The Trap of a Competitive Spirit

Today’s Bible reading are Genesis 30:1-31:16, Matthew 10:1-23, Psalm 12:1-8, Proverbs 3:13-15

Yesterday we talked about the beauty in the story of Jacob’s life; today I want to touch on the heartache. I can’t help but feel the heartache in the cry of Rachel that we hear in in the beginning of chapter 30.

Genesis 30:1

When Rachel saw that she wasn’t having any children for Jacob, she became jealous of her sister. She pleaded with Jacob, “Give me children, or I’ll die!”

As a man, I will never be able to say that I know how Rachel felt. I can only imagine that this must have been the most difficult time for Rachel as a woman. Even though I have never cried out for child in the way that this woman did, I know what it is to cry out for something that is desperately desired.

I remember crying out when my mother was dying of cancer that she would receive her healing, I remember crying out when I was locked away in prison that God would protect my family, & I remember crying out in difficult times we have had with our children. We will all have these types of moments in our lives.

There was a sincere desperation in the life of Rachel for a child. It moved her to a place that nothing else could move her towards. She continued to cry out—“Give me children, or I’ll die.”

What bothers me most about this is the competitive spirit that was created between Rachel & her sister, Leah, as a result of the things that were lacking in one, or the other’s life. Leah was jealous of Rachel because of the love Jacob had for her & Rachel became jealous of Leah because of the children she had.

I see this happen far too many times among Christians. People can gravitate into bitterness toward others for the blessings that they have that are missing in their own lives. I want to clearly communicate that is the work of the devil. It is his attempt to deceive us into a place that will keep us from receiving from God. We are warned to rid ourselves of such things.

Colossians 3:8

 ⁸ But now is the time to get rid of anger, rage, malicious behavior, slander, and dirty language.

Why do think that God so earnestly encourages us to get rid of these things? He knows that these are the things that keep us from receiving from Him. They rob us of peace. They destroy our joy. They deflate our hope. They paralyze our faith. They keep us walking in love.

All these things work together for our benefit as we patiently wait on God to fulfill His promises to us. When they are missing we give up more easily, slip into fear, we commit spiritual abortion by letting go of the promise—which is the seed to produce what we are asking for, & finally find ourselves mad at the world & eventually mad at God.

You must remember that the thief’s purpose is to steal, kill, & destroy. Hear what I’m about to say, let it sink deep into your heart; DON’T TAKE his BAIT!

Let me tell you the quickest way to be set free from the temptation to be jealous of another member of the Body of Christ—rejoice with them as God blesses them. That is what we are told to do anyway.

Romans 12:15

¹⁵ Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.

We must remember that we are a BODY. It is never beneficial to cut off relationship with a member of the body. If this happened in the natural we would develop a handicap. Let not handicap ourselves by letting things separate us. Let work to celebrate the victories in one another lives & share the burdens.

I want to share a word with you, just because it hasn’t happened doesn’t mean that God said no. As we read on in our story today, we see that God did bless Rachel with the thing that she wanted most.

Genesis 30:22-24

²² Then God remembered Rachel’s plight and answered her prayers by enabling her to have children. ²³ She became pregnant and gave birth to a son. “God has removed my disgrace,” she said. ²⁴ And she named him Joseph, for she said, “May the Lord add yet another son to my family.”

But I wonder if the delay was because of an attitude problem that she had.

Let’s do our best to make sure that we put an end to the jealousy & competitiveness that is often among us. Know that God has heard your prayers, He is faithful, & He loves you! He will do it for you!

·        Keep your heart right.

·        Keep the promise near you.

·        Keep your eyes on Him.

·        Keeping rejoicing.

·        Keep believing.

 

1 Corinthians 13:7

⁷ Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.

 

Pastor Richard Schlotter

It's Gonna Be Worth It

Today’s Bible readings are Genesis 28:-29:35, Matthew 9:18-38, Psalm 11:1-7, & Proverbs 3:11-12

This morning I want to focus on a verse that will challenge us. It comes from the story of Jacob that we are reading in the book of Genesis. This is such an amazing story as we begin to see it unfold. It is one we can relate to in many ways. There is rivalry among 2 brothers, jealousy, deception, & now we begin to see a love story unfold.

Jacob goes to find a wife, as his father as asked him to do. As soon as he gets to the place where he was told to go he sets eyes on this most beautiful woman. It was love at first sight. Some don’t believe in it, but we see an example of it in the bible. He knew that she was the one. So he made the arrangements to marry her. He agreed to work for 7 years, for free, in exchange for Rachel’s hand in marriage. What a heart touching story. As my wife was reading this portion of the story she said, “Someone should make a really good movie about this story.”

I want to take a look at a verse that really captures my heart.

Genesis 29:20

²⁰ So Jacob served seven years to get Rachel, but they seemed like only a few days to him because of his love for her.

Wow! This gives such a vivid picture of how Jacob must have felt toward the object of his affection. He was willing to do whatever it took to ensure that he would be able to live his life out with Rachel. I’m sure that there were days when the hot sun was beating down on him that he was tired & worn out, but the thought of being able to spend the rest of his days with the one he loved kept pushing him on with joyful expectation. All the hard work seemed like on a few days when compared to the great joy he would share for far longer.

Let me ask you a question? Is your love for Jesus as strong as this? It is easy to get worn out as we serve our Lord. There are many things that come to frustrate us. Things don’t always work out that way that we would have liked them to. You may not always get the recognition that you think you deserve. It can be easy to lose the passion that we had in the beginning. As I look at this story what I notice is that Jacob found a way to keep the fire burning. It made those difficult years seem like only days.

Serving Jesus is something that we must make sure we stay passionate about. As time goes by there is a great pulling to fall into the complacency in our relationship with the Lord. If we let that happen, day seem like years & the things that we once did with joy now become hared, intense labor. Many times we stop doing ministry all together. We can get the, “It’s all about me” attitude. Notice that Jacob was focused on the one he loved & the days that he would soon get to spend with her. It made time fly by.

Serving Jesus the way He has called us to serve Him does not always come easy. Many times there is a great sacrifice involved. But I want to encourage you by saying—IT’S GONNA BE WORTH ALL!

Luke 18:28-30

²⁸ Peter said to him, “We have left all we had to follow you!”

²⁹ “Truly I tell you,” Jesus said to them, “no one who has left home or wife or brothers or sisters or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God  ³⁰ will fail to receive many times as much in this age, and in the age to come eternal life.”

I could shout praise God right not. I want to say it again—IT’S GONNA BE WORTH IT ALL! I want to encourage you today to focus on these things as you serve the Lord. It may not be easy right now in your life. There may be some difficult things ahead, BUT SERVE JESUS WITH ALL OF YOUR HEART BECAUSE IT IS WORTH IT!

I love what the book of Hebrews tells us:

Hebrews 12:1-2

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. ² We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne.

The bible tells us the way to run our race with passionate pursuit all of our days is to keep our eyes on Jesus. He is the One that we love. As we focus our eyes on Him it keeps our love burning. It is like when I was away from my family in prison, I had a picture of them on the wall right next to my bed. Every night I would roll over & stare at them. It kept them in my sight. They were on of the things that I held onto in my heart. That kept me focused. It motivated me to do the things that were needed, even the difficult things. I was reminded that there was a reward & joy waiting for me.

I want to remind you that there is a reward & a joy awaiting you, as well. Just as Jacob knew that he would soon be united with the woman he loved, we will soon be united with the God we love. These years that we have served will seem like on days. We will all declare in unison—IT WAS WORTH IT ALL!

I challenge you today to fix your eyes back on Jesus & begin to run your race with new joy & hope. Remember, you are running for the greatest prize that could ever be awarded—ETERNITY WITH THE ONE YOU LOVE!

Pastor Richard

Digging New Wells

Today’s Bible readings are Genesis 26:17-27:46, Matthew 9:1-17, Psalm 10:16-18, & Proverbs 3:9-10

 

Water is such an important resource. In ancient times, we see that it was what a city needed in order to thrive. In the desert, they would dig wells. If the well produced water they would begin to build a city around it.

Genesis 26:32-33

³² That very day Isaac’s servants came and told him about a new well they had dug. “We’ve found water!” they exclaimed. ³³ So Isaac named the well Shibah (which means “oath”). And to this day the town that grew up there is called Beersheba (which means “well of the oath”).

We see in our reading that as Isaac’s servants found water they rejoiced. How excited they must have been when they finally taped into that wonderful flow of water. They had eagerly been searching for the flow. Now they found it. It gave them the source that was needed to prosper their lives. As a result of the life that the source of water brought to them, a city was birthed in that place.

The enemies of a people group would often try to contaminate the water source of those they were in opposition with. Many times they would throw dead animal in a well to ruin it. If they could stop up the well, as we see the Philistines doing in previous chapters to Abraham, they could rob the people of the life that it gave. Often, this would leave the people discouraged & weak.

I love that Isaac was a man who was constantly looking for new ways to tap into the same flow. As Spirit-filled believers we MUST find ways to tap into the flow of the Rivers of Life that the Holy Spirit produces. We must be eager to find these new watering holes. We must search for those moments of great intimacy with the Spirit of God. This is what revives us. It brings new strength & excitement into our lives.

How important was it for Isaac & his family to find water? How diligent do you think they searched for it? How high on the priority list do you think it was? You know the answer to these questions.

We MUST be equally hungry for the moves of the Spirit in our lives. There has to be a place where we come to that we realize we need the Spirit moving in us & through us. It is time for us to start digging new wells.

1.      A new Pentecostal experience.

2.      Another baptism of fire.

3.      A re-filling of the Same Spirit.

4.      A fresh flow of boldness.

5.      A greater release of His gifts in us.

6.      An increase in anointing.

7.      A new wave of His presence

All of these things are what the hearts of every believer is longing for. I want you to know that it is something that every believer can have. God gives this freely to all who are thirsty.

Revelation 22:17

¹⁷ The Spirit and the bride say, “Come.” Let anyone who hears this say, “Come.” Let anyone who is thirsty come. Let anyone who desires drink freely from the water of life.

Notice the result of this well; a city was born. Just think what would happen in our community if a body of believers would get serious about this. What would happen if we tapped into the flow of the Spirit this Sunday in our churches? What impact would it have on our city? I believe that there would be a new city birthed. Lives would be changed. Families would be transformed. The city would grow & flourish.

3 THINGS TO DO TODAY TO START DIGGING A NEW WELL

1.      Get filled with the Holy Spirit & if you’re already filled get re-filled.

·        God wants you to be baptized in the Holy Spirit.

·        God wants you to pray in the Spirit.

·        God wants you to live in the Spirit.

2.      Find a place & worship.

·        Pour out your heart to God.

·        Sing to Him a new song that has never been written.

·        Tell Him of all the things you are thankful for.

·        Declare His greatness.

·        Proclaim His victories.

3.      Stay committed to prayer & reading the Word.

·        Prayer is a place that water can be found.

·        Prayer will keep you focused.

·        His Word is the source to the Spirit.

·        A steady diet of these 2 will lead to a steady flow of fresh water from new wells.

Pastor Richard