STORY TELLING: WHO ARE THE BEST EMPLOYEES?

In a business we look at employee performance in terms of corporate objectives as they in Action Plans down the whole corporate ladder. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to do this analysis without the cart before the horse? Acceptable and especially excellent outputs of people are more related to their character, their work ethic and their attitude to the other people they interact with within and outside the company. The company has external suppliers and customers; each individual on the company is an internal supplier and an internal customer. After a lifetime in manufacturing this author is convinced that if the right ethical principles are part of everybody’s character than each customer, internal and external, will be satisfied.

Let’s set the stage for this story that illustrates the contrast of these principles. Chuck and Jack were two receiving clerks in a midsize company. They were responsible to take care of all the paperwork for incoming parts for the assembly line and to inspect incoming material for defects. Charley and Joe were their internal customer, working on that assembly line, using parts and tooling that Chuck and Jack received.

Chuck was meticulous, almost to a fault. He learned to enjoy what he did and took pride in his work, no matter how menial it was. He was cheerful, not complaining and took note of the people he worked with. He aimed to please everybody. When he found out that Joe’s wife gave birth to a premature baby, and they were having a rough go of it, he stopped at the hospital on his way home to check on them, at least weekly during the months the baby was in trouble. He found out they were having financial trouble because of this he took up a collection for them. When Charley’s car broke down he picked him up to get him to work.

 

Jack’s emphasis was on speed, he worked hard to get more stuff out to the line than any of the other receivers. Jack was also a chronic complainer with no cheese to go with his whine. For some unknown reason, he always had it in for Charley. He would intentionally not deliver crucial parts to him so that Charley would have to go after them, loosing time and slowing down the line. When a defective tool came through he was sure to pass that Charley. When they passed out the envelope to collect money for Joe he put in a playing card with the note, “Here, have fun.” When Charley’s car broke down Jack snickered, “The dumb jerk.”

When it came time for annual evaluations who do you think got rewarded for a job well done?

Matthew 34-36   “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Enter, you who are blessed by my Father! Take what’s coming to you in this kingdom. It’s been ready for you since the world’s foundation. And here’s why:

I was hungry and you fed me,

I was thirsty and you gave me a drink,

I was homeless and you gave me a room,

I was shivering and you gave me clothes,

I was sick and you stopped to visit,

I was in prison and you came to me.’

37-40   “Then those ‘sheep’ are going to say, ‘Master, what are you talking about? When did we ever see you hungry and feed you, thirsty and give you a drink? And when did we ever see you sick or in prison and come to you?’ Then the King will say, ‘I’m telling the solemn truth: Whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked or ignored, that was me—you did it to me.’ (The Message Bible)

Moral of the story:

The cart before the horse is look at Jack’s output without regard to character. His internal customers, especially Charley, were not happy customers and because their work was impeded by things Jack did, there may have been late deliveries, adversely effecting external customer delight. Do the leaders of this company take more note of character and work ethic than at the surface measurements of an employee’s output?

PLEASE DEAR READERS, BE A BLESSING. No, don’t send me any money. If you are blessed by this way of telling a familiar story, if your creative juices are sparked about how to share God’s heart, or any meaningful reaction, please do more than click the like button on LinkedIn or Facebook. Your input is as important to the other readers all over the world as the words that I write. Write your comments in the box at the end so that I can easily publish them for all to see regardless of the source of the link.

STORY TELLING: THE RELEVANCE OF FINANCIAL WEALTH IN THE BIG PICTURE.

Jesus always used parables and He will help us to do so we can communicate in a way people can relate to without feeling like you are "preaching at them"

If you have never been to a third world country, and not the nice tourist places, your life is missing a dimension in terms of understanding real poverty. I highly recommend everyone take a short term missions trip to places where poverty is extreme. The poorest of the poor in the United States live better than the people in many parts of the world. Attitudes and the outlook on life vary just as drastically no matter where you go or who you meet. This story takes place in a land where there is that severe extreme between rich and poor, perhaps where there is a caste system creating continuous and extreme poverty for many. Any similarity to real names is purely coincidental, these characters are factious and no reference to ethnicity is inferred no intended. The life lesson is perhaps the most important lesson one can ever learn.

PLEASE DEAR READERS, BE A BLESSING. No, don’t send me any money. If you are blessed by this way of telling a familiar story, if your creative juices are sparked about how to share God’s heart, or any meaningful reaction, please do more than click the like button on LinkedIn or Facebook. Your input is as important to the other readers all over the world as the words that I write. Write your comments in the box at the end so that I can easily publish them for all to see regardless of the source of the link.

Ethan Rom was an extremely wealthy CEO of a gigantic industrial construction company. His company built the complexes for oil wells, pipelines, natural gas and also the buildings used for power generation throughout the world. He had a big car, beautiful wife and three spoiled brat kids. He was a ruthless business man, using every trick, legal or not, to get jobs and build without regard to codes by bribery. Although he travelled much of the time, his office was in a classic building that had once been a castle on the outskirts of the city.

Every time Ethan drove through the gates leading to his office building, he would stop to wait for the gate to open, lower his window and spit his chewing tobacco at Lazzitt Burk. Lazzitt had been crippled while working on one of Ethan’s construction projects and, unable to work again, lost everything. Lazzitt sat at the gate playing his mandolin, case open in from of him, hoping people passing by would throw him some money so he could buy food for himself and his family. Sometimes his young daughter Shamie would accompany him, singing with the sweetest voice and dancing. Although her clothes were worn out and dirty by upper class standards, to Shamie her dress was the prettiest dress in the world.

Years went by and nothing changed, except that Ethan’s attitude got worse and Lazzitt mellowed with age. Lazzitt always had a certain calm about him, an inner strength that was a source of encouragement to his family and friends. Day after day, year after year Lazzitt would see that fancy car come to the gate, listen to the obscene put-downs and see the spit hurled his way. Ethan’s language got worse in his later years, he was a bitter, grumpy old man not content with anything and disliked by most. One day there was a massive earthquake. Thousands perished, many more than would have if Ethan built those building to code. Lazzitt and Ethan were among the dead. The day of reckoning for these men had come. The sources of their attitudes became apparent.

 

Face to face with eternity, Ethan panicked. He pushed God away all his life and now he was facing the consequences. He saw an eternity before him that was so much worse than the conditions Lazzitt lived in, no one can imagine such eternal horror. He cried out to God to send Lazzitt with something for him to drink, even one sip of water to give him some relief from the heat and stench. The response was a resounding “NO WAY, you had everything you wanted before and Lazzitt had absolutely nothing. You gave him spit and obscenity for his great music and warm smile every day, you complained about him to everyone you talked to day after day, after day, after day. Worse than that, you pushed me away all your life. I tried to reach you with My love day after day, after day, after day for many years. I took it personally every time you spit at Lazzitt. Now you want me to help you? Sorry, it’s too late for that, you ignored thousands of chances.”

“OK God,” Ethan pleaded, “I understand but how about sending Lazzitt to warn my family. My kids are just like I was, my brother is worse. “

God’s response scared Ethan even more when HE said, “I’ve been reaching out to them all their lives just like I did you, let’s see if they ever respond and accept MY love and let ME help them turn their lives around.”

“Oh, but, but, but, God, surely if someone came back from death and told them they would get the message.”

Again, God’s response further crushed Ethan when HE said, “If they won’t listen to what God loving people say, if they don’t recognize MY glory in creation, if they never respond to my loving arms stretched out to them they will not respond even if a dead man comes to life and talks to them face to face.”

Face to face with eternity, Lazzitt was overwhelmed with joy. Lazzitt had walked with God since his brush with death in the accident and his nurse introduced him to the Lover of His Soul. Lazzitt’s daughter also died in the earthquake. Now she was beautifully clothed in the whitest white dress, adorned with jewels and gold, as they joined with the angels singing and dancing before their Heavenly Father.

CHRISTIANESE AVOIDANCE – COMMUNICATING THE GOSPEL IN THE RIGHT CULTURAL CONTEXT: USE PARABLES TO TELL BIBLICAL PRINCIPLES.

Here is my take on the famous “Prodigal Son” parable and put it into a current, western cultural context. Please add your comments in the box at the end of this blog; feedback is important that is the best way for me to share your comments with others. Names used are made up; any resemblance to a real person’s name is coincidental.

Jack Cohen never graduated High School but inherited his dad’s farm. He was able, through hard work, diligence and support of his lovely wife Lisa, to build it into a very large enterprise. He was a God fearing man and the blessings from above were obviously on this business. Jack and Lisa had two sons. Michael had a BA in agriculture and an MBA. He was working for his dad, helping run the farm. Jake was the younger brother, hanging out in the dorm at college, studying Liberal Arts, in other words he had no idea of what he wanted to do with his life. Like so many of us in the late 1960’s his mantra was “sex, drugs and rockin’ roll.”

With failing grades and a really bad attitude, Jake decided to quit school and “go find himself.” When he gets home for Christmas break he tells his parents his hair brained plan, “Mom & Dad, please give me whatever money you would leave me in your wills right now. I want to go out on my own and see what I can find for my miserable life. College was just not for me.” Sadly, his parents give in to him and say, “OK Jake, if that’s what you are sure you want, here you go. I think you are making a big mistake but we will give you $500,000 to invest in your life. Let’s see what you can do with it.”

Jake takes off for the city. With that much money he rents an expensive apartment, connects with drug dealers and pimps and stumbles into a destructive lifestyle, very different than how he was raised. Not wanting to lie to his parents about what he was doing he never, contacts them. They have no idea where he is. He even blocked their numbers from is iPhone. Between the drugs, women and some gambling the money runs out in about a year. Jake gets evicted and finds himself homeless. He is now holding up the “Will work for food” sign and freezing his butt off on the cold northern city sidewalk. Another homeless guy offers to share some pickled pig’s

feet and half a cigarette he found in the gutter.

"What am I doin'?" Jake exclaims, my daddy has more than 1,000 cows on our big farm, what am I doin' eating this deadly Yuck and begging for liqueur money? I guess I found myself and I stink. I wasted a fortune and feel so ashamed and miserable. It's time to stick out my thumb, hitchhike home and become a farm hand for my dad; at least I’ll eat good while taking care of those stinkin’ cows. I don't know what he will say but there is nothing to loose.

While Jake was throwing is life and money away, Jack and Lisa were heartbroken and praying most of the time. Michael married and built his large nice house very close to his parents' place.

After a few days on the road Jake was tired, hungry, dirty and smelly, but for the first time in his life he was confident he made the right decision, no matter what would happen.

Lisa was working in the kitchen, fixing dinner and, as she did continuously since Jake left, was looking out the window for her son. Jack was out in the barn, finishing up and for waiting for dinner. His cell phone goes off, Lisa is yelling, Jack! Jack!! Jack!!! Look down the road, look down the road!! Jack walks out of the barn, and starts running as fast as his old body could move. Lisa starts calling all the family and farm hands, soon there's a crowd of people running to the road.

Jack gets to Jake first and doesn't give Jake a chance to speak; he is so excited to see his boy. He is just hugging his tight and telling him how much he missed him. Lisa joins them in the long embrace then calls the best restaurant in town to make reservations for a big party.

After the long walk down the lane to the house, Jake goes up to his old room and finds it just as he left it, only cleaned up. He sits on the bed and starts crying his eyes out. Such undeserved love and welcome blows his mind and touches a deep place in his heart that he hid from for a few years. Jack struggles to regain enough composure to get a shower and clean clothes on for this big dinner in a fancy restaurant. On the way there Jake finally gets to work through his tears and say what has been on his heart since that evening at the gutter. His dad assures him of love and forgiveness, and not to worry about where we go from here, we'll deal with that latter. Jake feels the weight of all his "young and dumb screw ups” fall off his back.

They all were having a great time at the restaurant, everyone excited to see “the kid” back and

all kind of awe struck at the love and forgiveness shown by Jack. Jack suddenly realizes there is no sign of Michael or Carry, Michael’s wife. Lisa calls him and gets a gruff "I'll talk to dad latter."

Michael's discussion with Jack was not too pleasant. Michael felt slighted and unappreciated. His father's attitude towards his brother really bothered him, after all his efforts and education did a great deal to build the business and he was never celebrated like this. Jack's response was so perfect, "son, in all this time, anything you've wanted could have been yours. You're brother was really messed up and now it looks like he wants to get right and become part of the family again and you complain? God has answered our prayers for Jake and you should have enjoyed the celebration with us. I suggest you get over it and learn to love your brother again

CHRISTIANESE AVOIDANCE – COMMUNICATING THE GOSPEL IN THE RIGHT CULTURAL CONTEXT

Use Parables in to tell biblical principles: Part 01

This is the first lesson about telling parables, putting those stories in our own words in such a way. Putting these stories in my own words I hope to stimulate God’s creativity in you. Ask yourself how you might tell that story so that the people you are telling, or writing, to will really get the message. Jesus did this so effectively and I am sure He will lead you to do likewise. What awesome results can we expect when we do what Jesus did? You can put His stories in your culture, in your time, framed for your audience. Be careful to never stray so far from the Word that you misconstrue God’s message, we are not writing a new “translation” or even a paraphrase for publication, just sharing the Gospel in our own words. The stories about the people in the Bible really lend themselves to this approach, as do the Parables where I will be starting. Feel free to add any comments in the box below so that I can share your insights with readers all over the world.

Mark 4:34   In fact, in his public ministry he never taught without using parables; but afterward, when he was alone with his disciples, he explained everything to them.

Jesus used parables almost always. This verse stresses their importance and our need to do likewise. I am convinced that if we are committed to doing what Jesus did, and empowered by the Holy Spirit to do so, the Lord will inspire us to use the practical things of life as tools to share Biblical principles with un-churched people or those with a , "don't preach at me" attitude.

Here is an example of how I once used a parable in a practical way. Many years ago we lived in Cortland, NY, apple country. A couple of men I worked with had had a life changing experience with the Lord but were not plugged into a church. I was praying for them and as I was getting ready to leave for work one day I just knew exactly what to say. I drew the analogy of an apple in spring. The apple is small, very green with lots of potential. By October it will develop into a large, delicious fruit if it stays connected to the tree. If the little apple decides to jump down to the ground its future is not going to be good. The men listened, they were given many opportunities and numerous invitations to church. Sadly they never connected to the tree and the enemy of their souls snatched them into some cult.

Now lets look at a  personalization  of the parable of the lost coin (see Luke:8,9). It is short, simple and simply profound.

When I was 13 my parents gave me a very expensive, beautiful ring for my Bar Mitzvah. It had a large black sapphire surrounded by several small diamonds. It was made of white Gold. We lived at the beach and on eday I left the ring with my friends mother while I went swimming. When I got out of the water she had moved her spot and my ring was nowhere to be found, it fell in the sand somewhere along their move. We all were very distressed and I was glad my parents were understanding when I got home. I spent most of the summer wondering if it could ever be found. I was not a Christian, did not hear the Gospel until many years later, but looking back I see that The Lord was showing me His goodness even then. Towards the end of the summer I was digging in the sand near the water, far from where the ring was lost. Suddenly, I felt something round and smooth. I grabbed it, held it tightly as I washed it off in the water. That same friend was with me and we ran to his mother with great excitement.
 Nice story but let's bring it home. Have you lost something very valuable that you thought you could never find again? What in life could be more valuable than an ever growing relationship with God? If you have ever experienced Jesus like this you know what I mean. He is waiting for you to put your hand in the sand, to wash the stains of all your screw ups and heal the scars of rotten attitudes. Once done it is time for more excitement than you could ever experience.

Preface Christianese Avoidance – Communicating the Gospel in the right cultural context:

I want to express a heartfelt thank you to all those who have been reading the blog, “Life Lessons from Revelation.” (See www.andy-levine.blogspot.com for 64 lessons on this topic). I started writing on that theme in Oct. of 2011 and since then it has been read around the world with just shy of 5,500 page views in many nations. Praise God. At this point, I’ve enter a new season with a new burden. The purpose of this new series of blog posts is to equip the Body of Christ to communicate basic truths of what Christians believe without speaking in “Christianese.” I’ve seen how turned off non-believers can get to the language that is typically heard in churches. Let’s get in the habit of speaking in the language and culture of your hearers, minus any profanity of course. I make no attempt to create another Biblical translation or paraphrase, we already have an abundance in English.

Any discussion, presentation or whatever you want to call a Christian witness, must be done in such a way that it is understood by the people being addressed. This involves cultural sensitivity as much as linguistics. I live in the south eastern US, an area known as the Bible Belt. There is a tremendous Christian influence in the culture. Most people from this part of the world have some understanding of the Gospel, a great many attend church and grew up going Sunday School. They have a basic understanding of Biblical principles whether they live it or not. Unfortunately, many use the excuse of other people’s hypocrisy as their excuse to leave those roots. Now there are many moving to the south for work and/or the lower cost of living from other cultural environments, from Mexico and many other nations. In a very real sense, the foreign mission field has come to us.

In the following weeks I will be sharing about the Parables, putting those stories in my own words in such a way as to stimulate your thinking. Ask yourself how you might tell that story in so that the people you are talking, or writing, to will really get the message. Jesus did this so effectively and I am sure He will lead you to do likewise. What awesome results can we expect when we do what Jesus did? Let’s put His stories in our culture, in our time, framed for our audience. Be careful to never stray so far from the Word that you misconstrue God’s message, we are not writing a new “translation” or even a paraphrase for publication, just sharing the Gospel in our own words. The stories about the people in the Bible really lend themselves to this approach, as do the Parables where I will be starting. 

Overcoming The Human Condition

Many people are “Turned Off” to anything said in Churchianity language. Effective communication of Biblical principles to this large number of people must be done in their language but without vulgarity. The concept of the Human Condition is well understood and I recently took this approach, although abbreviated, in such a conversation. I felt it would be good to share This Evangelistic message with my readers so I pray you come away with a great understanding of a back door approach to reaching people who “don’t want to be preached at.”

Origin of the Human Condition: Eden

Did you ever think of what it could have it been like if the 1st couple on this planet had not blown it so badly?! Hasn't mankind be trying to get back to Eden ever since they were thrown out? They may call it “Paradise,” Utopia,” Nirvana,” or something like that but let’s stick to Eden for now. People go exploring the frontiers for two reasons, their quest for wealth or Eden. That original state we were created for motivates many to search for the way back. So many others are short sighted and are driven by lust, greed, gold fever or whatever else you want to call it. And the worst motivation is self centered pride. Well have I summed up what is called the Human Condition? Let's add one more, something social studies called "Man's inhumanity to man."

Years ago I was in a conversation with some people who were talking about Communism vs. Capitalism. The root cause of every socio-economic or political system failure to create the Utopia it is designed to establish over time is because of greed. Greed, arrogance, self centeredness are nothing new, they started in Eden. The enemy of our souls touched that nerve and persuaded Adam and Eve to go after the one thing they were told not to do. Oh if they only took a second to consider the cost!! Everyone faces that same moment with every temptation. That cost for those two in Eden was exile, the eventual removal of Eden from Earth but worst off all was death and separation from the incredible presence and communication level they had with God the Father. This was further compounded in that they now had to work for their food, Eve had to have painful child birth and all of creation was corrupted. All this and more just because they listened to the enemy of our soul and opened their hearts to doubt God, to yield to the all the bad character traits mentioned above.

Examples of the Human Condition: brothers in contrast

The story of Adam and Eve’s sons, Cain and Able, further illustrate the out workings of

what happened in Eden. Able was doing what he was supposed to do the way they both were instructed to do it. He understood what was expected to get the job done and to gain the approval for a job well done. His brother, on the other hand, did things his own way, like his parents he thought he was smarter than to have to follow the Master's instructions. Not getting the approval for his "excellent alternative "Cain got jealous, so worked about it that he killed his brother. This was the first physical death of a human on the planet. This was the first example of "man's inhumanity to man." So many bad character traits were manifested in Cain, so many bad motives were allowed to flow through his blind rage.

Fast forward in time to Noah's era in our history. From time to time the glaciers of Mt. Ararat have shifted and people have seen he ark. The character traits we saw in Cain had spread like a cancer through the generations. Man's inhumanity to man had become so grotesque that the creator of the universe had to intervene or there would be nothing left. I wonder if the consequences of the lack of God's intervention would have been as drastic as all out nuclear war. Violence was the norm, life was not precious and life on Earth must have been horrific. There are man places in the world today that must resemble what all the world may have been like and we should pray for God to be merciful and step into those situations. I always remember the stories of Jewish life under Hitler. The list of horrific tyrants that slaughtered millions is lengthy in our history. They’ve answered to God for their actions and consequences I am sure are eternally horrific. These examples show the extreme dark side of the human condition. Unfortunately, no matter how “good” or “nice” or even “Christ like” someone may be, we all suffer the consequence of what happened in Eden in that we do not have the level of access to God people had before the screw-up in Eden. We suffer with imperfect bodies and minds, we get sick, we die physically. The first people were created so perfectly that they nd their descendants for a few generations had such great bodies that they lived more than 800 years. There is a remedy and we will get to that later.

Another couple of brothers exemplify the progression of the consequence of the fall Eden, Jacob and Esau. By any account of Jacob he was a greedy, self centered, conniving scoundrel. Even at birth he had it in for his twin brother who was born 1st but Jacob had a hold of his heel on the way out of the womb. As a young man Jacob is sitting at a fire cooking a fine pot of soup. His brother comes in from the field starving and the smell of that soup has him captured. Instead of being a nice guy and offering his brother some, he hooks that baited fish with a proposition. He says something like, "Bro you are the first born so you will inherit everything. I'll give you some soup in exchange for that." Esau isn't thinking straight or he doesn't take his brother seriously, he is so hungry eating is all he cares about at the moment so he says, “Ya right, sure, whatever you want just fork over some food.

            Esau didn’t take Jacob seriously but he was. When their father was blind and dyeing, Esau goes hunting to fix his dad a feast of fresh meat that he knows Dad loves, then receive the blessing of the first born. Jacob, motivated by his greed, plots with Mom (obviously he was her favorite and Esau was Dad’s), disguises himself as Esau and brings Dad that feast, only cooked by Mom. Dad enjoys the food then gives the blessing of the first born to Jacob. Can’t you hear him saying, “Mom, it worked.” Then Esau goes to see Dad and the jig is up. Dad can not bless Esau as he did Jacob. Jacob stole the blessing of the first born. Esau was so angry he was ready to kill Jacob so Jacob runs away Uncle Laban’s, his mother’s brother who lives a long way away.

         Well we all know that “what goes around, comes around.” Uncle Laban was better at the selfish deception game than Jacob. Basically Jacob got the worst end of the deal for fourteen plus years. He had to be married Leah, the ugly older sister for seven years before he could marry Rachel, the beautiful love of his life. Uncle Laban worked the young man’s butt off for many years until finally Jacob’s had enough. He gather’s up his wives, his 12 kids and a vast herd of sheep he grew during all those years and decides on head on home. Jacob thinks that Esau is still carrying the grudge and is petrified of what his brother will do when he hears that Esau is heading his way with a small army. Jacob thinks he needs to appease his brother so he divides his resources and family into droves as peace offerings to Esau. Jacob had now conception that Esau could have, “gotten over it.” Well Esau had, and had also become very wealthy so he didn’t accept these peace offerings. He was just very glad to be reunited with his long lost brother.

The keys to getting beyond this Human Condition

Something amazing happened to Jacob shortly before he sees his brother, something life changing. Jacob had a personal confrontation with God. Have you ever had a mental and emotional wrestling match when facing a crisis? Jacob still thought Esau might kill him and all his family in order to regain the birth right. Jacob wrestled with God all night. Jacob emerged from this night with a permanent limp and a changed heart, so changed that his name changed from Jacob to Israel, from Deceiver \ Supplanter to Prince. The scoundrel is now a mature man who understands that God is the King. So many Jewish prayers begin with the phrase, “Blessed art thou oh Lord our God, King of the universe…” It is that understanding that begins the process of overcoming the human condition. In order to follow His ways we all need this change of heart that is special, personal and life changing.

The second key is to understand that the screw up Eden has been passed down genetically into every person ever born on the planet. We all recognize that, ”nobody’s perfect” and use that as an excuse. The expression, “my bad” is often a ticket from consequences of messing up, of making mistakes. But mistakes are cost somebody something every time. How many families do you know of that are not al all dysfunctional? How many companies can produce 100% perfect product 100% of the time? How many people never suffer the slightest physical malady? How many women give birth with no pain? Why are there wars? Why is the earth so messed up as to have famines, earthquakes, tornadoes, deserts or floods? Why has no one created an eternal utopia?

The answer to all these questions is that humans, as a race, messed up so badly way back in the beginning. There is a cure, there is a remedy to the situation but is must be a personal, special thing for every person. Just like Jacob, we need that confrontation with God where we surrender to God and accept that He did something so significant, so drastic, that was such a dramatic show if His loving character as to demand a response. What I am about to say can not be intellectually grasped in such a way as to change your life. What God did was to come to Earth as a person, He sent His son as a perfect person who never screwed up because He was born without the bad gene. It was a miracle, something that no man could make happen. He was conceived by God in the womb of a woman without having sex. He broke her membrane on the way out. He lived a perfect life, He taught us how to live and love one another. Then He paid the ultimate price of love, taking the Human Condition and allowing men to kill him in the most horrible, painful way ever devised. He paid the cost of our screw-ups. Then, as He said He would, He only stayed dead for three days. He walked out of the grave, showed himself to over 500 people, taught us some more then went up to heaven.

JESUS IS THE REMEDY, HE DID ALL THAT BECAUSE HE LOVES YOU.

JOHN 3:16 IS ABSOLUTE TRUTH, that God loved all mankind so much that He sent His only Son to pay the price for our screw-ups and that whoever believes on Him will not suffer the consequences of the Human Condition. Eternal life can be a reality for anyone through surrender to the King of the universe and acceptance of what Jesus did for us.

ASK GOD FOR THAT SPECIAL, PESONAL CONFRONTATION WITH HIM THAT WILL CHANGE YOUR LIFE FOREVER, ASK HIM TO RESCUE YOU FROM THE THE CONSEQUENCES OF THE HUMAN CONDITION.

IS YOUR “ZERA” BLESSED?

note: all scriptures are KJV. Bold font is added for emphasis. Ps 112:1         Praise ye the LORD. Blessed is the man that feareth the LORD, that delighteth greatly in his commandments. 2          His seed shall be mighty upon earth: the generation of the upright shall be blessed. The use of the word seed is of the Heb. word zera, which is interpreted as fruit, plant, posterity, sowing time, fruitful or child. With these varied usages of the word we can get a very broad view of the Lord’s intent to bless the seed of the righteous. As Christians, we are the righteousness of God in Christ so the promises to the righteous are ours. That same Hebrew word is in the following scriptures. As we read them, let’s try to list the conditions and the promises concerning this seed. Ponder the conditions and see where you have received, or need to receive, God’s Grace to meet them. We need to lay hold of the promises for our seed. Ps 25:10         All the paths of the LORD are mercy and truth unto such as keep his covenant and His testimonies. 12        What man is he that feareth the LORD? Him shall He teach in the way that He shall choose. 13        His soul shall dwell at ease; and his seed shall inherit the earth. 14        The secret of the LORD is with them that fear Him; and He will show them His covenant. Ps 37:25         I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread. 26        He is ever merciful, and lendeth; and his seed is blessed. 27        Depart from evil, and do good; and dwell for evermore. 28        For the LORD loveth judgment, and forsaketh not his saints; they are preserved for ever: but the seed of the wicked shall be cut off. Ps 69:34         Let the heaven and earth praise him, the seas, and everything that moveth therein. 35        For God will save Zion, and will build the cities of Judah: that they may dwell there, and have it in possession. 36        The seed also of his servants shall inherit it: and they that love his name shall dwell therein. These verses all have a common thread. There is something crucial to sowing this seed – PRAISE. Praising the Lord fills our hearts with hope, with confidence in His character. Faith builds as we praise Him, the faith we need to lay hold of these great and precious promises. We want to see our children blessed and prosperous, dwelling in Zion (a type for the Kingdom of God). The Lord will do His part to make this happen, but God has no grandchildren. This is one of those wonderful Bible “2 Doozzz.” Make praise and thanksgiving your life style. What other seed can we expect to see blessed in this way? Go back to the definitions of zera. q  Those to whom we sow the seed of faith, those lives we speak into, proclaiming the Word to. q  Ministries we sow into with prayer and finances. (Are we sowing or blowing financial blessings?) q  If you plant a vineyard you should expect an abundant harvest of grapes. There are many scriptural analogies to planting, to vineyards, and to grapes. q  _______________ q  _______________ The context of these verses imply zera as referring to our posterity, here are more similar promises: Ps 102:28 The children of thy servants shall continue, and their seed shall be established before thee. (KJV) Ps 127:3         Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward. 4          As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth. 5          Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate. Those arrows need to be made straight in order to hit their targets. As born again believers, we are the children of God, adopted into His family. The Lord goes to great lengths to get us straightened out. Think about this concept of blessed seed in the light of God as the parent and the ecclesia as the children. Our heavenly Father is the example. We are His seed; all the promises to the seed apply to the Christian and to the seed of the righteous. “Blessed is the man that feareth the LORD” (Ps. 112:1).

HEIRS OF PROMISE

All Scripture is from NKJV unless noted. Bold font is added where needed for emphasis.  Heb 6:17   Thus God, determining to show more abundantly to the heirs of promise Catch the awesomeness of what this verse says. God loves us so much, he is determined to prove something, leaving no reasonable doubt. And to whom is all this effort directed? TO THE HEIRS OF PROMISE. We inherit, not earn. WOW! Rom 8:17      and if children, then heirs-- heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, Have you been born again? Then you were born into a new family, you have a new Father, ya gotta new Daddy!! & He created it all, owns it all, and has your best interests in mind. This is something you can believe, get a hold on & stay eternally excited about!!. Heb 6:18       that by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us. Here is one of those marvelous paradoxes about the Lord we must accept by faith. God is omnipotent, yet there are things He cannot do. Ps 138:2        “…You have magnified Your word above all Your name.” He cannot go against His Word. Heb 13:8       “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever”. He cannot change. So, He can’t lie, He can’t change and He can’t violate His Word, where does that leave us? Believing in a God who is not all powerful? NO WAY.!! It leaves us in the safest place in all creation, we, “have strong consolation,” we “have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us.” Heb 6:19       “This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil.” This leaves us strong because our soul is anchored on the Blessed Hope. So many people flounder through life, living on a roller coaster, no hope, drifting wherever the winds of circumstance blow. The Christian’s soul is not tossed by these winds, but anchored on Christ the Solid Rock. Though the winds blow, we stay in our Refuge, clinging to the hope set before us. We know that our circumstances are not coincidental, but orchestrated by a Father who loves us, and is drawing us closer to Himself. He wants us to enter the Presence behind the veil." Heb 6:20       “where the forerunner has entered for us, even Jesus, having become High Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.” John 14:6     “Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” The author concludes this awesome chapter (Hebrews 6) by showing us the road map. God wants His kids to enjoy the life He has chosen for us, not to worry as the winds of circumstance blow. We can experience this strong consolation as we simply follow Jesus. Jesus is the forerunner, Jesus is the way, Jesus provides the hope set before us. Jesus is our eternal priest, ever interceding on our behalf. Follow Him to Gethsemane; follow Him to the Cross; follow Him to the Tomb; and follow Him into RESSURRECTION LIFE, here & now!!

MAKING SMART DECISIONS

Personal Character and Fear of the Lord – The underlying, bottom line to Godly Decision Making

There are several stories about 2 kings of Judah that will help us understand God’s ways of doing things. I love to let the Word of God speak for itself. This sermon is mostly scripture with few of this author’s comments..

2 Chr 14:1-6

1          So Abijah rested with his fathers, and they buried him in the City of David. Then Asa his son reigned in his place. In his days the land was quiet for ten years.

2          Asa did what was good and right in the eyes of the LORD his God,

3          for he removed the altars of the foreign gods and the high places, and broke down the sacred pillars and cut down the wooden images.

4          He commanded Judah to seek the LORD God of their fathers, and to observe the law and the commandment.

5          He also removed the high places and the incense altars from all the cities of Judah, and the kingdom was quiet under him.

6          And he built fortified cities in Judah, for the land had rest; he had no war in those years, because the LORD had given him rest.

Also see Chapter 15 to see how God used Asa to bring revival throughout Judah and even several tribes in Israel come over to Judah.

What was the key to the victory in this battle?

2 Chr 14:8-15

8          And Asa had an army of three hundred thousand from Judah who carried shields and spears, and from Benjamin two hundred and eighty thousand men who carried shields and drew bows; all these were mighty men of valor. (580,000 soldiers)

9          Then Zerah the Ethiopian came out against them with an army of a million men and three hundred chariots, and he came to Mareshah.  (1,000,300 – about 2 to1)

10        So Asa went out against him, and they set the troops in battle array in the Valley of Zephathah at Mareshah.

11        And Asa cried out to the LORD his God, and said, "LORD, it is nothing for You to help, whether with many or with those who have no power; help us, O LORD our God, for we rest on You, and in Your name we go against this multitude. O LORD, You are our God; do not let man prevail against You!"

12        So the LORD struck the Ethiopians before Asa and Judah, and the Ethiopians fled.

13        And Asa and the people who were with him pursued them to Gerar. So the Ethiopians were overthrown, and they could not recover, for they were broken before the LORD and His army. And they carried away very much spoil.

14        Then they defeated all the cities around Gerar, for the fear of the LORD came upon them; and they plundered all the cities, for there was exceedingly much spoil in them.

15        They also attacked the livestock enclosures, and carried off sheep and camels in abundance, and returned to Jerusalem.

Many years later we see Asa doing something differently when facing an enemy:

2 Chr 16:1-5

1          In the thirty-sixth year of the reign of Asa, Baasha king of Israel came up against Judah and built Ramah, that he might let none go out or come in to Asa king of Judah.

2          Then Asa brought silver and gold from the treasuries of the house of the LORD and of the king's house, and sent to Ben-Hadad king of Syria, who dwelt in Damascus, saying,

3          "Let there be a treaty between you and me, as there was between my father and your father. Here, I have sent you silver and gold; come, break your treaty with Baasha king of Israel, so that he will withdraw from me."

4          So Ben-Hadad heeded King Asa, and sent the captains of his armies against the cities of Israel. They attacked Ijon, Dan, Abel Maim, and all the storage cities of Naphtali.

5          Now it happened, when Baasha heard it, that he stopped building Ramah and ceased his work.

Look at the change of heart and the consequences:

2 Chr 16:7-10, 12, 13

7          And at that time Hanani the seer came to Asa king of Judah, and said to him: "Because you have relied on the king of Syria, and have not relied on the LORD your God, therefore the army of the king of Syria has escaped from your hand.

8          "Were the Ethiopians and the Lubim not a huge army with very many chariots and horsemen? Yet, because you relied on the LORD, He delivered them into your hand.

9          "For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him. In this you have done foolishly; therefore from now on you shall have wars."

10        Then Asa was angry with the seer, and put him in prison, for he was enraged at him because of this. And Asa oppressed some of the people at that time.

12        And in the thirty-ninth year of his reign, Asa became diseased in his feet, and his malady was severe; yet in his disease he did not seek the LORD, but the physicians.

13        So Asa rested with his fathers; he died in the forty-first year of his reign.

Now let’s look at his son, another example of these same principles.

2 Chr 17:3-19

3          Now the LORD was with Jehoshaphat, because he walked in the former ways of his father David; he did not seek the Baals,

4          but sought the God of his father, and walked in His commandments and not according to the acts of Israel.

5          Therefore the LORD established the kingdom in his hand; and all Judah gave presents to Jehoshaphat, and he had riches and honor in abundance.

6          And his heart took delight in the ways of the LORD; moreover he removed the high places and wooden images from Judah.

7          Also in the third year of his reign he sent his leaders, Ben-Hail, Obadiah, Zechariah, Nethanel, and Michaiah, to teach in the cities of Judah.

8          And with them he sent Levites: Shemaiah, Nethaniah, Zebadiah, Asahel, Shemiramoth, Jehonathan, Adonijah, Tobijah, and Tobadonijah-- the Levites; and with them Elishama and Jehoram, the priests.

9          So they taught in Judah, and had the Book of the Law of the LORD with them; they went throughout all the cities of Judah and taught the people.

10        And the fear of the LORD fell on all the kingdoms of the lands that were around Judah, so that they did not make war against Jehoshaphat.

11        Also some of the Philistines brought Jehoshaphat presents and silver as tribute; and the Arabians brought him flocks, seven thousand seven hundred rams and seven thousand seven hundred male goats.

With a heart for God, this king prospered greatly. Even the historical, and current, enemies willingly brought tribute to him.  Also note his approach to training the people in the Law of the Lord.

Here we see him seek council from God before going to battle, as Asa his father did. But note the seed of trouble in his relationship with an ungodly man.

2 Chr 18:2-17

2          After some years he went down to visit Ahab in Samaria; and Ahab killed sheep and oxen in abundance for him and the people who were with him, and persuaded him to go up with him to Ramoth Gilead.

3          So Ahab king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat king of Judah, "Will you go with me against Ramoth Gilead?" And he answered him, "I am as you are, and my people as your people; we will be with you in the war."

4          And Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, "Please inquire for the word of the LORD today."

5          Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets together, four hundred men, and said to them, "Shall we go to war against Ramoth Gilead, or shall I refrain?" And they said, "Go up, for God will deliver it into the king's hand."

6          But Jehoshaphat said, "Is there not still a prophet of the LORD here, that we may inquire of Him?"

7          So the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, "There is still one man by whom we may inquire of the LORD; but I hate him, because he never prophesies good concerning me, but always evil. He is Micaiah the son of Imla." And Jehoshaphat said, "Let not the king say such things!"

8          Then the king of Israel called one of his officers and said, "Bring Micaiah the son of Imla quickly!"

9          The king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah, clothed in their robes, sat each on his throne; and they sat at a threshing floor at the entrance of the gate of Samaria; and all the prophets prophesied before them.

10        Now Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah had made horns of iron for himself; and he said, "Thus says the LORD: 'With these you shall gore the Syrians until they are destroyed.'"

11        And all the prophets prophesied so, saying, "Go up to Ramoth Gilead and prosper, for the LORD will deliver it into the king's hand."

12        Then the messenger who had gone to call Micaiah spoke to him, saying, "Now listen, the words of the prophets with one accord encourage the king. Therefore please let your word be like the word of one of them, and speak encouragement."

13        And Micaiah said, "As the LORD lives, whatever my God says, that I will speak."

14        Then he came to the king; and the king said to him, "Micaiah, shall we go to war against Ramoth Gilead, or shall I refrain?" And he said, "Go and prosper, and they shall be delivered into your hand!"

15        So the king said to him, "How many times shall I make you swear that you tell me nothing but the truth in the name of the LORD?"

16        Then he said, "I saw all Israel scattered on the mountains, as sheep that have no shepherd. And the LORD said, 'These have no master. Let each return to his house in peace.'"

17        And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, "Did I not tell you he would not prophesy good concerning me, but evil?"

As you would imagine, the battle did not go so well. Ahab was killed and Jehoshaphat escaped by the skin of his teeth. Jehoshaphat cried out to the Lord when he was surrounded by the Syrians and the Lord helped him escape. Jehoshaphat made a serious mistake and the Lord let him know it:

2 Chr 19:1-4

1          Then Jehoshaphat the king of Judah returned safely to his house in Jerusalem.

2          And Jehu the son of Hanani the seer went out to meet him, and said to King Jehoshaphat, "Should you help the wicked and love those who hate the LORD? Therefore the wrath of the LORD is upon you.

3          "Nevertheless good things are found in you, in that you have removed the wooden images from the land, and have prepared your heart to seek God."

4          So Jehoshaphat dwelt at Jerusalem; and he went out again among the people from Beersheba to the mountains of Ephraim, and brought them back to the LORD God of their fathers.

Jehoshaphat set-up a theocratic government under himself as king. Note the tone he established:

2 Chr 19:5-11

5          Then he set judges in the land throughout all the fortified cities of Judah, city by city,

6          and said to the judges, "Take heed to what you are doing, for you do not judge for man but for the LORD, who is with you in the judgment.

7          "Now therefore, let the fear of the LORD be upon you; take care and do it, for there is no iniquity with the LORD our God, no partiality, nor taking of bribes."

8          Moreover in Jerusalem, for the judgment of the LORD and for controversies, Jehoshaphat appointed some of the Levites and priests, and some of the chief fathers of Israel, when they returned to Jerusalem.

9          And he commanded them, saying, "Thus you shall act in the fear of the LORD, faithfully and with a loyal heart:

10        "Whatever case comes to you from your brethren who dwell in their cities, whether of bloodshed or offenses against law or commandment, against statutes or ordinances, you shall warn them, lest they trespass against the LORD and wrath come upon you and your brethren. Do this, and you will not be guilty.

11        "And take notice: Amariah the chief priest is over you in all matters of the LORD; and Zebadiah the son of Ishmael, the ruler of the house of Judah, for all the king's matters; also the Levites will be officials before you. Behave courageously, and the LORD will be with the good."

May God give us leaders in this land with such principles to govern by.

Now let’s look at how he handled things when an enemy came against him

2 Chr 20:1-25

1          It happened after this that the people of Moab with the people of Ammon, and others with them besides the Ammonites, came to battle against Jehoshaphat.

2          Then some came and told Jehoshaphat, saying, "A great multitude is coming against you from beyond the sea, from Syria; and they are in Hazazon Tamar" (which is En Gedi).

3          And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the LORD, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah.

4          So Judah gathered together to ask help from the LORD; and from all the cities of Judah they came to seek the LORD.

5          Then Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the LORD, before the new court,

6          and said: "O LORD God of our fathers, are You not God in heaven, and do You not rule over all the kingdoms of the nations, and in Your hand is there not power and might, so that no one is able to withstand You?

7          "Are You not our God, who drove out the inhabitants of this land before Your people Israel, and gave it to the descendants of Abraham Your friend forever?

8          "And they dwell in it, and have built You a sanctuary in it for Your name, saying,

9          'If disaster comes upon us-- sword, judgment, pestilence, or famine-- we will stand before this temple and in Your presence (for Your name is in this temple), and cry out to You in our affliction, and You will hear and save.'

10        "And now, here are the people of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir-- whom You would not let Israel invade when they came out of the land of Egypt, but they turned from them and did not destroy them--

11        "here they are, rewarding us by coming to throw us out of Your possession which You have given us to inherit.

12        "O our God, will You not judge them? For we have no power against this great multitude that is coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are upon You."

13        Now all Judah, with their little ones, their wives, and their children, stood before the LORD.

14        Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon Jahaziel the son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, a Levite of the sons of Asaph, in the midst of the assembly.

15        And he said, "Listen, all you of Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem, and you, King Jehoshaphat! Thus says the LORD to you: 'Do not be afraid nor dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours, but God's.

16        'Tomorrow go down against them. They will surely come up by the Ascent of Ziz, and you will find them at the end of the brook before the Wilderness of Jeruel.

17        'You will not need to fight in this battle. Position yourselves, stand still and see the salvation of the LORD, who is with you, O Judah and Jerusalem!' Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them, for the LORD is with you."

18        And Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem bowed before the LORD, worshiping the LORD.

19        Then the Levites of the children of the Kohathites and of the children of the Korahites stood up to praise the LORD God of Israel with voices loud and high.

20        So they rose early in the morning and went out into the Wilderness of Tekoa; and as they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, "Hear me, O Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem: Believe in the LORD your God, and you shall be established; believe His prophets, and you shall prosper."

21        And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed those who should sing to the LORD, and who should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army and were saying: "Praise the LORD, for His mercy endures forever."

22        Now when they began to sing and to praise, the LORD set ambushes against the people of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah; and they were defeated.

23        For the people of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of Mount Seir to utterly kill and destroy them. And when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, they helped to destroy one another.

24        So when Judah came to a place overlooking the wilderness, they looked toward the multitude; and there were their dead bodies, fallen on the earth. No one had escaped.

25        When Jehoshaphat and his people came to take away their spoil, they found among them an abundance of valuables on the dead bodies, and precious jewelry, which they stripped off for themselves, more than they could carry away; and they were three days gathering the spoil because there was so much.

The outcome of that battle is such a WOW!!

There are many lessons in this chapter. For today, just tell me how he knew what to do in this potentially disastrous situation.

Late in life, as his father did, Jehoshaphat made a costly mistake. Remember the mistake he made earlier, getting together with Ahab. I guess he forgot that lesson when he got older and here we see he paid a great price for the same mistake

2 Chr 20:35-21:1

35        After this Jehoshaphat king of Judah allied himself with Ahaziah king of Israel, who acted very wickedly.

36        And he allied himself with him to make ships to go to Tarshish, and they made the ships in Ezion Geber.

37        But Eliezer the son of Dodavah of Mareshah prophesied against Jehoshaphat, saying, "Because you have allied yourself with Ahaziah, the LORD has destroyed your works." Then the ships were wrecked, so that they were not able to go to Tarshish.

21:1    And Jehoshaphat rested with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the City of David. Then Jehoram his son reigned in his place.

These 2 men of God were Kings of Judah. They were responsible for the nation, for the welfare of its people. The 2 books of Kings and the 2 books of Chronicles are filled with the stories of the kings of both Judah and Israel and I think we should all read through these exciting histories about once a year.

Let’s bring these stories home. Let’s look at what we can do to make the right decisions in our daily lives, in the nitty gritty of where we live and work.

Anytime either of these godly kings formed an alliance with the ungodly king of Israel they got in trouble. In Corinthians, Paul puts it bluntly:

2 Cor 6:14      Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness?

Paul uses the rest of that chapter to really drive the point home. This verse is usually referred to in terms of keeping believers from making the mistake of marrying unbelievers. That’s very true but there is more to it than that.

Eph 6:5,9

5          Bondservants, be obedient to those who are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in sincerity of heart, as to Christ;

9          And you, masters, do the same things to them, giving up threatening, knowing that your own Master also is in heaven, and there is no partiality with Him.

These verses clearly indicate working relationships with unbelievers, It’s neither wrong for us to work for, nor employ, unbelievers but I think it would be a serious mistake to enter into a business partnership with an ungodly person.

Is there anyone here today who has not done what the following verse says?

Rom 10:8-9

8          But what does it say? "The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart" (that is, the word of faith which we preach):

9          that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.

Ø  What does it mean to confess the Lord Jesus?

o   Don’t all of our decisions need to go through Him?

o   If so, how do I know what’s OK and what’s not?

2 things become critical – knowledge of the Word and the leading of the Holy Spirit.

The battle:

Rom 7:18       For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find.

19        For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I do

24        O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?

The source of victory:

25        I thank God-- through Jesus Christ our Lord!....

The spoils of victory:

Rom 8:1         There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.

2          For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.

FREEDOM, NO COMDEMNATION

Walking it out:

Rom 8:14-16

14        For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.

15        For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, "Abba, Father."

16        The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,

Gal 5:16         I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.

It’s the Word that we reference to learn of all this. The Word tells us to be led of the Spirit. We have the responsibility to grow in a relationship with Jesus where there is 2 way communications. We develop a sixth sense so to speak, an insight into the spiritual realm so that He can lead us by His Spirit. We must know, in our hearts and minds, His character, His desires, His ways of looking at things so we can determine which direction to take. Discipleship is the process and is clearly defined:

Rom 12:1       I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.

2          And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

Thank God that this is not just an intellectual exercise, I’m not that great a student. Even little kids can walk in the Spirit and be used of God. When Jesus was talking with the woman at the well it showed both sides of the most valuable coin,

John 4:23      "But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him.

24        "God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."

We see the phrase repeated twice here, “in Spirit and truth.” If we feel led to do or say anything it is crucial that we test that leading with the Word, thus we see “in Spirit and truth.”

2 Tim 2:15      Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. (KJV)

There’s a key word I must use to wrap this up. The word is cultivate. Have you ever raised vegetables in a garden? There are specific things that must be done in order to get any harvest at all; some things by you and some by God. What tools do you need in order to cultivate a garden? –

ü  Rototiller or plow

ü  Hoe

ü  Potato Fork

ü  Shovel

ü  Garden hose

ü  Fertilizer

ü  Insecticide

ü  Etc.

What are the tools the Lord has provided to cultivate a hearing heart and mind that can understand and follow His will?

ü  Bible Study, experience the Author of the Book of Life giving you understanding of what it says.

ü  Prayer, experiencing the Presence of God 1 on 1

ü  Worship and Praise, experiencing the Presence of God in a group.

ü  Fellowship with other believers, experience His presence flowing through others of like precious faith

ü  The 5 Fold ministers and other mature leaders, experience the presence of God as poured out through these special anointings

ü  There is no limit to ways God causes us to experience Him.

When Asa and Jehoshaphat won battles there were things they did and things God did. 1^st they sought God’s will in the matter and did not do anything until they know His will. The prophet spoke, their hearts were touched and then they did what He said to do. Jehoshaphat knew when the lying prophets spoke because something just wasn’t right, there was no witness in his heart that they were speaking direction from God. This king had cultivated a relationship with God and knew something was not right.

May we always be a Spirit led people, following Jesus in all aspects of life. Life is filled with decisions, some big, some small. Every decision may have profound consequences so it is important to renew then use the brains God gave us and be led of the Spirit. Spend time with God, in Word and in prayer daily. Just as these kings of old sought council, sought a word from God in an important matter, we encourage you to also avail yourselves of the ministries the Lord has put in this body for your help and guidance.