Sermon: God Expects a Return on His Investment (Part Seven)
Enjoying the Journey as Much as the Destination
#1687
David F. Maas
Given 31-Dec-22; 71 minutes
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transcript:
Please turn over to Deuteronomy 12:30 where we hear Moses’s warning to God’s chosen people to remain separate from alien religious customs, adamantly resisting the siren pulls of the world’s satanically inspired cultures.
Deuteronomy 12:30 “Take heed to yourself that you are not ensnared to follow them, after they are destroyed from before you, and you do not inquire after their gods, saying, ‘How did these nations serve their gods? I also will do likewise.’”
Tonight, perhaps after an extended evening of imbibing an excess of alcoholic beverages, many people across the face of the earth may feel somewhat inclined to make what they call New Year’s resolutions. On January 2, 2016, six years ago, Ronny Graham gave a message on New Year’s resolutions, claiming that the vast majority fail miserably because either they are too unrealistic or perhaps are too many. The success rate of most of these resolutions, such as losing weight, quitting smoking, or learning something new, is quite low, almost negligible because there is no genuine, permanent inclination to commit. Sadly, willpower and wish power are not synonyms.
If we approach our spiritual goals of overcoming and building godly character in the same manner as the world sets New Year’s resolutions, we will also fail miserably. As we examine ourselves thoroughly, which Almighty God mandates us to do before Passover, many of us sadly realize how pitifully slow and undramatic our spiritual progress has been since our calling; likewise, our pitiful failure to exercise or sharpen our spiritual gifts to serve our spiritual siblings we sadly discover proves also sub-standard and discouraging.
The Scriptures have charged God’s called-out ones to seek attainable, realistic, spiritual goals incrementally over a lifetime, putting on righteousness, light, love, truth, and tender mercy (putting on Christ or appropriating the mind of Christ—I Corinthians 2:16), and putting off or casting off darkness, anger, and wrath, namely the old man with carnal human nature with its hostility to God and its enmity to His law (Ephesians 4:22; Romans 8:7).
What we figuratively wear after our calling and conversion process displays our spiritual state. After we put off the old man, we put on Christ’s spiritual characteristics; consequently, we put on immortality. In Ephesians 4: 22-24, which I will read you from the Amplified Bible, the apostle Paul teaches us that:
Ephesians 4:22-24 regarding our previous way of life, we put off our old self [completely discard our former nature] which is being corrupted through deceitful desires, and be continually renewed in the spirit of our minds [having a fresh, untarnished mental and spiritual attitude], and put on the new self [the regenerated and renewed nature], created in God’s image [godlike], in the righteousness and holiness of the truth [living in a way that expresses to God our gratitude for our salvation].
Switching metaphors from clothing to sacrifice, the apostle Paul amplifies the renewing of the mind concept in Romans 12:1-2, which I will again read in the Amplified version:
Romans 12:1-2 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies [dedicating all of yourselves, set apart] as a living sacrifice, holy and well-pleasing to God, which is your rational (logical, intelligent) act of worship. And do not be conformed to this world [any longer with its superficial values and customs—we could add at this time of year a culture in which most of the professing Christian world enjoys celebrating a blatant lie
(equating a pagan fire festival to coax the reluctant sun to return with the nativity of Our Lord and Savior, which Richard pointed out in his December 20, 2002 CGG Weekly “Celebrating a Lie” and Gary Montgomery pointed out in his December 16, 2022 CGG Weekly “A Season of Deception”], but be transformed and progressively changed [as you mature spiritually] by the renewing of your mind [focusing on godly values and ethical attitudes-currently and tragically, the exact opposite of those compromised members of the United States Congress and Senate as well as the enigmatic, bewildering figure occupying the Oval Office who, on December 14th, 18 days ago, eagerly sought counsel from a drag queen while at the same time, figuratively spitting on the counsel of Almighty God and His holy and spiritual laws, blatantly begging for His cursing upon a portion of Jacob’s offspring
(referring to Deuteronomy 11:26; 27-28; 31:1and Leviticus 26:1-46). Currently, it seems there might be more respect for God’s law within the walls of the Kremlin than any government on earth presided over by the rebellious offspring of Jacob] so that you may prove [for yourselves] what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect [in His plan and purpose for you], namely His called-out ones, that is God’s plan and purpose for us.
God’s plan and purpose for us after the John 6:44 calling and the earnest payment on a glorified spirit body will become a reality at our resurrection after we have successfully made it through the grueling, purifying, sanctifying process into the God Family. For this reason, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and God the Father have deliberately and forcefully separated us from a satanic world culture which has entrapped most humanity, including virtually all physical Israel, by the deception of the great dragon Satan the Devil (Revelation 12:9) and moreover, the father of all liars (John 8:44).
In the Olivet Prophecy in Matthew 24, Jesus Christ warned His disciples (then and now) about massive deception, saying “Take heed that no one deceives You,” adding that because lawlessness will abound [to a large part because “law makers” throughout the lands occupied by Jacob’s offspring, have concocted evil legislation designed to overturn God’s], consequently, the love of many will grow ice-cold and experience spiritual hypothermia, as Bill Onisick stated in his message [as we are witnessing in their divided nations today].
On the night of Jesus Christ’s betrayal and His last Passover as a human being, He promised His disciples (then and now) the receipt of His precious Holy Spirit, namely, the spirit of truth (John 14:17) which the world at large, having not yet been called, cannot receive—the world cannot receive!—the world cannot receive!—pending a special, direct John 6:44 invitation from Almighty God, the same invitation which all of us in God’s church have previously received prior to our baptism.
Jesus had earlier proclaimed to His disciples (then and now) “I am the way and the truth”—furthermore, the only portal to God the Father (John 14:6), a profound insight recently forgotten by Pope Francis as well as a several prominent Protestant Evangelicals, which Craig Sablich warned us about in his September 2022 message, “Is Jesus the Only Way?” Jesus assures those whom the Father has called that He and His Father would make their abode in the depths of their nervous systems through the means of the Holy Spirit, which is equivalent to having an express conduit or an unfettered access to the mind of God the Father and Jesus Christ (I Corinthians 2:16, Philippians 2:5, and Romans 8:9-10). In John 15:26 and John 16:13, Jesus again refers to the gift of the Holy Spirit, which God’s chosen saints receive after repentance and baptism (Acts 2:38), as the spirit of truth, whose function is to convict the world regarding sin, and righteousness, and judgment, guiding His called-out ones into all the truth.
The litmus test to determine whether one has really received God’s Holy Spirit is a markedly heightened sensitive conscience as well as experiencing intense anguish and pain for having broken God’s law—something which is becoming unbelievably scarce. For example, on December 13, 2022, 19 days ago, the current occupant of the White House gleefully signed the same-sex marriage bill titled The Respect for Marriage Bill, boldly defying the laws of God and the sacred marriage covenant (Genesis 2:24; Ephesians 5:31-32). Earlier in the month on December 8th, the United States House of Representatives passed this bill 258-169, with 39 representatives with the designation “Rep” next to their names who voted with the Democrats on this damnable piece of legislation. Regarding these 39 congresspeople, the Rep next to their names clearly stands for reprobate rather than for a designated political party, like the 12 who followed suit in the United States Senate. Sadly, one of them represents the people in the so-called Bible Belt in North Carolina, as well as a couple of turncoat senators from Missouri and Iowa, yielding to progressive leftist pressure to be re-elected.
Back in the fall of 1962, my Political Science instructor, Milton Ochsner, assured the class the first rule of politics is to get re-elected, even if getting re-elected means compromising with principle, engaging in contentious competition, destroying the character of the opponent, cover up of the truth, and yielding to the corruption of the good old boys or good old girls in the Establishment. Tragically, most office holders in all three branches of government do not have an ounce of God’s Holy Spirit, nor do most Christian professing denominations, which Ronny Graham identified in his “Inclusivity” message back on December 10th.
Please turn over to our Lord and Savior’s High Priestly prayer He offered on behalf of His disciples (then and now) on His last Passover as a human.
John 17:15-17 “I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that you should keep them from the evil one. They [He is talking about us brothers and sisters] are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth.”
We learn from these verses that protection from Satan the Devil is automatically coupled with ingesting the words of truth found in Holy Scripture—words meant to be consumed daily as spiritual manna, described as the Bread of Life in John 6:31-35, words identified as spirit and life in John 6:63, where Jesus reminds us, “The [Holy] Spirit gives life; the words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life.” The apostle Paul enlarges upon this concept in,
Hebrews 4:12-13 For the word of God is living and powerful, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.
In his sermon, the “Temptations of Christ: Behold, The Lamb of God,” given on September 24th, Mark Schindler admonished us that we need to exercise the same kind of respect as the prophet Isaiah, trembling at God’s Word (Isaiah 66:1). We must follow the marching orders of our Trail Blazer, our Lord, Savior, and Elder Brother Jesus Christ, who has taught us to combat the temptations of Satan by pointing to the book of the law (referencing Deuteronomy 6:16, 17; 8:3), disarming the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life (I John 2:16), causing the Devil to depart for a more opportune time (Luke 4:13).
Jesus’ half-brother James insists that all of God’s chosen saints have the same spiritual tools at their disposal, counseling “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil [using the dazzling light of scriptural truth] and he will flee from you” [probably like a startled cockroach when exposed to sunlight]. In John 8:32, Jesus declared to the Pharisees that if they would know the truth (becoming sanctified through God’s Word), they would be set free from enslaving lies.
The world in which we now live is saturated and poisoned by half-truths as well as downright murderous lies, promulgated by the government-controlled media. Those of Jacob’s offspring to the north of us and across the pond are subject to the same caustic and corrosive propaganda spewing out the narrative and agenda of the elitist New World Order. Despite the efforts of Elon Musk and others, Big Tech is hell-bent on suppressing the truth at all costs, censoring what the elitist progressives consider hate speech against behaviors Almighty God has labeled abominations and perversions identified in His holy and spiritual law.
Against this insurmountable curtain of darkness, Almighty God has assembled His chosen saints to serve as lights (metaphorically a symbol for truth) penetrating through the darkness (metaphorically a symbol of ignorance, lies, deceit, and evil) of this world. Please turn over to Matthew 5:14-16, a passage which Richard expounded upon in his sermon titled “Blessed Are: Summary: Lessons Learned from the Beatitudes” (given on November 12th).
Matthew 5:14-15 “You are the light of the world. [The Amplified Bible adds the significant detail “You are the Light of Christ” to the world.] A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.”
Richard suggests that we should think of “the house” as the church or the Body of Christ. Those of us who are serious about all of this, serious about growing our spiritual gifts (namely the abilities, talents, responsibilities, and tools) we are commanded to use to edify our spiritual siblings, that we strive to become a great light within the church of God, serving unselfishly as a helpful, guiding example for others in the fellowship, preparing to extend this radiating beacon to what appears to be a hopelessly darkened world.
Matthew 5:16 “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.”
The godly attitudes displayed by our Lord and Savior in the Beatitudes are mindsets we must grow into as we diligently exercise the earnest payment of God’s Holy Spirit given after our baptism (Ephesians 1:13-14). We have the God-given responsibility to let our light shine before men so they can see in us what God is and what God does, thereby glorifying our heavenly Father. Remember, the whole purpose of our grueling and rigorous sanctification process is to be recast, remolded, and imprinted in God’s image.
I John 1:5 This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him there is no darkness at all.
The Amplified Bible, under the dropline “God is Light,” fills in valuable supporting details:
I John 1:5 This is the message [of God’s promised revelation] which we have heard from Him and now announce to you, that God is Light [He is holy, His message is TRUTHFUL, He is perfect in righteousness], and in Him there is no darkness at all [no sin, no wickedness, no imperfection]the exact goal our Heavenly Father and Our LORD and Savior have purposed for us, namely that we shall be perfect, just as our Father in heaven is perfect [referencing Matthew 5:48].
To accomplish this daunting task, God has generously given us a set of tools, alternately called gifts, talents, abilities, and skills, with which we must tend the task of overcoming and character building as well as encouraging and edifying our spiritual siblings as they encourage and edify us within the Body of Christ. My specific purpose in this concluding message on “God Expects a Return on His Investment” is to provide some practical strategies for sharpening our spiritual gifts and protecting them from attenuating or burning out through neglect or disuse. We are reminded in Psalm 37:4-6 that if we delight ourselves in the Lord, committing all our ways to Him, “He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday.”
In tending and keeping our spiritual gifts, we must keep foremost in our minds that God alone is the source of these gifts and who alone determines where and upon whom He will distribute them (I Corinthians 12:11). Our Lord and Savior reminds us in John 15:16, “You did not choose Me, but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain” and furthermore that bearing fruit glorifies the Father and validates one’s discipleship [John 15:8]. We dare not imitate the audacious piece of clay who argues with the potter in Isaiah 45:9. I will read you this verse from the Amplified version:
Isaiah 45:9 “Woe (judgment is coming) to him who quarrels with his Maker— A [worthless] piece of broken pottery among other broken pieces [equally worthless]! Shall the clay say to the potter, ‘What are you doing?’ Or does the thing say, ‘He has no hands’?
The apostle Paul in Romans 9:20-21 adds: “But who are you, O man, to talk back to God? Shall what is formed say to Him who formed it, “Why did You make me like this?” Does not the potter have the right to make from the same lump of clay one vessel for special occasions and another for common use?”
Paul counsels Timothy that for God’s chosen saints, an upgrade can occasionally be arranged within the sanctifying process. Consider: “But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay, some for honor and some for dishonor. Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from the latter, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified for the Master, prepared for every good work.” The image of the potter working with the clay reminds us that we are God’s workmanship created for good works as we read in Ephesians 2:10, which I will again read from the Amplified version:
Ephesians 2:10 For we are His workmanship [His own master work, a work of art], created in Christ Jesus [reborn from above—spiritually transformed, renewed, ready to be used] for good works, which God prepared [for us] beforehand [taking paths which He set], so that we would walk in them [living the good life which He prearranged and made ready for us].
In his book, The Beginner’s Guide to Spiritual Gifts, Sam Storms contends that gifts are less privileges than responsibilities, stating “If charisma points us to the origin of spiritual gifts, diakonia, often translated “ministries,” points to their purpose. All spiritual gifts are designed to serve and help others.” In I Peter 4:10-11, the verb form (dɪakonutɛs) is used twice of gifted believers “serving” one another. The point is that spiritual gifts are less privileges than responsibilities. Gifts are not for personal adornment (like a coveted trophy on a display case), status, power, or popularity, but a special tool which one must learn to skillfully use to serve and edify spiritual siblings (I Corinthians 12:7; 14:12).
In I Corinthians 12:31, the apostle Paul counsels us to “earnestly desire the best gifts,” but attaches strings to desiring spiritual gifts—namely that any spiritual gift will be rendered useless and void without agape love, which occupies the central focus of chapter 13, which we often refer to the as the love chapter. Again, while encouraging God’s people (then and now) to ardently desire spiritual gifts, the apostle Paul sternly cautions that the motive for desiring these skills and abilities must be exclusively for providing selfless service to our spiritual siblings, not for self-aggrandizement or to add an extra metaphorical trophy on our mantle to lord it over the lesser important appendages in the Body of Christ. There are no lesser important appendages in the Body of Christ, but all have been carefully selected and placed in the organism by Almighty God to interdependently serve one another.
In Ephesians 1:4, we learn that God chose us in Him before the foundation of the world. The answer to the deceptively simple question as to when God first endowed His called-out ones with spiritual gifts was before the foundation of the earth. The skills, talents, and abilities which we share with the entire human race were simply reoriented at the time of our baptism and the receipt of the earnest payment of God’s Holy Spirit away from carnal pursuits and the sway of the world to serving our spiritual siblings and glorifying God, providing a beacon to a pitifully darkened and sinful world.
Heather Chapman, in her April 17, 2021 article, “God Knew us Before We Were Born: Why Jeremiah 1:5 Brings Us Peace,” maintains that, for those chosen by Almighty God, “not only did God know us in our mother’s womb, as David has proclaimed in Psalm 139, but He had implanted a pre-decided plan or purpose for our lives, involving a lifetime of sacrifice or service to our spiritual siblings.” In Jeremiah 1:5, we read: “Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you; before you were born, I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations.” In other words, Jeremiah’s plan and purpose had already been established by God from the very beginning. Likewise, for us, Ephesians 1:4 substantiates that God’s plan and purpose for us has been established from the very beginning.
In his insightful article, “Eight Rules to Do Everything Better: The most important principles to grow your body and mind,” Brad Stulberg offers some practical advice that we can apply to sharpening our spiritual gifts. When we reflect on Paul’s counsel to Timothy to stir up the gift he had been given, we realize that gifts we receive from the Lord through the filling of the Holy Spirit are not given to us fully developed but need to be strengthened and developed and matured through regular continued daily use. At the beginning of our calling, the fruit on our John 15:5 branch is unripe (or green) and largely inedible, causing extreme gastric distress if consumed. Nevertheless, it is still spiritual fruit, awaiting a lengthy ripening process and occasional pruning.
The first principle Stulberg highlighted was: 1. Stress + Rest = Growth—suggesting that “whether we want to grow our body or mind or get better at a specific skill, we need to push to the outer limits of our current ability, and then follow that hard work with appropriate recovery and reflection [such as what we experience when we keep God’s Sabbath properly].” Whether we discuss bodybuilding, practicing a musical instrument, writing a book, driving a car, or repairing an electrical appliance, Stulberg asserts that “Decades of research in exercise science show that this is how we get smarter and more creative. Nevertheless, we all are obligated to take our first wobbly step.”
As Hunter Swanson reminded us in his December 17th message two weeks ago, titled “Will You Show Up?” declares, “If we show up, or if we put our hand to the plow, resisting the seemingly overwhelming desire to look back, God has promised to provide the strength and will to move forward [referencing Isaiah 40:31 and Philippians 2:13], which assures us that it is God who works in us both to will and to do for His good pleasure.” We are reminded in Proverbs 3:5-6; 16:3, 9 that if we commit our ways to Almighty God, He will guide our steps—even though we may initially feel wobbly and unsteady. David assures us in Psalm 37:
Psalm 37:23-24 The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and He delights in his way. Though he falls, he shall not be utterly cast down; for the Lord upholds him with His hand.
David’s son Solomon similarly observes that “a righteous man may fall seven times and rise again, but the wicked shall fall by calamity” (Proverbs 24:16). The point is we are destined to make a passel of mistakes in our lengthy conversion or sanctification process from which we will learn lasting and sometimes profound lessons.
The second principle Stulberg highlighted was 2. Focus on the process, not the results. Stulberg maintains that “The best athletes and entrepreneurs aren’t focused on being the best; they’re focused on constant self-improvement. When we stop stressing about external outcomes—like whether we win or lose, attain a certain promotion, or achieve some other form of validation—a huge burden is lifted off our shoulders and we can focus our energy on the things we can control in the here and now.” We remember that our Lord and Savior commissioned us to live in day-tight compartments, reminding us not to worry about tomorrow, “for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble” [Matthew 6:34].
Stulberg continues, “we always end up performing better,” adding that research has substantiated that “concentrating on the process is best for both performance and mental health.” In composing articles and sermons, I have learned that obsessing about deadlines and outcomes can lead to a formidable case of writer’s block but getting my mind refocused away from the distant unaccomplished end of the task to the process at hand, the anxiety quickly dissipates significantly. As James Beaubelle pointed out last Sabbath, when we speakers ask for inspiration in our prayers, we do not expect completed manuscripts magically appearing on our computers, but there is considerable thinking and working expected of us.
In my Feast of Tabernacles sermon “Developing Spiritual Wanderlust,” given October 21, 2005, I made the case that Almighty God has implanted in all our patriarchs a spiritual wanderlust—a desire to travel. I like to consider it a pioneering westering spirit. As the poet Archibald MacLeish has declared, “West is a country in the mind, and so eternal.” Love of the journey permeates the psyche of the children of physical Israel, especially the descendants of Ephraim and Manasseh (as well the Israel of God, Galatians 6:16) who have spent a great portion of their life on a physical and spiritual journey migrating from location to location without getting to the destination.
And, in my Feast of Tabernacles message of September 21, 2013, titled “Seeing Sanctification As An Exciting Adventure,” we learned that father Abraham and the other patriarchs died in the faith, without receiving the promises, but having seen them (in the mind’s eye with the lens of faith), having considered themselves strangers, exiles, pilgrims, and wanderers on the earth. Similarly, the sculptor of Crazy Horse Monument, Korczak Ziolkowski, never did see his finished work carved in the mountain, except in his own mind’s eye, with ardent faith that his family would carry on the vision, completing the project, which they have faithfully executed.
One thing I do not particularly like about flying across the continent to the Feast of Tabernacles is not being able to see the magnificent scenery up close. When Julie and I traveled to Phoenix last week, we became mesmerized and enraptured by the variety of vegetation in the Mojave and Sonora desert—including the abundant saguaro cactus, the ocotillo plants, and the Joshua trees. We thoroughly enjoyed every glorious mile of the trip. Those of us who are parents would not want to miss the details of every stage of our offspring’s development from infant, toddler, child, teenager, young adult. God the Father enjoys each part of the sanctifying process and chooses not to speed the process beyond pre-established growth patterns.
In his sermonette titled “Line Upon Line: God Builds His Character in Us Purposefully," given October 1st, Levi Graham reminds us that the apostle Peter has given us an incremental set of building blocks (referencing II Peter:1-5) describing God’s will and direction for mankind, moving from easier to harder steps. Each rung on the ladder gets progressively harder and cannot be attained until the step before it is thoroughly mastered. In this basic-to-complex pattern, we are advised that if we get wobbly on any step to go back and establish sure footing before proceeding to the next rung.
The third principle Stulberg highlighted was: 3. Stay Humble. Stulberg asserts that “Humility is the key to growth,” insisting that “If we don’t maintain an open teachable mind, we will severely limit our opportunities to learn and make progress.” The best athletes trust their training programs but are also constantly looking for new ways to improve. The same goes for the best thinkers and creatives; they tend to be confident, but never arrogant, and they always check their egos at the door.
The prophet Daniel alerted us that at the end time, many shall run to and fro, while knowledge shall be increased exponentially. We currently live in the information age, in which it will take incredible resourcefulness to keep up with it and will require humility and a teachable, pliable mind willing to learn new things. In his message, “God’s Investment in YOU: Having Earnest Desire for God’s Kingdom,” given on May 5, 2013, Mark Schindler, using an example from the TV Program Shark Tank, asserts that investors in a product or service find pride (or lack of humility) a major deal breaker, explaining that “If a person comes to them with a proposal, these five presume that they are looking for more than just money, but their expertise as well.” It becomes obvious to them when a presenter considers his own pride to be worth more than anything the sharks may have to offer. Quite often that is a deal-breaker in creating a reasonable partnership for success.
When composer Nicholas Rimsky-Korsakov was appointed faculty member of the Saint Petersburg Conservatory, he felt ill-prepared for this task because his knowledge of music theory was elemental, having never written counterpoint, nor harmonized a simple chorale, did not know the names of or intervals of musical chords, nor had ever conducted an orchestra. On the advice from his mentor Peter Tchaikovsky, Rimsky-Korsakov immersed himself in study, claiming that while teaching at the Conservatory, he soon became “its very best pupil,” assiduously studying at home while he lectured at the Conservatory, teaching himself from textbooks, following a strict regimen of composing exercises, ultimately emerging as a master and practitioner of music theory and unrivaled tonal color.
Likewise, according to Lara Downes, the radio host on KUSC, the Finnish composer Jean Sibelius, objectively assessing his own musical abilities, eventually found his own God-given niche in music. He had always desired to become a violin virtuoso, but he started learning the violin late at the age of 14, and furthermore did not have access to satisfactory teachers. He had an audition with the Vienna Philharmonic, but was turned down, leading him to weep uncontrollably for his misfortune of not being able to perform. Putting his disappointment behind him, he started composing violin concerto in D. Though never attaining what he believed to be his heart’s desire to be a virtuoso violinist, he transformed his inward desire outward, providing a top-quality concerto, one of the best violin concertos ever written, giving many other individuals opportunities to develop their virtuosity.
Many times, throughout my life, while assessing my skills and abilities, I felt like a square peg in a round hole but following the principle of Proverbs 16:9 that the Lord will guide our wobbly steps, I gradually found tasks more aligned to my capabilities. The point is if our abilities, skills, talents, or gifts are not cultivated, they will shrivel and become non-functional, quenching God’s Holy Spirit.
The fourth principle Stulberg highlighted was: 4. Build Your Tribe. Stulberg shares an old saying that “we are the average of the five people we spend the most time with.” A large and growing body of behavioral research shows that motivation (or lack thereof) is contagious. One study, “Is Poor Fitness Contagious? Evidence from Randomly Assigned Friends,” found that up to 70 percent of our fitness level can be explained by people we train with. Other research says that if we work on mental tasks with people who are internally driven, we are more likely to end up the same way. If, on the other hand, we surround ourselves with people who have a negative attitude and are focused solely on winning the rat race, we set ourselves up for a less fulfilling experience.” In Proverbs 22:24, we are warned about befriending a hot-tempered or wrathful man because we will pick up his mindset. On the other hand, we are also reminded to not forsake the assembly of our spiritual siblings (Hebrews 10:25).
During the recent diaspora from our previous fellowship, we find ourselves scattered in small splinter groups all over the map, making physical get-togethers a little more challenging. Recently, I have been working on an alphabetical church directory, in which I have used pictures taken at the Feast by John Reiss, as well as pictures from the CGG Facebook, appending phone numbers, map locations, and prayer requests. During the roll call on Sabbath, it helps me to visualize the voices checking in from Portland, Phoenix, Round Rock, Amarillo, Calgary, Louisburg, Cincinnati, Atlanta—and a passel of others across the continent and the globe.
The fifth principle Stulberg highlighted was: 5. Take Small, Consistent Steps To Achieve Big Gains. Stulberg asserts that,
Habits build upon themselves. If we want to make any kind of significant change, we would be wise to do so gradually over time. In Stanford researcher BJ Fogg’s behavioral model, whether someone takes action depends on both their motivation and their ability to complete a given task. If we regularly overshoot on the ability side of the equation, we are liable to become discouraged and quickly flame out. But if we incrementally increase the challenge, what was hard last week will seem easier today. Put differently: small and consistent victories compound over time, leading to massive gains.
In his sermon “Called to Change” given December 10th, Ryan McClure referred to a book titled Atomic Habits by James Clear (a source John Reiss had earlier referred to in the CGG Weekly) in which the author speaks of making a 1 percent change in our daily lives, and this is a positive change. So, if we follow the rule of compounding interest, that 1 percent compounded over 365 days, assuming positive increase, equals a net increase of 37 percent change in one year as opposed to no change at all, or perhaps even a negative change. Ryan concludes “If we look at change from that perspective, hopefully that shows us that we can make changes in our lives. We can overcome, obviously with God’s help. We can certainly improve 1% each day.”
In my November 1996 Forerunner article, “The Formula for Overcoming,” I mentioned an affliction which Wendell Johnson, in his book People in Quandaries, claims afflicts 90% of humanity called the IFD Disease:
I - People set their goals or ideals impossibly high or beyond reach.
Spiritual goals which are vague and hazily defined—ones that we do not measure in bite-sized chunks or increments fit this definition.
F - They feel frustrated or experience a sense of falling short of their expectations.
In context of spiritual goals, we refer to the frustration and anxiety we feel because we have not made intermediate, incremental objectives clear in our minds.
D - They feel demoralized and defeated, and do not desire to continue.
In the context of overcoming, we feel despair in falling short of attaining these spiritual goals of godly character.
The formula to defeat the IFD disease and promote overcoming is as follows:
O = M/G Overcoming (O) consists of keeping our motivation (M) high while (G) pursuing realistic, attainable goals.
The sixth principle highlighted by Stulberg is: 6. Be a Minimalist to Be a Maximalist. In this principle, Stulberg reminds us that we cannot be great at everything [even though we may have many things on our bucket list we have not yet accomplished]. We need to regularly reflect on what matters to us most. In the words of Mayo Clinic researcher and human performance expert Michael Joyner, “We’ve got to be a minimalist to be a maximalist: if we want to be really proficient at [a talent, skill, or ability], we must master, and thoroughly enjoy one thing, we must say no to many, many, many others.”
In his November 30th Forerunner Personal “Simplify Your Life,” under the dropline or caption “Mastering Time,” John Ritenbaugh asserts, “Because God is Creator, time belongs to Him. As it relates to man, time began with the creation of the heavenly bodies, for we measure it by their movements. God has given each of us a slice of time to use as we choose. In this regard, time is life, and if we master the use of time, we are well along the road toward mastering life.” The late Karl Beyersdorfer counseled the Duluth, Minnesota congregation that the most important priorities on our daily calendar should be prayer and Bible study, claiming that if we could master that, everything else would fall logically into place.
In my September 21, 2013 message, “Seeing Sanctification as an Exciting Adventure,”I related an incident in which my mentor Bob Hoops, back in 1973, told me about a young man that he had known for over 10 years, who in his late 20s demonstrated unusual wisdom and people skills. This young man had made a practice of reading aloud the Proverbs every day, focusing on one chapter a day, corresponding to the day of the month. Proverbs, of course has 31 chapters; most months have 31 days, but on the months containing 30 or 28 days, this young man would read one or two extra chapters so that he would go through the book of Proverbs once a month. This man, through daily practicing of spiritual scales, was systematically storing God’s Word in his heart, equipping him to be a virtuoso in life skills.
Similarly, if we divide the 150 chapters of Psalms by 30, we have five doable chapters per day. If we combine the two sets of readings, we synthesize the thoughts of a man after God’s own heart (I Samuel 13:14) with the wisdom of his son, often termed the wisest man who ever lived, we have a potent, minimalist one-a-day spiritual vitamin supplement.
The seventh and, for this message, the concluding principle highlighted by Stulberg is: 7. Make the Hard Thing Easier. According to Stulberg, “Willpower is overrated. Rather than relying completely on self-control, we need to intentionally design our environment to make the hard thing easier. For example, if we (like everyone else) are constantly distracted by our smartphones, we shouldn’t just turn them off—but remove them altogether from where we are trying to concentrate.”
After I was afflicted by Covid 19 in 2021, I stopped listening to all network news, instead listening to the classical music station most of the time. The late Rush Limbaugh wisely counseled that to stop listening to the state-controlled lapdog media for a week would dramatically improve our mental outlook. Even the alternative media rubs salt on the wounds. Consequently, I allow only 10 a day minutes during my hydromassage in the gym to catch up on news, reading the headlines of Breitbart, OAN, and the commentaries of Mark Dice, who spices up the grimness of the leftist progressive narrative with some humor.
John Ritenbaugh, in his February 5, 2022 sermon: “Make Sure Now of Your Focus,” warned all of us that “During the next five years, chaos, confusion, and distractions will increase exponentially, requiring us to develop a plan to stay on a fixed goal, namely the Kingdom of God” (Matthew 6:33), adding that in these dangerous times the world has been experiencing, to be without a focus is dangerous. Focus needs to be safeguarded by a plan to counterattack the destructive distractions from media and political forces.
One hard thing that must be made easier should be prayer. Pat Higgins has written a highly insightful series of articles in the Forerunner on “Praying Always,” which I encourage everyone to re-read. Herbert W. Armstrong used to proclaim that prayer is often a most demanding chore. But trying to think or reason with the carnal mind without prayer leads to disaster. In her article, “Five Ways to Sharpen Your Discernment Skills” (one of the spiritual gifts of I Corinthians 12), Jean Wilund says, “it is like using a butter knife to perform surgery. The results will never turn out like they could and should.”
I have discussed with several people their frustrations about prayer, complaining that when they get on their knees, their minds start wandering and they get repetitious. Some complain that using a prayer list (electronic or printed) starts to sound like a repetitious rosary. I have friends whose primary mode of prayer is walking. Personally, with an orthopedic pin in my right tibia, I find kneeling (except for short periods of time) to be exceedingly painful. Herbert W. Armstrong claimed that the very best stance for sincere and fervent prayer is to be hanging upside down from a ladder in the well.
A technique with which I have been experimenting since 2018 is to write a portion of my daily prayers on the computer, keeping a daily record of petitions offered up and how God has dealt with them. I download the daily entries from the Church of the Great God prayer list, keeping track of how the prayers are resolved. The electronic prayer journal allows me to carry on my part of the dialogue between Almighty God and me, forcing me to concentrate on specifics and not engage in vain repetition. Regarding specific petitions about sharpening and enhancing spiritual tools, I have found it exceedingly valuable and instructive.
In this concluding message in this series, I have obviously not given an exhaustive list of strategies for sharpening spiritual gifts but have attempted to provide some needed and practical motivation for all of us to put our hands on the plow and keep plodding ahead (Luke 9:61), enjoying the journey and the work in progress as much as the destination.
DFM/jjm/drm