Are You Ready for It? by Pastor Melissa Scott
THERE ARE PLACES IN GOD’S WORD that sometimes we are ready for, sometimes we are not; sometimes we are partially ready and only get a part of it. That is why the Word of God is so rich. Have you ever read a passage you have read many times, but because you were ready for it, it leapt out at you? You see something that you have never seen before; and the Spirit has taken the Word and applied it to you. The Word I bring you today, from His Word, is like that. God drove me back to it because now is the time. Go to Genesis 13, the story of Abram. In the previous chapter, Abram had failed miserably. The “father of faith,” the one who symbolizes faith’s beginnings, had failed. I don’t know if you can put yourself inside of Abraham in Ur of the Chaldees, the greatest city in that land in that day. There was a stirring in his spirit. The Bible does not tell us how God spoke to him, but he was called out of Ur. By faith, he went seeking a city he had never seen, one that he did not know existed. If you know the geography and if you can put flesh and blood on these Bible personalities, imagine the kind of faith that took this man across deserts, across rivers, through treacherous mountains, not knowing where he was going. The only word, apparently, he had from the Lord was a call to come forth. His faith enabled him to literally hang his body on what he believed the Lord had called him to do. His faith caused him to defy deserts, rivers, mountains and dangers en route to bring himself to a place that lies between two mountains: Gerizim and Ebal, later to be called the “Mount of Blessing” and the “Mount of Cursing.” In modern Israel, the city called Nablus occupies a site near this place.
The Initiative Starts with God by Pastor Melissa Scott
There are times I don’t know why God wants me, but amazing
grace and glory to God, as long as He does, I know the door is open. The
initiative starts with God, and you are not brought to God by chance.
When He starts scratching the surface or pounding on the door, thank God.
This story puts it in dramatic perspective; David is asking, “Where is he?”
“Is any,” underline that word, “Is any of the house of Saul…?”
Now, what is the nature of the one he was seeking? Notice that God does
not seek the sinner because of his merits. That is why I keep saying we
are not in the business of transplanting saints; we take all who come.
But He still came to seek and to save that which is lost; and it is the sick, He said, who need a physician. David wasn’t looking for a particular quality of person to receive the benefit of his kindness. He says, “Is there any?” and Ziba says, “Yeah, there is one which is lame, crippled, whose name is Mephibosheth.” Do you know what Mephibosheth means? Literally it would translate “a shameful thing.” A shameful thing.
There Are No Volunteers by Pastor Melissa Scott
There are no “volunteers” in the Kingdom. On every level, this is the commitment. It is morally wrong to subject any child in Sunday school to a teacher who thinks he is doing God a favor to teach. There is no such thing as “your work” and “His work.” You are either His 100 percent or you are not His, and it is all His. You have no family: you raise your family for His glory. You don’t have a business: you are a steward managing your business for Him. You don’t have a career or a future: you are His to command! There is no church that is mine or yours; it is His.
God will have nothing less than all of you. And that God would take such stuff on which to build His Kingdom as typified in the Adullamites and illustrated in the disciples tells me that it means a lot to Him to have 100 percent. He will start over with such as these, like the parable Jesus told of a certain man who made a great supper and sent invitations. And all those invited made excuses. One had a wife, another had a yoke of oxen to look at, another had a piece of ground. The man said to his servant, “Bring in the lame and the halt.” (Luke 14:16-24) When God calls, He wants all of you; that is a serious side of this message.