AND THE LAST THREE R'S ARE.....

So as we come to the conclusion of our look at those R's that are so important to our Heavenly Father, we need to stop and think....what R's are missing from our list?

Let's start with one that takes us all the way back to 1929; a time of hopelessness, despair and depression. In fact, it became known as the Great Depression. And one American company took to heart the desire to lift the lives and spirits of the great masses with their cleverly designed catch phrase...."the pause that refreshes...Drink Coca-Cola...Delicious and Refreshing!"

Yes, Our God is in the refreshing business and He says so in His Word in the Old Testament,

I will fully satisfy the needs of those who are weary and fully refresh the souls of those who are faint. (Jeremiah 31:25 NET) I think we all know what it means to be weary or frazzled; out-a-sorts and on our last legs. After a long hike in a sweltering sun; pulling weeds from our garden or just sweating as we push our lawn mower across, what we once thought, was a small yard. WE NEED A GLASS OF COLD WATER/LEMONADE; BEADS OF COLD CONDENSATION RUNNING DOWN THE OUTSIDE OF THE COOL, LIQUID REFRESHMENT THAT WAITS FOR US TO TAKE THAT FIRST SIP AND BE REFRESHED. Yes, when we are weary, but take the time to seek the Lord...He stands ready to give us a drink of His Eternal Living Water and we are REFRESHED! God also tells us in His Word, "Therefore repent and turn back so that your sins may be wiped out, so that times of refreshing  may come from the presence of the Lord, and so that he may send the Messiah appointed for you—that is, Jesus." (Acts 3:19-20 NET) Yes, sometimes when sin in our life has been riding us relentlessly, we need to seek the redeeming power of God's Grace and REPENT; so that His times of refreshing will come from His presence in our lives. Remember this...God's will cannot THRIVE when SIN IS ALIVE in your life....Repent and be Refreshed and Restored to once again walk in His ways so that His will, not yours, will be done; so that once again, you may experience His refreshing ways. So don't let the devil mislead you into thinking more highly of yourself than you ought. God's Word reminds us continually ..... "Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and turn away from evil. It will be a healing for your flesh and a refreshment for your body. (Proverbs 3:7-8 NRSVU)

And lastly, not only do we need to be refreshed, but we also can be the refresher when we allow God to use us as encouragers, helpers, guides, confidants and "a friend that sticks closer than a brother."  And if someone plays a part in refreshing you, lifting you up, dusting you off and setting you on the righteous path of reconciliation with your Heavenly Father....then why not be the last "R" in God's arsenal of His many "R's"....BE A RECOGNIZER! Once again, we find in God's Word, the apostle Paul's call to action, " For they have refreshed my spirit and yours. Therefore recognize such people."  (I Cor. 16:18)

Yes God is in the redemptive, restoring, reviving, re-igniting, refreshing and recognizing business....and He is just a prayer away when you need to experience any of His "R's"

Renewed each day....Ready for His call to ACTION,

WPQ

THE MOST IMPORTANT "R".....REDEEMED!!!

When we left off last week, I said we would come back and take a look at the most important one of the "R's"....THE REDEMPTION POWER OF GOD....WHO CHOOSES TO REDEEM AND SATISFY HIS HOLY NATURE. So, what do I mean by that last statement? Allow me to share a little story of mine that I have used several times over the years in some of my sermons.

It seems there was a young man, probably around seven or eight years old that was given a wooden sailboat kit for his birthday. He tore into the package and was eager to get started on building his sailboat. For days, he diligently worked on his model boat and before long, it was time to take his new, prized possession to the nearby park and its large, circular lake.

He very gingerly tied a string to the mast and slipped his new sailboat into the calm lake. For what seemed like hours, he walked along the edge of the lake, pulling his boat behind him. Suddenly, the winds picked up and a strong gust caught the sail, pulled the string from his hand, sending  the boat into the deeper waters of the lake. The little boy watched as his precious possession went farther and farther away from him. Tears welled up into his eyes, for he knew his sailboat was gone forever...and with a broken heart, he made his way home. For days, he sat sullen and joyless as he thought of his lost sailboat. His mother suggested he go into the little village where they lived and get some fresh air. So, as he walked the streets of his small village, he stopped in front of the toy store; and there to his surprise was his boat, sitting in the window. He rushed in and told the owner that it was his boat that was sitting in the window. To which the owner replied, "I am very sorry young man, but there is no name on the boat, In fact, a young man brought the boat into me the other day and I bought it for $5. I can't just give it to you even though you say it is yous. But, here's what I will do....I WILL SELL IT TO YOU FOR FIVE DOLLARS."

FIVE DOLLARS...what was the little boy to do? He did not have any money; but maybe, his parents would give him the money he needed. When he asked them, they replied, "We gave you the boat kit; but we do not have the money to give to you. Perhaps, you can earn it by helping your mom with some of the chores or you can help some of our neighbors and earn the money you need that way."  So, he began to help his mom with the trash; raking the leaves for his dad; and doing other odd jobs for his neighbors. It took some time and great effort on his part; but, it wasn't too long before he took the $5 he had earned and rushed to the toy store. He ran all the way and bounding into the store, he handed the money to the owner and was given his sailboat. As he stepped outside into the bright sunlight, clutching his sailboat to his tiny chest, he exclaimed, "You're mine, you're mine!!! You are mine TWICE!!! ONCE BECAUSE I MADE YOU; TWICE BECAUSE I BOUGHT YOU BACK!"

 And that, my friend, is the perfect picture of what God has done for His creation...You and Me!

The Hebrew word, ga'al, which means to "buy back" or "redeem" is what God, our Creator, has done for each of us. He paid the ransom for us; bought us back from our sinful nature and we belong to HIM, TWICE....first because he made us and secondly, because He shed His blood through His obedient SON, Jesus Christ. We have NO RIGHT STANDING before a Holy God; but because of His Great Love for us, He sent His Son from Heaven's throne room and REDEEMED US....BOUGHT US BACK AND PAID FOR OUR PARDON WITH HIS PERFECT, HOLY, RIGHTEOUS SON'S BLOOD.... BLOOD SHED ON A CRUEL CROSS SO THAT WE COULD SING THE SONG OF THE REDEEMED.

Yes, when we get to Heaven, as believers in Jesus Christ, we will stand before Him and be ushered into His presence. The angels may very well sing in one great chorus, welcoming us into our eternal dwelling place. But we will burst into a song that the angels will not be able to sing. It is  GOD'S FAVORITE SONG OF ALL...FOR IT IS THE SONG OF THE REDEEMED!

Go to the Internet and check out Philips, Craig and Dean's song, FAVORITE SONG OF ALL! Lean into and repeat the lyrics; then you will truly understand what God's greatest gift to mankind can mean to you in this life...and the eternal life to come as one REDEEMED AND PROUD TO PROCLAIM IT!!!

Redeemed....and His Joy Floods My Soul,

 WPQ

The Next R's in God's Vocabulary....

So, after the fall of mankind through the sin of disobedience by Adam and Eve, God set to work with the plan we know as REDEMPTION....A much better plan than REPAIR.

Now, I grew up in a time when the first TV in our home was a 13" Sylvania black & white...and when it worked, it was a true source of wonder. How did they get that picture inside that TV, I often wondered? But when it was on the fritz, my dad, who had taken a TV repair course, took the back off of the TV and begin looking for the culprit for our now inoperable television. Sometimes, it was quite easy to see a blackened bulb, staring us in the face (I was always beside my dad when these outages occurred). Other times, my dad would subtract a half a dozen bulbs and run out to our nearby drugstore, which had a bulb testing machine and loose bulbs for purchase to replace the burned out ones. But, as good as my dad and I were at fixing our TV; sometimes we had to call in the professional....the TV REPAIRMAN!!! Now, he would tinker around, pulling bulbs, checking the wiring and other things that a seven year old had no clue as to what was happening. And then, almost magically, he would plug it back in and the picture would appear!!!  To which he would exclaim, "THERE YOU ARE...GOOD AS NEW!" But that was never true...for in days, weeks or often some other passage of time, our screen would go black and my dad and I were back on our knees, pulling out bulbs, heading for the drugstore and their handy bulb tester.

Now, God could have repaired the broken relationship that had occurred with His creation; but sin had made that impossible. You see, for GOD, sin is a barrier that He cannot overlook or even look upon; have no association with nor in ANY WAY CONDONE! SIN IS THE GREAT DISRUPTER OF OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD. YES, GOD COULD HAVE EASILY JUST WALKED AWAY FROM HIS CREATION AND STARTED ALL OVER. OH, BUT GOD HAD A BETTER PLAN...THE PLAN OF REDEMPTION.

In God's plan, each sinner had to pay for their sin....or have someone else step into that position of punishment for sin and pay that price. You see, God is a God of judgment and justice....you should suffer the consequences of your sin and pay it's penalty...DEATH... and eternal separation from GOD. With SIN in your life that RELATIONSHIP cannot be repaired or restored to" LIKE NEW!"  However, GOD IS ALSO A GOD OF MERCY, BUT MORE THAN THAT, A GOD OF GRACE!!! So, His plan was to REDEEM His creation and restore mankind to a NEW AND RIGHT RELATIONSHIP WITH HIM....BUT HOW?

There was only ONE way for God to redeem His creation and have the SIN DEBT of mankind paid....SOMEONE ELSE WOULD HAVE TO DIE FOR THE SINS OF THE WORLD... AND GOD HAD ALREADY CHOSEN THE ONE WHO WOULD DIE FOR THE SINS OF MANKIND....Come back tomorrow as we take a closer look at the what, the how and the who in God's redemptive story and how you can be included in the grace and mercy of your Heavenly Father.  

Scripture says, " Therefore, if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature. Old things have passed away. Look, all things have become new."

Not repaired....BUT REDEEMED,

WPQ

 

The MANY R'S OF OUR HEAVENLY FATHER...

From the beginning of time, GOD was there; and as the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end, He has been TOTALLY INVOLVED IN THE CREATION OF THIS WORLD, MANKIND AND ALL THAT EXIST. God had the worship of the angels in Heaven as He sat, majestically on His throne. They sang His praises, worshipped Him in glory and adoration for His might and awesome power. They were His created beings, committed and commanded to obey His every decree. But what if there was a created being that would worship God not as a compulsory action, but out of love and willingness of heart and mind....and so the Trinity set out to perform their greatest creation of those six days....and He breathed the Breath of Life into the nostrils of man....AND MAN BECAME A LIVING BEING.

Then as Scripture reads, "Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to cultivate it and tend it. The Lord God commanded the man, saying, “From any tree of the garden you may freely eat; but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not^]eat, for on the day that you eat from it you will certainly die.” Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him.” And out of the ground the Lord God formed every animal of the field and every bird of the sky, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever the man called a living creature, that was its name. The man gave names to all the livestock, and to the birds of the sky, and to every animal of the field, but for Adam there was not found a helper suitable for him." Genesis 2:15-20 NASB

But God realized that Adam, though set to rule in the Garden of Eden, was still without a suitable helper...He was still without someone to whom he could relate....SO; God did the following, " The Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and as he slept; He took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh at that place.  And the Lord God fashioned into a woman the rib which He had taken from the man, and brought her to the man. Then the man said, “At last this is bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh; She shall be called ‘Woman’, because she was taken out of man.” For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh."  Genesis 2:21-24

And then God knew that all was GOOD. He gave Adam and Eve only one commandment to follow in obedience of their Creator...they were not to eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Before they broke that commandment by eating the apple offered to them by the serpent, they enjoyed three very special privileges  in their RELATIONSHIP with their Heavenly Father. 

They were in Communion with God as they walked and talked with Him in the cool of the evenings. They knew God as He is; there minds not clouded or fraught with falsehoods or lies. And lastly, they possessed spiritual life since they were not just physically alive, but in every sense of the word their souls were alive.

AND THEN THEY SINNED; DISOBEYED THE ONE COMMANDMENT THAT FORBID THEM TO EAT OF THE TREE OF GOOD AND EVIL....AND THAT SIN OF COMMISSION SEVERED THEIR RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD AS HE SENT THEM FROM THE GARDEN....NEVERMORE TO RETURN UNTIL THAT RELATIONSHIP COULD BE  

REPAIRED AND REDEEMED...OUR TWO "R's" for tomorrow!!! SEE YOU THEN!

 

Holding onto my Relationship with my Heavenly Father,

WPQ