Get Off Your Lazy Ass and Do Something About It!

ASK, SEEK and KNOCK

Let me start off by saying this may not have been the best title for our ministry blog.  After laying in a conscious dreaming state of mind, I carved out some time this morning for self reflection.  Actually, I naturally focused on loved ones at first and then as usual the proverbial finger came flying back at myself.  Let's face it, the Bible teaches us that prayer is less about changing other people and more about changing ourselves.  With this revelation applied carefully to my real life application, it was soon directed back towards yours truly.  That's exactly what I deserved this morning considering the wise words of our Savior, "He without sin, cast the first stone."

Let's preface that this is not intended to sound condescending or be a speech given from an elevated higher position.  Our written account is merely a regurgitation conversation I had previously with myself.  Perhaps one day (if it's not today), the future you will speak to the present you with a spiritual motivation and a conviction that will propel you into Biblical success.

"Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for.  Keep on seeking, and you will find.  Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you."

This is very complicated passage for some because without fail we are earnestly ASKing by way of either prayer, pleading or petition and not noticeably receiving our answers.  Let's dive in a little closer and see what God may be saying here.  Let's imagine for a second that these three actions coupled together are the correct formula for an answer.  ASK, SEEK and then KNOCK!  This reminds me of when Elisha visited the widow who was about to have her two sons taken as slaves.  He told her to do three things which served as an exercise of her faith.  It's easy to conclude you don't have what you need to solve your problems.  The Apostles when presented the task of feeding five thousand men and their families we're asked by Jesus, "what do you have?"  Their reply to Jesus was very similar to the widows response to Elisha when asked the same question, "Nothing." After some reflection, a little boy's lunch was offered to Jesus and the widow recalled having a jar of olive oil to Elisha.  In both of these accounts, the first lesson to understand is that you must give God something to work with.  Maybe we can all become more like Jesus who decided to thank God for what He did have rather than focusing on what He didn't have.

Secondly, we consider the available resources at our disposal in relation to our expectation of God's presence in our situation.  The widow was instructed to gather as many empty jars as she could from her friends, family, neighbors and her community. Today we would refer to that as our "sphere of influence."  The man of God reiterated, "Don't ASK for just a few."  The Apostles on the shore were also instructed to ASK the hungry men to sit in sections of 50 or 100.  This "call to order" math based on 5,000 is 100 sections of 50 men or 50 sections of 100 men which potentially serves as a supernatural correlation with the 150 Psalms.  Either way, after understanding that we're unable to be the miracle someone else needs without God's help, it all falls into perspective.  You need to give God something to work with and then have an expectation of the coming blessing in your preparation.  Another example is how Noah didn't wait for it to start raining before he began building the boat.  The boats construction took place 100 years before the flood no where near a body of water.

The third and final element of this proposed "answered prayer formula" is to close the door behind you.  When Noah had accepted and "called to order" the animals that we have been given dominion over, the Bible says that the LORD closed the door behind them.  God was upset with what the "free will world" had become and decided to completely close that door and never look back.  Elisha instructed the widow to "close the door behind you" so the olive oil (often representing the Holy Spirit) can continue to flow until the last remaining empty vessel is filled to the brim.  What do are we supposed to close in our life so that another one may be open in Jesus name?

We have too many people in our society today that would rather paint themselves as a 1st world victim rather than the blood of Christ.  If you live in America for example, I doesn't matter if you're in a section 8 housing project, on food stamps, welfare or imprisoned in the penitentiary, our living conditions are better than a majority of the human beings we share this planet with.  Don't be so quick to discount your prayers as being unanswered.  Maybe your prayer was answered with an opportunity that presented itself.  What if you never pursued that opportunity and it past you by?  A wise man once told me, "an opportunity of a lifetime only last the lifetime of the opportunity."  Once you ASK, you must SEEK until you find that door to the opportunity.  While standing close enough to see the door,  you have definitely come to far to not knock on it.  My friends, KNOCK on it, KNOCK on it and keep on KNOCKing on the damn thing until it's answered!!! 

Another word to the wise would be a word of caution, please slow down in getting caught up with the affairs of civilian life.  There's truly no reward for winning or losing.  If you want the eternal victory that Christ has already claimed for us, it doesn't cost a dime and we're all brothers and sisters in that Kingdom to come.  If you want to have a fruitful relationship with Christ here on earth and step into the promises that He already has for your life, "Get off your lazy ass and do something about it."  If you're looking to better your situation and shake off the generational curse that has chained our way of thinking down, "Get off of your lazy ass and do something about it."  A famous body builder who used to be my pastor once told me, "Until you're doing everything you know that you should be doing and NOT doing the things that you know you should not be doing, you don't need help, you just have a discipline problem."  So true Pastor Tad!!!

 "You have to say what you see so you can see what you say." 

-Pastor Ronald Robey

WHY Kingdom Ministries 

WHYKingdom.com

Father's Day Enlistment

This Father's Day I've been reflecting on our Father and what He must be saying during these challenging times on earth.  Would it be fair to say the Lord of lords and King of kings could also be considered to be the Father of fathers?  The author of Hebrews referred to God as the Father of our spirit in addition to the prophet Malachi raising the rhetorical question of us all being children of the same Father.  With this being said how do we serve our Father in a way that pleases Him?  I strongly believe that we need to enlist ourselves into the LORD's Army.

This is interesting when you think about what's going on in our communities and our country right now from the pandemic virus to the inequality protests of social injustice.  What do you imagine the Almighty is saying right now?  I'm not the spokesperson for the world but I can however speak for myself when I tell you that He's calling out the Warriors and soldiers to enlist.  The transition of the earthly man into the Kingdom man would be similar to a "basic training" which should harvest obedience, discernment and discipline. Next we should develop an ear to hear and the faith to put His commandments into action.

The apostle Paul instructed Timothy to endure suffering along with him, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus.  Later he explained that soldiers should not get tied up in the affairs of civilian life, for then they cannot please the officer who enlisted them.  Since the victory has already been won for those set apart and destined for His Kingdom, how does that effect our temporal situations? It almost parallels with Joshua while he was on his way to the promise land with the people Israel and the mixed multitude of foreign rabble.  The promise land was also extended to the Egyptians who chose to follow God instead of continuing to worship the inferior Egyptian gods or the Pharaoh which ruled the land. Simply put, following God and accepting His free gift is a choice that we have to make but He will in fact demonstrate His immeasurable power whether you choose Him or not.

After circumcising a nation and crossing with the Ark over the Jordan, Joshua came upon the Commander of the Lord's Army. This is very similar to the angel of the LORD that finally got Balaam's attention while riding his speaking donkey. Joshua however posed one of the most interesting questions that still consumes my thoughts today.  "Are you a friend or foe?"  This demand made total sense when it's put in the proper context but what was the response of the LORD's army commander?  He replied, "Neither one" and stated that he was "the commander of the LORD's army."  Upon hearing this, Joshua fell with his face to the ground in reverence saying, "I'm at your command, what do you want your servant to do?"  This is very interesting when you think about what's going on today in the world we live in.

It's natural to take sides on issues, debate beliefs and voice our disagreements.  When you reach a stalemate and neither side can be convinced, the discussion usually relocates into a secular courtroom where non-believers can settle disputes before an appointed judge.  As believers, we are instructed to take our matters before other believers with God having the final verdict on appeals.  Let's just throw it out there and stop beating around the bush...... What if we asked God to choose a side on the racial inequality and social injustice problem we have in America.  Furthermore, what if His decision on the issues we face today is take neither side? Knowing my master personally and studying the treatment of his people set apart for His glory makes you raise an eyebrow.  How could he allow His chosen people to go through 400 years of slavery and not step in and do something about it?  Just before the Exodus from Egypt the work actually became increasingly harder as the Israelite's had to also find the straw to make their bricks while keeping the same quota. Does God want things to get worse before they get better or is there a deeper revelation to be understood?

The generational curse of not acting on the promises God has for His people effected every single person freed from slavery and led to the wilderness.  Because of their unbelief and unwillingness to follow His lead, the Israelite's turned an 11 day journey into a 40 year pilgrimage.  This provoked God's anger to announce that they all must die and not one person alive will step into his promised land.  Because of God's love for His servant Moses, he did allow him to see it from a distance from a far away mountain top just before his death.  The entire generation however died without ever seeing it or stepping foot in it due to failing to take action based on God's word.  It then became the next generations chance under the direction of Joshua to enter the promised land God had set aside for His people.

Are we making decisions right now that is cursing our generation?  Does our generation have to die off before the next generation can see God's promises come to pass?  Is our God standing silent while men and women are crying out to Him with their issues?  Are those issues considered to be "civilian issues" that do not exist in the new earth and new heaven our Lord has prepared for us?  Only God knows these things but I just wanted to drop you a line today to encourage you to listen to the "still silent voice" and educate yourselves.  He will speak if you have an ear to hear.  -Amen

Domesticated in the Name of Jesus!

     This morning I woke up with a list of things to do which included cleaning the fish we caught the night before.  After pouring a custom Starbucks quality coffee in my cup, I went out on our back deck and proceeded to size up these tasks.  Gus (our senior citizen dog) came along for the fresh air as I opened up the ice filled cooler.  It was full of fish ready for the knife and as I looked over at Gus, he had the biggest smile on his face.  I then glanced back at the fish and shared a victorious smile with Mr. Gustavo.  This was a moment of reflection for me as I became submerged into deep thought.

     Obviously our dog wouldn't know what to do with a fish unless it wasn't processed into dog food and placed in his bowl.  In fact, if he were to be relocated out in the wild and was forced to fend for himself, the pour guy wouldn't make it.  This got me thinking about myself and if I was transplanted into a primitive situation, would I have the survival skills to sustain life.  This past weekend we took the family on a camping trip, ate wood fired food and slept in tents but it was only for a few days.  Embarrassingly I mustered up the strength to complain about the air mattress and fishing arrangements.

     There's less than a one percent DNA difference between everyone who has ever has, is and will live on this earth.  With that being said a question is presented, "Have I become domesticated like this dog?"  

     It's natural to compare yourself to other people and although they look like me, there's often a huge difference.  It's kinda like the side by side comparison of a dog and a wolf.  You'll also find less than a one percent difference between a dog and a wolf while they are very different in behavioral aspects.  Let's explore these creations and see if God is saying something here.

1.  The wolf matures considerable faster than the dog and can process or digest more food.  The wolf can break up and hold between 10 to 20 pounds of raw meat as the dog usually has a cup in the morning and a cup in the afternoon.

2.  A dog can breed several times a year as the wolf only breeds once between February and mid March.  These wolf pups are born between April and May which interestingly coincides with our resurrection celebration.  For those who do not know, Easter is the first full moon after March 21st and the Sunday that follows it.  Lastly, the dog is solely dependent on it's mother as the wolf is supported with a mother and father system.

3.  A dog will learn to obey commands like "sit and stay" to receive a treat as where a wolf has the ability and would rather get it's own food.  Another interesting point experts have discovered is that a dog will not share it's food as the wolf will wait until it's pack can join in on the feast.

This was very interesting to me as the Bible clearly informs us that there should be a difference between a Christian and a non-believer.  Unfortunately, we witness many times our brothers and sisters are disguised so well that you're unable to tell them apart from unbelievers.  In fact the sad thing is, I'm thinking about myself and wondering if I'm lacking to make an impact for the Kingdom.  Let's look at ways to put our faith in action and bring God's supernatural in our lives.

1.  Can you break down and process spiritual food or are you still living on the milk of the word?  Do you constantly need to be entertained and led to Christ through music, talented teachers and videos? Are you a Sunday only Christian? Do you spend time praying and living the Word and reflect the biblical values in your life? When I compare a former me from years ago, does my life illustrate GROWTH. Being fully transparent, I have thought about what Church we will be attending on Sunday and debate with myself. The worship is awesome here or there, this one the preacher is boring, this other one is just goes on too long.  What makes us choose a particular place of worship?

     Let's reflect on Acts:2:42-47 to be exact. They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching AND to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. They learned what God said as they sat together to share a meal. They reasoned with one another, prayed for one another and bore one another's burdens. They sold all they owned to care for one another much like the example given in the wolf pack.  They never left anyone behind like Christ taught about the one sheep missing from the 99. Where is that today? Some churches do get this right in some aspects with "home groups" and allow their members to "share the meat" through fellowship.

2.  Am I being the father that my children need?  Do I resemble the qualities that our Heavenly Father has installed for a man of God?  A percentage of our society has become poverty stricken from single moms struggling on their own. Much as the female dogs raises the pups on her own, our men are not taking their place in their families either.  Where have we lost our way here? We need to raise up men who lead the way for their pack like it says in Titus 2.  Men, let's set an example for the younger men and hold each other accountable.  Galatians 6:1-2 "Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ."

3.  Are we stewarding our blessings with a Kingdom mindset or trying to "get all we can, can all we get and sit on our can"? Are you sharing your "Food" with others? Are we a replica of Christ as He is a great example of a selfless servant leader?

     With this enlightenment, I wonder how many Christians could survive without having their spiritual food spoon fed to them.  What I mean is, if you took away everything including your Bible, could you still have a relationship with the Lord?  Much like the wolf and the dog, is there a difference between you and a non-believer? Have we become spiritually domesticated and have lost the ability to survive on our own? My thought is we have gotten so far away from New Testament Church living that this would be very difficult for most of us.  I'm not talking about "you," I'm referring to "us."  With all of the scriptures that we have memorized, are we confident that we could return to an Acts way of living.  Can I look at my walk and say that through prayer and listening to the Holy Spirit I could be lead without my Bible? That's certainly a good goal to set for ourselves.

     Brother Lawrence from 'The Practice of the Presence of God' wrote: "There is not in the world a kind of life more sweet and delightful, than that of a continual conversation with God; those only can comprehend it who practice and experience it." I want that. To elaborate a bit further, I witnessed during my trip to prison last year a brother who wanted a relationship with God like Moses.  Brother Perry wanted his face to shine so bright from being in His presence that he would need to be veiled from the people.  This man of God became a mentor of mine as now a year later I continue to challenge myself, my family and you. I believe that each of us in the body of Christ can make a difference towards a GREAT spiritual awakening. Beloved, it is time for such as time as this. You were brought to this place for a purpose!

 May the Lord bless you, keep you and be glorified through our faith in action.