Sunday Messages

This morning's messages by Pastor Blalock were awesome: the one in Sunday school and the regular church service message!!! Here are the notes I took from Sunday school. I think this one is my favorite.

Ezekiel 8:12  "Then said he unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen what the ancients of the house of Israel do in the dark, every man in the chambers of his imagery? for they say, The Lord seeth us not; the Lord hath forsaken the earth. "
Notice the phrase, "...in the chambers of his imagery..." That means your heart and your mind; what you think.

1. Only you can invite the guests in to your chambers of imagery.  There are no uninvited guests. You can invite them in by what you let go in your ears and eyes.
Proverbs 23:7  "For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he..."
Matthew 15:18-19  "But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornication, thefts, false witness, blasphemies:
Guard your heart.

2. What you invite in your mind will determine what you do in later life.
If you invite evil things to come into your mind, and you ponder them, they will determine what you will do in the future. The same with good and wholesome and godly things.
You can pick up a book and open it. You might see a bad picture or bad words. You can close it and say "NO"!!! The same thing with what you watch and what you listen to.

3. Your guests will eventually come out.
There's a saying: Garbage in, garbage out. Well, your brain in like that. If you continually feed your mind ungodly things, ( garbage ) and watch bad things, and read bad things, then in 10 years or in 15 years, garbage will come out.




Here are my notes from the regular morning service.

Nehemiah 5:14-17  "Moreover from the time that I was appointed to be their governor in the land of Judah, from the twentieth year even unto the two and thirtieth year of Artaxerxes the king, that is, twelve years, I and my brethren have not eaten the bread of the governor.
 But the former governors that had been before me were chargeable unto the people, and had taken of them bread and wine, beside forty shekels of silver; yea, even their servants  bare rule over the people: but so did not I, because of the fear of God.
Yea also I continued in the work of this wall, neither bought we any land: and all my servants were gathered thither unto the work.
 Moreover there were at my table an hundred and fifty of the Jews and rulers, besides those that came unto us from among the heathen that are about us. "

4 words that show what it means to live a life honoring and glorifying to God: so did not I.

Title: So did not I
verse 15- "...even their servants bare rule over the people: but so did not I, because of the fear of God."
 3 reasons why Nehemiah did not conform to the world. [ God calls his people to be bold and courageous. ]

1. He esteemed others more than himself.  verses 16-18

Nehemiah continued to care for others for 12 years. He still did not use the taxes of the people to eat the food or buy land. ( like the other governors did )
Here's a saying:  Lord, help me live from day to day in such a selfless way. So when I kneel to pray, my prayer will be for others.

2. He esteemed God more than others.      
Why????   Because of the fear of God.  verse 15 ( the end of the verse )

• The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do his commandments: his praise endureth for ever. Psalms 111:10
• The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the Lord shall be safe. Proverbs 29:25    It's a trap.
• Don't seek the applause or fame of the flesh.
• God owns everything.
• The fear of God and the love of God is almost identical.  ( verse 9 )
• Oswald Chambers said, "It's remarkable that when you fear God, you fear nothing else. But when you don't fear God, you fear everything else. "
• Don't be like a jellyfish. They move with the current and they 'go with the flow.'
• Your walk should match your talk.

3. He esteemed truth more than traditions.

• Instead of being conformed to the world, be transformed by the renewing of your minds.
  Romans 12:2  And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

Hope you enjoyed these notes. No creation moment today since this is such a long post already. Sorry!! :) Tomorrow morning there will be one, though.
Love Ashley
ps. You can comment and tell me which post you like the best. I mean, I think they're both pretty good, but the first one is the best. ( that's only what I think. :)