David preached last Sunday on 1 John 4:7-12 which is about how we know love because God first loved us by sending His son to die for us, and a call for us to display that love to one another. This morning’s message was so good for me to hear. I was getting to a point that I felt, in a way, that the Lord had taught me all that He wanted to in the last month, but I was certainly wrong. I didn’t think that there was much else that I could learn from my situation. David talked about believers being known by their fruits and I had heard that 100 times. Every time I thought of all the decent things that I had been doing that was fruitful. This was the first time that it felt real though. I could apply it and feel like there is without a doubt fruit in my life. I don’t say this to discredit those times in my past, I still feel like my life was bearing fruit, but for some reason this really hit home. I can’t completely explain it without divulging every detail of my life in the last month so I will spare you, but I can tell you that the Lord is so good. He has been teaching me several things about trusting Him fully and not half-heartedly, fleeing from sin, and recognizing that a bond with another person in Christ is so much stronger than the everyday relationship. The sermon today helped to reinforce these things even more so.
The first point that we focused on was that we are to love one another because it is in God’s nature to love. I realized that I do not trust easily which comes from years of baggage that I have held onto but in the last month the Lord has been revealing this to me. He has been peeling away layers of armor that I used for so long to protect myself so that I could feel truly loved and cared for. He has used many of you (C3) to show me that love as well as other believing friends. I cannot begin to express how much I love my church family. Having brotherly love for each other is something that I can say I feel often from y’all. It is genuine and not selfish and that is so amazing. But what the Lord has been showing me is that the foundation of love is because of the love given to us from God. Love reflects our Creator; it is in His very nature to love. The Lord has been so good to continue teaching this to me because often times I fear rejection and I compare the love I receive now, that is good, to the love that I have received in the past. The difference is that (as David explained) it is the true love that flows from God. That true love has been shown to me through my church family and I am so thankful that the Lord revealed the barrier that I had so that I could feel His love for me. I praise God for this time in my life and I want to share the love of God with others. I want to bring glory to His name. I hope that I would be so filled by His love for me that it would overflow from me to reflect God’s love to others and convey the brotherly love that we are called to.
The second thing that I took away from the message this morning is that since love is God’s nature, and the ultimate form of love ever shown was Christ dying on the cross for sinners, God shows His love to me every day. That seems really simple but for me it was huge. When I consider my trial, and how difficult it is often, I feel God’s love for me. God has used times like this in my life to reveal more of His loving character to me. It is so loving for God to use hard times in our lives to reveal sin and draw us closer to Him. I would not have this any other way because I’ve learned so much. To the world it is strange to be so thankful for hardships, but I am. What the world doesn’t understand is that I have gained so much from it and that is why I wouldn’t have it any other way. I feel like a new person because I want to pursue holiness and flee from sin with a whole new passion that I didn’t have before. I am humbled by looking and seeing what the Lord has done in one month to reveal sin in my life and draw me closer to Him. I want to seek His kingdom and be fruitful with what I have because God loves me and sent His son to die the death that I deserved. I want to live a life that brings glory to God and run as fast as I can away from worldly desires. God uses trials not necessarily as a means for punishment of sin, rather to convey His love for us. How loving is it that God would use these times to bring light to sin so that we don’t continue to walk in sin? Praise God for trials because He shows His love for us.
--C3 Member - Lauren Bullard
Saturday, November 24, 2012
Sunday, November 11, 2012
Sermon Reflection::Matthew 22:41-46
Last Sunday Pastor David preached over Matthew 22:41-46, to which he tied the question, "who/what is Lord over your life?" Ouch. That question hit me pretty hard. I felt the Lord whispering something similar to that this past week, so thanks, David, for confirming that one!
The area that affected me most is in our view of ourselves, and how He has the last word in who we are. I find myself so wrapped up in what I think others think of me that I lose sight of everything else. Moments that should be sweet fellowship are drowned out by fears of possible rejection. I tend to see myself as the person I was before He took over, and assume that is what others see as well. But if I actually spent time in the Word instead of on Facebook (that's an area that needs lordship as well!), I would be reminded that He does not see the old me anymore. 2 Corinthians 5:17 says that I am a "...new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come." Why is that so hard to remember? Because I haven't given Him lordship there.
Romans 12:2 reminds me to "not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind..." This week, I want to focus on renewing my mind and giving God the power when it comes to how I see myself. So, when I am tempted to grab my phone and do a little Facebook stalking, I'll pull up my handy dandy ESV app instead. Susan Gregory, who wrote a book on the Daniel Fast, says to pick five verses to use like the five stones David chose to fight Goliath in order to win the battle for our minds. I'm going to find five verses this week to use to get the Lord back on His throne in my fickle little mind to see myself not as the wretch I once was, but as the clean and whole person He created.
--C3'er - Amanda Barrow
The area that affected me most is in our view of ourselves, and how He has the last word in who we are. I find myself so wrapped up in what I think others think of me that I lose sight of everything else. Moments that should be sweet fellowship are drowned out by fears of possible rejection. I tend to see myself as the person I was before He took over, and assume that is what others see as well. But if I actually spent time in the Word instead of on Facebook (that's an area that needs lordship as well!), I would be reminded that He does not see the old me anymore. 2 Corinthians 5:17 says that I am a "...new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come." Why is that so hard to remember? Because I haven't given Him lordship there.
Romans 12:2 reminds me to "not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind..." This week, I want to focus on renewing my mind and giving God the power when it comes to how I see myself. So, when I am tempted to grab my phone and do a little Facebook stalking, I'll pull up my handy dandy ESV app instead. Susan Gregory, who wrote a book on the Daniel Fast, says to pick five verses to use like the five stones David chose to fight Goliath in order to win the battle for our minds. I'm going to find five verses this week to use to get the Lord back on His throne in my fickle little mind to see myself not as the wretch I once was, but as the clean and whole person He created.
--C3'er - Amanda Barrow
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