You Be The One

When the going gets rough, take it on the chin with the rest of us, the way Jesus did. A soldier on duty doesn't get caught up in making deals at the marketplace. He concentrates on carrying out orders. An athlete who refuses to play by the rules will never get anywhere 2 Timothy 2: 3-5 MSG.

It only takes one person to make a big difference. If one person is willing to say "no" to the devil and "yes" to God, then that person has the opportunity to do some incredible things. An established life of faithfulness to God begins and is maintained by the simple choices we make to deny ourselves and follow God in the practical every day areas of our lives.

It took one Moses to say yes to God. Even though he could not speak eloquently, murdered an Egyptian and tried to cover it up, became a fugitive and an outcast, he was still the one God used to deliver His people from bondage.

During the reign of Ahab and Jezebel, when Baal worship was the national business, it took one Elijah to speak God’s Word against the complacency and backsliding of the nation. Elijah was a person unlike you and me; he was certainly mindful of his weaknesses and limitations. But he said "yes" to God, and became one of Israel’s greatest prophets.

From the beginning of time, God had always sought after individuals who will put themselves in the background and allow God to bring His plans and purposes into the world. For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him 2 chronicles 16:9.

Even though God is always looking, He doesn’t always find what He is looking for. There are not many today that are willing to put themselves in the background and make God’s will the primary focus. In a day of widespread compromise and smugness, God is seeking out those individuals who will submit their lives to His principles and follow Him regardless.

If the dominant voice today would say "yes" to God, then it would be easy to make God our choice. But the majority has never really favored God. God is not looking for the majority, but for the authentic few who demonstrate that His Word is and will always be the universal standard for cultures and societies everywhere. As God searches the church and religious world today, so many men and women are passed by.

I believe the enemy has deceived many in the Body of Christ. The church uses the gospel to raise money while our youth set record stats for violence, STD’s and rebellion. Many of our men feel like church is for women, therefore Sunday is the day they wash their cars, trim their lawns and watch sports. They would rather have a toothache than go to church. Yet the church programs go on uninhibited.

This world is a battlefield, not a playground. Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him 1 John 2:15. In many ways, the only difference between the world and the church is that the church talks religious talk and the world doesn’t. But the church divorces at the same rate as the world (or higher), they consume more pornography, watch more loose entertainment, and they are prideful, arrogant and have a bad attitude. I can’t explain it, but I hear church people, even preachers, uses swear words like a common sailor. This is a new liberty that church folks have discovered, and they love it. However, in the not so distant past, such foul language was never used. We are not producing fruit in our lives, and nobody seems to care; as long as the program goes on.

When the going gets rough, take it on the chin with the rest of us, the way Jesus did. A soldier on duty doesn't get caught up in making deals at the marketplace. He concentrates on carrying out orders. An athlete who refuses to play by the rules will never get anywhere. It's the diligent farmer who gets the produce 2 Timothy 2: 1-7 MSG. I don’t want to be like a soldier who is in Walmart shopping when he is supposed to be guarding the gate. No. I want to keep my mind and heart on the Word of God. No matter who gets entangled, who gets caught up "making deals", or who refuses to obey the rules of the game, I want to be the one that holds on.

This was one of the Apostle Paul’s concerns. After 30 years of relentless service to God, here he is sitting in a lonely prison cell waiting to be executed. All he could think about was what he could tell Timothy to equip him to carry on while he was gone. He told Timothy, "And if a man also strive for masteries, yet is he not crowned, except he strive lawfully" 2 Timothy 2:5. No matter how good an athlete is, if he doesn’t willingly obey the rules, he will eventually hurt his team. I have seen gifted players get tossed out of games because they lost their composure. When I watch professional basketball, I am against players getting technical fouls. I can understand a coach getting an occasional one. In college basketball, players rarely get technical fouls, therefore the game can be played without that type of unprofessional drama. But professional players have a reputation for getting them routinely. They lack discipline and self-control. Good players with bad attitudes who refuse to play by the rules pervert a really great sport.

Paul wanted Timothy to understand that it is character that makes people and movements rise or fall. If Timothy would maintain a solid character, everything else would fall in place. The Gospel Warriors Ministries is a good example; show me someone who can do all we’ve been doing for as long as we’ve been doing it with so few people as we have. It is all because we’ve put integrity and character in the very foundation of our efforts. Character is worth more than a lot of people, a lot of money and a fine building. And that’s not to say that we couldn’t use all those things, but we’ve managed and continue to manage without them.

God is searching for somebody to be the one who will stand and model true character in the midst of concession. Yes, the church world is declining; yes, people are arrogant and lovers of money; yes, there is greed, carnality, backsliding and selfishness. But I want to encourage you to be the one that will be different. You be the one to be fearless and unselfish. You be the one that will refuse to follow the crowd. "…Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life" Revelations 2:10.

We cannot afford to live casually. Our character defines who we are. "Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat" Matthew 7:13. Don’t follow the crowd if the crowd is not going the right way. You be one of the chosen few that find the good way. Walk the narrow path; walk it alone of you have to.

I know of preachers who wouldn’t preach if they didn’t get money. I know of musicians who will not play or perform except they get paid. But when they preach or perform, they bring the walls down. If the church can never afford to pay me anything, I’m going to do the work of the ministry. I don’t need money to motivate me to live godly. I’ve already got the motivation. God put the motivation in me when He saved me and filled me with the Holy Ghost. I get motivated every time I think about how He blesses me when I don’t deserve it; every time He forgives me when I messed up; every time He helps me prevail over the enemy’s lies and backstabbing; every time He gives me the victory when every circumstance says I am defeated.

I’m not into personal gain, even though I have far more abundance than I ever dreamed I would have. I’m not into self-promotion, even though God is using me in high places of favor and influence. My life is hidden in Christ Jesus. I am not my own; I’ve been bought and paid for. I live for Christ, not a salary or a position of recognition.

We can do the same thing. It won’t be easy. It wasn’t easy for Jesus, Paul, Peter, James and John. It was an uphill journey for Moses, Elijah, and just about every person of faith that amounted to anything. But they made it.

This kind of living is a choice that each one of us has to make for ourselves. I cannot make the choice for you and you cannot make it for me. It is an individual choice that only we can make for ourselves. I want to be the one that will make a difference for God in this life. I hope that you will do the same.

By: Edmund Brown