HINDRANCES TO GROWING IN GRACE

In Ephesians 4:31, Paul lists things we must remove from our lives if we are to
grow in the grace of Christ: "Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and
clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice."

We dare not skip over these issues on Paul's list. The apostle says we
absolutely must face these things if we are to grow in grace. If you ignore the
heart issues Paul mentions here, you will grieve the Holy Spirit. Your growth
will be stunted, and you'll end up a spiritual zombie.

The first three items on Paul's list—bitterness, wrath and anger—are
self-explanatory. Bitterness is a refusal to let go of an old wound or forgive
a past wrong. Wrath is a stronghold of resentment coupled with a hope to gain
revenge. Anger is exasperation—either a quick explosive outburst or a slow
burn of indignation toward someone. Evil speaking are words that tear down—it
is the opposite of edifying someone or speaking words of edification; evil
speaking is malicious, hurtful.

Clamor is a sudden outburst over nothing—an unnecessary hubbub, a loud noise
made for no purpose. We cause a clamor when we make a big issue out of
something insignificant, or cause a scene rather than trying to help or heal.

The final item on Paul's list is malice. Malice is the desire to see someone
else suffer. For many Christians malice means hoping God will punish someone
who wounded them. It's a devilish spirit, and it's usually hidden deep within
the heart.

When Paul says "Put away all these evils from you," he's not talking about a
quick fix. He's describing a process—a matter of growth that takes time. At
times, we may fail at ridding ourselves of these evils. But if we will quickly
repent, and commit to making things right with the person, over time these
issues will fade away.

When Questions Arise

WHEN QUESTIONS ARISE

"When he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward hungry.
And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread" (Matthew 4:2–3).

At a moment when Jesus was physically vulnerable, the devil brought his first temptation.

There's no sin in being hungry. So, what's the issue here? Satan was challenging Jesus: "If you are fully God, then you have God's power in you. And right now, you're in a very hard place. Why don't you use the power God gave you to deliver yourself? Didn't he give you that power to see if you would use it properly?"

Here is one of the most insidious temptations facing truly godly people. Like your example, Jesus, you have a passion for God. You've set your heart to be wholly surrendered to him. Then the Lord leads you into a wilderness experience and after a while, questions arise. You begin to lose your bearings, wondering about God's eternal purposes in your life. And while you try to pray and gain the victory, Satan's temptations seem fiercer than ever.

The enemy wants you to act independently of the Father. The devil says, "Your suffering isn't of God. You don't have to go through this. You have God's power in you, through the Holy Ghost. Speak the word—free yourself. Satisfy your own hunger."

Satan's first scheme was to create a power failure. He was hoping God wouldn't honor Jesus' cry for bread, should he ask. If heaven's power failed, then Christ might doubt his divinity and turn aside from his eternal purpose on earth. Second, Satan knew Jesus was sent to do only what the father told him.
So he aimed to convince Christ to disobey here for his own welfare. That way, if Jesus used his power now to avoid suffering, he might do the same later to avoid the cross.

So, how did Jesus answer the devil's temptation? "It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God"
(Matthew 4:4). Christ said, in essence, "My coming to earth is not about my needs, hurts or physical comfort. I came to give to humankind—not to save myself."

Even at the height of his suffering, Jesus did not lose sight of his eternal purpose. And if our Lord learned dependence and compassion through a wilderness experience, so will we.

We Must Decrease, He Must Increase!

A VOICE

John the Baptist's definition of his ministry was blunt and simple: "I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness" (John 1:23). This servant of the Most High, who according to the Scripture was the greatest "among them that are born of women," was the most blessed of all the prophets and a revered preacher of righteousness.

The crowds flocked to hear John's scorching messages. Many were baptized and became his disciples and even royalty came under his mighty influence. Some thought he was Christ; others considered him to be Elijah raised from the dead.

John refused to be exalted or promoted. He was emptied of self-serving and he continually withdrew from center stage. In his own eyes the greatest of all prophets was not even worthy to be called a man of God—but only a wilderness voice, modest, retiring, and unconcerned about honor or usefulness. He didn't care about having a ministry or being "mightily used of God." In fact, he considered himself unworthy to even touch his Master's shoes. His entire life was devoted to "the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sins of the world" (John 1:29).

What a powerful rebuke to us in this age of self-occupation, promotion of personalities, influence-grabbing, ego-tripping, and seeking of honors. John could have had it all, but he cried out, "He must increase, but I must decrease" (John 3:30). And to reach that goal, John kept reminding all who heard him, "I am just a voice."

The secret of John's happiness was that his joy was not in his ministry or in his work, not in his personal usefulness or widespread influence. His pure joy was to stand in the presence of the Bridegroom, hear his voice, and rejoice in it. His joy was in seeing others, his own disciples included, flocking to Jesus, the Lamb of God.

The greatest fulfillment a child of God can know is to lose self and all desire to be somebody, and simply rejoice in being a son or daughter who lives in the very presence of the Lord Jesus Christ. Being totally occupied with Christ is what satisfies the heart. John could stand there, in the Jordan River, with his eyes fixed on Jesus, and be delighted by his presence. He fed his soul on Christ—his heart was always going out to him in adoration and awe.

This Sunday's sermon

Hello Holland First Family and all those in Blogland,

This Sunday I preach a message about "gentleness and self control." We live in a day where it seems we seldom see these two fine qualities in action. God has laid a message on my heart that will stir your heart to possess these Fruits of the Spirit on a daily basis. Christianity is more often caught than it is taught and when people see these Godly traits on display they can't help, but want to know the reason for the hope you have.

Hope to see you SONday!!!! (10a.m.) Reminder, there is no 6p.m. service due to the Memorial day weekend. Thank you to all of our veterans that have served our country. We are indebted to you.

Pastor Mike Houser
Senior Pastor

My Prayer For You

As fear spreads and uncertainty abounds, let us pray the Holy Spirit
will show us that murmuring and complaining are signs of impatience and distrust of our faithful
Lord.

In Exodus 17, Moses called murmuring “tempting God.” The children of Israel were at Rephidim
and there was no water to drink. Unbelieving doubt spread through the encampment! The people
forgot all their past deliverances from distress and began once again to doubt that God was with
them. They cried, “God, why did you bring us out of Egypt? Why didn’t you let us die there
instead of bringing us to this place to kill us?”

They were ready to stone Moses. In great mercy, God gave them water out of a rock, but the
Lord made them call it Massah and Meribah—murmuring and complaining. It was to be a place
never forgotten in Israel’s future.

We feel we have a right to murmur and complain because our particular afflictions are so painful,
so difficult. There are times I have been guilty of this tempting God, but as I read and reread
Exodus l7, a reverent fear of the Lord gripped my soul—“God takes this matter very seriously.”

He has seen us through so much in the past and he has proven his faithfulness every time. The
question is, when will we ever fully trust him? When will we ever fully trust his promise to keep
us, to love us, to be a Father, a keeper?
We need the Holy Spirit to help us.

I plead with you, do not murmur or complain, for all who hold fast to faith, that person will be
blessed. God help me to take this to heart in the testing times ahead. We can do all things
through Christ who strengthens us.

If you could know how this will all end up to God’s glory, you would rest in his Word.

Nothing's too hard for God (AM series)

Hello Holland First! This Sunday, May 16th, I will be continuing my current series, "Nothing's too hard for God" with a message on MARRIAGE.

Today, marriages are being attacked like never before. The greatest way to show a lost world that Jesus is real is by showing the world a marriage that works & honors God.

If you know of someone who is struggling in their marriage you need to invite them to be here Sunday. However, if you're married, this message is for you as well. Even those who have great marriages it's because they work at it daily. Sometimes it's good to get a reminder from God on how He sees marriage and how we can honor Him in the marriage covenant.

I hope to see you Sunday at Holland First at 10a.m.

By the way, it's the 3rd Sunday of the month so we also have church at 6p.m. I will be preaching a part two message in my current evening series entitled, "The Lord's Prayer."

Make it a full day in the House of the Lord. Trust me, you'll be glad you did!

Love you all,
Pastor Mike Houser
Senior Pastor

Proper Priorities

Hello Holland First and those in Blogland. There is a young lady that attends Holland First when she is not traveling with CTI Music ministries. She had something happen to her that would have probably made others mad and seeking revenge, but not this young woman of faith. Read her story below and be blown away by a young lady with PROPER PRIORITIES! (Pastor Mike)

Used with permission................

Hello All,
What a last few weeks it has been for me. Since last writing you all I have been through Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Nebraska, Iowa, and Illinois on tour and then have just spent a week at home over Easter time. Today is the first day on the road again for our final tour with CTI which will last 5 weeks. It will take us all over the south and east coast states and we will be returning to our base in Willmar on May 17th. The time spent on the road has been such a time of growth for me and I am constantly learning more and more each day what God has for me and how He is asking me to live and love. The Winter Tour ended well with many opportunities to share our love with those who didn't know. It was amazing to watch as God brought people into our lives who didn't know about His love and grace and we were able to share that with them. God is so faithful.

For break I headed home as well as spending some time in Toronto, Canada. The break was much needed for me and my brain to simply rest and relax a bit after many intense months on the road. I felt like the time spent on break was rejuvenating as well as a time to pray and think about what the next few months with CTI will be like as well as preparing my heart for all that is next for me. But I want to take a short time now and share another story that happened just Monday night on my drive back to our base in WIlmar, MN. Monday morning a friend of mine, Eric, & I took off from my parent's house and drove back to Willmar. When we got to Minneapolis we decided to stop for dinner before finishing the last few hours of our drive. We went in and ate and when we returned to the car we saw that the window had been smashed and shattered. We looked at one another and didn't know what to do. Then I took a look in the backseat and noticed our backpacks were no longer there - they had been stolen. As "people on the go" we carry many important things in our backpacks so we both lost our laptops, external hard drives, chargers. Eric also lost his PSP, a Nintendo DS, ipod, and camera. I lost my entire journal I had been keeping from this year as well as other books and memories. I didn't know what to do and then Eric looked at me and said, "Carrie, it's just stuff. We are safe and it's just stuff. We have Christ and that's all we really need." Immediately I was at peace. Sure I was upset after having lost all my photos ever taken since my freshman year in college, my journal from the year, my music, and other memories that are irreplaceable… BUT Eric was and is right. I still have Christ and He is all I need. After taking care of the police report and those things we got back in the car and drove to Willmar. Along the way we really felt like we needed to be in prayer for the people who broke in and stole our things. So we spent time in prayer for them and I will again now.

"Father, YOU are all we need. You give and you take away. And right now I don't know who it is that took our stuff but I pray that you would show yourself evident in their lives. I pray as they go through our things they see our Bibles and read them. That they read my journal and see that although following Christ is not "easy" You are faithful and You are worth it all. I pray that you would touch their hearts and lives and through this theft they could see YOU and your LOVE. I don't know about their needs and lives but You know them and love them just as much as you love me so use this experience to bring them to YOU - the only one who can fill the emptiness with life and love. If it takes my stuff to be stolen for the sake of their souls, take everything of mine! Everything is yours anyways Lord. I trust you and your plans. AMEN!"

Anyways, it's been quite the journey these last few days of coming to the realization that although my physical memories are lost and most likely will never be returned to me Christ is doing new things in my life and I will continue to make new memories remembering along the way that Christ is the ONLY thing I need and when all else is stripped away He is all that matters.

So I challenge you all to look at your lives and ask yourself is Christ all I need? Am I putting things and stuff before Him? What would happen if all was stripped away? Could I still praise Him and love Him and trust that His plans are better than mine? I hope you will look and be able to say "Christ YOU are all I need, You are all I want."

I'll keep you all posted as I travel all around for the next 5 weeks and write again soon with details of my summer plans with CTI. Thanks again for all your support through prayers and finances… you guys are the reason I am able to be here with CTI growing in the love of a faithful God.

He's all we need,
Carrie Joy