Good Morning! - You Are Greatness

Part II- Removing your Grave Clothes... Are you ready to be set free?

Submitted by: Carl F. Hunter II, M.Div

Read John 11:17-44

“When He had said these things, He cried out with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come forth." The man who had died came forth, bound hand and foot with wrappings, and his face was wrapped around with a cloth. Jesus said to them, "Loose him, and let him go."  John 11:43-44

"Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage" Galatians 5:1 - 

Are you ready to be set free?

In the first part of this submission, I discussed that the redemptive act of Jesus Christ was not only the “purchase price” to lift the burden of sin, but it also destroyed the yoke of sin. The yoke of sin are those issues of unforgiveness, guilt, shame, and remorse that isolate us in dungeons of desperation, degradation, and fear. The outward manifestations of the yoke are the masks that we have to ware so everyone thinks that we are ok. They are our grave clothes because they are meant to cover the stench of low self-esteem, self-loathing, and failure. The inward manifestation of the yoke is the discomfort that we’ve had with ourselves and tried to anesthetize with all types of behaviors that seemed to work, but ultimately increased the pain that we were inflicting upon ourselves.  Praise be to God that the magnitude of God’s love for us rests in the fact that the sacrifice that God made by giving his only begotten son not only made restitution for sin, but broke the yoke of every encumbrance that could enslave us or separate us from the love of God. YOU have been purchased by his blood. Are you ready to be set free?

Wrapped like a mummy

In the 11th chapter of the Gospel of John, Lazarus, the brother of Mary and Martha, died and was buried before Jesus arrived. We need to remember that, “He may not come when you want him, but he is always on time.” The story goes that Jesus asked them to take him to the grave site and roll away the stone. He then said “Lazarus come forth”, and wrapped in his “Grave Clothes” Lazarus, who was dead, came out of the grave. Many of us focus on the “Lazarus come forth” part, but we fail to focus on two important facts. First, Lazarus came out of the grave, wrapped like a mummy. His body was bound in linen and his face was covered, which was customary. Second, Jesus said to those that were present, “Loose him, and let him go”. 

Metaphorically, when we are called out of where God has brought us from, the burden of sin is lifted, but just like Lazarus, we still have on our “Grave Clothes”. We are still bound by the traumas that have shaped our lives. From the victimization of sexual abuse to the degradation, isolation, and shame of the things that we brought onto ourselves and those generational curses that are no faults of our own. In short, salvation does not relinquish the fact that we still have to deal with our issues. To have the freedom that is promised to us in Jesus Christ, “the “Grave Clothes” have to come off.   


Loose him and let him go

Jesus told those who were present to “Loose him and let him go.” Lazarus, could take off his own “Grave Clothes”, but Jesus was present and commanded that he be loosed from those things that bound him. So, not only does Jesus have the power to call us out of sin and lift the burden of sin, which is death. He also has the power to break the yoke of the spiritual dilemmas that are keeping us from our greatness. 

Do you still have your “Grave Clothes” on? Have you had enough? Are you sick and tired of being sick and tired? Are you tired of fronting and acting like everything is ok and everything ain’t ok? Are you tired of feeling that God’s

word doesn’t apply to you? Are you ready for a breakthrough?
It sounds insane to go to the doctor’s office or the emergency room and be ok with sitting in the reception area never to see the doctor or even worse, be in the presence of the doctor and not willing to tell him what is wrong with you.  Then why are YOU going to church and not exposing what is really going on in YOUR life. Has church become for YOU an institution of social acceptability or a place of healing and deliverance?

social acceptability

If it is a place of social acceptability, then you might be afraid of what the other sick people in the pews are going to think of you. Yet, if it’s a place of healing and deliverance then you have to tell the doctors what’s wrong with you so they can prescribe the proper medication. This is your life and you only get one shot. How are you going to live it? Do you want to continue suffering or do you want the freedom of your new birthright in Jesus Christ?

Galatians 5:1 says to "Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage".  The lower power; Satan, wants you to stay right where you are, but Jesus Christ made it possible for you to be set free from your self-imposed prisons. Are you willing? If you are, then... 

Pray with me: 

Father God, we thank you for all that you have done in our lives. Your grace, your mercy and you love has covered us and many times carried us and we are so ever grateful. Right now Lord many of us have the gift of your salvation, but are still held captive by our past. It clings to us and we need it removed. So, Lord, right now, in the name of Jesus, loose us from our grave clothes!!! Let us know that we have been forgiving and help us to ACCEPT who we have been so shame and guilt have no power over us any longer. Use us as examples of your glory and you power, and give us the willingness and humility to use our collective testimonies to be a beacon of hope for those who have lost hope. In Jesus name we pray...AMEN

Part I - Removing The Grave Clothes…Still Yoked to the Past

Submitted by: Carl F. Hunter II, M.Div

Read John 11:17-44

“When He had said these things, He cried out with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come forth." The man who had died came forth, bound hand and foot with wrappings, and his face was wrapped around with a cloth. Jesus said to them, "Loose him, and let him go."  John 11:43-44

"Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage" Galatians 5:1

There is Greatness in You

In my previous submission,“There is Greatness in You”, I suggested that many of us deny, do not believe, or fail to accept the greatness that is in “US”. This denial of our God given potential stems from the invalidating paradigms that have rooted themselves in our belief system about us. So, until those negative things that we have come to believe about ourselves are somehow uprooted, we will live in conflict of our divine nature.

Still yoked to shame of my past

I don’t know about you, but I have questioned my salvation. I confessed with my mouth and believed in my heart that Jesus was Lord, but I still found myself yoked to the shame, guilt, remorse, depression, anger, and fear of my past. I was under the assumption that accepting Jesus as my Lord and Savior was supposed to usher those things out of my life right away. I found myself confused and frustrated because, in spite of the fact that I GAVE MY LIFE TO THE LORD, I could not shake those feelings that reinforced those negative infomercials that continued to go off in my head... “If salvation was not enough then something MUST really be WRONG with me.”

So, I still found myself going back to the scene of the crime because salvation did nothing to anesthetize the pain. In my case I went back to the drugs. In your case, it might be pornography, jumping from one abusive relationship to another, infidelity, overeating, over-shopping, being an abuser yourself or something else. All we are searching for is some relief, even if the price that we have to pay is more spiritual degradation. Our churches are filled with saved folk from the pulpit to the last pew still yoked to issues and behaviors that have them in bondage. They sit  Sunday after Sunday suffering in silence “saved” but not “delivered”.

Hosea 4:6 (KJV) tells us “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge”. Many of us fit in the category of “saved” but not “delivered”. We are still yoked to our shame; still yoked to our guilt; still yoked to our remorse and still yoked to our negative coping mechanisms because we only know half the truth. The redemptive act of Jesus Christ not only facilitated lifting the burden of sin, but it broke the yoke of sin. In his death the burden was lifted and in his raising on the third day the yoke of sin is destroyed. In other words, salvation is “Burden lifting and Yoke destroying…” 

Pray with me: Father God, We come today grateful for this moment in time and the opportunity to thank you for where you have bought us from. When it seemed like the world had let us down and given up on us, you continued to stand in the gap and be our bridge over troubled waters. We stand here with our own evidence and our own testimonies that your word is true…”That you have never left us or forsaken us…” Even when we turned our backs on you, you continued to be strong in your goodness and love towards us. So now Lord, we come before you asking you to take the scales from our minds and our hearts that we might see and acknowledge the greatness in us and use what you have blessed us with to move the agenda of the Kingdom. In Jesus name, Amen  

About the writer:

Reverend Hunter is an Itinerant Elder in the African Methodist Episcopal Church and a graduate of New Brunswick Theological Seminary. Reverend Hunter is a frequent contributor to The Soul’s Remedy. His prior submission are entitled "Remembering Where God Brought you From"  and “There is Greatness In You”. Reverend Hunter is a father and a grandfather, and resides in New Jersey.

“THERE IS GREATNESS IN YOU!!

Envision Greatness

I said, “THERE IS GREATNESS IN YOU!!”

Do you hear what I am saying, “THERE IS GREATNESS IN YOU!!”

I’m dating myself, but in the original Wizard of OZ each character had a dilemma. Dorothy wanted to get back to Kansas, the Lion wanted courage, the Tin Man wanted a heart, and the Scarecrow wanted a brain. Dorothy was given ruby red slippers by the good witch. Dorothy always had the means to get home. The lion was the go to guy when the situation required courage. The keenness of the Scarecrow’s intellect always got them out of trouble, and when it was time for compassion it was the capacity of the Tin Man’s heart that soothed the situation at hand. Each character had within themselves what they were looking for but needed an outward manifestation to validate who they already were on the inside. So, they went off to see the Wizard of OZ.

I don’t know the intention of the author or writer of the screenplay, but I believe that it serves as social commentary on how many of us are living out our lives looking for outward validation for what already exists on the inside us.  “THERE IS GREATNESS IN YOU”.  

Settling for mediocrity

On a lot of days I ask myself, “Why am I so willing to settle for mediocrity when there is greatness in me. It seems like I’m waiting for permission to be great. Do you ever ponder such thoughts? It seems like I’m afraid of something. What about YOU?

Marianne Williamson, in her poem “Our Deepest Fear”, gets to the heart of the matter when she says “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us" We ask ourselves, “Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous?” The answer to that question is quite simple and very profound. YOU ARE A CHILD OF GOD, and God don’t make no junk. “THERE IS GREATNESS IN YOU!!”

William Shakespeare says this to us about greatness "Be not afraid of greatness; some are born great, some achieve greatness, and others have greatness thrust upon them." Scripture bears witness to US that as believers we have had greatness thrust upon us. Mediocrity and passivity is NOT the natural state for believers, but it is the state for many of us because we have accepted an interpretation of ourselves that has renders us emotionally and spiritually impotent and immature.

Believe in self

Epistemology is the study of Knowledge. A subset of this field is the study of self-knowledge. The briefest explanation of this field of study is that it looks at how we come to understand and see ourselves. I am introducing this to YOU because some of what you have come to believe about yourself is not your fault. You have been shaped and molded by how you were socialized and by the information that you were given by sources that you trusted.  So, maybe YOU just don’t know that “THERE IS GREATNESS IN YOU!!” and that is why you respond and act the way that you do.

Proverbs 23:7 (KJV), states that “For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he”. This infers that the totality of one’s thinking, which includes awareness, perception, reasoning, and judgment, dictates how one will respond to the world. If all of YOUR frames of reference suggests that THERE IS NO GREATNESS IN YOU then no matter what anyone tells you that validates your GREATNESS, your subconscious mind will wage war against that thought in order to maintain the status-quo of invalidation that abides in you. How many times has someone complimented you and your subconscious mind not only rejected the compliment, but it rejected the possibility that such a compliment could be made in reference to YOU? Therein, lies the war that keeps you from believing that “THERE IS GREATNESS IN YOU!!”

The seed of negativity

What I am suggesting is that somewhere deep within many of us a seed of negativity was planted and took root in our spirits. It could have been planted by:

• Being sexually abused by someone WE trusted

• When YOU were told that “you are just like your no good father

• The uneasy feelings that YOU had about your sexuality 

• Being deemed socially and religiously unacceptable

When something “takes root”, it establishes itself where it is planted so it can flourish. Once established, the roots of negativity create obstructions that are in conflict with the divine nature that was established in YOU by God. As a result, the way we see the world and our place in it has been distorted. The distortion manifests itself:

• Self-hatred 

• Low self-esteem 

• Resentment 

• Fear of life 

• Self-doubt

How people think of themselves

If you are anything like me, those feelings of invalidation play themselves out in unhealthy relationships, and in the masks that we have to wear in order to hide the insecure, fragile individuals that we believe ourselves to be. However, I am here to tell you that YOU are worthy of so much more and there lies in you so much untapped potential for GREATNESS.

The dilemma is that many of us are living out the self-fulfilling prophecies of the way we think about ourselves. We can no longer afford to be trapped in the prison of our minds. The first step to freedom is that we must accept two truths.

1.  life happens and we are dealt cards that require us to face life’s trials and tribulations
2. some of the unmanageability in our lives is self-inflicted and masochistic because we have abdicated the responsibilities of our live and are punishing ourselves for whom we have become.

 How to change negativity

The first truth we can’t do anything about because life on life’s terms happens, but the second truth is within our power to change. “THERE IS GREATNESS IN YOU!!”

Change can’t happen for us if what we believe about ourselves remains the same. I’m going to leave you with these final words because if YOU are not a willing or have a desire to change, the next part of this blog will not be relevant. I want YOU to take a look at your life and make a decision to:

• Demonstrate the FAITH of the ten lepers, who without questioning heeded the words of Jesus and went to present themselves to the priest. “As they walked, they were healed.” 

• Demonstrate the FAITH and COURAGE of the woman with the issue of blood, who by telling the truth about herself received more that just the healing of her visible malady. By telling the truth about the traumatic realities of her life she went from nobody to somebody and from somebody to a daughter. She not only received an outward healing, but she received confirmation that she was a child of God and an inward wholeness that can only be experienced when YOU accept who YOU are and what has happened in your life. “Daughter thy faith has made you whole”.

 The Greatness in you

As I am accepting the GREATNESS IN ME, are you willing to begin the process of accepting the GREATNESS IN YOU? There is a Part 2 to this blog, please respond to The Souls Remedy and say that YOU want to “Continue Your Journey to Greatness”.

Let us pray:

Father, you have made me in your image and your word tells me that those who are called by your name will do far greater things than you here on this earth. Help me to accept the mandate of greatness that you have placed on my life. Help me not to be held captive to my past or the negativity that abide in my spirit. Set me free to take the authority that you have given me as one of you heirs to bind up anything in my life that is causing an obstruction or keeping me from realizing the destiny and promise that you have for my life. Father, I thank you for all that you have done in my life, for all that you are doing in my life and for all that you will do in my life. In Jesus name I pray, Amen

Peace

About the writer:

Submitted by: Carl F. Hunter II, M.Div

Reverend Hunter is an Itenerant Elder in the African Methodist Episcopal Church and a graduate of New Brunswick Theological Seminary. Reverend Hunter is a frequent contributor to The Soul’s Remedy. His prior submission are entitled “And God Spake All These Words” and “There is Greatness In You”. Reverend Hunter is a father and a grandfather, and resides in New Jersey.