Chapter 8 of "Desiring One Thing" (pages 108-111)

Posted: 2007-12-19 16:39:58

Chapter 8 of  "Desiring One Thing"  by David Nelson   (pages 108-111)

The path of the Lord is not of this world, and it is not like this world. As we are being prepared to be a Bride without spot or wrinkle the Lord will show us again the “old path” that has always been His ways. Although, it will seem like a new path because few seem to be living it. The following are some outrageous and radical ideas that really are God’s ideas. How we will assimilate them into our everyday walks, the Lord will have to teach us this.

1. “If you have two coats give to him who has none. (Luke 3:11) (But nobody lives this way?) “And if you have food, do likewise.”
2. “No one cared about anything that was there own but they had all things in common.” (Acts 4:32) (But that is the opposite of the way things are today, people only care about what is theirs.).
3. “Do not seek food and clothing first, all of the nations of the world do that, seek to do God’s will first.” (Matthew 6:31-33)
4. “When you become a manager you love to lord it over others,” I’m the boss, respect me, I want respect and honor because I am over you. “All the nations (Gentiles) love to have this power over others.” Jesus said, my great leaders will not be like this.
5. When you become a leader, the greater you are, the more you should be like a waiter at a restaurant and all others are as those who sit at table ordering food. Who is greater, the one serving the table or the ones sitting at the table ordering food? You are to be as a waiter as one of my great leaders.
6. “When you go on a ministry journey do not take extra clothes, extra shoes, money, etc.”
7. If people steal from you do not try to get your things back. The Scripture says, Him that taketh away thy goods, ask them not again.” “If someone sues you for your coat give him more, your cloak also.”
8. “Lend expecting nothing in return.” If you give someone $10.00 expect nothing back, consider what you give as a gift, and so you will never be disappointed or mad at anyone when they don’t pay you back.
9. “Woe unto you when all men speak well of you.” Wait, I want all people to like me, I want all people to speak well of me?
10. Do you need to pay your taxes? In most instances we will work and save and budget our money. But Jesus said, in one instance, “Go down to the water, the first fish you catch will have a coin in his mouth, pay my taxes and yours with that.”
11. “Foxes have holes, birds have nests, but the Son of man has no where to lay his head, no home.” The servant (you and I) is not better than the Master (Jesus), so do we think that we must have a home?
12. Give up your homes, give up your jobs, give up your families (for a period of time) to follow the Lord. The disciples who followed Jesus (Peter, James, John, etc.) did this. Jesus said, No one who gives up these things will be short changed, they will receive good things back in this life and rewards in the life to come.
13. Jesus said to Martha, in this instance, I do not want you to fix a dinner. Mary was right to sit at my feet and listen to my teaching, and you Martha, in this instance, should have come to hear my teaching instead of fixing a dinner.
14. In Matthew 16:8, the disciples forgot to bring food on the boat in their journey across the lake. One disciple says to another, you brought the food didn’t you? No, I thought you did. Jesus said to them, “Why are you discussing the fact that we have no food?” This is like saying, why are you concerned that there is nothing in your food cupboards at home? We need food, and we have no food and no money! Now Jesus is going to discuss with them the supernatural walk with God that we are to have. He explained to them, we had 5 fishes to feed 5,000 and 7 fishes to feed 4,000, how many baskets did we have left after each feeding? We had 12 baskets left after the 5,000 and 7 baskets left after the 4,000. We started with less fish for more people, and after more people ate we had more leftovers. Do you see the miraculous ways God feeds us, surely we can pull fish and bread out of the air if we need to for such a small group on this boat. It seems we need a bigger faith. God’s ways are not our ways. He is great and so mysterious and so good, and so we must walk very close to Him and know what Jesus knew.
15. “Hate everyone and hate yourself too or you cannot be my disciple.”
16. “When you are invited to a dinner take the lowest seat.”
17. “Who are my mother and my brothers?” It is not my blood relatives, not my real mother, not my real brothers, but those who do the will of God, these are my mother and my brothers. Who should I respect and honor most, my blood relatives or my kindred-spirit brothers and sisters in the faith (who walk close to God).

All of these ideas have clear verses to support them and they are some of the hardest and strongest verses in the Bible. But they are very often explained away by Bible teachers because they cannot be lived easily, and each person reading them will have to be willing to follow God with all their heart and without compromise. If you took these verses literally you would be living a radical life that would be hated by the world. Jesus’ ideas were not of this world, they were a different way than this world lives or that our human nature or logic thinks. Everything here seems to be the opposite of the way the world does things.

Also see I Corinthians 4:9-13, "We are fools for Christ, we are despised, .... Even unto the present hour we both hunger, and thirst, and are naked,   and have no certain dwelling place;.... We are made as the filth of the world, and are the offscouring of all things unto this day." I Timothy 6:8-11 says, "But if we have food and clothing, with these we shall be content (satisfied). But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts that plunge men into ruin and destruction.... For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. But as for you, O man of God, shun all this (flee these things); and follow after righteousness...." Luke 14:33 says, "So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple."