"YOU NEED POWER."

 

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8). D.L. Moody was a shoe salesman until God moved him into a full-time preaching ministry, often in the streets of Chicago. There came a point in his journey with God when he realized he needed more in his life than what he was experiencing. "At the close of the Sabbath evening services I remember two holy women they would say to me, ‘We have been praying for you.’ I said, ‘Why don’t you pray for the people?’ They answered, ‘You need power.’ ‘I need power?’ I said to myself. Why I thought I had power. I had a large Sabbath school and the largest congregation in Chicago. I was in a sense satisfied. But then came these two godly women who prayed for me, and their earnest talk about "the anointing for special service" set me thinking. I asked them to come and talk with me, and we got down on our knees. They poured out their hearts, that I might receive the anointing of the Holy Ghost. And there came a great hunger into my soul. I knew not what it was. I began to cry as I never did before. The hunger increased. I really felt that I did not want to live any longer if I could not have this power for service. I kept on crying all the time that God would fill me with His Spirit. Well, one day, in the city of New York—Oh, what a day! I cannot describe it; I seldom refer to it; it is almost too sacred an experience to me. Paul had an experience that he never spoke about for fourteen years. I can only say, God revealed Himself to me, and I had such an experience of His love that I had to ask Him to say His hand. I went to preaching again. The sermons were no different; I did not present any new truths, and yet hundreds were converted. I would not be placed back where I was before that blessed experience if you would give me all Glasgow. [1] [1] Elmer Towns, Understanding the Deeper Life, Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids, MI, 1984, pp. 224, 225

HEARING THE FATHER SPEAK

 

"My sheep listen to My voice; I know them, and they follow Me." - John 10:27 An Englishman tells a true story of his encounter with a Muslim man while walking in the country. The Englishman wanted to share the gospel with this man but knew little of Muslim beliefs. The two men talked as they walked and agreed they would each share their beliefs with one another. The Muslim went first and dominated the time of sharing. The Englishman asked the Holy Spirit how to share his faith with the Muslim man. "Do you consider your god your father who speaks?" asked the Englishman. "Certainly not," replied the Muslim man. "That is one of the big differences between your god and my God. I consider my God as my Father who speaks to me personally." "You cannot prove that," stated the Muslim man. The Englishman again prayed to himself, "Lord, how do I prove this to this man?" A few moments later the two men began walking toward two young ladies on the other side of the road coming toward them. As they approached, the Englishman spoke to the ladies and made small conversation. He then said to one woman, "I believe you are a nurse, is that correct?" The woman was startled that a man whom she had never met had just informed her of her occupation. "How would you know that? I have never met you before," she questioned. He replied, "I asked my Father and He told me." The Muslim had his proof. Many of us do not hear God's voice because we do not believe He speaks or desires to speak to us. In order to hear, we must listen. In order to listen, we must believe that He speaks. Ask the Lord today for a listening ear so that others might know that you have a heavenly Father who speaks.

FOSTERING THE RIGHT ENVIRONMENT

 Be sure you know the condition of your flocks, give careful attention to your herd (Prov 27:23).

Janice was a high level executive who required excellence and exceptional performance from those under her leadership. She was the general manager of a credit card unit when five of her 2,000 employees were found to have deliberately hidden $24 million in losses that she was accountable for. Her "no failure" policy brought great pressure upon her employees and she failed to recognize how this leadership style affected others. It discouraged employees from bringing problems to her. She was an intense perfectionist whom others saw as intimidating and confrontational. She was extremely opinionated. Her subordinates were fearful of reporting any bad news so they lied about it.
Do you feel like what you accomplish is never quite good enough? Do projects have to be just right? Do you feel you must give more than 100 percent on everything you do or else you will be mediocre or even a failure?
Perfectionism refers to a set of self-defeating thoughts and behaviors aimed at reaching excessively high unrealistic goals. Perfectionism is often mistakenly seen in our society as desirable or even necessary for success. However, studies show that perfectionist attitudes actually interfere with success. The desire to be perfect can both rob you of a sense of personal satisfaction and cause you and others to fail to achieve as much as people who have more realistic strivings.
Janice lost her job over this situation but was later offered another chance to salvage one of the company’s smaller businesses. She realized that she needed to be much more understanding of people around her. She learned from her experience and succeeded in her next assignment with the company. The solution to becoming a transparent person is to get feedback from those around us. This is the only way we will avoid perfectionism. We must ask for the feedback and be willing to respond to input.
What would others say about your management style? Do you foster dialogue and encourage others to bring issues to your attention? Are you willing to work with your team to solve problems together?

BECOMING A MIGHTY MAN

 

"All those who were in distress or in debt or discontented gathered around him, and he became their leader. About four hundred men were with him." - 1 Samuel 22:2 Have you ever felt that you could accomplish a whole lot more if you had more talented people around you? Perhaps you are in an office and think that some of your fellow workers don't quite measure up. Imagine what David must have thought in the years following his anointing by the prophet Samuel as the next king of Israel. He spent the next many years running from King Saul. Now God was beginning to bring men to support David. But what kind of men? The down-and-out. God gave David not the elite or the sophisticated; He gave him those who were in debt and discontented with life. David turned those men into the best fighting men of their day. In fact, David never lost a battle during his entire reign as king of Israel-quite a feat for a bunch of no-name, lowlifes! Some of those men became an elite group known as David's Mighty Men. These were the elite of the elite, the Navy Seals, the Few Good Men, the Green Berets. Whatever you call them, they were exceptional warriors. Jesus took a few men who weren't exactly the cream of the crop either. He built His life into these men, which resulted in 12 men who turned the world upside down. Are you one of God's mighty men or women? Are you investing your life to build other mighty men or women? David and Jesus set the example of what can be done when we invest in others. God does extraordinary things through men who have an extraordinary God. Ask God to use your life to be a mighty man or woman for a cause greater than yourself. He delights in such prayers.

TRAINED FOR WAR

Praise be to the Lord my Rock, who trains my hands for war, my fingers for battle (Psalm 144:1)

You’ll never experience God in powerful ways by acquiring Bible knowledge alone. It is only when that knowledge is used in the heat of battle that you will know the reality of what you’ve learned intellectually. Otherwise, it remains only an exercise in spiritual gymnastics that yields little fruit.
David became a great warrior and leader of a nation at an early age. His training ground was his job as a shepherd in the open fields. When bears and lions sought to take his sheep, he personally fought them. This was his early preparation for future battles. Goliath was the real competition amongst a discerning audience to reveal how well his training prepared him.
Today, our local churches often look more like luxury cruise liners designed to tickle the ears, entertain its members and make them feel good instead of a battleship designed to train an army for war. The average member still watches from the sideline.
In sports you discover how well you handle pressure by competing. You can practice all you want but never know how you will do until you enter the game and test what you’ve learned and practiced when there is pressure added to the equation. In battle you discover how well you are trained by what you actually do on the battlefield.
Have you ever prayed with someone in public? Have you ever personally led someone to Christ? Have you ever served others for the sake of the Gospel? Have you ever taught a Bible study? If you said no to these questions—you are not engaged in the game. Today, why not ask God to give you the grace to step onto the battlefield.

BUILDING A SOLID FOUNDATION

 "And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth." - Revelation 5:10 KJV

The Bible describes two distinct roles in the Old Testament-kings and priests. Kings were the rulers; priests were the religious leaders. The New Testament reveals we all are kings and priests because of the redemptive work of Christ.
Today, kings are most often represented by business and political leaders, while pastors represent the priestly roles. God calls each of us to fulfill both roles in our lives today. However, our vocational roles often create a division that is misunderstood by both workplace believers and pastors. These misunderstandings have led to a weakened and less effective Church.
Pastors have been guilty of viewing their workplace believers as dollar signs. They sometimes see them for what they can contribute to their ministries instead of equipping them to use their gifts and talents to impact the workplace believer's mission field-their workplace.
Workplace believers have tried to get pastors to operate their churches like businesses, and have used their worldly ways for spiritual purposes. They often view the pastor as the primary ministry worker instead of taking on the responsibility themselves to do the work of the ministry.
This is a grievous sin that exists in the Body of Christ, and it requires repentance from both groups. Unless we recognize this, we will never see the reality of revival that God wants to bring to the business community, and pastors will fail to gain an ally to fully complete the work of the Church in their community.
Are you a pastor who has failed to see the calling that workplace believers have received to the workplace? If so, ask God to forgive you for viewing your workplace believers as those to be used for your own purposes.
Are you a workplace believer who sees your church as another business to be run based on worldly measurements? Do you see the pastor's role as one who is primarily responsible for the work of the ministry? If so, you must repent and ask God to forgive you of this unbiblical view. God has called both of you to fulfill His purposes together through your gifts and talents.

OVERCOMING OUR PAST

 

"Then the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jephthah." - Judges 11:29a We've all heard stories of individuals who have overcome extreme hardship during their childhood years. Children of alcoholics, orphans who never have parents, loss of parents to a fatal crash, childhood disease - these are all difficult circumstances to overcome. Jephthah was a man who overcame his obstacles and refused to allow his circumstances to prevent him from becoming great in God's sight. He was born to Gilead, a result of his father's adulterous encounter with a prostitute. Jephthah's half-brothers decided to reject Jephthah, and drove him away from their home saying, "You are not going to get any inheritance in our family because you are the son of another woman." Imagine the rejection this young man felt as he was cast away from his own family. This experience taught Jephthah to become a hardened warrior. Today he probably would have been part of a street gang. As he got older, his reputation as a warrior became known to those in his country, so much so that when the Ammonites made war on Israel, the elders of Gilead went to Jephthah and asked him to be their commander. Jephthah had to fight off those feelings of rejection from previous years. "Didn't you hate me and drive me from my father's house?" he responded. He overcame his hurt and pain, and responded to the call God had on his life. It is said that if we were to help the butterfly remove itself from the cocoon, the butterfly would not be strong enough to survive. It is the struggle that prepares the butterfly to become strong enough to fly. Without the struggle in the cocoon, it could not survive as a butterfly. The Lord prepares each of us in similar ways. Some of our childhoods seem to have been harsh and born from a seemingly unloving God. However, the Lord knows our struggle and will make our life an instrument in His hand if we will follow Him with an upright heart. He does make all things beautiful in His time if we are willing to be patient.