“Sin gravitates towards us, it’s a trap, it’s destructive to our lives.”
Hello Faithful Friends! We may have been absent from our blessed blogs for some time, and some time it has been, but not absent from Kingdom work. Several seasons have come and gone, but our hope remains stronger than ever. Thankful we serve a God who equips us for such a time as this.
Pastor George Chavis spoke a Word this past Sunday. He taught us, as teachers do. He lead us, as shepherds do. He caused us to self examine, as the Holy Spirit enables us to do so. Pastor opened with strong definitions of sin: what it is, what it does, and who is in charge of it. I so appreciate a teaching on sin because we often forget that it is a daily snare that comes in many different forms as our adversary very carefully and strategically and relentlessly disguises. We wonder why we are still trapped in a cycle of a certain sin- we didn’t know, we didn’t realize, it seemed different, we had no idea, we felt like some of it was acceptable, we- put our guard down. And that’s the truth. Our Enemy, Satan himself, learns from our mistakes and our sins whether or not we learn from them ourselves!
Pastor exhorted that “you have been trained by sin! Sin trains you.” Our adversary is like a bully who nags us, follows us around without any other care or priority, because sooner or later, we will slip up, we will have a day where we are weaker and less willing to put up a fight, so we will give in, we will take our eyes off of God, and there our adversary will be. BUT GOD! Our God is a way maker. While sin merits judgement and judgement is the reward for sin (Romans 6:23), “God never sends judgement without a warning!”, Pastor George explained. What a reminder that is, and praise be to God for that! God warned us that in the last days, men will become lawless covenant breakers and will do whatever they want to do (2 Timothy 3:1-5). We went into that scripture for a minute, Romans 6:23, and Pastor mentioned how he broke that scripture down as a younger lad, that “if the wages of sin is death, you get paid for living wrong”. We chuckled for moment at the literal translation, but also realized quite literally that God wanted us to know the truth- when you live wrong, death is in fact the total payment.
Okay okay okay. So that’s sin. We know sin. We remember now and we will recognize it better and we- well, we know sin. Where does this leave us? What do we now, Lord? Help us to recalibrate our walk with you, oh God!
Pastor lead us so gracefully into worship. I know you’re wondering from the title of this blog how “worship” fits in with the rest of the subjects listed. Well quite honestly, worship fits everywhere and anywhere that deals with our walk and our relationship with God, and anything that has to do with fighting the good fight. Pastor reminded us that “worship is expected”. Mmmmm…..Selah!
Are you worshiping at home, as you cook and clean, alone, in your car, on your walks, in your shower, at your job? Or does your worship only render once you have an audience, a crowd, a group of many? Our worship is a direct reflection of our relationship with God. It’s personal, and intimate and often becomes a bottomless overflow that we can’t help but pour out into others, and something we most certainly can’t hide or contain. God meant for it to be that way. God did not intend on it to be this tiny, hidden, cute little thing that we hold so dearly in a little box and only take out when we can get a pat on the back for it or praise for it. Our praise belongs to God. God purposed worship to be a spiritual weapon of warfare, taking the front line at any attack or snare or trick of the enemy that comes our way. It’s a weapon meant for warfare in the trenches because we need nothing else but a surrendered heart that is fixed solely on God and from there, we are golden.
You can’t fine tune your worship when you’re always in a crowd of people! It’s not just a song and a pretty voice! It must be anointed by the Holy Spirit.
-Pastor George Chavis
Worship brings you to tears. Worship draws you away from your carnal plans and aligns you with the will of God. Worship releases your heavy burden in exchange for the light yoke of Jesus. Worship brings peace to the war in your head. Worship fosters an environment for a sound mind. Worship supernaturally empowers us beyond anything that we could explain in these measly words of mine. And I thank God for such a gift. I thank God for such a teaching that was breathed into Pastor George Chavis. Please take a moment to be empowered by this Word in our “Sermons” section if you haven’t yet.
We love you, and we are so thankful for your faithfulness. We pray that you receive this and lean not on your own understanding, but press hard into worship with God and your relationship with Him. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you (Matthew 6:33). Abba, Teacher, Father. Praise be to God, and God bless you all!
With Grace and Mercy,
Greater Grace Ministries
c/o Tara Chavis