SHARP ERO UPDATE #7

Divinely broken,

In obedience to the Father the Son of God was crucified to set man free from the devil, death and their sinful pride! Bless the name of Jesus who paid the price for our freedom! The Lord opened back to back portrayals of the Sermon on the Mount on Monday February 11th at a prayer group and the next day CBN’s Spiritual Gifts Seminar. The prayer group was an intimate setting in a living room and the SGS was larger group in an auditorium. Testimonies flowed from both of them.

One brother at the prayer group portrayal came up to me afterwards and said that chills ran through his body when I leaned down and looked him in the eyes from across the room and said, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.” He said that he prays that verse over himself all the time. I didn’t know that, but the Holy Spirit did! I know things are happening in the invisible realm during the drama. I usually don’t get to hear the specific details but it is always a blessing when I do. From my perspective I see the Holy Spirit using this dramatic portrayal to encourage genuine faith and convicts hidden sin through the words of Christ.

Many of Jesus words in the Sermon on the Mount have often been twisted or distorted to justify ungodly behaviors and lifestyles. This is ignorance in that those who do it ignore the overall context of Christ’s words. For instance in Matthew 7:1 Jesus says "Do not judge, or you too will be judged.” Yet the culmination of his thought process in reference to judging is in Matthew 7:5 when he says, “You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.”

Therefore, the will of God is never for us to point the finger at someone in condemnation but it is for us to point the finger to Jesus for salvation! In The Cost of Discipleship Dietrich Bonhoeffer says, “I am not forbidden to have my own thoughts about the other person, to realize his shortcomings, but only to the extent that it offers to me an occasion for forgiveness and unconditional love, as Jesus proves to me.” (185)

The future of the Jesus drama is exciting. Recently a semi-professional interview was done to incorporate with live footage from the drama to make a promotional DVD that will be distributed to churches for this ministry. The hope is for it to be finished by the end of April. Praise God! This March there is two scheduled portrayals. First it is the headline of a student event for the Regent Commons on Friday March 21st at 6:30pm. Then two days later I get to be a part of the service on Resurrection Sunday at Progressive Life Worship Center in Hampton Virginia.

Please continue to pray for me and this portrayal of the Sermon on the Mount that it will continue in the perfect will of God winning souls to the truth!