JESUS CHRIST; A LEGACY WORTH PRESERVING: REVISITED

Praise the Lord everybody!! God gave me this message to share with you all last year and it is still relevant today, and He has put it on my heart to share it again with you again. God bless.


Praise the Lord everybody! Let everything that has breath praise His holy name!! I bless the Lord, I bless the Lord, and His praise shall forever be in my mouth. I can't begin to tell you how much I appreciate what God is doing in my life. The fact that I woke up this morning in the land of the living is reason enough to praise God, He alone is worthy to be praised.

As I left the weekly "hour of power" service at my church this week began to gaze out the window of the Access A Ride vehicle, and as we rolled through the streets of Harlem on our way home to the Bronx, I began to feel something stir up in my spirit. I began to take notice of all the refurbished BrownStone buildings, some were showpieces while others were still in the process of being renovated. I watched as people struggled to maintain a legacy, an earthly history and something that would bring a certain historic charm to their world.

The Lord began to speak through His spirit, telling me how these people were struggling to maintain a history that can not be saved. He reminded me of what Jesus told the Pharisees in Matthew 24:1+2   And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to shew him the buildings of the temple.

2 And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.

I began to see man as God saw us, struggling to hold on to what can not be held on to, holding on feebly to the natural when we needed to be holding onto that which is spiritual. We are not concerned as much about our spiritual legacies as we should be. Our lives here on earth have become too precious to us, our own creations and ideas fill our hearts and minds. Being out and about our fathers business is something the world rarely thinks about and Christians are following the world instead of Christ.

Paul states in Colossians 3:1-3 If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.

2 Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.

3 For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.

We need to remember whose we are and whom we serve. For the short amount of time we are here on earth God has a mission for us, It's not about establishing our legacy, it's about building the legacy of Jesus Christ. Jesus died for us so that by His blood we could be saved from ourselves and reconciled with God. The only thing Jesus was concerned about leaving behind as His "legacy" was His Gospel, and the Holy Spirit to empower man to spread the Gospel and to live Godly lifestyles.

As men and woman of God, our concern should be that we bear spiritual fruit, rather than worldly fruit. Jesus states in John 15:1-5    I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.

2 Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.

3 Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.

4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.

5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. 

Let us bear the fruit that God requires and not the fruit that flesh desires.
             God Bless you all, Brother Darrell, Speaking off the wall

THE AMERICAN CONTROVERSY

Praise the Lord everybody! Let everything that has breath praise His holy name! The Lord in His grace and mercy has truly been good to me. He has blessed me despite my shortcomings, despite my issues, but still, I know I must do better in my service to Him. I cannot continue to take advantage of God's long-suffering love for me, neither can America.

The good old USA, the land of "In God we trust", and the "Ten Commandments" posted on the walls of our courtrooms, and the home of hot dogs, apple pie and "God-fearing" people, God is trying to tell us that we have a "controversy" with Him. This is not the first time God has had a "Controversy" with His people.

Hosea 4: 1-3 states,
1Hear the word of the LORD, ye children of Israel: for the LORD hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land because there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land.

2 By swearing, and lying, and killing, and stealing, and committing adultery, they break out, and blood toucheth blood.

3Therefore shall the land mourn, and every one that dwelleth therein shall languish, with the beasts of the field, and with the fowls of heaven; yea, the fishes of the sea also shall be taken away.

Everywhere you look these days, from the White House to the Church, We see the lying, the swearing, stealing and the lack of mercy, being demonstrated by the people of America. A country that at one time had such faith that it put the words "In God, we trust" on it's most valuable possession, it's money! Now we want to remove God's name from everything, the mere mention of His many names or His son Jesus is enough to cause tension and dissension between people. In a country that at one time would not even show two married people sleeping in the same bed on T.V. or open it's store's for business on Sundays because it was "the Lords day," now anything goes on T.V. and Sunday's are one of our busiest shopping days of the week.

God is now saying to us enough is enough. The Lord has "controversy" with this Nation and all you have to do is look around to see how far we have fallen. This country is about to explode, it is divided by race, religion and political ideology. And the Church, which should be the steadying force, the "rock" on which this country was supposedly built, is just as fractured as this country is. The Church is divided over race, politics, doctrine and even sexual preference. We have reached the "controversy" stage with God. We need healing!!

2nd Chronicles 7:14 states If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.” 

This is our lifeline, we need to grab hold of it, we need to humble ourselves in fasting and prayer. We need to stop compromising with the world and recognize sin for what it is, sin. God wants to heal our land, all we have to do is follow His instructions.

         God Bless You All, Brother Darrell, Speaking Off The Wall

FOR SUCH A TIME AS TODAY!

Praise the Lord everybody! Let everything that has breath praise His holy name! I am so excited by the times we live in. We can see God moving everywhere we look in this world. Yes, for those who have "eyes" to see, these are exciting times for the body of Christ.

It seems like the more I try to press in to get closer to the Lord, the devil is right there fighting tooth and nail against my every step. This is no time to be caught on the outside of God, looking in with your lamp flickering for lack of "oil" inside it. We have to be prayed up and ready at all times to be used by God in these last and evil days. The following is just a little food for thought that the Lord gave me to share with you all.

                 
Esther 4:10-14          10) Then she instructed him to say to Mordecai, 11) “All the Kings officials and the people of the royal provinces know that for any man or woman who approaches the King in the inner court without being summoned the King has but one law: that he be put to death. The only exception to this is for the King to extend the gold scepter to him and spare his life. But thirty days have passed since I was called to go to the King.” 12) When Esther’s words were reported to Mordecai, 13) he sent back this answer “do not think that because you are in the king’s house you alone of all the Jews will escape.  14) for if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. But who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?”

A lot of us Christians appear to be in a rut these days, we’ve been Saved a few years now we’re sanctified and Holy Ghost filled and we’re just sitting back enjoying our Christian walk. It seems like God hasn’t asked us to do anything since we first got saved except not to forget the assembling of ourselves together. I believe Esther was feeling the same way, she probably thought her fasting and praying days were over. A lot of us Saints are feeling the same way. We’re just sitting back waiting for our next assignments. We’re waiting on God to “give me a ministry” to open that door that no man can close, we plead “Stir up the gifts Lord!” and the Lord is looking down from heaven saying “WHY?”

“Didn’t I see you walk past a starving beggar yesterday without giving him a second glance? Did not sister Sherry remark to you that she lost three volunteers last week at the food bank and all you said was “I’ll keep you in prayer,” As you kept right on walking to “your” car. Everybody is waiting for an Esther moment, a moment where they are suddenly thrust into harm's way and have to make a decision that could lead to them being martyred or to them becoming the next Christian Idol. We’ll be on all the Christian talk shows and invited to speak at conferences and revivals all over the country.  While we are waiting for our big moment to serve, God is saying “you want to minister? Then minister!” Help unload trucks down at the food bank, give a helping hand at the soup kitchen. Maybe hand out some tracts in the area of your church. How about visiting the sick and the shut-in. Who knows maybe the reason God called you out of darkness in the first place was for such a time as this. “This” being any opportunity that comes your way to show the love of Christ. Why wait for an Esther moment to serve God when there are so many moments that are passing you by. 1st Corinthians 15:58 states  Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.

Our time here is short, who are we to not take advantage of every opportunity that God sends our way to spread the love of Christ and serve for such a time as today.
         God Bless You All, Brother Darrell, Speaking Off The Wall