By John Stallings
…..Love is not touchy. 1 Corinthians 13: 5-- J.B Philips translation
What’s the devil’s most deadly & deceptive trap?
What tool of Satan imprisons countless Christians, severs relationships, widens existing breaches between people in families & churches--& is a leading cause of disunity? It’s the trap of offense.
Offense is described as-“an act causing anger, hurt feelings, resentment, displeasure, or an affront.”
If caught in its early stages it can be dealt with before much damage is done but the deeper the offense & the longer it’s allowed to fester, the greater the chance that it will turn into a poisonous root of bitterness & bury itself deep within the soul. The result will be a harden heart against people & ultimately God Himself.
When an offense becomes a stronghold, an individual will develop a pattern through which all incoming information gets processed & then they start filtering everything through past hurts, rejections & past injuries.
Offended people feel justified in withholding forgiveness from the offender.
Offended people feel justified in gossiping to others about the offense.
Offended people feel justified in enlisting sympathizers in their cause & turning other people against the offender.
Offended people will produce much fruit, namely; anger, outrage, jealousy, resentment, strife, bitterness, hatred, envy & broken relationships.
Offended people often don’t know they’ve fallen into the offense trap.
Offended people feel; “I was mistreated or misjudged—therefore I’m justified in my behavior.”
Very often offended Christians [or Christians so-called] will refuse to be a part any longer of the Christian community. The people with whom they meet & rub shoulders are other offended folk. Sunday to them becomes a day for sleeping late or visiting relatives & friends or a day at the beach.
It’s not uncommon for these offended Christians to give up Bible reading & Bible study & God becomes a relic of their past, although they are known to continue to talk religious & carry a strong attitude of self-righteousness. The justification for the dismissal of God from their lives is that they’ve been hurt somewhere along the way & there are “too many hypocrites in the church.” This argument is simply an evasive tactic to justify one’s negative feelings toward others & of God Himself.
Satan knows how easy it is for all of us to hold on to grudges & he does everything in his power to remind us of the injustices done to us, real or imaginary. He knows that if he can get us to allow unforgiveness to remain in our hearts it gives him a foothold.
People get offended by the words or actions of others, & often sermons. They feel every sermon is intentionally aimed at them. They might say; “no one spoke to me, the pastor shook my hand but his eyes were on another person.” We all are presented with tons of opportunities to get offended every single second of our lives.
People who become offended in a church, usually move on to another church. Since they never deal with their spirit of offense, they keep moving around looking for a perfect church; a church that will never hurt their feelings. The truth of the matter is there is no such thing as a church that will never hurt our feelings.
CONSIDER THE LOWLY PORCUPINE
If you’re walking through the woods & you hear a rattling sound, step lightly. It could be a deadly rattlesnake- but you could also be in the proximity of a rodent called the porcupine.
The adult porcupine is about three feet long & weighs between 20 & 30 pounds. It’s known to rustle its quills to warn a potential predator to back off. In a worse case scenario [small animals such as dogs usually get the worst injuries] you could end up trying to pull out a bunch of barbed quills. The porcupines don’t have to aim perfectly either because they have on average 30,000 quills to throw, with fish-hook like barbs in them, located all over their bodies except their faces. [Thanks Wikipedia.]
When threatened the porcupine attacks by moving backward or sideways into the aggressor & the quills lodge in the aggressor’s skin. Every time the pierced victim moves, the quills penetrate further into its body. If the quills pierce vital organs the victim can die.
HAVE YOU NOTICED THERE ARE PORCUPINE PEOPLE?
We’ve all taken some quills along the way & to be truthful we’ve all thrown a few quills. There are some people who- through the look on their face & their body language seem to be saying,-“You take a chance if you mess with me. I have plenty of quills & I won’t hesitate to use them.” These “quill throwers” are raspy & harsh & if you have even the shortest of encounters with them you will doubtless come away carrying quills.
We meet “quill throwers” in all levels of life. They are in hospitals, doctor’s offices, schools, restaurants, department stores, driving down hi-ways & even in churches. You probably have one or two in your extended family.
Not only are there “Quill throwers,” there are also “Quill carriers.” If you’ve ever seen a church fight or for that matter a family feud you are aware of this. Quill carriers are folk who’ve taken some quills in life & have never gotten rid of them. Many times it’s because they don’t want to be healed. They savor the pain caused by quills.
GOD'S WORD SPEAKS TO THE PORCUPINE PROBLEM
In 1 Peter 4: there is what some call “The Peter Prescription.” Verse 8 says;--Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.
Notice Peter says—ABOVE ALL-love each other deeply. ……This is a biblical mandate! It means make every effort, -- go all out—make it priority one—love as if your life depended on it.
It may be painful to hear but the main reason we are super-bothered by others & the quills they throw at us is simple; we just don’t have the “love covering” we need to absorb the hurt & lighten up about the barbs thrown at us.
Notice Peter doesn’t say love covers-up sins, but love covers-over a multitude of sins.
When we don’t forgive others who trespass against us, or hit us with quills, the reason is—there’s not enough love to “cover it over.” Again…Love covers over a multitude of sins.
Love gets a little confusing because we mean all kinds of different things when we talk about love. I love to fish & I love chocolate ice cream however I have a much deeper commitment to my wife than I do those things. But I use the same word, love.
In the church we’re always saying-God is love-therefore we should love too but what do we mean when we say that? When we step out of the spiritual realm we have Hollywood & T.V presenting movies about love like Sleepless in Seattle, You’ve got mail, Titanic, Friends, & Dawson’s Creek. These things can’t help but affect us, & some of our expectations grow out of watching them. Harlequin Romance Magazines sells 130 million books each year; books purporting to tell us about love. Some of it might be good & some of it bad so it’s important that we understand what we’re really talking about when we speak of love.
In 1 Corinthians, Paul wrote to a church that had all the spiritual gifts but they argued constantly. They had asserted how smart & gifted they were & so Paul had been critiquing this complicated & conflicted Corinthian church. The Love chapter, 1 Corinthians 13 comes as almost an intrusion in the flow of the letter. Paul took great care to explain to them that though they had all these phenomenal gifts, anything minus love equals nothing. Zero.
When we think of love in the way the world presents it we’re usually talking about romantic love which is based on physical desirability. This love assumes that the loved- one is attractive & it assumes incredible emotional intensity so that one can’t help but pursue the loved one. But this is a far cry from what Paul is talking about because he writes love is more than an emotion. It’s capable of even loving the unlovable.
Sometimes when we use the word love we’re speaking of tolerance; you do your thing & I’ll do mine. Tolerance is good but it’s not the kind of love Paul is talking about. Sometimes love will compel us to be intolerant & demand change in an individual. Sometimes love will have to be tough, as in intervening in the life of a loved one who’s bound by drugs or other substances. It’s clear that tolerance isn’t the kind of love Paul’s talking about.
Sometimes love will be used as a cause; we love the environment so we wear wrist- bands & T-shirts to protest things that hurt the environment, but this isn’t the love Paul is talking about. Some of the meanest people in the world parade behind the banner of love for this or that cause & in crusading for tolerance; they can be so intolerant they’re downright dangerous. John Lennon wrote a song called “Give peace a chance,” & all the time he was at war with the Beatles. Their personal relationships were in shambles & they were calling the world to peace. Like the man who said, “I love mankind- its people I hate.”
The love Paul speaks about isn’t even friendship. Sometimes people will get sentimental & feel they have so much in common with an individual that they’ll say, “I love you.” There might even be an awkward hug & a few tears because the friendship touches them in such a way as to be thought of as love. Like two drunks in a bar who get a little lubricated & say, “I love you, man.” This isn’t the kind of love Paul is talking about.
As a matter of fact Paul isn’t going to let us guess what he’s talking about, he gets very concrete about love. He says love is patient. It can relax in the present. Love is willing to accept slow change & to try again. Love is patient & kind. Love is warm & sympathetic. It sees & feels the difficulties of the other person. It’s not cold & analytical. Love is kind & doesn’t envy. Love doesn’t boast & isn’t proud. Love avoids abrasive & inflammatory language. Love listens. Love is a dialogue. Love doesn’t scold a person like they were a family pet. Love isn’t easily angered. Love is more than biting the tongue; it works at the inner core of us.
Love always protects, always trusts, always hopes & perseveres. Love is constantly hoping for change in people & doesn’t give up after one good try. Love is going to try & try & try again. Love isn’t what celebrities talk about on The Oprah Show.
Have you ever thought about the fact that right in the middle of the happy, romantic & love-filled marriage vows we start talking about better or worse, richer or poorer, sickness & in health? Just when we’re speaking of this feel-good love, we imagine those terrible scenarios. Why do we do that? It’s because deep inside we all want love that is secure. Deep down we know there is real, all embracing love. We want that love for ourselves & we want to be able to give it too. And so there it is in the vows- in the marriage ceremony.
But keep in mind; the love Paul speaks about is bigger than married love because he’s not talking to married couples. He’s talking to the church & he’s telling them this is the kind of loving relationships they should have. It’s the kind of love God loves us with.
FORGIVING THE QUILL THROWERS
These next words will be some of the most important words you’ll ever read because if you & I don’t get this thing called forgiveness right, we’ll miss the heart of the gospel. I am swinging this axe with great humility because I find forgiveness such a struggle. More than once in my life I’ve had people I trusted to prove unworthy of that trust by doing everything in their power to hurt me. As you know these kinds of people almost never ask forgiveness. But even in cases where I’ve been asked to forgive, & I’ve given that forgiveness to the best of my ability, I’d be less than honest if I didn’t say I still struggle with it. As Paul said, “I die daily.”
There’s no greater passage in the entire Bible that opens the heart of God on forgiveness than the narrative in Matthew chapter eighteen. I’m sure you’re familiar with it.
Even the disciples were having a hard time with forgiveness, so Peter came out & laid the difficulty of it right at the feet of Jesus. The Rabbinic teaching of the day said you should forgive someone up to three times & after that you could stop forgiving. To be on the safe side Peter doubled that & added one for magnanimity's sake. He asked, “Lord when somebody messes me over, how many times should I allow that to happen before I stop forgiving them? Seven times?”
Jesus said, “No, Not seven times. Seventy times seven.” We’d be missing the point here if we think Jesus was talking about a literal number. Jesus was actually talking here about how grace should operate in the life of the believer when it comes to the difficulty of forgiveness.
So Jesus told a simple, crystal-clear, scintillating parable & explained the issue of forgiveness to His disciples as well as you & me. We don’t have to be rocket scientists, bible scholars or great theologians to get the point of this parable.
It’s a story about a king & his servant. The king has loaned his servant money & decides to call in the loan. It’s pay-back time. Servant A is the first man we meet. He has run up a whopping tab, roughly 12 million dollars. The point is, it’s such a vast sum it’s impossible to pay back. The servant is unable to pay so the king took the next step & ordered the servant & his wife & children to be sold into slavery & his entire estate to be put on the auction block. At least the king can salvage a little bit of money on this deal.
But the servant begins to beg for mercy. He’s trying to buy time. He’s hoping the king will cut him some slack. He literally pleads for his life. Then the most unexpected thing happens; like a bolt from the blue the king totally forgives & cancels the entire debt. Suddenly servant, wife, children, & estate are off the auction block.
Now put yourself in that servant’s shoes. How would you be feeling at that moment? When somebody gives you a break in traffic aren’t you more likely then to give someone else a break? But after all that forgiveness, -servant A leaves as if nothing good has happened.
Enter servant B. Servant B owes servant A about $1.80 in today’s money. Like a scene from The Godfather, servant A says to servant B, “I’m going to remove your kneecaps unless you pay up.” Servant A shows servant B no mercy, instead he has servant B thrown into prison. We can agree that servant A is a jerk.
But there are always other eyes watching & someone went & told the king the whole story. Now for the second time servant A is called before the king. The king has another turn-around & this time his pity has turned to anger. He lowers the boom on servant A & throws him in prison.
The story is over for servant A & B but it’s not over for Peter & it’s not over for you & me. Jesus says, -- “Unless you & I forgive our brothers & sisters from the heart we’re going to wind up just like servant A.” And, oh, how God has forgiven the debt that you & I have run up. It’s far greater than 12 million dollars. The results of the tab are eternal death & separation from God in hell.
GOD IS EXTREMELY OBSESSIVE ABOUT FORGIVENESS
God is so obsessive that He mandates & orders forgiveness & just like any other scriptural mandate it’s for our own good. God knows that you & I will never be able to move toward wholeness, live victoriously & be healed until we let go of resentment, give up on revenge, & let Him take the quills out we’ve collected over the years.
The mistake we make is to look at the person who has wronged us & what they’ve done to us. This parable reminds us that’s a mistake. We need to look at who God is & what He’s done for us. There are no limits to forgiveness because there’s no limit to God’s grace.
The following is nothing new to most Christians but I have a feeling if we really took it seriously it would change the way we view the Lord’s Prayer.
Right in the middle of the Lord’s Prayer is a phrase that you & I, if we’re not careful will pray mindlessly. “Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.” Have we honestly thought about what we’re asking God to do here? Have you ever felt like falling silent at this point? We’re asking God to forgive us, to treat us --exactly the way we deal with other folks who’ve wronged us.
THE MOST PROFOUND, PUREST, HIGHEST, & FINEST EXAMPLE OF FORGIVENESS IN THE BIBLE HAPPENED WHEN JESUS HUNG ON THE CROSS.
He was condemned to death by evil men who plotted against him & produced lying witness to convict Him. As He surveyed the howling mob cheering His suffering, the man who knew no sin, the only innocent man who ever walked this sin cursed planet uttered the words that still ring across the centuries; “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.” [Luke 23:34] Those 11 tortured words sweep away all our nonsensical excuses & reveal the barrenness of our hearts. They rip the cover off our unrighteous unforgiveness & show it for what it is.
Many of us say, “If only the people who hurt me would show some remorse, some sorrow, then maybe I would forgive them.” But consider Jesus on the cross. No one seemed sorry, quite the contrary-- they laughed, mocked & jeered Him. They hurled insults at Him. The people who killed Him were pleased with themselves. Pilate washed his hands of the whole sordid affair. The Jewish leaders hated Him with a fierce irrational hatred. They were happy to see Him suffer & die.
Evil was in the air that day. The forces of darkness had done their work & Jesus would soon be in a tomb. No one said, “I was wrong, this is a mistake.” And yet He said, “Father forgive them for they don’t know what they are doing,” --this is precisely what we must say to the quill throwers; the people who hurt us deliberately & repeatedly.
We must say it to those who intentionally attack us.
We must say it to those who casually & thoughtlessly wound us.
We must say it to those closest to us, to our husband or wife, to our children, to our parents, to our friends, to our neighbors, to our brothers & sisters.
“Father, forgive them” is what we must say if we want to follow Christ.
Blessings,
John
Friday, November 4, 2011
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Love Will Keep Us Together
By John Stallings
It had been more than 500 years since they laid old Jacob to rest in the cave of Machpelah.
These were eventful years for Jacob’s descendants. There were the hard years of Egyptian bondage culminated by God’s gracious deliverance, and the forty years of wilderness wanderings culminated by the great conquest of Canaan. Then there were the strange years of sin, servitude, and salvation - the period of the Judges.
That gloomy era provides the backdrop for perhaps the most beautiful love story in the Bible, the story of Ruth and Boaz.
“Now it came about in the days when the judges governed, that there was a famine in the land. And a certain man of Bethlehem in Judah went to sojourn in the land of Moab with his wife and his two sons” [Ruth 1:1].
That man, named Elimelech, died in Moab, leaving his wife, Naomi, and their two sons, Mahlon and Chileon. The boys married Moabite women, and then, in what seemed to be a tragic twist of fate, both of them died, leaving Naomi in a strange land with only her two Moabite daughters-in-law, Ruth and Orpah.
When Naomi heard that God had prospered her people back in Bethlehem with food, she decided to return home.
Orpah remained in Moab but Ruth wouldn't hear of it. She was one of those rare persons who loved deeply and selflessly, and she loved her mother-in-law. Her now famous words were-
For where you go, I will go, and where you lodge, I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God, my God” (Ruth 1:16). Her God was about to direct her to a wonderful man with whom she would be united.
THOSE “PESKY” MOTHER-INLAWS
I think it of interest to point out here-as if we weren’t already aware of it- that many a woman who loves her husband can’t seem to love his mother. And men seem to have the same problem with their wives’ mothers. Just reflect on all the mother-in-law jokes that have circulated through the years. Where does love like Ruth’s come from? It comes from the “Lord of all Love.”
If you want that kind of love in your life, you’ll have to cultivate a close personal relationship with Him just as Ruth did. We human beings are among other things, “great reflectors.” Our attitudes and dispositions will reflect who and what we spend the most time with. It would be futile to tell folk we spend an appreciable amount of time with God if we’re fractious and unloving. When we get to know God and understand how much He gave for us, we are encouraged to give of ourselves for the good of others, even our in-laws, and maybe even our “Outlaws and By-laws.” When we do that, tension and turmoil begin to dissolve into harmony and happiness.
NEVER TOO EARLY
It’s never too soon to learn these lessons of love. We should begin teaching them to our children very early in their lives. The training ground for love is the home. A loving relationship with parents and brothers and sisters will prepare them to love their mates and their mates’ parents as they should. If a person comes from an unloving home it’s difficult for them to give or to receive love. Children will not know how to love when they marry unless they show love to those with whom they live right now.
But it all begins with our love affair with the Lord. When we have experienced the love of God, we will express it in our family relationships—parents, brothers, sisters, husbands, wives, children, and in-laws. Ruth is ready for a beautiful love affair with Boaz because she is in love with her Lord and that love is spilling out to others in her life.
The first thing that strikes us about these two whom God brought together by His grace is their spiritual preparation. Although Elimelech’s family was out of the center of God’s will and out of the place of God’s blessing, they did accomplish something worthwhile. Through their testimony, this young Moabite named Ruth turned from worshiping Chemosh, the God of the Moabites, with all the abominable practices associated with his worship, and put her trust in the one true and living God. “Your God shall be my God,” she boldly declared. And it was evident to all who knew her that she had come to enjoy an intimate relationship with the Lord God of Israel.
Sometime later, Boaz would say to her, “May the Lord reward your work, and your wages be full from the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to seek refuge” [Ruth 2:12]. Her trust in God and her love for God were the sources of an inner strength and beauty that could not be hidden and of a love for others that could not be suppressed.
Consider what Ruth did. Instead of brooding over the loss of her own husband, she devoted herself to meeting the needs of her mother-in-law, to filling the void in Naomi’s life, to helping her the best she could. That meant leaving her home, her family, and her friends, moving to another land as a despised foreigner and living in poverty and privation. And for what? Love and concern for her mother-in-law were her only apparent motives. Boaz pointed that out later in the story:
“All that you have done for your mother-in-law after the death of your husband has been fully reported to me, and how you left your father and your mother and the land of your birth, and came to a people that you did not previously know” (Ruth 2:11).
PRINCE CHARMING APPEARS
Now let’s meet the Prince Charming in Ruth’s future. The story implies that Boaz is much older than she [Ruth 3:10]. We don’t know whether he was a bachelor or a widower, but we do know that he was a man of God. The Lord was an important part of his daily life. He thought often about the Lord, spoke freely of Him. Without question Boaz made the Lord part of his everyday business dealings.
Listen to him greet his reapers in the field. “May the Lord be with you,” he said. And they responded, “May the Lord bless you” [Ruth 2:4]. To Ruth he declared, “May you be blessed of the Lord, my daughter” [Ruth 3:10]. And again, “I will redeem you, as the Lord lives” [Ruth 3:13]. All the people who attended his wedding acknowledged his dependence upon God for his future posterity: “May the Lord make the woman who is coming into your home like Rachel and Leah, both of whom built the house of Israel” [Ruth 4:11].
The first requirement for a successful marriage is that the husband recognizes God in the equation. One reason so many marriages are floundering is because the husbands aren’t prepared spiritually for their task. They spent little or no time studying the Word, memorizing it, discovering how it applied to their lives, and learning from it what their responsibilities as Christian husbands and fathers would be. The Lord was not part of their daily living. And when they walked to the altar they were still spiritual babies, ill-prepared to assume the spiritual leadership of their homes. It’s no surprise that their marriages are in trouble.
IT’S NEVER TOO LATE TO CHANGE
Men, if you have wasted the years until now, there is no time to lose. Start cultivating a personal walk with Jesus Christ. Spend time regularly studying the Scriptures and learning from them how God wants you to live your life and discharge your responsibilities. Begin consulting Him about everything. If you are involved in an unhappy marital situation, the damage can be repaired, but the place to begin is with this matter of daily involvement with God. Other efforts will fail until our hearts are right with Him and we are growing in His likeness.
Let me stop here for a moment and explain the preceding few words. Someone might say, “Well brother, I’ve known of marriages that lasted for over 60 years and neither of the individuals were Christians nor did they even own a Bible.” That might very well be so, but here’s the truth about marriages like that; if you check them out, you’ll find that though they weren’t Christians, they were, perhaps unknowingly, utilizing the skills and principles laid out for us in God’s Word for a successful marriage. The husband had to be a loving and respectful provider for his family and the wife had to be to some degree a respectful, loving and submitted wife. What a pity if such a thing were true that a couple would live lives circumspect enough to almost be Christians, but never having trusted Christ as their Lord and Savior. They’d have nothing to look forward to at the end but an eternity lost without God.
Obviously, spiritually Ruth and Boaz were both ready. So we turn from their spiritual preparation to their sterling courtship. Naomi and Ruth had now arrived in Bethlehem, and the problem facing them was how to find enough food to eat. Isn’t it enlightening that though we expect so much from life, the folk in most Bible stories are consumed with just getting enough food to stay alive?
God had made a gracious provision in the Mosaic Law for folk in their predicament. Farmers were not permitted to reap the corners of their grain fields nor gather the gleanings; they were to leave them for the poor, for foreigners, for widows and orphans [Lev. 19:9, 10; 23:22; Deut. 24:19].
Almost any way you look at it, Naomi and Ruth met those qualifications. They were poor widows and Ruth was a foreigner. Since Naomi was getting a little too old to work in the fields, Ruth asked if she might go and find the field of some kind man who would allow her to glean. Naomi gave her permission.
“So she departed and went and gleaned in the field after the reapers; and she happened to come to the portion of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of the family of Elimelech” (Ruth 2:3).
When I was a boy of eleven, I picked cotton one day for about an hour mostly just to see how it felt. I remember when they weighed my cotton bag, I’d picked eleven cents worth. Ladies and gentlemen, this type of field work “ain’t easy.” Stooping and bending all day long as Ruth did as she gathered the grain into her long flowing cloak, the burden getting heavier with each stalk she gleaned, and the sun beating down on her back in that semi-tropical climate had to be awful.
A few of the bigoted hometown folks were probably taunting her because of her foreign accent, and some of the men seemed to be trying to put their hands on her [Ruth 2:9]. Every impulse in Ruth’s body urged her to flee to the purple mountains of Moab which she could see in the distance. That was home; that was where she belonged. But with quiet courage, simple modesty, and total unselfishness, she carried on.
WOULD BOAZ NOTICE RUTH?
Will Boaz notice her? He did. “Whose young woman is this?” he asked his servant who was in charge of the reapers. “She is the young Moabite woman who returned with Naomi from the land of Moab,” he replied [Ruth 2:5, 6]. Boaz lost no time in doing some nice things for Ruth. He invited her to stay in his fields and glean as much as she wanted, and to drink freely from the water pitchers provided for his own workers.
Nowhere can I find that Ruth was a beautiful woman like Sarah, Rebekah, or Rachel. We do not know whether she was or not, but we do know that she had an inner beauty, a meek and quiet spirit, an unpretentious humility that made her one of the loveliest women in Scripture. She bowed low before Boaz in genuine gratitude and said, “Why have I found favor in your sight that you should take notice of me, since I am a foreigner?” [Ruth 2:10].
Her humility was evident again when she said, “You have comforted me and indeed have spoken kindly to your maidservant, though I am not like one of your maidservants” [Ruth 2:13]. There was nothing “put on” about this. It was real. And this genuine humility, this meek and quiet spirit is one of the most valuable assets a woman can have. Peter says it is of great value in God’s sight [1 Pet. 3:4]. It might be a good trait for Christian women to ask God to help them develop.
It looks as though Boaz is getting more interested in this lovely woman as the day goes on. At mealtime he invited her to join him and his reapers for lunch, and he made sure she was served all that she wanted. When she finished eating and got up to return to work, Boaz said to his servants,
“Let her glean even among the sheaves, and do not insult her. And also you shall purposely pull out for her some grain from the bundles and leave it that she may glean, and do not rebuke her” [Ruth 2:15, 16].
So Ruth continued to glean until evening. And when she beat out what she had gleaned, it was nearly a bushel of barley. It seems as though Boaz was a kind man, thoughtful, considerate, and gentle. There are not too many of them around anymore, judging from what many women are sharing with marriage counselors. Some men have the strange notion that kindness and gentleness are effeminate traits and they go out of their way to avoid them. Not at all! They are Christ-like traits. And Christ was a rugged man’s man. Surveys show that kindness and gentleness rank near the top of the characteristics women are looking for in a husband. They would be good traits for Christian men to ask God to help them develop.
It was time to make a move. And strangely enough, in that culture it was Ruth’s move. God gave another interesting law to the Jews that required a man to marry the childless widow of his dead brother. The first son born of that union would bear his brother’s name and inherit his brother’s property [Deut. 25:5-10; Lev. 25:23-28]. If no brother was available, a more distant relative might be asked to fulfill this duty. But the widow would have to let him know that he was acceptable to be her “goel,” as they called it, -her kinsman-redeemer and provider.
Naomi told Ruth exactly how to do that. Ruth listened carefully and carried out her instructions precisely. Boaz would be sleeping on the threshing floor that night to protect his grain from thieves. After he went to sleep; Ruth tiptoed in, uncovered his feet, and laid down. By this act she was requesting Boaz to become her goel. Needless to say, Boaz was somewhat startled when he rolled over in the middle of the night and realized there was a woman lying at his feet. “Who are you?” he asked. She answered, “I am Ruth your maid. So spread your covering over your maid, for you are a close relative” [Ruth 3:9]. Spreading his cloak over her would signify his willingness to become her protector and provider. His response was immediate:
“May you be blessed of the Lord, my daughter. You have shown your last kindness to be better than the first by not going after young men, whether poor or rich. And now, my daughter, do not fear. I will do for you whatever you ask, for all my people in the city know that you are a woman of excellence” (Ruth 3:10, 11).
THIS EPISODE ISN’T “X-RATED.”
It’s important to understand that there was nothing immoral in this episode. This procedure was the custom of the day, and the record emphasizes the purity of it. In the secluded darkness of the threshing room, Boaz could have gratified his human desires and no one but Ruth would have known. But he was a godly, moral, self-disciplined, Spirit-controlled man, and he kept his hands off. Scripture says that Ruth slept at his feet until morning (Ruth 3:14). Furthermore, Ruth had the reputation of being a woman of excellence (Ruth 3:11). She had physical drives like any other normal woman, but she learned to claim God’s grace and strength to hold those drives in check until marriage.
Boaz and Ruth both knew that God’s greatest blessing in marriage would require purity before marriage. Carelessness in this area would bring guilt, loss of self-respect, and suspicion. And it could leave scars on their souls that would make their adjustment to each other in marriage most difficult.
This is a vanishing viewpoint. Satan has brainwashed our society into believing premarital sex is perfectly acceptable. Our society is paying the price for promiscuity by unprecedented marital turmoil and innumerable broken homes with all the emotional trauma they bring. God’s way is always best!
Boaz and Ruth did it God’s way. We’re not surprised to see, finally, their successful marriage. Not a great deal is actually said about their relationship with each other after the wedding, but we may assume from what we have already learned about them that their marriage was richly blessed of God. Scripture does say, “So Boaz took Ruth, and she became his wife, and he went in to her. And the Lord enabled her to conceive, and she gave birth to a son” [Ruth 4:13].
The most unusual aspect of this story is the continuing role Naomi played in their lives from this point on. As a former mother-in-law, we would expect her to drop out of the picture, but Boaz and Ruth are too loving and caring to let that happen. When their baby was born, the women of Bethlehem said to Naomi,
“Blessed is the Lord who has not left you without a redeemer today, and may his name become famous in Israel. May he also be to you a restorer of life and a sustainer of your old age; for your daughter-in-law, who loves you and is better to you than seven sons, has given birth to him” [Ruth 4:14, 15].
Then Naomi took the baby and cared for him, and the neighbor women said, “A son has been born to Naomi!” [Ruth 4:17]. Imagine that! They all considered that baby to be Naomi’s own child, and Boaz and Ruth happily permitted it. Boaz continued to provide for Naomi until her death, and he seems to have done it cheerfully. And Ruth’s love for her never waned. The women called Ruth “‘your daughter-in-law, who loves you and is better to you than seven sons.”
Now that Ruth had her husband, she could have resented her former mother-in-law as an intruder. Many women would have. But when a person is filled with the love of God, his heart is big enough to engulf more than just one special person, or even a special few. He tenderly and unselfishly reaches out to meet the needs of others as well. It is striking to observe how God’s love in Ruth’s life overcame all obstacles—poverty, racial prejudice, age disparity, physical temptations, and even mother-in-law differences.
There’s a good possibility that God’s love can solve the problems in our lives. As we come to understand and enjoy His unconditional love for us, and allow that love to flow through us, we think less and less about ourselves and more and more about others.
The problem-solving potential of that self-sacrificing, self-giving love is phenomenal.
Incidentally, isn’t it wonderful to see how God was providentially moving Ruth into a very important position? She would be King David’s great-grandmother, consequentially making her part of the linage of the coming Christ.
Blessings,
John
It had been more than 500 years since they laid old Jacob to rest in the cave of Machpelah.
These were eventful years for Jacob’s descendants. There were the hard years of Egyptian bondage culminated by God’s gracious deliverance, and the forty years of wilderness wanderings culminated by the great conquest of Canaan. Then there were the strange years of sin, servitude, and salvation - the period of the Judges.
That gloomy era provides the backdrop for perhaps the most beautiful love story in the Bible, the story of Ruth and Boaz.
“Now it came about in the days when the judges governed, that there was a famine in the land. And a certain man of Bethlehem in Judah went to sojourn in the land of Moab with his wife and his two sons” [Ruth 1:1].
That man, named Elimelech, died in Moab, leaving his wife, Naomi, and their two sons, Mahlon and Chileon. The boys married Moabite women, and then, in what seemed to be a tragic twist of fate, both of them died, leaving Naomi in a strange land with only her two Moabite daughters-in-law, Ruth and Orpah.
When Naomi heard that God had prospered her people back in Bethlehem with food, she decided to return home.
Orpah remained in Moab but Ruth wouldn't hear of it. She was one of those rare persons who loved deeply and selflessly, and she loved her mother-in-law. Her now famous words were-
For where you go, I will go, and where you lodge, I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God, my God” (Ruth 1:16). Her God was about to direct her to a wonderful man with whom she would be united.
THOSE “PESKY” MOTHER-INLAWS
I think it of interest to point out here-as if we weren’t already aware of it- that many a woman who loves her husband can’t seem to love his mother. And men seem to have the same problem with their wives’ mothers. Just reflect on all the mother-in-law jokes that have circulated through the years. Where does love like Ruth’s come from? It comes from the “Lord of all Love.”
If you want that kind of love in your life, you’ll have to cultivate a close personal relationship with Him just as Ruth did. We human beings are among other things, “great reflectors.” Our attitudes and dispositions will reflect who and what we spend the most time with. It would be futile to tell folk we spend an appreciable amount of time with God if we’re fractious and unloving. When we get to know God and understand how much He gave for us, we are encouraged to give of ourselves for the good of others, even our in-laws, and maybe even our “Outlaws and By-laws.” When we do that, tension and turmoil begin to dissolve into harmony and happiness.
NEVER TOO EARLY
It’s never too soon to learn these lessons of love. We should begin teaching them to our children very early in their lives. The training ground for love is the home. A loving relationship with parents and brothers and sisters will prepare them to love their mates and their mates’ parents as they should. If a person comes from an unloving home it’s difficult for them to give or to receive love. Children will not know how to love when they marry unless they show love to those with whom they live right now.
But it all begins with our love affair with the Lord. When we have experienced the love of God, we will express it in our family relationships—parents, brothers, sisters, husbands, wives, children, and in-laws. Ruth is ready for a beautiful love affair with Boaz because she is in love with her Lord and that love is spilling out to others in her life.
The first thing that strikes us about these two whom God brought together by His grace is their spiritual preparation. Although Elimelech’s family was out of the center of God’s will and out of the place of God’s blessing, they did accomplish something worthwhile. Through their testimony, this young Moabite named Ruth turned from worshiping Chemosh, the God of the Moabites, with all the abominable practices associated with his worship, and put her trust in the one true and living God. “Your God shall be my God,” she boldly declared. And it was evident to all who knew her that she had come to enjoy an intimate relationship with the Lord God of Israel.
Sometime later, Boaz would say to her, “May the Lord reward your work, and your wages be full from the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to seek refuge” [Ruth 2:12]. Her trust in God and her love for God were the sources of an inner strength and beauty that could not be hidden and of a love for others that could not be suppressed.
Consider what Ruth did. Instead of brooding over the loss of her own husband, she devoted herself to meeting the needs of her mother-in-law, to filling the void in Naomi’s life, to helping her the best she could. That meant leaving her home, her family, and her friends, moving to another land as a despised foreigner and living in poverty and privation. And for what? Love and concern for her mother-in-law were her only apparent motives. Boaz pointed that out later in the story:
“All that you have done for your mother-in-law after the death of your husband has been fully reported to me, and how you left your father and your mother and the land of your birth, and came to a people that you did not previously know” (Ruth 2:11).
PRINCE CHARMING APPEARS
Now let’s meet the Prince Charming in Ruth’s future. The story implies that Boaz is much older than she [Ruth 3:10]. We don’t know whether he was a bachelor or a widower, but we do know that he was a man of God. The Lord was an important part of his daily life. He thought often about the Lord, spoke freely of Him. Without question Boaz made the Lord part of his everyday business dealings.
Listen to him greet his reapers in the field. “May the Lord be with you,” he said. And they responded, “May the Lord bless you” [Ruth 2:4]. To Ruth he declared, “May you be blessed of the Lord, my daughter” [Ruth 3:10]. And again, “I will redeem you, as the Lord lives” [Ruth 3:13]. All the people who attended his wedding acknowledged his dependence upon God for his future posterity: “May the Lord make the woman who is coming into your home like Rachel and Leah, both of whom built the house of Israel” [Ruth 4:11].
The first requirement for a successful marriage is that the husband recognizes God in the equation. One reason so many marriages are floundering is because the husbands aren’t prepared spiritually for their task. They spent little or no time studying the Word, memorizing it, discovering how it applied to their lives, and learning from it what their responsibilities as Christian husbands and fathers would be. The Lord was not part of their daily living. And when they walked to the altar they were still spiritual babies, ill-prepared to assume the spiritual leadership of their homes. It’s no surprise that their marriages are in trouble.
IT’S NEVER TOO LATE TO CHANGE
Men, if you have wasted the years until now, there is no time to lose. Start cultivating a personal walk with Jesus Christ. Spend time regularly studying the Scriptures and learning from them how God wants you to live your life and discharge your responsibilities. Begin consulting Him about everything. If you are involved in an unhappy marital situation, the damage can be repaired, but the place to begin is with this matter of daily involvement with God. Other efforts will fail until our hearts are right with Him and we are growing in His likeness.
Let me stop here for a moment and explain the preceding few words. Someone might say, “Well brother, I’ve known of marriages that lasted for over 60 years and neither of the individuals were Christians nor did they even own a Bible.” That might very well be so, but here’s the truth about marriages like that; if you check them out, you’ll find that though they weren’t Christians, they were, perhaps unknowingly, utilizing the skills and principles laid out for us in God’s Word for a successful marriage. The husband had to be a loving and respectful provider for his family and the wife had to be to some degree a respectful, loving and submitted wife. What a pity if such a thing were true that a couple would live lives circumspect enough to almost be Christians, but never having trusted Christ as their Lord and Savior. They’d have nothing to look forward to at the end but an eternity lost without God.
Obviously, spiritually Ruth and Boaz were both ready. So we turn from their spiritual preparation to their sterling courtship. Naomi and Ruth had now arrived in Bethlehem, and the problem facing them was how to find enough food to eat. Isn’t it enlightening that though we expect so much from life, the folk in most Bible stories are consumed with just getting enough food to stay alive?
God had made a gracious provision in the Mosaic Law for folk in their predicament. Farmers were not permitted to reap the corners of their grain fields nor gather the gleanings; they were to leave them for the poor, for foreigners, for widows and orphans [Lev. 19:9, 10; 23:22; Deut. 24:19].
Almost any way you look at it, Naomi and Ruth met those qualifications. They were poor widows and Ruth was a foreigner. Since Naomi was getting a little too old to work in the fields, Ruth asked if she might go and find the field of some kind man who would allow her to glean. Naomi gave her permission.
“So she departed and went and gleaned in the field after the reapers; and she happened to come to the portion of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of the family of Elimelech” (Ruth 2:3).
When I was a boy of eleven, I picked cotton one day for about an hour mostly just to see how it felt. I remember when they weighed my cotton bag, I’d picked eleven cents worth. Ladies and gentlemen, this type of field work “ain’t easy.” Stooping and bending all day long as Ruth did as she gathered the grain into her long flowing cloak, the burden getting heavier with each stalk she gleaned, and the sun beating down on her back in that semi-tropical climate had to be awful.
A few of the bigoted hometown folks were probably taunting her because of her foreign accent, and some of the men seemed to be trying to put their hands on her [Ruth 2:9]. Every impulse in Ruth’s body urged her to flee to the purple mountains of Moab which she could see in the distance. That was home; that was where she belonged. But with quiet courage, simple modesty, and total unselfishness, she carried on.
WOULD BOAZ NOTICE RUTH?
Will Boaz notice her? He did. “Whose young woman is this?” he asked his servant who was in charge of the reapers. “She is the young Moabite woman who returned with Naomi from the land of Moab,” he replied [Ruth 2:5, 6]. Boaz lost no time in doing some nice things for Ruth. He invited her to stay in his fields and glean as much as she wanted, and to drink freely from the water pitchers provided for his own workers.
Nowhere can I find that Ruth was a beautiful woman like Sarah, Rebekah, or Rachel. We do not know whether she was or not, but we do know that she had an inner beauty, a meek and quiet spirit, an unpretentious humility that made her one of the loveliest women in Scripture. She bowed low before Boaz in genuine gratitude and said, “Why have I found favor in your sight that you should take notice of me, since I am a foreigner?” [Ruth 2:10].
Her humility was evident again when she said, “You have comforted me and indeed have spoken kindly to your maidservant, though I am not like one of your maidservants” [Ruth 2:13]. There was nothing “put on” about this. It was real. And this genuine humility, this meek and quiet spirit is one of the most valuable assets a woman can have. Peter says it is of great value in God’s sight [1 Pet. 3:4]. It might be a good trait for Christian women to ask God to help them develop.
It looks as though Boaz is getting more interested in this lovely woman as the day goes on. At mealtime he invited her to join him and his reapers for lunch, and he made sure she was served all that she wanted. When she finished eating and got up to return to work, Boaz said to his servants,
“Let her glean even among the sheaves, and do not insult her. And also you shall purposely pull out for her some grain from the bundles and leave it that she may glean, and do not rebuke her” [Ruth 2:15, 16].
So Ruth continued to glean until evening. And when she beat out what she had gleaned, it was nearly a bushel of barley. It seems as though Boaz was a kind man, thoughtful, considerate, and gentle. There are not too many of them around anymore, judging from what many women are sharing with marriage counselors. Some men have the strange notion that kindness and gentleness are effeminate traits and they go out of their way to avoid them. Not at all! They are Christ-like traits. And Christ was a rugged man’s man. Surveys show that kindness and gentleness rank near the top of the characteristics women are looking for in a husband. They would be good traits for Christian men to ask God to help them develop.
It was time to make a move. And strangely enough, in that culture it was Ruth’s move. God gave another interesting law to the Jews that required a man to marry the childless widow of his dead brother. The first son born of that union would bear his brother’s name and inherit his brother’s property [Deut. 25:5-10; Lev. 25:23-28]. If no brother was available, a more distant relative might be asked to fulfill this duty. But the widow would have to let him know that he was acceptable to be her “goel,” as they called it, -her kinsman-redeemer and provider.
Naomi told Ruth exactly how to do that. Ruth listened carefully and carried out her instructions precisely. Boaz would be sleeping on the threshing floor that night to protect his grain from thieves. After he went to sleep; Ruth tiptoed in, uncovered his feet, and laid down. By this act she was requesting Boaz to become her goel. Needless to say, Boaz was somewhat startled when he rolled over in the middle of the night and realized there was a woman lying at his feet. “Who are you?” he asked. She answered, “I am Ruth your maid. So spread your covering over your maid, for you are a close relative” [Ruth 3:9]. Spreading his cloak over her would signify his willingness to become her protector and provider. His response was immediate:
“May you be blessed of the Lord, my daughter. You have shown your last kindness to be better than the first by not going after young men, whether poor or rich. And now, my daughter, do not fear. I will do for you whatever you ask, for all my people in the city know that you are a woman of excellence” (Ruth 3:10, 11).
THIS EPISODE ISN’T “X-RATED.”
It’s important to understand that there was nothing immoral in this episode. This procedure was the custom of the day, and the record emphasizes the purity of it. In the secluded darkness of the threshing room, Boaz could have gratified his human desires and no one but Ruth would have known. But he was a godly, moral, self-disciplined, Spirit-controlled man, and he kept his hands off. Scripture says that Ruth slept at his feet until morning (Ruth 3:14). Furthermore, Ruth had the reputation of being a woman of excellence (Ruth 3:11). She had physical drives like any other normal woman, but she learned to claim God’s grace and strength to hold those drives in check until marriage.
Boaz and Ruth both knew that God’s greatest blessing in marriage would require purity before marriage. Carelessness in this area would bring guilt, loss of self-respect, and suspicion. And it could leave scars on their souls that would make their adjustment to each other in marriage most difficult.
This is a vanishing viewpoint. Satan has brainwashed our society into believing premarital sex is perfectly acceptable. Our society is paying the price for promiscuity by unprecedented marital turmoil and innumerable broken homes with all the emotional trauma they bring. God’s way is always best!
Boaz and Ruth did it God’s way. We’re not surprised to see, finally, their successful marriage. Not a great deal is actually said about their relationship with each other after the wedding, but we may assume from what we have already learned about them that their marriage was richly blessed of God. Scripture does say, “So Boaz took Ruth, and she became his wife, and he went in to her. And the Lord enabled her to conceive, and she gave birth to a son” [Ruth 4:13].
The most unusual aspect of this story is the continuing role Naomi played in their lives from this point on. As a former mother-in-law, we would expect her to drop out of the picture, but Boaz and Ruth are too loving and caring to let that happen. When their baby was born, the women of Bethlehem said to Naomi,
“Blessed is the Lord who has not left you without a redeemer today, and may his name become famous in Israel. May he also be to you a restorer of life and a sustainer of your old age; for your daughter-in-law, who loves you and is better to you than seven sons, has given birth to him” [Ruth 4:14, 15].
Then Naomi took the baby and cared for him, and the neighbor women said, “A son has been born to Naomi!” [Ruth 4:17]. Imagine that! They all considered that baby to be Naomi’s own child, and Boaz and Ruth happily permitted it. Boaz continued to provide for Naomi until her death, and he seems to have done it cheerfully. And Ruth’s love for her never waned. The women called Ruth “‘your daughter-in-law, who loves you and is better to you than seven sons.”
Now that Ruth had her husband, she could have resented her former mother-in-law as an intruder. Many women would have. But when a person is filled with the love of God, his heart is big enough to engulf more than just one special person, or even a special few. He tenderly and unselfishly reaches out to meet the needs of others as well. It is striking to observe how God’s love in Ruth’s life overcame all obstacles—poverty, racial prejudice, age disparity, physical temptations, and even mother-in-law differences.
There’s a good possibility that God’s love can solve the problems in our lives. As we come to understand and enjoy His unconditional love for us, and allow that love to flow through us, we think less and less about ourselves and more and more about others.
The problem-solving potential of that self-sacrificing, self-giving love is phenomenal.
Incidentally, isn’t it wonderful to see how God was providentially moving Ruth into a very important position? She would be King David’s great-grandmother, consequentially making her part of the linage of the coming Christ.
Blessings,
John
Friday, September 16, 2011
Big Boy Christianity
By John Stallings
Like many of you, I was captured by grace at a very young age.
By the time I was six I realized that Jesus loved me & died on the cross to save me. So I gave Him my heart & life & was born into the family of God.
As you might expect, I had no spiritual vocabulary & no spiritual teeth. I didn’t understand all there was to know about Jesus & still don’t. If you’d put a gun on me I couldn’t have told you what repentance or faith was. I had received the spirit of adoption whereby I could cry Abba Father or "Da-da" according to Romans 8:15, but that’s about it. I think I was pretty much a normal baby, spiritually & physically.
I remember my first “little man's” haircut & remember crying to get out of the barber chair. My kinfolk never let me forget that I was so scared all I could sobbingly say was “Feet on floor daddy, feet on floor.”Though my parents never said much about it, I can imagine the relief when I slowly began to grow up, though I also have a feeling it took quite a long time. One of the phrases I can remember hearing most from my childhood was “Johnny, be a big-boy.” Come on son, be a big-boy for daddy, or mommy.”
I can also remember that sentiment being impressed on me in non-verbal, somewhat painful ways that centered on the place where I sat down. One of the reasons a baby takes so much care is because in their world, it’s all about them & their needs. They’re always getting hurt, if not really hurt they’re getting their feelings hurt & they’re always making a mess for someone else to clean up. As much as we love our babies, we have to admit that in the home, if there’s a problem, it usually centers around the babies.
Have you ever noticed that the same is true in a church? You can count on spiritual babies to be at the center of just about every church disturbance. Acts chapter 15: 36-41 gives us a rare glimpse behind the scenes into the inner working of perhaps the greatest missionary team the Holy Spirit ever put together.This little glimpse into the lives of Paul & Barnabas shows the humanity yet spiritual maturity of the two men.
Paul needs no introduction anywhere because He’s without doubt one of the icons of Holy Writ. Barnabas however isn’t as well known but it’s good to remember that his name meant “Son of consolation” or “Encourager.” It’s rather special to be named after a gift of the spirit. i.e. Romans 12:8.Barnabas was responsible for over half the books of the New Testament. Paul wrote 13 of them, & Barnabas was the man who brought Paul to the brethren in Jerusalem. Acts 9:26-27. Mark wrote one & no doubt it was Barnabas who loved & encouraged him to continue in the faith. That’s 14, over half of the 27 books.
Have you ever heard the term “kinfolk’s complex?” The word we use today is nepotism. What both terms refer to is a prejudicial, biased leaning toward family. This problem is at the root of what’s happening in this story.On Paul & Barnabas’ first missionary trip together, John Mark the cousin of Barnabas accompanied them. Somewhere along the way John Mark decided to leave the team & return to his home in Jerusalem. We’re not told the reason for his departure however some have theorized the fires of resistance to the gospel were so hot, John Mark allowed fear to cause him to tuck-tail & run.When a second campaign was planned Barnabas suggests taking John Mark along as helper. Paul promptly nixed the idea. The scripture tells us that “sharp contention” developed between Barnabas & Paul over John Mark. Barnabas says he goes, Paul says he doesn’t go. They couldn’t agree so they split up.
As far as I’m able to discern, the two remarkable men never saw each other again.It’s impossible to read this drama & not be moved. The encouraging thing is the break-up didn’t come over doctrine. The rupture involved a personal dispute based on a judgment call. To their credit Paul nor Barnabas didn’t allow the conflict to distract them from their respective efforts of spreading the gospel. They were big-boys & exhibited “big-boy” maturity. Too often we can act like babies when we have a disagreement.If you ever raised kids you know the most glorious day was when the kids could sit at a table & feed themselves. We knew then they were becoming big boys & girls. I think God has the same feeling when He sees His kids growing up & not reacting to a speed-bump like it was a mountain.
THERE ARE TIMES WHEN SPIRITUAL MINDS & HEARTS WILL DISAGREE.
The important thing is to stay focused on the work of God. Because of the disagreement, Barnabas chose his cousin John Mark & they formed an evangelistic team. Paul chose Silas & both teams went on the road.Which team was most successful? As far as we know they were both equally successful. Some have said that Paul was just too stubborn in the matter. However we read in Acts 15:40 that the Church commended Paul & Silas, but no such commendation came for Barnabas & John Mark.Paul may have been motivated more by experience, cool logic & rationality, while Barnabas was guided by a kindred familiarity & a warm heart. Most of can relate to Barnabas and Mark here because we’ve all needed a second chance .
It’s interesting to note that later on Paul writes to Timothy & says,--Get Mark & bring him with you, for he is profitable to me in the ministry.—2 Tim.4:11. Sounds to me like "uncle Barney" got some vindication here.
We're looking here at a case of brass tacks Christian maturity. We are allowed to closely inspect how God’s choice men dealt with disagreements. Let’s look at some of the aspects of the way Paul & Barnabas settled their dispute & see what we might glean & utilize the next time we have a problem with a family member, Christian friend or worker.I think you’ll agree that 95% of our problems will be less than Paul & Barnabas’ situation so let’s see how we can disagree & still be like Jesus. Let’s see what “Big-Boy” Christianity is all about.
1. MAKE SURE YOU HAVE ALL THE INFORMATION BEFORE YOU DISAGREE.
We’ve looked closely at Paul & Barnabas’ problem & see the simple story; they disagreed over taking John Mark on this missionary trip. It’s all laid out rather simply for us don’t you agree?Proverbs 18:13 says,--he that answereth a matter before he hears it, it is folly & shame to him.
The following ad was placed in a newspaper,
“Wendell Walsh has a sewing machine for sale. It belongs to the lady who loves with him.—Ph. 359-4704 Address 67 Walnut street.”The next day the following ad appeared.—“Wendell Walsh no longer has a sewing machine for sale. I have smashed it. The owner did not love with me; she’s an elderly lady who lived in my upstairs apartment. Please don’t call 359-4704, it’s been disconnected. Please don’t go to 67 Walnut Street, I no longer live there.”What a mess, & all the confusion was caused by the mix-up of two letters, I & O.
So much pain is caused on a daily basis because someone got their facts wrong. You may remember the news story about a young woman in a beauty pageant who was crowned queen & as she walked around with the crown on her head the judges started comparing notes because they knew she wasn’t the one they voted # ONE. It was embarrassing for all concerned when they had to back-peddle & remove the crown from one woman’s head & place it on the real winners head, all because of a mistake in counting.
Paul Harvey told about one of the top national credit reporters who messed up a woman’s credit & it took her ten years to get them to clean up their mistake. After all those years of suffering the credit company finally found [admitted to] their problem & the woman was given millions in compensation, but not before wrecking her good name & her emotions in the process.It’s almost impossible to overstate the importance of having our facts straight before we allow our opinions to jell, especially when it’s something we are telling to others as the truth. There’ll be plenty of time to disagree, but first get the truth.
2. DON’T INFLATE THE IMPORTANCE OF ONE DISAGREEMENT.
Paul & Barnabas didn't over inflate the importance of the disagreement they had. How do I know that? As we’ve already stated, Paul & Barnabas had the love & grace to sit down, spread out a map & say, “You go here & I’ll go there.” Every battle isn’t Armageddon & it’s always wise to choose our battles.If you’re having a disagreement with someone, here are a few pointers that should help;
1. Check your motive. Is your problem a valid point or is it a personality problem.
2. Check your spiritual fruit. Love, joy, peace, etc.Don’t go into a disagreement until you know your love level is higher than the disagreement level.Read & reread 1 Corinthians 13.
3. Have you lifted this up to God in prayer? Prayer will set our hearts & minds right.
4. Have you searched the scriptures on this matter?—Do you know what the bible teaches about it?
5. If you disagree, don’t be disagreeable. Our positions don’t get us into trouble, our dispositions do.
3. ISOLATE THE TRUE ISSUE & STAY ON THE POINT. DON’T BROADEN THE AGENDA.
A couple [I’m sure all married folk have experienced this, I know I have] will be out driving & get into an argument over directions. Maybe the man will turn on the wrong street or make some other mistake the wife feels will put them off course. It’s important to remember it’s just that one corned not all corners for the rest of our lives.And it’s extremely important to remember that our mother-in-law has nothing to do with this corner.A couple can get into a disagreement over the wife spending money on clothes & & then she’ll say to the husband, “Well, you bought a new shotgun & you already had two guns.” Then the man might say, “I don’t like your old momma anyway.” Where did momma come from? Money, money, money, momma. Once it gets to this point old Satan has a heyday.
A person in church might come by the pastor & say, “I think the music was a little loud this morning. And while I’m at it, your tie was a little too flashy last Sunday.” I’ve seen this spirit get loose & go on to say, “And I don’t like your hair, your shoes, clothes, your car, house or kids.”You see what that is? It’s broadening the agenda.
I’m sure you know that a church of any size will have an agenda for their annual business meeting. The meeting has to be announced far enough in advance for all the folk to plan for it. Then the pastor & deacons will take all the business of the church & formulate an agenda for the meeting.As a rule after a certain time no new business will be intertained simply becaause if it wasn’t done this way, you’d have people getting up during the meeting & bringing up things that would lead the proceedings far a -field. Precious time would be wasted & people would leave all dazed & confused. Centuries of experience has taught that even the best of God’s people can get into strife if meetings like this aren’t conducted in a timely, planned & deliberate way.
Paul said,--Avoid foolish & unlearned questions for they gender strife. 2 Tim 2:23. We don’t see this happening with Paul & Barnabas. As far as we know they stayed on the one issue, worked it out & never moved out of peace.
4. LEARN HOW TO BE HONEST WITHOUT BEING BRUTAL.
In John 4:7-39, when Jesus sat down at the well & talked to the woman, he could have taken the truth & destroyed her with it. She’d had five husbands & was shacked up with one she wasn’t married to. If Jesus had thrown her past in her face, she’d have shriveled up but he didn’t. He could have said, “woman, don’t go telling people you’ve been talking to me,” but He didn’t. He allowed her to act as a messenger to go into her little town & tell the story of this man who’d told her all she’d ever done. Many people came out to see Jesus & became believers because of her testimony.
I heard about a lady who mastered the art of telling the truth without being brutal. Her husband told her one day, “Honey, I wish I could be smart, educated & handsome for you because you deserve that kind of husband.” She answered, “But I don’t want someone smart, educated & handsome, I want you.”
A young man told his dad he felt everybody in the world hated him. The dad said, “That’s silly son, everyone hasn’t met you yet.
If you watch the news at all you know that in our country, you can’t do things that appear brutal. Even if a person is caught mistreating a dog or cat, they are prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Human nature recoils if we see a human being or animal being treated unfairly. Though I love the animals & believe in treating them with kindness, I have a problem with the fact that we can kill unborn babies with fewer problems than we have when cats & dogs are mistreated. But "don’t be cruel" is always a good motto.We shouldn’t make statements like; “That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard,” or “you’re as strong as an Ox & almost as smart,” or “honey, I wish you’d lose a little weight, when you walk in front of the TV we miss three episodes.” It’s much better to learn to say; “I may be wrong but here’s what I think.”
5. NEVER BREAK YOUR PLOW OVER A STUMP!
This is a very “old school” illustration that comes from the farming culture. My father was raised on a South Georgia farm & he shared many philosophies with me that originated on “dirt poor” farms.My grandfather used to teach his sons that some of the richest soil had stumps growing in it. What the farmer had to do was plow around the stumps instead of hitting them with his relativity fragile plow. This might seem like a no-brainer because anyone can see how unwise it would be to intentionally use a light plow on an entrenched & sturdy stump. The stumps were deeply embedded & rock solid. If a farmer tried to pull one of them up with his plow he’d not only tear- up his plow but He’d break down the horse or mule pulling the plow. So the farmer would simply plow around stumps.
There will be “stumps” growing in every field we’ll ever work in be it the ministry or a secular business. These stumps will be of the human variety. They aren’t of themselves demonic, but Satan sets them in your path trying to get you to do or say something you’ll regret. It might be a kindly old aunt, grandmother, mother-in-law, boss, neighbor or any other person “planted” in your field.I remember in the first church I pastored there was a “stump” in the form of a little old lady who’d been in the church for fifty years. She was against me from the day I arrived in town & she’d sit in the congregation & glare at me when I preached. Looking back she was the best friend I ever had because at least I always knew where she stood & she kept me sharp. I would study and pray an extra hour just with sister……in mind. I knew she was looking for any mistake I might make & she’d trumpet it to the high heavens.
I challenge you to look at your life & pin-point the stumps in your “field.” Again, they aren’t necessarily Satanic, they may be some of best folk you’ll ever meet, but God has chosen to use them to challenge, chisel, sand-paper, test your patience & polish you up.We should remember that the more serious the issue, the higher our love level must be.
Paul took the time to totally expound on love in 1 Corinthians 13. He not only tells us what love is, he tells us what love isn’t. Everything you & I do & say must be filtered through that chapter & everything good we might accomplish, even if it’s being burned at the stake, If it’s not done in love, it won't count.If you need another proof-text to show if you’re dealing in love or if others are dealing with you in love, apply James’ test;
But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits without partiality, and without hypocrisy.-James 3:17
If we’re going to have any friends, hold a job long or live in anything closely resembling peace & happiness, we’ll all have to plow around a stump now & then. But some gorgeous & nutritious crops are grown in some awfully stump-filled farm land.
6. IF YOU HAVE A DISAGREEMENT WITH SOMEONE, AND IT TURNS INTO A POINT OF SEPARATION, MAYBE NOBODY WAS WRONG. MAYBE A SEPARATION IS GOOD EVEN IN GOD’S EYES.
The bible doesn’t say Paul & Barnabas were at odds about everything & on every point for life; they just had a difference of opinion on one point. Obviously God blessed both these ministering teams.Paul didn’t write poison-pen letters to the churches against Barnabas. Barnabas didn’t send letters saying “Don’t listen to Paul. I know him & he’s a scoundrel.” They just split up “and the church rolled on.”
Some churches like to Baptize by totally dunking the individual & that seems to me to be the bible way. But when you think about it, others want to sprinkle them with water. Some want to baptize folk back ways, front ways or sideways. There was such as drought in Georgia recently the Baptists were sprinkling, the Methodist’s & Episcopals were spraying from a bottle & the Catholics were offering handiwipes. Maybe I’m wrong but it seems to me whether we squirt-em, spray-em, sprinkle-em or dunk-em, we should find a way to meet in the middle because in the final analysis, we’re all heading for the same heaven.
WHAT IS ‘BIG-BOY’ CHRISTIANITY? IT’S LOOKING FOR THINGS WE CAN AGREE ON & AS MUCH AS IS POSSIBLE, LIVING PEACEFULLY.
Let me tell you about the biggest baby in the bible.We find him in Jonah 4:1-11. Jonah was furious. He lost his temper. He yelled at God, “God! I knew it-when I was back home, I knew this was going to happen! That’s why I ran off to Tarshish! I knew you were sheer grace and mercy, not easily angered, rich in love, and ready at the drop of a hat to turn your plans of punishment into a program of forgiveness!So, God, if you won’t kill them, kill me! I’m better off dead!”God said, “What do you have to be angry about?”
But Jonah just left. He went out of the city to the east and sat down in a sulk. He put together a makeshift shelter of leafy branches and sat there in the shade to see what would happen to the city.God arranged for a broad-leafed tree to spring up. It grew over Jonah to cool him off and get him out of his angry sulk. Jonah was pleased and enjoyed the shade. Life was looking up.But then God sent a worm.
By the dawn of the next day, the worm had bored into the shade tree and it withered away. The sun beat down on Jonah’s head and he started to faint. He prayed to die: “I’m better off dead!”Then God said to Jonah, “What right do you have to get angry about this shade tree?”Jonah said, “Plenty of right. It’s made me angry enough to die.”God said, “What’s this? How is it that you can change your feelings from pleasure to anger overnight about a mere shade tree that you did nothing to get? You neither planter or watered it. It grew up one night and died the next night. So, why can’t I likewise change what I feel about Nineveh from anger to pleasure, this big city of more than 120,000 childlike people who don’t yet know right from wrong, to say nothing of all the innocent animals?”
This big baby named Jonah was mad at God for blessing & forgiving the people he’d preached to.
What a contrast to the words of Jesus on the cross;
“Father, forgive them, they know not what they do."
Jonah---Not a very BIG-BOY!!
BLESSINGS,
John
Like many of you, I was captured by grace at a very young age.
By the time I was six I realized that Jesus loved me & died on the cross to save me. So I gave Him my heart & life & was born into the family of God.
As you might expect, I had no spiritual vocabulary & no spiritual teeth. I didn’t understand all there was to know about Jesus & still don’t. If you’d put a gun on me I couldn’t have told you what repentance or faith was. I had received the spirit of adoption whereby I could cry Abba Father or "Da-da" according to Romans 8:15, but that’s about it. I think I was pretty much a normal baby, spiritually & physically.
I remember my first “little man's” haircut & remember crying to get out of the barber chair. My kinfolk never let me forget that I was so scared all I could sobbingly say was “Feet on floor daddy, feet on floor.”Though my parents never said much about it, I can imagine the relief when I slowly began to grow up, though I also have a feeling it took quite a long time. One of the phrases I can remember hearing most from my childhood was “Johnny, be a big-boy.” Come on son, be a big-boy for daddy, or mommy.”
I can also remember that sentiment being impressed on me in non-verbal, somewhat painful ways that centered on the place where I sat down. One of the reasons a baby takes so much care is because in their world, it’s all about them & their needs. They’re always getting hurt, if not really hurt they’re getting their feelings hurt & they’re always making a mess for someone else to clean up. As much as we love our babies, we have to admit that in the home, if there’s a problem, it usually centers around the babies.
Have you ever noticed that the same is true in a church? You can count on spiritual babies to be at the center of just about every church disturbance. Acts chapter 15: 36-41 gives us a rare glimpse behind the scenes into the inner working of perhaps the greatest missionary team the Holy Spirit ever put together.This little glimpse into the lives of Paul & Barnabas shows the humanity yet spiritual maturity of the two men.
Paul needs no introduction anywhere because He’s without doubt one of the icons of Holy Writ. Barnabas however isn’t as well known but it’s good to remember that his name meant “Son of consolation” or “Encourager.” It’s rather special to be named after a gift of the spirit. i.e. Romans 12:8.Barnabas was responsible for over half the books of the New Testament. Paul wrote 13 of them, & Barnabas was the man who brought Paul to the brethren in Jerusalem. Acts 9:26-27. Mark wrote one & no doubt it was Barnabas who loved & encouraged him to continue in the faith. That’s 14, over half of the 27 books.
Have you ever heard the term “kinfolk’s complex?” The word we use today is nepotism. What both terms refer to is a prejudicial, biased leaning toward family. This problem is at the root of what’s happening in this story.On Paul & Barnabas’ first missionary trip together, John Mark the cousin of Barnabas accompanied them. Somewhere along the way John Mark decided to leave the team & return to his home in Jerusalem. We’re not told the reason for his departure however some have theorized the fires of resistance to the gospel were so hot, John Mark allowed fear to cause him to tuck-tail & run.When a second campaign was planned Barnabas suggests taking John Mark along as helper. Paul promptly nixed the idea. The scripture tells us that “sharp contention” developed between Barnabas & Paul over John Mark. Barnabas says he goes, Paul says he doesn’t go. They couldn’t agree so they split up.
As far as I’m able to discern, the two remarkable men never saw each other again.It’s impossible to read this drama & not be moved. The encouraging thing is the break-up didn’t come over doctrine. The rupture involved a personal dispute based on a judgment call. To their credit Paul nor Barnabas didn’t allow the conflict to distract them from their respective efforts of spreading the gospel. They were big-boys & exhibited “big-boy” maturity. Too often we can act like babies when we have a disagreement.If you ever raised kids you know the most glorious day was when the kids could sit at a table & feed themselves. We knew then they were becoming big boys & girls. I think God has the same feeling when He sees His kids growing up & not reacting to a speed-bump like it was a mountain.
THERE ARE TIMES WHEN SPIRITUAL MINDS & HEARTS WILL DISAGREE.
The important thing is to stay focused on the work of God. Because of the disagreement, Barnabas chose his cousin John Mark & they formed an evangelistic team. Paul chose Silas & both teams went on the road.Which team was most successful? As far as we know they were both equally successful. Some have said that Paul was just too stubborn in the matter. However we read in Acts 15:40 that the Church commended Paul & Silas, but no such commendation came for Barnabas & John Mark.Paul may have been motivated more by experience, cool logic & rationality, while Barnabas was guided by a kindred familiarity & a warm heart. Most of can relate to Barnabas and Mark here because we’ve all needed a second chance .
It’s interesting to note that later on Paul writes to Timothy & says,--Get Mark & bring him with you, for he is profitable to me in the ministry.—2 Tim.4:11. Sounds to me like "uncle Barney" got some vindication here.
We're looking here at a case of brass tacks Christian maturity. We are allowed to closely inspect how God’s choice men dealt with disagreements. Let’s look at some of the aspects of the way Paul & Barnabas settled their dispute & see what we might glean & utilize the next time we have a problem with a family member, Christian friend or worker.I think you’ll agree that 95% of our problems will be less than Paul & Barnabas’ situation so let’s see how we can disagree & still be like Jesus. Let’s see what “Big-Boy” Christianity is all about.
1. MAKE SURE YOU HAVE ALL THE INFORMATION BEFORE YOU DISAGREE.
We’ve looked closely at Paul & Barnabas’ problem & see the simple story; they disagreed over taking John Mark on this missionary trip. It’s all laid out rather simply for us don’t you agree?Proverbs 18:13 says,--he that answereth a matter before he hears it, it is folly & shame to him.
The following ad was placed in a newspaper,
“Wendell Walsh has a sewing machine for sale. It belongs to the lady who loves with him.—Ph. 359-4704 Address 67 Walnut street.”The next day the following ad appeared.—“Wendell Walsh no longer has a sewing machine for sale. I have smashed it. The owner did not love with me; she’s an elderly lady who lived in my upstairs apartment. Please don’t call 359-4704, it’s been disconnected. Please don’t go to 67 Walnut Street, I no longer live there.”What a mess, & all the confusion was caused by the mix-up of two letters, I & O.
So much pain is caused on a daily basis because someone got their facts wrong. You may remember the news story about a young woman in a beauty pageant who was crowned queen & as she walked around with the crown on her head the judges started comparing notes because they knew she wasn’t the one they voted # ONE. It was embarrassing for all concerned when they had to back-peddle & remove the crown from one woman’s head & place it on the real winners head, all because of a mistake in counting.
Paul Harvey told about one of the top national credit reporters who messed up a woman’s credit & it took her ten years to get them to clean up their mistake. After all those years of suffering the credit company finally found [admitted to] their problem & the woman was given millions in compensation, but not before wrecking her good name & her emotions in the process.It’s almost impossible to overstate the importance of having our facts straight before we allow our opinions to jell, especially when it’s something we are telling to others as the truth. There’ll be plenty of time to disagree, but first get the truth.
2. DON’T INFLATE THE IMPORTANCE OF ONE DISAGREEMENT.
Paul & Barnabas didn't over inflate the importance of the disagreement they had. How do I know that? As we’ve already stated, Paul & Barnabas had the love & grace to sit down, spread out a map & say, “You go here & I’ll go there.” Every battle isn’t Armageddon & it’s always wise to choose our battles.If you’re having a disagreement with someone, here are a few pointers that should help;
1. Check your motive. Is your problem a valid point or is it a personality problem.
2. Check your spiritual fruit. Love, joy, peace, etc.Don’t go into a disagreement until you know your love level is higher than the disagreement level.Read & reread 1 Corinthians 13.
3. Have you lifted this up to God in prayer? Prayer will set our hearts & minds right.
4. Have you searched the scriptures on this matter?—Do you know what the bible teaches about it?
5. If you disagree, don’t be disagreeable. Our positions don’t get us into trouble, our dispositions do.
3. ISOLATE THE TRUE ISSUE & STAY ON THE POINT. DON’T BROADEN THE AGENDA.
A couple [I’m sure all married folk have experienced this, I know I have] will be out driving & get into an argument over directions. Maybe the man will turn on the wrong street or make some other mistake the wife feels will put them off course. It’s important to remember it’s just that one corned not all corners for the rest of our lives.And it’s extremely important to remember that our mother-in-law has nothing to do with this corner.A couple can get into a disagreement over the wife spending money on clothes & & then she’ll say to the husband, “Well, you bought a new shotgun & you already had two guns.” Then the man might say, “I don’t like your old momma anyway.” Where did momma come from? Money, money, money, momma. Once it gets to this point old Satan has a heyday.
A person in church might come by the pastor & say, “I think the music was a little loud this morning. And while I’m at it, your tie was a little too flashy last Sunday.” I’ve seen this spirit get loose & go on to say, “And I don’t like your hair, your shoes, clothes, your car, house or kids.”You see what that is? It’s broadening the agenda.
I’m sure you know that a church of any size will have an agenda for their annual business meeting. The meeting has to be announced far enough in advance for all the folk to plan for it. Then the pastor & deacons will take all the business of the church & formulate an agenda for the meeting.As a rule after a certain time no new business will be intertained simply becaause if it wasn’t done this way, you’d have people getting up during the meeting & bringing up things that would lead the proceedings far a -field. Precious time would be wasted & people would leave all dazed & confused. Centuries of experience has taught that even the best of God’s people can get into strife if meetings like this aren’t conducted in a timely, planned & deliberate way.
Paul said,--Avoid foolish & unlearned questions for they gender strife. 2 Tim 2:23. We don’t see this happening with Paul & Barnabas. As far as we know they stayed on the one issue, worked it out & never moved out of peace.
4. LEARN HOW TO BE HONEST WITHOUT BEING BRUTAL.
In John 4:7-39, when Jesus sat down at the well & talked to the woman, he could have taken the truth & destroyed her with it. She’d had five husbands & was shacked up with one she wasn’t married to. If Jesus had thrown her past in her face, she’d have shriveled up but he didn’t. He could have said, “woman, don’t go telling people you’ve been talking to me,” but He didn’t. He allowed her to act as a messenger to go into her little town & tell the story of this man who’d told her all she’d ever done. Many people came out to see Jesus & became believers because of her testimony.
I heard about a lady who mastered the art of telling the truth without being brutal. Her husband told her one day, “Honey, I wish I could be smart, educated & handsome for you because you deserve that kind of husband.” She answered, “But I don’t want someone smart, educated & handsome, I want you.”
A young man told his dad he felt everybody in the world hated him. The dad said, “That’s silly son, everyone hasn’t met you yet.
If you watch the news at all you know that in our country, you can’t do things that appear brutal. Even if a person is caught mistreating a dog or cat, they are prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Human nature recoils if we see a human being or animal being treated unfairly. Though I love the animals & believe in treating them with kindness, I have a problem with the fact that we can kill unborn babies with fewer problems than we have when cats & dogs are mistreated. But "don’t be cruel" is always a good motto.We shouldn’t make statements like; “That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard,” or “you’re as strong as an Ox & almost as smart,” or “honey, I wish you’d lose a little weight, when you walk in front of the TV we miss three episodes.” It’s much better to learn to say; “I may be wrong but here’s what I think.”
5. NEVER BREAK YOUR PLOW OVER A STUMP!
This is a very “old school” illustration that comes from the farming culture. My father was raised on a South Georgia farm & he shared many philosophies with me that originated on “dirt poor” farms.My grandfather used to teach his sons that some of the richest soil had stumps growing in it. What the farmer had to do was plow around the stumps instead of hitting them with his relativity fragile plow. This might seem like a no-brainer because anyone can see how unwise it would be to intentionally use a light plow on an entrenched & sturdy stump. The stumps were deeply embedded & rock solid. If a farmer tried to pull one of them up with his plow he’d not only tear- up his plow but He’d break down the horse or mule pulling the plow. So the farmer would simply plow around stumps.
There will be “stumps” growing in every field we’ll ever work in be it the ministry or a secular business. These stumps will be of the human variety. They aren’t of themselves demonic, but Satan sets them in your path trying to get you to do or say something you’ll regret. It might be a kindly old aunt, grandmother, mother-in-law, boss, neighbor or any other person “planted” in your field.I remember in the first church I pastored there was a “stump” in the form of a little old lady who’d been in the church for fifty years. She was against me from the day I arrived in town & she’d sit in the congregation & glare at me when I preached. Looking back she was the best friend I ever had because at least I always knew where she stood & she kept me sharp. I would study and pray an extra hour just with sister……in mind. I knew she was looking for any mistake I might make & she’d trumpet it to the high heavens.
I challenge you to look at your life & pin-point the stumps in your “field.” Again, they aren’t necessarily Satanic, they may be some of best folk you’ll ever meet, but God has chosen to use them to challenge, chisel, sand-paper, test your patience & polish you up.We should remember that the more serious the issue, the higher our love level must be.
Paul took the time to totally expound on love in 1 Corinthians 13. He not only tells us what love is, he tells us what love isn’t. Everything you & I do & say must be filtered through that chapter & everything good we might accomplish, even if it’s being burned at the stake, If it’s not done in love, it won't count.If you need another proof-text to show if you’re dealing in love or if others are dealing with you in love, apply James’ test;
But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits without partiality, and without hypocrisy.-James 3:17
If we’re going to have any friends, hold a job long or live in anything closely resembling peace & happiness, we’ll all have to plow around a stump now & then. But some gorgeous & nutritious crops are grown in some awfully stump-filled farm land.
6. IF YOU HAVE A DISAGREEMENT WITH SOMEONE, AND IT TURNS INTO A POINT OF SEPARATION, MAYBE NOBODY WAS WRONG. MAYBE A SEPARATION IS GOOD EVEN IN GOD’S EYES.
The bible doesn’t say Paul & Barnabas were at odds about everything & on every point for life; they just had a difference of opinion on one point. Obviously God blessed both these ministering teams.Paul didn’t write poison-pen letters to the churches against Barnabas. Barnabas didn’t send letters saying “Don’t listen to Paul. I know him & he’s a scoundrel.” They just split up “and the church rolled on.”
Some churches like to Baptize by totally dunking the individual & that seems to me to be the bible way. But when you think about it, others want to sprinkle them with water. Some want to baptize folk back ways, front ways or sideways. There was such as drought in Georgia recently the Baptists were sprinkling, the Methodist’s & Episcopals were spraying from a bottle & the Catholics were offering handiwipes. Maybe I’m wrong but it seems to me whether we squirt-em, spray-em, sprinkle-em or dunk-em, we should find a way to meet in the middle because in the final analysis, we’re all heading for the same heaven.
WHAT IS ‘BIG-BOY’ CHRISTIANITY? IT’S LOOKING FOR THINGS WE CAN AGREE ON & AS MUCH AS IS POSSIBLE, LIVING PEACEFULLY.
Let me tell you about the biggest baby in the bible.We find him in Jonah 4:1-11. Jonah was furious. He lost his temper. He yelled at God, “God! I knew it-when I was back home, I knew this was going to happen! That’s why I ran off to Tarshish! I knew you were sheer grace and mercy, not easily angered, rich in love, and ready at the drop of a hat to turn your plans of punishment into a program of forgiveness!So, God, if you won’t kill them, kill me! I’m better off dead!”God said, “What do you have to be angry about?”
But Jonah just left. He went out of the city to the east and sat down in a sulk. He put together a makeshift shelter of leafy branches and sat there in the shade to see what would happen to the city.God arranged for a broad-leafed tree to spring up. It grew over Jonah to cool him off and get him out of his angry sulk. Jonah was pleased and enjoyed the shade. Life was looking up.But then God sent a worm.
By the dawn of the next day, the worm had bored into the shade tree and it withered away. The sun beat down on Jonah’s head and he started to faint. He prayed to die: “I’m better off dead!”Then God said to Jonah, “What right do you have to get angry about this shade tree?”Jonah said, “Plenty of right. It’s made me angry enough to die.”God said, “What’s this? How is it that you can change your feelings from pleasure to anger overnight about a mere shade tree that you did nothing to get? You neither planter or watered it. It grew up one night and died the next night. So, why can’t I likewise change what I feel about Nineveh from anger to pleasure, this big city of more than 120,000 childlike people who don’t yet know right from wrong, to say nothing of all the innocent animals?”
This big baby named Jonah was mad at God for blessing & forgiving the people he’d preached to.
What a contrast to the words of Jesus on the cross;
“Father, forgive them, they know not what they do."
Jonah---Not a very BIG-BOY!!
BLESSINGS,
John
Saturday, August 13, 2011
"I Hope You Dance.."
By John Stallings
“I HOPE YOU DANCE!”
That sounds funny; especially coming from a man with two left feet who can’t dance, & would probably have all the grace of a drunken elephant or a man being electrocuted on the dance floor.
Let me explain. I’ve seldom danced because in the home & church where I was raised, dancing was looked on as worldly. My mother told teachers to teach her children to read & write & she’d take care of their social graces.
I do however, remember going to a Junior High School Dance once. I don’t remember why I was there but I know that I was, & in that brief time, although I sat-it-out, I saw the psychology of the dance experience. It was an opportunity for social interaction centered mostly on mingling, & boys asking girls to dance. At this dance, the fear of failure & rejection was almost palpable. There was the dance floor with plenty of room, & some were dancing while others were sitting in chairs along the walls. Frankly I was happy that my parents frowned on dancing because in later years it gave me a cop-out & as a bonus I could look “spiritual.”
To me, the whole dance experience is a little picture of life so I use the title, “I hope you dance.” You’ve probably heard the Lee Ann Womack song -it’s been a popular country song over the last few years. I believe it was writen by a man/woman team and I'm sorry I don't have their names as I write this. Anyway, when you listen to the lyrics, you understand that dancing, at least in the mind of the writers, has more to do with involvement in life than actual dancing. One line says, “If you get a chance to sit it out or dance, I hope you dance.” “Dancing” means taking initiative & not sitting on the sidelines of life never accomplishing or enjoying anything. It means thinking about our potential & the legacy we want to leave in this world. It means to sing more-- laugh more-- learn more-- love more-- & live more. “Dance.”
You might wonder how my one experience at a Junior High School Dance could stick with me for fifty plus years & I wonder the same thing. I remember sitting on the sidelines with other shy students like myself, though we’d never have admitted being shy. I also remember there wasn’t a lack of pretty girls, & how ineffectual we wallflowers felt though it was never spoken. I’m sure the girls who weren’t all that busy on the floor probably had the same sinking feeling in their stomachs we guys had.
Looking back, maybe the wallflowers had come to the dance from a long string of failures. Maybe the terror of looking foolish kept us from venturing out & taking a risk to ask a girl to dance. Maybe we felt the others were the real “players” & we were fakes. (Maybe we didn’t know how to dance.) Anyway, I do remember that I left with a keen sense of disappointment in myself that I hadn’t participated. The dance floor was right there, but for me there may as well have been a moat between me & it, filled with hungry crocodiles. Thankfully as time progressed I was able to shake this awful shyness for it’s certain that nothing much will happen in a life unless an individual breaks out of their shell & finds some initiative.
INITIATIVE IS A CRUCIAL COMPONENT IN LIFE
One definition of initiative is, “The willingness to do the thing that needs to be done without being prodded.”
• In 1 Sam. 14 there’s a very interesting story of Saul & his son Jonathan. This story finds Israel at war with the Philistines. Actually to say they were at war would be pushing it because Israel had a small army & was hesitant to go meet the enemy. You’ve got King Saul sitting under a pomegranate tree on the sidelines & you’ve got his son Jonathan out on the “dance-floor.” Basically what you have here is a “Mexican Stand-off.” King Saul was still waiting to “see what God would do.” Then Saul’s son Jonathon said to his young armor-bearer, “Let’s slip over to the other side & get a look at the enemy. Maybe we can move the needle on this thing and get it off dead center.”
JONATHAN’S ACTION WAS IN FAITH, NOT AN ACT OF PRESUMPTION
He said, “It may be that the Lord will work for us.” He didn’t utter a big pronouncement that God had spoken to him & he had God’s word that they’d be successful. He said, “It may be that God will help us.” There are times for making public pronouncements of strong faith, but sometimes it's best not to trumpet loudly what we see & feel God is showing us. One sure way to lose credibility is to always be making big predictions about things that never pan out.
On the other hand, many people won’t make a move unless they experience a great emotional upheaval. They feel that unless God shakes their world or gives a great dream or revelation, it’s not time to move on a project.
But I like what Jonathan said & the attitude he had. “There’s a need, there’s an enemy out there mocking God & his people. The others are resting & waiting on God-knows-what; why don’t we just slip out of the camp & move closer to the enemy & it just may be that God will use us. God is so big He doesn’t need a great big army, He is able to do it with just us two, & He may do it. Let’s go put Him to the test.”
This idea of Jonathan’s came from the Lord. It worked for him as he & his armor bearer went up & fought the Philistines. They acted as guerrilla’s & slew 20 of the advanced guards of the garrison & the others panicked & ran. It was indeed a bold plan.
• Boldness can be called faith; with the provision that the Holy Spirit is around you & working in you.
Every couple of decades in the history of Israel you have episodes like this where the people would make the decision to follow God & amazing things would happen. You’d think stories like Jonathon’s would have been enough to bring them to the dance floor for the rest of their lives but it didn’t. It never did. There was always this tension, this ying-yang where they would pursue lives of glorious victory, then the next thing you know something would happen & they’d be back one the sidelines living in defeat again.
CONSIDER WITH ME SOME INITIATIVE SUFFOCATERS;
• THE MIRAGE SYNDROME.
If you’ve lived very long you are familiar with “the Mirage syndrome.” This syndrome plays itself out again & again in our lives. Because as Christians we are naturally hopeful people, we look forward with anticipation to our future. From a distance things can look so hopeful & bright. We can see in our mind's eye the great victories ahead, but often when we actually arrive & see up-close what looked so rosy from a distance, we’re disappointed. Life can be like that.
I can remember when I first started traveling as an evangelist. We would be invited to a church hundreds of miles away & the Pastor would write us telling about his church. As the time grew near we’d begin to picture the church in our minds. Youth & inexperience were also part of this syndrome. It may sound funny but I’d usually picture the church sitting up on a hill beautifully landscaped with grass & flowers. I’d imagine meeting the pastor & he’d always be slightly graying with an almost angelic smile on his face as he reached out to shake our hands & greet us. I’d see the room where we’d stay while there & picture it so beautifully appointed & comfortable. I’d then see in my mind the people & imagine how loving, supportive & friendly they’d be. I could go on but I think by now you have my point.
The passing of the years slowly taught us that these lovely “mirages” we conjured up in our minds were just that; they were mirages. While there were great men of God out there, great churches & sweet people, most of the time the reality was quite different than the mirage we constructed in our imaginations.
This often happens when missionaries go to the field for the first time, especially if they expect that because they are crossing an ocean, things will be somehow glossier. Usually the truth is the exact opposite. Some people look on the call of God as some kind of magical existence; & it is awesome if the individual has a true calling on their life. But ministry isn’t for the faint of heart. Many times I have prayed for the sick when my back was hurting so bad I could hardly stand up. Some might ask why I would pray for the sick with my back hurting & my answer is, “God heals the sick.” They may then say. “Well why didn’t he heal you?” Here’s the truth - “He has healed me, He is healing me & He will heal me in the future.”
When we are let-down & disillusioned by life a few times, the next step can be spiritual burn-out, unless we understand that in serving God, sometimes things happen we don’t & can’t understand. That’s where faith comes in. When we can explain & understand everything, we have no need for faith. Faith is what we hold on to when we don’t understand what’s going on. The truth is; “God never promised us a rose garden.”-[Sounds like another good song-title!] Without a balanced-faith outlook, we can grow weary of the dance-floor & suddenly the sidelines look safe, comfortable & alluring. Then it becomes easy to lose our initiative. If we’re not careful we’ll end up under a pomegranate tree letting life pass us by with nothing to do but look back in regret, wondering what it would have been like if we’d stayed engaged with life a little longer.
• FEAR AND DOUBT ARE INITIATIVE SUFFOCATERS.
In Leviticus 26:3-13 God relates to Israel the kinds of things he has for them & let’s them know His promises aren’t mirages but the real thing.
Listen;
If ye walk in my statutes & keep my commandments & do them, then I will give you rain in due season & the land shall yield her increase & the trees of the field shall yield their fruit. And your threshing shall reach into the vintage & the vintage shall reach into the sowing time & ye shall eat your bread to the full & dwell in your land safely. And I will give you peace in the land & ye shall lie down & none shall make you afraid; & I will rid evil beasts out of the land, neither shall the sword go through your land. And ye shall chase your enemies & they shall fall before you by the sword. For I will have respect for you, & make you fruitful; & I will walk among you & I will be your God & ye shall be my people.
If God’s people could find the initiative to dwell with God, he would give them great things, not a mirage, but life beyond their imagination. In sending Jesus to the earth, God shows an “initiative deficient” people what initiative really looks like. Jesus took our long line of failures that haunt us & He took them to the cross with Him & was raised from the dead to give us all new life; Life on the “dance floor” with Him. If we want to “dance-in-life,” we only have to take His outstretched hand.
• JONATHAN AND HIS “NAMELESS ARMOR-BEARER”
I’d like to know more about Jonathan’s armor bearer but we’re not told his name. In the Bible there are lots of nameless hero’s, but one day I’m sure we’ll hear their names called aloud in the presence of God.
God seems to like to work by two. Look at Moses & Aaron, Saul &; Jonathan, Peter & John, Paul & Barnabas, Paul & Timothy, Paul & Silas, etc. The 70 were sent out two-by-two. God understands us & knows that none of us like to work alone. This is one reason marriage is such a wonderful thing. I’ll tell you this much; I’ll charge any army with my wife by my side but without her, my chances would be slim to none. One can put a thousand to flight but two can put ten-thousand to flight. I think it rather unnatural for us to want to face things in life totally alone.
Jonathan must have known that his armor-bearer’s faith was as strong as his own. We all need support from people of like precious faith. If Jonathon’s armor-bearer had been negative, he could have turned Jonathon back. If the armor-bearer was afraid of death he could have said, “Hey. Let’s be careful! Let’s not do something foolish! You know we didn’t tell the king about it, we have no back-up! They might kill us. Etc. etc. He would have turned Jonathon back & God wouldn’t have used them that day. You can easily see why Gideon let all the fearful men go home & only chose 300 to fight. Doubters can suck all the “spiritual oxygen” out of any room.
• Choose your companions carefully for they very well may be the difference between your success & failure.
We need people around us that will build our faith, not drag us down. I wouldn’t waste my time nor would I advise anyone else to waste theirs in a church that believed that the days of miracles are over. The Bible says that “Iron sharpens iron,” therefore we should choose carefully who we associate with.
Jonathon & his armor-bearer, operating as guerrilla’s, first slew the advanced guards then took the enemy garrison & put the whole Philistine host to flight, thousands of them.
God gave us this story for a reason. Jesus said, If two on earth shall agree as touching anything, it shall be done. One of worst things we can do as Christians is to isolate ourselves & think we can make it alone. Even the Lone Ranger had Tonto.
Peter didn’t tell the lame man –“look at me”, he said, “Look on us.”
• LOOK AT THE WORD INFLUENCE & YOU’LL FIND THE WORD “FLU” RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF IT.
All of us have the flu, meaning influence. We may not have influence with a lot of folk but we all have some influence. When you look at this story you quickly see that Jonathan didn’t have a very large sphere of influence. Actually, when he left to go to battle, no one even knew he’d left. He had no position, authority or power. He was just a kid with a sword whom no one missed when he left. All he took with him was a kid who was another person no one missed. He was a younger kid to carry the stuff. Nobody would have given them a chance or thought that their single act of faith & courage would “influence” a whole nation.
Jonathan didn’t try to convince the army of six-hundred; he didn’t wake up his father & try to convince him. He knew he had no influence there so he just used the small influence he had & influenced his young helper. He said, “Hey, why don’t we go over there & see if we can pick a fight with those Hombres? Maybe God will give us the victory.” His armor-bearer said, “Go ahead & do what your heart & soul tell you to do,- I’ve got your back.”
That ladies and gentlemen is a picture of influence. Not position & power, but heart & soul. Many times we feel powerless to make a difference because we think the resources we have at our disposal aren’t big enough, strong enough, or good enough. We don’t have enough money or we don’t have the right connections or aren’t in the right position yet. And so we do nothing, believing we are powerless, when in truth God has placed all the people & resources we need right in front of us. Jonathon didn’t try to wield his authority; he just used his inspiration & influence.
Ask yourself who’s in your sphere of influence. Jonathan had one scrawny kid & a sword & God used them to route an army of thousands & change a nation from oppression to freedom. Just a little light shown in the right way & the darkness will flee.
Reread Matthew, Mark, Luke & John again & watch how Jesus used influence. Jesus seemed to shy away from titles & position & used relationships; very close relationships. Reread those books & watch how a ragtag group of fishermen were transformed & how they were influenced by one man & consequently changed the world.
• IN-FLU-ENCE IS CONTAGIOUS.
We are all “carriers” & will use our influence for good or ill. We make a choice each & every day what we’ll do with what we have.
Frankly I’d like to say that I’ve spent every moment of every day; every week, month & year of my life on the dance-floor. I can’t say that, & I won’t. But for each & every opportunity I’ve missed & for whatever reason I missed it, I grieve. And I know why I grieve. Because God didn’t create me to sit on the sidelines, He created me to dance. He took that great initiative 2,000 years ago & He’s just getting started. He’s still working on me. He’s still working to “take the lead” out of my feet & make me a more proficient dancer. After all, Moses didn’t really get started until he was 80.
I admit I’ve been caught under the pomegranate tree a few times but by His grace, no more. He graciously invites us & all we have to do is reach out & take His outstretched hand & go with Him to the dance-floor.
WILL YOU JOIN ME? WILL YOU LEAVE THE SIDELINES?
WE CAN GET OUT FROM UNDER THE POMEGRANATE TREE!
Blessings,
John
“I HOPE YOU DANCE!”
That sounds funny; especially coming from a man with two left feet who can’t dance, & would probably have all the grace of a drunken elephant or a man being electrocuted on the dance floor.
Let me explain. I’ve seldom danced because in the home & church where I was raised, dancing was looked on as worldly. My mother told teachers to teach her children to read & write & she’d take care of their social graces.
I do however, remember going to a Junior High School Dance once. I don’t remember why I was there but I know that I was, & in that brief time, although I sat-it-out, I saw the psychology of the dance experience. It was an opportunity for social interaction centered mostly on mingling, & boys asking girls to dance. At this dance, the fear of failure & rejection was almost palpable. There was the dance floor with plenty of room, & some were dancing while others were sitting in chairs along the walls. Frankly I was happy that my parents frowned on dancing because in later years it gave me a cop-out & as a bonus I could look “spiritual.”
To me, the whole dance experience is a little picture of life so I use the title, “I hope you dance.” You’ve probably heard the Lee Ann Womack song -it’s been a popular country song over the last few years. I believe it was writen by a man/woman team and I'm sorry I don't have their names as I write this. Anyway, when you listen to the lyrics, you understand that dancing, at least in the mind of the writers, has more to do with involvement in life than actual dancing. One line says, “If you get a chance to sit it out or dance, I hope you dance.” “Dancing” means taking initiative & not sitting on the sidelines of life never accomplishing or enjoying anything. It means thinking about our potential & the legacy we want to leave in this world. It means to sing more-- laugh more-- learn more-- love more-- & live more. “Dance.”
You might wonder how my one experience at a Junior High School Dance could stick with me for fifty plus years & I wonder the same thing. I remember sitting on the sidelines with other shy students like myself, though we’d never have admitted being shy. I also remember there wasn’t a lack of pretty girls, & how ineffectual we wallflowers felt though it was never spoken. I’m sure the girls who weren’t all that busy on the floor probably had the same sinking feeling in their stomachs we guys had.
Looking back, maybe the wallflowers had come to the dance from a long string of failures. Maybe the terror of looking foolish kept us from venturing out & taking a risk to ask a girl to dance. Maybe we felt the others were the real “players” & we were fakes. (Maybe we didn’t know how to dance.) Anyway, I do remember that I left with a keen sense of disappointment in myself that I hadn’t participated. The dance floor was right there, but for me there may as well have been a moat between me & it, filled with hungry crocodiles. Thankfully as time progressed I was able to shake this awful shyness for it’s certain that nothing much will happen in a life unless an individual breaks out of their shell & finds some initiative.
INITIATIVE IS A CRUCIAL COMPONENT IN LIFE
One definition of initiative is, “The willingness to do the thing that needs to be done without being prodded.”
• In 1 Sam. 14 there’s a very interesting story of Saul & his son Jonathan. This story finds Israel at war with the Philistines. Actually to say they were at war would be pushing it because Israel had a small army & was hesitant to go meet the enemy. You’ve got King Saul sitting under a pomegranate tree on the sidelines & you’ve got his son Jonathan out on the “dance-floor.” Basically what you have here is a “Mexican Stand-off.” King Saul was still waiting to “see what God would do.” Then Saul’s son Jonathon said to his young armor-bearer, “Let’s slip over to the other side & get a look at the enemy. Maybe we can move the needle on this thing and get it off dead center.”
JONATHAN’S ACTION WAS IN FAITH, NOT AN ACT OF PRESUMPTION
He said, “It may be that the Lord will work for us.” He didn’t utter a big pronouncement that God had spoken to him & he had God’s word that they’d be successful. He said, “It may be that God will help us.” There are times for making public pronouncements of strong faith, but sometimes it's best not to trumpet loudly what we see & feel God is showing us. One sure way to lose credibility is to always be making big predictions about things that never pan out.
On the other hand, many people won’t make a move unless they experience a great emotional upheaval. They feel that unless God shakes their world or gives a great dream or revelation, it’s not time to move on a project.
But I like what Jonathan said & the attitude he had. “There’s a need, there’s an enemy out there mocking God & his people. The others are resting & waiting on God-knows-what; why don’t we just slip out of the camp & move closer to the enemy & it just may be that God will use us. God is so big He doesn’t need a great big army, He is able to do it with just us two, & He may do it. Let’s go put Him to the test.”
This idea of Jonathan’s came from the Lord. It worked for him as he & his armor bearer went up & fought the Philistines. They acted as guerrilla’s & slew 20 of the advanced guards of the garrison & the others panicked & ran. It was indeed a bold plan.
• Boldness can be called faith; with the provision that the Holy Spirit is around you & working in you.
Every couple of decades in the history of Israel you have episodes like this where the people would make the decision to follow God & amazing things would happen. You’d think stories like Jonathon’s would have been enough to bring them to the dance floor for the rest of their lives but it didn’t. It never did. There was always this tension, this ying-yang where they would pursue lives of glorious victory, then the next thing you know something would happen & they’d be back one the sidelines living in defeat again.
CONSIDER WITH ME SOME INITIATIVE SUFFOCATERS;
• THE MIRAGE SYNDROME.
If you’ve lived very long you are familiar with “the Mirage syndrome.” This syndrome plays itself out again & again in our lives. Because as Christians we are naturally hopeful people, we look forward with anticipation to our future. From a distance things can look so hopeful & bright. We can see in our mind's eye the great victories ahead, but often when we actually arrive & see up-close what looked so rosy from a distance, we’re disappointed. Life can be like that.
I can remember when I first started traveling as an evangelist. We would be invited to a church hundreds of miles away & the Pastor would write us telling about his church. As the time grew near we’d begin to picture the church in our minds. Youth & inexperience were also part of this syndrome. It may sound funny but I’d usually picture the church sitting up on a hill beautifully landscaped with grass & flowers. I’d imagine meeting the pastor & he’d always be slightly graying with an almost angelic smile on his face as he reached out to shake our hands & greet us. I’d see the room where we’d stay while there & picture it so beautifully appointed & comfortable. I’d then see in my mind the people & imagine how loving, supportive & friendly they’d be. I could go on but I think by now you have my point.
The passing of the years slowly taught us that these lovely “mirages” we conjured up in our minds were just that; they were mirages. While there were great men of God out there, great churches & sweet people, most of the time the reality was quite different than the mirage we constructed in our imaginations.
This often happens when missionaries go to the field for the first time, especially if they expect that because they are crossing an ocean, things will be somehow glossier. Usually the truth is the exact opposite. Some people look on the call of God as some kind of magical existence; & it is awesome if the individual has a true calling on their life. But ministry isn’t for the faint of heart. Many times I have prayed for the sick when my back was hurting so bad I could hardly stand up. Some might ask why I would pray for the sick with my back hurting & my answer is, “God heals the sick.” They may then say. “Well why didn’t he heal you?” Here’s the truth - “He has healed me, He is healing me & He will heal me in the future.”
When we are let-down & disillusioned by life a few times, the next step can be spiritual burn-out, unless we understand that in serving God, sometimes things happen we don’t & can’t understand. That’s where faith comes in. When we can explain & understand everything, we have no need for faith. Faith is what we hold on to when we don’t understand what’s going on. The truth is; “God never promised us a rose garden.”-[Sounds like another good song-title!] Without a balanced-faith outlook, we can grow weary of the dance-floor & suddenly the sidelines look safe, comfortable & alluring. Then it becomes easy to lose our initiative. If we’re not careful we’ll end up under a pomegranate tree letting life pass us by with nothing to do but look back in regret, wondering what it would have been like if we’d stayed engaged with life a little longer.
• FEAR AND DOUBT ARE INITIATIVE SUFFOCATERS.
In Leviticus 26:3-13 God relates to Israel the kinds of things he has for them & let’s them know His promises aren’t mirages but the real thing.
Listen;
If ye walk in my statutes & keep my commandments & do them, then I will give you rain in due season & the land shall yield her increase & the trees of the field shall yield their fruit. And your threshing shall reach into the vintage & the vintage shall reach into the sowing time & ye shall eat your bread to the full & dwell in your land safely. And I will give you peace in the land & ye shall lie down & none shall make you afraid; & I will rid evil beasts out of the land, neither shall the sword go through your land. And ye shall chase your enemies & they shall fall before you by the sword. For I will have respect for you, & make you fruitful; & I will walk among you & I will be your God & ye shall be my people.
If God’s people could find the initiative to dwell with God, he would give them great things, not a mirage, but life beyond their imagination. In sending Jesus to the earth, God shows an “initiative deficient” people what initiative really looks like. Jesus took our long line of failures that haunt us & He took them to the cross with Him & was raised from the dead to give us all new life; Life on the “dance floor” with Him. If we want to “dance-in-life,” we only have to take His outstretched hand.
• JONATHAN AND HIS “NAMELESS ARMOR-BEARER”
I’d like to know more about Jonathan’s armor bearer but we’re not told his name. In the Bible there are lots of nameless hero’s, but one day I’m sure we’ll hear their names called aloud in the presence of God.
God seems to like to work by two. Look at Moses & Aaron, Saul &; Jonathan, Peter & John, Paul & Barnabas, Paul & Timothy, Paul & Silas, etc. The 70 were sent out two-by-two. God understands us & knows that none of us like to work alone. This is one reason marriage is such a wonderful thing. I’ll tell you this much; I’ll charge any army with my wife by my side but without her, my chances would be slim to none. One can put a thousand to flight but two can put ten-thousand to flight. I think it rather unnatural for us to want to face things in life totally alone.
Jonathan must have known that his armor-bearer’s faith was as strong as his own. We all need support from people of like precious faith. If Jonathon’s armor-bearer had been negative, he could have turned Jonathon back. If the armor-bearer was afraid of death he could have said, “Hey. Let’s be careful! Let’s not do something foolish! You know we didn’t tell the king about it, we have no back-up! They might kill us. Etc. etc. He would have turned Jonathon back & God wouldn’t have used them that day. You can easily see why Gideon let all the fearful men go home & only chose 300 to fight. Doubters can suck all the “spiritual oxygen” out of any room.
• Choose your companions carefully for they very well may be the difference between your success & failure.
We need people around us that will build our faith, not drag us down. I wouldn’t waste my time nor would I advise anyone else to waste theirs in a church that believed that the days of miracles are over. The Bible says that “Iron sharpens iron,” therefore we should choose carefully who we associate with.
Jonathon & his armor-bearer, operating as guerrilla’s, first slew the advanced guards then took the enemy garrison & put the whole Philistine host to flight, thousands of them.
God gave us this story for a reason. Jesus said, If two on earth shall agree as touching anything, it shall be done. One of worst things we can do as Christians is to isolate ourselves & think we can make it alone. Even the Lone Ranger had Tonto.
Peter didn’t tell the lame man –“look at me”, he said, “Look on us.”
• LOOK AT THE WORD INFLUENCE & YOU’LL FIND THE WORD “FLU” RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF IT.
All of us have the flu, meaning influence. We may not have influence with a lot of folk but we all have some influence. When you look at this story you quickly see that Jonathan didn’t have a very large sphere of influence. Actually, when he left to go to battle, no one even knew he’d left. He had no position, authority or power. He was just a kid with a sword whom no one missed when he left. All he took with him was a kid who was another person no one missed. He was a younger kid to carry the stuff. Nobody would have given them a chance or thought that their single act of faith & courage would “influence” a whole nation.
Jonathan didn’t try to convince the army of six-hundred; he didn’t wake up his father & try to convince him. He knew he had no influence there so he just used the small influence he had & influenced his young helper. He said, “Hey, why don’t we go over there & see if we can pick a fight with those Hombres? Maybe God will give us the victory.” His armor-bearer said, “Go ahead & do what your heart & soul tell you to do,- I’ve got your back.”
That ladies and gentlemen is a picture of influence. Not position & power, but heart & soul. Many times we feel powerless to make a difference because we think the resources we have at our disposal aren’t big enough, strong enough, or good enough. We don’t have enough money or we don’t have the right connections or aren’t in the right position yet. And so we do nothing, believing we are powerless, when in truth God has placed all the people & resources we need right in front of us. Jonathon didn’t try to wield his authority; he just used his inspiration & influence.
Ask yourself who’s in your sphere of influence. Jonathan had one scrawny kid & a sword & God used them to route an army of thousands & change a nation from oppression to freedom. Just a little light shown in the right way & the darkness will flee.
Reread Matthew, Mark, Luke & John again & watch how Jesus used influence. Jesus seemed to shy away from titles & position & used relationships; very close relationships. Reread those books & watch how a ragtag group of fishermen were transformed & how they were influenced by one man & consequently changed the world.
• IN-FLU-ENCE IS CONTAGIOUS.
We are all “carriers” & will use our influence for good or ill. We make a choice each & every day what we’ll do with what we have.
Frankly I’d like to say that I’ve spent every moment of every day; every week, month & year of my life on the dance-floor. I can’t say that, & I won’t. But for each & every opportunity I’ve missed & for whatever reason I missed it, I grieve. And I know why I grieve. Because God didn’t create me to sit on the sidelines, He created me to dance. He took that great initiative 2,000 years ago & He’s just getting started. He’s still working on me. He’s still working to “take the lead” out of my feet & make me a more proficient dancer. After all, Moses didn’t really get started until he was 80.
I admit I’ve been caught under the pomegranate tree a few times but by His grace, no more. He graciously invites us & all we have to do is reach out & take His outstretched hand & go with Him to the dance-floor.
WILL YOU JOIN ME? WILL YOU LEAVE THE SIDELINES?
WE CAN GET OUT FROM UNDER THE POMEGRANATE TREE!
Blessings,
John
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Gifted-Not Spiritual!
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 late 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 2 Corinthians helps us to better understand that God has put his rich treasure of Grace and power into earthen vessels.
Paul writes; “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the Excellency of the power may be of God and not of us.” 2 Cor.4:7
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 Gifts 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 11:29 makes it clear that:
The gifts and callings of God are without repentance.
Meaning when God in His sovereignty 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; unfortunately not the one you and I live in. This seems convenient but is dead wrong.
However it’s important to remember, and this confuses folk; 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 foolish because the car would say nothing about me; rather it would speak of the person who gifted me.
The following story is rather lengthy but I believe it sheds much light on the subject before us.
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, was used in The Gift of the Word of Knowledge. 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; “I don’t preach sermons like other preachers.” This was always fine with the folk 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 but the fact of the matter was that he was right on target much of the time. Remember Paul said;—We prophesy in part—and even Paul himself acknowledged- we see through a glass darkly.
After the first service of my meeting in this church, one of the church leaders 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." While some do, I never felt led 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 try to achieve 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 nice 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 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 soon. After I left, I said very little about the experience to anyone figuring anything I said 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 two 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. Some folk would be so enamored with this man they gave him just about everything they had. I also knew that some emptied their bank account and their church stepped in and paid their household bills after the meetings. All I could do was just ponder these things in my heart, and though they troubled me, put them aside & move on.
Thirteen years went by. 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 said to my wife “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.
In a few weeks the T.V host was exposed for an affair and his life and ministry were turned upside down, all conveniently arranged by this evangelist. Not long afterward, the evangelist was driving a cab in a southern city and hit the news because he was arrested on two DUIs within a short time.Some time back he died of complications of AIDS.
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 THY 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
Unfortunately 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. Think about this; in the early church the miraculous 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.
If God wants you to go to Africa as a missionary, He’s not going to go to sister Snikelfritz and tell her to tell you-He’ll tell you himself
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.” 2 Timothy 1:7
I think it 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 John 10:41 that really amazes me. John the Baptist did no miracle, 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 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;
"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.
BUT DON’T WORK THROUGH ME TO ACCOMPLISH THINGS MEN WOULD CALL GREAT, IF MY OWN HEART IS TO BE LEFT ADRIFT IN A SPIRITUAL DESERT, BEREFT OF SPIRITUAL JOY AND POWER, NEVER FEASTING ON THE MANNA I’M DISPENSING TO OTHERS.”
Blessings
John
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 late 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 2 Corinthians helps us to better understand that God has put his rich treasure of Grace and power into earthen vessels.
Paul writes; “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the Excellency of the power may be of God and not of us.” 2 Cor.4:7
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 Gifts 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 11:29 makes it clear that:
The gifts and callings of God are without repentance.
Meaning when God in His sovereignty 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; unfortunately not the one you and I live in. This seems convenient but is dead wrong.
However it’s important to remember, and this confuses folk; 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 foolish because the car would say nothing about me; rather it would speak of the person who gifted me.
The following story is rather lengthy but I believe it sheds much light on the subject before us.
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, was used in The Gift of the Word of Knowledge. 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; “I don’t preach sermons like other preachers.” This was always fine with the folk 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 but the fact of the matter was that he was right on target much of the time. Remember Paul said;—We prophesy in part—and even Paul himself acknowledged- we see through a glass darkly.
After the first service of my meeting in this church, one of the church leaders 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." While some do, I never felt led 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 try to achieve 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 nice 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 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 soon. After I left, I said very little about the experience to anyone figuring anything I said 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 two 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. Some folk would be so enamored with this man they gave him just about everything they had. I also knew that some emptied their bank account and their church stepped in and paid their household bills after the meetings. All I could do was just ponder these things in my heart, and though they troubled me, put them aside & move on.
Thirteen years went by. 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 said to my wife “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.
In a few weeks the T.V host was exposed for an affair and his life and ministry were turned upside down, all conveniently arranged by this evangelist. Not long afterward, the evangelist was driving a cab in a southern city and hit the news because he was arrested on two DUIs within a short time.Some time back he died of complications of AIDS.
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 THY 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
Unfortunately 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. Think about this; in the early church the miraculous 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.
If God wants you to go to Africa as a missionary, He’s not going to go to sister Snikelfritz and tell her to tell you-He’ll tell you himself
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.” 2 Timothy 1:7
I think it 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 John 10:41 that really amazes me. John the Baptist did no miracle, 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 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;
"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.
BUT DON’T WORK THROUGH ME TO ACCOMPLISH THINGS MEN WOULD CALL GREAT, IF MY OWN HEART IS TO BE LEFT ADRIFT IN A SPIRITUAL DESERT, BEREFT OF SPIRITUAL JOY AND POWER, NEVER FEASTING ON THE MANNA I’M DISPENSING TO OTHERS.”
Blessings
John
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