Good Morning!  Are you ready for the work week, or did you already complain in your heart (or out loud) that it is time to go back to work?

Thus far, in the first selection on murmuring, we have discussed how the Spirit leads us in dealing with complaining and its negative influences on our lives. Through faith we can use the positive plan, God promised us, to deal with dissention among our fellow brothers.  We also looked at how God intends us to lead others who engage in murmuring. The second selection showed us that we need consultation and leading from God to overcome Satan and his strategies.  The Lord leads us to what we shall and shall not do, according to His will.  In this third and final selection, we will complete the remaining Spirit-led requirements, leaving us with a better understanding of what He would have us do when encountered with murmuring, whether it is from others or within ourselves.

Let us begin with the fourth requirement from God; “Thou shall not focus on the murmurers.” As we continue to look at the Israelites in the wilderness, God states in Exodus 16:6, “…You shall know that the Lord hath brought you out from the land of Egypt.” Here, Moses and Aaron could have scorned against the Jews, however they would have been taking on the Israelites’ negative characteristics.  Leaders often become prey to the very issues that irritate them.  They start complaining about the complainers.  Moses never complained about the Jews, despite their continued grumbling.  Often times, we complain and lose out on the blessings, contentment, and peace, which God intends for us.

Next, we are instructed that, “Thou shall talk truth to the murmurers.” In Exodus 16:7-8, the scripture states, “…then you shall see the glory of the Lord.” This was a positive statement about the future.  Sometimes there is pressure to compromise the truth, due to the consequences, but we’ll never be good leaders if we fail to tell complainers the truth.  Instruction six says, “Thou shall not bear the murmurers alone.” Exodus 16:9 states, “…Come near before the Lord.” Moses used Aaron to speak to the congregation.  They were not only brothers, but a team.  Aaron challenged the Jews to come near before the Lord, “…for He hath heard your murmurings.” If we are dissatisfied, hungry, or hurt, we are to come near before the Lord.  This is where you can get real, lasting help.

We also see that, “Thou shall not point people to yourself.”  In Exodus 16:10, the Bible says, “…They looked toward the wilderness, and the glory of the Lord appeared in the cloud.”  Moses told Aaron, “We are not their saviors.”  The ego drives people to look to others; however the Spirit always directs people to look towards the Lord and not draw the focus on themselves.  You’ll never be able to live up to the performance standard of God.

Finally, we see, “Thou shall persevere until death.” Dealing with those who complain, whether it is in ministry, family, or business, ranks high on the list of why leaders quit.  For instance, statements are uttered like, “I’ve had it; I’m not putting up with this anymore!” This was not an option for Moses.  Our success is not based on how many people we change from being negative, to being content.  If you take that as the standard, even Moses was a flop.  A leader is not here for the followers, but for Him.

In conclusion, throughout these selections on murmuring, we’ve seen how faith must be used to combat murmuring, both among others and within ourselves and how good leadership is a reliance on God.  Our success is measured by our willingness to remain faithful to the call of God, with a good spirit, regardless of the situation.  Every leader will be criticized.  God called us here to persevere.  It’s inevitable that people will perpetually murmur.  Get over it and move on. Love God, serve the Lord, persevere, and enjoy a wonderful week!

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No matter who you are, whether you are saved or unsaved, life is difficult.  If you are unsaved, your life is difficult because you do not have the Lord Jesus Christ in your life.  If you are saved, your life is difficult because you do have the Lord Jesus Christ in your life.  If you got saved thinking your life would not be difficult any more, you were wrong.  Whether you are saved or unsaved, life is difficult and full of trouble.  Now, for the unsaved, there is no hope.  At the end of the road is Hell—a lake of fire forever and ever.  For the saved, we can look forward to a better land.  But, throughout life, we are going to be dealing with pain and struggle and difficulty; and for those of us who are saved, the chastening hand of God.  In Hebrews 12:10, we see three purposes that lie behind the chastening we receive. Today, we will discuss the first purpose:

First, chastening is for pleasure.  “For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure.” Now at first glance, this seems to be rather strange.  In fact, chastening someone for pleasure would seem to be sadistic and sick.  But, God is not evil nor sadistic.  He does not take pleasure in the fact that we are being chastened; the pleasure is because He knows that chastening has divine blessing and benefit as its end result. If we are going to become what our Father intends for us to be, then He must allow us to experience pain.  He takes pleasure, not in our pain, but in what it will produce.

To help you understand this, let’s look at the times God the Father said He was pleased with His Son Jesus.  The first was when Jesus was baptized.  After John baptized Jesus, a voice from Heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” (Matthew 3:17)  What was it about Christ’s baptism that pleased the Father?  Baptism is a picture of the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ.  The Father was looking ahead to the suffering of His Son.  The second time was on the Mount of Transfiguration.  Jesus was talking to Moses and Elijah about His soon coming death.  Peter, James, and John heard a voice from Heaven that said, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” (Matthew 17:5)

Was the Father pleased when Jesus worked miracles and preached the gospel?  Yes, He was.  In John 8:29 Jesus said, “I do always those things that please him.” The expression of God’s pleasure focused on Jesus’ obedient suffering.  God was not pleased in seeing His Son hurt, but He was pleased in seeing His Son’s obedience and His willingness to suffer unselfishly for the sake of others.

There are some lessons that we are not likely to learn in sermons; we learn them through suffering.  We are born naturally selfish.  If you have children, you know that our nature is “Me first.”  Kids do not have to go to school and take Selfishness 101—it comes naturally.  The only way to overcome that trait is to be broken through God’s divine chastening.  Selfish people make poor husbands, poor wives, poor workers, and poor Christians.  Chastening helps us to learn to please others rather than focusing on what pleases us.

A few years ago, my family and I had the privilege of seeing Rachel Barton, the world-renowned violinist from Chicago at a concert.  When she came on to the stage, it was obvious that she walked with a severe limp.  With great difficulty, she made her way to her seat and began to play.  I have never heard anyone else play with such emotion, beauty, and grace.  We sat spellbound as we listened to her.  Later, I found out her story.  When she was in her early twenties, Rachel was getting off a train to teach violin lessons carrying her 400 year old Amati violin worth more than half a million dollars.  The door of the train closed on her shoulder and caught the violin case.  She was dragged more than 350 feet by the train.  One leg was severed, and the other was badly injured.  Rachel Barton could have given up.  Instead, she continues to practice and play through the pain for the pleasure of others.  Every pain that God brings or allows into our lives has a purpose.  If we respond to it properly, that purpose will be accomplished.  Remember, when we enduring chastening for the pleasure of others, it pleases God.

Have a wonderful day IN the Lord!
Dr. Paul A. Kingsbury

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“Owe no man anything, but to love one another…” (Romans 13:8.)

Recently in my travels, I realized that everyone is not an expert traveler like I have become! All joking aside, I began to notice people trying to get through the TSA lines that were unaware of the rules and regulations.  However, I also began to notice how these novice travelers were being treated by those who had a “job” to do. As I proceeded through the major international airport of Chicago, the Holy Spirit made me aware of others who could use a “helping hand.”

One such instance was a gate change, which caused over 200+ people to move from a C gate to an E gate. Since I spend almost every weekend at O’Hare International Airport, I know that this is a 25 minute walk or there is a bus that will take you there in just a couple of minutes. However, no one seemed to care to give this information, and many were just puzzled on how to get to where they needed to go.

Another such instance happened on the airplane, where I was sitting in “bulkhead” (the first seats behind first class.)  A traveler, who does not normally sit in bulkhead, was attempting to keep a large backpack on the floor in front of her.  I knew that once the airline attendant came through to check, this lady would be required to gate-check her bag, causing her much inconvenience, as the bins overhead were filling up fast.

During both of these situations, I had a decision.  I could selfishly enjoy my “typical Saturday morning commute” and keep to myself or I could heed the Holy Spirit and pay the “debt” in His power with the fruit He produces called love.

That morning, I had read the verses Romans 13:8-14, which includes the verse in the heading. I began to contemplate how much the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit loved Ben Burks – me! I believe every morning we ought to wake up and “take a bath in God’s love.” I think everyday we ought to try and feel loved by the Father. Every one of us needs a Resourcing of love. You can find this through God’s Word. From Genesis to Revelation is one enormous Book on the love of God. You can also be reminded of God’s love in a good song and hymn book from your church. One such song goes “Oh, the love that drew salvation’s plan; oh, the grace that brought it down to man.” Or maybe even the little song, “I am so glad that Jesus loves me, Jesus loves even me.” Not only did I take a bath in God’s love that day, but I began to notice others to whom that love needed to be demonstrated.  Praise the Lord I heeded His leading and paid “love” to others in need of help.

It has been my observation that the biggest problem we have is the fact that love is lacking in the places where it is needed the most with the people who deserve it the least. There are many selfish reasons why we withhold love to those who need it the most and deserve it the least….but the truth is every one of us fall into this category as one of those people!

True love begins when nothing is looked for in return. To give and not expect anything in return is what lies at the heart of love. Love has nothing to do with what you are expecting to get…only what you’re expecting to give – which is everything. It’s easy in our world today to look around and see the appearance of chaos, difficulty, and strife; yet when we our hearts are open to His love, we can always see our opportunity to pay a debt of love.

P.S. Before you travel anywhere today – whether across the nation or across town or across your living room – take a bath in God’s love and share it along the way!

Have a wonderful day IN the Lord!

Benjamin R. Burks

Check out Bro. Burks’ great new book, “Recovery without Relapse“, available on ON SALE at the RU E-Store for $6.30, Normally $9.00

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We have been talking about those who seek God’s mercy.  Now let us discover how we may obtain this mercy from God?  Hebrews 4:15 says, “For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.”  We want to start with considering the Lord Jesus Himself.  I want you to remember in your need for mercy, that you have a Savior in Heaven Who understands your dilemma. Jesus never did drugs, but he knows what it is like to have a craving that is almost overwhelming, a desire to escape reality. He knows what it is like to be tempted to go get drunk. He knows what it is like. Every temptation that we will ever face in our lives, Jesus faced a similar temptation, yet without ever yielding to sin.  How could God have mercy on a sinner except God take on the form of a sinner and endure what it is like to be a sinner? That is how Jesus can be our merciful and faithful high priest.  When you have need of mercy, you need to consider Jesus and run to that throne of grace.

Second, to receive mercy we must come boldly.  Hebrews 4:16 makes it clear, “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.” This phrase means “to approach frankly, bluntly, candidly, truthfully, and with confidence.” I know we all have certain “canned” prayers. If I asked you to pray for a meal, and you pray for the meal, chances are next week if I ask you to pray for a meal, it is going to sound very much like the prayer you said last week.  I am not being critical of those things at all, but when the Bible talks about coming boldly before the throne of grace, it means “to come with a transparent honesty.” This is a person who comes to God and says, “Life has brought me to the very end of my rope, and I’m losing my grip. I have no more mercy to give them. I need mercy from You, or I am not going to make it.”

I live on Riverside Boulevard, on the other side of Interstate 90 from our church.  There is a bridge there that I think they have been rebuilding for a hundred years now.  When you go eastbound on Riverside, there are signs up that say stay in right lane, lane closure ahead. When I get to McFarland Road, I have to get in the right-hand lane.  I am following the traffic laws and I am in the right lane, even though there is more traffic there.  Invariably, someone comes along in the left lane and tries to cut into my lane in front of me at the last second.  What is the natural reaction?  I want to give them a piece of my mind.  I want to lay on the horn.  I want to cut them off.  What do I do?  I flee to the throne of grace for more mercy!  I do not want to give them any mercy at all, but I need to. That is the way my life is…and the way your life is. This illustration my not seem like that big of a deal, but the truth is, there are always going to be people around us who need mercy and then need more mercy.

What do you do when you run out?  You stop and think about the wonderful Savior we have Who loves you in spite of who you are, or where you are and what you have done; and you go back to Him and you say, “I’m here, and I’ll admit to You that I don’t deserve anything from You but judgment, but I need a big dose of mercy today.” Come boldly to the throne of grace because the outcome is already settled; you can obtain mercy.  The word obtain means “to accept with amazement.” It is amazing that we can give mercy to others, but it is even more amazing that God extends mercy to us in the first place.

Let me close with this analogy.  We talked earlier about our tendency to loosen our grip and let things drift.  We have been offered “grace to help in time of need.”  This help is like taking a rope and tying our vessel tight to the moorings to stop our tendency to drift away.” When you come boldly before the throne of God’s grace, you will obtain mercy, you will find grace to wrap ropes tightly around your grip to help you stay tied to the moorings. So, where do we go when we run out of mercy? Go to Him. Go to that throne of grace, obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

Have a wonderful day IN the Lord!
Dr. Paul A. Kingsbury

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I know every parent thinks that their baby is the smartest baby on the planet. I’m no exception I really think Bobby is exceptionally smart. As I have meditated on it lately I have noticed a great deal that we can learn from a smart baby like bobby that we can apply to our Christian lives. How you ask? Well the Bible compares developing Christians to babies, and children, and God as our father. By looking at what makes a smart baby cry out to his parents we too can be smart babies. The following our some reasons that Bobby cries out to his daddy.

1. He’s Hungry
Bobby has a tremendous appetite for food, and when he hungry he has a habit of crying out for food. 1 Peter 2:2 tells us, As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby. The word of God is a key element for us to grow up in God be strong Christians. If you do not have a daily hunger for the word then be a smart baby and cry to God for him to make you hungry, and to show you things from the Bible that “feed” you.

Babies that are not hungry are said to have a failure to thrive, and yet I think many Christians have this failure, and that is why we are so fleshly. The word of God is:

• A bath that cleans us up (Eph. 5:25-33 John 17:19)
• A mirror that show us to ourselves (James 1:22-25)
• A fire that melts our hardened heart (Jeremiah 23:29)
• A surgical knife that divides our soul and spirit (Hebrews 4:12)

Don’t be a stupid baby fulfill your hunger with the Word of God.

2. He’s Hurt
Another things that makes Bobby cry for his parents is when he hurts himself. Just about 100 times a day Bobby goes somewhere he should not, or climbs on something he shouldn’t , and hurts himself. He has no problem letting us know he’s hurt.

Unfortunately the American Christians have been trained to be stupid babies and so we don’t cry out when were hurt. From John Wayne telling us to be a tough cowboy to preachers telling us just to forget our past we have Christians everywhere with open festering emotional wounds denying that anything is wrong. God didn’t just come to take you to heaven he came that you might have an abundant life there is nothing particularly abundant about Christians who are wounded, mean, and addicted to prescription drugs.

Jesus Christ is The Light and The Balm as the Light he reveals the pain as the Balm he heals but as long as we cover our wounds with the superficial bandaid of forgetting or ignoring he can’t reveal, and he can’t heal. We must cry out and ask his help to heal. Below is a multistep process for involving Jesus in your emotional healing process.

The first step is to ACKNOWLEDGE the need for healing. For us to receive the healing of emotional wounds, we must first acknowledge that we are hurting (Matthew 9:10-13, Revelation 3:17). Many of us have lied to ourselves as well as to others. We have said, “I’m really O.K.” or “It really doesn’t matter that much.”

The second step is to LOCATE the cause of the pain. In the physical realm, we may have a pain in our legs, but the cause may be a pinched nerve in the spine. To operate on the legs would be the wrong procedure. A youth may have severe problems getting along with his peers at school, when the real source of the pain is from an abusive stepparent at home. A wife may feel enormous pain every time her husband disciplines one of the children. However, the pain she feels may originate from her own emotional wounds as a child.

We may unconsciously associate one hurt with another. Furthermore, time itself, does not heal hurts. Only God does! Therefore, with each new conflict, we pick up additional baggage. It is therefore important that we locate and separate each painful experience. This is the work of the Holy Spirit (Psalm 139:23-24).

The third step is to CLEANSE the wound. If you received a deep wound in your hand and you left the wound open, it would sooner or later get contaminated and infected. The same is true in the emotional area. Emotional hurts are an open wound for unforgiveness, anger, bitterness, depression, and anxiety to enter. The Bible implies that we may “give place to the devil” when we are angry longer than one day (Ephesians 4:26-31). Therefore, these critters may be more than just harmful emotions, they may also be evil spirits (Matthew 18:34).

For cleansing to occur, (1) we must forgive those who have offended us, (2) ask God for to forgive and cleanse us (I John 1:9) for our unforgiveness, (3) yield that area unto the Lord, (4) request that God restore our soul (Psalm 23:3) in the area yielded to the enemy, and (5) use the name of Jesus to drive out the enemy.

The fourth step is to Accept HEALING of the hurt. God gives us two distinct pictures of healing in Scripture. One picture is that of God calling off the enemy (Deuteronomy. 7:15). This picture relates to the cleansing of the wound. The other picture is one of mending the net (Exodus 15:26).

After the physician cleanses the victim’s wound, he sews it up so that it will not become contaminated again. Forgiveness opens the door to freedom, but forgiveness is not healing. Without our receiving healing, the wound again becomes contaminated. However, when God mends the wound, He also heals the wound.

We may receive healing by (1) understanding that Jesus suffered all kinds of emotional hurts (Isaiah 53:3) and that he became a hurt substitute (Isaiah 53:4) for us , and (2) believing that Jesus was sent to heal the broken hearted (Luke 4:18), and (3) asking in faith for that healing. When God heals the wound, we may recall the experience without being flooded by the pain.

The fifth step is to STRENGTHEN the weak area. Again, in the physical, the area around the wound may remain weak even after the healing occurs. This is also true of emotional wounds. The enemy will try to get us to focus our thoughts (II Corinthians 10:4-5) on the event that brought the hurt. If this occurs, we may mentally pick at the area until we have opened a new wound.

Therefore, it is critical that we strengthen that area by applying the Word of God. (1) We need to see that God had a purpose in allowing us to be wounded (Genesis. 50:20). (2) We need to see that God can work all things together for our good (Romans 8:28). (3) We need to come to rejoice in the Lord over the experience (Philippians. 4:4). (4) We need to develop and share our testimony with others (Revelation 12:11).

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