Kelly and I have been at Lelon and Teal Jeffer's farm for the last several days. They are wonderful people, and they have been pastoring the East Main Church of God in Statesboro for the last 14 months, and they are doing a wonderful job. They have recently remodeled their sanctuary completely and modernized everything; it really looks good. They are also employing new lighting systems which changes the ambiance of the service.
I was supposed to preach for them on Wednesday night, but a few hours before service their baptismal pool cracked and flooded the sanctuary. They had to cancel service to deal with this situation. Thankfully it was caught in time and they did not suffer any real damage to the church.
On the farm they have four wheelers, horses, golf carts, buggies, and boats. This place is truly a country boys haven. They also have several ponds on the place. I caught two bass yesterday and two this morning. Kelly did catch the larger fish, although you already know that because she put it on facebook.
I had the chance to take his Marlin .17 cal to his shooting range and what an awesome rifle this is. Yes, Kelly did group five shots within a 4" circle at 150 yards. Although, you probably already knew this because of facebook.
Anyway, I think we are going to drive into Claxton to take a trip down memory lane. Then its back to the farm to shoot bullfrogs tonight, and do a little fishing. Tonight is low country boil; I'm looking forward to it.
If it was up to Lelon we would stay a week, but I told him we will have to leave Saturday. We have the big Freedom Service on Sunday.
Mike Sanes
Pastor, The Harbor
Friday, June 25, 2010
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Discernment
Discernment
Discernment- The ability to find the root of the matter, and it relies on intuition as well as rational thought.
• Spiritual Discernment is the ability to judge as to whether an action is an act of the Holy Spirit or a familiar or false spirit.
Trans: There are four principles that we can employ that will help us with discernment.
I. Discover the Root Issues
1. Ask the Lord to show you the root cause of the problem or symptoms that are revealed.
2. Most leaders never have the entire puzzle before them when they make decisions. They have pieces here and there, and the gaps are filled in with discernment.
3. Discernment allows the leader to see the partial picture and fill in the missing pieces intuitively.
4. There discernment can take them right to the heart of the matter.
5. There are many times that I hear of situations, and long before they surface and the facts come to light I have already discerned what is happening behind the scenes.
i. Discerning of Spirits
ii. See through people and their motives, lies etc.
iii. God gives us true discernment, but there are things that we can do to help ease our task.
II. Enhance Your Problem Solving
1. If you can see the root issue, then you can solve the problem.
2. The closer you are to your area of giftedness, the easier it is for you to see or discern the root causes.
3. So if you want to tap into your potential of discernment, then work in your areas of strength.
i. Of course the Spirit of God can reveal things to us at any level.
III. Evaluate Your Options for Maximum Impact
1. Never ignore a “Gut Feeling”; but also, “never believe that it’s enough”.
2. Discernment is not relying on intuition alone, not on intellect; but it is a combination of intuition and intellect.
3. It is in that area of intuition where the Spirit of God deals with us concerning issues. This is where that “Gut Feeling” comes from.
IV. Multiply Your Opportunities
1. People that lack discernment are seldom in the right place at the right time.
2. I believe that it is a leaders discernment that creates his own luck so to speak. It is not really luck, but blessings.
3. Illus. Of a fisherman going fishing. He has intellectual knowledge of how to fish, when to, where to, etc.; but when he gets there he allows his gut to take over as he see conditions changing, current changing and so forth.
Application:
• Are you able to cut right to the heart of the matter and deal with it?
• Are you able to see the root cause of the problem without having every detail?
• Do you trust your intuition as much as your intellect? If not, you need to cultivate it.
To Improve Discernment, do the following:
1. Analyze Past Successes- See what you have solved successfully in the past. What was the root issue to that problem? What made you succeed? If you can look back and see the heart of this problem in just a few words, then you can probably look forward and do the same thing with new problems.
2. Learn How Others Think- Read biographies of others discerning leaders, by learning how they think you can become more discerning.
3. Listen To Your Gut- Try to think of times when your intuition spoke to your and you were right on the money. Look for patterns that will give you insight into you own intuition.
Michael D. Sanes
Pastor, The Harbor Worship Center
Discernment- The ability to find the root of the matter, and it relies on intuition as well as rational thought.
• Spiritual Discernment is the ability to judge as to whether an action is an act of the Holy Spirit or a familiar or false spirit.
Trans: There are four principles that we can employ that will help us with discernment.
I. Discover the Root Issues
1. Ask the Lord to show you the root cause of the problem or symptoms that are revealed.
2. Most leaders never have the entire puzzle before them when they make decisions. They have pieces here and there, and the gaps are filled in with discernment.
3. Discernment allows the leader to see the partial picture and fill in the missing pieces intuitively.
4. There discernment can take them right to the heart of the matter.
5. There are many times that I hear of situations, and long before they surface and the facts come to light I have already discerned what is happening behind the scenes.
i. Discerning of Spirits
ii. See through people and their motives, lies etc.
iii. God gives us true discernment, but there are things that we can do to help ease our task.
II. Enhance Your Problem Solving
1. If you can see the root issue, then you can solve the problem.
2. The closer you are to your area of giftedness, the easier it is for you to see or discern the root causes.
3. So if you want to tap into your potential of discernment, then work in your areas of strength.
i. Of course the Spirit of God can reveal things to us at any level.
III. Evaluate Your Options for Maximum Impact
1. Never ignore a “Gut Feeling”; but also, “never believe that it’s enough”.
2. Discernment is not relying on intuition alone, not on intellect; but it is a combination of intuition and intellect.
3. It is in that area of intuition where the Spirit of God deals with us concerning issues. This is where that “Gut Feeling” comes from.
IV. Multiply Your Opportunities
1. People that lack discernment are seldom in the right place at the right time.
2. I believe that it is a leaders discernment that creates his own luck so to speak. It is not really luck, but blessings.
3. Illus. Of a fisherman going fishing. He has intellectual knowledge of how to fish, when to, where to, etc.; but when he gets there he allows his gut to take over as he see conditions changing, current changing and so forth.
Application:
• Are you able to cut right to the heart of the matter and deal with it?
• Are you able to see the root cause of the problem without having every detail?
• Do you trust your intuition as much as your intellect? If not, you need to cultivate it.
To Improve Discernment, do the following:
1. Analyze Past Successes- See what you have solved successfully in the past. What was the root issue to that problem? What made you succeed? If you can look back and see the heart of this problem in just a few words, then you can probably look forward and do the same thing with new problems.
2. Learn How Others Think- Read biographies of others discerning leaders, by learning how they think you can become more discerning.
3. Listen To Your Gut- Try to think of times when your intuition spoke to your and you were right on the money. Look for patterns that will give you insight into you own intuition.
Michael D. Sanes
Pastor, The Harbor Worship Center
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Pastor Appreciation Day
I would like to thank Ken and Tara Smith for heading up Pastor Appreciation Day. Also, I would like to say thanks to all those who helped with the food, decorations, and so forth. It meant so much to us.
It was a special honor to have Brother Lamar Lee, Pastor of the Baxley Church of God, and his Kim come to preach this special occasion. Lamar and I have been friends for a number of years.
Dignitaries that were in attendance on this special day were:
1. Daryl Griffis, Chief of Police for the City of Kingsland.
2. Tim Hatch, Chief of Police for the City of Saint Mary's.
3. Bill Shanahan, City Manager for Saint Mary's.
4. Ken Smith, Mayor, City of Kingsland.
Everything was great, and Kelly and I would like to express our sincere gratitude for all that was done for us on this special day.
Blessings!
Mike Sanes
Pastor, The Harbor
It was a special honor to have Brother Lamar Lee, Pastor of the Baxley Church of God, and his Kim come to preach this special occasion. Lamar and I have been friends for a number of years.
Dignitaries that were in attendance on this special day were:
1. Daryl Griffis, Chief of Police for the City of Kingsland.
2. Tim Hatch, Chief of Police for the City of Saint Mary's.
3. Bill Shanahan, City Manager for Saint Mary's.
4. Ken Smith, Mayor, City of Kingsland.
Everything was great, and Kelly and I would like to express our sincere gratitude for all that was done for us on this special day.
Blessings!
Mike Sanes
Pastor, The Harbor
Monday, June 7, 2010
Church News
We had an outstanding time in the House of Worship yesterday. Sunday morning we talked about the "Call that Counted Most". A message based on last Wednesday night Detroit Tiger game where pitcher Armando Galarraga had pitched a perfect game, but the call of the umpire took it away from him despite clear video evidence. However, in MLB there is no video review of an umpire's call, so the call stands although it is clearly wrong.
In this message we considered the reactions of the 1. The Pitcher 2. The Umpire 3. The Fans. It was a very challenging message and I have received lots of comments about. It will be up online soon.
Sunday night we answered the age-old questions about the existence of God. We did this by considering what: 1. The Word say about Him 2. What Great Men have said about Him 3. What Nature tells us about Him. This too was a powerful message that God allowed me to preach with a heavy anointing. It will be available this week online. I hope it blesses you, or convicts you, whatever God has in mind for you.
This morning I received an email from a local pastor whose church and board have been considering buying our church. In his email he let me know that they have started putting together a proposal to present to us. I am asking everyone to pray about the situation and ask God to lead and guide us in the way He would have to go.
Kelly and I are now packed and will be leaving momentarily for Tifton to attend South Georgia's Camp Meeting. I encourage each of your to log onto to www.sgacog.org and click on "Coffee with the Bishop" and I believe you can view the services from this site.
I am looking forward to seeing you when I return!
Blessings!
Michael D. Sanes
Pastor, The Harbor Worship Center
In this message we considered the reactions of the 1. The Pitcher 2. The Umpire 3. The Fans. It was a very challenging message and I have received lots of comments about. It will be up online soon.
Sunday night we answered the age-old questions about the existence of God. We did this by considering what: 1. The Word say about Him 2. What Great Men have said about Him 3. What Nature tells us about Him. This too was a powerful message that God allowed me to preach with a heavy anointing. It will be available this week online. I hope it blesses you, or convicts you, whatever God has in mind for you.
This morning I received an email from a local pastor whose church and board have been considering buying our church. In his email he let me know that they have started putting together a proposal to present to us. I am asking everyone to pray about the situation and ask God to lead and guide us in the way He would have to go.
Kelly and I are now packed and will be leaving momentarily for Tifton to attend South Georgia's Camp Meeting. I encourage each of your to log onto to www.sgacog.org and click on "Coffee with the Bishop" and I believe you can view the services from this site.
I am looking forward to seeing you when I return!
Blessings!
Michael D. Sanes
Pastor, The Harbor Worship Center
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
A.J.'s Graduation / Adam & Chello's Wedding
I would like to say thanks to all the people who came out in big numbers in support of our graduates. This year we had more graduates from the Harbor than we have ever had before. I really appreciate all the words of encouragement from the church family that were given to A.J. I also thank you for all the letters, cards, gifts, and money, as well as the parties and cakes.
I can't say enough about how the people of the Harbor who turned out to work for Adam and Chelsie's wedding. You went above and beyond the call of duty to make this day so very special for them, and for us as well. The wedding and reception was absolutely stunning. I posted about 250 pictures on facebook last night.
Thanks again!
Pastor Michael D. Sanes
Mom and Dad's Visit
Well, its been a busy two weeks. Mom and Dad left yesterday around lunch time. We had a great time with them over the last 12 days. This was the longest time they have ever been able to spend with Kelly and I since we've been away from Columbus.
It was such a blessing to have them here.
I was also able to do some much needed maintenance on their car that saved them a lot of money. I'm glad I planned to do this for them because while doing routine stuff I found some serious things that had to be taken care of before the long trip back home. I planned to change their oil/filter and oxygen sensor. After doing so I heard their serpentine belt tensioner squeaking. This is something that you don't need to break on a trip, especially in hot weather. So I changed it. I'm so glad the Lord allowed me to hear it and change it, so that it didn't leave them stranded on the side of the road, or with a huge bill that someone may have charged them for a simple job.
Just before they left I told them I wanted to check the tire pressure in their tires. As it turns out, whoever rotated their tires two weeks ago put the hub caps on wrong, so they were covering the valve stems. I would soon find out that was the least of the problem; the lugs were so loose I could not believe it. This was just moments before they left.
I believe it was the Spirit of the Lord that led me to check those pressures and find the loose lugs. Thank you Lord for allowing me to find it and fix it.
Dad also asked me to say thank you to the church for the generous love offerings that were given when he preached the past two Sunday nights. They were both amazed at the loved shown to them by all of the people of the Harbor. Thank you for loving them and making them feel so welcomed and at home.
Blessings!
Pastor Sanes
It was such a blessing to have them here.
I was also able to do some much needed maintenance on their car that saved them a lot of money. I'm glad I planned to do this for them because while doing routine stuff I found some serious things that had to be taken care of before the long trip back home. I planned to change their oil/filter and oxygen sensor. After doing so I heard their serpentine belt tensioner squeaking. This is something that you don't need to break on a trip, especially in hot weather. So I changed it. I'm so glad the Lord allowed me to hear it and change it, so that it didn't leave them stranded on the side of the road, or with a huge bill that someone may have charged them for a simple job.
Just before they left I told them I wanted to check the tire pressure in their tires. As it turns out, whoever rotated their tires two weeks ago put the hub caps on wrong, so they were covering the valve stems. I would soon find out that was the least of the problem; the lugs were so loose I could not believe it. This was just moments before they left.
I believe it was the Spirit of the Lord that led me to check those pressures and find the loose lugs. Thank you Lord for allowing me to find it and fix it.
Dad also asked me to say thank you to the church for the generous love offerings that were given when he preached the past two Sunday nights. They were both amazed at the loved shown to them by all of the people of the Harbor. Thank you for loving them and making them feel so welcomed and at home.
Blessings!
Pastor Sanes
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