Isaiah 61:1-3 – “The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me

To bring good news to the afflicted; He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to captives And freedom to prisoners; 2 To proclaim the favorable year of the LORD And the day of vengeance of our God; To comfort all who mourn, 3 To grant those who mourn in Zion, Giving them a garland instead of ashes, The oil of gladness instead of mourning, The mantle of praise instead of a spirit of fainting. So they will be called oaks of righteousness,

The planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified.”  NASU

You read my title and my text and just wondered how this connects?  Give me a few sessions to connect the dots before you come to a conclusion.  I want to lay a foundation upon which to build a truth from God’s Word that, in my view, is being missed by much of the Church today.  Life does not go on without changes.  Human history is not just going on in a continuous cycle of often confusing events.  God IS involved in history and is not an absentee landlord as some contend.  I believe that we are on the cusp of some incredible things in the spiritual realm that will bring radical change to the spiritual world around us.  When God acts things change!  Therefore, it is imperative that we do not settle into a rut just coasting along in the status quo spiritually.

It is my personal belief, based on my understanding of Scripture that we have come to a time when there is going to be some major shaking and changes.  God is doing things and as that day approaches things are going to change at the speed of light and many will wake up and say, “God, what is going on?  Clue me in.  I want to be a part of what You are doing.”  I believe we have an opportunity like no generation before us and we dare not sleep through it!

DOUBLE PORTION is a truth in Scripture that I fully believe in and believe that it is largely focused on the Last Generation or Last Days.  There are some things about what I will call The Law of Double Portion that are crucial for us to understand and we can lay the foundation in our text.

ISAIAH 61 is a Messianic Prophecy or a prediction of the ministry of Christ.  Jesus told us in Luke 4 that this was so.  He is our Messiah, our Pattern, our Model.  We understand this in Isaiah 6:1-2.  Then in Isaiah 61:3 we find that we will be allowed to trade our ‘ashes’ for the ‘beauty’ that God gives to us.  Trade our ‘mourning’ for His “Joy”.  We will be called ‘trees’ of righteousness, the ‘planting’ of the Lord and He will be glorified in the fruit that comes from our lives!  I find that exhilarating!

Isaiah 61:4 – – RESTORATION comes into the picture.  He will ‘rebuild’ the waste places.  He will ‘raise’ the former desolations.  They will ‘repair’ the ruined cities and the desolations of many generations.  I have noticed in my walk with God that when things look bad and do not seem to be working out God never loses hope, never gives up, and never quits!  He never says, “I tried to do something with these people, but they flopped so I guess I will just forget them!”  DOES NOT HAPPEN!!!  God made it and He can fix it for in God there is no such word as HOPELESS.

In verse 6 we are called priests of the Lord, ministers of our God and we will ‘eat’ the riches of the nations.  In verse 7 God declares that for our ‘shame’ we will receive DOUBLE, and for our ‘confusion’ we will rejoice in our portion.  So in the land there will be DOUBLE!  The last portion of the verse says:  “Everlasting Joy shall be upon them.”  That is a clue as to what DOUBLE means and it is something incredibly good because it is going to bring EVERLASTING JOY!   That will be the evidence that the DOUBLE PORTION has been received and is operational in our lives!  Verse 8 refers to an EVERLASTING COVENANT and in the Old Testament the theme of DOUBLE PORTION is always tied to COVENANT.  So our Covenant in the New Testament is enacted by the Blood of Jesus!  It is a better covenant established on better promises and those of the Old were not too shabby!  The reason it is connected to Covenant is to demonstrate just how serious God is about BLESSING us!  It is not wishful thinking it is biblical fact and promise!

I will pause here and pick up next post to lay the foundation further before we get into the nuts and bolts of The Law of Double Portion and its reality in our lives now!   So until then may God be with you as you go through your day!

Hebrews 4:12 – “For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”  NKJV

 Proverbs 23:7 – “For as he thinks within himself, so he is.” NASU

I have had slips of the tongue in life and embarrassingly in the pulpit too.  I and virtually everyone I know justifies those by saying something like it was, a ‘Freudian slip’ and not giving much thought to it.  We are told that a Freudian slip is when a person has a slip of the tongue, where they say one thing, but mean another.  It was named after Sigmund Freud who was a medical doctor, physiologist, and psychologist.  But I want to probe a bit deeper into the so-called ‘Freudian slips’ we make or have made.  Are they inconsequential or indicators of something that needs to be addressed?

I am quite serious for as the aforementioned passages indicate that God knows our thoughts  and intents and we become what we focus on, mediate on, dwell on, and think.  But Jesus took it a step further in Luke 6:45 – “A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.” NKJV  So again I broach the issue, is this inconsequential and to be laughed at or an indicator of something more?

I am not trying to overly dissect Scripture or the human condition but how did the ‘slip’ make its way to our lips?  It had to be in the heart in some form or it would not have been uttered.  Oh, I completely agree that we did not intend to say whatever it was and would have taken it back if possible but it was said, it was in the heart somewhere.  I am not suggesting that you are ultimately evil because of it or mean-spirited because of the slip but could it be an indicator of something in the heart that has not been dealt with?

I do not even suggest that all ‘Freudian slips’ are happen are something dirty, profane, or anything of the like, some are just funny misspeaks but in those cases where it was completely out of character for you and something you would never have meant to say and even something you are shocked that came out of your mouth it might just be an indicator of something that is ‘in the heart’ somewhere and needs the ministry of the Spirit and Word of God to remove.

We find in Psalm 139:1-2 – “O LORD, You have searched me and known me. 2 You know my sitting down and my rising up; You understand my thought afar off.” NKJV  Even before we think something God knows.  He knew it was there and may have reached out to us to deal with it and found us unresponsive.  We may have allowed our religiousness and pride to suppress it because we would never say anything like that.  But, the Loving Father just may have allowed us to make the ‘slip’ to reveal to us something that is there and give us opportunity to cooperate with the Holy Spirit to address.

Therefore, instead of just excusing a ‘slip’ as ‘Freudian’ why not utilize it as an opportunity to seek the Holy Spirit’s help in addressing something that we do not really want to exist in our lives.

Again, I am not suggesting that this makes you bad but do suggest that we allow our ‘slips’ of the tongue to open our hearts for the ministry of God’s Spirit in continuing the transformation and conformation of our lives into that which God truly and fully desires.

May you walk in His blessing and May He place a guard at your mouth at all times!  Blessings as you go through your day!

Luke 6:38 – “Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.”   NKJV

            Have you ever been guilty of overlooking the obvious because it is so simple?  I have.  But the more I have studied the subject of ‘giving’ in Scripture the more I come back to this verse and them more one little item leaps off the page at me.  There is something simple yet profound in this passage that too many miss.

             There is a process, a principle, and a potential revealed here that if we grasp will transform our lives for the good.  I believe that or would not say it.  It all centers on a two-letter word that totally transforms this passage.  That word is ‘I T’.

             Few would question Jesus’ instructions regarding ‘giving’ and that we ‘give’ and ‘receive’ as part of God’s process.  But did you carefully notice this passage?  Jesus says, “Give, and IT…”  It will be given to you.  That return will be ‘good measure’, ‘pressed down’, ‘shaken together’, and ‘running over’ that men will give to you.  He further said that the return will be by the same proportion of the giving.  All that is powerful and frightening at the same time!  I have learned both in Scripture and experience that God will not be out-given. He notices what we do!

           Before I get to the ‘I T’ of this passage I want to address the principle of “Sowing & Reaping”.  In natural ‘sowing’ the harvest or reaping is always more than is sown, later than what was sown.  Simply, if you plant watermelon seed you will not reap a harvest of grapes.  The harvest is virtually never immediate but later and there is the cultivation of the soil, the care of the plants that spring from the seed, and the labor of harvest involved.  Some seem to want to sit like birds in the wilderness waiting to be fed and do nothing but give a token gift.

             Remember the widow when Jesus sat near where the worshippers were passing to put in their offering?  She put in two pence and Jesus was so touched by her sacrifice that He declared that she had given more than all the others.  NO SHE HAD NOT!  Not in the natural but proportionally she did for SHE GAVE ALL.  I’ve told people for years that if you do notice know it when it leaves you won’t recognize it when it returns.  If you didn’t feel it leaving you won’t notice it returning.  It is with the same measure, standard, or proportion that the return comes.

             But as I alluded in the natural sowing there is “I T”.  Jesus said, “Give and IT….”  It will be given to you.  This touches a principle of life and I’ve shared with people this simple reflection on this passage and life.  What do you need?  If you need love, give love.  If you need forgiveness, give forgiveness.  If you need money, give money.  If you need compassion, give compassion.  If you need a friend, give friendship.  If you need loyalty, give loyalty.  Now, I do not want to make it appear that God is a vending machine or a mail order store but if you are giving those things and more what I mentioned you will find that God is causing them to return to your life.  The Bible says if a man wants to have friends he must be a friend. (Proverbs 18:24)

             Consider what God has given to us in the Cross and you will quickly realize just how willing to give God is.  I would challenge you to study this passage and all the passages on giving and the principles of giving in the Bible and see if you do not conclude that the “I T” of this passage makes all the difference in the outcome and result.  You cannot give hatred, bitterness, deception, and envy and expect to find love, compassion, forgiveness, and openness in your relationships.  Take the natural to understand the spiritual and remember that in the natural you reap WHAT you sow, LATER than you sow, and MORE than you sow. 

             May the Lord be with you as you go through your day!

Psalm 133:1 – “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is For brethren to dwell together in unity!”  NKJV

I have long been convinced that the only thing that can prevent the Church from reaching this world and rising to greatness is US.  The devil cannot prevent it and God most assuredly has no desire to prevent it so that only leaves US in the equation.  One of the key elements in the Church’s success is U N I T Y.

It is important that we have a ‘common vision’ especially in the local fellowship.  It is vital that we become Christ centered and be as those in the Book of Acts 4 – ‘…one heart and of one soul…’  Paul urges in Ephesians 4:3 that we are to “endeavor to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”  He also declares in Philippians 3:16 – “…let us walk by the same rule, let us mind the same thing.”

In the Bible (KJV) we are told to MARK two specific groups of people.  Sadly, I believe this is a message that has been somewhat lost by the modern church.

Romans 16:17 – “Now I urge you, brethren, keep your eye on those who cause dissensions and hindrances contrary to the teaching which you learned, and turn away from them.“ NASU

Philippians 3:17 – “Brethren, join in following my example, and observe those who walk according to the pattern you have in us.”  NASU

The first group to mark or identify are those who cause division.  The second group those who set the right example.  MARK THEM BOTH – – but – – AVOID the ones that cause division and cling to, immolate, and copy those who set the right example.  Pretty simple isn’t it?

The devil is not going to win!  However, he is going to do everything in his power to defeat you and defeat the church.  One of the reasons that too many churches across the land are powerless and dryer than last year’s corn shuck is the devil has them backed into a corner and robbed them of their vision.  They fume and fuss, bicker and squabble debating non-essential issues and act like children filled with selfishness and demanding their own way.

The work of God is too important for that and long ago I decided I would refuse to be a part of a brawl.  Satan can never defeat the church from the outside.  People can say what they want about us, criticize us, even commit character assignation, lay their hands to what we have, and seek to destroy us BUT GOD will raise us up above it all and set our feet on the solid rock victorious if we maintain the U N I T Y of the Spirit.  It will never be the outsider, the critic, the jealous preacher, jealous church on the outside – THEY CANNOT DEFEAT US!  The only thing that can hinder the Church is US.  We are the only ones that can hinder the work of God in and through us.  Therefore, let us lay aside every weight and sin that so easily besets us and realize that it is not us and the work is not ours but the Church belongs to JESUS and He is building His Church.   We have nothing to defend or protect so let us rest in Him and live at peace!

            May God bless you as you go through your day!

Hebrews 10:23-25 – “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful; 24 and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, 25 not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.” NASU

Now to come to a conclusion in this examination of the Value of Corporate Gatherings, I ask, “What is a Covenant Community?”   I offer no detailed definition and leave much room for you to amend and expand my simple definition but a COMMUNITY is a society of people having common rights, privileges, interests and living under the same laws, rules, and regulations and having a COMMUNITY SPIRIT.

COVENANT COMMUNITY…

• Exists when people are more concerned with the Corporate Local Body than themselves.  The Body becomes more important than personal pleasures.
• Exists when individuals are knitted, built, fitted, framed, assembled, and joined together forming lasting relationships.
• Exists when people want to spend time together in both spiritual and natural activities.
• Exists when the elderly retain proper godly authority throughout their lives and are cherished and respected by the community.
• Exists when the family is in biblical order.
• Exists when humanism, selfishness, independence, and isolation are treated as intruding viruses.  They are overcome and destroyed by applying the Word of God so that Covenant Community can be a reality.

How can the local church combat these antagonistic spirits?   Romans 14:1-15:5 details seven vital attitudes necessary for successful community living which precedes successful corporate gatherings.

• An Attitude of Acceptance and Understanding of Each Other.  (Romans 14:1-6)

The strong receive the weak without judgment.  It is vital to give each other room to make mistakes and be different.

• An Attitude of Accountability to Each Other.  (Romans 14:7)

No selfish conduct edifies.  Accountability is not optional.  Hebrews 13:3 commands us to exhort one another daily to be accountable.  If we do not develop and maintain this attitude sin will prevail and we will see weak families, churches, and nations.

• An Attitude of Responsibility Concerning Each Other’s Walk.  (Romans 14:13)

We must identify with the feelings of others and seek to gently but firmly restore them when necessary.  We are to be people of refuge not insecurity.

• The Attitude of Sensitivity to Our Brother’s Weakness.  (Romans 14:15,17)

The real issue is not eating but ‘personal rights’ and ‘freedom’.  If something we do causes a brother/sister to be hurt and we know it, then we are not walking in love if we continue.

• The Attitude of Edification that Brings a Bond of Peace.  (Romans 14:19)

Philippians 2:3 instructs us not to have an attitude of ‘selfish ambition’ and 2:4 – “Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.”  (That is not meddling and being a busy body as some have used it to support).

• The Attitude of Not Being a Self-Pleaser.  (Romans 15:1-3)
• The Attitude of Identification with Another’s Problems – Past and Present.  (Romans 15:4-7)

           We should strive and pray for the same kind of compassion that Jesus manifested and exhibited.

             If we are going to have healthy Corporate Gatherings that are what God has designed and desires we must FIRST develop ‘Covenant Community.’  We must address our personal spirituality, detect and detest the spirits of the day, and develop covenant community attitudes.

In our Corporate Gatherings and Personal Lives we need  to always seek to convey truth, conserve that which is gained, and allow the Holy Spirit to produce Spiritual Growth in us leaving behind what He leaves behind and taking into our lives that which He brings.

            God bless you as you go through your day!  

Hebrews 10:23-25 – “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful; 24 and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, 25 not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.” NASU

Yesterday we talked about ALIENATION and I believe that one of the major causes of this is ‘unresolved offenses’ or ‘conflicts’.  In fact, the Bible speaks of this as a sign of the times:

Matthew 24:10 – “And then many will be offended and repelled and begin to distrust and desert (Him Whom they ought to Trust and Obey) and will stumble and fall away; and betray one another and pursue one another with hatred.”

OFFENSE – – [Skandalizo/Sandalon]

The root is to spring forward and back to slam shut.  It is a TRAP and a trap wherein one is closed in without escape.  A ‘bait stick’ is used to lure prey into the trap and in human terms it is:

•  An obstacle on the path over which one falls, stumbles, and is hindered.
• The cause of moral or spiritual ruin.
• To suffer injury, to become hurt, wounded, or offended.
• To cause a person to begin to distrust and desert one whom he/she ought to trust and obey, to be hindered from acknowledging His authority.

           Unresolved Offenses lead to strained relationships, distrust, isolation, harassment by the enemy, emotional instability, hindrances to the flow of the Spirit of God in our lives, resentment, bitterness, and betrayal.  Any one of these attitudes left unchecked will hinder, if not destroy, the individual and local body!  It will cause the ‘corporate gatherings’ to deteriorate and stagnate!

THE SPIRIT OF CAIN…

This is another spirit of our day and one that has and is doing much damage within the church as we know it.  I have found that battling this spirit is a never ending process in which the attitudes of ‘selfishness’ must be addressed.

Genesis 4:9 – But afterwards the Lord asked Cain, Where is your brother?  Where is Abel?  How should I know?  Cain retorted, am I supposed to keep track of him wherever he goes?  Am I my brother’s keeper?

 KEEPER – – To shepherd, tend, look upon with pleasure, to hedge about so as to guard and protect.

Yes Cain you are supposed to have your brother’s back!  The devil promotes humanism, alienation, and the spirit of Cain.  We have been liberated from the independent life and set free!  The Cross has brought a NEW ATTITUDE of caring, accountability, and togetherness to the Body of Christ and produces a COVENANT COMMUNITY!

I will again pause here and ask that you ask the Father to reveal any of these spirits in your life and your congregation and turn them over to Him.  He will deal with them, deliver us from them, and enable us to move into His fullness in a much more powerful way.  So until tomorrow may the Lord bless you richly is my prayer!  BLESSINGS!

Hebrews 10:23-25 – “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful; 24 and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, 25 not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.” NASU

The Spirit of Our Day!   It is evident that there are two spirits at work in our world, the Holy Spirit and a satanic spirit.  One of the significant manifestations of this latter spirit is humanism and produces at least three spirits that affect our corporate gatherings and the spiritual lives of individuals.

SPIRIT OF HUMANISM…

I have learned that one can detect a genuine move of the Holy Spirit in our meetings and at the same time have a keen sense of an undercurrent of ‘doubt’ and ‘skepticism’ which is often traced to the spirit of humanism and it affects far more than most are willing to believe.

HUMANISM – (Manifesto 1933)

“We consider the religious forms and ideas of our fathers no longer adequate. The quest for the good life is still the central task of mankind.  Man is at last becoming aware that he alone is responsible for the realization of the world of his dreams, that he has within himself the power of its achievements.  He must set intelligence and will to the task.”

Ephesians 2:2 – “Where in times past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience.”

I believe it is useful to remember that before we became Christians, we walked after the spirit of the world.  We were influenced by the spirit of the air (devil), whose fallen spirit molds the people of our day in his image.  Satan’s problem is SELF!  That is evidenced and made clear in Isaiah 14 where we have the FIVE ‘I Wills’ of the devil and largely they are expressed as:  The spirit of ‘self-will’ where there is a driving desire to please, live for and serve self. There is the spirit of ‘independency’ where the driving desire is to be one’s own master and accountable to no one.  Then there is the problem with ‘ego’ or ‘self’ displaying not depth of roots, isolated, and detached.  I have had more than I care to recall tell me, “Just leave me alone, I’m working it out with God and don’t need the church.”

SPIRIT OF ALIENATION….

Here instead of being a fruitful, joyful member of the Body one becomes a loner, isolated from others and uninvolved.  Alienation in the New Testament is to be estranged, shutting oneself out from fellowship and intimacy, withdrawing the heart, affections, and becoming a non-participant while living as a virtual outsider.  Without question that mindset will hinder growth and a believer in this state is: isolated and withdrawn, maintains an independent attitude and lifestyle, fails to mature in corporate growth, and remains under the control or manipulation of the former spirit.  That cannot be healthy!

I am going to pause here and will pick up tomorrow on some of the causes of this.  So as you go through your day, go with God and He will go with you.  BLESSINGS!

Hebrews 10:23-25 – “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful; 24 and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, 25 not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.” NASU

Yesterday I left you hanging on the Law of Degeneration and how truth will decay if not maintained.  Consider with me four simple definitions of DECAY that I believe will assist in our understanding:

• In the Hebrew it means:  ‘to be removed from.’
• In Webster’s it means:  “having sunk below a former or normal condition or character, to deteriorate from a former standard.”
• In Biology it means:  “to become gradually a lower type, a gradual falling off to a lower form of development.”
• In Medicine it means:  “a change in health of the vital organs by injury or disease and leading to loss of vitality, the loss of proper function.”

Hopefully those help and trigger thoughts in your heart and mind.  I have discovered that just as in the personal spiritual life, the corporate gatherings can DEGENERATE and must be given proper care and oversight and that, in my view is pastoral responsibility.  We need to be conscious of the ‘trappings’ of the corporate gathering.  What of the spiritual quality?  What of those things that do not edify and are more symbolism than substance?  What of traditions?  There can be so many causes of degeneration but the result is the same.

           In business if we have a ‘product to sell’ we must have a ‘marketing strategy’ to convey that product to the public.  What is our ‘marketing strategy’ for the Corporate Gathering?  What are the tools we rely upon to convey the product (Gospel) to the public?  I believe that we must rely upon the ‘Holy Spirit’s Anointing.’  Yet there is another factor that plays heavily in how the public views our product.  That is THE INTEREST INDICATOR.

If there is a general lack of interest there is a reason.  If it is not the product then it must be either the people or the packaging of the product and it is usually the latter.  I do not want you to think that I am trying to give a seminar on ‘marketing’ for the Gospel but if our ‘corporate gatherings’ are not what they should be why?

           The Church is in a continual state of transition.  Things change, people change, interests change and the church must address those changes with an UNCHANGING TRUTH!  It would serve us well to carefully and prayerfully consider what we are doing in our corporate gatherings and continually allow the Holy Spirit to eliminate that which is symbolism rather than substance and incorporate that which will spark the interest without compromising the truth and message.

Some have gone to extremes in entertainment and allowed the message to become diluted and secondary and others have gone to the extremes of rigidly presenting the message while losing people’s interest with their rigidity.  Ask the Holy Spirit to help you maintain a healthy state of life, growth, and progress in your corporate gatherings.

I have only scratched the surface and tomorrow want to consider briefly the Spirit of our Day and how it affects the Corporate Gathering.  So until tomorrow may the Lord bless you and keep you, make His face to shine upon you, be gracious unto you, and give you peace.  BLESSINGS!

Hebrews 10:23-25 – “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful; 24 and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, 25 not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.” NASU

I have been challenged many times regarding the purpose of ‘Corporate Gatherings’ of the Church.  Some have argued that it is nothing more than a religious exercise that has more symbolism, pomp, and circumstance than substance and that may frequently be true, I hope not.  Is there a meaning and purpose to the ‘Corporate Gathering’ that is deeper than what is seen on the surface?  I would say unequivocally, YES!  I want to embark on a brief journey and hope to stir you with some questions that will provoke thought and reflection.

There are two major areas that I want to at least skim the surface of:  The Law of Degeneration and the Spirit of Our Day.  I believe that we can understand much about the value of the Corporate Gathering if we give at least cursory consideration to those two areas.  Join me for the journey.

THE LAW OF DEGENERATION…..

I am convinced that everything in this present world DEGENERATES if left alone.  I realize that there could be exceptions to that but virtually everything will degenerate if left alone including the FLOCK OF GOD.  Paul admonished those charged and commissioned as ‘overseers’ in Acts 20:28 to care for ALL the flock.  We readily understand that the FLOCK refers to all the sheep (people) as ‘one body’.  It is the whole yet comprised of individual sheep.

Overseers are understood as ‘pastors, ministers, elders’ and are charged to be ‘watchmen on the walls’ with the specific responsibility for the oversight of the ‘spiritual care’ of the ENTIRE FLOCK. That involves worship, training, and the general spiritual health of the congregation.  That is a weighty responsibility.  I did not say they were to DO IT ALL but are RESPONSIBLE for it all.

What are we talking about when we say the ‘spiritual health’ of the body?  That is a question that I have never ceased to ask myself.  I have discovered that I better understand this responsibility if I examine the Law of Degeneration as illustrated in the book of Jeremiah.

Jeremiah 2:21 – “Yet I have planted thee a noble vine, wholly a right seed: how then art thou turned into a DEGENERATE PLANT of a STRANGE VINE unto me?”   (Emphasis mine)

There is a ‘state of growth’ or a ‘growth process,’ in the local church where truths are planted.  Believer, we have truth!  I am no referring to one group over another in denominational debates but the Body of Christ has truth because we have Him Who is Truth!   Many times I have had someone say regarding their church or a particular church:  “If they only knew about the worship, preaching, ministry, love, etc. that is regularly offered in this church the place would be packed every service.”  My question is, “Why don’t they know?”

I believe it can be understood in the LAW OF DEGENERATION.  As time passes, the original planting with either produce a ‘Noble Vine’ or will become a ‘Strange Vine’.  It will either ‘generate’ or ‘degenerate.’  As we teach truth and plant right seed much energy and emphasis is placed on the ‘sowing’ of the seed.  That is not a bad thing but the one thing that cannot be forgotten is that unless we energetically ‘maintain’ truth it will decay.

Now I realize that I stopping here may leave you with questions and challenges to that last statement but please hold that thought until tomorrow and we will dig a little deeper.  May God be with you, bless you, guard you, and guide you through your day!  BLESSINGS!

Mark 6:30-32 – “The apostles gathered together with Jesus; and they reported to Him all that they had done and taught. 31 And He said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a secluded place and rest a while.” (For there were many people coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat.) 32 They went away in the boat to a secluded place by themselves.”  NASU

There was a time in Christian ministry that I somehow mistakenly formed the opinion that the work was too pressing for me to take a break and when I did I would feel guilty for taking time away from the work.  I could not rest away from the field of labor.  I found it difficult to fully enjoy rest and relaxation for thinking of all that needed to be done, the people needing to be ministered to, and the opportunities missed in my absence.  One day that changed when a very senior minister came to me with this passage and said, “Son, I need to be obedient to the LORD and help you understand something about ministry and life.”  My deep respect for him caused me to listen and thank God I did.

In the course of our conversation he related several stories about minsters losing their families because they were doing exactly what I was doing.  He related to me a couple of situations where the minister became so ‘burned out’ that they lost their faith and became so bitter that they hated the church and all it stood for.  He then told me that while he knew my heart was right my actions were wrong and that even Jesus took a break from time to time.  There is much more to the story but long story short he got my attention and caused me to go to the LORD in prayer and begin to carefully examine scripture about this subject and the Holy Spirit changed my mind, attitude, and actions.

Truthfully if you so completely immerse yourself in your ministry or vocation that you cannot relax and recharge your batteries you will ‘burn out’ or ‘burn up’ and become so spent that you are not effective or as effective as you could be.  The danger I wanted to avoid was swinging the pendulum too far to the other side.  I have seen ministers so guard their ‘away time’ that they ignore true emergency situations.  Life or death situations whether spiritual or natural cannot be ignored and if you give up your break to address one of those, God will help you find another time to get away and become refreshed.

I have had people tell me I haven’t had a vacation in ten years and I usually say, “Why not?”  If it is finances that, does not mean you cannot have a break only you cannot go on a trip.  I had a minister tell me that he never saw his son play ball because he was too busy in the church.  I suggested that while he was excelling in one dimension of his purpose he was failing in another and a very important one.  If God has allowed children to be a part of your life they are your responsibility to teach and train them in the right way and ignoring them is not going to get the job done.

It is possible to become so busy with busyness that you become ineffective and your busyness becomes busywork not real ministry.  So I encourage you to learn to ‘take a break’ no matter what you are doing.  Ultimately you will be better served, more effective and so will your work.  Blessings as you go through your day!