Ephesians 6:10-12

6:10  "Finally my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might."

Strength is found as we realize our inability to produce strength from ourselves.  This power we are to seek is from the Lord, and is extrinsic of ourselves.  The Lord is the only one who has a inherent, intrinsic, all consuming, and never lacking power.  The eternal Jesus became a man just like us and modeled a life of dependency on the Father in the power of the Holy Spirit.  Jesus accomplished our salvation by "being strong in the Lord and, in the power of his might."

6:11  "Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil."

"Wiles of the devil"  this does not mean that Satan himself in person is coming against you, because Satan is not omni-present as God is and cannot be everywhere at once.  Satan can only be in one place at a time because he is a fallen angel and not God.  But it does mean you will deal with a third of the angels who fell with Satan and the demonic forces behind Satan and how they are organized against you and mankind.  They have been around for a long time and they know what you typically get tripped up by.  They can only observe you and make suggestions.  "Put on the whole armor of God"  The armor of God is simply made up of six pieces--  Truth, Righteousness, Peace, Faith, Salvation, and the Word of God.

6:12 "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places."

"We wrestle not against flesh and blood"  Oftentimes we see the "people problems" that we experience as if the people themselves were our root enemies.  Even though the apostle Paul was beheaded by the infamous Caesar Nero he could say "If I give my body to be burned, and have not love, it profits me nothing" (1 Cor.13:3).  We oftentimes get caught up in the lateral perspective of life in our daily situations when we are called by Jesus to be looking vertically in our situations and circumstances.  In 2 Kings 6:13-17, Elisha assures his servant as the enemy troops surround their house to "Fear not, for they that be with us are more than they that be with them" (2 Kings 6:16).  Then Elisha prays for him saying, "Lord....open his eyes, that he may see.  And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw; and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha" (2 Kings 6:17).  What a powerful lesson that young man learned that day.

Defining Success

Miranda and I stayed up late talking about what success looks like for our future.  It was a tricky question.  How do you measure success?

 Fulfilling the work God has given you:
Consider Jesus' prayer to the Father in John 17, "I glorified you on the earth, having accomplished the work you gave me to do."  Consider how work was a gift given to us before the terrible Fall in the garden (God gave Adam and Eve the role of keeping the garden, and naming the animals, etc) part of "success" is finishing the work God has designed us to fulfill. This is why in 2 Thes. 3 God warns idle believers to get going, in view of the Day of the Lord (his coming return). In the book of Titus, the Holy Spirit instructs the young pastor by saying, "The saying is trustworthy, and I want you to insist on these things, so that those who have believed in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works.  These things are excellent and profitable for people.  But avoid foolish controversies, genealogies, dissensions, and quarrels about the law, for they are unprofitable and worthless." Paul's heart as a pastor was not to create a fear of losing the love of Jesus in his people, but for the love of Jesus to be fully formed in them.

A Promise For Success:
Psalm 1, Joshua 1:7  Meditation and prayer is one way we align ourselves with the work God has given us to do.  The work is not to earn anything, Jesus has finished the ultimate work on the cross.  God in his grace now allows us to join with him partaking of his mission in the world.  Cutting through the noise of life is necessary in tuning our spiritual ears to what God is doing in our lives.

 A Few Overarching Roadblocks to Success:
Jesus worked extremely hard to create a culture that would mirror and begin the kingdom of God on earth. The kingdom of God is like a garden in our lives that needs constant tilling, seeding, watering, and fertilizing.

Roadblock #1 Easy street
Believing the Christian life is easy, and that when Jesus said "Abide in me" he really meant "do nothing".  Growth in any area of life requires our effort.  We find both active and passive commands throughout scripture describing our spiritual growth.  "Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling (active),  for it is God that works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure" (passive).  It would be silly for my wife to say, "I am all yours" and I say in return, " Great! I'll just do nothing".

Roadblock #2 Unrepentant Lives
Romans 12:9 says to, "Abhor what is evil, and cleave to what is good."  "Abhor" is the strongest word for hate in the Bible, and "cleave" means "be glued to".  In Joshua 7, Joshua is bummed out because the children of Israel were defeated at Ai by a sandlot group of warriors.  For days Joshua is depressed and keeps coming to God questioning his character.  Finally God tells Joshua, "Get up!" there's sin in the camp and you need to deal with it."

Ruthless Trust

The Christian people I have met here in Haiti operate by a ruthless trust in God.  There is no room for ambition in worldly aims, because there is no such thing. There are no ladders to climb in life, ministry, or hobby.  There is one daily aim--make it through the day and help others do the same. My friend Joanna Howard lives here in Port Au Prince.  This is her life everyday.  Yesterday, at 7 am, a woman went into seizures as she delivered her baby in the back of a truck.  After a trip to Burkina Faso, Africa, and now Port Au Prince, Haiti I feel that I can almost begin to express what God has been so graciously trying to show me.  After my Africa trip, I came back with a sense of the brevity of the brief flicker that my life is.  That trip put a large dent in my heart that led me, I believe, to plant a church.  I knew more Bible than 90% of the world and it dawned on me that Jesus could use me at 25 years old--I went out in ruthless trust and planted a church that has grown in the gospel.  After drinking Port Au Prince in, I am letting go of my idol of ambition in life and ministry.  Everyone wants clarity, and it is the very idol that keeps us from a ruthless trust.  I walked through a tent hospital last night, and watched Haitians who were broken in horrific ways, it's not possible to describe.  They were worshipping and praying together in a ruthless trust.  Some of them will go to be with Jesus, others still got work to do here.  A human heart that pours out a ruthless trust is more precious in the eyes of Jesus than 10,000 cathedrals, pedigrees and degrees. Leaving Haiti is going to be very hard for me.  Unwavering trust is a rare and beautiful thing.  I know the Father absolutely delights when we trust Him.   I can state unequivocally, that a childlike faith and trust in God is the foundation of authentic discipleship.  Many, sadly believe, that a cautious life is some how heroic and an evidence they are walking in God's blessing based on their "togetherness, and carefulness".  I have seen enough of the world to spot the lie inside this framework of thinking. Truly, we must be good stewards of our faith, it is the only currency accepted in heaven.   

with all sincerity and grace

Russ