stewardship

  • John 11:6 When he had heard therefore that he was sick… (reflections on ministry, #1)

    In a recent update, I shared how I’m often tempted to be impetuous:

    I’m so like Moses. Impetuous. Wanting to take things into my own hands.

    (Granted, what Moses did wasn’t condemned . . .

    Acts 7:23  “When he was forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brothers, the children of Israel. 24  And seeing one of them being wronged, he defended the oppressed man and avenged him by striking down the Egyptian. 25  He supposed that his brothers would understand that God was giving them salvation by his hand, but they did not understand…
    . . . yet God had a much more grand and glorious plan to rescue His people from Egypt.)

    I look on others’ burdens and I want to do something: to say something, to write something . . .

    I get impatient . . .

    I’m impetuous . . .

    I’ve gotten into trouble time and again for jumping ahead of God . . . (you think I would learn).

    On the other hand, I’ve been abundantly blessed by God whenever I’ve bent my knees and bowed my neck and waited on Him and in prayer . . . (you think I would learn).

    So often I want to do something, do anything . . . but pray.

    I’ve been itching to speak, to write . . . but God has continue to check me . . . and call me back to the closet, back to prayer.

    That post was focusing on how God wanted me to be patient, to wait on Him and to pray more. That’s one way God has been checking me.

    But there’s another way God continues to check me.

    I think it’s best summarized in John 11:

    1  Now a certain man was sick, named Lazarus, of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha. 2  (It was that Mary which anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.) 3  Therefore his sisters sent unto him, saying, Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick. 4  When Jesus heard that, he said, This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby. 5  Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus. 6  When he had heard therefore that he was sick, he abode two days still in the same place where he was.

    Did you catch that?

    When he had heard therefore that he was sick, he left the place where he was.

    No, no! It doesn’t say that, does it? Instead we read

    When he had heard therefore that he was sick, he abode two days still in the same place where he was.


    We so often think of Jesus as coming to the rescue as soon as we call. Kind of like us calling 9-1-1. Well, yes and no. Yes, He does hear when we call, and He delights to hear our cries, and He does begin acting as soon as we cry (might we say He is acting before we cry, as He is the one drawing us to cry out to Him?). God knows what we need before we need it, but Jesus doesn’t necessarily respond or act in the way or in the time we might think. God’s plan is far, far bigger than what we might imagine and far, far beyond what might make sense to us.

    Isaiah 55:8  For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. 9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.

    Romans 11:33  O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out! 34  For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor? 35  Or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again? 36  For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen.

    Isaiah 30:18 And therefore will the LORD wait, that he may be gracious unto you, and therefore will he be exalted, that he may have mercy upon you: for the LORD is a God of judgment: blessed are all they that wait for him. 19  For the people shall dwell in Zion at Jerusalem: thou shalt weep no more: he will be very gracious unto thee at the voice of thy cry; when he shall hear it, he will answer thee. (I’d encourage you to keep reading that rest of the chapter.)

    God is God – and we are not. Isn’t that the lesson God continues to teach us while we remain here in these fleshly bodies?

    God’s thoughts and God’s ways and God’s wisdom and God’s knowledge and God’s timing and God’s workings are all about God and God’s glory…

    So it must be with each of us as we seek to minister in God’s Name.

    There are times when the LORD is waiting to be gracious to another soul that He will call us to wait (or, like Jesus, to have us abide two days still in the same place where we are). God may very well have us abide for a time before we visibly move, before we go to Bethany, so to speak, to help out a friend in need. (Note there: I said visibly move. I think we can correctly presume that Jesus had already been moving in prayer toward His Father’s throne, for He was absolutely certain of the will of His Father in this situation and He felt no hurry to leave the place He was at that time. In the same way, as soon as we hear of or see a need, we can begin moving in intercession for that soul.)

    For those of you who take Christian ministry seriously (I mean that in the broadest sense of the word, i.e. – we are all called to be ambassadors; we are all called to encourage one another daily, to admonish one another, etc.), when we hear of someone in need, isn’t our natural response to move, to go and do something? To write a comment. To answer that message. To say something. Don’t we sometimes end up like Moses? Or like Peter? Or like Abram and Sarai? Don’t we so often end up jumping ahead of God just because we think we have to do something, to do anything? Have to. Do we really have to? Aren’t there those times when we react out of our own will without even pausing a moment to ask God in prayer what His will is in the matter?

    Honestly, if we were in Jesus’ place and had heard about Lazarus’ sickness, wouldn’t most of us be sorely tempted to pack up ASAP and head straight away to Bethany? Yet we don’t see our Lord doing that, do we? We see Him content to wait on His Father’s timing because He had an eye to His Father’s glory.

    We also have to see that Jesus loved Lazarus, Martha and Mary. He loved them…and yet He waited.

    Just because we hear of or see a need doesn’t mean God wants us to move immediately.

    Just because we hear of or see a need doesn’t mean God wants us to do anything at all.

    Love for others sometimes means we will wait like Jesus when God is calling us to wait. (It may also mean not doing anything at all; that wasn’t the case in this incident, but it may be the case with us – more below.)

    Love for God and God’s glory means we will wait like Jesus when God is calling us to wait. (Again, it may also mean not doing anything at all. We need to seek God and what is to His glory.)

    There is a time to arise and go, but there’s also a time to abide still in the same place. May God clearly lead each of us in this.

    On my other site I’ve mentioned that one of my “strengths” is restorative. (Um, sorry, I can’t find that post. Grrr! One of my strengths is not organization, I’ve  concluded. ) Anyhow, the bottom line means I want to restore things. To fix things. To make it all better.

    That’s a very noble ambition, and it is rooted in the character of God.

    The fall has wrecked everything, and God’s plan in Jesus Christ is and has always been to bring restoration to this broken world, along with all its broken people. Our God is a God of restoration and renewal and redemption. Amen.

    When I see a problem, or when I see a friend hurting, or when I read of someone struggling, I want to be God’s instrument of restoration. (Even unbelievers have the image of God planted in them to some limited extent and they have similar desires. In much the same way, even unbelievers are grieved when they see people struggling and hurting, when they see the brokenness in the world, but, of course, they aren’t seeing the problems through God’s eyes and they aren’t relying on heavenly supplies to do anything about it and they certainly aren’t interested in the glory of God being done in all that.)

    That God-given desire in me to restore is a good desire, but since that desire has also been tainted by the fall, it must be sanctified – it must be walked out in the Spirit. In other words: not my ways, not my thoughts, not my wisdom, not my power, not my timing and not for my glory. As I minister it must be done according to God’s ways, God’s thoughts, God’s wisdom, in God’s power, in God’s timing…and always with an eye to God’s glory. That’s a mouthful for sure, but I trust you get the idea.

    In short: the best efforts wrought of my own flesh are never going to please or glorify God. In the end, ministry isn’t about results, it’s about God getting glory.

    I did have some other things here, but I’ve decided to break off the rest of that and include it in a second post here…

    Related:

  • “ALL public work must be subservient to my prayer work.” (Evan Roberts)

    I mentioned last week I’ve been reading through “An Instrument of Revival: The Complete Life of Evan Roberts, 1878-1951″ (Brynmor Pierce Jones, Bridge Publishing: South Plainfield, NJ, 1995) (see my post here). Evan Roberts was used by God in the Welsh Revival of 1904-05, but afterwards suffered a breakdown after which he went into private intercessory prayer ministry for several years…

         …Evan Roberts continually stressed the need to persevere: “In Luke it does not say, ‘preach and faint not’ but, ‘pray and faint not.’ It is not difficult to preach. But while you pray, you are alone in some solitary place, fighting in a prayer-battle against the powers of darkness. And you will know the secret of victor.” The idea is echoed in one of his poems:

    And never faint! Oh pray, full on and fast.
    Rough though the untrod way. Straight on! and last.
    And never faint, though those may rave for rest.
    The goal, not thee, is first. Pray one! thou blest.


    And never faint! Though strain may sigh thee down.
    Pray on! if thou wouldst fain have on the crown.
    And never faint! The end thou mayest not view.
    When bound, let nought thee bend. Press on anew.


    And never faint! Thy charge to God given o’er.
    Pray on! Thy tent enlarge. Enrich thy store.
    And never faint! Pray on each day with care.
    Strive for, till thou hast won, the answered prayer.


         Evan was so taken up with the idea of vigilant watching that he prayed night and day and was known to fall asleep on his feet, then awaken a few hours later fresh and alert once more. He told Welsh friends in a special letter that he was like a bondservant who could not stop his work even on a Sabbath Day: “The warfare must go on every hour against unseen enemy hosts who are set to weaken the church forces.” Like Moses who lifted up his arms all day long over the battle, Evan had to serve the Lord who had “taken hold of my spirit.” When he was invited in 1910 to go to India he replied earnestly:

    I could not give up my time to India without neglecting my prayer work and feeling I am behind in my prayer service, and that possibly some victory is lost through my negligence. When the [crisis] of the church is through I shall be free for public work. ALL public work must be subservient to my prayer work.

    (192-193)

    * * *

     

    Heavenly Father, I confess I so often put public work first, rather than making it subservient to my prayer work. It is so much easier for me to teach, to speak and to write than it is for me to pray. I want to produce something. I want to have some visible result I can point to. I want to have some visible result others can point to. My ministry for You becomes more about me than more about You…and then it is really no longer ministry, is it? Forgive me, Lord. Cleanse me from my sin.

    My attitude towards prayer shows how prideful and selfish I am. If I were truly Your humble servant, if You were truly my Lord, I would be willing, not only willing, but rejoicing with great joy to go into my closet and never again return to public work, if that were Your will for me. Should it not be a joy to commune with You in prayer? Is not fullness of joy to be found in Your presence? Are not pleasures forevermore at Your right hand? O, and the worse thing is that You have allowed me to begin to taste and see the joy it is to tarry at the throne of grace. Forgive Me, Lord, for seeking to find my joy in my public work for You rather than my joy in You alone in that solitary place. O, Lord, how much more brutish since I have tasted and seen…Cleanse me from my sin.

    I confess how I still do not yet really comprehend the vital importance of the work of prayer. If we are to expect power and anointing in public ministry we must be seeking Your face in secret. Teach me, O Lord. Truly the fervent effectual prayer of a righteous man avails much. Truly our laboring in prayer allows the saints to stand perfect and complete in Your will. Truly the warfare must go on every hour. Truly I ought to be praying day and night. Forgive me, Lord, for not being vigilant in prayer.

    Jesus Christ, You are my great High Priest. You ever live to intercede for me. How little I really understand the preciousness and treasure of prayer. Pour out on me that spirit of grace and supplications that fills You, so I might delight to linger for hours at the right hand of our Father as You do. I am part of Your holy priesthood which means not only giving out Your Word to Your people but also going to the throne of grace on their behalf.

    You hung on the cross so I might enter into the Holy of Holies and yet I confess how little I do so. Forgive me, Lord. Circumcise my heart, teach me more of the joy of prayer and sweet communion with You. Yes, You have been graciously teaching me of these things, but I am slow to learn. Thank You that You are longsuffering with me.

    Loving Father, I was once not Your child but You have made me Your child by grace through faith. You have given to me the glorious Spirit of adoption. Your Spirit now dwells in me and calls out from within me, “Abba, Father!” O, how I grieve Him when I do not take that time to come into Your house. I thank You and praise You for disciplining me yesterday, for taking hold of my spirit and shutting me away in my closet. O, shut me away with You whenever You will have me there. O, shut me away with You when I insist on skipping that time in the closet or short-changing it. Draw me to Your throne of grace with Your cords of love. Compel and constrain me to that altar of prayer. I am not my own. I am Yours to do with as You will. Can the clay command the Potter? O, I marvel that You have shown me the joy unspeakable in prayer, as I have sat at Your feet and tarried in prayer. Yes, my life is to be a life of continuing prayer – as Paul said, we are to pray without ceasing. However, we also must have those extended times of prayer as well. Help me not to leave that closet a moment sooner than You wish. May I not be negligent. Take hold of my spirit! I am prone to wander. As I begin to wander, turn me and I will be turned. Humble me and I will kneel. Psalm 116. I love You, Lord. Help me to love You more. Amen.


  • prayer and closed doors

     

    Perhaps so many doors are closed to us because we do not pray as we ought.

    Colossians 4:2  Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. 3  At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison— 4  that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak.

    Even though the prison door had closed on Paul, he didn’t see his opportunities as limited – because Paul knew no matter what men could do, the word of God could never be bound!

    II Timothy 2:8  Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, the offspring of David, as preached in my gospel, 9  for which I am suffering, bound with chains as a criminal. But the word of God is not bound!

    How often are we tempted to see the word of God as bound?

    How often do we pray for God to open to us a door for the word?

    How often do we not treasure the opportunities we have to speak God’s word?

    How often do we ask God to open a door for the word?

    Matthew 7:7 Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8  For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.

    Matthew 6:6 (KJV)  But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.

    When was the last time you entered into your closet, shut the door and prayed that God would open to you a door for the word?

    Zechariah 12:10 (KJV) And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications…

    Isaiah 62:6  On your walls, O Jerusalem,
    I have set watchmen;
    all the day and all the night
    they shall never be silent.
    You who put the LORD in remembrance,
    take no rest,
    7  and give him no rest
    until he establishes Jerusalem…

    Lord God, pour out on us a spirit of grace and supplications, so we might continue steadfastly in prayer. May we shut the door and enter into our closets in secret. May we keep asking, keep seeking and keep knocking. May we not be silent. May we not hold our peace day or night. May we give You no rest until You establish Your Church and make us a praise in the earth once again. Your will for us is to be a glorious Church once again. Almighty and sovereign God, You alone can open the doors that are shut tightly. Creator God, You who made each ear, You alone can open the ears that are shut tightly. In and of ourselves, we have no power to open any door ourselves. In and of ourselves, we have no power to open any ears. Open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, that we might make it clear, which is how we ought to speak. For Your glory and the sake of Your Name we ask these things. Amen.

     

     

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    Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. Copyright ©2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.