Your Salvation Is Not Just For Your Benefit - But For God's Glory And Purpose

My Utmost For His Highest

The everlasting God…neither faints nor is weary. —Isaiah 40:28

{CHAMBERS} “Exhaustion means that our vital energies are completely worn out and spent. Spiritual exhaustion is never the result of sin, but of service. Whether or not you experience exhaustion will depend on where you get your supplies. Jesus said to Peter, “Feed My sheep,” but He gave him nothing with which to feed them (John 21:17). The process of being made broken bread and poured-out wine means that you have to be the nourishment for other people’s souls until they learn to feed on God. They must drain you completely— to the very last drop. But be careful to replenish your supply, or you will quickly be utterly exhausted. Until others learn to draw on the life of the Lord Jesus directly, they will have to draw on His life through you. You must literally be their source of supply, until they learn to take their nourishment from God. […] Continually look back to the foundation of your love and affection and remember where your Source of power lies.”

{ELGIN}  Some of Chamber’s devotions in My Utmost are directed at those Christians who are in “full-time” service in vocational-ministry.  You may have read the excerpt above and thought “This does not apply to me.” But, actually, it does.  For most Christians they “exhaust” themselves just trying to live the life they have in Jesus.  Managing their sin mostly.  Let alone feeding other sheep (Christians).  2 Corinthians 5 says we have been given a ministry of reconciliation … reconciling people to God.  Jesus said “Go and make disciples” in Matthew 28.  Both are charges to every Christian.  If you have not been involved in either .. then it’s not because of lack of opportunity.  It is because of lack of obedience and faith.  Both are fully dependent upon the Spirit of God in you and less on your personal ability to teach or persuade.  We talk much about our personal relationship with Christ, but our personal salvation is not an end to itself.  If I buy a car and park it in the garage .. shine it every week.  Start the engine. But never apply it to its purpose for being then it is really a waste of money and my time. With the exception that I have personal satisfaction in owning it and caring for it.  The same for our faith and its purpose.  James said faith without works is dead (James 2).  Like the car in the garage.  Like the Christian who keeps their faith to themselves. So, my point.  Be alert for the opportunity to spiritually engage in the lives of other people.  Don’t trust in yourself, but submit to the Spirit and let God reveal Himself through you.  Fulfill your purpose … and the feeling of exhaustion that is sure to come … will be accompanied with a peace that is found only in service and obedience.

Sanctification - When Is Enough - Enough - Not Until You Are The Spitting Image Of Jesus

My Utmost For His Highest

May the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely… —1 Thessalonians 5:23

{CHAMBERS} “When we pray, asking God to sanctify us, are we prepared to measure up to what that really means? We take the word sanctification much too lightly. Are we prepared to pay the cost of sanctification? The cost will be a deep restriction of all our earthly concerns, and an extensive cultivation of all our godly concerns. Sanctification means to be intensely focused on God’s point of view. It means to secure and to keep all the strength of our body, soul, and spirit for God’s purpose alone. […] And after He has done His work, are we then prepared to separate ourselves to God just as Jesus did? “For their sakes I sanctify Myself…” (John 17:19). […] Sanctification means being made one with Jesus so that the nature that controlled Him will control us. Are we really prepared for what that will cost? It will cost absolutely everything in us which is not of God. […] Jesus prayed that we might be one with Him, just as He is one with the Father (see John 17:21-23). The resounding evidence of the Holy Spirit in a person’s life is the unmistakable family likeness to Jesus Christ, and the freedom from everything which is not like Him. Are we prepared to set ourselves apart for the Holy Spirit’s work in us?

{ELGIN}  Do you ever pray asking God to sanctify you? In other words, do you want to be separated from the things of the world in your mortal, natural life or are you satisfied with “merely” being saved for heaven?  That is the failing of oh so many of us.  We don’t mind being cleaned up a little bit, but we stop short of total surrender to God. When Jesus talked with the rich young ruler, Jesus spoke to his heart … his devotion – the assurance and comfort he had in money – possessions … Jesus said, “sell everything that you have and give it to the poor”.  The young man could not do it … what he wanted from Jesus required complete surrender.  So this begs an interesting question .. “Can you be saved and then continue living the natural life with its passions and conventions?”  Theologians have been arguing over that question for years – centuries - millennia.  My view, for what it is worth, is that there are two parts to sanctification – or being set apart.  The first part is at the point of salvation.  The second part is a process of your life, what you say, do and cherish reflecting who you are in your heart.  As you already know, there are some aspects of your old nature that are gone immediately or very soon after salvation, and yet we still struggle with others.  Not to make an excuse for sins, but it is because of our infancy or little faith that we struggle.  I, personally, don’t think that struggle ends until we are with Jesus, but that does not mean that we should be content with our imperfection.

Paul addressed the question of continued sin (Romans 5:18-6:4, 15-18) “Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. For as by the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man's obedience the many will be made righteous. Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?  We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. […] What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness.”

Notice Paul did not say if you sin you are not saved.  But, we should never be satisfied with our level of spiritual maturity. If you don’t think about it .. that’s a problem.  The Spirit convicts us of sin .. we must be careful that we don’t seek to make excuses for it and then accommodate it. We have been bought with a price .. the blood of Jesus.  Don’t lose sight of that.

The Purpose Of Prayer May Not Be What You Think It Is - Or Want It To Be!

My Utmost For His Highest

We were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel. Indeed, besides all this, today is the third day since these things happened. —Luke 24:21

{CHAMBERS}  “[…]  Lust means “I must have it at once.” Spiritual lust causes me to demand an answer from God, instead of seeking God Himself who gives the answer. What have I been hoping or trusting God would do? Is today “the third day” and He has still not done what I expected? Am I therefore justified in being dejected and in blaming God? Whenever we insist that God should give us an answer to prayer we are off track. The purpose of prayer is that we get ahold of God, not of the answer. […] We look for visions from heaven and for earth-shaking events to see God’s power. Even the fact that we are dejected is proof that we do this. Yet we never realize that all the time God is at work in our everyday events and in the people around us. If we will only obey, and do the task that He has placed closest to us, we will see Him. One of the most amazing revelations of God comes to us when we learn that it is in the everyday things of life that we realize the magnificent deity of Jesus Christ.”

{ELGIN} I know that I can be a bit wordy sometimes in these devotions.  But what I hope is that you will find a nugget of encouragement or revelation that helps you in your spiritual walk and understanding.  It’s like Chamber’s statement on the purpose of prayer … “that we get ahold of God, not the answer.”  When I read that I thought of Jesus commitment to praying to the Father.  I thought about James 4:2-3 “You do not have because you do not ask God.  When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.”  Chambers brings James’ words into proper context.  If we are praying for relief from whatever the pressing problem might be … it can be like placing an order at a drive through restaurant.  And we want it “super-sized”.  Instead, our focus should be on God who is our source, our confidence, our peace and not simply relief from our trouble.  We should draw close to Him through prayer and trust that He loves us.  We sing about His love, but when it comes down to it … we often doubt that He is listening or worse that He will do what is best … translated that means we doubt that He will do what we want Him to do.

There is a worship song by Mercy Me “Even If” that addresses this.  “It only takes a little faith to move a mountain.  Good thing, a little faith is all I have right now.”   “It's easy to sing When there's nothing to bring me down. But what will I say When I'm held to the flame Like I am right now. But God, when You choose To leave mountains unmovable Oh give me the strength to be able to sing It is well with my soul”  Have you ever been there?  Are you there right now?  Let me encourage you to draw close to God.  Life can be, and often is, overwhelming … trust God and seek Him out.  Listen, this is supernatural stuff.  Beyond our earthly logic and doing .. but true nonetheless.

Are You Struggling With The Temptation To Jump Off A Bridge?

My Utmost For His Highest

I am already being poured out as a drink offering… —2 Timothy 4:6

{CHAMBERS} “Are you ready to be poured out as an offering? It is an act of your will, not your emotions. Tell God you are ready to be offered as a sacrifice for Him. Then accept the consequences as they come, without any complaints, in spite of what God may send your way. God sends you through a crisis in private, where no other person can help you. From the outside your life may appear to be the same, but the difference is taking place in your will. Once you have experienced the crisis in your will, you will take no thought of the cost when it begins to affect you externally. If you don’t deal with God on the level of your will first, the result will be only to arouse sympathy for yourself. […] You must be willing to be placed on the altar and go through the fire; willing to experience what the altar represents— burning, purification, and separation for only one purpose— the elimination of every desire and affection not grounded in or directed toward God. But you don’t eliminate it, God does. […]  After you have gone through the fire, there will be nothing that will be able to trouble or depress you. When another crisis arises, you will realize that things cannot touch you as they used to do. What fire lies ahead in your life?”

{ELGIN}  Has your new life in Christ made a difference in the way you live .. in what you value .. in what you do?   Making the transition from the old nature to the new nature (2 Corinthians 5:17)  is troublesome for most Christians.  Embracing the idea of being forgiven and going to heaven is easy compared to submitting your will everyday .. every moment.  It is easy compared to turning away from your culture, your natural preferences.  The thing is .. many Christians don’t even realize they are doing that.  The reason is that so many “are” doing that.  Did your mom ever ask you in response to your saying “all my friends are doing it”, “If your friends jumped off of a bridge would you too?” We have been called to follow after God, but we most often choose to follow the majority instead.  The Bible says “Don’t give Satan a foothold” (Ephesian 4: 27-32)  “do not give the devil a foothold. Anyone who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with their own hands, that they may have something to share with those in need. Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. Crisis of Belief … believe God or trust in yourself  Having an eternal perspective on this life on earth.”

But what if the other Christians you hang out with are doing some of those things?  Are they really that bad?  Watching the wrong things, saying the wrong things … doing the wrong things … Good question.  In fact that question has been asked many times over the centuries.  The first time was in the Garden.  “Did God really say you will surely die?”  When you ask the question you are suggesting that God is wrong in telling you no.  Listen .. It is easier to give in to sin than it is to the Holy Spirit.  You don’t have to fight your natural will when you do.  I am not trying to send you on a guilt-trip, but want to challenge you to consider where you are in your spiritual walk.  What needs to change?  You don’t know?  Read the word and pray about it.  The Spirit of God will reveal it to you.  Will you lay your life down on the altar. (Matthew 16:25)  “For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.”

Giving Credit Where Credit Is Due

My Utmost For His Highest

If I am being poured out as a drink offering on the sacrifice and service of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all. —Philippians 2:17

{CHAMBERS}  “Are you willing to sacrifice yourself for the work of another believer—to pour out your life sacrificially for the ministry and faith of others? Or do you say, “I am not willing to be poured out right now, and I don’t want God to tell me how to serve Him. I want to choose the place of my own sacrifice. And I want to have certain people watching me and saying, ‘Well done.’ ” It is one thing to follow God’s way of service if you are regarded as a hero, but quite another thing if the road marked out for you by God requires becoming a “doormat” under other people’s feet. God’s purpose may be to teach you to say, “I know how to be abased…” (Philippians 4:12). Are you ready to be sacrificed like that? Are you ready to be less than a mere drop in the bucket— to be so totally insignificant that no one remembers you even if they think of those you served? Are you willing to give and be poured out until you are used up and exhausted— not seeking to be ministered to, but to minister? Some saints cannot do menial work while maintaining a saintly attitude, because they feel such service is beneath their dignity.”

{ELGIN} Strange as this may sound, but I feel that I am being most effective in serving God and others when I am not recognized for the work I do.  If I need to be recognized then I am having a pride problem.  I often say “If you want to give me credit for anything ..then give me credit for saying yes to God.”  When Paul was responding about the people who were saying “I am of Paul or I am of Apollos” (or it might be I am a Baptist or I am a Methodist or I am a “fill in the blank”)  Paul said (1 Corinthians 3:5-9)  “What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task. I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. The one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose, and they will each be rewarded according to their own labor. For we are co-workers in God’s service; you are God’s field, God’s building.” If we are serving God then how can we take credit for what is accomplished.  God is the Source … it’s God who calls .. it’s God who equips … it’s God who sends …. it’s God who brings the eternal benefit.  We are merely the messengers …. Field hands.

On the other hand, don’t let that truth become a reason for you to NOT serve.  Looking at your life in comparison to others, you may ask, “What can I bring to the table? What can I do?” The answer is, trust God, submit to His Spirit, go where He says go and do what He says do, knowing that God brings the increase not you.  It’s obedience that God prefers over sacrifice. (1 Samuel 15:22) “But Samuel replied: "Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the LORD? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams.” (Hosea 6:6) “For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings.” As I am typing this, Martie, my wife, read a quote from the head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles after winning the Super Bowl, “I give all the glory to Jesus Christ.”  It does not matter if you are a missionary or a football coach or ride on the back of a garbage truck.  As Christians we know that it is God who deserves the credit for any good that comes from our lives. Don't let your ego tell you otherwise.

Want A Blessing From God - You Must Stop, Look, Listen, And Then Obey

My Utmost For His Highest

Woe is me if I do not preach the gospel! —1 Corinthians 9:16

{CHAMBERS} “Beware of refusing to hear the call of God. Everyone who is saved is called to testify to the fact of his salvation. That, however, is not the same as the call to preach, but is merely an illustration which can be used in preaching. […] Paul’s words have to do with our being made servants of Jesus Christ, and our permission is never asked as to what we will do or where we will go. God makes us as broken bread and poured-out wine to please Himself. To be “separated to the gospel” means being able to hear the call of God (Romans 1:1). Once someone begins to hear that call, a suffering worthy of the name of Christ is produced. Suddenly, every ambition, every desire of life, and every outlook is completely blotted out and extinguished. Only one thing remains— “…separated to the gospel…”"

{ELGIN}  Yesterday, a partner in the Gospel, John, and I were at a Home Depot getting some parts we needed to finish work on a family’s house that had been damaged during Hurricane Harvey.  As we checked out, there was a young woman checking out ahead of us.  I noticed she had building materials but was not wearing clothing that suggested that she was about to put them to use.  We paid for our supplies and walked out to leave.  I noticed that the woman was trying to put the materials in her small SUV – 10 pounds in a 5 pound can. I asked her if we could help her load her vehicle.  She looked relieved and said “yes”.  Well … the 5 pound can had not gotten any bigger.  I asked her if she lived far from the store and she told us about 5 miles.  So I offered to put her materials in my truck and we would follow here back to the house.  (thinking about that later, I would have been upset if my wife said yes to two strange men following her home! And I told the woman so.) But let’s just say the Spirit of God was at work.  When we arrived, we set the materials in her garage.  She said they had just moved there – the garage was a mess – and she and her husband were fixing their daughters room up. OK – this is where it gets interesting.  She told us that they have son who has special needs.  He was in Infant ICU for 6 months.  Their son has several significant physical problems. They have a full time nurse helping them.  John shared with her about one of his grandchildren.  Then the conversation got even more personal .. John asked her if she believed in God … to which she replied … “you may not believe it, but I was studying to be a youth pastor and married a pastor.  She went on to say that her husband was unfaithful and she divorced him.  She was rejected by the local church instead of being comforted.  Since then she has not had much to do with church or God.

I asked her if I could pray with her, and she agreed.  I told her that God had us at Home Depot at that time because He wanted her to know that He had not forgotten her and she should not give up on God.  She said that she cried all the time she was driving back home because we were being so kind.  I told her that we are obliged to do it. I shared Galatians 6:2 “Bear one another’s burdens and fulfill the law of Christ.”  I shared 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 that “God is the God of all comfort who comforts us in our afflictions so we might comfort others with the same comfort we, ourselves, have received.”  She started crying again and I could see that God was speaking to her broken heart.  Then I prayed with her that God would bring healing to her son and to her.  She asked if she could take a picture of the three of us.  For her privacy I will not post it.  Then we left.

So to the point.  You never know when God will put you in a place of fulfilling your calling to lift Jesus up and point people to the Father.  Be ready.  There is really nothing sweeter than fulfilling God’s purpose for you.  But you have to be listing, watching, ready and willing.  We could have walked by her in the parking lot because we had things to do … but we didn’t and were blessed in our obedience to the call of God.  And you can be as well.

Ministry May Not Be What You Think It Is. Are You Fulfilling Your Ministry?

My Utmost For His Highest

Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel… —1 Corinthians 1:17

{CHAMBERS} “Paul states here that the call of God is to preach the gospel. But remember what Paul means by “the gospel,” namely, the reality of redemption in our Lord Jesus Christ. We are inclined to make sanctification the goal of our preaching. Paul refers to personal experiences only by way of illustration, never as the end of the matter. We are not commissioned to preach salvation or sanctification— we are commissioned to lift up Jesus Christ (see John 12:32). […] Jesus Christ labored in redemption to redeem the whole world and to place it perfectly whole and restored before the throne of God. […] The one passion of Paul’s life was to proclaim the gospel of God. He welcomed heartbreak, disillusionment, and tribulation for only one reason— these things kept him unmovable in his devotion to the gospel of God.”

{ELGIN}  Have you ever thought of yourself as a preacher?  Probably not.  In our present day economy, preacher has a connotation of someone devoted to ministry, standing behind a pulpit on Sunday morning.  While I was in Haiti … my moniker was “Pastor Charley”.  I did not pastor a church but the Haitians associated me with those who did.  Although I am ordained as a minister of the Gospel in Baptist circles, I never pastored a church and never will, most probably.  My point, I am called to ministry and so are you, each in our own way according to God’s shaping.  We are all called to “preach the Gospel”.  (1 Peter 3:15) “But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear” You don’t have to stand behind a pulpit to lift Jesus up.  To tell people what happened in your life.  Telling people about your life before Jesus, how you met Jesus, and your life now that you follow Jesus.  I think we make it difficult with “methods” when it should be as natural as talking about your family or why you do what you do for a living.  (2 Timothy 4:1-5) “I [Paul] charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom:  preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching.  For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.” I am certain there are some people that you have known that you wanted to avoid when you saw them coming.  They “attacked” you with the Gospel.  Dr. John Maxwell said “people don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.”  It’s true.  Another thing that is true is that you cannot save anyone.  Our part is to tell about what happened to us.  His part is to send His Spirit to do a work in the person’s heart.  Their part is to believe the truth and by faith in Jesus be saved … or not.  You are to “fulfill your ministry”.  Pretty simple, huh?