Monday Morning Quarterback 1/122014

I thank God for his blessing that He gave the Macedonia Church this Sunday during our service, We had a great time in the Lord. We baptized a wonderful new member, Sis Hodges who joined last Sunday. It is always refreshing to see someone who is excited about following the Lord in water baptism.

Our Male chorus led our worship and when Deacon Starling, our 90+ year old Deacon cranked up "Trouble in my Way", it was all over. Church folded and went in. I continued our series on Joseph: "You Will Get Thru This" and our concentration this Sunday advanced a little as we looked at Genesis 43:11-15.

We opened our "Road To Reconciliation" as we talked on the subject "Put Some Honey On it". Let me say in advance the sermon had life changing alterations to the preacher and my prayer is it will be life altering for our church. The altar call invitation was full but the actions afterwards will determine whether the sermon has taken root.

The sermon was birthed into my spirit last November by Pastor Aaron A Jackson, Pastor of the Forest Hill Missionary Baptist Church in Fort Worth. While preaching for him, he blessed me with a book that if bought on Amazon it would start at $100.00. The book was written by the late Rev. Dr. Sandy F. Ray entitled "Journeying Through a Jungle".

To read the thoughts, sermons and musing of this great preacher stirred something in me that hasn't been moved in a while. I recognized that the Road to Reconciliation must be paved with something that makes it easier for the traveller to make it to their destination,,, Put Some Honey on It.

The Lord blessed our studying, writing and preaching. The backdrop of this sermon is that the brothers have come back from Egypt after buying grain. They run into their brother but they do not recognize him. Joseph accuses them of being spies and puts them into jail for three days. He agrees to release them if they leave one brother as a ransom on the condition they must bring back their youngest brother.

The brothers realize that what was happening to them was God arranged, not an accident, God will make you remember what you have tried to forget. Their remorse for their sin moves Joseph's heart and the road to reconciliation begins.

Upon their release and return, they realize the money that was meant to buy the grain was placed back into their bag. They tell Daddy Jacob what happened, how the man talked mean and harsh to them and how they can't go back without Benjamin.

They waited as long as they could but God arranged in 43:1 that their food ran out. Jacob gives wise counsel concerning what to do next. He tells them to:

Swallow your Pride
Select the right Presents
What you put in your basket will either:
Soothe the Pain and Solve the Problem or it will Stir the Pot

When you give your gift, if your enemy won't receive it or believe you, know that the Almighty God will:
Send the right Provision (mercy) Vs 14)

The Lord blessed our time in the word but if you happen to be reading this, let me ask you,

Who do you need to reconcile with?
What relationship to you need to restore?
What are you assembling in your basket?

The gifts Jacob assembled were Balm, honey, gum, myrrh, pistachio nuts and almonds. Each had a specific use and a specific purpose. WHAT'S IN YOUR BASKET? WILL IT MAKE THE SITUATION BETTER OR WILL IT MAKE THE PEOPLE INVOLVED BITTER?

To avoid the bitter, try some honey.

Put That On My Account

We unwrapped the second gift God left for us this advent season in the present of Reconciliation. It was exciting to see everyone at church with their Bibles already opened to Philemon and I could tell the members had read the 25 verses and were ready to receive the Word.

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall, Humpty Dumpty had a great fall and all of the kings horses and all of the kings men could not put Humpty back together again. Why? Because he was broke. Sometimes when things break in our lives, we are lucky because it breaks "cleanly" and is easily repairable. Other times breaks are messy and pieces shatter everywhere and fixing it is an impossibility because of the shape it has been left in.

The situation with Philemon and Onesimus seems like an unfixable problem. This was not a small offense or a petty little annoyance because God has given us the way to handle those situations. Solomon says "Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers a multitude of sins". Not every thing that rubs you wrong or disturbs your spirit needs to be brought up. Some things need to be allowed to die as we learn in love to forgive and move along.

However in this text today, this is a situation that is an unresolved problem that cannot be covered or forgotten. It is a loose end that if left unattended will sap the strength out of a relationship. Problems that go unresolved in church hinder the church's effectiveness. They tear families apart and cause even bigger problems . Whatever problems exist between Christians, God has provided a method by which the situation can be solved or fixed.

Some things we can't fix but HE can; marriages can't be saved in our own power; church fights can't be solved in our power, when we try to let the king's horses and men fix it, they can't; however when we take it to the King, God can fix it. This advent season God uses 25 verses in Philemon to remind us that nothing is to hard for him to fix. God can put it back together again.

To restore to friendship; To restore to harmony, To destroy enmity between, to make friends again, to bring together, God has given us the gift of reconciliation. This gift will never be in the wrong size or the wrong color. You will always need this gift because we are notorious for breaking things. We need someone who can fix it.

I Timothy 2:5 says, " For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,". Isaiah 59: 15-16, "The LORD saw it, and it displeased him that there was no justice. He saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no one to intercede; then his own arm brought him salvation, and his righteousness upheld him".

God blessed us on Sunday, the simple outline we used for the sermon "Put that on My Account" was:

I. Advocate For Your Case (10-16)
1. Fair to Both Sides
2. Fight for a Better Solution
II. Advance You Credit (17)
1. Receive Him
2. Restore Him
3. Reward Him
III. Accept Your Costs (18-19)
1. Satisfy Your Responsibilities
2. Settle up Your Receipts
This story is a great Word Picture especially during this Advent Season of:

IV. Atonement through Christ.

God sent us an advocate to fight for our case. The advocate advanced us credit we didn't earn. While living on the credit, the advocate paid our costs. In case, someone does not know who the advocate is, his name is Jesus Christ.

Owens