Magnificant Significance!

I Know Who I Am! - Israel Houghton

I know who I am
I know who I am
I know who I am
I am yours
I am yours

And you are mine
Jesus you are mine
You are mine
Jesus you are mine

I was running, and you found me
I was blind, and you gave me sight
You put a song of praise in me
I was broken, and you healed me
I was dying, and you gave me life
Lord, You are my identity

I know, I know

I am forgiven, I am your friend
I am accepted, I know who I am
I am secure, I'm confident
That I am loved, I know who I am
I am alive, I am set free
I belong to you and you belong to me
Whoa oh oh, whoa oh of!

Last Sunday, guest speaker Pastor Matt Rice gave a message on the importance of having significance in our lives. He preached his message out of Psalm 37:3 and I Samuel 1:1-18 and used Hannah - the mother of Samuel - as an example to emulate in our service to Jesus and his kingdom.

The title of his massage was "A Sleeping Giant, a Barren Womb, and a Prayer That Changed the World!" He established the background of the story, reviewing the time, place, and events preceding the birth of Samuel, their importance to the story, and the temptations that Hannah eventually had to overcome in order to secure the blessing of God in her life and to understand the significance of that blessing by faith.

The four areas of conflict in her soul that she had to overcome in order to receive her blessing and realize the significance of that blessing were:

•  Overcome the temptation to accept the barrenness of her womb! 
• Hopeless situations are NOT final with God!

• Overcome the temptation to settle for blessing without significance!
• The blessing MUST be used toward a significant end involving God's purposes!

• Overcome the temptation to fight back the pettiness of Peninnah!
• Pettiness or delays that cause you to get sidetracked from God's purposes significance in your life!

• Overcome the temptation to pray a prayer not to change the world!

• When we receive a blessing from God, we need to overcome the temptation not to allow or desire it to be used for the advancement of God's Kingdom!

As I thought about this message on Monday morning, little did I realize how quickly this message would take on flesh and blood during the day and afternoon on Monday.

I left my house to do my Monday chores and the first thing on my list - really Laura's list - was to send off some mail. As I drove around the corner to the mailbox, I listened to my voice mail from the previous day and from earlier on Monday. I mailed the letters and continued to listen to the numerous messages when one of the messages was a request for very serious help. The funny thing was that I was right in front of the house of the caller when I was listening to their voice mail. I stopped my van, approached the house, and knocked on the door. When the door was answered, I inquired about the help I could give and expressed how funny it was that I was right in front of their house when I was listening to their call. I got the information about the request and set off on my way to take care of the request.

A short while later as I was talking to a person who would take care of the request, they began to tell me about a health problem they were going through and their feelings of insignificance about their life. He told me that he was a good dad, had a great career, and was well liked and respected, but that there was an emptiness that he couldn't shake that plagued him. He told me that he believed in God and attended church, but that he wanted to see the reality of Jesus in his life. Wow, I thought. I couldn't believe this was happening! I shared with him the main points from Sunday's message and encouraged him to get into the Bible. I also told him to meet with me and that we could discuss his predicament further.

After I left his presence, I couldn't help think about how many people do not understand the significance of their lives whether in or apart from God's purpose. Both of those conditions have far reaching effects for the individual, but they are seldom thought about and even less acted upon.

Take time to listen to the message given by Pastor Matt Rice and allow God to use the blessings he has given to you to bring significance and purpose to your life and to the world. Then - and only then - will you understand who you really are and the significance of your life's work. When we truly understand that significance, we can face and overcome any obstacle knowing full well that all things work for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purposes (Romans 8:28)!

Stay Holy, My Friends!


Pastor Don