We live in a age including in church planting where style is given more importance than substance. I became more interested in the style called church planting than in the substance of making new disciples for Jesus Christ. I thought I was all about the later, in reality I was all about the prior. We all have the propensity be it in a established church setting or in a new emerging church to get the goal of our ministry mixed up with the author of our ministry. Part of the problem was I was never suppose to lead apart from the Chief Shepherd. I had just enough talent to do so and I did. To often I walked up the hill on my own strength. Do you ever do that? Do you ever lead in your own strengths instead of the strength of Jesus?
LIke Frodo, I slipped the ring on my finger and it felt oh so good and right. I forgot that God had told me how I was to do justice, how he wanted me to do the right thing and to exude loving kindness. Long ago God told us the secret of effective ministry and life is to walk humbly with our God. For us and our part humility is the key! Just in case you didn’t get that for us humility is the key! The door though which we must pass is Jesus! We must look at ourselves as far to frail and fallible as humans and look towards Jesus who is wonderfully perfect. Jesus fulfilled all that the Lord God required. If we are honest we don’t do it.
“He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? ”
He has told you. // Revelation from God to you. This is personal.
O man. // This is humbling, deity is talking to dust.
What is good? // The Question presented, what is good?
What the Lord requires. // Answer, The following three things.
Do justice. // (1) To do (action) justice i.e. the right thing (motivation).
Love kindness. // (2) To love (motivation) kindness (action).
Walk humbly. // (3) Walk (action) humbly (motivation).
With your God. // (4) With (conjuction linking you with) your God (the source)
What God primarily wants of us is not to do it like Jesus but to do it with Jesus. Jesus is not our great example. Jesus is the great author and great perfector of our faith. Read Hebrews 12 sometime. The point is we come along side of him. The reason we struggle and go through hardship is to help learn humility. Jesus was Humility personified. His incarnation was a act of humility.
In Psalm 25:9 There is a promise that God will work in us. “He leads the humble in what is right, and teaches the humble his way.” There is no promise here or anywhere in the Bible that it will always or ever be easy.
Why would God allow us to ever have idols? The same reason he allowed Israel to do so. To drive them to the cross. Sometimes God will give us the desires of our hearts so that he may destroy them and show us our great need for him. This will hurt. In Hebrews 12 it says. “Every son he loves he scourges.” Scourging is painful. Jesus must enter our temples and throw over our tables. He must clean out every single room. He will destroy that which does not belong to him.
In doing so he makes us humble. For Jesus is Humility. “Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am Meek and {I am} Humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves. For my yoke is easy and my burden light.” Learn to be humble now or God will give you your idol so that he may tear you down to build you back up. Take Jesus yoke and let him guide you. Are you a humble person? If not what idol needs to be torn down? Asks God to show you. He will. Be careful though it will be painful but it is worth it. I have the wounds to prove it. You begin to count it as all joy. You learn to resemble the beauty of true Humility.
Part 5 of 5.