"Increase Our Faith" - India Sermon

Recently, I had the privilege of speaking my 4th and final sermon for this 4.5 month stint in India. The Lord has been teaching me a lot about faith and some new things as I prepped for this sermon. When my preparation began, the sermon was about Gideon...then Gideon became one of the illustrations but no longer the central focus...then he was removed altogether as the focus went elsewhere! Thus encapsulates my typical preparation process for any sermon in which I must choose the topic.

Below is the sermon draft, from which I deviated slightly as I spoke. I hope that in reading it the Lord may enrich and bless you:

Have you ever desired greater faith? Have you ever come to a point where you realized just how small your faith was? And you yearned for greater faith? I think that is a healthy realization, and the desire for greater faith is good...but a desire that can still be refined.

I just finished reading the biography of Oswald Chambers, author of “My Utmost for His Highest” and one of the great Christian leaders and writers of the past century. In reading his biography, my admiration for him grew even further. As I read through his biography over the past month or two, I thought to myself, “I wish I could have faith like that!” I see in Oswald Chambers, as well as many Christian leaders of yesterday and today, a faith that is so inviting and desirable. I see it in Abraham in the book of Genesis. Moses, David, and every person listed in Hebrews chapter 11. And as I study the lives of these men and women of great faith, there is something inside of me that cries, “Lord, increase my faith!”

I think that some of that desire for greater faith is good, but some of it may be falling short of what God would prefer for me to desire. The 12 disciples themselves asked this of Jesus, to increase their faith. So let’s turn to Luke 17 and examine closely Jesus' response to the request of His disciples to increase their faith.

Scripture: Luke 17:5-6

The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!”

6 He replied, “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you.”

 

The disciples and Jesus are having a conversation. In verses 1-4 that precede this request for more faith, Jesus has just commanded the disciples to do something truly hard: forgive. And not just once. But to forgive someone even if they continue to sin against you and ask for forgiveness. The disciples response is very interesting and probably similar to ours today: in order to obey such a difficult command the disciples ask for more faith. But Jesus gives an interesting reply to the disciples in this passage.

 

We might have expected him to show them how to increase their faith, or perhaps breathe greater faith into them. But instead of showing them how or miraculously granting greater faith, Jesus instead says “if you had faith as a mustard seed,” you could do mighty works. It was probably not the answer the disciples were hoping for, but it was exactly the answer that they, and we, need. In fact, Jesus’ answer was the perfect response, because it leads us as His disciples to understand the nature of faith, the nature of our God, and the nature of our relationship with Him.

1.       Power in Small Faith – v. 6

Jesus often referred to our faith as being like a mustard seed, and it was always an encouragement, for at least a couple reasons. The mustard seed was an example of one of the smallest of all seeds. Yet, when planted in fertile soil, it could grow into a large bush with mighty branches that even birds could nest in. What an encouragement that when we are convicted of being “ye of little faith,” that it is not a pronouncement of final condition. Instead, it is a declaration of our current status—having little faith—but like the mustard seed, a faith with great potential. We are meant to be growing toward our Lord Jesus, and He makes our tiniest faith into something great.

Though this is an encouragement to me, I do not believe that growing faith is what Jesus is referring to in verse 6 when he says, “if you had faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you.” I don’t believe that Jesus is saying that once your faith has grown into the mighty mustard branches, THEN your faith can produce great works. I believe He is saying that even now, when your faith is still as small as they eye can see, even NOW your faith has that power. This is a critically important answer from our Lord to His disciples asking for greater faith. It gets at the heart of who we are in relation to God and the proper perspective of our faith in Christ.

John Piper has these comments on this passage:

“God moves mulberry trees. And it does not depend decisively on the quantity of our faith, but on his power and wisdom and love. In knowing this we are helped not to worry about our faith and are inspired to trust God's free initiative and power.”

You see, the disciples were viewing great faith as being the gateway to great things. But Jesus was saying that we don’t need increased faith...we need to understand that our tiny faith is enough because of Him.

To illustrate the roles of our faith and God’s faithfulness, and the importance of each, let us examine the mathematical concept of infinity. The concept of infinity refers to something without limit, a number so large that it is beyond counting. It is endless. In mathematics any positive number multiplied by infinity equals infinity. Infinity times 1 equals infinity. Infinity times 100 equals infinity. Soon we discover that the number being multiplied by infinity matters much less than infinity itself. This is what Jesus is getting at when He says that “if you had the faith of a mustard seed” you could do amazing and miraculous things! He is saying that whether your faith is 1 or 100, it is the power of God that makes it miraculous.

Do you ever catch yourself having these thoughts?: "If only I had greater faith, I could do this, or God would do that." But our focus has become our own personal faith. If our focus is on the size of our faith, our focus is off Christ. We are to fix our eyes upon Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith.

We must realize that our faith by itself causes nothing to happen. We cannot say to God in our faith, “Look, I have the faith of a mustard seed,” or “Look, I have greater faith than even that, and because of my faith you MUST do this.” No, no, no. Instead, God chooses to allow us to take part in His purposes. God CHOOSES to work through our faith. Our faith without God choosing to use it, would be powerless. But instead, God—the one who is faithful—has promised to honor our faith and work through it to glorify Himself and accomplish His purposes.

I would like to share with you a story from my childhood. When I was a boy, about 5 years old, I would go with my father and grandfather into the forest to make a load of firewood. In the northern U.S. many homes are heated by burning firewood in a furnace. I would go with them because I liked to be outdoors, because it was an adventure to go into the forest with them and see new birds, deer, and other animals. I would go because I actually enjoyed the work of my hands and arms and legs in laboring to produce a truckload of firewood. But these were all secondary. I went mostly just to be with my father and grandfather. Some of my favorite childhood memories are from these times. My father and grandfather were skilled and hardworking. They would cut and split every piece of wood into small enough pieces to handle, then they would load them into the truck, and finally after transporting the load, they would unload it at our destination. I helped them with each of these...but how much help can a 5 year old boy be? The truth is that they did 99% of the work, but I was quite happy to do my 1%, and so were they. My father would tell me at the end of the day how much he appreciated my work and that he couldn’t have done it without me. It was always “WE” split a load of firewood. My father and grandfather did not NEED me to help. But they WANTED me to help. It have them joy and it gave me joy, too.

I believe our faith journeys with the Lord and in doing His works on this earth are very similar to my childhood experience of helping my father and grandfather cut firewood. God does not NEED us to help Him do anything. Our faith is not the source of His miraculous works. But we are blessed to be called God’s children! And because of that He absolutely desires for us to join Him. Yes, to do the work…but as with me and my father and grandfather, the work was quite secondary. Just being in each other’s presence was the main purpose. And so, how gracious is our Lord, and loving! That He allows us and our faith to take part in His mighty works. God does the 99% and is capable of doing all 100%, but He allows us to come beside Him like His 5-year old child and contribute our 1% with our mustard seed-sized faith.

Do your mustard-seed’s worth. Do it to your uttermost! But never forget that the power is of God and not of us. Not the size of our faith, but the size of our God is what creates mighty works.

2.       Seeking Christ Above All

I mentioned earlier that if our focus is on our faith, it is off Christ. It is simple to say, but just like the disciples in Luke 17, we ourselves will be tempted to have our focus migrate toward ourselves and the size of our faith. As we have just studied, Jesus corrects the disciples understanding of faith and how God chooses to work though it. But Jesus also addresses the root desire at the heart of our request for more faith, revealing the vanity of seeking our own greater faith and instead the supremacy of seeking Christ. And although asking for faith, or love, or peace, or joy, or successful ministry, or any number of things may be good things to ask of God, there is one greater thing to desire: simply Christ Himself. The disciples’ response to having to do a hard thing to obey God was “we need more faith.” If I had more faith, I could obey...if I had more faith I could do this or that...If I had more faith I could walk more closely to the Lord. But they had it backwards. What produces faith in a child of God is nearness and knowing Christ. To know the Lord more intimately—that is the only legitimate pursuit that leads to greater faith!

Let me be clear: Hebrews 11:6 reveals that "without faith it is impossible to please God." But that faith was never meant to be pursued as a means to our own ends, but instead as the fruit of pursuing and knowing Christ. The disciples had let the pursuit of faith replace Jesus as the central object of their desire. In this moment, they were seeing greater faith as the gateway to obedience to God and doing great things. And although they desired a good thing, the insatiable desire for more, more, more of anything except Christ alone had revealed a spiritual lust within them.

Oswald Chambers: “Lust means “I must have it at once.” Spiritual lust causes me to demand an answer from God, instead of seeking God Himself who gives the answer.”

I will admit that when I’m reading about Oswald Chambers, or Abraham, or many great examples of faith, I want to have that kind of faith right now! And the desire to have a closer walk with the Lord that produces such faith is pure, but the part that “must have it at once,” is rooted in lust. Spiritual lust. We must guard against such spiritual lust, or spiritual discontent. And the greatest guard is turning our focus of off good things like faith, and onto the greater thing, which is Christ Himself. This is a subtle difference, but central to pursuing Christ.  I am NOT saying that we must make a choice: either faith or Christ. That is nonsense. What I am saying is that if we pursue faith or any other thing, however good, as our chief desire, we will miss Christ. But if we pursue Christ as our chief desire, we will be given faith that moves mountains.

There is a story of a king with three sons, triplets. Under the law of the land, each had equal right to the throne. When the three sons had grown, the king gave each of them three options to prove himself worthy of the throne. To each he said: “Choose one of the following: Spend a month learning the art of war from our master general, spend a month learning every law of the land and the entire legal process from our chief law makers, or spend a month at my side.” The first son answered, “I shall spend a month learning the art of war from our master general, for surely of utmost importance to any kingdom is the ability to defend and conquer.” The second son answered, “I shall spend a month learning every law of the land and the entire legal system from our chief law makers, for surely of utmost importance to any kingdom is the ability to govern and rule the people according to law.” But the third son answered, “I shall spend a month at your side every moment, for surely of utmost importance to understanding a kingdom is knowing its king.” The third son had chosen wisely and was selected as the next rightful king. In knowing the king, he came to know the art of war. In knowing the king, he came to know the law and how to govern the people. In knowing the king, he came to know much deeper and greater things than even these.

I believe that we are in similar positions. (Not as successors to a king, for our King rules and reigns forever. Yet, the Bible does call us heirs of the Kingdom. Co-heirs with Christ.) When our chief desire is to have greater faith, we aim for a good thing, but not the best. Just like the first and second sons who aimed at a specific portion of kingship, but missed the greater thing of knowing and understanding their king. Let us be like the third son, who chose simply to pursue and know his king. Jesus instructed, “Seek first the kingdom and His righteousness, and all of these will be added to you as well” (Matt 6:33). As we seek Christ first and above all, we will find that great faith will be added to us as well.

It is not as though we should not pursue faith, or hope, or love, or any number of great Christ-filled attributes. It is simply to beware that the flesh wars against the Spirit, and because of this, we are tempted to pursue what is good, such as faith, in place of what is best, which is Christ.  We are tempted to replace the central thing—Christ—with the things that exist only because of Him.

By responding to the disciples’ desire for greater faith in this manner, Jesus is leading them in the only path of righteous faith: Pursing and knowing Christ ever more intimately.

Conclusion

Let us as Jesus’ disciples today hear Him. Let us read Luke 17:5-6 and the accounts of so many faith filled Christ followers, and remember Jesus response to the desire for greater faith:

- Remove our focus from the size of our faith and onto Jesus Christ, our infinite God.

- And never let what is good and exists because of Christ replace the only Way, Truth, and Life. Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Each of us will likely soon feel that desire for greater faith, or greater joy, or greater love, or greater ministry. But the next time we feel the desire for any fruit of the Holy Spirit, let us resolve to pursue one thing alone: let us choose to get to know our King. He is a good King. And He has invited you to be at his side today and forever. I pray that you accept His invitation. Amen.

The Power of Proper Identity: Disciples and Victors

Who are you? What is your title? How do others introduce you professionally? How do you introduce yourself? When someone asks what you do or what you love or who you are, what is your answer?

In reading the Feb 15 “My Utmost,” I realized that my initial thoughts to a question similar to these are, “I’m Will, Chemical Engineer.” Then I added to my thoughts, “Christ Follower and Disciple Maker.” Interesting…can you imagine your business card reading, “[Your Name], [Your job title], Christ Follower and Disciple Maker?” I chuckle as I realize that we’d get a lot of strange looks.

But within this, beyond societal norms and professionalism, I believe such thoughts and titles actually reveal very much about ourselves. The truth is that putting all professionalism and societal norms aside, we often define ourselves and find identity in every description and merit, or even shortcoming, apart from “Christ Follower and Disciple Maker.”

Having a solid identity and knowing it is a powerful thing. If you lack either, you stand in a position of weakness, whether knowingly or unknowingly. If your identity is not solid (not “Christ Follower and Disciple Maker”), then knowing your fragile identity contains no power and is in fact weakening. Additionally, if your identity is truly solid (“Christ Follower and Disciple Maker”) but you do not walk in the full knowledge of it, you will find yourself walking in weakness. We must stand on the solid Rock of Christ and let it rule our identity, heart, mind and soul.

Imagine standing on the battle field between your country and an invader. You have a one hundred-fold advantage in men, equipment, technology, weaponry, ammunition, training, skill, strategy, and experience. You are set to crush them. But you don’t know it. You’ve been deceived into thinking that the odds are flipped. You don’t know your own strength and out of it comes fear, cowardice, doubt, and hesitation that can lead to a shocking defeat. You might surrender before the battle begins. And if you fight, especially if you are a leader, and you allow that fear to dominate you, you will not fight with all your might and risk being defeated. But if you knew your strength and advantage fully, you would crush your enemy all the more swiftly, leading your men well, and following your commanders well.

This battle scene is a picture of the strength that we stand in as Christ Followers. We stand on the unshakable rock of Christ (1, 2), we fight with the piercing Word of God, more potent than any weapon known to man or any being for that matter (3), and we are guarded impenetrably by the shield of faith in our Father God (4). We stand in victory and are “more than conquerors" through Christ (5). Will we face the battle with that identity? If so, the victory is ours, and you can mark my words on that.

So today, on what are you basing your identity? Be honest before the Lord. He will show you, as He continues to show me daily, where our identity resides apart from Him. Let Him. Confess it back to Him in surrender and affirmation. Then let the Holy Spirit invade you and magnify your identity in Christ such that He permeates your every desire and perception of yourself and others.

We started not long ago as “[My Name], [My job title or favorite interest], Christ Follower and Disciple Maker.” But turn that around and consider its implication as your identity: “Christ Follower and Disciple Maker, [Job title or favorite interest], [My Name].” See that we have now placed ourselves last, and whatever other parts of our identity in Christ that the Lord interweaves between His name and ours, such as spiritual gifting, familial relationships, etc, we have found ourselves in the proper place in our identity, with Christ first, others second, and ourselves last. May each of us be so blessed by the Lord to have our identity strengthened in Christ alone, conquerors and co-heirs in God’s Kingdom together, forever. Amen.

1 - Matt 7:24-25 - "Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: 25 and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock."

2 - Psalm 27:1-6 - "The LORD is my light and my salvation— whom shall I fear?
The LORD is the stronghold of my life— of whom shall I be afraid?
2 When evil men advance against me to devour my flesh, when my enemies and my foes attack me, they will stumble and fall.
3 Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear; though war break out against me, even then will I be confident.
4 One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple.
5 For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his tabernacle and set me high upon a rock.
6 Then my head will be exalted above the enemies who surround me; at his tabernacle will I sacrifice with shouts of joy; I will sing and make music to the LORD."

3 - Heb 4:12 - "For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart."

4 - Eph 6:10-17 - "Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

14 Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God."

5 - Rom 8:37-39 - "Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. 38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

Patience and Lust: An Unexpected Conviction

A person that I respect was recently making a good point when he said, “Satan is patient. He will wait to strike at the right moment. We must be on our guard.” The message behind his point was accurate and good for edifying the group. However, a few days later, I find matching the word “patient” with Satan difficult.

We know that patience is a fruit of the Spirit (1). We know that Satan is not of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, we must be using the same word, “patient,” to describe two different things. Or the word “patient,” as we are accustomed to defining and accepting it, does not carry the full meaning of the fruit of the Spirit that is manifested in patience, as identified in the Bible.

When we think of the word patient, we usually think of the ability to wait, to delay gratification. To desire something currently unfulfilled or unattained, but to wait in doing so, and without grumbling. Someone says to us, “be patient,” and we say, “yes, I must be patient,” as our chest tightens and we count the seconds and minutes that pass, determined to be silent and show the outward appearance of patience. We traded true patience for an appearance of patience, and though we may have fooled the other person (and likely not), we have not practiced true patience whatsoever. Authentic patience of the Spirit goes much deeper, much purer, to the core of our will.

And that’s just it: patience is a matter of our will. In order to better grasp the depth of patience of the Spirit, it is useful to examine its opposite: impatience. What defines impatience? The idea that I must have something…a feeling, an object, a task completed, a destination reached, etc…and that I must have it sooner than I am receiving it. I submit the following previously unimaginable truth: impatience is lust. Consider the definition of lust as astutely noted by Oswald Chambers:

“Lust means – I must have it at once. Spiritual lust makes me demand an answer from God, instead of seeking God Who gives the answer.” (“My Utmost For His Highest,” Feb 7)

Wow, to think that lust would even penetrate into our Spiritual lives! Oh, but it is true, isn’t it? We usually conceive of lust as a purely sexual term…that is it’s most common and accepted application, though less commonly we will see it used as an extreme desire for something such as power (i.e. “a lust for power”). It is the idea of desiring something outside of an appropriate means, and I find perhaps no better definition offered than, “I must have it at once,” whatever “it” may be; and this happens to define impatience, as well. Therefore, interestingly, impatience…is lust. Impatience just got a whole lot uglier in my perception, and I am personally convicted.

What are you pursuing today? Is it marriage or family? A job? Success? Perhaps the Lord Himself or His blessing? An answer to prayer? Is there any hint of impatience in you, concerning that desire? I know that it is hard to admit that the lust of impatience could widely permeate so many spheres of our lives. But realize this truth: conviction is not the presence of guilt for the regenerated in Christ, it is the proof of the presence of the Holy Spirit and His sanctifying action within us. So do not suppress conviction, embrace it! The ignorant would call you out in guilt for your conviction—nonsense! I contend that your conviction is the gateway from guilt into the grace of Christ. How could we repent if we were not convicted? How could we call on our Savior if we do not repent? How can we be saved if we do not know our Savior? Therefore, conviction is a glorious and holy thing. I encourage you to embrace it and let Him run His full course in your heart and soul.

So as we receive the Spirit and fruit of patience, let’s not stop at merely waiting for a specific desirable outcome to materialize. Even Satan does that as he lies in wait to devour the lost and vulnerable, as a prowling lion (2). No, let’s begin to practice patience in the Spirit by setting aside our wills. Any form of patience that ends short of sacrificing my will to God is incomplete. Let us “work out our salvation (3),” that has been granted to the regenerated in Christ, and become valiantly, humbly patient. May our Father God and the Holy Spirit breathe patience into your soul this day, conquering the lust that seeks to ensnare us, for we are “more than conquerors through...Christ Jesus our Lord (4).” Amen.

1 – Gal 5:22-23 – “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.”
2 – 1 Peter 5:8 – “Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.”
3 – Philippians 2:12-13 – “Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.”
4 – Romans 8:37-39 – “Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. 38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

"What do you want the Lord to do for you?"

Well, I’m on lap 2 of “My Utmosts.” This one is a bonus…this isn’t a leap-year, but this is the Feb. 29 devotional. I think it’s pretty awesome.

http://www.myutmost.org/02/0229.html

WHAT DO YOU WANT THE LORD TO DO FOR YOU?

"Lord, that I may receive my sight." Luke 18:41

What is the thing that not only disturbs you but makes you a disturbance? It is always some thing you cannot deal with yourself. "They rebuked him that he should hold his peace . . . but he cried so much the more." Persist in the disturbance until you get face to face with the Lord Himself; do not deify common sense. When Jesus asks us what we want Him to do for us in regard to the incredible thing with which we are faced, remember that He does not work in common-sense ways, but in supernatural ways.

Watch how we limit the Lord by remembering what we have allowed Him to do for us in the past: I always failed there, and I always shall; consequently we do not ask for what we want. "It is ridiculous to ask God to do this." If it is an impossibility, it is the thing we have to ask. If it is not an impossible thing, it is not a real disturbance. God will do the absolutely impossible.

This man received his sight. The most impossible thing to you is that you should be so identified with the Lord that there is nothing of the old life left. He will do it if you ask Him. But you have to come to the place where you believe Him to be Almighty. Faith is not in what Jesus says but in Himself; if we only look at what He says we shall never believe. When once we see Jesus, He does the impossible thing as naturally as breathing. Our agony comes through the wilful stupidity of our own heart. We won't believe, we won't cut the shore line, we prefer to worry on.

When I considered the question about the thing that disturbs me and also makes me a disturbance, I initially thought that the point was going to be to “grin and bear it.” Quit whining and disturbing others and know instead that “my grace is sufficient for you” (2 Cor 12:9). Indeed, His grace is sufficient for you and me. And indeed, if we are continually complaining to others about our situations, perhaps we should take stock of our salvation and instead of casting our cares upon humans, “cast your cares upon [Jesus], for He cares for you.” (1 Peter 5:7) However, the message here is to persist in our cries to God.

I love the blind man in the passage above: after being told to quiet down, instead “he cried so much the more.” I think this is the response of someone who truly believes in the power of Christ, the Son of God. Or at least someone who was so hopeful of healing, combined with just a mustard seed’s worth of faith, such that he abandoned all sense of himself—other’s perception, dignity, emotional letdown if this was yet another failure, etc—and took the risk in order to get closer to Jesus, to be heard by Him. We can take a lesson there.

Are you in need, either small or great? Is there something that hits your thoughts weekly, or even daily? Cry out to Jesus. If you start to feel a force that beckons you to be quiet about your distress before the Lord, and that you either should not concern Him with it or He will not hear it—cry out so much the more! Cry out to Him and dare to have the hope that does not disappoint:

Rom 5:1-5 –
“Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3 And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; 4 and perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.”

I am reminded that this hope is in Jesus Christ, not in the things that we desire from Him. There is a difference. For more thoughts on this passage, click the following link to read a blog post from last April, when I discovered that my hopes were somewhat errant and what true hope that does not disappoint looks like: Hope and Loss.

However, if you find yourself doubting in the midst of your desire to be hoping and believing, you are in good company. In Mark 9:14-29, Jesus encounters a man who’s son is possessed and may be near death:

Mark 9:21-27 –
“And Jesus asked his father, "How long has this been happening to him?" And he said, "From childhood. 22And it has often cast him into fire and into water, to destroy him. But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us." 23And Jesus said to him, "'If you can'! All things are possible for one who believes." 24Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, "I believe; help my unbelief!" 25And when Jesus saw that a crowd came running together, he rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, "You mute and deaf spirit, I command you, come out of him and never enter him again." 26And after crying out and convulsing him terribly, it came out, and the boy was like a corpse, so that most of them said, "He is dead." 27But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose.”

“I believe; help my unbelief.” What honesty, sprinkled with just a little belief in Jesus. What might God do in your life if you had that smallest bit of faith and pure honesty before Him?

Ask Him not only for help with “the thing that disturbs you,” but also for belief in Him in the first place. Tell Him that you desire to believe. Splay your soul out for Him, keeping nothing back. I think you’ll be encouraged at His response as you feel His presence with you. In fact, I can testify to this truth. Sometimes the worst thing that we try to hide from God is our secret doubt and less than 100% faith in Him, whether in specific circumstances or in general. He knows your every doubt. When we confess our desire to believe, acknowledging our yet to be perfected faith, we open to Him to come in and make sure of our faith where it was once unsure. He is the “author and perfector of our faith,” after all (Heb 12:2).

Believe in Him. Ask Him for help with your unbelief—cry to Him all the louder, as the blind man who then received his sight…as the father who’s son was healed. Look with desperate need and with expectancy to receive His help. He is already here with you. He is ready to reveal Himself to you in this very moment. Are you ready to behold Him? Have you asked Him? “Ask…seek…knock…” and “how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask!” (Luke 11:9-13) Amen.

Spiritual Dejection

Too good not to share:

"My Utmost For His Highest," Feb 7
http://utmost.org/spiritual-dejection/

Spiritual Dejection

"We were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel. Indeed, besides all this, today is the third day since these things happened" —Luke 24:21

Every fact that the disciples stated was right, but the conclusions they drew from those facts were wrong. Anything that has even a hint of dejection spiritually is always wrong. If I am depressed or burdened, I am to blame, not God or anyone else. Dejection stems from one of two sources— I have either satisfied a lust or I have not had it satisfied. In either case, dejection is the result. Lust means “I must have it at once.” Spiritual lust causes me to demand an answer from God, instead of seeking God Himself who gives the answer. What have I been hoping or trusting God would do? Is today “the third day” and He has still not done what I expected? Am I therefore justified in being dejected and in blaming God? Whenever we insist that God should give us an answer to prayer we are off track. The purpose of prayer is that we get ahold of God, not of the answer. It is impossible to be well physically and to be dejected, because dejection is a sign of sickness. This is also true spiritually. Dejection spiritually is wrong, and we are always to blame for it.

We look for visions from heaven and for earth-shaking events to see God’s power. Even the fact that we are dejected is proof that we do this. Yet we never realize that all the time God is at work in our everyday events and in the people around us. If we will only obey, and do the task that He has placed closest to us, we will see Him. One of the most amazing revelations of God comes to us when we learn that it is in the everyday things of life that we realize the magnificent deity of Jesus Christ.

Leaving a Pure Legacy

Have you ever desired to leave a legacy behind? To have an impact that outlasts your time with a group, on a team, in a job, or even in life itself? Many of us seek to “live beyond our years,” by impacting the world around us in a permanent way.

These can be noble goals and are certainly realized by those who serve the Lord their God with all of themselves—it is the natural outcome…it cannot be stopped. The issue that I find within myself and that you may find within yourself, as well, is that of desiring my legacy. We have erred immediately upon that thought.

“My Utmost For His Highest,” Feb 5:

ARE YOU READY TO BE OFFERED?

"Yea, and if I be offered upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I joy and rejoice with you all." Philippians 2:17

Are you willing to be offered for the work of the faithful - to pour out your life blood as a libation on the sacrifice of the faith of others? Or do you say - "I am not going to be offered up just yet, I do not want God to choose my work. I want to choose the scenery of my own sacrifice; I want to have the right kind of people watching and saying, 'Well done.'

It is one thing to go on the lonely way with dignified heroism, but quite another thing if the line mapped out for you by God means being a door-mat under other people's feet. Suppose God wants to teach you to say, "I know how to be abased" - are you ready to be offered up like that? Are you ready to be not so much as a drop in a bucket - to be so hopelessly insignificant that you are never thought of again in connection with the life you served? Are you willing to spend and be spent; not seeking to be ministered unto, but to minister? Some saints cannot do menial work and remain saints because it is beneath their dignity.

Leaving a pure legacy means to leave an impact so centered on God that we are seen as insignificant—that we are seen only long enough for others to then see Christ, and we vanish behind His infinite light and glory. It means impacting the world around us for Christ, such that those who are impacted continue to see Him for eternity, and we are as a speck of dust or “drop in a bucket.” Indeed, that bucket was filled by a great many individual drops and each were chosen by God to play that small part—but me and my little drop have nothing to boast about ourselves. We instead can boast about the One who orchestrated the thousands of little drops like ourselves to fill this metaphorical bucket.

This “bucket” could be leading someone to Christ. Did we do that? Not hardly—we may have been the last drop that filled the bucket, but there were many drops before us paving the way, setting the foundation, filling the bucket. And we as “drops” in this bucket of another Spirit-filled soul merely fell where we were directed. God alone is to be praised for the work of grace for the newfound in Christ!

This “bucket” could be a ministry or volunteer position or opportunity. Again, did we do that? Is it our work that is so amazing? Not at all—it is the Lord’s amazing work that will continue with or without us—we are simply to be overwhelmingly thankful that we have been included! What a truth is this: God will not be deterred—not even by you and I, the stubborn part-time followers, insisting on our own way. Are we so important that if we disobey, the entire world will begin to crumble and all of God’s large and small purposes will not be fulfilled? God is sovereign—He rules all and is not dictated to by His creation. In disobedience, God will go right around you and I, and we will forfeit the glorious opportunity of obedience to His calling this very day. He doesn’t miss out—we do.

I know that you and I will continue to wrestle with the same pride and selfishness that rears its ugly head every time we are given the opportunity to do something for God. We may rightly love the service; but we must stop short of admiring our small little part. Doing so is like being invited to cut the ceremonial ribbon as a mansion’s completion is revealed. We are invited to join the master of the mansion inside, and by cutting the ribbon as he has asked, we have been made a part of all who are brought off the street to enter his mansion. At this point, if we sit and marvel at how well we cut that ribbon, with what skill and smoothness we operated the scissors, we will miss the entire point. This illustration may sound ridiculous—it should. This is how ridiculous we act when we take pride in leaving a legacy of our own, even if it is in doing the Lord’s work. It’s like the ribbon cutter wanting everyone to remember him cutting the ribbon instead of taking part in the celebration of the mansion and those who have been invited, accepting the invitation to live within it. If we don’t cut the ribbon, the master will certainly find another to do it—there would be many eager to take that place, many that would be thankful, and a few that would do it in humility as he desired. It’s not as if our declining to cut the ribbon will stop the mansion from being opened. And it’s not as if we built the mansion or made it possible for those called to enter. We simply did our small little part and can thank the master for allowing us to be even a small part of his purpose for this mansion.

As you may easily see, this mansion is Heaven, the master is God, Jesus is the one who has given the invitations and made a way for us to be there, and we are graciously appointed as ribbon cutters or servants in other parts of this glorious scene. Let’s set our eyes upon the Master, the Mansion, and the Way. Let’s glorify the purpose behind our purpose. Let’s “cut the ribbon” obediently and thankfully, seeking that no one would recognize our cutting—that no one would remember a meager human legacy of our own, but that they would instead immediately look to the Mansion of Heaven and Jesus who welcomes them. If we are successful in leaving a legacy that others see as our own and then exalt us because of it, we are doing them a disservice, for we have distracted them from all that is good…we have traded a glimpse of a perfect, loving God, for that of a self-seeking human.

We cannot go incognito our entire lives and live out the Gospel that we are called to live. Some people will notice us, and we have to realize that. What we do with that focus, and before even that—how we pursue God in service in our hearts, seeking our own legacy or instead seeking to leave His pure legacy—these are the things for which we are accountable.

Many of you may say, “I’m not like that, at least not often. I just don’t think of such things.” Very well, I pray that it is because God has worked within you to refine you daily into such a selfless servant. I speak to the many that say, “That’s me—I am convicted that I am always seeking my own. I desire to be changed.” I desire to be changed, too. Let us look to leave the only Pure Legacy—that of Jesus Christ, our Savior who has rescued the most corrupted hearts, like yours and mine. Let’s finally step up to the plate of humility and actually desire within our hearts in our quite moments of absolute honesty to say sincerely “He must become greater. I must become less” (John 3:30). We can struggle and strive, and still we cannot do even that—ask to become less—on our own. The amazing thing about Jesus and our need of Him is that it is so utterly sweeping that not only can I by no means obtain salvation, only accepting it as freely given from Him, but in addition, once saved, I must continually rely on Him to do any good thing in me. I have to decide to want to be changed, and I have to follow through, but I cannot follow through as a matter of pure self-will. I can ask God to change me, and I can will to ask Him, but I must have Him come in, set up shop, and begin to do the changing. And even the desire to be changed is found in the conviction of the Holy Spirit.

And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: 9 of sin, because they do not believe in Me; 10 of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; 11 of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged. – John 16:8-11

How utterly helpless and condemned we are on our own—for we cannot even repent from our sins without His conviction. We need Him to even know that we need Him. He has made it such that all can see and know that He is God, then we need Him to respond to our conviction and cry for help, then we need Him to refine us into the servants He and we desire to be. Jesus said in John 15:5, “Apart from me you can do nothing.” Apart from Him I can do only evil. Apart from Him I will not even know I am evil and will spiral straight to Hell. But with Him, I am convicted. With Him I am saved. With Him I am transformed. With Him, I have no legacy of my own. With Him I am made a part of His pure legacy. With Him, the same is true for you. Forever. Amen.

Recognizing and Responding to the Call - Wisdom from Oswald Chambers

"My Utmost For His Highest," Jan 14(http://utmost.org/called-by-god/):

CALLED OF GOD
"Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me." Isaiah 6:8

God did not address the call to Isaiah; Isaiah overheard God saying, "Who will go for us?" The call of God is not for the special few, it is for everyone. Whether or not I hear God's call depends upon the state of my ears; and what I hear depends upon my disposition. "Many are called but few are chosen," that is, few prove themselves the chosen ones. The chosen ones are those who have come into a relationship with God through Jesus Christ whereby their disposition has been altered and their ears unstopped, and they hear the still small voice questioning all the time, "Who will go for us?" It is not a question of God singling out a man and saying, "Now, you go." God did not lay a strong compulsion on Isaiah; Isaiah was in the presence of God and he overheard the call, and realized that there was nothing else for him but to say, in conscious freedom, "Here am I, send me." Get out of your mind the idea of expecting God to come with compulsions and pleadings. When our Lord called His disciples there was no irresistible compulsion from outside. The quiet passionate insistence of His "Follow Me" was spoken to men with every power wide awake. If we let the Spirit of God bring us face to face with God, we too shall hear something akin to what Isaiah heard, the still small voice of God; and in perfect freedom will say, "Here am I; send me."

Pair this up with recent insight from previous days' "My Utmosts:"

"If we obey God, it is going to cost other people more than it costs us, and that is where the pain begins. If we are in love with our Lord, obedience does not cost us anything— it is a delight...
Beware of the inclination to dictate to God what consequences you would allow as a condition of your obedience to Him." - Jan 11

"We seem to think that God wants us to give up things! God purified Abraham from this error, and the same process is at work in our lives. God never tells us to give up things just for the sake of giving them up, but He tells us to give them up for the sake of the only thing worth having, namely, life with Himself." - Jan 8

"He went out, not knowing where he was going —Hebrews 11:8

Have you ever “gone out” in this way? If so, there is no logical answer possible when anyone asks you what you are doing. One of the most difficult questions to answer in Christian work is, “What do you expect to do?”You don’t know what you are going to do. The only thing you know is that God knows what He is doing. Continually examine your attitude toward God to see if you are willing to “go out” in every area of your life, trusting in God entirely...
Have you been asking God what He is going to do? He will never tell you. God does not tell you what He is going to do— He reveals to you who He is." - Jan 2

"There are times when you can’t understand why you cannot do what you want to do. When God brings a time of waiting, and appears to be unresponsive, don’t fill it with busyness, just wait. The time of waiting may come to teach you the meaning of sanctification— to be set apart from sin and made holy— or it may come after the process of sanctification has begun to teach you what service means. Never run before God gives you His direction. If you have the slightest doubt, then He is not guiding. Whenever there is doubt— wait.

At first you may see clearly what God’s will is— the severance of a friendship, the breaking off of a business relationship, or something else you feel is distinctly God’s will for you to do. But never act on the impulse of that feeling. If you do, you will cause difficult situations to arise which will take years to untangle. Wait for God’s timing and He will do it without any heartache or disappointment. When it is a question of the providential will of God, wait for God to move." - Jan 4

I'll admit, I don't have all this put together in my mind yet, either. I know to wait on God, for His timing is perfect. I also know to listen in the waiting and when I hear His still, small voice, to say "Here am I, send me!" I also know that it takes faith, beyond what is certain or logical, such that we will go out like Abraham, "not knowing where he was going." I know that we must count the cost, not just to ourselves to but to loved ones and those around us, and that any cost to us or others is no reason not to obey the call, but rather to prepare our hearts for His work. I know that although the call can bring sacrifice to others and myself, that the call is a delight, for we "Delight [our]selves in the Lord, and he will give [us] desires of [our] heart" (Psalm 37:4). I also know that I cannot dictate what consequences will be conditions of my obedience or what the call may be--but that obedience is our only condition.

The paragraph above is just a brief summary of the "My Utmosts" quoted above, and each is sound and in agreement with the Word. However, how do we apply each of those things correctly, such that we are not either over eager or too hesitant? Again, I'll admit that I'm still figuring it out, but I love to ponder these things and I hope you do, too. I think of it like this:

In the moments before the start of a horse race, each horse is in the gate with the rider poised for the start. But there is silence. Some horses stir a bit, getting anxious for the start--these often get poor starts. Some horses and riders are almost too relaxed or not on full alert, such that when the gate drops, there is a slight enough hesitation to put them in the back of the pack at the start. In any case, all horses and riders are ready to some extent, yet the gate has not been dropped.

Sometimes I think we need to have the attitude of the horse and rider behind the starting gate. We should not try to charge ahead while the gate is in place! We will be disqualified from that race and have to wait for the next one. By the same token, we should make sure we've gotten to the gate and in position, or the race will start without us. But I think we can be like that well-trained horse and rider, ready for the drop of the gate. Until the gate drops, until the Lord makes it clear without a doubt that we are to charge forward, we wait. Immediately upon dropping the gate, immediately upon picking up on that still, small voice, we go out with all we can muster, though we don't know what the race is going to look like--will my horse grab the lead or will I be last? Will the track be slippery? We go out without knowing where we are going, but we go at the drop of the gate. Others will not be chosen by God for this race that we're running, though we may wish that we could run with them. "Run with endurance the race marked out for you" (Heb 12:1). We may feel that we wanted to go with others on their races before us (their calls), or that we want to bring others and not "leave them behind" in our own minds, but God has called each to a race marked out for them. We cannot consider what it is costing them or us to run this race--we simply run the race marked out for us. And though we do not know all the consequences and there was sacrifice in leaving our comfortable stables to get out on the edge in the race, putting ourselves at risk, we can forget all the other distractions and realize the great exhilaration of the race--we are running with the wind in our faces! But only if we have gone through the life-long training, only if we've taken our place at the starting gate, only if we've waited for the gate to drop, and only if we'll charge forward when the gate is dropped, knowing perhaps little more than that a gate has been dropped, we are here and equipped by our Master Trainer, and we must run the race He has marked out for us.

All of the above alludes a specific call for ministry. As if we as riders and horses are committing to something new and different that is full-time ministry. Indeed, this fits, I believe, and you and I may very well need to read it that way. However, we might want to examine in what way we define "full-time ministry." When you hear that, I'm sure you think of pastors and missionaries, etc. Indeed, they are included. But could you be in full-time ministry right where you are? Could you be an engineer, school teacher, doctor, or lawyer in full-time ministry right now? I believe the answer is "yes." We often think about "going out without knowing" as being discarding all for the sake of a career in ministry. That may very well be your call--do not dismiss it if He is asking! And if you're unsure, then you can still start in obedience by making your life and career full-time ministry right now. The difference is attitude and approach to the work day. The difference is attitude and approach to friendships. The difference is attitude and approach in your thought life. We can "take every thought captive" (2 Cor 10:5) in the working world, doing everything "...with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters" (Col 3:23) being ambassadors for Christ every day.

I do not want to discount the calling to pastors and missionaries here. I believe that as many will read this, less are going to commit to such service for God than He has called. "Many are called, but few are chosen." As O.C. writes, few prove themselves chosen by responding to the call. In encourage you, in whatever way the Holy Spirit is guiding you right now, do the following:

- Listen for God continually while you wait and as you go out
- Wait for the Lord's direction that you KNOW is from Him
- When you act in obedience, go out without knowing or being hindered by the consequences for you and others
- Check to make sure that whatever the sacrifice, you still have the full joy of the Lord
- Start living for Him in full-time ministry right where you are today
- At any snare, at any success, at all times, "pray without ceasing" (1 Thess 5:17)

If you can satisfy these conditions, I believe that the Lord has you right where He wants you, your life will never be the same and for the better, and we are one step closer to walking down the path of His preferred will.

If this is all confusing, I understand. You might throw everything written here out the window and do just one thing: pray. You don't need me or anyone else to tell you what God can tell you Himself through prayer and sincere study of His Word. I write these things to be a catalyst in your relationship to Him, not at all to be a substitute. Your inspiration can start while reading here or "My Utmost" or any other Christian writing, but it must immediately be fed by the Source, God Himself. This is endeavored through prayer and Scripture.

May the Holy Spirit speak to you today, and may we both respond to His voice in the way that is most pleasing to our Father in Heaven. Amen.

Healthy Aspiration - Abiding in What Can Only Be Given

From "My Utmost for His Highest," November 24:

DIRECTION OF ASPIRATION
"Behold, as the eyes of servants look unto the hand of their masters . . . so our eyes wait upon the Lord our God." Psalm 123:2

This verse is a description of entire reliance upon God. Just as the eyes of the servant are riveted on his master, so our eyes are up unto God and our knowledge of His countenance is gained (cf. Isaiah 53:1. R.V). Spiritual leakage begins when we cease to lift up our eyes unto Him. The leakage comes not so much through trouble on the outside as in the imagination; when we begin to say - "I expect I have been stretching myself a bit too much, standing on tiptoe and trying to look like God in stead of being an ordinary humble person." We have to realize that no effort can be too high.

For instance, you came to a crisis when you made a stand for God and had the witness of the Spirit that all was right, but the weeks have gone by, and the years maybe, and you are slowly coming to the conclusion - 'Well, after all, was I not a bit too pretentious? Was I not taking a stand a bit too high?' Your rational friends come and say - Don't be a fool, we knew when you talked about this spiritual awakening, that it was a passing impulse, you can't keep up the strain, God does not expect you to. And you say - Well, I suppose I was expecting too much. It sounds humble to say it, but it means that reliance on God has gone and reliance on worldly opinion has come in. The danger is lest no longer relying on God you ignore the lifting up of your eyes to Him. Only when God brings you to a sudden halt, will you realize how you have been losing out. Whenever there is a leakage, remedy it immediately. Recognize that something has been coming between you and God, and get it readjusted at once.

There is a subtle distinction in the writing above between striving to attain the Goal and seeing and knowing the Goal. If you read O.C.'s writing, you'll find a very strong emphasis against striving to achieve any great thing on our own or for ourselves (which is actually a Bible Truth--no doubt the Truth O.C. is trying to convey)--though it may seem so, he is not condoning this striving in the passage above. The above addresses the goal and the life of continual full reliance on God, producing an awareness of His presence that overflows in us to the point that others might notice and errantly say "it was a passing impulse." If we can keep this in mind as not a contradiction, but instead as clarity on the life of delighting in the Lord, desiring Him above all else and even being very aware of Him versus striving to attain any self-righteousness by our own efforts, then we can see this not as a contradiction but instead as a more detailed clarification. Jesus is the Way and the Destination. While united with Him, we do have the experience O.C. describes. Let us never give it up willingly in the name of false humility, knowing also that we could never gain it on our own apart from Him and He is available to all.

Radical Faith, Greatest Joy

Check out the "My Utmost" for Oct 23: http://www.myutmost.org/10/1023.html

Here is a quote that I find most powerful and deep reaching:

“How are we going to get the life that has no lust, no self-interest, no sensitiveness to pokes, the love that is not provoked, that thinketh no evil, that is always kind? The only way is by allowing not a bit of the old life to be left; but only simple perfect trust in God, such trust that we no longer want God's blessings, but only want Himself. Have we come to the place where God can withdraw His blessings and it does not affect our trust in Him? When once we see God at work, we will never bother our heads about things that happen, because we are actually trusting in our Father in Heaven Whom the world cannot see.”

Firstly, can you even imagine life so refined by God that you have no lust or no self-interest? No sensitiveness to “wrongs,” or unprovokable love? I can hardly fathom it. But we’re working our way there by God’s grace.

Secondly, would our faith be tested and revealed so strong as it currently seems or appears if all of God’s blessings were stripped away? All of them. For Job, all was taken but his life, yet he remained faithful. We seek blessing after blessing—at least I have for the longest time—but there is a major difference in seeking gifts vs. seeking the Giver. To think that we’d be content to have daily conversation with God, stripped of every human comfort and physical blessing. To think that quite literally, “My grace is sufficient for you,” and that was literally all we had to cling to (2 Cor 12:9). Few of us have ever truly been there, not to that extent, and honestly, I kind of hope not to be…yet, what a joy must be developed in someone who is led down that path, never forsaking God, continuing to have faith and be sustained by God Himself alone, supernaturally through the presence of His Holy Spirit within us. I don’t think you or I even know what that really means or looks like, for we are so far from it. It makes me consider the following: the man who does not know Jesus and is suffering--he is to be pitied. The man who stands solidly in Christ and is suffering--he is to be envied (in a righteous sense, such that we see his plight as good and desirable). That’s a radical change of thought, but I believe it is true. Understandably, many cannot accept it.

Let's ask ourselves this piercing question today: What would it take for me to trust God with absolute abandonment to the point that all I desire is His presence and grace and nothing else matters? Am I willing to pursue eternal life with Him that way, or am I resigned to always put a little bit of myself above all other things, including my all-powerful, perfectly loving God and Creator?

A Great Struggle: Trial vs. Complacency

From “My Utmost For His Highest,” May 19 -

"OUT OF THE WRECK I RISE"

"Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?" Romans 8:35
God does not keep a man immune from trouble; He says - "I will be with him in trouble." It does not matter what actual troubles in the most extreme form get hold of a man's life, not one of them can separate him from his relationship to God. We are "more than conquerors in all these things." Paul is not talking of imaginary things, but of things that are desperately actual; and he says we are super-victors in the midst of them, not by our ingenuity, or by our courage, or by anything other than the fact that not one of them affects our relationship to God in Jesus

Christ. Rightly or wrongly, we are where we are, exactly in the condition we are in. I am sorry for the Christian who has not something in his circumstances he wishes was not there.
"Shall tribulation . . . ?" Tribulation is never a noble thing; but let tribulation be what it may - exhausting, galling, fatiguing, it is not able to separate us from the love of God. Never let cares or tribulations separate you from the fact that God loves you.
"Shall anguish . . . ?" - can God's love hold when everything says that His love is a lie, and that there is no such thing as justice?
"Shall famine . . . ?" - can we not only believe in the love of God but be more than conquerors, even while we are being starved?
Either Jesus Christ is a deceiver and Paul is deluded, or some extraordinary thing happens to a man who holds on to the love of God when the odds are all against God's character. Logic is silenced in the face of every one of these things. Only one thing can account for it - the love of God in Christ Jesus. "Out of the wreck I rise" every time.

Does this speak to anyone else? There are two sentences that jump more than any other to me. The first is “I am sorry for the Christian who has not something in his circumstances he wishes was not there.” At first read, that may seem over-the-head spiritualized, or alternatively you may think, “that condition is always met—there is always at least some little thing,” and therefore dismiss the statement. However, this hit me because…I have experienced it. I can think back to a specific period in my life where there was almost nothing that I consciously wished wasn’t there. And if you know what I know about it, then you would agree with O.C. that you are sorry for me in that moment. That period of time, the last time “everything in the world was right,” marked the beginning of a spiritually dry period in my life. You see, shortly following that period, it all started to crumble—most disturbing of all, my focus and relationship with Christ. I did not recognize my need of Him. I became an angry, self-centered, prideful, arrogant man…or something short of a real man of God. Though it is hard to purge every bad behavior or tendency from the flesh because we are in part just that—flesh—the point is that there was a noticeable difference in me.

Oh yes, on a given day without much sleep the night before I would probably complain that I was tired and needed a break. Ok, ok, yes, there were circumstances, minor to me, that I wished were different, to O.C.’s point…but I don’t think that’s his main point, after all. Overall, I was content…and complacent. And I never thought about it quite like this until reading O.C’s pity for a person in that situation. Perhaps you’ve experienced it and know exactly where he’s coming from. Perhaps you haven’t, but now I hope you can see it before it would happen to you. And we don’t become masochists that want trial to keep our soul’s awareness up…but we might perceive them differently, if such trials do persist. God is shown through our trials. If you reach a situation where for an extended period of time (I’ll say months), there is no major distraction that hampers your mind, body, or soul…nothing that troubles you…perhaps that is the moment we need to reach for God the most. Don’t get me wrong—there are seasons of great blessing. Thank our Good Lord that for most of us in America it has been the greater portion of our lives. But those times of blessing aren’t necessarily mutually exclusive from the trials. In fact, the past 2+ years of my life can be seen in two completely different ways, depending on the lens that the viewer uses.

If you know anything about polarizing lenses, you know that they can filter out parts of visible light. Use the right lens and the distracting light is filtered out, leaving the desired light. Use the wrong lens and the opposite effect is observed. If you remove the polarizing lenses from my recent life, then you can see the vastly different perspectives: one would say that it’s been the worst, most trial ridden and heartbreaking stretch of my life by far. A concentrated dose of hardship, both physical and emotional. And I’ll inform you that it has been spiritually trying, as well. All of that is true. The other perspective is also true: that it has been the most enriching, nourishing, wonderful 2 years of my life. I have been led to search my heart and search out God as never before. He has rescued me and restored me, and all the while taken great care of me, blessing me with a relationship with Him that far outweighs anything we could see in this physical world. And physical blessings still persist, as well (simply consider that I’ve had a job the entire time, for starters).

So the worst 2 years of my life have been my best and favorite 2 years. I use the word “favorite” and immediately begin to remember the times of no trials and wonderful abounding blessings with no perceived difficulties—and I am drawn toward them immediately. Perhaps those are my “favorite.” But then again I consider that I could not and would not choose to go back there, for it would take me away from my current relationship with God to a place farther from Him. Easier in the flesh, but devastating to the soul. These are things that I could only see after the fact, and I see them now.

Maybe we shouldn’t lament our circumstances so much, when you think of the alternative “easy life.” If you’re experiencing the “easy life,” thank God right now. Give Him the glory, live for Him through it, let it be your witness, making you even more keenly aware of His presence, instead of numbing you to it. But also realize that great transformation of individuals and of mass civilizations has come through great trial…great trial that purges evil, sets believers faces on God, and demonstrates all the perfect love and grace that is our perfect God.

Spiritual Sponges

Read the May 16 “My Utmost for His Highest,” and see if it doesn’t convict you:
http://www.myutmost.org/05/0516.html

Excerpt:
“What does it matter if external circumstances are hard? Why should they not be! If we give way to self-pity and indulge in the luxury of misery, we banish God's riches from our own lives and hinder others from entering into His provision. No sin is worse than the sin of self-pity, because it obliterates God and puts self-interest upon the throne. It opens our mouths to spit out murmurings and our lives become craving spiritual sponges, there is nothing lovely or generous about them.”

This whole thing gets to me, but the imagery of being a craving spiritual sponge really hits me. It is good to become a spiritual sponge…at first. Better to be a sponge than a slab of stone that will not retain any word from God, has no capacity to, and doesn’t want to. The first step is probably to become that craving spiritual sponge. I’ve seen it in new believers, including myself, and it’s beautiful—we realize how dry we are and want to absorb so much!

But we cannot stay there, can we? O.C. says this is the opposite of “lovely or generous,” and I believe he is speaking of the pouring out of the Spirit that was given to us on others. First we are filled, then we become instruments to fill others. God does the filling, but we are instruments in His hands—simply because it pleases Him to have such a oneness by working together with a “like mind” in this way.

"If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose." - Philippians 2:1-2

"My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. "Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world. "Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them." - Jesus in John 17:20-26

He doesn’t need us, but His chosen way is to use us because He loves us and it builds intimacy with Him. Perhaps we are most like Him when we in turn share with others what has been shared with us—knowing Christ. What greater gift could God offer, but to beckon us to share even in the slightest of ways something that is like Him—perfect God?! No wonder a God who loves perfectly and “knows how to give good gifts” chooses for us to share with Him in sharing with others (Matt 7:11, Luke 11:13).

Perhaps we are still sponges. Sponges that are so saturated with God that we begin to drip and overflow—as we continue to be filled, we continue to overflow into others so that they might be filled (Luke 6:45, Romans 15:13, 2 Cor 4:15, 9:12, Col 2:7, 1 Thess 3:12, and more). If we are a “craving spiritual sponge,” then we only take—we would not be filled to capacity and cannot flow outwardly. I don’t have any special prescription on how to begin to overflow, other than to know that the Bible speaks volumes about it—it is everywhere—recognition of Jesus as Savior, receiving of grace and the Holy Spirit, and complete surrender to God. We never stop being sponges, but we must look both to receive and to immediately give in spiritual things.

INSIGHT, NOT EMOTION

My Utmost For His Highest, May 1 - by Oswald Chambers:

"I have to lead my life in faith, without seeing Him." 2 Corinthians 5:7 (MOFFATT)

For a time we are conscious of God's attentions, then, when God begins to use us in His enterprises, we take on a pathetic look and talk of the trials and the difficulties, and all the time God is trying to make us do our duty as obscure people. None of us would be obscure spiritually if we could help it. Can we do our duty when God has shut up heaven? Some of us always want to be illuminated saints with golden haloes and the flush of inspiration, and to have the saints of God dealing with us all the time. A gilt-edged saint is no good, he is abnormal, unfit for daily life, and altogether unlike God. We are here as men and women, not as half-fledged angels, to do the work of the world, and to do it with an infinitely greater power to stand the turmoil because we have been born from above.

If we try to re-introduce the rare moments of inspiration, it is a sign that it is not God we want. We are making a fetish of the moments when God did come and speak, and insisting that He must do it again; whereas what God wants us to do is to "walk by faith." How many of us have laid ourselves by, as it were, and said - "I cannot do any more until God appears to me." He never will, and without any inspiration, without any sudden touch of God, we will have to get up. Then comes the surprise - "Why, He was there all the time, and I never knew it!" Never live for the rare moments, they are surprises. God will give us touches of inspiration when He sees we are not in danger of being led away by them. We must never make our moments of inspiration our standard; our standard is our duty.

Going too far?

In the Apr 26 devotional of “My Utmost for His Highest,” by Oswald Chambers, he references Abraham, among others, and his obedience to the point of sacrificing his own son with his own hands (http://www.myutmost.org/04/0426.html). Wow, what an amazing commitment to God. When you hear this story, I’ll bet you react somewhat similarly to me: “I wonder if I would have that kind of obedience.” I have always looked at that story as an inspiration and example of how to give up everything to God, and God’s blessing through it. I think that is good and true. But O.C. mentioned something that absolutely floored me: “Abraham was not a devotee of his convictions, or he would have slain Isaac and said that the voice of the angel was the voice of the devil.” Whoa. I instantly realized that I just might have slain Isaac. With the struggle of obedience, I never considered the other side: selling out to your convictions without continually checking them with and listening to God. A devotee to the conviction, instead of a devotee to God. I heard a preacher give a great example once…he said that following God is like riding a horse. God wants you balanced and on the horse. Satan wants you to fall off that horse, and he doesn’t care which way you fall. The point is that in almost every circumstance, we can fall to either side of God’s path. If we commit to obedience and convictions and passions to the point that our commitment is more to the specific convictions than to God who provides them, then we may severely miss out on the glory of God and what He is doing. This devotional has alerted me to take leaps of faith, obey with self-abandon, and follow the passion God places in me—but not to get so focused on the individual leap, obedience, and passion that I fail to hear God’s voice that never ceases to speak and guide me. Otherwise, I might call it the “voice of the devil” and murder the blessing that God wants to give me. Why would I think that God would stop communicating with me after I respond to a strong conviction? Likely, the opposite is true, so our ears must be continually open to Him.

This was so convicting to me…and I love it!

Experiencing God - Dying to Self

Recently, I was reading "My Utmost for His Highest" by Oswald Chambers, a daily devotional. In the Apr 21 devotional, titled "Don't Hurt the Lord," a few lines really jumped out and convicted me... (http://myutmost.org/04/0421.html)

In talking about our expectations of how God will move in our lives and reveal Himself to us and others, he says, "Other people see the manifestation, the child of God does not. We want to be conscious of God; we cannot be conscious of our consciousness and remain sane."

That is a very deep statement, but after reading it several times and thinking about it, I thought that it might be easiest to relate to the statement with the concept of humility. I've been known to offer the following as a joke: "I am the most humble person I know." I hope you can laugh with me as you realize how contradictory that statement is! But in context of O.C.'s statement above, we need to be conscious of humility, yet not conscious of our consciousness. What I mean is this: the thought should be “I want to be humble in this situation,” not “I know I am being humble in this situation.” Or better yet, just being humble without calling it humble ourselves…doing it naturally without humility being the goal. When you take the thought to the point of calling yourself humble, you are praising yourself and being less humble than you first intended. I wonder if that is the difference between being conscious of something and being conscious of our consciousness of something?

The most convicting statement in that devotional, though, was the following: "If we are asking God to give us experiences, or if conscious experience is in the road, we hurt the Lord."

I often want God to use me, and I ask Him to do so. But how often do we ask with the expectation that we might be used and be ok with never even knowing it? Don’t we usually conceptualize being used by God as some great and wonderful thing—not only for God and for others, but that we might experience it ourselves as we do His work? This may be the way God rewards us most of the time, but how utterly selfless is the request that we might be used by God, while being fully receptive to never even getting to experience it or even knowing it? Think about it: even in my most selfless requests to God for Him to use me in any way that He sees fit, with no regard to my own circumstances or personal desires, even then I almost always have at least a hint of selfishness…because I expect to see the work I am doing for Him, and I expect to be fulfilled by that. Now, it is true that in almost every circumstance those who have utterly sold-out to God and serving Him have had the greatest sense of fulfillment of any men…but that is inconsequential for our requests—it cannot be the motivation, or even the “kicker” that we perceive as good because of personal gain. What if we could place ourselves in such a selfless place that we would be willing to serve God in anything and everything that we do, trusting that He is doing His great things through our work, yet having absolutely no awareness to the good that is coming of it? What if we learned to become so selfless that we would commit to being a tool for God even if we never saw an ounce of fulfillment and success in our work for Him—if our only solace was our trust that He was doing things unseen to us, according to His promises? Wow, I can tell you that I don’t yet know how to make myself that selfless…but I sure would like to work toward it. It sounds grim, it sounds absolutely hard…but I know it is an attitude pleasing to God. And I do know that He loves me so much that He will allow me to share His joy and the fruits of the Spirit He places inside of me—but the struggle is to rid myself of those things as motivation and commit to Him because it is right, simple as that.

For those of us who are young in our faith, dying to self is extremely hard to do, or to even fully comprehend what it means. Jesus says in John 12:24-26, "I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me." Furthermore, Paul says in Galations 2:20, "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me." (More in Luke 9:23-25, Mark 8:34-36, Matt 16:24-26)

After you have started dying to worldly desires and sins, then begin to die to your own expectations of the future, then begin to die to what you might do any given day, then begin to die to everything else—there is often something that remains that should die. Even if we have died to self in all other ways and given our lives as service and sacrifice to God (which is a big if, in of itself), for many of us, including myself, there is an expectation of fulfillment through that. That somehow the experience will be fulfilling in of itself. But the very last part of us that we can give up is the expectation that through all of it, every good thing, we might not require such an experience, such a fulfillment…that we might be content to obey God in pure servanthood—that although God doesn’t usually deprive us of the rich joy that comes in serving Him and sharing in His sufferings, we would be willing to commit to Him even if it did require that depravation of joy—wouldn’t that be ultimately dying to self completely? That is what I am trying to communicate, what I know I will likely never comprehend or fully realize as a human on this earth, but what I would like to work toward. There is some comfort here: we know as we serve God and commit our lives to Him, He sends the Holy Spirit and the fruits of that Spirit are a wonderful experience: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galations 5:22-23). And the best news of all: Heaven awaits! Until then, I would like to learn how to embrace this attitude a little bit more every day.

Hope and Loss

In this life, I feel at times like I have lost so much. So many dreams and ambitions, so many things that were once mine and are no longer mine. So many things that I might think of as my right as a human being. But at this point, my thoughts need revision. Truthfully, I have no right to anything physical and therefore have lost nothing.

What do I have a right to? A job, a house, food, healthcare, friendship, marriage, children, a standard of living? No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. None of those things, nor anything else quantified in the physical world, do I have a right to. Rather, anything which I aspire to attain or have been blessed with is a gift from God (James 1:17, Matt 7:11). These were not mine to begin with, and I have no claim, no argument, no right to any of it. The difference is in attitude. Do you have an attitude of entitlement or an attitude of thankfulness for the multitude of blessings in your life? I can tell you that the latter is the correct one, though I do not possess it often enough.

Have you experienced some recent setbacks? So have I. And I have experienced even more setbacks as I tally them up from years past. But at the same time, if I will allow myself to focus on the positive, I find countless blessings. And as I focus on the setbacks, I am struck with the realization that the things that I “lost” were what I perceived to be good for me—things that I wanted and wanted badly. Things that even society as a whole would commend me for aspiring toward and would consider them “rights.” But society as a whole is wrong here. I have no claim on what my life should be like tomorrow or in 50 years—who am I to choose who I will be, what I will do, and whom I will know? The truth is that I must rid myself of those thoughts of selfishness and let God do the choosing and choreographing.

So what is disappointment? What is false hope? I have hoped for many things that just did not come to fruition. I have worked hard for these things and have done everything within my human power to attain them, and I have even consulted God through prayer that it might be done according to His will. Romans 5:5 says that “hope does not disappoint” (also see Isaiah 49:23). I have hoped in those things and I have been disappointed. So something has to give.

I am actually convicted by the very words I just wrote: “I have hoped in those things and I have been disappointed.” “I have hoped in those things.” “…in those things.” You see, my hope is not to be “in those things,” my hope is to be in God, His divine and perfect will, and in His perfect love for me and you. This is the hope that does not disappoint which is referred to in the Bible. My focus has been on physical things and not on God’s purpose. My focus was as such: “This is my will that I think can be used for Your will, God.” Rather, it should be “I am committed to your good and perfect will, God, that I may conform mine and change my entire list of desires, abandoning all that I consider good in my own flawed judgment.” From "My Utmost for His Highest," by Oswald Chambers: “If our hopes are being disappointed just now, it means that they are being purified. There is nothing noble the human mind has ever hoped for or dreamed of that will not be fulfilled.” Noble—in the purest sense of the word.

Instead of questioning God in our disappointment, how powerful is our growth in relationship with God when we run to Him, beckoning Him to set us straight so that we might not bear the pain of our own poor judgment and separation from His holy, perfect plan. When our desires are His desires, our hope is His hope, and all things we hope for we will see.

Knowledge is not the answer. Obedience, patience, trust, and love for our Father are the answer. If we have these things, we quickly realize that knowledge is inconsequential. I caught myself praying and saying to God, “Lord, if I only knew…” If I only knew exactly what He wanted here and there…if I only just knew right now, I could go ahead and start out in the right direction. If I only had that knowledge! But as I was thinking that, I realized it was in error. First of all, we do know. We have the Bible, His Word, to guide us unto all things that please and displease Him. We can apply those things this very day, in this very moment. And beyond that, for specific events in the future, not only could we not handle knowledge of the future, whether partial or full, but that knowledge actually does not achieve the purpose. Upon receiving such knowledge, my focus undoubtedly would turn to myself and how I would be affected, instead of God's glory. And almost undoubtedly, I would attempt to change or at least tweak just one little thing. Even if my motives were altruistic, attempting to change it would defy the purpose of my asking and receiving the knowledge from God. Was my request not to have foresight in order to obey? It was, and if obedience is a key issue—oh, and it is—then let’s examine it: Obedience, through patience, trust and love for God requires absolutely no foreknowledge of any specific events. Therefore my request for knowledge in order to obey…is void. My request must instead be for patience, trust, and love shared between me and My Father.

In the end, I have lost nothing. Everything I have, everything I am, everything I have experienced…if there is any good in any of it, it is a gift from God. I have nothing that was not given to me and have lost nothing that was my own, even my very life itself (1 Cor 6:19-20, Job 10:12). I am an eternal being, yet a temporary tenant in a temporary vessel, whose purpose is serving and glorifying my God. The only true loss would be losing the opportunity to serve, praise, glorify, and mutually love our Creator…and even that is a gift, one I am thankful for, and one that I hope to have forever. This is hope that will never disappoint.