Articles
For Your Edification and Encouragement!
An Enduring Faith...............by Andy White
There is so much in my spirit that I want to share as I sit down to write this article that I’m sure I will not be able to convey it all. For some time I had been praying that the Lord would bring me to a new level of faith. A fresh baptism of spiritual power, and a new depth of commitment and trust in Him. Well, the Lord has granted my request! Yet, the circumstances which the Lord has utilized are not exactly what I had in mind! Once again the Scripture reminds me that , “...for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found...”, (1Pt.1:6-7). How easily we forget that faith is forged, founded, and tested in the furnace of trial and affliction! John tells us that, “This is the victory that has overcome the world - our faith.” , (1Jn.5:4). Overcoming faith is just that, faith which has overcome! Overcoming trial, affliction, discouragement, disappointment, opposition, the list is endless. John calls it “The Victory”. That in itself implies a contest, a battle, a struggle. There is no victory where there is no battle! How often do we quote Paul, “We are more than conquerors...”! Yet, rarely take into consideration the context in which he spoke. “Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written; ‘For your sake we are killed all day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.” Again, to be a conqueror means that we have conquered something! We all love the taste of victory, but we don’t like the recipe! Where does the victory lie? When is the conquest realized? By merely professing faith? By merely saying, “I believe”? By simply giving mental assent to certain truths and positively confessing them? The victory lies in enduring to the end! As the writer of Hebrews tells us; “For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise.” (Heb.10:36). The 11th chapter of Hebrews speaks to us about the great men and woman of faith and how they overcame the world and were approved of God. “And all these, having gained approval through their faith, did not receive what was promised...”, (Heb. 11:39 N.A.S.). Did you catch that? They overcame the world, they were approved of God, they were heroes of the faith, but, “They did not receive what was promised”! What made them worthy of God’s approval and recognition was not that they received something, but rather that, through enduring in faith, the integrity and character of their faith was proved to be genuine. Unfortunately all too often we have equated victorious faith with obtaining something. Don’t misunderstand me on this point, “God is a rewarder of those that diligently seek Him.”! However, a careful examination of Hebrews 11 will show that while some, “Through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness and obtained promises...”; There were others, “...Who were tortured...had trial of mockings and scourgings, chains and imprisonments...they were stoned, sawn in two... they wandered about destitute, afflicted, tormented... and they did not receive the promise...”, (Heb.11:35-39). {I realize many of today's ‘faith’ authors do not include these people in their books, but praise the Lord!, He included them in His book!}. Many of us need to learn that, the character of our faith is not measured by what it procures but by what it endures! What is desperately needed in the church today is a faith that is enduring. A faith that is persistent in the face of strife and opposition. A faith that overcomes the obstacles of adversity, affliction, and disappointment. For some time I had wondered what Jesus meant when He said, “When the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?”. It seemed to me that, with the Gospel being preached all over the world, with big T.V. ministries preaching ‘faith’ messages, that there were more and more people walking in a ‘procuring faith’ than ever before. Now as needful as ‘procuring faith’ may be, there is no doubt in my mind that what is really needed is an “enduring faith”. Many today are falling away from the Lord because they haven’t procured some felt need or desire. Many are “Shipwrecked from the faith” because of a wrongly held view of faith. I think I understand now what the Lord meant! I feel compelled to state it again! Our victory lies not in what we procure but what we endure! Are we faithful, that is, full of faith to endure? Though the promise tarry? The Holy Spirit tells us that, “Moses...chose rather to suffer affliction with the people of God...and He endured as seeing Him who is invisible.” (Heb.11:24-27). The vitality of faith, the dynamic which gives faith strength to endure lies in, “Seeing Him who is invisible.”. In other words, “Who”, not “What”, is the object of our faith. The faith that honors God and is approved of God is the faith that, “Looks not at the things which are seen, but the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal...for, ...faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the confidence of things not seen.” Our assurance and confidence should not be placed in the circumstantial events of our lives or we will be shaken. The question we need to be asking ourselves is, what are we “Seeing”? What are we looking for or at? Moses, fixed his gaze upon “Him who is invisible”. So David also lived as “Seeing Him who is invisible.”, for he said, “My eyes are continually toward the Lord...”, (Ps.25:15). Abraham, with his gaze fixed was, “Looking for the city...whose builder and maker is God.” “And not being weak in faith...he did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith...being fully confident that what God had promised He was also able to perform.”, (Rom.4:19-21). An enduring faith is a faith that is fully confident and convinced of the character of a trustworthy and faithful God. An enduring faith is a faith that walks with God not for a mere season, but for a lifetime. By faith Enoch walked with God, so all the days of Enoch were three hundred sixty-five years, ...and Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him, translating him so that he did not see death, for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God.” (Hybrid of Gen.5:21-24 & Heb.11:5). What pleased God was Enoch’s enduring walk of faith! Do you think that for all of three hundred sixty-five years Enoch never faced discouragement or disappointment? Never faced failure? Never had questions, fears or doubts? Did Enoch never feel anxiety or frustration? Do you think God never brought Enoch through the furnace of affliction”, to, “Prove the genuineness of his faith”? I want to encourage all who may be reading this, put your hope in God! For you have need of endurance! Be diligent unto, “ The full assurance of hope until the end, do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.”, (Heb.6:12). “For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end.”, (Heb.3:14).
His grace is still amazing to me! Andy White
Created For His Pleasure...............Andy White
“The twenty-four elders fall down before Him who sits on the throne and worship him who lives forever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne saying: “You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power; For you created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.” (Rev.4:10-11) I can remember a very long time ago, (back in the mid 70’s), many years before I was saved, a conversation I was having with a friend. We were discussing the condition of the world and our views and philosophies of the then current state of affairs. Needless to say, with neither of us being Christians we had some very mixed up ideas! And yet, though I did not realize it at that time, The God who knew me before time began was already quietly working in my heart. I remember telling my friend that if I could have things my way, all I would want to do would be to play my instrument, (guitar), in a beautiful, peaceful, paradise entertaining and singing to God. Of course my ideas about God were quite different back then, and I had no concept of what worship was. But, nevertheless, I believe the Spirit of God was prophesying to me though I knew it not! I had no idea at that time that God would call me to become a Worship leader and a Pastor! It is incredible to think, that God created us for His pleasure! That He takes delight in us! Yet the Bible tells us it is so. A favorite verse of mine is Zephaniah 3:17; “The Lord your God is in your midst, The Mighty one will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quite you in His love, He will rejoice over you with singing.” Rejoice, over me, with gladness, and singing!? What an awesome picture of our God! It is certainly not like some of the common misperceptions of an austere, and unapproachable grouch who demands that we pay homage to Him lest He rain down thunder and lightening upon our heads! No! That is not what worship is about at all! Worship is about us taking pleasure in God, which in turn brings pleasure to Him. God doesn't need our praise in order to bolster a low self-esteem. Nor does he require our homage to bolster His ego! Yet, it does give Him delight and pleasure when we respond to His love with praise, honor, thanksgiving, and worship. And, that is what true worship is all about. Our response to God’s greatness and love. Worship, is love poured out! Lavish love, that flows from a heart that yearns and longs for the manifested presence of God! And God does manifest Himself where there is this kind of worship, for He, “Inhabits the praises of His people.”! There is a worship chorus which says: “And as we worship, build a throne; And as we worship build a throne; And as we worship build a throne; Come Lord Jesus and take your place.” (C 1989 Paul Kyle) This simple song says it beautifully. As we lift our hearts and lives in worship, Jesus builds his throne upon our lives, and takes His rightful place within our hearts.
State of The Art Worship? Or, State of The Heart Worship?
It is indisputable that biblical worship is to be exuberant, and expressive. That worship is beautiful and meant to be beautiful. “Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous! For praise from the upright is beautiful.” (Ps.33:1). That the Church is recapturing the arts as a means of expressing worship is a good thing. That banners, pageantry, and dance are legitimate and biblical expressions of worship is becoming more widely accepted and utilized among churches. But, let me sound a note of warning here. We must always remember that true worship is in “Spirit and truth”. That worship is more than the songs we sing and the music we play. Worship is more than the pageantry and programs that we put on. We can be singing all the newest and most popular songs. We can be utilizing all the newest “State of the art”, type methods. But it is not “state of the art” worship that God takes pleasure in, it is our State of Heart, that He is interested in! Never mistake the beauty of banners or dance with the “Beauty of holiness” which is what He desires. Worship is indeed meant to be expressive and beautiful, but not without beauty of soul and spirit! “Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.” (Ps.29:2b) Just as holiness does not consist in mere external legal acts, but is first a condition of the heart upon which those actions are founded upon. So also, let us beware of falling into a legalism of worship which is full of the pomp and circumstance of outward adornment but lacks the inward integrity of true purity of life and character! For it is purity of heart that God takes pleasure in and not purity of form! “For you do not desire sacrifice...you do not delight in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, and a contrite heart...THEN you shall be pleased with burnt offering and whole burnt offering; Then they shall offer bulls on your altar.” (Ps.51:16-17;19) In other words clean the inside of the cup and then the outside will be clean also! Outward expressions are only beautiful and acceptable to the Lord if the inward attitude is one of beauty to Him. We can easily trade one form of legalistic religiosity for another! We can boast that we have been set free from the “dry, ritualistic, formalism and traditions” of another generation, and then create a new form of religiosity for ourselves! If we glory in our forms of worship and not in God Himself we have become guilty of “exchanging the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made after corruptible man...”! “Give unto the Lord the glory due His name.” (Ps.29:2a).
Created For His Pleasure and Glory!
“Everyone who is called by My name, I have created for my glory” (Is.43:7) By nature we are worshippers. It is not a question of will we worship, but only a question of who or what we will worship. By nature, you will worship something! When we worship and serve our creator the Living God then we find our true purpose, and this brings pleasure to the Father’s heart. The Church is purposed and meant to be a worshipping community. “You are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, his own special people. That you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you...” (1Pt.2:9). I opened this article up with a passage out of the book of Revelation. Most people read Revelation to find out about what is going to happen on this earth in the end times. And, of course that is pertinent. However, I love Revelation because of what it tells me about what is going on in Heaven! I personally believe that the twenty-four elders which are spoken of throughout the book are symbolic of the Church, the people of God, from every generation that has ever lived. Bought by the Blood of the Lamb, slain from the foundation of the earth, from every tribe, nation, people and tongue! And, what are these twenty- four elders doing every time they are mentioned? Worshipping Him Who lives forever, and ever! Mutitudes of redeemed appear in revelation. And, when they are mentioned what are they doing? Worshipping! “And they sing the song of Moses’ and the song of the Lamb...(Rev.15:3) & “...I heard a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, “Alleluia! Salvation and glory and honor and power to the Lord our God!” (Rev.19:1). So let there be joy in the house of the Lord! Sing! Shout! Clap your hands! Give praise unto your maker!
“Praise Him with the sound of the trumpet; Praise Him with the lute and harp! Praise Him with the timbrel and dance; Praise Him with stringed instruments and flutes! Praise Him with loud cymbals; Praise Him with clashing cymbals! Let everything that has breath praise the Lord!”
For it truly is for his pleasure!
His Grace is Still Amazing to Me! Andy White
Give an account of your stewardship!...........Andy White
April 15th for many Americans is “D” day! The day the tax man wants an accounting of his due. The letters, “IRS” send shivers down almost everyone’s spine! In San Francisco a millionaire requested that he be cremated and his ashes sent to the IRS with a note, “Now you have it all!” We all know that you can’t take it with you, and with high taxes, lawyer’s fees, and funeral expenses, you can’t leave it behind either! However, you can send spiritual dividends on ahead of you according to Jesus! “I tell you, use your worldly resources to benefit others and make friends. In this way, your generosity stores up a reward for you in heaven.” ( Luke 16:9 NLT)
The word of God teaches us that we are stewards in this life of the household of God. “Let a man so consider us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. Moreover it is required in stewards that one be found faithful.” (1 Cor 4:1-2)
WHAT IS A STEWARD?
The Greek word for Steward is “Oikonomos”. There are several interesting things to note about this word. First, the word is a compound word which literally means a “house manager”. A steward is “one who manages a house”, this is it’s primary sense, but more accurately, a steward is a manager, or an administrator of someone else’s household, property, or business. A steward was one who was placed over the household of his master. Today, we might call him the caretaker of the estate. The money, the possessions, the other servants, even the children of his lord were given to him to rule over them as he would do to his own. Yet they were not his own. He himself owned nothing. Yet, all the goods and possessions of his lord were entrusted to his hands to care for and to use to the best possible advantage of his master. The second thing of importance to note about this word is that our word, ECONOMY, is the direct derivative of OIKONOMOS.
The dictionary defines the word “economy” as:
Making the most of what one has
Avoiding waste in the use of anything
A managing of affairs and resources
It’s interesting to note that Jesus taught precisely on these three area’s of our lives in the parable of “The Talents” (Matt.25:14-30); “’The Parable of the Unjust Steward,”(Lk16;1-13), and in the parable of “The Minas” (Lk19:12-23). One of the most important aspects in economics is accounting. I want to consider with you the idea of giving an account of our stewardship. We will give an account to God of our stewardship! "There was a certain rich man who had a steward, and an accusation was brought to him that this man was wasting his goods. So he called him and said to him, 'What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your stewardship, for you can no longer be steward.” (Lk16:1-2) A Steward Must give an account. That is the fact that has to sink down into our souls. We are stewards of the Things, Time, Talents, and Temples, of our Lord, which we are called to use for His advantage, and to whom we must also be ready to give an account. How are you handling the economy – i.e. God’s economy? How are you managing the use of what God has given you? That is the issue at hand. The proper management of our lives as Christians. The error of the steward in Lk 16, the thing that angered his master was that, the‘…man was wasting his [master’s] goods…”. In other words he was guilty of mismanagement. The proper management of finances, time management, and the proper management of the Temple of our bodies, all these things the word of God speaks definitively and directly about. Yet, many Christians still do not know, or take the time to learn about the proper principles of time management, or financial management or health management. It is important that we educate ourselves concerning these things because God will hold us accountable and we will be held without excuse! There is a plethora of Christian books on the market that help teach godly principles of finance, time management, and proper diet and health care. If we are to prove ourselves to be, “faithful and wise stewards’, it is important that we avail ourselves of these resources. You have heard of 401K plans for retirement security. I want to suggest to you the 4-T Stewardship Plan for eternal security!
We need to understand that we are stewards of God in these four area’s of our lives:
The Things
The Time
The Talents
The Temples
1. The Stewardship of Things
"And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by unrighteous mammon, that when you fail, they may receive you into an everlasting home. He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much. Therefore if you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? And if you have not been faithful in what is another man's, who will give you what is your own? (Luke 16:9-12)
As stewards of the things of God we need to learn to Love God and use things, rather than love things and use God! We like to hear about God’s blessings of prosperity – but we often forget that, they are conditional! So often we wonder why the promises of the bible seem to elude us – why His promises of prosperity seem to fail concerning us. When all the time it is because we are mismanaging our finances! Running yourself into debt with impulsive spending – living beyond your means simply because you can’t control your covetousness! God is going to require an account – Accounting day will come in the form of bill collectors knocking on your door... Collection notices from lawyers filling your mail-box… You’ll give an account to the credit bureau! God gave Israel financial principles of tithes and offerings – not to make them holy, but to teach them God’s principals of finance and provision. How are you managing the things God has placed in your hand? Money, possessions, resources? He will require an account.
2. The Stewardship of Time
“And the Lord said, "Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his master will make ruler over his household, to give them their portion of food in due season? Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes. Truly, I say to you that he will make him ruler over all that he has. But if that servant says in his heart, 'My master is delaying his coming,' and begins to beat the male and female servants, and to eat and drink and be drunk, the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him, and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the unbelievers. (Luke 12:42-46)
Time management is in itself too big a topic for this article, suffice it to say for now that the word of God tells us that we must seize every opportunity, every moment, every day for the advantage of God’s purposes. CARPE DIEM! We cannot think that we have time to waste or abuse. Is your schedule open, to be used in serving God’s purposes? Or, have the things of God been pushed and squeezed out of your schedule? “See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil”. (Eph 5:15 -16)
3. The Stewardship of Talents
"So he called ten of his servants, delivered to them ten minas, and said to them, 'Do business till I come....And so it was that when he returned, having received the kingdom, he then commanded these servants, to whom he had given the money, to be called to him, that he might know how much every man had gained by trading... (Luke 19:13;15)
The Lord gives resources for His servants to use. Not for them to hide-away, abuse, or dis-use. Faithful and wise stewards will bring an increase to the Lord. Stewards unwilling to use and invest their “talents” of time, material resources, giftings or whatever has been given them from the Lord, are called wicked and lazy by the Lord! "But his lord answered and said to him, 'You wicked and lazy servant, you knew that I reap where I have not sown, and gather where I have not scattered seed. So you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers, and at my coming I would have received back my own with interest!” (Mat 25:26) Whatever you have use to the Lord’s advantage. The wicked servant wasn't wicked because he tried and failed No! He failed because he didn't even try!
4. The Stewardship of our Temples
“ Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If any man destroys the temple of God, God will destroy him, for the temple of God is holy, and that is what you are.” (1 Cor 3:16-17)
“Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's.” (1 Cor 6:19-20)
God gave Israel health & diet laws, not to make them holy – but to make them healthy! We like to hear about God’s promises of health and healing – but all the while we abuse our bodies with bad diet, bad eating habits, and little or no exercise – we’ll give an account in the form of medical bills and shortened life spans! (And those are the facts!) Paul exhorts us, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. (Rom 12:1)
The sacrifices of the OT had to be without blemish, without disease, corruption, or infirmity – in other words, you could not offer up to God a sick or lame animal – you had to give God the best of the flock. How does this apply to us in view of Pauls’ exhortation? We need to take stock of ourselves. What am I presenting to the Lord? Am I neglecting my health in such a way that it hinders me from serving and sacrificing to him a more perfect sacrifice? Now, I’m not talking about things that are not under your control. Things like birth defects or medical conditions which a person may have through no fault of their own. However, If we neglect or reject God’s principles of proper health and fitness, let’s not accuse Him of failing in his promises! Sometime ago, The Holy Spirit convicted me of the mismanagement of my body. Someone asked “well are you afraid of getting sick and dying?”. NO! I’m saved by the blood of Jesus! But, I am afraid of not finishing the course Jesus laid out for me because of my own faithless-ness! I don’t want to stand before Him and hear him say. “You’re here way ahead of schedule! I had so much more for you to do! You missed your destiny because you mismanaged your health!” I’ve got things to do for Jesus that I haven’t even begun to do yet. My motivation for a healthy lifestyle is not my image or my male vanity – it’s because I want to live a long life for Jesus – let Him call me home in his time – not because I’ve abused my time! Why must we do these things? To make more money? No. To get ahead? No. To make something of myself? No. This is why. Because we are stewards of the Things, Time, Talents, and the Temple of our bodies for the living God. Whose house we are! We are stewards in the kingdom of God. Let us be found diligent in these things for, “it is required in stewards that one be found faithful.”