This is my 5th worship service in
3 days! The Lord has filled me with so
much joy I feel like I’m ascending to heaven right now. God is so Good! As some of you know we were at ladies conference
the last few days and we had such a great time!
I was telling Pastor Shaw how when we came out of that church we were so
filled with joy in the spirit… Julie stood over the car to bless it! So Pastor Shaw says was that a Chrysler? I said It’s a dodge. He says well she had to pray over the car…
those cars have problems you know. My
jaw dropped… you know you could lose your crown for that! Don’t you know my car has Hemi!
Lisa, I am honored that you would ask me to
speak here today. It shows how welcome I
am and how much you want me here and that you trust me to speak not only from
my heart but that you also believe my heart is in the right place to do so. I
love you so much! I love mom too! Today we are celebrating our Pastor’s to show
them how much we appreciate them. I
thought on this quite a bit, what gift could I give the Shaw’s to show how much
I appreciate them?
Last year I spoke of this being the church
of my dreams. I talked of how broken I
was when I walked through the door and how ready you were to help me. Today I’d like to talk to you about the
things that led me through the door. As
I do I’d like you to remember what the Lord said “I will build
My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.”
So about a year before I came here, I was
at a place in my life where I had accomplished all of my goals and no longer
had a direction to go. A few choices
were in front of me but I didn’t know which way to go as I had no strong desire
for any of them. My heart wanted one
thing while my mind wanted another. So
being divided only my soul could tell me what to do. So I said Soul…I’ve never asked you before…
please give me your opinion. I’ll wait
for it… but please let it be known to me.
I fell asleep and dreamed and I was given a prophecy of what would
happen along that path if I chose to take it. At the end of the dream in the most
authoritative voice I could hear, the Lord said “It will be as it is written” I
was in total shock and awe and fear that God has spoken to me. I wanted to find something to hide under I
was so scared. But I did nothing. Two months later my brother died and I was
broken. I didn’t care anymore about
anything. There was no amount of money
or possession or friends that had a word to say that I cared about. Nothing mattered except that my brother was dead.
I called out to the Lord…. I don’t know
why you would let this happen, but I need you to lift me up and help me get
through this because my parents and my family need me to give them strength to
bear this. I had another dream. Again, I saw many things. This time the Lord asked me to do
something. I turned to him and said No
not me….. I do not have that kind of faith….you need to get a priest or at
least a holy person….I don’t have enough faith to do that. And he said then what will you do? Will you just stand by and watch and let this
happen? You are the only one that is here
and even your small faith will work.
So when I woke up I knew to do what the
Lord had asked I needed to increase my faith.
I realized I had to find a church and learn. My heart was shattered at losing my brother and
I needed help. I knew the only place to
get that help was in church. So I
researched. I had already spent many
years looking at various religions and denominations and I had been mainly
inspired by the Pentecostal. So I looked
for the closest one and found Lifepoint on the internet. I wasn’t sure so I read the entire site. I was a little perplexed on a few things but
then I found the sermons and I listened.
Adam was preaching, tears streamed down my face, not in sorrow from my
brother’s death but in joy. I felt the
presence of God in that room with me. I
felt that he was speaking straight to me through Adam’s voice. Funny enough, Adam was the first to greet me when I walked
through the door. Pastor Shaw was the
second. Guess I was here too early that
day for the greeters. I was a bit eager
to get here.
The
anointing the Lord has placed on Adam is a blessing to all of us. I am grateful the Lord has given him to us
that we receive his teaching. It was
that voice that led me to the door. You
would think that would be it then. All
glory and blessings from there on out.
Ya, I thought so!
You don’t need to be here long to see that
the Pastor’s vision is to grow this church. His vision has put systems in place
ready to receive visitors from all walks and circumstances. When I came through that door you were all
ready. Some of you helped me learn to
pray and taught me the bible. When I came through that door and received
healing I thought that would be it. It
would be smooth sailing but I was about to go through more. I would lose more of the closest people I had
in my life. I have been tested at every
turn. I have had as much pulling me in
as I’ve had trying to pull me out. The
devil has thrown people in my path that ask me questions, complete strangers grill
me on the meaning of this and that in the bible. At times I’ve gone through day after day of
these examinations.
I am the queen of detours! Sister
Claudia and Julie will tell you I am the queen of detours. Sister Julie said to me today “yes you are! But they aren’t all your fault!” Thoughts have come into my head that I’m going
crazy, none of this is real, I don’t need to live this life, my old life wasn’t
all that bad. Even some of you have
rejected me rather than helped me. I have nearly determined myself three times
to not ever come back here. Thankfully,
there have more of you that help hold me here and have helped pick me up from
every stumbling block that has been thrown in my path.
Everytime I’ve stood up and said I believe
I’ve taken another blow. I’m standing on the sidelines watching as my mother
and my son lose all hope, all joy because they don’t have the spirit and the
devil is giving them a beating. In fact
last Wednesday night as I’m rushing myself out the door my son says to me he
wants to commit suicide. So the devil is
not just trying to destroy the ones I love but he’s trying to stop me with
everything he’s got to keep me from going to the Lord. Well enough already. There comes a time when you say it doesn’t
matter. Knock me down, beat me with a
strap, throw whatever you want at me. I’m
going to worship the Lord and I’m going to praise his name no matter what the
devil wants to do about it. I am for
Jesus!
30 years ago Mike Shaw made that decision
for himself. And thanks to that decision
how many have been saved? How many has
he inspired to become pastors, teachers, apostles, prophets, evangelists, men
of God? Does that sound like someone you
know?
11 And He Himself gave some to
be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and
teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of
ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, 13 till we all
come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a
perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; 14 that
we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every
wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of
deceitful plotting, 15 but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up
in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— 16 from whom the
whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies,
The man who has
submitted his will and purposes entirely to God, carries God with him in all
his works and in all circumstances.
..................................... Meister Eckhart
..................................... Meister Eckhart
A year ago I spoke here about this being
the church of my dreams. Here is what I
said
The church of the warm heart, of the open
mind, of the adventurous spirit.
The church that cares, that heals hurt
lives, that comforts old people, that challenges youth.
That knows no divisions of culture or
class, no frontiers, geographical or social.
The church that inquires as well as
answers, that looks forward as well as backward.
The church of the Master
The church of the People
High as the ideals of Jesus, low as the
humblest human
A working church, a worshipping church a
winsome church
A church that interprets the truth in terms
of truth
That inspires courage for this life and
hope for the life to come.
A church of courage, a church of all good
men. A church of the living God.
When we take our last breath, we will join
those who have gone before us in Christ.
Eternity will be spent with our brothers and sisters in Christ. The relationships we have with each other are
important. Do we not normally welcome
new members to our family? Are we not
overjoyed for each one that is born? So
is the Lord when we are born in Christ, even the angels sing. Lets rejoice with him, welcome them and have
relationship with them. We are to be
made into his image. So when they walk
through that door let it be Jesus that they see in you. Not just Julie, not
just Claudia, not just me, Let them see that The lord has sent them to us
because we are his church.
See that its not just Pastor Shaw’s vision
we are standing behind. It is the vision
of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
Love of God overflow. Permeate all my soul.
