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Elijah Ministries - Coming Soon Family Life Conference at Evangelical Institute in
Greenville, SC - This week, I've been visiting Evangelical Institute in Greenville, SC. The Board of Directors, the Conference Director, and I have entered into an exciting relationship of ministry. I will begin serving with them in hosting a Family Life Conference, a Men's Conference, and a Pastor's Conference this year, and being a short-term guest instructor. Alma and I have been extremely impressed with the mission of EI and the spirit of the staff, instructors, and students. We wish all our grandchildren could attend EI before going into full-time work, college, or seminary so they could mature and be spiritually and practically trained. If you have young adults who you think would benefit from a two year course of spiritual, biblical, and practical training in how to live and grow in their relationship with Christ, I encourage you to investigate Evangelical Institute School of Biblical Training in Greenville, SC. (www.eigonline.org). I also invite you to attend the Family Life Conference in July. Hope to see you there. Check my speaking
schedule at www.spiritofelijah.com/speakingschedule
for
events in your area.
Chariot
February 2009 -
Norm Wakefield Reality
Check: It's Not About You - Part
5 We have been working through a
series of reality checks derived from Paul's letter to the Philippians.
Thus far we've considered the following reality checks. You may read or
listen to them online at http://www.spiritofelijah.com/chariot. ·
The saving work of God through the gospel is not about you. ·
The only way to live is in a manner worthy of the gospel. ·
Do you realize the powerful affect your life has on others? ·
Are you creating a gospel culture of unselfishness? Reality Check Five:
Are you living in a manner worthy of the gospel?
In the previous Chariot article, I hope you were
encouraged to create a gospel culture of unselfishness. It's the only way
to live in a manner worthy of the gospel. This leads us to ask what an
unselfish culture looks like. Are we living in a manner worthy of the
gospel? What does such a lifestyle look like?
The apostle Paul described the attitude necessary for
someone to live for the glory of God and the gospel in the second chapter
of his letter to the Philippians. Here's what he wrote. Have
this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although
He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to
be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and
being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He
humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on
a cross (Philippians 2:5-8). Jesus is the premier example.
There couldn't be a more powerful example of unselfish
living than Jesus Christ. He did nothing from selfishness and with
humility of mind regarded others as more important than Himself. He
thought about our well-being before His own. If we are to walk in a manner
worthy of the Lord Jesus and His gospel, then we must have the same
attitude as Christ. His attitude could be described by three
characteristics. Jesus emptied Himself. Jesus is God. The
apostle John declared it plainly in his gospel, and the apostle Paul
stated the same truth clearly in his letter to the Philippians. In the beginning was the Word, and
the Word was with God, and the Word was God. And the Word became flesh,
and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten
from the Father, full of grace and truth (John 1:1, 14).
Although Jesus could have demanded that He be treated
as God by His creatures, He didn't. He shrouded His divinity in His
humanity. The prophet Isaiah described God in the flesh this way.
He had no stately form or majesty that we should look
upon Him, nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him. He was
despised and forsaken of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief;
and like one from whom men hide their face He was despised, and we did not
esteem Him (Isaiah 53:2-3)
Have you ever thought about the truth that when God
came, He made Himself ugly or unattractive? In human form, He humbled
Himself to the degree that men would pass by Him without a notice.
Although He was entitled to take the most beautiful form imaginable on
earth, He did not. His beauty was not outward, it was inward– "full of
grace and truth." The point is this: Jesus did not have a spirit of
entitlement as we do who have been infected by the mole of "self".
Jesus didn't empty Himself of self-ambition,
self-protection, self-esteem, and a host of other self-expressions. He was
not infected by Adam's sin. However, He did empty Himself of what He
deserved at the hands of His creatures whose very breaths and heart beats
He granted and maintained. "For even the Son of Man did not come to be
served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many" (Mark
10:45).
If you have experienced the benefit of Jesus' emptying
Himself, then there is only one way for you to live–broken and spilled
out for Jesus–emptied of the self-life. As I wrote in last month's
article, to live for self is to be anti-christ. To live in a manner worthy
of Christ is to be anti-self. All believers in Christ are to be "intent on
one purpose", the purpose of living in a manner worthy of Christ, first by
emptying themselves. Are you intent on this one purpose as you live your
life? Are you abandoned to Christ? Have you given yourself fully over to
Him for His purpose and glory?
Paul's point was that if Jesus' emptying Himself is
what saved us from our sins, then the only way for us to live for His
glory is to empty ourselves. This leads us to understand the second
characteristic of Jesus' life that saves us from our sins. Jesus humbled Himself to serve.
Paul told the Philippians what God looks like when He
empties Himself–a bond-servant. The term implies a servant in chains.
What is unusual perhaps about this concept is that the service is not
forced upon Him, but willingly, joyfully, and humbly embraced. Jesus
taught His disciples about His and their servanthood.
So when He had washed their feet, and taken His
garments and reclined at the table again, He said to them, "Do you know
what I have done to you? You call Me Teacher and Lord; and you are right,
for so I am. If I then, the Lord and the Teacher, washed your feet, you
also ought to wash one another's feet. For I gave you an example that you
also should do as I did to you" (John 13:11-12).
This is exactly Paul's point in Philippians 2. If Jesus'
service at the cross washed you completely clean from your sins and
accomplished your salvation, then the only way for you to live in a manner
worthy of that gospel and worthy of Christ is to humbly serve one another.
Paul was specific with them about what gospel service
looked like. It means you humble yourself and think of the interests,
concerns, and needs of others as being more important than your own
interests, concerns, and needs (Phil. 2:3-4). This means husbands think
about their wives concerns and responsibilities and serve them by placing
them before themselves. It may mean playing a card game of Uno with a
child instead of continuing to read a good book. Throwing a ball with a
child may trump watching a football game on Saturday afternoon. A father
can't pretend he doesn't hear his children arguing if he's going to serve
their best interests.
Most people who have not experienced the gospel have a
sense of entitlement. They expect others to serve them and to live for
their comfort and convenience. They feel entitled to be the first
consideration of others. That's why Christians should stand out in the
midst of this "crooked and perverse" (Phil. 2:15). They humble themselves
and serve others, regarding others as more important than themselves.
How about you? Do your wife and children consider you a
servant? Could they testify about your humble attitude of service to the
family? If not, now is an opportune time to humble yourself before the
Lord Jesus, empty your pride, and seek His forgiveness for not serving
others as He serves you. Why read any further before humbling yourself
before the Lord? Take a moment and look at Jesus' service on your behalf.
Empty yourself and abandon your self interest. Ask Him for the Holy Spirit's
filling so you might serve those around you in His name for His glory. Jesus willingly bore your sins and weaknesses.
The third characteristic of Jesus' saving work was His
willingness to empty Himself and serve us to the point of obedience, even
to die on the cross to remove the penalty due our sins. Let's not think
that Jesus' death was a normal death under normal circumstances. He didn't
become a man and die of a heart attack or some fatal disease. Jesus
suffered one of the most excruciating deaths in the history of mankind.
Furthermore, Jesus' death was a matter of obedience to
His Father. That's probably why Paul described Jesus' humble human state
in terms of a bond-servant. A servant obeys his master. Jesus obeyed His
Father in every point, even to death on a cross. But let's also not think
this was a reluctance obedience. Read how Jesus described His laying down
His life for you. No
one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative. I
have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again.
This commandment I received from My Father (John 10:18).
Apparently God commanded Jesus to lay down His life on
His own initiative, and Jesus obeyed. He laid down His life to serve your
interests and His Father's interests. He regarded you as more important
than Himself–willingly!
The apostle John, inspired by the Holy Spirit also,
wrote the same thing in his first epistle.
"We
know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay
down our lives for the brethren" (1John 3:16). If we have experienced the
benefit of Jesus' emptying Himself, becoming a servant to us, and
willingly bearing our sins and weaknesses to the point of death on a
cross, then the only way we should live is to do the same for others. Not
that we can die on a cross so other's sins might be removed and they be
justified before God, but dying to ourselves and willingly bearing
whatever cross another person's sins and weaknesses bring. Forgiveness is
certainly implied based on the work of Christ at the cross. We forgive
others as we have been forgiven. It's the only way to live if we have
experienced salvation through Jesus Christ.
What does this look like? Here's what it means to me.
If in God's providence, He allows another person to be weak or to sin
against me, then I view it as God's will for me to bear their weaknesses
and sin for the glory of Christ. Just as Jesus was commanded to lay down
His life on His own initiative, I am commanded to do the same and
therefore willingly do it. No one makes me lay down my life, deny myself,
and bear another's sins; I want to do it for the glory of Jesus Christ. Please don't think I'm tooting my own horn. I'm not. I
would never empty myself, humbly serve, and willingly bear others' sins if
I hadn't been saved by Jesus. That was His attitude and that's what saved
me. He placed His Spirit in me, the same Spirit who empowered Jesus to
empty Himself, serve, and die for me. I give God the glory because He
saved me and has given me His Spirit so He might continue to live in me
with the same quality and character of life as my Savior.
Do you have this attitude? Are you offended when God
wills you bear another person's offenses? Do you say you are a servant and
then get offended when people treat you like one? This is a reality check.
What is your real attitude in life? Reality Check Five: Are you living in a manner worthy
of the gospel?
Paul clearly stated Jesus' attitude that brought about
your salvation. He emptied Himself, humbled Himself to serve, and
willingly bore all your sins and weaknesses in His body to the cross. Do
you believe His work saved you? Have you experienced the encouragement,
consolation of love, and fellowship of the Spirit in Christ? If you have,
then there's only one way for you to live. You should be intent on one
purpose in everything you do: To live in a manner worthy of the gospel.
This means emptying yourself, humbling yourself to serve, and willingly
bearing the sins and weaknesses of others for the glory of the gospel.
Having this attitude is having a gospel mindset. I pray that this article
has encouraged you in Christ to maintain and practice a gospel mindset. Application
Here are some questions which I hope will help you
think through and apply this fifth reality check. ·
To what do you feel entitled? ·
What makes it difficult for you to humble yourself and serve others? ·
When is it most difficult for you to empty yourself? ·
What has your reaction been when God wants you to bear another person's
weaknesses or sins? ·
Discuss with your family the three characteristics of Jesus' life that
brought about salvation. ·
How should you repent to Christ and to others if you have not had a gospel
mindset? ·
Discuss how you can transmit a gospel mindset in your family and church. Share these
video clips with your friends and family... We have started putting up short video clips from some of Norm's messages online at the links below. We will be posting new video clips from other messages every few weeks or so on a regular basis. Help spread the word by passing these links on to whomever you think might be interested. Thank you! http://www.Godtube.com/Elijahministries Would
you like to be on the Elijah Ministries Prayer Team? The backbone of Elijah Ministries is the prayer team who pray diligently for God to turn the hearts of men to Himself, their wives, and their children. Before I leave to speak, I send out a prayer team invitation to those who will intercede for God to work for His glory in us as a team for the Kingdom. Not only is it a blessing to those whom I speak and myself; but it is also a reminder to the team about the direction of their own hearts. If you would like to enter into the labor together with me, you may go to my website and click on "Prayer Team". Has Norm's Chariot or other resources been an encouragement to you? As a nonprofit organization, Elijah Ministries needs support from people like you in order to function. If God has ministered to you through Elijah Ministries and Norm Wakefield, would you consider supporting the work? You can do so here. (Elijah Ministries is a tax-deductible 501c3 and is financially accountable to an overseeing board of 8 non-paid members from around the country.) The Chariot is also available as a podcast. You can automatically receive the Chariot each month in iTunes by subscribing here. (An RSS capable browser such as Internet Explorer 7 or Safari is required.)
If you haven't visited our website, www.spiritofelijah.com,
please stop by sometime. You'll find: * Resources to equip you and your family * Previous Chariot articles * Norm's speaking schedule *
Free MP3 downloads * Subscribe to the Chariot Podcast here. * Various resources/pages translated and available in Spanish * An online store to purchase resources and make tax-free contributions by credit card
I invite you to be a part of the
moving of the Spirit of Elijah in your church, community, and the world.
How?
1.
Send this article to other men or families that you know would
benefit from it. You might inform them of the previous articles
available on-line at our website.
2.
Share resources from the Spirit of Elijah Ministries with others.
If Equipping Men or Rising to the
Call have been a blessing to you, then you know it will be
beneficial to others. Either share your resources, tell them about the
resources, or purchase a set or two as an investment in their lives. 3. Share with others what you have learned and put into practice in turning your heart to God, your wife, and your children. If God has done this in you, then He wants to affect others through you.
4.
Join the Elijah Ministries email prayer team and make
intercession for others that their hearts would be turned in revival to
the Lord, their wives, and their children. This can be done on-line at www.spiritofelijah.com.
Norm
Wakefield 02.09 To unsubscribe, click here.
Do not change the subject of the email that launches when you click
above; just press send. Or send an email with the subject Unsubscribe
Chariot to chariot@spiritofelijah.com.
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