Hi, this is Wallace, Lisa’s husband. Lisa asked me to sub for her and lead Prayer Tuesday night.
In preparation I was praying (which is always a good thing to do). What I heard the Lord talking about was that He wanted us to flourish in ministry outside the church building. That we spent most of our time outside of church, and that’s where He lives, with us.
A major road block to our flourishing is that we lose track of who He is. There is a tendency for us to try and talk Him into doing what we think is “good”. The reality is that “good” is actually His desire and purpose.
BUSINESS PERSPECTIVE
In data processing there is the concept of master data management. This is the concept that not all data has the same value. Some data is more valuable than other data. Looking at the best data with the most reliable source, produces a better system. That’s what we focused on tonight.
There are lots of people that have lots of opinions about God. Some are from their personal experiences. Some are from what they’ve been taught. Some are just plain conjecture.
I felt that the best data available to us is what God says about Himself.
In business and sports, there is a focus on periodically ignoring the sophistication of the endeavor and focus on the basics. If you like movies, look at Hoosiers. What really came to mind was an old Harvard Business Review sidebar about JC Penny’s head of sales. He said there were store managers who focused on selling a lot and there were store managers that focused on the basics of selling. He always had to replace the managers trying to sell a lot with new managers that focused on the basics of sales. We are focusing on the basics of who God says He is.
SCRIPTURE WE USED
This is the scripture I put in my notes to take to the prayer meeting (I added the emphasis to stand out while I was reading the scripture, it’s not in the Bible):
What the Lord says about Himself:
Exodus 33:17-23 (NKJV) 17So the LORD said to Moses, “I will also do this thing that you have spoken; for you have found grace in My sight, and I know you by name.”
18And he said, “Please, show me Your glory.”
19Then He said, “I will make all My goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the name of the LORD before you. I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.” 20But He said, “You cannot see My face; for no man shall see Me, and live.” 21And the LORD said, “Here is a place by Me, and you shall stand on the rock. 22So it shall be, while My glory passes by, that I will put you in the cleft of the rock, and will cover you with My hand while I pass by. 23Then I will take away My hand, and you shall see My back; but My face shall not be seen.”
Exodus 34:5-7 (NKJV) 5Now the LORD descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the LORD. 6And the LORD passed before him and proclaimed, “The LORD, the LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, 7keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children’s children to the third and the fourth
Exodus 34:4-8 (NLT) 4So Moses chiseled out two tablets of stone like the first ones. Early in the morning he climbed Mount Sinai as the LORD had commanded him, and he carried the two stone tablets in his hands. 5Then the LORD came down in a cloud and stood there with him; and he called out his own name, Yahweh. 6The LORD passed in front of Moses, calling out, “Yahweh! The LORD! The God of compassion and mercy! I am slow to anger and filled with unfailing love and faithfulness. 7I lavish unfailing love to a thousand generations. I forgive iniquity, rebellion, and sin. But I do not excuse the guilty. I lay the sins of the parents upon their children and grandchildren; the entire family is affected— even children in the third and fourth generations.” 8Moses immediately threw himself to the ground and worshiped.
The 10 Commandment Talk:
Exodus 20:1-6 (NLT) 1Then God gave the people all these instructions: 2“I am the LORD your God, who rescued you from the land of Egypt, the place of your slavery. 3“You must not have any other god but me. 4“You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea. 5You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods. I lay the sins of the parents upon their children; the entire family is affected—even children in the third and fourth generations of those who reject me. 6But I lavish unfailing love for a thousand generations on those who love me and obey my commands.
Picking Israel:
Deuteronomy 7:7-9 (NKJV) 7The LORD did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any other people, for you were the least of all peoples; 8but because the LORD loves you, and because He would keep the oath which He swore to your fathers, the LORD has brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you from the house of bondage, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. 9Therefore know that the LORD your God, He is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and mercy for a thousand generations with those who love Him and keep His commandments;
Jonah’s Viewpoint
Jonah 4:1-2 (MSG)
1 Jonah was furious. He lost his temper.
2 He yelled at God, “God! I knew it – when I was back home, I knew this was going to happen! That’s why I ran off to Tarshish! I knew you were sheer grace and mercy, not easily angered, rich in love, and ready at the drop of a hat to turn your plans of punishment into a program of forgiveness!
Anyway:
Ephesians 2:4-7 (NKJV) 4But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
CLOSING
It was good to pray with everyone on-line afterwards. Join with us in prayer.
Wallace
© Copyright Wallace Swayze 2017
