Voice of the Nazarene 9-17-23

I'm coming to you from North Central Ohio, we share with you the voice of the Nazarene. A WEEK BY WEEK venture into the Word of God sponsored by the Bucyrus, Ohio Church of the Nazarene. We join our Pastor Reverend Ray LaSalle, and the voice of the Nazarene.

All three of you. So glad those three came. I could hear Patty play and just occasionally off and on and what a blessing it is to have such beautiful talent, orchestra, singers. I trust that God has something to share with us this morning. Pastoring is so different than Evangelism. 23 years of Evangelism you could repeat yourself some and nobody knew the difference. But they know the difference when you're pastoring. They had a dude ranch out west and they advertise we've got tall horses for tall people. Short horses for short people. Heavy horses. And we have horses that have never been riden for those who have never riden a horse. When you're pastoring every time you walk into the pulpit, whether you realize it or not, you never know if you'll get bucked off the sermon or not. Every time I walk into the pulpit. I talked to somebody yesterday and they said their greatest fear. And he was standing right here I was getting ready to marry him to a gal and he said I'm supposed to say some of my vows. And he said the public speaking is my number one fear. I said me too, every Sunday. You'd never know. And I never walk out here but when I say please God, don't leave me just up there standing. Please help me knowingly. So I hope that God has something to share.

And not only with us, but you who are watching by live stream and by telecast. We've been telecasting now for a number of years, been on radio for many, many years. And when I was in Evangelism, we were on about 30 stations long before others in the holiness movement were and of course I got shot a time or two. Went on TV and took some more hits. You know, if you're a step ahead, you're a leader. If you're 10 steps ahead, you're a target. Now all my dear brothers, they're all out there on YouTube and just preaching up a storm. But when we did it on TV we got shot. Nice to be holey. I'm talking about bullet holes. Matthew Chapter 28, Verse 20. And I just want to preach to you kind of texturally, if you don't mind from this verse.

Matthew 28:20

Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have

and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. And what I'd like to address just for a few minutes this morning. The question is what does God do for you? And for me? It was on April the 15th 1947 Jackie Robinson became the first black man to play professional baseball. It was a shocker to sports enthusiast. When suddenly he stepped out on the field and they couldn't believe it they began to call all kinds of racial slurs and boos and garbage and said all kinds of very mean things. Jackie Robinson had to even stay in different hotels, he couldn't stay with his teammates. He had to use different restrooms. At some of the opposing games, when they would step out to play or he'd even be in the batter's box. Some of the opposing players would take their bat and they would turn it around and aim it at him like they were shooting him with a gun. They went to games and people would release black cats. Throw them out on the field and call, There's your cousin Jackie.

There's your brother Jackie. And folk, I don't really know what you believe, but that's bad at the highest level. God created all men equal.

Jesus loves everybody. He died for all of us. Red, yellow, black and white. They're all precious in his sight. Jackie Robinson was the first to play so I guess he was a target. He said that he was at an all time low with being put down with the boo's, the jeering, there were even death threats. And there was a game in which Jackie Robinson played first base. And it seemed like the crowd was on their feet and slurring and booing and threatening more than ever. At about that time, the captain of the team, a man by the name of Pee Wee Reese, stepped out and walked over to first base, put his arm around his black teammate. And he turned and he faced the stands and just stood there staring and suddenly a silence swept across that ball field. And the silence grew all the way up into the stands. Later, Jackie Robinson said that probably Pee Wee Reese thought that he saved my career. But in reality, he said he probably saved my life.

For he said, I was at wit's end, I couldn't go any farther. And he said, I'll never get over what Pee Wee Reese did for me.

When he took his stand for me.

And folk when somebody does an act of kindness, when somebody is good to us, or they just go out of their way to make us feel special. We ought to be grateful. We ought to never get over when somebody's good to us.

I got to thinking on that thought. And I got to thinking when God is good to us, and I don't know of anybody, and he better to us than God. And I think of all that God has done for us and what he's doing for us and what his plans are for our future. What has Jesus done for you and for me? May, I say, first of all, he shifted our past. That past that I had, he shifted it and changed it. Most of us, we're human, and we struggle with this thing called forgiveness, forgiving others, when they slur us and slide us and people are really good at doing it, and especially behind our backs. And it's hard to release it, it's hard to let it go. And when we see its effect, like dominoes, and others are influenced. It's hard to release it and let it go and to forgive them. But we need to, but we need to. And boy, what a difference it makes when you forgive others. Can I just stop there for a moment? I was talking to you about how grateful Jackie Robinson was.

And I said when people are good to us, we ought to be grateful.

I was thinking Dr. Saunders booked me for the district primetime retreat this last year and it was over in Amish country near Oh, that something called sweet something, I cant remember. Sugar Creek, that's it. What's that sweet smelling flower, Rose? Thank you Rose. So anyhow, I had to speak in the morning, speak in the evening.

And long before that I booked a wedding. And the wedding was to be on Thursday and the rehearsal was on Wednesday and they'd booked it a little early on. So I had spoke that morning in Amish country. Then I had to get 70 miles over here to Marengo, Ohio for this wedding rehearsal.

And then hop back in and race all the way back to Amish country and step in speak to those who were a part of our prime time retreat across the district and elsewhere. Now to say I was tired is an understatement. I was exhausted.

And one of our dear couples here in this church, one of the newer couples that have started coming his name is Darl. And Darl found out that I needed to drive all the way to Marengo, Ohio and then try to get back in time to speak. And he said, I'll drive you. I said, That's okay, I'm in a stupor anyhow. He said, No, I'll drive you and so I finally agreed and we walked out and we started for my car and he said, No, we'll just take my truck.

And I got to climb in that brand new, beautiful truck, that rode better than a car. And there's no roads that go to Marengo from Sugar Creek. They just didn't make a road. Fact of the matter GPS took us on places that wasn't a road. It took us literally to dead ends, and we had to turn around and try to find the road help GPS a little bit. And I'm over there kind of half asleep and hanging on for dear life, and we're trying to get to where. And when he brought me back and I got up and spoke, I was so grateful. There is no way to express how grateful to Darl for taking me on that afternoon when I was so tired. I was out of strength the other evening and I do that once in a while and I just crashed. I went home and crashed. I looked at Jan, she wasn't feeling well.

And she had already crashed. So we were together having this accident. She hadn't fixed supper. And I was sitting there.

And the phone rang and it was one of our dear couples right here in this church. And they had called and he said to me, he said, We just took it off the grill and from out of the oven and we've got a warm supper for you tonight. Unbelievable. I walked out and carried that supper in and it was the highlight of my week.

And I thought how grateful that I am. I got a little storage building over here across town and it's got a little bit of grass.

There's not much grass there except when I'm mowing. And it's the heaviest grass. And I've got one of these push mowers that you just can't hardly keep the thing running and with all that heavy grass. I'll spend more time trying to pull start that thing then I do getting the grass cut. We had one of our newer couples and they pulled up and he put the window down and said, What ya doing, preacher? I wanted to say flying an airplane. I said I'm trying to mow the grass, He say is this your building? I said most of the time it is. He said boy I can mow this for you, you don't have to be over here. He said we just live right up the way here.

And he's been mowing it ever since. I can't tell you how grateful and what a load it's lifted off of me. And when I think about how Jesus has shifted my past and took all that sin and all that junk in my life and removed it as far as the east is from the west.

You'll never find it so don't waste your time. He put up a no fishing sign anyhow. Private property for your information.

And how good he's been to deal with those attitudes in our life like bitterness. Bitterness will do more to destroy the container in which it's stored than the object of which is poured. And God wants to take all of that junk out of our lives and deal with us with forgiveness. Story goes that a lady was walking past her husband in the home he was in the recliner. When you're in the recliner, you're totally relaxed. And when she went by she took a pencil and thumped him on the head. And once he got his eyes uncrossed he said, What did you do that for? She said I happened to find in your shirt pocket when I was getting ready to wash your shirt. A card on the back of it, it was signed Sarah Lou. And who is Sarah Lou?

Oh, he said you don't need to worry about that. I was at the track and I was betting on this horse named Sarah Lou. Oh, she said I didn't know. About three days later he's in his recliner again and when she went by this time, she hit him with a skillet for all she was worth. When he finally got his brain unscrambled, he said, What did you do that for? Oh, she said, I just needed to mention your horse, Sarah Lou, just called.

And I don't know if your horse is calling but I know that all of us have some regrets in our life. I know that all of us have a past. There's things that want to come out of the past and haunt us and there's things that we wish that we could do over again. But I'm glad for Revelation 1:5, Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood. Can you imagine that he shifted all of our past he took those sins and put them out into the blood and now there is white as snow? We have no past. It's been forgiven. Once and for all, that's good news. What does that mean? It means that he moved, he shifted me from being a sinner over here to being a saint. It means he took me from sin unto salvation. It means he took me from a servant over here to a son, a slave works for the family but a son is a part of the family. It meant I was an old creature. But according to second Corinthians 5:17, therefore, any man who's in Christ Jesus, he's a new creature, old things are passed away, behold, all things are become new. Somebody said, Church preacher made me a lot better. Jesus didn't die on the cross to make you better. He died on the cross to make you a new man and a new woman. That's why he did it. So I went from being a sinner, to being a saint, from sin, to salvation, from our old creature into a new creation and from darkness to light, and from unrighteousness to righteousness. That's what the Lord does for you, for me, so let me tell you what the Lord did. He shifts our past. That's what he does, we're forgiven. We get a new start. But something else I got to thinking about this week, and I'm just touching on what I thought about there's many things that you could share that the Lord's done for you.

Revelation 1:5 2 Corinthians 5:17

But I believe he shares my present. Right in the now he shares that with me in Second

16, Paul said, he said at my first hearing, when he was in court, no man stood with me all men forsook me. And in verse 17, he said, notwithstanding the Lord stood with me. So not only does he shift our past, but he shares our present. How does he share our present? Well, first of all, he becomes a partner for life. Look at what he says in Deuteronomy 31:8 of the Lord, He it is that doth go before thee, he will be with thee, he will not fail thee, neither forsake thee: fear not, neither be dismayed. And then in Psalm 37, Verse 10, when my father and my mother forsake me, and I hope they don't, mine are gone, but I hope they haven't blotted me out. But if they should The Lord will take me as a partner for life. Do you know when you see somebody else, you don't know what they're going through?

Deuteronomy 31:8 Psalms 37:10

People that you have maybe known, maybe at wit's end, at about to throw in the towel. I have talked with people and the next day they had committed suicide. We don't know what they're going through. Be real careful. Sometimes they just need a kind word from you. They need you to share the present with them. I got a phone call and it was a pastor's wife from Fort Scott, Kansas. And she said, Preacher, my husband just left me for another woman in the church. And it was quiet and she said, Did you hear me? I said, Yes. I heard you. I said, I just met with him. I said, he called me and asked me to meet with him at a little restaurant right outside of town that nobody hardly goes to where you wouldn't be seen. And I said when I walked in, there he sat over there in a booth with his arm around a little blonde and told me he wanted me to marry them. Yeah, I should already know. She said we've been married for years. We've got kids together. Our life has been together. He left me. But I want you to know there's one that won't leave you. He'll be a partner for life. When he looks at that marriage certificate, it has no expiration date. He'll stick with you. But he shares my present because he's got a plan for daily living. You don't want he said, there in Matthew 6:34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow, for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself sufficient unto the day is the evil there. Don't worry about tomorrow. He said, I've got a plan for tomorrow. So he's my partner for life. He's my, my planner. And not only that, he's got peace, he's got joy I don't have time to deal with it. He also has a purpose for my life, and meaning for my life. So he shifts my past. He wants to share my present. And I'm glad he does. Little boy said to his mom, Mom, can I go outside and play baseball? She said by yourself. Oh, no. There's someone out there waiting to play ball with me she said, Who is it? He said it's Jesus.

Matthew 6:34

That'll mess with you won't it.

Now, she said, let me get this straight. You want to go out and play baseball with Jesus? He said, Yes. Mama. Well said, how does Jesus play baseball? He said I just throw the ball up and he throws it back and I throw it up and he throws it back. And we have a great game, Mom. Can I tell you for him this thing isn't about religion. It's about a relationship. It's about a relationship, and some of us need to get it. And then I was reading Hebrews 13:5, where it said I will never leave thee nor forsake thee. That's a great little passage. My problem is I'm not a great Greek scholar. I know a little Greek, he had a restaurant uptown before he retired. If you want to argue over translations just help yourself the devils gonna have a field day. They're all translations. Hello. You can argue one's better than another and you can get it all this stuff if you want to. But it's still not the original. You know the original in that verse and it says I will never, never, never, never, never, never, ever leave you. Here's the third thing he does. He sources my

Hebrews 13:5

6, this is the word of the Lord, not by might not by power, but by my Spirit saith the LORD of hosts. In other words, it's not our intellect. It's not our abilities. It's not our net working with others. It's not our net worth. It's his spirit.

I wish I could make that clear for your understanding this morning. We need the Holy Spirit is what I'm trying to say. I'm convinced every Christian needs indwelt by the Holy Spirit. What really worries me, a lot of Christians are not empowered by the Holy Spirit. And it's the power in the spirit that we need it makes a difference in our life. What will give you power, what will help you to overcome, what will help you to find the victory, what will get you over the hurdles of life? You can't do it on your own. I lived too long. I know better. Nobody's going to convince me of any thing else but that. The only way we're going to make it is through the power and enduement of the Holy Spirit. We meet in our churches across the nation, you know about 11 o'clock sharp and leave at about about 12 o'clock dull. We've got it all programmed down and pretty well got the Holy Spirit programmed out. But I want to tell you something when all the bells and the whistles and all that stuff is through and the lights and the smoke and everything else, boil it down if you don't have the Holy Spirit in the service and in the hearts of the people were just meeting together and no more than a club. What a difference it makes when the Holy Spirit come. Simon Peter, he was always telling I'll go with you to prison or death. If nobody else was stand up for you. I'll stand for you and little damsel came up he did not even knew Jesus. But after Pentecost he walked out of that upstairs room again to preach like they never heard. And he looked at crowd in the eye and he had been a denier before but the Holy Ghost had burned out that carnality and filled in his heart and he looked at crowd in the eye and said you stiff necked and uncircumcised in heart ye do always resist the Holy One. What was it that made the difference he had been to Pentecost he'd been empowered by the Holy Ghost. Calvary is all about pardon. Pentecost is about power. Bout power. Can I illustrate for you? Those three people would you respond please?

My office managers now the world class office manager. I asked her to get me I wanted dirt. But since she also is the janitor in here, she wouldn't have gave me any dirt.

But let's just pretend this is dirt. Come on people. Well, that was fun. Now, any of you got any dirt in your rug?

Don't look at me, like, you know, you've got dirt in your rug. What is that dirt in my rug? It's none of your business, my dirt or your dirt, I'm talking about some things in our lives, some weight, some things that need to be dealt with. And we have tried to clean it up for years and couldn't but I've got some news for you.

I don't know if this will work or not. But let me ask you something. Is there a release on this thing?

How many believe that this thing will get the dirt up? Okay.

How are we doing? Okay, that didn't work. So let's try something else.

What made the difference? The power. The power made the difference. And some of us have struggled for years trying to clean up the carpet. We have struggled trying to get the mess that's in our life. When the blinds are pulled and the doors are shut and nobody's able to see in we know about that besetting sin. We know about those encumbering weights and things that have hindered us.

And over the years it so drains us, we become questioning whether God is really the God that can transform and the God that can change. And we live with that mess in our life, and only the Holy Spirit of God that can go in there and clean up the mess and get us past the hurdles and the struggles and all of those things that affect our attitude and affect our desires.

It takes the Holy Spirit. So what does he do? What does God do for us, he shifts my past. He wants to share my present. He sources my power, but he knows something else. And I need to hurry. He shapes my future. He gives me a perspective of hope.

What's your perspective Pastor?

28. And it's very simple. We know that all things work together for the good of them that love God, and who are the call according to His purpose. God's at work. I'm not saying that everything that's happened in my life has been good. I've had a lot of sorrow and broken heart. I've had a lot of reverses. But I've never wanted to quit. I've been discouraged. My problem was I didn't have anything to go back to. World didn't want me. They never did treat me very good. So I couldn't go back. Only thing I could do was just hanging on for dear life. I'm glad for a hope to know that God isn't work in the world. They don't have that kind of hope. They don't realize there's a God that makes a difference wants to shape our future. But not only that, he gives us power over death. I needed that I don't know about you. John 11:25 Jesus said to that little sister of Lazarus, I'm the resurrection, and the

John 11:25

he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live. Innit that good. It was a community and a guy gotten hurt had been an accident and they needed to transport him to another nearby city. They have a very good hospital and the only ambulance they had in the entire area was out of commission and finally the mortician said, Well, you can borrow my hearse.

Just put him in the back of the hearse lay him down in the back.

I'd hate to be in a hearse wake up in it, wouldn't you? And they put him in the back of that hearse and laid him down. Of course it's got windows on both sides and they're racing for that nearby city, they came to a stoplight. And this guy that was injured and laying there in the back of the hearse wondered why did they stop have we arrived.

So we set up, looked out the window, and there's a red convertible with three blondes and one of them says, oh my and they all look at a winked at him and laid back down. Listen to me. If you know the Lord Jesus Christ, you can wink at death. If you know the Lord Jesus Christ, when death comes, you can learn he takes the sting out of death, he robs it of it's victory, because we have a hope beyond death. I'm glad for that, aren't you? Fact of the matter he shapes my future. He gives me a perspective of hope and he gives me power over death than he gives me a prepared place in heaven. Little boy lay down on the couch and had gone to sleep.

And his daddy came down and picked him up in his arms and cuddled him and carried him all the way upstairs, put him into the boy's bed, put the comforters around him and tucked him in and the little boy never woke up. The next morning he said Daddy, he said I don't remember getting into bed. Daddy said son you didn't. Daddy put you to bed. I came downstairs and got you and I carried you up and I put you in the bed. And one day God is going to put us to sleep and send angels for us.

Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints.

I've been doing that for 30 years here. Kind of slipping the covers around someone that the Lord has sent His angels for. I made a phone call yesterday afternoon and it was all the way down to a house that overlooks the Ohio River, a little town called Syracuse, Ohio. It's a preacher lady. I had her husband's funeral about two years ago. She had three brothers all three brothers one night came to the altar and were called to preach in that revival service. She felt the call to preach later and pastored. She sent word the other day ask Ray LaSalle if he will do my funeral. They'd called in hospice. And I called her yesterday and her grandson answered and I said, could I talk with Jan, her name's Jan Lavender. I said good. I talked with Jan. They said, Preacher, you can I don't know if she can answer back. I can barely hardly understand anything she said.

But I knew angels were coming.

It'll just be a few days and she'll close her eyes and sleep to wake up in heaven. Do you know what Jesus does for me?

Well, I'm grateful. I don't know about you. I'm grateful. I'm so glad for what he's done.

I just I want to tell everybody what he's done. Young guy had taken his old dad with him to the ball game and it was miles to get into that city and fought the traffic and they got their seats and found with the tickets where the seats were and got all seated. And about that time the band kicked into the national anthem. The old Dad got excited, like a war horse jumped up, put his hand over his heart and begin to sing as loud as he could. And they weren't planning on any singing they were just going to play it. He's singing the National Anthem and everybody's looking on that side of the stands and boy keep his face down. After the game was over, they didn't say much as they walked to the car in the parking garage and they drove out of the city and they're heading across the darkened countryside and finally the son said dad when they played the National Anthem and you got up and you sang so loudly you embarrassed me. I was ashamed.

The silence swept across that car. And after a little bit the old dad began to weep. And he said, Son, when you didn't stand and sing, You embarrassed me.

And you made me ashamed. And when I'm thinking of all that God has done for me across these years, I just want to stand and sing and tell everybody.

When I look back when I was a boy, and so many times, I was so close to making a decision that would have ruined my life and headed me down a trail, and I'd probably be in my grave and in hell this morning. But his Spirit spoke to me and he shifted my past. I'm so glad that he did. I look back on my life. And some of those times when somebody bragged on me, and I thought maybe I'd done something good and maybe puffed up like a peacock, I don't know.

But then when things fell apart, and I looked around those same ones, that had patted me on the back had disappeared, but the Lord was always there. And he had told me, it doesn't matter whether you're a hero or you're a zero. I'll never leave you, I'll never forsake you. I'm glad he was there. He's come alongside of me at times and said, you know, you're struggling with things and you're wrestling with issues.

And if you just let me fill you with my spirit, I'll guide you and I'd direct your life and you can get over some of these things. I'm glad he came along and told me that he had a plan for my future. And my future was different than yours. I was attending a little holiness Bible college and I was in the dorm and I got down that evening to pray. They made you go to bed almost before the night ever thought about becoming night, turn the lights out. They did it for us. So I'm having my little devotion. And I said, God, if you got to plan for my life, and just as clear, I want you to preach I said, God, you got the wrong room. You're talking about John, John's two rooms up in the dorm. And I'm not John. No I want you. I said, this is my personality and my makeups a little different than others. I got this, mama calls my humor, she always called it a ornrey streak in my theology. She'd never got it. Dad didn't either.

Some of you haven't either. But I have it anyway. And after meeting mom and dad and you why I've sure needed a lot of humor to survive. I said, God, if you want John Wesley, I'm not John Wesley, you'll have to dig him up. I want you. God had a plan for my future. And he has a plan for yours. And you better be sure you're fulfilling the plan of God. And one of these days you're gonna go to sleep. Only to wake in God's blue yonder.

Living for God, here's a good thing. But I want to tell you the retirement is out of this world.

Has Jesus done anything for you?

Has God done anything in your life that you're thrilled about has he shifted your past? Are you the same old thing you've always been? Thinking the same old thoughts talking the same old way? Or has he got the curse words out of your mouth and the evil thoughts out of your mind?

Has he changed your attitude and shifted your past? Is he sharing the present with you? Have you found him sourcing the power that's keeping you going? Have you let him shape your future? I want to tell you something this morning. As sure as my name is Ray LaSalle. There's people right now in this auditorium and watching by live stream. And he wants to shape your future. And it's time you quit resisting.

And it's time that some of us start saying yes to God and giving God all of the reins of our life. And say you're in control whatever you want is what I want. I've tried it my way and it's not working. I'll take your way.

Thanks for being a part of the voice of the Nazarene As every Sunday at 9am with BNC's Pastor Ray LaSalle for more information regarding BNC visit Bucyrus nazarene.org