How do I move forward in life?
Stand and lift up your bible and repeat after me.
This is my Bible.
I am what it says I am.
I can do what it says I can do.
I am going to learn how to be what it says I can be.
Today I will learn more of the word of God. The indestructible, never ending, living word Of God.
I will never be the same.
I will never be the same.
In Jesus Name.
1 Corinthians 2:5 5 so that your faith would not be based on human wisdom but on God's power.
I am going to try to encourage you all today. Open your bibles to Acts 7:54-60 and say, “Amen” when you are there.
Let me ask you a question.
Why are you here?
Not here in this building. Here in life..
Do you know or are you so busy that you put your time with the Lord as a have to do or something that you want to do.
Who here has something in their life that makes them busy all the time?
We might need to slow down as God will get our attention one way or another.
Let me tell you a story I read on a website called www.godswork.org
It goes like this....
The Master called my name one day because He needed someone to go.
I said "Lord, in my spare time, between school, spending time with my family, working from 8 to 6, and trying to coordinate a program for my community to help things be better, I will help you look.
See, I know I can't go right now because I have so much to do."
He said, "Well, where shall I find such a person? I thought I saw your name on my list of available people."
"Well Lord, that was the prayer that I prayed last year, but since then, things have changed."
He said, "Like what?"
"Well I'm working on my master’s degree, I serve at my church, I'm needed by so many people, and my family always needs help with something, and on top of that my community EXPECTS me to help and give to them so . . ."
"Well, seeing that you're busy, I'll let you go, but we will talk again, if YOU have some time."
I went on through the days, and the weeks, and the months completing my tasks and I always ended up feeling overwhelmed. One evening I received a call from the hospital about my best friend. He had been in a terrible accident and was in critical condition. I dropped everything and ran to the hospital where I found my friend hanging on for dear life.
I immediately begin to pray, "Lord, don't take him now, I can't bare it." But my prayer seemed to have echoed off the wall and returned into my own ear.
That next morning, I left the hospital tired and weary, and walked in the door of my home just in time to begin my day. In my mind, I begin praying, praying hard, but my prayer echoed again and I found myself upset at God because He was nowhere to be found.
I could not explain to Him what was happening.
I went on my break at work and decided to talk to my supervisor because I was so distraught at all that was going on. I explained to her what was going on and she suggested that I take some time off. After visiting my friend in the hospital that evening, I went home and fell into a sunken state crying and feeling down.
Just then I felt someone calling my name. "Lord, is that YOU?"
"Well yes, it is. Do YOU have some time? I wanted to see if we could talk? "
Instead of waiting to hear His questions, I lashed out in anger and resentment. "How is it that when I needed You today, YOU couldn't be found and last night I cried and cried but all I heard were echoes from the walls. My friend is dying, I may lose my job and You can just sit and say YOU want to talk?"
The Lord interrupted me in my foolish speaking. "My child, I was busy, out looking for someone to go and tell others about Me when you cried. When I came to answer, you had moved on to something else. So, I decided to let your friend rest, and keep you home for a few days. That way MAYBE you would get in touch with Me, if YOU had some time. For you see, before your friend or your job needs you, I NEED YOU. And if all these things take you away from Me, I must take them away from YOU, in order to get a moment."
I calmed down and began to cry. For I remembered my prayer of wanting “to go” and do for the Lord.
He said, "I just wanted to recheck with you to see if you knew of ANYONE that I could send to be a witness for Me and tell others about Me . . . any one at all . . .?" With tears in my eyes and feeling so unworthy I said, "Lord, send me, I'll go."
Author unknown
We are so wrapped up in life that we forget the simple things. God is not wanting to be there at our beck and call.
He wants you and I to have a personal relationship with Him.
He wants us to enjoy our relationship with Him. To enjoy and fellowship with Him whenever and wherever life carries us.
He wants a personal link with us not just when we go to church or a bible study.
He does not want to be our friend on Facebook or Instagram. He wants us to be His friend in our whole life.
He wants us to feel His love in our lives and have a relationship with Him even in the hard times.
There is a great song by the group Unspoken that tells a story about Steven in the bible.
It is a great song about having a relationship with the Lord. It is called, “Bury the workman.”
Steven had a mission and he followed the Lord to the end serving Him by sharing the purpose and the love of God. He was stoned to death for doing so, but he saw his reward before dying.
Acts 7:54-60 says;
54. As council members listened to Stephen, they became noticeably furious.
55. But Stephen was full of the Holy Spirit. He looked into heaven, saw God's glory, and Jesus in the position of authority that God gives.
56. So Stephen said, “Look, I see heaven opened and the Son of Man in the position of authority that God has given him!”
57. But the council members shouted and refused to listen. Then they rushed at Stephen with one purpose in mind,
58. and after they had thrown him out of the city, they began to stone him to death. The witnesses left their coats with a young man named Saul.
59. While council members were executing Stephen, he called out, “Lord Jesus, welcome my spirit.”
60. Then he knelt down and shouted, “Lord, don't hold this sin against them.” After he had said this, he died.
Stephen probably was not doing what he thought he would be doing in his life but he listened, prayed, and had a relationship with the Lord which he put first.
He knew what life with Christ would bring and he walked every day trying to fulfill the call.
God should never have to ask us if we have some time. How many of us here have gone through hard times?
How many of us have gone through so many things in our lives that we wonder why we are still alive?
Now. How do we move forward?
We will change the habits that we have in life.
Our relationship with the Lord must be first.
Not our spouse, not our job, not our kids, not our house, not the car we drive, not what we wear, not where we have been but where we are going in life in our relationship with Him
Almost every day I acknowledge what He has done for me allowing me to be alive in this world.
Without God and His son Jesus Christ in my life, I know I would not be standing here today.
I would not have all the gifts in life that He has given me.
My wife and best friend, the opportunity to serve Him, and having a heart that has been changed to love others as Jesus does.
That is not what I thought I would be doing in my life.
When Jesus died on the cross, He put aside everything to ensure us eternal life.
We should be more than GRATEFUL to do service for the Lord -- to witness, and to tell ANYONE we can about our life because of Jesus.
Don't let your "things," WHATEVER they may be, get you so tied up that God has to become a meeting time in your yearly planner.
He has more than enough time for us.
The least we could do is have time for him.
Let us bow our heads.
