Category: Ministry (Page 27 of 27)
Find me a place in your life (or mine) where Satan is having his way, and you will have found of place where likely there is ignorance. Hard to hear, hard to say, but true.
I have long believed that if you get the first couple chapters of the first book in the Bible right, much of your life will go right also. Unfortunately, most people don’t get the first 3 verses quite right, let alone the rest. Admittedly, this was the case for me for many years, so don’t feel bad if it’s true for you too.
Genesis 1:2-3 reads…
The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. 3 Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light.
There are three problems this scripture identifies that existed at the beginning of creation. We can know this by digging under the surface to the deeper Hebrew meanings of three of the words.
The Hebrew word for “without form” carries with it the idea of “disorder,” the word actually means this at its root. The word for “void” is the deeper word in Hebrew for “chaos.” Where there is disorder there is also chaos, the two fit hand in glove. The word “darkness” interestingly, is not the word that communicates the absence of illumination. It’s not the kind of darkness you get when you go into a cave or your closet at night. Rather, the word darkness is also the Hebrew word for “ignorance” or “without divine knowledge.”
The problems of disorder, chaos and ignorance/darkness are not from God. In fact, the Bible says the God is light, in Him there is no darkness. It also says that God is not a God of disorder nor is He the author of chaos. Rather, throughout scripture and creation, we see quite the opposite, God has put order into everything and His handwork and character can be seen in His creation. That’s because, in verse 3, God provides the solution… “light.” But it’s not the kind of light that you get when you flip the switch in your house, as a matter of fact, you may be surprised to notice that the “sun” is not given until verse 16. Rather, the word “light” is also the Hebrew word for “divine revelation” or “divine knowledge.”
So, in the Bible, where Satan is referred to as the “Prince of Darkness” it starts to make deeper sense. This reference to Satan doesn’t mean that he is the ultimate expert on how to navigate your car down a back-country road at night. The word “prince” carries with it the meaning “first to rule by.”
So Satan is the first to rule by ignorance. Very interesting.
One of the primary ways that Satan desires to rule your life is through ignorance. Find a place in your life where evil, disorder or chaos of any kind are getting the upper-hand, and I will find you a place where you are likely ignorant of God-knowledge. Either you have never received it or you have rejected it.
In the book of Hosea, the first three chapters put on display just about every problem or manifestation of evil a nation and/or a person can have in their life. The list is pretty exhaustive. Lust, corruption, depravity, violence, unrest, sin, turmoil, fear, and the list goes on and on. Yet what is so interesting is that in chapter 4:6, God reveals the root of the problem, and what He identifies might surprise you. God says, “my people are destroyed from a lack of knowledge.” Really? Not sin, not Satan, our two customary excuses? It really is true, the areas where you and I are being destroyed and discouraged in our life, are probably areas where we lack divine revelation or we have rejected it. There are principals of God that would provide the solution if applied, but either we do not know the principal(s) or we have rejected them.
Let me give you an example from my own life.
For some time, I was ignorant in an area of my walk with the Lord, probably because of a combination of a lack of revelation and a rejection of it. The bottom line is for a time, I was ignorant of how important it is to be “filled with the Spirit.” I was ignorant of the plain teachings of scripture that there is a difference between having the Holy Spirit “in you” and having Him “upon you.” One you receive at conversion, the other you need to ask for, receive, and open your life to following conversion. Yet, I always thought, at conversion, you get the Spirit “in you” and that’s it, game over, mission accomplished. Wow, was I ignorant. But once I heard and received divine knowledge about what Paul taught to converted Christians in Ephesus and elsewhere in scripture “be filled with Spirit” everything changed and my life and ministry moved to a whole new level of power and purpose. Areas where I had been defeated and discouraged, I was no more. As a matter of fact, soon after, God began to do miracles in my life, even a physical healing, and now He is doing miracles through my life, and that’s just the beginning.
If your marriage is in shambles, perhaps what you need isn’t more prayer, but to discover and apply revelation from God about how to have a healthy marriage. If your finances are in disorder, perhaps what you need is not another shouting rebuke of Satan, but to pursue God revelation for how to manage your finances and then apply what God reveals.
Satan can have no more power and authority in your life than you allow him. Where he has authority and power in your life is only where you have agreed with him to have it. Adam and Eve gave Satan authority by agreeing with Satan that eating the forbidden fruit was the best/right thing to do.
And chances are, whether it be in your marriage, your self-image, your finances, your attitude etc., where you are agreeing with him, you are doing so because you either lack divine knowledge or you have rejected it.
Satan would love nothing more than to drag you and me around by the leash of ignorance.
Pray, rebuke, fast, claim, declare, but don’t forget to not be stupid.
“My people are being destroyed by a lack of knowledge…” “The earth was in disorder, chaos, and ignorance, and God said, let there be “divine revelation.”
Thanks to Miles Munroe for inspiration
Some time ago, we went through an experience with our son that has served to teach him (and all of us) the difference between backpedaling and giving up.
If you are like me, as a parent you never want to see your child “give up” on something. Whether it’s plans they have established, a team they are on, or a promise they have made. And so we teach them phrases like, “You need to finish what you start” and “Quitters never win, and winners never quit.” And rightly so, giving up is not a principal that one is served well to live by. In our convenience-laddened culture, the idea of “giving up” comes much too easily and prematurely. Many simply “give up” the moment the going gets tough or causes them inconvenience. Indeed, commitment is the willingness to be unhappy for a while.
Yet, at the same time, there are times when we need to backpedal. That is, we get into a situation we thought was healthy, right, and in the flow of God, only to clearly find out, it wasn’t. The writings are all over the wall, “something is deeply wrong and even evil here” or “there is something not of God about this” or “this is not something for which God is anointing you.” You may not see those messages with your physical eyes or hear them with your ears, but your discernment and spiritual eyes see it clearly. It’s not a matter of trying harder, cow-boying up, or just enduring a difficult season. It’s not about you merely being frustrated, tired, hurt, or discouraged. It’s about that fact that you pedaled into something thinking it was God’s leading, only to find out, God’s no longer into it, He was never into it from the beginning, or He isn’t into it for you.
Obviously, this takes some skills in discernment to know the difference. God often leads us into situations that are challenging to grow our character and dependence on Him. But at the same time, Satan loves to entice us into things that waste our time, steal our joy, and distract us from God’s true leading in our life.
What’s the difference? God’s presence.
The moment you feel God’s presence/anointing leave you or a situation, it’s time to back pedal, and fast. Yet, as long as you sense God’s presence/anointing, you should never give up.
There have been times of great challenge, adversity, pain, and struggle in my life where in my head I wanted to give up, and could come up with all kinds of reasons and excuses as to why I should and could even spiritualize them. However, God presence/anointing was still there, and so I couldn’t give up. It’s hard to explain in words, but to those who are sensitive to it and seek it out, you can have a sense of what God is anointing (putting His presence into) in your life, and what He isn’t.
A couple years ago, our son Harrison signed up to play challenge-level soccer. He made the U-11 team and was excited about the season ahead. Yet from the beginning, with coaching problems, parent problems, and player problems, we began to discern, “something isn’t right here.” But instead of pulling the trigger too soon, we decided to give it time and see what happens, even to the point I agreed to be the head coach of the team, even after two coaches had previously opted out. Yet the more I got involved, the more the signs became loud and clear, “something really isn’t right here” and this wasn’t a battle God wanted me to fight.
In life, we need to choose our battles carefully, and especially make sure that if you tee-it-up for battle, God better be in it with you. Sometimes we take on challenges and battles God never gave us the green light for. And then we wonder why we tire easily, get bruised and battered, and ultimately wind up discouraged and even defeated.
So what did we do? We back pedaled. We didn’t give up on soccer and I didn’t give up on coaching. Not a chance. Rather, we backpedaled off the team and redirected ourselves to another opportunity for Harrison and our family where we felt God was putting His presence into. It wasn’t an easy decision, but one we knew we had to make if we wanted to be in God’s flow for our family.
Three great questions we all need to ask about every opportunity before us…
1) Is this God’s will? 2) Is this God’s will for me? 3) Is this God’s will for me at this time?
And even after all of your best discernment, always remember, there is nothing wrong with backpedaling when you find yourself into something God is simply not into, or God is simply not into for you
If your life has been at all like mine, there have been times when you have reached a dead end. The situation seems hopeless and you wonder how things will ever work out. You may feel trapped, abandoned, or just totally zapped. Every effort you give to solve or move past the situation brings with it more confirmation that the challenge is above and beyond your strength and understanding to resolve, remedy or explain. Is there anything you can do when you come to the end of the rope? How should we handle the times when we come to a dead end? Is there any hope when we find ourselves in hopeless situations?
Here’s a few words of counsel when you find yourself holding on by the threads…
1) Consider that what appear in life to be “setbacks” are often “setups” from God
Sometimes when we feel backed in a corner with no way out, the situation can be daunting and very intimidating. So naturally, we first think of it as a negative, not a positive. We imagine the worst possible outcomes and conclude that life is unfair and the situation will never turn out for the good. However, what we may not immediately realize is that God is trying to correct our path or even set us up for an entirely new course, and if He didn’t force the issue, we would have never considered nor traveled down the path of His desires for us.
Consider that maybe God is testing your faith, or drawing you closer to him so that He can move you to a new chapter in your life. Or, maybe God is protecting you from greater harm or disappointment. Maybe God is positioning you to impact and influence people whom you never would or could have if He didn’t allow the situation you are in to come to pass.
Or, maybe just maybe, God is simply giving you a real, true-to-life story to tell of God’s faithfulness as He leads you, walks with you, and takes you from tremendous difficulty to tremendous triumph.
Instead of seeing your circumstance as a sure “setback” try asking God to show you what He is trying to “setup” for your life and future through the challenging circumstance you are in. You might just be amazed at what He shows you.
For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jeremiah 29:11
2) Wait on the Lord
Typically, when it feels like we have been left hung out to dry in life, our first impulse is try to quickly get away from the pain, solve the problem, make a decision, move things ahead somehow, or find a way out. The problem is, those impulses are often emotionally driven and impulsive. Who could blame us? We are hurt, spent, tired, disillusioned and the list goes on and on. But that’s all the more reason to “wait on the Lord.” When we find ourselves feeling hopelessly trapped in a dead end, we aren’t usually as stable and sober in our thinking and judgement. And most of all, waiting is the last thing we want to do. But waiting, is actually one of the most important things we should do. The times when life throws us a curve ball and the unexpected happens are some of the times when we are the most vulnerable and apt to take a mistake and make into a bigger mistake, or a difficult situation and make it into an even more difficult situation. The scheme-artist Satan would love to do nothing more than exploit you and your situation.
Waiting on the Lord doesn’t mean you do absolutely nothing, but it does mean that you make every effort to take each step with the clear leading and nudges of God, and not before. Remember, God is very likely setting up something, but if you rush ahead, you’ll miss it. You never know what God is up too, and the last thing you want to do is to give up too soon. Is there a time to “give up?” Is there a time when you may realize, God is closing one door and opening up another? Sure. But if you don’t wait on the Lord, you will never know what was His will as compared to what was merely you getting quick in the saddle and moving before God blows the whistle. Unfortunately, the only thing that can come as a result of that is found in one word you should do everything you can to avoid experiencing… regret.
If you wait on God, he will show you, lead you, and nudge into His purposes and plans. Waiting on God assures that you don’t get ahead or behind what God has been working towards all along.
Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD. Psalm 27:14
3) Remember, when you reach the dead end, you are actually closer to deliverance than you have ever been before.
It’s hard to see, it’s hard to believe, it’s hard to feel, but it is absolutely true! When you are at a dead end, you are actually closer to the possibility of things truly moving forward and new doors opening up than ever before. Like a doctor will tell you, sometimes a fractured bone needs be completely broken before it can be healed. And furthermore, when it does heal, it will then be stronger than ever before. Sometimes God has to bring us to our knees before we are willing to wake up and seek His will and wisdom for our life. In a sense, he has to break us so that we can be truly healed.
Dead ends have a way of opening us up to real life, the life only God can give us. Dead ends have a way of showing us how much we need God and His supernatural power. We often think we are the masters of our own universe and that we don’t need anybody but our own smart selves. Dead ends shows us how desperate, insufficient, and in need of God we really are.
God-given deliverance never comes without coming first to a God-planned dead end. Dead ends have a great way of showing us where we end and God must begin if things are to ever truly move forward towards healing and wholeness. Unfortunately, many come to a dead end only to give up too soon, or never turn to God to be and do for them all the things in their life that they can’t and never will be able to on their own. What happens? They never graduate.
Think of every dead end in your life as a classroom from God where most of the time, the ticket to graduate is turning to God in faith and faithfulness at a level you have never before. If you never turn to God in faith God will allow you to either turn away from Him or keep bumping your head into the wall. With God’s classrooms, there is only one grade, “pass.” And he will allow you to stay in that classroom until you do.
Sometimes God uses dead ends to press you towards repentance (turning to God for forgiveness and salvation, and turning away from sin). Other times he uses them to press you towards faith and trust in Him. The bottom line is, what God might be trying to deliver in your life is a bucket load of forgiveness, hope, healing, salvation, supernatural blessings, and the list goes on and on. But God can’t deliver what you don’t desire and turn to Him for in your life. If you feel like you have been in a dead end and nothing is moving forward, it isn’t because God doesn’t desire to deliver you through it, it maybe that you haven’t sought out His deliverance because you want it, realize you need it, and know you can’t truly move forward without it.
The Bible says that without faith we can’t please God, dead ends have a way of pressing us towards faith and dependance on God. So often we think we can deliver everything our lives need for fulfillment, peace, and happiness, and wholeness. Dead ends teach us that only God can deliver what we really need and long for in life.
I sought the LORD, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears. Psalm 34:4
4) Listen closely for God, and if He is silent, it may be because He wants you to learn to trust what He has already said or shown you.
The Bible counsels us that in times of crisis, we need to “Be still.” Listening closely for God is one of the most important things to do when you get the end of a rope and it feels like there is no way out. Yet at the same time, it will be harder and take longer to hear God if you haven’t been in a good habit of listening to God prior to when you ran into a dead end. That is not to discourage you, but to say that listening to God before the storm comes reaps a lot of benefits for your life when a storm finally does come. As a matter of fact, I have found that God will prepare me and even warn me of rough waters ahead if I am willing to listen to him when the skies are clear and the sun is shining.
If at first, you don’t sense you are hearing from God, be patient. Yet, God may remain silent. Why? There are several reasons, you could have an unconfessed sin mudding up your connection with God, you can be too busy and scattered in your life to hear Him, etc. But one reason may be is that God has already spoken into your life what you need to hear from Him and you need to simply trust in what He has already said or revealed to you. God isn’t opposed to repeating Himself, but sometimes His silence is a message to you that you haven’t been listening.
Whatever you do, make sure you take time to slow down, be still, and listen to God. In the passage below, Elijah didn’t hear God until he was willing to listen.
11 The LORD said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by.” Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. 12 After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. 13 When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave. 1 Kings 9:11-12
5) Seek out counsel not advice
Anybody can give an opinion from their best take on a situation, but not everybody can give good counsel. Advice comes from the opinions of people, counsel comes from the wisdom of God. When you come to a dead-end level situation, you are going to want expert counsel from the expert of life, God. God created you, He knows His plans for you, and He knows you better than you know yourself. If there is any wisdom you should seek out, it should first and foremost be God’s wisdom. Where do you find that? Two primary places… 1) God’s Word (The Bible) 2) People who are wise in the ways of God
If you don’t have one, get a good study Bible and some Christian books on the subject of your dead end. Read your Bible everyday and apply what you read. If I can understand it and make sense out of it, trust me, you can too. If you don’t go to Church, find a healthy, Bible believing and teaching Church that suits your personal preferences. Finally, seek out the counsel of Christian, faithful people who love the Lord and believe in the Bible as the absolute truth.
There isn’t a more important time to avoid advice and seek Godly counsel then when you reach the end of the rope and you are clueless as to what to think, feel, and do.
Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path. Psalm 119:105
6) Present yourself totally available to any direction God might desire to take you, then watch for what God is anointing and what God is closing down.
Sometimes, even in the desperation of a dead end, we can have our own preconceived, stubborn ideas as to what direction our lives should go. There is nothing wrong with that unless of course it keeps you from allowing God to overhaul, change your plans, rework you expectations, or redirect your life completely.
Behind every dead end is an opportunity to take a time-out with God and reevaluate where things are going in your life. It’s a great chance to present yourself to God as an open canvass upon which God can erase, redraw, and repaint whatever He desires for you future. Though this may sound like a bit of a frightening proposition, it really is a win, win. God will confirm what is headed down the right path and gently correct what needs better alignment with His will. Regardless of what God does, you can trust and know for sure that it will be for your ultimate good.
As you completely open up you life for evaluation and possible renovation, start looking for what things God is blessing and what He is closing down in your life. From bringing into your life new friends and closing down old relationships, to giving you new passions and desires and shutting down old ones, follow the path God lays before you of closed doors and open ones. It may not be the easiest thing to do, but you will be blessed as you take on new God-dimensions for your life.
Soak me in your laundry and I’ll come out clean, scrub me and I’ll have a snow-white life. Tune me into foot-tapping songs, set these once-broken bones to dancing. Don’t look too close for blemishes, give me a clean bill of health. God, make a fresh start in me, shape a Genesis week from the chaos of my life. Don’t throw me out with the trash, or fail to breathe holiness in me. Bring me back from gray exile, put a fresh wind in my sails! Give me a job teaching rebels your ways so the lost can find their way home. Commute my death sentence, God, my salvation God, and I’ll sing anthems to your life-giving ways. Unbutton my lips, dear God; I’ll let loose with your praise. Psalm 51:7-15 (The Message Translation)
7) Finally, walk by faith, not by sight.
God doesn’t allow you to get to the end of the rope for you to spend the rest of your life there. It may feel that way, but it is not the case.
At some point, after you have done what is listed above, God is going to nudge you to move forward in faith. You will know it when it happens. It won’t be exactly clear what the future is going to bring, but that is why it requires faith. God will give you enough to follow and yet leave enough undisclosed so that you can do so in faith. That way, God gets all the glory.
God will go with you, but He won’t go for you. At some point, you are going to have to pick up and move on towards God and His will for your life. And if at first, you are a bit off course of His perfect will, He will gently correct your path, so don’t feel like every decision you make is do or die. The first step is the hardest, but once you get going, God will direct you and steer you into His purposes and plans for you as long as you keep the connection lines wide open between you and God and seek to honor and please Him in all the you are and do.
Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. Hebrews 11:1
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