Intimidation

One of the main tactics of the enemy to keep us from sharing to the gospel or doing anything for the advance of God’s Kingdom is intimidation. He has used this tactic in many situations in the Old Testament as well as in the life of the church since its inception. He continues to use this tactic today to keep believers silent and limit their ministry and effectiveness.
The definition of intimidate
1. to make timid; fill with fear.
2. to overawe or cow, as through the force of personality or by superior display of wealth, talent, etc.
3. to force into or deter from some action by inducing fear
We will look at some of the Old Testament examples how intimidation was used as well as what was the response or the result.

Goliath and the Israelites.

We are all familiar with the story of Goliath and the stand down battle with the Philistines. His stature was very intimidating roughly ten feet tall depending on what standard was used to measure him. He was covered from head to toe with armor and had another person with a shield in front of him to protect him. In addition to his intimidating physical presence he taunted the Israelites.
1Sa 17:8-11 He stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel, “Why have you come out to draw up for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and are you not servants of Saul? Choose a man for yourselves, and let him come down to me. If he is able to fight with me and kill me, then we will be your servants. But if I prevail against him and kill him, then you shall be our servants and serve us.” And the Philistine said, “I defy the ranks of Israel this day. Give me a man, that we may fight together.” When Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly afraid.
Goliath defied Israel, he reproached them, stripped them bare and exposed them, railed against them.
His tactic worked but Israel’s response was one of fear, they were broken down like they were prostrate on the ground as if they had feinted.
Only David was willing to take up the challenge. He was not intimidated by Goliath’s stature or his words. He did not take Goliath’s words to heart but responded in faith and assurance that His God would deliver him into his hands because he had defied the God of the armies of Israel. The battle was not up to David, it was the Lord’s battle and he would be victorious.
The enemy would like to over exaggerate the problem. He intimidates by trying to cause us to think he is more powerful than our God and we are helpless. He always wants to bring fear because fear will cause us to be paralyzed or feint in the battle. He will speak words to us to tell us how incapable we are of defeating him. We cannot listen to his threats or intimidating words and take them to heart.
We have to stand against him knowing that God is the one who will fight the battle with us and give us victory. David was confident while the rest of Israel was cowardly. He had faith in His God that his God would defend his name and not be defied by Goliath or any of the Philistines.
When people come against us they are also coming against God and God will defend his name. Goliath was defeated just as David proclaimed he would be. His death mobilized the army to charge into battle and defeat the Philistines. Our faith response, our stand against the enemy and our prophetic proclamations when realized will be an inspiration to others in the battle.

David and the Jebusites

A second example of intimidation is found in David’s life when he became King of Israel and set out to take the city of the Jebusites, Jerusalem. When the Jebusites saw David and his army coming to take the city they tried to intimidate him by saying: “You will not come in here, but the blind and the lame will ward you off” 2 Sam 5.6
In other words David’s army was no match for the Jebusites. They were so pitiful that the blind and lame could defeat them. They thought that their words would intimidate David and keep him from invading. These were not wise words to say to someone who had led Israel in many victorious battles. It was an insult to David and his army and it had the opposite effect.
2Sa 5:8 And David said on that day, “Whoever would strike the Jebusites, let him get up the water shaft to attack ‘the lame and the blind,’ who are hated by David’s soul.”
The Jebusites became odious to David by the words they spoke to him. He challenged his men to take the city via the water ducts going into the city. He was not at all intimidated by the Jebusites. The words spoken against him and his men became fuel to inspire the men to take the city.
I think we need to learn from David’s example that when the enemy tries to intimidate us and belittle us or make us think we are blind and lame, incapable of taking on any initiative by rising up and using the very words of the enemy against him. We cannot sit back and take it, there has to be a holy rising in us to come against the very words of the enemy and take what belongs to God.
It seems today that the church is under more attack than it ever has been for its stand against moral issues that do not reflect the values of God or His Word. We have allowed the enemy to take ground because of our lack of action or lack of standing for the truth and denouncing the words of the enemy. We have been labeled “bigots, haters, judgmental, closed minded, intolerant,biased”, and a list of other things by people who do not agree and even hate Christians yet these same people are guilty of having the same attitudes as they accuse us of having. If we say nothing in our defense what message are we communicating? Are we in agreement or are we just unwilling to take a stand to come against these untruthful accusations?
David was pretty upset with these words to the point that he made a policy that no blind or lame person could enter the house. He did not want to be reminded of these demeaning words by seeing the lame and blind in his house. These words offended him deeply and he responded accordingly.

Nehemiah and Sanballat

Nehemiah faced intimidation when he was building the walls of Jerusalem that had been completely destroyed by the Babylonians when they invaded Jerusalem and took Israel as captives. There were some people who had been living in the area of Jerusalem during the captivity and they were trying to stop Nehemiah from building the wall. Sanaballat and Tobiah were leaders who spoke against the work of Nehemiah and the people who were doing the work.
Neh 4:1-3 Now when Sanballat heard that we were building the wall, he was angry and greatly enraged, and he jeered at the Jews. And he said in the presence of his brothers and of the army of Samaria, “What are these feeble Jews doing? Will they restore it for themselves? Will they sacrifice? Will they finish up in a day? Will they revive the stones out of the heaps of rubbish, and burned ones at that?” Tobiah the Ammonite was beside him, and he said, “Yes, what they are building–if a fox goes up on it he will break down their stone wall!
They spoke against the feeble Jews who in their minds were not able to accomplish the huge task. The also spoke against them by claiming the quality of their work would be so inferior that a little fox could easily jump upon the low wall and cause it to crumble when it walked on the stones. The walls of the city were thick walls not simply one stone placed on top of another so this insult as to the quality of their work was pretty demeaning.
The enemy would like to make us think that we don’t have what it takes. We don’t have the right people working with us to get the job done. He wants us to think that we and they lack the qualifications and abilities needed so why even attempt to do anything? God knew what he was doing when he called Nehemiah to the task and he supplied the right people to get it done. God will put each of us on a team that will work together to accomplish his mission if we allow him to and are willing to go. He will supply the resources we need and will give us the resolve to get it done.
The enemy likes to do whatever he can to delay us from taking action. I am not opposed to training and education to prepare you for ministry but there comes a time when you have to step out in faith and be willing to take on things that seem to be beyond your training or abilities. We can rationalize ourselves out of doing anything if we listen to the intimidating words of the enemy. I don’t know that Nehemiah was a professional wall builder, I don’t know if he had any training at all but he had a calling from God and a desire to see his people restored and was willing to move forward to get the job done. He faced the naysayers who tried to discourage and intimidate him and the people he brought with him to do the work and settle in the city. The wall was erected in 52 days to the surprise of the enemies. The people were motivated and obviously had the skills needed to do what was needed and do it well.
The enemy will always fight progress. He does not want the Kingdom to advance. He wants us to just stay where we are and do as little as possible. I love the words of William Carey who is called the “Father of Modern Day Missions.” He went to India called by God to reach the people with the gospel. It was a huge task and he experienced many setbacks in his ministry but he persevered and did not allow the intimidation of the enemies of the cross to keep him from his call. He said, “Expect great things from God, attempt great things for God.”
William Carey and Nehemiah had this in common that they were willing to attempt great things for God. They were not content to let things stay as they were but took action as led of the Holy Spirit to do what was in their hearts. God came through for them and gave them the people and resources and knowledge of what to do and how to do it. They both accomplished great things for God because they did not allow the enemy to intimidate them and cause them to stop what they were doing.
This past week I was at a YWAM Conference in Nicaragua and I was able to see the work the God has done through the leaders of the base in Nicaragua. They have had tremendous challenges through the years, having begun the work during the civil war in the early 80s. They have faced opposition from the government, from their neighbors, health issues, staff issues, financial challenges that would cause most people to give up and go home. But they have stayed faithful to the call and now have a great YWAM Base that is impacting many lives. They have not allowed the intimidation of the enemy to cause them to stop doing what they have been called to do and God has honored and blessed their lives and ministry. They have accomplished great things for God and they have seen God come through time after time when they have faced the challenges of the enemy.

Peter and John
A final example of not being intimidated is found in the lives of the apostles during the early days of the church. Peter and John after receiving the power of the Holy Spirit were constantly going to the temple to tell people about the Messiah Jesus who fulfilled the prophesies in the Old Testament and is now seated in glory with God. This message was burning in their hearts and they would not be stopped from sharing it. The Jewish leaders were upset with what they were doing and what was happening to the people they led. They were losing thousands of people who were becoming Christ followers and they did not know what to do to stop this mass exodus. They only solution was to try to silence them and throw Peter and John into jail and hope that this would end the problem.
Act 4:15-20 But when they had commanded them to leave the council, they conferred with one another, saying, “What shall we do with these men? For that a notable sign has been performed through them is evident to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it. But in order that it may spread no further among the people, let us warn them to speak no more to anyone in this name.” So they called them and charged them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John answered them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.”
Peter and John would not be intimidated by the demands of the religious leaders. What they knew to be true could not be contained or restrained. Their obedience was to God and not to man when given the choice between the two. They were convinced beyond a shadow of a doubt that the message they preached was the truth. Imprisonment was not enough punishment or intimidation to stop them from speaking.
Peter was not soft peddling the gospel message. He told it like it is and did not hold back. He wanted the Jews to know exactly what they had done in rejecting the Messiah Jesus.
Act 4:8-12 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders, if we are being examined today concerning a good deed done to a crippled man, by what means this man has been healed, let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead–by him this man is standing before you well. This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
Peter was addressing the highest leadership of Israel. Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit he made some hard statements…”who you crucified…was rejected by you, the builders” Peter spoke the truth, he did not make it soft for them but spoke clearly and directly to their actions against Christ. There was a boldness in Peter to declare the truth. He did not let the status of the Jewish leadership hinder him from declaring the truth of what they had done and the truth that Jesus was the cornerstone and the only way for them to be saved.
We can never be intimidated by the threats of prison, punishment or even death to keep us from speaking the truth. We have to make a stand for the truth and believe that God is always on our side to defend us and if we are martyred for our faith it is only a testimony of its power and truthfulness. Jonathon Goforth was a Canadian missionary to China in the early 1900s. He told a story of a group of students who were arrested for being believers. The officials told them that they would not punish them if they would deny their faith in Christ. As an act of their denial they placed a cross on the ground and told those who wanted to recant their faith to walk on the cross to despise it and denounce their belief in Jesus. The first few students were intimidated by the demand and the fear of punishment. They walked out on the cross and renounced their faith, several more students followed them. But then one student refused to trample upon the cross and renounce her faith. She walked to the side of the cross in defiance of their orders. Her act of bravery inspired the others to do the same thing.
We are living in a time where the darkness is growing darker and the light is growing brighter. There is a clearer separation between good and evil as we see the world moving away from the truth of the Bible and embracing the philosophies of man based in human desires that are in opposition to God. The acceptance of homosexual marriages is one act that is helping clarify those who believe God’s Word and those who distort it to make it mean what they want it to mean. We are clearly entering an era where Christianity is going to be opposed and we will be intimidated to not speak the truth. But we must be like Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, led of the Holy Spirit to speak the truth and confront the actions of those who are opposing God’s truth. We cannot be silent but we must be submitted to the Holy Spirit to speak as He directs us. We need not apologize for our obedience and our directness in speaking the truth. Truth is on our side and if we remain silent we give ground to the enemy.
Intimidation is a primary tactic of the enemy to keep us from fulfilling our calling. We must constantly remind ourselves of the truth of who God is and his desire for us to stand strong in the face of intimidation.
1. God is greater than any enemy of the cross.
2. God will defend his name, he will fight the battle for us and with us.
3. False accusations to intimidate must be confronted.
4. God will supply, we will have what it takes to accomplish his work.
5. We cannot give in to compromise, give up the battle or get out of the calling to be the messengers of the truth to a lost world.

A Nation of Priests

Tonight I want to talk about being a nation of priests unto the Lord. We are approaching the Holy Week in which there is much emphasis in Guatemala regarding the suffering and passion of Christ. Christ was our sacrifice for our sin but he also is our perfect High Priest who was the only one qualified to offer the eternal sacrifice once and for all time. In the Old Testament God established the nation of Israel as he had promised to Abraham in Genesis 12. When the nation was liberated from Egypt, God set in order the laws and the sacrificial system that would prepare the nation to receive the Messiah when he arrived.
The nation of Israel had a high and holy calling to represent God as his royal priests and a holy nation. The entire nation was given this privilege and responsibility.

Exo 19:3 while Moses went up to God. The LORD called to him out of the mountain, saying, “Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the people of Israel:
Exo 19:4 You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself.
Exo 19:5 Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine;
Exo 19:6 and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. These are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel.”
Exo 19:7 So Moses came and called the elders of the people and set before them all these words that the LORD had commanded him.

Israel was a people holy to the Lord. Holy means separated for service to the Lord. When God drew the Israelites out of Egypt he had to establish a counter culture that was ruled by a new set of standards that would identify them as his people and be a reflection of his character and nature. His laws were given to protect the people, to establish a moral code and a system of justice and to prepare the generations to come with knowledge of the need for a sacrifice for their sins that would be accomplished through the Messiah.
Israel was God’s special treasure. His love for them was demonstrated from the very beginning when he chose them because of his love for them. He chose the nation of Israel to be a special people who would represent him to the pagan nations and through which the Messiah would come. He chose them not because they were a great people but out of his love for them and to honor the covenant he made with Abraham, he set them apart and gave special revelation of his nature and character.

Deu 7:6 “For you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.
Deu 7:7 It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the LORD set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples,
Deu 7:8 but it is because the LORD loves you and is keeping the oath that he swore to your fathers, that the LORD has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.
Deu 7:9 Know therefore that the LORD your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations,
Deu 7:10 and repays to their face those who hate him, by destroying them. He will not be slack with one who hates him. He will repay him to his face.
We like Israel have been chosen by God’s grace to be his holy people, to represent him on the earth. God has a holy calling on each of our lives. He calls us to be separated unto service to him. Our lives are not our own to do as we please but we are hand picked by God to labor in his Kingdom. We are the people God has chosen and separated unto himself. He chose us because of his love for us and we are his treasured possession. When you understand the tremendous love God has for you it will transform your life.

God loves you not because you are valuable; you are valuable because he loves you. God’s love for you is beyond your understanding, his love is beyond our comprehension because his love is infinite and our understanding is finite.

The prophet Hosea stated
Hos 11:1 When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son.
Hos 11:2 The more they were called, the more they went away; they kept sacrificing to the Baals and burning offerings to idols.
Hos 11:3 Yet it was I who taught Ephraim to walk; I took them up by their arms, but they did not know that I healed them.
Hos 11:4 I led them with cords of kindness, with the bands of love, and I became to them as one who eases the yoke on their jaws, and I bent down to them and fed them.
These verses reveal the tenderness of God toward his people. The illustration God uses is one of a parent teaching their child how to walk, lifting them up by their arms to embrace them, leading them with cords of kindness and bands of love wrapped around them, easing their pain from mistreatment, lowering himself to feed them as you would a child. Many people claim the God of the OT is different from the God of the NT seen in Christ but this picture of God shows his great love, compassion, patience and care for his people in spite of their rejection of him. Do you see God like this in your life? You are his treasured possession and he delights to show his tender love toward you.
Too often we judge our value and worth by what other people say or think about us. We allow them to be our judge and often we are put down because of our imperfections. God wants us to let him be the one who judges our value and worth. The fact that he loves you makes you infinitely valuable. God did not create you to just live a short time on earth and then disappear. His love for us is eternal and we were created to live with him and experience his love for eternity. Human love often falls as we see marriages terminated for reasons that seem insignificant. Fidelity in spite of changes that may happen is not honored by all but when it is it reflects God’s love for us and his commitment to us.

Last week I mentioned the fidelity of a missionary and university president, Robertson McQuilken, to his wife Muriel. I came across a similar story that also reflects committed love in spite of difficult circumstances as told by a nurse in hospital.
Nurse: “It was a busy morning, approximately 8:30 am , when an elderly gentleman, in his 80′s, presented to have stitches removed from his thumb. He stated that he was in a hurry as he had an appointment at 9:00 am . The nurse took his vital signs and had him take a seat, knowing it would be over an hour before someone would be able to see him. I saw him looking at his watch. While taking care of his wound, we began to engage in conversation. I asked him if he had a doctor’s appointment this morning somewhere else, as he was in such a hurry. The gentleman told me no, that he needed to go to the nursing home to eat breakfast with his wife. I then inquired as to her health. He told me that she had been there for a while and that she was a victim of Alzheimer Disease. As we talked, and I finished dressing his wound, I asked if she would be worried if he was a bit late. He replied that she no longer knew who he was, that she had not recognized him in five years now. I was surprised, and asked him. “And you are still going every morning, even though she doesn’t know who you are?” He smiled as he patted my hand and said. “She doesn’t know me, but I still know who she is.” I had to hold back tears as he left, I had goose bumps on my arm, and thought, “That is the kind of love I want in my life.”

http://kmgarcell.blogspot.com/2011/04/kind-of-love-i-want-in-my-life.html

God’s love for us is even more committed than the highest form of human love. He is eternally committed to us to always love us with a love that will never change or fail. We are God’s special treasure and he has decided to pour his love out to us and allow us to represent him to a world that has a very warped image of true love.
God invited the entire nation of Israel to be his priest but because of the fear the people had of the Lord they asked that Moses represent them on Mt. Sinai. When the laws were given to Moses, God required the people to wear a special tassel on their garment to remind them of his Word.

Num_15:38 “Speak to the people of Israel, and tell them to make tassels on the corners of their garments throughout their generations, and to put a cord of blue on the tassel of each corner.
Num_15:39 And it shall be a tassel for you to look at and remember all the commandments of the LORD, to do them, not to follow after your own heart and your own eyes, which you are inclined to whore after.
Num 15:40 So you shall remember and do all my commandments, and be holy to your God.
Num 15:41 I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your God: I am the LORD your God.”
As God’s representatives on earth we have a responsibility to walk according to his ways. The Israelites had a visual reminder every time they saw the blue cord and tassel that they were to obey the laws of God which separated them from the nations. As believers today we have the written Word of God and the Holy Spirit residing in us to keep us walking in God’s ways. We have an internal guidance system within us that will keep us on track but we have to develop ears to hear the voice of the Spirit. As God’s special people we have been given His Spirit to guide us and teach us. The people in the world do not have this available to them but we do. Our lives should be very different from the world because we have the Holy Spirit residing and directing our lives as we allow him access to us. We can hinder the work of the Spirit by acting in arrogance, pride and selfishness or we can give way, yield ourselves to the Him by humbling ourselves and submitting to him. The Holy Spirit knows the mind of God and he can communicate God’s thoughts to us. As we learn to hear and recognize God’s voice we will have wisdom and understanding that is not available in the human realm. God will speak things to you that you would have never thought on your own. He will give you ideas, visions, dreams, words of knowledge, words of wisdom and discernment that will help you make decisions and give counsel to others. Often these messages comes as impressions, gentle thoughts and at times even loud words to help guide us. A pastor I who spoke at my church a couple of weeks ago told of a time he was driving his car and he heard a voice tell him to stop at a certain house and share the gospel with a person in it. He looked at the house, did not recognize whose home it was and continued driving. The voice again told him to stop and go to the house but he continued to drive away. Finally the voice came through loud and clear and said stop your car, turn around a go to the house. This time he obeyed and went to the house. He knocked on the door and a woman came to answer it. She had a pistol in her hand which startled him. The pastor introduced himself and said God had spoken to him that he was to stop at this house and share the gospel. He told the lady “I don’t know what you are going through but I know someone who can solve any problem you may have.” The lady broke down in tears and told him that she had the pistol in her mouth and was ready to pull the trigger when she heard the knock on the door and decided to see who was there instead of blowing her head off. She received the message of the gospel and gave her life to Christ and continues to follow after him today. As you grow in intimacy with the Lord you will learn to hear his voice and experience supernatural ministry.

The priesthood established by God had three groupings: Levites, priests and High Priest.

The LEVITES were the appointed servants of the court, but they were excluded from the holy Place on pain of death. All priests were Levites but not all Levites were priests.

The PRIESTS executed the ministry of the Holy Place but were as solemnly prohibited from entering beyond the veil into the Holy of Holies. The Priests were responsible to:
• Teach the people. (Leviticus 10:8-11)
• Serve as judges to resolve controversy. (Deut. 21:5)
• Offer sacrifices. (Exodus 29:38-42)
• Assess impurity. (Leviticus 13-15)
• Burn incense. (Exodus 30:7-8)
• Bless the people. (Numbers 6:22-27)
• Bless God (Deuteronomy 10:8)
• Keep the tabernacle. (Numbers 3:38; 4;16)
• Take care of the altar (Leviticus 6:8-13), the lamps, and the
showbread (Leviticus 24:1-9)
• Prepare the holy things for each days journey. (Num. 4:5-15)
• Continue the sacred fire. (Leviticus 6:12-13
• Blow the trumpets. (Numbers 10:1-10)

As a priest hood of believers today we have the responsibilities of
• teaching others how to be a disciple of Christ (Mt. 28:19-20);
• judging controversies according to God’s Word even as Paul reprimanded the Corinthian church for not judging among themselves but going to a public judge (1 Cor. 5:12, 13);
• Offering our lives as living sacrifices unto the Lord (Rom 12:1, 2);
• Keeping purity a priority (1 Jn 3.3);
• offering prayers on behalf of others (1 Tim 2.8);
• being a blessing to others through our works and words (Heb. 10:4);
• caring for our bodies that are the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor 3.16,17)
• keeping ablaze in the Spirit, being filled with the Holy Spirit daily (Eph. 5:18) and
• sounding the warning when danger is present (2 Cor. 13:2, 2 Thes. 3:15).

A final aspect of the priesthood is that God has placed us in a community of believers. God knows how much we need each other and how important it is for us to be a part of a loving community. People who are not linked to a body of believers separate themselves from the very environment that will produce the most growth in their lives. Through our involvement and participation in a body of believers we grow spiritually and become a visible force on the earth to carry out God’s will. There is tremendous potential when we are unified as a body. When you read about the construction of the tower of Babel you begin to understand the dynamic of a unified group.
Gen 11:1 Now the whole earth had one language and the same words.
Gen 11:6 And the LORD said, “Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language, and this is only the beginning of what they will do. And nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them.
God recognized the power of unity and he had to break up the culture by diversifying the languages because they were using the power for a wrong purpose. When we as a group of believers are unified to carry out God’s plans there is a tremendous amount of power released to accomplish it.

Jesus prayed for unity among all the believers.
Joh_17:11 And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one.

The power of unity is seen in every institution and movement to bring change. I watched the video “Kony 2012” which began in the mind of one man, Jason Russell, who is trying to bring to justice the despot leader of the Ugandan group called the Lord’s Army. The leader, Kony, is not a Christian so the terminology of “the Lord’s Army” falsely represents the Lord as he abducts young children to be his sex slaves and soldiers. Efforts are now underway throughout the world to find Kony and bring him to justice to stop all the atrocities he is guilty of committing. You may or may not agree with this story or the motivations of Jason Russell but the main thing we can all agree upon is the power of bringing people together to accomplish a mission.
I want to show a little bit of the video not to promote his idea but to highlight the impact of a community united to accomplish a goal. (26:30 to end)

As I watched this video I was reminded of how much power we have as a body of believers to bring changes that God desires on the earth. This is the challenge we face as a group of believers is to be united to carry out God’s work on the earth. Too often we are individually trying to make changes or are only a small group of people trying to make a difference and we are seeing some success. But I believe we will see greater changes as we unite with other believers to truly become the Lord’s Army in this hour. We have to be united as a true body, removing walls of separation that hinder the progress of the gospel message. We have to declare war on the real enemy and unite our efforts to destroy his works. God has blessed us with technology that can be used in a positive way to accelerate his work but if we are unwilling to cooperate and unite ourselves with other believers our work will be hindered, delayed or discredited. A united church is a powerful church as it submits itself to Christ as its head and each believer submits one to another for the purpose of achieving unity. I once lived in DeRidder, LA a town of 12,000 people that had 23 churches from the same denomination in the city. This did not take into account all of the other church denominations. Are the differences so great that unity is unachievable? How much more could be done if we truly were united in the main purpose of the church of evangelizing the lost and making disciples of all the nations.
Find your priestly purpose and mission and unite yourself with other believers who are dedicated to bringing changes that God has place in your heart. Be a part of God’s plan of action to see his Kingdom come and his will be done through a community of believers united in love, willing to sacrifice and committed to the work. Don’t be on the sidelines, get in the game and give yourself wholeheartedly to work and you will see God do amazing things.

What Does God Love?

What does God love and take delight in?  What brings joy to his heart?  The scriptures reveal several things that God specifically loves and takes delight in.  Each of these things is a reflection of his character, who he is.  God takes delight in himself.  He loves who he is because he is the perfection of everything good.  Tonight I want to look at specific things that he loves and delights in so that we can put them into practice in our lives.  As in any relationship you want to do the things that please the other person.  God has specific things mentioned in the scripture that bring him pleasure.

God loves to be loved.

Pro_8:17  I love those who love me, and those who seek me diligently find me.

This chapter in Proverbs is talking about wisdom but it is specifically making reference to God who created the heavens and the earth by his wisdom.

God loves those who love him.  He wants love to be reciprocal, he wants our love, our affection.  Just as we are the object of his love, he wants to be the object of our love.  He wants us to seek after him.  No one in a relationship with the opposite sex does not want to be sought out.  When we truly love someone there is a longing for them and we intentionally and diligently seek them.  Our love for God is measured in the actions that come from that love.  To be loved is one of man’s greatest needs and this desire to be loved comes from God himself.  It is not that God needs our love because he has perfect love within the Trinity yet because we are created in his image and likeness we have the capacity to love him.  If we choose to love him it will be demonstrated by our actions.  The love that most people know is not the same love that God has for us.  Fallen man loves with a selfish love which in the Greek is Eros.  Eros love is a sensual love, a love that seeks its own satisfaction.  This is the love of fallen mankind and it is only when we come to know Christ and receive him as our Lord and Savior that we can begin to experience and live out the love of God, the agape love. 

Bob Mumford in his book, “The Agape Road” has compared the differences between Eros and Agape love.

“The essential meaning of Eros is the desire or intention to possess, acquire, or control.  Eros does not seek to be accepted by its object but to gain possession of it.  Eros has an appetite or yearning desire that is aroused by attractive qualities of its object.  Eros, in Greek philosophy, came to mean that which is loved for the purpose of personal satisfaction.  It is from this posture that the word Eros took on its sexual and ultimately pornographic connotation.  The word is not primarily sexual, but has more to do with living for my own personal advantage…It can be recognized because it is self-referential…  self-centered, but it becomes self-consuming, turning increasingly inward upon itself in a tighter and tighter spiral…The Greek symbol for Eros is actually a serpent consuming its own tail.”  When Eros love is operating in our lives even as believers we live to get things from God and do what we know we should do in order to receive his blessings.  We are not motivated by true love but selfish love.

“The word agape has to do with the nature of God. 1 John 4:8 says, “God is [agape]”.  He is the source of love and when we are united with him in Christ we are able to give this love to him and to others.  We can also love ourselves because we possess the love that God has for himself. 

“Love, biblically understood is a longing and intention toward another person, object, or experience.  God’s agape creates a longing and intention toward Himself-He is the One who retains the initiative.”

Agape love is described most clearly in 1 Corinthians 13.

1Co 13:4  Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant

1Co 13:5  or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful;

1Co 13:6  it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth.

1Co 13:7  Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

1Co 13:8  Love never ends.

Have you ever evaluated your love for God based on these verses?  We often use these verses to test our love for another person but have we thought about loving God this way?

• Are we patient with God or do we demand that he act now to do something about our situation?
• Do we take credit for things that we do instead of give the glory and honor to God who has enabled us to do it?
• Do we think we can do quite well on our own and really don’t need God’s help and don’t seek his advice?
• Do we demand God do things our way instead of asking Him what He wants us to do?
• Do we get mad at God when things seem to go against us and we feel that God has let us down?
• Do we love truth and have God’s hatred for evil?
• Do we carry our burdens with gratefulness or spitefulness?
• Do we speak in faith, believing in the goodness of God and his faithfulness to fulfill his promises to provide for our needs?
• Do we express hope in every situation or do we doubt that God is really at work?
• Do we stay strong in our love for God during the hard times or do we retreat or give up?

God desires that we love him in the same way that he loves us.  The more we allow Christ to dwell in us and live his life through us the more capacity we will have to truly love God in the way he wants us to love him.  Our love for God should always be growing and always be a source of joy and delight to God.

God is unified in his character.  He is not more one thing than he is another.  He is just as much a God of love as he is a God of wrath.  We have to view God is his entirety and not just focus on the character traits that appeal to us the most because that will give us a distorted view of God.  One of the traits about God that he loves is his justice.

God loves justice.

Isa_61:8  For I the LORD love justice; I hate robbery and wrong; I will faithfully give them their recompense, and I will make an everlasting covenant with them.

God’s justice is based on his righteousness and his moral law.  He is the standard of what is right and we have his Word which explains his righteousness and the moral laws he has given to us that reflect his character.  As you study the books of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy you become acquainted with God’s standards that cover many areas of conduct.  God’s justice is revealed through the laws he established for Israel that would set the nation apart from the other nations.  Since we are created in his image and likeness we have within us a desire for justice. If our conscience has not been defiled completely, we cringe when we hear of injustices that are happening.  Justice is served when the guilty are convicted and given the proper punishment for the crime.  When the guilty go free or when the guilty do not receive a just punishment, we have a righteous indignation that rises within us.  The moral code God has placed within us demands that justice be given for the victim and the offender.  Statistics in Guatemala indicate that 98% of crimes go unpunished so there is little incentive for the criminals to not commit the crimes when they know they will get away with it. Because of this people take justice into their own hands.

 God hates all evil and can never be accused of doing anything wrong.

Job 34:10  “Therefore, hear me, you men of understanding: far be it from God that he should do wickedness, and from the Almighty that he should do wrong.

Hab 1:13  You who are of purer eyes than to see evil and cannot look at wrong, why do you idly look at traitors and remain silent when the wicked swallows up the man more righteous than he?

All sin no matter how small it may seem is an abomination to God because it is completely opposite of his character.  He does not close his eyes toward evil and injustice. He will take revenge one day and he will repay those who have committed acts of injustice and not repented.  

He loves honesty.

Pro_11:1  A false balance is an abomination to the LORD, but a just weight is his delight.

Abomination 8441  something that is vile, shameful, detested.

God established a standard weight, “the shekel of the tabernacle” that was used to measure the weight of the items  that the people were required to give.  The people knew exactly what was expected of them and when they fulfilled it they brought joy to God’s heart.  When they cheated and did not give what was expected of them they were considered robbers, robbing God of what was rightfully his.  The book of Malachi exposed the greed of the people who gave God less than the best he demanded.

They brought animals that were blind, lame and sick to be offered as sacrifices.  Mal 1:7,8

They brought was taken by violence not of their own free will. Mal 1.13

They made vows to bring the best offering but instead brought offerings that were blemished. Mal 1.14

They robbed him of the tithes not giving the full tithe which was used to support the Levites and the sacrifices offered to God.  Mal. 3.8

In doing these things they made a mockery of God and did not honor Him for who he is and their offerings were rejected and cursed.

God delights when people are honest, don’t cheat in business transactions, and give what God demands and deserves. 

In his justice he will render judgments on those who have violated his laws.

Mal 3:5  “Then I will draw near to you for judgment. I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, against the adulterers, against those who swear falsely, against those who oppress the hired worker in his wages, the widow and the fatherless, against those who thrust aside the sojourner, and do not fear me, says the LORD of hosts.

Mal 3:6  “For I the LORD do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed.

Pro_12:22  Lying lips are an abomination to the LORD, but those who act faithfully are his delight.

We bring delight to God when we speak the truth and live out the truth in our lives.

In the story “Les Miserables” Jean Valijean was sentenced to prison for stealing bread.  He escaped and established a new identity after he was given a second chance by a priest who had mercy on him and did not have him arrested for stealing from him.  Jean was later confronted with a situation in which he was told that a man named Jean Valijean had been captured and was going to be tried as a criminal who escaped prison.  He knew that this man was not the man they thought he was.  He was faced with the decision of letting this man take his punishment or revealing his true identity so the man would not be unjustly accused and sent to prison.  He went to the place of the trial and when it appeared that the court would convict the man, he came forward and revealed that he was the man they were looking for. 

Video clip http://youtu.be/A25-dJt7O-0

Psa_51:6  Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being, and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart.

This Psalm was David’s confession of his guilt and cover up for his sins after he was confronted by Nathan the prophet.  Life for David was not easy after he tried to hide his sin, he was miserable until he came to admit his sin.  He realized that God delighted in truth and that the lie he was living needed to be confessed and forgiven.  God wants us to come clean from any secret sin.  When we admit the truth, he takes delight because we will be set free through our confession and his forgiveness.  We need to be brutally honest and truthful with God and not hide anything from Him.  Our secret sins will destroy our lives.

God takes pleasure in those who fear him.

Psa 147:11  but the LORD takes pleasure in those who fear him, in those who hope in his steadfast love.

To fear the Lord is to reverence him for who he is.  It is to be in awe of Him not to be afraid of him.

 Proverbs 1:7 declares, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge.” Until we understand who God is and develop a reverential fear of Him, we cannot have true wisdom. True wisdom comes only from understanding who God is and that He is holy, just, and righteous.

When we have the fear of God we also have a hatred for evil.

Pro_8:13  The fear of the LORD is hatred of evil. Pride and arrogance and the way of evil and perverted speech I hate.

Pro_16:6  By steadfast love and faithfulness iniquity is atoned for, and by the fear of the LORD one turns away from evil.

A biblical fear of God, for the believer, includes understanding how much God hates sin and fearing His judgment on sin—even in the life of a believer. Hebrews 12:5-11 describes God’s discipline of the believer. While it is done in love (Hebrews 12:6), it is still a fearful thing. As children, the fear of discipline from our parents no doubt prevented some evil actions. The same should be true in our relationship with God. We should fear His discipline, and therefore seek to live our lives in such a way that pleases Him.

Deu_28:63  And as the LORD took delight in doing you good and multiplying you, so the LORD will take delight in bringing ruin upon you and destroying you

This verse may be hard for many to accept but we must always remember that God is unified.  If he was not just, he could not punish sin or evil.  If he were not loving, he would not love justice and thereby hate evil.  God would only delight in bringing ruin if he loved justice.  His justice is both punitive judgment and restorative justice.  He punishes with the hope that it will bring restoration to a broken relationship.

 

God takes delight in prospering us

Deu_30:9  The LORD your God will make you abundantly prosperous in all the work of your hand, in the fruit of your womb and in the fruit of your cattle and in the fruit of your ground. For the LORD will again take delight in prospering you, as he took delight in your fathers,

God will prosper the work that we do.  It is not that God will just dump blessing on you but rather that he blesses the work of our hands.  When we take responsibility and do our best, God prospers our lives.  He wants the earth to be filled with the knowledge of his glory so he blesses the womb and the possessions that we have to be able to provide for us so we can mulitiply.  We are the people who have the knowledge of his glory and in blessing us and sending us out into the world we spread his glory to the nations.

God desires to bless us in order that we will be a blessing to the nations.  God takes delight in prospering us because it enable us to fulfill his purposes as we use the blessings God has given us to advance his Kingdom on earth.

Psa_16:3  As for the saints in the land, they are the excellent ones, in whom is all my delight.

We bring joy and delight to the Lord.  We are the apple of his eye, the focus of his attention and the desire of his heart.  He loves us and longs for us.  He wants to be united to us and to shower his love upon us.  He has adopted us into his family and called us his sons and daughters.

1Jn 3:1  See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him.

God absolutely loves his children, we are his delight and he delights in our well being, in prospering us.

I pray tonight that each one of us will live in a way that will delight God.  We so often live for ourselves and think about what we want or need God to do for us.  But if we live our lives in a way that delights God he will take care of all of our needs because of his great love for each one of us.  When we love the things God loves we bring delight to him because we are living with the values that reflect his true character. 

 

Entrustment and Expectation

All of us have been made aware of the tragic shipwreck of the Costa Concordia.

The Italian cruise ship Costa Concordia[p 1] partially sank on the night of 13 January 2012 after hitting a reef off the Italian coast and running aground at Isola del Giglio,[p 2] Tuscany, requiring the evacuation of the 4,252 people on board. Twenty-five people are known to be dead;[3] 64 others were injured[5] (at least two seriously)[6] and 7 are missing.[3] Two passengers and a crewmember trapped inside were rescued in the days after the incident.[5][7]

Captain Francesco Schettino[p 3] had deviated from the ship’s computer-programmed route to treat people on Giglio Island to the spectacle of a close sail-past or near-shore salute.

Ship’s officers at first told passengers that the problem was a reparable “electrical fault” and told inquiring maritime officials that the event was merely a “black out”. The captain delayed preparations to abandon ship, and the ship developed a list, both which factors hindered eventual evacuation attempts. Soon after grounding, the ship listed more extremely, trapping people inside. Meanwhile, the captain left the ship during the evacuation and did not reboard despite orders by maritime officials. After the event, Schettino was arrested on preliminary charges of multiple manslaughter in connection with causing a shipwreck, failing to assist 300 passengers, and failing to be the last to leave the wreck.[8] He was later additionally charged with failing to describe to maritime authorities the scope of the disaster[9], a matter for which 7 other officers and managers of Costa Cruises are under investigation, and with abandoning incapacitated passengers[10]. Source: Wikipedia

Captain Schettino was entrusted with the lives of 4, 252 people and the expectation of every one of them was that he would use his abilities to navigate the ship safely to every port on the journey.  Sadly and tragically he failed and lives have been lost.

Entrustment and expectation are part of our lives as believers and tonight I want to look at a couple of teachings of Jesus regarding these two things.

Jesus taught 2 parables that emphasized entrustment and expectation.  The first one is found in Matthew 25:13-30

Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour. “For it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted to them his property. To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them, and he made five talents more. So also he who had the two talents made two talents more. But he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master’s money. Now after a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them. And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying,’Master, you delivered to me five talents; here I have made five talents more.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ And he also who had the two talents came forward, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me two talents; here I have made two talents more.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed, so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.’

But his master answered him, ‘You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I scattered no seed? Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest. For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance.  But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

 

Three slaves were entrusted with the property of the master.  Each was given as much as they could handle or they had the ability to handle.  The amount of money given was huge.  A talent was the equivalent of 6000 denarii. A denarii was a day’s wage.  Do the math: 6000/365=16.4 years of wages. If the median income in the USA is about $50,000 this would mean that the slave who was given the least amount of money was given the equivalent of $821,917; 2 talents=$1,643,834 and 5 talents =  $4,109,585. No small sums of money by any measure.  Each of the slaves was entrusted with a lot of money based on their ability as determined by the master.

The master had no expectations laid out to the slaves other than he trusted them to do whatever they wanted with the money and use it wisely.  The money was given to them to develop their abilities more than anything else.  The Master could have placed financial goals for each of them but he let them determine what they would do.

The response of the three slaves is interesting.  The one who had 5 talents “went off at once” and doubled his money by trading.  He was highly motivated and wasted no time using the money to make more money.  He found opportunities to put his talent to use and profited.  He recognized the opportunity that was before him and took advantage of it.  He took the risk of trading his talents in order to gain more.  He was prepared for the challenge and when the opportunity was presented he went for it and was rewarded. 

The second slave with 2 talents doubled his amount as well over the course of time.  I believe the first 2 slaves had a desire to please the master by using the talents to gain more while the third slave did not want to disappoint the master by losing the money given to him.  The slave who was given the least went off and dug a hole, to hide the money because he feared losing it and if he did would experience the wrath of the master.  This slave was unwilling to take a risk or make a change.  He wanted everything to be just as it was and the best way to accomplish this was to bury the money in a secure place.

If you are a sports fan you know that a team can play with the attitude of playing to win or with the attitude of playing to not lose.  One is willing to take risks and pour themselves into the game to score more points while the other is simply trying to maintain what they have and keep the other team from scoring.

Like these 3 slaves we have been entrusted with many things in life that are given to us from the Lord.  Virtually everything we have is given to us by the grace of God.  God thinks highly of us enough to entrust us with the work of his Kingdom using the talents he has given us.  We are free to do whatever we want with the things God has entrusted to us but there is an expectation that we will use them wisely and profitably.  God gives us freedom in how we will use our gifts but the expectation is that we will use them profitably for the work of his Kingdom and the glory of God.  In using these talents we are developing our ability to be entrusted with even greater responsibility and privileges in the Kingdom. 

Some of you know what your abilities are and others are still learning what they have been given by the Lord.  These abilities open doors of opportunity for us to be used of God.  The master knew the capabilities and the abilities of each of the slaves and gave them responsibility accordingly.  God knows what we are capable of doing and often he challenges us by presenting opportunities that we may not feel that we are fully prepared to meet.  We must always remember that we are partnering with God and with God all things are possible.  We can dream big things when we know who is working with us.  When the Holy Spirit fell upon the believers it was the fulfillment of Joel’s prophecy that dreams and visions would be given to us.  Dream with God and allow him to prepare you for the work he has for you.  When preparation meets opportunity there is the possibility of ministry.  Ministry happens only when we act upon the opportunity.  But as we move forward to use the talents we have, God helps us grow in these abilities to be able to be successful in our work and mission. 

The perception of the master was different from each other.  The first 2 had a different image of the master while the third had a distorted image that influenced how he would respond.  Perhaps the first 2 knew that the master would reward them because he was a trusting and generous man.  The third slave saw his master as a thief, one who takes away from others.

Our perception of God has a tremendous influence on what we are willing to do and the motivation we have for doing it.  If we serve God based on an accurate understanding of his character and nature and truly out of love for him, we will desire to be a blessing to his kingdom we will look for opportunities and take risks to serve his purposes.  If we have a warped view of God being a thief or unjust we will most likely stay hidden from him, fearing he will punish us if we step out of line.  We will play it safe or not play at all.

When we realize what we have been given and the truth about the nature of God, our next decision is what we will do with the knowledge, gifts and abilities God has entrusted to us.  The first two slaves responded with ambition and desire to please the master. The third slave was called “slothful” by his master.   The word “slothful” means “shrinking, irksome”, he was drawing back, retreating and avoiding what he should have done.  Irksome means annoying , irritating.  He took the easy way out, was unwilling to take a risk, unwilling to take a step of faith to use what he had been given.  He could have done great things with the money and made his master proud but because he was lazy he did nothing.  What a tragedy to live your life in fear, misperception and in laziness.  I read an article entitled “5 Core Values of a Church in Decline” in which the author listed the number one value is laziness. The author stated, “Most people of churches are not “stuck” in decline because they do not know or understand what the Lord wants them to do.  God speaks very clearly in his Word and through his Spirit-it’s just that God’s work always requires people to take a step of faith.”

Everyone here has taken a step of faith to be here.  There were a lot of unknowns but you came to be used of God, offering your gifts and abilities and developing new abilities.  You have taken a step of faith and have seen God provide for you as you have taken advantage of opportunities that are presented to you.  What you have learned can serve as an inspiration to many in the church who are fearful, have a warped view of God, and perhaps are lazy.  We have to be the ones who serve as the catalyst to spur others to do good works.  Some need to be encouraged regarding the abilities they have.  Some need training to be able to use their gifts.  Some need to see the opportunities that are available to them. And some may need someone to help push them into the ministry.  Sometimes the best thing that can happen to us is the removal of our security with the absence of someone who we have depended on to do the task. 

A couple of years ago I arranged to go to India with an evangelist.  He had planned to be in Chennia for 3 days doing ministry and then we would move on to the site where the 5 night gospel and healing crusade would be held.  I thought I would just be helping him in whatever way I could and I planned to visit the YWAM base in Chennai.  On the day of my departure from Guatemala I was waiting at the coffee house for my shuttle when I received a phone call from the evangelist.  He remembered that I was leaving that day and called to tell me he had broken his hip playing racquetball and needed an operation and would not be able to go to India.  He asked if I could change my ticket to go at another time and I said I would look into it.  He then said if he could find someone to go with me he would not cancel the crusades he had set up.  He was able to get someone to go with me who had gone with him several times so the crusades were back on.  He had arranged the meetings in Chennai and told me that he would cancel them which was fine with me as it would give me more time to be at the YWAM base and see their ministry.  When I arrived in Chennai I received a phone call from the pastor who served as the director of the ministry and made all the arrangements for the evangelist.  He informed me that the 3 special meeting the evangelist was going to do at a church of 40,000 people were not going to be cancelled and that I would be doing them!  One of the meetings was a seminar on evangelism, another meeting was preaching at the church service on Sunday and the final was a healing service on Monday night.  I was okay with the first 2 meetings but the healing service was something I had never done before.  I watched the evangelist and the other minister do it but had never done it myself.  It was new turf for me and God was entrusting a ministry to me that I did not feel very capable or qualified to do.  I felt a little pushed into the opportunity but it all worked out and God came through and healed many people as I stepped out in faith to do what was presented to me.  It was an amazing experience and I am grateful for the preparation I had and the opportunity that was presented to me.

The other aspect of this parable that should be an encouragement to each of us was the rewards they received.  The master commended the first two servants.  ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’

The slave with the most money was rewarded and commended by the master when he returned after a long time. He was given more responsibility because he had done well and proved his trustworthiness.  The second slave was also commended and rewarded with greater responsibility.  It is interesting that the master viewed the amount of money he entrusted to them as “a little”.  I don’t know about you but both amounts of money are more than I have ever been responsible for.  Yet in the master’s perception it was only a small amount of money compared to the wealth he must have had.  Because he had such great wealth he was able to give them more to be responsible for managing.

The third slave was chastised and called wicked and slothful because he did not act according to his understanding even though it was misguided.  His perception of his master was not accurate but even if it was he should have at least but it in the bank to earn interest and keep the principal safe.  His money was taken away and given to the one with 10 talents and he was banished to the outer darkness.

The master was pleased with the work of the servants and commended them for it.  I want these words to be said of the work I do for the Lord to please him.  The servants were given greater responsibilities by the master because they had proven themselves to be faithful and trustworthy.  As we fulfill the ministries God has given us, God will give us greater responsibilities.  He is a rewarder of those who are faithful, trustworthy and use their talents and abilities. 

The second parable Jesus taught about entrustment and expectation is found in Luke 12:42-48

And the Lord said, “Who then is the faithful and wise manager, whom his master will set over his household, to give them their portion of food at the proper time? Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes. Truly, I say to you, he will set him over all his possessions. But if that servant says to himself, ‘My master is delayed in coming,’ and begins to beat the male and female servants, and to eat and drink and get drunk, the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know, and will cut him in pieces and put him with the unfaithful. And that servant who knew his master’s will but did not get ready or act according to his will, will receive a severe beating. But the one who did not know, and did what deserved a beating, will receive a light beating. Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more.

The master left and entrusted the servant with these responsibilities of running his household and providing food for the workers at the right time. The expectation of the master was that the servant would be faithful to do what was expected of him.  When he returned and found the servant faithful and trustworthy to carry out the responsibilities he would reward him by giving him greater responsibilities.

When the master did not return quickly the servant decided to take advantage of his power and position and use it to beat the servants rather than care for them.  He lost his focus in his ministry and spent his time partying.  The servant misused his authority for his own pleasure which was quite perverted.  This continues to happen today in ministries in which people in positions of authority think they deserve special treatment or think they can violate God’s standards and expectations.  Recently a pastor in Florida was found dead in a hotel in NYC from a drug overdose.  He had a church of 4000 people and had been divorced by his wife while he was in the ministry because of a relationship he had ongoing with a stripper.  It was a tragic end to a life that had been used by God to help many people.

There are all kinds of temptations for those who are in ministry.  It seems as though the enemy targets people in ministry to pull them down and bring discredit to the ministry.  He uses the lie that you are special, you can get away with things because God understands your needs and pressures and that you can use your status and power to control and manipulate people for your own satisfaction.  Many are tempted with money thinking that they have to present an image of success which is equated to possession in order to prove they are blessed by God for what they are doing.  Money is used for personal gain and all too often there is a display of extravagance by people in leadership positions.

The servant lost sight of his focus and purpose and focused on his own selfish desires.  This is another ploy of the enemy to put ourselves above others and seek to meet our needs at the expense of others.  We have to be focused on ministering unto the Lord first and then ministering to the needs of people in a way that honors the Lord and honors the people we are serving.

The servant in this parable was only accountable to his master and since he was not around, he took advantage of it to do things he would not have done in the presence of the master.  Who were are when authorities are absent or when we are in private or what we do when no one else is watching is the real test of our character.  We have to guard ourselves from ourselves by using self-control and establishing high standards along with accountability.  We cannot make any provision for the flesh to rise up and be satisfied.  We cannot put ourselves into situations that lend themselves to compromise and sin.  Many in ministry have fallen into sin because they did not keep their guard and were sucked into temptation and evil.

The master returned unexpectantly and found out what the servant was doing.  For us as believers God is always present, he sees all and knows the thoughts and motivations of our hearts.  We are not getting away with anything, we will reap what we sow.  We are called to live lives of holiness and purity before the Lord.  In all that we do our primary goal is to bring glory to God by representing him for who he is. 

Jesus ended the parable by saying, “Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more.”

The more the Lord entrusts to us the more he expects from us.  He is worthy of our best efforts, our best use of our gifts and talents for his Kingdom.  God gave us his best, how can we do any less?

We will all give an account for our lives on judgment day when our works will be judged for their quality.  God has entrusted us with the work of the ministry and his expectation is that we will give our best efforts to use our gifts for his glory.  Someone once said, “Your abilities are God’s gifts to you.  How you use them is your gift to God.”

 

 

 

Perseverance

Have you ever started a project or a class or some other endeavor and then failed to complete it?  Or have you worked hard to accomplish something and then saw it all disappear perhaps through no fault of your own and then have to start all over to do it again?  To complete any task we must have perseverance.  I think of William Carey, a missionary to India, who wrote by hand a dictionary of the Sanskrit language which took years to accomplish only to see it go up in flames when a fire ravaged the building where the dictionary was kept.  He had no back up copy, there was only one and he had to start over again to rewrite the dictionary.  It was a major setback for him but he possessed a character trait of perseverance which enabled him to succeed.

We live in an era of wanting everything quickly and this gets transferred into our lives when it comes to making decisions about what we should do.  Often we are presented with choices in which one can happen quickly and the other will take much more effort in order to accomplish.  Fast and easy are often the choices that we make and in doing so we cheat ourselves out of gaining something more valuable and important.

A pastor I know has a son who just began training to be a doctor in Guatemala.  It will take 6 years for him to complete his studies and it is a rigorous course he will undertake.  Without the ability to persevere it will be easy to quit and find another occupation that is perhaps less demanding and most likely less rewarding.

The dictionary defines perseverance as : continued effort to do or achieve something despite difficulties, failure, or opposition.

We all enjoy having some things come easy but most of life involves great effort against great opposition, difficulties and failures to be able to achieve something of value.  People who take the easy route seldom accomplish anything of value.  Those who are willing to take risks and persevere through all the adversity are able to achieve things beyond what they thought was possible.

I have been reading the book of Exodus and thinking about the challenge it was for the Israelites and especially for Moses to leave Egypt and face all the trials that were before them.  They were walking into unknown territory.  I don’t think any of them had been through the wilderness.  They had been slaves for many years and the only thing they knew was how to work hard to please the ruler.  When Moses came to lead them to freedom, they had to develop trust in him and perseverance through all of the changes in decisions of Pharaoh who stated he would let them go but then changed his mind to keep them captive.  God was at work accomplishing his purposes to be able to send the Israelites out of Egypt with the financial support of the Egyptians who readily gave them gold, silver and clothing to send them on their way.  After all the plagues that they endured they were more than ready to be done with them.  God was at work to bring glory to his name among all the nations not just Egypt.  His name and his fame would spread through the nations causing them to tremble before his people.  Moses and the Israelites had to persevere through this time of testing and not give up on God’s promise to bring them out of captivity.

When they finally were released there was great joy among the people but it was short lived as they faced the barrier of the Red Sea.  Because of their lack of understanding and lack of faith in God and Moses, they misinterpreted the circumstances when they saw Pharoah’s 600 chariots coming after them.  To gain their freedom, they had to persevere with God’s plan and not turn back.  Some thought Moses had brought them out only to set them up for failure.  God never sets us up for failure but for success.  He knows the end from the beginning and he asks us to trust him and persevere in the circumstances we are facing so we can reach the goal.  God’s plan was to destroy the Egyptian army.  The Israelites did not know this, all they knew was that the enemy was right behind them and they were seemingly trapped.  God intervened and kept the Egyptians from advancing by placing a cloud between the two camps, while sending a strong easterly wind to part the waters of the Red Sea and make a dry path for the million plus Israelites to cross.

When we persevere in adversity and opposition as we follow God’s call he will go before us and make a way for us.  If we quit and give up we surrender our dreams, goals, desires and return to our captive state.  When the Israelites crossed the Red Sea and saw the Egyptian army destroyed they rejoiced with song and dance.  They were ecstatic and well they should have been to finally be out from under the harsh labor of Pharoah.  I think God allowed Pharoah to make life harder for them so they would have greater joy when they were set free.

One would think it would be smooth sailing from this point for the Israelites but they were in for several more challenges that would test their faith and perseverance.  It did not take too long before the water supply they had brought with them was consumed.  After 3 days of journeying they were dry and the only water that was available was not potable but bitter.  Ex. 15:22-25

²² Then Moses ordered Israel to set out from the Red Sea, and they went into the wilderness of Shur. They went three days in the wilderness and found no water. ²³ When they came to Marah, they could not drink the water of Marah because it was bitter. That is why it was called Marah. ²⁴ And the people complained against Moses, saying, “What shall we drink?” ²⁵ He cried out to the Lord; and the Lord showed him a piece of wood; he threw it into the water, and the water became sweet.

 

This was yet another test that God had set before them to see if they would trust him for a miracle and persevere in their faith or if they would murmur and complain.  They responded negatively which seemed to be their natural bent.  They were not convinced of God’s promise to bring them to the Promised Land.  When we are not convinced we easily complain.  God intervened by miraculously purifying the water and meeting the needs of the people.  Their next destination was an oasis in Elim that had plenty of fresh water for them.

The next test was lack of food.

Exo 16:1  They set out from Elim, and all the congregation of the people of Israel came to the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had departed from the land of Egypt.

Exo 16:2  And the whole congregation of the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness,

Exo 16:3  and the people of Israel said to them, “Would that we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the meat pots and ate bread to the full, for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.”

The Israelites had been out of Egypt for a month and all their food was gone. They were challenged again in their faith in God’s ability to provide for them along with their perseverance in adversity.  In this situation they looked back at what they had in Egypt and longed for the meat and bread that filled them forgetting about the hard life of slavery.

The flesh is always at war with the spirit.  It always wants to drag us down and send us in the wrong direction to keep us from accomplishing God’s best and the true longing of our spirit.  It always exaggerates the problem, looks for a quick fix and distorts our perspective.  It relies on rationalization of solutions that are contrary to what God wants us to do in the circumstances.  The physical hunger they experienced had one solution and that was to retreat to Egypt and forget about the promises God had given them.  Retreat for the purpose of quitting is never the right option.  It is always the wrong choice.  If we retreat to regroup and renew our strength to move forward that is another thing, a good thing.  The Israelites lost sight of the future and no longer wanted to persevere.  The flesh always seeks for instant gratification while the spirit is willing to endure because it sees the future with eyes of faith in the promises of God.  The flesh brings no profit or benefit. It is destructive and leads to death of a vision, dream and goal.

God again demonstrated his care for the Israelites by providing manna every day.  Again they had to trust him to provide and obey what he told them to do regarding gathering it each day and a double portion on the Sabbath.  In all these tests God was trying to establish in their minds his faithfulness and concern for their needs.  He was also training them in obedience to his word.  They would need to trust and obey him when they faced the opposition in the Promised Land.  The wilderness experience was a time of learning, trusting, persevering in preparation for the future.

God had already miraculously delivered them from the Egyptians but the Israelites would need to learn how to fight against their enemies and that was the next test they faced. To prepare them for this they had to face the Amalakites.  Amalek was a descendent of Esau.  They opposed the Israelites and would not give them safe passage to the Promised Land.  Moses commanded Joshua to gather men to fight against them.  This would be hand to hand combat that would require faith, obedience and perseverance.  God gave them victory. Ex. 17:8-13

⁸ Then Amalek came and fought with Israel at Rephidim. ⁹ Moses said to Joshua, “Choose some men for us and go out, fight with Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the staff of God in my hand.” ¹⁰ So Joshua did as Moses told him, and fought with Amalek, while Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. ¹¹ Whenever Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed; and whenever he lowered his hand, Amalek prevailed. ¹² But Moses’ hands grew weary; so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held up his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side; so his hands were steady until the sun set. ¹³ And Joshua defeated Amalek and his people with the sword.

God gave the victory but he required the Israelites to fight the battle until the enemy was defeated.  God’s goal was to completely remove the Amalekites because of their opposition to him.  We will like the Israelites face opposition to God’s call on our lives.  It is at this time that we will have to learn to depend on the Lord to fight for us and with us and we will need perseverance to continue until the enemy is defeated.  When Israel entered the Promised Land they were to completely destroy the enemy because God knew that if they remained in the land they would be a persistent problem and draw the hearts of the people away from him.

One of the enemies of perseverance is contentment.  Once Israel entered the Promised Land and began their conquest to possess the land they reached a point where they stopped fighting for what was promised to them and they became content with what they had.  They stopped short of achieving everything God had promised to give them.  Joshua reprimanded them for their lack of perseverance in obtaining all they could have.  Joshua 18:2-3

² There remained among the Israelites seven tribes whose inheritance had not yet been apportioned. ³ So Joshua said to the Israelites, “How long will you be slack about going in and taking possession of the land that the Lord, the God of your ancestors, has given you?

This is a challenge we all face.  It is easy to become content where you are at and just hunker down and just continue with the status quo.  We have to guard our hearts against this form of laziness that can easily creep into our lives and bring us to a stalemate in our pursuit of what God wants to give us.  There must always be a drive within us to press on to achieve what God has for us.  It requires perseverance on our part to motivate us to keep active in our pursuit of God’s plan for our lives.  Paul had this drive that propelled him to keep moving forward with God.  Philippians 3:13,14

¹³ Beloved, I do not consider that I have made it my own; but this one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, ¹⁴ I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus.

Paul had a passion to know Christ in all his power and to experience the fellowship of his sufferings.  He did not rest on any past accomplishments but continued to strain forward as a runner reaching for the finish line to win the race.

This should be our desire as well, to passionately pursue Christ and persevere in our efforts to carry out his work while we are on this earth.  There must be a desire on our part for spiritual growth but also a desire to continue to seek for ways that we can carry out God’s desire to reach the nations through evangelism and discipleship.

John Shippam related a story to me of a church that was composed of many elderly people who had lost their passion for reaching people with the gospel.  They were more concerned with their comfort that they were about reaching souls and discipling young people.  They made a decision to release the youth pastor so they could use the money to build a ramp that would benefit the elderly.  God help us to never reach that point in our lives where we are more concerned about our personal comfort and contentment than we are about reaching people with the gospel.

Another enemy of perseverance is delays and discouragement.

It happened in Southwest Asia in the 14th Century. The army of Asian conqueror Emperor Tamerlane (a descendant of Ghengis Khan) had been routed, dispersed by a powerful enemy. Tamerlane himself lay hidden in a deserted manger while enemy troops scoured the countryside.

As he lay there, desperate and dejected, Tamerlane watches an ant try to carry a grain of corn over a perpendicular wall. The kernel was larger than the ant itself. As the emperor counted, sixty-nine times the ant tried to carry it up the wall. Sixty-nine times he fell back. On the seventieth try he pushed the grain of corn over the top.

Tamerlane leaped to his feet with a shout! He, too, would triumph in the end! And he did, reorganizing his forces and putting the enemy to flight. (source:Bible study tools.com)

I think of the many missionaries who have labored for years in countries that are very resistant to the gospel message.  William Carey labored for 7 years before he saw his first convert in India.  Adoniram Judson labored for 8 years before seeing any results.  Delays and discouragement can cause us to quit or they can propel us to stay faithful, become creative and trust God for the results.  The nations of India and Burma (Myanmar) are indebted to two men who would not give up but persisted in their calling.  Many missionaries today are laboring in countries that are very difficult to reach and their persistence and perseverance to stay faithful to their calling will produce results that they may or may not see in their lifetime.  God is in control and he only asks that we be obedient to what he asks us to do.  At times we get to see the fruit of our labor while other times we may see it only through the eyes of faith.  We have to be persistent like the ant was and keep doing what we know we need to do.

Paul encouraged the church at Ephesus to persevere in prayer.

¹⁸ Pray in the Spirit at all times in every prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert and always persevere in supplication for all the saints. Eph. 6:18

Prayer is one of our greatest weapons yet for many people is seldom used with perseverance.   We are challenged in Scriptures to “keep asking, keep knocking, keep seeking”.  Paul is saying to all of us that we need to keep each other in our prayers, to keep praying for the needs of our brothers and sisters in Christ.  Paul always asked for prayers to be offered for him and he offered prayers constantly for the churches he established and ministered to.  Our prayer lives must have this dynamic of perseverance because our prayers accomplish God’s work.  It is encouraging to hear people say to me that they are praying for me daily or almost every day.  They are persevering in prayer on my behalf and I am grateful for it.

Tonight I want to encourage each of you to be persevering in our walk with the Lord.  The easiest thing to do is to quit, give up, settle for second best, rest in our contentment, allow discouragement and delays to cause us to stop doing what we know we should do.  Victory and success is the fruit of those who are willing to persist in spite of opposition and adversity.  We are all facing challenges and we need to pray for each other.  I want to take some time tonight to do that, to pray for each other that God will help us persevere in the battle until we see get the victory.

Whatever you are facing tonight, God wants you to know that He is fighting the battle for you and with you.  He will accomplish his purposes in your life as you stay strong in your pursuit of him and preserver in the battle.

 

 

Encouragement

Encouragement a : to inspire with courage, spirit, or hope : hearten <she was encouraged to continue by her early success>b : to attempt to persuade : urge <they encouraged him to go back to school> 2: to spur on : stimulate <warm weather encourages plant growth> 3: to give help or patronage to : foster <government grants designed to encourage conservation>

One thing that each person needs to be successful in life is the encouragement of others.  All of us have experienced times when we were uncertain of the direction we should take, uncertain about our ability to do what was asked of us or we are confronted with circumstances or issues that look like setbacks and take the wind out of our sails.  At these times we need someone to speak into our lives and provide the encouragement we need to keep moving forward. I have been reading a book called, “Unbroken”.  It is the true life story of Louis Zamperini, whose airplane was shot down during WWII.  It is an incredible story of overcoming horrendous situations he encountered while adrift at sea for 47 days only to be rescued by the Japanese military and placed in a P.O.W. camp where he and the other prisoners were treated inhumanly.  One of the keys to their survival and maintaining sanity was the encouragement they received from one another to endure the hardships with the hope of one day being set free.  The human will is an incredible gift from God.  Louis and his 2 companions had to overcome incredible challenges as they floated in their small raft.  They had almost nothing on the raft to sustain them as they baked in the heat of the sun and dehydrated because there was no potable water.  In addition they were constantly surrounded by sharks that were waiting for the opportune time to attack and devour them.  Yet in spite of these trying conditions they managed to stay alive by encouraging each other that they could survive and would survive this ordeal. One remarkable incident in the book occurred when they were adrift for many days and heard the sound of airplanes coming near.  They fired off the flares to help the pilot locate them.  The plane passed over them and returned only to open gunfire on them.  Two of the men were too weak to jump out of the raft for safety but Louis dove in the water filled with sharks.  The plane passed by 3 times shooting at them and each time Louis dove in the water and was not hit by the bullets.  His 2 companions miraculously were not hit either but their raft was and it immediately began to sink.  To keep afloat they had to use a hand pump and patch as many holes as they could.   The men had very little physical strength but the will to survive and the encouragement they gave each other helped them stay alive.  They patched holes until it was dark and took turns throughout the night pumping air into the raft just to stay afloat.  The next morning they continued to patch the holes until the raft maintained the air.  They later counted that the raft had been hit 47 times! The human will is an incredible gift from God.  When our will is unshakeable and receives encouragement we are able to endure and overcome seemingly impossible circumstances. Those who lack encouragement lose their will to overcome and quickly lose hope and experience depression and often die prematurely.  Encouragement is critical to our wellbeing and survival as we face challenges in our walk with the Lord. God is our number one encourager.  He is for us and not against us.  He is faithful to provide the encouragement we need either through a personal word, angelic visitation or through the words of his people. We have many examples in the Scriptures of God encouraging his people and individuals who were faced with difficult challenges. In the life of Abraham, God encouraged him by appearing to him and speaking to him about the fulfillment of the promise of a son through Sarah.  Abraham was 75 years old when the promise was given and waited another 25 years for its fulfillment.  After years of waiting God appeared to Abram to confirm his promise.  Abram laughed initially because of the impossibility of him and Sarai to have a son at their age.  God confirmed his promise and gave them both new names to encourage them and remind them of what he was going to do.  Abram’s name was changed to Abraham which meant “a father of a multitude of nations”.  Sarai’s name was changed to Sarah which meant, “the absolute princess, the princess over all”. Genesis 17 David faced a horrendous situation when he and his army returned to the town of Ziklag only to find it had been burned and all their wives and children taken as captives.  They already were tired from the battles and now they had the emotional pain of seeing everything destroyed and taken from them.  It was a depressing time for everyone and on top of it all David was blamed for it.  His faithful men turned on him and were ready to kill him.  It was a major crisis for David and how he responded is an example for all us. 1Sa 30:6  And David was greatly distressed, for the people spoke of stoning him, because all the people were bitter in soul, each for his sons and daughters. But David strengthened (encouraged) himself in the LORD his God. We do not know how David encouraged himself in the Lord but perhaps he reflected on God’s call on his life and his faithfulness to deliver him from Saul in the past.  He drew encouragement and strength from the faithfulness of God and the nearness of God in his life.  In times of crisis the depth of our relationship with God will be our strength.  If we are not walking with God and drawing strength from him we will have great difficulty overcoming difficult and trying times such as David experienced. David turned immediately to the Lord and was strengthened and encouraged.  He sought the counsel of the Lord through the priest. 1Sa 30:7-8  And David said to Abiathar the priest, the son of Ahimelech, “Bring me the ephod.” So Abiathar brought the ephod to David. And David inquired of the LORD, “Shall I pursue after this band? Shall I overtake them?” He answered him, “Pursue, for you shall surely overtake and shall surely rescue.” David followed the Lord’s advice and was able to recover everything that was stolen plus gain a tremendous amount of spoil of the enemy. In the New Testament we read of several incidents in the life of Paul where the Lord encouraged him when it looked hopeless and very dangerous.  When he was in Jerusalem the Jewish council was out to kill him and Paul had to be protected by the Roman army.  The Lord appeared to Paul the night after one of these scary confrontations and spoke to Paul. Act 23:11  The following night the Lord stood by him and said, “Take courage, for as you have testified to the facts about me in Jerusalem, so you must testify also in Rome.” God was going to make sure that his testimony was heard in Rome.  The plots of the Jewish leaders would not succeed because God had a mission for Paul to accomplish and he was assured of it through the words of the Lord. Paul would later on his ship ride to Rome that encountered a horrible storm draw upon these words of assurance that he would arrive in Rome. Act 27:23-25  For this very night there stood before me an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I worship, and he said, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul; you must stand before Caesar. And behold, God has granted you all those who sail with you.’ So take heart, men, for I have faith in God that it will be exactly as I have been told. In times of great duress we can expect God to speak to us and encourage us that his plan and mission for our lives will be completed. As believers we also have the responsibility to encourage each other.  We need God’s encouragement and the encouragement of others. Moses encouraged Joshua as he took over the leadership of over a million Israelites.  These people had a history of complaining and murmuring.  Some wanted to abandon Moses’ leadership.  It was a huge challenge that was before Joshua and I am sure he had some fears and doubts running around in his head.  God spoke to Moses to encourage Joshua in his new role and responsibilities. Deu_1:38  Joshua the son of Nun, who stands before you, he shall enter. Encourage him, for he shall cause Israel to inherit it. Deu_3:28  But charge Joshua, and encourage and strengthen him, for he shall go over at the head of this people, and he shall put them in possession of the land that you shall see.’ In addition to Moses’ encouragement God himself also encouraged Joshua. Jos 1:1-7  After the death of Moses the servant of the LORD, the LORD said to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ assistant, “Moses my servant is dead. Now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, into the land that I am giving to them, to the people of Israel. Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given to you, just as I promised to Moses. From the wilderness and this Lebanon as far as the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites to the Great Sea toward the going down of the sun shall be your territory. No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you or forsake you. Be strong and courageous, for you shall cause this people to inherit the land that I swore to their fathers to give them. Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to do according to all the law that Moses my servant commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success wherever you go. Israel needed a courageous leader and Joshua needed to be encouraged to be that type of leader.  It reminds me of the lines in Braveheart. Robert the Bruce: I’m not a coward. I want what you want, but we need the nobles. William Wallace: We need them? Robert the Bruce: Aye. William Wallace: Nobles. [laughs a little] William Wallace: Now tell me, what does that mean to be noble? Your title gives you claim to the throne of our country, but men don’t follow titles, they follow courage. Now our people know you. Noble, and common, they respect you. And if you would just lead them to freedom, they’d follow you. And so would I Two men stand out as encouragers in the New Testament: Barnabas and Paul. Barnabas’ name meant “son of consolation or encouragement”. He stood with Paul immediately after his conversion to validate his conversion and ministry.  Everyone was skeptical regarding Paul because of his reputation of persecuting Christians. Act 9:26-28  And when he had come to Jerusalem, he attempted to join the disciples. And they were all afraid of him, for they did not believe that he was a disciple. But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles and declared to them how on the road he had seen the Lord, who spoke to him, and how at Damascus he had preached boldly in the name of Jesus. So he went in and out among them at Jerusalem, preaching boldly in the name of the Lord. His affirmation and confirmation was a great encouragement to Paul as well as the disciples.  We need to be like Barnabas to affirm and confirm each other.  We need to recognize the gifts and callings of each other and validate each other.  Paul went on to fulfill a great ministry and I believe the encouragement he received from Barnabas was a major confirmation to him. Barnabas also encouraged John Mark who Paul had refused to take with him and Barnabas on their missionary journey. Act 15:36-40  And after some days Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us return and visit the brothers in every city where we proclaimed the word of the Lord, and see how they are.” Now Barnabas wanted to take with them John called Mark. But Paul thought best not to take with them one who had withdrawn from them in Pamphylia and had not gone with them to the work. And there arose a sharp disagreement, so that they separated from each other. Barnabas took Mark with him and sailed away to Cyprus, but Paul chose Silas and departed, having been commended by the brothers to the grace of the Lord. Paul had lost confidence in John Mark because he had deserted them and he did not want to go through another situation like it.  Barnabas sided with John Mark and took him under his care.  We read later that the relationship between John Mark and Paul was reconciled and Paul welcomed him to join him in ministry. We need to have Barnabas’ in our lives especially when we have experienced failure and need to be encouraged. I think back on my life and after having gone through a divorce and feeling like all future ministry was over, how a couple of pastors gave me opportunity to minister in their churches.  They believed in me and encouraged me to continue to use the gifts and pursue God’s calling in my life. In the NT we have several occasions where Paul wrote about the need to encourage one another.  To the churches in Ephesus and Colossae he wrote: Eph_6:22  I have sent him [Tychicus] to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are, and that he may encourage your hearts. Col_4:8  I have sent him [Tychicus] to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are and that he may encourage your hearts, These churches had formed a bond with Paul and they were concerned about him as he was in prison when he wrote these letters.  He also saw the need for encouraging words to be shared with the churches as they fulfilled their ministry.  Paul was not thinking about himself but was thinking about the needs of the churches and he wanted to encourage them by sending Tychicus the messenger to them.  Our words have great power and a simple letter or email or phone call can make a world of difference in the life of someone who is discouraged or defeated. Paul encouraged the church in Thessalonica that was experiencing some confusion about the second coming of Christ.  After explaining what would happen he wrote: 1Th_4:18  Therefore encourage one another with these words. Paul continued to show them the need of encouragement 1Th_5:11  Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing. 1Th_5:14  And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all. 2Th_3:12  Now such persons we command and encourage in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living. The final aspect of encouragement is stirring or provoke each other to love and performing good works. Heb_10:24  And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, To love someone is to always do what is best for them.  The writer of Hebrews say the value and the need for us to stir up ways to demonstrate love to others. Love is our greatest weapon against evil. I read a book recently called “Tea with Hezbollah”.  It is the story of 2 men who traveled to the Middle East to ask Muslims, Jews and Christians to explain to them the meaning of the story Jesus told of the Good Samaritan.  One of the men they talked to was named Sami.  He was a Palestinian Christian who was born in Israel but raised in the USA.  He had returned to Israel to try to build bridges of peace between the Palestinians and the Jews.  He shared some insights on what it means to love your enemies that I want to close with tonight. Now the teaching, which is from Jesus.  A hundred times a day his words pass through my mind, “Love your enemy.”  This single teaching is a pillar in all we do.  But we must understand how they translate today, yes?  What does Jesus actually mean by saying, “Love your enemy”? First of all, if you’re a believer in the words of Jesus, Jesus doesn’t give us a choice.  He doesn’t say we should think about loving our enemies.  He doesn’t just say “negotiate” or “talk” to our enemies.  He says we must love our enemies.  It’s very clear.  It’s a commandment.  There are no excuses. Second is the act of love itself.  What is the purpose of love?  The power of love is creating something new.  As with the union of marriage, you go from two separate identities, and in this act of marriage and unifying through love, you become a new identity.  So when Jesus talks about loving the enemy, he is talking about working to create something new.  Creating a new identity through unity.  When you have this new identity the concept of “the other” is completely eliminated.  There is no Palestinian and there is no Israeli in this love.  There is no Jew and no Samaritan and no Roman.  There are no enemies anymore, you see? Jesus could have said “Resolve your problems with your enemy”.  But he said, “Love your enemy.” He wanted to create a real unity within the human body.  Their sorrows become your sorrows, their history becomes your history, and their future becomes your future…. Loving our enemies and stirring one another to love in this way is not the way most people think.  Yet we must model this love to a world filled with hate, revenge and retaliation.  It is a radical love that is manifested in our actions toward others.  It was God’s love in sending Christ that has changed the world.  The love that we now experience in Christ is the same love that will change the world. We serve a God who is an encourager.  In times of difficulty he wants us to seek him and receive his encouragement.  Let’s be encouragers of one another to bring out the best in each other and help each other through the difficulties we face in life.  But let’s also be stimulating and provoking and encouraging each other to truly act in love toward all people to build bridges of unity. 

Follow me…

What doe it mean to be a follower of Jesus? Some people prefer to not use the term “Christian” but rather “Christ follower” because of the bad name some have given the term “Christian.” I am reading a book called, “Tea with Hezbollah” and one of the disturbing things mentioned in the book is the behavior of a group of Christian in Lebanon during the war in 1982. They invaded homes of Muslims and raped and killed thousands of people. For many people the name “Christian” has a horrible significance. The same thing could happen to people who call themselves “Christ followers” should a segment of this group commit acts that will label them as evil.

What we call ourselves has meaning but the most important thing is how we live our lives as followers of Christ. As we begin a New Year, I want to challenge each of us to live as true followers of Christ. I want to look at some scriptures that talk about being a follower and what that means to each of us.

Mat 4:18-22 While walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Immediately they left their nets and followed him. And going on from there he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and he called them. Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.

Personal

When Jesus launched his ministry, he personally called people to follow Him. He came to each of them and personally gave them an invitation to follow him. Jesus invited them to a close, personal relationship with him. Jesus cares about each one of us and his invitation is extended to all. He is not a discriminator of persons, everyone is equal before him. He chose common, ordinary men to follow him. He desires our friendship. He is every bit as much personal as we are. For many people this is a difficult concept to understand. “God with us…Immanuel”. Each of us must have a personal encounter with Jesus in which we respond to his call to follow him.

Compelling

We are not sure how much the disciples knew about Jesus at this time but evidently they knew enough that they were willing to leave their profession and family to follow him. The Jews had been waiting for thousands of years for the Promised Messiah and when Christ began his ministry and announced to these men that they should leave all to follow him they left it all behind to follow him. Perhaps they followed him with wrong motivations based on lack of understanding of what the Messiah would do when he came but nonetheless they followed him.

There is something about the call of God on each of our lives that must be as compelling as what the disciples felt. Jesus does not call us to “try him” but to “trust him” and follow him. A.W. Tozar said that we have to make the call a challenge to the people. If it is made to be an easy thing in his experience people left the faith easily. The call is to abandon it all to follow him.

“As is”

Christ comes to us just as we are and invites us to join him in the work he wants to accomplish in us and through us on the earth. He did not wait for the disciples to make themselves better or more worthy. One of the things I encountered in Haiti is that some of the people felt unworthy to come to Christ as they were. They felt that they had to take care of some things before they would be acceptable to him. We can never make ourselves good enough to be acceptable to God in our own righteousness. We all come as equal sinners unable to do anything that can meet God’s standards of holiness and righteousness. We have to come to him in humility just as we are. God is happy to take us “as is”. If you have ever bought a car “as is” you know that there are no guarantees because the car has issues. In buying it you accept the fact that you will need to fix and repair it. Jesus takes us just as we are with full knowledge that we need fixing and he is happy to take us because he know exactly what we need.

Purpose

Jesus had a purpose in calling people to follow him. He promised to make them become “fishers of men.” I am sure that they had no understanding of what this would mean at the time of the calling. The disciples seemed to not understand much of what Jesus said to them until after the Holy Spirit was given to them and he taught them what Jesus’ words meant.

Jesus is in the people business and he wants to teach us how to reach people and bring them to him so he can fix them. He wants to use each one of us to bring people to him. Sadly very few people actively share their faith. One statistic regarding evangelism is that 95% of N. American Christians have never personally shared their faith. Fishermen know that fish do not normally jump in the boat. They have to go to where the fish are and have a strategy to catch them. This is our mission, our life work to bring people to Jesus and allow him to change them to become like him.

Adventure

Jesus called these men to a life of adventure. They did not know what they were getting into but history records what they experienced during their time with Christ and after his ascension into heaven. The disciples saw miracles of healings, multiplication of food, supernatural events like walking on water and changing water into wine, resurrection of dead people and hearing the audible voice of God just to name a few. They also experienced difficult times like being beaten, stoned, imprisoned, shipwrecked, abandoned and financial challenges. Yet through it all God was faithful to bring them through every trial. Following Christ will bring us to places and people we never thought possible. Life with God is never boring and if it seems that way to you then you really don’t know him. To me this is the greatest of all adventures is knowing God. Discovering God’s character and nature is something that we will experience throughout eternity. When we respond to become a follower of Christ we enter into a new life that has its entire focus on being obedient to what Christ asks of us. Christ himself becomes the only one that can bring true satisfaction to life. Knowing him becomes our greatest joy and brings the greatest satisfaction in life.

Priority

When Christ calls us, he must become the priority of our life. He does not want to be something we add to our life; he wants to become our life. Many people who call themselves followers today live compartmentalized lives in which Christ is really only a part of their life. He wants to be our life!

To follow him means we must leave behind anything that will be a hindrance. These disciples left behind their business to be able to dedicate their complete lives to following Christ. It was not that their profession was evil but the call of Christ was to leave it all behind because he had something more important for them to learn and do. He wants us to willingly lay down anything that is a hindrance so we can experience his best and his fullness in this life. For many people is will mean separating themselves from people who will not be in agreement with their decision. It may be breaking off of a relationship that you know is going in the wrong direction. It may mean selling all to follow him.

Costly

As Christ was preparing his disciples for his eminent death he spoke some very challenging words.

Mat 16:21-26 From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you.” But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.” Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?

To be a follower of Christ is costly. Peter did not understand things from a spiritual viewpoint. He interpreted from his human perspective when he rebuked Jesus for his prediction of his death. Peter wanted to preserve Christ’s life but Christ’s purpose in coming to earth was to give his life as a ransom for our sins. The challenge Jesus gave to his disciples was that they too must be willing to deny themselves and their human reasoning, take up their cross which meant experiencing a cruel death reserved for the most vile criminals and follow him. Being a follower of Christ means that we view things from an eternal perspective and make decisions based on it. It means we are willing to die as Christ died for a cause that is greater. The disciples would face death in the future, a form of death that was cruel. When Christ called his disciples to follow him, he made it very clear that it was not going to be easy but it would be rewarding. In losing their lives they would find true life. We have many examples today of believers who are being persecuted for their faith. They are being tortured, their homes and churches destroyed, they are denied work and suffer discrimination for their faith in Christ. As followers we must be willing to accept this to prepare us for a time when we may experience it. Self-denial and suffering are part of the call to be a true follower of Christ. We must be willing to pay the cost of being a disciple just as Christ was willing to pay the price for our salvation.

Rewarding

Mar 10:28-30 Peter began to say to him, “See, we have left everything and followed you.” Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life.

At one point in Jesus’ ministry, Peter responded that they had left all to follow Jesus. Peter had placed his all on the altar to follow Jesus. I love the reply that Jesus gave to Peter when he said that those who truly have left all to follow him will receive 100 times more of the things people value most in this life and also would receive more in the life to come. Yes it is costly to follow Jesus but it is also rewarding. What we lay down for him, he gives back to us in a different way. When we become followers of Christ a whole new world is open to us in the Body of Christ. I have been blessed by the Body of Christ not only here in the USA but also in the other countries I have been able to visit and minister. There is something about the hospitality of the family of God that is a huge blessing to me and many who have traveled. God takes care of his children and he uses his wonderful family to do it. The rich young ruler was unwilling to depart with his possessions to follow Christ. He overestimated the value of his possessions and underestimated the riches that are only found in following Christ wholeheartedly. It is not what you own that is important; it is who owns you that really matters. When Christ takes control of our lives, we begin to experiences the tremendous riches he has for us.

What is your ambition?

As we begin a New Year, I pray that each of us will be obedient to follow Christ where he leads us. He has new adventures for each of us in this journey of faith. There is much to do to fulfill his desire that all men will have the opportunity to hear the gospel. There is much to do as we labor to make disciples of those who have placed their faith in Christ. There is much to do to reach out and meet the needs of people who are suffering, being abused and exploited, experiencing hardships and trials, persecution and the challenges of overcoming poverty. Perhaps this year Christ will lead you into a new arena of faith to meet the needs of people around you or people in another country. There is always more to do and as Paul wrote in Romans it was his ambition to go to Spain to preach the gospel.

Rom_15:20 and thus I make it my ambition to preach the gospel, not where Christ has already been named, lest I build on someone else’s foundation,

He had accomplished many things in his life but there was still more to do. As a follower of Christ what will be your ambition in this New Year?

I want to close with a story that has and continues to impact my life. It is the story of Father Damien. He was a priest in the Catholic Church who gave his life to minister to a group of lepers on the island of Molokai in Hawaii. When the need was presented to the group of priest serving in Hawaii to go to the island of lepers, Father Damien and three other priests volunteered to go and live among the people to minister the love of Christ to them. Originally he was to serve only 3 months and then be replaced by the other priests. He was the first one sent out and after a short time he told his superior that the people needed someone to be there all the time with them and he was willing to be that person. He was told before going to the island that he was not to touch the people lest he get leprosy. He found this impossible to do. How can you love someone without touching them? Father Damien build homes for the people, attended to their medical needs as much as he was able, ministered to their spiritual needs, built coffins and buried them. He gave his all to the people and in doing so contracted leprosy after spending 12 years with them. He died 3 years after contracting leprosy. The people in the leper colony wanted him buried on the island where they lived but his home country of Belgium also wanted him buried there as he became a hero for his sacrificial love. His body was taken to Belgium but at the request of the people of Molokai his right arm and hand were brought back to be buried on the island. It was his hands and arms that embraced them, loved them and served them for the 15 years he was with them.

Each of us has the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of other people and as we truly follow Christ, he will provide those opportunities and give us the ability to do what he has called us to do. We are called to be fishers of men and to demonstrate the love of Christ to fallen humanity.

What will be your ambition this year as you follow Christ? What has he placed in your heart to do that will be different this year? He has something for each one of us and we must be willing to follow him wherever he leads at whatever cost.