All posts by : Joel Phillips

Breakthroughs…Miracles…Victories…Answered Prayers! It’s exciting to see God at work!

Think about Israel. They had come through the wilderness. The Jordan River parted before them as they crossed over it. Then they conquered the walled city of Jericho by simply walking around it. They were God’s people coming into the land that he had given them. Nothing could stop them.

…Until Ai

3,000 confident men went up to conquer the city of Ai, but were soundly defeated. Instead of a swagger in their walk, Israel retreated like cowards. They were paralyzed with fear. Although the focus of blame was on a man named Achan, there was another even more serious reason they had lost.

Before going into Jericho, we are told that Joshua fell on his face and worshiped God, and then said,

What does my Lord say to His servant? (Joshua 5:14)

But there is no record of him doing anything like this before going on to the city of Ai.

Somewhere over the Andes Mountains

A pioneer Foursquare Missionary to South America named Jean Firth, used to tell a story about a flight that her and her husband were once on. They were flying over the Andes Mountains in old rattletrap of an airplane. What made matters worse was there was horrible turbulence. The old plane was being shaken to pieces.

Frightened to her core, Jean prayed, “Lord, I wish you would stop this turbulence the way you spoke calm to the storm on Galilee.” The Lord gently replied to her heart, “You speak to it.” So she did. “In the name of Jesus I command this turbulence to stop!” Immediately it was calm.

She and the rest of the passengers were enjoying the smooth air, but then the turbulence started again. Jean knew what to do.  “In the name of Jesus I command this turbulence to stop,” she said confidently. The turbulence continued.  She prayed again, only louder, “In the name of Jesus I command this turbulence to stop!” The turbulence got worse.

Jean said, “Lord, earlier I spoke to the turbulence and it stopped. But now it’s not working.  What’s wrong?”  The Lord, again in a gentle way, replied to her,

“It’s because you didn’t ask me this time what you should do about it.”

Past victories don’t guarantee success

Although we may see God do incredible things in us, through us, and around us, one thing that will never change is our need to constantly seek His face and rely on His spirit. Moves of God’s Spirit last year, last month, last night, are not enough to keep us strong and refreshed spiritually for this moment. No matter how much experience we have, or how much we think we know what do, we must constantly stay connected to God, asking, “What do you want me to do NOW Lord?”

This week I’ve been thinking a lot about a man named Ron Mehl, and how thankful I am for him.  Some of you may recognize Ron’s name.  I’ve talked about him quite a bit.  He had a pretty big impact on my life. He was the pastor of the Beaverton Foursquare Church, in Beaverton, Oregon. He was also a very successful author.

I’m not the kind of person who people seek out because of my impressive talent or extraordinary potential. I’m just an average Joe. No complaints. But in a world where the race often seems to be won by the swift, talented and good looking people, an average person starts to wonder if anyone notices them, let alone notices what they’re doing.

Not Ron Mehl

One day I received a hand written note from Ron,

Nov. 5, 1993

Dear Joel,

I know you are very busy, but I hope this note find you doing well!

Last week the Lord brought you to my mind and I wanted you know that I’ve been praying for you.  God loves you very much and has great things in store for you.

If you’re ever in the Portland area, it would mean so much to me if we could get together.

You’re loved by me,

Ron Mehl

I later found out that not only had Ron been praying for me, but he had my name written on a card that he kept on his desk.  He used that card to remind him to pray for me every day.  Needless to say I was, and remain, incredibly humbled by this.  But the other thing I felt, and still do, is confidence.  I mean if someone like Ron Mehl sees something in you that would cause him to pray for you and speak into your life, you must be more than just an average Joe.  You begin to think that maybe those things you’ve felt deep down inside were from God. I’ve come back to this assurance time and time again, all because God moved a man named Ron Mehl to pray for me.

God had the Prophet Isaiah tell His people…

I’ve posted watchmen on your walls, Jerusalem. Day and night they keep at it, praying, calling out, reminding God to remember. (Is 62:6-7, The Message)

I believe those watchmen still exist.  They are people who the Lord brings your face to their mind. There are people who the Lord wakes in the middle of the night with your name on their hearts. People who will send you a note, or give you call, or catch you in person, just to let you know they are praying for you.

We should be so thankful for people like this, but it’s time for you and me to be that person to someone else. To allow God to move us to pray for someone. To write their name down somewhere where we can see it often.

Somewhere there’s an average Joe who doubts they’ve got what it takes. One word from you can make all the difference. And who know’s, maybe one day they’ll write a blog about the impact you had on their life.

Nervous doesn’t even come close

They were scared to death, grieved and disheartened. Amram and Jochebed put their little baby in a basket, pushed it out into the current of the huge river, and then stood watching as it drifted away. It was such a desperate situation, but God was at work.

Downstream the river began to eddy, sending the little basket into the same place that Pharaoh’s daughter happened to be bathing. The basket and it’s tiny passenger where discovered and brought to her. It was love at first sight.

But Pharaoh’s daughter wasn’t too baby savvy. She wrinkled her nose when she heard it crying.  Her assistant made a suggestion that they get one of the Hebrew slaves to nurse and care for the child. The idea was quickly approved and implemented. A few moments later baby Moses was placed back in the arms of his mom, Jochebed.

Don’t forget this story!

When you’re looking at your life and things don’t seem to be turning out the way you wanted or hope for, remember story of Moses and his parents. When it seems like the only break you get is a bad one, remember this story. When it seems like all forces are turned against you, remember this story. When that nagging little voice tells you that God’s purposes for you aren’t going to happen because of all the mistakes you’ve made, remember this story!

I’ll bet Isaiah remembered the story of Moses when he wrote,

For the Lord of hosts has planned, and who will annul it? His hand is stretched out, and who will turn it back? (Isaiah 14:27)

There is nothing and no one, including you, that is powerful enough to stop, void, cancel, or change the plans of God. His plans for you are made, and he will see to it that they will happen. His hand is on your life, and his destiny for your life will not be thrown off track.

You may not always see it

You make look at certain situations in your life and think there’s no possible way something good could ever happen, but God has ways you’ve never even thought of.  In fact, he’s working right this moment in unseen ways that will affect your life and bless it greatly.

It’s not about where you are, but where you are going. The enemy doesn’t wage battles over your current position, but over your potential. God knew about the times you would be rebellious, or fearful, or faithless, but you are still precious to him, and his plans for you work in and through everything.

David must have doubted

How could God make anything good out of the mess that surrounded David? But David discovered something…

In the day when I cried out, You answered me, and made me bold with strength in my soul…the Lord will perfect and work out his plans and purposes for my life.
(Psalms 138:3, 8)

Make yourself available to God. Give over and he’ll take over. Keep God first and honor him. Let his spirit arise in you and you’ll find strength replacing weakness, and boldness replacing fear. And soon you’ll see things taking shape around you in thousands of ways you never even thought of, but God did.

Having a relationship with Jesus Christ is life changing! 

Realizing there is a God who loves you greatly, coming into freedom from the guilt and condemnation of your past, gaining the ability to love others, and having the realization that your life has purpose. Jesus is the source of these, and many other amazing things!

It is so remarkable what Jesus does to people who follow him that it’s actually noticeable to others. Jesus tells us…

You are the light of the world. A city that is 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.  Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven. (Matthew 5:14–16)

Spotlight or candlelight

Letting our light shine before men is easy when we first come into life with Jesus, but something happens over time that causes our light to shine differently. The process looks something like this…

1) Become a follower of Christ
2) Become part of church life
3) Become part of the Christian culture
4) Become Jonah

Becoming like Jonah???

After being a part of the Christian culture for a few years, like Jonah we begin to develop a distain for those outside. Like Jonah, we view adversarially people who don’t believe in God the way we do. We want nothing to do with them, and love to blame them for the moral decline of our culture. We even have a secret delight thinking about how God will one day punish all those sinners.

When God saw that the people had repented, he changed his mind and did not destroy them. This change of plans greatly upset Jonah, and he became very angry…The LORD God arranged for a leafy plant to grow and spread its leaves over Jonah’s head, shading him from the sun. This eased his discomfort, and Jonah was very grateful for the plant. But God arranged for a worm that ate through the stem of the plant so that it withered away. And the sun beat down on his head until he grew faint and wished to die. “Death is certainly better than living like this!” he exclaimed. Then God said to Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry because the plant died?” “Yes,” Jonah retorted, “even angry enough to die!” Then the LORD said, “You feel sorry about the plant, though you did nothing to put it there. It came quickly and died quickly. But Nineveh has more than 120,000 people living in spiritual darkness, not to mention all the animals. Shouldn’t I feel sorry for such a great city?” Jonah 3:10–4:1, 6-11

The people of Nineveh turned to God

They cried out to God, but Jonah complained about not having shade over his head and being uncomfortable. We are like Jonah when we complain about how God is not providing what we want, and grow numb to the fact that people all around us are in desperate need of the love and grace of Jesus.

We need to have the Holy Spirit melt away those hardened edges around our lives, and re-sensitize us to others and how great God’s love for them is.  We need to have our lives shine as lights that attract and help, rather than blind people, spotlighting their failures.  Less like Jonah, more like Jesus.

A common feature of social media apps is called “profile.” It’s a headline where you put something you want others to know about you. It’s worded in way that casts you into the most positive light.

No one would let another person define his or her profile, but this actually happens all the time. What people think and say about you defines not only their opinion of who you are, but also you how you define yourself.

“You have a weird-shaped face.”
“Get a clue! Why are you so dumb?”
“You’re such a blow it.”

The past wants to define the future

Things that have happened in our past can have powerful effect of how we see ourselves, and what we expect to happen.  The enemy capitalizes on the negative things that have happened and that have been spoken over us.

Just like the news media is genius at presenting things with maximum shock value in order to grab people’s attention, so is the enemy. He’s always suggesting bold, negative headlines to summarize your day…your week… your life.

So let me ask you a question: Why would you let the devil have the job of writing the profile of your life? Why would you let a pessimistic mindset distort the truth and steal your joy?

Faith’s new profile

You can’t always control what happens in your life, but you can choose how it defines you! So let’s write some new profiles over our lives today!

“I’m blessed!”
“I’m highly favored by God!”
“I’m going to make it!”
“I’m still learning!”
“I’m still growing!”
“All things are working for my good!”

Any event can become an experience of grace and victory when faith writes your profile!

Teddy Stallard was a student in Miss Thompson’s 5th grade class. Even though Miss Thompson was a Christian and tried to show love to all her students, with Teddy is was difficult.  He seemed disinterested in school and always answered in monosyllables.  He was unmotivated and distant, and just plain hard to like.  Whenever she marked Teddy’s papers, she got a certain pleasure out of putting X’s next to the wrong answers.  And when she put the F’s at the top of the papers, she always did it with flair.

His cumulative file

Then one afternoon she took a moment and read through Teddy’s records:

• 1st Grade: Teddy shows promise with his work and attitude, but poor home situation.
• 2nd Grade: Teddy could do better. Mother is seriously ill. He receives little help at home.
• 3rd Grade: Teddy is a good boy but too serious. He is a slow learner. Unfortunately his mother died this year.
• 4th Grade: Teddy is very slow, but well-behaved. His father shows no interest.

For Christmas that year the students in Miss Thompson’s class brought her Christmas presents. Teddy’s gift was wrapped in brown paper, and written on it were the simple words, “For Miss Thompson from Teddy.”  When she opened Teddy’s present, out fell a gaudy rhinestone bracelet, with half the stones missing, and a bottle of cheap perfume.

The other boys and girls began to giggle and smirk over Teddy’s gifts, but Miss Thompson silenced them by putting on the bracelet and putting some of the perfume on her wrist.  Holding her wrist up for the other children to smell, she said, “Doesn’t it smell lovely?” The children, taking their cue from their teacher, began to agree with “oo’s” and “ah’s.”

At the end of the day

When school was over and the other children had left, Teddy came over to her desk and said softly,

Miss Thompson, you smell just like my mother, and her bracelet looks real pretty on you, too. I’m glad you liked my presents.

When Teddy left, Miss Thompson hung her head and asked God to forgive her. From that moment Miss Thompson became a different person. She was now a person committed to loving her children and doing things for them that would live on after they left her class. She helped all the children, but especially Teddy Stallard.

By the end of that school year, Teddy showed dramatic improvement.  He had caught up with most of the students and was even ahead of some.

She didn’t hear from Teddy for a long time.  Then one day she received a note,

Dear Miss Thompson,
I wanted you to be the first to know.  I will be graduating from high school this week, and I’m second in my class.
Love, Teddy Stallard

Four years later, another note came:

Dear Miss Thompson,
This just told me I will be graduating first in my class.  I wanted you to be the first to know. The university has not been easy, but I liked it.
Love, Teddy Stallard

And four years later:

Dear Miss Thompson,
As of today, I am Theodore Stallard, M.D.  How about that?  I wanted you to be the first to know.  I am getting married next month, the 27th to be exact.  I want you to come and sit where my mother would sit if she were alive.  You are the only family I have now; Dad died last year.
Love, Teddy Stallard

The wedding

Miss Thompson went to that wedding and sat where Teddy’s mother would have sat.  He wanted her to sit there; she had done something for him that he would never forget. And a boy named Teddy did something for a 5th grade teacher named Miss Thompson that she would never forget.

It was a rough moment

I stood holding my 2-year-old son and my 1-year-old daughter. They were crying. My mom was standing in front of me with a smile on her face, shaking her head. Just then, one of them barfed all over me. My mom laughed and said,

Payback’s a mutha, Joel

She wasn’t being mean; she was referring to the fact that I was now experiencing the reality of parenting. When I was younger I thought I knew more about parenting, along with everything else in life, than my parents did. I didn’t.

When you’re inexperienced, there’s a tendency to think you know more than you do. You think you can handle the associated duties and responsibilities, and even do a better job than those who have preceded you. You won’t, at least not at first.

The learning curve

Anything meaningful has time, understanding, discovery, and learning associated with it. Zeal to do something must be combined with the cost of gaining the knowledge of how to do it. This applies to things as simple as having a pet, to things as precious as parenting, but also to the calling and purposes God has for your life.

God told Elijah to choose Elisha as the prophet who would follow him. When Elijah saw Elisha he put his mantle on him. The mantle was a symbol of the prophet’s calling and authority. However, we know that Elijah did not leave his mantle on the fledgling prophet because we read later that as Elijah was still wearing his mantle as he was being taken up to heaven.

What ensued between Elisha’s first encounter with Elijah and his last, was experience. He watched and learned as Elijah dealt with the likes of Jezebel and Ahab, and other situations. He gained understanding. He gained wisdom. He found out who God was, and who he wasn’t.

Experiencing attack and victory

Being at the beginning of God’s calling and purposes for your life is exciting, but it can be overwhelming. You can sense God is setting you a part to do something, while wondering how it could ever happen. Then somewhere in the process of moving forward, there enters anxiety that’s compounded by an accusatory voice saying,

Payback’s a mutha!

Only this voice is not from a mother in jest, it’s from the Enemy of your soul, trying to get you to stop, give up, and quit. He reminds you of why you’re not qualified, and of all the things you’ve done that disqualify you. But there is another voice encouraging you to keep going. It’s the voice of God telling you that you have what it takes, and you’re going to do phenomenal things.

While there are always areas we can gain more experience in, the amazing thing about God is that He has set us up for success and victory. He prepares us for what’s ahead. He corrects in us what’s wrong. And then He keeps us moving forward for the greatest payback of all time: “Well done, good and faithful servant!”

Maybe it’s happened to you

I was talking with a young person a few weeks ago. They introduced an older couple to me. I then made the classic foot-in-the-mouth mistake of asking, “Are these your grandparents?” To which the person responded, “No (you idiot!), these are my parents.” Haven’t seen them since.

As awkward as this was, it made me wonder if this ever happened to Isaac in the Old Testament. Think about it, Isaac is with his buddies playing soccer when old Abe walks up (100 years older than Isaac). One of his buddies asks, “Hey Isaac, is this your great grandpa?” “No (you shmuck!), this is my dad!”

It’s hard to imagine how Abraham must have felt to find out from God that he was to have a son so late in life. And not just any son, but a son who would begin the lineage of a great nation from whom Jesus Christ would eventually come. God promised that Abraham and Sarah would have children, even though they both were well beyond childbearing years.

Responding to the promise

We know that Sarah laughed when she heard the news (Gen. 18:12). But Abraham had a very different response…

Abraham did not waver in unbelief at God’s promise, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, because he was fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform. (Romans 4:20-21)

Abraham had the perfect opportunity to doubt God. At 99 years of age and having been waiting for the promise of a son, it would’ve been natural for him to get discouraged and say, “God has forgotten me! He failed to keep His promise! He has strung me along for all these years and I’m done trusting Him!”

That’s probably how you or I would have acted, but not Abraham. Romans 4:21 says that Abraham was…

…fully convinced that what God had promised He was also able to perform.

The words “fully convinced” in the Greek were actually used to describe a ship coming into harbor under full sail. This would be a ship with no engines to control or slow it, but coming in confident and fast. Not fearing rocks, or weather, or other obstacles. It’s a picture of a vessel bravely going where it was intended to go.

Bold adventures of faith

Abraham was so convinced of God’s ability to keep His promises that to him it was as sure as an absolute fact. Even though things in the natural were contrary to what was being hoped for, Abraham was strengthened in faith to believe for the impossible.

I just talked to a man yesterday who has been going through 15 years of storms and high seas. Some were no fault of his, while others were brought on by his own bad choices. As a young man he had several prophecies spoken over him about the Lord having great plans for his life. However, as the years went on he tried to run. But after 15 years of struggles, God has restored this man’s faith, and given him a “fully convinced” faith in what was promised. This man fully believes that the Lord is going to do all that He’s promised in spite of the delays. This is his favorite verse…

I am sure of this, that He who started a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. (Philippians 1:6)

No matter where you’re at in life, and no matter what you may or may not be fully convinced of, God’s promises are sure! Be fully convinced of what God has promised and watch it play out in your live. Even if your response at times may have been like Sarah—laughing at the promises of God, it’s never to late to respond like Abraham—standing undeterred on the promises of God, and coming into the harbor under full sail!

“Deer!!!”

My friend yelled as he suddenly hit the brakes on the truck. “Where?” I asked, looking out the window. “There!” he pointed, then added, “Whoa! They’re big!  And there’s a buck! Amazing!!!”

I was looking, but saw nothing. “Where do you see them?” I asked, getting a little frustrated. “They’re right over there” he said with an impatient sigh (making me feel like a wildlife novice). Finally he got a little more specific as to the location, then I saw the deer. Sure enough there were four does and one big buck standing there looking at us.

Can’t See What’s Seen?

Ever experienced the frustration of not seeing something that somebody else does? Or, the equal frustration of you being able to see something that others can’t?  Either side of the equation is annoying.  The Apostle Paul experienced this.

The Holy Spirit was showing Paul unbelievable things.  He was shown how amazing God’s grace and justification were. He saw how God was had included the Gentiles in His great plans and purposes.  But when he told people about what he was seeing, they didn’t get it.  So he would say things like…

I pray that your eyes are focused and clear, so that you can see exactly what it is he is calling you to do, grasp the immensity of this glorious way of life he has for his followers. (Ephesians 1:18, The Message)

It’s like God was yelling through Paul, “Whoa! Can’t you see this???!!!”  But unlike my friend, God doesn’t impatiently point in the general direction wondering why we’re such novices. By His Spirit inside of us, He pulls our heads in the right direction so our spiritual eyes can focus on what’s important. He then says, “Look right over there. How amazing is that???!!!”

Saw Thousands of Miles, but Can’t See Five Miles

About 350 years ago a shipload of pilgrims landed on the northeast coast of America. The first year they established a town site. The next year they elected a town government. The third year the town government planned to build a road five miles westward into the wilderness. In the fourth year the people tried to impeach their town government because they thought it was a waste of public funds to build a road five miles westward, thereby expanding the city. They exclaimed…

Who needs to go there anyway?

Here were people who had the vision to see three thousand miles across an ocean, and overcome great hardships to get there. But in just a few years they were not able to see even five miles out of town. They had lost their pioneering vision.

Where there is no vision or prophetic insight, the people lose focus and purpose. (Proverbs 29:18, JHP)

With no spiritual insight of what we can do and/or become in Christ, even the smallest obstacle poses a serious threat to our growth and success. But with eyes of faith that are focused with prophetic insight and vision, and see beyond circumstances, no ocean of difficulty is too great!

One afternoon, my dad and I were talking about the doctrine of grace. He said something I’ll never forget,

People are born legalists

He went on to explain that it’s human nature to compare ourselves with others. We look for things that disqualify others, choking them off from God’s grace…and ours!

What chokes the flow of giving generously?

The answer is grudges. Not huge ones, but little ones that subtly hinder our generosity. Grudges where we view others as less deserving. Or grudges towards those who have more than we think they need or deserve. Either way, we like to compare ourselves with others, and then withhold our generosity from them.

In his sermon, “The Terms of Prayer,” Jonathan Edwards gave three reasons why we withhold blessings from others: envy, contempt, and resentment.

Envy

Envy is withholding blessings from others in order to preserve my own standing. We like to be distinguished. We like to be superior to others. We want to stand out. We we want to be happier than others, so we begrudge others, lest they match or exceed us. Or we twist our envy in the other direction because we perceive others have more happiness than us. So what need is there for us to share? Either way, envy chokes off generosity.

Contempt

Contempt is more personal. It’s a withholding of blessings from others because we see them as unworthy. We see things wrong in their lives makes them underserving. This subtle contempt of looking down on others chokes off generosity.

Resentment

Resentment causes us to withhold blessings from others because they have wronged us. Once we have been wronged, we may not look for opportunities to return wrongs, but we often stop looking for opportunities to bless. Thus resentment is effective at choking off generosity.

God is not envious of us. He has no contempt towards us. And He holds no resentment towards us. Though we are totally unworthy and disqualified, God’s generosity to us is never choked off. And that’s the message of the gospel, to show us the generous riches of God’s infinite and boundless grace.

He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? (Romans 8:32)

God withholds nothing from us, shouldn’t we be as generous?

Generosity is more than tithing, and more than just giving money. Tithing isn’t necessarily a sign of grace. It can be very legalistic. A stingy person can give ten percent. Ten percent is good, but that’s not the point. The point is to be generous.

The issue is giving generously. One of the effects of the gospel going deeper into our souls is that it frees our fingers to loosen their grasp on our stuff. Generosity is one of the great evidences of being a Christian.

We may be born stingy legalists, but when the gift of God’s grace opens our souls—and with it our hands, and we become generous givers!