Today, March 19, 2025, is my father’s 75th birthday. So, here is a sermon he preached on September 29, 2024, to the congregation of Apostolic Life Cathedral.
Happy Birthday, Pops!
Category: Bible Preaching
Categories
But I Won
Text: 2 Cor. 2:14, “Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place.”
SONG:
The devil and I had a fight, BUT I WON!
Me and devil and can’t agree, I hate him and he hates me.
And I’m still winning!
Give God a victory praise…you’re still winning!
People may have talked, gossiped and judged, but you won.
2 Corinthians 6:14-18
“Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.”
Shammah
(11) And after him was Shammah the son of Agee the Hararite. And the Philistines were gathered together into a troop, where was a piece of ground full of lentiles: and the people fled from the Philistines. (12) But he stood in the midst of the ground, and defended it, and slew the Philistines: and the LORD wrought a great victory.[1]
1 Tim. 6:12, “Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses.”
Matthew 12:9-21
(9) And when he was departed thence, he went into their synagogue:
(10) And, behold, there was a man which had his hand withered. And they asked him, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath days? that they might accuse him.
(11) And he said unto them, What man shall there be among you, that shall have one sheep, and if it fall into a pit on the sabbath day, will he not lay hold on it, and lift it out?
(12) How much then is a man better than a sheep? Wherefore it is lawful to do well on the sabbath days.
(13) Then saith he to the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it forth; and it was restored whole, like as the other.
(14) Then the Pharisees went out, and held a council against him, how they might destroy him.
(15) But when Jesus knew it, he withdrew himself from thence: and great multitudes followed him, and he healed them all;
- He knew of the plot which they had formed against his life; but his hour was not yet come, and he therefore sought security.
- By remaining, his presence would only have provoked them further and endangered his own life. He acted, therefore, the part of prudence and withdrew.
- Just because you can don’t mean you should.
- “He healed them all.” Jesus healed their diseases, and preached to them the good news of salvation.[2]
(16) And charged them that they should not make him known:
(17) That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying,
(18) Behold my servant, whom I have chosen; my beloved, in whom my soul is well pleased: I will put my spirit upon him, and he shall shew judgment to the Gentiles.
(19) He shall not strive, nor cry; neither shall any man hear his voice in the streets.
- He did not shout as a warrior.
- He is meek, retiring, and peaceful.
- He didn’t seek publicity, fame and popularity.[3]
(20) A bruised reed shall he not break, and smoking flax shall he not quench, till he send forth judgment unto victory.
- Jesus did not oppress the feeble and poor
- The “bruised reed” is a type of the brokenness of the soul on account of sin; weeping and mourning for transgression.
- Jesus will not break it; He will not be severe, unforgiving, and cruel. He will heal you, pardon you, and give you strength.
- He will not further oppress those who have little strength; nor put out hope and life when it seems to be almost extinct.
- He will cherish the feeble flame, tend to it and give it the oil of grace until it is kindled into a blaze.
- He will not allow you to be defeated – BUT I WON!
- The truth is that the Gospel of Jesus Christ conquer.[4]
(21) And in his name shall the Gentiles trust.
The Portal of Victory:[5]
- Intense Prayer
- Intense Hunger & Desire
- Faith & Expectation
1 John 5:4-5
(4) For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.
(5) Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?
But I Won
[1] 2 Samuel 23:11-12
[2] Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible. Matthew 12:9-21.
[3] Ibid.
[4] Ibid.
[5] Missionary MVMUTHU. (n.d.). The River of God’s Glory.
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The Power to Become
John 1:1-14, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe. He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. He came unto his own, and his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.”
Categories
100
Text: Psalms 100:1-5
(1) Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands.
(2) Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing.
(3) Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
(4) Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.
(5) For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.
This week, Apostolic Life Cathedral will be celebrating 100 years of existence here in the Guyandotte section of Huntington, WV.
100 years with all the joy and pain, gain and loss, births, graduations, weddings, life and death.
100 years of sound doctrine, new births, and ministries born and sent out.
100 years of capable and visionary leadership: Forbush, Kitchen, Harper.
100 years of shepherds leading God’s people and often going out into the streets, hollers, along creeks and riversides searching for stray sheep who left the safe pasture of the Church.
Look around the cathedral this morning and you will see that there are sheep missing from the fold.
Men and women, boys and girls, missing from this sheepfold.
The Good Shepherd is calling their name, just like he calls your name when you go missing.
Why? Jesus is interested in lost sheep.
“For thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I, even I, will both search my sheep, and seek them out.”[1]
Jesus loves His sheep.
Before He went to the Gentiles, He first searched and reached for “the lost sheep of the house if Israel.”[2]
To find that one lost sheep Jesus will lead the 99 to a safe pasture, leave them there and go looking for 1.
1 out of 100 is as valuable to Jesus as the 99.
Do you see Him searching this morning?
Looking high and low for one lost sheep.
Ezekiel 34:12, “As a shepherd seeketh out his flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered; so will I seek out my sheep, and will deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day.”
“…we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.”
“(11) For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost. (12) How think ye? if a man have an hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray, doth he not leave the ninety and nine, and goeth into the mountains, and seeketh that which is gone astray? (13) And if so be that he find it, verily I say unto you, he rejoiceth more of that sheep, than of the ninety and nine which went not astray” (Matthew 18:11-13).
And what rejoicing there is when He finds that one lost sheep.
There is rejoicing in heaven when one sinner repents.
It doesn’t matter what your station, gender, job, career, education may be.
Everyone can and will at one point in their walk with God stray and be lost,
BUT the Shepherd comes looking, seeking, searching.
Luke 19:10, “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.”
When Jesus Comes to Lodebar
2 Samuel 9:1-13
(1) And David said, Is there yet any that is left of the house of Saul, that I may shew him kindness for Jonathan’s sake?
(2) And there was of the house of Saul a servant whose name was Ziba. And when they had called him unto David, the king said unto him, Art thou Ziba? And he said, Thy servant is he.
(3) And the king said, Is there not yet any of the house of Saul, that I may shew the kindness of God unto him? And Ziba said unto the king, Jonathan hath yet a son, which is lame on his feet.
(4) And the king said unto him, Where is he? And Ziba said unto the king, Behold, he is in the house of Machir, the son of Ammiel, in Lodebar.
(5) Then king David sent, and fetched him out of the house of Machir, the son of Ammiel, from Lodebar.
(6) Now when Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, was come unto David, he fell on his face, and did reverence. And David said, Mephibosheth. And he answered, Behold thy servant!
(7) And David said unto him, Fear not: for I will surely shew thee kindness for Jonathan thy father’s sake, and will restore thee all the land of Saul thy father; and thou shalt eat bread at my table continually.
(8) And he bowed himself, and said, What is thy servant, that thou shouldest look upon such a dead dog as I am?
(9) Then the king called to Ziba, Saul’s servant, and said unto him, I have given unto thy master’s son all that pertained to Saul and to all his house.
(10) Thou therefore, and thy sons, and thy servants, shall till the land for him, and thou shalt bring in the fruits, that thy master’s son may have food to eat: but Mephibosheth thy master’s son shall eat bread alway at my table. Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants.
(11) Then said Ziba unto the king, According to all that my lord the king hath commanded his servant, so shall thy servant do. As for Mephibosheth, said the king, he shall eat at my table, as one of the king’s sons.
(12) And Mephibosheth had a young son, whose name was Micha. And all that dwelt in the house of Ziba were servants unto Mephibosheth.
(13) So Mephibosheth dwelt in Jerusalem: for he did eat continually at the king’s table; and was lame on both his feet.
Jesus will take His search to Lodebar
Lodebar simply means “pastureless,” or no pasture.[3]
It is a place where lost sheep find themselves.
Barren, rough, no place to forage, no safety, no security…
Lodebar was where the Shepherd-King David found Mephibosheth (“dispeller of shame”),[4] the lost prince.
When the Shepherd finds His lost sheep, He also drives away the shame of the past.
Luke 15:6, “And when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbours, saying unto them, Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost.”
Do you feel lost this morning?
“…broken, hurting, marginalized…” do you often think you are “ignored and overlooked or worse, despised and abused.” Maybe it’s “due to your own mistakes of perhaps someone who was supposed to care” for you failed….do you now pass your days in a state of hopelessness, unable to believe that your life will ever be different.”[5]
The Shepherd is searching for you.
He wants to put you at His table.
He will erase the years of shame.
The lost sheep hears the shepherd’s voice:
“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.”[6]
Text: Psalms 100:1-5
(1) Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands.
(2) Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing.
(3) Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
(4) Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.
(5) For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.
[1] Ezekiel 34:11,
[2] Matthew 10:6, 15:24
[3] Strong’s. H3810.
[4] Strong’s. H4648.
[5] Paraphrased. https://churchsource.com/blogs/ministry-resources/god-of-new-beginnings
[6] John 10:27-28
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What Shall We Do?
Acts 2:37-39
(37) Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?
(38) Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
(39) For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.
Three Responses to Conviction:
- Ignore it
- Kill the messenger
- What shall we do?
The Ark of the Covenant, where the Glory of God was manifest:
- Had become a legend of mythical status by 63 BC when the Roman general Pompey the Great conquered Jerusalem.
- It is said that he entered the Temple, looked around, entered the Holy of Holies, touched nothing and left.
- History records that he said he didn’t understand what the big deal was, it was just an empty room.
- The Ark was gone.
- It disappeared about the time the Babylonians conquered the Jews in 586 BC.
- Perhaps, Jeremiah hid it in Mt. Nebo. Nevertheless, it was gone.
Empty ritual, dead formalism, right doctrine, BUT…
No Power! – No Presence! – No Glory!
Without the Holy Spirit we are helpless
We need to learn to get back to waiting – “wait in Jerusalem until”
Turn your face to God
Receive His Power – Linger in Presence – Seek His Glory
Are you curious and hungry?
John 3:1-8
(1) There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews:
(2) The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him.
(3) Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
(4) Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born?
(5) Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
(6) That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
(7) Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.
(8) The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.
Luke 24:45-49
(45) Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures,
(46) And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day:
(47) And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.
(48) And ye are witnesses of these things.
(49) And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.
Acts 2:1-4
(1) And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.
(2) And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.
(3) And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.
(4) And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
Two responses:
- Go on as usual with ritual, habit and going through the motions
- Fall on your face and seek God’s Presence, Glory and Power
Categories
The Battle for the House
Psalms 127:1, “Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.”
God desires to dwell in the midst of His people.
David – “…when kings go to battle…”
- 2 Samuel 11:1-18
- Put the Ammonite king’s crown on his head
- Pride of life
- Ammonite king, numbered the people not the fighting men
- Human spirit
- 70,000 people dead
- 1 Chronicles 20:1
- Uriah
- Bathsheba
- Lust of the flesh
- 2 people die
- Sword never leaves the house of Davud
- Amnon
- Civil war
1 Corinthians 15:58, “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.”
- Stedfast – firm, settled
- Unmoveable – not to be moved from its place. Firmly persistent.
- Always abounding – at all times, to be in excess, exceed, excel.
“…In the work of the Lord…” – “Except the Lord build the house”
Categories
The Joyful Sound
Apostolic Life Cathedral | July 28, 2024 | 6:30 PM
Text: Psalms 89:15-17, “(15) Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound: they shall walk, O LORD, in the light of thy countenance. (16) In thy name shall they rejoice all the day: and in thy righteousness shall they be exalted. (17) For thou art the glory of their strength: and in thy favour our horn shall be exalted.”
Psalms 1:1-6, “(1) Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. (2) But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. (3) And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. (4) The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away. (5) Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. (6) For the LORD knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.”
Blessed = “Happy”[1] is the condition.[2]
Go deeper = “to be straight, level, right, to go forward, be honest, prosper.”[3]
The joyful sound is the call to celebrate, to rejoice, to continually delight in:
- The Name of the Lord
- The Righteousness of the Lord
Tonight, the Holy Ghost is calling you to respond with a joyful sound for all that Jesus did for you and all that His name brings to bear in your life.
Rejoice in all that God did for you to walk a straight, level, righteousness path of prosperity and purpose.
The Samaritans knew about that joy: “(5) Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and preached Christ unto them. (6) And the people with one accord gave heed unto those things which Philip spake, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did. (7) For unclean spirits, crying with loud voice, came out of many that were possessed with them: and many taken with palsies, and that were lame, were healed. (8) And there was great joy in that city.”
“There was great joy in that city.”
How many here tonight want to see that same great joy in Huntington and the Tri-State Region?
It is God’s Will for the The Joyful Sound to echo along the riverbanks, valleys, and hillsides of our community:
We have heard the joyful sound:
Jesus saves! Jesus saves!
Spread the tidings all around:
Jesus saves! Jesus saves!
Bear the news to ev’ry land,
Climb the steeps and cross the waves;
Onward! ’tis our Lord’s command;
Jesus saves! Jesus saves![4]
The Joyful Sound – Jesus Saves!
Every day, Jesus Saves!
God is calling for repentance…to be part of the joyful sound.
Paul was in Athens on Mars’ hill when he saw the altar written TO THE UNKNOWN GOD and he began to tell them of the one that they, in their superstition, were ignorantly worshipping.
Saying, “that they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us: For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring. Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man’s device. And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent:”
Repentance, led by true godly sorrow, will bring the joyful sound.
The fruit of mercy is restoration. The fruit of grace is maturity.
Unfortunately, life has a way of causing you to lose sight of what originally created the happy condition…the joyful sound.
What was once exciting and revealing, full of life and rewarding, has now become mundane and lost its vitality.
The daily life is at war with the joyful sound: “Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation. Selah” (Psalms 68:19).
We should come daily to His storehouse of blessing.
The problem is we have become so busy doing the work we forget the relationship with the God of the work.
Oftentimes, people fail because they have their spiritual life, their prayer life, their relationship with Jesus on autopilot.
Like a pilot in a plane, or a driver in a car, you are content to sit disengaged and apathetic.
What once drove your passion has now become drudgery.
The work that inspired is now nothing more than perspiration.
The hope that enlarged your heart and gave you faith is now a vague memory, like the beauty of nature you miss will cruising by unbothered by what is just outside your window.
You have become trapped with the thought that you just need to get the job done.
You have stopped hearing the joyful sound.
This is why you are to become renewed daily in the spirit of your mind.
Turn off the of auto pilot, disengage the cruise control,
Look around you and see all the beauty, blessing, and opportunity!
The need and possibility around you
Paul wrote, “I have fought a good fight…I have kept the faith,” but he did not stop fighting.
It is time to recapture that joy that originally caught you:
- Is. 12:3, “Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation.”
- Is. 55:12, “For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.”
- 1 Peter 1:7-9, “(7) That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ: (8) Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory: (9) Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.”
- Is. 9:3, “…they joy before thee according to the joy in harvest, and as men rejoice when they divide the spoil.”
- Acts2:1-4
You are going to have to press into it. To reach for it. To recapture the joyful sound: “Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:13-14).
To press means you will have to disengage the cruise control.
Revelation 19:6-7, “(6) And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth. (7) Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.”
[1] Strong’s. H835.
[2] Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible. Psalm 89:15.
[3] Strong’s. H833.
[4] Priscilla J. Owens. (1882). We Have Heard the Joyful Sound.
Categories
Your Season of Refreshing
Apostolic Life Cathedral| July 21, 2024 | 10:00 AM
Ecclesiastes 3:1-8, “(1) To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: (2) A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; (3) A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; (4) A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; (5) A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; (6) A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; (7) A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; (8) A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.”
The Invitation: Matthew 11:28-30
(28) Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. (29) Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. (30) For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
A Refreshing Invitation:[1]
- Come to Me.
- Attach yourself to Jesus
- A call to intimacy
- Experience His
- Tender love for us
- Delight in us
- Longing to be with us
- The “with Jesus” principle – they took note of them that they had been with Jesus (Acts 4:13).
- Experience His
- Take My yoke.
- Transformational learning-by-example
- Two oxen harnessed togetherEnter the yoke = submission to the Master
- It’s not about your brilliance, but willingness to submit to the yoke
- Learn from Me.
- Training a new young ox = custom fitted yoke
- Emphasis on learning from someone, not independent study
- Study, prayer, solitude, fasting, service
- Grace is a teacher, and it is not cheap:
- “Grace is the treasure hidden in the field…a man will go and sell all that he has. It is the pearl of great price…a man will sell all his goods to obtain it. It is the call of Jesus Christ at which the disciple leaves his nets and follows him. Grace calls us us to follow Jesus Christ, and to willingly yoke ourselves to Him. It is costly because it costs a man his life, and it is grace because it gives a man the only true life. It is costly because it condemns sin, and grace because it justifies the sinner.”[2]
- You were bought with a price
- You will find rest.
- First time “rest” is mentioned is in Genesis 2:1-3, “(1) Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. (2) And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.” God rested because He delighted in the goodness of His creation: “And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day” (Gen. 1:31).
- Our rest today is not about our weariness, tiredness and exhaustion, but to delight in His goodness and provision.
- The rest of the Holy Ghost – “For with stammering lips and another tongue will he speak to this people. To whom he said, This is the rest wherewith ye may cause the weary to rest; and this is the refreshing: yet they would not hear” (Isa 28:11-12)”
- “Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord;” (Act 3:19).
Today, right now, is Your Season of Refreshing
[1] Tom Nelson. (2021). The Flourishing Pastor. Paraphrased
[2] Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Paraphrased.
Apostolic Life Cathedral | Aug. 25, 2024 | 6:30 PM
Text: Song of Solomon 8:6-10, “(6) Set me as a seal upon thine heart, as a seal upon thine arm: for love is strong as death; jealousy is cruel as the grave: the coals thereof are coals of fire, which hath a most vehement flame. (7) Many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it: if a man would give all the substance of his house for love, it would utterly be contemned. (8) We have a little sister, and she hath no breasts: what shall we do for our sister in the day when she shall be spoken for? (9) If she be a wall, we will build upon her a palace of silver: and if she be a door, we will inclose her with boards of cedar. (10) I am a wall, and my breasts like towers: then was I in his eyes as one that found favour.”
The Silver Palace and the Cedar Boards
Eph. 6:24, “Grace be with all them that love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity. Amen.”
In sincerity = Margin, “with incorruption.” With a pure heart; without dissembling; without hypocrisy.[1]
There is a search going on tonight in this service. Like a detective snooping for clues,
A dog sniffing for that hidden morsel of food,
A child shaking that wrapped gift trying to figure out what is on the inside.
The search is on and Jesus is here, right now, in this moment searching:
“…the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth” (John 4:23-24).
The Lord is pursuing men and women, boys and girls, who have decided to totally give their whole spirit, soul and body to Him.
It is a love search.
At the same time, there is in each of us a longing to love and to be loved.
It is part of the divine spark in each of us that we received when “the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul” (Genesis 2:7).
The Lord is still looking for this who will “fear the LORD thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the LORD thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul, to keep the commandments of the LORD, and his statutes, which I command thee this day for thy good?” (Deuteronomy 10:12-13).
When Jesus finds you will He discover that you “love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity?”
No hint of corruption? With a pure heart? No pretend affection? A love without hypocrisy?
Is your relationship with Jesus a firm wall of live, or is there a door, an entrance open to the enemy of your soul?
Tonight, the enemy want to destroy your relationship with God by placing on you the trap shame.
The “disintegrating power of shame began in the garden of Eden”[2] (Gen. 2:25-4:1).
Here was a beautiful garden of perfection and here was where Eve was beguiled, seduced and tricked because of the cunning craftiness of the whisperer – the serpent – who appealed to her desires:
- Lust of the flesh – she saw that “the tree was good for food”
- Lust of the eyes – “that it was pleasant to the eyes”
- Pride of life – “and a tree to be desired to make one wise”
The moment Adam and Eve ate of that tree of knowledge of good and evil it set into motion a satanic plan that has been the spearhead of the devil’s attack on all those who love God and want to be faithful.
They were previously unashamed, but now shame made them run and hide from the lover of their soul.
And the Lord still went searching for them…
You see, “While human guilt reflects the experience of having done something wrong, shame conveys that there is something inherently wrong with us. Shame is a reality we feel deep within us, telling us, reminding us, we are bad, that somehow we are not enough.”[3] It is the lie that you possess a fundamental evil and have no hope.
I want to tell you tonight, anyone who tries to place that reality on you is a tool of the enemy, unsafe and should be avoided.
“By its very nature, shame likes to hide and is often silent and subtle,”
…but “Perfectly secure and safe in the love of Christ, we can choose not to hide…”
“…the more vulnerable I am with safe people around me, the more emotionally resilient I am and the more joy I experience even in times of difficulty and suffering.”
And the most safe person to be around is the Lord Jesus Christ.
There is a beautiful integration, an integral union, an integrity of relationship between you and Jesus that the enemy cannot stand.
It is a wall of love that you and God build together.
It acts as a bulwark against the enemy.
Since God’s love never fails, then satan will test your love, or try to divide through tools of disintegration to weaken and loosen the wall.
There is something to be said of this wall of love that stands firm on integrity.
Psalm 101 is known as the integrity psalm:
- “I will sing of mercy and judgment: Unto thee, O LORD, will I sing” (Psalm 101:1, KJV).
- “I will sing of steadfast love and justice; to you, O Lord, I will make music” (Psalm 101:1, ESV).
- Mercy, Steadfast love, is “sticky love.” “It is the sort of love you can’t shake off. It sticks to you through every high and low, every success and failure, every malfunction and sin,” every victory and defeat.[4]
- Sticky Love holds that wall together and helps maintain its integrity.
Shame would try to disintegrate that wall of love, but God’s mercy, His steadfast love, attaches you to Him.
The enemy wants to destroy that attachment by disintegrating the wall of relationship, mutual trust and integrity between the betrothed bride and her Groom.
Remember:
The devil works overtime to steal (by stealth), to kill (slay, slaughter), to destroy (put out of the way entirely, abolish, to ruin, render useless)[5]
The Lord has said:
- Deut 7:8, “…because the LORD loved you…
- Jer 31:3, “The LORD hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.”
- Mal 1:2, “I have loved you, saith the LORD.”
- Jn 3:16, “For God so loved the world…”
- Ro 5:8, “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
- Eph 2:4-5, “But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ…”
- Eph 5:1-2, “Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children; And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour.”
- 1 Jn. 4:16, “God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.”
Nothing can separate, disintegrate, remove, or detach you from God’s love:
Romans 8:35-39, “(35) Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? (36) As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the laughter. (37) Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. (38) For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, (39) Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
“We have a little sister, and she hath no breasts: what shall we do for our sister in the day when she shall be spoken for? If she be a wall, we will build upon her a palace of silver: and if she be a door, we will inclose her with boards of cedar.”
- The little sister is the gentile bride, the church
- The Silver Palace is the blessing and favor of God: strength, beauty, enlarge, adorn
- The Cedar Boards God’s attempt to protect you from your own mistakes and shame until you are mature enough to maintain your own integrity:
- Weak in faith, but not rejected by God. He encloses, strengthens and fortifies until the bride is mature in faith.“Cedar is a soft and deliciously fragrant wood. The resin and oils in the wood make it inedible to termites.”[6] = Sticky Love
- Cedar boards are strong and beautiful and durable.
The young brides reply, “I am a wall, and my breasts like towers: then was I in his eyes as one that found favour” (SoS 8:10).
Now mature and ready to be married, she has been faithful and maintained her love for the Groom with Integrity.
[1] Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible. Ephesians 6:24.
[2] Tom Nelson, The Flourishing Pastor
[3] Ibid.
[4] Ibid.
[5] Jn. 10:10
[6] https://holderpest.com/blog/3-building-materials-that-do-not-require-termite-control
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