Good morning, Aspen Grove Church family! 27Jul25
I
hope this letter finds you well. Man, July has really flown by. It has been 6
months since I have become your pastor. This month, Brother Kenny Windham, our
senior Deacon, has shown me around the area where most of our church family
lives. Sadly & selfishly for me, this month, our Sister Kathleen Warren
left us behind & is now with our LORD and Savior. Praise GOD! On July 6th,
we preached a message that was titled, “It’s a matter of trust.” And we came
out of the Book of Proverbs 3:5-6. We started off by defining
what trust is… which simply put, “Basic dependence on someone or something.” Trust
is a part of life. Take for instance driving our cars: we trust that the car
will get us to where we want to go safely, and by the same trust… that other
folks will drive like they’re suppose to. But we learn that Biblical Trust
coincides with Faith. For instance: Moses at the Red Sea, David vs. Goliath.
Trust goes to whole other level when we rely completely on GOD… as we should!
We learned that to be a Child of GOD, we need to Trust and Obey, for there is
truly no other way! However, Trust doesn’t come easy for us, now does it? To
Trust in GOD, who we cannot see, touch, etc… goes hand in hand with having
Faith in GOD, as well as our Hope. As you have started to figure out, I like to
ask questions, and this time was no different. I can’t help but to wonder: If
we truly believe and Trust GOD, then why are we so afraid to allow GOD to use
us?
July
13, we preached a sermon titled, “Are we living… Sent?” and we came out of the
Book of Isaiah 6:1-9, 11a. To understand that we have been given our marching
orders, we need to understand a few things about GOD. First is that GOD is a
Sending GOD. GOD sent out great leaders like Abraham, Isaac, & Moses. GOD,
also, sent our great prophets like Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel, and Ezekiel. HE
sent our blessings and miracles, as well sent our judgments like the Great
Flood. The 2nd thing we learn about GOD is that HE sent Jesus to us,
to give us an opportunity at redemption for our sins. And Jesus lived HIS life
as a man who was sent on a mission! In return, Jesus sent out HIS disciples
into the world to preach the GOSPEL. In Isaiah 6, we see that the Prophet
Isaiah had a major revelation about himself:
He was unclean standing before GOD Almighty. He felt truly unworthy of
such an honor. Symbolically, an angel “purged” Isaiah’s sins away and then we
get to our memory verse: vs. 8, “Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, ‘Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then
said I, ‘Here am I; send me.” So, if we understand that GOD is a sending GOD,
that GOD sent Jesus, and Jesus sent out the Disciples to share the GOSPEL with
the world… do we realize that if we are truly born again, a true Christian…
then that makes us a Disciple and that Jesus has sent us to carry on with the
GOSPEL? So, are you living sent?
July
20, we dug in a little deeper in understanding the Characteristics of a
Disciple, using “Barnabas the Encourager” as a reference from the Book of Acts
11:19-26. We learned that an encourager is a generous person, and Barnabas was
a great example of this. For he had sold some of his properties and took the
money gained from the sale and presented it to the Apostles to do as they saw
fit… i.e. see a need fulfill the need. Another sign of encourager is that they
are a gracious person. Barnabas was not only an optimist about people, like
with the Apostle Paul after his conversion, was a gracious person… meaning he
extended Grace to all because GOD extended Grace to all. Barnabas came along
side of Paul, the same Saul who once persecuted the church, but had his life
radically changed after he met Jesus on the road to Damascus. Just because you
are an encourager doesn’t mean you overlook issues when they arise. It means
that when life happens, you address it the same way that Christ would have…
through Love, Mercy, and Grace. The dynamic of an encourager is submission.
It’s not natural to submit yourself to someone else’s authority. For instance,
let’s look at our own children. They do submit but it comes through trial and
error. Our Faith in GOD is a lot like that as we submit our will to the
FATHER’s Perfect Will. It comes through the Holy Ghost working through us,
breaking us from our old habits, and molding us into what GOD created to be…
The Child of the one True KING! Don’t we want the GOD to say about us, what HE
said about Barnabas? Acts 11:24, “For he was a
good man, and full of the HOLY Ghost and of Faith: and much people was added
unto the LORD.” So Chrisitan, are
you truly sold out for Christ?
And
on July 27th, we stayed in the Book of Acts 1:1-11 with a messaged
titled, “Created to Make a Difference!” To understand that were made to make a
difference in this world, we need to understand the same three things that the
first Disciples had to understand. First, that Jesus is risen… He was
crucified, buried, and rose up from the grave. They saw it all before them and
believed what they saw and witnessed. It changed everything. The second thing
they understood was that Jesus is ruling over everything! His authority over all
was apparent from bringing the dead back to life, healing of the lepers,
casting out demons, and obviously HIS authority over death before HIS ascension
into Heaven. Lastly, they understood that Jesus was going to return. They
didn’t know when, but HE as coming back. As a result, they lived their lives
waiting for HIM to return, but they weren’t still. They were out and about
making Disciples everywhere by the sharing GOSPEL. Think of it like this, what
does a waiter do? They wait on tables filled with customers. In other words,
the Disciples were working sharing the GOSPEL. We know this to be true because we
are here today sharing the same GOSPEL! If you really want your life to mean
something, like the Disciples? Do you realize that you were created to make a
difference in this world until GOD calls us home? Now that is some real
biblical food to chew on, don’t you think? I love each and everyone of y’all,
but more importantly, GOD loves you so much more! Have a great day. May the
LORD bless you and keep you; May HIS face shine upon and bring you peace… the
peace that surpasses all understanding.
Pastor Sonny
