Captivated

Every year the Assemblies of God sets aside a day to recognize Women’s Ministry in the church

A day to encourage women who minister so faithfully.

Today is the day for such recognition in 2024.

Traditionally our church has set aside this day for the women to speak of the things God has done in their lives.

The women sing of what God has done.

Today Vanessa has signed what God has done — and I’ll speak of that a little more in a minute.

Various ladies of the church have shared their testimonies or spoken on the WM Day theme.

Last year, we had asked Cecelia Funderburk’s daughter, Rev. Tina Glosson, a pastor in Kentucky, to speak to the congregation.

Unfortunately she contracted covid and was unable to speak.

So, I spoke on the National WM theme of: Fashioned: Created for a Purpose

I spoke of the many challenges women in our society are facing.

I spoke in sadness of how women are leaving the church — at an even higher rate than men.

The women of New Life Family Church really have their jobs cut out for them.

They do so much of the ministry of the church.

That has been the trend, maybe from the beginning.

The women do the hard work.

And the women who volunteer are having to do more with fewer women to join with them to minister.

And then, on top of it all, the men get the glory.

Look at Jesus and His disciples.

I mean, it’s mostly the men who are the best known in the Gospels.

But the Bible says in: Luke 8:1–3 (LSB) And it happened that soon afterward [Jesus] was going around from one city and village to another, preaching and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. The twelve were with Him,

See! The men lead the account!

Oh, but DON’T stop there!

2 and also some women who had been healed of evil spirits and sicknesses: Mary who was called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, 3 and Joanna the wife of Chuza, Herod’s manager, and Susanna, and many others who were ministering to them from their possessions.

Women travelled with Jesus and His disciples.

They “ministered to them” — probably they cooked meals, did laundry, collected water, and the like.

No doubt, they went into surrounding villages or to nearby farms and bought food “from their possession.”

They paid for ministry needs out of their own finances.

So, from the beginning of the church women have been a huge part of the ministry.

That means the alarm I gave last year about the exodus of women was sincere.

It is truly a crisis that must be addressed with prayer and intentionality.

Wednesday I will be meeting with the Board.

I always open with a devotional.

This month I will be talking about change in the church.

Not all change is bad.

And neither is change always good.

I will be speaking to the Board about a “changing of the guard” happening within the church.

Boomers parents are dying everyday — by the thousands.

Boomers themselves are passing from the scene — sometimes by death — but also by choice.

That Boomers are willingly staying out of church is kind of difficult for me to understand, but then I have a VERY different mindset about the church and ministry, BUT millions of Boomers just simple did not come back after the covid hysteria.

That means that Millennials are now becoming the core of the church.

As one “expert” says: the 2 areas most impacted are finances and volunteers.

As I look at the statistics, that means we Boomers who are left will need to work hard to help those coming after us to step up.

I have concerns that we have botched the job already.

Are Boomers including Millennials, or any of the younger generations in ministry?

I’m not seeing it.

Folks, we have GOT to do a better job of fulfilling our call to, as the Apostle Paul said it…

2 Timothy 2:2 (NLT) You have heard me teach things that have been confirmed by many reliable witnesses. Now teach these truths to other trustworthy people who will be able to pass them on to others.

Can we stop right here and pray about that?

This year I had asked Rev. Donna Sparks, an AG evangelist who had come to our church for Mother’s Day in 2015 to speak today.

At the beginning of January I had to contact her to cancel her coming because we just didn’t have the finances to be able to bring her here.

She is over in Murrayville this morning.

That led to Sister Madeline Rivera being voluntold she would be speaking — she was willing AND she is an excellent preacher!

So, I find it a little amusing that she contacted me on Thursday to tell me she had covid.

I’m sure it wasn’t amusing to her and Hector!

CAPTIVATED: LOVE CAPTIVATED ME

So this morning I am not sure what God is doing, but here I am again ladies, to talk to you about your ministry in the church.

Crazy, huh!

A man talking about the ministry of women in the church?

And yet, of all the men in the church, as the pastor, I guess I am the man most suited to the task.

So, let me start by repeating what I said earlier:

The women of the church do so much of the ministry of the church.

That has been the trend, from the beginning of the church.

Most of the time, the women do the hard work and the men get the glory.

Let me say, as the pastor of New Life Family Church, ladies, I REALLY appreciate all you do!

I try to say thank you, but maybe I missed you — if so, I’m sorry.

Please forgive me.

I recognize that to a large degree you minister to the children.

Yes, my son Nathan, is in the nursery this morning — he does it often.

And Brother David Thomason and Mark Huber minister in Royal Rangers.

But the bulk of the ministry to kids happens through the women.

Often women carry most of the load of any “eatin’ meetin’s” we have.

They set up.

They decorate.

They cook and serve the food.

They clean up after the fellowship.

Men help, some, but the women carry most of the load.

Obviously, women are most suited to ministry to other women.

And I thank you for reaching out to the hurting, the broken, the discouraged and the burned out.

Too many times when YOU are feeling hurt, the broken, discouraged and burned out.

But you press on.

Thank you!

I can only think of one reason you continue to do what you do in the church.

You are Captivated by Jesus.

You are captivated by His love.

Our theme Scripture passage this morning is:

Colossians 3:1–2 (AMP) IF THEN you have been raised with Christ [to a new life, thus sharing His resurrection from the dead], aim at and seek the [rich, eternal treasures] that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 And set your minds and keep them set on what is above (the higher things), not on the things that are on the earth.

If you have been raised with Jesus into new life, you will be captivated by Him.

Captivated with all that He is.

Captivated by all that He does.

Captivated by all the absolutely impossible things He is calling you to do.

For the past couple of weeks I had us looking at Acts 2:42 that says:

Acts 2:42 (LSB) And they were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to the prayers.

I haven’t really talked about it, but why do you think these early disciples “continually devoted” themselves to the Word, to koinonia, to breaking of bread and prayer?

I believe it was because they had an experience with God that rebooted their lives.

An encounter that changed them forever.

Something radically different than what we often call being “born again” in today’s church.

Merely repeating a prayer is NOT being born again unless there is sincere repentance and surrender.

But the Acts 2:42 people had an encounter that caused them to be Captivated by Jesus.

The AG WM website tells us:

Gravity is a law of nature we live with every day.

Even a child learns quickly that what goes up, will come down.

As much as gravity’s pull tethers us to the earth, there is another force which serves as an even greater magnet to our soul.

We have been created with a space in our soul that can only be satisfied by God.

Like the pull of gravity, God’s love is drawing us to Himself.

And once we have experienced the warmth of His presence, the goodness of His character, the depth of His love, and the joy of walking in relationship with the Living Lord, we are never the same.

Our vision this year is CAPTIVATED.

By definition, it describes something that attracts us, holding our interest and attention.

We believe that when we have been captivated by Jesus, his love compels us to live differently and propels us into our destiny.

We pray that now more than any other time in history, women of every generation will know and declare, “Love captivated me!”

The Majesty of the Person of Jesus

The women who followed along with Jesus and His disciples.

The women of the early church.

Women all down through the ages have been captivated by who Jesus is.

They echo the words Vanessa signed in her song: Holy Captivated.

When I Behold the Beauty Of Your Many Wonders … I'm Captivated by Your Majesty

Oh my Soul Rings Out A Sacred Hallelujah Back to the Source From Whence it Came

How powerful the words later in the song that say:

When I Contemplate The Day of our Reunion And I Anticipate the One Who Calls my Name There's a Yearning Rising up from Deep Within me To be Swept Away Forev'r and a Day

Cause I can Wait To See the Ones Who've Gone Before me Hear the Music Taste the Laughter Walk the Sea But the Moment I will Live and I will Die for Is to Hear His Voice Welcoming me.

Oh, when you are captivated by Jesus THAT is the way you feel.

I’ll be happy to reunite with the mother I just buried — the father who died 35 years ago.

I’m a music person, so to just bask in the glorious refrains of heaven — maybe even have a chance to join in…

All of the wonders of heaven.

But like the author of the lyrics says:

I want to hear the voice of Jesus.

I want to see His face.

THAT is what captivates my soul.

On Wednesday, we will be looking at an event that happened on Wednesday of Holy Week.

The week Jesus was crucified for our sins.

We will look at a woman’s sacrifice for her Jesus.

She was so captivated by who He is.

Like the Samaritan woman who encountered Jesus by a well.

She was absolutely captivated by the Person of Jesus.

He knew her!

She wasn’t put off by that!

She didn’t become defensive.

Instead she was amazed by Jesus.

She was captivated by Jesus she made it her mission to tell others.

All of the women who followed Jesus were like the 3 disciples who witnessed the transfiguation of Jesus that we read about in:

Luke 9:28–35 (NLT) About eight days later Jesus took Peter, John, and James up on a mountain to pray. 29 And as he was praying, the appearance of his face was transformed, and his clothes became dazzling white. 30 Suddenly, two men, Moses and Elijah, appeared and began talking with Jesus. 31 They were glorious to see. And they were speaking about his exodus from this world, which was about to be fulfilled in Jerusalem. 32 Peter and the others had fallen asleep. When they woke up, they saw Jesus’ glory and the two men standing with him. 33 As Moses and Elijah were starting to leave, Peter, not even knowing what he was saying, blurted out, “Master, it’s wonderful for us to be here! Let’s make three shelters as memorials—one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” 34 But even as he was saying this, a cloud overshadowed them, and terror gripped them as the cloud covered them. 35 Then a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, my Chosen One. Listen to him.”

The disciples were in awe of of the Person of Jesus.

The One endorsed by the Father.

So are those who are truly born again.

The Majesty of the Character and Works of Jesus

Ladies, you have read of the character and works of Jesus.

After your initial encounter with Jesus, He planted within you an insatiable thirst for more of Him.

So you read the Bible from cover to cover.

You saw Jesus foreshadowed and prophesied in the OT.

You read of His life and works in the Gospels.

You saw how He continued to work through the anointing of the Holy Spirit in the early church.

As you read, you saw and remembered that He is good.

That He knows you on a personal basis.

That He has promised to hold you hand — no matter what you go through.

That He is a Good, Good Father.

You are captivated by the character and works of Jesus.

The Majesty of the Call of Jesus

You are captivated by Jesus’ call on your life.

As we sang a few minutes ago, you believe who He says you are.

That you were lost, but He brought you in by His love for you.

That He called you for a purpose.

That purpose is far greater than you can ever hope to achieve inn your own abilities.

On Friday I was talking with Brother Mark Huber about youth ministry.

Tuesday Mark and I will be talking with the Georgia AG Youth ministries director Johnny Mendoza about getting a Youth Ministry started here at New Life.

I was going through different aspects of ministry to young people with Mark.

The challenges that young people have ALWAYS faced: peer pressure, sexual temptations, emotional instability, boy-girl interactions, the future and on and on.

But, there are even greater challenges they face today.

I don’t know about Mark, but I felt overwhelmed.

I could clearly see that this ministry is absolutely IMPOSSIBLE apart from a supernatural anointing from God.

But what’s true about Youth ministry is true about ALL ministry — yes, Women’s Ministry, too.

NONE of it can be done in our own strength.

And yet the opportunity to serve the One who died for us.

The One who gives us eternal life.

It SHOULD captivate us.

Are You Captivated by Jesus?

This morning we need to realize the power of being captivated.

Whatever captivates us, defines us.

Young Joseph, though sold into slavery by his brothers, was so captivated by God he refused to engage in sexual immorality with Potiphar’s wife — even though it COULD have meant he would die and DID result in his going to prison — for years! But God raised him up and promoted him beyond what he could have imagined.

Conversely, King David, a married man who already had 2 wives, was so captivated by Bathsheba, another man’s wife that he forgot God and committed adultery.

He then tried to cover it up.

Not succeeding, he had Bathsheba’s husband killed.

These events scarred David for the rest of his life — he was ALWAYS the poorer for these choices and actions.

That’s the dark side of captivation.

What captivates you?

Again Colossians 3:1–2 (TPT) Christ’s resurrection is your resurrection too. This is why we are to yearn for all that is above, for that’s where Christ sits enthroned at the place of all power, honor, and authority! 2 Yes, feast on all the treasures of the heavenly realm and fill your thoughts with heavenly realities, [be captivated by Jesus!] and not with the distractions of the natural realm.

If you are captivated by Jesus...

You will take advantage of any and every opportunity to worship His majesty.

You will not only be aware of, but you will share with others His character and mighty works.

You will seek an anointing that will enable you to accomplish what God is calling you to do.

As the worship team comes…

Could we all stand?

Does being captivated by things above, by Jesus define you?

Or are you allowing some temporary earthly thing to captivate you?

Something far beneath the purposes and glories for which you were created?

Something, that like King David will pull you into a soul-scarring sin that makes you walk with a limp the rest of your life?

If you are captivated by Jesus, would you come forward?

Will you sing this prayer with the worship team?

Women could you come forward?

Men, please pray for our women.