Serious disciples of Christ want to know God's will. I'm in. I want to know quite a bit of it...that part that goes easiest on me and for me. I'm pretty spoiled so I don't want the tough stuff. I'm serious about the kingdom life; but protective of how it affects me.
A lot is said about doing God's will. I'm in. I love seeing His will performed. But something I see as a real challenge to the church is the question of will God. Will God keep His promises? Will God provide what we can't imagine? Will God work in ways we cannot program? Will God supply as He vows?
Yes, yes, yes, and yes.
At the end of the day it really isn't a matter of church money in the bank, but faith account in the hearts. Faith will make the church hum, not books in the black. Faith will see the glory in darkness, not flashing lights of show. Faith will unveil surprise in the midst of unforeseen blessings. Faith will launch the meagerest of hearts to see the grandest victories.....because God will show up.
We talk kingdom. We debate truth. We argue right versus wrong. But a question very needed among us is do we really expect---really believe---God will work marvels beyond our programming? I do. I think many do.
But I also think many in leadership capacity hold their god at the furthest distance their own arms can reach. A passage that is really important to the one yielding to the Spirit operation is Romans 9:16....it isn't up to man who wills or to man who runs, but up to God....
I met with Tim Pyles yesterday; the new preacher at Broken Arrow. It was my first occasion to have a lengthy conversation. I'm highly impressed. We are already great friends. What I like about him most is he hit that point in ministry (and we each have to hit it somewhere) where he could not pull it off....ministry...any longer on his own steam. God broke him of his own confidence and now he possesses God's....II Cor. 3:4-5. The work had never been up to Tim...he had misunderstood.
One of the things that would rock every congregation is to believe two things wholeheartedly; (1) we must know the will of God, and (2) we must be absolutely unequivocally sure God will work.
1 comment:
Terry, thank you for the great encouragement that you were to me on Thursday, and for your genuine extension of kindness and friendship as a brother in Christ! It is such a refreshment for me to be relying on the strength of God for my ministry, and still astounding to me that I sought to rely on my own for so long.
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