I received an email this week from a person informing me about Notre Dame’s first Black Valedictorian. In the 161 years, the University of Notre Dame has been awarding degrees, there has never been an African-American as valedictorian—until this year. Her name is Katie Washington of Gary, Indiana. She’s a 4.0 GPA student majoring in biology and minoring in Catholic social teaching.
Listen—this is the part I want you to plant in your conscience and always remember: According to the Northwest Indiana Times, Washington plans to continue her studies at Johns Hopkins University and follow in her father’s footsteps into medicine. Let me say it again: And follow in her father’s footsteps into medicine.
All this time, as she matriculated at Notre Dame—and I don’t know for sure, but I just believe it to be so—as she studied in Elementary, Middle and High schools, she had her sights set on what she wanted to be.
It is all right to have your sights set on what you want to be and what you want to do; there is nothing wrong with that. The problem sticks his head up when that’s all you do—decide what you want. Many people skip through life doing what they want, but they are miserable; they are making plenty of money; they have a nice family, a nice home, a nice job, but they feel something is missing; there is a big hole in their lives. Well, what is the problem?
The problem is not that God wants them to have a frown and not a smile. Jesus said that “I have come to bring you life and life more abundantly.” God didn’t send Jesus to hinder us, but to help us. He didn’t send Jesus to push us down but to lift us up. Well, what is the problem? Why is it that I have a great job, a great husband, a great wife, a great family, but I am still empty, still miserable?
Could it be that I have no talent for what I am doing? That could be it. But people can have a talent to do what they are doing but still be miserable. Why? We are more than our talents.
1 Corinthians 12:1-11 says, What I want to talk about now is the various ways God's Spirit gets worked into our lives. This is complex and often misunderstood, but I want you to be informed and knowledgeable. Remember how you were when you didn't know God, led from one phony god to another, never knowing what you were doing, just doing it because everybody else did it?
It's different in this life. God wants us to use our intelligence, to seek to understand as well as we can. For instance, by using your heads, you know perfectly well that the Spirit of God would never prompt anyone to say "Jesus be damned!" Nor would anyone be inclined to say "Jesus is Master!" without the insight of the Holy Spirit.
God's various gifts are handed out everywhere; but they all originate in God's Spirit. God's various ministries are carried out everywhere; but they all originate in God's Spirit. God's various expressions of power are in action everywhere; but God himself is behind it all. Each person is given something to do that shows who God is: Everyone gets in on it, everyone benefits. All kinds of things are handed out by the Spirit, and to all kinds of people! The variety is wonderful:
• wise counsel
• clear understanding
• simple trust
• healing the sick
• miraculous acts
• proclamation
• distinguishing between spirits
• tongues
• interpretation of tongues.
All these gifts have a common origin, but are handed out one by one by the one Spirit of God. He decides who gets what, and when. (The Message Translation)
You were created with a talent(s) and a spiritual gift(s). The talent was given to you to help you to survive; put food on your table, clothes on your back, a roof over your head. The spiritual gift was give to you to build up the body of Christ.
Perhaps the problem is you have the talent correct but not the spiritual gift. Or, perhaps, the problem is you have the spiritual gift correct but not the talent.
Sometimes your talent and your spiritual gift are the same. Sometime they are not. Do you see how confusing it can be? This is why you need help with becoming all God intends for you to be.
“Derrick, I am beginning to hear and see what you are saying, but I still don’t quite get it. I am successful, the people on my job are nice, my husband and I get along, my wife and I get along, but I am still miserable, still empty, still unfulfilled. What is the problem?”
If you climbed this mountain by yourself—deciding your life’s purpose—than no wonder you are miserable, no wonder you are dissatisfied, no wonder you are still walking through the dark bumping into things, turning things over search for you, no wonder you asking and answering the wrong question, no wonder the hole is there. The question is not what you want, not what mom wants, not what dad wants, but the question is what does God want.
To be all God calls you to be, you have to set your sights on what you believe God calls you to accomplish in this world. It is all right to know what you want—peace of mind, joy, prosperity, making a difference, the right job—but also you have to know what God wants.
You see, when you know what God wants you to achieve, you will become more aware of the distractions that lure you away from where God wants you to be. When you are in tone with God, you know things that will pull you away from him such as, lack of worship, wrong kinds of friends, lack of prayer, and disobedience.
When you know what God wants you to achieve, you will know what skills, talents, and spiritual gifts you have that you need to enhance to achieve your objectives.
When you know what God wants for you, your talent and your spiritual gift will be aligned with his purpose for you, and misery will not tug at your life as it may be doing at this time.
We have let the world—our friends, our relatives, the media—define greatness for us. And a lot us have aligned our purpose with what the world says success and purpose are. Our society has built itself on self-centered philosophy instead building itself on the wisdom of God.
As long as we believe the world’s big lie that our lives are insignificant unless we do with our lives what others want, or what we want, we will live in a constant state of dejection, worthlessness and strife.
The problem is you are asking the wrong question; you are trying to please the wrong audience. The question is not what others want, not what I want, not what the world wants, but what does God want.
God should be your audience, not you or other people or the world—but God. Switch audiences. And misery and emptiness will release you. And you will begin to leap, and jump, and sprint towards your true destiny.
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Friday, August 26, 2011
Becoming All God Wants You to Be
Have you reached your full potential? Do you even know what you are capable of? Do you know what God, the Creator of the Universe, the One who sees all and knows all, wants to do through you?
God wants us to reach our potential. He wants us—and we ought to want it, too—to be all we can be.
Anyone can half-step; anyone can be mediocre; anyone can be run-of-the mill; you don’t have to do much to do that. God is saying we can do more than that, more than give just enough. Fully blooming, thriving, is what God wants for every human being.
As Children of God, our job is to help the Kingdom of God flourish on this earth. The Kingdom has already come—it came in Jesus Christ; but God wants us to spread his Kingdom throughout the world.
And, what better way for that to happen, what better way for the Kingdom of God to mushroom, than for each of us to reach our God-given potential, than for each of us to become all that God calls us to be?
That’s what God wants. That’s what He is looking for from you... Not half measures but full potential from everyone one of us who call ourselves His followers. Now, since we know that is what God wants, how do we do that? How do we become all God wants us to be?
In John 21:3, we find these words: Simon Peter said to them, ‘I am going fishing.’ They said to him, ‘We will go with you.’ They went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.
Now, most of the time, when we look at this portion of the text, we generally see the negative side of this incident: they didn’t catch anything after fishing all night. But, I want to draw to your attention this: at least they knew what they wanted; at least they knew why they were out on the Sea of Tiberias.
A wife went to the police station with her next-door neighbor to report that her husband was missing. The policeman asked for a description. She said, "He's 35 years old, 6 foot 4, has dark eyes, dark wavy hair, an athletic build, weighs 185 pounds, soft-spoken, and good to the children."
The next-door neighbor protested, "Your husband is 5 foot 4 inches, chubby, bald, has a big mouth, and is mean to your children." The wife replied, "Yes, but who wants HIM back?”
In the process of becoming all God wants you to be, you have to get to a point in your life where you know what God wants for you. You have to have some goals (short- and long-term aims that you want to accomplish) and objectives (concrete achievements that you can accomplish by following a certain number of steps.)
Some folk don’t know what God wants for them—the steps He wants them to take to reach their destiny. From the burning bush, what it is God is calling you to do? Why did you get up this morning? Why are you on your job—because you need money, because you need to pay your bills? Is that the only reason?
You have to know what God wants for you, know why you do what you do. If you don’t know what God wants for you, then someone can come along and offer you anything, and you will take it. How should you go about deciding why God placed you on this earth at this moment in time? What is God calling you to do, is really the question.
To help you discover the answer(s)—it could be more than one thing—what God is calling you to do (your purpose), for the next several weeks, I want you to start keeping a journal and write the answers in that journal to the following questions. As you answer these questions, you will begin to see a common thread, a common answer(s), that runs throughout your journey as a result of answering the questions. These common answers will give you a clue to what God is calling you to do—what He wants to do through you.
Don’t rush this process. Pray, then answer the questions. Pray again, and then answer the questions again. Do this for the next three weeks and watch your purpose emerge.
1. What makes you feel good about you?
2. What are some things you liked to do as you were growing up?
3. What activities make you feel good about yourself?
5. Who are your heroes and heroines? Why?
6. What do you do with ease?
7. When do people say to you, “You are good at that.”?
8. If you could choose to teach any subject, what subject would that be?
9. If God said to you, “____________, next year will be your last year on
Earth”, what five things would you seek to accomplish before that time?
"Before I shaped you in the womb,
I knew all about you.
Before you saw the light of day,
I had holy plans for you… Jeremiah 1:5
God wants us to reach our potential. He wants us—and we ought to want it, too—to be all we can be.
Anyone can half-step; anyone can be mediocre; anyone can be run-of-the mill; you don’t have to do much to do that. God is saying we can do more than that, more than give just enough. Fully blooming, thriving, is what God wants for every human being.
As Children of God, our job is to help the Kingdom of God flourish on this earth. The Kingdom has already come—it came in Jesus Christ; but God wants us to spread his Kingdom throughout the world.
And, what better way for that to happen, what better way for the Kingdom of God to mushroom, than for each of us to reach our God-given potential, than for each of us to become all that God calls us to be?
That’s what God wants. That’s what He is looking for from you... Not half measures but full potential from everyone one of us who call ourselves His followers. Now, since we know that is what God wants, how do we do that? How do we become all God wants us to be?
In John 21:3, we find these words: Simon Peter said to them, ‘I am going fishing.’ They said to him, ‘We will go with you.’ They went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.
Now, most of the time, when we look at this portion of the text, we generally see the negative side of this incident: they didn’t catch anything after fishing all night. But, I want to draw to your attention this: at least they knew what they wanted; at least they knew why they were out on the Sea of Tiberias.
A wife went to the police station with her next-door neighbor to report that her husband was missing. The policeman asked for a description. She said, "He's 35 years old, 6 foot 4, has dark eyes, dark wavy hair, an athletic build, weighs 185 pounds, soft-spoken, and good to the children."
The next-door neighbor protested, "Your husband is 5 foot 4 inches, chubby, bald, has a big mouth, and is mean to your children." The wife replied, "Yes, but who wants HIM back?”
In the process of becoming all God wants you to be, you have to get to a point in your life where you know what God wants for you. You have to have some goals (short- and long-term aims that you want to accomplish) and objectives (concrete achievements that you can accomplish by following a certain number of steps.)
Some folk don’t know what God wants for them—the steps He wants them to take to reach their destiny. From the burning bush, what it is God is calling you to do? Why did you get up this morning? Why are you on your job—because you need money, because you need to pay your bills? Is that the only reason?
You have to know what God wants for you, know why you do what you do. If you don’t know what God wants for you, then someone can come along and offer you anything, and you will take it. How should you go about deciding why God placed you on this earth at this moment in time? What is God calling you to do, is really the question.
To help you discover the answer(s)—it could be more than one thing—what God is calling you to do (your purpose), for the next several weeks, I want you to start keeping a journal and write the answers in that journal to the following questions. As you answer these questions, you will begin to see a common thread, a common answer(s), that runs throughout your journey as a result of answering the questions. These common answers will give you a clue to what God is calling you to do—what He wants to do through you.
Don’t rush this process. Pray, then answer the questions. Pray again, and then answer the questions again. Do this for the next three weeks and watch your purpose emerge.
1. What makes you feel good about you?
2. What are some things you liked to do as you were growing up?
3. What activities make you feel good about yourself?
5. Who are your heroes and heroines? Why?
6. What do you do with ease?
7. When do people say to you, “You are good at that.”?
8. If you could choose to teach any subject, what subject would that be?
9. If God said to you, “____________, next year will be your last year on
Earth”, what five things would you seek to accomplish before that time?
"Before I shaped you in the womb,
I knew all about you.
Before you saw the light of day,
I had holy plans for you… Jeremiah 1:5
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Conquering Life's Hurdles, part 2
In my last blog, I talked about Conquering life’s Hurdles. I said life’s hurdles conquer some people because they don’t know who they are. They are “in Christ”, “born again,” “have a new life,” but they have an identity crisis that robs them of the power they have within them.(Read August 10, 2011 blog for more on this step to conquering life’s hurdles.)
Today, I want to continue dealing with conquering life’s hurdles because being robbed of our identity is not the only reason life’s hurdles are defeating many of us.
I told you in the blog last week that I could run track. When I first started running, my coach would give me advice, different techniques, which he thought would make me a better runner. But I wouldn’t listen to him. I said to myself “I was the fastest guy in my neighborhood. I am fast now. And I don’t need his help.”
When we ran our first track meet, I lost terribly. My coach, the weeks after that, continued to give me advice. And I continued to refuse. And I continued to lose.
Life’s hurdles—the trials, hardships, suffering, distress—defeat us because we won’t let others help us. We figure, we don’t need anyone’s help. We are strong, independent, private. “I want to handle my problems on my own. I don’t want anyone in my business.” So, this self-reliant attitude is what keeps many of us from jumping over our hurdles and crossing life’s finish line as winners.
How do we deal with this—this attitude of self reliance? How do we deal with conquering life’s hurdles? One man was asked how he dealt with life and replied “Some people say the glass is half full; some people say the glass is half empty. I say ‘Are you gonna drink that?’”
Either learn to jump over life’s hurdles or fall over them. How do we jump over them, conquer them, attack life’s hurdles, in a Christian way, and win?
In my first blog, I gave you one way. Today, I want to give you another way that you can jump over life’s hurdles and cross the finish-line a winner. You may be winded a bit, sweaty and sticky from running and jumping—but you will be a winner, if you do what Blind Bartimaeus does.
Mark 10: 49. Jesus stood still and said, “Call him here.” And they called the blind man, saying to him, “Take heart; get up, he is calling you.”
There is something I want you to notice in the verse before verse 49: these people that are now calling Bartimaeus to come to Jesus are the same ones who were just telling him to shut-up. Verse 48 says [Bartimaeus] cried out loudly, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” And many were sternly telling him to keep his peace. “
The ones now calling Bartimaeus to come to Jesus were the same ones who told him to “Be quiet! Jesus doesn’t want to hear from you.” That tells me what? When Jesus speaks, even your enemies will cooperation; even your enemies will make things go right for you.
Bartimaeus didn’t have to call out to Jesus. He could have just stayed the way he was. But to conquer his hurdles, he needed somebody else’s help. He knew he couldn’t do it alone. He knew he needed somebody else’s assistance.
Recently, I read a story about Rahn Sheffield. In that story, he says, “A lot of people I went to school with, a lot of my friends, either passed away because of violence or are in jail.” He mentions two specific stories that stick out for me. The year was 1981, and Rahn was a senior at San Diego State University, majoring in industrial arts.
It was late at night, and the 24-year-old Rahn was writing a letter to a friend when he received a phone call from his mother Dolores in Long Beach. It was one of those calls that still remain in Rahn's memory.
“My mother called me, and she just started crying for no reason,” he said. "No reason at all.” She said, “Rahn, I think something is wrong.” And, according to Rahn, when his mother thinks something is wrong, that means something is wrong. The family was concerned about the whereabouts of Rahn’s older brother.
"Then later that night, my mother called back and just said, 'Ronnie.'” That's when Rahn knew. She didn't have to say anything. She just cried. Rahn's 28-year-old brother Daryl, a college-educated technical illustrator, was riding the bus to work when he was randomly robbed, shot and killed.
To Rahn, this experience was another painful hurdle he had to overcome. Many people might have crumbled after losing an older brother in such a horrifying fashion. Not Rahn. Death was nothing new to Rahn, who grew up on the gang-, drug- and gun-infested streets of Los Angeles.
Rahn recalls one friend who used to wield a double-barrel shot gun; he knew others who were involved with gangs and others with drugs, too. This was the environment Rahn grew up in. He attended Crenshaw High School, a school many referred to as Fort Crenshaw because it was so violent.
We have too many of our young people killing each other over foolishness—rings and watches and chains and dogs—foolishness. God created us to create life not to destroy life. We don’t change the situation through violence. The thing we need to understand about life is that it cannot be better until we are better; we cannot get more until we are more.
Rahn attended Crenshaw High School with many people who either died because they destroyed their lives or someone destroyed their lives for them. There were gangs everywhere. And many sought to change violence with violence.
While Rahn hung out with a rough crowd, he never joined a gang. Jim Brown wouldn't let him. On the surface, Brown was Rahn's high school track and football coach, a surrogate father figure at a deeper level. “He took me under his wing,” Rahn said of Brown. “He told me, 'Why don't you stop running from the police and start running for me?’”
On the weekends, Brown would take Rahn to his home and make him do work such as gardening or mowing the lawn to occupy him so he would stay out of trouble. Rahn despised it at the time, but now he looks back on the experience as something that disciplined him.
But as an African-American male growing up without a father in Los Angeles, the odds were against Rahn. This was evident from a recent encounter with an acquaintance who lived in the apartment above Rahn in Los Angeles.
"When I saw the lady,” she said, “Are you Rahn?” And he said, “Yeah.” Then she said, “I thought you'd be dead by now.” Rahn said laughing, “You don't realize how far you've come until you hear something like that (I don’t know about you, but I know the feeling).
Remember that friend with the double-barreled shot gun? He's now in prison after killing somebody with that same gun. Rahn is now in his fifth season as the Aztecs' head track coach. The only killings involved in Rahn's life are the opponents that run against his teams.
Rahn said, “The reason I'm here is because people made a difference in my life,” Rahn said. “My mother made a difference. My brother made a difference. Jim Brown made a difference. And why did they make a difference in my life? I let them. Now I want to make a difference in other people's lives."
That’s it, isn’t it? That's what we need to understand if we are going to conquer life’s hurdles: we have to be willing to let others help us; we have to be willing to let someone else make a difference in our lives. Because some of us think we can handle life all by ourselves, we have people all over the world who are failures. “Nobody is going to do anything for me…I’m self-made.” In Dr. Gardner C. Taylor’s words, “I don’t think I want to see a self-made person. We do badly enough when we have been made by two people.”
You can get over your hurdles, but you are going to have to be willing to let someone else help you. If you don’t do anything, but call somebody on the phone and say, “Pray for me.” Then do that. But let somebody help you.
If you don’t do anything, but go to your pastor, if you have one, if don’t, get one, and say “Pastor, put me on the church’s pray list.” Then do that. But let somebody help you.
If you don’t do anything, but sit down and talk to someone else—a friend, a relative, a teacher, a counselor… Then do that. But let somebody help you… Isn’t that what helped Blind Bartimaeus? He cried out “Son of David, have mercy on me!” And Jesus stood still and said, “Come here, Bartimaeus…”
Today, I want to continue dealing with conquering life’s hurdles because being robbed of our identity is not the only reason life’s hurdles are defeating many of us.
I told you in the blog last week that I could run track. When I first started running, my coach would give me advice, different techniques, which he thought would make me a better runner. But I wouldn’t listen to him. I said to myself “I was the fastest guy in my neighborhood. I am fast now. And I don’t need his help.”
When we ran our first track meet, I lost terribly. My coach, the weeks after that, continued to give me advice. And I continued to refuse. And I continued to lose.
Life’s hurdles—the trials, hardships, suffering, distress—defeat us because we won’t let others help us. We figure, we don’t need anyone’s help. We are strong, independent, private. “I want to handle my problems on my own. I don’t want anyone in my business.” So, this self-reliant attitude is what keeps many of us from jumping over our hurdles and crossing life’s finish line as winners.
How do we deal with this—this attitude of self reliance? How do we deal with conquering life’s hurdles? One man was asked how he dealt with life and replied “Some people say the glass is half full; some people say the glass is half empty. I say ‘Are you gonna drink that?’”
Either learn to jump over life’s hurdles or fall over them. How do we jump over them, conquer them, attack life’s hurdles, in a Christian way, and win?
In my first blog, I gave you one way. Today, I want to give you another way that you can jump over life’s hurdles and cross the finish-line a winner. You may be winded a bit, sweaty and sticky from running and jumping—but you will be a winner, if you do what Blind Bartimaeus does.
Mark 10: 49. Jesus stood still and said, “Call him here.” And they called the blind man, saying to him, “Take heart; get up, he is calling you.”
There is something I want you to notice in the verse before verse 49: these people that are now calling Bartimaeus to come to Jesus are the same ones who were just telling him to shut-up. Verse 48 says [Bartimaeus] cried out loudly, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” And many were sternly telling him to keep his peace. “
The ones now calling Bartimaeus to come to Jesus were the same ones who told him to “Be quiet! Jesus doesn’t want to hear from you.” That tells me what? When Jesus speaks, even your enemies will cooperation; even your enemies will make things go right for you.
Bartimaeus didn’t have to call out to Jesus. He could have just stayed the way he was. But to conquer his hurdles, he needed somebody else’s help. He knew he couldn’t do it alone. He knew he needed somebody else’s assistance.
Recently, I read a story about Rahn Sheffield. In that story, he says, “A lot of people I went to school with, a lot of my friends, either passed away because of violence or are in jail.” He mentions two specific stories that stick out for me. The year was 1981, and Rahn was a senior at San Diego State University, majoring in industrial arts.
It was late at night, and the 24-year-old Rahn was writing a letter to a friend when he received a phone call from his mother Dolores in Long Beach. It was one of those calls that still remain in Rahn's memory.
“My mother called me, and she just started crying for no reason,” he said. "No reason at all.” She said, “Rahn, I think something is wrong.” And, according to Rahn, when his mother thinks something is wrong, that means something is wrong. The family was concerned about the whereabouts of Rahn’s older brother.
"Then later that night, my mother called back and just said, 'Ronnie.'” That's when Rahn knew. She didn't have to say anything. She just cried. Rahn's 28-year-old brother Daryl, a college-educated technical illustrator, was riding the bus to work when he was randomly robbed, shot and killed.
To Rahn, this experience was another painful hurdle he had to overcome. Many people might have crumbled after losing an older brother in such a horrifying fashion. Not Rahn. Death was nothing new to Rahn, who grew up on the gang-, drug- and gun-infested streets of Los Angeles.
Rahn recalls one friend who used to wield a double-barrel shot gun; he knew others who were involved with gangs and others with drugs, too. This was the environment Rahn grew up in. He attended Crenshaw High School, a school many referred to as Fort Crenshaw because it was so violent.
We have too many of our young people killing each other over foolishness—rings and watches and chains and dogs—foolishness. God created us to create life not to destroy life. We don’t change the situation through violence. The thing we need to understand about life is that it cannot be better until we are better; we cannot get more until we are more.
Rahn attended Crenshaw High School with many people who either died because they destroyed their lives or someone destroyed their lives for them. There were gangs everywhere. And many sought to change violence with violence.
While Rahn hung out with a rough crowd, he never joined a gang. Jim Brown wouldn't let him. On the surface, Brown was Rahn's high school track and football coach, a surrogate father figure at a deeper level. “He took me under his wing,” Rahn said of Brown. “He told me, 'Why don't you stop running from the police and start running for me?’”
On the weekends, Brown would take Rahn to his home and make him do work such as gardening or mowing the lawn to occupy him so he would stay out of trouble. Rahn despised it at the time, but now he looks back on the experience as something that disciplined him.
But as an African-American male growing up without a father in Los Angeles, the odds were against Rahn. This was evident from a recent encounter with an acquaintance who lived in the apartment above Rahn in Los Angeles.
"When I saw the lady,” she said, “Are you Rahn?” And he said, “Yeah.” Then she said, “I thought you'd be dead by now.” Rahn said laughing, “You don't realize how far you've come until you hear something like that (I don’t know about you, but I know the feeling).
Remember that friend with the double-barreled shot gun? He's now in prison after killing somebody with that same gun. Rahn is now in his fifth season as the Aztecs' head track coach. The only killings involved in Rahn's life are the opponents that run against his teams.
Rahn said, “The reason I'm here is because people made a difference in my life,” Rahn said. “My mother made a difference. My brother made a difference. Jim Brown made a difference. And why did they make a difference in my life? I let them. Now I want to make a difference in other people's lives."
That’s it, isn’t it? That's what we need to understand if we are going to conquer life’s hurdles: we have to be willing to let others help us; we have to be willing to let someone else make a difference in our lives. Because some of us think we can handle life all by ourselves, we have people all over the world who are failures. “Nobody is going to do anything for me…I’m self-made.” In Dr. Gardner C. Taylor’s words, “I don’t think I want to see a self-made person. We do badly enough when we have been made by two people.”
You can get over your hurdles, but you are going to have to be willing to let someone else help you. If you don’t do anything, but call somebody on the phone and say, “Pray for me.” Then do that. But let somebody help you.
If you don’t do anything, but go to your pastor, if you have one, if don’t, get one, and say “Pastor, put me on the church’s pray list.” Then do that. But let somebody help you.
If you don’t do anything, but sit down and talk to someone else—a friend, a relative, a teacher, a counselor… Then do that. But let somebody help you… Isn’t that what helped Blind Bartimaeus? He cried out “Son of David, have mercy on me!” And Jesus stood still and said, “Come here, Bartimaeus…”
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Conquering Life's Hurdles
I ran track when I was in Junior High School, and according to the stopwatch, I was a fast runner. My best friend also ran track. He was always fascinated with the hurdles. There was one problem; he never could learn how to run them. He would start the race struggling with the first hurdle, and when he got to the four or fifth hurdle, he would start kicking them down. Eventually, he would either stumble or fall and bruise his arms and knees.
He fell so many times that the scab on his arms and knees took a long time to heal. After he had had all the bruises and scars he could take (I believe it was around the 10th or 11th grade), he quit running hurdles.
You know life is like that. There are hurdles in life, one hurdle after another. When I say life can be a hurdle, what am I talking about? I am talking about trials, hardships and troubles. Sometimes your job can be a hurdle. Sometimes your household can be a hurdle. Sometimes your attitude can be your hurdle.
A pastor was giving the children's message during church. For this part of the service, he would gather all the children around him and give a brief lesson before dismissing them for children's church. On this particular Sunday, he was using squirrels for an object lesson on industry and preparation. He started out by saying, "I'm going to describe something, and I want you to raise your hand when you know what it is." The children nodded eagerly.
"This thing lives in trees and eats nuts..." No hands went up. "And it is gray and has a long bushy tail..." The children looked at each other, but still no hands were raised. "And it jumps from branch to branch and chatters and flips its tail when it's excited..." Finally, one little boy tentatively raised his hand. The pastor breathed a sigh of relief and called on him. "Well," said the boy, "I know the answer must be Jesus ... but it sure sounds like a squirrel to me!" Sometimes children can be a hurdle. We never know what they will say or do. We pray that they will do the right thing or say the right thing. But who knows?
Not only can our children be hurdles in our lives but also our relatives can be hurdles in our lives. They may not respect our right to make our own choices, so they do things to hinder us. Then there are some relatives who believe that you are supposed to bend over backward and please them. I had a lady tell me recently that she has relatives who thinks her house is the grocery store. They always need an item: sugar, salt, soap, butter, etc.
There are hurdles in life, one hurdle after another. And guess what? These hurdles are conquering many people. Life’s hurdles cause a lot of people to stumble and sometimes fall. They sometimes get skinned up, battered and bruised. And what happens, as a result? Like my friend, they give up. They throw in the towel.
We need to understand life’s hurdles are not going away because Jesus tells us in John 16:33 “in the world we are going to have troubles.” So, that means we have to learn how to deal with them, how to conquer them, how to overcome them. And Mark 10, the story about Blind Bartimeaus, helps us to do that. Mark 10:47 says, When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”
American Journalist and Author, Sidney J. Harris was profoundly right: "Ninety percent of the world's woe comes from people not knowing themselves, their abilities, their frailties and even their real virtues. Most of us go almost all the way through life as complete strangers to ourselves."
I don’t believe Blind Bartimaeus was a part of the ninety percent. Bartimaeus knew who Jesus was. I want you to notice this, too; I think that Blind Bartimaeus knew who he was. What do I mean? I think that Bartimaeus knew he was a child of God, and to be made well, he was supposed to have the healing power that Jesus possessed. Although Bartimaeus was a beggar, which he knew, although he was blind, which he knew, he also knew who he was. Whatever blessings Jesus was handing out that day, those blessings were supposed to be his.
If you are going to conquer the hurdles in your life, you have to recognize who you are in Christ. You have to see yourself as God sees you. Last year, more than 9.9 million Americans were victims of identity theft, and the crime cost roughly $5 billion, according to the U.S. Postal Service. Estimated nearly 60 million individuals have had their personal information (Name, Date of Birth, SS#, Bank account numbers, etc.) compromised in the last nine months alone.
One of the major reasons Christians struggle with conquering life’s hurdles is deception from the enemy. The enemy is out to steal your identity. He lies to you. Why? He is the father of lies, and he doesn’t want us to know the truth. He tells you that you don’t have the strength to this or that. He tells you are weak, no matter who’s on your side. Although God’s love for you is deeper than the ocean and wider than the universe, the Devil tells you that no one loves you or cares whether you live or die.
He wants wrongdoers to “think” they’re headed in the right direction, and Christ’s followers to “think” they’re headed in the wrong direction. The result is confusion takes hold of us, and our lives become a spiritual rollercoaster with ups and downs, twists and turns, round and round. So what am I saying to you? To conquer life’s hurdles, you have to know who you are in Christ. Don’t let the devil steal your identity. You say “who are you”?
Let me tell you: John 1:12-13 says “Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God.” You are a child of God. You are a child of EL-ROI, the strong one who sees; a child of EL-EYON, the most High God; a child of JEHOVAH-RAPHA, the Lord our healer. To conquer life’s hurdles, you have to recognize you are a child of EL-SHADDAI, God Almighty.
Once you recognize that you are a child of God, you realize that there is always hope. There are no hopeless situations or hopeless people. Hope sees the unseen, feels the indescribable, and achieves, what seems out of the question, the impossible. Once you recognize that you are a child of God, you also realize “no weapon formed against you shall prosper.” In one of his Gospel songs Fred Hammond makes this point crystal clear: “No weapon formed against me shall prosper, it won’t work. God will do what he says he would do. He will stand by his word, and he will come through. God will do what he says he would do. He will stand by his word. And he will come through.”
Recognize who you are: a child of God, a child of the King of Kings, a child of the Lord of Lords, a child of the Author of Life. That's how you conquer life’s hurdles! Say it aloud:
“I am a child of God, and no weapon formed again me shall prosper.”
He fell so many times that the scab on his arms and knees took a long time to heal. After he had had all the bruises and scars he could take (I believe it was around the 10th or 11th grade), he quit running hurdles.
You know life is like that. There are hurdles in life, one hurdle after another. When I say life can be a hurdle, what am I talking about? I am talking about trials, hardships and troubles. Sometimes your job can be a hurdle. Sometimes your household can be a hurdle. Sometimes your attitude can be your hurdle.
A pastor was giving the children's message during church. For this part of the service, he would gather all the children around him and give a brief lesson before dismissing them for children's church. On this particular Sunday, he was using squirrels for an object lesson on industry and preparation. He started out by saying, "I'm going to describe something, and I want you to raise your hand when you know what it is." The children nodded eagerly.
"This thing lives in trees and eats nuts..." No hands went up. "And it is gray and has a long bushy tail..." The children looked at each other, but still no hands were raised. "And it jumps from branch to branch and chatters and flips its tail when it's excited..." Finally, one little boy tentatively raised his hand. The pastor breathed a sigh of relief and called on him. "Well," said the boy, "I know the answer must be Jesus ... but it sure sounds like a squirrel to me!" Sometimes children can be a hurdle. We never know what they will say or do. We pray that they will do the right thing or say the right thing. But who knows?
Not only can our children be hurdles in our lives but also our relatives can be hurdles in our lives. They may not respect our right to make our own choices, so they do things to hinder us. Then there are some relatives who believe that you are supposed to bend over backward and please them. I had a lady tell me recently that she has relatives who thinks her house is the grocery store. They always need an item: sugar, salt, soap, butter, etc.
There are hurdles in life, one hurdle after another. And guess what? These hurdles are conquering many people. Life’s hurdles cause a lot of people to stumble and sometimes fall. They sometimes get skinned up, battered and bruised. And what happens, as a result? Like my friend, they give up. They throw in the towel.
We need to understand life’s hurdles are not going away because Jesus tells us in John 16:33 “in the world we are going to have troubles.” So, that means we have to learn how to deal with them, how to conquer them, how to overcome them. And Mark 10, the story about Blind Bartimeaus, helps us to do that. Mark 10:47 says, When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”
American Journalist and Author, Sidney J. Harris was profoundly right: "Ninety percent of the world's woe comes from people not knowing themselves, their abilities, their frailties and even their real virtues. Most of us go almost all the way through life as complete strangers to ourselves."
I don’t believe Blind Bartimaeus was a part of the ninety percent. Bartimaeus knew who Jesus was. I want you to notice this, too; I think that Blind Bartimaeus knew who he was. What do I mean? I think that Bartimaeus knew he was a child of God, and to be made well, he was supposed to have the healing power that Jesus possessed. Although Bartimaeus was a beggar, which he knew, although he was blind, which he knew, he also knew who he was. Whatever blessings Jesus was handing out that day, those blessings were supposed to be his.
If you are going to conquer the hurdles in your life, you have to recognize who you are in Christ. You have to see yourself as God sees you. Last year, more than 9.9 million Americans were victims of identity theft, and the crime cost roughly $5 billion, according to the U.S. Postal Service. Estimated nearly 60 million individuals have had their personal information (Name, Date of Birth, SS#, Bank account numbers, etc.) compromised in the last nine months alone.
One of the major reasons Christians struggle with conquering life’s hurdles is deception from the enemy. The enemy is out to steal your identity. He lies to you. Why? He is the father of lies, and he doesn’t want us to know the truth. He tells you that you don’t have the strength to this or that. He tells you are weak, no matter who’s on your side. Although God’s love for you is deeper than the ocean and wider than the universe, the Devil tells you that no one loves you or cares whether you live or die.
He wants wrongdoers to “think” they’re headed in the right direction, and Christ’s followers to “think” they’re headed in the wrong direction. The result is confusion takes hold of us, and our lives become a spiritual rollercoaster with ups and downs, twists and turns, round and round. So what am I saying to you? To conquer life’s hurdles, you have to know who you are in Christ. Don’t let the devil steal your identity. You say “who are you”?
Let me tell you: John 1:12-13 says “Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God.” You are a child of God. You are a child of EL-ROI, the strong one who sees; a child of EL-EYON, the most High God; a child of JEHOVAH-RAPHA, the Lord our healer. To conquer life’s hurdles, you have to recognize you are a child of EL-SHADDAI, God Almighty.
Once you recognize that you are a child of God, you realize that there is always hope. There are no hopeless situations or hopeless people. Hope sees the unseen, feels the indescribable, and achieves, what seems out of the question, the impossible. Once you recognize that you are a child of God, you also realize “no weapon formed against you shall prosper.” In one of his Gospel songs Fred Hammond makes this point crystal clear: “No weapon formed against me shall prosper, it won’t work. God will do what he says he would do. He will stand by his word, and he will come through. God will do what he says he would do. He will stand by his word. And he will come through.”
Recognize who you are: a child of God, a child of the King of Kings, a child of the Lord of Lords, a child of the Author of Life. That's how you conquer life’s hurdles! Say it aloud:
“I am a child of God, and no weapon formed again me shall prosper.”
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
The Holy Spirit and You, part 2
I remember years ago when I was in the seminary, I went to talk with Gammon Theological Seminary’s Treasurer, Mrs. Bessie Miller. I parked my car in a “no parking zone” because I had not planned to talk long to Mrs. Miller, and I thought I could get in and out without getting into trouble. As I was getting out of the car, I heard something say, “Don’t park here.” However, I kept getting out of the car, and I said to myself, “I’m not going to be here long.” But again I heard, “Don’t park here.”
I kept getting out the car. I walked to the building where Mrs. Miller was, and I talked to her as I had planned to do. I think it was about two or three minutes into the conversation when Mrs. Miller turned around and said, “Derrick, is that your car parked outside?” I said, “Yes.” She replied, “A police officer is out there, and he’s writing you a ticket.”
John 16:13 says, “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth…” (NRSV) The Holy Spirit guides us. He tells us what is right and what is wrong, even if we don’t want to hear it. And many times we don’t want to hear it. Why?
The other day, I saw a man wearing a T-shirt that explains why. It read: “I stopped fighting my demons; we’re on the same side.” Many of us don’t want to hear the Holy Spirit’s voice. We have our own agendas; we want to live our lives our way, even if it means going down the wrong road, taking unnecessary detours. But all of us could have a better handle on life if we would allow the Holy Spirit to guide us. That’s why he came—to show us the right way and a better way.
Steven Simala Grant tells this story: I remember Christmas, 1980, when I was 9. My mom, who was a secretary in a small 3-person company, got a Christmas bonus, a trip for her and my brother and me to Disneyland. The plane and hotel were all covered—and even some cash. Her boss was not a Christian, but wow did he have generous personality.
We got off the plane in Los Angeles, and immediately felt scared, overwhelmed, and more than a little lost. A single mom on her first trip outside Canada, second time on a plane, a 9 year old and a 12 year old. And there, right where we came through customs, was a man holding a sign that said, “Grants.”
My mom joked as she walked past him, “That’s my name, but I’m sure you aren’t looking for a mom and two kids.” “Wendy?” he asked. “Yup, I am looking for you. I’m here to guide you through the airport, help you find your motel, and make sure you have everything you need.”
Three Canadians feeling lost and overwhelmed in the middle of the LA airport, until the guide steps forward and says, follow me. I’ll lead you. He took us to find our luggage, then to the bus that would take us to Anaheim, and told us exactly where to get off. In the same way, the Holy Spirit is there to guide us into truth. He is here now to show us how to apply the truth. He is here now to help us to interpret the truth so that it will help us grow spiritually, help us grow closer to God, help us to become more like Jesus.
Can you understand this? The God of the universe, who spoke and nothing became something; who hung the stars in the sky; who holds all things together by the power of his Word, who fills all things; who is bigger than the universe and bigger than time, literally lives in you. He calls you his dwelling place. What a wonderful and marvelous creator you are! What high and wonderful honor we have been given, to house the Holy Spirit!
The Holy Spirit is here now—in you, in front of you, in back of you, on the side of you, around you—to guide you to your destiny, to help you to become the best that you can be.
What other things do you need to know about the Holy Spirit guiding you? You need to know that the Holy Spirit will not lead you contrary to the Word of God. In Luke 4:1-13, the Scripture tells us that the Holy Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness where the devil tempted him for 40 days. During that temptation time, Jesus didn’t eat. He was famished and weary, and the devil knew it.
The Devil, playing on his hunger, gave the first test: "Since you're God's Son, command this stone to turn into a loaf of bread."
Jesus answered by quoting Deuteronomy: "It takes more than bread to really live."
For the second test, he led him up and spread out all the kingdoms of the earth on display at once. Then the Devil said, "They're yours in all their splendor to serve your pleasure. I'm in charge of them all and can turn them over to whomever I wish. Worship me and they're yours, the whole works."
Jesus refused, again backing his refusal with Deuteronomy: "Worship the Lord your God and only the Lord your God. Serve him with absolute single-heartedness."
For the third test, the Devil took him to Jerusalem and put him on top of the Temple. He said, "If you are God's Son, jump. It's written, isn't it, that 'he has placed you in the care of angels to protect you; they will catch you; you won't so much as stub your toe on a stone'?" "Yes," said Jesus, "and it's also written, 'Don't you dare tempt the Lord your God.'" (The Message Translation)
The Holy Spirit will order your footsteps, but never contrary to Scripture. The Scripture says God is the same yesterday, today and forever more. The Holy Spirit will not say that the Bible says this but never mind that; that was then—this is now.
How do I know that? Well, I have already told you one way that I know: God is the same yesterday, today and forever more. But in addition to this, look at John 16:13 B. The second half of that sentence, after the semicolon, says for he will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.
The Holy Spirit speaks; he communicates but never in opposition to Scripture. Because the Scripture is our primary theological source that helps us interpret what is theologically sound—what is God spoken and what is not. The Holy Spirit never speaks in opposition to the Word of God, the Bible. What a mess we would be in if the he spoke contrarily to Scripture.
But understand this too: The Holy Spirit will not lead you to do what is contrary to the Word of God, but it will lead you to do what is contrary to what people have taught or told you. People will say one thing, but God will say another. People will say go this way, but God will say, “Uh, Uh, go this way.” Although you make decisions that you think are right, God may say “That’s not a good idea. It would be better to do this.” The Lord says:
"I don't think the way you think. The way you work isn't the way I work." God's Decree: "For as the sky soars high above earth, so the way I work surpasses the way you work, and the way I think is beyond the way you think. (Isaiah 55:8, Message Translation)
Have you sought the Holy Spirit’s guidance? Have you asked him to lead you? Have you asked him to help you make decisions? Have you asked him to help you turn your life around? Have you asked him to give you peace? Have you asked him to help you find your place in life? He will—if you ask him.
I kept getting out the car. I walked to the building where Mrs. Miller was, and I talked to her as I had planned to do. I think it was about two or three minutes into the conversation when Mrs. Miller turned around and said, “Derrick, is that your car parked outside?” I said, “Yes.” She replied, “A police officer is out there, and he’s writing you a ticket.”
John 16:13 says, “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth…” (NRSV) The Holy Spirit guides us. He tells us what is right and what is wrong, even if we don’t want to hear it. And many times we don’t want to hear it. Why?
The other day, I saw a man wearing a T-shirt that explains why. It read: “I stopped fighting my demons; we’re on the same side.” Many of us don’t want to hear the Holy Spirit’s voice. We have our own agendas; we want to live our lives our way, even if it means going down the wrong road, taking unnecessary detours. But all of us could have a better handle on life if we would allow the Holy Spirit to guide us. That’s why he came—to show us the right way and a better way.
Steven Simala Grant tells this story: I remember Christmas, 1980, when I was 9. My mom, who was a secretary in a small 3-person company, got a Christmas bonus, a trip for her and my brother and me to Disneyland. The plane and hotel were all covered—and even some cash. Her boss was not a Christian, but wow did he have generous personality.
We got off the plane in Los Angeles, and immediately felt scared, overwhelmed, and more than a little lost. A single mom on her first trip outside Canada, second time on a plane, a 9 year old and a 12 year old. And there, right where we came through customs, was a man holding a sign that said, “Grants.”
My mom joked as she walked past him, “That’s my name, but I’m sure you aren’t looking for a mom and two kids.” “Wendy?” he asked. “Yup, I am looking for you. I’m here to guide you through the airport, help you find your motel, and make sure you have everything you need.”
Three Canadians feeling lost and overwhelmed in the middle of the LA airport, until the guide steps forward and says, follow me. I’ll lead you. He took us to find our luggage, then to the bus that would take us to Anaheim, and told us exactly where to get off. In the same way, the Holy Spirit is there to guide us into truth. He is here now to show us how to apply the truth. He is here now to help us to interpret the truth so that it will help us grow spiritually, help us grow closer to God, help us to become more like Jesus.
Can you understand this? The God of the universe, who spoke and nothing became something; who hung the stars in the sky; who holds all things together by the power of his Word, who fills all things; who is bigger than the universe and bigger than time, literally lives in you. He calls you his dwelling place. What a wonderful and marvelous creator you are! What high and wonderful honor we have been given, to house the Holy Spirit!
The Holy Spirit is here now—in you, in front of you, in back of you, on the side of you, around you—to guide you to your destiny, to help you to become the best that you can be.
What other things do you need to know about the Holy Spirit guiding you? You need to know that the Holy Spirit will not lead you contrary to the Word of God. In Luke 4:1-13, the Scripture tells us that the Holy Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness where the devil tempted him for 40 days. During that temptation time, Jesus didn’t eat. He was famished and weary, and the devil knew it.
The Devil, playing on his hunger, gave the first test: "Since you're God's Son, command this stone to turn into a loaf of bread."
Jesus answered by quoting Deuteronomy: "It takes more than bread to really live."
For the second test, he led him up and spread out all the kingdoms of the earth on display at once. Then the Devil said, "They're yours in all their splendor to serve your pleasure. I'm in charge of them all and can turn them over to whomever I wish. Worship me and they're yours, the whole works."
Jesus refused, again backing his refusal with Deuteronomy: "Worship the Lord your God and only the Lord your God. Serve him with absolute single-heartedness."
For the third test, the Devil took him to Jerusalem and put him on top of the Temple. He said, "If you are God's Son, jump. It's written, isn't it, that 'he has placed you in the care of angels to protect you; they will catch you; you won't so much as stub your toe on a stone'?" "Yes," said Jesus, "and it's also written, 'Don't you dare tempt the Lord your God.'" (The Message Translation)
The Holy Spirit will order your footsteps, but never contrary to Scripture. The Scripture says God is the same yesterday, today and forever more. The Holy Spirit will not say that the Bible says this but never mind that; that was then—this is now.
How do I know that? Well, I have already told you one way that I know: God is the same yesterday, today and forever more. But in addition to this, look at John 16:13 B. The second half of that sentence, after the semicolon, says for he will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.
The Holy Spirit speaks; he communicates but never in opposition to Scripture. Because the Scripture is our primary theological source that helps us interpret what is theologically sound—what is God spoken and what is not. The Holy Spirit never speaks in opposition to the Word of God, the Bible. What a mess we would be in if the he spoke contrarily to Scripture.
But understand this too: The Holy Spirit will not lead you to do what is contrary to the Word of God, but it will lead you to do what is contrary to what people have taught or told you. People will say one thing, but God will say another. People will say go this way, but God will say, “Uh, Uh, go this way.” Although you make decisions that you think are right, God may say “That’s not a good idea. It would be better to do this.” The Lord says:
"I don't think the way you think. The way you work isn't the way I work." God's Decree: "For as the sky soars high above earth, so the way I work surpasses the way you work, and the way I think is beyond the way you think. (Isaiah 55:8, Message Translation)
Have you sought the Holy Spirit’s guidance? Have you asked him to lead you? Have you asked him to help you make decisions? Have you asked him to help you turn your life around? Have you asked him to give you peace? Have you asked him to help you find your place in life? He will—if you ask him.
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
The Holy Spirit and You
I am a Christian, a follower of Jesus Christ (born again), because of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit drew me to God - and I listened. The songwriter makes it clear:
“I am thine, O Lord, I have heard thy voice
“And it told thy love to me.
“But I long to rise in the arms of faith
“And be closer drawn to thee.
“Draw me nearer, nearer, blessed Lord,
“To the cross where thou hast died.
“Draw, me nearer, nearer, nearer, blessed Lord,
“To thy precious bleeding side.”
I am a follower of Christ because the Spirit called my name, and I answered. In the United Methodist Church, we call that prevenient Grace. It is the grace or Spirit that God puts in each of us at birth to help us recognize that we need him. Without prevenient grace, none of us could make the step towards God that saves our lives. In John 6:44, Jesus says, “No one can come to me unless drawn by the Father who sent me…”
For me to reach my full potential, it will also take the power of the Holy Spirit working in me and with me. In the United Methodist Church, we call that sanctification. In today’s terms, it is called growing spiritually. In the process of sanctification—or growing spiritually—I am actively involved with the Holy Spirit in my spiritual growth by
• submitting myself to God’s will,
• attending Bible Study,
• attending Sunday School, and
• attending worship and any other spiritual growth opportunity.
So, I need the Holy Spirit to move me towards God so that I can be saved, and I need Him to help me to grow spiritually. The former portion of the Spirit is freely given to me at birth but, to obtain the latter portion, there is something that I must do.
A woman was sipping on a glass of wine, while sitting on the patio with her husband, and she said, "I love you so much; I don't know how I could ever live without you." Her husband asked, "Is that you or the wine talking?" She replied, "It's me .............. talking to the wine”.
We need the Holy Spirit because dealing with life, and struggles, and people can be too much for us to handle alone. And, when life becomes too much, many of us turn to drugs; we drink ourselves under the table; we become hard to deal with. We can’t stand ourselves, and nobody else can, either. Life is gigantic, and it is too much for us to grapple with by ourselves.
John 14:26 says, “But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you”.
Jesus says the Holy Spirit will teach us about the truth of God. No person by scholarship, or research, or human reason, or brainpower alone can comprehend what God says. We need the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit teaches us. He is our Spiritual Educator. He shows us what truth is. He explains life to us, and how to deal with life’s complexities.
He teaches us how to have a new beginning and how to make a new ending to our lives. Blossoming to our fullest potential will come from the Holy Spirit equipping and training us. He shows us how to accomplish the plans that God has for us—how to make those plans a reality. The Holy Spirit is our teacher. Well, how do we let the Holy Spirit do his teaching work in us…?
Luke 11:13 says, “if you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!”
Jesus says, in this text, that He will give the Holy Spirit to those who ask. Although it is not said, believing has something to do with receiving the Holy Spirit as well. Believing that the Holy Spirit can do his work in you comes before asking him to do it. If you want the Holy Spirit to do his teaching work in you so that you grow spiritually, you have to believe that God will give him to you. You have to believe that the Holy Spirit can do in your life what God intends for him to do.
John Wesley said this in his Journal on January 1, 1739: "… Mr. Hall, Kinchin, Ingham, Whitefield, Lane, with about sixty of our brethren. About three in the morning, as we were continuing in instant prayer, the power of God came mightily upon us, insomuch that many cried out for exceeding joy, and many fell to the ground. As soon as we were recovered a little from that awe and amazement at the presence of his Majesty, we broke out with one voice, ‘We praise thee, O God; we acknowledge thee to be the Lord’."
Wesley wrote in his journal that he and his colleagues sought the Holy Spirit and the power of God showed up in their lives in a powerful way. Wesley said the Holy Spirit was so powerful that, after he touched them, they had to recover because they were so overwhelmed with joy.
Hebrews 11:6 says, “Without faith it is impossible to please God, for whoever would approach him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him”. Those who believe in the Holy Spirit and ask for his presence will receive the Holy Spirit’s presence. In other words, whenever you ask with faith for the power of the Holy Spirit, you will be rewarded. The Holy Spirit will manifest himself to you. He will not conceal himself. He will not camouflage himself. He will reveal himself to you. He makes himself known to you.
After he reveals himself to you, ask him to do his work in you. Constantly ask the Holy Spirit to help you to become what God intends for you to be. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you to do what God wants you to do. The Holy Spirit is available to all who believe and ask. Do you believe this? Have you asked?
If you believe and ask, he will show up. If you believe and ask, he will come. As we wait for the Holy Spirit to come and guide us so that we can reach our full potential—grow spiritually, become what God intends—let us say together in the words of Daniel Iverson:
“Spirit of the living God, fall afresh on me;
“Spirit of the living God, fall afresh on me.
“Melt me, mold me, fill me, use me.
“Spirit of the living God, fall afresh on me.”
“I am thine, O Lord, I have heard thy voice
“And it told thy love to me.
“But I long to rise in the arms of faith
“And be closer drawn to thee.
“Draw me nearer, nearer, blessed Lord,
“To the cross where thou hast died.
“Draw, me nearer, nearer, nearer, blessed Lord,
“To thy precious bleeding side.”
I am a follower of Christ because the Spirit called my name, and I answered. In the United Methodist Church, we call that prevenient Grace. It is the grace or Spirit that God puts in each of us at birth to help us recognize that we need him. Without prevenient grace, none of us could make the step towards God that saves our lives. In John 6:44, Jesus says, “No one can come to me unless drawn by the Father who sent me…”
For me to reach my full potential, it will also take the power of the Holy Spirit working in me and with me. In the United Methodist Church, we call that sanctification. In today’s terms, it is called growing spiritually. In the process of sanctification—or growing spiritually—I am actively involved with the Holy Spirit in my spiritual growth by
• submitting myself to God’s will,
• attending Bible Study,
• attending Sunday School, and
• attending worship and any other spiritual growth opportunity.
So, I need the Holy Spirit to move me towards God so that I can be saved, and I need Him to help me to grow spiritually. The former portion of the Spirit is freely given to me at birth but, to obtain the latter portion, there is something that I must do.
A woman was sipping on a glass of wine, while sitting on the patio with her husband, and she said, "I love you so much; I don't know how I could ever live without you." Her husband asked, "Is that you or the wine talking?" She replied, "It's me .............. talking to the wine”.
We need the Holy Spirit because dealing with life, and struggles, and people can be too much for us to handle alone. And, when life becomes too much, many of us turn to drugs; we drink ourselves under the table; we become hard to deal with. We can’t stand ourselves, and nobody else can, either. Life is gigantic, and it is too much for us to grapple with by ourselves.
John 14:26 says, “But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you”.
Jesus says the Holy Spirit will teach us about the truth of God. No person by scholarship, or research, or human reason, or brainpower alone can comprehend what God says. We need the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit teaches us. He is our Spiritual Educator. He shows us what truth is. He explains life to us, and how to deal with life’s complexities.
He teaches us how to have a new beginning and how to make a new ending to our lives. Blossoming to our fullest potential will come from the Holy Spirit equipping and training us. He shows us how to accomplish the plans that God has for us—how to make those plans a reality. The Holy Spirit is our teacher. Well, how do we let the Holy Spirit do his teaching work in us…?
Luke 11:13 says, “if you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!”
Jesus says, in this text, that He will give the Holy Spirit to those who ask. Although it is not said, believing has something to do with receiving the Holy Spirit as well. Believing that the Holy Spirit can do his work in you comes before asking him to do it. If you want the Holy Spirit to do his teaching work in you so that you grow spiritually, you have to believe that God will give him to you. You have to believe that the Holy Spirit can do in your life what God intends for him to do.
John Wesley said this in his Journal on January 1, 1739: "… Mr. Hall, Kinchin, Ingham, Whitefield, Lane, with about sixty of our brethren. About three in the morning, as we were continuing in instant prayer, the power of God came mightily upon us, insomuch that many cried out for exceeding joy, and many fell to the ground. As soon as we were recovered a little from that awe and amazement at the presence of his Majesty, we broke out with one voice, ‘We praise thee, O God; we acknowledge thee to be the Lord’."
Wesley wrote in his journal that he and his colleagues sought the Holy Spirit and the power of God showed up in their lives in a powerful way. Wesley said the Holy Spirit was so powerful that, after he touched them, they had to recover because they were so overwhelmed with joy.
Hebrews 11:6 says, “Without faith it is impossible to please God, for whoever would approach him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him”. Those who believe in the Holy Spirit and ask for his presence will receive the Holy Spirit’s presence. In other words, whenever you ask with faith for the power of the Holy Spirit, you will be rewarded. The Holy Spirit will manifest himself to you. He will not conceal himself. He will not camouflage himself. He will reveal himself to you. He makes himself known to you.
After he reveals himself to you, ask him to do his work in you. Constantly ask the Holy Spirit to help you to become what God intends for you to be. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you to do what God wants you to do. The Holy Spirit is available to all who believe and ask. Do you believe this? Have you asked?
If you believe and ask, he will show up. If you believe and ask, he will come. As we wait for the Holy Spirit to come and guide us so that we can reach our full potential—grow spiritually, become what God intends—let us say together in the words of Daniel Iverson:
“Spirit of the living God, fall afresh on me;
“Spirit of the living God, fall afresh on me.
“Melt me, mold me, fill me, use me.
“Spirit of the living God, fall afresh on me.”
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Payback
The Holy Spirit will not lead you to do what is contrary to the Word of God, but it will lead you to do what is contrary to what people have taught you.
People will say one thing, but God will say another. People will say go this way, but God will say “Uh, Uh, go this way.”
You don’t believe me. Let me prove it to you: Matthew 5:38-42 says "You have heard that it was said, “An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.” But I say to you, Do not resist an evildoer. But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also;and if anyone wants to sue you and take your coat, give your cloak as well; and if anyone forces you to go one mile, go also the second mile. Give to everyone who begs from you, and do not refuse anyone who wants to borrow from you."
Let me explain what this Scripture means in contemporary terms: People say when someone wrongs you, get even, but Jesus says do good to those who wrong you. He says do not keep score, but love and forgive. Instead of planning vengeance, pray for those who hurt you.
Payback and evening the score belongs God. So, you pray for those who have hurt you, and let God handle the rest—and he will. God is not blind; he sees everything. And whatever you plant (good or bad), you will receive, eventually.
People will say one thing, but God will say another. People will say go this way, but God will say “Uh, Uh, go this way.”
You don’t believe me. Let me prove it to you: Matthew 5:38-42 says "You have heard that it was said, “An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.” But I say to you, Do not resist an evildoer. But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also;and if anyone wants to sue you and take your coat, give your cloak as well; and if anyone forces you to go one mile, go also the second mile. Give to everyone who begs from you, and do not refuse anyone who wants to borrow from you."
Let me explain what this Scripture means in contemporary terms: People say when someone wrongs you, get even, but Jesus says do good to those who wrong you. He says do not keep score, but love and forgive. Instead of planning vengeance, pray for those who hurt you.
Payback and evening the score belongs God. So, you pray for those who have hurt you, and let God handle the rest—and he will. God is not blind; he sees everything. And whatever you plant (good or bad), you will receive, eventually.
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