WAITING TO LAND

Recently, my wife, Keva had to travel to Atlanta, Georgia on a project for the company she works for.  I hated for her to travel there alone and I had plenty of off time saved up.  So I decided to drive her to Atlanta and stay with her until her task was complete. 

We drove to Atlanta along Interstate 20 and as we neared the big city we noticed a remarkable site that I had never seen before.

As we approached from the west and crossed over those foothills just outside the massive city, Atlanta’s lights glowed brightly in the distance.  That sight alone for country people like my wife and I was exciting.  But then we noticed the lights in the sky. 

The night sky was crisp and clear.  From our vantage point it was easy to distinguish the lights of the great city from the lights of the massive night sky.

The Atlanta Hartsfield airport is west of the city.  I knew that it was a very busy airport but didn’t realize how busy until we neared Atlanta that evening. 

There, above us, almost like they were lining up, were scores and scores of airplanes.  It seemed to us that they were standing in line, waiting for their turn to land at the airport.   I guess in fact that is exactly what they were doing, yet traveling at a very high rate of speed.

I thought of all the people seated in those planes flying along at such a great speed.  Some were nearing the end of a long business trip.  Some of them were anticipating meetings with relatives who were already there.  Some were excited about what they were going to see and do when they arrived.  There may have been someone on one of those planes who was anticipating the meeting of someone special, perhaps a bride about to see her groom. 

They had no idea who was “in line” before them or after them.  Their thoughts and attention was there in the airplane.  They were reading books, watching movies, eating, drinking and talking. 

I thought how much that mimics our Christian expedition.  We all are on a journey and are rapidly approaching the end of that voyage whether we realize it or not. 

We are all busy reading, studying, talking, eating, drinking and being merry.  Most of us have not bothered looking out the window to see how close we might be to our destination.    

Some of us started on this journey long ago. The trip has been lengthy.  The work has been tiring.  Oh, we have had some good times and met some good people along the way.  But we are tired and can’t wait to get home. 

Some of us are looking forward to the relatives and friends who have gone before us to that great “City”.  We can’t wait to see them. 

Some of us have pondered for years about the glory and splendor of that beautiful place.  Although the Word tells us “eye hath not seen nor ear heard neither have entered into the heart of man the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him”.  Still we can’t wait to experience that wonder.

Some of our minds are on The One who is so special to us.  We long to see Jesus.  We are His bride and He is our groom. 

But sadly, there are many who are not expecting to arrive.  Their only thought is the trip. When they stepped on this plane it was as if they never expected to exit.  How foolish. 

One day our plane will arrive.  We don’t know exactly when.  We don’t know what our place in line might be.  For those of us who are ready it will be a great “touchdown”. 

I hope you are anticipating your landing. It has been planned for a long time. 

Hey, look out the window.  I think I can see the lights of the city. 

THROUGH THE FOG

Those of you who know me might remember that many years ago I served in the U.S. Coast Guard.  As I have said before, I had no dream of becoming a fire fighter, EMT or anyone who “saved” folks when I was young.  I don’t think I had any special skills that would have caused the people who were in the command structure to think I would be better than anyone else in an emergency situation.  But somehow even though I was sent to diesel engine school, I ended up being stationed with a Search and Rescue team in Galveston, Texas. 

The way that system worked was very similar to the way a fire department works now.   There were crews who manned certain boats on any given day.  On each crew there was an engineer (that was the position I filled) who made sure the boat and equipment ran correctly.  The engineer also did the firefighting, rescue work. 

Then there was the “coxswain”.  This man was in charge of navigation to and from the emergency.  He managed the boat operations. 

The third man on the boat was called the “seaman”.  This man handled the lines, assisted the coxswain and when he could, assisted the engineer. 

I served with several coxswains during my time in the Coast Guard but I want to tell you about a specific time and a specific coxswain.

His name was Bruce and he was from Huntsville, Alabama. Bruce was a tall, thin, blonde guy.  He spoke in a very slow southern drawl.  Bruce had only been married for a short time and he and his wife lived together with a very excitable Chihuahua dog in a small apartment there on Galveston Island.  Although Bruce was probably one of the best coxswains in our unit the thing I remember most about him was the slow, deliberate, calm way he approached every situation.  I would be in full, wide open, hurry up, get-er done mode and Bruce would never change his tone or his speed. 

On this particular occasion I remember being sent from Galveston, North, up the Houston ship channel to search for a lost vessel.  The fog was so thick you could literally not see the bow from the stern on the 40 foot utility boat we were manning that day. 

Once we pulled out of the slip at Galveston and turned into the ship channel I had no idea where we were or how to get back to base.  That day I learned a few lessons in navigation.

I was at once ready to abort the mission and if at all possible, return to base. But Bruce broke out a chart.  This is a map for waterways.  He looked at the compass and at the chart and confidently guided our little boat from one buoy to the next. Although I had no idea where we were or how to get back and although none of us could see 40 feet fore or aft of us, Bruce had complete confidence in the chart and the compass and his ability to follow the instructions left for him.

I was not as confident in my coxswains ability.  I walked to the bow and stood there, peering into the white nothing-ness trying to see something, anything that would give me an idea as to which way we should go. 

"Just off the starboard bow" Bruce said, "should be a red boey.  Let me know when you see it"

And sure enough, in just a moment, there it was just like he said.  It didn't happen just once but over and over again.  Bruce would read the instructions, set the course and follow the compas and the next boey would be exactly where it was supposed to be. 

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As I sat in Wednesday night Bible study last week our pastor was explaining the story of the patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  He told of how they simply trusted in God for guidance.  He told how they resolutely followed the commands of God even though they had no idea where they were going or how to get there. 

They did not have the Bible to read in order to see what was ahead.  They could only trust in the promise of God.  They could only believe that the God who had promised was more than capable of fulfilling HIs promise.  They may have been “fogged in” by the situations and circumstances around them.  But by their faith in the One who drew the chart and the One who created the compas,  they prevailed.  

And you know, for a lot of those who have gone before, things didn't end well.  Hebrews 11 (The Faith Chapter) put it like this:

They had "...trials of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment;  They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wondered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented....they wondered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth. And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, RECEIVED NOT THE PROMISE:  God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect". 

Those people couldn't see through the fog any more than Bruce and I could back there in the Houston ship channel but they trusted in the promise and the Promis-er. 

Oh, that I could be like that.  But I want to see all the way to the end of the road before I make the first step. I want to be assured of the outcome before I commit.  I want a road with no bumps, pot-holes or ruts.

You know God doesn’t work that way don’t you? 

Did you catch the last part of that scripture? 

They were faithful.  They did what they were supposed to do.  They believed God.....BUT RECEIVED NOT THE PROMISE!  God had a better plan.  Their work, their faithfulness, their obedience COMBINED with ours is what God had in mind. 

So when things get tough for you and I, when we don't understand why problems and trials happen in our life.  I trust that we will add our name to the list of those faithful followers and know that we are fulfilling His plan.

I guess I’ve got a few folks to thank this morning because I’ve gotten a much clearer understanding of my place and part in the story of the Kingdom.  I have no way of knowing the whole story.  I have no way of seeing what will happen to me or my loved ones.  But I can take the chart and compass and trust in them to get me where I’m going.

Read the chart, trust the compass and set the course.  Have faith in the one who can see it all above the fog.

So thanks this morning to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and all those un-named folk who have gone before, thanks to the pastor and thanks to Bruce for all combining to teach on old dog new tricks.  With your examples and instructions, and the promises and over-sight of the Great Commander, I think I can make it through the fog. 

 

   

PRAISE ISN'T PRAISE TILL YOU GIVE IT AWAY

PRAISE ISN’T PRAISE TILL YOU GIVE IT AWAY

There are some really foolish questions that people ask about God.

·        Can God create a rock so big that He cannot move it?

·        Can God create an object so small that He cannot see it?

·        Can God create a sandwich so big that He can’t eat it?

These questions have been used for years to try and confuse Christians who say that God is omnipotent.

I don’t want my question to you to be viewed in that light.  It’s not meant to confuse you but to enlighten you.

My question:  Can God receive a gift that is not offered?

In my study of Psalms, (which is just getting off the ground).  I have found that another reason David was a man after God’s own heart is that he was a man who constantly PRAISED God. 

David had problems and troubles both physically, relationally and spiritually, but he always, in all situations, Praised God.

If I asked you if you thought you praised God or even knew how to praise God most, if not all of you would answer in the affirmative. 

“Sure, I praise God all the time.  Oh, I may not praise him like you do, or I may not praise Him out loud, but I praise Him”.

I want to go over with you the words that David used in the book of Psalms that have been interrupted into the English language to mean PRAISE.  You know that the Hebrew language was much different from ours.  Many of their words have been combined into just one English word which is often confusing to us. 

It goes without saying that I am not a Hebrew scholar.  I have never studied the language.  I can’t speak good English, much less Hebrew.  But I have books that will do the work for me and I want to share that with you.

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Words for Praise in Psalms:

1.  Yadah  (yaw-daw):  to use the hands, extend the hands , an action word

You have seen this in churches.  You may have used it yourself.  A person might stand, or kneel, or even sit on the bench and as someone is singing, or the preacher says something that you agree with or can relate to, you raise your hand. 

Church of God folk raise both hands, Nazarenes raise one, and Baptist wouldn’t raise a hand if he were being robbed. 

2.  Tehhillaw :  laudation,  a hymn of praise  

This is something that is done in most churches.  The congregation might sing together or someone preforms a “special” song.

3.  Zamar (zaw-mar):  to strike with the fingers on an instrument/ play and sing

This word means to play an instrument (usually accompanied by singing) When someone plays a piano special or someone plays a trumpet, even when the offering is being taken or the pianist plays prior to service.

4.  Halal (haw-lal):  to make a show, to boast (foolishly), to rave, to celebrate,

To me, this brings to mind a football fan.  If you notice the people in the stands when the camera pans across the crowd, they look boastful (“we’re number one”), they are making a show (waving their big foam rubber fingers, or flags) and they are definitely celebrating.

5.  Shabach (shaw-bakh):  to address in a loud tone, commend loudly

I am reminded of old Bro. Johnny Banks who used to pastor Sylacauga First Church of The Nazarene.  He would sit in the congregation at camp meeting and when the speaker would say something that Johnny agreed with, he would slowly, but with a deep, booming voice, say “Glory be to God forever”.

Everyone in the place heard him.  He was commending what was said and doing it with a loud voice.

6.  towdah (to-daw):  A choir of worshipers, extending their hands as offering a sacrifice of praise

I love choirs.  I have had the privilege of leading several choirs.  What I remember about them is not their great singing ability but their heart for worship.

In Columbiana we took a page out of the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir’s practice.  We would often gather around the altar to pray before we practiced.  It would turn into a prayer meeting.

I could look up into the choir while we were singing and I could see the tears in the eyes of the people.  I could see their hands raised.  Some wouldn’t even be singing, just praising God. 

God’s presence would come on the service and His glory would fall.  They offered their praise as a sacrifice to God. 

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So there you have it, David’s methods of Praising God.

1.  Raising your hands, outstretched toward God

2.  Singing

3. Playing an instrument

4.  Acting wild and crazy, celebrating

5.  Joining others in offering a sacrifice of praise to God

Notice that each is a “sacrifice”, something that you give or offer to God.  It might cost you something.  You might have to give up your self-consciousness, your comfort zone, your pride in how people look at you. 

I wonder if the way we praise God is a sacrifice at all.

Your first attempts at PRAISE might take a little thought and effort but I believe that when we learn to truly worship and praise, that our PRAISE will become natural and be an outward expression of what’s actually happening on the inside. 

What can’t God do?  He can’t receive a gift or accept a gift that you do not offer.

Let’s join DAVID in OFFERING our PRAISE to God. 

WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN YOU CAN'T "GET-ER DONE"?

WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN YOU CAN’T “GET-ER DONE”

PSALMS 18:4-7

Is it just a man thing?  Do women ever feel this way?  Am I the only one who thinks he is 10 feet tall and bullet proof?

Most of you know of my background.  But let me just put my questions in context for you.

I was a real wimp growing up.  In elementary school and even in high school (There was no such thing as middle school or junior high when I was in school.  You just went right from elementary school with one teacher who was with you all day long….to high school, where you went from class to class) I was not good around people.  I was intimidated by just about everyone. 

I can remember wanting to go out for little league baseball one year.  I wasn’t as big as the other kids but I could pitch pretty well. I remember Dad nailing a vegetable basket up on the porch so I could try to “hit the spot when I was pitching”.   There is no telling how many windows I broke or damage I did in learning to pitch. 

I was good at fielding the ball and although not a power hitter, I could make contact with the ball and was fast enough to get on base. I would have been a pretty good kid to have on your little league team. 

So the day came to sign up.  Everyone was supposed to meet at the practice field right after school.  I made up my mind that I was going to play ball on this little league team.  I got my stuff together and walked down to the field.  But before I got there, while I was still about a half block away, I heard some of the guys already there.  They were laughing and yelling and throwing the ball back and forth.  I recognized several of their voices.  They were a year older than me.  They were a bit bigger than me.  Suddenly, I stopped in my tracks.  I can’t play ball with those guys.  I’m not good enough to be on that team.  I was intimidated. 

So I turned around walked back home and never played little league baseball.  That’s the way I was in school.  That’s just one example.  There were others.  I just couldn’t function around people. I HAD NO SELF CONFIDENCE.

But then I graduated from high school.    There was a little thing called the Viet Nam War going on about that time and if you were healthy and not wealthy and you were not wise enough to go to college and had too much pride to run to Canada or Mexico, you pretty much were going to get a free trip to Viet Nam.   

So instead of accepting that free trip I decided to join the Coast Guard.  To this day I don’t know why.  I never wanted to rescue anyone.  I never wanted to fight fire.  I got sea sick for goodness sake!

But sometime between when I joined and when they sent me to Texas to work with a Search and Rescue team, I gained some self-confidence.  Suddenly I thought I could do anything.  I would jump into the Gulf with nothing on but my cut-off jeans and my knife and rescue folks. 

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I found that I loved to run into dangerous places that others were running out of.  I became a FIX-ER!

If someone was in trouble, I was the one to go get them out of trouble.  If situation was bad, I was the one who would be sent to take care of it.  If something was broken I’d be the one to go and GET-ER DONE.

Honestly I have no idea how that happened, but it did, and I was comfortable in that position. I’m not trying to blow my own horn.  I just want to make the point , that’s the way I saw myself and I guess the way others saw me because they kept putting me in that position. 

ENOUGH ABOUT ME, LET’S TALK ABOUT DAVID FOR A LITTLE WHILE.

Are there people in the Bible that you don’t like?

Oh, I’m not talking about the bad guys, like Goliath or Ahab or Herod or Pilate. I’m talking about guys that are supposed to be the good guys….but somehow you just don’t like them. 

Well, that’s the way I use to feel about David.  I don’t know why.  I think I thought he was a show-off.  I may have thought that God just handed him everything he needed.  But for some reason I just didn’t like David. 

You know the Bible tells us however that David was “a man after God’s own heart”.  And I just couldn’t get that either.  He stole a man’s wife and had the guy killed!  Is that a man after God’s own heart? 

Well, you know the story.  He went from a little shepherd boy to fighting and killing the giant to King of Israel.  David could pretty much ask for what he wanted and pay for what he got.  David was a guy who could GET-ER DONE.  Wouldn’t you agree? 

Although David had lots of high times when things went really well for him, he also had a bunch of bad times.  And I want to take you to one of those times quickly this morning and see if you don’t think it applies to us, today. 

Saul loved David at first.  After all David had killed the giant and given Israel the victory over the Philistines.  David could play the harp and sooth Saul’s restless soul.  But Saul got jealous.  Saul hated David then and Saul tried on many occasions to catch David and kill him. 

In Psalms 18 we find a Psalm of David which according to my Bible are the words or “song” if you will that David sang when God delivered him from the hand of Saul on one of these occasions.    

Let’s look at the kind of situation David was in: 

Chapter 18 verse 4-5:

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“The sorrows of death compassed me, and the floods of ungodly men made me afraid.  The sorrows of hell compassed me about: the snares of death prevented me.”

You don’t have to be a Bible scholar to read this and figure out that David was feeling kind of bad.  

If he had been a GET-ER DONE GUY once, he certainly wasn’t feeling it now.  Sure God had blessed him in the past.  Sure things had gone good for him back then. Sure people liked him and cheered for him back in the day…..but now HE WAS IN TROUBLE. 

And that brings me up to today.  That brings me up to the here and now.  That’s where I’m at this morning. 

We’ve had some good times in this church.  We have had some great services and great fellowships and times when things were really looking up.  We have had souls saved and believers sanctified.  Families have been brought together.  Lives have been changed. 

But recently, we have secured a new pastor.  Not just any pastor but a pastor who has a doctor’s degree.     He is educated and has traveled all over the U.S. to speak to various organizations and groups.  He has pastored churches much larger than this one.  And now WE HAVE HIM as our pastor.

BUT before he had been her long enough to learn where the light switches are located…….he loses his “real” job.

And if that isn’t enough, now he is battling this “Bell’s palsy” thing which is affecting his speech. 

But the pastor is not the only one facing tough times.

I can mention one of our members who has diabetic problems.  For a long time he has struggled with infection in his feet and legs.  He has been in the hospital for a while now.   He was supposed to get out of the hospital yesterday but sometime in the middle of Friday night he woke up with his lower extremities swollen and right back in the same or even worse situation than he was before.  Doctors now say that he will most likely lose his leg.

We could probably go around the room and each of you could tell of a situation in your life RIGHT NOW that has you feeling the same way David felt with Saul hot on his trail. 

So what can I do about it?  What can we do about it? If I’m such a “Get-er done” person why don’t I do something?

I CAN’T FIX IT.  I CAN’T GET-ER DONE. 

I can’t find the pastor a job or make his palsy go away.  I can’t heal our brother’s leg and cure his diabetes.  I can’t fix your problem and make the things that are troubling you to disappear. 

What do you do when you can’t GET-ER DONE?

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David had the answer.  Let’s read on a little bit further.

Chapter 18, verse 6:

“In my distress I CALLED UPON THE LORD and CRIED OUT UNTO MY GOD…..and He heard my voice out of His temple, and my cry came before Him, even into His ears”

TRUTH NUMBER ONE:   WHEN I CRY OUT TO GOD….HE WILL HEAR ME!

How foolish we are to try to fix things ourselves.  How silly it is to think we can “Get-er done”.

We think we are doing our best, trying to make things work in our lives when in all actuality we are making things worse.

I was told a true story many years ago about a textile mill down in “The Valley” (Shamut, Langdale, Laneyt) In this particular plant there were many, many sewing machines.  The workers sat there and all day long sewed garments.  They had quotas.  They had to work as fast as they could in order to make those quotas. 

But from time to time their thread would get tangled in the machine.  If their thread was tangled they couldn’t sew garments and the tally would go down they couldn’t produce. 

Each person was told when they were given the job, “If your machine gets tangled up DO NOT TRY TO FIX IT YOURSELF, CALL THE FORMAN HE CAN FIX IT QUICKLY AND GET YOU BACK TO WORK”

Well this one little lady was working hard and doing a good job of keeping up with the tally but suddenly her machine got tangled.  She knew about sewing machines and so instead of calling the foreman and making a big deal out of it she decided to do it herself. 

The more she worked the more tangled the thread got in the machine.  When the foreman finally came by and saw her machine not working he grew very angry at the lady. 

“But Mr. Foreman” she said, “I was doing my best”.

“No M’am” the foreman told her, “You were not doing your best.  Your best would have been to call on me first”.

When we get into trouble or best is to STOP RIGHT THERE AND CALL THE BOSS!

“Call on me and I will answer you and show you great and might things that you do not know”. Jer. 33:3

Calling, that’s my part.  But read on.

PSALMS 18: 7-9

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“Then the earth shook and trembled; the foundations also of the hills moved and were shaken, because He was wroth (mad).  I think sometimes when we get “picked on” by the devil it makes God mad.

There went up a smoke out of His nostrils, and fire out of His mouth devoured; coals were kindled by it.

He bowed the heavens also and came down…”

Are you picking up what I’m laying down?  God will bow down the heavens to come to your aid.

TRUTH NUMBER TWO: GOD WILL MOVE HEAVEN AND EARTH TO COME TO OUR RESCUE

That’s a pretty simple plan isn’t it?  We call out; God hears and does all sorts of wild and crazy stuff to GET-ER DONE.

CONCLUSION: You know how I’d like to end this morning’s worship?

1.   I wish there was a great District Superintendent here to come forward and lead us in prayer.  I wish that we could hear him use great words and phrases, that with all his praying experience he could call together heaven and earth and let us touch God.

2.  I wish there were some of the great old saints that I use to hear at camp meeting who could fall on their knees at the altar and grab heaven by the tail and bring it down to earth so God would just walk out on our troubled waters and work a miracle.

3.  I wish we had someone who was able to pray for effect. 

But that’s not what the Word tells us we need.  It simply says if we are in need, CALL OUT.

You may not feel a need this morning.  Everything in your world might be going just fine.  You may not be at a point in your life where you feel like you need to CRY OUT TO GOD. But there are folks here that could use your prayer if you don’t need them.  

I am there.  I’m at that point where I need God to hear me.  I can’t GET-ER DONE and I need Him to do it.  And honestly, that’s a great place to be.  Until you and I get to the place where we can’t get-er done we will continue to try and do it on our own.  But when we get to the place where only a miracle will make it happen…..that’s when we get our miracle. 

What do I do when I can’t get­-er done?  I call on God and He will bow down the heavens to help me.

BUILDING TRIDITIONS

BUILDING TRADITIONS

Christmas 2011 will be different for us.  In the 27 years that Keva and I have been married we have always had someone in our house at Christmas.  Chris and Derek were there in the early years.  We have DVD's of multiple Christmas mornings as Derek comes out of his bedroom, his hair standing straight up on his head, scratching his butt and his underwear dragging. Chris too cool to be excited and acting like he could care less but quickly tearing open his packages and enjoying the day. 

After they left home somehow Granny ended up with us.  Even in the years when she could still take care of herself and the boys were still at home she would come down and share the holidays with us. 

Over the last 5 or 6 years that she has lived with us Christmas has been handled just like she was a little kid.  Santa would come and leave her gifts in her spot under the tree and she would ooh and aah at the little stuff she would get. 

But this year Granny got her Christmas gift early.  The spenders that she is experiencing this year are greater than any of us can ever imagine this side of heaven, and honestly, as much as I miss her, I wouldn't bring her back here if I had the power.  She is home and I am so thankful and glad. 

But that puts Keva and I plowing new ground for Christmas. 

What do we do and how do we do it? 

Well, as Captain of this ship I made an executive decision that we would begin some new traditions this year.  We will not sit here and contemplate how things once were and how we miss those who are not here.  We will do new things, in new ways and build traditions that will hopefully last us until we go home. 

But how does one begin to build a tradition? Well, the solution certainly was not in my muddled mind nor could I find any help from those I asked.  But as I sat at the breakfast table this morning studying the writings of the shepherd King David, the following idea came to me. See what you think.

Christmas is the day we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.  Someone, somewhere decided that we would celebrate this wonderful miraculous occurrence on December the 25th. So each December 25th we celebrate His birthday by getting gifts for ourselves.  I'm glad people don't celebrate my birthday that way. It would be pretty crappy if each July 9th you all gave each other gifts and I didn't get anything at all. 

So this year in the Collum house we will celebrate the birth of Jesus by each of us giving Him a present.  We will each pray about what we will give to Jesus this year and then we will wrap a token of that gift in a nice Christmas package.  

I will make a few suggestions just to give you an idea of what I mean.   

• One might offer to the Christ child his health.  All the year long he or she will make a conscious effort to take care of their body.  Eating right, exercising, getting enough sleep and working hard.  Presenting your body a living sacrifice to Him.
• Another suggestion might be to give your service to Him.  Following the example of Matthew 25:40 determining that "in as much as you have done it unto one of the least of these you have done it unto me".
• You might give your work to Him.  Making an effort to do all things that you do whether building, teaching, selling, serving as done unto Him. 
• You mind would be a good gift.  Romans 12:2 says that we should not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the "renewing of our minds".

Oh, I know, all these things should be His anyway.  When I knelt and gave Him my all, all of these things were in the package but if you are like me you forget sometimes.  Sometimes you might just need to go back to the Mesoboth and ask " why did I place these stone here", "what do these stones mean"?

I intend to make Christmas morning that time.  So this year around our artificial, Wal-mart tree, surrounded by a bunch of Granny's old teddy bears, with the stocking of our entire growing family hanging from the doorway and a miniature mountain of wrapping paper in the floor, Keva and I will unwrap our gifts to baby Jesus. 

I will carry that token in my pocket, hang it on the mirror of my truck, stick it to the refrigerator or in someway be reminded of it each day. 

I hope Jesus likes what I've got Him for Christmas this year.  I hope He will realize that I put some thought into it.  I intend to make a tradition out of this.  I hope for every Christmas from this point on, I will give Jesus the best gift I can offer. 



PRAISE

BLUEPRINT FOR A SUCCESSFUL CHURCH

ACTS 2: 47

PRAISE

“Praising God, and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved”.

Acts 2:46 reiterates what we have already discussed in our study.  It again uses the words and phrases, “continue”, “one accord” and “breaking bread from house to house”.  But verse 47 includes an additional component to the mix.  Verse 47 tells us that what these people were doing was being done with “praise”. 

I want us to look at the word praise and the act of praise and see if we can get a handle on what it means and how to accomplish it so that it will help us become a more successful church.

DEFINITIONS:   Commendation, admiration, extol, approbation, exalt, acclaim, laud, approval, and esteem are all words that can be used in place of the word praise. 

So if we are praising someone we exhibiting “an act of ”______” any of the above. 

Praising is an act.  Praising is an action word.  It would be very difficult to sit quietly in a room by yourself, without any type of expression and to give praise.   Praising is “an act of commending”, “and act of admiration”, “an act of extolling”, “an act of _____” fill in the blank with any of the words in the definitions.  We can sit in a room and think about praising God.  We can feel God’s presence and desire to bless His name and praise Him but until we put those thoughts into action, they are nothing more than “thoughts”  not praise.   

Sometimes when we are defining a word it works better for me to give examples rather than synonyms.

For example, if I want to praise my wife for the wonderful meal that she has prepared.  (Why are you laughing?  Keva can cook.)  I would say something like “Wow that was a really great meal you cooked tonight.  You are a fantastic cook.”  By saying that, I am commending her on her cooking skills.  I am acclaiming to anyone listening (even if it is only her) that she is a good cook.

Or if I wanted to praise the pastor for a good message he brought I might shake his hand, pat him on the back and say something like, “Dr. Rick that was a wonderful message today.  You were really used by God to bring the truth into focus”.  I am putting my thoughts into action. 

These are acts of praising.

These acts can be elaborate or simple.  I was privileged to attend an Eagle Scout awards ceremony last Saturday.   One of my young students had completed the requirements for Eagle Scout along with the seven other members of his troop. (To our knowledge this is the first time the entire troop received Eagle Scott recognition at the same time). These young men were praised in several ways.  They were given certificates, badges, commendations from the state legislator and other items by state, county and local officials.  Several times during the ceremony the 200 or so people in attendance stood to their feet and applauded or praised these boys for what they had accomplished. 

My praise was just as sincere but in a much more common way.  I gave this young man a small gift and a card that said, “Good job, I’m so proud of you”.  No matter how large or small, each of us, by an act or action expressed our praise. 

TYPES OF PRAISE:

In doing this study this week I have come to realize something about praise that I had never seen before.  You may have already realized this but it jumped out at me.  There are at least two types of praise, there may be more but I think there are at least two. 

Spontaneous praise.  This is the kind of praise that you might see at an Alabama or Auburn football game.

You have seen it and experienced it and participated in it a thousand times without even realizing it.  The coach sends in the play.  The quarterback calls the play.  The linemen execute the correct blocking scheme, the running back breaks through the line and turns on the heat and outruns the defenders and streaks for a 99 yard touchdown.  The stands erupt with spontaneous praise.  Thousands of foam rubber fingers are raised in the air.  Cheerleaders jump up and down and turn flips on the sideline.  Drunks throw their beer on the people sitting in front of them.

No one orchestrated this.  No one passed out fliers at the beginning of the game that said “When the running back makes a 99 yard touchdown everyone should immediately stand to their feet, scream and yell to the top of their lungs, wave their hands in the air and yell “We’re number one”.   This is simply spontaneous praise.  It is an act of celebration for the benefits we think we have gained by our team scoring more points than the other team.

We see this kind of praise in church from time to time.  A singer presents a song that touches our hearts, the speaker makes a statement or point that means something to us, someone gives a testimony that particularly blesses us and without instructions, without forethought, without prompting from anyone else we spontaneously praise God.

“Amen, Praise the Lord, Bless His Holy name” might be heard from our lips.  Our hands may be lifted into the air as a sign of praise.  Tears might fill our eyes as we bless God and praise God for what He has done for us. 

In football games and basketball games and baseball games I have seen extreme praising.  I’ve seen people grab the school flag and run around the field.  I have seen people stand in their seats and wave towels, shirts and other items of clothing.  I have heard them scream to the top of their lungs.  I’ve seen them cry and shout and beat on the seats, walls and vehicles. 

I’ve even seen some pretty extreme praising going on in the church, although it’s been a long time ago.  I remember a very long time ago at Birmingham First Church, there was a little man who played the organ.  I had seen him there many times as we visited that church for revivals or special services.  He was a kind little man, a gentle man, a quiet man.  He sat on the organ seat and played the music beautifully but not much else.

One afternoon at a special service there, the Spirit of God moved among us.  Hands were raised; tears filled the eyes of many.  Suddenly, without script or prompting this little man got up from his organ seat and begin to run.  (I’ve always been scolded for running in the church but no one scolded him)  He ran down one side of the church, around the back of the church, down the other side of the church and across the front of the church.  He was whooping to the top of his lungs and waving his arms. He was running as fast as his little legs would carry him.  When he arrived back at the organ he quietly sat down and begin to play again. 

Spontaneous praise, it comes in different forms.  I remember an old farmer who attended our little church in Calera years ago. The pastor would give an opportunity for testimonies and people would stand and say whatever was on their minds.  This old man was a man of few words.  I honestly can’t think of any one thing that he ever said that I can remember.  But as he would stand to give his testimony, he would get out a few words, something like “Pastor I want to just praise the Lord for what He has done for me”.  Usually not even that much, sometimes he would only get out the word “Pastor” and then he would reach into the bib pocket of his old overalls and pull out a big ole red handkerchief, he’d begin to cry and wipe the tears from his eyes.  He’d do this for several minutes without saying another word.  God’s Spirit would fall on the service and people would be blessed.  After a while the old man would sit down. 

Each of these examples depicts spontaneous praise.  Neither of these men sat at home and thought about when and where they would praise God, it simply happened. 

But then there is INTENTIONAL PRAISE.  This is praise that we think about beforehand.  Max Lucado tells this story in one of his books.  Let me share it with you.     

Kris Hogan was the football coach of the Faith Christian High School in Grapevine, Texas. Kris had a very successful football program going there.  He had 70 players on his team.  He had 11 assistant coaches, he had just about any type of training equipment that a coach could want and he had the support of his administration and the parents of the community. 

Each year Faith Christian school played a football game against another school called the Gainsville State School.  This school was quite different from Faith school.  Gainsville was a state correctional school.  Each of the boys who attended that school were there because they had done something wrong, something that deserved punishment or correction. 

Instead of good equipment these boys wore pads that were seven years old.  They played with helmets that were 10 years old.   There were no cheerleaders for this team.  There were no followers of this team except the uniformed officers who followed them and surrounded them whenever they played.  The Gainsville “Tornados” didn’t even have a stadium in which to play their games. 

On this particular day Kris Hogan who was a Christian, decided that he would do something special for these boys.  He asked for volunteers to switch sides in the game.  He got 200 parents and supporters of the Faith Christian School to cross the field and sit in the stands on the Gainsville side.  They took the team roster and learned the names and numbers of the boys who played.  They learned the positions that each boy played and were prepared to cheer for these boys.

As the pre-game began, these people formed a 40 yard “spirit line” through which the young men would run onto the field.  That week they made a large banner that stretched across the goal post so the team could break through it.  As each boy did something on the field he would hear people calling out his name.  “Good job Matt”.  “Way to go Mike”.  And when the game was over, they gathered around as the boys were loaded back on the bus and presented each with burgers, fried and a drink, candy and gave each boy a small Bible.  As the bus drove away they cheered and waved the team colors in the air.

Intentional praise, praise that was planned, praise that took forethought and work but praise just the same. 

Praise can be and should be spontaneous.  Our hearts should be touched and we should act or respond to that unexpected time, there is nothing wrong with that. 

But I think we forget to praise in the intentional way.  And I think it is because we are just too busy and thinking about ourselves.

Often the examples I give you in Bible study are from my own experiences.  When I went to Fire/Ems instructor school they told us that we should never use “personal experiences” to teach a point.  They told us that we should simply teach the facts.  But I learn from my “war stories” and I think you can learn from them too.    Let me share an embarrassing one with you that I experienced on Monday.  I think it taught me intentional praise.

I took Monday off to go with my son Chris to Bessmer to get lumber from an old house I was given.  I am going to use the lumber in my barn and he is building a chicken house and needed some lumber. 

So I took the day off, got up early got my old truck ready, loaded the tools that I thought I needed and made plans to go and get the lumber.   I had no sooner left my driveway and gone about two miles when I saw a truck parked on the edge of the road and a man standing next to it “thumbing” a ride.  I pulled over and asked if I could help. 

“Yes sir, I’m out of gas.  Can you give me a ride to my house to get my other truck?”  I consented and he climbed in.  After introductions he preceded to tell me his troubles.  No money, no gas, no cell phone and no one to call if he had a cell phone.  My remarks were something like “Yeah, things are tough all over”. 

I took him to his trailer to get a set of keys and finding out that the truck he needed was another half mile down the road consented to take him there.  He then shared with me how that work had been slow, money was short and he had sat with a gun in his hands and considered “ending it all”.  I didn’t have time for all of this.  I needed to be in Bessmer as soon as I could.  It was getting hotter by the minute. 

I quoted a line of scripture and told him that God would not put more on him than he could handle, dropped him off at his destination and drove away. 

Oh what an opportunity to praise God, help this old boy and make a difference and I “drove right by it” because I didn’t plan.  I didn’t expect God to drop someone in my lap who needed help and I simply was not in the “mood” to be helpful.  I was thinking about “me” and my goals and objectives for that day.  I didn’t even get the guy’s name.  Because of lack of preparation I neglected the opportunity to serve God and my fellow man who was in need.   

I should have told him about Jesus and how much He loved him.  I should have prayed with him before he got out of my truck.  God gave me a captive audience and I missed it because I was too busy and did not prepare. 

I hope I will learn from this lesson.  I hope God will give me another chance.  I want to prepare for the time that is going to come when I can look into the eyes of a hurting person and tell them that God loves them.  I want to prepare for the time when I can praise God.  I want to learn the things to say and develop the boldness to say those things to whomever I happen to be speaking with. 

I want to learn that praise and service is more than just a spontaneous act but is a planned mission.

Nate Saint, one of the missionaries who was killed in South America while trying to evangelize the Anca Indians made a statement about obedience that I believe will fit here.  I’ve tried to commit it to memory.  Saint said “Obedience is more than a spontaneous act, it is a die-hard decision made beforehand”.

I believe that goes for obedience, service and praise. 

To be a successful church and successful Christians we need to think about it, plan on it and prepare for it.  God will honor our efforts to glorify His name.