Christian Living
Kill Our Own Agenda
Why won’t we unify together? Why won’t we work the work of Christ in unison? God requires his body to work together for in unity lie much power. II Chronicles 20:2-22 tells us of a story about the children of Moab, Ammon and others came against King Jehoshaphat to fight a battle. When word was brought to King Jehoshaphat who was the leader he being fearful sought the Lord and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. He was a King and could have called multitudes of soldiers to do battle with them but he chose instead to go to God first. They then came together and asked help of the Lord. King, no one of the cupbearers! No the King himself humbled himself before God and led the people in prayer. Yes I said the leader prayed! We must be careful of the leaders we choose to lead us. He reminded God of who He was and had been in their lives. He sought not his own agenda but God’s.
II Chronicles 20:17 ye shall not need to fight iin this battle; set yourselves, stand ye still and see the salvation of the Lord with you, O Judah and Jerusalem; fear not, nor be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them for the Lord will be with you. Jehoshaphat bowed his head first with his face to the ground and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell before the Lord and worshipped Him. There is power in unity. A strong leader realizes this! The people after worshipping God praised Him with a loud voice. Watch out for leaders that won’t make no noise. They rose early in the morning and went forth to the battle. Jehoshaphat told them believe in the Lord your God, so shall ye be established; believe his Prophets so shall ye prosper. After consulting with the people he appointed singers unto the Lord to sing praises in the beauty of holiness. Anybody can’t reach God!
God is concerned! What is God concerned about? What should we as the people of God be concerned about? Why is it so important for us to be concerned about what is important to God? As they sang and praise the Lord God moved in their behalf; he set ambushments against the children of Moab, Ammon and mount Seir which had come against Judah and they were killed. They ended up going against one another instead of their original target. God confused them and they defeated themselves because Judah had a leader that had weapons of warfare within and knew how to use them. He put aside every other agenda he himself had. We as the people of God come with what we think or the way we think things ought to be or go. God gives leaders and leaders are to be followed as they follow Christ and the Word. Worship is a weapon and praise is a weapon
In St. Luke 10:1-7 Jesus is sending out seventy men He has appointed (not called as the disciples were) to go out into the harvest and giving them instructions as to how they are to go out and what for. In the previous chapter Jesus had called his twelve disciples together and gave them power and authority over all devils and to cure diseases. He sent them to preach the Kingdom of God and to heal the sick. They were told to take nothing for their journey neither staves, nor scrip, neither bread, neither money; neither have two coats apiece. He told them that whosoever house they enter in; abide there and thence depart but whosoever does not receive them when they go out of that city shake off the very dust from your feet for a testimony against them.
God is concerned about what He has told us to do and if we are doing it or not, if we are doing it the way he said do it and if we are using the power and authority given us in the right way. God is concerned about how we hear and obey. He is concerned about the mindset of his people. He is concerned about the power He has invested in us; how we use it. He is concerned about what we believe and if we understand (get wisdom, get knowledge, but in all thy getting; get understanding) the instructions given us in his Word. He is concerned about how we entreat people (love thy neighbor as thyself) and how we portray Him to them in our speech and living.
He found them not really believing what He had told them. When the woman with the issue of blood touched him and was healed they said there was a multitude no one in particular touched you; they didn’t believe that he actually knew someone special had touched him (the woman’s faith moved him) because everyone denied touching him. They doubted his intellect to know the difference. He felt the virtue go out of him, Luke 8:43-46. God is concerned about what we think of him. God is concerned about our lack of attention to Him, His Works, and His Word.
Jesus gave his disciples power but they were found to be powerless Luke 9:38-43. Why could they not rebuke the devil out of the man’s son that had taken a spirit into him that tore him so that he foamed at the mouth and bruised himself? The man was concerned seeing that these men followed Jesus that had all power and yet they lacked having power to heal. If we say we are Christ’s then we too have power to cast out demons so why is the world so rampant with sin? Has it been found that the Church is powerless against sin? If the Church is praying and casting out demons in Jesus Name why then is sin so prevalent in the world? Jesus called the demons out by name, not just Satan I rebuke thee. We must speak those things that are not as though they were. We must rebuke the Devil in Jesus’ Name and call it by its name.
He gave them instructions that they were to strictly follow but they were found negligent in their understanding of what He said and would not ask Luke 9:44-45. Many followers don’t really understand what the Word is saying and won’t ask. Many want it to mean what they want it to mean and will use the Word for their own personal gain or reasons. Many will even try to make their name great off of Christ suffering. Jesus told them to let these sayings sink down into your ears; for the Son of man shall be delivered into the hands of men. But they understood not this saying. Not only did they not understand they didn’t want it to be so although for this cause Jesus came into the world. How many times did he tell them this across the gospels? It was hid from them that they perceived it not; how many times do we pretend that we know what is being said or done and we really don’t? How many times have our non-perception and ignorance of a situation spiritually left us in dumb-dumb land for weeks? We must understand and be understood otherwise we can be thrown off track and not realize it.
Genesis 6:3 says that the Spirit of God doesn’t always strive with man but how much would we like Him to? We could not contain the Spirit of God dwelling with us 24/7; we are flesh and we would lose our minds; for then we would become heavenly minded. He found the disciples wandering in their minds as to who would be the greatest among them Luke 9: 46-48. These disciples went off into themselves and lost track of Jesus that was with them as they wondered these thoughts. Jesus perceiving the thoughts of their heart took a child and set him by him saying “whosoever shall receive this child in my name receives me and whosoever shall receive me receives him that sent me; for he that is least among you all, the same shall be great”.
Many times when the Pastor or leaders is teachings the people don’t understand what is being taught because they have not applied themselves to the proper study of the Word. They depend solely upon the Preacher preaching when there is usually not enough time or study even put into the study. We are negligent in the study of the Word and have at times led people astray. We study the Word yet in our study time the Spirit is taking a nap because of our insincere ways. One Scripture seven days a week can yield a different revelation because it depends on where we are at the time the Scripture is presented to us as to what is being revealed to us at that time. The Lord is my Shepherd means he is a healer to those that need healing. He is a deliverer of whatever we need him to deliver. He is the salvation of us all or he is my salvation. He is the Almighty or a mighty God. It all depends on who and what he needs to be at the time of us hearing the Word.
He found them compromising the gospel for traditions of men. Because they saw a man casting out a devil that did not walk with them it was assumed that he didn’t believe in Jesus Luke 9:49. Many times we discount who is among us because of reasons only God knows. This man went about his business doing a good work but yet there were they that only criticized him for doing what they could not do so they found fault. We have too many fault finders in Churches across the world. We the Church make many quick calls; we don’t know who God will send or who He will call to do a work. We run people off many times out of ignorance to the Spirit of God. We are sometime like the Scribes and Pharisees; if it’s not about us it’s not God. Everybody is not against us, sometime it’s God for us. Sometime God wants to move one way and because it’s not our way we kick against it. We don’t always know the way we take but we must trust God to lead us.
Jesus was making us as well as the disciples ready to meet the Lord. We must do as Jesus did make ready our faces to go where He leads us, do what He says and make the sacrifices needed to get the work of God done. We must make ready for Him, He is coming again to reign in the earth. We are in a state of preparation for the Master every day. Will we too be as the disciples and not receive him because He is not going the way we think he ought to go Luke 9:51-56? How many times do we offer God a way to do His bidding when He created it all? How can we tell God what He needs to do when He is Lord? The Lord of Lords and King of Kings! The disciples James and John saw that Jesus was set on going to Jerusalem and said to Him Lord will thou that we command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them, even as Elias did? But Jesus turned to them and said you know not what manner of spirit you are of. Satan makes a fool of us unbeknown to us. When we decide we will fix things rather than trust God to do it we over speak our mouths and fall out of God. The only problem is we don’t know we have fallen out with God. Isn’t it sad that we think we are alright only to find out that we are a mess? They had forgotten his purpose for coming. How many times have we gone somewhere to do something for the Lord and get so caught up in ourselves we forget our purpose for being there. Jesus had come not to destroy man’s lives but to save them.
If Jesus is here to meet us at a certain time for a particular purpose it is for that purpose only we should be there. It’s time to put aside our agenda and allow God’s perfect work to be done. We are not that important! Jesus will have him a people that will go but we must be ready to follow Luke 9: 57-62. Some say they will follow Jesus all the way only to find that the first little turmoil will make them change their minds. They aren’t really ready to make the sacrifices needed to bring Jesus to the sinner. We must be ready to put Him first in all things no matter how uncomfortable it makes us, how it breaks us, or what we have to give up for Him; He must be our first priority. Really all the things we put before Him is not that important anyway if we died at the time. Jesus said that no man having put his hands to the plough and look back is fit for the Kingdom of God. He said we are to go and preach the Kingdom of God!
Jesus appointed seventy others also sending them two by two before his face in every city and place whither he himself would come. He told them to pray that Lord of the harvest would send forth laborers into his harvest because the harvest truly is great but the laborers are few. He needed men to work the work of Christ for the Lord God. They would be sent as lambs among wolves but they must yet go their way. He told them the same as the disciples before them to take no purse, nor scrip, nor shoes, and salute no man by the way. They too were told to speak peace before they went into a place. When we go on any job naturally or spiritually we must always speak peace before going in. If the Son of peace be there, our peace shall rest upon it, if not it shall turn to you again. The laborer is worthy of their hire except we are warned not to go from house to house. Never get comfortable in a place or make yourself common in that place; If you are not received in a place leave in the same peace in which you came.
Sometimes we are never celebrated but tolerated. We can never get tired of the insults, persecution, or ignorance of small minds but pray for the people guilty of the misconduct extended towards us. We will reap if we don’t faint. If the people hear us then they will hear God but if they despise us then they despise God that sent us forth as sheep for the slaughter. We must know that devils are subject to us through Jesus’ name. We must see Satan as God sees him; lightning falling from heaven. God has given us through Jesus Christ power to tread upon serpents and scorpions, over all the power of the enemy and nothing shall by any means hurt us. God is concerned about us; will we too be concerned about Him, us and our fellow man?
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