"Just Do It"

Preached by Rev. Ed Brouwer at The Gathering Place
Pulpit Series Volume 17 Issue 14 04/15/2007

John 21 in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore: but the disciples didn’t know it was Him. Jesus said to them, Lads, catch anything? They answered, No. And he said to them, cast the net on the right side of the ship, and you shall find. They cast the net and now they weren’t able to draw it in, because of the large catch. John said to Peter, it’s the Lord....

This was familiar… it brought back memories of days gone by….

Luke 5:4-6 Jesus told Simon, Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a catch. And Simon said, Master, we’ve toiled all the night and have caught nothing: nevertheless at your word I will let down the net. And when they did that, they caught such a great number of fish that net began to break. They called their partners in the other ship to come and help them. They filled both ships to the point they began to sink.

Luke 5:10-11 Jesus said to Simon, Don’t be afraid from now on you shall catch men (fishers of men). And when they had brought their ships to land, they forsook all, and followed Him.

This miracle took place at the first encounter with the disciples and three years later in the first showing of the resurrected Christ. I believe it is far more significant than we may first imagine.

Two similar events: identical requests made by Christ, identical responses by the disciples, and the exact same results.

Now lets look at this event…

Did Jesus tell the disciples to try a different fishing spot? No.Did Jesus tell Peter to use a different net? No.Did Jesus tell the disciples to use a different boat? No.Jesus told the disciples to throw the net on the other side of the boat. Same sea, same boat, same net, just a different side.Now, I’m pretty sure they had cast their net on the “other side” of the boat before. I mean, come on? After a whole night of fishing to no avail, there is a really good chance that they had already tried this “other” side of the boat. Yet Christ was asking them to trust Him and do what didn’t make a lot of sense… and cast the net on the other side.

Think about you being out there - all night long. and nada, nothing, zip, zero catch. And you know from experience how long that night can be when you catch nothing. You thank God that its over and your heading back to shore… the last thing you need is some shore walker asking if you caught anything let alone telling you to try the other side of the boat.

Listen, the fact that Peter was unable to catch any fish had nothing to do with any of the surrounding circumstances.

There was nothing the disciples could blame their failure on.

They were doing what came natural, they were doing their own thing! Life it self can often hinder our success. Stuff happens.

I believe Jesus was trying to teach the disciples then and now, that it's not about boats, nets and lakes; it's about living our lives completely following the directions that He gives us.No matter how illogical. It was Christ's direction and Peter obeying it that brought Peter his success.
Now get this. Peter’s boat couldn't have been that big. It was a fishing boat after all... not an Ocean Liner. Which means those fish were probably down there the whole time.

I believe that God in order to stay true to His Holy nature is forced to withhold blessings from us until we OBEY His voice, actually DOING what He requires of us.

I find it very interesting that although the Roman Catholic Church has set the Virgin Mary in a high and lofty place, they neglect the one and only command she ever gave.

They’d do well to heed John 2:5 Jesus’ mother said, Whatever he tells you to do, do it.

OBEYING CHRIST IS EVERYTHING!

Luke 6:46-49 Why do you call me, Lord, Lord, and not do the things which I say? Whoever comes to me, and hears my sayings and does them, I will show you to who he is like: He is like a man which built a house, digging deep and laying the foundation on a rock: and when the flood waters rose the stream beat violently against that house, but didn’t shake it: because it was built on a rock. Jesus went on to say, he that hears my word and does not do it, is like a man built a house without a foundation, the flood stream beat against that house, and immediately it fell; and the ruin of that house was great.

John 15:14 You are my friends, if you do whatever I command

Let’s go back to the basics…. Mark 12:30-31 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength: this is the first commandment. The second is, You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There’s no other commandment greater.

So it is back in your ball park. What are you going to do with this message.
Are you going to keep fishing on the wrong side of the boat? How long before that gets old? May the church get what Niki promotes…. JUST DO IT!

"Not Your Typical Easter Message"

Preached by Rev. Ed Brouwer at The Gathering Place,

Pulpit Series Volume 17 Issue 13 04/08/2007

For the most part this will be the same but then again I held back because we were in someone else’s house….But this is our house of worship and we long for an intimate time with our God.

They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. Psalms 126:5

Sowing comes before reaping! Tears come before joy! Death comes before Resurrection! Repentance before Revival!

As a Pentecostal I remember a day when didn’t apologize for our zeal. I remember a day when we believed it only right to be passionate about our relationship with God! For sure we dwelt on the other side of the theological tracks, but the glory of the Lord was in our midst.

Jeremiah 2:13 For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and built cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.

Much of what we experience or see today is artificial, fleshy, and repulsively stagnant. We have no distinguishing marks of servant hood on us. We have compromised, become religious, and worldly…. We do not flow with living waters.

I long, how I long for a church life, that includes nights of prayer, followed by signs and wonders and divers miracles.

I long for the church to freely operate in the genuine gifts of the Holy Spirit.

I am desperate for the time when we weren’t clock watchers and our meetings lasted for hours, saturated with holy power!

We should be moved to tears with heartfelt sorrow because so many of our own children are turning a deaf ear to the Gospel, willingly to risk hell in the process.

The true believer:
Should be grieved at the worldliness of the Church.
Should be grieved at the blindness of the Church.
Should be grieved at the tolerance of sin in the Church.
Should be grieved at the prayerlessness in the Church.

I am not saying the church doesn’t pray however much of what we pray for reads more like a shopping list than intimate conversation with Almighty God!

The true believer is known in Hell! Acts 19:13-16 Then certain of the vagabond Jews, exorcists, took upon themselves to call over them which had evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, We demand you by Jesus whom Paul preaches…. And the evil spirit answered and said, Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you? And the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, and overcame them, so they fled out of that house naked and wounded.

We should be disturbed that the corporate prayer of the Church no longer pulls down the strongholds of the devil in this sin-mad society.

Many gathered here today have no heart-sickness for the former glory of the Church because, well basically because you’ve never known what true revival is.

Where are those who’ll allow their hearts to be stirred for salvation and soul winning?
100 years ago, a series of boisterous revival meetings in a converted stable on Azusa Street launched a global movement that overcame differences in class, gender /race to unite around the belief that the Holy Spirit still works miracles.

Today, there are about 600 million Pentecostal and charismatic Christians whose roots are in the Azusa Street revival. The pre-revival meetings were nights filled with public repentance. We sit in our churches void of the living waters because we are content rather to drink from our man-made cisterns.

For the most part we sleep easy at night while this generation is going to hell in a hand basket. They are being swallowed up swiftly into the eternal darkness. Shame on us! This same Jesus who we celebrate today - wept over the lost.

He was aware how near their judgment was. We are not.

The Apostle Paul sent a tear-stained letter to the Philippian saints, writing: For many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, live as enemies of the cross of Christ.

Notice that he did not say they are enemies of Christ; rather that they live as enemies of the cross of Christ.

I tell you with tears, they live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Powerful words, words that strike fear into the heart of man. Enemies of the cross of Christ? You gotta wonder who he’s talking about.

I think of people like Hitler. Problem is, Paul isn’t speaking about Hitler. I think of those who commit such horrible crimes that to speak of them is difficult. However, Paul is not talking about those people either.

Listen, and weep this blessed Easter morning For many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Paul goes on to say Whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things.

Enemies because they LIVE IN A WAY that diminishes the redemptive values of the cross. If we believers trust in anything other than the saving work of Christ, we are guilty of living like enemies of the cross of Christ. Paul, knew that earthly things cannot save us. For him the death and resurrection was everything.

But friends, it doesn’t matter how well you adhere to this law or that law…without the saving work of Christ, His death and His resurrection you can’t be saved. Galatians 2:21 if righteousness comes by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.Fellow believers, it is us Paul is talking to… we are the ones who LIVE like the enemies of the cross of Christ. Listen to what Jesus said, When the householder has risen up and shut the door, you’ll stand outside and knock at the door, saying, Lord, open to us. He’ll answer you, I do not know where you come from. Then you’ll begin to say, We ate and drank in your presence and you taught in our streets. But he will say, I tell you, I do not know you, depart from me, all you workers of iniquity!
Jesus condemns all who ate and drank at His table, all those who sat under his teaching, because it was not an intimate relationship it was casual - all too casual.

Jesus isn’t warning wicked men here, this is aimed at us!

We are being warned to take our discipleship seriously. We are warned not to neglect co-crucifixion. That is we need to die with Christ so we can be raised with Him!

Why are we so reluctant to place the cross at the center of our lives? I Corinthians 1:18 the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but to us who are saved it is the power of God. Rejoice in the cross of Christ!

Is there a better time to get right in our thinking about the cross?
Galatians 2:20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ lives in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

"Community Good Friday Service"

Preached by Rev. Ed Brouwer at the Osoyoos Baptist Church
Good Friday - Joint Service 04/06/2007

They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. Psalms 126:5

This is the divine edict. This is more than preaching with zeal. This is more than scholarly exposition. This is more than delivering sermons of homiletical perfection.

Whether preacher or pew dweller we should be appalled at the shrinking authority of the Church in this present hour.

We should cringe with sorrow because so many are turning a deaf ear to the Gospel, willingly to risk hell in the process.

Our heart is often crushed but for the wrong reasons, (selfish). The true believer should be heartsick, and grieved at the worldliness of the Church. The true believer is grieved at the blindness of the Church, grieved at the corruption in the Church, grieved at the tolerance of sin in the Church, grieved at the prayerlessness in the Church.

The true believer is disturbed that the corporate prayer of the Church no longer pulls down the strongholds of the devil.

The true believer is embarrassed that Church folks no longer cry in their despair before a devil-ridden, sin-mad society, Why could we not cast him out? Matthew 17:19 Many of us have no heart-sickness for the former glory of the Church because we have never known what true revival is.

It should bother us that when the church asks for testimonies we hear about something God did 20 or 30 years ago. My understanding is that God is still alive and active.

Where are those who weep for revival?

Revivals like the 1751 Baptist Church Revival brought by an obscure Connecticut preacher, whose heart was stirred for salvation and soul winning under the ministry of George Whitefield.

The immediate results were astonishing for the frontier era. More than 900 baptized in the first 3 years. It is estimated that the Sandy Creek Revival directly resulted in the birthing of over 1000 Baptist churches. Where are those who’ll allow their hearts to be stirred for salvation and soul winning?

One hundred years ago, a series of boisterous revival meetings in a converted stable on Azusa Street launched a global movement that overcame differences in class, gender and race to unite around the belief that the Holy Spirit still works miracles.

Today, there are about 600 million Pentecostal and charismatic Christians whose roots are in the Azusa Street revival. They make up the fastest-growing segment of Christianity, thriving especially in the Southern Hemisphere, with their beliefs having an impact on nearly every Christian denomination.

Where are those who still believe that the Holy Spirit still works miracles.

We sleep easy at night while this generation is going to hell in a hand basket. They are being swallowed up swiftly into the eternal darkness of hell. Shame on us!

This same Jesus who we celebrate today - He, Himself wept over the lost.


He was aware how near their judgment was. We are not.

We are clueless, and ignorant. The Apostle Paul sent a tear-stained letter to the Philippian saints, writing: For many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their end is destruction, their god is the belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things. Notice that he does not say they are enemies of Christ; they are, rather, enemies of the cross of Christ.

Enemies because they deny or diminish the redemptive values of the cross. There are many like this today, even among us this Easter week-end.

As a Pentecostal I remember a day when we dwelt across the theological tracks, but the glory of the Lord was in our midst.

Regrettably sad, no rather shameful is the fact that we have no distinguishing marks on us today… we have compromised, we have become religious.

I long, how I long for a church life, that included nights of prayer, followed by signs and wonders and divers miracles.

I long for the church to freely operate in the genuine gifts of the Holy Spirit.

I am desperate for a time when we were not clock watchers, and our meetings lasted for hours, saturated with holy power!

I blush to think that our children know nothing of such power!

For many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, live as enemies of the cross of Christ.

We have just heard powerful words. Words that stand to strike fear into the heart of man.
When you hear Paul speak of the enemies of the cross of Christ…it is a very difficult thing not to try and picture who he is talking about. Enemies of the cross of Christ…it makes me think of Adolph Hitler and the Nazi party. Their treatment of the Jewish people…the death camps…. There is only one problem with that.

The Apostle Paul isn’t speaking about this type of people. He’s not railing against those who commit such heinous crimes that to speak of them is difficult. “Amazing Race” contestants stopped at Auschwitz concentration camp, where some 1.5 million people died. The contestants were so moved they wept.

They wept as I weep this morning - this blessed Easter Morning.

I weep because the enemies of the cross are not who you may think.

It ought to shock you to hear Paul say, For many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their end is destruction, their god is the belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things.The Apostle speaks of other preachers that have come to Philippi… claiming the faith of Jesus, yet teaching it is needful to adhere to Jewish purity laws in order to be saved.

Paul, was confident that earthly things cannot save us. He knew that…without the saving work of Jesus Christ suffering, dying, rising again and ascending into Heaven…we could not be saved!

Without the cross you can’t be saved.My dear friends, we are in grave danger if we fail to see Jesus Christ and His atoning work on the cross as the only means to our Salvation. If we begin to trust in ourselves or in humanity for our salvation, we become enemies of the cross of Christ.

It is possible to do this while still claiming a relationship with Jesus.

When the householder has risen up and shut the door, you will stand outside and knock at the door, saying, Lord, open to us. He’ll answer you, I do not know where you come from. Then you will begin to say, We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets. But he will say, I tell you, I do not know you, depart from me, all you workers of iniquity!

What we see in this passage is Jesus condemning those who ate and drank at the table with Him, those who sat under his teaching, but it was all to casual. The important word…the word which all of this hinges upon is the word casually.

They know of Jesus, know who He is and what He is about, but treat their relationship casually.So we begin to see what all of this is about. It is not the condemnation of wicked men…rather it is aimed at the average and ordinary person. It is aimed at us. We are being warned to place the cross of Christ at the center of our lives…we are being told to take our discipleship seriously.

We are warned not to neglect co-crucifixion. That is we need to die with Christ so we can be raised with Him! Perhaps not your typical Good Friday message … But then again is there a better day to get right in our thinking about the cross of Christ. It ought to be at the center of our lives.

I make no apology for my boldness - Why would we not want to try and be the best disciples we can be? Rejoice in the fact that we are servants of the cross. May we become more and more who we are called by God to be.

"Imitate VS Partake" II

Preached by Rev. Ed Brouwer at The Gathering Place
Pulpit Series Volume 17 Issue 12 04/01/2007

Christ and all true believers, are one. They constitute His body. They are, in the language of Adam, bone of His bone, and flesh of His flesh. Most Christians have never had so much as an inkling of what that really means. May the Holy Spirit enable us not only to understand, but to realize our oneness with Christ.

One responsibility of the Holy Spirit is to graft the believer into Christ, as a gardener would graft the branch of a tree into the main body of another. By one Spirit are you all baptized into one body I Corinthians 12:13

Paul dwells on this grafting process in Romans 11, where he speaks of the breaking off of Israel from the Root, Christ, and the grafting in of the Gentiles, to become partakers of the Root. True conversion in its deepest aspect is just that.

A grafting into Christ. We must be rooted into the very Trunk of the Eternal Godhead. We do not simply strive to imitate a Divine Leader; exceeding great and precious promises have been left to us whereby we are made partakers of the Divine Nature II Peter 1:4

The Spirit itself bears witness with our spirit, that we are children of God, heirs and joint-heirs with Christ Romans 8:17

In the Greek, the much-loved John 3:16, conveys a very different meaning from our English versions. It is not simply he that believes in Christ, but rather he that believes into Him, who shall have eternal life. Now this grafting necessitates some cutting, of course. Don’t pull away from God when this takes place. If we won’t die to the natural, how can we expect to live in the supernatural?

Paul puts it like this: If we be dead with Christ we believe that we shall also live with Him. The branch which is grafted into a tree of another species, must die to the old life. It must now depend on the roots of the new trunk. It receives a new life. Its relation with the old is severed so utterly, and so completely, that for it, the old no longer exists.

A seems that the all those who have truly lived in and for Christ have with few exceptions experienced what has been called "a second work of grace." There came a time when they longed for a fuller participation in the life of God. The facts indicate that they usually wander for some years in the wilderness of a divided affection before entering into the land of milk and honey. It is the Holy Spirit who works in the believer this conviction of the sin of a divided heart. The believer comes to realize that he is crucifying Christ afresh by his lust for pleasure, his greed for excitement, and his passion for self. He sees that though he has been rooted into Christ, yet, he has been drawing more from the old roots.

He begins to understand Romans 7. He, too, would be free. The secret cry of his heart also becomes: O wretched man that I am! who will deliver me from the body of this death?

This marks a crisis. The hour has come for a fresh revelation of Christ's redemptive work. The believer's eyes are opened to the deeper aspects of the Cross of Christ. The Cross is unveiled. He begins to see that unless Self is crucified, Christ is. It is all the work of the Holy Spirit. It is not natural for a man to turn against himself and to begin to hate that which by nature he loves.
But He can’t bring us to the place called Calvary-without our consent. We must be willing to die. Romans 6 How shall we who are dead to sin live any longer in sin? Don’t you know that as many of us who are baptized into Jesus Christ, were baptized into His death?... We are buried with Him into death... We have been planted together in the likeness of His death... our old man is crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be destroyed.... In that He (Christ ) died, He died to sin once... Likewise reckon also yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God through Jesus Christ

Oh! that the Church might catch a fresh vision of Calvary and come to appreciate the deeper aspects of the Cross! The Church, said the great French preacher, Lacordaire, was born crucified and until, like her Divine Head, she falls into the ground and dies, she abides alone, the life-giving streams cannot break forth from her bosom.

Oh that Christians might be brought down into the grave, and then brought up in resurrection power! Be clear about one thing: Christ does not come into our lives to patch up the "old man."
This is where too many Christians get "hung up." They think it was Christ's mission "to make them better." There is absolutely no Biblical ground for any such idea.

Jesus has no intention of pouring His new wine into old wine-skins. He said that unless we renounce ourselves utterly, we cannot be His disciple. Christ does not come to simply straighten out the "old life." He never promised to just make us better. We must die and be born again. Christ takes us down into the grave, the "old life" is utterly terminated, then he partakes of His resurrection.

Christ our Lord imparts to us an entirely "new life." Christ the Vine, we the branches. He is the Head, we form the body. Paul again and again points to co-crucifixion. We shall live with Christ, if we die wiith Him. We shall be with Him in the likeness of His resurrection, if we have been planted together in the likeness of His death. We shall reign with Him, if we suffer with Him."

The Cross kills. The one who goes to Calvary soon discovers that a hidden fire burns within his bones. The old "self-life," so resentful, so fussy, so greedy, and so touchy, so haughty and so vain, can no more resist the impact of Calvary, than some frail break the onrush of a great tidal wave.

The Lord’s crucifixion was not mere dying. Rocks exploded, the earth quaked when in that hour of triumph the Son of Man cried out with "a loud voice", "It is finished." His final cry shook the world When the centurion saw that so He cried out, Truly this Man was the Son of God. Mark 15:39

The "old life" brought under the dynamic of the Cross, is doomed to die. Resurrection life takes its place. Little wonder the Apostle cried out God forbid that I should glory save in the Cross of the Lord Jesus Christ, by whom I am crucified to the world, and the world to me. We preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block, and to them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God.

"Imitate VS Partake"

Preached by Rev. Ed Brouwer at The Gathering Place
Pulpit Series Volume 17 Issue 11 03/25/2007

I have been for 34 years a missionary of the Cross, and have no thought of deserting the ranks. I have great faith in God and I believe that we as His children are just moments away from great victory.

My purpose this morning is to call attention to our failures as Christians, in order to point the way to victorious life in Christ.

We are to hunger and thirst after righteousness Matthew 5:6 I believe that although most of us really do long to faithfully reflect our Master' image, we fall very, very short. Before your defense lawyer jumps up with your objections listen to the following verses:

We are to walk as Jesus walked I John 2:6
We are to love our enemies Matthew 5. 44
We are to forgive as Jesus forgave. Colossians 3:13
We are to be aggressively kind towards those who hate us, we are actually to pray for those who despitefully use us Matthew 5:44
We are to be victors, more than conquerors Romans 8:37
We are to give thanks in all things believing that all things, even those which blast our fondest hopes, work together for our good Romans 8:28; Ephesians 5:20
We are to be careful for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving to let our requests be made known to God, so that the peace of God which passes all understanding may guard our hearts and minds Philippians 4:6
We are to rejoice in the Lord always Philippians 4:4
We are to think on whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report..... Philippians 4:8
We are to be holy, for God is holy I Peter 1:16
Rivers of living waters are flow from our innermost being John 7:38
We are to stand out in bold, unmistakable contrast from the crooked, perverse world, blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, shining as lights Philippians 2:15
We are positively to hate ourselves not to pamper, nor to caress, nor to seek, nor to love ourselves, but literally to hate and to renounce our own selves, daily Matthew 16:24
We are to renounce ourselves utterly and absolutely in all things, and at all times Luke 14:26
our affections are to be set on things above Colossians 3:1

Enough, already dare we go further. It would only increase Our shame, and our pain.

We are not What Christ would have us to be.
If the scriptures I just read are a measure of the Christian life, if they form the basis upon which we are to be judged, if this is what God requires of us, like Isaiah we cry: "Woe is me, for I am undone."

Why doesn’t Jesus, so tender, so understanding, so loving and wise, not make requirements more in keeping with our human nature? Why does He seem to be so unreasonable?
He demands we soar, yet we have no wings.

Why does Jesus go so far beyond the merely natural?
It is not natural to love our enemies; it is not natural to rejoice always; it is not natural to be thankful for the things that hurt; it is not natural to hate ourselves; it is not natural to walk as Jesus walked….. Honestly folks this is a dilemma!

Romans 7 talks of this The good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do... I delight in the law of God after the inward man: but, I see another law in my members warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. Oh wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death?
Paul struggles. He agonizes. He weeps. He strives all to no avail. Now Paul doesn’t go into smoke and mirrors mode, he states very plainly that in himself (that is, in his flesh, he can find no good thing.

Yes, he loved Jesus. Yes he was a soldier of the Cross. Yes, he was a consecrated Christian. It was just that he now saw himself in a new light, the blinding light of the Cross.

What before would have been excusable, now overwhelms him. Innocent little things, harmless attitudes, insignificant little sins which before would pass unnoticed, now break his heart.
They are repulsive. They are unbearable. They seem to burn with the fire of hell. They sting like the bite of a scorpion. They stink like a rotting carcass.

Paul wants to be like Jesus.

It is no longer a question of mere ethics.

It is no longer a question of right or wrong.

Is it Christ-like? That is the burning question.

Paul wants to be free. Self-love even in its secret forms, its harmless gestures, nauseates him. He would be like Jesus.

I am going to take a chance and speak plainly to you:

We are not what Christ would have us to be; sin is still rampant in our lives; we are not free from envy, pride, self-love, and lust of pleasure; the mountain of secret selfishness still crushes us and in spite of all our efforts remains immovable; there is so little joy, so little freedom of spirit, we agonize, and struggle,-but failure dogs our footsteps.

So what is the problem? I believe it is that we are attempting to do what the Savior Himself never expected us to do. We are trying to live a Christian lifestyle, rather than allowing Him to live through us! The Christian life is not Imitation, it is Participation.

For we are made partakers of Christ Hebrews 3:14

II Peter 1:3-4 According as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that has called us to glory and virtue: Whereby are given to us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these you might be partakers of the divine nature...

Not! "... that by these ye might undertake the divine nature!
UNDERTAKE: to take upon oneself, agree or attempt to do..

"... that by these ye might imitate the divine nature!
IMITATE: to behave or attempt to behave in the same way as; to mimic or impersonate, to have or take on the appearance of

“... that by these ye might be a spectator of the divine nature!
SPECTATOR: One who veiws a show or game, an on looker

It says that we are to be Partakers of the divine nature!
To PARTAKE means: to take part ,have a share in, to recieve

What is impossible to me as an imitator of Christ, is perfectly natural as a participant of Christ.
Friends our Christian walk is not to be like straining over a role like some actor agonizing over poorly learned lines .

The Christian life is possible only when we become partakers of Christ Hebrews 3:14

Exceeding great and precious promises are given us, that by these we might be partakers of the Divine Nature II Peter 1:4

This Jesus whom you serve has by His divine power given you all things that pertain to life and godliness. It is His disire that you be partakers of His very own divine nature!

In Jesus and by Jesus Spiritual reality can be experienced!
You dare not settle for anything less.

Next week we will attempt to show you the way this is done!
In the mean time ask God to show you the way!

"The Family Of God"

Preached by Rev. Ed Brouwer at The Gathering Place, Osoyoos Christian Centre
Pulpit Series Volume 17 Issue 10 03/18/2007

I’m so glad that I am in the family of God! Rudyard Kipling wrote about families, "all of us are we--and everyone else is they."

A family shares things like dreams, hopes, possessions, memories, smiles, frowns, and gladness...A family is a clan held together with the glue of love and the cement of mutual respect. A family is shelter from the storm, a friendly port when the waves of life become too wild. No person is ever alone who is a member of a family.

It is very important you realize that EVERY BELIEVER at the time of their re-birth becomes a vital member of the church - the body of Christ.

According to I Corithians 12:18 we have been “placed in His body where it pleases God the most.”

I Corinthians 12:12-28 “For as the body is one, yet has many parts and all the parts of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ…. For the body is not one member, but many. If the foot says, Because I am not the hand, I am not part of the body; is it therefore not part of the body? And if the ear says, Because I am not the eye, I am not part of the body; is it therefore not part of the body? If the whole body were an eye, how could it hear? …. We are many parts members), yet one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, I don’t need you: nor can the head say to the feet, I have no need of you... there should be no schism in the body; but all the members should have the same care one for another. When one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; or when one member is honored, all the members rejoice. Now you are the body of Christ, and members in particular.”

Too many are actually unsure of their place in the body. Worse yet, some folk resent their God given place in the body.

To prove his love for her, he swam the deepest river, crossed the widest desert and climbed the highest mountain. She divorced him. He was never home.
The body of Christ and the church are one and the same. Ephesians 1:22-23 refers to Jesus being the head of the church, which is His body....

I Corinthians 12:7-26 “But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every person to profit all. To one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge; To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit; To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another different kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues: But all these are directed and used by that same Spirit, dividing to every person as He wills.”

Having a poor attitude regarding your place in the body can and does hinder the proper function of the body.

Paul in his twisted sense of humor describes the foot denying its place in the body because it is not a hand. The lesson is obvious.... the foot lacking the visibility, creativity and dignity of the hand gets filled with insecurity.

Unfortunately, many saints tend to be insecure.

We need to be careful not to depreciate our role in the body. We of course know the foot is a very important member, but if the foot doesn’t believe that, insecurity weakens the body.

Paul pictures the eye proudly rejecting the hand saying “I have no need of you”. But Romans 12:5 says we are all individual members of one another. Each part is important to the next. When one hurts they all hurt!

Matthew 25:15....He gave gifts to every man according to their personal ability We were born with natural interests and abilities.

Some are musically inclined, some mathematically gifted, some love working with their hands, others with children or seniors, some are mechanically inclined.

These natural abilities are not given by chance. According to Ephesians 2:10 we are specifically designed for God’s purposes..... we are his workmanship. And again in Matthew 25:15.… gifts given to our ability.

Our natural abilities are energized by the Holy Spirit, becoming gifts to the body of Christ. Romans 12:6 Having gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them.

Jesus said in John 15:5 I am the vine, you are the branches: He that abides in Me, and I in him, the same brings forth much fruit: for without Me you can do nothing.

The body of Christ - the church consists of many members, each with gifts and talents that have been given by God.

It is important that you:
1. RELATE TO YOUR GIFT REALISTICALLY:
Romans 12:3 ..do not think more highly of yourself than you ought, but think soberly as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.

2. Remember the source of Your abilities:
I Corinthians 4:7 Who makes you to differ from another? and what have you that you didn’t receive?

3. REALIZE YOUR GIFT CAN INCREASE: God will reward faithfulness and diligence. In the parable of talents those who invested wisely received more.

4. REMEMBER GIFTS ARE FOR SERVING!
Luke 22:27 I am among you as He that serves. Our gifts and callings are for the purposes of serving others and building up the body of Christ.
God hasn’t called you to be something you are not!
He has made you perfectly suited for the practical ministry he has called you to.

In order to help you find your place in the body here are few tips:

Submit yourself to God’s calling. We must be willing to accept whatever place or function He has for us.

Warning! Don’t compare your place with that of others. Be the best you, you can be! Then help others to be their best!

Give God time: Many Christians run ahead of God. Although you may receive a calling early in your walk it may well be some time before it is fully manifested!

Get involved: Once a basic foundation is laid in your life, you should get involved. All saints can pray, witness, or help some area of the local work. Trying your hand at helping in various areas can often reveal the areas of gifting in your life.

Consider your abilities and desires: We should honestly evaluate our talents and abilities to realistically determine what we are qualified for. If you are tone deaf it may not be the best choice to lead the song service, no matter your desire.

Further training and Preparation: Having discovered your place of function / calling you must diligently prepare yourself.

Be willing to sacrifice: There is always a cost involved!

As we the individual members of His body find and accept our place within His body this world will see a greater and a deeper revelation of Jesus!

"Heaven?"

Preached by Rev. Ed Brouwer at The Gathering Place
Pulpit Series Volume 17 Issue 8 03/11/2007

Friends, there is a glorious dwelling place provided by Christ for all those who believe and trust in Him. This world is not their resting place: they are pilgrims and strangers in it. Heaven is their home…. They like the hymn writer so wonderfully proclaims, have a mansion just over the hillside!

In our Father's house are many mansions John 14:2
God provides a heavenly home in heaven for all who by faith have run to Christ. In Father's house are many mansions… It’ll bless God if heaven were to be very, very full.

By rights this shouldn’t be a long message because I can only tell you a little bit about heaven…. Who here on this earth can explain the full nature of the glorious inheritance of the saints?

Who can describe the glory which is yet to be revealed? Words fail, language falls short. Mind cannot conceive fully, and tongue cannot express perfectly, the things which have been prepared for the sons and daughters of God Almighty.

John said, I John 3:1-2 Behold, what manner of love the Father has bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knows us not, because it knew him not. Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it does not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.

The Bible only reveals a very little about our future home. We get but a small glimpse, just a peek under the veil. How could it be any more? We’re not able to understand much more than that. We are yet too earthly.

We get more of idea about what won’t be in heaven, than what will be. There will be no more night and no more curse. Death will be cast into the lake of fire, and all tears shall be wiped away, never again will we hear, "I’m not feeling well!"

No corruption! No taxes! No fading! No withering! No devil!
No curse of sin! No sorrow! No tears! No sickness! No death!

Praised God Almighty, no more disagreements, no more misunderstandings among believers. I’m sure we’ll blush to find how childish and blind we’ve been here on earth

Christ gave Himself for the Church, that He might present it to Himself a glorious Church, not having spot or wrinkle, or any such thing Ephesians 5:27

Think about it… an eternal good-bye to sin!

Do you long for a world in which you don’t need to be always watching and warring? We’ll have it perfectly in glory.

There remains a rest for the people of God Hebrews 4:9
The daily, hourly conflict with the world, the flesh, and the devil, will all come to an end: the enemy shall be bound; the warfare shall be over; the wicked one will trouble us no more. the weary will be at rest. There will be a great calm.

Are you burdened by a feeble body?
Is your spirit willing, but often hampered by poor weak flesh?

We shall no longer have to mourn over cracks in all our earthen vessels.

Jude 24 Now to him that is able to keep you from falling and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with great joy

Praise God, we’ll see all the saints we have read about in the Bible. Those in whose steps we have tried to walk. We shall see the apostles, prophets, patriarchs martyrs, reformers, missionaries and ministers, of whom the world was not worthy.

We’ll see the faces of those we’ve known and loved in Christ on earth. We’ll see them more bright and glorious than they ever were.

Best of all we’ll see them without hurry and anxiety, and without feeling that we have only met to part again.

In glory there is no death, no parting, no farewell!
I Corinthians 15:55 O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?
I Thessalonians 4:17 We shall ever be with the Lord

Our eyes will see the hands and feet which were pierced with nails, and that head which was crowned with thorns. Where He is, there will the sons of God be.

Friends we are dying in a dying world; all that is before us is yet unseen: the world to come is to us mostly unknown! But Christ is there and that is enough.

If there is rest and peace in following Jesus here on earth, there’ll be far more rest / peace when you see Him face to face.

If you have found it good to follow the pillar of cloud and the fire in the wilderness, how much better to sit down with Christ in the promised land.

If you are not yet among the heirs of glory, I feel sorry for you. You are missing so much! Oh, that you would hear Him call out your name - run to Him and get your life in order.
Mark 9:44 their worm doesn’t die and the fire is not quenched.

If you are an heir of glory, you should rejoice. For you can bear your cross without murmuring: your light affliction is but for a moment!

The sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared to the glory which is soon to be revealed.

As a believer you shouldn’t be cast down by your circumstances: the eternal part of you is safe! You can look calmly on death: it simply opens a door between you and your inheritance.

You don’t have to sorrow excessively over the things of the world, over partings and bereavements,- over losses and crosses: the day of gathering is before you; your treasure is beyond reach of harm. Matthew 6:20 lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust does corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal..

Friends glory in, hope in, rejoice in your inheritance. If you are a child of God: Heaven will be your possession. Luke 10:20 rejoice, because your names are written in heaven.

Revelation 20:12,15 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works…. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

Revelation 21:1-4 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away….

Revelation 22:3-5 And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him: And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads. And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God gives them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever.

I Peter 1:3-9 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy has begotten us again to a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, To an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled that fades not away, reserved in heaven for you, Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. Wherein greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, you are in heaviness through manifold temptations: That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perishes, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ: Whom having not seen, you love; in whom, though now you see him not, yet believing, you rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory: Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.

II Timothy 1:12 I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.

Matthew 24:36-38 But of that day and hour knows no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be….Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord will come.

James 5:7-8 Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. establish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draws nigh.

"Radical Commitment"

Preached by Rev. Ed Brouwer at The Gathering Place
Pulpit Series Volume 17 Issue 7 03/04/2007

Radical Commitment: Radical means: One who carries his theories or convictions to their furthest application.

God makes an incredible observation regarding man in Genesis 11:6 And the LORD said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do.

We know that it was at that time that God confused their languages, causing the people to scatter and relocate in other parts of the then known world. However, let’s look at this verse 6 one more time... the people is one, and they have all one language; now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do. I believe it is now the appropriate time for us to be ONE; speaking the same language (that of grace and mercy and love) speaking the same thing!

Consider that when you hear these words from John 17:21 That they all may be one; as You, Father, are in me, and I in You, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that You have sent me And the glory which You gave me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and You in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that You have sent me, and have loved them, as You have loved me.

Consider also Acts 2:44 And all that believed were together, and had all things common; According to the Apostle Paul, God’s plan for human living is the exact opposite of an isolated self-sufficiency. The church according to Paul is one spiritual body of interdependent members.

I Corinthians 12:21 the eye cannot say to the hand, I have no need of you: nor the head to the feet, I have no need of you. Paul insists every member of the body needs every other member.

John Wesley says the New Testament knows nothing of the solitary Christian. I believe he’s right! The New Testament is personal, but NOT INDIVIDUALISTIC!

The New Testament Church is a fellowship of caring and sharing - a community of believers - disciples of the the Lord Jesus Christ interacting with one another in one cause and purpose.

Christianity in it’s true form teaches that we need one another, as much as the hand needs the eye and the heads needs the feet. All of us need our brothers and sisters if we are going to develop into the productive disciples.

Psalms 84:4 Blessed are they that dwell in your house:
Psalms 84:10 I’d rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness.

Throughout the Word we see that God’s redeemed people joined together regularly with their brothers and sisters. This was a regular habit - as routine as eating and sleeping.

Participation in worship and fellowship was not something like a second cup of coffee after diner. It is not something to take or leave! Look even at our Lord’s life pattern - Luke 4:16 And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the Sabbath

Worship was our Saviour's custom, His habit. He shared regularly in the fellowship of God’s house with God’s people.

Look also at the early church: Acts 2:42, 46 they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship and in breaking of bread and prayers. They, continued daily with one accord in the temple and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart.

A daily fellowship that produced gladness and generosity a fellowship that stimulated spiritual growth.

Just in case you think I’m making this up - I’ll read the immediate verses following the two I just read you - I read Acts 2:42 now listen to 43: And fear came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles. I read you 46 now listen to 47: And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.

So what should our regular practice be? We have an unmistakable directive in the book of Hebrews. Hebrews 10:25 Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more as you see the day approaching.

We dare not be careless about our fellowshipping with one another. We must actively and consistently participate in the body life! Fellowship is God’s way - His appointed means of stimulating growth in grace and ONENESS in the body of Christ!

There is something significant and interesting about Paul’s list of qualities in Galatians 5:22-23 the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: Did you see it as I read it? Let me read it again.

These personality traits can be developed only through relationship and interaction with one another. They cannot be developed by hermits or self sufficient individuals.

What is love? Very simply stated love is caring for somebody else as much as I care for myself. How then can I expect to produce this characteristic if I isolate my life from others?

What is joy? Joy is love rejoicing, but love cannot truly rejoice without other people. Selfishness can no doubt rejoice alone: love, however cannot truly rejoice unless the rejoicing is shared.

Peace? Peace is love manifesting quiet tranquillity, cultivating that same spirit among people.
Patience? Patience is love tolerating frustration / refusing to become frustrated with others.
Kindness? Kindness is love exercising compassion and forgiveness toward others.
Goodness? Goodness is love being Christlike in showing grace and mercy towards others.
Faithfulness? Faithfulness is love keeping its promises and commitments made to others.
Gentleness? Gentleness is love refusing to be harsh and demanding toward others.
Self-control? Self control is love voluntarily putting the brakes on its own feelings and actions.

All of these Christ like characteristics are dependent upon the soil of relationship.

If we want to be fruitful we must make it our practice to join with our brothers and sisters in fellowship in worship and study. BOTTOM LINE - WE NEED EACH OTHER!

Again and again the New Testament INSTRUCTS us how to INTERACT with ONE ANOTHER: We are told…
that we ought to be kind to one another!
Romans 12:10 Be kindly affectioned one to another
that we ought to honour one another!
Romans 12:10 in honour preferring one another;
that we ought to teach and admonish one another!
Colossians 3:16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms, hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. that we ought to serve one another!
Galatians 5:13 by love serve one another. that we ought to bear one another’s burdens!
Galatians 6:2 Bear ye one another's burdens that we ought to tolerate one another!
Ephesians 4:2 forbearing one another in love;
that we ought to be tender hearted / forgiving one another!
Ephesians 4:32 be kind one to another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, even as God has forgiven you.
that we ought to comfort one another!
I Thessalonians 4:18 comfort one another with these words.

Those statements add up to RADICAL COMMITMENT.
By faithfully pursuing this type of RADICAL COMMITMENT to one another we grow into oneness with Christ. And when we are one in Christ nothing will be impossible for God to do through us!

Call to ministry - Mutual ministry!
Being kind to one another!
Giving honour to one another!
Teaching and admonishing one another!
Serving one another!
Bearing one another’s burdens!
Tolerating one another!
Showing tenderness and forgiveness to one another!
Comforting one another!

"Facing The Future"

Preached by Rev. Ed Brouwer at The Gathering Place
Pulpit Series Volume 17 Issue 6 02/25/2007

The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want Psalm 23:1

Let me ask you… Would you like to learn the secret to facing your untried to-morrows with calm confidence and hope?

Our text this morning is probably the most familiar passage in the literature of the world. More of you can quote it from memory than any other single passage in God's Word. If this Psalm could write its own biography, what a thrilling story it would have to tell! There is not an ocean it hasn’t crossed, no country it hasn’t visited, no road it hasn’t traveled.

These are the words of a man who has lived much and thought much, who has greatly sinned and has been greatly forgiven. The writer knows that has been lovingly sought out and redeemed! Isaiah 62:12 redeemed, Sought out

No matter what - in all his wanderings he was able to proclaim, The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want.

What an amazing discovery! Look at! He dares to claim God as his very own. He doesn’t say that the Lord is a Shepherd.

Having dared to claim God as his own, the writer’s next words are the most logical ever uttered.
It is the very epitome of common sense. If the Lord is my Shepherd, "I shall not want." This to him this was as natural as night following day!

We’ve all heard the expression, “money talks”, and perhaps that is true to some degree; but, in the presence of the deep wants of the heart, money is as useful as a screen door on a submarine.

What are some of the wants that our Good Shepherd supplies?

If the Lord is our Shepherd, we shall not want for rest and refreshment. He is our satisfaction for the hungers and thirsts of our souls. "He makes me to lie down in green pastures." The sheep lie down because their hunger has been satisfied. They feel secure.
He that comes to me shall never hunger; and he that believes on me shall never thirst.
John 6:35

Come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke on you and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and you shall find rest for your souls. Matthew 11:29

With the Lord as our Shepherd, we shall not want for leadership and guidance. He leads me beside still waters. This means he goes before us into our unknown tomorrow.

After the old geographers had mapped the known world, they wrote on the seas that lay beyond the confines of the known such words as these: "Here be dragons. Here be demons that devour men." But the author of the 23rd Psalm had a sure confidence. He believed that it was not dragons and demons that were waiting for us, but that God was there.

If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; even there shall your hand lead me and your right hand shall hold me. Psalm 139:9

Whatever lies beyond today, we may be sure of this, that God is there. He goes before.
Not only does the Good Shepherd go before us, he gives us righteous guidance. He leads me in the paths of righteousness. We are in desperate need of such guidance!

How often we stand at the forks of the road not knowing which way to turn! When He, the Spirit of Truth is come, He will guide you. John 16:13

He restores my soul. This word restore has two possible meanings. It means to bring back to health and strength one who is sick. Then to restore means to seek that which is lost and to bring it back to the fold. For sure the writer here is speaking out of his own experience.

This year that is ahead need not be simply just another year. It can be a new year, new because we ourselves have become new. I know that to some this sounds like a lot of double talk, but some of you have given up hope of ever being anything different from what you are right now.
I am not saying that you are satisfied with the lean, drab lives that you are living, rather that you unfortunately see little chance of ever changing for the better.

A new year usually brings about the making of resolution after resolution, but never changing.
Resolves and re-resolves then we die the same. But here is one who stands in a world grown old and gray and shouts, Old things are passed away; behold they are become new. II Corinthians 5:17

With the Lord as our Shepherd we will not want for companionship and comfort in sorrow.
The Good Shepherd leads us in green pastures and beside the still waters. But sometimes the road changes suddenly from green pastures to wild rugged mountains. However, our Shepherd does not, nor will He ever forsake us in those dark and desperate hours. In fact in those dark shadows He draws closer to us. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for You are with me….

He not only walks with us in the darkness, He brings us through it. The Good Shepherd will not leave us in the dark valley. Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning. Psalm 30:5

Thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. O’ man, O’ man, if we would just get this. The rod is a marking rod, signifying that we are branded as being the Lord’s. This speaks of coming under the rod and into covenant with God.

Finally, with the Lord as our Shepherd, we shall not want for a home at the end of the journey.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.

Now give yourself a shake and come to know that Jesus does not love us and lead us all through our pilgrimage here on earth only to forsake us in the end! There is a heaven to gain!

Jesus is with me as the storm clouds gather,

He stands by my side when I hear the thunder roll,

He holds my hand when I begin to tremble, when the winds of this are blow’n strong.

Jesus holds our hand when the greedy and muddy ditch that we call the grave reaches out its icy fingers! I for one refuse to believe that He who saved us is not able to keep us! I am confident, more than confident that when the shadows gather, Jesus being the Good Shepherd that He is, is going to lead us home; that where He is, we may be also. Somebody say Amen!

"Almost Fainted"

Preached by Rev. Ed Brouwer at The Gathering Place
Pulpit Series Volume 17 Issue 5 02/18/2007

I had fainted, unless I had believed. Psalm 27: 13

Fainting: a sudden (generally momentary) loss of consciousness, or blacking out..

This guy’s knees had gone weak, his world had grown black about him… he had been at the point of fainting. Perhaps more than once! However, there was one thing he hung onto, one thing he leaned on, and that one thing was his belief. His faith.

Have you ever fainted? I have. The moment before I fainted I was, to all appearances, an eager and interested best man. I was supporting my friend Jake in his wedding, here I was making a gesture of support. But as soon as I fainted all that was over. By my fainting, I not only ceased to be an asset, I became a liability.

For every one who faints physically there are thousands who faint spiritually. Once they could be counted on to be in their places at every service. But that has passed. The fires of their enthusiasm have gone out. They’ve lost interest. Now no longer a help they become a hindrance.

They’ve fainted - no longer participating - adding nothing.

Had you and I been present when that famous race between the hare and the tortoise was run, who of us would have staked anything on the slow-footed tortoise? But it was he that won, not because of his fleetness of foot, but because of his staying powers.

Much of Thomas Edison's success is no doubt due to his keenness of intellect, but to his ability to hang on to his dream with Bulldog tenacity, until his dream became a reality.

Friends, we need “Bulldog Tenacity”.

If lack of opportunity and lack of ability have slain thousands, fainting has slain its tens of thousands. I pray that one day we will have the same quality of belief that was found in Abraham. This man never gave up, he never once believed that God was going to let him down. He staggered not at the promises Romans 4:20

And refusing to faint, he at last realized his dream.

God sometimes allows us to enter into discouraging situations for the primary purpose of testing our faith. At such times we must refuse to give up in despair. Like Jonah in the belly of the great fish, we must turn to the Lord when our soul is fainting within us, trusting Him completely.

What can you do when you are about to faint physically?
Nothing! Nada! You can’t do anything!

In your weakness you just fall upon the shoulders of some strong loved one, lean hard, resting until your strength returns. The same is true when you are tempted to faint under adversity. The Lord’s message to us is Be still, and know that I am God? Psalm 46:10

Some of the causes of fainting:
A bad atmosphere. This causes us to faint physically. Even more often it causes us to faint spiritually. In fact, I doubt if we have ever rightly estimated the power for good or evil of a right or wrong atmosphere.

There are atmospheres created by the individual and by the group that give hope and help.
Peter created such an atmosphere, according to The Acts, that his very shadow had healing in it Acts 5:15

There are also churches like that. The people are friendly, reverent, and worshipful. They seem possessed of good tidings. To enter such a service is to be made to say: Surely God is in this place Genesis 28:16

To be a part of such a congregation is to be enriched. The Gathering Place has members in it who by their prayers and sympathy lifted me on eagle wings. But there are churches whose congregation create an atmosphere that chills like an east wind, biting like a killing frost.

I’ve left there feeling as if I never wanted to preach again.

Beware of negative atmosphere…
· After Fred Astaire’s first screen test, a 1933 memo from the MGM testing director said: “Can’t act. Slightly bald. Can dance a little.” Astaire kept that memo over the fireplace in his Beverly Hills home.
· An expert said of famous football coach Vince Lombardi: “He possesses minimal football knowledge. Lacks motivation.”
· Louisa May Alcott, the author of Little Women, was advised by her family to find work as a servant or seamstress.
· Beethoven handled the violin awkwardly and preferred playing his own compositions instead of improving his technique. His teacher called him hopeless as a composer.
· Walt Disney was fired by a newspaper for lacking ideas. He also went bankrupt several times before he built Disneyland.

We faint from weakness. Sometimes our weakness is natural. Sometimes it is the result of utter weariness.

There is a weakness born of hunger. Many saints have fainted for this same reason. They have forgotten that their spiritual needs are just as pressing as the physical.
It was the realization of this that enabled Mr. Stedfast to win where so many others have failed. His Word, he declares, did I use to gather as an antidote against my fainting Pilgrim's Progress
Others, faint from chastisement. The writer of the Hebrews was facing this fact when he said, My son, despise not the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when you are rebuked of him Hebrews 12:5

Others faint because of discouragement. (I believe this to be #1)
A number of years ago during a “Smoke House” evolution I was instruction for the fire department, we had several incidents of fainting. One fellow in a state of confusion and panic (although in a safe environment) ripped his protective mask from his face. He was literally inches from the door that led to safety. Had it been a real fire, he would of died. Fear overtook him. He fainted, in part, from loss of hope.

Another fellow in the same type of scenario found himself in a corner and simply gave up… curling up into a fetal position he stopped trying to find the way out …. discouragement overcame him. He fainted, in part, from loss of hope.

There is the number one reason multitudes who undertake the Christian life fail. They struggle and struggle, till at last they allow themselves to become convinced that they are failures. They become discouraged and faint. However, in spite of all the temptations to faint the writer of our text today somehow managed to stand firm. I had fainted, he tells us plainly, unless I had believed. In the face of difficulty he kept believing.
What, did he believe?
He believed in the Church. Psalm 27:4-5 One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD and to inquire in his temple. For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me up upon a rock.

In the strength born of this vision, he was able to walk and not be weary, to run and not faint Isaiah 40:31

He believed in prayer. He declares with quiet confidence. Wait on the Lord; be of good courage and he shall strengthen your heart; wait, I say, on the Lord Psalm 27:14
Jesus said, that men ought always to pray and not to faint Luke 18:1
He believed that God was able to see him through.
Daniel 3:17-18 our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace. But if not, know this, O king, we will not serve your gods…

He believed in the final triumph of righteousness.

There is nothing more weakening than the belief that we are fighting for a losing cause. The Apostle Paul tries to strengthen us when he says: let us not be weary in well doing, for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. Galatians 6:9

"Good Trouble"

Preached by Rev. Ed Brouwer at The Gathering Place
Pulpit Series Volume 17 Issue 4 02/11/2007

It is good for me to have been in trouble. Psalm 119:71

The writer is looking back over his past, his yesterdays. It certainly hasn’t been a picnic - it hasn’t all been through green pastures and beside still waters. Oh no there were dark canyons and rough mountains. More than one storm, cold winds and rain, lots of rain.

The few treasures he had clung on to, were ripped from his hands. His face had been moistened by hot and blinding tears. But as he looks back on those stressful days he is aware of the fact that they didn’t end as disastrously as he thought they would’ve when he was passing through them. In fact, he sees with amazement, that those bad days brought no lasting harm at all. The very trouble, he thought was going to be his undoing has been the making of him.

His losses became gains, his troubles converted into capital. It is good for me to have been in trouble, he humbly cries. We are a lot like the writer in that we have had our troubles.
We, too, have been through trying conflicts... some of us still carry the scars. At times our eyes too, were blinded by tears. We’re not exactly sure what type of trouble he faced, but we are sure his life had not been without its tragic experiences.

Neither has yours or mine. It hasn’t been all sunshine, but thank God it hasn’t all been dark shadows.

Have you ever had your bright skies suddenly grow dark.

Have you discovered the light at the end of the tunnel to be the train.

We may sail for many days on smooth seas. Then suddenly without warning the storm is on us.

My dad was an avid sailor, and he can attest to this fact …

Smooth seas never make a successful sailor.

None of us have been dealt the same hand, some seem to have it much easier than others. But to all of us, sooner or later, comes the joker - gray days of bewilderment and trouble.

James states that all of us will have trials. Considering this, we better know how to deal with these seemingly unavoidable calamities.

From what I’ve discovered there are 3 attitudes toward our troubles:
Attitude of surrender. Those who give up at the very first wound they receive. Those who merrily walk along until some cruel fate trips them up and they fall flat. Instead of getting back up, they lie there whining and boo whoing. They become spiritual invalids.

I’ve watched people become so engrossed in their pain due to family troubles, they forget that the rest of the family is suffering too. They end up alone, shutting themselves up with their sorrow, surrendering unconditionally to the misery of their life.

The same tragic blunder was made by Miss Havisham in Great Expectations (Charles Dickens). She was to be married... The guests were gathered. The wedding feast was being prepared. The wedding cake was on the table. The bride was decked in her bridal costume. But the bridegroom never came. Therefore her watch and every clock in the house was stopped at 20 to 9 the hour of her humiliation, the hour of her first great sorrow.

All sunlight was shut out of her home. She lived in the dark except for the light of candles. Her wedding cake stood on the table till the cobwebs wrapped around it, eventually becoming the home of spiders and mice. Her once white wedding gown hung in yellow decay about her shrunken figure. For her all life had stopped at the hour of her tragic disappointment, 20 to 9. She, met her sorrow with unconditional surrender.

Secondly, we allow our troubles to make us hard / cynical. Just another way of surrender. These people become rocklike in their nature. Great loss when you lose the ability to sorrow in a healthy manner.

Unhealthy sorrow only servers to embitter.

Healthy sorrow tenderizes us, allowing us to be sympathetic.

There is a great loss when we allow our suffering to make us hard hearted, bitter and cruel.

Lastly there is the group that refuses to surrender to sorrow.
Refusing to quit, refusing to becoming calloused and hard, they instead, make profit out of calamities and change losses into gain. It is in this group you find great worth. People with this attitude are those who have been to school in Gethsemane, their very want has become wealth.

Capitalizing on our calamities is one of the finest of all fine arts.

How valuable it is to learn the art of changing our crosses into crowns. The Apostle Paul had a burning passion to preach the gospel in Rome. But, he was thrown into jail, where he remained for a long time. It looked as if his dream had come to nothing. However, after some time we find him writing a letter from a prison cell in Rome. In this letter we read this….I would have you know that the things which happened to me have fallen out rather to the furtherance of the gospel. Philippians 1:12

That is, the very things that seemed to block his progress became the vehicle for him to see his dreams fulfilled.

So often did Paul find his losses changed to gain that, he reached this conclusion: We know that all things work together for good to them that love God. Romans 8:28

In order for us to capitalize on our troubles we must recognize that not every sorrow is in accordance with the will of God. Many things we suffer are simply our own doing.

Why doesn’t God prevent them? Simply because he can’t.

Face it - if you’re bent on doing wrong God cannot prevent it.

Because we so often fail to recognize this, we blame God for our suffering. We may have been hurt by some member of the Church, or by some minister of the gospel. But think about how much those actions hurt God, you really can’t blame God for wrongs that hurt Him more than they hurt us!

It would also do us good to understand that while God cannot prevent much of the evil we suffer, if we remain true, He will bring us through with honor. He will if we allow Him, make us the richer for our losses.

You meant it for evil, said Joseph, speaking of the awful wrong he had suffered; but God meant it to good. Genesis 50:20

Think about it, Our own rebellion is often what defeats us. In Joseph’s case he refused to rebel. His path of pain actually became a roadway to spiritual growth and wealth. I believe this same result can be yours and mine, if, in spite of our trouble filled pathway, we walk it in fellowship with Christ. What a wonderful Savior we have! What an awesome gospel we have responded to!

There is absolutely nothing that will destroy us as long as we live in the circle of His will.

With the storms of life beating on our faces, disease preying on our bodies, the thief ripping treasures from our fingers, we can still be undismayed. We can shout with Paul, We know that all things work together for good to them that love God.

I know there are times when we can’t possibly understand how this can be true. But if in spite of our difficulties we hold fast in faith, then one day we too, shall be able to sing, It is good for me to have been in trouble.

See, I have refined you, though not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction Isaiah 48:10

"Joy Will Come"

Preached by Rev. Ed Brouwer at The Gathering Place,

Pulpit Series Volume 17 Issue 3 02/07/2007

Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning. Psalm 30:5

WHAT a wonderfully encouraging portion of scripture! Of course you must believe that this is more than nice poetry. There will always be those who boo who it. There may be some who because of their hard life do not believe this verse.

Do you hear the faith of this psalmist?

He is daring to tell us that in this world of change and decay, in this world where our hearts are so often broken and our faces so often wet with tears, that joy may be a more abiding guest than sorrow.
He doesn’t promise exemption from sorrow. Rather, he says that weeping may come and spend the night, but it need not stay the week-end. Tears may come, but they will be transient. With the rising of the sun they will vanish like the dew. Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.

It seems his view is just the opposite of the commonly accepted view. Are we not constantly reminding ourselves of the transience of our joys? We go on endlessly with our songs of “Wasted days and wasted nights” But here is a glad voice raised to tell us that it is weeping that is soon gone. It may tarry for a night, but joy will surely come with the morning.

Do you see that his faith is not born out of a stubborn refusal to face the ugly facts of life. He real believes that weeping will only last for a night.

He faces all the terrifying enemies that surround us and still he clings to his faith.
When, this singer tells us that, though weeping may tarry for a night, joy will come with the morning, he is telling us a truth he has come to know by the painful path of experience.
He threw himself in his weakness into the Everlasting Arms of God described in Deuteronomy 33:27 and God did not fail him.

He has turned for me my mourning into dancing, he sings proudly. He came, he declares, like a wise and tender nurse and removed my galling garment of sackcloth and decked me in a garment of gladness. And what God has done for me, he declares with assurance, he will do for you. Weeping may tarry for a night, but joy will come in the morning.

What good is this kind of faith?
It keeps alive our hope. Keeping alive our hope, it also enables us to carry on with patient courage. It is hard to see things through with honor if hope is gone. Some manage it, but it is very difficult.

As a firefighter and first responder I have looked into the face of one who had committed suicide. It was a pathetic face, it was one of hopelessness. He had lost heart and gave up the fight.

Friends the night of weeping may be long and lonely, but we will not give up, if we are sure that joy is coming in the morning. Not only will this faith give us hope and thereby minister to our courage and patient endurance, it will be light to us during the night of our weeping.
Q. What is it that makes sorrow so bitter?
A. Hopelessness.

If we could only feel there is a cure, it wouldn’t be so hard.
If we could just believe that weeping is but temporary!
If we could just believe, that joy comes in the morning.

For instance, when my mom and dad were unaware of my whereabouts, or whether I was alive or not, they were pretty desperate. You can imagine their desperate cry to God in their new found faith. For months they cried out without any kind of answer. Just a desperate pleading.
Then to their amazement there is postcard in the mail box informing them to read the story of the Prodigal son and that I would see them in the spring. A moment later although my whereabouts were still unknown, the despair was gone from my parent’s heart. A great joy had come in its place. And then when I did come home - the said they had expected me!
To those of you who are passing through a long night of weeping, I beg you to hear this message. Hear it, and your heart will sing. Joy is coming in the morning.
Nobody can be utterly cast down who believes that.

Psalms 37:23-25 The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delights in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the LORD upholds him with his hand. I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.

But is such a faith possible for us who live in these trouble filled days?
This psalmist seems to think so. He himself had been suffering from some deadly disease. He had been so close to the gates of death that he saw himself as being among the dead. In his desperate plight he had cried to God, and God had heard and healed.

Can we, too, then believe that God will always heal the sick and suffering that cry to him?

There are those who pray just as earnestly as this poet, who, in spite of all their prayers, in spite of the prayers of those who love them, go quickly down to death. Then there are others who go on suffering for long, torturing years. Paul was such a one. He pleaded earnestly and insistently for the removal of his thorn, but his request was not granted. But while God does not always see fit to give physical healing in answer to our prayers, He does something that may be even better… He gives to him who really prays an inner strength, a calm courage that enables him to bear whatever load is laid upon him.

I Corinthians 10:13 God is faithful, He will not allow you to be tempted beyond your ability, but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, so that you may be able to bear it.

Friends, God Himself gives in answer to prayer a quiet heart, an abiding peace, and a fullness of life. We learn with Paul that God’s grace is sufficient and we too shout, Most gladly, therefore, will I rather glory in my infirmities that the power of Christ may rest on me. II Corinthians 12:9

We need to hear Christ say, You may be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy.

Isaiah 55:12, 35:10 For you shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands…...And the ransomed of the LORD shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

We believe that this is going to be true in a fuller sense in the eternal future.
We further believe it is true in the here and now. Let not your heart be troubled you believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. John 14:1
These are the words of our Christ. Since they are true we are safe in cherishing the wildest dreams for the future. In the presence of pain and change, in the presence of death itself we sing with calm confidence: "Joy will come in the morning.”