MARCH MONTH 2012

HOW DO YOU MAKE GOD FEEL

 “And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. (Matthew 3:17 KJV) 

As a little boy growing up, I remember how important it was to me that my mother and father was pleased with what I did and how I did it. Whenever I accomplished something I wanted his approval or the accomplishment really did not have any value. Yet, somewhere along life’s journey I stopped trying to please my parents and I began to seek self fulfillment. Doing whatever made me feel good and whatever gave me satisfaction appeared to be highway to life’s happiness. Perhaps this is the reason the church collectively and all of its members individually find themselves on the wrong path. Unless there is a commitment and desire to please God, our selfish ways will drive us to disappointing decisions and dysfunctional destinations. When you consider who you are and the daily life decisions you are making, “How do you make God feel?”

The time had come for Jesus to begin his earthly ministry and Matthew records him obediently going to John to be baptized. John recognizes him and suggest he is not worthy but Jesus out of obedience to the scriptures and a commitment to His Father insist that He must be baptized. He is God in the flesh, endowed with power, but humbled by his purpose, therefore he simply does what he knows his father expects him to do. Immediately after coming out of the water, a voice from heaven announces accurately God’s feelings toward his Son. He proclaims ownership through relationship for this is His Son and he expresses pleasure through perception for he is pleased with what His Son has done, is doing and will do. 

Each day we should strive to please our Heavenly Father. We need know His word and study what gives him joy and what makes Him happy. Praise, prayer and kingdom participation will please him. Learning to love thy neighbor and treat others with kindness will please him.  “How do you make God feel?”

ARE YOU WHO GOD MADE YOU TO BE

 “Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.   (Jeremiah 1:5 KJV) 

Perhaps at this stage of your life you do not feel you have accomplished the goals that you thought you should have accomplished. Maybe you don’t have the material possessions that you wanted to own. I am sure there are some who feel they did not set enough goals and your concern is that life is passing you by. While goal setting is great and obtaining some things can give some satisfaction, neither defines are even attributes to who you are or who you will become. Every born again believer has been predestined by God to fit perfectly into a kingdom purpose, to carry out His kingdom agenda.  “Are you who God made you to be?”

Jeremiah was worried about the people of Israel listening to him and he was concerned if he would be able to proclaim God’s message. God gave him encouragement by telling him that who he was and who he would become had less to do with anything he did and everything to do with what God had already done. God said I put my hands on you when you were still in your mother’s belly. I began to form or shape who you would be and what you would accomplish even then. Prior to you entering the world, I set you apart to fulfill a specific assignment. This is true to every born again believer. God has set you apart, placed you in a certain family, a certain church a certain relationship, not  for self gratification or achievement but for the purpose of carrying out His kingdom assignment.. 

Are you doing what God wants you to do, are you contributing the way God expects you to contribute. Are you God’s creation made in heaven for use on earth, until he recalls you back to himself? You are not your own, you belong to God.  “Are you who God made you to be?”

Pastor SP Courtney                             

 WHAT YOU SPEAK UP AND BE SPOKEN FOR

 Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven.   (Matthew 10:32) 

Often we defend our sports teams when we talk about is our favorite football, basketball or collegiate team. We speak up for our family name in conversation about status and situations yet when people question our God or question our faith, I wonder why we keep so quiet? The same God who decided we were worth saving, who surrendered to the cruelty of human crucifixion to demonstrate His love for us, has an expectation that we will at a minimum confess Him as Lord over our lives. While we should be honored to speak up for Him, he added a reward that when we speak for Him on earth He will speak for us in heaven. “Will you speak up and be spoken for?”

Jesus in teaching His disciples charged them to be responsible for and to His Holy will. They were to expect persecution but have no fear of being persecuted. Despite any and all trials and tribulations h ends chapter 10 saying whosoever confess me before men. Anybody that will and can should open their mouth and confess Jesus before humanity. No matter what gift, no matter what ministry, all believers are called to confess Christ before men. This is not an optional request or a suggestion; it is an expectation from our Lord. The good news is that when you speak for Him, he will speak on your behalf.

Therefore, you must open your mouth and let the world know that you are a mouthpiece for your God. “Will you speak up and be spoken for?

Pastor SP Courtney