Beginning with the end in mind

Over the last week I’ve been faced with two funerals. The one of a man who lived his life with little to no regard for God and the other a woman who was a devoted follower of Jesus.

The environment of the funerals and attitudes of the two families were as different as night and day.

While both families grieved their earthly loss, the family of the man was filled with grief, concern, and question over the man’s eternity. All their hopes hinged upon one brief moment where, two weeks previous to the man’s death, he agreed to prayer with my wife and me. (A Note: We do believe in deathbed conversions, but they are always an uncomfortable way to go, because the key issue is the heart, and that no one can judge except God.)

So, instead of confidence on this man being in heaven, there was question and confusion. Why? Not because he couldn’t get saved at the last minute, but because it’s sometimes hard to reconcile the person we knew them to be (living a Godless and selfish life) from a person who sincerely realized they need Jesus and at the last minute prayed and received him as their King. Was it just an act of desperation of a dying man? Did he mean it in his heart or was he just trying anything he could to prepare himself for whatever may come beyond this life? Only God knows.

The family of the woman also grieved their earthly loss, but with the confidence and joy that she was in a better place, that she was in heaven.

This confidence and belief was based on more than a last minute prayer of a dying and desperate person. It was based on the fact that this woman began with the end in mind. She not only believed in God, but lived the life. There was no last minute turning to God after a lifetime of Godless selfish living. There was a reassuring legacy giving proof of where the heart really stood with God.

I want to encourage everyone to think about their lives with the end in mind. What do we want to be known for? What do we want people to say about us when we’re gone? What kind of feelings do we want to leave them with about where we will spend eternity (confidence or confusion; heaven or hell)?

The answers to these questions not only are of great concern and value for you the individual, but for all those that love you and are in your sphere of contact.

We all sense the weight of eternity... the Bible says GOD HAS PLACED ETERNITY IN OUR HEARTS. We all sense that we will live forever, the question is where? God's given us that answer... more on that next time... why Jesus and not any other way? Where's the fairness in the gospel?

Spiritual Warfare by Warren

Below is a message on the Subject of Spiritual Warfare by Rick Warren that was emailed to me. It is a timeless message that had a timely arrival for our church family as I see many of those who've decided to step up and serve the Lord coming under the assult of the enemy. I trust this will minister to you. God bless.

Spiritual warfare in ministry by Rick Warren

If you were to come to my office, you’d find five full-length filing cabinets, lined up one after another. Each of them is full of files: Bible studies, ideas, sermons, messages, research, and such. One of the most important files I have is a yellow one labeled, “Warnings – Lessons to be Learned.” The file is full of fallen Christian leaders. Some of them I knew personally; some of them I didn’t know. But I review the file at the end of every year, just to warn myself.

We are in a spiritual battle. That’s why that kind of stuff happens. If you don’t take the Christian life seriously, if you don’t take ministry seriously, the Devil’s going to. You may not mean business, but he does.
The most often used analogy for Christians in the Bible is of soldiers. The words that are often used to describe the Christian life are war terms – fight, conquer, strive, battle, overcome, victory. We are living in enemy territory when we live in the world. Scripture makes it very clear.

If you are in ministry, you are going to face opposition from the Devil. If you get up in the morning and you don’t face the Devil head on, right at the start of the day, it means you’re going in the same direction. He is opposed to everything you stand for. He hates anybody who’s sold out to Jesus Christ. He will do anything he can to defeat you.
So how do we fight this spiritual battle? Here are six essential steps.

1. Acknowledge the adversary. Realize Satan is real. Peter tells us, “Be alert, be on watch. Your enemy the Devil roams around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Be firm in your faith and resist him because you know that your fellow believers in all the world are going through the same kind of suffering.” (1 Peter 5:8-9)
Whenever you’re being spiritually attacked, just remember: Welcome to the club. It’s proof that you’re a believer. It’s proof that you’re making an impact. The more of an impact you’re making, the more the Devil is going to fight you. You never outgrow it. It just gets more intense.

2. Accept Jesus’ authority. Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” (Matt. 16:19) The Bible says if you are a believer, you are given the authority of Christ in spiritual warfare. You have the right to fight back. You have the right to bind and to loose.

3. I put on the armor. The famous passage on armor is Ephesians 6:11-17: “Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the Devil’s schemes. Have the belt of truth buckled around your waste and the breastplate of righteousness and have your feet fitted with the Gospel of peace. Take up the shield of faith and the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God.” You’ll notice six pieces of armor in the passage.
0. Truth
0. Righteousness
0. Gospel of peace
0. Faith
0. Salvation
0. The Word of God

Every piece of this armor is mental preparation for battle. That’s what the armor is all about. You need to put on truth, righteousness, peace, faith, salvation, and the Word of God mentally before you do ministry – whether you’re preaching, leading a Bible study, leading worship, or counseling a grieving member of your community. Why? You expect that you are going to be attacked, so you need your armor on first.

4. Aim the artillery. Spiritual warfare takes place primarily in our thought life. When somebody is opposing you in your ministry, they’re not the real problem. The problem is the thoughts the Devil’s giving them to oppose you. The problem is not that person. The problem is what they’re acting on. You always act on what you think. They’re getting thoughts from the wrong source. There are only two sources for thoughts. When we get thoughts from God, we call it inspiration. When we get thoughts from the Devil, we call it temptation.
We have four weapons in these battles against evil thoughts.

1. The Truth. The truth, God’s Word, is our sword. It cuts through all the mustard. It gets right to the point. When you are in a conflict, the question you want to ask yourself is this: What does God say about this?

2. Humility. The more you humble yourself before God, the more power you will have in your life (James 4: 6-7). That’s just the way it works. As we minister to others, we need to continually acknowledge God’s hand in what we are doing. He’s the one who empowers our ministry. We’re simply his vessel. In humility, we find real and lasting power in ministry.

3. Faith. Without even talking to you in detail, I can tell you exactly what God is doing in your ministry. He’s doing what you expect him to do. Faith is a powerful, powerful tool. (1 John 5:4) I don’t know why, but when I preach and I expect people to respond, they do.

4. Praise. Revelation 12:11-12 says, “They overcame him [Satan] by the blood of the lamb and by the word of their testimony. Therefore rejoice, you heavens, and you who inhabit them.” How did they overcome the Devil? By the blood of the lamb and the word of their testimony. They were praising God. The Bible says when people praise God, “[he] inhabits the praises of his people.” Sometimes after a particular worship service, I honestly feel like Mickey Mouse could preach and people would come to know Christ. The praise has cleansed the air. There’s power in the praise of God.


 5. Call on the Holy Spirit. You need to say, “God, fill me with your Spirit as I’m about to do this.” Whether you’re preparing a message, preaching, counseling someone, training your leaders – whatever you’re doing – ask God to fill you with his Spirit.

6. Avoid all distractions. If you’re going to be effective in ministry – in battle – you’ve got to focus yourself. You know what’s important in life. There are so many things that want a piece of your time. The good can be the enemy of the best.
I have one person to please and only one – the Lord Jesus Christ. And if I’m pleasing him, that’s what is going to count at the end of my life. Avoid the distractions. If you get distracted, the enemy is going to catch up with you.

So what’s distracting you from ministry?