Staying Green

The abiding factor:

Ps 1:1-3

“Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper.

Abiding is a place of focus. The psalmist exhorts us not to walk, stand or sit with ungodly, sinners and the scornful. This does not just refer to the physical aspect but to where we have our attention or focus. If we are not careful, in the world of the media, we can put too much attention on that which is not spiritually healthy, whether it is TV, DVDs, CDs, the internet, or radio. It may not even be something evil but may affect our spiritual life. Even a preoccupation with the news can affect your vision and perception. We begin to see things as the world does and not as God does.

Staying green means remaining firmly planted and focused on what is of God.  Jesus established three important facts about staying green in John 15:5-8.

1. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit;

2. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered.

3. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be     done for you.

In our changing and deteriorating world it is critical that we keep our focus on Christ and His Word.

The trust factor:

"Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, and whose hope is the Lord.  For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, which spreads out its roots by the river, and will not fear when heat comes; but its leaf will be green, and will not be anxious in the year of drought, nor will cease from yielding fruit.” Jeremiah 17:7-8

I believe God is calling us as His people to shift our focus and trust totally in Him. God through Christ has made a way for us to stay green no matter what the situation is around us. God is calling us to sink our roots deep into His unchanging character and nature. Then you “will not fear when heat comes, you will not be anxious in the year of drought, and you will not cease from yielding fruit.” He is our all-sufficiency. May you stay ever green as you abide and trust in Him.

Andy Clark

Surprise!

Luke 1:26-33

“Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin's name was Mary. And having come in, the angel said to her,"Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!.... Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name JESUS. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end."

I know the announcement above was a huge, off-the-chart surprise to Mary, an unwed virgin from an unknown family of an unexpected village called Nazareth. In fact, the saying of the time was, “What good thing could come out of Nazareth?” But we serve a God of surprises, a God of the unexpected, who loves to do the impossible. 1 Corinthians 1:27-29 says, “But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh should glory in His presence.”

The hall of faith in Hebrews chapter eleven is a chapter full of surprises. God creates a world out of nothing, has a carpenter build a huge boat on dry land for a flood that would cover the earth, and chose a barren woman to be the mother of a people that would be as numerous as the stars of the heaven and sand on the seashore and through whom all the nations of the earth would be blessed.

If your life is kind of boring and mundane with no surprises, then you are not walking with the creative God of the unexpected. There are a few basic key elements to walking with the God of surprises. 1 Corinthians 2:9-10 says, “But as it is written: ‘Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.” But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God.”

These surprises are for those who love Him. This love is a commitment to God above all others and above all things. It means putting God first and trusting Him all the time, no matter what happens in our lives. Secondly, we have to be in tune to the Spirit because God reveals these surprises to us by His Spirit, and they are fulfilled as we walk in the Spirit and not according to the flesh. These surprises are birthed into our life by the Spirit and always fulfilled by the power of the Spirit. They are impossible for man to understand or to fulfill.

Are you ready for a surprise?

Andy Clark

Fellowship with the Father

1 John 1:3-4 “That which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. And these things we write to you that your joy may be full.”

The call of the Gospels is a call to relationship. While every religion in the world is a call to works and performance, the Gospel is a call to God. It is a call for us to abandon ourselves in our pursuit of knowing Him in every dimension. It is a call to a life-long and eternal adventure of discovering the greatness of the One who sustains all things by His World. John says the reason he recorded all that he has seen and heard and passed it on to us is that together we might have this amazing fellowship with the Father and with the Son, so that our joy may be full.

John goes on to explain that the only way we can have this amazing relationship with the Father is “walking in the light, as He is in the light.” Relationship with the Father requires total transparency. John said, “If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in darkness, we live a lie and do not live by the truth.” God does not expose our sin to condemn us but to free us from our sin in order that we may walk in the fullness of all He has for us.

In John chapter 14, Jesus talks about His relationship with the Father as an example to us of our relationship with the Father and the manifestation of that relationship. Jesus’ life was wrapped up in the Father. He told the disciples, “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father --- because I am in the Father and the Father is in me. The words that I say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing the work.”

Jesus is calling us to abandon our identity, which is so often tied to our appearance, our performance, or the affirmation of others. Jesus is calling us into a place of freedom and joy, where our identity is totally in the Father. Jesus goes on to explain that through the Holy Spirit living in us we can have this same relationship with the Father. Through the Holy Spirit, you have become one with the Father as Jesus is one with the Father, so that the words that you say and the work that you do is not your own but the Father living through you.

For the past several weeks I have been talking about raising our expectations of God. But those expectations and the fulfillment of those expectations lies in our relationship with the Father and our desire to bring glory to His name. “Truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. And these things we write to you that your joy may be full.” Allow the Holy Spirit to raise in you an awareness of the Father in your everyday life.

Andy Clark

Expect a Progressive Miracle

God is continuing to deal with me in this area of expectation. In his book The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, John Maxwell talks about the “The Law of the Lid” that states Leadership ability determines a person’s level of effectiveness. In other words, those who follow you cannot advance any farther than you, and therefore, you as a leader must constantly be developing yourself. The results of not developing yourself are that those who follow you become discouraged, complacent, or rebellious.

I believe there is a “law of the lid” in our expectation of God. Because of challenges and disappointments in life we lower our level of expectation, resulting in discouragement, complacency, or rebellion against God. God has no lid. He is limitless in every way. Yet, we allow circumstances to lower our expectation of Him.

The area that God has been dealing with me in is to clearly define my expectations of Him based on His Word and expect to see a progressive miracle in my life. Jesus said in Mark 11:22-24, "Have faith in God. For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be removed and be cast into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.”

In this verse we focus on the faith and speaking, but there is also the aspect of being specific in what we speak. When blind Bartimaeus cried out to Jesus until he had Jesus’ attention, Jesus asked him, “What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus knew what Bartimaeus needed but he wanted him to clearly articulate what he expected. In the same way, we need to clearly articulate to God what we expect from Him and be prepared to respond in obedience to what He tells us to do.

Like most things in life, restoration is often a process, a plan and a series of steps we must take. God’s miracles are often progressive because God desires to mature and develop us through the process. Expectation is what keeps us on track toward the goal. Expectation keeps us in the race and causes us to fight a good fight of faith to receive the prize that God has for us.

Do not let people and circumstances lower your expectation. Don’t spend your life wandering around the wilderness of mediocrity. Be willing to fight the good fight, take on the giants, armies, and walled cities to enter into the promises that God has for you. “He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it.” (I Thessalonians 5:24)

Andy Clark

Results of Expectation

1. Expectation causes us to seek God with persistence.

Psalms 123:2 “Behold, as the eyes of servants look unto the hand of their masters, and as the eyes of a maiden unto the hand of her mistress; so our eyes wait upon the Lord our God, until that he have mercy upon us.”

Matthew 7:7-8 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.”

Luke 15:8 “Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it?”

2. Expectation causes us to believe God fervently.

Matt 17:20 “For assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.”

Hebrews 11:6 “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.”

3. Expectation causes us to yield to God.

John 4:34 “Jesus said to them, ‘My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work.’”

The problem is that we want to bring God into the limitations of our lives. We expect God to do things in a certain way within the limitations of human thinking, understanding, and ability. We often want to maintain control. Do things our way. The only way to get out of our box into a limitless God is to totally yield to Him. When you get on a plane, you lose all control. If you are afraid to give up control, you will never fly.

Ephesians 3:20-21 says, “Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.”

Let God do far above or beyond what you could ask or think by the power that works in you.

Andy Clark

Expecting From God (part one)

What do you expect? As we go through life, challenges and disappointments can diminish our expectations. Part of the reason for disappointments we face is that our expectations are in the wrong place. Our expectations are in people and things of this world that often fail us rather than putting our full expectations on God and His word.

Hebrews 11:11 says, “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.” Sarah’s expectation was not focused on the promise but on the faithfulness of the One who had given the promise. Here are four areas of expectation that God spoke to me about:

1. EXPECT TO BE REWARDED AS YOU DILIGENTLY SEEK THE LORD. “God is a rewarded of them that diligently seek him.” (Hebrews 11:6). Are you in hot pursuit of God? Above the noise of the crowd blind Bartimaeus cried out to Jesus until Jesus heard and responded. How desperate are you for God to intervene in your life? Jesus exhorted us to ask, seek, and knock.

2. EXPECT TO SEE EVIDENCE OF A PROGRESSIVE MIRACLE IN YOUR LIFE.  “With God all things are possible.” (Mark 10:27)  We need to be clear in our expectation of God. Jesus asked blind Bartimaeus, “What do you want me to do for you?” What exactly do you want from God? Be responsive to what God asks you to do. Restoration is often a process, a plan. Step by step God’s work in us is a progressive work.

3. EXPECT GOD TO KEEP HIS PROMISES. 2 Corinthians 1:20-22

“For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us. Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and has anointed us is God, who also has sealed us and given us the Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.”

Num 23:19

"God is not a man, that He should lie,

Nor a son of man, that He should repent.

Has He said, and will He not do?

Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?”

4. EXPECT THE HOLY SPIRIT TO BE ALWAYS IN HIS TEMPLE. “Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit.” (1 Corinthians 6:19)

Jesus said, "If you love Me, keep My commandments. And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever — the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you”. (John 14:15-18)

Get into God’s word and allow the Holy Spirit to lead you in your expectations. Allow Him to pray through you and empower you to walk out the abundant life that God has for you.

Andy Clark

Look for part two of this teaching next week, Results of Expectation.

Orphan Heart

John 14:15-18

"If you love Me, keep My commandments. And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever —  the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.”

When I lived in Haiti, I had a missionary friend who took into his home an orphan boy off the street. Even though the refrigerator and cupboards in my friend’s home were full of food and there were three meals a day and food to snack on any time, this orphan boy would save part of his meals and hide them in different places in his home for fear the day would come that there would be no food.

We as Christians sometimes behave like this orphan boy. Even though we know as children of God we are joint heirs with Christ and everything that is God’s belong to us, we continue to have the heart, mind, and attitude of an orphan. We are independent-minded, self-made, self-reliant individuals who depend on our skills and abilities to make it through life. We strive for the praise, approval, and acceptance of others. Our lives revolve around personal achievement and success. When we fail, we become insecure, frustrated, fearful, discouraged or depressed.

But Jesus said that He would not leave us as orphans who are trying to make it on our own. He promised to send the Helper, the Holy Spirit, who would dwell in us and be with us 24/7 forever. The Holy Spirit is the fullness of God the creator who lives in us, loves us, and is there to aid us in every aspect of life. There is full joy, love, peace and acceptance in Him. His cupboards are full of everything we need for a godly, fulfilling life.

Romans 8:12-17 says, “Therefore, brethren, we are debtors — not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out,"Abba, Father." The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs — heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.”

In the midst of a world that has lost its identity, moral and spiritual bearings, we can walk with confidence in our identity in Christ. We have received the Spirit of adoption, which bears witness that we are children of God. Our security, success, and fulfillment are in Christ, the author of life. He wants to hang out with you today and be part of your everyday life. Rejoice, you are not on your own!

Andy Clark