Sweet Restoration

It is an extraordinarily powerful experience when you see the gospel played out in real life.  The people of Rivers Crossing Community Church (RC3) recently got to witness this first hand.

We all know the story of the pastor who falls.  Busyness takes over, stress sets in, and the spiritual leader finds himself acting fully in the flesh.  Anything can happen.

Such is the story of our incredibly gifted, young, budding, worship leader, Brandon Gilliam.  Brandon has lead many hearts to Jesus as an anointed and talented musician.  Rivers Crossing has enjoyed the fruit of the Spirit pouring through Brandon in original as well as popular worship songs.

No one is impervious to the lies of Satan.  Brandon got busy doing many good things, but in his own strength.  Satan got his foothold and temptation set in.  Brandon made a mistake. He fell.

While the church leadership could have easily slapped Brandon’s wrist and swept the dirt under the rug, what I saw was RC3’s top leaders bowing to the authority of God.  Sometimes following God can flow against our very human nature.  For our lead pastor, it was like letting his own son go. 

Hebrews 4:12 NIV

“For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.”

The staff lost a family member and RC3’s people grieved as Brandon was terminated.  Brandon addressed the church in a video testimony, admitting what he had done and submitting to the elders’ discipline.

While it is common for humans to fail, it is not often you see God’s discipline displayed properly in reality.  God disciplines those whom He loves.  He does this for our good, for our salvation and deliverance.  He knows what is best and what will reach the heart of every man.  Because RC3’s leaders understand this, they were able to present the situation in such a way that Brandon and his family were able to stay at our church during this terribly difficult time.  Our people embraced Brandon and loved him through his failure.

Immediately the church started a massive search for a new worship leader.  Four long months RC3’s volunteers lead worship.  The church never skipped a beat.  Volunteer musicians stepped up and filled the gap.

The time came when the new worship leader was to be announced.  To our surprise and delight the lead pastor brought Brandon on stage.  We learned about Brandon’s road to restoration and how church leaders had been feeding into him over the past four months.  Brandon spoke about how the Lord has been dealing with and healing his heart.

Not a soul was untouched when our lead pastor announced Brandon has been fully restored as Worship Director of RC3.  The worship Brandon lead as a response was both powerful and authoritative.  God has indeed restored him.

I cannot communicate in words the power of the gospel in our lives.  My hope is that just hearing this story is stunning.  This is how God desires to work in your life and in mine. 

The Waiting Room

One thing I've begun to do more over the years is to tell my children a time to be ready, usually about 10 minutes before the time we actually need to leave.  It's something I think as moms we do naturally when our families are young.

I started to think about the reasons I do this, besides the fact that between 5 of us someone tends to be running late. Over the years I have grown to understand the children (while they are young and in training) are prone to disobey. It's best if I instruct them to be ready, so that when the time comes we can go!

I believe this is how Father is with us. Sometimes He gives us a vision, or perhaps a promise. Even after we obey, there may be a waiting period. Often as humans we give up on God, abandon our dream, or try to make it happen in our own effort. Perhaps we accuse Him, question whether He is in control or even exists! When we are young in Him, we waver in our faith.

The truth is that learning to wait is crucial to our faith. Not only does it develop the desirous virtue of patience, but there is an intangible gift intrinsically linked to our faith which is developed while waiting. That is hope. As He encourages us and confirms us with tangible proofs, we begin to know without a shadow of doubt that He will do what He has promised to do.

As we believe what God says, not being distracted by what we see and experience on earth, He gives us hope and it builds our faith. Soon we can be like Abraham and never see the fulfillment of the promise on this earth during our lifetime, but never stop believing it to be true.

Live like what God says is true!

Hebrews 6:15-20 Amplified Bible (AMP)
"15 And so it was that he [Abraham], having waited long and endured patiently, realized and obtained [in the birth of Isaac as a pledge of what was to come] what God had promised him.
16 Men indeed swear by a greater [than themselves], and with them in all disputes the oath taken for confirmation is final [ending strife].
17 Accordingly God also, in His desire to show more convincingly and beyond doubt to those who were to inherit the promise the unchangeableness of His purpose and plan, intervened (mediated) with an oath.
18 This was so that, by two unchangeable things [His promise and His oath] in which it is impossible for God ever to prove false or deceive us, we who have fled [to Him] for refuge might have mighty indwelling strength and strong encouragement to grasp and hold fast the hope appointed for us and set before [us].
19 [Now] we have this [hope] as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul [it cannot slip and it cannot [a]break down under whoever steps out upon it—a hope] that reaches [b]farther and enters into [the very certainty of the Presence] within the veil,
20 Where Jesus has entered in for us [in advance], a Forerunner having become a High Priest forever after the order (with the rank) of Melchizedek."

Not Guilty

Perhaps one of the more difficult things for christians to understand is how God sees us.  I believe this is in part because we see with our eyes what is on the outside, or what the Bible has associated with our flesh.  Yes, it is true, our flesh is riddled with imperfections, weakness, and failures.  I believe this causes many of us to focus on our downfalls, often believing in our hearts we are hopeless sinners, living in our own self-judgement and condemnation.  

However, God is looking in our heart and says we are forgiven. I don’t believe He is distracted by the folly of our flesh.  I believe He is much more patient with (and perhaps less offended by) our immaturities.  He understands we sin, but He doesn’t see His children as sinners.  He’s looking at our new nature, given to us by the Holy Spirit.  He says there now is no condemnation in Christ.   Because of the blood of the Lamb, we are in right standing with God, and His judgement passes over us.

He deals with us in love, disciplining us so that we can experience a true, eternal life.  Every time we choose to value something that He says is valuable, our life begins to take on an eternal quality.  This is a life-long process as we are continually moving closer in relationship to Him.

The next time we utter the words, “I feel guilty,” it is well worth the time it takes to ask God why that is.  Has my heart hardened to God’s way for my life, or is that feeling coming from lies originating in my flesh?  Let’s not let judgement from this world, from our flesh, or from Satan rob us of our joy today.