God recently whispered to me, Notice Me…
My people often fail to notice Me.

How often have I wished that someone I loved would notice me? I thought…how wild that God would have that same heart….

As I began to think about this I thought about the things I had been thinking about for the past few days…

Basically I was thinking of this issue in my life or that issue but mainly I was simply thinking about all that was wrong and what I needed to do to fix it and or why hadn’t God fixed it or was or wasn’t there something I needed to be doing and so on. I wasn’t complaining exactly more like I was trying to just work some things through…..

Then randomly something popped into my head. The day before I had come home from work and wanted to cut my grass because we were expecting a lot of rain and I thought if I give it a quick cut now, after 5 days of rain it at least would not be taller than me…

I wasn’t looking for the professional Saturday job I usually try to pull off with edging and all, just trying to make sure I could keep my house from looking abandoned.

So there I was outside cutting the grass and as I was about half way through cutting the front yard, my neighbor comes over toting a powered up weed eater and started edging up my yard.

Unexpected Godly Help

This neighbor in the 6 years I have known him has NEVER come over to help with yard work, he has NEVER asked could he help, NEVER volunteered to help do anything for free.

So I finish cutting the front and start on the back and he keeps on edging, he edges up the whole yard, even cuts back a few bushes and just as I finished cutting the back yard he was done edging up the back as well. He walks over to me and says…..just spreading some Christian Love…and walks away.

As I remembered this God said that was Me. I did that because I love you.  I hadn’t prayed for this blessing, I wasn’t hoping someone would come over and edge up the yard I hadn’t really thought about it at all, but God provided it.

Again He said …..notice Me.

I then began to wonder how many other things have happened that I had not even stopped to acknowledge God for doing for me. Because they were not necessarily addressing a “bigger” issue or because they were not answered prayers, maybe I had just had the random, oh that was nice thought but had not stopped to give God a purposed thank you.

Do You See God in Everything?

God told me if My people would simply pay attention they would see I am working on their behalf all the time from the smallest things to the biggest things but my people must be determined to see me, notice me and expect me.

This is all about noticing God…

In better terms we could call this a lesson about developing sensitivity of heart.
Training our hearts how to be sensitive to not only the presence of God but also His works.

And why is this important?

Why did God even bother to bring up the subject to me? Is he just looking for praise or is there a reason that is beneficial to us that God needs us to be able to recognize Him.

Consider this:  Probably the most popular question most Christians have is…..

What is God’s will for my life? Not just in general but even specifically right now today

What am I supposed to do now? If I just knew this was what God wanted me to do, I could hang in there for whatever situation is before me.

What does God’s Compass Indicate?

So basically we are all looking for direction. We all want to be successful and most of us would agree that if we are going to be successful we are going to need direction. And as Christians it makes sense we would also believe the best source of direction for our lives is God. He knows everything, it’s His plan anyway so the best person to ask when it comes to direction would be God.

But how many times have you heard a Christian say, I’m just not sure if what I’m hearing or seeing is really God.

So being able to notice God or “see” Him not only in the small things by developing the sensitivity of our heart to Him is important because it is from Him we need direction.

Look at Proverbs 3:6

In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

This is a very popular verse of scripture and is almost never mentioned without the previous verse.

Trust the Lord with all your heart, all your mind and all your soul and lean not unto your own understanding.

But we are going to talk about verse 6. So let us dissect the verse by taking a look at the Hebrew words included in it.

Proverbs 3:6 -

Ways – OT:1870 – derek (deh’-rek); from OT:1869; a road (as trodden); figuratively, a course of life or mode of action, journey, path, manner, whithersoever, wayside

Acknowledge – OT:3045 yada – to know (properly, to ascertain by seeing); (including observation, care, recognition, be aware, be diligent, consider, be learned, perceive, privy to, regard, have respect, be sure of, understand, have understanding, skillful, familiar friend, discern, declare, feel, kinfolk, certainly

Direct -OT:3474 yashar (yaw-shar’); a primitive root; to be straight or even; figuratively, to be (causatively, to make) right, pleasant, prosperous, fit, seem good, please, upright, esteem

Paths – OT:734 – ‘orach (o’-rakh); from OT:732; a well-trodden road (literally or figuratively); also a caravan, manner, path, race, rank, traveler, troop, highway

It is clear from the definitions we’ve seen that we could summarize this verse by saying

Where ever we may be in whatever situation or with whatever decision or choice before us, be diligent in considering God, noticing Him, showing Him respect by considering His perspective as He is not only Father but friend and as a result of this we can expect Him to make straight or prosperous/successful our path (life/situation/trip/destination)

Clear direction is going to come when in everything we consider/notice God. And we must understand we will get better at this the more we try to do it.

We must understand also there is no situation we can handle without Him. In everything He must be considered. The verse states in ALL thy ways acknowledge Him.
We make thousands if not more decisions each day, have we considered God in most of them? Or in only the “big” things and have we thought we can handle the “small” stuff?

Life Application

I should mention 2 types of scenarios in which we can apply this sensitivity we are developing.

About bad choices

Things we know are bad or are sin to us but we still struggle with them. If we allow ourselves to slow down and consider God, His perspective, wanting to please Him etc… it can provide us the strength we need to resist temptation.

Remember James 4:7 states we must submit to God before resisting the devil. It is impossible to submit (obey) unless we are considering Him.

Sometimes the ability to just slow down and consider God will give the Holy Spirit the time needed to strengthen us to resist the devil against those things we struggle with.

When we act on impulse we can more easily make the wrong decision.

About good choices

But what about those choices where it’s not a matter of is it a sin or not, all options look fine but only one is the best choice.

Consider Mark 1:32-38
In this scenario, Jesus has just healed a bunch of people and then the next day a bunch more people are waiting to be healed as well. Jesus is away praying (considering God) and when the disciples come for Him and tell Him the people are waiting to be healed, He tells them they are leaving. Jesus leaves a multitude of people behind who are asking Him to help them.

Jesus was definitely an expert at considering the Father, recognizing Him.

Jesus told us in John 5:19-20 He knows how to recognize what the Father does and likewise does the same.

So how could Jesus do this? He could do his because He submitted to the will of the Father which was to preach the gospel to the people in the next town. How disappointed the people waiting for Jesus must have been but suppose He had not obeyed and not gone to the next town. What about the gospel those people would not have heard? Which is more important? Since life is about God’s plan He decides the priorities. He knows the beginning from the end and gave Jesus direction and Jesus followed that direction.

At this point in my Christian walk I wonder if I would have been strong enough to follow that same direction. To walk away from people who want my help to go help others. Would I be confident enough to believe it was God I heard tell me to do so? I have come to understand it is when we are faced with choices like this it is the most difficult to discern God and that is why we must practice being sensitive to Him and being aware of His presence and voice.

Our lives are God’s plan, things are done in His timing and we want always to be in the right place at the right time doing the right things as that is where God’s provision will be.

We must always remember to notice God, expect Him, be sensitive to Him so we can find direction for our lives and be the successful, fulfilled Christians He desires us to be.

There are things I know are wrong for me to do and although I have been struggling against them I find myself doing them over and over again.

Have you ever said to yourself, I am so tired of going to God and repenting of this?

Or have you ever spoken the words of repentance because you know you should, but all the while were thinking of doing that same thing again?

Have you ever failed at overcoming some sin in your life so much so you seriously considered giving up the fight against it? You figure it’s just something you have to live with?

Have you ever been in the middle of a repentance prayer and thought, I really don’t want to give this up. You hear the Holy Spirit talking to you but you are not feeling anything He is saying?

So having issues like these prompted me to study again this topic.

So of course as is always with me it starts with questions:……

What is a sin?

Why does God not want us to sin? Is He trying to prevent us from having a “good time?” Is He trying to deprive us of those things we enjoy the most?

Who defines what sin is?

Is what is sin to you necessarily sin to me?

If something is a sin and I have been struggling against it for a long time but losing, is it still considered a sin?

By definition sin is “failing to hit the mark” whether it occurs by omission or commission, in thought and feeling or in speech and action. It is defined by the bible and some are specific to you as identified by the Holy Spirit.

So how can sin happen?

Sin can happen by accident, ie you missed what God commanded but it was not your intention to sin….example? (someone cuts you off while driving and you curse them out, chase them down and curse them out some more)

Sin can happen by trickery, the enemy can create a scenario you did not look for or seek out that causes you to yield to sin…..example? (An old friend calls and wants you to meet them at a bar because they are having issues, they won’t take no for an answer and you go, you know you struggle with alcohol and God has made it clear it’s not for you, but you go anyway and end up drinking to excess)

Sin can happen on purpose. There are those things from your past you enjoyed that you know God does not want you to do, but you continue to do them anyway. You rationalize by saying I’m only human. God knows how much I love this. He knows this is my weakness. The bible says I am going to make mistakes this is just one of them.

These are things we know are wrong and yet we find ourselves wanting to do them, planning to do them and actually doing them.

This last type is the type we want to focus on tonight.

Have any of you ever wanted to do something that you know is wrong?

Have you ever plotted, planned and executed that sin despite the fact you knew God did not want you to do it?

Have you ever ignored the Holy Spirit who was telling you to resist, who was providing a way for you to escape (1 Cor 10:13) and decided in your mind that the sin is what you wanted despite God’s direction?

So how does it happen? How do we come to sin? There are many answers to this question but the bible says:

Consider James 1:12-22

This passage basically tells us the path of sin. A few translations from the Greek are listed to bring clarity.

Tempted – tested

Own – private

Lust – longing or desire

Enticed – entrap

Hath conceived – clasp, seize, arrest, capture

Bringeth forth – born

Sin – the offense

Finished – completed entirely

Bringeth forth – produces

Death – separation – death comprises all the miseries arising from sin

NOTICE: All of this starts in your mind. The battle to sin or not to sin starts in the mind with a suggestion.

Once we embrace the suggestion, the rationalization and planning of the sin is the next step. Before we know it we have done the very thing we know is not what we should do.

Sometimes we even convince ourselves it’s not a sin at all or at least it is an acceptable one.

Remember the enemy has been studying you your whole life. He knows your likes and dislikes, he knows your weaknesses.

Also remember he will always lie. Lie about whether or not what you are doing is a sin, lie about the consequences and will never disclose the potential collateral damage or pain your actions will cause you or others.

The devil never wants you to look past the current moment. He wants you to react to situations and circumstances like they are going to last forever rather than them just being a temporary situation God will change in His timing.

Even though the battle is with our flesh, the devil is always around trying to assist the flesh in getting us to yield to its desires.

Our reborn spirit is not where the struggle is. Our spirits want to be obedient to God in all cases, it’s our flesh that is in opposition to the will of God.

Consider Romans 6

In this passage God is saying we are dead to sin. We are dead to sin because we have been baptized into life. We are dead to sin and because of this we are to not yield to the temptation of it but yield instead to God.

He asks us what fruit or what results did we obtain following a lifestyle of sin? Even if there were no obvious or outward consequences of our actions, we possibly had a guilty conscience or perhaps were not at peace with ourselves as a result of what we did.

He advises us to yield ourselves to God where we know what the results will be. Everything good, no negative results, peace with God and man.

So let’s say we agree with all that, let’s say we even have experienced those moments where we have been winners in our personal war with ourself and we have successfully put down the flesh and followed after our spirits, why is it that at some point we can find ourself facing and failing at the same sin again?

In Romans 6 God asked us to reckon(think of) ourselves dead to sin. In this verse he means we must decide in our mind that we are dead to sin. We must have an attitude adjustment based on what He says is true.

We are dead to sin. Our attitude even in the midst of our failures must be, I am dead to this. Because each time we confess to that thing that we keep doing, we are dead to it, it loses more and more of its power over us. And the day will come if we don’t give up when we will actually demonstrate our freedom from it.

Sin only has the power over us we give it. We need a victorious attitude as well as victorious words despite our actions. Sometimes God will give us an immediate deliverance from something, but even after that we must choose to stay delivered and walk in it. We have an active part to play in our continued deliverance over anything.

As we said before, satan knows us and our habits, weaknesses and failures, and although you may have not fallen in an area in a long time, do not think he will not attempt at some point to give you an opportunity to fall again in the very area you claim to have victory over.

So let’s go back to why God doesn’t want us to sin.

One reason is because every time we sin, something dies.

Remember the scripture says when sin is conceived it brings forth death…

That could be death of a relationship

Death of a testimony

Death of credibility

Death of our confidence….this is an important one…

Scripture says in Hebrews 10:35 we should not cast away our confidence because there is great reward in it.

When we sin we lose our confidence toward God….we have a problem going boldly to the throne, we are ashamed.

Losing our confidence can make us lose our faith that God will continue to bless us or use us.

Remember guilt and faith do not go together. You cannot have guilt or even condemnation in your heart and approach God in faith with expectation. 1 John 3:20-21

God also does not want us to continue in sin because

We will be at peace

We will have the desires of our heart

He can bless us more when we are obedient

It makes our testimony more credible

He can fulfill His purpose for us

He can trust us with more of His anointing

And the list goes on

But one thing that God has made more and more prominent in my mind is that He does not want us to sin because it allows us to have a closer relationship with Him.

Whether or not we have sin in our life does not change God’s level of love for us. He loves us completely all the time, before, during and after sin.

Sin does not change Him it changes us.

Remember He is holy and in Him is no sin at all. When we have confidence toward Him we will draw near to Him unafraid and unashamed and without guilt which is exactly what He wants.

God did not create us to save the lost, to engage in ministry, or to build His kingdom, those things are a result of the fall of man.

God created us for fellowship with Him first and foremost. And that desire He has for fellowship with us has not changed.

So how do we win this war against our flesh? Remember it is not our spirit that is sinning it is our flesh.

1. Listen to our protector the Holy Spirit who always provides a way of escape.

The Holy Spirit may tell you to do or not do things because He knows the consequences of our actions and we do not. And because God is a God of faith, more often than not He will not explain to you why you are to obey Him He just wants us to trust Him and believe what He advises is the best.

2. Joshua 1:8 – meditate on the word, keep it in your mind, heart and mouth. If God says you are dead to sin then you say it too. Change your attitude by agreeing with what the word says is already true. But you must be consistent in this. Studying your word once a month will not be enough….your temptations are going to come daily (John 16:33) tribulation means pressure….the pressures of life will always come…..we just cannot revert to the old things we used to do to deal with them.

3. If and when you fall get right back up. Understand that every time you get back up, every time you struggle again and again you are killing that thing you struggle against.

4. Ask God for help….if you are sinning and don’t want to give up that thing but know you should, tell God exactly that, God help me have the desire to stop this…understand killing the flesh is a daily exercise not a one time event.

5. Here’s a hard one……consider the cost of your sin. This is what the Holy Spirit tries to get us to do early in the planning stages of our sinning. He will remind you of the outcome of your choice, He will remind you of your pledge to never do it again, He will remind you of what happened last time. He will remind you of your destiny.

And most importantly, when we don’t purposely sin, it’s not about what we are not doing, it’s about what we are doing. And what we are doing is nurturing our relationship with God.

Wallowing wastes our time and prevents us from moving on in our Christian walk.  When we are told to repent we are not given a waiting period, we are told to repent and keep it moving (ok so I paraphrased there..)  But I think you get the point.

So for all of us who mess up, let’s keep our heads up, repent and walk in our destiny.  God forgives us so let’s forgive ourselves and avoid the wallow.

I mean we are saved, we would go to heaven if we died so what are we still doing here?

I think we can all agree that the only reason we are still here is that God wants to use us to lead others to Christ.

We already know that the bible says that God does not want anyone to perish but wants all to come to the saving knowledge of Jesus.

We also know that the only way people are going to hear about Jesus and be able to experience Him is if we tell them,. See Romans 10:14

So now then what are the tools we need as believers to effectively communicate our message?

Most Christians would agree the most important tool we need is

Love…

The apostle Paul said if we love we have fulfilled the whole law. Galatians 5:14

Arguably we also need:

Faith
Knowledge of the word
Boldness

OK…all those are true…and we need all those…

But what I want to talk about now is probably the most powerful and most misunderstood characteristic of the effective Christian witness.

Have you ever heard the same scripture explained by 2 different people and from one it had an impact and from the other it just fell flat?

Or

Have you ever heard someone singing a song and the sound was wonderful but it didn’t touch your heart?

Have you ever heard someone singing not quite as beautifully but somehow despite that, the song melted your heart and made you want to weep? Somehow you could feel God and you just knew that He was talking to you from the song.

Ever had that experience?

Ever heard a sermon that was very well spoken, using all the right scriptures but just seemed dry? Factual but somehow irrelevant?

Ever heard a sermon that was maybe not as polished but the words spoke right to your situation and gave you answers you were waiting to hear from God?

What is the difference in these examples?

What is the piece that is included in one but clearly missing in the other?

There could be arguments about the answer to this but I believe the difference is the Anointing.

When something is anointed, whether it is singing, speaking, praying, dancing or even things such as helping, cooking or counseling, it transforms that activity to something supernatural.

Something has taken our activity and transformed it into something God uses to change lives.

It’s no longer about our ability.

It seems God has joined Himself with us and it’s not us doing it anymore it’s Him.

It’s no longer just a beautiful song, it’s a song from God’s lips to our hearts.

It’s no longer an ordinary prayer, it’s an actual audience with God Himself.

It’s no longer a Sunday sermon, it’s Jesus talking directly to me about my situation.

It’s not just a beautiful dance, it’s a vision of worship from heaven.

Ok that’s great but

What is the anointing?

One of the best definitions I discovered while studying this topic is that the anointing is God’s heart touching another person’s heart through your heart.

That is essentially what we were describing in the scenarios discussed above.

Those individuals who moved us were being used by God to touch us. They were tools being used by God.

On to the definition.

To anoint means to smear on, pour on or rub into.

In the old testament most times the substance used to anoint something was oil.

Sheep were anointed with oil to protect them from insects.
Shields were anointed with oil to help them last longer.

People were anointed as a sign of consecration or appointment to a specific office or job.

Pretty much anyone used by God for any purpose at all was referred to as God’s anointed…

This list includes but is not limited to prophets, priests and kings.

It seems God anoints those he appoints for a specific job or position.

Even Jesus our savior was anointed.

Jesus Christ means Jesus the Anointed One.

So then we can see the anointing is related to position assigned. And if the position is assigned by God, then the anointing to function in that position is given as well.

Notice it is a position assigned. Assigned by God. Not a position selected.

We don’t choose our assignment or our position in the kingdom, God does. We can only choose to embrace or reject it.

So now we see how we get the anointing, it is given to us by God at His discretion based on what He has chosen us to do.

So that prompts another question.

Why do we need the anointing?

The anointing has a two-fold purpose. It works in us and through us.

First the anointing works in us by teaching us God’s ways and transforms us into His likeness.

Secondly it works through us by giving supernatural ability to do God’s work (witnessing, preaching, teaching, etc.). ..

Remember the anointing is a Divine enablement for us to accomplish God’s purposes on earth. God’s work cannot be done through human might and power, only by His Spirit. However we are co-laborers with Him. His Spirit works in us and through us by anointing us

In the examples we listed earlier like the sermons and songs. We need the anointing to make a difference.

We saw even from our own experience that ability is not enough. You can be a great speaker but not touch hearts. You may be able to stir up emotions, but do your words prompt lifelong changes?

I’ve frequently heard and have come to believe God is not looking for ability, He is looking for availability.

It is God who does the work, He is simply looking for a vessel to use.

The anointing demonstrates the power and presence of God.

For people’s lives to be changed, we have to actually demonstrate the power of God not just talk about it.

Consider 1 Corinthians 4:20

In this verse Paul says the kingdom of God is not in word, but in power.

When we are walking in the anointing it distinguishes us from those who were not sent by God.

We are distinguished from either those who decided to go because they wanted to or those who are being used by the devil to deceive.

Now consider Isaiah 10:27

This verse says the anointing destroys the yoke of bondage. This means to obliterate so completely that there is no evidence the yoke ever existed.

That is deliverance. That is what we/I need. I don’t need a well spoken sermon that does not touch my heart. I don’t need a lovely song unless the anointing is there to reach me on the inside and obliterate my bondage.

It seems to me that is what God wants to do for us and that’s what He wants to do through us.

Check out Luke 4:18-19

Given all I’ve said, I had yet another question.

Can I do anything to change my anointing?

If the gifts of God are without repentance (Romans 11:29), is it possible for us to lose our anointing or diminish the ability of it to flow through us?

According to John 3:34 Jesus had the spirit without measure….but then Jesus had this testimony John 8:29. Unfortunately I can’t say I share that characteristic with Him.

Let’s look at an Old Testament example

Let’s look at the king who was king before David.

King Saul.

At this point in Israel’s history the children of Israel had no king. God wanted them to be ruled by Him directly but they wanted a king like the other nations around them.

So God gave them what they asked for…He warned them first, but He honored their request.

Let’s look at 1 Samuel 10:1-10

Samuel anoints Saul as king.

He is not yet elected, but he is anointed by God to his position as king.

Look at 1 Samuel 10:9

God gives Saul another heart. This literally means that God changed Saul’s heart. God gave Saul the heart he needed to fulfill the calling He had just anointed him to. He gave him the heart of a king.

This is what God does for us also. If God calls you to be a pastor, He will develop the heart of a pastor in you.

If God calls you to be a teacher, he will give you the anointing to teach. What ever God calls you/appoints you to do, he will enable you supernaturally to do.

Let’s continue.

Saul now equipped with his new heart still has not been officially appointed as king by the people…but it is important to note God has already equipped him.

1 Samuel 10:10

The Spirit of the Lord comes upon him and he prophesies among the prophets just as Samuel told him would happen.

This was an awesome sign for Saul. He had never prophesied before…there could be no doubt in his mind that God had chosen him to be king.

Just as God confirmed His calling to Saul, He will confirm our callings to us.

A couple of verses down the people who knew Saul cannot believe he is prophesying. They know him from before but do not understand he has been transformed. They do not accept him.

Has this ever happened to you? God appoints you, anoints you to something and those who know you don’t believe?

Notice this transformation for Saul happened in like 1 day. The same thing can happen to you and people will not accept it. Especially those who know you well.

Sometimes we have to do like Saul did and keep it a secret until God chooses to reveal it.

Look at 1 Samuel 11:1-7

The spirit comes upon Saul to deliver Jabesh by singlehandedly killing the Ammonites.

1 Samuel 11:15

Saul is made king by the people.

—– Here comes the we can change it part —–

The prophet Samuel warns the people and Saul that they must be obedient.

1 Samuel 12:14-15, 24-25

1 Samuel 13:8-14

Excuse #1

In verses 11-12 Saul gives his reason for not obeying. He says that because Samuel did not come at the appointed time, his army was getting farther and farther away from him and he feared the Philistines would kill him.

God gives Saul another chance

1 Samuel 15:1-4

Check out

1 Samuel 15:9

Samuel asks for an explanation in v. 14

Saul replies the people did it. He does not own up to his disobedience.

Samuel tells Saul obedience is better than sacrifice.

1 Samuel 15:22

Saul loses what God anointed him to do (1 Samuel 15:23)

1 Samuel 15:24

At first glance it looks like Saul repents but not really. Saul is more distressed about losing his kingship than about his disobedience to God.

He was supposed to lead the people to obedience, not be led into disobedience by fearing unpopularity.

But his pride is revealed even further in verses 30-31

He still wants to be honored by the people.

The story of Saul clearly shows the connection between obedience and anointing.

Have you ever heard the phrase

Salvation is free but the anointing is going to cost you something?

Have you ever thought about what that cost is?

Do you have any idea what the anointing costs to keep?

Anointing costs obedience.

Your level of anointing is directly affected by your level of obedience.

Understand I am not saying you have to be failure free.

Failure followed by true repentance leads to restoration. We will make mistakes absolutely scripture says so. 1 John 1:8-9

God is not concerned about our mistakes but concerned about our hearts.

Notice that was the first thing he changed in Saul was his heart.

The problem was Saul did not protect/keep his heart.

Remember the scripture Proverbs 4:23

Consider the king after Saul. King David.

King David made plenty of mistakes. Not the least of which was murder. Imagine, the king of Israel, commits murder to get a woman.

The difference between David and Saul was that David truly repented of his sin.

Psalm 51:1-19

God calls this man a man after his own heart. Acts 13:22

When we make choices we have to understand the impact of those choices in our life.

We must ask will it affect my anointing?

Is this choice worth potentially reducing God’s ability to work through me?

Remember the first step to ministering with the anointing is being filled with the Holy Spirit. As we begin to obey God consistently, He will be able to release through us more and more of His power/anointing.

We are never commanded to be anointed.

We are also not rebuked for not being powerful enough.

But we are commanded to obey.

The anointing is God’s job. God always anoints those He appoints as they submit to His will with humility and obedience.

Now we ask the final question

Why should we protect the anointing?

We should protect the anointing on our lives because it is the only thing that brings deliverance.

It’s really that simple…our human ability alone cannot bring deliverance. Only God’s anointing can. If we want to be effective tools used by God we have to be in a position for His anointing to flow through us unhindered by disobedience.

God knows we are all a work in progress and mistakes are a given.

God is asking us to protect the anointing He has given us so we can effectively share His heart with those people He has chosen us to reach.

I’ll bet in all cases what was described was something wonderful and probably a little scary but cool nevertheless.

It is also likely you did not want to do what you were told because it seemed too big, too unbelievable or maybe you have your own plans for life or you may think, God must have forgot what I did or how I am or what I’m plotting to do later today.

For as long as I can remember, after I got saved God has given me dreams, words from Elders, pastors, etc describing what His plan was.

The things I was to accomplish were unbelievable, especially considering my past.

Now that it’s at least 20 years later I began to ask myself some serious reflective questions.  Things like, why haven’t these things happened yet?  What is the issue?  I know God has not changed His mind!!!

No matter what the reasons, God has a plan for us and He will not change it.  (Jer 29:11)

So then what was the problem?  Was I so wrapped up in my plan I missed the moves God was trying to get me to make?

God showed me it could be a number of things…

Things like:

FEAR

DISOBEDIENCE

STUBBORNESS

NEGLECT

UNBELIEF

INCONSISTENCY

How many times have we seen the hand of God at work in ways that are undeniable but still complain?  We bring our issues to God, He works them out and and next day or maybe the next week we complain about something else.

I hate my job!

I can’t stand my car!

Why won’t God give me a mate?

My house is too small!

Why can’t I get a house?

Why am I sick?

Why am I broke?

Why isn’t God doing anything?

Why is this taking so long?

Our timetable and God’s are rarely the same.  Remember the Israelites were in bondage over 400 years before their release (eek)

Consider Joshua.

Remember Joshua was Moses’ minister who went up on the mountain top with Moses.  The same Joshua who when he and the 12 spies went to scout out the promised land Moses had led them to was one of the 2 who reported that although there are people there…..we can defeat them,

Read Joshua 1:1-9

When I read these passages of scripture many things stuck out to me but mostly this:

God said to Joshua be courageous because I am about to give you the land I swore unto your fathers.

Courageous – steadfastly minded, prevail, inflexible persistence, not easily controlled or overcome, not yielding to argument or persuasion

But then in the next verse He says be strong and VERY courageous.

In the previous verse He is talking about a promise He made to Abraham and tells Joshua it will take courage to obtain it because there are enemies there that must be defeated.

In the next verse He says …you be VERY courageous to obey according to all the law.

Then he says don’t turn from the left or the right so you can be prosperous wherever you go.

He says meditate in it day and night….think about it, talk about it, quote it etc…..then it shall be good with you.

NOTE:  I am not saying bad things don’t happen even if you are doing all this, Jesus said in this life we will have tribulation….it’s unavoidable (John 16:33)…..another note:  one definition of the word tribulation in that scripture is PRESSURE…anybody have any of that?

Now why would it only take courage to defeat in battle the peoples in the promised land.

And  a whole other level of courage to be obedient to the word of God?

He’s saying the written word takes no ordinary courage to obey.

Many times in church we talk about we need to be courageous because we need to defeat our enemy the devil.  We are excited to go out and put down the attack of the enemy.  Snatch our stuff out of the enemy camp!!

God is saying here that it is true it takes courage to defeat any enemy that has something that belongs to you.

Like for us it takes courage to get back what the enemy has stolen from either us or those we love.  Or to obtain those things God has promised us individually

But it takes more courage to be obedient to His word.

• It takes extraordinary courage to believe God when everything you see says He forgot you.

• It takes extraordinary courage to love those who hate you.

• It takes extraordinary courage to love church folk.

• It takes extraordinary courage to see only the good in someone when they mess up again and again.

• It takes extraordinary courage to forgive and mean it.

• It takes extraordinary courage to believe only the best about someone.

• It takes extraordinary courage to give the benefit of the doubt.

• It takes extraordinary courage to see a situation from the other person’s perspective.

• It takes extraordinary courage to show mercy.

• It takes extraordinary courage to be different than the world.

So what can we do to make sure we fulfill the will of God for our lives?

Be like Joshua

Be Strong

Be Courageous

Be VERY courageous

Believe

Obey

Fight

And do not neglect or forget those promises God made to you specifically about your future….

Write them down

Remind yourself of what they are

Never give up on them no matter how long it takes

Even if you are doing the work of the Lord do not forget what He told you.  Do not get lost in the busyness of ministry.

Consider Timothy….the Apostle Paul’s son in the ministry.

Timothy was already in the ministry dealing with the issues of ministry when Paul wrote him 1 Timothy.

By 2 Timothy Paul had to remind Timothy of something….

Read 2 Timothy 1:6-7

Stir- anazopureo– re-kindle

We can start off good but then fade…….we have to make sure we keep our calling in the forefront.

It will take courage for us to fulfill God’s purpose for our lives.  Not only courage in the fight with the devil, but in our fight with ourselves to be obedient to God’s word !!!

In my mind I made a list of all the things that were making me feel like I am going nowhere fast.

My list included things like:

• I am glad to be working but don’t like my job.

• I’m tired of coming home to an empty house and spending another night alone.

• I’m tired of feeling like there is no light at the end of this tunnel I am in.

• I’m tired of being misunderstood.

• I’m tired of my weaknesses.

• I’m tired of going around this same mountain over and over again and I’m not even sure what the mountain is.

• I wonder if my situation is the consequence of my bad choices, and if it is will God ever allow me to escape?

• Will I ever be the confident, consistent empowered believer I want to be?

• How will I get through the next moment?

• I am tired of the day to day routine.

These thoughts just kept coming and coming. Like a machine gun one after the other.

And then there’s the stuff that just popped up…regular life stuff.  Like traffic tickets, sales quotas at work, unexpected home repairs, car issues, unexpected bills, drama in the lives of others that they want to share with me, people that want me to be strong for them when I can barely stand myself.

OK that’s it, I’ve had it. I’m about to crack I cannot bear just one more pressure.

Stop the train I want off. I wanna take my ball and go home I do not want to play anymore.

Now I know you probably think ok, you are only pointing out the negatives, why not list the positive things about your life like

You have a great church
You have friends that love you
You have a God that is bigger than all those things you mentioned who has a plan for you.

Whatever!

Have you ever been so weak that you can’t even muster the strength to believe?

Have you ever been on such an emotional roller coaster that you need God to say peace be still so you can get it together long enough to function?

I found myself doing just that at work.  I had to leave my desk, go to the bathroom and pray.  I prayed, God please help me, please help me keep it together long enough to get through the workday.

So that’s where I was.

And oh by the way I have to teach a bible study?

So I asked God what do I do? How can I reel it back in and see what the point of all this is and move forward?

The first thing God showed me was that I have to control my emotions. I cannot let them control me.

So how do I do that?

Emotions are that part of us that includes the mind and the will.

Emotions are tied to what we think or perceive to be true. It’s not necessarily what is actually true. When we are genuinely hurt or perceive to be hurt we are angry. Anger is an emotion. Just like happiness is an emotion. When something is genuinely good or we perceive it to be good we feel happy.

Let’s look at an example.

Let’s say there is a man who is cheating on his wife. This same man sees his wife at lunch with a man just the two of them laughing and smiling. Because he has in his heart to cheat, he believes she is cheating too.  The reality is she is just having lunch with her boss.

He becomes angry, but his anger is based on perceived truth not actual truth. The actual truth is the boss took her out to lunch alone to tell her she was going to get a promotion prior to the announcement at work. No cheating involved.

That’s the example God gave me on how I have to evaluate my emotions. To either choose to embrace them or reject them, I have to know whether they are based on actual truth or perceived truth.

If we can agree that what is absolute truth is God’s word, the answer becomes clearer.

The bible clearly says I can choose what I think…

In Philippians 4:8 states this is true.  This verse instructs me to think on specific things.  If I can do that then it means I am capable of choosing my thoughts.  Or at least the ones I let marinate.

So if we look back at the list of things I was allowing to torment me…what is the absolute truth about each of those…God gave me a scripture for each.

• I am glad to be working but don’t like my job.  Psalms 75:6-7  Promotion comes from God…I will move in His timing.

• I’m tired of coming home to an empty house and spending another night alone.  Proverbs 18:24 ..I need to be proactive  in developing friendships and be more friendly.

• I’m tired of feeling like there is no light at the end of this tunnel I am in. Jeremiah 29:11…God knows the end and it is good.

• I’m tired of being misunderstood.  Jeremiah 1:5..God knows and understands me when no one else does.

• I’m tired of my weaknesses. 2 Corinthians 12:9..God’s grace is sufficient for me.

• I’m tired of going around this same mountain over and over again and I’m not even sure what the mountain is.  Proverbs 3:5-6 ..God will direct my path if I look to Him and follow.

• I wonder if my situation is the consequence of my bad choices, and if it is will God ever allow me to escape? Psalm 107:17-21…even if I got here through my own foolishness God will deliver me…Praise Him.

• Will I ever be the confident, consistent empowered believer I want to be? Philippians 1:6…God will finish His work in me if I will let Him.

• How will I get through the next moment? Hebrews 4:15-16 ..If I ask Him He will help because He understands and wants me to ask for help.

• I am tired of the day to day routine. Galatians 6:9 ..If I hold on, I will reap something good.

God showed me in all this if I can renew my mind to the absolute truth I can win this war in my mind and in my emotions.   The enemy always wants me to think that what is now is what will always be.  He wants me to think whatever is true in the moment will last the rest of my life.  The bible tells me in this life there will be trouble for sure, but God has a plan always and whatever is in the moment does not have to define the outcome unless I and He allow it.  That means I can have hope.

Hope is what I needed all along.  Hope that all that stuff was not the end of the line for me.  Hope that change would come and that change would be good.  With God, what other outcome is possible?

Yep, reading my bible and applying the truth to my thoughts helped me.   Truth stopped the madness and stopped the freakouts.

Go figure.

When I decided to actually study the verse, I discovered many truths hidden in the simplicity of the words. Love in this scripture is the Greek word “AGAPE”, which by definition is the type of love that is not self serving, does not depend on reciprocation and is constant. And as is pointed out in the scripture itself, I must demonstrate love to my neighbor in the same way I demonstrate love to myself. Herein lies the dilemma, how can I love my neighbor if I do not even have this “God” kind of love toward myself.

In our society, self love is usually associated with education, paychecks, property, family or status in the community. In the Christian community, self love is commonly associated with status in the church, amount of church work or worse, our Christian “performance”; the dreaded sin tally.  How many times did I get it wrong today?  How long did I pray?  How much study time did I put in my bible?

The problem with these measuring tools is they are subject to change. We could lose paychecks, spouses and homes.  And as sure as we rise in the morning we will sin in some way.  It will either be in what we think or in what we do or don’t do.    This is no stable basis for obtaining and maintaining self love.  Self love must be determined by self worth.  And true self worth can really only be determined by God.

The worth of a thing is determined by what someone is willing to pay for it.  The Christian’s self worth should only be determined by what God paid to obtain them.  Scripture teaches God paid the ultimate price for mankind, the sacrifice of His only son Jesus.  This sacrifice was given so mankind, should they accept this gift, could become sons of God.    Given this truth, the Christian self worth is priceless.   Even non Christians believe Jesus was a person like no other whose loving works toward mankind are unmatched.  To sacrifice someone like Him in hopes that even one would believe is mind boggling.  What kind of love does that?  It appears God’s love does.

The tremendous self worth of the Christian then, if embraced internally should produce self love that does not change based on circumstances or situations.  This self love understands that while actions may change, self worth and subsequently self love remain constant.  Now we can be free to love ourselves and capable of truly loving others effectively.

If we, I, can embrace this truth, not just intellectually, but let it sink deep in our hearts, the impact in our community will be astonishing.  Service to others will become a way of life rather than just “the right thing to do”.  When someone asks for food, our attitude will be the same as if we were preparing a meal for ourselves.  If someone needs clothing, we will provide for them as if selecting our own wardrobe.  If someone seeks mercy or a visit we will remember we too need mercy and sometimes long for a visit or phone call.  That kind of demonstrated love pleases the heart of God and changes people  forever.