(CLICK THE TITLE) Good morning and praise the Lord for another wonderful day to step forward and spread the word. As I sat down to put together this message I got convicted in my spirit by this question; are we becoming so busy that we have stopped talking to people face to face? If you don’t mind I think I will preach to my self today and maybe someone else is in the same place as I am and will get something out of this.
Today’s Prayer
“The Sovereign Lord has given me an instructed tongue, to know the word that sustains the weary…. The Sovereign Lord has opened my ears, and I have not been rebellious; I have not drawn back” (Isaiah 50:4-5).
Father, I want to be able to say the same thing Isaiah said, and mean it. I want to spend time receiving Your instructions and wisdom through Your Word, speaking with You in prayer, and hearing You through an open mind, willing heart, and listening ears. Please bring to remembrance Your Word so that I may share it with the weary and offer them hope. Please hide Your Word in my heart that I will remember it and not be rebellious, that it will be a constant guide in my daily walk. Thank you, Lord, for all Your blessings past, present, and future. In the wonderful name of Jesus I pray, Amen.
Let’s eat.
Real Customer Service
As I sit here putting together this message I started thinking about earlier times in my life. Years ago, it was not uncommon to have your milk delivered to your home. Doctors made house calls (a long, long time ago). And when you made a call to a company to discuss a problem, you actually spoke to a human being. Those days of personal service are gone, and if we are not careful, we will follow the same trend in how we share the gospel. Here I am sharing this message over electronic media.
So often we are encouraged to bring people to church. Yet, we see no examples in the bible where Jesus brought people into the synagogue to get them saved or healed. The miracles happened more often outside the four walls of the church because that was where Jesus could be found. Jesus had less response and found more resistance in the synagogue than on the street amongst the people. He took the gospel to and modeled the gospel in the streets. That is where the power of God was manifested. I’m not saying we should not bring people to church, only that our priority should be to bring the Church into the streets, not bring the streets into the church.
Paul understood this when he said,
“My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power” (1 Corinthians 2:4).
We really need to take to heart what Paul was trying to get across in the above scripture. Paul understood that it wasn’t words that impacted people; it was the power of God manifested through him.
When is the last time someone saw something happen through your life that could not be explained other than God working in your life?
When you begin to see this happen, you will be modeling ministry as Jesus modeled it. You will be bringing the Church to the people, not the people to the church. Pray that God makes you a vessel of His power, not simply a vessel of words.
Quote of the Day
If I belittle those whom I am called to serve, talk of their weak points in contrast perhaps with what I think of as my strong points; if I adopt a superior attitude, forgetting “Who made thee to differ? and what hast thou that thou hast not received?” then I know nothing of Calvary love.
Amy Carmichael
WITH HOPE AND FAITH
REV. ELDER G E STERRETT
FOUNDER
GCKRS HELPING HAND FOUNDATION – THE RELATIONSHIP FACTORY