The Ultimate Decision
July 31, 2014
Years ago I was doing a project with the Beach Boys and Circle K Stores. I was working with a friend and record producer out of Las Vegas. It was fun to meet the Beach Boys and watch from Backstage some of their concerts. That is why when this record producer invited me to a Black Tie event in Washington, DC I thought it would be fun.
Now I don’t care what party you are affiliated with the Office of the Presidency is pretty special. The Black Tie event was for President Bill Clinton. After the dinner I was mingling around and I could see some Secret Service coming right at me. It was as if the Red Sea parted and STOPPING right in front of me was President Clinton. He stuck out his hand to shake mine. Before I go any further you know me. - An accident or something waiting to happen. Six weeks before this dinner a scandal had broken out with the President involving an intern. Now I am never at a loss for words but for some reason when President Clinton stuck out his hand all I could think of this is the leader of the free world. The word “World” got me. All I could think of to say was “Congratulations”. He looked at me like a dog that you say a weird sound and they tilt their head. He looked at me bewildered and walked off. I was so embarrassed. Luckily no one knew who I was.
As I was reading this morning a verse popped out at me much like this encounter. The reference is Paul’s greeting to the church in Galatia.
Galatians 1:1 “Paul, an apostle—sent not from men nor by a man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead— "
Now I have to be honest with you sometimes things just pass over my head. In all my years of writing and studying I had just assumed that Christ rose from the dead. That was great news but I never gave much thought as to how it happened. This verse says that God raised Jesus from the dead. Jesus didn’t raise Himself. He needed His Father, God. It wasn’t Jesus who raised Lazarus from the dead but God. Jesus prayed to God the Father and the Father loved His son enough to fulfill His request.
John 5:19 “Jesus gave them this answer: “Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by Himself; He can do only what He sees His Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does.”
John 5:30 “By myself I can do nothing; I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just, for I seek not to please myself but him who sent me.”
Now listen to me very carefully on this as I think these two verses will open your eyes and heart to a great revelation. We see that Jesus healed EVERYONE that came to Him.
Matthew 12:15 "Aware of this, Jesus withdrew from that place. A large crowd followed him, and he healed all who were ill.”
We know Jesus healed but a lot of times we think He had the power. NO, it was God the Father who had the power and Jesus NEEDED to rely upon God the Father to heal, cast out demons and not sin to fulfill His mission on earth.
Since Jesus said “By Myself I can Do Nothing” then why do we think we can??????? A lot of us start our day with not even a thought of our redeemer. Some pray a quick pray for insurance just in case something might happen. BUT there are very few who RELY upon the Lord for EVERY THING.If you learned to rely upon God the Father through Jesus Christ you would never worry again. That is because there is no worry in God. Worry, insecurity, doubt, anger, sexual immorality and all the deeds of the flesh is from the evil one.
So how can we do this?
1. First pray and ask the Lord for help. “Lord please set me on a new path to living a life that is pleasing to you and not the world. Please forgive me for thinking more about what man thinks that what you think Lord.
2. Get up early, pray, read God’s word, pray some more and then “Be Still” - Psalm 46:10. Being still before God shows honor to Him and dependence on God. There have been times like this morning when I got up at 3:50 am but God supernaturally gives me strength throughout the day. If you get up early for God He will give you His strength and you will not be tired. Plus it is quiet in the morning. We need to give God our first fruits. First fruits can be everything from our tithe to our time.
3. Journal and write down all prayer requests not only what they are but how God has answered them. You will be weeping after a year when you go back and see what God has done.
4. Keep asking for the Lord to teach and lead you.
I was excited to see the President of the United States. Why are we not excited to be with the One who made the President of the United Staes and all mankind, the sun, stars and all creation? The devil does a good job of deceiving us into thinking that we are number one and we better get what we deserve. If we realize that we have been given all we will ever need from the Lord then we will never want again. Then that energy we used to acquire for ourselves will then go to giving to others.
Most of us procrastinate but you can stop this cycle today. “Go” out in the world as a beacon of light not promoting you, but showing the love that the Lord has to offer. God still has a plan for YOU, yes you if you are reading this. There is still time to make a big impact for the Lord in this fallen world. Just ask with an open heart and mind and you too will meet the King of all Kings. You will be His disciple and He will be your God. Let Him in to all areas of your life today. Then just say, “Please help and teach me Lord what I should do”. Repeat this often and your life will never be the same.
Have an awesome day - new opportunities to help are all around you - Just Look.
Brad
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