Who's Excellent?

The people in the above video are doing excellent things.  They are doing things that are extremely difficult.  They have to put great effort and time into learning and perfecting these things.  But they have no eternal value.  These things are to please men not God.  And all of them have succeeded.  These things are impressive but they’re of little value.  They’re entertaining and exciting, but what value do they have beyond that?

“Human excellence means nothing unless it works with the consent of God.”

Euripides

Today I want to explore excellence within the framework of the will of God. 

Colossians 3:22-25 (NKJV)
^3:22 Bondservants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh, not with eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but in sincerity of heart, fearing God. ²³ And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, ²⁴ knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ. ²⁵ But he who does wrong will be repaid for what he has done, and there is no partiality.

Are We Excellent?

According to Mirriam-Webster Dictionaries, excellence can be defined as:  very good of its kind: FIRST-CLASS

"Excellence in any art or profession is attained only by hard and persistent work."

Theodore Martin

Have you taken any time to examine what you’re doing for God?  What are the things you’re doing for God.  Have you set aside any time for Him and His purposes? 

Excellence is seen in a number of ways:  I’m reading Steve Jobs biography right now, and there’s an interesting anecdote about jobs’ stepfather.  He’s the type of man that likes to restore cars and do things with his hands.  At one point Jobs was watching and helping as his father built a cabinet.  And his father was taking time to make sure that everything about the cabinet was done right and looked beautiful…even the parts no one would ever see.  He used high-quality wood even for the back of the cabinet. That’s excellence.

Wanting to be sure that the finished product is high-quality; not throwing something together that looks good on the surface but taking the time and putting in the thought to do it right.  That’s doing something with excellence.

In our day and hour so many things are done to give the appearance of excellence without actually being excellent.  For example, I was reading about a car company in Finland that developed a high-end electric car.  These cars look like sports cars, they have beautiful interiors.  They sell for more than $100,000 USD each.  But a couple of weeks ago every single car that they’ve built was recalled, because they have a fire risk.  They spontaneously burn up.  The engineering on the battery system, that no one would see, was not up to industry standards.  They have the appearance of quality but they’re not excellent. 

This translates to how we do things for God as well.  If you look around at the church world you see beautiful modern buildings, with all the latest technology, all of the programs.  I know one church that even has a Starbuck’s right on their campus.  On the surface they’re the ideal of the modern, “Super Church.”  I’m not saying that these things are bad in and of themselves.  But inside, people are not involved in real evangelism or winning sinners to Jesus.

We used to have a booth at a night market type event in Riverside and for a while they put us next to this other church.  I listened to the way people talked to people who stopped at their booth.  They talked about all the programs…”We have a singles ministry, we have a volleyball ministry, we have coffee shop and Christian bookstore.  Who are they trying to get to the church with those kinds of things?  As a sinner I never would have set foot in a Christian bookstore.  So whom are they trying to reach…other Christians, maybe?  So then evangelism just becomes an exercise at getting people in the door.  It’s not about getting them saved; it’s about filling the pews.  I wonder if God looks at these things and calls it excellence.  Is that meeting the standards of God will?  Or is it putting the face of evangelism on a marketing strategy. 

In my last post I talked about how each of us has strengths that can overcome each other’s weaknesses:  That maybe you’re strong in an area where someone else is weak.  In that way we can overcome our weaknesses and as a church we can be effective at reaching people. That’s why Christianity isn’t an individual pursuit.  That’s why the church was intended to be a body of believers.  But excellence as a body is dependent on us being excellent as individuals.  If all of us are doing what we do with excellence then our efforts as a group will be excellent. 

If you’re involved in ministry, take a look at your ministry efforts, are you doing what you’re doing with excellence?  If you’re not involved with your church’s ministry, is that meting the standards of God’s calling on your life?  Are you excellent in the things of life, work, family, marriage, but not doing anything for God? 

What does our scripture say?  “And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men,” (Col 3:23)

The first part of this scripture is in this context:  Do what you do as if you’re doing it for God.  Do what you do with excellence, not just to look good, but because it’s the right thing to do.  That means every aspect of our worldly life.  We need to obey our bosses, because it’s the right thing to do, not because we want to look good for them so they will reward us with a raise or a promotion or whatever.  It also means every aspect of our spiritual life as well.  We should desire to be as much like Jesus as possible, and jesus did everything with excellence.

The Excellence of God – Being like Him

God is into us being excellent, because God is excellent.

Job 37:23 (NKJV)
^37:23 As for the Almighty, we cannot find Him; He is excellent in power, In judgment and abundant justice; He does not oppress.

Psalms 8:1 (NKJV)
^8:1 To the Chief Musician. On the instrument of Gath. A Psalm of David. O Lord, our Lord, How excellent is Your name in all the earth, Who have set Your glory above the heavens!

I look around me and marvel at the earth and the things of the earth.  How everything fits together and works together perfectly.  Look at your hand for a moment.  It’s the perfect tool isn’t it?  You can use it to do so many things.  How your body is made.  So many things such complexity and every thing works together perfectly.  How your mind works alone is amazing.  There is a book called “Fearfully and Wonderfully Made” that talks about how our bodies work. 

 In our bodies alone we can see the excellence of God.  How much more is it evident in the rest of the universe?  Look at this scripture:

Romans 1:20 (NKJV)
^1:20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse,

We can see God in the details of creation.  God’s excellence shows in his creation.  Who is the creator of the universe?

John 1:1-3 (NKJV)
^1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ² He was in the beginning with God. ³ All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.

According to John, Jesus is the creator of the universe; everything that was made was made through Him.  He’s the creative power of the universe.  So the question becomes, who are we?  Are we His disciples?  If we’re here to learn from Him and be like Him then we are His disciples. 

That’s the definition of a disciple.  Not just someone who learns but someone who desire to be like their teacher.  When mwe go to school we’re learners, right?  We go there to learn many things, does that make us disciples of our teachers?  No, because the desire to be like the teacher is what makes us a disciple.

I was talking to a brother in the Zhongli church, the other day and he was telling me about one of the new guys in the church.  He talks to him; he was showing up late for church and this brother tells him, “I’m never late, because I want to get all I can get from God.”  So the guy listens to him and begins to come to church on time. That’s the discipleship process.  That’s what being a disciple is about being like the one who teaches.  So if we are disciples of Christ then we should desire to be like Him in every way.  That includes doing what we do with excellence.

I want to look at two men of the Bible who did the things they did with excellence.  The first is Joseph.  We know the story of Joseph.  His brothers sold him into slavery in Egypt.  Then his master’s wife lied and he went to prison.  Then he got out and became Pharaoh’s right hand man.  But take a look at Joseph’s character for a moment.  I want you to see something about how he did things:

Genesis 39:4-6 (NKJV)
^39:4 So Joseph found favor in his sight, and served him. Then he made him overseer of his house, and all that he had he put under his authority. ⁵ So it was, from the time that he had made him overseer of his house and all that he had, that the Lord blessed the Egyptian's house for Joseph's sake; and the blessing of the Lord was on all that he had in the house and in the field. ⁶ Thus he left all that he had in Joseph's hand, and he did not know what he had except for the bread which he ate. Now Joseph was handsome in form and appearance.

So Potiphar put everything he had into Joseph’s control. He didn’t even know what he had except what was set on the table before him.   Can you imagine?  Everyday he sat down and said “Oh look bread!  I guess we’re not broke yet.”  That’s big-time trust isn’t it? 

Joseph didn’t let him down either.  The Bible says the Egyptian was blessed for Joseph’s sake.  Because God wanted to bless Joseph, Potiphar got blessed, because Joseph did what he did with excellence.  Is your boss blessed because you work there?  Joseph was excellent in prison and the jailer trusted him over all the other prisoners.  He was excellent in his work for Pharaoh.  His diligence saved Egypt and Israel from the famine.

The other one I want to look at is Daniel:

Daniel 6:1-4 (NKJV)
^6:1 It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom one hundred and twenty satraps, to be over the whole kingdom; ² and over these, three governors, of whom Daniel was one, that the satraps might give account to them, so that the king would suffer no loss. ³ Then this Daniel distinguished himself above the governors and satraps, because an excellent spirit was in him; and the king gave thought to setting him over the whole realm. ⁴ So the governors and satraps sought to find some charge against Daniel concerning the kingdom; but they could find no charge or fault, because he was faithful; nor was there any error or fault found in him.

Daniel has an excellent spirit; he was given to excellence in all that he does.  There was no error found in him:  None, zip zero nada, 零.  He has an excellent spirit so the king trusted him above all the others.  As Christians people should be able to see that in us.  You know, we can’t do everything perfectly, we’re human, but perfection isn’t excellence, anyway. Excellence is found in faithfulness, giving your best effort and attention to detail.  It’s from doing it the very best you know how and learning from the mistakes you made and doing it better the next time. 

As an executive I never got angry just when there was a failure on somebody’s part.  If they did what they did with their best effort I would just point out the error and we’d go on.  But if they were careless or kept making the same mistake and never learning from it then there’d be fireworks.  Excellence is found in giving your best.

Being Excellent

How are we excellent?  It’s found in verses 23 and 24 of our text:

Colossians 3:23-24 (NKJV)
^3:23 And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, ²⁴ knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ.

So what is it constitutes excellence?  Doing everything as if we’re doing it for Jesus, know that in Him we have our reward.  Isn’t it interesting that God cares about how we do things?  Do you know why God is interested in how we do our tasks; how well we work for our bosses; how well we do what the things we do for Him?  He cares because it reflects on the Gospel. 

People should see Christ in us.  That means being excellent.  People should see the power of God to change lives in us.  That means overcoming our weakness and sin.  People should see the excellence of God in us, because we are living as much like Him as we can.  Because we’re His followers we should be like Him and that means being excellent in our approach to everything.  Can you imagine what a powerhouse our churches could be in our communities if everyone in the church approached the call of God with excellence?   We could turn the world upside down.

Knitting in Church

I have recently had surgery on my arm and the wound is at that stage where it's beginning to itch.  It’s very itchy.  That’s because the skin is knitting together.  When the surgeon cut my skin he separated it into two pieces.  It’s becoming one piece again.  It’s knitting together. 

In a church we take a number of individuals; separate pieces and we try to knit them together.  Try to put them together into one church.  When something is knitted together both parts become one, they move together they work together they go in the same direction seeking the same goals. 

What should be happening in any church is that everyone is becoming of one accord:  That everyone is moving together, striving together for the same thing.  It’s easy to look at the church and say that putting together outreaches and events, that witnessing and bringing in people is the job of the pastor, but if your heart and your pastor’s heart are knit together then you will be doing the same things the pastor is to reach people. 

This is my third post in a row on fellowship.  I’ve been preaching on it a lot, recently, in order to build the camaraderie among the people in my church.  I think it is important that we recognize our need to be together and to strive together.  W need to remember that we were brought together for a reason:  So that   we could bring our strengths and them to the strengths of others, overcoming each other’s weaknesses to win our city for Jesus. 

In this post I want to bring home the need to knit our hearts together.  I’ve said it before; Christianity isn’t a solo pursuit.  There is a call on each of us to reach people with the Gospel.  The call is on all of us, not just the pastor.  Jesus didn’t just send the apostles out to preach, He sent the seventy also.  That’s the pattern of the church of Jesus Christ. 

It isn’t a shepherd who makes sheep.  The sheep make more sheep.  Each of us has influence with people with whom your pastor could never have influence.  Each of you meet and rub shoulder with people whom he will never meet.  Look around your church, whom have you invited and brought in and led to Jesus?  I’m not talking about people from other churches; I’m talking about sinners. 

This is my first post for the New Year.  I preached this New Years Day, the day when people make resolutions for change in the following year.  I think this is a good time to evaluate our commitment to the will of God and make any resolutions necessary for the New Year.  So from this portion of scripture: 

1 Samuel 18:1-4 (NKJV)
^18:1 Now when he had finished speaking to Saul, the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul. ² Saul took him that day, and would not let him go home to his father's house anymore. ³ Then Jonathan and David made a covenant, because he loved him as his own soul. ⁴ And Jonathan took off the robe that was on him and gave it to David, with his armor, even to his sword and his bow and his belt.

The Relationship

This scripture is talking about the knitting together of Jonathan and David’s hearts.  We can see from reading this that there is a deep relationship that has been started between the two men. 

In many ways we can see that the men are very much alike.  We know about Jonathan’s charge on the Philistine Garrison with his armor-bearer in 1 Samuel 14, and we know about David’s assault on Goliath in 1 Samuel 17.  They are the same kind of men.  They’re both courageous.  They’re both full of faith.  They’re both men of action; they took the action of their faith.  They trust God with their lives and expected God to bring about a supernatural victory.  They are kindred spirits.  That word kindred means that they are of a like nature:  They have the same spirit.

It’s interesting that they come from completely different backgrounds.  Jonathan is the eldest son of the king.  He is the next in line for the throne.  He has been raised with the best of everything.  He has given the best education in the kingdom to prepare him to rule the kingdom.

David on the other hand, is the youngest of the seven sons of a shepherd.  He works in the field as a shepherd, his education can’t compare with Jonathan’s.  They’re two different people that come from two different backgrounds and yet at this moment they’ve knit their hearts together.  What would cause that?

Why would them come so close together in this moment?  What is it that they have in common?  What is it that draws them together?  I believe it’s their faith in God.  What they share most is that they’re in the will of God. 

In our church we have a number of people from completely different cultures, educational backgrounds and interests, but one thing links us all together…Jesus.  The one overriding thing in our lives is Jesus. 

David and Jonathan’s desire to be in the will of God for their lives is the thing that knits their hearts together.  These two completely different individuals came together because of their desire to do the will of God.  It occurs to me thatwe can sall come together for the same reason. 

When we decided to come here we had the support of everyone in our home church.  Everyone supported the Taoyuan City church financially.  Everyone prayed for the Taoyuan City church..  Everyone was excited that THEY would be reaching another country through us.  The funny thing is that we are all very different.  Many of the people in that church came from Mexican gangs.  Many were drug addicts.  Many were alcoholics.  Some were high school dropouts.  Some are highly educated.  Many of them didn’t even know where Taiwan was.  Some people still ask me, “How’s the Thai food?’  But I don’t now, I live in Taiwan not Thailand. Most Americans are kind of geographically challenged.

The point is that they rallied behind our pastor’s decision t send us here.  They pray and support us even though we come from such different backgrounds.  Our hearts are knit together for the people of Taiwan.  We are of one accord.

There’s an interesting dynamic that took place in the early church that we can see in the Book of Acts:

Acts 2:1-4 (NKJV)
^2:1 When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. ² And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. ³ Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. ⁴ And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

They were all of one accord in one place; that’s when the Holy Spirit fell.  That’s when God came upon them and began to indwell in them.  When they were of one accord in one place. 

Acts 2:46-47 (NKJV)
^2:46 So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, ⁴⁷ praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.

They were continuing daily with one accord in the temple.  When they were in one accord that’s when God added to the church.  When we’re not scattered and doing different things; when we’re together and on the same page, or knit together, that’s when God can bring increase into the church. 

Finally, look at this:

Matthew 12:25 (NKJV)
^12:25 But Jesus knew their thoughts, and said to them: "Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand.

If we are divided and scattered we are destined to desolation.  Do you know what desolation is?  It’s barrenness or a lack of fruitfulness.

Jonathan Gives Up the Kingdom

There is an interesting exchange that takes place in our text.  It’s found in verse number 4:

 1 Samuel 18:4 (NKJV) ^18:4 And Jonathan took off the robe that was on him and gave it to David, with his armor, even to his sword and his bow and his belt.

Jonathan takes of his robe and sword and belt and gives them to David.  The robe signifies Jonathan’s royalty.    It’s the thing that marks him as the king’s son and heir to the throne. It is the symbol of his inheritance of the throne.  By giving them to David he is transferring his royalty onto David.  In other words he’s saying, “You are now a part of royalty; you are now the successor to the king.”  We know that in1 Samuel 16, Samuel has already anointed David the King over Israel.  Jonathan is making a stand for the will of God.

Look at what happens later in their relationship.  Saul has decided to kill David.  In Chapter 18 he tries to pin David to the wall with a javelin.  In Chapter 19 he sends soldiers to David’s house to kill him in his sleep.  His wife, Michal, lowers him down the wall so he can escape.  He escapes to a city called Naioth.  Saul finds out and chases him to Naioth; David comes to Jonathan.

Finally, in Chapter 20, there is a big feast coming up.  Jonathan hatched a plan.  He told David to hide and when Saul asked Jonathan why David wasn’t in his place at the feast Jonathan would tell him that Jonathan had given David permission to go and worship.  Saul’s reaction would tell Jonathan if Saul was serious about killing David. 

So David and Jonathan followed the plan.  David missed the feast and when Saul asked Jonathan about David, Jonathan told him he had given David permission to miss the feast.  Look at Saul’s reaction:

1 Samuel 20:30-34 (NKJV)
^20:30 Then Saul's anger was aroused against Jonathan, and he said to him, "You son of a perverse, rebellious woman! Do I not know that you have chosen the son of Jesse to your own shame and to the shame of your mother's nakedness? ³¹ For as long as the son of Jesse lives on the earth, you shall not be established, nor your kingdom. Now therefore, send and bring him to me, for he shall surely die." ³² And Jonathan answered Saul his father, and said to him, "Why should he be killed? What has he done?" ³³ Then Saul cast a spear at him to kill him, by which Jonathan knew that it was determined by his father to kill David. ³⁴ So Jonathan arose from the table in fierce anger, and ate no food the second day of the month, for he was grieved for David, because his father had treated him shamefully.

It was obvious to Jonathan what Saul intended to do to David, so he warned David to flee.

So because his heart was knit with David’s Jonathan warned David to flee from Saul.  Jonathan has begun to protect David.  He knows by what Saul said that David will be the next king of Israel, not Jonathan.  He knows that saul as the authority wants David dead.  He’s going against his father’s wished because the will of God and his relationship with David are the most important to him. 

Sometimes, and this is especially true in Taiwan, the desires of our family members come into conflict with the will of God.  This can make serving God and being in the will of God difficult.  Something bad happens to the family and they look at you and say the reason this happened is because you have brought a curse on the family because you left the traditional Taiwanese religion.  There is anger and hostility.  This is exactly what happened to Jonathan, he came to a point where he had to decide between God’s will and his father’s.  Jonathan makes a stand against his father’s wishes because those wishes lie outside the will of God.

Look what the Bible says:

Luke 14:26 (NKJV)
^14:26 "If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple.

That word translated as hate doesn’t mean what we take it to mean today.  We use the word hate as a strong dislike for another.  The word literally means to love less.  So what Jesus is saying in this statement is that He comes first.  If we place Him first in our lives, then His will must also come before any others, including our own.

That’s why I can’t understand why so many things come before going to church and the other things Jesus has commanded us to do.  If you’re not doing his will, you’re not putting him first.  You may believe in him, but you’re not a disciple.  Jonathan put the will of God before everything else in protecting David.  God’s will came before his father’s will; it even came before being king.

What it Takes to Knit Our Souls Together

Today we need to take a look at where we are as individuals.  What are you doing to further God’s will?  Are you laboring to bring the Gospel to others in your community?  Do you have the same desire to build the church as your pastor?  Where is your personal vision with regard to the vision of the church?  Is your heart linked with your pastor’s?  Are you moving in the direction your church is going or are you doing your own thing?  Are you looking for what you can do within the pattern of your church or do you have a better idea?  Are you involved or are you thinking your role is to sit and watch?  Pretty tough questions, huh?  Your answers will tell you whether or not you are in aone accord with your pastor and your church.

There came a point in my Christian walk where I had to say, I’m going to surrender my will and my vision to the vision of my pastor.  If we’re all going in different directions we can’t move forward.  If we stay together we can accomplish what God is looking to accomplish in our city.

Let me give an example.  Say I’m walking down a path and across the path is a big Gate.  It’s welded shut.  It requires a key to open it.  Behind the gate are a lot of people.  The people are starving, some are hurt, some are suffering with sickness.  They need to be set free so they can be healed and helped.  I come to the gate and I try to push it open and nothing happens.  I fight and struggle and I manage to squeeze some between the bars a few are saved and the rest die. 

Or say there are a number of us there at the gate.  And we see the suffering people and we decide we need to help them.  So one person starts trying to dig a hole under the gate.  Another starts to chop down a tree to make a ladder.  A third starts to file at the weld on the gate.  We’re all doing different things but time is running out and before we can rescue everybody…most of them die.

But what if we come to that gate and all begin to work together.  One team begins to cut the lock and the others push on the door.  By working together we break the gate open and everyone escapes.  Which is the better way?

Faith, Fellowship and Fortitude

We face a number of battles in life.  Things are not always easy.  We’ve heard preaching on adversity in the Christian’s life.  We’ve heard preaching on struggle and disappointment.  We know that Christianity doesn’t guarantee an end to all our troubles. 

We like to think we’re self-sufficient, don’t we?  But the fact is, we can’t do everything alone, sometimes we need God.  In fact there are three things that are crucial to living out the will of God; faith, fellowship and fortitude.  Those three things will see you through the battles of life and into the kingdom of God. 

Today I want to write about faith, fellowship and fortitude from a familiar portion of scripture. 1 Samuel 14:1-6

This story takes place during a battle between Israel and the Philistines.  This is when Saul with 600 men is facing a garrison (or fort) of Philistines.  He’s hopelessly outnumbered.  There is no way he can defeat them with 600 men.

It takes place just after Saul has usurped the role of the priest and offered a burnt offering, thinking that Samuel was going to be late.  Samuel showed up on-time and told him that God had torn the kingdom from him, looking for a man after God’s own heart.

Saul is sitting under the Pomegranate tree, he’s waiting for something to happen.  He’s waiting on God.

But Jonathan is eager to see God’s deliverance so he gather’s his armor-bearer and they attack the Philistines, just the two of them and they kill twenty Philistines on a half-acre of land and then there’s an earthquake and the Bible says the Philistines just melted away.

Faith

Let’s take a look at the things that are happening in this story:

1 Samuel 14:1-3 (NKJV)
^14:1 Now it happened one day that Jonathan the son of Saul said to the young man who bore his armor, "Come, let us go over to the Philistines' garrison that is on the other side." But he did not tell his father. ² And Saul was sitting in the outskirts of Gibeah under a pomegranate tree which is in Migron. The people who were with him were about six hundred men. ³ Ahijah the son of Ahitub, Ichabod's brother, the son of Phinehas, the son of Eli, the Lord's priest in Shiloh, was wearing an ephod. But the people did not know that Jonathan had gone.

In these three verses we see a contrast in faith.  On the one hand we see Jonathan who tells his armor-bearer, “Let’s go attack the Philistines.” “Let’s take an action and see if God will move.”  We see this faith more completely in verse 6.

1 Samuel 14:6 (NKJV)
^14:6 Then Jonathan said to the young man who bore his armor, "Come, let us go over to the garrison of these uncircumcised; it may be that the Lord will work for us. For nothing restrains the Lord from saving by many or by few."

What restrains God?  He can save through many or He can save through a few.

Faith is an action word.  It doesn’t mean to sit and believe that God will magically do something.  Through faith, we take an action.  We call it a step of faith, don’t we?  So Jonathan decides to actively move on his faith that God will deliver by Jonathan’s actions.

On the other hand we see Saul, who is sitting under the pomegranate tree.  He’s got the priest in an ephod.  The priest wore the ephod to consult the oracle of God.  Saul’s looking to hear from God.  Saul is waiting for God to move.  But in waiting, what’s he doing?  He’s doing nothing.    The circumstances aren’t going to change by waiting.  Saul isn’t doing anything to activate a move of God.  He’s not acting in faith, he’s waiting for magic. 

Let’s think about that for a moment.  Is that faith?  “Okay, I prayed, now I’m going to sit down here and wait for God to wave his magic wand and change my circumstances.”  The question here is, “Does waiting around change our circumstances.  In your own life, when was the last time that doing nothing improved a bad situation. 

There are no more soldiers marching to Saul’s position.  The Philistines aren’t going anywhere; they smell an easy victory.  Nothing is going to change through Saul’s waiting.

Look at the Bibical definition of faith: 

Hebrews 11:1 (NKJV)
^11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

Faith gives substance to what we hope for.  It’s the evidence of what we don’t see.  In other words faith makes our hopes and dreams real.  How do you make it real?  By acting in Faith. 

Saul is sitting, waiting for God to move and nothing is happening.  How many of us have real needs that only God can meet?  What are we doing to see those needs met?  Jonathan steps out and acts in faith.  God moves powerfully in response to his faith.  The deliverance of Israel comes from that act of faith.  Saul waits for God; Jonathan acts, knowing God will respond.  Which one is acting in faith?  So, simply said, faith is the catalyst to a move of God.  It is vital for a Christian to not only believe but to act in faith to see God move.

But I’m not talking about acting rashly.  I’m talking about prayerful, considered acts of faith.  Jonathan isn’t rash in his decision to go to the Philistines.  First, he enlists the armor-bearer; he asks the question, “Should we do this?”  Secondly, he looks for God to be involved; “This will be the sign,” he’s asking God which way should we do this.  “What’s your plan for the completion of this thing?”  Thirdly, he acts and God’s answer comes out of that action.  Once they showed themselves the Philistines responded according to the sign they were looking for from God.  This is a pattern for us in decision-making.  As Christians we need to act in faith.

Fellowship

1 Samuel 14:6-12 (NKJV)
^14:6 Then Jonathan said to the young man who bore his armor, "Come, let us go over to the garrison of these uncircumcised; it may be that the Lord will work for us. For nothing restrains the Lord from saving by many or by few." ⁷ So his armorbearer said to him, "Do all that is in your heart. Go then; here I am with you, according to your heart." ⁸ Then Jonathan said, "Very well, let us cross over to these men, and we will show ourselves to them. ⁹ If they say thus to us, 'Wait until we come to you,' then we will stand still in our place and not go up to them. ¹⁰ But if they say thus, 'Come up to us,' then we will go up. For the Lord has delivered them into our hand, and this will be a sign to us." ¹¹ So both of them showed themselves to the garrison of the Philistines. And the Philistines said, "Look, the Hebrews are coming out of the holes where they have hidden." ¹² Then the men of the garrison called to Jonathan and his armorbearer, and said, "Come up to us, and we will show you something." Jonathan said to his armorbearer, "Come up after me, for the Lord has delivered them into the hand of Israel."

Jonathan wanted to see a move of God.  He was looking for the deliverance of Israel.  At this time in Israel’s history, The Philistines were dominating them.  Israel didn’t have any blacksmiths, they were forced to go down to the Philistines to have farming tools sharpened…so they had no weapons to defend themselves.  Look at this:

1 Samuel 13:22-23 (NKJV)
^13:22 So it came about, on the day of battle, that there was neither sword nor spear found in the hand of any of the people who were with Saul and Jonathan. But they were found with Saul and Jonathan his son. ²³ And the garrison of the Philistines went out to the pass of Michmash.

You can see what a desperate time this was for them.  They’re facing a force that greatly outnumbers them.  They have no weapons.  The Philistines will totally dominate any kind of battle, then they’ll “own” Israel.  This is a desperate moment.

Jonathan isn’t looking out for his own self-interest here he’s looking for the deliverance of all of Israel.  He knows that deliverance is only possible through supernatural means.  Only God can do this, for Israel it’s impossible.  They only have about six hundred men; only Jonathan and Saul have weapons.  Jonathan is ready to act but he knows he can’t act on his own so he enlists the armor-bearer. 

Jonathan and Saul are under huge pressure, here.  But look at how each reacts:

Saul waits to see what God will do; he doesn’t look to any of the others.  He’s trying to deal with all on his own.  Remember in Chapter 13 he offered the burnt offering instead of waiting for Samuel to come.  He moved to solve a problem on his own and in his own strength.  They’d been sitting there for a while…The people were frightened, they were hiding, they were leaving.  Saul didn’t want to wait for Samuel because he was afraid he wouldn’t be able to hold his force together so he orders the animal to be brought for the burnt offering.

1 Samuel 13:9-12 (NKJV)
^13:9 So Saul said, "Bring a burnt offering and peace offerings here to me." And he offered the burnt offering. ¹⁰ Now it happened, as soon as he had finished presenting the burnt offering, that Samuel came; and Saul went out to meet him, that he might greet him. ¹¹ And Samuel said, "What have you done?" And Saul said, "When I saw that the people were scattered from me, and that you did not come within the days appointed, and that the Philistines gathered together at Michmash, ¹² then I said, 'The Philistines will now come down on me at Gilgal, and I have not made supplication to the Lord.' Therefore I felt compelled, and offered a burnt offering."

So he acted alone and look at the outcome:

1 Samuel 13:13-14 (NKJV)
^13:13 And Samuel said to Saul, "You have done foolishly. You have not kept the commandment of the Lord your God, which He commanded you. For now the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. ¹⁴ But now your kingdom shall not continue. The Lord has sought for Himself a man after His own heart, and the Lord has commanded him to be commander over His people, because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you."

The Lord would have established his kingdom forever, but because he acted alone he lost it all.  In Chapter 16 Samuel anoints David to be king of Israel, while Saul and his heir are still alive. 

But now look at how Jonathan reacted.  He went to the armor-bearer; he wasn’t intending to act on his own.  He went to a brother; someone with whom he is of one accord.  He acted in fellowship with another man whose strength was as strong as his own.  In Christian terms, they acted in fellowship. 

We aren’t alone.  Christianity was never intended to be a solo pursuit.  We are intended to be together and strive together.  Last week in, “Are You Spiritually Fat?” I wrote about striving together.  That’s God’s will that we will be in fellowship with each other.  That’s why in Hebrews Chapter 10 it says this:

Hebrews 10:24-25 (NKJV)
^10:24 And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, ²⁵ not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.

That verse is talking about fellowship; we need each other. 

We can see that Jonathan and his armor-bearer were of the same mind.  The armor-bearer tells Jonathan, “Do all that is in your heart. Go then; here I am with you, according to your heart.”  He’s merely saying, I’m with you.  I believe with you.  I’m of one accord with you. 

Before I came to Taiwan, I pastored a church in Riverside, California. There was a family member of one of the Riverside church members that became very sick.  He had made tea of a plant that was a dangerous and powerful drug and he ended up in the hospital.  This woman in our church is there to pray for him, she’s witnessing to him and his wife.  Afterward the wife turns to her thanking her and says this: “My heart is with you.”  Do you know what that is?  It’s fellowship.

This is what the armor-bearer said to Jonathan.  “Do it, my heart’s with you.”  Look at what was accomplished:” 1) they defeated the garrison of the Philistines and 2) God moved powerfully and brought about the deliverance of Israel.  In acting together we can overcome, in acting alone we’re doomed. 

Fortitude

According to Mirriam-Webster Dictionaries, Fortitude can be defined as strength of mind that enables one to meet danger or bear pain or adversity with courage

Jonathan’s faith carried with it fortitude.  It took courage in this instance to act in faith.  Two men facing a whole garrison, that’s courageous.  That’s fortitude.  The odds were against them and they acted courageously, anyway. 

How often do we face things in life that require courage?  We make decisions that will affect our families.  We make decisions in business that are a risk .  We make decisions that will completely change or lives, forever.  That takes fortitude…and faith. 

That’s what happened in 1 Samuel 14.  Jonathan acted in faith, fellowship and fortitude and God gave Israel a great victory.  I want you to notice that Jonathan wasn’t acting selfishly here.  He was acting for all of Israel.  But I also want you to know that God will meet your individual needs as well, when those needs further God’s will for your life. 

Faith, fellowship and fortitude:  These three things are vital to the Christian experience.  God is expecting that we will be of one accord and strive together for victory.  We need each other. 

One of the problems I’ve seen over and over is people making decisions on their own, without God, and without counsel.    There was a couple in Riverside that decided that they would move to Mexico to pursue a career.  The man told me, “There’s more opportunity in Mexico.”  Seven percent of the population of Mexico has immigrated to the US, legally and illegally looking for the opportunity to feed their families. 

But this couple, like Saul made the decision to go on their own, without God and actually ignoring counsel.  God even spoke to them through a sermon, I preached the day before they left and I didn’t even know they had made this decision at the time.  They lost everything, eventually came back and now they’re gloriously saved, living for Jesus and blessed.

But look at the lesson; they acted more like Saul than Jonathan.  God puts churches together because we all have gifts that benefit each other.  It’s like marriage; Brenda has strengths, talents and abilities I don’t have.  I have strengths, talents and abilities she doesn’t have, but together we make a good team.  The same is true in the church.  We can benefit from our association together.  Striving and fighting together makes us much stronger than fighting alone.  If we act together in faith, fellowship and fortitude, God will bring about a victory in our church…and in our individual lives. 

Are You Spiritually Fat?

I have a pie in my hand.  It’s a pie with a wonderful texture.  A chocolate cream pie with fluffy swirls of chocolate whipped cream.  Small delicate wheels of chocolate and a beautiful coating of glossy milk chocolate over a layer of chocolate cream and a layer of chocolate cake inside a pie shell.  This is one of Taiwan’s most delicious chocolate pies. I recently held this pie up and described it, and asked what people would do to get me to give up this pie.

There were a number of answers:

1. “I would tell you ‘I love you,’ everyday for two weeks.”  (my daughter)
2. “I would tell you, ‘I love you everyday for a year.’ (One of the brothers)

After that the answers turned a little more serious:

3. I would pray for it.

Finally I got the answer I was looking for:

4. I’d ask for it.

Indeed, to ask for the pie is all that was necessary, but then I refined the questioning a little more.  “How much of this pie do you want?”  The answer was disappointing, “Just a little slice.”

This is a good illustration about how we react to God.  We desire God.  We want to have God come into our hearts.  We ask for the promises of God.  But then what?  What do we do after that?  We limit what we’ll let God do in our lives.  In this post I want to write about getting all of God.

Luke 11:9-10 (NKJV)
^11:9 "So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. ¹⁰ For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.

We Have to Ask to Receive

How do we go about receiving God’s grace?  What is the method of our salvation?  Is it found by doing good things?  Is it found by just saying the right words?  Or do we receive salvation by asking God for His Grace and mercy?

A while back I wrote out a simple sinner’s prayer for the people in my congregation.  So they could read it and understand how to pray with other people for salvation.  That’s a part of our service.  That’s what the altar call is about.  We ask who wants to get saved.  I wrote out the prayer so the people would also understand that salvation comes through faith.  If we look at the prayer, though, what is it?  It’s asking God for forgiveness and asking Jesus come into your heart and change you.

To receive the wonderful gift of salvation all we have to do is ask.  Just ASK.  We have to ask to receive. 

But it doesn’t end there.  Salvation shouldn’t be the only thing we want from God.  The Bible is full of the promises of God. 

Give and it will be given to you. (Luke 6:38)

Where two or three are gathered in my name, there I will be among them. (Matt 18:20)

Whosoever believes in Him shall not perish… (John 3:16)

There are promises all through the Bible.  Here’s another one:

Whatever you ask in My name I will do it.  (John 14:14)

The problem is that we don’t ask.    When we don’t ask we won’t receive.  Actually, we can’t receive.  There are many times when I have called for people to pray for healing and no one responds.  I wonder how many times people were in need of healing and didn’t come forward.  People complained about not feeling well or hurting, which is why I called for a healing line.  But they didn’t come.  I wonder how many others didn’t even mention they needed healing.

There is also the gift of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.  People are afraid of receiving that gift, they’re afraid of speaking in tongues and being embarrassed so they don’t allow it.  On our church website (www.pottershouse.blogspot.com), we have testimonies of some of the saints.  One brother makes this statement:

"However, two months later, when I was to go out mountain-climbing alone, I suddenly thought of Jesus, and no one was nearby, and I wouldn't be embarrassed, so, I start to pray, confess what I have done wrong in the past, decide to repent, believe Jesus Christ."

I don’t think he’s alone in that.  I think there’s a lot of fear about how it will look to others, especially in Taiwan.  People are worried about what their family will think or say.  I’m not criticizing my brother, though; I think people everywhere are like that.  But what I don’t understand is, why are we afraid of receiving more of God. 

Hebrews 11:6 (NKJV)
^11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

Our lack of faith puts us outside the will of God.  If you really want God to do something in your life; if you really want all that God has for you, then you need to seek Him…diligently.  Ask for all of God that you can get.

You know, when it comes to politics many people are very outspoken, sometimes too outspoken.  But every time you make a political statement there’s about 50% of the population who doesn’t like what you say.  We’re not afraid to offend people with political statements.  So why are we so afraid to let other see us declaring our faith or simply obeying God (by speaking in Tongues.)  Is that what makes us afraid to receive the gift, what others will think or say? 

Do we want all of God?  God comes in three parts; Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  Do you want all of God or just a slice?  Are you on a God diet?  Are you afraid to become “spiritually fat?”

Proverbs 13:4 (KJV)
^13:4 The soul of the sluggard desireth, and hath nothing: but the soul of the diligent shall be made fat.

I want to have a fat soul, so give me all of God.  If you want it all, you have to ask for it.

Seek and You Will Find

When you need a job what do you do?  Look for it!  When you’re trying to find a certain book, what do you do?  Look for it!  When you’ve lost something what do you do?  Look for it!  When you need something from God what do you do…wonder why God doesn’t just give it to you?

The Bible says seek and you will find.  If you want something from God you need to take an action to find it.  What do you really need in life?  Where can you find the thing that you need?  I’ve seen people turn to all kinds of different things for answers. 

Do you turn to science?  Does science have all the answers?  Are scientists the ones who have a handle on all knowledge and reason?  To answer that let me say that many scientists are beginning to believe that Aliens from another planet are responsible for life on this planet.  Professor Richard Dawkins, eminent evolutionist said this:

“Well, it could come about in the following way. It could be that at some earlier time, somewhere in the universe, a civilization evolved, probably by some kind of Darwinian means, probably to a very high level of technology, and designed a form of life that they seeded onto perhaps this planet. Now, um, now that is a possibility, and an intriguing possibility. “  

What he’s saying is that aliens created life on this planet.  Some guys will say anything to avoid admitting that God exists.  This is supposed to be one of the brilliant scholars of our time.  But he doesn’t have any answers.  He has no proof of what he says…so he makes it up.  Should we go to people like him for answers?  So where should we go for the answers to problems in life?  What should we do when we really need something?  The Bible says, “Seek and you will find…”  God will respond if you’re seeking Him.  But the question is, “Are you seeking Him?  Are you really contending for a move of God?”   

That word contending is an interesting word.  Contending means striving.  But the root of the word contending comes from the same root as the word contest.  Contending means that we strive or work, together:  Each of us struggling, or fighting, without letting up for a common goal.  Fighting together as a team.  So if we want to see God move, we need to contend, together.

Philippians 1:27 (NKJV)
^1:27 Only let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of your affairs, that you stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel,

This scripture seems to imply that we strive together for common goals.  But did you know we can strive together for individual needs, as well.  That’s why we have prayer requests.  Do you pray for other people’s needs when you’re alone or just when they’re brought up as a prayer request at church?  That’s contending; working together to see people’s needs met.

Have you ever heard of synergy?  Synergy means that two people working together can accomplish much more than two people working independently on the same thing.  If we strive and contend together we can receive much more than if we remain independent and self-centered.

So if we want the most of what God has for us, we need to contend with other people to see that their needs are met.  Striving, or contending, like this is seeking God.  Remember Hebrews 11:6?

^11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

The diligence with which we seek Him is an expression of our faith.  This scripture tells us he rewards those who diligently seek Him. 

We all need things from God.  There are things that are beyond our abilities:  Things that are impossible for us.  But those things are not impossible for God.  God is able to do all things.  But it is up to us to “activate” the move of God.  God is “activated” by our diligent seeking of Him.  He is “activated” by our faith. 

Diligence

How is “diligently seeking” expressed?  First let’s define the word diligent: According to Mirriam-Webster’s dictionary diligent is characterized by steady, earnest, and energetic effort

So then, contending is an expression of diligence.  Contending is steady earnest, energetic effort.  Faithfulness, then, is also an expression of diligence, isn’t that right?  So what is faithfulness?  One part of faithfulness is praying for the others when you’re not with them.  One part of faithfulness is living out what you say you believe, when you’re alone.  Another part of faithfulness is being at church.  God often gives pastors something to preach that will really help people.  But the problem is that they never know when they can preach something like that because they I never know when people will be there.  In my church, whenever I preach on faithfulness, only the faithful ones hear it, because only the faithful come to church faithfully.  The ones who really would be helped benefit aren’t there.

Think about a job for a moment.  How many bosses are going to give you a raise if you’re haphazard about being at work?  How many bosses are going to be thinking about your family and your needs, when you’re not there?

I used to be on the phone or emailing with all my friends from Colton, all the time.  But since I’ve been here and not seeing them I rarely hear from most of them.  Out of sight out of mind.

The same is true in our jobs, if you want the most from your career; you have to be there to receive it.  The same is also true with God.  If you want the most of God’s promises, you need to be here where God dispenses them.

How many things come between you sand hearing from God?  What kinds of things are more important to you than diligently seeking God?  This goes back to my last point.  How can we strive and work together when we don’t gather together?  When we don’t pray together?  When we don’t join together to do the work of God.  That isn’t synergy it’s independently working on the same things.  Striving together is seen in faithfully gathering together to work toward the common goal of seeing each other’s needs met. 

If you want more of God your life, you need to rpess for more of God in the lives of the others in your church.

Reader’s Digest had an article called, “What Good is a Tree.”  This article talks about a substance that is produced when the roots of two trees touch that reduces competition.  A fungus is produced that links the two trees together, so nourishment can be transferred between them.

For example, if one tree has access to water and the other has access to sunlight the trees have the means to share together…they will both have water and sunlight.

We have need of each other’s prayers in order to receive the most from God.  If you’re not in church and diligently contending, you are actually keeping the rest of your church from receiving the maximum of God for their lives.

So Are You on a God Diet?

What about it?  Do you want a small slice of God or do you want it all; all of the promises; all of the blessing; all of the wisdom of God?  How much you get depends on how much you ask. 

When I go to Costco, I hate it when they give me samples of something to taste, especially if it’s something that I like.  Do you know why?  Because a little taste isn’t enough, I want as much as I want.  Sometimes I want to go to the end of the line to get another sample.  That’s greedy, huh?  But not when t comes to God because there is enough of God to satisfy everyone.  We can all have as much as we want.  All we have to do is ask and diligently seek Him.  If we will knock He will invite us in and give us whar we ask.

Recently, we went to Pizza Hut very close to the time when they were about to close.  They were cleaning up and getting ready to leave.  But we knocked on the door and they opened up and we were the last customers.  We ordered and they gave us what we had ordered.  But then, they gave us even more than what we ordered.  They had prepared something perishable and it didn’t sell, they were going to have to throw it away, but rather than do that they gave it to us.  That’s how God works, too.  Remember the story of Solomon’s first night as king?

He has a vision, God says what is that you want ask and I’ll give it to you.  So Solomon asks for wisdom and character to lead his people.  God gave it to him.  But then, check this out.  God says if you had asked for money and power I would have given those to you, but since you asked for wisdom and character, I’ll give you money and power, too

Solomon got all the promises of God and then some.  He wanted all that God had for him and God didn’t hold back.  I’d say at that time in his life Solomon wanted to be spiritually fat. 

What about you, what do you want?  You know, being too skinny is unhealthy.  In God’s spiritual medical system heart disease comes from being too skinny; from not being spiritually fat enough.  When our hearts aren’t filled up with God there is room for other things to come in and begin to displace God. 

There’s a type of firefighting equipment, it’s a chemical that displaces the oxygen from the area of the fire.  But it doesn’t work in as sealed room full of air, because there is no place for the air to go. 

The problem is that our hearts aren’t sealed there are leaks there; places where God can be displaced through.  If we aren’t full of God then other things can come in to our hearts and displace God through these leaky places.  We need to stay full.  We need as much of God as we can hold.  We need to keep pressing for more of God, because we leak.  How much of God do you want?  Do you want all of God or just a little slice?  Are you afraid to become spiritually fat?  How much of God do you REALLY want?

Misinterpreting the Move of God

Have you ever misinterpreted what someone is trying to say:  Or trying to do?  I live in Taiwan and recently I got a call from a taxi-driver demanding money for “our accident.”  Apparently, someone who was on the way to the church had an accident with this man.  In the discussion they had after the accident, the person mentioned he was on the way to the church.  The cab driver apparently misunderstood the man and thought that I was the person with whom he’d had the accident, so he called and demanded money from me and warned me that he had notified the police.  Since I had no knowledge of what he was talking about I refused to pay him, thinking it was a scam to get money from me. (These types of things happen sometimes in Taiwan.)

He interpreted my refusal to pay him anything as a sign that I was trying to defraud him.  So he became angry and threatening.  “I will call the police.”  “Go ahead, we’ll straighten it out with them."  It was a misunderstanding.  The person with whom he’d had the accident paid him and everything worked out.

In the text I want to use for today’s post the disciples misinterpret what Jesus is saying to them.   I believe that we often misinterpret what God is doing or trying to do in our lives.

Mark 8:13-21 (NKJV)
^8:13 And He left them, and getting into the boat again, departed to the other side. ¹⁴ Now the disciples had forgotten to take bread, and they did not have more than one loaf with them in the boat. ¹⁵ Then He charged them, saying, "Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod." ¹⁶ And they reasoned among themselves, saying, "It is because we have no bread." ¹⁷ But Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, "Why do you reason because you have no bread? Do you not yet perceive nor understand? Is your heart still hardened? ¹⁸ Having eyes, do you not see? And having ears, do you not hear? And do you not remember? ¹⁹ When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of fragments did you take up?" They said to Him, "Twelve." ²⁰ "Also, when I broke the seven for the four thousand, how many large baskets full of fragments did you take up?" And they said, "Seven." ²¹ So He said to them, "How is it you do not understand?"

We Often Miss the Point

Our text here is a classic example of missing the point.  Jesus is talking about the leaven of the Pharisees and the disciples are worried that they don’t have enough bread.  I think this is a perfect example of why we sometimes miss God’s point.  They were so concerned with their own problems that they think that Jesus was pointing that out to them.  It’s like the taxi driver story.  The taxi driver was so concerned about getting paid that he didn’t even realize I wasn’t the guy who he had the accident with.

In our text, the disciples are so concerned with the fact that they didn’t have bread, that they assume Jesus is criticizing them for that.  Jesus, on the other hand never mentions bread, he only mentions one ingredient of bread, Leaven. If I mentioned egg yolks would you automatically assume I was talking about Cakes?  Probably not, but that’s what the disciples did, here.  “Leaven!”  “Augh, He’s criticizing us for forgetting to bring bread."  Sometimes we misinterpret what God is saying or doing because we are so focused on our own lives and the problems associated with them. 

Think about it for a moment.  When we are going through something we often pray, “God help me.”  “God get me out of this problem.”  But actually we may be experiencing these things because God is working in us.  God may be trying to change us in some aspect of our lives.  We’re praying, “God deliver me from this evil; this time of struggle,” when the struggle is God trying to deal with the issue. 

A good example of this is financial struggle.  We’re praying God deliver me from this financial difficulty.”  But what God is doing is causing you to struggle in your finances so that you can get a handle on your spending problem, or your reliance on credit cards.  The thing is that God isn’t going to wave a magic wand and cause all your troubles to disappear.  We think God isn’t connected to hardship, that God is a loving God whgo will fix our problems.  God is like that, He does desire to fix your problems, but he fixes them through your decisions.  God is faithful to bring the problems to our attention, so we can decide to fix them.  We are misinterpreting the move of God for us as the Devil’s move against us.

Isn’t that what the disciples are doing here.  Jesus is trying to deal with hypocrisy in their lives and they have misinterpreted it as a rebuke of their forgetfulness.  Think about the things you’re praying about; the things you’re struggling with and asking for God’s help with.  What are you expecting God to do?  Are you thinking God will make the problem disappear without you being involved?  More likely, God is trying to show you an area where you need to change.

I want to illustrate this with the story of Cain and Abel.  I want you to see two things here.  One, how God tries to change us and two, what can happen if we misinterpret God’s intentions. 

Abel comes to bring God an offering of the firstborn lamb of his flock and sacrifices it.  Cain, after a while brings an offering of vegetables.  That saying, after a while, implies that these are not the first fruits.    So God respects Abel’s offering and rejects Cain’s.  So, Cain has a choice here.  He can either say, “Okay I messed up,” or do it right, or he can get angry at God and jealous of Abel.  Of course we know what happens, Cain gets angry with God, and jealous of Abel and ends up killing Abel in a field.

But in the course of all this, God says something remarkable to Cain.

Genesis 4:6-7 (NKJV)  ⁶ So the Lord said to Cain, "Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? ⁷ If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it."

“Why are you angry? If you do well you will be accepted.”  In other words God is saying, “Okay, you’ve been rebuked.  If you do well it’ll be okay.”  So Cain is misinterpreting what God is trying to do.  God is trying to show Cain where he’s wrong and what needs to be changed so the problem can be fixed.  All Cain has to do is admit he’s wrong and decide to change.  But there is a warning there for Cain also.  Sin lies at the door, crouches there waiting to spring when we reject what God is trying to do in us.  Cain is filtering God’s intentions through his own ideas of the way it should be. 

Do you know what I mean by that?  How many times have you tried to make someone understand how you want them to do something, only to hear him or her say, “Okay. okay, okay,”  but you can see they don’t understand what you’re saying, they’re filtering what you said through what they think is right.  This happens to me all the time, and it’s frustrating.  I don’t even want to think about how often that must happen to God.  The Bible tells us that this leads to sin.  Do you know why?  Because you begin to rely on yourself and act in your own will, instead of acting in the will of God.  That’s where Cain went wrong and look where it led.

What Causes Us to Miss the Point?

I think the reason we filter God’s intention through our own ideas stems from a basic problem in people.  The problem is unbelief or a lack of faith.  Let’s go back to our text for a moment.  Look at what Jesus says to them about their thinking that he’s “hassling” them about the forgotten bread.

Mark 8:17-21 (NKJV)
^8:17 But Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, "Why do you reason because you have no bread? Do you not yet perceive nor understand? Is your heart still hardened? ¹⁸ Having eyes, do you not see? And having ears, do you not hear? And do you not remember? ¹⁹ When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of fragments did you take up?" They said to Him, "Twelve." ²⁰ "Also, when I broke the seven for the four thousand, how many large baskets full of fragments did you take up?" And they said, "Seven." ²¹ So He said to them, "How is it you do not understand?"

Jesus begins to deal with them about the reason why they don’t understand, and he zeroes in on the problem.  He asks them if their hearts are still hard.  I want you to think about your own heart here for a moment.  When was your heart hardened about the things of God?  When was it that you didn’t want to hear about God or from God?  Wasn’t it when you didn’t believe?

When did you get mad at people for witnessing to you?  Before you believed in God, right?  Your heart was hard when you didn’t believe in God.  But there’s another time when your heart is hardened, and that’s when you don’t want to hear what God is trying to say about what you’re doing that you don’t want to change:  When you don’t have faith that God has your best interest in mind. 

“God mde me like this, if he were a good God he wouldn’t be doing this to me.”  I’ve even heard people say, “How can I believe in a God who did this to me.”  That’s unbelief and hardness of heart isn’t it?  That’s how Cain thought, “God’s not trying to work in me, He’s trying to tick me off.” 

So after Jesus asks the disciples if their hearts are hard, He reminds them of something that should cause them to have faith.  “Were you there when I fed five thousand families?  Didn’t you pick up the fragments that were left over?  How about the time I fed four thousand families?  How much was left over then?”  “Do you really think I’m worried about bread?  If you saw all of that how can you not understand what I’m saying to you?”  The problem was a lack of faith…A lack of faith will cause us to misinterpret God because it will harden our hearts.

I gave some examples of people who are upset at God because God isn’t doing what they want God to do.  Through their unbelief they assume that God’s intentions toward them are evil, when God’s intentions are the opposite.  Because of their unbelief they can’t believe that God is trying to work in them, or help them, or change them because they don’t believe God wants the best for them or has their best interests in mind.

This is one of our great failings.  We do this over and over because we have such short memories.  When things are going well, we like God.  When things are not, we think God is against us. 

This is one of the reasons the Israelites had such a great struggle in the wilderness.  Three days after God delivers them from Egypt through the most powerful set of miracles imaginable, they’re asking Moses, “Why did you bring us out here to die?”  Things got a little hard.  God had just moved heaven and earth to rescue them and three days later they’ve forgotten all about it and begin to misinterpret God’s intentions.  They do this over and over and because of it God eventually says, “Just wander around the desert for forty years until this unbelieving generation passes away.”

The disciples are no better.  They do the same thing in a storm at sea.

Mark 4:36-41 (NKJV)
^4:36 Now when they had left the multitude, they took Him along in the boat as He was. And other little boats were also with Him. ³⁷ And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling. ³⁸ But He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow. And they awoke Him and said to Him, "Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?" ³⁹ Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, "Peace, be still!" And the wind ceased and there was a great calm. ⁴⁰ But He said to them, "Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?" ⁴¹ And they feared exceedingly, and said to one another, "Who can this be, that even the wind and the sea obey Him!"

The disciples had been with Him when He healed multitudes earlier in that day.  They had seen the power of God play out through Him.  They had witnessed miracles.  They’d heard His words; they knew He was the Messiah.  They knew His purpose.  But they forgot it all when the water got rough.  They lost faith.

These were the men who were with Jesus.  These are the men who should have had the greatest faith.  They saw His power everyday, and they struggled with unbelief the whole time.  So do you!  How can I know that, because I do, too?  When we struggle with unbelief we are in danger of misinterpreting God.

Look at What He’s Done

How does Jesus deal with this in them?  He points them to the things He’s already done.  Remember the five thousand hungry people and the leftovers?  Remember the four thousand fed with just seven loaves. 

How do we keep faith?  In order to keep faith we need to look at the things God has already done in us and through us.  Instead of dwelling on the discomfort of the moment, we need to dwell on the times when God has come through for us. It seems really simple doesn’t it?  When I had this issue, God saved me in this way.  When that problem happened I remember what God did. 

But it isn’t all that simple because we have short memories, just like the Israelites in the desert and the disciples in the storm.  When we’re struggling with something, we focus on that instead of all the times God has delivered us in some way.

You know, quite often I struggle with pain.  Every time I do I focus on that.  I’m not thinking about how God literally saved my life 20 years ago, I’m complaining, “every time we have revival I go through this.”  I’m just like the Israelites.  I’m just like the disciples.  I’m just like you. 

But I have to tell you something we have an advantage over the Israelites and the disciples.  We have the Bible.  We can read it and be reminded about what God has done; we can be reminded of God’s intentions.  It’s all right there in the Bible, so we don’t really have an excuse for our unbelief.  The problem is that we don’t always read it often enough. 

If we read it every day it will help to keep us in remembrance of these things; to see His power regularly; to remind us of His intentions toward us.  If God didn’t have our best interest in mine, He never would have sent His Son.  Reminding yourself of that will help to keep you from misinterpreting God.

The Prodigal Mind

Have you ever stopped to think about how your mind works, especially when you’re not thinking about anything in particular?  It just throws out random thoughts, or brings back memories that you thought were forgotten, or ideas begin to bloom.  This is the time when our minds are fascinating.

Have you ever seen a brain that’s been removed from the skull?  It’s just this wrinkled mass of gray matter.  It’s not like a muscle.  It has no moving parts; it’s just a big gray lump. Yet, this is the machine that controls our thoughts.  It interprets our senses like smell and touch.  It makes sense of the images that come through our eyes.  It controls those autonomic systems, like heartbeat and respiration.  It controls deliberate movements, like the muscles that must move in sequence so that we can walk or scratch our heads.  Our brain is the thing that controls our ability to reasonable thought.  This is our ability to reason things out, to solve problems and create tools.  Our brain is the place where our intelligence and personality come from and yet it is just a big gray lump.

Our brains function through chemical reactions that cause electrical impulses to travel across nerve endings. But because of that we can think and form ideas that can cause changes in our environment.  The problem is that our minds, which are constantly working, come up with bad ideas far more often than they come up with good.  We must learn to discipline our minds so that we are able to control ourselves and limit our behavior. 

Today I want to post a message from a very familiar portion of scripture, that we have always looked at as a picture of the longsuffering love of God, and examine it in terms of the minds of those who are living out his will in day-to-day life.

Luke 15:11-24 Then He said: “A certain man had two sons.12 “And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the portion of goods that falls to me.’ So he divided to them his livelihood.13 “And not many days after, the younger son gathered all together, journeyed to a far country, and there wasted his possessions with prodigal living.14 “But when he had spent all, there arose a severe famine in that land, and he began to be in want.15 “Then he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine.16 “And he would gladly have filled his stomach with the pods that the swine ate, and no one gave him anything.17 “But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger!18 ‘I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you,19 “and I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants.” ’20 “And he arose and came to his father. But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him.21 “And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son.’22 “But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet.23 ‘And bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be merry;24 ‘for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ And they began to be merry.

Prodigal Living Wasting our Inheritance

The younger son wasted his possessions with prodigal living.  The words translated into English as prodigal comes from the Greek word Aosotos which is literally translated as riotous.  In fact, the American Standard Version uses that word riotously.  Se we get a picture of a reckless and extravagant lifestyle.  But how does that apply to our minds?

Here is a young man who took all that he had for granted:  The wealth, the probability of inheritance and threw it all away in order to live a life of wild abandon and excess.  This is a problem of the mind.  He is sure that he’s missing something.  He’s sure that there is more to life than what he’s already got and he’s looking for the excitement that he thinks this kind of lifestyle will provide.

We, as Christians, also have an inheritance that is set aside for us.  An inheritance thatwe will see as we continue to live the will of God for our lives.  But how many have known people that have behaved in the way of this prodigal young man and lost the inheritance that is to be theirs? 

We sometimes look at our salvation and think is their all there is to life?  I knew a man who at the age of 35 looked at his life and his career and said exactly that, “Is this all there is to my life?”  The problem was that he was a good Christian, living out the will of God for his life.  But he was tired of the job that he had.  He was tired of his “boring” Christian lifestyle, so he threw away his inheritance looking for some excitement.  He calls it, “a midlife crisis.”  But it was really a thirst for prodigal living.

He felt like he was not experiencing all the things he should have experienced by that time in his life.  We’re told through television, movies and music that life is to be experienced.  That somehow we must pass through certain rites of passage to be satisfied adults:  Rites of passage like fornication, drunkenness, drugs, whatever it is.  I believe this is the same thing that the prodigal son felt, that he was missing out on life, because as soon as he received his inheritance he went out and lived recklessly.

Ephesians 5:55 For this you know, that no fornicator, unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.

 In living that type of lifestyle he wasted his inheritance and when we live that way we also waste ours. 

But is it only the things we do that waste our inheritance or is it also what happens in our minds?

Matthew 5:27-28 “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’28 “But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

Jesus is saying that it is a thing of the heart.  We think of the heart as the center of our emotions; as the center of who we are.  But the heart is only a muscle that pumps blood, through our bodies.  It is no different than the muscle that causes your diaphragm to flex and your lungs to inflate.  It is really the mind that is the center of our emotions, our attitudes and the things we believe.  It is our mind that determines who we are. 

The things that we allow into our minds are the things that will make us or break us in terms of our salvation.  What we allow into our minds will focus our thoughts.

Matthew 6:22-23 “The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light.23 “But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!

 I read recently of a video of a fourteen-year-old girl engaging in oral sex on Youtube.    What would cause a young child to engage in this type of behavior in a place where others could videotape it?  What we look at shapes our thoughts.  Movies, television, magazines, the Internet, these are the things that bring visual images into our minds.  These images suggest ideas into our minds.  For example, television reality shows depict lifestyles of recklessness and debauchery.  Young people see these things, and the money and privilege that these people enjoy through the showing of things that should be secret and private in their lives to millions of viewers.  Flesh draws viewers, but it also stirs the hearts of young men.  They begin to look at women as objects.  Young women begin to feel that in order to attract a young man that hey must be sexy and provocative:  That sexy is everything.  These things begin to gain access to our minds and draw us toward prodigal living. 

It is our mind that begins to stir us.  The thoughts that we begin to entertain are directly influenced by what we see, read and hear.  As Christians, do we allow only those things that would strengthen our relationship with Jesus?  Or are we allowing ourselves to be influenced into prodigal living and the wasting of our inheritance, by the things we allow into our minds through media.

The Prodigal Son left Home Before He Ever Walked Out

It’s obvious to me that the prodigal son left home in his mind long before he ever demanded his inheritance and walked out of the house.  He’d thought it through.  He had plans and ideas for when he was off on his own.  He knew the things he wanted to do.  He was sure of the image he would project.  He thought about what he would need in order to do those things.  In fact, it wouldn’t surprise me to find out that he’d calculated the amount of his inheritance and had finally determined that he now had enough to make happen.

There was a popular comedian an number of years ago, Steve Martin, who in the middle of his stand up routine would suddenly stop, sigh and say, “Aaaah!  Sorry, I went to the Bahamas for just a second.”  It’s an illustration that we can be one place physically and yet our minds are thousands of miles away.  As a high school student I spent countless hours on backpacking trips and other exciting adventures while never leaving my Chemistry or History class.  How many times have you been at church and thinking about what was happening at work. 

This young man pictured himself in that far away place before he ever approached his father about his inheritance.  I have seen people with my own eyes sitting in church services with their minds in a far away place, no doubt some of them thinking about sin and wasting their inheritance. 

Nobody suddenly backslides.  Nobody is sitting in church, thinking about the will of God, and desiring more of him in life, and suddenly backsliding.  People backslide in their minds long before they ever leave the will of God. 

There is a subtle shift in perceptions.  They begin to struggle with prayer.  They lose the desire to be involved in what the church is doing in the community.  They begin to have problems with their brothers and sisters in the church.  They begin to rebel against the things preached and emotionally distance them selves from the church and finally from God.

Titus 1:15-16 To the pure all things are pure, but to those who are defiled and unbelieving nothing is pure; but even their mind and conscience are defiled.16 They profess to know God, but in works they deny Him, being abominable, disobedient, and disqualified for every good work.

 This can happen even while they’re still filling a pew at church.  On outreaches we have run into these people.  They talk about how God has moved in their life.  They talk about their relationship with Him and yet they continue to sin.  A young man, on drugs and homeless, walked into my office one day, talking about his relationship with God; his desire to have more of God in his life; how much he loved God and served God by praying and worshipping, and then asked for the money to get him and his pregnant girlfriend a hotel room.  He had no idea of who God was or how opposed to the will of God his lifestyle was. 

This is a sign of the times we live in.  Even though they’re physically in the church, their minds are far away and their lives are riotous.  Jimmy Swaggart was preaching he Gospel with conviction the whole time he was consorting with prostitutes?

2 Timothy 3:2-5
For men will be self-lovers, money-lovers, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,  (3) without natural affection, unyielding, false accusers, without self-control, savage, despisers of good,  (4) traitors, reckless, puffed up, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,  (5)  having a form of godliness, but denying the power of it; even turn away from these.

When He Came to Himself

Luke 15:17  “But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger!

 When he came to himself, that is, when he entered once more into his own mind.  The foundation of our relationship with Jesus is in our mind.  When we don’t see him here, physically.  We can’t reach out and touch him.  We can’t speak to Him and hear His voice like we hear the voice of other people.  When those things aren’t possible our relationship with Him is based in faith.  On what we think and believe about Him and those things are a part of our thoughts, which are a part of our minds.   

1Peter 4:7
But the end of all things has drawn near. Therefore be of sound mind, and be sensible to prayers.

 In order to be of sound mind we must guard our minds and allow only those things that edify our minds to enter into them.  We can only protect our inheritance through the protection of our minds.  We must be careful what we look at:  What things we allow to color our thinking.   We need to concentrate on the things of God, looking to Him for wisdom, looking to His word for guidance.

2 Timothy 3:16-17  All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness,17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.

We must begin to come to church with an ear to hear from God.  This is wha will strengthen out faith.  Strong faith will result in a strengthened resolve to serve God.  Faith is what keeps you.

One of the interesting things in this scripture is the reference to the servants of God having bread enough to spare but yet he says he is starving.  Those of us that are servinfg God have the, “Bread of Life.” 

John 6:33-35 “For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”34 Then they said to Him, “Lord, give us this bread always.”35 And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst. 

Placing our hopes in Jesus Christ, not our own strength, but Him and His word strengthens us.  By submerging ourselves into our relationship with Him we will be shielding ourselves from the influence that will draw us away.

Matthew 6:24 “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.

What the Bible calls Mammon, we can call the things of the world.

During the Viet Nam war,the generals talked about winning the hearts and minds of the Vietnamese people.  The thing that was supposed to turn them from communism and turn them toward the US was the winning of their hearts and minds.  In fact that is a sound strategy, “for where your heart is, your treasure will be also.”  We failed to win that battle and lost Vietnam to Communism.  This is also the strategy of the devil, to win the hearts and minds of those who serve Him. 

Guard your heart.  Protect your mind; shield it from the influences and images that destroy.  Don’t allow the devil to win your heart and mind.  Don’t allow yourself to be turned away to prodigal thinking or living.