FROM THE PULPIT Issue 12 Church Newsletter First Baptist Church of Niles Volume 2/Issue 12 WHAT WE ARE DOING? AND WHAT WE SHOULD DO? IN THIS ISSUE and deep. 7 Your wrath lies heavy my companions have become WELCOME upon me, and you overwhelm me darkness. with all your waves. Selah In the title prior to the Psalms Welcome to Volume 2 of the FBCN 8 You have caused my companions opening we see the words, Newsletter or the “current new to shun me; you have made me a Mahalath Leannoth. Leannoth normal” editions. horror to them. I am shut in so that I defined as for answering; i.e., in cannot escape; 9 my eye grows dim singing, occurs in the title to Psalms This week’s reading will be Psalm through sorrow. Every day I call 88 . The title "Mahalath (q.v.) 88, titled I Cry Out Day and Night upon you, O LORD; I spread out my Leannoth" may be rendered Before You hands to you. 10 Do you work "concerning sickness, to be sung" A SONG. A PSALM OF THE SONS OF wonders for the dead? Do the i.e., perhaps, to be sung in sickness. KORAH. TO THE CHOIRMASTER: departed rise up to praise We will have another guest speaker ACCORDING TO MAHALATH you? Selah 11 this month from the Orchard LEANNOTH. A MASKIL OF HEMAN Is your steadfast love declared in Church. THE EZRAHITE. the grave, or your faithfulness in 12 Abaddon? Are your wonders We invite you to Join us for a virtual known in the darkness, or your prayer meeting on Wednesdays at O LORD, God of my salvation, righteousness in the land 7:00pm. 13 I cry out day and night before you. of forgetfulness? But I, O LORD, 2 Let my prayer come before you; cry to you; in the morning my prayer Wednesday Bible Study (Click Here) 3 incline your ear to my cry! For my comes before you. 14 O LORD, why do Meeting ID: 899 2251 1230 soul is full of troubles, and my life you cast my soul away? Why do you Password: 409807 draws near to Sheol. 4 I am counted hide your face from me? 15 Afflicted One tap mobile among those who go down to the and close to death from my youth +13126266799 pit; I am a man who has no strength, up, I suffer your terrors; I am Meeting ID: 899 2251 1230 5 like one set loose among the dead, helpless. 16 Your wrath has swept Password: 409807 like the slain that lie in the grave, over me; your dreadful assaults like those whom you remember no destroy me. 17 They surround me like Make sure you view the updated more, for they are cut off from your a flood all day long; they close in on prayer list. There are so many hand. 6 You have put me in the me together. 18 You have caused my needs. depths of the pit, in the regions dark beloved and my friend to shun me; FROM THE PULPIT: THE CHURCH NEWSLETTER OF 2 THE FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH OF NILES | Issue 12 “We ‘have all we want’ is a terrible teach, and serve. We believe God will ➢ Surrendering again, and again, saying when ‘all’ does not include God. provide the funds, the buildings, and and again until all is We find God an interruption. As St. whatever it takes to do the work He surrendered. Augustine says somewhere, ‘God wants wants us to do. God has always proven to give us something, but cannot, Himself faithful. People can get upset Recognizing this “total surrendering” is because our hands are full —there’s over many things, but we can't get exactly what God has planned for each nowhere for Him to put it.’”— C.S. Lewis upset over them when we know that of our lives. While the details of what everything is under God's control – surrendering all, may look different in that’s faith! each of our lives, the objective is the “Blessed are you when people hate you same. God desires vessels who and when they exclude you and revile surrender all; people who know the you and spurn your name as evil, on “And the Lord said, ‘If you had faith like price that has been paid for them, and account of the Son of Man! 23 Rejoice in a grain of mustard seed, you could say live accordingly, individuals who that day, and leap for joy, for behold, to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and surrender every comfort, dream, desire, your reward is great in heaven; for so planted in the sea,’ and it would obey and plan to an invisible God with an their fathers did to the prophets.” Luke you.” (Luke 17:6). eternal vision. It’s the process of letting 6:22-23 Are we living each and every day in faith go of something that we’re holding way and dependence? Can we sing the first too close. I read the C.S. Lewis quote above and stanza and chorus of “I surrender all” began to ponder three steps. The first and really mean it? Our third step is when we are held being, when our “all” does not include together with Christ in a spiritual union God. Salvation is the beginning step in as one by our salvation, sanctification living a Christian life. In John 14:6, Jesus All to Jesus I surrender, and glorification in Christ. There is a said, "I am the way and the truth and All to Him I freely give; natural resistance in our own hearts the life. No one comes to the Father I will ever love and trust Him, that true saving faith always brings with except through me." Jesus encourages In His presence daily live. it the reshaping of our heart and mind all believers to grow in relationship, Refrain: so that it is no longer we who live, but commitment, and obedience to Him. I surrender all, I surrender all; Christ lives in us. Faith is believing and trusting in God. All to Thee, my blessed Savior, I surrender all. We start with faith as the first step, and “There are any number of issues where then constantly add to it. We are saved You might believe that surrendering it seems that it’s no longer enough for a by faith we should continue to live by was something you only did once. But if person of faith to get along with, or to faith. Matthew 17:20, “He said to you are fully surrendered and realize serve, or to treat well someone they them, Because of your little faith. who you are, for what you were disagree with. And I think that the For truly, I say to you, if you have faith created, and by whom you were created political business, media, celebrity class, like a grain of mustard seed, you will then you’ll understand that surrender and also academia, it seems that there’s say to this mountain, ‘Move from here will be happening again, and again, and much more of a demand that people to there,’ and it will move, and nothing again. approve of, that they validate, that they celebrate things that they actually will be impossible for you.” 2 ➢ Surrendering my dreams to Corinthians 5:7 says, “for we walk by disagree with. Him as he leads me from the -Andrew Brunson, American-Hungarian pastor of faith, not by sight." There are many material to the spiritual. the Evangelical Presbyterian Church. Christians today that are saying, "We're ➢ Surrendering my comforts to worried about what's happening in the Him as my fears of professing world" or "If things don't change in our my faith to others becomes There is in every human heart an world, we're finished." Christians common place. intense and powerful love for the praise shouldn't live that way. We don't live by ➢ Surrendering my plans to Him of men. Our love for the praise of men the media; we don’t live in fear! We live as He leads me away from self hinders us from trusting Christ because by faith in the eternal God. to sacrifice. the purpose of Christ is to remove every ➢ Surrendering my future to Him ground of boasting in us and put it all in as the secular is replaced by Our second step is living in absolute God (1 Corinthians 1:29–31; Ephesians the devout. dependence on Him. By faith we believe 2:8–9; Galatians 6:14). This is the ➢ Surrendering my finances to God is enough that He is still able to fundamental stumbling block to Him and trusting in His bring more people into His Kingdom, Christian faith. It is what Jesus meant provisions for my life. and able to send out more to preach, when he said in John 5:44, “How can FROM THE PULPIT: THE CHURCH NEWSLETTER OF 3 THE FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH OF NILES | Issue 12 you believe, when you receive glory permanently close as a result of letters. Where there is no community, from one another and do not seek the shutdowns stemming from the there can be no community dysfunction. glory that comes from the only God?” coronavirus pandemic.” He went on to And community works best when there is This is when Christ is no longer an say, “although churches were handling real human contact and interaction.” interruption but when He becomes our things ‘pretty swimmingly’ at first, Fellowship is an important part of our lifestyle.