Who hired Judas to be the treasurer of the ministry? Jesus, of course. Now think, Jesus gave an opportunity for a greedy man to handle His money. Did He not know that Judas had a problem with money? Certainly. Which makes for TWO important discoveries:
- The area of gifting is the area of temptation,
- God will give you responsibility and opportunity in that area in spite of your weakness.
WHY?
Does God want to set you up to fail? Actually, He is setting you up to succeed. The only way you can break through a weakness is to face it and overcome it. To break off the iniquity – you must face off with the iniquity.
God doesn't tempt us – yet the Spirit drove Jesus into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. Why? Meeting the tempter seems to be a right of passage into promotion. Did the Father want the Son to fail? Obviously not. He wanted the Son to be tested and qualified to drive the enemy out.
Maybe you and I are tempted most in the area we are called to drive out the devil? Look at the thing you struggle with now and consider if it isn't a spirit somehow associated with the territory you are called to occupy. Judas had a gift for money and therefore had to overcome a spirit of greed. A strong leader may struggle with control, a great persuader with manipulation or seduction.
Temptation reveals weaknesses and “Owning” a weakness actually makes you more authentic. It makes you more generous with others who fall and the humility you experience creates a vacuum in you that draws in greater grace! God gives grace to the humble. Grace is the word that describes a current of divine energizing power from Heaven. As you draw near to Him, He gives you grace and this creates energy to overcome. Heaven creates a table for you right “in the presence of your enemies.” You “occupy till He comes.” You don't run from the pressure. Heaven wants you to win. You'll never meet a temptation you do not have ability to resist. (read 1 Cor 10:13)
And you'll never be held back from promotion because you might be tempted. In fact your weakness and your strength are so intertwined that you will surely meet temptation as you advance. Don't let it stop you.
great encouragement
I love this. I would like to read more. I have an ipad, where would i go to purchase or download this on to my ipad?
This is a great blog. Very challenging, profound but yet true. I like studying the lives of great men and women and it’s always interesting to discover the truth in a statement by Dr.Mike Murdock that ” The ones with the greatest gifts seem to have the greatest flaws”. That’s why ‘God’s Generals – why they succeeded and why they failed’ by Roberts Liardon is my favourite book. This blog seems to validate the statement and book.
This goes along with the scripture that has been resounding in my heart, James1:2-5. Read it in he Amplified Bible. It blew me away after reading the definitions of “trials” and “temptations”. Essentially the Lord was showing me that he allows us to be tried in order to mature and develop to “prove” our suitability for what He has called us to. Look at the meaning of trial on the online dictionary. Temptation, on the otherhand, was defined as having a “desire” to do something wrong or unwise. This made verse 5 make more sense when it says, “if anyone is deficient in wisdom let him ask the giving God…” The whole revelation blew me away!!!! Blessings to you Lance.
Good stuff Lance! Thanks!
This was so insightful! Very helpful! Thank you, Lance! It would be interesting to see your insights on King David ( other than the his adaptability of which you have already spoken.) You really are a very good teacher with alot of wisdom. Look forward to the next “spot”. Thanks again…
good word!!!…..ironically, today, if we found Judas in Jesus’ ministry team, we would stop “giving” to His ministry!….the ramifications go everywhere!!
As you explained in one of your videos, I have intersected with my passion a few times, but never developed it beyond a hobby. Success in the pursuit of it fed my pride, so I thought I was supposed to abandon it. Recently, I have accepted its pervasiveness. It’s as if there is a default guard over the switch of this pasison, showing me that this is the way its supposed to work normally. It is nearly as natural as breathing. I can feel the energy when I let it embrace me, almost as if it has a life of its own.
Now that I’ve seen it, I can’t unsee it. What’s left is to embrace it.
Great insight into this topic. I’ve felt that same way, that my area of temptation is also my gifting. Sometimes (for example) there are moments where I want to speak and “show off” what I know from a topic, whether it’s health/finances/God’s Word or supernatural experiences I’ve had but Holy Spirit has told me not to speak because it’s my ego (sometimes) that wants to just show how “much I know”. Thank you for this, put a few things into a different perspective.
Once I recognized and accepted my assignment, I immediately lost everything. I’m not exaggerating for being called to fund the Gospel meant that I was destined to financially start over. And I started over with the Lord guiding the way. He’s been a Most Marvelous Leader.
During that season I lost nearly all of my material possessions due to circumstances except for some clothes and some important papers. All I had to my name was 1500 shares of useless stock and about .75 cents. That season of transition lasted for 6 years. In fact, July 1st of this year starts a new beginning for me as it marks the end of the transition period.
The events of that 6 year transition period molded me. It changed my relationship with the Lord for the better. It humbled me. It taught me compassion. It also made me fearless and unstoppable as I know who My Redeemer is.