Racial Reconciliation & I'm Grateful

05/31/20 • 47 min

Biblical Messages featuring Pastor Ben Poole

Last Week I’m an Optimist. I’m an optimist because of God’s Word not people’s behaviors. Romans 8 Lots of stuff happened this week. One of the young African American pastors I follow posted something on Instagram that made sense to me so I’m going to share it. Mike Todd- From Tulsa Ok. It fits with last weeks message. Here is what I think about Racial Reconciliation. Or more so what God says about it. Revelation 7:9 After this I saw a vast crowd, too great to count, from every nation and tribe and people and language, standing in front of the throne and before the Lamb. They were clothed in white robes and held palm branches in their hands. And they were shouting with a great roar, “Salvation comes from our God who sits on the throne and from the Lamb!” 11And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living beings. And they fell before the throne with their faces to the ground and worshiped God. 12They sang, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and strength belong to our God forever and ever! Amen.” In the Kingdom of Heaven there will be different shapes, sizes, And color. God loves variety. Every tongue and nation. Are HIS KIDS. Jesus paid for them with his blood. My darker skinned brothers in Christ. Are my brothers. I’m an optimist when it comes to Racial reconciliation because God’s Word says it will happen. And I see it happening in the Kingdom of Heaven that is here and know in this Church. STAY POSITIVE—2 I’M GRATEFUL Sound negative—Tired of negativity—Complaining almost become art form. FB answers My Tervis cup is supposed to be 24 oz, but it doesn't actually hold 24oz!! It is less, apparently those marks on the cup are just an approximation! Whatever!! Here's one I'm annoyed by as soon as it gets warm. My auto ice maker isn't fast enough. (So many things wrong with this complaint.) When the same person complains that people are underestimating Covid-19 and how deadly it is, then later that same day complains about too many people are over reacting (both complaints were prompted by moments that inconvenienced that individual) I had a friend that when we would go out to eat and would complain about the food being too hot. All he had to do is wait a second and it would cool off. Kids “I’m bored” There’s nothing to eat. I knew a woman that where she worked at they would give each of the employees $500 as a Christmas bonus. Which at the time was a really good amount. Each year she would complain that they weren’t really giving her $500. The reason that she said this was because taxes were being taken out of it. She never got the concept that it was a “ bonus “. People with a corvette or Porsche etc....that says their car can't park on the grass How cold it is outside, and how hot it is within the same week. 🤦🏻‍♀‍ DQ Ice Cream is too cold. Too much food at the All You Can eat restaurant. Too Hot without AC too Cold with it. My son complaining that the booger HE smeared on the wall was too disgusting for him to clean up. My daughter refusing to eat her food then crying when someone else eats it. My husband complaining that I side seat drive when I’m clearly saving us from certain death. 😂 Me complaining about my husband being in a bad mood when I’m in a bad mood because only one of us is allowed to be in a bad mood at a time and I was in a bad mood first. 😆 Complain weather—Too hot—Too Cold—Dry—Rainy (S. Cal—Too perfect) Restaurant: Serve food, wait on you, clean dishes—wanted different.  Closet—touch everything, nothing to wear. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- By nature, I’m not grateful—Want more, Want better, Want it now. Like that? Obsessed with developing a heart of gratitude I’m going to choose gratitude—Tragedy is most won’t. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11 Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. 12 As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy h met him. They stood at a distance 13 and called out in a loud voice, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!” Luke 17:11-13 Lev 13: Wear torn clothes, Cover lower face, Unclean! (I stink!) Eats away at flesh, Oozing sores. Wake up missing finger/rat. Years since they’ve been touched or hugged Original Social Distance 14 When [Jesus] saw them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed. 15 One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. 16 He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan. 17 Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? 18 Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?” Luke 17:14-18 3 STATEMENTS THAT WILL HELP YOU CHOOSE GRATITUDE • I KNOW EVERY GOOD THING I HAVE COMES FROM GOD. Every good and perfect gift is from above... James 1:17 Mom’s encouragement, My D...

Previous Episode

How To Be An Optmist

Stay Positive Power of a smile Power of a frown. Too much negative news. A saw a hummingbird this week. Beautiful fast It was drawing sweetness from a flower. What do vultures eat? They eat dead things. You will find what you look for... What are you looking for Good or Evil? I’m not saying we stay ignorant. But what do we dwell on the goodness of God or depravity of man? Focusing on the bad will not help more people become Good. Only God can cleanse the soul. Proverbs 11:27 If you search for good, you will find favor; but if you search for evil, it will find you! Could be a bit harder to find the good... Romans 8 and 8 Reasons to Be Optimistic 1. All of my sins are forgiven, and my eternity is secure a. Rom 8:1-2 So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. 2 And because you belong to him, the power[a] of the life-giving Spirit has freed you[b] from the power of sin that leads to death. b. FORGIVEN 2. Jesus is right next to God the Father praying for me! a. Rom 8:34 Who then will condemn us? No one—for Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and he is sitting in the place of honor at God’s right hand, pleading for us. (Prayer warrior Maureen Naperstack) 3. My future victory is greater than my present pain! a. Rom 8:18 Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later. Paul suffered more then most of us ever will. 4. My mind is filled with the life and peace of God. a. Rom 8:6 So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace. I am with God getting through it. Change your self-talk to I can- with God. 5. If God is for me who can be against me? a. Rom 8:31,33 What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us? 6. God’s Spirit Helps Me in my Weakness a. Rom 8:24-26 We were given this hope when we were saved. (If we already have something, we don’t need to hope[a] for it. 25 But if we look forward to something we don’t yet have, we must wait patiently and confidently.)26 And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. i. He Carries me and I draw closer to him when I’m hurting. 7. My God is working everything together for my good! a. Rom 8:28 And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. i. God Blesses us through the BAD and the Good 8. Nothing can separate me from the Love of God a. Rom. 8:38-39 And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,[a] neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. 39 No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord. Sin depresses while forgiveness brings light and transformation. The goodness of God makes us NEW. BRAND NEW. The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases his mercy never comes to the end.

Next Episode

I Am Generous

Because our God is an Encouraging God I'm Encouraging I will encourage others daily I will encourage others spiritually I will encourage myself I Am Generous God Invented Giving When God gave life to the universe, He spared nothing. Think of all the incredible gifts: beautiful sunsets, mountain peaks, and deep blue oceans. Think of the way plants give oxygen, and water gives life to every living thing. In fact, every living thing is—in some way—a giving thing. Why? Because the breath that spoke it into life is laced with generosity. Our God invented giving. When through sin, we brought on physical and spiritual death, God once again found a creative way to give life. This time, He gave His only Son’s innocent life in place of our deserved death—the most generous gift of all. Then, before Jesus ascended, He promised the coming of an encourager called the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit brought with Him powerful gifts for followers of Christ to build the Church and make the story of Jesus known. Giving is in God’s history, of His heart, by His hand, to build His household. When we give, we act like Him, and we lend to His work. Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord. Luke 11:11 “You fathers—if your children ask for a fish, do you give them a snake instead? Proverbs 19:17 If you help the poor, you are lending to the LORD— and he will repay you! I’m generous with others because it shows faith in God. My temptation is to believe that what I have is what I live off of and its limited... Proverbs says the Lord will repay. My God gives great gifts. Its all his already. So, how can we respond to God’s extravagant generosity? We can start by taking care of His gift. What? How can we take care of Jesus? In Matthew 25:31-46 NIV, Jesus tells a story about sheep and goats. The sheep get into heaven and the goats don’t. How did the sheep manage? Jesus explains, For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in ... Then, someone asked, when did we do this for you Jesus? He answered, ... whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me. Consider: Who is “the least” in your life? How can you generously give to them? I’m generous with the least because they are Jesus brothers and sisters. I’m generous with the least because its giving to Jesus. 1 John 4:7-9Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. 8 But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love. 9 God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. We all want to be generous but there is one issue we must deal with. Who oversees my resources? Choose Your Master We get nothing done without giving. We give time and effort to our employers. We give words and affection to our relationships. We even give food to our pets and money to things we believe in. Giving is always a choice. If we chose not to give in the situations above, each situation would cease to exist to us. Every day we wake up is a day we get to choose what we’ll give to. The collection of these daily choices makes up our lives. When we gave our lives to serve Christ, we gave our choices to serve Him. Jesus explained this when He told us we can’t serve two masters. You can probably imagine having two direct supervisors at work. Just as bosses determine what we do at work, choices determine what we give our life to. Jesus was telling us it’s miserable when our choices try to serve two bosses. Two-master living leaves us split-minded in a battle against ourselves. Then, just in case we didn’t make the connection, Jesus told us straight up we can’t serve both God and money. Jesus isn’t saying we can’t have money. He’s saying our choices cannot serve both money and God. Does that mean our money can’t serve God? No. When we give our choices to God, He always puts our money to work for Him, too. In 2 Corinthians 9:6-12, the Apostle Paul urges the Church of Corinth to give cheerfully and generously because God is looking to bless them abundantly to meet both their needs and the needs of others. We can’t serve God and money, but we can choose to serve God with our money! Try this: Examine where your money is serving God and where you’re serving money. I’m generous because my $ is serving God. Let’s Say these positive statements together. I’m generous with others because it shows faith in God. I’m generous with the least because its giving to Jesus who gave me the most. I’m generous because my $ is serving God. Who’s the least or who’s in need? We want to help you be generous. So here’s the Missions team who is giving us an opportunity to help. Maybe you need to keep it. We have all been the least before. Keep it. But you may know right now who...