Leadership is not a noun; it is a verb. Leadership is not an identity; it is an action.

We are living in exciting days. We were given a task as the Church and Bride of Christ to go into all the world and preach the Gospel. We know where we are and what still needs to be done to finish the task. The Church has the resources that are needed to finish the job, but the one great lack is spiritual leadership.

We need leaders today who can see what is coming; who know what the Church needs to do and be able to go beyond denominational barriers and bring unity to the Body of Christ.

Leadership is not a dictatorship but rather an example. Leadership is not about having a certain amount of charisma. Like it says, leadership is a verb, it is action, an action that is seen by example.

Paul said: “Follow me, because I follow the Lord Jesus.” What do we see with Jesus? “To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. And when he brings out his own sheep, goes he before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.” John 10:3-4

Jesus does not drive them – He leads them. To lead we must know where we are going and how to take others with us. To know where we are going, we need to have a grasp of the pressing issues of today. Once this has taken place then it is necessary to throw ourselves into the task and then do it as unto the Lord.

I think of William Carey (the father of the modern mission movement), Hudson Taylor (who opened the interior of China to the Gospel) and Cameron Townsend (who had a desire to get the Living Word of God into every language of the world). They threw themselves into the task and many have followed since.

When Paul wrote to the church at Thessalonica he mentioned: “…remembering without ceasing your work of faith, labor of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ in the sight of our God and Father.”  These three virtues are the necessities for spiritual leadership: faith, hope and love.

We know from what Apostle James taught that “faith without works is dead.” A man who believes will also obey, and God gives increasing faith to the obedient heart. Often along with obedience comes sacrifice, but love will carry us through, and hope gives us the patience to keep on keeping on – even in the midst of difficulties.

It is said of Hudson Taylor that when the Boxer uprising took place in China – mission after mission was closed down, missionaries were being killed and telegrams were coming across his desk telling of the grim news. Taylor could be heard humming the children’s hymn “Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so.” This is the work of faith, labor of love and patience of hope. This is a great need today.

Another great need in spiritual leadership is learning to stand and divide over the ‘right’ things or issues. The problem that Paul faced with the Corinthian church is they were standing and dividing over the wrong things. Paul wrote 14 letters (chapters in 1 Corinthians) telling them that they were standing and dividing over the wrong things and this is what we often see today. They stood and divided over what I would call ‘a party spirit’ or what we could call denominations today.

“Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. For it has been declared to me concerning you, my brethren, by those of Chloe’s household, that there are contentions among you. Now I say this, that each of you says, ‘I am of Paul,’ or ‘I am of Apollos,’ or ‘I am of Cephas,’ or ‘I am of Christ.’ Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?”

Another aspect of the Corinthian church is what I would call ‘intellectualism.’ “Now about food sacrificed to idols: We know that we all possess knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. The man who thinks he knows something does not yet know as he ought to know.”

There was an arrogance and tendency to look down on their less gifted brethren. They were also standing on what could be called ‘false spirituality.’ The Corinthian church was a gifted church and it seems that they were lifting one gift of tongues above the rest.

We see Paul dealing with all three issues and this is also true with spiritual leadership. Finally, after 14 letters, Paul tells them what to stand on and this is what spiritual leadership will do as well.

1 Corinthians 15:1 “Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand.”  Paul goes on to describe what the Gospel is: 1 Corinthians 15:3-8 “For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.”

If Christ died for our sins, then we need to recognize that we are all sinners. He was buried and rose again, and this is true for there were a number of eyewitnesses. Twice it is mentioned “according to the Scriptures.”

This is what true spiritual leadership will stand on. It has been prophesied about a billion souls still coming to Christ. If this is to happen might the Lord raise up true spiritual leaders.

When I look at the riots taking place in our cities, destructions of property, loss of life, personal injuries, public services being interrupted and the riot police stepping in – the tendency for us is to become alarmed, fearful and wanting to know who or what is the culprit behind it all, and who to blame.

With that in mind, we begin to hear all of the assumptions being made in trying to answer that one question, and so begins the finger pointing: It is Trump and his tweets that are causing all of this damage, or it is the progressives and their ideology, or it is Antifa, or some other radical group. Or we can play the “race card:” it is the blacks or white supremacy, etc.

When I look at Face-Book and read what is being written, the one thing that comes out is that we all have our opinions of what is wrong. Then the debates come, arguments, reasoning in why we are right in what we are expressing or believing is the real problem.

I can understand that with the secular world having their opinion and agenda – politicians quick to blame the opposing side, and it is not unusual to twist the facts and lie in order to try and support what they think is the real problem and how to fix it. But what about those who call themselves “Christians,” who are known as the Body of Christ? Do WE see things differently? Or, have WE been ‘taken in’ by the media, politicians, propaganda that is being broadcasted to us 24/7. Are WE in the process of becoming brain-washed to believe in a way that might not be the will of God? I am asking these questions, not that I have the answers, but knowing that in these last days we are living in times of great deception. If there was a time for discernment, it is NOW!

I praise the Lord for the Word of God because it is the one source of truth, facts that we need to stand on. In God’s Word we are told: “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” Ephesians 6:11

There is a desperate need today for men/women who can fight, pray and build; those who know who the REAL enemy is. By going against what we see happening today, and blaming flesh and blood, is like putting a band aid on a sore that needs to be cut out.

Yes, we see people (flesh and blood) doing what they are doing. We see Trumps tweets that we might not agree with, progressives’ solutions that seem lunacy to some, or the different destructive groups that come into incite the passions of people to do things that they would never do on their own.

But we seem to forget Ephesians 2:2-3 “…in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath.”

We who know the Lord, seem to forget that those who do not know the Lord are not only dead in their sins and trespasses, but they are like puppets in the hands of the rulers, authorities, powers of this dark world and against spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realm. This is where the real battle is. This is where we fight. This is why the Lord has given us spiritual weapons to wage war against these forces. “The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”

I praise the Lord for the prayer groups that are growing, preparing for more to come; coming together around the world taking their stands against the Leviathan spirit, Jezebel spirit and many other kinds of evil spirits – that are operating in the world system.

I praise the Lord for those who are not only preaching, but living out the Gospel because this is what we take our stand on, and it is the power of God that can change the heart (mind) of people, and the dynamite of God that can clear out evil authority.

What does it mean to live out the Gospel? Paul expressed it very well in Philippians 2:3-4 “Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. 4 Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.”

When I think of the divisions that we have today in our society it would seem to me that we as the Body of Christ have an important role to play. What would happen if all of us who are called by His name begin to act according to what Paul is saying right here in verses 3 and 4.

Do nothing out of selfish ambition.

Do nothing out of deceit.

In humility esteem others better than ourselves.

Look out for the interest of others before we look out for our own interests.

The question is: How can we begin to put this into operation?

First, we start with our selves. Where have we failed to act accordingly.

Second, within our own family.

Thirdly, in our jobs, professions, or sphere of work where the Lord has called us to labor.

This is the ‘mind’ of Christ and this is the mind (the way of thinking) that should be in us.

We need prayer that will engage the ‘real enemy.’

This is why I believe that one of the greatest needs today is for ‘spiritual leadership.’

1 CORINTHIANS 15:1-9

This Sunday we will be celebrating Pentecost. Something new happened at that time of the coming of the Holy Spirit. But 50 days earlier something else new took place and that is the resurrection of Christ.

We often look at Jesus dying on Friday, but how can that be if He spent three days and nights in Hades? Bible scholars say that Jesus must have died on Friday because they did not want anyone hanging on the cross during the Sabbath which would start on the evening of Friday at sunset.

However this seems to have been a special Sabbath and when we look at it – Jesus must have died on Wednesday before sunset and was buried, and if this is true then He had to rise between sunset and midnight on Saturday. This is why we worship on Sunday.

The question that comes to my mind is where Jesus went during those three days and 2 nights. His body was in the tomb, but His spirit was free. We are given the answer in 1 Peter 3:18-20. “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit, by whom also He went and preached to the spirits in prison, who formerly were disobedient, when once the Divine longsuffering waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water.” Evidently, he went and preached to the people (spirits) who were drowned in Noah’s flood.

When we think of the Resurrection how do we know that it really happened? We do not have any physical evidence or scientific evidence. There was no way we could measure it scientifically. So how do we know? We do have what is known as legal proofs that David Pawson brings out. In this there are two things: eyewitnesses as well as circumstantial evidence.

Often in eyewitness accounts there will be different perspectives. No two eyewitnesses will bring out the same thing. For example, when my brother and sister got killed in a car accident my other sister and her fiancé along with me saw the accident. But when we gave an account, we did not bring out the same details, but different perspectives of what happened. Having these different perspectives made the eyewitness more believable. If the three of us had said the same thing then it would seem like we have made it up.

When we examine the eyewitnesses of the resurrection, we see that there are different perspectives and details that are brought out. We see this with the four Gospels, and this is what makes the Resurrection of Christ believable.

When a witness comes forward to testify, they bring about a number of incidents or circumstances that seems to point to the same thing that proves the reality of the event.

What circumstances do we see with the resurrection of Christ?

First, of all we do not see any conspiracy during the whole life of Christ until the Resurrection.

Secondly, we see the change with boldness of disciples. Before they were hiding in fear, but now we find them preaching in the streets of Jerusalem with boldness. What happened?

Thirdly, we see a large number of Jews changing from Saturday to Sunday to worship. Why? What happened? Changing the day when Jews would worship was difficult. It would be like getting the Muslims to worship on Monday instead of Friday. Fourthly, we see lives that have been changed. I have seen this all over the world. Again, what happened? Fifthly, we see the grave clothes and how they were laid out when Peter and John went to the tomb. We know from the burial of Lazarus whom Jesus raised from the dead on the fourth day that they had to release him from his burial clothes. When they buried a person, they wrapped him in layers of long sheets, laden with perfumes, etc., that would go to his shoulders leaving the face bare but would have the top of the head wrapped in a cloth. When they saw the burial cloth laying the way it was it showed a Resurrection of the body. They did not have to unwrap Jesus.

The Resurrection showed the world who He was and His purpose. He died at the age of 33 and we are told that we will be like Him. It would seem to indicate that when we are resurrected, we too will be in the prime of life as Jesus was at 33 for all eternity!

The Resurrection also showed that God is doing something new. Didn’t He say that He makes all things new? When Jesus came the first time a body was prepared for Him in the womb of Mary, but in the tomb God prepared, created a new body for Jesus.

Because of the resurrection we have a new relationship with God, we can now enter the Holy of Holies and call Him Father. We can talk with Him and He with us. Someone asked a man how he knew that Jesus is alive and he replied: “I just talked with Him.”

There will be two resurrections separated by a thousand years. The first resurrection is for the righteous and second for the unrighteous. There will also be two separate places. The righteous will be with God, but unrighteous will be without God. Since God is light and there is no God then it is complete blackness. We see Daniel, John and Paul all talking about this.

Revelation 22:20 “He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon.”  Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.”

Revelation 21:1 “Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea.”

Revelation 21:5 “Then He who sat on the throne said, ‘Behold, I make all things new.’”

In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth and on 6^th day He created man. In the Resurrection we see the reverse. God, in the tomb of Jesus, made a new man and then after He makes a new heaven and new earth. Why? God will reveal to us in the age to come. Blessed, the Scriptures say, are those who partake of the first resurrection.

GOD’S METHOD HEBREWS 11: 8-19

Looking at Scripture we see a particular method that God uses to train us for His work.

The method might change depending on the person and circumstances, but the basic principles are the same.

We see this with Abraham:

1. God gives us a vision in a general sense.
2. Then comes testing and through it purifying.
3. Further revelation of the vision when there is obedience.
4. Often, we will go through a number of cycles of testing and revelation.

For example: Genesis 12:1-3 “Now the Lord had said to Abram: ‘Get out of your country, from your family and from your father’s house, to a land that I will show you.  I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing.  I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

Here we see God calling Abraham and giving him a vision of a land that He will show Abraham, and with a promise that He will make Abraham into a great nation, and make Abraham’s name great. Then God adds the blessing and the curse. Quite a vision!

In Genesis 12:2 God told Abraham that He would show him the land, but only when he obeyed – God would give him the land. “Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, ‘To your descendants I will give this land.’ And there he built an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him.”

While in the land the testing comes: Genesis 12:10 “Now there was a famine in the land, and Abram went down to Egypt to dwell there, for the famine was severe in the land.”

We do not read that God told him to go to Egypt. Fear came into Abraham and perhaps he felt that he could not survive if he stayed in the land even with what God told him about blessing him.

We see the result in Abraham’s life in telling his wife, Sarah, to say that she is his sister instead of his wife in fear of being killed. Half-truths, lying and deception comes into Abraham’s life.

We see that there is no more revelation of the vision until Abraham comes back to the place of obedience. Genesis 13:3-4 “And he went on his journey from the South as far as Bethel, to the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Ai, to the place of the altar which he had made there at first. And there Abram called on the name of the Lord.”

When Abraham obeyed we see that there is further revelation: Genesis 13:14-15 “And the Lord said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him: ‘Lift your eyes now and look from the place where you are — northward, southward, eastward, and westward; for all the land which you see I give to you and your descendants forever.”

However, we see another test comes to Abraham when he is offered the spoils of Sodom. Genesis 14:21-23 “Now the king of Sodom said to Abram, ‘Give me the persons, and take the goods for yourself.’ But Abram said to the king of Sodom, ‘I have raised my hand to the Lord, God Most High, the Possessor of heaven and earth, that I will take nothing, from a thread to a sandal strap, and that I will not take anything that is yours, lest you should say, ‘I have made Abram rich.’”

We read in verse 22 that Abraham made a vow to the Lord,  that he would not take anything from the king of Sodom so that it could not be said that the king made Abraham rich.

We read that when Abraham left Egypt – the king “treated Abram well for her sake (Sarah’s). He had sheep, oxen, male donkeys, male and female servants, female donkeys, and camels.” (Genesis 12:16) So,  when Abraham left Egypt “he had sheep, oxen, male donkeys, male and female servants, female donkeys, and camels.” Genesis 12:14

So, we see that when the king of Sodom offered Abraham the spoils he had learned his lesson from his experience in Egypt.

After this testing we see again that God gives further revelation to Abraham. Genesis 15:1 “After these things, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying, ‘Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward.’” God shows Abraham the boundary of the land that He is giving:  “On the same day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying: ‘To your descendants I have given this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the River Euphrates.’” Genesis 15:15

In Genesis 16 another test comes that involved Sarah and her maidservant, Hagar. God had said He would give Abraham and Sarah an heir. They were both in their old age. Year after year passed by and nothing was coming about. Would they believe God, or should they take things into their own hand?

Abraham listens to his wife and takes Hagar to bed, and Hagar bears a son for Abraham. The advice sounds plausible and sensible and was keeping up with the customs of that day, but it was not God’s will or plan, and we see the results of this today in the Middle East.

There is no further revelation from God until Abraham is almost 100 years old. In chapter 18 God reveals to Abraham and Sarah that in about a years’ time she would be giving birth to a son, the child of God’s promise.

Lastly, in Genesis 22 we see the greatest test coming to Abraham: the sacrifice of his son, the son of promise. Genesis 22:1-2 “Now it came to pass after these things that God tested Abraham, and said to him, ‘Abraham!’ And he said, ‘Here I am.’ Then He said, ‘Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.’”

What went through Abraham’s mind at that time one can only imagine, but he obeyed and, in that obedience, came the greatest revelation of all time: THE ROOT OF THE GOSPEL – GOD WILL SUPPLY!

They went to the region of Moriah. This is where the plague was stopped in King David’s time (2 Chronicles 3:1) and in New Testament time the region is the vicinity of Calvary where God’s Son, Jesus Christ, was crucified and died for the sins of the world.

Has God given you a vision? If so, testing times will come. So be obedient!

Proverbs 4:23 “Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life.”

The importance of the heart and mind is seen here in this verse. The very issues of life proceed out of the heart and mind (thoughts).

The Old Testament word for ‘issues’ brings out the meaning of what ‘goes out or goes forth or proceeds from.’ What we see is that what resides in the heart, mind, are both virtues and vices. When Christ comes into our life, He does not patch up our natural virtues, but we become new creatures.

For example: Fears reside in our heart (mind). Proverbs 12:25 “Anxiety (fear) in the heart of man causes depression, but a good word makes it glad.”

When we face physical fear, we take in deep breaths, our blood runs faster, and we find physical fear subsiding. We find the same thing with the heart (mind); God puts a new concern in our hearts (mind): the “fear lest I grieve Him.”

We also find that anguish resides in our heart (mind). Psalms 102:4 “My heart is stricken and withered like grass, So that I forget to eat my bread.” This is referring to extreme pain or distress that comes upon us. It brings out the thought that what I suffer from proves where my heart (mind) is.

For example: What did Jesus suffer from? When we read the gospels, we see that He suffered our sin against the Father, the pride of man and man’s self-will against God. Do we feel as Jesus did? Or, do we find our heart (mind) stricken, withered because of our own mistakes or choices that we made, and continue to make?

We also find that when God gets our heart (mind) right that He brings us into the fellowship of HIS sufferings. Philippians 3:10 “…that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death.” To know Him is life eternal; we long for the resurrection of the body and we are willing to suffer the offense of the Cross and even martyrdom for the truth.

It is also in the heart (mind) that unity takes place. Acts 4:32 “Now the multitude of those who believed were of one heart and one soul; neither did anyone say that any of the things he possessed was his own, but they had all things in common.” It is in the heart (mind) that God brings body, soul and spirit together; this is having a perfect heart (mind), not a divided heart (mind) or double heart (mind). The world, the flesh and the Devil can do the same thing.

We also find that joy resides in the heart (mind) as well. Reading through Scripture we find that the Bible does not talk about ‘happy’ Christians, because happiness depends upon our happenings. We live in a sad world. I have had the privilege of being able to travel and what I have seen in other countries does not bring about much happiness.

What I saw in East Pakistan when it was in the process of breaking off from West Pakistan and becoming Bangladesh – was not a happy occasion. The suffering of millions of refugees moving into West Bengal, India and the suffering that was there was not a happy occasion. Young university girls being herded into compounds and being systematically raped by soldiers until they were pregnant and seeing many of them committing suicide by hanging, first by the sari that they wore, and then when that was taken away they committed suicide by their beautiful long hair. Going to Dhaka (the Capital) and seeing the hair of these young ladies flung into the nearby trees by the soldiers – was not a happy scene. I could go on, but we get the picture. We live in a sad world.

However, unlike happiness, joy does not depend upon our circumstances. We should be able to face the stern issues of life because the fruit of the Spirit is joy, and in also knowing that God is sufficient for every problem that the devil can present.

We see this throughout the New Testament with the Apostles and what they faced. We also see this throughout church history. This is what the series on “Terror to Triumph” brought out as well, as we looked at the spread of the Kingdom of God from the beginning until now in the 21^st century.

Proverbs 4:23 “Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life.”  We need to fill our heart (mind) with the Word of God. Colossians 3:16 “Let the teaching concerning Christ remain as a rich treasure in your hearts (minds). In all wisdom teach and admonish one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, and sing with grace in your hearts to God.” Weymouth

TERROR TO TRIUMPH

CHALLENGES OF THE 21 CENTURY continued

“Patience is the result of well centered strength; it takes the strength of Almighty God to keep a man patient.” (OS)

“Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD.” Psalms 27:14

“Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; do not fret when men succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes.” Psalms 37:7

“For the director of music. Of David. A Psalm. ‘I waited patiently for the LORD; he turned to me and heard my cry.’” Psalms 40:1

A virtue that is of great importance in our lives, but few of us seem to have it, is patience. Often by not waiting patiently for the Lord we have the capability of hindering the Lord, not helping the work of God. We can either move too slow, lagging behind the Lord, or too fast, running ahead of the Lord. Either way we hinder the Lord. A key word in all of this is “faith.” Do we really believe all that God says in His Word? “I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in his word I put my hope.” (Psalms 130:5) The Lord has given us a number of examples in Scripture to show us what he means.

In Genesis 16 we see the situation with Hagar and Ishmael. God had told Abraham that out of his body would come a son that would be heir to all that he has. However, time went on until it was, humanly speaking, impossible for Sarah to bear a child. Sarah came to Abraham and gave her handmaiden to Abraham to have a child with. This was an accepted custom in those days. Abraham does so, and the result was Ishmael. As soon as he was born there was confusion in Abraham’s camp and there still is. At the right time God gave Sarah the opportunity to conceive and bear a child and Isaac was born. It was through Isaac that the Abrahamic blessing would move. Sarah moved Abraham to send Hagar and Ishmael away. Ishmael became a mighty nation as well, and even today we see the problems of this situation in the Middle East. Here is a situation where it would have been good for Sarah and Abraham to have waited patiently for the Lord.

In Genesis 25-27 we see the situation with Jacob and Esau. The LORD said to their mother, “Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you will be separated; one people will be stronger than the other, and the older will serve the younger.”

The older will serve the younger. This is what God said. “When Isaac was old and his eyes were so weak that he could no longer see, he called for Esau his older son and said to him, ‘My son.’ ‘Here I am,’” he answered. (Genesis 27:1) Here we see Isaac getting ready to bless Esau. However we read that Rebekah hears about what Isaac is ready to do. “Now Rebekah was listening as Isaac spoke to his son Esau.” (Genesis 27:5) She gets a hold of Jacob to share what is taking place and to hatch out a plan on how to help God out of this predicament. What was the result of all of this? Esau, rightly so, felt that Jacob had deceived him. “Your brother came deceitfully and took your blessing.” (Genesis 27:35) Esau held a grudge against Jacob because of the blessing his father had given him. He said to himself, “The days of mourning for my father are near; then I will kill my brother Jacob.” (Genesis 27:41) Jacob fled into his mother’s country and for a number of years did not have contact with his own people. Jacob found some of the same duplicity being played upon him when he goes to Laban to take a wife.

Another example of patiently waiting is David. David had been anointed as king by the prophet Samuel. Yet instead of being king he was fleeing for his life. Saul was relentless in trying to kill him. Instead of sitting on a throne, David was sitting on a rock in cave. It seemed that what the Lord said was not going to work out. We read in 1 Samuel 27:1 that David thought to himself, “One of these days I will be destroyed by the hand of Saul. The best thing I can do is to escape to the land of the Philistines. Then Saul will give up searching for me anywhere in Israel, and I will slip out of his hand.” Here we see David’s lapse of faith. David escapes to a city called Ziglag. Ziglag was a border town. It is a place of ‘compromise.’  David leads his six hundred valiant men into this place of compromise. I believe it had an effect not only upon him, but also upon his men.

What is the Lord trying to do in our lives? He wants to build character in us. A part of character that we need is patience and faith. God wants a pure faith in our lives. This is more important in the eyes of God than gold or silver. We must learn the lesson of waiting upon the Lord. First, we let Him speak and then secondly, we must learn to wait until He tells us to move.

It is my hope and prayer that you have been encouraged to not give up no matter what your failures are, and no matter what you see happening in the world around you. In writing this series the one thing that comes out to me is that the person that God uses is a man/woman of character. We are born with a personality, but character is something that is developed as we respond to the challenges that come our way daily.

I believe that Alfred the Great, whom I quote a lot, was right when he said, “Give me men/women that can fight, build and pray, and I will go out and build Western civilization.” God is building His Kingdom out of men and women with Christ-like character that will finish what God has given them to do, no matter what.

Will you be able to say what the Apostle Paul said at the end of his life? “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day — and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for His appearing.”  2 Timothy 4:7-8

Isaiah 64:4 “The ear has not had news of, nor the eye seen, what God has working for the man who is waiting for him. (BBE)

Remember that everything works out beautifully in Gods perfect time.