Worship: For Heaven’s Sake Probably no other passage of Scripture is more replete with superlatives than in Ephesians 3. Paul strings them one after the other in an attempt to describe the power of God and the magnanimity of what God has for us. But first Pastor Flemons discussed superlatives. (Read more below.)
Wellness: For Health’s Sake CNN reported that a flash mob, called Praynksters, brought love and money to a mom battling cancer. Pastor Flemons, a doctor of biblical wellness, used this article to highlight the healing power of encouragement. (Read more below.)
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Words of Encouragement
John 1:14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.
Isaiah 26:4 Trust ye in the LORD for ever: for in the LORD JEHOVAH is everlasting strength.
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For Heaven’s Sake…
A superlative, as he said, is essentially defined as that which is of the highest order, quality or degree; surpassing or superior to all others; something of the highest possible excellence. That the Apostle Paul would construct a string of superlatives together provides a bit of insight to the insufficiency of human language to do justice in describing God’s desire for us. But using the Word to explain itself, Pastor Flemons makes it a bit clearer to us.
Beginning in verse 16, with the phrase, “That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory,” Pastor Flemons discussed the meaning of glory. We learn the meaning of glory through a discourse between Moses and God in Exodus 33 and 34. Moses asked God to show him His glory to confirm to himself and to all the people that God’s presence was with them and that they had found grace in the sight of God.
God agreed to show Moses His glory. “And he said, I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the LORD before thee” (Exodus 33:19). Notice that goodness is a character trait. But even more, God said it is the name of God. God made it clearer. He said in verses 22 and 23, “while my glory passeth by, … I will put thee in a clift of the rock, and I will cover thee with my hand while I pass by: And I will take away mine hand, and thou shalt see my back parts: but my face shall not be seen.” Moses nor any human being, in whom dwells any sin, could look directly in the face of GOD and live.
When GOD passed by Moses, HE proclaimed: “The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, unto the third and to the fourth generation” (Exodus 34:6-7). (Note that this language is reflective of the second of the Ten Commandments.) In response, Moses was speechless. There is only one thing that seemed appropriate for him to do. And he did it without delay.
Exodus 34:8 And Moses made haste, and bowed his head toward the earth, and worshipped.
So then to further understand this, let’s return to the Apostle Paul in his epistle to the Ephesians. Here he prayed to GOD also for you and for me, “That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God” (Ephesians 3:16-19).
This knowlege of the love of Christ, says Pastor Flemons, which is incomprehensible, is miraculously made comprehensible to all true believers, called saints. That is a privilege! Just so, Christ’s standard of righteousness that is above all and beyond that which any can reach is made reachable through the Spirit of God. Only within and through the Spirit of God is housed the power to reach the ultimate standard of righteousness. And His power is inexhaustible.
His power changes from the inside out. Instead of repetitively rehearsing declarations, like “I got to eat right” or “I got to get right” or “I gotta overcome appetite,” let Him inside of you, urges Pastor Flemons. You only need to agree to let Him rule you every day and moment by moment. Then He will do the work within you that you may be transformed into an overcomer and into the image of Jesus Christ. That makes you His church, who can only be described in part by this string of superlatives.
Ephesians 3:20-21 Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.
For Health’s Sake…
The best way to overcome your own discouragement is to encourage someone else, says Pastor Flemons. Like Praynksters, look for those who are going through tough times and do random acts of kindness. It can really make a difference.
Sometimes, people give up because they have no one to help them do the simple things in life that we often take for granted. They often don’t have the strength to do the juicing that needs to be done on a daily basis. Do the juicing for them. Organize a health ministry team of people to seek out what needs the sick among you have; and then offer to provide the needed service.
Be creative with your projects and team of helpers. Include homeschoolers and their families. Include other neighborhood groups or church associates. The possibilities are endless. The value is inestimable. The need is critical. Be a blessing. God may use you to bring healing through your efforts of kindness.
(Read about Praynksters in the CNN article at this link: http://www.cnn.com/2016/12/07/health/iyw-flash-mob-cancer-mom-trnd/.)