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Wednesday, October 27, 2010

FULLY AWARE

“you have no need to have anything written to you. For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. . . But you are not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief.” 1 Thess 5:1-2, 4

It is time for the Christian community of America to wake up. It is time for the Christian community in Northport, Alabama to wake up. It is time for me and you to wake up. There is so much work of God to be done. If we all choose to do something we will be amazed at what gets done. Find your passion and wake up to the need around you. People need Jesus, but if we are not going to show them the love of Christ they do not want our Jesus.

“So then let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober.” 1 Thess 5:6

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

TOO DARK TO SLEEP


More on this picture later.
I will begin a sermon series this Sunday that will be entitled “TO DARK TO SLEEP”. In recent weeks I have been reminded AGAIN of the tragedies and horrors that are happening during our day. As I sit in my office or in my home I do not feel there is really any great need in the world. I have found my safe place or bunker as many of you have. I fight a battle within me as to what to do and seem frustrated. I do know this. There are too many people who are unreached with the gospel of Jesus Christ. There are too many people that do not have the basic need of clean water to drink and are dying. There is too much poverty in the world. There are too many people caught in the slavery of human trafficking. I cannot do everything, but I MUST do something. It is TOO DARK TO SLEEP.  As Christians, we must wake up and attend to the work God has placed before us. This is happening on our watch.


31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. 34 Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ 37 Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? 38 And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? 39 And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ 40 And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’ (Matthew 25:31-40)

Friday, October 22, 2010

DR KEVIN ELKO NEWSLETTER. A GREAT BIBLICAL LESSON.

                                                           The Difference

I am often asked what the big difference is between those who make it and those who do not. I have finally come up with the answer. In the second chapter of first Chronicles, there is a story about how the Philistines pursued King Saul and the enemy archers wounded him, but in the end, he fell upon his own sword. Here is the difference: winners think the thing that will end it for them, if it ever ends, is them; they know it will not be what somebody else does, but it is in the end, what they do to themselves; they believe in cause and effect. And the rest who don't make it believe that it is not them that causes the end but that somehow something outside of them, such as luck, the economy, the market, that outside something will dictate where they go. Remember that the archers wounded Saul, but they did not kill him; it was his own actions: he threw himself on the sword. Sail's suicide started long before the Philistines were pursuing him.

First, what if you wanted something so badly that you pursued it exclusively and you did not also desire any other compatible thing? Martin Luther King, Jr., was organizing a march, and the town authorities said, "If you do that march, we are going to beat you with clubs, turn water hoses on you, and let attack dogs lose on you." He replied, "After you are done, I am going to love you." He wanted what he wanted, peaceful coexistence, so badly that he would not allow something incompatible with peace,hate, into his mind. Along the same lines, Saul was anointed to serve the Israelites, to be their King, to do the best he could for them. But he was so concerned and intimidated by his predecessor, King David, that he could not serve, because all he wanted to do then was to find and kill David. What he did not realize is that, when you have the mission to destroy another man, you should dig two graves.

What is it that you want above all else? Is it a close family, personal health, being joy filled? Then, want it exclusively, and you will attain it. Get rid of those things that are incompatible with what you want. Most people's heads are like a big mixed salad, and then the people cannot figure out why they did not get what they wanted. But they did not want it exclusively; they wanted it with comfort or handed to them without work and had incompatible thoughts in their heads.

Second, I have watched athletes; specifically, hockey players in the NHL come in from a shift on the ice and say, “I am exhausted.” When I was working with the Pittsburgh Penguins, I watched the players come off the ice, exhausted like they could not go on, and then a player scored. At this point I watched the energy change and the team immediately scored again. I went to one of the players, Jaromir Jagr, and asked, “How are you exhausted and then no longer exhausted?” He said, “That happens all the time in hockey. It is like someone scores and you feel like the game just started.” Here is the answer: the spirit does not get tired. When the team scored, there was a transfer from one energy reserve, the physical, to another, the spiritual, and the spirit does not get tired. Likewise, I have a friend who beat cancer and was given weeks to live and he beat it. I asked him how he did it, and he said, "I could not envision telling my wife and children goodbye." He foug
ht the physical disease on the spiritual.

When the Holy Spirit anointed Saul to be King, he led, he had a great vision in mind, and it stayed on the level of the spirit because it was about others, the Israelites, and the kingdom. But when David started to gain favor, everything became about Saul and losing the Kingdom. It was his own personal agenda, not that of something higher or other than himself, the motivation left the spirit and now the motivation was on the physical plane and that point was the beginning of his end.

When I was in New York City, working with people impacted by 9/11 a short time after the attacks, nothing got to me more than going in and working with and talking to the firefighters. Here was a group of people willing to run into a building, to risk everything for people they did not even know. That thought broke me into tears. Couldn’t you and I then give and sacrifice for people we do know? How did they do this giving with all this courage? They did it because giving and risking on that level is an act of the spirit. That spirit is what left Saul; his reign became about the flesh, specifically his and not the spirit.

Quit allowing yourself to say it is the market, the economy, my teenage kids, the weather or whatever. In the end it will be what you do to you which will matter. What others do to you is really insignificant and can only wound you but not destroy you. The only one who can destroy you is you. If you believe others and outside influences can do you in, you are doomed to be done in. Do what you do on the level of the spirit, do it because you believe in what you are doing, because it helps others, because your family will be blessed by it. And remember that the spirit does not get tired.

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Thursday, October 21, 2010

WHAT IS YOUR GAME PLAN?


If that is your game work at it. When Tiger Woods began working on his golf game he was not Tiger. When LeBron James began working on his basketball skills he was not LeBron. You got to work on your game when no one knows who you are. You have to work on your game when no one is looking.

Proverbs 16:3 (ESV) Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established.

What is “your plans”? You need a game plan. How are you going to win without a plan. 

I have heard it said that if you do not have a plan then you plan to fail. Put a plan together and become the best in the world at your game.

I have to have a family plan, church plan, preaching plan, and a leading plan.

If I do not, I will most likely never reach God’s desired goals for my life. 

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

WHAT IS YOUR GAME?


What is your game? What is it that dominates your thinking? What is it you wake up thinking about? What is it you go to bed thinking about?  What is it that you live for? 

Here are MY games:

Family – Church – Preaching – Leading

These things dominate my mind. I wake up thinking about them. I go to bed thinking about them.

Proverbs 16:3 (ESV) Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established.

What is your game? What is it that you know God has called you to?

Friday, October 15, 2010

Gone Out Of Business


I heard a story of a buggy company that went broke after the automobile was invented because they thought they were in the buggy business instead of the transportation business. Sometimes churches get confused also. We are not in the church business. We are in the people business. We are not here to keep church people happy. We are here to bring people to Christ and disciple them to reach more for Christ. That comes by developing authentic relationships outside of our Christian circles. How long will we strive to keep the status quo happy at the expense of hurting people spending eternity without God? I also heard the story of a man who walked up to a church to read a note on the door that read: “Gone out of business because we forgot what our business was!” Let us be about God’s business.  

What do you think?

Thursday, October 14, 2010

10 Things Pastors Want to Say To The Church

1.     Just being at church is an encouragement.
2.     Right before I preach don’t hit me up. I’m trying to focus.
3.     Read your announcement sheet/bulletin.
4.     Invite your friends to church.
5.     The nursery is an important part of our ministry. Please teach our nursery children.
6.     Tithe. Not so my salary can grow but so your blessings can.
7.     Go to a small group. Sunday School and/or a LIFEgroup.
8.     Take a meal to those who are healing from loss or health issues.
9.     Do something. This is your church. Make it better.
10. Watch your tongue. Don’t gossip and/or always be negative.  

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

BIGGER vs BETTER



There are areas in our life that we want to be bigger. A BIGGER church, a BIGGER Sunday School, a BIGGER LIFEgroup, a BIGGER worship team, a BIGGER budget, a BIGGER business, a BIGGER client lists, BIGGER profits, BIGGER sales, BIGGER influence etc. Two things I would want you to know. 
  1. BIGGER is not necessarily BETTER. You can get big too quick. Sometimes we just need to be faithful in the small. Don't measure yourself by size. 
  2. BETTER leads to BIGGER. Chic-Fil-A at one point was seeking to get bigger at a rapid rate. Truett Cathy (the oldest man in the room) said "If we do what we do better, the customers will demand the bigger". So whatever you do, DO IT BETTER and BIGGER will come. 

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

OITM


The greatest part of what I do as a minister is to remind people. I do not declare new things. I remind of things already been said. So, with that said I feel that I must remind you to OITM. It is easy to try to figure out exactly what the story of our life is going to look like. If we focus on making the story work out the way we want it to we are most likely going to mess the story up. OITM and the story will be wonderful. It will be a story so big that you would not have even imagined it. You may be asking what OITM means. Obey In The Moment. Just do what God tells you to do in the moment. The story will be great.

What is it you must do right now?

Monday, October 11, 2010

Will You Join Me?

I was saved in a very legalistic (many rules to keep) environment. I felt like as a Christian one had to read their bible daily, go to church every time the doors were open, etc. Now, those are good things but you can do that and be a lousy Christian or maybe not even one at all. I guess I am a recovering Pharisee. I still struggle mainly with other people’s shortcomings (Pharisees usually fail to see their own). See that is what a Pharisee does. He measures people. Usually people he does not even really know.

I now want to give GRACE & JESUS.

I will seek to lead my life toward those that are hurting. Some will not understand. I cannot help them all but I can do something.

Will you join me? Please leave a comment to let me know. 

Thursday, October 7, 2010

Can You Handle This?

It is 4:39/3:39 central time. I have not slept. Here is why.

As I sat in the Catalyst conference yesterday God was speaking to me in diverse ways about diverse topics. Everybody at Catalyst that tweets puts the hash tag #cat10 so anyone can see tweets that reference what is happening at Catalyst 2010. As I checked Twitter, I saw a tweet where a good, strong church is beginning it's search for a new lead pastor and I was intrigued. I have not sent a resume to a church since the early 1990's so I thought about putting a resume together and sending it to see what happened. Sometimes a fresh start is appealing. Then later in the day it crossed my mind to just start a new church and as people joined we would make it clear what the expectations were.

The first day of the conference was finally over and it was time for supper, a stop at Barnes and Noble for a little reading of THE MESH, then to the hotel for some sleep. A long day lay ahead on Thursday starting at 6/5 central and going until about 9/8 central. Well, I don't think I slept a wink. Either the Pumpkin Spice Latte, some one prayed foe rocks in my bed, God or me kept me awake. I have spent this night praying for my wife, Blake, Kristine, Luke (and his future spouse), Hannah (and her future spouse) and many members of Harvest Church. I spent time forgiving people who have hurt me. I have wrestled with God. I have laid stuff at the foot of the cross and picked it back up and laid it back down again. I hope I can leave it there. But here is the deal.

God began to give me visions. Vivid visions. Visions of what could be. Visions of what should be. Visions of people taking ownership of God's call on their life. Visions of people excited about their commitment to the Body of Christ. People excited about bringing a community to Jesus. A community without financial bondage. A community without grumbling and complaints. A community where everyone plays a part. A community of believers that allows God to use them. A community that surrenders to God and His plan for their life. I wrestled with God.

The part God made clear was all of these visions were for Harvest Church. They were not for another church or for a new church start. They were for Harvest Church. I cannot pour what I have seen into your mind. I am not sure I can even articulate all God has shown me. But I can say God has a plan for Harvest Church. It is not an easy plan in our strength but it is doable in His strength. I don't see where God called people to easy in the Bible. He called them to obedience.

It is my prayer that God gets a hold on the hearts of the faith family called Harvest Church and we would become a mighty army of Jesus Christ in the church and in the streets. I pray that every member of our faith family and those who have been our guest would wrestle with God and get His vision for their life and live it. I wish you a sleepless night with God.

What do you think?

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Catalyst 2010

I love to learn. I have become a book addict and seek to grow in my knowledge so that I might more fully execute God's call on my life. This week I will be attending Catalyst 2010. This is a conference for young leaders. The oldest person there last year was 72 so I guess I am still young at 47. I believe our young leaders have much to teach us and I love their passion. This is always a refreshing week and a great time to soak up great leadership lessons. If you are on Twitter you can get some good quotes this week by checking out hash tag #cat10. 

Monday, October 4, 2010

What Do We Have to Offer?


Mary Anne and I had a refreshing time at the beach last week and are encouraged to come back to continue God’s call on our lives. As we left the beach we stopped by the donut shop at about 10:45 on Sunday. As I surveyed the people there were those who appeared to be coming by after/before church and those who did not appear to have church on the agenda. I realize there is certain risk in trying to make that distinction by how someone looks/dresses, but I did. This question crossed my mind, “What does the church have to offer that is worth all the trouble?” I think I have just three simple answers: Jesus, a faith family and eternal hope. Therefore, should we not make Jesus, our faith family and eternal hope our priorities? We have nothing to offer greater than Jesus. A faith family that really cares is always special. Hope is missing in so many lives so let us have eternity on the brain. Fall in love today with Jesus, your faith family and let us all look to our eternal prize with great hope. 

2 Cor 11:3 But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ.