[extracts]
The way to win is to give up! not that we give up in our struggle with evil, but rather the surrender of our personal rights to the Lord.
the example of Jesus:
He gave up His glory in Heaven to come to earth as man.
On earth, He gave up the right to a normal birth, but was born in an animal shelter.
He gave up the right to marriage, the right to a home. foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests but He didn't have a place to lay His head.
He gave up the right to money. He once had to borrow a coin from someone for a sermon illustration!
He surrendered His reputation. As far as most people was concerned, He was an illegitimate son, raised in a town that was scorned.
He gave up the right to life itself, and became obedient to death on a cross, reserved for the worst criminals of His day. He was buried in a borrowed tomb.
Jesus was showing us that the only way to conquer is to submit.
God has given us all these rights, all the blessings and all the things we own. Then why is He asking us to give Him back those rights? Because it is really the only way we can express our love back to Him. We have nothing that He hasn't given us. God owns all the earth, all the universe, but when we give Him what He has blessed us with, the expression of our love brings joy to His father heart.
Another reason God asks for us to relinquish something is because He wants to give us something greater.
Jacob wrestled with God, was wounded in his hip, and became a Prince, a leader of a nation. But he limped for the rest of his life. Ever strong man or woman of God has gone this route. The choice is yours: Remain in mediocrity and miss out on God's greater purposes for you, or walk with a limp and be a prince.
THE RIGHT TO PERSONAL POSSESSIONS, MATERIAL THINGS
(the example takes up 2 pages, so here's just an extract at the end)
"I stood there, rooted to the ground in shame. I had been willing to throw money onto the road (upon God's prompting) and walk away (for some stranger to pick up, probably led by God), but I had clutched it tightly when I didn't agree with God's direction to invest it in this young man (who was a drug addict and the author didn't have much faith in him)."
some thoughts: Does our own preconception and prejudices hinder us from God's prompting to give to certain persons/ministries?
THE RIGHT TO ENJOY THE COMFORTS OF OUR HOME AND CULTURE
Poem by Bill McChesney, an American missionary just before he was killed at age 28 in the Congo uprising of 1964:
My Choice
I want my breakfast served at "Eight,"
With ham and eggs upon the plate;
A well-broiled steak I'll eat at "One,"
And dine again when day is done.
I want an ultra modern home,
and in each room a telephone;
Soft carpets, too, upon the floors,
and pretty drapes to grace the doors.
A cozy place of lovely things,
like easy chairs with innersprings,
and then i'll get a small TV -
of course, "I'm careful what I see."
I want my wardrobe, too, to be
of neatest, finest quality,
with latest style in suit and vest,
why shouldn't Christians have the best?
But then the Master I can hear,
In no uncertain voice, so clear,
"I bid you come and follow me,
The Lowly Man of Galilee."
"Birds of the air have made their nests,
And foxes in their holes find rest;
But i can offer you no bed;
No place have I to lay my head."
In shame i hung my head and cried,
How could I spurn the Crucified?
Could I forget the way He went,
The sleepless nights in prayer He spent?
For forty days without a bite,
Alone He fasted day and night;
Despised, rejected - on He went,
And did not stop till veil He rent.
A Man of sorrows and of grief,
No earthly friend to bring relief -
"Smitten of God," the prophet said -
Mocked, beaten, bruised, His blood ran red.
If He be God and died for me,
No sacrifice too great can be
for me, a mortal man, to make;
I'll do it all for Jesus' sake.
Yes, I will tread the path He trod,
No other way will please my God;
So, henceforth, this choice shall be,
My choice for all eternity.
A missionary = one who is sent.
John 20:21b as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.
"I've never had a call" "You mean you've never heard the call!"
Indeed, are we listening to God? Are we tuned to His still small voice?
Aren't we all to strive to keep the faith pure? How can we work with people who believe differently than we do? Aren't we supposed to guard against heresy and apostasy?
I have come to the conviction that the spirit behind an issue is more crucial than differences in understanding. The spirit of heresy is adding to what is truth. The spirit of apostasy is taking from truth. Pride is the sin behind true heresy and apostasy, which leads to deliberately adding to the truth of God's Word, or taking some of it away.
How many of us understand all truth? We are all growing in knowledge, so that means none of us knows it all yet. A greater degree of humility is needed within the body of Christ if we are ever to move together in the spirit of unity and cooperate in the task of world evangelism. Each one of us needs to realise, "I don't have exhaustive truth. I don't understand all things."
Did Jesus say, "By this shall all men know that you are my disciples, because you have the same statement of doctrine"? No, He said they would know we belonged to Him because of our love for one another.
During WWII, thousands of Christians suffered in Hitler's prisons and concentration camps. One was a German named Martin Nieomuller. He was in solitary confinement, but one Christmas Day he was brought out of his cell and thrown in with three other Christian prisoners. One was from the Salvation Army, one was Pentecostal, one was a Methodist and Nieomuller himself was from the German Free Evangelical Church.
The men found a discarded burnt door from a bombing, which they placed on the floor for a table. Using the black bread from their daily rations and some water, they celebrated the Lord's Supper together. Nieomuller reported, "As we knelt together on that cold stone floor, our theological differences vanished."
THE RIGHT TO BE MAD (EMOTIONAL RIGHTS)
healing is where the hurt is.
Forgiveness is laying down your life psychologically for another. It is laying down your emotional rights. Forgiveness is a choice not to remember what someone has done against you.
Hindrances: 1/not choosing to forgive. 2/failure to forgive yourself, thus also being hard on others. 3/jealousy. 4/pride. 5/lack of understanding God's character, esp His mercy. 5/a double-standard, expressed in vindictiveness. will result in you duplicating the sin of the person you are trying to get even with. 6/fear, esp of further hurts. the act of forgiveness releases emotional healing, making you strong enough to withstand future hurts.
SEVEN SPHERES OF INFLUENCE that will help us shape societies for Christ:
1/the home
2/the church
3/the schools
4/government & politics
5/the media
6/arts, entertainment, sports
7/commerce, science, technology
indeed you've taught me many times "Give up while you're ahead".