David’s Mighty Men

God has called us to church, the body of Christ so that we can comfort one another in love…to encourage and edify one another according to God’s call.  The purpose of ministry is to create an environment where the Holy Spirit can come help himself to our lives.  

Every society needs men who will act like men when the need arises.  We’re called to follow in the footsteps of our Lord.  What did Jesus do?  He stood in the face of danger.  He bore up under suffering.  He gave himself for the good of others.  He brings us to the point of surrender.  When we’re no longer in control, when we delight ourselves in the Lord and make His will our will, then God will work in us to will and to do of His good pleasure.

When we pass from this world, there is no more witnessing for our Lord Jesus Christ.  Jesus said, now is the acceptable day of the Lord.  We have been called to the great commission.  To go into all the world and make disciples of all nations.  As Paul said, for I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation, to the Jew first and also to the Gentile.  

In the midst of the crisis, God expects his men to be the reliable ones.  God challenges us that no matter the obstacles in our path, to act according to faith.  God always honors faith but he never honors fear.  God will get us out of our comfort zones so that we can see God work beyond our expectations.

The fastest growing Christian church today is in Iran and it’s spreading underground through women who have been converted from Islam.  God works in mysterious ways…. his thoughts are not our thoughts and his ways are not our ways.  Churches look for better methods, but God locks for better men.  We have been given the ministry of reconciliation and have been committed the Word of reconciliation.  When we think we’re ministering to others, God is actually ministering to us as he infuses us with his mighty power to will and to do of his good pleasure.

The story of three of King David’s mighty men is in 2 Samuel 23.  The Philistines had overtaken Bethlehem and David’s mighty men defied the overwhelming army of the Philistines.  Most of Israel’s army was shaking in their boots cowering in fear.  They had left the battle lines.  Likewise in our culture, men have left the spiritual battlefield.  Casual Christians become casualties of spiritual warfare.  In the midst of the spiritual battle, most men are confused. The devil’s scheme is to divide and conquer.  Where there is strife, there is confusion and every evil work.   The sword of the spirit which is the word of God cuts through the confusion of battle.  God’s word is our battle plan and our marching orders from our Commander in Chief.

According to 2 Samuel 23:9-10, “And after him was Eleazar the son of Dodo the Ahohite, one of the three mighty men with David, when they defied the Philistines that were there gathered together to battle, and the men of Israel were gone away:  He arose, and smote the Philistines until his hand was weary, and his hand clave unto the sword: and the LORD wrought a great victory that day; and the people returned after him only to spoil.”

The men of Israel had withdrawn.  They didn’t have a heart to fight the enemy.  However, David’s mighty men were giant killers because their King David was a giant killer.  They were faithful to follow and serve their king.  Eliazar, one of David’s mighty men, found himself alone.  Everyone else had deserted their King.  Like Jesus, he stood in the face of danger.  He bore up under suffering.  He gave himself for the good of others.  He surrendered himself to the power of God.  He answered God’s call to run to the battle lines. 

Paul said in Philippians 3:10-11, “That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;  11. If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead.”

When we come to God in prayer and list our maladies, his answer to our prayer will be, those are not your problems, they are your friends.  Trials and tribulations bring us closer to him.  In order to be connected to God’s heart our prayer will be, Lord break my heart for what breaks yours.  A broken and a contrite heart God will not forsake.

In the Old Testament, the army didn’t want to stand up to the enemy.  They only wanted to be around after the battle had been won so that they could strip the dead and collect the spoils of war.  They were in it for themselves and not for the noble cause to stand up for God’s righteousness.

The first of the Ten Commandments says, thou shalt have no other gods between your face and my face.  Anything that comes between our face and God’s face is an idol.  This is why Jesus said, unless a man forsake his brother and sister and his mother and father… if he loves anyone or anything everything above me, he cannot be my disciple.

Jesus came not into this world to condemn the world but that the world throug him might be saved.  According to Romans 5:8, even while we were yet sinners, Christ died for the ungodly.

Jesus’ heart was broken for our sins.  For he who was without sin became the perfect sacrifice for sin on our behalf that we may be made the righteousness of God in him.  For I was crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live, yet not I but Christ liveth in me and the life that I now live, I live by faith in the son of God who loved me and gave himself for me.  At the end of the battle of this life, there is only one thing that really matters….that we’ll be there with our Lord in eternity.  Therefore press toward the mark of the high calling of the one who really matters…  only Jesus!

May we ever live to the praise of the glory of His grace!

Your brother in Christ,

Michael

Mighty Men of God

Men of God need a challenge. In the recent history of the American church, most men have been under challenged. The church asked three things of men: Atttend regularly, serve diligently and give generously. The church did not challenge us to serve our Lord Jesus Christ, but to serve the church. However, as Jesus said when he was tempted by the devil, “Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God and him only shalt thou serve.”

Our culture emphasizes the empowerment of women. Even though this is a constructive effort, many men consider that empowering women means relegating men to a position of weakness. If any society is to survive and prosper men need to act like men when the need arises. When the crisis comes and courage is required God expects his men to have such confidence in him that they will be the reliable ones. According to to 1 Corinthians 16:13-14, “Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, aquit you like men, be strong. Let all things be done with charity, the love of God.”

The crisis is here. The devil’s scheme is to divide and conquer. We wrestle not against flesh and blood but against spiritual wickedness form above. The church is looking for better methods. However, men are God’s method. God is looking for better men….men In whom the spirit of the Lord is….men of the Word and men of prayer. The Word of God and prayer are the two offensive weapons in the spiritual battle. Through the trial of the spiritual battle, we will learn to trust in God and in the power of His might.

Worthy men are men whom God has made worthy through Christ’s sacrifice for sin on their behalf. They will feel unworthy if they are works based instead of grace based. The Christian who sins can either fall into the devil’s snare or he can fall into the net of God’s grace. The question is, who’s influencing your mind? Is it the culture and the powers of this world or is it the truth of the Word of God.

In 2 Samuel 23 is the story of David’s mighty men. When you follow your king, whatever your king is like, you’ll be like. Ye are subject to whom you obey. King David’s mighty men in 2 Samuel 23:9-10 were like their king: “And after him was Eleazar the son of Dodo the Ahohite, one of the three mighty men with David, when they defied the Philistines that were there gathered together to battle, and the men of Israel were gone away: 10 He arose, and smote the Philistines until his hand was weary, and his hand clave unto the sword: and the LORD wrought a great victory that day; and the people returned after him only to spoil.”

Eleazar was one of David’s mighty men who stood up with David and defied the Philistines. The men of Israel had withdrawn. They did not stand for the things that their King stood for. In contrast, Eleazar did the things that God’s mighty men are challenged to do. He stood in the face of danger. He bore up under suffering. He served sacrificially for the good of others. He relied on the power of God.

In India’s recent election the new regime is training their soldiers how to kill Christians. Even in our own country, We’re one election away from losing our freedom to speak and preach freely in the name of Jesus. Jesus said, compared to your love for me, you have to hate all your earthly relationships and the things of this world.

Jesus had told the Pharisees that they were of their father the devil. The devil is the father of lies and they had believed their father’s lies. They thought that they were righteous in their own works.

God has called us to minister to others and to witness his great and mighty works. He will show up and show off when men to him are loyal. For it is God who worketh in you to will and to do of His good pleasure. We need to make his good pleasure our good pleasure in order to see God perform his work in us and through us. Therefore I press toward the mark of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus, forgetting those things that are behind and pressing toward those things that are before.

God doesn’t call us because we’re gifted, he calls us because we’re available. Availability is “availing ourselves of His ability.” Eleazar smote the Philistines until his hand was weary and his hand clung to the sword. And the Lord wrought a great victory that day.

We have to take care of what God has called us to do. Eliazar exercised faith and courage in the midst of the crisis. God never honors fear but he always honors faith. What if the enemy says well kill your family unless you denounce your faith. Our response should be, Go ahead, you’ll be sending them to see their Lord. What men meant for evil, God meant for good. As missionary Jim Elliot said before he was martyred ministering to the Auca Indians of Ecuador, “He is no fool who loses that which he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.”

We never retire from the personal mission to which God has called us. The greatest danger in life is not that we won’t succeed, but that we’ll succeed in something that really doesn’t matter. In this life there is only one thing that really matters…only Jesus!

LIke Eleazar who always did his master’s will, may we ever live to the praise of the glory of His grace!
Your brother in Christ,
Michael

Walk the Talk

Words are inadequate to describe when God shows up and shows off his glory. Jesus did many mighty works, signs, miracles, and wonders. However, Jesus said, the works that I do shall they do and greater works shall they do because I go unto my Father. The greater works is to lead others unto salvation. Salvation is the miracle of miracles. At the Influencers Men’s Retreat we were treated to the greatest of all miracles. James wanted everyone to witness his acceptance of His Lord Jesus Christ and his declaration of repentance in front of the men. James confessed that he had seen things in war that no eye should ever witness. He lamented, “I’ve had to deliver miniature flags to children and tell them, “your daddy will never return home.” He cried, “I can’t take it any more. I’ve seen too much suffering and death. I’m not worthy and I need God’s grace and mercy.” Everyone in the room wept with him as he accepted Jesus as Lord of his life.

Unworthy means lacking in value, worthless, undeserving anything of merit, inappropriate to one’s condition or station. Christians often find it easy to talk the talk. However, it’s not as easy to walk the talk. Anyone can talk the talk. The biblical word “confession” or “profession” is translated from the Greek word homologeo. This compound word is from homo meaning “same” and logos meaning “word.” It means that your talk and your walk speak the same thing. A professional is one who practices what he preaches. To profess “Jesus is Lord” is to walk the talk and talk the walk. When many Christians stumble and fall off the narrow way, they don’t know how to fall into God’s net of mercy and grace. Our challenge is to walk in grace as we follow in the footsteps of our Lord Jesus Christ.

The devil will remind us that in our flesh dwelleth no good thing. He will feed our resentment bank for offenses that we’ve suffered at the hands of others. If we’re married, the devil will remind us to make moment by moment deposits each time our wives offend us. He’ll remind our wives to do the same when we offend her.

Relationships start with the honeymoon where both parties are on their best behavior. Love covers a multitude of sins. When you’re in love, she can do no wrong. However a marriage commitment means you’ll be under surveillance for the rest of your life. Women are good at keeping score to prove that their husbands have broken their vow to love honor and serve. Wives often write down their husbands’ offenses. At a marriage counseling session, they will bring out the evidence of wrongs.

The problem is she’s looking for “Mr. Right.” The real question is, “Will you settle for Mr. Reasonably Close?” At counseling sessions, the resentment bank has been filled to overflowing. Saving a marriage is like raising the dead. A bank of resentment and bitterness will kill any relationship. When you’re eaten up by a root of bitterness, the one who suffers the most is the one who’s bitter. Wives are more easily wounded than their husbands. They’re butterflies while their husbands are Buffalos. The Buffalos are insensitive and will trample the butterflies without realizing the destruction in their wakes.

Hebrews 12:12-17 is the antidote to feeling unworthy. “Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees; 13. And make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way; but let it rather be healed. 14. Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:

1. Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled; 16. Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright.
2. For ye know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected: for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears.”

Feeble knees are the result of old age. However, this is an analogy of those who have received Christ and then walked away. They have been buffeted by the tribulations of this world and can’t take it any longer. They are casual Christians whom the world has indoctrinated in the affairs of this world. They have been shaped and wounded by the world.

Hebrews says, pursue peace. Jesus said to actively pursue peace. You can’t have peace without the prince of peace. AT the dedication of the temple, God said to his people, you need to meet certain conditions: If my people who are called by my name shall humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will heal their land and forgive their sins.

Unless we meet the condition of resting in him…of putting our faith and trust in the prince of peace there will be no peace. You have to pursue Christ. According to Philippians 4, “Be anxious for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. 7. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”

Through the trials of life, he will teach us the meaning of peace. When the disciples were in the midst of the storm, they were fearful and thought their boat would capsize. However Jesus said, “peace be still.” Our prayer is not, “Lord deliver me from the storm,” but rather, “deliver me through the storm.”

Jesus said, blessed are the peacemakers for they shall see God. He said, my peace I leave with you. My peace I give unto you. Not as the world giveth give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

Esau was a hunter. He was Isaac’s older son who would inherit his father’s birthright. One day when he came from the field, he was famished. His brother Jacob said, “if you give me your birthright, I’ll make you a pot of stew.” Esau gave up his birthright for a bowl of stew. The question is, “what is it that you value most?” Esau’s problem is that he craved and hungered for the things of the world instead of the things of God.

In Marriage Builders classes, one of the most difficult lessons is, “there is nothing wrong with my wife that God can’t fix in me.” To receive grace, you have to give grace. Ultimately grace is from God himself. God’s grace is his gift of Holy Spirit. Giving grace will cut down the root of bitterness. In order to reconcile, we have to meet each other at the foot of the cross…for their is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.

A man of God wants to spend the rest of his life learning to become just like Jesus. When we look unto him, the author and finisher of our faith, when we turn our eyes upon Jesus, the things of this world will become strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace.

Everything that we see in this world is here today and gone tomorrow. The things of this world will soon be past. Only that which is done in Christ will last. Jesus said, “what will it profit a man to gain the whole world but lose his soul?” Missionary Jim Elliot before he was martyred ministering to the Auca Indians of Equador said, “He is no fool who loses that which he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.”

Only one thing really matters in this life….only Jesus!

May we ever live to the praise of the glory of His grace!
Your brother in Christ,
Michael

Valuing Our Birthright

When you call a Christian, “Man of God,” most men will look away.  When you ask them why, they will say, “Because I feel unworthy.”  Hebrews 12:12-17 is the antidote to feeling unworthy.  “Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees;  13. And make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way; but let it rather be healed.  14. Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:

15. Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled;  16. Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright.

17. For ye know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected: for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears.”

God has set us in the body of Christ so that we can lift each other up.  The devil will whisper in our ear, “you’re not worthy.  You’re a sinner and deserving of condemnation.  You’re guilty as charged.”  Sometimes men are rejected by their churches, their wives, and their own children.  The world does not call us to grace and mercy but unto condemnation because in our flesh dwelleth no good thing. 

However, God calls us unto grace through His Son’s perfect payment for sin on our behalf.  For Jesus Christ who knew no sin, was made the perfect sacrifice for sin on our behalf, that we may be made the righteousness of God in him.  In our own power we’re worthy of death because of our sin nature.  When we approach God’s throne of grace with a broken and a contrite heart, he will save us by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone.

In our flesh, the sin nature that we inherited from Adam, we’re unworthy.  However, where sin abounded, grace through Jesus Christ did much more abound.

To strengthen hands that hang down and feet that are feeble, follow peace with all men and the sanctification without which no one shall see the Lord.  Peace is the result of reconciliation with God through the full payment of Jesus Christ on our behalf.  Sanctification means that we have been set apart according to the purpose God intended.  When we sanctify our hearts, we prove our hearts according to the works which he’s prepared for us in our obedience to his will for our lives.  The purpose is to please him and to know him according to the power of his resurrection.  The purpose is that we will be his living epistles known and read of all men. 

The purpose is to seek the Blessor and not the blessing.  To know peace means to pursue peace.  There is no peace without the Prince of Peace.  We’re called to pursue our Lord Jesus Christ.  Peace is in our proximity with him.  How do we pursue him?  One way is by journaling our conversations with him.  Another is meditating on his word.  To pursue the Lord, choke in the dust of those who are chasing after Him.  To pursue peace, we must “reckon the old man dead.”  For I was crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live, yet not I but Christ liveth in me and the life that I now live, I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me.

In the midst of the storm, we can have peace when we’re with the Prince of Peace. 

Esau sold his birthright inheritance for a bowl of stew.  He was hungry to fill his own belly but he was not hungry for what really mattered.  According to the beatitudes, treasure not treasures upon earth.  Instead treasure treasures in heaven.  Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.  Esau, when he realized what he had done, wept because he had devalued what really mattered.  Jesus said, blessed are they who hunger and thirst after righteousness for they shall be filled.

There’s a book entitled, “Voices from the edge of Eternity.”  This is about the last words of people before they died.  Some cry out, “too late, too late, too late!”  This was the cry of Esau who sold his birthright because like the prodigal son, “he feign did fill his belly with the pods which the swine did eat.” 

When the devil tempts us into sin, the result is that he will shut our mouth.  Our responsibility is our response to God’s ability.  According to verse 15, “Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled…”  We need to ask both our wives and our Lord Jesus Christ, “if there’s anything that you would change about me, what would it be?”  The second question is, “what do you need me to do that I’m not doing?”  When we’re open to reproof and correction, this will cut down the root of bitterness.  As Jesus said, “if you’re bringing an offering to God and have a disagreement with your brother, first reconcile your heart with your brother and then you can bring your offering to God with a clean heart.”

Many people are defiled when they see Christians sinning.  However, the love of God covers a multitude of sins.  The moral of this story is to value what God says is valuable.  The most valuable thing is our birthright…that we are his and he is ours.  We hold on to our birthright when we’re committed unto him for the sake of the gospel.  Therefore, sanctify the Lord God in your hearts and be ready always to give an answer to any man that asketh thee a reason for the hope that is within you with meekness and fear (awe, respect, reverence and love.)

The greatest blessing is to bless the Blessor…  And I so doing, that we may be to the praise of the glory of His grace!

Your brother in Christ, Michael