THE POWER OF LOVE

JANUARY 14, 2012
The Power of Love. Ever notice how a child will obey someone because of love, when they are not motivated by either punishment or privilege? Yes, we should still reprove and reward them, but when they have love for us, it is stronger than discipline. We cannot make them love, but we can provide an atmosphere where love lives (is alive). Love comes more easily to a child. Don't miss that window of opportunity, and don't beat yourself up if they abandon that love as they get older.

And see, this is true in the believer's life also. If we love Him, we keep His commandments, love is the fulfilling of the law.

John 14:15
(15)  If ye love me, keep my commandments.

John 14:21-24
(21)  He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.
(22)  Judas saith unto him, not Iscariot, Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world?
(23)  Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.
(24)  He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father's which sent me.

John 15:10-14
(10)  If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love.
(11)  These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.
(12)  This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.
(13)  Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.
(14)  Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.

Romans 13:10
(10)  Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.

1 John 5:3
(3)  For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.

Upward and Onward in Jesus,

Pastor David L. Gould

POOR MULE

JANUARY 12, 2012
So, I was training my mule not to eat or drink. He was doing so well, and then all of a sudden he died. Go figure. (Just something to think about). I posted this on my Facebook, as a teaser and then I gave the following explanation.

BASIC TRUTH...
The same thing would be true for my dog, my cow, my goldfish, my parrot, my chicken, my friends, my enemies, my family and myself. This would be true concerning your mule, dog, cow, goldfish, parrot, chicken, friends, enemies, family or yourself. This is also true for sheep, no matter who owns the sheep.

Too often, the sheep of God think they can eat one time and live forever. In fact, if we do not feed our spiritual man (our inner man, inward man, hidden man), then we die spiritually. If our spirit does not draw from the well of life or drink from the river of living water, then we die. Just as the branches that do not receive nourishment are cut off from the Vine, so we will be cut off.

Some people think they can be strong Christians even if they are not feasting on the word of God, and the Lord Jesus, when, in fact, they will not even be weak Christians, because spiritual existence depends on spiritual subsistence.


Matthew 4:4
(4)  But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

John 6:27
(27)  Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed.

Hebrews 5:12-14

(12)  For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat.

(13)  For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe.

(14)  But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.

John 4:14

(14)  But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.

John 7:37-38

(37)  In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.

(38)  He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.

Launch Out and Hold Fast,
Pastor David L. Gould

TWO THOUGHTS CONCERNING THE REVELATION

JANUARY 11, 2012
FOUR VIEWS OF INTERPRETING THE BOOK OF REVELATION

Preterism places the fulfillment of the prophecies of Revelation in the past, specifically during the time of Nero and the Jewish wars with Rome in the first century.

Historcism teaches that Revelation's prophecies have been fulfilled throughout Church History, rather than after the Church Age.

Symbolism teaches that the events of Revelation are allegorical explanations concerning spiritual realities.

Futurism teaches that most of the events of Revelation (from ch. 4) are going to happen after the rapture of the Church. This view obviously espouses the most literal interpretation of the Book of Revelation (actually, the only literal interpretation).

There are variations within each one of these four views. Each view is related to other doctrinal points of view, including Roman Catholicism, Reformed Theology, Covenant Theology and Dispensationalism, among others.

I am a Futurist.

THE OLD TESTAMENT, A MAJOR KEY TO THE BOOK OF REVELATION

Revelation is the last book of the Bible, the final installment of Divinely inspired Scripture, closing out the 66 books of the Old and New Testaments.

Though Revelation is a New Testament book, it cannot be properly understood without a knowledge of the Old Testament, likewise, the Old Testament prophecies cannot be understood without final pieces found in The Revelation. The  Old Testament quotes, imagery, events, character and prophecy are found throughout Revelation.

Matthew, the most Jewish of the four Gospels, has about 90 references from the Old Testament.

Hebrews, the most Jewish of the Epistles, has just over 100 references from the Old Testament.

Revelation has far more OT connections, with about 280 out of 404 verses referencing the Old Testament (encompassing over 500 OT passages).

Not only is the material in Revelation based on O.T. Scripture, the writing style, viewpoint and use of Greek language is Jewish. John was a Jew, who thought and wrote as a Jew, even when he was using the Greek language. Biblical symbolism is not without meaning, and it is not left to subjective and fanciful interpretation. God chose the symbols and gave us the meaning to the symbols. Most of the imagery and symbolism is found and understood by searching the Old Testament, the rest of it is usually explained in the Revelation itself.

Remember, the name of the book is, "The Revelation of Jesus Christ," indicating the purpose to be Divine disclosure, not "Hidden Message."

Launch Out and Hold Fast,

Pastor David L. Gould

THE END OF THE WORLD, 2012?

JANUARY 9, 2012
YOU SHOULD HAVE SEEN THEIR FACES

I announced to the church yesterday that I believe 2012 will be the end of the world. I did not set a date. I was not referring to the return of Christ or the Conflagration or the end of the cosmos. The news media confirms my statement every day and the Bible is the basis for my viewpoint.

NEGATIVE REACTION

I have been thinking about the people who set dates for the end of the world and the return of Christ; I have also been thinking about the extreme negativity that those false prophets raise in society. Society not only rejects the false prophets and their prognostications, they also reject legitimate Biblical prophecies concerning the end times. They say the world will not end, Christ will not return, Judgment Day is not coming. I react to their over reaction by saying, “The world is going to end in 2012.”

FOR SOMEBODY

Those of you who know me (and trust me), know that I am not an end times date setter. Still, I really do believe 2012 will be the end of the world... for some people... at least 56 million people... or as I stated on Facebook, the end of the world for 1 out of every 113 people, which is the present day mortality rate. This rate will rise dramatically if war, famine, pestilence and disease takes place in global proportions.

A FACT OF LIFE

The media reports death daily and the obituaries are dedicated to death. The Bible says, it is appointed unto man once to die, and after that, the judgment (He. 9:27). For those who die, the world ends. In fact, for the people who are close to the deceased, the world as they know it also ends. Death is a killer. Death is a destroyer. Death is a terminator. Death is so final, at least until something better or worse comes along. Death is our enemy, our last enemy (1 Co. 15:26).

IT IS PERSONAL

This is a sobering concept. How many friends do you have on Facebook? How many of your FB friends died last year. How many of your non FB friends died last year? The annual mortality rate, worldwide, has been averaging one out of every 113 people. Death took at least 2 of my 140 FB friends last year, and I also had non FB friends die. Make no mistake: Death is not our friend; Death does not respect age, station, gender, race, education; Death is our enemy. The Good News is: Jesus saves us from our final enemy, Death.

So, before you scoff at the idea that the world is going to end in 2012, remember, it is going to end for someone, maybe a friend, maybe a loved one, maybe yourself. It would be prudent to be prepared for the eventuality of death, because it could be today. As Christian, we should be throwing out the lifeline to those who are lost in sin.

VARIOUS VIEWPOINTS

There are several ways people respond to this issue. Here are a few of those responses.They don't believe in life after death, so they ignore the subject or hopelessly cringe at the idea.

They believe that God does not punish anyone for their sins, so they don't worry about death and judgment.

They believe that they are good enough, and will get to heaven on personal merit.

They believe in a false religion, savior or salvation and find comfort in a false hope.

They believe they are going to die, the world is going to end and they are going to answer for their sins, but are not prepared.

They believe they are ready for death and eternity with God, because they have a living and active faith in Jesus Christ (1 Co. 15:54-55).

If anyone has any questions, or needs to talk about these things, let me know. I will try to help you.

Upward and Onward in Jesus,

Pastor David L. Gould

DIG A LITTLE DEEPER

JANUARY 7, 2012
DIG A LITTLE DEEPER...
Have you ever had an itch that needed scratching? Ohhh, that feels soooo good. Sometimes the scratching is more of a pleasant sensation than an itch relief. Some people, and animals, scratch, scratch, scratch until they tear the skin and get infected.

AFFLICTED WITH SELF GRATIFICATION
Spiritually, people do the same. They afflict themselves with self gratification, rather than getting Divine deliverance from their irritation. Scratching is a surface response to a deeper need.

TRUE HEALING
Only Jesus can relieve your deepest misery and satisfy your deepest longings.

Proverbs 14:12-13
(12)  There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.
(13)  Even in laughter the heart is sorrowful; and the end of that mirth is heaviness.

Romans 10:9-10
(9)  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.
(10)  For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.


Upward and Onward in Jesus,

Pastor David L. Gould

A TRAGIC TRAGEDY

JANUARY 6, 2012
NOT SIMPLY REDUNDANT.
I chose the title, "A Tragic Tragedy" not to be redundant, but to be emphatic. Let me illustrate and then state my concern.

LET ME ILLUSTRATE
If a person, on a cloud draped night, falls into the churning, inky waters of a fitful sea, without a life jacket, that is a tragedy. If the person refuses to take hold of the lifeline when it is thrown to them in final desperation, and they slip hopelessly into eternal night, that is a tragic tragedy.

THE REASON FOR THIS POST
A friend of mine recently declared his open resistance and rejection to the gospel. It is one thing when a person, a friend, neglects or avoids the gospel, though the outcome is eternally tragic. It is always sad and tragic when a person lives outside of a vital relationship with God through Christ. But the tragedy rises in stark relief when the person knowingly, defiantly rejects God's message and gift of love and life. The tragedy is intensified because they refuse to hear the only words that will deliver them from sin and hell.

A PLEA, TO GOD AND TO YOU
"Father, send your Holy Spirit to speak to my friend, in Jesus name."
Friend, do not drift from passively neglecting Jesus to actively rejecting Jesus. He died for you, rose again and loves you.


Launch Out and Hold Fast,
Pastor David L. Gould

A FISHING METAPHOR

JANUARY 5, 2012
A METAPHOR FROM FISHING...
I worked on Sports Fishing boats. We trolled for King and Spanish Mackerel, Bonita, Wahoo, Dolphin (Dorado), Albacore and Bluefish, sometimes making very tight turns, in order to stay in the fish or avoid other boats. We drift fished for Sea Bass, Grouper and Snapper, sometimes with several fisherman crowded into a very small space. Sometimes it was difficult to keep our lines from getting tangled, but failure to keep our lines clear can be costly.

THE APPLICATION
Christians, stay alert, put forth the effort; tangled lives can be very costly.
1 Peter 3:8-11
(8) Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous:
(9) Not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but contrariwise blessing; knowing that ye are thereunto called, that ye should inherit a blessing.
(10) For he that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile:
(11) Let him eschew evil, and do good; let him seek peace, and ensue it.


Launch Out and Hold Fast,
Pastor David L. Gould