All That We Need

It seems it is hard for us to comprehend our relationship with Yahweh. On one hand we have the intimate relationship of parent child. On the other hand we are dedicated servants/soldiers in the mission at hand. Far too many of us concentrate on the first, thinking the purpose of Jesus is to enhance our life in this world. We always seem to be seeking for ourselves but we have been called to serve Jesus by serving the lost. We are to lay down our lives in love so that the lost may hear the good news of Jesus. Often it means forgoing the comfortable life.

We sometimes fail to understand that we have not been chosen because we are special. It isn't because we have some special talent or ability. Yahweh is all sufficient and needs nothing from us but has chosen to work through us. It means he is responsible for equipping us with what we need to serve him. He only requires our availability and obedience. Do you remember Moses' excuse for trying to get out of his calling?

“Who am I to go to Pharaoh and to bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” (Exodus 3:11

What a crazy question. Yahweh's response is telling. He did not try to build up Moses' confidence in his ability; he reminded him of what was important:

“I’ll be with you." (v. 12)

And that is all we need. The Word tells us again and again that Yahweh does not need anything from us. Our strength is not found in any tools we may have at our disposal. He does not need our intelligence or education. He does not need our gifts and talents. To serve him we need only trust and obey, the equipping will follow. When we step out we do so with confidence in the fact that he is with us. What were Jesus words to his disciples? After he gave them their instructions, their commission to go throughout the world telling people about the plan?

"Look, I myself will be with you every day until the end of this present age.” (Matthew 28:20)

And that is all we need.

Don't Go Without The Spirit

Being spiritually minded does not mean the same thing as being Spirit-filled. I find it hard to understand Christians who love the Lord but deny his power in them. They will deal with everything within their limited understanding and refuse to allow Yahweh to be the God of "everything is possible". People look at Jesus and say, "But that was Jesus, Son of God". They fail to understand that Jesus also set for us an example of what it is to live by the Spirit. Read this:

Jesus returned from the Jordan River full of the Holy Spirit, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness. (Luke 4:1)

Jesus was fully God and fully man, having set aside his divinity, and operated in the same manner we have been given to operate; by the Holy Spirit. Jesus did nothing in his divinity but relied on the Spirit for all things. He did not take on the enemy in his own strength but entered the desert full of the Holy Spirit. He was led by the Holy Spirit. So what makes us think we don't need the Holy Spirit and that we are wise within ourselves or that our human strength will carry the day? But it goes beyond even this.

Every day we deny the power of Jesus in us to carry out his work. We decide what we will do according to our abilities, limiting him to those abilities, not stepping out in faith because we have barely even begun to understand what faith means. We serve by what we know, not by the promises. Yet, how did Jesus minister and teach?

Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and news about him spread throughout the whole countryside. He taught in their synagogues and was praised by everyone. (Luke 4:14-15)

Why do we ignore the obvious? Is it simply because we are uncomfortable losing control? Is it because we are afraid to let him be Lord in case he takes us places we don't want to go, to do things we don't want to do? Do we really think he needs our wisdom, our intelligence or our talents? He does not want us to serve him in our limitations but in his possibilities.

Let's stop teaching, preaching, and serving in our own strength and start seeking his anointing through the Spirit to do his work through us. The world doesn't need to hear what we think or to see what we can do. The world needs to see Jesus in us so we need to let him take us beyond ourselves. Let us learn to walk in the Spirit for the sake of the world.

Have You Wandered What Training You Need To Serve Jesus?

It appears to me at times that we fail to rise up on the occasion of Jesus' calling because we believe we have to be equipped to respond. I admire anyone who wants to better themselves, who wish to gain greater knowledge, who explore beyond their tiny sphere but it is not a prerequisite for answering the call. We really need to somehow get it through our thick heads that our Lord needs nothing from us but our obedience.

Do we really believe that we have anything to offer our God, the Creator of all things, the governor of all things, the one who holds all of creation in the palm of his hand? Do we really believe he lacks something that we have? Have we read the Scriptures? Do we not know who he is? He does not need our riches, influence, talents, possessions or anything else, and if he doesn't need them then we don't need to have them to respond to his call. Consider Gideon again for just a moment. What were the words of the angel?

Go in this might of yours, and you shall save Israel from the hand of the Midianites. Have I not sent you? (Judges 6:14)

He didn't send Gideon to military school. He did not have him go and train. In fact, the army that rallied around Gideon Yahweh reduced to a tiny fraction. He told him to go in the strength that he had. Do you not think he was making a point here? Not by sword or shield, not by intellect or muscle, but by the strength of the Lord. Now consider David as a youth.

We all know the story: the mighty warrior Goliath was taunting the army of the LORD and David responded. King Saul was not really sure what to think of the matter but the fact he was willing to allow an untrained youth to go against a seasoned warrior tells you of his desperation. Now give some credit to the king, he lent David his armour and weapons, probably the best in all of Israel. The thing is, even the best instrument in the hands of an untrained user is useless.

I am a musician and have trained for decades. If I handed you a trombone you could make some noise with it but no one would call it music. Maybe you are a trained dancer but if you gave me the floor and told me to dance I would not have the ability. I could move and keep the rhythm because I am a musician but most people would not consider it dancing. So consider David's response:

So Saul clothed David with his armor, and he put a bronze helmet on his head; he also clothed him with a coat of mail. David fastened his sword to his armor and tried to walk, for he had not tested them. And David said to Saul, “I cannot walk with these, for I have not tested them.” So David took them off. (1 Samuel 17:38-39)

David was willing to do what he was prompted to do by the LORD but he was not going to pretend to be something he wasn't. He was a shepherd and he was going to use the tools that were familiar to him:

Then he took his staff in his hand; and he chose for himself five smooth stones from the brook, and put them in a shepherd’s bag, in a pouch which he had, and his sling was in his hand. And he drew near to the Philistine. (v. 40)

After the defeat of this seasoned warrior David gained skills but here he offered up the only thing the LORD was looking for, an obedient heart. Even after gaining skills to be a better warrior Yahweh still only required an obedient heart from him.

This obedient heart is all you need to serve the LORD. When he has called you he will equip you. All he asks you to do right now is to go in the strength that you have. When he prompts you to action don't make the excuses of Moses but instead say, "Here I am Lord, send me". An obedient willingness is all he requires.

Remember this, that as the Spirit provokes you to action, bend your heart to his will, be strong and courageous, vanquish fear and discouragement, and know that the LORD is with you. He is your sword and shield. He is the words that you find in your mouth. He is the healing that flows from your hands. He is the courage and boldness that fills your heart. He is the wisdom that guides your feet. He is the compassion and mercy that is shown in your actions. He is all, everything that we need. And he has told us to go in the strength that we have, in the Spirit; so let's go.

An Uneducated Pastor

Can you imagine volunteering for your job instead of getting paid? Imagine walking into your boss and telling him you don't need the company computer, you are going to provide your own. Or a bus driver telling the city he's going to provide his own bus? Silly, right? Yet so many of us do that with God. He doesn't want anything from us except our friendship, love, emptiness and availability  For everything he calls us to he equips. Yet, most of us turn down his provision and try to resource the tasks ourselves.

How many things do you do in God's name that actually come from you? How many times have you spoken from your wisdom, served in your strength, reacted by your conviction, given from your riches? We can do a fair job in our own ability but God intends for us to go beyond fair to supernatural, beyond anything we could have ever imagined. When we do things in his anointing everything changes. He doesn't need anything we have to offer, he pours it out on us. Wow! do we ever have it backwards.

This is what the great apostle Paul requested the Ephesians to pray for him:

Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should. (Ephesians 6:19-20)

"Words may be given me", he writes. Paul did not speak from his own great knowledge and training. Paul did not speak from his own opinion or speculation. Paul did not study for four years to come up with the gospel of grace. Paul was in-filled by the Spirit. equipped, enabled and empowered to be the apostle to the Gentiles. He was given the revelation of the gospel of grace through the Spirit of God.

We've gone crazy with education. Knowledge is great. All minds should be expanded to the best of our capacity but God is not dependent on our education. We do not have to go off and be trained according to the methods of man before we can preach, teach and evangelize. A pastor does not need letters after his name and neither do apostles, prophets, evangelists and teachers. There is nothing wrong with Bible colleges but God doesn't require them. We need to have Paul's understanding of God's equipping.

Style and methods do not mean anything compared to the anointing of God. We need more servants who are dependent on God for all things than we need educated men and women filling the positions in the Church. We need men and women who say to God "here am I send me" and desire their lips to be touched by the burning coal. We need men and women who understand that their power to serve comes from the Holy Spirit not seminary courses. We need men and women of God who are more interested in the anointing than in man's recognition of their studies.

I would rather sit under the training of an uneducated former alcoholic, saved by grace, empowered by the Holy Spirit than the best trained and educated seminary graduate. The anointing of God is all that we need to serve him to the full potential to which he has called us. Do not let anyone tell you any different. God's training school is all you need. Put your confidence in Jesus and you will be amazed how he uses you for his glory.

Is There A Beating In Your Future?

I hope you know you are hated. The enemy of God hates the smell of you. If he could, he would destroy you in an instant, not because of you, but because of the one who loves you. By hurting you he is hurting God. You are nothing to the enemy, but if he can use you to get to God he will. You don't need to be paranoid about him but you do need to be aware.

You need to be aware that the enemy is plotting against you. He is hiding behind the pack, waiting to pick off any strays. He is nothing compared to Jesus but he is stronger than we are. If we try to fight him in our flesh we are toast. In fact, we do not need to fight him at all, only resist him. But even resisting him is impossible if we are not equipped.

Let me put it this way: If you play football without any equipment you will be carried off the field on a stretcher. If you play hockey without any gear you will end up in traction for a few months. If you attempt to follow Jesus without the full armour of God you are going to get beat up.

The instructions are simple:

Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. (Ephesians 6:11)

What is the full armour? We will get into more detail in a future blog so let me just give you the list: truth, righteousness, peace, faith, salvation, Word of God, prayer. This is the equipment that God has given to you so that you can take your place as a warrior of God, to take your stand against the schemes of the enemy. On our own we are dead meat but with Christ in us we are more than conquerors.

You need to check you armour; make sure it is all in place. Check your heart: is there anything there that would allow the enemy to get a foothold? What is coming out of your mouth; blessings or cursings? Check your attitude; is there hatred, prejudice, malice or rebellion there?

A warrior of God, with the armour in place, is protected so that the Spirit of God can produce fruit in him. Check your fruit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. If this is what is being produced in your life, if this is what people see in you, then your armour is in place and you are taking your stand. However, if there is a great lack of this fruit being produced in you, you need to check your armour. Maybe you left bits of it at church, or under your bed, or in your prayer closet.

Come on mighty warrior, leave the civilian affairs to others and get back to the fight. Check you armour so you do not have to face correction from our Captain. Get back to the ranks, we need you. In the mighty authority of Jesus Christ, cast out any ugliness the enemy has planted in you and allow the brilliance of Jesus to shine. Stand up and let's see that armour. The enemy doesn't have a chance to succeed against those called by God. Rejoice! Stand!