pastorrudytlc

 SPEAKING IN THE LIGHT MARCH 24 2021

When I was in High School, I turned my life over to Jesus. It was not a casual decision. I had grown up in a religious family, but I was downright miserable. On the outside, I looked like I had it all together. I was a straight A Student, a good athlete, a model child and yet I had no idea what I was doing on earth. I owned no working compass. The world I lived in could not answer my most important questions. I wanted to know I was loved, and that I mattered and being here was making some sort of positive difference. I tried so hard to please all the right people, but I was repaid in all the wrong ways. I could honestly define my soul as bankrupt. I was pouring out every ounce of energy I had and yet, receiving nothing of lasting value in return. So, in April of 1975, when I first heard the gospel, I was so ready to surrender my hungry heart to the One who promised to feed me with the supernatural, satisfying Bread of Life. 

I became an extreme Christian. There was nothing halfway about my conversion. I went diving into the deep end of faith headfirst. And everyone who knew me in High School would also know that wherever I went, Jesus went with me. I finally had nothing to prove so I lived life with nothing to hide and nothing about my Lord to be embarrassed about. I had a Psychology teacher who called me an outright fool for being a Christian. He had no problem singling me out amongst his students as someone who literally kissed his brain “Goodbye,” to believe the way I did. I acted like the Bible was a viable way to live my life according to. I believed every word to be true, and he mocked me as someone who basically checked his brain at the door. I was so committed to Jesus, many of the adults in my life suggested that I should be committed to an institution because of it. But I never hesitated in the way that I should go because if Jesus went the distance to save me, there would be nothing I would not do to serve Him!

I am presently in my 39^th year of being a full time Minister. If you ask me to share with you the secret of my success and longevity it would clearly be to have enough wisdom to never stand in the way of allowing God to do His work and His will in and through me. I know that the best candidates to be used in the Body of Christ are those who admit that on their own they are weak, foolish, and childlike. I love what Jesus said when He declared, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned and revealed them to little children” (Matthew 11:25). God will de-arm us of the props and gimmicks we lean on so that He can re-arm us with the power of His presence. I may not be much on my own but in the Hands of my Savior this fool becomes a chosen tool to take on the very gates of hell! In the eyes of this world, the church may be nothing more than a mismatched collection of misfits and broken and wounded hearts, but in the plan of God, we are His most cherished people. He redeems and restores what society would be happy to just kick to the curb.

The enemy crafts lies like a spider spins silk webs. Human pride is always based upon the charade of illusion. It is all tricks with no treats. God loves us so much that He must expose the kingdom of humanity which has no more depth than a Hollywood movie set! The Lord must puncture the pride of mankind. He does that by using the obscure, the nobodies, the has-beens to quiet the noise and hot air of people who are too full of their own press clippings. God’s wisdom is recognizing the truth that even if you are labeled a loser and a long shot in the eyes of the world, through Jesus we can all become the masterpieces that our Father intended us to be in the first place. The purpose of Scripture is to teach us to walk a different way. But to walk this way of the Spirit, we need to walk in the power of the Spirit. When we choose to live by a different power, Jesus in us will cause us to view reality from a higher perspective.  Therefore, as it is written: “Let him who boasts boast in the Lord” (1 Corinthians 1:30–31).

In Corinth, the Apostle Paul was nicknamed, “The Babbler.” One of the smartest and most Spirit-filled man in the first century was reduced to being nothing more than a noisemaker by one of the Church’s he pastored. To be a Christian and to be obedient to God’s call and to be genuinely wise in Corinth, Paul became a fool in the crowd’s eyes so he could shine for Jesus! Are we willing to be fools for Jesus? Are we willing to be shamed for His Name? We are not self-pitying, dour, defensive, forlorn, miserable, “oh-poor-me” fools, but we are unashamed, happy, hope-filled fools for Christ. It is time for Believers to wise up and look up and even if we go down in the opinion of others, we go up in the Eyes of God and His Eyes Got it!

Jesus came to teach us how to exemplify God’s righteousness, holiness, and redemption through our lives. So, the mark of someone who is growing in Christ is that he or she is exhibiting more and more of this godly kind of wisdom. The right actions of Jesus become the way that we act in any and every circumstance. Jesus never did anything that did not have His Father’s stamp of approval upon it. We should never undertake even the smallest act without being fully yielded to the Holy Spirit. Jesus alerted us that apart from Him we could do nothing. If we want to be about something eternal, we must let the Spirit lead. It’s not about us putting God’s name on our stuff. It’s about God putting His name on our soul.   

We also see the evidence of our Lord’s influence in us not trying to mimic the world but being committed to God making us more like Jesus. Being sanctified doesn’t mean being holier than thou. It means not looking to the crowd to get our script. Our Heavenly Director wants us to become servants who showcase love and truth. Jesus loved us enough to tell us the truth, but He only shared the truth with those He already loved. Don’t tell anyone that Jesus loves them until you are ready to love them too. Society uses people for their own satisfaction. Jesus uses us for our own sanctification. We become more loving, truthful, patient, understanding, insightful, bold, and courageous with every move we make. We are just like Jesus who typified all these qualities.

Finally, to submit to the wisdom of the Word is to allow ourselves to be redeemed and restored to our original God created glory. A human life is much like a piece of valuable property that has been hocked at the pawnshop. While it is in the pawnshop, a diamond ring is devalued. It is not fulfilling the purpose for which it was created. It sits in a display case gathering dust. And that is what the enemy wants to do to us. He wants to die lonely and destitute in the back display case. Jesus has paid the price of our redemption. He walked into that pawnshop and overpaid for each and every one of us. He made it clear to hell that it could not have what belonged to Him. Bought by the precious blood of Jesus. Restored to who Jesus always intended us to be. If that is considered nonsense by our crazy world then so be it. I want as much of that as God will allow me to experience. Jesus was the ultimate Fool on a hill called Calvary. I want to be just like my Lord!  

God does not expect us to be perfect. We are in a process of becoming more and more like Christ.

We have not gone all the way to Christlikeness yet, but we are on the way to Christlikeness. The world uses people up then throws them away. God, in His love and wisdom, keeps restoring and refashioning us for His use. When we fail, He gives us another chance. He never throws us away. We cannot do life on our own. We are God’s fools, God’s tools, God’s instruments to demolish the false wisdom of this world and demonstrate the true wisdom of His grace. I want His grace to be spread all over the place! Only fools need apply!