Millbrook Presbyterian Church

Transcription

1 APRIL 2014 Millbrook Presbyterian Church a member of the Presbyterian Church in America Be Persistent In Prayer Pastor Steve Muzio It takes time. We are a microwaving people. Hungry? Nuke it and gnaw it within seconds. We are a sitcom people. Got difficulties and challenges in life? Well, in TV-land things are usually resolved and all is well within 30 minutes; plus add in a few chuckles and subtract God from the equation and it equals a recipe for a good life. We re a credit card generation. Want it? Need it? Charge it! Don t wait. Waiting s for the birds. Go get it now, worry about the consequences later! You really can t blame us when you think about it. We live east of Eden, suffering the consequences of the fall, subject to misery and frustration. We have spent our lives living in the not yet and longing for things to be made right so it s no wonder that we want to do whatever we can to make things better. But God is patient and preaches patience to us. His redemptive program spanned millennia before the Messiah arrived. Hundreds of years passed between the last word from God and the explosion of revelation at the arrival of the forerunner. With all the Word and work from God that occurred in the life and ministry and resurrection of Jesus, it s no wonder that our brethren, the apostles, were likewise chomping at the bit and standing on tiptoe ready and eager for everything to be done right then and there. Lord, will you AT THIS TIME restore the kingdom to Israel? Can you imagine the frustration they felt when the answer they had to know was coming was given? It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by His own authority. (Acts 1:6-7) Nope, not gonna give it away! Here s what you need to know: you ll receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you and you will be my witnesses. You don t need to know the when s. You need to know what you re to do while the Father awaits the time He alone knows. Man, that s hard! When s dinner? What time do we have to leave? When will they get here? We want to know when and we re incredibly impatient for the big moment to arrive.

2 (Continued from page 1) In our impatience we even want to help move along the hands in the clock of God s timing. Didn t Abram fall into that trap? God sure made that man wait. He promised Abram an heir so it s natural that Abram would think: Sweet! Nine months and I ll be rocking Abe Jr in my arms! But it didn t work quite that way. Waiting ensued. Waiting s hard, especially when folks look at you askance and wonder why you don t have in hand the birds you claim are in the bush. So Sarah suggested a scheme and Abram took the bait (seems like we ve seen that scenario before). And it seemed to work! Ishmael came along and Abram had an heir. But oh, what trouble ensues when we veer from God s plan because of our impatience. Incalculable trouble has transpired. Thank God that He uses even that for His own ends or we could do nothing but weep at what we have wrought! Many years later God in stunning mercy, after what appears to be an absence of interaction with His friend, returns to Abram and makes him Abraham and pledges afresh and anew His covenantal grace and lo and behold in due time it all comes to pass. But it s so hard to wait when what we so desperately want seems so dreadfully far off. But waiting in hope is good. It pleases God; especially when we persevere in obedience and do not take matters into our own hands to accomplish our own ends arising from our own sense of ingenuity and impatience! The Lord is not slow to fulfill His promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish but that all should reach repentance. His apparent slowness in sending Christ to set all aright is really His saving grace waiting for all the elect to be born, and born again. Be patient, as God gathers His flock. And don t try to help Him with human ingenuity! Let s be witnesses to the death and resurrection and Lordship of Jesus in ways that don t seem to cause things to happen quickly. Let s keep preaching Christ crucified for sinners, raised for justification, ascended for assurance and authority, and let s live obediently waiting on God to bring His reward when He s good and ready to send the Lord Jesus with our reward in hand. About the time you receive this we ll be wrapping up Mission Emphasis Month with an exhortation on prayer. Prayer is an exercise in endurance! Prayer requires patience. Answers are not always forthcoming immediately, if at all (at least in recognizable forms). Yet persevere in praying for many in Millbrook to be saved; for your loved one to know the grace and love of Christ; for our missionaries in Bangladesh, Peru, Japan, etc.; for the church to be revived; for the nation to become repentant; for your children to live for Christ; for your spouse to be converted; and so on. Do not give up but keep on, patient, persistently, and profoundly pleading with God and positively hopeful that God will grant all His holy will at the perfect moment! Be patient and persevere! Wait and watch! All that God has promised and planned will arrive soon. At least by God s soon. Grace to all, 2 Pastor Steve

3 Congratulations to our 2014 Graduates! How and where are you serving? See one of the church officers and find out where the biggest needs are. Whether it s staffing the nursery or updating the website, you will be blessed when you find your place serving alongside your church family. Weddings Ryan Blakey & Kayla Booth May 3 Melissa Woodhull & Robby (Tate) Jackson May 10 Kayla Ziglar & Charles Edward Crane Jr. June 14 Sarah Waldrop & Cody Muzio July 5 Church Calendar Events April 6 April 13 April 17 April 18 April 20 April 25 May 1 May 3 May 4 May 11 May 30 June 1-7 June 1 June 5 June 7 June 15 June 27 Family Night Supper & DESSERT AUCTION Palm Sunday Maundy Thursday Service Good Friday Service Easter Sunday Movie Night Women s Bible Legends Men s s Communion Sunday Communion Sunday Lunch Mother s Day Movie Night Summer Mission Trip Family Night Supper & SS Promotion Celebration Women s Bible Legends Men s s Father s Day Movie Night Watch the bulletin and bulletin boards for information on regularly scheduled events, such as Lord s Day Worship, Sunday Evening Fellowship, Wednesdays@MPC, and Men s & Women s Bible Study and Fellowship opportunities

4 MARK YOUR CALENDAR July 14-18, 6:15-8:30pm Watch the bulletin for more information. See Michelle McCollough with questions. 4

5 Dear saints, in the last issue of The Vine I posed a challenge to you regarding the fruit and the fruits found in Galatians 5:22-23(ESV). The fruit of the Spirit (singular) goes on to list nine fruits (plural). I had hoped to start a discussion on what appears to be fuzzy math, but to my disappointment only one person took up the challenge and that person was not even an MPC member. As a leading sportscaster often shouts, C mon man! Please go back and don t just read Galatians 5:22-23 meditate on it. As I ve said before, memorization is important but the Word is not effectively hidden in our hearts (Psalm 119:11/ESV) until we meditate on and pray about these verses, and then proceed with applying them to our lives. Moving on! For this issue, I want to suggest two memory verses that many of you have already memorized and even quote frequently: Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make straight your paths. (Proverbs 3:5-6(ESV). I selected these two verses because I realize my own failure to consider the intended meaning and application of these verses as I casually cite them on many occasions. The following brief points may help your memory process and guide your meditation: Think of an issue that has suddenly confronted you. Should you just worry about it? No! Latch on to verse 5. Pause and pray that the Spirit will provide you with the truth of Scripture to apply in your specific situation. Oh, and you might want to take this opportunity to refresh yourself on the roles of the Spirit. Oh, all ye reformed folk, surely it s not necessary to pose this question, but will do so anyway. Why does the Lord tell us not to lean on our own understanding at verse 5? Could it be that our understanding is marred by a sinful heart with a worldly attachment? How often do you and I FIRST try to apply our brilliant understanding to solve problems rather than yielding to the Spirit? In contrast, God s understanding is perfect and always consistent with His Word. Needless to say, lean on Him. Verse 6 sums it all up. In everything we do, we must set our minds on Him who will always place the truth of Scripture in our paths so that we can enter through the narrow gate (re. Matthew 7:13-14). With every issue that confronts you, trust in Him, lean on Him for wisdom, and acknowledge Him for setting you on the right course. Stay tuned and God Bless! Rex 5

6 M i l l b r o o K Presbyterian Church, PCA 3480 Main Street P.O. Box 426 Millbrook, AL Phone: /Fax: mpcaoffice@gmail.com