(Once again I apologize for the formatting in the opening paragraph.  I havent found a way to correct it.)

Good Morning, Meetpastordan Readers… I am sitting at my desk right now with a cup of hot coffee in my hand, two pooches asleep on their pillow beside me, and I‘m basking in the joy of what transpired yesterday, and what is about to transpire today in six hours. Yesterday began at Grace Church with the second half of my Freedom in Christ class resuming after winter break. There was a terrific turn out of men who just want to grow in their relationship with Jesus Christ. What a thrill it is to be part of that journey with them. Then I heard Ron Tucker, our Pastor, deliver AGAIN an impassioned plea for a revival in this country, and for the salvation of the many who are caught-up in the lies and deceit of today‘s world. Needless to say, I could not be more proud to be part of this church that stands firmly on the truth of God‘s Word, and proclaims weekly God‘s love, mercy and grace for everyone.

That was yesterday morning. Yesterday afternoon I had the opportunity to return as guest conductor with the Saint Louis Wind Symphony. (For those who are not aware of that part of my life…I founded the STLWS in 1998, but stepped away a year and a half ago to persue my ministry full time.) I‘m still listed as founder and conductor/emeritus, and as such, I return once a year as guest conductor. Yesterday was the day, and in their true form, they performed magnificently. Again, I could not be more proud of this marvelous group of 65 musicians.  At the same time I was quite aware that I have been twice blessed; first as a musician/conductor, and now as Pastor Dan. Yesterday was a cloud-nine day! So what does the day after a cloud-nine day look like? Well, I‘m going to tell you.

At 12:00pm today, Pam and I are going to close on the villa we bought a month ago in Apollo Beach, Florida. (FYI…I couldn‘t resist looking up Apollo. He is the mythological god of music, truth, and prophecy. Hum, that seemed like an appropriate spot to land.) But just in case you think its “kinda nerdy“ to look up the name of a town, I did the same with our current address: Villa du Pre (house in the country), which perfectly described St. Peters, MO fifty years ago. We‘ll be here for two more years, then it‘s off to palm trees, sand and the Gulf of Mexico.

So if you‘re asking yourself how this mini-tour through my personal life has anything to do with today‘s subject, I would say…everything. Look at it as a witness to the faithfulness of God. So let me begin sharing this truth, “Seek first the Kingdom of God and all of these things will be added.“ (Matthew 6:33) And what are “all of these things that will be added.“ In the three paragraphs above this promise are listed many things we worry about, such as having enough money, enough food, clothing, shelter, material things, status, etc. (The things our human nature wants and believes we need.) But if we seek God‘s kingdom first, he adds these things as blessings.

Unfortunately, the truth of Matthew 6:33 has been twisted by what has been called a‚ “name it and claim it message“, or as some call it, a “prosperity message.“ That thinking is reminiscent of the Old Covenant, but unfortunately it is rather popular today. The mistake in this thinking is the same subtlety that sets the Old Covenant apart from the New Covenant. The Old Covenant was about works; the New Covenant is about faith; it‘s all about the state of our hearts.

Under the Old Covenant we tried to make ourselves worthy and acceptable to God through our own efforts, or through our works. For example, we tried our best to live up to God‘s standard, as revealed in the 10 Commandments, from the time the Law was given on Mt. Sinai until the beginning of the New Covenant. Unfortunately our report card on this endeavor can be found in Romans 5:6. We were proclaimed “utterly helpless.“ to overcome the issue of Sin (our way of life). That‘s the same reason the old sacrificial system used before the New Covenant was only temporary. The blood of bulls, goats, and doves only covered the people‘s sins (what they did), it didn‘t cleanse them of their sins. Why? Because God‘s standard cannot be achieved through human effort. God‘s standard is perfection, and if we are to come into His presence, “we too have to be perfect (sin-free). (1 Peter:1-16)

Under the New Covenant, our loving God has given us the answer to the issue of Sin. He willingly sacrificed his own Son as the one true sacrificial lamb whose blood could cleanse us from sin. This is God‘s Gift of Grace, and it was in place even before the world and man were created. His plan was always to do for us what he knew in advance we could not do for ourselves because this is the only way to achieve the standard of perfection referenced above.

So to drive this point home, under the Old Covenant, we had to perform in order to achieve God‘s approval. But, under the New Covenant, when we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we are now in Christ. At that moment of “Justification“ (being made right with God) we now have in us the indwelling Holy Spirit that gives us “everything we need for living a Godly life“. (2 Peter 1:3) In other words, our own effort (or our works) is null and void because we alreday have everything we need in Christ. From this point until we are face to face with Christ, it‘s all about growing in our relationship with Jesus in order to become the person God created us to be. Its about us allowing the Holy Spirit to work through us.

So lets go back to the initial Scripture found in Matthew 6:33, “Seek first the Kingdom of God…“ I stopped there because that is the essence of the New Covenant; it‘s about putting God first. Neil Anderson states in his book, “Victory Over the Darkness“ that God‘s plan, or will, for our life is twofold. (Coincidently that is the text for the first part of my class, “Freedom in Christ“, mentioned above.) First and foremost He wants us to accept his Gift of Grace, Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. That is a prerequiste for everything else that is to come. As Jesus himself proclaimed, “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.“ And the second part of God‘s plan, or will for us, is to grow, and Grow, and GROW in that relationship as we become more Christ-like. It is in that process of growing that we become transformed, and it is that transformational process that releases the blessings. I have referenced many times a signature statement made by the outstanding gospel preacher, T.D. Jakes:“God loves to bless ya…He wants to bless ya…but he ain‘t gonna give ya those blessins until you‘re ready to receive em.“ There is a whole lot of truth in those words of wisdom.

The name it and claim it spin, or the prosperity spin, indicates that if we want something bad enough, we can work to prove ourselves worthy. But here is the rub. It‘s all about our effort again. God is not a vending machine that gives us a prize because we do something. Absolutely not! However, don‘t get me wrong here. There is nothing wrong with working to accomplish our goals. But God wants us to put our dependence in Him because his blessings invariably outshine our own accomplishments. Proverbs 3:1,4 tells us,“My child, never forget the things I have taught you. Store my commands in your heart, for they will give you a long and satisfying life. Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek His will in all you do, and He will direct your paths.“

Again, it is all about the state of our heart. When the Pharisees asked Jesus, “What is the most important commandment?, He answered: “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the other commandments and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.“ In other words, if love is our motivation, we will naturally live the other commandments and demands of the prophets. Therefore, if our desire is to be in line with His will for our lives, His Word says,“He will bless us by giving us the desires of our heart.“ (Psalm 37:4 and Psalm 20:4)

Ever since Pam and I have been married, it has been our desire to live near the ocean where there is sand and palm trees. Our plan has always been to work together in a joint ministry (hopefully with friends who will already be there) using our gifts to bring honor and glory to God. For the last few years we have been asking Him specifically to direct our path toward that dream, and also to give us an indication of whether or not we were in line with His will. So between Christmas and the New Year, we went to Florida to meet a real estate friend who had about eight properties to show us. But to everyones surprise, a niteth property became available that last afternoon for us to see. No doubt about it…this was “the one“. Isn‘t it amazing how God works? Now I know this last sentence my strike you as an exaggeration, but I swear it is absolutely true. As we drove out of Apollo Beach that sunny, 75 degree afternoon, I pointed out to Pam what I thought was the beginning of a “Burma Shave“ sign presentation, but it wasn‘t. It was only one sign that read, “Jesus is faithful.“ Now that‘s a sign!

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May God bless you abundantly,

Dan Presgrave (a.k.a. Pastor Dan)