SERMONS FROM THE GARDEN

On yesterdays news, the "weather guesser" said that the temperature would be in the mid to upper 90's today.  So because that kind of weather is not conducive to working in the garden and picking beans, I decided that I would get in the garden early. So as soon as my little wife left for work, Gracie and I headed out.  That's not what I usually do.  Usually I sit down and read my copy of the Word of God for a while, read a devotion section, pray or walk down to the tabernacle.  But if I took time to do that today, it was going to get really hot before I got finished in the garden. 

On my knees I headed down one of the two rows of "Louisiana Purple pod" beans that I had planted about 8 weeks earlier.  I was on my knees because last Monday I was hauling scrap iron and decided to play "superman".  I grabbed a large filing cabinet and hoisted it up on the truck.  Didn't seem too bad at the time but I have paid for it for a full week now.  My back hasn't let up much since then.  So I'm on my knees, picking beans.  About a third of the way down the first row I realized that I hadn't even talked to God.  I realized that in years past that He had spoken to me in very real and sweet ways while I was in the garden or working around the farm.  I prayed.  I guess it was a prayer, at least I said, "God I sure wish I could hear from you this morning", and continued on down the row, scooting along on my knees, pulling the basket behind me.

I became conscious of birds singing out along the tree line.  In hearing them I was reminded how much I love music.  Nothing better than listening to four part harmony singing good ole southern gospel music.  If four part harmony sounds so good here, I wonder if there will be perhaps 8 part harmony in heaven.  Or perhaps there will be 1000 part harmony up there. I want to go to heaven just to hear the singing.  If I have to sit on an old slab bench out under a pine tree, just to be able to hear that music will be well worth the trip.

Then I notice the beautiful purple beans hanging in bunches from the vines.  The words of Jesus that said, "I am the vine and you are the branches....you can do nothing without me" came to mind.  I realized how foolish it would be for one of those old purple bean pods to brag about all that it had done.  Without the vine it is just a dried up shell with a pea or two inside. 

As I looked at those pods hanging there I remembered that purple was the color of royalty and acknowledged the fact that the God I serve is THE one and only God.  He is mighty, and one day I will see Him in all his splendor and royalty.

I looked down at the dirt my knees were buried in and thought about the story that Jesus told about how the ground has to be prepared in order for His Word to find a place to grow and prosper.

Looking down the row I noticed how straight they were.  (Sometimes my rows are not that straight but these happened to be pretty good)  I heard Him say "Straight is the way that leads to life".
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About half way down the row sat Gracie.  Now Gracie isn't much for working.  Her little black body gets hot in the Alabama sun and she doesn't last long in the heat.  But she sat there with her back to me.  Faithfully looking down the row.  It was almost like she was guarding me while I picked beans.  I thought about the "vigilance" of God.  How that He promised He would "never leave me nor forsake me". 

After about two hours in the garden I got up, (slowly, wow my back hurts) and headed back to the house.  I had baskets of beans, squash, tomatoes, pepper and cucumbers.  What an abundant harvest for one morning.  I can just hear Jesus say, "Give and it will be given unto you, pressed down, shaken together, and running over".   

I shed myself of my muddy boots and pants and changed into cleaner cloths.  I pulled out two pieces of ham that my mother in law had prepared for Sunday dinner yesterday and fried that in the skillet.  I mixed in a couple of scrambled eggs and sliced one of those "Cherokee Purple" tomatoes to go along with it.  I sat down and as I bowed my head to thank God for the food.  I realized that even thought it was not Sunday and I had not attended a worship service, I had already gone to church. 

If you will set your heart to listen, God will speak to you through everything that you encounter today.  I hope you will listen for His message. 

THE FATHER'S LOVE

 How many times in the written Word of God do we read about the fact that Christians are the children of God?   John 1:12 tells us “But to all who did receive Him, who believed in His name, He gave the right to become “children” of God”. 

I had the pleasure of taking one of my little granddaughters to “school” this morning.  (Actually, it is day care, but she calls it school).  Prior to that however, she got up and we watched some sort of cartoon on the T.V.  Then she wanted to play ball in my bedroom.  After that she decided she wanted to ride the riding lawn mower, so we cranked it up and rode around down in the back fields for a while.  Then she wanted an apple.  Then she wanted to play in the toy box.  Next she decided that she wanted to watch Mickey Mouse.  After that she went to the front porch swing and said “Bump swing”, meaning that I was to sit in the swing and she was to sit in between my legs and we would swing and watch the cars go by out on Poplar Springs Road.  Next, let’s ride the mower again…it went on for more than an hour and a half.  Finally, it came time to go to school and I ask if she wanted a biscuit.  Of course she did, so we drove down to Jack’s and sat at the table and ate our biscuits and drank our Dr. Pepper.  (She had a straw and I had a straw and we drank out of the same cup.  What fun).  We drove around in the truck after that and sang “Nana’s music” which includes songs like, “Itsy Bitsy Spider, Ba-ba Black sheep, and Old McDonald”.  She calls them “Nana’s music because my wife bought all sorts of children’s CD’s to play when they ride in her car.  This morning we borrowed one of Nana’s CD’s and were singing “Nana’s music”. 

Why am I telling you all this?  Because I wanted you to see that for the biggest part of two hours this morning I did anything that my little granddaughter wanted to do.  If left to my “wants” I would have had a bowl of cream of wheat, drank my coffee and got to work.  But because I love my little granddaughter so much, I did what was important to her and what made her happy. 

Do you see where I’m going here?  We are God’s children and because we are God’s children He cares for us, He loves us and He wants to do things that matter to us.  It might not be important in the eyes of an eternal, all knowing, ever present, God but because it is important to “me” His child, He wants to do those things that mean something to me.  Whew!  That’s mind blowing. 

Not only will God provide us with those things and do those things for us but He gets pleasure in doing them.  He gives to His children out of a heart of perfect love.

As I rode back to the house from dropping of Kinsley at school I listened to the local gospel radio station and heard a new song by the Collingsworth Family entitled “It matters to God”.  That song spoke to the exact thing that had transpired in my life this morning.  I had done things with Kinsley because those things mattered to her.  As I arrived home and stepped out of the truck God spoke to my heart and said, “Do you realize how much I love you”?  I couldn’t hold back the tears.

There is a scripture in Matthew 7:11 that says, “If ye then, being evil know how to give good gifts to your children, HOW MUCH MORE, will your  Father which is in Heaven give good things to them that ask Him.”

I hope you will stop for just a moment today and simply soak in the love that your Father in Heaven has for you and offers you.  He is on our side.  He is interested in what is important to us.  Do you know, could you know, just how much He loves you? 

WHAT DOES THOMAS NEED?

I don’t know why God puts certain people on the hearts and minds of certain Christians but I know that he does.  Some of you may have a burden for children.  It may break your heart to see these little ones mistreated and alone.  You may realize that without your help or someone’s help they will be raised without the knowledge of God or the knowledge that Jesus loves them.

Some of you may feel a heavy burden for the teens who are so bombarded with the temptations and high tech distractions of our day.  I was a teen once (believe it or not) as you have been but I am not sure I was ever faced with the assault from Satan like the young people are today.

I have known some who feel a call or a pull toward the elderly or nursing home people. They carry a burden for those who it seems not even their families care about.

I’m not saying that we don’t all care, that we are not all concerned for all the lost but there is a difference between being concerned and being burdened for someone.                                                                                                                                                        

It may be the emergency responder in me.  It may be the fact I was trained when someone is in trouble, their boat is sinking, their house is burning, their car is overturned and they are perishing and need someone to come to the rescue that I am drawn to them.  I am burdened for their souls. I don’t know.  But it seems that the people God gives me a burden for are the ones who are sick, injured, old and dying.  I feel like someone has to stand in the gap. Someone has to call out to God for them.  Someone has to care for them or they will slip over the edge into the blackness of hell.

Some of you may remember that a few years back, God placed three men on my heart.  I did not know them very well.  I only had scattered dealings with them.  I didn’t see them all the time.  I didn’t talk with them very often.  I knew very little about them.  I felt that all three were not Christians and were lost.    For several years now I have had a heavy burden for them.   I won't use their real names but I want to tell you about them.  

PETE:  A little over a year ago I told you about one of those men whose name was Pete.  Pete developed cancer and was dying.  God placed him on my heart but I didn’t know how to approach him, after all I didn’t know him that well and we just didn’t travel in the same circles.  I prayed for him.  I put a rock on my altar for him.  I asked God to help me minister to him.  Several times I was able to speak to him and insert a few “Churchy words” into the conversation with seemingly no results. 

 Pete got worse.  He looked worse.  Death warmed over was a phrase that seemed to fit when you looked at him.  I learned that he was in the hospital in Birmingham and since I had to go to Birmingham that day, God pressured me to go see Pete.  I hate to visit in the hospital.  I hate to visit sick people but I went.  I walked into his room that day to find Pete lying there in a fetal position.  No one was there in the room with him.  He was obviously under a lot of medication because he couldn’t keep his eyes open as we talked.  I would have to keep bumping him to get him to wake up and talk to me. 

“How you doing Pete”?  I asked.  I knew that was a stupid question but it’s all I knew to say.  He told me that just that morning; the doctor had come into his room and told him that he only had 2 months to live.  He was devastated to say the least.  I talked to him about how that sometimes cancer, heart problems and other long term conditions were actually good for us because it gave us time to talk to people we needed to talk with and to get our hearts and lives right with God. 

I asked him, “Pete, have you done that?  Have you asked God to forgive you”? 

He was honest with me that morning.  Death bed honest.  “I’ve confessed everything I know to confess”.  He said.  I’ve asked Him to forgive me.”

“Then you must believe that He does just that”.  I said.   I prayed with him and left the room.  I never saw him again. 

Pete was not saved in the traditional way that you and I, good, holiness, church-going people think folks should be saved.  There was no altar call, no soft music, no walking down the aisle or kneeling at the altar.  He didn’t say all the right words or give a glorious testimony.  But I believe just like the thief on the cross….Pete went to be with Jesus in paradise when he died.

*****

My prayers continued for the other two men on my list.  I called out their names to God each morning and looked for opportunities to speak with them about Jesus.  The last time I saw the second man, he was very sick and weak.  His family, instead of calling 911 and dealing with the fire/rescue, called me. I checked him out and recommended that he go to the hospital.  He didn’t go. I was able to speak with him briefly about how important it was to be ready to die.  He didn’t respond.  I never saw him again. I have lost contact with him. I don‘t know where he lives.  I don’t know his family. I believe that he died but am not sure.

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The third man on my list is named Thomas. You’ve heard me speak of him before.  If there ever was a man who was like Otis on the Andy Griffith show, it is Thomas.  He is the embodiment of the “town drunk”.

He was taught to drink when he was 8-10 years old and hasn’t missed many days between then and now.  He is in his mid-70’s now.  He worked hard and drank hard and cussed hard and lived hard.  Many times as a paramedic I have picked him up from behind garbage dumpsters.  I have found him asleep in the rain.  I have found him on the streets when he was so drunk he couldn’t stand up.   

I don’t know why God placed him on my heart.   It may have been that he looked like my old drunk grandfather looked.  He was short, stooped over, bald and just reminded me of my grandfather.  I have prayed for Thomas for years.

I have invited him to church.  Some of you have visited him when we were doing the DARE TO CARE program here at the church.  He attended church a couple of times.  I remember him sitting on the same bench as my Mom and singing the hymns as we worshiped.  But my heart broke for Thomas. 

My wife and I bought him Christmas gifts.  We invited him to eat Thanksgiving meal with us.  I took him quilts when he said he was cold.  I would stop from time to when I saw him on the street and talk to him but the conversation never got around to Jesus. 

I made my weekly trip into town last week.  While stopped at the traffic light and I looked across at the place where old Thomas usually sits.  He rides the “need-a-ride” bus into town, walks over to the convenience store and buys himself a 6 pack of beer and sits there next to the building and drinks it.  Law enforcement does not bother him.  They don’t want to have to take care of him. 

I said a prayer as the light turned green, drove over where Thomas was sitting and rolled down the window.  Thomas walked up to the truck. We talked and for some reason the conversation got around to music on the local radio station.  Thomas called out the names of the people who had gospel music programs on the local station.  He knew them all.   

“I listen to THE LITTLE WOMAN, SISTER MARGO, Lyle Samford and BRO. KEN”, Thomas said.

 “Thomas, I didn’t know you liked gospel music”, I said.  “Hell yeah, I love Gospel music”, he replied.  You will have to excuse me but that’s the way Thomas talks.  I almost laughed out loud. 

 We talked on for a few more minutes.

 “Thomas, I’ve got to ask you something.  You may think it is none of my business but I’ve just got to ask you.  Thomas, are you a Christian”?

“Sure I’m a Christian.  I know the Lord and He knows me”.  Thomas said emphatically.  Oh, you say, but Christians don't drink.  Christians don't cuss.  Christians go to church every Sunday.  Who am I or you to doubt him?  If Thomas has a relationship with The Lord, I am not going to judge him.

“Thomas, I am so glad to hear that.  I’ve prayed for you for years”. 

We talked a bit more and I moved on.  My heart was exploding inside of me.  If I had been an old time Christian I would have jumped out of the car and ran down the street shouting. 

****** 

QUESTION:  But what I want to discuss with you and what I want to challenge you with this morning is this:   

 WHAT DOES THOMAS NEED?

Your answers may be varied; money:  Yeah, he was waiting on his daughter to bring him some money so he could go buy groceries.  Cloths, yeah, he talked about needing to buy him some more blue jeans.  His were torn and had holes in them.  But those are not Thomas’ greatest needs .

Does Thomas need anything we are offering here at our church?   

Does Thomas need to know the Greek meaning to words in the Bible?  Does he need to be able to determine what the original Hebrew words actually meant when written so many years ago?  Should we be concerned about teaching Thomas the doctrines of our church?  Does he need to know the differences between Calvinist and Wesleyan?    

 WHAT DOES THOMAS NEED?  Tell me.   

My statement to you this morning is this:  Hear me.   What Thomas needs is exactly what millions of others need.  It’s what the people who live on your street, the people you work with, the people in your family…..THOSE FOR WHOM YOU HAVE A BURDEN.  . 

There are people who are “hungry and thirsty” for the Word of God.  They need to, NOT JUST HEAR THE WORD TAUGHT, HEAR IT PREACHED OR HEAR SONGS ABOUT GOD BUT THEY NEED TO SEE IT LIVED OUT IN OUR LIVES.     

Like the blind man by the way side they call out for help.  Like the beggar they sit by the road side and shake their cups.  They need someone who cares enough to put something in it.  Oh, not gold or silver or money….but something of real value.   

Oh, folks we have enough churches.  We have enough programs.  We have enough music and lessons and books and T.V. preachers and radio preachers.  What our world needs it CHRISTIANS who will love folks enough to get involved in their lives. 

Wednesday night the pastor talked about how certain issues in our nation might lead to the punishment of Christians and the breakup of the Christian church today.  I know it’s tough to hear and I don’t want you to take it in the wrong way but maybe, just maybe that is what needs to happen.   

Let’s stop worrying about “having church” and start worrying about lost souls!

Let’s stop playing church and start serving God. 

Pick out someone.  Ask God to place someone, JUST ONE on your heart and get to work!

It may cause you pain and suffering.  It will be a challenge. Your heart will break.  You may lose them you may not be successful in wining them to Christ.  But maybe, just maybe you can help them find the way home.  That's what they need. 

PLEASE PASS THE SALT

When I was a kid, in high school (yes, I did go to school), I had a quirky habit of using quotes or “sayings” as I called them to insert into the conversations we would have.  I called them “Grand-pappy sayings”. 

 For instance, someone might be talking about setting goals or making plans, I would speak up and say “Well, my ole grand-pappy use to say, “It’s better to shoot at the moon and hit the wood pile than to shoot at the wood pile and hit your foot”.   Perhaps we would be talking about something we wished would happen or we wished we had.  I’d say “Wish in one hand and spit in the other and see which one gets full first”.  I had hundreds of them.

 I don’t think I ever heard my grandfather say any of those things.  It was just something I did to be part of the conversation. 

 Later on in life when I started teaching emergency medical classes I used stories.  If the class I was teaching that night was on fractures and splinting let’s say, I would give the rules for splinting and then follow it up with a story of how I splinted a certain fracture or handled a certain situation.  “War stories” is what the students called them.  They heard plenty of them if they sat in my classes.  I do the same thing when I teach Bible studies or Sunday school.  I will use a story to get the point across. 

 It was implied many times; heck even said outright that I should just stick to the facts and forget telling all those old stories.  “No one wants to hear your stories, just get on with the lesson”.  But that’s the way I teach.   I just couldn’t or wouldn’t teach a “real” lesson like other instructors.  I just wasn’t cut out to take the standardized slide show or power point presentation and go through all the points; I had to tell a story or two.

 I felt sort of bad about that until I was reading the other day and read the scripture that came with the little daily “blurp” that we call devotions.  It was taken from Colossians 4: 6; “Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer every man.”

Now salt is a very interesting mineral.  According to the internet (You know if it’s on the internet it has to be true.) salt has over 14,000 uses.   It has been used for preserving meats; it is used for purifying and for its healing capabilities and what you and I are more apt to use it for, flavor. 

As I thought about that scripture I realized that Paul was saying not only should the things I say be graceful or kind and helpful but also my words should be “salty”.  They should be “flavorful”.  They should be enjoyable.

If I just stand in front of a class or a group of people and spew out facts and figures most folks won’t remember them or get very much from them.  Even f they are studious enough to write down the information and remember it, they surely won’t enjoy what they heard.  But if I throw in a few “war stories” or use a few of my “ole grand-pappy” sayings and make the lesson a bit interesting they may just remember something and walk away instructed and entertained; after all, most people would rather be inspired than instructed. 

Case in point and I’ll hush about this.  I had a lady in my EMT class many years ago.  She completed my class with flying colors and went on to take paramedic training.  She was working with an ambulance service and doing a great job.  One night she stopped by the class out at Wallace Community College where I was teaching at the time.  At break she came up to me and said, “I just want to tell you something.  I was working a wreck not long ago and was faced with a rather unique situation.  I wasn’t sure exactly what to do with this patient.  Suddenly I remembered one of those silly old stories you told in EMT class.  It applied to this situation and this patient.  I was able to treat the patient correctly and get him to the hospital for further treatment”. 

Needless to say, what she said made me feel good.  So I think I will take her advice and add it to the words of Paul and just keep on sprinkling a little salt into my conversation.  Remembering that too much is bad for you, but a little bit gives your speech a bit of flavor. 

WHEN GOD SAYS JUMP

The entire essence of our relationship with God is established, maintained and determined by FAITH.

Meaning that the all wise God chose not to provide any hard and fast evidence or any proof of His love and provisions for our temporal or our eternal well-being.  He chose rather to base our complete bond on nothing more than the not-so-simple task of us taking Him at His word. 

He told us to believe on His Son, Jesus Christ and confess our sins to Him and if we choose to do that, if we choose to believe, without proof, then He will forgive our sins and accept us as His adopted children, into His eternal family.  Today we call that being Saved from our sins, and becoming Christians.

Secondly, we are told and have experienced that after we become Christians there is that inclination, that pull, that proclivity that causes us to return to our own selfish ways.  We are pushed around by evil and willingly submit to its power over us. We seem like a washed hog ever too ready to return to our wallowing in the slop from which Christ has forgiven us.  The very thing we say we will never do again is the exact thing we find ourselves doing.

However, if we come to God recognizing our plight and being cognizant of our need and relinquish our control over into His hands and if we ask and by FAITH believe then He will give us His Holy Spirit to live within us to cleanse us and give us the power to live a holy life.  We call that the second work of grace or Sanctification. 

God saves us by faith.  God sanctifies us and fills us with His Holy Spirit by faith.  He has given us His word and our responsibility our part of this relationship is to simply (or sometimes, not so simply) have faith (trust) that He will do what He says He will do.

As I said before however the entire essence of our relationship with God is by faith.  Now get this.  Not just our salvation, not just our sanctification but our entire relationship must be based on our trust that God will do what He says.

Recently my little granddaughter was playing on the hay wagon.  She called me over and wanted me to “get down” after a few attempts at understanding what she wanted I realized that she wanted me to kneel down so that I could catch her when she jumped from the wagon.  To my knowledge we had not played this game before.  I’m not sure why she decided to play it now.  But of course I knelt down and she counted “one, two, three” and without hesitation she jumped from the wagon into my waiting arms. She laughed with glee as did I and immediately she climbed back on the wagon and yelled “again”.  This went on for a while until she and I grew tired and went to play another game. 

Why did Kinsley jump to me?  Did it ever enter into her little blonde head that she would jump and that “Bump” would let her fall onto the ground?  Absolutely not!  She believed, she knew, she had FAITH that when she leaped off of the wagon, Bump would catch her. 

Christian, I don’t know what trial you are going through today.  It may be financial.  It may be physical.  It may be mental.  It may be relational. It very well may be spiritual.  Can you at all doubt that our Heavenly Father is any less of a Father than I am?  Do you believe that He will encourage you to jump into His arms and then fail to catch you?  

We find ourselves in troubling times.  We think there is no way out.  We have done all we know to do and in a last breath effort say, “I can do nothing else, I must simply fall into the arms of God”.  That is the best thing that we could do.  That is the first thing we should do.   Before I work my  spiritual fingers to the bone trying myself to work out an answer, wouldn’t I be much better off to simply turn loose and fall……fall into the loving arms of my Father.  That is only done by FAITH.

The writer of the letter to the Hebrews tells us that we must “come boldly to the throne of grace” so that we can find mercy, grace and help in our time of need.  I don’t know about you but I for one need mercy, grace and help on a daily basis. 

You might say, “Is that all I can do is believe?  Is that all I can do is have faith?  Friend that is not all you can do THAT IS THE BEST YOU CAN DO!  That is your best option. That is what we should do first and continue to do until God answers. 

There is no safer more secure more relaxing place and time in our lives than the place and time we let go and let God take control of the situation.  That is called FAITH. 

God I believe, Help my unbelief.