Author: preacherphilstevens

“Whoever commits sin is a slave to sin…If the Son therefore shall make you free, you will be free indeed.” John 8:34b, 36.

A preacher once said that “Sin may promise you paradise, but it will only deliver you a prison.” For the believer who seeks to follow Jesus the lie of sin is even more twisted because sin tries to deceive and make you believe you aren’t free. The message of sin is that God is keeping you from freedom. You would have so much more happiness, and things, if you would only give in to the temptation. Does this not define the philosophy of our world today? Unfortunately, the fruit of sin’s message is becoming clear and more people are addicted to drugs, pornography, sex, gluttony, vanity, and a host of other ills, and we couldn’t stop them even if we wanted to. Our society is enslaved to sin. In sin’s wake are broken homes, destroyed lives, and in essence, we have created Godless communities, does this sound like freedom to you?

“The thief comes not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I (Jesus) am come that they may have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” (John 10:10) You need to know that though you may be enslaved to sin today; you can have freedom through Christ. You may have fallen for sin’s lie of freedom, but you now find yourself imprisoned by it. Freedom can be found in Christ. There is no sin that is greater than His love for you. There is nothing you can do that will turn Him away from you. He can, and will, free you from the prison and bring you to a life filled with joy.

I can’t choose life for you; I can only point the way (John 14:6). I truly have never met a soul who late in their life wished they had taken part in more sin, only those who had wished they had given more of their life to God. Choose Christ and choose life for yourself and for your family, and experience a life free from the enslavement of sin.

If you were to go out at night and look up into the starry night you would see little pin points of light, however if you were an astronomer you could look up at the same sky and name the planets and the stars. The captain sailing the sea could see those same stars and the constellations formed and navigate an ocean. All of this, from the same lights that are scattered across the sky.

What do you see when you see God? Do you see an old man in a rocking chair who is oblivious to the matters here on earth? Do you see Him as a tyrant or the boy who has a magnifying glass trying to light ants on fire and cause you pain?

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will truly see God. I want to see God for who He truly is. If He is a God that I make up from my sinful heart then He is no God at all, but limited to my own imaginations. The pure in heart, they will see Him for who He truly is. They will see Him as a loving Father who brings purpose in our lives. He has our best interest at heart and wants to live in relationship with us. Purify your hearts today and see God for who He is, and not what you have been told He is or even what you hope He is.

I often do an exercise with my church. This is an exercise that a professor gave to a class that I attended many years ago. He had us to go through the first chapter of Ephesians and pick out all of the character traits that believers can claim, characteristics that we may claim as our identity in Christ. This exercise has so encouraged me and my church. In fact, when I find myself down and depressed I will still (literally) take out a piece of paper and re-read the chapter and write down all of the things that I am positionally in Christ.

“It’s not what we do that determines what we are, but who we are that determines what we do.” If I am how Paul describes believers in Ephesians 1 (and the rest of the Bible) then I truly am one of the richest men in the world. God is my Father, and literally all the power that heaven can do is now placed within me. As a matter of fact, Paul states that the same power that raised Christ from the dead, lives within me (Romans 8:11). Though I was once dead in my trespasses and sins (Eph. 2:1), I had nothing to offer God, and my destination was death and hell. He has come to my rescue, through the death, burial and resurrection of Christ, I am now alive in Him.

When I was dead in sin, I was a slave to sin (Romans 6:20). I was unable to please God. My love was mixed with selfishness, and hopelessness and despair was my future. However, being alive in Christ brings a new direction in my life not only spiritually, but physically as well. It would be enough if God only helped me spiritually, but God also conquerors my appetite for sin physically as well. His living Spirit within me breaks chains in my life that were previously indestructible.

Thankfully, according to John 10, Jesus says that now I am in His hand, and His hand is in the hand of the Father and now no one will ever be able to pull from me the life that I now enjoy in Christ. I am now His forever. May my life now reflect in works on the outside what God’s life means to me on the inside.

“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.” Matthew 6:7

Jesus tells the story of a man who owed an amount of money to the king that he would literally never be able to repay (Matthew 18). The king had compassion on this man though and forgave the man the massive debt. Free and clear of the debt this man walked out and found someone who owed him just a few dollars and without mercy had the man thrown in jail.

The king found out about the actions of this man and was absolutely astonished. How could someone who had been forgiven of so much treat someone else who owed so little in such a way. Though the man may have been forgiven of a sum he would never be able to repay, his inability to show mercy to others caused the king to have him thrown in prison.

You may be thinking to yourself, how could someone who had been forgiven of so much treat someone else in this way. If you are a believer in Christ; you have been forgiven of an amount you could never repay, and yet, how many times do we lack mercy toward others? We look down on others we see in sin. We turn our heads when we see others in need. We have been forgiven of a massive debt and yet fail to forgive others who have wronged us.

My brother and sisters in Christ may we love just as Christ has loved us. May those of us who have experienced the mercy of the King go and do likewise. Do not be caught by Him as one who judges and looks down on others. As Paul wrote, “For the grace of God I am what I am.” (1 Corinthians 15:10)

“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.” Matthew 5:6

Superman is one of my favorite superheroes. I know this is a controversial subject. Some people like Batman or the Green Lantern, but when they come to their senses they always realize that Superman is the greatest. One of qualities that strikes me as heroic is Superman has the ability to take the world and throw it into the Sun if he wanted to, but thankfully, he doesn’t. All of that power and yet he continues to do good.

Meekness is a powerful trait. You have the power to do whatever you want, but you decide, for the greater good, to withhold your ability. You don’t have to sacrifice your time or money, but you do so for a friend in need. You sacrifice time for your church or organization to help others. Many times people associate meekness to weakness, but it couldn’t be further from the truth. Anyone can be selfish, but it takes true strength to put selfishness aside for others.

The ultimate display of meekness is found in Jesus. He is the Creator of the Universe. He is God in the flesh with the ability to call all the angels of heaven for his bidding. Yet, He trades it all for a frail body and in obedience, He dies the death of a criminal by hanging on a cross. Meekness is truly beautiful when it is seen in others, but in the mirror, meekness is very difficult to produce.

However, those who can master the discipline of meekness can truly be a reflection of Jesus is in this world. What are ways you can display meekness at work or, even more difficult, show meekness at home?

“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” Matthew 5:4

I remember years ago a pastor told the youth group, “You can tell a lot about a person by the books they read, the company they keep, and the jokes they laugh at.” Does it bother you when TV shows make fun of Jesus? What about tasteless jokes, do they upset you?

What if we saw these jokes as God sees them? What if we saw these jokes as blasphemous and sinful? You may be asking, “Aren’t you being a little oversensitive, can’t you have just a little fun?” What if you saw these sinful jokes as the nails that put Jesus on the cross?

Not too long ago I met a women whose son committed suicide. He ended His life with a gun. Today this mother doesn’t talk about guns, she doesn’t own a gun, and the “funniest” joke about a gun would utterly offend her. Any time she sees a gun she associates it with the death of her son.

What would happen if we saw sin in the same way as that mother sees guns? Blessed are those who mourn because they realize the true nature of their sinful condition. They understand the grave nature of their sin. They realize it is sin that causes separation and death. It seems appropriate now to mourn over sin.

However, those who mourn will be comforted! Jesus truly has paid the great price, the debt we could have never been able to pay on our own. Yes our sin has left us in poverty, but God’s grace gives us reason to have comfort.

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for there’s is the Kingdom of Heaven.” Matthew 5:3

Something hard for me to grasp at times is an understanding that everything, and I mean everything down to the red cent looking at me from the floor, is given to me by God. He could have made me a rich man, but He didn’t. If being rich is a curse, then oh God curse me with such an imposition. Being poor is not typically seen as a blessing, certainly not in our culture.

Leave it to Jesus to once again put our understanding, and our culture, on the flipside. “Blessed are the poor.” I looked up poor and in this context found it means, “one who is abjectly and completely poverty-stricken, one who is absolutely destitute.” Though Jesus is not asking for all of us to be poor, living on the street, He is saying Blessed is the one who realizes that spiritually, we are completely destitute. In ourselves we have nothing to offer God.

Only when someone comes to the understanding that they are spiritually bankrupt and hit “rock bottom” (so to speak) do they begin to look up. We don’t typically try to fix what isn’t broken. Pride typically gets in the way, and causes us to believe we are something when we clearly aren’t. This condition is normally easy to spot in others, very difficult to see in the mirror.

For those who recognize they are spiritually impoverished there is hope, you are blessed! And for those of us who to turn to Jesus, “there’s is the Kingdom of God.”

Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands. Serve the LORD with gladness: come before His presence with singing.

Know ye that the LORD He is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.

Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto Him, and bless His name.

For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting; and His truth endureth to all generations.  Psalms 100.

It was recently brought to my attention about the power of praise. Jonah was swallowed by a fish, but it wasn’t until he began to praise and give thanks that the fish released Him to dry ground. Daniel was in a lion’s den, but when He gave thanks the mouths of the lions were shut. You think this is a coincidence. Jesus Himself, “who for the JOY that was set before Him, endured the cross, despising the shame, and is now set down at the right hand of the throne of God. (Hebrews 12:2)

Praise and thanksgiving may be the most unnatural thing to do when we are our darkest time, but it is where God does some of His greatest work in our life. Are you hurting? Are you lost in life and have no idea what is next? Are you facing persecution from sinful people? Then praise and give thanks to God, for He is good. His mercy endures forever. He will rescue you, you are not forgotten by Him.

“As the deer thirsts for water, so my soul thirsts for you.” Psalms 42:1

When my daughter was around 3 or 4 years old  she had a game, a simple game, a game of chase. I would run around the house and she would run with all of her might. Every now and then I would slow down, pretend to trip, and give her just enough time to tackle me. She would laugh and have the greatest time. Now, you should know that I am actually quicker than her, and if I didn’t want her to, I could outrun a 3 year old. I’m not that old…yet.

In your life I wonder if you have had a time when you chased after God. You wanted more of Him. You wanted His blessings, and you weren’t willing to stop praying and begging until He blessed you. You were chasing after God. Just so you know, God is much faster than you are. If He didn’t want you to catch Him, you wouldn’t. However, every now and then He slows down, reveals Himself in a beautiful way and you are never the same again.

When I was growing up I remembered seeing a lot of those kind of people in my life. My Dad and I spent the night at a pastor’s house when I was younger. Every morning, (including the time we spent there) he got up early in the morning. He would take the 3 couch cushions (he claimed it was representative of the Trinity) and prayed as though God was literally in the room with him. I won’t (and can’t) forget it. This pastor knew how to “catch” God.

May we “thirsts for righteousness”. May we want more of Him. May we not stop until we have received His blessings. May we be willing to sacrifice. On top of that, may others (especially our children) see it in us. It would be a great gift and a wonderful testimony to give to them.