There's No Need for Fear

By Gobel Brockman



I once heard a story about a couple who walked into a restaurant. As soon as they entered they saw a man who fit the mold of the stereotypical 'biker' - a big, burly guy with long hair pulled into a ponytail, full scruffy beard, leather vest over a Harley Davidson T-shirt, and even the wallet with a chain attached to his belt. And what was this guy doing? Standing on a chair with a look of sheer terror on his face. The couple soon found out what the problem was - he had seen a spider. This big, burly man who could cause fear in others with his simple presence suffered from arachnophobia - to the extent that the mere sight of a spider caused a fearful reaction. Think about that for a moment. (In the book of Psalms when you see the word "Selah" that's part of what that means.)

Fear is a powerful thing. It can easily make rational people do irrational things. And please remember that there's a difference between fear and caution. Putting a seat belt on when you get into a car isn't fear, but being reluctant to get into a car because of what might happen is a different story. God doesn't intend for us to live our lives with a constant fear that something bad is going to happen. That can be debilitating. Yes, bad things happen. I can't promise any of you that something terrible isn't going to happen to you today. We live in a fallen world, and that's part of what we have to deal with because of it. But living your life with constant dread is a sad way to live, and God can give you victory over that.

The Apostle Paul said this to Timothy: "God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and a sound mind." I want to focus on the first part: a spirit of fear. In Ephesians 6 the Bible says that our struggle isn't with flesh and blood, but with spiritual forces. NO, I'm not saying that people who deal with fear are demon possessed. I'm saying that we need to be reminded that we are spiritual creatures who face spiritual battles. And winning these battles requires us to to do it God's way. Romans 8:6 says that being carnally minded is death, but being spiritually minded is life and peace. Begin by feeding your mind with His Word and His way of thinking. Stop feeding your mind with thoughts of gloom and despair. 

I close with this. There's a story in the Bible where Jesus and His disciples are on a boat in the midst of a storm. The disciples are struggling to keep themselves alive. And what's Jesus doing? He was sleeping. Sleeping in the boat, in the midst of a life-threatening storm. The disciples wake Him up and accuse Him of not caring that they're about to die. So Jesus wakes up and tells the storm, "Peace, be still." The storm immediately stops. He then says to the others, "How is it you're so fearful and have no faith?" It was like He was saying to them, "Sometimes I'll calm the storm. Sometimes I'll let them rage for a bit so I can teach you to be calm in the midst of them." In the midst of financial uncertainty, physical difficulties, and even a crazy political climate, God will still give His children peace.

Selah.

We Don't Need Political Change - We Need Revival

By Gobel Brockman



(This week's devotional is adapted from an excerpt from my book "The Holy Spirit: Still for Today, Still for You")


I'm reminded of a story about two men kneeling at an altar in prayer. One was very quiet, while the other was shouting his prayer at the top of his voice while pounding his fists on the altar. Finally, the quiet one stopped praying, turned to the other man and said softly, "Brother, God's not deaf." To which the other man responded, "No, and He's not nervous either!" 

What's my point? Simply that it’s not my interest to tell quiet churches to get loud or to tell loud churches to get quiet. My desire is to encourage ALL churches to let the Holy Spirit in! If you are a Pastor, then regardless of what denomination you're affiliated with, I encourage you with everything I have within me to begin seeking God and asking Him to allow the Holy Spirit to operate in your church. Religion won't change people, but the power of God touching someone's heart will. As Jesus said in John 16:7-8:

     Nevertheless I tell you the truth: It is expedient for you that I go away. For if I do not go away, the Counselor (Holy Spirit) will not come to you. But if I go, I will send Him to you. When He comes, He will convict the world of sin and of righteousness and of judgement.”

It’s no secret that we are in desperate times. We are seeing a rapidly increasing rejection of Godly principles in this nation, and we are reaping the results of our rebellion. We need to realize that politicians can't fix a nation's problems, because our problems aren't political; they're spiritual. We in the church, however, must also realize that “church as usual” will no longer suffice. Three songs and a nice, comfortable sermon won't be enough to bring this nation and this world back to where we need to be. We need the Holy Spirit to move mightily in this nation and the world, and I believe that starts with us allowing Him to move in our individual lives and in our churches on a daily basis. It is that aspect of the Holy Spirit that I am primarily addressing this week. There is an important point that I want to make: 

Corporate revival begins with personal revival. 

I am equally convinced that personal revival begins with us living lives of repentance, prayer, and allowing the Holy Spirit to have complete control of our lives. May we daily seek God's presence in our lives, repent of those things in our lives that stand between us, and believe God to move mightily in our personal lives. That will lead to revival in our corporate lives. May we seek after God with our whole hearts - it’s our only hope.

Come Holy Spirit, and fill us to overflowing!

It's Disappearing a Little More Every Day

By Gobel Brockman

I have been involved in ministry in one form or another for over thirty years. For three years in the 1980's I was also a certified Emergency Medical Technician in the state of Indiana. During that time I served on a volunteer fire department, and I also worked in a hospital where part of my responsibilities were to perform CPR during "Code Blue" situations. I said all of that to say this: I've spent a lot of time around deathbeds over the years. In thinking back on those times, there are a few things that I DON'T remember:

I don't remember hearing anyone say, "I wish I had worked more hours and made more money."

I don't remember hearing anyone say, "I want to look at my Bachelor's Degree one more time."

I don't remember hearing anyone complain about sports, the cost of living, or politics.

What I HAVE heard - time and time again - during those times is something along the lines of, "Will you pray with me? I need to make things right with God." You see, I believe that we need to be continually reminded that our time on this earth is temporary. We spend far too much time concerning ourselves with temporary issues while eternity hangs in the balance. James 4:14 says this:

     "What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes."

My message this week is simple: whatever problems or difficulties we may be facing right now are temporary. At times those problems may be minor, but yes, at times they can challenge us to the depths of our hearts. But in light of eternity, they are still temporary problems. Where we stand in our relationship with Jesus Christ, on the other hand, is indeed a question that deserves grave and honest consideration. I'm afraid that we too often forget the words of Hebrews 9:27:

     "For it is appointed unto man once to die, and after this the judgment."

If you are reading this and you have never surrendered your life to Jesus Christ, my prayer is that the Holy Spirit will reveal Himself to you in an undeniable way and lead you to repentance and salvation. If you are reading this and you do know Jesus as your Lord, I simply want to remind you to not let any current problems or the current political landscape distract you from your eternal purpose in Christ. 

Our lives are indeed a vapor, and that vapor's disappearing a little more every day. Don't wait until you're on your deathbed and then call for a minister - and then pray that they show up in time. Sometimes they don't. 

Yeah, I've seen that happen too. It's not a chance worth taking.

"I'm Gobel Brockman, and I Approve This Message"

By Gobel Brockman


Here in the United States we are in "Election Season." One of the things that means is that our TV and radio airwaves are filled with political ads. One sentence that we hear quite frequently in these ads is, "I'm (candidate's name), and I approve this message." This is the result of a portion of a law known as the McCain-Feingold Act of 2002 (this portion is known as the "Stand By Your Ad" provision) that requires political candidates to associate themselves with their TV and radio ads, thereby discouraging them from making controversial statements or "attack ads."

(Yeah, THAT seems to be working great. But I digress....)

The main point of this provision is indeed to make the candidate identify with the statements being made in their advertisements. They are indicating that they approve of what is being said. In thinking about this, I'm reminded of the words of the Apostle Paul in 2 Timothy 2:15:

     "Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth." (ESV)

In the original Greek the word "approved" is dokimos which means "approved, acceptable, tried." The study notes from "The Olive Tree ESV Bible" app makes an interesting point about this:

"In the ancient world there was no banking system as we know it today, and no paper money. All money was made from metal, heated until liquid, poured into molds and allowed to cool. It was necessary to smooth off the uneven edges. The coins were comparatively soft and of course many people shaved them closely. In one century, more than eighty laws were passed in Athens, to stop the practice of shaving down the coins then in circulation. But some money changers were men of integrity, who would accept no counterfeit money. They were men of honor who put only genuine full weighted money into circulation. Such men were called "dokimos" or "approved." (Attributed to Donald Barnhouse)

In thinking about this, I believe that it's an excellent illustration of what it means to become a fully devoted, mature child of God. Much like the coins of that time, we must pass through the fires of temptation and adversity, and then we must have the "rough edges" shaved off - the shortcomings and weaknesses of our heart and character. Most of all, just as the men of integrity of those days would not accept counterfeit money, we can be sure that a holy, righteous God will not long tolerate our "counterfeit" Christianity. Our desire should be that we "do our best to present ourselves to God as one approved" - meaning that we commit to the idea that our commitment to Jesus Christ is genuine and actually has value. When I stand before Him on that day when I give an account of my life to Him, I want to be able to hear Him say, "Well done, good and faithful servant; enter in to the joy of your Lord." (Matthew 25:23)

May God find my commitment to Him to be true and genuine. I want my life to be a message that He "approves."

You Are Not a "Justa"

By Gobel Brockman

It's interesting how often we identify ourselves by what we do. The problem with that is that if we perceive what we do to be minimal or unimportant, it can cause us to view ourselves - and life in general - in ways that we're not intended to. In these times we may get what may be referred to as "Justa Syndrome:"

"I'm "justa" retail employee."

"I'm "justa" janitor."

"I'm "justa" fast-food worker."

"I'm "justa" housewife."

"I'm "justa" pastor of a small church."

When we begin suffering from "Justa Syndrome", it can cause us to go through our days feeling as though our lives and our contributions to the world are insignificant. Many times we may be tempted to feel as though we can easily be replaced. The problem with all of this is that it flies in the face with what is probably the most well-known Scripture in the entire Bible:

     "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." John 3:16

I'm sure most of you reading this can quote that Scripture from memory, but when we're very familiar with something we can sometimes forget the power and significance behind it. In the case of this verse, we can't let the message escape us:

The Creator of Heaven and Earth; the eternal, powerful God, loved you and me enough to come to this world in human form and lay down His life for us. Let me say it in simpler terms: 

God doesn't consider you a "justa." 

So how does God view those who believe in Him and surrender their lives to Him? We are:

"A child of God." John 1:12

"Justified by faith." Romans 5:1

"A chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation." I Peter 2:9

"More than conquerors." Romans 8:37

"Never left or forsaken." Hebrews 13:5

I could go on (and on) but you get the idea. In the eyes of God, you are not a "justa". You matter to Him and you are loved by Him. But we must also remind ourselves that all of the promises available to us have one thing in common: they are all free gifts from the Father that we could never earn or deserve on our own. We are not "justas" only because God has chosen to freely share His love and goodness with us. In Exodus 33:18 Moses asked God, "Show me Your glory." God's response in verse 19 is interesting: "I will cause My goodness to pass before you..." Moses asked to see God's glory, and God showed Moses His goodness. It is that goodness that gives us hope and helps us realizes that regardless of how we view our position in life, He desires to show His glory to us as well. However, we must also remember that to receive this glory and goodness, we must respond in faith and obedience to the God who extends them to us.

The point in all of this is simple: we may make our livings scrubbing floors and toilets, typing away on computers, making sandwiches, stocking shelves, working with our hands, or doing our best to serve in our roles in our churches, but if Jesus Christ is the Lord of your life, those things are simply what we do - they're not who we are. We are sons and daughters of the Most High God. We're recipients of the grace and goodness of a loving Heavenly Father. We have an inheritance from God that the Bible calls incorruptible and that can never be stolen from us.

That's "justa" lot of great news.