Author: E. DeWayne Swann

Clean

Many years ago, while working at a Christian retreat in Indian Springs Campgrounds in Georgia. I was fortunate enough to work with and to get to know a little better a member of our Church, Ben.

My job that weekend was to ensure that the candidates were taken care of, that they all got up on time and to the Chapel, and that they all got in bed, while also conducting a head count to verify that none of them had decided to go AWOL (absent without leave). For the rest of the day, I assisted where needed and stayed out of the way as best I could.

Ben’s job was to tend to and take care of the three Pastors who were leading the weekend. He made sure that they had above and beyond what they needed, so they could focus all their attention on ministering to those in need. Ben took his job seriously, and well he should have. He brought them all kinds of snacks and drinks so they would lack nothing. He had coffee ready when they arose each morning and tended to their every beck and call.

For the most part, we had very little to do during the day, except when there were break times, and then we went into action. He was taking care of the pastors, and I was making sure the other workers didn’t need any help whatsoever while ministering to the candidates.

During the slow times, we found ourselves sitting outside the conference room listening to the talks and buying our time to do our jobs. While sitting, we would talk and joke, and we got to know each other better with every passing minute. Until (until you know I love conjunctions the way they bring more life to the story). A man came walking by looking for something wrong, you know the type, no one thing anyone could do to suit this guy. All weekend, we heard “That’s not how we have done it in the past,” or “We have a schedule to keep,” and my favorite, “You can’t do that, that way, because we didn’t ask the council.”

And then the best was when he objected to the Pastors Baptizing one young man after accepting Christ during the morning Chapel service. The pastors used the text in Acts about the Ethiopian eunuch’s conversion and wanting to be baptized.

Acts 8:36-37 (HCSB)
 As they were traveling down the road, they came to some water. The eunuch said, “Look, there’s water! What would keep me from being baptized?” [And Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.” And he replied, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”]

“Look, there’s water! What would keep him from being baptized?” There was a lake there, and the schedule was so far off by now it did not matter too much what went down as long as God was in it. And He was!!! But the man did not like it because we were not a Church and we were not a denomination. So, if the young man was baptized, what “Church” would he be a member of? Was the question he asked. And the answer from the lead pastor was “God’s Church.” And the young man was baptized that very hour.

Well, as the man came walking by, after causing as much havoc as possible, Ben looked up and said his name, and said in a condescending voice, “He looks like a mullet. (A mullet is a saltwater fish.) And he did somewhat, and I started laughing and couldn’t stop. It was a combination of lack of sleep and the way the man acted, and it was just plain funny to me; I just couldn’t stop laughing. I was laughing so much that they came out of the conference room and asked us to go somewhere else because we were being disruptive. So off we went.

Ben and DeWayne were walking through the forest laughing back and forth at what the other had to say, laughing at this and that, having such a good time, and as the song says from Disney’s animated movie Robin Hood, Oo-de-lally, oo-de-lally, golly what a day.  (Got to love me some Roger Miller)

As we were walking along, I said I needed something to munch on, and Ben said Come with me, I put all kinds of stuff in the pastor’s cabin. When we arrived, the cabin was locked, and I didn’t have my pick kit with me. We started walking around the cabin and found an open window. So, we pushed the window up and I gave Ben a boost, so much of a boost that through the window Ben went, and out of sight.

I yelled, “Ben, Ben? Are you okay?” and nothing, “BEN”! and again nothing. A few moments passed, and Ben popped up in the window with two hands full of chips, cookies, and candy. And then he said Look what I got, Mullet. I got food. I started laughing and said Throw it out, and I will help you down. He threw the food out and again disappeared. Then he popped back up this time with us a cold drink apiece. I said Come on out, Mullet. I will help you down. Why he didn’t use the door is really beyond me to this day.

We found a shade and sat and enjoyed our spoils. To this day, we call each other Mullet, or Ben calls me Big Fish, and I call him Little Fish. He is one of my prayer partners and a dear friend. Whenever I am preaching somewhere or working at the very same Christian Retreat (the last two times I was one of the Pastors), I give him a call. And whenever he has a prayer request, he gives me a call and it goes something like this: “Hey Big Fish, are you clean?” And then he says, “If you are not clean, then don’t bother, but if you are, would you pray for…”

The Jewish customs are all about being clean; the rituals used are all through the Bible, and most are still used today, one being the washing of the feet as a visitor comes into your home.

It is not hard to see how the custom of foot-washing arose in the Ancient Middle East. People walking barefoot or in sandals on dry, dusty earth must have had perpetually dirty feet, so washing them before entering a building was a compelling matter of housekeeping.

It also became a ritual, however, with a host honoring his guests by washing their feet. The most famous example of this is in John 13 when Jesus washed his disciples’ feet at the Last Supper.

John 13:1-5 (NKJV)
 Now, before the feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that His hour had come that He should depart from this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end.
 And supper being ended, the devil having already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray Him,
 Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come from God and was going to God,
 rose from supper and laid aside His garments, took a towel and girded Himself.
 After that, He poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded.

The spiritual meaning of washing is purification – cleaning the mind spiritually, much as water cleans the body naturally. “Feet” represents our lives on the natural level – the day-to-day outward thoughts and actions that absorb so much of our time. Washing the feet, then, symbolizes purifying the natural level of our lives, applying what the Lord teaches us to our outward, ordinary actions.

I believe this passage is a great example of eternal security. We all get our feet dirty in day-to-day activity, and we all need our feet cleaned daily. But as we see in this passage, Jesus himself says:

John 13:6-10a (NKJV)

⁶ Then He came to Simon Peter. And Peter said to Him, “Lord, are You washing my feet?”
 Jesus answered and said to him, “What I am doing you do not understand now, but you will know after this.”
 Peter said to Him, “You shall never wash my feet!” Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me.”
 Simon Peter said to Him, “Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head!”
Jesus said to him, “He who is bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean; and you are clean, …

Then Jesus refers to Judas again and says that not all are clean in the group.

John 13:10b-11 (NKJV)

…but not all of you.”
 For He knew who would betray Him; therefore, He said, “You are not all clean.”

It always amazed me that He, Jesus, washed Judas’ feet as he did for the other disciples.

So, as Jesus said, “He who is bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean; and you are clean, …” we don’t have to get saved over and over, but we do have to restore the fellowship daily. And the way we do that is to get our feet washed by Christ Himself.

Remember, “The difference between Jesus and religion: Religion shames people for having dirty feet. Jesus kneels down and washes them.” As we should be doing.

We need all to be Clean, or accept the forgiveness of sins from our dear Savior Jesus Christ. And those of us who are clean need to be willing to go to Jesus with our dirty feet as often as needed. I know, as far as I go, it is a regular task to come to Jesus and ask for my feet to be cleaned, and knowing the price that was paid for me to have that freedom is humbling and convicting.

And if you ask daily for Christ to wash your feet, and picture in your mind Jesus rising and laying aside His garments, taking a towel and tightening it around Himself. And then, you see Him pouring water into a basin and beginning to wash your feet and to wipe your feet with the towel with which He was girded. You see the pierced brow from the crown of thorns, you see the nail-pierced hands as they wring out the towel, and the humbling of Himself as he kneels and washes your feet.

After picturing Jesus doing this for you, maybe it will help you to stay a little cleaner. I know ALL sins are forgiven and ALL sins are nailed to the Cross—past, present, and future. We don’t need forgiveness for these sins, as they have already been taken care of. We need cleansing from them, we need to see the cost of what was paid for us, and then we would try to sin less. The relationship is never changed, but the fellowship is broken on our part, and then comes the cleaning of our feet.

Think of it this way: Are you nice to the cashier at the grocery store? Can you forgive someone who accidentally cuts you off in traffic? Do you hold the door for strangers? Such small things may be signs of good, clean feet.

We see Abraham being kind to the servants of the Lord; Genesis 18:4, Please let a little water be brought and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree;

And as they said, a year later, they would return, and he would have a son. And he did. When you do as the Bible says, it always comes with a reward, some here and some on the other side.

We see a woman willing to and loving Jesus enough to weep over His feet and then dry them with her hair; Luke 7:44. Turning toward the woman, He said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave me no water for my feet, but she has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair.

We can see that Jesus scolds Simon because he himself did not try to wash Jesus’ feet, but a “Sinful” woman did. Be careful of how we see others; we need to see them as Christ sees them.

Back to our text in John 13

John 13:12-17 (NKJV)
¹² So when He had washed their feet, taken His garments, and sat down again, He said to them, “Do you know what I have done to you? ¹³ You call me Teacher and Lord, and you say well, for so I am. ¹⁴ If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. ¹⁵ For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you. ¹⁶ Most assuredly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master; nor is he who is sent greater than he who sent him. ¹⁷ If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.

If I then, the Lord and the Teacher, washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. Jesus is willing to be obedient to come here and cleanse us with His action on the Cross. The question is, are we willing to get clean so God can use you? Are you willing to help others get clean so they, too, can be witness for the cause of Christ? Because the Bible says in Mark 10, “and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.” And in Luke, “But it is not this way with you, but the one who is the greatest among you must become like the youngest, and the leader like the servant. For whom is greater, the one who reclines at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who reclines at the table? But I am among you as the one who serves.”

1 Samuel 16:7 (NKJV)

But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the LORD does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”

So, the question is, do you have a clean heart?

Are you Clean? Not just dirty feet but a dirty heart. Do you hate or despise someone because of their social standing, the color of their skin, the job they have, or what they do not have? The amount of money they have, or again, maybe what they do not have? The kind of house they live in. Are you clean enough to come to the Lord on behalf of those individuals? We are commanded to do just that.

Can you, at any moment of the day, get on your face and enter into the throne room of grace and know that God is hearing your petition? Are you Clean? Not on the outside but on the inside. No more than you would drink out of a dirty cup, eat off a dirty plate, or cook in a dirty pot. God is not or will not use you or even hear you if you have a dirty heart,

Psalm 66:16-20 (NKJV)

16      Come and hear, all you who fear God,

And I will declare what He has done for my soul.

17      I cried to Him with my mouth,

And He was extolled (Praised) with my tongue.

18      If I regard iniquity in my heart,

The Lord will not hear.

19      But certainly God has heard me;

He has attended to the voice of my prayer.

20      Blessed be God,

Who has not turned away my prayer,

Nor His mercy from me!

Did you see verse 18? It says, “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear.” God does hear those with Iniquity in their heart, which means to have malice or even anger in one’s heart.

It is so important to get clean, be clean, and stay clean. So that any given time, because you never know when someone who is counting on you for God to hear you and use you, that one may call and say I need you to pray. And because there is a dying world that is counting on you, you need to be clean!

So, as my friend Ben asks me, I am asking you;

Are You Clean?

Prayer:

Abba God, I simply come to you asking that you do for me as you did for Peter and even Judas, and wash my feet daily so I can boldly come clean into your presence, so I can write this book for you to receive the Glory, and that those reading this may have a closer walk with You and You may show Yourself mighty in their lives. And we know the only way to accomplish that is to be clean. Thank you, LORD, in the name of Your dear Son and our Savior,  and our Brother Jesus Christ. Amen. 

Let Your Light So Shine

The Lit Cross

Years ago, at my home Church in Powder Springs, Georgia. On the front of the Church building, there was a huge Cross that stayed lit up all night. They say you could see it from miles away in the air.

I was there late one night with my prayer partner, Chuck Sprayberry, standing in front of the cross around 12:30 a.m., when a man came pulling into the Church parking lot. One could tell that this man had been drinking, but not to the point of intoxication. He said he needed to talk to someone, and when he saw the cross, he knew that this was the place to stop.

We began to witness to him and share the gospel.  Then he asks a few questions of his own, the first of which is whether he has to give up drinking alcohol. And before Chuck could answer, I blurted out NO!

You could almost hear Chucks jaw hit the concrete, then the man ask how about smoking I again said NO, you don’t have to give that up either, Chuck later told me at that point he thought I had lost prospective, and he was about to take over, but he (Chuck) knew me and trusted I knew what I was saying, then the grand finale he asked if he had to give up going to nude bars? And again, I said NO!

No, you don’t have to give up anything to follow Christ, I told him, as my buddy Chuck stood there with the look of confusion on his face. But then I said that if he met the Jesus that I knew, he would be willing to give up whatever God led him to give up in time. And it would not be difficult.

The man recognized his condition and said he couldn’t make a decision at this time, but promised that he would come back when he hadn’t been drinking. I offered to get his number, and we even offered ours. But he refused.

We never saw him again.

See, we often sing at the invitation in a church service:

Just as I Am:

1. Just as I am, without one plea,

but that thy blood was shed for me,

and that thou bidst me come to thee,

O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

2. Just as I am, and waiting not

to rid my soul of one dark blot,

to thee whose blood can cleanse each spot,

O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

3. Just as I am, though tossed about

with many a conflict, many a doubt,

fighting and fears within, without,

O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

4. Just as I am, poor, wretched, blind;

sight, riches, healing of the mind,

yea, all I need in thee to find,

O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

5. Just as I am, thou wilt receive,

wilt welcome, pardon, cleanse, relieve;

because thy promise I believe,

O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

6. Just as I am, thy love unknown

hath broken every barrier down;

now, to be thine, yea thine alone,

O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

Text: Charlotte Elliott, 1789-1871

Music: William B. Bradbury, 1816-1868

The problem is that we don’t want people just as they are; we want them just as I am. See, we want them changed to suit us before they come to church.

We want them to be what we think Christians should be, to many times we let the lost, needy, hurting, tattooed, pierced, drunkard, drug addict, dirty, non-suit-wearing person walk right out the door and straight to HELL just because they don’t fit OUR way of thinking.

 

1 Samuel 16:7 But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the LORD does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” NKJV

 

Well, that’s the Old Testament, well then look at this.

John 7:24 Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment. NKJV

2 Corinthians 10:7 Do you look at things according to the outward appearance? If anyone is convinced in himself that he is Christ’s, let him again consider this in himself, that just as he is Christ’s, even so we are Christ’s.  NKJV

Jesus said Himself in Matthew 11:28-30

Matthew 11:28 Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  30 For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.  NKJV

 

Did you get that “and my burden is light”? “Take my yoke,” my is Jesus’ not the Church “For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

Don’t get me wrong, Accepting Jesus costs you nothing, following Jesus can cost you everything, but it is well worth it.

A friend of mine was a pilot and said his instruments went out one night, and he was trying to find his way back home to McCollum Airport in Kennesaw, Georgia. His fuel was getting low, and he was starting to panic when he saw the Cross. That big Cross on front of the Church. And then he knew where he was, and he found his way back home. Isn’t that what we all need to do? Look for the Cross and follow it Home.

 

I will glory in the Cross

By Dottie Rambo.

I boast not of works or tell of good deeds

For naught have I done to merit his grace

All glory and praise shall rest upon him

So willing to die in my place.

My trophies and crowns, my robe stained with sin

Twas all that I had to lay at his feet

Unworthy to eat from the table of life

Till love made provision for me.

I will glory in the cross

In the cross

Lest his suffering all be in vain

I will weep no more for the cross that he bore

I will glory in the cross.

Well, they boarded over the lit cross, it doesn’t shine for all to see, the day that they did that it broke my heart, I remembered the night at the Cross and the story of the pilot, and I can’t help but wonder how many more people was led to that Big Old Lit Cross in search of hope, peace and rest. Just understand all that can be found at the foot of the Old Rugged Cross.

Matt 5:14 You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.  15 Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.  16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.  NKJV

Please don’t board up your Lit Cross, don’t put your light under a basket, do what you do for the glory of God.

Again, I promise you, people are watching you.

Oh, when in tough times, let your Light Shine Bright.

Shine, shine for all to see, not just the church crowd.

Let the neighbors see God shine through you.

Let the waiter and waitress see the light shine through you.

Let the guy who cut you off on the interstate see the light shine through you.

In everything let God’s glory shine through you.

Ever Lose Something?

In the movie “Medicine Man,” Richard Campbell, played by Sean Connery, after living for six years in the Amazon jungle, has possibly discovered a cure for cancer. However, they cannot reproduce the results, so Dr. Rae Crane, played by Lorraine Bracco, is sent by the pharmaceutical company they both work for to investigate the matter. Upon arrival, she contends with Campbell’s reluctance to work with a woman. Then the story progresses, and he says he has something that could help the whole world. She asked him, “What is it you think you got?” his reply was, “I don’t think I know.” It was the cure for cancer, and then he says that he lost it, and she questions how he lost it, and his reply is, “Have you ever lost anything, your purse, your car keys, well it’s rather like that, now you have something and now you don’t.”

Some years ago, a few of us Sunday School teachers at my home Church decided to meet and have a time of prayer before the services of the day were to start. We had to be at the Church by 9:00 am to get at least 30 minutes of prayer time in. The choir would practice at around 9:30, and Sunday School would start at 10:00.

We did this for quite a few months, as we met week after week, we would share personal spiritual battles we each were facing, the three of us that met were new at preaching, and I was the only one who had been teaching for more than a year and not yet surrendered to the call to preach. We grew close in those prayer times and even grew closer to God as we shared each other’s burdens.

But, as time went on, and doing the same thing week after week, it sort of just became routine, to me anyway. As I watched my brothers in the faith come in Sunday after Sunday, excited to face the day, and to bring their lessons. I felt as if I was just going through the motions.

One Sunday, as we met, I said I felt as if I had left my first Love somewhere along the way, as the Apostle John was told to write to the Church of Ephesus in Revelation.

Revelation 2:4 “Nevertheless, I have this against you, that you have left your first love. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works…– unless you repent.” NKJV

To me, my Christian honeymoon, if you will, was over. It was not the same as it was when I first accepted Christ, and in no way was I happy about the situation. I was seeing people happy about their walk with the Lord, and getting excited about serving Him, and I was getting to the point of not feeling anything, and I was not happy about my situation, even a little.

I had gone through a divorce, I had to give up a job that I loved, My pay was cut by thousands, I had seen a young girl that I adored in our Church pass away and had to help with her funeral, I had seen problem after problem and still kept the faith, I lost my happiness, not my Joy in Christ, but my happiness in serving Him was gone. So, have you ever lost anything, your purse, your car keys, well, it’s rather like that, now you have something and now you don’t?

Please don’t get me wrong, it was not the “fake it till I make it” sort of thing. I truly believed everything that I was teaching, and even at that time, I was filling the pulpit regularly. I didn’t lose my belief in Christ, or even believing in His ability to answer prayers. What I seem to have misplaced is my thrill to do these things like I once had.

And as the song by U2 says, “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For”:

I have climbed the highest mountains; I have run through the fields

Only to be with you. Only to be with you

I have run, I have crawled; I have scaled these city walls

These city walls. Only to be with you,

But I still haven’t found. What I’m looking for

But I still haven’t found. What I’m looking for

He will lift you. Higher and higher

He will pick you up when you fall. He’ll be the shelter from the storm

I believe that he will come. Then all the colors will bleed into one

Bleed into one. But yes, I’m still running

You broke the bonds. Loosened the chains

Carried the cross. Of my shame

Of my shame. You know, I believed it.

But I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For, where could it be?

Then on February 13-16, 1996. As I sat in the Georgia Dome attending the “Promise Keepers Pastor Conference” with my dear friend, Pastor, and mentor Snyder Turner as we heard from such pastors as Tony Evans, Jack Hayford, Wellington Boone, John Maxwell, Chuck Swindoll, and one of my all-time favorite authors Max Lucado and was closed out by the late E. V. Hill.

The title of the meetings was “Fan into Flames,” and each speaker from one to the next talked about reigniting the fire that is within us. It was just what I needed at the time, and as the services progressed to the next day, Valentine’s Day 1996, I sat with some other 39,000 men who were all pastors and preachers from literally all over the world. And at the time, I was just a “speaker”. I got that title from Snyder because he used it for years before surrendering the call to preach, and I figured if it worked for him, why not me?

And then Pastor Chuck Swindoll took the podium and began to preach, and he preached exactly what I needed at the time. The title of his sermon was “Brokenness: The Fruit of Repentance.” Do you remember our verse in Revelation?

Revelation 2:4 “Nevertheless, I have this against you, that you have left your first love. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works…– unless you repent.” NKJV

I didn’t lose my first love, I LEFT it. But where and how? And I thought at the time I was a pretty good man. I was working in the Church Choir as their sound man, I was speaking in whatever pulpit I was asked to fill, I ran a Thursday night prayer time for all to attend, I had just finished a three-year run, running Sweet Spirit Bands sound and meeting with them weekly praying and practicing and going all over the state of Georgia to the Youth Detention Centers and seeing hundreds of young people accepting Christ as their Savior.

How, oh how could I have left or even lost my love for Christ? I was doing everything I could to serve him. What else did He want? I was nearly given out from serving Him.

Then, as Chuck Swindoll finished his sermon on repentance, I asked God what I needed to repent of. And then he told me. The song the praise band started singing was “I Surrender All”.

I Surrender All by Judson W. Van DeVenter

All to Jesus I surrender, All to Him I freely give;

I will ever love and trust Him, In His presence daily live.

Refrain: I surrender all, I surrender all;

All to Thee, my blessed Savior, I surrender all.

All to Jesus I surrender, Humbly at His feet I bow;

Worldly pleasures all forsaken, take me, Jesus, take me now.

All to Jesus I surrender, make me, Savior, wholly Thine;

Let me feel the Holy Spirit, truly know that Thou art mine.

All to Jesus I surrender, Lord, I give myself to Thee;

Fill me with Thy love and power, Let Thy blessing fall on me.

All to Jesus I surrender, Now I feel the sacred flame;

Oh, the joy of full salvation! Glory, glory, to His Name!

Did you get that tag at the end? All to Jesus I surrender, Now I feel the sacred flame;

“Fan into Flame” is the name of the conference. I wanted to feel that sacred flame. I then held my hands up singing All to Jesus I surrender, Lord, I give myself to Thee; Fill me with Thy love and power, Let Thy blessing fall on me. I surrender all, I surrender all; All to Thee, my blessed Savior, I surrender all. And the palm of my hands was facing heaven as I was surrendering, and then just like that, my hands turned as if to receive something, and receive I did. Just like that, God said you give Me your time, and you give me your ability, and you give me Praise, and even at times you truly Worship Me, (back to my love for conjunctions) but, I WANT YOU.

Me, what else can I do, in my heart right then God said you must surrender to the call to Preach. Why? I think this speaking thing has been working, or has it? So, during that song, I turned to Snyder and asked why I had to announce a call to preach. Why do I have to tell people? Why can’t I keep going like I have been? And he responded, you know in your heart, but everyone else doesn’t. He said I had to let them know so everyone would know.

E.V. Hill closed the meetings on February 16, 1996, with a sermon titled “The Cross of Christ and the Call,” and I knew, I just knew on that Valentine’s Day that I did surrender all and a call to preach.

A few weeks later, on Wednesday, February 28, 1996, in the Wednesday night service, we were preparing for a revival the next week with the preacher, pastor Reverend Charles Mustion, and on that night, we had well over a hundred people at the service. God really blessed that night, so much so that during the altar call, everyone who was able went down front to pray for God to bless the approaching revival.

And as I stayed at my post in the sound room, making sure everything went smoothly, I felt such a draw of the Holy Spirit to go down front and tell everyone of Valentine’s Day surrender to the call to preach. But I just sat in the sound room, and then I was standing, and then I was pacing, and I prayed to Father God if I should go down, then have them sing one more verse, and much to my surprise, they did. And I didn’t move, then I said Father God, if I should go down, then have them sing just one more verse.

Pastor Snyder then said someone needs to do something, and I can’t get the freedom to close until they do it. And they did, and I went down, and I was standing in the back of the crowd next to my prayer partner Chuck Sprayberry, and he turned and said What are you doing down here? He knew I never left my post unless asked to come down. I said I couldn’t hear, and he said You are the sound man, turn the sound up, as he was laughing.

As I was standing their Pastor Snyder said I am sorry I just can’t close the service because I feel the Spirit saying someone needs to do something, so as they were about to sing another verse of a song, he was looking over the crowd and his eyes locked in on mine, and he just dropped his head and looked at me like, well?

And then he said Well, as he was looking at me, and people started turning to see what he was looking at, and he just held his hands out as to invite me up to the pulpit, and I said Snyder how do you announce a call to preach and I heard my dear friend Margie Sprayberry say it’s about time. And then Snyder said Son, I think you just did. He said that was what we were waiting for.

“I surrender all, I surrender all; All to Thee, my blessed Savior, I surrender all.”

And at that moment, I found what I was looking for. I found what I left, I found what I lost.

I surrendered all of myself to the Lord that day. I had all the Holy Spirit I could get when I accepted Christ as my Savior, but he did not have all of me.

“Have you ever lost anything, your purse, your car keys, well it’s rather like that, now you have something and now you don’t”.

Well, have you? Have you ever lost that happiness in serving the Lord? Ever got so caught up serving Him that you forgot to search for Him in prayer and for his will? Ever got so caught working for Him that you just left Him behind? I hold to what my friend and Pastor Eddie T Rogers used to tell us in prayer meetings for the Sweet Spirit Band:

You have to Search for Him before you can serve Him.

You have to Worship Him before you can work for Him.

 

From my next book, “More To Ponder”

Dusty Roads and Strong Shoulders

At times, I get reminiscent about my youth and simpler times in my life.

When I was just a child, two or three times a year, my family would go to Fort Payne, Alabama, to visit my Grandmother and then up to Lookout Mountain to visit my step-grandparents there. My step-grandfather never showed any difference between me and his natural grandchildren, my brothers and my sister.

On every visit, we (the grandkids) would go for a walk up the old dusty dirt road he lived on and go to the local store at the end of the road.

As we ventured down that dusty, rocky road, I began to get tired, and the rocks were beginning to take their toll on my feet. So, Granddaddy threw me up on his shoulders. Granddaddy was one of the kindest and most humble people I had ever met. He was very trustworthy and highly respected, a great mentor and role model to emulate as much as possible.

I was just 5 or 6 years old, but I remember him carrying me on his shoulder, as if it were last week. I don’t recall ever saying anything about the walk, but he looked down and saw me struggling, and up on his shoulders I went.

I wonder how often in our struggles, without saying a word, God just grabs us up and places us on his mighty shoulders, and we go. The Bible says over and over how God guides and carries us:

Deuteronomy 33:12 Of Benjamin, he said:

“The beloved of the LORD shall dwell in safety by Him, Who shelters him all the day long; And he shall dwell between His shoulders.” NKJV

Psalms 17:5 Uphold my steps in Your paths, That my footsteps may not slip. NKJV

Psalms 119:117 Hold me up, and I shall be safe, And I shall observe Your statutes continually. NKJV

Psalms 139:10 Even there Your hand shall lead me, And Your right hand shall hold me.

11 If I say, “Surely the darkness shall fall on me,” Even the night shall be light about me;

12 Indeed, the darkness shall not hide from You, But the night shines as the day; The darkness and the light are both alike to You.  NKJV

Again, that got me thinking about the nature of God.

There is a poem about footprints in the sand. How, when there was only one set of tracks that He carried us. I think that is what He wants to do the whole time. I truly believe that if there are ever two sets of tracks, it’s when we are trying to do things on our own.

Now if Jesus is in my heart in the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, and Jesus is in the Father, so how many tracks should we see?

Someone once likened God to a Father teaching a child how to ride a bike. He runs along behind holding the bike and making sure that it doesn’t fall over, then when the time is right, He lets go and off we go on our own.

However, the more I read the scriptures, the more I believe that God does not want to ever let go,

He never intends for us to make it on our own,

He is always there, and only when we try to do it on our own are we left to do just that, on our own.

Why would we want it on our own if we didn’t want to do something we shouldn’t be doing anyway?

I can make it on my own, but it is so much easier to do it God’s way and stop pulling away, because He will let you leave. In Luke 15:1-7, we see “The Parable of the Lost Sheep”, then in Luke 15:8-10 we see “The Parable of the Lost Coin.”

Then, Luke 15:11 The story of “The Parable of the Lost Son” reads:

Luke 15:11 Then He said: “A certain man had two sons.  12 And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the portion of goods that falls to me.’ So, he divided to them his livelihood”.

 

The Father will let you go even though He knows that is not what is best for you, and as the saying goes:

“Sin will take you farther than you want to go, keep you longer than you want to stay, and cost you more than you want to pay.”

As we see in this story;

13 And not many days after, the younger son gathered all together, journeyed to a far country, and there wasted his possessions with prodigal living.  14 But when he had spent all, there arose a severe famine in that land, and he began to be in want.  15 Then he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine.  16 And he would gladly have filled his stomach with the pods that the swine ate, and no one gave him anything.

“Keep you longer than you want to stay and cost you more than you want to pay.”

17 But when he came to himself, he said, How many of my father’s hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger!  18 I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you, 19 and I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants.”

“But when he came to himself,” when he realized that things were better off at home, and the rules were not that bad after all,

20 “And he arose and came to his father. But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him.”

See, the Father is looking for your return every day.

21 And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son.’

The sin is already forgiven!

22 “But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet.  23 And bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be merry; 24 for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ And they began to be merry. NKJV

 

Treated the son as if he had never left. Understand that the fellowship may change with God, but the relationship never changes if you are his child.

I believe He always carries us, if we let Him. We have seen that in “The Parable of the Lost Sheep”.

Luke 15:4 “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost until he finds it?  5 And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing.  NKJV

There are those shoulders again. So, happily, He carries us.

Notice this, even though I was on my Granddaddy’s shoulders, I was still on the dusty rocky road.

The circumstance didn’t change,

where I was had not changed,

my destination did not alter.

What changed was that instead of me taking the steps, it was Granddaddy.

Instead of me facing the rocky road, he took it on himself.

Instead of my weight on my feet, they are on his.

Remember who is carrying you!

 

What Was Wrong with Cain’s Offering?

This question comes from Genesis 4:3-7, where Cain, the firstborn of Eve and Adam, takes an offering of his crops to the Lord, and Abel takes a firstborn lamb. God accepted Abel’s offering, but not Cain’s. In the course of the story, Cain becomes angry and is apparently saddened, but God offers no explanation of why the offering wasn’t accepted. Instead, God says to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why has your countenance fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted?” (Genesis 4:6-7). In the end, Cain’s anger and jealousy get the best of him, and he murders his brother Abel.

So, why was Cain’s offering not acceptable?

We turn to both the Old and the New Testaments to find our answer. Cain and his deed are mentioned three other times in the Bible, outside of the Genesis story. The writer of Hebrews attributes Cain’s lack of faith as the reason for God’s rejection of the offering (11.4).

John attributes Cain’s acts as a result of his evil disposition (1 John 3.12).

Finally, Jude implies the offering was rejected because Cain’s motivation was greed (1.11).

The complete answer is alluded to in the Genesis passage. In Genesis 4:3-4, we read, “In the course of time Cain brought to the Lord an offering of the fruit of the ground, and Abel, for his part, brought of the firstlings of his flock, their fat portions.” Here, Abel brings an offering of what would later be called “first fruits,” while Cain brings a simple “offering of the fruit of the ground.” It is implied here that Abel obeyed the yet non-existent law, while Cain did not.

The laws of giving a first fruit offering are outlined in Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. The essence of the law is that the first fruits of any harvest, whether it be grain, fruit, or animal, are to be offered to God and brought to the priests (Deuteronomy 18.4).

The law is clear that the first fruits are just that, the very first born, first harvested, etc. They are considered the best of the best (Numbers 18:8-14).

Apparently, Abel brought this sort of offering, since he brought the “firstlings of his flock”; however, Cain did not. This is likely what made Cain’s offering unacceptable he brought God the “left-overs” instead of the first and the best.

But wait, how was Cain to know what God required, since Moses hadn’t been born and there was no law yet?

Two answers. One: God deserves the best period. Cain should have known that, as should we all.

But there’s a second answer that takes into account the history of our scriptures. First, we need to recall that the majority of the books of the Old Testament weren’t put into writing until the Babylonian exile, some 400 years before Christ. During that time, the institution and the study of the Torah, the law, had become important, and many of our biblical stories were written to illustrate the importance and/or the origins of individual laws. These stories are called etiologies. It is likely the Cain and Abel story is an etiology illustrating the consequences of not giving God the required first-fruits offering. And though the laws of the Torah were not available to Cain, for the sake of the illustration, this point was irrelevant.

Perhaps Cain’s offering wasn’t accepted because he had a lack of faith (Hebrews 11.4), for certainly his “faith” wasn’t in full practice with his disregard for giving God the best. Perhaps his offering wasn’t accepted because he was filled with greed (Jude 1.11) or because he had evil intentions (1 John 3.12).

Whatever his motivations, the story of God’s rejection of Cain’s offering is probably written because the writer wanted to show the consequences for disregarding the laws of God, especially the law of offering to God what belongs to God (Matthew 22.21).

The Ultimate Answer

We don’t absolutely know that God required a blood sacrifice of Cain.

Can we even be clear that either Cain or Abel knew exactly what would be pleasing to God as a sacrifice ahead of time? Even with all this circumstantial evidence, we don’t absolutely know that God required a blood sacrifice of Cain. We can’t say for certain that the quality of Cain’s offering was inferior. And we can’t prove Cain’s heart was in the wrong during the sacrifice itself. Although the scriptural account does seem to point to each of these reasons, we can’t be emphatic about any of them. So, what’s the ultimate answer to God preferring Abel’s offering?

We must come to grips with one thing: God, as Creator, is sovereign over His creation. While there are proximate reasons for God’s decrees, what ultimately makes “right” right and “wrong” wrong? God’s sovereign choice. This does not mean God is unpredictable, or arbitrary; God is always reasonable because He is the creator of reason. If God’s actions seem to conflict with or transcend man’s sense of “reason,” that doesn’t mean God is wrong; it means His thoughts are not our thoughts, and His ways are not our ways (Isaiah 55:8).

He respects one offering and rejects another, ultimately, for His own reasons and pleasure—and isn’t that the Creator’s prerogative? Again, this isn’t to say He is arbitrary; His Word gives us all the knowledge of Him and the reasoning we need to understand and obey.

And since the Bible doesn’t tell us exactly what was required of Cain and Abel (like we see clearly expressed in the Levitical laws), we can’t know for sure which of the reasons explain why God respected Abel’s offering and not Cain’s, or if this was just God’s way of informing them of what was acceptable. But, ultimately, does it matter? As Abraham rhetorically asks in Genesis 18:25, “Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?”

And as God rhetorically asks Job, “Would you indeed annul My judgment? Would you condemn Me that you may be justified?” (Job 40:8).

Our duty is to make sure that our actions are right and that our hearts are in the right place. In the case of offerings, that includes humbly giving from the first fruits (does God deserve any less?) of our labor with a cheerful heart, understanding that such works themselves do not save us, and gladly accepting instruction, correction, and even rebuke from the hand of the Almighty. The lesson of Cain is that sin and rebellion run through our attitudes and our actions, and that the two ultimately cannot be divorced.

Finally, remember to start with Scripture when interpreting Scripture. That’s always the right answer!

In Christ,

Leviticus 2:14 “If you offer a grain offering of firstfruits to the Lord, you shall offer for the grain offering of your firstfruits fresh fears, roasted with fire, crushed new grain.

Deut 18:1-5 1 The priests the Levites, and all the tribe of Levi, shall have no part nor inheritance with Israel: they shall eat the offerings of the LORD made by fire, and his inheritance.

2 Therefore shall they have no inheritance among their brethren: the LORD is their inheritance, as he hath said unto them.

3 And this shall be the priest’s due from the people, from them that offer a sacrifice, whether it be ox or sheep; and they shall give unto the priest the shoulder, and the two cheeks, and the maw.

4 The firstfruit also of thy corn, of thy wine, and of thine oil, and the first of the fleece of thy sheep, shalt thou give him.

5 For the LORD thy God hath chosen him out of all thy tribes, to stand to minister in the name of the LORD, him and his sons for ever. KJV

OT:4503 minchah (min-khaw’); from an unused root meaning to apportion, i.e. bestow; a donation; euphemistically, tribute; specifically a sacrificial offering (usually bloodless and voluntary):

KJV – gift, oblation, (meat) offering, present, sacrifice.

(Biblesoft’s New Exhaustive Strong’s Numbers and Concordance with Expanded Greek-Hebrew Dictionary. Copyright (c) 1994, Biblesoft and International Bible Translators, Inc.)

First time used

Gen 4:3 And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD. KJV

OT:2077 zebach (zeh’-bakh); from OT:2076; properly, a slaughter, i.e. the flesh of an animal; by implication, a sacrifice (the victim or the act):

KJV – offer (-ing), sacrifice.

(Biblesoft’s New Exhaustive Strong’s Numbers and Concordance with Expanded Greek-Hebrew Dictionary. Copyright (c) 1994, Biblesoft and International Bible Translators, Inc.)

First time used

Gen 31:54 Then Jacob offered sacrifice upon the mount, and called his brethren to eat bread: and they did eat bread, and tarried all night in the mount.   KJV

OT:5930 `olah (o-law’); or `owlah (o-law’); feminine active participle of OT:5927; a step or (collectively, stairs, as ascending); usually a holocaust (as going up in smoke):

KJV – ascent, burnt offering (sacrifice), go up to. See also OT:5766.

(Biblesoft’s New Exhaustive Strong’s Numbers and Concordance with Expanded Greek-Hebrew Dictionary. Copyright (c) 1994, Biblesoft and International Bible Translators, Inc.)

First time

Gen 8:20 And Noah builded an altar unto the LORD; and took of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the altar.  KJV

 

Waiting Training Part Two

1. We saw His Desperate Condition and now we see;
   II. His Determined Choice
   Notice David’s conclusion in verse ¹⁴Wait on the LORD; Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the LORD!

   It’s like David is saying, “Try this…it worked for me when I was in a desperate situation, and it will work for you.”

   Notice the process by which David came to this conclusion: we will approach the verse in reverse order.

   A. Seeing ¹³I would have lost heart, unless I had believed That I would see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living.

   1. Seeing is believing…. believing is seeing. verse ⁴ One thing I have desired of the LORD, That will I seek: That I may dwell in the house of the LORD All the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the LORD, And to inquire in His temple.

   2. David’s faith helped him to see past his present situation and look to his powerful Savior.

Michael Youssef said: Faith is not believing despite the evidence, but Faith is obeying despite the consequences.

3. To wait upon God means to expect from God. A real “waiting meeting” according to Scripture is an expectation meeting. It implies dependence.
4. “I would have quit if not for my faith…I believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.”
5. “Heaven is a long way off…. I need some help from God now.”
6. Psalms 62:5 – My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from him.

expectation = literally, a cord (as an attachment – expectation = hope,  thing that I long for.

1. Seeing,
   B. Supplication, ⁷Hear, O LORD, when I cry with my voice! Have mercy also upon me, and answer me.
   ⁸When You said, “Seek My face,” My heart said to You, “Your face, LORD, I will seek.”

   What to do when waiting? You pray, He prayed for three things:
   1.) Presence of God
   ⁹ Do not hide Your face from me; Do not turn Your servant away in anger; ¹⁰ When my father and my mother forsake me, Then the LORD will take care of me.

2.) Path Of God ¹¹ Teach me Your way, O LORD, And lead me in a smooth path, because of my enemies.

3.) Protection Of God ¹² Do not deliver me to the will of my adversaries; For false witnesses have risen against me, And such as breathe out violence.

Proverbs 20:22 (NKJV) Do not say, “I will recompense evil”; Wait for the LORD, and He will save you.

Psalm 37:34 (NKJV) Wait on the LORD, And keep His way, And He shall exalt you to inherit the land; When the wicked are cut off, you shall see it.

He prayed for the Presence of God, the Path of God, and the Protection of God.

Lamentations 3:25 (NKJV) ²⁵ The LORD is good to those who wait for Him, To the soul who seeks Him.

1. Seeing
   B. Supplication
   C. Singing, ⁶And now my head shall be lifted up above my enemies all around me; Therefore I will offer sacrifices of joy in His tabernacle; I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the LORD.

   Acts 16:25-26 (NKJV) ²⁵But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them.

Praise + Prayer = POWER

²⁶ Suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were loosed.

1. Our attitude is important as we wait on God.
   2. As we see His promised help and we seek His powerful hand…it should inspire us to sing praises to His holiness!
2. Seeing
   B. Supplication
   C. Singing,
   D. Silence, ⁵For in the time of trouble He shall hide me in His pavilion; In the secret place of His tabernacle He shall hide me; He shall set me high upon a rock.

   1. It is as if in some great trial or pressure, he had found great comfort in prayer and had encouraged his heart in the hope of God’s help; then in quiet faith, casts himself upon God.
   2. Prayer has been made, and now the soul is hushed and, bowing in silence (in faith), it waits before God.
   3. Prayers are needed. They are the winged messengers to carry the need to God. But it is in the silent hour before Him, quietly waiting in His presence, that the miracle is wrought.
   4. When you are hiding, you don’t make any noise…you are completely silent.
   5. We do the praying but not the waiting. Let us not be afraid to be silent before Him, thinking it is wasted time. He does not want us to be talking all the time talking–telling Him so many things about which He already knows more than we do. Time is needed today for proper adjustment to Him, our vision properly focused, our hearts hushed, and our minds subdued.

3. Lamentations 3:26 (NKJV) It is good that one should hope and wait quietly For the salvation of the LORD.

Lamentations 3:26 It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the LORD.

1. Seeing
   B. Supplication
   C. Singing
   D. Silence
   E. Serving, Psalm 27:4 (NKJV) One thing I have desired of the LORD, That will I seek: That I may dwell in the house of the LORD All the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the LORD, And to inquire in His temple.

2. Another meaning of wait, is to serve, or minister…
   2. As we wait on God, He puts a desire in our hearts to serve Him.
   3. David’s desire was to just be in the house of God and serve the Lord.

3. Seeing
   B. Supplication
   C. Singing
   D. Silence
   E. Serving,
   F. Success
   1. His Triumph
   2 When the wicked, even mine enemies and my foes, came upon me to eat up my flesh, they stumbled and fell.

   2. His Testimony
   1 The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?

“Wait”
Desperately, helplessly, longingly, I cried
Quietly, patiently, lovingly, God replied.
I pled and I wept for a clue to my fate,
And the Master so gently said,
“Child, you must wait.”
“Wait? You say, wait!” my indignant reply.
“Lord, I need answers, I need to know why!
Is Your hand shortened?
Or have You not heard?
By Faith, I have asked and am claiming Your Word.
My future and all to which I can relate
Hangs in the balance, and
YOU tell me to WAIT?
I’m needing a ’yes’,
A go-ahead sign,
Or even a ’no’ to which I can resign.
And Lord, I’ve been asking, and this is my cry:
“I’m weary of asking! I need a reply!”
Then quietly, softly, I learned of my fate. As my Master replied once again,
“You must wait.”
So, I slumped in my chair,
Defeated and taut, and grumbled to God,
“So, I’m waiting… for what?”
He seemed, then, to kneel,
And His eyes wept with mine,
And He tenderly said,
“I could give you a sign.
I could shake the heavens,
And darken the sun.
I could raise the dead, and
Cause mountains to run.
All you seek, I could give, and pleased you would be.
You would have what you want –
But you would never know Me.
You would not know the depth of My love for a Saint;
You’d not know the power that I give to the Faint;
You’d not learn to see through the clouds of Despair;
You’d not learn to trust just by knowing I’m there;
You’d not know the joy of resting in Me
When darkness and silence were all you could see.
You’d never experience that fullness of Love
As the peace of My Spirit descends like a Dove;
You’d know that I give and I save… for a Start
But You’d not know the depth of the beat of My Heart.
The glow of My comfort late into the Night,
The faith that I give when you walk without Sight,
The depth that’s beyond getting just what you Asked
Of an infinite God, who makes what you have LAST.
You’d never know should your pain quickly Flee,
What it means that ’My Grace is sufficient for Thee.’
Yes, your dreams for your loved one overnight would come True,
But, Oh the loss! If I lost what I’m doing in You!
So, be silent, My Child, and in time you will See
The greatest of gifts is to get to know Me.
And though oft’ may My answers seem terribly Late,
My most precious answer of all is still, ’Wait. ’”

Such wonderful blessings hang upon this one condition–to wait. Do we wait?
Are we willing to trust God to work out our troubles or will we continue to trust ourselves and make a mess?

Tony Evans “storms in the night through the valley of death, when we get in his presence, the circumstances don’t change, but we do.

Perhaps today you find yourself waiting for God …ready to throw in the towel…don’t give up now!

After all that Job went through, we see him saying in the last chapter of his book,
Job 42:1-6 (NKJV) ¹ Then Job answered the LORD and said: ² “I know that You can do everything, And that no purpose of Yours can be withheld from You. ³ You asked, ‘Who is this who hides counsel without knowledge?’ Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand, Things too wonderful for me, which I did not know. ⁴ Listen, please, and let me speak; You said, ‘I will question you, and you shall answer Me.’ ⁵ “I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, But now my eye sees You. ⁶ Therefore I abhor myself, And repent in dust and ashes.”

If we wait, He (GOD) will show us things we could not have learned any other way. It is up to you to give up and walk away or WAIT on THE LORD and see what He wants to show you.

As a pastor and mentor once told me when I was in the middle of one of the hardest times of my life, “When you come through this, and you will come through this, God is going to use you like you never imagined!” and He did!

Waiting Training Part 1

Psalm 27:1-14 (NKJV) A Psalm of David.

¹ The LORD is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The LORD is the strength of my life; Of whom shall I be afraid?
² When the wicked came against me To eat up my flesh, My enemies and foes, They stumbled and fell.
³ Though an army may encamp against me, My heart shall not fear; Though war should rise against me, In this I will be confident.
⁴ One thing I have desired of the LORD, That will I seek: That I may dwell in the house of the LORD All the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the LORD, And to inquire in His temple.
⁵ For in the time of trouble He shall hide me in His pavilion; In the secret place of His tabernacle He shall hide me; He shall set me high upon a rock.
⁶ And now my head shall be lifted up above my enemies all around me; Therefore I will offer sacrifices of joy in His tabernacle; I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the LORD.
⁷ Hear, O LORD, when I cry with my voice! Have mercy also upon me, and answer me.
⁸ When You said, “Seek My face,” My heart said to You, “Your face, LORD, I will seek.”
⁹ Do not hide Your face from me; Do not turn Your servant away in anger; You have been my help; Do not leave me nor forsake me, O God of my salvation.
¹⁰ When my father and my mother forsake me, Then the LORD will take care of me.
¹¹ Teach me Your way, O LORD, And lead me in a smooth path, because of my enemies.
¹² Do not deliver me to the will of my adversaries; For false witnesses have risen against me, And such as breathe out violence.
¹³ I would have lost heart, unless I had believed That I would see the goodness of the LORD In the land of the living.
¹⁴ Wait on the LORD; Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the LORD!

The title of this Message is – Waiting for God

How are you with patience?

Is patience difficult for you?

We must learn the art of patience if we truly want to enjoy life. It seems that there is always something we are waiting for:
Is your prayer, Lord I need patience and I need them now?

We wait in traffic, and we wait in lines at stores, restaurants, and even to go to the restroom.

We wait to hear about a job.
We wait while an automated voice goes through 1,000 options on the phone.
We wait to complete school, then we wait to retire.
We wait to grow up.
We wait for a decision to be made.
Wait…wait…wait!
We cannot escape the web of waiting!

Because of this, Patience is an essential quality of a happy life.

“Patience is a virtue,
Possess it if you can.
Found seldom in a woman,
Never in a man.”

Every day presents plenty of opportunities for this.

Many of us can relate to the great New England preacher Phillips Brooks. He was noted for his poise and quiet manner. At times, however, even he suffered moments of frustration and irritability. One day, a friend saw him feverishly pacing the floor like a caged lion. “What’s the trouble, Mr. Brooks?” he asked. “The trouble is that I’m in a hurry, but God isn’t!”

The Bible speaks often about the importance of waiting on God:

Psalm 25:5 (NKJV) Lead me in Your truth and teach me, For You are the God of my salvation; On You I wait all the day.

Psalm 37:7-9 (NKJV) ⁷ Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for Him; Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, Because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass.
⁸ Cease from anger, and forsake wrath; Do not fret–it only causes harm.
⁹ For evildoers shall be cut off; But those who wait on the LORD, They shall inherit the earth.

Psalm 40:1-2 (NKJV) ¹ I waited patiently for the LORD; And He inclined to me, And heard my cry.
² He also brought me up out of a horrible pit, Out of the miry clay, And set my feet upon a rock, And established my steps.

Psalm 62:1-2 (NKJV) ¹ Truly my soul silently waits for God; From Him comes my salvation.
² He only is my rock and my salvation; *He is my defense; I shall not be greatly moved.

Psalm 130:5-6 (NKJV) ⁵ I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, And in His word I do hope.
⁶ My soul waits for the Lord More than those who watch for the morning– Yes, more than those who watch for the morning.

Isaiah 40:31 (NKJV) But those who wait on the LORD Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint.

Micah 7:7 (NKJV) Therefore I will look to the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation; My God will hear me.

2 Thessalonians 3:5 (NKJV) Now may the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God and into the patience of Christ.

What does it mean to wait on God?
G. Campbell Morgan;
“Waiting for God is not laziness. Waiting for God is not going to sleep. Waiting for God is not the abandonment of effort. Waiting for God means;

First, be active under command; second, be ready for any new command that may come; third, have the ability to do nothing until the command is given.
The Hebrew word translated “waiting”… has likeness with a word that means “to entrench.” God works for him that entrenches himself in Him. The idea of waiting for God here is that of digging ourselves into God.
Waiting for God, then, means power to do nothing save under command. This is not a lack of power to do anything. Waiting for God needs strength rather than weakness. It is the power to do nothing. It is the strength that holds strength in check. It is the strength that prevents the blundering activity, which is entirely false, and will make the true activity impossible when the definite command comes.
Waiting is far more difficult than working. Waiting requires strength. It demands absolute surrender of life to God, the confession that we are at the end of our own understanding of things, the confession that we really do not see our way and do not know the way. The waiting that says: “Until God shall speak, we dare not move and will not move, we will not be seduced from our resolution to wait”; requires strength (The Westminster Pulpit, vol. ix, pp. 318-323).

There are times when the only hope we have, the only solution to our situation, the only cure for our condition…is to wait on God.

In Psalm 27, David was facing a situation that we can identify with:

I. His Desperation Condition

1. Fear, ¹The LORD is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The LORD is the strength of my life; Of whom shall I be afraid?
2. Foes, ²When the wicked came against me To eat up my flesh, My enemies and foes, They stumbled and fell. then 6 and 11. Thal about my enemies; ⁶And now my head shall be lifted up above my enemies all around me; Therefore I will offer sacrifices of joy in His tabernacle; I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the LORD.
   ¹¹ Teach me Your way, O LORD, And lead me in a smooth path, because of my enemies.
3. Fight, ³Though an army may encamp against me, My heart shall not fear; Though war should rise against me, In this I will be confident.
   ⁵For in the time of trouble He shall hide me in His pavilion; In the secret place of His tabernacle He shall hide me; He shall set me high upon a rock.

   D. Failure, ⁹ Do not hide Your face from me; Do not turn Your servant away in anger; You have been my help; Do not leave me nor forsake me, O God of my salvation.

   E. Forsaken, ¹⁰ When my father and my mother forsake me, Then the LORD will take care of me.
   [When my father and my mother forsake me] Or, more literally, “For my father and my mother have forsaken me; but the Lord hath gathered me up.” My parents were my protectors for a time, but the Lord has been my Protector always. There is no time in which I do not fall under his merciful regard.

4. False Statements, ¹²Do not deliver me to the will of my adversaries; For false witnesses have risen against me, And such as breathe out violence.

   G. Faint, ¹³I would have lost heart, unless I had believed That I would see the goodness of the LORD In the land of the living.

   We find here a man at the end of his rope…he is giving out and almost ready to give up.

The answer is in next week’s final of “Wait Training.”

Getting Caught in the Rough.

In early 1997, I was running the sound for my Church and our choir. We would often go on appointments to Virginia, West Virginia, Tennessee, and all over the metro Atlanta area. As the “sound man,” I was obligated to go and mix their sound.

We had a drummer, bass player, organist, and pianist. Mark, the drummer, and I shared a room for most of those appointments.

He is a golfer and was watching a new young player named Tiger Woods playing in a tournament.  Mark told me I needed to watch this guy play because he was amazing. So, I sat down and watched, and finally they got back around to him teeing off.

Whhhhisssh.  He sliced the ball, and the ball went alright, straight into the rough. I burst out laughing and said, “Yep, he’s the one to watch, alright.”

Then Mark said, “Wait.”

So, I waited, and when he got down to the ball in the thick high grass, I said, “Well, let’s see how he handles this.”

He lined up the ball with the flag, took a swing, and wow. The ball flew up and out of the rough, right onto the green and just inches from the hole. Tiger then walked up to the green and just tapped it in. Mark said something that day that has stayed with me all these years. He said,

“We all end up in the rough sometimes, but it’s how we handle it that makes us what we are.”

Sometimes we are doing the best we can do, we are doing everything right, and it looks as if God is answering every prayer we pray for others, but not hearing the ones for ourselves. Then we shank the ball, and in the rough, we sit.

Paul told the Church in Corinth:

2 Corinthians 4:17 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, NKJV

Paul called it “light afflictions” check out Paul’s “light afflictions” in

2 Corinthians 11:22-29 “He said, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequently, in deaths often. From the Jews 5 times he received 39 stripes, 3 times he was beaten with rods; 1 time he was stoned; 3 times he was shipwrecked; often he said in hunger and thirst, in fasting often, in cold and nakedness… and this is “light affliction” And then he added his responsibility that comes upon him daily: “my deep concern for all the churches”. He sounds like he was in the rough. However, he kept his eyes on what was important, so how did he handle it. Look at the next verse.

2 Corinthians 4:18 while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal. NKJV

It is not about what we get here but what we send there.

The temporary things are the things that we face here and now, and Paul said Do not let those things keep you pulled down, but look at the eternal things as he said in:

Colossians 3:2 Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.

Or in other words, don’t let yesterday rob you of what you can do today, and as far as tomorrow goes, keep your eyes on the goal (or flag on the green) and keep pressing toward that goal. The eternal things.

Sometimes we end up in the rough to be taught.

Peter put it this way:

1 Peter 4:12-14 Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you; 13 but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy.  NKJV

We all end up in the rough sometimes, but it’s how we handle it that makes us what we are. Don’t just stay there, knock that ball out, and if you don’t make it to the green, hit again, and again, and again, and again, whatever it takes. You just don’t give up.

Psalms 30:5b: …weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.

Joy is coming, and it just may be sooner than you think. Please don’t give up on God, because I promise He hasn’t given up on you!

So how are YOU going to handle the rough?

“We all end up in the rough sometimes, but it’s how we handle it, that makes us what we are.”

Sitting at the Table

I grew up in a family of hunters and fishermen (and fisherwomen, my sister and Mother really love fishing too), and when uncles and cousins would drop by, we would sit at the table with my Dad. My Mother would usually prepare a meal or at least a snack and some coffee, and then the stories would start.

My Dad told the best stories, and he really had a way of telling them. You would feel as if you could almost step into the adventure as it unfolded. There was always a lot of laughing, and at times, the others involved in the story would jump right in and add some more parts of the story. Some sounded unbelievable, and when it looked like we were not buying the story you would hear, “isn’t that right, Jimmy, or Charles, or Dee, or Glenn,” or whoever was part of the adventure. They all had a chance at telling their stories, too. And again, when they needed affirmation, you would hear “Isn’t that right, whoever?” Usually, they would turn to my Dad to confirm the story. Sometimes he would say “it didn’t happen that way,” just to get a rise, but then he would agree and say “that’s just how it happened.”

Over the years, a lot of the stories about how many fish were caught, or how big that deer was, were told over and over. They never grew old, and as the years went on, more and newer stories were added on, and one of the greatest days for me was when my Dad was telling one of his adventures, and he said, “Isn’t that right, Dink?” (I am Dink) Now I’m part of the story, not just a listener, but someone in the story.

Over time, as I grew older, more and more stories including me were added. My Dad would say, “Me and Dink were at Flying S, or Pine Valley, or Big Canoe fishing,” and the story would start; I started hunting, more stories with me in them were told, like, “we were at the hunting camp, or over at the “he did church””. (That’s what we call one of our hunting spots, and that’s another story for another day) The more time I spent with my Dad, the more stories we had to tell.

I was taught not to just go kill something to be killing it, I was taught to hunt for what you would eat, I hunted for 23 years before dropping my first (and only) deer. The main reason I hunted was to spend time with my Dad, brothers, nephews, and friends. I just love getting away, and some of my best prayer times are and were in the “deer woods” hunting. Some of the best bible discussions and witnessing to friends and family is on the lake or in a boat. They have to listen in the boat they have nowhere to go.

My Dad taught me that every hunt and every fishing outing can be an adventure, and a possible story; it’s up to us.

While we sat at the table with my Dad, and others, we would get comfortable, and know this is going to be a good night of adventures with people we love.

 

On July 4^th, 1990, I took the pulpit for the very first time. I brought my very first sermon. The title of that sermon was “Sitting at the table with Jesus.”

In the course of the weeks before that Wednesday Night, I received all kinds of advice, some solicited, some not so much; For instance a preacher friend named Tiny called and gave me some verses to read and then ask “if I had butterflies in my stomach,” my reply was “yes, very much so,” and he added “don’t worry they will turn to alligators before it was over.”

Another piece of advice was from one of my greatest friends, Margie Sprayberry. She said, “When you run out of soap, get out of the tub.” In other words, when you’ve said what needs to be said, shut up and sit down.

That should tell you a lot about my support system at that time.

My sermon was based on the text in John 12 after Lazarus was raised from the dead. Lazarus had a chance to just sit down with Jesus and tell him about his adventure.

I thought that was very cool, sitting with the very creator of the universe. Having a meal with the Gentle Shepherd and listening to His stories.

John 12:1 Then, six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, who had been dead, whom He had raised from the dead. 2 There they made Him a supper; and Martha served, but Lazarus was one of those who sat at the table with Him.  NKJV

In another translation, it is rendered “reclining at the table with Him.”

John 12:2 So they made Him a supper there, and Martha was serving; but Lazarus was one of those reclining at the table with Him. NASU

Now that is when it really got me thinking, reclining with Him, Wow, just sitting back and taking it easy with Jesus. Being that comfortable around Jesus that you would just lie back, and take in what is being said. Listening to His adventures and telling of the things to come.

They may have heard of the meal that Martha worked so hard on, and Mary just sat and listened to the stories as in Luke;

Luke 10:38 Now it happened as they went that He entered a certain village; and a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house. 39 And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus’ feet and heard His word. 40 But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore, tell her to help me.”

41 And Jesus answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things.  42 But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.”  NKJV

Or how Peter got out of the boat, or the feeding of thousands with a kid’s sack lunch, I am sure there were stories after stories.

We don’t meet Lazarus until John 11. And as that story goes, he gets sick, and the sisters send for their friend and healer, Jesus. Now, four days later, Jesus shows up, and well, just read it for yourself.

John 11:17 So when Jesus came, He found that he had already been in the tomb four days. NKJV

We look at our guy Lazarus, God didn’t let him know when he was lying there dying that everything would turn out okay. Or that it was, so he could be in one of the greatest stories in the bible. God didn’t let him know what kind of witness he was going to become because of what happened to him. He and his sisters just had to trust Jesus, even though them being four days late, that He (Jesus) knew just what had to happen. But look what happened.

John 11:40 Jesus said to her, “Did I not say to you that if you would believe, you would see the glory of God?”  41 Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead man was lying. And Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me.  42 And I know that You always hear Me, but because of the people who are standing by I said this, that they may believe that You sent Me.”  43 Now, when He had said these things, He cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come forth!”

I heard a preacher say one time; He had to call Lazarus by name or that whole graveyard would have emptied.

44 And he who had died came out bound hand and foot with grave clothes, and his face was wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Loose him, and let him go.”  NKJV

“Loose him and let him go.”  Now that is one great ending.

 

While sitting at the table with Jesus in John 12, we meet Mary the Worshiper and Martha the Worker. But now Jesus adds Lazarus’ name to his list of stories, and Lazarus is now in the story, as I was with my Dad.

Not only does Lazarus get to hear Jesus tell his story, he gets to put some personal input in the story as well, and people come to hear Lazarus’ take on the story and how Jesus raised him from the dead.

John 12:9 Now a great many of the Jews knew that He was there; and they came, not for Jesus’ sake only, but that they might also see Lazarus, whom He had raised from the dead. NKJV

So, we see the Worshiper and the Worker but now we meet the Witness.

I believe that God wants the same for us, and it’s up to us, if we sit at the table with Him.

In Revelation Jesus said to the church, us Christians.

Revelation 3:20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.  21 To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.

22 “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”  NKJV

The more time you spend with The Heavenly Father the more stories you will have to tell as well. And that is our responsibility, to share the Gospel with the world.

Are you telling your friends and family the stories of what Christ has done for you? Even in the hard times that we go through, share how God brought you through them. There is a reason for them, so you can also have a story to share.

The very purpose of my book is to share a few of the stories I have.

So, if you will, pull up a chair and sit with me as we,

 Ponder over what God has to say.

As “We sit at the table with Jesus.”

Give Me A Man

1 Samuel 17:10 (NKJV) And the Philistine (Goliath) said, “I defy the armies of Israel this day; give me a man, that we may fight together.”

From day one in the Garden of Eden after man was introduced, to today, Satan has been trying to do away with God’s design of what man is to be. That is the leader and head as Christ is the Head of the Church.

Ephesians 1:20-23 (HCSB) ²⁰ He demonstrated this ⌊power⌋ in the Messiah by raising Him from the dead and seating Him at His right hand in the heavens— ²¹ far above every ruler and authority, power and dominion, and every title given, not only in this age but also in the one to come. ²² And He put everything under His feet and appointed Him as head over everything for the church, ²³ which is His body, the fullness of the One who fills all things in every way.

1 Corinthians 11:3 (HCSB)  But I want you to know that Christ is the head of every man, and the man is the head of the woman, and God is the head of Christ.

This does not take away from the women in any way. God designed it that way, not making women less but equal with men to assist him.

From “Deep Rooted Truth,” off Instagram

Genesis 2:18 (KJV) And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.

Or as the New King James says;

Genesis 2:18 (NKJV) And the LORD God said, “It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.”

What does it mean for a wife to be a help meet?

As I looked through the lens of scripture, not the culture norms of today. Where does this word come from?

Help meet comes from the verse in Genesis 2:18, which says “it is not good that a man should be alone. I will make him help meet for him”

What is a help meet?

A help meet as a helper. In the context of Genesis 2:18 it means suitable. God acknowledges that it was not good. That man should be alone and so he created Eve as a suitable helper for him.

Origin of the word in Hebrew the word means EZER /AYZER KE-NEGDO which means helper, aid or strength. Your strengthening in someone in a way they cannot for themselves. This is not a secondary or Suv Servient role to fill.

Examples in scripture: The word EZER is used 21 times in the Old Testament. Twice in the New Testament to refer to Eve three times in reference to powerful nation of Israel called on for help when in trouble. The 16 remaining times we see the words used to describe God as our help.

God is our help. We know that God is not subordinate to his creation. He is, however, our strength, our help, and our aid in times of trouble. So the idea of an EZER – helper being inferior is baseless.

A beautiful harmony, God created woman to complement man; they fit together and work in harmony. The F-sharp key is not the same as the D, but together they work to create beautiful harmony.

Our assignment wives in the same way work together with the husband to complement him, strengthen him and his weakness and work together to bring harmony in the relationship.

The Same way the Holy Spirit is our helper not less than Jesus but the same!

John 14:26 (NKJV) But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.

So, this is not putting women down in any way, but on the contrary, it lifts them up to God’s design.

As we look at the world today, we quickly see how they are trying to do away with masculine men, telling young men to be in touch with their feminine side. We are being bombarded with television shows that are taking the lead masculine role and filling it with women. They are emasculating the men. They whip them down and will not allow them to be the leaders. The police programs now show little tiny girls taking down a big bad man. I stand six feet and weigh over 350 pounds and I doubt that I would even know if one of those little women hit me, other the less than whip me down, throw me over, and cuff me. I do not see that happening.

In the 1960s and 70’s my Uncle Dee would often visit us, I remember his after-shave lotion smell to this day. It was “Old Spice,” and the advertisements at that time made me want to wear “Old Spice” too.

The scene was a manly man returning home from the sea, walking along the coastline town, and all the women running to the doors, and windows to get a look at him. The man always had somewhat of a smile on his face. He would throw a bottle of “Old Spice” to their husbands and boyfriends.  In the 80’s their ad even said “Nothing say masculine like “Old Spice”.

Today’s ad has a big burly man sitting on a sofa with his wife, girlfriend, or significant other, whatever the case may be. And we see the wimp sitting there crying because the girl has used his body wash and bragged about how it makes him smooth and soft and she was using it up. How right he is SOFT. I do not want anything that is going to make me a blubbering idiot because I do not feel smooth like a little girl. Give me a break.

They even have one commercial in which he comes into a hotel restaurant and wants to know who used his body wash. When all three of the women sitting at the table start saying how good it is and passing it around, he grabs it from the last one takes some of her food, and storms off. Does this make me want some of that sissy stuff, I think not!

We are seeing the demise of masculinity daily, at first little by little. But now with boldness. The world today is doing its best to remove the man and his role in the workplace, the home, and even the local Church.

We need men. Men of God, and to be a Man of God, one must be a Man of prayer. E.M. Bounds, in his book “Power Through Prayer,” one section says this;

Men of Prayer Are Needed

“WE are constantly on a stretch, if not on a strain, to devise new methods, new plans, new organizations to advance the church and secure enlargement and efficiency for the gospel. This trend of the day tends to lose sight of the man or sink the man in the plan or organization. God’s plan is to make much of the man, far more of him than of anything else. Men are God’s method. The church is looking for better methods; God is looking for better men. “There was a man sent from God whose name was John.” The dispensation that heralded and prepared the way for Christ was bound up in that man John. “Unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given.” The world’s salvation comes out of that cradled son…. This vital, urgent truth is one that this age of machinery is apt to for-get. The forgetting of it is as baneful on the work of God as would be the striking of the sun from his sphere. Darkness, confusion, and death would ensue.

What the church needs today is not more machinery or better, not new organizations or more and novel methods, but men whom the Holy Spirit can use, men of prayer, men mighty in prayer. The Holy Spirit does not flow through methods, but through men. He does not come on machinery, but on men. He does not anoint plans, but men, men of prayer.”

We need not just Men but Men of God!

What does it mean to be a man of God? This term is common in the Old Testament, but very rare in the New Testament. In the Old Testament, it is used to refer to prophets’ examples such as Samuel, 1 Sam. 9:6: Shemaiah of l Kings 12:22; Elijah in 1King 17;18; then we see Elisha, 2 Kings 4, Next Igdaliah, in Jeremiah 35:4. We also see the writers of Scripture such as Moses: Deuteronomy 33:1; David, in Nehemiah 12:24,36); We also see angelic messengers (Judg. 13:6,7). In all these cases, “man of God” refers to someone who is sent by God to speak for Him.

In the New Testament, “man of God” is used once to refer to Old Testament prophets 2 Peter 1:21, once in a general sense 2 Timothy 3:16, 17, and only once specifically to an individual. This individual is Timothy. In 1 Timothy 6:11-16, Paul addresses Timothy as a “Man of God.” 1 Timothy 6:11-16 (NKJV) ¹¹ But you, O man of God, flee these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness. ¹² Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. ¹³ I urge you in the sight of God who gives life to all things, and before Christ Jesus who witnessed the good confession before Pontius Pilate, ¹⁴ that you keep this commandment without spot, blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ’s appearing, ¹⁵ which He will manifest in His own time, He who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords, ¹⁶ who alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see, to whom be honor and everlasting power. Amen.

I believe it was John MacArthur who said:

Why should Timothy be singled out as the only man in the New Testament to be called a man of God?

First, in the tradition of the Old Testament men of God, he was one: Who was called by God to proclaim His word (2 Tim. 1:6).

Second, Timothy had been sent by Paul through the Holy Spirit to minister in Ephesus, in a very difficult and challenging situation: Paul called Timothy a “man, of God” – in order to remind him of the awesome responsibility he bore to safeguard the truth against the false teachers in Ephesus, and also to encourage him with the reminder that he belonged to God, and therefore God was standing with him in his trials.

(1) A man of God is known by what he flees from. Verse 11, “But you, O man of God, flee these things…” What things?

1 Timothy 6:9-10 (NKJV) ⁹ But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition. ¹⁰ For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

(2). A man of God is known by what he follows after. Verse 11 “…pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness

(3)  A man of God is known for what he fights for. Verse 12 “Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.”

(4) A man of God is known by what he is faithful to. Verse 13 and 14. “¹³ I urge you in the sight of God who gives life to all things, and before Christ Jesus who witnessed the good confession before Pontius Pilate, ¹⁴ that you keep this commandment without spot, blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ’s appearing,”

This is an excellent practical outline for every man of God who is called to speak divine truth.

The problem is we do not even have “The Man of God” in the modern Church today, now we are seeing even in the Churches a falling away of masculinity all in the name of getting along and coexisting with this failing world system. The Church now has Pastors who wear pink and purple pastels, and have man buns and ponytails and makeup. They are more concerned with the paint colors of the interior and exterior building rather than the fact that the Church is dying under their so-called leadership. And we as Christians are called to do the very opposite of that.

2 Corinthians 6:16-18 (NKJV)
¹⁶ And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will dwell in them And walk among them. I will be their God, And they shall be My people.” ¹⁷ Therefore “Come out from among them And be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, And I will receive you.” ¹⁸ “I will be a Father to you, And you shall be My sons and daughters, Says the LORD Almighty.”

We are to set the example, not play “follow the leader” if the leader is the world.

We need to choose the right path and be the manly man that people will follow. I remember a Pastor in a weekend retreat I was working at saying. “If you are the leader and you turn around and no one is following, then you are just a man going for a walk.” Not a leader.

The Former Pastor of the Church that I was raised in, Pastor Ben Turner, was a Man’s Man. A real leader. If he asked you to do something like stucco the wall outside the foyer. He was there plastering the wall with my Dad while I, a 15-year-old kid, mixed the cement and brought it up for him as they did the work. The leader gets his hands dirty.  I saw him day after day nailing up stain-grade oak with my Dad. Or putting up the ceiling grid and the tiles again with my Dad, as I was cutting the tiles as they installed them. Not sitting high and mighty in the pulpit, just telling people what to do and never doing anything but spending the money that he did not sacrifice for. We did not hire the work out; we did the work with our own hands. I would have followed Ben Turner anywhere he asked. I would have fought and died for him. Pastor Ben Turner was a leader; the other guys who do not measure up to the standard of being a “Man of God” are just a “man going for a walk.”

Charlie Kirk @charliekirk11 on Instagram says:

“The Church has become too feminine.

We need stronger men who fear God and have the courage to do what’s right, even when the media and their peers criticize and attack them, especially then.

Nearly every societal ill in our era is connected to this single issue.”

My Home Church in the late 1980s and into the 1990s had middle school and up classes, all of which were taught by Men of God. Every class from middle school and up had Preachers as the teachers. No quarterly, no prewritten lesson, each man sought God for guidance just as if they were pastoring their own little Church. And it worked extremely well. When I was asked to be an assistant teacher, it was under a minister in the college career and young married class. The teacher was a firefighter and was gone every three weeks. I had to prepare a lesson then, as I do to this day. By searching out God’s leadership. The best seminary I could have received.

The Church had men as ushers, men ran the sound system, men played the instruments, and men did whatever repairs and upkeep on the Church as it was needed. We built the very building from the flooring to the Sheetrock ceilings. Me and my business partner painted the foyer, sanctuary, and baptistry with two coats in one evening. Now they must pay a person to take a week to just paint one hallway. Oh, how we need men to step up and get in the fight.

Men have a choice to make, either we will be the Man that Goliath is calling for and prepared for the battle against Satan. That is the man God wants us to be, or we can be what is being sold by the world today as a wimpy, watered-down version of a man.

Without the Men in the Church leading, the Church will fall; it has been proven over and over. The same is true for the family. Without the Godly influence of the Man in a family, in most cases, it will fall. And in all cases, it makes a difference. We see across America, 2022 data indicate there are approximately 18.3 million children who live without a father in the home, comprising about 1 in 4 US children.

About 80% of single-parent homes are led by single mothers.

Children from single-parent families are twice as likely to suffer from mental health and behavioral problems as those living with married parents.

Children with an actively engaged father perform much better in school, some data shows that they are 33% less likely to repeat a class and 43% more likely to get A’s in school.

In a study of 56 school shootings, only 10 of the shooters (18%) were raised in a stable home with both biological parents. Eighty-two percent grew up in either an unstable family environment or grew up without both biological parents together.

So, we see not only Goliath’s call for a man but also every fatherless child.

63% of youth suicides come from a fatherless home,

90% of all homeless and runaway children come from a fatherless home,

85% of all children exhibiting behavioral disorders come from a fatherless home,

80% of rapists motivated by displaced anger come from a fatherless home,

71% of all high school dropouts come from a fatherless home,

70% of juveniles in state-operated institutions come from a fatherless home,

85% of all youths sitting in prisons come from a fatherless home.

Do men matter? YES, now more than ever.

I saw the following stats on Facebook and it makes the point of how important the masculine Fathers is in converting the family to following Christ. When you convert the dad in most cases you get the whole family. With the dad first a 93% chance of the whole family. With the mom, it drops to 17%, and with the children first, it is down to 3.5%.

Not only does the Church need men, real men. The family needs them just as much. As Tony Evans says, “The Church is made up of families.”

Children raised without a dad at home;

Black Families:     64%

Latino Families:    42%

White Families:     24%

Asian Families:     16%

Instead of whining 24/7 about imaginary racism, this is the real crisis that needs addressing.

And without the dads, the family is NOT a God-designed family.

We have a choice to make, one of the most masculine men in movies is Clint Eastwood. And one of my favorite films is “The Outlaw Josey Wales,” in one of the later scenes, Josey (Clint Eastwood) meets up with the Comanche Chief Ten Bears (Will Sampson). We see Josey as he meets with Ten Bears to negotiate a truce:

Josey Wales:
You’ll be Ten Bears?

Ten Bears:
I AM Ten Bears.

Josey Wales:
I’m Josey Wales.

Ten Bears:
I have heard. You are the Grey Rider. You would not make peace with the Bluecoats. You may go in peace.

Josey Wales:
I reckon not. Got no place else to go

Ten Bears:
Then you will die.

Josey Wales:
I came here to die with you. Or live with you. Dying ain’t so hard for men like you and me. It’s living that’s hard when all you’ve ever cared about has been butchered or raped. Governments don’t live together–people live together. With governments, you don’t always get a fair word or a fair fight. Well, I’ve come here to give you either one or get either one from you. I came here like this so you’ll know my word of death is true, and my word of life is then true. The bear lives here, the wolf, the antelope, the Comanche. And so will we. Now we’ll only hunt what we need to live on, same as the Comanche does. And every spring, when the grass turns green, and the Comanche moves north, you can rest here in peace, butcher some of our cattle, and jerk beef for the journey. The sign of the Comanche, that will be on our lodge. That’s my word of life.

Ten Bears:
And your word of death?

Josey Wales:
It’s here in my pistols and there in your rifles. I’m here for either one.

Ten Bears:
These things you say we will have, we already have.

Josey Wales:
That’s true. I ain’t promising you nothing extra. I’m just giving you life and you’re giving me life. And I’m saying that men can live together without butchering one another.

Ten Bears:
It’s sad that governments are chiefed by the double tongues. There is iron in your words of death for all Comanche to see, and so there is iron in your words of life. No signed paper can hold the iron. It must come from men. The words of Ten Bears carries the same iron of life and death. It is good that warriors such as we meet in the struggle of life… or death. It shall be life. [Draws his knife and cuts his palm, and Josey does likewise. They then grasp hands with each other, becoming blood brothers] So will it be.

Josey Wales:
I reckon so.

What choice do you make as a man? Do you choose life or death?

Alistair Begg. Says it this way: “God’s word is the key by way of the invitation that comes. “I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever.” The instrument that God uses is His word so that we might come with faith, you see, because when I teach the Bible to you, it either becomes an instrument of life or becomes an instrument of death. Either we receive it and then enter life, or we reject and we continue perishing.”

Hebrews 4:12 (NKJV) For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

I chose Life!

So now, Men, you have a choice to make: you either will choose “Life” to be a “Man of God” or you can choose “death”, the way of the world. And that is the way Satan is leading the man to go.

For me;

“It shall be life.”

From “More to Ponder.” my next book