What Are You Worried About?

What are you worried about? Do you worry about money? Do you worry about the safety of your children? Do you worry about the economy?

Worry is putting your faith in the wrong thing. - Joel Osteen

Worry is a manifestation of pride...because what you are saying is “If I think about this long enough, I can solve this problem.”  - Joyce Meyer

WORRYING does not take away tomorrow's TROUBLES; it takes away today's PEACE.

Cast all your cares upon the Lord.

- Worry is a conscious decision not to trust God.

- Worry is the opposite of faith.

- Worry is prayer in reverse. 

Jesus said, “Don’t worry about anything.” Jesus said to look at the birds of the air and the flowers in the field. If God cares for the birds and the flowers, how much more will he care for you?

Don’t look at what you have lost, begin to anticipate what you are going to gain.

The thing about pity parties is that no one else wants to come.

If you are going through hell, don’t stop.

Stop looking in the rear view mirror. Don’t look back. Keep your eyes forward.

Work, don’t worry, since worry don’t work.

Worry gives a small thing a big shadow.

When the tide comes against you,

and overturns your boat.

Don’t let it worry you,

Just lay on your back and float.

The Magic is in the Story

Have you ever seen a bad magician? Recently I sat through a magic show that was absolutely horrendous. The magician stumbled from trick to trick, performing over thirty magic tricks in a twenty-five minute show. None of the tricks were bad in and of themselves, but put together in his show, they failed to entertain.

He made a mistake that is common among amateur magicians. Instead of focusing on being an entertainer, he concentrated on the mechanics of the trick.

Many preachers make a similar mistake. They get so caught up in the mechanics of theology that they forget to make the message captivating. They say things like:

- In the original Greek, this word means…

- Let me give you a list of twenty verses that prove this point…

My thesis is that every good message must be centered around a story. The magic is not in the content, the magic is in how you relate the content to real life.

When people discover truth in a story they do not argue with it because it is their discovery. 

Thoughts about Persecution

A missionary once said, “There are no closed doors, as long as you don’t care whether you come back.” A Mexican gang member pointed a gun at me and told me to never come back to his neighborhood. Rocks have been thrown at me while I preached. In Iquitos, Peru riots raged as I preached in the central plaza of the city. In Pakistan, everyone who came to our crusade had to go through a metal detector and the police posted sharp shooters on the rooftops. On the final night of one of our festivals in Pakistan a car full of angry Muslims chased us and fired a gun in our direction. In Goma, Congo the sound truck was shot at and the local military commander sent soldiers with machine guns and surface-to-air missiles to protect us. In Juba, Sudan I was nearly mauled by a crowd as we passed out coupons for free food. My mother and father work in *************  and they lived through a major gun battle between some members of a Terrorist group and local police that took place three houses away from their house. I have not suffered as much persecution as Paul and the early church, but the potential has been there as I have traveled around the world. I don’t want to die for Christ, but I am willing to. If I ever face a situation where my life would be required, I would hope that God would give me strength to endure.

* In the Parable of the Sower, Jesus says that some will fall away after suffering persecution. “When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away” (Matthew 13:22).

* Jesus promises that persecution will come to those who choose to leave family in order to serve him. They “will not fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age: homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields—along with persecutions—and in the age to come eternal life” (Mark 10:30).

* In Acts 1:8, Jesus tells the disciples to be witnesses in Jerusalem, Judah, Samaria, and to the uttermost ends of the earth. However, the early Christians stayed in Jerusalem for the first seven chapters of Acts. Not until Acts 8:1, when persecution breaks out, do the Christians start to scatter and preach the good news elsewhere. “On that day a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria” (Acts 8:1).

* The result of the scattering of the Christians because of persecution was a spread of God’s word. “Now those who had been scattered by the persecution that broke out when Stephen was killed traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch, spreading the word only among Jews” (Acts 11:19).

* Paul says that no form of hardship or persecution can separate the believer from the love of Christ. “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?” (Romans 8:35).

* Paul actually delighted in persecution. “That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Cor 12:10).

* Paul was encouraged by the faith of other believers in the midst of his persecutions. “Therefore, brothers and sisters, in all our distress and persecution we were encouraged about you because of your faith” (1 Thess 3:7).

* Paul boasted about the persecutions that believers faced. “Therefore, among God’s churches we boast about your perseverance and faith in all the persecutions and trials you are enduring” (2 Thess. 1:4).

* Those who suffer persecution for God’s sake will receive a crown in heaven. John wrote, “Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you life as your victor’s crown” (Rev. 2:10).

Persecution is always a risk for the believer. The god of this world will always hate Christians and stir up those who want to harm them. But, despite this persecution, God will sustain the believer. Ultimately, those who endure persecution and even martyrdom will be rewarded in heaven for their faithfulness.

7 Things a Traveling minister can do to enhance his relationship with a church.

1. Become an expert in some subject. Don’t be a jack-of-all-trades, master of none.

2. Be clear about your mission and vision. The clearer you are, the more you offer. You will fit some churches, and not others. Do not try to please everybody. Your uniqueness will open doors and close doors for you.

3. Seek relationships, not just preaching opportunities.

4. Live a life above reproach.

5. Give value and you will receive value.

6. Respect the authority in the house. If you are given 30 minutes, don’t take 45. If you are asked to take up the offering a certain way, obey.

7. Be a sower. Go to a church to give, not to take.

7 Excuses Pastors Give for Not Inviting Guest Speakers

1. We don’t have the money. Inviting a guest speaker is not an expense, it is an investment. It should enhance your church, not subtract from your church.

2. We don’t have the time. The typical church meets two or three times each week. Every year, every church has 104-156 opportunities to invite a guest speaker, not including special events or conferences. It is true that churches receive an infinite supply of packets and calls from traveling ministers wanting to visit. No church can accommodate everyone, but you can choose someone to come. 

3. People don’t come to church when they know someone beside the pastor is speaking. This is a failure in promotion and advertising. The right guest speaker, promoted in the right way, should attract more people, not less. Use the visit of a guest minister as an excuse to call everyone who has not come to church for several weeks or months.

4. We had a guest speaker one time and he messed up our church. This is a risk, but one which can be minimized. The people in your church are amazingly resilient. If you have been preaching the real, they will immediately spot the counterfeit and reject it.   

5. I have to protect my flock.

6. I don’t know you. I don’t bring in anyone I don’t know. Get to know the guest speaker. Ask for some sample CDs. Visit their website. Ask for recommendations.

7. We want you to come, but right now, we don’t have a date. Pick up a calendar. On it you, will see 356 dates. Pick one. Even if it is next year or the year after.

8. I’ll pray about it. This is the Christian way of saying, “No way, Jose.” If you promise to pray, you had better do it.

Are you feeling discouraged?

5 things to do when you feel discouraged:

1. Encourage Yourself in the Lord

“Now David was greatly distressed, for the people spoke of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and his daughters. But David strengthened himself in the Lord his God” (1 Samuel 30:6).

2. Be thankful

Make a list of all the things you are thankful for.

3. Exercise

4. Review Your Goals

5. Call a friend