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I’m excited about tonight. I’m filling in for Pastor Mike while he is in Oklahoma.
We’ll be walking through John 11.
The Lord showed me some awesome stuff in this passage.
If you can, join us tonight on Greenview Drive at 7:00pm.
~~Jason Queen, Tree of Life Ministries
Further comments from Sunday Night’s “Breathtaking” Women’s Series and Deborah from Matt Perkins. (Judges 4: 1-16, Psalm 46:1, Judges 2: 16-19, Judges 5:2, Judges 21:25, James 1:5, Hebrews 11:32-34) As the hours have passed and turned into days my reflection on the message of Sunday Night has been constant. I cannot help but think of the exceptional value that the account, for this is far more than just a “story”, of Deborah can have on all of our lives.
The message has had a strong grasp on my life, and thus I had a strong grasp of the message. However, it is more important that we recognize that the power of God in this account should not be seen, or understood, through what I have said but by what, through the Spirit, we have all understood to be God’s message to us each individually. I often get emotional when I speak of the work that God has chosen me to do for this time. That emotion is then often portrayed in an excitement for sharing the vast amounts of information that I have gained through the various resources that I pour over and through. I say that in order for us all to understand that regardless of the one delivering the message it is each of our responsibilities to ask God what His message is for us and asked to have it revealed in our hearts as we sit and listen to His Word.
I know that I sometimes get in the way of what God wants to work out in my life. That point was made clearly evident by the studying of this account of Deborah in Judges chapter 4. I want to be in that place where God is – because that, I am sure, is where He wants me.
As a leader in Israel, and note that I do not put any emphasis on the fact that she was a judge and a prophetess – this is intentional, Deborah was raised up by the Spirit of God to be what HE needed her to be. Israel was caught in that cycle of sin, suffering, supplication, and salvation, and when they cried out – Deborah was already on the scene (Judges 4:4) The back story, which we didn’t explore on Sunday to its exact point, was that Deborah was not revealed overnight to Israel. She had already been doing what God had required of her in order for Israel to fully accept her as their Judge when the time was exact. God’s initial plan for Israel did not involve them being caught in this cycle we of which we spoke.
If nothing else, the book of Judges reveals the very nature of God: that He is merciful and full of grace, abounding in love and ready to forgive. But of importance here is that Deborah was leading – before she became a leader. As we discovered she had many reasons to “but….” here way out of what she was called to do. But she didn’t. She refused to compromise her position as a follower of the Almighty God. Her life was a “life in action”. In other words, she was acting on faith. Faith that God would do what he had promised, faith that what she sensed in her spirit was truth, and faith that what she saw in the faces of those surrounding her was Gods call to do something. Deborah realized the truth and meaning of Psalm 46:1. “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.”
The points made of what we all need to know in order to be healthy leaders, and thus affect a healthy church, are these: 1) God allows us to make choices for ourselves and also to experience the consequences of those choices – thus we find ourselves in need of a refuge. 2) that when we call on His name He will enter in to our struggle – thus we find ourselves in need of his strength. 3) that when He has entered in He will direct us in all His wisdom – thus He is an ever-present help. And 4) God will fight for us – thus our “trouble” is turned into peace. I pause here to make a point about peace. The word “Peace” in the Word of God can be wrongly translated and often it is because, I believe, it just sounds better the other words (note this is not word, but words) that should be used to express the entirety of the concept. Once the Israelites had gained victory over the Canaanites, they went from 20 years of oppression to 40 years of peace. What is this “peace”? It was the PROMISE OBTAINED. Now, I submit, that the only reason that this peace was achieved, was that Deborah, who did not compromise was able to: 1) recognize the role of another, Barak, through Gods wisdom, in the plan of Israel’s salvation 2) was able to tell that person, Barak, exactly what the plan was to in order to achieve that salvation 3) was willing to go with Barak to encourage him and bring him comfort along the way in that salvation process and 4) to sing of the marvelous work that God had done once salvation had been realized! Does any of that sound familiar. (the Great Commission) If we compromise in our lives we may very well be passed by to bring someone to the Salvation found in Christ.
The objective of a leader should not be to get their names written in the annals of history but rather to serve God with a whole, un-compromised heart, that will be prepared to lift others from where they are to where they should be. If we all, those that follow after the heart of Christ, were engaged in such a noble work for Christ, to be this type of leader as was Deborah, imagine for a second all the stresses, tensions, bad attitudes, wanton disregards for the church, persecutions among believers, the consumer “its-all-about-me” mentalities, that would immediately vanish! That’s the church body I want to be part of and so should we all. When Gods casts His eyes to and fro, looking for one righteous, may it be we are sent to go!
~~Matt Perkins
*I started the day in Ed Gowen’s Sunday School class as he taught for the last time and transitioned the class to me. This will be an exciting and challenging time for me but it is also a time of sadness. Eddie has been my pastor, my teacher and my friend over the years and I will miss him. The responsibility of leading the adult class will fully sink in over the next few weeks. I’ve already been studying and working on our first series.
*Pastor Mike preached a great sermon on “a time to be silent”. It was just what I needed to hear.
*We arrived back at the church at about 4:30pm. The Easter choir was singing and preparing for the Easter program. It sounds like it will be great.
*Tree of Life East’s praise team was with us yesterday. What great hearts those ladies have. Their dad played with them and I could tell he is so proud of them. They really opened their hearts in worship and we were all blessed.
*Matt brought a great message on Deborah as he closed out our “Breathtaking” series. Many of Matt’s points hit straight home with me.
*I don’t want to be a leader who compromises.
“I don’t want to be a leader who focuses on the “but” of situations.
*I do want to be a leader who lifts others up into the place God wants them to be.
*Isn’t it awesome when the songs and the message blend so well together even though the preacher and the praise team didn’t coordinate the songs with the message?
*We ended the night by clearing the stage for the Easter program. It was cool to watch everyone working and talking together while all of the kids played. It was a beautiful scene actually.
*Next week, no service! Have a great time of fellowship with your family, friends and neighbors and remember, “He is Risen!”
~~Jason Queen, Tree of Life Ministries
Don’t forget to join us this Sunday as Matt Perkins will be bringing the final message of our “Breathtaking” series. We will also have a guest praise and worship team from Tree of Life East leading worship with us!
Hope to see you Sunday evening at 6:00pm at Tree of Life on Greenview Drive.
~~Jason Queen, Tree of Life Ministries
Five Quotes That Have Challenged Me Over The Past Five Weeks
#5: “The goal of American Christianity is often a nice marriage, children that don’t swear, and good church attendance. Taking the words of Christ literally and seriously is rarely considered. Most of us want a balanced life that we can control, that is safe, and that does not involved suffering.” –Francis Chan
This one rocked me because it made me thankful for God’s blessings, yet it reminded me that I don’t really suffer for my faith. It reminded me that there are Christians all over the world suffering persecution and I’m complaining because its cloudy outside…
#4: “Our greatest fear as individuals and as a church should not be of failure but of succeeding at things in life that really don’t matter.” –Tim Kizziar
This is where I have lived over the past weeks. What really matters to God? What defines “success” in God’s eyes? What should the church be the most concerned about? This quote haunts me and has kept me from sleeping a few nights (along with Caleb).
#3: “The fear of letting people down, especially in spiritual matters, can often cause us to feel obligated or pressured into meeting unrealistic expectations, or worse, spending more time doing things for God instead of being what God wants us to be.”–Anne Jackson
This is a big one for me. For years I never said “no” to ministry opportunities. I never said “no” to church people. I never said “no” to church leaders. The result? I had to keep saying “no” to the people closest to me in order to compensate for the massive time loss I absorbed by always saying “yes” to everyone else. Over the years I have learned to care less about what people think and care more about what God thinks. Has this made me popular? Not with some people, but ultimately popularity matters very little in the grand scheme of serving Jesus.
#2: “We don’t want to be a museum, we want to be a movement.”–Perry Noble
I’m still thinking about this one. I’m still thinking A LOT about this one.
#1: “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.” –The Apostle Paul
Well, what can I say about this quote? It makes me think about EVERY word that is coming out of my mouth. EVERY word. I could help ruin someone’s life with my words or I can help help change the course of their life. I can tear down or I can build up. I can choose to speak the truth boldly or I can throw veiled sarcastic remarks out into the internet atmosphere. I can plant seeds of love and encouragement on Facebook and WordPress or I can air my negativity and cynicism. The heart of Jesus can be found in the above verse from Ephesians and I want to be closer to the heart of Jesus than ever before.
~~Jason Queen, Tree of Life Ministries
The next series after Easter was supposed to be “You Asked For It” but God changed my plans.
Have you ever just KNOWN you were supposed to do something or say something and you had NO doubts and no reservations?
I’ve been having that type of feeling over the past week. The feeling that God wants to say something through me. The feeling that if I don’t say it, God will use someone else to. The feeling that the lives and the hearts and the minds and the souls of everyone that hears the words that He has put in my heart could change if I obey Him.
So, I’m obeying God and starting a short series called “THR3E”.
Three things that Christians should never forget.
Three Sunday evenings that we will not forget. April 19th, April 26th and May 3rd.
“You Asked For It” is being put on hold because God asked for something and I’m saying “Yes”.
THR3E starts in three weeks.
~~Jason Queen, Tree Of Life Ministries
The Breathtaking series entered its 7th week last night. I was sad that it was going to be Jason’s last sermon in the series. It made it worse that I arrived at church to find that Joe still had not taken my advice and worn pink. Even Timothy & Jeremy have worn pink & purple. Matt has supported the cause by wearing sweater vests. I said it last week and I’ll say it again. The best way for Joe to get a reaction on his first “good evening” with the Sunday night crowd is to wear pink.
Jason spoke on the Proverbs 31 woman Sunday night. Growing up in church, I’ve heard this sermon preached hundreds of times with dozens of interpretations. Jason’s view of it has been the only one that I didn’t take with hostility or resentment. I’ve always viewed the Proverbs 31 woman as being some weak, timid woman who couldn’t think for herself. That’s simply not true.
We see that she did a lot of work outside of her home. She helped the poor. She invested. She shopped (my personal favorite). But we also see that the most important thing she did, the most important thing that any of us can ever do, is take care of our homes. I don’t just mean cleaning, cooking and doing laundry. Those things are necessary, yes. What I mean is taking care of the people at home that God has placed in our lives. God has given us the husbands He has for a reason. Thank Him for that not only with your words, but with your actions. If God has blessed you with children, that is the greatest ministry you will ever have in your life. It is our job to raise good, Godly children to be the next generation of Christians working to serve the Lord. What are we leaving in the trail behind us? Will our children rise up and call us blessed? Are we taking a stand and saying “As for me and MY house, we will serve the Lord”?
Next week Matt will bring us the final message in the Breathtaking series. I have really enjoyed it! Despite their protests, I think the men have, too. I have even heard whispers about a T-shirt in the making that says “I AM a Breathtaking Woman….Proverbs 31”. Love it! See you all next Sunday!
~~Brandy Malachowsky
Life At 6pm 