Kingdom Capacity, Volume 2 by Carol Nash-Lester

Kingdom Capacity Volume 2

By Carol Nash Lester

Kingdom Capacity

Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture notations are from the King James Version of the Bible. Scripture notations marked AMP are taken from the AMPLIFIED BIBLE, Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved. Used by permission. www.Lockman.org, Scripture notations marked NJKV are taken from The New King James Version. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by the International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. Scripture notations marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1979, 1980, 1982, Thomas Nelson, Inc. Scripture notations marked MSG are taken from THE MESSAGE. Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.

kingdom capacity As one called and dedicated to facilitating new life, as one who serves to catapult others into new dimensions, it is imperative that we stretch our capacity to the utmost, so that we can be as effective as we can for God and for the ones we serve. With that in mind, let's start with defining capacity. Capacity is defined as a "legal qualification or fitness; the ability to contain, receive or accommodate; the maximum number or amount that can be contained; as ability; position of character assigned or assumed." In short, "capacity" largely deals with our ability to deliver what God has called us to do. It also has to do with our ability to obtain, maintain and maximize the blessings of the Lord. The Lord is indeed able to do "exceedingly, abundantly above all that we can ask or think." Can you handle your blessing? Do you have the strength to receive what God has in store for you? Let's say that God has a 1,000 gallon blessing or a 10,000 gallon call on our lives. If you only have a one-cup capacity, what is the likelihood that you can access what God has planned for you? Even if you did access it, the very weight of it would kill you! In examining the concept of capacity in the life of the one that God calls to live for Him, there are several points that come to mind: • The necessity that our capacity, our ability to receive or contain the blessing and power of God be stretched. If you examine the life of men and women of God in the Bible; take Gideon, for example; look at his path from obscurity to prominence, it becomes apparent that it doesn’t really matter where you’ve been, it’s where you’re going that counts. If

you look at the call of Gideon, you can see that the way we see God influences what we’re able to accomplish for God and how we see ourselves influences what we’re able to do for and receive from God. It doesn’t matter what people say about you; it doesn’t even matter what you say about yourself that counts; it’s what God says about you that counts in the end. God knows who you are. God knows what He’s put in you. God has a plan for you to do you good and to give you an expected end (Jeremiah 29:11).

•

People of God who are called to Kingdom Capacity are often challenged with the seeming reality of lack: o Look at Mary; she had no husband – had never been with a man, however, that didn’t stop God from using her to be the vessel to deliver the Messiah into the world. o

Look at Nehemiah. He was faced with pressures on the outside from enemies, pressure from the inside from perpetrators and those that didn’t understand the vision. He had a big thing to accomplish for God, with little resource and little time to bring it to pass. That didn’t stop God from using him to lead the way to accomplishing God’s plan for His people in record time.

Look at the widow with some crumbs and the cruse of oil. All she had was enough oil to make a cake for her son to eat and die. The man of God challenged her to make a cake for him first, and in her obedience to the directive from the man of God, she, her son and the

man of God were sustained in the midst of a famine. o

Look at Gideon. See how God tested Gideon’s courage by whittling down his visible means of support; how God compensated for the lack of visible support with the assurance of His presence, through confirmation through his enemies that God was at work; through vision and strategy. Know that with a vision and mission from God and a mind to please Him, disadvantage can be an advantage, in the Kingdom.

In volume one, we looked at paths to Kingdom Capacity, as it relates to Wisdom and Knowledge, Faith, Vision, Tenacity and Partnership. In volume two, we will examine the paths of Integrity, Planning and Order. I pray that this time of consecration has been effective for you, and that you have been given the foundation to walk with power into the Year of Kingdom Capacity. May God’s choices blessings be yours,

Integrity Have you ever met someone that made you want to hide your purse or wallet in their presence? You felt that way, because you knew “in your knower” that they were not a person to be trusted. My word for that kind of person is greasy….. God can do anything but fail, but one thing God won’t do is bless greasy folk with Kingdom Capacity. The best they can do for the Kingdom is to be their greasy selves and escort you to the cross with their greasiness. They may mean it for evil; they may believe they’re doing it for your good… but what they think won’t matter, in the end. What matters is that the cross is what you must experience, in preparation for your Resurrection Day. So God can use greasy folks for your good and His glory, for all things work together for good to those who love God and who are the called according to His purpose. I just don’t want greasy behavior to be my destiny. That’s not how I want my story to end….thirty pieces of silver and no hope for eternal life. In order to achieve Kingdom Capacity, character and integrity have to be your hallmark. We must be men or women of our word; we must stay humble before God and those we serve. We must have singleness of mind and heart, and that mind and heart is to serve God, not only in public, but in the secret places of our hearts and minds. Those of us who lead in the Kingdom must teach the people under our charge by precept (Word) and example (our lives). The Word speaks of the necessity of raising up leaders to follow us, so that our legacy of integrity can continue, and as we do, “goodness and mercy” shall certainly follow us all the days of our lives and we shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Selah……

“Appreciate your pastoral leaders who gave you the Word of God. Take a good look at the way they live, and let their faithfulness instruct you, as well as their truthfulness. There should be a consistency that runs through us all. For Jesus doesn't change yesterday, today, tomorrow, he's always totally himself.” (Hebrews 13:7-8 MSG) I was raised in the church. It’s in my DNA, in my joints and marrow. I come from a line of servants of God, in various places of ministry. Ever since I’ve been an adult, it’s been my firm conviction that, as much as I love worship, that the only reason to join a church is that God sent you there; that you have something to add to that church, and the one to whom you submit has been placed in your life by God to teach you, either to teach you the way to go, or not to go. I believe that in the core of my being. It doesn’t matter if the choir is bumpin,’ doesn’t even matter if the preacher can preach (once you’ve been around the block in God, you can learn how to feed yourself); what matters is what they model for you. God’s Word says that we should appreciate the men and women who gave us the Word of God both those who initially witnessed to us, whether they were an evangelist or a parent, and those who give you what thus says the Lord on a regular basis. We appreciate them, because they’re preparing us for life temporal, and life eternal. They’re getting us ready for today and tomorrow… God’s Word says that, not only are we to appreciate what we hear, we are to model what we see; faithfulness, truthfulness, reliability. Not hot today and cold tomorrow. That’s not to say that God’s servants are perfect. We’re sinners saved by grace, like everyone else. We’re not better than anyone, not more important than anyone else, but set apart for God’s use and your edification. Not to be self-serving, but appreciate your man or woman of God; your Sunday School teacher, the one who prays for you at altar call, the one who checks on you when they see something is amiss. They are a gift from God to you, His Body. That’s a high call, for both leader and follower. This scripture is in alignment with Psalm 133; that the same goodness and mercy that comes from God should flow to His servant, which, in turn, flows to those who follow. At the skirts of the robe of the high priest, God should be able to take a sample of His anointing and

see HimSelf. Can He? In this time of consecration, watch those who lead and feed you. Hear what they say, and watch who the ARE. There should be a reflection of the Christ in the way they carry themselves. That is what and who we are called to follow. Amen…

“Not what goes into the mouth defiles a man; but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man." (Matthew 15:11 – NKJV) “You are not defiled by what you eat; you are defiled by what you say and do.” (NLT) When you get a chance, read Matthew 15, in its entirety. I guarantee you, you’ll fall more in love with Jesus. In the chapter, He’s having an encounter with the Pharisees, religious leaders, you know ‘em; folks who are more saved than Jesus. The Pharisees, in today’s text, are trying to hem up the Savior; telling Him that His disciples aren’t saved, because they’ were not following their man-made rules. That was just a sham. They were really saying that Jesus, God manifested in the flesh, the Savior, wasn’t saved, because neither He, nor His disciples were dancing to their tune. The nerve!!!!! Jesus exposes both their method and their motive; to manipulate people in to “playing their way;” to look the part, regardless of what was in the inside. They had a need to look righteous, precisely because they were not righteous. It was all about keeping appearances and trying to impress people. What the Lord was saying then and is saying today; is to stop obsessing about appearances. Stop trying so hard to look holy; stop trying so hard to follow rules that have nothing to do with scripture and salvation. When you are holy, when God has made you clean on the inside, because you are washed in the blood of the Lamb, you will be holy. You won’t have to look the part. What’s on the inside can’t help but show up on the outside. This is not to say that we are to live, disregarding our testimony before others. When you are saved, for real, God’s spirit will direct you, in terms of how to carry yourself in public and in private. And in the off chance, that correction comes to you, God’s Spirit will bear witness that the counsel is from God, and you can receive it in grace an love, for that is the spirit in which it was given. We are free to live saved, not just to keep up appearance. Breathe in, breathe out, and enjoy your life in God.

“Beloved, do not imitate evil, but imitate good. He who does good is of God; he who does evil has not seen (discerned or experienced) God [has enjoyed no vision of Him and does not know Him at all]. (3 John 1: 11 AMP)”

When I was growing up, if someone was trying to do what you were doing or act how you were acting, you called them a copycat. It was meant to be an insult. I’m not sure why, because imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. There’s nothing wrong with being a copycat. It all depends on who or what you’re copying. Life gives us all kinds of models; people that we can look to as a pattern, when we’re learning our way through the season we’re in. It brings to us models that are positive and negative. You don’t have to look far to find someone who will show you how to cheat on their taxes, their tithes or their place of business. You can follow them and predict the result that you will receive. You can pay now or pay later. On the other hand, there are models of righteousness, holiness, love and wholeness. Sometimes, we may be tempted to throw our own pity party and feel like Elijah did, that we’re the only ones living right before God. The enemy really knows how to blow that one up in your mind. Fear not. God has multitudes of faithful folk who are living upright for God. Now, that’s a model to copy. What about those who are “living large,” that got it through dishonest gain? Even though they may look blessed, don’ fall for it. What you see is what it looks like; you don’t know what’s going on behind the scenes. Actually you do: our text today, tells us that even though they may look blessed, that they don’t know God, neither have they enjoyed a vision of Him. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to play blessed, I want to be blessed, I’m talking ‘bout blessed of the Lord and HIGHLY favored. There is a way to receive the blessing of the Lord that makes rich and adds no sorrow to it (Prov. 10:22). Don’t just act good; be good, for John tells us today that he that does good is of God. Selah…

“But the natural, nonspiritual man does not accept or welcome or admit into his heart the gifts and teachings and revelations of the Spirit of God, for they are folly (meaningless nonsense) to him; and he is incapable of knowing them [of progressively recognizing, understanding, and becoming better acquainted with them] because they are spiritually discerned and estimated and appreciated. (1 Corinthians 2: 14 AMP)”

J. California Cooper is just about my favorite writer of fiction. I especially love her short stories. There was one that chronicled the life of two childhood friends. When they were in elementary school, their lives began to take on two different paths: one made up her mind to keep her head in books, rather than boys, and you can imagine what the other one did. I told you, they were different. The “fast” friend always made fun of the other girl, telling her that she didn’t know anything about life, that she was too young to be so serious, that she should enjoy life and love. When the “slow” friend married her high school sweetheart, who was also her first and only love, the “fast” girl said that her life was over, that she should play the field and see what life ad to offer. Then time, brought about a change… The “fast” one began to slow down; she looked around and all the men who ran after her when she was young and vigorous were now running away from her. The “slow” friend kept trying to show her how to rise up from her condition, but by then, it was too late. “Miss Fast” was bitter and lonely, and had not learned from her situation. Sad, sad…. The “slow” one, in her “middle age,” was able to enjoy life because her children were young, her nest was empty, and she was able to be free to love her lifetime love. The moral of the story is that stability looked like foolishness to one who couldn’t see the power of wise decisions and an upright lifestyle. The point I’m trying to make is that we are called, not only to tell the story of God’s goodness, but to live the story of God’s goodness. Tell it and live it. Live it and tell it. Some people won’t receive you, because the revelation of the gospel is foolishness to them. You can’t make them see the power of truth. Flesh and blood can’t reveal God’s power to men, for it is spiritually discerned (ask the apostle Peter). We can, however, pray for them and leave the rest to God. Amen!

“But if he does a poor job through ignorance, he'll get off with a slap on the hand. Great gifts mean great responsibilities; greater gifts, greater responsibilities! To whom much is given, much is required.” (Luke 12:48 MSG/KJV)

When you were growing up, did you ever think that your parents were mean? Sometimes I did. I remember that there would be times when I would say to my mamma’nem, “So and so’s mom let’s her do (fill in the blank here),” foolishly thinking that this would make my mom let me do the same thing. Silly rabbit, tricks are for kids…. That never worked on my mamma’nem. She would always say something to the effect that this was ok for their house, but in our house, this is the way we do things. In this portion of scripture, Jesus was admonishing the disciples to not be caught with their work undone. In so many words, Jesus was saying that God has invested too much in us for us to be slackers on the job. That the more that we were given (in time, talent, treasure, gifting, temperament, etc.), the more was expected of us. It is what it is. Jesus was also saying to them and is saying to us, is that when we know better, we are expected to do better. Those of us who know God, who are “born on His Spirit, washed in His blood,” who know the Word and have His Word hidden in our hearts, that the expectation is that we should show some sign. Whenever God is calling us to another dimension in Him, He always exposes us to what He expects for and from us. He exposes us through other people’s lives, through His Word, through world events, through revelation, through the writings of those who have gone before us. Once we’ve been filled, once we’ve been exposed, once we’ve been given a pattern of some sort, the expectation is that our character and qualifications rise to the occasion.

It’s a big job, but if God didn’t know it could be done, He wouldn’t have made the investment. Square your shoulders and get ready, get ready, get ready!!!!!

Planning God is planner, and as being made in His image, we, too, are called to plan. We are called to plan:  According to the pattern that has been laid out for us, according to the Word of God.  According to purpose for which we have been destined. We are not called to plan according to:  Problems. Never should we make a permanent plan based on a temporary situation. Our plans should always be based on God’s direction for us.  Pain. Rather than crafting a plan to run away from something or someone, it is better to plan to move toward something (prayerfully, our destiny).  People. Never should our plans be based on pleasing people. Sometimes people do things and build their lives on shaky foundations, such as to prove others wrong: a parent, an ex, an abusive teacher. Bad idea… Bill Cosby was known for saying “I don’t know the key to success, however, the key to failure is trying to please everybody.” Pleasing people will drive you crazy, and possibly send you to hell. Seek to please God, if you want peace of mind and heart. While it can be a time intensive process, Planning can bless you, because the process itself can shift your attention: • From problems to solutions • From limitations to possibilities • From despair to hope • By pinpointing goals, marshalling resources, and initiating action, the process of planning can empower people to get things done.

In our planning, we are called to be PROACTIVE, not REACTIVE. This means that our planning should be solution-based, destinybased, forward moving; not problem, pain, people, and backward focused. As we move to build a life of Kingdom Capacity, it is important to ask yourself what it will cost to build the kind of life God wants you to build? When you are multi-faceted and multi-gifted, there are many opportunities presented to us, but if it won’t get us where God wants us, what will it do? It will take us away from where God wants us. As God increases your territory, you can’t continue to add to your life, without making adjustments. In our planning, we need to determine what we’re willing to release. This can be difficult to do, because we may be called upon to release things that were comfortable for us, but are in the way of being effective in the arena into which we are called to enter. Yet planning is also subject to the weakness of people, such as: • Being blind to reality, planning for something that God has not spoken to you • It is possible to plan unrealistically, in only taking into account where you want to go, without having where you are and what you have at your disposal, in mind • Sometimes our vision can be too narrow, because we are only taking ourselves into consideration and not God • Planning with improper motives.

For example, the Tower of Babel was a well-planned project, nevertheless, it was condemned by God. Your planning in itself doesn’t determine your future (because God can always change your plan), but it directs your present, and raises the possibility of reaching the desired end, or the hope and future God has planned for you. Planning helps to make many decisions easy for us, and it builds our effectiveness.

Let’s look at what the Word says to us, about this important process, shall we?

“The LORD shatters the plans of the nations and thwarts all their schemes. But the LORD's plans stand firm forever; his intentions can never be shaken.” (Psalms 33:10-11 - NLT)

I remember the first time I read Acts 5:39. Gamaliel, a prominent Rabbi in antiquity, was quieting a mob that wanted to kill the apostles, because the gospel message was an offense to them. What he said, in essence was to remember all of the movements throughout history, how they rose and fell, due to the life and death of a charismatic leader. He told them to leave the apostles alone, because if this Christianity thing was just another movement based on a simple charismatic man, that the movement would die on its own. How-Be-Ever… if this thing is of God, you cannot overthrow it, unless you want to find yourself fighting against God. Man!!!!! My Spirit rose up in me, because even a fool knows that you can’t fight God…..and win. In short, what the Rabbi was saying is, time will tell. You can plan all you want, to you strategize, set it up all nice and pretty, but God’s not in it, He’ll block it. It’s just a matter of when it’s all gonna go down. On the other hand, when God births a matter, we are still called to plan. We are to exercise and give due diligence to cross every “T” and dot every “I.” Sometimes, even with the best of our efforts, it seems as if the cards are stacked against us and that we can’t win. I’m here to tell you today (and I’m crying while I’m typing), that if this plan was birthed in the heart of God…. Brother, Sister, is it was God who ordained whatever it is you’re trying to build, whether it’s a ministry or a family, things may be against you, the cards may be stacked up against you, but hear me when I say that anything that God orders will come to pass. No weapon formed against you shall prosper! God said that’s your birthright, your heritage. Stop laying awake at night. God gives His beloved sweet rest. You’re gonna need that rest when you blow up! Hear God’s Word on the matter. Receive it. Do what you can do and watch God handle His business, in Jesus’ name. Selah…

"Plans go wrong for lack of advice; many counselors bring success.” (Proverbs 15:22NLT) It has been said that experience is the best teacher, but I believe that real wisdom comes to those who have learned from the mistakes and experiences of others. Working with and serving people can sometimes be a painful experience, especially when they don’t heed godly wisdom and leadership. Sometimes you can just see a train wreck waiting to happen and pains you, when you know that there is a word from God on that situation, if they would but hear and take heed. We would save ourselves much pain and trouble, if we would take the time to hear the leading of God on who to go to for practical advice. I understand where this behavior can come from. Some of us have been burned in the past, by people who have betrayed your confidence or have ridiculed you for what you didn’t know. You reasoned in your heart, “I know that I didn’t know, that’s why I came to you in the first place!” I know; however, that was then, this is now. Let God guide you to trusted counsel. You may have run into some bad apples in the past, however, there are some men and women that God trusts and if God can trust them, so can you. Today’s text encourages us to seek many counselors. There is no one person who knows everything about everything. Trust me, though; God has already surrounded you with a cadre of people who know a lot of things about some things. There are those in your circle, who are schooled in finance, others in romance; still others in business, yet others in ministry. You have a wealth of skill, talent and treasure at an arms reach from you, or a way to get to them, if not in person, through classes, books, conferences, podcasts, webinars, etc. If you didn’t, God wouldn’t birth that dream in you. There is no way that God would put something in your heart and leave you hanging, without a word of direction, correction and protection to manifest the vision. Trust God, It’s out there; just seek the heart of God, until you find it. Hear the word for today and be blessed.

“People may be pure in their own eyes, but the LORD examines their motives. Commit your work to the LORD, and then your plans will succeed.” ( Proverbs 16:2-3 NLT)

Once, I saw a detergent commercial. The brother was looking so proud of his clean, white shirt…. until another brother showed up, with his shirt gleaming white, washed in the detergent being featured. Was his face red! He thought he was looking good, until better walked through the door. Many of us think we are right; that we are the holy ones of Israel, Jesus first cousin; and just as wrong as two left shoes! You may be able to fool folk. You may be able to fool yourself. One that you will never fool is God. God sees what we do, and that’s a beautiful thing. More importantly, He sees why we do it. We don’t win any points with God doing clean deeds with a dingy heart. What are we to do then? Check ourselves. Do what we do, not to be seen, not to be honored by man, but to please God. God says in our text for the day, that whatever you commit to Him, (meaning that He’s the author and the finisher of the deed), will succeed, whatever it is. Just like a heavenly GPS system, follow the steps that God has ordered for you; turn where God says turn; stop when and where God tells you to stop and you’ll always reach your destination in good time. To top it off, you’ll enjoy your journey, along the way.

“Good planning and hard work lead to prosperity, but hasty shortcuts lead to poverty.” (Proverbs 21:5 NLT)

My Daddy used to say, “Fast money don’t last!” It was a real word for me in that season of my life, because I, like a lot of my peers, was growing impatient with the process of being set or comfortable in life. In my youth, my desires were screaming, “I want what I want and I want it NOW!!!!” Lord, have mercy! What Daddy said is so true. Our enemy will always show us shortcuts: quick ways to satisfy perceived wants or needs; ways that either dishonor God, mock the process He set in place, or cheat you out of the joy that comes when you’ve taken your time, earned and learned things the right way. Don’t fall for it. If it sounds too easy, too fast, or too good to be true, most of the time, it is. There is a purpose in the time it takes for your destiny to unfold. That purpose is to take us out of who and where we were, and to put in us everything we need to successfully reach and sustain the end that God has in mind for us. King Solomon takes his time to tell us today, “Take your time, young man, young lady! Pay your dues; Hear from God; Get your marching orders and strategy from Him – it will save you headache, heartache, wasted time and money in the end.” Have faith, have patience, trust God and trust the process. It will bless you, in the end.

" He turned over the plans for everything that God's Spirit had brought to his mind: … Here are the blueprints for the whole project as God gave me to understand it," David said. David continued to address Solomon: "Take charge! Take heart! Don't be anxious or get discouraged. God, my God, is with you in this; he won't walk off and leave you in the lurch. He's at your side until every last detail is completed for conducting the worship of God. (1 Chron. 28:12a, 19-20 NKJV) King David was many things; a king, a strategist, a warrior, a worshipper….. A passionate man, he loved God with a sincere heart. This was so much the case, that it was God that declared that David was a man after His own heart; not because David was perfect, but because he loved God perfectly, in spirit and in truth David, being a lover of God, was automatically a giver (you know that loving and giving go hand in hand). David wanted to give God the best of everything he could give. One thing that David desired to give God was His own house, or rather, an edifice in God’s honor. This was with the right motive, inspired by love. As pure as David’s motive was, it was not in God’s plan. God had other things in mind for David, however, He did give David detailed instruction on how it was to be done. With the same passion in which he danced before the Lord, David listened to and chronicled God’s plan for His House and His People. When the time was right, David turned the plans over to the one God had ordained to complete the assignment of building a house for Him… to Solomon. Our text today is an encouragement to Solomon, and prayerfully, an encouragement to us, as well. What kind of encouragement can we glean, from today’s offering? 

When your desire before God is pure, God will use you in the unfoldment of His plan, one way or another.

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When God gives you an assignment, or a place in His will, He provides a plan to bring it to pass.

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We say it all the time, but it’s true; God gives provision for the vision.

This was spoken to strengthen the heart of Solomon. When you know the rest of his story, however, you will realize that Solomon forgot this powerful principle and resorted to lesser means to provide this great monument to the Lord. Don’t fear. When God invests time to unfold His plan and purpose to you, you don’t have to sweat how you’re going to pay for it. Relax, and hear God’s heart and mind on the matter. With God’s vision, comes provision. Exhale, and trust God. You’re going to be fine.

Order Order can be defined as the systematic arrangement of people, places, plans and processes that give rise to wholeness, balance and divine flow. Order is that which gives birth to your intellectual, physical, fiscal, emotional, relational and spiritual un-foldment. The Hebrew word for “order” in Psalm 37 is kuwn (pronounced like, “coown”), which is the root word meaning, “to be erect” (to be made straight). The word kuwn, has many applications. It means, to:  

Appoint Confirm

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Direct

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Establish

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Fashion

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Fix

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Ordain or

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Perfect (the verb)

Realize that there is nothing outside the realm of God’s influence and control. God gives us, as beings made in His image, an ability to choose our destiny, in the same vein, I believe that God is yet sovereign, in that our choices are used by God to invest in the destiny that God has in store for you. All things work together for your good….. (Romans 8:28). Order is our friend! Not only are we blessed, when we follow God’s set order in our families, our worship and places of work, we are blessed when our mind is in order, our environment follows order. We are able to think better, feel better, work better, worship better, all-around live better.

While some may feel hemmed up, like their liberties are being taken away, honoring order frees us up to live. I know this, because Jesus didn’t say that He came to steal your joy, He said that He came that we might have abundant life (John 10:10). Honoring order doesn’t take anything away from you, indeed, it adds another dimension to life.

“The steps of the godly are directed by the LORD. He delights in every detail of their lives. Though they stumble, they will not fall, for the LORD holds them by the hand.” (Psalms 37:23-24 NLT)

Life, in God, is a true adventure. If we are honest we ourselves, I believe we would all say that we wish that God would show us what our end would be. Wouldn’t it be great, if we knew we would get the house, if we would only bid for it? Wouldn’t be nice to know ahead of time that we wouldn’t get hired, even before we went for the interview? In our way of thinking, pre-knowledge (knowing the end from the beginning) would save us needless time, energy and emotion, right? I believe that God wants us to look at Him, rather than the realtor, loan officer, hiring supervisor, etc. I believe that He wants us to take our cue from Him, rather than the circumstance or situation. Our text tells us that God delights in every detail of our lives. He’s all up in our business, because it’s really His business. According to today’s verse, God is saying, “work with what I’m showing you now, and I’ll take you where I need you to go later. Focus on that.” He’s saying, “I’ll show you how to work it, but you have to follow my lead; not your own; not anyone else’s.” When you look at it that way, we have a fool-proof guarantee, don’t we? Even if we bump our heads, we’ll be ok, because God’s got us, right in the palm of His hand. In short, our verse today lets us know that we may not know the end from the beginning, but if we are faithful with what God is revealing to us now, we’ll be blessed in the end. If it doesn’t come out in the wash, it’ll show up in the rinse. There’s no way we can lose!

“For God is not a God of disorder but of peace, as in all the other churches….. But be sure that everything is done properly and in order.“ (1 Cor. 14:33, 40 NLT)

Once, I heard somebody say that church would be great, if it wasn’t for the people. That remark brought several nods and a round of laughter. I suppose it was because the people were having their own private flashbacks with some aspect of church drama. I think we can all agree that there is no mess, like church mess. When you get a group of people, all believing (or so the say) that they are on their way to heaven and that their way is the only way to go, you can often end up with a hot mess on your hands; isn’t that right? When we look at that situation, however, there is no church without the people. Christ is the Head of the Church, and we are the members are His Body….a visible representation of Christ to this world, His instruments to do His will in these last days, not our own. God is the essence of order. God, being Creator and Owner of this world, has a set order in place. God had (and has) the ability to speak the word and all created beings could have automatically appeared simultaneously; He could have clapped His hands and spoken both Adam and Eve into existence at once, however, God displayed a set order in His creation. If there was order in creation, it would follow that God has an order to all things. It seems like everything in creation submits to and flows in God’s set order…except people. Somehow, like Ford, we think we have a better idea. Not so. Silly rabbit, tricks are for kids.

God’s order is not only the best order, its’ the only order to follow. This is true in our worship, our fellowships, our relationships, and so on and so on. Accept the freedom that comes with following God’s set order today. It doesn’t make you a lesser person; in fact, it makes you a better person, and ensures peace to any enterprise you pursue, when you pursue it God’s way, in God’s time, in God’s set order.

“If you're irresponsible to the state, then you're irresponsible with God, and God will hold you responsible.” (Romans 13:2 MSG ) I can hear you, right now….. this world is not my home; I’m just passing through on my way to my real home in heaven. I hear you…and I know it’s true. The question on the floor, what are you going to do; how are you operating on your way to your eternal home? Having been in church all my life, I think I’ve seen and heard it all (although I could be wrong); people breaking laws, because they’re “only subject to God’s law;” people disrespecting set authority (whether governmental, parental or spiritual), because “they put their pants on just I do;” or “(s)he’s crazy, (s)he can’t lead me across the street!” I told you, I’ve heard it all. Paul, in our text today, is setting the record straight, with the church at Rome. The theme surrounding the text is that, as people of God, we are expected to “have one face,” not one in the church house and another in the court house. The one face that we have should be shaped in and moved by the love of God toward His creation. I’m not walking mushy love, singing a tune, flowers in June kinda love. I’m talking about the kind of love that honors our commitments to God, family and country. That love is manifested in voting (hear me now), in paying our taxes, in obeying traffic laws (help, Lord!), and in praying for those in designated authority, whether or not we chose, like, or voted for them. God says, to the church at Rome, that “God also has an interest in keeping order, and he uses them [authorities] to do it. That's why you must live responsibly - not just to avoid punishment but also because it's the right way to live. That's also why you pay taxes - so that an orderly way of life can be maintained.” (Romans 13:4b-6). The people of God should be the best citizens on the planet. Check your record today and see if there is room for improvement. Honor God, by honoring those He honors.

"In those days there was no king in Israel. People did whatever they felt like doing." (Judges 17:6).

I remember one night, when my Mamma’nem was tucking me into bed, after reading me a bedtime story; I looked sweetly into her loving face and declared, “I can’t wait ‘til I grow up, ‘cause then, nobody can tell me what to do. I can do whatever I want!” You know my Mamma’nem was saved, because I’m living to tell you this story. She looked at me and asked, “What do you mean?” I said, “Then, I’ll be big enough to reach the cookies (she used to keep them on top of the fridge), and I can get them whenever I want to.” Thank God, for grace! She laughed at me and said, “You’ll never be grown enough to do what you want to do. As long as you live, you’ll always have to obey somebody.” Though I didn’t understand that at the time, I had enough sense to keep my mouth closed. Discernment must have told me that I had narrowly escaped a beat-down, that night. The people in our text today had lost their natural minds (I guess the problem was that they were being led by their “natural” minds and had actually lost their spiritual minds). They had truly run amok. The text opens with Micah’s mom consecrating money to buy material to build an idol god for the family. The money is then stolen and she curses the thief. Micah steals the money back and gives it to his mom. She takes a portion of it, has a “god built,” along with a chapel for it, the honor the son. Micah has a mind to make his son a priest to the god that was made with money that he stole to give to his mamma’nem. Micah takes the remaining money to buy all the “spiritual paraphernalia” that priests need to function; those items were a counterfeit tof those things that God had ordained for His priests to wear. While putting this together, Micah comes across a Levite (who is supposed to be a real man of God) , “buys him” with ten pieces of silver, food and some changes of clothes, and hires him to be his personal prophet and priest. I tell you, there is no screenplay that can outdo the Word of God. I know you’re thinking ,“are they crazy?!?!” As outrageous as this sounds, there are people throughout the world that are doing

exactly what they want to do, and rationalizing it in the name of God and religion,. It would be funny, if it weren’t so pitiful. Listen, we are not our own, we are bought with a price (the blood of Jesus). We can’t do what we want to do or say what we want to say and expect God to bless it. We can’t act in ways that dishonor God and expect God to give a benediction to it. God doesn’t play that, and neither should we.