Two important words for you

^{21 "}Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from these things, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified, useful to the Master, prepared for every good work. ²² Now flee from youthful lusts and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart." 2 Tim 2:21-22, NASV

    I wanted to follow up with two big pieces of advice for those of you who read my last post about hearing from God.  All week I have been thinking about this and about hearing from God.  Two big lessons that it took me years to learn I want to share with you.  It took me a very long time to get these two things.
    One word regarding knowing God's will is that God cares about who you are more than where you are.   When you look at the words of Paul to Timothy, you might expect that as an apostle to a young preacher that Paul would have a lot of practical things he wanted to say to Timothy about the church that he left in his care.  But, Paul focused on encouraging Timothy in the area of his character.  He knew that Timothy was a good man, but he was also a man.  He needed encouragement like the rest of us.  Your never going to get where God wants you until you are who he wants you to be.
     In practical terms, what this means is that often times before God can do a work or move you on to a greater work he has to clean house with you.  He has to convict you of some things and give you some hard words.  He convicts us of sin, righteousness and his judgment.  He does this so that we are ready to be used in a greater way.  John 15:1-5 calls this process pruning.  Pruning is in order to create greater growth.  And pruining can be a painful process of giving up the things of the flesh.  But, you should be encouraged that this is in order for God to use you in greater ways.
    Sometimes people resist the pruning of the Lord.  There are churches full of christians who are church going people who have known the Lord for 30 plus years but they are baby christians.  They got complacent somewhere in their walk with the Lord and refused to give up the things that he wanted to remove from their life.  As a direct result, they have been in a spiritual holding pattern for years.  Do not resist the pruning of the Lord.  There are seasons when this has to happen just like when a gardener cuts away dead things.
     The second thing and I mean this mainly for those of you who read this who are already somewhere in a ministry.  God doesn't want you comparing your ministry to someone else's.  Pastors are especially bad about this comparing how big their church is to someone else or how many they baptized or how many are in Sunday School.  You can get caught up in the numbers.  God doesn't think your unfaithful if you had 50 in Sunday School and someone else has 500.  God wants faithfulness where he planted you. 
     I guess it is just natural in the flesh to see someone else getting attention or promoting books or something and get jealous.  You think that what your doing isn't as important or good.  Looking over the fence the grass always looks a litte greener.  How do you know if you went there that it wouldn't be a huge disaster for you?  Instead, our attitude should be thank God that God has blessed that other brother or sister with a great ministry and thank God for them.  But, don't be jealous for what they have.  You haven't walked in their shoes and your not suppose to.  God made you a unique ministry that is just for you.  He's going to use your dark places and your joys and everything between to do a great work and redeem even your greatest pains to bring glory to Him.  Keep your eyes on him and not that other minister or ministry down the road.

Have a great week

An Advocate 1 John 2:1

    In 1 John 2:1 it says, "My little children, I am writing these things to you that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world."

Now also look in John 16:7-8

    "But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper shall not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you. And He, when he comes, will convict the world concerning sin, and righteousness, and judgment."

     It is interesting to me that in different ways, both Jesus and the Holy Spirit are at work to be both our helper and our advocate.  The Bible says that the Spirit even helps us to pray as we should.  He intercedes for us when we do not know how to pray.  And then it is Jesus Himself who is also our advocate.  The word advocate is a legal term.  It is like an advocate who speaks for someone in a court of law.  He is your defender in God's court and he is also your defense because of what he did on the cross.

    So many times, I may be unsure of how exactly to pray about a situation.  I know what my will is, but I don't necessarily know what God's will is.  It takes humility to acknowledge that your will may not be God's will instead of plunging ahead without waiting.  Mistakes are made sometimes when we rush into something without asking God if this is his will.

    I try to take the approach that I will pray and tell God exactly what my will is in the situation.  Then, I will ask him to show me what His will.  If it isn't the same, I will ask him to take that desire or plan from me.  Or show me a different path that He does want me to take.  And there have been times in my pride that I have rushed head first into what I thought was God's will and it turned into a disaster.   But, even in that, God can often use our mistakes to teach us about his grace.

    I had that happen to me about 6 months ago when I had a decision to make.  I worked hard at the problem and an opportunity came up and I took it.  It seemed to fit with my plan so well.  Well, three weeks in I was wishing that I hadn't done that and waited.  But, God still used the situation to teach me.  Mainly he taught me that I needed to slow down and wait on Him and trust Him.  God rarely shows up early.

    I have found that what is true for me is true for a lot of other people.  Most of we think if it is obvious to us it must be obvious to God.  If this path opens us before us like the red sea parting then it must be of God.  But, that is not necessarily the case.   The Spirit of God is called the Spirit of truth (John 16:13) and it is this Spirit that is in you if you are a believer.  The Spirit knows the mind of God and can reveal His will for your life.  But, the disciples were not always called to take the easy road.

Some questions to ask if you are pondering God's will in a situation
1. Will this decision help me to fulfill what God has called me to do?
2. Will this decision call me to compromise my faith or witness?
3. Does this decision help me to honor Him and my family?
4. Will I use the talents and gifts he has given me if I make this decision?
5. Does this decision call for me to take a step of faith?

1 John 1 Walk in the Light

   The book of 1 John is one of my favorite letters in the New Testament.  John deals with a most important subject.  That the christian faith is not about what we do, but who we have fellowship with.  The word fellowship is the word koinonia which means an intimacy and communion with.  The christian faith is meant to be a constant communion with the Son and the Father.  I like how Ray Stedman in his sermon regarding this says that fellowship is not an automatic for the believer.  The key to whether or not we are walking in fellowship is if we are walking in the light.
    There is a need in the church and individual believers life to take sin more seriously than we have.  We don't realize the harm that it does.  Not just to our witness to non-believers, but to our fellowship with God.  We need to realize that sin is first sin against God.  And if you love God then you will realize that it grieves God when we allow sin into our lives.  True repentance is necessary not just one day a week, but each day of the week.
    This is because John says in 1 John 1:5 "And this is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all."  The darkness is the idea of sin, error or untruthfulness.  There is no error or sin in the nature of God.  And so if we are to walk in fellowship then we cannot walk daily in sin without confessing.  Our conscious mind should not allow us to stay at peace when we walk in darkness because the Spirit constantly calls us back to himself (1Thess 5:19).
    John goes on to say that if you say that you have not sinned then you are calling God a liar.  He also says this in 1 John 1:10.  This is talking about the battle that goes on between the flesh and the spirit that goes on each day in the life of the believer.  He is talking about present day sanctification.  If you think you have arrived then you are only lying to yourself because there is still sin to be dealt with in you.  Rather, the task for the believer is regular confession.  Sometimes this confession means to confess to others and sometimes it means to confess to God (Matthew 5:23-24).
     There is still a need at times for confession not just to God, but to one another.  There are times when God may grow distant for some believers because confession has not taken place.  You may pray and feel that your prayers are not getting any further than the room you are in.  God may stop working in your life and wait for you to get right with your brother.  When a believer lies about another person or is dishonest or cheats another person a break in fellowship takes place.  And the only thing that will make that right again is for someone to swallow their pride and confess they are wrong.  Notice in James 5:16 it says "Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much."
     The good news from 1 John 1:9 is "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."  The key word there is "all".  God's Spirit convicts us of sin and our need for repentance.  Then once we repent, it is the power of Jesus to cleanse us from all of it.  He doesn't cleanse just part of it.  You notice in this verse that this is based on the faithfulness and righteousness of God.

Ray Stedman's sermons on 1 John
http://www.blueletterbible.org/audio_video/stedman_ray/1Jo/Studies_in_First_John_1966_67.cfm#The_Man_Who_Rationalizes_Sin_1_John_1_10_2_2

The power is out

   I noticed as I scrolled through cable television this morning, that many churches are not having services in our area this morning.  We had a large sleet and ice storm here Thursday night into Friday morning that took down numerous trees and power lines all over the area.  Even the grocery store Friday afternoon didn't have its power on.  Made me wonder how they are keeping the frozen stuff frozen.  I'm sure nobody wonders about that but me, since I am a little different. . . .
   When I see the notices about the power being out and services canceled.  I thought to myself the power in the churches have been lacked for a long time, not just today.  It seems when you look at the statistics that there is not a big measureable difference between those who go to church and those who do not.  In whatever area you would like to measure, divorce rate, spousal infidelity, drug addiction, etc.  Why is it that so many of our churches and christians seem to lack the power of the Spirit in their lives?
    I noticed one pastor on television talking about how having the Spirit in your life was meant to give you prosperity in every area of your life.  There was no mention of the need to be obedient.  People love to quote 2 Chronicles 7:14 "My people whoa re called by My name; humble themselves and pray, and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin and heal their land."   Did you notice in that verse it calls on the people first to humble themselves, pray and seek God's face and turn from sin.  Many preachers preach the prosperity without the repentance.
     I think another reason that there is a lack of power in the church today is that in many churches christians have lost their first love (Matthew 24:12).  They go to church or worship out of sense of obligation rather than a real love for God.  That lack of love shows up in how believers treat other christians.  I am a real believer that you can go through the motions of church and have great services, but not be heard at all in heaven because of the way we treat each other.  Many churches today are sick and dying and in financial trouble because God doesn't and won't bless a church when we turn on each other like flesh eating monsters.
     I am testifying about what I know.  I have been in several leadership positions in churches.  Both as a lay person and in paid positions.  You never realize how especially evil people can be until you see it in church people who claim to walk differently.  Start trying to change an order of worship or try something new in church or change the worship style for just one Sunday and watch the fangs come out.   We act as though it doesn't matter how we act.  The end simply justifes the means.  And in the we are truly wrong.  Then we wonder why the church is struggling and God isn't blessing our offerings and attendane is going down.  It is because God has taken his hands off the wheel and not blessing the direction that people want to go.
     It would do some churches good to have a season of prayer and to consider who they have offended.  In the Old Testament, it was called a solemn assembly.  The people came together and confessed their sins and fell on their faces and sought God.  They examined themselves and got right with each other.  They thought about how they hurt others and asked for forgiveness.  They realize that God doesn't just want to bless our mess.  God wants us to get right with him.  If your church doesn't do this, I would suggest that you do.  Ask God to show you if you need to forgive someone or if you need to repent of something.  Ask God to show you what you need to do to allow His Holy Spirit freedom to work in your life.

The Red Sea parts

    In my daily bible reading, I started a few days ago reading through Exodus.  I got to the part where Moses and the people of God walk across the bottom of the Red Sea.  God causes a wind to build up the waters on each side of the people, so that they are literally walking on the sea bed.  When the Egyptians try to do the same, confusion occurs and the Egyptians end up drowning.
    When you look at the story, you realize that God deliberately leads them in such a way that they appear to the Egyptians to be "wandering aimlessly".  The Egyptians go after the Israelites and think that because the sea is to their back and they are trapped.  But, God uses the moment to both judge the Egyptians and to bring glory to His own name.  When the people cry out to God because they see the Egyptians coming the Lord literally tells them to stop praying and start moving.
     The story reminds us that God wants to use those situations in our lives that appear difficult to bring glory to himself.  He wants us to cry out to him at times.  But, there is also definite times when we need to rise up and move out.  Not to act at some points is a sign of a lack of faith.  God give us the wisdom to know when it is time to get off our knees and move.
     I see no sense of panic in Moses though the people are clearly in a panic.  This will not be the last time they respond with a lack of faith.  There are at least 10 different times when the people of God accuse Moses of drawing them out to the desert to kill them by hunger or/and thirst.  One of these times Moses says they are close to stoning him to death.   It appears having seen all of the great miracles that God did in Egypt they learned nothing from that.  I have to say that while I might sound like I am accusing them, I also have times when my faith is weak and I doubt.  Sometimes I feel like I am wandering around aimlessly too.  I have moment of self defeating doubt also.
    Though the Israelites have not done anything to deserve it, the cloud that represents God's presence gets between the Israelites and the Egyptians.  Only two adults that day will end up walking into the promise land out of the 600,000 reported to have been there. Only Joshua and Caleb will end up making the whole journey.  Everyone else that is an adult will end up dying off within the next 40 years.  They didn't do anything to earn this deliverance of God.  But, thank God that God had mercy on them.  I pray that God also has mercy on me when I question or fail to walk by faith.  I thank God that he is a forgiving God and patient with me.