“He Can Kill Your Butterflies!”

Scripture: “When anxiety was great within me, Your consolation brought joy to my soul.” –Psalms 94:19, NIV

Within this lifetime, you will have to get in front of a crowd of people and do something. Whether you are up there to welcome someone to your church, read scripture at your church, preach a sermon at your church or elsewhere, give a motivational talk about a given subject, and the list goes on and on. At the end of the day, when you are about to approach the pulpit or podium wherever you will be, you will have “butterflies in your stomach” as a sign of nervousness. What does one do in order to reduce these butterflies? According to eHow.com, here are some of their suggestions: 1) Remember to breathe, 2) Look your best, 3) Give up the belief that you have to be perfect, and 4) Focus on friendly faces. I have another remedy not mentioned in eHow.com or any other website, depend on God and allow Him to flow! Today’s text provides further clarity why this statement can be made.

Psalms serves as our focal book for today’s message. Scholars record that Psalms was written to deal with such subjects as our Heavenly Father and His creation, war, wisdom, worship, sin, evil, judgment, justice, and the coming of the Messiah. Fifty of the 150 psalms written within this book, like today’s psalm, has no recorded author. These psalms were written by a host of men including King David, Solomon, Moses, and the priests/Levites who provided music for sanctuary worship during David’s reign as king of Israel. Psalms 94 deals with two themes: the danger and foolishness of persecutors (verses 1 – 11) and comfort and peace to the persecuted (verses 12 – 23). Within the second theme of comfort and peace to the persecuted is where we find why one can say that He can kill your butterflies.

The text is written like this: “When anxiety was great within me, Your consolation brought joy to my soul”. In other words, when you call upon the name of the Lord in your times of being nervous, He will be the breath you need to take! He will be the soothing air you need! He will be the drink of water you need! He will be the answer that is trapped between your brain and your mouth! He will be the consolation that will bring joy to your soul! Oftentimes, I think about how some of us are afraid to deal with bill collectors. Well, God can kill those butterflies as well and give you the proper words to give to them that they may understand you and your situation! There are times and seasons where you have to talk with your landlord and/or bank about your mortgage and there are times where your words are choked. Then, there’s the one who kills butterflies, our Heavenly Father, that will step in, bring you the words to say, bring compassion upon the landlord and/or bank and will provide you the time and re-adjustment necessary to take care of your mortgage! God does not want His people to be in a mode of panic, He wants us to be in a mode of get it done! He wants us to be in a mode of relax, relate, and release! He wants you and me to be at our very best! He does not want you afraid! Psalms 118:6 tells us that “The Lord is with me; I will not be afraid, what can man do unto me?” Psalms 27 tells us that the Lord is my life and my salvation, whom shall I fear, the Lord is the strength of my life, of whom shall I be afraid! No matter how tense you may get before singing, tense before preaching, tense before speaking, tense before talking to someone about a situation, know that God can kill your butterflies, take away your anxiety, and bring consolation to your soul!

In closing, I find myself a blessed man to know a God like ours! He does some great things and in turn, He does great things that are small things! One of those things is give us consolation during the time of our anxiety. Brothers and sisters, for those of you who are concerned about how the bills are going to get paid in the future, know that God has the answer and He wants to bring your anxiety down and relax you! If you are concerned about how things will go as far as landing the job He has for you, just relax, continue to seek His face, and know that there’s consolation from Him that will bring joy to your soul! Are you ready for God’s consolation to bring you joy? If so, try your best to stop worrying about life and its circumstances!

“There's Value in Telling the Truth”

Scripture: “Then David said to Nathan, "I have sinned against the LORD." Nathan replied, The LORD has taken away your sin. You are not going to die." -2 Samuel 12:13, NIV

One of the greatest lessons a child can learn is to do his/her best NOT to lie to one's parents. I could recall an instance as a second grader, I would get my graded papers from my second grade teacher. Most of them were good and some of them were bad. Bad in the sense of getting Fs. As I would make my way home, I would throw away the bad papers and allow my Mama to see the good ones. However, my trashing my papers caught up to me. My teacher, Ms. Dobson, called my Mama to tell her about some bad grades I made. When I came home, Mama asked me if I had some bad grades and I had the unmitigated gall to lie and say that I didn't. Let's just say that my butt paid the price for lying, but I am still alive to tell about it! Since that day, I strive not to lie to people about stuff and learned that there's value in telling the truth. There are times, as men and women of God, think that we are exempt from telling the truth and in all actuality, we ought to be the ones telling it more than anyone! Not only that, we ought to tell others to tell the truth and tell others about THE TRUTH (Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ)! Today, God has provided us an awesome text in letting us know that there's value in telling the truth.

Our focus today has shifted to the book of 2 Samuel. This book focuses its energy on the reign of King David as king of Judah and eventually, Israel. During this particular text, we find David had made one of his gravest errors as king and more importantly, as a man of God. In Chapter 11 of 2 Samuel, we find that David fell in lust (not love) with Bathsheba. Through his lust, David and Bathsheba laid together. Eventually, this led to Bathesheba becoming pregnant with David's child. However, David found out that she was married to a Hittite named Uriah. Once David found this out, he had Uriah to go to the front of the battle on his country's behalf, figuring that Uriah would die in battle. Sure enough, the text reveals to us that Uriah died in battle. Bathesheba did mourn the death of Uriah; however, she joined David in the royal palace, married him, and had him a son. Something interesting was mentioned at the end of Chapter 11. It says, "But the thing David had done has displeased the Lord". Brothers and sisters, there will come times, whether if it's today, tomorrow, next week, next month, or next year, where you will do some things that will displease the Lord. Even with that being said, it's on us to obtain forgiveness from the Father and continue to live the best we can!

The scene has now shifted from Chapter 11 to Chapter 12 where Nathan, David's prophet sent by God, visits the king and tells him a story (read verses 1 -6 for more details). Through being told this story, David became angry at the individual that committed the wrong. However, what Nathan wanted him to see was the fact that David was like the individual that committed the wrong. Nathan stated that for the wrong David did in the dark, it would be exposed out in the light! Be careful of the things you do in the dark because if you are not careful, God may expose you in the light! Nathan allowed David to understand that he was so wrong in fact that God would punish him by having his wives sleep with men in public! Throughout this pain, blues, and agony, David realized that there's value in telling the truth. Let's examine his words and the actions that occurred afterwards.

The author revealed to us this, "Then David said to Nathan, I have sinned against the LORD". Wow! What a profound and yet simple statement! David owned up to his mistake. Can you imagine what life would be like if we owned up to the mistakes we made against our spouses and told them that I have wronged you? Can you imagine what life would be like if we owned up to the mistakes we made against our children and tell them that I have wronged you? Can you imagine what life would be like if we owned up to the mistakes we have made in talking to our fellow man and apologizing to them? I tell you what the world would be like, it would be wonderful! Due to our flesh, it oftentimes makes us think that we do not lie about things. It makes us think that what we said was correct and did not carry harm. David's son, Solomon, warns us that life and death is in the power of the tongue! Be careful of the things you say to people and about people! Be careful about the things you have done or will do to people!

The last part of this text should reinforce the love you have for your God. Nathan tells David, "The LORD has taken away your sin. You are not going to die". Though you may have cheated on your spouse, God will take away your sin if you tell the truth! Though you may have came off wrong on your brother and sister talking, God will take away your sin if you tell the truth! Though you may have hurt someone knowingly or unknowingly, God will take away your sin if you tell the truth! Jesus allows us to understand the value in telling the truth. He tells us that "The truth shall set you free". When you know who the truth is, when you know the truth is Jesus Christ, you should have no problems telling others the truth when you have done wrong! You have no problems telling the truth when you said something wrong! You should have no problems in telling others about the TRUTH that's Jesus Christ! You should have no problems sharing with them that the wages of sin, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord! If you are born again, saved, fire baptized, and filled with the Holy Ghost, you know the potency of the truth and you know that there's value in telling the truth!

In closing, I never told my Mama a lie for a long time after that incident. My butt was like, don't do it again! Oftentimes, God wants you to know that there's no shame in telling the truth! Because if you tell the truth, He will forgive your sin and you will not die from it! David did lose his son, but God preserved him and allowed David to tell us greater stories through his reign and provide powerful thoughts through his Psalms. Aren't you glad that God wants you to be truthful with Him and know that you'll be alright?

“The Facts on Spanking”

Scripture: “The rod of correction imparts wisdom, but a child left to himself disgraces his mother.” -Proverbs 29:15, NIV

As a young man growing up, I recall many of the stories my Mama told me about her childhood. One of those stories was when she was a little girl and was hanging around my grandma. Within this story, Mama was being disrespectful to my Grandma and because of her disrespect, she earned a crucial spanking or beating from my Grandma. After receiving that beating, my Mama learned not to be disrespectful to my Grandma. That lesson was carried on through yours truly; hence, why I do what I can to listen to my elders and not disrespect them. Many of you can say that you all have received spankings or beatings because of something wrong you did at school, because you did not complete a chore at home, or other things. Upon receiving that spanking, it forced you to get it right and correction entered the scene. As a child of God, we ought to be able to receive spankings from our Heavenly Father. We ought to be able to receive the correction that's comes with the beating! We ought to know the facts on spanking and today's main scripture will provide you and me, these facts.

Solomon serves as today's writer and today's book is the great book of Proverbs. Proverbs has some of the greatest nuggets any of us can receive as it comes with our walk with God. These nuggets include wisdom and getting it, trusting God and God alone, the power of words from your mouth, and today, the importance of being spanked (receiving correction). Let's take a moment and digest these facts that King Solomon presents to us when it comes to spanking.

Solomon begins the text with this thought, “The rod of correction imparts wisdom". Oftentimes, we receive chastisement on big things, as well as little things. If this chastisement is of God, it's because He loves you! Not only that, the chastisement brings a lesson for you to take into the next portion of your life. You may get chastised on your ways of spending, so God may reduce your income to teach you a lesson on how to spend your money wisely. You may get chastised about how you talk to people, but at the end of the day, it brings about a change in the way you talk to people and in the way you handle your business! You may get chastised about writing things a certain way, but the chastisement may be necessary in order to get you to write more polished products and papers that your colleagues can understand. One of the greatest chastisements I received was my ability or lack of ability to make eye contact with individuals. Over time, I have managed to improve that aspect in me and others are appreciative of that. Ladies and gentlemen, whatever chastisement you are receiving that's legitimate chastisement, receive it in love, take your "spiritual spanking" like a man/woman, and allow it to place wisdom in you!

Solomon now presents to us the flip side of not receiving the spanking. He tells us "but a child left to himself disgraces his mother". There are some of you who have children and it seems like the children run you and not them. You want to know why? It's because you did not spank their behind or took time to give them proper correction! Because of that, you will be out in public and they will do something that would disgrace you! Oftentimes, our pastors look at us and they shake their respective heads because they have tried to deal with you on something and in turn, you may not have received their correction! God gets tired of us taking His chastisement/spankings for granted. He is doing it because He does not want you to disgrace Him! He does it so you can teach others on how to get things done! He does it so you can be better as your life continues on!

In closing, it's on you, my brother and my sister, and it's on me, to allow God's correction through our supervisor, our spouses, our pastors, and others to help us grow and gain wisdom, instead of making God look bad! Oftentimes, I have watched the "fire" of people not paying attention to God burn them and those around them. My closing thought would be this: Are you going to go up in smokes because of your non-receiving of God's spanking or are you going to blaze a trail where others want to learn from you?

“Who Has Your Heart?”

Scripture: “As Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods, and his heart was not fully devoted to the LORD his God, as the heart of David his father had been.” -1 Kings 11:4, NIV

Since 2004, outside of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, there’s one individual who has captured my heart, lock, stock, and barrel. This individual is the one that God gave me the green light to marry on September 25, 2004. She has brought so much joy to my life, she has brought a sense of maturation to my life, she has brought deepness to my life, she has brought completeness to my life, and other things. This individual who has my heart is in the person of my beautiful wife, Mrs. Pamela Yvette Lindsay. In order for her to have obtain possession of my heart, it took some time to get to know one another, grow on one another, love one another, trust one another, understand one another and other things. Through life’s rain, storms, and other crucial situations we have faced, it has kept us together, made our bond that much stronger, and allowed us to have a firmer grip on one another’s heart. In the realm of the Spirit, you ought to feel that way about your God possessing your heart. He ought to be the number one holder of your heart! He ought to be the one you eat, sleep, and think about daily! Your actions should portray that of one that loves God and will not “cheat” on Him. If truth were told, can we own up to the fact that we are loving our Father just right and that He possesses the keys to our heart? Well, today’s main scripture helps us see an example of someone whose heart drifted away from God because of life’s circumstances.

1 Kings serves as today’s backdrop for our message. Within this eleventh chapter, we find a great man of God, the wisest king and man of all-time in God’s eyesight, by the name of Solomon. In the previous chapter, Chapter 10, the author discussed Solomon’s wealth and how the people of that day reverenced the wisdom of God that was inside of Solomon. Ladies and gentlemen, there will come seasons in your life where there’s a talent or a gift you have that people will desire and reverence because of the God inside of you. As Solomon was celebrated by those who came near and far to receive his wisdom, he also had an issue of the heart. The issue came about from his love and devotion to his many of wives. Then, to make matters worse, his wives were foreigners (Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, etc.), and God had told him not to intermarry with foreigners. With this being said, it brings us to our main scripture.

The text begins with this statement, “As Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods”. In looking at this text, we find that due to Solomon’s age and his “foreign” wives, his heart was turned to other gods. No matter how old or young you are, do not allow “foreigners” to turn your heart away from God. Do not allow the foreigner of the love of money turn your heart away from God! Do not allow the foreigner of wealth and fame turn your heart away from God! Do not allow the foreigner of past hurts turn your heart away from God! Moses tells us in the 10 Commandments that “Thou shalt have no other gods before me”. Be aware of the foreigners and little “g” gods and whatever foreigner tries to invade your “country” (YOU), do not allow them residence in you and keep them away from your heart!

Because of Solomon’s wives turning his heart to other gods, then this statement held water: “and his heart was not fully devoted to the LORD his God, as the heart of David his father had been”. One thing you often hear and was true in God’s eyesight was that David was a man after God’s own heart. Oftentimes, because of David’s devotion, God rewarded him handsomely and promised that the Temple would be built by his son and as long as his children followed God, God would take care of them. However, because of the foreigners in Solomon’s life, he could not fully devote his heart to God. If you take a moment to read the remainder of Chapter 11, you find that God became angry with Solomon and because of the relationship David had with God, the kingdom would be split during Solomon’s son reign as King of Israel. During his son’s reign, the son would only retain Judah, the two southern tribes of the 12 tribes of Israel. My encouragement to you on today is that you do not allow anyone or anything to snatch your heart away from Almighty God. We ought to do the best we can with the greatest commandment when it says, “You ought to love your God, with all of your HEART, soul, and mind”. Yes, you are going to slip and not do everything right, but love God to the point where your heart is not possessed by foreigners!

In closing, I am blessed that God has given me a great wife. I am blessed that though storms have came, we’ve managed to make it work, love one another, and she maintain possession of my heart and vice versa. Yes, you are going to go through your struggles in this Christian journey. Again I say, do not allow anyone or anything to stop you from allowing God to possess your heart! When He has that in His possession, it’s protected and it’ll never get broke!

“God Said He Would Be With Me!”

Scripture: “…lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.” –Matthew 28:20

On the 4^th Sundays at The Sanctuary at Kingdom Square, we have a choir named after the pastor before our current pastor that sings. This choir is known as the Colston Memorial Voices. One thing you know about these saints of the Almighty God is that when they sing, the Holy Ghost falls on the church like clockwork! One of the songs that ushers in the presence of the Lord is one sung by an anointed brother by the name of Victor Butler. Victor sings the song, “God Said He Would Be with Me!” As I hear this song, I am often reminded of God’s love and greatness towards me. The song goes on to say that through the storm, through the rain, through sickness and pain, that God would be with me! I feel that there’s someone who’s reading this needs to know that God will be with you! He will be with you through the storms! He will be with you through the rain! He will be with you through sickness! He will be with you through pain! Just in case you do not want to believe the testimony of myself and this song, it’s backed up by Jesus Himself.

Today’s message comes from Matthew’s account of the Gospel. This scripture is special in the sense that Jesus has defeated the enemy by rising up three days after dying on Calvary’s cross. As He was about to return to Heaven, Jesus provided the disciples, along with you and I, some instructions. These instructions are known as the Great Commission. This scripture is found in Matthew 28:19-20. To provide a synopsis of the Great Commission, He tells us to go and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and to have these converts observe (obey/respect) the things He taught them as disciples. The Great Commission is simple in nature in reference to the things it has stated, but for us in this world, it seems hard in execution. Why does it seem so hard? Because of our “busy schedules”. Because of lack of dedication to our Father and His work. Because we have a willing spirit, but a tired body! Because we’re afraid to do true ministry and talk to people. Let’s be real for one second: Suppose that Jesus never came on this Earth, where would you be and where would I be? As we continue to deal with life’s struggles and executing the Great Commission, He leaves us with some comforting words to close out the Commission, as well as Matthew’s account of the Gospel.

He says the following statement: “lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.” That ought to make you clap your hands, give Him a shout, or something! In other words, God through His Son Jesus Christ, just told me that He would be with me! He just told me that He would be with me even when I run the other way! The text tells me that He would be with me when friends act right foolish in my life! The text tells me that He would be with me when family does not understand my pain! The text tells me that He would be with me even when money is funny and change is strange! He said that He would be with me through the deaths of loved ones! He said that He would be with me through divorces and break-ups! He said that He would be with ME! Wherever you are sitting at on this morning, you ought to tell the Lord THANK YOU for being with dirty, old, sinful me! We don’t deserve these new mercies everyday mentioned in Lamentations, but He is with us and He grants those to us! We are not worthy of the blessings He has in store for us, but nevertheless, He says that we are and that He would be with us! He tells us that He is with us until the end of the world. Until then, know that God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost, is there with you! If you appreciate that good news, give God a praise wherever you are!

In closing, I love to hear this song because it reminds me of my life and the things I have endured. More importantly, it reassures me of the fact that God is with me! With that reassurance, I can do as the elderly saints use to say and “run on and see what the end is going to be”. I hope this message and this scripture will infuse within each of you to continue to execute the Great Commission, and more importantly, live life knowing that God will be with you!

“The Potency of Baptism in Jesus Christ”

Scripture: "We were therefore buried with Him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life." -Romans 6:4, NIV

Recently, I had the opportunity to facilitate a class to the deacons-in-training at my church and oddly enough, the subject I was given to facilitate or discuss was baptism. Through my preparation of this lesson, God ministered to me several scriptures and today's main scripture was one of them. In this world we live in today, many things have a power of their own. Money carries power as far as being considered important in the realm of the world. Titles carry power in the sense that people revere a person that's a doctor, minister, reverend, pastor, bishop, president, vice president, and other titles. Believe it or not, we carry power as well! We carry the power of the Holy Spirit that was given to us by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, it guides us, it comforts us, it teaches us, it convicts us, and more importantly, it helps us to fend off the wiles and trials of the enemy. In order to receive the power of the Holy Spirit, you had to give your hand and your heart to God and in turn, repent of your ways. Then, you had to believe that Jesus Christ died on the cross and rose again that you would be saved. After all of that, you then display to the world an inward change through baptism. Within our main scripture, it ministers to us about the potency/power of this ordinance of the church.

The Apostle Paul conveys today's message to the church at Rome. According to John Darby's Synopsis of the New Testament, he iterated that Paul had the task of being the minister to the Gentile nations as Peter was the minister to the Jews. What a tremendous task! Romans is the first book/epistle listed in the New Testament that was written by the Apostle Paul. Within this particular chapter of Romans, Chapter 6, we find Paul dealing with two major subjects: 1) Dead to sin, Alive in Christ (verses 1 - 14) and 2) Slaves to Righteousness (verses 15 - 23). Within subject #1, Dead to Sin, Alive in Christ, is where we obtain understanding the power/potency of baptism.

The text begins with Paul ministering this thought, "We were therefore buried with Him through baptism into death". In other words, from a spiritual symbolism, as you are/were submerged into the water for baptism, you showed the world that you were dying a "spiritual death". This "spiritual death" you are dying connects you with the burial and death of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Everyday, my brothers and sisters, we ought to be real with ourselves and appreciate Christ for the death He experienced on Calvary's cross for you and for me. We also, ought to be appreciative of the baptism we did whenever we did it and now understand, more than ever, that it depicts the symbolism of one living in sin, dying in sin, and ready to kill the sin!

Here's the ultimate thing that displays the power/potency of baptism in Jesus Christ. Paul tells us this, "just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life." Wow! That ought to make you shout wherever you are on this morning! Baptism represents the life, the death, the burial, and the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Through our outward example of being baptized, we are telling/showing the world that we are burying the old me. We're burying the me that cussed everyone out! We're burying the me that hurt everyone's feelings at the drop of a dime! We're burying the me that complained about rough times when it came to money being funny and change being strange! We're burying the me that does not want to be a good husband! We're burying the me that does not want to be a good wife! Through this "burial" in baptism, it connects us with Jesus! Through this connection with Jesus, we learned that He rose again on the third day morning, with all power in His hands! Through His rising, the completeness of baptism denotes that we buried our old man, washed ourselves of the old man, and now is clean in Christ! Through this baptism experience, if you were real about it, then you have picked up a new life! A new life to get the blessings God has in store for you! A new life to treat your spouses right! A new life to minister to others the goodness of Jesus! A new life to give God praise! A new life to give God honor! A new life to give God worship! Wherever you are, if you are appreciative of the new life that Christ has given you through baptism, you ought to tell Him Thank You and give Him a little praise!

In closing, baptism is something that all of us, as God-fearing people, ought to do and need to do. Through baptism, you are displaying that though done outwardly, there's a change in you inwardly! With this change, you have died of your old ways and now are focused on living the life God has intended you to live! Family, appreciate your baptism experience! Reflect on it and appreciate the power/potency of the moment!

"Our Heavenly Pastor"

Scripture: "Therefore He is able to save completely those who come to God through Him, because He always lives to intercede for them". -Hebrews 7:25, NIV

Over the past several years, I have learned so much as a minister of the Gospel. Most of the lessons I have learned have been lessons taught and viewed through the eyes of my pastors, Pastor Daryl R. Napper, Sr. and my current pastor, Pastor Anthony G. Maclin. Some of the lessons my pastors taught me included being ready to visit the sick, being ready to perform baptism at the drop of a dime, allow the Holy Spirit to be the leader and guider of things, keep your focus on God even when man disappoints you, balance between being the pastor of a church and being the pastor of your home, and other things. Through these lessons, I have gained a greater appreciation for the pastors I have sat under and you, my brothers and sisters, ought to appreciate the coverings that God has placed over you in the forms of your pastors. Just as you have a pastor here on Earth, we also have a Pastor who resides in Heaven, but He did dwell among men, lived 33 years, died on Calvary's cross, and was resurrected with all power in His hands. This Pastor I am making reference to is our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Today's main scripture provides clarity on why we can say that Christ is our Heavenly Pastor.

Hebrews serves as our launch pad for today's message. Scholars stated that this book was written around 65 A.D. and was thought of to be written by a Hebrew to other Hebrews. The main message delivered in this particular book is an exhortation for those persecuted believers to continue in the grace of Jesus Christ. Within this particular chapter, Chapter 7, the writer providing discussion on two areas: 1) Melchidezek the priest and 2) Jesus being like Melchidezek. To provide a little background for you gain to a greater appreciation of Melchidezek, he was a priest of the most High God during the day of Abram (Genesis 14). This priest was revered so much that he made it through to Hebrews. As our main scripture falls in the second discussion, we're learn how Christ was like this great priest Melchidezek, and how we can call Him our Heavenly Pastor.

The writer begins to pen this text in this manner: "Therefore He is able to save completely those who come to God through Him". Most of our modern-day pastors preach an uncompromising Word that tugs at the spiritual side of them, which eventually leads them to become saved, repent of their sins, and want to be baptized. The blessing is through this text is that Jesus, Himself, can save you, and save me COMPLETELY IF you come to God! When you think about your past sins, you are saved from them COMPLETELY when you come to God! When you think about your present sins, you are saved from them COMPLETELY when you come to God! When you think about how you messed up your financial obligations, He saved you from them COMPLETELY when you come to God! Whatever things you have done, when you come to Him, He will save you COMPLETELY and wipe your slate clean! Aren't you glad that you have a Pastor in Christ that wipes your slate clean every day and in turn, gives you the ability to tell others He can do the same for them?

Not only does our Heavenly Pastor saves those completely who come to His Father, but He does this according to the Hebrew writer: "because He always lives to intercede for them". What a powerful statement there! One thing I often hear people say and again know for myself, is that pastors intercede and pray for their flock regularly. They look over your souls and pray to God for your success. In turn, many of you receive your blessings and your breakthroughs due to the intercession of your pastors. Another critical thing I have learned about pastors in the modern-day church is that, like humans altogether, they do get tired. Because of this, they often implore their flock to have a one-on-one relationship with God so they can pray for themselves when pastor/minister/deacon/trustee is nowhere around. Aren't you glad to know that you have a Savior that lives to intercede for you? Aren't you glad to know that when you mess up, Jesus is already talking to God on your behalf? Aren't you glad to know that you don't have to kill anymore animals for forgiveness of sin because of Christ's shedding of blood? Christ lives that He may be the intercessor, the mediator, between you and God! Aren't you thankful for the Intercessor, the Mediator, your Heavenly Pastor in Jesus Christ? If so, you ought to give Him a little praise wherever you are!

In closing, pastoring God's people is not an easy task. This is a lesson I have learned from two great pastors in their own right. Ultimately, I am glad and thankful for a Pastor who always live to intercede for me and one who can save me completely from sin when I come to my Father. I am thankful for Jesus and all He has done for me! Aren't you thankful? Aren't you appreciative of our Heavenly Pastor? If you are, then you live your life in a way where He would be pleased and compel others to be a part of His flock!

"Having the Right Teacher"

Scripture: “Teach me Your way, O LORD, and I will walk in Your truth; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear Your name.” –Psalms 86:11, NIV

Throughout my college days, many of my classmates and friends struggled because of how a professor/teacher explained something to them. If truth were told, the professor/teacher had taught that way for a long time and probably felt that there was nothing wrong with it. However, thanks to the Almighty God for giving me clarity and understanding in matters, because it led me to have study groups with my classmates and friends. Through those study sessions, it provided me opportunity to teach them the way of handling the respective problems within a respective class. Through those study sessions, my classmates and friends were able to pass their respective classes, make decent grades, and eventually, graduate with their Bachelor’s degrees. If we switch this thing spiritually, it’s imperative to have the right teacher, leading you and guiding you in spiritual maturity. It’s important to be a part of a church family where you can grow and in turn, people can grow from your experiences. It’s important to have a pastor who can minister to your needs every Sunday and growth is the name of the game. It’s important to learn more about the Teacher above all teachers, the Right Teacher, our Heavenly Father! When you have the right teacher, you learn valuable lessons! Today’s message conveys the blessings and lessons one can learn if they have the right teacher in God.

Today’s message is found in the 86^th division of Psalms. This particular psalm was written by David. Scholars reveal this particular psalm was written while David was in trouble and was under attack. There will come times and seasons where attack will have your name on it! There are times and seasons where struggle will have your name on it! There are times and seasons where loneliness will have your name on it! If you remember what Jesus told the disciples in the Great Commission, He told them that I will be with you, even unto the end of the world. Through your seasons of pains, blues, and agony, God will be there with you! Because David had right relationship with the Father, he could pen this psalm and further give us understanding of the blessings and lessons he desired from the Lord.

The first part of the text says this: “Teach me Your way, O LORD, and I will walk in Your truth”. Oftentimes within this world, we are quick to want to do things the way others have done it. Their way may be find and good, but I know someone whose ways are right ALL the time! Grandma may have lived a great life and done things a great way, but they may have not necessarily been the right way! Oftentimes, when the troubles of this world has beat us down and taken the steam out of our sails, we throw in the towel and say, “Lord, Teach me Your Way!” Having the right teacher in God will not only teach you the right way, but you will walk in His truth! You can often tell when someone has been taught something well in the school house. You can tell because nine times out of ten, when that skill is needed in a critical situation, they manage to put it to work and excel like it was the first time they had done it. When you learn the truth of God, you learn what to hear and what not to hear, what to trust and what not to trust, what to do and what not to do! When you receive these teachings from the Father through God Himself, your pastor, a minister, or whomever, the ball now goes into your court to execute and follow God’s ways!

David concludes this awesome text by saying the following: “Give me an undivided heart, that I may fear Your name”. When you are taught by the right teacher, you have NO doubts which way is correct and which way is incorrect. When you are taught by the right teacher, you can make the correct decision and your heart will be fine. David wanted God to give him the kind of heart that was complete and not split! This is a powerful statement because David’s son and our Savior, Jesus, tells us that out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks! David’s natural son, Solomon, tells us in Proverbs that the reflection of a man is seen in his heart. Ladies and gentlemen, if you are following God and learning from His ways, your heart should not be divided. Your heart should be strong, your heart should be wise, your heart should be the things God has placed in it. When that heart is inside of you, then you can really fear (reverence, respect) the name of God. When you were ready to blow out your co-worker for getting on your nerves, it was God’s teaching that kept your heart whole and thus, you feared His name! When you were ready to give up on your spouse, it was God’s teaching that kept your heart whole and let you know to give them another chance! When you wanted to “borrow from Peter to pay Paul”, it was God’s teaching that taught us that when you give Him his 10%, His tithes and offerings, He will open up the windows of Heaven and pour you out a blessing that you would not have any room to receive it! You cannot get these things unless you are receiving the right teachings from the Right Teacher!

In closing, I was blessed to teach and tutor my classmates. It gave me an opportunity to learn them, them learn me, and ultimately, teach them the right way of getting things done on test day and their respective homework assignments. God Himself, wants you to have the right teaching as well! He wants to teach you His way that you may walk in truth. He wants to help you develop an undivided heart that you may fear His name. If you are reading today’s message and have not found “the right teaching/teacher”, I encourage you to seek God that He may teach you 1^st and then, send you to the place where you can grow in Him! For those of you who know that you have the Right Teacher in God and through your pastor, then make God proud by following His ways and loving His people!

"Out of Respect for God"

Scripture: “Since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God.” -2 Corinthians 7:1, NIV

As a young man reared in the South, there are some things I learned you DO NOT do out of respect for adults. When I was a child, it was out of the cards for a child to jump into grown people’s conversation. It was also out of the cards for a child to talk back to his parent or any adult for that matter. One other no no was the fact that you were not to waste the food that was placed on your plate. One final thing you didn’t do was use profane language when talking to your parents. This list can be very exhaustive, but nevertheless, we as grown-ups today practice these things because we respect our parents and love them dearly. If we can do things out of respect for our earthly parents, can’t we do the same for our Heavenly Father? Can’t we step up and be the men and women of God He desires in these last and evil days? As President Barack Obama said during his campaign, YES WE CAN! Today’s main scripture from the Apostle Paul provides us how we should do certain things out of respect for God.

2 Corinthians is the back drop of today’s message. Within this chapter, Chapter 7, Paul does the following: 1) Started with an exhortation for holiness and that the church in its entirety should bear affection to Paul (verses 1-4), 2) Discussed how he rejoiced in the church’s sorrowing to repentance (verses 5 – 11), and 3) Discussed the comfort that the Corinthian church had with Titus (verses 12 – 16). Today’s thought falls within the first piece of what Paul wrote in Chapter 7. Within his exhortation for holiness, he talks about things that we should do out of respect for God.

Before Paul begins to state what we should do out of respect for God, he gives us a reason why. He does this by saying, “Since we have these promises, dear friends”. I often think about when I was a child, it profited me to act right much more than act up knowing if there was a surprise, a toy, some money, or something with my name on it. We oftentimes work hard at our jobs with the promise of knowing or receiving an award, a promotion, or recognition. Just like that, we ought to respect God because of the promises He has for us! In the beginning of 2 Corinthians, Paul mentions that God’s promises are Yea and Amen. In other words, His promises are Yes and So Be It. We ought not to praise God and respect God for the things He has done, we ought to respect Him and praise Him for the things He is going to do! You ought to praise God and respect God for the promise of a good job coming to fruition and though you do not have it! You ought to respect God and praise God for the spouse that He has made for you, though you are alone! You ought to praise God and respect God for the healing He will place on you or your family member’s body, though it hasn’t manifested! You ought to just respect and praise God for the promises He has over your life!

Now, Paul begins the ways/things we can do out of respect for God. He tells us firstly this: “let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit”. Didn’t he just say a mouthful there? This portion of scripture coincides with a similar message Paul wrote to the church at Rome when he told them that you ought to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy, and acceptable unto God which is your reasonable service. If truth were told, we love/loved the drink of backbiting, but isn’t that contaminating the body and spirit? We love/loved the drink of gossiping, but isn’t that contaminating the body and spirit? We love/loved the drink of having significant wealth, but isn’t that contaminating the body and spirit? We love/loved to eat things that aren’t good for us, but isn’t that contaminating the body? Whatever we love/loved, it’s on us to get it right! If we love God like we say we do and we respect Him like we say we do, then we ought to purify ourselves from the junk that resides in our life!

Lastly, Paul mentions this thing we can do out of respect for God: “Perfecting holiness out of reverence of God”. God told us back in Leviticus that we ought to be holy because He is holy. I love what Paul says here when he says perfecting. In other words, he knew that he was a wretched man and that the people of Corinth were wretched, but he asked them to perfect holiness. Strive towards holiness! Make fewer mistakes and get more grounded when it comes to holiness! As men and women of God, are we going to cross every t? Of course not! Are we going to dot every I? Of course not! What we can do is strive towards being the holy people God wants us to be! You can be holy and have a good time! Just do not let the good time make you unholy! We all know the things we need to strip from our lives in order to strive towards perfecting holiness. The more you strive towards perfecting holiness, the more you are showing respect for God!

In closing, it was a blessing to be raised the way I was raised. I learned and gleaned a lot from my elders. Through my upbringing, I strive to be careful of the things I do out of respect for my parents. We all do things to this day out of respect for our parents and the things they taught us. With that same zeal and love, let’s focus our energy on doing the things Paul mentioned out of respect for the most high God. Isn’t He worthy of your respect today?

"God's Stamp of Approval"

Scripture: “What you say about yourself means nothing in God's work. It's what God says about you that makes the difference.” -2 Corinthians 10:18, The Message

One of the funniest and yet real aspects of life is when someone gives you their “stamp of approval”. Oftentimes, we look for someone’s stamp of approval for our spouses before we get married. We also look for someone’s stamp of approval of selecting a particular car, house, ring, or any other inanimate object. We even look for our boss’s stamp of approval on the workplace when it comes to doing a good job on a case or just work in general. As a human, yes, these stamps of approval are important, but they are not the stamps of approval you or I really need! God wants to encourage you today and let you know that it is His stamp of approval that matters most! Just in case you don’t believe that, let’s examine some text to clarify this point.

Today, our message is located in the 2^nd letter Paul wrote to the church at Corinth. Scholars state that within today’s chapter of focus, Chapter 10, Paul’s intent was to defend the ministry that God had gave him to do. Ladies and gentlemen, there will come seasons in your life where you have to go on the offensive and let the enemy know that you treasure the ministry God has placed in you! You are going to have to go on the offensive to show the naysayers how good God really is and how righteous people get what they deserve through endurance, hurt, pain, longsuffering, faith, and the other Fruit of the Spirit mentioned in Galatians 5. Nevertheless, as Paul was defending his ministry to the church at Corinth, he allows them to understand and us to understand the importance of God’s approval.

The Message Bible begins today’s scripture with this awesome statement: “What you say about yourself means nothing in God’s work.” In other words, there’s no need to boast about yourself. The previous verse makes mention that if you are going to boast, boast about God who did it! Don’t boast about the fact that you are a GS-15, boast about the fact that God made you a GS-15! Don’t boast about the fact that you have a beautiful home, boast about the fact that God has granted you to have a beautiful home! Don’t boast about the fact that you have a brilliant mind, boast about the fact that God has given you a brilliant mind! Whatever things you want to say about yourself, make sure you are giving the right man the credit because as you boast/say things about yourself, Paul lets us know that it means nothing in doing the work of our Father!

The last part of this scripture should bless you wherever you are sitting. Peterson converts Paul’s latter portion of today’s scripture this way, “It’s what God says about you that makes the difference.” Though your boss says that you are not much of a worker, but God knows you are, it’s God’s stamp of approval that matters! Though your husband/wife may not necessarily appreciate your efforts, but God sees all and hears all, then it’s God’s stamp of approval that matters! Though you have no business working at a particular place because you didn’t meet the “requirements”, but you met God’s requirements, then know that’s God’s stamp of approval that matters! Though you have no business in a beautiful home and yet your credit is bad, but you are humble in the eyesight of God, know that it was God’s stamp of approval that matters! If we think about the life that our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ lived, many did not want to give Him their stamp of approval, but God in Heaven, gave Him THE STAMP of APPROVAL! No matter what you are dealing with or no matter what are you going through, I want to encourage your heart today that God’s stamp of approval matters!

In closing, I thank God for not getting hung up in being validated by people. I am must hung up on being validated by God! Today, I encourage you to allow God to validate you and place His stamp of approval over you and your life! There are great things in store for you, but do not allow people and life’s negativity to derail you from the things He has for you!

“Keeping Ministry in Perspective”

Scripture: “Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ.” –Galatians 1:10, NIV

Through this thing we call life, one thing we are charged to do from time-to-time is place things in their respective perspective. In other words, we ought to understand the rationale/reason of why we do things. As a husband and stepfather, I come to work daily because my rationale/reason is to continuously take care of my family and provide for them as best as I can. As an employee, my rationale/reason is to conduct quality reviews on my cases that would result in cases being completed, with the potential to line me up for greater assignments and tougher challenges. Each of us has a something we ought to keep in perspective. On today, God wants you to keep your ministry in perspective as well. Mind you, because you are not a “licensed preacher of the Gospel” does not mean that you do not have a ministry. We all have ministries – ministry of compassion, ministry of love, ministry of help, ministry of encouragement, and others. Through the eyes of the Apostle Paul, he will help us understand more about keeping our respective ministries in perspective.

Our message for today is found in Paul’s epistle to the church at Galatia. Scholars have stated that this book may have been written between 48 and 55 A.D. Within this church, Paul had to deal with some Jewish converts as well as Gentile converts. In this day and age we live in today, it’s imperative to have a spirit that allows you to work with different types of people. It’s imperative to have a spirit that does the best one can to get along with his/her fellow man. Within this introductory chapter, Paul releases his initial greetings (verses 1 – 5), along with discussing that there’s no other Gospel (verses 6 – 10) and Paul explained how he was called by God (verses 11 – 24). In Paul’s discussion of there being no other Gospel is where we find today’s main scripture and how he challenges us to keep our ministries in perspective.

Paul begins today’s text with this question, “Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men?” Doesn’t this make you scratch your head for a moment? Oftentimes, we get caught up when we are singing praises unto God and yet, look for man to pat us on the back. This leads to the question Paul asked, are you doing it for man’s approval or for God’s approval? There are times where we have preached God’s Word and thoroughly enjoy it when everyone praises us for the Word, but is it you that deserves the glory or is it God that deserves the glory? Is it men that you are trying to appease or is it God you’re trying to appease? Whatever you do ministry wise, whether if the ministry is in or outside of the four walls of the church, keep it in perspective and ask yourself, who am I doing this for!

Paul asked this initial question, but provides an answer that should be our answer. He says this: “If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ”. When you teaching the Word of God, remember that you are doing it as a servant of Christ with the intent of pleasing God! When you are preaching the Word of God, remember that you are doing it as a servant of Christ with the intent of pleasing God! When you are the husband of one wife, you are doing it as a servant of Christ with the intent of pleasing God and loving your wife as Christ loved the church! When you are the wife of one husband, you are doing it as a servant of Christ with the intent of pleasing God and being able to submit to the covering God gave you. When you are an employee on your respective job, you are doing it as a servant of Christ with the intent of pleasing God and allowing your light to shine where men can see God in you! Whatever you do, keep your ministry in perspective, and know that you are a servant of Christ that is not trying to please man, but please God!

In closing, ministry can be and is hard work! Nevertheless, with the help of God and keeping it in perspective, we are not here to obtain man’s approval, but we are here as servants of Christ and looking to receive approval from the Almighty God! Are you looking for, as we mentioned in a previous message, “Man’s Stamp of Approval” or “God’s Stamp of Approval”?

“Heads or Tails?”

Scripture: “If you puff yourself up, you'll get the wind knocked out of you. But if you're content to simply be yourself, your life will count for plenty.” –Matthew 23:12, The Message

If you ever took time to watch football, whether it’s college, the CFL, the Arena League, or the NFL, each game starts the same. How do they start the same you ask? They start with a coin toss of the two teams. The coin toss determines who gets the ball first and the placement of which way the teams go within the first half. There are two names that can be called during a coin toss, heads or tails. After the preliminaries of the coin toss, we enjoy three to three and a half hours of great action! Within this spiritual game of life, we also have a coin toss of heads or tails in many different arenas. You can call heads and get the best of life from the Head or you can call tails and get the worst of life if you follow the tail that’s the enemy. Today, within Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus allows us to deal with this thought when it comes to being humble. Let’s examine this thing.

As Jesus delivered today’s main scripture, He also dealt with the seven woes in Matthew 23. In the beginning of this text, Jesus says this for the “tails” side of humility according to the Message Bible: “If you puff yourself up, you’ll get the wind knocked out of you”. If we honestly think about this portion of the text, this applies to us all, everywhere. I think about the movie, “Any Given Sunday” where Jamie Foxx played the backup QB Willie Beamon. Beamon came off the bench for the franchise QB of the Miami Sharks and led them to a victory. After leading the team to the victory, people started swelling Beamon’s head up and in turn, he became full of himself. Through Beamon doing this, he began to alienate his teammates and the next game they played, he was getting drilled every five seconds by the opposing defense. Truly, Beamon got the wind knocked out of him! Brothers and sisters, God loves you so much that He wants you to be great in the things He has for you. On the flip side of that, He does not want you to get the big head, thinking it was you all by yourself. Yes, He has blessed you with a beautiful home, but don’t get the big head! Yes, He has blessed you with a phenomenal spouse, but do not get the big head! Yes, He has blessed you with a nice paying job, but do not get the big head! Yes, He has blessed you to become somebody in the church, but do not get the big head! If you want to have the big head, have one praising God for the things He has done for you and do like 2 Corinthians 4:17 where it says, “if you are going to boast about something, boast about it in the Lord!”

Here’s the heads end of humility from Jesus’ standpoint: “But if you’re content to simply be yourself, your life will count for plenty”. Ladies and gentlemen, the New International Version says, “If you will humble yourself, then you will be exalted”. I know this to be true! One of the great lessons I have learned whether I have taught God’s Word, preached God’s Word, did a speech somewhere, gave some remarks, did a good job at the workplace, that Haile Lindsay CANNOT take any glory for it! I have to give that glory and honor to God, the one who gave me the opportunity to do what I do! If you possess that mentality, God will blow your mind and use you in ways like you have never been used! If you humble yourself in God, the house you desire will be yours in due time! If you humble yourself in God, the car you desire will be yours in due time! If you humble yourself in God, the healing you desire for you or a friend will be yours in due time! If you humble yourself in God, then God will give you the desires of your heart! These things ONLY come through maintaining humility!

In closing, when it comes to humility, it’s a coin flip. The truth is you control the coin and how it falls. Do you want tails and get the bad end of life because you are so up in the sky or do you want heads and get the best out of life by staying humble? The choice is yours!