Category: Strength for Today

Philippians 2:20-21
“For I have no man likeminded, who will naturally care for your state. For all seek their own, not the things which are Jesus Christ’s.”

Superstars don’t win championships, but teams do. Developing a team mentality is important to any organization being successful. With a likeminded team, you will find division and an unhealthy competition between team members will be absent. It is vitally important to develop a likeminded team if you are going to be successful in whatever you do.

If there is any organization that needs to become a likeminded team, the church needs to be that organization. The church deals with the souls of man, and a person’s soul will either go to Heaven or Hell. If the church does not have a likeminded team, it will be filled with strife and contention causing them not to reach as many souls for Christ as they could. When a church develops a likeminded team, it becomes a mighty army to reach their community for Jesus Christ. In the verses above, Paul shows us how to develop a likeminded team.

First, you have to take “me” out. Part of the problem that Paul was facing was that many were seeking “their own.” In other words, everyone was thinking about themselves. It was about them getting the accolades. It was about each individual getting the credit. Whenever you have the “me” mentality, you will find fighting and squabbling among people. If you want your church or organization to be successful, then you must take yourself out of the equation. Don’t have the “me” mentality that is always concerned with getting credit for everything.

Second, you must put “others” in. Paul’s predicament was that he didn’t have anyone who was out to meet the needs of others. Friend, when you are concerned about “me,” then you will not meet the needs of others. Always keep in mind that the ministry is about serving others. The only way you are going to reach your community for Jesus Christ is to make everything you do about others. It must not be about your feelings or desires, but what can you do to help others. With “me” out of the equation, you can clearly see other’s needs.

Third, you must make Christ your central focus. Paul showed that Christ was not their focus because they were seeking “their own.” Christ must be the reason we do everything. Everything you do should be to have Christ lifted up. You don’t do things because some man says to do it, but you do things because Christ says to do them. You must never fall into the trap of man worship, but you must keep Christ as the focal point of all that you do. When Christ is your focal point, then divisions and strife will cease.

There is truly no secret to developing a likeminded team. When everyone takes “me” out of the picture and points others to Jesus Christ, then great strides will be made in meeting the needs of others and reaching your community for Jesus Christ. Stay focused upon Christ, and a developing a likeminded team will be easily achieved.

Ephesians 1:5
“Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,”

Predestination often scares many people, but when you look at what it is, there is nothing to avoid. When God talks about us be “predestinated,” He is talking about a plan that He has for everyone who would ever be created. In reality, you could say that everyone was chosen, because God had a plan before they were ever born. Before there was a world, God planned three things for every person. It is their choice whether or not to accept their destiny, but if they accept it they will find a great result. Let me show you the three areas where God has a plan for everyone.

First, God planned that everyone would be saved. It says in the verse above, “Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself…” God does not destine some to get saved and some not to get saved, but He planned that everyone would get saved. This is why God says in 2 Peter 3:9, “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” It is your choice whether or not to accept God’s plan for salvation which is in Jesus Christ alone. Nobody is forced to get saved whether or not they like it; instead, they have the choice as to whether or not they accept God’s plan of salvation.

Second, God planned that you use your inheritance. As children of God, He has an inheritance He gave you. It says in verse 11, “In whom also we have obtained an inheritance…” This inheritance God gives is His power and grace. When you got saved, you inherited the power of God. When you got saved, you inherited access to all the graces in the Scriptures. He did not give you this inheritance to do everything on your own, but He gave them to you so that you would use them as you serve Him.

Third, God planned that you fulfill His purpose. Verse 11 continues to say, “…being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:” In other words, God has a purpose for why He placed you on this Earth, and your job is to fulfill that purpose. Before you were ever born, God had a purpose for you. He will not make you do it, but you will never be happy, nor will you ever reach your potential until you live in God’s purpose for your life.

What is the purpose of God giving us this destined life? He shows us in verse 12 when He says, “That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.” Friend, the whole purpose you are to live the predestined life is so that God receives the praise for what is done through you. You cannot do these things on your own, but you need God to help you fulfill these plans.

Are you living the predestined life that God has for you? Have you been saved? Are you using your inheritance? Are you fulfilling God’s plan for your life? It all comes down to understanding that if you live for yourself, you are missing your destiny. Yield yourself to God and you will find the destiny God has for you, and in that destiny comes the fulfillment in life for which you have been looking.

Galatians 2:12
“For before that certain came from James, he did eat with the Gentiles: but when they were come, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing them which were of the circumcision.”

Being accepted by the crowd is a desire from childhood. Clothing and hair styles become popular because people have a desire to be accepted by the popular crowd. It doesn’t matter the age of an individual because people from all ages will oftentimes do whatever it takes to be accepted by the crowd.

Just because a person is a Christian does not negate that desire. Pastors have changed their church philosophy so they would be accepted by their peers. Running with a crowd gives a pastor or church a false identity making them believe they have relevance, but with that desire comes a great danger to compromise truth in return for being accepted by the crowd.

One of the Apostle Peter’s weaknesses was that he was influenced by crowds. As boisterous as he was, he truly desired to be accepted by the populous. Peter’s desire led to his fear of man. The verse above says that Peter stopped preaching to the Gentiles because he feared “them which were of the circumcision.” Peter knew better, but because he desired to run with the crowd, he feared what they would do if he ate with the Gentiles.

Running with the crowd always produces a fear of man. A fear of man will cause one to do anything to be accepted by the crowd. A fear of man will cause one to compromise what they know is true. A fear of man will cause one to deny the church, the faith and even God. Peter did all of these because he wanted to run with the crowd.

If you are going to avoid running with the crowd, then you are going to have to desire acceptance from none other but God. You are going to have to become comfortable with man not always approving what you do. The crowd doesn’t always do right. I’ve watched pastors and churches run to the next big crowd in Christianity no matter where they stand doctrinally all because they desire to be part of the “in crowd.” If you keep your eyes on God, it won’t matter to you what the crowd does.

Moreover, you will find with whom you should associate by doing right. When you start doing right, you will look beside you and find other people doing right. They don’t become your friends and associations because you sought them out, but they became friends and associations because you were both walking down the same path.

Furthermore, if you look to a crowd to determine what you should do, then you will eventually change who you are. The crowd is going to change. They may currently stand for right, but they will eventually change. You must never let the crowd be the horizon of truth; rather, you must let the Word of God and the faith determine truth. When God’s Word is your instrument of truth, then it won’t matter what others do, because you are comfortable with being alone.

Many good people have gone astray because they wanted to run with the crowd. Many good people have changed because they wanted to be accepted by others. Instead of running with the crowd, you need to run with God. Running with God always leads to staying true to the faith.

2 Corinthians 12:10
“Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.”

The journey to pleasure has been fraudulently twisted by advertisers and Hollywood. One would think that pleasure comes with no adversity in life. One would think that vice, wealth or possessions are the key to pleasure, but this is not true. You will find in 2 Corinthians 12 that there is a journey to pleasure. This journey is oftentimes hated and avoided, but you will never have true pleasure in life without taking the journey God prescribes to pleasure. Let me show you several steps on this journey.

First, trials will come. You are going to have to accept that you will have trials in life. Paul said in verse 7, “…there was given to me a thorn in the flesh…” You can either accept that trials are going to come or you can foolishly bury your head in the sand, but you will never have true pleasure until you accept that you are going to have trials.

The second step is the rejection of trials. Paul said in verse 8, “For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me.” This is the normal process that everyone goes through. When your trials come, you don’t like how uncomfortable it makes you and your flesh will try to reject it. It is what you do at the end of this step that truly determines whether you find pleasure in life.

The third step is that you ask God to remove it. You will notice in verse 8 that Paul asked God three times to remove the trial. There is nothing wrong with this. You should run to God for help with your trials, but you need to make sure you accept what God tells you to do with the trials. Though you may be asking God to remove the trial, the right action was made by going to God. Only He can help you with it.

The fourth step is accepting God’s grace to deal with it. God replied to Paul in verse 9 by saying, “My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.” I don’t know whether God will ever remove your trials, but you must deal with it by God’s grace. Realize that the grace of God is what gives you the strength to deal with your trial on a daily basis. Claim God’s grace and understand that He has given you enough grace to bear your trial.

The fifth step is letting the trial perform its purpose in you. The purpose of the trial is to keep you humble and reliant upon God. This is so important because pride will destroy us. God knows that we need trials to keep us humble and dependent upon Him. When you accept God’s grace for dealing with trials, you will realize that you cannot make it without Him and it humbles you so that He can use you.

The sixth and final step is to let God work through your weakness. Notice in the verse above that God becomes strong through your weakness. In other words, God takes what has made you weak and performs a great work through you. All throughout the Scriptures God worked through the weaknesses of individuals. The ultimate purpose of your trial is that God uses it to do a mighty work through you so that He can receive the glory.

Friend, this is the journey to true pleasure. When you look back and realize that you conquered your trial and it didn’t conquer you, then you look at it with pleasure. It is a pleasure that God would use you to do His mighty work. You would have never had this pleasure without your trials. I don’t know where you are on this journey, but keep taking the next step and you will see the pleasure God is trying to give you through your trials if you keep going.

2 Corinthian 3:17
“Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.”

Oftentimes you will hear that God has given the Christian liberty. That is true, but God doesn’t just give the Christian the liberty to do what they want to do. You will notice that God says, “…where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.” In other words, the liberty God gives the Christian is found beside the Spirit of the Lord. There are several principles we must learn about having liberty beside the Spirit of the Lord.

First, liberty is not a license to do what I want, but to do what the Spirit wants. Just because God has given you liberty does not mean that you have a license to live any way you desire. When I was a child, my parents gave me liberties because I was doing right. The very moment that I stopped doing right I lost those liberties. Likewise, God has given us liberty when we are beside the Spirit because He trusts us as long as we dwell there; however, when you leave where He dwells then you lose the liberty you acquired. You can’t quench the Spirit with sin and expect God to continue to give you liberty.

Second, liberty is not where I want to go, but liberty is found where the Spirit dwells. It says that liberty is “where the Spirit of the Lord is.” In other words, I don’t get to go where I want to go and have liberty, but I have liberty when I allow the Holy Spirit to lead me. If I followed my parents instructions, then I had liberty; likewise, if you follow the commands of God’s Word then you will have liberty.

Third, liberty demands that I be responsible with it. With liberty comes responsibility. Just because you have liberties does not mean you can abuse them. Privilege always has a responsibility to not abuse what you have. God expects the Christian to live responsibly with their liberty, and the only way you will live responsibly is to continually yield yourself to God’s Holy Spirit.

Fourth, liberty is not mine, but it is the result of being by the presence of the Spirit. Liberty is not yours, but it is God’s. For instance, Americans have liberties as long as they dwell inside of their country, but the very moment they leave the shores of their country they lose those liberties. Because liberty is found beside the Spirit of the Lord, then when we quench Him and leave His presence we lose the liberties we had.

Fifth, bondage is outside the doors of liberty. Life always has its opposites, and the opposite of liberty is bondage. That means when I leave the presence of the Holy Spirit I enter the bondage of sin. Christian, God did not mean for you to live in the bondage of sin. He saved you so you could enjoy the liberty of living by His Spirit. Don’t take your liberty for granted. Live right understanding that outside of the very doors of liberty is bondage. You may think there is liberty outside of the commands of God’s Word, but you will quickly find that what you perceived as liberty is truly bondage.

Friend, the liberty God gives is found beside the Spirit of the Lord. God’s Spirit will not lead you to live like the world. You will find that the liberty beside the Spirit of the Lord is something the world desires, but they will never find it living their life. The world does not give liberty, it gives bondage. I encourage you to be very careful with your liberty and beg God to keep you from the moment that would lure you from the presence of His Spirit. Continually yield to the Spirit of God, for you will have liberty as long as you dwell beside Him.

1 Corinthians 1:27
“But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;”

Can you remember as a child being on the playground and everyone lined up to be chosen to play a game? If you were not the one choosing, your greatest fear was being the last one chosen. Everyone knew that the last couple of people chosen were normally the ones who were not that good at the game about ready to be played.

In the verse above, God went to the playground of life to pick His team. You would think that God would pick the best because His work is so important. Yet, when you see God begin to pick from those available, you would think that He is picking a losing team. Let’s look at who God picks.

First, God picks the unlearned. The verse above says, “But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise…” God didn’t pick the most educated in society, but He chose those who were considered unlearned and ignorant among the elites. You can see this is consistent at the day of Pentecost when they said about the disciples “that they were unlearned and ignorant men.” (Acts 4:13) “Unlearned” simply means that God chooses those who are not considered the most intellectual by the world’s standard.

God’s second pick is the powerless. It says in the verse above, “God hath chosen the weak things.” The “weak things” is simply God choosing those who have no influence in society. In other words, they are the ones who are the average of society. They hold no position to use to influence others. They are not the ones who are in front of thousands. They have no strings they can pull to help the cause. They don’t have any contacts whom anyone would want; instead, they are simply willing to be used by God.

God’s third pick is the rejected. In verse 28, God chose the “base things of the world.” These are they whom society has rejected. These are not those who are in the “in crowd”; rather, these are they who everyone avoids. God chose those who are the rejects of society. Whether it was their past that caused them to be the reject or who they are as a person, these rejects are the one’s whom God chooses for His team.

Do you find yourself on this list? If you do, then you are in good company. Friend, God is not looking for someone who can impress everyone with what they have, but God is looking for someone who knows they need Him. God’s team may seem like a bunch of losers, but these “losers” in the hand of God can do mighty works. You will find these “losers” are the ones who preached to thousands, lead Israel through the wilderness, defeated giants, faced thousands with a few people, pastored large churches and were cast out by the spiritual crowd. You may be on the list whom God chooses, but in God’s hand you become a mighty tool if you will simply yield to Him.

Furthermore, if you are on the list whom God chooses, determine to show the world that they’ve misjudged you. Never let the world’s opinion stop you from doing something mighty for God. In God’s hand you are a mighty tool. The world may try to shame you into staying a nobody, but if you yield to God you can show a world the mighty God you serve and just what He can do with the rejects of society.

Just because the world does not pick you does not mean you can’t do something in life. In fact, if the world doesn’t pick you then you are a prime candidate for God’s team.

Romans 6:16
“Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?”

Years ago, I was flying back to Chicago, and next to me was seated a man who had starred in a couple blockbuster films in Hollywood. As he and I talked, I tried to witness to him, but he responded that he heard that stuff growing up in his grandmother’s house. I asked him why he left his grandmother’s teachings for his present lifestyle to which he responded, “They had too many rules by which they wanted us to live.” He said, “I wanted my freedom, so I have lived the life I wanted to live.” What this gentleman could not see was that he was still a servant, but he was only a servant to sin. With some of the things he told me about his life, it was sad to see a man who had been enslaved by sin and could not see that sin had caused his tumultuous life.

God teaches us that you are a servant to whoever or whatever you obey. If you obey sin, then you are servant to sin. If you obey God, then you are His servant. As much as this world loves to think that they are free as they live in sin, they do not see that they are still doing exactly what sin commands them to do. There are several thoughts that come to mind as we look at whose servant we really are.

First, you are a servant whether you like it or not. As much as you would like to think that you are not a servant to sin when you do what you want, you still are its servant. You may get to do “what you want to do,” but you are only obeying its commands. If you are not a servant to sin, then why can’t you quit your sin when you want to? It is amazing that when you serve God, He does give you the freedom to quit doing what He commands, but it only leads to heartache. If you choose to listen to your flesh, then you are a servant even though you may think you are free.

Second, each master has a different destination to where they are taking you. If you do what you want and follow sin, then death is your destination. If you make God your master and obey Him, then righteousness will be your destination. The great thing about obeying God is that He leads you into righteousness and the end of righteousness is peace and joy. Friend, the very thing for which you are seeking is found by being a servant to Christ.

Third, you must choose which master you will obey. God does not force Himself upon you, but He gives you a free choice whom you can serve. You can be tired of all the rules that God has for His servants, but you will end up bound in the chords of sin. Look at Samson, Naomi and the prodigal son who thought they had freedom, but when you look at the end of their lives they were broken and marred by sin. Sin always leaves you that way because the end of sin is death. Yes, sin will let you enjoy its “freedom,” but its freedom is bondage and death.

On the other hand, God begs the Christian in Romans 12:1 to “ …present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.” God gives you that choice, but yielding yourself to God will bring you the freedom and joy for which you are looking.

Let me encourage you to stop looking for another master. God is the only Master Who truly gives the freedom one desires. You are a servant, but you must wisely choose which master you serve because they all have different destinations to which they will take you. Choose Christ as your master, and you will find the righteous life which leads to a clear conscience, freedom, joy and a destination with no bondage.

Acts 26:22
“Having therefore obtained help of God, I continue unto this day, witnessing both to small and great, saying none other things than those which the prophets and Moses did say should come:”

One of the greatest battles that the Christian will fight will be to continue. I have watched people who started right, but veered off into false doctrine. I have watched Christians who started right, then they quit when the times got tough. I have watched Christians who started right, but turned back or coasted when they got tired. I have also seen Christians who started and continued on until the day they died. That is the type of Christian I want to be.

Paul made the statement in the verse above, “Having therefore obtained help of God, I continue…” Paul was determined to continue to serve God until the day He went to Heaven. In spite of health problems, he continued. In spite of battles, he continued. In spite of persecution, he continued. When he acquired a problem with his eyes, he continued. When Demetrius launched a personal attack against Paul for teaching against idolatry, he continued. When he faced the persecution from religious leaders who beat him, imprisoned him and wanted him executed, he continued.

Christianity is in great need of people who will continue in spite of. In spite of health issues, you need to continue. In spite of financial difficulties, you need to continue. In spite of attacks from Christian brethren, you need to continue. In spite of every trial that may come your way, you need to continue for the sake of Christ.

When we talk about Paul continuing, what was it that he continued? You find in the verse above that he continued to witness to others. He continued to do right when he was tempted to do wrong. He continued to stand for the faith when it was unpopular. When hard times come, people do not stop dying and going to Hell. When battles come your way, that doesn’t stop Hell from accepting the lost. No matter what you face, you must continue to witness to the lost.

Moreover, in spite of anything you face, you must continue to do right. Friend, it may not be easy to do right, but nobody ever said that doing right would be easy. Sometimes you just have to do the hard thing and do right. When the faith is unpopular, you must do right and stand for the faith. Continuing for the faith when the faith is unpopular is the only thing that will keep your children and grandchildren from doing wrong. You must have a determination to do right and witness to the lost without compromising the faith if you are going to continue.

The question we must ask is how did Paul continue to do right in spite of everything he faced? The answer is found when he said, “Having therefore obtained help of God…” Christian, you will never continue without the help of God. It is the help of God that gives you courage when the courageous fall. It is the help of God that gives you strength when your strength has failed. It is the help of God that helps you stand when others are trying to beat you down. You will never continue without the help of God.

Can you like Paul say, “I continue?” You will face obstacles and difficult times as you serve God, but you must continue. Friend, stop looking for the help of man and look for the help of God. If you continue until you get to Heaven, you will only do so with the help of God.

Acts 21:4
“And finding disciples, we tarried there seven days: who said to Paul through the Spirit, that he should not go up to Jerusalem.”

Coincidence, happenstance or chance are the words we often use when a concurrence of circumstances or events happen without any apparent connection. What one can overlook very easily is that maybe this is the providence of God in one’s life trying say something to them to either warn or guide them down a certain path. One must realize that there are no coincidences with God, and everything that happens in life happens for a reason.

Paul had one of these “coincidences” happen in his life. He was determined to go to Jerusalem to partake in the upcoming feast. He knew very well that he had no business as a Christian going to the feast. On his journey towards Jerusalem, the shipped docked in Tyre where he was met by some disciples who warned him not to go. It was just two days later in a completely different city when Agabus came and prophesied of Paul’s captivity if he went forward on this journey to Jerusalem. Did Paul listen to these circumstances? No! What God used to try to get his attention fell upon deaf ears.

I’m reminded of Samson who was running from God. Samson was set apart by God to deliver Israel from the Philistines; instead, he was running with the very crowd whom he was to destroy. God sent a lion his way to grab his attention, but he ignored the “coincidence.” God then gave him multiple warnings from Delilah’s destructive hand to which he gave no attention. He should have listened, but didn’t to his own detriment.

There is another story when God tried to get someone’s attention in the story of Balaam. God told Balaam not to go with Balak, but he insisted on going. During his journey to meet Balak, God used Balaam’s donkey to try and get his attention. It got to the point of ridiculous when God caused the donkey to speak in order to finally get Balaam to listen. What he thought were pure “coincidences” was the voice of God trying to warn him not to go.

Friend, do you listen to the “coincidences” that happen in your life? There are times when God is trying to say something to us, but we can get so wrapped up in what we are doing that we can’t even see that God is speaking. When circumstances happen that seem to be out of the normal, you need to stop and ask yourself if God is trying to speak to you.

Moreover, when people who have no connection say the exact thing to you, it would be wise to listen up and see if God is truly speaking. You can mark it down as chance, but people who have no connection with each other saying the same thing to you could be God trying to get your attention. You must not let your pride cause you not to hear the warnings or guiding of God in your life.

Let me ask you, are you listening? Is your first response when concurring circumstances happen, “God, are you trying to speak to me?” Your first action every time you have “coincidences” happen in your life should be to stop and ask God if He is trying to say something to you. Don’t take things for granted. God can providentially use circumstances in your life to speak to you. Have a listening ear to hear God and a willing and obedient spirit to follow what He is trying to tell you, and you will always find the will of God for your life.