15-5

God is Saying Something

Most of us have thought at some point in our lives that we wish God would just say something. We wish that He would just tell us what He wants. We wish He would give us a word. So we rack our brains and try to come up with an "inspired idea" that will give us some direction in our lives or in the life of our church. But "we don't have to work to come up with a word from God; we simply have to trust the Word He has already given us. When we do, the Word of God will accomplish the work of God among the people of God." We have to remember that our life and leadership in the church is not dependent on our experience or intelligence. It is dependent on the power of the Holy Spirit and our trust in the truth of God's word. We cannot save the church in our own power, it was never our job to do so. Instead we need to pray this prayer, "Lord, let me make a difference for You that is utterly disproportionate to who I am."

In many of our lives and in many of our churches, we rely on human words of wisdom to set our direction. When mere humans set the course, we won't get anywhere. "When we unchain the power of God's Word in the church, it will unleash the potential of God's people in the world." So God's word must be central in our lives and in our church if we want to make His glory known to the world.

We need to understand that "God has given us everything we need in the Word we have" and we need to stop looking everywhere else for answers! I am aware God didn't address a time limit for how long you should watch tv or play computer games in the Bible. I am also aware that He didn't specify how much you should be setting aside for your 401k. The purpose of the Bible was not give us specific guidelines on how to live our lives in the 21st Century United States. "The purpose of God's word is to transform people in every country and every century into the image of Jesus. The Bible is sufficient to accomplish this task, and God knows this is what people need most." When our lives look like Christ's, the rest will fall into place.

"The Bible is in our hands to transform people into the image of Christ and to get people in touch with the Holy Spirit of God, who will not only give them counsel for every situation they face but will also walk with them through those situations." That should take the pressure off of us as followers of Christ. We don't have to have all the answers!

Everything we do in our lives and in our church we should do for the glory of God. But we must understand something: just because we do it for His glory doesn't mean that He will bless it. That doesn't mean that He won't, but we can't be offended if He does not. "There is only one thing God has promised to bless, and that is His plan. He has given us His plan in His word, and if we want the blessing of God, then we don't need to come up with something else. Instead, we need to align with the plan He has already promised to bless." The question we must ask before we begin a task is this: "Is this the BEST way to align with the plan Jesus has laid before us?"

If what we are doing does align with His plan, we can rest assured that He will bless it. That being said, "the blessing of God does not mean acceptance by the world." It also doesn't mean instant success and sweeping revival in our churches. "The challenge for church members and leaders alike is to faithfully hold fast to God's Word, trusting that ultimately God will use it to accomplish His intended, eternal, global purpose."

The Bible is perfect and all sufficient. "You and I can trust this Word. It forms and fulfills, motivates and mobilizes, equips and empowers, leads and directs the people of God in the church for the plan of God in the world. This won't automatically make everything easy in the church. But as long as Christians together are prayerfully and humbly asking what the plan of God is in His word for His people and are abandoning our lives to it, we will be unleashing a radical people."

Enjoy the Journey