IT’S TIME TO PARTY— IT’S A CELEBRATION! Philippians 4:4 (AMP) Rejoice in the Lord always [delight, gladden yourselves in Him]; again I say, Rejoice! Philippians 4:4-5 (MSG) Celebrate God all day, Every day. I mean, revel in him! Make it as clear as you can to all you meet that you’re on their side, working with them and not against them. Help them see that the Master is about to arrive. He could show up any minute! I like the message version of this Scripture. We get so used to talking church that the world can’t understand us. What in the world does, “Rejoice in the Lord mean?” “You see what I am talking about?” You don’t really speak that way in the world today. You don’t sit there in the kitchen and say, “Oh mother, I rejoice in the flavor of your omelet today and I rejoice over how perfectly browned the toast is...” See how silly that sounds. The message translation is something I can understand and so can you. CELEBRATE GOD ALL DAY! We seem to take for granted that the God of the universe knows our name. Not only does He know our name, He wants to spend time with us. I can vouch for the fact that the more time you spend with Him, more time you’ll want to spend with Him. It makes you want to tell people how wonderful He is. That’s the celebrate part. You celebrate the Lord by sharing your story of who God is to you. When I was 17 years old, I received the baptism in the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues. I was mesmerized by the presence of God. I had never felt such love. I spent the summer at the church sleeping on the front pew and spending my days in prayer before the Lord. I can truthfully say that I was celebrating His presence. We were building a new wing on the church so I spent the whole summer by myself, most of the time, up on the roof of the new wing, working my way to the peak, one board at a time. As I was hammering away I was praying the Spirit most of the time. I had no idea how God was changing me. As summer ended I went back to high school for my final year. They were grooming me for college so I had a special counselor. I believe it was the second week of school when I was called to his office for counseling. I had grown very close to this counselor. He really seem to care about my future. As I walked in and sat down in his office he looked at me, tilted his head to the side, like a little puppy would do, and he said to me, “What has happened to you?” I said, “What do you mean?” He said, “You look totally different, it’s something about your eyes.” I spent the next two hours celebrating God in his presence. As I told him what had happened to me and how God was working in my life, the presence of God filled the room and he began to get tears in his eyes, real tears were running down his face. When I left the counselor’s office, he had experienced the presence of God for the first time in his life. He was changed. I ministered at a church in North Carolina one time and the power of God really moved. Many people were blessed by the songs that I introduced to them. One in particular was called, “I CAN DO ALL THINGS,” based on Philippians 4:13. About six months later I came back to the church to minister again. It was a lot of fun because the people had learned the songs that I brought them earlier so we all just celebrated together. It was wonderful. After the service we all went downstairs for an indoor church picnic. That was wonderful too. After a while I broke away from the crowd and went upstairs to collect my belongings and was surprised to see a little girl about 10 or 11 sitting on the front row singing to herself. It gripped my heart to hear her singing the “I can do all things” song. As she was singing it she would say I can do all things and would slap herself on the chest saying (emphasis on the I and the all), I can do anything, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. (Slap) She got the message. I wish someone had taught me that Scripture when I was her age in a way that I could get it the way she did. By going somewhere and celebrating God with the audience, a young girl found out that she could celebrating too. I’m sure her life is never been the same. And you want to hear sing like that changed me, maybe realize how important it was for me celebrate Jesus in the presence of others. Said all that to say this, CELEBRATE GOD IN THE PRESENCE OF OTHERS. Tell your story, that’s a celebration. When you tell others about what God’s done for you all of heaven celebrates with you. The presence of our God is attracted to His children testifying about what He’s done. He can’t help it. He just shows up when you do that. Perhaps you’re in a position where you really need to hear from God. Start celebrating His presence with others. Start celebrating Him when it’s just you and Him alone. Someone Facebooked me a quote the other day. I don’t know who wrote it but it fits here. When God closes a door and you’re standing and waiting for Him to open another one, take that time to CELEBRATE HIM IN THE HALLWAY. You may feel like you’re in between open doors. Take this advice. Stop begging for an answer just start celebrating God because He is your God and after all He’s done for you, keep your eyes open for an opportunity to share your story and celebrate God in the presence of others. The more you share the more you’ll share. It’s an awesome life, you’re going to love it! Have a blessed day!
Posted on: Sat, 02 Nov 2013 06:06:34 +0000
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