Sermon Notes+

A Resolution for Our Church in 2012!

2012-01-19T14:27:00.000-08:00

If a church body can make a New Year’s Resolution, I would like for us to join together and do just that for 2012. There are three things that God has laid on my heart for us to focus on this new year. These three things, I am convinced, will revitalize West Hills Baptist Church as a whole AND each of us individually. Let our 2012 Church Resolution be:

Renew our commitment to God’s Word
Renew our commitment to Prayer
Renew our commitment to Outreach

Our sermons over the past few weeks have focused on these three things. I pray they have touched your heart as they have mine during preparation and presentation. Over the next few weeks I will provide a blog on each of these areas individually.

In the meantime, I am asking every church member to begin on item 2 above and take to our knees in prayer these three commitments. I am encouraging each and every church member to seek God’s help in making these commitments real in your life. Ask God what corrections or changes He would have YOU to individually make in these areas.

God Bless You and I’ll See you Sunday!

The 4 Gifts of the Magi

2011-12-22T14:54:00.000-08:00

During my sermon on Sunday I asked the question, “Are You Satisfied with Christmas?” As we looked at the wise men of the nativitystory there was a particular point that I want to call our attention toagain. In particular let’s look atMatthew 2:11 as God’s Word speaks of the wise men.

Andgoing into the house they [the wise men] saw the child with Mary his mother,and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, theyoffered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. -ESV

Looking at this verse we see the gifts that were brought tothe child Jesus. We are all veryfamiliar with the three gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. We have heard the prophetic message theybring regarding our Lord’s future death and resurrection. I would like for us to notice a fourth giftthat gets very little mention in the familiar story.

Looking back at the passage we see the word “THEN” points tothe gifts given to the child King. However,the first gift the wise men gave to Jesus as an outpouring of worship. Worship comes from the heart of an individualand as a result they gave Him their hearts as the first gift to the King thencame the gold, frankincense and myrrh.

It is my prayer that this Christmas season, as we gather with family and friends we follow theexample of the wise men. Offer Jesus our heart first. Spend timeworshiping our King first. This Christmas season let’s giveJesus the honor and glory for which He is worthy.

Colleen and I want to wish you and your family a MerryChristmas.

Drown Out the Noise

2011-12-07T12:46:00.000-08:00

Sunday I preached on “Four Principles to Live By.” Thesecond of these four principles was to Listento God. I would like to expound onthis topic for this week’s blog message.

The world is full of noise. We have noise around us everywhere we go. In the car we have the radioon. At home our televisions are just as often left on being unwatched asmuch as when it is being watched. Everywhere we go there is noise in thebackground. Today when we don’t like thenoise around us, we often stick something in our ears and plug in other noises more toour liking.

God wants to break through all of this “noise” and have aconversation with you. It is importantin our spiritual lives to allow God to speak through all the worldly noise inour lives. However, for this to happenyou and I have to make a choice to listen to Him.

In 1 Kings 19:11-13, God spoke to Elijah on a mountaintop. When we read this story we see thatGod did not speak through an earthquake, nor did He speak through fire. God spoke to Elijah in a whisper.

I cannot help but wonder if God wanted to speak to us in awhisper – would we even be able to hear His voice with all the other noises oflife going on around us? Elijah had to listen for the voice of God. Are we evenlistening as we ought? Do we make the conscious decision to give time to Godfor Him to speak to us?

This time of year is especially noisy. The sounds of a commercializedChristmas are noisy – very noisy at times. I encourage you to make time to listen for God’s voice during this timeof year and all year long.

As we look back at Elijah we see that when he listened to God, Elijah reclaimed his dignity. No longer did he need to run because of his own fears. God put him back on mission for His purpose. Elijah found the joy in his heart for the Lord again and resumed serving the will of God.

Don’t make God try to drown out everything around you – give your Heavenly Father the time to speak to you and just listen… Who knows what He may be telling you!

Pastor Jonas

Fasting: A Spiritual Discipline

2011-11-30T13:51:00.001-08:00

This past Sunday morning I preached from God's Word about biblical fasting. As a follow-up to this sermon I felt it would be appropriate to share with you some additional information and insight regarding fasting that is found in the Bible.

Did You Know?

Jesus fasted. Paul fasted. The early church fasted.
Three Presidents (Adams, Madison and Lincoln) called for the whole country to fast. Lincoln called for fasting three different times during the Civil War.
Fasting is mentioned 77 times in the Bible vs. Baptism's 75 times (should tell us fasting is important to our lives).

As a disciple of Christ we are to practice certain disciplines that will aid us in our journey toward Christ-likeness. We all know many other disciplines because we practice them daily and often: prayer, devotion, stewardship, worship, evangelism, etc. All too often we forget that fasting is also one of these spiritual discplines we should be practicing on a regular basis in order to bring us closer to our Heavenly Father.

According to Donald Whitney, the definition of biblical fasting is a Christian's voluntary abstinence from food for spiritual purposes. Notice three key words in this definition - Christian's, voluntary and spiritual. First the word Christian needs to be considered. This is a spiritual discipline for believers in Jesus Christ because there is an eternal value to discipline. Non-christians can fast however there is no eternal value to be obtained. Next we look at the word voluntary. Biblical fasting is a personal effort that can not and should not be coerced by outside influences. It is not something someone can force upon you in the same manner no one can force prayer upon you. It is a personal decision to be made. However, this decision to fast is a spiritual (our third word) decision. Biblical fasting is a practice that should bring about a spiritual change in your life.

Types of Fasting
When we think of fasting we all tend to think of complete and total abstinence of food. Many ask the same questions when confronted with the discipline of fasting. "How long must it last?" "Can I have water during the fast?" "Do I have to fast from all kinds of foods?" Interestingly, the Bible distinguishes between many differnt types of fasts.

Normal Fast: abstaining from all food, but not from water
Partial Fast: a limitation of the diet but not the abstinence of all food
Absolute Fast: avoidance of all food and liquid, even water.
Supernatural Fast: a fast the requires God's supernatural intervention
Private Fast: fasting in a way not be noticed by others
Congregational Fast: entire church body fasting simultaneously
National Fast: A fast decreed by a national leader for a period of time
Regular Fast: a fast established by the Old Covenant (e.g. Jews fast on the Day of Atonement)
Occasional Fast: fasting that occurs on a special occasion as needs arise.

Fasting is Expected
As I mentioned in the sermon, in Matthew 6:16-17 and 9:14-15, Jesus Himself said "when you fast." Notice the word is not IF but WHEN. This indicates to us that Jesus expected His followers to fast. It was not an option as a spritual discipline.

Fasting is for a Purpose
In the Bible, fasting is always done for a particular purpose. As we remember the definition above this purpose is always spiritual in nature. If we look throughout the Bible at different fasts we can see some of these spiritual purposes.

To strenthen prayer (Ezra 8:23; Neh 1:4; Dan 9:3; Acts 13:3)
To seek God's Guidance (Judges 20; Acts 14;23)
To express one's grief (Judges 20:26; 1 Sam 31:13; 2 Sam 1:11)
To express repentence and return to God (Joel 2:12)
To home oneself before God (Psalm 35:13)
To express concern for the work of God (Neh 1:1-4)
To minister to the needs of others (Isaiah 58:6-7)
To overcome temptation and dedicate yourself to God (Matt 4:1-11)
To express love and worship to God (Anna in Luke 2)

Throughout the Bible God has blessed fasting often in extraordinary ways. God expects us to fast for spiritual purposes. Fasting must be done in the right spirit and with correct motives. I encourage you to become disciplined in fasting and include this discipline in your spiritual pursuit toward Godliness.

Pastor Jonas

¹Donald S. Whitney, Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life, (Colorado Springs: NavPress, 1991), 160.