Category Archives: Miscellaneous

Influenced to influence – Part 3

Posted on by mattlegere

This was taken from my sermon notes that I used in preaching at Haven of Hope on Sunday, July 12th, 2009:

There are two things that I believe are very important in being influenced by God in a greater way:

1) The secret place with God

2) Trusting His ways and His thoughts

1. Secret place

Matt Legere: “The depth of our secret place determines the measure of your influence.”

 You’re right.  I did it.  I shamelessly quoted myself above.  Get over it.  :)

Psalms 91:1 “He that dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty”

 David wrote these words in Psalms 91 and, incidentally, it was because of what He did in secret that allowed him to be qualified to be in places of influence over the nation.

 David spent a lot of time with just himself, the sheep, and God.  From reading the Psalms, we find that we meditated on God, talked with Him, looked for His handiwork on the earth, sang to Him, sang songs of God’s greatness, etc.

In Psalms 78:70-72, we read that God chose David and took him from the sheepfolds.  God alone gave David influence and pulled him from sheepfolds into a place of authority at the palace.  David’s performance in handling small things (pregnant sheep/praising God with his harp in the field) when no one else was watching determined how and how quickly God could use him.  David’s first experience with the palace was when Saul asked him to come and play the harp for him.  However, Saul’s servant recommended David because that servant had heard of David playing the harp)  This eventually opened up the door to David being King and reigning in the palace.

In the secret place with God, there is no striving and no earning or wrestling for your place.  It’s communion with God.  It’s peace, rest, and refreshing.  You may feel tucked away or even forgotten.  After all, no one sees you in the secret place with God to know how much you are praying.  But David, who thought he was alone playing the harp, caught the attention of others.

Andrew Murray: “To be alone in secret with the Father should be your highest joy because to the man who withdraws himself from all the visible world and man and waits for God alone, the Father will reveal Himself”

 God delights in using our encounters from the secret place with God to be what impacts people and nations.

 When the demon couldn’t be cast out by the disciples, this kind comes not out but by prayer and fasting.  I always thought it was because they didn’t do enough to earn it.  However, prayer and fasting are things typically done in secret.  Jesus, when he prayed and fasted, he would pull away from the crowd and pray.  His fasting wasn’t on twitter/facebook.

There are things/demons we need to overthrow and, if we don’t build the wells and develop a secret place, we would have enough influence from Him and be influenced enough by Him to, in turn, influence what He wants us to influence.

2. His ways and His thoughts

Isaiah 55 (NLT)

If you get the chance, read the ENTIRE chapter!  Isaiah 55 absolutely rocks!  In these verses, The Lord is saying, “Why are you spending money and energy on things that aren’t going to satisfy you?  Come to me with ears wide open and listen! 

 Just like David who I covenanted with, (in verse 5) “you also will command the nations, and they will come running to obey, because I, the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, have made you glorious.”

Verse 8 - ”My thoughts are completely different from yours,” says the LORD. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.

Verse 9 -For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.

He goes on to speak to the fact that his word is always productive and brings for fruit.  The Lord says in verse 11-12: “It will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it.  You will live in joy and peace”

Verse 13 is amazing!  

13.Where once there were thorns, cypress trees will grow. Where briers grew, myrtles will sprout up. This miracle will bring great honor to the LORD’s name; it will be an everlasting sign of his power and love.

Instead of thorns, the cypress tree will come up.  In Scripture, the cypress tree always refers to something noble and it was used in building the Temple. 

 Instead of briers, the myrtle tree will come up.  If the myrtle grows on the bare hillsides it is a low bush, but, under favorable conditions of moisture, it attains a considerable height (compare Zec 1:8,10).  It is mentioned as one of the choice plants of the land (Isa 41:19).

 As you link up with God and follow His ways and thoughts, He begins to speak in your ear – words.  Words that are powerful and will never return to Him void but fall as rain to the earth.   You will go from being common and anonymous (thorn bushes, briers), to being noble (royal, joint-heirs), used in the process of experiencing and carrying the presence of God and something that is designed to flourish to new heights when moisture is present (aka “the Holy Spirit”)

Check back soon for Part 4 where we will talk about what to do with the doors of influence that God will be opening.

Influenced to influence – Part 2

Posted on by mattlegere

This was taken from my sermon notes that I used in preaching at Haven of Hope on Sunday, July 12th, 2009:

God wants to be our PRIMARY source of influence.  He wants to be our primary source of spiritual food, direction, affirmation..our SOURCE and our PORTION!  Take a look at all of the things that the Bible says that He is our source of:

  • Source of joy (Psalms 43:4 “…God, the source of all my joy”)
  • Source of Israel’s life (Psalms 68:26)
  • Source of refuge/shelter (Psalms 119:114)
  • Source of hope (Psalms 119:114)
  • Source of righteousness and strength (Isaiah 45:24)
  • Source of peace (Micah 5:5)
  • Source of every mercy (2 Corinthians 1:3)
  • Source of eternal salvation (Hebrews 5:9)
  • Source of Spiritual gifts (I Corinthians 12:4)

What impacted me is that, if you look at this list, you will find that the items on this list are EXACTLY what is lacking in many aspects of our world and even in many churches (i.e. joy, life, peace, and Spiritual Gifts).  Could it be that we have ANOTHER source?  A source that is not satisfying us like He would?

John 7:37-38: “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink…From his innermost being (womb) will flow rivers of living water”. 

What I feel very strongly about is that we are trying to minister to people (“rivers flowing from us”) without having first taken a drink from our Source – Jesus Christ!  However, both history and the Bible have awesome examples of how Christ’s influence is supposed to work. 

1. May the dust of your Rabbi be upon you

In the time of Jesus, education was HUGE!  Rabbi’s (teachers of the law) would train children as young as 5 years old in the ways of the law.  At the age of 14, the best of the best took yet another step and approached a Rabbi about becoming His disciple.  If after the Rabbi quizzed you and he felt you were good enough, He would say “Come, take my yoke upon you”.  At that time, the boy would leave everything (home, mother, father, synogague, community, etc.) and devote His entire life to be like the Rabbi.

One of the quotes that was said of this arrangement in support of it was “May you be covered in the dust of your Rabbi”.  You see, Rabbi’s were passionate and animated.  They would travel all over with their disciples and the posse would kick up a cloud of dust.  Because the disciples were following the Rabbi, at the end of the day, they would actually be covered in the dust of their Rabbi. 

That’s what God wants for us – that we would be covered with the dust of our Rabbi – Jesus Christ.  To be so close to HIM and being taught and influenced by Him so much that we would be covered with “dust” from His feet.

2. Spirit of Christ dwelling in you / Roman Colonization

Another very telling example we find is in Romans 8:9.  When God decided to communicate through Paul the way that He desires to dwell in us, He used an example of Roman colonization.

Romans 8:9 – But you are in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you…”

The word “dwell” in the Greek means ““to occupy a house”.  Going deeper, the root of that Greek word refers to ““land, the subjects of the Roman Empire“.  When the Spirit of God dwells in us, it’s for a far better purpose than to give us goosebumps.  He wants possession of us.  The Holy Ghost desires to dwell in us just like the Romans would occupy a land and have control of it’s inhabitants. 

When the Romans would conquer a land, they would begin to colonize it.  They permeated the culture, the language, the art, the traditions, everthing! – and made it Roman.  Likewise, the Lord Jesus Christ desires to dwell in us and colonize our minds, our hearts, our motives until everything in us looks like, smells like, acts like, prays like, heals like, He did! 

When the Holy Ghost dwells in us, it’s londiniumsomething that won’t just change us, it will change those around us and the generations to come!  Britain was invaded by the Romans in 55 B.C. The city of London, England started as a Roman colony called Londinium.  What was once a city colonized by the greatest empire the world has seen (Roman Empire) became the capital of the British empire.  The British empire went on to be the largest empire in history and was heavily impacted by the Roman empire.  The British Empire eventually was responsible for the colonization of what would eventually become the United States of America.

Through the simple colonization of one city by the Romans (Londinium), there is now a very strong country known as the United States of America.  If you will allow God to colonize your heart, what spiritual things could be accomplished as a result of YOUR colonization?

If we allow the Holy Spirit to colonize our hearts and minds – we can be instrumental in continuing the e xpansion of His kingdom with His influence and culture being spread into new areas. 

Check back soon for Part 3 of this series where we talk about 2 ways that I believe are key to being influenced by God in a greater way.

What does God require?

Posted on by mattlegere

Micah chapter 6 (NLT version) outlines a very interesting interaction between God and man.  It’s the opening argument in an indictment against man by God Himself.  Here’s what the Lord said:

Stand up and state your case against Me.  Let the mountains and hills be called to witness your complaints.  And now, mountains, listen to the Lord’s complaint!… Oh my people, what have I done to you?  What have I done to make you tired of Me?  Answer me!…I brought you out of Egypt (bondage) and redeemed you from slavery…I, the Lord, did everything I could to teach you about My faithfulness.

Wow!  That kind of indictment would make the best lawyer from Law & Order seem like an infant. 

In Micah 6 and verses 6 through 7, the people of Israel are trying to come up with something they can bring to the Lord.  Yearling calves? thousands of rams? rivers of olive oil? sacrifice our first born son to pay for our sins?  They were trying to identify physical things to satisfy God’s anger.  However, God was more concerned with matters of the heart.

Micah 6:8 (NLT): No, O people, the Lord has told you what is good, and this is what he requires of you: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God. 

God wanted them to “do justly” (what is right), love mercy, and walk humbly in relationship with Him.  I submit to you that we have warped that Godly order.  Instead, some of us love judgement (instead of mercy), and we DO mercy instead of loving it.  We aren’t walking with God, we are walking with traditions of men.  We have twisted being humble to mean that we don’t want to appear too spiritual to others so we pretend we can’t hear God’s voice and we cast aside our desire to be like Him under the disguise of being “humble”.  However, God wanted us to be humble AS WE WALKED WITH HIM, not so humble that we wouldn’t walk with Him.

Jesus Himself expressed his frustration with this approach when He rebuked the Pharisees in Matthew 23:23:

What sorrow awaits you teachers of religous law and you Pharisees.  Hypocrites!  For you are careful to tithe even the tiniest income from your herb gardens, but you ignore the more important aspects of the law – justice, mercy, and faith.  You should tithe, yes, but do not neglect the more important things.

Sometimes we can place our emphasis on the wrong priorities and we find random obscure Scriptures to proof-text our pet beliefs.  We’ve got to place the same emphasis on things that Jesus placed on things.  I’m not advocating that we don’t tithe, but somewhere while the Pharisees were tithing on their income from their pet rocks and Chia Pets, they missed the priority of God: justice, mercy, and faith.

Micah had it right when He gave us what the Lord requires from us: do justly (what is right), love mercy, and walk humbly with your God.

How do we respond to setbacks?

Posted on by mattlegere

I can’t really think of many human beings out there that enjoy setbacks.  I don’t.  Personal setbacks normally mean that expectations were lowered, dreams crushed, or plans unraveled.  It can mean embarrassment, frustration, confusion. 

This past Sunday, we weren’t able to baptize people at the local hotel pool like we had originally planned because of an issue with the pool.  The problem was that, after the baptisms on Sunday, I had told Connor that we would take him swimming.  My son Connor, upon finding out that swimming was not in his Sunday plans, was very disappointed. 

On the way home, I got an idea.  I told Connor we’d go swimming at home!  I got home, put on my swimming trunks, filled up the bathtub with tons of water and then Connor, Hunter, and I got to go “swimming” in the tub.  The kids loved it!  There was also something so spontaneous about it (which for those of you who know me, spontaneity isn’t one of my strong points).  Then, after swimming, we made a blanket tent in the living room, turned the lights off, pulled out some glow sticks and ate popcorn and smores while reading stories as a family!  It was awesome and the kids had a blast! 

In reviewing the situation, Connor had experienced a setback.  It wasn’t a job loss, an illness, or even a dream dying.  But to him, at 3 years old, it qualified as an “official” setback.  As Connor’s dad, I didn’t enjoy seeing him disappointed, so I did whatever was in power to turn this setback around into an amazing time of closeness as a family. 

The life application here is that we have a heavenly Father that knows how to show us His love in more creative ways than earthly fathers can.  God doesn’t enjoy seeing us suffer setbacks, even if He knows it was something that wouldn’t have been good for us anyways.   Many times in the Bible we read how God has promised to always be there for us, especially in times of need and when we experience setbacks.  Words like “I will never leave you or forsake you”, “God is a very present help in time of trouble”, and “When my heart is overwhelmed, lead me to the Rock” come to my mind.  I know that there are others.  

In times of setback, it is God’s desire, as our heavenly Father, to draw us close to Him so we can experience closeness/intimacy with Him.   Just as I will always want to be there for my kids during their setbacks, God wants the same for us.   I could totally picture Jesus, if He knew I was disappointed about not getting to go swimming, throwing on a pair of swimming trunks,  finding a new location, and saying “Let’s go swimming together son!”. 

Now picture yourself and any setbacks you have experienced.  They hurt.  You were surprised.  Maybe it didn’t go how you planned.  Picture Jesus.  Picture Him wanting to wrap you in His arms as one of His kids.  He WILL take care of you.

Rub-a-dub-dub,

Matt Legere

Chicken a la carte

Posted on by mattlegere

Hello everyone.  I got wrecked by this video today that highlights the need of so many people around the world for simple things that we take for granted…..like food.  This video shows how even our leftovers are things that leave others thanking God for.

http://www.cultureunplugged.com/play/1081/Chicken-a%20la%20Carte

Let this video challenge us to 1) not be wasteful and 2) seek God for the needs of our world.

Club 99

Posted on by mattlegere

A few years ago, God connected me with someone who has become a very good friend of mine: Joe Gilletti.  Joe has been a great encouragement to me and I’m thankful that he’s in my life.

He has a vision to see 500,000 young people experience the love and presence of God in the Midwest area.  Sound big?  You bet!  Will it happen?  Absolutely!

His vision is to launch what he’s calling Club 99′s all over the Midwest that will serve as a community center/outreach center to connect with young people – it’s going to be one of the most contemporary church models this country has ever seen. 

On his blog (http://solomonig.typepad.com), Joe has posted a video in which he shares his heartbeat and passion for Club 99.  Click here for the video link.

I invite you to watch this video and join with me in prayer that the Kingdom of God is brought to the Midwest in a whole new way!

Quote for 4/3/2009

Posted on by mattlegere

Paris Reidhead:

Two young Moravians heard of an island in the West Indies, where an atheist British owner had 2,000 to 3,000 slaves.  And the owner had said, “No preacher, no clergyman will ever stay on this island.  If he’s shipwrecked, we’ll keep him in a separate house until he has to leave but he’s never gonna talk to any of us about God.  I’m through with all that nonsense.

Three thousand slaves from the jungles of Africa brought to an island in the Atlantic and there to live and die without hearing of Christ.  Two young Moravians heard about it.  They sold themselves to the British planter then used the money they received from the sale, for he paid no more than he would for any slave, to pay their passage out to his island for he wouldn’t even transport them.

And as the ship left the river at Hamburg…left its pier at the river at Hamburg and was going out to the North Sea, carried with the tide.  The Moravians had come from Hermhut to see these two lads off, in their early twenties, never to return again.  For this wasn’t a four-year term, they’d sold themselves into lifetime of slavery.  Simply that as slaves they could be as Christians for these other were.

The families were there weeping for they knew they’d never see them again.  And they wondered why they’re going and questioned the wisdom of it.  And as the gap widened and the houses had been cast off and were being curled up there on the pier.  And the young boys saw the widening gap, one lad, with his arm linked through the arm of his fellow, raised his hand and shouted across the gap the last words that were heard from them.  They were these: “May the Lamb that was slain receive the reward of His suffering”.  And this became the call of Moravian missions.  And this is the only reason for being, that the Lamb that was slain may receive the reward of His suffering.

Quote for 4/2/2009

Posted on by mattlegere

William Booth, founder of the Salvation Army:

You must do it  You cannot hold back.  You have enjoyed yourself in Christianity long enough.  You have had pleasant feelings, pleasant songs, pleasant meetings, pleasant prospects…..now then, go to God and tell Him you are prepared as much as necessary to turn your back upon it all, and that you are willing to spend the rest of your days struggling in the midst of these perishing multitudes, whatever it may cost you.  You must do it.

“D’oh!” Moment #3 – Nice bowling shoes!

Posted on by mattlegere

So….I went to a work outing at a bowling alley not too far from where my office used to be in Connecticut.  You know how it is at a bowling alley.  You trade the shoes that you came in with.  The shoes that you spent time and money to get.  Only to be given back the world’s ugliest shoes with the smell of death on them (also lovingly referred to as “bowling shoes”).  These shoes have got to a sanitation nightmare to begin with and the 1970′s color scheme doesn’t help the experience at all.

Once we were all done with the games, we started to make our way out of the building and, thank God, someone stops me and says “Um, nice shoes!”.  I look down and I still had the death shoes on my feet.  As you can imagine, I was pretty embarassed and ran back to our lane and apologized profusely to my Sketchers as I put the right shoes on.

I’m so glad that I didn’t go all the way home with them….

Servant of a wicked cool God,

Matt Legere

“D’oh!” Moment #2 – Wrong Sunday!

Posted on by mattlegere

One Sunday I was asked to preach for a church in Middletown, CT.  Because it was Pentecost Sunday, the entire theme of my message was about the Holy Spirit and how we can receive it today.  After the service, we went downstairs to have some lunch together and somehow (not sure if I read something or how I found out) I realized that Pentecost Sunday was actually the next Sunday. 

Oh well!  God still moved during the service and I guess every week can be Pentecost Sunday but I’m just thankful that I didn’t mess up on which Sunday was Easter.  That would have been unforgivable!  :)

Servant of a wicked cool God,

Matt Legere