Category: called

Thieves and Robbers

Barbara Weber

John 10:1 WEB

“Most certainly, I tell you, one who doesn’t enter by the door into the sheep fold, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber.

Thieves break-in. They come through windows and other opportunities for access. The homeowner goes in through the door. When we come to Jesus on his terms, we are entering the sheepfold through the door. However, there are many who do not have the sheep’s best interest in mind. They may want to build a big church, or they may want to be wealthy. These and other issues indicate they have not come in by the gate. They may be called but instead of waiting to be chosen, they strive for their ministry position. They are thieves.

Modern-day evangelism gives rise to those whom Jesus calls thieves. In our world of self-promotion, many people can use their charisma and talents to advance in the kingdom. However, a true shepherd of the sheep will wait for the Lord to advance. Unfortunately, many people do not recognize they are not ready. That means there are wolves on a variety of platforms. The irony is they may feel confident the Lord sent them. Therefore, we need to learn to discern who is of the Lord, and who is a thief. The thief is in danger of the judgment.

How can we recognize thieves? We learn and trust the Bible. The Bible says not to rage. How many preachers use theatrics to entertain their audience? They get louder and louder until they whip the audience up into a frenzy. That is not real. A real preacher has legitimate proof of their content, not just emotional appeals. The Bible calls this kind of manipulation witchcraft. In fact, the Bible gives many instructions we can use to righteously judge those who lead us.  

Lord, please instill in me a hunger for the Bible. Help me learn its truth’s so I can detect frauds. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Compromise with the World

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John 8:42-47 WEB

Therefore Jesus said to them, “If God were your father, you would love me, for I came out and have come from God. For I haven’t come of myself, but he sent me. [43] Why don’t you understand my speech? Because you can’t hear my word. [44] You are of your father, the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and doesn’t stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks on his own; for he is a liar, and its father. [45] But because I tell the truth, you don’t believe me. [46] Which of you convicts me of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me? [47] He who is of God hears the words of God. For this cause you don’t hear, because you are not of God.”

Do you like to drink, smoke, live selfishly and in general always think about yourself? Do other godly people irritate you? Do you love the Father, or do you love the world? These are important questions for each of us to use to evaluate our heart condition. The one we serve is our father. Is God in heaven our Father, or is Satan of the earth our father?

We need to look out of ourselves to make these types of evaluations. Why? Jesus says when we hear Satan we become deaf to God. So, worldliness may not be easy to detect. For most of us, when we do not want to face sin we make an excuse to deal with it later. But it takes discipline and perseverance to self-check for worldliness and godliness.

However, most people change their doctrine to accommodate sin. Most of us cannot bear for our stated beliefs to be proven false. It’s called psychological dissonance. We all try to keep a balance so we do not experience dissonance. The easiest way to solve dissonance is to change our minds. We must resist this urge. When Holy Spirit starts to bring conviction, making excuses will cause your love for God to wax cold. In this place, strange perverted ideas can masquerade as godliness. For this reason, decision-makers in the Body of Christ need to be thoroughly tested and tried before they are given power over other believers. It is also why believers need to read the Bible with the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

Lord, open my ears so that I can hear you. Forgive me for partnering with the world. Please help me change to true godliness. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Nathaniel’s Repentance

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John 1:46-49 WEB

Nathanael said to him, “Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” [47] Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and said about him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no deceit!” [48] Nathanael said to him, “How do you know me?” Jesus answered him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” [49] Nathanael answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are King of Israel!”

Why was Nathanael so amazed that Jesus saw him under the fig tree? He was amazed because Jesus called him out for the sins of scoffing and laziness. Nathanael scoffed at Jesus because he was from Nazareth. Psalm 1 clearly defines scoffing as the worst level of sin. Psalm 1:1 NLT says, “Oh, the joys of those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or stand around with sinners, or join in with mockers.”

Notice how Jesus cuts right to the issue when he says, “Now here is a genuine son of Israel—a man of complete integrity.”  I don’t think He said it as praise but was probably employing a tone of sarcasm. Scoffing is one of the sins that partners with laziness. So, Jesus cuts to the heart of Nathanael’s life issues. Proverbs 6:9 NLT says, “But you, lazybones, how long will you sleep? When will you wake up?” Essentially Jesus was calling Nathanael out for his sins of scoffing and laziness. His answer to Nathaniel brought conviction and revelation and led to Nathanael getting up and following the Lord.

Don’t be afraid of all the scoffers. Also, do not come into agreement with them. Your right behavior will also be a holy behavior because it paves the way for their repentance. We are not Jesus; we do not have the Spirit without measure. I would leave off the sarcasm. We do not want to scoff at or with scoffers but rather speak the truth in love. Ephesians 4:15 NLT says, “Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church.”

Lord Jesus, please reveal to me those areas of sin that I am ignoring or ignorant. I want to get up from all sin and follow you. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Anointed and Set Apart

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John 1:6 WEB

There came a man, sent from God, whose name was John.

It has always been God’s way to choose a man or a woman and raise them up for his purpose (Romans 1:1, Hebrews 11:32). The Old Testament is full of heroes that were raised up in God’s timing to perform tasks and services for God. Most people know about Moses, King David, and the prophet Isaiah. All these men were raised up at a point in time to serve God’s purpose.

There are many other heroes you may not know about. For example, Rahab was a prostitute in the Old Testament who was raised up to serve God and accomplished his purpose (Joshua 2:6). In the time of Jesus, John the Baptist was raised up to serve a purpose for God (Luke 1:14-17).

In our modern era, the idea of a single person standing for God is not popular. In order to avoid favoritism, many ministries have attempted to open up space for a broad section of the laity to serve. There’s an idea that if the man of God has to leave this will prevent the ministry (or church) from collapsing. It’s an attempt to avoid losing an anointing that may rest with a single person. And, while it seems really fair and it feels really inclusive, it’s worldly. Because in the Bible, God picks a person to anoint to accomplish a purpose.

Lord Jesus, please help me recognize when another person is anointed to serve you. Please guard my heart Lord so that I do not use the world’s means to try and discern your Spirit resting on another. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.