The "All Our Ducks In a Row" Church

“Then I will give you shepherds after my own heart,

who will lead you with knowledge and understanding.”

Jeremiah 3:15

 

God never calls ‘managers’ to shepherd His church.

He calls leaders.

Leaders lead.

To lead is quite different than to manage.

Some of the best leaders tip over the apple cart, they break it into pieces and they burn it up.

Why?

Because, so often a ‘well managed’ church is a church where everything runs so smoothly that there are absolutely no hiccups and the last time God stopped by for a visit He was escorted out the door.

Ministry can get messy.

We have looked at the fact that if your God can only do what you can explain then you have a pretty shallow God!

But we like routine.

Our flesh likes all our ducks in a row. 

We put plans and programs into place that may not, of themselves, be wrong but too often they exclude the supernatural move of God.

After all, that wasn’t planned for nor is it welcome.

A manager will not do well with this.

The man called of God to lead will recognize that ultimately he leads under the authority and direction of the Holy Spirit and the church is not a business, it is the very Body of Christ to do with as He wills.   

Of course, we do not have license to surrender to reckless abandon.  

Rather, it is a surrender to the Spirit of God, allowing Him to move as He will!

I don’t want to reduce this blog simply to trite sayings and cliché’s but I do remember something I used to hear that makes a lot of sense:

Let go and let God!

God will lead us to the degree we learn to follow Him.

 

 

Spirit of the Living God

“And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Counselor to be with you forever – the Spirit of Truth. The world cannot accept Him, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him. But you know Him, for He lives with you and will be in you.”

John 14:16-17

 

So you want to expand the limits of what the Holy Spirit can do through you?

How is that accomplished?

Cultivate an on-going and deeper relationship with Him.

Notice that I did not say “it” but rather “Him”.

The Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity and not some cosmic touchy-feely force.

For a model, we need only observe how Jesus spoke of Him:

  

“…but if I go, I will send Him to you…”

“He will guide you into all truth…”

“…He will bring glory to me…”

When we disrespect or ignore the Holy Spirit we are disrespecting and ignoring the Father and the Son.

Jesus actually had some parting words for His disciples we know as the “Great Commission”.

But as “Great” as that commission was it can be said that it wasn’t truly “launched” until the Day of Pentecost when they received that empowering of the Holy Spirit

to be witnesses for the Lord.

Maybe you’ve allowed pop culture to frame your view of the Holy Spirit rather than the Word of God.

Go back to the Word and see the evidence of God’s Spirit at creation, in the Old Testament stories and working in the life of Jesus.

Commit to being deliberate in developing a relationship with the Holy Spirit.

He can open your eyes to the limitless, infinite and loving God we serve!

We Won’t Understand It All

“When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him again, but went on his way rejoicing. Philip, however, appeared at Azotus and traveled about, preaching the gospel in all the towns until he reached Caesarea."

Acts 8:39-40

Do you suppose Phillip had advance notice of his sudden and supernatural relocation?

Somehow, I doubt God announced what He was about to do.

Maybe if He had, Phillip would stand there, scratching his head and saying:

“What exactly is it you want to do again?”

God is not against reasoning.

Sometimes, though, our reasoning just can’t get us to the place that God needs us to be at.

The understanding He wants us to have is this – we won’t understand it all!

The Holy Spirit can do more through you than you can imagine.

That is not an indictment of us for not having a vivid imagination.

God’s ways and His methods are so far above what we can know or imagine that we must realize that sometimes He will use us and we won’t always be prepared for the “how”!

Phillip did not know ahead of time concerning his trip.

As Peter waited in the upper room moments before the rushing mighty wind, I doubt he was aware that he was about to stand up, lift his voice and speak to a crowd only to see 3,000 brought into the Kingdom of God that day.

In the Book of Revelation John declares: “On the Lord’s Day I was in the Spirit…”

It was not in his Outlook Calendar that on that particular day he would receive the Revelation of Jesus Christ.

So what did Phillip, Peter and John do?

Better question – what did they not do?

They did not put the brakes on what God was doing because they couldn’t understand it all.

Because of their obedience God was able to use them in wonderful and powerful ways.

Maybe you’ve been in the place where, even if you didn’t speak the words, your lack of understanding has brought fear or hesitation in allowing God to move through you.

Be honest with the Lord and tell Him so.

Ask Him to help you to grow in your trust and faith in Him.

Ask for His purposes to be fulfilled in you even when it is unexpected and unexplainable.

If God could always be figured out by you and me He wouldn’t be God!

 

 

God Did What?

“So they brought him. When the spirit saw Jesus, it immediately threw the boy into a convulsion. He fell to the ground and rolled around, foaming at the mouth.

 Jesus asked the boy’s father, “How long has he been like this?”

“From childhood,” he answered.  “It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him. But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.”

 “‘If you can’?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for him who believes.”

 Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”

Mark 9:20-24Cross references:

A.Mark 9:20 : Mk 1:26

B.Mark 9:23 : S Mt 21:21; Mk 11:23; Jn 11:40

Let’s say we ask God to increase our faith this week, shall we?

This blog is written primarily to those who know Christ and desire to grow in their walk with Him.

Having said that, let me ask you a question? What story, in all of scripture, of God’s demonstrated power is the hardest for you to wrap your head around?

Maybe it’s the finger writing on the wall recorded in Daniel.

Perhaps you are just blown away by the coin retrieved from a fish’s mouth, used to pay a tax.

I’m not saying you don’t believe every word in the Word it’s just that maybe you have a story from scripture that contains the “wow” factor for you personally.

I think we probably all do.

Do we all experience the thought that that was then and this is now?

God worked the way He did then because He had to.

He didn’t have the technology then that man has gifted to Him now at His disposal.

Pretty flimsy excuse isn’t it?

Why do we put artificial limits on God?

Maybe we’re just too ‘sophisticated’ to believe a man could literally be swallowed by a big fish!

If we are, God help our ‘sophistication’ (which could be spelled u-n-b-e-l-i-e-f)!

I told you that this blog was written for Christ followers – and it is – but even as His disciples we sometimes struggle with God working in our lives today as He did in the way we read in scripture.

Like the boys’ father in today’s scripture we declare:

“I do believe, help me overcome my unbelief!”

May that be both your prayer and your expectation as we explore this topic more closely over the next several days.

Jesus Never Meant it for Weight Loss

“Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not drive it out?” And He said to them, “Because of the littleness of your faith; for truly I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you. But this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.”

Matthew 17:19-21 (NASB)

 

Has it gotten tough yet?

Are you ready to throw in the towel?

Maybe it’s’ as simple as turning off the TV to avoid too many tempting pizza commercials.

You see, God has called His Place to a 21 day fast.

This week we are seeking an encounter with Him.

Fasting is something Jesus taught for His followers when their prayers sometimes seem to be hindered, as we read above.

Fasting was something Jesus did.

His command to His disciples of “…when you fast…” was not a

do-as-I-say-not-as-I-do

edict but instead a recognition of the need for fasting in a believers life.

Jesus never said “if” you fast but rather “when” you fast.  

We have been talking of late about what to do when prayer goes unanswered.

We stand in faith; we pray with others and we sometimes fast!

Fasting can be trendy and popular for reasons other than prayer.

But we are not responding to a health or pop cultural fad but a call from God.

Make no mistake, though, fasting will test your flesh.

Will your flesh rule or will the Spirit of God be given the priority.

Fasting is a time to honor God by bringing the flesh under subjection.  

It is a time when we more earnestly and intently seek God and His direction.

Fasting is not so much to move the hand of God as it is to incline the ear of man to hear God.

Listen, because that answer you sought may be forthcoming, as you fast.

My Answer May Be Waiting on Your Prayer

“Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for,

it will be done for you by my Father in heaven.”

Matthew 18:19

 

 

If you find that your prayers are hindered – ask yourself if you have been praying with others!

The prayer of agreement may be how God brings that long awaited answer.

We all struggle from time to time.

Still, some are of the mind-set that they will pull themselves up by the own boot-straps, continue to pray by themselves and wait for the answer.

“My problems are nobody else’s business!” they say.

But what if the answer is waiting because God has determined it will only be delivered through the prayer of agreement?

Would you want to intentionally miss it?

Of course not!

But that is what we are setting ourselves up for when we only and always try to go it alone.

You know very well that we are not intended to walk this walk alone.

Sure, there are solitary seasons and moments just between the Lord and you.

But God established His church, not His churches!

He set us among, and with, other believers; those described in II Peter 1:1 as

 being of  “…like precious faith…”

There can be many reasons why our prayers are hindered but don’t let pride be one of them.

God may have the answer right outside your door.

Maybe He’s just waiting on you to pray together with that “…brother of low estate…” because He wants to teach you that He hears and answers the prayers of all His children when they pray in faith and not just because they sound or look “right” to you!

So you see that the prayer of agreement requires humility on my part to recognize

that my answer may be waiting on your prayer!

That Mountain Was Here a Minute Ago!!

“I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go,

throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart but

believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him.”

 Mark 11:23

 

You’ve been faithfully abiding in the Vine.

You have been faithful to repent of sin in your life.

You have been quick to say “Yes” to God’s direction.

And still, the answers to your prayers have not seemed to come.

What do you do?

You stand in faith!

You persevere in prayer.

You don’t give up!

Jesus uses and a mountain to illustrate His point on faith.

What better picture of a natural, immovable object?

Man has built roads up mountains, around mountains and even through mountains.

Up, around and through the unmovable object.

What I am not aware of is any engineering project to literally move an entire mountain.

As I said, in the natural they would appear to be immovable.

But with God, all things are possible.

Faith, just the size of a mustard seed, can move (what seems to be) a huge mountain out of the way in your life.

Why does it not always happen then?

We give up.

We surrender our faith to the doubts and fears that make that mountain immovable.

Ask God to help you increase your faith that you might speak, without doubting, to the mountains before you.

I guarantee you that kind of faith, and the desire to walk in that faith, gets noticed by God.

Stand in faith!

Confidence in Who, Not How!

“Then he continued, “Do not be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them.  But the prince of the Persian kingdom resisted me twenty-one days. Then Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, because I was detained there with the king of Persia.”

                                                    Daniel 10:12-13

 

You listen anxiously, hanging on every word.

When the testimony of answered prayer being given is completed you say to your spouse: “Wow, I don’t think I have ever heard a more amazing answer to prayer.”

Later that day in your prayer closet you succumb to doubts God will ever answer your prayer. You recall the testimony from earlier in the day and instead of encouragement it somehow seems to deflate your faith.

We have placed our confidence in the “how” and not the “Who”!

Don’t give up because answers come at different times and can require different steps.

Daniel prayed and his answer, as detailed above, was delayed for 21 days.

But he got an answer.

In II Corinthians 12 Paul speaks of asking God three times to remove a “…thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me.”

God did not remove it.

Rather, He spoke to Paul of His All-sufficient grace working in his life.

Not the answer he was expecting but, nonetheless, he got an answer.

The method and timing of Daniels’ answer was quite different from Pauls'.

Don’t ‘construct’ an answer to your prayer based on the methods or timing of another man’s answer.  

The lessons, the purposes of God for your life, may mean He brings an answer in a time and in a way quite different from another persons’ answer.

Let your faith in answered prayer rest in the “Who” and not in the how!

God knows you better than you know yourself.

That includes how and when best to answer your prayers.

The next time you are “wowed” by someone’s answer to prayer – rejoice with them and bless the Lord for His answer in their life.

But know that it is the same Father in heaven who delights to listen as you pray.

 He delights in working for the good of those who love Him (and that includes how and when he answers your prayers).

God is God and I am Not

“This is the confidence we have in approaching God:

that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.”

 I John 5:14

 

 Last week we hit hard the importance of the vital relationship we are to maintain with the Lord.  

When we “…remain in Him…” we have confidence that when we pray; God listens.

Why is that important?

For many reasons but let’s look at just a couple.

First, if we are confident that God hears us, it reinforces in us our position in Christ.

As branches we are to be abiding in the vine.

Our mind, our thoughts need to be on things above and not on things on the earth.

That means my perspective in prayer changes.

I begin to ask according to the will of God and

for the purposes of God to be fulfilled in the earth.

Jesus spoke it this way:

“…thy Kingdom come, thy will be done

On earth as it is in heaven…”

Secondly, when I know God listens to me as I pray; it helps to remove from me some of the self-imposed wrong thinking that I have to know when and how God will answer.

I am commanded to pray.

How and when God answers is His role and not mine.

For example, I don’t/can’t heal anyone.

I can pray according to the will of God for someone’s healing but needn’t fret or worry how or when God will do it.

Some may consider that a cop-out but the truth is it is just understanding that

God is God and I am not.

No amount of prayer will change that!

You Mean I Have to do Both?

“…God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him.”

 I John 4:16b

 

 

 “Well, duh; why am I still reading this blog when he states something so obvious?”

Maybe that’s your thought as you read the next line:

If I want to deepen my relationship with Christ and have confidence when I pray then I need to cultivate in my life a love for God and a love for people.

The fact is this, though, nothing is easier to say but tougher to do.

You see we are masters at separating the two requirements.

We declare our uncompromising love and devotion for God but… “That Pastor has to go!” Sometimes, we flip it – “I will walk a hundred miles” we say “to help someone in need but I can’t love a God who expects me to put Him before my wife, my job, my house, etc….my everything else!”

Or perhaps you are capable of fulfilling the two commands – up to a point.

You see we love God and people as long as it is convenient and without risk.

 If it requires too much effort or too much sacrifice, we convince ourselves God didn’t really mean for us to get carried away.

After all, we reason, Jesus paid the price already and I’m just along for the ride.

But if we truly want to be His disciples and abide in Him then loving Him and loving people is simply not an option.

It is a command.

Not a command to love one or the other.

It is a command to love both.

I don’t know about you but when I pray, it is my desire to pray with full confidence of those prayers being answered.

I don’t earn answered prayer any more than I can earn my salvation.

Funny thing though, as I grow in my love for God and

for people the nature of my prayers change.

I begin to pray less about me and what I want and more about Him and His will.

I know, I know, I’m stating the obvious again!

A Disciples “Elimination” Diet!

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”

John 15:5

 

What would happen in your life if you eliminated things that:

Won’t make me like Christ?

Won’t matter in eternity?

Won’t bring God glory?

If you did those three things, what would your life really look like?

If you said – “It would be a pretty empty life” – then you know what that means!

But it also means that there is very little in you that is drawing others to Christ either.

I did not set out to write today’s blog about how to show others the Christ in you but it should be apparent that when we are more Christ like in our walk – He becomes more evident to those around us.

When the choices I make are so radically different from other people’s choices because my measure is to only do those things that make a difference for eternity; I will be ‘peculiar’. That is just what I am called to be: peculiar, called, set-apart, unique, radical for Christ.

Sometimes, you may even find ‘religious’ people labeling you that way.

Religious people both inside the church and out.  

So don’t run from those measures – run to them!

It doesn’t make me more like Christ? – Jettison it!

It makes little difference in eternity? – Stop wasting your time with it!

It brings God glory? – Embrace it!

If my goal as a ‘branch’ is to remain in the ‘vine’ then I must choose to do those things that keep me drawing my strength, my nourishment and my identity from the vine.

To review and to help you remember let’s consider it the “Disciples Elimination Diet”:

Eliminate what

Won’t make me like Christ

Won’t matter in eternity

Won’t bring God glory!

Walking in the Truth or Just Talking the Truth?

“It has given me great joy to find some of your children walking in the truth,

just as the Father commanded us.”

2 John 1:4

 

We want to remain in Christ.

In so doing we realize a confidence in prayer we have not known before.  

We spoke of doing this through making Him Lord and making His Word the foundation of our lives.

One area I need to continually develop to deepen that relationship is this:

I need to always be evaluating how I use my treasures, how I spend my time and how I volunteer my talents.

How I use these three things: time, talent and treasures paint a truer picture of my priorities than all the words and declarations I can make.

 We all know people – maybe even the one who greets you in the mirror every morning – who say one thing but do another.

Let me ask you a question - When that becomes a pattern in a person’s life, are you more inclined to believe their words or their actions?

As a way of self –examination ask yourself these three questions –

Is your schedule surrendered to God?

Are your talents given to the Kingdom of God?

Are all the resources you are stewarding placed in Gods’ hands for His use?

I know its cliché but it is so true – actions do speak louder than words.

People hear you and they watch you.

They base their opinion of you – not so much on the words spoken as on the deeds performed.

I can express great love and devotion to God at the Sunday morning worship service and then fail to worship Him with my time, talents and treasures the rest of the week.

 God hears your words and my words too.

No matter how pious and religious sounding they may be He also sees my actions.

May our actions indicate our time, talent and treasures are surrendered to Him!

It is an area we all need to grow in.

That is why we, with the Holy Spirit, should always be evaluating it.

 

Heavenly Father:

With each passing day may we surrender more and more of our time talents and treasures to you. We ask your Holy Spirit to show us ways to do this and we thank you for the work that will be accomplished as we surrender to you.

In Jesus Name we pray

Amen

Cementing the Relationship!

“Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?”

Luke 6:46

 “But his delight is in the law of the Lord,
    and on his law he meditates day and night.”

Psalm 1:2

 

We all want an effective prayer life.

We want God to hear and answer our prayers.

So how does that happen?

We looked at the importance of relationship yesterday.

In other words, how vital it is to remain in Christ.

How do we grow in our relationship with Jesus Christ?

How do we remain in Him?

How do we grow, mature and cultivate that relationship in such a way that whatever we ask for we receive?

Do we just go through life – expecting, hoping that we mature?

Of course not!

There is a confidence we gain in prayer as we choose to make Jesus Lord in our lives.

That means He is not just a label we wear or a stage our life passes through.

We take up our cross daily and we choose His will over ours every time we are given that choice.

When we miss it, we repent, we confess and we move forward again.

We also remain in Him as we make His word the foundation for our lives.

We are not ruled by our feelings, our emotions or our own thoughts.

We are transformed by the renewing of our minds and His Word is what we meditate on.

David had it right as He acknowledged the Lord and His Word in the 89^th verse of Psalm 119:

“Your word, O Lord, is eternal;
    it stands firm in the heavens.”

Let our lives lived for Him declare no less!

Prayer Changes Things – Or Does It?

“At noon Elijah began to taunt them. “Shout louder!” he said. “Surely he is a god! Perhaps he is deep in thought, or busy, or traveling. Maybe he is sleeping and must be awakened.”  So they shouted louder and slashed themselves with swords and spears, as was their custom, until their blood flowed.  Midday passed, and they continued their frantic prophesying until the time for the evening sacrifice.

But there was no response, no one answered, no one paid attention.”

I Kings 18:27-29

 

Cross references:

????

1. 1 Kings 18:27 : Hab 2:19
2. 1 Kings 18:28 : S Lev 19:28
3. 1 Kings 18:29 : S Ex 29:41
4. 1 Kings 18:29 : 2Ki 19:12; Isa 16:12; Jer 10:5
The first part of todays’ title is an oft-repeated phrase – “Prayer changes things.”

But does it really?

Is prayer powerful?

It can be.

But as todays’ verses show – it can also be powerless.

The “power” of answered prayer lies in the relationship we have with the Lord and not in the prayer itself.

The prophets of baal found that out as they were being taunted by the Prophet Elijah.

For all of their loud, impassioned and earnest prayer there was no answer.

Of course, they were not praying to the One True God either!

To me, one of the greatest promises in scripture is John 15:7 which declares:

“If you remain in me and my words remain in you,

ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you.”

But it is obvious that this is a conditional promise.

Jesus speaks of remaining in the vine.

He clarifies this by stating that He is the vine and we are the branches.

The power of answered prayer is found, not in the words or the ritual, but in the relationship.

Many a man or woman has uttered a beautiful sounding and eloquent prayer.

Some have prayed with great volume and passion.  

But the prayers go unanswered.

There is so much which can be spoken of on this topic of prayer so lets’ take a few days and look more closely at it.

One final thought:

If the condition of answered prayer is that we “remain” in Him; is God playing favorites?

 Do some have an unfair advantage?

Take a look at John 3:16.

 You know that verse.

Who, in that verse, has opportunity for a relationship with Him?

Feelings, Nothing More Than Feelings?

 “By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had received the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, even though God had said to him, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.” 

Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead,

and figuratively speaking, he did receive Isaac back from death.”

Hebrews 11:17-19

 

 

 

 

Did you ever pull an “all-nighter”?

I mean back in your school days when you and some friends would cram for a test by staying up all night studying the material.

Hopefully, you were wise enough not to make the study time the very night before the exam!

I wonder if Abraham stayed up the night before he prepared to offer Isaac his son to the Lord.  

I wonder if the ‘reasoning’ spoken of in the Hebrews text above was the result of a sleepless night on Abraham’s part.

I wonder if he spent the hours between sunset and sunrise tossing and turning; trying to comprehend Gods’ command to him.Cross references:

Maybe, but somehow I don’t think so.

He is called faithful Abraham after all.

I think that maybe, just maybe, his faith in God allowed him to sleep like a baby.  

Of course I can’t prove that he did.

Nonetheless, what lesson can we glean from the example of Gods’ test in Abrahams’ life?

Well, what we need to do, as Abraham showed us, is to live our lives from the faithfulness of God and not from our feelings.

God is eternal and unchangeable.

My feelings concerning various things in my life are not at all eternal and unchangeable.

I can move from feelings of indifference to passionate concern in an instant.

You and I must live our lives, not ruled by our feelings but, ruled by faith in God.

Yes, we are told that Abraham ‘reasoned’ but it was a reasoning anchored in the faith of God and not in his feelings.

Abraham offered his son by faith and in doing so, he received his son back.

Don’t let feeling cloud the choices you make in your life.

Let faith in God guide you!

Test, What Test? Wink, Wink!!

“For forty years—one year for each of the forty days you explored the land—you will suffer for your sins and know what it is like to have me against you.’ I, the Lord, have spoken, and I will surely do these things to this whole wicked community, which has banded together against me. They will meet their end in this desert; here they will die.”

Numbers 14:34-35Cross references:

 

I don’t really have to take the tests God sends into my life seriously do I?

I mean after all, it is God we’re talking about.

He’s the merciful, gentle and loving Father, right?

Yes, He is.

But He is also a God of justice and He offers us opportunities to be blessed and to choose life.  

Every choice we make, every test we take has consequences.

Were there consequences for Adam and Eve in the Garden?

Were there consequences for Esau when he gave up his birthright?

Were there consequences for Ananias and Sapphira when they lied to the Holy Spirit?

There are so many lessons we can learn from the story of the 12 spies and how the Children of Israel responded to them but todays’ point is simply this -

Tests have consequences.

You and I need to take Gods’ tests seriously because they come with real life consequences.

It was Gods’ desire that the Children of Israel enter the Promised Land.

He did not delight in a generation dying in the wilderness.

They faced a test, they made a choice, and they lived (or in this case died) with the consequences.

Maybe you are in the midst of a test right now.

We have looked at many we can face over the last seven days.

They are not brought into your life to entertain you.

They are there to test you so that, with success, God might entrust you with greater work to do.

The children under twenty years of age wandered with their parents in the desert.

As they stood with Joshua at the Jordan about to have a second opportunity to enter the Promised Land they would well remember the choice made by their parents’ generation.

Don’t wink, wink, nod, nod at the tests you face.

Let the Holy Spirit work through them to build in you the character of Jesus Christ.  

The Discouragement Test

“And David was greatly distressed; for the people spake of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and for his daughters:

but David encouraged himself in the LORD his God.”

I Samuel 30:6 (KJV)Cross references:

 

Atta-boy!

Way to go!

Keep up the good work!

We all love and need to hear encouragement.

But what do you do when all your struggles and all of your best efforts are met with silence?

More importantly, what do you do when you think you cannot take another step unless you hear the cheers of those on the sidelines?

What do you do when you are in the midst of, what seems to you, the greatest test you have ever faced and absolutely no one slaps you on the back and says: “You can make it!”?

The first thing you can do is realize that we all will face a discouragement test.

God brings that test into your life to teach you how to draw strength and encouragement from Him.

You see, sometimes serving God can be very unpopular.

Not everyone will agree with your choices and decisions.

Not everyone will agree with the direction your life is taking.

Sometimes God will require you to do things that just don’t seem to make sense.

There may be a lot of people with words for you – but they are words of discouragement!

What do you do then?

Have you learned through testing how to encourage yourself in the Lord?

David did.

Where else could he turn?

We are told in todays verse that the souls of all the people were grieved.

David couldn’t expect encouragement from the people.

As a matter of fact they were inclined to stone him, not to lift his spirit.

The word ‘encouraged’ in our text today is a Hebrew word which means to ‘fasten upon’.

You might say David knew he was in for a bumpy ride so he ‘fastened himself’ upon God.

Did he worship?

Did he pray?

Did he rehearse in his mind what God had done for him in the past?

We are not told how he encouraged himself but we are told in whom he encouraged himself.

Are you in a rough patch in life?

Don’t rely on your own past exploits, your own strength; instead –

Encourage yourself in the Lord!

The Servant Test

“But you are not to be like that. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves. For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who is at the table?

But I am among you as one who serves.”

Luke 22:26-27Cross references:

 

1. Genesis 3:1 : Job 1:7; 2:2; 2Co 11:3; Rev 12:9; 20:2
2. Genesis 3:1 : S Ge 2:17

What a long lost concept servant hood is.

Sure, we have an entire industry called the ‘service industry’ but that is not what I am talking about. Listen to this description of a servant from Philippians 2:5-8

“Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:

 Who, being in very nature God,
    did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
 but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant,
    being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself
    and became obedient to death—even death on a cross!”

That is being a servant who is willing to lay down their life for others.

Even when those ‘others’ express no thanks or gratitude for what you have done.

Can you be that kind of servant?

Sure, with that question we all mentally inventory our ministry service.

We think that perhaps our years of faithful service in the nursery must count for something.

 But let’s be very honest here.

Much of what we do in ministry has its’ rewards.

To be entrusted by God to do great things in His Kingdom you will be tested specifically in service to those who can give nothing back or who choose to give nothing back in return.

In other words the motivation of your service will be tested.

Don’t misunderstand. I am not denigrating anyone’s service in ministry including those faithful in the church nursery.

But there will come a time demands you serve the ungrateful, the uncooperative and perhaps the openly hostile.

If you doubt that go back and check out Jesus’ last day or two before the cross.

Neither He nor His Father cancelled the cross because public opinion was not with them.

He was a servant.

We will face the servant test so beyond our concept of service that it will be apparent Gods’ grace must be poured out on us to succeed.

The Submission Test

“Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you

as men who must give an account. Obey them so that their work will be

 a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no advantage to you.”

Hebrews 13:17Cross references:

 

Let’s continue our look this week at some of the tests we will face as followers of Christ.

The word submission actually carries with it the clues to its definition.

Webster’s defines submission as: the act of submitting, yielding or surrendering.

But whenever I look at the word ‘submission’ I always see two words:

‘sub’ which means under or beneath and, of course the word mission.

So when I look at the word I see my responsibility in submitting as coming under another person’s mission.

In Western cultures in particular, we really struggle with that concept.

We want to be fiercely independent and not have to answer to anyone.

But, as you know, the Kingdom of God is not a democracy.

“Wait just a minute!” you say – “I thought God had a plan and purpose for my life?”

He does – but those plans and purposes will never unfold void of submission but rather as an integral part of it.

The man who says he answers to no one but God usually is headed for a cliff.

It is, in part, through the process of submitting to authorities on earth that we learn to submit to our heavenly Father.

Don’t fall victim to the lie that we are subject to no one.

As I submit my will and come under the authorities God has brought into my life for my growth in Him, I am given authority in His Kingdom.  

Don’t expect to walk in authority in the Kingdom of God if you refuse to submit to those God has placed in authority over you.

Don’t look at it just as:

Another day – another test;

but rather – another test so another opportunity to grow in the things of God!

He’s preparing you for great things.

 

Genesis 3:1 : Job 1:7; 2:2; 2Co 11:3; Rev 12:9; 20:2

 

The Failure Test

“for though a righteous man falls seven times, he rises again,
    but the wicked are brought down by calamity.”

Proverbs 24:16Cross references:

1. Genesis 3:1 : Job 1:7; 2:2; 2Co 11:3; Rev 12:9; 20:2
2. Genesis 3:1 : S Ge 2:17
Failure

Few enjoy admitting it but all will deal with it.

The man or woman who claims no failures in their life is the man or woman guilty of lying.

The greatest gift of failure may be the lesson learned.

While the greatest tragedy of failure may be a lesson wasted because it is not learned.  

When we fail, we are often humbled and better prepared to be used by God.

Success does not always bring those same rewards for our spiritual walk.

If anything, success may carry more traps for us than failure does.

Noah, Abraham, David and Peter all had ‘colossal’ failures recorded in scripture.

But all were also greatly used by God.

Someone once said of failure:

“Whenever you fall, pick up something.”

Might I suggest that when you fall, when you fail, drop your plans but pick up the Lords.

After Peter’s denial, we are told that he wept bitterly.

 That failure did not define his future as a future of failures.

Our failures shouldn’t either.

Place your failures in Gods’ hands, ask Him for the strength to persevere, to humbly continue in your work for Him and to be used by Him in great ways.

Failures can be a test, taking you to the next level or they can be an end paralyzing you from further advances in God.

Don’t be afraid of the tests.

Don’t be afraid of the failures.  

The Motivation Test

“He who speaks on his own does so to gain honor for himself, but he who works for the honor of the one who sent him is a man of truth; there is nothing false about him.”

John 7:18Cross references:

 

1. Genesis 3:1 : Job 1:7; 2:2; 2Co 11:3; Rev 12:9; 20:2
2. Genesis 3:1 : S Ge 2:17

If you are one who struggles with a ‘test phobia’, then todays’ blog will most certainly put you to the test (pun intended!).

The purpose of the motivation test in your walk with God is to teach you to give Him all the glory.

What motivates you in ministry?

What draws you into service?

Is it love for God?

Is it a longing to see His Kingdom come in the earth?

or

Is it a love of self?

Is it a longing to receive credit for being Gods’ man of power?

Some might think this is a test only for those in what we might call “mega-ministries”.

That is a naïve and dangerous assumption.

Pride can be just as much of a stumbling block to the man or woman of ‘low estate’!

God will greatly use the person who is humble and quick to give Him all the glory.

Every one of us will face this test multiple times.

 Jesus was sinless – if anyone had reason to boast in Himself it would be Him.

Yet whose honor did He seek?

John 17:4 tells us:

 ^“I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do.”

Jesus’ motivation – His desire – was to glorify the Father through obedience to His will.

Every miracle he performed, every truth He spoke, every sacrifice He made was done to bring the glory and honor to His Father in heaven.

He did not seek to usurp what belonged to the Father.

He was honored because His motivation was pure.

He passed the ‘motivation test’.

Father:

I pray that each and every day we seek to do your will and that through our obedience all honor and glory is given to you. May we hold none back for ourselves.

We pray this in the Name of Your Son Jesus Christ.