Hosea 7:8 – “Ephraim has mixed himself among the peoples; Ephraim is a cake unturned.” NKJV

This is an interesting description.  A cake unturned is “uncooked on one side.”  The prophet described Ephraim as one who has so co-mingled with the nations that they have become “half-baked.”  If you follow that through naturally, you will find that an unturned pancake would tend to be raw on the unturned side and in danger of becoming charred and burned on the side nearest the fire.

I have seen people in the church who are so one-dimensional in their view of the things of God who reflect this.  They are burned on one side by that which captures their interest but are without benefit in other areas of their lives, spiritually speaking. 

They become Pharisaical, demonstrating great zeal and enthusiasm for one particular dimension of Christianity.  They look down their noses at anyone not sharing their viewpoint and yet are not growing in grace and becoming a well-rounded Christian who can demonstrate to the world that they can rightly divide the Word of Truth.  In a significant sense, they are “half-baked” and frequently turn more people off than they reach for our Lord.

God wants to touch every dimension of our lives, and in so doing, He will bring us into an encounter with truth that will help us mature and develop in all areas of our Christian walk.  You may have a particular gift or calling you primarily focus on, which is good. But you need to allow the Holy Spirit to bring you to maturity in all aspects of your life.  Your passion may be for a particular area of ministry, but you should be able to see other areas as well.  The Christian walk does not center around you and your passion for a particular work. It centers on Christ and the His Body of Believers.

The person who is a “cake unturned” will find that they have things in their lives that are unchallenged, unchecked, unrepented of, and weights that will hinder their walk in Christ.  We need to allow the Holy Spirit to minister to the total man or woman; as He does, he will turn us so that we are thoroughly cooked, not burned on one side and raw on the other.

I feel this is for some who have neglected to press in deeper into the things of God and have remained as a “cake unturned” to the point that they find the Christian walk a struggle, even to the point of becoming disillusioned.  That person could be in danger of throwing in the towel and giving up.  I want to prevent that and encourage you to seek the wisdom of the Lord and allow the Holy Spirit to take the spatula of God and turn you over and over until you are thoroughly cooked for Jesus!

May the Lord be with you as you go through God’s kitchen!  Blessings as you go through your day!

Luke 18:9-14 – “And He also told this parable to some people who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and viewed others with contempt: 10 “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.  11 “The Pharisee stood and was praying this to himself: ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other people: swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.  12’I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all that I get.’  13 “But the tax collector, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, the sinner!’  14 “I tell you, this man went to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.”  NASB

Yes, this is a bit of a takeoff on Jeff Foxworthy’s “You Might Be a Redneck.”   As I read this passage, I thought about being a Pharisee.  It has been my unfortunate experience to have been one and to have known many in my years of Christian service.  Sadly, many do not even realize that they are one and, if confronted, are highly offended.

Consider this parable with me.  Here, Jesus called to light anyone who trusted in themselves regarding their righteousness while viewing others in contempt.  Jesus spent most of His ministry calling attention to His otherness regarding the Pharisees.  He wanted everyone then and now to understand that what He came to offer was the opposite of what they presented.  They tried to “earn it,” and Jesus came to bring salvation as a “gift of grace.”

Consider the two men in the parable. 

• The Pharisee.

He compared himself to others.  He had his checklist of all the things he was not and how much better he was than those he named.  He commended himself for his service, giving, fasting, and praying.  He viewed himself as the pious person God must surely love more than others because of all he did and did not do. 

• The Tax Collector.

He was of an occupation highly despised by the Pharisees.  This man exhibited incredible humility as he stood before the altar.  He could not lift his eyes but beat his chest and whispered, “God, be merciful to me, the or a sinner!”  He knew that in himself, there was no good thing. 

He knew he could not earn God’s favor in his efforts.  He knew he was not one inch closer to God than anyone else in his works, service, and religious activities.  He sought “mercy” without thinking he had “earned” anything.

You Might Be a Pharisee if…

• You compare yourself to others.
• You look down on others who either do not do what you do or do things that you would not do. 
• You think your religious activities earn you brownie points with God above other people, you might be a Pharisee.

Jesus’ clear message was that the tax collector who cried out for mercy, not the Pharisee who boasted in his own piousness, went away “justified.”  Read the last part of verse 14 – “…for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.”  It is all by grace!  You will work once you receive His grace, but your works do not earn you a place in heaven. It is His work on the Cross that purchased that for you!

Therefore, the next time you see someone and have even a remote thought that they might be lesser than you because of what they are doing or not doing, ask yourself, ‘Am I a Pharisee?”  Shake off those chains of religious bondage and walk free in Jesus.

Blessings as you go through your day!

1 Kings 17:8-17 – “Then the word of the LORD came to him, saying, 9 “Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and stay there; behold, I have commanded a widow there to provide for you.” 10 So he arose and went to Zarephath, and when he came to the gate of the city, behold, a widow was there gathering sticks; and he called to her and said, “Please get me a little water in a jar, that I may drink.” 11 As she was going to get it, he called to her and said, “Please bring me a piece of bread in your hand.” 12 But she said, ” As the LORD your God lives, I have no bread, only a handful of flour in the bowl and a little oil in the jar; and behold, I am gathering a few sticks that I may go in and prepare for me and my son, that we may eat it and die.” 13 Then Elijah said to her, “Do not fear; go, do as you have said, but make me a little bread cake from it first and bring it out to me, and afterward you may make one for yourself and for your son. 14 “For thus says the LORD God of Israel, ‘The bowl of flour shall not be exhausted, nor shall the jar of oil be empty, until the day that the LORD sends rain on the face of the earth.'” 15 So she went and did according to the word of Elijah, and she and he and her household ate for many days. 16 The bowl of flour was not exhausted nor did the jar of oil become empty, according to the word of the LORD which He spoke through Elijah.” NASB

I love the accounts of the Prophet Elijah, and although some today tell me that we no longer need miracles because we have science, medicine, and the New Testament, I disagree.  When did God change?  When did God stop being God?  When did the compassionate heart of God to do good things for His people end?  I believe that you will agree that GOD HAS NOT CHANGED!

In this account, there are several things that we need to quickly look at to get the heart of the message that I am trying to convey:

• There was the Obedience of Elijah.

God told him where and when to go and told him what he would find when he arrived.  However, as we see in the following verses, it did not turn out quite like Elijah might have thought.  The widow fulfilled his request for a drink, but when he asked for food, she explained her situation and justification for not doing what he requested.

• There were the Divine Instructions from Elijah.

“Do not fear…”  I love the preface to his instructions with a word of assurance.  Then he does something that many liberal theologians consider selfish, but it was a test of her obedience and faith.  He said, “… make me a little bread cake from it first, bring it to me, and then you and your son can eat.”  On the surface, this seems very selfish and completely out of character for a man of God and the heart of God.

• The Groundwork for the Miracle was Laid.

After Elijah informed her to prepare something from him “first’ out of her meager supply, he told her prophetically, “For thus says the LORD God of Israel, ‘The bowl of flour shall not be exhausted, nor shall the jar of oil be empty, until the day that the LORD sends rain on the face of the earth.”   That is a specific word for a specific situation with a specific timeframe.  It is going to be easy to verify if this prophetic word is accurate or not.  From the widow’s perspective, she had two options:

1. She could trust the Word of God from the man of God and place her confidence in God’s faithfulness or
2. She could look at her situation and say, ‘Why not? I do not have much anyway,” or “I do not have enough and will ensure that my child gets at least one last meal.  That would have spelled disaster in either case.

I passionately believe that the word she heard from the prophet took root in her heart. A seed was planted. Her obedience to God’s directive provided a platform for God to produce an Endless Supply for her and her son during the famine.

Verse 16 reveals that that is precisely what occurred – God ensured she never lacked.  She gave out of her poverty, and God gave out of His abundance.  This is evidence that it is impossible to “outgive” God and that obedience coupled with any required sacrifice will result in an “open door” into the supply room of the Father.

I do not know what you might be facing today, but know this: if God directs your heart based on His Word to do something, do it with complete confidence that He will Never Fail! 

  May the Lord bless you as you go through your day in Him!

John 11:38-44 – “So Jesus, again being deeply moved within, came to the tomb. Now it was a cave, and a stone was lying against it. 39 Jesus said, “Remove the stone.” Martha, the sister of the deceased, said to Him, “Lord, by this time there will be a stench, for he has been dead four days.” 40 Jesus said to her, “Did I not say to you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?”  41 So they removed the stone. Then Jesus raised His eyes, and said, ” Father, I thank You that You have heard Me.  42 “I knew that You always hear Me; but because of the people standing around I said it, so that they may believe that You sent Me.”  43 When He had said these things, He cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come forth.”  44 The man who had died came forth, bound hand and foot with wrappings, and his face was wrapped around with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”  NASB

There is so much that could be said and so little space to say it regarding the passage.  Let us focus on one particular point, verse 44.  The disciples missed the messages when Jesus told them Lazarus was sick and sleeping.  Martha missed the point when Jesus told them to roll away the stone.  Those in the crowd missed the message as it all transpired, and it brought fear to the hearts of the Pharisees, and they targeted both Jesus and Lazarus as a result.

Some have argued that Lazarus is a type of the Church, and maybe so.  Others have contended he is a type of the last-day Christian, and maybe so.  Regardless of your typology or interpretation, take verse 44 at face value for a moment:

“The man who had died came forth, bound hand and foot with wrappings, and his face was wrapped around with a cloth.  Jesus said to them, “UNBIND HIM, AND LET HIM GO.”  (Emphasis mine).

Several things are pertinent to our conversation at this point:

• Lazarus was dead and had been in the grave for four days. 

There is no question about this.  It was not some anomaly or aberration of the human body’s natural state – He Was Dead!

• Jesus ordered them to “roll away” the obstruction, in this case, the stone in front of the tomb.  

In our case, you fill in the blank as to what is causing spiritual death in your life and obstructing you from receiving the power, person, provision, protection, and potential that God has for you.

• Jesus commanded Lazarus to come forth from the clutches of death. 

He calls us out of death unto life and out of darkness into the light.

• Lazarus came forth but was still “bound.”  

Sadly, sometimes, when Jesus sets us free from the clutches of sin’s hold, we still carry the baggage with us and are not truly free and need the help of those who are “living” or “spiritual” to help bring us to total freedom.

• Jesus’ command was simple, straightforward, and powerful: UNBIND HIM, AND LET HIM GO.’  

I do not care if it is tradition that has you bound.  It might be your mindset.  It might be your dogma.  It might be ten thousand things, but whatever it is, Jesus wants you to be “set free” from it and allowed to walk into the fullness of His light and love.

What is it that has you bound?  What is hindering you?  What is holding you back?  No matter what that is, Jesus wants you free and has come to “set you free.” 

May you be blessed and walk free of the baggage you have been carrying with you.  Blessings!

Psalms 139:13-16 – “For You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother’s womb. 14 I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Your works, and my soul knows it very well. 15 My frame was not hidden from You, When I was made in secret, and skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth; 16 Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; And in Your book were all written The days that were ordained for me, when as yet there was not one of them.” NASB

Let us get to the remedy for Inferiority Complexes, at least for believers.  Please note the following, if you will.

• You must realize that you were prescribed before birth. – – [Psalm 139:13-16] God made us exactly as we should be according to his plan, be that 4’2” or 7’2”.
• Remember that the process is still going on.  He is not finished yet.  Work hard to always remember this point.
• Refuse to compare yourself with anyone else.
• Respond correctly to your weak points.

I heard a preacher tell the story of his birthmark, which appeared to be a bright red scar across the side of his face.  It was like a burn scar.  It stretched in an unattractive, obvious fashion down his forehead, across his nose, and across a large section of his mouth and neck.  He demonstrated absolutely no problem with inferiority because of it.  He said he was asked how he could be unaffected by it. 

He said, “It is all because of my dad.  From the time I remember, my dad taught me that this part of my face was where an angel must have kissed me before I was born.  He said, ‘Son, this marking was for Dad so that I might know you are mine.’ God has marked you just to remind me that you are my son.’  All through my younger days, I was reminded by my dad, ‘You are the most important, special fellow on earth.’  To tell the truth,” He said, “I got to where I felt sorry for people who didn’t have birthmarks across the sides of their faces.”

You see, until we can thank God for our shortcomings or seeming imperfections, the scars in our lives, we will NEVER conquer the problem of inferiority.  Therefore, we need to consistently and constantly ask God to help us trust Him and deliver us from our preoccupation with self.

Remember:

                  He has called and commissioned you for a particular function.

                  He is working on you on a continual basis.

                  He is working through you every day and in ways you do not now realize.

Always remember there is Nothing impossible to the Family of God, and you are part of that family!  You and I can do all things through Christ who strengthens us.  We are more than conquerors through Him and will fulfill the purposes of God in our generations if we do not faint, focus on the wrong things, or allow ourselves to become side-tracked by the devil.

So, as you go through the day, know that you are unique in God and that what you are now is not what you will be.  You have a special and unique purpose that God has designed you for, and rejoice in that blessing while trusting God to provide everything you need to accomplish His purposes in your life.

May the rich and special blessings of the Lord be yours today and every day!

Psalms 139:13-16 – “For You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother’s womb. 14 I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Your works, and my soul knows it very well. 15 My frame was not hidden from You,

When I was made in secret, and skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth; 16 Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; And in Your book were all written the days that were ordained for me, when as yet there was not one of them.” NASB

Truly, if we are to become what God wants us to be and overcome all the feelings of inferiority that shipwreck our faith, we must come to a clear understanding of God’s estimate of us.

Matthew 6:26 –“Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?” NKJV

• You Are Worth Much to God.

Matthew 6:27-30 – “Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?  28 “So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; 29 and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.  30 Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?” NKJV

You are worth more than the grass of the field, the lilies that grow by the way, or the sparrows that fly through the air.  You are of “infinite worth” to God.  You are worth so much that He allowed His Only Begotten Son to come and die for you and me.  Therefore, the next time you feel inferior or unworthy, remember that to God, you are the object of His attention and affection.  You are the apple of His eye!

• We Are His Workmanship – – [Ephesians 2:10]

No two of us are exactly alike!  He knows you personally and is working on each of us individually.  Philippians 1:6 tells us that He is not through working on us!  Do you remember the PBPGINFWMY buttons?  [Please be patient… God is not finished with me yet.]  You can be sure He will complete the work, but He is not finished.

A person who is absorbed with their own feelings of inferiority thinks he is not as good as _______________ (fill in the blank).  Remember, God is working on your personally and individually, and He is not finished. You are not yet the finished product!

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.” NKJV

We are truly diamonds in the rough.  God has not yet cut and polished us to perfection, but we are still diamonds!  The person who feels inferior focuses on the part that is not finished rather than on the part that is being completed or has already been shaped and molded.

The Body of Christ is beautiful!  I challenge you to read 1 Corinthians 12:14-17 and maintain a feeling of inferiority!  Can you imagine being one big 6’2” ear? Gross, isn’t it?  Or maybe just one big eye!  What a beauty!  NO!  It takes all the parts together to make the whole and give it function and beauty.

1 Corinthians 12:18 – “But now God has set the members, each one of them, in the body just as He pleased.” NKJV

That is incredibly important! God made you a finger because He wants you to be a finger.  He made you an arm because He wants you to be an arm.  He made you a toe tucked in a shoe, never seen, because He wants you to be a toe, a foot, or some part never seen.  It Pleases Him, and He Has a Purpose!

The person who suffers from “Inferiority” suffers because he is a toe, not an eye, or because he is a foot, not a pretty face or a mouth.  It conveys the idea: “Oh, because I’m not this, I am not useful.”  To the body, every part is useful and valuable, and necessary!

Next time, I want to give you a remedy that will cure this kind of thinking.  Until we meet again, may God grant you smooth sailing on the pathway of life.  Blessings!

Psalms 139:13-16 – “For You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother’s womb. 14 I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Your works, and my soul knows it very well. 15 My frame was not hidden from You, When I was made in secret, and skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth; 16 Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; And in Your book were all written the days that were ordained for me, when as yet there was not one of them.” NASB

Let us pick up where we left off and look at the person I mentioned in our last session – Moses!  Consider this young sprout of “80”.  If we did not know the entire story, none of us would even guess that Moses suffered from feelings of Inferiority, But He Did!  It may have been because he had a history of failure. 

In Exodus 3, Moses murdered an Egyptian, had to flee Egypt, and found himself in the Midian Desert. This was not a place of “high visibility.”  He is in a place of low visibility with his in-laws, his wife, and raising his children.  He has been forgotten, at least in his mind.  For 40 years, he has not seen nor heard from Egypt.  It is almost as if he does not exist any longer.  Then, in the middle of this, God shows us as a “Burning Bush.”  God had a great deal to say about what He wanted and what He would do, but I can almost guarantee you that all Moses heard was “I Send You.”

I say that because of his reaction.  It appears that immediately, he thought of his failures and how unworthy, incapable, ill-equipped, and unstable he had been.  For 40 years, he has nursed the image of himself as a “failure.”  He did not feel capable.

I urge you to pause for a minute and realize that we are not talking about “Humility” but about “Inferiority.”  Feeling inferior is not being humble.  Humble people have the absolute highest degree of confidence in God.  They trust God to do whatever He says He will do.  Humility and faith go hand in hand.  They are inseparable.  So does Humility and servanthood. Moses became humble, but at that moment, he felt inferior.

In the context of the importance of humility, Paul told the Corinthians, “For I consider myself not in the least inferior to the most eminent apostles.”  [2 Corinthians 11:5].  Then he repeats that statement in [2 Corinthians 12:11].

In Exodus 3:1, Moses asks, “Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the sons of Israel out of the land?”  Moses questioned God.  He was saying, “I can’t go.  I am not qualified.”  The truth is this called both the power and wisdom of God into question.  It also questioned the faithfulness of God and His character.  In Exodus 3:2, God has promised to go with him!

Oh well, you say; in that case, I am sure Moses packed his bags and headed for Egypt to do what God instructed.  Not on Your Life!  In Exodus 4:1, Moses asked: “…. What if they do not believe me or listen to what I say?”  Now, hold on, Moses.  Who are you focusing on now?  It is most assuredly not God because God has promised to go with you.  No, you are focusing entirely on yourself!

Consider how God responded to this:  Exodus 4:2-3 – “What is in your hand? And he said, ‘a staff.’  Then He (God) said, ‘Throw it on the ground, and it became a serpent.’”  Wow!  What a demonstration of supernatural power.  God is saying: “Moses, Moses, get your eyes off yourself and onto Me.  If I can do this, I certainly can handle Pharaoh and the people of Israel.”  You see, God was convinced that Moses was the man, but Moses was not convinced.  So, in Exodus 4:4-5 – God reversed the process, but Moses still held out.

Exodus 4:10 – “Then Moses said to the LORD, “Please, Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither recently nor in time past, nor since You have spoken to Your servant; for I am slow of speech and tongue.”  NASB

That is so common!  Moses is playing the “I’m just a simple man game.”  God’s directives and promises are being ignored and even rejected.  The entire focus of Moses’ heart is on himself, not God, not God’s promises, power, and provisions, but on Moses the man!

I want to boldly declare: “An inferiority complex is a satanic deception that keeps scores of people from even considering Christian service.”  Many are convinced they must be eloquent to preach or do a work for God.  They think they have to be worthy, quick-witted, and glib-tongued.  But, if you will notice, God told Moses in no uncertain terms that he did not have to be “eloquent” or “available.”

Exodus 4:11 – “The LORD said to him, “Who has made man’s mouth? Or who makes him mute or deaf, or seeing or blind? Is it not I, the LORD?

We must never forget that God will take our inabilities and transform them.  He will give us the words to say.  Disabilities do not disqualify.  No matter what the task – YOU CAN DO IT in God!  If we are ever to become what God wants us to be, we must come to a clear understanding of God’s estimate of us!

We will get to that next time, but for the time being, consider Moses’ objections and those you have used from time to time and see if there is any correlation.  I believe that you will be amazed to find how much our lives run the same path as Moses in many ways. 

Until we meet again, may God grant you the wisdom and knowledge to know what to do and when to do it.  Blessings!