The General Assembly has been very good thus far. It has been a very busy time with General Council meetings three times on some days and twice on others. The meetings have been funny at times and very serious at others. It amazes me to hear some of the "boneheaded" things some people will say on the floor of the General Council.
The City of Orlando has been great, but it has been super hot. By the time you walk to the convention center (which is only two blocks away) you will be soaked in sweat. I brought suits down here, but after the first morning meeting I trashed that idea and went and bought some casual clothes. It's just to hot for a suit right now.
In the morning at 8a.m. we will head back to the council session, and then the General Assembly Business meeting will be conducted at 1:30 p.m.
The way the Assembly works--this is just a little information for those of you who may not know how the church operates.
1. The Executive Council (General Overseer, Three Assist. Overseers, and the General Sec/Tres along with the Council of Eighteen) submit an agenda to the General Council (All Ordained Bishops)
2. The General Council edits this agenda; often amending it considerably. Items are voted up or down along with edits and amendments, and then they are sent to the General Assembly (Every COG member that is registered at the Assembly).
3. The General Assembly will give an up or down vote on everything that is passed upon by the General Council.
*This is just a brief synopsis of how the Assembly works.
Michael D. Sanes
Pastor, The Harbor
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Sunday, July 25, 2010
The Altar
An altar is any place we consecrate to meet with God.
The altar is a place where hearts are changed, people are saved, and commitments are made. It is at the altar that we meet with God. It is here where we respond to His call on our lives. It is at the altar we accept the grace that is extended to us, and by faith we receive. It is also the place where God chooses to correct and instruct us.
After David numbered the fighting men of Israel without God’s consent, he was judged heavily for it. Seventy thousand people died because of his disobedience. It was at the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite that David took responsibility for his own actions. It was there that he bought the place for the full price and built an altar unto the Lord; the place where Solomon would later build the Temple.
When I think about the Altar there are 4 Observations that immediately come to my mind.
1. There is always blood at the altar—it is the place where something has died so that someone else might live. Calvary is the altar that comes to mind; it’s where Jesus died so that we could live.
2. There is always a sacrifice at the altar—something that has been given up to do some greater good. A sacrifice had to give itself wholly on the altar, and this is what we are supposed to do at the altar as well. Have you given yourself wholly?
a. The altar is also the place where God does spiritual surgery on us. Here we are sometimes rebuked, sometimes chastened, and brought to a place of submission.
b. This is what happened to David. He was brought to the altar of submission after the angel had killed 70,000 people.
c. There is one thing that I can say about David—He always to responsibility for his actions. He never blamed others or passed the buck. He owned up to his own sins.
d. What kind of sacrifice had you made for the Lord lately?
3. There is always fire at the altar—fire represents the Spirit; in the Old Testament the fire was to never go out at the altar.
a. When David offered his sacrifice on the altar fire fell from heaven indicating that God approved of, and accepted his sacrifice.
b. Fire is always present at the altar, and if you will present yourself at his altar He will touch you.
c. Isaiah was one who was touched by the fire from the altar and it changed his life. He was commissioned also for the work of the Lord and willingly accepted what he was earlier scared to do. But he was ready now because of the altar.
4. There is always worship at the altar—it is the where we meet with God and our burdens are lifted.
a. Altars are built for worship, so its only natural that:
i. Tears flow at the altar.
ii. Cold hearts melt at the altar
iii. Minds are changed at the altar
iv. Marriages are mended at the altar
v. Relationships are repaired at the altar
You can consecrate anything as an altar to the Lord. It may be your nightstand beside the bed, or it could be your coffee table in your living room. Or, it could be an old tree stump in your back yard, or and old work bench in your shop, as long as it is the place where you meet with God to commune with Him.
If you don’t have an altar, I challenge you to consecrate one and pray there regularly and see what God will do in your life.
Michael D. Sanes
Pastor, The Harbor Worship Center
Friday, July 16, 2010
3 Kinds of Christians
3 Kinds of Christians
Mountains were made for Climbing
Intro: In this Swiss Alps, there is a little mountain day camp for rookie climbers. Many businesses go there and take employees for an outing. What they’ll do is this: They’ll start out early in the morning and load on their climbing gear, and then they will climb halfway up the mountain. When they get halfway up, there’s something called “The Halfway House”. They get there about noon. They take off their gear, and get a warm meal; they sit in front of a warm fire. It’s a beautiful view, and a great environment.
The trip sponsors say that every time, without exception, when it’s time for lunch to be over and time to strap their gear back on; they always lose half of the people.
• Half of them are content to say they climbed halfway.
• They are content to lounge around, drinks some drinks, play games, and sing around the piano.
• They sit by the fire and enjoy themselves.
• Then about 4 O’clock they hear a bell ringing; they run to the big window facing the mountain, and there they are; their friends are summiting the mountain.
o Almost instantly the atmosphere changes to that of a funeral.
o They sit there pondering: “That could be me”.
• Isn’t this a picture of many of our lives today?
* I would like to propose to you that there are 3 Kinds of Christians.
I. Quitters
a. They are the ones that just don’t try anymore.
b. They tend to be the victims of something or someone.
c. They have become bitter and like poison to be around. They are always depressed and negative about life, church, and pessimistic about their future.
d. When things get the least difficult quitters quit.
e. When adversity rears its head, they opt out.
f. They abandon their careers, their marriages, their children and family; even their churches.
g. They are the ones that quit believing in God when unexplainable trouble comes their way.
h. Paul was not a quitter II Cor 4:8-10
i. Jesus was not a quitter Heb 12:2
II. Campers
a. These are the ones who climb for a little while and then decide they like it well enough halfway up the mountain. They decide to camp and enjoy the view.
b. They let the real climbers keep going, and they don’t seem to remember that at one time they were climbers with passion themselves.
c. Campers go so far and then decide they are happy with the successes they’ve seen thus far. Their attitude is: “Well, this is pretty good”. I think I’ll pitch my tent and stay a while.
d. They are happy with partial success. They are the example of the saying “Good is the enemy of best”
III. Climbers
a. Understand that half way is just that; only half the way. They know the mission has not yet been accomplished, and there is much more to be done.
b. They understand that you can’t sit around the fire and sing songs forever. At some point you have to strap on the climbing gear and get at it.
c. Climbers are never content to look through the window as others achieve the goal. They have to try; they may have to take another break, but they’ll keep on climbing.
d. Some people are very happy to have a “little success”, but not climbers; they keep the goal in mind at all times, and will not be defeated or deterred.
What kind of Christian are you?
Note: The above illustration was adapted from Jentezen Franklin's book--Believe You Can
Mountains were made for Climbing
Intro: In this Swiss Alps, there is a little mountain day camp for rookie climbers. Many businesses go there and take employees for an outing. What they’ll do is this: They’ll start out early in the morning and load on their climbing gear, and then they will climb halfway up the mountain. When they get halfway up, there’s something called “The Halfway House”. They get there about noon. They take off their gear, and get a warm meal; they sit in front of a warm fire. It’s a beautiful view, and a great environment.
The trip sponsors say that every time, without exception, when it’s time for lunch to be over and time to strap their gear back on; they always lose half of the people.
• Half of them are content to say they climbed halfway.
• They are content to lounge around, drinks some drinks, play games, and sing around the piano.
• They sit by the fire and enjoy themselves.
• Then about 4 O’clock they hear a bell ringing; they run to the big window facing the mountain, and there they are; their friends are summiting the mountain.
o Almost instantly the atmosphere changes to that of a funeral.
o They sit there pondering: “That could be me”.
• Isn’t this a picture of many of our lives today?
* I would like to propose to you that there are 3 Kinds of Christians.
I. Quitters
a. They are the ones that just don’t try anymore.
b. They tend to be the victims of something or someone.
c. They have become bitter and like poison to be around. They are always depressed and negative about life, church, and pessimistic about their future.
d. When things get the least difficult quitters quit.
e. When adversity rears its head, they opt out.
f. They abandon their careers, their marriages, their children and family; even their churches.
g. They are the ones that quit believing in God when unexplainable trouble comes their way.
h. Paul was not a quitter II Cor 4:8-10
i. Jesus was not a quitter Heb 12:2
II. Campers
a. These are the ones who climb for a little while and then decide they like it well enough halfway up the mountain. They decide to camp and enjoy the view.
b. They let the real climbers keep going, and they don’t seem to remember that at one time they were climbers with passion themselves.
c. Campers go so far and then decide they are happy with the successes they’ve seen thus far. Their attitude is: “Well, this is pretty good”. I think I’ll pitch my tent and stay a while.
d. They are happy with partial success. They are the example of the saying “Good is the enemy of best”
III. Climbers
a. Understand that half way is just that; only half the way. They know the mission has not yet been accomplished, and there is much more to be done.
b. They understand that you can’t sit around the fire and sing songs forever. At some point you have to strap on the climbing gear and get at it.
c. Climbers are never content to look through the window as others achieve the goal. They have to try; they may have to take another break, but they’ll keep on climbing.
d. Some people are very happy to have a “little success”, but not climbers; they keep the goal in mind at all times, and will not be defeated or deterred.
What kind of Christian are you?
Note: The above illustration was adapted from Jentezen Franklin's book--Believe You Can
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Storm Walker
Church Family,
Last night we discussed a little bit of the life of the Apostle Peter, and the historic moment when he defied gravitational laws and walked on water. We had a great move of God during the song service last night, and then again in the altar service.
We talked about how we expect God to show up at church, at devotions, when we meditate on Him, and so forth. But we don't often think of Him showing up in tragedies such as: foreclosures, deaths, bankruptcy, divorces, and so on. However, these are the places where He shows up most often, and it is here that He does His greatest work.
In Matthew 14 we find that Jesus had just fed the 5000 people and sent the multitude away. He instructed His disciples to get into the boat and go ahead of Him to the other side while He retired to the mountain to pray. He was sending them right into the storm, and He knew it; they didn't.
It was supposed to be a one hour trip across the Sea of Galilee, but it turned into nine grueling hours of agony and wondering if this is where it would all end. Unexpectedly at 4a.m. Jesus shows up by walking on the water. The disciples thought He was a ghost, or some kind of phantom. He spoke to them and said, "It is I. Don't be afraid." Peter said, "Lord, if its you, allow me to come to you on the water". Jesus responded, "Come". So he did, and for the next few seconds Peter made history by doing what no one else had ever done besides Jesus. He walked on the water.
The lesson learned here is that you must keep your eyes on Jesus, even in the storm. Max Lucado tells the story of him flying in an Airforce jet with a veteran pilot who had 6000 flying hours under his belt. Max explained how scared he was as the plane twisted and turned through the skies at unbelievable speeds. He said the only thing he was able to do was to look at the pilot. As long as the pilot didn't look scared and afraid, he could assume everything was gonna be alright.
As long as Peter kept looking at Jesus he was alright. It's only when he began to look at other things: the storm, the winds, the waves, etc. that he began to sink. We have to keep looking to Jesus.
We have an O.T. example given to us in the Bible. When the fiery serpents were sent into the camp of the Israelites, Moses was instructed to build a brazen serpent and place it upon a pole and put it at the highest point in the camp. When anyone was bitten all they had to do was "look" upon the serpent that had been raised up in the wilderness, and they would live. Likewise, if we will keep our eyes upon Jesus who was raised up on Calvary, we too will live.
Don't look at the storm water, rather, look at the Storm Walker!
Michael D. Sanes
Pastor, THWC
Last night we discussed a little bit of the life of the Apostle Peter, and the historic moment when he defied gravitational laws and walked on water. We had a great move of God during the song service last night, and then again in the altar service.
We talked about how we expect God to show up at church, at devotions, when we meditate on Him, and so forth. But we don't often think of Him showing up in tragedies such as: foreclosures, deaths, bankruptcy, divorces, and so on. However, these are the places where He shows up most often, and it is here that He does His greatest work.
In Matthew 14 we find that Jesus had just fed the 5000 people and sent the multitude away. He instructed His disciples to get into the boat and go ahead of Him to the other side while He retired to the mountain to pray. He was sending them right into the storm, and He knew it; they didn't.
It was supposed to be a one hour trip across the Sea of Galilee, but it turned into nine grueling hours of agony and wondering if this is where it would all end. Unexpectedly at 4a.m. Jesus shows up by walking on the water. The disciples thought He was a ghost, or some kind of phantom. He spoke to them and said, "It is I. Don't be afraid." Peter said, "Lord, if its you, allow me to come to you on the water". Jesus responded, "Come". So he did, and for the next few seconds Peter made history by doing what no one else had ever done besides Jesus. He walked on the water.
The lesson learned here is that you must keep your eyes on Jesus, even in the storm. Max Lucado tells the story of him flying in an Airforce jet with a veteran pilot who had 6000 flying hours under his belt. Max explained how scared he was as the plane twisted and turned through the skies at unbelievable speeds. He said the only thing he was able to do was to look at the pilot. As long as the pilot didn't look scared and afraid, he could assume everything was gonna be alright.
As long as Peter kept looking at Jesus he was alright. It's only when he began to look at other things: the storm, the winds, the waves, etc. that he began to sink. We have to keep looking to Jesus.
We have an O.T. example given to us in the Bible. When the fiery serpents were sent into the camp of the Israelites, Moses was instructed to build a brazen serpent and place it upon a pole and put it at the highest point in the camp. When anyone was bitten all they had to do was "look" upon the serpent that had been raised up in the wilderness, and they would live. Likewise, if we will keep our eyes upon Jesus who was raised up on Calvary, we too will live.
Don't look at the storm water, rather, look at the Storm Walker!
Michael D. Sanes
Pastor, THWC
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