PRAYER:
GOD, I thank you right now for the way You have come into my life and changed my thoughts and my walk. I praise You Lord for taking a sinner like me and allowing me to be used as an instrument in Your kingdom.
The road is rough, but the path is clear God because it is narrow and I don’t have room enough to turn around. I don’t want to look back because I might stumble! Thank you God for planting my feet on a solid rock and making me into a humble servant!
I thank You God for my ability and my opportunity to evangelize the Good News that Jesus is coming back and we must be ready because You have prepared a place for us.
Lord bless the readers, the hearers and the doers of Your Word as Divinely given to me. Amen.
SCRIPTURE READING: Acts 9: 11-12 (NLV_
(11)The Lord told him, "go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask him for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying. (12) In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight."
TEXT:
In every town I have travelled, you can always identify where people are faced with the challenges of life! And as you cruise down these communities, you will either get a sense of comfort or be gripped by fear! Comfort because you are familiar with the surroundings or fear because you might see a hopeless situation! Either way, you can categorize yourself as one of 4 types:
1- Those who who never had a chance to grow up in the "hood".
2- Those of us who were delivered from the devil’s disciples, but who never forgot that we came from the "hood".
3- Those of us who are still in the "hood".
4- Those of us who are dead. (The living dead!)
I wish that my next statement could be an original observation and not be a common sight in our neighborhoods, but it isn’t.
Walk though our graveyards and read the names and birthdates on the toombstones...I’ve done that and what I have come to realize is that, in those graves are many unsaved souls, disobedient children of God who never repented and came to Christ; children of God who had an opportunity to sit in the heights of Heaven, but instead chose to be tormented in the pit of Hell!
Buried beneath the soil are dreams that never came to pass; books that were never written; songs never sung; children never born; ideas never shared; paintings never painted; inventions that were never invented; plans that never became reality; goals never fulfilled and servants for Christ who will never have a second chance!
The graveyards are filled with potential greatness that will externally remain potential. What a tragedy when you realize that, "God loved the world so much that He gave His one and only Son so that whosoever believes in Him may not be lost, but have eternal life. (John 3:16) And we have people, even some among you now, choosing to live as a devil disciple!
Of course God has allowed us free will and we all have fallen short of the glory of God, but thank God there is a promise He made to us all... And that is a promise of forgiveness. As hard as it is for us as human beings to put away bitterness and anger when we have been violated,taken advantage of by someone else, have been robbed of our joy and even have been robbed of our material possessions, there is a scripture , Ephesians 4:31,32 that reminds us that we must forgive as God forgives. The Word says, "Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as Christ God forgave you.
There was once a time in our lives when our neighborhoods were considered safe. We could leave our doors unlocked and leave the house without worrying about a burglar coming in. We could jog around the corner and not be concerned about a rapist or an armed robber. We could answer or front door and not be concerned about being assaulted. We could let our relatives come over and not worry about someone stealing our goods. We could even go to church without worrying about a break-in or a break-out like a shootout in the sanctuary. Yes, there was once upon a time when the only time when we would have to travel to another area of town , which we would have called our bad side of town to be confronted with so=called bad people or drug addicts or wannabe gang members. But now we can walk out of our front door and possibly your neighbor is the type of person or the one you would have once avoided. But trust me, things have changed, And why? I’m glad you asked!! It’s because those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires! Satan is busy doing his job which is simple, to kill, to steal and to destroy!
But saints, there is hope because Romans 8:5-8 says that, ..but those who,live in accordance with the Spirit have heir minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind of the sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so, Those controlled by the sinful natire cannot please God. (And that’s just what satan wants)
Therefore, the hope is in a changed mind and changed nature and a changed heart and that’s where we come in. You see even on the streets of our "rougher neighborhoods where we see and meet the wasted, broken, disoriented lives of our people....even though our brothers and sisters are hanging out in the "hood", standing on the corners of Substance Abuse; Alcoholism; No Purpose; Poor Choice of Friends; Violence; Child Abuse; Lying; Murder; Prostitution and Total Despair, one of God’s awesome promises is found in 2 Corinthians 4th chapter and the 8th and 9th verses: We have troubles all around us, but we are not defeated. We do not know what to do, but we do not give up the hope of living. We are hurt sometimes, but we are not destroyed.
As Christians, we have no authority to travel the highways and the byways judging other people because everything that has life has potential! I have not always been saved and if I were to open up my closet, my skeletons would have skeletons! But I thank God for Jesus who died on Calvary for my sins so I could live and acknowledge my potential! (aren’t you glad He died for you too?) We all have potential...well, what do you mean preacher?
Potential defined is being able to look at the group of drug dealers on the Worse Street in Any Town, USA and seeing in them dormant ability, reserved power, untapped strength, unused success, hidden talents and capped capability.
The same thing that drug addict , whore on the streets, burglar,robber and murderer possess, exists in you and in me!
WHAT?? Why or how dare I say that?
Because we are now Christians, are we perfect?
Are we really without spot or belemish?
NO! Sin is sin- big or little.
There is no in between. God forgives and saves all kinds of sinners, no matter how bad they are; God can change anybody. 1 Cor. 6:9-11...."Do you know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? (satan knows that) Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolators nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor theives nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And that is what some of you (us) were. But you (we) were washed, you (we) were sanctified, you (we) were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God." Like I always say, thank God for repentenance!
All you can be, have not yet become. All you can do, have not yet been done. How far you can reach, have yet to be reached. What you can accomplish, have yet to be accomplished! We are all a work undone. God is still molding and shaping us all!
Everything in life begins as potential. That’s how God created the world. (Do you understand what I am teaching today?) You see, we hu mans have a way of allowing satan to put a lock on our door of potential, just as Saul did...
IILUSTRATION:
.....go with me now to Acts 9 where we will find Saul fussing and cussing with every breath! You see Saul was eager to destroy the Lord’s followers and he constantly persecuted the church. He went out from house to house dragging out both Christian men and women to throw into jail!
Saul was an instigator and couldn’t do most things by himself- so he went to the high priest for letters of permission to bring Christ followers back in chains to Jerusalem.
As he was nearing Damascus, a brilliant light from Heaven beamed down upon him ( you see, when you’re not right and living wrong, everybody can see you because the Lord will put a spotlight on you for all of the world to see!). You can’t hide from God and He will search you out from among the crowd!
The light was so sudden, Saul fell to the ground and he heard a voice from above asking, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me? Saul asked, who are you?"
The voice answered, saying, "I Am Jesus! The one you are persecuting." Jesus commanded Saul to get up and go into the city and he would be told what to do!
The men with Saul were speechless- for they heard the voice, but saw no one!!
(Can you imagine how these men reacted? These were Saul’s "boyz from the hood", hanging out with Saul, saying, Brother you know we’ve got your back!)
In a time of trouble you find out who your real "homies" are! Some stay but most desert!
Well, Saul fell to his knees and when the command ended, he could no longer physically see and the first words that came out of his mouth were no longer words of persecution,, but words of prayer he had never spoken before....Oh Jesus, help me !!!!
And the brothers took up Saul and led him by the hand to Damascus. You see all of Saul’s life he’d been a blind man- spiritually blind- the blind leading the blind. But God had a plan for Saul because he had potential leadership ability. The Lord had another path for Saul to take and good works for him to do.
Saul’s home boys took him to Judas house and left him there. He had no food and no water- and for 3 days he could not see! He looked through a glass door darkly and all he had was Jesus as his guide and protector!
Saul had a vision of a man named Ananias coming in and laying hands on him so he could see again!
Let me show how the Lord works....
At that very same time, the Lord spoke to Ananias, who was a believer in Damascus and told him in a vision-" Go over to Straight Street, to the house of Judas and ask for Saul of Tarsus. He is praying for me right now!
Ananias didn’t want to go. He said, "Lord, I’ve heard about the terrible things that this man has done to believers!" But the Lord said, "Go and do it- for Saul is my CHOSEN instrument to take My message to the people. And I will show him how much he must suffer for Me."
Ananias went to Straight Street and found Saul,laid hands opon him and instantly, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, his sight was restored and Saul was filled with the Holy Spirit. He got up and was baptized, he ate food and was strengthened. Immediately Saul began preaching about Jesus to the kings, the Gentiles and as well, to the people of Israel.
Saul used to be powerful and feared by many in the neighborhoods, but he was more powerful as a preacher and follower of Jesus Christ. Yet, he was still feared by those who knew him before his conversion and they though it was pretending. But Saul kicked his old habits and he was sincere about the Lord!
He knew he’d been saved by grace and mercy and was not ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ. The Apostles of Christ accepted Saul as a Christian brother and they recognized his God given potential to lead others to Christ. And after that he was with them constantly.
Saul didn’t forget about the "boys in the hood" and wanted them all to be saved and to have a good life too!
CONCLUSION:
.....that is what we as Christians need to do today! We need to go down to Straight Street, or Martin Luther King, or State Street or wherever it is in your cities where the Lord is working on the blind- seek out the biggest drug dealer on the corners of Substance Abuse and help him or her understand that God has good works for them to do!
If a drug dealer can use chemistry for the streets, he has the potential of becoming a chemist in a pharmeceutical company if his/her life is saved and redirected!! If a person can prostitute themselves and be a comfort for some stranger-then they have the potential of becoming a psychologist or counselor if they are saved and their lives are redirected!! If a person has been known for stealing and robbing, then you know what? They have the potential of becoming a security company advisor or even an advocate for a Neighborhood Watch program educating citizens on how to protect themselves! Do you hear what I’m saying?
Everybody has potential! They are crying out on a Street called Straight- praying to Jesus for help! Our jails and our prisons are too full of potential...too full of people whose minds need to be set free so their be-hinds can follow. (So everything they have done in their past can be put behind them and they can enjoy true forgiveness) God calls sinners to seek HIM AND PROMISES THEM FORGIVENESS WHEN THEY REPENT.. Isaiah 55:6,7..."Seek the Lord while He may be found; call on Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way and the evil man his thoughts. Let him turn to the Lord, and He will have mercy on him, and to our God, for He will freely pardon."
THE INVITATION:
Don’t be afraid to go because if you want to be like Jesus, you have to be obiedient to God’s will for our lives. And you must break tradition and become a revolutionary for Christ. The world is not tearing down the doors on Sunday mornings rushing in to hear the Word of God, so we have to take it to the places where it is needed most. And the crowds are not standing in line to get into the church now for a revival ! No, instead during this season they are thinking about Thanksgiving and football ! And let me remind you that Thanksgiving is not about turkey and a pigskin. NO, it’s about being thankful that you stopped being a turkey and got pulled out of the pig pen!
It’s time to take our ministry to the streets! I’m talking about Straight Street! Amen? Somebody out there needs a touch from Jesus...now that’s a touch down that beats your opposition and wins all games that people may try to play!
And if there is anybody here right now that wants to be touched by Jesus...if you’ve been blind before and now you can see more clearly....let us pray for our communities, our cities, our states our leaders and the world....
PRAYER:
Most gracious God, who from Your throne holds all the people upon earth, we pray an intercessary prayer for the world and most importantly for the President of these United States, that he may always be inclined to Your will and walk in Your ways. Likewise that You will bless all who are set in authority over us, that they may be dedicated to the advancement of Your glory, the good of Your church, the safety, honor and welfare of the nation.
Lord watch over and guide your ministers of the gospel as we tell the truth according to the scriptures, lead us to do Your will and yours alone. These and whatever other blessings you have in store for us, Lord, we thank You for them right now. In the name of Jesus, we have prayed. Amen.
