Just a stones show

April 01, 2021

Pastor Ken Brown Jr

Hi, this is pastor Ken and these are my thoughts on a Thursday…Just a stones show… I have spoken in past podcasts of my late brother Gary. Because we were such fast friends for nearly half a century I think of him often. Usually those thoughts bring a smile that quickly turns into a laugh. Gary was incredibly funny. Not always appropriately so…but always funny. Even much of the mischief Gary got into as a kid was birthed from his sense of humor. Some would have called him disrespectful. Some would have called him ornery. Some did call him obstinate, we just called him “Hard rock” Hard rock was the nickname Gary earned because all of the adjectives I spoke of a moment ago fit. He was all of those things but not because he was bad, no, it was because those attributes were the avenues that Gary used to humor himself or others. I thought of that nickname we used for Gary this past week because of a scripture I was reading congruent to the season we are in the midst of. The following describes the original Palm Sunday celebration. Luke 19:37-40 in the (NKJV) reads; Then, as He was now drawing near the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works they had seen, saying: “‘Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord!’ Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” And some of the Pharisees called to Him from the crowd, “Teacher, rebuke Your disciples.” But He answered and said to them, “I tell you that if these should keep silent, the rocks would immediately cry out.” The Pharisees were accusing Jesus of letting his disciples and the other followers make proclamation they did not accept as truth. Furthermore, the crowd lauding Jesus as King threatened to get the Romans upset and cause the Jewish leadership to lose their favor with Caesar who would then likely strip them of their power. Jesus on the other hand being the fullness of the Godhead in human form understood that His position in The Kingdom as King was forever secured, even if the crowd was mistaken as to which throne He would occupy. Having the greater and fuller understanding, He simply correctly stated that His creation was created to bring Him glory and if one segment of that creation designed specifically for that purpose refused…another would take its place…but the King would not be unheralded in either case! I don’t know about you, but God has been so, so very good to me. He doesn’t have to be, it isn’t even what makes Him good. He just is because He loves me so immensely and intensely. I said a moment ago, “I don’t know about you”, but that’s not true. I do know God has been so, so very good to you as well. How do I know? Because He loves you as intensely and immensely as He loves me. I know that because just five days after the account this scripture chronicles, that same Jesus went to the cross and died a horrible and agonizing death to pay the eternal price for my sins and for yours. So, if for nothing else…though there is much else…though nothing greater…I know that God has been so, so very good to us. Not because of us but because of His great love for us. Romans 5:8 proclaims, But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Knowing that God has been so, so very good to me in every way…Even in the ones I have not yet attained clarity on aka the things He allows into my life that I don’t see as good. I invite you to join me in doing our part to keep the rocks around us quiet by not failing to bring Glory to God. I understand, sometimes it is difficult. Sometimes life delivers blows that knock the wind out of us so to speak. Those times have happened in my life too. Contrary to popular belief, pastors don’t get an insurance policy against difficult times at ordination. There are times when we are reeling from the unbelievable pain and unspeakable agony that results from living in a profoundly fallen world. In times such as these it seems difficult to give God the glory He deserves because frankly we aren’t feeling it. However, it is such praise and adulation for our King that will begin to correct our imbalanced emotional condition. If you ever need a set of cue cards to begin the process because it seems as though you don’t even know where to start, then turn to Psalm 118. It is an awesome set of prompts that will begin to turn your mind to offering the praise you should. Interestingly, verses 22-24 speak about Jesus in the context of the original scripture I referenced today. Those verses read “The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone. This was the Lord’s doing; It is marvelous in our eyes. This is the day the Lord has made; We will rejoice and be glad in it. I love the way verse 24 is written. It is one most of us know and can recite. Have you ever looked at the structure of the sentence though? It begins with a statement of fact. This is the day the Lord has made This day, your day, a good day or a terrible one. This is the day that the Lord has made. None of what has or will happen in it has caught our all-knowing God by surprise…and yet He made it anyway. Then comes the finishing touch of the scripture We will rejoice and be glad in it. This denotes that a decision is being made. It is not a result of what the day brings, it is not in response to the day at all but rather to the God who made it. We will rejoice and be glad in it. It is an act of the will…and it keeps the rocks silent. Join me…in spite of our life experiences…let’s keep the rocks silent…all except that “Hard rock” in Heaven…he is making a crazy amount of noise…but it’s a joyful one! So now, making your joyful noise to the Lord even though “Hard rock” won’t be silenced…GO be Awesome!