Entrustment and Expectation

All of us have been made aware of the tragic shipwreck of the Costa Concordia.

The Italian cruise ship Costa Concordia[p 1] partially sank on the night of 13 January 2012 after hitting a reef off the Italian coast and running aground at Isola del Giglio,[p 2] Tuscany, requiring the evacuation of the 4,252 people on board. Twenty-five people are known to be dead;[3] 64 others were injured[5] (at least two seriously)[6] and 7 are missing.[3] Two passengers and a crewmember trapped inside were rescued in the days after the incident.[5][7]

Captain Francesco Schettino[p 3] had deviated from the ship's computer-programmed route to treat people on Giglio Island to the spectacle of a close sail-past or near-shore salute.

Ship's officers at first told passengers that the problem was a reparable "electrical fault" and told inquiring maritime officials that the event was merely a "black out". The captain delayed preparations to abandon ship, and the ship developed a list, both which factors hindered eventual evacuation attempts. Soon after grounding, the ship listed more extremely, trapping people inside. Meanwhile, the captain left the ship during the evacuation and did not reboard despite orders by maritime officials. After the event, Schettino was arrested on preliminary charges of multiple manslaughter in connection with causing a shipwreck, failing to assist 300 passengers, and failing to be the last to leave the wreck.[8] He was later additionally charged with failing to describe to maritime authorities the scope of the disaster[9], a matter for which 7 other officers and managers of Costa Cruises are under investigation, and with abandoning incapacitated passengers[10]. Source: Wikipedia

Captain Schettino was entrusted with the lives of 4, 252 people and the expectation of every one of them was that he would use his abilities to navigate the ship safely to every port on the journey. Sadly and tragically he failed and lives have been lost.

Entrustment and expectation are part of our lives as believers and tonight I want to look at a couple of teachings of Jesus regarding these two things.

Jesus taught 2 parables that emphasized entrustment and expectation. The first one is found in Matthew 25:13-30

Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour. "For it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted to them his property. To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them, and he made five talents more. So also he who had the two talents made two talents more. But he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master's money. Now after a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them. And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying,'Master, you delivered to me five talents; here I have made five talents more.' His master said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.' And he also who had the two talents came forward, saying, 'Master, you delivered to me two talents; here I have made two talents more.' His master said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.' He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying, 'Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed, so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.'

But his master answered him, 'You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I scattered no seed? Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest. For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'

Three slaves were entrusted with the property of the master. Each was given as much as they could handle or they had the ability to handle. The amount of money given was huge. A talent was the equivalent of 6000 denarii. A denarii was a day’s wage. Do the math: 6000/365=16.4 years of wages. If the median income in the USA is about $50,000 this would mean that the slave who was given the least amount of money was given the equivalent of $821,917; 2 talents=$1,643,834 and 5 talents = $4,109,585. No small sums of money by any measure. Each of the slaves was entrusted with a lot of money based on their ability as determined by the master.

The master had no expectations laid out to the slaves other than he trusted them to do whatever they wanted with the money and use it wisely. The money was given to them to develop their abilities more than anything else. The Master could have placed financial goals for each of them but he let them determine what they would do.

The response of the three slaves is interesting. The one who had 5 talents “went off at once” and doubled his money by trading. He was highly motivated and wasted no time using the money to make more money. He found opportunities to put his talent to use and profited. He recognized the opportunity that was before him and took advantage of it. He took the risk of trading his talents in order to gain more. He was prepared for the challenge and when the opportunity was presented he went for it and was rewarded.

The second slave with 2 talents doubled his amount as well over the course of time. I believe the first 2 slaves had a desire to please the master by using the talents to gain more while the third slave did not want to disappoint the master by losing the money given to him. The slave who was given the least went off and dug a hole, to hide the money because he feared losing it and if he did would experience the wrath of the master. This slave was unwilling to take a risk or make a change. He wanted everything to be just as it was and the best way to accomplish this was to bury the money in a secure place.

If you are a sports fan you know that a team can play with the attitude of playing to win or with the attitude of playing to not lose. One is willing to take risks and pour themselves into the game to score more points while the other is simply trying to maintain what they have and keep the other team from scoring.

Like these 3 slaves we have been entrusted with many things in life that are given to us from the Lord. Virtually everything we have is given to us by the grace of God. God thinks highly of us enough to entrust us with the work of his Kingdom using the talents he has given us. We are free to do whatever we want with the things God has entrusted to us but there is an expectation that we will use them wisely and profitably. God gives us freedom in how we will use our gifts but the expectation is that we will use them profitably for the work of his Kingdom and the glory of God. In using these talents we are developing our ability to be entrusted with even greater responsibility and privileges in the Kingdom.

Some of you know what your abilities are and others are still learning what they have been given by the Lord. These abilities open doors of opportunity for us to be used of God. The master knew the capabilities and the abilities of each of the slaves and gave them responsibility accordingly. God knows what we are capable of doing and often he challenges us by presenting opportunities that we may not feel that we are fully prepared to meet. We must always remember that we are partnering with God and with God all things are possible. We can dream big things when we know who is working with us. When the Holy Spirit fell upon the believers it was the fulfillment of Joel’s prophecy that dreams and visions would be given to us. Dream with God and allow him to prepare you for the work he has for you. When preparation meets opportunity there is the possibility of ministry. Ministry happens only when we act upon the opportunity. But as we move forward to use the talents we have, God helps us grow in these abilities to be able to be successful in our work and mission.

The perception of the master was different from each other. The first 2 had a different image of the master while the third had a distorted image that influenced how he would respond. Perhaps the first 2 knew that the master would reward them because he was a trusting and generous man. The third slave saw his master as a thief, one who takes away from others.

Our perception of God has a tremendous influence on what we are willing to do and the motivation we have for doing it. If we serve God based on an accurate understanding of his character and nature and truly out of love for him, we will desire to be a blessing to his kingdom we will look for opportunities and take risks to serve his purposes. If we have a warped view of God being a thief or unjust we will most likely stay hidden from him, fearing he will punish us if we step out of line. We will play it safe or not play at all.

When we realize what we have been given and the truth about the nature of God, our next decision is what we will do with the knowledge, gifts and abilities God has entrusted to us. The first two slaves responded with ambition and desire to please the master. The third slave was called “slothful” by his master. The word “slothful” means “shrinking, irksome”, he was drawing back, retreating and avoiding what he should have done. Irksome means annoying , irritating. He took the easy way out, was unwilling to take a risk, unwilling to take a step of faith to use what he had been given. He could have done great things with the money and made his master proud but because he was lazy he did nothing. What a tragedy to live your life in fear, misperception and in laziness. I read an article entitled “5 Core Values of a Church in Decline” in which the author listed the number one value is laziness. The author stated, “Most people of churches are not “stuck” in decline because they do not know or understand what the Lord wants them to do. God speaks very clearly in his Word and through his Spirit-it’s just that God’s work always requires people to take a step of faith.”

Everyone here has taken a step of faith to be here. There were a lot of unknowns but you came to be used of God, offering your gifts and abilities and developing new abilities. You have taken a step of faith and have seen God provide for you as you have taken advantage of opportunities that are presented to you. What you have learned can serve as an inspiration to many in the church who are fearful, have a warped view of God, and perhaps are lazy. We have to be the ones who serve as the catalyst to spur others to do good works. Some need to be encouraged regarding the abilities they have. Some need training to be able to use their gifts. Some need to see the opportunities that are available to them. And some may need someone to help push them into the ministry. Sometimes the best thing that can happen to us is the removal of our security with the absence of someone who we have depended on to do the task.

A couple of years ago I arranged to go to India with an evangelist. He had planned to be in Chennia for 3 days doing ministry and then we would move on to the site where the 5 night gospel and healing crusade would be held. I thought I would just be helping him in whatever way I could and I planned to visit the YWAM base in Chennai. On the day of my departure from Guatemala I was waiting at the coffee house for my shuttle when I received a phone call from the evangelist. He remembered that I was leaving that day and called to tell me he had broken his hip playing racquetball and needed an operation and would not be able to go to India. He asked if I could change my ticket to go at another time and I said I would look into it. He then said if he could find someone to go with me he would not cancel the crusades he had set up. He was able to get someone to go with me who had gone with him several times so the crusades were back on. He had arranged the meetings in Chennai and told me that he would cancel them which was fine with me as it would give me more time to be at the YWAM base and see their ministry. When I arrived in Chennai I received a phone call from the pastor who served as the director of the ministry and made all the arrangements for the evangelist. He informed me that the 3 special meeting the evangelist was going to do at a church of 40,000 people were not going to be cancelled and that I would be doing them! One of the meetings was a seminar on evangelism, another meeting was preaching at the church service on Sunday and the final was a healing service on Monday night. I was okay with the first 2 meetings but the healing service was something I had never done before. I watched the evangelist and the other minister do it but had never done it myself. It was new turf for me and God was entrusting a ministry to me that I did not feel very capable or qualified to do. I felt a little pushed into the opportunity but it all worked out and God came through and healed many people as I stepped out in faith to do what was presented to me. It was an amazing experience and I am grateful for the preparation I had and the opportunity that was presented to me.

The other aspect of this parable that should be an encouragement to each of us was the rewards they received. The master commended the first two servants. 'Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.'

The slave with the most money was rewarded and commended by the master when he returned after a long time. He was given more responsibility because he had done well and proved his trustworthiness. The second slave was also commended and rewarded with greater responsibility. It is interesting that the master viewed the amount of money he entrusted to them as “a little”. I don’t know about you but both amounts of money are more than I have ever been responsible for. Yet in the master’s perception it was only a small amount of money compared to the wealth he must have had. Because he had such great wealth he was able to give them more to be responsible for managing.

The third slave was chastised and called wicked and slothful because he did not act according to his understanding even though it was misguided. His perception of his master was not accurate but even if it was he should have at least but it in the bank to earn interest and keep the principal safe. His money was taken away and given to the one with 10 talents and he was banished to the outer darkness.

The master was pleased with the work of the servants and commended them for it. I want these words to be said of the work I do for the Lord to please him. The servants were given greater responsibilities by the master because they had proven themselves to be faithful and trustworthy. As we fulfill the ministries God has given us, God will give us greater responsibilities. He is a rewarder of those who are faithful, trustworthy and use their talents and abilities.

The second parable Jesus taught about entrustment and expectation is found in Luke 12:42-48

And the Lord said, "Who then is the faithful and wise manager, whom his master will set over his household, to give them their portion of food at the proper time? Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes. Truly, I say to you, he will set him over all his possessions. But if that servant says to himself, 'My master is delayed in coming,' and begins to beat the male and female servants, and to eat and drink and get drunk, the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know, and will cut him in pieces and put him with the unfaithful. And that servant who knew his master's will but did not get ready or act according to his will, will receive a severe beating. But the one who did not know, and did what deserved a beating, will receive a light beating. Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more.

The master left and entrusted the servant with these responsibilities of running his household and providing food for the workers at the right time. The expectation of the master was that the servant would be faithful to do what was expected of him. When he returned and found the servant faithful and trustworthy to carry out the responsibilities he would reward him by giving him greater responsibilities.

When the master did not return quickly the servant decided to take advantage of his power and position and use it to beat the servants rather than care for them. He lost his focus in his ministry and spent his time partying. The servant misused his authority for his own pleasure which was quite perverted. This continues to happen today in ministries in which people in positions of authority think they deserve special treatment or think they can violate God’s standards and expectations. Recently a pastor in Florida was found dead in a hotel in NYC from a drug overdose. He had a church of 4000 people and had been divorced by his wife while he was in the ministry because of a relationship he had ongoing with a stripper. It was a tragic end to a life that had been used by God to help many people.

There are all kinds of temptations for those who are in ministry. It seems as though the enemy targets people in ministry to pull them down and bring discredit to the ministry. He uses the lie that you are special, you can get away with things because God understands your needs and pressures and that you can use your status and power to control and manipulate people for your own satisfaction. Many are tempted with money thinking that they have to present an image of success which is equated to possession in order to prove they are blessed by God for what they are doing. Money is used for personal gain and all too often there is a display of extravagance by people in leadership positions.

The servant lost sight of his focus and purpose and focused on his own selfish desires. This is another ploy of the enemy to put ourselves above others and seek to meet our needs at the expense of others. We have to be focused on ministering unto the Lord first and then ministering to the needs of people in a way that honors the Lord and honors the people we are serving.

The servant in this parable was only accountable to his master and since he was not around, he took advantage of it to do things he would not have done in the presence of the master. Who were are when authorities are absent or when we are in private or what we do when no one else is watching is the real test of our character. We have to guard ourselves from ourselves by using self-control and establishing high standards along with accountability. We cannot make any provision for the flesh to rise up and be satisfied. We cannot put ourselves into situations that lend themselves to compromise and sin. Many in ministry have fallen into sin because they did not keep their guard and were sucked into temptation and evil.

The master returned unexpectantly and found out what the servant was doing. For us as believers God is always present, he sees all and knows the thoughts and motivations of our hearts. We are not getting away with anything, we will reap what we sow. We are called to live lives of holiness and purity before the Lord. In all that we do our primary goal is to bring glory to God by representing him for who he is.

Jesus ended the parable by saying, “Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more.”

The more the Lord entrusts to us the more he expects from us. He is worthy of our best efforts, our best use of our gifts and talents for his Kingdom. God gave us his best, how can we do any less?

We will all give an account for our lives on judgment day when our works will be judged for their quality. God has entrusted us with the work of the ministry and his expectation is that we will give our best efforts to use our gifts for his glory. Someone once said, “Your abilities are God’s gifts to you. How you use them is your gift to God.”

Intimacy and Ministry

The birth of a vision or ministry flows out of an intimate relationship with God. Moses spent a great amount of time with God on Mt. Sinai. Three different times he spent 40 days with God and during this time he was given instructions on the laws the Israelites would need to follow to be his people. Moses was also given the task of building the tabernacle in the wilderness. While he was spending time on Mt. Sinai with God, he was given very detailed instruction on everything that was needed for its construction. Detailed measurements, types of material and how they were to be used were revealed to Moses.

When it came time to build the tabernacle Moses did not need to do too much to receive everything that was needed to build it. The people gave with willing hearts, hearts that were stirred; spirits that were moved to provide all that was needed. Not only did they give of their resources several of the men and women used their talents to make the fabrics needed for the coverings as well as make the objects needed for the tabernacle. Many of the materials were given to them by the Egyptians prior to there departure. They freely gave of their time, talent and treasures to invest in the work of the tabernacle.

Exo 35:21-27 And they came, everyone whose heart stirred him, and everyone whose spirit moved him, and brought the LORD's contribution to be used for the tent of meeting, and for all its service, and for the holy garments. So they came, both men and women. All who were of a willing heart brought brooches and earrings and signet rings and armlets, all sorts of gold objects, every man dedicating an offering of gold to the LORD. And every one who possessed blue or purple or scarlet yarns or fine linen or goats' hair or tanned rams' skins or goatskins brought them. Everyone who could make a contribution of silver or bronze brought it as the LORD's contribution. And every one who possessed acacia wood of any use in the work brought it. And every skillful woman spun with her hands, and they all brought what they had spun in blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen. All the women whose hearts stirred them to use their skill spun the goats' hair. And the leaders brought onyx stones and stones to be set, for the ephod and for the breastpiece, and spices and oil for the light, and for the anointing oil, and for the fragrant incense. All the men and women, the people of Israel, whose heart moved them to bring anything for the work that the LORD had commanded by Moses to be done, brought it as a freewill offering to the LORD.

God has a vision and ministry for each one of us. He has a place for each one of us to serve. As we spend time with God he speaks to us about the focus and ministry he has for our lives. God uses many different ways to present an opportunity or need that will stir a desire for ministry. We may see a need or we read about it or we hear a report or perhaps we have a dream or vision from God and something is stirred in our heart to respond. Sometimes everything is laid out pretty clearly for us and other times there is an unveiling as we move forward in faith to do the next thing God shows us to do.

I believe that this is how the work of God’s kingdom should be done. It begins with spending time with God, seeking him in prayer, developing an intimate relationship with him. As we develop our relationship with him, he can entrust ministries to us. He stirs our hearts to respond to a need that must be met or ministry that he wants us to pursue. This is a pattern we see in the lives of many people who God has called into ministry. They are presented with a need, their hearts are stirred by it and they freely give of their time, treasure and talent to meet that need and God raises up others who will share in the vision through their participation. Moses did not have the ability or resources to build the tabernacle by himself; he needed the help of others to make it happen. Moses responded in obedience to what he needed to do and God was faithful to raise up the support he needed to complete the task. It became a community project and all whose hearts were stirred became a part of it.

David had a very intimate relationship with God. He loved the Lord and wanted to build a temple to replace the tabernacle Moses had constructed. His heart was stirred to build a temple even though he knew that God did not need it. Though he was told he would not be the builder of it, God allowed him to make the designs and gather the materials that would be needed as well as the skilled laborers who would do the work from all of the contacts he had developed during his years ruling as King. When Solomon built the temple the people gave freely and generously of the materials that were needed. It too became a community project.

Nehemiah was stirred in his heart to do something about the shame of the people in Jerusalem and the condition of walls of Jerusalem that had been destroyed by the Babylonians. When he heard the report from Hanani he was stirred or moved in his spirit to do something. He sought God in prayer for forgiveness for his people who had rebelled and brought the disaster upon themselves and he prayed for guidance from God as to how he should respond to the need.

Neh 1:1-11 The words of Nehemiah the son of Hacaliah. Now it happened in the month of Chislev, in the twentieth year, as I was in Susa the capital, that Hanani, one of my brothers, came with certain men from Judah. And I asked them concerning the Jews who escaped, who had survived the exile, and concerning Jerusalem. And they said to me, "The remnant there in the province who had survived the exile is in great trouble and shame. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates are destroyed by fire." As soon as I heard these words I sat down and wept and mourned for days, and I continued fasting and praying before the God of heaven. And I said, "O LORD God of heaven, the great and awesome God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, let your ear be attentive and your eyes open, to hear the prayer of your servant that I now pray before you day and night for the people of Israel your servants, confessing the sins of the people of Israel, which we have sinned against you. Even I and my father's house have sinned. We have acted very corruptly against you and have not kept the commandments, the statutes, and the rules that you commanded your servant Moses. Remember the word that you commanded your servant Moses, saying, 'If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the peoples, but if you return to me and keep my commandments and do them, though your outcasts are in the uttermost parts of heaven, from there I will gather them and bring them to the place that I have chosen, to make my name dwell there.' They are your servants and your people, whom you have redeemed by your great power and by your strong hand. O Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of your servant, and to the prayer of your servants who delight to fear your name, and give success to your servant today, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man." Now I was cupbearer to the king.

All that we do has to be bathed in prayer. It is easy for us to see a need and want to immediately do something without going to the Lord to seek his wisdom on what he wants to do and how he wants us to do it. At times our zeal to do something causes us to act before we ask God for wisdom. We use our limited knowledge and experience to try to carry out the work and we fail. In Nehemiah’s situation he waited and prayed before he presented his need to the King. Seeking God in prayer is not an easy thing for most people. We tend to rely on our own wisdom or the wisdom of someone else instead of seeking God for his way of doing things. We always must remember that we are doing His work and not our work. Hudson Taylor said, “God’s work, done in God’s way will have God’s provision.”

In YWAM’s history, Loren Cunnigham the founder of the organization told of how he totally missed God and spent millions of dollars purchasing a ship that he thought would be a great addition to YWAM only to discover that God was not in the purchase and he was acting presumptuously. He had to humble himself before the Lord and repent of his lack of seeking God. The ship sounded like a great idea but it was not what God wanted for YWAM at that time. We have to be careful to seek the Lord in prayer and be willing to lay down our ideas when we find out that they are not God’s ideas. Loren admitted that he had become prideful and made the decision with wrong motivations.

When it is God’s idea he has birthed in your heart, he will be faithful to direct your steps as you seek him in prayer. Nehemiah sought God and was given the strategy how to rebuild the walls and unify the people. Step by step he carried out God’s plan and even though he encountered opposition along the way, God gave him success.

He needed permission from the King to leave his job to fulfill the desire of his heart. Neh. 2:5

He needed safe passage. Neh. 2:7

He needed building materials. Neh. 2:8

He needed workers who would dedicate themselves to the task. Neh. 2:17, 18

He needed wisdom to know how to handle opposition. Neh. 4:1-5

He needed protection while working. Neh. 4:14-23

Nehemiah built the wall in 52 days. God gave him success.

God is always faithful to do his part; he wants us to be successful in carrying out his work. He guides each of us as we submit ourselves to prayer and to seeking his face.

Each of you if you has or will have a testimony of how God called you, directed you and provided for you if you are willing to seek him in prayer and respond in faith and obedience to what he asks you to do.

John Lake (1870-1935) was a very successful businessman who left his business to pursue full-time ministry. God called him through a vision in 1908 to go to South Africa.

He had no contacts in South Africa and had no money to take his family of seven there. Yet he knew that God had clearly spoken through a vision for him to go and he knew that God would be his provider.

Lake invited a friend and his family to go with him and they had no money either. They prayed about the money and the Lord spoke to Lake’s friend and said they had the money to go. Within a few days they received $2000 in the mail and they had all the money they needed to buy their train and ship fare to get to S. Africa.

On the train ride to get to the port, they met a lady who needed to buy a ticket to get on another train. They took the lady to buy her ticket even though they had no money. While in line a man responding in obedience to the Lord, came up and gave him $10 and this was just what the lady needed to buy her ticket.

While on the boat they had very little money to spend and had only $.25 when they arrived in England. They had to wait a couple of days to transfer to a different boat that would take them to S. Africa and they needed to do their laundry but they did not have enough money to do it. They decided to send their clothing in to be washed and trusted the Lord to provide for the payment. After a couple of days they needed to pick up their laundry but they still had no money to pay for the service. Lake went on a walk and prayed about the need and while walking a man came up to him and gave him enough money to pay for his laundry and have a little extra.

When they got to S. Africa, the immigration office told him he needed $125 to be able to enter the country. Lake got in line to see the immigration officer even though he had no money. A man who was behind him in line asked if he could talk with him in private so they stepped out of line. The man gave him $200 out of obedience to God speaking to him.

Lake still had no contacts once they passed through immigration. They saw a lady from America standing outside of immigration. His friend Tom was in front of him and the lady walked up to him and asked him how many were in his family, he replied 4 and she said you are not the one I am supposed to meet. She proceeded to talk to Dr. Lake and asked the same question. He replied 9 and she said you are the one. God spoke to her the night before that she was to go to immigration where she would meet a missionary family of 9 from America and give them a home to stay in while in S. Africa.

Talk about a faith builder not only for Lake and the other family but also for the people who God strategically put in their pathway who responded in obedience to meet needs that some did not even know existed. They gave willingly and generously to a person they did not even know. John Lake went on to have a tremendous ministry in S. Africa but without the help of the people who gave in obedience to the Lord it may not have happened or may have been delayed.

Loren Cunningham has many testimonies of God’s miraculous provision for the needs of the ministry. One of the most profound was how God responded to a crisis situation at the base in Kona, Hawaii. Loren was not part of the problem but when the debt amounted to several million dollars he was consulted for wisdom to know what should be done. Loren sought the Lord in prayer and while praying felt led of God to call a businessman who had been a great supporter of YWAM. As Loren was walking to the phone to call the man, the phone rang and it was the person Loren was going to call. The man told Loren that the Lord had spoke to him that he needed to call him and find out what he needed. Loren told him of the need for several million dollars to resolve the crisis situation and after a short pause the man said he would send the money.

God never has a financial crisis; he has storehouses at his disposal to meet our needs. Prayer is our first and greatest responsibility to fulfill the vision God has placed in our hearts. Our lives have to be marked by prayer, seeking God in all of our decisions and for all of the needs that are presented as we step out in faith to carry out the vision.

Men and women who have accomplished great things for God have been people of prayer. Andrew Murray in his book on prayer stated “prayerlessness is sin.” All too often we substitute busyness for prayer. We think we can accomplish more by spending less time in prayer. We rise in the morning and get to work often forgetting to spend time in prayer about what we are going to be doing during the day. Jesus set the example of the need for prayer when he rose early to go to a private place to spend time in prayer.

Mark 1:35 And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed.

I don’t think this was a one time event for Jesus but it was a regular part of his life. He separated himself from all the distractions and demands of people to be able to spend time with God and find out what God wanted him to do. Ministry is birthed and sustained out of intimacy and prayer.

God delights in spending time with us in prayer. He wants us to seek him, to ask of him, to give him no rest.

Is. 62:6-7 On your walls, O Jerusalem, I have set watchmen; all the day and all the night they shall never be silent. You who put the LORD in remembrance, take no rest, and give him no rest until he establishes Jerusalem and makes it a praise in the earth.

James 4:2,3 You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.

Francis Chan has a great example of a desire that his wife had to be able to give generously to help others. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MCb1xL6-dfg&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Luke 11:9-10 And I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.

1Pe 3:12 For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayer. But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil."

When God stirs our hearts to respond to a vision, calling, a need we must always bring this before him in prayer. He wants to guide us and provide for us but he wants us to seek him first in prayer. Prayer has to be the engine that drives the rest of the train. Prayerlessness is powerlessness.

As we commit ourselves to prayer and to seeking God, he will supply the resources that we need to fulfill his vision. He will stir the hearts of people to give and join in the ministry he has given you. He knows exactly what you need and he will be faithful to supply it.

God wants to challenge each of us to enter into a more intimate relationship with him. He is calling us to step up our prayer life, to make it all that it can be. It takes work, dedication, prioritizing your time but the bottom line is that there is more to be gained through prayer than we could ever accomplish without it. God is all about relationship and it is through prayer that our relationship with him is developed. Our level of spirituality can really be measured on the time we spend as well as how we spend time with him in prayer. Our works have to be bathed in prayer in order for it to truly be effective. We are not ministry machines that pump out programs. God is more concerned about our relationship with him than any work we may be doing no matter how important it may seem.

Don’t let the cares of life, the distractions that are always present and the demands of others keep you from developing your relationship with God. He longs for us and desires to entrust us with ministry that can glorify his name. Do whatever you need to do to make time for prayer and intimacy with God each day.

God will make a way...

God is at work in each of our lives to perform the miraculous. He delights in those things that seem impossible to our human reasoning. Our God is greater than anyone, any power in heaven or on earth. He rules over his creation and does as he pleases. (Psalms 115:3)

3 Our God is in the heavens; he does whatever he pleases.

If God’s greatest desire is to receive glory and if only redeemed people can bring glory to his name then we can be assured that he will make a way for the gospel message to be proclaimed in all the earth. (Is. 49:3)

3 And he said to me, “You are my servant, Israel, in whom I will be glorified.”

God is at work in each of our lives to provide opportunities to share his message. He leads us by his Holy Spirit to people and places that we will be his witnesses. If we believe that this is his greatest desire then we can walk by faith knowing that he will use us to fulfill the desire of his heart. His heart is to reach the world with the message of salvation which is the message of his intense love for humanity and his desire to reconcile man to himself.

Last night we showed, “the Cross and the Switchblade” at the homeless center in Antigua. It is an older movie but the message is as powerful today as when it was released. David Wilkerson was led of the Holy Spirit to reach out to the gangs in NYC. He was unrelenting in his pursuit to reach Nicky Cruz the leader of the Mau Mau gang. He constantly shared the message of God’s love for him. Though Nicky resisted this message and even tried to have David murdered, David never quit declaring the message of God’s love. God made a way for David to reach out to Nicky and David persisted and pursued him. Eventually Nicky could not resist the love of God and he surrendered his life to him. We serve a God who pursues people, he continues to reach out to them and he uses you and I to be the instruments to be his expression of love through the gospel message we proclaim and through the works he gives us to do to demonstrate his love. At the end of the movie we had 3 men come forward to receive Christ. The other men who did not come forward are still the object of God’s love. He will continue to pursue them until one day they give into his love and surrender their lives to him or go to their grave having rejected him.

Romans 5:8 ⁸ But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us.

God’s love for fallen humanity has not changed and it never will.

One day his wrath will be poured out upon those who have constantly rejected his love but we are living in a time of grace in which God is withholding his judgment and wrath against sin. We do not know how much longer this period of his grace will be extended and we have to take advantage of this time to share his message.

God will make a way for the message to be declared and at times it will require us to go through difficult situations and face tremendous opposition. There is a demonically inspired hatred for Christ and the gospel message. The demonic forces are constantly at work to stop the gospel from being proclaimed. They know the power of the message, they tremble at the name of Jesus. They know their fate and their goal is to take as many captives as they can. The opposition that we face should confirm to us how important this message is and how urgently we need to announce it. Paul understood opposition; he faced it almost all of the time. But he knew that its source was in the heavenly realm and not in flesh and blood. Principalities and powers in the heavenly realm were the real opposition. (Ephesians 6:10-12)

10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his power. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

I find it interesting that we do not see the same hatred and persecution toward Christianity as we do toward other religions. Why isn’t Hinduism, Islam, Sikhism or Shintoism as opposed as Christianity? I think we all recognize that satan has captivated millions to false religions and he has no need to stir up hatred against them as he has them where he wants them. They are carrying out his plan to deceive the world.

Yet in spite of the hatred and opposition God makes a way for people to hear the message. I was listening to a message of a lady who was a missionary to a remote village in Zambia, Africa. She told of one of the men, Joel, who received Christ and felt called to preach the gospel to a community in Mozambique. He left the missionaries he was working with and was gone for 3 months. The community he went to resisted the message and the local witch doctor was angry and stirred up the people against him. They placed him in a dungeon, like a hole in the ground. There was one hatch they opened and once a day gave him a bowl of slop to eat. The dungeon was full of rats and they ate his flesh. They chained him to the floor to keep him from escaping. The chains caused infection in his legs. He had no idea of time because there was no light. He began to sing and pray and shout the name Jesus so his jailers could hear. He believed that God would set him free. One day a stranger came, opened the hatch and pulled him out of the dungeon. He handed him a beautiful suit and gave him a train ticket to go back to Rhodesia to the missionaries. He instructed him to go back to his missionaries because there were many people there who wanted to hear the gospel message and were ready to receive Christ. The man reached down to touch the sores on the back of his legs form the chains and he suddenly realized the chains were gone and when he looked up the man was gone. He returned and preached the gospel and many souls were saved. God knows the hearts of people and I believe he will guide us to places where people are ready to receive. It does not mean that he bypasses those who resist and oppose because he wants them to have the opportunity to hear the message. They will be held accountable for their decisions and will be without excuse. When one door closes God will open another. This is the testimony we see in the life of Paul who was chased out of several cities by the opposition, yet God opened a new door of opportunity to preach the gospel. God will lead us and when it is time to leave he will direct our steps. Some will die as martyrs for Christ but their blood and testimony will cry out to the people and be a witness to them. Their lives will be given for the gospel, not taken by the enemy.

Throughout the Bible we read of testimonies how God has worked in the hearts of people who were in opposition to him and his people. Those in positions of authority can be touched by God to bring about a change of heart and plans.

Proverbs 21.1 The king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord; he turns it wherever he will.

When we read the story of Esther (Esther 6:1-10) we see this scripture become a reality when the King Ahasuerus was unable to sleep and decided to read a history book perhaps that would put him to sleep. I know some nights when I am having a hard time getting back to sleep I listen to a podcast of a preacher who puts me to sleep pretty fast. Actually he is very good, just has a monotone voice that puts me to sleep. After reading about Mordecai’s heroic effort to save the King he wanted to reward him and as a result it led to the salvation of the Jews from Haman’s demonic desire to destroy them.

God can make a way when there seems to be no way. He delights in the impossible and we can be assured that he is working on our behalf to open doors for us to get his message to the lost. We can have faith that God will go before us and he will be with us when we step out in obedience to his calling.

Ron Carlson headed a ministry organization that shared the gospel message and taught believers in many countries that were closed to the gospel. I personally knew him as I taught both of his sons when I worked in a Christian school in Minnesota. Ron was a man of faith and went to China and other countries where you could not meet in public to teach the believers and train pastors. Ron died of a heart attack recently at the age of 60 but his books and testimonies of God’s intervention in his life still speak today. Ron was one of the few people who were given permission to go to Cuba to minister to pastors and preach the gospel. I want to play a video of his testimony of how God made a way for him to get a book he had written into the hands of the 250 pastors who he would be ministering to on his trip. http://www.worldviewweekend.com/worldview-tube/video.php?videoid=4448

God is working with us to open doors that seem closed. His love for people compels him to respond in supernatural ways to get his message to them. When we walk in obedience to God’s call we can expect him to be working in advance preparing the way, giving us favor to be able to accomplish his plans. It does not matter how difficult the situation may seem, God is greater.

What impossible situation are you facing tonight? What do you need God to do for you tonight? Are there people who are opposing you? Do you need him to move on the hearts of people to open a door for you? Are you challenged financially? Are you seeking direction and guidance and you really need to hear from God?

Romans 8: 31-32 assures us of God’s desire to stand with us and provide whatever we need.

31 What then are we to say about these things? If God is for us, who is against us? 32 He who did not withhold his own Son, but gave him up for all of us, will he not with him also give us everything else?

We can go forward in boldness and great expectation that God's favor will go before us and he will make a way for us to accomplish the desires of his heart to reach lost humanity. If God is for us who can stand against us?

Perseverance

Have you ever started a project or a class or some other endeavor and then failed to complete it? Or have you worked hard to accomplish something and then saw it all disappear perhaps through no fault of your own and then have to start all over to do it again? To complete any task we must have perseverance. I think of William Carey, a missionary to India, who wrote by hand a dictionary of the Sanskrit language which took years to accomplish only to see it go up in flames when a fire ravaged the building where the dictionary was kept. He had no back up copy, there was only one and he had to start over again to rewrite the dictionary. It was a major setback for him but he possessed a character trait of perseverance which enabled him to succeed.

We live in an era of wanting everything quickly and this gets transferred into our lives when it comes to making decisions about what we should do. Often we are presented with choices in which one can happen quickly and the other will take much more effort in order to accomplish. Fast and easy are often the choices that we make and in doing so we cheat ourselves out of gaining something more valuable and important.

A pastor I know has a son who just began training to be a doctor in Guatemala. It will take 6 years for him to complete his studies and it is a rigorous course he will undertake. Without the ability to persevere it will be easy to quit and find another occupation that is perhaps less demanding and most likely less rewarding.

The dictionary defines perseverance as : continued effort to do or achieve something despite difficulties, failure, or opposition.

We all enjoy having some things come easy but most of life involves great effort against great opposition, difficulties and failures to be able to achieve something of value. People who take the easy route seldom accomplish anything of value. Those who are willing to take risks and persevere through all the adversity are able to achieve things beyond what they thought was possible.

I have been reading the book of Exodus and thinking about the challenge it was for the Israelites and especially for Moses to leave Egypt and face all the trials that were before them. They were walking into unknown territory. I don’t think any of them had been through the wilderness. They had been slaves for many years and the only thing they knew was how to work hard to please the ruler. When Moses came to lead them to freedom, they had to develop trust in him and perseverance through all of the changes in decisions of Pharaoh who stated he would let them go but then changed his mind to keep them captive. God was at work accomplishing his purposes to be able to send the Israelites out of Egypt with the financial support of the Egyptians who readily gave them gold, silver and clothing to send them on their way. After all the plagues that they endured they were more than ready to be done with them. God was at work to bring glory to his name among all the nations not just Egypt. His name and his fame would spread through the nations causing them to tremble before his people. Moses and the Israelites had to persevere through this time of testing and not give up on God’s promise to bring them out of captivity.

When they finally were released there was great joy among the people but it was short lived as they faced the barrier of the Red Sea. Because of their lack of understanding and lack of faith in God and Moses, they misinterpreted the circumstances when they saw Pharoah’s 600 chariots coming after them. To gain their freedom, they had to persevere with God’s plan and not turn back. Some thought Moses had brought them out only to set them up for failure. God never sets us up for failure but for success. He knows the end from the beginning and he asks us to trust him and persevere in the circumstances we are facing so we can reach the goal. God’s plan was to destroy the Egyptian army. The Israelites did not know this, all they knew was that the enemy was right behind them and they were seemingly trapped. God intervened and kept the Egyptians from advancing by placing a cloud between the two camps, while sending a strong easterly wind to part the waters of the Red Sea and make a dry path for the million plus Israelites to cross.

When we persevere in adversity and opposition as we follow God’s call he will go before us and make a way for us. If we quit and give up we surrender our dreams, goals, desires and return to our captive state. When the Israelites crossed the Red Sea and saw the Egyptian army destroyed they rejoiced with song and dance. They were ecstatic and well they should have been to finally be out from under the harsh labor of Pharoah. I think God allowed Pharoah to make life harder for them so they would have greater joy when they were set free.

One would think it would be smooth sailing from this point for the Israelites but they were in for several more challenges that would test their faith and perseverance. It did not take too long before the water supply they had brought with them was consumed. After 3 days of journeying they were dry and the only water that was available was not potable but bitter. Ex. 15:22-25

²² Then Moses ordered Israel to set out from the Red Sea, and they went into the wilderness of Shur. They went three days in the wilderness and found no water. ²³ When they came to Marah, they could not drink the water of Marah because it was bitter. That is why it was called Marah. ²⁴ And the people complained against Moses, saying, “What shall we drink?” ²⁵ He cried out to the Lord; and the Lord showed him a piece of wood;  he threw it into the water, and the water became sweet.

This was yet another test that God had set before them to see if they would trust him for a miracle and persevere in their faith or if they would murmur and complain. They responded negatively which seemed to be their natural bent. They were not convinced of God’s promise to bring them to the Promised Land. When we are not convinced we easily complain. God intervened by miraculously purifying the water and meeting the needs of the people. Their next destination was an oasis in Elim that had plenty of fresh water for them.

The next test was lack of food.

Exo 16:1 They set out from Elim, and all the congregation of the people of Israel came to the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had departed from the land of Egypt.

Exo 16:2 And the whole congregation of the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness,

Exo 16:3 and the people of Israel said to them, "Would that we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the meat pots and ate bread to the full, for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger."

The Israelites had been out of Egypt for a month and all their food was gone. They were challenged again in their faith in God’s ability to provide for them along with their perseverance in adversity. In this situation they looked back at what they had in Egypt and longed for the meat and bread that filled them forgetting about the hard life of slavery.

The flesh is always at war with the spirit. It always wants to drag us down and send us in the wrong direction to keep us from accomplishing God’s best and the true longing of our spirit. It always exaggerates the problem, looks for a quick fix and distorts our perspective. It relies on rationalization of solutions that are contrary to what God wants us to do in the circumstances. The physical hunger they experienced had one solution and that was to retreat to Egypt and forget about the promises God had given them. Retreat for the purpose of quitting is never the right option. It is always the wrong choice. If we retreat to regroup and renew our strength to move forward that is another thing, a good thing. The Israelites lost sight of the future and no longer wanted to persevere. The flesh always seeks for instant gratification while the spirit is willing to endure because it sees the future with eyes of faith in the promises of God. The flesh brings no profit or benefit. It is destructive and leads to death of a vision, dream and goal.

God again demonstrated his care for the Israelites by providing manna every day. Again they had to trust him to provide and obey what he told them to do regarding gathering it each day and a double portion on the Sabbath. In all these tests God was trying to establish in their minds his faithfulness and concern for their needs. He was also training them in obedience to his word. They would need to trust and obey him when they faced the opposition in the Promised Land. The wilderness experience was a time of learning, trusting, persevering in preparation for the future.

God had already miraculously delivered them from the Egyptians but the Israelites would need to learn how to fight against their enemies and that was the next test they faced. To prepare them for this they had to face the Amalakites. Amalek was a descendent of Esau. They opposed the Israelites and would not give them safe passage to the Promised Land. Moses commanded Joshua to gather men to fight against them. This would be hand to hand combat that would require faith, obedience and perseverance. God gave them victory. Ex. 17:8-13

⁸ Then Amalek came and fought with Israel at Rephidim. ⁹ Moses said to Joshua, “Choose some men for us and go out, fight with Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the staff of God in my hand.” ¹⁰ So Joshua did as Moses told him, and fought with Amalek, while Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. ¹¹ Whenever Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed; and whenever he lowered his hand, Amalek prevailed. ¹² But Moses’ hands grew weary; so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held up his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side; so his hands were steady until the sun set. ¹³ And Joshua defeated Amalek and his people with the sword.

God gave the victory but he required the Israelites to fight the battle until the enemy was defeated. God’s goal was to completely remove the Amalekites because of their opposition to him. We will like the Israelites face opposition to God’s call on our lives. It is at this time that we will have to learn to depend on the Lord to fight for us and with us and we will need perseverance to continue until the enemy is defeated. When Israel entered the Promised Land they were to completely destroy the enemy because God knew that if they remained in the land they would be a persistent problem and draw the hearts of the people away from him.

One of the enemies of perseverance is contentment. Once Israel entered the Promised Land and began their conquest to possess the land they reached a point where they stopped fighting for what was promised to them and they became content with what they had. They stopped short of achieving everything God had promised to give them. Joshua reprimanded them for their lack of perseverance in obtaining all they could have. Joshua 18:2-3

² There remained among the Israelites seven tribes whose inheritance had not yet been apportioned. ³ So Joshua said to the Israelites, “How long will you be slack about going in and taking possession of the land that the Lord, the God of your ancestors, has given you?

This is a challenge we all face. It is easy to become content where you are at and just hunker down and just continue with the status quo. We have to guard our hearts against this form of laziness that can easily creep into our lives and bring us to a stalemate in our pursuit of what God wants to give us. There must always be a drive within us to press on to achieve what God has for us. It requires perseverance on our part to motivate us to keep active in our pursuit of God’s plan for our lives. Paul had this drive that propelled him to keep moving forward with God. Philippians 3:13,14

¹³ Beloved,  I do not consider that I have made it my own; but this one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, ¹⁴ I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus.

Paul had a passion to know Christ in all his power and to experience the fellowship of his sufferings. He did not rest on any past accomplishments but continued to strain forward as a runner reaching for the finish line to win the race.

This should be our desire as well, to passionately pursue Christ and persevere in our efforts to carry out his work while we are on this earth. There must be a desire on our part for spiritual growth but also a desire to continue to seek for ways that we can carry out God’s desire to reach the nations through evangelism and discipleship.

John Shippam related a story to me of a church that was composed of many elderly people who had lost their passion for reaching people with the gospel. They were more concerned with their comfort that they were about reaching souls and discipling young people. They made a decision to release the youth pastor so they could use the money to build a ramp that would benefit the elderly. God help us to never reach that point in our lives where we are more concerned about our personal comfort and contentment than we are about reaching people with the gospel.

Another enemy of perseverance is delays and discouragement.

It happened in Southwest Asia in the 14th Century. The army of Asian conqueror Emperor Tamerlane (a descendant of Ghengis Khan) had been routed, dispersed by a powerful enemy. Tamerlane himself lay hidden in a deserted manger while enemy troops scoured the countryside.

As he lay there, desperate and dejected, Tamerlane watches an ant try to carry a grain of corn over a perpendicular wall. The kernel was larger than the ant itself. As the emperor counted, sixty-nine times the ant tried to carry it up the wall. Sixty-nine times he fell back. On the seventieth try he pushed the grain of corn over the top.

Tamerlane leaped to his feet with a shout! He, too, would triumph in the end! And he did, reorganizing his forces and putting the enemy to flight. (source:Bible study tools.com)

I think of the many missionaries who have labored for years in countries that are very resistant to the gospel message. William Carey labored for 7 years before he saw his first convert in India. Adoniram Judson labored for 8 years before seeing any results. Delays and discouragement can cause us to quit or they can propel us to stay faithful, become creative and trust God for the results. The nations of India and Burma (Myanmar) are indebted to two men who would not give up but persisted in their calling. Many missionaries today are laboring in countries that are very difficult to reach and their persistence and perseverance to stay faithful to their calling will produce results that they may or may not see in their lifetime. God is in control and he only asks that we be obedient to what he asks us to do. At times we get to see the fruit of our labor while other times we may see it only through the eyes of faith. We have to be persistent like the ant was and keep doing what we know we need to do.

Paul encouraged the church at Ephesus to persevere in prayer.

¹⁸ Pray in the Spirit at all times in every prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert and always persevere in supplication for all the saints. Eph. 6:18

Prayer is one of our greatest weapons yet for many people is seldom used with perseverance. We are challenged in Scriptures to “keep asking, keep knocking, keep seeking”. Paul is saying to all of us that we need to keep each other in our prayers, to keep praying for the needs of our brothers and sisters in Christ. Paul always asked for prayers to be offered for him and he offered prayers constantly for the churches he established and ministered to. Our prayer lives must have this dynamic of perseverance because our prayers accomplish God’s work. It is encouraging to hear people say to me that they are praying for me daily or almost every day. They are persevering in prayer on my behalf and I am grateful for it.

Tonight I want to encourage each of you to be persevering in our walk with the Lord. The easiest thing to do is to quit, give up, settle for second best, rest in our contentment, allow discouragement and delays to cause us to stop doing what we know we should do. Victory and success is the fruit of those who are willing to persist in spite of opposition and adversity. We are all facing challenges and we need to pray for each other. I want to take some time tonight to do that, to pray for each other that God will help us persevere in the battle until we see get the victory.

Whatever you are facing tonight, God wants you to know that He is fighting the battle for you and with you. He will accomplish his purposes in your life as you stay strong in your pursuit of him and preserver in the battle.