“One small stone in one small hand of a willing prayer warrior is more than a match for a 17 pound warhead propelled by a large hand of a giant adversary,” said Pastor Kaminski in our prayer meeting this week.  That statement gives great potential for prayer.  If we refer to the story of young David in 1Samuel 17, we see a willing, small boy in comparison to the giant Goliath.  David knew that God was able to win this battle and deliver Israel from the hands of the Philistines if only there was a willing servant.  Noone in the camp was willing to fight the Giant, they were all scared.  On the other hand, David a young lad,  remembered how God had delivered him from the lion and the bear and trusted God to deliver him this time.  He hasted to the battle.  With one small stone , a sling and a willing warrior, God killed the Giant.

The prayer life of the born again believer is the small stone which God will use to defeat the Giants in our day.  Prayer or prayer meetings are the battlegrounds which revivals can be ignited.  There is much potential in prayer.  Jesus said, ” And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.  If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.”

The challenge for us is to pray.  Take time each day throughout the day and pray.  Nothing is too hard for the LORD.(Ge 18:14,Jer 32:17,Jer 32:27)  We must pray if we are going to see change in our lives, others, this nation or this world.  Take time out of your schedule to attend prayer meeting and pray corporately with other believers.

HASTE to the battle and PRAY.

Tonight’s Bible study was taken from Jeremiah 42.  The remnant of  Israel was imploring the prophet  Jeremiah to pray to God and inquire His will for them.  The whole chapter should be read in its context to get the full understanding.  Actually, a full reading of the whole book would reveal a more complete understanding of what was happening to Israel.  However, the main thought of tonight’s study was summed up by this quote from Pastor Kaminski, “God will most graciously reveal His will to anyone who wants to know His will providing they are willing to do His will before they know what His will is.”  Think about the meaning and implications of that quote and decide how it relates to you.  As a Christian are you fully surrendered to God?  As an unsaved person God’s will is that you “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.”(Acts 16:31).

I try to walk everyday, and I take my dog Jug with me. He hears my voice inside the house, and he stands by the door until I come out. He is visually impaired, yet somehow he knows I am taking him for a walk. He must smell the leash in my hand. Immediately he starts to yelp, bark and run in circles around me. He is so happy. It almost seems that there is a smile on his face when he is barking. He continues to run two feet in front of me and return to me barking and jumping in the air. It is quite evident how happy he is to go walking with me. Eventually he calms down and trots happily out the driveway because he is walking with his master.

As we walked, the verse from Philippians came to mind, “Rejoice in the Lord alway and again I say rejoice.” It is interesting how the Lord used the actions of my dog to teach me about a simple attitude of rejoicing. I decided to do a word study on the phrase, “rejoice in the Lord.” Here are some of the results. It is amazing how these definitions describe my dog’s behavior when he was anticipating my presence with him.

Ps 33:1 Rejoice -i.e. to shout (usually for joy):–aloud for joy, cry out, be joyful (greatly, make to) rejoice, (cause to) shout (for joy), (cause to) sing (aloud, for joy, out), triumph.

Ps 97:1 and Isa 41:16- Rejoice-a primitive root; properly, to spin round (under the influence of any violent emotion), i.e. usually rejoice, or (as cringing) fear:–be glad, joy, be joyful, rejoice.

Isa 61:10 Rejoice- a primitive root; to be bright, i.e. cheerful:–be glad, X greatly, joy, make mirth, rejoice.

Joe 2:23 rejoice- a primitive root; probably to brighten up, i.e. (figuratively) be (causatively, make) blithe or gleesome:–cheer up, be (make) glad, (have, make) joy(-ful), be (make) merry, (cause to, make to) rejoice, X very.

Hab 3:18 rejoice- primitive root; to jump for joy, i.e. exult:–be joyful, rejoice, triumph.

We learned from the sermon series on “Christ is All, Christ is All in All” that Christ is ever present with us. He resides within the believer. He is wholly present, everywhere and all the time. He is our sufficiency. As believers our attitude should be one of “shouting or singing with joy.” Knowing that Christ dwells within us should make us spin around with such happiness. We should have an attitude of victory over sin and allow no opportunity for self defeat. Our countenance should reflect bright cheerfulness. As believers we can rejoice in the fact that our Master is always with us, and He will never leave us or forsake us. He is our All! He is All we need, All we want and All we have.

Ps 46:1,”God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” This verse helps demonstrate the theological truth that   “Christ is All and in All”.  As discussed in a previous blog we discovered that Christ is the believer’s refuge, and that God had established “cities of refuge” for people who had accidentally killed someone.  We also see that Christ is a very “present” help in trouble.  He was “present” when David’s life was being threatened by King Saul, his son Absalom and in battle.  He was “present” when David as a lad volunteered to fight Goliath, the Philistine giant.

God tells Joshua in Jos 1:9″ Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.”  What a very comforting and encouraging thought to know that God is with you wherever you are.

Another example would be when God led the Israelites  out of Egypt.  He went before them in the day with a pillar of cloud and at night with a pillar of fire.  They could see his presence.

In John 14: 18-23, Christ promises not to leave us comfortless, but to make his abode with us.  We have the Holy Spirit dwelling in us.  While He can’t be seen, He is there because scripture says so.  There is no reason to fear because the Eternal, Holy God indwells the believer.  When the trials of the world are overwhelming flee to Christ who is the believer’s refuge.  He is a very present help in trouble.  There is no need to feel pinned in, overwhelmed or defeated.  Christ is always near and always hears the cry of the saint.  Scripture testifies of that intimate, personal  assurance that Christ is present.

Today’s sermon is a continuation of last week’s “Christ is All”.    There were three major points from last week:  Christ is all we have, Christ is all we want, and Christ is all we need.  Today we will focus on three more important ideas regarding Christ as All in All.

1. Christ is chiefest.

The Song of Solomon  is full of symbolism which intimates of one to come , a Redeemer, who is above all.  In Song 5:10(“My beloved is white and ruddy, the chiefest among ten thousand,”),  we understand that the word chief presents a picture of a banner elevated above all others.  The word white describes His purity, while the word ruddy or red hints at his blood sacrifice for our sins.

In Song 2:1 (” I am the rose of Sharon, and the lily of the valleys.”), the emphasis is on the word “the”.  He is “the” ,not ,”a” rose of Sharon.  He is “the” ,not ,”a” lily of the valleys.  He is above all the others.

In Isa 6:3 (“And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.”) the seraphims describe Christ’s purity above all of creation.  Christ is just not white, He is a dazzling white.

2. Christ is the chief cornerstone.

In 1Pe 2:6, (” Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded.”)  The chief cornerstone holds the building together.  Again, the word “the” is of importance because He is not “a” stone, but the chief cornerstone.  In this verse, He is also described as precious.  Do we as Christians show His preciousness in our manner of living or do we as the little stones exalt ourselves above the chief?

3. Christ is the Christ of God.

In Lu 9:20, (“  He said unto them, But whom say ye that I am? Peter answering said, The Christ of God.”) we have the word “The” again.  He is “The” Christ of God, not “A” Christ of God.  In Joh 14:6, (” Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”) the word “The” is emphasizing  way, truth and life.  It is by Jesus or Christ that one can only come to the Father.  He is the only way.  You cannot come to the Father by way of Islam, Mohammed, Confucius, Buddha or even the Pope.  There is only one way, and that way is Christ.

In conclusion, Is “The” Christ sufficient for you?  Is He all you have, want or need?

Christ Is All: Still sweeter every day is from a Sunday sermon by Pastor Daniel Kaminski on the Vimeo.com web site of Pastor Stephen Haasch on Vimeo.

The speaker in this full length video is Pastor Daniel Kaminski of Grace Baptist Church, Kittanning PA.

Today’s sermon  title was taken from the Bible reference in Colossians 3:11 ” Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all.” Then our Pastor posed the question, “What does it mean that Christ is all?”  His sermon outline gives 6 points which answer that question.

1.  Re 1:8 “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.”  In this text the Alpha and Omega are the first and last letters of the Hebrew alphabet.  God communicates to us by using the alphabet.  Christ is also the Word.(Jn 1:1 ¶ In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.)  So, we learn that Christ is the Almighty Communicator.

2.  Heb 3:1 “Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus;”.  The word Apostle in this verse means “sent”.  Jn 3:16 tells us that God gave or sent his only begotten Son into the world.  Therefore, as an Apostle and High Priest, Christ is sent of God to represent God to mankind.

3.  Heb 5:9 “And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him”.  The word Author means initiator or the first cause of it.  Christ is the Initiator of our salvation.  In Acts 16:31 we are commanded to “ And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.”  By believing we are literally obeying him.

4.  Jn 6:35 “And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.”  If we come to Christ we will never hunger or thirst again.  Christ is sufficient.

5.  Jer 33:14-15 “Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will perform that good thing which I have promised unto the house of Israel and to the house of Judah.  In those days, and at that time, will I cause the Branch of righteousness to grow up unto David; and he shall execute judgment and righteousness in the land.”  The “Branch of righteousness” is a prophetic reference to the Messiah who came out of the tribe of David.  He will rule and have peace in the earth.  Christ is The LORD our Righteousness.

6.  Re 22:16 “I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star.”  After the dark judgment of the world, this world, Christ comes as the bright and morning star.  There will be no need for the sun because of His brightness.  Christ is the bright and morning star.

From these 6 points we can summarize that Christ is sufficient.  Because He is all in all, we can apply Ph 4:6 “Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.”  The word nothing in the verse means “not one little thing, no not nothing”.

If you are saved by the grace of God then rest in his sufficiency.  Trust him and don’t be dismayed by the affairs of this world.  Don’t let one little thing make you anxious.  Cast all your burdens upon Him.

If you do not know Christ as your Saviour, then trust Him for All, your life now and eternal life later.  Christ is the Initiator of your salvation.  He bids you to come to Him now, today.  Today is the day of salvation.

See the 10 minute introduction to this video

Our text for this foxhole prayer was 2 Chronicles 18:31.  King Jehoshaphat was not to align himself with King Ahab, and he did anyway.  God was not obligated to hear Jehoshaphat’s prayer since he was in direct disobedience to the LORD.  However, when Jehoshaphat  cried out(shriek out in anguish), the LORD surrounded him with a Rock, the stone of help as illustrated in 2 Samuel 22: 2-3, 47, 1Samuel 7:12.  The word stone in those verses is the same word help in 2 Chronicles  18:31.  When Jehoshaphat shrieked in anguish, God came himself.  He didn’t deliver him from a distance, but was there with Jehoshaphat in the battle surrounding him as a Rock.  God is our Rock, Shield, Refuge and Savior.

Later in the service we offered up prayers for our soldiers, past and present who have given their lives as the utimate sacrifice for the freedoms we gratefully enjoy.  Those freedoms include the freedom of speech and freedom of religion, to worship as we choose. We prayed for the soldiers who serve now and all families who have lost someone for freedom’s sake.  May the God of comfort give the families peace and heal their broken hearts.  May God encourage those soldiers who endure extreme pain and disability.  May he heal their bodies, minds and families. We the people of Grace Baptist Church are deeply thankful for you and pray for you.  May God be your refuge, strength and Savior.

The title of today’s sermon in the worship service was “Honeymoon to Honeymoan.”  It was a description of the relationship with God and Israel and then carried through to a description of Christ and the Church.  I want to focus on the relationship with Christ and modern day Christianity.  The “Honeymoan” aspect of the relationship is a picture of our own culture.  Pastor Kaminski stated that one of the reasons for the “Honeymoan” stage is because Christianity is obsessed with being culturally relevant.  It seems we as Christians are more concerned with fitting into society than with being committed to the covenant we have with Christ.  As Christians we are to be separate from the world because we are strangers here, we are not of this world.  When there is no obvious difference between our behavior and that of the world, then communication has broken down between the groom, Christ, and the bride, the Church or believers.  Pastor asked this question, ” Does the Lord seem to be somewhere else?”  “If God does not seem close, then who moved?”  In Re 2:4 Christ says to the church at Ephesus, “Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.”  And then to the church at Laodicea in Re 3:20 Christ says, “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.”  It is apparent that the one who has moved out of the relationship is the church or believer.  God didn’t move, He is always the same as stated in Heb 13:8,” Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.” 

Does Christ seem aloof ?  Do other things take priority over prayer, Bible study and worship? Is God just along for the ride or is He the driving force in your life?  Have you been walking in the flesh more than in the spirit?  If so, examine your heart and mind.  If Christ is knocking at the door, open the door and renew your relationship with Him.

Living Faith:

• overcomes…1John 5:4-5
• obeys…Matthew 8:1-4, John 9:7, John 21:6
• sees through obstacles…John 11:39-41
• perceives unlimited potential…John 14:1

A Living Faith produces an Active Prayer life…”When one’s relief is likely improbable, he does well to turn to the Lord of the highly impossible.” Pastor Daniel Kaminski