More teaching notes from our Pastor Mike on the series, “The Increase.”
I am two weeks behind so I am catching up as fast as I can.
This teaching is called, the increase through God’s glory.
He began with the thought that we live in a celebrity culture.
We get excited when we see them, and tend to point them out in an effort to ‘show’ them off.
In our church we have many of the Portland Trailblazers who attend off and on.
That would be a ‘celebrity’ we would observe and notice and of course they are tall and you really can’t miss them.
Our Pastor is their chaplain and a few coaches have attended with their families.
It is a type of celebrity status although they probably don’t appreciate that ‘kind’ of attention.
Especially off the court and in real life doing family things.
Pastor was saying, the word celebrity comes from the root ‘celebrate’ as in your birthday.
A day of celebration for your unique wonderful person who you are; where you are esteemed and honored.
He spoke of the idea that we can learn to come to church with an expectancy, a breaking forth of what God can manifest through himself to us.
He speaks of how we leave a legacy through who we are; just like God leaves a legacy to us through who HE IS in the brilliant display of His glory.
Then he shared the ‘visual’ of a dark room, and if you were holding a match that brilliance of the flame would enlighten the room. Darkness cannot stay in brilliance. It must leave.

When we see celebrities we often wonder if they have every opportunity to say, it’s not about me, it’s about the gifts given to me; would they do it? That is humility in it’s fullness.
Then he taught that God’s glory must be greater than ours.
1. His increase is MY increase through trusting in His power.
2. His glory is in His love for us.
3. His glory is in His legacy left for us.
Then in turn we can reveal all those for others who are watching us.
He taught us that the enemy (we all have one) will do everything he can to remove God’s glory from us.
He wants to convince us that WE are important and God is not so important to us.
Then Pastor said something I really listened to and clung onto.
“What you behold the most… You become.”
That is a very intense comment and something definitely to think about.
What we behold, what we esteem, what we place value on, WE become.
Makes perfect sense and certainly gives me something to challenge myself about in the next week.
I choose to be thankful that God created me to be a unique and special person.
I do not ever fail to say thank-you to the one who made me and continues to give me breath.
How about you? Are you beholding something that is unhealthy for you?
Is there something that needs to change?
It’s your choice what you want to become like. I pray we all make a good one.