Pavement Ends Ministry

Jesus is asking us today, “Do you want to be made well?” For as long as I can remember I have heard Christians talk about the need for revival. Myself and other pastors have dreamed of a great spiritual awakening. Congregations all over the world are wondering how they can keep their sick churches from dying. Meanwhile we go into our buildings, pull the doors closed behind us, and hope for a supernatural movement to stir the waters.

It does not matter who you are, what you do or how much money you make if you honor your mother she will be proud of you. How do you love your mother? With all your heart. Love her in such a way that she will be thankful for all the time she invested in you all the money she sacrificed for you. Remember whoever you are you owe a lifetime of love to your mother.

For all of who are graduating from school I want to say congratulations and God bless you. I hope you know that the God of all creation made you to thrive and to accomplish great things. I Challenge you to find the high hill that God has for you and then go climb it. Do not let the world form you in its image. A habit of great people is that they do not imitate mediocre people. The Bible says;“Therefore “Come out from among them And be separate," (2 Cor 6:17) If you are going to thrive you have to stand out from the world. If you are going to impact the world you have to refuse to blend in with the world. Eagles don’t roost with chickens and chickens don’t soar high above the world. You were made to soar. Here are some things you must know if you are going to stand out from the world

Some people ask, “Is it safe to follow God”? And I answer “no”! This very inconsiderate God I serve has said to His Children, “Take up your cross, and follow me.” The very idea of a cross speaks of danger. So, no, God is not safe, but safety is entirely overrated anyway

Many people have a picture of the Noah’s ark as being a small boat crammed with animals. That is wrong. The ark was a huge barge like boat. It was designed to survive the most terrifying storm in history. It had no means of propulsion nor did it have a rudder. It was powered and guided by the Creator of the universe. The most amazing fact of all is that when the rain came the Ark was not crowded; it was only about one third full.

On April 16th, 1978 I nervously stood in front of the altar at Stinchcomb Methodist Church. When the doors swung open a beautiful girl stepped through and walk down the aisle to take my hand. The preacher asked us to promise to love each other until death did us part. We both said we would and he pronounced us man and wife.

Often people will say they do not believe that a loving God will send anyone to hell. They are absolutely right. God does not want anyone to perish. He wants everyone to come to Him and be saved. That is why He allowed His Son to be crucified. Jesus did not come into this world to condemn anyone. He came so that everyone would have the possibility of salvation. Jesus is the only way to get to Heaven. He wants you to choose to follow Him. If you decide not to trust Him, then you have made the choice not to go to Heaven.

Two disciples were very disappointed in this Man named Jesus. They thought He was going to use His power to overthrow the Romans, restore the kingdom of David and set them free. But He did not do things the way they thought He should. And now He’s dead. So they said, “ it’s over we might as well go home.

What are we here for someone asked? Well, we are here to see Jesus, the Messiah. He is going to be the national Liberator. That is why we wave these palm branches. You see Jesus is going to save us from the Romans. The people who were enjoying this parade the most understood it the least. I believe Jesus had tears flowing from His eyes that day because these people were looking for the wrong thing

Today I hope you hear about Jesus. I hope you will push through the crowd and reach out for Him. Have faith only in Jesus. He will stop everything to reach out to the ones the world ignores. Everybody is somebody to Him. The Bible tells us that God is rich in mercy. Because of His great love, even when we are nobody and dead in our sin He makes us somebody who is alive in Christ. Wow, look at the love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Anybody can reach out to Jesus because everybody is somebody to Him.

Maybe the thought of groveling at the feet of Jesus seems unpleasant to you. If so, then remember that the Bible says you should, clothe yourselves with humility because God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. Humble yourselves, therefore under God’s mighty hand, that He May lift you up in due time. It was humility that made Jairus righteous and you can be sure that the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous. His ears are attentive to their prayers.

Don’t be satisfied to learn only from preachers and teachers. Take time to ponder the Word for yourself. Slow down and meander thru the pages of the Bible. The world will tell you what to think, but Jesus wants you to know how to think. That is why it is the journey to knowledge that is most important, because it is in the journey that you gain wisdom. Knowledge without wisdom is foolishness.

You are blessed when you are persecuted for righteousness’ sake. This world is not your home. The people who are at home in this world will always hate God’s servants. In this world you will be abused and harassed. People will always report evil lies about you. However through it all you can find joy and great happiness because yours is the Kingdom of Heaven. You are truly blessed because great is your reward in Heaven.

Jesus Christ is the only one who can deliver us from evil. Because of the mercy that He has shown to us, we are indebted to share our hope with our neighbors. We must never be ashamed of His Gospel because it is the power of God for salvation. He has built us into a mighty Church and against His Church the gates of Hell cannot prevail.

Now, God never promised His children that every day would be good. But if we trust Him, we will find that everyday God is good. As a child of God, we have only seen the beginning. We don’t know how we will end up! Our eyes cannot see, our ears cannot hear and our hearts cannot understand the fullness that God has for His children. We know that faith is the essence of things hoped for and the certainty of things not seen. It is our faith in Jesus that fills our empty hearts and guarantees us that there is “More to Come”!

The steps of this good man had been ordered by the Lord. All his life he had been delighted to walk in the Way. Once he had been young but now he is old. Often he had fallen but he had never been cast down. In his righteousness, he had never been forsaken because he was like a tree that was planted by the rivers of water. In the stillness, he tasted the goodness of God’s Love and he was glad to sit in the shade of the old fruit tree.

Here is a question. Is there anyone whose crimes and sins seem so horrendous to you, that you think they deserve to go to hell? Would you refuse to pray for or share God’s truth with that person out of fear that they might be saved? If so, you would choose to condemn someone else to hell. The Bible says in Romans 2:1 “ you are inexcusable, whoever you are who judge, for in whatever you judge another you condemn yourself.”

Jesus commanded us to go into all the world and make disciples. Alan and Barnabas probably never consider themselves disciple makers, but they were. Neither of them ever led a weekly discipleship group. But they both taught many to walk in paths of righteousness for the sake of the good name of Jesus.

Jesus tells us in the Book of Matthew that we should take His yoke upon ourselves. When He says this, He means that He wants us to work along side Him in the Father’s business. Jesus’ yoke is easy because He is the one carrying the load. When He allows us to walk with Him, it is not because He needs us but because He loves us and wants us by His side. Put your hand in His hand and you will find that He is working on you, making your soul fit for His kingdom

God is a giver of Grace. Jesus said, “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest.” God the Father with His Marvelous Grace is saying to everyone “Come with Me and all I have will be yours. I will be your Father and you will be My child. And you will never be homeless again.”