Job Opportunity

Well, I figured that the title would certainly catch your interest! :)

On Sunday, we talked about what Jesus told us to do, that is go and work in the field to bring in the harvest. The field, of course, is the lost world and the work is bringing people into the Kingdom of God. There is no question but that Jesus is sending out the word that He seriously needs EVERYONE to pitch in and be one of the harvesters:

"Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. When he saw the crowds, he had great compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, 'The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.'" Matthew 9:35-38

This is one job, folks, that we don't have to apply for. You don't need to fill out endless paperwork. You don't need to take a physical or an agility test. You don't need to show proof of a college degree or extensive training, or go through a psychological evaluation.

Jesus was talking to His disciples. That's you and me, by the way. And He wasn't going through the group and choosing those who could do the work. "Let's see, um, Peter I think you need some anger management work before I can trust you to go out in the field. Thomas, maybe if you spent a couple of years more following me around, your faith will grow big enough to work at the harvest. James, you and I need to hang back and work on your attitude. Andrew, I just don't see you as ministry material. Matthew, your past of being a dishonest Tax Collector seriously disqualifies you to participate in this work."

Nope, he didn't say any of those things. He looked at that rag tag group of followers, looked past all of their imperfections, and told them He needed them to do a job for Him. They were seriously underqualified from a human perspective. They lacked training. They had personality flaws. They had their issues. But He called them, and He sent them.

He sent them, but not just them. Us too! We are all underqualified, lack training, and we are none of us perfect. But God isn't interested in any of that. He's only interested in who will obey His command to go into the field and work the harvest! Period. He takes our flaws, our insecurities, our lack of ability and He pours on His power through the Holy Spirit, and amazing things happen!

"The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor." Luke 4:18-19

"The Spirit of the Lord" may be the most important part of those verses. Jesus was doing His work under the power of the Holy Spirit--the same Holy Spirit that resides in you and me.

So here's the point. The job is open. The field is ripe. A "Help Wanted" sign is calling you. The question is, will you be a harvester in your circle of influence--your family, friends, neighbors, co-workers, and strangers you encounter? Will you start now? Are you willing to step out and be amazed at what God will do through you?

Talk to me! I want to know what you are hearing!

How to Avoid Paying Up

On Sunday we talked about dealing with and resisting temptation. We talked about how giving into temptation will cause you to find yourself in a trap, trying to cover up sin, and ultimately dealing with the consequences.

What I want to focus on today is the traps set for God's people. As a pastor over the years, I have seen hundreds of temptations that people deal with. Often the problem with temptation, as I said on Sunday, is that they are so subtle. One type of temptation that often goes largely unnoticed by Christians is the temptation to think more like the world.

Paul writes: "And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God." Romans 12:2

We are not to be "world thinkers." We need to be thinking as God wants us to think. The Bible talks about having the mind of Christ. If we look at life, at relationships, at our responsibilities, at the world in the same way that Christ does, then it makes me wonder if we would be so quick to buy into the thinking behind these sayings. Here are a few, followed by my thoughts.

"Seek always for the answers within yourself." (Excuse me, but I have no answers. God is my source of answers.)

"There are many roads to heaven." (Jesus said that He is the way, the truth and the life and no one comes to the Father except through Him.)

"Re-examine all you have been told. Ignore those that make you unhappy." (My happiness or unhappiness in being told something is not a good measure of whether what I've been told is true and valuable.)

"God wants you to be happy." (No, God wants me to be content in whatever state I find myself. He offers me abundant life.)

"Pay attention to that unchanging part of yourself. It is perfect." (The only thing perfect in me is Jesus.)

"It's important to feel good." (Feeling good is not the goal. The goal is to honor Christ with my life and sometimes that involves doing things that might not feel good at the time.)

"Nothing can bring you peace but yourself." (God is my only source of peace.)

"Visualize a great life and it will come to you." (Where does it say that in the Bible?)

"Life is full of opportunities to find great power within yourself." (Again, my only power is in Christ.)

"Learn to trust your intuition. It is your spirit whispering directions in your ears." (I trust God to lead me. My intuition has led me astray many times!)

"Love the people who treat you right and forget about the ones who don't." (The Bible says love your enemies.)

Do you ever buy into these lies? Do you know Christians who do? Why do you think Christians get sucked into these deceptions? Talk to me!

What Will I Give Him?

Nathan has spent the past three weeks teaching us. Let's recap!

Two weeks ago, he taught from Matthew 13:44-46. It is the passage about a man who sells all he has to be able to purchase a pearl of great value and another man who did the same to purchase a field with a treasure hidden in it.

Our conclusion that day was that what the man GAINED was obviously worth more than what he gave up. We listed all the things we have in Christ, for that is what we gain. (See the post below from December 27.)

Last week, he continued on the theme, and then talked about the value of what we gain by serving Christ, and reminded us that we cannot focus on two things at the same time. We cannot pursue Christ wholeheartedly, if our attention is on something else. "No man can serve two masters." (Matthew 6:24)

So today, with those two concepts in mind--the great worth of what we gain in Christ and the fact that it is impossible to pursue Christ and something else at the same time--we talked about the importance of being set apart for Him. Remember that when we are set apart for Him it means we are also set apart from something else. It involves giving up whatever would keep us from pursuing him with a single minded focus.

Now this doesn't mean that God wants us all to sell or give away all we have, live on the streets, quit our jobs and sit around and pray all day. We don't need to do anything unless He tells us to. We don't need to make a renewed commitment to do more or be more or take on more. We need to listen and obey Him. If He tells us to take on something, do it! If He tells us to give up something, do it!

The point is to listen to Him. Ask Him what is keeping you from focusing on Him, and when He tells you what it is, then repent and obey Him. He may tell you to give up your focus on one of the things we listed on the white board: toys, hard work, children/grandchildren, sports, retirement, marriage, relationships, causes, etc. Are any of those things bad or wrong? Of course not! But if they are becoming the focus of your life, then they have become an idol in your life. You cannot focus on two things at once. You cannot serve two masters.

Focus on Christ as your ONLY master. Listen to what He tells you to do. Adjust your life accordingly!

Thoughts?

What Is It Worth?

On Sunday, Nathan shared with us part two of a three part message. You will remember that last Sunday (see the previous post below) he talked with us about the things we receive by being "in Christ." It was an amazing list of the benefits of choosing Him.

To review Sunday's message, here are some highlights that stood out to me:

1) We have to give up everything else, (just as we read in Matthew 13:44-46 we have to sell the lesser thing to gain the greater) because otherwise God is just "one more thing" in our collection. That leads to the next point.

2) We can't serve two masters. We are not very good multi-taskers. We can't focus on God while focusing on something else as well.

3) We value the thing we choose and devalue the one we don't. We will rejoice in what we acquire or seek to acquire, and we will downplay that which we choose not to acquire.

4) There are some consequences of not pursuing what we say we value:

• A limited ability to rejoice in Him, when we aren't choosing him.
• A loss of enthusiasm/zeal for the things of God.
• A loss of confidence and an experience of doubt.

5) There are some biblical remedies for the temptation to focus on other things:

• Philemon 1:6 - Be active in sharing your faith so that you will have full understanding.
• Matthew 6:25-33 - Seek God and His kingdom, and then all the "stuff" that you need will be provided.
• I Timothy 6:6-19 - Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness. Don't pursue riches, but pursue God and He will give richly all you need.
• Philippians 4:10-19 - Two things here: You can do all things, including enduring hardship, through Christ. When you share what you have, God will supply what you need.

And finally, a passage that sums it all up:

"Keep your lives free from the love of money and
be content with what you have, because God has
said, 'Never will I leave you; never will
I forsake you.' So we say with confidence,
'The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid.
What can man do to me?'"
Hebrews 13:5-6

If God is with us, if He is our helper, we have nothing to fear. Not only that, but we can pursue Him, love Him, and turn from other things, because He is all we need. We can be content.

What are your thoughts?