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Seeking (and Listening to) the Best Gift of All

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By Larry Short

During Pastor Martin’s sermon last Sunday, “Learn to Listen to the Spirit,” someone asked a great question: “How do we know it is the Spirit and not our inner self who is speaking into our mind?”

Our pastors both had very good responses to this question. Martin focused on John 10:27—“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.” If you are God’s, and He is speaking, you will recognize His leading. And Pastor Brian shared that the thing that is most important is that if what we share with people aligns with Scripture, wisdom, and God’s heart, we need not second-guess ourselves, but we can share in faith what is on our heart for others.

Danny Number One

Even as our pastors were sharing this, God was reminding me of what felt like a perfect example of these truths. At a prior church (and yes, this was a long time ago, when we were in our early 30s!), Darlene and I led a community group. There was a very interesting young man named Danny in our group, and he was really struggling. He was a former high priest in the Mormon church who, along with his wife, had come to know Jesus and had left Mormonism. But he was struggling with fear and obedience, and they struggled in their marriage. I was really burdened to try to help Danny, and during one corporate worship time, during one of the songs, rather than singing, I was praying and asking God, very specifically: “What are the keys to Danny? How can I help him?”

No sooner had I prayed this (silently), than an older gentleman whom I had a great deal of respect for, a man named Bob, leaned forward from where he was sitting behind me, put his hand on my shoulder, and whispered into my ear: “The keys to Danny are that he needs to put his fear away and be baptized, as well as humble himself before his wife and ask her forgiveness.” He then leaned back into his seat as a new song began and joined in the singing, smiling at me as I stared at him in astonishment.

To say that I was stunned was an understatement. I had just (silently) asked God a very specific question. And Bob had leaned forward and answered that question!

Afterward, I asked Bob how he knew what I was asking God. It seemed to me he had somehow received a message from God, right? How did that happen?

Bob just shrugged as he replied, “I don’t know. I just felt burdened about Danny and was praying for him. I knew you led the group he’s in, so I thought I’d share my conviction about what needs to happen in his life.”

From Bob’s perspective, this was his own (prayerful) thought process. But to me, it was clearly a word from God, reminiscent of Christ’s comment to Nathanael:

Nathanael said to him, “How do you know me?” Jesus answered him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” (John 1:48)

Nathanael was astonished because he had thought that whatever happened under the fig tree was just between him and God. So Jesus’s window into that event had a profound effect on his life, just as Bob’s window into my heart impacted me deeply.

Spooky, for me! But to Bob, of course, it was no big deal—just sharing his thoughts. Regardless, I followed up on that word from God (through Bob). I felt a great sense of urgency to speak to Danny, but the only number I had for him was an office number, and he didn’t start until at least 8 or 9 the next morning. But at about 4 a.m. I gave up trying to sleep and decided to call his office number just to do something.

I was astonished when Danny answered, and he also sounded very surprised. It “just so happens” that he, too, was unable to sleep, and felt compelled for some reason to come into work hours earlier than usual. As he walked in the door about 4 a.m., his desk phone was ringing. Danny was therefore in a strong position to pay careful attention to the urgent message I had to share.

So I shared with Danny what Bob had said: that he needed to put his fear away and obey God in believer’s baptism, as well as to humble himself and ask his wife’s forgiveness. Both were hard things to ask him, he admitted. He agreed to be baptized (I baptized him myself in a backyard pool, a few weeks later), and said he’d think about the other. But, sadly, he never humbled himself to ask his wife’s forgiveness. Ultimately, his marriage failed.

Danny, Take Two (and this one is a much happier story!)

Several times Martin has shared that story (which he shared Sunday during his message) about me giving a word to Pastor Dan Atwood and the confirmation Dan took from my comment that helped him recognize that God was calling him to Faith Community Church. Each time Martin shares it, I feel vaguely embarrassed. I recall the incident, but truthfully, I don’t remember exactly what I said to Dan. And this is because, to me, it didn’t seem like a big deal at the time, like it was some sort of “spooky” prophetic event. Instead, it was simply a thought I had, as I prayed for Dan, which I felt compelled to share. But then God somehow used my Bob-like thought process for His own purposes (for which I am deeply grateful!).

I think many times it happens just like this. Jesus urges us to seek the good gift of being filled with the Holy Spirit (Luke 11:13). I’ve been challenged to start each day by asking, pleading, “God, I certainly don’t deserve this, and it even scares me a little, but please give me Your Gift today. In accordance with Your promise, please fill me with Your Holy Spirit!” God knows I need this. And my conviction is that it isn’t until we are filled with the Holy Spirit that God can then use us to convey His message to others.

Will we be aware of this? Will the message be easily distinguishable as our words versus God’s words? Not in my experience. But, as Pastor Brian shared, this is once again a matter of trust. And trust is rarely clear or easy. But if we are willing to spend time with God, learn to hear His voice, ask to be filled with His Holy Spirit (daily!), and then share our convictions in accordance with His Word and heart, in faith, I believe we will be used by God—whether we know it or not!

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Hospitality Revisited

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by Brian Waple

I’ve been thinking about hospitality and asking myself, Am I a hospitable person? And, what could God be calling me to so that I would be more hospitable? What does that look like? My brother-in-law is a very hospitable person, and I’ve tried to be more like him in that area. In addition to opening his home to his congregation (he’s a pastor), he engages in a form of hospitality that I’ve tried to embrace. It looks like this: You go into a shop, or a restaurant, or a drive-up window, or whatever. Normally, there is a person there to help you, serve you, or wait on you. They might be a cashier. If you look, they usually have a light-colored name tag with their name in dark letters: Bob, or Mary, or Cindy, or Dylan. We don’t always take the time to look at the name tag because we’re too involved in what we’re doing, we’re too busy talking with our friends, or we just don’t care. But, how difficult would it be to take notice and let them know that in being noticed, you value them as a person? Call them by their name and they feel valued. And, isn’t that also part of what being hospitable means? I think you learn to be hospitable by being a hospitable person. No one should have to show you how that works. I have found that when you show interest in others, they are more likely to be willing to show an interest in being with and helping you. And, isn’t that how developing relationships start? Isn’t that how opening ourselves and being hospitable to others starts?

I’ve also come to believe that even if we don’t agree with what some people say, how they act, or what they do, everyone deserves to be acknowledged. Now, this doesn’t mean that we make them our best friends or that we agree with how they live or what they say or do, but we acknowledge them and show them that we respect them as people because they are, after all, God’s creatures. Now, I’ll be honest, I’m the first to admit I struggle with this. But, if we’re called to be hospitable people, how can we not be willing to acknowledge those we may find difficult? There’s that wonderful passage in Matthew:

Then the King will say to those on his right, “Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.” Then these righteous ones will reply, “Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?” And the King will say, “I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!” (Matthew 25:34–40, NLT [my italics])

So, being hospitable doesn’t take a lot of effort. It can be as simple as addressing the next person who helps you or serves you or waits on you by their name. This shows them that you value them as a person. And it helps us learn to be the hospitable Body God is calling us to be.

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Hospitality 101

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by Jeff Foerster

Biblical hospitality is a posture and practice of being with people, friends and strangers, in ways where they feel welcomed, included, accepted, and cared for.

I like the idea of hospitality; I really do. I get a picture in my mind’s eye of my role as host, welcoming guests and providing food, activity, or both. I see conversation, smiles, maybe laughter, and generally an overall enjoyable time. I want to be seen as a good host—to be liked, respected.

But hospitality is more than an activity to serve my purposes; it emanates from the character of God Himself. When we engage in hospitality toward others, we make known a taste of the character of God Almighty. In it we offer cool water to parched lips, shade from scorching sun, relationship in a world of increasing isolation.

There is a desire within each of us to be known and, at that moment of intimacy, to be accepted, valued. Hospitality is an invitation and an opportunity to usher others into the presence of God through our demonstrated interest and kindness. We act as representatives of our Father, by His design.

I hope the following questions incite curiosity and continued conversation:

Have I been able to experience the hospitality of God?

What is the heart of hospitality?

What is it that prevents me from exhibiting hospitality? From desiring hospitality?

Where does one begin practicing hospitality?

What am I willing to sacrifice in order to make hospitality a priority?

More than anything else, I want to leave you with one nugget of understanding. Hospitality originates not in asking, “What would Jesus DO?” Rather, we ask, “How would Jesus BE?” This is not another task to pile onto an overcrowded plate. It begins with an attitude of submission to God and a heart developing to see the depth of need for others to be known and the depth of desire Jesus had, facing the cross, to bridge the gap between His Father and a hurting world.

May we pick up that torch that burned in His heart, putting to death the desires of the flesh, and may we take risks and make sacrifices to know others and make Him known!

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I Don’t See That!

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By Brian Sharpe, Senior Associate Pastor

I have gone to the gym a lot in my adult life. Most of this time has been spent playing basketball. I have seen a lot of guys play basketball and I have played against a lot of different people. I will always remember one guy. He had the right shoes, shorts, and shirt. He wore a sleeve on his arm and a headband like NBA players. He had all the right gear and the confidence that went with someone who could play basketball well. The problem was he was not good at basketball. Not good at all! People would wait out games so that they wouldn’t have to play with him.

I once tried to talk to him and help him be a better team player, but he wanted nothing to do with me. He knew how to play and didn’t want to hear from anyone. I felt so bad for this guy because he was so unaware. He didn’t want help.

I want to be a person who is known for listening to my mentors. I want to be known as someone who is willing to learn from my mistakes. Humility, self-control, and meekness are things that God wants to be part of the outworking of our faith. As He changes our inner being, our interactions with others will change.

We all have blind spots we are unaware of, and if we don’t surround ourselves with people we can hear from, we will never know what these blind spots are. The hard part is giving people the freedom to speak into our blind spots. God calls us to be meek. The word meek carries the idea of a horse that has been broken. The horse is powerful but is under control.

God has called us to be people who are under control. One of the ways we are under control is if we are allowing the Spirit of God through circumstance, spiritual mentors, and friends to point out these blind spots, and we are willing to deal with them.

I find that people want to know about their blind spots, but they aren’t sure what to do with what they now know. Most people are moved to inaction. Change is hard! But we all must change. We all must allow our blind spots to be pointed out. If we don’t, then our growth will be stunted.

Do you have a or Paul or Barnabas in your life, people you allow to point out your blind spots? When they do point out bind spots, are you willing to listen to them? Are you willing to act on them? Trust is shown by one’s ability to act on advice given. I think a lot of us say we trust, but our actions say otherwise.

My prayer for me and you is that we would trust those whom God has placed in our lives, that we would be open to learning about our blind spots and be moved to action instead of complacency.

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A Great Evangelist

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By Dan Amos

After Billy Graham died, my wife posted, “Can’t we all hear it? ‘Well done, good and faithful servant.'” I did a search on the reference to the parable of the servants in Matthew 25 and the results linked to many stories about Reverend Graham. He was a star of the evangelical Christian world, a man of good repute. We can easily imagine his homecoming, with Jesus waiting to welcome him.

The referenced parable has a couple of challenges for us. In the parable, Jesus told of servants being given varying amounts of responsibility and the servants carrying them out with varying levels of effort. Two served their master well and were diligent. One did not really like his master and chose to sit on what was given to him and do nothing. The first two were praised and rewarded. The third was chastised and cast out from the master’s presence.

Rev. Graham was reported as wondering why God had given him the ministry he did. We can easily equate him to the first servant who was given the most and produced a great return for the master. In terms of ministry, you may feel like you were given talents, gifts, ministry—or whatever you want to call it—more in line with the second or third servants. They may be smaller in human terms, but they are important to the master. Rev. Graham’s ministry was propelled by the Holy Spirit; the results are the Spirit’s work, just as any spiritual production of which we might be part. Our role is to be faithful in what we’ve been given and leave the results to God.

In the parable, the third servant is characterized differently than the first two. The third servant was critical of the master. He did not serve him with his whole heart. Indifferent or apathetic service, just going through the motions, is not service to the master but an outward show that doesn’t match an inward conviction. In this case, Jesus says the heart attitude is exposed and the servant is not truly a servant, is not saved, and will not be welcomed into the Master’s home. The faithless servant will see no reward and will spend eternity with all others lacking faith.

In part, the parable’s servants are judged by the results of their faith and rewarded accordingly. They are also judged on their faith. This judgment of faith is yes or no. Rev. Graham’s simple message straight from the Bible is we are all sinners and we all need the Savior. Billy knelt as a teenager and confessed his sin to Jesus. Jesus’s blood spilled 2,000 years earlier remains just as powerful then as it does today and has covered Billy’s sins and mine. Regardless of the things he achieved, the Father can only see Billy as righteous through the blood of Christ. That is the simple, enduring, and only way to salvation.

 

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