THE MYSTICAL ORDER OF SPIRITUAL BAPTIST #S 1 & 2
FROM THE DESK OF THE ARCHBISHOP AND APOSTOLIC HEAD
Sir Dr. Godfrey Gregg
It’s Not About You
Hallelujah, Praise the Lord as I greet my Patriarch, Queen Abbess and Cardinal, Ministers, brothers and sisters in the Lord. The Mystical Order #s 1 & 2 and our Affiliate churches the Lord is good and His mercies endureth to all generations. Let us walk boldly into pastures fresh and green to be fed by the Word of Almighty God. To God be all the honour and the glory for this is a day we did not expect to see but thanks be to God for all His goodness and mercies to us.
I need to underscore a foundational fact: God’s goal is not to make sure you’re happy. No matter how hard it is for you to believe this, it’s time to do so. Life is not about your being comfortable and happy and successful and pain free. It’s about becoming the man or woman God has called you to be. Unfortunately, we will rarely hear this message preached today. All the more reason for me to say it again: Life is not about you! It’s about God. It is not about me, Archbishop, but about God. It is not about the titles we hold for without God leading we are only sounding brass and tinkling symbols. How can I say that with assurance? Because of Paul’s response in 2 Corinthians 12:9-10: And this is the scripture I want to base this email on for your edification today.
Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong. How many of us can say it like Paul? I know the answer that floats around, “the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.” Aren’t we tired of that weak statement? Let us lay aside all the weight that beset us and walk with patience the road before us. Let the principles of This Mystical Order help you along the way. Be like Paul Lord what will Thou have me to do? Paul had a transformation and he realized it on the road to Damascus when the Lord stopped him in his tracks. He knew it from that moment. That’s it! He got it, too. And he went with it for the rest of his days.
When you and I boast of our strengths, we get the credit, and we keep going under our own head of steam.This means that we have never met the real man Christ Jesus. Boast not thyself brethren, it will not take us anywhere. Are we willing to say “all to Jesus I surrender” and let God take the wheel. We need a Captain in our lives to steer us to the place where we can say “It’s not about me”. But when we boast in what He is doing in the midst of our brokenness, inability, and inadequacy, Christ comes to the front. His strength comes to our rescue. He is honoured.
Don’t miss that point. The very things we dread and run from in our lives are precisely what brought contentment to Paul. Look at the list: I am content when I lose. I am content when I am weak. I am content with insults. I am content when I am slandered. I am content in distresses. I am content with persecutions. I am content with difficulties and pressures that are so tight I can hardly turn around. Why? “Because when I am weak, then I am strong” (verse 10). Knowing that brought the apostle, ablaze with the flaming oracles of heaven, to his knees. What a way to live your life—content in everything—knowing that divine strength comes when human weakness is evident. As I was writing I had to stop for a moment and look to see the place where I am. I had the moment to say “Lord here I am a servant depending on you. I had to tell Him that I am human but with You I am a conqueror. Hallelujah
Paul recommends an attitude of unselfish humility. Quite remarkably, you never read where Paul said to his Roman guard, while he was in prison: “I need you to do me a favor. Next time you happen to be near one of the Emperor’s assistants, urge him to get me out of this dump. I shouldn’t be here in the first place. I’ve been here for one year, seven months, four days, five hours, and nine minutes, and that’s long enough.” Paul’s attitude of unselfish humility prevented him from keeping meticulous records of the wrongs done to him in Rome, or anywhere else for that matter. He was in prison by divine appointment. He willingly submitted to his situation.
Christ modeled the great emptying-out principle that permeated Paul’s remarkable life. If we want to learn contentment, developing an attitude of unselfish humility is the perfect place to begin. Start with your family or neighbors. Model it before your employees or clients. You won’t believe the impact that sort of selfless mental attitude will have on the people. You won’t have to raise flags or pass out tracts. Just demonstrate an attitude of unselfish humility. The results will amaze you. This is a challenge and are you ready to demonstrate?
Paul exhorts believers to have an attitude of joyful acceptance. Paul minced no words about how believers should relate to one another. “Do all things without grumbling or disputing; that you may prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world” (Philippians 2:14-15). He sought an attitude of joyful acceptance, free of petty disputes and bickering. He plead for authentic joy. Nothing is more contagious!The world will know the real thing and if it is of God there is no hard work. People will see the God in you the hope of glory and there is your testimony. Anything short of this lack the spirit of truth in your life.
Let us thank God for another word and for truth, pray for me that the Lord will grant me the strength to carry on and to be a better citizen. That I will continue to feet the flock of God and to prepare the flock to feed in pastures fresh and green.
