True Faith In God

True Faith In God

The Alps is the name of one of the greatest mountain range systems of Europe. Alps come from the Latin words albus or altus. Albus means white. Altus means high. The Alps stretch from Austria and Slovenia in the east. It goes through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, German and France in the West.

It said that the tracks were built over the Alps between Vienna, Austria and Venice, Italy before there was a train to make the trip. The people built it any way, because they knew that one-day the train would come.

They built the tracks over those high White Mountains by faith. This is the greatest illustration on faith that I have every heard out of James Chapter Two. This must have been what James was taking about when he said faith without works is dead.

James in Chapter Two had to deal with some very unspiritual mature behaviors. James was someone who the young folk would say who, “Kept it Real.” James kept it real by let the people know that favoritism is folly not faith. He kept it real by letting the people know that faith encompassed forgiveness and forbearing. He kept it real by letting the people know that faith will be fruitful! Let’s look at the lesson titled, “ The Favoritism of the Folly.”


The Favoritism of the Folly
(James 2: 1-9) NIV

1My brothers, as believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, don't show favoritism. 2Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in shabby clothes also comes in. 3If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, "Here's a good seat for you," but say to the poor man, "You stand there" or "Sit on the floor by my feet," 4have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? 5Listen, my dear brothers: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him? 6But you have insulted the poor. Is it not the rich who are exploiting you? Are they not the ones who are dragging you into court? 7Are they not the ones who are slandering the noble name of him to whom you belong? 8If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, "Love your neighbor as yourself," you are doing right. 9But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers.

James shares in the above text something that was very disputing in the church. This disputing practice was show favoritism to what we in our day would call “Big Ballers” The King James calls this favoritism – respect of person. Other translations calls this prejudice or partiality. People in this church would see people who had material blessing as some one who had more intrinsic merits than poor people. This is not so with God. The rich, high born or powerful in the house of God does not have more inherent value than the poor.

.They were treating the church house like it was a club with a VIP section. If you showed up wearing “bling-bling” and FUBU, they would place you on the front row. If you show up wearing something you bought from Pay-Less, K-mart or Goodwill, you would just be lucky to get any seat. James in the text called favoritism discrimination. He calls these men judges with evil thoughts. A judge with an evil thought is worse than an average “Joe.” Judges are supposed to administer justice. Without justice, there wouldn’t be any peace in the church.

We as African Americans have experienced prejudice and discrimination at least once in our lifetime. February is Black History month. During this month, we are reminded that we have come very far as a race of people in America. We came from slavery to the discrimination of Jim Crow. We had to sit in back of the bus, drink from colored only water fountain and enter restaurants through the back door. However, God brought us though. The old folks used to sing the word of this song, “We’ve come this far by faith. Leaning on the Lord. Trusting in His Holy word. He never felt me yet.”

James was trying to get the people in the church of our Lord Jesus Christ to come this far by faith. People who discriminate do not have true faith in God. Discrimination causes a spiritual cancer in the church. That is why today many African American believe Christianity is a white man’s religion. Many prominent leaders in history claimed to be Christian but they owned slaves. That is why many African American Christians cannot divorce theology from social action. We essentially are saying, “Faith without works is dead.” God condemns the thoughts and the practice of racistism.

God condemns racisms or any kinds of favoritism. Discrimination should not be in our churches!

The Forgiveness of the Forbearing
(James 2:10-13) NIV
10For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it. 11For he who said, "Do not commit adultery,"also said, "Do not murder." If you do not commit adultery but do commit murder, you have become a lawbreaker. 12Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, 13because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment!
People how are judgmental do not have true faith in God. The word mercy in James 2:13 means kindness or good will towards the miserable and the afflicted, joined with a desire to help them. The word judgment mean a sentence of condemnation, damnatory judgment, condemnation and punishment. James says in the above text. Mercy should triumph over judgment. It is better to want to help someone in a difficult situation than to judge them because they are in the situation.

I was asked once as to how I would handle a situation. The church wanted to give a baby shower for young couple who was married and were expecting a child. There was also a young teenage girl in the church that was pregnant outside of wedlock. They both were due about the some time. The people want to give the couple a baby shower, but they did not want to give the teenage girl a baby shower. They asked, “Pastor Eaton what would you do?” I responded that since this was a baby shower it seems to me that the baby that needs the most help was with the teen mother. This is a good example of how mercy should triumph over judgment. The church was trying to judge the teen mother and curse the baby. However, mercy should triumph over judgment. Here is another instance of how mercy triumph over judgment in the life of Billy Graham.


Billy Graham, the great evangelist, tells of driving through a small southern town and being stopped by a policeman and being charged with speeding. Graham admitted his quilt, but was told by the officer that he would have to appear in court. The judge asked, "Guilty, or not guilty?" When Graham pleaded guilty, the judge replied, "That’ll be ten dollars -- a dollar for every mile you went over the limit." Suddenly the judge recognized the famous minister. "You have violated the law," he said. "The fine must be paid, but I am going to pay it for you." The judge took a ten dollar bill from his own wallet, attached it to the ticket, and then took Graham out and bought him a steak dinner!

Billy Graham used that illustration in his sermons to explain God’s grace. That is how God treats us as repentant sinners! He paid for our sins with his son and now we get to dine with him in heaven.

People who are judgmental think they are righteous. However, they are self-righteous. James had to let the self-righteous people know if they keep the whole law and stumbles at one point they are guilty of breaking all of the law. Therefore, they should let mercy triumph over judgment.

The people in this church were judging the poor for being poor. They were buying into what we call today the Prosperity Gospel. Its central doctrine is to promote that health and prosperity are promised to all believers, and are available through faith. This is faith that is folly. In Matthews 8:20, Jesus replied, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head." Peter said in Acts 3:6, “…Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk." Could Peter have gotten a sit in this church? Could Jesus get a sit in this church James was addressing? They would have judged wrongly and miss the savior. Mercy should have triumph over judgment.

The Faith of the Fruitful
(James 2: 14-26)

14What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? 15Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. 16If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? 17In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. 18But someone will say, "You have faith; I have deeds." Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do. 19You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder. 20You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? 21Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? 22You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. 23And the scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness," and he was called God's friend. 24You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone. 25In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction? 26As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.

People who have no works do not have true faith in God.

If you are judging me because I am poor and do not help me your faith is dead. A person is justified by what he does and not by a faith in theory. They say they built the tracks over the Alps between Vienna, Austria and Venice, Italy before there was a train to make the trip. They built it any way. They knew that the train would come one day. They did not judge that it was ludicrous to do so. They had true faith to build.

Faith in this text is the conviction or belief respecting man's relationship to God. We must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. We diligently seek Him by true faith. True faith will move you to action. Abraham believed God and he moved to were God lead him to go. Abraham is known for going without knowing. He had to give up his homeland, people, and idiot gods to find a city whose foundation was God. Are you willing to give up your life as you know it and go to a place without knowing all of the details? I always like to say, “If God tells you to go you better went!” A question for you, “Where is God trying to get you to go?” (ministry? marriage? In business? In South Dakota?)

In the same way Rahab the prostitute was considered righteous for what she did. She risked her life and the life of her family by lodging to the spies. Rahab also sent them off in a different direction so they could get away. Are you willing to risk your life as a Christian for what you believe? We in America do not have to risk our life for our faith. However, there are many Christian in our world today who risks their lives just to go to church. This is something that we take for granted.

Faith always involves a practical element of risk. What is God trying to get you to risk? What is God trying to get you to do? If God is trying to send you a train you better start building the tracks by faith. If God is trying to send a plane you better start building the runway by faith. If God wants you to go, you better leave by faith. If God wants you to be an author you better write by faith. Mark Beaird said, "Faith enables us to understand what God does. Faith enables us to see what others cannot see. As a result, faith enables us to do what others cannot do." James says to close this chapter, “As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.”


Points to Ponder

1. People who discriminate do not have true faith in God.
2. People who are judgmental do not have true faith in God.
3.People who have no works do not have true faith in God.

Pastor Michael Eaton wrote the lesson of James Chapter 2. Pastor Eaton is the Senior Pastor of the Holiday Hills Baptist Church. Michael and his wife, Kimberly lives in Abilene, Texas.

“The Power To Love.”

2-11-07

Good Morning Holiday Hills Family,

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.
1 Corinthians 13:4-8

The Power To Love

This Sunday we are starting a new series entitled, “The Power To Love.” We celebrate Valentines Day in the month of February. This month has been designated as the “Month of Love.” We will pray that God will teach us to love. This morning, I am going to share a sermon entitled, “Love Is?”

Love Your Neighbor

If love is something that you give to someone else as the comic says that is in your bulletin, We should be willing to give the love of God to our neighbor. We should be willing to share the love God with our neighbors, co-worker, family, and friends so that they may be saved. 37/37/2007 is about love. It is about loving people to the point of sharing Christ. I have asked you to pray the God would give you the opportunity to share Christ with 37 families
before our Church Anniversary in September. At the very least , if we love our neighbors, co-workers, families and friends, we should be willing to invite them to church. As Steve Harvey use to say, “Show Your Love” to your neighbors!

Love Your Church

I would like to say thank you to those who give to our Gideon Commercial Project. We have raised $726.00 dollars to date. We need $1754.0 to complete this project! Have love for the future of this and give to this great project.

Remember you have the victory!

Pastor Michael Eaton

I Want To Be Made

By Michael Eaton

But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things… John 14:26 NIV

“I want to be bigger, faster, and stronger. I want to be Made.” Many of you may not be familiar with the opening words of the MTV series entitled, “Made.” It is a series that is dedicated to teens that are seeking self-improvement. For example a couch potato would want to be made into a football star or an unpopular student who wants to be made into Prom King or Queen.

The show will assign them a coach like Eddie George (former NFL running back) to teach them the discipline of being an athlete or they will bring in somebody like the reigning Miss Sunshine to teach a young teens whether male or female the social skills to becoming popular enough to become a Prom King or Queen. This coach pushes them to a point of no return. They will drive them to make the changes that need to be “Made”. What I like about this show is that it teaches teens that anything worth doing or becoming will take a focus and concentrated effort. If you what to be “Made” it will take work.

The Made Resolutions

Many of us make New Year’s Resolutions around this time of year. Dave Letterman made a resolution in January of 1994 to, “Raise financial backing for my one man ice show – Davecapades.” This was number nine on his Top Ten Resolutions for 1994. Number one that year was, “Four words: Mrs. Kathie Lee Letterman.” Many of our resolutions seem to be as far fetched as, “Davecapades.” These resolutions seem implausible, because we do not have a made coach. Some are resolving to becoming slimmer, to stop smoking, to getting out of debt, to spending more time with family and to quit drinking amongst a host of other similar resolutions.

We tend to make New Year’s Resolutions and for example pledge the all time promise to loose weight or get into shape this year. Over 66 percent of adult Americans are considered overweight. It is not surprising to find that weight loss is one of the most popular New Year's Resolutions. The evidence is in fitness. Regular exercise has been associated with more health benefits than anything else known to man. Studies show that it reduces the risk of some cancers, increases longevity, helps achieve and maintain weight loss, enhances your mood, lowers blood pressure and even improves arthritis. In short, exercise keeps you healthy and makes you look and feel better. We know this, because we all have heard about similar studies as we were sitting on the couch watching TV. Therefore, we then began to think about joining a gym? Or, we do join a gym and go for the first two weeks of the New Year and then quit as the weeks go by? We learn in the gym, “No pain, no gain, no gain , no loss!?" That is why we quit. We don’t have a "Made" coach to motivate us. We do not have cameras following us around. We don't have the coach waking us up at 5:00 AM in the morning to go do our workouts. We want to change, but we don’t have the drive to change.

Some resolve to quit smoking around this time of the year. Quitting smoking will yield these benefits. Coronary heart disease risk is cut by half 1 year after quitting and is nearly the same as someone who never smoked 15 years after quitting. Stroke risk is reduced to that of a person who never smoked after 5 to 15 years of not smoking. Cancers of the mouth, throat, and esophagus risks are halved 5 years after quitting. Cancer of the larynx risk is reduced after quitting etc and so on. We know this, because we heard about these studies as we were sitting on the couch watching TV. Why didn’t we quit? We don’t have a “Made” coach and cameras following us around and waking us up at 5:00 AM in the morning to go do our workouts. We don’t have that “Made” coach to tell us, “If you have resolved to make this the year that you stamp out your smoking habit, over-the-counter availability of nicotine replacement therapy now provides easier access to proven quit-smoking aids." You do not have your "Made" coach to tell you, "Even if you've tried to quit before and failed, don't let it get you down. On average, smokers try about four times before they quit for good.” However, we want to change, but we don’t have the drive to change.

I Want To Be Made

The true of the matter is for Christians, we do not need the drive to change. God has given us the drive to change by His Holy Spirit. The Spirit is our very on “Made” coach. The Holy Spirit is dedicated to Christians that are seeking Christ-improvement. His job is to make us into the image of Jesus Christ. This means He will drive us to becoming slimmer, to stop smoking, to getting out of debt, to spend more time with family and to quit drinking. He will wake us up early in the morning for our 5:00 AM devotionals and our 6:00 AM workouts. He will drive us into the things of God.

All of these resolutions can be Christ-improvement. The bible says in
2 Corinthians 5:17 NIV, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” I do not know about you, but for the year 2007, “I want to be Christ like, slimmer, healthier, wealthier, wiser, and happier. I want to be “Made” into the image of Christ.

"Made" Into A Christian

This is how you can be “Made” into a Christian.
1. Every human is a sinner. For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Romans 3:23
2. God's penalty for sin is death. For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Romans 6:23
3. In His great love, God has made provision for the salvation of sinners. But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8
4. Each person must put his trust in God's Son, Jesus Christ.
That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. Romans 10:9-10, 13
Once you are saved, you need to be a part of a bible teaching, bible believing, and bible living church. Being apart of a church is the way you can be “Made” into the image of Christ. If you live in the Abilene, Texas area, I would love to see you in our service at the Holiday Hills Baptist Church.

Michael Eaton is Senior Pastor of Holiday Hills Baptist Church. You can write to him at meaton@holidayhillsbaptistchurch.com or visit his website at www.holidayhillsbaptistchurch.com.

What to Do When You Don’t Know What to Do?

Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil. KJ

I was asked to speak at a conference in Dallas. The program coordinator had chosen my subject matter and sent me a book to read as my resource. The book that they sent me was a book entitled, “God Will Make a Way” by Dr. Henry Cloud and Dr. John Townsend. This book was subtitled, “What To Do When You Don’t Know What to Do.” My mind was captivated by this subtitle. What do you do when you don’t know what to do?

Many Pastors and Ministers will attest to how God sometimes makes you experience the message before you can preach the message. Before I could preach this message, I was put in a place where I had to apply this message in my life. I had been trying to take my life and ministry to the next level and it seemed like I was going around in circles. I began to think that instead of conquering the land it seemed as though I wandering aimlessly in circles. I wanted to break this cycle and go to the next level in my ministry.

However, I had done all I know to do and what many ministry experts advised to do. I was burnt out and I don’t know what to do. I had done all I could! I was living on a street called Wits End Blvd when I should have been on Destiny Drive. I didn’t know what to do.

In my life, it was ministry problems. In your life it may be marriage, health, money problems, family, singleness, divorce or the death of a love one and you don’t know what to do. You have done all you could do! You have done all you know to do and what the experts advised to do. For you, there isn’t any love in marriage, health in your body or any money in your bank. There is hatred in your divorce, you are single and you do not have a relationship in sight and at the last resort, you just don’t know what to do! What do you do when you don’t know what to do? I would like to encourage you to trust in the Lord when you don’t know what to do.

Trust In the Lord

Proverbs 3:5 states to “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart.” The word translated “trust” as a means “to lie helplessly facedown.” If you are at a place in your life and you don’t know what to do you, you need to trust in the Lord. You need to lie helplessly facedown with all your heart. God is saying that you are doing too much. You are trying to hard to figure out all of life’s problems. You are working two jobs and missing church every Sunday morning and every Wednesday night. You should be working one job and coming to church on Sunday mornings and Wednesday nights. You should be lying helplessly facedown with all your heart for God to provide for your needs. You have tried everything else, “Why not try God?”

I can remember my worries as I brought my daughter Christal home from the hospital shortly after her birth. I worried about her, because she was very small at six pounds. I had to lay her helplessly facedown in her crib. I was worried that I would not hear her cries in the middle of the night. How wrong could I be? As my little girl who was laying helpless facedown began to cry in the middle of the night, we all jumped to attend to her needs. Her mother and grandmother as well as I vied to take care of her.

There is one thing to learn from the previous scenario. Little babies lay face down and helpless until someone comes to take care of them. This is the insight of the word. As we enter into our own helpless state where we do not know what to do, it is there that we can begin to trust in God the same way that little babies have to trust in their parent to hear their cries in the middle of the night.

You have to in your lay your life down helplessly and facedown in the circumstance while waiting on the Lord. My little girl had her father, mother and grandmother. You have God the Father, Jesus the Son and God the Holy Spirit to attend to you if you lay helplessly facedown and wait on the Lord. Do this with all of your heart. God will help you, but you have to keep waiting on Him by crying out to Him.

Stop Trying and Start Crying

Stop trying and start crying! If you don’t know what to do, just pray. Lay down your cares and burdens in crying out to God. Lie helplessly facedown and cry to God with all your heart. God will come to see about you and tell you what to do in His own time.

For those who have been trying to get right with God, you need to stop trying and start crying. Here is God’s plan for your salvation:

1. Every human is a sinner. For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Romans 3:23
2. God's penalty for sin is death. For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Romans 6:23
3. In His great love, God has made provision for the salvation of sinners. But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8
4. Each person must put his trust in God's Son, Jesus Christ.
That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. Romans 10:9-10, 13
Once you are saved, you need to be a part of a bible teaching, bible believing and bible living church. If you live in the Abilene, Texas area, I would love to see you in our service at Holiday Hills Baptist Church. May God bless you and keep you.

Michael Eaton is Senior Pastor of Holiday Hills Baptist Church. You can write to him at meaton@holidayhillsbaptistchurch.com or visit his website at www.holidayhillsbaptistchurch.com.

Real Life Biblical Answers For Real Life Problems "Fatal Attractions"

by Pastor Michael Eaton

This Q&A series is from my book “How To Be Bless As A Christian Single." You can get a copy of the book at http://www.holidayhillsbaptistchurch.com/eBooks.html.

Question:

I am in love with a young man who reminds me of my father. My friends, family, and not even the pastor of my church do not like him. But, I love him. They keep telling me to look at the red flags in our relationship. I can not see any flags and to tell you the truth I do not even know what they are talking about. Is there something wrong with me because I can not see what they are talking about?

Danger! Danger!…Watch yourself…Before you get beside yourself…Danger! Danger! (Hip Hop Song: Mystikal featuring Nivea)

Fatal Attractions

A prudent person foresees the danger ahead and takes precautions; the simpleton goes blindly on and suffers the consequences. NLT Proverbs 22:3

I can truly relate to this question. It is from my own personal pilgrimage that I try to teach singles how to see danger in their relationships so you can take precaution. You said that the young man reminds you of your father and this maybe why you can not see any “red flags.” Most likely the model of your father is not a Godly model of the kind of man you should be looking. I say this only because you have so many people in your life who love you saying that this man is not good for you. If you love your father and he was not a good image of a man for you, you will have to get a new image of a man.


Some counselors like to talk about “red flags” and “pink elephants” to describe a dysfunctional relationship or family situation. In Dr. Susan Forward’s book, Toxic Parents: Overcoming Their Hurtful Legacy And Reclaiming Your Life, she shares a letter from a woman named Janet. She then gives her insight into the toxic families:

“ . . . what I realized was that not only was my husband abusive, but that I had come from several generations of victimized women and abusive men.” Even though the cast of characters may change, the repetitive cycle of toxic behavior can remain for generations on end. The family drama may look and sound different from generation to generation, but all toxic patterns are remarkably similar in their outcome: pain and suffering."

Maybe the reason you can not see “red flags” or “pink elephants” is because you grow up in a toxic family environment were “red flags” or “pink elephants” are the norm. I personally could not see the “red flags” of toxic relationships because I grow up saluting those “red flags” every day.

As a matter of fact, I saluted and pledge aligns to those “red flags” everyday. I could not see the big “pink elephant” because the pink elephant was the family pet. I took the pink elephant for walks every day. I feed that pink elephant every day. I clean up after the pink elephant that was not house broken. I loved the pink elephant. This was the cycle of toxic behavior that I was involved.

I loved my family. I grow up and left home. Went I decided to get married I went looking for a woman who had “red flags” and “pink elephants.” If a woman did not have these “red flags” and “pink elephants” I did not feel at home with her. How could I marry a woman who did not feel like home or family? To me these “red flags” and “pink
elephants” were not warning signs. These where signs that were leading me home. However, these signs were leading me in the same kind of cycle of toxic relationships that has run in my family from generation to generation.

Please pick-up a copy of my book, “How to Choose a Worthy Mate and Find True Love by Breaking the Cycle of Generational Curses.” This book
will help you acquire the insights that you need to make right choices in relationships.

Real Life Biblical Answers for Real Life Problems "The One"

by Pastor Michael Eaton

This Q&A series is from my book “How To Be Bless As A Christian Single." You can get a copy of the book at
www.holidayhillsbaptistchurch.com/eBooks.html.


1. Is it better for me to live my life single and service the Lord or should I give in to the pressures of my family, friends, members of my church, and society at large who all are saying in one chorus of voices that I should be looking for “the one” to marry?

“The One”

But I want you to be free from concern. One who is unmarried is concerned about the things of the Lord, how he may please the Lord; but one who is married is concerned about the things of the world, how he may please his wife, and his interests are divided. The woman who is unmarried, and the virgin, is concerned about the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and spirit; but one who is married is concerned about the things of the world, how she may please her husband. This I say for your own benefit; not to put a restraint upon you, but to promote what is appropriate and to secure undistracted devotion to the Lord. 1 Cor. 7:32-35

First of all let me let you know the you are not alone in your singleness. The U.S. Census says the number of unmarried adults in the United States as of March 2001 is as following:

51 million had never been married. 21
million were currently divorced. 14
million were widowed. The singles of
the US made up 86 million. This is
almost half the U.S. pollution.

Also let me let you know that you are not alone in your frustration and discrimination with your family, society at large and sadly to say even the church. Many of the early church fathers and mothers (like Dr. Luke, Lydia, Barnabas, Timothy, Mary, Martha, Lazarus, Phoebe, Paul and Jesus Christ himself) were single. In sprite of this fact many singles in our day and time feel like they are exiles in the church. Many pastors who are single will not be considered by pastor search committees to fill a senior pastor position. I myself have had churches discriminate again for me for a senior pastor position simply because I was single.

George Brana says that 94% of Senior Pastor is married. With singleness being the only reason many pastorless church disqualify would be pastors, sadly to say in our times Jesus Christ could not pastor His church. In our times Paul would not be able to pastor the churches he started. Many of the churches would be reading only half the New Testament. The reason being is because Paul wrote half the New Testament to the churches he started. With out singles in the bible there would be no salvation, no church, no New Testament, no gentile churches in America.

The Church of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is in many ways distracted by the things of this world. We would see a great harvest if your family, friends, people at the church and society at large would share the Gospel of Jesus Christ. However it seems that our whole society is sharing the gospel of married life. Marriage is not eternal. The bible says that there will be no marriage in heaven.

Mark 12:25 says, “For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven.” Marriage is not a destination. It is a method of travel. The best method of travel in the servant to our Lord and Jesus Christ, the bibles says is singleness. That is why so many of the early leaders of the church were single.

This bring me to answering your question. Biblical singleness is to be a time of single minded devotion to the Lord Jesus Christ. It is not to be a time of single minded distraction to finding a mate or “the one.” If you have accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior you already have “The One.” I, like Paul would want you to spend your singleness in undistracted devotion to the Lord. Be holy both in body and spirit and think of how you may please the Lord.

Real Life Biblical Answers for Real Life Problems "Love or Fear"

by Pastor Michael Eaton

This Q&A series is from my book “How To Be Bless As A Christian Single." You can get a copy of the book at
www.holidayhillsbaptistchurch.com/eBooks.html.



Question: Fear

What if you admire a person so much that you are afraid to say anything to that person? If it has been 5 years or more, how do you handle something like that?


Answer: Love


“There are only three classes of people in the world,” an unknown preacher confessed. “Those who are afraid, those who do not know enough to be afraid, and those who know their Bibles.”

For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline. 2Timoth 1:7

You do not have because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures. James 4:2e-3

There is a passage in scripture that I think of when I read this question. It is a scripture that I have been determined that would not apply to me. This scripture says, “You do not have because you do not ask.” The issue it seems that you are faced with is fear. Paul wrote Timothy to say, “God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity….” There is a fear that can motivate action and there is a fear that will paralyze. Generally, the fear that we have may play a role in our destiny. While growing up, I had a fear of speaking in public. I had to overcome that fear in order to live out my destiny as a preacher.

I do not know if this woman is meant for you. However, I do know that the fear that you have is not of God. I can go as far to say that you only have a crush on this person. For if there were any Godly love the bible says, “There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear,..." 1 John 4:18

Fear in this case could also mean that you have low self-esteem. If you are a Chirstian you can change your self-esteem into Christ-esteem. If you have Christ-esteem you will think of your self as an answer to prayer. You could be God's answer to this person prayer for a mate.

Or in the worse case this fear could mean you have deified this person. You have made this person a god. If so, you are involved in idolatry. You can not love a person on a petastal.

My advice than would be for you to pray about it. If you feel that God is leading you, break the ice by letting her know in a Godly way that you are interested.

Machiavelli made the notorious assertion that given the choice between love and fear, a prince ought to choose the latter. You could be making a choice right now. If I were you, I would choose love.

Also get a copy of my e-book, "How To Be Blessed As A Christian Single" at http://www.holidayhillsbaptistchurch.com/eBooks.html.

Putting Power In Your Preaching

By Michael Eaton


The 1992 movie entitled “Prelude to a Kiss” follows the traditional pattern of a romantic love affair. The characters Peter and Rita fall in love and get married. The prelude to the kiss was the giddiness of the newness of falling in love fast and furiously. This is what came before a kiss that would cause an upheaval. Julius an uninvited wedding guest approaches Rita and asks to kiss her as a means of congratulations. She agrees and when their lips meet transference takes place. Suddenly, Rita finds herself in the old man's body while his essence inhabits her form. When Peter and Rita head off on their Jamaican honeymoon, she is literally not the girl he fell in love with.

The Preacher’ Prelude

I have not sent these prophets, yet they ran: I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied. Jeremiah 23:21 KJ

The preacher’ prelude is as problematic as the kiss is to the plot of, “Prelude to a Kiss.” The preachers’ calling is a kiss from God that would cause transference from the prelude of his life. Because of this transference, it is not uncommon for the most powerful preachers of our time and times passed to have never wanted to preach. Unwilling preachers seem to make the most powerful preachers in their time. Because they received a kiss from God, and an upheaval of wills takes place. The transference transports an unwilling preachers’ plan for his life to God’s plan for his life.

The older preachers always said that there were two kinds of preachers. The preacher who “went” and the preacher who was “sent.” In the Old Testament God expressed His anger for the “went” preacher by saying, " I have not sent these prophets, yet they ran: I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied." (Jer. 23:21). The New Testament makes plain that God gives a special call to those whom He sends to preach the Gospel. Romans 10:15, "And how shall they preach unless they are sent?" The great British preacher Martyn Lloyd-Jones declared, "A preacher is not a Christian who decides to preach," "It is God who commands preaching, it is God who sends out preachers."

Seventeen in twenty pastors (83 percent) believe that God has clearly communicated to them a unique calling—to a life of ministry in their current job…More than a third (37 percent) of pastors say their calling became known to them through a gradual process rather than a defining moment.

If you what to have power in your preaching you must be call out, set apart, and sent by the Holy Spirit of God. The Holy Spirit gives the supreme power to preach the Word of God. Peter is a great example of that on the day of Pentecost in Act 2:14-41.

The Greatest Power

The Holy Spirit is the greatest power for the preaching of God’s Word. God must call out the preacher in the genesis of his preaching. The preacher must depend on the Holy Spirit’s power in preparing His sermon. The preacher must depend on the Holy Spirit for the delivery of His message.

I have been a great fan of preaching without notes or with a partial outline. Dr. Kent Anderson on this website offer these homiletic insights to preaching without notes.

Generally, it would be wise for the preacher to make use of as little notes as possible without losing coherence and impact…Fewer notes is probably better as long as the quality of content remains uncompromised…It should be noted that preaching without notes is not the recitation of a memorized manuscript. The preacher does not need to be on the platform trying to recall those things that have been formerly committed to memory. This can be crippling. The preacher, rather, is working out of the overflow, sharing from a heart and mind that has well assimilated the truth and stories of the sermon.

This is great insight to preaching without notes. The Holy Spirit takes the well-assimilated truth or stories and adds power. When I am preaching without notes or a partial outline, I am amazed to see how the Holy Spirit speaks by filling in the lines. I have become so dependant upon the Holy Spirit’s power. There have been a few times when the Holy Spirit as I was speaking changed my sermon to His message. I do not know how He did it. I just know who was doing it. I opened my mouth and other words begin to come out. I remember preparing my sermon, however, I am not talking about being unprepared. I begin to discern that this is not my discourse. There were a few times that I prayed under my breath, “Ok Lord, I will follow you and I cast myself upon the staffing wind of the Holy Spirit’s power.

As I listen to the tape later to see what the Spirit said, I have learned that the Holy Spirit makes sense. Now figure that out. When I listen to the tape there was a direct divine design to His message. In other words, I was not out chasing rabbits. We have all heard those kinds of sermons. You would think that after thirty minutes to an hour, that you would understand the sermon. How you ever asked the question? “Now what did he say? There are times that I preach without notes or with an outline. I am always excited to listen to the tape to see what the Spirit has said. The Holy Spirit almost always changes some part of my sermon to His message. The Holy Spirit is the powers that calls you, assists your research, and always assist you in delivering His message.

The Preachers’ Prayer

But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word. Acts 6:4 KJ

Put power in your preaching through prayer. The call to preach is a simultaneous call to pray. It is by prayer that you depend on the Holy Spirit of God. We should pray before we prepare. We should pray before we preach. We should also pray before parting from our people. Powerful preaching begins with powerful pray. Also, people can see a sermon better than they can hear a sermon. Therefore the preacher’ prayer should not just be a prayer to preach powerfully. It should be a prayer to live powerfully.

A. W. Tozer gives a wonderful example of this kind of prayer. His prayer although prayed about a century ago stands as a beautiful jewel of a prayer for the preacher of the New Millennial. Here is an excerpt from his prayer as a preacher seeking God's power and glory.

Lord Jesus, I come to Thee for spiritual preparation. Lay Thy hand upon me. Anoint me with the oil of the New Testament prophet. Forbid that I should be come a religious scribe and thus lose my prophetic calling.

Save me from the curse that lies dark across the modern clergy, the curse of compromise, of imitation, of professionalism. Save me from the error of judging a church by its size, its popularity or the amount of its yearly offering.

Help me to remember that I am a prophet - not a promoter, not a religious manager, but a prophet. Let me never become a slave to crowds. Heal my soul of carnal ambitions and deliver me from the itch for publicity. Save me from bondage to things. Let me not waste my days puttering around the house.

Lay Thy terror upon me, O God, and drive me to the place of prayer where I may wrestle with principalities and powers and the rulers of the darkness of this world.
Deliver me from overeating and late sleeping. Teach me self-discipline that I may be a good soldier of Jesus Christ.

Let me stand before the great or minister to the poor and lowly; that choice is not mine, and I would not influence it if I could.

Fill me with Thy power by the Holy Spirit, and I will go in Thy strength…

The preacher’s prayer is to be filled each day with the wisdom and strength of the one who initially called him to the task of preaching. The power to preach comes from an abiding with God. Abiding with God is more than prayer. However, you cannot begin to abide with God without prayer. If we really believe that the primary job of the preacher is to pray and study as Act 6:4 says than our daily routine would look more like the scheduled listed below as opposed to the busy routines of the twenty- first century:

9:00A-12:00P Prayer Time
12:00P-1:00P Fasting & Prayer
1:00P-5:00P Study The Word

Thomas Chalmers, the noted Scotch theologian, believed that most failures in the ministry are due, not to lack of study or visiting or church activities, but to lack of prayer.

James S. Stewart suggested in “Heralds of God,” “. . . whether your congregation be large or small a great part of your task on its behalf lies in the realm of intercession . . . I mean praying for every family, each separate soul, by name.” He advocated praying for about three families a day. Visualize their circumstances, think of their work, difficulties, temptations. This consumes time, but the effect on the people and the minister himself would be most helpful.

Prayer and preaching is like rowing in a boat with two paddles. As long as you are using both paddles, you will be able to minister in the power of the Holy Spirit to transform people into the image of Christ. However, you will preach in circles without the paddle of prayer. You will also pray in circles without the paddle of preaching the Word of God.

We tend to fall short in our prayer ministry. When we fall short in the prayer ministry, our preaching and peoples lives are lived in circles. We have a church, ministry, and people that are analogous with the children of Israel who wondered for forty years in the wilderness trying to accomplish an eleven-day journey.

We don’t pray and that is why we preach the same sermon on an annual or semi annual basic. We don’t pray like we should. That is why we buy our sermons online and call it research. We don’t pray and that is why we look and preach identical to the latest TV preachers. We don’t pray for our people and that is why Satan is having his way with our parishioners. We don’t pray and that is why we can’t be saved from the curse that lies dark across the modern clergy. We are cursed of compromise, of imitation, and of professionalism. We can’t be saved from the error of judging a church by its size, its popularity or the amount of its yearly offering, because we do not pray! I may not pastor a mega church, but through prayer and praise I serve a mega God!

It is unlikely that we can spend all our time in our prayer closet. However, we can supernaturally spend time in prayer as we begin to pray without ceasing. Pray before every meeting. Pray before every service. Pray before every meal. Pray before every trip. Pray before every letter that you write. Pray for every member. Pray for every problem. Pray for each sermon that you deliver. Pray before devotion and pray before every book that you intend to write. We as preachers’ must pray for God’s power to preach, our preparations and for the people. Really powerful preaching comes from a powerful prayer and praise life before God.

The Preacher’ Praise

And a voice came out of the throne, saying, Praise our God, all ye his servants, and ye that fear him, both small and great. Revelation 19:5 KJ

If we are going to have power in our preaching we had better realize whom the God we serve. We are in the employment of the powerful God who is worthy to be praise. At any time the church gathers together, it should be a time for praise and worship. The most wonderful places to preach are after praise and worship has taken place. Praise and worship is the best time for God to prepare the hearts of the people to hear the Word of God. The Word of God says that He inhabits the praise of His people in Psalm 22:3. When we are preaching to people that God inhabits, preaching becomes more powerful!

Many times our preaching doesn’t have any power, because we are preaching from a place without praise. Neither we, nor our church are properly praising the Lord. Get the praise right and powerful preaching will follow! Many times in the church, the preacher is busy at work or so busy being praised himself that we forget to praise God. The preacher must remember that his church is really his church home. His church is where he goes to worship and praise God. If he does not worship at work than he doesn’t worship at all! This is what Howard W. King had to say in an article entitled, “When The Preachers Loses God.”

“… The preacher’s self-importance seems justified by his busyness. Why is he so popular? Why are his services sought by so many? Why is so much praise lavished upon him? The inference is that he is a very important person. But the preacher’s seeming greatness may dim his vision of God and dull his sensitiveness to God’s presence. As Stewart affirmed, “Nowhere surely are pride and self-importance more incongruous and unpardonable than in the servant of the cross. ”

Sundays and any other days the church gather together is not just about the sermons we preach and the bible studies we teach. Our primary task is to worship and praise God. We put power in our preaching by praising the God we serve. We praise Him in the service before we preach. Many times the pastor is too busy at worship time. Pastors are busy leading the service during worship service. If you can, get someone else to lead the worship time. Some pastors are in their study preparing to preach during the worship time. If you have not gotten a message by the Sunday at the 11:00 AM service, it is to late! Leave your study and go praise God. You will be able to find your message during the worship service. You can always preach a message about what a mighty God we serve!

I generally like to exert physical power during the Sunday service. The first exertion comes when I am praising God through song. The second exertion happens when I preach. Preachers put power in your preaching by praising God first!
Conclusion

Preachers, put power in your preaching by being called and depending daily on the Holy Spirit’s power. Preachers, put power in your preaching by praying without ceasing. Preachers, put powers in your preaching by praising the God you serve.