Eureka Presbyterian Church | 2-14-2016
Good Morning,
What day is it today??
That is right, Happy Valentine’s Day to all. Chocolates, Valentine cards, breakfast, lunch, dinner but of course bouquets of flowers. Whatever the gift is, ultimately it is an expression of LOVE.
Today we will be talking about the Love of God, God who sent is only begotten son to dwell on earth and through his love, it is Jesus who provides the antidote to the temptations of the devil.
The OT reading today is Psalm 91. The book of Psalms is the longest in the bible, spanning 85 pages consisting of 150 chapters or psalms. King David wrote the majority of the psalms but there were others as well, like Moses who wrote two of them 500 years before David.
Psalm 91 was written by Moses after spending 40 years in the desert. He wrote it as an encouragement to the Israelites before crossing the Jordan entering the Promised Land
In verse 3 Moses wrote: For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence;
In 1857 Charles Spurgeon preached a sermon on the snare of the Fowler. He said that even though Moses may have written this for the Israelites at the time, it is applicable to all time; and it is spoken concerning that arch-enemy of souls, the great deceiver, “Satan, the fowler, who betrays unguarded souls a thousand ways.”
Satan is like a fowler, always attempting to destroy us. Whatever his tactics may be, his object is still the same—to catch people in his net. Mankind is like weak birds that have no skill enough to avoid the snare, and do not have enough strength to escape from it.
Satan the fowler attacks us like a little snake, creeping silently along the path, ready to bite our heel with his poisoned fangs, and weaken the power of grace and ruin the life of godliness within us.
Satan who has been prowling on unsuspecting victims ever since, but the love of God is everlasting and he provided a gift by sending his son and 1500 years after Moses penned this psalm, Jesus is let by the spirt into the wilderness as we read in Luke 4:1-13 which can be found on page ….. pew bible
Luke 4:1-13
Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, 2where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing at all during those days, and when they were over, he was famished. 3The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become a loaf of bread.” 4Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘One does not live by bread alone.’” 5Then the devil led him up and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. 6And the devil said to him, “To you I will give their glory and all this authority; for it has been given over to me, and I give it to anyone I please. 7If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.” 8Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.’” 9Then the devil took him to Jerusalem, and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, 10for it is written, ‘He will command his angels concerning you, to protect you,’ 11and ‘On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.’” 12Jesus answered him, “It is said, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’” 13When the devil had finished every test, he departed from him until an opportune time.
Usually at four in the morning I eat breakfast, by 11.30 we are ready for lunch and the stomach is growling. It is hard to imagine not eating for 40 days. The scripture said: Jesus was full of the spirit and that is how he was able to rebuke the temptation of Satan despite extreme hunger. Without the help of Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit we are vulnerable to the deceptions of the devil. Temptations come in many ways; one very destructive temptation is the abuse of drugs and alcohol.
The “National Institute on drug abuse” states on its website that in 2013 an estimated 24.6 million Americans age 12 and older or 9.4% of population had used illicit drugs in the past month, up from 8.3% in 2002
Methamphetamine use increased from 353,000 cases in 2010 to 595,000 in 2013.
In 2013 alone there were 2.8 million new drug users or 7,800 new users per day.
Closer to home, in 2013 the Humboldt County Health and Human Services Department published the “Community Health Assessment Report”:
The average age of initial Alcohol use in California is 16 while in Humboldt it is 13-14
For Marijuana in California it is 17 Humboldt 13-14
DIU arrests are two times the state average
Felony drug offense arrests are 60% higher than state average.
Suicide rate is more than double the state average
Drug induced death rate is more than 3 times the state average.
These County wide statistics may vary from City to City. There is no specific data for Eureka but it is widely believed that Eureka is the hotbed of Alcohol and Drug abuse. Eureka in terms of crime rate ranks 2d in the state of California behind Emeryville and higher than Oakland.
What is perpetuating the abuse of drugs and alcohol?
People are in search of satisfying a hunger of the soul. Satan is very effective in enticing hungry souls who are looking for happiness but the problem is, one will never get enough while searching in the wrong places.
In 1965 Mick Jagger and Keith Richards wrote the song: I can’t get no satisfaction, cause I try, and I try and I try. That is the story in many lives. Try and try and try and still get no satisfaction.
But here is the good news; there is a WAY to get to the ULTIMATE satisfaction.
Jesus said in John 14:6, “I am the WAY and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
Let’s go on a journey to see some places where the Jesus has made a difference to find hope and glory.
Prior to the mid 70’s the town of Almalonga in Guatemala was widely known for its high unemployment, prostitution and crime. Not unlike Eureka with a high alcoholism. As a matter of fact the town of 20,000 with a mostly native Indian population counted 36 cantinas, basically drinking establishments and 4 jails overflowing with prisoners.
Through prayer Jesus entered the hearts of the people in Almalonga and within 20 years the town underwent a major transformation. It is now referred to as the miracle city.
90% of the population converted to Christianity. In 1994 the last jail closed and instead of 36 cantinas, only a few are left and the others morphed into churches.
The land around Almalonga became some of the most productive farm land in Central America. God has literally healed the land as he promised in 2 chronicles 7:14.
If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.
Now we go to Chicago Illinois and visit the Pacific Garden Mission which has been around since 1877, not only by feeding empty stomachs but more importantly feeding hungry souls with the grace of Jesus.
Valentine shipping period just concluded. A typical day during VD starts 5 in the morning and it is not unusual that the day concludes after 8 pm. On my way home a program called “unshackled” is on the radio, a half hour program produced by the Pacific Garden Mission.
Each program describes someone’s life story encountering hardship and often this is when Satan strikes, typically leading to a path of addiction and spiral of destruction. The cycle of Satan’s devastation is broken when Jesus enters in their hearts and lives are turned around. The bible says in James 4:7 So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
Now back to Eureka, Our community is in moral decline. Yet conditions are primed for a transformation and healing. Local churches play a vital role and countless groups including Betty Chin, the Rescue mission and St Vincent the Paul are doing everything they can to help. There is a great example of shining light of hope in the middle of our community.
Before the busy holiday season our HR director reached out and connected with a group called Teen Challenge, and developed a collaborative program where the students get work experience at the farm. Honestly I had not heard of this organization.
Since November teen challenge students are working part-time at the farm. After a monthly farm meeting discussing SV guiding principles a student asked if I would talk to their group. This prompted me to check out what Teen challenge is all about.
A few weeks ago I visited their facilities in Eureka including club 5:17 a coffee shop and bookstore 2 blocks from Target. Inside the bookstore is a huge sign with 2Corinthians 5:17. This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! Wow what a blessing to have this great Christ centered organization, this beacon of hope in our midst.
Teen challenge was founded by David Wilkerson in 1963, a country preacher who was called by God to go into the intercity of New York to preach the Love of God. Check out the movie “the cross and the switchblade” on u-tube.
25 women and 40 men are blessed by this caring Christ centered one year program. 83% of graduates from the program 5 years later are free from drug and alcohol higher than any other program. Why?? Jesus is the answer.
The other day John MacArthur talked about 1 Corinthians 13, the chapter describing Love. The first 12 chapters of that letter define all the shortcomings of the believers in Corinth. He called it the dirt, all the things they did wrong, but out of that dirt grows this beautiful flower in chapter 13 depicting the 12 ways of Love.
It made me think about temptations and sins committed by all of us every day, it like this bag of dirt, composted bark, if you stick your hands in it the dirt gets in your skin and it is hard to wash out, the composted wood will put splinters in your fingers and as it is still composting, it smells nasty. But yet this same dirt is what helps produce these beautiful tulips and Iris all over the sanctuary here today.
This dirt provides the fertile soil that Jesus talks about in Mark 4:8 still other seeds fell on fertile soil, and they sprouted, grew, and produced a crop that was thirty, sixty, and even a hundred times as much as had been planted!”
This analogy of composting dark fertile soil actually brings me to a situation that is near and dear to my heart and very close to home. As I was preparing for today’s message, gathering statistics, getting information on Almalonga, Unshackled and Teen challenge. Right is front of me it became painfully evident that our own children were certainly not immune either, to the temptations of Satan, leading to revelations of drug abuse. For my son after years of recreational marijuana use things came to a head in the last few weeks, as details of excessive use and prescription drugs surfaced.
Things hit bottom last Saturday when guilt, sorrow and remorse, culminated into a strong desire for repentance. After watching the Super bowl last Sunday, driving in the car, low and behold the program “Unshackled” comes on. We listened to it talked about it.
The next morning he walked in my office in tears, and shared that after much introspection the previous night he recognized the destruction drugs had caused and that he made a commitment to quit all together.
As he went to work that day a miracle happened, as the Lord put in his path the epitome of rich composted soil in the form coworker, a follower of Christ, a person with a deep faith in Jesus, who once was a meth addict and described a scene laying on the floor of drug dealer’s house crying out to the Lord for help.
Jesus came to the rescue, entered his heart, and he has been clean for 12 years. The mentorship of this person (who talked from experience) was like an angel touching the heart of my son, and by Monday night he was talking about Jesus with smile and a joy that had overcome him, a joy that I haven’t seen in him since he was a child.
On Wednesday, Ash Wednesday he accepted Jesus as his Lord and savior.
A trip to Holland had been planned months ago, and before leaving, he spent Thursday night, the last night in Humboldt with some friends. On Friday morning I couldn’t help but wonder what happened that last night.
The next morning he was glowing with pride and joy with sparkle in his eyes, he shared with me how his friends were smoking pot and he absolutely had no desire because of his faith and trust in Jesus.
Before taking him to the airport we stopped at club 5:17 to pick up some Christian books for the 12 hour plane ride.
Thanks to the prayers of many, God provided a miracle in the life of my Son by putting Jesus in his heart.
A beautiful flower popped out of that composting dirt.
Ladies and gentlemen, the good news is: that this gift is available to all who ask for help and open their hearts to Jesus.
The closing song is Amazing Grace how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost but now I am found. Was blind but now I see.
The first song this morning was I have peace like a river in my heart
Let the peace of love of Jesus Christ flow into our hearts and souls.
Let it be like a steady stream of living water
In john 4:14 Jesus said whoever drinks the water I give, will never thirst, indeed, the water I give then, will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.
In john 7:28 he continues: whoever believes in me as scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.
Folks, as we leave here today, repent from our sins.
Believe in Jesus Christ and he will take us by the hand, keep us from the snare of the fowler from the evil powers of Satan
Believe in Christ and through the Love of God and the power of the Holy Spirit, he will provide us with the ultimate antidote to temptation.
Thrust in Jesus, our lord and savior, and he will lead us on to the narrow road to eternal life.
Amen
Podcast: Play in new window | Download