Sardis Message from Pastor Santos
Hello there
I trust you are well and truly enjoying the Lord’s blessings. Here at Resolven we are great. I miss seeing everyone but we are keeping in touch and it is so good to hear from everyone.
Tonight at 7:15pm Keith Gardner and his family will be on the Antiques Road Show, National Botanic Gardens Wales
Take care and God bless
“Let’s do our best to reach the whole world as soon as possible for Christ’
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PHILIPPIANS 4:4-9, 13 – 03/05/20
In the beginning of this chapter we see Paul talking about two sisters in the church who had a disagreement between them and Paul asked them to put things right and not to dwell on them. It is so easy for us to dwell on bad things instead of dwelling on good things. It seems that our minds are programmed to concentrate on bad things instead of concentrating on good things.
We are living in very strange days and if we allow it, it can bring us a lot of fear and anxiety. Whenever we turn the TV on we need to be selective to avoid negative news or violent films. One of these evenings I wanted to watch a film and it took me a long time to find a film that I could just enjoy watching. I did not want to watch anything violent or negative. My mind has been saturated with negative news and I truly wanted to give it a break. This is true not only for me but for all of us.
There is a proverb that says ‘an empty mind is satan’s workshop’. We reflect what is in our minds and hearts. It is so important for us to feed our minds with good things and positive thoughts. I am not saying for us to bury our heads in the sand. What I am saying is that sometimes we expose ourselves to a bombardment of bad news and it can affect our ways of thinking and acting. It can make you insecure and afraid. The news does not aim to help you to feel good, the aim of the publishers is to grasp your attention and keep your focus on what they have to say and more or less to make you a slave of their attention. I do advise you, ‘do not allow the TV or newspapers to guide your thoughts or dictate how you should feel about a situation. The news these days is putting before us a banquet of negativity and all of us do not like it but still sitting at the table and eating more and more of what is being dished out to us. Encouragement and comfort you will find in God’s word.
We need to discipline ourselves to learn to think about different things on different levels. In verse 8 Paul says ‘Finally, brothers…’ he is exhorting to think about positive and things that will edify us. For instance when someone will do something bad to you, easily you could concentrate on the wrong the person has done and you forget all the good the person has done for you. We believers we have the Holy Spirit in us and the Spirit of God ministers into our hearts the deep things of God. At this time in history we do need an injection of faith, encouragement, tenderness etc into our souls. We are not allowed to have social gatherings but there is nothing or power in this world that can stop God from visiting you and sustaining you. It is wonderful when we meet together and we share in fellowship with each other but the God of the bible is much bigger than all these social difficulties we are facing at the moment. Moses was in the desert when he fled Egypt for 40 years, Joseph was in prison for many years, Jeremiah was thrown in to the dungeons for preaching the word of God, Paul was in prison, John was in exile and the list goes on and on and on. Because we are on ‘lockdown’ at the moment it does not mean our minds are in lockdown, however, this could well be the case. If you find you are scared, anxious, frightened, you can’t sleep, your mind cannot rest, it means your mind is on lockdown because of the situation we are living in and because of what the news is telling you. It is time for you to open your bible and be encouraged by the word of God. Tell yourself the stories of great deliverances related in the bible, if you are good at history remind yourself of the hand of God throughout the existence of mankind. You are going to find so many passages in the bible and places in history that when it looked like evil was prevailing God stepped in and something very good was birthed. Instead of being drawn to the TV all the time be drawn to God Himself and ask Him to inject you with a new line of thinking. Learn to see life through God’s eyes. The advice Paul is giving us is ‘whatever is pure, whatever is noble, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things’. It can be a very slippery slope, your mind has become addicted to negative thoughts or bad thoughts. I am not talking just about Covid19. I am talking about you believing people are thinking negatively about you and you abide in these lines of thoughts. You are telling yourself again and again about a bad situation you faced. You are dwelling again and again on your illness etc. Hey, it is time to retrain your mind to think differently. You can say to yourself this is impossible, however ‘With Christ all things are possible’.
God bless
Communion
Read I Corinthians 11:16-23
Ask God to forgive your sins. Say a prayer of thanks for the Lord dying for you on the cross on calvary. Then eat the bread which represents the body of Christ and drink the cup that represent the blood He shed for us.
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… AND GOD STEPPED IN – BIBLE STUDY – PSALM 105: 1 – 8 05/05/20
In the very beginning of the bible when Adam and Eve sinned against God; it seemed everything was lost and God stepped in (Gen 3:15)
The story of Abraham and Lot, Lot was taken captive, it seems everything was lost and God stepped in (Gen 14).
The story of Abraham and Isaac, it seems everything was lost and God stepped in (Gen 22)
The story of Esau and Jacob, it seemed everything was lost and God stepped in (Gen 33).
The story of Joseph in prison, it seemed everything was lost and God stepped in (Gen 41).
The story of Moses in the wicker basket, it seemed everything was lost and God stepped in (Ex 2).
The story of Moses killing the Egyptian, it seemed everything was lost and God stepped in (Ex 2).
The story of the 10 Plagues in Egypt, it seemed everything was lost and God stepped in (Ex 12).
The story of the crossing of Red Sea, it seemed everything was lost and God stepped in (Ex 13).
The story of the lack of food in the desert, it seemed everything was lost and God stepped Ex16).
The story of the lack of water in the desert, it seemed everything was lost and God stepped in (Ex 17).
The story of Joshua fighting the 5 kings, it seemed everything was lost and then God stepped in (Js 10).
The story of Ruth and the young widow, it seemed everything was lost and then God stepped in (Ruth 4).
The story David and Goliath, it seemed everything was lost and then God stepped in (I Sam 17).
The story of David committing adultery, it seemed everything was lost and then God stepped in (2 Sam 11).
The story of Elijah, it seemed everything was lost and then God stepped in (I Kings 17).
The story of famine in Samaria, it seemed everything was lost and then God stepped in (2 Kings 6).
The story of King Jehoshaphat, it seemed everything was lost and then God stepped in (2 Ch 20).
The story of Daniel’s friend in the furnace of fire, it seemed everything was lost and then God stepped in (Dan 3).
The story of Daniel in the lions’ den. It seemed everything was lost and then God stepped in (Dan 6).
The story of the Jews going into captivity in Babylon, it seemed everything was lost and then God stepped in (Isaiah 47).
The story of how Nehemiah found the city of Jerusalem destroyed, it seemed everything was lost and then God stepped in (Neh 6).
The story of Malachi and people’s unfaithfulness towards God, it seemed everything was lost and then God stepped in.
Between the last book of the Old Testament and the birth of Jesus, it was 400 years of complete silence and no revelation or prophecy, it seemed everything was lost and then God stepped in.
The birth of Jesus, Herod tried to kill all the baby boys, it seemed everything was lost and then God stepped in (Mat 2).
The story of Judas betraying Jesus, it seemed everything was lost and then God stepped in (Mat 26).
The story of Peter denying Jesus, it seemed everything was lost and then God stepped in (Mat 26).
The story of Jesus’ crucifixion, it seemed everything was lost and then God stepped in (Mat 27).
The story of Jesus’ death, it seemed everything was lost and then God stepped in (Mat 28).
The story of Jesus’ ascension, it seemed everything was lost and then God stepped in (Mat 28 Act 2).
The story of Stephen being martyred, it seemed everything was lost and then God stepped in (Act 7).
The story of Paul persecuting the church, it seemed everything was lost and then God stepped in (Acts 9).
The story of Peter in prison, it seemed everything was lost and then God stepped in (Ac 12).
The story of Paul being stoned in Lystra, it seemed everything was lost and then God stepped in (Acts 14).
The story of Paul and Silas in prison, it seemed everything was lost and then God stepped in (Ac 16).
The story of John in exile, it seemed everything was lost and then God stepped in (Rev 1).
The End of Times is going to be a horrendous time. We are going to have problems of earthquake, wars, pestilence etc. The bible tells us, our redemption is near. God will step in. I am not saying we are living in the End of Times, what I am saying is the prophecies are being fulfilled and life on earth will come to the point where it will be unbearable and when everything seems to be lost, God will step in. Jesus will return for His church (I Thes 4).
PRAYER REQUESTS:
Vaccination to be found against Coronavirus
Government
People on the Frontline
Sardis Fellowship
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