WHAT IS NEXT?

Well, we celebrated the 235^th Birthday of our great nation. If you’re like me, you shed a few tears at the colorful explosion of the fireworks. Your lips quiver at the singing of the National Anthem in the presence of the US Military Color Guard. You probably heard of a soldier who came back wounded, and is imploring you to remember the fallen.

Or maybe you watched an old movie like “Saving Private Ryan,” or “Yankee Doodle Dandy.” These movies make me think about the reality and lessons of Freedom. What are we doing now? What kind of an impact, a legacy, are we leaving?

I was thinking about this last night after watching the “Capitol 4^th of July” show on the PBS Station. After the fireworks are completed, and the traffic dies down and you are driving home, what’s next? What do we do? How do we live? If someone were to find my “stuff” some fifty, sixty years after I have died, what will they “interpret” of my life?

Galatians 5:16-5:21

“So I say, “Live by the Spirit and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law.

The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.”

In this passage of scripture that we read, Paul is talking about living by the Spirit. Of course, he is talking about the Spirit of God’s nature, the Holy Spirit. The Spirit was sent to be with us when Jesus left is the same Spirit that remains with us yet today, if we will but let Him in. Paul says to live by the Spirit means that we will not live to satisfy our sinful nature. We are born into a world that is under the sway of the enemy, and the enemy is the world’s best liar. His only job is to kill, steal, and destroy what God has made – and we are in the center of his target.

Since we are born into this world, we have carnal natures, always looking for immediate gratification and fun. And there is no sin that is not fun to somebody in the beginning, and to some degree. If sin were not fun, there would be no enticement to commit it in the first place. And that is our problem: Our carnal and worldly nature craves the fix we get from sin.

Paul again tells us to live by the Spirit and we will not gratify those desires of the flesh that we have. If you will notice, before Adam ate of the forbidden fruit, his first instinct was to walk with God. After he ate of the forbidden fruit, his first instinct was to hide from God. He had lost his way because he had disobeyed God and become a part of this world.

When we give our lives to God, there must be a change. As it is, we are a busy people. So many people complain that they do not have any time left in their day to devote to God. They have it backwards! God wants our first fruits. That means He wants the first portion of everything we have.

When we awake in the mornings, we should give God the first portion of our day. Wake up and go into prayer, and then read His holy word for a while. Then get on with your normal routine. In church, give God your first fruits. In other words, worship Him first. Then get busy doing the things you do to serve others. Like I said, God wants your first fruits, not what is leftover after you do everything else.

So how do we do that on a consistent basis? The first thing we must do is to re-learn an old concept of what it means to stop being so busy. Everyone has the same amount of time allocated each day. We must train ourselves to take a small portion of that time and give it back to God. And the best way we can do that is to train ourselves to read what God has written so we will know more of what He wants for us. We must “be still” before the Lord, or in today’s vernacular, we must cool it and stop being so busy.

PSALM 37:7 tells us to ‘be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him.’

PSALM 46:10 says to ‘be still and know that I am God.’

God does not mean for us to be idle and quit working. He does, however, want us to take periods of time to be restful so that we can focus on the things of God. If we do not take the time to read His word; to communicate and listen to Him in prayer; how can we get to know God better? The answer, of course, is we can’t. And if we do not take the time to pursue our God, we will not take the time to live by the Spirit of God.

And that is when we begin to live following after the Spirit. When we begin to live by the Spirit, we start seeing the fruits of the Spirit being manifested in our lives.

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things, there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature, with its passions and desires.”

All those things we desire in the flesh are contrary to what God wants us to desire. In the flesh, we desire fun. In the Spirit, we desire joy. You cannot have joy in the flesh, as pure joy only comes from having a relationship with Jesus Christ.

There was a lady in a small church several years ago that carried her Bible with her everywhere she went. She was the first to offer prayers for others and in every conversation, she mentioned the Lord. But whenever she talked about people who were divorced or homeless, she could only offer biting criticisms. Was this lady living by the fruits of the Spirit, or was she living by the hatred of the world?

A person who leans on Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit only offers up loving rebuke, and then only in the proper setting. A person who is led by the Spirit of God does not use the Holy Ground of God’s church to criticize, denounce, or correct others, especially in a church service. A person who relies on God’s Spirit does not find fault with others, but will find love for others.

But you know what? We are born with a hole in our hearts. That hole is in the shape of our Lord and Savior. So what do we spend our lives doing? We do everything we can to fill that hole so we won’t be missing anything. And we use all the things this world offers us to do it.

Some people use alcohol to fill that hole. Do you remember the testimony Brother Rome gave a few months ago? He recounted his days as a drunkard and said he would awake in the mornings to find himself drooped against the toilet, sicker than a dog. But he said he would smile and try to remember all the fun he had the night before. What was he doing? He was trying his best to fill that void in his heart, but he was also failing miserably.

Some people use sex to fill that hole. In verse 19, Paul talks about sexual immorality, and in verse 21, he talks about the sin of orgies. God gave us sex as a wonderful thing, but it is only to be experienced between a man and his wife. In any other setting, we are sinning against the Most High God, and we are trying to use it to fill the void in our hearts. The problem is it that it cannot fill that void; only a personal and close relationship with Christ Jesus will fill that void. All of us pursue things to fill the void in our heart when Jesus isn’t in it. Think for a moment. What sin are you chasing?

In the passage I read a few minutes ago, Paul is telling us that if we continue to live these kinds of lives, we shall not enter into the gates of Heaven. Is that what we want: To be told to get away from God because we are evildoers?

“Dale” wants a promotion on his job, so he must make sure his work is worthy enough to be promoted. “Trina” is pursuing a college degree, so she must work at studying so she can pass the tests.

Dale probably doesn’t like spending all that time on the job anymore than Trina likes spending that much time studying, but they know that to earn what they really want, they have to do it. It may not be easy, but it is necessary.

Likewise, it is not always easy to live a life in the Spirit, but to get what we really desire; it is necessary to always strive to live in the Spirit. Have you ever noticed the difference between a person who is walking with Christ and one who is not? The one walking with Christ is living in the Spirit. And it is no coincidence that the person who is living in the Spirit is happier and more peaceful, no matter what their lot in life.

In 2 CORINTHIANS 5:17, Paul explains this difference. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!”

You see, if we really are in Christ, and Christ really is in us, then there will be a difference between the way others live their lives and the way we live ours. That difference is what we lean on to fulfill our desires. They lean on the world and all the sin the world offers them. We lean on God’s Holy Spirit, and receive the joy of God’s love as we do.

The famous actor, Errol Flynn, died in 1959, at the relatively young age of 50. He was said to have had lustful desires for any human who walked, whether it be male or female. He also was addicted to gambling and drinking. In his house, he had a gambling hall and a large barroom. He also had one-way mirrors in most rooms so he could sneak peaks at whomever he wanted, whenever he wanted.

Errol Flynn, by all accounts, was the type of person Paul was describing in the passage I read. He was sexually immoral, full of impure motives, his idol was his own selfish pleasures, and he indulged in orgies and drunkenness.

How many of us have done similar things? Oh, maybe not on as grand a scale as old Errol, and maybe in different ways, but we have all sinned and come short of the glory of God. Now, let me ask you a question: Do you think Mr. Flynn went to heaven? And if not, why do you think you will go if you are guilty of those same sins?

After Flynn died, Stuart Hamblin bought his house. Mr. Hamblin is the songwriter who wrote such songs as, ‘It Is No Secret What God Can Do” and “This Old House.” He removed the barroom and placed racks full of gospel music in its place. He also took out the gambling hall and made it a recreation hall for Christian youths. In short, he renovated the house, taking out all the sin and converting it to a house that worships Jesus.

That house, the house that Stuart Hamblin bought is much like what happens after becoming a Christian. Even though our carnal bodies (the structure of the house) remain the same, something new happens to the insides of it (Our spiritual house). The Holy Spirit comes in and takes up residence in our heart. There is a restructuring of what is important, of what our House is to be used for.

Now, we must be very careful, because sometimes things get distorted, even in the church. There are many people who believe in God, and even believe in Jesus; who go to church regularly and are nice people who think they are really Christians. But they aren’t. These people have been deceived by the devil into thinking that they are doing all the things necessary to go to Heaven.

In reality, these people focus on their own desires first. Everything they think about revolves around what they want, what they need, what they think. It doesn’t matter whether their thoughts are good or bad, they are selfish because they are not focused on the Lord first and foremost. For us to be real Christians, we must focus on what the Lord wants, and stop … living for ourselves.

Let me remind you, our sinful nature is in conflict with the Spirit of God. Let me reiterate that: When we live in self, we are focused on self. When we live by the Spirit, we are focused on God.

The Apostle Paul knew of this conflict of what we want versus what God wants for us.

In ROMANS 7:15 he said, “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do, I do not do, but what I hate, I do.” There is a war going on inside us, and it is over what our sinful flesh wants and our Christian heart wants. It is not an easy battle, but it can be won. But to win, you must be willing to allow the Holy Spirit to have control of your life in the fight against the flesh. It is your responsibility in giving your life over to God, and to the control of the Holy Spirit in order to use what God gave you to stand firm by living in the power of the Spirit.

There will be winners and losers in this spiritual battle that rages within us, too. And that winner will be the one who prepares for it beforehand; and not the one who waits until they are in the middle of it to wonder what to do. The only way we can prepare for this battle is by reading the Bible to find out what God wants from us. It will not be by reading sleazy books, watching filthy shows, or doing things that are fun to do. We will get ready by focusing ourselves on getting closer to our God. But to do that, we must first turn our back on the sinful offerings of this world and turn back towards God.

If you are living with your focus on what you want, you are living in the flesh and you will go to hell, even if what you want is not necessarily bad. Why? It is because your focus is not on Jesus, but on yourself. If your focus is on you, then you have become your own idol, and Paul tells us to stay away from idolatry.

But, also understand that we are talking about having an “attitude” of sin. Every one of us is going to continue to sin the rest of our lives, but when we live by the Spirit, the Spirit will convict us of our sin and that is when we go to the Father and ask forgiveness with a humble and heart of repentance. And the wonder of it all is that He does forgive us – because He is a God of second chances.

Don’t you see that is what God gives us? He has given us a period of grace; a time to understand the law and to comply with it. Many people ask how a loving God could send someone to hell. The answer is that He doesn’t – we send ourselves to hell because we refuse to obey the law.

When your grace period is over, what will be your plight? On your personal Day of Judgment, what will God see when He looks at you? Will He see a person who has received Christ and has tried to live by the Spirit, or will He see a person who has kept a rebellious heart and refused to obey?

And what will you do on your personal Day of Judgment? When you look at God, will you see a Father who loves you and has forgiven you, or will you see a God who you have rejected? You will be before His throne. Will you hold your head up high and find joy in the radiance of His love, or will you hang your head in shame and terror, as you finally understand that your pride has sent you to hell?

What’s next in your life as a Christian? Letting the Holy Spirit lead you into the fullness of Jesus Christ.

Freedom ... From? To? For?

Freedom From, To, For? Galatians 5:1 - 23, ESV:

This patriotic weekend, we will be celebrating the country's 235th birthday. I have often thought about my freedom as an American. Am I truly free? I know I am truly free to live the way I want, but I am not free to choose the consequences. I know I am free to run in the street and play baseball, but I am not free from the consequences of having to fight off the traffic, and the constant interruption of the games. I can choose to go to the park to play, and enjoy uninterrupted baseball. I am free to ride on a boat, without the assistance of a life preserver, but I am not free from the consequences of when the boat flips over. Again, Am I really free? Have I truly appreciated the freedom that I have?

My grandparents, for several generations fought in wars. My father was in the army. Unfortunately, I was not. When I was younger, my father used to take me to a fourth of July parade downtown in my hometown of Columbus, Ohio. I used to love going to those things. What I loved more than anything else was the Armed Forces Marching Bands. The Marines, the Army, the Navy and the Air Force all had their "Dress Blues" and they marched smartly in precision while playing their instruments. I never heard the music, but I watched their cadence! Then, between the groups, there were some veterans marching. These men were injured, maimed, pushing others in wheelchairs. I looked at my father, as he would stand smartly watching these men, with his right hand over his heart. I could see a tear, or two. I looked back at these men, and I remember thinking, "What's so special about these guys?" It wasn't until years later, my father explained to me that these men who were maimed, etc., had given their lives so that we would be free, and live free. Then he said something that I will never forget" "Rickey, whenever you violate a law, you are slapping those men in the face! Don't ever let me catch you slapping these men!"

Of course, I was a young kid, then, and not an expert at analyzing the analogies of adulthood. But I had learned through the years what my father meant: "If you want to thank these men for the fight they gave to protect your freedom, live in freedom - not in captivity."

The entire fifth chapter of Galatians captures the entire focus of the Christian life. Here, in this specific chapter, we see the experience of Salvation, and the resulting expression of that salvation experience. They were saved from condemnation and brought into a relationship with the Father through Jesus to live in the freedom the Spirit as He has intended for us to live from the beginning - expressing our joy through the Fruit of Love.

Not only that, Paul also warns us that if we try to achieve salvation by a specific work of man (circumcision, for example) then we nullify the cross of it's very value. Once we complete the act of the law, then we must fulfill every obligation of the law - which brings certain failure. He says that if we want to be justified from Christ, but instead seek to justify ourselves by following the law, then we are severed from Christ. What are we free from? We are free from the demands of the requirements of the law, and the certain failure from not fulfilling the law. What are we free to? We are free to Love Christ and to love our fellow man. We were not set free to satisfy our flesh, but to live in the power of the Spirit!

But there is another aspect of the question: What are we free for? We are free to live out the life that God had intended for us to live from the beginning of time: To walk in the Spirit, to walk by the Spirit and to walk for the purpose of loving our neighbor, for the purpose of loving the father, and for the purpose of being a light on a hill, thereby giving hope to our city in times of darkness. However, let it be said that we are not free for ourselves, as we have been redeemed. The Apostle Paul reminds us that our redemption has set us free, but we do not own our bodies. We were purchased with a price.

Are you prospering in the power of the Spirit? Or are you floundering in the failures of the flesh? Are you enjoying the freedom that was given for you on the Cross of Calvary? Or are you, as my father would impress upon me, insisting to live in captivity to sin by "slapping the Lord in the face all the while He is on the cross?"

My challenge to you this weekend, "Learn to Live Free in the Freedom of His Grace (Not in the Requirements of the Law) Because He died for you!"

I thank you, my American Veterans, who have given your life for the pursuit of freedom and protection. I thank you, my members of the Emergency forces (Police, Fire, and Emergency Medical Workers) for diligently to provide protection so that I might enjoy the fruits of freedom in my community. And I thank you dear Lord, my blessed Savior, Redeemer and Friend, for giving your life for me in order that I might enjoy living in the fruit of the Spirit, and not struggling with the fruit of the flesh.

As the Gaither's have so eloquently proclaimed, "Let Freedom Ring!"

Happy Fourth of July Living!

Sincerely Yours,

Dr. Rick McClain, Pastor

Heritage Church of the Nazarene

A New Life, and a New Beginning ...

Something new is happening in the Church.

Someone in the Church has just given birth to a new born baby. And family members join in on the celebration. Grandpa told me that there'd be "50 people in the waiting room," and he wasn't far off, either!!

The baby was born, Mom and Dad are tired, but elated at the same time. Grandma and grandpa are happy with their first born grandchild. Great grandparents? Yeah, they're happy too, but this was number something or other!

It makes me wonder ...

I like new things. For some reason, I have been trained to like new things - from the beginning of my days. New toys, new clothes, new shoes, new ball gloves, new fresh-fallen snow, new cars, new house, new job, new baby, new son-in-law, new grandson, new job opportunities, and the list goes on and on.

My father once took an old bicycle and did an extreme makeover. He replaced the wheels, the brakes, the seat, and the handlebar grips. He sanded and painted the bike so well, that everybody thought it was a brand spanking new bike! When I rode that bike to school on the first day of school after Christmas vacation, someone stole it by cutting off the chain. That tells you something about the value of that Bike.

One of my favorite verses in the Bible is 2 Corinthians 5:17. If anyone is in Christ he IS a new creation. The old has gone and the new has come. Even in the Old Testament, God has promised us something new - a new heart, a new spirit. Newness all around. It is just exciting, I think.

When Jesus Christ comes into your life, he infiltrates who you are, He makes everything new. With the newness of life you are given everything that comes with it, new attitudes, new habits, new behaviors, and new heart (passion and desire).

The old things are passed away, done away with, gone. The trash is taken out, new "paint" is applied, and there is a totally new and extreme makeover. Here's a special thing, you don't even have to take a vacation!! He does it instantly!! In essence, he makes you BRAND NEW.

What is exciting about that BRAND NEW LIFE is that people will rave about your new life. They might even want to "steal it." Don't hide your new life, but instead, stand it on a hill, shining brightly for all to see - giving them direction for how to get that new life for themselves!!

Are you in Christ? If so, look around you, look inside you and see if the newness is still there. Remember, we have a salvation that will never writher, or rot away. We have a salvation that thieves cannot steal, and moths cannot ruin. But we must keep it fresh with a newness in the relationship with Christ. If anyone is IN Christ (a present imperative), the old has gone and the newness has come.

May God be with you!!!

Dr. Rick McClain, Pastor

Heritage Church of the Nazarene

We Really Need Each Other ... Today.

"Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much more as you see the day approaching (Hebrews 10:25)."

I like encouragement. I am sure you do, also. But encouragement is based upon the same principle as church attendance - establishing relationships. I remember watching the movie, "Facing the Giants." The coach was asking Brock if he trusted in his ability to go fifty yards on a bear crawl with a teammate on his back. Brock said, he did. The coach took a bandana and blindfolded Brock, put a supposedly 150 pound teammate on his back and began the process of encouraging Brock.

As Brock was wearing tired, Coach continued to encourage him more and more. FInally, at the end of the "exercise," Coach had Brock remove his bandana and he realized that he had gone far more than he expected, 100 yards instead of the requested 50. And on top of that, he carried a 180 pound player instead of 150.

Being a Christian is all about relationships. A relationship with God is established because of our belief in Jesus Christ - the Bridge to God. It is also a relationship with others that deepens my relationship with God, and strengthens my faith in my relationship with people who may not know Christ. All of these relationships - with God, with Christ, and with others, are interdependent with each other.

If you are having difficulty in your life, or if you are seeking peace in the midst of your storms, we invite you to visit us at Heritage Church of the Nazarene. Here, we will walk alongside with you, encouraging you, exhorting you and building you up for your journey and in all your relationships. This was the premise and picture of the 12th Chapter of Hebrew, the great cloud of witnesses that encourages us as we run the race marked out for us in Christ Jesus. I am deaf. I have never heard a crowd cheer, yell, and encourage me. But I do know a "visual cheer" when I see one. The best, most active "cheerleader" you will ever see on your journey? Jesus Christ.

Reuben Welch wrote a famous book some years ago, "We Really do Need Each Other." Even 40 years later, I think he is right. You need God, I need God, and we really do need each other.

Come, to Heritage Church of the Nazarene and find out why. I think you'll be glad you did!

The FIRST Blog!

as a Pastor, one tends to think a great deal before writing anything much less a blog. I have never written one before, and it is kinda interesting, to say the least.

As I sit here at my computer, I am thinking about my life verse. Do you have a life verse? It is a verse that people use as a mission statement for their life. I do not mean a favorite verse, as I have many of them. Psalm 139:14, "I Praise you for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well," to name one of them.

But a life verse is something that motivates one to a life of purpose. I think my life verse is found in Mark 5:19, "And he did not permit him, but said to him, Go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you and how he has had mercy on you."

Jesus just healed a man with a demon. Many other people have tried to help him to no avail. He ended up living in the tombs, his behavior was destructive. He had tried to kill himself, and he was not in his right mind. His speech was erratic, loud, disruptive and slurred. He was a man whose soul was in travail, all night and day.

I am sure that I was not like this man with a demon, but I was destructive. I was angry inside, and hateful, at times. My speech was spiteful, not courteous, and slicing to others. But Jesus had mercy on me that night when he forgave me of my sins and became not only the resident in my life, but also the president. Since then, I have made it my life verse to share with Jesus an updated testimony of what God has been doing in my life.

May I take a moment to tell you, as well? Why not come join us in the house of the Lord at Heritage Church of the Nazarene, 610 Dennis Street, Clanton, AL. We would love to have you, and we would love to share with you the story of God in our lives. It is the only story we have!

I hope you'll visit this site often, and get a new glimpse every week of what God is doing at Heritage Nazarene! We're excited, because leaving a Heritage unto the Lord is an exciting adventure!

Yours,


Rev. Rick McClain, D. Min.
Pastor