Trouble
When faced with trouble, you have to choose how you are going to deal with it. You can meet it head-on, or you can pretend it isn't happening. If you meet it head-on, that begins the process of growing you in strength to actually address the issue. This is how you exchange worry for strength.
We actually, by the signs of the earth, live in the time of greatest trouble. It hasn't reached a crescendo yet...not even close...but already great trouble is on the earth. This generation has to deal with the trouble at some point. Everyone will. The sooner you enter in to the dealing phase, the stronger you will be for the time when the level of trouble peaks. To pretend things will "all work out" and that because you "believe in Jesus" no trouble will come to you is a recipe for disaster. Jesus told saved people to be ready.To not get ready is bad:
Amos 9:9-10 For surely I will command, And will sift the house of Israel among all nations, As grain is sifted in a sieve; Yet not the smallest grain shall fall to the ground. All the sinners of My people shall die by the sword, Who say, ‘The calamity shall not overtake nor confront us.’
To ignore the trouble leads to being very unprepared to deal with it, but ignoring the trouble is also HIGHLY offensive to God. God equates missing what He is doing in the end times...specifically as it relates to Jerusalem and the raising up of David's Tabernacle...called God's "holy mountain"...the same as worshiping fate (Gad) and luck (Mene). Those who worship fate and luck claim "it will all work out" with no intention of responding to God. A wholehearted response is required. It WILL all work out, but how will it work out for you and those you love?
Isaiah 65:11-14 “But you are those who forsake the Lord , Who forget My holy mountain, Who prepare a table for Gad, And who furnish a drink offering for Meni. Therefore I will number you for the sword, And you shall all bow down to the slaughter; Because, when I called, you did not answer; When I spoke, you did not hear, But did evil before My eyes, And chose that in which I do not delight.” Therefore thus says the Lord God : “Behold, My servants shall eat, But you shall be hungry; Behold, My servants shall drink, But you shall be thirsty; Behold, My servants shall rejoice, But you shall be ashamed; Behold, My servants shall sing for joy of heart, But you shall cry for sorrow of heart, And wail for grief of spirit.
Since believers claim to represent God, they are supposed to represent the fullness of His love. God loves SO much that He is unwilling for a bunch of unsuspecting and unbelieving people to go right to a lake of fire without significant warning and actually feeling the incremental death associated with that choice. In his vast love, God has designed a great plan of judgment to reveal the cost of rebellion to the billions of the earth before the choice to rebel is made final. We call this plan the Tribulation. None of the events of the Tribulation are worse than an eternity in a lake of fire. The judgments are his loving warnings to turn to Him.
The intensity of the generation you were born into requires preparation, because it requires a response of great love to endure the hour.
Jesus uses obstacles to train you for what is next. Progress is really important in God, because Jesus isn't just a "gate," He is also a "way."
Matthew 7:13-14 “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.
The gate is narrow and requires "finding." Jesus is the only gate to eternal life. BUT, there is still the "way" that is to be followed once you are through the gate. The way is what Jesus called "difficult." The way is difficult because few are walking it. It requires breaking from the pack and valuing something the world does not: true love...which is God.
You have to choose the way at cost. That is what Jesus said...if you are gonna come through the gate, count the cost of the way. Jesus paid the price of the gate for you...then, He walked the way perfectly at great cost so that we could follow him... but you also must walk the way at your own great cost:
Luke 14:26-33 “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple. And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it — lest, after he has laid the foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish’? Or what king, going to make war against another king, does not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? Or else, while the other is still a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks conditions of peace. So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple.
The truth is, the way intentionally strips away every other thing we might be tempted to put before a wholehearted response to God...even the highest earthly priorities for most people - those we love. Jesus' way empties your hands of lesser "loves" so it can fill them with more and more true love.
The way is a beautiful exchange, and it gets you ready to endure the trouble coming. It is the process of buying oil that burns through the long dark night. You gotta BUY the oil.
Counting the cost is really only for beginners. Once you get started on the way you find there is a beautiful exchange that begins taking place as you trade your life for the riches Jesus wants to put in your hands. BUT, this exchange is not obvious up front.
When I first saw the trouble of our day on the horizon...when I was finally awakened to that fact that we live in a very unique hour which requires a wholehearted response to endure...and I actually began believing it and responding, it agitated almost every relationship around me. As a family, we had reached a point of great comfort. My job was good, my marriage was good, my kids were "normal." When I accepted the trouble, life changed.
As I began to respond, first to zealous love, then to the intense reality of the hour, my wife was annoyed, my kids were annoyed, my immediate family worried I was losing it...and i exaggerated all these relational troubles in my head. No good dad wants to be the crazy guy. No good husband wants to rock the boat of a peaceful home. No good son wants his mom to worry. No good businessman wants the reputation of a loon. The cost seemed very high, but Jesus was simply worth it. I longed to see why he had made me, and for me to know, I had to take the next step. I did the math of the cost and felt being alone with Jesus was better than having everything else without more of Him. I took a risk.
What I found was that once I got past the initial few weeks of turmoil the most amazing thing began to happen. My wife saw the fruit of a husband submitted more to Jesus...my kids saw the fruit...there was a beautiful exchange taking place. More love began to fill our home. What seemed like important issues for years became unimportant, and what took their place was knowing Jesus more and that overflowed into loving my family more...automatically. you can't know Jesus more without loving others better!
This exchange was NOT easy...certainly difficult...but beautiful. I was growing in love, because I was growing in God. There isn't one bit of love that doesn't originate with God. We can only love because He extends love TO us. Growing in Him means getting greater measures of love. Counting the cost and taking the gamble on being THAT guy means winning the jackpot of more love...every time. This gets you ready.
The beauty of actually risking it all on "the way" is that before you begin walking down it, you are really only able to love in your own strength. Those you are tempted to put before a wholehearted response to the intense way of living like Jesus...seeing the hard things, saying the hard things, spending your whole life on others seeing the hard things and saying the hard things...growing in zeal by fasting, praying, secretly giving away all of your wealth and most of your time...those you are tempted to "protect" from this lifestyle can only benefit from the weak love that you can muster in your own strength out of your own heart. When you "let go" of everything but Jesus, you find that His love fills you and cannot be contained, it begins overflowing in streams of living water. Those you thought you would "protect" from Jesus' intense ways touching your reality actually begin getting the love of God flowing through you TO them...streams of living water...and life begins changing all around you. Your family begins getting set on fire, too, and the whole thing grows more. This prepares your family. Ignoring the trouble is actually keeping your family from being ready.
Many benefit from one man willing to look trouble head on, let go of reason, and chase Jesus wholeheartedly into the storm. This is the promise for anyone who seeks the kingdom first:
Matthew 6:33-34 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
Worry about tomorrow is actually what keeps you from entering in today. All of the first disciples embraced the coming of Jesus by entering in to the trouble. They LOVED His appearing more than they feared the tribulation. Be ready.
We actually, by the signs of the earth, live in the time of greatest trouble. It hasn't reached a crescendo yet...not even close...but already great trouble is on the earth. This generation has to deal with the trouble at some point. Everyone will. The sooner you enter in to the dealing phase, the stronger you will be for the time when the level of trouble peaks. To pretend things will "all work out" and that because you "believe in Jesus" no trouble will come to you is a recipe for disaster. Jesus told saved people to be ready.To not get ready is bad:
Amos 9:9-10 For surely I will command, And will sift the house of Israel among all nations, As grain is sifted in a sieve; Yet not the smallest grain shall fall to the ground. All the sinners of My people shall die by the sword, Who say, ‘The calamity shall not overtake nor confront us.’
To ignore the trouble leads to being very unprepared to deal with it, but ignoring the trouble is also HIGHLY offensive to God. God equates missing what He is doing in the end times...specifically as it relates to Jerusalem and the raising up of David's Tabernacle...called God's "holy mountain"...the same as worshiping fate (Gad) and luck (Mene). Those who worship fate and luck claim "it will all work out" with no intention of responding to God. A wholehearted response is required. It WILL all work out, but how will it work out for you and those you love?
Isaiah 65:11-14 “But you are those who forsake the Lord , Who forget My holy mountain, Who prepare a table for Gad, And who furnish a drink offering for Meni. Therefore I will number you for the sword, And you shall all bow down to the slaughter; Because, when I called, you did not answer; When I spoke, you did not hear, But did evil before My eyes, And chose that in which I do not delight.” Therefore thus says the Lord God : “Behold, My servants shall eat, But you shall be hungry; Behold, My servants shall drink, But you shall be thirsty; Behold, My servants shall rejoice, But you shall be ashamed; Behold, My servants shall sing for joy of heart, But you shall cry for sorrow of heart, And wail for grief of spirit.
Since believers claim to represent God, they are supposed to represent the fullness of His love. God loves SO much that He is unwilling for a bunch of unsuspecting and unbelieving people to go right to a lake of fire without significant warning and actually feeling the incremental death associated with that choice. In his vast love, God has designed a great plan of judgment to reveal the cost of rebellion to the billions of the earth before the choice to rebel is made final. We call this plan the Tribulation. None of the events of the Tribulation are worse than an eternity in a lake of fire. The judgments are his loving warnings to turn to Him.
The intensity of the generation you were born into requires preparation, because it requires a response of great love to endure the hour.
Jesus uses obstacles to train you for what is next. Progress is really important in God, because Jesus isn't just a "gate," He is also a "way."
Matthew 7:13-14 “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.
The gate is narrow and requires "finding." Jesus is the only gate to eternal life. BUT, there is still the "way" that is to be followed once you are through the gate. The way is what Jesus called "difficult." The way is difficult because few are walking it. It requires breaking from the pack and valuing something the world does not: true love...which is God.
You have to choose the way at cost. That is what Jesus said...if you are gonna come through the gate, count the cost of the way. Jesus paid the price of the gate for you...then, He walked the way perfectly at great cost so that we could follow him... but you also must walk the way at your own great cost:
Luke 14:26-33 “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple. And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it — lest, after he has laid the foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish’? Or what king, going to make war against another king, does not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? Or else, while the other is still a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks conditions of peace. So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple.
The truth is, the way intentionally strips away every other thing we might be tempted to put before a wholehearted response to God...even the highest earthly priorities for most people - those we love. Jesus' way empties your hands of lesser "loves" so it can fill them with more and more true love.
The way is a beautiful exchange, and it gets you ready to endure the trouble coming. It is the process of buying oil that burns through the long dark night. You gotta BUY the oil.
Counting the cost is really only for beginners. Once you get started on the way you find there is a beautiful exchange that begins taking place as you trade your life for the riches Jesus wants to put in your hands. BUT, this exchange is not obvious up front.
When I first saw the trouble of our day on the horizon...when I was finally awakened to that fact that we live in a very unique hour which requires a wholehearted response to endure...and I actually began believing it and responding, it agitated almost every relationship around me. As a family, we had reached a point of great comfort. My job was good, my marriage was good, my kids were "normal." When I accepted the trouble, life changed.
As I began to respond, first to zealous love, then to the intense reality of the hour, my wife was annoyed, my kids were annoyed, my immediate family worried I was losing it...and i exaggerated all these relational troubles in my head. No good dad wants to be the crazy guy. No good husband wants to rock the boat of a peaceful home. No good son wants his mom to worry. No good businessman wants the reputation of a loon. The cost seemed very high, but Jesus was simply worth it. I longed to see why he had made me, and for me to know, I had to take the next step. I did the math of the cost and felt being alone with Jesus was better than having everything else without more of Him. I took a risk.
What I found was that once I got past the initial few weeks of turmoil the most amazing thing began to happen. My wife saw the fruit of a husband submitted more to Jesus...my kids saw the fruit...there was a beautiful exchange taking place. More love began to fill our home. What seemed like important issues for years became unimportant, and what took their place was knowing Jesus more and that overflowed into loving my family more...automatically. you can't know Jesus more without loving others better!
This exchange was NOT easy...certainly difficult...but beautiful. I was growing in love, because I was growing in God. There isn't one bit of love that doesn't originate with God. We can only love because He extends love TO us. Growing in Him means getting greater measures of love. Counting the cost and taking the gamble on being THAT guy means winning the jackpot of more love...every time. This gets you ready.
The beauty of actually risking it all on "the way" is that before you begin walking down it, you are really only able to love in your own strength. Those you are tempted to put before a wholehearted response to the intense way of living like Jesus...seeing the hard things, saying the hard things, spending your whole life on others seeing the hard things and saying the hard things...growing in zeal by fasting, praying, secretly giving away all of your wealth and most of your time...those you are tempted to "protect" from this lifestyle can only benefit from the weak love that you can muster in your own strength out of your own heart. When you "let go" of everything but Jesus, you find that His love fills you and cannot be contained, it begins overflowing in streams of living water. Those you thought you would "protect" from Jesus' intense ways touching your reality actually begin getting the love of God flowing through you TO them...streams of living water...and life begins changing all around you. Your family begins getting set on fire, too, and the whole thing grows more. This prepares your family. Ignoring the trouble is actually keeping your family from being ready.
Many benefit from one man willing to look trouble head on, let go of reason, and chase Jesus wholeheartedly into the storm. This is the promise for anyone who seeks the kingdom first:
Matthew 6:33-34 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
Worry about tomorrow is actually what keeps you from entering in today. All of the first disciples embraced the coming of Jesus by entering in to the trouble. They LOVED His appearing more than they feared the tribulation. Be ready.
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