A young mother was surprised by her 7 year old son one morning.
He had gotten up early and made her coffee and taken it to her in bed.
As she willingly drank what was the strongest tasting cup of coffee in her life.
When she got to the bottom of her cup she noticed there were three of those little green army men in her cup.
She said, "Honey, what are the army men doing in my coffee cup?"
Innocently…her son replied, "Mom… it says on TV, ’The best part of waking up is soldiers in your cup!’"
Americans have become obsessed with their coffee…haven’t we…
Even here in Hobbs at any given morning you cannot drive by the coffee barn or undergrounds and see the people’s passion they have for it.
I’m sure that there are many of you here today that stopped by our very own holy grounds coffee bar for a cup of Joe this morning…before the service.
Being a coffee drinker myself…I can see the reason that it is such a demanded beverage.
There is just something enticing about the smell of a fresh brewed pot.
Well today I feel Christians’ (the church itself) need to drink some spiritual coffee, because the world needs to wake up from its sleep.
The Church today is in a spiritual battle with an enemy that has a very strong hold on its candidates.
Referring to Candidates…I mean those who are still searching for the answers in life…
Over two thousand years ago the church was established with the intentions of transforming peoples’ lives one at a time… in order that they separate from the worlds standards…and begin to serve Christ.
To be a church/people who are reaching the lost…There are certain steps that have to be followed.
Just like the Ten Commandments that God left behind for us to live our lives by…the people must have rules and regulations that must be followed.
Today we must understand that as a Church… in order for Vista Pointe to continue to reach out to the community of Hobbs…Just as Jesus once did…
SLIDE #2 We Must Be Concerned with People
Thinking about that statement of “being concerned with people”…what kind of people was it that Jesus associate with?
The Bible shares In…
…Matthew 9:9 …He associated with…A despised tax collector…
…In Luke 23:40-43…A criminal on a cross …
…A fisherman in…Matthew 4:18-20
…A widow in…Luke 7:11-17
In …Luke 7:1-10…He hung around a roman captain…
…It was a group of children in…Mark 10:13-16
And a rich man in…Mark 10:17-23
Weather it was…The blind…government officials…the helpless…the paralyzed…a doubting follower…the woman at the well…a drunkard…druggie…the greedy…or everyday sinners like you and I.
This was the type of people Jesus was found hanging around with.
So what was it that allowed Jesus to remain in focus on what’s important? He knew where He came from…
He came from the Father…our creator…and He knew that one day…every person who walks on this earth would be held accountable for their actions and choices.
Did you notice that I said every person?
And without His love…compassion and sacrifice…we would all fall short.(Jesus loved all people).
But He still gets disappointed with them at times.
This world is filled with millions of people …all of whom believe they have figured out the true meaning of life.
Some believe its daily working to build up their 401K…their IRA…
Others believe its obtaining all the latest and greatest gadgets that have recently been released.
How do people like you and I convince these people that all their treasure and wealth will be useless on judgment day?
We have got to be living a life where people see a noticeable change.
Day after day Jesus would spend time with people…share the meaning of life…and still there were those (like today) who did not listen?
Unfortunately Christ or Iwill not be able to convince everyone of their need for forgiveness.
But because of what we know…we all need to be active doing our part of showing concern for the lost.
Along with being concerned with people… in order for Vista Pointe to continue to reach out to the community of Hobbs…Just like Jesus once did…
SLIDE #3 We Must Be Willing to Sacrifice
Usually when people hear the word sacrifices…they often tie it in with money and possessions.
Following Jesus is not always easy or comfortable.
Often it means great cost and sacrifice…with no earthly rewards.
You might even find out that following Jesus might affect your popularity status…your friendships…leisure time…or your habits that you enjoy so much.
All Jesus ever wanted was to for you to spend time with Him.
I can just imagine how disappointed He was the night He found His closest friends sleeping the night before His betrayal.
Read…(Matthew 26:36-40)
How many times has Jesus found you sleeping?
Along with sacrificing to Christ… in order for Vista Pointe to continue to reach out to the community of Hobbs just like Jesus did….
SLIDE #4 We Must Submit to Biblical Authority
2 Chronicles 30:6-9 Read
Hezekiah was a king who was dedicated to His God and to his nation…He understood the importance of Christ being the ruler in his life.
Because of Hezekiah’s love for God he was automatically concerned with God’s people as well…
He sent letters throughout Judah and Israel urging everyone to return to God. (vs. 6)
He loved God so much that he was willing to stand up for what he believed was right…by telling them not to let anything stand in-between them and Christ.
Where are you with your relationship with God…do care for others more than yourself?
Serving Christ is a very difficult thing to do when the world around us is telling us to do just the opposite.
Satan wants you to fail at this…he is the master distracter. He doesn’t like you to invest in people…he doesn’t want you to sacrifice…he doesn’t want you to meet with Jesus.
Ephesians 6:12 READ (Satan is real)
“For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places..”
Here when Paul mentions “we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities’… he is referring to demons that Satan has control over.
These demons are not fake or made up only for a motion picture in Hollywood.
Men these demons are not a mopar muscle car built by dodge either.
They are very real…and they are in the army that’s number one goal is to defeat the church and you.
Just look around at our country today…clearly people are choosing Satan over Christ.
And if you believe in Christ today…believe me…demons are not your friends…they are your enemy…and they will stop at nothing to make you return to your old life.
If you are not daily surrendering your life to Biblical Authority…you need to reconsider your plan.
(Teamwork, serving, faithfully supporting the ministry through your tithes…supporting the leaderships decisions…these are all indicators that you are submitting to Biblical Authority)
And finally along with submitting to Christ… in order for Vista Pointe to continue to reach out to the community of Hobbs...Just like Jesus did….
SLIDE #5 We Must Notice the Need
We cannot deny the fact that we are living Perilous times…
2 Timothy 3;1 says…, “But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty..”
A year ago there were earthquakes in places not accustomed to them…Snyder Texas…Virginia…
A Hurricane on the east coast resulted in major flooding in New York City and even in Vermont.
In 2011 Irene hit New York City and this weekend Sandy is forecasted to hit it now.
It’s forecasted to be a mega storm of Epic proportion.
Its winds will be felt from the upper peninsula of Michigan clear down to the Gulf of Mexico
It’s forecasted to drop 12” of rain, 2 plus feet of snow in the mountain areas.
And its storm surge along the coast will reach heights of 12’.
I’m not sharing this with you to scare you but to inform you that what the Bible says is true… (Perilous times will come…) We could very well be in the end times.
Matthew 24:7…“For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places...”
Famines and earth quakes in various places…people in Africa…Ethiopia…are dying because of lack of nourishment.
Less than a year has passed since Texas had its worst drought ever recorded…not to forget Hobbs last summer.
Our country is in the worst financial shape that it has ever been in? In 1970 we were 2.5 trillion dollars in debt…today Oct. 28th 2012 we are 16.8 trillion.
In perilous times like this the only answer that makes any sense is to seek out shelter from these storms.
Jesus is a place for you to seek refuge and strength. (In times like these…Christ is the only answer that makes any sense).
There has never been more of a need than now!
We read in…John 14:6 Jesus is the way, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.”
Do not take this advice lightly this morning.
For the one here today that is lost…This is your wake up call.
This is the spiritual coffee that I was referring to in the beginning of my message.
It is a life changing brew…the bible also tells us that Jesus offers us living water.
Slide #6
John 4:10-14 “Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.”
11 The woman said to him, “Sir, you have nothing to draw water with, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water?
12 Are you greater than our father Jacob? He gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and his livestock.”
13 Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again … The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
Jesus still offers this life giving water today
STAND
Slide #7
READ Daniel 12:1-3 “The end of Time”
“At that time shall arise Michael, the great prince who has charge of your people.
And there shall be a time of trouble, such as never has been since there was a nation till that time.
But at that time your people shall be delivered, everyone whose name shall be found written in the book.
2 And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.
3 And those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky above… and those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever.
Perilous times are coming…but so are the God Times…will your name be found in the book?
Clearly we do not have time to waste…
