TAKEN FOR GRANTED

People have short memories. It doesn’t take long in ministry to realize this. One day you’re leading someone to Christ, the next day they’ve left for the new church down the street. One day someone says they loved the sermon, the next day they can’t remember what it was about. Short memories are nothing new.

The Israelites had a short memory when it came to Moses. Just three days after the Red Sea miracle – at the very first sign of trouble – they started doubting his leadership. We think we’ve got it rough. God used Moses to split a sea, and the Israelites forgot him. If that happened to Moses, it can happen to us.

But it doesn’t just happen in ministry, does it? We live in a what-have-you-done-for-me-lately world. Children forget what their parents have done for them. Bosses forget what their employees have done for them. Spouses take each other for granted.

I read an article one time about a chief accountant for a millionaire. He was paid very well, but he committed suicide. His suicide note said: “I’m committing suicide because in 30 years I’ve never had one word of encouragement. I’m fed up.”

What do you do when you feel taken for granted? Moses gives us a great example to follow.

1. Don’t curse it. When Moses heard the Israelites grumble, it would have been natural to respond back in anger. Most of us would have done that. But Moses didn’t. Revenge just wasn’t an option. When people don’t appreciate you, choose not to strike back. Leave your frustration in God’s hands. When you let God settle the score, you are well represented. Romans 12:14 says, “Bless those who persecute you. Bless and do not curse” (NASB). Instead of cursing those who forget you, speak positively about them.

2. Don’t rehearse it. Every time you review the hurt you feel when you’ve been taken for granted, it gets bigger. If somebody you’ve served selflessly criticizes you, it hurts. No doubt about it. But if you’re not careful, it’ll blow out of proportion in no time.
Notice that Moses never went back over the pain. He focused on the future. Rehearsing pain is a dangerous habit in ministry because soon you’re addicted to it. I’ve met some very bitter pastors who allowed experiences of their past to color their perception until they thought everybody was against them. You can’t allow that to happen.

3. Don’t nurse it. Don’t allow yourself to have a pity party. It’s OK to be angry. Anger is a legitimate response to hurt. But holding on to anger becomes sin. Ephesians 4:26-27 says, “Don’t get so angry that you sin. Don’t go to bed angry, and don’t give the devil a chance” (CEV). If you are a leader, you can expect to be misunderstood. It’s a fact of leadership. If you choose not to take the disappointment personally, you’ll avoid becoming cynical.


So, what should you do when you feel forgotten and taken for granted?

First, share your pain with God. Often we go to the wrong people with our pain. We go to the people who’ve mistreated us and remind them of their oversight. Instead of doing that, take your pain to God.

Second, expect God to reverse your disappointment. God is the master of reversing hurts. Remember the story of Joseph in the Old Testament? Joseph’s brothers sold him into slavery. Then in Genesis 50, 20 years later, he said, “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.” Joseph had every reason to be cynical. His own family had sold him out. But he wasn’t cynical.

Moses had a similar experience. The people had been whining and complaining because they didn’t have water – and when they did get water, it was bitter. But where did God lead them after that? He led them to a land of abundant water. He reversed the situation.
Friend, I don’t know how you’ve been taken for granted, but I do know one thing. God has not forgotten you. He’s seen every act of service. Others may take you for granted. But God doesn’t. Never forget that.

Blessings,

PK

OUT WITH THE OLD...IN WITH THE NEW

"No one pours new wine into old wineskins." Mark 2:22 NIV


Jon Walker writes: "A few miles from my house there's a convenience store that went through a make-over. However, the employees may have missed the make-over memo. The kid behind the counter wore a new uniform...but he also wore the same sullen look I'd seen before. It made me think about how we try to put new wine into old wineskins.

Jesus says we're bound to fail because 'the wine will burst the skins and both...will be ruined.' But don't we, do the same, when it comes to our Christian walk? The new wine of honesty-at-work, poured into the old wineskin of cutting corners. The new wine of unconditional love, poured into the old wineskin of hatred for the family two doors down. The new wine of worship, poured into the old wineskin of idolizing money, power, music or the latest video game. The new wine of Bible study, poured into the old wineskin of 'gotta-go-pop-tart-for-breakfast' busyness. The new wine of humility, poured into the old wineskin of conceit. The new wine of forgiveness, poured into the old wineskin of bitterness. The new wine of others first, poured into the old wineskin of selfish ambition. The new wine of joy, poured into the old wineskin of jealousy and factions. The new wine of peace, poured into the old wineskin of discord."

Any of these ring a bell? If they do, it's time we asked God to help us abandon the old wineskins of carnality and make us a strong, new, clean vessel. As a new creation, we're no longer defined by old behaviors; you're defined by your relationship with Christ.

So I vote for CHANGE!!! Out with the old and in with the new!

Blessings,

PK

HINDERED PRAYER

"If we ask anything according to His will, He hears us." 1 John 5:14 NKJV
Hindrances to answered prayer

Another hindrance to answered prayer is - praying outside of God's will. The Bible says: "Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us and...we know...that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him." One of the best ways to make sure we are praying according to God's will, is to pray according to His Word. Use a verse, a passage or a principle from Scripture to back up what you're praying, for God says, "I am ready to perform My word" (Jer 1:12 NKJV).

Sometimes there are things we want to pray for, but we aren't sure whether those things are God's will for us according to Scripture. In this case we simply need to ask God to give it, if it's His will to do so - and to help us to be satisfied with His decision. St. Augustine said, "O, Lord, grant that I may do thy will as if it were mine; so that thou mayest do my will as if it were thine." D.L. Moody said, "Spread out your petition before God, and then say, 'Thy will, not mine, be done.' The sweetest lesson I have learned in God's school, is to let the Lord choose for me."

When we pray in harmony with God, we will have what we ask for. We may have to wait, because God's timing is part of His will, but it will come. We can say, "I may not see it yet, but God has promised it to me, so it's on the way." And if God doesn't give us what we ask for, He will give us something better, if we walk in faith and keep a good attitude.

Keep on Praying,

Pastor Kevin

A HINDRANCE TO ANSWERED PRAYER

One hindrance to answered prayer is - sin! Lillian Pearsall says: "When I was a telephone operator, a customer talked overtime on a long-distance call from a pay phone. Even with my friendly reminders, he refused to deposit his overtime coins. Instead he slammed down the phone, irate and verbally abusive. A few seconds later he was back on the line - somewhat calmer. 'Operator, please let me out of the phone booth - I'll pay, just let me out!' Apparently he had locked himself in and mistakenly thought that I had control over the phone booth's doors. He gladly paid the overtime charge, and with my advice, gave the door a hefty kick and set himself free."
Unconfessed sin locks us in and shuts God out. If we have hidden sin in our hearts, we cannot pray with confidence that God will answer. However, if we ask Him to reveal our sin, He will. When He does, we must deal with it if we want to keep the lines of communication open. If God reminds us of a situation in which we didn't do the right thing, we can't just sweep it under the rug; we have to acknowledge it and receive His forgiveness.
What we call "little things," grow into sinful habits and lifelong patterns. So when God reveals our sin we need to repent and stop what we are doing. We need to take Him seriously - immediately! This means doing everything within our power to make sure our relationship with Him is unobstructed. That way our prayers will be heard and answered.

"If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me." Psalm 66:1

Blessings,

Pastor Kevin

DOWN TO MOTIVES

"Having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved." (Ephesians 1:5–6)

There are a lot of people who think they should keep the Ten Commandments because they are under the impression that God will punish them if they don’t. But the fact is that God loves us, and we should keep His commandments because we are aware of His incredible love. For example, I want to keep my marriage vow because of the love I have for my wife Kelly.

We need to know that God accepts us as we are. We don’t have to do anything to earn His approval. We don’t have to do anything to merit His love. In spite of our shortcomings and in spite of our sins, God loves us.

Some people come from homes in which their fathers never expressed love or showed any affection toward them. Therefore, they take that image of their earthly fathers and place it on their Heavenly Father. They spend the rest of their lives trying to earn the approval of God, who already has given His approval to them.

He loves us just as we are. Of course, He doesn’t want to leave us that way. We change because of our association with our Heavenly Father. The change is not because God is unhappy with me, but rather it is a return to the original intention God had for me.

Realizing this should cause us to want to love Him. As 1 John 4:19 says, “We love Him because He first loved us.” So instead of wanting to keep God’s commandments to earn His love, we should want to keep them because of His love for us. We should want to keep His commandments because we know they are right. It all comes down to our motives.

Be Blessed today,

Pastor Kevin

THE BLESSINGS OF GOD

There is a fable about a man who found an enormous building in Heaven. Inside the building, he saw rows and rows of neatly stacked boxes, each tied with a satin bow. When the man found the box with his name on it, he quickly tore it open. Inside his box, he found all the blessings that God had wanted to give to him while he was on earth…but he had never asked.

In Genesis 12:2 and 3, God gave Abraham a sevenfold promise, and two of those were, first, “I will bless you,” revealing that God wants to bless us individually. Second, “And you will be a blessing.” The Hebrew is taken as an imperative. This is really a command. God blesses us so that we can be a blessing.

Augustine stated, “God is more anxious to bestow His blessings on us than we are to receive them.” In Psalm 21:3 David wrote of himself, “For You meet him with the blessing of goodness.” The word “meet” means “to anticipate, to precede, to foresee and fulfill in advance, to pay a debt before it is due.” Furthermore, in almost every usage, it implies something of pleasure. He claimed God’s promise of blessing.

Dr. S. D. Gordon wrote that he could never forget his mother’s paraphrase of Malachi 3:10. The verse begins, “Bring all the tithes into the storehouse,” and ends, “I will pour.” Her paraphrase was this: “Give all He asks; take all He promises.”

God states in Isaiah 65:24, “It will come to pass that before they call, I will answer; and while they are still speaking, I will hear.” David Wilkerson commented, “This verse provides us with an incredible picture of our Lord’s love for us. Evidently, He is so anxious to bless us, so ready to fulfill His lovingkindness in our lives, that He can’t even wait for us to tell Him our needs. He jumps in and performs acts of mercy, grace and love toward us. And that is a supreme pleasure to Him.”

Ephesians 1:3 reveals our heavenly Father is the source of our spiritual blessing. Philippians 4:19 tells us that He supplies our temporal blessings through Christ. Psalm 103 lists five of God’s benefits for His people. Someone has described them as: First, God’s court of law, “Who forgives all your iniquities.” Second, God’s hospital, “Who heals all your diseases.” Third, God’s safe haven, “Who redeems your life from destruction.” Fourth, God’s throne room, “Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies.” Fifth, God’s banquet hall, “Who satisfies your mouth with good things.”

“How thankful we should be that God’s blessings are dispensed according to the riches of His grace, and not according to the poverty of our faith” (Arthur W. Pink).

(by David Arnold)

“And this is the way you shall bless the children of Israel. Say to them:

‘The Lord bless you and keep you;

The Lord make His face to shine upon you,

And be gracious unto you;

The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,

And give you peace.’

So they shall put My name on the children of Israel, and I will bless them.”

(Numbers 6:23 – 27)

Blessings,

Pastor Kevin

NOW IS THE TIME

The prophet Hosea wrote, “Sow for yourselves righteousness; reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground. FOR IT IS TIME TO SEEK THE LORD, till He comes and rains righteousness on you” (10:12). Spurgeon stated, “Whenever God determines to do a great work, He first sets His people to pray.” He was also asked the reason of his marvelous power in the ministry. Pointing to the floor of the Metropolitan Tabernacle, he said, “In the room beneath, you will find three hundred praying Christians. Every time I preach they gather there, and uphold my hands by continuous prayer and supplications. It is in that room that you find the secret of the blessings.”

In James 5:16, we read, “The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.” The word “effective” comes from a Greek root word that means “a fixed position.” It is suggestive of an unmovable, unshakeable mindset. “Fervent” speaks of boldness, built on solid evidence and absolute proof, that supports our prayers. Taken together, we have the exhortation to stand on God’s proven evidence that He will hear and answer when we pray. William Cowper was correct when he said, “Satan trembles when he sees the weakest saint upon his knees.”

A sincere lady questioned, “Pastor, I have sought a deeper experience with God all these years and I don’t have it. I have read books. I have read what to do, and all the rules, but I am nowhere yet. Does God have favorites?” Her pastor replied, “No, my dear, God does not have favorites. But he does have intimates.” Hebrews 10:19 tells us that we have “boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus.” “Boldness” indicates complete freedom of speech, without any reservation whatsoever. Someone wrote, “Prayer is the openness of the soul to God; the out-looking, up-looking of the soul to God; the humble sense of self, the silent and the spoken cry for the light and help of God.”

A new organ was installed in a New York City church. The first Sunday it was used, the electric current that was required to operate the console went off at a point early in the service. A hurried call for help brought a mechanic. Soon a note was sent up, and handed to the pastor. The note said, “After the prayer, the power will be on!” A prayerless church is a powerless church. A church that prays will do exploits.

Romans 13:11, 12, “And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light.”

“There have been revivals without much preaching, but there has never been a mighty revival without mighty praying” (R. A. Torrey).

(by David Arnold)


Blessings,

Pastor Kevin