Fine Tuned Faith
1 Corinthians 1`0:5 We destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God. We capture their rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ. In the movie UP there is a dog that they encounter that befriends them and follows them everywhere. That dog, in the middle of a conversation, gets distracted so easily by anything it sees but especially by a squirrel. The dog is talking and all of a sudden stops and says "Squirrel"! This dog is a fresh image of how we sometimes are as Christians. We don't finish well in a ministry effort or in a Bible Study beyond six weeks because we get distracted from the purpose of what we are doing, and why we are doing it,
If you want to frustrate a group of people in a meeting with a bunch of distracted people, just ask them what the purpose is of what they are planning. They will get frustrated at first and then mad if you ask it again. Why? Because they are temporal thinkers. Temporal in that their vision is to the end of their nose and anything beyond that takes too much brain work. People like that frustrate people who are working in Big Picture mode. Big Picture mode requires fine-tuning our faith to line up with God's Big Picture. This Big Picture mentality is what kept Jesus on the cross and made that stone roll away. Our purposes should line up with God's purposes and then we see the need to finish that task as completely as possible because it is connected to a bigger picture that has been set into motion with God's power.
I sometimes want to bring some Ridland to a meeting to insure we will take the time to plan something completely and properly. God is great to bless plans made with His purpose in mind, and He is spot on to supply funds, workers, and materials for that plan to succeed. When God called me into full-time ministry He enabled me to see things like this and He fine-tuned my plans to fall in line with His purpose so that we have His result and not ours. And the reason for that is the Multiplication Principle of ministry. One thing leads to another, and then to another, and another until the effect is not adding souls but reaching the "world" for Christ. Most of the time people who don't want to know and complete the purpose of something are not equipped to understand what a long-term purpose can accomplish for the Kingdom. Temporal ministry plans take precedence because we are basically lazy and we have bought into the apathetic curse that is in our world today. Our vision is too small and we are actually limiting God.
The solution to this problem is to begin to look at ministry as Kingdom Word and accomplish it as Kingdom Workers. We will then walk in the confidence that only comes through Jesus. Romans 15:13 I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit. Just keep in mind, YOU CAN DO THIS!! You can come to a place of fine-tuning your ways to line up with the awesome Big Picture that God lays out before you and see it happen. It is called Kingdom Thinking and it begins by capturing your thoughts and placing them under the care of our Lord. Then God will remove any obstacles that keep you from thriving and put you in a place of hyper-ministry and then IT'S ON! Fine Tune Your Faith and see what God will do through you!
The Pilgrimage Continues...
David Warren