I could equally have titled this thought “Embracing Risk”. When I was much younger and way more foolish I did several risky things, not thinking about what would happen if things went horribly wrong. Praise God I’m still alive with only a few scars to show.
Now that I’m older and presumably much wiser I tend to consider the risk before engaging in a venture or action, and I use safety glasses more often. My point is this – when the course of action before us tends to scare the pants off us, we must not allow fear or risk aversion to disqualify us from God’s best.
My advice is – list the worst things that can happen, and plan beforehand how to deal with those outcomes if they happen. Fear can be a floating thing, but when we isolate what we’re actually afraid of then we can rationally deal with possible outcomes. In order for us to grow into the image of Christ, God will always put before us a task that seems too big for us. And when we ask ourselves “what’s the worst that can happen?” and then mentally deal with that before it happens, then we can obediently move forward – in a sense “running into the possibility of failure”. If we get it wrong, then we’re already prepared for the worst outcomes. But the reality is that God will lead us and be with us and the failures whose very thought can cripple us before we start probably won’t actually happen. Wise counsel, preparedness, and the guidance of the Holy Spirit will see us through.
Imagine how the disciples felt when Jesus said to them “ok guys, I’m leaving but I want you to go into the whole world and do everything that I did.” I suspect they would have had to work through a number of issues.
I’m not ready for this!
What if no one listens?
What if I run out of money?
What about my family?
Who do I turn to if this whole thing turns to custard?
Many of you will know of Ian Grant, notable preacher and tv presenter, who together with his wife Mary equipped many through family and teen challenges. Ian was the stuttering sound guy – a technical guy in the background. But there was a need and he was asked to speak. He didn’t exactly sprint to the podium but he certainly had to face up to the probability of making an absolute fool of himself in front of a crowd because of his speech impediment. However God came through and, despite a persistent stutter, he began his public speaking career.
We live in days when God is raising up a victorious bride. It’s challenging. When it’s no longer I that live but Christ who lives in me then I’d rather be obedient – with the possibility of failure – than miss God’s best for me and for those He’s called me to influence.
Fear is not an emotion I want to live with. We can all think of times we have been fearful. It is an emotion I want to run away from. I remember in my younger days watching a suspenseful movie and putting my hand over my face and peeping out between my fingers occasionally to see what was happening. In fact I saw far too many scary movies from a young age and it affected me so much that I would always look under my bed before I went to sleep at night. I would hear every little noise in the dark. Because of what I had seen on the screen my imagination would take me down that scary path.
As a believer in God, I am thankful that I don’t have to live in fear any more. We are called to live a life of faith, it’s the only way to please God – a life of faith in Him and His promises. Our lives are not based on what we see but on what God says in His word. “Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God.” Living a life of faith is living a life of obedience to God (Romans 1:5) therefore living with fear is disobedience. We are all able to have fears but it is our choice not to succumb to them. I think of it like allowing a virus into a computer. Why would I torment myself allowing fears to come into my mind when God has provided a way of escape with the ability to live a life of faith, which leads to peace. Why would I allow my ‘enemy’ to torment me? There’s a truth in the acronym that FEAR is False Evidence Appearing Real.
As a true believer we don’t intentionally want to disobey God but if we are allowing life’s circumstances to bring fears into our lives then it is time to act. It’s time for a check up. Do you believe the news more than God’s word? Turn TV off! Do you talk more about the bad news than God’s plans for our nation and world? Do you see yourself as a grasshopper instead of an overcomer who carries the power and authority of God? If you need to repent, repent and see yourself reigning with Christ in heavenly places. Refocus on God’s awesome plan for you at this time in history. My empowering statement when I hear about the gloom and doom is to declare “Not on my watch!”
We as a church are called to govern and to declare God’s destiny for our lives and for our nation. You and I privileged to be on earth at this time to be part of the great reawakening, the greatest move of God the world has ever seen. “Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. For behold, darkness will cover the earth, and deep darkness the peoples; but the Lord will rise upon you.” Isaiah 60:1,2
Isaiah reprimands the house of Israel for their disobedience:
If only you had paid attention to My commandments! Then your peace/well-being (Heb: shalom) would have been like a river, and your righteousness like the waves of the sea. Isaiah 48:18
This reminds us of how often we’ve “missed it” with God, how often we haven’t paid attention to His commandments and so our peace hasn’t been quite the promised river but more like a trickle – or even a dry stream bed! Have we all been 100% obedient to God all of our Christian lives? Of course not! And then it’s so easy to beat ourselves up and say “well if only I had been able to crucify my stubborn selfish nature then I would have experienced more of that river of peace and well-being that God promises.”
But the truth is, our old man is dead – we’ve been crucified with Christ. (Gal 2:20). And it’s no longer I who live but Christ lives in Me! Now that changes everything!
When Adam let self rule in the garden of Eden, thus usurping the rule of God, then he condemned all future generations to constant war against sin and self. But Jesus overcame that continual losing battle for our sakes. In another garden – Gethsemane – 4000 years later the sinless Son of God prayed three times “not my will but Yours, Father”. He didn’t pray the same thing three times so that His Father would take notice, but this was the painful process of Jesus subduing his will to the Father on behalf of us all. The total defeat of Jesus’ self will was so painful that Jesus sweated drops of blood. In that garden Jesus won back the complete obedience and submission that Adam lost in the first garden.
Now, because we are IN CHRIST we too can claim that defeat of sinful self. Our will is surrendered, our self is dead in Christ, we obey ALL of God’s commandments, and thus we can claim peace like a river as Isaiah offers! Saints – don’t see your defeats, you’ll just get depressed and condemned. Fix your eyes on Jesus and the truth of His word.
If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come (2 Cor 5:17).
“Thankyou Lord that in You I am a new creation. My old self has been crucified with Christ and I’ve been raised up together with You, seated with You in heavenly places. Thankyou Jesus that you submitted your will to the Father in the Garden of Gethsemane, and now, because I am in you and you are in me, my will is submitted to the Father. Because I am in Christ I now obey all of God’s commandments and promptings. My peace is like a river. In you I have well-being, contentment and joy, and complete wholeness in my soul. In the name of Jesus. Amen.”
None of us would be so foolish as to pick a fight with God. But I’ve discovered there are ways that we can unwittingly resist Him and thus set ourselves up for failure. The key is the principle of agreement. Conflicting thoughts and desires will put our lives in disagreement with God then it’s like we’re in a tug of war. God is pulling one way and we can be pulling against Him and wondering why things aren’t working out.
Unmet expectations, disappointments, repressed emotions, and inner conflicts – these are all areas of disagreement with God that hinder His working in our lives.
Let me give a few simple examples.
Some years ago I was working in my accounting job. I wasn’t really happy in it and wanted to be somewhere else. I’m not sure where else – I just didn’t want to be there. By my actions I chose to stay in that job but according to my heart I was choosing to be somewhat absent. I was double minded, and with a divided heart. I had to resolve the question “if God wants me here then I have to be all here, but if He doesn’t want me here then I need to take some action steps to move on”. My life in this respect was not in agreement with God and there was no blessing – clearly I did not have peace of mind. Eventually I gained the right perspective, stopped trying to subconsciously escape, and came to love my job.
This can apply to any area of life – church, social setting, waiting in line. If you don’t want to be there – leave! If you do want to be there – stay, but be all in! You can’t say to yourself “Thankyou Lord that I have the mind of Christ – I have the half of you that wants to stay and I also have the other half of You that wants to leave.” For goodness sake – don’t be double minded, face up to the sources of conflict and resolve them. In doing so you’ll flick the lever of blessing from OFF to ON as your life comes into agreement with God’s purposes.
At the moment we have to vacate our rented home early May after having been here over 5 years. I find I’m having to deal with worry, in other words “I’m not sure of the likelihood of provision”. Then there’s the aspect of timing “I’m not sure your timing is very good on this one God.” When I restate the issues like this then it’s obvious that I’m in disagreement with God. I’ve become like that rascal that James is addressing:
But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord, being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. James 1:6-8
I guess when you’ve grown up (as James did) with Jesus as your older brother you learn to say things as they are and not beat around the bush.
How about King Saul, who said to Samuel: “Now the Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal, and I have not asked the favour of the LORD. So I forced myself and offered the burnt offering.” (1 Sam13:12). Really Saul?? Who forced you?? Come on mate – you made a bad decision based on character weakness and now you’re trying to justify yourself with the prophet.
Aaron tried the same approach with little brother Moses when Moses asked him about the golden calf. Aaron responded “they gave me their gold, and I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf.” Yeah, right. Blameshifting, lying, irrational excuses, and disagreement with truth – all in one package.
A word on procrastination. This is an irrational decision to not do a necessary action because of an overriding emotion. Delay can be a wise choice but procrastination is inner conflict and disagreement. Jesus didn’t put off the cross till later because it was a painful choice but set His face to go to Jerusalem because it was the Father’s timing.
Let’s say what we mean, mean what we say, and let our actions fully display what we’ve decided in our heart. When any of these things are out of alignment, then we’ve allowed a stronghold of disagreement in our lives and have therefore shut out the blessing of God.
The way forward is through prayerful searching of our heart, repentance of any internal conflicts, and declarations such as “Lord I come into complete agreement with Your purposes in this area.”
Lately I’ve been praying a whole lot more for our leaders. I’ve found this has come with new challenges.
When we see leaders misusing their stewardship of authority and resources it’s easy to be annoyed at such behaviour. These leaders may be in government, in our work situation, in the church, or any other area of endeavour where people are making decisions that affect the lives of others.
Righteous anger is fine – that motivates us to pray and to get involved in a solution. Righteous anger was shown by Jesus when he overturned the tables in the temple, and also by David when he stood up to Goliath’s challenge.
But don’t mistake righteous anger at the sin for fleshly anger at the person. Moses had an issue with anger and in the end it disqualified him from entering the promised land.
If we’re angry at the person then Jesus said our heart is guilty of murder (Mat 5:22). That’s why He said to His disciples “You don’t know what spirit you’re of” when they didn’t get a good reception from the Samaritans and wanted to call down fire from heaven. (Luk 9:55 – not all versions contain this portion). As James points out: the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God. (Jam1:20).
When our flesh rises up in anger, or even annoyance, and something in our hearts wants to see the fire of God’s judgment fall on someone acting incorrectly then we are acting in a spirit of murder. In this way we are in agreement with the enemy and are partnering with him in his agenda of stealing, killing, destroying.
How effective do you think your prayers are when you are operating from a spirit that is in agreement with the kingdom of darkness and in direct opposition to the kingdom of heaven? We are supposed to be binding the demons and loosing the angels – but a prayer prayed from fleshly anger does exactly the opposite – empowering the demons and restricting the angels.
Further, we can rejoice at God’s justice, the display of His character, and His deliverance of us but we should not rejoice at the downfall of the wicked. Rejoicing in God’s justice is birthed in worship because our focus is on God. But rejoicing at the downfall of the wicked is rooted in:
arrogance – “I’m righteous and they are wicked”
and hatred, as our focus is on the fate of the wicked person.
Our hearts are tempted to say of Pharaoh “He got what was coming to him”, but instead we should say “Praise you Lord for your justice and deliverance.”
Proverbs 24:17 and 18 says: Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, and let not your heart be glad when he stumbles, lest the Lord see it and be displeased, and turn away his anger from him.
It’s interesting that God so hates enmity in our hearts that He will even turn His anger away from the wicked because of the wrong attitudes of our heart. This shows God’s heart for the defenceless – when we rejoice at the downfall of our enemies we are provoking God to rise up and defend them from the anger in our hearts. Even Job figured this out before Solomon wrote that proverb above: Have I rejoiced at the extinction of my enemy, or exulted when evil befell him? No, I have not allowed my mouth to sin by asking for his life in a curse. Job 31:29,30
It’s so important to see people as God sees them, however nasty, wicked, deluded, stubborn, or self-centred they are. God saw a world-changing apostle in Saul (Paul) the murderous, self-righteous, religious zealot. God saw good in the unrighteous and arrogant King Nebuchadnezzar, who in a fit of self-absorbed rage, threw three young righteous Hebrew men into a furnace because they wouldn’t worship his idol. But God humbled him by driving him crazy for seven years so he could finally look up and honour God.
We are instructed to pray for those in authority (1 Tim 2:1,2). And Jesus says it plainly: love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. Matthew 5:44,45
To paraphrase those words of Jesus – God does good to all so you must be like Him. Note: the rain Jesus refers to is good rain that causes your crops to grow whether you’re nice or nasty.
But how do we pray? Peter gives us an example of how to pray for those whom we might deem as “enemies”. He addressed the crowd in Jerusalem saying “God raised up Jesus to bless you by turning you from your wicked ways.” (Acts 3:26). So we can always pray blessing on everyone – maybe God will use your prayer of blessing to turn someone from their wicked ways.
When you pray blessing and grace upon a wicked leader, one of two things will happen.
They will respond to God’s grace – either knowingly or unknowingly – by making right decisions, and maybe even turning from their wicked ways. God gives wisdom and guidance to leaders whether they realise it or not, that’s why we must pray for our leaders.
Or:
They will willingly and knowingly reject God’s grace and wisdom and stubbornly pursue their wicked agenda. In this way, God will be justified in bringing His judgments against them. He will condemn the wicked by bringing his way on his own head (1Kings 8:32). Wicked Haman – the enemy of Esther and the Jews – was hung on his own gallows. Goliath’s head was cut off by his own sword.
Bill Johnson from Bethel Church says “We don’t have the right to ACCUSE anyone before the Lord, we REPRESENT them before God. We pray FOR them not AGAINST them.”
When we pray from a heart that is free from wrong attitudes then we can effectively pray for God to move, to bless, to change hearts, to expose evil motives, and to confuse evil plans. Sometimes God will rise up and bring justice against His and our enemies – let that be His judgment and not ours.
Don’t be intimidated in any way by your enemies. This will be a sign to them that they are going to be destroyed – Philippians 1:28 New Living Translation.
When we choose not to yield to fear then we’re sending a clear signal to our enemies – “victory is coming!”
We know that people are not our primary enemies. Rather it’s the demonic kingdom that is against us, described as rulers and authorities, world forces of darkness, spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places (Ephesians 6:12). Although our enemies are primarily from the demonic kingdom we are often uncomfortably reminded that this antagonism to us is manifested through people, whether they are earthly authorities, neighbours or family.
Fortunately God has provided spiritual weapons that destroy these strongholds (2 Corinthians 10:3,4).
Our key verse in Philippians shows us one of these spiritual weapons – bold faith (which is a lack of fear). Our bold faith and lack of fear is a signal to the demonic kingdom that they will be defeated in the current battle.
My paraphrase of Philippians 1:28 – If you’re not afraid of them, then they are afraid of you.
Conversely if you’re afraid, this gives the unseen realm power over you. Just as sharks can detect blood and movement in the ocean so the demonic realm can sense our fear and then gain a foothold in our lives.
If you start feeding stray cats then you’ll soon wonder why you get every cat in the neighbourhood coming to your door. In the same way if we “feed our demons” then they’ll stay and bring their friends. Fear is demon food. Instead, repent of your belief that bad things will happen, find some good scriptures to build your faith, meditate on and verbalise those scriptures.
As you replace your fear with faith you’ll be hanging up two signs in the invisible realm:
Fear is no longer served in this kitchen
Warning: electric fence – powered by Jesus – do not come near
Many of us have been believers for some time but have not experienced much of God’s power working through our lives. When was the last time we led someone to the Lord, cast out demons, saw the sick healed, raised people from the dead. Maybe sometimes, but I believe this should be happening in our normal everyday lives. I dream about the time when we are buzzing with excitement when we gather together because of what the Holy Spirit has been doing in our lives during that week, with people being added to the church daily. We are called to live as Jesus on this earth. We are a royal priesthood, ruling and reigning in His authority to bring the kingdom of heaven to earth. We are to have His heart for people (they will know we are Christians by our love), we are to be His hands, His feet. Why? To destroy the works of the evil one! Putting this into a relevant context for us now – we are God’s answer to bring our nation back to God. God and you are a majority. It’s not about numbers it’s about God’s power and authority living in us. Nothing is too hard for God through us! It’s time to believe it!! It’s overdue, but not too late to repent of our mindsets that are contrary to how God sees us, repent of the lack of prayer and hearing His voice, repent of, often unknowingly, agreeing with the enemy’s plans. We declare and decree what God desires for our nation. Our words are powerful to negate the enemy’s plans. Get activated for such a time as this. The harvest is just around the corner and each one of us needs to be positioned and in correct alignment with the Holy Spirit’s leading, ready for action.
We have entered a new era and none of us have been this way before. It is time to brush the dust off those prophetic words you haven’t seen come to pass and claim them afresh, declaring them over your lives, getting refired in prayer and stepping out in faith to see them come to pass.
In my experience believers often struggle in their lives if they haven’t been baptized in water and haven’t been baptized in the Holy Spirit. If that is you then now is the time to follow through and have your breakthrough. Let’s be reminded of what the Word says. Acts1:8 (The Passion Translation) “But I promise you this – the Holy Spirit will come upon you and you will be seized with power.”
Let our prayer with Paul be “that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection”. We can also claim his prayer for the Ephesian church: “I pray that you will continually experience the immeasurable greatness of God’s power made available to you through faith. Then your lives will be an advertisement of His immense power as it works through you! This is the mighty power that was released when God raised Christ from the dead and exalted Him to the place of highest honour and supreme authority in the heavenly realm.” Ephesians 2:19,20 (The Passion Translation)
Get plugged in to the mighty power of God to enter into this supernatural era we live in, and to see the glory of God manifested through you as you bring the kingdom of God to earth and to our beautiful New Zealand.
While waiting on God I saw many open doors and beyond these doors were places of freedom and God’s presence and glory. I sensed God was saying to the body of Christ that He has open doors for us in all areas of our lives and that this is not a time for holding back but for stepping up to expect ‘the more’ in every area of our lives. Stepping up will mostly mean stepping out of our comfort zone and what feels convenient and taking an intentional step of faith. This is how we move into our destiny and conquer those ‘giants’ in our lives. When we walk through those doors we find a place where we are repositioned to flow more in the spirit of God, and know His guidance and presence.
As believers we are to be following Jesus daily, and growing and maturing as God’s children. Exercising our faith is essential for growth. “If you do what you’ve always done you will get what you’ve always got.” When was the last time you did something that you haven’t done before? In the crucial times we are living in let’s step up in our family life/marriage, our relationships with others, our career, our leisure time, our calling, our health and fitness…. This week can I challenge you to ask God how you can step up in those areas. He is waiting to give you clarity and encouragement. The doors are wide open, will you step up and step through into ‘the more’ that is uniquely for you?
I recorded this message to be broadcast on Nepalese radio to an English speaking audience. In 20 minutes I give a clear and simple presentation of the saving gospel of Jesus Christ.
In a recent time of waiting on God I received the one word ‘ARISE’. I knew this word was for me and also for the body of Christ. I enquired further about what God meant by what He was saying – it is not a time to be inactive or confined. We as believers are always to live out of the freedom God has given to us from a place of His rest. No striving, just obeying. We are to live from a place of victory, seated with Christ in heavenly places, living out of the principles of the kingdom of heaven.
Our prayer should always be “Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” Now is time to arise in who we are as Christ, His hands, His feet, His mouthpiece, with His heart of compassion, mercy and love. Our loving Heavenly Father wants us to extend our borders as believers, to stretch our spiritual muscles in every area of our lives – God is calling us to extend our faith to trust Him for ‘the more’ in our relationship with Him, in our faith, our giftings, our relationships, in our daily lives, reaching the lost … in all areas. This is the place of victory! God is calling for total surrender to the calling that is on our lives. I don’t want to look back on this time and think ‘I wish I’d been more sensitive to hearing God’s voice and obeying Him.’
Arise, shine, (fellow believers) for your light has come, (shine your light in the darkness) and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you… and His glory will be seen upon you (as surrendered followers of Jesus).” Isaiah 60:1-2
As a believer in God, I am thankful that I don’t have to live in fear any more. We are called to live a life of faith, it’s the only way to please God – a life of faith in Him and His promises. Our lives are not based on what we see but on what God says in His word. “Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God.” Living a life of faith is living a life of obedience to God (Romans 1:5) therefore living with fear is disobedience. We are all able to have fears but it is our choice not to succumb to them. I think of it like allowing a virus into a computer. Why would I torment myself allowing fears to come into my mind when God has provided a way of escape with the ability to live a life of faith, which leads to peace. Why would I allow my ‘enemy’ to torment me? There’s a truth in the acronym that FEAR is False Evidence Appearing Real.
