Our guest speaker today was Pastor Timothy Craig, pastor of Fire And Faith Ministries in Phoenix, Arizona. He used Luke 15:11-20 as his reference scriptures. His sermon was entitled, "I'm Better Than This!"
This passage of scripture is very familiar, but thankfully the Word is alive and always fresh. The prodigal son was selfish and impatient. He wanted his inheritance even before his father passed away. What a brat! His loving father gave him his inheritance. Then the prodigal son left home and squandered his money with wild living. When all the money was gone and he was bankrupt, he was forced to work for a pig farmer in order to survive. To a Jew having to work for a pig farmer was the bottom of the barrel. It gets worse. He was so hungry that he considered eating the slop he was feeding to the pigs. One day the prodigal came to himself and remembered that even the servants in his father's house had three meals a day. He "came to himself" and realized, "I'm Better Than This!"
Pastor Craig encouraged us to never take our gifts and talents for granted. We have to resist the tendency to be complacent. Benjamin E. Mays said, "The tragedy of life is often not in our failure, but rather in our complacency; not in our doing too much, but rather in our doing too little; not in our living above our ability, but rather in our living below our capacities".
The word "prodigal" is defined as spending money or resources freely and recklessly; wastefully extravagant. In order to be a prodigal one must be a "prodigy", a person, especially a child or young person, having extraordinary talent or ability. God is our Father. We are created in his glorious image. He has blessed us all with extraordinary talents and abilities. He has a plan and a purpose for each of us, and "His divine power has given us everything we need to experience life and to reflect God’s true nature through the knowledge of the One who called us by His glory and virtue." 2 Peter 1:3 (VOICE)
We can be better...
Spiritually - The Apostle Paul wrote to Timothy, "Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." 2 Timothy 2:15 (King James Version) Successful athletes train and practice. They understand that in order to be the best you have to put in the work. In the same way, we must study the Word, meditate on the Word, and pray the Word.
Financially - We can do better financially! Luke 6:38 says, "Don’t hold back—give freely, and you’ll have plenty poured back into your lap—a good measure, pressed down, shaken together, brimming over. You’ll receive in the same measure you give." (VOICE) When we really trust God, it will be evident in our giving.
Emotionally - There's an old song that says, " Sometimes up, sometimes down, almost level to the ground". If that describes you emotionally, you are better than that! Pastor Craig explained that if we dwell on the negative we allow those voices to become, "god" in our lives. When we believe the negative we are disputing all the positive promises of God. We can be better emotionally by truly believing the Word of God. David said, "Deep within me I have hidden Your word so that I will never sin against You" Psalm 119:11 (VOICE)
I'm better than this! You are better than this! Don't settle for less than God's Best! As the Army used to say, "Be All That You Can Be!"
Love and prayers, Cynthia
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