Words of Encouragement

Wrestling for your Breakthrough

That night Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two maidservants and his eleven sons and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. After he had sent them across the stream, he sent over all his possessions. So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak. When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob's hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man. Then the man said, "Let me go, for it is daybreak." But Jacob replied, "I will not let you go unless you bless me." The man asked him, "What is your name?" "Jacob," he answered. Then the man said, "Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with men and have overcome." Jacob said, "Please tell me your name." But he replied, "Why do you ask my name?" Then he blessed him there. So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, "It is because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared." The sun rose above him as he passed Peniel, [g] and he was limping because of his hip. Therefore to this day the Israelites do not eat the tendon attached to the socket of the hip, because the socket of Jacob's hip was touched near the tendon. ~ Genesis 32:22-32

Jacob is seeking God's mercy as he prepares to face his brother Esau. He is afraid that Esau will hurt him because of what had transpired between them before he left home. Jacob finds himself along and he begins to wrestle with a man. Jacob wrestled with this man from the night time until the breaking of day. At that time the man saw that Jacob was not giving up and he touched him on his hip. Jacob said he would not let the man go until he blessed him. The response of the man was, what is your name? Jacob told him his name and he changed it to Israel.

Have you been in a place where what you faced was overwhelming? You did not see how you would come out alive. Bills and finances, emotional difficulties, unsaved loved ones and so many other things pressing on you until you felt divided, just like Jacob when he divided his family and sent them in different directions. Are your situations pulling you in different directions?

Maybe you are at the night time and you are all alone. There's no one with you and you find yourself wrestling for your answer. You are wrestling all through the night, and now day break is finally dawning. What does that mean? Sometimes we are in some dark places and we are wrestling through our prayers seeking God to answer us, bless us, bring us a breakthrough for what is overwhelming and soon to be upon us.

We must be willing to learn from Jacob's example. We have to be willing to wrestle through the night not giving up, not letting go. We have to wrestle so until God has to put his hand upon us to move us. And when He sees we are not backing down from seeking a blessing from him he will speak to us as he did with Jacob.

He will ask us what is your name? Strange question, not so. God knows your name, he simply is asking to get your thinking ready for what he is about to release in your life. He ask us, who are you? Who do I say that you are? By what name do I call you? And when we answer him, he is ready to tell us I have answered you and given you a new standing, a new name, your breakthrough. Jacob's name means "He supplants".  Jacob had gotten somethings because of trickery and being quick (first one out of the womb). Yet, God was now telling him you will no longer be mighty because of your own hands but because of mine. His new name is Israel "He strives with God" or "Prince with God".  It is also said to mean, Let God rule.  Jacob was now elevated by God to be worry of the honor of a prince, "a royal priest hood", and one led by God.

When we are going through some of our difficulties and things seem to be overwhelming us, let me encourage you as I encourage myself that God has a plan in place. He is allowing these situations because he wants to bring us to that place that our faith in him will not let us stop seeking him, crying out to him, even to the place where we will wrestle for our breakthrough. We will come away from our wrestling time with God broken. Yes, broken. God has to break some things in us so that we will always remember how we were humbled during our time with him as he prepared us for our breakthroughs.

Is your name changed? Have you moved from being one know by doing it in your own power to one that allows God to rule? Today, let us seek God's hand to break somethings in us so that we can receive the breakthroughs in our lives.

Prayer: Lord today, we seek a breakthrough for our situations and circumstances that seem to be overwhelming us. We will not back down, we will not give up. While it might be night time and we feel all alone, we will stand here until the light shines upon our situations and we see your answers. We are wrestling for our breakthrough today. Let it come, in Jesus name, Amen.

Words of Encouragement

FRET NOT!

Because it changes nothing.

Do not fret because of evil men or be envious of those who do wrong; for like the grass they will soon wither, like green plants they will soon die away. Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will do this:  He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun. Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; do not fret when men succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes. Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret—it leads only to evil. For evil men will be cut off, but those who hope in the LORD will inherit the land. A little while, and the wicked will be no more; though you look for them, they will not be found. But the meek will inherit the land and enjoy great peace. - Psalm 37:1-11

As I was preparing the message for this month, September I went to this Psalm. I realized that I wrote something last month from this scripture and I was about to look for another one. Yet, God stopped me and told me we needed to hear the message again.
 
This scripture starts off with a direct instruction for the people of God. That instruction is do not fret or worry about what evil people will do. The reason why we should not worry is because God already has taken care of that.
Instead he instructs us do something positive. The positive things we are told to do instead of worrying are: trust, delight, commit, rest, and cease from anger. Why do you think we are given these instructions? Well first what can we change with worrying? Can we worry or fret away the enemy? Can we change our situations and circumstances by worrying? Will our finances or relationships be better because we worry? The answer is no.
 
On the flip side, if we do as the Psalmist instructs us we can see some change, even if the change is only in ourselves. So let us take a few moments to look at the things that can change.
 
Verse 3 says "Trust in the Lord." And in our trusting in him it should compel us to do what is good. When we do that we see that it will result in us being able to dwell in the land and be fed. This feeding from God is both physical and spiritual. When you and I determine to trust God it results in a change in our actions. We move from worrying (which keeps us standing in the same place) to actively pursuing God and his plans for our lives. Like the sheep that follows the shepherd, we too will be fed and taken care of.
 
Verse 4 says "Delight thyself also in the Lord." While you and I are trusting in God we should also find delight (pleasure in being in the presence of the Lord and in doing his will) in him. This attitude of gratitude results in God granting the desires of our hearts. Partly because as we dwell in his presence our desires change from selfish ones to ones that line up with God. We then move from worrying, which makes us focus on what we do not have and keeps us from having a grateful heart to one that delights in all that God is, all that God does and all that he does through us.
 
Verse 5 says "Commit thy way unto the Lord." I often hear of individuals trying to get jobs, or trying to do things and they want God to bless it. What we fail to understand is this key point, if we want God to bless us and what we are doing we have commit our ways to Him. That means I cannot do what I want and still believe that God is going to bless it. And we should not be fooled into thinking because something "bad" hasn't happened to us when we are going our own way, as if that says that God is pleased with us. It is fact simply us living off the mercy of the Almighty God and we should change our ways to line up with his before he removes his mercy from us because of our stubbornness and unyielding spirit. When we commit, we move from worry that says "do it, because God isn't moving fast enough" to saying, "Lord, I trust you and where ever you say go, I will go."
 
Verse 7  says "Rest in the Lord." Resting in the Lord also requires us to wait on him and not get fretful (worried) when things are not moving as quickly as we desire. When you and I rest in the Lord we are willing to say Lord,you are more than capable of handling my situation and I wait on you. And in the waiting time help me to commit even more of myself to you. When we worry and fret, we somehow believe the lie that we have to take control of our lives and we know best on how to pick our relationships, our behavior, or whatever it is we think we need RIGHT NOW. Our fretting moves us to make RIGHT NOW choices that lead from resting and trusting in God.

Verse 8 says "Cease from anger." What are you angry about? We often get angry when things are not moving as quickly as we would like them to move. This results in us looking at others around us and thinking, why do they have it good even though they are not doing what God says, maybe it doesn't take all this for me to live for God. I can do like the "evil man" and have my own way and then I'll receive the blessings. The psalmist warns against this thinking because again he states that God will cut off the evil ones. So the instruction for the people of God is not to get angry or to grow weary in doing what is right. Instead, we must not make RIGHT NOW decisions and miss receiving God directed decisions. We must not fret or worry, because it changes nothing for the positive, in fact it really changes us for the worst.

I pray for us today, that we would seek God to help us commit to him and to rest, trust and lean on him. Lord help us your people to turn from trying to doing things our way, with our own ideas and turn to doing things your way and in your will. Amen.

Words of Encouragement

Theme: Women charged by the Spirit

Preached Metropolitan Church of God

Detroit, MI, 2007 (Part 3 of 3)

What does it mean to be charged? Charged – excited (eager, energized, animated), stimulated (inspired, stirred, moved, motivated, encouraged), electrified (exhilarated, amazed), thrilled (delighted, overjoyed, pleased, ecstatic).

So the day you gave yourself completely to God was the day, he said, I empower you with my Spirit. My Spirit will transform you from the misfit you were, to the mighty vessel of honor I have ordained you to be. I now charge you to go forth. I give you a mandate. I want you to go forth in the excitement of my spirit. I want you to stimulate, inspire, and stir the hearts of men and women. I want you to motive and encourage the people and move them to taking a closer walk with me. I want you to amaze with the transformation that has happened in your life, because no one can heal the brokenness of your heart the way God can. I want you to be overjoyed in me, pleased to do as I say and delighted to be my servant, my child. I charge you.

There are some of you right now that God has given a vision of what he wants to happen in your life, but you have hidden it because you can’t believe it can come to pass. Let me tell you, nothing, I say nothing is impossible with God. I stand here before you, a picture of what God can do. I did not like to talk in front of people and I surely could not image he would want to use me for anything. Yet, next May I’ll be graduating from Mid America Christian University with a 4.0 average. A girl who was told she would never be anything or was stupid, but God said I have the last word on that. A girl who didn’t think she could speak well or could write well, in a few weeks my first book will be available. God said I have another plan. Remember you are never God’s second choice! Whatever the world says you’ll be is not what God says. He has the final word on our lives.

Let’s take a look at one other transformed life, Mary Magdalene. “And it came to pass afterward, that he went throughout every city and village, preaching and showing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God: and the twelve were with him. And certain women, which had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities, Mary called Magdalene, out whom went seven devils. And Joanna the wife of Chuza Herod’s steward, and Susanna, and many others, which ministered unto him of their substance.” (Luke 8:1-3)

What do we know about Mary Magdalene? She was a woman sick and possessed. She was not in her right mind, who could be possessed with seven demons? She was infirmed or sick; if not from a physical illness surely from the sin in her life. We know that Jesus healed her of all that possessed her, he set her free from the sin that she was entangled in he released her from her island of misfits.

While we do not know a lot about Mary’s beginnings, we do have more information about her latter part of her life. She was a woman that had met the savior and had felt the beauty of his touch on her life. The ugly life she had before had been transformed into something beautiful. The ashes of her life were now turned into beauty. She was able to come with other women that had been changed by Jesus and minister in his work. Mary also came with others to prepare Jesus’ body after he was crucified (Mark 16). It said they came early in the morning at the rising of the sun. As I thought about this, instead of them coming to the rising of the sun, they came to the find the risen son. They came to be part of the witness of Jesus’ resurrection. Mary had been a witness to his treatment and his crucifixion. Now she would be a witness to his resurrection, she would be able to tell others about the power of Christ to raise lives from sin and to transform them. She would be able because she had been one of those people transformed and now she was united with other transformed women to see what Jesus needed. These women came to prepare the body of Christ for burial, well we, as transformed women today need to band together and be about the service of God and we then become like those women that were preparing the body of Christ for burial. This burial isn’t an actual burial, but as we help others be transformed we become help in the burial of their sinful condition and then the rising of the son in their lives can be witness by us as we walk together. Are we transformed women about the business of the savior are we looking to see how we can serve Jesus?

What is God’s plan for your life? He wants you to know you do not have to be the best of the best to come to him. He doesn’t expect you to be good at anything. He doesn’t choose us based on what we have or what we think or what positions we hold. He simple says come as you are, that means with your brokenness, your hurts, your fears, and your issues. And when you come, he says, I will heal you. I will restore wholeness to you. He takes the brokenness of our lives and creates the beauty inside. He takes those things in us that are pleasing to him and he cultivates them and shapes them. Those things that need to be removed, he removes until we look more and more like his Son.

But he doesn’t do all this so you can keep this transformation to ourselves; he wants us to go find those other misfits that are in need of a savior. The beauty of the body of Christ is we are all a bunch of misfits that God put together and made us work in unity. We become like that band of women in the scripture working together for the purpose of Christ. That can only happen with the power of God.

My question to you then is this; do you want to be a woman charged by the spirit of God? Then come and yield yourself completely to him. Allow him to transform your life from what it is to what he wants. If you have a relationship with Christ then ask God to revive you for the mission he has especially for you. I cannot fill your place, only you are the one. See it was thought that someone else was going to be here today, but I was God’s first choice all the time. We are never second choice for God. We are always the ones he has called to do the work he has called us to do. Today, rededicate yourself to the work of the Lord. You were once a misfit, but God changed you into a vessel of honor. So he says go to the uttermost parts of the world and find those other misfits and bring them into the kingdom. Help someone know that they have a place with God. We have someone that seeks us and ask us to be his disciple. We have been given a great honor, to be a disciple of Jesus Christ. Are you charged for the journey? What if you are a misfit? Do you know sitting right in your midst is your light? There is another woman sitting here ready to hold you hand through the darkness and help you find the light of Christ. They won’t judge you, but love you as you allow God to heal your hurts and brokenness. You have to first accept the gift of salvation that God offers freely to you today. When you do, he will give you his Spirit so that you can make it in this world, and he bonds you with others so that you no longer have to walk alone, you have a home, a place to belong. You are wanted, and no longer an outcast, a misfit. I leave you with this poem I wrote as God spoke to my heart one early morning.

Tribute to a Friend, Brenda

Today is Tuesday, August 10 and I just recieved news of the passing of my dear friend, Brenda. It feels unreal to me, but yet it is the truth. I wanted to tell her so many things, but we did not have the time. I wanted to be there for her, but things went differently.

So how do you mourn the lost of a 20 year friendship? For me the only way I know is to write it down. I have no doubt that she loved me and that she knew I loved her. I was able to tell her that when I visited her a few weeks ago. She looked at me and said, I am so glad to see your face and I love you so much.

I felt bad because I didn't know she was sick. I had called recently but I often got the voicemail. Sometimes I left a message and other times I didn't. But to see her and know that she had been going through broke my heart. I believe I may have even spoken the words, "...but I didn't know."

Even in the midst of her own difficulties I believe that she did not want me to be burdened so she told me, I know you didn't know. I wasn't really able to talk about it, but you're here now...

Brenda Parks-Simmons has been a dear friend to me as well as to others, I know. She has been support to me when I faced some difficulties in my life. And when she went through a time of difficulty I was there standing with her as well. We were able to cry as well as laugh with each other.

Brenda and I were not related but she was so much more to me. She was my friend, my sister that God gave to me when I was in need of a sister. There was a time in my life where I felt really lonely and I asked God to give me some sisters that would love me for me, he sent me two sisters and Brenda was one of them. We went to the Women's coventions together; Brenda, Pam and I. We had good times together.

Brenda found a wonderful man in Hampton and they had two beautiful girls. I was happy for my friend when Hampton came into her life. Glad to see her receiving happiness in her life at a time when she needed it. She had someone who loved her and received the children her heart had longed for.

I prayed, like alot of other people for God to grant her desire to be able to continue to raise her beautiful daughters. However, God had a different plan. And as believers sometimes it is really hard to wrap our hearts around what our heads know. I know that God is going to give Hampton the strength he needs to raise his girls, but my heartaches that these beautiful girls will not have their mother.

I believe God was preparing me for this time, but I didn't want to hear it. On Sunday when I was preparing the blog he took me to the picture that I have at the top of this post. I picked this picture, but I didn't know why. I put a caption in memory of Sis. Bessie Park and I clearly heard, you'll have to write a tribute to Brenda. I said NO! This thought came again to me yesterday evening. So today, I realize God was preparing me, but even still, my heart aches. But today, I sit and write my tribute to my friend. To let someone know about this special women, Brenda. You may not have known her, but if you know anyone that knew her, she has in someway actually touched your life. See, she believed in me and encouraged me which in turn helped me to be a better me. So when you see me, you see also the touch of Brenda's life on my life. You see her life print upon my life.

I also want to say this publicly to Hampton. You are a good man. You treated my friend special. I am grateful to God that she had you to stand by her, to love her and to bless her time with the beautiful daugthers, Kara and Karrington. You my brother gave a new meaning to her life. She may not have let a lot of people into that dark time in her life but when you entered in, along with you came a new hope and a new understanding that God had not forgotten about her. Thank you for loving her and my heart breaks now for your great lost.

So today, I needed to grieve my own way. I needed to tell somebody that today as we go along our normal routines, somebody will be missed. That somebody is Brenda Parks-Simmons. You may not know her but she was my friend. She was more than my friend, she was my God-given sister. She was special in my life and the lives of many people. The sun has grown just a little dimmer for some today. Oh, we will in time move from this place with the help of the Lord, but for today, it is a little cloudy.

Pray with me for the family of Brenda, they have suffered two losses so close. The lost of our dear Sis. Bessie Park (Brenda' mother) and now Brenda. The family and friends are feeling the lost.

Prayer: Lord, today I ask that you touch the family of the Parks and the Simmons. Give them the strength they need to go forth. Bless her children and give Hampton the ability to care for them as you word promised to be the mother to the motherless. They will need you guiding them, strengthen them and carrying them in this time where they are the weakest.

Help them as each day goes forth. Step by step you will give them what they need to carry on. Touch the hearts of the friends and loved ones that she touch, forour hearts are also broken. Bless her god-children that will miss her as well, Chrissy, Jackie and any others that she took into her heart. Thank you for such a beautiful honor of knowing a person such as Brenda and though she may be gone from this world, let her love linger in the hearts of all she touched. Thank you Amen.

In loving memory of my friend,
Brenda Parks - Simmons

One of my sisters sent me the words of this song to help me today, and I share it here:

When it seems that no one cared if i should live or die.
When no one bothered asking, why I go alone and cry.
When my burdens get so heavy that I can not face the day,
Then I feel His arms around me and I hear Him gently say....

Lean on Me when you have no strength to stand.
When you feel you're going under, hold tighter to my hand.
Lean on Me when your heart begins to bleed.
When you come to the place where I'm all you have,
You'll find I'm all you need.

Lean on Me when you have no strength to stand.
When you feel you're going under, hold tighter to my hand.
Lean on Me when your heart begins to bleed.
When you come to the place where I'm all you have,
You'll find I'm all you need.

When the road ahead seems rugged and the path is getting steep.
I feel that I can't make it and my heart begins to weep.
Then I turn to see whose coming to help me on my way
And I see that my Savior and I hear Him gently say....

A sweet friend, with a sweet and loving spirit. In 20 years of our friendship,I never remember one time of her raising her voice or getting anger with anyone. She simply forgave and continued to move on.

Words of Encouragement

In memory of a dear sister, Sister Bessie Parks

Theme: Women charged by the Spirit

Preached Metropolitan Church of God (part 2 of 3)

Detroit, MI, 2007

There is a kid’s movie “Rudolph the red nose Reindeer” that I thought about when I prepared this message. I see things in the everyday. If you remember in this cartoon, there was a group of toys that were rejected so they were sent to the island of misfits. There was a train with square wheels, and a jack in the box, with the name Charlie, who wants to play with a jack in the box named Charlie in the box? There was a boat that didn’t float. These toys wanted to belong to someone, but they could not fulfill the purpose of what the toy should be, so they were rejected.



Rudolph, who was a misfit himself, went to this island and met the misfit toys. In the course of the movie, Rudolph found his purpose. That stormy night when they thought Christmas wouldn’t come; Rudolph’s nose, (his time to shine, his bright light) was what was needed. That nose of his that everyone laughed at, talked about, and said didn’t belong, was just what was needed to help. And you know what happened, that misfit Rudolph didn’t forget about those that he had met on the island of misfit. He went back to that island and got those misfits. He helped those misfits find places of importance. I hope you’re following me.



There are many women in our world that are misfits. We have some that have been banished to the island of emotional misfits. They have been hurt by life. They have been so wounded that they don’t fit in anywhere. They feel discarded, angry, lonely, hurt and the list is endless. They don’t know if they’ll be able to make it, so instead they are left stranded on the island of emotional misfits.



There are some women that are banished to the island of worthless misfits. They have been told all their lives they won’t be anything and will not amount to much. Nothing they do seems right. They have sought approval from one relationship or another, but again they are abandoned. So instead they are stranded on the island of worthless misfits.

There are some that are banished to the island of rejection misfits. They wanted to belong somewhere, but everywhere they went, they were told you are not good enough. You are not smart enough, you are not pretty enough, or you just are not our choice bunch. So banished they are to the island of rejection misfits.



What will get them from those places? That is where we, as the church come in. Each one of us was a misfit. We didn’t fit in somewhere. Some were in the pitiful group. Some of us didn’t trust, we didn’t have faith, we flip-flopped in our decisions. We didn’t understand fully what we were supposed to be doing. Jesus didn’t choose you or I because we were the best or the brightest. Sometimes I wonder why he chose me at all? Yet he did. He chose us and what he did was tell us to come and follow him.



When we do, he promises us he will give us his Holy Spirit to equip us for the task ahead. What is that task, to tell others about the transforming power of God.



What does a transformed woman look like? A transformed woman is one that has been changed; she is no longer the same as she was before. She doesn’t walk the same, talk the same nor does she think the same. There is a conversion that takes place. The old self is exchanged for a new one. In other words, the old man is dead and the new one is made alive through Christ Jesus. There is a switch that takes place. Jesus took your punishment and mine so that we would not have to, and he replaced our old, sin sick spirit with a new one, a cleansed one. So when we accept Christ the first thing he does is give us his Spirit and we must give him access so he can transform us. If each of you stood up and gave your testimony of where God really brought you from, we would rejoice in hearing how great a God we serve.



Unfortunately, we are too afraid sometimes of being transparent before others. We are afraid others will judge us, or look at us crazy because of where we came from. But let me tell you this that is especially the reason you have to tell. There is someone stranded on the same island of misfit, that you were rescued from. You have to be like Rudolph and let your light shine through the elements that blind others from seeing, so you can help them get off the island. See misfits know where other misfits are. You know what someone looks like that is depressed, if you fought with depression. You know the signs of someone lonely if you faced loneliness. Jesus came for the ones in need of healing. He came for the sick in soul and spirit. He needs you and I to go and offer this gift of transformation to the other misfits.



If you look up misfit, I believe my picture might be under the definition. If you look at me, it doesn’t look like anything could have been wrong with me or in my life. But I was a broken child, who became a broken woman. I was on my own at the age of 14, looking to find somewhere to live. I lived with my father, but his live in girlfriend hated me. She would not allow me to eat in the home unless I did things she told me to do. She had my father put out all of my other brothers and sisters and moved her nephew into our home. This nephew tried to rape me. When I told my father, I heard his girlfriend say, I was a liar. He never stood by me. When I had to go to court for this, he stood with the accused. Talk about rejection for a young girl.



So I went to live with my mother. That wasn’t any better. My mother had become an alcoholic and my stepfather was verbally abusive to my brother and me. He was physically abusive to my mother and I would hate to see the bloody fights and having to leave the home with my mother drunk, hoping that wouldn’t be the night we died at her hands. My stepfather thought it was his responsibility to tell me daily I would be nothing, I would have nothing and no one would want me for anything other than my body. He tried to sell me to the old men in the neighborhood, and when I refused, he made a joke about me being gay. What made me decide to leave my mothers home was she was fighting with my stepfather with a gun and it went off. She told me to come get it, but I thought if he kills me, she’d probably still be with him, so I said no. I decided then I would leave. The day I left my mother’s home I thought to myself, is this all there is to life? These were just a few of the scares because I had others. I was sexual abused, the first time I was seven years old and the last time when I was raped in college. Not by the same person, but by 5 different, random people. Truly something had to be wrong with me, why would these things happen to me? I had to be defective or something, right?



So you can image I was a misfit with residency on several islands. I could not image me being useful for anything or anyone. Yet, one day, Jesus said, follow me. And I did. He took this broken person and created something wonderful inside. He took the ashes of my life and brought beauty from it. When the Lord called me to preach I couldn’t accept it, because in my mind the words of my stepmother rang in my spiritual ear, she is a liar. Yet God told me, I know you. I have tested your heart and I know you.



You expected one person to be standing here today, but in his own way and for his own purpose, God ordained for me to be standing her. That’s what is so wonderful about our God. I might no be well known, I might not seem to be one chosen to have entrance to see the president, but that doesn’t matter to God. His Spirit worked things out so that this once misfit could tell some other once misfits and current misfits the good news. See there is somebody stuck on the island of misfits waiting for you. You have been charged by the Spirit to go and rescue them (come back next week for the final installment).

Words of Encouragement

Women charged by the Spirit

(repost of message preached in 2007)

“But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.” ~ Acts 1:8


As I read this scripture, I had a few questions.

1. Who gives the power? This is a simple enough question, but it still needs to be answered. I cannot give you the power, nor can I take it away from you. Solely God gives this power. He instructs the Holy Spirit to indwell within the hearts of all his children. This spirit is the same spirit he sent to woo you and I. This was his prevenient grace, the Holy Spirit calling us to repentance. You or I couldn’t even accept salvation without the Holy Spirit because we were too lost to realize we were lost. God’s spirit had to bring us to the point of clarity to understand we needed saving. When he did, God’s Spirit then was promised to dwell within the life of all believers. And there should be some evidence of his indwelling. We should look like children of God. We shouldn’t be liars, cheats, or any thing that continues to reflect fleshly things. We should however show forth the fruit of the spirit, love, peace, longsuffering and the like. If there is no evidence of God’s spirit in our lives, then maybe we need to go back and check where we are standing with God. His spirit does not pick or choice just a few select to dwell in, but those that are yielded to God are the ones that the Spirit dwells within. So we must check ourselves to see if we are truly yielding all to God.

2. Who has the power? God gives the power to all that come accepting his gift of salvation through the blood of his son. “And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions: And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit.” – Joel 2:28-29. That means God does not limit who is able to come to him. In our society we have limitations on who can go to talk to the boss. You cannot just walk into your boss’s office and demand audiences you might get fired. If you wanted to talk to the president of the United State you can’t go into his office. Even those that are granted entrance have to be put through some rigorous things before they become part of that choice bunch. We are limited in access. With God, however, he does not limit who can come. There are however, some requirements for access. You have to be his, period. We cannot live an unsaved life and think we will have the Holy Spirit directing us because the two don’t mix.

3. What is the power for? – The ultimate purpose of the indwelling Spirit is so that the people of God could enact the standing orders of Jesus that he gave to his disciples before he ascended (Acts 1:2-7). That mandate has not changed for you or I. He didn’t want them wasting time on when would God reestablish the kingdom, see they were looking for power to come in God setting them back in power as a nation, they were looking for an earthly kingdom. (Acts 1:6) God’s purpose was to establish a spiritual kingdom in the earth. God doesn’t want you or I worried about earthly things, either instead he wants our complete focus to be on the building of the spiritual kingdom. And you can do that even as you go about in your day to day. Jesus was instructing them to prepare themselves to be transformed by the divine visitation of the Holy Spirit that would help them tell what they knew about Jesus Christ to others (Acts 1:8). What did they know? They knew Jesus as the Lord of all creation, redeemer of all who trust in his death for their deliverance, and stern judge of all who reject his call to repent and pledge their loyalty to him. Yes, I said he is a stern judge. We only want to talk about heaven, but never tell people that there are consequences to your rejection of Jesus. That is hell eternally, a place where there is no joy, no peace, no love of God. That is what makes hell punishment. You are forever aware of what you have rejected.

4. So how does the Spirit charge us? Let’s look back at the word transformed. To be transformed means you have been changed or altered. As I was thinking about being charged by the Spirit, my mind first went back to the disciples. Did you know they were a group of misfits? In our day, they wouldn’t get the invitation to go into see the president; they wouldn’t be part of the choice group.

Let’s look at the disciples for a moment. When we read scripture have you every wondered why the disciples so quickly left what they were doing and went with Jesus? As I was studying with a pastor friend of mine, I found that it was customary in the Jewish culture for boys age 5 or 6 to study in schools called “bet sefer”. They studied and memorized the Torah. Boys that excelled would move on to the next level in their education. They would study more complex oral traditions of the Torah.

The local rabbi hired by the community or small village/town would use this level of education to teach using the question and answer method. Male students became a religious adult at age thirteen and if a student were gifted enough he could continue his studies with the rabbi in secondary school called “Beth Midrash.” If the Jewish male student was not a good enough scholar to advance to this next level of education, they were encouraged by the rabbi to go home and continue to learn the trade of their family, as this would be far most purposeful in making a living in the coming years.

Those that went on would continue to study the rest of the Hebrew Testament. At age 15, the truly gifted would travel to study with the famous Rabbi. The student would be asked a series of questions by the Rabbi, if he was able to answer them to the satisfaction of the Rabbi, he would then become his talmid or disciple, if not, he would be sent home and told to take up the family business. It was rare for a Rabbi to ask a student to be his talmid, even though some would ask the Rabbi.

So why do I tell you this? The disciples were all from this same culture as Jesus. They had all gone through the same training, but they were not good enough to be the talmid or disciple of the rabbi, that is why they are about their business as fishermen and the like. Yet here comes Jesus and calls the misfits to be his Talmid, disciples. What an honor. First it was an honor because they didn’t have to go and ask him, he came seeking them. “Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain; that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.” (John 15:16)

This group had some characters in it. There was a doubter, There was one that was quick to react, but would become doubtful to accomplish what he asked for, so he sank. They didn’t understand the nature of Jesus always and fought amongst themselves who would be in a place on honor on Jesus right hand in heaven. They scattered when trouble came. They couldn’t stay awake in times of need. This group was the ones rejected as disciples by the rabbis of their time. They were all banished to a place of misfits among the people. Oh they went about life, but they knew they had not cut it as disciples to the rabbi.

Jesus took this misfit group and taught them, walked with them and offered them something wonderful. That was because he knew what they would become. The after picture was something to behold. This same one that denied three times, never denied again. He became bold for the cause of Christ. The doubter stopped doubting. The ones that ran and hid during difficulties now stood even as martyrs for the cause of Christ. What happened? The Holy Spirit transformed them. They went from misfits trying to find a place to fit in, to having a divine assignment given to them from Jesus himself. They went form misfits, to mighty vessels of honor.



Come back next week for the next installment in the message.

Words of Encouragement

Study notes from  the message: What are you doing with the Crumbs?

When Jesus heard what had happened, he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place. Hearing of this, the crowds followed him on foot from the towns. When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick. As evening approached, the disciples came to him and said, "This is a remote place, and it's already getting late. Send the crowds away, so they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food." Jesus replied, "They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat." "We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish," they answered. "Bring them here to me," he said. And he directed the people to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people. They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. The number of those who ate was about five thousand men, besides women and children. ~ Matthew 14:13-21

This is a message that I preached twice, yet I cannot let it go (or better yet, it will not let me go). In this scripture we see something about the two main characters, Jesus and the disciples.   What does this teach us about Jesus? What does it show about the disciples?

Jesus was moved with compassion. Whenever you read in scripture that Jesus had compassion on someone, he did something. Jesus' compassion is his love for people and it causes him to see the need and respond.

Jesus performs miracles. When Jesus took the fish and bread he did the miraculous. Yet for God this is simply him being himself. God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit dwell or take up resident in the miraculous. This is simply God doing what he does, being himself. It is miraculous to us because it is impossible by any other means, than God.

Jesus brings results. When Jesus performed the miracle, the needs of the people was filled. The scripture says they all ate, were filled and satisfied. And there were leftovers!
 
Now what does this scripture show us about the disciples?
 
Disciples were moved by situations and circumstances. The disciples saw the crowds. They saw the remote place they were at (a remote place is a place without provisions and supplies, it has a lack and is seemingly too far away from what is needed). They wanted Jesus to send the people away to take care of their needs, yet Jesus wants them to do it.
 
Disciples did not see the potential. When Jesus told them to feed the people they began with the "only" statement. The disciples saw the fish and bread in their hands and they did not see what Jesus could do with it. It was too small to fill such a big need.
 
Disciples did not see their part in the results. The disciples because of their lack of vision did not see the results that Jesus saw, therefore they did not see that the little they had would result in the final outcome.
 
What's the point? Jesus because he sees the needs does what seemingly to us is impossible and brings about a result. In this instant, God saw the need of the people to be fed, therefore he took the little from the hands of the disciples and performed a miracle. He then gave it back to the disciples so that they could do their part and feed the people. And all were filled and satisfied. Yet the miracle of miracles is there were leftovers. How could what was so small in a place that should have not provided provisions, result in needs being meet and more to spare?
 
What does that mean? When God performs a miracle in your life, there are some "crumbs" leftover. It is in those out of the way places in our lives that God takes the little we have and performs a miracle.  What are we suppose to do with the crumbs? The disciples collected 12 baskets, a basket for each disciple to carry or be responsible for. Each disciple of Christ has a basket of "crumbs" that many would eat from. In chapter 15 there is a women that speaks to individuals willing to take even the crumbs of what Jesus has to offer.
 
Are you offering to others the crumbs so that they will be blessed? Sometimes we look at the little and think it is not important but this message speaks to how God can use even the littlest of things to glorify himself.
 
Prayer: Lord help us to stop looking for the big thing, the dynamic thing to happen in our lives and because of it we are missing the miracles you are doing with the little that we have. Help us Lord to feed people from the baskets of "crumbs" that are the leftover from the blessings in our lives. You have do one miracle after another and because of it we have some leftovers. Help us to stop holding onto them, but to feed those in need so that they too will be feed, filled and satisfied. In Jesus name we pray, Amen.