Bring a tape measure without numbers

Anglican 4^th Day And The Measure of Love

Roy Batterman gave the following witness talk at the Jacksonville area Ultreya in March. He opened his talk by taking a tape measure and measuring the podium.

Do you know what I have just done? Yes, I measured the podium. This tape measure gives us a way to understand and describe the size of things. Parents and doctors will measure us to see how tall we are. A carpenter will measure a piece of lumber in order to cut it accurately. A flooring salesman will measure a floor to determine how much material is needed and how much it will cost to purchase and install.And did you know that God has given us a tape measure of sorts in the creation? ¹⁰ “He does not treat us as our sins deserve or 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.
¹³ As a father has compassion on his children,
   so the LORD has compassion on those who fear Him;
¹⁴ for He knows how we are formed,
   He remembers that we are dust.
¹⁵ The life of mortals is like grass,
   they flourish like a flower of the field;
¹⁶ the wind blows over it and it is gone,
   and its place remembers it no more.
¹⁷ But from everlasting to everlasting
   the LORD’s love is with those who fear Him,
   and His righteousness with their children’s children—
¹⁸ with those who keep His covenant
   and remember to obey His precepts.
“Psalm 103:10-18 Think about His love. Think about His goodness. Think about His grace that’s brought us through. For as high as the heavens above, so great is the measure of the Father’s love. [NIKON Universcale] God in His mercy, knowing the limits He has imposed on His creation (specifically you and I), has given us a way to understand just how much He loves us. So… think about it again. How many stars did Abraham count?    How far out do they go? (10 billion light years) How many planets are there? How many planets are just the right distance from their sun with just the right circumference, just enough clouds, just enough water, just enough land, just enough…well, you get my drift. How great is our God? The Anglican 4^th Day weekend gave me a genuine, fresh measure of God’s love both for me and for the entire world. Jesus said, “YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.” In order to love my neighbor I must first love myself. A4D has helped me to do that. A4D set me free from my normal day to day for a weekend. It both gave me time to love myself and much of that time, love was lavished on me. With both God’s love for me re-established and my love for myself brought into focus, I am now enabled to reach out in love to my neighbor. And I can do it with and through the community of God I am a member of. A4D has helped to remind me that I am set apart from the world and belong to Him. His purpose is now my purpose.Part of my witness for Christ is through worship music. (Please understand that the use of music to praise our God is only one part of what it means to worship Him. “…present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.” - Romans 12:1   Everything we do with the body God has given us, in the time He has allotted to us, is for worship of Him.) My spirit aches within me when I am not up with the praise team. My weekend has put whole trees on the fire in my bosom and has renewed the burning zeal to praise my Redeemer, edify my fellow believers and proclaim to the unbelievers in the crowd that Jesus died for them, too.A4D seems to have been a cleansing flood on the spiritual property in my mind and spirit which God has given me. Over the years I had accumulated a lot of spiritual stuff. Buildings and tools and machines and books and clothes, just like my physical home. All the stuff which was anchored and rooted in Christ still remains. All that was fluff, vain and pretend has been washed away. My mind seems clearer. I’m able to focus. When the enemy sets foot on my property now, I can see him clearly. He used to hide behind and in my stuff. Now, most of what was lying around is no longer there. I’m also thinking of the effect A4D has had on the people I have witnessed at a number of closing services. And Jesus said,
¹⁵"Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. ¹⁶"You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they? ¹⁷"So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. ¹⁸"A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit. ¹⁹"Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. ²⁰"So then, you will know them by their fruits.   – Matthew 7:15-20

In my 57 years I have never been in close association with a ministry that bears “grapes and figs” like A4D does. My own eyes have seen the changes, and my own ears have heard the testimonies. The Spirit of God is using A4D to reach His people, and He reaches deep. How many Bible studies or programs have you seen or been part of that did not succeed at reaching deep places in the hearts of those in attendance? It is quite incredible to me how effective the weekend is. But we serve an incredible God. We are not responsible for the results. Our responsibility is to proclaim the Truth. His Spirit is who convicts the pilgrims of sin and righteousness and judgment.That is the strength of A4D. It relies on the Spirit of God to be faithful to God’s Word. Through prayer the community of A4D asks God to honor His promises. It simply is a tool God uses to manifest His Truth. And His Word does not return to Him void without accomplishing what He sent it out to do.