Lack Of Knowledge

September 4, 2019 Pastor Stephen Dedman Trust

Lack Of Knowledge

My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge;
    because you have rejected knowledge,
    I reject you from being a priest to me.
And since you have forgotten the law of your God,
    I also will forget your children.
Hosea 4:6

There’s No Excuse For Not Knowing

We are blessed to have the written Word of God. It is available in 670 languages and in hundreds of versions. For even better conveniences the Bible is available to be listened to as well. What this means is there is no excuse for anyone not to be able to read and understand the Word of God. There are countless collections of commentaries and resources to help us understand the meaning of Scripture. The need for knowing doctrine is important. Knowledge of doctrine is what shapes our spiritual lives for Christian living.

More than anything the priests lacked a heart-knowledge more than a head-knowledge of God’s Word. There were many who knew the Word of God and most would memorize the Old Testament. The Pharisees and Scribes knew the Word of God forward and backward, but still lacked a heart-knowledge of it. A person could have knowledge about God but still not know Him personally. This is a dangerous thing.

Jesus said in Matthew 9:13, “Go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.” Jesus was referencing to Hosea 6:6. What Jesus was saying was they knew the technicalities of doctrine, but were missing it in their heart. You can go through traditions and rituals but if you’re not moved in your spirit something is wrong. A great example of this is with the “Lord’s Supper”. If you are not spiritually moved by observing this ordinance then your heart is not right.

Prayer

Ask God to break your heart for the things that breaks His.

Cry For Help

September 3, 2019 Pastor Stephen Dedman Faith, Trust

Cry For Help

When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles.
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭34:17‬ ‭

Right With God

The key word in today’s verse is righteous. When the righteous cry for help the Lord hears and delivers. To be righteous, one must be right with God. To be right with God you must have a relationship with Jesus who makes us right with God. To have a relationship with Jesus you must believe in Him as Lord and Savior.

We all face situations that seem too overwhelming or out of our control. This is what we call a crisis situation. It is at this point that we feel helpless, hopeless and alone. God wants us to cry out to Him and He wants to deliver us from our troubles. However, sometimes we get in our minds that we got ourself in the problem so we must get ourself out of the problem. This is called “stinkin’ Thinkin’”. We soon feel exhausted and out of energy. Guess who wants you to feel this way? That’s right, your adversary, the devil. The devil wants you to feel that God is nowhere near and is avoiding you. He even wants you to feel that your prayers are not being heard.

It is at this moment that you need to get on your knees and cry out to the Lord. He has never left you. But He is waiting for you to submit to Him as Lord and Master. When He is in control He can do wonderful and miraculous things. Don’t ever think you can live life without God. Without God, you’re not living; you’re dying. Only the righteous can be heard by God.

Prayer

Lord, I cry out to You for help. Cleanse my heart and make me new. Deliver me from my troubles.

The First To Throw A Stone

August 30, 2019 Pastor Stephen Dedman Trust

The First To Throw A Stone

And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.”
‭‭John‬ ‭8:7‬ ‭

Guilty But Not Condemned

A woman caught in an adulterous act was brought before Jesus by the Scribes and Pharisees. They were testing Him to try to find a way to discredit His authority. The Pharisees were disciples of Moses because they knew God spoke to Moses. They could not believe that Jesus was the Messiah. So this was a test to see what Jesus would say and do. According to the Law, the punishment was stoning to death. However Jesus turned the situation around. He made the Pharisees realize they were sinners as well.

The Pharisees tried to destroy the woman but Jesus restored her. Jesus wrote a message in the sand that no one knows. Then He said for the one without sin should be the first to throw the first stone. One by one the Pharisees walked away. Jesus then asked the woman who was there to condemn her and her answer was “no one.”

This is a great lesson for all of us. First, who are we to pass judgment upon someone else. We are all sinners in need of God’s grace. We should never throw stones of judgment upon anyone else. And second, we should never try to destroy someone else but instead we should help restore them. If we witness a person living a life of sinful behavior we should take the needed time to disciple them with love and care. This is what Jesus would do.

Prayer

Lord, help me to restore and encourage people today. Help me not to condemn or discourage anyone.