Who Am I?

“Who am I, O Sovereign Lord, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far?

2 Samuel 7:18(NLT)

After all David had gone through, the triumphs of battles, standing before giants, and being a king, he had the humility to say “who am I”. I love this statement; during the tough times when you think you’re wronged or are feeling slighted, don't try to justify yourself or defend yourself, but instead say “who am I Lord “. How about when you want to do something or you have your own plans but you get a clear “no” from God. Can you sit back and say “who am I God?”

You see, David says this after finding out that he would not be the one building the temple. This is something that was on his heart to do. He was looking at his cedar palace and thought that the Lord needed to have something better than a tent for the tabernacle. But he gets a no, you will not to be the one to build My house.

You see, "Who am I" is a healthy question; David knew his position in the kingdom. Unhealthy questions can derail you and stumble you. God is sovereign and allows things to happen, nothing happens outside His will. There was another man in the scriptures that questioned God, declared his innocence, and questioned why the wicked prospered. His name was Job, after some struggles with his friends, God comes down in whirlwind and starts questioning Job. Here are a few questions God Asks Job

“Who is this that questions my wisdom with such ignorant words?”

“Have you ever commanded the morning to appear and caused the dawn to rise in the east?” Who are we to question God’s wisdom...

Basically, who am I to question God’s sovereignty, who am I to question God’s plan, and who am I to be dissatisfied with God. I know its tough sometimes but when the unhealthy questions come up, you may not have an answer, but you can have a peace with the statement “who am I.”

Servanthood

Luke 22:26–27 (NLT)

But among you it will be different. Those who are the greatest among you should take the lowest rank, and the leader should be like a servant. Who is more important, the one who sits at the table or the one who serves? The one who sits at the table, of course. But not here! For I am among you as one who serves.

Jesus, in the final hours before being taken away to face the cross, shares one of His final lessons while here on earth. You see, this lesson comes on the heels of the disciples arguing over who is the greatest. All the time they spent with Jesus and in the final hours they were arguing; these things are all too common among us today. We really see this with kids early in childhood; as children want to be first, and shove and push to be first in line. You see, we try to excuse this behavior by saying we are very competitive, a go getter, or an over achiever. But Jesus was trying to tell us about servanthood.

Servanthood is becoming lost, as many seek to be served rather than to serve. Jesus gave us an example in His life of serving others. This daily exercise tired Him as people thronged to be near to Him, yet He still prayed early in the morning to seek the will of the Father and went on with that day’s work, finishing in prayer. Jesus served until the end. For us, serving doesn't come natural; it is something we need to be conscience of so we can do the will of the Father in our life. For some it may be as simple as serving in our home to our spouse or children. For others, the calling may be expanded to include a ministry, or to serve those in your workplace, maybe even to serve those who despise you.

Jesus tells us earlier, “The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve”, we are not here to be served. While there are seasons where we are served, we are not to be sidelined watching. We are to serve and take up the example that Jesus gives us, and serve. I encourage you to explore servanthood in your life, take Jesus as your example and minister to others as you are led by the Holy Spirit...

Are you hearing from God?

In 1 Samuel 3:1 we see a sad commentary on the state, not only for the Nation of Israel ,but also for the spiritual leaders. Chapter 3 starts like this; Meanwhile, the boy Samuel served the Lord by assisting Eli. Now in those days messages from the Lord were very rare, and visions were quite uncommon. (NLT)

So, the question is why were communications rare between the Children of Israel and God?

The answer started in Judges when the phrase is made several times that the people In those days Israel had no king; all the people did whatever seemed right in their own eyes. The answer continues later in 1 Samuel chapter 2 were we see the sons of Eli are called corrupt, they were not conducting the sacrifice in the manner set forth by God, and they also caused people to stumble by not wanting to make sacrifices to God.

So often I hear people say I don't hear from God, or they ask how does God speak to you? Much like the passage in Samuel there are some that think that God’s messages are rare and uncommon. So when this question is posed, I like to start with first asking are you praying? Much like a phone call you need to dial the phone to start the conversation. Prayer needs to be initiated to start the conversation with God and without it you limit the your ability to hear from God. We see Jesus frequently praying in the early morning and evening to hear from, and do the will of the Father.

The next thing we need to ask is are you reading God’s word? God’s word is living and the Holy Spirit will speak to you as you read it. Hebrews 4:12 says, For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. God speaks through His word, so trust it and allow it to speak to the innermost parts of your life.

Broaden your relationship with God through prayer and the Word. Its all about the relationship, because the more you do these two things the more you will hear God’s voice.

The real balance of life

In Leviticus chapter 23 God is describing the festivals, specifically the Day of atonement. What it says in verse 32 is “This will be a Sabbath day of complete rest for you, and on that day you must deny yourselves”. Now, the first thing I want to share is we are not under the law, and Paul reiterates this in Galatians 3:24 when he explains to the church in Galatia when he says “The law was our guardian until Christ came; it protected us until we could be made right with God through faith. And now that the way of faith has come, we no longer need the law as our guardian”. So for the purposes of this note I want to speak to the process of denying yourself.

For the day of the sabbath God wanted the people to rest, and to do this He says you need to deny yourself. You need to deny the urges that will come up and will distract you from this mandate. Jesus reciprocates this in the Gospel of Luke where He says in chapter 9 verse 23 “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross daily, and follow me”. To follow the plans of God you will need to understand how to deny yourself. What are the things you need to deny? They are different for each one of us, but can be summed up with the fleshly desires that separate us from God.

Initially one would think this is a negative connotation, but it is quite the contrary You see as God’s children, He wants the best for you and He knows that we need to deny ourselves to accomplish this. Those of you that have been around kids know that they are not always thinking of their well being when they make decisions. We are no different and we need to trust in the Word of God as it guides us. Often we cannot see the importance or possibly know the the growth that will come from obedience to the commandments of the Lord. I encourage you to daily read God’s Word, deny the flesh and the distractions that keep you away from it, and seek the will of the Lord in your life.

Be patient, be decisive

In Leviticus 24:12 we see a man in which during a fight blasphemes the name of God. What is important to see here is it says ”They kept the man in custody until the Lord’s will in the matter should become clear to them”. The people could have reacted in the passion of the moment and condemned this man, but was this the Lord’s will?Often we act in emotion or we act in haste with our decisions. We think we are acting in a manner that honors the Lord but in retrospect we can often see that our flesh was used as a rudder to steer our decisions in a way that can often further complicate things.

We see this in the book of Acts when the disciples took matters in their own hands to select Matthias. They did pray, but were they asked to replace Judas? These men were trained by Jesus and we never see Him cast lots to discern God’s will. These quick choices to do the Lord’s work can be dangerous.

It is important to know the Lord’s will and like in Leviticus 24 to wait and make sure the direction is clear. In most instances you have time, so take your emotions, thoughts, and desires into custody and be obedient to the clear will of God.

Light of the World

The first thing that God does in Genesis 1:3 is say “let there be light”. This part of creation was the entire first day, the next morning there would have been the first sunrise. I’ll bet you this was the coolest sunrise ever. There was nothing else that would have clouded or marred the picture. How blessed is it to see the light of day after a long night.

As a believer Jesus tells us in Matthew 5:14,

“You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.”

As a believer in Jesus Christ you are a new creation in Jesus Christ, full of His light and His love that will be seen by others. Jesus tells us to let your light shine, so when people see it they know that it’s God who has done this work and it glorifies Him.

So why is this important? Well, in the darkness of this world people are confused, lost, and looking for the way. That’s where we come in. In Proverbs 4:18-19 it says,

The way of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn,

which shines ever brighter until the full light of day.

But the way of the wicked is like total darkness.

They have no idea what they are stumbling over.

Just as glorious was that first sunrise on the second day of creation, so is the blessed moment when the sunrise of salvation shines into a life; the moment when an unbeliever comes to know Jesus. Our lives can be a reflection of the Messiah and all that He has done in our lives; people will see it, as you live a sold out life for Jesus.

Believers you are the light of the world, Let there be light for the glory of the Kingdom!!!

His Glory

Let’s look at John 17:10 in the NLT together, Jesus says, “All who are mine belong to you, and you have given them to me, so they bring me glory”. As Jesus prays to the Father right before He is betrayed, He mentions that we bring Him glory.

This verse resounded with me this morning as I was reading about Joseph. After he was betrayed by his brothers, when he was falsely accused, and forgotten in prison; Joseph on two occasions when approached to interpret dreams, gives God the credit with his first words, prior to any interpretation. I love that he very quickly ensured that those around him knew who he got his wisdom from. So much so that Pharaoh recognizes this and says, “Can we find anyone else like this man so obviously filled with the Spirit of God?”

What a blessing to be used by God, it’s amazing that God would use us imperfect earthen vessels to pour into, so we can pour out to a lost and dying world. Whenever you get the opportunity, there are many things in your life on a daily basis that you can use to give God glory, the credit for all He is doing, and acknowledging His handiwork in your life. David says it best in Psalm 29, “Give unto the Lord, O you mighty ones, Give unto the Lord glory and strength. Give unto the Lord the glory due to His name; Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness”.

Amen!!!!