Lessons Learned While Waiting

What are you waiting for? To be more specific, what are you waiting on God for? Identify that thing or those things you have laid before the Lord in prayer repeatedly and you wait on Him to accomplish. I am sure you have some. It seems we are all waiting on God for something. 

Why does it seem time passes so slowly while we are waiting on God? Back in July of 2020 I waited on God for healing and recovery from the Corona Virus. I could not quit coughing. The worst of it lasted for two weeks. The cough lingered for months afterward to some degree. Neither could I sleep at night. I tried sleeping in recliners. I stayed up late. When I did fall asleep it was sheer exhaustion. My sleep patterns go all out whack. This went on day after day and night after night. At times I felt it would never end. I could not think clearly. I begged God for healing. I had to wait on God for that healing. Brenda and I were confined to our home for 14 straight days. She still tells me that is one of her favorite times in our marriage. We spent time together just the two of us. She sat in her chair and me in mine. Sometimes she was on her tablet and I read a book or cat napped. 

Back this past winter we lost our heat along with millions of others in Texas in sub zero temperatures. Our only source of heat came from our fireplace which we used non stop. We went 36 hours straight without electricity. I pleaded with God to not let me react to that trial like a spoiled American. Even with the constant fire going we could not get the temperature above 50 degrees in the house. We dressed in layers and sat and slept under piles of blanket sWaiting back then was miserable. God brought us through it. 

There have been numerous prayers lifted that the Lord answered by telling us to wait. Like waiting for His second coming in this crazy mixed up world. Like waiting on God to bring prodigals to repentance and return them home. Like waiting on mountains to be moved, for provision to come, burdens to be lifted, sorrows to be soothed, and hope to be maintained. 

There can come a point for believers when you have prayed every single prayer you have inside you. You reach a point where you have nothing else to say. Tears fall containing a mixture of emotions. You wrestle with the fact that God has all the power to intervene in your situation if He wills, but grapple with why so often He makes you wait in suffering. Satan can use and twist those thoughts taking yo down a dark path of despair. 

There are lessons to be learned. Promises to permeate those dark places. Truth to anchor our souls. 

Those who wait for the LORD will gain new strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not get tired and walk not become weary. [Is 40:31]

The first lesson, is that we find new strength when we wait on the LORD. The word hope in that passage means to hope and expect God to help us. It is easy to lose hope while waiting, to grow fainthearted and discouraged. It is during those times that God gives new strength. To put that another way, to give us fresh strength for each day and each trial. We never have to lose heart while waiting on God if He is continually supplying fresh hope. 

One meaning for the word strength in that passage means stubbornness. We hope and expect God to give us the stubbornness to keep waiting on Him. To keep trusting. To keep believing. Not to give up. Not give into depression and despair. 

Another lesson to be learned, is that He gives faith like mounting up like an eagle to soar above our storms. In those times we find peace in His presence. Our circumstances may not have changed but our attitudes and outlook change drastically. We get His perspective and see things from His vantage point. Some things we stress over while we wait seem such like big things right now. In just a matter of months they will not be that big deal. We may not even remember them. In God let us soar above this pandemic, above political turbulent times, above tyranny and above never ending sorrows on top of sorrows. 

An additional lesson to take to heart, is He wants us to keep moving forward. To stay in stride with Him. How often do we get stuck waiting. We obsess over waiting. We only think about what we are waiting for and pray about whatever we are waiting on God to do for us. We stop right there. Our only agenda in coming to Him is for answers and breakthrough. He desires us to keep following hard after Him. 

I recall one of the most painful confusing periods of my life several years ago. I was a spiritual, emotional, and mental wreck. As a pastor, Sundays keep coming around as well as Wednesdays whether you feel like ministering the word or not. I cried out in agony those days admitting there was no way I could preach and  teach things I privately struggled to believe. Each time God helped me. I preached to myself most of all. 

A businessman came to me during that time and told me how he almost lost his business. He told me the thing that got him through that hard period was those Sunday morning sermons when I had struggled myself. I never shared my personal struggles. God used that time to keep moving me forward to help others when I thought I could not possibly be any help to anyone. He can do the same with you. 

I'm waiting on God like so many of you. Waiting on my brother in law to be fully healed and restored to health from his battle with Covid-19. Waiting on my house to sell in Runaway Bay so Brenda and I can be together in the same house more than a couple days a week. Waiting on clarified vision for this church. Waiting on provision. Waiting on revival. Waiting on God to heal people in the flock. Waiting on so many things like so many of you. We can learn in this time. 

One final lesson. Take the long view. I look back over past waiting periods I thought would never end. They did end. God came through in some astounding ways.  Consider a three year period of praying for God's provision of vehicles for my family. The provision did not come. At times I felt foolish for even praying such prayers. It felt like God would never come through. We waited a long time but God answered. Five vehicles in five weeks. It was incredible. Be encouraged. Take the long view. Quit obsessing over the short term. In His good time and according to His good pleasure, He will perform what glorifies Him. I have waited enough times and seen Him do just that over and over. Learn what He wants to teach you in these waiting seasons. 

Axing The Noble

 In 1892 publicists were looking for attractions for the 1893 world fair. Hundreds of letters were sent all over the nation soliciting potential attractions. A small community in California received one of those letters and go the idea of sending a section of a giant Sequoia tree. Few people around the world even believed such massive trees existed. So a dream was born. To cut a section of one of those massive trees and ship it to Chicago for the 1893 World Fair. 

Once permission was secured to fell one of the big trees the plan went into motion. The owner of the timber could not bring himself to cut the biggest tree down, so they chose the second largest. Towering among all other trees but one.  The circumference of the tree was 101' around. A massive sight. 

It took four axe men 13 straight days to cut the tree down. 312 hours. 1,248 man hours. Countless swings. Repeated sharpening of the axe head. Refueling and refreshing through nourishment and rest. Continuous labor. Teamwork. The resolve to complete the task for the whole world to see. You know they got tired. You know the task was harder than they first imagined. The Noble Tree as it came to be known did not give up its fight for life easily. They had to build scaffolding fifty feet off the ground to accomplish the task. Those four men kept swinging. Hour after hour. Day after day. One week and one day shy of two weeks. 

Can you imagine the thrill when the massive mighty tree finally gave way and fell. I try to imagine the vibration of the earth as the tree thudded to the earth and the cloud of dust that rose like a mushroom cloud from an atom bomb. What an impressive accomplishment. 

The work was not done. They dug out a 50' section of the widest part and made it into a two story structure with a room on top. Once the World's Fair ended they moved the tree to Washington DC where it remained a tourist attraction for nearly 40 years. 

It all started with a dream and four men who were willing to put in the work to make the dream come true. The labored for a cause much bigger than themselves. 

The job was much too large for just one person. Just like the task of taking Jesus to our community is too large for one person, one class or even one church. Estimates that very soon there will be over 300,000 people in Parker County. All the churches combined could not hold that many people. 

Expand that task to taking the gospel of Jesus to the whole world and we are reminded we need help. Help from one another. We need teams to help. We need missionaries to die to the American dream and go follow the call of God to take the gospel to those who have never heard. We also need God's help. Only He can empower us to stay at it until the task is done. Christians have been at this task for over 2,000 years. There are still those who have not heard. We must keep swinging our gospel axes until people fall in surrender to salvation and nations fall to Jesus  jut like the Noble Tree fell to those four axe men. Until the whole world hears. 

Seeking Time

 My grandmother from time to time would play hide and seek with me. She used to tell me that she could always find me if she had a notion to do so. I did not know what the word notion meant. I felt like she had some supernatural power. She found me every single time. 

Even when I wedged myself in tight fitting places she still found me. I could not escape her under beds, in closets, in the shower, behind the couch or any other place I could think to hide. When she came seeking she always found me. Seeking time for her meant finding time. 

This is seeking time. We are seeking God while He still may be found. Seeking to know Him. Seeking His heart and mind for our communities and churches. It is seeking time. That means it is praying time, digging in the scriptures time, and listening time. Time to discern the heart and mind of God. Seeking time for Him to come move mightily among us again like He did in the days of old. 

Sadly some skip seeking time. They prefer shortcuts. Seeking time is time consuming. It requires diligence and perseverance. Seeking time is at times lonely. It is time spent shut in the secret place where nobody sees but the Father. 

Seeking time is labor intensive. Praying is hard work. Standing in the gap is like going to war. It is battle. Battle for souls. Battle for the soul of nations. It is intentionally engaging in spiritual warfare. The enemy is sure to attack in retaliation. The attacks can be severe on us and those we love most around us. Our adversary will do all in his power to distract us and discourage us from seeking God's will and favor on our land. Seeking time necessitates resolve to press through. To grow mentally strong to not lose heart. To wear the harness of prayer with determination to plow fallow ground. 

It is seeking time. Are you a seeker? Seekers find God. Seekers find answers to prayer. Seekers see powerful results from their secret intercessions. It is seeking time. Time to seek God with all your might. He longs to be discovered. Seeking time will not be disappointing.

 Jeremiah 29:13 (NASB)

¹³  'You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart. 

Hurricane

 We are right in the middle of hurricane season. There have already been several storms this year. Hurricanes can cause extensive damage from high winds and torrential rains. Even when predictions forewarn people of impending danger, those warnings cannot totally protect people from damage. Hurricanes leave vivid images in our minds of winds blowing trees, ripping roofs off buildings, and flooding rains washing into homes. Who can forget named storms like Michael, Andrew, Harvey, Katrina, and Sandy, Then there was the devastating hurricane that hit Galveston in 1900. 

In the Galveston Hurricane between 6,000-12,000 people were killed. The storm brought 20 foot storm surges along with flash flooding. The bands of rain were felt as far as Oklahoma and Kansas. 3,600 homes were destroyed. That hurricane is considered the deadliest to hit the Gulf Coast of Mexico. After that hurricane Galveston built a sea wall the breadth of the city for protection from future storms. 

None of those things is really on my mind this morning. I am chewing on a phrase I read in a book about revival. The author penned the phrase, "There was a hurricane of intercession," before revival broke out in a certain community. A hurricane of intercession. 

Several things come to mind when I contemplate that phrase. For one, hurricanes are forceful. They impose their will on lives and structures. They are impressively powerful. Now relate that to prayer. Have you ever seen a hurricane force of intercession unleashed imposing the will of God on a community. Just imagine what would happen if the people of God prayed with hurricane like force. The impact would be impressive and undeniable. 

The roofs of people's lives would be uncovered. Hypocrisy would be exposed. So would apathy and lukewarm service. Lost people would be convicted of their ways and need of a Savior. It would shake up the status quo. People would flock to Jesus for salvation and deliverance in repentance. Preachers would have their hands full in counseling, leading people to faith in Jesus, and baptizing week after week. 

The wind of the Spirit of God and the rains of revival that resulted from a hurricane of intercession would leave the church in awe. I have seen first hand when people pray like this and the results that follow. Many times I have written about it. I cannot do it justice. You would have to experience it for yourself to fully understand. Worship services that last three hours. Most of that time was people at the altar in repentance or others finding Jesus as their Savior. Baptisms night after night. Raw testimonies of God's conviction, salvation and repentance from sin. I wish you could hear the worship. A great deal of revival music came out of the Brownsville Revival. Much of that music was recorded live in the services. A guy named Lindell Cooley led most of it. It is some of my all time favorite music. Nobody sings it anymore these days. The passion was contagious. The joy of the Lord evident. The hunger among worshipers cut right through pretense and religious routines. 

I am asking God for a hurricane to hit. A hurricane of intercession like we have never known before. May the force of those intercessions move God to mighty works beyond our wildest imaginations. 

Atmosphere of Expectancy

 Whether you enter the prayer closet or a public worship service, let me ask what is the expectancy level? On a personal level, do you anticipate meeting with God? In public worship gatherings, do those in attendance plan on God encounters? The truth is many have low expectations. They have gone through the religious routines for decades. They do not expect God to do anything out of the ordinary. 

80% of children raised in church leave once they go off to college or enter the work force. I cannot help but believe such people heard about the power of God all their lives, but rarely if ever saw it for themselves. They became bored with the religious rut of stale cold rituals. Over time, the same thing happens to adults. They might not leave the church but they just as bored. 

I read the little phrase, "atmosphere of expectancy," in a book about the 1904 Wales Revival. People worked all day in hard labor back in those days. Starting early. Most of the men worked in the coal mines. They did not use that as an excuse. Many of these same men made their way to chapels and churches for revival meetings in the evenings that lasted well past midnight on many occasions. They kept coming and sacrificing because they expected to see God move and were not disappointed. 

We plan our events. Implement the latest programs. Inundate people with study after study. We go to conferences, take retreats and every so often have a revival meeting. If God truly brought real revival we would see more happen in days than we have seen in decades. People would talk about what God did and news would spread by word of mouth. 

When people came to the houses of God in 1904, then they would come to gatherings with an atmosphere of expectancy. In the Wales revival 100,000 people were saved in just six months. That move of God was supernatural. No man could take credit for it. No program could produce those kind of results. Many people repented of sins. So much so crime rates dropped. Police officers had little to no work to do and actually started quartet singing groups to pass the time. Incredible. 

I have witnessed with my own eyes an atmosphere of expectancy. In the 1990's God broke out in revival at the Brownsville Assembly of God church in Pensacola, FL. I had the privilege of attending several of those services. Two things stand out to me from those visits. The first is the fact that people stood in line all day in the hot summer sun in humid Florida waiting to get into the service that night. Thousands of people waited in line. They believed God would meet with them in those services. The doors opened at 6:00 p.m. Within minutes the 1,500 seat sanctuary filled to capacity and overflow rooms had to be set up. 

As the revival continued for years some of the rules changed. They opened the parking lot at 6:00 am. for people to form lines to get inside. No longer could be people spend the night in parking lot. The doors did not open until 6:00 p.m. and the services did not start until 7:00 p.m. I arrived once at 6:00 a.m. and saw dozens and dozens of people in line ahead of our group willing to wait 12 hours just to get into a worship service. I have never seen anything like it. 

The second thing that stuck out to me in that revival is a simple banner that hung on the wall just off the stage in the sanctuary. The banner simply had two words written on it, "More Lord." They hungered for more of God even though it is reported hundreds of thousands of people were saved in that revival. It lasted for five years. It is reported that over 4 million people walked through the doors of that church during those revival years.  It all started with a series of Sunday evening prayer meetings and was sustained by Tuesday night prayer meetings at the height of the revival. 

I have written before revival is costly. Imagine having five straight years of revival services five nights a week. They eventually took Monday off to rest and used Tuesday for prayer meetings. Picture all the people who served as ushers, counselors, worship team members, security personnel, people in the nursery, the pastor and staff, the evangelist. Contemplate the toll of the facilities to run the a/c and heat five to six days a week. Imagine the wear and tear on the carpet from 4 million attenders. Think about the taxing toil on the janitorial staff to keep the facilities clean day after day for five straight years. 

I have been at Spring Creek for two years. Not one time have I seen even one person waiting at the door to get inside for a worship service. There are no lines here. I have preached in churches all over the nation. Not one other time have I seen people lined up to get into a worship service. 

I have read about such a place. It is at the Brooklyn Tabernacle in Brooklyn, NY. They have routinely seen lines of people waiting to get inside one of their multiple Sunday worship services. Why? Because God works there powerfully and the people expect it. They pray for it at Tuesday night prayer meetings. Well over a thousand people attend those prayer meetings. If your church had one, could you get two dozen people to attend on a regular basis? That church has grown from 12 to over 10,000. God saves the worst people in society through their ministry. The power of God is regularly on display and people flock to it. They have an atmosphere of expectancy.  

I have read about another church who experienced this back in the mid 1800's. It happened at the Metropolitan Tabernacle pastored by Charles Spurgeon. People waited in lines to get into those services. Because they saw or heard about how powerfully God worked through Spurgeon in those services. It was not Spurgeon. It was God working through him. God made the difference and Spurgeon kept people praying for more of God's power. 

I have reported about how God worked powerfully in the past. I have listed one example of God still working powerfully in the present. What I am unsure is if anyone longs for God to do it again? We keep doing the same things over and over again. We also keep getting the same results over and over again. More sermons. More studies. More programs. More gimmicks. Less prayer. Less expectations. 

Is there a congregation who would be willing to suspend status quo services in order to pray for real moves of God that create atmospheres of expectancies? Are there any pastors with the guts and passion to lead their churches away from more meetings to engage in more praying? Would any congregation be willing to suspend just one of their services for a period of six months for sustained prayer to see what God would do? Say the Sunday night service or the Wednesday night service. Maybe God might lead some to do the same for the Sunday morning service to pray. Not to talk about prayer. Not to take endless time discussing prayer requests. Not to have one person pray while everyone else listens. To engage in prayer for the power of God to be poured out among us again. To sustain such prayer meetings for six months. 

We say prayer is important as churches. How much time does the corporate body of Christ devote to praying when we gather? I would suggest very minimal time. We wonder why there is no atmosphere of expectancy and why our young people are leaving the church in droves. What would God do in and through and for a church who would devote six months to focused prayer for revival? History has show us? What will we do with this information? If this resonates with you, I urge you to go to your pastor and suggest your church begin doing this. I would love to hear what God does with you for His glory. 

Step by Step

The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step. Just one little step. Followers of Jesus take those steps as He directs us. Step by step into His purpose and will. 

I just heard an old Rich Mullins song called Step by Step. There is a line in that song that captured my heart back in the early 1990s. Hearing it again this morning reminded me of that God encounter at a youth camp as a wet behind the ears youth pastor. Ironically I was the youth pastor here at Spring Creek. 

Fast forward three decades and thousands, maybe tens of thousands, of steps to get back to this church. Sitting in this office is surreal. I look back at all the twists, turns, heartaches, triumphs, caverns of confusion, and the plains of promises to get me back here where we belong. To bring us back home. 

Brenda and I have been back here two years. I am still not over it. I am still humbled and thrilled to serve as pastor here at Spring Creek. What a time we have had. My breath is taken away still when I walk through the empty sanctuary. I feel like pinching myself to see it is real. It is real. Like a groom madly in love with his bride, this pastor is head over heels in love with this flock. 

It is amazing how God led us step by step. Our journey has not always been an easy one. Sometimes the pilgrimage has pummeled us to our knees. At times we nearly lost heart. Step by step God prodded us onward. He comforted when needed, strengthened as the trials necessitated, and instilled the grit not give up. 

Many times I stepped outside myself in serving as pastor of other flocks and thought to myself, "I do not belong here. I do not feel at home." This often frustrated Brenda. She wondered why I just not could not be happy. 

In the mercy of God, He brought us step by step back home. It is hard to explain. We only stayed at Spring Creek two years the first time we were here. The relationships went much deeper. I loosely held a dream to come back here. So loosely that many times I forgot about it. I thought it would never happen. They had never contacted me before. 

One day I was at a youth camp talking to the camp owner. He mentioned a church from Weatherford that attended that camp. I told him I once served a church in Weatherford and asked what church he meant. When he told me Spring Creek I could not have been more shocked. He told me they were without a pastor at that time. 

I was on vacation and decided that upon my return from preaching that youth camp we would go and worship at Spring Creek and see what happened. We showed up and saw many familiar faces. I prayed the whole time that someone might ask if I were interested in serving as pastor there. Not one person brought it up. I left disheartened and died a little more to that dream. God moved us to follow Him in steps away from here. The timing was not right. Four years passed. 

Step by step God opened a door to pastor another church on the north side of Weatherford about fifteen miles from Spring Creek. I tried to content myself in that work. The people loved us but we did not grow during that time. Then one day I got an email from the chairman of the search committee at Spring Creek. I got so excited. The process took a long time as the committee worked thoroughly. Then in May of 2019 we came for an interview. We came back to be voted on at the end of July. My first official Sunday was the first Sunday of August in 2019. Step by step we trusted and followed God. He brought me back to the desire of my heart. I am contented and deeply rooted here. 

Step by step God guides us. He lights our paths. He directs our decisions. He counsels our course and maps our journey. He sees the beginning from the end. I sit here humbled and amazed at the way God directed Brenda and I over the course of three decades to trek all over Texas, eventually leading right back home. Step by step back to Spring Creek. 

Drawn to the Flame

 Have you ever set outside at night near a fire and watched all the insects swarm around the fire. Some fly too closely to the flames and are destroyed. They cannot help themselves. They are drawn to the flame by some irresistible force that compels them. 

The same is true of people. Both saved and lost people. We are all drawn to sin. The lure of our lust for sin is often so strong we feel we cannot resist. Even if we know those actions we engage in are harmful, we are still drawn to the flame. Even if we know better. Knowing the truth does not always persuade us to flee from sin. Many Christians fall into some sin daily. The consequences vary. Some sinful mistakes seem to cost very little while others are devastating. 

There is a sinful nature in all people. A craving for sin. A lustful longing for iniquity. A magnet like attraction for what kills us. Ask the addict. Seek out the sexual sniper looking for his or her next victim. Watch the wretched. They look vainly for hope, joy, and fulfillment in things that only kill them. They are deceived like moths drawn to the flame. It appears there is no hope. That is not true. 

There is freedom in Jesus. Freedom from the perversion of pornography. Cut ties with crack cocaine. Absolute deliverance from alcoholism. Chains can be broken. Bondages can be severed. Imprisoned ones can see doors opened to their cells leading to liberty. 

If you will not take my word for it, then take Jesus' word for it. 

John 8:31-32 (NASB)
³¹  So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, "If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine;
³²  and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free."

John 8:36 (NASB)
³⁶  "So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.

Luke 4:18 (NASB)
¹⁸  "THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD IS UPON ME, BECAUSE HE ANOINTED ME TO PREACH THE GOSPEL TO THE POOR. HE HAS SENT ME TO PROCLAIM RELEASE TO THE CAPTIVES, AND RECOVERY OF SIGHT TO THE BLIND, TO SET FREE THOSE WHO ARE OPPRESSED,

We do not have to give in. He makes a way of escape. 

1 Corinthians 10:13 (NASB)
¹³  No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it. 

Galatians 5:16 (NASB)
¹⁶  But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.

  Galatians 5:24-25 (NASB)

²⁴  Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
²⁵  If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.

If nobody else will do it I will. I will call the Devil for what he is. A liar and deceiver. He has trapped many people in the snare of sin. He only comes to steal, kill and destroy. I will call him out and stand against him. He might come after me. He already has this week in various ways. I still call him out. He is a loser. I say based on the authority of the word of God in Revelation. He will ultimately lose. He may tempt me and deceive me. He may bring up my past. I will keep reminding him of his defeated future. All his plans will come to nothing. God will triumph. He has no power against the risen Jesus and the power of God's word. If you really want to be free there is a way of escape. His word declares it. Will you believe it and stand firm? On the other hand, will you continue to be drawn to the flame of destruction. You will never find what you are looking for there. Run to Jesus. Be drawn to Him for salvation, cleansing, and deliverance. His arms are open wide to set you free.   

Cleansing Vision

 I'm dirty, grimy and covered in sweat. I step into an outdoor shower and am cleansed. It is a supernatural cleansing. I do not have to use soap or to scrub the dirt away.The water not only cleanses but also revives me. Not only skin is cleansed but also my clothing. 

I step out with my Bible and walk up to a waist high stump which I use for a pulpit. I see people scattered who are worn, weary, and dirty just like I was. 

When I open the Bible a steady stream of water flows out washing and reviving all the people. Once they are cleansed and revived the men grab hammers and saws and axes. They cut down trees and mill lumber from them. They construct a large tabernacle. 

I never stop preaching. The stream continues to flow and more dirty people show up and get cleansed. They soon join in the construction work. As fast as they build and expand the tabernacle, more people show up and are cleansed. 

Covered Wagon Vision

 I see an old covered wagon with holes in the canopy. The wagon is hitched to two teams of white horses. I look in the back of the wagon and find it loaded down with boxes of TNT dynamite. 

I climb up up on the driver's seat and snap the reigns to get the horses moving down a long flat dirt road as far as I can see. There is nothing on either side of the road but grasslands. I travel slowly down the road for what seems like along time before I see a solitary building in the distance. The road dead ends at a church building. The white paint on the outside is faded, shingles are missing on the roof, and windows panes are broken. It is apparent the building has been abandoned. 

I feel impressed to put the dynamite in the north, south, east and west corners. I move the wagon and horses away from the building to a safe distance and return to lite the fuse. 

I strike a match and set it to the fuse and run in the opposite direction. After a short while I hear a huge explosion. I turn to see a great fire and plume of smoke. I'm startled by what I see. The church is not destroyed. It is fully restored to brand new. Everything is new. 

I hear a creaking and rattling behind me of multiple horse drawn wagons coming down the dirt road to the church. I ask what made them to come and they say they were compelled by the Spirit of God. They file inside and start praise and worship. Bright light spills out of the windows that is not man made. I see a sign on the building that was not there before. It reads, "The latter glory of this house shall be greater than the former says the LORD of hosts." I never go inside but am amazed to see wagons continually coming. 

Plowing Up The Past

 I grew up watching my grandfather plow with a mule driven plow. It looked like very hard work as he guided that plow with steady strong hands upturning the sod row after row. I watched as a little boy fascinated by the whole scene. I did not spend a lot of time in that country setting. Less than two years. I saw things I cannot forget. 

I watched my relatives churn butter. Slaughter and butcher hogs. Plant gardens. Milk cows and gather eggs from the chickens. Pick vegetables. Make tea out of roots. That is where I fell in love with fresh tomatoes. We children used old broken hoe handles with a piece of string around it for stick horses. We played in the barn, hauled hay, rode horses and fished. We ran around barefoot. Those hundreds of acres my family owned was a wonderland to explore. How I loved it. 

We moved into town never to return to the country but I have always felt more home in the country than among the city folk. 

Those years growing up in the country were not all bliss. There were wicked things that happened back there. Physical abuse. Sexual abuse. Psychological abuse. Everyone kept these things secret. There was also plenty of alcohol abuse. When we moved out there my mom used to drink alcohol. She was a single mother just trying to make it. She needed a place to live and the family provided a place though her and my father divorced and my father got murdered. 

I hated alcohol as a child. I think God put that hatred there. One day my mother bought several bottles of beer she kept in the refrigerator. I threw them out behind the house in a dirt field while she worked one day. Soon after my grandfather plowed them up to the surface. My mother had wondered what happened to her beer. I never told her. The truth got found out though I never confessed I was the one who threw them out there. 

God has a way of plowing up the past. The things we try to hide. The things we conceal from others God can bring them to the surface. He does this so we will repent and experience forgiveness. Plowing is painful. As the blade digs deep down into our hearts overturning things we have long ago covered over and at times even forgotten. Once that sin is dealt with and forgiven God throws it as far as the east is from the west. [Ps 103:12] There is purpose in the plowing. 

We should not resent when God plows up the past of unrepentant sin. It is not done for any other reason but to draw us closer to Him and free us. Sin hardened hearts do not like the plow. The harder the sod of the heart the deeper and harder the plow must be pressed down to breakthrough. May the sod of our hearts remain soft so God can do His plowing in us for His good purposes. 

No Other Theme Awakens My Song

In an obscure verse at the end of the gospel of John there is a verse tucked away. It is are power packed truth. In all my decades of following Jesus I have never heard a preacher preach on it. I cannot say I have ever read any author address the subject either. I have only used it as a support verse while preaching or teaching some other subject. The verse is shocking in nature and scope. It is worth our serious studious consideration today. 

John 21:25 (NASB)
²⁵  And there are also many other things which Jesus did, which if they *were written in detail, I suppose that even the world itself *would not contain the books that *would be written. 

Let that sink in. In the four gospels we have multitudes of stories about the teachings and miraculous works of Jesus. How He healed the sick and infirmed. How He cast out demons from the possessed. How He loved the unlovely and tamed the untamable. I have preached for three decades and I have not nearly exhausted all the stories and teachings of Jesus contained in the gospels. I spent the better part of two years once preaching through the book of Luke. So much material. Jesus is such a grand theme.

Then I read John 21:25. First, there are many other things that Jesus did. We only have recorded some of the things He did. Not all. My mind wonders about all the other encounters with people He had. The loving interactions. The other miracle interventions in people's lives. A fascinating mental journey. 

Then the most mind boggling thought that if all these Jesus stories were recorded in detail, the earth could not contain all the books that could be written. John did not say the libraries. He said the whole earth.

 In my office here at Spring Creek my shelves are filled with books. So much so I have no more room for anymore. Yet in our home in Runaway Bay I have nearly as many other books there to be transported here when we sell our house. I will just have to stack them on the floor. I have read many of these thousands of books but not all of them. I often look at the volumes and sigh in despair that I cannot read fast enough to get through them all. It is one of the great frustrations of my life. I slowly work through one after another. These are just a few thousand books in my personal library.

 I think of the great libraries I have visited in my life. The Kurth Memorial Library in my hometown of Lufkin, TX. It was there I fell in love with reading taking after grandmother who always had a book in her hands is she a free moment. She ever read as she cooked. She passed that love of reading to me. The Howard Payne University library. The huge Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary library. I spent hours in each of them surrounded by tens of thousands of books. None of those, and all of them combined, could not contain all the details of the work of Jesus in His earthly ministry. 

Those libraries pale in comparison to the largest. The Library of Congress contains 170 million items. Even that massive place could not contain all the works of Jesus if they were written down. 

So I say today that no other theme awakens the song in my soul like He does. The more I seek Him the more the song of my soul is awakened. The more I encounter Him the more I long to exalt Him. The more I meditate on Him the louder the song sounds in my heart. The more I follow Him the greater the crescendo of the chorus that beats inside me. 

Jesus is the theme that brings me to life. He is the subject I most long to study. He is the person I desire to know the most. He is the passion and desire of my life. He is the one I crave. The more I do these things the more the volume is cranked up in the song of my soul. 

For decades I drifted through life without a song of my soul. I exalted football. I lived and breathed for football pursuing that dream of playing all the way up to college. My soul never awakened to sing football. Nor making money. Nor the purchase of anything. It was not until I met Jesus in October of 1983 that the song of my soul awakened. It is louder now than it has ever been. 

To think that I only know a thimble full information about Jesus only makes me want to assiduously devote myself to the pursuit of Him all the more. The theme of Jesus awakens a never ending song in my soul that I cannot silence. Each note, each lyric, each beat, reverberates deep in the chambers of soul. It is the song of the redeemed. Sung by millions of believers around the world. I hope He has awakened the song of your soul as well. Sung by a grateful choir of those awakened. Keep singing souls. Keep praising Jesus. He is the only worthy theme to awaken the songs of our souls. 

Candle In Front of the Sunrise

 There are so many things to distract followers of Jesus in this life. There is no use for me to recount them. We are all familiar with what they are. We are fare game for distractions like an animal caught in a snare. We are also far too easily pleased. 

Turner and I love to go into stores and smell the candles. Admittedly some of them give off a foul odor. Others are nearly intoxicating causing the sense of smell to awaken and do the happy dance. We have amused ourselves at great length while Brenda shopped. We would pick them up sniff, comment, and invite the other to take a whiff. We love the smell of candles. 

Candles don't just get off pleasant odors. They also provide light when needed. Do you recall the great freeze in Texas this past winter. We were certainly glad to have the tiny light of those candles to somewhat illuminate our frigid home. We did not stay up late during those days. We snuggled under the blankets to get warm and waited for the sun to rise the next day. 

What comfort those dawn hours brought. The sun peeled back the black velvet curtain of night to peak his head upon a new day. Just seeing the sun brought a little hope. 

Now just imagine putting a candle outside and getting totally engrossed looking at it. So engrossed we totally miss the brilliance and majesty of the sun rise behind it. 

That is a great comparison to what many do. They focus on the temporary things of earth to capture their attention and imagination. All the while God offers Himself as a greater and more fulfilling option to anything this world offers. Like a candle trying to compare to the sun. Nothing compares to God. Not one single solitary thing. Not any person. 

His greatness is indescribable. Unfathomable. Inscrutable. Incomprehensible. Incalculable. Immeasurable. He is worthy of our best mental efforts to learn of Him. He is a subject never to be mastered. He is an expedition never to fully explored. He is a mountain never to reach the summit and an ocean to never reach sea floor. He is fascinating, mysterious, and desires to be known. 

God forgive us for focusing on the minute candles of this world when You are like an infinite sunrise to capture our passion, imagination, intellect, and deepest devotion. 

The Furnace Vision

I see the pulpit completely melt down to the ground from the heat of a burning blasting furnace located behind it. Then I see a clear acrylic pulpit arising in place of the wooden one with white letters emblazoned on it, "I AM."

I sit in the front pew and feel the intense burning heat of the furnace. I have to shield my face with my hands. I turn to see all the pews aglow like red hot iron. Each pew melts in the same way the pulpit did including the one I am sitting on. This causes me to sink to the floor where I prostrate myself to pray. I feel the heat from the furnace and the warmth of the floor causing me to perspire. I do not know how long I remained in that season of prayer. 

Suddenly I feel a cool gentle breeze blowing on my skin which is a stark contrast from the heat of the furnace. This causes me to get up and see what is happening. I look around and see all the pews restored and filled with people quietly waiting before the Lord. 

At this point I got to the pulpit with my Bible. I do not speak a word but just open the Bible to Isaiah. When I do this two things happen simultaneously. The furnace shuts off and a stream flows forth from the Bible to the congregation washing them of their sins. The crystal clear stream becomes dirtied and polluted with the vile wicked iniquity of those present. The stream washes all the trash outside leaving a clean, restored, and holy people. 

The people break out in spontaneous worship. Nobody is leading from the stage. The people are being led by the Holy Spirit. The joy of the Lord is evident. 

When the last person leaves I shut my Bible and the flow of the stream dries up. I step into the prayer room to pray. I get engrossed in intercession and am interrupted by the feeling of water flowing against me from the sanctuary. I get up and step outside the prayer room to notice the flowing stream has reversed course. Where it first flowed out of the building polluted, now it is flowing back into the sanctuary crystal clear again. It carries throngs of people in its flow who are eager to seek Him. These are days of refreshing. 

True North Vision

 I'm standing in the SCBC parking lot holding a compass. The needle is pointing north and I turn to look north down Highway 51. I see a steady stream of cars maybe 100 in total driving south. All of them have their left turn signal on. Each one turns into the Spring Creek parking lot. The parking lot fills up quickly and people park by the cemetery and down by the tabernacle. 

I look up above and see a pillar of fire hovering above the sanctuary. Next, I look at the marquee and see the words on the sign indicating revival is happening. 

I received this last week after a rather intense time of prayer and instruction from the Lord. 

Superficiality and Sham

 Revivalists Evan Roberts once got up in a service and stopped the whole proceedings chastising the congregation for superficiality and sham. He discerned the insincerity of the people. His rebuke offended many. That did not make it any less true. The people of God prefer pretense to authenticity. 

There is superficiality and sham in the church today as well. It is sham when we spend more time critiquing the worship music than engaging in authentic worship. It also a sham when any praise team is more concerned about the perfect performance than about leading people to connect with God in praise and worship. It also a sham when worship leaders lead singing but do not actually engage in worship themselves. It has always been my conviction that that best worship is led by those who worship themselves and ask others to join in with them. 

It also superficiality when preachers and teachers proclaim truth from an intellectual standpoint instead of engaging authentic hearts transformed by that same truth. Many have delivered sound doctrinal messages devoid of passion and sincerity in living out that truth. This especially happens when lazy pulpiteers peruse the internet for putrid sermons that God fired in the heart of someone else originally, but they try to warm up and preach again. 

If God manifested the real reasons people show up to worship publicly how many would have come for superficial purposes and a pretense. Superficiality and sham offend holy God and grieves the Holy Spirit. When the Holy Spirit is grieved He can also be easily quenched. When He is quenched no great work of God happens. We can offer well crafted and program services that lack any spiritual power. Tell the truth, does this characterize what happens most Sundays where you worship? 

I yearn for real moves of God. Where people are convicted of sin and repentant. Where the show and sham give way to real revival. I long to see people yearn for the deep truth of scripture and profound encounters with the living God. Life transformational God moments. 

I figure the fear of man holds us hostage. We are superficial and worship can be a sham because we are more concerned with what people think about us than what God thinks. What a sham. We are more self conscious about those around us than about the very God we have come to worship. 

I wonder if God would ever call me to stop the service because of superficiality and sham? You know there would be a price to pay. It is easier to just go along with the status quo. I find that increasingly difficult to do. Often I call attention to lyrics of songs that we do not mean or are theologically wrong. We sing them anyway. We do not give thought to what we sing. It is superficial and sham before our Heavenly Father. May He call us on it until we worship in sincerity and truth.