INTRODUCTION

2Co_5:17

The first thing I need to ask you to do is to relax, if you don't want to that’s fine, but most of us want to keep things in perspective. It would do you no good to try and be something you are not, God knows you just as you are, with every intention of changing you into who He wants you to be. So the first thing, the most important piece of advice that I could ever give you, is to be real.

Each and every one of us is messed up to some extent, some more than others. None of us are a finished product; we are all works in progress. God knows your past, your likes, dislikes, and attitude. He knows when you’re sad, angry, depressed, and downright happy. He knows when you are trying to make points with Him, and He knows when you are showing kindness from a pure heart, and where your heart is.

What is the heart of Christianity, but relationship with Christ. In any relationship you have ever had was being real a factor? What about honesty, transparency? Relationships don't start to break apart until deception or false pretense is introduced.

When you have a good relationship with Christ you will become willfully obedient to Him. You won't be living in an "I have to do this" situation; you will voluntarily submit yourself to Him.

We've all met the fakes. They have their own kind of aura about them, and their own agenda. Sometimes they can fool you for a little while, but they can never maintain their false image before you. They usually have fooled themselves to the point where they truly believe that you think they are as Godly as what they think they are.

Some of these folk are worse than others, and to a certain extent I think every one of us are at least slightly guilty of this from time to time. But we need to be quick to admit that we are trying to present a picture of ourselves that is not true. The fake folk just keep on pretending.

I do not recommend that anyone lightly make a promise to God,

Several years ago I told God that I would always be real with Him, and with everyone else. The way I act here is the way I act at the house. Sometimes I'm fairly mellow, quite often I have a bad attitude, once in a great while I get a little depressed. Once in a while I catch myself putting on heirs, the moment I realize it, I repent quickly. I’m human, He knows it, and it won't do any good to try and hide it. And I'm not trying to lift myself up in front of you, I just don’t want you to get trapped in deception just like I don’t want to be trapped.

We all make mistakes before God, that’s not the issue. Are you going to get real and admit to God that you’ve made a mistake? He already knows just like you already know. It's kind of like two people are on an elevator and one of you fart, so just admit it, then quit it, and move on. A fake person cant do that, they have way too much pride operating in them yet, not being fully converted.

You can fool yourself, you can fool me, but your not going to fool God. The fakes just don’t get it, they will never have the relationship with Christ that they so desperately need until they come to their senses. But as long as they are fooling themselves, they won't come to their senses. So please don’t fall into the same trap, instead, if you find your self there, spring the trap with repentance.

# 2 : Beware of the myths

Humbling yourself before God and admitting that He is right and you are not, is probably the most difficult thing you have ever done. If it were not for God's love being made manifest to you, and showered upon you, you probably would not have come to this point. The admission here goes beyond mere guilt, but encompasses a realization that your whole existence up to this point has revolved around "self", even if you were a fairly decent person.

#4 : Never Trust a Skinny Chef

In order to be properly called a chef, a person must go through years of training. The majority of their training is cooking (makes sense so far). Each time a meal is prepared, he checks his work, considers improvements, and then implements those improvements and starts the process over.

He can check his work by sight, looking to see if it is appealing to the eye and making adjustments as needed. Check by smell, noting any offensive odor that may take away from an exquisite dining experience. But the truest test he can perform is the taste test; this is where the rubber meets the road after all. And if the meal tastes like rubber on a road he knows he needs to make some major adjustments.

Like I said, it takes years to become a true chef. And after years of tasting/testing his work, he will see certain changes in his body. In the case of a chef this result is called fat. If you don't see the results of his work in his person, can you really believe that his work is good? Can you know for sure that he has tested and tasted for himself that the meal is prepared correctly, suitable to be presented to his guests?

We talked about the fakes earlier; these folks aren't even paying attention to the ingredients they are using, much less care about how the meal turns out. You don't have to worry about them so much. The ones we need to concern ourselves with are the ones who appear to be real, but aren't. They prepare a wonderful looking meal, but it tastes like crap.

In order for us to know the truth about something, we must first become familiar with it. The more we get to know Christ and how He is, the more we will know how we are supposed to be.

Can I get a witness that there are some things that are just wrong? I'm not talking about mistakes a person makes, I'm talking about intentional wrong, sin, deceitfulness, etc... Many of us are real good at hiding things, but eventually those things get out. So when you see a supposed Christian, whether he is a layperson, minister, or somewhere in between, intentionally doing things contrary to the Word of God, be wary of him/her.

These people are shallow, manipulative, arrogant, but in such a nice manner you hardly ever notice. Sometimes it takes years to find them out. Usually they were sincere Christians once who let the cares of this world get in their way. They started chasing the money instead of the Lord, or maybe they wanted a title, or an office. Then, with baby steps, started compromising the Word of God to satisfy their own desires, until the Word becomes meaningless to them. Instead of caring for the sheep they now prey on them for every drop of blood they can suck out of them. Worse than a wolf in sheep’s clothing, some of these folk are pretending to be the shepherds (the caregivers, benefactors, the protectors).

Be on the alert, but make sure you are NOT overly analytical/judgmental towards others. Here again I need to ask you to be merciful in how you perceive things, we all make mistakes. Even the truly evil can repent and turn back to God. If you see something you are not comfortable with, ask questions. Keep in mind its one thing not to have all the facts and think something is possible, its another to make accusations when you do not have all the facts. The better you know and understand the Word, the less likely you will be deceived.

Just by watching the fruit of their labor, you can have an idea of what’s in their heart. I hope you don't start suspecting everyone around you now. All I'm asking is that you be aware that these people are out there. Just like you can take the bible out of context and pretty much make it say anything you want to, we can overanalyze folks and misinterpret their motives when we don't fully know their hearts, only God knows the heart.

#5 : Don't sweat the small stuff

Again, going back to the very first point I was trying to make, we need to be real. In that we also need to be merciful, understanding that we don't have it together either. You will have ample opportunity to become offended, but you don't have to be offended.

Yes, there are some out there that want to use you up to the last drop, until you are totally spent. But not everyone you come into contact with is like that. Consider yourself, have you ever offended anyone without meaning to, or even without knowing about it till later. As much mercy that you would like to have been presented to you in that situation is exactly the kind of mercy you need to give to others when they offend you.Mat_7:2,Mat_7:12,Mar_4:24,Luk_6:31. 

I can just about guarantee that the offence was completely unintentional, and most likely, not even known by the offending party.

#8 : Baptism

Baptism is the outward sign of conversion to Christianity for the believer, just as circumcision was an outward sign of being a Jew (God's chosen people).

In the time of Christ baptism held more impact than it does today in that when a Jew converted and was publicly baptized, he/she became a non person in the eyes of the Jew. The temple would excommunicate you, and your friends and family would disown you. By being baptized you were in effect saying that you denounce all that you were for the sake of Christ.

#9: Man Is the Image of God

Gen_1:26, We were created in the image of God. This goes way beyond how we look; in fact we don't look like God at all. Joh_4:24. Can anyone tell me what a true spirit looks like? The "image" here is more along the lines of His person, His makeup. I want to make some quick comparisons, nothing too deep, we don't have that much time

God is trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost/Spirit. Man is trinity also; Body, Soul, Spirit.

The Father is "WHO" God is; the soul is "who" we are. This encompasses our thoughts, personalities, emotions, and such. Exo_3:13-14.

The Son is "WHERE" God is, (Paul speaking of Christ Col_2:9) He is God's body. We also have a body, which is where our mind resides.

The Holy Spirit is "WHAT" God is,Joh_4:24.  Just as our spirit is what we are

Mat_26:41, Luk_24:39, Joh_3:6, Jam_2:26.The spirit is the person. In scripture it is the spirit that speaks, leads, witnesses, raises up, everything that a person does is what the spirit does. In 1Jo_4:1 the bible gives personhood to certain spirits in regard to certain prophets (people). And in 1Co_5:5 we are told that it is the spirit that will be saved in the day of the Lord.

One more verse to confirm that our image is like that of God in this manner 1Th_5:23. Please take the time to look up "spirit" in a concordance and look at how the term is used.

#10: Pray

Prayer is the means by which we communicate with God. It is the way He set up for us. Just as there are several types of cars, there are also several types of prayer, and we will discuss all at a later time. The purpose here is to get you the basics. Simply put, prayer is talking to God.

You have large cars, little cars, fast cars, and job specific vehicles. Use the appropriate car for the type of trip you are fixing to make. A Honda civic is fine for going to the convenience store or the gym, but I wouldn't use it on a road trip from Seattle to Key West. In like manner you may just want to express your thankfulness to God, and that is somewhat different from giving Him your wish list to fill. (God is not your personal genie)

Keep a few simple things in mind for now until we can get back to this later.

Keep you prayers honest; from the heart (be real with God)

Avoid trying to pray with super eloquence when praying publicly, just be yourself (be real with God)

Pray with thankfulness for the answer that is on its way

Sometimes the answer is not what we thought we wanted or expected

Be careful what you pray for, you just might get it.

Many times there are delays in the answer to your prayer for various reasons,Dan_10:12-13. Stay on it,1Th_5:17 it keeps your faith alive, if you stop believing you will stop praying, Mat_21:21.  

#11: Grace

Contrary to popular belief, grace is not the unmerited favour of God. Although some aspects of the statement are true, we would have all that we could ever get if it were true in and of itself. Yet we are instructed to grow in grace, which is impossible if we had it all (2Pe_3:18).

It is by grace that we are saved through faith. If grace truly were unmerited favour, then all people would receive it, and all persons would be saved.Eph_2:5-8. But we know that not all shall be saved, except those who have called on the name of the Lord.Rom_10:13 

I simply want to propose that there is more to grace than what most religious people are telling you, and we will delve into this one more thoroughly also.

#12: Worship

God created us for worship of Himself, thats why we are here. And, there are two very basic ways in which we worship Him.

#13: Forgiveness

Forgiving is not forgetting, but more like not requiring a payback. You don't have to trust an offender in the offending area, yet we deal peaceably with them, helping them whenever and wherever you can. God will handle the vengeance where appropriate, and the grace and mercy. Pro_24:17, Pro_25:21, Mat_5:7.

For example; let's take one of the most hideous of sins which can be committed. Suppose there is a former child molester in your congregation, God requires us to forgive him (Mat_6:14-15), and to love him (Mat_5:43-48). We are not commanded to trust this guy around children; therefore we aren’t going to put him in charge of the youth group. We don't necessarily have to like him, but so long as he is conducting himself with humility and Godliness, we are to treat him respectfully. God treats us well when we repent, we should do likewise towards others. Now if the guy is trying to be placed in charge of the youth group I would question his repentance. But if he is living peaceably and in submission to his pastor, then he probably really has repented.

Please don't go overboard with this guy and start telling him that you have forgiven him of all his sins. By doing so, you will be offending him and he will be required to forgive you, and when he tells you that he forgives you then you will become even more offended at him. Instead, use a little sense and wait until you are asked. You can go ahead and forgive the guy when you first learn of the offence (whatever it is), but wait until he asks you to forgive him before you tell him yes (Luk_17:3-4).

There are times where we need to forgive folks without ever telling them directly, simply because they would not understand, or they don’t realize that they have offended. Judy and Katy are sisters, Judy is married to Bob. Bob thinks he is God's gift to all the women; he is a very large muscular kind of guy and can be very intimidating. On a certain evening when Katy was over visiting, it came time for Katy to go home. Judy was busy so she asked Bob to take her home. On the way Bob stops the car and makes a pass at Katy. Katy is afraid of Bob and out of fear submits to him.

Bob thinks he got lucky, he is not aware of any need to be forgiven. And years later, when finally confronted, he denied any wrongdoing saying that Katy was more than willing and wanted it.

Katy was devastated, as far as she was concerned she had been raped, and out of fear kept her mouth shut for years until Judy and Bob divorced. Katy finally overcame her fear and told her sister and then told Bob she forgave him, but he just couldn't accept it, and tried causing even more pain by running his mouth in lies.

You are almost always better off to go ahead and forgive the person who offends you right away in your heart. When God is finally able to convince the offender of his wrong, he will come to you to ask. Then he will be able to receive and start to heal, whereas you began your healing process much earlier.

There are also plenty of times when the offence was unintentional and never realized by the offending party. Sometimes when we are just playing around and goofing off we can say the wrong thing to someone without ever knowing it. Or you may be concentrating on a task and someone else thinks you are ignoring them. How many times have you offended someone without ever knowing about it till much later? Usually, this is where all the offence in our lives comes from.

So be merciful towards others, considering yourselves, as you would like to receive mercy when you mess up, with or without knowing it(Psa_19:12,Luk_6:31). And when you realize that you have messed up, then fess up (Lev_5:5,Isa_1:18,1Jo_1:9).

And I leave you with this thought, the words of Christ as found in

#14: What is God's will for my life?

First and foremost, God wills relationship with Him for your life. When Adam transgressed and plunged the whole of humanity into sin, he broke fellowship with God. The whole purpose of the cross was to restore that relationship with Him. God's Word is His will for your life also, this is how we get to know Him and establish that relationship more fully. The more you know His word, the more you will know Him and His will.

His will is progressive. As the scripture Psa_119:105 indicates, God's will is revealed a little at a time. A lamp only gives out so much light, just enough for you next step.

Let's suppose that God knows that you will discover the secret of cold fusion, chances are He will tell you first to get an education. Then after your basic education He will tell you to get further education in specific areas. If He told you His final plan for you while you were in high school, you would probably blow up the chemistry lab. So please be patient and try not to rush God. He will take you, one step at a time, to where He wants you to be as far as what He wants you to do, what He wants you to have, and where He wants you to go.

The first order of business of being in the will of God for your life is to be a disciple, covering the basics that apply to all of us.  Jam_1:18-27. This is where the will of God begins for your life. After this, He will reveal to you what the next step is. Then step by step, through obedience, study, and patience, He will progressively take you to where He wants you to be.

Suppose you thought you heard from God telling you to go somewhere, or do something, or to get/give something. The first thing you want to do is test it,1Th_5:21, 1Jo_4:1 . Testing will keep you from making a major mistake, and hurting yourself and others in the process. So let's take a look at 4 things we can test a thought by, to see if it was from God.

1) Does it line up with scripture and biblical principles?

There are a lot of things we can eliminate immediately by using this test. We know that God hates divorce (not divorcees); therefore we know also that God is not going to tell us to leave our current spouse to marry another. We also know that He isn’t going to tell us to rob the convenience store so we can get groceries on the table. (Scriptural witness)

The Word also speaks to us that we should deal with everyone in Godly love. So just because you cant find a verse that says, "Bill, go buy a bag of groceries for the widow Sue and her 16 children", Godly love dictates that if you know she needs groceries, just do it. (Biblical principle witness)

This test will also apply to the hearing of the Word. Always compare the word you hear to the written Word.

2) Does it bring harm upon you, others or the church (actual harm as opposed to sacrifice?)

Consider, if you accept this thought as God's will for your life, what effect is it going to have on you and others. Although God may call you to sacrifice, He will never bring harm upon you to accomplish His will in your life. The widow Sue needs groceries, and you can provide them, but it means you will not be getting pizza and movies. Do it. If it means your family will not have any food for two weeks, then share.

Another example would be Amway/Quickstar. A decent multilevel marketing organization. (Been there, done that, got the T-shirt). If you have the time to devote to it where your family is not going to miss you, and you can afford it without playing bill payment games, then you might be able to proceed. Unfortunately, most folks get into something like this thinking it's a small sacrifice now for time and freedom later. Later never arrives, it is always later. The prize you seek never comes unless you sell out totally, and even then it is not what you bargained for. I'm not saying anything against Amway, but things of like nature. We go chasing dreams thinking it's the will of God for our lives and we miss seeing our kids grow up, the house is just about in foreclosure, you're not in church near as much and the things you were able to do can't be done anymore because the money is all tied up "in the will of God".

It's okay to do without for a season, be uncomfortable for a season, but the seasons do change. When an idea crosses your mind and the only way to implement it is to take a need away from someone permanently, then it is not of God. God isn't going to tell you to give your house away and not have something waiting on you to where you are homeless. God isn’t going to tell you and your family to walk 15 miles in the dead of winter because you were supposed to give the car away. God isn't going to call you to the mission field for two years and tell you to leave your family behind to fend for themselves.

Weigh the idea in the balances of actual harm vs. sacrifice. If you find that there is no harm, and little or no sacrifice, then proceed to the next step. If you are debating whether to wear the green socks or the black, the next step is not necessary. But if you are considering starting or stopping a ministry or giving away something of worth or making a major purchase, then proceed. Keep all things in perspective.

3) Will it stand up to Godly counsel?

Let's present 2 different ideas. 1 you want to give a class on changing wagon wheels. 2 you want to teach a bible study on the basics of Christianity. Both of these ideas will pass the first test. There is nothing in scripture to cause you to think you need to stop, in fact, both are educational, and we are admonished as a biblical principle to be teachers.

Both ideas will pass the second test also. Absolutely no harm will come from learning the material presented in both classes, and you will reap the benefit of a greater understanding in both areas.

Now the third test. Present your idea before Godly people, the leadership of your church in the case of starting a bible study in your church. And let them take it before the Lord in prayer.

Chances are that the wagon wheel class will fall into the ditch. Not because there is anything inherently wrong with it, but because it would serve no useful purpose. Those you have counseled with may suggest you take the idea into the current times and perhaps teach a basic car maintenance course or something with a bit more relevance.

The bible study on the other hand would serve a useful purpose, bringing everyone who does it to a level base.

The purpose for bringing your ideas to Godly counsel is because your idea is personal to you. Like it or not we are all biased when it comes to our own ideas, thoughts, projects. Sometimes we get to seeking our own agenda over the will of God, so we need to take these things to folks who aren't personally involved; they will see things that we don't. That's part of the reason the bible says, Pro_11:14, Pro_15:22, Pro_24:6. And with counsel we can fine tune our ideas and desires to make them more effectual.

Godly counsel is to help keep you on track, not to be a burden. If you find that you are not wanting to seek counsel over your idea, then that should be an indicator to you that there is more than God's will involved with the idea.

4) Submit it back to God and rest in Him, doing whatsoever is set before you.

Your desire, thought, and/or project has passed the first three tests. Now its time to give it back to God, and rest in the Lord. Delay is not denial, just as in prayer, it is a time of fine tuning. Time to set parameters, schedules. Separate the wheat of your thought from the chaff. Time to study and get ready.

Resting in the Lord does not mean you sit around and do nothing. Instead it means to do what you already know to do Rev_2:25 . You still attend church, still acting in Christian love, still helping those in need, still going to work every day. You also take time to prepare, Luk_19:13, if your thought is to teach a bible study, then become well versed (teach yourself thoroughly) in the subject matter first. Get yourself ready, become prepared, 1Ti_4:13, 2Ti_2:15.. When the Lord opens the door for you to proceed, you won't be fumbling around trying to get ready.