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The Hall of Fame

“But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.” (Philippians 3:20-21)

Our citizenship is in heaven! Our home is His home. Just spend some time letting that sink in. And if you will stop and think about it: Our name is written there. Our citizenship is there. Our God is there. Our Savior is there. Our inheritance is there. Our deceased family and friends are there. So much of us is already there.

The Bible teaches us that the things we can see on this earth are only temporary. We look in the mirror and see our aging bodies, and realize that they are temporary. Our bodies get sick, hurt, grow old, and eventually die. Followers in Christ have the hope that life in this world is not the end.

Someday we will have a perfect body that will never die, like the one Christ has now. We will receive a body of glory.

How is this possible? What about martyrs burned alive, devoured by lions, and millions of others, particles of whose decaying bodies, through various stages of disintegration on land and sea? How? It is because God knows where every speck of human dust is hidden.

By the exertion, the energy of the power [dynamite] of the One that death, hell, and the grave could not hold! How great is our God! How awesome is He! How sad that anyone would miss eternal glory!

So, we can rejoice today that we have been inducted in a “Hall of Fame” that is much more valuable than the one in Cooperstown. We are in God’s Hall of Fame. Rejoice in His saving grace today.

Your name may not appear down here,

In this world’s hall of fame,

In fact you may be so unknown,

That no-one knows your name!

Our Halls of fame are only good

As long as time shall be;

But keep in mind, God’s Hall of fame,

Lasts for eternity!

To have your name inscribed up there

Is greater yes by far,

Than all the Halls of Fame down here

And every man made star.

Man on earth will soon forget

The heroes of the past;

They cheer you on until you fall;

How long will your fame last?

But God, He never does forget,

And in His Hall of Fame,

By just believing in his Son,

Proud, you’ll find your name.

Accepting His Son died for me

Was all it really took,

For God to take His pen,

And write me in His book.

For every famous name on earth

Or glory that we share;

I’d rather be unknown down here,

And have my name up there.

I tell you friend, I wouldn’t trade

My name, however small,

In His book, beyond the stars

...In His celestial Hall.

Until Next Week,

Derek

Come See, Then Go Tell

“The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, "Follow me." Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael and said to him, "We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph." Nathanael said to him, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" Philip said to him, "Come and see." (John 1: 43-46)

The following story appeared in Focus on the Family Magazine, September 2002. It was entitled "A Light in the Darkness" by Christin Ditchfield:

On the morning of Sept 11, Jeannie Braca switched on the TV to check the weather report, only to hear that a plane had just hit the World Trade Center. Jeannie’s husband, Al, worked as a corporate bond trader for Cantor Fitzgerald. His office was on the 105th floor of Tower One.

Al had survived the WTC bombing in 1993 and had even helped a woman with asthma escape from the building. Jeannie knew that Al would do the same thing this time, “I knew he would stop to help and minister to people,” she said, “but I never thought for a minute that he wouldn’t be coming home!” A week later Al’s body was found in the rubble.

Al’s wife, Jeannie, and his son Christopher were devastated! Then the reports began to trickle in from friends and acquaintances. Some people on the 105th floor had made a last call or sent a final e-mail to loved ones saying that a man was leading people in prayer. A few referred to Al by name. Al’s family learned that Al had indeed been ministering to people during the attack! When Al realized that they were all trapped in the building and would not be able to escape, Al shared the gospel with a group of 50 co-workers and led them in prayer. This news came as no surprise to Al’s wife, Jeannie.

For years, she and Al had been praying for the salvation of these men and women. According to Jeannie, Al hated his job and couldn’t stand the environment. It was a world so out of touch with his Christian values, but he wouldn’t quit. Al was convinced that God wanted him to stay there, to be a light in the darkness, and although Al would not have put it this way, to be a hero! Al was not ashamed of Christ and Christ’s words…and he paid the price of taking up his cross daily. Al shared his faith with his co-workers….many of whom sarcastically nicknamed him “The Rev.”

And on that fateful day…Sept 11, in the midst of the chaos, Al’s co-workers looked to him—-and Al delivered! At the same time, Al too tried to get a phone call through to his family. He asked an MCI operator to contact his family. “Tell them that I love them,” he said.

It took the operator more than a month to reach the Braca’s, but the message brought them much-needed comfort. “The last thing my dad did involved the two things most important to him—God and his family,” his son Christopher told a writer for Focus on The Family. “He loved to lead people to Christ. That takes away a lot of the hurt and the pain.”

John 1 reminds us that our calling is to introduce Jesus Christ to the world. In John 1:35-49 Andrew and John – the writer of this gospel – come to Christ through the faithful preaching of John the Baptist. Peter and James come to Christ through the compassion and faithfulness of their brothers. Later Jesus would win Philip, who would then witness to Nathaniel and bring him to Jesus.

The invitation “Come and see” is still the invitation of God’s grace. So, here is the process: “Come and See” leads to “Go and Tell!” They work together because it is the faithfulness of our testimony that leads to the fruitfulness of our testimony! That should be the primary objective of every one of us – they hear us and they follow Jesus!

John 1 reminds us that being an Andrew does not involve fancy evangelism methods are memorizing lots of Scripture so you never make a mistake. Being an Andrew means getting them to Jesus and then trusting Jesus to make the transformation. Al Braca knew his purpose in life was more than being stuck in a job he did not enjoy. His calling was to introduce Jesus Christ to his co-workers. And he took full advantage. Their lives will never be the same.

Until Next Week,

Derek

PRAISE:

Yesterday the power of the Holy Spirit was on display in our 11:00 service. We stood in awe of the power of God as people walked the aisle, professing faith for salvation. Please welcome these to our church family who were gloriously saved yesterday:

Jim Parris – profession of faith

Rita Parris – rededication

Richard Thomas – profession of faith

Elisha Smart – profession of faith

Melissa Stephenson – profession of faith

Derrick Bowen – profession of faith

James Dudley – profession of faith

Amey Dudley – profession of faith

JD Dudley – profession of faith

PRAYER:

As both praise and prayer, please lift up Will and Rebekah McGee, the unanimous recommendation of our personnel team as our College Pastor, who will be with us in view of a call on July 24. The personnel team will introduce Will and Rebekah on Wednesday, July 20, at 6:15 PM.