1 Thing – Looking Through Your Goliath

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On a bookshelf in my basement office five small stones are displayed, well in truth these stones were “smuggled” out of the Valley of Elah in the hills of Judah. While in Israel a while back our group was walking through the dry riverbed where David gathered his stones and I just couldn’t resist. Scholars agree that this is the likely location where David chose his stones before bravely heading to thump the giant Goliath on the forehead, which resulted in this feared enemy falling to his death.

These five stones often speak to me and remind me of my giant-slaying God, a God who saw David’s inexplicable faith when others missed it. Despite all the men in Saul’s army, there was no one who had David’s eyes; eyes that could see right through the nine-foot tall ferocious Philistine warrior. This enemy had dared to publicly defy the people of Israel and their God for forty days!

One day this teenager sent by his dad to deliver bread to his brothers and the troops could not hold back the passion in his heart. When he heard such taunts and he yelled out in response, “Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?” (I Samuel 17:26). This shepherd boy was obviously upset, but so was his older brother Eliab, addressing David Eliab says, “Why have you come down here? And with whom did you leave those few sheep in the desert? I know how conceited you are and how wicked your heart is…” (Vs. 28). Ouch, most of seem to forget this part of this familiar story. I think after hearing such words I would run away and hide, how about you?

But that is far from the truth; rather David’s revelation of God trumped the cutting tongue of condemnation. This beloved story continues with young David picking up those small rocks, carefully placing one into his leather sling and sprinting fearlessly to face an impossible foe. Why? Because he saw through the obstacle, instead he saw the face of His Almighty God. His eyes of faith caused him to shout out to His enemies:

“You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the LORD Almighty…this day the LORD will hand you over to me and I’ll strike you down…the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel…for the battle is the LORD’s..” (1 Samuel 17:45-47).

All I can say is “WOW!” And ask myself do I have that kind of faith? Am I like David? Or more like David’s brothers or the rest of the Israelite army who retreated daily in fear of the giant before them? How often have I trembled and run away from the goliath of my fears, demonic attacks from the father of lies, afraid of my own inadequacies, and the impossible situations placed right in front of me.

Those five smooth stones found in that dry streambed call to me to seek the face of David’s God and to be consumed with 1 Thing. My five stones reprimand and call me to repentance and turn to look through my goliaths to see the ONE who David saw, the Lion and the Lamb of the tribe of Judah the Giant Slayer (Rev. 5).

Join me in praying this prayer echoing David’s words from Psalm 27:4

Oh Father, 1 Thing I ask, this is what my heart longs for; to live daily in your house and to see your loving face through your Son Jesus Christ, to be consumed by the Your Holy Majestic Presence so that all my goliaths fall under the power of your great name! And when you reveal this may this your glory displayed. Amen!

 

1 Thing – A Vulnerable Heart

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“One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek, that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple.” Psalm 27:4

Why do you think David made the presence of God his number 1 Thing? 

Here’s what I think! I believe his heart had been made vulnerable. If you read the story of how God called David to be a shepherd king over His people you will quickly notice that the qualifications were upside down compared to our world’s standards. Even the seasoned prophet Samuel was searching for someone tall, dark, and handsome, who had experience and wisdom to lead God’s people over the cruel enemies attacking them. God reminded Samuel that the His credentials are different.

“Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart,” (1 Samuel 16:7).

Crazy thing is Jesse, David’s dad, had his 7 other sons come before Samuel and God kept shaking His head no. God wanted the one with the right heart as greatest of qualification. Finally as an after thought Jesse said there was one more, “he can’t be the one you want, he is the runt of the family, just taking care of stupid sheep!” Ouch!

Right there you see how David’s heart was formed for 1 Thing. In the crucible of a lonely childhood, the youngest of eight brothers, feeling discarded by his father David took his wounded heart and became vulnerable before a Heavenly Father. As an insecure teenager David sought security on a higher heavenly mountain than the hills of Bethlehem. He learned in this season of pain to pick up his harp and express his heart to God in song. He sang of his pain and heaven heard and would turn the pain into praise as God’s presence drew near. You can almost imagine how God gathered the angels around David and pointed out the shepherd boy from Bethlehem giving a concert to the sheep saying, “this is the one I want to lead my people, look at his beautiful vulnerable heart crying out from the depth of his soul for MY presence to help him.”

This story reminds me of a young person who recently got very vulnerable with me and shared struggles and sins that came out of childhood pain. Yet how God used the ache in their heart to drive them to the Cross of Jesus and claim the blood that washed their sin and guilt away. Such love experienced awakened a passionate desire to live the rest of their days in the Father’s presence, in His house.

1 Thing people are those whose hearts have been made vulnerable by sin, struggles, and the pain in life. They have learned to lament and cry out for the presence of one who will forgive and surround them with arms of love forever. 1 Thing people have learned the Father’s house is their true home and are willing to forsake all to live in the identity of being sons and daughters of the King.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1 Thing – “After My Own Heart!”

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What is greatest compliment you have ever received? You’re a wonderful mom, or you are a good father, an excellent student, excel in athletics, successful at work, a loving and kind person, a true follower of Christ?

I believe the greatest compliment ever given is: “I have found David, son of Jesse a man after my own heart” (Acts 13:22). God the Father declares a shepherd boy to have a heart similar to His, a heart that filled the Father with joy and pride. In essence it was like a proud father saying, “that’s my boy!”

Why would God give such a compliment to David? If this boy David, who later became King of Israel, had been living today I would be visiting him in prison, as he would be serving a life sentence for murder and deception. And there are a whole lot of others things on his rap sheet that seem to disqualify him from such an honor.

This June I have the privilege of taking a group of teenagers from Parker Lutheran and Regis high schools to Lesotho Africa. As part of their preparation I’m challenging them to memorize a verse from a song David wrote:

“ONE THING I ask of the LORD this is what I seek that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple,” (Psalm 27:4)

Why this verse? Because this is why David was called “a man after God’s own heart.” Yes, David sinned and messed up royally at times, yet he would continue to return to his greatest passion “1 THING” which was seeking the presence of the Lord with all his heart. God’s greatest desire for His children is a relationship with Him. More than going on mission trip, more than doing good works and even more than being a King of a country…..He wants our hearts to be all about “1 THING!”

Anything we do for His Kingdom must be birthed out of living a life of “1 Thing,” having hearts that go hard after His glorious presence. In a world saturated by scores of distraction the Spirit is crying out for a new David generation that will be about “1 Thing.”

So I thought I would put out the same challenge to you as I have given to the team going to Africa, put Psalm 27:4 to memory and ask the Holy Spirit to stir in your heart to become a person of 1 Thing! There is no greater compliment than to hear that you are man or woman “after God’s own heart!” To hear your Abba Father say, “That’s my boy, that’s my girl! They love me with all their heart, and live for 1 Thing!”

The Father was so honored by David’s “1 Thing” heart that he would birth His only Son Jesus from the seed of David, the True King who would open up Heaven’s door for us to live in the glorious presence of God as His sons and daughters now and forever. What would the Father birth out of our lives if we returned to being a people of 1 Thing?

“You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”

Jeremiah 29:13

 

 

An Open Door – “Little Strength”

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During my recent trip to Africa I was invited to preach at the Christian Revival Church in Lesotho. Sharing God’s word is one of my favorite things to do and I was excited to share with these precious people all that the Father has been teaching me from the Revelation 3:8:

“See I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut. I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and not have denied my name.”

I opened by sharing how a recent prayer service held on a rainy Saturday in the Los Angles Coliseum attracted thousands of people to gather together to pray for Revival in America. My family and I watched he live-streamed worship, prayers and speakers. Daniel Kolenda, an evangelist and a part of a ministry called Christ for the Nations was one of the keynote speakers. Daniel presented a powerful gospel message and many responded to the call to receive Christ. It was amazing!

The ironic thing about the keynote speaker Daniel Kolenda is that he was discipled by a German evangelist named Reinhard Bonnke, who birthed Christ for the Nations in Lesotho Africa in 1974. Reinhard worked diligently to share the gospel to the people in Lesotho but it was a tough go. At times he struggled with it all, yet in the midst of a difficult season the Lord gave him a reoccurring dream with the words, “Africa will be saved.” As Reinhard pondered the dream and the message he wrestled with how this could unfold as he knew first hand how difficult evangelism seemed to be in this small and relatively unknown country of Lesotho.

Yet, God brought Reinhard Bonnke to the passage from Zech. 4:6, “Not by might nor by power but by the Spirit says the LORD Almighty.” Reinhard began to pray into the dream and the passage knowing he had “little strength.” One Sunday when a special speaker from South Africa was a no-show Bonnke was the one to fill in. This Sunday when he had nothing prepared, and was filled with weakness and fear, this is when the Holy Spirit showed up and many people were saved and healed. This day was the day of the Open Door and because of that day Christ for the Nations was launched. This Sunday a door opened and from it birthed the first fruit of literally millions of people being saved over the enormous continent of Africa.

Out of weakness, in one of the smallest countries in the world, a door was opened by the power of the Holy Spirit to start a fire that would spread over all of Africa then jump the Atlantic Ocean and journey to LA Coliseum where I watched in my living room a young man preach the gospel with passion and power that led many to King Jesus. As I shared this story with the good people of the CRC church there were claps and cheers as they know are a congregation of “little strength” due to poverty, the pandemic of HIV Aids, and a corrupt and unjust political environment.

When “little strength” people surrender to King Jesus in the midst of the impossible, “Guess what?” Sails are raised to catch the powerful wind of the Holy Spirit for the glory of God. If you have “little strength” take heart! This is the heart condition that Almighty God loves to use in order to Open Doors for His Kingdom to invade your life with the life giving power of His Holy Spirit! Get Ready!

An Open Door – Obedience

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0026622321680 is a telephone number. Yes an odd looking number if you are living in the United States but a life changing number that altered the course of my life and many others. As I write this blog I’m viewing the beautiful baby blue ocean. I am inspired and in awe to be spending some time with a dear brother and sister who call South Africa home. This past week of preaching, ministry appointments and planning for three high school teams from the States to come out in June would not have happened without this crazy looking number.

A few days ago I was walking around the grounds of Beautiful Gate Care Center and was again overcome by God’s Kingdom breaking forth into the world through the staff and precious children who were once abandoned but are now thriving. I praise God for that phone number and how it ultimately has been the link to every trip to Lesotho. I often wonder what my life would have been like if that number was not given to us by John Boyd, a former Mission Aviation pilot in Lesotho. Back in 2002 John had just moved to Redlands, California and was the new president of Mission Aviation Fellowship and I was pastoring at a church nearby when our paths intersected. Somehow he heard that two pastors from The River would be in Lesotho on a World Vision Trip and he shared about a new care center called Beautiful Gate.

The mind-boggling thing is that number would never have been called if everything “went as planned” on our trip. But because the van to pick us up from the hotel was running two hours behind my stepdad Pastor Bill Bierling called the 13 digit number and the rest is history as we were introduced to Ray and Sue Haakonsen the directors of this new ministry.

As I type these words from Ray Haakonsen’s office and reflect on the past 13 years I am beyond blessed seeing small and big acts of obedience by John, Bill, Ray and Sue, and many others have led to the Father’s Kingdom breaking into my heart and the hearts of countless others. Little did John Boyd know when he was nudged by the Spirit to take the time to write down the 13 numbers and deliver them to us, that this small act of obedience would cause a ripple effect that continues to exponentially multiply.

I’d like to challenge you to listen to the nudge of the Spirit one small act of obedience may change a life and cause an unstoppable kingdom movement! So write the email to a friend who needs encouragement, send a donation to a student going on a mission trip, pray for that hurting person God has placed on your mind, share the story of what God is doing in your life with someone God brings your way and who knows the fruit that will come from your simple act of obedience.

“Jesus replied, “If anyone loves me he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him and we will come to him and make our home with him,” John 14:23.