I wanted to give you a little taste from Pastor Greg Knox, the special speaker that will be joining us this Sunday to kick off our new series on Servant Evangelism.
Here is a blog post of his from a while back, I hope you enjoy!
Pastor Willy
I suppose we could avoid the hostility of unbelieving family and friends if we just kept quiet about Jesus. I suppose the devil wouldn't be focusing on us if we threw our lot in with him. I'm sure there isn't that battle between good and evil when only evil dominates a person. Jesus has called us to a life different from that. It’s like salmon making their epic runs in the spring. Every inch they are going to be going is against the flow. Only the dead ones go with the flow. Only those who are no longer Christians will go with the flow of this wicked, wicked world.
“Rather, be afraid of the One Who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. Whoever acknowledges Me before men, I will also acknowledge him before My Father in heaven. But whoever disowns Me before men, I will disown him before My Father in heaven (28b-33).”
Look at the sparrows, He says. Those birds which are almost worth nothing according to our estimation, God is so concerned with His creation, sustaining it and upholding it by His mighty hand, that not one of those sparrows ends its short life apart from His will. Well, let’s take something even worth less than a sparrow! And something a lot closer to home!That head of hair most of you have! God is so interested in us that He knows how many hairs we have left on our head.
It’s not idle curiosity on His part. It’s because He loves us. That’s God’s attitude towards us. “I will never forget you,” He says, “I have written you on the palm of My hand.” He comforts us like a mother comforts her newborn infant in her arms, cooing and oohing, blowing kisses and watching the face of her child so intently that her love for that child grows by the minute and she is comforted as much as she comforts her child. That’s the picture of God’s loving knowledge of us. It’s Jesus, after His resurrection, taking Peter aside and asking him, “Peter, do you love Me,” three times and then three times telling Peter to “Feed My sheep/lambs,” so that Peter knows that his denying Jesus three times is all is forgiven. And the best part of it? Peter doesn’t rely on himself at all. “Yes, Lord. You know all things. You know that I'm Your friend. (John 21.17).”
How do I know I am loved by God? How do you know you are loved by God? We don’t look at ourselves, our wonderful lives, our good intentions, the potential we have. We look to our God. We are loved by Him because He says He loves us and He shows He loves us. “You are worth more than many sparrows.”
Sit at Jesus’ feet and we will be transformed. We will reflect Him more and more in our lives and that’s a good thing. Not only can we put His teachings into practice every day of our lives, the circumstances we find ourselves in will demand it.
-Pastor Greg Knox
Phil. 1:6
Here is a blog post of his from a while back, I hope you enjoy!
Pastor Willy
I suppose we could avoid the hostility of unbelieving family and friends if we just kept quiet about Jesus. I suppose the devil wouldn't be focusing on us if we threw our lot in with him. I'm sure there isn't that battle between good and evil when only evil dominates a person. Jesus has called us to a life different from that. It’s like salmon making their epic runs in the spring. Every inch they are going to be going is against the flow. Only the dead ones go with the flow. Only those who are no longer Christians will go with the flow of this wicked, wicked world.
“Rather, be afraid of the One Who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. Whoever acknowledges Me before men, I will also acknowledge him before My Father in heaven. But whoever disowns Me before men, I will disown him before My Father in heaven (28b-33).”
Look at the sparrows, He says. Those birds which are almost worth nothing according to our estimation, God is so concerned with His creation, sustaining it and upholding it by His mighty hand, that not one of those sparrows ends its short life apart from His will. Well, let’s take something even worth less than a sparrow! And something a lot closer to home!That head of hair most of you have! God is so interested in us that He knows how many hairs we have left on our head.
It’s not idle curiosity on His part. It’s because He loves us. That’s God’s attitude towards us. “I will never forget you,” He says, “I have written you on the palm of My hand.” He comforts us like a mother comforts her newborn infant in her arms, cooing and oohing, blowing kisses and watching the face of her child so intently that her love for that child grows by the minute and she is comforted as much as she comforts her child. That’s the picture of God’s loving knowledge of us. It’s Jesus, after His resurrection, taking Peter aside and asking him, “Peter, do you love Me,” three times and then three times telling Peter to “Feed My sheep/lambs,” so that Peter knows that his denying Jesus three times is all is forgiven. And the best part of it? Peter doesn’t rely on himself at all. “Yes, Lord. You know all things. You know that I'm Your friend. (John 21.17).”
How do I know I am loved by God? How do you know you are loved by God? We don’t look at ourselves, our wonderful lives, our good intentions, the potential we have. We look to our God. We are loved by Him because He says He loves us and He shows He loves us. “You are worth more than many sparrows.”
Sit at Jesus’ feet and we will be transformed. We will reflect Him more and more in our lives and that’s a good thing. Not only can we put His teachings into practice every day of our lives, the circumstances we find ourselves in will demand it.
-Pastor Greg Knox
Phil. 1:6
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