IS EXCELLENCE A PIPE DREAM?,

PART 2 OF "WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN YOU MESS UP?"

Let’s start out with a little review from Part 1 of this topic. We all mess up, we are all imperfect. BUT, if you are a born again Christian you are on the path to becoming more like Jesus who was perfect. I have no doubt we can all agree with old Job,

 

Job 5:7   Yet man is born unto trouble, as the sparks fly upward.

So what should we do when we mess up? I am convinced that God laid out all the “how to’s” for how His creation is supposed to be. It is our responsibility to, by His grace and power, follow that plan. It will lead to life and great long term resolutions of the consequences of our words and actions. If you are just “looking out for number one” (yourself) your pride will rule and your failure is guaranteed (see Proverbs 16:8) As hard as it may seem, we really need to follow thru with the steps listed below::

1.   Man Up and confess your fault.

2.    Accept responsibility for the consequences

3.   Experience Godly sorrow that brings repentance and will motivate you to do everything you can to make things right (2 Cor 7:11)

4.   Seek God for the power to change, for the power to become what God created you to be. You are a new creature in Christ (2Cor.5:17), Jesus will make you to become…(Mark 1:17) and the infinite power of the Holy Ghost is God’s gift to the believer (Acts 1:8)

If you have tried to change , to consistently do what is right, to become more like Jesus, by using your own will power than I am certain you have experienced frustration, I sure have. I have a confession to make, I am tired of making the same mistakes over and over again. I am also tired of hearing people say, “OK, my bad” and then going on as if nothing happened and nothing needs to change going forward. It is time we learn to apprehend the grace of God and accept His power to change, His grace to do everything necessary to make things right. He will provide every dollar, every ounce of strength, every bit of intestinal fortitude we ever need to accomplish anything He leads us to do.

Mark 10:27…   Jesus looked at them intently and said,
“Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But not with God. Everything is possible with God.”

I attended a simulcast of a men’s conference recently, with teaching from a preacher named Erik Luny. Check out http://www.ellerslie.com He spoke on numerous topics and made many of the same points you read in my previous blog; except in great detail and with numerous analogies. I was excited by this gravity\flight analogy. Pastor Erik taught that we can compare walking in the flesh vs. walking in the Spirit to the law of gravity vs. the law of aerodynamics. Gravity says flight is impossible – aerodynamics proves they can. Does this not echo Mark 10:27?

Let’s take a look at some points made in Romans chapters 7 & 8. The struggle and the victory that Paul so passionately exclaimed is often misunderstood, over complicated and polluted by the intellectual looking for an excuse to continue in sin.

Rom.7:4   So, my dear brothers and sisters, this is the point: You died to the power of the law when you died with Christ. And now you are united with the one who was raised from the dead. As a result, we can produce a harvest of good deeds for God.

5   When we were controlled by our old nature, sinful desires were at work within us, and the law aroused these evil desires that produced a harvest of sinful deeds, resulting in death. 

6   But now we have been released from the law, for we died to it and are no longer captive to its power. Now we can serve God, not in the old way of obeying the letter of the law, but in the new way of living in the Spirit.

Do you see the contrast? Coming to Christ frees one from the power of the law, from the control of our old nature, from those evil desires that bound us in the garbage can of what we called life. We are reckoned dead and born to real life, the life we have in Christ, walking in the Spirit. Excellence in how we live is within our grasp and applies to every aspect of life. Let me say that again, Excellence in every aspect of life is within the grasp of the believer because we are dead to self and alive to God, empowered not by dead flesh that seeks its own, but by the Spirit of the Living God who inhabits the believer.

The seeming contradiction is what we saw too much of in the latter part of the last century. Many big name Christian leaders fell into sin, causing many well intentioned believers to become disillusioned. I boldly declare that this is no contradiction at all but is, by definition, the struggle exemplified. When someone falls, it is because they yielded to the old man, to the flesh and the enemy of our souls whose name I refrain from mentioning. They came to a fork in the road and willfully and intentionally went the wrong way. They took the gravity route instead of aerodynamics.

 

Rom. 7:24   Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? 

25    Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord.

Rom. 8:1   So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus.

2   And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death.

5   Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit.

6   So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace.

7   For the sinful nature is always hostile to God. It never did obey God’s laws, and it never will.

8   That’s why those who are still under the control of their sinful nature can never please God.

9   But you are not controlled by your sinful nature. You are controlled by the Spirit if you have the Spirit of God living in you.

Walking in the Spirit and experiencing the Manifest Presence of God has been my passion since getting saved at a Christian commune in 1971. It was a Pentecostal ministry and I have considered myself to be a Pentecostal ever since. It is thrilling to know that the power that defines the term Pentecostal is a gift available for God to every believer. This walk in the Spirit takes on a whole other dimension after one has the supernatural experience of the Baptism in the Holy Spirit. Jesus very specifically told the disciples to expect it and what would happen in them and through them as a result. We see this in Acts 1:8 and Acts 2:4. This baptism doesn’t make you perfect, or excellent instantly, you just have the power to become, the power to reflect Jesus (being a witness) wherever you are or wherever you go. All we need to do is willfully and intentionally yield to it.

Rom. 6:16   Don’t you realize that you become the slave of whatever you choose to obey? You can be a slave to sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God, which leads to righteous living.

WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN YOU MESS UP?

Everybody messes up, makes mistakes, does something he or she is not proud of. So what are we supposed to do about it?

Job 5:7   Yet man is born unto trouble, as the sparks fly upward.

My Jr. High School wood shop teacher frequently used the expression, “I may not be right but I am never been wrong.” Well that was one teacher who lied every time he said that. Everybody messes up, makes mistakes, does something he or she is not proud of.

Just think for  a minute, it won’t take you long to remember the last mistake you made, the last careless error, the last bone headed stupid thing that come out of your mouth. What is disturbing is that culturally, we have found ways of slighting the consequences of our mistakes. The expression, “OK, my bad” is good in that one takes the blame but most often that’s as far as it goes. Hopefully it was something easily fixed and the one who made the mistake took of it quickly, like fixing a typo or putting something back where it belongs. More often than not, however, people do all they can to PASS THE BUCK, to deny culpability. Pride makes sure to convince all that it was someone else’s fault.

 

Prov.16:18   Pride goes before destruction, and haughtiness before a fall. (NLT)

The laws of physics show us that every action has an equal and opposite reaction. Concerning the words and action of people, there are consequences for everything. Sometimes those consequences are good, sometimes not so good, sometimes pretty bad and sometimes horrible. It’s easy to MAN UP when the consequences are good, men crave that pat on the back. But so often I hear people trying to rationalize their fault when something doesn’t turn out right, when they made a mistake.

Human nature is all too predictable. The pattern of behavior thus far described started just after God put Adam and Eve in the beautiful, and easy to maintain, Garden of Eden. I have no doubt you have heard some great, and perhaps some not so great, sermons about what happened. When they messed up Adam tried to pass the buck to Eve who in turn tried to pass the buck to the serpent. The problem with this is that they were all guilty and the Lord let them all know it. Mankind, and all the rest of creation, is still dealing with the consequences of what those three did, and it is not very pretty. So much for a “no sweat” everything’s right there way of life.

So what should we do when we mess up? I am convinced that God laid out all the “how to’s” for how His creation is supposed to be. It is our responsibility to, by His grace and power, follow that plan. It will lead to life and great long term resolutions of the consequences of our words and actions. If you are just “looking out for number one” (yourself) your pride will rule and deal with it as mentioned before and Proverbs 16:8 makes clear the eventual consequences to good old number one. As hard as it may seem, we really need to:

1.   Man Up and confess your fault.

2.    Accept responsibility for the consequences

3.   Experience Godly sorrow for with it you receive the ability to do what the last sentence of this verse says,

2 Cor. 7:11   Just see what this godly sorrow produced in you! Such earnestness, such concern to clear yourselves, such indignation, such alarm,… such zeal, and   . You showed that you have done everything necessary to make things right.

4.   Seek God for the power to change, for the power to become what God created you to be.

2 Cor.5:17   Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.(KJV)

Mark 1:17   Then Jesus said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you become...(NLT)

Phil.2:12   … work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.

Acts 1:8   But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses,

If you have tried to change , to consistently do what is right, to become more like Jesus, by using your own will power than I am certain you have experienced frustration, I sure have.

Mark 10:27…   Jesus looked at them intently and said, “Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But not with God. Everything is possible with God.”

I have a confession to make, I am tired of making the same mistakes over and over again. I am also tired of hearing people say, “OK, my bad” and then going on as if nothing happened and nothing needs to change going forward. It is time we learn to apprehend the grace of God and accept His power to change, His grace to do everything necessary to make things right. He will provide every dollar, every ounce of strength, every bit of intestinal fortitude we ever need to accomplish anything He leads us to do. 

.

STAND FAST – STAY FREE!!!

What is your concept of freedom? 
Is it based on some political definition? 
Is it based on some empty promise? 
Please understand true freedom and how to maintain it. It has nothing to do with where you live, where you are politically, how rich or poor you may be, where you work or your education. Freedom has nothing to do with how evil your leaders are or how hard your circumstances may be. Freedom comes from God and it is for every person on the planet who will accept it. 

These verses say everything that needs to be said about it. Read them and then I want to help you make it personal. (All verses are NLT version unless noted otherwise noted.)

John 8:36   So if the Son sets you free, you are truly free.

Galatians 5:1   Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage. (KJV)

I have long said that the verse that puts the Gospel in a nut shell is

Matthew 4:17,   From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, “Repent:  for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

The freedom these verses refer to is the freedom from the penalty of sin (IE eternal death) and the freedom to live a life in God’s kingdom. Every concept of freedom in the New Testament is relative to God giving people the power to live free from what leads to eternal death and to live as His kids in His Kingdom. It is even first in the list of the primary characteristics of His Kingdom,

Romans 14:17   For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost. (KJV)

Just think about Matt. 4:17 and Rom. 14:17. Take your hand and pit it over your face. Let your fingertips touch your for head and your palm cover your mouth. That’s how close God’s righteousness, and peace, and joy are to you. 

Unfortunately, too many people, Christians included, do not appreciate the magnitude of this freedom, nor the cost. The cost was explicitly displayed in the movie, “The Passion” that was in theaters some years ago. I encourage every person to see that movie at least once and let it get deep into your heart. In 2009 I spent about five weeks in a hospital, bed ridden and unable to function or sleep very much. This gave me too much time to “channel surf” day and night. I saw an old “religious” movie that showed Jesus on the cross. My mind and heart were greatly troubled because He was clean, there was no blood in the image and there was no indication of the horror of the torture and of His crucifixion. Though the medications that were giving me were messing with my head, the Lord spoke very clearly to my heart, “You cannot preach a bloodless Gospel.”

With Christ’s righteousness becoming that of the believer through repentance and forgiveness we begin to experience the personal magnitude of real Freedom – peace and joy in the midst of all of life. Even in the midst of the worst adversity or sorrow His peace and joy are available. Again, too many people try to mistakenly substitute the concept of peace for absence of war. They also make the same mistake by using joy and happiness as synonymous. God’s peace and joy are available even on the most horrendous of battlefields or adversities of life.

Psalm 23:5   You prepare a feast for me in the presence of my enemies. You honor me by anointing my head with oil. My cup overflows with blessings.

Psalm 31:20   You hide them in the shelter of your presence, safe from those who conspire against them. You shelter them in your presence, far from accusing tongues

This verse from Psalm 31:20 uses the phrase, “   shelter of your presence…” This verse is the key to experiencing the magnitude of the freedom and the key to maintaining it. Look where that joy and peace are found,

Psalm 16:11   You will show me the path of life;

In Your presence is fullness of joy;

At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

One fall day in 1975 I was sitting in a car with my pastor Dale Hunter. He led our small country church in the middle of New York State. He was one of a few men I am eternally grateful for because God used them to shape me in those early years of my life with Christ and as a newlywed. That day he said something to me very strongly, and with hindsight I can say prophetically, “Andy, TAKE A STAND.” At the time I had little idea of what he meant but as life progressed, and still today, taking a stand has many important applications in all areas of life, especially in standing against the enemy of our soul who persistently tries to cause us to stumble into sin, tries to provoke us to say or do something stupid, something that will have bad, long term repercussions. After all, wasn’t that what the devil did in the Garden with Adam and Eve? In today’s America, it is more crucial than ever that we take a stand for what is right, for Biblical principles to again permeate our government and that those who will serve in the fear of the Lord get elected.

Galatians 5:1   Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage. (KJV)

Eph. 6:13   Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

OK, MY BAD

Part of that stance is that our personal integrity be beyond challenge. There’s an expression way over used in today’s culture. When it becomes obvious that someone made a mistake, big or small, they’ll say, “OK, my bad.” This is like an easy way of getting out of full admittance of guilt then quickly moving on, ending the conversation. I found this as bad, or worse, than making excuses. Do you know the definition of

excuse? “The skin of a reason wrapped around a lie.” These are big reveals of the lack of integrity or trustworthiness. Professionally, these kinds of attitudes will jeopardize your job, stop any chance for advancement and you will lose customers. I don’t do business with those I can’t trust and don’t hesitate to warn others to stay clear of a merchant lacking integrity. As a Christian, these detract from your testimony, you are not able to point people to Jesus, they see through it and consider you a hypocrite. This doesn’t appear to be the freedom Christ died to give you does It?

In this paragraph I just described an unacceptable behavior. You either thought “Amen,” or “Oh Jesus help me” or both. It’s just like the 10 Commandments, the law of God. If we try to live 100% using our own capabilities we mess up. Let’s look at how the Apostle Paul puts in Romans 7

WHO ARE YOU LISTENING TO?

Rom. 7:21   I have discovered this principle of life—that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong.

22   I love God’s law with all my heart.

23   But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me.

24   Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death?

TEXT SLIDE

25   Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. So you see how it is: In my mind I really want to obey God’s law, but because of my sinful nature I am a slave to sin.

Can you feel Paul’s frustration? If you’ve say you’ve never experienced it too your lying. When I mess up I am my own worst enemy. I usually don’t need someone to “call me on the carpet” because I am already busy beating myself up. The next chapter in Romans will relieve that frustration and set you free.

TEXT SLIDE

THERE IS NO EXCUSE TO STAY IN THE BONDAGE OF SIN.

LIVE IN FREEDOM, TAKE YOUR STAND
WWW.SUSANPANZICA.CPM

Rom. 8:1   So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus.

2   And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death.

3   The law of Moses was unable to save us because of the weakness of our sinful nature. So God did what the law could not do. He sent his own Son in a body like the bodies we sinners have. And in that body God declared an end to sin’s control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins.

4   He did this so that the just requirement of the law would be fully satisfied for us, who no longer follow our sinful nature but instead follow the Spirit.

5   Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit.

If realizing the magnitude of the freedom we have in Christ, cost of it, and  understanding the that we are in a battle to STAND FAST IN THAT LIBERTY, I ask you to make the following commitments. Share what you vow with someone you trust to be accountable in confidentiality to concerning these vows. I'll be glad to respond to any comments you put below, they are not public unless I publish them. 

  

    1.   I fully accept the freedom Jesus died that I might have.

    2.   I fully intend to live a life pleasing in the sight of the Lover of My Soul

    3.   I refuse to surrender to the lies of the enemy

   4.   I will not make excuses for shortcomings, mistakes, or the sins I commit but rather repent and thankfully embrace forgiveness at the foot of the Cross.

    5.   I will walk in the reality of:

          Galatians 5:1   Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath          made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage 

LIVE IN FREEDOM, TAKE YOUR STAND.

Further reading – Romans 8, whole chapter.

LIVING THE PROCESS, RIDING ON CAMELS

Ps 42:7  Deep calls unto deep at the noise of Your waterfalls; all Your waves and billows have gone over me. (NKJ)

THE CALL OF DEEP UNTO DEEP

By John Wright Follette

Down in the depth of my nature

Where the issues of life are born,

From that unknown mystical realm,

Surviving through ages of storm,

A call is forever rising--

But its language I cannot speak.

It was born ere I had being,

'Tis the call of deep unto deep.

Our mother tongue here is awkward,

For no words can fully express

The needs in the depths of nature,

In bondage to sin and distress.

Our hearts in their depths sorely ache;

They hunger; they call; and they seek--

Then silently wait an answer

To the call of deep unto deep.

Down deep in the heart of our God,

In mystical regions sublime,

In the Godhead's holy council

Long before our world or our time,

An answer was fully prepared

Every pain, every ache to meet,

In Christ, God's only begotten,

Is answer to deep unto deep.

The Answer indeed was the Word,

The Word when expressed was the Son.

Oh language of God how profound!

In answer what more could be done?

The heart of our God is hungry,

His portion, His people to seek.

"l thirst," was cried by the Answer-

'Tis the call of deep unto deep.

Sometimes I hear people pray things, or sing about things and I wonder, “Do they really understand what they are praying for? Do they have any idea of what would happen if the Lord answered that prayer?” My Pastor asked us how we would react if we saw a mighty angel, like Daniel did.

Another way to put this is, “How ready are you for the Lord to reveal things to you that are deeper in your heart than you really want Him to go?” Is the hunger and ache in your heart so great that you can ask God for more of Him?

What do we mean when we say we want more of God?

Is there a process He takes us through in order to give it to us?

There are 2 books I would recommend if you are serious in getting the full answers: “Hinds Feet in High Places” by Hannah Hurnard  and “The  Cost of Discipleship” by Dietrich Bonhoeffer.  Google them, I’m sure you can find them online. 

There’s an old song, I hope some of you remember it. It’s the kind of song you may have learned in Sunday school. It is very simple, yet walking it out takes a lifetime. I hope it becomes one of those songs that gets stuck in your head.

I want more of Jesus

More and more and more.

I want more of Jesus than

I’ve ever had before.

I want more of His great love,

So rich and full and free.

I want more of Jesus so

I’ll give Him more of me.

Sounds simple enough but it ends with something that will take you the rest of your life on Earth to experience. Giving Him more of us equates to a lifestyle of repentance. Are you determined to make the right choices? Determined to always yield to righteousness? Sometimes it’s not so simple, we complicate it with works, with self-righteousness.

Rom 6:16  Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one's slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness?

17   But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered.

18   And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.

19   I speak in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves of uncleanness, and of lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves of righteousness for holiness. (NKJ)

Now don’t get in the flesh about this and start looking for things that you may need to repent of – please don’t fall into a quilt trip or legalism. Remember, Christianity is not a list of does and don’ts. It is a relationship with the Almighty and in that relationship we learn how to please the Lover of our souls. As you catch some glimpse of His character, as He reveals something about Himself to you, His love in your heart will motivate you to change and His Grace and the Holy Spirit that is in you will empower you to do so.

The Lord knows that in and of our limited, frail, human capacities there is no way we will completely follow through, we just can’t do it. We want to heed His call to pick up our cross and follow Him but usually want to do that on a cross we make ourselves, padded and not so uncomfortable and Calvary’s cross. The sooner you realize that the sooner you’ll learn of the freedom we have in Christ. Please do not strive in your flesh to be righteous – you’ll never measure up to His standards. 

Now let’s get to those 2 questions I asked a little while ago,

1.    What do we mean when we say we want more of God?

2.    Is there a process He takes us through in order to give it to us?

As I already mentioned, sometimes I hear people pray things, or sing about things and I wonder, “Do they really understand what they are praying for? Do they have any idea of what would happen if the Lord answered that prayer?” Anyone ever prayed for patience?

When meditating on this my mind was flooded with so many songs we used to sing that were prayers for more of God.

“More love… more power… more of you in my life (2x)

And I will worship you

With all of my life.. etc etc.

Or do you remember... 

“More of You, more of You

I’ve had it all but what I need is just more of you.

Of things I’ve had my fill

But yet I hunger still,

Thirsty & dry, Lord hear my cry

For just more of you.”

In order for us to be able to receive His answers to these prayers He puts us through a process, and it varies for each individual, it varies with time, it is unique for you. The Lord has a plan for your life and primarily it is to bring you closer to Himself, to cause you to become more like Jesus and ever more passionate for Him, appreciative of His Manifest Presence.

There are some great analogies in the Song of Solomon. Briefly,

Song of Solomon  5:2   I sleep, but my heart is awake; it is the voice of my beloved! He knocks, saying, "Open for me, my sister, my love, my dove, my perfect one; for my head is covered with dew, my locks with the drops of the night."

3   I have taken off my robe; how can I put it on again? I have washed my feet; how can I defile them?

4   My beloved put his hand by the latch of the door, and my heart yearned for him.

5   I arose to open for my beloved, and my hands dripped with myrrh, my fingers with liquid myrrh, on the handles of the lock.

6   I opened for my beloved, but my beloved had turned away and was gone. My heart leaped up when he spoke. I sought him, but I could not find him; I called him, but he gave me no answer.

The next verses in this chapter describe her desperate search throughout the city to find Him. She was too slow to respond, she made excuses to stay in bed.

Something happened in her heart between Chapter 5 & chapter 8. She went through a process. Notice she isn’t walking with Him, they are not skipping like a young couple just having fun and laughing together. Those times are wonderful but here she is leaning on Him. Her own strength is gone, she’s dependent on Him. The call of deep unto deep was answered – she’s different. Look at the change of heart and then we’ll talk about what the Lord does to bring this about.

Watch the center of her attention in the following 5 steps.

    Song of Solomon 1:4 Draw me, we will run after thee: the     king hath brought me into his chambers: we will be glad       and rejoice in thee, we will remember thy love more than       wine: the upright love thee. (KJV)

Believe me I would much rather remember God’s love, remember intimate times in His presence, even those times of correction, than the effects of too much wine. The Lord loves it when His kids get happy in His presence, when we rejoice with exceeding great joy.

But my friends, this is only the beginning. The intimacy, the fellowship with God that is available to us is far greater when we come back from that field, from that vacation in the villages with Him with our own strength gone, when we’ve let go of more of our carnal self. When we allow the Lord to go deeper into our inner man and replace the junk with some revelation of the deeper  things of His character.

What is it that God uses to bring us to this place of great freedom and blessing? Stuff that our flesh doesn’t usually enjoy:

    Rom 5:1   Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,

    2    through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

    3    And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance;

    4   and perseverance, character; and character, hope.

    5    Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our                   hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

Our lives are constantly in the remaking process, we constantly exchange junk for pure gold. The Lord is preparing us for our marriage to His Son. How does the bride get to the Bridegroom? Look at Genesis 24, the story of Abraham’s servant going to get a bride for Isaac. In this story we can easily say that Abraham represents God the Father, Isaac the SON and the servant is the Holy Ghost. The servant doesn’t just walk across the vast desert, and he doesn’t go empty handed. In addition to beautiful things that will wet the Bride’s appetite, he brings 10 camels (Gen 24:10). She is given a means of transportation across that vast desert. In verse 11 we see that the servant, that is to say the Holy Ghost, is in control of the camels, he has them kneel.

The journey starts with her making a choice. We are constantly faced with choices and it is so important that our internal radio is tuned to the God Station. Rebecca chose to go with the servant.Let me quote more from Folette, 

 So let us not be foolish and pray for God to draw us          nearer and bring our hearts to sweet fellowship and        understanding of Isaac and then when He sends us a camel to carry us there want to shoot him. Never shoot your camels! What foolish creatures we are anyway!  With one breath we pray God to draw us near, conform us to His image, and deepen our lives in God, and with the next breath we shout at the camel He has sent to answer our prayer. Don't you remember it is tribulation that worketh patience and not a sweet feeling at an altar service?”

           “The camels are awkward and not so very easy to ride. There is an art to it and the secret of it is this---move with the camel and do not try to resist his momentum. For that is already established, so all you have to do is to yield to the sway and movement of the camel and you will soon learn to ride. Never resist the camel's momentum, for if. you do it will make you sick and you will have a very hard time of it. 

Let’s look at 1 of the camels, the person you really have a hard time loving, the one who just always gives you a hard time and is just impossible to get along with. You water this camel with a bad attitude. God sent this camel for you to ride, not for you to carry on your back. Get the right saddle out of the barn

What a neat thing happens when we repent of that pride and apprehend God’s enabling Grace. We handle the irritating things about that camel graciously and enjoy the ride toward our Isaac.

How about the camel that is a long, drawn out trial? The Lord has had me ride this camel all too often – a trial of faith and patience -  unemployment. Some people are caring for handicapped family members, dealing with severe financial and/or health siuations, or my amazing wife who has had to lovingly endure being married to me for all these years (39 as of this writing). There’s a saddle in the barn for this:

In the midst of that trial, we are called upon to give, and not just financially. When we apprehend the Grace to be a cheerful giver we will have an abundance of everything we need for every good work.

The caravan is large and we get to ride many different camels. The key is to apprehend His Grace to deal with each one with a right attitude. Don’t you want to get to the Lover of your soul? Of course you do. And not just to be in the same room but to be completely yielded to Him.

In conclusion I have to ask again, Do you really want more of God? Will you, as Rebecca did, say, “I will go.” Are you ready to ride those camels, choosing the right saddle for each one?