I feel so ashamed of myself when I think back over my early ministry — because I condemned so many sincere people. I meant well, and often my zeal was honest and well-meaning. But how many people I brought under terrible condemnation because they didn't conform to my ideas of holiness!
The word “favor” is used often in the church today. Pastors across America promise people that God is going to favor them. Sadly, what they mean by favor is limited to possessions, positions and acquisitions—better homes, cars and jobs, a happier family and a growing income. I do believe God favors his people this way. But there’s a danger when we live for this kind of favor at the risk of losing something much higher. We short-change ourselves when we live for anything but “Ultimate Favor.” Let me explain.
Have you ever been overwhelmed? Are there days when you face things that seem too difficult to deal with? The Bible isn’t silent on the subject. God’s Word provides great encouragement to us as we seek to overcome the seemingly insurmountable odds positioned against us.
Let me ask you a simple question: Have you been set free? You probably think, “Of course! I’ve been washed, redeemed, made holy by Jesus, and I live for him. That’s every believer’s testimony.”
Now here’s a follow-up question: Does your everyday life reflect the glorious freedom you’ve just described? Would your friends, your spouse, your children say you’ve been set free? Or are you like multitudes of Christians who feel they’re on a spiritual seesaw? Is your walk with Christ continually up and down, seemingly spiritual one moment and carnal the next?
We are called to provide for our families. We have jobs, careers, and we face financial problems—but we must trust God for all direction. This entire message is about binding ourselves to his leading.
I want to tell you about a deeply significant experience in my walk with the Lord. It became a spiritual milestone for me. And I believe it's a lesson that speaks directly to what the church of Jesus Christ needs today.
The writer of Hebrews says to his readers, “By this time you ought to be teachers” (Hebrews 5:12, my paraphrase). These are strong, bold words. Who exactly is the writer addressing here? In short, who is he rebuking? The book of Hebrews shows us he is speaking to believers who have been well-schooled in biblical truth. In other words, those reading this letter had sat under powerful preaching by many anointed ministers. Consider all these Christians had been taught:
“Blessed be the Lord God…for he hath visited and redeemed his people, and hath raised up an horn of salvation for us…as he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets, which have been since the world began; that we should be saved from our enemies…to perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant;
“The oath which he sware to our father Abraham, that he would grant unto us, that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before him, all the days of our life” (Luke 1:68–75).
In chapters 2 and 3 of Revelation, Jesus speaks of a church that has died. This beloved church once was vibrant with life, enjoying a good reputation, but now all that was gone. I have seen such “lampstand churches” in my travels around the world: congregations from Europe to South America to New York City, once full of the Holy Spirit, thriving and winning many souls, but now having no life at all.
Exodus 33 presents a paradox. Verse 11 tells us, “The Lord spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend.” Then, just a few verses later, we read, “(God) said, Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live” (33:20). This means, literally, “My face shall not be seen.”
What are we to make of this? One verse tells us Moses saw the Lord’s face. But another states clearly that nobody can see God’s face and survive.
In Revelation 8, we read of seven angels sounding off trumpets. These mighty horn-blasts warn all of humankind about awesome calamities coming upon the earth.
The first four blasts warn of incredible pollution that poisons the trees, grass, rivers and seas, as well as the air. Waters become bitter, and skies darken over one-third of the earth.
Then, in chapter 9, a fifth warning comes. It describes a worldwide invasion of locusts:
