Ephesians 1:7-8(a); Psalm 24:1-2; I John 1:9; Philippians 3:20
Sand Mountain Sermonette 49
Who Is the Richest Person in the World?
“In Him (Christ) we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses according to the riches of His grace, which He lavished upon us.” Ephesians 1:7-8(a)
If I understand correctly, the answer to this question in the natural world, when it comes to property and assets, would be that most famous “Queen” who lives in Europe. However, when it really comes to “everything,” David tells us in Psalm 24:1-2, The earth is the Lord’s and all it contains, the world, and those who dwell in it. For He has founded it upon the seas and established it upon the rivers.”
When I was sixteen years old, I knew deep down inside that my life was headed in the wrong direction. No matter how I appeared on the outside, I felt empty and often alone way-down deep in the parts other people couldn’t see, but God knew about them. You see, God’s love is a searching love, for God in His grace, mercy, and goodness, lined things up for me to attend a Billy Graham Evangelistic Crusade with my mom, grandmother Iris, and some other relatives at the stadium where the Crimson Tide play their home football games located in Birmingham, Alabama. And that night when Reverend Graham asked in his familiar way, “Won’t you come?” I felt the Holy Spirit tug on the strings of my heart, and I stepped out and walked down a long flight of stairs to the center of the field where I surrendered my heart and life to Jesus Christ along with some other folks of all ages. And I can tell you, since that time God has been so patiently and lovingly shaping and molding me into the person He created me to be which at its essence, is to bear the love, forgiveness, and hope found in Jesus Christ to others who are lost and searching so hard to find the meaning and purpose of life itself as I was. And here is the really, really, neat part. I can also tell you that I have sinned and come short of the glory of God many times since age sixteen and the most decisive moment of my life experience that evening in Birmingham. But the riches of the Lord’s grace is greater than my sin and my mistakes in life even after becoming a Christian! Paul says the grace of God has been lavished upon us, (See I John 1:9).
You see, God is not expecting you to have it all together in order to enter into a relationship with Him through the doorway of His Son: enough intelligence, enough success, enough money to make your life complete. He just wants you to come to him as you are, repenting of the sin-disease that separates you from Him that only He can remove by the precious cleansing blood of His Son, and, in doing so, to believe in faith that He is who He says He is, and that He loves you if you had been the only person on the planet.
Who is the richest person in the world? You are! First, as God’s word declares, “For God so loved the world…” (John 3:16) and second, because Jesus never turned away anyone who came to Him seeking entrance into His Father’s Kingdom (Check out John’s Gospel, Chapter Three). Any person “in Christ” in the richest person in the world now and in the new world to come for the Bible says, “our citizenship is in heaven” (See Philippians 3:20).
Pastor Louie
Sand Mountain Sermonette 51
Matthew 16:13, 15; John 14:6; Matthew 16:16
The Most Important Decision You Will Ever Make
“Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, He began asking the disciples, saying, ‘Who do people say the Son of Man is?’ [The disciples offered various responses; See Matthew 16:14], ‘But who do you say that I am?’” Matthew 16:13, 15.
I will never forget the third grade. My teacher, Mrs. Johnson was a friend of the family having lived for many years in Hustleville, Alabama, where my mom grew up. Early on, Mrs. Johnson assigned me to be the referee/overseer for our class’s kickball games we played out on the playground during recess and often, she would come outside to watch us play. Many years later, my mom told me that Mrs. Johnson once said to her while I was her student, “Jeanine, Louie is a natural born leader.” Well, mother told my dad what Mrs. Johnson had said that afternoon after he had come home from work to which he replied, “Jeanine, don’t you think he’s probably just a little bit bossy?”
Some have said there are different types of leadership styles, similar to grammatical punctuation marks. The “bossy” do-this-don’t-do-that style could be compared to the period (.) whereas the charismatic leader could be characterized by the exclamation mark (!). But one has said the true leader could be characterized by the question mark (?) “because that symbol is bent in humility.”
The day Jesus was with His disciples in Caesarea Philippi, and after asking them what “the people” were saying regarding who He was, he asked his disciples the most important question they, or any one of us, would ever be responsible for answering in in this lifetime: ‘But who do you say that I am?’” Matthew 16:15.
The reality is this: the world-system in which you and I live will always treat Jesus Christ, the humble Son of God who died on a cross so that you and I can live” in a pluralistic fashion and persuasion. People will always be looking for the latest poll information when it comes to Jesus and therefore, the “people” will always be giving their various opinions on who Jesus is. But Jesus is not asking you who you think the people think He is, He is asking you for a personal conviction on your part as to who you think He is: one of many ways to heaven or the only way truth and life! In discussing heaven with his disciples one day, Jesus made the most exclusive statement he ever made, “Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me’” John 14:6.
In a world that offers so many ways to God as well as denying that He exists; I pray your heart will be drawn to the one true Jesus who is the only way to eternal life and to God, the ultimate truth because He always spoke the truth, and the only way to eternal life with God rather that eternal separation from Him. Jesus spoke these words boldly, lovingly, clearly, and succinctly to His disciples so they could know the one true way to God and to experience the peace that only He can provide. [Read of Peter’s response to Jesus’ personal question in Matthew 16:16]. Will this be your response dear one, today?
Pastor Louie
Sand Mountain Sermonette 50
2 Timothy 1:5
“For I am mindful of the sincere faith within you, from which first dwelt in your grandmother Lois, and your mother Eunice, and I am sure that it is in you as well.” 2 Timothy 1:5
Several years ago, I attended a leadership training workshop for clergy and I was given an assignment along with the other attendees; one which transformed my life in a powerful way. The assignment was to find a private place, sit down with the Lord, and create a list of things which were special to your heart and life when you were growing up and then, write a little life-event story entitled, “Where I’m From.”
Here are just a few of the things I listed in preparation for what I was to write: a little gray suitcase filled with magic tricks (the suitcase having been purchased for me at the dime store by my grandmother Mabrey), the musty basement below my grandfather Mabrey’s house, (where once I hit my right thumb while hammering a nail into a board to which my Papaw Mabrey responded as he chuckled, “Louie, I’ll go get my left-handed hammer for you.”), homemade vegetable soup and cornbread (my mother’s mom, Mamaw Iris, would often bring me), Cream of Wheat, scrambled eggs, and Redeye gravy (my Mamaw Mabrey would often fix for breakfast when I stayed at her house), Skeeter and Jeanine (my loving parents), Billy Ray Cash (my first preacher), and homemade snow ice cream eaten on Sand Mountain.
And my story (in briefer fashion): “I’m from homemade vegetable soup served in mason jars and fresh cheeseburgers from Linn’s 5 & 10. I’m from grandmother’s little gray suitcase filled with magic tricks…”fly flaps”…and a left-handed hammer. I’m from papa’s (Mabrey’s) love for the man with diabetic feet, homemade snow ice cream, and Billy Ray Cash the preacher. I am from Skeeter and Jeanine’s tree. I’m from looking at others in the eye when you pass them on the sidewalk. I’m from a taste of the Old South that’s good, rich, timeless, and today; the bridge linking who I was with who I am—someone Christ loves and called.
Read today’s Scripture several times. Timothy’s grandmother and mother not only provided for Timothy’s needs when he was growing up, they were about the most important thing in life; what one has referred to as “letting someone’s faith be the frosting in the life of another.” I realize you may have had a difficult upbringing, but know that God has, or will, place those individuals in your life whose purpose is to lead you to Him by “frosting” you with their love and encouragement for you, through the Holy Spirit. Yes! I can assure you that a little dime store suitcase and homemade vegetable soup bear the imprints of the cross and the empty tomb! Where are you from? Who has God been using to show you Himself?
Pastor Louie
Sand Mountain Sermonette 52
Philippians 3:13-14
Time to Get a Hamburger?
“Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:13-14
When I was sixteen years old, I made a discovery I was not expecting to make. My step grandfather Homer, who had married my grandmother Iris on my mother’s side, had a relative who had passed away. The funeral was to be held several miles out in the country from Hustleville, Alabama, where Homer and Mamaw lived, which in and of itself is way out in the country.
Homer had had to leave earlier the afternoon of the funeral visitation and had given Mamaw Iris verbal instructions on how to get to the funeral home with the idea that my grandmother, who could not drive, would call one of her daughters to drive her to the visitation. Well, Mamaw called my mom and mom invited me to ride out to Hustleville and pick Mamaw up closer to the actual visitation time because Mamaw didn’t want to get out there too early. After we picked Mamaw up, we began to head in the direction of the funeral home per Homer’s directions. The only problem was we drove and drove and drove; taking this turn and that turn but to no avail. And, after about an hour or so of driving and not finding that funeral home anywhere, Mamaw, who was aggravated at Homer said to my mom, “Ah’ Jeanine, let’s just don’t worry about!” “Let’s just go and get something to eat!” And we did! We found a little café closer to Hustleville and walked inside to place our orders.
Once inside, as we were standing in front of the counter from where we would place our orders, we all noticed the menu was on a board suspended above the counter, brightly lit and utilizing those black interchangeable letters and numbers. But when mom asked me what I wanted, I told her I didn’t know because I couldn’t see the menu. I told her everything looked blurry. Well, mother ordered my hamburger for me but a few days later, I was sitting in Dr. McLendon’s office suite in downtown Albertville where it was determined that I needed my first pair of glasses. And boy O’ boy! When those glasses came in and I first put them on, I could read a restaurant menu and everything else more clearly than I had in a long time!
What’s often missing in the Christian life is, focus. Perhaps our priorities are out of line because we’re running in all directions chasing all types of goals. Perhaps we’ve been looking over our shoulder at a past mistake or sin that God took care of once and for all at the cross but the enemy of our souls or just that old fleshly impulse that still wars against our new nature in Christ causes us to feel we have let God down and therefore, He is displeased with us.
Has your life become blurry, distorted, and directionless? Dear Christian, respectfully speaking, sometimes you have to go to get a hamburger rather than go to the funeral home! That old habitual sin, that old place, that old consumption, and the shame and guilt that goes along with it doesn’t need a funeral visitation. It’s okay to be “lost” from that. Follow the Holy Spirit to the hamburger stand and allow God to readjust your vision and your direction in life. Then, when you look at the menu board you clearly see these letters: J-E-S-U-S! The One who nourishes and nurtures you spiritually. The One who loves you. The One who enabled Paul to forget the past so he could press on in a forward direction towards the one true GOAL in life that aligns all our priorities God’s way--the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” Is He your everything?
Pastor Louie
Sand Mountain Sermonette 53
Matthew 6:1; Matthew 23:27; Numbers 19:11
“Signs, Inc.”
“Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them; otherwise, you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven.” Matthew 6:1
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness (ungodliness). Matthew 23:27
I have always been fascinated with signs: large, small, neon, flat, three-dimensional, on the highway, in the restaurant window, etc. But there is one sign my mom told me of when she was a young girl I will never forget. Mother’s family home was positioned just beyond a hill on a road leading down to a two-lane bridge which crossed a creek adjacent to an old grist mill and country store. At the time mother and her siblings were riding the school bus, as the bus topped the hill, you could see their home, which was the next stop, and you could also see their outhouse which stood next to their home in plain view. Well, one afternoon as the bus reached the top of the hill, everyone on the bus not only saw the Floyd Family home, they also saw a sign they had never seen before printed in large letters whitewashed on the side of the outhouse facing the road which read:
“R-E-S-T-R-O-O-M!” And mother said they were so surprised that the youngest daughter, my Aunt Gail, began to cry because she was so embarrassed as to their home having not yet received in-door plumbing. The culprit was their youngest sibling, their brother Jerry, who had secretly printed that sign on the side of the outhouse while they were away at school that day.
Recent studies have shown that many people leave the church because they think of Christians as hypocrites. Sometimes a referral to all Christians as being hypocrites is simply an excuse for not wanting to go to church, but the fact is, we are all human, we all make mistakes, and each one of us engages in hypocrisy from time to time. Hypocrisy at its core can be defined as saying one thing and doing another.
The good news is that out of His love and desire for people to enter into a relationship with His Father through His work on the cross, and then, to enjoy living the abundant life now and forever, Jesus chose to confront hypocrisy head on! Therefore, Christian youth or adult, do you base your daily Christian walk on show-on performance, so as to receive the applause of men or are you desirous of God and His grace and mercy alone, to direct and empower your life? Do you behave differently before different audiences? Perhaps you went to church this past Sunday but gossiped on Monday or the browser history on your computer would tell a different story than your profession of purity before your adult Sunday School class or youth group.
In Jesus’ day they would often whitewash above-the-ground-tombs positioned near the side of the roads so Jews passing by could easily see them and avoid touching them so as not to be defiled according to Mosaic law (See Numbers 19:11). Are there any signs of hypocrisy in your life; places that look good on the outside but are void of substance on the inside for decay and destruction lies within? Remember, you can go to Jesus. He loves you. Be honest with Him and let Him begin to replace your hypocrisy with authenticity; your pride with repentance and humility through the power of the Holy Spirit.
SONG: “Father hypocrite had many sons, many sons had Father hypocrite. I am one of them and so are you, instead let’s be like Him (Jesus).”