Back to the Source

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Here I go again with another analogy on the subject of our ‘source’. You can see that it is an itch in my thinking that I keep scratching. I think that’s because God wants me to articulate this theme for your benefit (as well as my own). So let me take you into yet another imaginary scenario, where we can better see how choosing our source impacts our whole life.

Two men are church friends and they often share together. They both have high hopes for their future and they both profess faith in Jesus Christ. In time both men face a challenge where they must wait on God for provision. This is quite trying for both men and their families.

Both men are introduced to a business opportunity which could make them the funds they need. However the deal has a shady quality about it. It may be that money is made at the expense of unsuspecting people. One of the men steps away from the deal. The other goes into the deal.

Some time later, when the man who entered the deal is doing financially well, he calls on the other, who is still struggling. He reveals how well he is doing and exhorts his needy friend to join in the deal too. The friend questions the integrity of the deal and confirms that it does involve exploitation of others. He challenges his wealthy friend about the moral compromise he has entered into, encouraging him to trust in the Lord.

The wealthy man says that he has tried trusting the Lord and it did nothing for him, pointing out that his poor friend still trusts the Lord and it has done nothing for him. He pats his wallet and says, “This is what works. I am secure now and I don’t need the Lord. Money is what is going to get me out of trouble.”

The men part and don’t catch up for many years. In that time the poor man has found his feet financially and established the things he needs for his family. The man who loves money has gone on to greater heights of financial success, although his faith is now just a religious façade.

Then their nation entered a time of immense upheaval. Law and order crumbled. Factions fought violently to take control of the country. Banks collapsed, industry stood still and commerce crumbled. The assets of the rich were taken from them and many people died in the civil strife and mob rule which erupted in the land.

The men met again by chance. The lover of money was being herded into the back of a truck, to be taken away by mercenaries, possibly to his death. He called to his friend and said, “Do something!” The friend replied, “What can I do? Why don’t you use some of your money?”

The richer man replied with despair, “It’s worthless! I’ve lost everything!” Then he called to his friend as the truck pulled away, “Pray for me!” “You can pray too!” His friend called back. The rich man shook his head, “No I don’t think I can.”

The Bible warns us not to place our trust in ‘uncertain riches’.
“Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not high minded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy” 1Timothy 6:17

This does not mean that some riches are sure and others are unreliable. It means that monetary riches and physical assets are in and of themselves ‘uncertain”. They are subject to theft, decay, destruction and devaluation. Some riches mean great things in the right circles, but nothing at all in another context. Whole currencies have been scrapped, making the money worthless. Can you imagine how a priceless Ming Dynasty vase would be used in a refugee camp?

The wonderful thing about having God as our source, rather than wealth, is that He is not subject to devaluation or inflation – He changes not. He has always been priceless. He is equally and supremely relevant in every economy and in every place across the planet. He cannot be stolen from you, nor will He decay. You cannot be swindled out of God. There is no currency collapse which makes your connection to God of no consequence. You don’t need an ATM, traveller’s cheques or a stable economy in which to access your Creator.

When you make God your source you are vastly better off than everyone who looks to anything else. Make God your source! Don’t be beguiled by uncertain things, even job security, the promises of men, material assets, or the privilege of your birth or national heritage. God is your only truly reliable asset in all of eternity. Be vitally connected to Him, first of all and above all else.

Promotion to Sovereignty

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Here’s a truism that has some significant implications. The principle I will explain here is the very reason why Susan and I did not ask a man of God to help us recently. This principle explains why you are often standing in the shallow water, unable to upgrade yourself into more meaningful things.

You can rise no higher than the one who promotes you. That’s why you cannot promote yourself. Self-promotion gives you sovereignty over next to nothing at all.

The extent of our own authority and sovereignty is directly related to the extent of the sovereignty of the person whose authority we are under.

I created a silly analogy to bring this to focus. Forgive me if you’ve heard me share this before. Imagine a production manager noticing two men walking around his factory taking notes on what they see. He calls these two men to his office and asks them what they are doing. It turns out that both men are making notes on how dirty the factory is and what health risks might be raised by the clutter.

When the production manager asks the first man, “Who told you to do what you are doing?” it turns out that his friend, the janitor, has often complained about the health risks associated with clutter and dirt, so the man decided on his own initiative to walk around the factory and make his own assessment.

Now, does that man have authority to be doing what he is doing? No! The man has entered the building without authority and engaged in a process that only he, himself, has assigned. His only contact with the organisation is through the janitor. The production manager promptly tells that man to get out of his building and not to come back.

The second man, however, explains that he was contacted by the Managing Director who instructed him to do an independent survey of the clutter and to report directly to the Managing Director, himself. While this second man is doing exactly the same thing as the first, it is not the action that is important but the authority under which the action is taking place. The second man, under the direct authority of the Managing Director, cannot be told to leave the building. He has a level of personal sovereignty in the situation which derives directly from the authority of the Managing Director.

Do you get the principle then? Your personal authority and sovereignty is directly derived from the person whose authority you are operating under. You can rise no higher than the one who promotes you.

OK, that’s my starting point. Now let me show you how that impacts the way I operate. Let’s say, for example, there is a hot prophet in town. Everyone is flocking to his meetings hoping to get a word from the Lord. Some people are making personal appointments or trying to catch the prophet when he is in the elevator or eating breakfast, in the expectation of getting a word from God through the prophet.

All those who look to God speaking through the prophet limit themselves. They are declaring that they do not have the right or privilege of receiving directly from God. They make themselves servants to the prophet, subject to the prophet’s anointing and grace. This is not where God has put them, but where they have put themselves.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I am not saying that it is wrong to get a word from a prophet. I am saying that to look to the prophet puts you in a lesser place than the prophet.

For example, imagine two men who both need wisdom from God. One decides to go to all the meetings where the prophet is speaking, and even to carry the prophet’s bags, drive him to and from the meetings and explain all about his needs to the prophet, in order to ensure getting a word from God. The other man simply commits himself to God and makes no effort to go to the meetings or to meet the prophet.

On the last day of the prophet’s visit he gives prophetic wisdom to the man who is hounding him for a word. He also gets an impression to pass on a word to the man who did not attend the meetings. Both men receive a word from the Lord, from the same prophet. Both men have their needs met through a word from the Lord. One looked to the prophet and the other looked to the Lord.

Next month both men equally need a word from the Lord again. Situations have arisen that put them both under pressure to gain divine wisdom. The first man desperately seeks out the man of God. That prophet is now travelling overseas and so the only way to catch him is to head off to find him. The second man simply repeats what he did the first time. He prays to God and commits his need for wisdom to God. He is confident that God will find a way to get the wisdom to him, even if he is not in the right place at the right time.

The first man in that made-up scenario is limited in his personal sovereignty and authority. He cannot confidently hear from God. He cannot wait on God. He needs a human agency to deliver God’s wisdom to him. The second man operates in a broader sphere. He goes directly to God and expects God to be his source and provider.

Some time back Susan suggested that we ask a particular man of God to pray for a situation we were working through. We had questions about which way to move forward. It was possible that this man could give us God’s wisdom. For a moment I was inclined to ask for that help, but I quickly considered the spiritual implications. If I go, hat in hand, to another man for God’s guidance, I subjugate my own personal sphere to the limitations of men.

Now, you need to know that God most often speaks to me through human agency. God uses the preaching of the pastors I sit under, the input of prophets, song-writers, authors and so on, to answer the questions I bring to Him. I am not independent of human agency. I am dependent on God. He can then choose which agency He will use. When He does so, I am receiving from Him, via the human channel He uses at that time. But I am never then dependent on that preacher, song-writer, author, or prophet. I am only ever dependent on the Lord. He is my source.

Then, being under the direct authority of the Lord God, Himself, I optimise and maximise my own personal sovereignty and authority.

Consider this further application. In the Catholic Church the members are required to access God via the confessional. They must go through one who stands in their place (which is what the word ‘vicar’ means – the vicarious one). This decimates the personal authority and sovereignty of the worshippers. They can only operate within the authority assigned them by the Catholic Church. The Protestant world, with its emphasis on personal worship based on personal relationship with God and response to personal conscience, has generated many more examples of people who have gone out in God’s name to change the world.

Any pastor who seeks to control his congregation and require that they only do things which he or she approves is robbing the congregation of personal sovereignty and divine authority. That works well for building the pastor’s own kingdom, but it’s ineffective for building the Kingdom of God.

I pray that God promote you to the highest levels of personal sovereignty and authority, not by you being your own boss and walking in rebellion, but by you submitting to God and looking only to Him, while you allow the servants of the Lord to be His channel of input into your life.

Building Generations

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The individualised concept of life is prevalent in the west today. It robs us of a real appreciation of what we are doing as parents. We are not just caring for children until they can care for themselves. We are not just giving them a valid set of values to take into life. We are not just setting them up for as successful a life journey as they can achieve. We are BUILDING GENERATIONS.

Here’s a way to think about it that might help you get the message.

Imaging a young lady, somebody’s daughter, who has tow potential suitors. One suitor is a fine young man. He is slim, athletic, handsome, articulate, smart, achievement oriented, with good grades, strong personality, good communication skills, a winning smile, animated and caring tones in his speech, and so on. This young man is not only an ideal choice, he is voted so by many of the young ladies and their mothers. He is surely going to be a popular choice and make the young lady the envy of all who know her.

The other suitor is more of a plodder. He is a steady chap from a stable family. He is more retiring and less adventurous, but he is polite, reliable, and genial. While not striking in appearance he could be considered good looking. He is not athletic in build, and may tend toward being overweight, as his father is. What makes this man attractive as a suitor is his expressed affection for the young lady. He seems quite struck on her and he would certainly make a reliable and loving husband.

Telescoping through time we now look two generations ahead and see the generational outcomes of these choices.

The grandchildren of the enviable suitor are a mess. His unfaithfulness and the breakdown of his married caused his children to enter into a range of relationships looking for something to ease their pain. Because he violated the values he taught to his children they lost faith in values and religion and became increasingly cynical of life itself. The children that they bore, in turn, were raised in broken homes, in unsteady relationships with very little anchor in normality.

The grandchildren of the other suitor are lost in materialism. His steady life was lived in self-reliance, in pursuit of human happiness. His children also learned to live to themselves and each chose their best course to achieve that. The grandchildren, then, were born into homes devoid of spiritual reality. They each set out to find fulfillment in the collection of material goods, pursuit of human happiness and quest per personal achievement.

There was no happy choice between these two. For the daughter’s future is not invested in Mr Right. It is not found by a well-suited marriage. It is not achieved by the luck of the draw or the happy choice of someone who will do them proud.

Human happiness and success comes from the Lord. Promotion and good outcomes do not come from the north, south, east or west. They do not come from clever choices, good luck or the reliability of others. They come from the Lord.

To make matters worse, those who look to humans to bring them anything at all are putting their trust in “man”. The prophet Jeremiah warns us that we are cursed if we put out trust in man and look to human resources to provide for us – see Jeremiah 17:5-8).

Generations are built as a result of the matches made. We do not find a bride or a “hubby”. We do not just have some “kids” as part of our own personal journey. We are building generations. The children and the children’s children will be seriously impacted by the choice of spouse.

For further comment on this topic see the posting “Why did you choose HER to be my mother?” at: http://chrisfieldblog.com/family/“why-did-you-choose-her-to-be-my-mother”

In summary – recognize that you are BUILDING GENERATIONS, not pursuing your own ends or your own happiness.

But then realize that YOU NEED GOD TO BE IN CHARGE OF THE PROCESS – since you are surely not able to control it yourself. You do not know the end from the beginning – but God does.

Where are the Men?

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It’s tough being a MAN in our feminized culture. That’s for sure. But what I find more a threat to manhood is not the rise of women, but the DECLINE OF MEN! It seems that men are running for cover, handing the world over to others who want to take it. I wonder if our problem is not what women are doing but that men are abandoning manhood. My own experience was that of “abdicating” from my manhood. It wasn’t until I realized what I was doing that I could even begin my own journey into godly manhood.

I have recently completed, MANHOOD HORIZONS – Calling Men To Change History, and it is currently in the editing process. That book brings together 20 years of my own thoughts and experiences in the journey to Manhood. Using the “Horizons” formula, exploring the Natural Horizons, then Spiritual Horizons and Faith Horizons, I aim to particularly distil the essential qualities of Manhood, as a divine calling from which no man can escape.

Using the analogy of the Theatre, I point out that God is the one who has cast each of us into our roles. We are each asked to embrace our part, not by our own choosing but as assigned to us by God, Himself. God is the one who created the very earth on which we play out our lives.

Shakespeare used the analogy of a stage to describe man’s existence. His melancholy character, Jaques, from ‘As You Like It’, presents a soliloquy on the course of a man’s life. The speech begins by describing life as a performance on a stage.

“All the world’s a stage,

And all the men and women merely players:

They have their exits and their entrances;

And one man in his time plays many parts”

While those who are melancholy might lament man’s futile parade across the boards, those with wisdom look beyond the footlights to discover the very one who created the whole theatre. Mankind’s challenge is not to look busy and appear important, while on the stage, but to find out what the stage is there for and what part has been assigned them to play.

Men, as in the males of the human species, have been assigned a decidedly different role to play than that given to women. Men cannot trade in their part or exchange it with someone else. The stage was not built by men, nor set up for men’s purposes. Our world was created by God and everything in it was created for “His pleasure”.

Revelation 4:11 “You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for You have created all things, and for Your pleasure they are and were created.”

Where are the men? What costume are they wearing now? Which of the props are they hiding behind? Do they have stage-fright? Why have they abandoned their God-given roles? Do they not realise the wonder and significance of living for God’s pleasure? Do they not realise the power of fulfilling their destiny as “Men”?

Manhood is such an important issue that I have long taught on the subject and am pleased to have recently completed MANHOOD HORIZONS – Calling Men to Change History.