Right Focus, Great Life (Part Two)

What is it that many Christians seek? You may disagree with me, but if you compare the lifestyle of western Christians with the early church as described in the Bible, you would see what I mean. From observing Christians it appears that many of us desire one or more of the following:

·         Power, importance, influence and position.

·         Money and comfort.

·         Entertainment and self-gratification.

What was the consequence of being a witness in the early Church? Was it not persecution and hardship? But the fruit they bore were many souls delivered from evil. Even today the persecuted church does not have time for vanity. A couple from the persecuted church in China once lived with us for a few weeks during their Bible college break. They told us what persecution was like in China. When I suggested they pray for the government to become democratic, so they may have freedom, they were adamant that they do not want it, since persecution purifies the church and keeps her active and fruitful.

The Lord God knew the self-centred heart attitude of man when He spoke the following through the prophet Jeremiah in Jeremiah 9:23-24:

Thus says the Lord:

“Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom,
let not the mighty man glory in his might,
nor let the rich man glory in his riches;
but let him who glories glory in this,
that he understands and knows Me,
that I am the Lord, exercising loving-kindness,

judgement, and righteousness in the earth.
For in these I delight,” says the Lord.

This passage gives a good indication of who God is and what He wants to accomplish. He does not only exercise His kindness as many preachers would like to portray so they may win more followers, but He also ensures people act according to His righteousness. Note also that His judgement is not preserved for judgement day, but is exercised on earth here and now. Think for example of what happened to Ananias and Sapphira in Acts chapter five. His judgement is exercised on Christians in the form of discipline as we see in Hebrews 12. He also expects the latter two to be preached and taught.

Why would God reveal Himself as such? He is our Father in heaven and we are created in His image.  Apart from sin He is just like us? What does a good parent do to prepare a child for life? You love her – this is lovingkindness. You teach her right living and respect – this is righteousness. You apply discipline if she does not comply - this is exercising judgement. The end result is a mature, obedient and respectful person, able to make a change to her world. This makes it easier to identify with the exact same method the Lord uses with His children and the purpose He aims to accomplish.

The Lord’s aim for the earth is right living, rightness with Him, peace and joy. The enemy, however, aims to accomplish exactly the opposite. Therefore the only way the Lord can accomplish His dream is by preparing willing sons and daughters to be efficient soldiers for the Kingdom, just as a worthy parent would prepare his child to be a useful citizen of society.

In addition to obediently responding to the Holy Spirit's guidance, we need to pray this commitment of God into being, in other words for this will of His to be done. This is the way it is in heaven, and this we need to pray to life on earth (Matthew 6:9-13). He committed Himself to the saints' prayers and will only act in response to prayer.

As Judge and Advocate (1 John 2:1, 2 Timothy 4:8) He wants to see righteousness exercised in government, in business, to the poor and the weak, as well as to His children. But He waits for the prayers of the saints. Therefore you should report unrighteous leaders, unrighteous business people and unrighteous activity to Him, the Judge and Advocate, and be prepared to do your part as the salt of the earth. This may result in you not being so popular and comfortable, since persecution is bound to come. But your crown is awaiting you in heaven.

Lord, please exercise kindness, righteousness and judgement on those who need it. I am thinking of... (Put in names).


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Right Focus, Great Life (Part One)

How do you pray? A preacher once said he sees nowhere in the Bible where Paul, the apostle, prayed for his own needs. His focus in prayer was the Kingdom of God and people's involvement in it.

But where is our focus? Where is yours? Do we not usually have a shopping list before God?

What is the Lord's aim for His children? Is His dream not that we should know Him?

Generally man tends to focus on self. I do not even refer to non-believers here. Just listen to many of the messages you hear from the pulpit, on radio and television, as well as the lyrics of worship songs. What is the focus in them? I hear much of how God loves us and desires to bless us and how good He is to us and therefore we do not need to worry.

The focus appears to be mostly on I, me, and myself and very little on discovering who the Lord God is and what changes we need to make in order to become like Jesus, so that God may be glorified. Then I cannot help thinking of the passage in 2 Timothy 4:3: “For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.”

When we witness, do we not usually focus on telling what the Lord has done for us and how He has blessed us and provided for us? You may ask what is wrong with it. Is that not what the Lord has promised He will do? Yes, He certainly had our wellbeing in mind when He made those promises, but not so much for the sake of our own comfort, but rather that we may be fit and cared for whilst we work in the harvest field of His Kingdom and at maintaining a righteous relationship with Him (Matthew 6:33, Matthew 9:37). In this context He promised His care and provision whilst we busy ourselves with His interests. How about therefore getting involved with the needs of others and then witness what the Lord has done for them?

What are we seeking when seeking the Kingdom of God? In Romans 14:17 we read that the Kingdom of God is righteousness (rightness with God), peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. So what are you actively pursuing through prayer and action? You firstly seek right standing with God for yourself. This you do by moving into Christ's righteousness through faith (John 3:3-5). You make the rightness with God, which Jesus bought for you on the cross, your own. You cannot earn rightness with God. It's a gift you have to accept for yourself.

But you may already be born again and therefore have taken the previous step. Next you have to bring your soul in line with this righteousness by working with the Holy Spirit to get your behaviour and desires right before God (Philippians 2:12-13). Resulting from this is peace and joy because you are progressing towards living in faith and obedience.

Following this you need to work towards getting those around you to have this same Kingdom. This involves witnessing, evangelism, serving, preaching, teaching, encouragement, exhortation, prophesying and so on.

With regard to seeking right standing or righteousness with the Lord, have a read of 2 Corinthians 6:16-18. Have you checked yourself whether you are free from idols and of use to God? This passage continues in chapter 7:1: “Therefore, since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God.”

Do you see what God's aim is with your life? Do you still think just becoming born again or belonging to a church is sufficient? (To be continued)


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The Power Behind Overcoming Temptation

If there lived on this earth one expert in the art of surrendering to temptation and justifying yourself for yielding, it was the old me.

When I felt in a bad mood and felt like being rude, I simply acted rudely. If my flesh wanted the pleasure it craves from carnal desires, I found justification to surrender to the desire. In such a situation the Holy Spirit would call on me for a pep talk, after which I repented and let it go. But to be honest, I did it reluctantly.

Then the blame game started. I have often thrown 1 Corinthians 10:13 before the Lord, which reads: “No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.”

“Why do I struggle so much with sin if this promise of yours is true?” I wanted to know. “You don't seem to care to help me to overcome.”

Hands up. Who has been there?

Then one morning I had this wonderful revelation on this passage.

Let us consider it carefully. The first part basically informs you that temptation is not from God. It is from the nature of man and it is to this nature that Satan directs his suggestions or temptations.

It is the second part I would like to discuss here though: “God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.”
  

We have the promise that we will not be tempted above what we can bear. Other translations mention that we will not be tempted above our strength. So when we succumb to the temptation and then sin, who failed; God or us? As mentioned I have often blamed God. And you, who did you blame?

The promise in this passage is that the Lord has given us strength to resist, as well as a way out of any temptation. So if we yield we actually wilfully ignore the solution the Lord gave us, do we not? We choose to sin. We already have the strength to resist as well as the way out, yet we still do it.

The passage continues to inform us that the Lord will provide with the temptation a way out. “But some temptations come so quickly,” I hear you say, “there is no time to wait for a way out.” This is where the miracle comes in. The word used in this passage is ‘with’. At the moment the temptation comes, the way out of it is already there. It comes with the temptation. The choice whether you will take it is still yours though.

The day following this revelation was an interesting one for me. During my quiet time that morning I declared this passage over my life and was ready to look for the way out. I was very tired and felt particularly down. Therefore my flesh had set itself up to snap at difficult patients and to enjoy the opportunity to be rude.

I did not feel like smiling or being friendly, yet every time I faced a patient, my mouth somehow turned into a smile and friendly words in a kind tone came from my mouth. Remember, my carnal nature was ready to be rude, but because I declared my surrender to the Lord and His Word, they miraculously determined my actions. This was God's strength overruling my weakness and His way out that came with the temptation.

God's truth protected me in another way during that time as well. The previous day a pretty woman, who worked with me, really flirted with me and I had difficulty to resist her. The following day, the day of the revelation, I was kind of scared to go back there, but thanks to the power of the declared Word of God these temptations also lost their power. I easily avoided her attentions and she quickly got the message.

The Lord's Word is true and always has the power to accomplish what it was sent for (Isaiah 55:10-11). The only times its power does not work for you is when you choose not to believe and apply it.

Remember the Lord God is always ready to back the promises of His Word for you with His power. You simply need to believe it, declare it, and put action to your faith - in other words apply it consciously and deliberately.

Lord, please teach me how to apply your Word by faith.

A Poor Man's Fairy Tale – A True Story

This is a true story about a Christian who acted in obedience to the Holy Spirit within the Romans 12:6-8 gifting he has received from God. I will call him Friend.

Friend had a job to be done for which he needed a few labourers. He knew he would find willing hands on a street corner to help him, and hired four men. About three hours into the day he realized he would need at least one more man otherwise they would not finish in time.

Since the town, where he found the workers, was quite far away from the site where they worked, he was not really keen to drive all the way there, and resolved that they would try and make it with the hands he had.

The Lord God, however, had other plans. Friend's job that he assigned to himself was to load the trailer and drive the foliage to the dump. Soon after he had realized that he actually needed another worker, it became time to dump another load. As soon as he had turned onto the main road that leads to the town where he had found the men, and also to the nearby dump, a man waved him down.

He was dressed like a painter, which in fact he was. Friend told him he was only going to the dump a kilometre down the road and not to the town where Painter was headed. When Painter offered to help him unload the trailer at the dump, Friend realized that this was a divine appointment and hired him. Little did he know what the Lord God had in mind. Painter identified himself as a Christian.

Painter's job became loading and unloading the trailer together with Friend. During their trips to the dump they became friends and impacted one another's lives under guidance of the Holy Spirit.

As they drove through the village where they did the job, Painter pointed out two houses he had painted and also offered Friend his business card. Friend liked what he saw when he observed the paint jobs on the houses and felt led to design a one page website to promote Painter, which he did for free and hosted as a sub domain to his own domain. In the next couple of weeks he took pictures of some of Painter's work as well as of Painter on the job.

A week after Friend had launched the website Painter had three houses to paint, all as a result of the website. The two of them kept contact and six weeks after he had launched the website, Friend came to the area again and Painter asked to see him. He overflowed with joy and could not stop hugging Friend. He told Friend that he now had a staff of five painters and had purchased himself a small car.

When the Lord arranged the divine appointment between the two of them, Painter was poor and struggling to get work. He was faithful in that he marketed himself by handing out a simple business card he had printed, but had little work and hungry children. God had heard his prayers and knew about the hobby His servant, Friend, has - website design.

And the outcome - provision for a poor man who was prepared to use what he had. Painter stays faithful in marketing himself, but now has a web address on his card. Clients are able to see his work before they contact him and therefore contracts are flooding in.

Painter also heeded Friend's exhortation to deliver excellent work, something he previously neglected due to a poor man's attitude. The website makes him feel professional and so does having staff he is responsible for, as well as the fact that he has wheels. Therefore he delivers professional work.

The Lord gifted all people with the intention that we should serve one another with what we have. He does not necessarily want everything to be formalized, but only wants His children to be there for one another with what we have to offer.

“By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another,” (John 13:35). What is it you have available that someone else may need. If you listen for guidance from the Holy Spirit, He will lead you in the right direction and your joy will be full.

It is vital, though, that you give your best and walk the extra mile. “And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men,” (Colossians 3:23). Friend told me he made the website appear professional and appealing; exactly the way he would have done it for himself. He took trouble to go out and take pictures, searched for relevant links on the Internet that customers would appreciate, and so on.

Jesus went all the way in serving total strangers with what He had, in obedience to the guidance of the Holy Spirit, according to the will of the Father. If all Christians have the attitude that the Lord Jesus had, the world would see Jesus in us and desire change.

Romans 15:1-9: “We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves. Each of us should please our neighbours for their good, to build them up. For even Christ did not please himself but, as it is written: ‘The insults of those who insult you have fallen on me.’ For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope.

^“May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had, so that with one mind and one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

“Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God. For I tell you that Christ has become a servant of the Jews on behalf of God’s truth, so that the promises made to the patriarchs might be confirmed and, moreover, that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy.”

Father, please guide me as I obey you in displaying the attitude Jesus had.