From Gary V. Womack...

A Little Leaven - A Little Doubt

1 Cor. 10:1-12 Text - Old Testament examples for our benefit - Learn from it.

Ex. 6:2-9 God told Moses & Israel He would bring them out of Egypt &

give them the promised land.

Ex. 33:1-3 After Israelites bowed down to the golden calf at Mt. Sinai

God told Moses to go & lead the people to Canaan

And He would send His Angel before them - but not His presence.

Rom. 1:16-23 The power of God's word - suppressed by unrighteousness.

The results is idolatry like Israel at Mt. Sinai.

12 Spies sent into Canaan - 10 plant seeds of doubt.

Num. 13:26-ff "We can't" - "They are stronger than we."

Num. 14:6-9 Joshua & caleb said, "We can"

"If the Lord delights in us, He will bring us into the land."

God forbid them to enter due to their unbelief.

Num. 14:26-33 The innocent children were effected by their parent's sin

They would "bear the brunt of your infidelity."

Unbelief & disobedience go hand-in-hand

Heb. 3:16 - 4:2 The word did not profit the Jews, not being mixed with faith.

Rom. 10:13-17 Not all obeyed - because they did not believe (Isa. 53:1)

After being forbidden to enter - Israel decides to go in anyway.

Num. 14:39-45 Moses warned them no to go up. They were defeated.

What made the difference? They could have entered before,

with the same people in the same place against the same enemy

Now they could not. Why? Faith

Jn. 15:4-5 "Abide in Me, and I in you . As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself,

unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.

(5) I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me and I in

him, bears much fruit; I."

Col. 1:21-23 The condition of our being presented to the Father:

Continue in the faith, grounded, steadfast &

not moved away from the hope of the gospel.

Rev. 21:6-8 He who overcomes shall inherit all things

But not the cowardly or the unbelieving.

INVITATION

(Mt. 14:22-33) Jesus caught Peter from sinking, then asked, "Why did you doubt?"

From Gary V. Womack...

A GREAT COMMISSION

God commissioned Moses on a mission to rescue His people from Egyptian bondage in an unusual way -

a way that declared the authority of Him who called Moses into service:

Ex. 3:1-12 God called Moses from a burning bush.

Remember the great commission:

Mt. 28:18-20 "...'All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. (19) Go therefore and make

disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

(20) teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even

to the end of the age.' Amen."

After God gave Moses the ability to perform 2 miracles to confirm his authority to lead Israel

out of Egypt:

Ex. 4:10-12 Moses offers the excuse of a lack of eloquence.

God does not require silver tongues to proclaim His message - as in Paul:

1 Cor. 2:1-1-2 "And I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom

declaring to you the testimony of God. (2) For I determined not to know anything among you

except Jesus Christ and Him crucified."

When Jesus sent out His apostles the work they were given was to "MAKE DISCIPLES" -

How do you make followers, learners,?

Look at the apostles to see how it was done - It was like fishing :

Mt. 4:18-20 "And Jesus, walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew

his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. (19) Then He said to them, 'Follow

Me, and I will make you fishers of men.' (20) They immediately left their nets and followed Him."

How did they catch fish? Consider this:

Lk. 5:1-11 These men fished at night. They did so by holding torches over the sides of the boat to

lure the fish to them, then they cast in their nets.

When we hold forth the light of God's word, it will attract those who are drawn to it.

Jn. 6:44-45 (Jesus) "No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him

up at the last day. (45) It is written in the prophets, 'And they shall all be taught by God.' Therefore

everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me."

We make disciples by baptizing them. How? Holding up the light for all to see it

The scope of that commission was tremendous - Go into all the world & preach the gospel to every creature.

Notice the impact that they made within the first 16-19 years:

Acts 17:1-6 They were accused of turning the world upside down.

Col. 1:3-6 (Written 62 AD - 29 yrs. after Jesus' ascension)

The gospel had by this time gone into all the world.

How did they do that? Why can't we do that?

By THE LAW OF MULTIPLICATION

illustration - Some years ago at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago,

there was an exhibit that illustrated the power of multiplication.

Displayed was a box with 64 squares.

In the first square was a single grain of rice, in the next 2, then 4, 8, 16, 32, 64

Until the rice finally poured over onto the floor.

There was a sign above the exhibit that said,

"If you were to take one grain of rice and double it in each of the subsequent

64 squares, how many grains of rice would you find in the 64th. square?"

The answer:

"You would have enough rice to cover the entire sub-continent of India 50 ft. deep."

That is the LAW of multiplication. Not and interesting philosophy but a LAW.

It is the law of multiplication that ultimately resulted in the discovery of the atom

bomb where one atom splits 2, splits 4, splits 8, splits 16, etc. resulting in an atomic

explosion.

The law of multiplication represents EXACT DUPLICATION

That is what we are doing when we convert souls - duplicating ourselves.

Here is God's power of multiplication (or Duplication)

2 Tim. 2:2 "And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses,

commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also."

Conclusion:

Gal. 6:9-10 "Let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall

reap if we do not lose heart. (10) Therefore, as we have opportunity,

let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of

faith."

Mt. 25:14-30 Parable of the talents = blessing > responsibility > accountability

From Gary... My house, is a very, very fine house

Yesterday, as we drove on route 98 towards the intersection with route 301, I noticed the sign along the road that said:"toy doctor". In doing so, I also remembered that when we moved here nine years ago, I had mused: I wonder if someone can make a living repairing toys?  Later that day, I felt so foolish because I saw that it was a recreational vehicle repair facility.  Nine years ago, having an RV was a possibility, but today- no way.  Don't get me wrong- I would love one!!! But at gas prices approaching $4 a gallon, its just out of the question.  But, what if gas were NOT AN ISSUE?  Then I saw the above picture today and remembered the discussion in Paul's second letter to the Corinthians....

2 Corinthians, Chapter 5

 1 For we know that if the earthly house of our tent is dissolved, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal, in the heavens.  2 For most certainly in this we groan, longing to be clothed with our habitation which is from heaven; 3 if so be that being clothed we will not be found naked.  4 For indeed we who are in this tent do groan, being burdened; not that we desire to be unclothed, but that we desire to be clothed, that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life.  5 Now he who made us for this very thing is God, who also gave to us the down payment of the Spirit. 

  6  Therefore we are always confident and know that while we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord;  7 for we walk by faith, not by sight.  8 We are courageous, I say, and are willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be at home with the Lord.  9 Therefore also we make it our aim, whether at home or absent, to be well pleasing to him.  10 For we must all be revealed before the judgment seat of Christ; that each one may receive the things in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.  11 Knowing therefore the fear of the Lord, we persuade men, but we are revealed to God; and I hope that we are revealed also in your consciences.  

I looked at my hands today and noticed that they were more wrinkled than they used to be.  This is not surprising, as in May I will turn 64 years young, but I remember when they didn't have any wrinkles at all.  My "house" is changing; like it or not, I am aging, so I guess I will just have to deal with it! But someday, I will have a new "house" in heaven; one not made with human hands.  In the meantime, I will just have to muddle though this life, living the best way I know how to please HIM who will bless me in the heavenly realms.

PS.  The RV in the picture is just too small for me, but not for the one riding that over-sized bicycle!!! And, he doesn't even have to worry about the cost of gas!!!!