In the Spittin' Image of God

n the Spittin' Image of God Romans 8:14-21

If you're living like you should,

If you're growing like you could,

In His image you'll become,

As the Father, so the son.

14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.

15 For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.”

16 The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,

Two Greek words: 'teknon' and 'huois'

these words are used in this text to depict the 'sons of God' and the 'children of God'.

There might be a particular reason the both words are used in this passage.

Some scholars suggest that one might imply a closer relationship with 'huios' as the sons of God in verse 14 that that of 'teknon' in verse 16.

The point I'm going for here is that some children bear a closer image to their parents than other children do.

In the physical world, I bear some resemblance to my Kenneth Keith Carter. Some folks would go so far as to say that I remind them of him in my physical appearance; I personally don't see that. My dad was over six feet tall during his prime years. Through a series of serious back and spinal injuries, he shrank to just under six feet tall prior to going to the Lord in 1969. My father's hair was blond. My father was very mechanically minded, and could make anything he needed for house he lived in or the vehicles he drove with either a piece of wood or a hunk of metal.

In contrast I have never been taller than five foot eight and three quarter with high-heeled sneakers. My hair has always been this very dark brown. I tend to bee much more word oriented that he was. My history with plumbing is well documented by the leaky pipes that someone else had to fix. While I might enjoy working on a trinket or toy, I tend to get very frustrated working on vehicles. I like to read and write.

Things that my dad and I have had in common are quite a few. We shared a love for the game of baseball and we both played it to some degree of success. We both enjoyed plants and animals and just being in the wild. We have the same sound to our laughter. We share a love of people and are willing to receive those who have hurt us emotionally and love them too. There are times that my fun-loving humor has gotten me into trouble with my wife, but that's my dad in me. There were times when my father was around that I would pick up the phone at his house and the person at the other end would think they were talking to Kenny. The biggest identical imagery that we have is our love for God and the ways of God.

In the passage that we just read, that is the identity we are going to be looking at: how and in what ways do we mirror the image of God and remind those we rub shoulders with of His very presence.

I. Children of God

1. We are all made in the image of God, and being made by Him in creation, we are all His children.

2. We all bear some resemblance to God in that we are basically creative creatures.

3. Even though some might not recognize it, we all have a deep desire to draw close to God and be more like Him.

2. Sons of God

   1. Some of us have when the extra step and accepted the forgiveness of sin that was offered through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

   2. Some of us have taken His goals and purpose as our own goals and purposes.

   3. Some of us have an aura about you that displays the presence of God.

3. Will the Real Christian Please Stand Up? (17-19)

If we are going to display the image of God as the 'huios', sons of God we are going to do it in this manner:

1. We are going to be intimate with God, as in verse 17 “whereby we cry 'Abba', Father.”

2. We are going to share in His sufferings. (17)

3. We are going to share in His glory. (17)

4. We are going to recognize the worth of it all. (18)

5. We are going to conform to His image. (19)

6. We are going to be the delight of the rest of creation. (20-21)

Are you as close to God and you want to be?

Are you as close to God as you need to be?

Are you the spitting image of the Father?

If you are not all that you know you should be, you can do something about it today.

Come to Him at this altar of prayer and meet with Him.

He is real, He loves you, and He has a wonderful plan for your life.

Don't Forget the Selah!

Don't Forget the Selah! Psalm 89

In over half a century that I have been attending church services I have listened to a variety of people read from the Scriptures. These people have read aloud the passages that bring life to our souls using a range of vocal inflection from loud and excited to soft and mono tonal. One habit, of many of those loved saints, is to read the word 'Selah' whenever it appears in the text.

Now, if this is your particular practice, I want you to know that my purpose is not to embarrass or discredit you in any way. I won't even ask for a show of hands to display how many of us do read the word Selah aloud. What I do want to do is to have you better informed as to why the word 'Selah' is represented in the text and how to respond to it whenever it appears while you are reading. You can make up your own minds later as to whether you wish to continue to read the word 'Selah' aloud or not. I just want you to know how the writers of the Psalms intended it to be viewed.

Websters Dictionary says this about the word 'Selah':

A word occurring frequently in the Psalms supposedly

to be a liturgical or musical direction, probably to the

leader, to raise the voice, or perhaps indicating a pause.

It really doesn't matter to me if the word 'Selah' means to pause and reflect or to raise our voice, yet when I read these passages I sense something in my spirit wanting to do a little of both. I, on one hand, want to stop and think about what has just been read. The Word of God is filled wit such profound statements. We often glide over like eggs and bacon sliding out of a frying pan that has been properly prepared so that nothing will stick to it. Well, there are times when we are just like those well prepared frying pans and we are so greased up with our own thoughts that nothing of the Word of God sticks to us.

Think of what might occur in our lives if we would raise our voices in honor to the Lord.

Think of what might happen if we would really stop t think about what we read in the Scriptures.

The word 'Selah' is found seventy one times in the Psalms and three times in Habakkuk.

In each of these places where it is found, the statements made before and after are word to be taken to heart.

Psalm 89

1 I will sing of the mercies of the LORD forever;
With my mouth will I make known Your faithfulness to all generations.
2 For I have said, “Mercy shall be built up forever;
Your faithfulness You shall establish in the very heavens.”
3 “I have made a covenant with My chosen,
I have sworn to My servant David:
4 ‘Your seed I will establish forever,
And build up your throne to all generations.’” Selah

There is a song I sing to help me remember this part of this psalm. It also reminds me of the promises that are provided here and in the other psalms.

I will sing of the mercies of the Lord forever, I will sing, I will sing,

I will sing of the mercies of the Lord forever, I will sing of the mercies of the Lord.

With my mouth will I make known Your faithfulness, Your faithfulness

With my mouth will I make known your faithfulness to all generations.

When i sing this or read these words of this psalm, it reminds me that I should not only raise my voice and pause and reflect, but I should also do what it says.

Now, reflect on what is said in the next lines of this psalm.
5 And the heavens will praise Your wonders, O LORD; If the heavens do, shouldn't we too?
Your faithfulness also in the assembly of the saints. Am I declaring His faithfulness?
6 For who in the heavens can be compared to the LORD?
Who among the sons of the mighty can be likened to the LORD?
7 God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints,
And to be held in reverence by all those around Him.
8 O LORD God of hosts,
Who is mighty like You, O LORD?
Your faithfulness also surrounds You.
9 You rule the raging of the sea;
When its waves rise, You still them. I recall Jesus in the calming the storm.
10 You have broken Rahab in pieces, as one who is slain;
You have scattered Your enemies with Your mighty arm. He has already won the battle.

11 The heavens are Yours, the earth also is Yours; The Battle Belongs to the Lord.
The world and all its fullness, You have founded them.
12 The north and the south, You have created them;
Tabor and Hermon rejoice in Your name.
13 You have a mighty arm;
Strong is Your hand, and high is Your right hand.
14 Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne; God created all things
Mercy and truth go before Your face. He prepared for salvation before
15 Blessed are the people who know the joyful sound! He began creating the heavens and
They walk, O LORD, in the light of Your countenance. the earth.
16 In Your name they rejoice all day long,
And in Your righteousness they are exalted.
17 For You are the glory of their strength,
And in Your favor our horn is exalted.
18 For our shield belongs to the LORD, He has covered us with His
And our king to the Holy One of Israel. Righteousness.
19 Then You spoke in a vision to Your holy one,^[b]
And said: “I have given help to one who is mighty;
I have exalted one chosen from the people.
20 I have found My servant David;
With My holy oil I have anointed him,
21 With whom My hand shall be established;
Also My arm shall strengthen him.
22 The enemy shall not outwit him,
Nor the son of wickedness afflict him.
23 I will beat down his foes before his face,
And plague those who hate him.
24 “But My faithfulness and My mercy shall be with him,
And in My name his horn shall be exalted. His name is Jesus.
25 Also I will set his hand over the sea,
And his right hand over the rivers.
26 He shall cry to Me, ‘You are my Father,
My God, and the rock of my salvation.’
27 Also I will make him My firstborn,
The highest of the kings of the earth.
28 My mercy I will keep for him forever,
And My covenant shall stand firm with him.
29 His seed also I will make to endure forever,
And his throne as the days of heaven.
30 “If his sons forsake My law
And do not walk in My judgments,
31 If they break My statutes
And do not keep My commandments,
32 Then I will punish their transgression with the rod,
And their iniquity with stripes.
33 Nevertheless My lovingkindness I will not utterly take from him,
Nor allow My faithfulness to fail.
34 My covenant I will not break,
Nor alter the word that has gone out of My lips.
35 Once I have sworn by My holiness;
I will not lie to David:
36 His seed shall endure forever,
And his throne as the sun before Me;
37 It shall be established forever like the moon,
Even like the faithful witness in the sky.” Selah God has established the throne of Christ In the heavens forever.
38 But You have cast off and abhorred, the heavens.
You have been furious with Your anointed.
39 You have renounced the covenant of Your servant;
You have profaned his crown by casting it to the ground.
40 You have broken down all his hedges;
You have brought his strongholds to ruin.
41 All who pass by the way plunder him;
He is a reproach to his neighbors.
42 You have exalted the right hand of his adversaries;
You have made all his enemies rejoice.
43 You have also turned back the edge of his sword,
And have not sustained him in the battle.
44 You have made his glory cease,
And cast his throne down to the ground.
45 The days of his youth You have shortened;
You have covered him with shame. Selah There are very few places you will get a better
46 How long, LORD? picture of what happened on the cross of
Will You hide Yourself forever? Calvary.
Will Your wrath burn like fire?
47 Remember how short my time is;
For what futility have You created all the children of men?
48 What man can live and not see death?
Can he deliver his life from the power of the grave? Selah It seemed so hopeless while
49 Lord, where are Your former lovingkindnesses, Jesus was suffering, and it might seem
Which You swore to David in Your truth? hopeless at times while we go
50 Remember, Lord, the reproach of Your servants— through the storms of life.
How I bear in my bosom the reproach of all the many peoples,
51 With which Your enemies have reproached, O LORD,
With which they have reproached the footsteps of Your anointed.
52 Blessed be the LORD forevermore!
Amen and Amen.

It all reminds me of the message Tony Campolo tells about his pastor giving on one Good Friday service. “It's Friday, But Sundays 'A Comin'.

Pause and reflect wen you read the Scriptures.

Raise your voice in praise of the marvelous salvation that God has provided in Jesus Christ and the shedding of His precious blood.

Be a participator in the sharing of that salvation.

God’s Love Letters

Joshua 1:8

I want to take a minute this morning and share one of my pet peeves with you. I can’t stand it when someone calls me religious. I just don’t like the term religious at all. The reason it really bothers is that it does not describe me very well actually it does not really apply to me. When someone is religious they adhere to certain activities and rituals. There is a particular structure to what they believe and do in worship it is well defined and usually that person is expected to adhere to specific instructions for worship. The Jewish faith is religious, so people could say that Catholics are religious. I am not religious however I am a Christian and a follower of Christ, which does mean that I have a relationship with God.

In all healthy relationships there is good communication. One of the first things that you learn in marriage counseling is that communication is important. Most fights that occur in marriages are usually either about money or lack of good communication.

The past few weeks we have learned about prayer. Al has shared with us about this important type of communication that goes on between God and us. When I first because a Christian I never really seen a need to pray since God knows our every though. I have since come to realize how important prayer is. God enjoys hearing from us and wants us to have open dialogue with Him. Not only does God like to hear from us He also wants to speak to us. I am sure some of you are probably wondering what I am talking about. How does God speak to us you wonder. He speaks to us through His word, the Bible.

When we read God’s word He is able to speak to us. God inspired the writing the Bible according to 2 Timothy 3:16 it reads; “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:” The Holy Spirit helps us understand what is being said to us if we allow Him to. Luke 24:45 tells us that; “Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures.” God can speak to us through His word if we read it and study it daily. God wants to hear from us daily and He also wants to speak to us daily.

How can we know God if we don’t read His word? The truth of the matter is you don’t love God unless you read His word. God has been speaking to me this past week and I know I don’t read His word as much as I should. I really need to not just study His word but to actually take time and listen to what God is saying in it. If you can’t remember what passage you read yesterday then you really were not paying attention to what you read. I just wonder if we would all be honest with ourselves how many of us read the Bible, as much as we should. I have made a commitment to God to read more of His word each day, which else will join me and just take a few minutes out of each day. There are 24 hours in a day and I am going to give at least 10 percent to God that would be 24 minutes out of everyday its not that much time just about the length of one TV show. God loves you, and He is waiting to talk to you now ask yourself are you listening.

Resolutions to Very Bad Days

Resolutions to Very Bad Days Psalm 88 and stories from 2 Kings 4:8 – 8:6

Psalm 88

A Song. A Psalm of the sons of Korah. To the Chief Musician. Set to “Mahalath Leannoth.” A Contemplation of Heman the Ezrahite.

The Psalms have always been a place where people love to go to read when they are feeling down. I have often picked passages from the Psalms to read to those who were suffering in an extended illness. In reading Ken Gire's “The North Face of God,” I became aware of another reason the Psalms are very popular to some people. These people are those who find it hard to justify what God is or is not doing in their lives. When the days drag on with little or no resolution to the problems we face.

What do I say as a spiritual counselor to someone who is going through Job like experiences. I have sometimes resorted to quoting various verses in the Scriptures that might restore hope and peace or assurance. More often I have simply listened and grieved with them. There are times when answers will not come in this life. There are times when our experience with God only leads us to questions of why, how, and when.

The biblical accounts that I am going to recall today could have seemed like these type of situations to the people who were going through them at that time. Some resigned themselves to live as best they could in their circumstances and to continue to serve and love God and trust in Him. Others used every possible means to resolve their calamities. The last one was doomed to live the rest of his life in the shadow of a curse. There is also a surprise ending, so pay close attention.

1 O LORD, God of my salvation,
I have cried out day and night before You.
2 Let my prayer come before You;
Incline Your ear to my cry.

3 For my soul is full of troubles,
And my life draws near to the grave.
4 I am counted with those who go down to the pit;
I am like a man who has no strength,
5 Adrift among the dead,
Like the slain who lie in the grave,
Whom You remember no more,
And who are cut off from Your hand.

6 You have laid me in the lowest pit,
In darkness, in the depths.
7 Your wrath lies heavy upon me,
And You have afflicted me with all Your waves. Selah
8 You have put away my acquaintances far from me;
You have made me an abomination to them;
I am shut up, and I cannot get out;
9 My eye wastes away because of affliction.

LORD, I have called daily upon You;
I have stretched out my hands to You.
10 Will You work wonders for the dead?
Shall the dead arise and praise You? Selah
11 Shall Your loving kindness be declared in the grave?
Or Your faithfulness in the place of destruction?
12 Shall Your wonders be known in the dark?
And Your righteousness in the land of forgetfulness?

13 But to You I have cried out, O LORD,
And in the morning my prayer comes before You.
14 LORD, why do You cast off my soul?
Why do You hide Your face from me?
15 I have been afflicted and ready to die from my youth;
I suffer Your terrors;
I am distraught.
16 Your fierce wrath has gone over me;
Your terrors have cut me off.
17 They came around me all day long like water;
They engulfed me altogether.
18 Loved one and friend You have put far from me,
And my acquaintances into darkness.

1. A Shunmite's Plight

What do you give the woman who has everything?

She didn't have a son to care for her in her old age.

Elisha asked God to give her a son.

The son died.

Elisha, through the grace of God restored the boy to life.

They had to leave their home because of a famine.

2. A Servant with a Heart to Serve

She had witnessed the cruelty of being separated from her family.

She chose not to remain bitter.

She loved her captors closer to God.

3. A Warrior's Worse Nightmare

   The curse of leprosy and it's repercussions

   Hope in a strange land from a strange man

   It doesn't sound severe enough to work.

   The coaxing of a servant

   The cleansing through an act of faithfulness

   The refusal of finances

   The joy of a grateful man worshiping the ground that the prophet walked on.

4. The Greed of Gahazi

   A plot to pilfer the praiser

   A pile of loot for the plotter

   A plan gone bad

   A pill hard to swallow

   A pain passed on to the family

5. Four men between a rock and a hard place

   Resolve to take a chance

   Re con reveals retreated enemy's

   Relishing in the spoils of victory

   Recognizing the wrong doing

   Reporting to the city

   Retort from the king's right hand man

   Riot of rejoicing in the city

   Right hand man run over by rejoicers

   Wrongful death leaves king with a void

   Re emergents of a remorseful man

In each of these situations there seemed to be no hope, yet hope and deliverance emerged in irregular ways.

Perhaps what you have been going through has seemed to be unending and discouraging?

Perhaps you can see no end to the trial?

Perhaps your resolution is just around the corner?

Perhaps the answer to your prayer will only be revealed when God calls you home?

Remember, it is not just your present that God has in His hand, but also your eternal future.

It is where you spend eternity that matters to Him most.

Sometimes Life Is Like Aaron's Rod

Sometimes Life is Like Aarons Rod Exodus 7:8-13 Numbers 17:8-11

Tommy Tenney has written a marvelous book called, “The Ultimate Comeback.” He has accumulated some biblical comebacks of enormous proportions. Some of these I have never pondered even though I have read through the Bible hundreds of times and studied it for sermons over the past fifteen years.

Have you ever had a bad day? Maybe it was a bad week or even a bad year? Perhaps it might have been several years in sequence. Maybe your still going through it.

If you have ever heard things like these or if you ever will I want you to pay attention to what this message offers to those who feel they have no hope.

1. I started out as a nut that fell from a tree in the orchard.

2. I became in bedded in the ground and started to sprout into a sapling.

3. The gardener came by and noticed me.

4. He separated me out and made sure I had no weeds around me.

5. He gave me special nutrients to be sure that I grew strong.

6. He tied a strait stick to me to assure that I would grow strait and tall.

7. My dream was to be the youngest almond tree to ever produce fruit.

8. I felt alive and vital; I knew I was the best sapling in the orchard.

9. One day the gardener came by to check on my growth just like he had every week.

10. This time he gripped my base and rudely snapped my limbs off my trunk.

11. He took his ax and chopped off the limbs he couldn't break with his hands.

12. He pulled me sideways and with one swift swing of his ax, he severed me from my base root.

13. He then proceeded to strip my bark and laid me in the hot sun.

14. My dreams of becoming a productive almond tree were shattered.

15. Day by day the gardener would come by and turn me so the another side of me would be exposed to the sun.

16. Day by day I felt the life fluids drying up inside of me.

17. I felt for sure I was being prepared for fire wood, but what I couldn't figure out was why me?

18. When I felt totally dried up the gardener picked me up and gave me over to a man who used me as his staff.

19. I went with him everywhere he went.

20. The only time I was not in his hand or on his lap was while he was sleeping.

21. I found a new purpose in being this mans staff.

22. I helped him when the footing was difficult.

23. I drove off wild animals from his flock.

24. I decided that if I could no longer be an almond tree, I would be the best staff that a man could have.

25. I was glad to serve in this new roll.

26. The man was a leader of the people.

27. He and I were used by God in many ways to convince the people of God's presence and power.

28. He threw me to the ground one day and I became a snake and I ate up other rods that had became snakes.

29. I was used to turn water to blood.

30. I was used to bring frogs out of the streams and rivers.

31. I was used to make Gnats.

32. I felt great to be used by the LORD to free the people who were in slavery.

33. Then one day the men gathered around my master and argued about who would be the leader.

34. My master again threw me to the ground and the other men threw their staffs on me.

35. Then my master's brother picked all twelve of us staffs up and put us in a dark place in a tent.

36. I once again figured that I was going to be used for firewood.

37. During the night something strange started to happen.

38. I felt something that I liked but I had not felt in many years.

39. Life began to flow though my grain.

40. I felt something like bumps on my side and then they erupted into sprigs and then into branches.

41. The branches budded and started to grow almonds.

42. The almonds even ripened.

Aaron's rod was found budded in the morning by Moses, the man of God. God told him to leave it there as a witness to all those rebellious people that God had already chosen the leader of the Children of Israel.

Have you felt dried-up, ineffective and useless.

Have you felt that no one, not even God has any more for you?

If you can hear this message or read this God still has great plans for you.

If you are still alive He can still use you and bless you.

This is not the greatest story even though it might be a good one.

The greatest story is that Jesus Christ made the greatest comeback ever so that we all could make the great comeback.

You can know him personally today and you can start your own great comeback.

Turn your life over to Him today.