Growth x 66

I had alot of fun in Sunday School yesterday.

The lesson I did was about the growth of the church in Actss.

Actss 6:1-15

(I used the ESV because it breaks it down better)

Acts 6:1 Now in these days when the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint by the Hellenists arose against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution. 

Acts 6:2 And the twelve summoned the full number of the disciples and said, "It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables. 

Acts 6:3 Therefore, brothers, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty. 

Acts 6:4 But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word." 

Acts 6:5 And what they said pleased the whole gathering, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a proselyte of Antioch.

Acts 6:6 These they set before the apostles, and they prayed and laid their hands on them. 

Acts 6:7 And the word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith. 

Acts 6:8 And Stephen, full of grace and power, was doing great wonders and signs among the people. 

Acts 6:9 Then some of those who belonged to the synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called), and of the Cyrenians, and of the Alexandrians, and of those from Cilicia and Asia, rose up and disputed with Stephen. 

Acts 6:10 But they could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he was speaking. 

Acts 6:11 Then they secretly instigated men who said, "We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and God." 

Acts 6:12 And they stirred up the people and the elders and the scribes, and they came upon him and seized him and brought him before the council, 

Acts 6:13 and they set up false witnesses who said, "This man never ceases to speak words against this holy place and the law, 

Acts 6:14 for we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and will change the customs that Moses delivered to us." 

Acts 6:15 And gazing at him, all who sat in the council saw that his face was like the face of an angel. 

What was really cool was the the widows in the church were in need of human needs like food and stuff. However the leaders of the church were not able to meet the needs of the ppl. So they were forced with a decision whether to stop doing their leadership duties and do other methods of service. OR continue leading the church and seeking God for spiritual guidance and what not. 

In the end they had to delegate 7 men to do different things in the church which included dealing with the widows and meeting their needs.

What this parallels to is our spiritual growth. The Church was growing rapidly, and was experiencing growing pains. The pains this time were that the new members to the church needed help, because a widow in those times had no husband and could not support themselves. 

What are our spiritual growing pains and how do we deal with them? Can we pinpoint them? Because as the church was growing they needed to adapt. 

Who is the church right now? WE ARE.... so as we grow as each individual member of the Church...... we have to deal with our growing pains that we face from time to time due to expansion....

right now I am facing the issue of becoming to biblical in my interactions with people. Nobody wants to hear someone constantly talking about the bible dayyyy and nighttt... They want to see someone applying the bible and drawing reference when necessary. 

So as we face spiritual growth we should understand that as members of the Church we kinda look at how our church is growing and how we need to make adjustments to tailor that growth to the Glory of God.

Inside the ship's hull

So this one I have not given a title from the start.. I am just going to write and then come up with the title after.
Dreaddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddd....................... wheyyyyyy

ever saw a ship on the water sailing away normally and there was a blown engine or a leaking oil pump inside.. But no one knew.... lol (i guess that describes human beings)....but none the less things are kind up up and down internally, externally things a cool (although some people say i look tired)..... yeah...... the ups are great, the group BUTCHER SHOP is really helping ppl from what some members tell me. It's so nice to know that there a ppl that want to decipher and discuss things int he bible for the greater edification of everyone.

I have 3 albums in heavy rotation right now>
Lecrae- Rebel
Ambassador- The Chop Chop
Shai Linne - Attonement

Rebel is really making me look at the culture as it is and what standing out really means..... and what it entails.... That is like a goal for me now to make sure i stand for righteousness in everything that I do.. and being that example to the people who i know are watching me and even more those who I don't know. (those are the serious ones that want to see you fall)

Chop Chop is making me desire the Word of God so much that I kinda think I try to swallow too much from time to time. I have slowed down and pray more (cuz i was not praying much). When I spoke to someone about it they told me that the Holy Spirit is the only one that could teach me right now cuz no man knows what God want's to do in me.

Attonement is like THE BOMB.... Shai Linne is the most theological rapper I know and that album has clearly broken down the act of attonement that Christ has done for me and the world...... I realllly love that album.. and can listen to it anytime dreaddd...... it's not flashy... it's realll with no strings attached.... which is untimatley what I want to be. REAL WITH NO STRINGS ATTACHED....


Being open and candid however is not normal for a man nah (this is where i try to be a rebel and Rebel against the culture) so by bearing it all (like on facebook lol) it opens the door for many people to think many things... (like you are thinking right now ... ent?) But what it does is help you get that stage of humility that you eh really care what people think... cuz to the Pharisees Jesus was the son of a carpenter and he did not try to be anything else... even though he knew he was like ... ammm..... GOD!...... so much less for me..... who I goin and PLAY I IZ? Defenitley not Mr. cool christian guy.... lol....

So yeah work was hard, life is hard, situations are hard, blah blah blah...... that will pass.. right now the focus is on the core Andre, the soul on the inside that is being molded into the image of that wonderful fella dey called Jesus.

Yeah, so that's basically what's going onn inside the hull of the ship. (there I got the name)

THE PRODUCTION LINE

Seems like life moves so fast from time to time. The pressure on a young male to make something of himself in society these days is growing exponentially. The fact that we are so few and far between means that things are amplified. Imagine you have a production line of cars and only 10 cars coming out per month. The inspectors of that production line would ensure that the car is impecable before it leaves the line. This may entail putting that car through extreme and rigorous testing and pressures to make it meet the industry standard..... sorry not standard.... expectation... cuz the road is there jsut few cars drive it properly. In this case however the car has emotions the car has feelings the car has limits, capacities, wear and tear tendencies and design specifications. So in essence this car is now being built but the industry requires so much from this one car.

The real controller of the production line is the Owner of the factory (God) he is the man that knows what the Car is supposed to do, he is the one who knows the design concept and has all the schematics drawn out. However the factory (the church in general) contains many different influences, who want to Weld here, bolt there, paint here, mount there. The fact is there are many holes to be filled, many gaps to close endless destinations to drive to! The car has to constantly seek out the owner to get the schematics so that the factory workers do not make it into something it is not supposed to be.

This is the start of the building process that leads the the Car on a journey in a world outside the factory........ and boy what a journey it is!!!!!!!

.....stay tuned for WHEN THE RUBBER MEETS THE ROAD....comming soon to a blog near you.

hold a scripture in de mean time: 

Rom 1:7 To all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.

BEING A DJ IS SOOO EASY!

but being a Christian is Hard.

ok ok ok before we go into the life more abundantly and praise him in the sanctuary joyous salvation rebuttals..... hear me out.

Jesus did many things on this earth and said many things also. He once laid out some of the things we should be prepared and equiped to do when we take on this journey of carrying a cross. (luk 9:23).

Some people once asked Jesus was it takes.

Luk 9:57 And it came to pass, that, as they went in the way, a certain man said unto him, Lord, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest.
Luk 9:58 And Jesus said unto him, Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.
Luk 9:59 And he said unto another, Follow me. But he said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father.
Luk 9:60 Jesus said unto him, Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God.
Luk 9:61 And another also said, Lord, I will follow thee; but let me first go bid them farewell, which are at home at my house.
Luk 9:62 And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.


9:57-58
He basically tell de man....... yo..... I doh have nowhere to sleep when de night come eh boss.... so if you following know that we might have to kick it under a tree with some sheep most nights.

9:60
Den he tell de next man.... you eh supposed to be fighting up with dem ting... you called to do something other than that. Let the dead (in spirit) bury the dead.... your job is to preach de word... you have a higher calling. But it seems like you doh understand dat.

Our Lord’s saying, being in common use, had nothing difficult in it to a Jew. Natural death is the separation of the body and soul; spiritual death, the separation of God and the soul: men who live in sin are dead to God. Leave the spiritually dead to bury their natural dead. All the common offices of life may be performed by any person; to preach the glad tidings of the kingdom of God is granted but to a few, and to these only by an especial call;
Taken from Clarke's commentary in eSword.

9:62
Den he tell the 3rd man..... boss.... you can't be looking back if you doin diss... if you look back you go run de plough de wong way and mess up de field.

BEING A DJ IS SO EASY... YOU COME PLAY 2 TUNE.... SELECT SOME BIG ONES MIX IT UP GET PEOPLE JUMPING AND PRAISING AND CALL THAT A NIGHT...... nutitn difficult dey

BUT BEING A CHRISTIAN.......

• Staying in your word and studying it regularly
• Keeping up a good talking relationship with God
• Meeting the needs of people (which could mean giving someone a drop at 10:00pm)
• Spiritually lifting up some people even though you may be sooo drainedddd.
• Walking uprightly cuz the whole world is watching you
• Discipling others who might be in such need of guidance and they are looking to you for help (like a young believer who said I should call him more)
  
• Finding creative ways to bring the gospel to those who should know (saved) and those who have no clue. (unsaved)
• Fulfuling a purpose that you can so end for. (having faith)
  

I have realized for a while now that what we do is not based on a decision we make, It's a reflection of who we are.

Can't Fight The Feeling

Dread,
No lie even though you might know all the answers to something the emotional being that is a human always becomes susceptible to feelings. Been flying high lately, been in the word, encouraging people, nice relationships, friends benefiting from you and communion with God sweet.
But what goes up must come down.... (unless your name is time). I found myself listening to Shai Linne's album - The Attonement very regulary recently. It is amazing to be faced with the fact that after Jesus did all that for the world it is so hard to keep that as the driving force for my existence...... why because of flesh and blood. All the answers about the general feelings I can answer and 'counsel' myself. But that still does not change the fact that THE FEELING IS STILL THERE.
Following a path that is strait and narrow is definitley a TASK. Cuz you start to feel rejected..... not just rejected... but un-understood.... not just un-understood but afraid to continue doing what you know God leading you to do cuz you might not be recieved.
Yeah yeah I know bout Paul, I know bout David, I know bout Jesus, John the Baptist, Job, Samuel, Abraham, Noah and what not......
but mannnn
I CAN'T FIGHT THE FEELING..... it's just THERE!

Forgetfull??

I was thinking the other day after I received an email from my mentor right now about John the Baptist doubting. It kinda showed me that even John had a period where he was not sure.

Mat 11:1 And it came to pass, when Jesus had made an end of commanding his twelve disciples, he departed thence to teach and to preach in their cities.

Mat 11:2 Now when John had heard in the prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples,

Mat 11:3 And said unto him, Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another?

Mat 11:4 Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and shew John again those things which ye do hear and see:

Mat 11:5 The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them.

Mat 11:6 And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me.

What I learned is that we all have that time that we don’t know if we made the right decision to serve Jesus. Sometimes it gets so hard that we forget what God has done so far in our lives. Because the situation seems to overwhelm us we only see short term both into the future and into the past. That leaves us only seeing the start of the situation and only far enough to see no end to it. In verse 3 John the Baptist. This is the same John that had the encounter with Jesus already and baptized him and saw the Holy Spirit descending like a dove.

Mat 3:16 And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him:

Mat 3:17 And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

The question is why after all these experiences did John actually question if he is the one that is “to come” meaning IS HE REALLY THE SAVIOUR?
When Jesus sent back the message all he does is remind him of all the tings he SAW and heard. I’m thinking that sometimes we need to remember what God has done in our lives. The fact is that Jesus is always doing things and when we look to him to wonder why things are happening he wants us to rely on the things that he has done (seen or heard) you may have seen things eg. Blessings or heard eg. Testimonies or even the ultimate sacrifice, The CROSS.

Verse 6 is the killer for me cuz. Blessed is he whosoever is not offended in me. In the greek translation and some commentaries I read it means that blessed is the man that is not offended my the means by which God came to spread his message. It seems like John himself was unsure if this lowly poor carpenter’s son was the man he was prophesying about. ALL THIS EVEN THOUGH HE HAD ALL THE ENCOUNTERS BEFORE. So you are blessed if you are not ashamed that your Saviour was in the form of a lowly human being humble and meek.

Milk or Meat?

Do we try to do meaty things before we have sufficient milk in our body?

Heb 5:12 For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat.
Heb 5:13 For every one that useth milk is unskilfull in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe.
Heb 5:14 But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.

I was thinking the other day that milk grows bones and meat grows muscles.
If you try to go to meat without proper milk you would strain your bones like body builders that start to young.
When a body builder starts off too young he strains his bones and ends up running into problems later on with arthritis and what not.
If we do not get proper milk to lay our foundation we should not try to do meaty things! We will overbear our self and it would be hard to do things for God. Do you understand foundational things about your faith in Jesus?
Check this if you want to make sure.
http://www.christian-faith.com/forjesus/foundations-of-christian-faith-1
So I encourage people ensure that a proper foundation (milk) is laid. Then gradually go on to meat.

Got Milk?