Grace Fellowship

Looking for additional thoughts from Pastor Phillip? Check out his daily nuggets of truth on facebook. https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000049302461

As a preschooler, Dad would take my two brothers and me to get a haircut. The shop had a rather large ceiling fan that made a whooping sound as it turned. There was no air conditioning, and this was pretty common at the time. The front door was open to help create a warm but humid breeze. Often, we fell asleep waiting our turn. Mr. Moore lifted us onto a wooden plank set between the armrest of the barber chair. This sat us up high enought to be reached. A white apron was tied around our neck to keep the hair off of our clothes. The clippers hummed lightly behind our ears as Mr. Moore balanced a cigarette between his lips. It looked like it might fall from his mouth at any moment. His eyes blinked continuously from the smoke curling around his face. So much for second hand smoke! Once my dad said, “Boys wait right here. I am going across the street to the store. I’ll be right back.” In a few minutes, panic set in. I began to wonder, would he really come back? As my eyes began to tear up, here he came just like he said. Although my father worked out of town on many occasions, he always came home when he could. His “being there” became a defining trait in his life. At his passing, I found myself unreasonably angry with him for not being there. I, a grown man with children of my own, had to deal with feelings of being angry for something that he couldn’t help. He just wasn’t there. In ministry and in life there are times when people with the best of intentions just can’t be there.

So what does this have to do with Costa Rica? On October 10th-18th, we went on a special mission’s trip to Costa Rica to teach pastors, among many other things. Our assignment included teaching on the Holy Spirit and the Gifts. Pastor Luis Rodriguez, the President of the Association of Bible Churches, had requested this topic. As a non-Charismatic/Pentecostal denomination, he wanted them to be given the opportunity to learn more about the infilling of the Holy Spirit with Gifts. This is one of my favorite subjects so I was given the task of teaching it.

The conference began on Monday morning, but we were invited to bring the Sunday morning service too. Many of the pastors arrived early and Pastor Adolfo was in charge of the morning meeting. This was held at their conference center- Campamento Rio Naranjo. It is a beautiful center with rolling mountains and green fields all around. There are no air conditioners but lots of open windows and ceiling spaces to let the air flow through. I taught on “Let the River Flow” from Ezekiel. It is about the river that flowed from the throne of God hitting the earth on the day of Pentecost. They were filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke with other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.

At the end of the message, we prayed for the needs of the people. Dexter, our associate pastor, prayed while Maria translated for him. (Maria is a great organizer and these trips would not be possible without her and Dexter’s hard work!) Eunice, a worship leader from “Oasis de Bendicion” in Augusta, GA., interpreted for me as we prayed. Eunice can sing the horns off a Billy goat. Worship is not an option for her! She enjoys moving in the Spirit and praying for people’s needs. She became so involved in praying for others that I was left alone. So, I just worshipped the Lord prayerfully to the side. Pastor Adolfo stood up to bring the meeting to a close so we could go to lunch. Since Hispanic people are very expressive and vocal in their worship, it is difficult to know exactly what is going on when you don’t speak the language.

Pastor Adolfo was singing to himself before the Lord with his hands slightly lifted and since I didn’t know the language, I could not tell if he were praying in Spanish or praying in tongues. I was about 12 feet in front of him as he stood on the stage. With my head bowed to the floor I heard these words in a singing fashion, “I will never leave you.” I thought, that sounds like English, but Dexter was nowhere around. Again Pastor Adolfo simply sang, “I will never leave you.” By now, I was looking right at him. A third time I heard him sing in clear English with my eyes firmly fixed, “I will never leave you.” My first thought was – does he speak English? He took us to lunch so I seized the opportunity to have Maria ask Pastor Adolfo, “Are you filled with the Holy Spirit and do you pray in tongues?” There was some hesitancy on our part because these pastors didn’t all practice this belief. Pastor Adolfo responded, “Si!” We continued, “Do you know how to speak any English?” No, was his response. “But Pastor Adolfo”, Maria explained, “the American pastor just heard you worshiping God in English!” Maria told him what he had said, “I will never leave you.”

I am not a sensationalist and neither is Pastor Adolfo. I have no interest in fabricating signs and wonders. God does very well without my help, thank you very much! While, I have heard of this phenomenon among many respected friends and ministers, it had never happened to me. Doubters will always explain it away in their minds. God is best understood from the Word and a recreated heart and not from fallen human logic. It was a sweet word from the Lord reminding me of a simple truth He has been working in me for sometime, “He will never leave us.”

In John 14:17-18, Jesus promised to give us the Holy Spirit whom the world could not receive! In verse 18, Jesus promises that He will not leave us as orphans! In Hebrews 16:5, He promises to never leave or forsake us. In Psalm 46:1, God revealed Himself as Jehovah-Shammah or “Jehovah is present.”

If the Lord had asked me, do you believe I will never leave you? I would have responded, of course I do Lord! I know it doctrinally in my head but what about emotionally? Sometime ago the Lord began to deal with me about knowing this in my heart. I wanted to argue, but Lord I know this! Gradually, lovingly and kindly, He opened this area of my life up as I prayed in the Spirit. “I want you to know Me as the One who will never leave you!” One of the benefits of praying in the Spirit is we do not know how to pray as we ought. But, the Holy Spirit knows how to pray through us. I wish I could report to you that the lesson has been learned well, but I have a feeling it is ongoing.

The Christian life is a journey and the Holy Spirit sweetly teaches and woos us if we are open to Him. It may not be learned in one setting but He continues to encourage us to write it upon our heart! Trust Me! Trust Me- for, “I will never leave you! I will never leave you! I will never leave you!”

There are several things which seem to make time stand still. One is the memory of my Grandmother. She was raised a Methodist and later became Baptist after my dad married mom. She was always way over the top, out of control, good to her grandchildren. This wasn’t always true of how she treated other family members. Grandmother was a strange dichotomy being enthusiastically in love with Jesus and ready to share her affection at the drop of a hat. She was also ready to tell someone what was what when things didn’t go her way! You never had to wonder what Grandmother was thinking.

At her grave side, we couldn’t help but laugh under our breaths, as the pastor told the story of how Grandmother would simply bake a pie for someone who offended her. No doubt, a story she told many times to him while he was visiting her! I’m sure she did bake the pie. But, this usually came after a long string of verbal and emotional antics. Was the pie really a peace offering or was it gratuity for guilt? Only heaven knows!

In all her humanness she is the one who led me to trust Christ as my savior. I never doubted Grandmother’s love for me and for this I am grateful.

While visiting her in the hospital, it didn’t appear that she would be with us much longer. Her pastor, my brother, and I were walking down the hall talking about her going home to be with the Lord. We agreed to pray and the pastor said something like, “Let’s just agree whether she lives or whether she dies that the will of the Lord be done.” My first thought was if we are willing to accept whatever happens to her as the will of the Lord, why bother praying?

Many think that whatever happens to us can only happen because it is God’s will. This relieves them of any personal responsibility while blaming God for everything that happens. It is a kind of circumstance theology.

I read where a very popular minister said he knew it wasn’t God’s will to heal his wife of cancer because they prayed and she wasn’t healed. Therefore, it wasn’t God’s will to heal her! The outcome of her circumstances determined his beliefs. Wouldn’t it be better to simply admit that I don’t know why she is sick? To blame God, when He is not guilty, is to impinge upon His character. We live in a fallen world, in a fallen place that is imperfect. Things happen that aren’t the will of God. Someone once said, “Heaven is the only place where God’s will is always done. Hell is the only place God’s will is never done. And, on the earth sometimes His will is done and sometimes it is not.” Are we afraid of losing our faith because we don’t have all the answers?

In Luke 13:16, Jesus said Satan had bound this woman with sickness for eighteen years. In Acts 10:38, sickness is referred to as an oppression of the devil. In contrast, some have even said, “Satan is an unwilling puppet in the hand of God to do His evil bidding because God is too good to do it Himself. The enemy can’t do anything to us without it passing through the all-seeing eyes of God. While God may not do evil, He allows it.” This is not what Jesus said!

While we fight over semantics, the end result is the same. If George hires a hit man to kill me because he doesn’t want to do it himself- doesn’t that make George a murderer also? Jesus said the thief comes to steal, kill and destroy- not God.

1 Timothy 2:4 (CEV) says, “God wants everyone to be saved and to know the whole truth.”

In Job 38:2, God rebukes Job for daring to open his mouth without knowledge and speaking when he did not understand what was going on. In other words, he didn’t know what he was talking about. Yet, many want to quote this man’s ignorance when it comes to the Father.

No, God is a good God. Goodness and love are His nature. I would rather be accused of believing He is just too good than to be accused of having slandered His character and misrepresent Him in this way.

Dealing with people reminds me of the song Mr. Rogers used to sing at the end of the kid’s educational program. Some of the lyrics went like this, “It’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood, a beautiful day for a neighbor. Would you be mine? Could you be mine?… I’ve always wanted to have a neighbor just like you…So, let’s make the most of this beautiful day. Since we’re together we might as well say: Would you be mine? Could you be mine? Won’t you be my neighbor? Won’t you please, won’t you please? Please won’t you be my neighbor?” I can still hear him singing this catchy familiar tune in my mind as he removes his cardigan sweater!

Many of us inwardly long for the simpler days of Mr. Rogers. It provided a few precious moments of relief for moms while the kids were entertained.

The church is challenged to discover what it means to be and invite others to be my neighbor.

Winston Churchill said, “We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.” A psychologist, on an ETV special, suggested that the quality of our lives would greatly improve if we would focus on a few important things. Rather, we dissipate much of our mental energy on multitasking. We should go for quality rather than quantity. Too often times believers, living in their own world, cry out desperately “please be a neighbor to me, I need a friend.” God teaches us that we become friends by giving of ourselves not by getting others to be a friend to us.

Proverbs 18:24 says, “A man who has friends must himself be friendly…” Many times I have listened to someone say, “I just can’t seem to make friends with people.” I once told a dear saint who blamed the church for her lack of friends, “My sister, if you want friends you must put on a ‘yes’ face. Your body language appears to be angry.” With tears in her eyes, she said, “I have been told that before.” She found it easier to leave than to confront her own insecurities with the Word of God. Ralph Waldo Emerson had it right when he said,”The only way to have a friend is to be one.”

What do our friends say about us? Someone once said, “When you know who his friend is, you know who he is.”

1 Corinthians 15:33 “Do not be so deceived and misled! Evil companionships (communion, associations) corrupt and deprave good manners and morals and character.” (Amplified)

The opposite is true too. When we become a strong friend to those in the world, bringing them into the church, it will have positive affect upon them. We should be examples of what true friendship looks like. Many believers would rather stay in the security of their creative avoidance than to make outsiders feel the atmosphere of loving acceptance. Aren’t you glad Jesus didn’t give up on you after the rejection of His first attempt to win your heart?

Our main source of friends should be believers who positively encourage us to reach beyond our circle of friends to expand its borders with new friends. In this environment we find safety.

Romans 15:7 “Honor God by accepting each other, as Christ has accepted you.” (CEV)

Billy Graham said, “Imitating Christ is opening the door to friendship.”

Mr. Rogers said, “Won’t you please? Please won’t you be my neighbor?”

It is not unusual for young people to end a phone text with the abbreviation “BFF” meaning Best Friends Forever. There is something warm and cozy in knowing you have a BFF.

Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “The only way to have a friend is to be one.” Dale Carnegie put it like this, “You can make more friends in two months by becoming more interested in other people than you can in two years by trying to get people interested in you.”

Annie was a rather large unattractive girl. She regularly attended youth functions and Bible studies. The youth director introduced a situational learning game called, *”The Lifeboat.”

The high school kids were instructed to form their chairs to resemble the seating on a lifeboat. They were told “you twelve are the only survivors of a shipwreck.” Once on board the boat, you discover there is seating and provisions for only eleven people. Twelve will capsize the boat, leaving you all to drown. You must decide what to do.

After a moment they decided that one member must be sacrificed, but whom? Who would be left to drown? The strongest athletic boys would be needed to row the boat. Of course, the boys would not let any of the pretty girls become shark food! After going through each member they were all too smart, talented or too popular to sacrifice except Annie. Annie may not have been attractive but, she wasn’t dumb. So, she blurted out, “I’ll jump!”

The group protested “No, no Annie.” But, when pressed they could not give one good reason why she should not jump. So, they remained silent.

Time for the game ran out and when asked they could not give the youth director a conclusion. He went on and taught a lesson using the example of the lifeboat. But, Annie had already learned her lesson.

The next day, Annie jumped. Her “friends” in the youth group were baffled and deeply saddened by her suicide. Her youth group had affirmed her worst fears about herself. She was truly of no value. She had so much to live for. But, they just couldn’t think of what is was!

Who is included in your circle of friends?

It is only natural to include those we are comfortable with having compatible temperaments. The challenge of having a true BFF has become more difficult in today’s computerized, fast-paced world.

This presents a unique opportunity for the church. Jesus did not come to found a religion but that we might have a relationship with the heavenly Father. He told His disciples, I no longer call you servants, but friends (BFF)!

The very idea of a deep lasting relationship is becoming foreign to us. Divorce rates, even among believers, have soared up to 52 - 53%. My prediction is that the gap between impersonal encounters and truly lasting meaningful relationships will grow even larger. As we learn how much the Father loves us, it becomes safe to love others, even when they are not in our circle of friends. In fact, the church must make it their goal to expand their circle of friends to include people we may not naturally feel comfortable with. Jesus was a friend to sinners. This means they felt comfortable to sit and ask questions.

At Grace Fellowship, one of our goals is to produce an atmosphere of acceptance. A Biblical philosophy of “inclusion” is imperative in accomplishing this. Believers can’t afford the luxury of “exclusion” and expect to impact the world for Christ. Inclusion demands that one go beyond their comfort zone. It is accepting the challenge of seeing others as they are seen by the Father. In this fast-paced, self-seeking society, it is rare for one to look below the surface to see in a person what Christ sees! Too often we equate a person’s value with their looks, popularity, possessions or abilities. God sees each person as valuable and precious apart from their social status and performance.

Caring enough to become my brother’s keeper is risky. Remaining passive, in fear of rejection, while a brother or sister hurts is an unacceptable expression of Christ’s love. I may not be able to fix it, but I can care enough to ask questions and offer myself as a friend. Admittedly, caring enough to gravitate toward someone I may not be naturally attracted to is uncomfortable. It is not for the faint hearted and demands caring enough to be self-sacrificing and proactive.

For the disciple of Christ, the Annies of this world are valuable and precious too.

Is there room in your circle of friends to include Annie? Who can become your BFF?

*The story “The Lifeboat” was provided by Youth Specialties.

This New Year 2008 people will make all kinds of resolutions. But, what is really important to God?

When purchasing a new automobile, one should refer to the owner’s manual for proper care of the vehicle. If the oil isn’t changed, it will eventually affect the running condition of the car.In this fallen dysfunctional sin-filled world God has given us certain priorities for maintaining healthy relationships causing them to be oiled with God’s grace. Knowing these and trusting God’s grace to help us implement them is a great starting place for living a better life.

What are God’s relationship priorities?

First, is our personal and intimate relationship with Jesus.
It is more than just knowing God! However, it is living and trusting Him on a daily basis. To place anything above this personal and intimate relationship with Jesus is idolatry. To do so will create an emotional void that a spouse, pastor or any other person cannot fill. Nothing in life can be a substitute for this first most important relationship priority.

The second relationship priority is your spouse, provided one is married.
Too often, the job is either number one or two on our list, but God did not intend this. The divorce rate of the Church is equal to that of the secular world. Even children cannot come second in this relationship. God told grown children to leave their parents and cleave to their spouse. He never told the husband to leave his wife. It brings a sense of security to a home when this priority is in its rightful place.

The third relationship priority is that of the children.
In the name of caring for children, many never have time for them. Children will learn about life’s priorities from their parents. Someone once said, “Children pay more attention to what you do than what you say.” Part of the social interaction of the family should take place in the local church environment.

The fourth relationship priority is that of your local church.
The Bible says that faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. If faith comes by hearing then how or when will it remain dormant? It is by neglecting or omitting the hearing of God’s Word! Picking a local church is not like choosing a Wal-Mart or K-Mart saying let’s see who has the best deal today. No, you wouldn’t send your child to an Islamic Temple to learn about Jesus because they have a wonderful children’s program! It is the parent’s responsibility to lead the home by attending the local church and place a premium upon hearing the Word of God.

The fifth relationship priority is that of the job or work place.
This comes up way too high on most people’s relationship lists. God will bless this priority as we trust Him with it. His desire is to prosper us in every area of life. We can experience a better life as we trust Him to help get these relationship priorities lined up.