You Work Your Whole Life, Have Something To Show For It!

I started working in full-time ministry when I was 16 years old. For twelve years, I didn't know anything else except for working to make our church better. Then things happened and I had to begin work out in the secular world. I eventually found employment in an aluminum press as a Quality Assistant. It was a drastic change from what I was used to!

Don't get me wrong, it wasn't a shock for me to have to do “real” work. I have never had problems with manual labor, and the work load here was not what I had a problem with. My problem was simply an issue of significance. You see, I often found myself thinking things like, “My work used to change lives – now I just inspect parts for office furniture!” I had lost my sense of purpose...and I needed to understand why I was where I was.

For the next few months, God dealt with me about a believer's role in their secular workplace. He took me through Scripture and pointed out why He had me there and what my goals should really be. As I learned from Him, I began to realize that not many Christians in the workplace knew these things or had the right attitude about their employment.

Why should we as believers work for someone else – someone who is probably not a believer, and who may not even be a decent person? When we ask this, it's a question of motive. We're not really asking about how we should work; that's something that will be taken care of when we learn about why we're working. At the risk of giving away the ending...money is the least of your reasons!

So what are we in the workplace for?

#1 - Proverbs 25:13 “Trustworthy messengers refresh like snow in summer. They revive the spirit of their employer.” Bosses throughout this country are having a drought of trustworthy employees. They can't seem to find anyone who understands that they're being paid to work. They're being burned out by workers that don't work, or who work half-heartedly, or who constantly complain about the work they have to do. Christian, don't be that person! Work to refresh your employer!

Your primary goal at your job is to benefit your boss and your company. Of all their employees, you should be the one who has their best interests in mind. You should want your boss to succeed! You should want your company to prosper! You should be praying for the peace of your employers. You need to have the same attitude towards your place of work that God told His people to have in Jeremiah 29:7 - “And seek the peace of the city where I have caused you to be carried away captive, and pray to the LORD for it; for in its peace you will have peace.” When you work – your first priority is to help your company succeed!

#2 – Acts 1:8 “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses...” Another goal to have in your workplace is to “do the work of an evangelist.” (2 Timothy 4:5) If we're called to preach the Gospel to the world, why would you complain about being around worldly people all day? Use your place of work and your relationships with your coworkers as springboards to reach the lost!

Keep in mind, this should never be at the expense of your own workload. If you can talk about Jesus while you're working – go for it. But if it's going to affect your quality of work, then wait for lunch time! We already said this once, but your primary goal there is to refresh the spirit of your boss by being faithful to your responsibilities. If you should get a reputation of ignoring what you're supposed to be doing to talk about Jesus, then people will simply shut you off.

One thing I made sure of when I started my job was to get a reputation as a worker first – before I told anyone that I was a believer. Do you know what happened? As people saw me working – before I had told anyone about who I was – I had people coming to me to ask things like “where do you go to church?” If you live the life you're supposed to live at work, you won't surprise people when you tell them about your faith!

#3 – Proverbs 27:2 “Let another man praise you, and not your own mouth...” I used to shy away from praise for a job well done. Not anymore! I have gotten to the place where I welcome it! Why? Is it to feed my ego or inflate my self-esteem? Not at all!

I know why I have always worked harder than I need to. I know why I've always been motivated to improve my workplace. And I know why I've caught the attention of my bosses...and it's not my fault! It's God's grace that gives the power and ability that produces things from my work! 1 Corinthians 15:10 “But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.” It's not me that's gaining this praise, it's the grace of God working in me!

I work to get praised. Does that sound conceited to you? Let me explain myself then. Anytime someone tells me how impressed they are by what I do, anytime someone says “good job!”, and anytime I catch my bosses eye – I have more praise to give My Heavenly Father! I take that praise, that acclamation, that promotion, and that recognition and lay it down at His feet. As I do this, I proclaim “Look at what Your grace has done!” This is what Ephesians 1:6 calls “the praise of the glory of His grace.”

#4 – Colossians 3:22-24 “Bondservants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh, not with eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but in sincerity of heart, fearing God. 23 And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ.” We may have an earthly boss – but that's not the one that we're working for! True, we're there to minister to them and refresh them – but we do this because our real Boss told us to! We work to serve Jesus, and our real reward will come from Him!

Ephesians 6:5-8 “Bondservants, be obedient to those who are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in sincerity of heart, as to Christ; not with eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, with goodwill doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men, knowing that whatever good anyone does, he will receive the same from the Lord, whether he is a slave or free.”

We will stand before the throne of Jesus to receive rewards for what we do here on earth...including how we handled our employment. In light of this, does it really matter how much they're paying you to do your job? In light of eternal rewards, what does the difference between $10 and $20 per hour matter? Jesus will one day look at how I do my job and hand out His reward...that's the payday that I'm working for!

#5 – Ephesians 4:28 “Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need.”

Speaking of payday – we do have a responsibility with our money! It's the least of our motives, but we do work for money. But it's not about earning money to store up for ourselves. We work for money in the same way we work for praise – so that we have it to give! Pay raises come naturally as a reward for diligent work. But that money comes in so you can give it out.

Our goal with our paycheck is to earn more so we can give more. Whether it's in the form of the tithe to your church, supporting a ministry that's doing a great work, or helping families in need – God blesses generous people!

Our goals in the workplace are simple:
#1 – We are there to refresh our employer
#2 – We are there to be a witness to a captive audience
#3 – We are there to earn praise that we turn back to God's grace
#4 – We work to obtain an eternal reward from our real boss – Jesus!
#5 – We earn a paycheck so we can have something to give

As believers, let's not get caught up in the attitude of the world concerning our job. You're there because God picked you to be there. Let's keep our eyes on what really matters!

Rewarded - Part 3

Isaiah 40:10 “Behold, the Lord Yahweh shall come with a strong hand, And His arm shall rule for Him; Behold, His reward is with Him, And His work before Him.”

2 Corinthians 5:10 “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.”

There will be a day when every believer will stand before the throne of Jesus to be judged for what they have done after their salvation. This is not a judgement to decide Heaven or Hell - that was already decided in the moment you gave your life to Him. No, this judgement is to determine our eternal rewards.

Last time, we discovered five things that the Bible specifically says bring rewards. But there’s even more! You see, God is a very rewarding God! I believe He’s given us opportunity after opportunity to earn (that’s right, I said earn!) rewards! Salvation is free by grace, but that same grace will push us to do “good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.”

So here are a few more things I’ve in God’s Word that bring a reward. Again, this list is by no means exhaustive...and if you find any more, let me know! Remember, these acts bring rewards to the believer - but you cannot earn salvation by them! Salvation is by grace through faith in Jesus Christ alone!

#1 - When you do an act of love in secret and without recognition
Matthew 6:3-4 “But when you do a charitable deed (loving act), do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, that your charitable deed may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly.”
If, after you’ve spent a lot of time and energy helping someone, you get upset because no one recognized your effort - you may want to examine your priorities! When you do a “charitable deed” without getting the credit, your reward is far greater than anything you could receive here on earth!

#2 - A sincere and diligent prayer life
Matthew 6:6 “But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.”
The day’s coming when we’ll know who really had a healthy prayer life and who didn’t!

#3 - True fasting
Matthew 6:17-18 “But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so that you do not appear to men to be fasting, but to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.”
The kind of fasting that brings a reward doesn’t announce itself. It doesn’t play the “rules game” - that is, “Can I drink broth? Can I eat soup? Can I keep a hard candy in my mouth? Should I only drink water?”
According to Jesus’ own words - if other people know you’re fasting, you’re doing something wrong. Don’t complain about how hungry you are. Don’t engage in theatrics when someone invites you out to lunch. Keep your fast between you and God, and you’ll get the reward from it!

#4 - Accepting a prophet (or any other minister of the Gospel) for the sake of their office, regardless of their personality
Matthew 10:41 “He who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward. And he who receives a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man’s reward.”
I believe Jesus was showing us how to receive from a preacher, even when his personality doesn’t “click” with our own. He said, “When you receive a prophet because he’s a prophet (not because you like his style) you’ll receive the same reward as he does!”
Don’t get caught up in styles and personalities in ministry. Your focus should be on Jesus Christ and His calling. When you’re sitting in a church service that’s less than exciting, refuse to let your emotions steal what’s being ministered! You don’t have to be bored - you can choose to listen to what is being said, in spite of how it’s being said.

#5 - Preaching/Spreading the Gospel
1 Corinthians 9:16-17 NIrV “But when I preach the good news, I can't brag. I have to preach it. How terrible it will be for me if I do not preach the good news! If I preach because I want to, I get a reward. If I preach because I have to, I'm only doing my duty.”
Firstly, you have to open your mouth and preach the Gospel. You can’t stay silent! Your friends, your family, your coworkers may die today...where would they go? If they end up in Hell, would it be because they’ve never heard the good news of Jesus Christ?
Secondly, you have to preach the Gospel willingly. Don’t keep putting it off and putting it off until you finally feel so guilty and convicted that you have to tell them about Jesus. That may be good for them (they finally get to hear the message of Jesus!), but what’s the reward in that? That’s only doing your duty.
Instead, you should be excited to tell others about Jesus! And why wouldn’t you be? This is the greatest thing the world has ever known, and anyone can get in on it! So let’s do this because we want to, not because we have to!

Rewarded - Part 2

I left you last time with the words from Jesus out of Revelation 22:12 - “Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work.” While I was writing, I started to think: Are we left in the dark concerning what these rewards are for? Does the Bible show us what exactly will be rewarded at the judgement seat of Christ? I began to look through the different passages where the Bible promises a reward and began to discover some things.

To review, we’ve already found out that we will stand before Jesus one day to account for the things we’ve done. We learned that, for a believer, this isn’t about destination - it’s about rewards. 1 Corinthians 3:11-15 makes this clear: “For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each one’s work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is. If anyone’s work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.”

What I’ve found in my study is that there are two types of rewards for godly behavior:

There are certain passages that speak of rewards in this life. For example, “Honor your father and mother...that it may go well with you and that you’ll live long on the earth.” This is clearly a reward for here on earth - not necessarily before the throne of Jesus. “Give and it will be given to you, pressed down, shaken together, and running over; it will be poured into your lap.” Again, this is a reward that’s received in this life. This isn’t to say that honoring your parents and being generous won’t be rewarded in eternity, just that those specific rewards (i.e. life going well for you, people giving back to you) are given out on this side of eternity.

The other type of rewards are eternal. We’re not told what they are exactly, but we are told what kind of actions they will be given out for. This isn’t an exhaustive list  - there are probably others that you could find (if you do find some, please tell me in the comments!), but here are some of the things I’ve discovered that carry eternal rewards.

#1 - Clinging to, holding tightly, and treasuring God’s Word
Psalm 19:7-11 “The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul;
The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple; the statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes; the fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. Moreover by them Your servant is warned, and in keeping them there is great reward.”
God’s law, testimony, statutes, commandments, and judgements are all contained in one place - His Word! Keeping God’s Word means so much more than obeying it! To keep it means to guard it, to treasure it, to give it a greater place in your life than anything else. There is a real reward that will be given to those who honor the Bible. I’m not talking about reading it once in awhile. I’m not talking about taking it to church with you. I’m not even talking about saying how much you honor it! There is a reward given to those who treasure every page of this book.

#2 - Living a righteous lifestyle
Proverbs 11:18 “The wicked man does deceptive work, but he who sows righteousness will have a sure reward.”
Psalm 58:11 “So that men will say, ‘Surely there is a reward for the righteous; surely He is God who judges in the earth.’”
We know that we have been made righteous by Jesus’ death and resurrection. Now we stand before God blameless - righteous in position. But that is only the beginning! The more a believer grows, the more they should become righteous in behavior. This is where the reward lies.
Being made righteous is its own reward - in this life and in eternity. But a righteous lifestyle will bring other rewards when you’re standing before Jesus’ throne.

#3 - Being persecuted for the name of Jesus
Matthew 5:11-12 “Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake.Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
Luke 6:23 “Rejoice in that day and leap for joy! For indeed your reward is great in heaven, for in like manner their fathers did to the prophets.”
You shouldn’t get so upset when people pick on you, lie about you, and treat you wrongfully because you’re a believer. They’re actually doing a good thing for you - you’re going to be rewarded in heaven for what they’re doing! No wonder Acts 5:41 says that the apostles were “rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His name”!

#4 - How you treat your enemies
Proverbs 25:21-22 “If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat; and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink; for so you will heap coals of fire on his head, and the Lord will reward you.”
Luke 6:35 “But love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High. For He is kind to the unthankful and evil.”
We no longer have the luxury of nursing grudges. When we see our enemy (those who hate us, those who make our lives harder) in need, our response can’t be, “they deserved it.” When we’re humble enough to repay good to those who are evil toward us, it brings a reward! Sadly, this is one reward that many don’t want to pay the price for...

#5 - Ministering to kids
Matthew 10:42 NIrV “Suppose someone gives even a cup of cold water to a little one who follows me. What I'm about to tell you is true. That one will certainly be rewarded.”
As a kids pastor, this one is near to my heart. Over the course of many years I’ve seen people come and go from the kids ministry - a few have been faithful to stay, you know who you are! One thing I’ve always heard through the years is, “I don’t want to miss what’s going on in the main service.” If they really thought about it, they would understand: there isn’t one service going on in the sanctuary and another going on in the classroom! Those kids are part of the church of Jesus Christ!
So...to all you who have been faithful and persevering in your class, even when you’re the only one
To everyone who feels forgotten in an ocean of dirty diapers and loud lungs
To every volunteer who prepares for class in their personal time
To every minister who has bought juice and cookies from their own wallet
Don’t give up! Keep being faithful! God’s Word promises you this - there is a special reward that’s given to someone who cares for a child in Jesus’ name!

I had six or seven more to go...but this post is getting too long! To be continued...

Moving On

1 Corinthians 2:13-3:4
These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. But he who is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is rightly judged by no one. For “who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct Him?” But we have the mind of Christ. And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ. I fed you with milk and not with solid food; for until now you were not able to receive it, and even now you are still not able; for you are still carnal. For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men? For when one says, “I am of Paul,” and another, “I am of Apollos,” are you not carnal?

This passage lists the three different types of people in the world. Before you continue, go back and read those verses again, a little slower this time. Try to find the three people groups for yourself.

Did you find them? They are the natural man, the spiritual man, and the carnal man.

Natural men are the masses of unsaved people in the world’s system. According to this passage, they can’t receive or understand spiritual concepts. In their minds, our doctrines are simply crazy. These people are dead spiritually and controlled by their soul and by their flesh. Ephesians 4:17-19 gives a vivid description of the natural race - “This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles [or unbelievers] walk, in the futility of their mind, having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart; who, being past feeling, have given themselves over to lewdness, to work all uncleanness with greediness.”

The answer for a natural man is found in John 3:7, “You must be born again.” The natural man can’t change his own nature. Only the power of God and faith in Jesus Christ can do that. Once they’re born again, they enter into the spiritual life - they become spiritual people. A spiritual person may not know everything, but they never stop learning and pursuing spiritual things. You see, that’s the main characteristic of spiritual people - they desire and pursue spiritual things. Colossians 3:1-2 describes their attitude towards everything in life, “If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.” Spiritual people don’t waste all their time doing natural things. The more they learn from God’s Word and the more they do what they know, the deeper into their spiritual walk they go.

Sadly, many believers aren’t spiritual people, but carnal. The carnal man is someone who has been born again (the people Paul called carnal in our first passage were obviously believers), but then spends all his time in the natural. Even though their spirit has been recreated, they’re still ruled by their soul - just like the natural man. If you remember, Jesus used pigs to illustrate the carnal man.

Read this next passage carefully. Romans 8:5-7 says, “For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, [set their minds on] the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is an enemy against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be.” When your mind is thinking carnal thoughts all the time, God calls it His enemy! Don’t be confused, carnal thoughts aren’t necessarily sinful or wicked. A carnal thought is any thought that doesn’t start with God and what He wants. According to the last phrase of verse 7, we’ll never be able to obey God when we have a carnal mind. But, when you set your mind and your desires on spiritual things (i.e. God’s Word, God’s people, and your eternity with Jesus), it brings life and peace!

There are two reasons for why a believer could be stuck in carnality.

First, they may never have been taught. There are myriads of churches in this nation that don’t spend any time in spiritual things. They may teach good life management skills (like how to manage your finances, how to treat your family, how to behave at work, and how to have a good attitude), but those are all natural things. Every believer needs to spend time in God’s Word to move into spirituality. If a believer is truly hungry for spiritual things, they’ll soon find out that there’s more to their Christian walk than what they’re being taught.

The other reason believers get caught in carnality is a little more serious. They were spiritual, they were learning, they were growing up in the Word of God - until they learned something that they didn’t want to do. As soon as they made the choice to ignore what they were taught, they began to slip into carnality. That little bit of disobedience is like yeast in a lump of dough (Galatians 5:9) - it spreads throughout the whole batch. Soon they’ll find themselves doing things they thought they’d never do! Why? Because when they stopped progressing spiritually, they began regressing carnally.

Carnality is a dangerous place for a believer to be. It’s a path that takes you backwards, not forwards. If you want to be a spiritual person, if you want to be used by God in a spiritual way, if you want the eternal rewards that are only given for spiritual things - you’ve got to grow beyond the natural realm. Listen to me, we will be rewarded for what we do in this life! What do you think will bring rewards, natural things or spiritual things? You only have around eighty years on earth to determine your eternal rewards - why would you waste all of your time doing natural things that won’t even matter tomorrow? It’s time to be spiritual people!

Where Did Jesus Go?

It’s been taught for years. It was in the apostles creed of the catholic church. Many well-known preachers still believe it. When Jesus died, He went to Hell for us, fought with the Devil, and took his keys away from him. Sure, this makes for a dramatic message - but it’s not in the Bible! Scripture shows us exactly what Jesus did between the cross and the resurrection, and Hell was never part of that! This has always been a man-made teaching that played on our emotions!
 
Let’s look at a little background first.
 
Whenever anyone died in the Old Testament, they went to a place called Sheol, located deep in the belly of the earth.
 
Psalm 18:5 - “The sorrows of Sheol surrounded me; The snares of death confronted me.”
 
Psalm 116:3 - “The pains of death surrounded me, And the pangs of Sheol laid hold of me; I found trouble and sorrow.”
 
At first glance, it seems like Sheol is actually Hell. This gives support to the belief that Jesus went to Hell, since Psalm 16:10 prophesied about Jesus, “For You will not leave my soul in Sheol, Nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption.” So we can clearly see that Jesus was in Sheol...so doesn’t that mean that He did go to Hell?
 
Well...no. When we read the story of the rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31), we find out that there are two parts of Sheol. There is “Abraham’s Lap” - also known as “Paradise.” It was where the righteous dead went. It was a place of comfort. It was a place where the righteous went to wait for the resurrection. The other part of Sheol was “Hades” - also known as “Hell.” It was where the wicked went after death. It was a place of torment, a place of fire, where a single drop of water was considered comfort.
 
The Bible says in Ephesians 4:9 declares that Jesus descended to the lower parts of the earth after His death. So which one of these compartments did He go to? The answer is so simple, everyone knows it. In fact, Jesus tells us in His own words! When He spoke to the repentant thief on the cross, do you remember what He said? “This day, you will be with Me in Paradise.”
Jesus went straight from the cross to Paradise! He never went to Hell!
 
While Jesus was in Paradise, the Bible says in 1 Peter 4:6, “For this reason the gospel was preached also to those who are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit” and again 1 Peter 3:19-20, “He went and preached to the spirits in prison, who formerly were disobedient...”
 
While Jesus was in Paradise, He preached the Gospel, the Good News of what He just did, to the Old Testament saints. He let them know that the promise that they were waiting for had come to pass at last! But remember the story of Lazarus and the rich man? There was a chasm between Paradise and Hell that no one could cross - but there was communication going on back and forth! So while Jesus preached to the righteous dead, the “spirits in prison, who formerly were disobedient” were also able to listen. For them, though, it was anything but good news! The promise that they had rejected had come to pass...and they were still on the wrong side.
 
After three days of preaching the Gospel to the righteous men and women in Paradise, Jesus broke the power of death by rising up from the grave! He “led captivity captive” according to Ephesians 4:8. When He resurrected, He brought all the righteous men and women with Him! For a little while, until He went back to Heaven, the saints of the Old Testament were walking around on earth! Don’t believe me? Look it up for yourself - it’s in Matthew 27:52-53!
 
Now, the only part of Sheol being used is Hell. 2 Corinthians 5:8 tells us what happens to the righteous dead now, “to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord.” Now we go straight to Heaven!
 
This may not seem like a crucial issue. And as I said before, many good preachers still believe that Jesus went to Hell. But it strikes at the heart of Jesus’ sacrifice - was the cross enough? Did Jesus do everything He needed to do on the cross, or did He still have to go to Hell and beat the devil?
 
Colossians 2:14-15 is clear about where Jesus’ victory over Satan and his army took place, “Having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.” It was at the cross! When He bore our sin, when He bore our sickness, when He died in our place - that was the victory He came for!
 
As He breathed His last breath on the cross, He told us that was enough! Remember what He said! “It is finished!” Everything He was going to do for us was done at that moment!

The Sound Of Victory

In 2 Kings 6 we see a desperate situation. Israel was ruled by Ahab’s wicked son Joram. Most of the godly Israelis had emigrated to the southern kingdom of Judah, to the righteous kings Asa and Jehoshaphat (2 Chronicles 15:9). At the time of Elijah and Ahab’s showdown, there were only 7,000 godly people in the entire country of Israel. Fast forward about twenty years and things hadn’t changed much. The natural son of Ahab - Joram - and the spiritual son of Elijah - Elisha - were still locked in a battle for the hearts of God’s people.

Because of Israel’s backslidden condition, God had begun to allow other nations to begin swallowing them up. The nation of Syria was one of them, and in 2 Kings 6 they had laid siege on the capital city of Samaria. Still, God goal was reconciliation, not retribution. His desire was that his wayward people would return to Him. But the more they refused, the more desperate their situation became.
Food was scarce in Samaria. The Syrian army closed around the city like a clamp. No one could come or go. But God was about to make a power-play to wake his people up!

As it always does, God’s Word came first. Elisha prophesied that within 24 hours everything would change. Food would be so plentiful that any amount of money would buy it. No one believed him though, and no one moved.

Outside the city, sat four lepers. If the people inside the city had it bad, can you imagine life for a leper at that time? These were throwaway people. They weren’t allowed inside the city, and who would give precious food to someone who was just going to die anyway? If the word to describe conditions inside Samaria was desperate, the word for these four lepers would be hopeless.

The very evening that Elisha prophesied, these four lepers decided to do something about their situation. They said, “Why should we stay here and die? If we go back into the city, we’ll die; if we stay here we’ll die. Let’s go to the Syrians. If they have pity on us, we’ll live. If they kill us, we’ll die quickly at least.

So they got up at twilight, as the sun was setting and went to the Syrian camp. When they got there, things weren’t at all like they were expecting. No one was in sight! Not one soldier, not a man or woman anywhere! Every tent they entered was deserted! Not one Syrian was in the entire area! But...all their stuff was! The four lepers cleared out one tent, taking all that stuff and hiding it. Then they came back and did it again!

On their third trip back, they realized that they weren’t exactly doing the right thing. All of Samaria was starving to death, and they were hoarding the abandoned supplies. So they went and told the king in Samaria. Within hours of when the lepers told King Joram, the markets in Samaria were full of Syrian supplies!

Why did the Syrian army just disappear? What was it that made them leave everything they had behind? 2 Kings 7:6-7 says that “God caused them to hear the noise of a great army.” So, rather than staying and fighting whatever this massive army was, they turned and ran. They ran so hard that they stripped off everything they had on them so they could run faster! They actually left a trail of dropped supplies as they ran, not to mention everything that was still in their camp!

What I want you to see is in verse verse 7: “They arose and fled at twilight.” The same time the four lepers decided to get up and do something! God took the sound of four weak, starving lepers and turned it into the sound of a massive army! All He was looking for was someone to do something!

Now let’s talk...are there situations in your life where you feel like you’re starving? Does anything in your life feel hopeless? Maybe you have issues that have been going on in your family for far too long. Maybe your heart is broken for your city or your neighborhood and you wish something would change. Maybe you want to see God’s power and glory poured out in your church. Whatever it is, take a lesson from these lepers and just do something! If you do nothing, then nothing will change. But, if you get up and start moving you’ll get results! Maybe this means witnessing one more time to your loved ones. Maybe it’s praying a little more aggressively. Whatever it is you’re believing God for, don’t give up!

You may see what you’re doing as weak and ineffective, but if only you could hear what it sounds like to your enemy! God is able to turn the weak, tired efforts on your part and turn them into victory! He’s just looking for someone to start moving!

Slackers Don't Get This

Proverbs 25:19 Confidence in an unfaithful man in time of trouble is like a bad tooth and a foot out of joint.

Do you remember when you had loose baby teeth? You would go to take a bite out of something at dinner time, and it would just give way! Or how about this, have you ever sat on your leg until it went to sleep and didn't know it? You would get up and take a step, only to have your leg buckle under you! That feeling – knowing that something should work and it fails you – is the kind of feeling that comes from depending on an unfaithful person.

Have you ever depended on someone, and they didn't come through for you? It stings, right? Or, have you ever been the cause of that kind of frustration? I have been in both places, and I didn't enjoy either!

Faithfulness and loyalty are not common in this world anymore. Even in the church, where we should be true to our word, there are a lot of unfaithful people. Even Solomon noticed that trend back in his day; Proverbs 20:6 says, “Most men will proclaim each his own goodness, but who can find a faithful man?”

In the New Testament, the Greek word for faithfulness is “pistis” - and it's used to describe both reliability and faith! Why is the word for faith used to describe our reliability (faithfulness)? Because, the Bible is describing a faithful person's trustworthiness from someone else's viewpoint (“I have faith in them”). In other words, our faithfulness should allow people to put their faith in what we said we would do!

Faithfulness is our human reflection of God's character. God is always faithful to His word – that's why we put our faith in Him. As His kids, we should be faithful to our word as well! From marriage vows to job contracts, a believer's word should be binding. Psalm 15:4 shows how a faithful person views his promises; He who swears to his own hurt and does not change. Even when it's costly, a faithful person does what he says. This is the kind of character should be found in the home, on the job, and in the church.

God's currency is faithfulness!

For example, if you want to advance in your workplace, make sure you're faithful to your boss! Luke 16:12 says, “And if you have not been faithful in what is another man’s, who will give you what is your own?” If you have to be told two or three times to do something, if you're badmouthing your boss behind his back, if you're always complaining about the job you have – why on earth would you be expecting a better position? If you're not faithful to what your boss is giving you to do, you will never be made a boss yourself. 

When you're faithful, other people may call you a “kiss-up”, but God will honor your faithfulness to your boss!

This type of faithfulness applies to ministry as well. When someone has a call to preach, the best thing they can do is submit to another man's ministry. Be faithful in what is another man's and God will give you your own! The worst thing a young minister in a church can do is badmouth the senior pastor and constantly maneuver for a better position! You're setting yourself up for failure, my friend, so stop it! Take a lesson from Paul, look at how he was placed in ministry: “And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who has enabled me, because He counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry” (1 Timothy 1:12).

Luke 16:10 sets the rule - He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much. Go ahead, try to claim that you'll do a better job when you have something more important to do. But I'm telling you – the way you serve in the little things is a picture of what you will do with greater things. In God's eyes, someone who faithfully cleans the church bathrooms for ten years is more qualified to step into ministry than a fresh Bible school graduate!

Faithfulness is essential for your Christian walk! God emphasizes it over and over again. Be faithful to the people in charge, and God will bless you!

A faithful man will abound with blessings Proverbs 28:20

The Lost Art Of Fear

Proverbs 9:10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom

If you were to ask churchgoers today what the “fear of the Lord” is, I honestly am not sure what the answer would be. You would probably get a lot of vacant stares. Maybe you would get an answer like, “that's something from the Old Testament that God used to keep His people in line.” But the truth is, the fear of God is often mentioned in the New Testament – not just the old!

If you were asking a pastor, he would probably say, “it's a reverential respect of how big God is.” This is a little closer to the point, but it's still only partially right. The simple fact is, we haven't been very clear about what it means to fear God.

That's a shame, because there is so much in our Christian life that depends on the fear of the Lord!

Divine protections is a result of a person fearing God. Psalm 34:7 says, The angel of the LORD encamps all around those who fear Him, And delivers them. Being delivered from trouble is a direct result of a believer's fear of God!

Long life is another benefit. Look at Proverbs 10:27: The fear of the LORD prolongs days. Now look at what Proverbs 22:4 says: By humility and the fear of the LORD Are riches and honor and life. In that verse we see that not only is your life attached to your fear of God, but so is your wealth and reputation! Psalm 128:1 echoes that by saying, Blessed is every one who fears the LORD, Who walks in His ways. (By the way, Psalm 128:1 also has a clue to what Godly fear is all about – you'll see it again later.)

And we can't list the benefits of fearing the Lord without going back to our starting verse! Proverbs 9:10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom. How often do we need wisdom in our life? How often have you wished you had more? The way you start getting wisdom is by learning how to fear God!

So what is the fear of God? Proverbs 8:13 says it in the simplest way: The fear of the LORD is to hate evil. That's the bottom line, fearing God is hating what God hates.

Paul goes a little bit deeper in 2 Corinthians 5:10-11 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the rewards for things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad. Knowing, therefore, the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are well known to God, and I also trust are well known in your consciences. Did you see that? The fear of God is knowing something. It's knowing that one day you're going to stand before Jesus and give an account of what you've done on earth. Keeping that knowledge in the front of your mind is going to make you hate evil. Why? Because you shudder at the though of having to give an account for those things when you stand before Jesus!

That's the fear of God! The fear of God is when you know that you're going to give an account of what you do here, so you keep yourself away from sin. 2 Corinthians 7:1 agrees with this: Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.

This brings us back to the second part of Psalm 128:1, Blessed is everyone who fears the LORD, who walks in His ways. Psalm 112:1 says essentially the same thing: Blessed is the man who fears the LORD, Who delights greatly in His commandments.

Fearing God will even deliver those weak believers out there who are struggling with sin. You see, when you know someone is watching you, you tend to straighten up, right? That's why most of a Christian's sin is done in private – because we don't want anyone to see us! But when you understand the Fear of God – that He's always watching you, and you will have to stand before Him one day – you find the strength to resist! That's what Proverbs 16:6 says: In mercy and truth Atonement is provided for iniquity; And by the fear of the LORD one departs from evil. The way you depart from evil is by fearing God! No wonder David says in Psalm 19:9, The fear of the LORD is clean...

I feel like I need to repeat yesterday's post a little bit. Don't think this is about getting saved. There is only one way to be saved, by grace through faith. Obedience isn't going to get you into Heaven. And, for a believer, the judgment of Jesus isn't about Heaven or Hell. When you believe in Jesus Christ - His death, burial, resurrection, and Lordship – you're going to Heaven. Jesus paid the price for you, it's not about your obedience. But, the judgment seat of Christ is where your rewards are going to be given.

We are going to be rewarded for our obedience here on earth. Wouldn't it be a shame to have Jesus say to you, “Son, you believed in Me and I saved you. You're going to Heaven. But I'm sorry - you didn't do what I asked you to do while you were on Earth. You didn't listen to the men and women I gave you (Ephesians 4:11) who were trying to instruct you. You never picked up My Word for yourself, you never asked Me what I wanted done. So, you can go in, son...but you won't get any of the rewards that I wanted to give You.”

I don't know about you, but that put's godly fear in me! I want to make Him proud of what I do here! I want to see what the rewards He has for me are. His rewards are going to stay with us for eternity – but so is the lack of them. Just making it into Heaven isn't enough for me, is it enough for you?