To My Flock at Marion:
How Will We Respond
I have been giving some thought to this issue of time. Most of us right now have too much time on our hands. We are tempted to complain about this; it’s only natural for us to complain about our circumstances; it’s almost automatic. Just a few short months ago we were in the Christmas rush and most likely complaining that there was just not enough time to get everything done. My favorite complaint is that I would just like to get finished so that I could have some time to relax and enjoy the holiday. During Holy Week and Easter, we had nothing but time; how did we use it? Did we use the time to draw closer to God and allow ourselves to truly experience the wonder of resurrection? I believe that this time that we have been given by God is a very important time in the life of the church. I truly believe that God is speaking to His church and calling us to the work – the commission that Jesus revealed to us. This is a time like no other in our lifetime. In God’s perfect timing this is the time that He set aside before the foundation of the earth for the church, the body of Christ, to prepare for what is about to take place. Do you know that every Great Awakening that has taken place since the resurrection of our Lord has been preceded by devastation, upheaval, and a major shakeup of the world. I am speaking to the Church, the Body of Christ, those of you who have accepted Jesus as their Savior because you are the only ones who can, through the power of the Holy Spirit, see God’s plan in all of this devastation. It is to you that I pose this question. How will we respond?
Psalm 116: 1-4: “I love the Lord, for he heard my voice, he heard my cry for mercy. Because he turned his ear to me, I will call on him as long as I live. The cords of death entangled me, the anguish of the grave came over me; I was overcome by distress and sorrow. Then I called on the name of the Lord, save me!” When we consider what God has done for us through the sacrifice of his son Jesus on the cross, we realize that God responded to the cry of humanity; he heard our voices and intervened on our behalf. How will we respond? Verses 12 – 14: “What shall I return to the Lord for all his goodness to me? I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord. I will fulfill my vows to the Lord in the presence of all his people.” God’s people, I want you to think about how you do this. You have time right now. God has put all of us in a position where time is not the issue and we have no excuses. It’s time to think, how will we respond? When we are free to resume our service to the Lord will we be ready? Ready to lift up the cup of salvation to the world and call on the Lord? Will we be ready to fulfill our vows to the Lord? Do we remember our vows? The vows we took when we joined the church and committed our lives to Jesus. This is important because we are living in a time of great opportunity for the unsaved souls of this world. Many of you know the stories that I have shared with you about a group of us ministers that used to meet for prayer three times a week at 6 am. There were others from the churches who joined us occasionally, but for the most part, it was four to six of us and we did this for many years. We prayed for every need that was brought before us, but the theme, the reason that we came together, was to pray for revival. We would talk and sing and pray, we shared our concerns and our vision for the church. I remember on many occasions we would ask this question: What would happen if God responded to our prayers and sent revival? We envisioned being so busy ministering to all of the new Christians that we would be overwhelmed and unable to do anything else. Our response was always the same; wouldn’t that be wonderful. To see God move in such a way, what a blessing that would be. God may be ready to answer all of those years of prayer. Are you ready? How will we respond?
In the gospel of Luke chapter 24 starting in verse 13 we hear the well known story of the road to Emmaus. These two disciples are walking home from Jerusalem. They our upset and depressed. The news of the past week and even this resurrection day was disturbing to them. You see, resurrection has no power in your life unless you believe and except it. Until the story becomes personal to you and you feel the presence of Jesus in your life, resurrection is just a nice story. Is Jesus personal to you today? Jesus walks with them and he talks with them. What’s the next line church? And he tells me I am his own. Sorry, I needed to finish that because it’s a nice thought for us today. Jesus takes the time to show them what they have missed and then as he sits and breaks bread with them their eyes are opened to whom he is, and for the first time they realize his real purpose. Listen: This is my body broken for you! This is my blood poured out for the forgiveness of your sins! Do you understand now? This is our time to sit with Jesus and be reminded of who he is and what he has done in our lives. Right now in the stillness and quiet, the time that God has given us, we need to ready ourselves for the work of revival that God will bring out of this darkness. When the plague has passed and the doors of the church are open once again, will we be ready for the hurting, the wounded, those who have suffered loss, those who are searching and seeking a new life in Christ, those who are ready to respond to God’s call. We will need teachers, and preachers, and caregivers. We will need the church to be the church that Jesus has called us to be. Are you getting ready? HOW WILL WE RESPOND?
In Christ’s Love and Peace
Pastor Bob
April 23, 2020
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