Build the broken!

Almost impossible to drive down the street and not see a sign that says " WE BUY UGLY HOUSES" I always looked with confusion as a kid when driving past the signs because I had no earthly idea why a person would want to spend MONEY on a home or property that was ugly, broken down and nasty. I didn't understand it until I started understanding the gospel better! On Sunday I preached a message titled " BUILD THE BROKEN" and in it I focused on two things we must keep in mind as Christians if we are purposing in our hearts to build our neighborhoods, cities families and even ourselves.

1.) God hiding his face is NOT God removing his grace

We looked at Jeremiah 33:5-8 and in that passage, God is assuring Israel like he often did in the old covenant of their coming destruction due to sin and defiant disobedience. In our text God says, " I have hidden my face from this city" Hiding his face means he was withdrawing his presence, veiling his glory or concealing his fulness from them. If God is light, him hiding is like a solar eclipse, total darkness. God tells Israel like he tells us, if you continue to reject me the source of light and life i will hide or withdraw from you leaving you to the consequences. Think about the neighborhood you live in, the city you dwell in or maybe even that family member who made horrible decisions in his or her life and it looks like God is judging them because of it. You may be in a season where you feel God is hiding from you or refusing to show himself fully because of your iniquities. I'm here to tell you something, you may be right!! but be encouraged, God hides himself to humble us and let us see how life is without him. If you FEEL like God is withdrawing himself, seek him even more! His grace is still there for those who seek him with all of their heart

2.) understand the LORDS big picture!

When you and I recognize that even if God has hidden himself from a person or nation due to their sin but he still desires them to reach out to him and find rest, forgiveness, and salvation it changes how we see "UGLY HOUSES" it tells us that no matter what state a person is in currently if they only get a touch from our savior he can take all the ugly in their lives and make them beautiful. It changes how we do ministry, it transforms how we see people and love people. We all should understand the big picture of God it has always been to SEEK AND SAVE THE LOST. Seeking requires intention, and saving requires love. God is after the souls of the broken, let us reject a dry religious spirit that cast off the downtrodden and the "sinner" and lets embrace the mentality of our LORD, to do that we MUST get the big picture