Thoughts of Our Fathers (TOF)

“Everything is possible for the person who has faith” 

(Mark 9:23b GNT).

As a pastor, probably the question I’m asked more than any other is, “Why is this happening to me? I don’t understand it.” When you don’t understand God’s six phases of faith — the steps he uses to build your character — you will get discouraged. You may become resentful. You will certainly worry. You may become fearful about the future or get depressed. And most of all, you can’t cooperate with what God is doing when you don’t understand the process he’s taking you through. But when you understand the six phases of faith, then you can say, “Oh, right now I’m in phase four” — or phase six or phase two. You understand better what God’s doing, and you don’t get disheartened when times are tough.

The Bible says in Matthew 9:29b, “According to your faith let it be done to you” (NIV). That’s the key to the great adventure of following Jesus Christ. God says, “You get to choose how much I bless your life. You believe, and I’ll do it. You believe, and I’ll bless.”

Faith is like a muscle — it develops. It can be strengthened or it can grow weak, depending on how much you use it. God builds your faith with a very predictable process. If you understand it, you can cooperate with it.

First, God gives you a dream for your life. Then, you have to make a decision about it. The third stage is delay, where you wait for God to work in his time. The next stage is difficulty, where God tests you. Then, you might reach a dead end, which will make you want to give up. But in the end, God always brings you to deliverance, the final stage of his six phases of faith.

Mark 9:23b says, “Everything is possible for the person who has faith” (GNT).

Do you want to have a stronger faith as you go on this great adventure with God? You first need to understand the six phases of faith that God takes you through so that you won’t get discouraged when you don’t see results or answers right away. Over the coming days we’ll examine these six phases.

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“Each of you as a good manager must use the gift that God has given you to serve others”

 (1 Peter 4:10 GW).

Your abilities are for the benefit of other people. The Bible says in 1 Peter 4:10, “Each of you as a good manager must use the gift that God has given you to serve others” (GW).

Nobody is good at everything. You need me, and I need you. Nobody has every talent. There are no perfect people who can say to the world, “I don’t need anybody else.” We need each other. We were made to work in teams! That’s why you need a small group and a church family. We’re better together.

Here’s the key to success: Build on your strengths so that your weaknesses become irrelevant. Every successful person does this. Just work on what you’re good at, and make it better.

Here’s a second rule of success: Team up with people who are good at what you’re not good at. Team up with people who complement you. Everybody has something to contribute. Nobody has it all together. We need each other.

This, by the way, is one of the purposes of marriage. In marriage we’re put together to complement each other’s strengths and to compensate for each other’s weaknesses. What happens when we don’t compensate for each other’s weaknesses? We criticize each other. That’s not what marriage is for. Marriage puts two sinners together, so there can be no perfect relationships. But in a marriage, you know the other’s weaknesses, so you can help compensate for them.

For example, take bill paying and budgeting. Who should do it? The one who does it better! The Bible doesn’t tell us who should do one role over another. Just figure out who does it better, and in doing that, you compensate for each other’s weaknesses. That’s why I always let my wife, Kay, drive. She’s a much more careful driver than I am.

This also applies to your work. If you want your business to be effective, here’s the key: Staff by SHAPE. Help people discover their SHAPE — their Spiritual gifts, Heart, Abilities, Personality, and Experiences — and put them in the positions they’re good at. When you do that, you don’t have to manage them and you won’t have to motivate them. Why? Because they’re doing what they love to do, and they’re good at it.

God wants every person to use their abilities to help other people. We need each other!

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“The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit” 

(Psalm 34:18 NIV).

We’ve all had our heart broken in some way — maybe by disappointment, fear, shame, rejection, or ridicule. I would say to you, as your friend, I’m sorry. I really am. I care about the hurt that you have gone through, because God cares about it. He hurts with you. What was God doing when you were weeping? He was weeping, too.

In fact, it is in your pain that God is closest to you, whether you realize it or not.

The Bible says in Psalm 34:18, “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit” (NIV). How does he do that? He saves us by giving us a heart transplant. It’s his specialty, in fact.

God says, “For the heart that’s guilty, I’ll give you a heart that’s forgiven. For the heart that’s resentful, I’ll give you a heart that’s full of peace. For the heart that’s anxious, I’ll give you heart that’s confident. For the heart that’s lonely, I’ll give you a heart full of love. The heart that has been bitter and angry? I’ll give you a heart that is forgiving and loving and generous instead. Let me do a heart transplant in you. I will set you free.”

Why do we need freedom? Because we’re all enslaved. We’re slaves to the expectations of other people. We’re slaves to past memories. We’re slaves to future fears. We’re slaves to current pressure. We’re slaves to the opinions of society, and on and on and on.

But all you have to do is open your heart to Jesus Christ and give him 100 percent of your heart. Say, like David in Psalm 119:32, “I run in the path of your commands, for you have broadened my understanding” (NIV).

We must stop limiting God! We can’t even imagine how much he wants to do with our lives. Open your heart to him, and let him transplant it for his own.

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“There are different spiritual gifts, but the same Spirit gives them. There are different ways of serving, and yet the same Lord is served. There are different types of work to do, but the same God produces every gift in every person” 

(1 Corinthians 12:4-6 GW).

When you know what you’re shaped to be, then you know what you ought to be, and you can start focusing on that and make better use of your life.

The moment you step across the line spiritually and begin following Jesus, you say, “I’m going to go God’s way, not my own way. I’m going to let him direct my life. I want to follow God’s purpose, not my purpose. I’m going to do what I was wired and made to do.”

When you take that step, God also gives you four major gifts:

Forgiveness. Romans 5:15b says, “For the sin of this one man, Adam, brought death to many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and his gift of forgiveness to many through this other man, Jesus Christ” (NLT). The first thing Jesus did was wipe out everything you’ve ever done wrong. It’s forgiven! There is no condemnation.

Eternal life. God has long-range plans for you. The Bible says in Romans 6:23, “The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (NIV). You’re never going to work your way or earn your way into Heaven. The only way you’ll ever get into Heaven is by God’s free gift that you accept by faith.

The Holy Spirit. Romans 5:5b says that God “has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love” (NLT). How do you know when you’re letting God live through your life? When you embody the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

Special abilities. In the Bible, these special abilities are called spiritual gifts, which makes them different from material or physical gifts. They are the abilities you need to get the job done that God wants you to do. Most people who are believers don’t even know they’ve got spiritual gifts, much less what they are. But you have them!

The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 12:4-6, “There are different spiritual gifts, but the same Spirit gives them. There are different ways of serving, and yet the same Lord is served. There are different types of work to do, but the same God produces every gift in every person” (GW).

What is a spiritual gift? God has a purpose for your life, and your spiritual gifts are the equipment he gives you to do what he asks you to do. God will never ask you to do something he doesn’t give you the ability to do. It’s given to you the moment you accept Christ. You don’t get to choose your gift. You don’t earn your gift.

It’s also not for your benefit. Your spiritual gifts are given to you to help other people. And other people in the church family are given their gifts to help you.

When I use my spiritual gift of teaching, you get blessed. When you use your spiritual gift, the people in your church get blessed. It’s like a puzzle. If you have one jigsaw piece missing, what’s the first thing you notice? The one missing piece. When we develop and use our spiritual gifts, we all get blessed.