by Pastor Cecil | Jan 1, 2016 | Philippians
Philippians 4:4-7
“Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.“
William Walford did not allow the fact that he was blind limit his service for his Lord. He was frequently called upon to preach in a small country church. He composed the sermons in his head and also was able to quote large portions of Scripture from memory. Some people thought he had memorized the entire Bible. He also composed verses as the Lord laid the words upon his heart. Above all—he was a man of prayer.
In the mid 1800’s, Thomas Salmon was visiting in England and became acquainted with Pastor Walford. As they were visiting one day the blind pastor quoted a few pieces he had composed. Since he had no one to write them down he had kept them treasured in the storehouse of his mind.
One of the verses he related to Mr. Salmon was, Sweet Hour of Prayer. Mr. Salmon eagerly scribbled the words down on a scrap of paper. When he returned to New York he sent the verses to the Observer and asked if they thought them worth preserving. The Observer did think them worthy and published them on September 13, 1845. The music was added by William Bradbury in 1861.
Sweet Hour of Prayer
Sweet hour of prayer! Sweet hour of prayer!
That calls me from a world of care,
And bids me at my Father’s throne
Make all my wants and wishes known.
In seasons of distress and grief,
My soul has often found relief
And oft escaped the tempter’s snare
By thy return, sweet hour of prayer!
Sweet hour of prayer! Sweet hour of prayer!
The joys I feel, the bliss I share,
Of those whose anxious spirits burn
With strong desires for thy return!
With such I hasten to the place
Where God my Savior shows His face,
And gladly take my station there,
And wait for thee, sweet hour of prayer!
Sweet hour of prayer! Sweet hour of prayer!
Thy wings shall my petition bear
To Him whose truth and faithfulness
Engage the waiting soul to bless.
And since He bids me seek His face,
Believe His Word and trust His grace,
I’ll cast on Him my every care,
And wait for thee, sweet hour of prayer!
Sweet hour of prayer! Sweet hour of prayer!
May I thy consolation share,
Till, from Mount Pisgah’s lofty height,
I view my home and take my flight:
This robe of flesh I’ll drop and rise
To seize the everlasting prize;
And shout, while passing through the air,
‘Farewell, farewell, sweet hour of prayer!’
To access Sweet Hour of Prayer please go to: http://www.gloryscapes.com/sweethourofprayer in your browser or click on the image below.
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
—Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Dec 1, 2015 | Philippians
Philippians 1:19-21
“For I know that this will turn out for my deliverance through your prayer and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, according to my earnest expectation and hope that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”
When I think of expectation, I often recall certain dear friends of ours. One year the wife was expecting a special bracelet for her birthday. She dropped all the necessary hints to her husband, even going so far as to point out the exact bracelet she expected for her upcoming birthday. When her birthday finally arrived, the wife was stunned! Instead of giving her the bracelet, her husband John had bought her a garden composter. Now that is about as far from a bracelet as you can get!
What is the opposite of expectation? To my mind it would be hopelessness. Just saying that gives me a feeling of despondency. I want to let you in on a little secret. Despondency never generates enthusiasm or hopefulness. It’s just the opposite — it tears down and destroys those that are looking for someone to give them a reason for their faith.
In this world there will be many disappointments. If our expectation is focused on the things of this world, we will always fail. The things of this world will always tarnish and fade. Only the things of eternal value are worthy of our expectation. As Paul summed it up: “For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” That is where our expectation must be!
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Oct 6, 2015 | Philippians
Philippians 2:3-4
“Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.”
One of the most depressing, yet humorous stories I can recall is of a pastor who had been preaching a series of sermons on the topic of humility. As he was greeting people at the door several weeks into the series, a little lady came up to him and said, “Oh, Pastor, I have been so blessed by your messages. You know I do not have very many things to be proud of, but one thing I am proud of is my humility.”
The pastor felt like crying! She had missed the point of what true humility was. I think that may be all too true of most of us. We tend to focus on ourselves and what we are doing rather than making the Lord our focus.
When we have a solid awareness of our dependence on the Lord we are able to reflect His glory to those around us. It is not so much what we do for Christ as it is what we allow Him to do through us.
My desire is to be a conduit of His mercy and grace to others. People need to see us die to ourselves and live for others. That was the message Paul was trying to get across to the Philippians. Join me in giving ourselves away!
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Oct 1, 2015 | Philippians
Philippians 1:27
“Only let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of your affairs, that you stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel.”
Back when I was in grade school (that is way back) I had a teacher who consistently used a word that I have not heard for years — DECORUM. A quick peek at a dictionary and I find the definition: “correct or proper behavior that shows respect and good manners.”
Respect! What a fantastic word. It has the connotation of showing kindness and honor to another individual. That person does not necessarily have a higher position, but rather it shows a willingness on the one doing the honoring to acknowledge the worth of another. Don’t you wish there were more people showing respect to others?
Good manners! Wow! I think it is safe to say that we lack good manners many times. I hate to bring it up, but do we show good manners when we are behind the wheel of a car? How about when we are in a shopping center? How about with our own family? Ouch!
Paul urges us to have conduct that is worthy of the gospel of Jesus Christ. As you and I stop and take stock of our conduct, is it worthy of the gospel of Jesus Christ? If Jesus were to walk with us throughout the day, would He find our conduct worthy? The sobering reality is that the Holy Spirit is with each and every believer continually. When we do things that we think no one else knows about or can see, the Holy Spirit is present. My desire is to have worthy conduct in thought, word, and deed.
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Sep 29, 2015 | Philippians
Philippians 1:21-24
“For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. But if I live on in the flesh, this will mean fruit from my labor; yet what I shall choose I cannot tell. For I am hard-pressed between the two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better. Nevertheless to remain in the flesh is more needful for you.”
Last week I received an email message with a thought-provoking illustration. Supposedly a teacher stood before a classroom with her arm extended holding a glass of water. She asked the students to guess how much it weighed. The guesses ranged from 12 ounces to 24 ounces. The teacher smiled and said the “weight” depends on how long you hold it. If you hold it for two moments it is very light. If you hold it for two hours it becomes heavier. If you hold it for 10 hours it becomes an unbearable burden.
The Apostle Paul carried many burdens in his ministry. The burdens he bore were for the sake of Christ. He had purpose in his life! He did not bear burdens just for the sake of suffering, but for presenting the message of salvation. His real purpose was to live for Christ in everything he did.
Many people carry burdens that God never intended them to carry. In doing so, they lack the purpose that God intends for his children. Many times it seems that heaven is so close that we can almost reach out and touch it. No matter how anxious we are to be with the Lord, our real purpose must be to serve Him with all of our might. My prayer is that we will have a Christ oriented purpose in our life.
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Sep 22, 2015 | Philippians
Philippians 1:9-11
“And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment, that you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ, being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.”
All too often our prayers for others are limited to their physical or financial needs. While that is well and good, it seems that it is very shortsighted. If we were to study the prayers in the Word of God, we would find that seldom are those prayers directed toward healing or financial gain.
Paul is praying for the saints who live in Philippi. It is interesting to notice what he is praying for concerning them: That their love may abound more and more; that they may have more knowledge and discernment; that they may approve of things that are excellent; that they may be sincere; that they may be without offense until the day of Christ, and that they may be filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Christ Jesus. What a fantastic prayer! I would love to have those prayers directed at me.
The question arises about the state of our prayer life. Are we more interested in the things that make us or others comfortable or are we interested in what will make us fruitful? I fear that most of the time we desire to be at ease in Zion.
God calls us to be prayer warriors. As prayer warriors we need to pray and encourage others to be strong and vital in serving the Lord. We need to pray that spiritual insight will be given and maturity increased. Along with our prayers we need to call or write to let others know that we are there for them.
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
