I ran face-first into deep discouragement a few weeks ago. A lot of things precipitated this crash, but the last straw was when a friend emailed me a link to a video by a YouTube user I'd never heard of. This YouTube personality, who is a Christian, has well over 100,000 subscribers, yet the things which he teaches are absurd. He's so far off base that he's not even in the ballpark. The production quality of his videos is decent, but not stellar, and not significantly beyond the quality of my old YouTube episodes. My current number of subscribers on YouTube: about 700. My combined monthly blog readers and podcast listeners: under 10,000.
Photo by Tyler Lastovich on Unsplash
Suddenly I couldn't do anything but lie on the floor and question all of my capabilities. I felt hopeless, pitiful, and quite frankly, angry. This went on for about an hour. But then the spirit of Adonai spoke to my spirit, and what he said disrupted my pity-party.
It's not Mine
Guess what he said to me. It was four simple words:
"It's not your ministry."
That's all he needed to say, and I immediately experienced a shift in attitude. It's amazing how Adonai gets right to the heart of an issue.
The ministry entrusted to me is not mine; it's his. Therefore I have no right to expect a particular outcome from my efforts. That would be akin to getting a job as an instructor at my local community college and then complaining to the directors when, after a couple of years, the college isn't competing with state universities. The instructor's job is to teach, not to determine the mission or reach of the institution. Austin Community College was never meant to be the next University of Texas.
I knew this intellectually, but I wasn't grasping it emotionally until YHVH reminded me of my place.
"It's not your ministry."
That's all he needed to say, and I immediately experienced a shift in attitude. It's amazing how Adonai gets right to the heart of an issue.
The ministry entrusted to me is not mine; it's his. Therefore I have no right to expect a particular outcome from my efforts. That would be akin to getting a job as an instructor at my local community college and then complaining to the directors when, after a couple of years, the college isn't competing with state universities. The instructor's job is to teach, not to determine the mission or reach of the institution. Austin Community College was never meant to be the next University of Texas.
I knew this intellectually, but I wasn't grasping it emotionally until YHVH reminded me of my place.
A SMall Audience on a Narrow Path
After adjusting my perspective, YHVH also reminded me of my mission. That mission is to assist the Elect of Adonai, the true Bride. I don't know which people qualify—only Elohiym knows—so I reach out to anyone who calls themselves a follower of Messiah. Some of those will end up being the real thing, but not many. Even if I was somehow able to reach multitudes, only a small fraction would receive my message.
The raw, unfiltered Word of God offends people. Yes, even Christians.
Many people claim to be Christians, but Y'shua said that the Way is narrow and hard, and few find it (Matt. 7:14). He also said that on the day of judgment many will call him Master and will claim to have done praiseworthy things in his name, but he will reply to them, "I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness" (Matt. 7:23, ESV).
A lot of those who profess Christ will never seek intimacy with him and become conformed to him. They do not care to actually submit to the Lord. Their religion is simply an academic exercise because it does not inform every aspect of who they are. Living truly counter-culture is an outlandish concept to mainstream Christians. Like the congregation at Laodicea, they imagine that everything is going well, but actually they are wretched, blind, and naked (Rev. 3:14-22).
I teach that that the Assembly (Church) has been long deceived and needs to undergo an extensive Reformation. I teach that most ecclesiastical leaders are out to collect tithing congregants rather than to deliver the whole Word of God boldly and unapologetically. I teach that modern Christendom has been sucked in by the world and looks nearly indistinguishable from it. I teach a coming judgment, and I call for repentance. None of this wins me many friends. My countrymen would rather listen to teachers who tickle their ears and soothe their minds.
My mission is incompatible with my desire to grow a large audience.
The prophets of old faced the same dilemma. Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Elijah, and others all found themselves surrounded by neighbors who wanted nothing to do with them, even though they were providing authentic messages from Israel's Elohiym. The Elohiym whom these men served had them preaching to deaf ears, knowing that their efforts were mostly futile. As YHVH said through Isaiah:
The raw, unfiltered Word of God offends people. Yes, even Christians.
Many people claim to be Christians, but Y'shua said that the Way is narrow and hard, and few find it (Matt. 7:14). He also said that on the day of judgment many will call him Master and will claim to have done praiseworthy things in his name, but he will reply to them, "I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness" (Matt. 7:23, ESV).
A lot of those who profess Christ will never seek intimacy with him and become conformed to him. They do not care to actually submit to the Lord. Their religion is simply an academic exercise because it does not inform every aspect of who they are. Living truly counter-culture is an outlandish concept to mainstream Christians. Like the congregation at Laodicea, they imagine that everything is going well, but actually they are wretched, blind, and naked (Rev. 3:14-22).
I teach that that the Assembly (Church) has been long deceived and needs to undergo an extensive Reformation. I teach that most ecclesiastical leaders are out to collect tithing congregants rather than to deliver the whole Word of God boldly and unapologetically. I teach that modern Christendom has been sucked in by the world and looks nearly indistinguishable from it. I teach a coming judgment, and I call for repentance. None of this wins me many friends. My countrymen would rather listen to teachers who tickle their ears and soothe their minds.
My mission is incompatible with my desire to grow a large audience.
The prophets of old faced the same dilemma. Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Elijah, and others all found themselves surrounded by neighbors who wanted nothing to do with them, even though they were providing authentic messages from Israel's Elohiym. The Elohiym whom these men served had them preaching to deaf ears, knowing that their efforts were mostly futile. As YHVH said through Isaiah:
For these are rebellious people, deceitful children,
children unwilling to listen to YHVH’s instruction.
They say to the seers,
“See no more visions!”
and to the prophets,
“Give us no more visions of what is right!
Tell us pleasant things,
prophesy illusions.
Leave this way,
get off this path,
and stop confronting us
with the Holy One of Israel!
(Isaiah 30:9-11)
Speak Even When No One Wants to Listen
The purpose of this post is not to discourage you, but to encourage you. The prophets did their assigned tasks even after YHVH told them that their fellow Israelites wouldn't listen (Ezek. 3:4-9; Jer. 7:16). We should behave the same as these heroes of the faith, demonstrating courage and persistence, because truly we are no different from them. None of us are serving ourselves. We simply do what Elohiym commands, no questions asked. Every ambassador of the Kingdom has an obligation to speak the Word faithfully, regardless of how it is received.
The truth is, there will always be a remnant, and that remnant has need of prophets, apostles, teachers, preachers, and servants of all types. When Elijah had given up on trying to help Israel, feeling alone and useless, YHVH comforted him with the knowledge that he was not alone. "I’ve reserved 7,000 in Israel who have neither bowed their knees to Baal nor kissed him," said Adonai (1 Kings 19:18, ISV).
My service to the King is not pointless just because it is limited in scope. Neither is yours. Let's be like Isaiah, who volunteered to serve YHVH in the midst of a stiff-necked generation without counting the cost.
The truth is, there will always be a remnant, and that remnant has need of prophets, apostles, teachers, preachers, and servants of all types. When Elijah had given up on trying to help Israel, feeling alone and useless, YHVH comforted him with the knowledge that he was not alone. "I’ve reserved 7,000 in Israel who have neither bowed their knees to Baal nor kissed him," said Adonai (1 Kings 19:18, ISV).
My service to the King is not pointless just because it is limited in scope. Neither is yours. Let's be like Isaiah, who volunteered to serve YHVH in the midst of a stiff-necked generation without counting the cost.
I heard the Lord's voice, saying, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?" Then I said, "Here I am. Send me!"
(Isaiah 6:8, WEB)
RSS Feed
