Rejection? Redemption?

He has opened the gates for us to enter. We choose whether to resist or to enter.

Psalms 118:19-24 NLT
Open for me the gates where the righteous enter, and I will go in and thank the Lord . These gates lead to the presence of the Lord , and the godly enter there. I thank you for answering my prayer and giving me victory!
The stone that the builders rejected has now become the cornerstone. This is the Lord ’s doing, and it is wonderful to see. This is the day the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it.

I resisted church for a long time, partly because of the judgement and the hypocrisy that I had encountered in my past,  but partly because I struck out in rebellion to make my own way.

Yes, I am the prodigal son. Have you heard my story?

Luke 15:11-32 GW
Then Jesus said, “A man had two sons.  The younger son said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the property.’ So the father divided his property between his two sons.
After a few days, the younger son gathered his possessions and left for a country far away from home. There he wasted everything he had on a wild lifestyle. 
He had nothing left when a severe famine spread throughout that country. He had nothing to live on.  So he got a job from someone in that country and was sent to feed pigs in the fields.  No one in the country would give him any food, and he was so hungry that he would have eaten what the pigs were eating.
Finally, he came to his senses. He said, ‘How many of my father’s hired men have more food than they can eat, while I’m starving to death here?  I’ll go at once to my father, and I’ll say to him, “Father, I’ve sinned against heaven and you.  I don’t deserve to be called your son anymore. Make me one of your hired men.” ’
So he went at once to his father. While he was still at a distance, his father saw him and felt sorry for him. He ran to his son, put his arms around him, and kissed him.  Then his son said to him, ‘Father, I’ve sinned against heaven and you. I don’t deserve to be called your son anymore.’ 
The father said to his servants, ‘Hurry! Bring out the best robe, and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet.  Bring the fattened calf, kill it, and let’s celebrate with a feast.  My son was dead and has come back to life. He was lost but has been found.’ Then they began to celebrate.
His older son was in the field. As he was coming back to the house, he heard music and dancing.  He called to one of the servants and asked what was happening.
The servant told him, ‘Your brother has come home. So your father has killed the fattened calf to celebrate your brother’s safe return.’
Then the older son became angry and wouldn’t go into the house. His father came out and begged him to come in.  But he answered his father, ‘All these years I’ve worked like a slave for you. I’ve never disobeyed one of your commands. Yet, you’ve never given me so much as a little goat for a celebration with my friends.  But this son of yours spent your money on prostitutes, and when he came home, you killed the fattened calf for him.’
His father said to him, ‘My child, you’re always with me. Everything I have is yours.  But we have something to celebrate, something to be happy about. This brother of yours was dead but has come back to life. He was lost but has been found.’

HOPE
Yes. I was once lost,  but now I am found.

By His Amazing Grace, He has opened up the gates so that I may enter into my Father’s house. And I’m rejoicing in the celebration in thanks to my merciful Father God,  who loves me.

I am entering into His gates with thanks and praise and worship because nothing in this world approaches the glory of His presence. No other light shines as bright,  no other fire burns as hot, no other touch heals so deeply, no other sound speaks as sweetly, no other aroma covers me like the presence of the Lord.

His blood washes me free from the shame and guilt of sin, and His anointing restores my soul in times of trial.

His strength lifts me up when I am weak, and His guidance corrects me when I stumble.

His Love is faithful forever.

FAITH
Having been away from my father’s house,  away from His presence, I know what it is to be rejected,  to be valued as nothing,  forgetting my value as a child of God.

But I am now restored,  I am now redeemed, and the Lord has a purpose for my life and I am beginning to realize my value to Him.

You see, He came to live amongst us in the flesh as Jesus Christ,  both Son of Man and Son of God – to live a blameless life,  to be rejected, to take the full weight of sin upon Himself, to die on a cross as a sacrifice to prove His love, and to be raised from the dead to prove His sovereign power even over death.

And as I believe,  and as I trust in Him and follow faithfully,  His promises are proven true each day. Yes. His love is faithful and everlasting.

LOVE
And as I learn my own value, I see the value in each of you,  my friends. We each have a purpose and a calling. We each choose whether or not to enter the gates in thanks,  praise,  and celebration.

And part of my purpose is to remind you,  friend.

To remind you of that still,  quiet voice speaking to you from the depths of your heart.

To encourage you to listen,  and to choose to enter the gates,  to turn away from the slop and the pigs and to return to your Father’s house,  where you will be welcomed by loving fellowship and celebration.

If you know the house that your Father wants you to be in this weekend, go.

If you don’t know the house that your Father wants you to be in,  come – I am here at the gate,  welcoming you into 4 Points Church.

#WeAre4Points #RunYourMouth #EnterTheGate

PRAISE