Friends of God! What a wonderful privilege to have this kind of relationship with God. No relationship can grow without investment of time. The same is true with our friendship with God. It's not just a matter of praying and reading but also giving time into his kingdom. When you give your time to anything, you are serving that thing. Serving will always be distressing, require reassessing, and be a blessing. The unfortunate thing is after we give time to something or somebody, we think we are entitled to preferential treatment. Nothing could be further from the truth. As a leader, the higher we grow in the pyramid of leadership, the fewer rights we have. Also the higher we grow, the more responsibilities we have. One cannot be a leader if they are not willing to serve people. This is what Jesus did when he was on earth. Your time given to God or others is the denial of yourself.
In the area of giving your talent to the Kingdom, the key is relinquishing the abilities that you have and the talents given into the kingdom for God's use. Most of us spent a great deal of our time serving the enemy. Today we will decide for the days we have left that we declare that our talent belongs to God. We typically look at talents in the area of performing. We don't look at our abilities as talents for Kingdom use. We have purpose for our use of talents even in the work place. David gave his talents to God that later was multiplied by God. He practiced playing the harp, walking in excellence, having courage, and being a warrior; even before he met Goliath or Saul. In John 6:5-13 the little boy came with a lunch and prepared to eat. Your preparation for life is in the development of your talents. Your talents and abilities are what you eat from. The smartest thing anyone will ever do is prepare for the future. God asked the little boy for his most valuable possession; his lunch. Your most valuable possessions is not your money or real estate. Your abilities are the most valuable thing you own. We have no idea how hard it was to release what he had, but we can assume, 1.) he would have preferred to keep it, 2.) he trusted Andrew not to take advantage of him, 3.) he believed they would feed him too. Whatever you Give God changes and multiplies. Our talents can produce much more if we can release them into the Kingdom. God always returns to us what we give to Him. Be blessed and encouraged.
Pastor Hines
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Monday, July 19, 2010
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Leading Your Heart
God constantly tells us to lead parts of our body and the heart is no exception. Your heart is your identity; it's the real you. Proverbs 27:19 says that, "The heart of man reflects man." Everything begins with the mind. What's in your heart determines what is pure or polluted when it gets there. The mind refers to the seat or center of human emotions. The heart refers to your intellect and will. The heart is where you ponder things; your core. No amount of painting on the outside changes the value of the rotten interior. Following your heart apart from God's leading is a new age philosophy. We hear people say all the time to follow your heart, do what your heart tells you. Following your heart usually means chasing after whatever feels good or right at the time. Proverbs 28:26 states, "He who trusts in his own heart is a fool". The Bible declares that the heart is deceitfully wicked above all who can know it? Why would one follow something so wicked?
What's wrong with following your heart?
1. It's foolish
2. It's unreliable
3. It's corrupt
Proverbs 23:19 tells us to lead your heart, take full responsibility for its condition and direction. Proverbs 23:26 tells us to guide your heart. God will place skills and abilities in your heart that He wants to develope for His glory. How do I lead or guide my heart? First, understand that your heart follows whatever you invest in. Whatever you pour your time, money, and energy into will draw your heart. When you stopped investing, your heart followed. This is true in any relationship, job, church, or endeavor. This is especially true in marriage. When you stop investing in your spouse your heart follows causing you to say things like, "I don't feel in love anymore. Secondly, check your heart. Know what has your heart right now. You can tell by looking at where your investing has gone. Next, guard your heart. Proverbs 4:23 tells us to guard our heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life. Next, set your heart. Colossians 3:1 tells us to set our heart on things above. You choose to take your heart off of what is wrong and set it on what is right. Lastly, invest your heart. Don't wait until you feel like doing the right thing. Like an investment, you deposit before you see the results. Faith is our transportation system as believers; it's how we get from place to place in the Kingdom of God.
What's wrong with following your heart?
1. It's foolish
2. It's unreliable
3. It's corrupt
Proverbs 23:19 tells us to lead your heart, take full responsibility for its condition and direction. Proverbs 23:26 tells us to guide your heart. God will place skills and abilities in your heart that He wants to develope for His glory. How do I lead or guide my heart? First, understand that your heart follows whatever you invest in. Whatever you pour your time, money, and energy into will draw your heart. When you stopped investing, your heart followed. This is true in any relationship, job, church, or endeavor. This is especially true in marriage. When you stop investing in your spouse your heart follows causing you to say things like, "I don't feel in love anymore. Secondly, check your heart. Know what has your heart right now. You can tell by looking at where your investing has gone. Next, guard your heart. Proverbs 4:23 tells us to guard our heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life. Next, set your heart. Colossians 3:1 tells us to set our heart on things above. You choose to take your heart off of what is wrong and set it on what is right. Lastly, invest your heart. Don't wait until you feel like doing the right thing. Like an investment, you deposit before you see the results. Faith is our transportation system as believers; it's how we get from place to place in the Kingdom of God.
Saturday, June 19, 2010
Monday, May 31, 2010
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Your Attitude Determines Your Actions: Luke 7:36
Attitude is the first thing people notice about you. Attitude is the precursor to anger. Attitude is the warning sign that alerts you that you need to make a choice. Your attitude which prompts your actions reveals a true picture of your heart condition. Attitude + Action = Assignment. Success comes from an attitude to apply the Word of God you your life. Your willingness to apply the Word determines the level of success in your life. Often times the church has a problem with people God decides to use. Jesus raises up and uses people that we cast away. Even though the woman in this story is a sinner (harlot) she showed her true feelings and honored Jesus. The Pharisee on the other hand knew the customs and law but failed to apply the word to his life. The Pharisee's sins were minimal but his love was also minimal. The woman knew she had been forgiven much, therefore her love was much. Jesus knew the reputation of the woman, but was more interested in what the woman could become through the grace of God. So it is with us. Stop spending so much time looking in the rear view mirror of your life. Spend more time looking through the panoramic view of the windshield. Where you are going is far greater than where you have been. It's o.k. to glance in the rear view mirror of your past but don't get stuck there. If you do you will crash into something. God has great things in store for you regardless of what your past looks like. Walk in your Kingdom success by having a Kingdom attitude.
Be well,
Pastor Hines
Be well,
Pastor Hines
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Rule Your Anger, Genesis 4:3-8
Anger is a natural emotion that affects us all. In Ephesians 4:26-26 the Bible tells us to be angry but sin not. Proverbs 29:11 states that, "A fool gives full vent to anger but a wise person quietly holds it back". Here are some questions that we can answer to see if we have an anger problem:
1. Do we often blow our top?
2. Do you use anger to control people?
3. Does it give you satisfaction to know that people are afraid of you?
4. Are your immediate family members afraid of you?
5. Do your angry outbursts ever turn physical?
As believers we have a responsibility to analyze our anger to see what it's made of and where it comes from. Anger is addictive. Just like a drug, anger is an adrenaline rush and creates a feeling of invincibility. We have to be honest with ourselves in order to be fully delivered from the destruction of anger. It is the nature of an addict to live in denial. Anger must be intensified in order to maintain its effectiveness. Hollering and screaming will work for a while. When we realize that it does not have the same affect, one tends to escalate their anger to achieve the same result of dominance and control. Anger produces collateral damage. Innocent people are wounded as a result of your anger. Like a bomb, any time an explosion happens, you can run the risk of doing more damage than you intended. People who use anger as a tool can be very successful by world's standards, but you leave a trail of tears. Lastly, anger stunts your Spiritual growth. You can never grow stronger than your biggest weakness. Anger can poison virtually all of your relationships. You will end up trying to make vengence yours instead of it being God's.
Be well,
Pastor Hines
1. Do we often blow our top?
2. Do you use anger to control people?
3. Does it give you satisfaction to know that people are afraid of you?
4. Are your immediate family members afraid of you?
5. Do your angry outbursts ever turn physical?
As believers we have a responsibility to analyze our anger to see what it's made of and where it comes from. Anger is addictive. Just like a drug, anger is an adrenaline rush and creates a feeling of invincibility. We have to be honest with ourselves in order to be fully delivered from the destruction of anger. It is the nature of an addict to live in denial. Anger must be intensified in order to maintain its effectiveness. Hollering and screaming will work for a while. When we realize that it does not have the same affect, one tends to escalate their anger to achieve the same result of dominance and control. Anger produces collateral damage. Innocent people are wounded as a result of your anger. Like a bomb, any time an explosion happens, you can run the risk of doing more damage than you intended. People who use anger as a tool can be very successful by world's standards, but you leave a trail of tears. Lastly, anger stunts your Spiritual growth. You can never grow stronger than your biggest weakness. Anger can poison virtually all of your relationships. You will end up trying to make vengence yours instead of it being God's.
Be well,
Pastor Hines
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