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NKJ Philippians 4:6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything
by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests
be made known to God;
We have learned to not worry about:
- Finances because He is Jehovah – Jireh
(Genesis 22:14) the Lord our Provider.
- Health because He is – Jehovah Rapha
(Exodus 12:56) the Lord our Healer.
- Trials because He is Jehovah – Nissi
(Exodus 17:15) the Lord our Banner (our Victory).
- Guidance because He is Jehovah – Rohi
(Psalms 23:1) the Lord our Shepherd.
- Forgiveness because He is Jehovah – Tsidkenu
(Jer. 23:6) the Lord our Righteousness.
- Loneliness because He is Jehovah – Shammah
(Ezekiel 48:35) the Lord always with us.
- Anything because He is Jehovah Shaloam (Judges 6:24) the Lord
our Peace.
Did I say anything? Yes, we are not to be anxious about
anything. What about the ministry? We are not to be
anxious about ministry. What about all of the people that
will die without Jesus? We are not to be anxious about them
(concerned yes). What about the imminent return of Christ? We
are not to be anxious about that. What about what God has
called me to do? We are not to be anxious about that.
Like most (if not all) things there is God’s straight and
narrow road and then there are satan’s ditches on either
side. The ditch on the left would be to be to neglect the
work of the Lord through apathy, carnality, ignorance, etc. We
know to avoid this ditch of being behind in God’s work; however,
we need to know more about the ditch on the right. If satan
can not cause you to be behind in what God is doing in the Earth
today then he will attempt to push you ahead of what God is doing.
Paul stated this happened to him:
NAS 2 Corinthians 11:24 Five times I received from the Jews thirty-nine lashes. 25
Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times
I was shipwrecked, a night and a day I have spent in the deep.
26 I have been on frequent journeys, in dangers from rivers,
dangers from robbers, dangers from my countrymen, dangers
from the Gentiles, dangers in the city, dangers in the wilderness,
dangers on the sea, dangers among false brethren; 27 I have
been in labor and hardship, through many sleepless nights,
in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure.
28 Apart from such external things, there is the daily
pressure upon me of concern for all the churches.
Daily satan would bring thoughts of worry to
the Apostle Paul about the church. Paul co-labored with God to start most
of the church. Satan would like you to forget that it is
up to God to sustain His church. Being anxious is agreeing
with satan and saying that it is up to us.
God took 4000 years after Man fell to send Jesus. Jesus
took 30 years to prepare for a 3.5 year ministry. God has
always worked diligently to save this world but He is not anxious.
The God who said:
NKJ Romans 10:15 And how shall they preach unless
they are sent? As it is written: "How beautiful are the feet of those
who preach the gospel of peace, Who bring glad tidings of good
things!"
Also said:
NKJ Proverbs 19:2 Also it is not good for a soul to
be without knowledge, And he sins who hastens with his feet.
Where am I going with this? We are to be diligently doing
the work of the Lord. However, this involves following the
Lord on a moment by moment basis.
Example of an anxious thought from satan: The
world has over six billion people with most of them lost. Therefore, we need
to all quit our jobs and spend all our time in evangelism. The
magnitude of the task becomes paralyzing thinking we must solve
it independent of God. The problem with this is that we are
responding to a real problem in our way not God’s way. We
will end up accomplishing very little eternally although we may
be very sincere.
Example of non-anxious thought from God: The
world has over six billion people with most of them lost. Therefore, we need
to follow the Holy Spirit’s plan of witnessing as we go through
life. We will witness to our neighbors, co-workers, and participate
in FAITH, etc. Rather than being paralyzed by the magnitude
of the problem we are fulfilling the Great Commission being diligent
but not anxious. In FAITH Training we say: Share the Gospel
in the power of the Holy Spirit and leave the results to God.
In Summary:
God is in control. We do need to be concerned and diligent
about ministry. However, we must never forget that it is
the Holy Spirit within that will accomplish the work. We
can get so worked up about our plans to save the world that we
really do more harm than good. Relax, God can pull this whole
thing off – only trust Him.
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