Raise the bar...Connect with God (pt 2)

As discussed yesterday, the key to raising the bar in your life is connecting to GOD. And God wants to help us raise the bar in our lives.

4. Raise the bar in our STORMS. In Mathew 14:29-32 Jesus commanded Peter to get out of the boat and walk to him. Because Peter had faith he did just that. He began walking on water. However, the wind around him started blowing and Peter began to sink. In this example, Peter loss sight of Jesus. He took his eyes off Jesus and started focusing on his "storms" around him. At that time Peter began to doubt his faith and began to sink. We in many ways are like Peter. For a period of time we will have unwavering faith and have our eyes focused on Jesus and then our circumstances will begin to get the best of us and we begin to get swallowed up by our storm. Instead if we can learn to keep our eyes on Jesus even through the storms in our lives, then we can relax knowing that he will bring us through.

This message is for all those that have gone through something or who are currently going through something. Know that when you keep your eyes focused on Jesus and not on your circumstances he will raise you out of that storm. Although it may not be according to your time schedule, he will pull you through if you keep your eyes on him. By keeping your eyes on Jesus means:
1. Reading the Word.
2. Praying
3. Attending Church regularly.
4. Getting involved in ministry (helping others).

"Lord thank you for all the blessings you have bestowed upon me up to this point in my life and the many more that are yet to come. Thank you for having mercy on me and always being there when I need to talk to you. I praise your name, in Jesus name I pray. AMEN."

Raisethe Bar...Connect with God!

This is the theme for the next couple of weeks at Sunrise Church so I am going to share it with you all. I love how our Pastor started off the sermon: Imagine talking on your phone and whispering to God: "Can you hear me now?" You hear nothing in response, so you say it a little louder, "Can you hear me now?" still you hear no response. Finally, you yell it at the top of your lungs, "CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW!" and God responds back to you, " I could hear you loud and clear the first time."

Sometimes if we are not connected to God we will not hear Him as clearly. Our connections may be like poor cell phone service and interrupt intermitenly. The connection may drop from time to time, or we may not get any reception at all. Whatever the case may be, we need to stay connected to God by raising the bar in our lives. And God wants to help us raise the bar in various areas in our life.

1. God wants us to raise the bar in our achievement. God doesn't just want us to succeed professionally or have material success. But instead God wants us to have eternal life achievement. (Mathew 4:19, Mathew 17:20, John 14:12)

2. God wants us to raise the bar in our relationships. Satisfaction will come in your relationships when you connect with God. (John 4:17, 13-14; 1 John 4:7)

3. God wants us to raise the bar in our family. According to statistics, americans have a 1 in 2 divorce rate, among those that attend church the divorce rate is 1 in 25, among those that attend church weekly AND read the Bible the divorce rate is 1 in 1,100. What chances would you like to take? This statistic proves tht if we connect with God our family will be united. (Mathew 15:22, 28; Psalm 127:1a) The Lord must build your house to make it a strong foundation.

The key to raising the bar is connecting with God....to be continued!

Mathew 10

So I was correct, Mathew, the tax collector was one of the 12 disciples Jesus chose to carry out his word and to follow him. I did not know that Jesus sent the disciples to carry out his word and heal the sick and raise the dead. According to Mathew 10, he gave the disciples authority to do these things through him. I couldn't help but wonder, if Jesus was speaking in the literal sense. Were the disciples really given the ability to drive out evil spirits and heal every disease? Or was Jesus referring to the souls of the lost people.

Jesus indicated that he did not want them (the disciples) to go among the Gentiles or the Samaritans, but he wanted them to go to the lost sheep of Israel. Jesus wanted the disciples to reach out to the people that were lost. This in interesting to note, because that is suppose to be the role of the church today. The church today is suppose t reach out to those souls that are lost. Unfortunately what happens in many churches, though, is that they only help those that belong to their church. Sometimes churches are afraid to go beyond their doors to reach out to the lost people. And as I read Mathew 10, I see that's exactly what Jesus wanted us to do: reach out to lost people and bring them to God.