|
"It is time...
time to come out of LoDebar... "
Special guest speaker
Dr.
Ron Archer is a living example of how the power of God can transform misery into
ministry, pain into power, wounds into wisdom and scars into
stars... all for His glory.
For over two decades he has been an advisor to military leaders,
Fortune 500 Companies, the President of the United States, and a
chaplain to the Miami Dolphins. He is an author and host of a
national television show on the Business Channel which is based on
his best selling book, Ron Archer on Teams. Dr. Archer
took command of the platform. He stated how touched he was by the
incredible music ministry presented by our students and the power of
the drama presentation. "We need to have you all do this again!" he
exclaimed. "I know some TV folks up in Atlanta..." As he continued to bless and praise our
students, applause and cheers filled the Enochs Center. "When you
come together and lift up holy hands and praise His name, God will
do mighty things in your life!" Mr. Archer spoke with an unbridled
power and passion. After hearing of his childhood and personal
history, it was clear that God had most definitely anointed this man's
life. When he was 10 years
 old,
he failed an attempt to commit suicide. What would make a 10
year old want to commit suicide? Kids in school mocked his
stuttering, he live in the inner city projects of Cleveland and was
beaten by family members who were engrossed in prostitution, drugs
and crime. He would be lost today if it weren't for the loving,
Christian school teacher Mrs. Spears who was his speech pathologist.
He was like a guy in the Bible named Mephibosheth and lived in his
own personal "LoDebar". LoDebar? Opening his Bible to 2
Samuel 9:3, he read the
story involving King Saul, David, Jonathan, Ziba and Mephibosheth.
The name Mephibosheth
means 'to live with shame'.
LoDebar was a dismal place of no pasture, no hope - total
desolation. You ended up
in LoDebar when you were crushed by the storms of life and believed
the lies that Satan uses to cripple you. "You
know what? Every trial, everything you've gone through is
a down payment on your future. It's funny, but Christians
are a lot like teabags. You never know how strong they are until you
put them in hot water and
when you do, all that flavor stored up inside comes seeping out. The
longer it's left in there, the stronger it gets!" In depth he
related the parallel relationships of these Old Testament men to New
Testament promises. "We are like lame old Mephibosheth... dead dogs
with no hope - not without our savior Jesus to carry us (as Ziba
carried Mephibosheth) to God, our Heavenly King (King David).
"Little becomes much in the hands of God. Do what you can with
what's bee n given you. What's in your hand? God isn't looking for
miracles of you. It's not about you... it's about God. He asks the
same thing of you that he asked
of the shepherd boy David. What's in your hand? For David,
it was a slingshot. God used that slingshot to slay Goliath. David
didn't do it... God did it. Jesus asked a little boy 'What's in your
hand?' and all he had was some loaves and some fish - a happy meal!
The savior took it and offered it to God and He fed the multitudes.
He asked the prisoner Paul, 'What's in your hand?' and Paul said, 'A
pen.' And God said, 'Write then. Write to Corinth and Thessalonica
and all those places and tell them about Me!' Again, little becomes
much when it's in the hands of God. It is time to come out of
LoDebar. It's better to light a candle than to curse t he darkness.
After all, if God be for us, who can be against us?" When he
finished speaking, some students renewed their commitment to
salvation and came down to the floor so he and his wife Cynthia
prayed over them, laid their hands on them and blessed them.
Students began to leave the service as both Dr. and Mrs. Archer
stood in the gym foyer and greeted them.
Summit Christian School wishes to thank Dr. Archer and his wife
for coming today and allowing God to work through them to show us
how the power of God can transform misery into ministry, pain into
power, wounds into wisdom and scars into stars... all for His glory. |
Summit
5th Graders Help Orphanage Kids in Haiti
Operation:
OPERATION:
GREEN JEANS