Ask Big, Live Large

SUMMARY: Are you willing to ask big things of God? God loves it when his children trust him so much that they are willing to step way out in faith to possess promises that are way beyond what is humanly possible. God is honored when we pray bigly. But if you ask big things of God, get ready to be big enough for the britches God gives you. God wants to give in abundance, but he will never waste kingdom resources on the unprepared. When he gives you something, he expects you to fill it out; to steward it in a way that brings glory to him. So be willing to ask big and live large.

God Speaks—I Obey // Joshua 19:1 & 9

Are you willing to ask big things of God? I hope so! God loves it when his children trust him so much that they dare to step out in faith beyond the ordinary to possess promises that are way beyond what is humanly possible to attain. Here’s the deal:

God is honored when we pray bigly.

So are you ready to live large! If you ask big things of God, get ready to be big enough for the britches that God’s generosity will require of you. You see, God is a God of abundance, and he gives in abundance. Now, not to worry, I am not promoting some sort of prosperity gospel heresy. Simply yet biblically put, divine abundance means that God gives us more than enough. But while he gives abundantly, he never wastes kingdom resources on those unprepared to steward his generosity so that it brings maximum glory to himself. When he gives you something, he expects you to fill it out. In other words, he wants you to leverage every ounce of his provision to the fullest so that he can give you more. If you waste it, settle for less than maximum use, or misuse what he provides, he will not release more to you. In fact, there is an indication in scripture (see Matthew 25:24-30) that if we don’t steward his gifts wisely and industriously, he will even take away what he has given and give it to someone who will develop it in faith.

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In the case of the land allotment to the tribes of Judah and Simeon, the visionary folks of Judah had an industrious spirit about them. So, God gave them much more land than they needed at the time. Yet because they had not taken full advantage of it, God took a portion of it and assigned it to the Simeonites. Judah, however, was not content to shrink into their land. They got fired up and later asked the warriors of Simeon to join forces with them to take the land that was not yet under their occupation:

The men of Judah said to their relatives from the tribe of Simeon, “Join with us to fight against the Canaanites living in the territory allotted to us. Then we will help you conquer your territory.” So, the men of Simeon went with Judah…. Then Judah joined with Simeon to fight against the Canaanites living in Zephath, and they completely destroyed the town. So, the town was named Hormah. In addition, Judah captured the towns of Gaza, Ashkelon, and Ekron, along with their surrounding territories. (Judges 1:3,17)

I like that about these two tribes. God’s blessing was more than they could handle, but they were unwilling to shrink into what they could handle. That is not the case with many believers today: they get overwhelmed by abundance, as unbelievable as that sounds, and for a variety of reasons, fritter away their opportunity to fully occupy their blessings. They are like the intimidated steward in Matthew 25, fearful that he might lose what he was given. But in the case of Judah and Simeon, they got smart: they joined forces and helped each other take the land. By strong faith and hard work, they expanded into their blessings.

That is the kind of believer I want to be. I want to not be afraid to ask bigly of my Father. And I want to be unafraid to leverage the large opportunity he gives in response to my asking, but maximize what he has placed in my hands. I want to do that to show him how much I trust him. I want to do that so that he can trust me with more. I want to do that so that others will be provoked to godly discontent in settling for anything less than God’s generous abundance.

Among the many things I want people who know me to say in reflection of my life, I hope they will say, “He asked big, but he lived large for God.” I want to leave nothing on the table when my life is over. I want none of heaven’s treasures appointed for me while I am on earth to remain in heaven. I want it all for the glory of God alone.

How about you? Make a commitment from this day forward to be a person who asks big and lives large.

Choose You This Day:

Ask your Heavenly Father for some big, hairy, audacious provisions today. Choose to ask big, then live large.

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Ask Big, Live Large

SUMMARY: Are you willing to ask big things of God? God loves it when his children trust him so much that they are willing to step way out in faith to possess promises that are way beyond what is humanly possible. God is honored when we pray bigly. But if you ask big things of God, get ready to be big enough for the britches God gives you. God wants to give in abundance, but he will never waste kingdom resources on the unprepared. When he gives you something, he expects you to fill it out; to steward it in a way that brings glory to him. So be willing not only to ask big of God, but live large in a way that honors his provision.

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God Speaks—I Obey // Joshua 19:1 & 9

Are you willing to ask big things of God? I hope so! God loves it when his children trust him so much that they are willing to step way out in faith to possess promises that are way beyond what is humanly possible to attain. God is honored when we pray bigly.

So are you ready to live large! If you ask big things of God, get ready to be big enough for the britches God’s generosity will require of you. You see, God is a God of abundance, and he gives in abundance, that is, he gives us more than enough, but while he gives abundantly, he never wastes kingdom resources on those unprepared to steward his generosity so that it brings maximum glory to himself. When he gives you something, he expects you to fill it out. In other words, he wants you to leverage every ounce of his provision to the fullest so that he can give you more. If you waste it, settle for less than maximum use, or misuse what he provides, he will not release more to you. In fact, there is an indication in scripture (see Matthew 25:24-30) that if we don’t steward his gifts wisely and industriously, he will even take away what he has given and give it to someone who will develop it in faith.

In the case of the land allotment to the tribes of Judah and Simeon, the visionary folks of Judah had an industrious spirit about them. So, God gave them much more land than they needed at the time. Yet because they had not taken full advantage of it, God took a portion of it and assigned it to the Simeonites. Judah, however, was not content to shrink into their land. They got fired up and later asked the warriors of Simeon to join forces with them to take the land that was not yet under their occupation:

The men of Judah said to their relatives from the tribe of Simeon, “Join with us to fight against the Canaanites living in the territory allotted to us. Then we will help you conquer your territory.” So, the men of Simeon went with Judah…. Then Judah joined with Simeon to fight against the Canaanites living in Zephath, and they completely destroyed the town. So, the town was named Hormah. In addition, Judah captured the towns of Gaza, Ashkelon, and Ekron, along with their surrounding territories. (Judges 1:3,17)

I like that about these two tribes. God’s blessing was more than they could handle, but they were unwilling to shrink into what they could handle. That is not the case with many believers today: they get overwhelmed by abundance, as unbelievable as that sounds, and for a variety of reasons, fritter away their opportunity to fully occupy their blessings. They are like the intimidated steward in Matthew 25, fearful that he might lose what he was given. But in the case of Judah and Simeon, they got smart: they joined forces and helped each other take the land. By strong faith and hard work, they expanded into their blessings.

That is the kind of believer I want to be. I don’t want to be afraid to ask bigly of my Father. And I want to be unafraid of leveraging the large opportunity he gives in response to my asking. I want to live as an example of maximizing what he places in my hands. I want to do that to show him how much I trust him. I want to do that so that he can trust me with more. I want to do that so that others will be provoked to godly discontent in settling for anything less than God’s generous abundance.

Among the many things I want people who know me to say in reflection of my life, the one thing I hope they will say is, “He asked for big things of God, and he lived large for his glory.” I want to leave nothing on the table when my life is over. I want none of heaven’s treasures appointed for me while I am on earth to remain in heaven. I want it all for the glory of God alone.

How about you? Let’s commit from this day forward to be people of ask big and live large.

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The Need For A King In Your Life

“It’s for your own good that God gives spiritual leaders to watch over your soul. It’s so important that God will hold them accountable for how well they do their job. So, make it easy for them!”

SUMMARY: Like he wanted from Israel, God wants to be our sole Lord and King. Yet he knows we need a controlling moral authority in our lives with skin on. So, he has ordained leaders to watch over us. No longer are they kings, but they are shepherds, pastors, spiritual leaders, mentors, spiritual directors, and accountability partners. And the charge that God has given them is to watch over our souls as those who must give account to God someday for the way we live our lives. So joyfully, willingly, gratefully come under their authority—that is God’s path for you to thrive.

God Speaks—I Obey // Judges 18:1

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I have selected only a portion of a verse for today’s devotional. The rest of this chapter is the same song, the twenty-ninth verse of what we have seen over and over again in Judges. We have been treated to the depressing fare of what happens to a people when they have no controlling moral authority: They do what seems right in their own eyes. And that is never, ever pretty.

So, rather than going into the particular details of the sad account of Judges 18, let’s just say the spiritual anarchy that we saw in Judges 17 had continued into this chapter. In fact, chapter 18 literally continues what began in chapter 17. It is a strange mixture of idol worship openly disguised as worship of Yahweh. It is stunning how easily Israel has come to believe that their surrender to idols made by man’s hand is simply a legitimate representation of their worship of the Lord God.

Back to the opening line: We are told that Israel had no king. While they would get one soon enough, Judges bridges the time gap between Moses and Joshua to the start of the inauguration of the Israelite monarchy, beginning with King Saul and carrying forth under the Davidic dynasty until the nation is sent into Babylonian exile. And while a king to control the nasty impulses of this nation seems to be the spiritual antidote to what ails them, an earthly king will be God’s concession to a stubborn and calloused nation. God himself wanted to be their sole king; that is his ideal. Yet they were hopelessly flawed by sin. So, God would graciously send them a man who would hopefully be that controlling moral authority they so desperately needed. But God warned them: While some kings would be good and godly, others would not. And when they were not, Israel would rue the day they had begged God for a king.

Now, how about us? Like Israel, God wants to be our sole Lord and King, but he knows we need a controlling moral authority in our lives with skin on. So, he has ordained leaders to watch over us. No longer are they kings, but they are shepherds, pastors, spiritual leaders, mentors, spiritual directors, and accountability partners. And the charge that God has given them is to watch over our souls as those who must give account to God someday for the way we live our lives. The writer of Hebrews made this appeal:

However, we live at a time where we have been conditioned to bristle at the thought of submission to anyone. We question authority. We do not like the idea of being accountable to anyone who might call us out for our behavior. The result is that far too many of us live unexamined lives. But if nothing else, Judges show us the ugly truth about having no king, that is, of living without any controlling moral authority in our lives. So, we do what is right in our own eyes. And like chapter after chapter in Judges, that never paints a pretty picture.

I would appeal to you that it is God’s will for you to voluntarily and joyfully submit to a spiritual leader. Slowly, carefully, prayerfully re-read Hebrews 13:7 & 17. It is for your own good that God has ordained people to watch over your soul. So important is it that God will even hold them accountable for how well they do their job with you. It is a blessing to you that you submit to them—submit not as a doormat, which is a misreading of the biblical word, but rather to willingly line up under their oversight. That is the true meaning of submission. And if you will, believe me, you will thrive under the humble, godly, servant-hearted guidance of an anointed leader.

Israel had no king, and it was disastrous. What about you? Who is the controlling human authority in your life representing God to you? If you can’t answer that, you may be in trouble. If you can, come under their loving leadership willingly, gratefully and joyfully.

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Waiting On The God Who Waits On Us

SUMMARY: The Christian life is a balance between what God does and what we do. Of course, our work is in response to his work—we don’t work to get God to do anything; he has already done everything, and our effort is always what is right and fitting because of his gracious acting on our behalf. We have a covenantal partnership with God, and each plays a role in order to live out the covenant. God has worked in what we must work out.

God Speaks—I Obey // Joshua 18:1-3

Now that the land was under Israelite control, the entire community of Israel gathered at Shiloh and set up the Tabernacle. But there remained seven tribes who had not yet been allotted their grants of land. Then Joshua asked them, “How long are you going to wait before taking possession of the remaining land the Lord, the God of your ancestors, has given to you?

Perhaps what you are waiting on from God is waiting for you to do what God is waiting for from you. Wait! What? Wait? I know, it sounds a bit convoluted, but simply put, sometimes we are waiting when we should be working. God has done his part, but we haven’t done ours, and so the answers to our prayers are delayed.

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The Christian life is a balance between what God does and what we do. Of course, our work is in response to his work—we don’t work to get God to do anything; he has already done everything, and our effort is always what is right and fitting because of his gracious acting on our behalf. We have a covenantal partnership with God, and each plays a role in order to live out the covenant. Or as Paul puts it in Philippians 2:12-13,

Work hard to show the results of your salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear. For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.

We must work out what God has worked in. But so often we wait for God to do what he has already done. We misunderstand our responsibility in the partnership, or we avoid it because of spiritual laziness, or we are irresponsible, or frankly, we are in rebellion against God and are simply not carrying our weight in the deal. Whatever the case may be, God will not do what we are to do. God will do what we can’t, but he will never do what we won’t.

Now, in Israel’s case, God had promised them the land of Canaan as their home. He had brought them through 400 years of slavery in Egypt and through forty years of wandering in the desert to the edge of their new homeland. He had gone before them and had driven out their enemies. He had guaranteed their victory. But he had also called them to cross the Jordan into the land. He expected them to fight their enemies, drive them out, and take possession of the cities and farmland the Canaanites left behind. He had been clear that they were to stay at it until the task was complete. Yet after more years than they needed, the work was incomplete. They had not done what they were supposed to do in response to what God had already done. So, Joshua called them out on it.

I suppose all of this makes sense to you, and that you agree with it in principle—that God plays a part and we play a part. But I also suspect this is a bit vague as it relates to your life specifically. So, the challenge I have for you in response to this chapter is to do some hard thinking about where you may be waiting on the God who is waiting on you to do your part. What does that look like for you? Where do you need to step up and get after it? What promises are unclaimed in your life that God desires to fulfill (the constraint is not God, it is you)?

These are tough questions, but let me encourage you to get after it. The effort will be well worth it, and besides, God has already done his part. The victory is already yours. So why wait any longer? Let me give you a verse from another section of scripture that applies to what I am asking you to do:

Be bold and get after it—God is waiting on you!

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Spiritual Anarchy

SUMMARY: As in the days of the Judges, far too many Christians and Christian churches have set aside any controlling moral authority, so they do whatever seems right in their own eyes. In reality, this is nothing more than spiritual anarchy. Make sure you are not in that camp, and make sure you do what you can to encourage your church not to set up camp there either.

God Speaks—I Obey

There was a man named Micah, who lived in the hill country of Ephraim. One day he said to his mother, “I heard you place a curse on the person who stole 1,100 pieces of silver from you. Well, I have the money. I was the one who took it.” His mother replied, “The Lord bless you for admitting it,” He returned the money to her, and she said, “I now dedicate these silver coins to the Lord. In honor of my son, I will have an image carved and an idol cast.” … In those days Israel had no king; all the people did whatever seemed right in their own eyes.

Judges 17:1-3

If we were to hold a vote on the weirdest stories in the Bible, this one would be in my top ten—maybe even in my top five. You read this story and it leaves you scratching your head. A man named Micah has admitted to his mother that he stole money from her, she praises the Lord for his “honesty” in returning the loot, then turns around and celebrates by commissioning a family idol, declaring that it is in honor of her wonderful son and of the Lord.

What…wait…what? She somehow twists stealing into honoring God by carving an image and casting an idol! What in the name of sanity is going on here? Simple explanation: This is spiritual anarchy, plain and simple. Anarchy is defined as “a state of disorder due to absence or non-recognition of authority.” That is exactly what Judges 17: 6 describes:

In those days Israel had no king, so everyone did whatever seemed right in their own eyes.

Israel had no controlling moral authority—or at least they chose not to follow a controlling moral authority, since they did have the law of God that should have been their constant guide. But over time, they moved God to the margins and devolved into spiritual anarchy. As a result, a lot of really weird stuff happened in a nation that God had called to be his own holy people. Israel began to look like the pagan nations to whom they had called them to witness as a living testimony of a loving but holy God. They begin to do unacceptable things that were outright repulsive to God, then justify their sinful behavior as acceptable and pleasing to the Holy One of Israel.

Twisted, right? Yet is it all that different than what we see today among people who claim to follow God? When the rate of divorce is as high among so-called Christians as it is in secular society, you have spiritual anarchy. When you have so-called Christians celebrating lifestyles and philosophies that are clearly opposed to what they are called to in God’s Word, you have spiritual anarchy. When you have so-called Christians whose way of living is clearly rooted in this present world and not in the kingdom to come—“believers” who are addicted to money, pleasure, and power—there you find they have drifted into spiritual anarchy. Where you find spiritual communities who make their worship about what they prefer, who employ entertainment techniques to attract new members, who move the Holy Spirit to the edge of their services in order to employ more relevant styles, who focus more on a cool café in the lobby rather than the call to seek God at the altar, there you find an inexorable rush toward spiritual anarchy.

In our day, Christians have set aside any controlling moral authority, so they do whatever seems right in their own eyes.

So now that I have gotten that rant out of my system, answer me this: Is this not the state of Christianity among far too many believers and far too many churches in America today?

If you think so, then make sure you are not in that camp, and make sure you do what you can to encourage your church not to drift into spiritual anarchy.

Choose You This Day:

To be honest, have your prayers fallen into the category of “My will be done?” As you pray today, pay close attention to the way Jesus taught us to begin our prayer: “Our Father, hallowed be your name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done!”

The Scriptures teach that the age will end in anarchy, apostasy, and apathy – anarchy in the world, apostasy in the professing church, and even apathy in the true church – because lawlessness shall abound, the love of most will wax cold. Men will turn from the truth to fables.
- Vance Hanver

   

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