Pardon me while I think out loud for a moment. There is something from Acts that has me thinking but I am not sure of the answer. Is there ever a time to move away from unproductive ministry? The reason I am asking myself this is not because of my current situation but because of my character. I am stubborn. Some may call it determined but my mom calls it stubborn. Sometimes I wonder if I am too stubborn and stupid to quit, even ignoring the Spirit in order to "stick to it".
The portion of Scripture that provoked this thought is found in Acts 18. Paul was in Corinth waiting for his team to catch up. It says that every Sabbath he would go to the synagogue and try to convince the Jews about Jesus. When his team arrived, he set aside his work and went at the ministry full time. The results weren't great. Scripture says they opposed and slandered him. After a lengthy period of ministry Paul shook the dust from his clothes and stated:
"You are responsible for your own fates! I'm innocent! From now on I'll go to the Gentiles!" (Acts 18:6)
Were the hard hearts Jesus' way of getting Paul to step into his calling to the Gentiles? At the end of the chapter we read about Apollos successfully debating with these same Jews, so was Paul in the way of successful ministry? But here's the thing. When Paul made this decision to shake off the dust, he started meeting with success, or I should say, the Spirit started to produce a harvest through him:
Crispus, the synagogue leader, and his entire household came to believe in the Lord. Many Corinthians believed and were baptized after listening to Paul. (Acts 18:8)
So is it possible that our "determination" could be blocking a harvest where we are at and missing a harvest where we are suppose to be? I already think there is too much self-direction and self-determination in the Church and not enough sensitivity to the Spirit. I find we are too busy pursing wrong stuff to foster and live within a sensitivity to the presence of the Lord, so like Cain, we bring the offering of service we are interested in and expect it to please the Lord. But he is looking for obedience. Already knowing this I now wonder if my "determination" is contributing to the problem.
An interesting question to meditate on today.
Showing posts with label stubborn. Show all posts
Showing posts with label stubborn. Show all posts
Thursday, January 22, 2015
Friday, March 14, 2014
Do You Stand Or Bow In Worship?
I can be a very stubborn man and something I have learned over the years is that being stubborn is a stupid thing. Stubborn is not the same thing as determined. When you are determined you have the drive and energy to go to the end of what you are doing. Determination still leaves you open to instruction and correction that will help you achieve your goal. A stubborn nature closes you off from everything, even those things that would make it better or even easier for you to reach your goal. Being stubborn can ruin a person. In case I didn't make my point: Being stubborn is not good.
Being stubborn means that you harden your heart, even to Yahweh. Think of king Asa for a moment. He was a good king, honoured by Yahweh, but when he made a mistake and was corrected for it, Asa hardened his heart and would no longer seek Yahweh's help for anything. Scriptures say that he got a foot disease and even then would not seek Yahweh's healing but instead turned to physicians. Five years later he died. That's compared to king Hezekiah who, when Yahweh announced it was time for his death, humbled himself before Yahweh. Yahweh looked at this, was blessed by it and extended his life by 15 years.
The biggest example of stubbornness or hardened hearts are the generation of Israelites who were rescued from Egypt. These people could not take instruction to save their life. With every turn they were questioning Moses and doubting Yahweh. They were like a mule that refused to be dragged to the watering hole. When presented with the Promised Land they refused to trust Yahweh to enter to possess it. Then, when they were told the resulting correction, they refused to submit to the correction and tried to enter the Land, resulting in death. Of them Yahweh said:
“Do not harden your hearts, as in the rebellion,
As in the day of trial in the wilderness,
When your fathers tested Me;
They tried Me, though they saw My work.
For forty years I was grieved with that generation,
And said, ‘It is a people who go astray in their hearts,
And they do not know My ways.’
So I swore in My wrath,
‘They shall not enter My rest.’” (Psalm 95:8-11)
We have no ground to stand on to judge these people. We have been no less rebellious and stubborn at times when we have been instructed to do something we don't understand or we don't want to do. Forgiveness is often a hard thing for us to obey, or to love those who persecute us. I would say those are harder things for us to obey than if Jesus asked us to move to China to start a church. It is usually the daily things that we struggle to submit ourselves to than the big stuff. But consider the call to worship found in this same psalm:
Oh come, let us worship and bow down;
Let us kneel before the Lord our Maker.
For He is our God,
And we are the people of His pasture,
And the sheep of His hand. (vv. 6-7)
It is here that the psalmist writes, if you will hear his voice, do not harden your hearts. Notice the posture in worship: bow down, kneel. These are positions of submission, humbleness, recognizing the authority of Yahweh over us. How can we worship if our stubbornness keeps us on our feet, refusing to bow and submit to Father's instructions? So many scriptures reveal to us that Yahweh is not interested in lip worship; he desires the whole heart, mind, and soul.
The attitudes of stubbornness, pride, know-it-all, destroy the relationship our Father desires with us. The last thing he wants to say to us is "They shall not enter my rest". But he will. The last thing he wants to see happen is us die with "foot disease". But he will. There is no way we can be in the presence of our God without an attitude of humbleness, and stubbornness is not the route to humbleness. As you move throughout your day today and you are desiring to hear the voice of Jesus for direction and instruction, ask yourself if you are trying to stand in his presence or if you are bowing before him.
Being stubborn means that you harden your heart, even to Yahweh. Think of king Asa for a moment. He was a good king, honoured by Yahweh, but when he made a mistake and was corrected for it, Asa hardened his heart and would no longer seek Yahweh's help for anything. Scriptures say that he got a foot disease and even then would not seek Yahweh's healing but instead turned to physicians. Five years later he died. That's compared to king Hezekiah who, when Yahweh announced it was time for his death, humbled himself before Yahweh. Yahweh looked at this, was blessed by it and extended his life by 15 years.
The biggest example of stubbornness or hardened hearts are the generation of Israelites who were rescued from Egypt. These people could not take instruction to save their life. With every turn they were questioning Moses and doubting Yahweh. They were like a mule that refused to be dragged to the watering hole. When presented with the Promised Land they refused to trust Yahweh to enter to possess it. Then, when they were told the resulting correction, they refused to submit to the correction and tried to enter the Land, resulting in death. Of them Yahweh said:
“Do not harden your hearts, as in the rebellion,
As in the day of trial in the wilderness,
When your fathers tested Me;
They tried Me, though they saw My work.
For forty years I was grieved with that generation,
And said, ‘It is a people who go astray in their hearts,
And they do not know My ways.’
So I swore in My wrath,
‘They shall not enter My rest.’” (Psalm 95:8-11)
We have no ground to stand on to judge these people. We have been no less rebellious and stubborn at times when we have been instructed to do something we don't understand or we don't want to do. Forgiveness is often a hard thing for us to obey, or to love those who persecute us. I would say those are harder things for us to obey than if Jesus asked us to move to China to start a church. It is usually the daily things that we struggle to submit ourselves to than the big stuff. But consider the call to worship found in this same psalm:
Oh come, let us worship and bow down;
Let us kneel before the Lord our Maker.
For He is our God,
And we are the people of His pasture,
And the sheep of His hand. (vv. 6-7)
It is here that the psalmist writes, if you will hear his voice, do not harden your hearts. Notice the posture in worship: bow down, kneel. These are positions of submission, humbleness, recognizing the authority of Yahweh over us. How can we worship if our stubbornness keeps us on our feet, refusing to bow and submit to Father's instructions? So many scriptures reveal to us that Yahweh is not interested in lip worship; he desires the whole heart, mind, and soul.
The attitudes of stubbornness, pride, know-it-all, destroy the relationship our Father desires with us. The last thing he wants to say to us is "They shall not enter my rest". But he will. The last thing he wants to see happen is us die with "foot disease". But he will. There is no way we can be in the presence of our God without an attitude of humbleness, and stubbornness is not the route to humbleness. As you move throughout your day today and you are desiring to hear the voice of Jesus for direction and instruction, ask yourself if you are trying to stand in his presence or if you are bowing before him.
Wednesday, February 26, 2014
A Cause Of Our Spiritual Weakness
There is a spiritual truth that is almost impossible for us to live in our current age where the almighty dollar reigns supreme. For years we have allowed the seed in our heart grow, the seed that says "money makes the world go round". Everyone wants a comfortable life with enough money to do what they want and what most people want is to be entertained. So we work to spend, and what we don't have, we borrow. We lean heavily on credit cards and enslave ourselves to the financial system of this world; and we think it is good.
How can we discover the greatness of our God when we are enslaved to another? How can we discover the wonderful provision of our God when we are enslaved to another? How can we discover that he is mighty to save, whether by many or few, when we trust another god for our salvation?
You may think I am being a little over dramatic but that's because we have become blind to our own condition. We have become spiritually weak for several reasons but this is one of the big ones. It is not unlike the kings of old who trusted their own resources instead of Yahweh. Over the last couple of days I have been using king Asa as an illustration and today is no exception.
You will recall that Asa was a great king, bringing spiritual renewal to Judah as he encouraged everyone to turn back to Yahweh. He was a king who leaned on his God, who trusted him and as a result the land was blessed. During an invasion of the Ethiopians, when he was outnumbered 3 to 1, Asa cried out to Yahweh and trusted him in the battle. He easily defeated the army and gained great riches. Because Asa and Judah sought the Lord, they found him, and he gave them peace for 35 years, during which time they prospered. It was a golden age, until Asa made the same mistake we make today.
The King of Israel attacked and was building a city to cut off a major trade route. Israel's army was nothing compared to the Ethiopian army Asa had defeated in trusting Yahweh but during the 35 years of peace Asa seemed to have forgotten. He panicked and made a bad decision:
Then Asa brought silver and gold from the treasuries of the house of the Lord and of the king’s house, and sent to Ben-Hadad king of Syria, who dwelt in Damascus, saying, “Let there be a treaty between you and me, as there was between my father and your father. See, I have sent you silver and gold; come, break your treaty with Baasha king of Israel, so that he will withdraw from me.” (2 Chronicles 16:2-3)
The fact that Asa trusted his riches and paid a foreign king, who was actually an enemy, to get him out of trouble was distasteful to Yahweh. He sent his prophet to tell Asa what he had done was wrong:
Because you have relied on the king of Syria, and have not relied on the Lord your God, therefore the army of the king of Syria has escaped from your hand. Were the Ethiopians and the Lubim not a huge army with very many chariots and horsemen? Yet, because you relied on the Lord, He delivered them into your hand. ( vv. 7-8)
Now pay attention to the next part and understand how wrong we have been and why we struggle in spiritual weakness:
For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him. (v. 9)
Our Lord looks for opportunities to show his strength through the weaknesses of his children. It brings to mind the Lord`s response to Paul`s prayer for deliverance, when he said that his grace was sufficient for Paul because he reveals his strength through our weakness. But we refuse to be weak in this age. We turn to other sources for salvation. We rely on the wisdom of man. We lean on credit. We run after means to feed and clothe ourselves. We wear ourselves out, ignoring Jesus entirely, as if he were some decorative ornament that adorns our lives; totally useless but pretty to look at.
Now that you are aware of this you have an opportunity to repent of it. Father wants us turning to him in our weakness. He wants us to lean on him so he can glorify himself through us. But please do not react like Asa. He had an opportunity to repent here. He had made a mistake but our Lord is the source of all grace. He only looks to us to repent and be restored. But instead of repenting, Asa allowed his heart to be filled with anger, bitterness and resentment. He threw the prophet into jail. He became a tyrant, oppressing the people because his heart had changed. And even when the Lord used disease to bring correction and to soften his heart, Asa refused to turn to him for help, instead choosing to die in suffering with the disease. We can be stupidly stubborn in our disobedience.
Face it, we are a distracted people who lean on other gods for salvation. We are wrong, we are weak, and we are in much need of repentance. Just for this moment, be honest with yourself. In your weakness, who or what gets glorified? If the answer is not Jesus then fall on your face before him. And don't lie to yourself. This could be a major turning point in your spiritual maturity. Allow Jesus to be glorified in your weakness.
How can we discover the greatness of our God when we are enslaved to another? How can we discover the wonderful provision of our God when we are enslaved to another? How can we discover that he is mighty to save, whether by many or few, when we trust another god for our salvation?
You may think I am being a little over dramatic but that's because we have become blind to our own condition. We have become spiritually weak for several reasons but this is one of the big ones. It is not unlike the kings of old who trusted their own resources instead of Yahweh. Over the last couple of days I have been using king Asa as an illustration and today is no exception.
You will recall that Asa was a great king, bringing spiritual renewal to Judah as he encouraged everyone to turn back to Yahweh. He was a king who leaned on his God, who trusted him and as a result the land was blessed. During an invasion of the Ethiopians, when he was outnumbered 3 to 1, Asa cried out to Yahweh and trusted him in the battle. He easily defeated the army and gained great riches. Because Asa and Judah sought the Lord, they found him, and he gave them peace for 35 years, during which time they prospered. It was a golden age, until Asa made the same mistake we make today.
The King of Israel attacked and was building a city to cut off a major trade route. Israel's army was nothing compared to the Ethiopian army Asa had defeated in trusting Yahweh but during the 35 years of peace Asa seemed to have forgotten. He panicked and made a bad decision:
Then Asa brought silver and gold from the treasuries of the house of the Lord and of the king’s house, and sent to Ben-Hadad king of Syria, who dwelt in Damascus, saying, “Let there be a treaty between you and me, as there was between my father and your father. See, I have sent you silver and gold; come, break your treaty with Baasha king of Israel, so that he will withdraw from me.” (2 Chronicles 16:2-3)
The fact that Asa trusted his riches and paid a foreign king, who was actually an enemy, to get him out of trouble was distasteful to Yahweh. He sent his prophet to tell Asa what he had done was wrong:
Because you have relied on the king of Syria, and have not relied on the Lord your God, therefore the army of the king of Syria has escaped from your hand. Were the Ethiopians and the Lubim not a huge army with very many chariots and horsemen? Yet, because you relied on the Lord, He delivered them into your hand. ( vv. 7-8)
Now pay attention to the next part and understand how wrong we have been and why we struggle in spiritual weakness:
For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him. (v. 9)
Our Lord looks for opportunities to show his strength through the weaknesses of his children. It brings to mind the Lord`s response to Paul`s prayer for deliverance, when he said that his grace was sufficient for Paul because he reveals his strength through our weakness. But we refuse to be weak in this age. We turn to other sources for salvation. We rely on the wisdom of man. We lean on credit. We run after means to feed and clothe ourselves. We wear ourselves out, ignoring Jesus entirely, as if he were some decorative ornament that adorns our lives; totally useless but pretty to look at.
Now that you are aware of this you have an opportunity to repent of it. Father wants us turning to him in our weakness. He wants us to lean on him so he can glorify himself through us. But please do not react like Asa. He had an opportunity to repent here. He had made a mistake but our Lord is the source of all grace. He only looks to us to repent and be restored. But instead of repenting, Asa allowed his heart to be filled with anger, bitterness and resentment. He threw the prophet into jail. He became a tyrant, oppressing the people because his heart had changed. And even when the Lord used disease to bring correction and to soften his heart, Asa refused to turn to him for help, instead choosing to die in suffering with the disease. We can be stupidly stubborn in our disobedience.
Face it, we are a distracted people who lean on other gods for salvation. We are wrong, we are weak, and we are in much need of repentance. Just for this moment, be honest with yourself. In your weakness, who or what gets glorified? If the answer is not Jesus then fall on your face before him. And don't lie to yourself. This could be a major turning point in your spiritual maturity. Allow Jesus to be glorified in your weakness.
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