Glory Days Are Now

Gonna let you into my world a little. My approach with each preaching assignment is to ask God for a heart of solemnity, a mind of sobriety, and with the goal to achieve solidarity with the people whom I share my message with. I tell you this because I want you to join with me in the manner of how we should also come into God’s sanctuary to worship Him - with solemnity, sobriety, with the goal of solidarity.

Solemn: The task of standing before a people whom God loves comes with no small responsibility. I pray the Word is handled with accuracy and that all of our hearts would be purified by the Refiner’s Fire.

Sober: A reference to being free from influence of alcohol, also means earnestness or seriousness - because the Word takes priority in our gathering. The Word is Christ. He is the Bread of Life. Jesus said, “Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again. Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty” (John 6:35 NLT). I pray that when we come, we come with a spiritual appetite, to be nourished as we partake the holy feast.

Solidarity: God’s love is the bind that brings us together. I may be standing here but in spirit I am right there among you as we experience God’s presence together in unity. God pours out His Spirit to spend time with us when we spend time in His Word. The beauty in what we do as a Church is we worship, we pray and we serve together.

There’s actually one more important action - listening. Physician and author of 24/6, a book about Sabbath rest, Dr. Matthew Sleeth addresses our over-worked and over-tired culture. Sabbath allows us to bring our longings and desires to our Creator. As a physician, Dr. Sleeth has listened to thousand of hearts. During prenatal exams, he has heard the rapid swish-swishing of babies still in the womb. Often, moms and dads burst into tears when they hear their child’s heart for the first time.

I’ve listened to the chests of three-year-old children as they inhale deeply-and then wonder whether the man in the white coat can hear their thoughts though those tubes attached to his ears. I’ve listened to athletes’ strong, slow hearts. I’ve heard asthmatic hearts pounding away in fear, and the muffled sounds of failing hearts.

I’ve listened to the hearts of saints and of murderers. I’m in the first generation of physicians to ever listen to the heart of one person after it has been transplanted into the body of another. Doctors and nurses listen to patients’ hearts using a stethoscope.

Although this is convenient, it’s not necessary. In fact, the stethoscope wasn’t invented until a generation after our country became a nation. For thousands of years, physicians listened to heart sounds without the aid of a stethoscope. They simply laid their ear on the chest of their patients. Now it is only children who lay their heads on the chest of their parents to listen to beating hearts. Taken from Matthew Sleeth in A. J. Swoboda, Subversive Sabbath: The Surprising Power of Rest in a Nonstop World, Baker Publishing Group, 2018, Kindle Location 76-83.

“Only children lay their heads on the chest of their parents to listen to beating hearts.”

(Opening Prayer)

I praise God to have journeyed with you over the last few months through a series of minor prophets - Amos, Nahum and today, Joel (Yo-el). Together we have conquered three books from the Bible! It feels amazing to be able to dig in together as we look for treasures one book at a time. Today’s treasure is titled “Glory Days Are Now”.

Big Idea: God desires our wholehearted devotion so that He can make us into wholesome Christians.

Our God is a loving Father who wants nothing more for his children than to love them because they belong to Him; to forgive them because of their nature of sinfulness; and to save them so they may live with Him eternally. To know we are loved is to have confidence in our identity with Christ. The forgiveness of our sins is to free us from the bondage of slavery to evil so that we may live boldly and effectively and purposefully. Our time on earth is a gift from God to enjoy His wonderful Creation. Our Creator hasn’t stopped working for one bit because in us He continues to create a beautiful creature for His glory. No matter what has happened in your life or what you are going through even now, God’s hands are still at work to shape you into the person in accordance to His plan.

In the book of Joel, the people of Israel continues to turn their hearts towards false gods; they’ve lost their zeal for the One true God; and they ruin their own reputation by shaming God’s holy name who stands for justice and righteousness. Men may fail God over and over again yet God remains steadfast with His mercy, kindness and compassion. We may think we are a complete failure, disgrace, incompetent, and unfit - maybe in the public’s eye but not in God’s eyes. Come a little closer to hear what God’s heart says.