Being Faithful Over a Few Things

Matthew 25:21

21 His lord said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.'

                I have been mulling over being a servant for about the past month or so, and God keeps highlighting scriptures to me that give me hope to keep pressing forward. I am not going to lie I have been a bit frustrated with where I am at right now. I seem to have a large vision which God has given me, but no immediate goal set before me. Matthew 25:21 is showing that when you are faithful over a few and what seem to minor things, He will make you a ruler over many things. I have taken a position as a youth pastor at Touched By Grace recently, and I am thrilled to have the opportunity to pour into the one youth that we have. It is a privilege to water good seed in the generation that will precede me. In fact, that is the way the Body should be. We as elders should mentor the ones that are younger not only in age, but in the Lord as well. What I have been having a hard time with is the fact that I have this great vision that God has given me on what He wants to accomplish through me, and the vision seems nowhere in sight. It is amazing how our lives parallel in different seasons to different scriptures. God has been saying to me be faithful with what I have given you at this moment, for when you prove your faithfulness there is when more will come. The parable that Jesus was speaking in Matthew 25 was one of the talents. One servant was given 5 talents, the other two talents, and the other one talent. When the master came back to see what they had done with the talent that was given to them the one that had 5 multiplied it as did the servant that was given 2. On the other hand, the servant that was given 1 talent squandered their talent and buried it in fear of losing it. The person with 5 talents then got the servant’s one talent. I write all of that to say that it does not matter what God has given you in this season of your life. What matters is what you do with the talent or favor that He has extended to you. If you want more responsibility you must be faithful with what He has given you now without complaining, but with a heart of joy.

                Another person God highlighted in the Word to me about all this was the story of Stephen. He popped up somewhere in Acts 6, and died at the end as a martyr at the end of Acts 7. At the beginning of Acts 6 the disciples were getting complaints from the Hellenists that their widows were not being fed. The disciples did not have time to do this so they had to delegate to the task to others. They chose 7 men that had to be full of the Holy Spirit, one of which was mentioned was Stephen. In fact in Acts 6:5 it says that Stephen was a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit. It did not mention such things about any of the other men. Stephen’s ministry started out with serving widows food eat. Here is this man that is full of the Holy Spirit that was likely there on the Day of Pentecost serving widows food. It did not say he complained about doing so, but did what God gave him to do at the time. Stephen was proven faithful with what God had given to him. Stephen had a fire shut up in his bones and did not allow what he was given to do stop him from what the Spirit unctioned him to do. In Acts 6:8 is reads, “And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and signs among the people.” Here was a man that was faithful and fed widows now performing signs and wonders among the people. His faith even goes further than that. In the end of Acts 6 people grew upset with Stephen and plotted against him. They took him to court and had others lie against him and say that he was blaspheming God. Through the court process He basically read them the Word from the beginning all the way up to the point where he called all of the murderers of Christ. He did not hold back one bit to let these men know that they were trapped in the law of religion. He stood up for what He believed in, and who he had faith in. At the end of Acts 7 the people grew so angry with him they gnashed their teeth against him, and began to stone him. As the stone were hitting the face of this man that had the appearance of an angel (Acts 6:15) he saw open heaven and Jesus standing, not sitting, at the right hand of God. He was so faithful with what God gave him that He caused Jesus to stand up off the throne as if He was giving Stephen a standing ovation for his faithfulness. Stephen then did something more amazing than that he asked God to forgive the ones that were murdering him for they did not know what they were doing. This is such an amazing two chapters about a man that was a waiter to widows.  Stephen went from serving tables, to seeing open heavens, to having Jesus giving him a standing ovation for his faithfulness. It made me realize more it is not what God has given me now that matters, it is what I do with what He gives me. I find great importance in everything I do for Him, whether it be teaching or taking out the trash. Each task that is assigned to me is something that is given for me to prove myself faithful with a heart of joy. I am just thrilled that God has given me such an opportunity as He has, to help shape the very future of this generation.

There are so many stories in the Word that show this very idea. David had to be faithful with little before he became King. In fact, he had opportunities to take things in his own hands to become King by killing Saul but waited for God’s timing. Can you imagine what would have happened if David would have killed Saul and became King before his time? Would Jesus have been of the seed of David or somebody else? Each step in David’s life shows that he had to be given little before he was able to rule a kingdom. Another person I think of is Elisha. Elisha followed around Elijah for years on end, and there was no record at all that he was ministering or performing any type of miracle. I know he was sitting on the sidelines chomping at the bit, waiting for his opportunity to be used by God. He too waited for God’s timing and was faithful with what God gave him. He was to learn under Elijah before he could get a double portion of what Elijah had. It wasn’t until Elijah left that Elisha was able to start his ministry, and that was because he would not have had the double portion otherwise. Again, I cannot fathom what would have happened had Elisha not waited, and proved himself faithful.

Here we have a man that went from a waiter to a martyr, another man that went from a shepherd to a King, and another man that went from a student to a prophet of double portion all by being faithful with the little that God had given to them. This past month has taught me so much about how it is to be a servant, and how we need to be patient and wait on God’s timing for everything. I find great joy in being able to serve others with the knowledge that I am doing it from a heart of love, and that I am being faithful with what God has for me in this season. Yes I want more, but that is a natural desire of our hearts. God has put that desire for more in our Spirit so when the time comes we will be ones that are on fire with the vision that He supplanted in us.

Lord I pray that You continue to give us direction with where we are supposed to go. I pray that You give us ears to hear, and that we can discern Your voice. Let us hear You clearly and obey You promptly. Teach us how to be joyous and faithful with what You have given us in this season of our lives. I know the new season is here, but I ask that You give us a fresh vision of what it to come in the days ahead. I pray from open heavens of the Body in this season. I pray that we soak in Your wisdom, knowledge, and revelation. I pray that we are found faithful in Your eyes, and that we can be the Kings that You have set us out to be. Continue to mold us Lord into the perfect vessels you see us as. I love You. I worship You. I magnify Your Holy name Father. I love Your beautiful splendor, and I seal this prayer in the name of Jesus. Amen!

A Beautiful Addiction

I haven’t really had the urge to write anything in what seems to be ages, but I cannot get past something that I have been dwelling on the last month or so. Before I fell in love with God I lived a life full of addictions. I was addicted to drugs, alcohol, women, sports, adrenaline, and cigarettes. Now I have really shifted spiritually to becoming addicted to Jesus. I look at the way the world is now, and how we all seem to live lives of addiction in our own ways. I believe that we were created to be addicts, addicts of the presence of God! There is something grafted into our spirits that long to addicted to something, and when it is not God it becomes things of this world. I am not saying that we can’t like things, but we are not to become addicted to them. The definition of addicted is being compulsively or physiologically dependent on something habit-forming. We are to habitually depend on Him. Too often do we depend on man to provide for us. We are addicted to feeling empowered by voting for people on television. We are addicted to having the newest electronical device to be current with society. We are addicted to reality television, where we live vicariously through others. We are addicted to sports, because we feel as if we are a part of something great. When all the while God made us to be addicted to Him, for He is already addicted to us. His love for us is so unconditional it is mind blowing. We are the only creatures that He took the time to place His very hands on to mold us into His likeness. He has the same addictive characteristics that we do, but He harnesses it with love for us. This reality has shaken me to the very core of my existence. I am not saying we cannot partake in the things that we enjoy, but we should not allow them to be put ahead of Him in any circumstance. I cannot tell you how many times I have heard God’s voice to spend time with Him that I ignored, because an exciting sports event was going on. I was seemed to be more entertained with what I was watching on television then the reality that God wanted to spend time with me. When I gained a revelation of this it broke my heart.  Have I arrived to the point where I run away from every enticing gaming event yet? No, unfortunately not but I have realized what I am doing. I am progressively getting better, and aside from playoff time I rarely watch sports as much as I used to. All I am saying is if watching a television show or a movie is more important than time with we God you need a reality check. God is more entertaining than anything in this world. I am still trying to get my head to catch up with my spirit on that, but I know that it is truth. How is a God of joy boring? How is a God that created all things dull? He isn’t He is the most entertaining Person in the world, and we have become addicted to false entertainment.

                I began to really look at those in the Bible that gave everything to Him, and lived a life after God. Back then they did not have all the bombardment of their sense that we have today, but they did have the choice to be addicted to God or not. I look at David and think to myself what makes a man write as many Psalms as he did. It was no other reason than the fact that He was addicted to the loving presence of God. David was so enamored with God that all He did was daydream about Him all day (Psalms 27:4). He would sit and sing praises to God, because of an addiction. Here is the future king of Israel who could have had any form of entertainment to His liking, and He chose to be entertained by God and God alone. Next I move to Daniel, who was thrown into a lion’s den for refusing to give up praying to God. Here was a man that was basically second in command of the Persian Empire at the time (Daniel 6) who was willing to give it all up, even to death, because of his addiction to God. Daniel could not give up his time of prayer, because I believe that he needed it to survive. It was as though he could no longer live if he could not communicate with his addiction. We need to allow ourselves to be allured into the place where we are addicted to worshiping God, praying with God, and in essence communing with Him. Now I move to Stephen who was accused of being a false witness of Christ. This man lived with a sole purpose of carrying out what God had set before him. He was falsely accused, and when brought to court gave one of the most powerful speeches I have read in the Word. He did not waver one inch from the very convictions in his heart, or give one ounce of instability to what he knew as truth. He got stoned to death, and even in that moment he looked to the heavens and asked God to forgive them (Acts 7). Each of these men faced grave adversity, which at most times led to dire consequences. When you are addicted to the God nothing else in this earth matter, because when it is all said in done everything but Him is just dust. We need our eyes opened to the very reality of what we long, and if it isn’t Him we need an awakening. Addiction is in our very DNA because God put it there hoping and longing that we would use it the way He does. He uses the addiction in Himself to love us, and we were made to do the very same. I know people that are addicted to relationships, and this is just a parallelism of what it is supposed to be like. Instead of wanting to be in a relationship with others, whether platonic or romantic, burn to be in a relationship with the One that will love you more than anyone else ever could. He is looking for the Bride once again that will be addicted to Him. In other words, He is looking for the burning ones to arise. To be addicted to Him is to be a burning one for Him.

                Lord I pray that You grip us with the reality of addiction. I pray that You help purge out all addiction in our lives, and that we are only addicted to You Father. Put a holy addiction deep within this nation Father. Let the youth arise with an addiction to You instead of addictions to things of this world. We can no longer be held back by sensory pleasing things, for You are the ultimate pleasure. I pray that all of the senses that You have given us be awakened to find goodness in You. Let us be able to use these senses the way You originally intended them to be. Let us use are eyes to see Your beautiful face, our ears to hear Your thundering voice, our nose to smell Your sweet fragrance, our tongues to taste the honey of Your Word, and our hands to touch Your heart for us. Awaken us God, and let us be gripped with an addiction to You. Let us not be able to go a moment without yearning for Your presence. Let us learn to tap into Your presence wherever we are. We want more of You Father. Take us deeper than ever before. Show us something new that we have never seen. We want Your embrace. We want Your hands to engulf us once again. Our hearts our crying out for a new addiction, and we want that addiction to be You. 

Are They Worth It?

               During the last and final retreat as an intern I had an experience with God that really changed my perspective of quite a few things. This experience was unlike any experience I had ever had in my entire life. I really hit a deep level of intercession midway through Saturday night. I was praying for the women that were coming into the throne room. For those who were not at the Retreat or have any idea of what I am referring to let me explain. We do Retreats with visual aids to help show people what God is trying to convey. All we are doing is giving a visual representation. This time we had a throne room on stage with a throne seated in the middle, and when the ladies would walk down the aisle a person playing Jesus would extend a scepter to them, and tell them to touch it. If you don’t understand just read the book of Esther and it will explain it all. Anyway back to the experience that I had with God. I was praying to God saying, “Lord let them feel Your heartbeat. Wrap them up in Your heart Daddy. Reveal Your true love to them”. It was a very simple prayer, but the more I prayed it the stronger I felt His love. I later moved from the stairs where I was praying into the throne room on stage in a corner. There is where I continued to pray, and His love became so overwhelming I began to weep. I was completely wrapped in the heart of God. I could feel His actual heart pulsating loudly for each person that came on stage. He then asked me, “Are they worth it”. We a loud wail I responded “Yes, each one of them are worth it. They are worth everything”.

                The past two years have been a lot of hard work, and at times it didn’t seem that there was much reward or fruit so to speak. It is a good thing that I understand that my treasures are not stored here on earth, but in heavenly places (Matthew 6:19-20). In reality I could be upset that I have a degree and am not using it. I could be upset that these past two years I could be making forty plus thousand a year instead of living off sponsorships. I am not upset one bit. In fact, I am beyond blessed. I gained a revelation that night that no dollar amount could replace. Being in the ministry is not about me one bit, it is about those that I serve. Being a leader means being a servant to those that you lead. My life is to be dedicated to others. My life is to be dedicated to plowing the field for the younger generations that are coming after me. Each struggle and act of obedience is all worth it if just one life is changed in the process. I want the young ones behind me to know the love of God deeper than me. This isn’t about how anointed I am, or wanting nobody I serve to seem more anointed than me. It is about being a disciple to others, building them up, and encouraging them to be who God called them to be. I still have selfish mindsets from time to time, but they are less frequent than they used to be. I am now a youth pastor, and with that responsibility proceeds. My actions could possibly dictate how young people view God. Each person in this world is worth all the blood, sweat, and tears that I have poured out thus far. I have absolutely nothing to give, but what the Father puts in me to.

When I felt the very heartbeat of God for those women it tore me apart. He loves each of us so much our minds cannot even begin to fathom such a love. It was so overwhelming. I wept and interceded for hours. Now I know how John felt when He had to give a description of what the throne room of God was like in Revelation 4. There is no human words I can put in plain text to describe this experience I had. It was like a high that I have never felt before. I was intoxicated in His love. He kept asking over and over, “Are they worth it? Is she worth it?” I continued to cry out “Yes”. The more women that came through the more powerful I could feel His love. It was like I wasn’t even on earth. My body was there, but my Spirit was with Him. He let me feel His heart. He let me hear what His heartbeat sounds like. It is an extremely loud beat that seems to say I love you. If we can only understand that our walk is not for us, but for others. Jesus did not even come here to be served, but to serve. Jesus, the Son of God, came to earth and washed the feet of His disciples (John 13:1-17). He is altogether meek and lowly, yet we have ministers that are building a platform for themselves. We need to remember that there is no higher name in this world than the name of Jesus. He is the King of Kings, and if He has the highest name and served others why are we not doing the same. What if Christ said, “You know Father, I just don’t think they are worth it”. I can say that I do not even want to think about that situation. As Christians (which means followers of Christ) need to live up to what we say we are. If you call yourself a Christian actually walk as He walked. This again all stems from love, and understanding that we are not here for ourselves, but for others. Our revelation of God is not even for us, but is to be used to transform us into Christ and to share with others in hope that they gain a revelation of Him as well. My heart is breaking for the Body. We are so lost in ourselves; we have lost the true meaning of why we are here. In Matthew 23:11 Jesus says, “But he who is greatest among you shall be your servant”. Jesus was not one to embellish or exaggerate anything. He truly meant everything that He said. If you want to be greater you have to serve. We need the cry of “They are worth it” to arise once again. I am not different I need this cry as well. Let us gain an understanding of His heart for us and for others. He loves us more than life itself, and proved that on the cross.

Lord I pray that You awaken a cry in us for the people in this earth. Awaken a Body that lives to serve as You served. Lord let us learn meekness from Jesus. Let us feel Your very heart beating for us and for others. Lord I pray that we cast aside all selfish ambition of being the greatest at this and that, and You instill a heart in us to build up others over ourselves. Lord awaken a deeper love for You in this generation. Father we need the eyes of our understanding enlightened so that we can gain a better knowledge of who You are, and not what we want You to be. Lord let each person that reads this feel Your very heartbeat deeper than what I experienced. Lord let us understand that all of us are anointed children of You, and that You have put Your words in our very mouths. Let us understand that You love us so much that You knew us before we were formed in Your womb. I can feel Your fiery love right now Father. Pour this love through this page, transform lives, mend hearts, and establish a Bride that walks as You walked. I can feel Your heart again Father. I can hear the melodic pounding resounding with the words I love you. Overwhelm us Father with Your presence. They are worth it Father, worth it all. My life means nothing if I cannot pour out what You have given me. I seal this prayer in Jesus name. Amen!

It's a process

Romans 6:1-2

1 WHAT SHALL we say [to all this]? Are we to remain in sin in order that God's grace (favor and mercy) may multiply and overflow?

2 Certainly not! How can we who died to sin live in it any longer?

                I think Paul said it the best way possible in this scripture when he states that just because God’s grace abounds, it does not give us an excuse to continue to sin. He later states that we cannot continue to live in sin if we die to it. The further I get in this journey with God the more I realize that it is really all just a process. Yes, I still screw up from time to time. Yes, I miss God every so often, but that does not mean that I am not a righteous man of God. I am beginning to realize that I am going to screw up every now and again, but God’s grace is not an excuse to do so.  I strive to become as Christ like as possible, but I have to face the fact that I am not Him, but He is in me. Him in me is what makes me perfect, and there is nothing I can do in my own strength to be perfect. He has taken me so far from where I was at a few years ago; it really befuddles me that I used to be the person who I was. My ideologies were so worldly based that I was a product of this world instead of being who I really was, a product of God. I, as most people are, am my worst critic. I am constantly getting on myself about things that I do or say that are not Christ like. If I am not careful I judge myself, and do the one thing God frowns on the most, I begin to grow disdain of who I am. The one thing God wants is for us to love who we are. He created us a certain way, and instead of being hard on ourselves we need to realize that this walk is a process. We are to be constantly growing closer to Him. We walk through things so that we can grow in Him. I do not know one person that is mighty in God that has not been through some major trials in their lives. If we want to ascend closer to holiness, we need to go through some crap. I am not coming to you with eloquence of speech, but with the voice that God gave me (1 Corinthians 2:1). This has been something that I have been dealing with for quite some time. Like I said before I am not perfect, and I miss God sometimes but that will never make me forget who I am, a righteous royal heir of God. Knowing that God has mercy on me does not make me feel fine with sinning any longer, but in fact draws me closer to Him because of His love to show mercy. His love is so unconditional it really blows my mind. As Lavonne states quite often, “In spite of me, God loves me.” I know that I have nothing without Him. I have no power, I have no knowledge, and I have nothing without Him. He is my creator and is constantly purging me in this process to be more like Him. He is who we were created to be like. He stated in Genesis 1 that He created us in His own likeness. We need to not worry about how imperfect we are, but focus on this beautiful process that He is taking us through. I am by no means limiting God that He cannot purge somebody into perfection instantaneously, but I am stating that with me it is a process.

                The definition of a process is something that is subject to a process or treatment, with the aim of readying for some purpose, improving, or remedying a condition. He is constantly treating and molding us for a purpose. This is why in Isaiah He states that God is the potter and we are the clay (Isaiah 64:8). With each step and decision of our lives He is molding us with His very own hands to create a perfect vessel that He places Himself in. I believe that there are seasons in our life where we are being shaped in different ways so that we can consume who He is for what we have to go through. In fact, each season of our life is like this. He never gives us more than we can handle. The fact that He is shaping me with His hands through each step of my life brings me an overwhelming sense of joy. That scripture alone makes this process much more bearable. He loves us so much that if we allow Him to, He will always have His hands on us molding us into His image. We need to not hate that process, but to only embrace it. I have never seen a pot that looked beautiful in the beginning stages of its molding. It was only after the completion and purifying fire that the vessel looked perfect and beautiful.

                Here is another analogy God gave me. It reminds me a bit of Psalms 1:3 where those that are after God are planted as trees near the river. I was sleeping one night this past week and He woke me up and told me the process of the growth of an oak tree. He told me, “An oak does not grow large in a day. It starts out as a mere seed, and it gets watered, and it gets sun, then it sprouts and takes root.” In this process with God, we start off as a small seed that gets planted in soil. The soil represents the Word of God that we are to take root in which produces strength. The water represents the Holy Spirit, and the sun represents the Son of God. As we grow in the Word, and become able to discern the Holy Spirit we begin to sprout closer to the Son. If you think about it the taller an oak tree gets the closer it gets to the sun. This is the same thing in the spiritual realm. The more we grow in the Word and understanding of God the more we become Christ like. Through this process we are building a closer relationship with God.

                God I just want to pray that we all gain understanding that this walk is a process. I pray that we gain the revelation that each day we move closer to you. I pray that we let the Holy Spirit guide us, and let us learn how have our ears opened to hear Your voice. Give us an increase of wisdom and discernment in our lives Lord. Let us love ourselves the same way that You do, so that when we slip up we can learn from the experience and grow in You. I pray that You break me, shape me, and mold me in Your hands so that I can be the perfect vessel You see me as. Let us all gain an understanding that we all have clay feet, and in a gaining of this understanding we show others the same mercy that You show us. I pray that our soul longing is for You, and only You. I pray that this generation be gripped by Your hands so that they too can begin the process of becoming like You. Let us understand that Your mercy is not to be taken for granted, but to drive us deeper into Your heart. I cannot pray for anything but for this generation to know Your heartbeat. Holy Spirit water us so that His hands can more easily mold us as clay. Amen!