Connecting the Disconnected
By
Bishop Melvin L. Maughmer, Jr.
One of the worst feelings in the world today must be when you look at your phone and see the red low battery icon staring back at you. For me on Monday I saw that icon before my cell phone died. I looked at it early in the day and the battery life was saying 43% so I plugged in my charger, but nothing happened. I watched throughout the day as the battery indicator kept getting smaller and smaller. When I got to my vehicle after work, I plugged it into the charger in my truck, yet nothing happened. When I got home, I plugged it in to that charger at home and yet still nothing happened my phone was slowly dying even though I plugged it into several different outlets and there was nothing I could do. Finally, my phone made a beep and shut off now I was disconnected, unable to make a call, to receive a call, check my email etc. There were things I wanted to do with my phone that I just could not do because I was disconnected.
Now disconnected I began think about how it made me feel because I was not able to connect to the things I wanted to do. You know like important stuff - without my phone I couldn’t check my personal email throughout the day, I couldn’t track my delivery from Amazon of Christmas items I had coming, I couldn’t update my fantasy football team, I couldn’t get FB updates of who was live or who sent me a game to play, I couldn’t listen to Pandora. I was disconnected. Understand I was only without a phone for 1 ½ days and I felt like things were falling apart.
Then God slapped me in the back of my head and said just imagine how people feel when they are disconnected from me. It is amazing when you have one of those O.K. God moments.
There are people that have been dying trying to plug into this and into that, yet nothing is happening. There are some who have tried to plug into religion only to find that they are continuously being drained because they are trying to connect to religion instead of relationship. Some people are moving from outlet to outlet trying to connect to a power source, yet nothing is happening because there is no connection in the things they are plugging into. Some people feel disconnected because they are trying to conform to this world instead of being transformed by the renewing of their minds and find themselves being drained slowly.
So today I want to ask a few questions: Have you ever felt disconnected from God? Have you ever wondered if He was there? Have you felt lost, alone and wondered is God even listening? Have you ever wondered if God cares at all? Have you ever felt like you were searching for God but could not find Him? Have you ever felt disconnected from God – since you gave your life to God?
Today I want to deal with connecting the disconnected.
Prayer:-
SCRIPTURE:- Psalm 22:1-19 says “My God, my God, why have thou forsaken me? Why are tho so far from saving me, so far from the words of my groaning? O my God, I cry out by day, but thou hearest not, and in the night season, and am not silent. But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel. Our fathers trusted in thee: they trusted, and thou didst deliver them. They cried unto thee, and were delivered: they trusted in thee, and were not confounded. But I am a worm and not a man, a reproach of men and despised by the people. All they that see me laugh me to scorn: they shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying “He trusted on the LORD that he would deliver him: let him deliver him, seeing he delighted in him.” But thou art he that took me out of the womb: thou didst make me hope when I was upon my mother's breasts. I was cast upon thee from the womb: thou art my God from my mother's belly. Be not far from me; for trouble is near; for there is none to help. Many bulls have compassed me: strong bulls of Bashan have beset me round. They gaped upon me with their mouths, as a ravening and a roaring lion. I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint: my heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels. My strength is dried up like a potsherd; and my tongue cleaveth to my jaws; and thou hast brought me into the dust of death. For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet. I may tell all my bones: they look and stare upon me. They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture. But be not thou far from me, O LORD: O my strength, haste thee to help me.”
Psalm 22 is about the ultimate disconnect! Although David is writing this Psalm it is prophetic because it is talking about Jesus and how He will suffer the agony of death on Calvary and feel the ultimate disconnect from God nearly 1000 years B.C. This Psalm describes what happens to Jesus. His hands and feet are pierced, He is mocked by those around Him, He is surrounded by evil men, and while hanging on Calvary’s cross Jesus even cries out saying “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani”? - “My God my God why hast thou forsaken me?” That is the ultimate disconnect.
Understand Jesus felt the same disconnection from God that we often feel. Matthew 26:38-39 says “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death, stay here and watch with me; and He went a little further, and fell on His face, and prayed saying,” O my Father, if it be possible let this cup pass from me; nevertheless not as I will ,but as thou will”. The agony of what He was about to face was weighing upon Him so much so that His sweat became as drops of blood Luke 22:44 this is called Hematohidrosis which is brought on by mental and agonizing pressure. Doctors say this condition is when blood enters the sweat glands and exits out of the pours of your skin. Because blood is thicker than water it causes the pours of the skin to be extremely stretched and makes the skin hyper-sensitive. They say imagine the worst sunburn possible and multiply it by 100 times then you can begin to imagine what Hematohidrosis feels like, the slightest breeze on the skin hurts you tremendously. This happens before He is arrested, dragged, beaten, scourged, had a crown of thorns 3 inches long smashed upon His head, a robe placed upon His bloody flesh torn back, forced to carry His cross up Golgotha’s Hill, nails driven into His hands and Feet.
While hanging on the cross Matthew 27:34 says, “They gave him vinegar to drink mingled with gall: and when he had tasted thereof, he would not drink”. WATCH THIS: - A mixture of wine and gall (myrrh) was commonly given to criminals before their execution in order to ease some of their suffering. It was called a stupefying drink and the purpose of that drink was to cause the person to become numb, it would literally poison them. Jesus knew that He had to shed his blood for Him to become the supreme sacrifice for the sins of all mankind, and He refused to take the easy way out of it. By refusing to drink that drink He was saying I want to feel what you and I feel when we feel disconnected from Him. He wanted to know what it felt like when we call on Him and it seems as though he doesn’t answer. He wanted to feel what it feels like when we feel all alone. He wanted to feel what we feel when we feel hopeless, helpless, lonely, frustrated, emasculated, plundered, abused, criticized, forsaken and even have family turn their back upon you.
Isaiah 53:3-7 says “He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth”. Then verses 10 says “Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand”.
It is in this moment, through this feeling of disconnection, Jesus experiences what is it to be fully human. This disconnection, this isolation, this feeling of God forsaking you, comes from a realization that at a certain time in your life you are not connected to God.
Understand that the only time Jesus felt forsaken, abandoned, and disconnected from God was when the sins of the world rested on His shoulders. Understand it is sin that disconnects us from God. Romans 3:23 says “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God”.
Sometimes we feel disconnected because we fill our lives with so much junk that we do not have time for God. We fill up every moment that we can to make sure there is never a time where we have something to do. From the time we open our eyes in the morning, to the time we close them at night we are constantly busy doing somethings. This is called being a busybody which is a sin. The Bible compares busybodies to murder 1 Peter 4:15 “But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busybody in other men's matters”.
Sometimes we feel disconnected because we don’t want God to be God. If God is in control of our lives that means that we aren’t so we do everything we can to keep God out which is disconnected because we are trying to run the show ourselves. There are times in our lives where we will feel disconnected because we have an enemy who is hell bent on keeping us from building this relationship with God. Other times we isolate ourselves because it is easier to feel alone than it is to feel the pain of our mistakes and shortcomings.
Whatever the reason is there are times we feel disconnected. But we have a high priest!
OUR HIGH PRIEST
Hebrews 4:14-16 says “Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need”.
We have a great high priest who is empathetic with our weaknesses. He understands what it feels like when we suffer from being disconnected from God. Jesus understands us and feels our pain as though it is his own. Not only does he understand us, he is able to help us because he was tempted in every way just as we are, yet he did not sin. He understands loneliness, poverty, hunger, oppression, injustice, misunderstanding, rejection, and so on. He was tempted by the devil in the desert. He was betrayed by a beloved disciple; Peter His number 1 disciple denied knowing him, and he experienced an unjust arrest, trial, and condemnation. Jesus was familiar with suffering and pain from birth to death. Jesus was tempted fiercely in all aspects of human life, but never sinned; he won the victory without fail. Therefore, he is able to help us to overcome all the trials and temptations of life, and all of our sins and weaknesses. He never condemns or punishes us when we come to him. Instead, he understands and provides the help we need. After finishing salvation work on earth, he transcended time and space and entered into heaven, where he is eternally glorified. Because he transcended time and space, he is not bound by any human barriers and is able to help anyone and everyone. His work of salvation on earth was completely finished and accepted by God. Now he sits at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven (1:3; 8:1; 10:12; 12:2). He did not go to some corner of heaven where he could rest and relax. He went into his Father’s inner courtroom in order that he, by interceding for us with the Father, may continue the work he had accomplished on earth.
Christ intercedes for us while Satan is accusing us, pointing out our sins and frailties before God, just as he did with Job in Job 1:6-12. But all his lies and accusations fall upon deaf ears in heaven because Jesus’ work on the cross paid our sin debt in full; therefore, God always sees in us His children the perfect righteousness of Jesus.
Jesus is the only mediator between God and man. No one else not Mary, not any previous Christian saints has the power to intercede for us before the throne of the Almighty. No angel has that position. Christ alone is Theanthropos the God-man, and He mediates and intercedes between God and man. 1 Timothy 2:5 says, “For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus”.
Therefore, Hebrews 4: 16 says “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need. We can approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need and be connected. Esther 4:15-5:2 When Queen Esther approached the King, she needed permission. Anyone who approached without permission would be killed. In order to save her nation, she fasted for three days and then risked her life to approach the king’s throne, saying, “If I perish, I perish”. But we can approach God’s throne through our great high priest Jesus anytime, boldly and freely without fear. Whenever we come to God, we can receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. Therefore, we need to stay connected.
CONNECTING THE DISCONNECTED!
Find a space – Find a quiet place where you can go to pray daily, without distractions. Matthew 6:6 says “But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.” The movie War Room depicts this scripture perfectly.
Choose a time: Set aside time to encounter God. Psalm 63:1 O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is; Matthew 6:33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you”. Wake up in the morning and seek God. Early in your circumstance seek God do not wait until it is way too heavy or blown way out of control but seek him early. Early will I seek thee, so many times we feel disconnected from God because we wait to long to seek His face and now, we feel He is not there because we turned it into a bigger situation then it originally was.
Read the Word Read a small section of Scripture every day. TIP EXAMPLE:- There are 31 chapters in Proverbs if you read 1 every morning you will cover a month. TIP: Read slowly! Read out loud! Read so you can hear it and your eyes can see it. Read that small section over and over. It’s like eating something good: chew on it and savor the flavors. Read it over and over, while listening to God speak it to you, through His Holy Spirit.
Meditate on the Word – Joshua 1:8 says “This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success”. Mentally reflecting and imaginatively pondering is the powerful aspect of Scripture meditation. Reflect on what you’ve read, and begin to think about what God is saying. Biblical meditation begins with thinking about God’s Word continuously to ourselves. We begin to internalize God’s Word inside our minds and our heart. Now, God starts downloading! Listen to God’s voice…God is now talking to you personally!
PRAY – I know I have and many preacher have preached P.U.S.H Prayer until something happens. In this case pray until you find yourself connected with God. Luke 18:1 says “And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint”. 1 Thessalonians 5:7 says, “Pray without ceasing”. Wherever you are studying the Bible, at whatever time of day it is, always start with prayer. Pray when you start, pray as you study, and pray when you finish. The Holy Spirit is our guide and teacher! Always Pray. Don’t Ask for His Hand More Than You Ask for His Heart? When you pray, is most of your time spent asking for things you need or want? I’m not saying it’s wrong to ask God for things because you definitely should. We are called to do that. However, we should also desire and ask to become more like Him, and not solely receive from Him.
Listen - How Much Time Do Leave For God to Respond? Prayer is a conversation, and like any conversation it requires talking and listening. We make time to present our requests in prayer, but we also have to make time to be still and listen. Just because we can’t see God in front of us doesn’t mean we should leave the conversation as soon as we are done speaking. Maybe God has been trying to tell you something but you say, “Amen” and move on to the next item on your agenda before He can get a word in.
Receive from God – Jesus said, “Come unto me and I will give you rest (Matthew 11:28).” Abide and rest in the Lord; contemplate Him. Now it is the time for the Lord to communicate with you. Listen. Enter into a deeper place with God. A place of intimacy; in His presence. This is a special time between you and the Lord. One-on-one with God. Give Him room; this is the time that God is blessing you. Let the Lord Bless you. Receive from the Lord and receive the Lord Himself, who is the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit! God is now working within you, renewing your thoughts in the knowledge of Jesus, activating the mind of Christ in you. You are actively connecting with God and God with you.
Take action – Ask Father God to give you the power of the Holy Spirit to help you do what Jesus, the Living Word, has revealed to you. For example, in relation to God, the Lord may be asking or reminding you to trust, love, believe, obey or stop disobeying Him. In relation to other people, the Lord may be asking you to forgive, love, pray for, accept, help or bless them. Ask our Holy Helper, the Holy Spirit, to give you the help, our Lord Jesus has promised. Now continue in your day, walking by faith and connected to our loving Lord who is with you and in you, God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit!
One Last Thing
Press in, Paul said “I press toward the mark…”. I like to look at it like this PRESS – P = pray more R = read the Word more E = expect a miracle S = sing His praises S – shout Hallelujah Press in, strive for, be persistent.
Bishop Melvin L. Maughmer, Jr
