Our Promise Today

For many people their daily lives are filled with regrets. Shadows of what might have been and the ever present could have, should have, would have seem to dominate our thoughts. While we are supposed to learn from our mistakes and missed opportunities, we are by no means supposed to dwell on them so much that they become permanent fixtures in our lives and our decision making.

Every single person in the world has at some point in their life made a mistake or missed an opportunity. There you go. Now you can breathe. The pressure is off. You don't have to be perfect. We place so much effort on perfection. I remember sitting the the recording studio tracking a bass line. I found every little thing to criticize. I spent almost an hour on one track. The more I compared it to my last track, the more I wanted to redo it. Finally the engineer made me move on. The project released without a hitch.

All you need to do is read the scriptures and you will see that the imperfection of humanity is exactly what God wants to use. If we did it in our strength, we would brag about it and become arrogant. God does want us to get better and use the past to make better decisions but the greatest promise I think I have found in scripture is simply this.

What is to come is greater than what has passed. 

God has destined us for great things. Understand that your definition of great and God's definition of great might be two very different things. We often over use Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you says the Lord...You know the rest but understand that God does know the plans he has for you. They are not plans to destroy you but rather to do greater things than you have done in the past.

In the spiritual sense, we are all late bloomers. No matter how many great things you have done in your life, your future is greater than your past. The lyrics of Chris Tomlin's God Of This City are very true. Greater things are yet to come and greater things are still to be done where you are. Don't get hung up in your past. With Christ every day is a new day. We just need to recognize that and live our lives like he is directing us to live them.

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.