Tag Archives: 2 Corinthians

Be the champion your church needs

championChampion – what does it mean and are you willing to step up to the challenge? Do you have it takes to be a champion for your church and family? A champion is defined in the Merriam-Webster on-line dictionary as a militant advocate or defender or one that does battle for another’s rights or honor. Within the King James Bible there are two ways this concept is used. The first is seen in Samuel and references Goliath, the enemy of God. The second concept, God calls more than our modern definition of champion, and this is a man of valor. In our modern usage of the English language, it is the second concept I will be using.

The challenge put forth to me by the Lord

The Daily Walk, for the most part, is the vehicle the Lord has given me to share my faith and my walk with my Lord and Savior. As a part of this ministry, I’ve shared my struggles with my faith and the ministry where the Lord has called me to serve. The week before Christmas (2016), the Lord began working in my heart. At the center of the struggle were two verses. Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin (James 4:17). The second verse is found in the Old Testament. Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me (Isaiah 6:8). Within the week of Christmas, two more verses were added to what was already going on in my heart.

At the center of my confusion, the two verses the Lord brought into my mind simply brought everything else into focus. The one that stung the most was: And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God (Luke 9:62). I know the specific ministry the Lord has called me to serve. I also have problems with my past; can our Lord forgive completely? Yes. This has never been the problem and I know I have been forgiven. The problem lies in my own frustration and anger in what I was and the time I wasted pursuing things that have no eternal value. 

Becoming the champion that the Lord needs

The last verse the Lord brought into my heart was one penned by the apostle Paul. And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me (2 Corinthians 12:9). Throughout 2016 many people tried to share with me the simple wisdom of this message – if the Lord has called you to do something, he will bring you to the place you can do it. Those two weeks before Christmas and the week after, the Lord began to show me something about myself that I didn’t know. I had become so fixated on worrying about things I could not change that I missed opportunities to serve Him. God was calling me to be a man of valour – not in the future, but now.

The concept of a man of valour is found forty-two times within the King James Version of the Bible. Thirty-five times, you’ll find the exact phrase, men of valour and seven times, man of valour. According to Biblical mathematics, the number thirty-five refers to hope and seven refers to completeness and spiritual perfection. Both numbers added together, forty-two, refers to the oppression of Israel and the first and second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. What the Lord was working on was my heart and the need for men and women to stand up and become these servants of valour – champions the church needs today.

The men of valour were equipped, willing, and ready for combat

As I began to study what made these men so noteworthy that the Lord inspired them to be recorded as men of valour, several traits became obvious. In 1 Chronicles, the Lord gives us a trait: All these the sons of Jediael, by the heads of their fathers, mighty men of valour, were seventeen thousand and two hundred soldiers, fit to go out for war and battle (1 Chronicles 7:11). These were men who knew, understood, and drilled in the art of war. They knew what it took to win the battle and once committed to battle, would only break off an attack when given orders from their king.

The second trait these men of valour possessed is also found in 1 Chronicles: And their brethren, heads of the house of their fathers, a thousand and seven hundred and threescore; very able men for the work of the service of the house of God (1 Chronicles 9:13). The Hebrew word translated here for able men is the same phrase meaning men of valour (חָ֫יִל – Strongs 2428). These men were ready to do the work that the Lord set before them to do. Within our faith as Christians, we have a lot of things in common with the description given of these men. Our Lord and King has left us a specific set of instructions. We know what He’s asked of us, and we know we have all the equipment we need.

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Social creation of humankind

socialFrom a psychological viewpoint every person is designed to be a social creature. God’s plan is for each person to share their lives with others. The Bible offers this: And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him (Genesis 2:8). This is especially relevant in understanding the basic psychology of what a social creature actually is. No one disputes that a dog by themselves do not enjoy life to its fullest and will appear down or depressed. Put that same dog with a human companion or even another animal companion, and immediately the dog’s attitude changes. Emotionally and mentally, the dog needs a companion to feel needed and complete. Humankind was wonderfully made by God to be the exact same way.

Parents: The early social influence of a child

I will be honest; if I were to rate my abilities as a parent I would give myself a failing grade for my first children who are now adults. For the child my wife and I had when I was 40, I would probably give myself a passing but needs improvement score. The difference is my relationship with the Lord. Instead of having a fleshly, and world focused view of life as I did before, I now have a Christ-centered world view. Therefore, the daughter I am raising now will, if the Lord is willing and blesses, not have to face the issues now faced by my adult children. Where before I was careless in what my children were exposed to, now I try to make sure my daughter are exposed to things that are beneficial to her. 

The apostle Paul was concerned about the spiritual health of those he ministered to during his missionary journeys. Just as in his world, we have the same basic things present that can add spiritual weight to our lives. Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things (Philippians 4:8). This may seem like a strange verse to include in this particular study, but I assure you it will soon make sense.

God’s plan for parenting – crafting a social influence

During the Israel’s exodus from Egypt, God gave a commandment directly to those who are responsible for the raising and teaching of children: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up (Deuteronomy 6:7). There is a lot of responsibility God has placed on parents. Not only do I have the obligation to teach my children the things of the Lord, but I also have the obligation to teach them the things of life. And one of those things is the wisdom of the apostle Paul: Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? (2 Corinthians 6:14).

With these two verses together, parents have the responsibility to make sure that the friendships our children have are ones that will lift them to the Lord. It may mean that the child next door, who yours wants to hang around, is not the best friend for your child. We’ve got a young girl in our apartment complex who I limit (if not avoid) her having contact with my daughter. She’s in the second grade and will often wander to behind our townhouse. At first, she seemed like a nice child until I heard her using profane language and encouraging the other children to “use adult words.” I am 46 years old and was in the army for almost seven years; I still do not feel comfortable even hearing those words said in movies, much less say them myself! To hear a nine-year-old use them was a shock!

Being social: choosing who influences us matters too!

I am reminded of Psalms 34:13, Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from speaking guile. When I was fresh out of the army, I did have a profanity problem. In 2006, after receiving Jesus Christ as my personal Savior, I decided that my surrender to Him would be complete. This morning, while listening to the Dave Ramsey Show, guest host Chris Hogan said something pretty profound. He said, “When you’re giving something up, when it is a sacrifice, don’t count what you are giving up. Count what you are gaining.” In the process of my complete surrender, the Lord has laid it on my heart to get rid of things.

Paul wrote, Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty (2 Corinthians 6:17-18). For me, this meant getting rid of some of my DVDs, CDs, science-fiction books, and even some friendships. David had adopted a new attitude and wrote, I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes: I hate the work of them that turn aside; it shall not cleave to me (Psalms 101:3). For me, God expanded the meaning of this verse in my heart; if I were going to live the life that God has called me to do then I cannot be a participant in things that tie me to temptation or sin.

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You’re busy, but is it what God wants from you?

you're busyYou’re busy in your church; believe me, I understand that. You’re already teaching a Sunday school class, you’re actively participating in the various activities and services of the church. When your pastor or someone else comes to you and asks you to do just one more thing, you jump on it. You have a hard time saying no to the requests because you know that you do have the abilities and skills needed to get those things done. I know what this feels like because this describes me just one year ago. This past Sunday, I was asked to share my salvation testimony as a part of the Sunday morning worship service of the church that I attend. As I shared my testimony, the Holy Spirit laid on my heart to share the concept that a person could be extremely busy in the various ministries of the church and not be fulfilling the ministry that the Lord has placed in front of them.

You’re busy: why I buried myself in the work of the church

I have never been comfortable talking about the work that I do. One of the things that I dislike about college/university teaching is the bi-annual updating of my educational resume. I simply don’t like a lot of fuss made for what I do; I never have and probably never will. Not only do I believe this is scriptural [Let another man praise thee, and not thine own mouth; a stranger, and not thine own lips (Proverbs 27:2); But he that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord. For not he that commendeth himself is approved, but whom the Lord commendeth (2 Corinthians 10:17-18)] , it is also a part of the environment I grew up in that I will undoubtedly carry throughout the rest of my life. In no way am I sharing this to brag upon myself but to share how busy I was within the church.

When I was attending Gospel Light Baptist Church, I had become a church trustee, a Sunday School teacher, song/worship leader, worked the church’s audio-visuals with help of family and others, videotaped the sermons, edited and posted them online, and took care of all the church’s printing needs. At one point, I even offered a basic Christian discipleship class for young-in-the-faith Christians. The entire time I was doing these things, I knew it wasn’t the calling that the Lord laid upon my heart. I justified my not surrendering to the Lord’s will by believing that since I was doing all these things for the church then He would just understand. I even tried to wrap up what I was doing with the ministry the Lord had laid on my heart by telling my pastor and others that I wanted to expand the printing ministry to be able to serve small and struggling congregations. Yes, while the Lord has called me to serve small and struggling congregations, it was not the exact way or method that He had laid on my heart

In my mind, I had very good reasons why I was busying myself in the various ministries and support of the church and not being completely surrendered to the Lord’s plan for my life. There’s comfort in what we know; the exact ministry that the Lord had been working on my heart on for the past three years is full of uncertainty to the point that my family and I would have to completely rely on the Lord. Within the gospel of Mark, there is a story of a man, a father, who comes to Jesus about the condition of his son. The father, as any parent would do, asks Jesus for a miracle. Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth. And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief (Mark 9:23-24). For most of us, we will come to a moment in our lives where we know the Lord is capable of a miracle, of taking care of our needs, but we still need to see something before we will let go of our doubts, fears, and worry. I was comfortable were I was at; and in my form of justification, there was no reason that I could not stay there and serve struggling congregations through a printing ministry. 

One of the other reasons were there were things in my past I felt made it nearly impossible to overcome. Even though I have read the verse a hundred times at least, it never really sank in: For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance (Romans 11:29). It is easy to stay in a place of comfort regardless of how busy you have become when you feel that there is something in your past that you believe simply cannot be overcome, that serves as a barrier, or that holds you back from doing what the Lord has called you to do. It becomes easy to see the Goliath and rather than confronting him as the shepherd boy did, to stand back with the armies of Israel, trembling and terrified with every taunt the giant throws out. It took the Lord three separate people to remind me that if He has led me to a certain ministry, then He has prepared the way for me to do it, as long as I put my complete trust and faith, as David did, in the Lord. David knew he had already been promised by the Lord to be the king of Israel. He also knew that with the promise of being king some day, the Lord would protect him from the wrath and anger of any giant that stood in the way, as long as he would keep faith in the promises of the Lord.

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