Are you resting or running?

Posted by Gertjan Goldschmeding in Spiritual | 0 comments

Entering into the rest always seems to be a complicated issue. Grace people focus on resting, faith people on running and pressing in. Who is right and who is wrong? Many will say, it all has to do with “balance”. But somehow balance doesn’t seem to work. If we try to balance resting with pressing in, we become spiritually schizophrenic. It is not so much balance, but a deeper understanding of the concept of rest. Rest is not a condition of inactivity, but rather a state of heart and mind. Resting does not mean that you live without working, pressing and running, but that you live and even press without any stress.

Let’s break it down even further. Jesus urges us to come to Him when we are stressed, so He can give us rest. He continues to explain that we will be yoked with Him. We know that a yoke is something that was used for oxen. Oxen work hard, they press in, they plough and pull. So Jesus is not saying we should refrain from hard work. We should work with the right motive, expectation and state of heart. The key word in everything is: responsibility. If you are yoked with Jesus, you partner with Him but ultimately He will be responsible. You can now work with a yoke that is easy and a burden that is light, because you don’t carry the stress.

There are two areas to determine whether or not you have entered into the rest. The first one is happiness with where you are now. Dissatisfaction is one of the major stress factors in one’s life. If you learn to be content with where you are now, stress will flee from your life and only then do you qualify for a better life. It was Joyce Meyer who said it like this, “If you are not happy where you are now, you won’t be happy where you are going.”

The second area is your concern for approval, praise and credit. Remember God says He is not going to share His glory with no one, not even with you. So get used to the idea that you’ll get to enjoy lots of fruit and success, but you won’t be able to take any credit for it. But as long as you are trying to build a reputation, stress is an inevitable by-product. Once you have your impeccable reputation, you’ll have to maintain it. This is where Hollywood and all the other celebrities in the world suffer from enormous stress. Since the tabloids are dedicated to hurt and damage reputations, as long as you try to keep your reputation up, you will suffer. I am happy I have found the key to be stress free, no matter what people say or think: Like Jesus, become of no reputation. That is true liberty. That is entering the rest.

For reference:
Hebrews 4:11 Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest,
Matthew 11:28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
1 Timothy 6:6 But godliness with contentment is great gain.
Philippians 2:7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men

The Person and the Principles of Jesus

Posted by Gertjan Goldschmeding in Spiritual | 0 comments

Galatians 6:7 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.

When I start to teach on a topic and a wave of criticism hits the ministry or me, I always know that I am on the right track. Some years ago I started to teach on the Person and the principles of God. I announced that we would spend a lot of time teaching the principles of the Kingdom of God, so people would learn how to operate by them and be successful. The criticism that arose sounded very pious and religious: “We want you to preach Jesus, not the principles; the principles take us away from the Person”. Well, this statement could not be further from the truth, because God and His principles are one. When we read about sowing and reaping, a principle of the Kingdom, we find out that God identifies Himself with this principle. Mocking the principle equals mocking the Person. Jesus said, “If you love Me (the Person) you will keep my words (principles)”. Embracing the Person will qualify you to enter heaven, embracing the principles will equip you to have dominion on the earth. Seeking the Kingdom principles pleases the King!

I am convinced that if we embrace the principles and let them propel our lives into prosperity and abundance, people will be eager to know Who taught us those principles. We can take Jesus to the world by preaching to them, but why not communicate Jesus to the world by showing them that it works! The gospel is the power! A salesman won’t sell much by just screaming the name of the product, he might sell some by talking about the unique qualities of the product, but once he is able to demonstrate the advantages of the product, people will be convinced that this is what they need and want. Let’s show the world Jesus. Like Francis of Assisi said: “Preach Jesus always, and if necessary, use words!”

Discover your Assignment in life

Posted by Gertjan Goldschmeding in Spiritual | 0 comments

Whatever I go through, one thing is always there to encourage me: I’m on an assignment. Once you understand this concept, your life will never be the same. And if you are like me, I don’t want an ordinary assignment, I want to be in the elite forces of the Lord! And if you want to fulfill your uncommon assignment, you need to be ready to go through uncommon training and preparation.

But you need to know the basics of your assignment:
– You do not decide your assignment in life, you discover your assignment
– A busy life is just a distraction from discovering your assignment
– The more you get to know who you are, the better you will understand your assignment
– This is due to the fact that you are genetically programmed for your assignment
– The fact that you exist is proof that you are an essential part in God’s plan
– Your assignment has to do with solving a problem that mankind is suffering
– You are a solution on its way to find the problem that is meant to be solved
– The best way to bear fruit and fulfill your assignment is to be yourself

How do you discover your assignment?
– You will find out what you are here on earth for in the heart of God. He will give you some clues when you notice your passion, your compassion, your likes, your dislikes, what you want to protect and what touches your feelings. Like Nehemiah was touched by the condition of the wall around Jerusalem, you will be touched by certain conditions of certain people, cities or nations.

Don’t ever think your life doesn’t count. On the contrary, somebody’s life or even the destiny of an entire nation, depends on you fulfilling your assignment!

Jeremiah 1:5 Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a ….unto the nations.