granted his servants' request.

When you seek favor from God – He can also give you favor with man. Favor is an awesome thing because those who have favor bless themselves and God's Kingdom but they also bless those other people who are around them. Believe me, I want those people who are working side by side with me to receive favor because they I too can get some of the benefits.

This is why Potiphar wanted Joseph to be in charge of everything… When his master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord gave him success in everything he did, Potiphar put him in charge of his household and let everything that he owned be in his care.

What shouldn't you do if you want favor?

Don't speak evil for evil! …you need to handle trials well. Favor comes to those who do what's right even in the midst of trials and troubles. Gods' word tells us that how we handle things when we are being treated unfairly or poorly will make all the difference as to whether or not we will receive favor. Ex: Joseph with his brothers and Potiphar

Don't lie! God hates a liar. Speaking the truth finds favor. Deceit stops favor from being poured out on your life.

Don't flatter anyone… Proverbs 28:23 He who rebukes a man will in the end gain more favor than he who has a flattering tongue.

Don't lose your way. Don't fall victim to the seductress Folly.

Why want favor?

Psalm 5:12 for surely O Lord, you bless the righteous; you surround them with your favor as with a shield.

Righteous living leads to favor and then favor acts as a shield.

When we receive favor we can have protection. Who wouldn't want this amazing gift? I guess those who just don't want to be obedient; for them it might difficult to ask themselves …

Does God like me?

*listen to this message!*

Wisdom the True Hottie!

Two women call out from Proverbs, Wisdom and Lady Folly.

The bible has some interesting things to say about wisdom.

One of the most interesting things that I found is that it describes wisdom in feminine terms. In:

• Proverbs 4:6, 7 Never walk away from wisdom, she guards your life; love her – she keeps her eye on you. Above all and before all, do this: get wisdom! Write this at the top of your list: Throw your arms around her, believe me, you won't regret it; never let her go- she'll make your life glorious. She'll garland your life with grace, she'll festoon your days with beauty
• Proverbs 7:4 talk to wisdom as to a sister.
• Proverbs 14:33 Lady Wisdom is at home in an understanding heart, fools never even get to say hello.

The interesting thing I found as I studied this was that God's word truly points  out the difference between wisdom; who is looked at as a beautiful, prized woman that you should seek after and Folly, who is a foolish woman who's immoral and is a wanton seductress. God's word tells us where we can find both of these ladies.

WISDOM, (Proverbs 8 in the message) says – she has taken her stand at 1^st and Main, at the busiest intersection, right in the city square where traffic is thickest. She lives on Righteous Road at the intersection of Justice Avenue, yelling out to everyone that she's there.

FOLLY, you can find her easily too but you're more likely to happen upon her, you run into her when you start to lose your way when you've wandered off.

And in Proverbs 9 she calls out too: There's this other woman, Madam Whore, brazen, empty headed, frivolous. She sits on the front porch of her house calling out to the people as they walk by… "Are you confused about life, don't know what's going on? Steal off with me, I'll show you a good time, no one will ever know"…But they don't know about all the skeletons in her closet, that all her guests end up in hell.

In Proverbs 7 it says that soon she has him eating out of her hand, bewitched with her honeyed speech, but before you know it, he's trotting behind her like a calf led to the butcher shop, like a stag lured into ambush and then shot with an arrow, like a bird flying into a net… not knowing that it's flying life is over.

God's word tells us to be cautious, to watch closely where it is that we travel.

We've talked before about how following Jesus is described as a walk of faith… but here we see that its important where we walk, how purposely we walk, and who it is we walk to that will make all the difference. James 3:13 message – do you want to be counted wise, to build a reputation for wisdom? Here's what you do: live well, live wisely, live humbly. It's the way you live, not the way you talk that counts. Mean spirited ambition isn't wisdom. Boasting that you are wise isn't wisdom. Twisting the truth to make yourself sound wise isn't wisdom.

It's the furthest thing from wisdom, its animal cunning, devilish conniving. Whenever you're trying to look better than others or get the better of others, things fall apart and everyone ends up at the others' throats.

Real wisdom, God's wisdom, begins with a holy life and is characterized by getting along with others. It is gentle and reasonable, overflowing with mercy and blessings, not hot one day and cold the next – not two faced.  

(See, you cannot be a fence sitter and have wisdom)

How do we get wisdom?

First and foremost we can ONLY get it when we put our trust in God and seek after Jesus.

Proverbs 9:10 skilled living gets its start in the Fear of God, insight into life from knowing a Holy God, it's through me that your life deepens, and the years of your life ripen.

The very beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord… to recognize that our lives can be destroyed IF we do not put our trust in Him.

1.   Ask God for wisdom.

James 1:5 - if you need wisdom- if you want to know what God wants you to do – ask Him, and He will gladly tell you. He will not resent your asking.

God's word tells us that all good and pleasing gifts come from Him.  

We need to seek God's wisdom… not the worlds because it is much different.

Right off the start in Genesis 3:6 – Eve made the mistake of eating the fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden that God had already forbidden her to eat from.

Why did she do it?

She did it because the food looked pleasing and she thought it would give her wisdom.

When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it and also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate it. There have been many wrong choices done because something looked pleasing AND there have been many a poor choice done out of trying to gain worldly wisdom.

Eve was seeking after worldly wisdom when she ate from this tree… she had already been given the best instruction from God himself… but she risked that she could know better.

WE ARE NO BETTER THAN EVE– WE DO THE SAME THING ALL THE TIME!

Earthly wisdom brings on confusion, instability and disorder… but God's wisdom brings us sound mind, a firm path and complete order.

Travel the roads that she lives on instead and spend your time with her.

For when you do that – you receive much, much, more.

Psalm 33:18 says that the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear Him. On those whose hope is in His unfailing love.

You receive His watching out for you.

Even though nothing goes unnoticed by God, His eyes rest in a special way on those who truly fear Him. God watches over us and protects us from harm so that we will not die unless it is according to His plan.

Also: Psalm 34:7 the angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him, and He delivers them.

You receive His protection.

God's word talks about ministering spirits that are sent to serve those who will inherit salvation. He gives His angels charge over them, protecting them from physical and spiritual danger… BUT this promise is only reserved for those who truly fear Him. (Those who seek after wisdom)

AND: Proverbs 10:27 the fear of the Lord adds length to life, but the years of the wicked are cut short.

You receive a longer life.

And isn't that just like our God, He tells us to do a simple thing like seek wisdom, which is to fear Him, honor Him, and give to Him what He so rightly deserves and He gives us back so much more.

He guards us

He sends His angels to protect us.

And He adds length to our life.

All because we seek after the true hottie, the true beauty…HER, which is wisdom!

*listen to this message!*

One Leg Over The Fence

Pastor Deb Speaks on Christians who try to walk on both sides of the fence.

Last week I spoke to you about having one foot in the grave. I told you that it is a place most people don't even realize they are.  They aren't aware that they don't even need to move or make a choice to be there because that is the place they are in and it puts them inside their coffins just waiting for that final curtain call. I spoke to you from Ephesians 5:14 which tells us to – wake up from your sleep, climb out of your coffins, and Christ will show you the light. The choices that you make today will have all the affect on your life and your destiny. It is a choice for you to make in what kind of life you make for yourself and it is a choice every single day of how true you decide to live it.

God tells us that we need to wake up spiritually, that we need to climb from this place of death and we need to let Christ show us how to live and how not to die.

In Deuteronomy 30:11-15 this command I am giving you today is not too difficult for you to understand or perform. It is not up in heaven, so distant that you must ask who will go to heaven and bring it down so we can hear and obey it? The message is very close at hand; it is on your lips and in your heart so that you can obey it. Now listen, today - I am giving you a choice between prosperity and disaster, between life and death.  Oh that you would choose life that you and your descendants might live!

See God's word says for us to choose life. It doesn't say for us to choose death because death is what we will get as long as we don't do anything at all.

I tell you all that to repeat what I told you last week. All of this having one foot in the grave business is something that most people aren't even aware of.

What I want to talk to you about now is those who are aware but somehow don't take the matter of climbing out seriously; the people who are straddling the fence.

Fence straddler's are an interesting bunch, because they are an uncomfortable sort of people. They don't fit in no matter where it is that they go – they aren't enough of a Christian to feel comfortable around the Christians and they aren't enough of the world to be comfortable in the world.

The reason why it's so uncomfortable is because God never intended any person who is a believer to be there for very long. His plan is to move you on or let you go but never to hold your hand while you have that one foot in that grave.

 "So called Believers" who are really fence sitters will say that God is good, kind and loving – and He will wait for me to wake up and start my climbing; and to that I say… that is a lie from the enemy Satan himself.

Satan wants you to think you have the luxury of time to wake up and time to begin climbing but with God – you will always see His point which is – Today, choose for yourself the path… life or death.

You can choose NOT  to wake up, and get climbing but don't deceive yourself into believing that you can have that one foot in the grave while you are doing it, because if that were really the case than none of us would have to get a move on. All of us would be able to sit back and chill out… and just go lukewarm.

NOPE, His plan is for us to make a decision and then live it.

We cannot blow hot one minute while we are hanging out at church or while we are with our parents or other believers and then blow cold the next while we are hanging out with our other influences because together that just makes us lukewarm.

Hot + Cold = lukewarm.

There are those people who speak all these strong words and such about God and His convictions but when those people get alone or they hang out with certain people they act totally different.

Jesus called those people hypocrites – that is what people used to call the actors of their times… God tells us to quit acting and start being.

I think personally the reason why there are so many hypocrites in the church is because people choose on a particular day to be a Christ follower but then they don't realize that it isn't a choice that you make one time and one time alone…. It is instead a choice that you make for yourself EVERY SINGLE DAY that you get up.

What are you concerned with God's will or your own happiness?

God's timing or your timing?

Being loved by others or holding fast to your convictions?

Are you more concerned with keeping up with your friends or letting them keep up with you?

Life is full of choices. Every day brings us new challenges and decisions for us to make. Every day is a new day, and every day means we either choose to live for God, by the standards He lays down in the Holy Bible, or we live to please ourselves by our own standards of right and wrong, like they did in the old days in Judges 21:25 when people did what seemed right in their own eyes. Sadly, I think the most horrible part of all this is that this IS HOW CHURCH is done today; churches have started to do what seems right in their own eyes… this has become normal. This is how people practice their faith. They think that the lukewarm church is a church that will get them to Heaven and they have been lied to because all that's happening is that they still stand with one foot in the grave. Fence straddlers love this lie… they find comfort in it because it doesn't convict and cause people to move!!!! Different lands have different gods. The Arabs of the Middle East serve Allah; East Indians serve the gods of Hinduism; the Chinese serve Buddha and American Indians worship the elements. Americas supposedly serve the God of the Bible, the Christian God, but do we? Here there are beautiful architecturally gorgeous churches just about everywhere you look; there are modern churches that seat tens of thousands of people. There are big churches, small churches, and "just right" churches, they are called many different things... even Centers instead of churches in case you're turned off by the word.

In fact you don't have to travel too far at all in America to be able to see a church; some with steeples, some without, some singing old hymns and some singing new worship songs….To the outside looking in – we look like we are a godly nation. We can do all these things that make us look holy, but all these things don't make us Christians or make God personally real to us at all.  It is instead the choice that each of us makes every single day that will make Him real. Our choice that God tells us to make is about us deciding what it is that we love. We are told that we live in this world, but we are commanded by Jesus himself to not love it. God says we must love him with all our heart, strength, and mind. Fence straddlers are too preoccupied to do that because fence straddlers are in love with the world. Matthew 6:24 "No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other." That's a pretty straightforward comment I know… but I truly believe it. 1 John 2:15 -17 Stop  loving this evil world and all that it offers you, for when you love the world, you show that you do not have the love of the Father in you. For the world offers only the lust for physical pleasure, the lust for everything we see, and pride in our possessions. These are not from the Father. They are from this evil world. And this world is fading away, along with everything it craves. But if you do the will of God, you will live forever.

What is it in your life that you cannot seem to get a handle on – no matter how hard it is that you try?

Who is it in your life that you give MORE TIME TO than God?

What concerns you most… your physical body or your spiritual body?

Your money or your heart and mind?

 Your so called friends or the one true friend?

Could you be a fence straddler and not even know it? Not after tonight you cant.

"Choose you this day who you will serve! Since the days of old, Christians have been called on to make the tough choices…Today you have the toughest and easiest choice to make…. Tough because it is going to take some real work and effort and "please dear God… You will lose some friends over it!" but easiest because all you have to do is ask for forgiveness and put Jesus first in your life and serve Him and you will just have  diverted your whole destiny.  Or are you happy just being the "churched" Christian who marches with one foot on high ground while the other drags behind you in the grave? Will you be just a part-time Christian, with a full time occupation with the devil as your employer, the first one to go to church and pray but then will quickly head back to the feeding trough with all the other swine that belong to this world? The other swine might be fooled by this sort of Christianity, the church that you go to might be fooled by it, even your spiritual leaders, parents and friends might be fooled by it… but Jesus is not. He just says that you are lukewarm… and He is going to spew you out of His mouth. Don't be a person that makes Jesus throw up! God knows there have been many… There are so many people who cannot make a decision for themselves. They live for the gray areas in life and they do not want to EVER think that there are absolutes in this life that we live. But to God He is all about the black and the white, the right and the wrong, the good and the evil, the light and the dark, the wheat and the tares, the sheep and the goats, the gold and the dross, the friends and the enemies. IF you are not a friend of God – YOU are His enemy. If you aren't working for HIM – you are working against HIM. I pray that CYM is a no fence sitter zone! Because fence sitters are stuck – they aren't going anywhere. Their foot is in the grave and they aren't waking up and climbing out of their coffins. Do not PLAY CHURCH. It hasn't moved you or your family any closer to God yet… and don't give me a line of bull telling me that your family goes to church and yet they do all these other things that show that they are God's enemy and that you believe they are going to Heaven. I'm sorry… I think that I'll believe my Father in Heaven over you on that one… What happens to the lukewarm before Jesus comes? Where do they go? There are only two places for them to go -- they go either totally hot or totally cold. Luke warmness disappears before Jesus comes. Before He comes again, the fence straddlers disappear. There's no more middle of the road. Either you're going to be 100% solid in your relationship with Jesus, or you will have abandoned Him altogether. Jesus made it very clear that the dividing line between the hot and cold will be your relationship with Him. And to get us to make that decision sometimes – He will get us to point of making us mad and shaking us up, consider this a small earthquake. There are too many people who are out there performing good works to make it to Heaven. Too many out there who are cheapening what Jesus has done for them to save their souls. It is time to quit the fence sitting and decide what side of the fence you want to graze on and be part of.

*listen to this message!*

Evaluate and Appropriate

Evaluate : to judge or determine the significance, worth, or quality of; assess:

Appropriate : to set apart, authorize, or legislate for some specific purpose or use:

Something to think about since we are in the month of January and can do things differently IF we choose.

Something New?

The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again but expecting different results...:

1)    Most people I know…

____ don't want to change.

____ want to change, but don't know how.

____ know that something needs to change in their lives, but they don't know what.

____ change when they really want to.

____ have no trouble changing but have lots of trouble keeping their commitments.

    

2)    What one new thing would you like to do this year in…

Your friendships?

 

Your activities?

 

Your studies?

 

3)    What is one way you want your faith to be different this New Year?

 

4)    How can your friends help you to get there?

 

5)    How can we at CYM help you to get there?

 

 

One Foot In The Grave

Get out of your coffins. What are you going to do with your new year?





*listen to this message!*

Final Sex Talk

There is a scripture verse that is always spoken of in youth ministries - 1 Timothy 4:12 which says, Don't let anyone think less of you because you are young. Be an example to all believers in what you teach, in the way you live, in your love, your faith, and your purity.

Most people emphasize the first part of that verse but what I want to challenge you on and speak to you about is the second half of that scripture.

See, it isn't as much about having good self esteem as it is that it doesn't matter as much about your age, as much as it does being an example to everyone around you of all ages everywhere. What God is really trying to say to us is;  when you are young be the example to the little kids, the young adults, the middle agers and the senior citizens. It is more so about stepping up to do the job that we've been called to do.

We are called to teach the truth even when it isn't popular.

Live it - don't just say it. God wants us to daily make Him first in all matters of your life.

Show love to everyone; not just to those who love you and treat you well but also to those who treat you badly.

Put your faith in the forefront, spend time with God. Worship Him and read His Word. Pray to Him - Seek His will for your life. AND..............

Live a life of purity.

The word of God says for us to be an example in purity. I say to you... Keep yourself pure. The word pure here refers to our sexual purity. Like we've said before - sex is not wrong or dirty, God is the One who created us to be male and female and He was the One who pronounced our sexuality to be "very good!" He just put up some boundaries for us to accomplish it in. Before rebelling against God's will, Adam and Eve enjoyed living in the garden in harmony, not even aware of their nakedness; but right after the fall, they had a sense of shame and immediately hid themselves. Sin degrades our sexuality. Sin treats people as objects for sexual gratification instead of being looked at as God's creation that should be respected. When we sin - we feel inferior and unworthy of God - so we still hide from Him today.

I challenge each and every one of you to keep yourself pure. Sexual purity is a lifestyle to be lived, and it's a choice that you will have to make every single day for as long as you live. We shouldn't be surprised when a non believer doesn't practice this lifestyle  - Titus 1:15 says "to the unbeliever nothing is pure." but we should be sad and disappointed like God is when a so called believer chooses to lower the standard. In 2 Samuel 22 and in Psalm 18 its said that "to the pure God shows himself pure." Purity is God's character. Psalm 24 the question is asked... Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord and who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart." Jesus says - "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God."

Purity and sin affects our relationship with God. It's like a two way telephone conversation that becomes filled with static and interference. We cannot hear God and He cannot hear us and our feeble prayers.

Because purity reflects the character of God - then purity should be a charcteristic of God's people. Again, I challenge you and God wishes for you to quit playing church and playing house with those of the opposite sex and set a standard of purity that you WILL NOT cross.

God is so good to us and He loves us so much - even when we have failed Him and thrown away our purity. The great thing about Him is that His promise is to give it all back to us if we truly want it. Beauty for ashes - He promises! Just ask for His forgiveness, and ask for His strength and help. He will NEVER leave us or forsake us, for He cannot lie.