Barnabas Bulletin ~ 0149
MORE ON DESIRE
In our last Barnabas Bulletin we saw how the desire of a young man (Elisha) caused him to rise up and walk in a double-anointing spirit that Elijah had. Elisha dared to believe for more than anyone else in his day. He demonstrated that it is possible to achieve the seeming impossible.
So, what about us? What is our desire today? What is it that we long to rise to and achieve to the glory of God? The Scripture is clear: “Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart” (Psalm 37:4). Our desires can be achieved. Here we are told that if we delight ourselves in the Lord we can have them. The key is: GOD FIRST! He must come before every other desire. Until He is the first delight and desire of our lives, then the desires we have will not be totally God-honouring and worthy ones. God does not want to give us any desires that will cause us to lose love and relationship with Him. He will not give us things that will cause us harm and destruction in the end. He looks for pure motivation and pure desires that will enable us to accomplish greater things to the glory of God.
As a young Christian my desires were to be more effective and fruitful for God. I had no idea as to how that could happen. But I kept delighting myself in the Lord. Over the years I have seen my desires coming more and more into fruition. For many years now God has enabled us to touch thousands of lives around the world. And every year we are privileged to touch thousands more through the ministry He has given us. It is so fulfilling to know that what one is doing is impacting scores of people in many nations around the world. This is also fulfilling the heart’s desire of Jesus Christ ~ that we “go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15-20).
DESIRE TO FUNCTION IN PROPHETIC MINISTRY
God has called us to proclaim and release people into the Prophetic Ministry; that is, developing our ability to hear more clearly the voice of God and learning to obey whatever He asks of us. That includes the exercising of the Spiritual Gifts that we read of in 1 Corinthians 12-14. They function out of our lives as a result of strong desire. We are exhorted to “earnestly desire the best gifts” (1 Corinthians 12:31) . . . “pursue love, and desire spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy” (1 Corinthians 14:1) . . . “For you can all prophesy one by one, that all may learn and all may be encouraged” (1 Corinthians 14:31) . . . “Therefore, brethren, desire earnestly to prophesy, and do not forbid to speak with tongues” (1 Corinthians 14:39). In Scripture, when we see the words “earnestly desire” put together they are exhorting us to be much more focussed and desirous of doing what the subject matter is. Ignorance and lack of desire for the operation of the Spiritual Gifts has crippled much of the Christian Church, and left it without the spiritual discernment necessary to make the best decisions, etc. Prophetic Ministry is a vital part of New Covenant Christianity. It is God-given, and anything that God gives us is really important for us. God does not give us anything that is not necessary to complete the journey He has called us to walk. I am so glad that I am involved in Prophetic Ministry, for it has opened up the world to me to minister the Gospel in the anointing and power of the Holy Spirit. So many more needs are met when we are working together with God (through listening to His voice) – for whatever God says to us is exactly right for us. But it takes a strong desire to break through the negative mind-sets and thoughts that try and tell us that what we are hearing is not God, but self, etc. Our desire has to be strong enough to break through those negativities.
Over the years we have had to make some tough calls in order to follow God’s calling. It is amazing at how many Christians do not understand the call of God on someone else’s life, and will do their best to talk one out of what God has called one into. That is why desire is so important. The desire to achieve one’s desire has to be greater than all the negative obstacles that come against us in our life’s journey. Sometimes we have to give up some good things in order to achieve the better things. That is why one has to be clear in their desires, for the greater things in life are not obtained easily ~ if they were, there would be many more Christians achieving far greater things than they are. The greater the desire, the bigger the obstacles will be, negative comments, mockings, etc., that comes against someone with a bigger vision than is ordinary.
WHAT IS YOUR MAIN DESIRE TODAY?
So, again I ask: What is your main desire today? How big is that desire? And how much are you prepared to sacrifice in order to see that desire fulfilled in and through your life? God has made it clear in His word that He will give the desires to those who love and serve Him. Job was told that if he would lift up his face unto God, that He would hear him. Then Job could declare a thing and it would be established unto him, and light would shine on his ways (see Job 22:21-30). When we have a strong desire we will declare it and give ourselves to seeing it accomplished ~ not for our glory, but for God’s! Many today want a selfish desire, i.e. more money, possessions, recognition, greater reputation, titles, etc., but God is not interested in giving us those things unless He is definitely first in our hearts and lives. The key is to delight ourselves in the Lord first ~ He must be “Number One” in our lives ~ and then He gives us those God-honouring desires that we have in our hearts. It can be done. You can achieve much greater things in and through your life as you delight yourself in Jesus Christ the Lord. The challenge to you now is to see it happen and have a wonderful testimony of what the Lord has done. Demonstrate your desire to God today! God bless you! ~ Rodney W. Francis.
Bible Readings: John 15:5-8; Psalm 73:24-28; Psalm 145:17-19.
Prayer:
Father, I come to You in the precious name of my Lord Jesus and ask You to help me to be much more desirous and hungry for You. Help me to lay aside everything that would hinder me from being fully satisfied in my relationship with You. I want to do Your will fully ~ to believe for greater things in and through my life ~ and I realize that it can only happen as I have a divine desire and connection with You – and separate myself from the ways of the world. Break through in my life more and more, dear Lord! In Jesus’ name I pray these things, Amen.”
The Gospel Faith Messenger Ministry, New Zealand. Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.