Gospel Dynamite with J. Allen Mashburn

Prepping for the Coming Storm | Mark 4:35-41 | J. Allen Mashburn

Jesus and His men are crossing the Sea of Galilee after a long day of teaching the multitudes. Jesus, weary from His work, is asleep in the back of the ship. As the disciples row, they find themselves, suddenly, in the middle of a ferocious storm. The Sea of Galilee, which sits surrounded by high mountains, is subject to sudden and violent storms as hot air rushes in from the deserts and meets the cool air on the surface of the lake. Of course, the phrase Jesus used to calm the storm, “Peace, be still”, v. 39, literally means “Be silent! Be muzzled and remain so!”, and was used to speak to demonic forces. So, this storm may have been an attempt by Satan to destroy the Lord Jesus. At any rate, the disciples and Jesus find themselves caught in the fury of a terrible storm. The waves are so violent that they have filled the boat with water and there is a danger that the boat will be swamped and sink.
The disciples, fearful for their lives, call out to Jesus Who is asleep. He arises and calms the storm, then He turns to His men and rebukes their lack of faith. He tells them that they were “fearful”, v. 40. This word means “Timid, afraid to the point of giving up.” But, when they saw what He did in calming the storm, we are told in v. 41 that they “feared”. This word means “to be stricken with awe and amazement in the presence of one greater than self.”
If these disciples had understood Him and Who He was as they should have, they would have had the second kind of fear first and they could have avoided the first kind of fear altogether! But, wait, instead of criticizing these men for being afraid, maybe we should ask ourselves, “Why do we fear what we face in life, when we can have the second kind of fear first?” Often we, like these men, look at our storm and we tremble with fear. However, when we do what they did and involve the Lord in our storm, we find out that he is in control. Then, we are left with but one conclusion: He is far greater than storm we will ever face in life.
When we come to understand just three simple clear truths, we can have the second fear first. That is, instead of being discouraged to the point of giving up, we can be filled with awe and amazement at the glory and power of the Lord we serve. There are three simple truths contained in these verses that teach about Prepping for the Coming Storm!

When God Abandons a Nation | Judges 10:16-18 | J.Allen Mashburn

What a horrendous thought—God abandoning a nation!  But friend, we have to come to grips with the fact that if God abandoned His own covenant people, what will He do to America?
Join us in this study. 

The Servant Under Attack | Mark 3:20-30 | J. Allen Mashburn

Have you ever been misunderstood? Have you ever been misrepresented? Has anyone ever taken your words and motives and twisted them around and used them against you? If you live long enough in this world you are going to face that kind of a personal attack.
The earthly ministry of the Lord Jesus was surrounded by constant controversy. Nearly everyone He met misunderstood Him and what He came to this world to do. Nearly everyone was guilty of misrepresenting His words and His works. The things He did and said in love were used to attack Him in hate!       
We have already seen that the religious leaders had no use for Jesus. They hated Him and they hated everything He said and did. They despised Him so much that they actually plotted to have Him killed, Mark 3:6.
This passage shows Jesus being attack by two groups of people. Both of these attacks have something to teach us about our own walk with the Lord.
If you are a follower of the Lord Jesus, you will come under attack! That is His promise to His followers, John 15:18; 1 John 3:13. No one likes to think about being hated for their faith, but you shouldn’t be surprised when the devil and His crowd attacks you and treats you like they treated Jesus.
Let’s look in on these verses today and see the kind of trials our Lord endured. Watching Him will help us when we face our time of persecution.
 
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A Famine in the Land | Amos 8:11-14 | J. Allen Mashburn

The prophet Amos prophesied during the final days of the Northern Kingdom of Israel. It was a time of great military power. It was a time of great economic prosperity. It was a time of peace, joy and happiness for most of the people.
Amos comes to them with a message of condemnation. His message to them is one of judgment and condemnation. His message exposes the true spiritual condition of the nation. They are wealthy and they are powerful, but they are spiritually destitute. They are enjoying peace, safety and prosperity, but they are in the midst of a spiritual drought and do not even recognize it.
Amos preaches to them a message that lifts the lid off their hypocrisy. This message lets the people of Israel know that a time of terrible judgment is coming upon their land. He wants them to know that a destructive famine is about to fall on their land.
When I read the book of Amos, I can see a lot of parallels between the conditions in Israel then and the condition of our world today. It is true that we are not as prosperous as we once were, but we are still richer than 99% of the rest of the world’s population. In the midst of our peace, our prosperity and our endless pursuit of personal happiness, we are in the midst of a spiritual drought and we do not even recognize it.
Let’s notice the lessons that Amos teaches us in these verses, because they have something very important to say to us! Whether we know it or not, we are in trouble and this passage has some much needed warnings for us today.
 

It‘s Time to Make Up Your Mind | Joshua 24:1-28 | J. Allen Mashburn

These were exciting times for the people of Israel. They had defeated their enemies and claimed the promised land. Each of the tribes had received their inheritance and now they could settle down and enjoy life a little. It was a time of hope, prosperity and blessings.
It was also a very dangerous time for these people! There was the danger that they would forget where they came from, how they had gotten to where they were and what the Lord had done for them. There was the danger that they would begin to adopt the idolatrous religion of the Canaanites who still lived around them. There was the danger that they would fall into a state of complacency. A state in which they might feel that they could let down their guard just a little. These were dangerous times for Israel indeed!
In the midst of this situation, Joshua stands up to deliver to the people a challenge from the Lord. God wants them to dedicate themselves to Him and to His work. 
He does not want them trying to live for Him on the one hand and the gods of Canaan on the other. He wants wholehearted dedication or nothing! That is the clear message of this passage.
I would just remind you that these are dangerous times for the church as well. We are seeing the church develop an appearance that is more and more like that of the church in Laodicea in Revelation 3:14-22. A church that has everything it needs, except for the presence, power and glory of God. Just as the Lord issued a call through Joshua, all those centuries ago, for His people to make of their minds as to whom they would serve, so He issues the same call to His people on this day. Let's take some time this morning to look into these verses and hear the call God is giving to us this morning. I want to preach for a few minutes on the thought, It's Time To Make Up Your Mind! And, it is! You will have an opportunity today to decide who will have your worship, your love and your obedience: God Almighty, or you and all the things that want to capture your minds.

Words of Hope in a Hopeless Hour | John 14:1, 27 | J. Allen Mashburn

When we notice the first phrase found in verses 1 and 27, says to His Disciples, “Let not your heart be troubled...” Those six simple words offered hope to our Lord’s disciples in a hopeless hour.
Were their hearts troubled? Certainly! Jesus has just told them of His impending death, 13:31-33; they had just learned that one of their number is going to betray Jesus into the hands of the enemy, 13:21; even Simon Peter has just been notified that he will deny Jesus three times before the morning comes. Yes, their hearts were heavy with sorrow and burdened with grief and questions. But, even in the hour of His greatest trial, Jesus still loved His own, 13:2, and reached out to them to comfort them and encourage them.
It would be impossible to adequately cover every detail of the glorious chapter in one message. Still, it is worth our time to take a bird’s eye view of this precious text today. 
In this great chapter, Jesus addresses some very important areas of life and offers us hope for them all.
In the hour of His greatest need, He takes the time to encourage the hearts of His Disciples, and of every person who takes the time to read and heed these words from the lips of the Lord Jesus Christ. I want to show you the areas of life where we have hope today.
We live in an hour of great uncertainty. Changes and upheaval in our world have left many people concerned about their futures. The economy is in shambles. The world seems poised on the brink of war. People are losing their jobs. Money is tight. Prospects are dim, and for many, the future is bleak. There are many troubled hearts in this room today.
Jesus has a word for you. Sandwiched between verses 1 & 27 are some much needed words of hope and comfort.

It's Showtime, Elijah! | I Kings 18:16-40 | J. Allen Mashburn

We have had the privilege of observing God as He trained a man named Elijah. We saw bring him from nowhere, set him before a king and use him to strike fear into a nation. We have seen God send him through one trial after another to teach him total dependence upon the power and provision of God. We have seen the contrast between this man Elijah and others who claimed that they knew the Lord. 
All the training, all the trials, and all the trusting have been to bring Elijah to the place where he could stand in the pure power of God and show a lost nation that Jehovah, not Baal, was Lord of all. You see, the entire nation of Israel, with the exception of some 7,000 faithful people, 1 Kings 19:18, had given themselves over to the worship of the false god Baal. Things were so bad that even the king and the queen of Israel were leaders in promoting the worship of these idol gods. However, God had not forgotten His investment in His people! He had not forgotten how He had chosen them out of all the other people's on the face of the earth. How He had brought them out of Egypt and led them through the wilderness. He remembered giving them the land, the Law and the covenants of promise. He never forgot for and instant that they were His people and that he had plans for them.
Therefore, God had called, trained, and groomed a an named Elijah. All the preparation had been for just this moment. A moment when God would call the nation back to Himself. A moment when God would prove beyond all question that He was Lord and God.
 

The Great Sin of Pride | J. Allen Mashburn

Pride is every man's sin.  It was the very first sin, committed by Lucifer in heaven.  Join us as we learn from the Word of God how we are to deal with this sin that "so easily besets " all of us.