Jesus said, ‘… you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.’ (Acts 1: 8) The Gospel is not just for Goldthorpe, but for the whole world. This month’s prayer topic looks at praying for the missionaries supported by our own church, but let’s pray also for God’s word to be powerful and working throughout the world. As we watch the news, we are aware of tremendous persecution and opposition to the Gospel in many areas and we need to pray for our brothers and sisters all over the world to be strengthened by God to live consistently and powerfully in the world, remaining a distinctive witness no matter what trials come against them.

• Pray for Steve & Katuska Davies working in the Bible college in Mozambique and for their three sons who sometimes feel ‘confined’ to the compound because of the political situation there.  The situation between Mozambique and South Africa has not been peaceful lately and as foreigners working in Mozambique, their situation is not always easy. Pray for fruitful ministry in training local leaders and for God to move in difficult situations with family back home which cause concern. Sometimes, the distances involved make life difficult when family at home are ill or in trouble, but pray they will know the peace of God as they commit every situation to Him.

• Pray for Fredrick and Reeba in India, working in different ministries to relieve poverty and to help women to become seamstresses. Pray for God’s word to change situations and for the provision of every practical need. The opportunities are vast, but they need wisdom to know exactly what to do and how to achieve the dreams God has placed on their hearts.

• Pray for the work of Compassion with children in many countries, especially in Haiti where Bedline lives. Pray for her pastor (Jean Dieumarc) who oversees community work there. There are many social and economic difficulties in Haiti, but as with so many places, only the power of the Gospel can change people’s hearts.

• Pray for our church’s vision to be involved in a missions trip and for God to make this vision a reality. We need to be involved in outreach in so many different areas; pray that God will show us how to reach our local community and the ‘Judea and Samaria’ around us and then reach out to the uttermost ends of the earth. There are so many practical things to be involved in, but we need wisdom and discernment in making this dream a reality.

We also had two more birthdays to celebrate last night: one in June and one to come in July.

Developing Motivation

If we are to keep our spiritual fervour and zeal for God alight, we have to do certain things to develop motivation (rather like exercising our muscles!)

1. Renounce negativity. Negativity deflates and focuses attention away from God. We have to practise positive confession, speaking God’s truths rather than listening to our own feelings. Victory becomes a habit, reinforced by a refusal to bow down to opinions or views which contradict God. We have to associate with motivated people and sow positive attitudes into our lives.

2. React to life’s problems with faith. 2 Cor 4:8-10 reminds us that the problems we often face are not the real problem; our problem is how we react to these problems! Js 1:2-4 shows us that we should welcome trials, responding to every problem with faith and joy (Acts 5:41). 1 Thess 5:18 shows us how to live in the centre of God’s will: by giving thanks. Paul did not deny that he had problems, but he refused to let the problems define him and consequently learned to be content no matter what the situation.

3. Recognise God’s sovereignty at all times and in all situations. Rom 8:28 is not a trite saying that applies only to certain people; it is the promise of God to all who are loved and called by Him. Even what is meant for evil can be turned to good, therefore we do not have to lose heart, no matter how difficult our situations.

4. Refocus your perspective. The pressures of life can easily overwhelm us, but we need to keep a right sense of proportion and perspective. Paul viewed all the trials of life as ‘light and momentary troubles’ (see 2 Cor 4:16-18) and kept his eyes on the end goal. We need to do the same.

5. Remember God’s faithfulness. We easily forget all that God has done for us in the past, but we need to ‘call to mind’ God’s faithfulness, for this gives us hope in every situation (see Lam 3:20-23).

Declining Motivation

It is easy to let motivation slip, but the problem with losing motivation is that this is generally a slow process during which we become moody, adept at procrastination, increase in negativity and a critical attitude and neglect our time with God’s Word and in prayer. Declining motivation is caused by a number of different things:

1. disappointment with people or God (feeling that they have let us down, or feeling disappointed with ourselves because we feel we have let people or God down.) The only way to deal with this is to let go of the disappointment and to freely forgive.

2. discontentment, never being satisfied with what we have or where we are. The recipe for curing discontentment is found in Matt 6:33 and Ps 37:4. Only when we put God first can we find true contentment.

3. discouragement, which robs us of purpose and vigour. Heb 3:13 reminds us of the daily need to encourage others, but so often, we fail to do this, looking only at people’s outward appearances or feeling that encouragement will only foster pride. Encouragement costs us little, but is a powerful way of maintaining motivation.

4. a disparaging view of ourselves. Poor self-esteem and feelings of inferiority and inadequacy plague many people and ultimately influence how others see us. Moses and Gideon both struggled with a disparaging view of themselves, reckoning themselves inadequate to God’s call; the ten spies who faltered when viewing the Promised Land had a low opinion of themselves which coloured their views. Eph 2:10 reminds us that we are God’s workmanship, His masterpiece, His ‘work of art.’ Seeing ourselves as God sees us is key to maintaining motivation, for He who called us is faithful.

Guest speaker Yan Hadley brought a challenging message on ‘maintaining your motivation’ last night, looking at Col 3:23 which reminds us of the need to work at everything we do with all our hearts. ‘Candyfloss Christianity’, which, like the seaside treat, lacks substance, means that at times when put to the test, our testimony disappears; what we need is the substance that comes from ongoing intimacy with God.

Defining Motivation

Motivation is the thing that moves us to fulfil our goals, governing how we use our time, talents and opportunities. Rom 12:11 reminds us to never be lacking in zeal but instead keep our spiritual fervour. We want to be the kind of people who make a difference to our churches and our world, not those who simply passively watch things happen or who question in bewilderment ‘What happened?!’ We need to be steadfast and immovable, always abounding in grace (see 1 Cor 15:58), able to persevere through trials and difficulties (as William Wilberforce did when working to abolish slavery.) Heb 2:1, Gal 5:1 and Rev 2:4 all warn of the dangers of losing our motivation. We need to be like the postage stamp, which sticks to one thing until it gets where it’s going!

Caleb is an example of someone who kept going to the end, being of a different spirit to the other ten spies who only saw difficulties and who lacked faith. His attitude focussed on God, not on the situation, and his strength and vigour remained strong at eighty-five! (see Josh 14:11). Paul is another example of joyful perseverance (see 2 Cor 11:23-29 for a list of the trials he faced) and, of course, Jesus is the one on whom we should fix our eyes for He shows us how to endure opposition by keeping the long-term goal in front of Him (see Heb 12:1-3).

Mark spoke from Gen 47:13-26 this morning, continuing to look at the story of Joseph. Here, we see how Jacob’s blessing of Pharaoh (so incongruous in that Pharaoh was the most important leader in the world at that time and Jacob was a mere Hebrew landowner), coupled with Joseph’s growing wisdom, results in even greater fame and wealth for Pharaoh. As the famine continues in the whole world, Joseph sells food in exchange for money, and then in exchange for livestock, land and eventually people. The people are desperate, for they have nothing, but as Joseph has shown prudence and wisdom because of God’s fore-warning, there is still food in Egypt, even if the price people have to pay is their animals, their land and even their freedom.

In the midst of this difficult and desperate situation, Joseph gives seed to the people, telling them they will once more grow crops, four-fifths of which they may keep, with one-fifth being returned to Pharaoh. It would take hard work to break up the dry, barren land in order to plant seed, but as Hosea 10:12 reminds us, we have to sow for ourselves righteousness and break up our unploughed land if we are to reap the fruit of unfailing love and see God’s showers of righteousness. Sometimes, we have to keep on doing the right things even in hard times, even when the prospect of a harvest seems remote.

Joseph the dreamer has vision and faith for all the people, not just for himself, and he can trust God to bring an end to the famine, for his faithful God had proved Himself time and time again. The people were grateful for the salvation Joseph provided, but he knew that God was the real source of the salvation in providing the wisdom and skill to help the people. Joseph has become more than a dreamer by this time; he has grown in wisdom and become spiritually wise; he has become a doer as well as a dreamer. When we truly give our lives to God, He will use us to bring about His will in the world, giving us the gifts we need to do so much more than anything we can ever dream.

Casting Crowns remind us that God’s dreams for us are so much greater than anything we could ever dream on our own. Mary dreamt of being a wife and mother; she never expected to become mother to the Son of God. David dreamt about being a big time shepherd one day, but God had plans for him to bring down Goliath (‘Dream For You’, Casting Crowns). Joseph’s dreams never included the salvation of Egypt and the whole world, but God is able to take a surrendered life and do amazing things through us. We want to be a generation that sees God move in awesome ways. He needs pliable ploughers and planters for His dreams to come true.