A POSSIBLE YOU
FINDING GOD’S DESTINY FOR YOUR LIFE
PART 23
TIME TO ARISE

I have mentioned lately about how important it is to know God’s direction. Can we know what He is telling us in these last days? I am confident that we can. Many are asking; how can we know what He is saying? I believe that sometimes it is more obvious than others, but overall from what I have experienced, it is usually more complex. We read in the Bible about the occasions when God would communicate as He walked in the garden with Adam and Eve, or He would speak out of the clouds with the children of Israel. Then we see Jesus coming to earth and talking with His people face to face, so I am convinced that God has always been willing to intervene with His creation but we must have an “ear to hear”. This makes me a theist and theism not only believes there is one true God as the intelligent designer of all things but that He is also personally involved in man’s everyday life. The Lord speaks into the soul and offers a wise path and everyone will either choose to listen – or live independently. In this light, if we are not detecting the heavenly signal we are seeking, we need to carefully consider that the problem is not with the message being transmitted but there may be something wrong with the receiver. Sometimes we need to find the instruction manual and discover why there is no connection.

Why is it important to know God’s direction? Well, I am persuaded to believe that everyone has a specific course to follow that has been chartered by our “Master navigator”. I call the plans that God has made for us our “spiritual blueprints” and they are very important to Him because He created each of us uniquely and custom designed our destiny into His overall vision. I realize that many people do not respond to His call and all of His plans do not work out like He desired but that does not mean He fails or does not find a way to accomplish His will. In my doctrinal belief system I do not consider myself either as a strict Calvinist or an Armenian but rather a student that is comfortable combining both of them together. As you know, a Calvinist leans very heavy on the idea of predestination which means that everything and everyone has been selected to turn out a certain way before the world was created. I can clearly see some things this pertains to but not everything (because of the reality of free-will). Armenians teach that God provided salvation through Jesus Christ and His covenant is offered to all humans and that His blood can redeem anyone who accepts His blood and His Word by faith. What does all this have to do with hearing God’s voice? Because if we believe everything is “locked in” and cannot change then we are more relaxed and do not worry about our spiritual responsibilities. If we believe that God has given us a toolbox and a mission to accomplish, we realize how He is waiting for us to “ARISE” and follow His voice. There is something wrong with thinking that our purpose is to float around in life like someone sight-seeing on vacation. If everything has been chosen (Calvinism) then whatever happens was God’s choice – even salvation. This seems to make the Christian life so easy and “automatic” that maybe it is part of the reason why many churches are asleep.

It is not rocket science to know that humans are always looking for the easy way in everything they do. One of the most intriguing benefits of having wealth is to live in comfort and ease. The rich usually do not pull their own weeds or wax their own cars; they pay others to do it while they relax by the pool. I am just saying that wealth can be used for good as long we can control it and not allow it to control us. When we accept Christ as our Lord, it is common knowledge that we are still listening to our old will and when it comes to issues like praying and worshipping, we have not yet developed the strength to control our flesh. Some Christians never pursue the discipline needed to harness their flesh because they do not want to. They are just not interested in wading out into the spiritual waters of maturity and have become perfectly satisfied with continuing in the old nature while confessing Jesus Christ as their Savior. This is the perfect idea of how to live a life of pleasure and eternal security or as some might say, “The best of both worlds.” Can you still catch the bus for heaven while living in this state of mind? Only God will decide who is worthy to enter into eternal life with Him, but since He is the perfect judge it would seem like a mockery to allow someone that was never interested in being a disciple to be rewarded with the glory of heaven. If Jesus is the Lord of the heart, He is the Master of the life and the King of an individual’s salvation. What does this have to do with hearing God’s voice? Everything! If we are living in a carnal state of existence, we could care less about what He is saying. Besides, if we are only concerned with our own needs and desires, we are not focused or even concerned with trying to find out what He wants us to do. Only those who are serious about pleasing Him are determined to find out exactly what their mission is. Selah.

So, how do we become serious about knowing God’s direction? I believe it can be said that everyone that is truly born-again will have the desire to draw near to God. For the lost, this life is a miserable, empty void that can only be temporarily entertained. This is why the lost are constantly watching something, doing something, talking or going somewhere. They must fill their mind with busy energy so they will not feel the “haunting” that exposes their life as hollow and destitute of meaning. People are afraid and do not want to face the TRUTH that they cannot be fulfilled or happy without Christ as their Lord. They will search the world for anything that can make them happy but Jesus is the ONLY answer to their agonizing loneliness. It can be boiled down to a simple way of thinking. If someone says they are a Christian yet they are not living the Christian life – they must be under conviction. Our new spirit cries out to God because it loves this state of purity and adores spending time in God’s presence. A child of God can automatically sense the constant conviction of the Holy Spirit because they are directly connected to Him. This is like when we become thirsty, we go get a drink and it is in this same concept that compels a child of God to spend time with Him and get things right. All of God’s children have this convicting conscience that desires to hear His voice, loves His living Word, sees the need for prayer, is grateful in Praise and longs to live in the peace that brings the deepest joy and the highest freedom! If a Christian has no desire for these things – something is wrong. We can conclude that either they are backslidden far away from God and it is a matter of time before the Shepherd intervenes with bringing them back to the fold – or they have been living within an emotional religious experience and have never truly been born-again. So, in other words, if anyone is truly a saint of God – they will become serious about abandoning their will and surrendering their life completely to God’s will. This group of believers is called a remnant which identifies them as a small group within a larger assembly. There is a church within a church which means not everyone that goes to church is a member of the body of Christ. When the rapture happens some churches will still have those who were deceived. Love has nothing to do with an organization or an affiliation; it is all about Jesus sitting on the throne of the heart. When He is the LORD of a life – that life is under His control. These are the victorious overcomers that will be persecuted and martyred in the last hours. These are the ones that have suffered loss through the years and know what the word sacrifice means. They wanted to hear God’s voice and live for Him so much that they gave Him exactly what He wanted – their heart.

This brings us to our next step in desiring to hear what God is speaking to us. Just how desperate are you to know what God wants you to do? We can sit around and wait for invitations and opportunities to fall out of the ceiling but many times this only brings more discouragement. And there are times when a door does open but we quickly analyze it and decide that we are not really interested in doing that. After we have exhausted all the ideas, schemes and dreams of our imagination we are left with one simple yet challenging option (which by the way is a guaranteed answer that will give us what we are seeking). Prayer. It is strange but understandable that humans are willing to climb Mt. Everest for a sign or walk the scorching desert to search for the meaning of life but cannot face the reality that God simply wants to talk with them. In a conversation there is talking and listening (many have never realized this) nonetheless, most of us have no problem doing all the talking because we always have so many whims. It is true that praying is the perfect time to “unload” our troubles and all the problems that are causing us turmoil and heartache but the most important part of a conversation with God is what He wants to say (and I’m sure He would agree). This is the part we have so much frustration with because it seems at times we go on and on but never hear any response. It is confusing and discouraging to keep seeking an answer without ever finding one (unless of course He keeps sending what He wants us to do but we keep thinking that surely this is not from Him). It is like going to the psychiatrist and telling them what is wrong but not really liking their solution and having no intention of taking their advice. So what do you suggest for us to do? To begin with, prayer in itself is difficult because our flesh is fighting us the entire way – but if we add fasting to our intercession this will take us into another level of spiritual communication. Much of the time, the devil does not need to worry about us praying because he knows our carnality will probably be strong enough to resist our spiritual determination. I am reminded of the disciples trying to stay awake and watch with Jesus as He was doing some “serious” praying in the Garden of Gethsemane the night He was captured. “And He (Jesus) cometh to His disciples, and found them asleep, and said unto Peter, what, could you not watch with me one hour?” (Mathew 26:40) (How could we possibly think that God is not asking us this very same question?) Nonetheless, when we include fasting as a strategy to deny our flesh and increase our spiritual awareness, the enemy notices and will be compelled to attack our intentions. Satan is an expert in spiritual warfare and he recognizes the difference between whining to God and having a serious conversation with Him. When the devil sees that God is giving directions and the individual is taking notes, he becomes nervous and intimidated because he feels the gates of hell shaking.

We can moan and groan our entire life and cry big tears over how we have failed and missed the Lord. We can throw the biggest pity-parties around and feel sorry for ourselves because it seems our mission was not accomplished. Allow me to say sincerely that these are real emotions; they are legitimate hurts and pains that we experience within the depths of our heart. I know that it is agonizing to go through life with a sense of disappointment and sadness BUT – it is never too late to change our situation and turn our life around! How does God feel about His children who feel down and discouraged because they have no direction? God has never intended His people to drift on the Ocean in a rubber raft of despair with no hope of being rescued! Yes, there are wilderness experiences and times of loneliness and doubt, but conveying His plans to each of His children have always been important to Him. He did not send His Son Jesus to die so that we could walk around this earth blind and confused. Salvation includes opening the eyes of our spirit so that we can SEE who He is, who we are, and how we are to help others. Our direction will not be understood looking with our natural eyes – it will be discovered when we begin to listen from within our heart. The secret place is not a location but our intimate relationship with Him wherever that might be. Why did He mention about His “still small voice?” Because when we are snuggled close to Him – we are quiet and can hear clearly as He whispers softly.

The title – “TIME TO ARISE” does not mean for us to jump up and do something. This message is calling us to arise from our slumber with prayer and fasting in order to be in “position” to hear His voice. It’s time to stop “talking” about praying, it’s time to arise and pray.

“Father of all things, we adore you and come before you with honor and reverence. I cry out today for your mercy to please help open my eyes to your truth. We know that you understand our problems and you hear every word we say. You realize what we need more than we do and you desire for us to listen to your instructions. Help us Lord, for we are very weak and needy of strength. Motivate and inspire us to yield our will. Teach me how to listen for your voice and the skill of learning how to constantly be aware of you. Help us to take baby steps with abandoning our carnal nature. It is the ONLY way we will ever walk with you and become aware of your presence. Lord, it is one thing to know your direction but it is another level of maturity to accept it and do it. I declare to you this day that I am serious about following your voice and knowing your mission for me. I will fast and pray until I hear from heaven. I am more determined than ever to not let go of this burning desire to know your will until I can see more clearly. I know that you are speaking – the problem is that I am not coming close enough to hear you. By faith I wait on your plans and the open doors of your divine appointments. I am focused, I am serious, and I am committed to you with ALL of my heart. In the Holy Name of Jesus I pray, amen.”

A POSSIBLE YOU
FINDING GOD’S DESTINY FOR YOUR LIFE
PART 22
WHOSE WILL IS BEING DONE?

I have some questions for you today. Do you have certain goals for your ministry that have not come to pass yet in your life? Do you often wonder when (and if) these visions will ever be manifested? Do you sometimes speculate that maybe you have done something to “prevent” your ministry from being much larger and more effective? To some Christians, these questions do not convict them at all because they have never really felt the call or any desire to become involved with a ministry. However, there are others that have sensed the drawing power and conviction of God to do some type of work for the Kingdom and many times trying to find clear answers and obvious open doors are difficult and seldom found. This is why it is so important to pray for divine appointments and to develop spiritual discernment to learn how God is trying to intervene. If you are one of these that rides the roller coaster of desiring to be all that you believe He is calling you to be, but constantly run into obstacles and discouragement, there are solid points we can rest on and KNOW that God has not forgotten His plans for you or the abilities and anointing He has put within you! Actually, if you study the leaders of the faith (especially Christ) you will see their life was empowered yet filled with obstacles and rejection. Those who overcame realized the dynamics of determination and placed ALL of their trust in the revelation that God was their victory even in the trials! “Being confident of this very thing, that He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.” (Philippians 1:6)

Number one: EVERYONE has a gift from God! The ones who say they have nothing to contribute are usually just trying to wiggle out of the commitment and responsibility to serve. Since this life is a training ground for the next life, it would be a good idea to recognize your gift and begin to find places where you can use it! Selah. You may be thinking that you do not want to get involved with other people or all the headaches that goes along with being a part of a team but allow me to remind you that you will be working in heaven and you will be involved with the entire assembly of heaven. The more we give of ourselves NOW the more God will bless us with later because we have earned His trust and followed His commands. In the parable of the talents, we must remember that Jesus Himself is teaching and was very serious about this issue. He was trying to focus and drive home the point about how what we do with what we have will be seen as a measuring tool of our thoughts and desires about our love for Him. If we respect His Word and the glory of His being, we will be intense about obeying His voice because we KNOW we will face Him one day and give an account of our attitude. Those who pray for wisdom and divine appointments and develop sensitivity of the Spirit will be watching and waiting for opportunities to do His will. Through the symbolism of this story, these overcomers (you and I) have been promised that in the next life we will be given authority to reign with Him. “His lord said unto him, well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.” (Mathew 25:23) The reason I mentioned the fervency that Christ was emphasizing here is that we notice at the end of this story, He does not compromise or fail to deal with the consequences of laziness and rebellion. I am not sure the church has taught the importance of being actively involved with our calling and how much God is expecting from what He has given to us. Sadly, it seems the politics of church government does not want the people to become overly involved with demonstrating their calling because it would reveal the lack of need for paid ministry. “Take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him which hath ten talents. For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath.” (Verses 28-29) In other words, if someone becomes lazy or refuses to develop their spiritual gift, they will lose the ability to use that gift. However, for those who give their life into serving God and doing all they can to obey Him, they may end up doing more than they ever dreamed they could do. The organized church through the years has taken much of its style of government from the traditions of men and this representation of ministry causes many to rely on the compensated clergy to do the work of the Lord instead of Christians examining their own heart to discover their own destiny. God’s children will be held accountable for not listening to His voice as the sins of omission include refusing to embrace our responsibilities! The spiritual life is a gradual progression and development into an experienced warrior that serves faithfully on the frontline for the sake of all that is precious in God’s sight. The pastor has a specific office but every saint has the calling to be a minister of the gospel.

Number two: Everyone says they want to do God’s will – but many are just hoping that He will bless their own blueprints. These are the kind of statements that need repeating so they can be slowly absorbed into our conscience. Actually this must become a “revelation” of wisdom or it cannot be truly realized. You see, we can do many things in God’s name and lots of Christians are very bust with religious activity but the question remains are they doing what God said to do? Of course it is much easier to do the things we “like” to do or that we find familiar to us, but what about when we are asked to go out of our comfort zone? What do we do when we are faced with the decision to obey Him or try to think of everything we can to avoid Him? I believe that God is not as nearly impressed with “what” we do as much as He is with our willingness to obey. How many that were called to be missionaries have never stopped running away from what they know is true? How many that had the calling to be a minister yet have never yielded their heart to God’s service because they were afraid of what it might cost them? In fact, this is partly the reason why Christians in general live in denial because they fear what people might say and are not willing to abandon the things they hold dear. I keep going back to the rich young ruler but until this becomes a life changing reality within the very depths of our soul, we will only believe this was something just between Jesus and this man. Christ said that he had done well and was no doubt a respected man of the community but if he thought that he had attained the plateau of the Christian life – he was mistaken. Jesus was trying to explain how this man had designed the Christian life “around” all the things he loved so that everything fit perfectly into his imagination and plans for a comfortable life. Even though the young leader had done marvelous works – he had never really surrendered his will. And allow me to say that until we also come to terms with this wisdom and become enlightened to this same truth, our lives will never enlarge beyond how this man lived. God is not happy for His people to walk around “proud” of their religion or who they are in the eyes of the world, He is touched when He knows that someone has presented themselves completely to Him and is sincerely ready to do whatever He says! This is the highest level of spiritual living unto the Father. “And He (Jesus) was withdrawn from them about a stone’s cast, and kneeled down, and prayed, saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine be done.” (Luke 22:41-42)

Number three: Be ready to be rejected. If anyone thinks that spreading the gospel is like passing out twenty dollar bills – they have never tried it! I would say one of the most discouraging aspects of the ministry is the seemingly endless lethargic attitudes from those who know you are a Christian. And it is shocking, but many times you will find those who you thought were brothers and sisters in the faith are the ones rolling their eyes as an obvious way of NOT wanting to be associated with you. We remember that when Jesus was arrested and a young girl accused Peter of being one of His disciples. As the crowd became focused on this accusation, Peter fell apart and lost his courage to stand boldly with Christ. In his fear and anxiety of the moment, he angrily cursed and denied that He was a follower of Jesus in order to save his own skin. Of course he later regretted what he had done and cried because he knew he had failed, but the point is that we must be prepared for the rejection and lack of enthusiasm toward us – and Christ.

Allow me to say that in most cases across the board, the way people react to you and your calling is nothing “personal” – it is spiritual. Remember the old saying, “birds of a feather – flock together?” Everyone is an individual and has different desires, specific interest and hobbies that they usually try to make time for because people are captivated by what they love. (Selah). Even Christians can easily have their priorities out of order and cherish several “idols” that take preference over being obedient to the Lord. For example, you would think those who follow Jesus would enjoy reading Christian books and articles about their faith or listening to Christian music that edifies and encourages their spirit – but that is not always the case. Many who call themselves Christians do not even read or study their Bible or worship God in any way. Sadly, many do not pray unless they have a personal crisis. So, if you write, sing, teach, give, or create any type of spiritual contribution to the body of Christ and expect those fellow Christians around you to be jumping up and down excited about your gifts and talents – you will probably be disappointed. It is NOT because they do not like you or believe that your ministry is not a quality and worthy cause, they are just not interested in it! There are so many distractions with technology that most people have chosen to NOT filter out the garbage and embrace the living Word. By the time they read the newspaper, magazines, surfing the net, texting, e-mailing, face-booking and watching TV in the evenings – there is no time left. People are allowing the enemy to steal their time and ultimately distort and diminish their spiritual life! We cannot change their heart or make them rearrange their desires; we can only pray they will return to their “first love.”

A POSSIBLE YOU
FINDING GOD’S DESTINY FOR YOUR LIFE
PART 21
THE DELIVERER IS LISTENING

“I sought the Lord, and He heard me, and delivered me from all my fears. This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles. The angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear Him, and He delivers them. The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and His ears are open to their cry. The righteous cry and the Lord LISTENS, and delivers them out of all their troubles. Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the Lord delivers them out of them all.” (Psalm 34: 4, 6, 7, 15, 17, 19)

There are many things we can whine and complain about because we are surrounded by opposing forces! Of course we have difficulties and trials, but Jesus never said the Christian life would be without suffering and resistance. He did remind us that He would live within those who are His disciples and that His power was able to overcome anything that could come against us. Many times we forget that we are trying to live in a realm that is depraved and cursed while learning how to accomplish God’s will. Our flesh is perfectly at ease in this realm because it is a part of the default system. It is our newly transformed spirit that is an alien to this world and now has become our true identity. Our spirit is joined with God and our residence is in the heavenly dimension where God is sitting on His throne. It does not matter how dark it seems or how cold and harsh this environment can be – He is the central focal point of our life and we will trust Him completely no matter what happens! Our heavenly Father is filled with love and mercy and only wants the best for His children. Do you love Him today? Is He the center of your universe? Have you completely laid down your will at His feet in order to follow Him all the way? He is worthy of all glory and honor because of who He is! For what He has done for us – He deserves our devotion, commitment and obedience in all that we do and say! Amen. “Be assured, if you walk with Him and look to Him, and expect help from Him, He will never fail you.” (G. Mueller)


I have always known there is more to life than just stumbling around like a blind man that cannot think on his own. In the words of Tozer, “We might be wise to follow the insight of the enraptured heart rather than the more cautious reasoning’s of the theological mind.” In our search for contextual truth may we also remember the words of the great hymn, “turn your eyes upon Jesus – look full in His wonderful face – and the things of earth will grow strangely dim – in the light of His glory and grace.” If we want to become serious about loving and obeying God, we need to consider that life seems to come down to a simple list of priorities. This seems elementary doesn’t it, but we need to soberly think about it for a minute. If there is anything on the list that is above God – there is a serious problem and no doubt the reason for our internal chaos and confusion. Selah. Spiritual peace is found in the intimate relationship with Christ and the closer you are to the Lord – the more of His power and “victory” you will experience. There is nothing preventing you and I from becoming intimate with Him today. We can have as much of Him as we want and as often as we choose. “And now little children, abide in Him; that when He shall appear , we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before Him at His coming.” (I John 2:28)

I was sitting in a doctor’s office waiting room the other day and was reading an article by Barbara Taylor Brown called “finding God in the darkness.” I was curious as to where this was going because I immediately became defensive about how God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. However, I realized that our mission is taking place in a dark world and reaching out to Christ through this darkness is what brings us closer to Him. Of course He is the light of the world and He lives inside of us, but there is nothing necessarily wrong or bad with darkness. When we close the door to our closet, we find ourselves in the dark while seeking the light of His presence in our soul. Many times as we search for answers or solutions to our many problems, it is like we are swimming in the dark seas trying to find His hand that He might pull us up to safety. What we must remember is that we reach out to Him by faith even when we cannot see Him – it is all about TRUST. We must settle this issue in our heart and positively “know” that He is the highest authority and no one is more powerful than Him. “These things I have spoken unto you, that in Me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)

We learned as a child to be afraid of the dark and the world has associated the darkness with the unknown evil and danger that will “get us” if we venture into it. When I was a young boy, my parents remodeled half of the attic (which became my bedroom and a playroom and the other half was left as storage). My dad built a wall and put in a door to the “dark unknown” but the fearful part was the rest of the family all slept downstairs on the other side of the house. I felt very isolated and often thought if the monsters did come after me – no one could hear my screams. Anyway, when I would lie down in my bed I could see that door and it made me very uncomfortable but on the other hand I would rather be able to see it than not be able to keep a check on it. I remember one night I was particularly a little jittery because I kept hearing things go “bump” in the night. I peeked from under the covers and saw that the door was wide open – I made a dash for the stairwell and nearly jumped completely down the stairs and ran into my mom and dad’s room so shook up I could hardly speak! I eventually learned to face the fear by exploring the attic and realized that it was just an old musty smelling place filled with junk. This is exactly what we need to do with all of our “grownup” places that we are afraid of and that make us anxious. I know people today that hate silence and do everything they can to avoid being alone with the quiet. Some individuals cannot sleep when it is still and I have even heard of people letting a hairdryer run on the nightstand just so they can have a background noise. Others cannot endure walking into a room without turning on the TV or driving without music because they feel very uncomfortable with silence. I personally love the silence because I am trying to hear the voice of God. Allow me to ask a question; if we struggle to hear God speak in the quiet times – how could we ever expect to hear Him in the chaos?

Yes, our journey can be dark at times and it has been mentioned as sometimes like a valley of the shadow of death, but His WORD is the lamp unto our feet and the light unto our path. It does not matter where we are we can know that He is there! Allow me to say; there is no darkness too dark for God to see through! There is no problem or trial that is too complicated or hopeless that He cannot take care of it! He has always been known as El-Shaddai – the God who is MORE than enough! If you believe God cannot handle your situation – your god is too small! Amen! If you are not finding the answers you need today and feel that the Lord has forgotten you, I can promise that it is not because He is too busy or that heaven is having an economic crisis, budget cuts, or staff downsizing. When we find Christ in the secret place and become determined to stay there until we have heard His direction for us, we will no longer feel like a castaway on a deserted island. “I don’t know” is the most common response in the world, but life does not have to be this way. It is true that we have all the questions and He has all the answers, so what do you think is preventing you from knowing all that you need to know?

Maybe instead of running from the darkness we should embrace it because this is what keeps our perspective clear and honest. Do you think that a blind person could have a higher level of spiritual sensitivity? Why? Because they are not distracted or influenced by absorbing the sights of this world into their mind. If they are a Christian they have learned to turn INWARD and become more sensitive to His presence and more discerning to the highest dimension. Actually I believe it could be possible that a blind person could have excellent spiritual vision because they are learning the walk of trust from the inside out. God is pleased when He watches His children reach out to Him in their difficulties especially when they develop patience and confidence that He will use and guide all things into His perfect plan. There is a time to fight and a time to let go, a time to work and a time to rest, thus knowing when, where and how is the divine wisdom that comes from the depths of isolated prayer. Yes, the Lord responds to the cries of His people when they truly depend on Him with their life and fall before Him in obedience and humility. There may be times when it seems we are lost at sea, but it is not true because He knows exactly where you are and where He wants to take you. Our enemy wants to accuse us and say that God is tired of helping us and that He is finished with coming to our rescue, because he is terrified to think about what could happen in our life if we would become one with God! Satan knows that God has a plan for you and that it is filled with supernatural miracles and demonstrations of Holy Ghost power! The devil is working overtime to prevent you from going into your prayer closet and the secret places where you connect with God because that makes his job of rocking Christians to sleep much easier. “Being confident of this very thing, that He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.” (Philippians 1:6)

Do you believe that God is listening to your prayers? Revelation chapter eight talks about how He is not only hearing your prayers but they ascend before His throne and are offered with incense on the golden alter. Since God is listening, that means He is actively working on a perfect plan. Selah. He is ready to deliver and bring victory however, most of the time our long waiting period is caused by US refusing to spend quality time with Him. There is no fear – as long as you are holding His hand. Jesus knows where you are and is listening intently.

A POSSIBLE YOU
FINDING GOD’S DESTINY FOR YOUR LIFE
PART 20
BEING READY WHEN JESUS CALLS

“Thus saith the Lord, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches: But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord which exercises loving-kindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the Lord.”  (Jeremiah 9:23-24)

Our title this week causes one to think about preparing for the next life, but I am referring to being ready to serve and live NOW! The Lord has many things for all of us to do and there is no excuse to mope around and say you have done all you can do. We can start a prayer group or at least a prayer journal. We can ask the Holy Spirit where He wants us to give our money to bless someone. We can volunteer our time and energy to a local mission, food bank or shelter. We can start going to Wednesday night services to support those who are teaching and working in ministry. God is not being silent in this last hour! He is speaking to all who have (spiritual) ears to hear what He is saying. Knowing Jesus is THE MOST wonderful experience in this life and in the verse above we see that knowing Him is to realize that He desires to pour out His Spirit of truth and love to all people. He is waiting to empower and fill those NOW who are reaching out to Him in FAITH! Amen!

I want to tell you a true story about what happened to me several weeks ago. I was scheduled for an interview at this church we have been attending lately, as I had applied to become their worship pastor. I had been practicing for a couple of weeks just trying to knock some dust off and was feeling good about the opportunity. I was feeling positive and looking forward to following whatever the Lord wants in my life until the day of the interview, when it seemed everything went sour. I had a frustrating day at work and ended up working much longer than I had planned. I became so sleepy on the way home that I collapsed in the bed for a power nap and ended up not having time to practice. On top of my anxiety, I had a headache along with sinus trouble and was growing hoarse. By the time I was ready to leave to my appointment I nearly called and cancelled because I just did not feel prepared or “in sync” with what I was getting ready to do. Yes, I was being ambushed! The enemy was breathing down my neck with his negative influences of insecurity and was doing everything he could think of to cause me to surrender. About half way there, I was asking Him to help me and in His presence I sensed that He was trying to get my attention. I know that prayers were going out for me and I believe with all of my heart that the Lord intervened in my situation. It came to me that I was like a designated hitter on a baseball team. They practice all the time and need to be ready even though they may not see action but just every now and then. They may sit for a week but when the game is tied in the bottom of the ninth with two outs and the winning run is on third base, it is time to deliver. This is not the time to go crying to the coach about what a bad day you have had. When your name is called – that is not the time to allow your pity party to “derail” you and defeat your mission. I continued to listen intently to this scenario going on inside of my spirit; I felt the Lord say, “You can take one of two directions, you can go in there and whine about how you have been overwhelmed with anxiety and apologize for being in this weak condition – or you can lift up your head, put a smile on your face and walk in the faith and confidence that I AM going to do MY will THROUGH YOU!” He was trying to relay to me that it is really not up to my flesh anyway, so why do I believe that it is all up to how well I perform? Of course I wanted to do the best I could but it was more about TRUSTING Him beyond the way I “felt.” So, when I pulled up, His peace and love surrounded me and I could see things in a broader perspective than just focusing on poor pitiful me. I walked in like I was excited and greeted everyone with an air of charisma. We went into the sanctuary and they pulled their chairs in a half-circle, with me in the middle and began to ask questions and eventually wanted to know if I could play them a song. I played a song and they asked for another. I thought they might need to talk about the interview between themselves but they asked me if I could lead worship on a Sunday morning in the near future. I said of course and they put me on the schedule and I left knowing that God had strengthened me by His power. Amen.

Let us remember that our enemy is going to try and stop us whenever we choose to follow God’s will by assaulting us with negative influences. This tactic works many times without him ever actually having to do anything else. In this light, we can see that in most situations it is our “reaction” to circumstances that makes the difference between failure or success. Selah. My wife reminded me the other day that she had heard a minister say recently that our first reaction to difficulties is to DO SOMETHING. We have an automatic security system or protective reflex in our subconscious that tells us we need to “deal” with the problem. How many have realized over the years that many things we cannot fix in our own power? What about times when we have done everything we can think of and we still have no progress or success? Instead of becoming so absorbed in trying to make something happen, we need to stop and see what God wants to do! I received a very encouraging letter this week from a fellow minister that said when we become exhausted of our own works and fall before the feet of God in frustration and humility – then God can begin to breathe life into us and truly start to use us!

We are always talking about how our spiritual eyes need to be opened and I agree completely, but what exactly are we trying to see? Our praise songs say that we want to “see” God and that is wonderful, but as awesome as it is going to be to someday see Him, it would seem even more breathtaking to get to KNOW Him NOW! If we continue in this way of thinking, to really know Him would be to know how He thinks, and to realize His thoughts and desires would allow us to have a revelation of what He expects from us. We have a tendency to not really spend a lot of time thinking about what we cannot see or feel because there are so many other things that are tangible and accessible in this natural realm that wants our attention. Humans are easily distracted and easily influenced. Selah. By the way, I did lead a Sunday morning worship service for the church and everything went great! They called me this week and said that I was one of the leading candidates but they had decided not to fill the position at this time. May the Lord use all of us in the right place and in the right time for His glory. I have spoken to several other people lately and there are some opportunities on the horizon. I just need to keep encouraging myself and being “ready” for when He calls.

For those of you that are a little discouraged and wondering what is going on with your spiritual mission – take the time to get alone with God and begin to write down all the things that He is blessing you with right now. If your joy is low, you can re-fill it anytime you want with quoting God’s Word that promises to love you and help you. Speak positive confessions OUT LOUD until your spirit overflows and convinces your mind and fills your heart! We must take the initiative to run into the name of the Lord where you will find peace, strength and safety. Selah.

A POSSIBLE YOU
FINDING GOD’S DESTINY FOR YOUR LIFE
PART 19
JUST ENOUGH OF GOD TO GET BY

Do you take God serious? What a simple question that has a tendency to prick the heart with either being offended or convicted. I have asked myself that question and to be honest with you, I am not sure that I do. Have you ever noticed that most of the time you do what you want to do? When I go to the doctor he tells me to lose weight and exercise and I say OK, but I really do not think about it again. Why? Because our will is directly connected to our brain and has far more control over us than we realize. When we do something we do NOT want to do, it is like swimming against the current. Our flesh is very easy to get along with – it only has a few demands and one of them is to stay satisfied and comfortable all the time. This includes going where we want, eating what we want, and speaking, spending, watching, listening, thinking and doing whatever we want – anytime we want! This might sound like a great life of independence and in fact this may even be included in the proverbial “American Dream”, but there is a huge problem with this picture. This is not to be confused with God’s idea of the “abundant life.” He is always considering the spiritual while our carnality is always thinking about the flesh. This is why we will never walk in His Spirit until we abandon our will and allow our mind to be renewed into His way of thinking. Jesus did not die on the cross so that we could do whatever we want – we could have done that without Him! He died so that we could lay down our independence and become totally dependent on Him (no wonder this way of living is not popular). His instruction manual has been carefully written and bound together in a beautiful book of promises, warnings, requirements and demands and He is very serious about us taking Him – “seriously.” We may be able to get away with many things in this life but our obedience to His Word will be weighed and considered on the scales of His holy sovereignty. “Blessed are they that do His commandments that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.” (Revelation 22:14) If we say that we are following His Word yet actually living however we want, we are being double-minded. If we believe this is OK with God – we are deceived. Selah. “A double-minded (two-faced) man is unstable (unreliable) in all his ways.” (James 1:8) This spiritual instability is directly connected to lukewarmness and the lack of desire to stand SERIOUS in our faith.

Going back to the idea of independence, it seems through the years that the original intent of America pulling away from England was for the enhancement of their intimate relationship with Jesus. There must have been many people who truly loved God and believed that “liberty” to worship Him included a land of laws that protected their religious freedom. If we look at this closely, we can see the similarities of what Christ has in mind when the holy city Jerusalem will come down and sit upon the earth during the 1000 year millennial reign. The concept is that all the people who are excited and filled with adoration for God will celebrate Him as the King of Kings without any contrary opinions or distractions. The liberty that will be experienced in this realm will be the fulfillment of what other dreamers have envisioned since time began – “heaven on earth”. A realm of peace and love, and a place of beauty and unity among those who fear God and submit to His authority. Sadly, throughout the years, America created its own legal system that allowed every idea and heresy of the world to be included within the fabric of our society. The “holiness dream” of sanctification and purity was replaced with a corruptible mirage that promoted a false happiness (without God) as a deceptive lifestyle filled with jealousy, lust and pride. Christians have compromised the very convictions that many of their brothers and sisters died for. Selah. Instead of a humble and holy people of truth, the floodgates were opened to a sewer of lies, perversion and blasphemy. What is the American Dream? It has long been associated with the blessings of wealth and health (and these are good things) but when God and His Word are excluded from the equation, it becomes ugly and arrogant! As we observe our countries current spiritual condition (and the world in general) it is obvious that something has gone horribly wrong.

Would you agree with me that most everyone desires to be respected? Do you like to think of yourself as someone that others turn to when needing advice and wisdom? Do you like to be respected at work as someone who can be trusted and who can always be counted on to do the job professionally? In the spiritual realm, do you consider yourself a person of integrity, morality and sincerity? Allow me to share with what most of you already know is happening in our society. For several years now, Christians have fallen away from the world’s view of what is true. God’s Word has slowly been discredited from the institutions of higher learning until now the Bible is generally considered irrelevant to the problems and lifestyles of intelligent adults. The discarding of God’s Word has directly influenced the last several generations and thus has indoctrinated the the minds of much of active population that God is no more than an ancient philosophy. I must tell the truth; those who stand up and it make it clearly known that they are sold-out to Christ and eagerly practice evangelical Christianity will suffer greatly. Now, may I ask you a question? As the days become more difficult to follow Jesus, how long will you continue to stand for what you know is truth? Are you willing to be ridiculed, laughed at, scorned and made fun of for holding on to God’s Word? There is coming a day when anyone who claims to be a Christian will be treated as a mentally retarded person or someone that cannot be considered intelligent. This means that families will turn against their own loved ones and will not give any respect or admiration to those who would normally be foundational leaders. The shame that Christ experienced after He was sentenced to die will be the same spirit of hatred that will be focused toward those who love Him. Allow me to give a recent example where two brothers had just filmed a series of real estate shows on HGTV called, “Flip it forward.” David and Jason Benham reported they were disappointed that the network had pulled the plug and cancelled the show which was to debut in October. After the network announced the show was up-coming, the lobbying group Right Wing Watch labeled David Benham an “anti-gay extremist” and reported on statements he made against homosexuality and gay marriage. Both brothers made a statement that if their spiritual convictions were the reason for the cancellation then – so be it! I was thinking that if any of us were asked to give an interview on national television about what we believe pertaining to a long list of social issues, would we have the courage to answer honestly? Would you allow your personal reputation to be “shredded” for the sake of Christ? Is there any chance in the future that you will compromise what you know to save your security, your respect, your standing among your peers or even your life?

Some have told me over the years that I emphasize to much attention to the homo-sexual agenda. It is not my intent to focus on one particular sin however, I believe this specific perversion is “breaking down the wall” of conviction. In other words, this once vile and taboo sin is being pushed so aggressively and in a short amount of time is gaining not only a tremendous acceptance but is identifying and controlling the standard of social law. Within this compromise, the agenda of Satan is to “water down” the fear of God and respect for His holiness in the hearts of ALL people – Christians included. As this sin becomes perfectly normal and the idea of anyone who exposes this act as offending God and His intended way of living – Christians will be disregarded as having an intelligent voice. This one issue is being used as an identification of whom and what we are and as God’s people are labeled as hate filled extremist, Satan can proceed with his agenda without interference from God’s Word. The repetitive pounding of this particular sin in the papers, television, internet, magazines and even church is causing numbness and a calloused attitude toward sin in general. Sin is challenging our moral compass and is trying to relax our fear of being filthy. For many, the sensitivity of the heart is becoming hardened and the state of mind is slowly and subconsciously being damaged and distorted.

It’s a big world out there – and dangerous! We may think that with age we can see more clearly but even in that it still seems like peeping through a keyhole. As humans we are very limited in our learning because we associate truth with our interpretation of knowledge and many times this can go very good or very bad. In this light, the understanding of absolute truth can be beautiful and rewarding while misinterpreting knowledge can be devastating. When I was growing up I never thought about the power of knowledge or appreciated what it was in the eyes of men or God. I thought it was all about learning how to do things and then doing what I wanted to do. In no way do I want to shed a negative light on how I was brought up, my point is that I am convinced that having knowledge about God is not good enough – it is understanding knowledge that ripens into divine wisdom and this – is far beyond personal opinions. God is perfect truth and there is only one way to interpret Him. Truth is like a bull’s eye – either you hit it or you miss it. Is God dogmatic? Absolutely! Is God intolerant? Yes, again! I have recently heard people rebuke the saying that God loves the sinner but hates the sin because they evidently are persuaded that He accepts everyone exactly as they are. If this were true there would be no judgment and no eternal consequences. I believe we can say with all certainty that He loves everyone and is filled with compassion but His holiness will not allow Him to compromise with sin or error. There are foundations or “pillars” of truth that I call absolute truth and these cannot be argued no more than the reality of gravity. It is true there are some issues and mysteries that people can make strong cases for and against but these pillars can unite us together and allow us to see in one accord. We are unique individuals yet our mission is to absorb as much of His truth as we can so that we can become as much like Him as possible. This is the miracle of everyone having their own function “within” the body of Christ yet all being a part of the same body. We are always talking about “yielding our will” because the more we choose to surrender our identity the more easily we can be transformed into His image.

It is wonderful to know “about” God but the key has always been how to apply His divine reality into a daily (hourly) demonstration. This level of wisdom is the “revelation” of knowledge which separates those who are victorious overcomers in Christ from the ones who go round and round without accomplishing anything. This has nothing to do with personality or abilities; it has everything to do with how determined and SERIOUS we are to “change”. I have been expanding my garden area this spring and I cut a sycamore tree down that was at the edge of my plot of ground that I was working on. I had not thought much about the root system of the tree until I began to turn over the ground. I started hitting roots everywhere just under the dirt and before long, I had what looked like a huge octopus uncovered. I spent an entire day with a shovel, iron bar and axe clearing all those roots out, and as I was working the thought came to me that this might be an example of how desires, temptations, ideas, and the way we think are “imbedded” within our heart and mind. The Word of God is symbolized as a SEED that grows and develops within our conscience, so likewise outside influences and particular views that we have accepted through the years could also be deeply growing in our reasoning and perception. We not think much about removing them from our heart and if we did consider that they need to be extracted, we may not realize (or not want to think about) just how much “work” it will be. God’s plan for us to become transformed by changing the way we think was never advertised as being easy. He forgives us of our sins but that does not mean these fleshly desires are destroyed. Whose responsibility is it to dig up all of this deception and chop out all of those ugly weeds of carnality? You guessed it! It is up to US to examine the most inner parts of our being and take an inventory of the darkness, lies, pride and errors in our life that is hindering us from accomplishing our destiny. And believe me, much of what is in our mind could definitely use a chain saw and some round-up! Amen?

A POSSIBLE YOU
FINDING GOD’S DESTINY FOR YOUR LIFE
PART 18
EATING OF THE TREE OF LIFE – (Proverbs 3:18)

As we continue to try and find “God’s destiny for our life”, we must admit this is definitely a worthy pursuit as it seems that especially young people do not always know which direction to go. For the unsaved, identifying the “right” occupation would be nearly impossible even when following dreams or particular talents that feel right. For the saved, even though it should seem easier to connect with the Lord’s will, many times it is still a struggle. Why is that? Because our emotions are very convincing and temptations can distort our spiritual perception. As we have talked about how crucial it is to listen to the Holy Spirit concerning raising children and choosing a mate, another decision on the list would involve our employment and our calling. Proverbs is considered a book of wisdom and is filled with advice on how to accomplish our destiny such as “Trust in the LORD with ALL thine heart; and lean NOT unto thine own understanding. In ALL thy ways acknowledge Him, and HE shall direct thy paths.” (3:5-6) Most people usually run to anything that seems right without praying or listening to where, what or who they are becoming involved with, but how many lives have been detoured by NOT allowing God to reveal and explain His blueprint of our intended path?

Young people need all the knowledge and understanding they can find (and all the prayer they can receive). I look back on my life and see that I should have had a clear vision of the calling to ministry when I was young but I became satisfied with mediocrity. Going to seminary would have been nice and could have qualified me for several different professions and opportunities to serve The Lord. This is just an example of not knowing God’s direction and drifting on the sea of hoping things turn out OK. All of God’s children can know their direction with prayer and counseling and this investment is crucial to discover the destiny that GOD has chosen. Are there ministers that did not go to seminary and are still anointed and called by God? Yes, I believe that God can spiritually anoint and empower His vessels and super-naturally use them for His glory. Likewise, (unfortunately) there are many that have graduated seminary that were NOT called to be pastors! Amen.

When our children were born, we left a denomination and set out to blaze a trail with the “independent” groups and a pioneering way of following Christ. These are the small churches that set up in shopping centers or gymnasiums and have services. This is not bad in itself but it can be devastating to young adventurers like me who had a vision for ministry but was not trained properly (my leaders were not either). In this, I mean there must be sound teaching on the “development” of gifts and talents from strong, dedicated and experienced pastors and elders that can demonstrate authority by example. I have mentioned that all ministers and church leaders do not need a Seminary degree but on the other hand what would it hurt? It shows the seriousness and discipline of the individual while learning valuable Biblical knowledge. Serving in an intern residency program would also teach accountability and provide “hands on” training that brings experience and maturity.

For example, if a person wants to be a doctor, they realize it will take an enormous amount of school and sacrifice, but would you trust a doctor that never went to medical school? Does seminary make a more qualified minister? It depends – the important thing is that maybe the structure and wisdom that is gained could somehow bring a more keen discernment into what being a “servant” truly means. Don’t we all want our children to have an advanced education? Why? Because we are convinced this will make them more successful. We believe that knowledge is leadership POWER and the understanding of truth evolves into divine wisdom and revelation. Both parents should take an active role and be concerned and interested in the children’s learning and career. Father’s especially should be very encouraging and passionate about listening to their children in what they feel called to do and how they are going to do it. One reason parents are not pro-active toward higher education is because they have no formal education themselves and were not RAISED with college being a top priority. Here we see the generational cycle once again with those who repeatedly emphasized that education was a “natural” part of life – verses those who were raised with this NOT being an important issue. The point is that we should invest the time with our kids and show we are very interested in THEIR future. Most importantly we should demonstrate following the Lord so they can SEE what living for Christ is all about.

Do I believe that things would have turned out much better for me and my family if I had followed the Holy Spirit more closely? Of course. I realize that my children are now adults and can have as much of God as anyone, but I am saying that raising up children with daily Bible studies and devoting personal “one on one” time to talk about life and how to walk with God will make a huge positive impact on their entire life. I’m talking about things like the importance of doing a good job, being wise in finances, being humble and sensitive, working hard, respecting authority, developing a life of prayer, following God’s Word, asking God to help them choose a mate, living with integrity, having a reverence for God and a hatred for sin by being a person that believes in sanctification and holiness.

You see, when I was a young minister I did not have it all together. Yes, I had general Bible knowledge and I knew how to play and sing Christian music but I was NOT a leader. I thought I was – that was the problem. I started ministering in areas that I knew nothing about which caused me to automatically lean on my own thinking and my own ways of doing things. I was a novice that needed the spiritual maturity that comes from having a revelation of knowledge. I knew “about” things but I did not understand them and I am still just scratching the surface! Let us see the definition of a novice in the Oxford dictionary; “a new convert, a beginner, amateur, an inexperienced person, someone who is learning, newcomer, apprentice, and trainee.” We realize that when young people start out in an area, they are many times operating by the seat of their pants however; it is the intervention of the mentor and solid training from other experienced leaders that can make the difference. Whenever there is an environment where the ones who are in authority are not qualified to lead the young ones, you have a “blind leading the blind” situation. Carnal leaders in the church world are a HUGE problem! There are so many pastors and ministers that have NO business working in public ministry because they are not trained, filled with sin, and operate in their emotions. There are some that may be qualified educationally but God has NOT told them to launch out yet. They may have a calling on their life but might have moved ahead of God’s timing and are making a mess and turning many away from the church.

It is God who ordains His servants and officers and all others need to patiently learn how to wait until they know their calling. We can always blame others and come up with tons of excuses for our failures, but in the end we can agree that our actions have consequences. The lack of knowledge or “ignorance” of an area brings hurt, offences and many damaging wounds while wisdom which is the revelation of knowledge can bring healing and restoration. Selah. Knowing the “reasons” why things turned out the way they did, can open our eyes to the world of discipline, prayer and wisdom and usually there are no shortcuts. Instruction and demonstration begins in the home with the parents investing their life first into God – then into their children and there is NO substitute for building these solid foundations of spiritual and practical truth. I admit it is difficult when young parents have not had the guidance and nurturing from their family because breaking the cycle is like climbing a cliff. I personally believe this tragedy of not training children in the Christian home has devastated the last several generations and sadly has given the world the opportunity to inject their worldviews and mold young minds. For the Christian parents who thought that taking their children to Sunday school was fulfilling their responsibility of child rearing – it might have helped but it was not enough! It is NOT the responsibility of the public school teacher or the Sunday school teacher to RAISE the child. If a child grows up in a decent home but is “ignorant” about HOW to live a life of integrity and spiritual sensitivity, I’m sorry but the parents have failed! Are there exceptions when parents have done all they know to do and their child still turns our wrong? We have never done ALL we can do but if there comes a season of rebellion, we know the Word of God never fails and the love, faith and prayers of a righteous parent are mighty tools in the hands of God who changes hearts and fulfills His promises.

It does not take a genius to look at the world and come to the conclusion that there is a huge difference between those who are wise and those who are foolish. Those who are trained in the principals of God and choose to “LIVE” upright and holy before the Lord will be rewarded with God’s blessings and favor. For example, if children were raised by parents that did not look to God for His intervention and they struggled financially and lived a difficult life, the repetitive hardships of living in mediocrity will probably be considered as normal. Thoughts are like seeds that planted within the mind and usually are developed as an attitude; in this case the familiarity of “survival” becomes dominant instead of a mindset of being successful and happy. Without the faith and encouragement found in God’s Word, we can see clearly how the “environment” can influence the mind with either a positive or a negative outlook. If these thoughts are allowed to take root within the conscience, there will grow a thinking process that these children will most likely carry over into their own family. Let’s say that if a boy from a depressed atmosphere and pessimist type of family begins dating a girl from a similar background – who is there to help teach them that God has an abundant life of peace, happiness and victory? I know someone who lives in a low income government housing project and I visit them on a regular basis. When I walk through the complex, there are always many children running around and at the front doors of the apartments there are many young women sitting on the steps. The person I visit tells me that many of these women live there because they have several children, are not married and do not work. They draw assistance from the social service programs and their rent is based on what they make from their checks. I sat in my car the other day and thought about these problems and how it is multiplied thousands of times and places all around the country. I am not talking about being judgmental or condemning about this circumstance, but most of these difficult situations could have been avoided if there had been planted seeds of God’s wisdom within the heart. Now brother, you can’t go around and say that the revelation of God’s Word can cause everyone to live in God’s perfect destiny! Why not? Are we afraid that maybe God’s Word does not mean what it says or maybe there are situations where it might not work in certain people’s situations? Faith is standing on the perfection and infallibility of God’s Word! Would it have made a difference in these women (and the men who they were involved with) if their parents (especially their father) had taught them, prayed with them, invested time with them and demonstrated God’s Word? Absolutely! If there is ever a circumstance where it seemed God’s Word did not work – it was not God’s failure! Amen! God’s Word becomes activated according to the faith and obedience of the hearer! When God’s Word is planted and saturated into the conscience, it will produce the conviction to follow His guidance. Jesus does not lead us into ERROR or bad decisions. His Holy Spirit desires to LEAD us into God’s truth and walking in obedience to His Word produces the “Covenant life” he died for us to have. 


“Heavenly Father, we come before you today in humility. We repent of our sins and ask you to reveal to us the attitudes of our heart that offend you. Forgive us of our lukewarmness and our apathy toward sin. Stir our hearts and re-kindle the flames of our love and the burden for lost souls. Revive us O God and breathe on us the power of your Holy Spirit. We reverence your Holy Name and bow down before you worshipping and adoring you for who you are. We ask you to increase our compassion so that we might be more concerned with the needs of others. Teach us Your Word Father, that we might in turn lead others into your truth and help them find their purpose and divine destiny. In Jesus Name, amen.”

A POSSIBLE YOU
FINDING GOD’S DESTINY FOR YOUR LIFE
PART 17
EVERY FATHERS BUSINESS


“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men. You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:13-16)

When we are more interested in what is on TV than what Jesus is trying to teach us about living in these last hours, we have proven that our flesh rules our spirit – and this is not the condition He was hoping to find His church when He returns. If we really believe He is ready to come tonight – is the way you are living right now the way you want Him to find you? Are you and I doing what we are supposed to be doing? I am not – and I need to change NOW! This brings me to my point and the reason why I sat down here to write this afternoon. I am not being a light in the darkness – much of the time I am more like a candle under a basket.

People will say, Billy you’re a minister and chaplain, you write articles, books and songs and you can teach, sing and counsel those in need, but I would say these are labors that are “seen” in ministry. There are many of you that like me are also involved with helping lots of people and ministry projects that make genuine differences in people’s lives, but I am not really referring to these noticeable good works and deeds. I am talking about being sensitive to the voice of the Holy Spirit when we come in contact with an individual that needs a touch from Jesus. I’m talking about small things, spontaneous personal acts of love that maybe only one person will know and deeds when no one is watching. I want to become so discerning that I can not only HEAR someone’s heart but what God is saying to DO or SAY that can plant “life” into their soul. I desire to have more divine appointments but He is NOT going to arrange these meetings until I become more interested in being His witness! If we are presuming that evangelists and missionaries are the only ones that have been called to sow the seed of the gospel, then we are exposing our conscience as someone who actually cares very little about speaking into someone’s life. Only when we fall on our face and cry out to God in repentance for these sins of omission will we ever begin to grow in our burden and determination to fulfill the great commission in our network. When we are NOT sensitive to what is happening around us – we become less concerned and less interested in working in HIS harvest fields. It is dangerous to become so absorbed in our affairs and what others can do for us, that we FORGET who we are, who God is and what we have been called to do! It would be (and is) a terrible feeling to realize that we could have made a difference – but chose not to. Selah.

As spiritual leaders and team members that provide ministry on the front lines, I know that some of you have been warriors on the battlefield for many years and have seen wonderful miracles and I am sure you have also witnessed the fleshly side of religion. However, we must learn from the bad things and the mistakes we have made so that we can become BETTER and STRONGER leaders for God’s Kingdom. Do not be discouraged by presuming that all churches and leaders are the same! Each person can be as close to God as they want to be – including us! What will it take for us to develop the (so overly used) phrase called “walking in His Spirit?” For all of the talk we have done about abiding in Him, you would think by now we would at least be demonstrating it every once and awhile.

I want to say how unfortunate it was that as a young man, I did NOT have the spiritual training that I needed. This is not to say that I had bad parents because I had wonderful parents. They worked hard and provided for my every need; in fact I lived a very blessed life. As a child, we usually do not think about the future or things like spiritual development because we just don’t worry about it. We do what we are told, try to have fun and learn that when we disobey we are punished. We adapt to the rules and the routines and figure out how to adjust to life all the while developing our own unique personality. We listen and watch our parents and form many opinions about life from what we see and hear. If we become satisfied with these views and observations we will accept them into our own philosophies and can even become quite rigid about them. (It is a shame that many times we do not even know why). You see, this passing of the “baton” to our children can be good or bad depending on what we plant – but within these generational cycles unless these negative attitudes and errors are corrected (or at least improved) the new generations will continue to suffer in a negative way. Is it the fathers fault? In many ways I must say yes. I realize that everyone has their own free-will and children make their own decisions, however, I am convinced that much of the problems that we see today can be traced back to the type of environment and teaching that was in place in the home when the child was in the developmental learning stages. In my particular life, when it came time to raise my own children, I can see clearly now that I only gave from what I knew – and that is the problem! I knew to take them to church and pray for them but I did not impart to them the “nuts and bolts” of what a Christian is and how to live for God in ALL things. If spiritual AND practical wisdom is explained and LIVED in front of our families, truth becomes imbedded into the heart and soul of the child and in turn the character of Christ becomes manifested. God has promised that if we raise our children in His Word and nurture that Word with love, prayer and demonstration, the conviction of that Word will remain alive within their being. “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” (Proverbs 22:6) Yes, my children never gave us any trouble and turned out fine, but if I had been taught more, I could have “planted” so much more.

Do I believe parents need a degree in child psychology to develop and maintain a successful family? No, but being ignorant or ashamed to instruct children in the ways of modesty, humility, love, manners, respect, integrity, prayer, diligence, faith and purity is not God’s idea of child rearing. Is it not the mother’s duty to teach all these things? No, absolutely not! This has been the cause of much of the problems. It is true, the mother does “invest” much nurturing and instruction but children WATCH more than they listen. If the father has the attitude that his part is only to feed and clothe them – he is out in left field! Amen! As children look up to their parents and absorb what they see and hear, these “building materials” are the foundation that is being constructed and will definitely form and affect the way they think and live. The family prayer time has unfortunately gone the way of the dinosaur because Christian fathers do not care, are lazy or too distracted to invest spiritual development within their family. Many will laugh and roll their eyes because of how corny and outdated this sounds but it is actually one of the most important personal times of reflection and meditation that a family can have together. This discipline of communication reaps such a glorious bounty that it is easy to comprehend why Satan hates it so much. Television has been one of the family’s fiercest enemies because it interrupts and steals this precious time of bonding with God’s Holy Spirit and each other. (And no – quality family time is not gathered around the TV allowing Satan to inject his doses of poison into our minds). Again, who is the guilty party for allowing this to happen? The father who has a lust to be entertained is the one to blame because he chooses his flesh rather than preparing his family about how to live the daily Christian life. Am I saying that fathers have failed when children have problems with things like being hooked on drugs, teenage pregnancy, dropping out of school, arrested for crimes, premarital sex, poverty and welfare, uneducated, unemployed, divorced, laziness, not being born-again or the many other situations that bring disappointment and shame? Well, I have already said that everyone has a free-will to choose their own direction but it is LESS LIKELY to have these dark circumstances if the father has made the investment! I am sure there have been good families that had a rebellious child and a spiritually ignorant family that had a child to break these curses, but generally speaking, across the board, I believe these Biblical principles apply.

A Christian wife, along with being the mother of the children should not only be a “help-mate” in the day to day business affairs within the home but most importantly her husband’s spiritual confidant that shares his intimate visions and bond of love and trust. This is why it is very important for a Christian to marry a Christian as the yoke or covenant must be united as an intertwining of two like-minded hearts. “Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness and what communion hath light with darkness?” (II Corinthians 6:14) The meaning of “yoked” here has long been associated with the union, vow or bond of marriage. This direct warning from God’s Word has been ignored because people will usually follow their carnality and do whatever they want to do. I see young people all around that are children of Christian parents that do not even consider this holy instruction. I have personally witnessed Christians that married a lost person where the non-Christian not only failed to convert to Christ, but actually had such a strong influence that the Christian drifted “away” from God. This is why it is so dangerous; there is no spiritual unity or vision in common and the divine three corded “braid” of the couple and the Holy Spirit cannot be formed. This connection to God is the highest source of life and makes marriage the most powerful institution on earth. It has nothing to do with how good people get along, how good looking they are or how much people think they are in love – it has everything to do with following the whisper of God’s voice. Without being condemning we realize that not following God in our decisions is one of the consequences of such a high divorce rate.

My heart is broken as I observe the world and see so many broken people. People are perishing from the lack of the knowledge of God’s Word. It is clear to see the difference between children that have been trained and disciplined from strong, loving parents who feared the Lord, and those who were just given life and allowed to grow up on their own. I know that Cheryl and I done the best we knew how at the time but I realize that I should have taken a higher interest in their future and most definitely planted much more of God’s principals into their heart. As the man is the head of the house and should shoulder the responsibility to pray and LEAD his family into God’s Word, into church, a ministry, education and anything that is connected with helping the child reach their full potential. In today’s world of peer pressure and the stress and worries that teenager’s experience, it is important for the father and the mother to be a constant source of encouragement along with tough love. It is true that Cheryl and I did raise our children in church but as I look back on my life now, I can see that many times I was my own worst enemy. I would spend so much time chasing ministry opportunities that I had nothing left to give to my own family. I did not have a balance of work, ministry and family because there was only so much time and I did not have my priorities correct. We should have time with God as our highest love and next we should minister to our wife and children. If our outside interest becomes our “first love” (even ministry) then everything becomes jumbled and out of sync with what God wants to do in everyone’s life. These are decisions that men make and will be held accountable to. Sadly, it is true that many wives and children have actually developed resentment against the ministry because it absorbed and stole away their husband and father, and now those important “life” moments are lost and cannot be replaced. It is good that we want to work for God and “save the world” but we need to know when to go and when to stay. There is no substitute for God’s perfect wisdom and timing.

Do you want to hear from your children someday that you were the “real deal” and LIVED what you taught? More than that, would you not desire to hear one day from the Lord that you were a successful missionary – in your own home?

A POSSIBLE YOU
FINDING GOD’S DESTINY FOR YOUR LIFE
PART 16
FOLLOWING CHRIST – LEADING OTHERS

I have been spending many hours with my Seminary course work and have learned some interesting information about being a spiritual leader. This past winter I had been plowing through subjects such as advanced leadership and church administration and though these can get boring they are an important part of learning how to establish a structure and facilitate within an organization. Some may say that all we need to have is a Bible and a guitar and in a sense this may be true, however when an assembly begins to grow and many different types of skills and personalities come together, it is good to have a leader that is at least somewhat qualified to make good spiritual and practical decisions. Others will comment that all we need to do is listen to the Holy Spirit and follow His direction. Again, this is absolutely true but we must also be flexible enough in our thinking to at least consider that God can “lead” within an organized ministry. Christ is not against organization – He is against organization without obeying His voice. Obviously, He has called pastors to help with His sheep along with deacons, teachers, apostles, evangelists, missionaries, counselors and musicians just to name a few. Even Jesus Himself experienced large crowds and needed His core group of leaders to help Him manage and coordinate with order and authority. His ministry was the perfect example and left us a wonderful legacy that we should follow.

As a spiritual leader in today’s world, it is crucial to have self-discipline in many different areas. Of course leaders are not perfect, but they need to free from the bondages of intentional sin and have a desire and determination to be holy. We have spoken of love being the center point of all things and it takes a lot of prayer to grow in love. It is difficult to know what comes first, the prayer for love or the love for prayer, but either way they are impossible to separate. We can say this with all confidence that no one can be successful in God’s work without having a heart filled with love and the self-discipline to stay in an attitude of prayer. Selah. These are the foundations for leadership which brings us back to resisting the temptation to NOT “micro-manage” everything just because we are in authority. True leaders realize they cannot do it all and must select other strong leaders to make a “team” and to have confidence in those who support the vision. Senior Pastors must have a working understanding of how to “delegate” responsibilities to strong leaders even if they have different ideas because everyone can add perspective as long as they are unified in the purpose and goals. When there are many different opinions of vision and an absence of loyalty and respect for the senior pastor, the church becomes a stagnant pool of chaos and resentment. This is where many churches decline from a thriving environment of genuine excitement to a corporate atmosphere of strife and discouragement. Along with order and structure within the church there must be confidence and trust for the leader, but this will require humility and you guessed it – love and prayer! It is PRIDE that causes a team member to think they can do it better or the direction is not correct. This stinking attitude becomes much worse when shared to other members and eventually the thoughts and “justifications” reach the congregation. People are like sheep and become very worried and nervous when they are afraid. Discovering leadership problems within the church causes the members to doubt that certain individuals are listening to the Lord and this causes the brain to go on “high alert.” I have witnessed this in church and the panic spreads like an ugly disease with each person calling the other and discussing the possibilities of the unknown. This evil spirit of strife will cause God to become angry and His Spirit of peace will pull away which leaves the anxiety and the negativity that comes from carnality. How many churches have suffered with this pride that was the original sin of Lucifer?

Many times we say that we want the “freedom” to do whatever we want, but in all reality even Jesus did not teach this style to His disciples. It was His desire (and ours) that we only do what the Father tells us to do, and in that sense there is a built-in order that not only “leads” us into truth, but also “protects” us from deception. I say all of this as a reminder for all of you that belong to an assembly of believers – please say an “extra” prayer for your leader because they have a difficult path to walk. As members, we usually only see a small fraction of what they do – and we use that knowledge to conclude that leading is easy. What we do not realize is the other 99 percent of stress and labor they minister in that we never hear about. Also, do not think that Satan does not realize how important it is to attack those in spiritual authority because it has such a devastating effect on the church. The leaders need to have all of the protective prayer “armor” they can receive because of the large bull’s-eye that is on their back. I just feel like I need to say a little more before we move on. The reason why we do not always hear about what the pastor does in their ministry is because when people come to them with personal problems, the individuals do not want anyone to know what they were discussing. Likewise the pastor does not go around telling everyone who they counseled and what it was about. Even visiting the sick and incarcerated are most of the time never mentioned because it is only meaningful to those who received comfort. The call to the ministry is from heaven and a burden that God puts within the heart of those who have been chosen. Those who work in God’s harvest fields are DRIVEN by the burden, passion and conviction of the Holy Spirit like a fire that is shut up within their being. And of course, no one really knows how many hours per week that is invested in Bible study, sermon preparation and prayer. People will say; they need to spend that much time studying because that is what we are paying them for! Well, I agree that pastors need to spend their time wisely but the office of a pastor is a “called” spiritual endeavor and is selected by God to accomplish a certain mission at a specific place. Giving the pastor money may help their family financially but it is not the same as hiring someone to roof your house.

A truly anointed and called man of God is a servant of the Most High whether you pay them or not. The representation of God’s Kingdom through the work of the ministry does not depend on dollars which means that no human can take the glory for what is done. (In fact, God probably uses the unknown person that is not associated with any type of religious organization MORE than those who draw a salary! Rewards will be given in the next life to those that are not seen on TV or heard on the radio but who stayed on their knees in prayer and loved and helped everyone that God sent to them). Many times the pastor is taken for granted (the same as God) and is not given respect until they are needed to do something for us. The world of church is an odd thing because members think they understand all that goes on and are convinced they know everything about it, yet these same individuals that have been in the church all their life are way more concerned with the color of the carpet, how much is spent on children’s supplies or which bakery the donuts coming from, than their responsibility to be a FERVENT prayer warrior! Selah. The very ones that have grown lazy and lethargic is the reason why we need revivals, yet these are the same committee members who proclaim that we need to invite a fired up evangelist to preach to the lost (?). One of the hindrances in church is having so many opinions but actually getting nothing accomplished or making the wrong decisions because those on the board are NOT being led by the Holy Spirit! In fact, it would be sobering to learn how many church members have never been born-again. It is easy to see if churches are not more discerning in their planning strategies they can become as stagnant and ineffective as the red tape of government! We cannot replace prayer with organization! Usually in a “normal” church EVERYONE is willing to do something. The ninety percent are perfectly willing to allow the ten percent to do all the work! (Sad) The interesting point to note is that it’s also usually the ninety percent that does all the complaining.

Is it alright if I keep going? As the old preachers would say when it would get real quiet, “don’t shout me down because I’m preaching so good!” You see, the leader is definitely important to any church, but the church is not built on the talents and abilities of one person. The same way an army or a sports team cannot succeed on the accomplishments of one individual – no matter how awesome they are. As we said earlier, the view of the church in general has become distorted because of how the members perceive them “HIRING” a minister to work for THEM. For example, when we hire someone to mow our yard, do we go out there and help them unload their machines? When we hire a mechanic to work on our car do we crawl underneath with our wrenches to give them a hand? No. This has caused a subconscious attitude within the church where the members believe their contribution to the assembly is to come on Sunday and listen to the sermon, the music and relax in the comfortable pews and air conditioning they have “paid for”. They are not really worried about doing anything else because they believe that falls under the category of the pastor’s responsibility. It is this “spectator mentality” that has been crippling not only the church but the Kingdom of God and ALL OF US! Now – back to what I intended to write about from the beginning.

After I finished with the long and intense course on business administration, I plunged into the fascinating study of the book of Mathew. I have been trying to finish a large portion of school work since I have retired as I have more time during the day to devote to this. I want to complete my degree this spring and continue tweaking on my book, “Wonders of Worship” and publish it this fall. Nonetheless, in my research of many commentaries on the Mount Olivet discourse, I began to examine my heart and search from within my own life just how committed I am to the “Gospel” of Christ. Mathew chapter 24 and 25 are so packed with revelation that it would be good to read them consistently with much prayer and meditation. This week I wrote a 45 page summary as part of a course just on the first 14 verses of Mather chapter 24 and honestly, I did not scratch the surface. As I dissected these scriptures and read parts of several different books and many articles, I felt the familiar presence of Christ convicting me of my lukewarmness. What I felt the Lord was asking me; do you really believe these are the last days? I said yes – then I wondered why am I acting like it’s no big deal? Am I that ASLEEP? Have I become so numb and calloused to the concept of the Second Coming of Christ that I have become a religious zombie? Why am I acting like everything is fine, like I have nothing to do but go sit on top of a mountain and wait for the sky to split open? Do you mean to tell me that if an angel appeared to us today and told us that Jesus was coming next Thursday that we would NOT do anything different than we would normally? Just ponder that thought for a moment. What exactly would you do if you knew without a doubt He was coming in four days? Take a piece of paper and write down what you would do, and there is an excellent probability that what you have written is a word directly from the Lord about what you SHOULD be doing NOW! This should answer any doubts or questions about receiving a word directly from God connected to the urgency and responsibility of our personal mission.

I know that much of the first half of Chapter 24 seems so familiar because we have heard it so often. Sadly, I believe that many of the wonderful passages of God’s Word have become dull to us and our heart has grown calloused to the beauty and power of His voice. When Jesus mentions earthquakes, wars and false prophets we begin to yawn because these have been in the news since we were born. And of course, the church has taught that the bride is ready to fly out of here at any moment and so when Jesus continues into the chapter about the tribulation, we just turn the page and start reading somewhere else because we have been taught that we will not face these trials, hardships or persecutions. One point that I am trying to make is these scriptures are some of the most life-changing words that have ever been spoken and it is time within our Christian journey to pay very close attention to them. It is the HOUR to open our Bibles in reverential fear and read through these passages slowly and carefully because they were written to you and me for such a time as this! The Christian life is all about spiritual AWARENESS and when Christ abides in our conscience – we will reflect His image. Selah.

A POSSIBLE YOU
FINDING GOD’S DESTINY FOR YOUR LIFE
PART 15
LAYING OUR SECRETS ON THE TABLE

“(Inasmuch as we) refute arguments, theories, reasoning’s and every proud and lofty thing that sets itself up against the (true) knowledge of God; and we lead every thought and purpose away captive into the obedience of Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One).” (II Corinthians 10:5)

As much as we try to deny our problems and weaknesses, the best way to grow and progress is to be honest with our own heart. One reason why we do not deal with our secret idols is because we do not want to let go of them (surprise!). Of course it is difficult, these forbidden desires that we are passionate about have a strong grip on us and it’s not easy to walk away from them. We have built these “pleasure palaces” one stone at a time and the images of our secret desires have possessed our heart. Instead of asking for help to CHANGE our life, we choose to manage our fears, stress, confusion, plans, ideas, disappointments, and failures with our own intuition. Through careful strategy and cunning deceit, Satan attempts to twist our thoughts and situations into a hopeless world of cruelty and darkness. His ugly lies are painted with serene images of justification that he uses in order to INFLUENCE our perceptions as he establishes “strongholds” that defends against the power of God to CHANGE the way things are. On the other side of the war, we find the light of God’s love is filled with the message that He can transform anything that is bad, wrong, or impossible into something beautiful and meaningful. Of course the devil hopes that he can keep much of the world blind to God’s “life changing truth” and unfortunately so far, He has succeeded.

Most everyone has a type of stronghold which is simply an area in which we are held in “bondage” as a result of an un-renewed mind. The word bondage is used to define something that is weighing us down and hindering us from being free to live and serve God in perfect peace. The more pure we are – the more peace we will experience because holiness is God’s character and His perfect will for our life. When we are devoted to an “intentional” stronghold of carnality within our mind, we are “haunted” by the realization that we are not right in the eyes of God. This conviction is a feeling of guilt before a holy God and a miserable reality where we AVOID His presence. We might dream of being like a little child and dancing around in the bliss of innocence and happy to sing His praises, but the pride and temptation to govern our destiny keeps us a hypocritical prisoner. This is the main reason why Christians are so cold and lifeless. I personally believe that many church members live every day with one foot in the world and one foot in God’s Kingdom and the consequence of this empty existence is NOT living in the joy, love and zeal of an intimate relationship with God. Those who claim to be disciples of Jesus listen to worship and just stand there as if they are bored, and then listen to the message with NO intention of absorbing truth for their own personal spiritual development. Why? Because, the Word has the power to change them! Until Christians become serious about tearing down the strongholds of pseudo-faith and slot machine mentality, their representation of God’s Kingdom will continue being an anemic and lethargic example of spiritual lukewarmness. If Jesus is NOT allowed to reign in our heart as Lord – then what is being a Christian all about? How can Jesus be anyone’s Savior of promise if He is not their Lord of truth? The more we become determined to be filled with Him, the brighter His glory will shine within us! It is the darkness of our “willful” sin and pre-determined ideas that are preventing us from becoming what He died for us to be! Selah.

Do you believe that if someone was willing to go through the refining fire process of becoming more pure and holy in the sight of God, that they could have a greater impact on those around them? Are we saying the closer we are to God the more divine appointments we will be given? If this is true – then WE are the reason that more people are not being delivered! “And he laid it (a hot coal) upon my mouth and said, listen, this has touched your lips and your iniquity is taken away, and your sin purged. Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, here am I; send me.” (Isaiah 6: 7-8)

The reason why our thoughts are so important is because they are the “origin” of every word and deed. Since these strongholds within the mind are structures or fortresses made of ideas, we see why Paul was regarding this type of warfare to include taking every thought CAPTIVE to the obedience of Christ. Those who live in the vanity of their own carnal thinking have built protective walls and barriers around these control centers which by the way continues to keep us in bondage, agony and defeat. But, who do we think is going to cast down sinful thoughts and pull down these barricades of evil imaginations? Good question, I am so glad you asked. As the verse at the beginning of this article is saying, WE have the responsibility to “capture” our thoughts and place them under the submission of God’s perfect will however, it is definitely getting the horse before the cart if we start talking about tearing down mental strongholds without first consulting our will. For such a complex issue it is actually quite simple; first our heart must want these structures cast down and then we can ask God in faith to come and help us do it! We must take the first step in declaring that we hate our sin and desire to turn away from it and ONLY THEN will God’s power and authority begin to renew our conscience and rebuild a new transformed nature. Conviction and knowing that we are guilty of trespassing and offending God’s will is a step and desiring to change is another, but the next step is much deeper and a world of difference than just acknowledging that we are wrong. The place I am referring to is repentance and this is the ultimate crossroad of decision where we have either come to the end of our sin or we will continue going like we have been.

Many people say they are sorry for doing things that are wrong, but that is NOT necessarily repentance. True repentance is directly connected to Godly sorrow and this means that we have realized how much we have “offended” God and hurt Him with our filthy, carnal arrogance. Repentance is also associated with a broken and contrite heart which is just another way of confirming that we have literally become “sick” with our rebellion to the point of nausea. When our spiritual eyes have been opened to the big picture of what our sin has done, it is like when God opened the eyes of Adam and Eve and they “knew” they were wrong. The entire world is presently saturated in the darkness of sin and yet within the core of our being we know that God’s light exposes and judges us. The more we know the more we are accountable for which is why it is crucial to sow God’s seed everywhere so that He can continue His plan of salvation! “And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife HID THEMSELVES from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden. And the Lord God called unto Adam and said unto him, where art thou? And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I WAS AFRAID, because I was NAKED; and I HID MYSELF.” (Genesis 3:8-10) There is no greater calling – no higher priority – nothing more worthy or important than reaching out to the lost! The love that is woven throughout the Bible is the love from God to us – the love to God from us – and the love for souls! It is SIN that is killing love and causing it to wax cold. Being filled with the Holy Spirit is being filled with LOVE! Love is an action word and the amount of our obedience is measured by our level of love. Many Christians are not excited about serving God because deep down they are afraid of Him! They walk around with fake smiles because “they know” they are filled with sin and do not want to repent and this explains WHY there is a distance between them and God. When a person lives with an idol, and they have every intention of keeping it – they are not interested in any type of spiritual activity because it is a reminder of who they are and how they need to change. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (I John 1:9)

Now brother Billy, I am too old now to think about changing these things you are talking about, besides what difference would it make to an older person? Well my friend, if you have been thinking in these articles that it was all about food and taking care of our temple, you have once again missed the point. Not being able to control our appetite is just an example of a deeper problem of not having self-control over anything. If you are too old to incorporate change into your life does that also mean that you are too old to evangelize or be generous? Are you so set in your ways that you are refusing to be a witness with fire and zeal for the Lord Jesus Christ? Are you not able to ask God to fill you with His love? You see, it is a pathetic existence to walk through life believing the deception that you can do anything you want and that it’s ok with God. Then at the end of your life, your excuse for not allowing your mind to be renewed is that now you are too old to make a difference. Allow me to relay God’s opinion of such a life; He is sad, aggravated, and disappointed with an attitude such as this! Yes but brother, I went to church all my life, participated and voted on issues concerning the direction of the church and even gave a portion of my hard earned money! Truth does not beat around the bush or disguise itself in order to be accepted or gain popularity. Going to church alone is not what the Christian life is all about, even though many people are convinced it is. We do not go to church to be a Christian – we go to church to LEARN HOW to live the Christian life! No one ever won a race with just learning how to run, just like no one ever made money just learning how to count. The same is true with church, as no one ever walked with God in obedience just because they listened to sermons and read the Bible. Until we realize that just knowing all about God and His Kingdom does not give us bonus points – we will continue being spiritually deaf and dumb. We must become determined to incorporate our faith and His Word into the demonstration of His glory! The true disciple of Christ has learned the significance of abandoning their will which activates the reality of being filled with God. Unless the will is yielded to God and Christ is allowed to become Lord of the heart and soul, there may not have been a valid manifestation of redemption. To believe that God Almighty will honor a life that has been dedicated to the desires of the human will is to misunderstand His character. If all we have to do in order to go to heaven is to know “about” God – then why in the world did the Father make a new COVENANT with the blood of His only Son? This would make salvation a game that awards prizes for those who win the most Bible quizzes or earn doctorate degrees in Bible history. The sad reality is that many who have learned about God have never known Him personally and will not be saved. The merciful and loving plan to redeem the lost is an opportunity for “whosoever will” to allow the Holy Spirit to transform them into God’s image. We must have God “IN US” before He can reach out “THROUGH US.”

It is tragic but true, that many will accept to remain in the cycle of sin because they have never come to place where they war against it. Selah. They may occasionally feel shame and be depressed about what they do, but they are still willing to live with it. But Billy, I really don’t do anything that bad. Yes, I probably live according to my flesh but God will have mercy on my inability to be perfect. The problem with this statement is that it’s the result of a stinking attitude and the absence of the reverential fear of God! Would you actually have the courage to stand before God Almighty and say that you know you are weak but you just thought He would let it go because He liked you? For one thing, it is amazing how the flesh can become its own defense lawyer and believe that God would compromise His Word just because our rebellious nature hopes He grades on the curve. Our sneaky and corrupt mind puts more faith into excuses and twisted philosophies than God’s holy, perfect promises! To begin with, one of the most dangerous misconceptions is not remembering the sins of omission. We can brag all day about how we have NOT committed certain sins while ignoring His voice and disobeying His instructions concerning things He WANTED us to do because we allowed ourselves to be distracted with foolishness. We can sit on the couch all day and night watching television and before we go to bed, we can say, “Thank you Lord for protecting me from sin.” How do you think He will react, when all day long He was trying to tell us where to go, what to do and who to call, so that He could use us in His work? This is the part of spiritual sensitivity that is often overlooked in the Christian life and is just as devastating as the “obvious” outward trespasses of the flesh. Many people even Christians do not want freedom within their spirit because that would allow them the liberty to live work and serve God with all their mind, strength and soul. Sadly, many hold on to their familiar lifestyle because it has become a twisted feeling of false security that allows them to play games. They are more familiar and comfortable with the “bondage cycle” than with the idea of liberty and that is how they choose to remain. When describing the life of a remnant disciple, we always go back to the idea of “dying to live.” Well no one wants to die whether physically or internally with the will and of course the flesh brings out every method of defense it can think of to “preserve” its ability to live however it wants. Our carnal nature is equipped with this built-in “survival mode” and fighting and scratching to “live” is the resistance we feel when we tinker with the idea to surrender to God. The cost of the flesh is CONTROL and that is the most difficult aspect of the Christian life to give up!

There are only two kingdoms – and everyone chooses which one they will CONFORM to! Conform means to; be in harmony – to be in agreement – to be in one ACCORD. So everyone is a conformist to either the DEFAULT system or the DIVINE reality. When our mind agrees with our carnality – our body will follow! Likewise, when our head and spirit lines up with God – our body will follow as it is our body that is the puppet that always does exactly as it is told. Selah. If you remember, God spoke to Israel out of the clouds and lightning in Deuteronomy chapter 5, and they were terrified. What should have been the greatest praise and worship service in the history of the world, ended up with them complaining to Moses how they wanted God to speak to them from now on through a man. Come to find out, Stephen in Acts 7:43, mentions the reason as they were convicted and afraid of God because they had secretly kept their idols and were worshipping them. Humans have always wanted to play religious games and live in both worlds but God is saying today to lay ALL of our secrets on the table. Cast out the golden “figures” and images YOU have made. Today is the day to deal with the sins that are keeping you from BOLDLY serving as God’s fearless warrior! Selah.

A POSSIBLE YOU
FINDING GOD’S DESTINY FOR YOUR LIFE
PART 14
THE GOD GAME

“Receive my instruction instead of silver; and knowledge rather than choice gold. For wisdom is better than rubies; and all the things that may be desired are not to be compared to it.” (Proverbs 8:10-11)

The secret is out – “People want God to fix their problems without disturbing their life!” Have you ever wondered why we exhaust ourselves trying to take care of our issues and situations instead of asking God to help us? It is because if we ask Him to intervene, we are afraid He will want to rearrange the way we are living. So, in order to keep everything in place (like we want it), we will work around the clock trying to manage it ourselves. Our mind and old nature is actually quite subtle and sneaky concerning our denials and deceptions. We have learned how to whine and pout in order to satisfy our desires and con our way into getting what we want. Of course we hardly ever look in the mirror and see our selfish motives and attitudes but nonetheless they are there. The sad reality is that God is watching and most of the time He is disappointed. I am not trying to be intentionally negative but rather painfully honest by admitting that we have learned how to play the God game. I know it sounds sickening but that is good because in order to turn away from addictive sin, there will need to be a deep sorrow about it. This addictive sin of omission is not necessarily one particular weakness but a “general rebellion” that prevents our mind from yielding our will to God. Now wait a minute – did you hear that? Instead of reading through this quickly, I believe it would be beneficial to slowly read that last sentence again, don’t you agree?

Maybe the question we need to ask when inquiring about the price of the spiritual life is not how much it cost – but how much is it worth? Selah. When we serve our carnal nature, we are not filled with God’s Spirit nor can we walk in His holy sensitivity. Our devotion to serving our flesh automatically leads to us drifting away from our intimate fellowship with Jesus. When we discard His holiness and come to a mental agreement that this is acceptable behavior, we are officially backslidden and in a dangerous state of spiritual dysfunction. We can understand the compassion of God not wanting to lose someone on the open seas of disobedience, but what can He do when people choose to live their entire life behind a religious mask and appear to be content? The question is not whether a person “can” live in carnality while claiming to be sold out to God – but rather is this what they are trying to do? We have discussed several issues this year already and I do not know about you but I have been “pinned to the wall” by God’s truth. This theme of dealing with our flesh is very exposing and uncomfortable in many ways and to be honest I do not really like it. Changing the way we are is not a walk in the park, in fact it will require dragging our flesh, kicking and screaming all the way to the graveyard! There is nothing enjoyable about this which is exactly why there is very little preaching about it or concern. It is about REPENTENCE! But in order for anyone to have a desire to repent – they must see themselves through the eyes of God. We will never change if we use our own contaminated “court” of justification. When we examine our heart with our natural perception, we not only think we are not too bad – we actually convince ourselves that we are ok in God’s sight. This is why we cannot trust the corrupted logic of “feel good theology” but must yield to the balance and convicting truth of God’s divine reality.

The reason why we avoid repentance like the plague is because it means to TURN. This is exactly what we do not want to do. We do not mind going to church or others thinking we are a Christian, but many have made up their minds to do whatever they want. I have wondered for many years why people at church have not really been enthused with intimate worship or prayer meetings and it is because they do not like it and do not want to participate! These are the spectators that pretend to be participators. These are the individuals that can talk about God but have never really trusted Him to do anything. They play games of hide and seek with God and people while trying to balance on the tightrope of hypocrisy. They have heard about the refiner’s fire but have no intention of signing up. They have heard about renewing the mind but it was just a passing thought. Sadly, many have adopted the battle cry that everyone must accept them just the way they are. This false sense of control is actually masking our FEAR to surrender. “If you trust God in the fiery furnace the only things you will lose are the ropes that bind you.”

Let us look at gossip as another ugly sin that judges and condemns others on the basis of what they have done or what we THINK they are guilty of. It is slander to drag someone’s reputation through the mud especially if we are just repeating rumors. People make mistakes (including us) and if someone we know is involved with a current willful sin, we should pray for them, have patience and faith that He is working on their behalf and wait for God’s instructions instead of making the situation worse. The same is true with all of our bad habits and fruits of carnality, it is wonderful that we have forgiveness when we sin but it would be better to use “preventative awareness” before we sin because we represent a “holy” Kingdom? It’s like our need to exercise? We would be more likely to succeed if we asked the Lord to help us get “excited” about doing it than trying to “force” our flesh to do something we hate. It is all about attitude and if we have a sour approach to something we dread, our chances of success are small. We could continue thinking about it and talking about it and living with the daily failure of NOT succeeding – OR we could simply ask God in our prayer time to give us the desire and motivation to do it and enjoy it. We could use smoking or drinking (yes, Christians smoke and drink) as other areas that God is standing by, waiting to intervene, but unfortunately He is not called upon very often. I know a person that has been trying to quit smoking for years. They have tried everything but openly admit they are defeated and cannot break the power of desire. The doctors have said they have blocked arteries in their legs from smoking which has caused weakness, pain and many other health related problems. So, what can God do when a person knows the consequence of their problem is a direct result of their rebellion? The same is true with someone that is obese and having many health issues simply because they refuse to stop gorging themselves. Can we just believe that God will take care of all the bad and damaging things no matter what we do in this life? Do we not believe there are consequences to our actions and judgments for our deeds? Are we so naïve as to think that life will not require a dedication to self-discipline?

Again, I can see where the lost do not understand spiritual principals but what about Christians that want to do great things for God and to be put in high positions of spiritual authority but have no thoughts about incorporating self-control over their flesh. I understand that independent, self-reliant people would rather go through programs, patches and hypnotism rather than to sincerely ask God to empower them but Christians are supposed to be DEPENDENT on God. The reasons are always the same and it is usually found that most people have NOT come to the point where they are really concerned enough to trust God to change their lifestyle. We are surrounded with the talk of having a “personal” relationship with God, yet have never considered that it is actually the key to us being the overcomer that He wants us to be. “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.” (Proverbs: 3:5, 6) In EVERY weakness or circumstance, we can ask Him to give us a clear view of the situation and with His help we can conquer whatever problem that is trying to hinder us. If we know this is true and yet still refuse to incorporate these principals into our spiritual life, we have openly declared that we do NOT want to sacrifice the energy it will take to work with God for the victory. Our actions will speak louder than our words that clearly we intend to continue being comfortable in the direction we are going MORE than becoming serious about changing into His image. And we may avoid the issue but – we are saying that we are willing to receive His chastisement and punishment for our disobedience! How do you think God responds to this attitude?

Finances are another area that most everyone thinks about because it directly involves what we have and what we can do. It is common to talk about being debt free and it is a worthy thought but thinking that money is going to fall out of heaven is stretching the faith concept into a distorted view. Do not misunderstand me, God does give financial gifts and super-natural miracles according to His purposes but in general He gives us the faith and wisdom to “manage” what He has already given. In this stewardship responsibility, we learn how to spend and invest so that He can BLESS our finances and prosper us. Here again, we see Him walking with us every step of the way trying to help us make good decisions and speaking to our heart about giving to others so that He can multiply our wealth. However, we cannot expect for Him to make us rich and financially independent instantaneously. It is through OBEDIENCE that we learn, grow and develop maturity and wisdom. People play the lottery and dream about being rich, and promise to God that if they had the resources they would endlessly help those in need but allow me to say that if you are not giving to others NOW and have not “developed” a generous attitude about wealth NOW – you would not automatically be sensitive to the Holy Spirit about giving – even if you did find a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. If we would spend as much time praying about GIVING instead of complaining, day-dreaming, being sad, jealous and bitter about our needs, we would have a much clearer perspective to stand back and see the big picture of how God wants us to serve within HIS thoughts and plans. Selah.