I Don't Wanna Cry!

RWM SERMON- 05-20-09 I Don't Wanna Cry

By Bishop Rick Wallace

“And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes....”(Rev. 21:4 and 7:17)

“And the Lord will wipe away tears from all faces....”(Isa. 25:8)

If you are anything like me, you have those moments in which tears begin to well up in your eyes.  You make abortive and bootless efforts to suppress the inevitable tide of physically manifested emotions.  Tears can be brought on by many ardent and effusive forces.  There are tears of regret; when I take a retrospective glance at my life, tears began to flow as I am reminded of the pain that has come to others because of my selfish actions.  There are tears of pain.  The same retrospection that produces regret also paints the malevolent and inclement portrait of abandonment and heartache.  There are tears of Joy, sadness, emptiness and loneliness.  Tears are most often associated with negative emotions, so this is what we will address today.

It is a natural human instinct to hold back tears.  Nobody wants to cry.  I took some time to stop by and tell you that it’s okay to cry, your tears are temporary.

           

“For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory...”(2 Cor. 4:17)

Jesus promised it, mama confirmed it, and experience has consummated and solidified the fact that this world will bring pain to those that inhabit it.  There is no circumvention of the trials and tribulations of this life.  You will inevitably take some wrong turns that consequently lead to pain.  You will at some point in time experience the heartache brought on by the neglect and betrayal of those you love and hold dear.  There will be a time when you will, just as David, say, “In return for my love there are my accusers...”(109:4)  There are men that with every ounce of their being attempt to stem the tide of tears that flow as a result of pains that run deep.  There are women that have sworn that they will not shed one more tear over a man that has repetitively wounded their emotional stability.  Yet, in both instances, these people wake in the morning to find their pillows drenched with tears.

Tears are as natural as the instinct to suppress them.  They are a physiological response to invisible emotions; emotions that the majority of us don’t want exposed.  In our culture, tears are considered a sign of weakness, especially when it comes to men.  However, our emotions were never meant to be suppressed, but expressed.  David, Jeremiah, and Jesus all wept.  Very few people understand that crying and weeping are part of the healing process.  Suppressed emotions are never conducive to proper healing.

The most awesome truth about our moments of weeping is that no matter how hard we try to conceal our tears, our weeping is never a solitary experience.

“And the Lord said: ‘I have surely seen the oppression of my people who are in Egypt, and I have heard their cry because of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows.”(Ex. 3:7)

God acknowledges that He has seen and heard the cries of His people.  He establishes the point that He is not some distant God that is cold and aloof toward His people.  Exodus 2:23 informs us that as the cries of the children of Israel rang out, God heard their groaning and He remembered His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  Remembering His promises, God looked upon the children of Israel and acknowledged them.  God has promised us that He will never leave nor forsake us.  This fact should bring solace to every believer.  Though the vault of your emotions has been breached and a medley of emotions cascade through the hollows of your existence, do not despair.  No matter how lonely the moment, irrespective to the current darkness, you are not alone. 

Not only has God promised never to leave us alone, He has promised to act on our behalf.

           

“For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him.”(2 Chron. 16:9)

“When the enemy comes in like a flood.  The Spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard against him.”(Isa. 59:19)

God did not simply acknowledge the children of Israel and their circumstances, He became personally involved.

“So I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians...”(Ex. 3:8)

Not only have “I’ heard their cries and seen their oppression, “I” am going to intervene on their behalf.  The God we serve is completely responsive to the needs of His people.  He does not sit idly by while they face the vicissitudes of life.  God responds to those tears with a decisive force, bringing power, joy, and peace. 

In fact, it is those moments of mourning, weeping, and crying that God moves most awesomely in the lives of believers.  When the pain of the moment has taken control of your life; when the loneliness has consumed you and the manacles of depression has seized hold of you; when no one else seems to care, God hears and God answers.  God responded to the cries of Job, David, Jeremiah and more.  It was the weeping of Mary and Martha that moved Jesus to tears and prompted the resuscitation of Lazarus.  It was the weeping of the nation of Israel that caused God to speak through Ezekiel and promises to bring them up from their graves of despair.  God moves in moments of desperation.

Let us look once again at the book of Exodus so that we might closer examine the dynamics of God’s movement in the lives of His chosen.  It begins in Chapter 1.

           

“But the children of Israel were fruitful and increased abundantly, multiplied and grew exceedingly mighty....Now there arose a new king over Egypt...and he said to his people....come, let us deal shrewdly with them....therefore they set taskmasters over them to afflict them with their burdens....and they made them serve with rigor.... Then the King spoke to the midwives...and he said, when you do the duties of a midwife to the Hebrew women, if it is a son, then you shall kill him...”(Ex. 1:7-6)

The God we serve is a “show up” God, and the show up process begins at the moment of need.  Up to this point, God had sustained His people through providential care.  They had increased abundantly and grew exceedingly mighty, but the moment the Egyptians moved against them, the show up process began.  God’s subtle movements are revealed in His providential provisions.  There is nothing subtle about the show up process; when God shows up He shows out.  He is completely radical in His movement.  He leaves no doubt as to who has brought deliverance.  Your tears are a visible sign that God is about to bust a move.

Every oppressive move of the Egyptians drew God closer to His people.  Every lash of the taskmasters whip, every drop of sweat from the brow of an enslaved Israelite, every vociferous cry of a Hebrew woman brought closer the day that God’s inimitable and unsurpassed power would be displayed on behalf of His chosen.  The tears of the believer are like a magnet that acts as a spiritually kinetic force that draws God to the center of the struggle.  Sometimes all you can do is cry.  Your ability to reason has dissipated, rendering you dysfunctional.  You want to pray, but you can’t form the words.  All you can do is cry.  Your soul sinks within you and the questions of why, how and when press their way to the surface.  Why is this happening to me?  How could he/she do this to me?  When will it end?  All of these questions have their place; however, the most pertinent question is not why, how, or when, but who?  Who can I turn to when my attempts to ebb the tides of the tribulation proves futile?  Who can I trust when no one else seems to care?  When those who are normally the pillars of support in my life are being crushed under the weight of life’s realities, who can I turn to to be the buttress that sustains me in the midst of the storm?

“When I cry out to you, Then my enemies will turn back; this I know, because God is for me.” (PS 56:9)

“And it will be for a sign and for a witness...for they will cry to the Lord...and he will send them a savior and a Mighty one, and He will deliver them.”(Isa. 19:20)

“Then David and the people who were with him lifted up their voices and wept, until they had no more power to weep....So David recovered all...and nothing of theirs was lacking, either small or great....David recovered all...”(1 Sam. 30:4, 18-19)

When there is nowhere else to turn, even when there is “no more power” to weep, God hears our cries, even the silent cries of a desperate soul.  Its okay, go ahead and cry.  Your tears are a release of the pressures, hurts and disappointments of the moment.  Your tears are a clarion sounding to God that His child is in need.  Your tears are not meant to be quenched or suppressed; they are an expression of the heart’s yearnings.  Your tears are a part of God’s show up process.

Isn’t it awesome to be in Love with a God that loves you; a God that becomes personally involved in our lives.  I can’t promise you that there will not be tears, in fact, the one you hold dearest may yet break your heart; the expectations for tomorrow may go unfulfilled; In return for your love, they may become your accusers.  Yet, God, in His bountiful love, sees, hears, and responds to the cries of His people.

God, through His Word, has not only promised temporal relief from life’s struggles and disappointments, but an eternal acknowledgment and comforting for every tear shed during this ethereous journey of Christianity.

“God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble.”(PS. 46:1)

“For the lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to living fountains of waters.  And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”(Rev. 7:17)

“And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying.  There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.”(Rev. 21:4)

In Psalms 46, we find that God is a present help in trouble.  He is there during those bouts with loneliness. He is there when you are grieving and mourning the loss of a loved one. He is there when all you possess is taken away.  No matter what you are going through; no matter how dark the moment, God is there.  Not only is He a present help, but he has promised to bring eternal peace and comfort.  He has promised to wipe every tear permanently away from your eyes, after which there will be no more death, no more sorrow, nor crying.  He has promised that He will personally take away forever, every pain, every heartache, every tormenting struggle.

Isaiah 25:8 says, “He will swallow up death forever, and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces.  Isaiah 35:10 says, “And the “ransomed” of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with singing, with everlasting joy on their heads. They shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and singing shall flee away.”

“The “ransomed” refers to those who have been purchased at a price; those whose debt has been expiated by the Son.  “The ransomed” are those who have been redeemed by the precious “Blood” of the “Lamb”.  Ransomed and redeemed are words meritorious of our concentrated attention.  These words remind us that we have been released from the prison of sin; we have been rescued from the pit of hell; we have been preserved for all eternity; we have been liberated, set free, and cut loose from the shackles of eternal damnation.  God in His matchless love has said,”I will ransom them from the power of the grave...(Hosea 13:14)

When we keep in view the fact that we are creatures redeemed by the creator; when we are able to apprehend in full the understanding of the magnitude of the love required for God to redeem us in our sinful state, we will view our trials, sufferings, and disappointments in a different light.  We will view them as Paul did:

“For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.”(Rom. 8:18)

“We are hard pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed....for our light affliction, which is but for a moment is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of Glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen.  For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.” (2 Cor. 4: 8,9,17 and 18)

Your tears are a momentary response to the reality of the moment.  Your tears are a physical expression of an emotional state.  It’s okay, go ahead and cry, the pain won’t last forever.  God’s on His way and He’s bringing joy with Him.  He's coming to wipe away ever tear.  You may be crying now, but weeping only endures for a night, for joy comes in the morning.  Cry if you must, but do not despair; the God we serve is a show up God.  He is on His way to deliver, to heal, to liberate, and to exalt.  So, let the tears flow when they come, for soon God will wipe every tear away!

May you be richly blessed!

Sincerely,

Bishop Rick Wallace

Founder and President

Rick Wallace Ministries

100 Men of Purpose

Author: The Invisible Father

At Your Word: A True Faith Declaration!

RWM SERMON- 04-08-09 At Your Word

Foundation Scripture:

“But Simon answered and said to Him, “Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your “Word” I will let down the net.” (Luke 5:5)

“At Your Word”; one of the most powerful statements in human history.  Yet, it is more than a statement.  It is an illuminated and erudite state of mind.  It is not supported nor justified by rationale or intellect.  It cannot be attained and cultivated by the empiricist nor the pragmatist.  This state of mind is not esoterically associated with sight walking.  It is spiritually empowered and sustained in faith.

If we are to ever live our lives in the abundance and awesome power we were created to live in, we must take on an “At Your Word” state of mind.  Proverbs 3:5,6 says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not to your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.”  

This state of mind requisites a total commitment of the heart.  I’m not speaking of the heart in a sentimental nor emotional type of way, but as the center of your existence; that force at the center of your soul that guides your every action.

This state of mind also calls for us to move away from our natural proclivity to intellectualize, anatomize, and rationalize every situation.  We are told not to lean to our own understanding.  This ethereal journey of Christianity calls for faith, make no mistake about it.  Not faith in the superficial sense of the word, but that faith that says, “If God said it, I believe it, and that settles it.  This is a faith that is not deterred by circumstance.  This is a faith that refuses to acknowledge the illusionistic portraits of despair painted by the enemy.  When we truly trust God’s word, we will be able to stand in the midst of the storm and respond,” at your word”.

This state of mind does not consider nor tolerate difficulties and thrives in the cul-de-sac of impossibilities.  This is the ultimate in trust.  It says all things are possible if we only believe.

In our scriptural passage, Christ asks Peter to cast out his net.  This, in and of itself may seem somewhat insignificant; however, let us look a little closer.  First, Peter and his partners had been fishing the entire evening (the best time to fish) but had caught nothing.  Peter and his partners were professional fishermen and Jesus a carpenter.  Jesus had already commandeered Peter’s boat and transformed it into His pulpit.  Peter could have responded to Jesus’ directive with the arrogance of expertise; he was in fact the professional when it came to fishing. Yet, we see something completely different; Peter’s surrendered spirit.  Peter points out the obvious, we’ve fished all night and we’ve caught nothing.  Then there appears the conjunctive adverb, “Nevertheless”, in spite of or irregardless.  Nevertheless negates the preceding statement and points to the subsequent statement. 

“At Your Word” -there is no logic or rationale, but at Your Word.  All of the evidence says the opposite, but at Your Word.  Peter’s response reveals his servility, teachability and implicit obedience.  These virtues are the bridges to the blessing.

The scriptures tell us that the nets were filled with so many fish that they began to break.  When Peter’s partners brought their boat over to help, both boats were so overloaded by the catch that they began to sink.  This constitutes exceedingly abundantly above all that Peter could have asked or imagined. 

If Peter would have trusted his own intellect or expertise, he would have never experienced the awesome power of God to provide.  He would have missed his overflow moment; that moment in which the Red Sea is divided in its entire splendor; that moment when the sun stands still as time yields to prayer; that moment when dry dead bones become living flesh; that moment when you say Lord, I cannot understand, but at Your Word.

You’ve been praying for a breakthrough; you’ve been searching for that place of overflow.  God is saying to you now, “Step out on the water.  I know what the circumstances reveal, I know what your friends are saying, and I am cognizant of the things that have happened in the past.  I am God, step out on the water.” 

You have spent too much time rationalizing, contemplating, and procrastinating.  You have wondered around too long in the fruitlessness of empirical confirmation.  You have struggled mightily under the opaque shadows of inevitability.  It is time to say to the Master, “At Your Word.”  At Your Word, I will stand, at Your Word I will press on; at Your Word I will rejoice.  At Your Word, I will have the audacity to praise you in the midst of the storm.  

It was Peter who led the disciples on the day of Pentecost.  It was Peter that healed the lame man at the Gate Beautiful.  It was Peter that contributed three letters to the Biblical Cannon.  None of this would have been possible if he would not have stepped out from behind human viewpoint and into the phosphorescent light of divine guidance.

“And the Lord will continually guide you, and satisfy your desire in scorched places, and give strength to your bones; and you will be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water whose waters do not fail.”  (Isaiah 58:11)

In the preceding scripture we find promises of strengthened bones, watered gardens, and unfailing springs; these are similes for sustaining power, prosperity, and the blessings of God’s saving grace.  However, the first thing we notice here is that God will guide you.  Only when you submit to the guidance of the almighty will his power flow fully through you.  The question then arises; in the time in which we live, how does God guide us.  There are numerous ways that we are guided by God in our Christian lives: Through the filling of the Holy-Spirit; the Holy-Spirit convicts and prompts us in our actions; Through the Word of God inculcated into the mentality of our souls; the Word of God is the will of God.  Through prayer; when the believer prays to God for Guidance, which is a legitimate Christian right, God answers.  God guides us through providential circumstances; providence is the molding of events by God to obtain the fulfillment of His divine purpose.  In whatever manner God chooses to guide and lead you, it is your Christian duty to respond.

In 2 Peter 1:19, Peter alludes to the profitability of heeding God’s prophetic Word.

Right now, God is calling us to step out, stand up, and be sure.  This is not a time for sight walking.  This is not a time for rationalization.  No, this is a time to stand in faith, walk in faith, speak in faith, and live in faith.  This is a time to say, “At Your Word.”  This is done without regard to current circumstances, without consideration to past situations, without contemplation of the negative conjecture of naysayers.

It is time to cast out your nets.  God is calling you to reap the bountiful blessings of obedience.  There is someone out there God has called to step into the arena of entrepreneurship, yet, you are thinking, “I’ve tried this before and it was a disaster, experts are saying that this is not the time, the economy is not conducive to the successful launching of a business, nevertheless, “At Your Word.”  Someone has been called to relocate to a new city, to follow a dream, to fulfill their destiny, but there’s uncertainty with a new environment, the anxiety associated with change rears its ugly head, the support of friends and loved ones seems sporadic at best,  nevertheless, “At Your Word”.

God has called you to vacate that abusive relationship, to walk in the liberty of emancipation, to stand in the sufficiency of His power and grace, to live in the fullness of purpose; however, this situation is all you have ever known, there is no family support in place, you suffer from a fear of being alone, nevertheless, “At Your Word”.

At Your Word says, “Lord, I see nothing but you!  The moment is dark, but You are able.”  At Your Word says, my friends have forsaken me, but I trust your Word to heal.”  It’s time to step up and step out.

You keep gazing back into your past for confirmation.  You keep consulting the circumstances for authentication and corroboration.  It's time to view things through a different lens.  You have been viewing life through the lens of empiricism.  You have been viewing life through the lens of popular opinion.  You have been viewing life through the lens of social acceptance.  You have been viewing life through the lens of retrospective inquiry.  It is time for a paradigm shift.  It is time to start viewing things through the spiritual lens of faith.

But Bishop, I’ve never been successful in this area of my life.  My life has been one big failure after another; everyone says that I’m in over my head; they say that I’m reaching beyond my abilities.  I say that God’s Word is true.  His word says, “Things that are not possible with men are possible with God.”(Luke 18:27)  His Word says, he is “able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think according to the power that works in us”.

Let go of the past failures; God desires to open up the windows of heaven.  God desires to send excessive blessings, an overflow of power, a surplus of abundance and peace, over and above what you seek, extraordinary favor and a superabundance of joy.  Take Him at His Word.  Stand on His promises.  Live in His awesome power.  Cast out your net and become the head and not the tail.  Cast out your net, become the lender and not the borrower.  Cast out your net and be above and not beneath.  Cast out your net and see the glory of God revealed in your life.  I promise you if you cast out your net your life will never be the same.

I invite you to simply tell God, "At Your Word".

May you be richly blessed,

Rick Wallace

Founder & President

Rick Wallace Ministries

100 Men Of Purpose

Ph: 832-429-7542

Mobile: 713-371-8678

rpw@rickwallaceministries.com

www.rickwallaceministries.com

Visit Me on Facebook
Facebook