Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything... His peace will guard your hearts and minds.
- Philippians 4:6-7 NLT
Are you worried today? Have you lost your peace of mind? Begin to pray this prayer until it takes root in your heart and becomes your fixed attitude:
"Father, You told me not to be afraid because You are with me, You will uphold me, and those who come against me will not succeed. (See Is 41:10-11). You said no evil would come upon me, nor any plague touch my home for You have ordered Your angels to protect me. (See Ps 91:10-11). You said when I walk through rivers of difficulty [when I'm 'in over my head'] You won't let me drown, and when I walk through fires of adversity [when 'the heat is on'] You won't allow me to get burned for You are watching over me. (See Is 43:2-3).
You said no weapon formed against me shall prosper. (See Is 54:17). I cannot keep the enemy's weapons from being formed, but I know You will keep them from prospering.
You said if I ask anything according to Your will, You would grant my request. (See 1 Jn 5:14-15). You said when I walk in obedience before You I will be blessed when I come in and blessed when I go out, blessed when I lie down and blessed when I get up. (See Dt 28:6).
You told me to give all my troubles to You and You would take care of me. (See 1 Pe 5:7).
So here they are! Today I'm standing on Your Word. You said it! I believe it! That settles it! Amen."
Some one says; “I am my own man or woman. I do my own thing. No body tells me what to do. I am going to do things the way I want to do”. No you are not. You are either going to do things God’s way and obey him, or you are going to do things the devil’s way and obey Satan the devil.
You say; that does not work with me because I am not even a Christian. You are doubly guilty. First of all you rejected his son. Secondly, you are living in sin by rejecting his son...
You were created for a purpose. The Lord wants to use any of us throughout our entire life. Each of us has a role to play in getting God’s truth to the world.
Have you ever wondered why God doesn’t use you? Or may be he is using you, but you are wondering why he is not using you much more than he is using you. Some times, people just decide not to serve God. They never take any effort to serve God, not realizing that God desires to use them. What does God say about this issue? It is God’s responsibility to tell us how he wants to use us, and it is our responsibility to make ourselves available to be used.
There are literally millions of people who sit in church week after week, and as far as they are concerned, God is using them by bringing them to the church. That is not being used by God. We come to church to worship and to encourage each other. To listen and to be instructed. To be challenged, to be convicted and to be lifted up in such a way that our life will make a difference. But many people come to church just to satisfy their conscience; they hear the massage, listen to the music, give a little money, then they go home till next week. Many of them do not even bring a Bible with them. And they call that being used by God. That is not being used by God.
Let’s understand what being used by God is. We read Ephesians 2:1-10 (NIV):
1 As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins (that means dead to the things of God) 2in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. 3All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. 4But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. 6And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. 8For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9not by works, so that no one can boast. 10For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
It is a serious matter that a person lives his life and does not serve God when according to scripture; he saved us for the purpose of good works. He saved us in order to serve him, and he says he prepared all this before hand. We are serving God wherever he places us. The scripture says that he has given us different skills, abilities, talents and spiritual gifts.
We read in 1 Peter 4:9-10:
9 Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. 10Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms.
Look what he has done. He says; “I have created you to carry out my work on earth. You are to do that by serving one another. So, I am giving you skills, talents, ability and spiritual gifts. I am giving you the divine energy that you need to get it done. I want to equip you and help you and I will be with you every step of the way”. When he sent those disciples out, what did he say? He said; Go onto the whole world and preach the gospel to every creature. He says; I am going to be with you even to the end of this age.
You do not want to take the last breath, having spent 10, 15, 20 years in some retirement situation somewhere, where your life has not counted for anything. Where you sit and watch TV and playing Dominoes or Omweso, Matatu, Checkers and all the rest of it, and then die and face Jesus.
You say; that does not work with me because I am not even a Christian. You are doubly guilty. First of all you rejected his son. Secondly, you are living in sin by rejecting his son. Thirdly, you are wasting away your life. And number four, he says that it is appointed for man once to die, and after this the judgment. And he says; every one of us should give an account for the life that he has lived and the things he has done. You see, many people do not want to hear that. But as for you, the reader of this message, naturally you do want to hear it, because you are reading this. You want to know the truth.
Each one is to employ his gifts and talents and skills and abilities to help one another. That is the way God gets his work done. Somebody might ask; what task does God have to give me? God does not have to give you a big task. It is a matter of using us in serving each other, and yet we are serving God. You ask; when does he start using us? What does the Bible say? “A little child shall lead them…” God even uses little children.
Different people have different capacities, skills, abilities, talents and gifts. So, whatever God calls you to do, whatever skill he has given you, he intends for you and me to exercise it in a way that is godly, in a way that, in some way, impacts the people around us, and the people for whom and with whom we work.
God could have written in the sky, in every single language there is. He could have put the plan of salvation in the sky so that every single person can read it in their language and tongue in some way if they want to. Why didn’t he do that? It’s because he wants to give you and me the privilege of being his servants.
The most awesome thing we can do is to take the gospel; the simple message of the cross of Jesus Christ and tell somebody else. And see their life changed. And then they will tell somebody else, and somebody else. Do you realize where we have come from? We have come from the one man Jesus, and those 11 disciples (having left out Judas), and the 120, and the 3,000, and now look at the millions and millions of Christians. Do you know why? It is because a handful of men were willing to do what God called them to do.
God is looking for people who are available. You may still ask; “Do I have a role to play in communicating God’s truth to others?” The responsibility to reach others for Jesus Christ doesn’t just belong to pastors and full-time missionaries, which is what many people think. God has made all believers missionaries. Notice what Jesus says in Mathews 28:19–20; 19Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
When you come to 2 Timothy, for example, here is what Paul said when he was writing to Timothy:
2 Timothy 2:2
2 And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men (and women of course) who will also be qualified to teach others.
Also remember what the apostle Paul said in 2 Corinthians 5:20 when he was talking about our responsibility. He said;
20 We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God.
Mary said...let it be to me according to Your Word.
- Luke 1:37-38
When God told Mary she was going to give birth to the Christ-child, she asked how it could be possible. Perhaps God's been telling you things He wants to do through you, but you're looking at your own limitations and asking, "How will this be?" (Lk 1:34 NIV). You're telling God, "I don't have the training, the experience, the skill, or the connections. And I certainly don't have the strength to accomplish it alone."
Like Mary, you're thinking only in the natural, that you must have man's help to do it. If you've been wondering how God will make things come to pass in your life, remember, He will accomplish the task. No man will get the credit for your deliverance.
He told Mary, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you" (Lk 1:35 NIV). The Holy Spirit can impregnate you with a vision, inspire you with creative ideas, introduce you to the right people, and empower you to do the job.
God had a special plan for Mary; and He has one for you too. You aren't privileged to see the future. You don't know all that He has in store for you. But He has a plan.
After the angel spoke to Mary, do you know what she said? Let it be to me according to Your Word" (Lk 1:38). Not according to my marital status, or my job, or my finances, or what I deserve. No, "Let it be to me according to Your Word!" Was that easy to do? No, she was taking an extreme risk; to be pregnant and unmarried brought dire consequences in those days. Yet she gave herself willingly to God - and the results were truly miraculous!
SoulFood Bible Readings: Isa 9:1-7, Lk 2:1-20, Mic 5:2-5a
We know that God speaks to us through his word. He speaks to us through the Holy Spirit. He speaks to us through circumstances and through people. When he does speak, he does so for these particular purposes:
> to communicate so that we might comprehend the truth of the word; that we may understand what he is saying in the scriptures.
> secondly, that you and I might be conformed to that truth, that our lifestyle may be shaped by the word of God
> and thirdly, that you and I can communicate it to others.
The question comes; what happens when you and I fail to listen? God speaks very clearly with very simple purposes in mind. But what is it that causes us not to listen? Why don’t we listen? What happens when we do not listen to what he says? In the third chapter of Genesis, the account of the fall of man, are the consequences of failing to listen to God.
Genesis 3:1-7 NIV
1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God really say, 'You must not eat from any tree in the garden'?" 2 The woman said to the serpent, "We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3 but God did say, 'you must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.'" 4"You will not surely die," the serpent said to the woman. 5"For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." 6 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.
Now let’s go to Genesis 2:16-17 and note what God said originally.
16 And the LORD God commanded the man, "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; 17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die."
Eve correctly quoted what God said. In this passage of scripture, it is very clear that God has spoken. What I want you to remember is this; sometimes, God will say something to us that we can recall when he said it, and the circumstances in which it was said. And we can say that; “back there, at a certain time, I know that God spoke to my heart”.
God does not only want us to hear what he says one time. There are some things that God says to us that he wants us to keep on hearing; which means, I must keep on reminding myself, or recalling for myself what God said. God is not going to say it to us loudly every day. Sometimes he is going to say it one time; he knows we have heard it, and therefore we are accountable for what we have heard. And therefore, what we are to do is to recall and refresh our memory, and keep before us some of these things that God has said to us.
What happens here is that God speaks to Adam, the head of this first family very briefly, clearly, very understandably, and Adam in turn told it to his wife. Eve understood very clearly exactly what God said or she would not have quoted it so accurately. And yet in spite of that, we see the very fall of mankind. Adam was the first person of the whole human race. He was, as it were, the fountain of human race. They understood what God said very clearly but they did not obey what they heard. When we fail to listen to God, what happens? I am going to give you eight consequences for failing to hear and obey or ignoring what God says.
1. We end up listening to the wrong voices.
Adam and Eve is the first family and there was no sin in the world at that particular time. Now she begins to listen to a very strange voice. It is not the voice of God. It is not the voice of her husband. It is a strange voice. When you and I don’t keep before us what God has said to us, we are going to listen to the wrong voices. You turn on the TV, you listen to the radio, pick up the newspaper, you read the magazine, we are bombarded with a lot of vain, empty, erroneous, non-biblical, ungodly philosophy.
2. We get easily deceived.
When you and I are not listening to God, recalling what God says, we are easily deceived. Satan is a deceiver. This is exactly what Satan did to Eve. It is Satan’s nature to lie and deceive.
3. Pride and Independence.
The truth is all of us sin. No matter what it is, the ultimate root of that sin is price. When you and I fail to listen, what we are doing is we are expressing pride and independence. What we are saying is; we think we can handle it. Eve heard and knew exactly what God said. But she decides that instead of listening to God, she is going to listen to Satan.
4. We make decision that appeal to the flesh.
When we fail to listen to God, we make decisions that appeal to the flesh. Satan appealed to three legitimate facets of the human life, all at once. (a) Appetite; it looked like good for food. (b) She said it was very attractive and pleasing to the eye; a desire for beauty. And (c) it will make her wise; a desire for wisdom. God gave the appetites to us and he has offered to us the Holy Spirit to give us wisdom to know how to keep those appetites under control and in balance; whether it is appetite for food, sleep, recreation, sex or whatever it might be.
5. We blame other people.
When we fail to listen, we excuse our wrongs and often blame other people. Genesis 3:12. The man said, "The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it." When you and I stop listening to God our problem is, instead of facing and assuming our responsibility for our thoughts and our failures, we want to blame somebody else. Once in a while we hear somebody in a very humanly fashion saying, “the devil made me do it”. The devil cannot make a believer do anything. You and I consent to do what he tempts us to do.
6. We do suffer the consequences.
Look at the consequences of what happened to Adam and to Eve and to their family in Genesis 3:17-24. 17 To Adam he said, "Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, 'You must not eat of it,' "Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. Read on up to verse 24.
7. We cause others around us to suffer.
When we fail to listen to God and walk in obedience to him, we cause those around us to suffer. We have just described part of that in Eve giving the fruit to her husband, and he suffers. Suffering goes on with sin coming to their family, and there is strife. You will recall Cain having to run and run and run, after killing Abel.
8. We miss out on God’s best.
When you and I fail to listen, and fail to be obedient to him, we miss out on God’s best. Think about what Adam and Eve had. They had the Garden in all its perfection. They were two perfect human beings. In their nakedness there was no shame, there was no guilt, everything was absolutely perfect.
When you and I listen to him and obey, we are blessed. When we fail to listen and disobey, we suffer the consequences. I will simply say, if you want to avoid the consequences of disobedience, then, my friend, receive Jesus Christ as your Savior, get into the church that teaches the word of God, listen to the word of God week after week after week, understanding the principles of scripture, and God will build a hedge of protection around you.
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