Wednesday, September 24, 2008

My Last Sermon

Psalm 150
1 Praise the LORD. Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens.
2 Praise him for his acts of power; praise him for his surpassing greatness.
3 Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet, praise him with the harp and lyre,
4 praise him with tambourine and dancing, praise him with the strings and flute,
5 praise him with the clash of cymbals, praise him with resounding cymbals.
6 Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. Praise the LORD.

My family and I have been visiting a church in our area that has been without a pastor for a couple of years. We are amazed that the church has survived for so long. They have been very diligent in their search but have been unable to get God's blessings on the right man for the job. They are a very strong, vibrant church and have done very well in the interim by filling the pulpit with great men of God such as Kenny Grant and Charlie Cooper. They have been pastorless until now. This past Sunday was the trial sermon of the man they wish to call as their pastor. Even though we are not sure that this church is the church that God would have us attend we wanted to at least hear the "new guy". I guess I went to bed with this on my mind because I woke up with the thought, "What if this was my trial sermon?". What if this was the last opportunity I had to speak in a public place a message from God? What would I say?
I could preach a hell fire and brimstone message about how we are born under the curse of sin and are enemies of God. And how it only because of the blood of Jesus that we have been saved, not from our sin, but from the wrath of God. Maybe that is the way I would go. But that is not the passion of my heart. To see people quivering in fear before God, afraid that the ceiling will collapse on their heads.
I could preach about the pattern that God has set for us for worship. I could say that churches that practice to please the worshipper instead of the One we worship are in violation of what God has set forth. I could tell you that there is no worship without first dealing with sin. I would give you the example that God gave us through the Tabernacle. The altar of sacrifice was the first thing people encountered as they entered the Tabernacle. They had to deal with their sin before they could enter into the presence of God.
I could preach that seeker sensitivity is not scriptural and that when we take the focus off of God and place it onto the "seekers" then we are actually bringing more worth to the seeker than we bring to God. I could say that worship is not about us or for our pleasure. If we approach God with the desire to do anything but fall before Him and worship Him then we are approaching for the wrong reasons.
I have so much to say and so little time to say it. Since I am not leading worship right now I seem to have no forum from which to speak. I have never been one to mince words when it comes to those things I am passionate about. Worship is one of those things. I have spent many years studying and learning from God on the subject of worship. I am nowhere near the point where I have my fingers on the pulse of God. I do feel, however, that I have insight that few people have. My opinions are not popular. It's like when you tell people that God is the One that pursues us and that we don't look for Him, He looks for us. People get offended when you say that. Why is that?
Anyway, back to the subject. I gave this lots of thought. I thought about it all the way to church and all the way through the sermon. Patricia was reading a devotion from My Utmost for His Highest while we were driving down the road. It was based on Isaiah 49:5. "Now the Lord says, who formed Me from the womb to be His servant..." I guess the thing that struck me most was "we are turned solely into servants of God's own purpose". Talk about taking the winds out of your sails. My whole purpose is to be a servant of God. It is not my decision to make as to how I serve God. I would think that leading worship would be the way I would serve God. Or teaching or, God forbid, preaching. But it's not my decision to decide how I serve God. If we're fortunate God will use the natural gifts and abilities we have spent a life time learning and prefecting but it doesn't really matter how talented we are, it is not our decision as to how we serve God. It is Gods decision. He alone decides how He will use us to bring glory to Himself.
I heard a story once of a concert violinist who lost both of her hands in a lawn mower accident. My immediate thought was, "What a waste!" I have had the thought many times, "What if I lost my hands or the ability to sing? How would I worship? How would I serve God? I would be useless!" But if I apply what God says about me and my purpose then it doesn't really matter if I lose my hands, my feet or my voice. In the story of Job we see a man who lost everything. He not only lost his children, his crops and flocks. he also lost his method of worship. All his animals were killed. His children, for which he sacrificed every day, were gone. He had no means of worship or a reason to worship, it seemed. But he fell on his face and worshipped God.
So, I guess what I'm saying is this. If this were my last day to give a final message from God. One final message without fear of losing position or title. In wreckless abandon, casting everything aside. Pushing aside fear of offending those I love.
BE WHAT GOD HAS CREATED YOU TO BE!!!
Don't ever take liberties and think it is your decision as to how you serve God. Let God be God and you be you, a servant of God. I remember stories of how in the old days if a hen tried to crow she would end up in the pot. A hen was not designed to be a rooster. Roosters don't try to lay eggs. Hens should not try to crow. A roosters crow is not just for show. It is how he guards and protects then hens he has charge over. It is not the hen's job to decide that she wants to be a rooster. So stop trying to be a rooster when God created you to be a hen!!! Stop trying to be anything other than what God has created you to be. When you wake each morning the first thought in your mind should be, "How can I bring God glory?" Give God the reigns of your life and let Him make the hard decisions minute by minute, hour by hour, day by day.

Psalm 34:4-6 has become my life verse. It says, "Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord and trust in Him and He will do this: He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.
Hello!!!!
My message. BE IT!!! I plan to have a T-shirt that simply says, "BE IT..." Isaiah 49:5
BE IT!!!!


Blessings
Allen