|
Hello my brothers & sisters in Christ! My name is Raymond Walters, an ordained minister having answered the call in 1992. After several years of denominational politics[United Methodist/CME/Episcopal] whereby nothing was ever accomplished but board meetings, the Lord placed on my heart to begin a ministry that addresses issues the average church and it's members refuse to address for whatever reason. I have always suspected fear of the unknown, and they specifically should hear this sermon preached. The ministry is called Stone Squarer Ministries, thus called after the Giblemites spoken of in the Holy Bible as builders of the Temple who were masons. They helped build a strong edifice, and it is my intent, with the Lord's guidance to build strong worshippers of the Lord through tearing down of worldy ways and re-building into a strong spiritual being. This also fell into line with my profession of Master Brick & Stone Mason, a family trade passed down for several generations. The bulk of my ministry has been focused on inner city issues, housing/homelessness, education, economic & social justice, and unfortuantely, jail & prison ministry. The sermon I have posted was written many years ago, but when I was a supply pastor at a Presbyterian church that happened to have a Caucasian membership ready for some real change, the results were tremendous. {After all, I was an African-American pastor and they had never had anyone but Caucasian pastors speak for well over 200 years.} The feedback concerning this sermon was phenomonal. This was my first time preaching before this congregation, and afterward I ended up being there as supply pastor for 6 months until they found a new permanent pastor.
If Thou Be a Great People Joshua 17:13-18, KJV Written by the Reverend Raymond Sean Walters, [founder of Stone Squarer Ministries]January 13th, 2007 Delivered to 1st Westminster Presbyterian Church Steubenville, Ohio 1-14-2007 After the death of Moses, the transfer of leadership was swift and smooth. Joshua was a fitting successor to Moses because Joshua had great courage and vision. Moses sent twelve spies to survey the land of Canaan. While ten saw only giants, Joshua and Caleb saw grapes and milk and honey. Because Joshua was able to see the invisible and believe the impossible, he inherited the role of leader. After the conquest, the children of Israel were ready to cease their wanderings in the wilderness. Joshua had the assignment of dividing the territory among the twelve tribes.The allotment proceeded without difficulty until Joshua got to Ephraim and Manasseh. Ephraim and Manasseh were children of Joseph and Asenath, the wife that Joseph married while he was in Egypt where these children were born. Jacob adopted them and gave them a share in the inheritance with his other children.Upon receiving their inheritance, Ephraim And Manasseh began to grumble and complain that their share of the allotment was too small. Their assertion was based on the fact that they were a great people. Great in size and great in stature. Because of their history and family lineage coupled with a personal and abiding relationship with G** Almighty, they insisted that their share of the land should be more. They said to Joshua, " We are a great people and the Lord has blessed us until now. This share of the land is too small." Joshua replied, " If you are a great people then go to the hill country and make a place for yourselves." They countered that the Perizzites and the Canaanite and giants were in the hill country with weapons of iron and chariots. Again Joshua says, " If thou be a great people go up against the Perizzites and the Canaanite and the giants." I believe this passage is a word to all New Millennium Christians as we prepare to face life in the twenty-first century. " If thou be a great people go up into the hill country and clear a place for yourself there!"At this uncertain point of our perilous pilgrimage upon this planet, we must recognize who we are as a people and appropriate our rightful inheritance in G** and in this world. If thou be a great people... a great preacher/pastor, a great church, a great community, a great family, a great sister, a great brother... the challenge of the hill country awaits you! Mind you, I am not here talking about great as a perception that is based on race or gender or class alone. I am talking about greatness as a way of harnessing and husbanding the best of our spiritual, intellectual, financial, educational, and political resources and empowering our communities and enriching this society. Most importantly, I am talking about the greatness that the Bible says is in all of us who claim to be the people of G**. The first thing Ephraim and Manasseh had going for them was a healthy self-identity. They said of themselves, " We are a great people!" They practiced the art of self- definition. They refused to be defined by circumstances, or environment, or culture, or class or race. We know who we are. We have a unique sense of somebody ness. We have a good memory. We know our oral tradition. We are well aware of our ancestors. Our father, Joseph, was Jacob's favorite son. Jacob, our grandfather, was a schemer, but one night by the ford at Jabbok, he wrestled with G** and prevailed. Isaac, our great-grandfather, was the only son of our great-great-grandfather, Abraham, a friend of G** who received the promise by faith. Oh yeah, we come from good stock.Not only that, we have this covenant thing. G** promised through Abraham and Sarah never to forsake us. HE promised that our family would be as numerous as the stars in the heavens, and the sands on the seashore. Throughout history the blessing of G** has been upon us. Joshua's response to all of this was, “I know that you are indeed a great people. But if thou be a great people, you go up to the hill country and make a place for yourselves." Great people are trailblazers. Great people are visionary. Great people know how to chart a course, build a bridge, and expect a miracle. Great people refuse to be victims to circumstance, color, class, or culture. Great people are not condemned by the conditions of their birth, or locked into negative thought patterns.You have enough imagination, ingenuity, intelligence, and integrity to make a place for yourselves. Do not linger on the low plains of life crying and complaining, fretting and fuming, moaning and groaning about what you cannot do or what you do not have. Be creative. Accept the challenge of the hill country!G** wants to use us to make a contribution to this world. You see, we are a great people. This is our day. This is our time. This is our moment. This is our season. Joshua said to the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh and to US, " If thou be a great people get up to the hill country and make a place for yourselves there." Stop fighting over these petty plots of land. Stop fighting over insignificant positions and titles. Stop fighting over that which is trite. Stop waiting for someone else to make or open a door. You have a great work to do: churches to build, families to save, children to nurture, men to redeem, women to empower, marriages to mend, colleges to revitalize, businesses to open, churches to revive, visions to realize, a drug epidemic to rout out, an AIDS pandemic to cure, sin to conquer, salvation to gain, songs to sing, poems to write, hell to avoid, heaven to gain. If thou be a great people, the hill country awaits you. Mind you, it's not easy in the hill country. The Perizzites and the Canaanite are in the hill country with their vast weapons of irons and chariots. People who do not want any of us who believe in G** the father to be free, people who do not want us to succeed, people who do not want us to be educated, people who do not want us to make it in fulfilling our mission as followers of Jesus. People who oppose G**'s dominion on earth. Establishment folk. bound by tradition, custom and habit. They tell you it cannot be done. They tell you that your vision is too ambitious, that your dream is impossible. They say that we have never done it this way before. They have iron and chariots, money, methods, and means. They stand in direct opposition to your vision. But I just stopped by to tell you that nothing could stop an idea whose time has come. Nothing can stop a people who are determined. Watch out for the opposition in the hill country! They are organized and determined. They are systematized and systemic. Sometimes it is hard to tell who they are and where they are. Sometimes they are white- collar businessmen messing with your financial institutions, health care, and social security. They can be neighborhood drug dealers selling drugs to our sons, daughters or even our grandchildren. Sometimes they make you think they are for you. All of our opposition isn't always from the outside. Sometimes people in our own communities do us harm. We have leaders among us who violate our trust and destroy our integrity. We must cut them down, vote them out, and replace them! There is even opposition among churches and believe it or not--- even in the church!!! There are Christians who think that their church or denomination is the only ticket in town. They build themselves up by putting you down. But this is not a day for mealy-mouthed ministers, poorly prepared preachers, lackadaisical laypersons, and chicken-livered Christians. Christianity is not a denomination-- it is a way of LIFE! This world needs a strong word from the Lord, and WE have been called to speak it.We need to put our game faces on, step up to the plate and swing.If it were easy to go into the hill country, everybody would be living there. Our challenge is to conquer the hill country in our lives, in our communities, and in our nation. We must continually prepare ourselves for the challenges, changes, and crises of the third millennium. We have everything that we need in the hill country. G** is for US. Emmanuel is with US. The Holy Spirit empowers US. Our ancestors are rooting for US. The next generation is depending on US. You are a great people. You have an internal mechanism to help restore our families, save our babies, empower our women, and reclaim our men. More than that, we have an Eternal Motivator who is with us. I know somebody that knows all about the hill country because he's been there. Don't get nervous. You're not going to the hill country alone. God never sends us where G** has not already been. G** never sends us without first preparing the way. Jesus has already met the challenge... Jesus went into the hill country and made it a highway to heaven. He turned it into a gateway to eternity. He made it a roadway of reconciliation between G** and humanity. Jesus made a name for himself, and that name causes all demons to tremble, governments to topple, blind folk can see, lame folks can walk, deaf folks can hear. At that name the dead shall live again. At that name every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess that he is Lord to the glory of G**.Jesus Christ says to you and to me: If thou be a great people stand up, look up, get up into the hill country--- not in your name, but in my name. Live your life. Realize your dreams. Let your light shine. Blow your trumpet. Sing your song. All hail the power of Jesus' name! Remember this, all G** requires of us is that we have FAITH. We cannot imitate the world nor can we isolate ourselves from the world. Amen! I would like to thank you all for allowing me to worship with you today. This writing is copyright protected by The Reverend Raymond Walters, August 1998. It can be excerpted in it's entirety or in part by simply crediting the original writer.
|
