Touching Lives With Dr. James Merritt

One reason I am always concerned about the unity of our church or any church is that the devil is in every church. Another word for “devil” is “diabolos” which gives us the word “diabolic” and it literally means “to split”. The devil is a splitter; a divider or a wedge driver. The first thing he ever did was to split Adam and Eve from God, which is still his number one goal and hobby which is to separate unbelievers from God and keep them separated and to separate us from each other. On the contrary, the very first thing Paul wants to do is to keep us together, but how do you do that? Because we are different; we are diverse. How do you keep diversity and differences from leading to discord and division? I am going to tell you from experience. Nothing is more harmful to the cause of Christ, to the witness of the Gospel, and the influence of the church than a church divided. Thankfully, there is a way to keep it together, and here’s how.

You can tell a lot about your spiritual maturity with God by what you pray for and how you pray for it. But let’s be honest, we don’t always handle prayer the right way. In fact, there are two problems when it comes to prayer: we don’t know how to pray, and we don’t know what to pray for. At times our prayers are like throwing stuff against the wall and hoping it sticks. We are going to learn today that the greatest prayer you will ever pray and the prayer that you will know always makes a direct connect with God is the prayer that comes from God. God always answers every prayer that is according to His will, and any prayer that God tells you to pray reflects His will. We don’t always get what we pray for, but we always get what God wants us to pray for. From Ephesians 3, we get a one size fits all prayer that you can pray for anybody, anywhere, anytime, under any circumstances. Once you read it, you’ll realize you can’t pray a better prayer than this one.

Since the beginning of time, God has had an agenda for the human race. He has an endgame for all of us. In fact, you could really give the Bible a one-word title and just call it “endgame”, but of course even the word “endgame” begs a beginning and a middle because every story has those three components – a beginning, a middle and an end. The story of the Bible and in fact God’s story for you has the same three components.

Psychologists refer to them as “defining moments,” those events in your life that shape the person you have become. We all have them. But there is no defining moment like the moment when someone accepts Jesus and becomes a follower of Christ. So in this message, we are going to study all that happens at the defining moment when someone realizes they need a savior, that Jesus is that savior, and they trust Jesus as their savior.

If you would like to know what the real God looks like, the God who is great and glorious, who is magnificent and majestic, who is supreme and sovereign, you need to look no further than a letter that was written two thousand years ago by a man named Paul who had met this God personally on the Damascus Road. When you read who he says this God is and what this God has done, and what this God is doing and wants to do, the only word you’ll be thinking is, “unbelievable.” It may sound contradictory, but we really do believe in a God who is unbelievable. And in the book of Ephesians, Paul tells us that what God has done for his people is unbelievable, and what God wants to do through His people is unbelievable.

As the runway of life begins to run out, everyone starts to ponder this question...What am I going to leave behind? The two most important things to consider, according to the Bible, are people and influence. Leaving a legacy is about the people you impact, not about the possessions you leave. Leaving a legacy is about the influence you leave, not about the inheritance. You may not be a king like David when you die, but you can definitely leave behind a legacy worthy of a king.

One of the greatest illustrations of grace in the entire Bible involves the story of a man with one of the worst names in the Bible. The man is named Mephibosheth, and despite his odd name, he finds himself in the middle of a story that paints a vivid picture of salvation. King David plays a role in the story as he paints a picture of the Savior. Mephibosheth, as you might have guessed, paints the picture of a sinner. And, throughout the whole story, God is ever-present as He colors the canvas with His remarkable grace.

When you ask someone about David, inevitably two stories involving two very different people come to mind—Goliath and Bathsheba. If you know anything about King David, you would truly understand how far he fell when he got involved with Bathsheba. In fact, he fell farther than perhaps any powerful figure in human history. His “lyin’ eyes” were his undoing. He lost the game of sin, and honestly, we all lose the game of sin, which is why we so desperately need a savior.

One of the greatest illustrations of grace in the entire Bible involves the story of a man with one of the worst names in the Bible. The man is named Mephibosheth, and despite his odd name, he finds himself in the middle of a story that paints a vivid picture of salvation. King David plays a role in the story as he paints a picture of the Savior. Mephibosheth, as you might have guessed, paints the picture of a sinner. And, throughout the whole story, God is ever-present as He colors the canvas with His remarkable grace.

There are two things that tend to get people into trouble...their temper and their tongue. How many times have you said something you didn’t really mean but you said it anyway out of pure anger? How many things do you wish you could take back? Truly, everyone has felt this way at one time or another. King David comes close to falling into what is known as the “revenge trap” but fights back against his temper and his tongue and puts his trust into God’s capable hands.

Despite the triumphs of David, King Saul became filled with the poison of jealousy and sought to have his revenge by killing David. Saul hires elite soldiers to kill David, but he escapes just before they are to execute him while sleeping. Filled with rage, Saul sent his entire army after David, and yet God provides David with the unbelievable opportunity to kill Saul and end the whole ordeal. David must now decide to give in to revenge or to honor God by respecting His choice for King. David ultimately chooses the latter as he overcomes the urge to take his revenge and, in doing so, gives God the glory.

There are two things that are true for everyone...we all need to have the right kinds of friends and we all need to be the right kind of friend to others. In this life, we will make many acquaintances, but we won’t make many true friends.

This entire story of David and Goliath is not about a little shepherd boy who beat a huge giant. It is a story about GOD! The point of the battle between David and Goliath is this...there is a God who rescues, a God who will fight our battles for us, and a God who is bigger than any giant we will ever face.

Would it surprise you to learn there has been more written about David than any other character in the entire Bible except Jesus? This typical, unassuming, not-so-special young man did not come from wealth, did not possess any unique characteristics, and did not enjoy the benefits of a learned profession. He was an average person with a below average job as a shepherd from a poor family. And yet, he would become a king because he truly sought God’s own heart.

It’s one thing to have a relationship with God. It’s another thing to have a relationship with God and be sure of it. Many Christians struggle with doubt, wondering if there’s anything they can do to lose their salvation. They question whether God’s faithfulness to them is conditional. So in this message, we are going to set the record straight and answer the question, “Can I lose my salvation?” We’ll take a look at what Jesus has to say about this matter where He identifies the people who really have a relationship with God, and where He verifies exactly how permanent that relationship is.

Many people today struggle with managing their money. They don’t save enough. They spend money they don’t have. They have their financial priorities flipped upside down. Many of them can’t even sleep for worrying about money. But God never intended for us to live our lives bogged down by financial pressure. Instead, He wants us to live in financial freedom. So in today’s message, we are going to take a look at four steps you can take to achieve financial freedom in your own life.

Have you ever asked the question, “Does God always answer our prayers?” Well, there’s a very simple answer to that question. The truth is, God always answers our prayers, but we must understand that that doesn’t mean He always answers our prayers the way we want Him to. Prayer is not about getting God to do your will; it is about getting God to do His will. The key to getting your prayers heard and your prayers answered is by praying according to the will of God because prayers prayed in the will of God will always accomplish the work of God.

As we close out this series, we are going to look at a character trait that is certainly not in abundance. Disrespect is found in greater quantities everywhere – in the home, in the government, in the media, in our schools, and on our highways. There is a story of a man in the Bible who one day would be king, who had every reason not just to disrespect the one who was king, but to destroy him and bring his kingdom to an end. But, the fact that he did not and the reasons that he did serve as a great reminder over 2500 years later why respect is so important and what it looks like. This story teaches us three tremendous lessons that we need to not only learn but desperately need to pass on to the next generation who desperately need to recover.