Famous line from William Shakespeare’s play Hamlet, “To be, or not to be, that is the question”
Forward Thinkers, my question this Sunday morning and throughout this month of June is how bad do you really want to BE WHO and WHAT GOD SAID YOU COULD BECOME?
Before I even go any farther let me shake you up here by stating the greatest litmus test to determine if your lips and your life are on the same page: How do you spend your time, talent, and treasure? Your schedule, your timeline, your down time, your availability to serve others, and how you spend your money speaks much louder than what you say you are about.
Matthew 5 New International Version (NIV)
The Sermon on the Mount
5 Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, 2 and he began to teach them.
The Beatitudes
He said:
3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
5 Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
7 Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.
12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way, they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Forward Thinkers, my teaching style this morning will be like many of the stories taught in the four gospels of Jesus ministry. Forward Thinkers, Jesus calms a storm, delivers a wild man living in the tombs with dead people and remember, he had just fed 5 thousand men with 2 fish and 5 loaves of bread before all this took place. Jesus told His disciples let us go over to the other side to get some rest, but ends up busy as ever so now Jesus is going back to the other side to get some rest.
When He gets back to the other side He is met by Jairus who tells Him about his 12-year-old sick daughter, so Jesus heads to Jairus house, but on the way stops and heals a woman with a 12-year issue of blood.
Forward Thinkers, Jesus had a lot going on, but notice, every need got met and every situation got resolved, so keep the faith and trust the process.
Define Attitude (n): a settled way of thinking or feeling about someone or something, typically one that is reflected in a person’s behavior.
My questions stated earlier were birthed out of the definition of attitude. Old school saying is your attitude will determine your altitude. I also see that our attitude is directly related to our behavior.
Let’s breakdown this definition:
1) As a man thinks, so is he
2) Peel back the outer layers and there lays what you really think about YOU
3) Take the same approach and be real with yourself how you think about the things you say you are committed and connected to will be reflected in your attitude toward those things
4) It shall happen according to your faith-your thinking and behavior are the mirrors of your true faith
Genesis 1:1-3 New International Version (NIV)
The Beginning
1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.
3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.
John 8:12 New International Version (NIV)
Dispute Over Jesus’ Testimony
12 When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
Matthew 5:14 New International Version (NIV)
14 “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden.
Forward Thinkers, it’s time we totally committed to BEING THE LIGHT. Notice a negative place didn’t stop Jesus from saying we are BLESSED.
Let me now pull back from the series title and focus on 3 points before we finally get to this morning main text.
BE ENCOURAGED
Forward Thinkers, it is not good for man to be alone because at some point we all need to be encouraged.
Iron sharpens iron is another form of encouragement.
Forward Thinkers, being labeled as a strong person is both a blessing and a curse because nobody takes time to encourage the strong.
-Robin Williams became a wealthy famous comedian making other people laugh while he was dying a slow death of depression. Who encourages the strong while they are encouraging others.
-Rashaan Salaam was an American football player best remembered as a running back in NFL during the 1990s when he played for the Chicago Bears and Cleveland Browns. He also played football at the University of Colorado and was a member of the Colorado Buffaloes football team. Having been a unanimous first-team All-American, Salaam was the youngest footballer in the NFL history to rush for 1,000 yards. He was the winner of 1994 Heisman Trophy as well as the ‘Sporting News Player of the Year’. He also won the Doak Walker Award and Walter Camp Award during his career.
In addition, the great American football player was honored with the title ‘NFC Rookie of the Year’ in 1995. He was also inducted into the Colorado University’s Athletic Hall of Fame.
Unfortunately Salaam died in December 2016, of an apparent suicide, at the age of 42-unfortunately today there is an increase of Pastors and church leaders committing suicide because who really prays for those called to pray and who encourages those who they think job is to encourage them and make them happy?
BE BLESSED
Forward Thinkers, Jesus calls us blessed regardless of our current situations.
The bible says we are blessed going in and blessed coming out regardless of what we are in or coming out of.
BE GREAT
We are born again to be great and empowered to impact others.
Forward Thinkers, the bible says we can do all things through Jesus Christ therefore our relationship with Jesus makes us great.
Luke 5 New International Version (NIV)
Jesus Calls His First Disciples
1 One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret,[a] the people were crowding around him and listening to the word of God.
2 He saw at the water’s edge two boats left there by the fishermen, who were washing their nets.
3 He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat.
4 When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.”
5 Simon answered, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.”
6 When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break.
7 So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink.
8 When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!”
9 For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken,
10 and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon’s partners. Then Jesus said to Simon, “Don’t be afraid; from now on you will fish for people.”
11 So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him.
1) Forward Thinkers, Peter was having a bad day.
2) Forward Thinkers, Peter’s bad day didn’t kill his faith in God’s Word.
3) Forward Thinkers, Peter was encouraged through the Word and caught more fish than ever.
4) Forward Thinkers, Peter became great and blessed others at the same time.
Pastor E.A. Deckard is the Senior Pastor/Founder of the Green House International Church and is also the Co-Founder of the No More Blood Shed Movement in Houston, Texas. To contact Pastor Deckard for speaking engagements contact him at pastoreadeckard@pdq.net, or follow him by downloading the Green House International Church App through your App Store.