Jonathan Evans

A thought for worship leaders and ministries

"THIS POST IS A TEST."

That's how I began a short message to the members of the worship ministry I lead. I included a link to a video from a recent church conference worship service.  It was different in approach, expression and style. As they watched it, I asked them to monitor their thoughts and their feelings and then come back to read the following:

"When we watch or hear a different type of worship 'experience', what is our FIRST response: do we rejoice or do we evaluate?  

For a worship ministry to both lead the congregation IN worship and INTO worship, our hearts must first and foremost be moved by worship itself – not worship as a definable or measurable output, but worship as the genuine and spiritual response of a heart to the glory of Jesus. 

So, whether it’s hymns being sung or music being danced to, may our FIRST response always be to rejoice and give thanks for worship being offered to Jesus, not to suspect and evaluate."

 

TAKE THE TEST and watch or listen to something a little bit different in approach, expression and style than yours...

What was your FIRST response? 

RUTH: Under the wings of God's sovereignty

“The Lord repay you for what you have done, and a full reward be given you by the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge!” Ruth 2:12 

There are some architectural structures that cannot be fully admired from a distance. At a distance we can only get a glimpse, but in proximity we can get a sense of the creativity and genius of the architect and the majesty and strength of the structure. It is when standing under some of these that we are given a proper perspective of what has been accomplished.

 

Similarly, as Christians, it is only when we come to stand beneath the sovereignty of God that we begin to understand and comprehend the immense majesty of God and His good and perfect will. It is only when looking up to God that we are given a proper perspective of our “size” - who we are and what we do in the light of who God is and what He is doing.

 

The book of Ruth helps give us such a perspective. It invites and draws us up close to the sovereignty of God. It beckons us to come rest and trust under the wings of God’s sovereignty. 

 

 

JUDGES

The first verse of the book of the Ruth tells us that the story of Ruth takes place in the time of the Judges. The last verse in the book of Judges tells us that during this time in the history of Israel, “everyone did what was right in their own eyes” (Judges 21:25). Here was a culture in a day where anything went, where the only standard for doing anything was whether or not it seemed or felt right to the individual. It was a land absent of the honor and worship of God.

But there was a household that was different, led by a man named Elimelech, which means “my God is king”. His wife is Naomi, and together they live in, but then leave, a land where “everyone did what was right in their own eyes” -- a land seemingly absent of God. Then, “my God is King” dies, followed by the death of Naomi’s two sons. (Ruth 1:1-5)

All around Naomi there is a lack of the extraordinary. There is an emptiness, a pain, a suffering, a doubt, a bitterness. There is an absence of God. Or is there?

God is always before all. He is always behind the scenes. When all appears to be lost; when all appears to be spinning out of control; when all seems dark; when all our prayers aren’t answered; when all the miracles we hope for don’t come; when all seems absent of God -- there, in the absence, is God. 

We are a headline culture. We read headlines, not stories. The headlines help determine whether or not we will read further. But God writes stories. God draws His headlines out from His stories. Some stories are short, some are long. Some are riveting, some are ordinary. Ruth is a story, an ordinary story with an extraordinary ending. God is never absent.

 

 

RUTH

Over time, Naomi returns to Bethlehem in Israel (Ruth 1:19). She travels from absence to absence, from emptiness to emptiness, except she has returned with God in disguise. 

In the land “absent” of God, where everyone did what was right in their own eyes, there was a story being written by the grace and mercy of God. The name of the story: Ruth. In contrast to a people pursuing their own desires, here was one who came to desire and to trust and take refuge in God. Like a small bird nestling up, close under the wing of the mother bird, Ruth stands underneath and looks up to God in the simplicity, yet immensity of His sovereignty. 

God is not absent after all -- neither in the land of Israel nor in the life of Naomi. God is in disguise, working in unsuspected and surprising ways. 

God is always doing something extraordinary through something ordinary. The ordinary things of life, like suffering and health, famine and plenty, diligence and work, relationship and reputation, purity and sex, loyalty and integrity, are all ways through which God works. Those routines of life that we so often feel “stuck in” are not without purpose. God is “up to something”, always! God orchestrates all things personal and universal, the universal through the personal. 

 

 

KINGS   

The story of Ruth played a critical role between the time periods of the judges and the kings -- between a time when “everyone did what was right in their own eyes” and Israel demanding a king for themselves so they could be like all the other nations (1 Samuel 8:5).

Decades after Ruth, we read in 1 Samuel 8:7 of God speaking to the judge and prophet Samuel regarding Israel’s demand for a king. God explicitly declares that Israel has rejected Him as king, but gives Samuel permission to agree to their request. God is not absent, even in the midst of His people’s rebellion. God is in disguise, even though He has been rejected.

In a short amount of time God will raise up a king named David. But David will not appear out of nowhere. David has long been in the mind and heart of God. “A son has been born to Naomi.” They named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David.” (Ruth 4:17) Through the ordinary lives of Ruth and Boaz, God had been doing something extraordinary. While Ruth and Boaz went about marriage and parenting, working and resting, getting up and going to bed -- living their ordinary lives -- God was doing something neither of them could ever have imagined. From them would come David, and from David would ultimately come Jesus Christ, the Son of the Living God (Revelation 22:16).

God is always doing something tomorrow today, through faithful people and their actions. God always has a solution, an answer. There is always evidence of God and His work and will being done. Sometimes it is instant, sometimes it won’t appear until decades or even centuries later. God accomplishes the daily and the eternal, the eternal through the daily. 

 

 

A REDEEMER

In the end, Naomi saw the goodness and kindness of God towards her. What once was a land and a home and a heart where it appeared God was absent, in reality, was a place where God was sovereignly and lovingly present. “Then the women said to Naomi, “Blessed be the Lord, who has not left you this day without a redeemer, and may his name be renowned in Israel!”  (Ruth 4:14).

As Christians, we must remember always that Jesus Christ is our great Redeemer. He lives! In His sovereignty, God precluded all things from hindering, and enabled all things to work towards, the death of Jesus Christ upon the cross (Acts 4:27). So long as we cling to that cross, so long as we look up to it, so long as we stand underneath it, so long as we live for it -- so long as we take refuge under the wings of God’s sovereignty -- we can rest and trust that nothing can, nor ever will, stop the desire of God from being accomplished in and through us.    

 

This post has been adapted from the sermon "Ruth: Under the wings of God's sovereignty" 

DISCIPLE: love

There are few memories I have as a young child. But one memory I do have is when my baby sister, Katy, was brought home from the hospital. I remember the babysitter telling me she had arrived. I remember feeling nervous and hiding in the kitchen behind the door. Then, as I peeked around the door frame, I saw my mom and dad walk through the front door. Katy was brought home and into our family.

 

When Jesus calls us as His disciples, He not only calls us into a personal relationship with Himself, but He also brings us into relationship with others: a family, a community of people called the church. And as the church, we are to love one another.

 

EXPECTS LOVE

Jesus expects love. He commands love: “A new commandment I give to you” (John 13:34). The command is not to change one another, but to love one another.

 

Love is natural to God and it should be natural to His people. In fact, Jesus describes eternal life as knowing the only true God and Jesus Christ whom He has sent (John 17:3). Eternal life is relational in both scope and focus. John writes for us in his first letter that we know we’ve passed out of death into life - that we’ve been born again, that we’ve become a disciple of Jesus - because “we love the brethren” (1 John 3:14), other disciples. But not just any disciples (though we should love all); rather, in particular, those of the family He’s brought you into. The local church, then, suddenly shoots to the top of the priority list for us. Relationships are a central component to discipleship. Being in and committed to a local church is the way to grow up “to the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ” (Ephesians 4:13). 

 

 

EXEMPLIFIES LOVE

Jesus does not command what he does not supply. Jesus is the sustenance for every command of God and the source of all that we need to follow and obey. He doesn’t command us, and then leave us to tap some inner reserve of strength or hidden potential within us. He calls us in our inadequacy to Him, and then empowers us to live through Him and for Him. 

 

“As I have loved you” (John 13:34). Jesus exemplifies, and is, the new and fullest expression of the love of God. In the Old Testament, God descended to the top of Mount Sinai to communicate through Moses to His people. But the command to the people of Israel was not to touch the mountain or they would die (Exodus 19:12). In Jesus, something changed. Rather than men approaching God at a distance, from the foot of the mountain, God approached men in the form and flesh of Jesus Christ.

 

This radical difference can be understood from John’s opening words in his first letter: “What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the Word of Life...we proclaim to you also, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ” (1 John 1:1-4).

 

In Jesus, love is manifest. And in and through us as His disciples, His love becomes manifest. Love, then, is the visible, audible and tangible evidence and expression of what has always been since the beginning - eternal.

 

So, what did eternal love do? Washed feet. Jesus, the fullest expression of God’s love, touched water and dirt. This simple act of washing his disciples’ feet led to the cosmic act of dying on the cross for the world. And this is still how we love one another today: in simple acts that lead to the glorious cross - to Jesus Christ. 

 

 

EMPOWERS LOVE

When we love each other as Christ commands and exemplifies, no matter how small or big the act of love, it is empowered by Jesus Christ. As His disciples, we live in a new reality. “...you also love one another” (John 13:34). We love one another with the very love of Christ! 

 

In this new reality, love becomes prerequisite to everything we do as disciples. It is possible to preach and not love those you preach to, or to serve and not love those you serve. The most magnificent acts we could ever accomplish would mean nothing apart from the love of Jesus. Imagine an artist without a brush, a writer without a pen, a disciple without love. It is an incomplete picture.

 

As disciples, you and I are servants and messengers who proclaim the love of Christ to each other and to the world in our actions and words towards each other. This is both powerful and critical, because the love of Jesus Christ will not, cannot, be known apart from our love for each other: “By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:35). 

DISCIPLE: follow

“Jesus turned and saw them following and said to them, “What are you seeking?” And they said to him, “Rabbi” (which means Teacher), “where are you staying?” He said to them, “Come and you will see.” So they came and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day, for it was about the tenth hour.” (John 1:38-39)

 

Have you ever waited a long time in a long line for something? For example, you go to the grocery store for that one item you really need. You quickly scan, assess and determine which aisle is the shortest. The only problem is that as soon as you get into that shorter line, it seems as if all the other lines begin moving faster. So what do you do? You jump to a faster line, only to watch the line you were in pick up speed.

How long we are willing to wait for something depends on the value of that thing.

 

THE CHOICE

In the Old Testament, students (disciples) chose their teacher (Rabbi). I would imagine the student feeling excited with their choice and the teacher feeling honored to be chosen. Maybe one teacher’s line was longer than another’s. Maybe one was exclusive. Maybe the quality of Teacher A’s students was a step above that of the students belonging to Teacher B;  maybe not. But Jesus was different:  Jesus chose His disciples. They were common men, men of little or no reputation. They were not the cream of the crop, nor the top of their class, nor voted “most likely to succeed”. For Jesus, no previous experience was required to become His disciple. 

Jesus still chooses and makes His own disciples today. 

 

THE CALL

Jesus’ call to His first disciples was in the form of an invitation: “Come, and you will see” (John 1:39). The call to follow Jesus is first an invitation to come and see Him. More than a place, the call is to know a person: “Behold, the Lamb of God!” (vs. 36). It wasn’t a complicated call either, to “come and see”. The two disciples have left “the school of John the Baptist” to join Jesus. They’re now committing to become life-long learners of Jesus. But committed, exactly, to what? Yes, to learn about; yes, to learn from; but more importantly, to learn Him. The call is to get close enough to touch, to stay long enough to know Jesus. While no previous experience is required to become a disciple of Jesus, personal surrender is absolutely required. On both counts, we’re all on common ground.

Jesus still chooses and makes His own disciples today.

 

THE CHALLENGE

Have you heard the voice of Jesus, “Come, and you will see”? Have you heard your name being spoken? When Andrew first brought his brother Simon to Jesus, Jesus looked at him and changed his name to Peter - his disciple name (vs. 40-42). Jesus didn’t look into Peter and see hidden potential or the essential skills that the kingdom of God needed and couldn’t succeed without. Jesus saw a lost sinner by spiritual standards, and a common man by earthly standards. As Paul reminds us, whether it’s Peter and John or you and I, when Jesus called us, “not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God” (1 Corinthians 1:26-29). 

When Jesus came to me and awakened me to Him, He didn’t literally change my name. But in that moment I did receive the name and heart of “disciple”. You see, many of us are Christian in name, but are we disciples at heart? Are we committed to knowing Jesus and allowing that relationship to lead us and to transform us? The changing of a name, the giving of a new name, is synonymous with the changing of a heart - the creation and giving of a new heart and life! 

 

When Jesus turned around and asked the two disciples “What do you seek?” (vs. 38), He was really asking, “Whom do you seek?”  The call to be a disciple is a call to relationship first, not rules. Our first and greatest calling is to know Jesus Christ.  

Jesus still chooses and makes His own disciples, calling us out of the lines of this world where we’re waiting for things that will not last, into a new and living relationship with Him that will last forever! 

HOW TO FIGHT FOR SUNDAYS (against complaining and criticism)

For pastors and leaders, Sunday (or the weekend service) is the accumulation and culmination of many hours and days of diligent hard work, be it mentally, emotionally, spiritually, and/or physically. As a result, we welcome Sunday with a high degree of expectation and anticipation. But it is also true that far too often we leave Sunday’s service either complaining, maybe about an oversight somewhere in the service order or criticizing someone, maybe for their lack of enthusiasm. And where there’s one, the other is sure to follow.

It is unfortunate that so many pastors and leaders leave a time purposefully set apart by God for meeting with His people in a bad mood. As much as it depends on us, we must learn to fight against such things as complaining and criticism. Here are nine ways I’m learning to do that:

1. PRAY - this should be a given, the most obvious thing in the book! The best way to guard our hearts against complaining and criticizing ourselves, others, and even God is to maintain and cultivate a heart of prayer. If we neglect prayer, we lose our spiritual sight, hearing, and feeling.

2. BE PREPARED as much as possible - try all media (videos, music, etc.) BEFORE the service or before a class begins, as well as testing all mics and instruments; make sure any needed sign-up sheets, booths, tables, technology (etc.) is set-up BEFORE they’re needed. Glitches will occur, but hopefully not because we were unprepared.

3. PLAN all that you can - think through the entire service (or class, worship set, etc.) BEFORE the service begins. Think through the transitions and parts of what you’re doing to avoid awkward moments or the appearance of being disorganized. Overlooked details can sabotage many well-intentioned plans. 

4. COMMUNICATE beforehand - clearly and abundantly communicate with everyone involved. Miscommunication and a lack of communication are easy to avoid, but hard to overcome. 

5. PREVENT last minute changes - if we plan effectively, there shouldn’t be any overlooked details of importance. A last minute addition or subtraction to the service order (or class schedule, worship set, etc.) will often only lead to distraction and frustration throughout. The success of a plan is in the confidence everyone shares about the plan.

6. PROTECT the atmosphere - without question everyone involved and attending a service comes with many things on their hearts and minds. Yet, as leaders we must be vigilant and diligent to focus attention and conversation on the task at hand. Whatever other things there might be, they are not the priority. It’s not that they’re unimportant, but simply that there’s a time and place for everything.

7. PUSH AGAINST bad attitudes - don’t ignore a bad attitude in your own heart or in the heart of another. Point it out and address it. The ministry that is about to happen and the people we are about to serve cannot be influenced or, worse, poisoned by hidden, lingering bad attitudes.

8. TAKE THE ROOM TEMPERATURE - if we’ve prepared, planned, and communicated, we’ve freed ourselves up to greet and talk to people. By doing so, you can get a sense of their distractions, concerns, hurts, joys, hopes, etc. This furthers both the ABILITY to minister and to serve people where they are at and the POSSIBILITY of fruit being produced in their lives.

9. DISCERN - we must discern the Holy Spirit’s movement and follow Him above all other things. If we’ve prayed and asked Him for His plans, and not simply asked Him to bless our plans, then we can confidently ask Him to lead us wherever, however. Additionally, we must never forget that we battle not against flesh and blood, but against the spiritual forces of evil (Ephesians 6:12). We ARE at war. Therefore, we must not ignore, but discern any potential movement and threat of the enemy and act accordingly.

 

Sundays should be marked by joy and peace, grace and love, thanksgiving and hope, not by grumbling and complaining, criticism and gossip, discontentment and disappointment. We serve a good and faithful God, and while we rely upon His power alone to transform people, He still asks us to work hard and plan effectively. By doing so, we can avoid some of the common pitfalls we many times stumble into.

Your God-Assigned Sphere of Influence: Your influence is given (Part 2)

“But we will not boast beyond limits, but will boast only with regard to the area of influence God assigned to us, to reach even to you.” (emphasis mine, 2 Corinthians 10:13, ESV)

 

 

Paul asks us a very important question in 1 Corinthians 4:7, “What do you have that you did not receive?” The implied and expected answer is, “Nothing.” Any success in ministry or influence in people’s lives cannot, fundamentally, be attributed to us. It must be attributed entirely to the fact that God gives us a sphere of influence. The word “of” is important. If we were rather to say “God gives us a sphere TO influence”, we may quickly begin to feel and think that we are the ones who have to accomplish something, that we are the ones who have to make something happen, when in fact it is God who has given us influence. You and I already have the influence God wants us to presently have. We can’t create more, we can’t take more for ourselves. 

In Galatians 2:20, Paul makes an extraordinary statement of truth, “It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.” When it comes to influence, service and ministry, we often displace or minimize this reality with an unbalanced use of the words “FOR God”. When we do this, we easily get confused, convincing ourselves that we have to do MORE to live for God. This results in overextending ourselves by doing WAY MORE than what God has called us to do. 

So, while it is true that we are living for Him and that He deserves all of us (our thoughts, affections, and strength), if we over-emphasize this, it can put us on the wrong path of religiosity and works, by which we can try to earn or provoke or produce something in and of ourselves.  The simple yet mind-blowing reality is that it is God living IN and THROUGH us. We can’t cause or produce anything in our sphere of influence and field of labor for God apart from God. It is an eternal impossibility to live for God if God does not first live in us through His Son, Jesus Christ, and by His Spirit. It is only Christ in and through us that will reach people and cause things to happen and to change.

 

The goal, therefore, of having a God-assigned sphere of influence is to reach people with the gospel of Jesus Christ and to point them towards Jesus Christ. With the term “sphere of influence” comes a picture of not only a geographical area, but of routes of trade, standards of products, and the delivery of those products. So, how do I know who is in my sphere of influence?

 

PROXIMITY TO MANY

Our lives are surrounded by family, friends, co-workers, strangers, etc... more people than we’re probably going to reach.  Our roads of influence will lead us to many places, and into contact with many people. But while we’re in proximity to many, that doesn’t necessarily mean you and I have influence with all of them.

 

POSITION WITH SOME

We each have a position and place in someone’s life that we don’t necessarily have in someone else’s life. Using the context of Paul’s “sphere of influence”, if we’re on a trade route through a fixed area assigned to us by God, carrying the products given to us by God (the Gospel, our character, experience, testimony, gifts, talents, etc.), we’re going to need to disclose to people the standards of what we’re trying to bring and deliver to them. This means that it is your standard of living - of being a Christian, a steward, a husband, a wife, a father, a mother, a son, a daughter, an employee, an employer, a student, a friend, a servant, etc. - that will or will not create a place of influence for you in another person’s life. 

Truthfully, people should be able to see the standard of Christ in our lives and begin to wonder why and how we are who we are and do what we do. They will want to know because they see the standard of Christ in our living, and in their eyes we’ve earned (in our eyes, we’ve been given by God) a position or a place in their lives. They are the ones who start to gravitate around us; they begin to initiate conversations with us (and not the other way around); they begin to ask questions about life in general and, before we know it, life in particular. 

 

PERMISSION FROM FEW

To be influential in people’s lives, we will need their permission to speak into their lives. In our area, in our sphere, there are those who have actually given us this permission. They invite us into their homes and lives. It is common sense that we don’t have permission to speak into everyone’s life, anymore than you would force your way into someone’s home. If you and I take that liberty, we’re not going to accomplish anything worthwhile. We can’t be foolish in this regard. We have to be patient when it comes to ministry and godly influence. And we have to understand that we will have permission to speak from far fewer people than those with whom we have position or are in proximity to. But these are the souls and hearts and lives that God has prepared us and positioned us to speak into.

 

The constant prayer, then, of our hearts should be that we desire to be able to speak life and bring light into people’s lives; to give what God has given to us; to teach what God has been teaching to us. 

We should pray for the Spirit-produced standards and qualities of Christ-likeness to be well-formed and established in our hearts and lives, so that others can begin to take note of our good works and, ultimately, glorify God (Matthew 5:16). 

We should pray that people approach us or invite us in and begin to ask questions of us that we’ll be enabled to answer in such a way that we are pointing them to Jesus Christ. 

We should pray that we humbly remember and accept that we are but servants of Jesus Christ, because then, and only then, His influence can increase and we can begin to reach out and reach those whom God has placed within our assigned sphere of influence.

 

If you missed Part 1, you can read it here: Your ministry has boundaries

Your God-Assigned Sphere of Influence: Your ministry has boundaries

What is your favorite show? I am sure that, like me, you wait every week for the next episode to air. The day arrives, the hour comes, you lock the door, turn off your phone, get your favorite snack...you get everything ready only to turn on the TV and find that your show is not in the assigned slot of the schedule. It’s been delayed, or worse, postponed until next week because something “more important” has been assigned to its slot.

  

We each have a God-assigned sphere of influence. A slot, if you will, of ministry from God. Consider Paul’s words: “But we will not boast beyond limits, but will boast only with regard to the area of influence God assigned to us, to reach even to you.” (emphasis mine, 2 Corinthians 10:13, ESV) 

 For the sake of clarity, consider these other translations of verse 13:  

NIV: We, however, will not boast beyond proper limits, but will confine our boasting to the sphere of service God himself has assigned to us, a sphere that also includes you.

THE MESSAGE: We aren’t making outrageous claims here. We’re sticking to the limits of what God has set for us. But there can be no question that those limits reach to and include you.

NEW REVISED STANDARD VERSION: We, however, will not boast beyond limits, but will keep within the field that God has assigned to us, to reach out even as far as you.

THE LIVING TRANSLATION: We will not boast about things done outside our area of authority. We will boast only about what has happened within the boundaries of the work God has given us, which includes our working with you.

A sphere of service. Limits set by God for us. A field of service. An area of authority.A sphere of influence. 

 

BOUNDARIES

It’s crucial that, first and foremost, we see and understand that our God-assigned sphere of influence is fixed by God. It has boundaries. In other words, your ministry and my ministry are not without limits but have pre-determined parameters established by God. 

Psalm 74:17 says, “You have fixed all the boundaries of the earth; you have made summer and winter.” God has created, established and fixed every boundary of the earth and season upon the earth. Seasons may begin earlier or end later than expected, but they have an established beginning and end.

Acts 17:26 says, “And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place...” God has purposefully chosen and precisely placed each of us upon the earth. Where you are living is no accident. Furthermore, God has determined and given you and I an exact and allotted amount of time. We will not live one day more nor less that what has been given to us by God.

God has boundaries for seasons and lives and, according to Paul (2 Corinthians 10:12-16), God also has boundaries for ministries. 

This may or may not be welcomed by many of us, depending upon how we feel about ourselves, our “potential”, and our calling to ministry. We tend to think highly of ourselves and, in particular, concerning “our” ministry, we tend to believe we’re unstoppable in our zeal and passion to accomplish all that is in our hearts for God. True as that may be, it is good to be reminded that I am ONLY called, yet FULLY equipped and empowered, to fulfill the ministry given to me by Jesus, the Head of the Church (Colossians 1:18). And for simplicity’s sake, let’s define ministry as serving the church God has placed me in and reaching the lost God has placed within my sphere of influence, as small or as big as it might be. 

But when I forget that God has established boundaries to my ministry, some of the dangers I may face include:

 

COMPARISON

When I feel that my ministry is either bigger or smaller than another’s, I begin to compare myself, either elevating myself in importance and position or despising myself in discouragement and passivity. We each have a ministry. Each sphere of service, field of labor, limit of reach will look different than another’s. This is by God’s design. To grade ourselves or others on the “success” or “failure” of our own spiritual walk and ministry will only serve to ensure that we will not faithfully serve Jesus in the ministry He has assigned to us.

Similarly, to view other Christians or churches with a competitive eye is prideful. There can be no such thing as the “best” church in town or the “best” Christian in the church. There can only be those churches and Christians who are faithfully serving within their God-assigned spheres of influence.

 

BOASTING BEYOND

Paul states in this passage that he cannot and will not boast beyond his sphere of influence. Quite simply, Paul refuses to take credit for what God is doing in another’s sphere of influence. And Paul will not be jealous of what is happening in another sphere. To support and encourage one another in ministry is essential. But we must give honor where honor is due. None of us as ministers are God’s only choice. And none of our churches are God’s only church. He is using and empowering others and building and blessing other churches and we should rejoice in what God is doing here, there and everywhere.

 

OVEREXTENSION

Paul was very careful to identify his God-assigned area of service and ministry and to stay within those limits. He was not interested in overextending himself into an area God had assigned to another. Likewise, he was careful to protect the sphere God assigned to him, not in a selfish or immature way, but in a fatherly, shepherd-like way. 

Without question there are those self-called, self-appointed and self-made who feel they have the right to enter into a sphere not assigned to them and to demand audience, to impose counsel, to force change - in essence to undo everything other ministers, other churches and Christians have labored faithfully to accomplish and build, all in the name of “ministry” or “the kingdom of God”. But we would do well to remember the following: In ministry, God calls you, but people invite you. We can't use our "calling" to invite ourselves in.

As individuals, we do this all too often. We take our God-given desires and passions and use them as a license and permission to speak into spheres we have no business in. It is ministry-meddling. What we fail to understand or regretfully ignore, is that ministry is not simply about making yourself known. It’s about making yourself available. The context of a God-assigned sphere of influence is critical to the successful operating within and reaching of the boundaries God has fixed. When I fail to take into consideration your relationship, investment, sacrifice - your ministry - into someone’s life, and overextend myself into your sphere, I not only hurt myself, but hurt others, and I not only slow my own growth, but also the growth of others. I am not called to reach everyone. You are not called to reach everyone. We are each called to reach particular people within our particular God-assigned spheres of influence.

Every Season has a place and a purpose

Spring. Summer. Fall. Winter.

Each season has its place and purpose in the natural order of things. We may have a favorite season based upon weather or hobbies or holidays or birthdays or any number of things, and dread the others for the same reasons. For some it may be harder to distinguish between the seasons, depending on where they live. Still, one thing is certain:  the seasons are fixed. Their comings and goings may fluctuate, but one season will always come while another will always go.

 

In the same way, each season of our lives has its place and purpose in the natural order of things. There is a season to be a baby and then a season to be a child. There is a season to be a teenager and then a season to be an adult. Every season has its place before and after another, and every season is the answer to the one having gone before and the promise of the one coming after. 

Ecclesiastes 3:1 says, “For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven.” Psalm 104:19 says of God, “He made the moon to mark the seasons; the sun knows its time for setting”. Daniel 2:21 says, “He changes times and seasons”. In Psalm 74:17 the Psalmist sings, “You have fixed all the boundaries of the earth; you have made summer and winter.” (emphasis mine)

Jesus said to His disciples, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority.” And God said to His people through the prophet Jeremiah, “Thus says the Lord: If I have not established my covenant with day and night and the fixed order of heaven and earth, then I will reject the offspring of Jacob and David my servant” (Jeremiah 33:25-26) and, “If this fixed order departs from before me, declares the Lord, then shall the offspring of Israel cease from being a nation before me forever.” (31:36) (emphasis mine)

Finally, God said this to Noah, “While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease.” (Genesis 8:22) (emphasis mine)

As Christians, each season of our lives has its place and purpose in the will of God for our lives. Each season of our lives has its place and purpose in the spiritual order of things:  our spiritual maturity, our being conformed to Christ, our growth in wisdom and understanding of His will, our growth in knowledge and revelation of Jesus, our growth in service and ministry in His kingdom and the world, etc. God has not randomly fixed the seasons of our lives anymore than He has the seasons of nature. And He will not break or abandon these seasons any more than He will forget His work for us, in us, and through us in Jesus Christ. 

Every season has its place and purpose. If we are having trouble remembering this, we can look for the sun, look for the moon and the stars. Above all, dear Christian, look to the cross. “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” (Philippians 1:6) (emphasis mine) 

On God's Presence and Leading Worship

To be without God’s presence is to be without Him. His manifest presence is our future promise and our present joy. It is both/and, not either/or. For example, at times we experience His presence in a very strong manner...but not indefinitely. There’s a reason for this. These moments make us long for the day when our experience of His presence will be unbroken.

 

These moments and seasons of His manifest presence thrill our souls, fill our hearts and consume our minds. It's heaven on earth. As a worship leader, it’s what I pray for every song. As a preacher, it's what I pray for every sermon. As a pastor, it's what I pray for every meeting. Sometimes He comes in a stronger way and sometimes in a gentle way, but I'm convinced that He always comes. I might not feel Him as strongly as someone else did, but it doesn't mean He didn't come. And I might feel Him more strongly than others did, but it doesn't mean they didn't worship or seek Him. 

 

I've come to compare leading worship to watching trees. Without notice, a gentle wind begins to blow through the leaves. You begin to see the movement and you rejoice. Sometimes the wind grows stronger and sometimes it doesn't. Every blowing of His presence through our congregation is something to be thankful for. 

 

As a worship leader, it’s critical to remember Jesus always has control; it's His church. And it's always all about Him; it's His glory. Often there are times when I've been leading worship or directing the service when the leading I sense is different from what I anticipated or planned. Yet I must be obedient, even when it seems contrary to what is happening. Sometimes it means continuing on and sometimes staying put. He knows. I always strive to lead worship based on what I perceive to be the leading of the Holy Spirit, not on what I see. The result may very well be confirmation of what I see. Or it may surprisingly be insight into what I don’t see. The longer you lead, the more attuned you become. 

 

As Christians, we (should) long to be in His presence (Psalm 16:11). He longs to be with His people (Rev. 21:3). But our individual longings cannot be strictly defined, measured or planned. They are not equal in height, depth or width. We are neither more spiritual for lingering longer nor less for leaving quickly. I spent a lot of years accusing and criticizing the latter. When He comes, not if He comes, He seeks a genuine and sincere response from each and every one of us. We will each respond differently based on personality and where we are in our walk with Him.

 

In the end, whether it's in worship, by prayer, through preaching or during ministry, this is what I desire to hear from the mouths of others as they leave: "Surely the LORD is in this place, and I did not know it." (Genesis 26:16)

LOVE JESUS MORE THAN YOUR IMAGE OF HIM

The point of being spiritual is not to appear spiritual, but to be who Jesus saved you to become. He did not save you to give you a personality transplant or even a new lifestyle. He saved you to give you a new heart. He saved you from sin to righteousness, to live your life in a way that is conformed to Him, yet not in a way that is contrary to your personality. Jesus is not trying to squeeze you into a new, rigid mold and model. He is simply and profoundly living through you:  “It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me” (Galatians 2:20).

 

It seems to me that many try to force “being spiritual”. They define new rules and boundaries for themselves and others based on things, people or ideas that, while they may be good, are in many ways different from who God created a particular person to be and what He has called them to do. One person is outgoing, an extrovert and a risk-taker, while another likes quiet, is an introvert and more cautious, but neither is more spiritual than the other based on those differences. It’s very easy for us to suggest that one person appears more spiritual than the other. But, again, based on what? What spiritual requirements are being met by the one that are not being met by the other? The way Jesus Christ lives in and through each of us WILL be different in its expression, though not in substance; in practice, though not in principle; in how He is building us up, though not in what the foundation is upon which we are built. 

 

Immorality is clearly not “Christ who lives in me”. But is Christ living in one who leaves all for the mission field GREATER than Christ living in another who is living a quiet life and minding their own business (1 Thessalonians 4:11)?  Jesus is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow (Hebrews 13:8). It is not our place to judge or measure how one Christian loves “the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.” (Mark 12:30), nor how one loves another or, worse, if one loves “better” than another. 

 

We cannot love our own spiritual image more than the image of Jesus. Remember, man looks on the appearance of things, but God does not (1 Samuel 16:7). Therefore, we should not project our spiritual growth and understanding onto others as the acceptable, expected norm. We must remember that God created each person in His image and differently. Once saved by the blood of Jesus, that person remains different as a Christian from other Christians in personality, yet becomes united with them in loving, worshipping and serving Jesus with all that they have and do. How Jesus is transforming and molding me, how I love Him and worship and serve Him, is NOT the litmus test for your spirituality, Christ-likeness, love, worship or service. And vice-versa!

 

Allow Jesus to change you and to live through you, and allow Him to change others and to live through them, even though He chooses to work with them differently than He has with you. Above all, be thankful.

 

“Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” (1 Corinthians 13:4-7)