Recharge Your Batteries (Part 2)
Isaiah 40:31 KVJ
31 But they that wait upon the
Lord
shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.
Isaiah 40:31 AMP
31 But those who wait for the Lord [who expect, look for, and hope in Him]
Will gain new strength and renew their power;
They will lift up their wings [and rise up close to God] like eagles [rising toward the sun];
They will run and not become weary,
They will walk and not grow tired.
Will gain new strength and renew their power;
They will lift up their wings [and rise up close to God] like eagles [rising toward the sun];
They will run and not become weary,
They will walk and not grow tired.
Yesterday we examined 5 passion killers that drain our energy, and consequently, hinder our hope.
Today we will examine 5 supply lines that are essential to staying encouraged.
1) Invest in your own growth:
Ray Johnston asks the question, “What are you doing, year by year, to invest in your own growth and development?”
It is a good question for all of us to answer. Two good preceding questions would be, “What is your role in the kingdom of God? How do you see yourself making an impact in the body of Christ and as a witness to those who are lost?”
Once you figure out those things, what are you doing to invest in your growth or development in those areas? Are you reading books that will help you in this area? Are you attending seminars that will help you in this field of ministry? Are you preparing for an increase in your level of impact?
The Apostolic Conference, Harvest Northwest, and our North American Missions retreat are three events that significantly ministered to me and my development as a pastor this year. I entered the events needing some fuel in my tank, and thank God, I left with a renewed focus and vision. These events have been instrumental in my development.
I will readily admit that I need to continue to improve as a pastor in helping others find opportunities to invest in their personal growth and development. Some of you continue to express a desire to learn and grow, and I absolutely love your desire! It is my prayer that our church offers training that equips people to continually grow and develop their role in the Kingdom of God. (This is part of the vision behind things like Life Groups, Discipleship classes, Bible classes, and mentoring relationships)
Preparation is an act of faith. It expresses hope that God will use us in a greater capacity in the future and that we need to prepare for it. In order to advance His kingdom, He wants to use us more in the future. Let’s prepare for it.
2) Understand the power of worship:
Psychologist Martin Seligman attributes the epidemic of depression on “rampant individualism.” Contrary to what our carnal mind thinks, focusing too much on ourselves actually leads to hopelessness. The answer is connecting to God and others.
Worship helps us to focus on God’s goodness, majesty, power, grace, and love.
Turn Your Eyes upon Jesus
Helen H. Lemmel
O soul, are you weary and troubled?
No light in the darkness you see?
There’s light for a look at the Savior,
No light in the darkness you see?
There’s light for a look at the Savior,
And life more abundant and free!
Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace.
We can connect to God through worship with times of prayer and praise throughout our days. Sometimes it may be structured and intentional, while other times it may be purely spontaneous. There is great blessing in practicing worship before we do anything else in our day. You will find your day filled with more hope when you do so.
Not only do I want to encourage you to connect to God in worship today, but connect to His body in corporate worship. Our goal should be to attend church events as much as possible. In doing so, we are blessed and we are a blessing. We both give and receive hope as we minister to each other with the love of God.
3) Unleash the Bible in your life:
A Midwest church conducted in extensive study to reveal the most important factors in spiritual growth and life transformation. After 4 years of interviewing thousands of people from hundreds of churches, the study revealed the most powerful catalyst for spiritual growth was the Bible. Nothing else even came close.
The reason is simple. The more we study the Bible, the more our mind is transformed and renewed. As our mind is changed, our thoughts change. As our thoughts change, our entire life is changed.
The following quote has been attributed to many people. Whoever originally said it was speaking with great wisdom:
“Sow a thought, reap an action. Sow an action, reap a habit. Sow a habit, reap a character. Sow a character, reap a destiny.”
It all begins with our thought life. We need to have our carnal minds (fear, human reason, doubt, unbelief, selfishness, etc.) exchanged for the mind of Christ (faith, God’s wisdom, love, hope, joy, peace, etc.). God has revealed His mind through His word.
Note:
We need to ask God to reveal His word as we read it. We cannot approach it with a desire to understand it without His help. But as we seek Him with all of our heart and trust in Him, He will reveal Himself to us.
4) Build great relationships:
As I encouraged earlier, we need more than just a relationship with God apart from a relationship with His body – the church. We need each other.
Ecclesiastes 4:10 NLT
10 If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble.
God did not intend for us to walk through life alone.
Relationships take work. They are not easy. They require give and take. They take granting forgiveness and receiving for forgiveness.
Ephesians 4:31-32
31 Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice:
32 And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.
The theme for Apostolic Conference a couple years ago was “Build.” Pastor Jason Dillon made an astute observation. He said that in the middle of “build” is you and I (the letters “u” and “i”). Never more is this true than in building relationships, it takes you and I to build them.
I challenge you to do your part in building great relationships.
5) Pay attention to whose voice you are listening to:
In this section of his book, Ray Johnston relays a story about a man who was crawling through a cave with a more experienced person. At one point, the person became very panicked and thought they were going to get stuck and die. The more experienced friend had to encourage them to ignore the voice in their head and listen to their voice only. They had already climbed through this spot many times. Just listen to their voice and keep crawling.
The struggling person was able to persevere by listening to the voice of their friend, and as a result, they were able to enjoy the beauty and the splendor of the next cavern. They were able to experience new and better things because they listened to the voice of hope and kept moving forward.
The voice of reason in our minds will say things like, “I will never make it through this. I am not going to be able to pay my bills and I am going to lose everything. I am not going to be able to provide for my children. I will never be able to overcome sin.”
On the other hand, if we listen to Jesus, He will say things like, “I will cause you to triumph in all things. You will overcome by my blood and the word of your testimony. You will live and not die. I will provide for you as you trust in me. I have come that you might have abundant and eternal life.”
Listen to Jesus.