John 5:30 … my judgment is just, because I seek not my own will but the will of him who sent me.
It is Interesting how Jesus claimed his ability to make decisions was based upon the fact that his decisions were not self focused; He did not seek His own will.
George Mueller was a British evangelist and prayer warrior who lived during the nineteenth century. In the course of his life he raised 1,500,000£; he educated and sent out into the world no fewer than 123,000 pupils; he circulated 275,000 Bibles in different languages, with nearly as many smaller portions of Scripture; and he aided missions to the extent of 255,000£. He supported 189 missionaries, and he employed 112 assistants. All this without ever publically asking for money. George was asked how he made decisions, to which he said, “I seek at the beginning to get my heart into such a state that it has no will of it’s own in a given matter.” Hence he was free to obey and respond whatever way that the Lord would lead, and was free from his own motivations which could easily cloud the decision making process. In another occasion George Mueller said “There was a day when I died, utterly died;” and, as he spoke, he bent lower and lower until he almost touched the floor—“died to George Muller, his opinions, preferences, tastes, and will—died to the world, its approval or censure—died to the approval or blame even of my brethren and friends—and since then I have studied only to show myself approved unto God.”
Perhaps if more of our decisions were not based upon our desires, for we have died to them, then we too could accomplish greater things for the kingdom of our Lord. God help us to make true righteous decisions!
This has been a timely message for my eyes to see and my spirit to receive. That you Father God for your great live towards us, your children. Amen
This also resonates with my spirit. The Lord has been confirming to me in several situations lately that one person no matter how small or insignificant they think they are(but are just available and willing) can make a difference in this world if they are submitted to God and His desires. We can learn a lot about totally trusting the Lord through these great men and women of God who have stepped out in faith and done great things for God like George Mueller, Catherine Booth, Wilberforce, David Livingston,Dietrich Bonhoffer’s etc. It is letting go and letting God take hold of us!
Dear Pastor Kieth,
In the foundations class today, you mentioned that our thoughts are linked with God’s.
I have been told before that we must utterly die, be crucified with Jesus Christ, just as George Mueller is saying… After this I thought that I shouldn’t be thinking… since my thoughts should die too right? But if my thoughts are linked with God’s… then not all of my thoughts are bad…?
Then what exactly does it mean for my thoughts to “utterly” die?
Sincerely
Shinhye: You have raised three concepts. First, it is true that God wants us to die to our own desires, but only those that are not consistent with His teachings and His principles. Not all of our desires are wrong. Desires to be kind or helpful, to learn of God, to work hard for the sake of earning a living, these may be good desires. The scriptures say that if we delight in the LORD, then He will give you the desires of your heart (Ps 37:4). In this verse God is not condeming desires. God will give us the desires of our heart, but of course we should let our desires line up with His desires. The second thought is that yes, as we become more sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit, then our thoughts become more in line with God’s thoughts, and God is more able to lead and guide us through the prompting of His Spirit. But that is not the only way that God guides us. He uses the Godly counsel of others, the truth of His Word, circumstances, etc. (This could take more than a blog space to develop how God leads us.) The third thing is that God never askes us as Christians to stop thinking, or that their thougths should die. Instead God encourages to engage our minds in our responses to Him, His Word, and to His work in the created world around us. Therefore God says in Isaiah 1:18 “Come now, and let us reason together”. He does however challenge us to stop thinking wrong thoughts and to allow our minds to be transformed from sinful thoughts to wholesome thougths. (see Romans 12:1,2 and Phil 4:8).