The Sunday Sermon. Living in the Spirit can sometimes be a funny and unpredictable thing. This afternoon, I was thinking about what this weeks message is going to be, and I kept drawing a blank. I was starting to wonder if there was even going to be a message. It took a walk up to the mall to get the Spirit flowing. Yes, walk. You see, my wife recently got a new power chair, and she wanted to test the longevity of the battery, so we walked the half-mile or so up to Lakeland Square Mall and back. It was a pleasant afternoon, the sun was shining, a light breeze was blowing, the air was fresh and clean. Im a little tired right now, but I feel good. Walking. Jesus did a lot of walking during His time on Earth. Back in those days, there were no cars, no bicycles, not even power chairs. Wherever you needed to go, you walked. The ole Sandal Express. You read in the New Testament how Jesus visited Galilee, and Jesus went to Capharnaum, or Jerusalem. Wherever He went...He walked. Even in the Old Testament, there was a lot of walking done. Moses and the people walked out of Egypt. Elijah walked in the desert, as did Elisha. Which brings me to my message today; how far are you willing to walk for Jesus? Walking is a great stress reliever and therapy. You burn calories and get rid of all the stress in your body when you walk. All you fitness buffs know how it works; when you first start out, youre all gung-ho and ready to go. You hit the road walking and you feel great! Then the miles pass, and you start to flag just a little bit, then more and more, until, by the time you get home, youre all in. Our walk with Jesus can be like that; we start all all gung-ho and ready to go, hey-hey, we can do this! Then time and miles pass, one thing happens and then another; the devil might throw a roadblock up here and there and take us out of our way, and soon were like, Oh, man, I am BEAT! Show me the way to go home!! There is a way to go home. That Way is Jesus. The road of life can be a long one. It can be rough. You cant always ride; sometimes you have to walk. You may find yourself having to pass through some places youd rather not go. I remember one night when my wife had to go to the Winter Haven ER. We got a ride there, but not home. So there we were, on the way back to Lake Alfred, ten oclock at night, me pushing her in her wheelchair, and the only way to the main highway and home was through the hood. Jesus was walking with us that night, because we passed quite a few rather unsavory-looking people, but were never harmed. Jesus must have had His thumb out as well; about half way home, someone drove by that lived in our park, recognized us, came back, put her wheelchair in the back of his truck, and rode us the rest of the way home. If you walk with Jesus, sometimes you dont even have to walk...you can ride! :0) We often think the worst of a situation. Even when its a small thing, oh my God, its terrible, the worst is here, what am I going to do, its a total disaster, a train wreck....on and on and on. You are so wrong. Gods there for the little problems as well as the big ones. You might think its a total disaster; Gods like, Yeah, sure. If you say so, then *plink!* a flick of His pinky....and its gone. Id like to expand on this with a little help from my dear Church friend, Denise Cash. This week, I would like to share something that she shared to me. Its a little passage by Dr. Charles Stanley, and its titled How to Turn Your Crisis Into an Opportunity: 1. Trust that God is working everything in your life for your good. “We know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose” (Rom. 8:28). 2. Believe that our heavenly Father is in control of everything.“The LORD has established His throne in the heavens, and His sovereignty rules over all” (Ps. 103:19). 3. Accept that the Lord’s ways are higher than ours.“‘My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,’ declares the LORD. ‘For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts’” (Isa. 55:8-9). 4. Refuse to make quick judgments in the midst of a crisis. “Thus the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel, has said, ‘In repentance and rest you will be saved, in quietness and trust is your strength’” (Isa. 30:15) 5. Focus on the Father instead of the crisis. “O our God . . . we are powerless before this great multitude who are coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are on You” (2 Chron. 20:12). In your walk with Christ, you may come around a corner and find an angry bear in the middle of the road, blocking you--or so it seems. Your faith may be tested because of this. But faith is what saves you; confidence in Jesus to shield you from harm. The faith that allows you to say to a mountain, Be moved! and it moves aside for you can tell that ole bear, Get out of my way! and the bear will run back into the woods. The faith that allowed Peter to walk on the water to go to Jesus will allow you to walk over a washout in the road on which youre traveling. Trust in the Lord, your God! He has never failed you, nor will He EVER fail you! Were all at different stages in our walk of life. Some are nearing the end, some have just begun, and some are about halfway through. Know this: No matter where you are on that road, Jesus is with you. God is watching over you. Keep your shoulders back, head up, walking straight, tall and proud, knowing that as a Blood-bought, Bible-believing Christian, your path is made straight and smooth, theres no obstacles in your way, the winds at your back, the sun is shining warm on your face, and the Good Lord is holding you in the palm of His Hand! Walk on, my friends...walk on! Were all on our way Home! Have a blessed, safe week! Blessings! Don.
Posted on: Mon, 11 Nov 2013 01:33:26 +0000
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