The Wind Will Calm Down
This past week has been one for the books for me. After coming home to a flooded bathroom that resulted in two flooded bedrooms and a hallway my insurance company sent a mitigation company to our home. When they entered our home I heard what they said, I just didn’t know what they meant. He told me that they had to run heated fans nonstop for consecutive days until everything was dry. You know that blank stare emoticon in your phone? Yeah, that was me.
So the company marched in 4 fans and two humidifiers that ran constantly for 5 consecutive days. My nerves started to take a hit. I like white noise but six machines at one time? By the fourth night I decided to take my sanity back. After not sleeping in my bedroom for 3 nights, I said enough is enough. I told the fans, “I’m going to sleep in here tonight and I’m going to sleep well.” Guess what? It worked.
At some point last night I texted a friend and told her, “I’m sleeping in the wind tunnel.”
I’m here to let someone know this morning, “The Wind Will Calm Down”.
In Mark 4:38 -41
“Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?” He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?” They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”
The first thing I want to bring out about this text is verse 38. Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. While everyone else was running around the boat worrying about the storm. Jesus was sleep. Not only was he sleep, but he was asleep on a cushion. Jesus was sleeping well.
After the disciples woke him up, he got up rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quite! Be still!” The next thing that I want to bring up is that the only reason Jesus woke up was because someone woke him up. The wind and the waves were a nonfactor to him. After Jesus spoke to the wind, it died down and it was completely calm. Then Jesus turned to His disciples and asked them, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?” The King James Version Matthew 8:26 reads, “O ye of little faith.”
Do you have the faith of Jesus to sleep during the blowing winds and the crashing waves? Are you able to rest peacefully knowing that if Jesus can sleep through a storm you can too?
During yesterday’s sermon Pastor Mike told us that radical living requires radical faith. Are you ready to stretch your faith to the point of being able to rest on a cushion while riding through the storm?
In 1991 Yolanda Adams released her 2nd studio album, “Through The Storm” one of my favorite lines in the song is; I have no fear of the raging seas, knowing Jesus will forever be right here with me. He can speak to wind, to my enemies and to waves and He’ll make them all behave.
You too have the power to speak to your storm. Tell your storm, “ You are not on my list of things to deal with today.” I’m a King’s child and I have stuff to do. Though wait a minute, let me tell you what I have learned. Storms generally come in my life when I have great things to do in life. If you take a look over your life, it may be the same for you. Storm come to stop us, to discourage us from doing those things that we are destined to accomplish.
Because God has given us so much. He requires much more. So even in your storm don’t stop praising God, studying His word and worshipping Him. Your responsibility is not only great but it impacts other people. Imagine if you have a task to do and the storm comes and you get discouraged, what you don’t know is the impact it has on people when you don’t do what God has called you to do.
The next time adversity rises speak to it. Tell it to move. Tell it there’s no room for it here because I have Kingdom business to accomplish.
Mark 11:23-24 KJV Reads…
“For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith. Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.”
As I reflect on the fact that I slept well after speaking to my situation, I now realize that it could have been that way for the entire week. The power was in my speaking to my situation. I encourage you this morning to not let another day go by without you speaking to your situation. The wind will calm down. You can quiet the winds and the waves completely but you can also go to sleep on the cushion and ride the storm out because Jesus knew that trouble doesn’t last always. Let’s pray.
Chase What Matters
Morning Mannah 10.17.16
This morning I’m going to touch on some thoughts from our current series Stretch Marks. Last week during the sermon a phrase popped in my thoughts. Chase What Matters. Several times I’ve tweeted that phrase because I often think, “I need to chase what matters.” For some reason last Sunday after service I tweeted, Chase what matters. If you’re not being chased.. well.. maybe you don’t matter.
That could pertain to relationships, to employment opportunities, to business ventures. It can pertain to our relationship with God, if we’re not chasing Him.. Well.. It’s probably easiest to discuss this as this relates to relationships. Let’s say you have a person you may be interested in. If that someone is not pursuing you, chasing after you, you may not be the person they are seeking.
In 2008 Chase Bank launched a new campaign to promote their range of banking services including credit cards, student loans, retail banking etc. They planned to spend over $70 million to launch the program entitled “Chase What Matters” In their black and white advertisement under the slogan read: You want to make the most of your time and money. That’s our priority too. Because what matters to you matters to Chase.
This morning, let’s repurpose that phrase.
You want to make the most of your time and money. That’s God’s priority too. Because what matters to you matters to God and if we switch that around it will say what matters to God, should matter to you. Chase what matters. You will hear this phrase so much because I believe that it’s necessary so that when a situation just doesn’t feel right you will know to chase what matters. To chase what is important. To chase what counts.
“Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.”
Philippians 3:13-14 KJV
I press toward, I go after the things of God.
Often times we are out searching for things that God never intended for us to have. We get our feelings hurt, our heartbroken and then we go to God in despair. Sometimes, at least for me, I hear God say, “I know you’re hurting but I never wanted that for you. You wanted that for yourself.” Ouch. That hurts.
We are in the series Stretch Mark and last week Pastor Mike talked about being pursued. You see if you are pursuing something you are going after it you are chasing it. We have to pause and ask the question. Are you chasing what matters? Are you chasing those things that God wants for you? Are you chasing God? Do you know where He can be found?
Seek the Lord while he may be found: call on Him while he is near. Isaiah 55:6
One of the things that we have to understand is that sometimes we can’t find God to call on Him because we don’t where He is. We are not in our Word daily. We are not worshipping Him in spirit and truth. To us He is lost but every moment in His eyes we can be found if we seek Him.
With the pressing issues we have in our lives are we taking the time to seek the Lord while he may be found? It’s so easy to get busy with family, finances and Facebook, let’s keep it real, that we forget about God. We forget about His promises and those things that He has purposed for us. We put Him on the back burner and we look for Him when things are not going right. Our God wants us to chase Him. The songwriter says in the song Chasing After You, I’m chasing after you, no matter what I have to do, cause I need Him more and more. He goes on later in the song to say Just to be close to you, I’m chasing after you.
Now, that sounds like a stalker. I’m chasing after you. No matter what I have to do. Just to be close to you. If someone says that to you, you might want to rethink your relationship with that person. But as it relates to my Father who knows all things and see all things I want to go after Him. Wherever He is, is where I want to be. I want to chase after Him because He matters. His desire for our lives matters. His will matters. His presence matters.
In the first part of this series we heard: If we want to see God move. Make a move.
In the 2nd part of this series we heard: In order to know God’s will you have to be close to Him. You can only get close to Him by chasing after Him.
Yesterday we heard about wait training, we don’t wait on people. We wait on God. We are waiting on a God who is and is in all things.
What’s important to God should be important to you. God has blessed all of us with so many gifts and talents and He desires that we go to where He is to use to gifts to give Him honor and glory. On the way home from church I’m verbally creating an outline for Morning Mannah. I say out loud, God if you are going left, I’m going left too. If you’re going right, I’m going right too. Tyler then asks me, “Mom, what if you’re in the right lane and God wants to go left?” I immediately responded’ I’m going to flash my blinkers to get in the left lane so that I can go where God is going.”
If I’m going to be a true stalker of my Father then I have to pay attention to the direction in which He is going. Even it means interrupting what’s going on to flash my blinkers to get in the correct lane. Let us all continue to seek Him while He may be found.
Apparently I love commercials because to end Morning Mannah, I’m going to combine Chase and American Family Insurance with a phrase that I pray blesses you.
Your dream is out there. Go get it. God will protect it. Chase what matters.
I pray this blesses you.
Must Hear Kylan & Terrell Rogers
At a time in our country where we hear and see so many negative images of African American boys this video comes along and not only blesses us but sends us straight into worship.
Fred Hammond John 3:16 (Live) #WorshipJournalLive
I love this song!!!!! Worship Journal is a must have.
It's All In The Presentation
Last week my son and I went to a Labor Day cookout. Tyler took his frisbee and his football with him. When it was time to go it was dark and the hostess and Tyler were able to locate the frisbee but not the football. She told me that when she found it, she would let me know. And she did, via Facebook.
So, let’s get to Sunday. First off, let me say this. Service was so awesome yesterday!!! During Praise and Worship Ms. Lovi acknowledged she had something for me, and I went over to get it. What grabbed my attention immediately was the packaging. I knew what she was bringing but I didn't anticipate the packaging.
She had placed the football in a blue gift bag with blue tissue paper. In my mind I thought, she didn’t have to do that she could have put it in a Kroger bag or just given it to one of us. But she didn’t. She took the time to package it in such a manner that it felt like a gift. It looked like a gift. I knew that I would write about this. I just didn't know the direction I would take. So, I started talking to God and thinking about Joseph’s coat of many colors, and I thought about the scripture where it states that God’s gifts are good and perfect. I’m trying to make sense of this and then it hits me. The very same way that Ms. Lovita took the time and care to package the football is what God does to us.
This seemingly ordinary toy was packaged in a manner that made it stand out. That made it set apart. If you saw me with the bag you would think that someone had given me a gift. You too, would want to know what was inside. And the more I think about it, it was a gift. And we are God’s gifts. He has set us apart. In Leviticus 20:26 it reads “You are to be holy to me because I, the Lord am holy, and I have set you apart from the nations to be my own.” God has set us apart from everyone else to be his own. Didn’t the praise team sing this yesterday? You own the world and yet You still want me? Me, who’s scared to step out on Your promises. Me, who messes stuff up on a continuous basis? Me?
I challenge you to write out all of the reasons why you believe God would not want you to do things for His kingdom. Get a real good, long list. And then this is what you to do next. Scratch out the list and rip that paper to shreds. Let go of the negative self talk. That's not God. His word says that you can do all things through Christ. Not somethings. Not one thing. But all things.
A lot of times we know that we are set apart, that we are different but we want to fit into the idea of being “normal”. You don’t want to stand out or be different because then people might accuse you of being stuck up or acting like you’re better than other people. And it’s not that you think that you’re better but God has put a call on your life to do great things. And to be honest God expects you to do those great things. Say to yourself, I’m not stuck up. I'm different.
He didn’t create you to fit in with everybody else. He created you so that everybody else would say, “If they know God, I want to know Him too.” Pastor Mike kinda touched on this yesterday, “What do people see when they see you?” Is your face all scrunched up and mean looking where no one wants to speak to you? Is the tone and language of your voice driving people away from you? What’s your social media presence like? Are you presenting an image that invites other people to want to know Jesus?
It’s all in the presentation. One of my favorite episodes of the Cosby Show was when Vanessa brought Dabnis Brickey home to her parents. If you remember this episode her parents were not happy. Her father pretty much asked Dabnis what if his favorite meal, a Porterhouse steak, crispy potatoes and sautéed mushrooms was served on a garbage can lid, would he still want it? Bill Cosby went on to tell Dabnis that this situation was Vanessa’s fault in how she presented her fiancé to her family.
God has called us to do great things, to do amazing things. He does not want to serve one thing to us on a garbage can lid. Nor does our Father want us to represent anything less than the kings and queens that He destined us to be. Let’s pray.
God we thank you for another day in your presence to attempt to get things right. God you said that we are a royal priesthood, a peculiar people God’s special possession. And this morning we are going to receive that. We no longer will try and fit in but we accept that you set us apart to do greater works for you. I pray that we collectively step out on faith and be the person that you created us to be so that we can draw more believers for Your kingdom. In Jesus name we pray amen.
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