Marriage Retreat = Revival?

Back in January we had a wonderful marriage retreat. We laughed and learned a lot, and we renewed our vows to the love of our lives. As I sit here writing this article, I am preparing to perform the wedding ceremony for our youngest daughter. For the second time, when the question is asked, "who gives this woman to be married", I will be responding, "Her mother and I." Marriage is the most intimate of all relationships. So much so, it is used of God to illustrate our relationship to Him, because the Bible describes the church as the Bride and Christ as the Bride Groom (see Eph.5:25-33; Rev.19:7-8; Rev.21:9).

As I think about this, it occurs to me that we, the church--the Bride of Christ, need a marriage retreat. In other words, we need revival. Revival is all about renewal. It's about a renewed conviction of sin and a renewed zeal to obey God as we return to our first love (Rev.2:5).

We need to renew our commitment to God and vow to spend intimate time with Him daily. I've always said that you'll never get to know God very well by just staring at the back of someone's head once a week as the pastor preaches a message. If you want to know God in a more intimate way, you have to spend quality time with Him. And in order to spend quality time with Him, you must enter into His presence. And to enter into His presence, you must be holy because His holiness demands it.

But far too many Christians don't want to pay the price. Intimacy with God requires purity. It requires holiness. We hide nothing in intimacy. Which brings us back to the marriage. God used the picture of marriage to illustrate our relationship with Him. But far too many Christians just want to date God rather than enter into that holy commitment with God. We want the thrills of dating God rather than enter into that holy commitment, because the ring of commitment requires holiness in our lives, which of course, will produce intimacy with Christ. And out of that intimacy will come revival.

Understand this: No true revival has ever occured simply because people sought revival. Revival comes when we seek HIM! God is tired of having long distance relationships with His people. He really wants to have a close, intimate relationship with you and me. He wants to invade our homes and church with His abiding presence in a way that will make every visitor begin to weep with wonder and worship the moment they enter. Begin your marriage retreat with God with an open Bible in your prayer closet today!

In Christ,

Bro. Royce

Growing For His Glory

We are off to a great start for 2012. Both our Sunday School and Worship attendance have been steadily increasing, and there is excitement in the air. We are gaining some traction financially, stirring the waters of the baptistery, and moving forward for the glory of God.

As I sit here in my office writing this article, I'm looking back in review and looking ahead in preview. What do I see as I look ahead? I see God smiling upon us as we continue to follow Him in loving obedience. Jesus said, "He who has my commands and keeps them, it is he who loves Me..." John 14:21. Jesus is saying, "if you love Me you will obey Me." In other words, don't tell Jesus you love Him. Show Him! How? By keeping His commands. And all of His commands can be summed up into two categories: 1) Great Expression and 2) Great Commission. The Great Expression is the expression of our love. You know the passage, Matt.22:37-40, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind...and love your neighbor as yourself." And the Great Commission is to go into all the world making disciples of all people, baptizing them and instructing them to practice all that Jesus commanded us. (see Matt.28:18-20).

In order to continue to move forward, and with much prayer and consideration, I am about to embark on teaching a new Sunday School Class. This class will be open to all new members, current attenders, and anyone else who is not plugged into Sunday School. This class will begin on March 4th. Also on March 4th we will have our High Attendance Sunday for Sunday School. Our goal is 150, and we should easily surpass this goal since we've already been in the 130's. So let's all put forth the effort to invite someone to Sunday School and let's meet our goal for God's glory. Sargent Baptist, I am convinced that the best is yet to come. Let's grow for His glory!

In Christ,

Bro. Royce

Year of Rebound

In basketball, one of the most important skills for the players to have is the ability to rebound. Rebounds occur because a shot somewhere has been missed. And if a shot was missed, that means a shot was attempted, but somehow something went wrong in the attempt. One reason a shot can be missed is that the player was off in his perspective. He was looking at the goal, focused on the goal, but somehow what he saw and what he did didn't match up. He was unable to sink the shot.

Another reason shots are missed is because the opposing team is in the player's face. Sometimes shots are missed because the player is fouled. Now regardless of the reason for the missed shot, any coach would want his player to go up for the rebound of their missed shot. If a player misses a shot, that's not the time to throw up his hands, walk off the court and quit the game, just because he missed one shot. No! A good player will always go back up for the rebound and get the ball back for another shot.

In the Bible, there are lots of people who missed shots. Some were looking at the goal, focused on the goal, but somehow what they saw and what they did didn't match up. Some of these in the Bible missed the shot because the opposition got in their face and distracted them. That's what happened to our first parents Adam and Eve. Satan got in their face and distracted them through temptation. Sometimes, these in the Bible got fouled, through no fault of their own, and they missed the shot. Daniel got thrown into a lion's den for his prayer life, and the three Hebrew children got thrown into the fire because they would not bow down to the golden image of Nebuchadnezzar.

But you can mark it down. All of these had another chance, and the Bible records their rebounds. 2011 may have been a bad year for you. You may have missed some shots. You may have gotten distracted from the goal God has for you in life. Satan may have been in your face the whole year. You may have been fouled. Understand, when you make a stand for God, the Nebuchadnezzars of the world will foul you and throw you into the fire.

You may have just taken some bad shots and blew it. But you can mark it down, God is the God of second chance. 2012 is the year of rebound. 2012 is the second chance to get it right. Just like the loving father in the Prodigal Son story, God is standing with open arms waiting to give you that second chance. Sargent Baptist, this is our year to rebound!

In Christ,

Bro. Royce