|
 THE
THREE MOST SERIOUS PROBLEMS FACING MEN TODAY…
A TRILOGY
By:
Vince D’Acchioli
A
man’s most important mandate
(the
pivot point for life)
PROBLEM #2:
Men don't lack knowledge about God, so why don't we truly know Him?
In my last
article I talked about the importance of overcoming our tendency to expect
meaningful change in our life through events or quick-fix methods.
We discussed the need for commitments not decisions and the
importance of discipline. In
all of this we realize that we have both the responsibility and the
ability to take charge of our life.
While we must
never lose sight of our responsibility it is also important to note that
sometimes it is difficult to bring about meaningful change in our own
strength. There are some
areas of bondage that can be so strong that it almost seems hopeless.
Here is the
good news. As followers of
Christ you and I can have access to a power that is far greater than
anything we can bring in our human effort.
This power is conditional, however.
And here is where most men fall short.
You will never appropriate God’s ultimate resources for
meaningful change unless you develop an intimate relationship with
Him…period.
Without an
intimate relationship with God we will never understand His purpose for
our life.
Intimacy
with God = Strength of Vision
Getting
To Know Your Very Best Friend
In Matthew
14: 28-30 Peter called out, “Lord, if it is you tell me to come to you
on the water.” The Lord
answered Peter and he confidently stepped out of the boat and walked on
the water. Peter considered
Jesus his closest friend, so much so that he was willing to trust Him with
his life. He literally walked
on the water! What phenomenal
evidence of unconditional love and trust.
But we all know that the story did not stop there.
As long as Peter had his eyes fixed on Jesus his feet stayed above
the water. However, the
minute he looked away and let fear and doubt enter his mind he began to
sink.
Each day we
face the same decision that Peter faced as he walked across that water.
We can choose to keep our eyes on Jesus or to focus on the
circumstances around us. We
must discover how to never doubt God’s ability to handle even the
smallest of cares in our life. This
is not possible however unless you develop the kind of trusting
relationship with Him that Peter demonstrates.
How can I
have that kind of relationship with God?
What I am
about to share next is not very profound, but once grasped it has the
potential to drastically change your life.
Strong friendships are not built easily.
They take time. We
have to get to know someone inside and out before trusting them enough to
confide in them. The same is true of our relationship with God.
The only way we can become intimate is by spending time
alone with Him.
Time With The
Master
Reading the
Word, praying and praising are the three areas I want to emphasize here.
I believe we need to have a deliberate scheduled time alone with
God everyday.
Reading
The Word
I have an
illustration that exemplifies how many of us like to treat God’s Word.
I am sure that you have at least one computer sitting in your home. If not, you probably have a basic understanding of how a
computer works. The hardware
is nothing more than the platform upon which some very sophisticated
software programs will run. The
real brilliance is in the software. A
programmer sits down and writes incredible volumes of code in order to
produce a product that you and I will eventually buy at some retail
outlet.
Inside the
package there is usually a pretty healthy size manual.
You see the original writer of the program knew that we would not
be able to figure it all out, so they provided a manual.
Well, if you are anything like me you don’t need to read the
instructions. You can figure
out how the first 5-10% of the program works.
In my case, my manual often ends up somewhere on the top shelf of
my office right next to my Bible. Until
one day I decide to go a little deeper.
I attempt a new command and find myself staring at a blue screen
covered with error messages.
What’s the
first thing I do? I call for technical support.
When I finally get a voice on the other end, our conversation goes
something like this:
“Hello,
Mr. D’Acchioli. How may I
help you?”
“Well,
I’m using this program and it just isn’t doing what I am asking.”
“ Well
what is it doing, sir?”
“ I am
asking it to perform a, b, c and it is responding with x, y, z.”
“Sir, do
you happen to have your manual handy?”
“Yes, hang
on a second, and I will pull it down from my bookshelf.”
“ Okay, now
turn to page 974. Do you see the illustration at the top of the page? Is that
what your computer is doing?”
“ Yes,
that is exactly what is happening.”
“Do you
see the instructions just below that diagram?”
“Yes.”
“
If you follow the instructions provided right below that illustration, you
will avoid having this problem again.”
In other
words—if you do that—that won’t happen.
Feeling
rather silly, I quickly thank the technician and hang up the phone.
But not before hearing the technician respond, “You are
welcome Mr. D’Acchioli. Thank you for calling and have a wonderful
day.”
Now, I am
sure that was not what he wanted to say…
Do you know
what? You also have been
manufactured. Just like that
computer program, someone wrote your code and knows how every part of your
program is supposed to work. Then He plopped you down on planet earth and sent along a
manual. That’s right, your
Bible. God knew that you and
I needed more information. But,
if you are like most people, you don’t need that manual.
You know how the first 5-10% of your program works. Most of us are pretty good at figuring out the basic stuff
that seems to work in life. Things
are looking fine when all of a sudden something goes wrong.
Your program isn’t working like you thought—your marriage is
falling apart. What’s the
first thing you do? You call
the technical support department, in this case, a pastor or counselor at
your church:
“ Pastor,
something is wrong—there is no way that God gave me that man or that
woman—there must be a mistake.”
Your pastor
responds, “Do
you have your manual?”
What?
“You
know, your Bible.”
After digging
out the dust-covered Bible, you are asked to turn to Ephesians the 5th
chapter. Fumbling to remember
if that was in the Old or New Testament, you finally get there.
Once the pastor has guided you to a full understanding of the
passage he suggests, “If you do
that—your marriage will no longer be a struggle” or better yet
“If you do
that—that won’t happen.”
After
thanking your pastor for his time, you hear him reply,
“I
appreciate your coming to me for help—glad to be there for you—now go
and have a nice day.”
BUT, that’s
not what he wanted to say…
The Bible
says in Psalm 119:105, “Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light for
my path.” What is that
verse suggesting? Literally, a
lamp to my feet means that it will illuminate my steps every day—one
step at a time. We won’t be tripping over the minefields of life.
But then there is an even greater promise.
The second half of that verse says a
light for my path. That
means not only will the Word illuminate my daily walk, but it will shine a
bright light on where I am headed. Want
to know why you may be having a hard time discovering the light at the end
of your tunnel? I ask you, could it be that you are not in the Word?
Now I
understand that reading the Word can be challenging.
There have been many times where I have sat down to read two or
three chapters in the Bible, and just a few minutes later I cannot
remember what I just read. Then there are times where my mind is just too scattered to
absorb anything. There are
just too many distractions. A
friend of mine once warned me, “Don’t let the enemy come in and rob
you of the truth.” He will
get you thinking, “Why do I bother reading the Word? I don’t get
anything out of it.” Read it anyway!
The
Power Of Prayer
A second
means of becoming more intimate with the Father is through prayer.
Prayer must become a significant part of our devotional habit.
I would like
to share with you what I like to call, “The Six Principles for
Effective Prayer:”
1.
Schedule it
If
you don’t schedule it, you won’t do it.
I read a book many years ago titled, Eckerd.
It was an autobiography of Jack Eckerd’s life. Jack was the founder of a large and very successful drug
store chain. In his book, he
talks about how he would go to work every morning and retreat directly to
his office. Each day from
7:30am to roughly 8:30am he closed his office door and shut the rest of
the world out. His first
meeting of the day was scheduled with God.
Jack protected that time as though it was the most precious meeting
in the work place. What a
great example of how we should be treating our intimate moments with the
Father.
2.
Find a quiet place
This may be
your office, a study, your basement or a place in your home where there is
little family traffic. Some people have even designated a special room or closet in
their home especially for the purpose of prayer. Wherever it may be, be sure to create a private prayer haven
of your very own. If you
don’t have a quiet place, you will never be able to achieve number
three…
3.
Quiet your mind
This is the
greatest challenge for me. It is tough to get my mind into a place of
neutral where I am not thinking about anything else but God.
To get there, I generally start by praising Him.
I may say something like, “Lord I love you, I give you honor,
glory and praise. You are such a wonderful God.”
Just begin to talk to Him as if He were sitting right at your side.
Thank Him and honor Him. Before
you know it, everything that was previously clouding your thoughts will
fall away and your focus will be on Jesus alone.
4.
Seek Him first—not what you want
If your mind
is quiet and you are truly operating with a heart of praise, it will only
be natural to seek God’s face rather than His hand.
I do not mean to say that it is wrong to bring our petitions before
the Lord. The Word clearly
instructs us to cast all of our cares on Him.
However, it is important that we learn to seek the Giver of the
gift before we seek the gift. We are so quick to jump right in with our requests. Can you
imagine how a loving parent would feel if the only time their child ever
came to them was when they wanted something?
Should our Father God feel any differently? He loves us and desires
to spend quality time with us. First seek…then ask!
5.
Ask for His will in all matters
His plan is
perfect and right for every circumstance.
In Mark 14:36 Jesus states, “Father everything is possible for
you. Take this cup from
me.” In this verse Jesus is
referring to His pending death on the cross. He continues, “Yet not what I will, but what you will.”
Even though He knew what was about to happen, He was willing to
endure it in order to see God’s will fulfilled.
6.
Pray against the forces that are at cross-purposes with God’s
will
As a result
of Jesus’ death on the cross and His shed blood, you and I have been
given the authority to pray against all forces that are at cross purposes
with God’s will. What are
those forces? There are
three: The world, the flesh
and the devil. If we pray for God’s will we should never be disappointed
with the outcome. We can
rejoice knowing that He will answer our petition in His own way and in His
own time.
Giving
Him Praise
It is funny
how we sing about praise, we talk about it and we even use it in our
spiritual lingo, “Praise the Lord!”
But how many of us have established a habit of personal praise? Did
you realize that the word “praise” is mentioned 319 times in the
Bible? It is one of the most
often mentioned concepts in all of Scripture, yet one of the most
misunderstood. Most of us do
not understand what praise really means.
Over time, I
have learned that God’s voice is always heard the clearest during
moments of intense praise. 2
Chronicles 5:13 states, “The trumpeters and singers joined in unison as
with one voice to give praise and thanks to the Lord.
Accompanied by trumpets, symbols and other instruments they raised
their voices in praise to the Lord and sang, He is good, His love endures
forever.” The verse
continues, “Then, (then is a transitional word meaning as a result of
what has just taken place, here is what happened) the temple of the Lord
was filled with a cloud.” The
cloud of course was God’s presence.
Under the old covenant, God would reside in physical
locations—the Temple, Tabernacle or Ark.
Under the new
covenant 2 Chronicles 5:13 has a whole different connotation.
Today, God resides in our hearts.
As the direct result of praising our God He blesses us with His
very presence. Scripture
tells us that the Lord inhabits the praises of His people.
If You Praise
Him—He Will Speak!
I would like
to suggest that there is a direct link between praising God and hearing
His voice. James 4:8 says,
“Come near to God and he will come near to you.”
Are you tuned to the Master’s voice?
If not, take the time to make it happen!
What’s
next?
In my last
two articles I have dealt with overcoming the cycle
of hopelessness and establishing an intimate relationship with our
Lord. Both of these issues
are critical if we are to ever discover God’s ultimate purpose for our
life.
In my next
article I will now address what I call the two most important questions in
life. How
am I wired uniquely and why am I
here.
Stay tuned! | 
