Friendly Chapel Sermon Notes 6/5/16 Brother Paul Holderfield, Jr. (posted by Amanda Pride)

                       


                                                     You could've fooled me


1 Corinthians 4:8-10 Already you have all you want! Already you have become rich! Without us you have become kings! And would that you did reign, so that we might share the rule with you! 9 For I think that God has exhibited us apostles as last of all, like men sentenced to death, because we have become a spectacle to the world, to angels, and to men. 10 We are fools for Christ's sake, but you are wise in Christ. We are weak, but you are strong. You are held in honor, but we in disrepute.

A man at McDonald's was telling another man how much Jesus loved him.  The man replied, "You could've fooled me."  

Be a fool for Christ's stake but don't be fooled by being wise in our own eyes.  Who is Jesus to you.  That's the only thing that matters.  No matter how inconvenient it is, we will have to die one day.  Jesus is the only Way.  Is He your personal Savior?  We can be sincerely wrong.  You can't be sincere and be sincerely wrong.  You can't be wrong about who Jesus is.

The Supreme court is not the Supreme Being, God is.
Romans 1:24 Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, 25 because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.
26 For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; 27 and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.

It goes on to read in the same chapter about the same is true for adultery, fornication, envy, gossipers Romans 1:29 They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips,30 slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, 31 foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless.

67% of people in the U.S. believe there is a heaven.  47% believe there are many ways to get there.  We all have a mission and a mission field.  The ungodly lives that some believers are living turns some people away from the gospel.  We have to honor and forgive.  Bro. Paul recites poem:

Your name may not appear down here 

In this world’s Hall of Fame.
In fact, you may be so unknown 
That no one knows your name;
The headlines here may pass you by, 
The neon lights of blue,
But if you love and serve the Lord, 
Then I have news for you.

This Hall of Fame is only good
As long as time shall be;
But keep in mind, God’s Hall of Fame
Is for eternity. 
This crowd on earth they soon forget
The heroes of the past.
They cheer like mad until you fail
and that’s how long you last.
But in God’s Hall of Fame
By just believing on His Son
Inscribed you’ll find your name.

I tell you, friend, I wouldn’t trade
My name, however small,
That’s written there beyond the stars
In that Celestial Hall,
For any famous name on earth,
Or glory that it shares;
I’d rather be an unknown here

And have my name up there(God’s Hall of Fame by Walt Huntley)

Whose fool are you?  Are you a fool for Christ?  

Romans 1

Psalm 37:25 I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread.

What we thought was our glory days now when we were young we realize now without Christ they were just good memories.  Now that we know Christ, everyday we have breath are our best days. Our young people are watching us and we need to do what we are supposed to do.  We have an obligation to our children, we are Called.  We have a mission field and we need to live what we preach, the way Jesus said to do it.

John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me

 John 3:16 “For God so loved the world,[i] that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.

Give Him everything; family, job, etc.  No matter what happens, He is still God!  We don't have to know everything but we know Who He is!

Sermon Notes: Friendly Chapel Church of the Nazarene Brother Paul Holderfield Jr. 5/22/16 (posted by Amanda Pride)

Seeking & Setting

Colossians 3:1-4   If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. 3 For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ who is your[a] life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

Is our life giving the Lord Glory?  He is the Bread of Life. John 6:35

Is heaven your destination?  Have you made reservations?

Some people recognize Brother Paul from when he used to sell bread on his bread truck.  They ask him, didn't you use to sell bread?  He said yes but now I sell the Bread of Life.  One man responded, yes and it never goes stale.

Aim at heaven and you will get earth thrown in, Aim at earth and you will get neither.  Set your affections on heavenly things above.    

Whoever loses his life for Jesus shall find it.  Matthew 10:39.  Seeking and setting our minds on heaven will effect how we live on this earth.  We don't grieve as those who have no hope.  We know our loved ones who died in Christ are in heaven and we will see them again.  The more we realize the purpose why we are here the more we will live right.

People don't set out as kids to become adulterers, thieves, pedophiles but they touch the unclean thing.  The Lord says come out from among the world and the things of the world.  We can know the Word and it not have an effect in our lives if we don't let it.  We have to have a biblical understanding of heaven and it will effect everything we do.  It will directly impact how we live our lives.

We should not be entrapped with this world and things.  Trying to get things to impress people who don't like us anyway.  We need a critical heavenly mindset. Everyone won't be going there. "IF" then you have been raised with Christ. Some people think they are good people and that is the reason they will go to heaven.

Who is Jesus?  Either He was a nutcase or He is who He said He was:  The Son of God.  Jesus said, "I am the Way and the Truth and the Life.  No man comes to the Father except through Me"  John 14:6

Position

Promise 

Practice 

Eye has not seen, ear has not heard the things He has prepared for those who love Him.

He wants us to know and do.  If we really believe there is a heaven, it will effect us.  We should always return evil with good.  What are our affections set on?

God is still speaking, are we listening?

After fighting the good fight and finishing the race, former President Nelson Mandela has crossed over into Glory to await the crowns the Lord has stored for him.  I have great respect for Mr. Nelson Mandela, and I have always been fascinated at how Almighty God, our Father uses people whom the world sees as weak and despised to carry out His plans and purposes. 1 Cor 1:27 But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty .  

I believe the Lord used Nelson Mandela to end apartheid in South Africa, He used Mahatma Ghandi to  advocate for the rights of Indians, both at home and in South Africa. Gandhi became a leader of India's independence movement, organizing boycotts against British institutions in peaceful forms of civil disobedience. He used Martin Luther King, Jr. to fight for civil rights for justice and equality for all people.  Mr. Mandela dreamed of having one day a "Rainbow Nation" "We enter into a covenant that we shall build a society in which all South Africans, both black and white, will be able to walk tall, without and fear in their hearts, assured of their inalienable right to human dignity – a rainbow nation at peace with itself and the world."
Nelson Mandela, Inaugural Address, Pretoria 9 May 1994.

Apartheid as an official policy was introduced following the general election of 1948. Legislation classified inhabitants into four racial groups, "black", "white", "coloured", and "Indian", with Indian and coloured divided into several sub-classifications,^[7] and residential areas were segregated, sometimes by forced removals.

As I'm studying the bible I have seen the pattern throughout with Moses, born a slave, become the deliverer of the Hebrew slaves from Egypt. Joseph, Jacob's son was sold into slavery by his brothers, who were jealous of him.Genesis 37:³ Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age. Also he made him a tunic of many colors. ⁴ But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and could not speak peaceably to him.  Joseph was thrown into prison due to an unjust charge by Potiphar's wife but by God's great plan did not remain there but became second in command to Pharoah over all of Egypt. Gen 45: ⁸ So now it was not you who sent me here, but God; and He has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt.

Joseph could've harbored resentment and anger in his heart toward his brothers and with all the power he posessed as second in command over all of Egypt he could have repayed evil for evil for what they had done to him, but he chose instead to forgive them. Genesis 45:⁴ And Joseph said to his brothers, “Please come near to me.” So they came near. Then he said: “I am Joseph your brother, whom you sold into Egypt. ⁵ But now, do not therefore be grieved or angry with yourselves because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life.⁶ For these two years the famine has been in the land, and there are still five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvesting. ⁷ And God sent me before you to preserve a posterity for you in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance. ⁸ So now it was not you who sent me here, but God; and He has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt.

Injustice, poverty and inequality are still in our world today but so is God's unfailing love, unending grace and His Precious Holy Spirit.  All of us are imperfect vessels that only the Master can make fit for His use, as for me I would like to be used as a vessel of honor, to plant seeds of love not hate.  When I think of how evil can be inflicted on other human beings depending on the color of one's skin is heartbreaking but I know who our enemy is and it is not each other.  I know nothing takes our God by surprise and His plan of Redemption for us was carried out through The Lord Jesus our Savior and His Finished work at the Cross. 

 In the Old Testament, the Lord gave specific instructions in how the High Priests garments were to be made. "And he made the breastplate, artistically woven like the workmanship of the ephod, of gold, blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and of fine woven linen. They made the breastplate square by doubling it; a span was its length and a span its width when doubled.
"And they set in it four rows of stones: a row with a sardius, a topaz, and an emerald was the first row; the second row, a turquoise, a sapphire, and a diamond; the third row, a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst; the fourth row, a beryl, an onyx, and a jasper. They were enclosed in settings of gold in their mountings.
"There were twelve stones according to the names of the sons of Israel: according to their names, engraved like a signet, each one with its own name according to the twelve tribes." (Exodus 39:8-14)
 

The Book of Revelation speaks of a rainbow around the throne of God Revelation 4:3 And He who sat there was like a jasper and a sardius stone in appearance; and there was a rainbow around the throne, in appearance like an emerald. 

 

 Ezekiel 1:28 Like the appearance of a rainbow in a cloud on a rainy day, so was the appearance of the brightness all around it. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord.

 

Nelson Mandela spoke of a covenant to build a rainbow nation.  Jacob, father of the 12 patriarchs. made Joseph a coat of many colors and Joseph set an example of forgiveness and deliverance. Martin Luther King said he dreamed "one day right there in Alabama little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers." I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, and every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight; "and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together."

 

The Glorious Father of our Lord & Savior Jesus placed our sins upon His only begotten Son and He was bruised and striped for our sins and transgressions,  God has placed on all of us who confess our sins and accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, the Robe of Righteousness.  Isaiah 61:10

I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, My soul shall be joyful in my God; For He has clothed me with the garments of salvation, He has covered me with the robe of righteousness, As a bridegroom decks himself with ornaments, And as a bride adorns herself with her jewels 

 

 Jesus is now our eternal High Priest, and all of us in all of our different shades, hues and colors lay on His breast, upon His heart.  1 Peter 2 Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious, ⁵ you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. ⁶ Therefore it is also contained in the Scripture,

“Behold, I lay in Zion
A chiefcornerstone, elect, precious,
And he who believes on Him will by no means be put to shame.”

 

I do believe the Glory of the Lord is being revealed.. I'm listening Lord, I'm listening.

 

Peace & Blessings to you, my God Family.

How can I be good to the Lord Jesus?

Hello my God family, I'd like to share with you a revelation the Lord gave me concerning a message my brother, Patrick Sims and his wife Laura, who are very dear to me, received from our Lord Jesus. Patrick & Laura and Laura's sister Beatriz and brother Sergio were at Bethel Church in Dallas, Tx.  Brother Harry Gomes from India was ministering and glory to God, the presence of Our Lord Jesus was there. A certain part of the message they received personally from the Lord that day was "You have been so good to me, I'm going to bless and anoint your whole blood line".  The Lord had been revealing Himself to Patrick through dreams (Acts 2:17) leading up to this moment and He went not knowing what to expect but He knew it was going to be wonderful and it was.

 As children of God we know when we have encounters, revelations, intimacy with the Lord, we are never the same.  Patrick called me excited the same day & told me this Word was for me also and I received it with a heart of joy, gratitude and awe.  That day & the  following days after I would meditate and pray on this message asking the Lord,  Lord Jesus You have been and are so good to us, how have we been good to you?  I started thinking about how He provides and cares for us daily, (Psalm 68:19), His plan of redemption for us (2 Cor 5:18-19) and Him leaving His throne in Heaven to come in this world to rescue us from evil, eternal death as 100% man and still 100% God (Colossians 2:9) teaching, healing, casting out demons, forgiving sins, feeding, preaching the gospel, going about doing nothing but good and knowing the kind of horrific suffering and death He would have to go through for us.  All the while bearing our sins on that Cross and most of all having God, The Father, turn away from Him while He hung there.  His presence no longer with Him because God is Holy and Just and He cannot look upon sin.  Jesus, the Father, and the Holy Spirit are One, have always been One..In the beginning God, Genesis chapters 1&2, this is referring to the beginning of creation, heaven, earth, man, everything made that was made.  This is not talking about the beginning of God, God is The Beginning and The End, The Alpha and Omega so as the bible lets us know in Genesis 1:26 &, Jesus and the Father were never separated until the cross, John 10:30 I and my Father are one.  He even cries out in Matthew 25:46“Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” that is, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”  God had to turn His back on His Son so He will never have to turn His back on us. Hebrews 13:5.  He had to bear and take our punishment for our sins so now God will never punish us for them or even remember ours sins anymore. My brothers and sisters if this isn't the Good News then I don't know what is.  This is the gospel, the power of God unto salvation.  I praise You Lord Jesus for Your indescribable gift of Righteousness and Abundance of Grace to us.  Thank You for saving us by your willing sacrifice.

The Gift of Salvation is to the whole world but only we accept Him, who repent of our sins, believe in our hearts and confess with our mouth that Jesus is the Son of God, will be saved.   He died for our sins and rose for our justification and we are saved.  Romans 10:9.  He is a patient, kind and loving Savior (Rev 19:11-16 He is King of Kings and Lord of Lords too now, He is the Warrior like no other, there is not enough time in this day or in my knowledge bank to truly do Him justice in description, so just know HE IS infinitely more than what I am writing here.) and He teaches us everything we will need to know through prayer, His Word and His Holy Spirit.  He gives us a New Spirit and a New Heart.  Ezekiel 36:26.  He knows we are not perfect that's why He imputes His Righteousness to us.Romans 4:5-8,  Man this is awesome. We grow in Him by Grace, the Holy Spirit and His Word.  I can hardly contain myself just thinking about Him.  Hallelujah!! Hallelujah!!  Glory to God in the Highest!!

Thinking about all of His goodness towards us brings me back to my question regarding the message my brother and Laura & their family received,  I asked the Lord, How have we been good to you? I know it is by faith in You through Your Grace that we are saved.  The Lord answered me by His Spirit and told me when you fed the hungry, clothed the homeless, gave to the needy, visited those in prison, cared for the sick, you were being good to Me.  Matthew 25:35-40.  My mouth fell open, how many times have I read that scripture and understood it but never saw it as the Lord Jesus receiving good from us when we are good to those who are in need. Notice it doesn't even say He said when you did it to those who believe in Me, He said ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’  He wants us to love and be good to everyone who is in need.  To share with them our gifts (spiritual and physical).  How powerful it is to know we can love on Our Lord and Savior Jesus, Almighty God, just by being good to someone who needs someone to be good to them.  He did it for us. 

Peace, Love and Blessings to you my God family.


 

What about the Righteous?

When the Lord is ready to stretch out His hand against a rebellious unrepentant land what will happen to the righteous who are in the land?  Ezekiel 14:13-14 reads:

¹³ Son of man, when a land sins against Me by committing a trespass, and I stretch out My hand against it and break its staff of bread and send famine upon it and cut off from it man and beast,

¹⁴ Even if these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job were in it, they would save but their own lives by their righteousness (their uprightness and right standing with Me), says the Lord God.

 

Our Lord Jesus Christ made us righteous by His finished work on the cross, all who believe and confess He is Lord are made righteous through faith by grace.  Romans 10:9-10:

⁹ Because if you acknowledge and confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and in your heart believe (adhere to, trust in, and rely on the truth) that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.

¹⁰ For with the heart a person believes (adheres to, trusts in, and relies on Christ) and so is justified (declared righteous, acceptable to God), and with the mouth he confesses (declares openly and speaks out freely his faith) and confirms [his] salvation.

 

As children of God, it grieves our heart to know that the people who reject and rebel against God will suffer.  We are to pray for the lost that they may hear the gospel of Jesus Christ and believe and be saved and many will but there are those who will not.  God has given us a free will and every opportunity to choose to turn from evil and ask Him to save us from our sins.   2 Peter 3:9: ⁹ The Lord does not delay and is not tardy or slow about what He promises, according to some people’s conception of slowness, but He is long-suffering (extraordinarily patient) toward you, not desiring that any should perish, but that all should turn to repentance.

 

The Lord repeatedly tells us in Ezekiel these things will come to pass so that we will know that He is the Lord.

 

The Lord says we will have consolation Ezekiel 14:22-23:

²² And yet, behold, in it shall be left a remnant (an escaped portion), both sons and daughters. They shall be carried forth to you [in Babylon], and when you see their [ungodly] walk and their [wicked] doings, you will be consoled for the evil that I have brought upon Jerusalem, even concerning all that I have brought upon it.

²³ And they shall console you when you see their evil ways and their rebellious actions. Then you shall know (understand and realize) that I have not done without cause all that I have done in Jerusalem, says the Lord God.

 

 

 

Scripture reference:

Ezekiel 14:13-23

Romans 5:1-21

Romans 8:1-3