God's Pans

Isaiah 55:8-9 "For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways," says the Lord.

For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.” NKJV

I love the Old Testament stories because they reveal God’s character and how He works with people. There are many stories that illustrate the above verse that God does not operate anything like we do.  However, today I want to look at the story of Abraham and draw out some important life principles.

We know that God called Abraham to leave his country, family, friends, lifestyle and go to a land he knew not. He called Abraham to move from the known to the unknown, from a place of security to a place that was not secure. Upon God’s word Abraham makes this total illogical move. God then gives and outrageous promise to  Abraham that his descendents would be as numerous as the stars in the heaven and sand on the sea shore, that all of Canaan would be his, and that his descendents would be a blessing to all the earth. When Abraham receives this promise, he is a nomad in a strange land, owns no property, and to stack the odds against him, his wife is barren. God’s ways are not our ways!

Part of the key of Abraham’s and Sarah’s ability to believe God’s promises and follow God’s plan against insurmountable odds is in Hebrews 11:11-12. “By faith Sarah herself also received strength to conceive seed, and she bore a child when she was past the age, because she judged Him faithful who had promised. Therefore from one man, and him as good as dead, were born as many as the stars of the sky in multitude — innumerable as the sand which is by the seashore.” NKJV

Abraham and Sarah judged or counted Him faithful who had promised. The focus is not on the promise or the plan, but on God's faithfulness. God’s promise or plan is like a mountain. From the distance it looks like a single mountain. But as you journey closer you find it is a series of hills and valleys leading to the mountain. Because the timing of the promise or the way it is fulfilled is different than we expected, we can become disillusioned, discouraged and give up. It is like you have climbed over several hills and gone through several valleys, and you come to the top of another hill. There is another valley, and you seem no closer to the peak of the mountain than you were before. In fact, the closer you get to the peak, the bigger are the hills and valleys are. We become so focused on the destination or the promise that we fail to enjoy the journey with God.

The second thing is God’s promise or plan is much greater than each of us. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph were each part of the fulfillment of God’s promise and plan. Upon this journey to God’s promise, God has people on the way on those hills and in those valleys that he has ordained to be part of our journey. They are part of God’s plan, and they hold keys to the promise. When we become so bent on reaching the peak, we fail to take the time to engage the very people God has ordained on the journey.

Like Abraham, though the promise of the peak of the mountain may challenge and inspire us, the joy of the journey is our walk with God and those God brings into our life. With every hill and valley that you walk through and arriving at the peak, the joy is looking back on the faithfulness of God through the journey. 1 Thessalonians 5:24 “Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it.”

Andy

Hearing God's Voice

Hearing God’s voice is essential to walking with God. Jesus said, “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.” (John 10:27-28) How can we follow Jesus if we do not hear His voice? Security, peace, and salvation come in hearing the voice of God and following Him. We live in the information age, and voices are bombarding us through the media and social media. In the midst of all the noise we need to be able to take time to quiet our spirit and learn to hear the voice of Christ in our daily lives if we are going to survive in these last days.

Millions have converted to Christ because one man heard His voice. Saul “fell to the ground, and heard a voice.” (Acts 9:4) Paul, as he became known, touched the lives of thousands of people in his day and wrote most of the New Testament, which continues to impact our lives. Acts 10:9,13 says, “Peter went up upon the housetop to pray….and there came a voice to him.” As a result of Peter taking the time to hear Christ’s voice and obeying, the entire Gentile race was welcomed into the kingdom along with the entire house of Cornelius. What could God do today if Christians would learn to hear and obey God’s voice!

In this time of shaking, fear, deception and uncertainty, we need to hear God’s voice more than ever. Hebrews 12:25-27 warns us, “See that you do not refuse Him who speaks. For if they (the Israelites at Mt. Sinai) did not escape who refused Him who spoke on earth, much more shall we not escape if we turn away from Him who speaks from heaven, whose voice then shook the earth; but now He has promised, saying, "Yet once more I shake not only the earth, but also heaven."  Now this, "Yet once more," indicates the removal of those things that are being shaken, as of things that are made, that the things which cannot be shaken may remain.”

Hearing God’s voice is birthed out of a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. “Jesus said, “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them.” Personal relationships are developed by spending time with people. Going to church and spending time with Christians who talk about the things of God are crucial. But even more important is spending time with God through personal time in His word and talking with Him in prayer to learn to hear His voice for yourself. As you learn to hear Him in your quiet time, you will begin to recognize that quiet prompting of the Holy Spirit in your daily activities. This will bring direction and purpose to your life, peace, and joy, and allow you to speak into the lives of others whom God brings across your path.

To the last church, the Laodicean church, the Lord cries, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.  "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches."'" (Revelations 3:20-22)

Andy Clark

United We Stand

“O magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together.” Psalms 34:3

It is through togetherness that we magnify and exalt the name of the Lord.  Jesus prayed in John 17:21-23, “That all of them (referring to us) may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you…. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me.” Jesus is calling us into the same oneness as He has with the Father. This is achieved because He has placed His glory or very nature in us. The result of this unity with Christ and with each other is that the world will see Jesus in us.

This unity was demonstrated in the early church. Acts 2:44 says, “All the believers were together and had everything in common.” The results were signs and wonders, they enjoyed the favor of all the people, and the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. (Acts 2:46-47) When Peter and John were threatened by the religious leadership, then released, Acts 4:24 and 31 says, “When they (the church) heard this, they raised their voices together in prayer to God…. After they prayed, the place they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.”

The early church’s ability not only to stand but also to prosper in the midst of adversity was born out of their relationship with the Father and each other. With the growing opposition we are facing in the world today, we cannot afford to walk and minister in isolation. We need to take heed to the example of Christ himself and the early church, which grew in the midst of intense persecution. Our ability to penetrate the darkness relies on our relationship with Christ and each other. Together we need to take on the forces of darkness.  When one part of the body suffers, we all suffer, and when one part rejoices, we all rejoice. We need to pray for one another, encourage one another, and work together.

In Ezekiel’s vision of the dry bones, the first prophetic word was that the bones were to come together so that flesh could come on to the bones. The second prophetic word was for breath to come into the bodies that they might live and become a vast army. I believe the prophetic word at this hour is that we come together in a greater way, believer with believer, church with church, until we impact our communities with the Gospel of Christ. It is only as a united body that we will stand and the glory of the Lord can be revealed through us to the nations.

“O magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together.”

Andy Clark

A New Season

In Exodus 16:1-3, the Israelites who have been miraculously delivered from Egypt are in the wilderness on their way to the Promised Land. They have been gone only two and a half months when they face their first big trial. They are running out of food in the wilderness. The first thing they do is remember what they had in Egypt. They were familiar with life in Egypt. They knew where to find food. Here they were in a new situation and had to believe God to provide in a new way. They were out of Egypt, but their thinking had not changed. God wants to move them from being slaves to being masters.

We often face new seasons in our lives. God wants to change our status, but first we have to change our thinking. Romans 12:2 says, “Be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”

When God wants to move you to a new place and you are fearful, think you are not worthy, or think in the old ways, you frustrate the Holy Spirit. The reason people stay on a certain level is because they think and act on that level. Maybe it is comfortable or feels secure. When God is changing your status, you are between two places, and that is where the challenges are. Moses went through the wilderness between Pharaoh’s house and delivering and leading the children of Israel. Do you think Moses ever looked back at the easy life he had in Pharaoh’s house?

There are growing pains when God changes your status. Your change in status may mean more service, greater responsibilities, and bigger challenges. It was not God’s plan for Israel to spend forty years in the wilderness. However, because of their old mindset of unbelief and rebellion, they failed to move into the promise God had for them. It was easier for them to wander their whole life in the wilderness than to take on the enemy by faith in God’s power and lay claim to what God had for them.

Isaiah 43:18-19 says, "Do not remember the former things, Nor consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing, now it shall spring forth; shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.” If you are in a place of change and possibly facing some challenges, spend some time with God and allow the Holy Spirit to give you insight and wisdom to enter into the new season God has for you.

Andy Clark

Gone Fishing

My parents were missionaries for thirty-five years. We would be on the field for four years and then come home for a year. While we were in the US, the organization with which they were affiliated would set up and itinerary of church where my father would speak for about six weeks in the fall and six weeks in the spring. When we were young, we would travel as a family, but as we got older and had to be in school, my father would travel by himself. Once when he was itinerating in the Northwest, he drove three hours up into the mountains to speak at a small church. When he arrived, the parking lot was empty and on the door was a note signed by the pastor which simply said, “Gone Fishing

In Luke 5 we read a story where Peter has been fishing all night, probably with his two brothers, James and John. In the morning while they are washing their nets Jesus arrives with a multitude, and he gets in Peter’s boat to teach the multitude on the shore. When Jesus is finished ministering, he does a strange thing by asking Peter to, "Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch." Peter objects because he has been fishing all night and caught nothing. He is a seasoned fisherman who has fished since his youth for a living. Jesus didn’t know anything about fishing, plus Peter was tired. Yet, Peter out of respect to Jesus, does what he is asked. The result was so many fish they were breaking his net and he had to call for help. Both boats were so full of fish that they were almost ready to sink. Amazing!

Jesus wanted to teach Peter, James, and John, and ourselves as well that He is the master of everything. We often relegate Jesus and the Holy Spirit who lives within us to spiritual things, such as preaching and teaching, prayer and worship, church and missions. We picture Jesus in a long robe, walking in sandals on dusty roads in ancient times. Somehow, he is out of step with the modern times in which we live. We have had the training and experience and know what we are doing in the work and business world. But Jesus wants us to invite him into our everyday life. He is a master at everything and is in fact light years ahead of us. The Holy Spirit who dwells within us 24/7 is a genius and wants to inspire, direct, and instruct us in every aspect of life, if we will simply take time to seek His face and be attentive to His voice in our everyday life.

Jesus says, “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light." (Matthew 11:29-30) A yoke is a posture of full submission to Christ. It is saying, “God you know what is best, and I will do things your way, even though sometimes it makes no sense to me.” It is being obedient to the Word even when it seems to flow contrary to modern thought, trends, and practices.

When the Holy Spirit comes and knocks on the door of your heart, don’t let Him find a sign that says, “Gone Fishing.” You will go home with empty nets.

Andy Clark