So, the Holy Spirit calls us to ---

repent, believe, ask and obey!!!

In short, the slogan "Don't Mess with Texas" can be restated -

"Don't Mess with The Holy Spirit"

because those who DO have committed The Unforgivable Sin!!!

From page 303, Always Growing in the Faith, by Gene Dirr.
Available at www.amazon.com.

Why did Jesus single put "blasphemy against the Holy Spirit"
as the unforgivable sin?

The work of the Holy Spirit is critical in spreading the Gospel
to all nations, and in the coming of the kingdom of God.

From page 299, Always Growing in the Faith, by Gene Dirr.
Available at www.amazon.com.

"Blasphemy" is to speak ill, to curse, to abuse, or to treat roughly.
It is this fourth meaning of "blasphemy" that Jesus is using when he
issued this warning statement.

To paraphrase the lesson text:

"And everyone who speaks ill, curses,
abuses, or treats roughly the Son of Man
will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks ill,
curses, abuses, or treats roughly
the Holy Spirit will NOT be forgiven."

From page 298, Always Growing in the Faith, by Gene Dirr.
Available at www.amazon.com.

Third meaning of "blasphemy":

"Blasphemy" is irreverence toward anything considered sacred.
If you set something apart in honor of something of someone;
and then someone else dishonors it --- that would be "blasphemy".
To vandalize a place of worship or a cemetery would be considered
"blasphemy".

From page 298, Always Growing in the Faith, by Gene Dirr.
Available at www.amazon.com.

The act of claiming the attributes or prerogatives of deity
was considered "blasphemy".

The Pharisees and the teachers of the law charged Jesus with
"blasphemy" --- an act of claiming the attributes of deity.
BUT, it wasn't "blasphemy" because Jesus is God! Yes, when
we speak "God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit",
we are on solid theological ground; and --- we are correct!!

From page 298, Always Growing in the Faith, by Gene Dirr.
Available at www.amazon.com.

The word "blasphemy" has four different menings.

In Jewish law, cursing or reviling God or the King (who was
God's representative), was considered "blasphemy". And, the
penalty for such was death by stoning. In later usage,
pronouncing the forbidden name of God was considered
"blasphemy". This have rise to "tetragramnation",
(tet-ra-gram-a-ton), a word of four letters WITHOUT vowel
points. Examples are "Y H W H" for "Yahweh" and
"J H V H" for "Johovah".

Thus, if you cursed God (or the King); and later pronounced
OR wrote God's name, you were gulity of "Blasphemy",
the penatly for which was death by stoning!!!

From page 297, Always Growing in the Faith, by Gene Dirr.
Available at www.amazom.com.

Luke 12:10, the "red letter" word of Jesus:

"And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man
will be forgiven, but anyone who blasphemes against
the Holy Spirit will NOT be forgiven."

Friends - we are in delicate territory - for this lesson is
appropriately entitled:

"The Unforgivable Sin"

From page 297, Always Growing in the Faith, by Gene Dirr.
Available at www.amazon.com.

Finally, when "anxiety" or "worry" creeps into your thoughts,
you need to recognize IT as the Devil trying to gain a foothold
into your soul. DISMISS HIM and his tricks with "Prayers to
your heavenly Father". Then, it becomes a Win-Win situation
in which you will be ---

BLESSED!!!

From page 295, Always Growing in the Faith, by Gene Dirr.
Available at www.amazon.com.

When Our Father gets involved, He answers our prayer in FOUR ways:

"When the idea is not right, GOD says, 'NO!'
When the time is not right, GOD say, 'SLOW!'
When you are not right, GOD says, 'GROW!'
When everything is right, GOD says, 'GO!'"

By Dr. Robert H. Schuller

From page 294, Always Growing in the Faith, by Gene Dirr
Available at www.amazon.com.

Let me suggest that you keep a "Daily Prayer Log" (either in
a spiral notebook or a yellow legal pad) in which you detail
your prayers and petitions request to God noting the date and
your specific request. Per Paul's instruction, ALWAYS make
your request made known in a spirit of thanksgiving.
REMEMBER: You are turning your situation over to God!
At THAT moment, the "Peace of God" begins!!!

Then, as George Burns says, --- "Let Go, and let God!"

From pages 293,294, Always Growing in the Faith, by Gene Dirr.
Available at www.amazon.com.

"Cast ALL your anxiety on him because HE cares for YOU!!!"

The word "cast" in our text means "to move by throwing",
"to get rid of", and/or "to shed". In the 1976 movie,
"Oh God", staring George Burns as "God", the phrase was:

"Let Go, and Let God!"

That is what we do when we "cast ALL our anxieties on him".

From page 293, Always Growing in the Faith, by Gene Dirr.
Available at www.amazon.com.

Therefore, as "Children of God" and as "A Royal Priesthood",
we have available to us one of "the most powerful forces"
in the world ---

PRAYER!!!

From page 293, Always Growing in the Faith, by Gene Dirr.
Available at www.amazon.com.

Far too often we abandon "Faith for Fear" when presented with a
new challenge or opportunity. Do we so quickly FORGET who
we are ---

"CHILDREN OF GOD";

and a member of HIS almighty household? John 1:12 says,

"Yet to ALL who received him, to those who believed in his name,
he gave the right to become --- Children of God!"

From page 292, Always Growing in the Faith, by Gene Dirr.
Available at www.amazon.com.

Prayer Overcomes Anxieties

1st Peter 5:6-7 ---

"Humble yourself, therefore, under God's mighty hand,
that he may lift you up in due time. Call ALL your
anxiety on him because HE cares for YOU."

From page 291, Always Growing in the Faith, by Gene Dirr.
Available at www.amazon.com.

When all else fails, when you feel lost, lonely, or abandoned;
when sick or troubled, when you come to that moment in your life
which you feel "the final end is near", and that you are about to
make that "great transition": THEN, in all of these cases; ---
remember --- and know that ---

Jesus Loves Me!

From page 290, Always Growing in the Faith, by Gene Dirr.
Available at www.amazon.com.

I love Jesus, does He know?
Have I ever told Him so?
Jesus loves to hear me say,
That I love Him every day.

Yes, Jesus loves me!
Yes, Jesus loves me!
Yes, Jesus loves me!
For the Bible tells me so.

GOD BLESSES US ALL!!!

From page 289, Always Growing in the Faith, by Gene Dirr.
Available at www.amazon.com.

Senior Version of Jesus Loves me!

Jesus loves me! --- This I know,
Thought my hair is white as snow,
Though my sight is growing dim,
Still He bids me trust in Him.

Yes, Jesus loves me!
Yes, Jesus loves me!
Yes, Jesus loves me!
For the Bible tells me so.

From page 288, Always Growing in the Faith, by Gene Dirr.
Available at www.amazon.com.

"Jesus Loves Me!"

You see, the beauty of the Bible is that it sets forth "principles"
which we live by. We do NOT need the "exact words" for it to be
relevant for living in the 21st Century.

From page 288, Always Growing in the Faith, by Gene Dirr.
Available at www.amazon.com.

"Jesus Loves Me!"

Amazingly, this exact quote "Jesus Loves Me!" does NOT appear
in any translation of the Bible: yet --- we ALL know it to be
TRUE!!!

But, John 13:34, N.I.V., can be interpreted as meaning ---
"Jesus Loves Me!" Thr exact quote is ---

"A new command I give you;
Love one another.
As I have loved you,
so you must love one another."

From page 287, Always Growing in the Faith, by Gene Dirr.
Available at www.amazon.com.

"Jesus Loves Me!"

As a little child, we are taught and memorize this simple and
delightful little song. But, when we grow into adults with
life's hardships and difficulties, we discover and understand
its meaning and power.

From page 286, Always Growing in the Faith, by Gene Dirr.
Available at www.amazon.com.

The Greatest Lesson from the 92 Year old Preacher

When I was asked to come here today and talk to you,
your Senior Pastor asked me to tell you what
"the greatest lesson" I ever learned in my over 50
years of preaching. The one thing that I could always
rely on when tears, and heart break, --- and pain, ---
and fear, --- and sorrow paralyzed me --- the only thing
that would comfort me was this verse:

Jesus loves me! --- This I know,
For the Bible tells me so;
Little ones to Him belong,
They are weak but He is strong.

Yes, Jesus loves me!
Yes, Jesus loves me!
Yes, Jesus loves me!
For the Bible tells me so.

From page 285, Always Growing in the Faith, by Gene Dirr.
Available at www.amazon.com.

It says in Ephesians 2:7, that the goal of salvation is ---

"that in the coming ages God
might show the immeasurable
riches of his grace in kindness
toward us in Christ Jesus."

Can you fathom what it will be like to be recipients of the
immeasurable riches of God's grace in kindness nonstop for
eternity? We all love it when people show kindness to us.
But when God shows us the immeasurable riches of his grace
in kindness in the coming ages --- well it is going to be so
tremendous that we will need new resurrection bodies to
handle it!!!

From page 279, Always Growing in the Faith, by Gene Dirr.
Available at www.amazon.com.

The Hebrew word translated "follow" signifies a very active kind of following, a pursuit - not the passive kind of following like a shadow follows a couple as
they ride off into the sunset.

God is like a police car pursuing us to do us good. We may think he's trying to give us a ticket. But in reality his is chasing us to tell us the prize being
"an eternity of fellowship with him", basking in his goodness and mercy forever!!!

From pages 278-279, Always Growing in the Faith, by Gene Dirr.
Available at www.amazon.com.

From Psalm 23:

"Surely goodness and mercy shall
follow me all the days of my life
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever."

The terms "goodness" and "mercy" are almost interchangeable.
They refer to God's disposition to act kindly toward people who realize
they are undeserving. Goodness or mercy is God's prevailing tendency,
his inclination, to do good for us even though we deserve only his anger.

From page 278, Always Growing in the Faith, by Gene Dirr.
Available at www.amazon.com.

"The Lord is my shepherd." For us Christians, the word "Lord" means
Christ himself. All those shepherd-like qualities of God are exercised for
our benefit when we pray this prayer. He has a personal concern for me
and for you. On of the beautiful mysteries of Scripture is that the holy,
almighty God has the disposition to draw near to individuals like you and
me, and draw us near to himself.

From page 277, Always Growing in the Faith, by Gene Dirr.
Available at www.amazon.com.

What are the two most memorized verses in the Bible?

Along with John 3:16, the 23rd Psalm in the King James Version is the most
memorized verses in all of Holy Scripture.

From page 277, Always Growing in the Faith, by Gene Dirr.
Available at www.amazon.com.

"Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."

No one will persecute you IF you preach multi-religious ideas.
BUT, the moment you preach the absolute infallibility of God's word,
The Bible, you will be persecuted. When you preach the biblical doctrine
that all people are sinners and God's wrath abides upon them, you will be
persecuted. If you preach that ---

JESUS CHRIST IS THE ONLY SAVIOR,

you will be persecuted.

From page 274, Always Growing in the Faith, by Gene Dirr.
Available at www.amazon.com.

According to the Bible,"Peace" is synonymous with "Salvation".
God presented Jesus Christ as "a sacrifice of atonement" through his blood.
In Christ's sacrifice, "the wrath of God" against us sinners is removed!!
Now, we receive "total forgiveness of sins" and "the perfect righteousness of
God" by faith in Jesus Christ. In short, where there is righteousness there is
peace!!!

From page 273, Always Growing in the Faith, by Gene Dirr.
Available at www.amazon.com.

"Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called sons of God."

This beatitude is NOT talking about peacemaking in the arena of
international politics, or one who is awarded the Noble Prize for Peace.
In Scripture context, "Peace" is more than the absence of conflict.
It is a sate of tranquility or quiet in which there is security or order
within the community, and harmony in personal relations.
THIS beatitude is about "Peace" first with God, and then, between men.

From page 272, Always Growing in the Faith, by Gene Dirr.
Available at www.amazon.com.

"Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God."

The highest blessing imaginable for man is the privilege of seeing God
face to face. We can now buy self-cleaning ovens, but let me assure you,
we cannot clean ourselves and make ourselves pure in the center of our being.
God must clean us!!!

From page 271, Always Growing in the Faith, by Gene Dirr.
Available at www.amazon.com.

"Blessed are those who hunger
and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled."

In today's world, worldly people earnestly chase after money, (by hook
or by crook); and are in hot pursuit of happiness. But, they are NEVER
filled!!! They are like a spoiled child who, after opening a room full of
Christmas toys, looks up and says, ---

"Is THAT all that there is????"

The citizens of the kingdom of God are engages in serious pursuit of
another goal: Righteousness!!! Jesus said, in Hebrews 10:7,

"Here I am --- I have come to do your will, O God."

It is in doing the will of the Father that we obtain righteousness, and
are filled!!!

From page 270, Always Growing in the Faith, by Gene Dirr.
Available at www.amazon.com.