Where Is, “It is Written?”
Scripture: Matthew 4:4-8Devotional Series: Where is My Fear?
Teaching: Where Is My Fear pt. 3 (WED 2024-05-22) by Pastor Star R Scott
I recently heard the chorus, “I’ll go where you want me to go, dear Lord.” It triggered my mind instantly to when I was that young boy, twenty years old. I don’t think that I could have ever been surer out of a dedicatory moment than that in my life. I gave my life solely to God. Oh man, there have been some rough times on the journey. I find myself at times singing that other chorus, “Just a few more weary days and then I’ll fly away,” praise God!
You know all that stuff that has you in turmoil today? We’re going to fly away, praise God! Amen? None of it will mean anything. We’re going to see Him face to face. We’re going to change and be like Him. So shall we ever be with the Lord as we cry, “Holy, Holy, Holy Lord God almighty!”
What are we living for? Where are our treasures today? Malachi, “Where is my fear? Where is my honor?” I divested everything for that pearl. I’ve found that I have to do it every day. After these fifty-some years, you just have to do it every day. Every day you take up that cross. Circumstances don’t govern your life. Your feelings don’t govern your life. Your lusts don’t govern your life. Fear God and keep His commandments, which is the whole duty of man; amen?
If we begin to allow in our minds this wrong image of God, if we come up with the wrong theology–we’ve been teaching so much on justification and grace and mercy. That’s who our God is; amen? But God is a God of justice. He will see that those things that we do that are unjust, that are for ourselves and our personal gain, regardless of the effects on those around us–God will come and visit you.
Willard came to me and said, “Star, that church could really use your ministry at this time. Would you pray about going out there, possibly, and seeing if God would put this together?” I said, “No, I am where God has put me, and He’s put me here supernaturally and I will not leave any other way than supernaturally.” It was in that same time frame that he had spoken to me about these books. He said, “Well, let me just say this to you,” and he told us that we have to take some of these things and put them in print. To quote him, he said, “You are a dying generation.”
What was he saying there? He was basically saying, at that time, what a couple of preachers had spoken as contradictions, or of a critical statement about me, one that many of you would know, has a large church here in this vicinity. He said, “Star, the problem with you is you’re just a read-it-and-do-it guy.” I said, “Thank you! Thank you!” Willard was telling me, “We’re not seeing that. Where is the read-it-and-do-it? Where is the, ‘It is written’?” “Yeah, but.” "I don’t care but. It is written." “Yeah, but it’ll affect these people. These people will be upset and it’s going to have these consequences and it’s going to do this.”
We were counseled at that time–there were some situations that were taking place here in our midst. The counsel to me was, “There’s no way you can have these people remain in the same church. They need to go to different places. They need to go to different churches or you’re going to have trouble in the church.” I said, “I don’t believe that.” He said, “What do you mean, you don’t believe that? It’s just the natural consequences of these kind of occurrences.” I said, “I believe in aphiēmi. I believe that when you transgress against a brother, you don’t have to go hide and dodge each other. You forgive one another and it’s behind us and let’s go on and honor God; amen?” I wonder what psychologists would have counseled us?