Shut the Door!

Matthew 6:5-6

And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.

I remember when I was a young child certain rules my dad had for the home. I'm sure you could reminisce about some of your house rules also. Well one of the top rules around the Abney home was to keep the door shut. 

We lived in a small single-wide trailer when I was growing up. The air conditioning was a window unit in the living room right beside our television. March and April in Alabama would be the months that things would begin to get heated up. The temperature would rise and we would beg for the air conditioner to be turned on. My dad would fold his arms and say, "Not until June". (You think I'm kidding...I am not! I also must confess that when dad was a work sometimes the old unit just came on, haha) We would sit in that trailer and nearly burn up! By the time May got here I never came home until dark. I was soaking up as much air at a friends house as I could. 

Then it would happen. First day of June! That thing would come on and a hum would roll through the house like a symphony. My brother would be hollering, "Thank you Lord!" Me, well let's just say it was good to be back home. Then came the next annual words from dad's mouth... "Shut the door!"  "You either get inside and stay or go outside and play" he would say. 

Thinking about those days, I came across this scripture this morning. Jesus tells us to go inside of our closets and shut the door. Do you realize that our prayers and prayer life is for us and God?  It's not for others to hear and be impressed. Too many today think praying is what you do in church or before a game. No prayer is your alone time with God. A time when you should shut everything else down and be alone with God. Just like my dad used to say, "Shut the door, I'm not cooling the neighborhood. Get in or get out."...  Our time with God should not be hindered by other things such as TV, phones or even people. We need to get in our prayer and shut the door!

Talk About What You Know

1 Corinthians 15:3
For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;

Paul is telling this church that he is preaching unto them the very message he has already received of the Lord. God tells us to share the gospel with every person we come into contact with. Let me ask you this question... How are we going to share this gospel with the if we haven't received it first?

Sharing Jesus without first receiving Jesus would be like explaining the view of the Grand Canyon without ever seeing it.  It would be like telling the plot and ending of a movie without watching it. I know what you are thinking... You may think it would be possible to explain a movie to someone even though you haven't seen it personally. Someone else that has seen it could explain it to you right? Or maybe you are thinking that you could explain the layout of the Grand Canyon without ever going there. I suppose it could be possible. But what about explaining the experience? What about the smells, tastes, weather, intensity? You really couldn't explain this unless you have personally been to these places and experienced it for yourself.

Too many people are trying to explain Christ to others without beleiving in Christ first. Many, many Christians are even trying to explain the Bible without receiving it into their everyday lives first. How can we do this? It is not possible. You may find yourself in trouble if you try to give something that you first didn't receive. Paul preached about what he had already received. Share what you have received with someone today.

I Did It My Way!

Luke 17:26-30
And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all. Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed.

Have you looked at the days in which we live? Many times I have wondered about the things that were going on in the days of Noah. I wonder what they were doing? How wicked was the world during this time that God said it must stop?

Years ago I stood at the place where Lot and and Abraham parted ways. Abraham told Lot that things were not going to work with them together because the people were fighting. So he gave Lot first choice in the way he would go. Lot chose to go toward Sodom. He chose the way of the world and entered into what was the most wicked city of the world up until that time. What was this city like? What were they doing for God to say, "Enough is enough"?

Jesus says that they were eating, drinking, marrying, selling, planting and building. During all of their sin and evil living the most obvious thing was living for themselves. All of these descriptions from Jesus says they were living their lives for themselves. All the way up till the day Noah entered into the ark. All the way up until the day fire and brimstone rained down upon Sodom. They never cared about the things of God. Never gave attention to the message of God's Word.

Jesus closed with... "Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed". Seems to me that day is now. Phrases of our people today... "Live for yourself... Make yourself happy... Do what is best for you... You must find the power in yourself... I just want to live the way that makes me happy". Eating, drinking, selling, planting, building, marrying, etc... It is destroying them all.

And now the end is near
And so I face the final curtain
My friend I'll say it clear
I'll state my case of which I'm certain

I've lived a life that's full
I traveled each and every highway
And more, much more than this
I did it my way

Having a Heart Attack

Luke 24:32
And they said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures?

Tick... tick... tick... The minutes seem like hours and the seconds seem like years. Sunday after Sunday when the Word of God is read, spoken and preached it seems like an eternity to some. From bathroom trips because we suck down two pots of coffee each morning, to sleeping because we stayed up all night watching our ballgame or favorite television show. Church goers just look and act as if they have lost their desire for the Word of God. If music is played an immediate excitement builds. If dramas are performed an enthusiasm incomparable is felt. But when the Word of God is opened an instant debate is now in session.

One says, "He's too loud" while another says, "I can't hear him and it's just boring". Some say, "I can't follow along with his Bible" while the others say, "What time do you think we will be finished?" Where are the ones that will ask for more?

If I took you to a buffet bar right now you would go back for more. If your team made a spectacular play you would be screaming at the television... "Show that again, show the instant replay!" When your favorite song comes on your playlist you will hit repeat because it excites you. What about God's Word? Isn't there a burning within your heart when you hear it? Don't you hear the very voice of God when you read it? Do you realize what took place for years and years in order for you to have the Bible?

Let me ask you this... Where is your Bible? How many of you carry it with you to church anymore? How often to you read it? Do you spend more time watching television or reading the newspaper? I promise you that this is my last question...

Is there a wonder why we lack spiritual power and a realness of God in our churches and lives today? I'm afraid that we no longer have a heartburn for His Word, but rather we are suffering from a heart attack.

Mountain to Molehill

1 Kings 19:4
But he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree: and he requested for himself that he might die; and said, It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life; for I am not better than my fathers.

Don't you love the story of Elijah? Most of us can relate to him. We have known great victories in our lives as well as great defeat. Elijah had gone from the mountain of victory to the molehill of misery. He went from defeating the prophets of Baal to running from a wicked woman. He went from being a bold man who was confident in his God to laying under a juniper tree asking this same God to take his life cause there was no more reason to live. 

One time I was standing on top of a mountain in Gatlinburg, TN. that was 6,600 feet above sea level. By that night I was at the shore of the Atlantic Ocean. I also remember being on top of this same mountain Elijah stood on in Israel. As I was preaching about the day God answered the prayer of Elijah and licked up the sacrifice, an Israeli fighter jet flew over us with bombs hanging from the wings. Hezbollah was fighting with Israel and shooting rockets into the country so Israel responded with fire power. 

Let me just say that the mood changed quickly. I went from excited about the God who answers prayer to praying for God to keep me safe. It is so easy to go from Mountain to Misery at any moment. We could also go from a Mountain Top feeling to on our knees before God for help at a blink of an eye. 

Where are you today? Either way, Praise God that we have the Lord. If you're on the mountian, don't talk about those in the valley. And if you're in the valley don't look to those on the mountain. Aim higher to the God above that mountian. 

Amen and Amen!

Psalms 89:52
Blessed be the Lord for evermore. Amen, and Amen.

What do you think of God this morning? Some people like to refer to Him as the "Big Man Upstairs" or they often say that there is a God up there somewhere. He is so much more than that folks. He is not just a magical genie that we call up when we need money or help. He is not just the last resort to go to if everything else falls through. He is God. He is not even "a" god, but He is "THE" God.

Compare Him this morning to every other so called god. Isn't He better? Isn't He the only true one? Compare Him to all of your possessions this morning. Isn't He greater? Isn't He of more value? Prophets in the Bible have asked, "Who is a God like unto thee?" I cannot think of any greater god than the God that I serve.

Stop for a moment and think of how blessed you are to know Him. Think of how blessed you are for His love to be shown in your life. This should stir an excitement inside of you. It should cause you to draw closer and closer unto Him. Because of His love, I can love others. Because of His death, I am alive. Because of His leading, I can help lead others unto Him. The songwriter said it much better than I could have ever said it...

Because He lives I can face tomorrow, because He lives all fear is gone.
Because I know that He holds the future, my life is worth the living just because He lives.

Bless the Lord O, my soul and all that is within me bless His Holy Name!

Why don't you try sharing some of that today? Put your discouragement and negativity away and share just how blessed you are by knowing the Lord. Amen and Amen!

Sing this to Him right now before you go about your day...

Because YOU live I can face tomorrow, Because YOU live all MY fear is gone.
Because I know that YOU hold the future, MY life is worth the living just because YOU live.

A Use for Cotton

Proverbs 17:27-28
He that hath knowledge spareth his words:
and a man of understanding is of an excellent spirit.
Even a fool, when he holdeth his peace, is counted wise:
and he that shutteth his lips is esteemed a man of understanding.

I must immediately tell you this morning that I do not like cotton. It's some kind of phobia. You know the sound of fingernails on a chalkboard or the screeching of a fork gliding across your plate? That's what happens to me when I hold cotton in my hands. Aaaahhh!

When I was a kid, I would get swimmers ear every summer. It seemed like it would come every week in the summer. The pain would get worse and worse. Mainly because I didn't want the dreaded cotton in my ears. When I would go to bed mom would put in the drops and shove that stinking cotton into my ears. (She didn't shove it, just seemed that way to me...)

I know you probably think I'm crazy but I couldn't stand it. I would complain over and over again. My mom would say, "You want it to get better?"  I hated it! There were times she looked as if she was gonna take the cotton balls out of my ears and stuff them in my mouth.

Just the other day, believe this or not, I wished I had some cotton in my ears so that I could have stuffed it into my mouth. Sometimes we all should just be quiet. Truthfully we should just shut our mouths. I desire that excellent spirit our scripture talks about. I am learning more and more daily from God and His Word of how to have this spirit. The Bible teaches me that even a fool is wise when he shuts his mouth. So there is hope for me and you.

Lord please help me to be quiet when I should. Help me to speak when you lead me. Help me not to be a fool that speaks foolishness but help me to close my mouth and wait patiently on you to speak through me. I pray that you never have to take the cotton out of my ears and put in my mouth. I'll be quiet now... in Jesus' name. Amen.