Grandpa

Friday, February 10, 2012 Cathy and I were blessed with our first grandchild. Owen Michael Deerey was born at 11:33am at Health Park Hospital in Fort Myers. He was 6 lbs and 13.5 ounces and has brown hair (more than his grandpa). Owen is in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) and is scheduled for surgery on Monday to repair some things that were outside of his stomach. He is going through all the standard test but is doing good. Aaron and Michelle are good but are concerned for Owen and his surgery.

Everyone has been so gracious and we appreciate your love for us and this newborn child. Your prayers for him and Aaron and Michelle are very much appreciated.

Now the number 1 question. How is it being a Grandpa? The answer is GREAT!

Are You Running on Empty?

The theme of the Bible Study is “The Spirit Empowers Believers.” The thrust of the study is that the Holy Spirit is at work in the lives of believers to empower them for Christian living and Christian loving. This message is an exhortation to Spirit-empowered living based upon Luke’s description of the work of the Holy Spirit in the life of Jesus.

Luke 3:21-22 "When all the people were baptized, Jesus also was baptized. As He was praying, heaven opened, and the Holy Spirit descended on Him in a physical appearance like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: You are My beloved Son. I take delight in You!"

Are you trying to run on empty? Just this week my wife stop me at church and said don't leave church tonight before you check with her. I found out that she had left her purse at school and her car was on empty and she had no money to pay for the gas, so she wanted me to take her car to get filled with gas. She was on empty!

So let me ask you as an individual, “Is your spiritual gauge reading empty?” As a group of believers, “Is our spiritual gauge on or near empty?” It is futile for us to try to run our spiritual lives when we are on empty. The Bible can show us how our spiritual gauge can be moved from where it is to a greater level of fullness.

What God wants in your life . . .
First, The Presence of His Spirit (Luke 3:22).
Jesus experienced the presence of the Spirit in His own life (Luke 3:22).
We can experience the presence of the Spirit as promised by Jesus (Luke 11:13; Acts 1:8).

Second, The Filling of His Spirit (Luke 4:1).
Jesus experienced the filling of the Spirit in His life (Luke 4:1).
We can experience the in filling of the Spirit in our lives (Eph. 5:18).

Third, The Leadership of His Spirit (Luke 4:1).
Jesus experienced the leading of the Spirit in His life (Luke 4:1).
We can experience the leading of the Spirit in our lives (Acts 13:2; Acts 16:6).

Fourth, The Joy of His Spirit (Luke 10:21).
Jesus experienced the joy of the Spirit in His life (Luke 10:21).
We can experience the joy of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22-23).

Fifth, The Instruction of His Spirit (Luke 12:12).
Jesus taught His disciples that the Spirit would teach them when they needed it most (Luke 12:12).
We can be taught by the Spirit (John 14:26 - “But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit—the Father will send Him in My name—will teach you all things and remind you of everything I have told you.”

1 John 2:27 - ”The anointing you received from Him remains in you, and you don’t need anyone to teach you. Instead, His anointing teaches you about all things and is true and is not a lie; just as He has taught you, remain in Him.”

If we are convinced that Christ’s life was controlled and empowered by the Spirit and if we are convinced that our my own spiritual gauge is on empty or near empty, how can we be filled with the fullness of Christ’s Spirit?
According Lewis Drummond, the Bible gives 5 keys:
1. I must tell God I need to be filled. Have you said, “I need to be filled”?
2. I must abandon all known sin. Are you willing to make a break from all known sin?
3. I must step down from the throne of my heart. Have you stepped down from the throne of your heart and given Christ His rightful place as Lord?
4. I must ask to be filled. Have you asked the Spirit to control and fill your life?
5. I must accept by faith that I am filled and thank God for His goodness.
Have you moved beyond how you feel, to accept by faith the in filling of God’s Spirit? The good news is you don’t have to stay on empty!
Lewis Drummond, The Revived Life (Nashville: Broadman, 1982), 107-111.

Welcome to Dr. and Mrs. John Sullivan

On Sunday, February 12, 2012, Dr. and Mrs. John Sullivan will be our special guests for our 100th Anniversary Celebration. Dr. Sullivan is the Executive Director-Treasurer of the Florida Baptist Convention. Dr. Sullivan has served the Florida Baptist Convention since 1989. The Sullivan’s are members of the First Baptist Church, Jacksonville, Florida.

John Sullivan was born in Ansted, West Virginia. He was converted on August 13, 1955; having been led to the Lord by his wife of two months, Nancy Hinson. He was baptized in Congress Heights Baptist Church, Washington, D.C. and was later ordained to the gospel ministry on December 1, 1957, by First Baptist Church, Cupertino, California. He received his Bachelor’s of Arts degree at Grand Canyon Baptist College in Phoenix, Arizona in 1961. Dr. Sullivan received his Master of Divinity Degree in 1968 and his Doctor of Ministry Degree in 1973 from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas.

Dr. Sullivan has served in church in Arizona, Texas and Louisiana. Since his arrival in Florida, Dr. Sullivan has led our convention to establish three priorities: evangelism, starting new churches and developing existing churches.

Please join me and welcome Dr. & Mrs. John Sullivan to First Baptist Church LaBelle.

100th Anniversary

This Friday, February 10th, we will begin our Anniversary Celebration. We will have our Friday night Fellowship - Reunion Dinner @5:30pm. A time for all those who are in town for the celebration to get together and do what Baptists do best...eat and fellowship. This is a casual time for everyone, old and new to get to know each other over some BBQ.

Make plans to join us this Friday @ 5:30pm. Please sign up by calling the church office (863) 675-2171 or go to our web page (www.fbclabelle.org) and RSVP.

Each night we will take a special offering for the debt retirement of our education building. All monies collected this Anniversary weekend will be used to pay down the principal of the education building. Our goal for the weekend is $100,000.

Hope to see you and your family this weekend.