Every Saturday, Pastor Mike and Sherry write our congregation a letter of encouragement as well an introduction for the sermon topic he will preach the following morning. Below you will find the letter from April 27th, 2024. To watch this sermon, follow this link: Persevering in Tribulation
Greetings to all. I pray your week has been one of great blessings. Let’s all join in David in singing praises to God, the Almighty One:
“Blessed are You, O Lord God of Israel our father, forever and ever. Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, indeed everything that is in the heavens and the earth; Yours is the dominion, O Lord, and You exalt Yourself as head over all. Both riches and honor come from You, and You rule over all, and in Your hand is power and might; and it lies in Your hand to make great and to strengthen everyone. Now therefore, our God, we thank You, and praise Your glorious name” (1 Chronicles 29:10-13 NASB).
All of us have moments when we feel discouraged by life’s circumstances. Like the man who, several years ago rented an R.V. It was the first time he’d ever seen cruise control on a vehicle so he made sure the man at the rental place gave him a thorough tutorial on how it worked. Finally he got on the road and commenced his trip. As he was driving across the plains of eastern Montana he decided it was time to test out this great new technology. He got his speed up to around 80 miles an hour and set his cruise control. As he took his foot off the gas peddle the R.V. continued at its set speed. He was amazed at the technology so after about a half hour he decided to get up and fix himself a sandwich. Three days later when he awoke in the hospital in traction he realized there were some things left out of his tutorial. I’d say in summary that he’d had a particularly bad day that left him discouraged by life’s circumstances.
As I face those life challenges, I often wonder to myself, “how I will ever emerge from them with my joy intact.” This is what this weeks’ message is all about, “Persevering in Tribulation”. When you examine the Word of God you discover over and over that the Father invites us to confide in him, to share our feelings honestly in prayer. He cares for us and understands our needs and weaknesses. We can draw near to him by singing psalms or hymns or reflecting on his goodness and speaking of His glories. Of course, there are times when this may seem too difficult, but even whispering a prayer of praise can usher in a sense of liberty and peace. Paul tells us to, “REJOICE IN HOPE, persevere in tribulation, devoted to prayer” (Romans 12:12).
Certainly, the Psalmist understood the dilemmas that each of us face. In Psalm 42 he questions the reason for his despair; then he has a real heart to heart talk with himself and gives himself the wisest instruction he could be given; “I WILL put my hope in God! I WILL praise him again— my Savior and my God! (Psalm 42:11). That’s exactly what we need in times of despair, we need to set our hearts on rejoicing in God our Savior. We need that inner determination that will produce a forward-facing outlook. We need to praise the Lord persistently, continually, and repeatedly. This allows us to focus on God our Savior, the One who will bring deliverance and victory. To have hope in God is to wait expectantly for him. Since he is faithful to help, we can know that we will praise him again.
Praising God in the hard times doesn’t minimize or deny heaviness of heart. Instead, it redirects our focus on who God is. He never changes. He promised never to leave or abandon his children, so we can count on his presence, even when our emotions can’t confirm it.
Last week in our Mon-Fri Bible study, “Gospel Gleanings,” we finished our study of the “Seven Feasts of Israel” and the “Mystery Behind the Ancient Jewish Wedding Ceremony”. I want to thank all of you who were involved, the participation and response has been overwhelming. These studies are all on Facebook for your review. They are also posted and catalogued in playlists on our YouTube channel. This week we begin a brand new book study. We will tackle an in-depth look at the Book of Acts. The historical book of Act is traditionally called, The Acts of the Apostles, which was probably added sometime in the second century, but it is a bit of a misnomer. The book actually describes the acts of Jesus through the Holy Spirit in His servants as He works in and through His church. I pray you will all join us weekday mornings live on Facebook at 9:00 am PST and see what God has for you.
I’ll close this for now with an invitation to come on down and join us in worship tomorrow morning. There is a Bible Study open to you at 9:45 am followed by our morning worship at 11:00 am. I want to thank those who are instrumental in helping to create an atmosphere of worship. Thank you to Isaac and the worship team (Rick, Lenna, Teresa, Savannah and Tom) for leading us through times of praise. I would be neglectful if I didn’t thank Josh and Sherry for making the broadcast each week possible. I also want to thank all of you for your participation, response, and generosity. We truly are ONE body made up of many individual parts. Thank you and see many of you in the morning.
In Love and Service, Mike and Sherry
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