July 12
1 Chron 12:19-14:17 | PS 9:13-20 | Prov 19:4-5 | Rom 1:1-17
Whether you have been walking with God for 1 day, 1 year, 1 decade, or your entire lifetime; whether you quietly follow the Lord or placed in a major area of influence such as a lead pastor does not change the reality that we should never move forward in a spirit of presumption. We should never trust in our own skillset. We need to approach each task and each day in reliance in Almighty God. His ways are much higher than our ways (Isaiah 55:8-9), and beyond mastering, So it is for us to remain submitted always to His Lordship. David was already a seasoned warrior. Beyond slaying the giant, Goliath, he went on from there to lead one successful military campaign after another. But he did not rest upon his vast experience as we read in 1 Chronicles 14:10, "So David asked God, “Should I go out to fight the Philistines? Will you hand them over to me?” The Lord replied, “Yes, go ahead. I will hand them over to you.” He was told to attack them head on. But very soon again David was once again attacked by the Philistines. He assumed nothing as we read in 14:14, "And once again David asked God what to do. “Do not attack them straight on,” God replied. “Instead, circle around behind and attack them near the poplar trees."
We see the same thing with the apostle Paul. He was a scholar and by this time quite the statesman. He was seasoned in apologetics, had already confronted both Jew and Gentile, often beaten, misunderstood, yet resilient as he stood up for the gospel of Jesus Christ. But Paul did not trust in his knowledge. He did not trust in his experience. He presumed nothing as he moved forward day after day, year after year. We read how Paul rightly saw himself in Romans 1:1, "Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God" (NKJV). The NLT refers to Paul as a slave. The term bondservant conveys a deeper truth in that a bondservant willingly gives up his freedom for the sake of his master, while a slave might be a slave for a multitude of reasons. We see this sense of submission conveyed in 1:5, "Through Christ, God has given us the privilege and authority as apostles to tell Gentiles everywhere what God has done for them, so that they will believe and obey him, bringing glory to his name."
We read how we should view our standing before God in Romans 1:17, "This Good News tells us how God makes us right in his sight. This is accomplished from start to finish by faith. As the Scriptures say, “It is through faith that a righteous person has life.” God has lovingly placed each of us in our respective mission fields. This might be small or large, this doesn't really matter. What matters is whether or not we will be faithful with what God has bestowed upon us. Will we face each day in humble submission and seek His Lordship and direction as we move forward in these arenas? If we think "we got this", then we don't. We have never moved so far that we no longer need to rely on God fully for our day to day lives. Thank you Jesus for never leaving and always availing Yourself to us.
Messages from Pastor Lloyd Pulley: