The Work Belongs to God!
"I want you to understand that it is My Work!"
That phrase resonated through my mind as strongly as anything that I have ever heard from the Holy Spirit. I do not claim any divine inspiration for this word, and as always with anything that is not directly from Scripture, it must be judged (1 Corinthians 14:29). It may have just been my own imagination....but I don't think so!
It was in an intense session of prayer where I was both praising God for the supply of some needs for WME and also praying about present and future needs. The Lord, I believe, began to remind me of how limitless his resources were, and how small our needs were in comparison. But the point that was impressed on me forcefully was that what WME is doing.....is really not something that WME is doing, but it is God's work....something He wants done. And it seemed to me that the Spirit of God was making sure that I got the message.
One of the best classes that I ever took was the Experiencing God class by Henry Blackaby and Claude King. I have mentioned it in this blog in the past, and I must say that when I did that study a little over 10 years ago, I really did not appreciate it as much as I do today. The first reality that is dealt with in that course is: God is always at work around you.
Later when I took training in CPM strategy and began to focus on Luke 10, that principle was reinforced.
John 5:17 says, "But Jesus answered them, "My Father has been working until now, and I have been working."
God is the one who does the work in CPM (Church Planting Movements). I remember telling David Watson near the very beginning of our work in Honduras that we were going to "launch" a CPM in Honduras, and I well remember being brought up short by him when he told me, "No you're not....if God does not cause a CPM it won't happen".
This is not a truth that is new to me, and it is one with which I have no argument. But in the practical side of the work, I have (over the last 3 years) struggled with both fear and worry, in both good times and bad and felt the weight of responsibility as though it was on my shoulders. And I do believe that I (and our team in the project) do carry responsibility to work hard, obey scripture etc.
But the Lord gave me a strong word....the work is His! Here is what that means to me in my present understanding.
1. God is the one who does it....He uses people, but without Him nothing happens.
2. God is the one who supplies it....He uses people and means, but the resources are from Him.
3. Whatever results from the work (disciples, leaders, churches, movements) belongs to Him and Him alone.
4. God wants this done......this specific thing in Honduras/Central America and wherever the seeds of the movements go. It is His idea, not mine or our workers or anybody else's!
5. Our vision is too small.....His Vision is much larger than anything we have thought of.
I'll stop there, because I think the Lord will fill this out much more in days to come. But for now, I want to say: Lord, I acknowledge that WME, the Honduras CPM work, and everything else is Yours. Forgive me for worry or fear about any aspect of it, and we look to you for direction for this work of Yours. The work belongs to You, Lord. To You we give all glory and praise!
That phrase resonated through my mind as strongly as anything that I have ever heard from the Holy Spirit. I do not claim any divine inspiration for this word, and as always with anything that is not directly from Scripture, it must be judged (1 Corinthians 14:29). It may have just been my own imagination....but I don't think so!
It was in an intense session of prayer where I was both praising God for the supply of some needs for WME and also praying about present and future needs. The Lord, I believe, began to remind me of how limitless his resources were, and how small our needs were in comparison. But the point that was impressed on me forcefully was that what WME is doing.....is really not something that WME is doing, but it is God's work....something He wants done. And it seemed to me that the Spirit of God was making sure that I got the message.
One of the best classes that I ever took was the Experiencing God class by Henry Blackaby and Claude King. I have mentioned it in this blog in the past, and I must say that when I did that study a little over 10 years ago, I really did not appreciate it as much as I do today. The first reality that is dealt with in that course is: God is always at work around you.
Later when I took training in CPM strategy and began to focus on Luke 10, that principle was reinforced.
John 5:17 says, "But Jesus answered them, "My Father has been working until now, and I have been working."
God is the one who does the work in CPM (Church Planting Movements). I remember telling David Watson near the very beginning of our work in Honduras that we were going to "launch" a CPM in Honduras, and I well remember being brought up short by him when he told me, "No you're not....if God does not cause a CPM it won't happen".
This is not a truth that is new to me, and it is one with which I have no argument. But in the practical side of the work, I have (over the last 3 years) struggled with both fear and worry, in both good times and bad and felt the weight of responsibility as though it was on my shoulders. And I do believe that I (and our team in the project) do carry responsibility to work hard, obey scripture etc.
But the Lord gave me a strong word....the work is His! Here is what that means to me in my present understanding.
1. God is the one who does it....He uses people, but without Him nothing happens.
2. God is the one who supplies it....He uses people and means, but the resources are from Him.
3. Whatever results from the work (disciples, leaders, churches, movements) belongs to Him and Him alone.
4. God wants this done......this specific thing in Honduras/Central America and wherever the seeds of the movements go. It is His idea, not mine or our workers or anybody else's!
5. Our vision is too small.....His Vision is much larger than anything we have thought of.
I'll stop there, because I think the Lord will fill this out much more in days to come. But for now, I want to say: Lord, I acknowledge that WME, the Honduras CPM work, and everything else is Yours. Forgive me for worry or fear about any aspect of it, and we look to you for direction for this work of Yours. The work belongs to You, Lord. To You we give all glory and praise!
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