Faith does not only rejoice when everything is going well. Faith rejoices in the middle of opposition, emotional pain, and spiritual attack.
The Bible says:
“Count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations.”
— James 1:2 (KJV)
This does not mean that we enjoy suffering. It means that we can have confidence in God even when we are going through something difficult.
Sometimes the enemy will try to use temptation to pull us away from what God has told us to do. We may be tempted toward sexual immorality, dishonesty, bitterness, or other sinful behavior.
But we must tell the truth—even when telling the truth hurts us.
The Bible says:
“Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour.”
— Ephesians 4:25 (KJV)
Tell the truth, even when it costs you something. And if speaking is not necessary, sometimes wisdom says to remain silent.
Jesus Himself demonstrated this kind of wisdom. There were times when people questioned Him or accused Him, and He simply did not answer them.
There is a time to speak and a time to remain silent.
One of the clearest examples of this is Jesus’ conversation with Nicodemus.
Nicodemus came to Jesus at night and began asking Him questions. Jesus immediately brought him to the heart of the matter:
“Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
— John 3:3 (KJV)
Nicodemus misunderstood Jesus literally. He wondered how a person could physically enter his mother’s womb and be born again.
Jesus was talking about something spiritual.
To be born again means to receive new spiritual life from God through faith in Jesus Christ. It is not simply becoming a better person. It is a work of God inside a person.
Jesus later explained:
“Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.”
— John 3:5 (KJV)
This is where the real adventure of faith begins: receiving new life from God and learning to follow Him.
The theme I want to emphasize is this:
When God gives you direction, other people do not automatically have the authority to change it.
This does not mean that we should refuse correction. Scripture tells us to receive godly counsel and correction.
But there is a difference between godly correction and allowing another person to take control of something God has entrusted to you.
We must learn how to hear God’s Word, follow the Holy Spirit, walk in love, and remain faithful to what God has actually told us.
“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.”
— John 10:27 (KJV)
Sometimes I think about God’s work like an air-traffic-control room.
You can look at the screen and see all these different airplanes moving around. One aircraft is turning here. Another is coming in from somewhere else. Another is being directed toward a different runway.
God sees the whole picture.
While we may only see one small part of our situation, God sees what is happening around us.
Romans 8:28 tells us:
“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”
God is able to arrange circumstances, relationships, opportunities, and timing according to His purposes.
But we have a responsibility: we must become spiritually fit and functional.
That means knowing God’s Word, learning to be led by the Holy Spirit, walking in love, and developing genuine faith.
The goal is not merely to know Christian vocabulary.
We need to know God’s Word well enough that it becomes part of the way we think and live.
Paul told Timothy:
“Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”
— 2 Timothy 2:15 (KJV)
Rightly dividing the Word means understanding Scripture correctly and applying it in the right way.
We need both knowledge and obedience.
As we grow in the Word and learn to follow the Holy Spirit, we become better prepared to recognize what God is doing.
When God’s work begins to operate through our lives, we may see His anointing (God’s empowering presence for His purposes) expressed in different areas.
I think of it as four things:
Fire — the wisdom, revelation, passion, and zeal of God.
Favor — God’s gracious help and opportunity.
Friendships — relationships that God uses to strengthen and advance His purposes.
Finances — resources needed to accomplish the work God has given us.
That is a broader picture of biblical prosperity.
Biblical prosperity is not simply having more money. It is having what God provides so that we can fulfill what He has called us to do.
Paul wrote:
“And my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”
— Philippians 4:19 (KJV)
The “fire” of God also speaks to spiritual passion.
Have you ever started something with great excitement, only to become bored with it later?
Sometimes that happens because we are trying to operate in our own strength rather than following God’s direction.
Jesus warned the church at Ephesus:
“Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.”
— Revelation 2:4 (KJV)
Our goal is not simply to stay busy.
Our goal is to remain close to Jesus.
A lifestyle of Word and worship (building your life around Scripture and honoring God) begins in the secret place.
The secret place is where we spend time alone with God in prayer, worship, and His Word.
Jesus said:
“But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret.”
— Matthew 6:6 (KJV)
But the secret place is not where our ministry ends.
What God develops in private eventually becomes useful in public.
We pray in the secret place, and then we go into the highways and byways to serve people.
Jesus said:
“Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.”
— Luke 14:23 (KJV)
There comes a point when you begin to understand what God has actually called you to do.
Sometimes your assignment may look very small to other people.
That’s okay.
You may discover that your world is supposed to be smaller than someone else’s.
When you find your God-ordained place, you can become very happy there—even if other people would find it boring.
Paul explained that believers have different assignments within the body of Christ:
“But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him.”
— 1 Corinthians 12:18 (KJV)
We do not all have the same function.
As your assignment grows, God may bring other people alongside you.
Some things that once required your personal attention may eventually be handled by people you trust.
That does not mean those things stop being part of your ministry or organization. It means you have learned how to delegate.
The New Testament teaches that the body of Christ has many different members with different functions.
“For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office.”
— Romans 12:4 (KJV)
Ministry means serving God and serving people according to the calling and gifts God gives you.
We are not supposed to do everything ourselves.
The Bible gives examples of people serving alongside spiritual leaders.
The important principle is that people should be allowed to grow.
Not everyone who begins by helping a leader will remain in that role forever.
Some people may be called to serve in a supporting role for a season. Others may eventually grow into leadership themselves.
An armor bearer was literally a person who carried weapons and served a warrior or king in the Old Testament. The term is sometimes used today for someone who gives close personal or ministry support to a leader.
But we should be careful not to turn an Old Testament role into a permanent New Testament command.
God may call someone to support a leader for a season. God may also call that person to develop into another ministry assignment.
We should never neglect the Old Testament.
The Old Testament is God’s Word and gives us the foundation for understanding the story of redemption.
But Christians should read the Old Testament in the light of Jesus and the New Testament.
Jesus Himself taught that the Scriptures point toward Him:
“Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.”
— John 5:39 (KJV)
The Old Testament contains commands that belonged specifically to Israel under the Mosaic covenant (the covenant God made with Israel through Moses).
Christians are not saved by returning to the old covenant’s ceremonial laws.
Instead, we look to Christ.
Paul explained that the Old Testament Scriptures were written for our learning and instruction:
“For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning.”
— Romans 15:4 (KJV)
We want the revelation (understanding God gives us) found in Scripture, not merely religious rules separated from Christ.
The Old Testament also gives us an important warning about challenging God’s appointed leadership.
Numbers 16 records the rebellion of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram against Moses and Aaron.
Korah challenged the leadership God had established over Israel.
The story shows that we should not treat spiritual authority casually.
At the same time, the New Testament gives us a different structure for ministry. We must not simply copy Old Testament leadership structures into the church.
Jesus established His church under the New Covenant, and the New Testament describes different gifts, ministries, and leadership roles.
Look at Timothy and Titus.
They served alongside Paul, learned from him, and eventually carried major leadership responsibilities themselves.
John Mark is another important example. His story shows that people can grow through seasons of failure, restoration, and service.
Philip provides another example.
In Acts 6, Philip was among those chosen to serve the growing church in Jerusalem.
Later, Acts 8 identifies him as an evangelist:
“Philip the evangelist, which was one of the seven.”
— Acts 21:8 (KJV)
His four daughters also prophesied:
“And the same man had four daughters, virgins, which did prophesy.”
— Acts 21:9 (KJV)
This shows us that ministry gifts were not limited to one person or one generation.
Paul spent significant time teaching the Corinthian church how spiritual gifts should operate.
Why?
Because spiritual gifts were intended to build up the church.
Paul wrote:
“Even so ye, forasmuch as ye are zealous of spiritual gifts, seek that ye may excel to the edifying of the church.”
— 1 Corinthians 14:12 (KJV)
Edification means building someone up spiritually.
Paul also taught that everything should be done properly and in order:
“Let all things be done decently and in order.”
— 1 Corinthians 14:40 (KJV)
God is not the author of confusion.
The answer to disorder is not necessarily to eliminate spiritual gifts. The biblical answer is to learn how to use them properly.
People who come into a church are not necessarily supposed to remain in the same place forever.
They are supposed to grow.
They are supposed to mature.
They are supposed to discover their gifts and callings.
And eventually, they should be able to help others grow.
God told humanity in Genesis:
“Be fruitful, and multiply.”
— Genesis 1:28 (KJV)
That principle of fruitfulness can also be seen in spiritual ministry.
Paul told Timothy:
“The things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.”
— 2 Timothy 2:2 (KJV)
Notice the multiplication:
Paul taught Timothy.
Timothy taught faithful people.
Those people taught others.
That is spiritual reproduction.
If God has given someone a gift, the goal of spiritual leadership should not be to suppress that gift.
The goal should be to help that person develop it responsibly.
Paul said:
“But let every man prove his own work.”
— Galatians 6:4 (KJV)
If someone believes God has called them to evangelism, give them opportunities to evangelize.
If someone believes they are called to teach, let them learn how to teach biblically.
Their work can then be tested by its fruit, character, faithfulness, and agreement with Scripture.
Many people are called, and they need loving spiritual parents to help them grow.
The New Testament sometimes uses the language of spiritual fatherhood.
Paul told the Corinthians:
“For though ye have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet have ye not many fathers.”
— 1 Corinthians 4:15 (KJV)
A spiritual father or mother should not use that relationship to control people.
Spiritual authority means responsibility to serve, guide, protect, teach, and help people grow according to God’s Word. It does not mean having unlimited control over another person’s life.
The more authority a person has, the greater the responsibility.
Jesus said:
“For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required.”
— Luke 12:48 (KJV)
Nobody is above God’s Word.
Pastors and spiritual leaders have a serious responsibility.
Hebrews says:
“Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account.”
— Hebrews 13:17 (KJV)
Notice those final words:
Leadership is not simply a privilege.
It is a responsibility before God.
This is why leaders should be careful about how they treat people who are growing into their own gifts and callings.
Scripture tells us to look at the fruit produced by people’s lives.
Jesus said:
“Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.”
— Matthew 7:20 (KJV)
Paul also told Timothy to consider the life and doctrine of a leader:
“Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them.”
— 1 Timothy 4:16 (KJV)
Over time, patterns become visible.
A ministry can appear successful for a season, but eventually its fruit becomes evident.
That is why we should not judge everything by one moment.
Look at the long-term fruit.
Look at character.
Look at faithfulness.
Look at what happens to the people who were entrusted to that ministry.
The Old Testament gives us a sobering picture of what happens when God’s people turn away from Him.
In 1 Samuel 4, the name Ichabod was given to a child after Israel’s defeat and the capture of the ark.
The name is connected with the idea that the glory had departed.
“The glory is departed from Israel.”
— 1 Samuel 4:22 (KJV)
This should remind us that spiritual legacy matters.
A ministry should not only ask, “What are we accomplishing today?”
We should also ask:
What are we leaving behind for the people who come after us?
The Bible says:
“A good man leaveth an inheritance to his children’s children.”
— Proverbs 13:22 (KJV)
That principle applies far beyond money.
We can leave behind wisdom.
We can leave behind godly examples.
We can leave behind sound teaching.
We can leave behind healthy structures and biblical standards.
We can prepare the next generation to carry what God has entrusted to us.
That is one of the goals of Redemption Corps: to establish something that can continue bearing fruit even after my wife and I are gone.
The goal is for the spiritual children who come after us—and their spiritual children—to be able to operate within the vision God has given us.
This is why bylaws, standards, procedures, and protocols matter.
Protocols are agreed-upon ways of handling situations correctly.
If we establish them according to God’s Word and the leading of the Holy Spirit, we can prevent problems that have damaged other ministries.
We can either create structures that make future generations struggle, or we can build structures that help them flourish.
That is a serious responsibility.
We are not merely building something for ourselves.
We are building something that others may inherit.
So don’t let somebody else rewrite what God has spoken to you.
But at the same time, don’t use that statement as an excuse to reject correction.
Stay in the Word.
Walk in love.
Listen to the Holy Spirit.
Receive wise counsel.
Test everything against Scripture.
Allow your gifts to be tested and proven.
And give other people the same freedom to grow into what God has called them to become.
Paul’s words are still important:
“Let every man prove his own work.”
— Galatians 6:4 (KJV)
God is building something bigger than any one person.
Our responsibility is to be faithful with the assignment He has given us and to help the people around us become everything He has called them to be.
Paul told the Philippians:
“Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.”
— Philippians 2:12 (KJV)
This does not mean that we earn salvation by our own works.
Salvation means being rescued from sin and brought into a restored relationship with God through Jesus Christ.
To “work out” our salvation means to live out the salvation God has already given us, allowing His work in us to become visible in our daily lives.
So keep growing.
Keep learning.
Keep serving.
Keep walking in love.
Keep listening to God.
And don’t allow anyone to take the place that belongs to Jesus as Lord over your life.
Glory be to God.
Peace and love as you work out your own salvation in Jesus’ holy name.
Amen.