From time to time, I will add some articles, outlines, or thoughts that I hope to be encouraging, edifying, and helpful.  Please check back every so often and feel free to send us an email with your comments.

The Lord bless you,

Pastor Kevin Beier

Message Outlines.

Why We Should Serve The Lord

Colossians 3:23-24

I. INTRODUCTION

A. We Need To Serve God – Col. 3

1. Our service should be the best we have to offer

a. It should be done heartily.

b. It should be with the understanding that it is “to the Lord.”

2. Our service will be rewarded

a. It is not a human reward we serve for.

b. It is the reward that comes from the Lord Christ.

c. He is a faithful rewarder of those who serve Him.

B. It Is Reasonable Service – Rom. 12:1

1. It is a sacrifice

2. It is a holy task

II. WE SHOULD SERVE THE LORD BECAUSE OF:

A. The Grace Of God – Heb. 12:28

1. God’s grace, by its very nature, is undeserved.

2. Once we receive grace, we need to “have grace.”
* That is, we need to display the same grace that the Lord gave us in our service toward Him.

3. That grace will be displayed: - Heb. 12:28

a. By our “acceptable” service of God.

b. By our reverential service of God.

c. By the godly fear we have in serving God.

4. The Lord has gifted each of us with grace that fills a different function in the church. We need to serve Him with that grace-gift. – Rom. 12:4-11

5. The grace that gave us salvation has also given a new, spiritual way of serving the Lord – Rom. 7:6

6. Let’s not allow the Lord to give us His grace in vain! – 2 Cor. 6:1-10

7. God’s grace is “manifold” and we need to be good stewards over it – 1 Pet. 4:10

8. God’s grace is where we find our strength to serve Him

B. The Word Of God – 2 Tim. 3:16-17

1. The Bible was given in order to equip us for service

a. It gives us commands to serve

b. It gives us examples of service

2. The Bible supplies every need for service – vs. 16-17 that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished

a. Doctrine – it teaches us what is right and what is truth

b. Reproof – it tells us when we are wrong and out of step with truth

c. Correction – it tells us how to make what is wrong, right

d. Instruction – it tells us how to stay right and in line with truth

3. The Bible came to us with a high price

a. Martyrs willing to DIE for it.

b. Critics trying to DISMANTLE it

c. Satan trying to DESTROY it

d. Yet God preserved it – Ps. 12:6-7

e. God went to great lengths (humanly speaking) to get that Book into our hands SO THAT we could serve Him.

C. The Son Of God

1. His shed blood.

a. He shed His blood so that we might serve Him – Heb. 9:13-14

b. The works we do are not dead (under the law). Rather, our works are alive because He is alive.

2. Our love for Christ – 2 Cor. 5:14

a. His love contrains us to do so – vs. 14
* It is a vast, unmeasureable, unfathomable love.

b. His love for us caused Him to die for us – vs. 14

c. His death for us leaves us no option but to live for Him – 2 Cor. 5:15

d. Serving Christ with our lives out of a heart of love can only come from being saved – 2 Cor. 5:17

e. Not serving Him, indicates we are serving something/someone else and lack love for Him – Mat. 6:24

D. The People Of God – Heb. 10:24-25

1. We must consider one another when it comes to service – vs. 24

a. Consider means to set the mind on; meditate upon

b. This is in the spirit of esteeming others better than oneself.
Philippians 2:3, “Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.”

2. We must provoke one another to service – vs. 24

III. CONCLUSION

A. Our Service To God

1. It is both desired by the Lord, and reasonable for us to do so.

2. He is a faithful rewarder

B. There are many reasons to serve the Lord

1. The Grace Of God

2. The Word Of God

3. The Son Of God

4. The People Of God

And all for the glory of God!

C. Are each of us serving? To the best of our ability? Are we giving the best to our Saviour/Master?

Profiles of God's Servants.

John Goforth of Yorkshire, England, immigrated to Canada in 1840 and settled near Thorndale in western Ontario. Jonathan, his seventh child, was born February 10, 1859. The parents, as pioneer farmers, were exposed to many physical hardships and had to practice the utmost economy.

The mother was faithful in teaching the Scriptures to her children, and when Jonathan was seven years of age he received a Bible from a neighbor lady. At ten, he came under deep conviction of sin and the need of salvation; but no one asked him to make a decision for Christ.

Opportunely, there came to the community a Presbyterian pastor by the name of Lachlan Cameron, who was faithful in preaching the Word of God. Jonathan Goforth dated his conversion from a service which he attended when he was eighteen years of age. Cameron was preaching, and he responded to the appeal for decisions. He joined the Presbyterian Church.

Through much hardship and noble effort, he obtained his grammar and high school education. During the years of his youth he often debated within himself whether he should be a teacher or a politician. His pastor, the Rev. Mr. Cameron, invited Jonathan to his home for instruction in the Scriptures and in Latin and Greek, and thus helped him prepare to enter Knox College, Toronto.

One day, while he was in college, he heard Missionary George Leslie Mackay of Formosa present the claims of Christ for that mission field in a most forceful way. Jonathan described that meeting in a few words: "I heard the voice of the Lord saying: 'Who will go for us and whom shall we send?' and I answered: 'Here am I, send me.' From that hour I became a foreign missionary." He lost no opportunity to prepare himself for the mission field and to declare the claims of Christ and the needs of the unevangelized multitudes.

APPOINTMENT TO CHINA

In the year 1885, Goforth received a copy of Hudson Taylor's book, China's Spiritual Need and Claims. He was deeply impressed and from that time on, with renewed dedication, he began to pray that a door would be opened for him to go to China. At the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of Canada in June, 1887, a new missionary vision came to that body of Christians with the result that Jonathan Goforth was appointed their pioneer missionary to North China.

On October 25 of the same year Goforth was ordained, and the same month he was married to Florence Rosalind Bell-Smith. On February 4, 1888, they sailed for China. By the middle of September of the same year they were looking over their new mission field in the Province of Honan.

It was soon evident that Goforth was "a man sent from God." He was untiring in his evangelistic services and efficient in the training of national workers and the establishing of churches under the leadership of Chinese Christians. It was there that the grace of God was revealed in a special way, as the Lord sustained and comforted Jonathan Goforth and his family in their manifold trials, sufferings, and sorrows.

Goforth had a passion for winning souls for Christ. He was outstanding as a conservative theologian. He required that at his public prayer meetings the one who took part should be definite in petition, and that the prayer should be accompanied by thanksgiving and confession.

He visited eight of the principal mission centers in Korea in 1907, the year the great revival was passing over that country, and wrote the booklet, When the Fire Swept Korea. His book, By My Spirit, has enjoyed world-wide circulation.

Dr. Charles G. Trumbull, late editor of the Sunday School Times, wrote: "Dr. Goforth was one of the most radiant, dynamic personalities that ever enriched my life. God's missionary program of the past half century would not have been complete without him."

The last few years of his life Jonathan Goforth was totally blind. Nevertheless, the fragrance of thanksgiving and holiness accompanied the distinguished missionary until he died in Canada, October 7, 1936. His life's motto was: "By my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts."

Having read aloud to his wife from Finney's booklet, Lectures on Revival, Mr. Goforth said to her: "It simply means this: The spiritual laws governing a spiritual harvest are as real and tangible as the laws governing the natural harvest." Then he added solemnly, as though he were making a vow: "If Finney is right, and I believe he is, I am going to find out what these spiritual laws are and obey them, no matter what the cost may be." Goforth did obey these "laws of revival," as he said he would, and God made him a channel of blessing to many Christians in China as well as a mighty winner of souls.

Goforth was convinced that it was the simple gospel message that was "the power of God unto salvation," and he was eager to share this conviction with others. He said, "Oh, that God would give me an opportunity before I pass on to demonstrate to missionaries and to the home church what results would follow if we but GAVE GOD A CHANCE by broadcasting this wonderful message of salvation by every possible means in our power. I am convinced the simple Gospel story has never had a chance in China."

Goforth was known among the other missionaries as well as the Chinese workers for his detailed knowledge of the Scriptures. Concerning the importance of memorizing the Bible, he wrote: "It is well to be able to repeat Scripture, but it is of very great importance to remember where it is in the Bible. My ideal has always been (though I cannot say I have always attained unto it), that it would be a shame for me, a missionary, to have to go to a concordance to find a portion of Scripture that a Chinese brother might ask me for. My wife seems to regard me as her walking concordance and my Chinese fellow-workers seem to think that I know everything in the Bible, but I am ever wishing I could spend several hundred years at the Bible.

"Since the New Version of the New Testament came out in Chinese, I will in a few days have gone over it thirty-five times in the Chinese text, comparing it with the Authorized and Revised New Testament. My method now is to go over each verse five times, but ever trying after the first time to repeat it from memory... As a result of this method, when I preach to the Chinese, the Scripture comes readily to mind and the Holy Spirit is able through me to compare spiritual things with spiritual. It is appalling how God and souls are defrauded because we know so little of His saving Word."

Articles.

"But When He Was Strong"

2 Chronicles 26:16, “But when he was strong, his heart was lifted up to his destruction: for he transgressed against the LORD his God, and went into the temple of the LORD to burn incense upon the altar of incense.”

What followed for Uzziah was a time of disobedience, rebellion, and ultimately failure before the Lord. A man whose life had been marked by honouring and pleasing God took a sharp turn in the wrong direction and he made a mistake that affected him the rest of his life. When we finish reading this passage of Scripture, we learn that God struck Uzziah with leprosy and he finished his reign as king in a leper colony. What a disappointing and sad way to finish life!

When we read a verse like this, we can see the context of the events and understand why the Lord gave us this information. He is giving us a solemn warning concerning our hearts when we become strong. Mankind’s natural tendency is to have a heart that is lifted up when we are strong. A heart that is lifted up has it’s beginnings in self-sufficiency and pride. The end of a heart that is lifted up is destruction. The Bible records this happening time and time again. Even Satan’s fall as the covering Cherub was preceded by a heart that was lifted up. As the Bible describes the fall of Satan, it says, “Thine heart was lifted up…” (Ezekiel 28:17). Was Lucifer (Satan’s name before his fall) strong before his heart was lifted up? Absolutely. He was the most privileged Cherub in heaven, occupying a place of authority and power.

Throughout the books of 1 and 2 Chronicles, we read of king after king who failed the Lord in their hearts and it usually followed a time when they were strong or when they did not guard their hearts before the Lord.

It is common for us to desire to be strong. Most people do not enjoy being “weak.” Weakness is counted as a thing to be avoided by most of us. No one enjoys being weak. The reasons for avoiding weakness are varied, but the fundamental issues remain the same. Self-reliance, pride, arrogance, and the such like are at the core.

The Holy Spirit addressed this issue of strength and weakness in 2 Corinthians 12:1-10, in which the Lord told Paul that His strength was made perfect in Paul’s weakness. Paul, like most of us, desired the thing that had been causing him to feel weak to be removed. But the Lord knew better. God knew that it was in strength that some of His best servants failed. So the Lord, in His infinite wisdom, left Paul’s weakness in order to remain Paul’s source of strength.

I do not know what it is that causes you to feel weak. Some of you may be battling something very serious and difficult in your lives. What I do know is that the Lord wants to be your strength. Do not let it be said in your life, “but when he was strong,” and become like so many of God’s choice servants who failed. Relying on your own personal strength as you serve the Lord will be the very thing that turns your heart and actions against the Lord. We need Christ to be our strength! (Phil. 4:13).

by Pastor Beier

Dread Of Controversy -

The following was written by Robert Haldane in 1874:

Many religious persons have a dread of controversy and wish truth to be stated without any
reference to those who hold the opposite errors. Controversy and a bad spirit are, in their
estimation, synonymous terms. And strenuously to oppose what is wrong is considered as
contrary to Christian meekness. Those who hold this opinion seem to overlook what every
page of the New Testament lays before us. In all the history of our Lord Jesus Christ, we never
find Him out of controversy. From the moment He entered on the discharge of His office in
the synagogue of Nazareth till He expired on the cross, it was an uninterrupted scene of
controversy. Nor did He, with all the heavenly meekness which in Him shone so brightly, treat
truth and error without reference to those who held them or study to avoid giving its proper
appellation to those corruptions in doctrine or practice that endangered the interests of
immortal souls. His ensures were not confined to doctrine but included the abettors of false
principles themselves.
And as to the Apostles, their epistles are generally controversial. Most of them were directly
written for the express purpose of vindicating truth and opposing error--and the authors of
heresies do not escape with an abstract condemnation of their false doctrine. Paul again and
again most indignantly denounces the conduct of the opposers of the Gospel and, by name,
points out those against whom he cautions his brethren. When Hymenaeus and Alexander
erred concerning the faith and when he delivered them unto Satan that they might learn not
to blaspheme, he did not compliment them as amiable and learned persons. Even that Apostle
who treats most of love and who possessed so much of that spirit which was so eminently
manifested in his Divine Master, does not avoid controversy--nor in controversy does he
study to avoid severity of censure on the opposers of the truth.
In the examples of opposing error (left on record for our imitation) we perceive nothing of
that frigid spirit of indifference which smiles on the corrupters of the Word of God and shuns
to call heresy by its proper name. With what holy indignation do the Apostles denounce the
subtle machinations of the enemies of the gospel! In vain shall we look among those faithful
servants of the Lord for anything to justify that trembling reserve which fears to say decidedly
that truth is truth--and error is error.
In what style, indeed, should perversions of the truth of God be censured? Ought they to be
treated as mere matters of opinion on which we may innocently and safely differ? Or ought
they to be met in a tone of solemn, strong and decided approbation? Paul warned Christians
against men who arose from among themselves, speaking perverse things to draw away
disciples after them--and instead of complimenting false teachers in his day, denounced an
angel from heaven on the supposition of his preaching another gospel. And if an Apostle was
withstood to the face, because he was to be blamed, are the writings of those who subvert the
Gospel to pass without rebuke?
When the canker of the principles of neology [the use of new meanings for established
words], derived from the Continent and from America, is perverting the faith of many and
seducing them into the paths of error--which a spirit of lukewarmness and indifference to
truth is advancing under the mask of charity and liberality, there is a loud call on all
Christians to "stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the
Gospel," to present a firm and united phalanx of opposition to error under every name--from
whatever quarter it may approach.
Should believers become unfaithful to their trust and be seduced to abandon their protest
against false doctrines, they may gain the approbation of the world--but what will this avail
when compared with the favor of God? But if (with prayer to God, in the use of the appointed
means) they contend earnestly for the truth, then they may expect the gracious fulfillment of
the blessed promise, "When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall
lift up a standard against him."

Harry Ironside on Calvinism

"Turn to your Bible and read for yourself in the only two chapters in which this word
predestinate or predestinated is found. The first is Romans 8:29-30, the other chapter is
Ephesians 1:5 and 11. You will note that there is no reference in these four verses to either
heaven or hell but to Christ-likeness eventually. Nowhere are we told in scripture that God
predestinated one man to be saved and another to be lost. Men are to be saved or lost
eternally because of their attitude towards the Lord Jesus Christ. Predestination means that
someday all the redeemed shall become just like the Lord Jesus"
"D.L. Moody used to put it very simply the elect are the 'whosoever wills' the non-elect
'whosoever wont's'. This is exactly what scripture teaches, the invitation is to all, those who
accept it are the elect. Remember, we are never told that Christ died for the elect".
"Whosoever means, whosoever." Only a biased theologian, with an axe to grind, could ever
think that it meant only the elect."