07-11-21 “Our God can do anything, even win the fire challenge!”

Scripture        1 Kings 18:20-40
On the reality game show “survivor” how is the 3^rd finalist determined between the two people not in 1^st or 2^nd place? The fire challenge!

I tell you there is not much in modern culture in music, movies, tv or other areas that is not somehow influenced by the bible directly or indirectly. Survivor did not “come up” with a fire challenge – that one was done in a big way as one of the most notable stories in the OT – this is HIStory of the fire challenge.
THE SET UP
A       King Ahab marries Jezebel
B       Drought
C       Ravens Feed Elijah from the King’s table
D       Obadiah saves the last 100 prophets
THE FIRE CHALLENGE
E       Mt Carmel – The Fire Challenge 

1        850 prophets of Baal vs 1 prophet of the true God
2        Elijah – “How long will you wavier between two opinions?”
3        Let’s see if Baal is god or if Israel’s God is the One True God!
4        The ‘bull’ and ‘altar’ set up.
5        The prophets of Baal fail and Elijah makes fun of them.
6        Elijah built the altar – 12 stones, wood, bull, (dirt) water. FIRE CAME
7        People worshiped – Baal prophets were killed – it began to rain.

 

HIStory – God can do ANYTHING!
 
Why did God send fire from heaven? HE wanted to win the fire challenge? NO!
God wanted his children to remember who He was and put their faith love and trust in Him once again.
 
Why did Jesus turn water into wine? Because he enjoyed a nice glass of wine? NO!
God wanted his children to remember who He was and put their faith love and trust in Him once again.
 
Why did Jesus die on a cross and 3 days later rise up from the grave alive? Because He was a big showoff? NO!
God wanted his children to know who He is and put their faith, love, and trust in Him once and for all eternity.
 
HIStory about Elijah and the prophets of Baal on Mt. Carmel was to show that there is only one true God, the creator of heaven and earth…only one who is the way, the truth and the life, only one who can save people from their sins and give eternal life…and HIS name is Jesus!!!
 
When the disciples were gathered after Jesus had risen from the dead, God sent fire from heaven in a new way to show us He is still the God who can do anything, but also that He was putting his very own power within each of us.
Acts 2:1-4a     When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit.

07-04-21 “Independence Day: Released from Prison”

Scripture      Acts 12:1-19

PRISONERS OF THE REVOLUITONARY WAR 1776
          In and around 1776 King George of England did not want the bad publicity of publicly hanging prisoners of war. Instead he put them aboard prison ships. There were no Geneva Convention rules to follow for how to treat prisoners of war. (Pic Interior Jersey 1855) 

Great Britain's neglect resulted of water, food, sanitary conditions and medical attention resulted in starvation and disease. Despite the lack of formal executions, neglect achieved the same results as hanging. The wage of fighting against the British was death.
            Conditions were appalling, and many more Americans died of neglect in imprisonment than were killed in battle. During the war, at least 16 hulks, including the infamous HMS Jersey, (Pic Jersey Prison Ship 1782) 

were placed by British authorities in the waters of Wallabout Bay off the shores of Brooklyn, New York as a place of incarceration for many thousands of American soldiers and sailors from about 1776 to about 1783. The prisoners of war were harassed and abused by guards who, with little success, offered release to those who agreed to serve in the British Navy. Over 10,000 American prisoners of war died from neglect compared to 6,800 killed in battle. Their corpses were often tossed overboard but sometimes were buried in shallow graves along the eroding shoreline.
Many of the remains became exposed or were washed up and recovered by local residents over the years and later interred nearby in the Prison Ship Martyrs' Monument (Pic Martyrs' Monument) at Fort Greene Park. 

 
          I once tried going to jail
          I visited jails/prisons – even Leavenworth
          The apostle Paul was imprisoned several times
          Last week – peter & John were imprisoned
          Then, the apostles were performing miracles and healing – some people even brought the sick just hoping Peter’s shadow would cross over and they would be healed. That made the religious leaders jealous and they had them thrown into jail. Acts 5:19-20 shows a miracle release form jail. But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the doors of the jail and brought them out, and said, "Go, stand in the temple courts, and tell the people the full message of this new life."
          They went to the temple and proclaimed Jesus. When the authorities went and looked for the apostles in prison, they found the guards in place but the prisoners were gone – vanished in plain sight…(Hmmm sounds like when Jesus was dead and placed in a stone prison and people arrived the next on the third day, the guards were still in place but Jesus was not there – vanished in plain sight.)
          The religious leaders went to where they were preaching the name of Jesus and escorted them back to the Sanhedrin. They were going to kill them for disobeying man and proclaiming the name of Jesus. Gamaliel – spoke up saying others have led men and died and their followers scattered. We have killed this Jesus, Acts 5:38-39 “Therefore, in the present case I advise you: Leave these men alone! Let them go! For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail. 39 But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God."
          Of course they were released and preached the name of Jesus for the forgiveness of sins and many put their trust in Christ.
          It is amazing how often people were put into prison, punished or put to death for preaching Jesus and how often people would not recant the name of Jesus!
 
HIStory (THE FAMOUS ONE) of the release of Peter from prison:
Acts 12:1-19
It was about this time that King Herod arrested some who belonged to the church, intending to persecute them. He had James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword. When he saw that this pleased the Jews, he proceeded to seize Peter also. This happened during the Feast of Unleavened Bread. After arresting him, he put him in prison, handing him over to be guarded by four squads of four soldiers each. Herod intended to bring him out for public trial after the Passover.
So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him.
Apparently in prison for a few days at least:
The night before Herod was to bring him to trial, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and sentries stood guard at the entrance.
Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him up. "Quick, get up!" he said, and the chains fell off Peter's wrists. Then the angel said to him, "Put on your clothes and sandals." And Peter did so. "Wrap your cloak around you and follow me," the angel told him. Peter followed him out of the prison, but he had no idea that what the angel was doing was really happening; he thought he was seeing a vision. They passed the first and second guards and came to the iron gate leading to the city. It opened for them by itself, and they went through it. When they had walked the length of one street, suddenly the angel left him.
Then Peter came to himself and said, "Now I know without a doubt that the Lord sent his angel and rescued me from Herod's clutches and from everything the Jewish people were anticipating."
When this had dawned on him, he went to the house of Mary the mother of Mark, where many people had gathered and were praying. Peter knocked at the outer entrance, and a servant girl named Rhoda came to answer the door. When she recognized Peter's voice, she was so overjoyed she ran back without opening it and exclaimed, "Peter is at the door!" "You're out of your mind," they told her. When she kept insisting that it was so, they said, "It must be his angel." But Peter kept on knocking, and when they opened the door and saw him, they were astonished. Peter motioned with his hand for them to be quiet and described how the Lord had brought him out of prison. "Tell James and the brothers about this," he said, and then he left for another place.
In the morning, there was no small commotion among the soldiers as to what had become of Peter. After Herod had a thorough search made for him and did not find him, he cross-examined the guards and ordered that they be executed.
          We have looked at the thousands of soldiers imprisoned during the revolutionary war who fought and gave their lives for the freedoms we enjoy in America – Freedom or speech, of the press, of religion, freedom to assemble. As much as we enjoy those freedoms, they are as temporary as the nations of men.
          Why are these jail stories recorded in scripture? Three reasons: 1) Because they happened – it is a record of HIStory. 2) The obvious conclusion is that they serve as an example to stand for your faith NO MATTER WHAT troubles and persecution you may face. 3) Not as obvious, but just as real. If we have not been in prison, then we do not know what it means to be set free. If I had spent even a single night in jail and then released, I would have a greater understanding of what it means to be set free. I could then give testimony to what it means to be set free. If I had ever been a slave, and one day told I was no longer a slave, I could give testimony of what it truly is to be set free. But I have never been imprisoned. I have never been enslaved. Therefore, I cannot testify to what it means to truly know what freedom is.
 
          I can testify that I was imprisoned for 15 years, that I was a slave for 15 years, and I do know what freedom is and proclaim to you that I have been set free.
John 8:30-37
Even as Jesus spoke, many put their faith in him. 31 To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. 32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." 33 They answered him, "We are Abraham's descendants and have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free?" 34 Jesus replied, "I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. 35 Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. 36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”
 
JESUS, NOT WORKS SETS US FREE FROM SIN
Above the entrance to the concentration camp in Auschwitz, Germany were the words (Pic Auschwitz) Arbeit Macht Frei.

The words mean “Work makes free.” It was a boldfaced lie suggesting that if the prisoners worked hard, they would be given liberty. The promised freedom was a horrifying death.
Many people believe that if they do their best good works they will earn Heaven. This is false. It is Christ’s blood that liberates. He died to give us freedom from the penalty of our sin.
 
PEOPLE NEED TO KNOW THEY ARE SET FREE FROM SIN IN JESUS
President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation on September 22, 1862. The moment it went into effect on January 1, 1863, every slave living in the Confederacy was legally free. But until they knew of their freedom, the legal fact had no impact on their lives. In fact, Union soldiers carried hundreds of thousands of copies of the proclamation and passed them out as they made their way through the South during the war.
Galatians 5:1   It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.
 
SIN IS NOT JUST THE LIST OF DO’S AND DON’TS
          (Danielle)

Danielle discovered that her perfectionism and pride was the base of her sins.
 
The question I asked in the beginning popped with more weight than ever before. Who was I trying to please? My pride hungry heart? My peers and parents? Or God, the One who had died to make me His?  (Danielle's family)

To answer, I looked to God’s words. He used these verses to redefine my perspective:
Galatians 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
Colossians 3:1-2 If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.
Colossians 3:23 Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.
 
          As you take communion, consider your personal sins that need forgiven but go further. Consider whether or not you are daily choosing to serve the Lord with your whole life. Be set free from the sin of selfishness and pride and see how God might want to use you for the furthering of HIStory!