Dependable in the Mundane

But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” (Matthew 6:33)

One of the most powerful testimonies to the all-sufficiency of God’s future grace is the “faith principle” that has governed the lives of so many missionaries, notably those of Overseas Missionary Fellowship (OMF).

Without condemning those who follow a different pattern, it has been the practice of those who follow in the steps of Hudson Taylor and George Mueller to move the hearts of supporters to give by directing their requests to God and not to people.

James H. Taylor, the great-grandson of the founder of OMF, explains how this faith in future grace, rooted in demonstrations of bygone grace, honors God.

We . . . begin from a position of faith. We believe God does exist. We have become convinced of this in a variety of ways, but all of us have experienced the grace of God in bringing us to know Himself through Jesus Christ and through rebirth by His Spirit. We believe we have good grounds of believing in Him through the historical fact of the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead: we believe that someone who said He would die and rise again, and did it, is credible in every other way. Therefore we are prepared to trust Him, not only for the eternal salvation of our souls, but also for the practical provision of our daily bread and financial support.

OMF publishes testimonies of God’s amazing faithfulness to demonstrate the glory of his all-supplying future grace. “We want to demonstrate that God can be trusted to do all that He says He will do, by sharing how He has provided for such mundane needs as plane tickets, meals, medical expenses, and the regular support of a whole group of Christian people for well over a hundred years.”

What OMF is devoted to is glorifying the dependability of God — in their message and in their method. Hudson Taylor put it this way: “There is a living God. He has spoken in the Bible. He means what He says and will do all that He has promised.”

Lives of faith are the great mirror of the dependability of God.

John Piper 

When God lets you co-pilot

BIBLE MEDITATION:

Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Matthew 6:10

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

Some time ago I was invited to preach in another state, but my schedule was such that I couldn’t arrange it. When they offered to send a private plane, it made it possible for me to go.

As we flew over Arkansas, the pilot asked me if I wanted to try my hand at flying the plane. I said, “Yes!”

Of course, he was sitting right next to me. He could fly the plane without me, but I couldn’t fly it without him. He had his hands on his set of controls all the while, and he allowed me to participate with him.

That’s the way prayer is. God can do it without you, but God enables you to have fellowship with Him and teaches you a dependency upon Him through prayer.

ACTION POINT:

Meditate on 1 Chronicles 16:23-36. Glory in His presence: 

Sing to the LORD, all the earth; Proclaim the good news of His salvation from day to day. Declare His glory among the nations, His wonders among all peoples. For the LORD is great and greatly to be praised; He is also to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the peoples are idols, But the LORD made the heavens.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Identity Crisis

Why are we here?

Why do we struggle with self esteem?

Comparing yourself to others and their possessions brings you feelings of not measuring up.

These things bring depression and discouragement.

Be set free from comparison.

Satan is the master of using this to effect your witness.

Be who God made you to be.

How to avoid an identity crisis.

1. Remember what is really important in life!

38 Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house.

39 And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet and listened to his teaching. - Luke 10:38-39

Establish your core values.

Know what is right.

Be truthful.

You can not please everyone.

Set your priorities.

Commitment to Worship 

Commitment to Family

Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, - Ephesians 5:25

Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. - Ephesians 6:4

2. Keep the main thing the main thing.

But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, "Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me." - Luke 10:40

Distraction is with us always.

Impending death brings contemplation of your life priorities.

Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, - Philippians 3:13

You are who you are in Jesus.

You are forgiven in Christ.

Press on.

When storms roll in.

When the bottom falls out.

I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. - Philippians 3:14

7 But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.

8 We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; - 2 Corinthians 4:7-8

persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; - 2 Corinthians 4:9

Trouble is coming but Christ is King!

3. Guard your attitude.

41 But the Lord answered her, "Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things,

42 but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her." - Luke 10:41-42

Don't let bitterness steal the glory God wants you to have.

Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.  - Proverbs 4:23

1 If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.

2 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. - Colossians 3:1-2

3 For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

4 When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. - Colossians 3:3-4

Christ is your life.

Walk in holy boldness and confidence knowing you can do all things in Christ who strengthens you.

If not, repent!

Thanks Pastor Kevin!!

What Makes God Proud

But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city. (Hebrews 11:16)

I want very much for God to say to me what he said about Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob: “I am not ashamed to be called your God.”

As risky as it sounds, does this not really mean that God might actually be “proud” to be called my God? Fortunately this wonderful possibility is surrounded (in Hebrews 11:16) by reasons: one before and one after.

Take the one after, first: “God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.”

The first reason he gives why he is not ashamed to be called their God is that he has done something for them. He made them a city — the heavenly city “whose designer and builder is God” (Hebrews 11:10). So, the first reason he is not ashamed to be called their God is that he has worked for them. Not the other way around.

Now, consider the reason he gives in the front. It goes like this: “They desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God.”

“Therefore” signals that a reason has just been given for why God is not ashamed to be called our God. The reason is their desire. They desire a better country — that is, a better country than the earthly one they live in; namely, a heavenly one where God is.

When we desire this heavenly city — this dwelling place of God — more than we desire all that this world can give, God is not ashamed to be called our God. When we make much of all that he promises to be for us, he is proud to be our God. This is good news.

So, open your eyes to the better country, the city of God that he has prepared for us, and let yourself desire it with all your heart. God will not be ashamed to be called your God.

John Piper 

Why doesn't God obliterate evil?

BIBLE MEDITATION:

Thine, O Lord, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is thine. 1 Chronicles 29:11

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

Have you ever wondered why God doesn’t obliterate the devil and eradicate all sin? If God destroyed evil, God would destroy every opportunity for choice. And if God were to destroy every opportunity for choice, then God would destroy every opportunity for love. Therefore, God would destroy the highest good. For God to destroy evil would be evil.

God doesn’t destroy evil, instead God defeats evil. How? Calvary and the resurrection! God turns every hurt into a hallelujah. Every defeat into victory!

ACTION POINT:

Spend some time today thinking about heaven and the glorious reunion you’re going to have with Him one day.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Praying on auto-pilot?

BIBLE MEDITATION:

But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. Matthew 6:7

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

It was a very long, tiring day. I had preached three sermons and dictated a stack of letters. And at the close of each letter I ended it, “In Jesus’ name, Adrian Rogers.”

A man came to me at the end of a service and said, “I must see you. I have a severe problem.” I was bone weary but I said, “Very well, come on back and let’s talk.”

We talked and I listened. My heart was moved with compassion. I said, “Let me pray for you.” And when I finished I said, “In Jesus’ name, Adrian Rogers.” And then I thought, “Oh my! Did I say that? Did he hear me say that?” How easy we slip and rattle off our prayers.

ACTION POINT:

Do you find yourself using repetitive phrases in your prayer life? Today, just talk with God. Don’t think too much about your words. Follow your heart.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Faith for the Impossible

He grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. (Romans 4:20–21)

Paul has in mind a special reason why faith glorifies God’s future grace. Simply put, the reason is that this God-glorifying faith is a future-oriented confidence in God’s integrity and power and wisdom to follow through on all his promises.

Paul illustrates this faith with Abraham’s response to the promise of God: that he would be the father of many nations even though he was old and his wife was barren (Romans 4:18). “In hope he believed against hope,” that is, he had faith in the future grace of God’s promise, in spite of all human evidences to the contrary.

He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was as good as dead (since he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah’s womb. No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. (Romans 4:19–21)

The faith of Abraham was a faith in the promise of God to make him the father of many nations. This faith glorified God because it called attention to all the omnipotent, supernatural resources of God that would be required to fulfill it.

Abraham was too old to have children, and Sarah was barren. Not only that: How do you turn a son or two into “many nations,” which God said Abraham would be the father of? It all seemed totally impossible.

Therefore, Abraham’s faith glorified God by being fully assured that he could and would do the humanly impossible. This is the faith we are called to have. That God will do for us what we could never do for ourselves.

John Piper