God's Answer For You

Whatever your problem is, God has a solution for you: farming.

Allow me to explain.

You don't have to ransack heaven to get your answer. You don't have to raise the dead to get your answer. (No need to resurrect and old answer, an old solution.) All you have to do is farm some faith.

People think that faith is some mystic magical force. It's not. It's God's word. And you are the farmer that farms that word.

If you have a problem, you plant a seed of God's word, and grow an answer to that problem.

Mark 4:
26. And he said, So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed into the ground;
27. And should sleep, and rise night and day, and the seed should spring and grow up, he knoweth not how.
28. For the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear.
29. But when the fruit is brought forth, immediately he putteth in the sickle, because the harvest is come.

God's kingdom operates by faith. (That is to say, it operates by God's word.) Faith is the mystery of the kingdom (Mark 4:11). And it operates just like farming. This parable gives the life-cycle of faith: the planting, the blade, the ear, the full corn in the ear, and the harvest.

How is the seed of faith planted? You hear the word of God. And who better to hear it from than your own mouth? "The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not lack" (Psalm 23:1) "Who his own self bore my lust in his own body on the tree: I am dead to lust. I live to righteousness" (1 Peter 2:24).

This chapter in the book of Mark has several parables, all of which are about faith. Let's look at another one.

Mark 4:
3. Hearken; Behold, there went out a sower to sow:
4. And it came to pass, as he sowed, some fell by the way side, and the fowls of the air came and devoured it up.
5. And some fell on stony ground, where it had not much earth; and immediately it sprang up, because it had no depth of earth:
6. But when the sun was up, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away.
7. And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up, and choked it, and it yielded no fruit.
8. And other fell on good ground, and did yield fruit that sprang up and increased; and brought forth, some thirty, and some sixty, and some an hundred.
9. And he said unto them, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.
10. And when he was alone, they that were about him with the twelve asked of him the parable.
11. And he said unto them, Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all these things are done in parables:
12. That seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand; lest at any time they should be converted, and their sins should be forgiven them.
13. And he said unto them, Know ye not this parable? and how then will ye know all parables?
14. The sower soweth the word.
15. And these are they by the way side, where the word is sown; but when they have heard, Satan cometh immediately, and taketh away the word that was sown in their hearts.
16. And these are they likewise which are sown on stony ground; who, when they have heard the word, immediately receive it with gladness;
17. And have no root in themselves, and so endure but for a time: afterward, when affliction or persecution ariseth for the word's sake, immediately they are offended.
18. And these are they which are sown among thorns; such as hear the word,
19. And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful.
20. And these are they which are sown on good ground; such as hear the word, and receive it, and bring forth fruit, some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some an hundred.

Jesus explains the life-cycle of faith in a slightly different manner. He looks at the whole garden. But the basics are still the same. The Word is planted, the blade sprouts, it grows to maturity, then it grows the fruit, and can be harvested. But in this parable, he tells how to tend your faith garden. He gives you two green thumbs up.

When a person hears the Word, and doesn't understand it, the devil steals it from him immediately: "Well, that makes no sense to me! Sounds like it's of the devil, anyway." Faith operates by the words you say, and when you say something similar to the above, you throw away the word of God.

When the word sprouts into a growing faith, it brings joy. Therefore, joy is the sign of a healthy faith. If you lose your joy over it, your faith plant is getting sick, and dying. Joy is the presence of hope, and you need to hold this rejoicing of the hope unwavering until the harvest (Hebrews 3:6). The devil immediately attacks this joy, this hope.

Over time, the word grows into a mature plant. In the first parable we looked at, the one about the farmer, Jesus specifically pointed out that it takes time for faith to grow. "..Sleep, and rise night and day." This is a common mistake people make about faith. They plant the seed, then immediately try to harvest it. Not only does it take time for faith to grow, but in the parable of the sower, Jesus said it might not even grow up if you don't keep your garden weeded.

The cares of this life, the deceitfulness of riches, and the lust of other things choke the word, and keep it from bearing fruit. Weeds.

What are the cares of this life? It's anything that draws your heart away from speaking faith in the word of God (Luke 18:1,7). It could be anything. TV. Dinner with friends. The kid's soccer. (If they are keeping you too busy to solidly exercise your faith, then they are too busy to be exercising their faith, as well. Just what are you teaching them? Food for thought.)

Does this mean you should become antisocial? No. It does mean you need to establish boundaries, though. Priorities. God himself will interject distractions upon you in order to justify your faith (Luke 12:36-37). When he knocks, you must drop everything, and answer immediately. But that is not what Jesus is talking about in the parable of the sower. The devil will try to get you so busy that you neglect the word, you neglect your faith speaking. Unclutter your life if you want your faith to reach maturity.

The deceitfulness of riches is the carrot that covetousness tries to catch. There should be no money hunger in your heart. You cannot serve God and mammon (success). If you drool when you hear of a chance to make money, riches have deceived your heart.

The lust of other things is just that. But it gives us a big clue as to just what it is the word feeds off of: the lust of your heart for the word. If you lose your desire for the word, your faith will falter and die. Faith grows to meet the hunger of your heart, not the need of your circumstance. If you stop lusting for the word, then it has met your need, and stops growing. Stir up that hunger, that desire, that lust for God's answer!

(Ah! But don't stir up the lust for other things thinking you are stirring up your faith! People make this mistake. "I'm going to believe God's word for a Lamborghini," when the car they have is just fine. Lust for God's word - "The Lord is my Shepherd, I never lack" - or lust for other things? James 4:3 will give you your answer one way or the other.)

The good ground is that which let's God's word bear fruit. God's word creates what you need just as surely as it created the heavens and the earth.

Let me close with one final thought from Mark 4. You may have pressing needs, needs that can't wait for a seed to grow up in a month or two. What do you do then? Well, I have good news for you.

Mark 4:
24. And he said unto them, Take heed what ye hear: with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you: and unto you that hear shall more be given.
25. For he that hath, to him shall be given: and he that hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he hath.

The measure you use. Desperate times call for a desperate measure. Faith can grow pretty fast if it needs to. The choice is really yours. How strong and desperate is your faith? Can you believe for a major miracle? Or is your heart stony ground that is going to cave in at the first sign of trouble? Think humbly and realistically (Romans 12:3). If you start your faith venture, then become a hath not, the end is worse than the beginning.

God has an answer for you. You already have it. You already have all you need to meet all your needs. You do not need to go up to heaven to get your answer. You do not need heaven to give you something to get your answer. Nor do you need to bring something to you from across the sea, that is to say from somewhere outside of your reach. "If I only had a job that paid more than my skill set is worth!" God's Word is near you. It is in your mouth and in your heart. Start believing it with all your heart, and speaking it with all your might. Everything you need, you already have. (Deuteronomy 30:11-16, Romans 10:6-10)

So light your candle of faith, and keep it lit until you see what it was you lit the candle for in the first place (Mark 4:21). Get the verses you are going to stand on, and plant them. God's word will create your answer for you. It's not somewhere out there. It's in your mouth, and in your heart, just waiting to be grown into a faith that God can answer.

And when the answer comes, harvest it! Don't leave your crop standing in the field. It may not look like what you thought. It may be outside your comfort zone. But a way will be made for you. Take it!

Copyright © 2008 Burley Ward. All rights reserved

God's Answer in Economic Distress

James 1:5
If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.
-KJV-

Economic storms often catch people by surprise.

You may not know it, but there is an entire epistle in the Bible that was written for almost this same reason: the epistle of James.

James was the pastor of the church at Jerusalem. Persecution scattered his flock away from Jerusalem. They were in dire economic straights. To put it in today's terms, they had lost their jobs, they had been dispossessed of their houses, and they had people hunting them down, demanding blood. Like any good under-shepherd, James helped them. He gave them God's answer.

Allow me to paraphrase:
"Count it all joy when you fall into whatever trouble ails you, for the trying of your faith works patience. Let patience have her way so that you may be perfect and entire, lacking nothing. If any of you do not know what to do, let him inquire of God - who gives to all men liberally, without criticizing - and he will show you what to do. But ask in faith, without wavering. You waver, he won't answer."

That is not a 100% accurate translation, and I don't mean for it to be. But it does give you the gist of what he is saying. These people were in dire straights. Not only was there no light at the end of the tunnel, there wasn't even a tunnel. They needed answers, and they needed them last week. So God answered through their pastor: "If you need to know what to do, ask me. But ask in faith. I can't help you if you give up before I answer."

And that's what we're going to look at now: How to receive economic wisdom from God.

(But first, why the joy? Why did James speak of it before all else? It's because joy protects your faith. Joy keeps it strong, and defends it from doubt. Joy keeps you from wavering while you wait with patience.)

So, if you ask God for wisdom, how does he give it to you? This verse flat-out says that prayer is a two way street. We can expect for God to give us insight and direction. But how does he do this? Visions? Angels? Voices in your head? (Hello looney-bin!)

This scripture tells us in general how God talks to us.

Matthew 5:
23. Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee;
24. Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.

Do you see how Jesus said God talks to you? You remember.

When God talks to you , it has very much to do with context. What are you doing at the moment? The context of these verses are you bringing your gift to the altar, you coming to worship. In today's terms, we would say you are at church, worshiping. So, you are in church trying to sing the worship songs, but some fight you had earlier in the week keeps distracting you. You try to push it from your mind, but it just keeps boiling up within you.

Jesus said that is God talking to you. He can't accept your offering because a damaged relationship stands between you and him. You are coming into God's presence, and he says, "No. Go fix this first."

This is a primary way in which God talks to you. Remembering.

Remembering things you never knew.

Let's look at where Jesus operated in this same manner. Remember where Jesus said he did nothing unless he saw his Father do it? (St. John 5:19) Exactly what did he mean by that?

St John 5:
4. For an angel went down at a certain season into the pool, and troubled the water: whosoever then first after the troubling of the water stepped in was made whole of whatsoever disease he had.
5. And a certain man was there, which had an infirmity thirty and eight years.
6. When Jesus saw him lie, and knew that he had been now a long time in that case, he saith unto him, Wilt thou be made whole?
7. The impotent man answered him, Sir, I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me into the pool: but while I am coming, another steppeth down before me.
8. Jesus saith unto him, Rise, take up thy bed, and walk.
... 12. Then asked they him, What man is that which said unto thee, Take up thy bed, and walk?
13. And he that was healed wist not who it was: for Jesus had conveyed himself away, a multitude being in that place.

This man had been sick longer than Jesus had been alive. This man did not know Jesus, and Jesus did not know him. Yet, Jesus knew he had been that way a long time, and went and healed him. Jesus knew the Father wanted this stranger healed, because Jesus suddenly knew that man had been sick a long time. Jesus didn't heal any of the other people laying around the pool hoping to get healed. Only this man. Because he knew. Jesus looked on him, and he knew.

Context: he looked upon. God speaks: he knew. He remember something he did not know. You can see this same dynamic in the miracle of loaves and fishes (John 6: 5-15).

Let's look at another verse.
St. John 14:
22. Judas saith unto him, not Iscariot, Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world?
23. Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.
24. He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father's which sent me.
25. These things have I spoken unto you, being yet present with you.
26. But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.
27. Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
... 16: 12. I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now.
13. Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.
14. He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you.

Once again we see that the Holy Ghost will call things to your remembrance. Judas (the good Judas) asked, "Lord how will you manifest yourself to us?" Jesus said, "I say these things standing right in front of you. But in the future, I'll talk to you by the Holy Ghost." The Holy Ghost is here in Jesus' name, as a full agent of Jesus. He says what Jesus says.

Notice, all that is necessary for the Holy Spirit to cause you to remember something is for Jesus to have said it. It is not necessary for you to have heard him say it. Jesus can speak it in heaven, and you can remember it here, on the earth.

So, when you ask for economic wisdom, and do not waver in your faith, believing you have received it, you will receive insight from the throne on what you must do. You will suddenly remember what it is you must do.

Often, these are subtle and quite. Let not your heart be troubled, nor let it be afraid. When wisdom comes from God, you will have peace about it.

Get into and stay in a humble position of prayer (faith) before the Lord. If you are looking for a job, you might be driving past a business, when you suddenly remember to apply there. Now, since you have done your homework, and are not lazy, you have your resume up to date, and everything you need to apply. So you do.

One day, I was driving home from work, and I suddenly remembered to take my wife to a movie. Say what? It was a weekday. I had other things to do. And a movie? She hadn't said anything about a movie. But I obeyed. And when we walked up to the concession stand to get drinks, the man behind the counter offered my wife a job. On the spot, right out of the clear blue. And it was perfect for her in that time and place. She had been looking, and had been unable to find anything suitable for her. For what we needed at the time, it was perfect. All because I "remembered" to take my wife to a movie. All because God is full of grace and mercy.

Remember, these things are context specific. You may ask for wisdom now, and God may not answer until later, when you are driving past a place of business, for example. Why didn't he answer right when you asked? Because you weren't looking at the business right then. It's like he waits until you see something that "jogs your memory." It was when Jesus "saw" the man by the pool that he knew he had been that way for a long time, and therefore that God wanted to heal him. It wasn't silly-willy-nilly Jesus wanted to heal somebody, but rather, when Jesus looked upon him, the Father directed him.

Remembrance is not the only way the Spirit operates, but it is a common way. It may take some time for you to become practiced in it, but it is how God operates.

If you do not know what to do in your troubles, ask God in faith unwavering, and God will tell you what to do. You will know to do it.

Go in grace, and in the power of the Lord, Jesus Christ, to whom is adoration beyond expression.

Copyright © 2008, Burley Ward