MEDITATION MONDAY- I love, love, love my husband's sermons!!!
- I love, love, love the way the Holy Spirit makes so many connections!!!
- I love, love, love the way the Old Testament connects to the New Testament on so many levels!!!
- I love, love, love that God is at work here in South Jersey and He is at work in your hometown, too.
- I love, love, love how God loves.
All of that was in my life yesterday, but there were hard times... times of pain, too. So, sister, I had to put up my Daddy's SHIELD OF FAITH and keep the devil's arrows away!!!
.
Steve's sermon:
- GOD’S PLAN: TO RESCUE, TRANSFER, & TRANSFORM!
How does Paul (in Colossians) say that GOD does this? 2:9-15; Chp 3
Steve was preaching out of Daniel and talked about the 4 stories in Daniel 1, 2, 3, and 4. Much to my complete joy, he connected it with two of my very favorite New Testament passages: Matthew 5:1-12 & Colossians 3:1-17
.
In the book of Daniel, Shadrach, Meschach, Abednego, and Daniel were truly God's men - His "Kingdom People". King Nebuchadnezzar became one, too. Years later, in Matthew 5-7, Jesus would describe "Kingdom People" in His Sermon on the Mount. In the first verses of chapter 5, He said that when people are like this they are blessed / happy:
- Poor in spirit
- Mourning over sin
- Meek / gentle
- Hungry / thirsty for righteousness
- Merciful
- Pure in Heart
- Peacemakers
- Persecuted for righteousness sake
- Rejoice in persecution
Also, in those first verses of Matthew 5:3-12, Jesus tells how God keeps His Kingdom Promises to His Kingdom People – Look there at all the promises made to us.
.
In the next verses in Matthew 5:13-16, Jesus tells the Kingdom Purpose of Kingdom People: - to be JESUS on earth. Read more there to find out why!
.
Matthew 5:17-48 speaks to the Kingdom Principles of Kingdom People. Can you name a few?
.
Finally, Matthew 6:1 - vf tell of the Kingdom Practices of Kingdom People —Giving, Praying, Fasting, NOT judging, bearing fruit... _______________________________________________________________
Meditate on the above, but before you do, consider this reading that Steve shared with us:
.
Dallas Willard’s words in his book, “Divine Conspiracy”:
“Blessed are the physically repulsive,
blessed are those who smell bad,
the twisted, misshapen, deformed,
the too big, too little, too loud,
the bald, the fat, the old –
for they are all riotously celebrated in the party of Jesus.
Then there are the “seriously” crushed ones:
the flunk-outs, and drop-outs and burned-outs.
The broke and the broken.
The drug heads and the divorced.
The HIV-positive and herpes-ridden.
The brain-damaged, the incurably ill.
The barren and the pregnant too many times
or at the wrong time.
The over-employed, the under-employed, the unemployed.
The unemployable.
The swindled, the shoved aside, the replaced.
The parents with children living on the street …
The lonely, the incompetent, the stupid.
The emotionally starved or emotionally dead.
“Jesus not only looks at the misfits but also the mainstreamers:
those who drove nice cars to see Him,
those who have decent jobs and families;
the up and coming,
the always going and growing.
Jesus looks at all of them
and each of them and pronounces a blessing…”
.
Reading through the Sermon on the Mount, the scripture references, and this book quote make for a clearer understanding of who KINGDOM PEOPLE are. Yet, the task seems daunting! Well, it's not really our task! It is God who:
- RESCUES US
- TRANSFERS US TO THE KINGDOM OF HIS DEAR SON
- TRANSFORMS US INTO KINGDOM PEOPLE
Put on God's full armor, sister, and let God do His work...
Oh, WHAT FAITH CAN DO!
.
No comments:
Post a Comment