“My Wheelchair” By Arman Jorge January
28th,
2018 Thank you, Jesus.
You know, that's one of the things that I love
about this ministry. I mean, just the worship, it’s just fully there.
It just
uplift your spirit, it makes you move more with whatever God would have
you to
do. And, you know, whoever and whatever you worship is where you draw
your
strength from. That's where you draw your ability to do things for God.
You
know, King David was worshipping God with all his might, and he was
dancing for
the Lord (2 Samuel 6:12-16), and, his wife Michal just mocked him, just
didn't
like what he did. And, God turned around, and cursed that woman, she
never had
a baby ever since (2 Samuel 6:20-23). And, you know, there's a lot of
people
out there that think what we do in here is foolishness. And, you know
what God
says about foolishness, right? God says, “I have chosen the foolishness
of this
world to confound the wise. I have chosen the weak things of this world
to
confound the mighty.” (1 Corinthians 1:27) And, you know, Church, you
and I, as
Believers, you know what God says to us? The wisdom and the power of
God rests In
You. I just wanted to throw that out there, it was just so rich, so
rich.
Before I get started this morning, before I start this morning, I just
wanted
to take this moment, and just really mark this moment, and show my
appreciation
to the word of God. I want to thank Andy and Parrish for this
opportunity for
allowing me to preach this message to these
faithful men and women, boys and girls,
the family of God. And, as you may know, this is really my first time
to give a
whole message. And, I know, if I'm speaking from the flesh, you'll
never find
me up here. I'll be the first one to run out of here. But, Church, this
morning, it isn't about the flesh, it's about the Spirit of God.
Because God
says, “He that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth.”
(John
4:24) It's about the Spirit of God. I know that those people that labor
in this
pulpit right here, they seek God with their whole heart when they're up
here. And,
it's really a privilege, and honor to work side-by-side with these
Mighty Men
of God. This morning's message, the title is, “My Wheelchair.” “My
Spiritual
Wheelchair.” Part
1: What
Is It Made Of? What is your wheelchair made of? And, the text
comes from Hebrews,
chapter seven, verse three, and it says, Hebrews
7:3
without father, without mother, without descent, having neither
beginning of
days, nor end of life; but made like unto the Son of God; abideth a
priest
continually. And, in Mark, chapter fourteen, verse
fifty-eight, it says, Mark
14:58 We
heard him say, I will destroy this temple that is made with hands, and
within
three days I will build another made without hands. I know this month's theme is about “Learn of
Me.” Let me take for
a second, let me take your mind for a second to the Sunday School,
Church. Actually,
last month, we made some changes to Sunday School. We actually had two
classes,
we used to have two classes in Sunday School, and, we used to have
kindergarten
to third grade, and fourth grade to eighth grade. Last month we kind of
made
the decision that we’ve got to drop that one down, because, the reason
being,
at one time we used to have eight teachers and some helpers, and we
dropped to
four teachers and just some helpers. So we had to make a decision to
just kind
of drop it down to three years old to fifth grade and send the older
kids to
church. Anyway, that Sunday, December third, last month, I was ushering
the
kids coming into Sunday School. And, so, they were all anxious, you
know, and,
just wanted to get into the Sunday School, except for this one kid.
Boy, I
think he was just not into Sunday School that morning; he didn't want
to go
inside. But, you know, I worked my little magic, you know, I kind of
talked him
into it, and, I said, “Hey, you know, we're going to have fun, you
know. I
always like having fun in Sunday School.” So, he got in there, and I
was able
to get him into class, and start working with him. But, I haven't
taught
three-year-olds in a long time. It's been a long time, so, and I'm
supposed to
teach the lineage of Jesus. How in the world are you going to teach the
lineage
of Jesus to three-year-olds? You know, it was actually easy, I just had
to put
my thinking glasses on, just put my magic book together, and, what we
actually
did was, we took out some of the Jesus’ lineage, you know we took out
some of
the names, you know, like Adam and Eve, we acted on—we talked about
their
lives, and we acted on it. And, what's interesting, what caught the
children's
eyes, was Noah. And, so, what I did was, we put together some chairs
and
tables, and we made an ark inside the class. We just kind of, we
brought all
the animals in there, you know, and I had some pilot in there, you
know, the
captain driving my Ark. And, I played the shark. The thing is, I think
I
spooked Jason’s younger son, Preston, and he got scared with the shark.
So, the
shark had to swim in there, and talk to Preston, and, I said, “Oh, this
is a
nice shark. I don't bite, you know?” And, so, the shark and Preston
made
friends, so, we just kept on going, you know? As they were leaving,
actually,
their parents start coming, and, some of the kids didn't want to leave
the Sunday
School class. They wanted to stay there and do some more. And, you
know,
church, as a teacher, that's part of the precious jewels that I
receive, as a
teacher. If you can teach a three-year-old the Word of God, interest
them, the
three-year-olds, in the Word of God, you've done your job as a teacher.
You've
done your job as a teacher. But, Church, I'm not here to tell you that,
what I'm
here to tell you, this morning, is that Jesus came from an earthly line
of
royalty. Royalty, leadership, and divine power. And, you know, in that
family
tree, there's so many skeletons in that family tree. But, what
interested me
the most, was, you know, used to be, families would try to hide the
embarrassing details of their, you know, of their history. But, you
know what?
Jesus displayed them all openly, so that you and I can see them. And,
you know,
that was really interesting, because, you know, Adam and Eve failed the
test,
when they ate that fruit of the tree of knowledge of Good and Evil.
Noah got
drunk and slept naked in his tent, you know? And, who else? Abraham and
Sarah
laughed at God, when God told them that they're going to have a baby in
their
old age. Isaac lied to Abimelech and said his wife Rebecca was his
sister
instead of his wife. How about Jacob? Jacob was—everybody accuses Jacob
as a
liar because he stole his brother's Birthright. This one is kind of
good:
Judah, Judah was part, he was part of the Joseph's murder, he was part
of that,
you know? They wanted to murder his brother Joseph, but he was also one
of the
persons that convinced all of his brothers to sell him, instead of
murdering
him. And, Judah, Judah had a daughter-in-law, Tamar, and, you know, he
slept
with his daughter-in-law, because his daughter-in-law played a
prostitute. She
played this prostitute, and, Church, Jesus came from this tree of
lineage, this
family, you know? And, how about King David and Bathsheba? King David
had an
affair with Bathsheba, and then had her husband killed. And, imagine,
Jesus
came from all of this, this is an embarrassing thing of Jesus' history.
But,
you know, out of all these failures, out of all these failures, a
perfect man
came out of this tree, this family tree. And, what I'm asking today is,
is your
wheelchair made by Jesus this morning, or is He a wheelchair in your
life? Part
2: What Makes Your Wheelchair Tip Over? The text comes from Luke, chapter twelve, verse
five, and it says
like this: Luke
12:5
But
I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear him, which after he hath
killed
hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear him. And, in Matthew, chapter ten, verse
twenty-eight, it says: Matthew
10:28 And, fear not them which
kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him
which is
able to destroy both soul and body in hell. As a young kid, one of the things I feared that
the most was I
was, you know, I was afraid of the dark. I used to have my grandpa
carry me to
the bedroom, because I can't go over there by myself, so I had to sleep
where
everybody's at, and just carry me up there. And, I'm also afraid of
quicksand,
because, you know, in the Philippines, there's mountains and volcanoes,
and forest,
and, right now, I don't know if you heard, volcanoes, they're very
active over
there, right now. And those are scary things. But one of the things one
of the
things that was most scary for me, was, when I became older, in 2008, I
lost my
mom to cancer. She had a lymphoma; cancer in her stomach. And, I wasn't
ready
to let my mom go. It was just really hard for me, and she's never been
baptized. And, so, in 2008, she came from the Philippines in 2008, in
April, yeah,
it was in April when she came back, and she was really sick. And, one
of the
things, you know, people, some people, they just don't like to go see
the
doctor. They just don't want to, you know, go to see the doctor to find
out
what's wrong with them. And, that's my mom, my mom just don't want to
go see
the doctor. But, at this time, I really talk to her, and I said, “Mom,
you've
got to go see the doctor. You know, this is really not good.” And, you
know
what, the only reason that she agreed with me was because she's really
having
pain. She's got a lot of pain and her stomach. And, so, we went there,
and go
see the doctor, and, I went to take her to see the specialist, and they
tried
to find out what's wrong with her. And, this one time, it was the
middle of the
day, and she was really in pain. She was really hurting. And, I came to
her
bed, and I just prayed with her, you know? And, I said to my mom, I
said, “Mom,
we need to go to my church and just have one of the pastors pray with
you, and,
you need to get baptized, because, I mean, I don't know what's going to
happen.”
You know? And, I was able to persuade my mom, and she came with me, she
came
with me to church that afternoon. And, I remember talking to Pastor
Wilson,
because I got a hold of Pastor Wilson. I
said, “Pastor Wilson, we need to have my mom prayed over, and I just
really
need the touch from God today.” And, so, Pastor Wilson took us to the
front, to
the Altar, and we prayed, and after we got done praying, and I said to
Pastor
Wilson, “Pastor Wilson, you know my mom wants to get baptized, right?”
And,
Pastor Wilson asked my mom, “Is that true, Lucia?” That's my mom's
name. “Is
that true, Lucia? Do you want to get baptized?” And, Pastor Wilson can
see
through my mom. He knew that she's not there to do that. The only
reason she was
with me is because she was in pain. And, so, Pastor Wilson told her, “I
tell
you what, when you decide that you want to make a commitment to God,
come back
here, and I'll baptize you anytime.” So, we walked away from church, I
was
angry and disappointed, and I took my mom home. So, we got to the last
day of
my mom's life. The doctor came to us, and he said, “You know, you guys
have to
make a decision, on what you want to do to with your mom, because the
only
reason she's living right now, is because of this machine.” And, so, my
dad—my
stepdad, “Yeah, go ahead and take this unit off, and do what you got to
do.” And,
I talked to my dad, because I don't want—I can't, I'm not ready, you
know, I
talked to my dad. And, the thing is, Pastor Wilson happened to be in
the
hospital that day, and so I came to talk to him. I said, “Pastor
Wilson, I'm
not ready to let my mom go, and he's already decided he wants to take
this
thing off, you know?” I told pastor Wilson, “What if God changes his
mind, and
heels my mom, and we're already just letting her go, just like that?”
And, you
know what? I'll never forget this, this is what Pastor Wilson told me,
he said,
“Whatever you decide today, whatever your dad, whatever your family
decides
today, God is going to do whatever he wants to do with whatever he
chooses to
do. Remember, God raised Lazarus after he'd been dead for three days.
And,
whatever you do, whatever you do, don't limit God, don't limit God.”
And, so,
Church, I'm going to be honest with you, I almost lost my faith along
that
time. I almost walked away. And, I'm thankful for Pastor Wilson,
because he was
able to just, really, walk me through it, and, just really face my
fear. And,
I'm really glad, I'm really glad, because I was able to walk again with
my
faith, and just keep praising God, you know? A few years later, and I'm
still
here, right here in front of you. And, I'm thankful, I'm thankful for
that.
And, church, all I want to say is this morning, is that we have to face
our
fears. And, what better way to fear God, then to fear other people out
there,
or whatever, because He's the only one that can make us through the
hurdles of
life, make us walk through the bridge of life, He's the only one that
can do
all of that. Part
3: What
Makes Your Wheelchair Move? First of the year, it was really—as you know, it
was really hot
those times, I'm sorry, it was cold that time. It was below zero, it
was just
really, you know? And, one of the things that God has showed me, three
things,
the first of the year: he showed me reconciliation, peace, and honesty.
And, I
think, a couple of weeks ago, when I was sharing a testimony, I think I
touched
on reconciliation and peace. But, today, I want to talk about honesty.
I'm a
little embarrassed to admit this this morning, but when it was cold
that
morning, it was January first, I had to go to the store and just buy
some
groceries, you know? And, it was at night, and I've got to go get it
right
away, it was cold, so I'm trying to get it fast. And, so, I did that,
and, so,
I went to Sam's Club. I went there, and, you know, started shopping,
you know,
and I brought some groceries, and stuff. And, along with that, I bought
a
software for my computer. It cost like $40. You know? And, so, you
know, at the
Sam's Club in Kenosha, they have those, you know, self-scan, and you
can get
all your stuff, self-serve, and I did that. And, so, I finished that,
and I
walked through the gate with the lady there, you know, check whatever
you
bought. “Okay, it's good.” And, so, I went outside, I went to the car
and start
unloading my groceries, putting them in my van. And, as I was unloading
it, I
noticed this one thing that I bought, and I was thinking, “I don't
think I paid
for this one. And, I have it.” And, one thing that was coming to my
mind right
away, was, “No, you don't need to go back there. You can check later.
You know,
it's on your... Go home, it's cold outside, you don't want to go back,
and,
there's, you know, when you get home, you're going to find that on your
receipt.” So, I was like, it was cold, and I did. And, I went home, and
I just,
I just, you know, forgot about it. So, I got home, started putting my
stuff
away at home., you know inside, and, after an hour, I took a shower.
You know,
I was, you know, getting ready for bed. And, I was getting out, and I
was—I
remembered, man, did I bring my software, that I bought, that I paid
forty
dollars for? And, so, I went down, and I told my wife, “Did you see the
software that I bought? I don't see it. I don't remember taking it
out.” I
asked my son, “Did you see it?” “No, I didn't see it.” And, I said,
“God, this
is you. I know. I know. And, I told my wife, I said, I have to go back
to Sam's
Club, because I think I left my software on the cart. And, I have to go
back
over there.” And, I did, I went back over there, you know? And, I go
back in
there, and I start searching the carts. I was looking it up, and I
didn't see
it, but then I saw this man, that works at Sam's Club, he's in charge
of taking
all these carts inside, so I asked him, I said, “Hey, have you seen any
software that's sitting around in one of the carts?” “Oh, yeah, I did.
I,
actually, brought it into the front. And, when you go to the front,
there's a
lady there, I gave it to her.” And, so, I did, I went inside, and I
said, “Hey,
that gentleman that works here, he told me that he gave you the
software that
he found. Actually, it belongs to me. See my receipt? It's right
there.” And,
the lady said, “Oh, yeah, yeah, I got that. Just give me a second, I'll
come
back and get it for you.” And, while that time, I was contemplating,
and God
was speaking to me, “You know why I brought you back here, right? I
want you
paying for that thing that you said that you did and you did not.” I
said, “Oh,
God.” And, so, the lady came back, and she was, like, “Okay, here you
go.” And,
I was like, “Oh, excuse me, you know, I was here earlier, and, you
know, I paid
for this, you know, and, I bought some things over there, and, I think
I didn't
pay for it. And, it was like seven or eight dollars, I think. If you
want, I
can get that same exact one, so you can scan it and I'll just pay for
it right
now.” And, she said, “Really? Oh, you know what? Don't worry about it.
Just go
home, and forget about it.” And, I said, “Are you sure? Because, I want
to pay
for it, really. I mean, I have the money right now.” “Don't worry about
it.” I
said, “Thank you, I appreciate that,” and, so, I went home. And, I told
my
wife, and I was telling my wife, and I was like, “Do you know what God
did to
me today? God made me look so stupid. And, you know, I didn't pay for
this. Then
he made me go back, because I forgot this forty dollars, you know, and,
now, I
told the lady, you know, I may as well pay for it, because I'm here,
you know?”
And, you know, the funny thing is, the whole time I was telling my
wife, my
kids were on the other side, listening to my conversation. Okay? And,
so, three
days later, here's what happened: it was a Sunday night, I was at the
Bible
study teachers meeting, and, so, when we got done, I went home, and
here comes
Angelo. He just came to me right away. He says, “Dad, I've got to tell
you
something.” I said, “What's wrong?” “Oh, me and mom went to Target, and
my mom
bought some things, and I bought this forty dollar thing for my phone,
and,
when I get home, I started looking at this receipt, and they didn't
charge me
for it. And, I don't want you to think that I stole it, I don't want
anybody to
think I stole it.” “Well, you know what we do; we do the right thing.”
And, then
I started telling that story, “You know, the other day, this is what
happened.”
He said, “You don't have to tell me, I heard everything that was said,
that's
why I'm coming to you. I want you to tell me what you want me to do.” I
said, “We've
got to do the right thing. We've got to go return this,” but, at the
time, it
was already closed, the Target. We got to do the right thing.” Church,
I've got
to be honest with you, forty dollars, forty dollars, okay? I'm
contemplating
this. “Make sure it's not on that receipt, because, we've got to go
back over
there, and just—you know?” And, I told my wife, because it's Monday, I
have to
go to work in the morning, so I asked my wife, “Do you think you could
take
this over there, and just get it right?” You know? And, my wife took
it, the
next morning, after she dropped Ashley off at school, so, she went
there, she
went to Target, and she approached the lady at the desk, and, she says,
“We
were here last night, and my son bought this thing, she actually
brought the
box it came in, and, it's not on our receipt, and, I'm here, to tell
you, I
want to pay for it, because, you know, it wasn't on our receipt, but I
have it.”
And, the lady said, “Really? Wow! I want to thank you for your honesty,
because, some people would just go over there and forget about the
whole thing.
Especially forty-five dollars. You know?” And, she said, “Yeah, I know,
here's
the forty-five dollars, and just give me a receipt. Okay?” And, you
know what?
What the lady did, she said, “Because you're so honest, I'm going to
charge you
only thirty-six dollars instead of forty-five. And, just get it over
with. And,
I want to thank you for your honesty.” And, so, my wife called me at
work and
told me, “I just brought the thing, and they told me this and that.
And, I only
paid thirty-six bucks.” “Oh, really?” And, I said, “Doesn't it feel
good when
you do something good in the right of God?” And, Church, what I'm
telling you
this morning, is God needs to see us through. We need to be transparent
to God.
God should be able to see through, in us, no problem. Because that's
what's
going to carry us through the next step of what God has for us. Part
4: Is
Your Wheelchair Dependable? This morning, I actually asked Brother Jesse to
share a couple of
things for us, this morning, and while he's coming, think about things
that,
some of the hard things that you have to go through in life, and what
are some
of the things that you did to come and fix it. Just, how did you work
through
your problem? I appreciate this, Brother Jesse, helping me
with my message.
Brother Jesse, just share with us this morning, what were your
expectations
when you first found out that you're going to start using a wheelchair
from
this day forward? How hard were the changes that you have to make in
your life
and your daily routine? Jesse Gulley: Good morning,
originally, I was working with Brother
Ken Avellino. I had to get my toenail
taken off. They removed the toenail at the foot doctor, and it didn't
bleed.
So, the doctor said, “Well, you're going to have to go see someone
else.” So,
he more or less just dismissed it. So, I ended up having to
see a vascular doctor. And, he said, “Well,
Jesse, we're going to, probably, have to
remove your foot, just your foot.” Well, I thought that was the end of
the
world, then. So, when they removed my foot, I was in Evanston Hospital,
I stayed
there for, maybe, about three weeks, or so. And, I came home, and, my
leg, they
had cut down the inside of my leg, where they installed a vein so the
blood
could flow down there, but, that didn't work. So, they ended up sending
me up
to the emergency room at the Grove. I stayed there, maybe, about two
months before
they finally amputated. That's when I knew Brother Parrish and Brother
Andy
came up there to the hospital, but I was always ending up on the floor
while I
was asleep. I don't really have any idea how I got down there. And,
they ended
up having to take one of my legs. Back then, you know, in my mind, I
didn't
know where to turn. I'm going to give it to you straight. I didn't know
where
to turn. I had never dealt with anything like that. So, that went on
for a
little while, then my brother happened to come to my apartment, because
I
wasn't answering my phone. He found me on the other side of the room,
in my
bedroom, on the floor, with just one leg. They ended up taking me back
to the
hospital again. They said, “Well, Jessie, we've got to amputate your
other leg.
Your body is full of poison.” So, you know, don't get me wrong, Jesus
brought
me through a lot, brought me through a lot. But, right then, I needed
God. I
needed God. This was a God situation. Okay, by that time, I said, “You
done
took one leg, okay, it doesn't matter, take the other one.” They ended
up
taking that. So, you know, it got better. I started getting better.
That's when
God really stepped up, because, everything in my life changed.
Everything. I
wish Brother Mike Hooks was still here to see this. I didn't have to
work hard,
and I’m continuously working hard. You know, there's a lot of things I
can't
do, like run, and jump, and something like that, but, as far as
cleaning my
apartment, or making my bed, or cooking my food, washing my clothes,
whatever,
I can do all that, you know? And, as long as I've got God on my side, I
can't
go wrong. I cannot go wrong with Jesus on my side. I appreciate it. Thank you. Church, believe it
or not, you and I,
are no different than Brother Jesse. You and I are no different than
Brother
Jesse. Every single one of us carry a burden. Yeah, people out there,
too,
because God said, it's going to rain on the just and the unjust
(Matthew 5:45).
But, you know, don't forget that God has given us a spiritual
wheelchair, His yoke.
So that he can help us through our situation, our problems. Sure, some
of us
have legs to walk, but, the thing is, are we using it to walk with
Christ? You
know, I just can't help to notice that how hard it is for my brother
Jessie,
you know, that he had to go through that. You know, the thing is, this
is where
we are, God has given me a wheelchair, okay? And, I'm praying to God,
“God help
me with my patience. Help me with my financial situation, God. God,
help me
with my school, job, I failed school.” And, this is what we do, Church,
we push
this wheelchair, and we start crawling, using our own strength. “God, I
know
what I'm going to do, I'm going to get two jobs. You don't mind me not
coming
to church, anyway. I'm going to get to job so that I can pay my bills,
or
something. God, to make people look bad at my work, so that I can look
good, so
that I can get that promotion. I'm going to go cheat on my class, so
that I can
pass this test.” Church, we are no different, we are no different than
Brother
Abraham. You know, Abraham said—God told Abraham, I'm going to make you
the
father of many nations. And, do you know what Abraham did? He turned
around and
slept with his maid, instead of sleeping with his wife, Sarah, because,
he
said, “Sarah is too old, and she can't have a baby.” Do you know what
it really
means to say, “My yoke is easy, and My burden is light?” It means, when
you
can't get up in the morning, and you can't turn your alarm clock off,
because
you're wheelchair is too far away from you, God says, “My yoke is easy,
and my burden
is light.” When you can't have a job, you're troubling to have a job,
God said,
“My yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” When you're health is
failing, God
says, “My yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” When you are
struggling with
your school, you can't pass, God said, “My yoke is easy, and my burden
is
light.” Church, say you're in the toughest situation in your life,
right now,
how would you really know that God’s yoke is easy and His burden is
light?
Church, God is moved, when you come to Him in total dependence. I'm
going to
say that again: God is moved when you come to Him in total dependence.
Church,
Jesus was moved with compassion when He saw all the multitude start
following Him
everywhere He goes. They start following, and Jesus turned around, and
started
bringing miracles to their life, started making the lame walk, started
opening
the eyes to see, you know, Church? Thank You, Jesus. I've just got to
catch my
breath for a second. Church, God is always going to be there for us.
God will
be there, no matter what happens in our lives. If we choose to walk
away, He's still
going to be there. God just needs us to make a total dependence on Him,
to seek
Him through with us. And, we will never know, we will never know, what
it means,
“My yoke is easy, and my burden is light,” if we continue to use our
own
strength and, solve our own problem, and not share it with Christ.
Church, this
morning, Jesus is pleading with us this morning, and He says, “Come
unto me,
yes, come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will
give you
rest.” He says, “Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me, for I am meek
and
lowly of heart and you shall find rest into your souls, you shall find
rest
into your souls.” He says, “My yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” Let us pray. Jesus, I know our willingness to
worship you, to
serve you will come and go. Jesus, I know that we choose to do whatever
we want
to do in this life. Jesus, we choose to walk with You, or not, or we
choose to
use the wheelchair that You've given us, but God I know Your love will
never
fail, that Your love will continue to change our hearts, that Your love
for us
will continue to expound in us, Lord, God, because You're that kind of
God, and
Your compassion to us will result in healing, will result in
forgiveness.
Jesus, help us to walk that straight and narrow path, and lead life
everlasting.
Jesus, take my hands. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.
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