A couple of weeks ago we were talking about our discipleship process and how, in the initial stages of ministry, our ministering is not primarily for others but rather for the development of ourselves. It takes a good bit of time before God takes us from a time in our lives which is focused on developing us versus to a time with is based primarily on using us in the lives of others. In other words, God is about building Christ in us. Over time, He changes His emphasis from the primary objective of building Christ in us (though He never finishes this in us in this life) to using us to build Christ in others. Our lives stop being so much about us and more about building others.

I just read a quote that got me thinking about this again from Miles Stanford: “But the believer who abides in the Lord Jesus as his righteousness and acceptance is freed from futile self-effort. Standing in his position, he trust Christ to manifest Himself increasingly in his life. He is FREE FROM THE BURDEN OF HIMSELF and has become BURDENED ON BEHALF OF OTHERS. God ‘hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation.’”

What a blessing to see the Lord develop us and make us able ministers of the gospel!

I liked this quotation from Miles J. Stanford because it speaks to those who want so much less from God than He is going to give them. It speaks to those who, in essence, are simply looking for Heaven on earth and will miss all that God has for them in this life if they do not allow Him to have His way in their lives.

“His relentless processing will discourage and baffle us if we simply want heaven when we die. But if we want what He wants, all that we are taken through, including the desert, will encourage us. Thus we will continue because we know that He ever continues to work in and through us that which He began and finished on our behalf in our Lord Jesus Christ.”

This is freedom from the pride that so often accompanies “success.” This is freedom from “failure” that so often accompanies our different expectations of results. This is huge. To get your heart out of outcome and onto Christ and Christ alone. This is huge.

Did I mention this is huge?

This idea is worthy of your next couple of days of meditation. What does this idea mean in your life today? In other words, define what your heart is desirous of? What should it be desirous of? Why is it skewed to allow your desires to flow outside of Christ?

Miles J. Stanford: “Are we to love and trust and respond to Him only when He seems to be “blessing” us? What sort of love is that? Self-love? Our Father strips everything away from time to time to give us the opportunity of loving and trusting and responding to Him just because He is our Father. He knows what the cross is going to mean in our lives; He knows the death march that lies ahead of us in order that there may be resurrection life; He knows the barren, bleeding hearts beyond to whom He must minister through us - Hence he is going to bring us to the place where we don’t care what happens: He is all that matters!”

This is such a wonderfully free place to be. And it is the freedom to which we are called. I remember hearing the story of some old saint from 80 years ago or so who was posed with the question as to what her preference would be in how to die if God asked her. She said, “Whatever pleases Him.” The poser of the question said, “Yes, but what if God’s response back to you was ‘It pleases me to give you your desire.’” The old saint said, “Well then, it is my desire that you decide for me.” ==> Freedom! The world has no hold. Your circumstances become so irrelevant with that mindset. There is such yielded holy power there.

It’s funny that every month for like the last three months when I come to Proverbs 11 and read verse 18 I get blessed.

“The wicked worketh a deceitful work: BUT TO HIM THAT SOWETH RIGHTEOUSNESS SHALL BE A SURE REWARD.”
The reason I personally get blessed so much by this is that God has made promises to us that have not yet been fulfilled. As time goes by you wonder what is going on and are tempted to doubt. As I have come across this verse each month it becomes apparent that “Yes, this is a SURE thing.” And not only is this promise a sure thing but to anyone who “sows righteousness” will receive a “sure reward.

Ever wonder if there is any point for you to do right? I mean, up to this point, it seems as though there has been no benefit whatsoever. . .Well, here are a couple things to consider that are totally key:

1. WHAT ARE YOU AIMING AT???  If you are focused on getting the right results from your actions, you are focused on the wrong thing. We don’t do to get. We do because Christ is worthy. We do because we love Him. And if there is absolutely nothing in it for us then WE DON’T EVEN CARE because He is so worthy of our all.
2. ARE YOU LIVING CHRIST’S LIFE??? It is very likely that the reason you have not seen the results you are looking for up to this point is because God is wanting to kill your pursuit for your objectives and teach you to die to you so that you can truly live. In other words, while you are living for you, you are totally dead to Him. In order to be alive, you need to be set free from you. “Reckon yourself dead…”

Focus on these two things today.  Another word for this is “abiding.”  And, by the way, that is where the fruit is.

“Let us take care lest we get out of soul-rest in seeking further blessing. God cannot work whilst we are anxious, even about our spiritual experience. Let us take Him at His Word, and leave the fulfillment of it to Him.”

I like this quotation from the Green Letters of Miles J. Stanford so much because it conveys the anguish of soul so often yielded to in the Christian life. A huge lesson in life is learning to trust Him in OUR CURRENT STATE and RELAX.

Stop fretting against the Lord and His provision for your life. Peace is what characterizes the Spirit of God. - Remember the fruit of the Spirit? - Love, joy, peace, longsuffering (patience), gentleness, goodness, meekness, faith, temperance. If ANY of these is not true of your current condition THEN YOU ARE NOT ABIDING! Sit back down, turn it back over the Lord, and stand up free in God’s Spirit. - What a blessing to be free!

For those of you at our College group yesterday, were you able to write down which book, Genesis thru Joshua, corresponded with where your life was?

If you are living in the book of Numbers, feeling as if you are getting no where in your walk, then remember what had to happen to the Israelites before they could leave their wilderness experience. . .They had to die! As believers we must reckon ourselves dead to us and to sin and at the same time see ourselves alive unto God through Jesus Christ. This is the ONLY way to move toward the Promised Land God has planned for you.

If you are living in Deuteronomy and have already made your way out of the wilderness of SELF, then remember this time of preparation you are in. Deuteronomy means “the law again.” You see, they had already been given the law in the Book of Exodus. But because they had been wandering in the wilderness for so long, they needed to be refreshed in God’s covenant with them. For Christians to get beyond Deuteronomy into Joshua we must prepare ourselves to do so. We MUST be true disciples of Jesus Christ. We must be PREPARED for God’s purposes. This requires discipling mentors in our lives, Pauls that we follow as they follow Christ. One way to begin this process is to sign up for Directions, Jeff Adams’ new Bible study accountability tool. This engages you with those furthur down the road than yourself and also helps establish you in the right frame of faith and knowledge. You begin to learn to stand upon WHO YOU ARE already as a Christian.