Questions that must be answered by all of us who love the Lord’s recovery, who desire to see the Lord’s recovery progress in its basic components, and who are giving themselves to carry on the Lord’s recovery:
- Are you part of a vital group and a functioning member?
- Do you exercise daily to start the day with a personal revival?
- Are you reading the Word at least one chapter each day and reading the ministry daily – three to five pages or one message, and also praying alone daily and calling on the name of the Lord continually?
- Has the fire of the gospel been ignited in your small group to care for others – weak ones, backslidden ones, and unbelieving ones? Has your spirit been fanned into flame?
- Have you started to have intimate and thorough fellowship with a companion in your small group and praying with that one at least once or twice a week? Have you and your companion made a list of backslidden ones and unbelieving ones and begun to pray for them and look to the Lord for His leading in contacting them?
- Is your vital group corporately carrying out the four steps of the God-ordained way revealed in the Scriptures? (Begetting, feeding, perfecting, building)
The above is taken from an outline in a recent conference given by Benson Phillips to leading ones in Texas. These questions, while exposing, should bring us to an honest realization of where we are and cause us to re-evaluate our situations before the Lord. They should not paralyze us and cause us to give up. Rather, we should simply start where we are and go on one step at a time.
In a fellowship given on April 6, 2008 (audio posted under “MESSAGES”), Andrew Yu said, “You need to start where you are. Don’t think big, you know, that’s one thing I learned…When you think too big you’re not going to get it. Just start from where you are and start from prayer. And it will happen.”
May we take these points to the Lord and press on.
That’s pressure… what if I miss one day without reading Bible+ministry? Like now I am attending winter training and oops I read only 2 pages of ministry, am I still ok?
“You need to start where you are. Don’t think big, you know, that’s one thing I learned…When you think too big you’re not going to get it. Just start from where you are and start from prayer. And it will happen.”
May we take these points to the Lord and press on.
Than you brother. I need encouragement like this.
Ricky,
I feel the points above provide an excellent guideline and somewhat sobering gauge of where we are in our life with the Lord. It is good to be measured so that we can be exposed and enlightened, then go further in our pursuit of Him. Regarding your question, if your habit is to read the Bible and the ministry every day, but miss a few days because of a conference, training, illness, etc., that is one thing. However, we have to consider what our ‘status quo’ is – if we rarely read the Bible or the ministry, we should open to be exposed by this word and ask the Lord to give us an appetite for the Word and the ministry, and ask Him to cause us to spend time with Him in the Word every day.
Lord, make us hungry and thirsty for the Word!