Month: June 2006

What Does God Value?

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God’s Word is a deep reservoir of spiritual nourishment. Spend time with the Lord today. Talk to Him of all that you are concerned about. Don’t waste any day! Learn of Him and lean on Him!

God continues to tell me that His focus is the process which is defined as the ‘as we go’, or the ‘journey’, or the ‘day in and day out’ or the ‘daily living’. At the same time, my focus seems to always be the end which is the ‘final destiny’ or ‘the job’ or ‘the position’ or ‘the date’ or ‘the opening’. Guess who needs to shift their focus? God is enjoying the process because in this uncertainty we draw near to Him. I believe God’s favorite tool is a cloud. Recently I was reading from Oswald Chamber’s book, Still Higher For His Highest, these words, “…spiritual insanity must result if we push down barriers before our spiritual progress is ready for the revelation. Men will not wait for the slow, steady, majestic way of the Son of God; they try to enter in by this door and that door. The barriers are placed by a Holy God, and He has told us clearly, ‘Not that way.’ God grant we may accept His clouds and mysteries, and be led into His secrets by obedient trust.” Remember, the walk is a walk of faith not of sight. Our biggest opportunity to please God is when we are in the thick cloud and we choose to trust Him even when we can’t see anything ahead.

Part of the problem is that we don’t seem to value the same thing that God values. Let’s face it…most of us feel that most of our problems would be solved if we were financially secure. I recently did a word search looking for all the things that God values more than gold. I found seven things. So…what does God value more than gold?

  1. God values wisdom which is defined as “seeing and responding to life’s situations from God’s frame of reference” Proverbs 3:13-15 reads, “Happy is the man who finds wisdom, and the man who gains understanding; [14] For her proceeds are better than the profits of silver, and her gain than fine gold. [15] She is more precious than rubies, and all the things you may desire cannot compare with her.”
  2. God values understanding. Proverbs 3:13 says, “ Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding”.
  3. God values knowledge. Proverbs 8:9-10 reads, “They are all plain to him that understandeth, and right to them that find knowledge. [10] Receive my instruction, and not silver; and knowledge rather than choice gold.

Those with knowledge are able to collect, remember, and access information. They “know” the Scriptures. God’s word is literally “in them”. But, it is possible to have knowledge and lack understanding and wisdom; to have the facts, but have no clue as to the meaning or what to do next.

Those with understanding are able to abstract the meaning out of information. They “see through” the facts to the dynamics of what, how, and why. They are teachers. Understanding is a lens which brings the facts into crisp focus. Understanding produces “rules of thumb” or principles.

Those with wisdom know which principle to apply now. Understanding without wisdom can appear contradictory (Proverbs 26:4-5). For example, “He who hesitates is lost”, is a valid principle as well as: “Haste makes waste”. We see the truth of both. But which should we apply next? Those with wisdom know what to do next; they know which way to go. They do the right thing. In contrast, there are many who have great knowledge and understanding, but consistently do the wrong thing. Wisdom, in this sense, is the goal, and knowledge and understanding only have eternal value as they result in wisdom, or what we end up doing.

James 1:5 (NIV) If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. !

  1. God values His Word. Psalm 19:10 reads, “More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.”
  2. God values a good name. Proverbs 22:1 reads, “A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and loving favour rather than silver and gold.”
  3. God values you and me more than gold. Isaiah 13:12 reads, “I will make a man more precious than fine gold.” This is where my self-worth comes from…God values me…wow!
  4. God values the perfecting of my faith more than gold. 1 Peter 1:7 reads, “That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ.”

When we cry out for God to hurry up and let’s get to the end of this test or trial, God just sits there and takes His sweet time. Why? It is because His values are different…they are perfect just as He is. God values the process more than we do. For it is in the process, that wisdom, knowledge, and understanding are developed. It is in the process that our faith is perfected. “If I can stay calm, faithful, and unconfused while in the middle of the turmoil of life, the goal of the purpose of God is being accomplished in me. God is not working toward a particular finish–His purpose is the process itself.” Oswald Chambers

So…put down the crowbar and quit trying to force the door open. Let the process happen…wait on God…and at a point in time, the same thing will happen for you that happened to Peter who had an iron gate that stood between him and freedom: Acts 12:10 reads, “…they came unto the iron gate that leads unto the city; which opened to them of its own accord: and they went out, and passed on through one street…” At the right time, God made the iron gate to open by itself! Mark 5:36 says, “Be not afraid, only believe.”

Introduction

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When Manoah found out that he and his wife were going to have Samson he asked the angel of the Lord, “How shall we order the child?” This is given to us in Judges 13. The only instruction the angel gave was directed to what the mother was not to eat during the pregnancy because the child was to be a Nazarite to God from the womb to the day of his death.
A Nazarite is defined by Unger’s Dictionary as one who set apart for the service of God. This is God’s ultimate intention for all men and women. We were created for God. But how do we order ourselves and our children to be set apart for God? The Psalmist found God’s answer. It is recorded for us in Psalm 119:133,

“Order my steps in Thy Word; and let not any iniquity have dominion over me.”

God’s instruction for Samson’s mother on ordering her child was not to eat anything that came from the vine or anything unclean. God was instructing her to watch what she fed the baby inside of her. This referred to not only physical food but spiritual food also. God wants children fed spiritual food from His Word beginning in the womb.
In 1 Samuel 1, Elkanah realized the importance of the Word in his young child’s life. Hannah would not leave Samuel until he was weaned which was usually between 3 and 5 years of age. Elkanah gave her instructions on what to do while she stayed with him. He told her, “Only the Lord establish His Word.”
When my husband and I found out we were going to have a child, we responded similarly to Manoah. We asked, “How can we teach him to have a heart for You, Lord?” God began to teach us the importance of saturating our minds with His Word during that time especially. As soon as our child was born, God further taught us that ordering our child in the Word during the first 5 years was foundational for his spiritual growth.
This book is written to every person who has a desire to have children set apart for God from the very beginning. Especially in a day when Satan is launching an all out attack for the minds of our children through humanism, television, illicit sex, pornography, drugs, alcohol, and other devices, must children be set apart for God from the start. We would all like to prevent our children form ever falling into these sins rather than trying to recover them from Satan’s control in later years. God’s only instruction for Manoah and his wife concerned the prenatal months. He lead Elkanah to instruct his wife to spend the first 3 to 5 years in having His Word established in Samuel. God would rather we have a preventive ministry than a recovery ministry with our children. His preventive plan is to order the child in His Word beginning in the prenatal months and the first 5 years. With this start our children will be equipped for life and “iniquity will not have dominion over them.”

What do you do between the time your child rebels and the time he/she comes back to the Lord?

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God continues to use the life of George Mueller in our lives; he set as his goal to live in such a way that people would know from watching his life that you can trust God. Wow, what a testimony we would have if all of us lived that way; it would make evangelism so much easier and it would encourage the Body of Christ each day.

The question that some of you may be asking is, “What are you doing now?” God has given us a wide range of activity. We recently met with two pastors to offer encouragement. We are spending time at the hospital with a good friend whose wife is in critical condition. Also, we have met with several families who have believing children that have gone astray. I miss the preaching but have surrendered that to the Lord…if He wants that in my future, He will work out the details. I love what Oswald Chambers says, “If you will give God your right to yourself, He will make a holy experiment out of you— and His experiments always succeed.”

Last week we posed this question: what do you do between the time your child rebels and the time he/she comes back to the Lord? In looking at the story of the prodigal son, we have seen why the son left; and we have seen the father’s loving forgiveness when the son came back. But what do you do during the time of rebellion?

Sheilah went to a seminar years ago that dealt with this very issue. We don’t remember who led the seminar but one point stands out.

Truth + Space + Prayer + Unconditional Love = A Changed Life!

  • Lay the proper foundation of the truth of God’s Word.
  • Give them their space…let them take flight!
  • Continue in warfare praying.
  • Show them unconditional love when they return
  • This will result in a changed life.

St. Augustine is held in great esteem in Christianity. But he was not always saintly. He fell into a rebellious lifestyle and fathered a child out of wedlock. He was heavy into drinking. His mother was a virtuous woman by the name of Monica. Sometimes she almost despaired; but she was greatly comforted by a Christian friend who said to her, “A son of so many prayers cannot be lost.” Some time after that he was converted and went on to be one of the founding fathers of the church.

Max Lucado has said, “God has too much invested in a wayward believer to leave them where they are!”

If you have a child who is adrift and wandering from the Lord, meditate and pray the following scriptures…there is power in praying the Word.

  • 2 Tim. 3:14-15 (NKJV)
    But you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them, [15] and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.
  • Proverbs 24:15-16 (NKJV)
    Do not lie in wait, O wicked man, against the dwelling of the righteous;
    Do not plunder his resting place;
    [16] For a righteous man may fall seven times and rise again,
     But the wicked shall fall by calamity.
  • Proverbs 11:21 (NKJV)
    Though they join forces, the wicked will not go unpunished;
    But the seed of the righteous will be delivered.
  • Proverbs 12:7 (NKJV)
    The wicked are overthrown and are no more,
    But the house of the righteous will stand.
  • Isaiah 59:21 (NKJV)
    “As for Me,” says the Lord, “this is My covenant with them: My Spirit who is upon you, and My words which I have put in your mouth, shall not depart from your mouth, nor from the mouth of your descendants, nor from the mouth of your descendants’ descendants,” says the Lord, “from this time and forevermore.”
  • Jeremiah 31:16-17 (NKJV)
    Thus says the Lord: “Refrain your voice from weeping, and your eyes from tears;
    For your work shall be rewarded, says the Lord, and they shall come back from the land of the enemy.
    [17] There is hope in your future, says the Lord, that your children shall come back to their own border.
  • Jeremiah 24:5-7 (NKJV)
    “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: ‘Like these good figs, so will I acknowledge those who are carried away captive from Judah, whom I have sent out of this place for their own good, into the land of the Chaldeans. [6] For I will set My eyes on them for good, and I will bring them back to this land; I will build them and not pull them down, and I will plant them and not pluck them up. [7] Then I will give them a heart to know Me, that I am the Lord; and they shall be My people, and I will be their God, for they shall return to Me with their whole heart.
  • Psalm 23:3 (NKJV)
    He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.
  • Ezekiel 11:18-20 (NKJV)
    And they will go there, and they will take away all its detestable things and all its abominations from there. [19] Then I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within them, and take the stony heart out of their flesh, and give them a heart of flesh, [20] that they may walk in My statutes and keep My judgments and do them; and they shall be My people, and I will be their God.

Prayer is the mightiest weapon in the universe. Use it to reclaim lost ground, tear down strongholds, and reclaim fallen believers.

We love you! Remember, you can trust God for God loves you; He is always right; and His timing is perfect!