5 Sept 2013 by Natasha Kim CM-
Dr. Glenn Burris Jr. was the plenary speaker on 30th August at the 23rd Pentecostal World Conference, Calvary Convention Centre (CCC), Kuala Lumpur.
This influential speaker is the President of Foursquare Church that serves nearly 2000 congregations and 7000 licensed ministers in the United States and 65,000 congregations in 147 countries of the world. At the conference, he shared a few stories of his encounters, experiences, and the importance of being merciful to others.
“He (God) does not treat us as our sins deserveor repay us according to our iniquities.11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him;12 as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.”
Psalm 103:10
Glenn started off by talking about the importance of unity amongst different denominations and mobilizing the whole Church to reach the world.
“We should merge and unite our efforts for the cause of Jesus Christ, finding a way to get to generations and those who have different styles. We understand that there are some uniqueness’s but God wants us in a unified front to say to the world ‘this is our message,’” shared Glenn.
We should be commissioned as agents of His mercy. He added, “Mercy is not an emotion, sympathy or a feeling. It is compassion in action.”
In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. 31 A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 32 So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him.34 He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 The next day he took out two denariiand gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’36 “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”37 The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”
Luke 10:30-37
From the very beginning of time, God was merciful. In the story of Adam and Eve, though they disobeyed God, God in His mercy pursued them through the garden. After eating the forbidden fruit, they feared an encounter withGod but Hesought to cover them and provide covering for their sins. In fact, all through the Bible, one is able to encounter many stories of where God pursued those who were lost and brought them back to Him.
“That is the kind of God we serve. I don’t think mercy is a duty… I think mercy is devotion” Glenn said.
Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.
Romans 12:21
“Sometimes the Church gets so busy in activity that they forget their mission and the call of God to those that are broken, despised, marginalized, and those who so desperately need to be set free” he shared.People need to be cared for, for who they are, sometimes another sermon just won’t do.
Sincere care can touch the hearts of those who are broken and allow them to move from a point of desperation to a point of hope. “Mercy is based on the need of people. Be a person who is concerned with giving away mercy and the needs of others” Glenn said. God has always been broken by the hurt of people, because he understands them through and through.
He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercyand to walk humbly with your God
Micah 6:8
According to the story of Moses in the Bible, God was angry andgave up on the people of the world. He wanted to do away with everyone in the worldand save Moses, but Moses asked of Him to take his life instead and give them the inheritance that you’ve called them.
“The reason why God chose Moses to lead Israel out of Egypt was because he was a shepherd, and because He knew that Moses would willingly put his life on the line for his sheep.” shared Glenn.
The Lord said, “I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. 8 So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey—the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites.9 And now the cry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them. 10 So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.
Exodus 3: 7 -10
“Sometimes mercy is setting people free when they don’t even realize they need to be free” said Glenn. “I’m shocked at the time Jesus delivered a man full of demons and healed him and the Bible said that he was sitting there, dressed and in his right mind; and they people were afraid (Mark 5:15).”
The world is such that, the people were more comfortable with the man bound with demons than they were with this man sitting there in his right mind. God has called the church to be a healer and a bridge. Love is grace!
“I’ve been given mercy and now I’ve become an agent of mercy. It’s not a feeling or an emotion, it’s a part of setting people free to become what God has called them to be. The world so desperately needs to hear that life can be different” he shared before finally ending in prayer.
Then the master told his servant, 'Go out to the roads and country lanes and compel them to come in, so that my house will be full.
Luke 14:23
But remember this, my brother
See in this some higher plan,
You must use this precious silver,
To become an honest man,
By the witness of the martyrs,
By the Passion and the Blood, God has raised you out of darkness,
I have bought your soul for God!
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