| Good Morning Everyone, Our theme for this month: “Fresh wind, fresh fire” Our Bible verse for today: “He has also set eternity in the hearts of men.” Ecclesiastes 3:11 (NIV) Our thought for today: “Be filled with the things of God” This morning I want to share with you a passage from my sermon from this past Sunday at Oak Hill Baptist Church. We’re studying the Gospel of Matthew on Sunday mornings and this past Sunday we were looking at Matthew 12:38-50 where Jesus teaches about the danger of an empty heart. You can listen to the full sermon at http://www.oakhillbaptist.net. The main point of my sermon was that God created human beings with an awareness of eternity and with a natural longing to know Him and to be in right relationship with Him. That’s what Solomon was referring to in Ecclesiastes 3:11 when he wrote that God has placed eternity in our hearts. There’s an empty place in the human heart that can only be filled by God and the more we fill our heart with the things of God, the more contentment and fulfillment we will experience. This is what the Apostle Paul was trying to get across to us in Philippians 4:4-8: First, in verses 4-7 he urges us: “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your graciousness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. Don’t worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” Okay, that sounds great, so how do we get there? How do we get to the point where rejoicing in the Lord, and being aware of is constant nearness, and coming to the point where we are not worrisome but instead we pray about everything, and we live with a sense of thanksgiving, and we enjoy the peace of God, and we find that peace guarding our heart and our mind – how do we come to the point in life where those attributes describe our Christian experience? Well, now Paul brings us to verse 8: “Finally brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable – if there is any moral excellence and if there is anything praiseworthy – dwell on these things.” In other words, fill your mind and your heart with the things of God. That’s how the attributes listed in verses 4-7 become more and more a reality in the life of the Christian. If you are seeking fresh wind in your sails and fresh fire in your soul, I would suggest you turn off the television news, log out of social media, put down the newspaper, and fill your mind and heart with the things of God instead. God Bless, Pastor Jim |
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