On the last day of 2023, it's a good idea to reflect on where we've been and consider where we are going. What a crazy year it’s been! Do you remember what you were doing this time last year? I do. I was still in shock from a terrible and unfair decision by the North Georgia UMC bishop's decision to cancel the disaffiliations of nearly 200 churches in our conference. We didn't know what to do or if their was anything we could do. But here we are one year later and God is good. He has opened doors we thought couldn't be opened. And December 31st, 2023 is the last day my church and I belong to the UMC. On January 1st, we will be free and will be Global Methodist! Praise be to God!
But as scary as it was, there’s acyually a lot of security for ministers in the United Methodist Church. We had health insurance, a pension, a decent salary, and a guaranteed appointment. Yes, we had to go wherever they sent us and they moved us away from family and friends frequently. But we also had job security.
Now, I never took anything for granted. Ephesians 6:7 says, “Work with enthusiasm, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people.” So, I’ve always tried to do my best, because I realized I didn't really work for the United Methodist Church. I work for the Lord. The UMC was an ally, for a time, that helped me fulfill my calling to help people grow closer to Jesus. But I’ve always said if the UMC ever departed from traditional Scriptural Christianity, I would depart from the UMC. And that time has come.
And so, I’m walking away from a second career. As
of January 1st, 2024, I will no longer be a United Methodist minister. I
will be a Global Methodist minister. And I’ve had to trust the Lord in
this. Because I am walking away from something I’ve known very well for
the past 2 decades into an unknown future and an unproven denomination with
less job security than the UMC.
But I know this is where God is leading me. And I trust Him! He has never failed me yet. He won’t fail me now. I am His servant. It is a privilege to serve Him and god wherever He leads!
I want to read to you one of my favorite passages from
God’s Holy Word–something that has encouraged me my whole life as a Disciple of
Jesus Christ. It’s right in the middle of Jesus’ famous Sermon on the Mount.
Matthew 6:25-33
25 “That is why I tell you not to
worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough
clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing?
26 Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for
your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than
they are? 27 Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?
28 “And why worry about your clothing? Look at the
lilies of the field and how they grow. They don’t work or make their clothing,
29 yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. 30
And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown
into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so
little faith?
31 “So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ 32 These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. 33 Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.
I’ve tried to make that verse 33 the theme of my whole life and ministry. In the old King James Version it goes, “Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”
If you think about it, that’s the whole theme of the Bible. Isn’t it? Go all the way back to the Garden of Eden in Genesis. What do you find? There’s Adam and Eve living in paradise. God has given them everything they need. They have food. They have peace. They have protection. They’re naked and don’t even care. They aren’t ashamed. They don’t feel vulnerable and exposed. (Now you think about that. They are wild animals roaming all around–lions, tigers, and bears–and Adam and Eve are totally naked. No knife. No bear spray. No gun. No weapons. Not even a scrap of clothing. But they weren’t “naked and afraid”. Why? Because God provided everything they needed.)
That is the way we were all meant to live. It’s a
life where God provides everything we need–just like He cares for the birds of the sky and the flowers of the field. Oh that we could go back to that Garden in Eden and live without a care in the
world. Where we can walk in harmony with each other and with God!
Ah but sin! Sin came in and wrecked it all! It wrecked you! It wrecked me! And the curse of sin is that we must scrape a living from the dust of the ground. And try as we might, it’s constantly producing thorns and thistles! Do you have any thorns and thistles in your life–in your family, in your work?
And so the curse of sin has always meant, “By the sweat of your brow will you have food to eat.” I always thought that sweat meant the sweat that comes from the hard work of farming. But it’s not. There’s nothing wrong with working hard and sweating. That’s a good thing. A cleansing thing. SOme people (like me) actually enjoy doing hard work with there hands.
No, “sweat of your brow” means the sweat that comes
from the deep, overwhelming anxiety we have when we think, “Oh no! It’s all up
to me! The fate of my family and the people I love rest on my
shoulders. Whether I live or die will be a result of my own
hands.” Have you ever been so stressed out and worried drops of sweat
literally broke out on your forehead? THAT is the sweaty, anxious curse
God proclaimed in Genesis 3:19, “By the sweat of your brow will you have food to eat until you return to the
ground from which you were made. For you were made from dust, and to dust
you will return.”
But praise God! Hallelujah! Jesus came to break the curse! That’s what it’s all about! Jesus is our redeemer! He redeems us from our sin. He heals our whole lives. His life, death, and resurrection mean we know longer have to drown in the anxious sweaty drops of worrying whether we will have food to eat and clothes to wear. In the words of one of my favorite Christmas songs: “No more let sins and sorrows grow! Nor thorns infest the ground! He comes to make His blessings flow, far as the curse is found! Far as the curse is found!” We don’t have to feel ashamed and naked because of our sin. We don’t have to fear death, because Jesus gives us new life–new life now and for all eternity!
And so Jesus invites us all in Matthew 11:28-30, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.” Jesus is leading us back to Eden–back to life in Paradise where we don’t have to worry where our next meal will come from or if we will have a job in the morning or if our church property will get seized by a corrupt denomination.
It is Eternal Life, and it starts the moment we put all our faith in Jesus and
follow Him.
We still have some wilderness to walk through. We’re not in the Paradise Garden yet. But we will get there. In the meantime, God leads us like He led the Israelites through the wilderness on the way to the Promised Land. And He will provide manna from heaven to feed us and water from a rock to quench our thirst. You don’t have to understand it all; but you must have faith. You must trust Jesus when He says, “Don’t worry about all these things. You’re Heavenly Father already knows all your needs and He will take care of you.”
And so we come to my favorite verse–the theme verse of my ministry–that tells us the secret of living as Christians who follow Christ. Matthew 6:33 – “Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.”
When my middle child was still a toddler, we were shopping in JC Penny. In a moment of lapsed attention, she wandered away from me and my wife. We dropped everything and frantically searched for her. It only took a few minutes to find her hiding behind some clothes hanging on a rack, but the anxiety of those moments were palpable. (Talk about the sweat of anxiety breaking out on your brow!)
That story about searching for a lost child is a great illustration of seeking the Kingdom of God. That’s how we should seek the Kingdom of God above
all else. We drop every thing else and make the Kingdom our number one priority. And that’s what I want to do with my life. And that’s what I want to challenge our church to do in 2024. And that’s what I want to challenge you to do with your family and with your
own life.
I want you reflect for just a minute. I want you to think about the one thing in your life that’s really important to you right now. (I’m not talking about Jesus, OK. Everyone knows in church the answer’s supposed to be Jesus. But let’s be real right now, OK?) What’s something that’s really important thing to you?
Think about it. If this person or thing (whatever it is) is so
important if it we lost, you’d drop everything to go look for it. What
would that thing be for you? Maybe it’s your kids. Maybe it’s your spouse or your mom or
dad. Maybe it’s your phone; let’s be real. If you went on a trip and left your
phone at home, how many of us wouldn’t turn the car around and back track an hour to go get
our phone?
Now, I want you to make a mental image of whatever you're thinking of right now. And I want you to think about how you’d feel if this thing was lost. Think about the lengths you would go to find it.
From now on, every time you see that thing or even think of it, here’s what I want you to do: I want it to remind you that Jesus told you to “Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and all these other things will be added to you as well.
