Well, it is Jesus birthday so what does he want? Since I was a little child I always was asked what I want for Christmas? The gifts were for me! I though it was all about me! Jesus gave us the greatest gift but what do with it? Do I treat the gifts as precious? Could I give Jesus more of my time? The time is not mine because he created time! Could I give him gold like the wise men? The streets of Heaven are paved with gold and besides the scriptures declare he is more precious than silver or gold! Could I pray more? He is interceding for me right now at the right hand of the Father! Could I love him more? He first loved me! Could I live for him? He gave his life for me! Could I put sinners under his Christmas tree? Could I put the lost souls of this generation under his tree? Could I present worms turned to butterfly’s under his tree? Could I help to populate Heaven and earth with Saints! Forgiven sinners? Only by his power and grace! Can I do anything without Jesus? I can sin and live a selfish life away from him! I can work death instead of life! Because of him I do not have to do that! I think the best thing I can do for Christmas is receive his gift of Salvation and eternal life and share his gift with others! Happy Birthday Jesus! Pastor Oscar Cope, Mount Vernon Baptist Church, Fairburn, Georgia.
Tag: georgia
Who Do You Trust? Psalm 86:11
Hebrew Translation: “Teach me by laying a foundation established and erect controlling me which leads me down the road of life. O Lord; I will walk faithfully and stable in thy truth; unite my heart in the totality of my inner nature to reverence and respect your name.” Comment: We like Jesus disciples have struggled with this scripture! Like Jesus disciples we sometimes do not walk stable following him! We waver in faith getting off the road that leads to life! The disciples would sometimes get off the foundation! Their heart was not always united with Christ! Reverence and respect for his name was not always there! Peter denied Jesus even though he told him he would die for him! He eventually did in Rome years later! Jesus told us to go out into all the world and preach the Gospel! We say let the church do it! Let an organization do it! Pay them so I do not have to do it! Our gift’s God has given us cannot be used unless we do what Jesus told us to do! At the feeding of the 5000 Jesus asked the disciples what do they have? The disciples wanted to send the crowd away! We do not have money to feed this large crowd? Cancel the meeting! Send them home! The disciples were perplexed? They can buy their own food! A little boy in the crowd came prepared! He had more than enough for himself! He had a little faith! Enough faith to give Jesus everything he had! The little boy gave his all! He had the gift of 5 loaves and 2 fish! Bring what you have to Jesus! God will multiply it! Let God bless what you have! Really what he has given you! Doesn’t seem like much but enough! He will multiply it to feed everyone! God is greater than what you have! Have you figured this out yet? Do something with what God has given you! With your life! Don’t waste it on drugs and go to work! With the left overs from a miracle you can feed even more people! Twelve baskets full! Israel had twelve tribes and Jesus had twelve disciples! God can build a nation out of left overs! God can build a church with left overs! God has more than enough for your family! He has more than enough for your church! God can bless you if you bring all you have to him! Peter build my church! Do you want to distribute God to the world? Or keep him for yourself? Sow the seed you have! Do not eat your seed! Share and multiply what you have! The rich young ruler was not able to do that? He valued his possessions more than God! I don’t need to tithe and make offerings? The possessions God had given to him he could not give back! If you give to God what you have he will do more with it than you ever could by yourself! The graveyard is full of excuses! Even David who wrote this Psalm waivered at times! Jesus never did! Wait on God but not on anything else! Do what God has called you to do! Help the needy and the lost! Go after those the world has rejected! Pray and agree with God! Jesus had every excuse to quit! The crown of thorns was very painful! The betrayal of his disciples was painful! His back cut open and bleeding was painful! His Cross was heavy! Your will be done! God’s will is not easy! Jesus had no excuses to die for you! Do you have any excuses not to live for him? He gave his all! Can you? Be faithful! Stand up for our flag and take a knee for Jesus in prayer! Pastor Don Wildes, Mount Vernon Baptist Church, Fairburn, Georgia
Christbook or Facebook? Revelation 20:15
So which is it? Christbook or Facebook? It is not about me or about you! It is about Christ! You can let God make it about you but first you have to make it about him! Then you are moving in the right direction to stay out of the Lake of Fire! God did make it about you on the Cross! But if you reject his sacrifice for your sin then you become the sacrifice! You do not want to go there! After I discovered Christ’s love for me then for the rest of my life I have made it about him! So is your name in his Book? Is your name written in the Book of Life? How would I know? If you shared his name on your Facebook! Is your name written down in Heaven? If it was then you would share his name on earth! I do not wish the Lake of Fire on anyone! However the choice will be yours to make! In fact it has already been made! Unless you change your mind? God asked the same question in Daniel 12:1, that he has asked you in Revelation 20:15. Have you made it all about Christ? This is the only evidence God will find in the earth! Pastor Oscar Cope our Pastor here in Georgia has been in the ministry for over 50 years! So he has seen everything there is to see in ministry! He shared with us some of the excuses people make even in the church to avoid Christ! Some say I cannot take Communion or make the trip to the Altar because Christ and God is too Holy! I know God has forgiven me but I cannot forgive myself! Really? Are you greater than God? If God has forgiven you who in the world are you? Identification with Christ can only come while you are here on the earth! Your decision for Christ is only done in this life! But it determines your next life! How could I identify with Christ on Facebook? Put some Bible verses up on it! Embarrassed what your friends might think? Then you are not saved! No secret service Christians in earth or in Heaven! What evidence is there on earth that Christ is first in your life! Do you cheat God on your tithes and offerings! Do you work on Sunday or keep the Sabbath Holy? The evidence is either for or against you! Do you love others more than yourself? Can I have it both ways? My name in God’s Book and keep my Facebook account? Yes if you put and share Christ on your account! Your Facebook account will be closed one day! Then the Book of Life will be opened in Heaven! We hope and pray your name will be written there but your life for or against Christ is being recorded right now! James and Hamsa Sasse. GodWhoisGod.com
Only 4 Weeks to Live!
Our Pastor challenged us with this question! If you had only 4 weeks to live what would you do? Would you do anything different in the next 30 days from what you normally do? John stood up in the congregation and declared he would go out and feed the poor with the money he had left in his savings account! Sally stood up and said she would pray! Pray! Pray! Pray for a healing and be closer to Jesus! Henry stood up in the congregation and said he would spend the last 4 weeks of his life over at his mother-in-law’s house! He told the congregation it would be the longest 4 weeks of my life! Pastor Oscar Cope, Mount Vernon Baptist Church, Fairburn, Georgia.
Church Growth & Decline! II Chronicles Chapters 6-7
Mary pondered these things in her heart! Do we ponder the things of God? His House? A church that was once strong and powerful fades away into history? Solomon built the most beautiful Temple for God in history! Solomon had so much wealth given to him! The Queen of Sheba gave him 4 tons of gold for a gift! Solomon did not spend on himself but invested it into the building of the Temple! The Jews made sacrifices to construct the Temple! Solomon asked God for wisdom but God gave him both wisdom and riches! Riches outside the will and purpose of God will come to nothing! After Solomon and many years passed the Temple declined and was destroyed and the Jews went into captivity! Why do some churches fail while others prosper? What series of events cause these opposite outcomes? We must see life God’s way and not our own way! Solomon took the wealth God had given him and invested it into the Temple for worship! God gave the provisions! The church began and the people gave their best! We see from the recorded scriptures here the people prayed and God heard their requests and acted upon them! He bless their cause and work! At the end of Solomon’s prayer God was pleased and fire came down from Heaven and the sacrifice was consumed! What was going right in the Temple! People were obedient to leadership! It was more than just the ornaments of gold silver and jewels! Something was going on inside the Temple! Fire came down and the Lord’s House was filled with His Glory! His mercy endures forever! Solomon built a place where people could bring the sacrifices! God confirmed the blessings with his presence! God has chosen this place for himself! The power of faithfulness and obedience! God heard their prayers! If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves………! We will hear from Heaven! Revival! Times of refreshing! Heart’s right with God! Eyes opened! New revelation! Examine ourselves! Meet God! Who is your God? God is not the reason for a declining church! People have forgotten who they are in Christ! Lost favor of God! Lost sense of purpose! Focus on themselves! No witness of God to the community! Forsaken the God of our Father’s! Calamity follows! God moves out and the world moves in! Secularism! Return to the Lord! He will hear from heaven! He will heal with church growth! Now I must ask you a personal question? Have you given any sacrifice to God that he can consume? When God consumes your sacrifice his presence is manifested in his House! No sacrifice no consumption and no presence! No God in the House! Empty! Christ’s sacrifice caused God to consume Jesus completely with His manifested Glory! Miracles left and right! Are tithes and offerings too much sacrifice for you? Are ministries into your community too much for you? Prison ministry? Hospital and nursing home visits too much for you? Without your sacrifice he has nothing to work with! Do not waste your sacrifice on the world! Your effort will be lost forever! Have faith in God and trust him! You will never be disappointed! When the leadership and people stop sacrificing the ministry declines! When they begin to sacrifice the ministry grows! Pastor Ron Wilder, Mount Vernon Baptist Church, Fairburn, Georgia.
One Week After Easter! April 14, 1912
Pastor John Harper was an accomplished Pastor out of Scotland with hundreds of congregation members in his home church! He had been invited by Moody Church in Chicago to participate with this ministry! He was excited and his young daughter and sister accompanied them on a brand new ship on it’s maiden voyage to New York! His wife had been deceased years earlier. The Titanic was promoted as the safest ship to ever sail. On the late night of April 14th the Titanic struck that rock of ice and began taking on water! As the tragedy unfolded Pastor Harper helped load the women and children into the life boats! He gave up his life vest to another who did not have one! A crew member warned him that without the life vest you are going down with the ship! Pastor Harper replied that he was going up and not down! Pastor Harper kept shouting to the crowds, “Do you know Jesus as your Savior?” He continued to shout, “No one can save you tonight but God!” Survivors said that Pastor Harper kept preaching the Gospel to the end especially after Acts 16:31. Are you saved was his continual cry to the people entering the cold icy waters of the North Atlantic! Pastor Harper found himself in the cold frigid waters clinging to a deck chair floating in the water! As people floated by him he would ask them if they were saved? Do you know Christ! Declare His name from your lips and enter into eternal life! You only have one chance tonight! Do not let the love of this world keep you from Christ! Christ loves you but not this world! Trust Christ not your own efforts! Whether here tonight or later we will all perish from this earth! There is only one name under Heaven in where you can be saved! Pastor Harper with over 1500 people perished that night and entered eternity either saved or lost! Are you saved! When we run out of time we run out of choices! The word time means, “To Honor.” Why not honor Him today with the rest of your life here on earth? Pastor John Harpers life can be seen by reading a book called, “The Titanic’s Last Hero”, published by Moody Adams. Do not let Easter slip away from you under the dark waters of death! Pastor Oscar Cope, Mount Vernon Baptist Church, Fairburn, Georgia.
Cowboys & Grandma’s Tonic!
Little Alice was told by her grandma early in her life that she was going to live a long life if she obeyed and listened to grandma! Grandma told Alice that in order to live a long life she needed to take 1/2 teaspoon of gun powder mixed with 8 ounces of water everyday for the rest of her life! Grandma finally passed away but she was 117 years old! Grandma never did anyone any harm while she lived on earth however when they ran her through the crematory she left a 500 foot deep crater where the crematory used to be! Never mess with grandma! Pastor Oscar Cope, Mount Vernon Baptist Church, Fairburn, Georgia.
Hebrews 11:1 Greek Translation
“To believe and act is the foundation for your expectation and desire that you have not seen yet.” Comment: We believe and act on what we trust! If we put our faith in the wrong things or people sin, guilt and fear will control us! A.B. Evans said this, “Faith is not a sense, nor sight, nor reason; but faith is taking God at His Word!” The words of people can be deceptive! Remember Satan told Eve surely God has not said this? Go ahead and eat this delicious looking fruit! There is only one of two voices we will hear and obey! Either God or Satan! All of us first listened to the voice of Satan! We were deceived like Adam and Eve! Sin, guilt and fear was the outcome! Sin was the outcome yet we still have an opportunity to listen and obey the voice of God! It is never too late! Remember the thief on the Cross? If you believe and act upon the Word of God through His Son Jesus Christ and confess your sin you will enter a new day being born again and experience God’s love! No longer in bondage to sin but free to serve God and love others! The choice is yours to make but it is a matter of life and death! Pastor Oscar Cope, Mount Vernon Baptist Church, Fairburn, Georgia.
Juvenile Delinquent!
Little Sally was a 7th grader who did well in school and obeyed her parents! She was searching on the internet for dress shoes and she found a pair she fell in love with! She would spend hours dreaming of owning these beautiful shoes! She found a shoe shop in the Mall near her that carried these shoes! So mommy and Sally went shopping for other things in the Mall that day. When they walked by the shoe store Sally told mom she wanted to show a pair of shoes that would be perfect for her! Sally showed mommy the shoes however the price tag was $200 dollars! Mommy told Sally we could not afford the price for these shoes! Sally looked at her mommy through her tears and said, “”Mommy if you could not afford me why did you have me?” Pastor Oscar Cope, Mount Vernon Baptist Church, Fairburn, Georgia.
Last Supper 1 Corinthians 11:24-25 (Greek Translation)
Verse 24; “And when Jesus had prayed over the meal and broke and divided the bread He said, “Take eat; this is my human body which is broken for you, this do in remembrance, in recollection, in repetition, to know again and recall of me.” Verse 25; “After the same manner Jesus took the cup after the evening meal and said, “This cup is new which is not impaired by time or use and is a divisor will in my atoning blood and as often as you drink it come to know me again.” Comment: Why do we take Communion? The Lord has instituted it according to His Word! Human nature tends to forget! When we honor someone it is usually in memory of the past. However the Hebrews or the Jews have a very different perception of the word remembrance! The Jews look at the word remembrance as his presence is still with us! At the Seder meal the Jews have an empty chair seated for Elijah! Jesus is with us today! I will never leave you nor forsake you! Remember Jesus has set the Communion Table before you as an invited quest! Your sin required the Table be set! You did not pay anything for the Table or the meal. You were invited even though you were unworthy! Jesus is personally sharing a meal with you! He is present with you! Why would you turn down a meal you did not pay for and did not deserve and made no sacrifice for? This meal purchased your freedom from sin, death and Hell yet you will not partake? His broken body and shed blood remind us that the Cross was very costly to God and His Son for the redemption of your spirit, soul and body! Pastor Oscar Cope, Mount Vernon Baptist Church, Fairburn, Georgia.