Chariot June 2006 - Norm Wakefield  

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The Calling Out of Sons – Part 7

    There is much to be learned from the heavenly Father's relationship with His Son, Jesus Christ, revealed in Luke 3-4. The past six months, we've been considering insights about calling out our sons into manhood. Not only are these insights helpful for fathers, but they also reveal how our heavenly Father deals with us as sons. I hope you have begun the process of calling out your son(s), if you have sons twelve and older. Thus far, we've recognized the following:

·         By the age of twelve a son needs to be involved with his dad.

·         A father needs to establish his son's identity with himself in his father's house.

·         A father needs to be the son's source to prepare the way for God being the source of his life.

·         A father needs to lead his son to be attentive to, to depend upon, and to obey his word.

·         A father must lead his son to confront the lust of his body and learn to wait on God's words and timing.

Insight Number Six: A father must lead his son to confront self-ambition and the greed of his heart and wait on God's provision and God's timing.

     And he led Him up and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said to Him, "I will give You all this domain and its glory, for it has been handed over to me, and I give it to whomever I wish. Therefore, if You worship before me, it shall all be Yours."

     And Jesus answered and said to him, "It is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and serve Him only' " (Luke 4:5-8).

    In the devil's second attempt to ensnare Jesus, we notice his appeal to self-ambition and greed. This temptation is common to all men. The world constantly communicates the lie that a man's success and significance consists in his material possessions. Never will the devil's ambassadors suggest that a man wait to purchase what he wants until God provides through hard work or the generosity of friends, family, or brothers and sisters in Christ. Satan doesn't want a man to be a testimony to God's goodness and provision.

If Jesus needed to learn to wait, so do we.

    The Heavenly Father knew His Son needed to learn to wait, needed to practice worshipping Him. Allowing Satan to test His Son provided the opportunity for the son to practice worship, self-control, and contentment. He deals with us in the same way. So often we want things right now, don't we? And sometimes the root of our struggle is our self-ambition and greed. If we're not careful, we'll make compromises. We'll put ourselves and our loved ones in destructive situations because we have not faced our greed and learned to worship God alone.

    An important part of godly manhood is praying and waiting on God to supply physical needs and desires His way. In fact, you might remember that our first father's sin against God had to do with rejecting God's provision (all the trees of the garden except one). Satan's temptation of Adam and Eve was something like this: "Why look to God to supply when you can have it right now?!" Of course, there was more to it than that, but one aspect of faith Adam didn't exercise was trusting God to supply what he needed, when he needed it.

Watch out for misdirected worship.

    Jesus didn't fall for that age old lure of the devil. However, most men do! Have you? If a young man (or older man :-) does not learn to pray and depend upon God to supply his need, he will create an idol to worship and serve in order to get what he wants when he wants it. Jesus's reply reveals that looking to someone other than God to provide amounts to worship. When a man looks to himself or worldly means to get what he wants, his worship is misdirected. Self-ambition, greed, money, materialism, and worldly pursuits will control him. Furthermore, he may plunge his family into debt and destruction, and certainly God gets no glory or testimony from such a materialistic pursuit.

    Jesus' ambition was to glorify His Father, and so this temptation fell on deaf ears. Having a strong ambition to be successful and achieve great things for the glory of God may be commended. However, when the objective is selfish, the ambition becomes natural, earthly, and demonic (James 3:14-15). Greed is an overwhelming desire to have more of something, such as money, than is actually needed. Since God supplies all our needs (Philippians 4:19) and has promised to do so (Matthew 6:33), we must learn to be content with God's provision and timing (Philippians 4:11).

Watch out for the shortcuts.

    Satan's appeal to Jesus was an invitation to take a shortcut. As God's Son, Jesus was God's heir, and thus in time was to inherit everything Satan offered him that day. It was already His! Jesus knew He only needed to wait and the Father would give it to Him. Unfortunately, Satan still offers shortcuts today. Greed, for instance, is one motive behind credit cards. In the June issue of Newsweek, the national average individual credit card debt was listed at over $9000! I am not saying one shouldn't have a credit card. I have one in order to accrue travel miles and for practicality, but to spend money God hasn't provided is to put one's trust in the world's system rather than God. One should limit spending to what God has provided each month for a number of reasons.

·         It keeps a man humble as he prays for God's provision and trusts Him.

·         It clarifies God's will.

·         If the money isn't there, then God can't receive the thanks and glory for the provision.

·         It motivates a man to work.

·         A man cannot teach his son to wait on the Lord and look to the Father.

·         A man cannot testify to his son about the value of self-control and waiting on the Father to provide.

    What about home mortgages and buying large items such as cars on time? Although some may differ with me on this, I think the primary principles are worship and love. A man should look to God as His provider (worship) and fulfill his obligations (love). One may also consider the goal of having a house completely paid for as an act of love for his wife in their later years. With a house, one either rents money (mortgage) or rents a house. Both typically require a contract and involve responsibility. In either case, a man must work and make his financial decision based on God's provision. The primary difference between the two is that purchasing a house has a return on the investment and renting does not. There may be more wisdom to buy a car over time by renting money at a lower rate in order to invest the total price of the car at a greater rate. In either case, to commit to an obligation exceeding one's income in order to have more is unloving to the owner as well as the wife, who feels the financial pressure. A man should work more, or find a job which pays more, or be content with what God provides. (A caution here: remember that family must come first; don't sacrifice your family for material riches). Idolatry, self-ambition, and greed must be controlled.

    If a son doesn't learn to wait on God to supply, he is going to take shortcuts. God's general way of providing a man's needs, wants, and tithe is through his work (1 Thessalonians 4:11, Ephesians 4:28, 1 Timothy 5:17, 6:17). Jesus also had to work for His inheritance. Jesus had to purchase it through His work on the cross, and thus God supplies all of our needs through His riches in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:19).

Learn this lesson early.

    One of the ways a father can apply this truth is by providing a rich example of self-control, contentment, and worship of God before his son while he is young. Another application is to make your son work for the things he desires and to have something to give others. Even though a father could provide without his son working, the young man needs to learn God's ways of provision. Many years of practicing prayerful waiting and diligent, dependable labor when it comes to acquiring material possessions will be beneficial. Such preparation trains him to be a wise husband and father in the future as well as makes him a testimony of God's goodness and love.

    This month, consider compiling a journal of testimonies of God's provision in your life so you can share them with your children (and grandchildren). Although the out-of-the ordinary blessings from God's hand may immediately come to mind, don't overlook His provision of a job or the skills He has given you to land that job.

    Perhaps there are things you need for which God has yet to provide. Another list in your journal may include these items. Maybe you could let your son in on your prayer request so he can have more of a personal connection with God when the answer comes. Add his needs and desires to your prayer list. In so doing, you may teach him about the difference between legitimate needs God has promised to provide and selfish desires. Also, you teach him by example as you demonstrate contentment while waiting.

    Consider the blessing of a son hearing his father ask God for resources to give to the church, a ministry, a friend, or the poor, and rejoicing together over God's provision. Your example of unselfishness, thoughtfulness, and generosity won't be forgotten. My wife's grandfather used to take her with him to give turkeys to poor families at Thanksgiving and Christmas. She had the privilege of carrying the turkeys to front doors, watching their surprise and gratitude, and participating in a generous, godly example of Christian charity. I've heard her recount those stories numerous times through the years. Leave a legacy of worshipping God, faith, hard work, contentment, answered prayers, and generosity to the next generation. They'll pass it on!

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".

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