The Seed of God's Word at Christmas

By:Pastor Joe Laughlin, Victory Church, Omaha, NE.   

Luke Chapter 8 is the account of our Lord Jesus sharing the parable of the sower. Jesus tells how the different soils that a seed is planted in will produce different levels of harvest. In verse 11 Jesus explains the parable and says the seed He is talking about is the Word of God. Seed that was planted in good soil produced an abundant harvest. The good soil was the person who accepted and received the Word of God. I have read this parable many times, but it was not until this Christmas that I made the connection of the Word of God being a seed and tied this to the Christmas story.

            In Luke 1:26 we read of the angel Gabriel announcing to Mary that she would conceive in her womb and bring forth a son and call his name Jesus.  From verse 27 we know that Mary was a virgin, and in verse 34 Mary responds to the angel, “How can this be since I do not know a man?” That is a fair question, and the angel responds by telling Mary, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you, the Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God.” Mary’s response is recorded in verse 38, “Behold the maidservant of the Lord. Let it be to me according to your word.”

            The angel, Gabriel, brought to Mary the Word of the Lord. She received and accepted the Word which is a seed, and she conceived and brought forth a literal harvest, the Son of God. This is a great demonstration of faith in God. The seed of the Word came to Mary. It did not make sense to her natural mind. But because her heart was of the kind of good soil Jesus talked about in the parable of the sower, she responded by accepting and receiving God’s Word and promise, and it was done for her according to her response “Let it be to me according to your word.”

                        How about us today?  All of us have opportunities every day to decide how we will respond to God’s Word, God’s promise, “the seed.” If we are caught up in the cares of this life and the lust for other things the Word will not produce much in our lives. But if our heart is open and receptive to God’s promises, it will produce a harvest in our lives. Even if we do not understand how God will accomplish His promise, that is not for us to figure out. Our part is to say, like Mary, “Let it be to me according to your word”, and then let God’s Word, the seed, produce an abundant harvest in our lives.

The Lord Directs Our Path

            God loves you and He has a wonderful plan for your life. He desires to reveal this plan to you, but it is not automatic, we have a part in finding His plan. Proverbs 3:5 & 6 says “trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct your paths.” It’s easy to trust in the Lord when everything is going smooth and “life is good”. But how about when things are not so good? That’s when we need to put our trust in the Lord.

            Verse five continues “and lean not to your own understanding”.  Proverbs 16:25 says “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.” Natural man and natural thinking can come up with a plan, but we need to see if our plan lines up with God’s plan. How do we do that? By seeing if it is in agreement with God’s word.

            Proverbs 3:6 continues “in all your ways acknowledge Him”. Not just “some of our ways”, but all of our ways acknowledge the Lord and His working in our life. If we will do these things, He will direct our path.

            There are several passages of scripture that speak of God directing His people. Psalm 23:3 says “He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His names sake.” And Proverbs 4:18 “The path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, shining ever brighter to the fullness of day.” God’s path is a path of righteousness, a path of light, having nothing to do with the works of darkness.

            And God’s path is a path of peace. Colossians 3:15 says to “let the peace of God rule in your hearts.” Romans 5:1 says “we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” We can experience the peace of God when we surrender our lives to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. But that’s just the beginning. God’s peace will lead us everyday. We can know either by the presence of God’s peace, or the absence of His peace whether or not we are on a path that is pleasing to Him.

            And finally, get to know the Holy Spirit’s leading. Take time to pray and to listen for His instruction. As it says in Psalm 46:10 “be still and know that I am God.” In this very busy world that we live in, let’s take time to know His voice, to listen for His voice. If we have to, even make an appointment on our calendar for spending time to be still before our Lord. If we do, He will direct us, He will show us His way. And with confidence we can say “thank you Lord for directing my path”.

True Worship

In John 4:23 Jesus tells us that our Father God is seeking those who will worship Him in spirit and in truth. Isn’t that amazing? That God, the maker of heaven and earth is looking for someone who will be a true worshiper?

And what are the characteristics of a true worshiper? A true worshiper is someone who has no agenda, other than to honor the Lord. A true worshiper is someone who comes to God, not on their own merits, but relying on what Jesus Christ has accomplished at Calvary. Hebrews 10:19 & 20 invites us to enter the very presence of God by the “new and living way”, the blood of Christ. By accepting Jesus’ offer of a new life, by believing that His blood is able to cleanse us of all unrighteousness, and receiving His forgiveness, we are able to come to God, with all our human weakness, and worship Him.

          The Old Testament picture of worship in the Tabernacle of Moses shows us a distinction between praise and worship. There was the outer court with a lot of activity in praise to God. But it was in the inner court where there was an intimate exchange between man and God. That is the picture of worship.

          In the book of Psalms, we are told to praise God with the trumpet, praise Him with the dance, praise Him with the stringed instruments, praise Him with the loud symbols, and to let everything that has breath praise the Lord. I believe everyone should give God praise every day. But praise is not a substitute for worship. In the Gospel of John, Jesus did not say that the Father is seeking praisers, but worshipers. You see we can start with praise to glorify God, and praise is good. But it is through worship that we experience intimacy with the living God. It is through worship that we are able to be changed from glory to glory. It is through worship that we can truly offer to God our hearts.

People of God; let’s draw near to God to learn what pleases Him, to learn how to honor Him, to learn how to be worshipers, in spirit and in truth. Not in the fleshly ways of the world, not in a human attempt to put on a show for others, but in sincerity, to worship the Lord in the beauty of His holiness. The Father is seeking such. Amen.

From The Pulpit Submission by: Joe Laughlin

Victory Church, Omaha – for Sunday, July 24, 2011

Mother's Day

           To all mothers today, thank you!  Thank you for giving of yourself even when it was not easy or convenient. Thank you for your sacrifice. I know my parents sacrificed a lot for me. I didn’t realize it at the time, but as I grew older and had children of my own, I realized more the sacrifice my parents made for me. Often they went without so that their children would have what they needed.

They also gave me something that was very precious: faith in God, and in the Lord Jesus Christ. The foundation they laid helped me to walk in the faith I have today. And upon that foundation, my wife, Laura, and I have been able to pass our faith on to our children. Of course each person has to make faith their own, but mothers have such an important role to play in “passing the faith along” to their kids.

            That is the principle we see working in 2Timothy 1:5, where the apostle Paul says to a young pastor named Timothy, “I call to remembrance the genuine faith this is in you, which dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am persuaded is in you also.”

This “genuine faith” was passed from Timothy’s grandmother to his mother, and finally to Timothy. All the people’s lives that Timothy touched were beneficiaries of this “genuine faith” that he received from his mother and grandmother. This should serve as a reminder to all of us that no one stands on his own merits, but rather on the shoulders (so to speak) of others who have gone before us, others who have “kept the faith” and “passed on the faith”.

            That is why today we want to celebrate the very important role mothers and grandmothers play in the lives of their children and grandchildren. The faith that you have received can be passed along to the next generation, and continue to impact lives even when we are gone.

            This principle can also be applied to a woman who has not borne any children in the natural, but has been enabled by God to be a “spiritual mom” to others.

Where would many of us be if we had not received encouragement from “spiritual moms” and “spiritual dads” in the faith? Oh yes, fathers have a very important role too, but we will reserve that message for Fathers Day.

            My prayer is that mothers are encouraged today, encouraged that you are making a difference in the lives of your children. Hopefully, one day you will be able to say, “It was worth it all”. To all mothers, may God’s abundant grace be with you, and Happy Mothers Day!

Three Men

From The Pulpit - by Joe Laughlin, Victory Church, Omaha, NE. For Saturday 3-19-2011

In 1 Corinthians chapters 2 and 3, the apostle Paul addresses three types of individuals.

1. The Natural Man - not born again, and cannot receive the things of God because these things can only be discerned by someone who has received the life of Christ on the inside.

2. The Spiritual Man - born again, and “in Christ” and has the mind of Christ. This man has the Holy Spirit on the inside who will lead him in all truth, according to the word of God. (Jn.16:13)

3. The Carnal Man - born again, has the life of God on the inside, but is not yielding to God, but is instead yielding to fleshly and selfish desires.

Which one of these three individuals are you? The goal of everyone should be to be “the spiritual man“. How do you become what the bible terms “spiritual”? If you have never taken the step to surrender your life to the Lordship of Jesus Christ, do it today. Accept Jesus Christ as your Lord, and ask Him to forgive your sins. Ask God to reveal Himself to you, and begin to read the Bible. A good place to start is the Gospel of John. This book reveals who Jesus is, and what he accomplished by His death on the cross.

To the person who would identify with the carnal man, God has some good news. Paul says the carnal man is “a babe”, and has only received the milk of God’s word. But if we are a babe in Christ, we don’t have to stay a babe, we can grow. We grow by receiving all of God’s word, not just what we want to hear. We must be willing to hear and receive and apply the whole council of God. Hebrews 5:14 talks about receiving “the meat” of God’s word and growing into a mature believer, able to discern good and evil.

2 Corinthians 5:15 talks about this kind of believer when it says “they live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again.” The spiritual man has received and fed his or her spirit on the good word of God, and has made that transition from living selfishly, into living for the one who died for our sins, Jesus Christ. That is the kind of man or woman God wants to raise up on the earth in this hour. Will you let Him work that work in you? Will you go to His word and humbly receive and apply the word to your life? (James 1:21) Do it today, and your life will never be the same. Peace to you, in Jesus Name.

The Grace Of God

By Pastor Joe Laughlin, Victory Church - Omaha

2 Timothy 2:1 says, “Be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus”. When the word of God says we are to be strong in something, I believe we should be strong in that thing. Am I strong in the grace of God? Am I strong in the message of the grace of God? Do I have a good understanding of what God’s grace is? My prayer is that today’s message will encourage us in the grace of God.

What is Grace? Many would respond that grace is God’s unmerited favor towards us. I would agree with this statement, but how do we apply the grace of God in our everyday life? The bible says in Romans 3:23 that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”. Romans 3:10 says, “There is none righteous, no not one”. Everyone of us needs the grace of God. Everyone needs forgiveness. Everyone needs God’s unmerited favor. God’s grace is necessary for us to be saved. Ephesians 2:9 says “For by grace you have been saved through faith, it is a gift of God”. God’s grace offered to me forgiveness of all of my sins and a relationship with God, if I would believe the gospel, the good news of Jesus Christ. So grace is necessary for us to be saved, but it is also necessary for us to live the Christian life.

2 Corinthians 8:9 describes how God’s grace was working in Christ Jesus our Lord. It reads, “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes, He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich”. Jesus demonstrated the grace of God by making available to me, by His sacrifice on the cross, a rich relationship with Father God, and through that relationship, everything I need to accomplish God’s plan for my life.

There is another key to walking in the grace of God found in James 4:6. It says, “God resists the proud, but He gives grace to the humble”. If you or I are going to walk in the grace of God, we need to humble ourselves before His mighty hand. Anyone who thinks they can earn a place in heaven with God by good works is saying “I don’t need the grace of God, I’ll earn my way” . That is pride. Grace says, “God, I come to you as a sinner in need of your grace, your unmerited favor. I know my good works would never be enough to earn a place in heaven” . Your word says in John 3:16 that “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life”. Lord, I believe your word. I humble myself and receive your grace. I believe that Jesus had an abundant life, starting with an abundant relationship with His Father. He took my sin on His own body, He took my lack, my want, and my need, that by grace, I can have forgiveness of sin, and abundant life with God. That is the gospel of Jesus Christ. God’s grace, working through Christ Jesus, to make available to me what I could not earn by good works. Be strong in the grace of God.