Things I’ve Learned/Things I Am
Learning:
·
Unity: It
is what we all need. 1 Cor. 12:12-31 (One Body, Many Parts); John 15:1-17 (We
Are All Part Of The Vine)
o
The Bible talks about unity, we all need it.
o
That doesn’t mean that we all “Agree”, but it
means that we can all agree that disagreement is ok. We must be able to say
“Amen” to one another and not make our own thoughts/desires more important. Mathew
20:27 (First Shall Be Last) “Die to yourself, give up your rights”
o
United: We have been Unit”ed”. That means that
we have gone through the act of becoming a singular unit. Like it or not, it is
what has happened. Choose in, or get out! It is something that we will have to
work for, have to desire, have to fight for.
·
Hypocrisy:
Are you living what you teach? Mthw 7:5 (Take The Plank Out Of Your Eye)
o
How can we go into the world and preach things
like “Be Satisfied” if we ourselves are not satisfied?
§ If you are given 4 pieces of bread and a cup of
tea for dinner, will you add sugar, will you dip into your own stash of peanut
butter? (How satisfied are you choosing to be?) Yes, even something that small
can make or break choosing Jesus for some man from the middle of Africa.
·
Spirit of
Fear? Psalm 23 (Though I Walk Through The Valley Of The Shadow Of Death)
o
I don’t believe that it says, “I shall fear no
evil, except when something scary comes my
way.“
o
How can we say that we have faith in the
almighty power of God, and yet choose to walk in fear?
o
I can understand using wisdom to not jump into
the ocean near a great white shark (Which I actually hope to do in South
Africa…) but, why do we have fear to proclaim healing? Why do we have the fear
inside of us that keeps us from laying our hands on people and praying for
healing? Are we afraid that nothing will happen? Where’s the faith in that?
o
What would you say if I asked you to preach?
Perhaps something like,”I don’t feel called to preach!”
§ Tell me
in the Bible where God ever told someone not to teach, preach?
§ Tell me where it says that you are ONLY called
to work with disabled, ONLY called to work with kids, ONLY called to pray, ONLY
called to teach?
·
You might have a gifting that enables that to
come more naturally, but let’s put our trust in God that He will provide the
words to speak, and stop walking in fear, because in the end I believe that we
hide behind the word “Called” in order to cope with our own fear of stepping up
to something hard or uncomfortable.
·
“Rights”:
HAHAHA What the heck are you thinking? You have no rights! Rom: 6:19-23 (Slave
To Sin, Slave To God)
o
We have become slaves to Christ. What right do
you think you have? You don’t have the right to eat all that you want, because
you are setting yourself below others. You don’t have the right to sleep in a
bed, because you should give it to the man or woman sleeping on the sidewalk
using a garbage bag for a pillow. You don’t even have the right to claim
anything as your own. That not “your” bike; that’s not “your” car; that’s not
“your” bag or sandwich or shirt or shoes or even your own tooth brush! It
belongs to God.
§ Because
Ex 20 “You shall have no other God before me!”
§ There
should be nothing that comes before God, so if He asks you give those up, they
are his to take! So, get over that idea that “Since I bought it, it is mine!”
You are WRONG!
·
Get real:
What is reality anymore?
o
Does your chicken really need to be boneless and
skinless? Can’t we just be excited and grateful for having a piece of meat?
o
Why don’t you say what you really think? Are you
really that concerned about losing a friend? I am pretty sure you can find a
way to speak truth in a way that doesn’t bash them, but builds them up.
o
Why don’t you just tell them why you are
actually talking to them? You are here because you are serving a living god
that desperately desires a relationship with them, and you want to see them
make a choice to believe that in their hearts and confess it with their mouths.
·
Technology:
Can you go a week without your I-pod?
o
What’s it going to hurt? Do you really need to
answer that email? What physically is going to happen if you just don’t?
o
Can you spend a week focused on talking to God,
and not playing games, being online, being constantly entertained? Do you
seriously need things to be happening constantly? When will you step into the
garden, silence the things around you and just pray all night? When will you
walk in the abandonment that God truly wants for you?
o
I’m not saying that you can’t have “things”, but
I am asking you to be ok to lose them or leave them.
§ The church body we were working with, in Mzuzu
Malawi during the month of November, was asked to bless us missionaries. I have
more things than I already need, and someone pulled a hand carved wooden Chombo
(Fish found in Lake Malawi) off their wall and gave it to me as a gift. It
changed my life.
§ I was just asked to give my Multi-tool Knife to
a missionary here in Senga Bay Malawi. Before they could finish explaining why,
my answer was, “Done!” There is nothing that is worth not blessing people with
if they can’t get it themselves.
