The Big Picture
Philippians 1:12 NKJV
But I want you to know, brethren, that the things which happened to me have actually turned out for the furtherance of the gospel
Paul was quite a sight to his other preaching friends. He was constantly compelled to explain that the manner of life God had subjected him to was not evidence of failure, but rather evidence of success! Paul did a lot of this sort of explaining. That is because many thought he was "missing it." Many could not understand why Paul chose what he chose. It just happened that he was making choices that benefited not only the church in 100 ad, but also choices that still benefit the church in 2014.
God sees much more of the picture than I do. According to every story in the Bible of everyone who ever did anything worth doing, sometimes God calls His true servants to make choices that seem to benefit no one right that moment.
At different times, God has called me to choices that seem to benefit no one including me or those I love most, BUT, as long as I abide in Him, I cannot "miss it." God always vindicates obedience. I have seen this dramatically in my life. To be vindicated by God is a very humbling thing...but also very powerful. God has a way of revealing true obedience in the simple way truth unfolds. The one calling my character into question today has more than once turned out to be the one who's character is plainly exposed for all to see months and years later.
God takes obedience very seriously. He shows Himself strong on behalf of the obedient:
2 Chronicles 16:9 The eyes of the lord search the whole earth in order to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him...
Paul knew this, and his obedience flowed out of that confidence. Paul understood the body of believers was being led to Jesus end goal, regardless of whether they were working with or against Paul himself:
Philippians 1:15-18 It’s true that some are preaching out of jealousy and rivalry. But others preach about Christ with pure motives. They preach because they love me, for they know I have been appointed to defend the Good News. Those others do not have pure motives as they preach about Christ. They preach with selfish ambition, not sincerely, intending to make my chains more painful to me. But that doesn’t matter. Whether their motives are false or genuine, the message about Christ is being preached either way, so I rejoice. And I will continue to rejoice.
Paul knew he didn't have to have it all "nailed down." He was an obedient son.
The truth is, we are sons and daughters. Son's and daughters are, by nature VERY immature. If you really believe that you are going to live for trillions of years, then realistically, maturity should at least take a few million years! Right now, the truth is, we are all immature. Trouble from the world, including mostly other believers, comes because many want to falsely see themselves as mature and knowing. This is the root cause of pride: believing you know more about how the world works than God does...a false sense of maturity. Recognizing my own immaturity keeps me utterly dependent on God for direction. He sees more than His kids do.
If I let my kids run the show at my house no one would go to school, bed time would be 3 am, and dinner would be popcorn and candy...this house would not be healthy.
Our kids chill in the "man cave" in the basement. They are not always aware of what I am doing upstairs. Sometimes I will call one up to the main floor and ask him to do something to help. If he is good, he goes off and does it, just because I asked him. If he goes back down to the man cave, and confers with the other brothers, tries to figure out why i asked him to do that thing, takes a poll to figure out if I have ever asked the other brothers to do the same thing, and then evaluates his obedience based on whether or not the other kids think it is reasonable and good, our house would have one angry father and very little would get done. This would be tantamount to rebellion in our house.
God hasn't arranged an "obedience by consensus" system in His family. He simply speaks and desires obedience...the sooner and more precise, the better. True obedience is often resisted because satan hates obedience...obedience is how the "kingdom comes and the will is done." For this simple reason I need to be like Paul and take my cues from the world's response in the right light. When the world is celebrating me, I need to be careful how I am standing! That is usually a sign that the world agrees with my wisdom.
I Corinthians 1:27 But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty;
Obedience is love.
John 14:15, 21 “If you love me, obey my commandments.
Those who accept my commandments and obey them are the ones who love me. And because they love me, my Father will love them. And I will love them and reveal myself to each of them.”
God never says "obey me once everyone agrees that it is a good idea." He says "obey Me."
1 Samuel 15:9-29 Saul and his men spared Agag’s life and kept the best of the sheep and goats, the cattle, the fat calves, and the lambs—everything, in fact, that appealed to them. They destroyed only what was worthless or of poor quality.
Then the lord said to Samuel, “I am sorry that I ever made Saul king, for he has not been loyal to me and has refused to obey my command.” Samuel was so deeply moved when he heard this that he cried out to the lord all night. Early the next morning Samuel went to find Saul. Someone told him, “Saul went to the town of Carmel to set up a monument to himself; then he went on to Gilgal.”
When Samuel finally found him, Saul greeted him cheerfully. “May the lord bless you,” he said. “I have carried out the lord ’s command!” “Then what is all the bleating of sheep and goats and the lowing of cattle I hear?” Samuel demanded. “It’s true that the army spared the best of the sheep, goats, and cattle,” Saul admitted. “But they are going to sacrifice them to the lord your God. We have destroyed everything else.”
Then Samuel said to Saul, “Stop! Listen to what the lord told me last night!” “What did he tell you?” Saul asked. And Samuel told him, “Although you may think little of yourself, are you not the leader of the tribes of Israel? The lord has anointed you king of Israel. And the lord sent you on a mission and told you, ‘Go and completely destroy the sinners, the Amalekites, until they are all dead.’ Why haven’t you obeyed the lord ? Why did you rush for the plunder and do what was evil in the lord ’s sight?”
“But I did obey the lord ,” Saul insisted. “I carried out the mission he gave me. I brought back King Agag, but I destroyed everyone else. Then my troops brought in the best of the sheep, goats, cattle, and plunder to sacrifice to the lord your God in Gilgal.”
But Samuel replied, “What is more pleasing to the lord : your burnt offerings and sacrifices or your obedience to his voice? Listen! Obedience is better than sacrifice, and submission is better than offering the fat of rams. Rebellion is as sinful as witchcraft, and stubbornness as bad as worshiping idols. So because you have rejected the command of the lord , he has rejected you as king.” Then Saul admitted to Samuel, “Yes, I have sinned. I have disobeyed your instructions and the lord ’s command, for I was afraid of the people and did what they demanded. But now, please forgive my sin and come back with me so that I may worship the lord .” But Samuel replied, “I will not go back with you! Since you have rejected the lord ’s command, he has rejected you as king of Israel.” As Samuel turned to go, Saul tried to hold him back and tore the hem of his robe. And Samuel said to him, “The lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today and has given it to someone else—one who is better than you. And he who is the Glory of Israel will not lie, nor will he change his mind, for he is not human that he should change his mind!”
If I don't obey God, He WILL raise up another...the same is true for you, too!
But I want you to know, brethren, that the things which happened to me have actually turned out for the furtherance of the gospel
Paul was quite a sight to his other preaching friends. He was constantly compelled to explain that the manner of life God had subjected him to was not evidence of failure, but rather evidence of success! Paul did a lot of this sort of explaining. That is because many thought he was "missing it." Many could not understand why Paul chose what he chose. It just happened that he was making choices that benefited not only the church in 100 ad, but also choices that still benefit the church in 2014.
God sees much more of the picture than I do. According to every story in the Bible of everyone who ever did anything worth doing, sometimes God calls His true servants to make choices that seem to benefit no one right that moment.
At different times, God has called me to choices that seem to benefit no one including me or those I love most, BUT, as long as I abide in Him, I cannot "miss it." God always vindicates obedience. I have seen this dramatically in my life. To be vindicated by God is a very humbling thing...but also very powerful. God has a way of revealing true obedience in the simple way truth unfolds. The one calling my character into question today has more than once turned out to be the one who's character is plainly exposed for all to see months and years later.
God takes obedience very seriously. He shows Himself strong on behalf of the obedient:
2 Chronicles 16:9 The eyes of the lord search the whole earth in order to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him...
Paul knew this, and his obedience flowed out of that confidence. Paul understood the body of believers was being led to Jesus end goal, regardless of whether they were working with or against Paul himself:
Philippians 1:15-18 It’s true that some are preaching out of jealousy and rivalry. But others preach about Christ with pure motives. They preach because they love me, for they know I have been appointed to defend the Good News. Those others do not have pure motives as they preach about Christ. They preach with selfish ambition, not sincerely, intending to make my chains more painful to me. But that doesn’t matter. Whether their motives are false or genuine, the message about Christ is being preached either way, so I rejoice. And I will continue to rejoice.
Paul knew he didn't have to have it all "nailed down." He was an obedient son.
The truth is, we are sons and daughters. Son's and daughters are, by nature VERY immature. If you really believe that you are going to live for trillions of years, then realistically, maturity should at least take a few million years! Right now, the truth is, we are all immature. Trouble from the world, including mostly other believers, comes because many want to falsely see themselves as mature and knowing. This is the root cause of pride: believing you know more about how the world works than God does...a false sense of maturity. Recognizing my own immaturity keeps me utterly dependent on God for direction. He sees more than His kids do.
If I let my kids run the show at my house no one would go to school, bed time would be 3 am, and dinner would be popcorn and candy...this house would not be healthy.
Our kids chill in the "man cave" in the basement. They are not always aware of what I am doing upstairs. Sometimes I will call one up to the main floor and ask him to do something to help. If he is good, he goes off and does it, just because I asked him. If he goes back down to the man cave, and confers with the other brothers, tries to figure out why i asked him to do that thing, takes a poll to figure out if I have ever asked the other brothers to do the same thing, and then evaluates his obedience based on whether or not the other kids think it is reasonable and good, our house would have one angry father and very little would get done. This would be tantamount to rebellion in our house.
God hasn't arranged an "obedience by consensus" system in His family. He simply speaks and desires obedience...the sooner and more precise, the better. True obedience is often resisted because satan hates obedience...obedience is how the "kingdom comes and the will is done." For this simple reason I need to be like Paul and take my cues from the world's response in the right light. When the world is celebrating me, I need to be careful how I am standing! That is usually a sign that the world agrees with my wisdom.
I Corinthians 1:27 But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty;
Obedience is love.
John 14:15, 21 “If you love me, obey my commandments.
Those who accept my commandments and obey them are the ones who love me. And because they love me, my Father will love them. And I will love them and reveal myself to each of them.”
God never says "obey me once everyone agrees that it is a good idea." He says "obey Me."
1 Samuel 15:9-29 Saul and his men spared Agag’s life and kept the best of the sheep and goats, the cattle, the fat calves, and the lambs—everything, in fact, that appealed to them. They destroyed only what was worthless or of poor quality.
Then the lord said to Samuel, “I am sorry that I ever made Saul king, for he has not been loyal to me and has refused to obey my command.” Samuel was so deeply moved when he heard this that he cried out to the lord all night. Early the next morning Samuel went to find Saul. Someone told him, “Saul went to the town of Carmel to set up a monument to himself; then he went on to Gilgal.”
When Samuel finally found him, Saul greeted him cheerfully. “May the lord bless you,” he said. “I have carried out the lord ’s command!” “Then what is all the bleating of sheep and goats and the lowing of cattle I hear?” Samuel demanded. “It’s true that the army spared the best of the sheep, goats, and cattle,” Saul admitted. “But they are going to sacrifice them to the lord your God. We have destroyed everything else.”
Then Samuel said to Saul, “Stop! Listen to what the lord told me last night!” “What did he tell you?” Saul asked. And Samuel told him, “Although you may think little of yourself, are you not the leader of the tribes of Israel? The lord has anointed you king of Israel. And the lord sent you on a mission and told you, ‘Go and completely destroy the sinners, the Amalekites, until they are all dead.’ Why haven’t you obeyed the lord ? Why did you rush for the plunder and do what was evil in the lord ’s sight?”
“But I did obey the lord ,” Saul insisted. “I carried out the mission he gave me. I brought back King Agag, but I destroyed everyone else. Then my troops brought in the best of the sheep, goats, cattle, and plunder to sacrifice to the lord your God in Gilgal.”
But Samuel replied, “What is more pleasing to the lord : your burnt offerings and sacrifices or your obedience to his voice? Listen! Obedience is better than sacrifice, and submission is better than offering the fat of rams. Rebellion is as sinful as witchcraft, and stubbornness as bad as worshiping idols. So because you have rejected the command of the lord , he has rejected you as king.” Then Saul admitted to Samuel, “Yes, I have sinned. I have disobeyed your instructions and the lord ’s command, for I was afraid of the people and did what they demanded. But now, please forgive my sin and come back with me so that I may worship the lord .” But Samuel replied, “I will not go back with you! Since you have rejected the lord ’s command, he has rejected you as king of Israel.” As Samuel turned to go, Saul tried to hold him back and tore the hem of his robe. And Samuel said to him, “The lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today and has given it to someone else—one who is better than you. And he who is the Glory of Israel will not lie, nor will he change his mind, for he is not human that he should change his mind!”
If I don't obey God, He WILL raise up another...the same is true for you, too!
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