You Have One Chance at This (and time is not on your side)

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For years we've said things like "Nobody's perfect" or "God gives second chances" or "If at first you don't succeed...try, try again." While all of these comments may be true in theory, truth be told, we can no longer rest on the laurels of God's mercy; we must strive to fulfill His standard as families. Instead of recognizing these principles as God's mercy, we tend to make them excuses.

You see, God has already given us the tools we need with clear instructions on how to use them. God cares deeply for your home and wants it to be all it was intended to be. God never intended for our families to be some sort of cultural experiment that can change year to year or generation to generation.

Our families are the building block of civilization. It is why one of the first things God established was the family in general and marriage in particular. Listen to the words of God Himself:

This is why a man leaves his father and mother and bonds with his wife, and they become one flesh. (Genesis 2:24 HCSB)

The family was established before Israel, before the Church, before government, before any other social organization or governing authority. It was where God, in all of His infinite wisdom, chose to establish the most important priority. Now, we tend to place more emphasis on our jobs, our friends, our politics, or our interests. For whatever reason, we think that all the other things come before our family. It is almost as if we think our families are indestructible. We assume that they will survive without nurture or sustenance. When we do that, it is our loss. As God prioritized, so must we. Otherwise the statistics of child abuse and neglect, divorce, teenage suicide, domestic violence, and the like, will continue to rise.

It is up to you and me to begin to say that we will have a godly, determined, and grace-filled family. The kind of family that those in our culture want to become like. The kind of homes that people come away from with more of God as a part of their lives. Homes where husbands love their wives (Ephesians 5:25). Wives respect their husbands (Ephesians 5:33). Children obey their parents (Ephesians 6:1). A home where grace is in abundant supply (Ephesians 1:6). That is the kind of place God wants us to have.

So, you can see why it is the most important place on earth. We have one chance. Time is not on our side. Start being the kind of home God wants. Begin today.

Pastor Trey Rhodes

Modern Family Series Continues this Sunday - From "Leave it to Beaver’s" Cleavers to "Modern Family’s" Pritchetts, TV producers have been offering us models of what the modern family is for years, but is that what it should be? Many of us have realized neither model works. Let’s be honest, all we really want is a family that works. Families may have changed, but God's principles about the family haven't. Join us at Oceanside Church for a real-life journey into seemingly revolutionary concepts that have worked for thousands of years, and still work today. The style of the modern family may have changed, but the way to have a great modern family hasn’t.

Churchwide Dinner Honoring Pastor Ivey, Allie and their children - On their last Sunday, we will be sending this wonderful family off to seminary with a special service and dinner. Meat will be provided. Please bring cold drinks, a side dish, and dessert. Plan now to attend on Sunday February 24th right after church.

RVGC Video Game competition - 6 p.m. Friday Night February 22. ALL STUDENTS INVITED. If you want to compete, there is a $5 entry for the Super Smash Brothers competition. $75 grand prize. Total purse to be awarded, $150.

 

 

Oceanside Church Online - Did you miss the message this past Sunday? Need some exhortation for the coming week? We've got just what you're looking for. Follow this link to find a message that will touch your heart and encourage your walk at Oceanside Church Online

 

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Gadaffi Is Dead...Is the Fight Over?

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This summer began with the overthrow of former president of Egypt, Hosni Mubarak We were told today early this morning that the 42 year dictator of Libya, Muammar Gaddafi, was killed (more here from Reuters) after being attacked by NATO jets. Conventional wisdom tells us that the war is now over. Everything is now fine. Libya has been released from the hold of a ruthless dictator so, "Now that the war is over we must give up our weapons and the children must go to school," according to the words of Mansour el Ferjani, 49, a Benghazi bank clerk and father of five. But I have to ask, is that all there is to it? Is life just going to get back to normal, just better? Isn't there more to do? Of course there is. In the weeks and months and even years ahead, there will be more work and more sacrifice than they can imagine. I hope the best for this country as they now change their fight from an armed conflict to fighting through the messiness of moving to a free and democratic lifestyle.

A large concrete pipe where Gaddafi was allegedly captured (Picture: AFP/Getty)
Read more: http://www.metro.co.uk/news/879169-picture-of-dead-gaddafi-as-former-libya-leader-is-shot-by-fighters#ixzz1bLtgJCYQ

You don't have to stretch much to make a application to our Christian walk. We may have won the war, but there are battles ahead. The Israelites didn't quite get it, though. They thought that everything was going to be handed to them. The leaders of Joseph's tribes, who went from wandering in the wilderness to having their own land, complained to Joshua, "The hill country is not enough for us, and all the Canaanites who inhabit the valley area have iron chariots" Joshua 17:16 (HCSB). They wanted more to be given to them Joshua's answer was to tell them to get to work. He got back with them by telling them that their land included, "a forest; clear it and its outlying areas will be yours." Then, if they wanted even more land, they could fight more battles and have everything they wanted. That's why Joshua told them that, "You can also drive out the Canaanites"
Joshua 17:18 (HCSB). Yes the was is over, but there was more work and more fighting ahead.

When God gives us our Sun Stand Still prayer, He expects us to go to work. Somehow, we think that God answers, and He does everything else. We don't have to do a thing. Nothing in the Bible, nor the Christian life gives us any such expectation.

Don't miss the opportunities that God has for you because of work. Thomas Edison said it this way, "Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls&looks like work."

So, here's four opportunities given us now that God has answered our Sun Stand Still prayer:
1. Maturity (Joshua 15)

The leaders of the Israelite tribes were inheriting the land not just for themselves, but for those generations who would follow them. A huge mark of maturity is doing some things that you will never get to see the results of. God for believers who will step up and put themselves ahead of others. You say, but I'm not old enough to be mature. You are an elder to someone. When I was in 1st grade, I thought the 6th graders were so old and had it together. By the time I go to 7th grade, I thought a 10th grader was incredibly mature...and so on. Take the opportunity today to be mature for someone. God will use you. God is calling each of us to be "fully mature adults" (Ephesians 4:13).

2. Prayer (Joshua 15 &17)

We have a good and a bad example of asking in these chapters.

First, there was Achsah who asked for springs to be able to water the dry desert of the Negev. She was granted was she asked for even though it was bold. What she needed was a way to help her family thrive in a harsh environment. God (through Joshua) said, "It's yours."

Second, there was Joseph's descendants. They wanted everything given to them on a silver platter. Joshua's answer to them was, "Sure, but get to work!" They asked, and they received as well as long as they were willing to accomplish the job by their own effort.

God answers our prayer as well. We've got to be ready to get involved for the fulfillment.

3. Activity (Joshua 18-19)

The Israelites were sitting on a prime piece of real estate. It was theirs if they could divide it up among themselves. They wouldn't even do that. Joshua told them "How long will you delay going out to take possession of the land that the Lord, the God of your fathers, gave you?" Joshua 18:3 (HCSB). 

God wants to give us so much, but we have got to willing to get involved in the middle of it. 

• If you are praying for patience, be prepared for God to give you an opportunity to show patience. 
• If you are praying to get your family back, be ready to get yourself right.
• If you are praying for someone to be saved, be ready to witness to them yourself.

Get involved whenever God answers your prayer. Never be content to sit back and relax.

4. Protection (Joshua 20:1-9)

God offered His protection from vigilantes. It was the responsibility of each family to avenge the death of their loved one. There wasn't a police force in those day and certainly no CSI

We have also been protected by God. Our city of refuge is Jesus Christ. As we turn from our sin and run to Him, we find life. He is our high priest and will never die, so we are safe in His arms forever. How does that happen? It happens when you ask Christ into your life. When you ask for His protection from death and hell through His death on the cross. That is protection of the very best kind. Run to Him and ask Him to place His protection around you today.

Thinkin' 'Bout Oceanside

• Worship on the Deck, Sunday morning, October 30th. Because of ScareMare and also to enjoy the beauty and coolness of the weather, we will be having worship on the back deck. for the service, everything will remain the same. In addition, there will not be a Saturday night service that week. 
• ScareMare, October 29-31, After dark. If you would like to be involved, we need you. From crowd control to parking attendants, from actors to actresses, from make-up artists to carpenters, you are all needed. As a reminder, the purpose of ScareMare is to contrast death with abundant and eternal life. This is not for the faint of heart. I would not recommend for your children either. The basis of ScareMare is, "I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Choose life so that you and your descendants may live" Deuteronomy 30:19 (HCSB). We are praying for them to choose life. For more, please go to our ScareMare website.
• Harvest Trunk or Treat, Monday Night, October 31st. One of Oceanside's best outreach activities is our Harvest Trunk or Treat party. This year it will once again be in the front yard of our church. We will have decorated car trunks, food, candy, games, and the GIANT slide. If you can get together a trunk, it would be awesome. Everyone can do something. Make sure you're a part.

Looking for opportunities from God,

Pastor Trey Rhodes

The Washington Monument Is Cracking Up!

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USA Today reports that, "Engineers have begun attaching ropes to the top of the Washington Monument that they will use to rappel down the structure to check for cracks and other damage." Who can forget that day when the reports came in about buildings in our nation's capitol swaying and then cracking? I'm sure this National Parks Ranger in the video will never forget that day either. Imagine being 500 feet up in the world's tallest obelisk while the temblor shakes the all-stone tower like a tinker toy. Gives me chills just thinking about it.

The damage has now been done and they will have to figure out what to do next. The report continues, "The quake caused several cracks to form in the monument. Stones, mortar and other debris fell from its interior and exterior, and the elevator sustained damage." The monument is closed and they don't know when they will re-open it.

Who hasn't experienced life's earthquakes that have shaken us to the core? The kind of shaking that has created gaping cracks that might still be waiting repair from someone, anyone. Have you ever felt like that in your life? I have experienced that kind of shaking. If you want to read more about that time in my life, go to this blog about my near death experience. No matter what it was, God can take the broken pieces in our life and make us new and better and able to do more for God than we ever could before. As the song says, He's the God of Second Chances!

How can God take a broken cracked up person like me and use me? He does it all the time! Joshua, the Son of Nun, is a great example we can use to help us move through and be used better as a cracked pot than we were before.

Pastor Trey Rhodes and his broken pot.

Let's look at Joshua 9-10 to discover how to get things right and fulfill God's purposes as never before. God can take you from where you are and make you into all you can be.

When we make mistakes realize there are...
1. Consequences
As we look at Joshua 9:16-23a, we see that there were repercussions for deceiving Joshua. In other words, the Gibeonites were not given a free pass. They would have to pay for their lying. Joshua 9:23 tells us they were to be indentured slaves, both them and their descendants. So, God would honor the treaty that Joshua hastily made with them, but they would be enslaved to the Israelites. That's the law and they were answerable to it. We don't really break the law, do we? The law breaks us. That is the curse of the law we are reminded of in Galatians 6:7: "Don’t be deceived: God is not mocked. For whatever a man sows he will also reap" Galatians 6:7 (HCSB).

But God doesn't stop there. Just as the Gibeonites should suffer horrible consequences for their sin, so should we. But that's not the God we serve. He is the God of redemption that takes our mess-ups and, by His grace, makes us better people for it.

This mistake become their...
2. Opportunity
I purposely didn't use the end of verse 23. We are told that, yes, they would be slaves and carry water and wood for the children of Israel, but it would be in service for the King of kings. It would be in His holy temple. There they would see God's forgiveness through the shedding of blood. It was in the temple that they would experience the glorious presence of God and forsake their polytheistic idolatry for the one true God, YAHWEH. It was truly an opportunity of a lifetime to serve Him all their days.

Are we any different? It was our sin that drove us to become enslaved to our appetites. AND it was our sin that we asked forgiveness for that drove us to serve the King of kings and Lord of lords, Jesus Christ. As Bob Dylan reminded us in that 1980 song, "You gotta' serve somebody. Well, it may be the devil and it may be the Lord, but you gotta' serve somebody."  To think that we are given the opportunity to serve God. It is truly an honor. And it was our blunders and sin that made that possible.

Finally our actions and mistakes will still give us...
3. Responsibility
Joshua made a promise, and now the Gibeonites called in the favor. Listen to the words of Joshua 10:6, "Then the men of Gibeon sent [word] to Joshua in the camp at Gilgal: 'Don’t abandon your servants. Come quickly and save us!'" (HCSB)

The mistakes we make can cause great embarrassment, but as Dr. Warren Wiersbe said, "Remember that no mistake is final for the dedicated Christian." Yes, there will be responsibilities, but it never means God is though with us.

Today is the day to put your past behind you and begin to live an impossible "Sun Stand Still" kind of life. Don't wait, begin that life right now.

Thinkin' 'Bout Oceanside 

• What a great time of worship this past Saturday and Sunday! God continues bringing new people our way. What a great spirit of responsiveness to God you had. Thank you for all you mean to our God, our church and to me. Oceansiders, you're the best!! I wouldn't be at any other church. Don't you want other people to experience what we have every worship service? Then, just invite them. I can't wait to see all that our Lord has for us in the future. 
• ScareMare is knocking on the door. I can't wait to see who God uses to reach people with the Gospel. This is such an innovative and unique way to share the Gospel with the masses who probably wouldn't hear any other way. Pray for God to use us. Ask God how he can use you.

Can't wait to see what God has for us this weekend. It can truly be a Sun Stand Still moment. Don't miss it all God has for you!

Cracked but serving God,

Pastor Trey Rhodes