“My sheep listen to My voice; I know them, and they follow Me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them out of My hand.” – John 10:27-28

Many times in the scriptures we read about the Lord speaking to someone. The problem is that nowadays, we don’t much physically hear God speak to us. That’s concerning for some people. There are those people who say that until they physically hear God speaking to them, they won’t believe. Unfortunately, those type of people probably still wouldn’t believe even if God himself showed up in person and smacked them in the face. Then there are other people that wish they could physically hear their Lord’s voice, but don’t. They long for that tangible interaction with their Savior, but they may never find it until they meet Him in Heaven.

I personally have never physically heard my Lord out loud in this big, booming “Moses” burining bush voice. I do, however, talk with Him often and He answers me plainly.

Occasionally, I hear a still, quiet voice inside of myself and it leads me in a certain direction. Many times, I would not have entertained that particular direction in and of myself. That’s the beauty of the Lord. If you truly leave yourself open to Him and His ways, you could end up accomplishing things you’d never thought possible.

Still, other times there are answers to my prayers and petitions that come in the form of solutions to circumstances that were out of human control or comprehension. The perfect example of this is our own twin daughters having an inescapable pre-natal problem that was resolved miraculously. I did not truly know what fervent prayer was until those weeks of angush and suffering. Our hope rested in Jesus and Him alone, because we didn’t have anything else to go off of. I am overjoyed to say that Christ showed His stuff and we have beautiful children to stand as living embodiments of His grace and love. You may call it luck or coincidence, but I know when I heard my God plain as day.

The point I’m trying to make is that the more time you spend with our Lord, the closer you will be to Him. and the better you will distingush His answers to your questions. When you love someone, you try to know all you can about that person. You don’t just hear them, you listen to them. That’s a big measure of a Christian. You may not physically hear God’s voice, but you don’t have to. The more you spend time in His word and the more you pray, the easier it is to see and hear what He has to say. You will know when God is pulling you in a certain direction.

I hear people say, “How do I know that’s what God wants for my life?” You will know when God is answering your prayers or telling you to move in a certain direction with your life because of two things:

1. The direction will never go against God’s commandments.

2. The direction will be for the benefit of God’s people and not only yourself.

If you are confused about your life or not sure if God is speaking to you or not, spend time getting to know Him better. If you can’t find it in yourself to pray, then ask God to help you pray. It sounds simple, but it’s true. Next thing is to spend time connecting to God through His word. If you start your day with a “holy hour” with even 15-20 minutes set aside for Jesus with no distractions, you will be better equipped to answer His voice when He calls. And trust me, His plan for your life is better than anything you or I could come up with.

You can’t give a response to the Lord’s voice if you don’t know He’s talking to you.

DH

The Bible is the greatest book every written with every kind of good versus evil you can imagine. For instance, you read in the gospels of Judas Iscariot, who was one of Jesus’ disciples until Judas betrayed Him.  Judas was paid 30 pieces of silver by the Pharisees in order to hand Christ over to them to be crucified.  All of this was done after Judas walked with Christ and was able to learn and study with Him for 3 years.  That goes to show that just spending time with someone doesn’t mean you connect with them.  Judas placed no value on his relationship with the Savior, even though he saw Jesus perform miracles and speak with the authority that only God has.

Judas never truly united with Jesus. Instead, he was only there for his own self interests. Judas held the money box and stole regularly from it.  He liked the status of being one of the 12 apostles and took all of the benefits thereof, but in the end Judas only believed in Judas.  Three years of hearing about God and saving grace, but Judas never got past himself.  He only saw Jesus with his mind and not his heart and soul.

The fact of the matter is that the healing blood of Jesus on the cross is more than enough to wash away any sin, even the betrayal by Judas. Men’s forgiveness can only go so far, but with God all things are possible.  Had Judas truly known this, his story may have been different, even after the betrayal and murder of Jesus Christ. However, Judas, in one final thumb of his nose to God, committed suicide.  That choice took away any chance of God’s healing grace to be made manifest in Judas’ life.  Once a possible messenger of hope, now a soul lost to the devil’s whim.

Now, let me tell you of another man. This person watched and assisted in hunting down Christians. By his own testimony, he was an evil man.  That was until one day, while walking on the road to Damascus, he met Jesus.  That was the man we now know as the Apostle Paul.  Paul, by all rights, was a really bad guy.  He walked openly in hatred and disgust of Christ, but once Paul heard the voice of Jesus, he was never the same. So much so, in fact, that Paul by the power of the Holy Spirit went on to teach the Word of God in many foreign lands and even wrote 1/3^rd of the New Testament.

The difference was that Judas heard Christ, but Paul listened.

It’s often said that it’s not how you start, but how you finish. Paul finished well because he allowed Christ’s words to transform him into the good and faithful servant God wanted.  Paul flourished, Judas failed.  The path that Judas accepted led to death and destruction.  The path that Paul accepted blessed him with a crown of gold in God’s Kingdom.

We are all faced with that same choice. God loves us enough that He allows us the choice to love Him back.  Through our choice to sin, we betray Jesus once again.  Each one of our sins being another nail in His eternal cross.  The only unforgivable sin is final impenitence; going to your grave still shaking your fist at God.  Anything less than that can be forgiven if you accept the finished work of Jesus Christ.

So, no matter what you’ve done in your past, know that God isn’t done with you yet. While there’s a single breath in your body, you still have a chance to speak the sweet name of Jesus and be transformed into a child of the King.  Trade your pieces of silver in for a crown of gold.

DH

In Matthew 22, Jesus is confronted by the Pharisees and others who were trying to trap Jesus in his speech. They asked Jesus if they should pay their government taxes. Jesus asked them to look at the coin and tell Him whose image they saw.  They replied, “Caesar’s.”  So Jesus said, “Then give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God.”  This banter has been made famous for many reasons, but there really is a follow up question to this.

Go look in a mirror. Whose image do you see?

The bible teaches us that we were made in the image of Almighty God. Just like a self portrait of a great artist, you are a reflection of God and His likeness.  One bible translation even says in Ephesians 2:10 that we are God’s masterpiece.  Just like any masterpiece, you are one of a kind.  Not a duplicate or a carbon copy, but a single work of art.

This is what makes us special. The creator of the heavens and earth also made you.  It’s not about your name, your job, or your good or bad deeds.  You are special because of whose you are; whose image you are endowed with.  That’s why it’s so important to take care of yourself.  Your Father in Heaven made the person you see in the mirror.  If He wanted you to be someone else, He would have made someone else.  Be proud of who you are.

You can’t make something without putting a piece of yourself into it and that’s just what God has done with you. The bible says that God formed man and “breathed into him the breath of life, and thus man became a living being.”  The very seeds of greatness and the power that created everything also courses through your veins as well, so much so that we have been allowed by God to enter into His creative power in order to bring new life into this world.  New life that, just like you, has been created to know God, love God, and serve God so that we may be happy with Him in Heaven for all of eternity.

Don’t give up on yourself, because when you do, you are giving up on your Creator. God is perfect and although we are definitely not perfect, we are on the road to that perfection that is allowed to us through the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  Rest assured that the Creator has a plan and that plan includes you.  Not who you think maybe you should be, but YOU!

Next time you are concerned with your inward and outward appearance, know that you were born the child of a king. Be cheerful in the image that you see in the mirror, because when you look at yourself, the eyes of God look back at you.

DH

In Paul’s letter to the Galatians, he speaks of the “fruits of the Holy Spirit.” Love, joy, peace, and faithfulness just to name a few. He also makes a contrast of the works of the flesh versus the gifts of the Spirit.

The point the Apostle Paul was trying to make is just like Jesus said in the Gospel of Matthew. “By their fruits, you shall know them.” And again Jesus saying in the Gospel of John, “They shall know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

Being a Christian is not easy. It goes against the ways of this world. The world tells you to look out for number one. Your flesh screams at you to feed its desires. When you give in to those base desires, it feels good only for a little bit. You soon need more and more to fill that void inside of yourself. You can’t physically do enough to keep your urges in check.

By contrast, Christ teaches you to have compassion for others and to put the greater good over your own self interests. You are to be happy, but not at the expense of the true joy that comes from a life lived in service of others. You will seek less for the lusts and greed of right now, but instead reach for a forever kind of love.

When you accept Jesus into your heart, the Holy Spirit starts blessing you with those fruit that Paul spoke of. It is easier to feel joy in the midst of trials. It’s easier to be faithful to your spouse. It’s easier to feel compassion towards those who are in need of a helping hand.

Indeed, by their fruits, you shall know a true follower of Christ. And the more time you spend with our Savior, the more fruit you will produce. It’s easy for a tree to bring forth fruit when it is planted by the river of living water that is Christ Jesus. Its life is everlasting and its fruit is inexhaustible.

Drink from the river of Christ and watch the fruit of the Holy Spirit grow in your life.

DH

A good friend of mine was telling a story about being on the golf course with some friends. Another group of guys were playing near them.  They had the nicest clothes and brand new sets of very expensive clubs.  His friend says that this group of guys must be really good. “Just look at those clubs,” he said.  Well, those guys tried to tee off and couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn.  Over and over they tried, but ended up playing a horrible round of golf.  My friend said, “It goes to show that shiny new clubs don’t make you a good golfer.”

That’s a hard reality for many people, especially in Christianity. You may come to church dressed in your Sunday best, have a beautiful new Bible, maybe wearing a brilliant gold cross around your neck, but that doesn’t mean you are friends with Jesus or living the Christian life.  Looking the part and acting the part are two different things.  Jesus himself said in Matthew 23:27 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean.”

Don’t be ‘that guy.’ The person who has the best of everything, but inside is misled.  Too many people are lost and in pain on the inside.  They think that it only takes them looking the part rather than putting in the time to actually come to know Jesus.  Think again.  A Christian is one who is a Christian on the inside as well as the outside.

You can’t sneak your way into Heaven. A big cross on your neck and a nice fish emblem on your car isn’t going to do it. It’s not works that will save your soul, it’s acceptance of Jesus and His finished work on the cross.  After you accept that, it will open the door to you having that personal relationship with our Heavenly Father that He created you for.

When you absolutely love a sport, you learn all you can about it. You don’t just watch it happen without being involved in some way.  Having a fancy set of clubs doesn’t make you a golfer.  The more time you put in on the course, the better you will be.  Same thing goes for being close to our Savior.  I love the quote that says, “Coming to church doesn’t make you a Christian any more than standing in your garage makes you a car. “  You need to do something.  Take that step to believe and accept Christ as your Lord and Savior.  If you’ve done that, then take another step towards Him. And another.  Before long, He will be right by your side, helping you in your everyday life.  You will see advantages given to you, blessings abounding in your years, and prosperity filling your life.

God’s blessings to you.

DH

In Luke 15, Jesus is telling a story about a shepherd that has 100 sheep. One gets lost. The good shepherd, knowing the 99 are safe, goes out and finds the one that ran away. Upon finding the little sheep, the shepherd puts it on his shoulders and brings the sheep home. As if that wasn’t enough, the shepherd is so happy to have the lost sheep back that he calls his family and neighbors and has a party celebrating the return of the sheep.

That’s the kind of Heavenly Father we have. He knows we are sinners.  He asks us to stay with Him, but we always seem to turn to the bad things in this world for comfort instead of Him. The trick is that when we realize we’ve gone too far down a bad path, it seems likes it’s too late. We are virtually buried in our sins.

However, while we have breath, our story isn’t over. Jesus, our Good Shepherd, searches for us. And He doesn’t quit until we’re home. Our God loves us enough to keep going until we release ourselves to Him. By then, we are usually broken and defeated by the wickedness of this world. That doesn’t stop Jesus though. He picks us up, puts us on His shoulders, and marches home. And the Bible teaches that whenever a single sinner repents and accepts Christ, the whole of Heaven sings out with joy and celebration, for the one who was lost has been found.

Joy, peace, forgiveness, and a triumphant return. That’s what He offers us, even though we don’t deserve it.

Love… That’s my God.

DH

In the book of Exodus, the Israelites complained because they were thirsty. God told Moses to take his wooden staff, strike a specific rock, and water would flow from it, thereby quenching the thirst of His people.

You can see Jesus everywhere in the Bible, not just in the new testament. This is one of those many times.

Jesus is our Rock of Salvation. When He was struck with the wood of the cross, the life-giving waters of the Holy Spirit came flowing forth to quench the eternal thirst of God’s people.

We are often in our own deserts. The desert of loneliness, the desert of suffering, or even the desert of sin.  Searching for something to sustain ourselves with, we turn to the wrong places. Only Christ and His Holy Spirit can fill our souls.  Our thirst is insatiable, our souls restless.

Saint Augustine said, “Our souls are restless, oh Lord, until they rest in thee.”  Realize what you have been searching for all of your life. Drink from our Rock and drink as much as you want.

DH

I’d like to dedicate this sermon to the people who make the tough decisions. The decisions that put the needs of the many before the needs of the few out of love.

I know of a couple who recently took on three extra mouths to feed due to some bad family circumstances. They knew their actions were putting them onto a hard road full of more bad times than good, especially starting off, but they also knew that it was the right thing to do for those children. They could have said no and not gotten involved, but that isn’t God’s way. They’re sowing seeds that they personally may never see bloom, but they still persevere.

Let me tell you of another person who made a tough decision. Her name is Mary. She was a young Jewish girl. One day, the angel Gabriel appeared to her and said she would have a child and His name would be Jesus. Mary, like all Jews, knew the scriptures. She knew that Christ would go through great suffering and pain, but she also knew that it was for the greater good of all mankind. Even though she didn’t understand the whole thing, she still said, “Yes.” She wasn’t just saying yes to the circumstances and to taking on a child, she was in fact saying yes to God and His greater plan.

God gives the biggest share of the cross to his best friends. Sometimes tough decisions need to be made and God knows who He can count on. You could say no and probably have an easier time during this life, but somebody out there needs your strength and your sacrifice. They need you to be the one who fights for them to give them a better life.

You may not see the seeds of love that you sow blossom, but know that God is already planning the increase.

To all of those people who make the tough decisions, know that Jesus will be waiting for you at the gates of Heaven, saying, “Well done my good and faithful servant.” But the best thing will be when you too get to see those you’ve helped walking into Heaven when it’s their time to come home. And that homecoming will be one of the greatest rewards imaginable.

God bless you.

DH