Pastor Dave Martin ~ Cross Creek Community Church ~ July 23, 2006

“Growing to Serve”

“God’s Promise” Part 3 of 5

Be praying for the Fritsky family – Gene lost his battle with cancer on Friday... viewing Mon 6-9 / funeral Tues 10am

·         Thank you for joining us today at Cross Creek – we’ve been looking at our church - past, present & future.

·         I praise the Lord for the way God is working among us... precious souls being saved, lives changed for eternity

·         God’s children growing to serve... giving of your time, talents and treasures – BIG Celebration Sunday Offering!

·         Are you growing spiritually?  Are you serving in ministry?  Both are vital for every believer... Growing to Serve!

·         Bill Norwig will share concerning SS and what Cross Creek means to him...

·         Let’s pick up our story of Joshua & Cross Creek...

·         God’s people miraculously enter the Promise Land...  With enemies before them and raging river behind them...

·         In Jos 5 begins in seeing the Israelites enemies melting in fear... Why?  God is supernaturally involved!

·         Firmly in enemy territory with the prospect of being attacked at any moment...  Look what happens...

I.  Promise of Preparation! (Growing to Serve – Eph 4:10)

Circumcise...

Joshua 5:2-3 ² At that time the LORD said to Joshua, "Make flint knives and circumcise the Israelites again." ³ So Joshua made flint knives and circumcised the Israelites...

·         A sign or symbol of a “contract” God made with Abraham’s seed & their everlasting possessing of the promise land

·         In the 40 years of wandering this rite was not performed – all males under the age of 38 (those born in wilderness)

·         In the very face of great danger... The fighting warrior men were circumcised... out of commission for a few days!

Praise & Worship Service...

Joshua 5:10 On the evening of the fourteenth day of the month, while camped at Gilgal on the plains of Jericho, the Israelites celebrated the Passover.

·          This is ONLY the third Passover celebrated since leaving Egypt 40 years earlier then again in the desert of Sinai Num 9

·         Again in enemy territory now they are celebrating the Lord by observing the Passover... Why?

·         God promises to prepare His people!  It was far better to be prepared spiritually then militarily!

 Psalm 20:7 Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.

·         Our Spiritual growth is a choice we make... a discipline to do it.  More important then money, career, fame...

 

We Grow... (My personal responsibility)

·         By Communicating with God! – In prayer & Word.

1 Thessalonians 5:17 pray continually;

Psalms 119:105 Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.

·         By Obeying His Commands!

Deuteronomy 6:3 Hear, O Israel, and be careful to obey so that it may go well with you and that you may increase greatly in a land flowing with milk and honey, just as the LORD, the God of your fathers, promised you.

·         By Worshiping Him!

Psalms 95:6 Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the LORD our Maker;

·         When God makes a promise it’s critical to keep it before you... living in expectation... God will bring it to pass –faith

·         Are you GROWING to SERVE?  Be communicating, obeying and worshiping!

Philippians 1:6 being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

1 Corinthians 3:5-9 ⁵ What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe--as the Lord has assigned to each his task. ⁶ I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. ⁷ So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. ⁸ The man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor. ⁹ For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, God's building.

***  Andy’s Testimony... God is preparing us for Great Things!

SLIDE 8 – Architectural designs, labor & industry, new building codes, zoning, planning commission, land development plans, surveyors, minor subdivision, etc, etc, etc...

SLIDE 9-11 – plot plans, front exterior view, partial lower level plans

II.  Promise of Strength! (Growing to Stand – Eph 6:13)

Joshua 5:13-15 ¹³ Now when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua went up to him and asked, "Are you for us or for our enemies?" ¹⁴ "Neither," he replied, "but as commander of the army of the LORD I have now come." Then Joshua fell facedown to the ground in reverence, and asked him, "What message does my Lord have for his servant?" ¹⁵ The commander of the LORD's army replied, "Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy." And Joshua did so.

·         Joshua facing a major problem... Jordan River at flood stage to the rear & unable to bypass Jericho because the women & children would be unprotected.

·         This is an experience for Joshua personally... He needed encouragement & strength.

·         It seems clear that Joshua was indeed talking to the Angel of the Lord, another appearance in Old Testament times of the Lord Jesus Christ Himself – called a Theophany. Here are other references:

Gen. 16:7 - The angel of the Lord appeared to Sarah’s maidservant, Hagar, announcing the birth of                               Abraham’s son, Ishmael

Gen. 18:1-11 - The Lord appeared to Abraham, foretelling Isaac’s birth

Gen. 22:11-12 - The angel of the Lord stopped Abraham from sacrificing Isaac

Exodus 3:2 - The angel of the Lord appeared to Moses in flames in a bush

Exodus 14:19 - God appeared to Israel in pillars of cloud and fire to guide them through the desert

Exodus 33:11 - The Lord spoke to Moses face to face

Daniel 3:25 - One “like a son of the gods” appeared as the fourth man with Shadrach, Meshach, and                                        Abednego in the fiery furnace

The Battle Belongs to the Lord...

ü      Engage your Circumstances! 5:13b

John 13:15-17 ¹⁵ I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. ¹⁶ I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. ¹⁷ Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.

ü      Evaluate your Attitude! 5:14

Philippians 2:5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:

ü        Energize your Faith! 5:15

Hebrews 11:6 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.

ü      Enlarge your Borders (Outreach)! 6:1

Luke 14:23 "Then the master told his servant, 'Go out to the roads and country lanes and make them come in, so that my house will be full.

VBS THIS WEEK – Get involved, pray, give, serve, help... Men bring your family & hammer – work on pavilions!

Ephesians 3:16 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being,

Ephesians 6:10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.

Great things come at a price!

Acts 16:5 So the churches were strengthened in the faith and grew daily in numbers.

SLIDE 16 – putting up trusses (Dave, Jesses & Rich on ladder)

SLIDE 17 – Our first completed picnic table

SLIDE 18 – Modified being graded by Dale Green (Just a little closer!)

SLIDE 19 – Jonathan & Steve were the cement mixers (actually the Lord provided the water!)

THANKS TO ALL WHO CAME OUT THESE RAINY SATURDAYS!

III. Promise of Victory! (Growing to Shout – Rev 5:13)

Joshua 6:1-5 ¹ Now Jericho was tightly shut up because of the Israelites. No one went out and no one came in. ² Then the LORD said to Joshua, "See, I have delivered Jericho into your hands, along with its king and its fighting men. ³ March around the city once with all the armed men. Do this for six days. ⁴ Have seven priests carry trumpets of rams' horns in front of the ark. On the seventh day, march around the city seven times, with the priests blowing the trumpets. ⁵ When you hear them sound a long blast on the trumpets, have all the people give a loud shout; then the wall of the city will collapse and the people will go up, every man straight in."

Joshua 6:15-16 ¹⁵ On the seventh day, they got up at daybreak and marched around the city seven times in the same manner, except that on that day they circled the city seven times. ¹⁶ The seventh time around, when the priests sounded the trumpet blast, Joshua commanded the people, "Shout! For the LORD has given you the city!

Joshua 6:19-20 ¹⁹ All the silver and gold and the articles of bronze and iron are sacred to the LORD and must go into his treasury." ²⁰ When the trumpets sounded, the people shouted, and at the sound of the trumpet, when the people gave a loud shout, the wall collapsed; so every man charged straight in, and they took the city.

Psalms 18:2 The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

Psalms 18:17 He rescued me from my powerful enemy, from my foes, who were too strong for me.

We don’t fight for Victory, we fight from Victory!

We can do all things through Christ...

1 Corinthians 15:57 But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

1 John 5:4 for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith.

See the Invisible – Dream the Incredible – Do the Impossible

Growing to Serve!

Next Week – “God’s Provision”

“Celebration Sunday”

August 6^th

Cookout & Activities

Special Building Fund Offering

Messages