Friday, October 26, 2018

Living with Urgency


LIVING WITH URGENCY
John 4:35
            God wants to do even greater thing in our lives than we could ever imagine if we just surrender our lives to Him. I have been thinking about and praying that God would give me the courage to pursue people for Christ. He has called me to live with urgency. As we settle for safety and security, rather than chasing our passions, those people that God is calling us to pursue, God maximum impact in us is stalled. Our stubbornness, lack of surrender, and limited view of God often hinder His power from having its maximum impact on our lives. If we prevent God from having total control of our lives, we end up settling for the good while God is urging us to pursue greatness.
            Living with urgency is what God is calling us to do. God has placed passions inside each of us. Going after the unchurched will require us to step outside our comfort zones, take risks, and at times look like fools. We must stop spending the majority of our time making plans for God and simply start seeking Him. Often, I think we make God’s will too difficult for our lives and we neglect seeing Him in the obvious. Instead of going with God, allowing Him to teach us on the journey, we end up wanting everything to be perfect, and we do nothing.
            Living with urgency will require to fully submitting ourselves to God. When we do that, we learn to thrive in difficult circumstances realizing that God’s glory will be revealed in what seems to be impossible situations. If we have the courage to wholly submit to Him and commune with his Spirit daily, He will do the supernatural things that he wants to accomplish through us. Jesus said: “Open your eyes and look at the field. They are ripe for the harvest.” (John 4:35) What did He want them to see? The fields! And what were the fields? The masses of people who were just waiting to be reached. Listen, the problem is still the same today. While we enjoy the fellowship and the teaching and the preaching the fields are waiting to be harvested. It is not a problem for the pastor only. It is not a problem for the church leadership. It is our problem, it is our harvest, those are our fields, and this is our work.
            When it comes to the unchurched in our community, we can either try to gain and understanding of who they are, or we can continue to dismiss them like the disciples did. We know what we should do; we too should lift our eyes unto our field: New River area and the surrounding community and see the harvest that is awaiting our laboring hands. Do you see the fields? They are greater and broader than we have been conditioned to see, but tonight I ask you to beg God to help you see them, to help you recognize them, to give you a burden for them, to keep you awake at night thinking of them, weeping over them, and to be heartbroken for them. You may very well need to begin by repenting of your own sinful thinking toward some of the fields. Ask God to forgive you for dismissing some of the harvest because they are not like you. Ask God to forgive you for not having a heart for the unchurched, unreached people in Jacksonville and let the change begin with you. Live with urgency. God bless you
Pastor Dimas
           

Monday, October 8, 2018

What can I offer the Lord?


What can I offer the Lord?

What can I offer the LORD?
for all he has done for me?
I will lift up the cup of salvation
and praise the LORD’s name for saving me.
I will keep my promises to the LORD
in the presence of all his people.
(Psalm 116:12–14).

Andrae Crouch in the song My Tribute wrote “How can I say thanks for the things you have done for me, things so undeserved yet You gave to prove your love for me.” The question we must face this morning is how we can truly express our thankfulness to God? Do you ever stop and think about how blessed you are if you are a child of God? Forgiveness, peace, purpose, direction, God’s Spirit, life beyond the grave, a constant companion and friend, a healing of the body and soul, the power of His Word, the fellowship of other believers, and thousands of little things, EVERY day.

The psalmist is thankful for God’s blessings, blessings that he knows he doesn’t deserve. And he wants to express gratitude. So, he asks this question in vs. 12, “How can I repay the Lord for all His goodness to me?” How do we respond to such kindness and love? The Psalmist gives us two responses: First, we worship. We give God the praise and honor that is due Him. Worship is not a chore that we do every week, it is an attitude of the heart every day! Corporate worship is the gathering of worshippers for a grand celebration. I hope you will be part of that celebration today. Second, we keep our promises to Him. We show gratitude when we do EVERYTHING He commands rather than merely the things with which we agree. Every time we come to worship it is a time of thanksgiving. It is a time for all of us to express unto God how grateful we are to Him for all that He has done for us.

 As Christians, we’re well aware of how important the attitude of thanksgiving should be in our lives. In 1 Thessalonians 5:18, Paul says, “In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you”. Take a moment today to count your blessings. Don’t hurry. Savor. Give thanks. Then express your gratitude to the Lord in ways that will please Him. May God bless you and keep you always.


Dimas