You're Great you are

It has always been my intention to live a great life. I have read the biographies of our treasured saints, great men like John Wesley, Charles Finney, Smith Wigglesworth and I have desired to leave my own mark on Christian history in such a way as these. I have longed to build something that is of worth with my life, something that others will look in at and see greatness. For such a long time I have desired to live a memorable life, one that is full and abundant, one that is exciting and adventurous, one that is full of spiritual encounters and experience. And to this end I have looked to create this life for myself. I have put myself in the way of things, deliberately seeking the opportunity to be great.

But now I see that my Christian life has been my Christian career. Opportunities to be great become opportunities to look great. A life of memories becomes a showcase for the gullible. A life of adventure and encounter becomes forgotten and redundant unless shared with those who will listen. I am a chaser of celebrity.

This revelation comes as the gentle breeze of the Spirit dispels the mists of my mind. He blew a true apostle of Jesus into my life and I can think clearly now the reins have gone, my thoughts having formerly been captivated by career and focussed on achievement.

Janaki Mennai met Jesus in a vision as she lay dying. Her prayers to other Gods had fallen on deaf ears and Jesus called her to come and know His love and to work for Him. She was miraculously healed and 10 years later stands great amongst men. She is the founder and director of Faith In Action Ministries (FIAM) in Andrah Pradesh, India. This great christian woman has planted over 60 churches in rural villages, founded 2 schools, supplied many villages with bore hole wells, developed ministry to local prisoners, planted a church in the middle of a leper colony, developed and run vocational training courses for young women, founded an orphanage, fed the widows and children of her village, trained pastors and church leaders over the whole region, seen thousands come to Christ in gospel crusades and street evangelism, run medical provision camps for the poor, fed and clothed the needy, among other things.

Janaki is a great woman but she is not great for doing all this worthy work. She is great for just one reason, the same reason that Jesus was great. Janaki only does what she sees the Father doing.

Martin Scott says that if Jesus had written a book it would have contained those 8 words. “Only do what you see the Father do.”

Jesus’ true greatness lies not merely in His divinity or perfect humanity but His willingness to do only that which he saw Father do. This was revealed in the garden as he sweated blood to say “Not my will but yours.”

I have done so many things to get further in my Christian career. I have got busy for God, led home groups, prayed very long and very loud (only when people were watching), preached sermons, gave seminars, done missions and led worship; all really because I thought that to be great was to appear great. How many of those things did I do because I first saw Father do them? My quest for greatness seen in the light of this paradigm is a quest for the praise of men rather than submission to the Lord.

But I have met someone who is submitted to this way. I have met someone great. And she is someone who is humble and meek, she is gentle and kind, pure and loving. Janaki Mennai only does what she sees the Father doing, and what she sees is a Father who loves people, a Father who feeds people and clothes them, who visits them in prison and provides for them. Being with Janaki is like being with Jesus. I saw Jesus in her and I saw in her great life what my Father is doing.

John 5:19

I have been thinking about John 5:19. (Then Jesus answered and said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner.) It seems to me that I have lived my life without really taking this statement into account. Martin Scott once said that if Jesus wrote a book then all it would contain would be this statement. I think that on reflection perhaps the most radical thing about Jesus is that he only did what he saw the Father doing and nothing else!
I do not think that I have lived like that at all. I have set goals, I have had ambitions but these have all come from me. I have got busy doing christian stuff which no one could argue was not good or right to get involved with but how much of it did I see the Father doing before hand? How much of it did I do just to move up in the christian world on to bigger and better things?
To live like this, to say I will only do what I see the Father do is at odds with all that I have previously thought about my journey through life.
It has really challenged me to become one who totally surrenders my life to Him and do only those things he does, rather than things that seem good.
How much of what we do is just us getting more and more busy with Christian stuff?

Anyway, this is still a little disjointed and I want to smooth it out in some form of prose, I just wanted to get something down before I forgot!

Seven Steps for the Annointing

I am reading a great book by Carlos Annacondia called "Listen to me, Satan".

In it he lists 7 steps to the annointing. He says "There are seven requirements to be successful in Christian ministry. These are the basic elements for achieving an annointed and successful ministry. Without them, our service will be insignificant and unfruitful. They are as follows:
1. Consecration: total surrender to God.
2. Vision: What is the God given vision for our lives?
3. Knowledge: we should understand the word of God and know how to apply it's principles to life situations.
4. Faith: faith without works is dead.
5: Action: God wants men and women of action.
6. Prayer and Fasting: We are responsible for keeping the fires on the altars of our devotional lives burning through constant prayer. Then the fire of the Holy Spirit will never go out.
7: Love: We have to surround all that we have mentioned until this point with love.

Well, I think that this is a really helpful list to think on!
What do you think?

Psalm 36

Well, seeing as me and Kurt are loving the Psalms at the moment I thought I would let you all in on another of my current favourites!

Psalm 36:8
They are abundantly satisfied with the fullness of your house
And you give them drink from the river of your pleasures (NKJV)

God has a river of pleasure from which he gives us drink! He is a God of pleasure and of joy!
Man, I really love God!