Woo hoo.
Beth Moore brought it this weekend.
The whole thing was a jolt to my soul. Lots of time with women – silly and lighthearted as well as serious and heavy. Yummy food, fun shopping, good coffee.
What I love most about a conference like this is the extended time of worship in song and the Word. I came asking for a word from Him. He is so faithful.
We camped out mostly in Exodus 15, the Song of Moses. This is right after the Israelites crossed the Red Sea and the waters came crashing down on the Egyptians. She backed us up to Exodus 14:13 where the Israelites look back and see the horses and chariots of Egypt coming back after them, and they are freaking out.
Moses says, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the LORD will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still.” (verses 13-14)
The next verse is so interesting.
“Then the LORD said to Moses, ‘Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on. Raise your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea to divide the water so that the Israelites can go through the sea on dry ground…'”
Translation? “I didn’t tell you to stand still. We are most certainly not going back. I said to Move It. We are going forward! Move!”
She said we can be like that. God has brought us out to take us somewhere and we’re standing still, “waiting on Him.” We accuse God of not leading us and He’s going, “How many seas did I already part for you? Move!”
Then she pointed out verse 19: “Then the angel of God, who had been traveling in front of Israel’s army, withdrew and went behind them. The pillar of cloud also moved from in front and stood behind them, coming between the armies of Egypt and Israel.”
She said sometimes it’s obvious God is leading you in a certain direction, so you follow. But after you start moving that direction, suddenly you’re like, “Where’d you go, God? I can’t feel you anymore.” She said maybe that’s because He’s moved between you and your enemies, and is pushing you forward!
She pointed out that this spiritual life is harder than we ever thought, and if we are just sitting back, we’re going to get slaughtered. If you are going to be victorious, you’ll be in a fight, sweating with some bruises. But He’s so worth it.
It was such a kick in the pants. I need to get moving in several areas of life and ministry. But one that I’ve publicly committed to is wrapping up this series on here about simplicity of heart. I have the time several days out of the week. God has given me the lessons. In His strength and endurance, I can move it!
(Oh, that’s probably not all I’ll say about the conference. We camped out on Miriam’s life…she had some lessons to teach me and God had a word of rebuke for me as well. I hope to share some more of that, too.)
The next little section that keeps tugging on me is the way Alcorn delves into the stewardship theme. He challenges us to use the resources we’ve been given for eternal purposes. It’s a tricky topic, one that seems personal. But as Foster points out, “The Gospel demands more of us: it is obligatory upon us to help one another hammer out the shape of Christian simplicity in the midst of modern affluence. We need to love each other enough to sense our mutual responsibility and accountability. We are our brother’s and our sister’s keeper…Until we become specific, we have not spoken the word of truth that liberates (Foster, pgs 131 & 133).”
So, from Alcorn: “Scripture repeatedly states that all men, not just unbelievers, will be judged for their works (Proverbs 24:12; Ecclesiastes 12:14). The Lord’s evaluation of the seven churches in Revelation 2 and 3 makes clear that he is watching us, evaluating us. To Christians, Jesus says, ‘I am he who searches hearts and minds, and I will repay each of you according to your deeds’ (Rev 2:23).
Scripture teaches that all believers in Christ will give an account of their lives to their Lord (Romans 14:10-12). We will be judged by him according to our works, both good and bad (2 Cor 5:10). The result of this will be the gain or loss of eternal rewards (2 Cor 5:9-10; Rom 14:10-12).
‘If any man builds on this foundation [the foundation of Christ] using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man’s work. If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames.’ (1 Cor 3:12-15)
Our works are what we have done with our resources – time, energy, talents, money, possessions. The fire of God’s holiness will reveal the quality of these works, the eternal significance of what we’ve done with our God-given assets and opportunities.
Our sins are totally forgiven when we come to Christ, and we stand justified in him. Nevertheless, Scripture speaks about a coming judgment of our works, not our sins…God is for us, not against us (Rom 8:31). He has assured us we won’t face the Great White Throne Judgment. He wants to commend us at the judgment seat of Christ. He doesn’t want the works of our lifetime to go up in smoke. He wants us to have eternal rewards – and he has given us every resource in Christ to live the godly life that will result in those eternal rewards (2 Peter 1:3).
For those who have served Christ faithfully, the judgment seat will be a time of commendation and celebration. He will reward us for acts of love that no one else even noticed.” (Money, Possessions and Eternity, pgs 116, 117)
Truth, Lord. Joyful and free and loving Truth. Be bigger than my lack of follow through. Be my Follow Through. For Your glory and our good.