Daniel: Faithful to God & Country for over 65 Years!

• (Disclaimer: The country he was faithful to was a cruel, pagan nation that had conquered his homeland and hauled him 900 miles as a prisoner of war.)

God had great plans for Daniel, and we see that plan unfolding in Daniel 1 as Daniel is brought to Babylon as a prisoner of war.

• (Jeremiah 29:11 ESV) For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.

Not a lucky charm. It seems that we quote that verse like a lucky charm, sometimes to ourselves, sometimes to a brother or sister who is going through a tough patch. And in doing so, we show how alike we are to the ancient Israelites with whom Jeremiah fought tooth and nail over the will of God for their lives.

Not their plan. They couldn’t let go of their plan to flee to Egypt from the invading Chaldeans and embrace God’s plan to surrender to Nebuchadnezzar and be shipped off to Babylon.

Sound familiar? The part about not being able to let go of our plans?

But we prayed about it? They did pray. Ask Jeremiah. They wanted him to pray for God’s will for them. But they didn’t want God’s will, as we will see. No, what they wanted was God to bless their plan to go to Egypt.

Their request sounds so spiritual.

• (Jeremiah 42:1–6 ESV) ¹ Then all the commanders of the forces, and Johanan the son of Kareah and Jezaniah the son of Hoshaiah, and all the people from the least to the greatest, came near ² and said to Jeremiah the prophet, “Let our plea for mercy come before you, and pray to the Lord your God for us, for all this remnant—because we are left with but a few, as your eyes see us— ³ that the Lord your God may show us the way we should go, and the thing that we should do.” ⁴ Jeremiah the prophet said to them, “I have heard you. Behold, I will pray to the Lord your God according to your request, and whatever the Lord answers you I will tell you. I will keep nothing back from you.” ⁵ Then they said to Jeremiah, “May the Lord be a true and faithful witness against us if we do not act according to all the word with which the Lord your God sends you to us. ⁶ Whether it is good or bad, we will obey the voice of the Lord our God to whom we are sending you, that it may be well with us when we obey the voice of the Lord our God.”

Liar, liar, pants on fire. So. How did they respond when they didn’t get the answer they wanted? They said Jeremiah was lying and that God did not say that at all.

• (Jeremiah 43:1–2 ESV) ¹ When Jeremiah finished speaking to all the people all these words of the Lord their God, with which the Lord their God had sent him to them, ² Azariah the son of Hoshaiah and Johanan the son of Kareah and all the insolent men said to Jeremiah, “You are telling a lie. The Lord our God did not send you to say, ‘Do not go to Egypt to live there.’

They could not let go of “God’s got a wonderful plan for my life” and this is it.

But not Daniel. Daniel learned this lesson well and faithfully served God for close to seven decades in a foreign, cruel, pagan culture.

Great plans indeed. God had great plans for Daniel. And as Daniel submitted to God’s plans for his life, God fulfilled his plan, not Daniel’s plan. And Daniel and the people around him reaped the blessing of God’s plan for seven decades.

Not bad work, God!

• PDF 5 God Versus the Evil Empire : Daniel 1 : ffc : dave scott : 092015 AM STUDY SHEET ONE
• PDF 5 God Versus the Evil Empire : Daniel 1 : ffc : dave scott : 092015 AM STUDY SHEET TWO
• PDF 5 God Versus the Evil Empire : Daniel 1 : ffc : dave scott : 092015 AM STUDY SHEET THREE
• PDF 5 God Versus the Evil Empire : Daniel 1 : ffc : dave scott : 092015 AM STUDY SHEET FOUR

Message Title: God Versus Politics!

Message Text: 2 Chronicles 16 (and 2 Chronicles 14)

MP3: God Versus Politics : 2 Chronicles 16 : ffc : dave scott : 091315 PM

WMA: God Versus Politics : 2 Chronicles 16 : ffc : dave scott : 091315 PM

• (2 Chronicles 16:9 ESV) For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to give strong support to those whose heart is blameless toward him. You have done foolishly in this, for from now on you will have wars.

His intent was to avoid war, and he got just the opposite.

This oft-quoted verse was a rebuke to King Asa and is a cautionary tale to the rest of us. King Asa began well but had pulled back in his commitment to the LORD of Heaven’s Armies. In doing so his faith wavered, his leadership crumbled and his character weakened.

He was not the same man who faced the million-man army from Ethiopia and relied on God for the victory. In chapter sixteen when Baasha threatened him on the border of his country, he saw an opportunity to resolve the conflict politically. He made a treaty, or more accurately bought an allegiance with silver and gold. Because of his lack of faith he did not aim high enough.

Just as we do.

Too often we think “We can do that” instead of seeking God and lifting our eyes a little higher for the plans that he would have for us. We may even succeed in our efforts as Asa did, and, as Asa did, leave ourselves open for God’s rebuke because of our lack of trust.

Message Title: God Versus Goliath

Message Text: 1 Samuel 17

MP3: God Versus Goliath : 1 Samuel 17 : ffc : dave scott : 091315 AM

WMA: God Versus Goliath : 1 Samuel 17 : ffc : dave scott : 091315 AM

David. The right man in the right place at the right time.

God had prepared David for this grand moment in history by teaching David to be faithful to him in the obscurity of everyday life. David knew the greatness of God because he was faithful to God in the little things of life.

“David, go feed the sheep.” “Okay.” // “David, stay behind while Samuel chooses one of your brothers to be the next king of Israel.” “Okay.” // “David, stay behind and watch the sheep while your brothers go off to war.” “Okay.” // “David, run this errand.” “Okay.” // “David, run that errand.” “Okay.” // “David, go kill the giant who is defying the armies of the living God.” “Okay.”

David didn’t learn about the greatness and power of God that day in the valley facing the giant. He had learned these things in obscurity, on the grassy hills outside of Bethlehem, watching his father’s sheep. David knew. God is God. That is how he faced the giant.

David had already learned for instance that the battle is the LORD’s, that the victory is the LORD’s, that the only plans that matter, the only plans that stand are the LORD’s.

His greatest weapon was his full and complete trust in the LORD. David knew God is God. And that has not changed. Thirty centuries later … still true. God is God. Our greatest weapon against the darkness, our greatest weapon against the schemes of the enemy is our complete trust in God to be God. That is our reality.

The giant spewed his terrifying threats, and then David spoke (rather matter-of-factly it seems):

Today the LORD will conquer you, and I will kill you and cut off your head. And then I will give the dead bodies of your men to the birds and wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel (1 Samuel 17:46 NLT)!

And …

And all this assembly shall know that the Lord saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give you into our hands (1 Samuel 17:47 KJV).

Today I am asking: Do we know that the battle is the LORD’s?

Hello All,

Here is this week’s bulletin: September 13, 2015.

• PDF Bulletin FFC September 13 2015

Hello All,

Here is the information on the OFOP fundraiser to be held on September 19.

I did speak with Ryan Johnson (Co-founder/Executive Director), and he informed me that all the money raised at this fundraiser goes for the homes in Fairdale AND Cameron. The flier only mentions Fairdale but I called and checked again today and the proceeds go into one fund for both homes.

Follow this link for more info: ILLINOIS RELIEF 2015

What do we do with the mess? How do we relate to a government that at times seems determined to defy God in every way imaginable?

What do we do when faced with the threat of giants in the land?

• Here is a prayer I recently read on FB which is (probably incorrectly) attributed to Billy Graham but still is worth our time:

  Heavenly Father, we come before you today to ask your forgiveness and to seek your direction and guidance. We know Your Word says, ‘Woe to those who call evil good,’ but that is exactly what we have done. We have lost our spiritual equilibrium and reversed our values. We have exploited the poor and called it the lottery. We have rewarded laziness and called it welfare. We have killed our unborn and called it choice. We have shot abortionists and called it justifiable. We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building self-esteem. We have abused power and called it politics. We have coveted our neighbor’s possessions and called it ambition. We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it freedom of expression. We have ridiculed the time-honored values of our forefathers and called it enlightenment. Search us, Oh God, and know our hearts today; cleanse us from sin and set us free. Amen!

  With the Lord’s help, may this prayer sweep over our nation and wholeheartedly become our desire so that we once again can be called ‘One nation under God!’

  Origins:   The “Prayer for Our Nation” piece reproduced above has in recent years come to be attributed to venerable evangelist the Rev. Billy Graham, and before that it was circulated as “Paul Harvey’s Prayer” (or “Paul Harvey’s On Air Prayer”). However, it was neither written nor first presented by either of those men.

  This prayer burst into the public consciousness back in January of 1996, when the Rev. Joe Wright, senior pastor of the 2,500-member Central Christian Church in Wichita, was invited to deliver the opening prayer at a session of the Kansas House of Representatives. On that occasion he offered the following “Prayer of Repentance” (which was not entirely of his own crafting but rather was a version of a prayer written in 1995 by Bob Russell, who had offered it at the Kentucky Governor’s Prayer Breakfast in Frankfort):

Read more at http://www.snopes.com/politics/soapbox/prayernation.asp#JElfOi0Ek88IUXGB.99

Message Title: God Versus Goliath!

Message Text: 1 Samuel 17

• PDF 2 God Versus Goliath : 1 Samuel 17 : ffc : dave scott : 091315 AM STUDY SHEET ONE
• PDF 2 God Versus Goliath : 1 Samuel 17 : ffc : dave scott : 091315 AM STUDY SHEET TWO

Mini-Series: Loyalty to God or Defiance toward Government?

Is it ever okay to disobey our government? With more and more legislation and judicial rulings that seemingly oppose our Biblical values, what are we to do? Do we have biblical examples from which God can give us his direction? What should we do if we are brought before the government to answer for our faith? How do we prepare?

With this in mind for the next few weeks we will be examining the following biblical examples of conflicts of faith.

PREACHING SCHEDULE THROUGH SEPTEMBER

September 13 AM / God Versus Goliath / 1 Samuel 17

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September 13 PM / God Versus Politics / 2 Chronicles 16

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September 20 AM / God Versus the Evil Empire / Daniel 1

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September 20 PM / God Versus the World / Daniel 2

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September 27 AM / God Versus the Fiery Furnace / Daniel 3

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September 27 PM / God Versus Religion / Acts 5:17-42

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The first meeting of the year for the Colchester Area Historical Society will be on Tuesday, September 15 at 7 P.M. 

We will meet at the Colchester City Hall Community Room at Friendway Park.

Members and guests can bring historical items for the “Show and Tell” program. 

All interested individuals are invited to attend the program.

“God reigns above the nations, sitting on his holy throne.”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭47:8‬ ‭NLT‬‬
http://bible.com/116/psa.47.8.nlt

Do we know our enemy?

If we do not know our enemy, how could we possibly be fighting the right battle in the right war?

• Sun Tzu, The Art of War: If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.

The Bible is a divine Book. In the Bible God speaks with specificity.

Specificity is the act or quality of being exact; the fact, condition, or quality of being specific. Explicitly set forth; definite; clear or detailed in communicating.

When the Bible says “Thus saith the LORD”, God is not just laying out general guidelines expecting us to fill in the blanks.

Tonight we will examine God’s specific instruction for warfare.

God Versus the Enemy

Ephesians 6:10-20

MP3: God Versus the Enemy : Ephesians 6:10-20 : ffc : dave scott : 083015 PM

WMA: God Versus the Enemy : Ephesians 6:10-20 : ffc : dave scott : 083015 PM