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Monthly Archives: August 2010
08/27/10 – Braden’s Chapel Baptist Church – Worship and Speaking
Come Without Cost
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Matthew 26:56
[56] But all this was done, that the scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled. Then all the disciples forsook him, and fled.
John 7:5
[5] For neither did his brethren believe in him.
John 1:10-11
[10] He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.
[11] He came unto his own, and his own received him not.
One of the worst emotions and experiences that anyone can face is rejection. Rejecting is simply defined as someone “refusing to accept”. We all face is in our everyday lives. And to me, it’s one of the worst things that we will ever deal with. Why is it that way? I think it is because each and every one of us want to win the approval of everyone around us. We want everyone to be pleased with us. The sad fact though is that we will never win that battle, and yet spend our lives trying to win it.
As we go through some verses as shown above, there were different instances in the scriptures where Christ was rejected by his friends, kindred, nation, and even the world. And as it was indicated in the last moments in his life, Rejection was one of the main factors that led to Christ’s death. People did not want to accept him as he was being the son of God. People were content then with what they thought was acceptable, therefore rejecting the concept of Christ bringing new life to the world. Despite rejection, Christ still promised us: the holy spirit, to answer our prayer, to draw all men unto him, to receive all who come, to give rest, to confess us before the father, and MOST importantly, to come again! All of this within itself should be enough for me to be able to face a little rejection from others in my life.
You might be reading this and saying to yourself, “I am constantly rejected. No one will accept me for who I am”. I was in that very position. Let me remind you of a scripture.
John 6:37
[37] All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.
Reading this was SUCH a blessing to me. I then realized a lot of things at that point. Regardless of mistakes, success, popularity, possessions, how much you hate how bad things are, hopelessness, desperation, YOU ARE NOT REJECTED!!!
We all have a place with God. God is the only presence in this world that you can come to without facing rejection. I’m reminded of a verse:
Isaiah 55:1
[1] Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.
To me there are two things that stand out:
Without money = without possessions
Without price = without cost
I know this seems way out there, but stay with me. How can you buy anything without money or price. If it has no price, there is no need for money. You see Jesus paid this cost so that we could come without it. If you are living life with a broken heart from all the rejection, you are not alone! You can come without cost and find peace in your life once and for all. I felt really led to go ahead and write this today for anyone facing rejection like I did in my childhood years and sometimes even now.
Await With Eagerness
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Isaiah 40:29-31
[29] He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength.
[30] Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall:
[31] But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.
Lately we have been trying to tackle topics of worrying, rejection, patience, and forgiveness. And in thought of all of those things that we have discuss, there is one thing that stands out that shares something with each and every one of those things: Waiting. It’s one of the things that we either love or hate to do, and sometimes is inevitable. Whether you are excited about getting your birthday present, or if you are waiting to hear if someone made it out of surgery fine, waiting is a constant in both aspects of life. It’s that span of time where you lose being in complete control while you are expecting an outcome. There are so many emotions that run around in your mind while you are in this period of time. And generally, by our own nature, we will try to bet on the outcome based on what we can see and what we know. And for those that live their lives without trusting the Lord, this can be a serious burden to bear.
So how can God help me out with waiting? What can God do to allow this burden in my life to be easier? Well, if we tried to take our own approach without God involved, the popular opinion would tell you to take the route of “buy it now” and settle for what is in front of you. You might be waiting on a direction for your life, a person to call your significant other, seeing someone saved, or many other possible situations. It always seems easier to follow where your own self would think you need to go, but with a little suffering through waiting, God will come to your rescue! Don’t just take the first thing that comes just because you are tired of waiting. Let God be your guide!
Let’s bring some scripture into this. As above in Isaiah, it says that those who wait will have their strength renewed. You won’t grow tired and slow down and be discouraged. Think about the walls of Jehrico, Paul and Silas in jail, Joseph lying in prison for years, all of which in their actions had go on about their lives and wait; but each of these with the outcome that God had planned for them! Our God is not weak. It might be tough, but we need to wait upon the lord even in the serious matters of your life. Replace your fears with excitement of what God will do, and your frustration with faith that God will do that great thing. Make it a goal to await with eagerness and let God prove himself to you.
All About Preparation
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I want to start today’s writing in the thought of talking about food. If I said to you that you had a choice on something to eat based on how it had been prepared, what would be your pick?
Are you the kind of person that can’t wait, and will go through and get something that takes 5 minutes or less to fix, just so you can have it right then?
Are you the kind of person that is willing to wait a little longer, maybe 5-10 minutes, while something cooks in the microwave?
Or are you the kind of person that will wait the longest amount of time, maybe 30 minutes to an hour, while something bakes in the oven?
If I started taking answers from everyone, I’m sure that the responses would vary greatly. However, if I told you that the best tasting food was the food you would get if you waited the longest, I am sure that the answers would begin to change, right? I’m not here today to talk about microwavable blessings. That is a wore out topic, that everyone is very much aware of. I want to discuss something that everyone seems to leave out every single time.
I’m not here to tell you that I am an avid chef, but there is a very important step in making the perfect meal. It’s all about preparation.
If you rush through the process of putting all of your ingredients together during the beginning of your process, then your meal will be a mess, and won’t come out the way you want it to be, and you will be unhappy with the end result, not enjoying the taste of your food by any means.
Now then, let’s move this from food to more spiritual matters.
Let me just go ahead and tell you how God has put this on my heart. I’m sure I won’t make any fans or followers on this, and that’s okay. It’s very often that I see the people of God coming into services day in and day out, so unsatisfied with the way that church is anymore. There is always one in the crowd, no matter how good the food is, that won’t like the way it tastes. They aren’t happy with the way that the praise and worship is, the preaching is, the teaching is, they blame just about everything in the world, and are very unhappy with the way everything tastes. It’s not just one church you go to that you see this trend; it’s everywhere that you travel.
And the truth of the matter is, it is nothing more than a lack of preparation from a person:
Isaiah 57:14-21
[14] And shall say, Cast ye up, cast ye up, prepare the way, take up the stumblingblock out of the way of my people.
[15] For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.
[16] For I will not contend for ever, neither will I be always wroth: for the spirit should fail before me, and the souls which I have made.
[17] For the iniquity of his covetousness was I wroth, and smote him: I hid me, and was wroth, and he went on frowardly in the way of his heart.
[18] I have seen his ways, and will heal him: I will lead him also, and restore comforts unto him and to his mourners.
[19] I create the fruit of the lips; Peace, peace to him that is far off, and to him that is near, saith the LORD; and I will heal him.
[20] But the wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt.
[21] There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked.
If we do not begin to learn to prepare ourselves to have a humble spirit, we will go into our services and be the very stumbling block to people that need to be saved, or need help in a desperate way. If you are going in church, and have no peace of mind, and you are just completely distracted all together, then just pray that God will help you to find peace. He is the one who gives it, and will restore, as the word above reads.
I’m learning every day that having more prayer and reading throughout my week every single day is helping me be more prepared to be of a help in church services to others that stand in need. I have also learned the hard way that doing nothing at all leaves me in that wicked state that it speaks of, leaving me in no better shape than someone that is lost, just as confused as they are, having to get myself back in good shape with God.
It took a lot of boldness for me to write this, so I pray that you take some initiative like I have, and start being more prepared before you ever hit the doors to the church: come with a song on your heart, come with a scripture on your mind, come with a person burdened on your heart to pray for, come with a goal to give God glory! Come prepared to do something spectacular!
Then I know beyond all doubt that you will leave with a better taste in your mouth, and you will leave much more full then you would if you came with no preparation. Because like the old adage, there is nothing better than eating a meal that has been slaved over all day, right? God Bless!
Only With Love
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Philippians 2:11-13
[11] And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
[12] Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.
[13] For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.
Matthew 7:1-2
[1] Judge not, that ye be not judged.
[2] For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.
I have thought of a million ways to approach this topic, but I can only speak from my heart and tell you how I feel led to say what I am about to say. There were a lot of times in my own life where I felt like that people looked at me and condemned me before they ever knew me. Sure my lifestyle wasn’t the best at the time, and perhaps they may have been right. One thing that was not present though was a single person coming to me out of love to see if I needed help. They just assumed I was heading for destruction and did not want any part of helping me. Looking back on that now, it breaks my heart at the thought that out of all of my peers, no one really went above and beyond to show that true love of God. I did not say that to start ranting and raving about how no one cares anymore. I know that there are people that care about me, but sometimes me believing to myself that they do isn’t enough.
Where do we come in as Christians in all of this? As always, we need to apply ourselves in the word of God. If we begin to think about certain instances of the bible, there were several instances of people being upset about others receiving love while they thought they didn’t deserve the blessing they got. The story of the prodigal son showed that the brother that had been with his father the whole time was not pleased with the way that his father welcomed his other brother back after all he had done. The story of Zacchaeus also shows the people around him being upset that Christ chose to go to his house.
And as I think in the days we live in, I see this kind of attitude rise up every day in people that are supposed to be servants of the Lord. We live in a society where there is a system in place that judges people daily and gives them a sentence of how they must be punished for their actions. We as people of God work by a different system. We were not placed here to be the judge of anyone (Matthew 7:1-2). Everyone has their own price to pay for what they have done. How can we cast out others when we were first cast out? People will not think what you have inside of you is real unless love is wrapped all around it. Be that person that goes to someone in trouble and invites them to come to church, to pray, anything that would lead them to God!
People have to accept and admit that their lifestyle may be wrong in the eyes of God. As it says above, we are to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling. I can’t make someone live the way I want them to, this is something that God reveals to each individual about what needs to change. But we as a people who put on the mind of Christ that needs to love people beyond recognition. So what am I saying today? I am saying that we need to put our gavels down, and open up our hands to lead people to have a better life through Christ. Remember this the next time you walk into a conversation where someone is making fun of someone else. Instead of joining them, say something positive through faith. Be the one that cares. Be the one that looks beyond their mistakes, for that is what God has done for you!
I’ll end this with a scripture; it says it better than I can:
Luke 6:35-38
[35] But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil.
[36] Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful.
[37] Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven:
[38] Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.
Where Is The Love?
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There are so many times when we find ourselves in complete disarray, and everything that we know changes. And only until we reach this place do we realize that we should have “known” better. I want to use the opportunity that I have here to speak on something that have been trying to understand and gain a better understanding on.
I remember when I was a child growing up in church. I remember hearing the people have joy in their voices and happiness on their faces. It made being at church a fun and joyous experience, and it captivated me. It was so clear and easy for me to see that the people that were happy were in possession of something that brought good things in their heart that made them want to share that joy with others.
I miss those days so much. I remember them very vividly. There are so many memories of hearing grown men turn humble in front of large crowds, giving their hearts testimony for everyone to know just how good that God was to them. I remember even hearing some of the women of God shouting will all their heart, sometimes in joy, and more often in faith for things to come.
I remember the songs that I used to hear. Some of them I still try to sing today, but I could never compare to hearing songs like “Consider The Lillies” and “Two Coats”. Oh how those songs used to bring such an uplifting to me, and now how they are counted so little. People are searching for the newest songs, the newest things to try and replicate a feeling that we used to know old so well.
There are many of you out there probably reeling at some of these points, and I hope that you are. I hope that this is starting to get you to wonder how in the world this ties to a positive devotional.
To be honest, we go out into the churches of today and find that the humbleness, faithfulness, and true established desire of the people is going out. I know that it is not intentional for it to dwindle away, but everyone cannot question what we see; it is what it is. More than anything, I hear people wanting to issue complaints about how bad things are where they go, wanting to relocate in hopes of finding a place to feel like that they belong.
People get offended, upset with each other, and want to settle nothing. We want to just write someone off and go on, or do whatever we must to get them to go. Rather than address anything, things go unresolved and it’s just one more reason why we can’t worship the way we use to anymore. And if enough of this happens in one place, you then soon see the doors close up, literally and spiritually.
At this point, it is really hard to find a certain place to begin, but I think I have a pretty good idea of what to ask first.
So where is the love of God that is supposed to dwell within us? Well, it is easy to say “of course I have love”, but it’s completely different when push comes to shove. It’s easy to say that we love everyone, but turn away from someone that stands in need right in front of us. It’s easy to say that we love God and would do anything for him, and yet, we sit idly by in church services where we know good and well that people need help and encouragement. The bible talks about how without charity that most of what we can even do means nothing. Why are we forgetting this principle? We can preach the best, sing the prettiest, look the holiest, and yet, without that true love of God running our lives, it really bears no benefit to anyone or ourselves.
I believe that we should begin to start being in active practice of love. That means having all the qualities and virtues of it. Things like mercy, compassion, forgiveness, charitable, selflessness, are a MUST. That means being welcoming to those that you love and those you don’t know. That means opening your heart to those you favor, as well as those that you don’t. Most importantly, we are held accountable for our actions, so if we so chose to just blow off being obedient in this area, all that I can tell you is that we are what we eat.
This concept is hard to grasp, but if learned and used in the best spiritual capacity, is the most powerful way of not only leading people to Christ, but keeping people from ever feeling like that they do not fit in. We want you to know that we at Heart of Grace love you very much, and encourage you to be the best that you can everywhere that you are. Public or private, friend or foe, church or not, be the loving person that God has called you to be. Make it your goal to never let one person feel out of place. Remember, as the bible speaks on, greater is the joy when we find the one and leave the 99. And we only understand that joy when we do it. And we will only do it with love.