How many of us try and work things out for ourselves? I’m one of those who likes to plan ahead. To know what I need to do and have “all my ducks in a row” so to speak. But these are days where sometimes this isn’t going to be possible. Things we thought would happen a certain way, are just not going to work out like that.
That’s because the new things God is doing won’t fit into yesterday’s thinking. We won’t be able to follow the same patterns or formulas and be successful. We may even be left wondering “why didn’t this work out?” – without realising the anointing we had for doing it that way has gone, and God wants us to embrace something new.
In fact, what He wants is total dependence on Him. He has to be at the centre of everything. Self-reliance is no longer going to be an option that is available for us. We actually won’t know what to do if we aren’t listening for His instructions and following Him very closely.
Two worldly strategies to resist
Even Jesus had to resist reliance on strategies that did not align with God’s Kingdom. And what’s interesting is that these strategies were suggested by those closest to Him. The first was a strategy of self-preservation – for Jesus to put himself first. It was suggested by Peter, one of Jesus’ closest disciples. The second was to try and take advantage of a readymade platform. This strategy was put forward by his very own brothers.
1. Put yourself first
When Jesus began to tell his disciples that the reason they were heading to Jerusalem was so that he could suffer, be put to death and then raised back to life, Peter violently objected. What Jesus was suggesting went against everything Peter understood to be right. How could Jesus die? It cannot and should not happen!
Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. “Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to you!”
Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”
Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it.”
Matthew 16:22-25 (NIV)
In reply, Jesus says some very tough things, both to Peter, and to the disciples. It forces them to rethink their understanding of not only Jesus as the Messiah, but also themselves as His followers.
Today, there is a massive push towards self-interest. To “find ourselves,” “be true to ourselves,” “express ourselves,” etc. But Jesus makes it plain that self-interest can never be a part of our lives when we live in God’s Kingdom. Putting God first, means we cannot put ourselves first! In fact, Jesus says we must deny ourselves. That goes against everything the world says, and even what some well-meaning friends might say. And that is incredibly challenging!
2. Take the platform
Next, there’s a story in John 7 where Jesus’ own brothers try and get Him to come up to Jerusalem to the Feast of Tabernacles. Thousands of people would be there as this was one of the three great feasts of Israel. They reason that this is the perfect time for Jesus to stand up and gain a larger following.
From a human viewpoint, this makes a lot of sense. Jesus should use this ready-made platform to get His message to as many people as possible. He could become famous!
But when the Jewish Festival of Tabernacles was near, Jesus’ brothers said to him, “Leave Galilee and go to Judea, so that your disciples there may see the works you do. No one who wants to become a public figure acts in secret. Since you are doing these things, show yourself to the world.”
…Therefore Jesus told them…“You go to the festival. I am not going up to this festival, because my time has not yet fully come.” After he had said this, he stayed in Galilee.
John 7:2-9 (NIV)
Jesus’ brothers had a human perspective and suggested a human strategy. But the Kingdom of God is not built on human plans or human tactics.
Jesus did eventually go up to the Feast, however it was to proclaim a specific message at a specific time and place; not to “show himself” or gain prominence. Jesus was following the Father’s timetable, not what was suggested by his brothers.
Kingdom strategies
Sometimes we forget how vastly different God’s Kingdom strategies are from what we are used to in our daily lives. In these days we need to be paying close attention to the rhythm of heaven. We need to make sure the strategies we follow align with God’s Kingdom, not human ways of thinking. To take seriously what God’s Word says,
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways,”
declares the Lord.
“As the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.”
Isaiah 55:8-9 (NIV)
