…he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord.
— Luke 5:8

As you live your life, it’s likely that you will come face to face with people at all kinds of different spiritual levels. You may find that you end up spending time with:

• People who are actively pursuing a closer relationship with Jesus.
• People who have recently recommitted their lives to Christ and are excited about living for Jesus.
• People who are nonchalant or noncommittal about their relationship with God.
• People who have gone astray from the walk they once had with Jesus.
• People who are religious or churchgoers but are still unsaved.
• People who are lost and don’t know the message of Christ.

I was really surprised by the number of times Simon Peter had to encounter Jesus before his life was changed. And if we include his encounter with Christ when he fell to his knees and recognized Jesus’ lordship, that means he had four different encounters with Christ before he was changed. I had never chronologically put it together until recently, so it struck me when I realized how many encounters it took to bring Simon Peter to a place of conversion, where he turned from his own ways and completely submitted his life to the Lord. We will look at each of those four encounters in this Sparkling Gem.

This tells me that sometimes people come to know the Lord one step at a time. Of course, we know that the act of receiving eternal salvation is a one-time event. When I talk about steps and stages, I’m referring to the various encounters people might have with God before they finally surrender their lives to the lordship of Jesus Christ.

Let me show you that progression in Simon Peter’s life — how he moved from the moment he first heard about Jesus to an eventual encounter that totally changed his life. As you read this Sparkling Gem, think of people you know — especially those who may be in one of these various stages in their own encounter with Jesus Christ.

 1.  Simon Peter’s first encounter with Jesus.

The day after Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist, Jesus was walking nearby and John exclaimed, “Behold the Lamb of God!” (see John 1:36). Verses 37-40 relate that two men heard John and that one of them was Andrew, whose brother was Simon (later referred to as Simon Peter or Peter).

This passage goes on to say that Andrew and the other unnamed man followed Jesus to see where He was staying. Jesus could see them following, so He told them, “Come and see.” Verse 39 goes on to tell us that the two men spent the entire day with Jesus. Afterward, Andrew went to fetch his brother Simon in order to bring him to Jesus (v. 41).

Thus, Simon’s first encounter with Christ was this secondhand information that he heard from his brother Andrew. At this point, Simon had never personally met Jesus. All he knew of Him was what his brother had told him: “We have found the Messiah!” At long last the Savior had come, but Simon had only secondhand knowledge about Him.

This describes the spiritual state of many people in the world. These individuals may have heard about Christ from family and friends. They know of Jesus, and they know about Him; however, they’ve never personally met Him. That kind of secondhand knowledge is not enough to bring a person into the Kingdom of God.

That’s where our responsibility begins. Just like Andrew, you and I must take the initiative to make sure our friends and family members have more than secondhand knowledge about Jesus. A person must have a personal encounter with Jesus Christ in order to go to Heaven — not just “head knowledge” about Him or the ability to say, “I know who Jesus was historically.”

As Andrew did for Simon, so must we do everything we can to bring our friends and family to Jesus — which leads us to the next point.

2.  Simon Peter’s second encounter with Christ.

In John 1:42, we read about Simon Peter’s second encounter with Christ. Simon came to the place where Jesus could be found, and it seems that he lingered and listened to Him. We know that Jesus and Simon had a conversation; however, there is no record that a life-transforming conversion occurred in Simon’s life at that time.

Although Simon’s heartfelt conversion occurred some days later, as is recorded in Luke 5 (which we’ll discuss later), this second encounter was his first personal introduction to Jesus. During this encounter, Jesus even told Simon that his name would be changed to Peter, indicating that soon he would have a change of character. However, this change didn’t occur at that moment. This second encounter was merely Simon’s introduction to the Savior and His message. Again, we see that Simon was close to the Kingdom of God but not yet actually inside the Kingdom of God.

I urge you to do for your family and friends what Andrew did for his brother. Invite them to a place where they can hear the message and learn more about the Savior. They may have already heard the message from you, but now is the time to take them to church or to a smaller gathering where Christians celebrate Jesus. Taking someone to a place where the Gospel message is presented may seem like only a small step, but this step may be needed to bring about the change of heart that will make a difference for eternity.

Just as Jesus introduced the idea of a character change to Simon Peter in that first personal encounter, this may be a way to introduce your lost friends to the truth that Jesus can totally change their lives. Even if they don’t get saved during this first introduction to Jesus, remember, Simon’s real inward change also didn’t happen the first time he personally met Jesus.

I feel impressed by the Holy Spirit to say that there are many who take this particular step and get stuck there. In other words, they go to church or to a meeting searching for truth — and they come very close to the truth. In fact, they are in the very vicinity where a life change can occur. But because no one ever tells them about the need to repent of their sins and surrender their lives to Jesus Christ, they end up religious but unsaved. Unfortunately, churches are filled with people who have come close to the Kingdom of God but have never entered it.

These people go to church, know the words to the hymns and songs, and often even pay their tithes. But because they’ve never recognized their sinful state and repented of their sins, they live on the edge of God’s Kingdom without ever entering it. As a result, their character has never changed. They are simply religious, unsaved people.

You may discover people in your circle of family and friends who fit in this category. Ask God to give you an opportunity to bring them all the way to repentance and to a true saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.

3.  Simon Peter’s third encounter with Jesus Christ.

Luke 4:38 tells us that after several days, Jesus went to Simon Peter’s house. This was a third step for Simon as he drew closer and closer to truly knowing Jesus Christ.

Simon Peter’s mother-in-law was sick with a fever. But when Jesus arrived, verse 39 says that He “…stood over her, and rebuked the fever; and it left her….” Instantly, this woman was healed. In fact, the verse goes on to say that “…immediately she arose and ministered unto them.” The phrase “ministered unto them” most likely means that after Jesus healed Simon’s mother-in-law, she felt so well, she immediately got up and cooked dinner for them!

That same night, word spread through the city that Jesus was spending the night at Simon Peter’s house, and people got excited. Luke 4:40 tells us what happened next: “Now when the sun was setting, all they that had any sick with divers diseases brought them unto him; and he laid his hands on every one of them, and healed them.”

Right in Simon Peter’s own home, he experienced God’s power. This was no longer secondhand information. Simon had not only witnessed the miraculous healing of his mother-in-law, but he’d also seen multitudes of sick people healed by Jesus’ touch that same night. This was the next step leading toward the transformation that would occur soon afterward in Simon’s life. God’s power was all around Simon, but the change he needed at his core had not yet occurred in him.

This makes me think of people I’ve seen through the years who have attended meetings where God has demonstrated His power right in front of them. These people have experienced answers to prayer and have tasted of God’s power — but they’ve never been changed at their core. I wonder how many people have grown up in church, where they saw and heard so much about God’s love and power, yet never allowed the truth they heard to sink into their hearts and bring them to a saving knowledge of Jesus that changed their nature. People who fit that description are thus unsaved. In life, it’s reasonable to assume that you’ll come into contact with many people who are in this category of “churched but not really saved.”

Keep your heart sensitive to the Holy Spirit about this issue. He may use you to lead someone who fits this description into a saving knowledge of Christ. One thing is for sure: A change at the core is essential to enter the Kingdom of God. If no real change of character has occurred at a person’s core, it’s likely he or she has never been born again.

Luke 4:44 tells us that after this evening of miracles, Jesus left Simon Peter’s house and began to travel and preach in the synagogues of Galilee. It isn’t known how much time elapsed between the miracles that occurred at Simon’s house and his next experience with Jesus. However, Luke 5:1 tells us that some days later, Simon encountered Christ a fourth time.

4.  Simon Peter’s fourth life-transforming encounter with Christ.

First, Simon Peter obtained “secondhand” knowledge of Jesus. Second, he went to a specific place where he was introduced to Jesus. Third, he personally experienced the power of God. Then in Luke 5:1-11, we read the story of Simon’s fourth encounter with Christ — the encounter that reached so deep into his core that it transformed his life. The result of this fourth encounter was that Simon Peter totally committed his life to the cause of Christ.

The moment came when Jesus stepped into Simon Peter’s boat and used it as a pulpit to preach to a large crowd. Simon’s surrendering of his boat to Jesus was the first time he had ever given something to Jesus — and that’s when Jesus stepped deeper than ever into his life. When Simon surrendered the use of his boat to Jesus, he had no idea where that would take him. But after preaching to the multitude from Simon’s boat, Jesus told him: “Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught” (Luke 5:4).

Simon Peter was a professional fisherman and had just fished all night with no results. But he chose to obey Jesus, saying, “…at thy word I will let down the net” (v. 5). Verse 6 relates, “And when they had this done, they inclosed a great multitude of fishes: and their net brake.” In fact, the catch was so enormous that it “…filled both the ships, so that they began to sink” (v. 7).

Such an enormous catch couldn’t be attributed to coincidence or a freak accident. Simon Peter had been fishing all his life, but he had never seen anything like this — and neither had anyone else. This encounter with Christ pushed Simon into a rock-solid faith as “…he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord” (Luke 5:8). Peter recognized his sinfulness and called Jesus “Lord.” This is the Greek word kurios. Peter’s use of this word lets us know that at this moment, he finally recognized Jesus as having supreme spiritual authority and surrendered his life to Christ.

It was this final experience that caused Simon Peter to see Christ’s holiness and his own sinfulness. When Peter saw this miraculous catch of fish, he really knew that God Himself was in the boat with him. In that moment of revelation, he called Jesus “Lord.” This fourth encounter totally changed Peter and reset his goals for life. However, this life-transforming experience happened:

• After Simon Peter had learned that Jesus was the Messiah.
• After Jesus had spent time in Peter’s home.
• After Peter had seen Jesus miraculously heal his mother-in-law.
• And after he had witnessed Jesus healing multitudes outside his own home.

One might think that these previous encounters would have been sufficient to bring Peter to the point of conversion. However, it took this final experience to cause him to drop to his knees and fully acknowledge the Lordship of Jesus Christ. As a fisherman, Peter knew that the amazing size of this catch of fish was an unquestionable miracle. Consequently, this fourth encounter was so life-altering that he never returned to a life of fishing again. From that moment on, Peter followed Jesus.

As you come in contact with so many different people, it is likely that you will spend time with people who are like Simon Peter before that fourth encounter: They just need one final touch to bring them to a rock-solid faith in Christ.

Like Peter, these people may mentally know who Jesus is and may have seen demonstrations of His power; however, they have never actually recognized their need to repent of their sins and submit to the Lordship of Christ. Are you the person the Holy Spirit wants to use to reach out to the people in your life who need this encounter so you can bring them into the family of God?

MY PRAYER FOR TODAY

Father, I see now that some people — including notable people like Simon Peter — come to know You one step at a time. Help me to recognize how I can be used to bring people closer to You. Show me what to do, what to say, and what steps to take to introduce people to a knowledge of Jesus Christ that will change them at their core. Give me wisdom to lead my friends and acquaintances to a knowledge of Jesus that will transform them from the inside out.

I pray this in Jesus’ name!

 

MY CONFESSION FOR TODAY

I acknowledge that many people come to the Lord one step at a time. While only one experience is needed to bring a person to true conversion, it often takes many experiences to bring a person to that one experience that changes them forever. I confess that I am an instrument that God uses to share Christ, to bring people to a knowledge of sin, and to bring them to a place of repentance that changes them at the very core of their being.

I declare this by faith in Jesus’ name!

 

QUESTIONS FOR YOU TO CONSIDER

1. As you read about Simon Peter and how he came to the Lord one step at a time, did you think about anyone you know who is coming closer and closer to the Lord, but still lacks that final experience of repentance that changes him at his core? Who is that person? What can you do to help bring that individual to that final place of genuine conversion?
2. What was your own experience of coming to the Lord? Did you instantly come the first time you heard about the need to repent, or did it take time and multiple experiences for you to come to a place of repentance and faith in Christ?
3. Is there any person whom you are actively introducing to the Lordship of Jesus Christ? Who is that person? How close is he or she to making that final commitment to the Lordship of Jesus Christ?

Repent; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.
— Revelation 2:16

I have such a heart for spiritual leaders in the Body of Christ. As one who is called to stand in a leadership position myself, I have a burning desire to see men and women raised up who are leaders of integrity and who are taking a steadfast stance of faith on God’s Word. These are qualities that God requires in His leaders, and the world desperately needs leaders of a pure heart and strong faith. That’s why Jesus takes it very seriously when a spiritual leader falls into error and leads others into that same error.

In Revelation 2:16, Christ was speaking to erring leaders in the Early Church about the toxic influence they were having on those under their spiritual care. A group of spiritual leaders in a local body were leading others astray, teaching them that a little compromise with the world — worldliness — would not be detrimental to the spiritual life of the congregation. These leaders propagated among the people a belief that a lifestyle that could “bend” with the times might help them obtain a measure of peace with their pagan neighbors. In essence, this false teaching advocated that separation from the world was not required for the Christian community.

Jesus was firmly against what these errant leaders were teaching; His warning to them is clearly recorded in Revelation 2:16. And for nearly 2,000 years, Christ’s words have sounded a clear alarm for all spiritual leaders who, whether intentionally or unintentionally, lead the flock of God into a position of accommodating the world.

In today’s Sparkling Gem, we’ll look at the warning that Christ spoke to erring leaders nearly 2,000 years ago, and we’ll see that He is still issuing this same alarm to spiritual leaders who deviate from sound doctrine today.

In Revelation 2:16, Christ told these erring leaders, “Repent; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.”

Knowing the tender graciousness of Jesus, I’m confident that before issuing such a stern admonition, He had spoken to these leaders previously about their wrong behavior. Surely He had warned them of the grave error of their ways and had given them many opportunities to change. But after they had ignored the pleadings of the Holy Spirit, Christ’s words became very serious as time began running out for these leaders to respond appropriately and repent.

As we see in Revelation 2:16, a time eventually came when Jesus’ tone of voice changed, and He called on that group of leaders to repent “or else.”

The word “repent” is the Greek word metanoeo, which is a compound of the words meta and nous. The word meta means to turn, and the word nous is the word for mind, intellect, will, frame of thinking, opinion, or one’s general view of life. When meta and nous are compounded, the new word depicts a decision to completely change the way one thinks, lives, or behaves. Thus, when Jesus used this word in Revelation 2:16, He was adamantly and forthrightly calling on those who were in error to change. He was commanding them to stop accommodating the unbelieving world and assimilating that mindset into their midst.

Today the voice of Jesus is still crying out for the Church to repent of worldliness and carnality. As is true in each generation, we have a choice today to harden our hearts and turn a deaf ear to the Holy Spirit — or to allow Him to deal deeply with us and produce true repentance in our hearts and souls. Although Christ is always ready to transform His Church, no true transformation can occur unless we are willing to hear what His Spirit is saying to us. And once we do hear that divine message, we must be willing to respond with humble obedience.

The vast majority of the early believers had repeatedly proven themselves faithful to Christ, even when faced with intense opposition from the pagan government and the unbelieving local community. Yet, in their midst were errant spiritual leaders who had become a polluting and adulterating influence on the entire congregation. In Revelation 2:16, Christ issued a stern warning to this latter group, declaring, “Repent; or else I will come unto thee quickly…”

The phrase “I will come” in verse 16 signaled that Christ’s patience with those in error was rapidly reaching an end. This was His final warning — a final opportunity to repent — before He would begin moving in their direction, wielding “the sword of His mouth” — His sharp sword with two edges (see Revelation 1:16; 2:12,16). If those church leaders accepted Jesus’ call to repent and turn from their erroneous position, they would be spared. But if they refused to heed His call to repent, Jesus emphatically warned them: “I will come to you.”

The words “to you” come from the Greek word soi, which conveys a sense of strong exclamation. That phrase literally means, “I will come to YOU!”

There was no misunderstanding Christ’s warning to those erring leaders: If they refused to heed His words and abandon their doctrine of compromise, He would make a direct path to them and personally deal with their sin. The time for repeated warnings was coming to an end.

Jesus’ words were a solemn proclamation to those leaders that they should not misinterpret His past delays in judgment as His tolerance of their sin. For Christ to speak in such strong words reveals that He had already warned them and given them opportunities to respond. But because they had repeatedly ignored His pleas, the opportunity to avoid judgment was swiftly coming to a close. By lifting His voice loud and clear, Christ was providing one last chance to repent and thus avoid the repercussions of His discipline. This was an act of love — a merciful plea to those who were leading others astray to repent and change — before He would take a more severe course of action.

The word “quickly” in the phrase “I will come unto thee quickly” is from the Greek word tachus, which describes a swift, high-speed movement. This word emphatically denotes that the clock was ticking and time was running out. When the sword of justice would finally fall, Christ would not leisurely enact judgment; rather, Christ would come to them with sudden, unhesitating swiftness.

Christ continued his warning by saying, “Repent; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them…”

The word “fight” comes from the Greek word polemos, which was a well-known word used throughout Greek literature to describe an organized and often prolonged military conflict designed to defeat an opponent. In other words, polemos was no mere skirmish — it was an all-out war ! By using this word, Jesus let these believers know that the situation in their church had grown so grievous that He was armed and ready to engage those individuals in battle.

The time for negotiating had come and gone. Just as a powerful nation sends a prewar declaration to its weaker enemies, calling for their surrender before they are crushed in battle, Christ was calling for the unconditional surrender of those errant leaders. If they chose to defy Him, they would suffer the consequences of a divine assault and experience the sword of His mouth. If these erring leaders finally refused to hear what the Holy Spirit was saying and repent, Jesus declared He would “fight against them.”

The word “against” is the Greek word kata, which describes something that is dominating or subjugating. In this instance, it depicts a full force that comes to completely subdue and conquer. Based on Jesus’ prior experience with these leaders — and the fact that they had not yet repented — we can conclude that Christ didn’t expect them to respond in obedience to His command. Thus, He warned them that He was going to exert His authority and retake the church for Himself, one way or another. They could repent and surrender or they could be crushed. Either way, Christ was going to have His way in His Church.

Revelation 1:16 and 2:12 both portray Christ as having a sharp sword with two edges. However, in Revelation 2:16, Jesus says, “Repent; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.”

The word “sword” in all three of these verses is the Greek word rhomphaia, which is a very unusual word to be used in the context of the Roman world since the rhomphaia was not a Roman weapon. Rather, this sword originated in Thrace, a region near Asia Minor, and it was so horrible that it was feared above all others, even by Roman soldiers. This weapon was essentially a very sharp, often double-edged, sickle-shaped blade affixed to a long pole. The ruthless effectiveness of the rhomphaia against Roman armies was the result of the sword’s capability to cut through thick armor and its long reach. This allowed the soldier who wielded it — often in a back-and-forth, hacking motion similar to a farmer using a sickle — to penetrate even the tightly compacted formation of the Roman infantry.

Therefore, when Jesus used the word rhomphaia to describe His spiritual weaponry against those erring leaders, He was referring to one of the most feared weapons of the ancient world. This was no accident; rather, it was a clear declaration — and a serious warning — that if those in error chose not to repent, Christ would extend His mighty sword into their midst and remove them.

In light of the truths found in these verses, my thoughts go directly to Eli, Israel’s high priest, and the fact that God removed him and his two sons from the ministry in a single day because they wouldn’t repent of their evil ways (see 1 Samuel 2:12-4:18). They had been given ample opportunity to repent — but, ultimately, a time came when toleration was no longer acceptable. Although God’s mercy gave them a great amount of time to repent and change, they rejected each offer afforded them. Then time ran out. As a result, God’s sword of judgment swung into action, and they were each removed from their positions of spiritual authority.

This is a sobering account from Scripture with a very serious message. We must pray for our spiritual leaders — that they will hear the voice of the Holy Spirit and respond to His leading and correction when it is needed. We are living in a day and hour when the Church is sadly compromising on many levels. This is a time — perhaps above all other times — when God’s spiritual leadership needs to stand up on the side of His unchanging truths. If there are spiritual leaders who will not respond to the repeated call and correction of God, Christ Himself will deal with them with the sword of His mouth to bring whatever level of correction is necessary.

So let’s commit to praying diligently for those who are in authority within the Church. Never has it been so crucial that our leaders hear clearly and heed the Holy Spirit as they lead God’s flock in the way that Jesus would have them lead.

MY PRAYER FOR TODAY

Heavenly Father, I pray for the spiritual leaders over my life. I pray that they will be quick to hear and prompt to obey Your Voice. I ask You to strengthen them with might in their inner man, that they will remain unbending in their commitment to the unchanging truths of Your Word, even if it means they must take a stand that is different from the spirit of the age around us. In this day when morals and beliefs seem to be changing on every side, give my pastor and spiritual leaders the fortitude and courage to stand firm in their commitment to the unchangeable truths of Your Word.

I pray this in Jesus’ name!

 

MY CONFESSION FOR TODAY

I confess that those who are spiritual leaders over my life, walk in divine wisdom, counsel, and might. They are marked by integrity and free from compromise, standing with unwavering commitment to God’s unchanging truths as revealed in the teaching of the Bible. Regardless of what society says, what the courts declare, or what the spirit of the age dictates, my leaders are led by the truth of the Bible and the Spirit of the Living God. I declare that they are sensitive to God’s voice; they are quick to be corrected when it is required, and they will stand the test of time. They are anointed to minister in these last, very critical days of this age!

I declare this by faith in Jesus’ name!

 

QUESTIONS FOR YOU TO CONSIDER

1. Can you think of other examples from the Bible when God took action against erring spiritual leaders? Who are those examples?
2. In your life, have you seen a spiritual leader whom the Lord disciplined or removed because he was leading the flock into spiritual error and refused to repent?
3. If you see someone in leadership who is leading others in error, how do you think you should pray for him or her? How would you want someone to pray for you if you were in his or her place?

Redeeming the time…
— Ephesians 5:16

It has been eight months since families and friends around the world gathered to celebrate the New Year. Millions of people at that time were thinking about changes they needed to make in their lives as they began a brand-new calendar year. I think we all know that although this was a time when many people made commitments or resolutions to change, many of those commitments haven’t yet been acted on, even eight months later.

Maybe you’ve done better than others at keeping the commitments you made at the beginning of the year. But I’m sure you’d agree that you still have progress to make in order to fully walk out those commitments you made to move forward in various areas of your life.

Instead of living in regret about those commitments that remain completely or partially neglected, this is a good time to follow through on what you uttered before the Lord at the beginning of the year. Making excuses or throwing a pity party won’t help you. In fact, it will make things even worse, pulling you into a state of discouragement and self-condemnation. It’s so much better to just lift your hands and rejoice that you still have four more months in this year to keep your commitments with the strength and grace that God provides!

But to effectively make those changes, you’re going to have to get serious about doing what you said you’d do before the Lord. Four months is a significant amount of time, but it’s not a vast amount of time for you to make forward progress in those areas. Don’t let the devil lie to you and tell you that it’s too late. It’s not too late. You can do it!

To be forthright, I’ve got my own list of commitments I made to the Lord at the beginning of this year that I have yet to fulfill. I’ve made progress on some, and no progress on others. But I’ve determined that I’m going to follow my own good counsel! I have my eyes fixed on these four remaining months, and I intend to step up my focus on fulfilling the things I committed to do. It’s a good time to reset my commitment and get serious about doing what God has put on my heart to do!

The next four months represent time for a brand-new start — a new opportunity to attain new victories. This is a golden moment for you to begin reaching forth to the wonderful possibilities before you!

Let me encourage you with one of my favorite verses of Scripture. Ephesians 5:16 commands us to get in the habit of “redeeming the time.” Time can be lost or wasted, depending on what we did with it. But if we have wasted or lost time along the way, the end is not over! Ephesians 5:16 clearly says we can “redeem” time.

The word “redeeming” in this verse is the Greek word exagoridzo. The word agoridzo is the Greek word for a marketplace that’s cluttered with products and vast opportunities to spend more time and money shopping there than one ought to use. It was the same then as it is today. If a person isn’t careful, he can become lost roaming through the shops of the market, wasting precious time. But that word ex means “out” and is where we get the word exit. When ex is added to the word agoridzo to form exagoridzo, it paints the picture of finding what you need, purchasing it, and getting out of the marketplace quickly. In other words, do what you need to do, and then make an exit!

In this phrase “redeeming the time,” the word “time” is kairos. In this context, it refers to the brevity of time that we have available and our need to be time-conscious in the way we conduct our lives. It depicts someone who is learning to make full use of time because he is conscious that time is limited and he must use it wisely. Paul was saying that by implementing diligence and commitment, we can buy back time that we have frivolously lost along the way.

The good news is this: If we’ve became sidetracked in the fulfillment of promises that we made to ourselves or to the Lord — if our lives have become so cluttered that we have become lost in the maze of our objectives — we can still reverse this condition. Through our recommitment to ourselves and to the Lord, we can buy back time that has been lost, wasted, or forfeited this year thus far. And with the Holy Spirit’s supernatural help, we can accomplish in a short time what we did not accomplish in the first eight months of the year. We can redeem that time and get back on course!

Ask the Holy Spirit to help you win new victories in the remaining four months of this year! Reach forward to achieve those dreams and longings you’ve put off again and again. Throw open your arms and your heart, and welcome the wonderful future Jesus has waiting for you! Through the power of the Holy Spirit, He will help you shrug off wasted or lost time, redeem it — buy it back — and fulfill the commitments you made eight months ago. With God, all things are possible, so release your faith in the wonderworking power of God. Press forward toward the victories that are awaiting you!

MY PRAYER FOR TODAY

Heavenly Father, I thank You for this needed encouragement in my life today. I was nearly discouraged because I hadn’t accomplished the things I promised myself at the first of the year that I would do. But I still have four months of this year left to attain some significant progress in various areas of my life. So I’m going to shake off all regret, yield to the workings of the Holy Spirit in my life, and go forward in Jesus’ name. With His help, I am determined to make progress in those areas in which I know the Lord wants me to experience growth and change!

I pray this in Jesus’ name!

 

MY CONFESSION FOR TODAY

I confess that I make a fresh commitment again to advance and make progress in my life and to achieve significant victories before the calendar hits December 31. The victories I long for are victories that the Lord desires for my life. He is with me. He is for me. He gives me overcoming power to accomplish these goals and dreams. I embrace His grace, and I repent for not making progress as I should have made. Today I turn my energies and my attention to the future. I plan to end this year with achievement and success!

I declare this by faith in Jesus’ name!

 

QUESTIONS FOR YOU TO CONSIDER

1. Have you taken the time to make a list of the things you’d like to accomplish in the next four months? If not, I encourage you to set aside some time to pray and seek the Lord regarding what He wants you to achieve before the end of the year.
2. If you failed to accomplish important tasks or goals due to a lack of commitment so far this year, have you taken time to repent before the Lord? It’s important to do this so you can “clear the slate” and start the rest of the year with a right heart before God. Not only will He forgive you, but He will also give you the grace and strength to move forward and attain in Him what you never thought you could achieve on your own.
3. Are there any changes you need to make (e.g., in your environment or in your relationships) so you can start implementing these resolutions to finish this year right? Perhaps you need to clear an area of your home just for praying and studying God’s Word. Or maybe you need to gently withdraw yourself from friendships that are toxic and emotionally and spiritually unhealthy. Ask God, and the Holy Spirit will guide you and show you what to do.

According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon.
— 1 Corinthians 3:10

Have you ever struggled with the grace that God placed on your life? Have you ever wished you could be like someone else instead of the person God made you to be?

Many believers struggle with this issue. They aren’t satisfied with the grace on their own lives and they wish they could have the grace of another person.

For example, a pastor may grow tired of preaching to the same faces week after week as he leads his local congregation. Soon he begins to dream of being a traveling teacher or an evangelist who journeys across the world to proclaim the Gospel in new places. Or on the flip side, a traveling evangelist or teacher may grow tired of constantly moving around and wish that he could be given the pastoral grace that would allow him to settle down in one spot. However, as long as a person yearns to be someone other than who God made him to be, he will never feel satisfied or fulfilled in life.

Romans 12:6 tells us that we all have “…gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us…” Therefore, it’s vital that we as believers endeavor to discover our own particular grace and then, once we have found it, to embrace it and pursue it with fervor!

In First Corinthians 3:10, Paul described the grace that was placed on his own life. He said, “According to the grace of God which is given unto me…” I want to draw your attention to the word “according” in this verse, which in Greek is the word kata. This Greek word always describes a downward force or something that is subjugating, dominating, or conquering. By using this word kata, Paul was literally saying, “I have been conquered by this particular grace that is on my life.”

Think of how difficult it must have been for Paul to accept his grace as an apostle to the heathen cities of the Roman Empire. Many of the cities to which he traveled were rife with immorality and demonic activity. The city of Corinth, for example, was one of the most wicked cities of that time, yet Paul still boldly entered that city to proclaim the light of truth in the face of unspeakable darkness. When he first traversed the long road that led into Corinth, he walked past intricately carved idols that lined the road on each side. These statues –– most of which were naked –– had been vividly painted, with great attention paid to even the smallest details to make them appear as vibrant and lifelike as possible. Thus, when Paul walked down on that street into the city of Corinth for the first time, flanked by brightly colored idols on all sides, it was as if he was walking through a corridor of living pornography.

However, despite the monumental challenges that lay ahead of him in Corinth, Paul didn’t back away from his divine calling or waste his time wishing he could borrow the grace of another man. Instead, he boldly marched into this wicked city, and with the grace that was on his life, Paul literally pushed the powers of hell out of the way. And as a result of his perseverance and determination, the apostle gave birth to the church of Corinth, which would grow to become one of the greatest churches of the First Century. It was in this city that he would also meet Aquila and Priscilla, who became the greatest partners in ministry he would ever have.

In city after city, the apostle Paul pushed the powers of hell out of the way –– confronting principalities and powers, demonic manifestations, and pagan temples –– in order to lay the foundations for new churches. He did this in Corinth, in Ephesus, in Thessalonica, and many other cities. This was his grace. And just as each church became established, the Holy Spirit would direct him to turn over the congregation to someone else and then move on to do it again.

The very fact that Paul used the word kata in First Corinthians 3:10 implies that he struggled with his grace –– just as many of us have struggled with ours. However, he finally came to a place where he quit struggling with the anointing God had placed on his life; in fact, he opened his heart and embraced it. Paul testified in his epistle to the Corinthians that this grace dominated his life.

In my own life, I have an anointing to minister to the people in the former Soviet Union. Time and time again, this grace on my life has enabled me to accomplish what other people could not, and since Denise and I first moved to the former USSR in 1991, we have repeatedly overcome obstacles that others have described as insurmountable. For instance, when Denise and I moved to Moscow to establish a church in that city, countless people warned us that we would fail. They’d exclaim, “Moscow was the center of world Communism. Demonic powers and principalities loom in that city! It is the graveyard of preachers!”

Everywhere we turned, we heard these kinds of reports, but I knew I had the grace to accomplish this work for the Lord. And because I embraced my grace and pursued the calling of God on my life, I have since reaped the abundant rewards of obedience. In fact, ministering in Moscow has been one of the most enjoyable endeavors I have ever undertaken in my life, and the church we started continues to grow by leaps and bounds.

It is such a joy when you finally know and accept your grace. When you reach this point, you no longer feel threatened by or envious of the grace of anyone else. You are able to confidently say, “This is my grace! Other people can’t do what I do, and I don’t have to do what they do because that is their grace.”

Thank God, we’re not all the same! Each one of us has been given equally unique and important gifts. Whether you are a pastor or an usher, a businessman or an artist, you are an essential member of the Body of Christ. Your grace defines your place. So discover your grace, embrace it, and then allow it to dominate your life!

MY PRAYER FOR TODAY

Father, I thank You for the unique grace You have placed upon my life. I am gifted differently than others, and You have called me to do what You have not called others to do. To do this job effectively, you have anointed me and equipped me in a distinctive way for the job. Today I ask You to help me surrender to the grace that you’ve placed on my life and to quit struggling with who You have called me to be!

I pray this in Jesus’ name!

 

MY CONFESSION FOR TODAY

I declare that I am content in the grace of God that is on my life. God has called me, anointed me, and graced me exactly for what I am doing. Who I am and what I am doing is no mistake. I have stepped into God’s glorious plan for my life, and His grace has equipped me uniquely and effectively for what I am doing. Day by day, I become more comfortable with the grace of God that dominates my life!

I declare this by faith in Jesus’ name!

 

QUESTIONS FOR YOU TO CONSIDER

1. Do you know what is the specific grace that God has placed upon your life? If yes, what is that grace? How would you describe it?
2. How is your grace different from the grace that is on other people’s lives?
3. Has it ever been a struggle to accept the place that God’s grace has defined for your life? If yes, why has it been a struggle?

How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him.
— Acts 10:38

In today’s Sparkling Gem, I feel especially led to highlight a truth from Acts 10:38 that has deeply impacted my life. Although I had read this verse hundreds of times, I was amazed when I saw this truth because I’d never realized before what I’m about to tell you, nor had I ever heard anyone teach about it. Since then, this one revelation has had a huge effect on Denise and me and the way we conduct our ministry.

Acts 10:38 says, “How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him.” What I want to share with you today concerns a very real aspect of Jesus’ ministry you may have never thought about before.

Most people focus on the part of this verse that describes the healing and deliverance ministry of Jesus — both of which are, of course, so very important. But there’s something else in this verse that’s also very significant, and I overlooked it for many years. Then one day as I was studying my Greek New Testament, my eyes fell on a particular Greek word in this verse and I began to study it. What I learned completely opened up a part of Jesus’ ministry I had never considered. I’m talking about the phrase that says Jesus “went about doing good.”

I was truly taken aback when I saw the words “doing good” in the Greek language because I’d always thought the phrase in this context was just a descriptive summary of healing the sick and delivering those who were oppressed by the devil. But those words actually refer to a completely different aspect of Jesus’ ministry — and one of the largest and most profound parts of His ministry on the earth. I wondered how it was possible that I’d never heard anyone teach about something that provided such an eye-opening view right into the heart of Jesus!

The words “doing good” in Acts 10:38 are a translation of the Greek word euergeteo, an old word that denotes a benefactor; a philanthropist; one who financially supports charitable works; or a person who uses his financial resources to meet the needs of disadvantaged people. This word was used only to portray the provision of food, clothes, or some other commodity to meet a physical or material need. Thus, the use of this word in Acts 10:38 emphatically means that a part of Jesus’ ministry was comprised of meeting the physical and tangible needs of people who were disadvantaged in some way.

Of course, we know that Jesus performed supernatural miracles of provision — such as the time He multiplied five barley loaves and two fish to feed a large crowd of thousands of people (see John 6:1-13). However, the word euergeteo in Acts 10:38 tells us that His ministry also provided natural, material help to people who were in need.

By reading the four gospels, it becomes evident that Jesus’ ministry possessed enormous financial resources that came from various places. Besides offerings that were received, Luke 8:2 and 3 says there was a group of very wealthy women who supported Jesus’ work (see Sparkling Gems 1, November 18). Another indication of Jesus’ significant resources is the fact that He had a treasurer — His disciple, Judas Iscariot — who was responsible for handling the ministry finances.

In John 12:3, it is recorded that Mary used a pound of expensive spikenard — a rare scented oil — to anoint Jesus’ feet. Judas asked Jesus, “Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence, and given to the poor?” (v. 5). We can infer from Judas’ words that Jesus’ ministry had a philanthropic outreach to the poor over which Judas had been placed in charge as treasurer.

Acts 10:38 makes it even more clear that a significant outreach of Jesus’ ministry was to provide physical and material assistance to people in need. The use of the word euergeteo explicitly tells us that Jesus used His resources to do good works, such as caring for the poor and helping feed the needy. Thus, He set an example for us today to be involved in meeting people’s basic human needs as He enables us to do so.

Acting in “goodness” is a characteristic of God’s nature. In Acts 10:38, Luke mentioned this philanthropic aspect of Jesus’ ministry in connection with His healing ministry — in the very same sentence. The Holy Spirit was conveying the message that God is just as interested in helping the poor and needy with physical and material assistance as He is in supernaturally healing their bodies. Thus, we can know that helping meet the physical needs of others — performing similar acts of goodness — is just as much a part of Jesus’ ministry today as it was when He “went about doing good” in His earthly ministry almost 2,000 years ago.

Jesus longs to do it all — to physically heal sick bodies, to deliver those who are spiritually oppressed, and to help meet the meets of the poor. Jesus is still a Philanthropist!

I don’t know why this would ever be a surprise to us. Whether we fully realize it or not, we’ve all experienced God’s tender care in our lives. From the beginning of the Old Testament to this moment, He has cared for the needs of His people and has made provision for those who come to Him in faith — including you and me. Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8). So it makes perfect sense that He would demonstrate this same caring nature both through His earthly ministry then and through His Body, the Church, today.

Furthermore, Galatians 5:22 tells us that one of the fruits of the Spirit is “goodness.” This word is translated from the Greek word agathusune, which comes from the word agathos, meaning good. But when agathos becomes the word agathusune, it means goodness in the sense of being good to someone. This word portrays a person who is generous, big-hearted, liberal, and charitable. We would call this person a giver.

This means one of the characteristics of the Holy Spirit — and one of the fruits He longs to produce in our lives — is the demonstration of care for others in physical and tangible ways. When we exhibit this characteristic by demonstrating care to others, we are acting like God Himself!

By listing this word “goodness” as one of the fruits of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22 and 23, God lets us know that He wants us to be selfless and use our resources to help change people’s lives. This is absolutely contrary to the flesh, which would consume every spare dollar on itself. But when the Holy Spirit is working mightily in us, He shifts our focus from ourselves to the needs of those around us. The fruit of the Spirit called “goodness” creates in us a supernatural urge to reach beyond ourselves to meet the natural needs of others.

The truth is, when a believer is walking in the Spirit, the Holy Spirit opens his eyes to see the needs of humanity, and that person’s heart is moved to meet those needs. This is why there’s no greater benefactors or philanthropists in the world than those who are filled with the Spirit of God.

There are so many human needs in this world, and no one person, ministry, or organization can meet them all. But we are each responsible to respond to the nudge of the Holy Spirit to help those He brings across our path. If we’ll each respond to the distinct nudges we feel from Him — one by one, many needs will be met. And through those acts of goodness, Jesus will touch hearts in a very tangible way.

Throughout the Scriptures, you can find that helping those in need is deeply significant in God’s eyes. My own heart has been gripped by the number of passages that promise His supernatural help and blessing to those who demonstrate care for the disadvantaged and the poor. For example, Psalm 41:1 and 2 says, “Blessed is he that considereth the poor: the Lord will deliver him in time of trouble. The Lord will preserve him, and keep him alive; and he shall be blessed upon the earth: and thou wilt not deliver him unto the will of his enemies.”

Since Acts 10:38 became such a revelation to me, Denise and I have been obeying the promptings of the Holy Spirit when He quickens us to meet the needs of those in trouble. We call this aspect of our ministry our rescuing outreaches. Through this part of our work, we are reaching out to literally rescue the hurting and perishing with both the physical and spiritual help they need. As I already said, we know we can’t physically help everyone. But when it’s apparent that God has brought certain people across the path of our ministry for us to help them, we do our best to obey His Spirit’s promptings.

Since the time we first saw this profound truth in Acts 10:38 about ministering to the needs of others, Denise and I have accepted our responsibility to preach, teach, lay hands on the sick, and pray for spiritual needs to be met. But we have also embraced our role to help meet the physical needs of humanity and to be like Jesus, who was and still is the world’s greatest Philanthropist. We are so thankful for every opportunity to share God’s Word, but we also count it an honor that He would use us to extend a hand of mercy to people who are in need.

I encourage you to make the commitment today to be a prompt doer of the Word when the Holy Spirit nudges your heart to do something extra in this area of meeting the material needs of those less blessed than you. It’s another way you can be as Jesus is in this world — as you go about doing good, led each step of the way by the Spirit of God!

MY PRAYER FOR TODAY

Father, I ask You to help me become more like Jesus, who was the world’s greatest Philanthropist! Help me not just to say I love people, but rather to show them love by my actions and deeds. Open my eyes to see the needs of those around me — and even to see how I can give of my finances to help people in other parts of the world. Since this was the heart of Jesus, it should be my heart too. Holy Spirit, I ask You to help me become like Jesus and do all that I can both spiritually and physically to meet the needs of those You bring across my path.

I pray this in Jesus’ name!

 

MY CONFESSION FOR TODAY

I confess that God is using me to meet the physical and material needs of others. When God brings someone across my path who is hurting, I willingly respond to the Lord’s direction concerning how He wants to use me to help meet his or her need. I can’t help everyone, but I can and will help those He leads me to help. I obey the Holy Spirit’s promptings and do what He instructs me to do. I am an extended hand of mercy to people who are hurting and disadvantaged. When the Holy Spirit needs someone to make a difference in another person’s life, He knows He can count on me to be available!

I declare this by faith in Jesus’ name!

 

QUESTIONS FOR YOU TO CONSIDER

1. What are you doing to help meet the physical and material needs of others? Does your church have an outreach to help the poor and needy? If not, could you respectfully ask your pastor why there is no philanthropic ministry to help the less fortunate? Jesus helped those in need, so shouldn’t we be doing it too?
2. What are some ways you can begin to practically give help to those who are hurting and in need? Do you have any clothes you could give to someone else? Could you prepare a meal for a family that might be struggling or disadvantaged?
3. Can you think of a time when someone helped you through a rough financial time? What kind of impact did it make on you? Have you considered that maybe it’s time for you to do the same thing for someone else?

By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, of whom it was said, That in Issac shall thy seed be called: Accounting that God was able to raise him up from the dead…
— Hebrews 11:17-19

I know from firsthand experience that when God asks you to sacrifice something precious, it can be very difficult to come into compliance with what He is asking you to do. The flesh rebels every step of the way, and the mind tries to argue, as if it knows better than the Lord. Therefore, when your will collides with God’s divine plan for your life, you must make a conscious decision to exercise obedience and follow His leading, no matter what.

There are critical moments when you must make the choice to do what God asks, whether or not you understand it. When you fully abandon your natural inclinations and defer to God’s will, you will be elevated to brand-new levels of success and victory that you have never before attained.

Let me share an example of this kind of deference and obedience from my own life. When God first asked my family to move to the USSR, I knew He had something truly wonderful in store for us. However, my flesh didn’t relish the idea one bit. Night after night, I lay in my bed and listened as my mind told me that this move was the stupidest notion I’d ever considered in my life and that if I really carried through with this absurd idea, I would lose everything. I was having an ongoing inner dialogue with God about the matter. I remember asking Him, Are You REALLY asking me to sacrifice everything that we’ve worked so hard to achieve?

At the time God called us to move overseas, our ministry in the United States was finally taking off after years of struggle and hard work. However, just as we were experiencing the first trappings of success, God asked us to lay aside our dream because He wanted to do something new through us. This was a pivotal moment in our lives! We didn’t understand the full scope of His divine plan, so we had to choose to defer to His voice and trust that He was leading us on the right path.

Have you experienced a similar moment in your own life? If not, I guarantee you that a time will come when you will be called on to step out and follow God’s leading, even though you don’t fully understand His design. However, it is important to remember that when God asks you to sacrifice something precious in your life, He always has your best interest at heart, and He is trying to use that experience to reveal something to you about your life so that you can go forth and do the will of God with confidence.

A clear example of this biblical truth is clearly seen in the Old Testament story of Abraham. After waiting approximately 25 years for God’s promise of a covenant child to come true, Abraham and Sarah finally became the proud parents of their son Isaac. When Isaac was born Abraham was 100 years old, and Sarah was 90 years old.

Everyone knew this baby was a miracle! How many 90-year-old women do you know that have given birth to a baby? It was so fantastic that even Sarah said, “God hath made me to laugh, so that all that hear will laugh with me.” And she said, “Who would have said unto Abraham, that Sarah should have given children suck? For I have born him a son in his old age” (Genesis 21:7).

Try to imagine for a moment the sight of a 90-year-old woman breastfeeding a baby. You can understand why Sarah said everyone who saw it would laugh — it was absurd to the natural mind! Yet everyone who saw this mother and child together was filled with joy because it was such a demonstration of God’s faithfulness to keep His Word. In fact, this blessing brought so many people joy that Abraham and Sarah named the baby Isaac, meaning laughter.

Abraham had personally given up a lot to accommodate the promise of God in his life. He knew that Isaac was the seed through whom God was going to bless the nations of the earth, as God had promised in Genesis 12:2,3 and Genesis 15:4,5. All of Abraham’s hopes and dreams rested in Isaac.

However, after Abraham had spent years watching his son grow into a God-fearing young man, the Bible says that God came to him and commanded him to offer up Isaac as a burnt sacrifice! Genesis 22:1 and 2 records: “And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am. And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.”

In Hebrews 11:17, the writer of Hebrews offers another account of these events, saying, “By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac…” This verse tells us that God “tried” Abraham that day on Mount Moriah when He commanded him to sacrifice Isaac as a burnt offering on the altar.

This word “tried” is from the Greek word peiradzo, which describes an intense examination that is done to prove the fitness of an object. For example, peiradzo was used to describe the fiery process of testing and removing impurities from metal in the ancient world. These tests ensured that the metal would be strong and durable, and that any object crafted from metal would hold up under pressure. In addition, peiradzo also described the process of testing coins to determine if they were authentic or counterfeit. In early New Testament times, counterfeits often looked so similar to the genuine article that only a test would reveal whether a coin was real or fake. Therefore, people regularly tested their money to see if it had worth.

The word peiradzo most often described the process of testing an object to reveal its true quality, and this is precisely how the word is used in Hebrews 11:17, where the verse says Abraham was “tried” by the Lord. The fact is, the Lord already knew that Abraham’s faith was sound and real. But when Abraham drew his knife to slay his son, Abraham himself learned something important about his own faith and level of consecration. He discovered that he was willing to do whatever the Lord asked him to do. There was nothing counterfeit or lacking about Abraham’s obedience to God; his commitment was real and authentic.

You see, God never tests you to learn new information about you. He doesn’t need to “test” to find out something new because He already knows it all. Rather, He is trying to show you something about you — to make you more self-assured and confident as you go forward to do His will. Every test you are going through is being done for your own self-discovery — lessons learned if you go through those tests correctly to give you confidence as you proceed to do the will of God for your life.

When God called my family to relocate to the former USSR back in 1991, my willingness to say yes to God revealed something to me about myself that I needed to see and know. It showed me that my commitment to God was real. This experience was a peiradzo — a test designed to reveal the imperfect areas of my life that required attention and to prove to me that I was the type of person God could depend on. He already knew this about me, but I personally needed to know it deep down in my spirit.

I am so glad my family said, “Yes!” when God beckoned us to leave the United States and move to the former Soviet Union. Even though it initially felt like we were sacrificing everything to do it, the truth is, we didn’t lose anything. What God has given us in our new home overseas is far greater than any home, possession, or dream that we thought we were relinquishing. From the very outset, God had a wonderful plan for the Renner family.

When God asks us to lay something on the altar of sacrifice, we can know there is something bigger and better He wants to put into our hands. But as long as we’re clutching what we have right now, we’re not free to receive the great things He wants to give us next.

Realize that whatever you’re doing today may simply be the training ground for your future. Don’t allow yourself to get so cemented in what you’re doing that you can’t move forward to the next step God has in store for you. And if it ever seems like God is asking you to make a huge sacrifice, just remember: This is just His way of freeing you so He can give you something better and greater and make you more productive for the Kingdom of God. You can trust Him! And as you keep your heart free and your emotions untangled, you’ll be able to move forward whenever His Spirit beckons you to take the next step in His good plan for your life!

MY PRAYER FOR TODAY

Father, I am thankful to know that You already know everything about me and that You don’t need to put me through a test to find out whether or not I’m genuine. Now I understand that You are trying to show me something about myself. Help me to embrace the tests that help me to learn what kind of person I am. Holy Spirit, I ask You to help me cooperate with Your working in my life so that I will become the type of person You can use to expand and build Your Kingdom. That is my heartfelt prayer.

I pray this in Jesus’ name!

 

MY CONFESSION FOR TODAY

I confess that I am alert to recognize when God is testing me to show me something I need to know about myself. He already knows all the answers about me and nothing takes Him by surprise. But I need to know about me. I need to know that I am willing to obey and do whatever He asks me to do. I need to know that I am authentic and genuine in my faith. What He is asking me to do is for me to gain revelation about myself. It is information I need to know so that I can proceed with confidence and boldness as I push forward toward God’s plan for my life.

I declare this by faith in Jesus’ name!

 

QUESTIONS FOR YOU TO CONSIDER

1. After reading today’s Sparkling Gem, do you see that God tests you to reveal something to you about yourself? God already knows all the answers and doesn’t need a test to find out something about you. So what do the tests you’ve undergone reveal about you that you need to know?
2. How do you think Abraham felt after he passed his test on Mount Moriah? What did he discover about himself and his own willingness to obey God?
3. What test are you going through right now? Do you now understand that God already knows the answers and He’s trying to show something to you about you? What is He trying to show you?

…be ye therefore wise as serpents.
— Matthew 10:16

Yesterday we began looking at what Jesus had to say about being “wise as serpents.” Today I want to continue because there is more truth to glean from this verse. The word “wise” in Matthew 10:16 is the Greek word sophos, and it depicts special insight and a wise approach to a matter. According to Jesus, serpents are “wise” in the way they do things, and there is something we can learn from their actions.

One particular aspect we can learn from the serpent’s behavior is the importance of timing. This is so key to fulfilling any assignment that God may give us, because knowing when to act is as important as knowing when to lay low.

For a serpent, this knowledge is key to its very survival. When prey passes before the serpent, it instinctively knows when its time to strike. If it waits too long, the opportunity will pass irretrievably, and the serpent will go hungry.

So what can you learn from the serpent in this arena? When it’s time for you to act, you must put aside all fears, emotions, and second-guessing — and seize the moment!

I have seen so many young ministers fast, pray, and wait for that golden moment of divine opportunity to come to them. Then at last, that time arrives! A great door of opportunity stands directly in front of them. It’s time to act. But rather than seize the moment and walk through that door, they pause to pray just a little bit more. God brought them exactly what they’d been praying for so long, but because they hesitated, they lost the opportunity. When they finally got around to saying yes, it was too late.

Let me give you another personal example.

Back in 1993, I earnestly prayed and sought God to open television ministry wider to us. One day I received a phone call from the top directors of a national television station in the former Soviet Union. They asked me to meet them and talk about putting my program on national television. My associate and I booked the next available flight and flew to meet those two powerful men in their offices.

My heart was filled with anticipation as the plane carried us to that meeting. Was this the opportunity I’d prayed for? Was it actually happening? Was God really answering my prayer?

I had a sense that something great and awesome was about to transpire, and I could hardly wait to arrive at the meeting to hear their proposal.

I had already done my homework. I had studied the statistics about the full reach of the TV channel on which they were about to offer me time. I spoke with pastors and churches throughout my region to find out what they thought of that channel. My time of “lying low and blending into the environment” had given me the “wisdom” I needed when I stepped into that meeting with those directors. I was equipped for this long-awaited conversation.

Armed with information and supported by the prayers of our partners, the meeting began. Those directors asked me, “Would you like to broadcast on our national channel and penetrate every single home in the nation with your program?”

This is exactly what I had been praying and waiting for — for such a long time! The opportunity of a lifetime was sitting on the table in front of me in the form of a TV contract. I held my composure, not wanting them to know how excited I was at this chance to reach every home with the Gospel. I waited to hear how much this divine door of opportunity was going to cost our ministry each month.

When I heard the price of the time slot they were offering me on that channel, at first I felt some hesitation. Fear tried to form in my mind that we wouldn’t be able to come up with the cash each month. Yet I knew a door had opened before me that had never been offered to anyone else before! Only God could open such an incredible door for the Gospel. There was no doubt that He was orchestrating the entire event.

My head and logic said, “Don’t do it,” while my spirit said, “DO IT NOW!” In my heart, I knew it was the moment to strike and seize this opportunity. Within a few minutes, I picked up an ink pen and signed my name on the dotted line. National television had fallen into my hands!

Within days of signing that contract, politics radically changed, and if I had not seized this divine opportunity at that exact moment, I would have lost it. Just one week later, that same wide-open door would have been tightly closed. Because we seized the moment at just the right time, our television program was locked into a contract that this new government had to honor! As a result of acting at the right time, our television program and our ministry became one of the most powerful spiritual forces in that part of the world. Since 1993, when we walked through that door, we have made a strong impact to affect that nation with the teaching ministry God has given us!

I thank God that I had the spiritual guts to act at the right moment. I had already prayed and prayed. Then there came a time to seize the moment and strike!

The Lord has taught me over the years that there are moments to “lay low” — and there are other moments to “strike fast.” Surely, this is a key part of what Jesus meant when He told us to “be wise as serpents” (Matthew 10:16).

You may be asking, “But how do I know when it’s a time to lay low or to take action and seize the moment?” The Holy Spirit will lead you and cause you to know — if you will be sensitive to follow His leading. And believe me, if you will listen to and follow Him, He will guide you past every obstacle, camouflage you from every attack, and show you exactly when to take action in your family, your business, your church, or the assignment God has given you.

Romans 8:14 says, “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.” The word “led” is the Greek word ago. It means to be gently led about and was the same word used to describe a man leading his cow about on a rope. The farmer is the leader, and the cow is merely the follower. The cow doesn’t argue with the farmer; the animal simply trusts and follows.

This is how we are to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit. He is the Leader!

Many people are afraid to obey what the Holy Spirit puts in their hearts to do. Fearful that they will be led astray or that they will make a mistake, they sit on the sidelines and watch other people achieve success, while they remain right where they’ve always been.

But let me assure you from very personal experience: You can trust the leading of the Holy Spirit!

In John chapters 14-16, Jesus called the Holy Spirit “the Spirit of Truth” four separate times! It seems that Jesus thought this was a truth worth repeating! Jesus was emphatically assuring us that the Holy Spirit will not lead us in a wrong direction. He is “the Spirit of Truth” on whom we can rely.

If the Holy Spirit is prompting you to take action now, it’s because He sees and knows something you may not see. Let the Holy Spirit become your eyes and ears to key moments and divine opportunities for your life, family, business, or ministry.

Timing has been a major key to the success of our ministry, and it is the key to your success as well. Denise and I are not brilliant enough in ourselves or by our own reasoning to figure out the right timing for everything we’ve been able to do in the former USSR. We give God all the glory, because we know our timing has been directed by the Holy Spirit, not by us. Denise and I have depended on the Holy Spirit’s leading through the years, and as a result, we have walked through many strategic doors at key moments. We’ve learned that when He says, “NOW!” — He really means exactly that!

So don’t move too fast, and don’t hesitate when the time is right to act. And now you know what Jesus meant when He commanded us to “be wise as serpents”!

MY PRAYER FOR TODAY

Heavenly Father, I thank You that You are faithful to lead me in the direction I should go and in the decisions I must make. Help me recognize when it’s time to lay low and blend into the landscape and when it is time to strike! I have prayed for divine opportunities, so when they present themselves to me, help me to recognize them and to have the courage to step out by faith to accept the assignment. Holy Spirit, I know that You are a faithful Leader, so today I put my trust in You to lead me in each and every step that I take!

I pray this in Jesus’ name!

 

MY CONFESSION FOR TODAY

I confess that I am wise as a serpent! I know when to lay low, how to blend into the landscape, how to learn my new territory, and how to discern and recognize when a God-given opportunity passes my way. Fear does not hold me back. Hesitation does not stop me. Because I have prayed and done my homework in advance, I am well prepared for that golden moment when God gives me the opportunity for which I’ve waited for so long. The Holy Spirit is my Leader, and He is leading and guiding me every step of the way.

I declare this by faith in Jesus’ name!

 

QUESTIONS FOR YOU TO CONSIDER

1. Have you had a moment in your life when the Holy Spirit instructed you simply to lay low and blend into the environment so that you could learn more about your new territory? When was that and what was the result of that course of action?
2. What spiritual disciplines and practices have you built into your daily life to develop your discernment and sensitivity to the leading of the Holy Spirit? Do you read your Bible, meditate in the Word, and pray daily? If not, what steps can you take to make your personal time with the Lord a non-negotiable necessity in your daily schedule?
3. Can you identify your own patterns and tendencies for taking action on something God has put in your heart to do? Do you move quickly or do you procrastinate after you know what to do? What steps do you plan to take to ensure you are moving in sync with the Holy Spirit’s leading to avoid a misstep or mistake?

A bishop then must be blameless….
— 1 Timothy 3:2

Many Christians who are called to a leadership position in the Church feel excited about their new role until they read First Timothy 3:2, which says, “A bishop then must be blameless….” The moment their eyes fall on the word “blameless,” they feel disqualified because it seems to imply that they must be “perfect.” However, this is a misinterpretation of that scripture. No man or woman is perfect except for Jesus; therefore, no one would qualify to be a spiritual leader if that were really God’s requirement to be called and to function in ministry. So what then does the word “blameless” mean?

The word “blameless” in this verse is the Greek word anepilemptos, which is a combination of the Greek prefix a and the words epi and lambano. In the context of this verse, the word epi means against, and the word lambano means to receive or to take something into one’s possession. Finally, the addition of the prefix a to the beginning of the word has a canceling effect that essentially gives the word the opposite meaning.

To better understand this word anepilemptos, we must first look at its meaning without the prefix a. If only the words epi and lambano are compounded to form the word epilemptos, the new word describes a person whose character is so wrong that others have lodged a charge or accusation against him. Because of that person’s nefarious behavior, other people have a legitimate complaint against him and cannot receive him as a leader. Perhaps it was a past crime, a sin, or bad behavior that tarnished his reputation. Whatever the case may be, in the minds of those who know him, that person is guilty. In fact, the word epilemptos can describe a person who has so much wrong in his life that others can reach out, take hold of it, and use it to accuse him. The obvious sin in that person’s life disqualifies him from leadership.

It is simply a fact that if a person is living a blatant life of sin or disobedience to the Word of God and the Christian community knows about it, that behavior will disqualify him from leadership in the Church. Or if an individual’s actions don’t correspond with the Bible’s requirements for spiritual leadership and he does nothing to self-correct, he shouldn’t be considered for a leadership position. The Word of God makes this perfectly clear.

However, what if an individual who was once living in sin repents and experiences a genuine transformation of character? Is he forever disqualified from leadership in the Church because of actions in his past that in no way reflect on his character today? The answer to these questions is found in the prefix a in the Greek word anepilemptos used in First Timothy 3:2. That little a totally reverses the meaning of this word, and it is good news for the person who has brought correction to his or her life!

When the prefix a is added to the front of the Greek word epilemptos, it has a canceling effect. The resultant word carries the idea that if a person truly repents and undergoes a transformation of character, his old sins are irrelevant — regardless of how reproachable or shameful that person once was. Because time has passed, corrective action was taken, and his reputation was restored, this individual can be viewed as “blameless.” There is nothing active in his life that would disqualify him from serving in a higher capacity in the Church. He can therefore now be viewed as a candidate for leadership.

You may have sins in your past that make you feel unworthy to be called “blameless.” But have you repented and reestablished your testimony? If your answer is yes and you are now walking right with God, your blame has been removed and you are eligible for leadership. Although you were once guilty, God’s forgiveness, along with your commitment to live a holy life, has freed you from any charges that people may have once legitimately held against you.

Remember that it was the apostle Paul who wrote the word “blameless” in First Timothy 3:2. Before he came to Christ, he had watched Stephen’s murder (see Acts 7:58), and he had personally overseen the arrest, imprisonment, and even execution of numerous believers (see Acts 26:10). If God judged people by their past actions, Paul would have never qualified for leadership or apostleship. But Christ’s forgiveness, coupled with Paul’s obedience to the Word of God, transformed his lurid reputation into a glorious testimony!

Paul referred to this dramatic change in his own life when he wrote, “And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry; who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious…” (1 Timothy 1:12,13). By the grace and love of Jesus Christ, Paul was forgiven and restored, and the person he used to be was no longer relevant. He met God’s requirement of “blameless” and went on to serve the Body of Christ as the most famous apostle who ever lived.

Today I encourage you to review your life and see if there are any areas that require attention. And if you desire to be a leader but the devil keeps reminding you of past failures for which you’ve already sought forgiveness and experienced restoration, tell him to shut up and get behind you in Jesus’ name! If you have dealt with your past sins and failures before God — and, if necessary, before anyone you may have hurt or offended — that means you, too, can qualify for leadership!

MY PRAYER FOR TODAY

Lord, I thank You for speaking to my heart today through this Sparkling Gem. I ask You to help me make a thorough inventory of my life to see if I have truly repented for past wrongs. If there is any area in me that requires attention, please show me so I can bring it to Your Cross and allow Your Spirit’s sanctifying power to purify my life and conscience. I want to be used by You, so I ask You to delve into the deepest parts of my being and expose anything in me that would discredit me from being used. If you show me something that still needs to be changed, please give me the courage to do what is needed to bring correction to that area of my life.

I pray this in Jesus’ name!

 

MY CONFESSION FOR TODAY

I declare that I am not a prisoner to my past and that God has a good plan for me, regardless of my former mistakes. I confess those things as sin, and I do everything within my power to clear the slate. I declare that the blood of Jesus has left me blameless of the things that others once held against me. I pursue a life that is blameless; I seek to be an example of Christ; I endeavor to serve with a pure heart; and I know that Jesus Christ wants to use me more than ever before. Therefore, I am a candidate to be used by God in a powerful way to effect change in my generation!

I declare this by faith in Jesus’ name!

 

QUESTIONS FOR YOU TO CONSIDER

1. Can you think of areas in your life that would hinder others from following you as a leader? If so, what do you believe the Holy Spirit would have you to do to correct that wrong and make it right with those individuals?
2. Can you think of people you personally held a grudge against because of their past actions even though they have since put forth their best efforts to bring correction to themselves or to the situation? Do you continue to hold them as prisoners to their past behavior or have you released them from that judgment?
3. Now that you have read today’s Sparkling Gem about the word “blameless,” how would you describe the meaning of the word “blameless” to someone else?

Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving….
— Colossians 4:2

Have you ever gone through a period in your life when you were tempted to give up on something you were praying for because the answer seemed too long in coming?

The truth is, we’ve all experienced times when we prayed in faith, but the answer to our prayers seemed to come far too slowly. In fact, this situation is so common that my wife and I receive thousands of letters from our television viewers, who ask questions such as:

• How long should I continue believing God for the answer to my prayer to come to pass in my life?
• Should I just give up hope that my answer will ever come?
• Is there anything special I should be doing while I am waiting for God to answer my prayer request?
• What attitude should I maintain while I continue to wait for my answer?

These questions are all very applicable to our spiritual walk, so let’s see what the Bible has to say about how we should respond when the answers to our prayers are delayed. In Colossians 4:2, the apostle Paul outlined the kind of attitude we must maintain as we wait for the answers to our prayers. He wrote, “Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving….”

Let’s examine several key words in this very important verse. First, Paul began by saying, “Continue in prayer….” This word “continue” is translated from the Greek word proskartereo, which is a compound of the words pros and kartereo. The word pros is the preposition to or toward, and it carries the idea of close, up-front, intimate contact with someone else. A good example of this word pros is found in Ephesians 6:12, where it is used to describe our close contact with unseen, demonic spirits that have been marshaled against us. The second word kartereo means to be strong, to be stout, to bear up, to have fortitude, or to be steadfast. Typically, it carries the idea of something that is strong, robust, tough, solid, or heavy duty.

When these two words are compounded, as they are in Colossians 4:2, the new word depicts a strong, solid, “never-give-up type” of leaning toward an object. It pictures a person who wants something so fiercely that he is leaning forward toward that object — pressing toward it, devoted to the goal of obtaining it, and busily engaged in activities that will bring the object of his desire to him.

Thus, by using the word proskartereo, Paul was emphatically urging us to do three things as we wait for God to answer our prayers:

• Stay forward-directed and focused in prayer.
• Keep pressing into the Spirit.
• Resolutely refuse to give up until we have obtained that for which we are praying.

There will undoubtedly be times in your life when the answers to your prayers won’t come quickly. However, God requires you to stay spiritually strong — pushing forward and continuously engaging in robust prayer until you see what you are believing Him for come to fruition. If you are tenaciously determined to continue in prayer, you will receive the answers you seek.

The Greek word translated “prayer” in this verse is also very important. It is the word proseuche, a compound of the Greek words pros and euche, and it is used 127 times in the New Testament. As we saw earlier, the word pros is the preposition to or toward, and it carries the idea of closeness. The word euche is an old Greek term that describes a wish, a desire, a prayer, or a vow. This word was originally used in Scripture to depict a person who makes a vow to God because of a need or desire in his life. This person is so desperate for an answer that he promises to give something of great value to God in exchange for a favorable answer to his prayer. When these two words are compounded, the new word conveys a multifaceted and powerful meaning.

The first part of the word proseuche — pros — tells us that prayer should bring us face to face with God. Prayer is more than a mechanical act or a formula to follow; it is a vehicle through which you can enjoy a close, intimate relationship with God, especially when you are trying to break through spiritual barriers or press deep into the Spirit.

Secondly, the word euche conveys that sacrifice is a vital component of prayer. When you come before the Lord, you must be willing to surrender yourself and make any changes in your life that God might require of you, because there are potential areas in your life that can block His ability to bless you. As you draw near to God, the Holy Spirit will convict your heart of any areas that need to be surrendered to Him. If you respond to His conviction and repent, the obstacles in your life that were hindering your prayers will be removed, and the answers to your prayers can come quickly.

God wants you to meet Him face to face and surrender every area of your life to Him. In return, He promises that you will receive the answers you seek.

Paul continued in Colossians 4:2 by saying, “Continue in prayer, and watch….” The word “watch” is the word gregoreo, meaning to be awake, to be watchful, or to be vigilant. It refers to a spiritual, watchful attitude and can be translated, “Be wide awake….” Rather than go to sleep on the job after spending time praying, pressing, and interceding, you need to keep your eyes wide open so you can watch for the answer you are requesting!

Remember, the word “continue” (proskartereo) refers to someone who wants something so fiercely that he is leaning forward and pressing toward it, busily engaged in activities that will bring the object of his desire to fruition. He is forward-directed, focused in prayer, pressing into the Spirit, and resolute in his determination not to give up until he has received the answer to his prayers. It is the picture of a believer who has prayed long and hard and is now becoming weary from constant prayer. Therefore, Paul exhorted us, “Stay awake! Stay on your guard! Keep your eyes open!”

Once you pray in faith and begin to make the changes God requires of you, you need to stay vigilant and watch for the answers to your prayers to show up!

The final point Paul made in this verse is that you must “…watch in the same with thanksgiving….” The word “thanksgiving” is the Greek word eucharistia, which is a compound of the words eu and charis. The word eu means good or well, and it always denotes a good disposition or a good feeling about something. The word charis is the Greek word for grace. When these two words are compounded, the new word describes an outpouring of grace and wonderful feelings that freely flow from the heart in response to someone or something.

By using this word, Paul taught that you must persistently engage in aggressive prayer — heartily seeking a specific answer from God as you keep your attitude vigilant and your eyes watchful for the soon-to-be-manifested answer. As you take that stance of faith, lift your voice to thank God in advance for the answer you are seeking! Thanksgiving is the voice of faith that thanks God for the answer before it comes! It is hard to be discouraged or defeated when you are continually thankful, so be sure to maintain a thankful, faith-filled heart as you watch for your answer to arrive!

Given what we have learned, Colossians 4:2 could be paraphrased:

“Be committed to ongoing and relentless prayer! You have to press toward that answer you are seeking. You have to be devoted to the goal of obtaining it as you stay engaged in the robust, strong, stout, never-give-up kind of prayer that brings you straight into the presence of God! While you are persistently and aggressively praying, you also need to stay wide awake, constantly keeping your eyes open as you look for and expect your answer. And while you are doing all of this, don’t forget to stay in an attitude of thankfulness that gives thanks to God in advance for the answers you are seeking.…”

So what should you do if you are praying in faith and the answer still hasn’t come? It’s time for you to dig in and press in the Spirit toward the answer. Be willing to make whatever changes God may require of you, and keep your eyes open for the answer. Finally, lift up your voice, and start thanking Him now for the answer even before it comes!

Are you going through one of those trying times right now? Have you been tempted to give up on something you’ve been praying for because the answer isn’t coming as quickly as you wish? If so, don’t throw up your hands in exasperation and walk away! Stay in faith and stay alert, because you may be on the very brink of receiving your long-awaited answer!

MY PRAYER FOR TODAY

Lord, I am making the decision to turn up my fervency in prayer! You are telling me to pray consistently and persistently and to press in harder than ever before, so that is what I am going to do. If there are issues in my life that are blocking the answers to my prayers, please reveal them to me, and I will surrender them to You. With the help of Your Spirit, I will stay in faith with a watchful eye for the answer I have sought from You. Right now by faith, I thank You in advance for the answer I am seeking.

I pray this in Jesus’ name!

 

MY CONFESSION FOR TODAY

I confess that I press forward in the Spirit, persisting in prayer until I get a breakthrough from the Lord. As God’s Word instructs me, I will be committed and unrelenting in prayer until every blockage is removed and the answer manifests in my life. By faith I keep a watchful eye for the answer I have requested from the Lord. Right now I lift my voice in faith and begin to consistently thank Him in advance for those things I have asked of Him.

I declare this by faith in Jesus’ name!

 

QUESTIONS FOR YOU TO CONSIDER

1. Can you say that you’ve been unrelentingly committed to continuing in your prayers until you receive the answers you have sought from the Lord?
2. Have you maintained an attitude of thankfulness while you’ve waited for your request to be manifested? Be honest! Have you lifted your voice by faith to thank Him in advance for the answer even though you haven’t seen it yet?
3. Before you do anything else, why don’t you begin taking a few minutes, starting today, to get into an attitude of thanksgiving and verbally praise and worship God for hearing and answering your prayer?

Seeing it is a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to them that trouble you.
— 2 Thessalonians 1:6

We once had an employee whom we “thought” was the cream of the crop. He had come to one of my meetings to tell us that he believed God was calling him to be a leader in our ministry. Although I knew he had been in the ministry a long time, I didn’t know him very well personally, so I felt the need to dig deep to verify information about him. Everything I checked out confirmed this man would be a splendid addition to our team. At that time we needed a man with his skills, so we hired him to work in the office in a lower position to observe how he worked and performed with other people.

Over a period of several years, my top leadership team was very impressed with this man’s style of work and his commitment to get tasks done on time. He was professional and eager to learn, and he showed himself faithful in many respects. When the position of office manager opened up in that nation, we felt it right to move this man into that position. But once he had been entrusted with the oversight of money, serious problems started showing up. At first, the financial discrepancies were small, and we thought they were simply mistakes. But over time, it became apparent that there was a serious problem. This man was stealing money in very devious ways.

I loved this man, so when I finally discovered that he was secretly robbing us of money, I personally traveled hundreds of miles to give him an opportunity to be honest about what he had been doing. When I walked into our ministry office to meet with him, and he realized we knew about what he had been doing, he erupted in anger!

I suddenly saw a man I had never seen or known before! He screamed, yelled, and commanded that we get out of his office, which in fact was our office! It was the official headquarters for our ministry in that particular nation. When I reminded him it was our office and he had no right to tell us to leave, he shouted, “So you think this is your office? Who signed the contract? I did! I signed it! It’s in my name — and legally that makes it my office! So I am ordering you to move off the premises immediately, or I’ll call the police to have you arrested for trespassing.”

My team and I were shocked at his behavior. We had known him a long time, and I’d anticipated that he would admit what he had done and ask for forgiveness. My goal was not only to confront the problem, but also to see how I could help restore this man. But suddenly the mask he had donned for years fell off, and when it did, it revealed a face red with anger! His eyes looked like a demon peering at us, and he screamed with a complete lack of restraint. He was a man out of control and wholly given to anger. He got so close to my face as he screamed that at one point, I actually thought his nose would touch my face.

But no matter how loud the man turned up the volume, I remained calm and told him that I wasn’t leaving until he was honest with me about the discrepancies we had found. The next thing I knew, he was picking up the telephone to call the police to have us evicted from our own office. Rather than allow this to escalate into a worse situation, my team and I walked out the door and left. That was the last time I ever saw that man.

Because we had operated our ministry in that location for years, I turned around to see it for the last time as we walked down the corridor. There on the door was the name of our ministry boldly printed for all those who visited. Behind those doors were nearly 100,000 letters addressed to Denise and me from our TV viewers. The shelves and the basement were filled with 250,000 copies of my books that we sent free of charge to people who wrote in response to our TV program. Eighty full-time employees paid by our ministry were working on desks, computers, typewriters, copy machines, fax machines, and tape duplicators that were purchased by our ministry.

The next day, we discovered that not only had this man robbed us of ministry funds, but secretly he had also legally registered everything in his name. This meant we had no legal claim to anything in that office. He had even registered the ministry automobile in his name! It was the slickest, most polished case of professional thievery I had ever personally witnessed.

One of my leaders suggested I take the man to court to reclaim what belonged to us. But because we were so well known in that region of the world, I knew that such an action would end up on the front page of the newspapers, and it would be talked about from one end of that nation to the other end. In that former Communist nation where faith had historically been persecuted, I knew that a story like this hitting the newspapers would “load the gun” of every atheist and Communist who hated the Gospel. The newspapers would surely report this as the “war of the preachers,” and it would have profoundly negative consequences on the work of God in that country.

I knew that the reputation of the Gospel — and the impact it was having on countless precious souls — was worth far more than our loss. So instead of getting into a legal quandary that we couldn’t win, we made the choice to leave it all behind. We only asked that he give us the letters addressed to us, the 250,000 books that had our names on them, and the sign on the door. It was hard to refuse the letters, books, and sign, because our name was written on them and we could prove ownership of these things. But everything else was lost as we relocated to another city and reopened our office with directors who had been with Denise and me for more than a decade. After that experience, we fixed things tight legally so this kind of situation could never occur again.

At the time these events transpired, staff members were amazed at how peaceful I was throughout the entire ordeal. They asked, “How can you just walk away so peacefully from this situation with no bitterness or contempt for this man?” But the truth was, I felt sorry for him, and I was more concerned about his soul than our loss. For him to do such a thing, I knew he had to be extremely deceived. I also knew that if he didn’t repent and make it right, God would hold him accountable and would avenge this situation. I really didn’t want him to reap something terrible, but there is a universal law involved here — the law of sowing and reaping — and a harvest will come from seed sown, whether people have sown good or bad seed. This man had planted terrible seed in the ground, and if he didn’t repent for his actions, that seed would take root and grow in his life as deadly fruit.

In Romans 12:19, Paul told believers who had suffered injustice, “Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.” According to this verse, it was time for me in my situation to peacefully move out of the way and leave it all to be settled by God. I told our staff how thankful I was that I was not in the vengeance business! However, I knew that if this man didn’t repent, he would eventually reap the terrible fruit of his actions.

When Paul wrote to the Thessalonian believers, they were suffering severe persecution and horrific abuse at the hands of Jewish unbelievers and pagans. That’s when he told them, “Seeing it is a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to them that trouble you…” (2 Thessalonians 1:6).

Let’s take a little time today to dig into this verse to see what powerful truths we can extract that pertain to our daily lives.

In this verse, the word “righteous” is the word dikaios, which portrays something that is just, fair, or right. In the phrase “with God,” the word “with” is a translation of the Greek word para, which normally means alongside. However, this word para means with God or refers to God’s way of doing things.

For example, if you heard someone refer to me and say, “That’s the way it is with Rick Renner,” you would understand they were referring to my behavior, my habits, or my way of doing things. In this verse, the word para is used in this same way to tell us the way things are “with God.” It is used to describe the manner in which God behaves — I’m talking about His behavior, His habits, or His style. Thus, the first part of this verse could be paraphrased, “Being just and fair is the way it is with God! It’s His behavior, His habit, and His way of doing things….”

Paul continued by telling us about a specific behavior of God we need to know about. The apostle wrote, “Seeing it is a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to them that trouble you.”

Now let’s look at the word “recompense.” It is the Greek word antapodidomi, which is a compound of the words anti, apo, and didomi. The word anti means against; the word apo means to return; and didomi mean to give. When these three words are compounded as they are in Second Thessalonians 1:6, it means to pay back, to repay, to give someone exactly what is due them, to give someone exactly what they deserve, or to settle the score. It is a full and complete requital of what is due. This means the verse could be paraphrased, “Being just and fair is the way it is with God! Making sure people get exactly what they deserve is His behavior, habit, and way of doing things….”

God doesn’t have to actually get involved in this “divine payback system” because it works like a law. The law states, “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall be also reap” (Galatians 6:7). This means if you do good for others, this spiritual law will make sure that others do good for you. If you wrong others, this spiritual law will see to it that others wrong you. Whatever you do is precisely what will come back to you. (For more in-depth study on the law of sowing and reaping, see Sparkling Gems 1, August 2).

How others have treated you is what they will experience from others. Likewise, how you have treated others is the way you will be treated by others. This is a spiritual law that cannot be broken or violated.

Now, that’s not to say that if you’ve ever been mistreated, it necessarily means you have mistreated someone else in the same way. But when it comes to what you dole out in negative attitudes or negative treatment toward others, without repentance from your heart, that harvest will most certainly find its way back to you.

On the other hand, if you have been a source of blessing to someone else, this spiritual law will see to it that a blessing comes back to you. And if a person has deliberately done wrong or intentionally tried to hurt you, this spiritual law will see to it that they are paid back for what they did to you.

This is a fixed spiritual law that always works, so we must be careful in our treatment of others, for what we do to others is precisely what will be done to us. Only repentance has the power to eradicate bad seed from the ground and thereby stop it from producing fruit.

Paul said that God will recompense “tribulation” to them that trouble you. So what does the word “tribulation” mean? It is the Greek word thlipsis, a word so strong that it leaves no room for misunderstanding. It conveys the idea of a heavy-pressure situation. In his epistles, Paul often used this word to describe grueling, crushing situations that are unbearable, intolerable, and impossible to survive. The word thlipsis is often translated as the word “affliction,” which means the verse could be translated, “God will give a full measure of affliction to those who have afflicted you.”

By using this word, Paul was telling us that when God recompenses people for the evil they have done, it is a full requital. Those who deliberately trouble us will receive a full measure of what they dished out.

The law of sowing and reaping is activated even in this sphere of life, and the way a person does or does not treat others is part of the process that determines the type of justice he receives from the Lord. God’s payback system is just, fair, and equitable.

An interpretive translation of Second Thessalonians 1:6 could read:

“It’s God’s habitual practice and normal behavior to be just and fair, so you can be sure people who have wronged you will get exactly what they deserve. He will see to it that they are reimbursed and that they receive a full settlement of trouble for the traumatic circumstances they have put you through. Those who have afflicted you will receive a full measure of affliction in return.”

I can personally think of no better illustration for the way God’s payback system works than the man I told you about at the beginning of today’s Sparkling Gem. He had an opportunity to repent and get his heart right with God and with me. Instead, he rejected this divinely granted opportunity. I’m so sorry to say that today he is a totally discredited individual. His loss of reputation had nothing to do with our response to his misdeeds, for Denise and I made the decision that we would never tell what he had done. We left it silently in the hands of God, but over time we watched the truth of Second Thessalonians 1:6 come to pass in this man’s life. What he did to others is exactly what was done to him.

In light of this, I encourage you to keep your heart free of bitterness when someone has wronged you, abused you, or falsely accused you. Vengeance is God’s business, and you must not enter this realm that belongs only to Him. Make it your aim to forgive those who have wronged you, and leave the rest in God’s hands. And if you have done wrong to others, I strongly advise you to repent and make that relationship right today. The law of sowing and reaping is actively working, so if you’re wise, you’ll do everything you can to stay on the good side of the law!

MY PRAYER FOR TODAY

Father, after reading today’s Sparkling Gem, I want to make sure that my own heart is right with You and others. I know I haven’t always done right, so if there is anyone to whom I need to go and make it right, please bring it to my memory so I can take care of it today. I want to stay on the good side of the law of sowing and reaping. If I’ve ever sown bad seed, I want to rip it up through the act of repentance. And when I am tempted to be upset with others who have done wrong to me, please help me remember that my focus must be to keep my heart free, and it is Your responsibility to give people what is due them. Help me, Lord, to stay out of the vengeance business and to focus on keeping my own heart pure and clean!

I pray this in Jesus’ name!

 

MY CONFESSION FOR TODAY

I confess that I keep my heart free of judgment and I do not venture into the realm of revenge. God sees what is happening to me, and I can silently trust that He will be faithful to take care of me and to deal with those who have tried to harm or hinder me. That is His business, not mine, and I refuse to allow my emotions or anyone else to drag me into the ring to fight it out. I will focus on my own heart to make sure that I am inwardly clean. As the Holy Spirit reveals people I’ve hurt or wronged in the past, I will quickly go to them to ask forgiveness because I want to stay on the good side of the law of sowing and reaping!

I declare this by faith in Jesus’ name!

 

QUESTIONS FOR YOU TO CONSIDER

1. As you read the story of the man who robbed our ministry many years ago, did you think of people who wronged you, your family, or your business in the past? Who was the person who wronged you? Have you really forgiven that person for what he or she did?
2. When you look at what happened to that person’s life since the time he or she wronged you, what do you see has happened? Has the law of sowing and reaping produced its results in that individual’s life?
3. Is there anyone you’ve wronged in the past with whom you have yet to make it right? Now that you understand you need to communicate with that person and ask for forgiveness, what steps do you need to take? Is it possible that some of the trouble you’ve experienced in life is a result of the law of sowing and reaping bringing a negative harvest back to you because of what you did to someone else?