God Is Speaking~We Are Gathering Food For Our Souls
We hear many messages during the week, God is always speaking to us. God is speaking all the time, in fact we can have an abundance of soul food nourishing us daily if we listen up. The time God knows we will be listening to Him is our weekly church service. The messages from God at our churches are always so amazing. We glean every weekend in our churches. We gather food for our soul. I gleaned a lot this weekend. God loves to lavish us abundantly with everything we need to be strong, energetic and faith filled in our spirit and soul.
Sunday, June 13th, 2016 I Gleaned From A Message By Pastor Stacey Harris At Trinity Of Fairview Church
Our Proper Response To God’s Word
Pastor Stacey read this to us and then asked us this: What is our proper response to this? Is it a heart full of gratitude for God’s mercy, grace and love? We started this message very challenged to embrace God’s Grace with a heart of thanksgiving and never to take it for granted.
“There is nothing like the Grace of an Almighty God, unlimited in merit and quality.” Quote By~ Stacey Harris
Be A Good Steward Of Your Ties
1 Peter 4:10 Use whatever gift you’ve received for the good of one another so that you can show yourselves to be good stewards of God’s grace in all its varieties. The Voice We are to be good stewards of God’s Grace in our tithe, in our time and this week, Pastor Stacey was going to teach us about our ties. Ties? Yes, our ties that we have with one another. Listen UP to the scripture Pastor Stacey used on Sunday, because there was so much to glean from it for our relationships with the people God has connected us too. We gleaned a lot from this scripture about how we can be a good steward of our ties.
Ephesians 4:32 Be kind and helpful to one another, tender-hearted [compassionate, understanding], forgiving one another [readily and freely], just as God in Christ also forgave you. Amplified Bible
The Ties We Have With People
Pastor Stacey started out his message by reminding us that the ties we have with people should always be a place of Grace and never contain negative communicating like back-biting, sarcasm or hurtful words. It is also a place where we should not put our expectations. We should put our expectations in God’s hands. People can’t meet our needs, only God can.
“If there ought to be grace anywhere it ought to be in the house of God.” Stacey Harris
Emotional Ties To Places, Past And Things
It was interesting to hear the truth about the priority of our ties, and how sometimes we can put them in the wrong order. Pastor Stacey said he had observed how in our culture we have emotional ties to places and sometimes even to sports teams, music groups, television shows and restaurants. Pastor Stacey also made us aware that we have strong, deep ties to things in our past. But the most important thing that we need to steward with God’s Grace is our ties to people, these emotional ties should be our first priority.
Our Best Behavior
It was time for us to glean from this scripture how to best behave and relate to one another in our personal relationships. Pastor Stacey shared one of the most relevant ways God wanted us to be tied together and that is through the precious blood of His Son, Jesus. We are brothers and sisters in Christ. We are part of the family of God.
Be Careful With Your Relationships
When I mulled this over in my mind a bit, I realized that I take that for granted more than anything in my Christian walk and I need to be more careful with my relationships within the Body of Christ, I need to be more appreciative of them, because they are truly special. And it is truly special to serve alongside of each other. This was a very good reminder that Pastor Stacey shared with us and the truth of it ran deep within my soul. I know that the people I have served with over the years, are the people that I am very close with, deeply related. Serving God together, truly binds us together in ways that only God can do.
Great Failure ~ Getting Along With Others
Pastor Stacey shared with us a sobering reality. He said that our greatest failure, probably 9 out of 10 people have failed in this, is that we can’t get along with each other. Marriages fail, friendships fail, churches fail, ministries fail, families fail, and the reality that Pastor Stacey shared was eye opening, the realism that failure is based on our own inability to get along with people. I could definitely see the authenticity of that truth.
Pastoral Challenge For The Church
The standard of righteousness was raised as Pastor Stacey spoke this truth that hushed the room in reflective silence: “The problem is not the other person, the problem is us. We need to examine our hearts.” Pastor Stacey challenged us with further with this question: Why should people want to go to church if the church can’t get along? Ouch! He was so right on with that truthful heart-seeking question.
“Our Hallmark Is Love For One Another.” Stacey Harris
Relevant~Revelatory~Respectful
Pastor Stacey encouraged us that when we make a decision to relate to one another with the Grace of God, it keeps our relationships relevant, revelatory, reverent and respectful, and this is a lot to look forward too. The reverent part I can relate too, because respect stacks right on top of that too. I am thinking when you see a lot of disrespect between you and someone else, then you know the missing ingredient is God’s Grace.
Where Rubber Meets The Road
Well, down to the nit gritty of the message God had for us was of course the application, where the rubber meets the road in our lives, we need to live this. I need to live this. Be a better steward of God’s Grace and rightfully treat one another. At this conjuncture I am thinking to myself and thankfully not out loud, that I am one of the 9 people who have failed at this, getting along with people. I thought: “this is impossible with certain people in my life, this walk of God graceful relating.” But then Pastor Stacey went on and gave us some key truths that I have gleaned a lot from and they helped me feel more hopeful about myself and my abilities to get along with others, well should I say, certain others.
Grace Is More Than A Word
I need to work on making God’s Grace more than a word or a concept. It must be an action. Be kind. How? Pour the Grace of God into me in my personal time with God and then out of me. From God to me. Receive God’s Grace and then give it in a useful, tangible way to others. The Holy Spirit will put helpful actions to God’s Grace. As we see the need, God will help us meet the need. Grace in action. Stewarding the Grace of God is pouring out kindness into every situation where I am involved with people. If I fill up on God’s Grace in my quiet times with God, then His Grace will flow out of me. Heartfelt smiles, great manners, sweet hospitality is all God’s Grace extended towards people. Be so. Kind.
“What if the Body of Jesus Christ understood that the directive of Grace is kindness? Grace dictates kindness. What kind of community would we have? The church would be a different place and the world would take notice.” Stacey Harris
I Am With You In This
I loved how Pastor Stacey explained how tenderheartedness is Grace in attitude. Wow… is that not the truth! I never thought of it in that way. Your action of Grace needs to be done from the right attitude. Empathy is a tenderhearted attitude that speaks in volumes to the other person: “I am in this with you”.
From Attitude To Action
Tenderhearted? Pastor Stacey challenged us to be so. Be all in with people from the depth of our heart attitude to our action of grace. When you are grieving, I am sorrowful with you. When you are challenged, I am challenged too. When you have tears, I have tears. When you are in it, I am in it with you.
“What a precious place the Bride of Christ would be if we were “in it together” from the heart with each other.” Stacey Harris
Cultural Say-So Is Not Truth
Pastor Stacey reminded us just how much the world keeps telling us not to be vulnerable with each other. Not to let anyone into our heart. To guard our heart from each other so we don’t get hurt and so the world can’t steal, kill or destroy what we have in our heart. We have to fight off this cultural say-so and rightly steward the Grace of God in our relationships.
God’s Plan For Relationship
Pastor Stacey then reminded us of a very sweet truth that will help us with our fear of opening up to others. He said that God’s plan for us was always for us to be connected heart to Heart with Him and others and His Grace will help us learn to be openhearted to Him and others. God is all in with us and He will not stop teaching us and growing us to be tenderhearted like His Son, Jesus. God’s Grace commands us to open our hearts to one another. Truly this is lacking in our society and sadly in the church too. Change it up, it begins with me.
“If you are going to rightly steward the Grace of God in your life relationships, we need to be forgiven. Grace in appropriation. Forgive as God has forgiven you. Forgiveness imparts God’s Grace to others.” Stacey Harris
Reservation~Revocation~Recollection
In conclusion, Pastor Stacey talked to us about the power of forgiveness without:1. Reservation 2. Revocation 3. Recollection
I guess the one I gleaned the most from the above list was that I need to learn to forgive without revocation. Don’t revoke the forgiveness once it is given, don’t take it back when I can’t work it out in the relationship. Do everything I can to make peace and then hand it over to God. Forgiveness is not probational. That was eye opening for me. I realized I had a very probational grace at times and God’s grace is never an audition, or test, it is unconditionally given. Yikes. Change is needed in that area!
A Constant State Of Forgiveness
One way I was God-directed to the change I realized I needed, was when I heard Pastor Stacey instruct us all to be aware of what God has done for us, which is, we are in a constant state of forgiveness from God, so we should be in a constant state of forgiving others. We need to abandon our pride and abandon our judgement and this will help us see the preciousness of the relationships we have with one another. We can get along with each other if we are governed by the Grace of God. So this is what I pray for my Sunday glean, that I will be governed by the Grace of God and never walk with the people in my life out of a probational grace.
“Grace that forgives without reservation, revocation or recollection should mark the house of God. Forgiveness is Grace in appropriation.” Stacey Harris
What a great message, I gleaned a lot from it, and to top off it off as icing on a cake, here is a song that my girlfriend sitting beside me in church told me I should listen to:
Always Stay Humble And Kind By Tim McGraw
You never know what meal topic you might find on this Smorgasbord Table in The Bridegroom’s Café. Jesus likes to talk and teach about so many things and it is great to sit and listen to Him. In fact your life can be an adventure that leads you to many different journeys in your constant conversation with God. Enjoy this meal on “Sunday Glean”. Please also share this post with all of your social media by using the buttons below and leave a comment, it is always good to add your experiences and wisdom to bless and encourage others. God bless you MUCH! KimberlyMac