For God's Glory: 2/25/18

3.03.2018

Big Dreams

The Fighter Verses starting tomorrow are Psalm 37:23-24

The Lord makes firm the steps of the one who delights in him; though he may stumble, he will not fall, for the Lord upholds him with his hand.

The two previous weeks' verses were Psalm 37:1-4 and 5-8.

Do not fret because of those who are evil or be not envious of those who do wrong; for like the grass they will soon wither, like green plants they will soon die away.

Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.

Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.

Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him and he will do this: He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn, your vindication like the noonday sun.

Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; do not fret when people succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes. Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret—it leads only to evil.

As I was doing some reading, journaling, and thinking about tomorrow, I decided to check out the devotional for Psalm 37:23-24.

I am very glad I did.

The title was "Why you should dream big for the glory of God."

The writer then goes on to share "three simple (overly-simple) points" (emphasis mine):

If you are in Christ you are called to God's purpose.
God's purpose will not fail.
Therefore, all our dreams toward that purpose (God's purpose) will not ultimately fail.

This weekend there have been a couple of challenges but this devotional has reminded me, once again, that God is in control. The Psalm 37 reminders over these three weeks have been a blessing from God.

While I don't need to go into the specifics of the challenges, I can share one of the specific things that have been a help.

Reminders from God's Word about who God is.

God's purpose will not ultimately fail. That word ultimately is a big word in this statement.

Things may not work out the way you planned but if you are delighting in the Lord, the desires of your heart move beyond your short-sighted, temporary plans to God's long-term, eternal, ultimate plans.

I would appreciate your prayers as I dream big for my family, my ministry and my life.

At the end of my internship at Emmanuel Baptist Church, I remember at different times with different people saying something like "If God has to move me somewhere else for the purpose of His glory I pray He would help me do it even if I don't want to."
God did move us from Emmanuel five years later.

This past month at West Cannon Baptist, I have been thinking, preaching and sharing about motives and God's glory.

This current month at Emmanuel Baptist Church, they are beginning their missions emphasis month using the book RADICAL by David Platt. This book has been a blessing and encouragement to me over the years. I have even posted about it HERE.
God has used the motivation focus, The book RADICAL, and Psalm 37 to help me gain a better understanding of how God is working in my life.

It is my prayer that God would use my life for his glory wherever I am.

God is definitely trying to teach me some things about Him and His plans. While it is challenging, he is God.

For more about the Fighter Verses go to www.drodgersjr.com/p/fighter-verses.html

Motives and the Great Commission

While this post refers to some specifics about West Cannon Baptist Church, I believe the post will help and encourage those who attend WCBC and those who attend other churches.

At the beginning of February, I shared resources with the small group leaders at West Cannon Baptist Church about talking with their group members about motives.
One of the big reasons for doing this in February was because of our annual church business meeting. There were a couple of big items that the congregation was voting on regarding building upgrades and especially changing our leadership to more of an elder-led structure. There were reasons, motives, behind each of these and other items. Pastor Doug and Pastor Dave Parmerlee did a great job of leading the meeting and explaining the motives. Both of these items and others and several other items passed with an over 95% vote.

As we move forward this year, it is my prayer and I know the prayer of the other pastors at West Cannon Baptist Church that we as a church family would glorify God and make disciples in the Grand Rapids area and around the world. Whether you were in a group that talked about motives or not, prayerfully remember your life is not sure.

In Philippians 1:15-18 we are reminded that my life is not about my name but Christ’s name
In Philippians 1:21-26 we are reminded that my life is not about my will but Christ’s will
In Philippians 1:29-30 we are reminded that my life is not about my comfort but the cause of Christ
In Philippians 2:3-11 we are reminded that my life is not about my interest but the interest of others because of Christ

Here is a quote I recently saw in Radical Together by David Platt.

Our churches never have to choose between impacting people with the gospel locally and impacting them globally. Disciple-making frees us from having to make that choice. As we lay down our lives to multiply the gospel in the context of intentional relationships where we live, we are always doing it ultimately for the spread of the gospel far beyond where we live. And if we are faithful to Jesus’ command in the Great Commission, we will always be living and longing for the spread of the gospel to all people groups.

Live Great Commission lives! Not Self Gratification lives!!

3.01.2018

Commit and Trust

Psalm 37:5-6 challenges the reader to COMMIT, TRUST, BE STILL and WAIT PATIENTLY

and then God will "bring forth your righteousness as the light and

your justice as the noonday."

We need to remember that "your righteousness" in this passage is actually God's righteousness showing itself in His people.

Then Psalm 37:7-8 commands the reader to FRET NOT, REFRAIN from anger, FORSAKE wrath and FRET NOT.

We need to remember that worry and fret"tend only to evil."

When I read through Psalm 37:5-6, I was reminded of a Biblical Counseling chart the "Y" diagram.

This chart focuses on the fact there are two ways - God's way or the selfish way.

Verse 5 states that we need to commit our way to the Lord's way.

Is our motive God's glory or my selfish desires.

HERE is a video that explains how to use the "Y" diagram in counseling and discipleship.

Psalm 37:7 says "Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him."

Here are some other verses that either command people to be still or show God stilling creation.

All of these of these verses focus on the fact that God needs to be trusted

because of His power over creation or His faithfulness to His people.

Exodus 14:14

"The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.”

Joshua 3:8

"And as for you, command the priests who bear the ark of the covenant, 'When you come to the brink of the waters of the Jordan, you shall stand still in the Jordan.’”

1 Samuel 12:7

"Now, therefore, stand still that I may plead with you before the Lord concerning all the righteous deeds of the Lord" that he performed for you and for your fathers.

1 Samuel 12:16

"Now, therefore, stand still and see this great thing that the Lord will do before your eyes."

Job 26:12

"By his power, he stilled the sea; by his understanding, he shattered Rahab."

Psalm 23:2

"He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters."

Psalm 37:7

"Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices!"

Psalm 46:10

“Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!”

Psalm 65:7

"who stills the roaring of the seas, the roaring of their waves, the tumult of the peoples,"

Psalm 76:8, 9

"From the heavens you uttered judgment; the earth feared and was still, when God arose to establish judgment, to save all the humble of the earth."

Psalm 89:9

"You rule the raging of the sea; when its waves rise, you still them."

Psalm 107:29

"He made the storm be still, and the waves of the sea were hushed."

Mark 4:39

"And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, 'Peace! Be still!' And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm."

Personal note

Teaching the truths of this Psalm last night was a challenge.I have been struggling with fretting. We are still looking for a house and on top of that there are the other everyday concerns of life.As I was standing there reminding those in the study that they need to trust the Lord and not worry, I was overwhelmingly reminded that I NEED TO TRUST THE LORD and NOT WORRY.