The David Spoon Experience

The David Spoon Experience 6-16-23 Part 1

A) Wowzer Bowser! Dave shares an amazing testimony regarding having a chip in his window. Just when you think something like that has got nothing to do with anything (but lousy Texas construction) you get to find out that God's more involved than you or I could ever imagine.B) The author then encourages us to consider Jesus. Consider the real opposition. He actually faced His very own creation, His very own beings, who turned against Him. His very own beings wanted to murder Him though He was the one that gave them life. We're told to consider Him who endured such opposition so that we don't grow weary. So that we won't give up. Jesus set the example and told us how to go about following His example. C) The author specifically connects this endurance to our struggle against sin. Of course, it's to the struggle of everything we go through. But specifically, to the struggle against sin. We can't give up. We can't get to the point where we just say I can’t beat it or defeat it. That is not true. It is never true by the grace of God through the blood of Jesus and the power of the Spirit. WE CAN DO IT!

The David Spoon Experience 6-15-23 Part 2

1) The Book of Acts just keeps getting better and better. We come to the place where Paul and Silas were going down to a prayer meeting. Nothing specific. Just going down to pray. Just going to hang out, just going to fellowship. In the meantime, a slave girl who was demon-possessed met them. She was a fortune teller. And she was a vehicle for Satan. The truth of the matter is that evil spirits engage with people and use them as spokesmen and spokeswomen all the time. And while the Devil is certainly not omniscient, he is not an idiot either.2) She follows Paul and Silas and says, “These men are servants of God.” Even here it’s known that when somebody is operating in connection with God, it’s not only affecting their dark kingdom, but also them. And the only available recourse is to acknowledge it because every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess.3) But Paul reaches a boiling point, which tells you that we also can reach a boiling point. He got so exasperated that he cast the spirit out of her. He was so annoyed that he just didn’t want to hear it anymore. So, he cast that spirit out and away from him. He did not consider that the people who she worked for were going to lose money, and therefore lose their minds over this. And when it comes down to it, loss of money is more important than where the source of the money comes from. Just take a look around to see that this is true. They didn’t care about the demonic part. They cared about the bank account. Sounds a lot like today’s earth, don’t it?

The David Spoon Experience 6-15-23 Part 1

A) Paul pours out his heart before the Corinthian Church. He tells them I've held nothing back. I've given you my very heart. I've given you my very self. Is it unreasonable for me to ask the same from you could you at least give me some of your heart? The idea is that Paul is pouring himself out for them and opening himself up for them. He is trying to be a benefit and a blessing. He wants to know if they think it's O.K. for him to ask for a little bit in return.B) Unequally Yoked: 6:14 Unequally yoked refers both to Christians joining pagans in idolatrous practices (v. 16) and so closely yoking themselves (in any close relationship) with unbelievers that they compromise the integrity of faith. His allusion is to Deut. 22:10. A warning against marriage to an unbeliever is obviously an appropriate application (SFLSB, NET Bible). C) The next portion gives the definitive distinctions between believers and unbelievers. It’s similar to the differences between the righteous and the wicked, light and darkness, Jesus Christ and the enemy. God intends His people to be holy. That means separated. It doesn’t mean that we don’t engage with others. It means that we don’t allow others to transform us. Whether that’s people, the media, the government, the educational system, or any other entity. When we put ourselves in a place to be molded by them, we are unequally yoked.D) In fact, in regard to holiness, God says, “I will live in them. I will walk with them. I will be their God. They will be my people.” In order for that to happen, He says in verse 17, “Come out from among them and be separate. And I will receive you. I will be your Father, and you’ll be My sons and daughters.” That’s difficult to manifest if you can’t tell the difference between a believer and a non-believer.

The David Spoon Experience 6-14-23 Part 2

1) We spend some time covering a classic message that brings us down to the foundations of our faith. We mostly understand the gospel, although we tend to forget how powerful grace is and that the forgiveness that comes through the redeeming work of Jesus Christ is everlasting. We seem to fall short quite a bit in the connectivity department. Staying connected to the Lord is a significant issue for the majority of Christians.2) It may surprise you to find out that one of the best ways to stay connected to the Lord is to shut up. Oh, I know that’s rude, and I’m not trying to be rude. I’m trying to say that there are so many winds, noises, and voices, including our own. They dilute, distract, deter, and distance us away from what the Lord has to say. None of those are very important. What God has to say is important. Everybody else’s insight and input, including our own, is just interesting and entertaining.3) So we focus on a couple of approaches to help us understand how we hear Jesus. Now it is true that, sometimes, the Lord speaks abruptly into our lives, and there is no way to miss that it’s Him communicating. That is Him pursuing us because He loves us. But reciprocation of that love is us pursuing Him. And sometimes we fail to be active in the listening part of things. Hearing is receiving sound decimals. Listening is making sense of those sound decimals. We need to listen more.

The David Spoon Experience 6-14-23 Part 1

A) We now arrive at Psalm 37, which is one of my absolute favorites. In fact, I use this psalm in my devotions daily. The first verse is calling us to maintain an awareness in order not to lose our cookies We should never fret because of evildoers. We should never be envious because people who are rebellious against God seem to be skating along in life.B) The truth of the matter is that they will be cut down like grass, and they will wither away and die. In a certain sense, You could almost feel sorry for some of these people because they do not realize that everything they’re pouring into this life will not assist them in the next life. This will be all they have. And even within that framework, they still have tremendous ups and downs. They have nothing that is wonderful, eternal and fantastic to look forward to. That’s a drag. C) Verse three starts to hammer in some of the great truths of David’s connection and his passion for the Lord. Trust in the Lord and do good. Dwell in His land and feed on His faithfulness. That tells you something about the food that David ate. He ate, lived, breathed, drank, slept, walked, ran, fought, talked, and thought in God’s faithfulness, living at the forefront of his thoughts. Gosh, if we did that, life wouldn’t be so tough. Get it?

The David Spoon Experience 6-13-23 Part 2

1) Known by Him: If anyone loves God, he is known by God. Here is something that many people may miss, but they cannot afford to miss it. To love God is to be known by God, and to know God, is to love God. In Matthew, Jesus said that those who did not know Him would have to depart from Him. True love for Jesus Christ is a passion for a relationship with Jesus Christ. If you don't love Jesus, you don't know Jesus. If you don't know Jesus, you are not getting into Jesus’s eternity. 2) From, Though, and By! Here is another biblical formula, not one that is church or human-centered. Everything is from, through, and by. It starts from the source. It comes through the channel. And we receive it by distribution. Can you say, Trinity? I know I can.3) Here is a devotional by Pastor Ray that is so appropriate for the times; I would ask each and every one of you to listen to this more than once. Not just live but through the podcast too. The World is not falling apart is the title of Pastor Ray's devotional. Now for him, things are great. He's hanging out with JC, doing awesome dances on streets of gold, and probably eating food without calories. But the message Pastor Ray left behind is simply this; if you think everything around you is falling apart, you don't understand Who's in control. And if we don't understand Who's in control, will never have peace. Know God, and you will know peace. But no God...means no peace. Oy!
 

The David Spoon Experience 6-13-23 Part 1

A) How shall I describe this generation: Because Jesus says everything in such loving and glowing terms, He tells people what He thinks of the current generation. Here's the reality, He doesn't think much of them. That age, at His time, and this age, in our time, are not that different.B) They're like a group of children: And here's the main reason why they're not that different; because Jesus said that the generation He was in (the people who are of the world, and the worldly) were like children. That's how it is now! The politicians, the government, the media, the broadcasters, the educational systems, and most of the protesters are just like children. Not the good kids, but the brats.C) For John the Baptist: A conformist was not one of them for all the things that John the Baptist was. He came out from the wilderness. He wore strange clothes, and he ate strange food. He didn't drink, smoke, or chew or didn't hang out with those who do. And they thought he was demonic.D) And I, the Son of Man: Jesus comes to humanity. He drinks wine, so instead of saying: “wow, you fit right in,” they say He's a drunkard. It's terrible. But this is how the world and the world respond. If it's good and it's godly, or if it's godly and it's good, they still call it garbage.

The David Spoon Experience 6-12-23 Part 2

1) Job says, I long for the years gone by. Guess what the Lord longs for? The way that you and I used to engage with Him and enjoy Him on a continual basis before we got distracted. To Revelation, chapter 2, we go. I mention Revelation 2 because this is where Jesus said to remember, repent, and do what you did at first. It wasn't that the Lord moved. It’s us! We moved because of distractions in our lives.2) It's one thing to look back and appreciate. It's another thing to look back and be dissatisfied or disappointed. When we keep looking backward and saying those were the days, we've lost the ability to walk forward in the Lord. We just talked not too long ago about Lot's wife. The lesson is that if you look back at something that you shouldn't keep looking back on, you'll turn into salt. The other lesson is that if you look back on something that's favorable, you don't sit there and pout about it. Instead, say, “Lord, let me get there again.” That's a different spirit. 3) Job 29:11-20 are all about how great Job was. Isn't that amazing? He's so great, he's so fantastic, that 15 different times, he says I.  That just tells you where his focus is. That's the problem; even the most righteous people in scripture have a tendency to point to themselves. Job is a great guy. He's very mature, but he's not sinless. When it says in King James that he was perfect, it means he was complete or mature. But, in this particular area, he's not operating with a great deal of maturity. He's focused on the I…I...I. Scripture wants us to focus on we, we, we.  4) As Job winds down in chapter 29 and is almost completely done with his speech. He just acknowledges, in an unfortunate way, that it was all about him. He is bummed about what people thought about him. How he engaged with other people and how great he thought he was to them was a BIG problem for him. And for many of us too. 

The David Spoon Experience 6-12-23 Part 1

A) Same condemnation as the devil: What is the condemnation of the devil: As we glean through the scriptures, we see that pride appears to be at the core of his disposition. The main reason that a person who is young and inexperienced should not be in a position that is reserved for those with a higher level of maturity is that it will produce pride. Pride goes before destruction. B) A good testimony: This does not mean that they have to have a super duper absolutely lights out powerful testimony that separates them from the rest of the universe. It means they have to have a good testimony, a genuine progressive walk with Jesus Christ, from start to present. It doesn't have to be brilliantly spoken, brilliantly written, or brilliantly anything. It has to be solid and safe in the Lord.C) He falls into reproach: Reproach has to do with faults.  This does not have to do with people who make a living by fault finding. This has to do with people of good reputation, finding serious fault with the person.

The David Spoon Experience 6-9-23 Part 2

1) In 2004, a book that changed the course of the world as we know it was published. I am sure that people are thinking that this has to do with DNA, Quantum Physics, or the Operating Systems of future technologies. Other people are likely thinking that this has to be connected to the Dead Sea Scrolls or some other significant impacting material from a religious, cultural, or sociological perspective. Wow! So, so wrong. It was a book written by Robert Fulghum. The title? All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten.2) I beg your pardon. I never promised you a rose garden. Along with the sunshine. There’s going to be a little rain sometimes. And when we walk out of our homes. And we observe all that is taking place around us. We conclude the same things the kids used to say in the 1970s. Man, this stuff is really heavy. What does that mean for us Bible-believing Christians? It means that there is such a great weight in society. That it is creating anxiety, pressure, and uncertainty. God offers the solution to the heaviness. Consider Ezra (9) and Daniel (9-10).

The David Spoon Experience 6-9-23 Part 1

A) It doesn't get better than this portion right here in Hebrews chapter 12. It tells us exactly how Jesus endured all that He had to put up with. He was able to endure simply because of the joy that was set before Him. He could see past the situation into the next realm. This could be the single biggest challenge for Christians. We have to walk by faith and not by sight. We have to walk past what we see and to walk in what we believe.B) Jesus is called the Source and the Perfector of our faith. This means that He is the Author and the Finisher, the one who writes the book and finishes the project. Our faith is. He is our Pioneer and the Closer. It is the gift of Jesus Christ and His love for us. He is the reason we are even in this pursuit in the first place. He is our Lord and Savior.C) What is it that Jesus used as a tool to enable Him to endure the suffering He did? What did He utilize that gave Him the power and the stamina to go through the trials and the tribulations? He used the joy that was set before Him. And we are supposed to use the joy that is set before us. That's the instruction of the Scriptures, to use the joy set before us to help us endure and prevail.

The David Spoon Experience 6-8-23 Part 2

1) The next step in the Book of Acts is Paul traveling to different areas. Here's the key. He doesn't have a travel company that books his flights on Travelocity. He does have an Agent, and that would be the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit tells Paul where to go because the Holy Spirit tells people where to go. He did it in the Old Testament. He did it in the New Testament. And He does it now. That’s how people move into ministry in the Kingdom of God, be they missionaries or pastors. If the Holy Spirit tells us to go somewhere, then we go. Or we are disobeying God. 2) When you read the Book of Acts, you kind of find out that Paul's got a lot of charismatic in him. While he's in another location, he has a vision. What's the difference between a vision and a dream? A vision is a dream while you are awake. So, does God still give visions today? Does He still give dreams today? Only if you believe that God fulfills His prophecies. He’s continuing to fulfill his prophetic word of pouring out His Holy Spirit on the sons and daughters of His children, according to Acts and Joel. 3) And now we come to Lydia, the seller of purple from Thyatira. This woman is truly amazing. She was already a worshiper of God but wanted more, and the Lord gave it to her. She accepts the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. She becomes a believer, but we get to see that the Lord uses her gifts immediately for His kingdom. Now she's twisting Paul's and the gang’s arms in order for them to hang out at her house. True manipulation, genuinely used by God. She didn't quit until she got her way. Hint, hint.