THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN NOW AND LATER

I know you know the story.  If not, you can read it in the 14th chapter of Exodus.  The Hebrews stood with their backs to the sea.  There was literally no place to run.  Pharaoh's army pressed down upon them trapping them between a sea of water and a sea of angry men determined to return the rebellious slaves to their tasks.

God had given them orders through His main man Moses to go to the promise land and take it for their own.  But here they were, facing a barrier they could not cross, a force they could not defeat and a task they could not accomplish. 

They had no earthly way of crossing that river.  There was no possibility for them to fight against and defeat the mightiest army in the known world.  These men had never been out of the land of Egypt, how could they find the promise land much less take possession of it? 

They were afraid, they cried out in fear to the Lord and cried out in protest to Moses.  "It would have been better to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness"!

Can you put yourself in their Sinai sneaker for just a moment?  Can you feel their fear?  Can you relate to their rhetoric? 

I bet you can.  If we occupy the same  planet and you are living in the same old world where I live, although your problems might not be as literal as theirs, you too have been left with un-crossable barriers, un-defeatable forces and un-accomplish-able task. 

You have felt the hopelessness and have heard the enemy's wicked laugh as you tremble before your assailant.  How do they say it? "Been there, done that and have the "T" shirt". 

I can picture them falling on their knees in the hot desert sand. The heat from the sun beating down on their heads and the heat from the soldier's breathing down their necks.  Hopeless is a word that might have best described them. 

But what a difference between their now and their later. 

In the lives of those Hebrews something happened and that something was God.  While they stood still the angel of God moved between them and the Egyptians.  Moses' hand moved the rod over the sea and the sea moved back and revealed an interstate highway right through the middle of the water. 

Only a short time ago is was "Why have you taken us here to die in the wilderness"? and now it is, "The Lord is my strength and song, and he is become my salvation: he is my God and I will prepare him an habitation; my father's God; and I will exalt him" 

How would they have behaved on the West side of the river if they would only have believed the promises of God? If they could, with eyes of faith have looked on that situation and seen the promised outcome.  There would have been no fear.  There would have been no trepidation, there would have been no cry of defeat.  They would have been dancing for joy at results not yet seen.  The rumbling at the Red Sea would have been the pounding of Hebrew feet as they danced in the sand.  But that didn't happen.

Some of you are standing in a place like that today.  Barriers separate you from the promised side.  Forces that are beyond your control press down on you.  Task that you have no earthly way of accomplishing stand like a bill-board proclaiming your defeat even before the battle begins. 

But open your eyes.  If you could feel now what you will feel when the battle is over, you would behave differently.  Dancing instead of defeat, singing instead of sighing, triumph instead of trepidation.  The only thing that separates us from victory is faith in an unstoppable God. 

He is on our side.  He is able to do what He promised.  He will never fail nor forsake us.  Live in the now if you must but never forget what things will be like in just a short time.  Live like you truly believe His promises. 

BELIEF vs BEHAVIOR

If you ask most people from around here they would tell you we live in a Christian nation.  I suppose that is a semi-true statement, IF you use the term very lightly.  I haven't done a study and I'm not sure how you would verify the results but I'm sure someone has a survey somewhere of the people who claim to be Christian and who "believe" in God.  

For example, if you asked "the man on the street", "Do you believe in God"?  You would most likely get an affirmative answer from an overwhelming number of responders. 

What about:  "Do you believe God sent His Son to die for your sins"? 
"Do you believe there is a heaven and a hell"?
"Do you believe Jesus has gone to prepare a place for Christians when they die"?

I understand that I live in a rural section of the "Bible belt". I realize that my residence is in basically the "Heart of the Heart of Dixie" and if you conducted the same survey in other locations around the U.S. there might be a different response.  But the average man/woman in our community would respond with a resounding "yes" to each of those questions.  Their belief is strong. 

In our church especially, the answer to those questions would no doubt be in the affirmative.  But if you believe something strongly, should not that belief have some life changing effect on your behavior?

I believe in an omnipotent (all powerful), omniscient (all knowing), omnipresent (ever present) God.  But does my behavior reflect that belief?  If my God is all of those "omni" things why do I drag and slump and frown and struggle through the day? 

If God sent His Son to free me from the guilt of my sins why do I not ask for His forgiveness?
If God gave me His Holy Spirit to free me from the chains of my sins, why am I content to be held by them?  If there really is a heaven and a hell why don't we make plans to live in one and shun the other?  If Jesus has gone to prepare a place for us, why don't we prepare to live there?

I understand the scripture that says "Believe on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved" but simple mental recognition is not what that scripture is promoting.  Our belief must make a change in our lives.  We must accept Jesus as our Savior and allow Him to make the necessary changes in our lives that will prepare us to serve Him here and live with Him forever in that place which He has prepared for us. 

Take just a moment today and do a maintenance check on your life.  What you believe is probably pretty established.  But ask yourself the question, "Has what I believe made a difference in who I am and how I live". 

God wants us to be different.  Believe in such a way that it changes your Behavior. 

WINGS

For most of his life he had wanted to fly.  I guess his interest was sparked at a young age by meeting those who had learned the secret of flight.  He read books, listened to stories and studied hard.  He sat through many lectures where the presenter expounded on the skills of flying.  But alas, he could never quite get the hang of this flying thing.

Often he would sit and gaze into the sky, longing to be up there instead of down here.  All he could see here was dirt, trouble, problems, suffering and it wasn't fun nor productive.  If he could only fly! If he could only "slip the surly bonds of earth", get above all this clutter he then could be all that he was meant to be. But it wasn't happening. 

He tried.  Often he would climb with great difficulty to the heights of some structure and throw himself off only to find himself at the bottom, bruised and broken and in worse shape than when he started.  But he didn't give up. More reading, more studying, more listening, more practice.

One day as he sat reading and contemplating his desire to fly, the thought came to him, "What if I had the wings like the birds?  Then I could fly."  But how would he develop or construct wings? 

He begin his design and went about constructing his wings.  His wings had to be strong and sturdy.  They would have to bear him up in times when the storms were raging. They would have to enable him to sore above the problems down below.  They would have to be anchored securely to his body, his fuselage so that they could not break away.  The first wing he found was the wing of surrender. 

He understood that his ability to fly would not depend on his own strength (Lord knows, he had tried that before and failed).  He must first surrender completely to the higher power.  He would have to give up on thinking he could fly by his own might, power, or cunning.  And so he simply consecrated all that he was and all that he had and when he was finished with that wing he took a paint brush and dipped it in some red paint and wrote "SURRENDER" on the wing.

"That should do it" he though, but almost immediately realized that one wing would never lift him from his earthly prospective.  One wing will not function without the other.  Another wing must be constructed. 

So following his initial pattern he built a second wing.  It was equally as strong and stable as the first.  He attached it to his vessel and when the construction was completed he once again took the brush and wrote the word "TRUST" on the wing. 

"That WILL do it", he said. "With Surrender and Trust I will sore above the problems and troubles of this life".  And he did.  With surrender and trust securely attached to his vessel he immediately sored high above the problems of life and begin his journey toward the heavens.

Consecration, surrender is of vital importance in the life of a Christian.  Giving God my all.  The modern day marketers are not the first to use the word "bundle".  The old church called total surrender, giving God our "unknown bundle".  We may not know what will befall us in our future, we may not know what's down the road or around the bend but one thing is for sure, we have surrendered it to God. 

But without the second wing we will never get off the ground.  Trust must accompany surrender.  I have given it all into God's hands and now with all my body,mind, soul and spirit I trust Him to handle it.  Oh, I must make an effort, every effort that I can to follow Him and obey Him but ultimately, it is His battle to fight, His war to win. 

Take those two wings dear reader.  Dip the brush of your will into the red blood of Jesus and write in big letters SURRENDER on one wing and TRUST on the other and FLY, fly above your troubles, you trials, your temptations and your doubts. 

The old prophet Isaiah knew this secret.  In the 40th chapter of his book and in the 31st verse he said, "But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint."

As Christians we are often like an eagle in a chicken coop.  We know we can fly, we were made to fly. The wings are available to us and the sky awaits us.  We sense it in the depth of our being.  But we are grounded by our failure to surrender and our lack of trust.

So fly then little eagle.  Even the sky is not your limit.  The splinders of eternity await you.  God has plans for you to fly.  Take the wings of surrender and trust, sore above your common life and see your world from the  eagle's point of view. 

A WALK IN THE WOODS

I had the opportunity to travel to north Alabama with a group of teens.  I almost called it a blessing.  If you have ever traveled with a group of teens you might think it should be called a curse.  But "anyhow", I went there with them and was tasked with the responsibility of being the speaker for their teen retreat. 

Pranks, fussing, wondering off when they were supposed to stay in one place, boy friends sitting too close, girl friends trying to be "too sweet", questions, thousands of questions, "When do we eat", "Do I have to sleep in the same cabin with him", "Why can't we do this" or "Why do we have to do that"...and the smell, don't teens know how to take baths?  You know what it was like.  You have probably been cursed before.

The morning I was supposed to speak, I woke up early and made my way out into the beautiful north Alabama hills.  Those of you who know me know that there is no place I'd rather be than "out" just enjoying God's beautiful creation. 

I was amazed at the huge age old trees. As the cool fall wind blew through those valleys and around those hills, the trees waved their arms in the wind as if they were saints at an old Holiness camp meeting.

There were so many colors in the forest.  Different types of trees producing different shapes and colors of leaves.  The hardwood parading their beautiful fall fashions while the evergreens refused to change their cloths and kept on their rich green garments.

The rocks, all shapes and sizes.  You could let your imagination run wild and see all sorts of creatures structures and objects as you looked at the rocks.

I stood back on the mountain side and was awe-struck at the beauty of the scene.  All the individual sights and sounds combined to make  a  mosaic of magnificence.  Each tree, rock, bush and even the old stumps contributed what they had to make the scene so surreal. 

You don't have to go to the mountains to see that sight you know.  Look across your congregation.  People that are so different.  Young babies, little "yappity" children, "I can't wait to get out of here" teen-agers, people in coats and ties, farmers in over-alls, and even a few old stumps all combine to make a montage of miracles. 

The love of God is the light that shines through their individual  idiosyncrasies and forms a beautiful rainbow.  Look at them independently and they are beautiful.  Look at them collectively and they form an even more exquisite portrait.

God really knew what He was doing when He created the world didn't He?  Whether we are talking about nature or humanity.

DON'T GET MAD GET BUSY

I sat and watched him last evening.  He tried to assume a comfortable position in the chair across the table from me as we sat alone in my office.  The meeting had been arranged by his parents.  He had gotten into some trouble.  Oh, legally it was a misdemeanor but to the family it might as well have been armed robbery.  It lay heavy on their thoughts and minds and it was a load for this young man to carry.

He is a good kid.  He has been raised in a good church.  He has sat under Holiness teaching and preaching.  He has grown up around Christians.  But as we talked I became angry.  Because someone had let this young man down.  Someone hadn't done their job and now he was confused, wondering, and even by his own admission, "not doin' what God wants me to do". 

He is on the right track now.  He is under conviction and knows right from wrong.  I told him it was his decision and that God was too much of a gentleman to ever push him into something he didn't want.  He stated that he just wants to know what to do.  I told him that the day he calls out to God, God will answer and come running.  I asked him to call me the day he turns his life over to God.  We prayed and parted ways for a while. 

But when he left I was angry.  First I was angry at our denomination.  We call ourselves Holiness people and stress how much we care for the lost.  Yet our national, district and local leadership stresses more political correctness than Holiness.  We require our churches to submit more reports, forms and files than souls.  Instead of a denomination that carries the torch for Christ likeness we have become a denomination that looks more like every other church on any given corner in the U.S.

Then I got angry at the preachers.  As I was growing up my pastor was one whom I could always depend upon to have my back.  He was the man who prayed for me and was concerned about my soul.  He was the one who would be there if I was sick, injured or needed help.  He wrestled with God and the devil and stood before us each week and proclaimed "thus saith the Lord".  But not today.  It is more about, careers, 401ks, insurance and retirement.  Instead of "Here am I send me" it has become "Here am I send money". Hirelings and not shepherds. 

Then my anger turned toward the family, fathers and mothers who feel it is more important to focus on our child's batting average on the ball field than his walk with God.  Parents who will stress the importance of a kids SATs than his SOUL.  Good men and women who don't feel successful unless they can provide a quarter million dollar house, a late model car and all the electronic gadgets invented within the last year for their children.  And yet these well meaning, good people have forgotten what a family altar is all about.  They have forgotten the responsibility, the God given responsibility, given to them when that new born baby was placed in it's mother's womb. 

And then I got angry at me.  How many young men have crossed my path, how many people whom I could have influenced if my focus would have been in the right place. If I would have loved like I say I love, cared like I am suppose to care, sacrificed like I have been called to sacrifice what kind of difference could God have made. 

I heard a story many years ago, I can not be sure if it was true or if my memory of all the details are clear but it went something like this.  A great bridge several miles in length spanned a might river.  Thousands of cars passed across this bridge each day.  However one night during a violent storm a barge broke loose and smashed into the pilings of the bridge causing one of the spans to crash into the river.  As the cars sped across the bridge toward the other side many disappeared over the edge of the break into the blackness of the night and fell 100's of feet into the murky water below. 

A couple of cars saw what was happening and slammed on the brakes just before going over the edge.  One man quickly exited his vehicle and dropped to his knees thanking God for sparing him such an awful fate.  But the man in the other car quickly jumped from the vehicle and begin running back along the bridge, waving his arms, crying to the top of his lungs, screaming for others not to go over the edge.  Some ignored him and plunged to their death. But some stopped and were saved. 

Do you see why I'm angry?  You and I have by the grace of God stopped just this side of the edge.  We have been saved from our spiritual vehicle and fell to our knees thanking and praising God for His deliverance.  And we continue to kneel there as 100's, thousand's rush past us every day and fall into eternal darkness. 

Oh dear reader, warn them, help them.   No matter how stupid you think you might look, no matter how uncomfortable you might be in doing it, no matter if you've never done it before, for your sake, for their sake, FOR GOD'S SAKE, stop the traffic!

I'm so sorry that I have been so immersed in my own situations that I have let others go over the edge.  There are so many people like the young man I mentioned that are wondering and lost and speeding toward eternity without any help or warning.

And I'm mad, and I hope you are too.  But let's not waste our time on being mad.  Let's not point our fingers but instead raise our hands, wave our arms and get busy warning of the sure eternity that is ahead.