Repurposed

It seems like repurposed is the new buzz word. It dominates Pinterest boards and Facebook photos. Instagram is swimming with ideas and finished works of for lack of a better word art. While some of them are remarkably clever others just make you shake your head. My personal opinion about the whole repurposing thing is not important. As I watch this craze, I get a suspicion that God actually is speaking to us more than we think he is.

Our culture and climate are breeding individuals who have massive egos but very little self-worth. How is that possible? It is the ultimate in oxymorons. I think highly of myself but don't value myself. We quest in our life to find value that is assigned by others without ever evaluating our own worth through the lens of what God sees. So, back to God speaking to us through repurposing.

When we look at process of repurposing, we see an item that is discarded or broken and think there is something else that can be made from that to extend it's life and purpose. It doesn't have to be thrown away. I truly believe that God is trying to speak to the hearts of people and remind them that even through they have been discarded by others or broken, there is value in their lives. God is the one who gives purpose. When we feel broken and discarded, he is there to scoop us up and say there is more in you.

Our church sign that I cannot see to take down read God sees more in you than you do in yourself. The world is seeing that ruined things can be restored even to greater purpose. Think about it. If you can make a functioning automobile from pallets :) the what can God do with you? The world is awakening to the deeper things. We have egos but God has purpose. When we feel that all is gone and purpose is ruined, God is saying let me repurpose you. You made a mistake and now find yourself in the middle of chaos. Let me repurpose you. You have fallen away from God completely and think he is angry with you. Let me repurpose you. He continually makes things new.

Ricardo Sanchez sings a song called Moving Forward. The tag line is that You make all things new and I will follow You forward. That is exactly what God does. He makes things new. ruined and broken are restored and revitalized. We can't understand it. We don't deserve it, but God still does it. He does it because he has a genuine love and understanding of exactly how great your purpose is.

Where Is Your Focus

I have to admit it. Somedays after a conversation I just sit and scratch my head and think what the heck are they thinking? Let me give you an example. When we read in Ephesians chapter 4:11-12 It was he who gave some to be Apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, some to be pastors, some to be teachers, to prepare God's people for works of service, so the body of Christ may be built up. It seems pretty straight forward right? WRONG! This is where a frustration crops up for me. Most people stop at verse 12 and immediately begin to try and figure out which one of the 5 they are. If you read further in this chapter, you find a stern warning from Paul. Verse 13 and on we read this.

14 Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. 15 Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. 16 From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.
The issue we are having is this. We have prioritized these ministry areas instead of giving them equality. A word of prophecy is just as valuable as a great piece of teaching that is sound in the scripture and application. A missionary carrying the gospel to the unreached people groups of Africa is just as important as a local pastor leading a congregation to a deeper walk and outward focusing faith in Christ. An evangelist work is on the same level as all of these. Each area has it's specific purpose.

All that being said, whats your deal Dave? My deal is this.Know the who before you know the what. You must know who called you. It is a physical impossibility to be a representative of someone who you know nothing about. The sad truth is that many of our churches today have abandoned making disciples in exchange for something else. That something else could be a number of different things. Discipleship drives in the core belief and the realization of the nature of God and exactly what Christ has done for you. It cements the foundational pillars into place so the gates of hell can't prevail against it.

When a person becomes a Christian instead of next steps, we flood them with ministry areas and our opinions. We speak things out of conjecture instead of divine revelation. In short, we tell people what we think they are. Let's just back the truck up right here and unload some knowledge. God is the one who calls not man. He needed no help calling Saul a murdering zealot and changing him to Paul the great evangelist and preacher. Apollos when he went to Paul did not say brother Paul I feel like the Lord has told me to tell you that your going to be a great evangelist and many will come to know Jesus through you. Can God drop that tidbit of knowledge on someone and have them share it? Sure he can but unless he drops it, we need to just let him work it out.

In our quest to be used by God in different spiritual giftings, our zeal and lack of knowledge ourselves may be doing more harm than good. We fall prey to doctrines that are like the wind. One day we are reading one author who says everyone should be prophesying and another day we are reading an author who says we should all be doing miracles. Still another day we read an author who teaches word of faith, still another kingdom now. It is enough to make your head swim. Here is a novel idea. Lets read scripture and come to the realization we have only scratched the surface and significance of it's meaning and then, lets allow God to continue to do the calling.

If we were to spend as much time in the Word of God instead of the words of man, wouldn't we be better stewards of the scriptures in the first place? If we spent more time in prayer and seeking God's direction in our lives instead of seeking what spiritual gift I have, wouldn't we know then what gift or gifts we are actually given. Couple that with being more in tune with God than we are with being tuned into a television evangelist and you get a fulfilling spiritual life.

In my own personal life, I was told at a young age by a very well meaning woman that I was going to be a great teacher. I would have revelations on things and be able to teach them and make people see things that they hadn't before. Wait there's more. There was still another very well meaning young lady that told me I was going to be a pastor and would use simple things to bring people to Christ. (Point to her) There was another person who was telling me that I was going to be a prophet and speak the mysteries of the faith. All of this to a boy of 11 years of age. What did that do? Did it inspire me? Did it motivate me? No it drove me away from God because it overwhelmed me and I ran scared for 8 years of my life.

As I sat in a revival service as a 19 year old college student, a man who didn't call himself a prophet and who did not know me used the prophetic gift inside of him and he read my mail that evening. These words of assurance were so amazing to me. "There is a young man here tonight who is running from God. You are overwhelmed by the call that God has for you. It is not a call that is created by well meaning women and men but rather of God almighty. If you respond to this altar call tonight, God will show you what you are and tell you what you need to do to answer the call." The evangelist spent hours in prayer before that service to be used by God to share the message of hope, love, and redemption. He didn't need a title in front of his name. He simply flowed freely in the ministry areas of the church that he was told to flow in. He spoke the very words of God that wrecked me forever. I knew God was real and the call was real.

Stop pursuing an office to work in and let God place you in that office. Apostle, Prophet, Evangelist, Pastor, and Teacher, each and everyone of them are vital to the forward advancement of the Gospel. If we allow Him to show us, we will become the mature body of him who is the head Christ Jesus.