“The hottest places in hell are reserved for the dogfight promoters. Barbaric!—let the word resound from hill to hill, from mountain to mountain, from valley to valley across this broad land. Barbaric!”
It’s refreshing to learn that Senator Byrd actually believes in hell but it makes one wonder why he can get so bent out of shape about the dogfights. I agree that these dogfights are perverse & evil & mindlessly cruel & should not be tolerated in any society. I love dogs as well as all of Gods creation (while I confess to killing some of God’s fish occasionally & even eating them.)
However, there’s something wrong with a person or society that can get all bent out of shape over dogs fighting, while these dogs would fight anyway if left alone, when we can watch multitudes of our elderly living in poverty & turn a blind eye.
Many of the same people who can get so upset about dogfights don’t seem to have much compassion for the millions of babies whose brains are sucked out by a suction tube & bodies ripped piece by piece out of their mother’s wombs while they are alert & can feel the pain.
What’s wrong with this picture?
Friday, July 27, 2007
Gifted-not spiritual
By John Stallings
In 11 Corinthians 4:7, Paul writes; “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the Excellency of the power may be of God and not of us.”
When we hear of the failure of a well known Christian, we are perplexed and wonder why and how it happened. When someone well known is mentioned on the six o’clock news and their failure is spread across the T.V screens and newspapers, we are shocked and mourn for them, which is as it should be. We should also go to prayer for them, whether or not the story being told is true.
If what we’re hearing has actually happened, we’re shocked because the newness of the revelation has caught us unprepared. However, in truth we are usually hearing about it, not unlike cancer, in its final stages. Rarely does a story emerge about an individual in the germinating phase of their failure. That person doubtless had been pursuing the course of action and going down that road for years. We are just finding it out.
Though we often hear the term, “Falling into sin” it’s a misnomer in many ways, for these falls almost always take time. It is unfortunate that these things happen in the Kingdom of God because when one Christian stumbles all of us are wounded by it. But Paul’s statement in this verse helps us to better understand that God has put his rich treasure of Grace and power into earthen vessels, “that the Excellency of the power may be of God and not of us.” What a sobering and humbling thought.
Again, Paul is reminding us in this verse that there is a human element that we all constantly contend with. One Bible translation of the above verse says; “We have this treasure in Jars of Clay.” While there is no question about the reality of the powerful treasure we are given, scripture reminds us that the containers of this marvelous power are only clay.
Let me share with you a concept that might sound strange: gifted not spiritual. Does it sound like an oxymoron to hear the words in the same sentence? Does the idea of an individual exercising a Gift such as the gift of Healing, or the gift of Faith or Prophesy, and not be what God calls a” Spiritual person” seem crazy? How could such a thing be true?
In 1 Corinthians 3:1 the Holy Spirit, through the apostle Paul tells the Corinthian church, “I could not write unto you as Spiritual but as unto carnal”. You certainly couldn’t accuse this Corinthian church of not exercising the gifts for they possessed them and they were certainly in use. However, according to Paul they were “not spiritual.” Having made that statement, let’s chase it for a bit and see just what Paul meant.
IT’S OBVIOUS THAT THE GIFTS GOD GAVE THE EARLY CHURCH ARE AVAILABLE TODAY.
Romans 11:26 makes it clear that the gifts and callings of God are without repentance; meaning when God gives the gifts, he does not revoke them. Since the gifts were given to the early church, his promise was that they wouldn’t be withdrawn. Moreover, these gifts can’t, as some have supposed, have ended with the Apostles for they were never called the Gifts of the Apostles, but rather were the “Gifts of the Spirit.”
Certainly we know the Holy Spirit hasn’t died. So we can rightly say that Gods gifts are still resident within the Church. Many theologians, through a process of dispensations, like a mailman sorting mail, arbitrarily place the gifts in the dispensation where they feel they belong. This seems convenient but is dead wrong.
However it’s important to remember, and this confuses folk; that just because a person uses one of the spiritual gifts doesn’t mean that individual is spiritually mature or for that matter their lives are pleasing to God. What it does mean, clear and simple, is that God by divine fiat has chosen to use that person. No gift or the exercise of that gift marks a person as “someone special.”
THE GIFT TELLS LITTLE ABOUT THE ONE WHO HAS IT, BUT RATHER TELLS US ABOUT THE ONE WHO GAVE IT.
If someone gave me a $500,000 Bentley and I drove it around arrogantly, it would make me look ridiculous because the car would say nothing about me; rather it would speak of the person who gifted me.
• In the mid-seventies, I went to conduct a revival in a church in Florida. When I arrived the people were still buzzing with excitement about the evangelist who had ministered for them a few months earlier. This man, whom I had met briefly earlier that year, had an unusual ministry in that he had the ability to give folk knowledge about themselves that only they and their doctor or those close to them could possibly know. He didn’t preach much, once in awhile he’d have a message but he was very clear with the people. He would say, “I don’t preach sermons like other preachers.” This was always fine with the people who came and the revival he conducted in this particular church went on for seven weeks. The Pastor showed me the check book where this man’s checks had been written to him nightly (he couldn’t wait until the end of the week to be paid as most other preachers do.) I was stunned to see that the checks he received were hundreds, sometimes thousands each and every night. I certainly didn’t begrudge this minister the money he received but it was far more than most churches that size could normally pay an Evangelist. This man would come to the service each night and when introduced, he would begin bringing people up to the platform and giving them information about themselves he obviously couldn’t have known. During the mid-seventies, he was a sensation everywhere he went. He wasn’t always correct about people. There were nights he didn’t seem to “have it” and everyone understood. I believe he called his gift “the word of knowledge or discerning of Spirits,” but the fact of the matter was that he was right on target much of the time.
After the first service of my meeting in this church, a man who was a leader came up to me and asked, “Brother, Is that all you do?” I was a little confused and asked what he meant. He asked again if that was “all I did.” I answered that what I do each night, unless God led me otherwise, was to sing my songs, preach the Word of God and expect signs to follow and have people Saved, Healed and Blessed. I continued to tell the brother that I always preached the Word and when the Word was preached we could expect exciting signs to follow. Just as in Bible days, “signs and wonders follow the believers.” I explained that several gifts were also operable in my ministry but since the Holy Spirit is a personality & doesn’t express Himself in the same way in every service, I never felt lead of God to advertise myself as a specialist. If the manifestation of a “gift” was what the people expected of me, they would be disappointed if the gift wasn’t evident in each & every service, therefore presenting a temptation to “try to force the gift to operate & therefore do what God isn’t doing.” This seemed to be what their last evangelist was doing. Also, some of the things God showed me about particular folk in the church had a negative side & were better presented within the context of a sermon, therefore taking the “personal sting” out of the revelation. If God prompted me to do it more openly, I would as always have a keen listening ear.
MULTIPLE GIFTS RESIDENT IN ONE PERSON NOT UNUSUAL
In 2 Timothy 4:1-2 Paul mentions several gifts that Timothy should be exercising. He says,
“Preach the word”—Be instant in season & out of season”---
“reprove, rebuke, exhort,”---
“With all longsuffering--- & doctrine.”
Several gifts of the spirit or a “gift-mix” are contained in that short passage. Many times within one sermon there can be a stretch of five minutes or more of pure prophesy embedded in the message for those with ears to hear. But the good brother didn’t try to hide his disappointment over the fact that preaching & singing was for the most part “all I did.”
During that week I met several other wonderful folk who had been so enraptured by their former Evangelist’s ministry that they could hardly speak of anything else. Since the Pastor had been an old friend of mine I tactfully questioned him about the effects this Evangelist had on his church. I quickly discerned that almost anything I said was construed to be jealousy on my part of that Evangelist’s ministry. I was there for two weeks and immensely enjoyed it. At the close of the meetings, my offering wasn’t as much as the former evangelist was given however the folk did give generously and purchased my records and my needs were more than met. We had, I felt a very well attended, successful series of meetings and a lot happened during those days. The Pastor and the people were happy and invited me back someday. After I left, I said very little about the experience to anyone figuring questions I asked might be construed as “sour grapes”.
I left that town troubled in my spirit, for there was something I knew about this Evangelist that I hadn’t mentioned. That information was not exactly unknown among the ministers I knew either, but really was old news, not of much significance. I knew from unimpeachable sources that this man, a few years back had been discovered in a motel with another man and some women who weren’t their wives, having a drunken party. The reason this knowledge wasn’t all that important was that he had confessed it all and was, as far as I knew, in right standing now with God, his wife, and fellow ministers.
From time to time after that meeting in Florida, I would hear stories about the evangelist most of them centering on his lengthy, successful, lucrative revivals. I knew that in some places he had to rent u-haul trucks to take away from the cities all the things people lavished on him. Because he had this gift operating in his ministry, nothing else seemed to be important and pockets turned inside out for him everywhere he went. I also knew personally of people who had been so enamored with this man who had given them personal information about themselves that they gave everything they had. Thankfully their church stepped in and paid their household bills after the meetings. All I could do was just ponder these things in my heart, though they troubled me, put them aside & move on.
Thirteen years went by and one day I turned on my T.V and to my horror, saw this evangelist on one of the major Christian talk shows laughing & talking with the host. I was floored and told my wife these exact words, “This is the beginning of the end for him,” calling the name of the T.V host, who also was an old friend of mine. I knew there was nothing I could have told him that the host of that show didn’t already know so I had no alternative but to stare dumbfounded into the T.V. Within just a few months the Christian talk show was cancelled, the host had fallen into adultery and scandal and had lost his marriage, most of it arranged for him by this Evangelist. The Evangelist had also fallen back into sin and lost his ministry and was driving a taxi, and had been arrested several times for drunk driving. Not long afterward he died of a sexually transmitted disease. Here was a man who could, when he was having a good night, almost read peoples minds.
Now, can I say that this man wasn’t using a true gift of God? No! I could not, nor would not! In all probability he was exercising a spiritual gift that God had at one time bestowed on him, for remember, those gifts aren’t taken back by God. Obviously he had no spiritual fruit but many times we suspend our search for spiritual fruit feeling we’ll be called “critical.”
THIS DOESN’T REFLECT ON THE REALITY OF THE GIFTS
What I’m saying here might make some feel uncomfortable feeling it reflects on the magnificent gifts of God. But think about it this way. While it’s extremely hurtful to God and the body of Christ to have a preacher or any Christian to fall and turn away from what they know is real, if a preacher who preaches a strong the Salvation message backslides, it isn’t a reflection on the Salvation message. What has gone wrong is the failure of that individual and nothing more. What we must teach is that we need to see the fruit of any person’s life before we can know whether or not that person is in sync with spiritual reality.
In Matthew 7; 21; Jesus said “NOT EVERY ONE THAT SAITH UNTO ME LORD LORD SHALL INTER INTO THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN. BUT HE THAT DOETH THE WILL OF MY FATHER WHICH IS HEAVEN. MANY WILL SAY UNTO ME IN THAT DAY, LORD LORD HAVE WE NOT PROPHESIED IN THY NAME? AND HAVE WE NOT CAST OUT DEVILS? AND IN THEY NAME DONE MANY WONDERFUL WORKS? AND THEN I WILL PROFESS ONTO THEM I NEVER KNEW YOU; DEPART FROM ME YE THAT WORK INIQUITY.”
Think about that. Jesus doesn’t say, ‘No, you never did any of those things. He just says depart from me, I never knew you.” What I am saying here isn’t meant as a negative regarding the Gifts of the Spirit but rather it’s a call for understanding and balance. We get so carried away with a gift and the person who uses it that we can forget that it tells little about the user of the gift but the giver of it, and doesn’t assure that the user of the gift is in right standing with the giver. If a preacher who was known to not believe gifts are operative in our day were to say these things, folk would automatically reject it feeling that what he said was biased. However I was raised in churches that believe in these gifts as do I. The Bible never says “by their gifts shall ye know them” but rather “by their fruits shall ye know them”.
CHARISMA WITHOUT CHARACTER IS DANGEROUS
Sadly we often turn that around backwards and say “by their gifts shall ye know them”, which is obviously in error. Charisma without Character is very dangerous and folk fitting that description consistently do damage to the body of Christ.
I personally have known men who were either in jail or preaching. As soon as they are let out of jail they will go somewhere and start a church and believe me it will grow, right up until the time they go to jail again. I have no ax to grind with the preachers; the real problem isn’t with them as much as the people who will blindly follow them without checking the fruit of their life.
Yes the miraculous signs are real and should follow all believers. But in the early church the signs were for the unbeliever; sadly today all kinds of supernatural signs are needed to get many Christians interested.
The answer is to stop elevating people because of a spiritual gift for certainly we know if they are using it rightly they will not try to elevate themselves.
New Christians especially should be taught not to be hyper- critical, but to be on guard against being led by someone whose life doesn’t please God. It is always helpful to remember also that when any individual speaks a word into our lives that has anything to do with direction for our life, it should always be a confirmation of God is already saying to us. When God wants to give us direction, he will speak to our own hearts through his word or through promptings in our spirit. Anything said to us through another person, if it’s God, will square with what we’ve already been shown by God’s spirit.
There’s a wonderful discourse on spiritual gifts in 1 Corinthians 12. , and, in the last verse Paul tells of a more excellent way. The next chapter, 1 Cor. 13 is of course the love chapter. It’s interesting that chapter twelve is the POWER chapter, thirteen is the LOVE chapter and if you read chapter fourteen you’ll find it’s the SOUND MIND chapter. Remember Paul told young Timothy, “God has not given us the spirit of fear but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” I think it’s no accident that God has sandwiched the love chapter between twelve, the power chapter enumerating the available gifts, and fourteen, the sound mind chapter exhorting how the gifts are to be used. After all, what good are we if we can raise the dead and have no love? If I have enough faith to move mountains and no love, then I might just throw the mountain in someone else’s path. Paul tells these Corinthians that he can’t call them spiritual even though they are gifted because they are seeking after men instead of realizing God gets all the glory for what any of us accomplishes.
JOHN DID NO MIRACLES
There’s a fantastic fact in the New Testament that really amazed me when I first saw it. John the Baptist did no miracles, however Jesus said of John in Matthew 11; 11, “no greater man was born of women than John.” Isn’t that amazing; here is Christ, the great miracle worker, calling John a man who didn’t perform a single miracle not only great but he says no greater man was ever born of woman. This statement is emblematic of the fact that Jesus doesn’t equate greatness with the miraculous. We should never be followers of men just because of their gifts, but on the other hand always be appreciative of the magnificent supernatural gifts God has placed within his church.
There are two ways God can work where man is concerned; He can work in us or He can work through us. He has worked through donkeys, birds, fish, wooden rods, and rocks among other things. God however can’t work IN anything but yielded, submitted Christians. Much of Samson’s life God was only working THROUGH him not IN HIM. Our prayer should be;
“God, please work through me & use me as an instrument to accomplish your will. But, don’t only work through me to do marvelous things men would call great, if my own heart is to be left adrift in a spiritual desert never feasting on the manna I’m dispensing to others."
"WORK IN ME, IN MY HEART & SOUL SO THAT I MIGHT EACH DAY GROW MORE & MORE UNTO THE MEASURE OF THE STATURE OF THE FULLNESS OF CHRIST."John
In 11 Corinthians 4:7, Paul writes; “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the Excellency of the power may be of God and not of us.”
When we hear of the failure of a well known Christian, we are perplexed and wonder why and how it happened. When someone well known is mentioned on the six o’clock news and their failure is spread across the T.V screens and newspapers, we are shocked and mourn for them, which is as it should be. We should also go to prayer for them, whether or not the story being told is true.
If what we’re hearing has actually happened, we’re shocked because the newness of the revelation has caught us unprepared. However, in truth we are usually hearing about it, not unlike cancer, in its final stages. Rarely does a story emerge about an individual in the germinating phase of their failure. That person doubtless had been pursuing the course of action and going down that road for years. We are just finding it out.
Though we often hear the term, “Falling into sin” it’s a misnomer in many ways, for these falls almost always take time. It is unfortunate that these things happen in the Kingdom of God because when one Christian stumbles all of us are wounded by it. But Paul’s statement in this verse helps us to better understand that God has put his rich treasure of Grace and power into earthen vessels, “that the Excellency of the power may be of God and not of us.” What a sobering and humbling thought.
Again, Paul is reminding us in this verse that there is a human element that we all constantly contend with. One Bible translation of the above verse says; “We have this treasure in Jars of Clay.” While there is no question about the reality of the powerful treasure we are given, scripture reminds us that the containers of this marvelous power are only clay.
Let me share with you a concept that might sound strange: gifted not spiritual. Does it sound like an oxymoron to hear the words in the same sentence? Does the idea of an individual exercising a Gift such as the gift of Healing, or the gift of Faith or Prophesy, and not be what God calls a” Spiritual person” seem crazy? How could such a thing be true?
In 1 Corinthians 3:1 the Holy Spirit, through the apostle Paul tells the Corinthian church, “I could not write unto you as Spiritual but as unto carnal”. You certainly couldn’t accuse this Corinthian church of not exercising the gifts for they possessed them and they were certainly in use. However, according to Paul they were “not spiritual.” Having made that statement, let’s chase it for a bit and see just what Paul meant.
IT’S OBVIOUS THAT THE GIFTS GOD GAVE THE EARLY CHURCH ARE AVAILABLE TODAY.
Romans 11:26 makes it clear that the gifts and callings of God are without repentance; meaning when God gives the gifts, he does not revoke them. Since the gifts were given to the early church, his promise was that they wouldn’t be withdrawn. Moreover, these gifts can’t, as some have supposed, have ended with the Apostles for they were never called the Gifts of the Apostles, but rather were the “Gifts of the Spirit.”
Certainly we know the Holy Spirit hasn’t died. So we can rightly say that Gods gifts are still resident within the Church. Many theologians, through a process of dispensations, like a mailman sorting mail, arbitrarily place the gifts in the dispensation where they feel they belong. This seems convenient but is dead wrong.
However it’s important to remember, and this confuses folk; that just because a person uses one of the spiritual gifts doesn’t mean that individual is spiritually mature or for that matter their lives are pleasing to God. What it does mean, clear and simple, is that God by divine fiat has chosen to use that person. No gift or the exercise of that gift marks a person as “someone special.”
THE GIFT TELLS LITTLE ABOUT THE ONE WHO HAS IT, BUT RATHER TELLS US ABOUT THE ONE WHO GAVE IT.
If someone gave me a $500,000 Bentley and I drove it around arrogantly, it would make me look ridiculous because the car would say nothing about me; rather it would speak of the person who gifted me.
• In the mid-seventies, I went to conduct a revival in a church in Florida. When I arrived the people were still buzzing with excitement about the evangelist who had ministered for them a few months earlier. This man, whom I had met briefly earlier that year, had an unusual ministry in that he had the ability to give folk knowledge about themselves that only they and their doctor or those close to them could possibly know. He didn’t preach much, once in awhile he’d have a message but he was very clear with the people. He would say, “I don’t preach sermons like other preachers.” This was always fine with the people who came and the revival he conducted in this particular church went on for seven weeks. The Pastor showed me the check book where this man’s checks had been written to him nightly (he couldn’t wait until the end of the week to be paid as most other preachers do.) I was stunned to see that the checks he received were hundreds, sometimes thousands each and every night. I certainly didn’t begrudge this minister the money he received but it was far more than most churches that size could normally pay an Evangelist. This man would come to the service each night and when introduced, he would begin bringing people up to the platform and giving them information about themselves he obviously couldn’t have known. During the mid-seventies, he was a sensation everywhere he went. He wasn’t always correct about people. There were nights he didn’t seem to “have it” and everyone understood. I believe he called his gift “the word of knowledge or discerning of Spirits,” but the fact of the matter was that he was right on target much of the time.
After the first service of my meeting in this church, a man who was a leader came up to me and asked, “Brother, Is that all you do?” I was a little confused and asked what he meant. He asked again if that was “all I did.” I answered that what I do each night, unless God led me otherwise, was to sing my songs, preach the Word of God and expect signs to follow and have people Saved, Healed and Blessed. I continued to tell the brother that I always preached the Word and when the Word was preached we could expect exciting signs to follow. Just as in Bible days, “signs and wonders follow the believers.” I explained that several gifts were also operable in my ministry but since the Holy Spirit is a personality & doesn’t express Himself in the same way in every service, I never felt lead of God to advertise myself as a specialist. If the manifestation of a “gift” was what the people expected of me, they would be disappointed if the gift wasn’t evident in each & every service, therefore presenting a temptation to “try to force the gift to operate & therefore do what God isn’t doing.” This seemed to be what their last evangelist was doing. Also, some of the things God showed me about particular folk in the church had a negative side & were better presented within the context of a sermon, therefore taking the “personal sting” out of the revelation. If God prompted me to do it more openly, I would as always have a keen listening ear.
MULTIPLE GIFTS RESIDENT IN ONE PERSON NOT UNUSUAL
In 2 Timothy 4:1-2 Paul mentions several gifts that Timothy should be exercising. He says,
“Preach the word”—Be instant in season & out of season”---
“reprove, rebuke, exhort,”---
“With all longsuffering--- & doctrine.”
Several gifts of the spirit or a “gift-mix” are contained in that short passage. Many times within one sermon there can be a stretch of five minutes or more of pure prophesy embedded in the message for those with ears to hear. But the good brother didn’t try to hide his disappointment over the fact that preaching & singing was for the most part “all I did.”
During that week I met several other wonderful folk who had been so enraptured by their former Evangelist’s ministry that they could hardly speak of anything else. Since the Pastor had been an old friend of mine I tactfully questioned him about the effects this Evangelist had on his church. I quickly discerned that almost anything I said was construed to be jealousy on my part of that Evangelist’s ministry. I was there for two weeks and immensely enjoyed it. At the close of the meetings, my offering wasn’t as much as the former evangelist was given however the folk did give generously and purchased my records and my needs were more than met. We had, I felt a very well attended, successful series of meetings and a lot happened during those days. The Pastor and the people were happy and invited me back someday. After I left, I said very little about the experience to anyone figuring questions I asked might be construed as “sour grapes”.
I left that town troubled in my spirit, for there was something I knew about this Evangelist that I hadn’t mentioned. That information was not exactly unknown among the ministers I knew either, but really was old news, not of much significance. I knew from unimpeachable sources that this man, a few years back had been discovered in a motel with another man and some women who weren’t their wives, having a drunken party. The reason this knowledge wasn’t all that important was that he had confessed it all and was, as far as I knew, in right standing now with God, his wife, and fellow ministers.
From time to time after that meeting in Florida, I would hear stories about the evangelist most of them centering on his lengthy, successful, lucrative revivals. I knew that in some places he had to rent u-haul trucks to take away from the cities all the things people lavished on him. Because he had this gift operating in his ministry, nothing else seemed to be important and pockets turned inside out for him everywhere he went. I also knew personally of people who had been so enamored with this man who had given them personal information about themselves that they gave everything they had. Thankfully their church stepped in and paid their household bills after the meetings. All I could do was just ponder these things in my heart, though they troubled me, put them aside & move on.
Thirteen years went by and one day I turned on my T.V and to my horror, saw this evangelist on one of the major Christian talk shows laughing & talking with the host. I was floored and told my wife these exact words, “This is the beginning of the end for him,” calling the name of the T.V host, who also was an old friend of mine. I knew there was nothing I could have told him that the host of that show didn’t already know so I had no alternative but to stare dumbfounded into the T.V. Within just a few months the Christian talk show was cancelled, the host had fallen into adultery and scandal and had lost his marriage, most of it arranged for him by this Evangelist. The Evangelist had also fallen back into sin and lost his ministry and was driving a taxi, and had been arrested several times for drunk driving. Not long afterward he died of a sexually transmitted disease. Here was a man who could, when he was having a good night, almost read peoples minds.
Now, can I say that this man wasn’t using a true gift of God? No! I could not, nor would not! In all probability he was exercising a spiritual gift that God had at one time bestowed on him, for remember, those gifts aren’t taken back by God. Obviously he had no spiritual fruit but many times we suspend our search for spiritual fruit feeling we’ll be called “critical.”
THIS DOESN’T REFLECT ON THE REALITY OF THE GIFTS
What I’m saying here might make some feel uncomfortable feeling it reflects on the magnificent gifts of God. But think about it this way. While it’s extremely hurtful to God and the body of Christ to have a preacher or any Christian to fall and turn away from what they know is real, if a preacher who preaches a strong the Salvation message backslides, it isn’t a reflection on the Salvation message. What has gone wrong is the failure of that individual and nothing more. What we must teach is that we need to see the fruit of any person’s life before we can know whether or not that person is in sync with spiritual reality.
In Matthew 7; 21; Jesus said “NOT EVERY ONE THAT SAITH UNTO ME LORD LORD SHALL INTER INTO THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN. BUT HE THAT DOETH THE WILL OF MY FATHER WHICH IS HEAVEN. MANY WILL SAY UNTO ME IN THAT DAY, LORD LORD HAVE WE NOT PROPHESIED IN THY NAME? AND HAVE WE NOT CAST OUT DEVILS? AND IN THEY NAME DONE MANY WONDERFUL WORKS? AND THEN I WILL PROFESS ONTO THEM I NEVER KNEW YOU; DEPART FROM ME YE THAT WORK INIQUITY.”
Think about that. Jesus doesn’t say, ‘No, you never did any of those things. He just says depart from me, I never knew you.” What I am saying here isn’t meant as a negative regarding the Gifts of the Spirit but rather it’s a call for understanding and balance. We get so carried away with a gift and the person who uses it that we can forget that it tells little about the user of the gift but the giver of it, and doesn’t assure that the user of the gift is in right standing with the giver. If a preacher who was known to not believe gifts are operative in our day were to say these things, folk would automatically reject it feeling that what he said was biased. However I was raised in churches that believe in these gifts as do I. The Bible never says “by their gifts shall ye know them” but rather “by their fruits shall ye know them”.
CHARISMA WITHOUT CHARACTER IS DANGEROUS
Sadly we often turn that around backwards and say “by their gifts shall ye know them”, which is obviously in error. Charisma without Character is very dangerous and folk fitting that description consistently do damage to the body of Christ.
I personally have known men who were either in jail or preaching. As soon as they are let out of jail they will go somewhere and start a church and believe me it will grow, right up until the time they go to jail again. I have no ax to grind with the preachers; the real problem isn’t with them as much as the people who will blindly follow them without checking the fruit of their life.
Yes the miraculous signs are real and should follow all believers. But in the early church the signs were for the unbeliever; sadly today all kinds of supernatural signs are needed to get many Christians interested.
The answer is to stop elevating people because of a spiritual gift for certainly we know if they are using it rightly they will not try to elevate themselves.
New Christians especially should be taught not to be hyper- critical, but to be on guard against being led by someone whose life doesn’t please God. It is always helpful to remember also that when any individual speaks a word into our lives that has anything to do with direction for our life, it should always be a confirmation of God is already saying to us. When God wants to give us direction, he will speak to our own hearts through his word or through promptings in our spirit. Anything said to us through another person, if it’s God, will square with what we’ve already been shown by God’s spirit.
There’s a wonderful discourse on spiritual gifts in 1 Corinthians 12. , and, in the last verse Paul tells of a more excellent way. The next chapter, 1 Cor. 13 is of course the love chapter. It’s interesting that chapter twelve is the POWER chapter, thirteen is the LOVE chapter and if you read chapter fourteen you’ll find it’s the SOUND MIND chapter. Remember Paul told young Timothy, “God has not given us the spirit of fear but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” I think it’s no accident that God has sandwiched the love chapter between twelve, the power chapter enumerating the available gifts, and fourteen, the sound mind chapter exhorting how the gifts are to be used. After all, what good are we if we can raise the dead and have no love? If I have enough faith to move mountains and no love, then I might just throw the mountain in someone else’s path. Paul tells these Corinthians that he can’t call them spiritual even though they are gifted because they are seeking after men instead of realizing God gets all the glory for what any of us accomplishes.
JOHN DID NO MIRACLES
There’s a fantastic fact in the New Testament that really amazed me when I first saw it. John the Baptist did no miracles, however Jesus said of John in Matthew 11; 11, “no greater man was born of women than John.” Isn’t that amazing; here is Christ, the great miracle worker, calling John a man who didn’t perform a single miracle not only great but he says no greater man was ever born of woman. This statement is emblematic of the fact that Jesus doesn’t equate greatness with the miraculous. We should never be followers of men just because of their gifts, but on the other hand always be appreciative of the magnificent supernatural gifts God has placed within his church.
There are two ways God can work where man is concerned; He can work in us or He can work through us. He has worked through donkeys, birds, fish, wooden rods, and rocks among other things. God however can’t work IN anything but yielded, submitted Christians. Much of Samson’s life God was only working THROUGH him not IN HIM. Our prayer should be;
“God, please work through me & use me as an instrument to accomplish your will. But, don’t only work through me to do marvelous things men would call great, if my own heart is to be left adrift in a spiritual desert never feasting on the manna I’m dispensing to others."
"WORK IN ME, IN MY HEART & SOUL SO THAT I MIGHT EACH DAY GROW MORE & MORE UNTO THE MEASURE OF THE STATURE OF THE FULLNESS OF CHRIST."John
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
So, is Iraq a just war?
By John Stallings
What is a just war & what does the Bible say about war? Christians have struggled with this for centuries. I realize that reasonable people can look at the same event & see something different, but what does the Bible really say about war?
Certainly we know that God is & has always been a God of peace. The universe was created to be in complete & total peace. But the Bible isn’t silent on the subject of war which we’ll see.
The apostle Paul said in Romans12:18----If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.
Is there ever a time when we must draw our weapons & fight? Yes! Just as there are many references to peace in the Bible there are many references to war. The trouble with some pacifists is that they say they look to Jesus as their example but they ignore the whole council of God.
• Generally speaking, a just war permits a preemptive strike when imminent danger looms.
Let’s look at an example. If you awoke one morning & looked over toward your neighbor’s back yard & saw that he was mounting a large cannon & it was aimed right at your kitchen, what would you think? Let’s say that by the next day you observed the cannon was being encased in concrete so that it wouldn’t swivel, it would be in a fixed position & that position was aimed right at your house. What would you think then?
Now let’s say you visited with your neighbor & learned that the cannon was a working gun & when you pointed out that it was in a hardened position aimed right at you, he agreed that it was, & offered no other explanation, what would you then do?
In such a scenario, the only thing you could logically do would be to accept the fact that your neighbor was planning to wipe you & your family out & you’d have to decide if you wanted to just let it happen or take action to have that gun removed no matter what the cost. If you went to the authorities & they said there wasn’t enough proof that your neighbor was planning to do you harm, & they couldn’t be of help to you, now what would you do? You would either plan to die or take preemptive action.
• Next, generally speaking, a just war would be to remove a tyrant from power whose history proves him to be guilty of on-going war crimes.
Obviously Saddam Hussein who killed thousands of his own people was a threat to the world, was removed from leadership, tried & punished by his own people. This was as it should have been. Over the past few years we’ve killed or incarcerated thousands of terrorists. It’s a heartbreak that so many American lives have been lost but when you take in to account the avowed militant purposes of these radicals, it would seem its either us or them.
• Lastly, a just war allows a nation to act unilaterally for the defense of its citizenry.
Two questions require an answer; is war ever ordained by God & how does God feel about war?
Revelation 19:11-16 says,-- And I saw heaven opened & behold a white horse, & he that sat upon him was called faithful & true, & in righteousness he doth judge & make war.
Ex.15:2-3 says, The LORD is my strength & song, & he is become my salvation; He is my God, & I will prepare Him an habitation; my father’s God, & I will exalt Him. The Lord is a man of war: the Lord is His name.Moses, Joshua & many of the Judges were strengthened by God for war. Read Hebrews 11:32-34.
God gives us council to be wise in war. Proverbs 20:18, --Every purpose is established by council: and with good advice make war. In the Hebrew language there are two different words for murder & war, so they are seen totally different by God.
Does the sixth commandment say”--Thou shalt not kill?” No! It says: “Thou shalt not commit murder.”
Justice is a joy to the godly but it causes dismay among evil doers. God isn’t only a God of peace; He is also a God of justice.
John Stewart Mills said, -“A man who has nothing which he is willing to fight for, nothing which he cares about more than his personal safety, is a miserable creature who has no chance of being free.”
WHEN IS WAR JUSTIFIED?
1. A time for war is when freedom is to be defended.
Throughout the book of Judges, God calls the Israelites to go to war against the Midianites & Philistines. Why? Because these nations were trying to conquer Israel. They were called to defend themselves.
The birth of our nation involved war. The freedoms our ancestors deeply felt was theirs didn’t happen without a war.
2. A time for war is when innocent people need to be defended.
Micah 6:8 says—He hath shown thee O man what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy & to walk humbly with thy God.Solomon gave this advice in Proverbs 21:15; --It is joy to the just to do judgment: but destruction shall be to the workers of iniquity.
3. A time for war is to stop the spread of evil.
Here is a reason for the Iraqi war; after we were attacked on September 11, 2001, President Bush & all of America declared war on all terrorists everywhere. There must be laws to stop those who are evil. God gave us the Ten Commandments & every good law ever written is rooted in these commandments.
WHEN WILL THE WORLD HAVE PEACE?
Will we ever have permanent peace? Isaiah 2:4 paints a beautiful picture of the peace we look forward to. The Lord will settle all international disputes permanently.
When the time is right Jesus will come again. Then all war will end. What should we do in the mean time?
1. Pray—1 Tim.2:1-2 says---I exhort therefore that first of all supplications prayers intercessions and giving of thanks be made for all men. And for all that are in authority that we may lead a quiet & peaceable life in all Godliness & honesty.
2. Trust God—Psalm 27:1-3---The Lord is my light & my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? Though an host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war should rise against me in this will I be confident.
3. Seek peace—Do your part to live in peace with everyone, as much as possible. Rom. 12:18—NLT
4. Support each other-Galatians 6:2—Bear ye one another’s burdens & so fulfill the law of Christ.During these times we need to pull together & support one another & especially our military personnel. Their families also need our support.
Gore, Kennedy, Kerry, Clinton & a lot more who could be named should be ashamed of their rhetoric.
John
What is a just war & what does the Bible say about war? Christians have struggled with this for centuries. I realize that reasonable people can look at the same event & see something different, but what does the Bible really say about war?
Certainly we know that God is & has always been a God of peace. The universe was created to be in complete & total peace. But the Bible isn’t silent on the subject of war which we’ll see.
The apostle Paul said in Romans12:18----If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.
Is there ever a time when we must draw our weapons & fight? Yes! Just as there are many references to peace in the Bible there are many references to war. The trouble with some pacifists is that they say they look to Jesus as their example but they ignore the whole council of God.
• Generally speaking, a just war permits a preemptive strike when imminent danger looms.
Let’s look at an example. If you awoke one morning & looked over toward your neighbor’s back yard & saw that he was mounting a large cannon & it was aimed right at your kitchen, what would you think? Let’s say that by the next day you observed the cannon was being encased in concrete so that it wouldn’t swivel, it would be in a fixed position & that position was aimed right at your house. What would you think then?
Now let’s say you visited with your neighbor & learned that the cannon was a working gun & when you pointed out that it was in a hardened position aimed right at you, he agreed that it was, & offered no other explanation, what would you then do?
In such a scenario, the only thing you could logically do would be to accept the fact that your neighbor was planning to wipe you & your family out & you’d have to decide if you wanted to just let it happen or take action to have that gun removed no matter what the cost. If you went to the authorities & they said there wasn’t enough proof that your neighbor was planning to do you harm, & they couldn’t be of help to you, now what would you do? You would either plan to die or take preemptive action.
• Next, generally speaking, a just war would be to remove a tyrant from power whose history proves him to be guilty of on-going war crimes.
Obviously Saddam Hussein who killed thousands of his own people was a threat to the world, was removed from leadership, tried & punished by his own people. This was as it should have been. Over the past few years we’ve killed or incarcerated thousands of terrorists. It’s a heartbreak that so many American lives have been lost but when you take in to account the avowed militant purposes of these radicals, it would seem its either us or them.
• Lastly, a just war allows a nation to act unilaterally for the defense of its citizenry.
Two questions require an answer; is war ever ordained by God & how does God feel about war?
Revelation 19:11-16 says,-- And I saw heaven opened & behold a white horse, & he that sat upon him was called faithful & true, & in righteousness he doth judge & make war.
Ex.15:2-3 says, The LORD is my strength & song, & he is become my salvation; He is my God, & I will prepare Him an habitation; my father’s God, & I will exalt Him. The Lord is a man of war: the Lord is His name.Moses, Joshua & many of the Judges were strengthened by God for war. Read Hebrews 11:32-34.
God gives us council to be wise in war. Proverbs 20:18, --Every purpose is established by council: and with good advice make war. In the Hebrew language there are two different words for murder & war, so they are seen totally different by God.
Does the sixth commandment say”--Thou shalt not kill?” No! It says: “Thou shalt not commit murder.”
Justice is a joy to the godly but it causes dismay among evil doers. God isn’t only a God of peace; He is also a God of justice.
John Stewart Mills said, -“A man who has nothing which he is willing to fight for, nothing which he cares about more than his personal safety, is a miserable creature who has no chance of being free.”
WHEN IS WAR JUSTIFIED?
1. A time for war is when freedom is to be defended.
Throughout the book of Judges, God calls the Israelites to go to war against the Midianites & Philistines. Why? Because these nations were trying to conquer Israel. They were called to defend themselves.
The birth of our nation involved war. The freedoms our ancestors deeply felt was theirs didn’t happen without a war.
2. A time for war is when innocent people need to be defended.
Micah 6:8 says—He hath shown thee O man what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy & to walk humbly with thy God.Solomon gave this advice in Proverbs 21:15; --It is joy to the just to do judgment: but destruction shall be to the workers of iniquity.
3. A time for war is to stop the spread of evil.
Here is a reason for the Iraqi war; after we were attacked on September 11, 2001, President Bush & all of America declared war on all terrorists everywhere. There must be laws to stop those who are evil. God gave us the Ten Commandments & every good law ever written is rooted in these commandments.
WHEN WILL THE WORLD HAVE PEACE?
Will we ever have permanent peace? Isaiah 2:4 paints a beautiful picture of the peace we look forward to. The Lord will settle all international disputes permanently.
When the time is right Jesus will come again. Then all war will end. What should we do in the mean time?
1. Pray—1 Tim.2:1-2 says---I exhort therefore that first of all supplications prayers intercessions and giving of thanks be made for all men. And for all that are in authority that we may lead a quiet & peaceable life in all Godliness & honesty.
2. Trust God—Psalm 27:1-3---The Lord is my light & my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? Though an host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war should rise against me in this will I be confident.
3. Seek peace—Do your part to live in peace with everyone, as much as possible. Rom. 12:18—NLT
4. Support each other-Galatians 6:2—Bear ye one another’s burdens & so fulfill the law of Christ.During these times we need to pull together & support one another & especially our military personnel. Their families also need our support.
Gore, Kennedy, Kerry, Clinton & a lot more who could be named should be ashamed of their rhetoric.
John
Saturday, July 21, 2007
Putting things into perspective.
By John Stallings
I just got an email today that I know I’ve read before. I was glad I got it because it reminded me of something I’ve been thinking about lately. It shows the earth & its size in comparison to other planets such as Venus, Mars, Mercury & our Sun. In this group Earth is a nominally large planet with our Sun being of course much larger than we are. But when it showed our Solar system compared with other lesser known heavenly bodies in nearby galaxies, forget it. The earth & our solar system is so small in comparison to these gigantic bodies that we are hardly visible. Bottom line; we human beings are just “a speck on a speck.” I think the email was captioned—“Putting things into perspective.”
Though I’m not totally sure about the following, I read someplace that we have two eyes basically to give us depth perception. In other words, one eye would be enough for us to see fine but without the second eye we’d lose depth perception or “Perspective.” Imagine if you will, you were sitting on a veranda overlooking the ocean. There was a glass on a table in front of you & a sailboat, let’s say, 500 yards out in the water. If you went to pour water from a pitcher in the glass, with only one eye the sailboat far away would look just about as close as the glass right in front of you. The first few tries you might even pour water on the table. I tested this earlier today & sure enough, with one eye closed; trees up ahead of me looked like they were practically side by side when they were in fact hundreds of yards apart. Again, it’s all about perspective.
Now let’s think about our challenges & problems we face on a daily basis. Without the added blessing of perspective they would become so large in our eyes that we’d tend to sink just gazing at them. However when we place our problems into perspective, they become more manageable, more real.
For example, if you got up one morning with a big red pimple on the end of your nose that would be just awful, but it wouldn’t be so bad if you immediately thought of what it would be like to be eaten by a bear. When you gaze at that big ugly pimple you can say “well, at least I’m not being eaten by a bear.” Believe me this will work.
Here’s another very crude example of how perspective works. It’s going to be extreme so prepare yourself. If you were living under a lot of stress & pressure it wouldn’t be so far-fetched to think you’d wake up some morning & immediately drop your head in your hands thinking about how bad things were. All those bad thoughts would flood your mind & make you sorry you ever woke up. Now, with the blessing of perspective, you’d immediately challenge the bad thoughts by overriding them with thoughts like; “well I haven’t killed anyone. I haven’t even hurt anybody & nobody has physically hurt me. I still have two arms, two good legs, two eyes, ears, a nose & all my eternal organs are intact. I’m still saved & nobody can take that away & they can’t stop God from loving me. I have so many good people & good things in my life what am I worrying about? I even have a few dollars in a dish somewhere & that’s more than I once had. The doctor told me my hearts doing its job, so really, if I just get out of this bed & not tie my shoe- laces too tight I think I can make this day just fine. Yeah, that’s the ticket; my shoes were too tight yesterday.”
You see? You’ve probably been doing this for years & didn’t stop to think you were using the power of perspective. Of course if things got worse you could go into the fact that about half the world is hungry & you are too fat, (sorry—chunky) etc. Usually we don’t have to get that extreme to get ourselves squared away.
If you’ve been reading the Bible long you know that the Old Testament is peppered with the words of Israel’s prophets who spoke up & addressed the people usually in times of trouble. I’m glad I didn’t live back then because it truly was a thankless job. They probably faced lots of hostility from people who either said-“too much information” or “thanks for pointing out the obvious.” And suffice to say they were hearing from other prophets that you & I never heard of. Here’s a few we know about; Zachariah Haggai, Zephaniah, Obadiah, Malachi, & Habakkuk.
Let’s look at Joel. His little book is fairly easy to read, its only three chapters, 73 verses long. Joel wastes no time getting his message to us. It’s gratifying to know his fathers name was Penuel except for the fact that we don’t have a clue who Penuel was. As a matter of fact Joel himself isn’t a big figure in scripture either.
Joel had a strong appreciation for the Temple & the institutional religion of Israel. We don’t know exactly when he lived but we know he loved that Temple. Let me correct that. We know when Joel lived, within a 175 year window. That’s close enough. We also know that Joel ministered in a time when Israel was questioning where in the world God was in their lives. There had been a lot of suffering because of the plague of locusts. They were starting to pull out of the depression & Joel was trying to talk sense to them.
They were looking for what might lie ahead & Joel was speaking to them about that challenge. They were mulling over the fact that they weren’t where they’d been in the past & Joel was trying to tell them if they’d continue to follow God things would improve. “Look around!” Joel kept pointing out. “You have plenty to eat! You survived the locusts! This is how you know God is here, right in the middle of your lives. Look around at all that is hopeful people.”
Joel felt, I guess, that if the Israelites spent all their time and energy thinking about the past they’d miss the promise sprouting up all around them. They were on a new track now. They had survived. Joel said, “Look around at all the evidence of renewal of promise & joy & celebrate! Not only are you going to have plenty to eat God’s going to pour out His spirit on you people.”
“Not only that, God’s going to pour out His spirit on your sons & daughters. They will prophesy, dream dreams & see visions. Look around people & you’ll see. God is getting ready to bless you indeed. Celebrate, celebrate, and celebrate!!”
I don’t know about you but this little prophet Joel has been able to connect with my spirit. He has won my heart. When he invited them to take a step back & see God’s blessings he invited me to do the same & I’m downright happy about. I’m about ready to shout. I’m not trying to kid myself or anyone else into thinking that life is all roses & that no matter how much victory we get we can beat the realities of life. Far from it. But one thing I know; I’ve made it to this day. I’ve plowed through hell “seven ways from Sunday” & by God’s grace I’m still on my feet.
I’ve made hard decisions & lived through the consequences. I’ve encountered fears & kept moving. Look at all this change around us that we’ve had to adjust to. Just when things were going smoothly an illness came or a job change, a new situation arose but we’re still here. Think about all you’ve processed over the decades & kept going.
You took a licking & kept on ticking by God’s grace.
You made the necessary adjustments & here you are.
NOW CELEBRATE!!!!
John
I just got an email today that I know I’ve read before. I was glad I got it because it reminded me of something I’ve been thinking about lately. It shows the earth & its size in comparison to other planets such as Venus, Mars, Mercury & our Sun. In this group Earth is a nominally large planet with our Sun being of course much larger than we are. But when it showed our Solar system compared with other lesser known heavenly bodies in nearby galaxies, forget it. The earth & our solar system is so small in comparison to these gigantic bodies that we are hardly visible. Bottom line; we human beings are just “a speck on a speck.” I think the email was captioned—“Putting things into perspective.”
Though I’m not totally sure about the following, I read someplace that we have two eyes basically to give us depth perception. In other words, one eye would be enough for us to see fine but without the second eye we’d lose depth perception or “Perspective.” Imagine if you will, you were sitting on a veranda overlooking the ocean. There was a glass on a table in front of you & a sailboat, let’s say, 500 yards out in the water. If you went to pour water from a pitcher in the glass, with only one eye the sailboat far away would look just about as close as the glass right in front of you. The first few tries you might even pour water on the table. I tested this earlier today & sure enough, with one eye closed; trees up ahead of me looked like they were practically side by side when they were in fact hundreds of yards apart. Again, it’s all about perspective.
Now let’s think about our challenges & problems we face on a daily basis. Without the added blessing of perspective they would become so large in our eyes that we’d tend to sink just gazing at them. However when we place our problems into perspective, they become more manageable, more real.
For example, if you got up one morning with a big red pimple on the end of your nose that would be just awful, but it wouldn’t be so bad if you immediately thought of what it would be like to be eaten by a bear. When you gaze at that big ugly pimple you can say “well, at least I’m not being eaten by a bear.” Believe me this will work.
Here’s another very crude example of how perspective works. It’s going to be extreme so prepare yourself. If you were living under a lot of stress & pressure it wouldn’t be so far-fetched to think you’d wake up some morning & immediately drop your head in your hands thinking about how bad things were. All those bad thoughts would flood your mind & make you sorry you ever woke up. Now, with the blessing of perspective, you’d immediately challenge the bad thoughts by overriding them with thoughts like; “well I haven’t killed anyone. I haven’t even hurt anybody & nobody has physically hurt me. I still have two arms, two good legs, two eyes, ears, a nose & all my eternal organs are intact. I’m still saved & nobody can take that away & they can’t stop God from loving me. I have so many good people & good things in my life what am I worrying about? I even have a few dollars in a dish somewhere & that’s more than I once had. The doctor told me my hearts doing its job, so really, if I just get out of this bed & not tie my shoe- laces too tight I think I can make this day just fine. Yeah, that’s the ticket; my shoes were too tight yesterday.”
You see? You’ve probably been doing this for years & didn’t stop to think you were using the power of perspective. Of course if things got worse you could go into the fact that about half the world is hungry & you are too fat, (sorry—chunky) etc. Usually we don’t have to get that extreme to get ourselves squared away.
If you’ve been reading the Bible long you know that the Old Testament is peppered with the words of Israel’s prophets who spoke up & addressed the people usually in times of trouble. I’m glad I didn’t live back then because it truly was a thankless job. They probably faced lots of hostility from people who either said-“too much information” or “thanks for pointing out the obvious.” And suffice to say they were hearing from other prophets that you & I never heard of. Here’s a few we know about; Zachariah Haggai, Zephaniah, Obadiah, Malachi, & Habakkuk.
Let’s look at Joel. His little book is fairly easy to read, its only three chapters, 73 verses long. Joel wastes no time getting his message to us. It’s gratifying to know his fathers name was Penuel except for the fact that we don’t have a clue who Penuel was. As a matter of fact Joel himself isn’t a big figure in scripture either.
Joel had a strong appreciation for the Temple & the institutional religion of Israel. We don’t know exactly when he lived but we know he loved that Temple. Let me correct that. We know when Joel lived, within a 175 year window. That’s close enough. We also know that Joel ministered in a time when Israel was questioning where in the world God was in their lives. There had been a lot of suffering because of the plague of locusts. They were starting to pull out of the depression & Joel was trying to talk sense to them.
They were looking for what might lie ahead & Joel was speaking to them about that challenge. They were mulling over the fact that they weren’t where they’d been in the past & Joel was trying to tell them if they’d continue to follow God things would improve. “Look around!” Joel kept pointing out. “You have plenty to eat! You survived the locusts! This is how you know God is here, right in the middle of your lives. Look around at all that is hopeful people.”
Joel felt, I guess, that if the Israelites spent all their time and energy thinking about the past they’d miss the promise sprouting up all around them. They were on a new track now. They had survived. Joel said, “Look around at all the evidence of renewal of promise & joy & celebrate! Not only are you going to have plenty to eat God’s going to pour out His spirit on you people.”
“Not only that, God’s going to pour out His spirit on your sons & daughters. They will prophesy, dream dreams & see visions. Look around people & you’ll see. God is getting ready to bless you indeed. Celebrate, celebrate, and celebrate!!”
I don’t know about you but this little prophet Joel has been able to connect with my spirit. He has won my heart. When he invited them to take a step back & see God’s blessings he invited me to do the same & I’m downright happy about. I’m about ready to shout. I’m not trying to kid myself or anyone else into thinking that life is all roses & that no matter how much victory we get we can beat the realities of life. Far from it. But one thing I know; I’ve made it to this day. I’ve plowed through hell “seven ways from Sunday” & by God’s grace I’m still on my feet.
I’ve made hard decisions & lived through the consequences. I’ve encountered fears & kept moving. Look at all this change around us that we’ve had to adjust to. Just when things were going smoothly an illness came or a job change, a new situation arose but we’re still here. Think about all you’ve processed over the decades & kept going.
You took a licking & kept on ticking by God’s grace.
You made the necessary adjustments & here you are.
NOW CELEBRATE!!!!
John
Friday, July 20, 2007
SAMUEL--PORTRAIT OF A LEADER
By John Stallings
If you attend church regularly, you’ve probably heard Hannah preached on many times on Mother’s day. What a story it is. She was childless, & was chided by her husband’s other wife for being barren. Then because of her right attitude & prayerful spirit God broke that cycle of her life by giving her Samuel. Then other children came.
Hannah had promised her first son to the Lord so at the appointed time she took Samuel to Eli the priest & he grew up under the aging man’s tutelage. Samuel’s calling was spectacular for he was called as a child by the audible voice of God. One night he heard a voice calling him repeatedly & went to Eli who told him the next time he heard the voice to answer, Speak Lord for thy servant heareth.
Samuel was the last & best judge of Israel & had a transitional ministry. Under his watch the judges were ushered out & the kings were ushered in. However Samuel & his Godly advice weren’t always well received by Israel but he maintained a steadfast walk with God & has few equals.
SUDDENLY SAMUEL DISCOVERED THAT HE WASN’T WANTED ANYMORE.
The last years of Samuel’s life however weren’t so pleasant. The transition from the old order of judges to the new order of the monarchy was a painful experience for him. He made a mistake when he appointed his two sons as judges. 1 Samuel 8:1-3. These boys were scoundrels. They weren’t as bad as Eli’s boys; Eli’s boys were immoral while Samuel’s boys were mostly unethical. Samuel was guilty of nepotism & ignorance but he wasn’t a money-grabbing deceiver. He never took a dime from the people (1Sam.12:3-4) but his sons used their father’s position to profit in a profligate manner.
We don’t know why Samuel appointed his sons; it may have been that there just wasn’t anyone else he felt could do the job. Or it may have just been a lapse of judgment.
A PIVOTAL POINT IN SAMUEL’S LEADERSHIP CAME WHEN HE WASN’T ABLE TO STEER STUBBORN ISRAEL AWAY FROM THEIR DEMAND FOR A KING.
Have you ever been in a situation where you felt your influence & leadership was failing to be effectual? You have a feeling that your record no longer counts for anything, all your former ties are strained, you used to be looked up to but now what you do or say doesn’t carry much weight. The sacrifices you made are no longer looked at as a big thing, people think, “you just did what anybody would have done, no big deal.” The question “what part of -it’s over- don’t you get” might well be asked of you.
Samuel’s sons made him look bad to the people & they flat-out faced him with it. They told him he was getting old (just under 60—big deal) & his sons weren’t cutting it so their answer was, appoint us a king.
Samuel wasn’t happy at all about the king idea. He was right to feel that his children had let him down, the Israelites had let him down, the elders had let him down and deep down in his heart of hearts he felt he’d let himself & the Lord down. How else could he explain how his kids had turned out to be such bad boys?”
LOOK HOW SAMUEL RESPONDS TO HIS LEADERSHIP PROBLEMS.
The elders were pressuring him to quit. They had it all figured out for him. Samuel was feeling hurt, backed into a corner & disrespected in the worst way he could imagine. He didn’t threaten to call it quits, take an early retirement or jump on the bus. He did what his mother did; he went to God in prayer. 1 Sam.8:6. Samuel was deeply troubled & probably hopping mad but he didn’t lose his composure. He prayed about it asking God for wisdom, direction & patience.
Sometimes the decline of a leader’s influence & abilities doesn’t mean that he or she is washed up. It may just mean that they can no longer lead in the same capacity. At some point a subtle line was crossed, a corner was turned. It doesn’t mean that they are over & done with it just means that their role as leader will be different. Such a time came in the life of Samuel the prophet as he grew older. Even though his role changed he still continued to be an important leader.
Samuel hadn’t put his head in the sand; he was the first to recognize things were changing that’s why he appointed his two sons to help. It wasn’t Samuel’s fault that his sons turned out to be a big disappointment. At least he was forward looking enough to think of his mortality. I’ve seen leaders who refused to think of the time they would no longer be around. They refused to mentor another person to fill their shoes or even consider training & depositing into the lives of others the things they’ve learned that would be invaluable to the individual who someday filled their shoes.
• A GOOD LEADER WILL HELP PEOPLE IDENTIFY THEIR PURPOSE & CAST A VISION FOR THE FUTURE.
• A GOOD LEADER WILL HELP THE PEOPLE ESTABLISH GOALS & IMPLEMENT PLANS TO HELP THEM SUCCESSFULLY ACHIEVE THOSE GOALS.
• A GOOD LEADER WILL DEVELOP CONCENSUS, BUILD COHESIVENESS, CREATE HARMONY & FOSTER UNITY.
• A GOOD LEADER WILL INSPIRE PEOPLE TO GREATER EFFICIENCY & EFFECTIVENESS & WILL ENCOURAGE THEM TO REACH THEIR POTENTIAL & MAXIMIZE THEIR ABILITIES.
• IF A LEADER FINDS THAT HE/SHE CAN NO LONGER FULFILL THEIR RESPONSIBILITY, THEY SHOULD DELEGATE SOME OF THE RESPONSIBILITY OR ALLOW SOMEONE ELSE TO TAKE THEIR PLACE.
Samuel knew that what the people were asking for was wrong. They had no clue as to what was in store for them. The kings they were asking for were going to be worse than Samuel’s sons. God had run the kings & nations out the front door & Israel let them in the back door. Israel had been an exalted nation but alas, they just wanted to be like their neighbors. One of the problems was that their neighbors were idol worshippers.
Samuel’s maturity, humility & Godliness were manifest that day. After God had “loaded his gun” with truth he still didn’t scoff at the people. He didn’t squabble or scream at them or throw a conniption fit. He had within his power to let them have it with God’s words but he left out the choice words, the best parts that would have vindicated him before the people. He didn’t lecture them on their collective rejection of God, or their personal wrong against him, even though God said --What they’re doing to me, so they are doing to you. The people had made personal accusations but he didn’t take them personally. Neither did he gloat at their mistake, or their folly. As a matter of fact nowhere in all of this did Samuel mention himself.
What a class act! He did tell them in no uncertain terms what having a king would be like for them, but describing it was as far as it went. There was no coercion on his part even though it displeased him greatly. To him it was all about the Lord & His people & their relationship to Him. Though Samuel wasn’t pleased he didn’t get in knots over it & end up grievously disturbed & resentful. Samuel reminded himself what God had said:--It is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king.
Samuel's’ life wasn’t narcissistic; it wasn’t about him it was always about the Lord & others. He tells the people—far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by failing to pray for you. He knew that to refuse to pray for them was malicious & spiteful. If we want something to compare Samuel’s conduct with, all we have to do is look at Moses who when frustrated, called the people rebels. Num.20:10.
God had already foretold that someday this would happen; the people would demand a king. He also told the people exactly what would happen to them when they got their king. In his next & also his last speech to Israel, given immediately after King Saul’s public coronation, Samuel spoke from the heart to the people. He knew as well as he knew his name what heartache laid in store for them but still he didn’t cajole or arm-twist to get them to reconsider.
And reconsider they certainly didn’t, even after hearing what a king would be like. But Israel almost never changed. It’s always the same old song with them. They were headstrong, obstinate & rebellious & their prophets told them so. Generations later when the Apostle Paul preached to them he’d say things like-- Oh foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you….or…blindness in part has happened to Israel. Rom.11:25.
To the bitter end Samuel was optimistic in word & at heart. It’s almost as if he knew trouble was in the wings but still was just hoping it wouldn’t happen.
Have you been rejected & seen your dreams & plans crumble before your eyes. Have you been tempted to lash out & get vindication? Ask yourself as Samuel did; are you serving God or man? When you’re not appreciated as you should be do you have the right stuff to withstand it & do right when everybody is doing you wrong?
The people rejected Samuel’s advice but Samuel accepted God’s advice. When he saw what was happening he went to God & God told him—Listen to the voice of the people & appoint them a king. So Samuel said unto the men of Israel, go every man to his own city. 1 Sam.8:21-22.
GOD WAS GOING TO GIVE THE PEOPLE WHAT THEY CLAMOURED FOR—A KING.
It’s reminiscent of Psalm 106:15—And He gave them their request but sent leanness to their soul. God’s position was the same then as it is now & always has been. He simply refuses to make his creation a puppet-on-a-string. To Him love & devotion that’s coerced isn’t love at all & He’s not interested.
Samuel may not have understood God’s strategy but he obeyed & took the necessary steps to implement it. God doesn’t always do things the way we want & He doesn’t always do things the way we think they should be done. But we must always remember to submit our plans to Him.
If you’re on the missions committee, the deacon board, Sunday school teacher, nursery worker, trustee, treasurer, musician, office worker, kitchen helper, publicity worker, or youth group worker, you must always bring your plans to God. Samuel went to God & sought His leadership.
Jesus is the head of His church & we are simply the servants. We serve not to gain prestige & power but simply to serve God & His people. When we do this we will have great significance in His kingdom.
The day came when Samuel’s ability to lead the people changed but even though his role changed, his superlative attitude made him useable to God until the day he died. Turning your power over to someone else is never easy. Admitting that things didn’t turn out as well as expected is never easy. Samuel experienced all of these things. He must have had many sleepless nights & many days of confusion & uneasiness. But under God & with Samuel’s steady hand Israel came through the transition. Samuel lived to a ripe old age & died in peace & honor among his people.
Is there something in front of you that you’d rather avoid? Maybe you’re on the threshold of change & things aren’t all that clear to you. Perhaps you’re beginning to realize that something you worked hard to accomplish isn’t going to work out. Follow the example of Samuel & stay connected with God & His people. You can’t see God but He can see you & He has you in His sights. He hasn’t forgotten you, though it may sometimes feel that He has. Your story & testimony can turn out as victoriously as Samuel’s did.
The answer is in Hebrews 12:2 …..Looking unto Jesus the author & finisher of our faith….
We must fix our eyes on Him because if we look hard at anything else we will doubtless lose hope.
John
If you attend church regularly, you’ve probably heard Hannah preached on many times on Mother’s day. What a story it is. She was childless, & was chided by her husband’s other wife for being barren. Then because of her right attitude & prayerful spirit God broke that cycle of her life by giving her Samuel. Then other children came.
Hannah had promised her first son to the Lord so at the appointed time she took Samuel to Eli the priest & he grew up under the aging man’s tutelage. Samuel’s calling was spectacular for he was called as a child by the audible voice of God. One night he heard a voice calling him repeatedly & went to Eli who told him the next time he heard the voice to answer, Speak Lord for thy servant heareth.
Samuel was the last & best judge of Israel & had a transitional ministry. Under his watch the judges were ushered out & the kings were ushered in. However Samuel & his Godly advice weren’t always well received by Israel but he maintained a steadfast walk with God & has few equals.
SUDDENLY SAMUEL DISCOVERED THAT HE WASN’T WANTED ANYMORE.
The last years of Samuel’s life however weren’t so pleasant. The transition from the old order of judges to the new order of the monarchy was a painful experience for him. He made a mistake when he appointed his two sons as judges. 1 Samuel 8:1-3. These boys were scoundrels. They weren’t as bad as Eli’s boys; Eli’s boys were immoral while Samuel’s boys were mostly unethical. Samuel was guilty of nepotism & ignorance but he wasn’t a money-grabbing deceiver. He never took a dime from the people (1Sam.12:3-4) but his sons used their father’s position to profit in a profligate manner.
We don’t know why Samuel appointed his sons; it may have been that there just wasn’t anyone else he felt could do the job. Or it may have just been a lapse of judgment.
A PIVOTAL POINT IN SAMUEL’S LEADERSHIP CAME WHEN HE WASN’T ABLE TO STEER STUBBORN ISRAEL AWAY FROM THEIR DEMAND FOR A KING.
Have you ever been in a situation where you felt your influence & leadership was failing to be effectual? You have a feeling that your record no longer counts for anything, all your former ties are strained, you used to be looked up to but now what you do or say doesn’t carry much weight. The sacrifices you made are no longer looked at as a big thing, people think, “you just did what anybody would have done, no big deal.” The question “what part of -it’s over- don’t you get” might well be asked of you.
Samuel’s sons made him look bad to the people & they flat-out faced him with it. They told him he was getting old (just under 60—big deal) & his sons weren’t cutting it so their answer was, appoint us a king.
Samuel wasn’t happy at all about the king idea. He was right to feel that his children had let him down, the Israelites had let him down, the elders had let him down and deep down in his heart of hearts he felt he’d let himself & the Lord down. How else could he explain how his kids had turned out to be such bad boys?”
LOOK HOW SAMUEL RESPONDS TO HIS LEADERSHIP PROBLEMS.
The elders were pressuring him to quit. They had it all figured out for him. Samuel was feeling hurt, backed into a corner & disrespected in the worst way he could imagine. He didn’t threaten to call it quits, take an early retirement or jump on the bus. He did what his mother did; he went to God in prayer. 1 Sam.8:6. Samuel was deeply troubled & probably hopping mad but he didn’t lose his composure. He prayed about it asking God for wisdom, direction & patience.
Sometimes the decline of a leader’s influence & abilities doesn’t mean that he or she is washed up. It may just mean that they can no longer lead in the same capacity. At some point a subtle line was crossed, a corner was turned. It doesn’t mean that they are over & done with it just means that their role as leader will be different. Such a time came in the life of Samuel the prophet as he grew older. Even though his role changed he still continued to be an important leader.
Samuel hadn’t put his head in the sand; he was the first to recognize things were changing that’s why he appointed his two sons to help. It wasn’t Samuel’s fault that his sons turned out to be a big disappointment. At least he was forward looking enough to think of his mortality. I’ve seen leaders who refused to think of the time they would no longer be around. They refused to mentor another person to fill their shoes or even consider training & depositing into the lives of others the things they’ve learned that would be invaluable to the individual who someday filled their shoes.
• A GOOD LEADER WILL HELP PEOPLE IDENTIFY THEIR PURPOSE & CAST A VISION FOR THE FUTURE.
• A GOOD LEADER WILL HELP THE PEOPLE ESTABLISH GOALS & IMPLEMENT PLANS TO HELP THEM SUCCESSFULLY ACHIEVE THOSE GOALS.
• A GOOD LEADER WILL DEVELOP CONCENSUS, BUILD COHESIVENESS, CREATE HARMONY & FOSTER UNITY.
• A GOOD LEADER WILL INSPIRE PEOPLE TO GREATER EFFICIENCY & EFFECTIVENESS & WILL ENCOURAGE THEM TO REACH THEIR POTENTIAL & MAXIMIZE THEIR ABILITIES.
• IF A LEADER FINDS THAT HE/SHE CAN NO LONGER FULFILL THEIR RESPONSIBILITY, THEY SHOULD DELEGATE SOME OF THE RESPONSIBILITY OR ALLOW SOMEONE ELSE TO TAKE THEIR PLACE.
Samuel knew that what the people were asking for was wrong. They had no clue as to what was in store for them. The kings they were asking for were going to be worse than Samuel’s sons. God had run the kings & nations out the front door & Israel let them in the back door. Israel had been an exalted nation but alas, they just wanted to be like their neighbors. One of the problems was that their neighbors were idol worshippers.
Samuel’s maturity, humility & Godliness were manifest that day. After God had “loaded his gun” with truth he still didn’t scoff at the people. He didn’t squabble or scream at them or throw a conniption fit. He had within his power to let them have it with God’s words but he left out the choice words, the best parts that would have vindicated him before the people. He didn’t lecture them on their collective rejection of God, or their personal wrong against him, even though God said --What they’re doing to me, so they are doing to you. The people had made personal accusations but he didn’t take them personally. Neither did he gloat at their mistake, or their folly. As a matter of fact nowhere in all of this did Samuel mention himself.
What a class act! He did tell them in no uncertain terms what having a king would be like for them, but describing it was as far as it went. There was no coercion on his part even though it displeased him greatly. To him it was all about the Lord & His people & their relationship to Him. Though Samuel wasn’t pleased he didn’t get in knots over it & end up grievously disturbed & resentful. Samuel reminded himself what God had said:--It is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king.
Samuel's’ life wasn’t narcissistic; it wasn’t about him it was always about the Lord & others. He tells the people—far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by failing to pray for you. He knew that to refuse to pray for them was malicious & spiteful. If we want something to compare Samuel’s conduct with, all we have to do is look at Moses who when frustrated, called the people rebels. Num.20:10.
God had already foretold that someday this would happen; the people would demand a king. He also told the people exactly what would happen to them when they got their king. In his next & also his last speech to Israel, given immediately after King Saul’s public coronation, Samuel spoke from the heart to the people. He knew as well as he knew his name what heartache laid in store for them but still he didn’t cajole or arm-twist to get them to reconsider.
And reconsider they certainly didn’t, even after hearing what a king would be like. But Israel almost never changed. It’s always the same old song with them. They were headstrong, obstinate & rebellious & their prophets told them so. Generations later when the Apostle Paul preached to them he’d say things like-- Oh foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you….or…blindness in part has happened to Israel. Rom.11:25.
To the bitter end Samuel was optimistic in word & at heart. It’s almost as if he knew trouble was in the wings but still was just hoping it wouldn’t happen.
Have you been rejected & seen your dreams & plans crumble before your eyes. Have you been tempted to lash out & get vindication? Ask yourself as Samuel did; are you serving God or man? When you’re not appreciated as you should be do you have the right stuff to withstand it & do right when everybody is doing you wrong?
The people rejected Samuel’s advice but Samuel accepted God’s advice. When he saw what was happening he went to God & God told him—Listen to the voice of the people & appoint them a king. So Samuel said unto the men of Israel, go every man to his own city. 1 Sam.8:21-22.
GOD WAS GOING TO GIVE THE PEOPLE WHAT THEY CLAMOURED FOR—A KING.
It’s reminiscent of Psalm 106:15—And He gave them their request but sent leanness to their soul. God’s position was the same then as it is now & always has been. He simply refuses to make his creation a puppet-on-a-string. To Him love & devotion that’s coerced isn’t love at all & He’s not interested.
Samuel may not have understood God’s strategy but he obeyed & took the necessary steps to implement it. God doesn’t always do things the way we want & He doesn’t always do things the way we think they should be done. But we must always remember to submit our plans to Him.
If you’re on the missions committee, the deacon board, Sunday school teacher, nursery worker, trustee, treasurer, musician, office worker, kitchen helper, publicity worker, or youth group worker, you must always bring your plans to God. Samuel went to God & sought His leadership.
Jesus is the head of His church & we are simply the servants. We serve not to gain prestige & power but simply to serve God & His people. When we do this we will have great significance in His kingdom.
The day came when Samuel’s ability to lead the people changed but even though his role changed, his superlative attitude made him useable to God until the day he died. Turning your power over to someone else is never easy. Admitting that things didn’t turn out as well as expected is never easy. Samuel experienced all of these things. He must have had many sleepless nights & many days of confusion & uneasiness. But under God & with Samuel’s steady hand Israel came through the transition. Samuel lived to a ripe old age & died in peace & honor among his people.
Is there something in front of you that you’d rather avoid? Maybe you’re on the threshold of change & things aren’t all that clear to you. Perhaps you’re beginning to realize that something you worked hard to accomplish isn’t going to work out. Follow the example of Samuel & stay connected with God & His people. You can’t see God but He can see you & He has you in His sights. He hasn’t forgotten you, though it may sometimes feel that He has. Your story & testimony can turn out as victoriously as Samuel’s did.
The answer is in Hebrews 12:2 …..Looking unto Jesus the author & finisher of our faith….
We must fix our eyes on Him because if we look hard at anything else we will doubtless lose hope.
John
Thursday, July 19, 2007
P.U.S.H!
Pray Until Something Happens
By John Stallings
Back in the sixties I conducted a revival in Kansas City, Missouri. We were there for three weeks but the church was already in revival when we arrived. Many exciting things happened while we were there but one story especially stands out in my mind.
It was a church of about five hundred happy people & one of the most alive churches I ever had the privilege to preach in. Beside the regular services, prayer meetings were being held on an almost round-the-clock basis & the spirit of revival was alive & well in all of them. It was one of those times in the life of a church when everyone was getting involved & being spiritually refreshed.
One morning during the meetings the pastor of the church was walking up the front steps to enter the church building when he heard a man calling him. He looked around & immediately recognized it was a neighbor whose house stood very close to the church. The pastor figured the man was going to complain about the noise that had been going on at the church because after all they’d been in a spirit of revival for several months. Most of the services ran late & cars were crowded around the building usually seven nights a week.
The neighbor smiled as he walked up the steps & shook the pastor’s hand. It quickly became obvious that rather than being in a critical mood the neighbor was curious about something. He proceeded to ask the pastor about a certain odd noise that was coming from a basement window that was very close to his house. It always happened on Tuesday mornings around ten-o’clock. It wasn’t really disturbing his family as much as it was making them curious about the nature of the noise. The pastor asked for more details & the man motioned for him to walk around to the side of the church & he’d show him the window. As they stood & looked at the little window the confused pastor asked again what the noises were like. The neighbor explained that it sounded like a maternity ward. He understood it was a strange way to try to describe it but that was actually the closest he could come to describing it. It sounded like women crying & moaning, giving birth to babies in a maternity ward. The pastor pleaded temporary ignorance as to what that room was being used for on Tuesday mornings but told the neighbor he’d check it out & let him know. The pastor, now curious himself about that kind of noise coming from his church window went straight to his office & scanned the church calendar that lay on his desk. A broad smile broke across his face as he saw that Tuesdays at ten o’clock was the time the ladies met for prayer meeting. They were known for their robust praying & always had a long list of unsaved they were agonizing before God for. The neighbor was right; the noises coming from that little basement room were emanating from a “spiritual maternity ward,” for the Bible says—when Zion travailed she brought forth children. Isaiah 66:8
P.U.S.H PRAYING is just that kind of praying. It's praying until something happens. When a woman is in the birth process, the last stage of labor requires great energy & effort. She is in great pain as she pushes to give birth. Push prayers shouldn't be a casual experience but rather a serious, prevailing patient praying that comes out of a great prayer burden.
Jesus prayed like that in Gethsemane when great drops of blood popped out of his pores. (Luke 22:41-44. ---Hebrews 5:7-9)
There’s a story told of a man who was told by God that he had a work for him to do & showed him a large rock in front of his cabin.
The Lord explained that he was to PUSH against the rock with all his might. This, the man did day after day. For years he toiled from sun-up to sun-down with his shoulder squarely against the rock pushing with all his might.
Each night the man returned to his cabin sore & worn out feeling that his whole day had been spent in vain.
One day he started thinking –“you’ve been pushing against this rock for a long time & it hasn’t budged. Why kill yourself over this? You’re never going to move it. Why not just start putting in your time giving just a minimum of effort & that will be good enough?”
Then he felt he should go to prayer & ask the Lord why he was failing. The Lord answered, “Son when I asked you to serve me you said you would. I told you to push against that rock. Not once did I ask you to move it. Your task was to push. And now you’ve come to me telling me that you’ve failed. But is that really so? Look at your arms. Look how strong you are, much more powerful than you used to be. Through opposition you’ve grown much in your abilities & you now surpass what you used to be. But your calling was to be obedient & to PUSH against the rock & exercise your faith & trust in my wisdom. This you’ve done. I, my son will now move the rock.”
That little story hits home to all of us I’m sure. We grow weary in the work & start to try to do it all ourselves when what God actually wants is our simple obedience & faith in Him.
When everything goes wrong---Just PUSH!
When the work gets you down---Just PUSH!
When your money looks funny & bills are due---Just PUSH!
When people are acting strange---Just PUSH!
When you’re misunderstood---Just PUSH!
When nothing seems to be happening---Just PUSH!
Here are 12 benefits of prayer,
1. Prayer defeats the devil. ---Matt. 18:18
2. Prayer saves the unbeliever---Acts 2:21
3. Prayer edifies the believer—Jude 20
4. Prayer sends laborers into the harvest—Matt.9:38
5. Prayer heals the sick—James 5:13-15
6. Prayer overcomes the impossible—Matt. 21:22
7. Prayer changes the natural---James 5:13-15
8. Prayer brings the right things to pass—Matt. 7:7-11
9. Prayer brings peace—Phil.4:5-7
10. Prayer imparts wisdom---James 1:5
11. Prayer guards against temptation---Matt. 26:41
12. Prayer reveals God’s answers—Like 11:9,10
To keep PUSHING in prayer is the key until God moves. The question is have you been really praying to see the victory come. Could this be why your prayer life is dull & dry & you’ve failed to see the answers to your prayers? Why not acknowledge your failures & ask God to give you a prayer burden & with the help of the Holy Spirit—PUSH! ----Pray Until Something Happens? ---------John
By John Stallings
Back in the sixties I conducted a revival in Kansas City, Missouri. We were there for three weeks but the church was already in revival when we arrived. Many exciting things happened while we were there but one story especially stands out in my mind.
It was a church of about five hundred happy people & one of the most alive churches I ever had the privilege to preach in. Beside the regular services, prayer meetings were being held on an almost round-the-clock basis & the spirit of revival was alive & well in all of them. It was one of those times in the life of a church when everyone was getting involved & being spiritually refreshed.
One morning during the meetings the pastor of the church was walking up the front steps to enter the church building when he heard a man calling him. He looked around & immediately recognized it was a neighbor whose house stood very close to the church. The pastor figured the man was going to complain about the noise that had been going on at the church because after all they’d been in a spirit of revival for several months. Most of the services ran late & cars were crowded around the building usually seven nights a week.
The neighbor smiled as he walked up the steps & shook the pastor’s hand. It quickly became obvious that rather than being in a critical mood the neighbor was curious about something. He proceeded to ask the pastor about a certain odd noise that was coming from a basement window that was very close to his house. It always happened on Tuesday mornings around ten-o’clock. It wasn’t really disturbing his family as much as it was making them curious about the nature of the noise. The pastor asked for more details & the man motioned for him to walk around to the side of the church & he’d show him the window. As they stood & looked at the little window the confused pastor asked again what the noises were like. The neighbor explained that it sounded like a maternity ward. He understood it was a strange way to try to describe it but that was actually the closest he could come to describing it. It sounded like women crying & moaning, giving birth to babies in a maternity ward. The pastor pleaded temporary ignorance as to what that room was being used for on Tuesday mornings but told the neighbor he’d check it out & let him know. The pastor, now curious himself about that kind of noise coming from his church window went straight to his office & scanned the church calendar that lay on his desk. A broad smile broke across his face as he saw that Tuesdays at ten o’clock was the time the ladies met for prayer meeting. They were known for their robust praying & always had a long list of unsaved they were agonizing before God for. The neighbor was right; the noises coming from that little basement room were emanating from a “spiritual maternity ward,” for the Bible says—when Zion travailed she brought forth children. Isaiah 66:8
P.U.S.H PRAYING is just that kind of praying. It's praying until something happens. When a woman is in the birth process, the last stage of labor requires great energy & effort. She is in great pain as she pushes to give birth. Push prayers shouldn't be a casual experience but rather a serious, prevailing patient praying that comes out of a great prayer burden.
Jesus prayed like that in Gethsemane when great drops of blood popped out of his pores. (Luke 22:41-44. ---Hebrews 5:7-9)
There’s a story told of a man who was told by God that he had a work for him to do & showed him a large rock in front of his cabin.
The Lord explained that he was to PUSH against the rock with all his might. This, the man did day after day. For years he toiled from sun-up to sun-down with his shoulder squarely against the rock pushing with all his might.
Each night the man returned to his cabin sore & worn out feeling that his whole day had been spent in vain.
One day he started thinking –“you’ve been pushing against this rock for a long time & it hasn’t budged. Why kill yourself over this? You’re never going to move it. Why not just start putting in your time giving just a minimum of effort & that will be good enough?”
Then he felt he should go to prayer & ask the Lord why he was failing. The Lord answered, “Son when I asked you to serve me you said you would. I told you to push against that rock. Not once did I ask you to move it. Your task was to push. And now you’ve come to me telling me that you’ve failed. But is that really so? Look at your arms. Look how strong you are, much more powerful than you used to be. Through opposition you’ve grown much in your abilities & you now surpass what you used to be. But your calling was to be obedient & to PUSH against the rock & exercise your faith & trust in my wisdom. This you’ve done. I, my son will now move the rock.”
That little story hits home to all of us I’m sure. We grow weary in the work & start to try to do it all ourselves when what God actually wants is our simple obedience & faith in Him.
When everything goes wrong---Just PUSH!
When the work gets you down---Just PUSH!
When your money looks funny & bills are due---Just PUSH!
When people are acting strange---Just PUSH!
When you’re misunderstood---Just PUSH!
When nothing seems to be happening---Just PUSH!
Here are 12 benefits of prayer,
1. Prayer defeats the devil. ---Matt. 18:18
2. Prayer saves the unbeliever---Acts 2:21
3. Prayer edifies the believer—Jude 20
4. Prayer sends laborers into the harvest—Matt.9:38
5. Prayer heals the sick—James 5:13-15
6. Prayer overcomes the impossible—Matt. 21:22
7. Prayer changes the natural---James 5:13-15
8. Prayer brings the right things to pass—Matt. 7:7-11
9. Prayer brings peace—Phil.4:5-7
10. Prayer imparts wisdom---James 1:5
11. Prayer guards against temptation---Matt. 26:41
12. Prayer reveals God’s answers—Like 11:9,10
To keep PUSHING in prayer is the key until God moves. The question is have you been really praying to see the victory come. Could this be why your prayer life is dull & dry & you’ve failed to see the answers to your prayers? Why not acknowledge your failures & ask God to give you a prayer burden & with the help of the Holy Spirit—PUSH! ----Pray Until Something Happens? ---------John
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Somewhere under the rainbow.
by John Stallings
It seems almost impossible to me that Judy Garland first sang the song “Somewhere over the rainbow” in the film “The Wizard of Oz” when I was just a few months old. I didn’t see it until I was in my thirties. I like the song for the same reasons I like the Elvis song “If I can dream.” I was never very much impressed with Elvis until we visited Graceland in 1989 & at the little theater across the street they had a movie presentation of some highlights of his career entitled “If I can dream.” Old Elvis was dressed in a white suit & when I heard that song I understood something of the magic he exuded onstage & why he was so popular. Too bad it ended the way it did & when it did. All that wasted talent coupled with Elvis’s lost- ness has the making of quiet a tragedy. I trust Elvis didn’t land in hell but its obvious drugs turned his last years into a living version of hell. But I digress.
Getting back to Judy & “Over the rainbow,” I’m using her song as a segway to the idea that even more beautiful than the fantasy that wonderful things could exist –somewhere over the rainbow—we have a real guarantee from God that we can all exist Under the rainbow & be kept in His divine protection.
After the flood that swept away all but eight of the human race & two of the birds, the livestock, & all the wild animals, God made a promise to Noah & his sons. “No more wipe-outs like this one. And as a reminder I’m hanging my “war-bow” up in the heavens. Never again will I allow water to destroy all life on earth. The covenant is unconditional & it’s given with nothing from Noah; its Unilateral disarmament. The covenant is perpetual & universal.” What an incredible example of God’s grace this is. And God makes the wonderful promise knowing all the time that man will continue to be wicked. Yes, indeed, we have God’s Word that He’s not going to get mad again & drown us all like a bunch of wet turkeys.
I take this story literally as I do all of Bible except where it’s obvious that simile or metaphor is used. We might want to keep in mind that when a parable, simile or metaphor is used, it’s in all probability a milder form of the reality that lies behind it, such as using fire & brimstone to describe hell. A person may say the word fire is just a symbolic word, but pray tell how do you explain away the brimstone?
Over & over in scripture we have God giving second chances. Like when Adam & Eve sinned God gave them clothes & sent them on their way to begin again. Like Cain who’d killed his brother Able was given a second chance, when God could have wiped him out too. Then God started over with a seventy-five year old man whom he gave his covenant & promised him a land of his own. Like God brought Israel out of Egypt, freed them from bondage giving them the Promised Land. Then in the fullness of time God sent His son to die for our race & promised us eternal life through our faith in Him.
Over & over God has kept His promise to keep working with man. When I hear the words Judy Garland sang a generation ago, I think I understand her dream. “Somewhere over the rainbow, way up high, birds fly over the rainbow, why then oh why can’t I?” I know the feeling. But as much as I might understand her sentiment, & as appealing as that magical ride might be, God has made us all a much better promise; A promise that we can live very comfortable UNDER HIS RAINBOW, which hovers like a divine punctuation mark behind every storm.
When we are worn out by abuse... We are still under His rainbow.
When the enemy comes in like a flood…We are under His rainbow.
When grief drops over us like a net—we are under His rainbow.
When we feel we’re about to drown in loneliness... We’re under His rainbow.
When stress seems to stifle us... We’re under His rainbow.
At the age of sixteen I had my first song published. It was entitled “Rainbow of love.” I believe the sheet music is still available at The Gospel publishing house, Springfield, Missouri.
Let me share one verse & the chorus;
There were rain clouds above me, and a storm down inside,
My tears fell unendingly, tears I wanted to hide,
Then I cried out for mercy, & I looked up above,
There in place of a cloudy sky, was a rainbow of love.
Yes God placed a rainbow, a rainbow up above,
He placed it there for you & me to see,
So we’d know that His love would last,
Always shine up above, and in place of a cloudy sky,
There’d be a rainbow of love.
God’s message to Noah is a message we can all take refuge in. No matter what happens,
KEEP LOOKING UP FOR THAT RAINBOW.
John
It seems almost impossible to me that Judy Garland first sang the song “Somewhere over the rainbow” in the film “The Wizard of Oz” when I was just a few months old. I didn’t see it until I was in my thirties. I like the song for the same reasons I like the Elvis song “If I can dream.” I was never very much impressed with Elvis until we visited Graceland in 1989 & at the little theater across the street they had a movie presentation of some highlights of his career entitled “If I can dream.” Old Elvis was dressed in a white suit & when I heard that song I understood something of the magic he exuded onstage & why he was so popular. Too bad it ended the way it did & when it did. All that wasted talent coupled with Elvis’s lost- ness has the making of quiet a tragedy. I trust Elvis didn’t land in hell but its obvious drugs turned his last years into a living version of hell. But I digress.
Getting back to Judy & “Over the rainbow,” I’m using her song as a segway to the idea that even more beautiful than the fantasy that wonderful things could exist –somewhere over the rainbow—we have a real guarantee from God that we can all exist Under the rainbow & be kept in His divine protection.
After the flood that swept away all but eight of the human race & two of the birds, the livestock, & all the wild animals, God made a promise to Noah & his sons. “No more wipe-outs like this one. And as a reminder I’m hanging my “war-bow” up in the heavens. Never again will I allow water to destroy all life on earth. The covenant is unconditional & it’s given with nothing from Noah; its Unilateral disarmament. The covenant is perpetual & universal.” What an incredible example of God’s grace this is. And God makes the wonderful promise knowing all the time that man will continue to be wicked. Yes, indeed, we have God’s Word that He’s not going to get mad again & drown us all like a bunch of wet turkeys.
I take this story literally as I do all of Bible except where it’s obvious that simile or metaphor is used. We might want to keep in mind that when a parable, simile or metaphor is used, it’s in all probability a milder form of the reality that lies behind it, such as using fire & brimstone to describe hell. A person may say the word fire is just a symbolic word, but pray tell how do you explain away the brimstone?
Over & over in scripture we have God giving second chances. Like when Adam & Eve sinned God gave them clothes & sent them on their way to begin again. Like Cain who’d killed his brother Able was given a second chance, when God could have wiped him out too. Then God started over with a seventy-five year old man whom he gave his covenant & promised him a land of his own. Like God brought Israel out of Egypt, freed them from bondage giving them the Promised Land. Then in the fullness of time God sent His son to die for our race & promised us eternal life through our faith in Him.
Over & over God has kept His promise to keep working with man. When I hear the words Judy Garland sang a generation ago, I think I understand her dream. “Somewhere over the rainbow, way up high, birds fly over the rainbow, why then oh why can’t I?” I know the feeling. But as much as I might understand her sentiment, & as appealing as that magical ride might be, God has made us all a much better promise; A promise that we can live very comfortable UNDER HIS RAINBOW, which hovers like a divine punctuation mark behind every storm.
When we are worn out by abuse... We are still under His rainbow.
When the enemy comes in like a flood…We are under His rainbow.
When grief drops over us like a net—we are under His rainbow.
When we feel we’re about to drown in loneliness... We’re under His rainbow.
When stress seems to stifle us... We’re under His rainbow.
At the age of sixteen I had my first song published. It was entitled “Rainbow of love.” I believe the sheet music is still available at The Gospel publishing house, Springfield, Missouri.
Let me share one verse & the chorus;
There were rain clouds above me, and a storm down inside,
My tears fell unendingly, tears I wanted to hide,
Then I cried out for mercy, & I looked up above,
There in place of a cloudy sky, was a rainbow of love.
Yes God placed a rainbow, a rainbow up above,
He placed it there for you & me to see,
So we’d know that His love would last,
Always shine up above, and in place of a cloudy sky,
There’d be a rainbow of love.
God’s message to Noah is a message we can all take refuge in. No matter what happens,
KEEP LOOKING UP FOR THAT RAINBOW.
John
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