Wonderful Counselor

December 17, 2014


By Michael Youssef, Ph.D.

No matter who or what we are - men or women, young or old, rich or poor - we cannot help but be impressed with the Wonderful Counselor. He alone is perfect and the only One who can meet all of our needs.

We have no fear of disdain or judgment when we share our heart with the Wonderful Counselor. He never tells us that our problems are frivolous or insignificant. He never grows tired of listening to us or bored with what we have to say. When we approach Him with our concerns, He says, "I know all of your problems, in far greater detail than you do, and I already have an answer for your troubles. I have comfort and joy for your troubled and sorrowful heart. I have blessing waiting for you. I have just been waiting for you to come to Me."

Christ's supernatural wisdom far exceeds any human wisdom. When Jesus is our counselor, miracles happen and transformation takes place through the power of God. Only Christ has the ability to see into our hearts, even into the corners that we try to hide from ourselves. Only Christ has the authority to forgive our sins and give us a fresh start. Only Christ has the power to give us eternal life with Him. Only Christ can heal our hearts and souls.

Whatever you are going through, Jesus the Wonderful Counselor is longing for you to come to Him with your burdens. Only He can make you whole. Only He will always listen no matter how long you cry out to Him or what you have to say. What is burdening your heart today?

Prayer: Wonderful Counselor, I need to give You my burdens today. Thank You for always being available and for always wanting to hear from me. I pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.
"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28).

Obedience Without Hesitation

By Michael Youssef, Ph.D. Abraham did not hesitate to obey the Lord. He packed up everything and headed for the land of Canaan—no questions asked. God had spoken, and Abraham obeyed. Are we willing to do the same and step out obediently without hesitation? There will be times when the Lord instructs us to wait, and we must be willing to do just that—be still and wait for Him. Waiting is also a form of faithful obedience. Abraham was not perfect. He panicked and took matters into his own hands as he took his family to Egypt. What made sense from a human viewpoint was folly from God’s viewpoint. When we feel threatened, many of us do the same thing—we become fearful and take matters into our own hands. However, in times of crisis, we must remain steadily focused on Christ, watching and listening for His leading. Fear always challenges faith. When we divert from God’s plan out of fear, we end up in a foreign land, fighting a foreign enemy with our own resources. Like Abraham, we will make mistakes. We will take a wrong turn and end up in a place other that the one God has for us. However, the journey of faith begins at the Cross where Jesus died for our sins and where we can find eternal forgiveness for our souls. When we stray, the Cross reminds us that we can always turn to the Lord, asking Him to forgive us and to lead us on from that point. No matter where you are on your journey of faith, look to the Lord in faith for guidance and trust that He will always lead you in paths of righteousness for your ultimate good and His glory. Prayer: Father, I confess that at times I have allowed fear to cause me to hesitate to obey You. Forgive me for those times and help me to trust that You will not lead me astray. You are worthy of my complete obedience. I pray in the name of Jesus. Amen. “By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going” (Hebrews 11:8).

Trying To Please God

By Michael Youssef, Ph.D.



One of the greatest dangers that we often fall into is associating God with our earthly fathers. Whether your earthly father was gracious or harsh, you can never associate your earthly father with our heavenly Father.



I wonder how many people spend their life trying to please God, but feel they can never please Him enough. I wonder how many are laboring under a sense of failure because they feel that they cannot satisfy God.



I think of our religious friends, the Muslims, who bow and prostrate themselves five times a day until they develop a mark on their foreheads, which they wear with pride as a sense of accomplishment. They are trying to please Allah, but they have absolutely no assurance that they can ever please him.

I think of Martin Luther, the great reformer who ignited the Reformation in Europe. As a Dominican monk in the monastery, he was so overburdened with his sin and his unworthiness in trying to please God, he literally would go to the abbot of the monastery every hour on the hour for confession until the abbot got tired of him and said, “Stop coming back.”



Luther wanted to please God, but he couldn’t until he read the Scripture, opened the Word of God and realized that salvation is by grace alone. Then his life was transformed and he ignited the Reformation in Europe.



We spend all of this effort and hard work trying to please God, yet never feeling that God is pleased because we miss the meaning of the Word of God. Without faith, no one can please God.



Prayer: Father, thank You that no earthly father can compare to You. You are perfect and full of grace. Thank You for the reminder that there is nothing I can do to attain Your acceptance. Thank You that it is only by Your grace that we can be called Your sons and daughters. Amen.

“

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” (Hebrews 11:6).

Cookout reminder!

Hello Holland First Family!

This Sunday after the 11am service is our Annual Church Cookout at Lawrence Park in Zeeland!  Here is some information to help prepare for the day….

·         Dress casual!  Feel free to wear “appropriately” comfortable, ready to go to the park, clothes.

·         Bring lawn chairs for seating in the park area

·         It’s highly recommended that food items be brought in disposable containers to make clean up easy for those working the kitchen pavilion.  And don’t forget large serving utensils for your food items.  Any items that are not disposal please make sure to LABEL them so they can be returned to you.

·         Last Names A-M bring a side dish

·         Last Names N-Z bring a dessert

·         EVERYONE bring a 2 liter beverage.

·         The church is providing hamburger, hotdogs, & condiments.

There’ll be Praise & Worship, an inflatable for kids, great food, fun fellowship and don’t forget the Volleyball Tournament!!!

Hope to see you there!

Raquel Santos

Administrative Assistant

1331 E 16th Street

Holland, MI 49423

(616) 396-5646

7 Signs You’re “Judging” Others

1. You are more enraged at someone else’s sin than you are embarrassed by your own.

2. You refuse to forgive (or when you forgive, you refuse to forget).

3. You “cut off” those who disagree with you.

4. You gossip.

5. You refuse to receive criticism.

6. You refuse to correct someone’s position.

7. You write someone off as hopeless.

Argentina meeting Sunday, June 29th at 5p.m.

Attention Holland First family. This Sunday at 5p.m. before our ACCESS night we are having an informational meeting for our 2015 Argentina missions trip. If you are thinking about going do not miss this important meeting. It will last 1 hour and will be held in the prayer room right off the sanctuary. God bless you!!!!!

The Holiness Gap

 A great read in light of my sermon on Sunday entitled, "Family Values" (Part A)

Lord bless you,

Pastor Mike Houser (Senior Pastor)

By Michael Youssef, Ph.D.



With God’s help, we can join Paul and combat the god of the age that he warns us about in 2 Corinthians 4:4.

The god of this age conceals itself with various disguises, but there are two common worldviews that present themselves in our culture. Self-improvement movements like Unitarianism teach that Christ is the ideal, perfect man—which we can also be if we obtain a higher self. Knowledge-seeking movements like Scientology teach that if we know enough, we can survive forever. Both philosophies promote the same lie about salvation: that there is something we can do to bring us closer to God.

Like most lies, these philosophies are based on twisted Truth. The Truth is that there is a large gulf between man and God that only Christ can bridge. But we stand in need of absolute and total rescue—not better thinking.

Read Ephesians 1:3-8. God chose to bridge the gap between our sinfulness and His holiness by spilling Jesus’ blood in payment for our sins. Because Christ paid the price for our forgiveness, God can declare us “holy and blameless in his sight” if we choose to turn from our sin and run to Him (Ephesians 1:4). Jesus mended the holiness gap. No higher learning or knowledge is needed.

Holiness can only be given by One who is holy. It has to be imparted—it cannot be earned. Since we are not holy, the only way we can ever become holy is for a holy God to reach down and bring us up to His level, imparting His holiness to us. This is exactly what God did in Jesus. This gap-mending offering of forgiveness is a free, undeserved gift, but it must be accepted. And there is no other way to accept it than through Jesus.

We cannot rid ourselves of sin by knowing enough or by trying to be the best we can be. Those are the chains of the spirit of the age. When you encounter people who practice these philosophies, listen for the way they are attempting to bridge the gap they feel between themselves and God. Then, as the Holy Spirit guides you and gives you words, explain God’s heart to them. Share that the gulf has already been mended. Christ did it all—and all they must do is turn to Him.



Prayer: Lord, thank You for mending the holiness gap so that I can have fellowship with You. Thank you for setting me free with Your Truth, and show me how to share this Truth with others. Amen.

“
God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21).