Citizenship

I will never forget my first experience outside the USA. In January 1980, I spent three weeks preaching in Nigeria on a mission trip. I felt so far from home. The language was different, the culture and customs were different, the beliefs, the food, the laws-all different. No matter how hard I tried to fit in, I was an outsider; a stranger, an alien to that country.
After an exhausting journey back to the US and a long wait in the customs line, I handed the agent my passport. He looked it and me over thoroughly, looked at his computer files, stamped my passport and said some of the most beautiful words I ever heard, Welcome home. This stranger had finally returned where his citizenship was-home.

In preparation for this Sunday's outdoor worship celebration, I am studying about our citizenship. I am encouraged to know that there is a reason I don't fit into this world, I don't understand it's language, or it's culture-this is not where my citizenship is.

Don't let the strangeness of your surroundings get you down. If you are saved, then you are a stranger here in this foreign land. Get your passport ready, soon we'll be going home.

Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, Eph. 2:19

Get It While the Gettin's Good

Get that one!
We were having a blast collecting shells as we sit partially in the water at the beach. My grandson had just noticed a beautiful purple seashell at the same time I did. Get that one! Noticing it was about five feet from us, rather that getting him off my lap and walking to the shell, I decided to wait until after the next wave left. With an incoming tide, that next wave broke farther up the shoreline, rolled over the shell, and returned back to the ocean.
It's gone, Papaw! It's gone.
I noticed it at the same time. We waited, watched, and waited some more but we never saw that purple shell again. We had missed our opportunity.

Life is full of those-once in a lifetime opportunities. Most of us Christian adults know better; we know from experience time is quickly moving on and we have no guarantees that those opportunities will ever be available again. When we have them, we better do what my mountain kinfolk say, You better get it while the gettin's good.

If there is a letter you need to write, a hug to give, a call to make, a kiss to give, a witness to share, a blessing to bestow, a gift to give-do it now! This is the day. Seize the moment!
At any second, everything could change and you will never have that opportunity again.

Do not boast about tomorrow,
For you do not know what a day may bring forth. Prov. 27:1

Why?

Why are you wearing those shoes?
Because they are my comfortable shoes.
Why are they your shoes?
Because I bought them.
Noticing mine were not Velcro like his, Why are you tying your shoes?

One thing my three year-old grandson does well is ask questions. In fact, all of us probably ask our share of questions when we were growing up. That's one way we learn. It is a sign of growing, of not having all the answers.
I have also learned that patience is a major quality needed in this realm of endless questions. When I am bombarded by questions, I want to patiently answer those questions. The questioner must also be patient for an answer.
Sometimes children ask, Why, about things they don't understand, and we know they would never understand, even if we took all the time and eloquence in explaining. It's at those times I either say, Just because, or I say nothing at all. It would be no use to continually ask, or pitch a fit, or show displeasure-I am not going to answer. Not because I have no answer, but because I have no answer a little boy would understand.

Praise the Lord for His patience, His long suffering, His kindness in giving us answers in His Word to our many questions. And when I ask Him a question and find no answer, I want to be content that it is just because. He always knows best.

For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,” says 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. Isaiah 55:8-9

No Other Place To Be

I love our Life @ Englewood video at the beginning of our worship times. Along with the urgent reminders, there are pictures of those who made decisions last Sunday along with the new members. The song playing in the background is exciting and a blessing; No better place on earth, than the road that leads to heaven........ and it ends with these words on the screen- No better place to be.

I agree with that, no other place, no better place to be than in heaven. I must confess that when I see those words, I am also reminded of Israel. I love the Lord Jesus Christ, I love the Bible, I love His principles taught in the past, and I love His promises about the future. All that takes place in one country on earth-Israel.

Exactly one year from today we will be in Israel leading a group of thirsty, seeking saints on the pilgrimage of their life. Beulah Land-no place like it on earth. It was in this country where 95% of the Bible was written. It was in Israel where the prophets preached, where the tabernacle and temple was, where it all started, and where it will all end. No place like it on earth.
Next June 21-July 1, 2011, my friend Bob Pitman and his wife Sheryl, are going to join Tebra and me as we lead anyone who wants to go with us as we experience Israel together.
I am starting to count the days. No better place on earth.......

For the land which you go to possess is not like the land of Egypt from which you have come, where you sowed your seed and watered it by foot, as a vegetable garden; but the land which you cross over to possess is a land of hills and valleys, which drinks water from the rain of heaven, a land for which the LORD your God cares; the eyes of the LORD your God are always on it, from the beginning of the year to the very end of the year. Deut. 11:10-12

No better place to be.

The Call to Commitment

By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured as seeing Him who is invisible. Heb. 11:27

In making Moses into a man of God, God prepared him for over eighty years. He has worked with Moses through the steps of Protection, Education, and Confrontation. Next comes the crucial step in Moses life I call Secluded Isolation.

Here was a man raised in a royal palace, given special privileges, treated with respect and preference. He thought he was somebody. He had a B.S. degree, a Be Somebody degree. This was one reason he had taken matters into his own hands and killed an Egyptian. Now, he has to run for his own life and hide from the police. For the next 40 years he lives as a fugitive in the land of Midian. His job-leading sheep.

It was here, on the backside of a desert, that God prepares Moses for the work He had been preparing for him. In seclusion, in isolation, Moses earned his B.N. degree,a Be Nobody. God was using this time to get the 'self' out of Moses life, bringing him to realize all he needed was God.

He will do the same in all of us. Do not be afraid of sickness, job loss, or any circumstance in life that causes you to be alone and quiet. God is using that time to teach you things you will need for the next step in the journey.

That next step, the final step for Moses to take so that God would use him to glorify Himself, was the step I am preaching on today. It is the step of Commitment, where we are willing to do anything, go anywhere, at any time, at any cost.

Which step are you at in this matter of God making you into the person He wants you to be?

Doing God's Will My Way

Chapter 3 in the shaping of Moses into a man God can use is called
Significant Confrontation.

Exodus 2:11-17, tells us how Moses confronted an Egyptian mistreating a Hebrew. This was wrong and the man needed stopping. Moses had the granted authority to stop the man and release the Hebrew. However, Moses reacted liked so many who want the right thing to be done-he tried to do God's will in his own way and that never pleases God.

He killed the Egyptian and hid his body in the sand. God's Word warns us, "Be sure your sins will find you out." It wasn't long until Moses' sin was uncovered and he was confronted by another Egyptian, and then by Pharaoh.

When you are confronted with the will of God, how do you try to achieve it? A tragic mistake is to attempt to do God's will in the strength of the flesh. Do God's will God's way. The time will be right; the results will be righteous.

And when you are out of God's will, expect a confrontation, from your companions, as well as from your authorities. God can use these confrontations to make you usable in His hands.

The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD,
And He delights in his way.
Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down;
For the LORD upholds him with His hand. Psalm 37:23-24

The Making of a Man of God- Part 2

Train up a child in the way he should go,
And when he is old he will not depart from it. Prov. 22:6

Moses is one of the few men in the Bible that have been referred to as "a man of God." I have been challenged as to what causes a man to be a man of God? In the life of Moses I see five steps in him becoming a man that God could show Himself through:
Step 1- Supernatural Protection Hebrews 11:23; Exodus 2:1-10
Step 2- Spiritual Education
The Bible tells us in Exodus 2 that little baby Moses was found at the river's edge by Pharoah's daughter. She need someone who would nurse Moses, rear Moses, and train Moses. She asked a young Hebrew girl, Miriam, to find her someone who could do all that for Moses. Of course, she got the mother of her and Moses. Just when the devil thought he had destroyed the deliverer of Israel, God saves him, secures him, and trains him-all at the financial expense of the enemy.

Moses' parents did just what God's word teaches, they trained Moses in the way he should go. That word trained means, to prepare for an event such as an athelte training for a contest; to form into proper shape; to discipline for effective use. Moses' parents knew God had a purpose for their son's life, so they poured their spiritual training into him.

Even though Moses was intellectually trained for hours each day in the educational program of Egypt, he never forsook his spiritual training at home. It was those few hours with his parents, praying with them, listening to them, watching them example godliness to him, that shaped and fashioned Moses. This spiritual training daily from his parents gave him the solid foundation he neede to stand firm the rest of his life. Eighty years later he was the man of God that God used, because his parents made spiritual education a priority.

The Making of a Man of God

"....as it is written in the Law of Moses, the man of God." Ezra 3:2

In preparing for Father's Day this Sunday, God has been showing me lessons from the life of Moses on how He takes an ordinary man and makes him into the man He can use for His glory. It isn't fast, easy, or comfortable. In other words, it isn't the American way; but it is the Biblical way.
I have discovered that there is no such thing as an instant father, an instant leader, or even an instant pastor. For us to be the man (or woman) God wants to use to do mighty things through for His glory, He takes us through a process of preparation. I have also learned that with God, the process is just as important as the end result.
I saw five steps that God brought Moses through to make him into God's man for the time. Over these next four days, let me take a few moments and show you four of these before we spend Sunday morning looking at the final step.
Step One- Supernatural Protection.
All of us face the same enemy as Moses faced-the devil. He did everything he could to keep Moses from ever becoming the man of God, and he used Pharaoh as his instrument. Just like in today's modern self-centered, abortion culture, he started even before Moses was born by enacting a law which would kill all Hebrew babies.
Moses mother and dad took necessary steps to do all they could to protect their son.

By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden three months by his parents, because they saw he was a beautiful child; and they were not afraid of the king’s command. Heb 11:23

Their faith was rooted in the Word of God. They knew the Word of God; they had studied it. They knew God had said to Abraham, Know certainly that your descendants will be stronger in a land that is not theirs and will serve them and they will inflict them 4oo years. Also, this nation whom they serve, I will judge; afterward they will come out with great possessions. Gen. 15:13,14.

They saw he was a "beautiful" child. Of course, all parents (and grandparents) believe their baby is a beautiful child. However, that word in Hebrew means "special", "unique." Moses' parents knew what God had said. They had been looking at the calendar: 398, 399, 400 years. They knew now was the time for a deliverer to be born. All faith roots itself in the Word of God (Heb. 11:5; Rom. 10:17). Dads and moms-saturate your life in God's Word; read it; study it; memorize it; meditate upon it; apply it.

How do we know their faith was genuine? Because they did something! This is what Hebrews 11:23 says. Real faith takes action. James 2:26; For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.

What did they do? They did all they could to put their little boy in an ark. Yes, he was in the Nile river, but don't miss this-what protected him was the fact that he was in the ark. We know from scriptures, that ark was a picture of the Ark of our salvation, the Lord Jesus Christ.

As parents, the only guaranteed protection for our children from the evil one, is to do all we can to place our children in the Ark of Christ. Take every advantage you have for your children to be involved in Bible study, worship, and fellowship with other Christians. Then, like Moses' parents, rest in the assurance of God's protection. Do not be afraid of the threats of the evil one.

By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden three months by his parents, because they saw he was a beautiful child; and they were not afraid of the king’s command. Heb 11:23

Resurgence

I like that word-resurgence.
At the Southern Baptist Convention we are discussing and voting on something called the GCR- Great Commission Resurgence. God has blessed the SBC for many decades as thousands of missionaries have been sent, millions have been saved and followers of Christ have been discipled. But any net that has been fishing for as long as the SBC has is bound to gather a lot of unnecessary debris and weight. Every net to be effective needs to be cleaned, not from wrong things necessarily, but from extra things that slow it down and keep it from being effective.
For several years, thousands of us pastors, leaders and members have sensed the need to wash the net and focus the attention of our agencies, institutions and seminaries on the main thing-
the Great Commission. It will mean changes needs to be made from the local churches all the way down to the denominational entities. It will mean we must become radical, transformational, sacrificial if we are going to carry the gospel to the ends of the earth.
In 1979, I was in Houston to vote for what is now called in history, the Conservative Resurgence, when Southern Baptist reclaimed our denomination from liberalism. For the past 31 years we have attended Conventions and voted for Biblical, conservative moral values.
At this Convention, Tebra and I will represent Englewood Baptist Church as messengers and vote in favor of the Great Commission Resurgence.
I know for the largest evangelical denomination on earth to change, it will take more than voting, sermons, and resolutions. It will take a resurgence.
I looked this term up in the dictionary and it means-a revival. That's the only thing that will radically change our lives, our churches and our denomination. "Lord, send a revival, and let in begin in my chalk circle."

For thus says the High and Lofty One Who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: “ I dwell in the high and holy place,With him who has a contrite and humble spirit, To revive the spirit of the humble, And to revive the heart of the contrite ones. Isaiah 57:15

Spanning the Gap

How then can man be righteous before God?
Or how can he be pure who is born of a woman? Job 25:4

That is the question all religions of the world seek to answer- How can sinful man and holy God come together? And every religion has it's own answer.
Islam says it is through the strict observance of the five pillars of Islam. Buddhists believe that all "negative states" can be overcome by meditation, and through positive thoughts and pure living one may finally reach Nirvana. Hindus believe in karma, the law of cause and effect by which each individual creates his own destiny by his thoughts, words and deeds.
Judaism teaches that man and God can only come together if man keeps all the Torah, the law. According to Roman Catholicism, one must rely on faith plus “meritorious works”such as the observance of the Seven Sacraments.
Two major areas all world religions have in common is this: (1) They all believe that salvation, righteousness, reconciliation only comes by man doing all he must do, depending entirely on man's works. (2) They are all wrong.
The only way a human can have a personal, eternal relationship with God is for someone to come between them as the Mediator, and do for them what they cannot do for themselves. That is the reason for Calvary.
"Oh, the love that drew salvation's plan.
Oh, the grace that brought it down to man.
Oh, the mighty gulf that God did span at Calvary."
Thank God for the Bridge He built, for the Mediator He sent, for the only solution to our human dilema.

For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus. 1 Tim 2:5

Security

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. Psa 91:1

Is there any place that is safe? Can you rest at any time knowing that you are secure? Yes, but not in any city or building.
Yesterday evening, one of our Prime Timer leaders was preparing for the evening event. Knowing there are people all around our buildings, she took necessary precautions to hide her purse in what she thought would be a secure location. During the same time, two of our staff saw a man in the hallway that led them to believe he was a construction worker that needed water. In less than 30 minutes we knew two facts:
He was not a construction worker.
The purse was gone.
No, as much as it pains me to say it-one is not safe in a church building. Police reports, insurance reports, security procedures have all been handled. We still do not know who this man was or why he was inside the building.
I do know this; robbery goes on each week inside this church building. Statistics reveal that several hundred church attenders at this location alone, rob from God each week. I have said for years, "One place I always lock my doors are at a church, because anyone that would rob from God would rob from anyone else." (Malachi 3:8)
Sadly, the fact is that in today's world, you are not secure at home, in a church building, in a police station, or even a hospital.
So I ask again, is there any place that is safe? Can you rest at any time knowing that you are secure? Yes. Not in a place, but in a person. My security, my social security, my eternal security, my security deposit, is in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Thieves can steal my stuff, but they can't steal my soul. They can rob me of happiness, but they can't take away my joy! Criminals can take temporary treasures, but they can never take my eternal, heavenly treasures.

May the beloved of the LORD dwell in security by Him, Who shields him all the day, And he dwells between His shoulders. Deut 33:12

Using New Technology

For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. Col. 1:16
I am having difficulty keeping up with all the latest technology. It seems I had just mastered my garage door opener and then IPhone 4 G comes out. Why all this new technology?
In the past 2 weeks, Tebra and I have had the joy of seeing all 3 of our children and their spouses, and all 3 of our grandchildren,and we saw them in 3 different states. We stay in touch with each other daily by cell phones, Twitter, Facebook, and at least weekly by Skype. What a great day to live!
Today, parents and grandparents can talk to their children and grandchildren, while looking at them. Wow! There are families in Englewood that stay connected to their family who are serving Christ in Asia, the Middle East or South Africa, and they seem to know everything that is going on in their lives. What a great day to live!
Have you ever asked, "Why has God allowed all this technology to be invented in our lifetime?"
There is a simple answer-it is all for the gospel.
Jet planes were not invented to carry movie stars or ball players, but to carry the gospel to the ends of the earth. Computers were not invented to watch YouTube, but to carry the gospel.
While we reap many personal side benefits from them, God has allowed all this new technology for one reason-to carry the gospel to the ends of the earth.
So while we talk to one another, let's also use all this stuff for His purpose.

Stay on the Path

Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding;
In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct[a] your paths. Prov. 3:5,6

In our morning worship celebrations today, Brother Preston Garner resigned as our Associate Pastor of Worship, effective June 20. God has used him greatly during the five months he has been with us.
You will have to admit, it has been a very busy five months: Experiencing God Weekend, Spiritual Leadership Conference, Fresh Encounter, East Coast Men's Bible Conference and Women's Conference, Resurrection Celebration, Remember the Veteran's Day......busy. Plus our usually exciting, fast-paced weekly worship celebrations.
Why is he leaving us after such a short time? He has said to me, to the staff, and now to our church family, it is to get back on the path God has purposed for his life-itinerant music evangelism. He and his wife believe this is the path God has planned for his life. It is an uncertain path which one must live by faith from week to week. No guaranteed income, benefits or security. Preston said today he believes he got off that path to come to the security of ministry at Englewood. He has made the decision to take his family back to live where their families are in East Tennessee, and to get back on path.
Just like a hiker who notices someone hurt "off the beaten path", I believe God allowed the Garner's to step away from their appointed path these five months in order to help us. Now it is time to get back on path. As surely as God has a path for each of each, as surely as NASA has a path for every spacecraft, God has a projected path for Englewood Baptist Church. I am excited to see where the next step in the journey takes us.
I would ask you to pray for the Garner family, for all the staff, and for all our graduates we saw today in our services, that each one will stay on the path God has for each and every one of us.
Find God's path for your life.
Focus on His path.
Follow His path.

It's Only Natural.

Children's children are the crown of ald men,
and the glory of children is their father. Prov. 17:6

Tebra and I have known Jack and Barbara Givens for two decades. We have experienced many joys and sorrows together and have watched each other's children grow up. What a blessing it is to have both of us have a grandchild born on the same day!
Less than an hour after Ella Jane Sanchez was born, I had already seen 5 pictures of her. It isn't as if I don't have plenty of my own to show people.
Why? Why do parents show off their children? Why do grandparents want others to see their pictures and listen to the stories of their grandchildren?
Because it is natural.
God's Word says it is only natural for grandparents to boast of their grandchildren. It is as natural for a parent to glory, wear a parent crown (bumper sticker), to boast of a child, as it is for a child to brag about his daddy. It's only natural to share in the achievements and accomplishments of our ancestry and of our posterity.
Tomorrow, Pastor Jack is preaching at the church where his parents are members in South Carolina. Then he has the honor of baptizing his own dad. After all these years as a church member, Mr. Given confessed he had never surrendered all his life to Christ. This 80+ dad was saved and is being baptized by his son.
Tomorrow, we will have Graduate Recognition Day at Englewood. There will be dozens of parents and grandparents taking pictures and wearing the crown of their children. It's only natural.
Question for me- Do I live in such a way that my Father in heaven wants to boast about me, as He did about Job?
Tomorrow will be a great day of worship, at both of these churches; and I wouldn't be surprised to see a couple of snapshots of grand babies either.

The Gift of Life

You have granted me life and favor,
and Your care has preserved my spirit. Job 10:12

The first blog of my life needs to be on the day my third grandchild is born.
Silas Abram Cloer came here weighing 7 lbs 7 oz and is just as calm, happy and content as his dad, Aaron. Last week we were in Memphis when Gideon Isaiah Cloer was born. He came here at 9 lbs 1 oz and was so much like his dad, Jacob.
Yes, yes, they are both also like their moms, Erin and Melissa, but I was there when their dads were that same age and I see the resemblance.
What did these little boys do to earn the right to live? Nothing. Their life, likes ours, was a gift. It was granted to them by our God. In the providence of our God, He is the One who provides our life; He protects our life; and it is He who preserves our life.
Thank him for life; your life and the lives of those He has given you to love.