Beyond the predictable

Beyond the predictable

It should not surprise us, if God’s guidance does not follow conventional wisdom. In fact, don’t expect His guidance to conform to your own sense of logic. We can so easily put barriers around what we are familiar with and exclude anything beyond these barriers as unacceptable. We have an affinity to the safety we feel within these boundaries. The voice of God has, throughout human history, shattered the narrow, confined ways in which men expected Him to think and speak.

To truly hear what He is saying, we have to open ourselves up to ideas far beyond the reach of our natural intellect. Paul spoke about this in the following way:

1Co 2:8-13 The experts of our day haven't a clue about what this eternal plan is. If they had, they wouldn't have killed the Master of the God-designed life on a cross.
That's why we have this Scripture text: No one's ever seen or heard anything like this, Never so much as imagined anything quite like it-- What God has arranged for those who love him. But you've seen and heard it because God by his Spirit has brought it all out into the open before you. The Spirit, not content to flit around on the surface, dives into the depths of God, and brings out what God planned all along.
Who ever knows what you're thinking and planning except you yourself? The same with God--except that he not only knows what he's thinking, but he lets us in on it. God offers a full report on the gifts of life and salvation that he is giving us.
We don't have to rely on the world's guesses and opinions. We didn't learn this by reading books or going to school; we learned it from God, who taught us person-to-person through Jesus, and we're passing it on to you in the same firsthand, personal way.

The following is an account of the Lord’s leading, that we found rather surprising, to say the least.

In the beginning of 2005, I knew within my spirit that God was directing us into a fresh adventure. Although I was excited in my spirit, my mind was searching for what this meant. As I searched for answers and guidance, a multitude of questions formed.

Have you asked lately, whether all the activities you are busy with are part of what our heavenly Father wants for you? We so easily slip into routine and become comfortable with the predictable.

Change is not always easy; radical changes can be frightening. In an attempt to justify our then, present situation, I reasoned that it was the result of obeying God and so shouldn’t need to change. All this just lead to more questions. I knew, deep inside, that decisions had to be made, but I could not clearly see what they were. In desperation for clarity, I called out to the Lord to guide me into all truth and show me things to come, as He promised He would. (John 16:13)

He started giving me specific guidance. Some of it I know was for me alone. More importantly He gave me insight into knowing His guidance that I believe will be as relevant to you. The specifics were for me alone, but the heart of it is relevant to all and that is why I’m sharing it.

The first thing He said was: “Assume nothing”
I knew immediately what He meant. So often we assume that what we are doing is His will, because we do it with good intentions or for a good cause. The greatest enemy of reaching the best in life is the temptation to settle for what is good and acceptable.
Sometimes our present situation is the direct result of us obeying the direction God gave us earlier. But God moves on. And if we don’t, we get numb by falling into a routine lifestyle; we pacify our conscience with the memory that we once obeyed God. The intimacy He desires with us is a rich awareness of our union, not a vague memory.

ASSUME NOTHING. To me, it meant that nothing in my life was to be automatically validated as right. I had to ask some pertinent questions like:
· Am I in the right career? No matter what I’ve achieved or what the future prospects are, is this what my Father wants me to occupy my time with?

· Am I supposed to be in the church that I’m currently part of? Am I effectively reaching other people through my involvement, or has this become just another activity to pacify my conscience; to numb my spirit even further from hearing His call from within. Does the way in which I fellowship with believers, mobilise or neutralise my witness?

· Am I where I am supposed to be…

The list goes on. You need to ask your own relevant questions. ASSUME NOTHING. The Lord did not ask me to evaluate each activity and then make a verdict. No. The heart of His request was that I should not consider anything as unchangeable, and open myself to whatever He directed me into.
Why don’t you go ahead and do that right now; just say: “Father, I know that You have my best interests at heart. You love me with an awesome love and I love You in response. Now Father, however you lead me; whatever You request; I want to do it. I’m willing to change anything; start anything; stop anything. I am yours and You are mine – we are one”

His second instruction was, to stop focussing on what I did not know and start focussing on what I knew for certain. There are some basic, unchangeable truths concerning our purpose on earth, (the way in which we spend our time here) that are the same for all – without exception.

You will find these in Mt 28:18-20, Mark 16:15-18, Luke 24:46-49

These are the truths He gave me as absolute certainties:
· We have been commissioned and authorized to…
· GO to all nations; into all the world and….
· make disciples, teaching them to observe all things that Jesus taught us..

Jesus promised to:
· be with us
· signs will follow us
· we will be supernaturally protected
· we will heal the sick and deliver the oppressed.

These are the most fundamental, basic instructions that Jesus left us with. They have never and will never change.

A few months ago I ministered at a YWAM school on the gifts of the Holy Spirit. After the week of teaching and demonstration, Mary-Anne (my beautiful wife) pointed out to me that every example I used to illustrate the supernatural working of God was in a situation where we were busy ‘going’. We have at times, as I am sure many have, become comfortable in just sitting in an organized church, smiling at all the other comfortable brothers and sisters. It subconsciously makes us comfortable to see other believers ignoring the great commission and being as ineffective as we are. Surely they can’t all be wrong! Subtly our reference for doing what is right is no longer what Jesus commanded, but what everyone else is comfortable doing! Although these settings are useful to a degree, to build relationships, the supernatural confirmations do not readily occur in such environments.

Now ‘go’ does not necessarily mean another country, although you should not close yourself to the idea. To ‘go’ can be as close as your next conversation.

The above insights lead to some radical changes in our lives. The questions I asked the Lord were not to clarify some intellectual issue; they were fundamental in how we were to live. Now, the Lord might lead you in a completely different way, but the following are the changes that resulted in our lives:

We decided that we would always be ‘going’ - for the love of God compels us. (2 Cor. 5:14) No matter what our occupation or work situation; the greatest reality in our lives is our union with Christ.(Col.3:3) This ‘going’ can happen in 3 different ways, namely:
We personally go to a place that God directs us to, to minister Christ to them. Secondly, we develop material that can be sent all over the world to minister Christ in places where we personally can’t even be. These articles are part of that material. Thirdly, we financially support those who are ‘going’ as well.

After this was settled in my heart something happened that I never dreamt possible! It was one of the hardest decisions in my life. I realized that my involvement in the church I was part of, was neutralising my witness, not mobilizing it. This was particularly hard as we were part of the team that originally started this church and helped build it. We were not particularly attached to the organization that was built, but more to the wonderful people we developed friendships with.
Please allow me the following analogy – it might sound rude at first but the principle is sound: Manure is a wonderful substance when it is used as fertilizer. It is spread all over the ground and brings much needed nutrition to the soil. However, when it is heaped up, it starts rotting and smells awful. As Christians we sometimes get too ‘heaped up’; losing the essence of our fellowship, and simply gathering together because that's the thing to do. I know it’s a nice, comfy and warm environment but we often don’t realise that, in our comfort, we are rotting. That is maybe why the vast majority of the world’s population don't go near the organized church; don’t attend the formal gatherings in holy buildings. For them, it has a very distinct, unappealing odour.

Now it’s interesting for me to note that the great commission was not: “All the world should go to church.” NO! Let us remind ourselves what He said: “…You GO into all the world. “ What part of ‘GO!’ do we not understand? Two thirds of ‘GOD’ is ‘GO’!

As I said before, to go might be as close as your next conversation. So, we decided to rather spend time developing material, or conversing with people who are not attending church, than routinely and thoughtlessly attending meetings. Oh, of course we still fellowship with believers – that’s part of real church – and a part we never want to miss, but our fellowship is spontaneous and real. As important, is the fact that we have the time and opportunity to mingle with those who don’t attend organized church.

2Co 5:14 Christ's love has moved me to such extremes. His love has the first and last word in everything we do. Our firm decision is to work from this focused centre: One man died for everyone. That puts everyone in the same boat.
2Co 5:15 He included everyone in his death so that everyone could also be included in his life, a resurrection life, a far better life than people ever lived on their own.
2Co 5:16 Because of this decision we don't evaluate people by what they have or how they look. We looked at the Messiah that way once and got it all wrong, as you know. We certainly don't look at him that way anymore.

Our focussed centre is Christ, His work that included all. This leads us to more than an intellectual conclusion, it leads us to intimacy; a love between me and Christ that grows to the place where it compels me to include others in it as well.

2Co 11:3 But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.

Anything that inhibits the simple and natural expression of your union with Christ is not worth having! It is so easy to change our focus to other things, especially if they are religious or good things. The simple truth is this: Fellowshipping with God will excite you to the extent of wanting to include others in that same experience. It is an intimacy that does not need to be pumped up occasionally, but it is an experience that releases a fountain of life in you. Your desire for fellowship with other believers will then be motivated by the desire to share this abundance. Meetings will no longer be an artificial life-support-machine that keeps you barely alive. Our meetings can no longer be designed to manage, control or keep the participants dependant. No. Our dependency is on nothing and no-one else but ‘Christ in us’. He is our life source.

The truths that lead to these changes are these:
· Assume nothing
· Stop focussing on what you don’t know; focus on what you do know for certain.
· Get back to the simplicity of this Gospel and don’t get involved in anything that distracts you from that purity.

Paul, on more than one occasion thought it necessary to remind people not to lose their focus. Here are some examples:
Col 2:8-10 Watch out for people who try to dazzle you with big words and intellectual double-talk. They want to drag you off into endless arguments that never amount to anything. They spread their ideas through the empty traditions of human beings and the empty superstitions of spirit beings. But that's not the way of Christ.
Everything of God gets expressed in him, so you can see and hear him clearly. You don't need a telescope, a microscope, or a horoscope to realise the fullness of Christ, and the emptiness of the universe without him.
When you come to him, that fullness comes together for you, too. His power extends over everything.

Col 2:20-23 So, then, if with Christ you've put all that pretentious and infantile religion behind you, why do you let yourselves be bullied by it?
"Don't touch this! Don't taste that! Don't go near this!"
Do you think things that are here today and gone tomorrow are worth that kind of attention?
Such things sound impressive if said in a deep enough voice. They even give the illusion of being pious and humble and ascetic. But they're just another way of showing off, making yourselves look important.

Let us put these illusions of being pious, these religious pretensions, these empty traditions and superstitions behind us. Let us allow Christ to become our centred focus and guard that focus with all your heart. Realize that He is the fullness of all you could ever desire.

By Andre Rabe
http://eclesia.blogspot.com/
andre.rabe@gmail.com