Remaining Spiritually Refreshed in the Midst of the Battle

“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits….

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord’, will enter the kingdom of heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many deeds of power in your name?’ Then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; go away from me, you evildoers.”

Matt 7. 15-23

We don’t only labor against —or with—

flesh and blood

Don’t be blind to the battle, but don’t be preoccupied with the Adversary

Don’t go unarmed

“When I came to you brothers and sisters, I did not come proclaiming the mystery of God to you in lofty words or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and him crucified. And I came to you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling. My speech and my proclamation were not with plausible words of wisdom, but with a demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith might rest not on human wisdom but on the power of God.”

I Cor. 2.1-5

1. What did Paul seek to discover among the people whom he served?

2. What do you think this would mean in your own situation?

3. What was Paul’s appraisal of his own abilities and attitudes toward this ministry?

4. How does this relate to your own attitudes?

5. What will it mean, in tangible ways, for you to rely on the Spirit?

Dead people don’t have Dead people don’t have rightsrights “I have been

crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God who loves me and gave himself for me.” Gal. 2.20

I dare not engage in ministry in order to find meaning, significance and satisfaction.

I engage in ministry because I’ve been met by the superabundance of God’s grace.

The Centering FocusThe Centering FocusNot: What do I want to do and how can I get

God to help me do it?—God in my plans

But: What is God doing in the world and how has God gifted, equipped and called me to participate in it?—me in God’s plans

Not: How do I find as much security as possible in an uncertain future?

But: How do I live with bold courage in every situation because of an utterly certain future?

Therefore how do I pray?Therefore how do I pray?• Be safe• Be happy• Be healthy• Be secure• Whatever you do, do it

well

• “Keep alert”• “Stand firm in your faith”• “Be courageous”• “Be strong”• “Whatever you do, let it be

done in love”

1 Corinthians 16.13

“Beware when your profession of faith and your profession coincide lest you mistake the pleasures of gratified career ambition for spiritual growth.”

C.S. Lewis

Five Life-Destroying Five Life-Destroying StrategiesStrategies

1. Value my own presence in people’s lives more than God’s

2. Approach people as projects

3. Mistake prayers of complaint and criticism as intercession

4. Measure my worth by people’s response

5. Live as if I’m dealing with finite time

Five Life-Giving Strategies

1. Feast on Christ– Therefore live already satisfied

2. Carefully choose my “NO’s”– Therefore be willing to disappoint people

3. Live the ministry of grace– Therefore live a life of affirmation

4. Recognize I’m dealing with sinners– Therefore know who to trust

5. Do my work, not others’ or the Holy Spirit’s– Therefore live a life of prayer

Spiritual disciplines are

not simply ways of denying ourselves and of diminishing our lives

Rather, they are ways we can plant ourselves in the soil of God’s grace that God can produce in us the fruit of the Spirit

Galatians 5.22 Love Joy Peace Patience Kindness

Generosity Faithfulness Gentleness Self-control

Five strategies for staying spiritually refreshed

1. Feed daily on Scripture

2. Pray your praises and your problems

3. Keep a journal as

• A chronicle of your outer travels

• A chronicle of your inner journey

• A garbage dump

4. Refuse to criticize

5. If traveling for several weeks take a day off each week (Sabbath is God’s gift to us for our refreshment, refocusing and protection from idolatry)

We serve for, in and to Christ“Dearest Lord, though you hide

yourself behind the unattractive disguise of the irritable, the exacting and the unreasonable, may I still recognize you and and say, ‘Jesus…how sweet it is to serve you.”

Daily prayer of Mother Teresa

Jim Elliot“He is no fool who gives up what he cannot

keep to gain that which he cannot lose”

28 Oct 1949

Jim Elliot: The World’s Most Famous Short-Term Missionary

martyred 8 Jan 1956

Four days after beginning his missionary service

Dewey Auca (Huaorani) Indian-Ecuador

Member of the group that killed Elliot and his colleagues

Brought to Christ by Elisabeth Elliot, Brought to Christ by Elisabeth Elliot, Jim’s widowJim’s widow

“Lord I give you my own plans & purposes, all my own desires &

hopes and I accept your will for my life.

I give myself to you to be yours forever.

Fill me and send me with your Holy

Spirit.

Use me as you will. Send me where you will.

Work out your whole will in my life

at any cost, now and forever.”

(Jim and Elisabeth Elliot—Amy Carmichael)