Every once in awhile you read something that truly stirs your soul.
Yesterday I read this link and stir it did.Truly one of the best things I have read recently.
I need to add nothing to it, just please read it.
http://www.desiringgod.org/blog/posts/tell-them-about-me
Can Ya’ Hear Me Now?
Matthew10:27 “Whatever I tell you in the dark, speak in the light; and what you hear in the ear, preach on the housetops.
God wants to use you! Yes, you heard me right, God wants to use little old you in his big old plan of the redemption of all of mankind from sin. He wants to use you as a part of rescuing mankind from the snares of hell that awaits them who have not heard; those who have not come yet to repent and believe. Now we must understand that God does not need our help, he could simply rewrite history by speaking it into existence. It is a humbling honor and privilege to be used by God. How could you not want to climb on top of your house and scream what he has shown and done for your life by rescuing you from yourself and sin? Proclaim him to all that will hear!
In the text above, the historical context was when priest would whisper to those who would proclaim God’s truths. Many times the flat rooftops where a good venue to preach the word of God. Commentaries believe this is mostly to the mind however, to where the Holy Spirit imparts truths to us that we must share with others. You don’t understand the Word of God from study, you understand it as a gift through the Holy Spirit living inside of you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you. (John14:26 NKJV) You cannot understand the Bible without the gift from God upon salvation. He has likely stirred your heart with a glimpse, but until you repent and believe upon the Lord Jesus Christ for the remission of sins as the only way to heaven, you are not in dwelt with the Holy Spirit, God living inside of you.
How humbling it is to share something and see the hearers eyes light up as God showed them a truth through your voice. I personally don’t know who is more amazed. God has allowed you life, all the bad and good, to enable you to glorify Him in it. He has set people in your path for you to be able to proclaim His goodness, grace and mercy, for all to see and hear. Don’t keep your testimony or a truth to yourself. You are stealing a gift from God to those that may receive, and yes even to those that give.
Pray Pursue Persist
knocking at the door of your home one day. Will you build
Faithfulness
Matthew 4:21-22. Going on from there, He saw two brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets. He called them, and immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed Him.
The Lord has laid faithfulness so heavy on my heart the last 24 hours. I sold my most cherished possession this weekend, and He is giving me a glimpse of the blessing through that act of faithfulness. I experienced the Parable of the Talents personally last year from Matthew 25, and the Spirit keeps reminding me of the lesson taught there. What level of faithlessness does it take for us to hold onto our most cherished possessions? How little do we trust God and rest on our own provision? Satan even gave me a possible “out” as a test in the middle of that sale, but thankfully God’s sovereignty prevailed my possible mistake.
I wanted to spend time in the Gospels this morning seeing where the Holy Spirit wanted me to write about faithfulness. I got no farther than the fourth chapter of Matthew. I don’t know what I expected, the entire Bible is a book of faithfulness. The entire Bible is a book of blessings to those that were faithful, and the consequences to those that were not. What is faithfulness? Faithfulness is the act of obedience resting in the assurance of a sovereign God.
No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon. Matthew 6:24 In the context of that passage Jesus is speaking directly how we view money, or stuff, or anything of value that we have accumulated. Do you realize that anything you have is a gift from God that he has a loaned you? James 1:17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. When we can grow in our faith enough to understand that all in this life is temporary, letting go through faith and obedience draws us closer to Him every step. We begin to see the blessings found in each act of faith and obedience. He then uses us to encourage others to do the same. All throughout the Bible are the evidences that you must let go, and let God. Countless times men and women of faith experienced great moves of God when they stepped out in faith. You can do this, only by letting Him do this, through your obedience.
Salt & light
Matthew 5:13-15 “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how she would be season? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men. 14 You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lamp stand and it gives light to all who are in the house.
When you were lost in sin, eternally damned to hell, who did God use to share the gospel with you, to rescue you from eternal damnation? The Good News came from someone whom He placed in your sinner’s dark circle with the light that provided a path of escape. Yesterday in social media I came across this quote from Joel Osteen that truly angered me. “If you don’t let go of the wrong people, you will never meet the right people. Be careful of who you allow in your inner circle. If your team is weak, you will be weak. Surround yourself with believers! (this can be used in your career, relationships, different aspects of your life).” Now there is just enough truth there to tickle the ears. If you have been rescued from addictions, removing yourself for a time of healing is necessary. But, the testimony of that healing when you return is what He built in you from the start. He has allowed every dark dirty road of your life for you to be able to reach those still stuck there.
Who did Jesus hang out with? Did the King hang out with the religious of the day? Did He surround himself with people who may take pride in there religiosity and look down on those still struggling in sin? Who where the twelve men He chose to change the world with Him? They were plain folks and even the dreaded tax collector that wrote the first gospel in the New Testament. Mark 2:16 and when the scribes and the Pharisees saw him eating with the tax collectors and sinners, they said to his disciples, “How is it that he eats and drinks with tax collectors and sinners”? 17 When Jesus heard it, He said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”
Listen to me please. Being a Christian does not mean putting yourself in a bubble and protecting yourself from society. It does not mean building up your pride in Christianity by what church you attend and what friends you have or don’t have. Christianity and pride are oxymorons. You have missed the boat if you rest in those. You are going to get to heaven one day and God is going to ask you what you did with the good news of his Son. Did you proclaim it from the rooftops? Did you go and share it with anyone who will hear to the ends of the earth as He commanded in the Great Commission from Matthew 28? Where would you be right now if God had not sent his light through his servant into your dark sin-filled world? Go out amongst the sinners today and remember how you felt before you heard the good news. Humbly share the testimony he built in you to rescue the world.
Daily pride repentance
Philippians 2:5-8
Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be made equal with God, but made himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bond servant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.
I have been stuck in this chair after surgery for a week now. I have found myself even going to some of the Christian broadcasting channels, only to get aggravated with what I saw. It worries me sometimes for the people that follow this media and TV personalities, but I must remember that one of my friends testimony began with one of its smiling stars. He now is a missionary in a distant land, living his life as a disciple, spreading the gospel to people who have not heard. The Holy Spirit does a work we cannot do, nor question his ways in accomplishing God’s will. “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways.” says the Lord. Isaiah 55:8
My struggle yesterday was a reply to a very good question. “How much pride do we have to have to be considered proud before God?” The answers were very weak, and almost seemed afraid to step on people’s toes. To me it was obvious that the panel of pastors sat on pedestals of their own pride. All throughout the Bible is the evidence of God exemplifying a humble spirit before him. The root of all evil is pride and and can be traced back to Satan being cast out of heaven for wanting to be like God. At 3 AM this morning I found myself in Philippians 2 with the evidence of the love that God has for you; the condescension of Christ, when God became man to die for your sins. Grasping just a small portion of that condescension will stir your heart to a level of humbleness that no pride can attain. How many proofs are in the Bible that the lonely will be elevated in heaven?
Sadly as Christians we all struggle with pride, sometimes even unknowingly in our judging other people. This is an entire message within itself. As Christians this is proof of another requirement of daily repentance. Daily repentance brings us to the feet of Jesus, humbly asking for forgiveness of our daily sins. The daily sin of pride alone should prod us to daily repentance alone. Repent and believe and draw closer to Him today than you were yesterday.
More of Him and less of me
Ephesians 1:11-12 In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will, 12 that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory.
Tomorrow I embark on a new tough journey; I am having major shoulder repair surgery for the third time; this time on my “good arm.” You may not know that the first two resulted in me having about 25% strength in my right arm. The second was a rare thing that happened according to the doc, but I knew it was God at work in my life taking my pride in one powerful blow. Now faced with the left too, I am faced with the reality of being physically handicapped in my abilities to do physical work that I earn a living and just function as a man. For a time of about 3-6 months, I will be handicapped. My good arm has picked up the slack, and now I am faced with not being able to work and provide income for two families. Satan is hammering me in my thought life filling me with doubt and fear of the unknown. He is also giving me worst case scenario’s and how my life changes as I go under the knife tomorrow. But, I rest in God’s Sovereign will for my life, and knowing that he has a purpose greater than mine in and through it.
My battle is no different from yours. You may be facing cancer, divorce, death, employment, or any life change that is a big life change. All these things are designed to draw you closer to God. Any single thing that you face has been filtered through God’s sovereign hands. He has either designed or allowed it. Remember Job from the Old Testament? No many people would dare say their life’s troubles compared to his. How did it begin? Read Job 1:7-12 and see how proud God was of Job to the point of letting Satan test him. Through all of Job’s trials he never cursed God and was blessed by God. His story has been used to bless countless souls until this very day. All that you face in life can be used to draw you closer to God; this results in Him using you to draw others to himself. 2nd Corinthians 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.
My hope for all my life is for God to use my life to draw others to him. My hope is that you see me as one who has been forgiven of great immeasurable sins, and still the blood of Jesus has forgiven me and given me eternal life and hope for this life. These tough roads are the act of sanctification by God in my daily life; conforming me into the image of his Son. The more of him and the less of me the better we all are. Even if it means that He has to continue to take great blows to weaken the pride my testimony was rooted in. Ephesians 3:8 To me, who am less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ.
I am rich
Psalm 49:13-15 This is the way of those who are foolish, And of their posterity who approve their sayings. Selah 14 Like sheep they are laid in the grave; Death shall feed on them; The upright shall have dominion over them in the morning; And their beauty shall be consumed in the grave, far from their dwelling. 15 But God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave, For He shall receive me. Selah
I have had the world come at me recently with the idea of the pursuit of the wealth of the American Dream; I have had God laying on my heart the reality of letting go of prized possessions. These two are in direct contradiction to one another; this is of no surprise for one is of Satan and one is of my Savior. Sadly we define others and even ourselves by our possessions; this has been around since sin and the beginning of time. We look up to the wealthy and look down on the poor. There is incredible proof in how deep sin is rooted in our character from the fall of man at the Garden of Eden in that understanding. That outlook on life is a character trait you were born into. Only by the grace of God, the work of Christ, and the lifelong process of sanctification frees you from that bondage that condemns. A spiritual marker in your journey is the point at which “stuff” just does not have the hold on you that it once did; when attaining stuff is no longer your pursuit in life. This inner change is a work of the Holy Spirit, but this change is a life-long process that He continually puts before you. “What do you place before me?”
There is striking similarities between this Psalm and the book of Ecclesiastes that was written by Solomon. The book of Ecclesiastes is very pertinent to how much value we place on our careers and all that we seemingly attain from them. Solomon wrote 1:2 “Vanity of vanities,” says the Preacher; “Vanity of vanities, all is vanity.” In contrast though, Solomon did not write this Psalm. The Sons of Korah did, and if you have not heard of them, they wrote about 25 of the Psalms, and their lineage is a powerful story of the power of God. I have included a link here.
http://www.gotquestions.org/sons-of-Korah.html
Part of the reason I do not play the lottery is the fear of winning the lottery. What does the Bible tell us about being rich? Read about Jesus and the parable of the rich young ruler; Luke 18:23 But when he heard this, he became very sorrowful, for he was very rich. 24 And when Jesus saw that he became very sorrowful, He said, “How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God! 25 For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” You might say, “I would give it all away to the poor.” Would you, could you? Sanctification is the work of the Holy Spirit for all of your life conforming you into the image of Jesus Christ. The greater the work He does in you, the greater the work he does through you. You become a living testimony to the power of God to save the sinner and to attain heaven all through the Gospel. You begin to see this life as the preparation for the eternal life, and that is where true riches lie. Revelation 21:21 The twelve gates were twelve pearls: each individual gate was of one pearl. And the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass.
Drawing Near
Romans 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.
I don’t know how I would make it through life without my faith; I don’t know how I would not break under the strain Satan brings in this world; I do not know how I would not crack under the pressures of the trials of life. All the world expects by it’s own standards are challenged by it’s own standards. All this world breeds about success is challenged by the expectancy of the requirements to obtain it. I have heard in recent days of success bred business plans, and I have heard of the monetary driven potential in them. Even in my pursuit of simplifying and expansion, it is read as chasing the American Dream of success. My definition of success is not the American Dream. My definition of success is at the end of my life bowing before my Lord Jesus and hearing these words of Matthew 25:21 His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’
I received the results of my shoulder MRI yesterday and they were much worse than expected. The recovery time is measured in months and not weeks. This puts an incredible burden on the operation, sustainability, and financial responsibility of myself, my company, families, and customers alike. The world screams at me for the weight of all of these it is laying on my shoulders, (pun intended), while I am out of work for three to six months. Satan wants to slam me with anxiety rooted in the fear of the unknown. Satan wants me to think collapse of all that I have and somewhat desire in life. God wants me to rest in Romans 8:28. God has shown up financially in ways that only he can; those close to me are in awe of it just like I am. He always provides just when the money runs out by the world standards in ways that are not worldly. The proof of Himself found in faith, with a means measured by the world.
Many of my Christian friends have been, and are enduring incredible trials of life. I have seen their faith grow and knowingly understand that God has used them to encourage others outside of the faith, or those weak in their faith. So many false prophets today are preaching from pulpits success by worldly standards; preaching prosperity gospels that tell you your faith is measure by your worldly success; if you don’t have enough faith, you worn’t have enough “stuff.” Jesus never said that anywhere in the Bible. Jesus said take up your cross and follow me and life will be tough for your short time here but you will be blessed ETERNALLY. John 16:33 These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” Today let whatever God has designed or allowed in your life to draw you closer to him. I promise you that is the purpose of whatever you are struggling with at any level; drawing closer to God.
oneminuteministry 