Who Have You Set Loose?

Who have you set loose?

Preached by Jewel D. Williams 2009

Jesus wants to live in us and He is faithful to keep His promises. In order for Jesus to live in us there are some things that must happen. What must happen is you and I must die. Not a physical death, but a spiritual dying to our selves, our own ways and our own desires. We must die to our false Trinity or false god. What is that false Trinity, it is our own god of me, myself and I. When we do, Christ will live in us. God also promises that He will keep His promise in providing for us.

Life Abundantly - …I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. (John 10:10b)

What do people think when you say abundant life?

• Wealth, success, position, happiness, importance and so many other things.  However, this is not what Jesus meant.

Abundant life – Is not just functioning through life, but a life filled with the fullness of the abilities and resources God has for His children. It is a life filled with His purpose, His gifts, His joy, and His peace. This abundant life that Christ came to bring is one that is available no matter what you face (wealth or poverty, health or sickness) you still have His abundant life. Your situation and circumstances do not have to change the fullness of the life you live in Christ.

In order to have this abundant life it will require the work of Christ in us, but it also requires something else. What do you think that is? It requires the people of God at work for the mission of God.

In a missions book there is a graph that I remind myself of often. It talks about the mission of God. It says God originated the mission, Christ enacted the mission, the Holy Spirit empowers the mission, the church carries the mission and the world receives the mission. In other words, the Triune God; God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit originated the plan of salvation, brought salvation to the world and empowers the people of God for the mission and you and I are to do the work of taking it to the world.

The scripture today helps us to see both parts at work; God and man in the mission.

 John 11:39-44

"Take away the stone," he said. "But, Lord," said Martha, the sister of the dead man, "by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days." Then Jesus said, "Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?" So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, "Father, I thank you that you have heard me. ⁴²I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me." When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out!" The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face.  Jesus said to them, "Take off the grave clothes and let him go."

VS 39 – Take away the stone – The first step for us in this mission ordained by God, is there needs to be someone position to remove the barriers of Christ calling forth the dead.

What are the barriers? Anything that keeps the individual from hearing the call of Christ, in this case it is the stone.

In order to remove the stones that block individuals from hearing Christ call, the people of God must be in positioned. You cannot remove the barriers from the comfort of your chair at home or from the comfort of your seat at church. You have to be at the places where the dead are, where the need is. Jesus called for those that were standing near the tomb to come and remove the stone. He did not send word to their houses to come; those at home were of no use in the moment of need. We have to always be ready to hear God calling us to be in the positions and in the moment of need.

In order to remove the barriers you will need strength. The Holy Spirit empowers the children of God, yet we often forget we have the strength to remove barriers. We look at the barriers and think they are too big. As children of God we must realize Jesus will not call us to an assignment that we have not been given the strength to accomplish. We have the strength, power to remove what stands in the way of others being released from the death grip of sin. Sadly, too many of us look at the “stones” and think, those are just too big and instead of joining in the work, we stand as spectators.

In order to remove the barriers you will need wisdom. Wisdom will allow you to examine the situation and determine if you can remove the barrier by yourself or if you need others coming alongside of you to push away the stones. When you seek Godly wisdom you will be able to discern what tools are needed. You would not go to remove this stone with a spoon. That wouldn’t work. Instead you know you need physical strength and you will need the help of others to remove the stone. Sometimes we have individuals that are lost in sin but are facing addictions, habits and other things that will require us seeking the right help so they can be released from the grave.

In order to remove the barriers you will need teamwork. There are some barriers that you will not be able to move by yourself, this is why the command is for the entire body to be a part of the mission. Your pastor cannot do it all by him/herself. God is calling for us to work as a team to remove some barriers, some stones that block the graves of those that need to be called to life in Christ. This mission is not a spectator sport, it calls for all to be a part of the team doing their part, rolling away some stones.

In order to remove the barriers it will call for being inconvenienced.  If we are going to remove some barriers that keep individuals from life, we are going to have to break a sweat; we are going to have to do some work. It took the individuals that Jesus called to put their muscle into the task of moving the stone. They were not expecting to do this task, but Jesus had need of them and they went to do the work. You may not be expecting to do some things, but you must always be ready to be called on and be inconvenienced for the good of someone else.

In order to remove the barriers we are going to have to have a discerning ear. We are going to have to listen for Jesus’ call for us to remove the stones. It is not you or I that save, but we do need to be positioned and ready for the call of being a stone remover. When is the last time you listened to God calling you to remove some stones? When is the last time you allowed yourself to be inconvenienced so that someone else could be rescued? Are you listening?

In order to remove the barriers we are going to have to have faith and trust in what Christ can do. When Christ said remove the stone, Martha said, hey, he stinks! Its been four days. In other words, he’s been dead too long. We do that sometimes we see people on drugs for years, or living lives that seem as if there could be no redemption from and we think, they have been dead too long in their sins, surely it is too late? But Christ reminded Martha what he told her before, believe in me and see the glory of God at work even in the unthinkable things. He simply is telling her trust me, not what your eyes see. You and I are going to have to trust with our hearts and not what our eyes see, if we are going to be able to remove the barriers in the lives of the lost.

VS 41-43 This is the work of God. Jesus called Lazarus forth. Do you remember the day you were dead and through your blinded eye and your deaf ear you heard your name called? And you came forth from death to the life Christ was now giving? Christ alone brings life to those he calls forth. Now there is something I don’t want us to miss. Christ is the only one that can bring life, but there is still a part that he calls for us to do.

“Jesus said to them, "Take off the grave clothes and let him go." This is my question, who have you set loose lately? Lazarus was bound up. He had death clothes on, his hands were bound, his eyes were covered, and his feet were bound. Surely Jesus could finish the process and remove the grave clothes, why does he tell those around to do it? It is very simply, is the plan as God set forth. God set the plan of salvation in motion when he sent his Son to enact it through his blood on the cross and the Holy Spirit gives us the power to do the work. This is the work. We are to first remove any barriers from the lost hearing God call them forth into the life that His Son, Jesus Christ offers. Then when they hear and come forth from death, it is now our responsibility to help them to be set loss from the past and the ugliness of sins touch.

What are the grave clothes? It is anything from the life lived before coming to Christ that holds us in prison. Death clothes are a reminder of death, inability, lack of freedom, and restriction. The death clothes also carry the stench of death upon them. How can you truly live if you are not free and the reminder of death is still upon you?

Can I tell you that there are many believers today trying to function in life but they are still wearing the grave clothes? Oh it doesn’t matter how long they have been saved, it doesn’t mean they don’t love the Lord either, it simply means we have not been doing our jobs of removing the grave clothes. We often say things like, they should just get over it, or they should just change this or that. But can I tell you today that it isn’t always that easy because their hands are tied, they can’t reach up and grab the cloth that has them bound. Sometimes they don’t even know they are still bound because they cannot see clearly, their eyes are still covered. It isn’t that they are not asking God for help, but the help He sent, isn’t doing the work. That help is us. Today, I want to say the church has a mission. God is calling us to set some people loose.

Prayer: Lord today, help us to do our part in the mission. You have called us to be delivers of your Word to help those in the grave to be able to hear your call for them to be set free. And then when you have set them free help us to remove the grave clothes. Those things that bound them up and keep them from being free to soar and be all that you have called them to be. In Jesus name we pray, amen.

Who is need of the Father?

Luke 15:11-32

I believe many of us have heard different lessons taught from this piece of scripture. We’ve heard it preached about the prodigal son and we’ve heard it preached about the father in the story. Today I want to present a slightly different look at this scripture.

As a storyteller, I see all the characters within the story to gain a better understanding of the message being presented. This story is not only about the father, or about the prodigal son. It is a trilogy. There are three main characters within this story that we need to examine. And as we do, I want you to take a look at two sons and a father and seek Gods answer to the question, “who is in need of the Father”.

At the beginning of this chapter the Pharisees and the Scribes (religious people) began to murmur because of Jesus’ association with those they felt were unworthy, the publicans and the sinners. They are outraged that Jesus is eating with sinners. This started Jesus on his reciting of several parables to get across his point to the religious people why he was associating with the sinners, which led us to the parable that Jesus gives regarding the father and the two sons.

(NIV, Verse 11-13) Jesus continued: "There was a man who had two sons. The younger one said to his father, 'Father, give me my share of the estate.' So he divided his property between them. "Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living.

Imagine, scene 1 of this drama, the youngest son made the decision to go to his father and ask him to give him his portion of goods. The father then divides the goods up between the two sons. And as soon as the younger son receives the inheritance from the Father he goes to a distant county and blows all his wealth on wild living. Now let me give you some of the sub-plots to this drama.

When the son goes to the father and says give me my share, what he is saying in essence is I don’t want to wait for you to die and I don’t want you to have the control over my life any longer. I don’t want to listen to your will, your rules or follow what you say. So give me what is coming to me so I can go my own way and do my own thing. I call this scene – “The road to nowhere” or “The path to the pit” I can see in my imagination that he took the road that lead from his Father’s house that would take him to this distant country.

And as he walked farther down this road that he thought was leading to riches, fame, success, it was really leading to destruction and death. With each step, it took him farther away from the father’s house (farther from the sounds, smell and visual of the father’s house) and closer to the sounds, smells and the visual of destruction. Oh, I believe he made a lot of friends along the way that probably told him what he wanted to hear because he was the “man” of the hour. This is not just my thought but scripture let’s us know he had help in his wild living and blowing his riches. You can always find friends along the path of destruction that are willing to help you blow your inheritance, but then are they true friends? Or are they pawns to draw you further from the Father’s house?

(NIV, Verse 14-19) After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything. "When he came to his senses, he said, 'How many of my father's hired men have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired men.'

 In these verses we see the son has come to the place that his money has run out and now there is lack in the land. Did you know that when you waste the Father’s inheritance, that a famine will always surely follow? There is always lack in the life of a child that squanders his Father’s blessings. There is a lack of power, a lack of spiritual insight, a lack of discernment because you have squandered God’s riches. So this son decided to try and fix his lack. He tried to attach himself to a citizen in the place. Why is it when we mess up instead of realizing it and changing, we make matters worse by trying to fix it ourselves?

We try to attach ourselves to “foreigners,” those that do not know the ways of our Father and therefore will not help to direct us back into His presence. These foreigners ways are not in line with the Father and we simply find ourselves further away from our Father’s house, instead of solving our problems. So when this son joins himself to the citizen he begins to work in the field to feed the swine, an abomination for a Jew. He was hungry and allowed his fleshly desire to overrule what he knew about the rules of his father’s house and began to eat from the swine’s food. But then it says in verse 17, “He came to himself”. Did you know sometimes we have to be flat on our faces in a pigpen and in slop before we come to ourselves? Some of us have to come so low before we turn around and realize who our Father is and ask why are we living the life we live?  

When he came to himself he decided to humble himself and he came up with a plan. He decided he would go to his father, and seek his forgiveness. So that path that this son first took to lead him away from the father was the same road he had to turn around and go back on to get to his father. Sin will foolishly make you walk away from your Father’s house, with much pride but God’s humbling will make you humbly return. How humbling must it have been for this son that went away from his father’s house with money, and dreams of grandeur, but to now have to pass those same houses along the way that he passed before, this time in shame of his sin? What realization he must have had to now see himself for who he really was. No longer prideful, huh?

So what do we learn from this first son and his story titled “The road to now where” or “The path to the pit?”

 The first son, the youngest son shows us several things. First the youngest son shows us in this instance that youth represents immaturity. In our immaturity we make the decisions that we do not want to wait on God, who is our Father, to give to us his riches. We make the decision like the youngest son to tell God, you can no longer have control over my life, and I’ll take care of it myself. But I do want your gifts and your provisions, but I want to do things my way. How does this translate?

We take our gifts, physical talents, and natural abilities and we tell God I will make my own way and I will do my own thing. I do not want to wait on your timing so I’ll go and do things myself. Then foolishly; we begin the path that leads us out of the Father’s house and to the road of destruction. Some of us don’t want to wait for God to heal our marriages so we leave, and start that path down the road of destruction ourselves. Some of us don’t want to wait on God’s timing for a mate, so we go get one ourselves. Some of us don’t want to wait on God’s timing regarding healing our hurts or issues in life, so we go and find our own way of dealing with it, things that we think will numb the pain.

There are so many ways we do not want to wait on God so we foolishly turn away. In this instance the house represents the place where the Father dwells, His presence. Yes some have turned from the church because they are tired of waiting on God to do something and so they leave the presence of God so they can do it themselves. And in doing so with pride and arrogance we walk down a road that we foolishly thing is leading somewhere, but it is the path of our destruction.

We move to a foreign country and attach ourselves to those citizens in that country all trying to live this fantasy of a life we think we should be living. But what we are really doing is attaching ourselves to things that are foreign or contrary to our Father and his ways. And sometimes it takes us in the midst of our foreign situations to come to ourselves, turn back to our Father’s house and go running to seek His forgiveness. We have to do like this son and “arise”, get up out of our sinful thinking, get up out of the sin of our pride, get up out of the slop. And in our arising we realize that it is Jesus that we need to help us, so we need to go humbly back to our Father’s house. This story doesn’t end here. Scene two takes place, where the father enters.

(NIV, Verse 20-24) So he got up and went to his father. "But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him. "The son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. "But the father said to his servants, 'Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let's have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.' So they began to celebrate.

In these verses, the scene unfolds as the son goes to the father and is ready to confess his sins. Yet something happens that catches our attention. The father saw the son and come to meet him on the road. He showed him compassion, he did not allow the son to have to make the journey all the way back by himself, and as a result he came to get him. And the son confessed his sins. The father did not banish the son, instead he tells his servants, come, bring him the best robe, and put it on him, put a ring on his hand and shoes on his feet. My son that was dead is alive again, he was lost and he is now found. And they began to party.

So what do I call this scene, I call this scene “Amazing Grace”. The son was lost but now he is found, he was blinded by sin but now he can see. He was a wretch, but the father said come to me. It was not because of his own power but because of the compassion or grace of the Father. Now looking at this scripture from a human standpoint the father may seem to be too soft on the younger son. He could have told the son no in the first scene. That’s what we would have done had one of our children came to us and said give me your hard earned money and let me go blow it on what I want to blow it on. 

We would have given them a lecture about the importance of a dollar and how we probably had to recycle a thousand pop cans, deliver 2,000 news papers at 3 a.m. in the morning to make our first dollar. But why didn’t this father do that?

I believe the son did not just wake up one day and decide to ask for his money. There had to be some thoughts brewing in his mind as he got up day after day to do the work in his father’s house. He probably was thinking, why do I have to work so hard when my father has all that I need. Why do I have to sacrifice when what I need my father has? Why do I have to deny my own desires when my father can let me have what I want? The son became angry and bitter at waiting.

So I believe the father was aware of the son and he only allowed the son to take the money because he already knew what was up that road. Just as he knew that the road would take his son away from him, he also knew it would bring him back, so he stood and waited for when the rebellion would turn into repentance. How many days did the father come out and wait for the returning son? I believe daily he waited for his son to return.

What does this tell us today? Our Father is not sitting in heaven unaware of the journey we are on. He knows the dissatisfaction that we allow to fester in our hearts against his ways. He knows the rebellion of our hearts and He wants us to turn to him, but He will willingly allow us to go on the journey that leads us away from his protection and His presence.

Yet, because He knows what is ahead for us on that journey, He is patiently waiting for us to turn back to His presence.

When we do, we then can experience the “Amazing Grace” of God. The son said I’ll be happy just being your servant, but the father said no, I will restore you to complete son-ship and ownership. He gave him a robe, God will give us new clothing when we turn back. He will clothe us in His righteousness. He doesn’t give us some cheap clothing but costly, the best. It is the best and it is costly because it was purchased with the blood of Christ. This father gave him a new ring; in that time rings had the signet or the seal of the family on it. Our Father gives us a new ring, or a new seal that brands us as one of His family, one of his chosen children and along with that ring it carries the full privileges of the Father. This father gave his son new shoes.

Ephesians 6:15 reads “And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace” We are made ready with the gospel to run our race for the Father. This father welcomed the son back into the house and a celebration took place. We should all rejoice, but not yet, there is another scene to this trilogy. This next scene presents for us the oldest son.

(NIV, Verse 25-32) "Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. 'Your brother has come,' he replied, 'and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.' "The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. But he answered his father, 'Look! All these years I've been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!'  " 'My son,' the father said, 'you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.' "

In this scene we have an older brother that has come from the field and he sees all this partying going on in the house and he wants to know what’s happening. The servants tell them your brother has come home and we have killed the fatted calf and we are having a party. Now we look to see the brother’s response. Is it joy, happiness that his lost brother is found, right? No, he’s angry! So, what would I call this scene? I call this scene “What about me?” or “When is it my turn?”

Now I want us to take a look at this brother. I believe this brother has often been neglected in the preaching from pulpits. Our focus has been on the brother that was lost and his return and the father’s response to that. These are important but in forgetting the other son, we neglect the other side of this lesson God wants us to see.

It is ironic that we often forget about this brother, because that is part of his complaint, I’m often forgotten for my willingness to stay faithful. This brother became so angry that the verse says “he would not go into the house.” The father then comes out to the son and talks to him about why he would not come in. The older son complains to the father, but father I never left you, I did whatever you said do but where is my party, when will it be my turn? The father did not answer the son harshly as some of us would. Instead this father took the time to help the oldest son understand that while he had not thrown him a party, everything that was his was available to him. We are only celebrating because your brother was lost and now we want to rejoice that he has come home.

So I have a question for you? Which son was in need of the father? Or let me ask it another way, how far outside of the house do you need to be, before you need the Father to come and get you?

The older son represents the one that was more mature or had a greater understanding about the father because he had been with the father longer. This older son saw what his brother did and how his turning away affected others, including himself. Think about it. When the younger son moved away from the father’s house who had to carry on in his absence? It was the older brother. So not only did he have to take care of his own responsibilities he had to also take care of his brothers. Resentment had to have been growing there. This brother had to be bitter at having to carry all the weight while the younger brother did as he wanted to do to please himself.

He probably wanted to see the brother come home, however he wanted to see the returning brother treated differently. He wanted him to be punished, at least a little bit. He wanted him to have to hurt, or feel the burden of what his leaving had placed upon this older brother. But to hear that the father forgave him and restored him, the older brother was angry. Think about it, he was still out in the field working and then is surprised with a party going on. He had to have been thinking, I’m still taking care of his work and he is being treated like an honored guest, what’s up with that? His anger kept him away from the father’s house.

How many of us have stepped away from God’s presence because of our anger at our brother or sister? You know what I mean? Your spiritual brother or sister, or maybe your wife or husband, was like the younger son. In their weakness or immaturity they stepped away from the Father’s house. Their stepping away called for you to carry the burden of their turning.

You labored many days in their absence and now they have returned. But why aren’t you happy about it? Maybe because you have become angry that it seems like they have gotten away with something. You thought they would have to suffer or something but instead they have been given all the provisions they had before. You are not jealous about that, but you are saying in your spirit, “What about me God? I did not walk away from you but I still have to deal with the burden of their leaving and to see them partying it up, it’s so unfair.” Or we say in our spirit Lord when will it be my turn? I have not stopped serving you as I should but now you make a big deal about him or her, what about me? When this thing hits our spirits and our hearts, we step outside the doors of our father’s house. Now we do not go the total distance of moving away as the first son did, but we still have stepped outside and we, just like the other son is missing the blessings of being in the Father’s presence.

This then leads us to the final climax of this story. The father just as he waited for his first son that had gone away to come and meet him and bring him into the house, this same father moves away from the festivities going on in the house to come get his son that is standing outside the door. The Father is always aware of His children’s absence from His presence. And because of His amazing grace He is always willing to get them from where they are.

How does this apply to us today? Today, we have some younger brothers and some older brothers standing distant from each other because of ones sin and the others inability to let go of the anger. Which one is in need of the father? Both of you are. I am asking you today to be transparent not before me, but before God.

There are some relationships right in our churches that God wants to heal both the one that has gone a long distance on the wrong path and the one that stands just outside the door. Both of you are in need of the Father so that He can heal your hearts. This is what He wanted the religious people to understand. I am giving my time with the lost, but you too are in need of my presence because of your heart condition. Don’t let your heart condition keep you on the outside of God’s presence. See this story is about the relationship not only with the father and the lost son, but also the relationship with the hurting son and the father. And then it is also about the relationship between the two brothers. They all depend on one thing, the “Amazing Grace” of God.

Parents and children. Do you have anger toward a rebellious child or are you a child that is anger and disappointment in their parent? Right now I have to tell you God has restoration for both of you. His amazing grace can restore the prodigal that has gone his or her own way and has blown the blessings of God. He wants to restore you back to a rightful place within his love as well as a right relationship with each other. To the one that has stayed behind and continue to carry the burden, He wants you to know He has not forgotten about you. He wants to release the burden of your heart so that you can find yourself back in His presence.

Husband to wife, or wife to husband. God wants to restore some relationships today. The people of God cannot move to the next level God wants us to be, until his two sons are back in the same house, under the control and guidance of the Father. I believe God wants to do that today. If you want to be able to go to the next level God has for you and you want to move back into the full presence of God, then today is that day. Don’t worry about what others think, because all that matters is God. He already knows who the prodigal’s are. Because there are some prodigal’s  reading this today.

Some that have turned away from God; some need to come home and some have already humbled themselves but just don’t know how to make that journey back. Well God already is waiting to meet you; He will not make you take the journey by yourself. Think of it this way. Today, God the Father stands waiting to restore you, to embrace you with His love and to show compassion on you, all you need to do is humble yourself and come to Him. For those that have anger or bitterness in their hearts because of what the prodigal has left on them, step out and met God, the Father and be reminded he is what you need today.

The Holiday Cake

 

There was once a pastry chef that create a cake to share with a vast number of loved ones that had been invited to a holiday celebration. The pastry chef went into the kitchen to get all the ingredients to create the cake.

All the ingredients were taken and placed one by one on the counter. The eggs, the flour, vegetable shortening, sugar, salt, baking powder, milk and vanilla were sat on the counter. The pastry chef then took out the pan. The pastry chef turned on the oven to 350 degrees to prepare the over for the cake.

The pastry chef then took the mixer and creamed the butter and shortening together. He added the sugar, a little at a time. He then added eggs, one at a time and beat the mixture together after each egg was added. In a separate bowl, he stirred all the dry ingredients together. He added the dry ingredients into the butter mixture alternately with milk, starting with the flour and ending with the flour. He then mixed in the vanilla.

The cake was not quite ready, but it was progressing nicely. He then poured the mixture into a greased and floured pan and baked for 1 and ½ hours until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake came out clean to show it was ready.

The chef created a powder sugar glaze to top off the pound cake. It was ready to serve up to his guest at the holiday party. The cake was a success each person that tasted it stated, “That was good!”

Well, there’s a catch to this story. There are two stories hidden in the tell of the cake and the pastry chef. The first story is not really about a cake at all, but about the wonderful holiday gift we have been given. God, that “great pastry chef” decided to invite this world, a vast number of people to a feast. He offered all the “right” ingredients in the cake (bread of life) for His guest. That sweet treat offered to everyone to come and taste and see that the Lord is good! All those that partook of the sweet treat were feed and delighted at the goodness of God. The chef’s added in his loaf only the ingredients that would produce the required results. God’s offer of salvation only adds in the ingredients that line up with his recipe. His Son came to this earth, offered Himself as the sacrifice for the world to ensure our salvation. Into his body was inserted the nails and when out came the blood and water, God knew salvation was sure. In the midst of all that appeared ugly, God added the final touch of sweetness to top off this event. That added sweetness was the assurance of all being saved that call on the name of the Lord.

There is still yet a second story. The second story is us. We are in the hands of the great pastry chef. He takes the ingredients of our lives and puts them together to make all things work together for our good. These ingredients by themselves are not very tasty (accept maybe the sugar). Just as the chef takes the butter and shortening and blends them together; God takes those things that are hard and difficult in life and softens them to become the base of the batter of our lives. The chef added the sugar a little at a time, just as God sprinkles His joy into our difficulties in life as we learn to be thankful in all things. Little by little He adds each ingredient to build the perfect batter. Yet, we are not done yet, there is still more work that needs to be done. Into the hot oven we must go. The chef knows the perfect time to pull the cake out of the over. When the toothpick is placed into the cake and it comes out clean, it is time. So it is with our lives, when God sees that we have firmed up and there is no residue clinging to the inserted tester, we are ready to serve.

God tops us off with a little sweetened glaze (love) before serving us to the vast gathering group of hungry people. Then little by little he serves His guest a piece of our lives (through our testimonies). And when they receive the sweet offering they too declare, “I have tasted and this is good!”

I encourage each of you today to allow God to serve you up this holiday. Go and allow someone to “taste and see” that God is good because you represent the work of the master chef!

Living With Many Signals

“Living with many signals”

Ephesians 4:31-32 “Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: and be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.”

 Colossians 3:2  “Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.”

 Life is busy! Track a normal day in the life of a mom for instance.  You get up to get your kids ready for school.  You get them up, feed them, get their lunch’s ready, homework packed up, clothes on, and teeth brushed all while trying to keep them from killing each other.  You try to get them out on time and if you have a job, you need to get where you need to be all at the same time.  Add daily home care needs, clothes washed, food purchased and cooked, and the list goes on.  In this list add whatever your families needs are, your husband’s needs, the church needs, and if time (Ha!) your needs. 

How do you handle all the signals without malfunctioning? Sometimes we are hit with so many signals in our lives, we can overload our mental, emotional or spiritual circuits.  We can make wrong choices before we stop and process all the information that we receive in this daily moving from one signal to the next.  We can be hurt by others responses to our situations or what we perceived as their lack of concern.  We have to examine the signals and find out from God what our proper approach should be to our situations. When we do not, we can become bitter, angry and unkind to one another.  When we do not examine the signals in our lives, we can also become focused on our selves (focused on things on earth, instead of on things above).  Instead, what we need to do is seek God to help us handle the many signals in our lives so that our affections can be focused on God and not on the things that affect our emotions.

What happens when our focus is our emotions:

Ø  We can easily become captive by our feelings.

Ø  We may hide or deny our feelings or wallow in them, usually the latter.
Ø  Our feelings show what is lodged in our hearts.
Ø  Our heart’s emotions rule our minds and direct our actions.
Ø  We question where is God during our hard times.
Ø  We (women) do not handle the multitude of signals we receive well, where our husbands appear to be able to tune them out, thus frustrating us to no end.
Ø  We do not recognize our basic differences without putting any value judgment on them.
Ø  We do not die to our demands and forgive when others treat us insensitively.

What are we to do to change what happens?

ü  Tell God immediately how we feel about hurts and injuries.

ü  Ask God to speak his best response through us.
ü  Sometimes we may need to dig dipper to understand our own emotions and responses.
ü  We have to change the “old” for the “new”. – Changing or the removal of our old foundation
ü  We must not place our emotions under the subjection of God, they can no longer rule our decisions and choices
ü  We must not allow how we feel to determine if God is there for us, we must trust regardless of how it feels.
ü  We must recognize our basic differences between men and women and allow God to help us remove judgment from our interactions with each other.


Our theme this year for the C.O.M.E. ministry is about changing our mindset so that our lives can be changed, to line up with God's will. This writing was from several years ago, but I thought it was worth bringing back to remind us of what we need to do with our emotions and the many signals we receive during the day.

What House Do You Represent?

Short Story by: Rev. Jewel D. Williams, M.R.E.

Hazel Crest Community Church of God

H.A.T.S ~ Having an Anointing That Sticks

There was once a model that looked for a designer, a house to represent.  Her journey took her to different designers to find one to represent.  One house said they would have her, but when they told her what she had to do, she said no, because she was not ready to sell her soul for it.  Her journey took her from one house to another with no success.

There was one house that she had not tried yet, even though it was the most famous house.  She wondered if they would accept her.  Without any further hesitation, she put on her best outfit and went to “The House of Dios”.

She opened the door and was greeted by the receptionist.

“How can I help you?” She asked.

“I would like to speak to someone regarding representing ‘The House of Dios’.”  As she was speaking the owner walked into the room.

The reception turned to him and spoke, “This lady is here to see if she can represent ‘The House of Dios’.”

The owner took one look at her and turned away, “I cannot even look upon her, no, no.”

The model was shocked; she didn’t know what the problem was. She turned to leave, but someone tapped her on the shoulder.

“Hello, I am the co-owner, wait one minute please.”

She turned back to hear what he had to say.  The co-owner turned to the owner.

The owner spoke to him, “She cannot represent this house her clothes are filthy rags!”

The co-owner spoke, “Father, I know, but I see potential in her.  If I give her a new garment would you re-consider?”

“Yes, let’s see what you can do.”

The co-owner, who also is the owner’s son, spoke to the model.  “You came here thinking your best would work and that was insulting to my father.  However, if you are willing to allow me to give you the right garments, I know my father will forgive your actions.  Are you willing to receive my gift of the right garment so that your wrong deeds can be forgiven and you can be given a new start and the opportunity to represent this house?”

“Yes!” She exclaimed.

And with that her old clothes were removed and she stood standing in an elegant white garment. The owner then turned and smiled at her.  The son and the owner stood looking at her for a few moments.  They then spoke to each other. She needs something else to complete her outfit.

“Yes”, the Son said, “and I know just where she should go.”

“Yes, take her to our division, ‘Espiritu Santo’, and our helper will know what to do.”

She was quickly whisked off to a room filled with hats.  There were yellow hats, red hats, and blue hats.  There were small hats and large hats.  There were hats with flowers and hats with feathers. She reached out to touch one of the hats.  It was a hat with feathers fanned across the front.

“You have to be brave to wear this hat.” She thought, “It’s way too much hat for me.”

As she examined the hats, someone entered the room. She assumed this must be the helper the owners spoke of.

“Welcome to ‘Espiritu Santo’. I am one of the owners. I work directly with the models and help them represent the House of Dios. You are here for me to finish your outfit with a HAT.”

To her surprise, he took the hat she had touched and placed it on her head. She lifted her hand almost by instinct to stop him, but quickly lowered her hand.

He smiled at her. “Yes, it might be overwhelming at first, but once you become comfortable with it, you’ll be able to work the runway and show off the outfit. There are a few rules I must tell you about.  First, the show isn’t about you. We aren’t looking for divas but for models that are drawing attention to the garments. We want the audience to want the designs of the House of Dios. Secondly, I am the one that makes all the decisions on what the models wear.  I’ve done this job a long time and I really don’t need help. What I do need is your willingness to represent us properly. And lastly, we need you to continually work at your craft. You have to be ready whenever we need you to do a runway show. Can you handle that?”

She thought about it, “Yes I can.”

The helper smiled at her and said, “Well then, hit the runway and show off the garments of the ‘House of Dios’ and the Hat’s from ‘Espiritu Santos’.”

And that is just what she did; she worked the runway and presented The House of Dios!

Prayer to a Compassion Savior

Prayer to a Compassionate Savior

This is taken from a message I preached, I thought it was worth sharing:

Compassion means: a feeling of deep sympathy (empathy and understanding) and sorrow for another who is stricken by misfortune (adversity, trouble, hardship, and disasters) accompanied by a strong desire to alleviate the suffering. (Loan-translation of Gk. sympatheia)

What God was showing me as I looked at this word was compassion has two parts. The first part is when one person (in this case, Christ) feels deep sympathy for the suffering of others. The second part is what many of us miss. The person does not only feel for the person, but they are so moved that they do something to alleviate the persons suffering. This is what Christ does. His compassion moves Him to rescue us. Let's look at who Christ has compassion on.

Christ has compassion for:

Matthew 9:36-38 “³⁵ Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. ³⁶ When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. ³⁷ Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. ³⁸ Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”

Christ has compassion for the ~ HELPLESS, THE LOST AND PEOPLE WITHOUT A SHEPHERD

Matthew 14:14 “...he had compassion on them and healed their sick.”

Christ has compassion for the ~  SICK (we see often Christ having compassion on those that were sick)

Matthew 15:32 “Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I have compassion for these people; they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry, or they may collapse on the way.”

Christ has compassion for the ~ NATURAL NEEDS OF PEOPLE (food, shelter, etc. Jesus did not want to send the people away because He knew they had not eaten, instead He told the disciples to handle their need.)

 Jesus had compassion for people that were lost (sinners), for the sick and for the everyday-natural needs of people. Again, He did not stop at feeling for their needs, HE DID SOMETHING. His compassion moved him into action.

The compassion of Christ results in:

Compassion for the lost unto salvation

Christ saw our plight. We were sinners separated from a Holy God. Our destination for our sins was death and eternal separation for this Holy God (Romans 6:23). We were powerless to do anything about it. Christ compassion moved him to demonstrate his love while we were still sinners, He died for us (Romans 5:8). At the right time, Christ helped the helpless (Romans 5:6). Christ compassion moved him and in exchange He alleviated our sin debut and we are made the righteous of God, as credit to us through Christ (Romans 4:24). Being justified through faith, we have peace with God (Romans 5:1). Not only that, we can boast that we are reconciled to God through Christ (Romans 5:11). Therefore, we are no longer condemned because we are in Christ (Romans 8:1). This process of receiving God’s compassion is given to us when we confess with our mouths that Jesus is Lord and believe in our hearts that God raised Jesus from the dead, when we do, we will be saved (Romans 10:9). We ask God to forgive us of our sins, and His compassion that saw our need in our helpless state, will forgive us and give us His Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38).

Matthew 20:34 “Jesus had compassion on them and touched their eyes. Immediately they received their sight and followed him.”

The Compassion of Christ results in ~ RESTORING SIGHT (to the physically and spiritually blind)

Matthew 14:14 “...he had compassion on them and healed their sick.”

The Compassion of Christ results in ~ THE HEALING OF DISEASES AND INFIRMITIES

³⁰ Great crowds came to him, bringing the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute and many others, and laid them at his feet; and he healed them. ³¹ The people were amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the crippled made well, the lame walking and the blind seeing. And they praised the God of Israel. – Matthew 15:30-31

Christ did not discriminate. He touched all kinds of lives and all kinds of needs. He touched the rich, the poor, men, children and women. His compassion, His love called Him to action.

As followers of Christ, we must take on the compassion that He had. No, you or I cannot heal anyone but we can be the channel of healing, restoration and salvation Christ uses. We do this by moving from only having sympathy for others needs to DOING SOMETHING ABOUT IT! We do that through our prayers. and however God leads us. 

Prayer:

Psalm 6:9 “The LORD has heard my cry for mercy; the LORD accepts my prayer.”

Prayer ~ ACCESSES GOD’S MERCY (his compassion, his kindness, his forgiveness and his favor)

Psalm 86:1 “(David) Hear me, LORD, and answer me, for I am poor and needy.

Psalm 102:17 “He will respond to the prayer of the destitute; he will not despise their plea.

Prayer ~ ACCESS GOD TO ALLEVIATE OUR HELPLESSNESS

Mark 11:24 “Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.”

Prayer ~ ACCESS GOD’S PROVISIONS FOR HIS CHILDREN

Now then, it is time to pray. Just as I prayed for the church that day, let us pray now as you read this blog.

Pray for lost: Do you have loved ones you know need to meet the savior? Let's pray for them now.

Psalm 85:7 (NIV)
Show us your unfailing love, LORD, and grant us your salvation.

Prayer: Lord today, as we call out the names of our unsaved loved ones, we ask that your Holy Spirit would touch their lives and bring them to the knowledge of their need for Jesus. Lord help them to accept your gift of salvation. May their hearts be turned to you and may you give them you Holy Spirit to guide them and help them become the person(s) you created them to be. Amen.

Pray for those in need of natural needs. Are you, or someone you love standing in need of something from God? A job, finances, food, shelter, whatever the need. Let us take it to the Lord.

Philippians 4:19 (NIV)

And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.

 Prayer: God you are our sustainer and our provider. You promise that you would not hold any good gift from your children. Today we ask that you would meet the needs of those seeking your help. We understand that these things will not be done by our might, our abilities or from our surplus. They will be accomplished through your riches in Christ Jesus. Today we ask, that you open opportunities for income for those that in need of it. Even if the need is a $3,000 a month, you can do it. Provide clothing, food, and whatever the needs are. Provide funds to fix roofs, and other things. Nothing is to difficult for you. We pray right now that you provide and we say, yes and amen to your will as we seek your face, Amen.

Pray for the sick. While I cannot be right there with you to anoint you, I anoint myself in your proxy. God sees our hearts and our trust. There is nothing in the oil but out of obedience to scripture I anoint myself as representing a touch from God's Spirit.

James 5:14-16 (NIV)

¹⁴ Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. ¹⁵ And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. ¹⁶ Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.

Prayer: I offer to you God this prayer in faith. Faith in belief that there is no sickness to great for you to heal. I speak healing right now in the name of Jesus Christ. I state, you are healed in Jesus name. Lord reverse decrees of cancer, high blood pressure, MS, depression, and all kinds of sickness. Jesus you looked upon the crowds that came to you and you were moved with compassion and healed their sickness. Today, we come and seek your compassion. Lord allow your healing oil to flow even right now as we pray. Through your Holy Spirit I ask that you touch those in need and heal them. May they feel even now, the touch of your anointing upon them. This healing we ask for because your Word says pray faithfully for healing and you, the Lord will raise them up. I ask now, Lord raise up the sick amoung us and allow them the opportunity to glorify you before others of your good works. This is our prayer, amen!