The Father's Order
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The Father sees order where we see chaos
The Father sees order where we see chaos
This week the message is based around the Father’s heart for you. Specifically this week I feel the Father inviting us to allow our hearts to be open to His move, even if it is unfamiliar, or challenging to our status quo.
By looking at a few contemporary examples, as recent as this week, and the way that Jesus called and challenged his disciples, we will have an opportunity to say Yes to God, no matter what.
Carolyn and I have had an interesting week.
The water didn’t break. We went to the hospital last sunday thinking it was time. It wasn’t. Thinking that she would get to release August, and be free from some of the discomfort that comes with being pregnant was an exciting prospect, but alas, it wasn’t actually God’s timing, no matter how much we wanted it to be.
Then our water DID break, in our cieling in the basement.
The Lord spoke to me that what we were experiencing has a Supernatural element.
What God wants to do will involve more flow than our little pipes can handle, and He wants to know if we as a church will allow Holy Spirit to break in, even if it is messy.
-talk about fields and harvests.
-tell the story from Camp.
Where there are no oxen, the manger is empty,
but from the strength of an ox come abundant harvests.
Proverbs
In our culture we appreciate things being neat and tidy in our own eyes, but we have to ask ourselves, what happens when the Lord wants to mess up our plans?
In my own following Jesus, I have said to my leaders “you expect too much from people. People have lives.”
I want to state publicly, that no body HAS to give anything that they don’t want to. Not your time, not your money, not your availability, not your vulnerability. You don’t have to give those things.
I also want to point out that the Lord may be asking you to give those things, and the argument I once made, “I would love to, but I have a life” falls apart right about the moment I say “Jesus, my life is yours”.
We have within us two natures.
Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.
For we know that the Law is spiritual, but I am of flesh, sold into bondage to sin.
For what I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate.
But if I do the very thing I do not want to do, I agree with the Law, confessing that the Law is good.
So now, no longer am I the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me.
For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not.
For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want.
But if I am doing the very thing I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me.
I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good.
For I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man,
but I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members.
Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death?
Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin.
The nature that is fleshly wants to be gratified. It finds that gratification in worldly things. The fleshly nature is at peace when the worldly order is followed.
The Spirit nature wants to follow God’s order, which often does not gratify the flesh, in fact it usually crucifies it.
At first we only know how to give our yes to the flesh, and giving it to the Lord is the challenge. We know how to survive one way, and the process of learning how to eat from a different tree is hard
Along the way we cross a threshold of where we go looking for life. Do we dig in to the world, and get our lives situated according to the standards of the world? It’s good to have your house in order, so that the cares of life don’t choke us out before we even start, but if we can’t obey God because our lives are so full of other things, then we don’t have the Kingdom. And if we don’t have the kingdom we never get to give the kingdom away.
The way to get to that threshold is to begin to trust God even when it is uncomfortable.
The disciples who were sent out first had a tough go. They didn’t get to bring anything. They had to trust in the command of Jesus
Jesus summoned His twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every kind of disease and every kind of sickness.
Now the names of the twelve apostles are these: The first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; and James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother;
Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus;
Simon the Zealot, and Judas Iscariot, the one who betrayed Him.
These twelve Jesus sent out after instructing them: “Do not go in the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter any city of the Samaritans;
but rather go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
“And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’
“Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. Freely you received, freely give.
“Do not acquire gold, or silver, or copper for your money belts,
or a bag for your journey, or even two coats, or sandals, or a staff; for the worker is worthy of his support.
“And whatever city or village you enter, inquire who is worthy in it, and stay at his house until you leave that city.
“As you enter the house, give it your greeting.
“If the house is worthy, give it your blessing of peace. But if it is not worthy, take back your blessing of peace.
“Whoever does not receive you, nor heed your words, as you go out of that house or that city, shake the dust off your feet.
“Truly I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city.
“Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves.
“But beware of men, for they will hand you over to the courts and scourge you in their synagogues;
and you will even be brought before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them and to the Gentiles.
“But when they hand you over, do not worry about how or what you are to say; for it will be given you in that hour what you are to say.
“For it is not you who speak, but it is the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you.
Now after this the Lord appointed seventy others, and sent them in pairs ahead of Him to every city and place where He Himself was going to come.
And He was saying to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.
“Go; behold, I send you out as lambs in the midst of wolves.
“Carry no money belt, no bag, no shoes; and greet no one on the way.
“Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace be to this house.’
“If a man of peace is there, your peace will rest on him; but if not, it will return to you.
“Stay in that house, eating and drinking what they give you; for the laborer is worthy of his wages. Do not keep moving from house to house.
“Whatever city you enter and they receive you, eat what is set before you;
and heal those in it who are sick, and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’
“But whatever city you enter and they do not receive you, go out into its streets and say,
‘Even the dust of your city which clings to our feet we wipe off in protest against you; yet be sure of this, that the kingdom of God has come near.’
“I say to you, it will be more tolerable in that day for Sodom than for that city.
“Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles had been performed in Tyre and Sidon which occurred in you, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes.
“But it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the judgment than for you.
“And you, Capernaum, will not be exalted to heaven, will you? You will be brought down to Hades!
Now after this the Lord appointed seventy others, and sent them in pairs ahead of Him to every city and place where He Himself was going to come.
And He was saying to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.
“Go; behold, I send you out as lambs in the midst of wolves.
“Carry no money belt, no bag, no shoes; and greet no one on the way.
“Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace be to this house.’
“If a man of peace is there, your peace will rest on him; but if not, it will return to you.
“Stay in that house, eating and drinking what they give you; for the laborer is worthy of his wages. Do not keep moving from house to house.
“Whatever city you enter and they receive you, eat what is set before you;
and heal those in it who are sick, and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’
“But whatever city you enter and they do not receive you, go out into its streets and say,
‘Even the dust of your city which clings to our feet we wipe off in protest against you; yet be sure of this, that the kingdom of God has come near.’
“I say to you, it will be more tolerable in that day for Sodom than for that city.
“Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles had been performed in Tyre and Sidon which occurred in you, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes.
“But it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the judgment than for you.
“And you, Capernaum, will not be exalted to heaven, will you? You will be brought down to Hades!
“The one who listens to you listens to Me, and the one who rejects you rejects Me; and he who rejects Me rejects the One who sent Me.”
The seventy returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name.”
And He said to them, “I was watching Satan fall from heaven like lightning.
“Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing will injure you.
“Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are recorded in heaven.”
Why did Jesus send out the disciples? Because the harvest was ready.
Why is Jesus calling YOU?
It’s as we pour out our lives, as we pour out our love, that the river of God comes and fills us. His presence is released in increasing measure as you and I demonstrate our commitment to giving AWAY all that we have received.
the twelve were sent to the lost Israelites. The 70 were set to “any house that will receive them”
Some of us will be called to minister “in God’s house” while some of us will be called to go “to wherever will accept us”.
The 70 may have had a number of responses to the 12 being sent. Some would say “when is it my turn to do something” while others may have said “phew, I am off the hook.”
DON’T make a list and bring everything. DON’T send out a support letter and wait to see how donations do. GO and TRUST.
Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.
Do you want to live a life of authority? Do you want to say Yes to Jesus when He asks you to lay down your life?
Let’s start with a
Your flesh will put up a fight. When our ceiling collapsed, our flesh was unhappy. The insurance company is going to take care of everything, we don’t have to worry, but things were not in order, and that was annoying. But in a very real way, we have had to choose to not let that situation pull on us.
When God invites us to His MORE, to His version of ORDER, our flesh will have a hard time following, and we will need the help of the Holy Spirit to make it obey.
But when you order your life exactly the way the world wants, your spirit puts up a fight too.
At Catch the Fire Greensboro, we have invited Holy Spirit to move HOWEVER HE WANTS. So what if he caves in our ceiling?
At Catch the Fire Greensboro we have given Jesus the presumptive YES to whatever he may ask. Let our flesh argue, we will believe in Faith, and trust.
Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.
God is inviting us to be people of the Spirit. So let’s put to death our fleshly nature. This isn’t accomplished by focusing on ourselves and trying to “self help” our way into being spiritual, but by trusting God and moving by faith so that we can EXERCISE our faith, with causes us to grow. AND it pleases God.
Greensboro needs the people of God to bring them the kingdom. The places where you work are starving for the river to be released through you. The Earth is groaning for the sons of God to be revealed. That’s YOU!
God wants to move in our midst, but our pipes cannot contain Him.
(Call the people who are ready for God to burst their pipes).