Scripture – Page 11 – John Markum

New Series, “Sun Stand Still”

Posted on January 11, 2012 by johnmarkum

In Joshua 10:6-15, we read this story of Joshua praying for the sun to stand still in the middle of a battle, and God answered him. A supernatural phenomenon took place in the sky as God answered the prayer of a man who simply believed God to do the impossible on his behalf.

The Bible tells us that “nothing is impossible with God,” and that we “can do all things through Christ” who strengthens us. But we often get so bogged down in our current struggles and circumstances that it seems hopeless to experience anything different, and useless to dream of better.

But you were meant to experience more than the ache of the ordinary. Even in your circumstances, God has the ability to break barriers, remove obstacles, pour out healing, and restore brokenness. If you have the audacity to ask, God has the ability to respond.

Inspired by the book, Sun Stand Still, by pastor and author Steven Furtick, we’ll take a three week look at the Scriptures to see what happens when we dare to believe God for the impossible. Join us at Edgewood at our Saturday night service, 5pm, beginning this Saturday. I look forward to seeing you there.

Blessings,

John

Power of Sin

Posted on October 30, 2011 by johnmarkum

This past Saturday, I preached a message from Judge 16 on Samson to begin our new series, I Am Sin. Below is a synopsis of the message, just in case you missed it:

Sin is Attractive: You and I don’t stumble over things that we dislike. We stumble over things that are very appealing to us. Scripture tells us that sin is “sweet for a season.” But sin is a lie. It never says, “Come on, have an ugly, bitter divorced because you had an affair.” Instead it says, “Your spouse doesn’t care for you like this person.” It never says, “Become codependent on substance abuse. Ruin your career, and hurt everyone that loves you.” Instead it says, “You need an escape from all this chaos.” Sin lies to hide what it really is.
Sin is Creatively Unoriginal: Samson stumbled every time over the same thing: women. And sin knows your weak spot also. It’s not so much that sin throws us curve-balls; it just finds new ways to throw the same pitch that we can’t seem to hit.
Sin desires to leave you Powerless: The saddest part of this passage is in verses 19-20, where it says, “In this way, she began to being him down, and his strength left him… he didn’t realize that the Lord had left him.” Sin wants to rob you of your power, and leave you empty and broken. Like Samson, sin wants to make you an example of something once very powerful, not humiliated by your lack of strength.

Samson thought that his hair was the source of his strength. And his disobedience to God brought him down. Sometimes we think that if we try really hard, that we can defeat our sin on our own. But our willpower is not the source of our strength to defeating sin: Jesus is. He beat sin on the cross, and He gives us the power to overcome sin from day-to-day.

Join us next week, 5pm for our second message in the series, “There to Here.”

Blessings,

Jonn

Blessing Blockers

Posted on October 23, 2011 by johnmarkum

Last night I preached a message called “Blessing Blockers” as part of our last week in a series called The Blessed Life. We looked at five things that get in the way of us experiencing the powerful, grace-filled life that God wants each of us to experience. I thought I would share them with you as succinctly as possible:

Faithlessness: “I have difficulty trusting God.” Hebrews 11:6, “For without faith it is impossible to please Him; for he that comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” God’s greatest desire is His glory, and my good. So I can trust Him.
Inconsistent Walk: “I can’t seem to stay on track spiritually.” Rev. 3:16, “Because you are lukewarm, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out!” God loves me more than the awkwardness between us. So I can always come back to Him.
Fear: “I am afraid of the possible outcomes of following God.” 2 Timothy 1:7, “For God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of love, courage, and of a sound mind.” There is no situation which God is not “God” over. So I don’t need to fear.
Unconfessed Sin: “I hold onto a sin while trying to move forward.” Psalm 66:18, “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me.” Jesus died to take away my sin. So I don’t need to carry it anymore.
Feeling unworthy: “I don’t think I’m good enough for God to bless me.” 1 Corinthians 1:30, “God has united you with Christ Jesus. For our benefit God made him to be wisdom itself. Christ made us right with God; he made us pure and holy, and he freed us from sin.” I am not worthy on my own. So God made me worthy through Christ.