Reflections on Sunday, January 13, 2008

The sermon today was “HOLDING ONTO THE END OF YOUR ROPE”. While Minister Austin was preaching he asked us all “had we ever been or felt desperate”? Now that question particularly reminded me of a place and a time when I was so spiritually and emotionally bankrupted that I was DESPERATE for God to intervene in my life. I know what it feels like to be in a place where there’s no one or nowhere you can turn to and get help. Even if someone wanted to help me they couldn’t because I put myself in a place where only God could help me. I grew up in church as a child of a pastor. So I knew the bible and thought I knew God. I found out later in my life I really didn’t know God for myself.

I used drugs for a period of fourteen years of my life and thought I could and would run from God and would live my life without rules or someone telling me what to do. I found myself “DESPERATE” and calling out for God to help me and to heal me from my addiction. Now I have to be real my journey down this self-destructive path didn’t start out bad. It didn’t get bad until I was spiritually bankrupt and couldn’t remember how to call on God and at that point I didn’t believe he would or could help me. After all everyone I knew in the church told me I was going to hell anyway simply because of the person I happened to love. What I know now is God had another plan for me and it was about me understanding that God loved me and would forgive me but he wanted me to have a personal relationship with him. I went through a spiritual warfare for what seemed like a lifetime. Actually that time period wasn’t really that long but I had to humble myself, I had to cry out and ask God for his help and he didn’t let me down. I had to work to seek him out with all of my heart and he heard my cry.

Now when the blind man cried out to Jesus and asked him to heal him, I believe that parable was created so we will always realize no matter how low we get, we can and should call on Jesus for help. He’s just waiting for us to call out and ask him for his help.

The sermon brought me back to the reason why I come to church. I come because I need to hear something that will continually remind me that I need God and I can’t do this all by myself.
I thank God for the Minister’s at Liberation Ministries and I thank God for Min Austin letting God use him to deliver this message.

Sis Adrienne

Scripture text: Luke 18:35

Reflections on Sunday, January 6, 2008

The sermon Reverend Goodwin delivered, struck me funny this week. It was hard work. It was about relationships. It was about believing that in all relationships a person deserves to be treated well, respected, affirmed, and loved with the best meaning the word love. It was also about me believing in myself, about me loving myself, about me understanding I deserve better. I cringed a number of times during his delivery. How many times have I denied my own good feeling of myself simply because, I didn’t think I had the right to feel good about me.

But I know I had no reason to cringe; the unofficial cornerstone of Liberation Ministries is the belief that we are beautifully and wonderfully made by the maker’s hand. Every sermon spoken here, always finds it way to self love and self acceptance. There is a reason… there is a reason. Yes there is. God has bestowed us love for ourselves in order for us to give love away abundantly. We all know, that we can’t give love, if don’t have love within. Oh yes we can serve the church, temporal, physical and of our bodies. But… but if there is no love from which, the magic, and mystery of life flows from; we are then acting as hollow spirits. Well actually I should say I am. It’s all right though because when I love myself in the right way, in the right way. Something right happens inside me. See if I am loving myself in the right way, I can find a way to get church not on time but get there just the same, no matter how bad I feel in my mind, in my body, and soul.

I might have to drag myself in, but see love seeks love. Love inside the doors, love calls me on in like I never left home. I walk inside knowing somebody loves me. Somebody is glad to see me. And you know I have learned over the years, I would be the biggest kind of fool to refuse that love, believing I don’t deserve it.

The other thing that happens is my empty cup is no longer empty. In fact it is so full, it is running over. But love is something too precious to waste. It might hit the floor, but not for long. If I humble myself and pick it up…that overflowing love makes the perfect gift for someone else. And guess what? Just as I do give it away, my cup is over filled again. I was once told, love like God, is a conscious act. Love like God is alive and like all things living movement is necessary. Movement of the heart, mind, and soul is God’s way of keeping us spiritually strong. Spiritually fit. For me that has meant finding my way to Liberation Ministries and unrestrictedly worshipping the God I know loves me, with the people I know love me. I trust both to tell me I am worthy of love. I trust both to tell me I can only keep love if I keep giving it away.

For me it is not worthy to ask do I deserve? for me it is better to ask what I can do? My relationships are direct correlations of my spiritual fitness. My willingness to love openly and not caring what that love looks like, because I know for a fact love can be downright messy, just as messy as it is sweet. Nevertheless, love of self, is the cornerstone of spiritual health.

It seems to me the more I come to Liberation Ministries, the more I learn what true liberation is. . The liberation of the spirit and the belief that with God all things are possible. And the true belief that God is love and all of us no matter who we are or what we have done are not only deserving, but worthy of God’s love. And that is the sole reason for me, God is worthy to be praised.

So in concluding, the experiences of Liberation Ministries have indeed enriched and enlightened my life. A curious thing was asked of me the other day. What would I add, and what would I take away from the sermon. The only possible answer for me then is add myself, and take nothing away from the sermon but the truth it gifted to me. For the truth has set me free.

Bro. Lary Darby