The Secret Glory In Keeping A Secret

Proverbs 25:2 "It is the glory of God to conceal a matter; to search out a matter is the glory of of kings." Have you ever had your private stuff put out in the court of public opinion, by a person who you thought you could trust? Have you ever been entrusted with initimate information by someone & just sharing a snippet of the information came back to bite you square in the quister? None of us share our personal stuff with people we KNOW we can't trust. We use the filter of believing (or not believing) a person can keep a secret before we divulge any information to them. Instead of focusing on the ppl who you do not trust, I want to help you to have a biblical understanding of why you should be the type of person others can trust. We have enough Christian paparazzi & Twitter/Facebook Stalkers who only want the "dirt." It is my prayer that you and I are the exception to the culture. In order to do this, I want to walk backwards in this Proverb to gain the understanding God is giving in this verse. The Glory of kings: "to search out a matter is the glory of kings." This Book of Wisdom (by the wisest man to live) informs us that kings who seek their own glory will snoop to get the scoop. It is the function & the intent of kings to get to the bottom of any and every "matter" whether it really matters, or not. You and I are kings (see the whole chosen generation/royal priesthood/king's kid thing for biblical validation if necessary) therefore we must rule as so. Like Adam, everyone of us have our own Garden of Eden to tend and make sure it is fruitful. There is a Divine right to rule you and I have that pushes us to have a relevant understanding of what's happening around us. Be careful though: Just because you have a Divine Mandate doesn't mean you have Divine Rights to dig into matters that are only meant for the Glory of THE KING! The Glory of God: "It is the glory of God to conceal a matter;" Though you and I have been given a Divine right to rule our Garden, the Garden still belongs to The Lord. Psalm 24 says, "The Earth IS the Lords." I could go on and preach about what He possesses, but I'm tired so I will refrain. :) You and I must see ourselves as stewards, not owners. One day "The Owner" will return and see how well of a manager we have been with the people, places, and things He gave us to steward over. Since we are stewards, ALL that we do, All that we have, ALL that we are, and ALL that we know will be used as illustrations of how much Glory we wanted Him to receive verses how much we wanted for ourselves. A Matter: Next summer, I'm gonna preach a series entitled: The Matter. Here are my titles for the individual sermons in the series: What's the Matter A Matter of Life & Death Mind over Matter The Fact of the Matter Does it Matter? No Matter What Lets face it, things matter, but everything doesn't matter to you. And it's the things that do not matter to you that you HAVE to stay away from! It diminishes you and wastes your energy on things that just do not matter. Lets be clear, just because "a matter" doesn't matter to you, doesn't mean it shouldn't matter to anyone. You have to be wise enough to understand the difference. Who gets the Glory is revealed by what you do with "A Matter." There is a new term out today called FOMO. It means Fear Of Missing Out. The implication of a person with FOMO is that they are scared of missing out on matters of things that could possibly matter to them. It's easy to see when you constantly are checking your email, Twitter, Facebook accounts. It's easy to see FOMO when the first thing you grab every AM is your phone. Your ability to conceal or search out a matter reveals who's glory you are really after. Conceals A Matter: When you and I seek to bring Glory to God, we demonstrate the ability to "CONCEAL" what ppl who want their own glory, easily reveal. When you and I conceal a matter verses broadcasting it, we bring glory to God, not the matter. We do not reveal what's to remain concealed because of our Desire to please Him. This is tough because NOONE goes to a movie that doesn't have good drama and stays. Here's how things leak: Everyone has 2 close friends... You share something to one of your close friends that you trust, Then your close friends shares it with their other close friend in confidence. The issue is they have a second close friend, who they share it with In confidence. Then that person shares it with their close friend in confidence. And so it goes... When we bring Glory to God is when we learn to CONCEAL. Be bold enough to hold a matter, no matter what. Be courageous enough to admit to the person who has come to you to talk, that you struggle with keeping things concealed. Be secure enough to tell the person who is about to reveal a matter to keep it to their self. Let this filter be the gateway to what you talk about. When u CONCEAL a matter, you REVEAL THE GLORY OF GOD. When you REVEAL a matter, you CONCEAL THE GLORY OF GOD.(how's that for a tweet) Not only you, but use this filter by listening to the ppl who talk with you & you will easily find out who's glory they're after... Reveal His Glory. Hope I Helped, gw

A New Normal

Proverbs 22:6 Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it. I was brought up in church all of my life. Truth be told, church was my life. I've lived the majority of life with a "drug" problem. My mom and dad "drug" me to church EVERYTIME the doors were open. As a matter of fact, I have a "stained glass" backdrop of virtually all of my greatest childhood memories. The irony of it is, all of my childhood memories happened IN the church. Youth events, singing, puppet ministry, Great services, healings, fundraisers, and outreaches were all IN the church. Sunday AM, Sunday PM, Wednesday, Revivals, Practices, Plays, Discipleship, Training, Meetings & anything else imaginable happened IN the church. Heck, I held hands with a girl for the 1st time IN church. I LOVED church! I lived for it, because it (being at church all the time) is all I ever known. Today, I'm still a church-goer! When I hear about revivals or singings, I want to be there. At Judah, we don't do Sunday nights. That statement in itself, made me chuckle a little. We "DID" Sunday nights! Haha There is a part of me that is so glad we don't do Sunday Nights, though. Sundays from 6am - 3:30pm is enough for me at this stage. But another part of me yearns for the Sunday Night Shoutdowns of days gone by. Why? Because it (Sunday Night Service) was NORMAL me. The absence of that additional service leaves a void in me. Why? It's the way I've been trained! I've been "trained that I should go & now that I'm old I almost feel guilty for having departed from that pattern." This past Saturday, my Judah family and I went into a low-income area of the city of Charlotte to Love Charlotte A Lot by doing an event we call Loads Of Love (LOL.) It is our desire and passion to REACH the hurting through meeting their "immediate need" so we can have an open door of opportunity to lead them to a saving knowledge of Jesus, the King to quench the thirst of their soul. I'm still very emotional for this event. 7 people were won to the Kingdom right there in a laundymat. These 7 came to clean their clothes, yet they left with clean clothes, clean heart and a clean slate! I'm about to shout right here at Starbucks! What struck me the most at the event, was watching the Judah Kids that were there. As much as young children could help, they did. They face painted, played soccer, threw horseshoes, folded laundry, and served food until their attention span couldn't take it any longer! It was a beautiful thing. This whole "Loads of Love" thing we did, we did as a church OUTSIDE, not stuck on the INSIDE. It dawned on me that these Judah Kids of mine are living a New Normal for adult church attenders, but just normal for them. It's new & different to go to laundrymats & give coats away to homeless for the winter months for us old PEW DWELLERS, but our kids have a New Normal. It's gonna be normal for our kids to FEED the hungry, give WATER to the thirsty, CARE for the stranger, CLOTHE the naked, HEAL the sick, and GO to the incarcerated. my "normal" consisted of sending money to send others. My kids "normal" is raising the money to GO themselves. Shew that's awesome!!! Proverbs 22:6 is often seen as a Bible verse that implies "teach a kid about Jesus & when their old they'll be saved from Hell." For me, I've seen this "Lamp Language" in a more illuminated way. What is being said is, "I'm training children in certain patterns that they will not break with age." Let me break that down... I'm training children how to love their enemies by the way I love mine. I'm training children how to treat their spouse by the way I treat mine. I'm training children how to love the least of these by the way I love them. I'm training children how to eat by the way I eat. I'm training children how to treat different ethnicities by the way I treat them. I'm training children how to honor the old by the way I honor them. I'm training children how to handle their conflict by the way I handle mine. I will train children how to die by the way I approach my death. I'm training children how to extend grace & mercy by the way I extend it. The warning here Ladies & Gentlemen is that they will not break the pattern I've trained them to "go in" with merely getting older. My prayer for me & you is that the way they "should go" is the right way to go. Lets be clear, we are in fact training our kids in "the way they should go" by the way we live our lives, but it doesn't means its the right way to go. Lets covenant together that the NEW NORMAL our kids will have is one that we who are training them can be proud of. Hope I Helped, gw

A Father's Ark Revisited

After listening to the Father's Day podcast I was asked by a newly wed wife about what it means for the husband to be "the priest" & how she can help her husband to stay in that place. Below is my response & I thought it was good enough to make available to you! Here is goes: What does a Priest in a home look like? It looks like Jesus to His church. Let me give the details: The position of the husband in a marriage/home clearly defined: Ephesians 5:22, 28-31. "Wives submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. For the husband is head of the wife, even as Christ is head of the church; and he is the savior of the body. Therefore as the church is subject to Christ, so let wives be to their own husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wife as Christ also loved the church and gave himself for it . . . So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself. For no man ever yet hated his own flesh but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church . . . For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh". Scriptures that deal with the husband as head of the house.  Genesis 3:16, says in part "her desire shall be to man". Ephesians 5:23, "husband is head of the wife";  I Tim. 2:11-12, "She shall have no dominion over a man".  HEAD does not mean master as in a master-slave relationship, nor does it mean a relationship like a general to a private in the army. It is more like a partnership where one is the leader, guide, director. His vote carries the majority because he is to be speaking on behalf of God, not personal ambition. The husband is to love his wife above all other human beings. Consider Eph. 5:25 and 28; and Col. 3:19. These passages teach that the husband is to be considerate and tender. The verses in Ephesians 5 teach that the husband is to cherish his wife. This means that she is to be treated with tenderness and affection. LOVE must be fed. His goal is to connect on an intimate level with her socially, mentally, verbally and physically.  I Peter 3:7, teaches that the husband is to honor his wife. You gave up your name to take his. Honor means that he should show you respect and this involves courtesy, consideration and emotional support. You wears his name and is to be viewed as part of his body. You are not perfect and he is aware of this. Do not expect perfection, but as Ephesians 4:32 teaches, "forbear one another". This means to be gentle toward each other. Control of temper, abstaining from physical violence and restraining a sharp tongue that makes one feel so inferior - are ways to demonstrate forbearance. I Timothy 5:8 - "But if any provide not for his own, especially for those of his own household, he hath denied the faith and is worse than an infidel". Marriage is a financial venture and the husband has a responsibility to finance or support or provide for his family. As a husband, his earnings are not his, but belong to his wife as well and children. I Timothy 3:3-5 speaks of ruling your own house. Now this discipline should be with love. Many times discipline is administered without love. This is such a big deal that elders and deacons aren't allowed to fulfill their calling, if their house is out of order. Ephesians 6:4, "Fathers provoke not your children to wrath", and again in Colossians 3:21, "Fathers provoke not your children to anger lest they be discouraged". The husband does not leave all the discipline up to his wife, but shares in the molding and direction of your children. A proper division of responsibility is not to say that the husband provides the living and the wife takes care of the house and children. The husband has duties even after his days work. The Christian father should set an example for his family as he earns a living, directs the household with concern for each member, and as he fulfills his role as head of the house. He should see to their spiritual development by the life he lives and the direction in which he leads his family. A wife is a part of his body - you are a part of each other. For this reason Paul said, "Love your wife". He didn't say, if you want to. As he loves you, you love yourself and are fulfilling the role that the Lord wanted he & you to have. The bottom line is he is the pastor and his family is the congregation. How can you as his wife help? Know your place & lovingly stay there whether he is everything listed or on his way. hope I helped

Still in the Game?

Depending on which conference you attended this year, it has been 4-8 weeks since you were at Shabbach. Are you still in the game?

Paul writes in Philippians 3:12, “Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own…”

Are you still pressing?

Still praising?

Praying?

Word?

Eddie James preached Sunday at Myrtle Beach that we should be seeking more than a one-night stand with the Holy Spirit, but that we should be seeking a life of discipleship...

“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, but, speaking the truth in love, may GROW UP in all things into Him who is the head—Christ” Ephesians 4:14-15

Are you growing?

Not did you grow at Shabbach- are you grow-ING- as in continue-ING to grow?

Paul continues in Philippians 3:13, “One thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize…”

When Paul wrote this, he had already wrote much of the New Testament you read today. He had preached around the world and stood before pagans and kings...

-yet he did not think he had arrived-

-he had not got there yet-

-he had more to do-

You cannot live on the fumes of a past experience with God.  You’ve got to strain, stretch, and PRESS toward God.

Keep pushing…..

Keep growing….

Stay in the Game

Read Colossians 1:11-12---This is my prayer over you this week.

John D Smith

Shabbach Ministries 

Rooted?

Sunday Morning at the Pigeon Forge conference, Matt Poole preached on the importance of developing a root system to sustaining a healthy Christian life. Let's rehash some thoughts on roots...

The roots of a plant have two basic purposes:

Purpose # 1: Roots are the part of the plant that ATTACH it to the ground.

Purpose # 2: Roots CONNECT water and nourishment to the rest of the plant.

So how does that transfer over into the Christian life?

Your roots serve to ATTACH you to the ground, stabilizing you from falling over

Your roots CONNECT you to the source of nourishment and water necessary to survive.

So what are you rooted in?

If roots ATTACH you and CONNECT you, what you are rooted in matters.

If you are rooted into the things of this world, then the nourishment you are bringing into your tree will not support the fruit of a Christian life. But if you root into the things of Christ, you can grow into a healthy "plant."

Some things you should root into...

1. Your Church- The community of life found in the CHURCH can help to keep you grounded. Here you can find strength during a storm, nourishment through preaching and support to make sure you are growing in the right direction.

2. Your Bible- The WORD is the single most important source of nourishment that you need for living a healthy Christian life. Get rooted in your Bible and watch as the Holy Spirit begins to feed you with the strength you need to grow.

3. Prayer- Prayer is the ultimate place of communion with God. It is through a root system deeply entrenched in prayer that the Holy Spirit can communicate with us, pruning our life to be more like him.

You branches cannot grow larger than your roots. If you attempt to grow branches that can bear the fruits of Christian life without first developing the root system to anchor you, your tree will come tumbling down. You will topple over with the pressure of trying to live the WORKS of a Christian life without being CONNECTED to the source of life.

2 kings 19:30 says "And the surviving remnant of the house of Judah shall again take root downward and bear fruit upward." Notice the order here-:

TAKE ROOT DOWNWARD BEFORE BEARING FRUIT UPWARD

I encourage you today to begin to strengthen your root system. Develop roots in your CHURCH, your WORD, and your PRAYER life with God. Then watch as your “tree” produces the fruit of a healthy Christian life

>Read John 15:1-11<

John D. Smith
Shabbach Ministries

Did you DIE?

At Shabbach DC, Pastor Daniel Gray preached a powerful word on Sunday asking if YOU had DIED yet. One of the reasons that the change doesn't stick after a conference like Shabbach is that some of us did not DIE. We tried to add God into the mix of a cRaZy lifestyle when what we really needed to do was to put that old stuff to death and be resurrected into a new life in Him. Don't believe me….

In Romans 6, Paul is encouraging the believers to live a life free from sin. His reasoning- because they had DIED to who they used to be. "What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?" (Romans 6:1-3, ESV). You must die to who you were to become a new creation in Christ. This is why we refer to the area at the front of the sanctuary as the altar; because this is the area where things are put to death.

So I must ask you, did you DIE at Shabbach?

You cannot live an empowered Christian life and keep your old self on life-support just in-case things don't work out. You cannot simply add Jesus to the mix of what you've always done and expect this thing called a relationship with him to last very long. Rather, you must put to death the old things.

Do I really have to DIE?

When we think of dying, we think of what we LOSE. But that's not the way Jesus sees it. He sees our sacrifice for what we will GAIN. "For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it." (Luke 9:24, ESV). What you lose NOW for the cause of Christ will pay off in the long run. Jesus pointed out that a seed is only one small thing unless it falls into the ground and dies. But in its death, it is transformed into a new life that can bear much fruit (John 12:24). Paul teaches in Romans 6 that if we die with Christ, we will also be resurrected with him in the power of the Spirit, free from the bondage of sin.

As Pastor Daniel Gray illustrated, when you hold a seed in your hand, you do not simply hold a seed. You are holding a seed that can produce a tree, that can produce fruit, that can produce more seeds, that can produce more trees….. etc. In other words, you contain the potential of a forest when you hold a seed in your hand. The pivotal moment is when the seed falls to the ground and dies. Only then will its potential be reached.

So I encourage you to reflect on your life. Have you DIED to who you were so that you can be resurrected into who he is? When you do, you release a forest of potential and receive the power to walk in newness of life, bearing fruit for the kingdom.

Finish reading Romans 6:1-14,

John D. Smith
Shabbach Ministries

Staying CONNECTED to change!

Every year we witness lives CHANGED at Shabbach, but we often see students return back to their old life a few weeks after the conferences. We don't want to see this happen this year! Here are 5 things you can do to stay CONNECTED to the change that took place at Shabbach 2012...

1. Stay CONNECTED to fellow Shabbachers- do not let yourself be isolated from those who experienced this weekend with you. The enemy would love to sever your ties because this is your support system and accountability group. Bring a Shabbach attitude into your youth service and watch God show up!

2. Stay CONNECTED to a Youth Worker- your youth worker can remind you of the commitments made at the conference and keep you accountable. Reach out to them, ask questions, tell them about your experiences this weekend. Let them partner with you to keep the change going.

3.Stay CONNECTED to Your Armband- sometimes you have to remind yourself what God did for you. Every time you look down you will be reminded of the change that took place. Declare to yourself "I'M NOT GOIN' BACK!"

4. Stay CONNECTED to the Word- God speaks through his word. It is there where God reveals his thoughts and his plan. Get into your BIble on a daily basis and allow your thought life to be transformed by the renewing of your mind.

5. Stay CONNECTED in Prayer- carve out time every day to pray. Get a prayer journal and record what has been done this weekend and what you are praying for God to continue to do in your life. Prayer is the avenue through which God continues to change us!