11 September, 1999 Dear Brothers & Sisters; Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. Did you know that every Pauline epistle, and several of the others start out with that greeting in one form or another? Obviously, Paul thought it was important that those he was writing to have these qualities in their lives. God wants us to have grace, that overabundant supply of His goodness and power that are given towards us, which we don't deserve, but He has provided for us. He also wants us to have peace. Not just any peace, but the peace only He can give, which surpasses all understanding. Paul, by the abundance of the revelation given to him, knew how important these qualities were in the believers' lives. As many times as I've heard people preach on the peace of God that surpasses all understanding (Phil 4:7), I don't think I've every heard anyone put it together with the verse that is immediately before it. "Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God" (Phil 4:8). You see, the peace of God cannot come upon us when we are worrying and fretful, but only when we are casting all of our care upon the Lord. We have just recently had a real life lesson in this. For a short time, it appeared as if the devil was working overtime to destroy our ministry, through destroying our peace and unity. However, we are "more than conquerors" (Rom 8:37), and have been given the victory through the grace of God. All of us as ministers are on the front line in God's army. The enemy knows this, and if he can distract you, or bring strife into your camp, he can reduce your effectiveness for the Lord. If you need prayer for your ministry, or even if you have been blessed in any way by these letters that the Lord has had me write, please let us know. We stand together with you, linked arm in arm, to win the battle that is before us all. Be Blessed in the Lord, Rev. Rich Murphy Keep on Track From time to time, I hear of ministers, usually pastors who have "burned out" in the ministry. Looking at this, the obvious question is: Why would a God who loves us, put someone in a position that would destroy them? The answer to that question is just as obvious. He wouldn't! People who burn out in ministry don't do it because of God's demands on them, but because of their own demands. You see, when God calls someone to do something, He provides everything that they need to accomplish the vision that He's given them. It doesn't matter how big or small the vision is, everything that is needed is set aside for that ministry's use. Anointing, finances, strength, partners, ability and talents are all provided before the calling is given. With the provision that God has made, there is no reason for anyone to burn out in the ministry. So, why does it happen? Get God's Vision for You! We are only effective in the ministry when we are doing what God wants us to do. If you don't have a vision for what God wants you to do, then you are just doing things, not performing part of God's master plan. Granted, the things you are doing might be good things, but they aren't the best things for you to do. Once you have the vision, Habakkuk tells us "Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it" (Hab 2:2). It is amazing how many people in the ministry forget to follow this piece of advice. Notice how the verse ends, "that he may run that readeth it." One of the things a vision does for us is to motivate us. When we get bogged down in the day-to-day part of keeping things going, it is easy to lose track of why we are putting up with the problems. Keeping track of the vision helps us to see the purpose in dealing with the day-to-day. Keep Track of the Vision Another thing that the vision does for us is keeping us on target with what God has called us to do. There are lots of great things out there to do, but they might not be what God wants you to do. When people get "burned out" it means that they've lost track of God's vision for them. Instead of concentrating on what God has given them to do, they're putting their effort into "good things" to do. They're not seeing God's direction, they're seeing everything that needs to be done. But God may not have called them to do those things. Each of us in the Body of Christ has a certain task to perform. In first Corinthians, Paul writes: "For the body is not one member, but many. 15 If the foot shall say, Because I am not the hand, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body…" (1 Cor 12:14-15 & following) Each part of the body has it's own task "If the whole body were an eye, where were the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where were the smelling?" (1 Cor 12:17). Just because there is something good to be done, doesn't mean that you're the one to do it. It is easy to lose track of GOD'S BEST in order to accomplish GOOD STUFF. That's what happens to many people. That makes casualties out of ministers, instead of them being victors. Lose God's Will - Lose God's Presence The book of Judges ends with the verse: "In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes" (Judges 21:25). Notice how that verse ended. "every man did that which was right in his own eyes." They didn't have any vision. They didn't even seek God's direction, all they did was what they thought would be good. First Samuel continues the story from where the book of Judges leaves off. With Eli, then Samuel being judges over Israel. The people were still in this condition, of each man doing that which was right in his own eyes, when they faced the Philistines in chapter four of 1st Samuel. At the first battle, the Philistines killed about 4,000 Israelites. "Now Israel went out against the Philistines to battle…2 when they joined battle, Israel was smitten before the Philistines: and they slew of the army in the field about four thousand men" (1 Sam 4:1-2). The people of Israel didn't bother getting God's plan, they just went out to war. Not only that, but they hadn't even turned back to the Lord, they were still in the depraved state of seeking after idols. God couldn't bless them, and they didn't even notice it. Then, when they failed, they assumed God had done it to them, and came up with another plan. "Wherefore hath the LORD smitten us to day before the Philistines? Let us fetch the Ark of the Covenant of the LORD out of Shiloh unto us, that, when it cometh among us, it may save us out of the hand of our enemies" (1 Sam 4:3). Notice what they did. They brought the Ark of the Covenant as a "good luck charm" with them into battle. Essentially, what they did is say "here's our plan God, now by bringing your Ark with us, we expect you to bless it." That's the same thing we do when we don't bother to find out God's plan, and instead go out to do those things that look like they need doing. We cannot reasonably expect God to bless our plans, when He didn't have any part in making them. God isn't looking for plans to bless, God has a plan! If we want God's blessing on our work, then we need to find out what His plan is. That's already blessed by Him! Let's get back to the story, and see what happens to the Israelites. In verses four and five, it says that they brought the Ark from Shiloh into the camp, and the people "shouted with a great shout" when it arrived. In fact, they shouted so loud that the Philistines wondered what happened. Verse seven tells us that they were afraid because God had come into the camp. But, let's look at what they say in verse eight: "Woe unto us! who shall deliver us out of the hand of these mighty Gods? these are the Gods that smote the Egyptians with all the plagues in the wilderness" (1 Sam 4:8). Even though it was 350 years after Israel came out of Egypt, the Philistines were still afraid of their God. They had a better memory of what God did than God's chosen people did! Sometimes, it seems that the people of the world know what our God should be doing even better than we do. The reason they aren't coming into the church is that they don't see God's presence there. They know what God has done in the past, and until they see it again, they don't see any reason to waste their time in the church. So, did the Israelites win because of having the Ark? No! In fact, they lost even greater than they had before. "And the Philistines fought, and Israel was smitten, and they fled every man into his tent: and there was a very great slaughter; for there fell of Israel thirty thousand footmen" (1 Sam 4:10). Not only did they lose to the Philistines, but they lost the Ark of the Covenant, too! They lost the visible symbol of God's presence in their midst. Oh, they got it back eventually, but that's not the point. They should have never lost God's presence in the first place. God's Presence & God's Anointing The Israelites error wasn't in going to war against the Philistines. It wasn't in bringing the Ark of the Covenant with them. Their error was in doing their own thing. They didn't even bother to find out God's will, all they did was their will. When you go out to do the "good things" that you see needing to be done, you set yourself up to miss God's plan. You are one of those who "did that which was right in his own eyes" (Judges 21:25). Why should you expect any different results than the Israelites did? If God didn't bless the man made plans of His "chosen people" back then, why would He do so now? Jesus said: "Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise" (Jn 5:19). In other words, Jesus was giving us the truth about the effectiveness of His earthly ministry. He said that He accomplished so much for the Kingdom of God, because He only did that which God the Father was doing. If Jesus, who was God had to do what God the Father was doing in order to be effective in His ministry. Then we also have to do what God the Father is doing in order to be effective in our earthly ministry. But, Jesus doesn't stop His instruction here. He goes on to say: "He that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him" (Jn 8:29). You see that? Because Jesus did those things that the Father was doing, the Father was always with Him. Or, because Jesus was doing the things that God the Father had given Him a vision to do, the anointing power of God was in everything that He did! That's the secret for you and me today. When we are doing those things that God the Father is, or doing the things that He has given us a vision to do, then He is doing them through us. We don't have to do it in our strength, all we have to do is be yielded vessels. We don't have to supply for the ministry, because He already has! We don't have to have the plan, because He already does! We don't have the have the ability, because He has the ability! We don't have to have the strength, because He is strong! Those other things, well don't worry about them, God has someone else that's supposed to do them. Don't rob their blessings either. Pray for that person to accept God's call, and accomplish his or her part of God's master plan.

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Copyright © 1998 by Richard A. Murphy,  Maranatha Life  All rights reserved.