Sovereignty of God continued
I would like to continue on the topic of the sovereignty of God, thinking through some of the implications of what I wrote last week and applying it to our lives. Clarifying these issues is critical for a healthy spiritual development, as we are growing up into Christ. If God is not controlling every detail of our lives and the lives of others, if there is great scope for freedom in both directions, obedience and blessing, but also disobedience and rebellion, then we have a critical role to play in God's economy here on earth.
He is relying on us to learn, grow and develop, so that we can act as true sons and daughters of God, bringing in the kingdom of God into the world around us and driving back the kingdom of darkness. Knowing and believing the truth of the bible, of how things really are, - and then acting on it in a persistent and deliberate manner, is key if we want to really learn how to walk in the new identity that we have as believers and do what Jesus did.
I haven't arrived
God often speaks to me through memories and analogies from my own experience. This is how my brain works, I guess. Well, anyway, as I am writing about these things on my blog, I am painfully aware of the fact that I am still not able to demonstrate a lot of it in my own life. I haven't seen a major healing miracle occur in my ministry yet, I am not walking in the financial abundance and provision that I believe God has for me yet... my life is far from being perfect. In my former paradigm of thinking I would have blamed it all on God and his sovereignty. And I would complain in prayer and ask God to pour out his Spirit, to give me a breakthrough, to bless me and change my situation. Or I would just decide to "Don't worry and be happy" and accept it as God's will for my life. - But recently God spoke to me through a memory of my childhood to explain, why I am not seeing the results that I am believing for.
An analogy from my childhood
Here's the story: When I was still very young, about 5 years of age maybe, my granny sent me to the shop to buy a loaf of bread. That was the first time I would purchase something on my own. She apparently couldn't leave the house and she needed the bread, so she asked me if I could do it. I agreed. So she counted the exact amount of coins into my hand - I think it was 25 kopecks, the equivalent of 25 cents. I got two small silver coins of 10 Kopecks and one large copper coin of 5 kopecks. At that age I wasn't used to handling money. Remember, it was my first time ever to purchase anything on my own. She instructed me to ask for a certain loaf of bread and then to give the money to the person behind the counter. So I went, shaking and trembling inside. When I arrived at the shop, I asked for the loaf of bread and then reached into my pocket, took out the large copper coin of 5 kopecks and offered it to the man behind the counter. He looked at the money and said that it wasn't enough. At that stage I was so frightened and shy that I was dumbfounded. I froze with this coin in my hand, looking at the guy and not able to say a word. I don't know why I didn't reach down into my pocket and got the rest of the money out. For some reason, I couldn't do it. And the guy behind the counter couldn't give me the bread for that amount. So I gave up, ran out of the shop crying, and went back to my granny without the bread, but with the coins still in my pocket. I had all I needed, to purchase that bread, but my own shyness and childish stupidity prevented me from experiencing the result that my granny intended for me to have. I just messed up, I still had to learn some things. It wasn't long after that experience, that I actually did buy something on my own and it worked. I learned to overcome my shyness and fear and just buy what I needed and have the money for.
We've already got everything we need
The analogy that God showed me was: I was given everything that I need to see the power of God manifest in my life. God has already provided for me all that it takes to live an absolutely victorious, joyful and abundant life. My problem is, I am not using all that I've got yet. I am not playing with the full deck. I have still to learn some things, to act on truth and get this going. The problem is not with God. It is with me. I need to grow up into Christ (Ephesians 4:15). And I firmly believe that I will be able to walk like Jesus and do what He did.
God's design for my life and for that of every Christian is that we live as sons and daughters of God, be like Jesus in this world, do what He did. And He has given us everything that we need in His word, to learn that.
John 14:12-14 "Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. You may ask anything in my name, and I will do it.
Mark 16:17-18 "And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes with their hand; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well."
1 Corinthians 2:4 "My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power..."
What if it doesn't work?
The problem with such scriptures is - that often our own experience seems to disprove them. We all have probably tried at one time or another to pray for healing of some person, and nothing happened. Or worse, the person died. We tried to believe for some breakthrough and it didn't happen. So the usual explanations often go like this: "It must have not been God's will... God's ways are higher than our ways... You never know what God is going to do... This is not my calling and not my gifting. I am just normal and ordinary..." And most Christians just give up, settle for a substandard life and wait for heaven, when we all will experience God face to face. With this childhood memory God encouraged me to keep going, keep seeking God, keep searching until I experience the truth of God's word. I have all it takes already. God has given me everything. I just need to learn how to use it. That's all. And I am adamant to not give up.
The bible is true. God's word is true. So maybe it is time we stopped elevating our own experiences and the experiences of others above what the Word of God says and just trust his word and pursue it until we experience the truth of it in our own lives?
An encouraging example
I have been greatly encouraged by the story of Curry Blake, a man who is teaching a lot of people around the globe the truth about healing, and how to minister God's healing power to the sick. You can look him up on the internet. When Curry was a young man, not long married, he and his wife got a daughter who was born with a tumor in her tongue. The tumor was gross and the doctors could not operate it, because of the blood vessels that were intertwined in that tumor. So Curry and his wife started to pray, to seek God for healing and to do all they could to see their daughter healed. And they were seeing progress, things were improving with her. But at the age of two or three the little girl died of that tumor. Now the average Christian would conclude - it must have not been God's will for that girl to live. Or some other explanation, why the prayers went unanswered and the girl wasn't healed. You would have expected Curry and his wife just to accept it or to get bitter at God. Instead, he decided to pursue healing until he really understood it. He didn't blame God and his sovereignty on that. He had the courage to admit, that although he was doing everything he could, he probably just didn't know enough to see his daughter healed. - And God has given him understanding and revelation since. Curry is now seeing countless people healed through the power of God, and he is teaching believers all over the globe how to walk in this power and to have faith for healing.
He learned how to use all that God has given him in the bible. You and I can do the same.
The downside: we have responsibility
There is a downside to that truth, though: It puts a huge responsibility on us, right? If we don't believe God and learn how to walk in His power, it won't get done. Many people will die, who could have been healed through our hands. Many people will go to hell, who could have been reached with the Gospel through our witness. This is just a daunting thought, isn't it? And it can be taken as condemning and hard. Does that mean that it is my fault that this person didn't get healed? ...
No condemnation
For me it is a great comfort to know that there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1). God does not condemn us if we don't get it right, if we fail and mess up. He is like a loving father. When I came back to my granny without the bread and told her the story, she didn't get mad at me and tell me how useless I was. She encouraged me, explained what I missed and let me try again. That's how God is. He won't condemn us for our past failures. And when we seek him with our whole hearts - we will find. He will explain to us things in His word, He will give us revelation and knowledge until we learn how to walk in all the fullness of God. That's what revival truly is - God's people bringing God's light and power into this world, building His kingdom.
I want to learn to do that. No matter what it takes and how long it may take me. I want to go for it. How about you? Until next week.
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