Posts Tagged ‘Honda Civic’

MAN’S JOURNEY TO GOD

Posted: May 26, 2011 in Blogs from and about school!, His Word
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So exactly three weeks ago Captain invited me to his church, Elshaddai International Christian Center, and I said I’d go, especially since Pastor Creflo Dollar would be ministering! We picked a second friend from New Street Station and rushed to the church, about 10 minutes late. The service and message are the thrust of this chronicle; all scriptures are taken from the King James Version of the Bible.

To start with, I love their choir! Wow! Melody.com.net.co.uk.anything else you want to put there! You know when, even if you didn’t want to worship, you just find yourself doing so? That’s what great, heartfelt music can do to/for you. Plus they all looked beautiful, if my memory serves me right they all had a touch of pink on.

After the Pastor welcomed the first timers, Pastor Dollar climbed the podium, and I must confess he really looks fit! I mean, I’ve been hearing of him since I was a child and I’ve got some odd 20 years on my watch and he still looks like this? Let’s digress a bit, have you noticed that men of God have this youthful look despite their ages? Look at Daddy Adeboye; I was at Festival of Life in April and my friend reminded me that he would hit 70 this year and I was like wow! Talk about God ‘renewing their strength like that of the eagle’.

Back to the service, Pastor Dollar’s message was titled, ‘Man’s Journey To God’. Welcome to church dear reader, get your bible and pen out! He started by saying “comparing your situation with someone else’s belittles the process/miracle God took you through to get there”. Meaning that if you have a Honda Civic and all you’re interested in is your friends’ Armada you are not only ungrateful, you’re making a mockery of whatever lifting God enabled you to have to get that car. Get it?

1 Peter 2:2 -“As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby”

  • the journey to God will be filled with opportunities  for progress and development. Giving your life to Christ doesn’t automatically mean you’re ‘there’. It’s a process.; don’t neglect the process trying to get to the prize. It is foolhardy to look at someone in the faith and desire to be where they are without following the steps they’ve taken to get there.
  • Growth and development are necessary, heaven is only for overcomers! It is in over coming of a thing that promotion comes so if you cry/run away every time a challenge comes you will remain on the same spot! You better believe that quitting is not an option.
  • Difference between growth and development: growth is a natural, gradual process, like a baby growing up into an adult. Development requires effort, pressure, like a guy trying to get his abs ripped, or a person trying to master a skill.
Phil 1:6,9 – “Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ/And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment“
  • God is committed to your development. Your attitude to any challenge you face should be seeing it as another opportunity to triumph and further develop yourself and thank God for the opportunity already! A way to do that is not to get comfortable with wherever you are; look for opportunities to develop yourself
  • The devil doesn’t trouble any christian who isn’t a threat to him, so you best be worried if there are no trials, temptations or challenges coming your way!
  • Unforgiveness is like drinking poison and hoping someone else dies. (Insert narrative) – I was very touched by that word, especially since at the time I had just heard of some stuff a ‘friend’ had done behind my back and I was trying not to show how upset I was even though I was literally roasting inside! I have since let it go, truth is now I can’t be bothered, I really can’t. (Narrative over)
  • Pastor Dollar also said that we have to practise loving stuff that isn’t lovely to perfect our love.
James 1:3-4 – “Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.” 4But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.
Ephesians 4: 11-15 – “And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ: that we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive” 15But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:
Pastor Dollar said there are three stages of spiritual development
  1. Babyhood: they are innocent (no past), ignorant, irritable.
  2. Childhood: unsteady/unreliable, curious (always getting into other people’s business). They are also talkative which is further divided into evil speaking (talking about the faults and failures of others), vain speaking (always talking about themselves) , and foolish speaking (babbling about any and everything)!
  3. Manhood: the point when you esteem spiritual things higher than the natural
Romans 13: 1-12
Pastor Dollar also had something to say about church members who feel it is their place to ‘correct’ their ministers:
  • God will handle the moral failures of his servants, it’s none of my business! He appoints all existing rulers (spiritual and otherwise). To rebel against constituted authority is to rebel against God and there’s always a punishment for that. Numbers 30: 1-8 (read in your time). There is freedom in submission but bondage in rebellion.
Deuteronomy 24: 3 -4
Mark 10:3-5
You can listen to the message for yourself here http://www.elshaddai.org.uk/messages/mansjourneytogod.mp3 and I’ll end with his final word, and mine to you too: an excuse is just another nail to build a house of failure so quit making excuses for where you are, and start doing something about it!
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