ENDURANCE

Hebrews 12:1-2 Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

When we started our canoe trip, I thought to myself, “This isn’t so hard.” The excitement of getting on the river and getting to our first campsite made paddling quite easy. However, the second day was another story. When you use muscles that you haven’t used in a long time, they tend to remind you just how long it’s been since you’ve used them. To complicate things, when your canoe is moving into a headwind, you can paddle and paddle and literally go nowhere. The wind keeps you from moving. It is in those kinds of situations that you must persevere. That’s when endurance is key. It also helps if you have a light load in your canoe. A minimum of camping supplies keep the canoes light. The third day was even more difficult for many of us. We needed endurance to get us through. As we neared the end of the journey, we had fresh energy to push through the fatigue to the finish.

The writer of Hebrews calls us to “run with endurance.” The Christian life is a marathon – not a sprint. We can run more efficiently as we “lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us.” An encumbrance may not necessarily be a sinful thing, but is can hinder how fast you run the race. Sin trips us up; encumbrances slow us up. They are unnecessary weights – “Stuff” that gets in the way of our victorious walk in Christ. It could be insecurities, the opinion of others, and things of that nature. If we slip or fall, we must get back up and keep running. Keep your eyes on the prize! Jesus stands ready at the finish line cheering you on – “You can do it!” As you focus on Him today, my prayer is that you will have renewed strength to run the race and finish well. (from Pastor Mike Woods – Director of Addiction Recovery Ministries for Men – America’s KESWICK)

GREAT QUOTE: — “Unbelief looks at God through the circumstances, just as we often see the sun dimmed by clouds and smoke. But faith puts God between itself and its circumstances, and looks at them through Him.” – Mrs. Charles Cowman

Proverbs 6:6 “Go to the ant, you sluggard, consider its ways and be wise!”

When I consider a verse like this, I have to think that Solomon had a lot of time on his hands to study ants! Thankfully, he was able to illustrate through his study this next leadership quality of Initiative.

Ants don’t wait around to be told what to do. They instinctively go about their life storing food and preparing for the time when no food will be available (winter and spring). The quality of initiative was also demonstrated through the leadership of Joseph when he interpreted the dream of the cows to Pharaoh in order to store grain for when famine came. His initiative not only saved Egypt, but was God’s provision to Israel during their time of famine.

One important thing about godly initiative is that exercising it never runs ahead of God. What I mean is that when we take the initiative to do something for God, we ought to be sure that it is God directing us and not our own self-will. When we exercise self-willed initiative, we often get thrown into confusion. A prime example of this is the Tower of Babel. When the people in the settled in the plains of Shinar and Nimrod (boy, that’s a mane!) led the effort to make a name for themselves by building a tower to reach Heaven. God decided to throw their language into confusion so they would not understand each other and would scatter throughout the land like they were originally commanded. (cf Gen. 9:1, 11:1-9).

Achieving God’s purposes requires taking faith-filled risks (initiative). This always involves change. You must launch out into the deep. In other words, “if you want to walk on water – you gotta get outta the boat.”

If money wasn’t an issue and God offered you the opportunity to further His kingdom in whatever way you wanted, what would you do? Would you start a ministry? Would you go back to school? What would you do? What is your passion? Remember, your passions in life are to be used to further His kingdom on earth. Therefore, your passions come from Him!
Also, He is the God of unlimited resources (Psa. 24:1). However, like the nation of Israel when they faced the racing waters of the Jordan as they prepared to enter the promised land, you have to get your feet wet before you can walk on dry land. (Josh. 3:17). (from the pen of
Pastor Mike Woods, Director of Addiction Recovery Ministries for Men – America’s KESWICK)

Great Quote: “We have a duty to encourage one another. Many a time a word of praise or thanks or appreciation or cheer has kept a man on his feet. Blessed is the man who speaks such a word.” – William Barclay

Our world is in chaos. Some of your world’s are in chaos. Nations are pursuing nuclear weapons. Armies are being built up around the world. The weather systems around the world appear to be off kilter. Coincidence? Or are they signs of the times? Dr. Jimmy DeYoung will be our guest Bible teacher for our 2007 Prophecy conference which begins Sunday evening, July 22, 2007. We still have some empty rooms left. Come and bring your family. If you have not already registered, call and ask for the “Freedom Fighter Special” which applies to folks who HAVE NOT registered for this 2007 conference. Call today – 732-350-1187. I look forward to seeing you!

IF YOU ARE THINKING ABOUT LEAVING A CHURCH …

“[God’s} intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, according to his eternal purpose which he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord.” – Ephesians 3:10-11

You might think this is an odd Freedom Fighter to write on a Sunday morning when the body is gathering today for corporate worship. I am a local-church man. Love the church, believe in the church, and encourage our people to support their local church BEFORE considering a gift to America’s KESWICK. But I am amazed at how many people are “church-shopping” and have told me in recent days, several this week, that they are either bailing out on the church or leaving theirs.

I just completed a great read by Pastor Mark Dever entitled: “WHAT IS A HEALTHY CHURCH? Unfortunately, too many believers today look at church as “What’s in it for me?” If you are contemplating a change in churches, let me suggest you consider Mark Dever’s recommendations:

BEFORE you decide to leave:

1. Pray.

2. Let your current pastor know about your thinking BEFORE you move to another church or make your decision to relocate. Ask for his counsel.

3. Weigh your motives. Is your desire because of sinful, personal conflict or disappointment? If it’s because of doctrinal reasons, are these doctrinal issues significant?

4. Do everything within your power to reconcile any broken relationships.

5. Be sure to consider all the ‘evidences of grace’ you’ve seen in the church’s life – places were God’s work is evident. If you cannot see any evidences of God’s grace, you might want to examine your own heart once more. (Matthew 7:3-5)

6. Be humble. Recognize you don’t have all the facts and assess people and circumstances charitably (give them the benefit of the doubt).

IF YOU GO:

1. Don’t divide the body.

2. Take the utmost care not to sow discontent even among your closest friends. Remember, you don’t want anything to hinder their growth in grace in this church. Deny any desire to gossip (sometimes referred to as ‘venting’ or ‘saying how you feel’).

3. Pray for and bless the congregation and its leadership. Look for ways to do this practically.

4. If there has been a hurt, then forgive – even as you have been forgiven.

Don’t neglect church today! And in fact – make it a point today to encourage your Pastor! He needs it!

Great Quote: “The early church put it this way: in essentials, unity; in non-essentials, diversity; in all things, charity!”

DEDICATION

Romans 12:1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and acceptable to God – this is your spiritual act of worship.

Today’s leadership quality focuses on Dedication. It gives the idea of giving yourself over to something or someone. It involves an inward declaration to oneself that they are dedicated to___________. (you fill in the blank). Dedication involves defending the one you are dedicated to. It gives a sense of forsaking all others for the one you’re dedicated to. I’m reminded of the vow I made before God on June 6, 1992. It was the day I dedicated myself before God to be the husband of Carole – my wife. In my dedication to follow and obey the Lord Jesus Christ; I made a vow to Him that I would forsake all others and cleave to my wife for as long as I live.

We hear of other people who dedicate their lives for one thing or another — doctors and scientists who dedicate their lives to find a cure for cancer, AIDS, and other life-threatening illnesses. People like Mother Theresa who dedicated her life to helping the dying and unfortunate of Calcutta, India. We think of these as people of great dedication to their causes. Their passion and commitment is what exemplifies the meaning of dedication.

The Apostle Paul urges us to dedicate our lives as living sacrifices that are holy and pleasing to God. Our passion and commitment to be a follower of Jesus ought to characterize our lives as dedicated disciples – not casual Christians. Paul continues in reminding us that doing this is our spiritual act of worship. A more literal translation reads, “Which is your reasonable service.” (NKJV). In other words, this is what is expected of us as Christians. We are to be people of dedication – first to God, then to those who are his. This requires a decision to go deeper with the Lord. As Henry Blackaby wrote in his book Experiencing God, “you cannot go with God, and stay where you are.” Simple but profound! We must decide to go deeper in our dedication to Him. After all, He went as deep as the grave in His dedication to us. And he remains dedicated to us even when we lack dedication to him. (cf. 2Tim. 2:13).

Good word today from Pastor Mike Woods, Director of Addiction Recovery Ministries for Men at America’s KESWICK.

Great quote: When we grieve the Holy Spirit, we push aside the One who is the agent to us of the work of Christ for our present life. On the basis of the finished, passive work of Christ-that is his suffering on the cross-and on the basis of the active obedience of Christ-that is, keeping the Law perfectly through his life-the fruits are there. They are there to flow out through the agency of the Holy Spirit through us into the external world. The fruits are normal; not to have them is not to have the Christian life which should be considered usual. there are oceans of grace which wait. Orchard upon orchard waits, vineyard upon vineyard of fruit waits. There is only one reason why they do not flow out through the Christian’s life and that is that the instrumentality of faith is not being used. This is to quench the Holy Spirit…and we sin by omission because we have not raised the empty hands of faith for the gift that is there.” Francis Schaeffer, True Spirituality

INTEGRITY

Today’s devotional was written by Pastor Mike Woods, Director of Addiction Recovery Ministries at America’s KESWICK.

“Simply let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.” Matthew 5:37 NIV.

I can’t think of a more fitting verse to address the area of integrity – the next leadership quality. You can’t fake this one. You are either a man of integrity, or you’re not! It is a character quality that best describes who you are when no one but God is looking. Some would settle for “when no one is looking,” but we must remember that God sees every aspect of our lives – even the areas that we prefer He not see. The world, our sinful nature and the devil seek to compromise our integrity regularly in order that our testimony of Christ in our lives will seem foolish or empty by the world around us. The one thing that we must develop if we are going to be leaders of our homes, churches, communities is integrity. Integrity breeds trustworthiness. Knowing that you are trusted by others is a tremendous responsibility. If you have ever betrayed a trust, you know that it is a precious thing, not to be taken lightly.

I had an integrity test just the other day. It was a lean week for me.
There was more month at the end of the money. I went to my mailbox and saw a card that had “Michael Wood” as the addressee (those who know me know my name ends with “s.” the address to Michael Wood was blackened out and my address was written in its place. When I opened the card. I found a check for $100.00 pay to the order of (you guessed it) Michael Wood. After I spent a moment praising the Lord for His provision, I read the contents of the card. Here’s what it said:

“Dear Michael, Here is the replacement check. Your birthday bash was great! Love Grandma.”

Here’s where my integrity was tested – It wasn’t my birthday and I don’t have a grandma! I contacted the woman who sent the card and graciously returned the check to her. Had I compromised my integrity, Yeah, I would’ve been $100.00 richer, but my testimony would have been bought for $100.00 and ruined before that woman or her grandson.

Psalm 15 looks at a man of integrity as a man who “keeps his oath even when it hurts, and does not change.” (verse 4). The promise for this psalm is that “whoever does these things will never be shaken.” We need to see that our personal integrity is a precious commodity that can’t be bought or bribed. If it can, then we’re serving the wrong master (cf.
Matt. 6:24).

Good word for today, Pastor Mike. How about you? Is it time for an integrity check?

Great Quote: This is the purpose of pain for the redeemed: it is one of your Father’s ways of speaking to you; it is the evidence of His limitless love, by which He would draw you farther from evil and closer to Him, the divine remedy which can cure you of pride and help you lean more trustingly on the Lord. Walter A. Maier

JJ DID TIE BUCKLE – JUDGMENT

Today’s Freedom Fighter is part of a series being written my Pastor Mike Woods, Director of Addiction Recovery Ministries for Men at America’s KESWICK.

Yesterday, we looked at the first leadership quality of the acrostic JJ DID TIE BUCKLE – Justice. Today the second quality is Judgment. If we are honest with ourselves, this is something we lack in and of ourselves. We need an external standard to instruct us in the area of godly judgment. Another word to consider with DISCERNMENT. Solomon knew this the moment he was crowned King of Israel in his father David’s place. His prayer when God gave him the opportunity to “Ask for whatever you want me to give you.” (1Kings 3:5).

Think about this for a minute – the God of the universe handing Solomon a blank check per se; and he asks for “a discerning heart.” (1Kings 3:9). What would you have asked for? Solomon, despite his downfall with women and his sacrifices to their gods, was still considered the wisest man of all time. His request for a discerning heart – a heart that exercised godly judgment – pleased the Lord so much that He gave Solomon all the material and social blessings he could have wanted.

Here is what the Bible says about Solomon’s godly judgment when it was put to the test over two women and a baby. “When all Israel heard the verdict that the king had given, they held him in awe because they saw that he had wisdom from God to administer justice.” (1Kings 3:28). It is interesting, godly judgment assists in administering justice.

The Apostle Paul prayed for the Philippians (and for us) that out of our growing love and knowledge of him that we would “be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ Jesus.” (Phil. 1:10). The question that begs to be asked is “How do I develop discernment or godly judgment?” The answer begins by developing the proper ambition for life. Paul stated in 2Corinthians 5:9 that he made it his “ambition to be pleasing to him…” As I filter my judgments through the grid of my mind by asking myself “will this be pleasing to God?” I begin the process of developing godly judgment / discernment.

We will be faced with leadership challenges regularly, we need God’s righteousness and discernment to lead in a way that honors Him and reflects the leadership qualities that Jesus exemplified through His character.

Great Quote: This new strength which God gives in response to faith is graduated to human need. There will be strength for soaring, for a life with wings–elevation, vision, buoyancy. There will be strength for running, the capacity to meet the stress and strain of trying times.
There will be strength for walking, for “The humdrum dullness of ordinary days” with their frustrations and irritations–strength to be steady and saintly in the regular round, to keep on keeping on when the sky is gray and the way is monotonous. If we wait on the Lord, we shall be perpetually reinforced from within with a strength graduated to our needs. –Leo Green

JJ DID TIE BUCKLE

“He has showed you, O man, what is good and what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” Micah 6:8

Good morning, brothers. For the next five days, my good friend and co-worker, Pastor Mike Woods will be sharing our devotional thoughts to kick-start your day in THINKING VICTORY. Pastor Mike is a graduate of the Colony of Mercy and is Director of Addiction Recovery Ministries for Men at America’s KESWICK.

I recently spent 3 days canoeing 28 miles and camping along the banks of the Delaware River with men from my church. It was a retreat unlike any other. We looked at the character qualities of leadership and what it would take for us to be the men of God that we are called to be. One thing that impressed me while out there was the way all of us looked out for one another. We helped each other with setting up camp, breaking it down, loading the canoes, making sure the dads with their young sons (we had 3 boys under 10 yrs. old with us) were able to make it down the river.

In preparing for the trip, each canoe had three colored cards. Red was that there was a problem with one of the canoes and that we needed to stop and help the canoe in trouble. Yellow was to indicate a “Rally Point.” A rally point is a place on the bank of the river that if any canoe lagged behind and lost the rest of the group, they were to wait at the rally point for the other canoes to find them. Green meant that there were no problems and that the group was together. The next series of Freedom Fighters will focus on the character qualities of leadership that that were explored over those Three days as well as the Spiritual applications of the three cards.

To aid in remembering the qualities of leadership that men of God must build into their lives, Our lead Pastor Bob Nash shared an acrostic that covers each aspect – JJ DID TIE BUCKLE. Bob learned this from his days serving in the US Marine Corps. The first letter J stands for Justice.

Justice implies that which is right or righteous. The Random House Unabridged Dictionary defines Justice as the quality of being just; righteousness, equitableness, or moral rightness. If you think about it, Jesus called those who hungered and thirsted for righteousness blessed (Matt 5:6). Those who practice justice do what’s right because it’s the right thing to do – and this is what is pleasing to God. There is not even a hint of favoritism because he deals equitably with everyone he comes in contact with. Micah 6:8 reminds us that “He has showed you, O man, what is good and what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” One of the men I had the privilege of serving with was John Caruthers. This was his life verse. He would preach with passion to us to “Be Right.”
“Be Reasonable.” “Be Real.” John had an uncanny way of getting your attention in his teaching. He is currently walking the streets of Gold at home with our Savior. John modeled this quality of Justice while he served at the Colony.

Well, how about you? Are you hungering and thirsting for righteousness? Do you act justly? Perhaps there may be someone who has impacted your life with this quality. If you were to attribute this quality to someone (whether it be a bible character, friend, co-worker, etc) who would it be? Ask God to build this quality into your life with increasing measure.

Great Quote: The soul that waits upon the Lord is the soul that is entirely surrendered to Him, and that trusts Him perfectly. Therefore we might name our wings the wings of Surrender and of Trust. If we will only surrender ourselves utterly to the Lord, and will trust Him perfectly, we shall find our souls “mounting up with wings as eagles” to the “heavenly places” in Christ Jesus, where earthly annoyances or sorrows have no power to disturb us.– Hannah Whitall Smith

ACCEPT THE CIRCUMSTANCES
“And we know that in ALL things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to his purposes.” Romans 8:28

Following through yesterday’s devotional, PRESSED OUT PRESSED IN – this is a good follow-up story:

“The reason why you are in that “place” today is simply in order that you might trust God. Do not pull strings. Do not hold committee meetings. Do not wangle things. Do not manipulate. Do not scheme, and do not plan. Sit still and trust God, and He will deliver you from your self-despair, from the sentence of death. Then the second thing is that we must be willing to ACCEPT THE CIRCUMSTANCES of the hour, and believe that ALL things work together for good to them that are called of God. We must be prepared to accept our circumstances as they are. I believe that quite a lot of people grieve the Spirit of God just at this particular place. They are not prepared to accept the circumstances of their lives, as God has given them, and allowed them to come.

I remember meeting a lady during the war, and I said, ‘How are you getting on?
‘Well,’ she said, ‘I am very well UNDER the circumstances.’And I asked, ‘How is your husband?’‘He’s in the Armed Forces and under the circumstances he’s all right.’‘And how’s your daughter?’‘She is in the army, and what can you expect under the circumstances?’

This dear lady had the whole family ‘UNDER THE CIRCUMSTANCES!’ And circumstances are like a feather bed: if you are on top you are comfortable, but if you are underneath, you are smothered.

I have in my office some words which were written by Samuel Rutherford, which, apart from the Scriptures, mean more to me than any other words. The words are simply these: “EXPOSE YOURSELF TO THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF HIS CHOICE!”

What does this mean? It means that when you and I present ourselves to God in the morning, and present the day to Him, nothing can come into your day that is not allowed by the PERMISSIVE will of God. Everything has its place, and everything has its purpose. Such things may come in as cut right across our own little plans; such things might disturb, as might change: but if we have committed our way to God, everything that comes into that day is allowed by His permissive will.

We do not rebel against it, because that only embitters the soul, and loses the very blessing that God wants to give us; but we expose ourselves to it. We say, ‘O God, I accept this, and I accept it cheerfully; in fact, I rejoice IN it, because there is some lesson that You want to teach me. And I believe that the greatest lesson of all that YOU want to teach me, is just to trust YOU when I can’t see you. Accept the circumstances, then, as they are.” From HIS VICTORIOUS INDWELLING (Zondervan)

So how about you, today? Are you pressed out? Living UNDER the circumstances? How about learning with me today – ACCEPT THE CIRCUMSTANCES knowing that Romans 8:28 is indeed true!

Great quote: Any victory that does not more than conquer is just an imitation victory. While we are suppressing and wrestling, we are only imitating victory. If Christ lives in us, we will rejoice in everything, and we will thank and praise the Lord. We will say, “Hallelujah! Praise the Lord” forever. Watchman Nee

PRESSED OUT OR PRESSED INTO

“And we know that in ALL things GOD works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purposes.” Romans 8:28

This has been a week of intense “stuff,” not just for me but for my staff. Several of our staff families have been going through some very difficult times. I know of several men in ministry right now that have been going through “stuff” where they serve and it is difficult. And my guess is that some of you may be there … Well may these words comfort and encourage you this morning:

“Let me ask you a question: Are you pressed beyond measure? Are you pressed above strength? Have you come to the place in your life where you say, ‘It’s all right for other people, but somehow it won’t work in my case … What’s the use of me talking about a holy life? … What’s the use of me talking about full surrender? … What’s the use of me talking about the dedicated life of a the ministry of Jesus Christ? I am in a particular situation for which there is no way out; there’s no way back; there’s no way through. I can’t find the answer!”

The answer is to trust God JUST WHERE YOU ARE:
Pressed out of measure and pressed to all length;
Pressed so intensely it seems beyond strength;
Pressed in body, pressed in the soul,
Pressed in the mind till the dark surges roll;
Pressed by foe and pressure from friend,
Pressure on pressure till life nearly ends.

Is that it?
Then listen. If you are pressed out … you are PRESSED IN!

Pressed into knowing no helper but God,
Pressed into loving the staff and the rod,
Pressed into faith for IMPOSSIBLE things,
Pressed into living a life in the Lord,
Pressed into living a Christ-life outpoured.

So where are you this morning? Pressed out or Pressed in? More on this tomorrow.

Great quote: “The promises of God are the powerhouse of blessing, the eternal tools of God whereby victories are won and character is carved out of the bedrock of human experience. And remember, every promise is available. Nothing is withheld, because the Lord Jesus Christ is God’s “YES” to every question arising from the promise of His Word.” John Hunter

NO PRIVATE CLOSETS
” ‘Yet even now,’ declares the Lord, ‘Return to Me with ALL your heart, and with fasting, weeping and mourning'” (Joel 2:12)

Years ago I read a powerful little book MY HEART, CHRIST’S HOME that had significant impact on my life. The message of the book is this – we need to invite the Lord Jesus into every nook and cranny of our lives. Our heart is like a house – filled with rooms. We will invite him into the living room, dining room, and the kitchen – but He wants access to the closets, the hidden spots in the house.

I read this devotional this morning and I thought it was worth your consideration this morning:
“God’s desire for His children is that they be wholly set apart for Him. God must not be confined to Sundays, quiet times, or deeper life conferences. He is the God of the every day, the kitchen as well as the sanctuary, the golf course as well as the altar. Similarly in my life there can be NO PRIVATE CLOSETS to which the Lord has no access. If I make a separation between my God and my business, I am making a sorry mistake.

I must not repeat Saul’s mistake of keeping a part of God’s property for myself (See 1 Samuel 15:9). The sanctification must be whole, complete, even down to the ‘pots and pans’ of the kitchen. I cannot say, ‘Lord, save my soul, but leave my mind and heart alone.’ I cannot offer Him my spirit but retain the full right to use my body as I wish. I cannot seat Jesus in the parlor of my life but shut Him out of my study, my family room, or my bedroom.

Paul prayed for the Thessalonian believers: ‘May your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete’ (1 Thessalonians 5:23). That is all of us, complete and entire! F. B. Meyer kept the key to one closet of His life that was off limits to God. Not until he surrendered the key did he have peace, and not until the closet was cleansed did he have power.

God wants to become very personal with you and me. He wants to socialize with me, ‘eating and drinking’ with me, as Jesus did with the people. He wants to make every area of my life ‘awesome,’ as He made Bethel for Jacob (Genesis 28:17). He wants to be the Master of my thoughts as well as my emotions, instincts, and even my subconscious. When HE becomes all that, my life will become radiant with His abounding presence.” From DAILY WITH THE KING (Moody Press)

So what about you today? Have you given HIM every part of your heart-home? Or are you holding on to a closet? Drawer? Corner of the garage? Why not give Him COMPLETE access. It is worth it! Think about it!

Great quote: If you…come to Christ, he will appear as a Lion, in his glorious power and dominion, to defend you. All those excellencies of his, in which he appears as a lion, shall be yours, and shall be employed for you in your defense, for your safety, and to promote your glory; he will be as a lion to fight against your enemies. He that touches you, or offends you, will provoke his wrath, as he that stirs up a lion. Unless your enemies can conquer this Lion, they shall not be able to destroy or hurt you. Unless they are stronger than he, they shall not be able to hinder your happiness. Jonathan Edwards