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Our Cost of Saying “Yes” to God (Part 3)

Dec10

This blog may be the hardest one to write in this blog series. This is where I talk about how saying “yes” to God has cost us close relationships with people, some of whom are family members.

If you stop and think about it for a moment, if a person is saying yes to God, then in order for that person to be faithful to God, that person will then have to tell at least some people “no”. Quite simply because what are the odds that every person you know is hearing from God for your life and that all are hearing the exact same thing? It has been my life experience that most people – no matter how much they may love you or have the best intentions for you – most people are not praying that God’s will be done in your life. Is this not how the Lord Jesus told us to pray? In the book of Matthew in the Bible, at chapter 6, starting at verse 9, Jesus says, “Pray, then, in this way: ‘Our Father who is in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” (NASB Italics are mine for emphasis.) Notice that Jesus didn’t pray to the Father, “May Peter’s will be done, or wait, better yet, may John’s will be done”. No! He may love them, he may cherish them and is willing to die for them, but Jesus Christ wants the will of the Father to be done, not man’s will.

After the Last Supper, Jesus – knowing what He was about to go through – went to the Garden of Gethsemane and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will.” (Matthew 26:39b NASB Italics are mine for emphasis. Also found at Luke 22:42) If Jesus Christ being perfect, being the Son of God was asking for God’s will not his own personal will to be done, then why aren’t we?

Eric and I have discovered over the past 14 years that the more we have done the will of the Father, the more we seemed to upset people, or ruffle feathers. It was not our plan to have people upset with us and we certainly were not trying to ruffle anyone’s feathers; we just wanted to follow the example of Jesus Christ. We, as imperfect humans, can have an expectation that we put upon other people, and I do not think we realize how conditional our professed love for others is when those we say we love step outside of what we think they should do in their own life.

When I sign copies of Love Waits, I sign my name and 1 Corinthians 13:4-7. Why? It is called “the love chapter”, but this is love according to the word of God. “Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” (NASB)

In this passage it does not say that love is doing what I say to do. Nor is it saying that love means you should be living as I think you should, nor does it say that love means you should be making the choices that I deem are righteous. No, it does not say that at all. Too often though, we put our will, way, or thoughts on someone else, instead of simply praying for the Father’s will in their life.

Here is an example from our lives. In 2012, we attended a church that we were quite active in. This is after we said yes to God (blogs Our Cost of Saying “Yes” to God Part 1 and 2) and we were preparing for the move to Michigan. We stopped at the church one afternoon while running errands. While we were at the church, a friend of ours was there. We were chatting for a moment when she, in a matter-of-fact manner, mentioned that there were a group of people in church praying against us moving to Michigan because they didn’t want us to leave. I just stood there, shocked. Eric and I had been through a roller coaster ride of getting ready for the property to sell, so we could move as God was directing us. I could not believe what she had just admitted to us. Did she and the others not realize that they were praying against God’s will in our lives? Did they not realize that what we bind on earth is then bound in heaven? (Matt. 16:19, Matt. 18:18)

Eric and I said our goodbyes to her and went on with our next errand. I remember this quite clearly because I think this was my first bold prayer to God. It was early November of 2012, on a Friday afternoon, in the parking lot of Albertson’s in Williston, ND, I prayed aloud with Eric like I never prayed before. I truly believe it was Holy Spirit taking over. I did not condemn nor curse anyone for praying against God’s will, but I did repent of this sin, I did apologize for it, and I prayed for the will of the Father to override man’s will in our lives. The next morning (Saturday), we got a phone call; by noon, our property was sold with all the paperwork getting done on Monday. By Thursday, we were heading out with the kids and a cargo trailer of our belongings to Michigan.

When any of us puts our wants, desires, or even our will on other people’s lives, if we are professing to be a child of God’s, then we are in disobedience to the Father.

Here are some poignant passages in Scripture to read what God’s word says about this:

Matthew 12:46-50, “While He was still speaking to the crowds, behold, His mother and brothers were standing outside, seeking to speak to Him. Someone said to Him, ‘Behold, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside seeking to speak to You.’ But Jesus answered the one who was telling Him and said, ‘Who is My mother and who are My brothers?’ And stretching out His hand toward His disciples, He said, ‘Behold My mother and My brothers! For whoever does the will of My Father who is in heaven, he is My brother and sister and mother,’” (NASB Italics are mine for emphasis. Also found at Luke 8:19-21)

Matt. 7:21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord’, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter.” (NASB Italics are mine for emphasis)

Matt. 10:34-37 “Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I came to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and a man’s enemies will be the members of his household. He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.” (NASB Also found at Luke 12:51-53)

Saying yes to God does have a cost and even if you say yes, I expect that many times over the years to come you will be prompted by God to answer if you still say yes or not. I know that we have had to answer that; but, for us, there is no other choice. God is the most important One to us, there is no plan B.

Love and prayers, Sharon

Our Cost of Saying “Yes” To God (Part 1)

Nov21

Note: As I sat down to write this blog earlier this week, I had many thoughts come to me about what our lives (mine and my husband Eric’s) have been like since we said “Yes” to God in all areas of our lives. We have lost family, friends, and income over the years. However, we have also gained much. We have grown in our marriage with God and in our own personal walks with God. Today, it occurred to me as I was writing this, that this will not be “A” blog, but a blog series. I have no idea how many blogs will be in the series, but let’s begin.

In November of 2011, Thanksgiving weekend, one night seemingly out of nowhere God said to me, “I want to take you higher. Are you willing to go?” When God asks a question, there’s weight to it. To be honest, I wasn’t sure exactly what He meant by “higher”, but after a moment of contemplation, I said, “Yes.” This happened in the evening one night, I believe it was Saturday, I was standing outside on our small porch in Fairview, Montana, while I was waving goodbye to friends who had spent Thanksgiving weekend with us. After the lights of their car faded from sight, I stayed outside in the cool weather wondering what God had meant and wondering why He even asked me. Did the Creator of the universe really need my permission before He wanted to do something in my life? I have no answer for this. After awhile, I went back inside and told my husband Eric what had just happened. When he heard, he too said “Yes” to God. NOTHING has been the same in our lives since then.

This is one of those moments where we are counseled in Scripture to count the cost of following Jesus. Did we count the cost? Honestly, I don’t think we did. Eric and I have often talked about what God asked us back in November of 2011, and we’ve challenged ourselves with the question, “If we knew that all of this would happen, would we still have said ‘Yes’ to God?” Our answer is typically something like, “I don’t know, I hope so, but I just don’t know.” There is a cost to saying “yes” to God.

By us putting God first (not ourselves, or each other; not our children; not parents, or any other human) we shortly realized that we were swimming against the mainstream Christianity that we had once been a part of. That was not our intention, as a matter of fact, I doubt either one of us even thought that that was what we were doing. We were focused on God and His calling, trying to be obedient to Him in all things. We didn’t mean to ruffle anyone’s feathers, or be offensive to anyone, or “unchristian” as some people have accused us of. We were simply trying to do the will of the Father as Jesus said to. (Matthew 7:21 and 12:50) Shouldn’t those who were coming against us – the ones who professed to be Christians – have been the ones who accepted us, stood by us, and encouraged us? Like the church of Acts in the Bible, “They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone kept feeling a sense of awe; and many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles. And all those who had believed were together and had all things in common; and they began selling their property and possessions and were sharing them with all, as anyone might have need. Day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved.” (Acts 2:42-47 NASB)

Why was it so hard for people that we knew to accept that we were going to pray about a matter and then do as we felt led by God’s Spirit? Isn’t that what we are supposed to do if we are God’s people? Eric and I didn’t want to rely on human logic, or what our “feelings” were in a situation, or what we thought was right. We wanted to do His will, period.

This is when we started to realize that if we did something that was not in line with people’s perception of what was “right”, if their expectation of us was not met, then we were called “unchristian” or “unloving”; we were in error. We have even been accused that we “don’t serve the same God” as them. On that one, I may have to agree, though there would have been a time when I would have thought that we served the same God – Yahweh.

Over the coming weeks I will dive into more of what our life, our testimony has been even since that “meeting” with God in 2011. This is what saying “Yes” to God looked like for us.

The Seven Churches in Revelation (Part 3)

Oct24

By Eric Sponheim

PERGAMUM

Rev 2:12-17

“And to the angel of the church in Pergamum write:  The One who has the sharp two-edged sword says this:  I know where you dwell, where Satan’s throne is; and you hold fast My name, and did not deny My faith even in the days of Antipas, My witness, My faithful one, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells.  But I have a few things against you, because you have there some who hold the teaching of Balaam, who kept teaching Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols and to commit acts of immorality.  So you also have some who in the same way hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans.  Therefore repent; or else I am coming to you quickly, and I will make war against them with the sword of My mouth.  He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.  To him who overcomes, to him I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, and a new name written on the stone which no one knows but he who receives it.”

The church in Pergamum was willing to stand in the face of persecution from those who hated them, and Jesus.  They were in a place where it was challenging to be a Christian, but they didn’t shrink back or run in the face of opposition.  They were willing to risk their lives for the name of Jesus.  That is many, but not all, were willing to risk their lives for the name of Jesus.  For some had allowed sin to creep into their lives.  They had bought into a lie, because it sounded good.

The apostles, in Acts 15:19-20, said that Gentile believers should abstain from things contaminated by idols, sexual immorality, and from eating animals that had been strangled and from eating blood.  For some reason, some within the church decided to believe the lie saying it was “okay” to eat food sacrificed to idols and to be sexually immoral.  It would have made life easier, in a society where much of the food was sacrificed to idols and sexual immorality was the norm.       

Let’s be honest, we often do not like trials and persecution.  It is challenging and wearing.  We would like an easier path if at all possible.  The teachings of Balaam and Nicolas provided an easier path.  It was easier to fit in and be accepted by the community when you were doing what everyone else was doing. 

Some in Pergamum were succumbing to the pressure of the persecution and were looking for a way for it to end.  The problem with their solution was it made a mockery of God.  Somehow, they bought in to the lie that you could live a sinful life and still have a relationship with God.  Somehow the word “repent” had lost it’s meaning, it no longer meant “to turn from one’s sins.” 

The idea that “God loves me no matter what I do” had been twisted.  Love no longer meant love, love now meant that there would be no consequences for their actions.  Since God loves us, we can do whatever we want, it’s okay.  So, it’s okay to be like everyone else, all you have to do is say that you believe Jesus was your Savior.  Jesus is the “magic” word.  So, somewhere the idea that they were to be holy, like God; that they were to be set apart, disappeared. 

Basically, you had a church with a split personality.  Some were choosing to be faithful to God, despite the cost.  But others were looking for the easy way, they still wanted to be a Christian, but they didn’t want the cost associated with being a believer.  This church was experiencing a separating of the sheep and the goats.  Jesus was providing a warning to those who were heading to the goat pen.  

Most people don’t care if you say you believe in Jesus as your Savior.  The problems arise when you begin to live your life with Jesus as your Lord.  This challenges and offends them, even if you say nothing to them.  They are insulted when you no longer live the way they do, suddenly you have become “too good” for them.   As a result, they will do what they can to get you to go back to your old way of living. 

Much of the world is on the highway to hell, and they really do not care.  They want to live their life on their terms and do not want to answer to anyone for it.  They have no problem making life as difficult as possible for those who are seeking to spend eternity in heaven. 

We need to overcome wrong thinking and behavior.  Don’t be swayed by what tickles the ear and makes life “easier.”  Even today we need to be careful to not look for the easy, comfortable, way.  If we choose to compromise and live by the standards of the world we will become a goat.

There is a lot of teaching in the church today that can tickle our ears.  There is a lot of Bible teaching out there teaching us how we can have a better life.  It sounds good, and it contains truth, but unfortunately it also contains a lie.  The biggest problem is it centers around you.  God is no longer the center of it all.  The first lie is that it makes you out to be more important than you are.  Secondly, it makes God out to be less than who He is. 

Many are willing to sacrifice their holiness for their comfortableness.  But God is much more concerned with our holiness than with our being comfortable.

Nutshell – We need to overcome wrong thinking and behavior.  Don’t be swayed by what tickles the ear and makes life “easier.”