Human reason and human ability are enemies to the purpose of God in our lives, Be a receiver from Him. We live in a world controlled by the prince of the power of the air. Have you ever sought your own way of escape? It does not work. Only His wisdom and grace make for deliverance. His mercy rejoices and we wait on Him. (1 Corinthians 10:13; Psalm 27:14)

Speaker(s): Pastor Steven Scibelli, Pastor  Thomas Schaller
Sermon # 11440
7:30 PM on 3/21/2018

P. Schaller

Jesus said in Luke 10 rejoice not that the spirits are subject to you but rather rejoice because your names are in the book of life [written in heaven]. Then isn’t there at the White Throne the books are open. The unsaved stand before God and aren’t they judged by what is there in the books. Pastor Renaldo? We better study that out.

Rev. 20:12, 15. There is a difference between unbelievers. It seems there is the lowest hell, there is the degrees, and then there is the lake of fire.

Everyone lost is cast in the lake of fire in Rev. 20:14 and Mark 9:43-47. Records of the unsaved people. It seems to me. The Lamb’s book of life.

Ps. 139, before you are born, all you members are written in a book. In our language, the DNA of everybody ever born and even the miscarried babies and aborted babies, their DNA is recorded in a book. It looks like that. It may mean everyone who ever lived their name is there and if they get saved their name is put in the Lamb’s Book of life. Then they are not saved and the books are open and it seems that it’s over. They are removed, erased, so God says I never knew you. It’s over and gone. There is no recognition. You can’t find their name anywhere. They didn’t make it there. It’s a horrifying thing to think.

I have this meditation walking in a graveyard reading the names and wondering is there anybody that knows anything about this person. The answer could be no one knows anything because they died a couple hundred years ago. Wind, gone, forgotten in this world ad forgotten forever and ever. God never knew them. That’s horrible. That’s amazing. Let’s win the lost. Let’s care about the lost. Let’s pray for the lost.

I’m so happy I’m in a church where we think like this. Win the lost, share the message, and have mercy on people. Have you ever met someone unemployed, depressed, and uneducated and poor? Let me repeat it. Turn to your right and left! Ever met anyone poor? Then added to that their lifestyle is not a good one. Unemployed, depressed and at the bottom. What do you think of them? This is an amazing exercise. It’s to have mercy on them. What is mercy? Mercy means they don’t deserve it but in your attitude you get adjusted to them and you say things like this: I’m so sorry. This is hard. They have not maybe learned or had a good example. They haven’t been led or guided, left to their own devices and now they are suffering for it. Some people say yeah they don’t work. That’s what you get. I work and earn what I got and it cost me a lot. That attitude can happen. I’m asking you to have another attitude. Realize maybe what happened to them they couldn’t help it, couldn’t prevent it. This is what happened to them and you should give them mercy. You got mercy. God gave you strength and maybe the training. God gave you mercy and you’ve been blessed in your life. You give mercy to people who don’t deserve it. You don’t have an attitude of being judgmental about poor people. You love them and give them mercy and invest in them and lead them. It’s none of our business to judge that person but love them and give them mercy. When you give mercy you get mercy. You did what you did but not the total picture. God gave you mercy and helped you and guided you along. This is meditation.

Let’s get a little exercise here. Why not stand up, be quiet, and say a prayer to the Lord. Teach me to give mercy to people that need mercy. They don’t need the law. They need investment.

P. Scibelli

1 Cor 10, Are you excited about life? I am. Life is amazing with Christ.

vs. 13. Common. Really? Trials are common to man. “I can’t believe what I’m going through.” It’s common. God sets the thermometer of my furnace. Come on. I am the way, the truth, the life that you may be able to bear it. This is a tremendous portion of Scripture. We have a discipleship class in the mission’s office. I’d like to say everyone is welcome but I don’t know how many seats. Any Wed. night at 6:30. Just knock on the door and we’ll let you in. I’ve had this meditation most of the day. A way of escape. We can bear it.

You and I will face, and here comes the thing I don’t like to hear, I’m going to have in James 1:2 diverse temptations.

I’m going to have in 1 Pet 1:6 diverse or manifold temptations. There is going to be throughout our Christian life – maybe you say you have them every day. Manifold is the word poikilos. A test or temptation, all different types.

Think of Daniel in Daniel 1. They had a food test based on changing their name, their learning, their language, so they could change the king they stood before. Daniel said he purposed in his heart he would not defile himself with the king’s food. They had that test.

In Da 3 they say bow down and worship this image. Not going to do it. They throw him in. Not going to do it. Kill us. Doesn’t matter.

I read a story about seven believers who were to be executed by fundamentalists from another sphere. They lined them up. They had men with rifles. His name was Mady. He said, in the Koran you say you allow worship before you are executed, so they said Ok. He said reach down and grab some sand. Shoot us in the legs. They took their blood and said take the sand and say, this is my body and take the blood and say, this is my blood. They were so overwhelmed with these men who wanted to have communion with their own blood and sand they said let’s get out of here. They walked away.

Dan 6 faces the lions, 969 of them.

Dan 10 demonic test and he’s told he’s a man greatly loved. Test with demons. Daniel is able to make it through every one of them. Just like you and I will have victory in every test and trial if we follow this. We have diverse temptations. Joseph sold into slavery, then the situation with Potiphar. So many different things. One day a physical problem. Then you turn and if this will just pass. That’s over, halleluiah. You turn this way and financial problem. This way and relationship problem. This way and health problem. It never stops. Manifold. Many types. This is going to happen but we don’t see the heat when it comes. Manifold diverse temptations.

Why did Peter say rejoice when they happen in 1 Pet 1:6? Rejoice! You want me to put on a fake smile and I’m dying on the inside and angry with God. This can be a blessing because two things I can receive from God that will literally take over the situation and cause me not to know about it. First thing is there is given manifold wisdom by the church. For manifold tests and trials and temptations I have the many sided wisdom of God.

Then he gives me in 1 Pet 4:10 manifold grace. Many sides of grace. God is there waiting and my big problem is am I going to be a receiver of this manifold wisdom and grace? Yes, God. Thank you I am receiving from your word and wisdom in this situation or am I going to find my own human way out. I’ll figure this out. Ever done that? I’ll get out of this one. Human reason. One and one is two. No, it’s not. We begin to analyze and calculate until we come up with something that seems okay and tag it with a religious tag. God says I want you to live by my wisdom. Receive from me every moment of every day. God, give me wisdom as I go out the door. If I go up in the air, I figure out where I’d fall, in the bushes and not the concrete…it’s called not looking where you are going! Give me wisdom in relationships. Maybe there are situations that develop in a relationship with someone in a church or at work. Maybe we are at the job and we have all kinds of strange things going on where we work. Give me wisdom from God. That’s why we love the Bible. The Bible is the source of wisdom. By mixing faith and allowing the H.S to reveal things to me, I get W from God. To operate in situations and problems and tests and trials and I come out with God’s wisdom. Then he says I’ll give you manifold grace. The grace will never stop. I have grace for everything. Grace for this, grace for that. Grace for relationships, to evangelize, grace in the family, the marriage, to raise children. If not grace it is human reason and human ability, the two biggest enemies of God. I love you and I’ll let you go through that and maybe it will be something you figure out later on. I have this great opportunity to be a receiver from God. Speaking of salvation he has given authority to become sons of God, eve to them that believe on his name. I keep receiving from God and I get W from God. Trying to figure out what is going on in this world and life without God’s wisdom and operating in human wisdom I can find myself way out here. With human reason God doesn’t give his ability for the decision is made outside of his plan. He draws me back with his love and mercy. Peter, you are going to pastor. Imagine the first day Jesus met him, you’re going to be crucified upside down. Peter could have ran on water if he heard that! I’m out of here. You will get grace and God’s wisdom to help you lead. God will give me wisdom from above not below. And manifold grace and God has placed me in the situation and I can see amazing results that will come from God and fruit. I heard a mother say I’m not a good mother. You’re the best mother for that child ever could be. How do you raise children? Wisdom and ability from God. How do you oversee a Christian school? Human reason? I don’t think so. I tried that with a Christian school and we had a lot of human reason and it was nothing but chaos. We need God’s wisdom and grace. This is for every one of our lives. I will be finding myself because I live in the world controlled by the prince of the power of this world and we have an osn and there is flesh everywhere. I need wisdom and God’s grace.

My wife must have amazing wisdom and grace to be with me 52 years. I can’t stand myself for 52 minutes sometimes! 1965, 42 years. I made a mistake! Give her a hand! The wisdom and grace she must have. Where are you going? Not sure. When are you coming back? Don’t know.

Just receive W and grace. God, thank you. You will give your word and your word will produce wisdom and that grace will be the ability to get through every situation in life. God provides a way of escape, his wisdom and grace. God himself is the way of escape. Ever try to take another way out? God says just receive wisdom from God and grace from God and watch what takes place. They will occur but they will be very diverse and different but we are guaranteed if we receive his wisdom and grace, we will meet God. Then it will be true, we don’t see the heat when it comes.

P. Schaller

What Pastor Scibelli said we can use John’s name. He has manifold trials. Emily Janssen, she’s another one. Young person who has a focus and making some decisions. One of the things Pastor mentioned is many different trials and one of them is this question in time. When will I, when will God be very close to me? When will I see more clearly? I’m running out of patience. When will my life really change? When will I get answers to my prayers? This idea.

But in Ps 27, it says wait on the Lord. I’m going to have to read it. Wait on the Lord, be of good courage and he shall strengthen thine heart. Wait I say on the Lord. I had fainted unless I believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. What I want to say to John and Emily and everyone else, all of us. Waiting on God is a way of life. It’s not taking things in my own hands. I take things in my own hand but with manifold wisdom and the other word was manifold grace. There is grace for John Reynolds. There is grace for every one of us. When we wait on God, he strengthens our heart. That’s all I really need. I don’t need an answer this way. I just need God to strengthen my heart. I’m not sure where all this goes. I’m waiting on God and trusting him and he will strengthen my heart. Let’s see what he does in my trial. Maybe the issue isn’t the answer over there but what is happening in here (inside). The love in my heart, my attitude toward life. My attitude toward God. I told Jen to photo copy it and put it up anywhere and she put it in my bathroom in my office. I knew one day I’d tear it down and read it. We must have faith not only in the form of fixity of creed but in the shape of constant dependence on God. …I should not speak of a sense of power in prayer or abundance of revelation…I should mention as the most exquisite delight of my being a condition of constant dependence on God. This is Charles Spurgeon. It is inexpressively delightful to lie passive in the hand of love, to die into the life of Christ. It’s blessed to feel you do not know but your heavenly Father knows.” This is for John. You cannot speak but we have an advocate in heaven…the entire submission of our soul to the Lord, the full content of the heart….this is the nearest approach to heaven I know. It is better than rapture for one can abide in it without strain or reaction.” Let me say it in these words. If I can just in my heart depend on God with all my heart, he’s going to take care of me. He will lead a man like John Reynolds. He keeps coming and waiting on God. When God gives you a hunger for this and you start to wait on God, manifold wisdom and grace and a confidence in him, you don’t worry as much. You’re not afraid in your trials. He is upholding you and leading you. When you get an itch to go somewhere. Like P. Jomi is in Texas with Mary. It’s much better to say I have a little anxiety or itch but I need to be fully satisfied where I am. I remember being in Maine and pastor asked me to go to Finland. But I have a bus ministry in Dover, New Hampshire. I have about 100 kids in a bus ministry. Okay I’ll go to Finland but I don’t need to go. I’m so fired up with what God has for me right here. I kind of don’t want to go. I’m baptized in the body where I am. I’m waiting on God and God is supplying and giving me wisdom and love. So you go but fruitful where you go. Sometimes we go from one thing to another because we haven’t learned to wait on God.

Wait on him it says in vs. 14. He will strengthen your heart. Wait I say on the Lord. Wait on God in your marriage, in your geographical location, at your working place. I’m not saying changes can’t happen. God will give you many sided, many thoughts, many ways of his sufficiency and provision. God has given me more than what I ever needed. In my trial I have found a way. It’s a secret way, a hiding place, a pavilion from the strife of tongues, the way above to escape the hell below. Check yourself when you feel like rushing into something. There could be a trial, and we have many times but there is also much provisions for us and a depth and growing. I’m so blessed to be in a church with people that are rock solid, quiet, Spirit-filled, wise, caring, loving, and serving people. It’s an amazing group of people. It’s some awesome and very powerful.

When Paul was in jail the doors opened but he wasn’t going anywhere. The earthquake happened. The doors open. They were singing. The doors open and chains fell off. They weren’t going anywhere. Their job was not done. The jailor came in. They led him to the Lord and then ate at his house. You can leave now. We’re not leaving. We’re not going anywhere. The guys put us in this jail have to escort us out. They made a mistake beating him because he was a Roman. Now you can leave our city. We’re not going out of the city. We are going to Lydia’s house. In your face. We are going to have fellowship and we’ll leave in our timing and our way and in our conditions. That means you’re in charge. That’s what it means. When we are Spirit-filled and wise, you don’t become the tail. You become the head.

When you wait on God, you find God gave us in our spirit. You don’t run from one place to another, one person to another, one bad situation into a better one. You wait on God with manifold wisdom and manifold grace.

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