Be Filled to Be Effective
Yesterday I opened to Matthew
25:1-30.
Then shall the kingdom
of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth
to meet the bridegroom. And five of them were wise, and five were foolish.
They that were foolish
took their lamps, and took no oil with them: but the wise took oil in their
vessels with their lamps. While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and
slept. And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go
ye out to meet him.
Then all those virgins
arose, and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of
your oil; for our lamps are gone out. But the wise answered, saying, Not so;
lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell,
and buy for yourselves.
And while they went to
buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the
marriage: and the door was shut. Afterward came also the other virgins, saying,
Lord, Lord, open to us.
But he answered and
said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not. Watch therefore, for ye know
neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.
For the kingdom of
heaven is as a man travelling into a far country, who called his own servants,
and delivered unto them his goods. And unto one he gave five talents, to
another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability;
and straightway took his journey.
Then he that had
received the five talents went and traded with the same, and made them other
five talents. And likewise he that had received two, he also gained other two. But
he that had received one went and digged in the earth, and hid his lord's
money. After a long time the lord of those servants cometh, and reckoneth with
them.
And so he that had
received five talents came and brought other five talents, saying, Lord, thou
deliveredst unto me five talents: behold, I have gained beside them five
talents more. His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful
servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over
many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.
He also that had
received two talents came and said, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me two talents:
behold, I have gained two other talents beside them. His lord said unto him,
Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things,
I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.
Then he which had
received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard
man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strawed:
And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast
that is thine.
His lord answered and
said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where
I sowed not, and gather where I have not strawed: Thou oughtest therefore to
have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have
received mine own with usury. Take therefore the talent from him, and give it
unto him which hath ten talents.
For unto every one
that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath
not shall be taken away even that which he hath. And cast ye the unprofitable
servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
When I woke up and started
to pray, these words just came forth from my mouth – totally unplanned;
“Fresh oil and fresh
fire.”
As I continued to proceed
through the wee hours of the morning in my time with Jesus, there were many
distractions coming my way, from where to go for business for the day to what
to eat. I admit I caved into the kitchen and went to grab a quick muffin and protein
bar, when really, it could have waited. That is quite unusual behavior for me.
I usually wait until much later in the morning to eat, even though it isn’t
necessarily wrong to eat then. But this day, the timing was off.
I remembered that Jesus
deserves the best part of my attention and worship as I start my day, and even
throughout the day.
I had to ask Him for
forgiveness for allowing the distractions and start over by taking communion
and getting back in sync with Holy Spirit. As I opened the Bible, I saw the
verses named above.
In them, Jesus is showing
us that the wise virgins took the time to get the oil – representing Holy
Spirit. In other words, they took the time to get filled with Holy Spirit. To
be filled is a necessity each day, because, as we all know, the things of daily
life can drain us and leave us empty at the end of it all. So each day, we need
to be re-filled. Their vessels represent their bodies – the temple of Holy Spirit.
We have a spirit; we have
a soul and we live in our body. So, we carry the Lord around with us, but that
fresh filling is so necessary. The foolish virgins didn’t take the time to get
the oil they need to keep their lamps burning (that fresh fire that the Lord
brought out of my mouth upon waking) for themselves. So when Jesus came back at
an hour that was quite unexpected, they were asking those who were wise to give
them some of what they had. But we can only get our own oil and fire. Nobody
can get it for us, and no one can give us theirs.
I went on to pray and get
the fire and felt the presence of Holy Spirit all over me. It was beautiful as
I sang and prayed and worshipped, dancing through the house and making
declarations that I am a woman who loves God with all my heart, soul, mind and
strength!
I was reminded this past
weekend that we have to continue to decree what we want to happen in our lives.
Making Jesus my first love is at the time of my list, no matter how many times
I fail to show that. It will come to pass if I keep saying it long enough!
When I went on to read
about the talents the Lord had given to the servants, I saw it in the light of
the gifts and abilities He has placed in me to be able to fulfill the destiny
He has in mind for my life to make an impact in this world. As the time of
fellowship with the Lord continued, I saw the real priority of any given day,
regardless of how it actually plays out.
1.
Love
on Jesus for who He is and get that fresh oil and fresh fire
2.
In
giving God the best part of every aspect of my life, (a firstfruits offering)
then I can invest what He plants in me so that it can be increased and multiplied
many times over.
Hence, I had the overall
message for this day. It was to be filled to be effective.
I was so encouraged when I
heard the Lord assure me that I haven’t done everything wrong – glory to His
Name. He also showed me that the ONE THING that is necessary is to
choose the best part. Just like Mary who chose to sit at Jesus’ feet while
Martha scurried about in the kitchen.
As I listened to the songs
the Lord was bringing me in my iTunes library of hundreds of songs, the one
titled, “My First Love” came right up on the list first. I don’t even pick the
songs. I just go into my phone and it will show a “not playing” title on the
song and when I hit play, Holy Spirit takes it from there. It never ceases to
amaze me at the songs He brings at any given time. They are always spot on to
what I am experiencing in my life and a particular day. He is AWESOME!
It was a hard rain outside
in the morning during those hours I spent with Jesus, as if a pouring down of
Holy Spirit. I certainly felt it tangibly. My legs were so wobbly, and I knew
He was here with me.
For the past many months,
I struggled, quite unnecessarily I’m certain, with what I should be doing with
my time, when the Lord has already placed it all right in front of my nose! It
couldn’t be any clearer. The thing I had to do was stop, ask and listen. Something
that drivenness and distractions will choke, leaving a person feeling confused
and depressed.
I see that I need to spend
that time with Him, and even though it would be great to spend even more hours
with Him in the day, a person; I’m talking about me here, has to get up and get
out and make a difference. I think many times I have had a distorted sense of
what ministry really looks like.
I thought of the many
ministers that I really love and consider mentors of sorts, and how God is
using them to have a worldwide and very effective ministry of winning souls,
healing the sick, setting captives free and getting people delivered from
demons. I wondered, “How do they do it all?” Well, as imperfect as they all may
be while they are still in the sanctification process just like me, it all has
to start with them placing Jesus before their ministry, their finances, their
illnesses or family issues that they may be dealing with. We all have them.
They have had to seek Him
for wisdom and direction in how to carry out the plan He has put on their hearts
to do. And so it is with me and you. A daily process. Cleansing, refreshing, refilling
and restoring. It is a process – amen!
I went through song after
song that assured me of Jesus’ healing, the power of His Blood to forgive, and
how to think good thoughts and have that peace that goes beyond anything we can
understand. He reminds me that to live Is Christ (by living like He did –
totally surrendered).
After all the songs, and
my back and forth trying to remove distractions and be still in His presence, I
left with the words that He reminds me often it seems these days…
It is all a balancing act!
Wow. It’s keeping the ‘bubble in the level in the center.’ That’s a task I admit
that is too big for me. Oh, but its not too big for Him – hallelujah!
More on this for the next
blog. Why? Because the story continues. Praise God. I know He is not finished
with me yet. How about you? I hope this encourages you. As a reminder, if there
is anything I can do to further encourage you, please feel free to send me an
email.
In the meantime, go get
filled and go be effective in Jesus Name!
Hanny Lynn Stearns
Fish N Loaves Ministries,
Inc.
Hannylynn05@gmail.com
