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The Real Go Getter

I read not too long ago the book The Go Getter by Peter B. Kyne. It is a very good productivity and leadership read for business people.

But, this book and its teachings should not be applied to discipleship or to living the Christian life or ministry.

Motivational business speakers have said:

“There are three types of people in the world:

  1. those that make things happen (the go-getter)
  2. those that watch things happen (masses of followers stuck in the rat race)
  3. those who wonder ‘what’s happening’, (those confused enough to follow around the go getter and feel confused about why they too aren’t the go-getter)”

Never think this list is for the Christian or to Christian ministry. The extent that it is applied is the extent that it has ceases to be a work of God. We just cannot serve God or live out an inspired life for Christ.

Regarding the ministry and the gospel it is a mistake to strive to be one who aggressively makes things happen. I am convinced it is the mistake of a lifetime for those who love and want to serve God.

Jesus Christ himself did not live like this, neither should we. Jesus lived in the opposite of this so should we!

Jesus Christ is The Go Getter…the real one.

The way of life for the Christian is almost in exact reverse order of the businessman list. I attempt to write this list in the same format below:

  1. He wonders what is Jesus doing and only what Jesus is doing. (He is not easily distracted by tradition or by self-help or by vain repetition, falsely called ministry.)
  2. She watches to see and to hear what Jesus is doing around her. She grows to gradually see the difference between man’s religious works and the real thing.
  3. He only does and cooperates and flows with what Jesus is doing, no other work impresses him or sways him. He is not a go getter, he only does, says what he sees the real go-getter of the ages do or say.

Notice the reverse order of the businessman list: (doer, watcher, wonderer) vs. (wonderer, watcher, doer).

It is our job to be diligently obsessed with wondering and watching then doing what he is doing.

If you want be aggressive and hardworking and zealous for Jesus, then live by this second list,…not the first.

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The Real Followers of Christ

Followers Not Groupies

Most of the followers of Jesus mentioned in scripture followed not because of promises of victory. Not because of promises of overcoming circumstances, and not because of promises of health and wealth. There was something else that created real followers of Jesus Christ.

Those crowds of groupies had left him long before they had to make a commitment to follow. Those groupies are not useful to build his body on earth. Once they experienced or heard something hard they stopped following him, they took their blessing and went home. Jesus needs disciples, not groupies, to build his house on earth, he needs those who will respond to the command “follow me”. He needs those empty vessels cleaned out by death and repentance through the ministry of John the Baptist.

The disciples of Christ followed after Jesus because they got a glimpse of him, not of his goodie bag. These real followers of Jesus were not scared away by trouble. The trouble that Jesus sometimes pulled out of his bag was not a major issue in comparison to the magnitude of him.

They saw Jesus Christ in a spiritual way, they saw God in him. They beheld the extreme brightness of his glory, the glory of God himself. They later got to see him again, alive in themselves and in other people after he became a life-giving spirit. They realized he is the new creation they were hoping for, they knew he himself is the resurrection they look forward to. That alone secured their devotion and commitment and love forever. In good and bad, in sickness and health, in persecution and comfort whether confused by him or understanding everything.

IF we can see him

Today it seems most ministries assume the crowds are self-centered and just wanting ease and blessings. Relying on that is the foundation of what it is they build. They offer a lifetime of self-help tips in the form of ‘sermons’. But I think this generation is really no different from past generations. We like every just need to see him as he really is, the future. It is in our DNA to respond to him IF (and that is a massive life-changing IF) we see him as he really is. The death of sinful humanity in Adam and the new creation spreading over the earth and the cosmos.

If we can get a glimpse of the magnitude of the immensity of Jesus Christ and the future that he has. The eternal; and infinitely growing universe that is his kingdom. If we can get that glimpse of him and if others could just get that beautiful view of him within us. Then the generations would not abandon him anymore, they would flock. They would run to him in tears, regardless of the trouble following him brought to them. They would not be self-centered by default anymore, seeing no alternative. They would become real followers of Jesus Christ after seeing his glory.

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kissing Jesus while betraying him
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The Ministry of Judas, Part 2

In Part I of this 2-part blog series we compared and contrasted the ministries of the John the Baptist to Judas Iscariot. We highlighted the importance of death to our lives vs. serving God out of personal giftedness and talent. In this second part we will apply the same principles to people serving God today.

Using My ‘Talent’ to Build For God – (whether he likes it or not)

To build a church on Christian’s natural “talents” (which many church leaders do today) I believe hinders Jesus from building. Men building for God from their own resources is an entirely different thing from surrendered and empty men allowing God to build. Allowing God to daily rule them and work through them. Many today I fear are doing their own thing, with human power and ingenuity.

And to add insult to the Lord we kiss him like Judas did. With fake affection we say “look what the Lord is doing!” as we proudly do our own thing with our own talents.

Jesus set the example of how to minister and explained it in detail but it appears that Judas ignored it.

Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my initiative, but the father abiding in me does the works. – John 14:10

Another time Jesus taught that “he only does what he sees the Father doing” …and absolutely nothing else. Jesus was empty of self and was completely consumed with the will of his father.

Another time Jesus said to the Father in prayer, “not my will but your will be done”!

Jesus himself laid down his natural gifting’s and will as he ministered. Why do we think we can ignore that as we set out to serve and please God?

Repentance, the turning back, the laying down our lives is the answer. Often even the “good and talented” parts of our lives need to be surrendered as much or more than the sin. That is what the Lord is teaching today and forever.

This concept is not popular, it does not fit into the ministry marketing plan as we advertise for volunteer church talent. We feel the need to appeal to the humanistic things in people that God would want to die.

Wasted Effort and Time

The truth is my best volunteer talents are filthy rags, they always were. I used them to serve him for years with ambition, zeal and with a clear conscience. I am not saying I was bad or sinning. However, I believe it was wasted effort compared with how he wants me to serve him.

The truth is Jesus is just not asking for that sort of trying and zealous effort. He has a new set of gifts for me, he has pure white robes for me after I live repentant with a willingness to die. I am to let my natural skill, my natural persuasiveness, my natural dreams and ambitions fade away unsatisfied and die in disappointment.

A man or woman who is not dead to their old man will always act like Judas did. He or she who doesn’t know how to die daily will always abandon or betray Jesus just like Judas. It’s only natural.

Yes Lord, not my will, but your will be done.

Yes Lord, not my talents but your talents on display in me.

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