“Frustrated about the rules he had to follow, a boy asked his father, ‘How soon will I be old enough to do as I please?’ ‘I don’t know, son, nobody has lived that long yet,’ replied his Dad.” – Coffee News, Vol 151:2

“None are so old as those who have outlived enthusiasm,” says Henry David Thoreau. And in the local paper I am reading, “The Far North was still showing little enthusiasm for the local body elections as of last week. By Friday afternoon the return rate had reached 26.8 per cent, …” (The Northland Age, Tuesay, October 8, 2013)

LOCAL BODY ELECTIONS

THE CROSS

“One night

Acts 18:9,10

Intr.:

the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision:

1.  ‘Do not be afraid;

2.  keep on speaking,

3.  do not be silent.

4.  For I am with you, and

5.  no one is going

a.  to attack and

b.  harm you,

End:

because I have many people in this city.'”

SPOTLIGHT ONE

“Going bush to put huts in spotlight,” is the article in one of our local papers called. (Northern News, October 9, 2013)

I like reading the BIBLE and put verses from the BIBLE in the spotlight.

TODAY the spotlight is on Acts 24:16, where it says:

 “SO I STRIVE  ALWAYS TO KEEP MY CONSCIENCE CLEAR BEFORE GOD AND MAN.”

Acts is a book in the New Testament and the writer is Luke. The book has 28 chapters.

Some followers of the Lord Jesus Christ have a sensitive conscience and some followers of the Lord have an insensitive conscience.

How are we going about to keep our “conscience clear before God and man?”

First of all we must listen to our conscience speaking. It is of great benefit for us to listen carefully.

But the second thing is most important and we cannot stress it enough. Our conscience must listen to the Holy Spirit. In his first letter to the Corinthians the apostle Paul teaches that our body is a temple of the Holy Spirit. (First Corinthians 6:19)

Let us pray for a conscience that listens to what God wants. The will of God is revealed in the BIBLE. The more we read the BIBLE, the better we are acquainted with what God wants.

What does a sensitive conscience  produce? The answer is careful saints. Careful saints are conscientious. They are dependable. They are usable in the work of the Lord.

What does an insensitive conscience produce? The answer is careless saints. Is that why the BODY OF CHRIST is so weak TODAY?

“There is but one power available to redeem the course of events, and that is the power of prayer by God-fearing, Christ-believing people,” says Billy Graham in his Devotional Treasury called UNTO THE HILLS.

THE POWER OF PRAYER.

How do we define prayer? Prayer is speaking with God. We have a body. We have a soul. We have a spirit.  We consist of three component parts. Prayer is the soul of man speaking with the Lord Jesus Christ.

There is one absolute essential before prayer becomes effective. What is it? We must believe in the existence of God. We must pray with faith that there is a God.  Hebrews 11:6 says:

“And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”

“WE’VE GOT THE POWER!”

GOD-FEARING PEOPLE.

Have you ever tried to define “fear of the Lord?” I found this definition:

“Referential trust with a hatred of evil.” – Dr. C. I. Scofield

God requires from each one of us that we fear him. The purpose of creation is to fear God. This is what the Bible says:

“Fear the LORD your God, serve him only and take your oaths in his name.” – Deuteronomy 6:13

“Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.” – Ecclesiastes 12:13

CHRIST-BELIEVING PEOPLE.

It is always good to start with a definition. How do we define faith?

The dictionary says: Faith is loyalty to a creed or religion. Not long ago I received a “Coffee Loyalty Card”. “Every tenth cup is free,” it says on the card.

The BIBLE says:

“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” – Hebrews 11:1

My faith that saves me is a personal trust in a person. The person is the Lord Jesus Christ. Many things are happening when one believes on the Lord Jesus Christ.

Here are a few: I believe and I have access to the grace of God. I am accepted in the beloved. I am born again. I am forgiven. The Lord Jesus Christ is my advocate. I am an ambassador. As mentioned before, that are only a few things!

We’ve got power, but do we have the God-fearing, Christ-believing people?

THE CROSS

“But the Lord said to Ananias, ‘Go!

Acts 9:15,16

Intr.:

This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name

1.  before the Gentiles and

2.  their kings and

3.  before the people of Israel.

End:

I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.'”

“CATTLE ON A THOUSAND HILLS”

“I have no need  of a bull from your stall or of goats from your pens, for every animal of the forest is mine and the cattle  on  a thousand hills. – Psalm 50: 9,10