New Life Assembly of God Church met at the Riverfront property in Farmville for our church service. We brought our lawn chairs and comfortable clothes and God brought His balmy breeze and sunshine. We were all rather excited because we had spent Saturday in Farmville, doing good things for our community. Although there were many distractions, Pastor Frank maintained his focus and preached a meaningful sermon entitled "Be a Rope Holder."
Here are my notes and perceptions on the sermon.
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In the gospels, we read the story of the man who was paralyzed. His friend's heard that 'Jesus was in the house.' They tied some ropes to the man's bed, removed tiles from the roof of the house and lowered his cot by ropes to Jesus, certain that Jesus would touch and heal him.
All we have to do is bring someone to Jesus, and He will do the saving and healing.
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In Acts 9, we read the account of Saul's(Paul) life being in danger. The disciples put him in a basket and lowered him by ropes over the city wall to safety. They had no idea who he would become and what he would accomplish.
What did they release when they lowered the basket?
#1-They released the presence of God.
Other communities and towns would also get to experience Saul's passion to know Christ and Him crucified.
Yesterday, we served others in the community and we showed our love for God by our service to mankind.
(At this point in the service, we were handed a 6 inch piece of rope. We were told to tape the rope to a place of reminder. Remember, when you see the rope, that we can release the Spirit of God wherever we go.)
Whatever we bind on earth will be bound in Heaven. There is so much going on in the spirit world. God is raising up a church that Hell cannot destroy. Lord, let your presence be released in this town, this community, our homes, and occupations.
#2-They released the Power of God.
The believers struggled with Paul's radical conversion to the Lord. But someone by faith, got him in a basket and released him.
Some scholars believe that Saul/Paul had the equivalent of two doctorate degrees by the time he was 20. But when he spoke before the Council, he said that he didn't come before them with the excellency of man's speech, even though he could of. Instead of just talking the talk, he walked the walk.
God does nothing outside of the Spirit of Unity. When there is a spirit of unity, God releases His power. In Acts 2, the believers were meeting in one accord, and the fire fell down from Heaven.
There are many different doctrines of men based on what they believe they Scriptures say, but we can be united around this proclamation of Paul's: "I am going to preach Christ...and Him crucified, risen, and coming again."
#3-They released the Plan of God.
God visited Saul on the road to Damascus and blinded him. God knew the anointing that would come on this man's life. The people who tied the rope to the basket didn't know the plan, power, or purpose of God for his life. You and I know the rest of the story and we know in part what he did for the Kingdom of God, the books he wrote, the journeys he took.
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Hold onto the rope for someone's basket. Don't let go. You don't know everything that will happen when the presence, power, and purpose of God is released in someone's life.
Farmville is our Jerusalem.
Farmville is our town.
Our Jerusalem is going to experience the presence, power, and plan of God because we are holding the rope for it.
Someone held a rope for us before we came to Christ.
Hold the rope for someone.
Allow God by His presence to speak into the life of that one in your basket.
It doesn't matter what you do in church.
It matters what you do on the sidewalk.
For the gospel to spread we need to break out of the four-walls-of-a-church mentality and bring the gospel to the street corners.
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If we want people to desire to seek the face of God, we have to show them what His hands and feet can do. Through blessing others with our hands and feet and words, we give them a glimpse into the face of Jesus Christ.
I want to not only see His face, but I want His blessings too.
He died to give me His blessings of love, peace, hope, forgiveness, health, wholeness, riches, and hunger for Him. It is through His blessings that I see His face.
Where would Abraham be without a blessing?
Where would we be without Abraham's blessing?
Oh God, one glimpse of your face is never enough, and I need every blessing you have to give.
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Holding the rope for someone means that I believe they are worth saving.
It means that I will go beyond the normal way of doing things to lower them to safety and/or bring them to Jesus. It may cost me something beside rope burned hands. It may cost me the approval of man. It may cost me time and energy and sleep.
Holding the rope for someone means that I will stay up at night or wake up early to pray for them. Sometimes, others hold the rope for us, when life has us overwhelmed with its troubles or our 'enemies' want to kill us.
I believe that our church lowered the town of Farmville in a basket to a place of safety where it can experience the Presence, Power, and Purpose of God. The town was on the brink of destruction and the enemy of its soul wanted to overwhelm it with paralyzing fear. Those who lowered the basket will still need to contend with the invisible enemies within the town through prayer and intercession and by continuing to overcome evil with good.
But we will hold onto the rope and not let go.
We will pray for the peace of our Jerusalem.
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A few years ago, when our church was fixing up the bank building on the corner of Third and Main Street, we took black markers and wrote on the walls. We wrote words portraying the Presence, Power, Purpose and Plan of God. I know right where I wrote my words, even though they are now covered with creamy coffee colored paint. I can picture them there on the wall to the left before you enter the office.
"And you shall be called the Repairer of the Breach,
The Restorer of Streets to Dwell In." Is. 58:12b
I thought of those words this weekend.
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