The King's Invitation

spiritual junk food

kingsinvitation | August 18, 2009 00:17

Some like to say they want more of God. I used to say it myself. But I’m not buying it anymore.

The opening verses of the 55th chapter of Isaiah read, "Ho!, Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat. Yes, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Why do you spend money for what is not bread, and your wages for what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, and let your soul delight itself in abundance.” (Isaiah 55:1-2) At Jacob’s well in Samaria, which can still be seen today (yes, the Bible is REAL), Jesus told a Samarian woman, “Whosoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.” The water of Christ will satisfy, but we have to know we are thirsty or we’ll never come to drink.

And this water has no price. I didn’t say it has no value. In fact, it’s value is such that we could never afford it. “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23). But what do we do? We “spend money for what is not bread” and we use our resources “for what does not satisfy”. We fill our lives and our spirits with spiritual junk food. When you’re full of junk food, you’re not thirsty or hungry. But it wears off quickly and fails to satisfy, so you have to rush back out and get more. So what does satisfy? Jesus told us. He said, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.” (John 6:35). I’d call that satisfied.

So we should listen carefully to God. He will speak to us if we read His Word. He will speak to us if we pray (real prayer is a two-way conversation). And if we eat what is good , the Bread of Life, Jesus, our soul will “delight itself in abundance”. Jesus said, “I have come that they may have life, and have it more abundantly.” (John 10:10).

We ALREADY HAVE as much of God as we REALLY want. We can’t and don’t have to earn it, all we have to do is ask. God isn't holding out on us, but you can’t fill something that is ALREADY FULL! If we really wanted more, we would MAKE ROOM for Him. Get the spiritual junk food out of our lives! Stop exposing our eyes and ears to worldly things in place of Godly things. Paul said in his letter to the Philippians, “Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy - meditate on these things.” (Philippians 4:8). Are you filling your mind and heart with things that don’t line up with what Paul wrote? That’s junk food for your spirit, and it will never satisfy.

Take the church to someone this week – you’ll both benefit.

King’s Invitation Ministries

http://ministry-webs.com/ministry/kingsinvitation/index.html

Passion (for real men only)

kingsinvitation | July 13, 2009 21:25

Humans are passionate creatures. Despite what you may have heard, men, too, are passionate. But what are we passionate about?

Some men are passionate about sports. Have you seen fans at football games with their faces and bodies painted to match their favorite team? Did you know the word “fan” was short for “fanatic”? Men can be passionate! Ever known a real NASCAR fan? Passionate! Deer hunters? Passionate! Fishermen? Passionate! Some men are passionate over their golf game. Some men are passionate over their job. Men can and do spend a lot of time and money pursuing their passions.

I’m not saying these things are wrong, but the prophet Isaiah said, “Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which satisfieth not?” (Isaiah 55:2). Passion is an investment, it’s a resource. Are we using it wisely? Are we good stewards of our passion? (I’ve heard lots of sermons on stewardship, but can’t recall any mention of passion.) If we’re not careful, our passion can get misplaced, misused, and misspent!

Think about what you talk about when you get together with your friends, or people you work with, especially those who don’t know Jesus. If you had watched a great football game over the weekend that went into overtime and ended with some dramatic play, would you talk about it? If you had downed a big buck from your tree stand on a foggy Saturday morning, would you talk about it? If you'd made a great shot from the rough on the 18^th hole, would you talk about it? If you’d just watched a terrific movie at the theater, would you talk about it? What are you passionate about?

Have you told your unsaved friends and family members about what God is doing in your life? Have you talked to your coworkers about the move of God happening in your church? What are you passionate about?

Jesus said, “For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things. But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the Day of Judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.” (Matthew 12:34-37).

Am I saying its wrong to talk about our hobbies and the things which interest us? No, I’m just asking, where is the passion for Jesus? Where is the passion for His church? His people? For reaching the lost? I tell you, Satan is passionate about his work! He’s not middle-of-the-road. He’s not straddling a fence trying to keep one foot in heaven and one foot in hell – he’s chosen his way! He’s committed! He’s passionate! And he wants you, your friends, and your family, and he’ll do whatever it takes to get them. Are we as passionate about God’s work? What will it take to get us to get out of the middle of the road? To come down off the fence? To commit to the Kingdom of God and His work? We cannot continue to sit idly by while the world goes to hell around us.

I know we sometimes worry – what will people think? If I start talking to my buddies about Jesus they’re going to think I’m some kind of nut, and pretty soon I won’t have any friends. Maybe so. But if that happens you’ll be in good company. Jesus said, “If the world hate you, know that it hated me before it hated you.” (John 15:18) The prophet Jeremiah said, “O Lord, you ÿinduced me, and I was persuaded; You are stronger than I, and have prevailed. I am ÿin derision daily; Everyone mocks me. For when I spoke, I cried out; I shouted, “Violence and plunder!” because the word of the Lord was made to me a reproach and a derision daily. Then I said, “I will not make mention of Him, nor speak anymore in His name.” But His word was in my heart like a burning fire Shut up in my bones; I was weary of holding it back, and I could not. For I heard many mocking: “Fear on every side!” “Report,” they say, “and we will report it!” All my acquaintances watched for my stumbling, saying, “Perhaps he can be induced; then we will prevail against him, and we will take our revenge on him.” But the Lord is with me as a mighty, awesome One. Therefore my persecutors will stumble, and will not prevail. They will be greatly ashamed, for they will not prosper. Their everlasting confusion will never be forgotten.” (Jeremiah 20:7-11) The passion was there even in the midst of rejection and ridicule. What are you passionate about?

I believe we are in the end times; the era leading up to the rapture of the church and the second coming of Jesus. I don’t even have to take you to the scriptures for evidence of it, just go down to the service station and read the covers of the newspapers and magazines there! But even if I’m wrong, there is no arguing that we are living in a world in desperate need of Jesus. We are living in a world where compromise has replaced conviction and popularity has replaced principle. And from many church pulpits, entertainment has replaced truth, and a prosperity gospel has replaced calls for repentance. Do you know there are more people living in the world today than all who have gone before us? There are more lost souls in the world today than ever in history. Brothers, it is time. If you are waiting for a sign, it is now. This country, this world, is headed down a dark road. It’s time again for men to be men. Its time for us to make what we say line up with what we do. Get out of the middle of the road. Get off the fence. Come down on the side of Jesus.

Take the church to someone this week – you’ll both benefit!

(originally presented July 11, 2009, at Lakeview Church of God, Columbia, MS)

King’s Invitation Ministries

P.O. Box 501

Foxworth MS 39483

http://www.facebook.com/randall.buchanan

God put salt in my oats

kingsinvitation | June 17, 2009 12:14

My dad was never much of a TV-watcher. He’d rather be outside doing something. But on Sunday afternoons when I was a kid, he and I would sit together and watch the Roy Rogers Sunday Matinee. He enjoyed a good western.

So, a few weeks ago, when I happened on an old western movie on the TV, I stopped and watched. It really took me back to those days as a boy, sitting with my dad. It was a good feeling.

In the movie, this marshal and his deputy were about to cross over a desert in pursuit of some "bad hombres", and they had stopped by a "watering hole" to prepare themselves for the journey. As they filled up their canteens with water, the older marshal was telling his young deputy what to expect on this journey across the wilderness. Do you know God can use the simplest things to teach us?

God always knows what’s ahead of us, and sometimes He just wants to give us a little advantage over the trials to come. In 2 Kings 8, God instructed Elisha to tell the Shunammite woman, "Arise and go, you and your household and stay somewhere else, for the Lord has called for a famine in the land for seven years." And she listened, left the country for seven years, and her household was spared. God knows the end from the beginning, and He still speaks to us today, through prayer and through His Word, He still speaks. It’s up to us to listen.

Now, getting back to our cowboys; After they filled their canteens, they lead their horses over to the water, but one of the horses wouldn’t drink. I guess he was satisfied, and didn’t desire any water. Ever heard that old saying, "you can lead a horse to water but you can’t make him drink"? Well this horse wouldn’t drink.

But the horse’s master knew what was ahead, he knew the trials that would come, and he knew the horse needed to drink deeply of the water to prepare for the dry hours ahead. God offers us living water through Jesus Christ, a well which never runs dry. But sometimes, we’re satisfied with the way we are, and just pass the water by without desiring even a taste. Have you ever turned down the water? Have you ever sat on a pew while the Holy Spirit was working in the altar and said to yourself, "its not for me"?

The cowboy had to do something, so he took some oats out of his saddlebag, and pulled some salt out of another pack. He mixed a pile of salt into some oats and gave it to his horse. The horse ate the salted oats, and guess what? The horse became very thirsty and began to desperately drink the water.

Have you ever been desperate for God’s living water? David said in Psalm 42:1, "As the deer pants for the water brooks, so pants my soul for you, oh God." It’s in that moment of desperation for God that lives are changed forever. Consider the story of the prophet Samuel’s mother, Hannah. She was married to a man named Elkanah. Elkanah also had another wife named Peninnah. Doesn’t sound like a good idea to me, but that’s the way it was.

Now Peninnah had given Elkanah several children, but Hannah was barren because, according to 1 Samuel 1:5, "God closed her womb". Why would God do such a thing? Peninnah goaded Hannah constantly, telling her their husband loved her more because she had given him children, and year after year, child after child, it grew worse. Finally, Hannah took her troubles to the altar. The scripture says she told God if He would give her a son, she would give him back to the Lord to serve Him always as a Nazirite.

Eli, the old priest, saw her in the altar weeping, and thought she was drunk. Have you ever been so desperate for something it didn’t matter what anybody else thought about you? But Hannah explained to him that she wasn’t drunk, but that she was crying out of the bitterness of her soul. He recognized her seriousness, and asked God to grant her petition. Nine months later she gave birth to Samuel. So why did God close her womb? To put salt in her oats, so that through her desperation, something special would be birthed.

Consider also the story of the prophet Jonah. The Word of the Lord came to Jonah and told him to travel to the city of Ninevah, and preach against the city because of the wickedness there. What did Jonah do? He got up and caught a boat to Tarshish instead. Do you know where Tarshish was? In the total OPPOSITE direction of Ninevah! Have you ever found yourself doing just the opposite of what you knew God wanted you to do? Even the apostle Paul struggled with it. Paul said in Romans 7:15; "For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice, but what I hate, that I do." There is an ongoing battle inside of us between the flesh and the spirit.

But what happened to Jonah? First, God sent a great wind into the sea, causing the ship Jonah was on to begin to sink. Do you know sometimes storms are sent by God himself? Jonah was eventually thrown overboard, where the Lord had prepared a great fish to swallow him. Then according to Jonah 2:2, Jonah said "I cried by reason of my affliction unto the Lord, and He heard me." He gave God praise and thanksgiving, and promised to carry out what God had instructed. And God told the fish to spit Jonah out onto the dry land. In the end, Ninevah, a city of over 120,000 people, was spared because they were given one last opportunity to turn to God and they took it. Why did God send a storm and a giant fish against Jonah? To put some salt in his oats. Job 5:17 says, "Happy is the man God corrects."

And in our western story, the men and their horses made it across the desert. They survived because of two reasons, first, one knew what was ahead of them, and second, they got their horses to drink plenty of water before they started. And I couldn’t help but think how this is so like us! If we trust God knows what’s best for us, and if we come to God thirsty for Him, He said He would satisfy us.

Sometimes, God gives us a nudge toward the water by putting a little salt in our oats. Maybe its to bring about His own purpose, as in the case of Hannah; maybe its to bring us into obedience, as in the case of Jonah; or maybe He just knows what’s ahead of us, and wants to prepare us for the trials to come.

In any case, the next time troubles come against you, before you murmur, before you look for someone to blame, before you say you don’t understand why God has let his happen to you – run to the fountain. Run in desperation to Christ and His living water, and drink deeply. It may be one of those moments that changes your life forever.

Take the church to someone this week – you’ll both benefit!

King’s Invitation Ministries, P.O. Box 501, Foxworth MS 39483

http://kingsinvitation.christianblogsites.com/blog/

the salesman

kingsinvitation | May 06, 2009 15:51

It was the fall of 1988. Three young men went into a local electronics store in Biloxi, Mississippi.

They met a young salesman there in his early 20’s, who showed them a couple of different pieces which would suit their needs. During the discussion, the salesman asked what they were going to use the equipment for. They told him they wanted to upgrade the equipment in their church, and invited him to join them in service some night. Thinking it might help him close the sale, the young salesman said he would do that.

They took some information with them that day, and returned a few more times over the following weeks to check prices and ask a few more questions. Each time, they talked to the young salesman about what God was doing in their lives, and invited him to church.

Now, the salesman had grown up knowing all about God. His mother was a devout Catholic who took her children to mass regularly. His father was a good man, but no longer went to church, although he had accepted Christ into his heart a few years back while attending a local Pentecostal church. But the salesman had never met Jesus. He knew all about Him, but didn’t know Him.

Finally, one night, hoping to get these young men to stop “pestering” him, the salesman went to a service at the Cedar Lake Christian Assembly. He sat near the back, in order to make a quick exit if necessary. But that’s not what happened.

By the time the pastor gave the altar call that night, the young salesman was in tears. He had realized the depth of his sin, and the severity of his offense against God. More than that, though, he had felt God’s love and His presence, and he knew God would forgive him if he would just ask.

The young salesman stood to his feet, slowly walked the isle, and fell to his knees at the altar. That night, he gave his heart and life to Jesus Christ, and was gloriously set free and saved. I know this story to be true, because I was that young salesman.

Never stop witnessing. You don’t know whose life you will touch. You don’t know who will follow you straight into the loving arms of Jesus Christ, our Savior, our King.

Take the church to someone this week – you’ll both benefit.

King’s Invitation Ministries

P.O. Box 501

Foxworth MS 39483

http://kingsinvitation.christianblogsites.com/blog/

an uncertain sound

kingsinvitation | April 23, 2009 20:21

Christianity is so confusing. How many different versions are there?

Some versions are all about feeling good. Some versions are all about financial success. Some versions are all about legalism. We have watered down the one true gospel in a misguided attempt to make it more acceptable and appealing to the masses, to widen the gate. The result is a powerless, ineffective Christianity, that is a reflection of the world instead of the Word. Paul wrote, “You are following a different way that pretends to be the Good News but is not the Good News at all.” (Galatians 1:6-7).

He also wrote, “For if the trumpet makes an uncertain sound, who will prepare for battle?” (1 Corinthians 14:8) An uncertain sound is one that is not distinct enough to be discerned from other sounds. In a nation such as ours, which is flooded with religious literature of all kinds, and TV and radio broadcast religious programs every day, we should be shocked to discover the overwhelming ignorance of the Word of God. The sounds are everywhere, but they are too vague.

Isaiah 56:10 reads, “For the leaders of my people – the Lord’s watchmen, his shepherds – are blind and ignorant. They are like silent watchdogs that give no warning when danger comes.” Have we become silent watchdogs? Do we really care enough to warn people about the coming danger? Or are we too afraid of offending someone? Jesus said, “Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division!” (Luke 12:51). There will not be world peace until Christ’s return. Any preaching or teaching otherwise is not biblical. Strive to speak the truth in love, not to speak what people love to hear.

We are allowing people to travel down that broad path to destruction by not proclaiming “Thus saith the Lord”. God warned about these uncertain sounds. He instructed the prophet Habakkuk to “write my answer plainly on tablets, so that a runner can carry the correct message to others.” (Habakkuk 2:2) How many people are going about their daily lives, feeling they are ok with God, because they have not heard the correct message?

There is a battle on the horizon. We must proclaim the one true gospel to the world, loudly and clearly. We must run with the correct message. We must make a certain sound.

Take the church to someone this week – you’ll both benefit.

King’s Invitation Ministries

P.O. Box 501

Foxworth MS 39483

http://kingsinvitation.christianblogsites.com/blog/

are you wanted?

kingsinvitation | March 20, 2009 17:11

Are you important? Do you matter? Does anyone really care about you?

Jesus said, “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure, buried in a field, that a man found and reburied. Then in his joy he goes and sells everything he has and buys that field.” (Matthew 13:44)

In the time Jesus walked as a man, if someone desired to protect their wealth, they would often bury it on their property. The man in this parable finds such a treasure. He is so overjoyed, he sells everything he has in order to buy the field. He knew if he owned the field, he owned the treasure.

The field in this parable represents the world. And the man represents Jesus.

Jesus gave everything he had, his life, his blood, in order to purchase the field and the treasure in the field. Why? If the field is the world, did Jesus buy the world because he wanted a planet? No, he bought the world because He desired the treasure that was there.

The treasure gives him great joy. Again, Matthew 13:44 says “then in his joy he goes out and sells everything he has and buys that field.” Hebrews 12:2 says “looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

What is the treasure that Jesus valued so highly, He was willing to suffer and die for? You are. I am. We all are. How incredibly wonderful to know He loves us that much!

Malachi 3:17, “They will be my people,” says the Lord of heaven’s armies. “On the day when I act in judgment, they will be my own special treasure. I will spare them as a father spares an obedient child.”

1 Peter 2: 9, “But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.”

Sometimes we can get so much stuff piled up on top of us – sickness, sorrow, sin - we find ourselves in a dark place, and we need someone to help dig us out. That’s what happened when Jesus bought the field; He dug up the treasure and brought it out into the light.

Paul wrote in the book of Romans, “But God proves His own love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us!” (Romans 5:8)

He didn’t say God proved His love for us after we started going to church….

He didn’t say God proved His love for us after we started reading the bible…

He didn’t say God proved His love for us after we started praying…

Now those things are important parts of a Christian’s life, and I think they’re necessary, but when we were still sinners He loved us. Think about it - When we were at our absolute WORST – He loved us, and found joy in us. Its so incredible!

Once I asked my dad how much something was worth, and he replied, "Its worth whatever someone is willing to pay for it." The next time someone tells you, or you think to yourself that you’re not worth anything, or that no one cares about you, please remember this – Jesus knows who you are and where you are, and thinks so much of you, loves you so much, finds so much joy in you, He sold everything He had to claim you as His treasure.

And He claims you by making you a child of God. When you ask Jesus to save you and to be the Lord of your heart and your life, you become a priceless jewel to Him. Maybe you have never received Jesus. Maybe you think you’ve done too many bad things in your life. Maybe you think you’re not good enough.

Paul wrote, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” (Romans 10:13). Not some, or even most, but EVERYONE. Jesus has already paid the price. All we have to do is call on Him, accept Him. We are God’s treasure.

Take the church to someone this week... you'll both benefit.

King's Invitation Ministries

P.O. Box 501

Foxworth MS 39483

http://myspace.com/kingsinvitation

people are like bottles of pop

kingsinvitation | February 28, 2009 09:25

People are like bottles of pop. You know… drinks… sodas… cokes… carbonated beverages…

We really are like bottles of pop – when we get shook up, whatever is inside will come spewing out! It doesn’t matter what is on the label, either. It’s what’s REALLY inside that comes out. Jesus said, “For a good tree does not bear bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. For every tree is known by its own fruit. For men do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they gather grapes from a bramble bush. A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.” (Luke 6:43-45).

What is this “treasure” of the heart? If it is good treasure, it is the Word of God. Psalm 119:11 says, “Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You.”; Proverbs 3:3 says, “Let not mercy and truth forsake you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart…” ; and Deuteronomy 30:14-16, “But the word is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart, that you may do it. See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil, in that I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments…”

The prophet Jeremiah, talking about learning the scriptures, said, “Your words were found and I ate them, and Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart” (Jeremiah 15:16). And Paul, in his letter to the church at Colosse, said “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another is psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him” (Colossians 3:16-17). We’ve got to look at ourselves beyond the label on the outside. When we really get shook up, what comes out of us? It’s sort of a diagnostic test on the state of our heart. If what comes out isn’t Godly – we must repent and strive harder to fill our heart with the things of God, so that when something happens which causes actions before thoughts, we will not betray our King, but instead glorify Him by showing the world a different, better, way to live.

Take the church to someone this week – you’ll both benefit.

King’s Invitation Ministries

P.O. Box 501

Foxworth MS 39483

http://myspace.com/kingsinvitation

The King's Invitation

spiritual junk food

Passion (for real men only)

God put salt in my oats

the salesman

an uncertain sound

are you wanted?

people are like bottles of pop

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