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3) So how will we escape punishment if we reject the IMPORTANT MESSAGE, the Message that God saved us? First, the Lord told this saving message. Then those who heard Him confirmed that message. 4) God verified what they said (The Amplified Bible says …it was also established and plainly ENDORSED by God) through MIRACULOUS SIGNS, AMAZING THINGS, OTHER POWERFUL ACTS, AND WITH OTHER GIFTS FROM the Holy Spirit as He wanted. (Hebrews 2:3-4 GW)

Did you notice verse 4 where I put the Amplified Bible version says, “…it was also established and plainly ENDORSED by God?” God was verifying “the IMPORTANT MESSAGE, which is the Message that God saved us.“ BUT, only if we DO NOT reject the IMPORTANT MESSAGE. And if we look around us, whether it’s people at work, at school, in our neighborhood, and even in the mirror, we will see people who have rejected the Message that God saved us. What are we going to do?

Look, if I can do something, then you can do something. “Well, Pastor Kevin, you are a preacher and you’re supposed to do stuff like that.“ Really? Read this…

“He also gave apostles, prophets, missionaries, as well as pastors and teachers as gifts to His church. Their responsibility is to EQUIP GOD’S PEOPLE TO DO HIS WORK and BUILD UP THE CHURCH, THE BODY OF CHRIST. This is to continue until all of us are united in our faith and in our knowledge about God’s Son, until we become mature, until we measure up to Christ, who is the standard.” (Eph. 4:11-13 – GW, NLT)

We are ALL ENDORSED by God to do the work that God gave us, which is the Message that God has SAVED US… IF, we don’t reject Him. In Ephesians 4:7 it says, “God’s favor has been given to each of us. It was measured out to us by Christ who gave it.” And I want to press the part that says, “given to each of us.” If you are a shy person you might think that you’re not included in this. Well, I’m sure God has something for you. He doesn’t want everyone to be a preacher or a missionary. Just ask Him what you can do.

Well, I haven’t even touched my main point yet. I will try to finish this sometime this week. Until then, focus on what we talked about, the Message that God saved us.

In Him,
Pastor Kevin Kinchen

Let’s get serious about your life on this earth. OK, now that we covered your life, let’s get serious about the “LIFE THAT GOD HAS ALREADY PLANNED FOR YOU” on this earth.

When our children were growing up we never asked them what THEY wanted to be or what THEY wanted to do. We always asked them what do they think GOD wants them to be or to do. Why did we do that? It’s because there are way too many people that are doing what THEY want to do. If we think about it, God is the One who brought us into this world… and He did that with a purpose, and a reason.

A lot of people are living their life doing what they are good at. However, the Bible has tons of people that started doing what they were good at, but when they surrendered to God, they found out what GOD was good at. And it was usually something that person had never done before. The disciples of Jesus were fishermen/became Disciples , a tax-collector/became Disciple, Luke was a doctor/Wrote the Gospel of Luke, Moses was a slave and stuttered/became a spokesman for God (millions of people), David was a shepherd/became King, and on and on it goes.

That’s what happened to me. All throughout my school years I was terrified to get up in front of people. It tore my stomach up just to think about it. I was heading down alcohol alley because of my fear of people. If you had a lineup of people that were in line for a preacher’s position, you would NOT choose me… but God did. You see, God put me into a position where I would HAVE TO RELY COMPLETELY ON HIM… because KEVIN KINCHEN DOESN’T LIKE TO GET UP IN FRONT OF PEOPLE. But, God knows me better than I know myself. All I had to do was surrender. He does the rest. So, what are YOU going to do… are you going to keep on doing things that you think is good enough, or are you going to seek the Lord and find out what He wants, and the “LIFE THAT GOD HAS ALREADY PLANNED FOR YOU” on this earth……

In Him,
Pastor Kevin Kinchen

“Be wise in the way you act toward those who are outside the Christian faith. Make the most of your opportunities. Everything you say should be kind and well thought out so that you know how to answer everyone.” (Col 4:5-6 GW)

Can we even imagine what life would be like if we did what these verses say? Society says, SPEAK WHAT YOU WANT! … without thinking about the damage we leave behind us. We ‘tend to speak before we think.

As you may know, I am dealing with a speech impediment right now. You would not even be able to understand me. For a preacher, that is a problem. BUT, I will tell you this, my ability to listen is off the chart! I can be in a room full of people and I can hear both sides of a conversation. I can tell you who is going to regret what they say and who won’t. When people speak from their emotions they are setting themselves up for a failed conversation.

If you’re a Christian, and you care about people, it’s really important that you do what these Scriptures say; be wise in the way you act, make the most of your opportunities, be kind, and well thought out. I’m sure we have all seen a so-called ’Christian’ who is trying to stuff a Bible down an unbeliever’s throat. That is not the “be kind” Jesus wants. He wants us to love others the way we love ourselves. Our kindness should come from our heart, not from a few broken words that have no meaning.

So, what are you going to do? Will you ask the Lord to help you CLEAN-UP your heart so it will disperse kind words. Or, will you just keep casting out words that have no meaning and leave a trail of damage wherever they fall. Like my Mom always said, “If you can’t say something nice, then say nothing at all.“

In Him,
Pastor Kevin Kinchen

“Everything you say or do should be done in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.”

When I was on staff at Living Stones Church we had (and still have) a humongous dome-shaped sanctuary. Me and another guy, Rod Anderson, had the ‘privilege’ to scrub and/or paint the entire outside of the dome… in the summer… with temperatures above 100 degrees… hanging from ropes… with brooms and Clorox bleach (because of the massive amount of mildew) … and with hundreds and hundreds of gallons of paint. I think we did it for 5 or 6 summers. It was brutal for sure.

So, one day as I was walking through our office area I saw my Pastor. He had that look on his face. I knew what he was going to say. He said, “Kevin, it looks like the dome needs a good scrub and cleaning.“ I did what you would do… I slapped a ‘fake’ smile on my face, and said, “We will get right on it.”

I climbed up on that roof, that massive roof, and I told God what I thought about it. “God, how come I have to do this stupid roof? Why can’t someone else do it? I am the Youth Pastor, the Camp Director, and the Associate Pastor! When can I stop messing around with this roof!“………… Silence………….. More Silence……………..Then God says, “KEVIN, YOU WILL NEVER HAVE TO DO THIS AGAIN WHEN YOU LEARN HOW TO DO IT WITHOUT COMPLAINING.”

Wow! I didn’t tell anybody what God said. I wanted to make sure that I passed this test. Looking back, I realized how much I complained. So, I passed the test. How do I know? Well, a year or so after that, I was going through that same office area and I saw my Pastor, and he gave me that same look. (I can’t make this up, people…) He looked at me and said, “Hey, why do we always get you to do the dome, you don’t need to do it. Hire someone else who can clean the dome and go ahead and hire people that can paint it, too.“ And guess what? I have NEVER climbed up on that roof again!

“Whatever you do, do it wholeheartedly as though you were working for your Real Master and not merely for humans. You know that your Real Master will give you an inheritance as your reward. It is Christ, your Real Master, whom you are serving.”

(Col 3:17, 23-24 – GW)

In Him,
Pastor Kevin Kinchen