Thursday, September 8, 2011

DIVINE APPOINTMENT IN THE EXPECTATIONS OF OTHERS

PLEASING GOD OR PLEASING OTHERS: Are you a "People Pleaser"? If you are, you know how difficult it can be to accept or reject the recommendations of other people for your life and activity. While there is good Scriptural reason for us to "submit ourselves one to another, to "follow good counsel", to even "yield" to other's desires - perhaps even while suffering wrong ourselves, there are times when we have to stand alone and do what we believe GOD has called us to. That can be a hard thing to do if you are commonly known as a "people pleaser". The Gospel of John chapter seven gives us an incident in the life of Christ when He had to do just such a thing.

Jesus began His life and ministry with such high expectations from people. He had been proclaimed by the popular preacher of that day, John the Baptist, as the "Lamb of God which takes away the sin of the world"and was baptised by him. Later He fought the great temptations of Satan in the wilderness and WON!! He was proclaimed by God Himself in a voice from Heaven saying, "This is My Beloved Son, in Whom I am well pleased". He began to gather followers, and disciples. Soon He was preaching and teaching in the Synagogues (the religious place of worship of the day) and He was doing many great miracles among the people. Jesus' first year of obscurity soon gave way to a year of popularity and He was a welcomed and wanted preacher and teacher.

However, it wasn't long before the year of popularity begin to give way to adversity. In John chapter six we are told that as Jesus went over the Sea of Galilee, there was a great multitude who followed Him because they saw the signs (or miracles) He performed. Then He performed a sign on the multitude themselves by feeding them with five loaves of bread and two fishes. We are told that they were filled and that there were even "left-overs". They began to sing His praises after they saw this sign saying, "this is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world". It seemed they believed wholeheartedly in Jesus and He had gained yet another following. In fact they were so in awe of Him that they tried to take Him by force and "make Him a king". Now, in our day many would gladly accept this honor, this success, this adulation of praise - but, not JESUS! We are told that He departed into a mountain by Himself ALONE. They still looked for Him however, only to receive a rebuke by Him as He judged the true reason they were searching for him. He then began to teach them some hard lessons of Theology. (John 6:26-65)

This began His year of unpopularity and adversity and we are told that from that time, MANY went back and walked with Him no more. There He stood with a ruined teaching ministry as He questioned the twelve, "will you go away also?" - to which Peter replied, "Lord, to whom shall we go, YOU have the words of ETERNAL LIFE". I wonder if it was here that Judas began his feeling of disappointment leading to his eventual betrayal of the LORD? After all, if the multitude were going away so was much of the monetary support from which Judas had been stealing. And too, he was no longer associated with a popular preacher of the day but with one to whom many were objecting. Was this what Judas had signed up for?

This brings us to John chapter seven and an event that will be repeated several times before Jesus' final death and departure from this life. The chapter begins by telling us that Jesus walked in Galilee not Judea because the Jews sought to kill Him. However, the Feast of Tabernacles which was held in Judea was near and He always made the Feasts as was required by law. So his natural brothers gave Him a recommendation and with it came the test of "people pleasing". After all, these were His brothers and they expected Him to go. But, their true motive is revealed as they gave him the encouragement to, "Depart from here that your disciples may SEE the WORK that you are doing. For no one does anything in secret while he himself seeks to BE KNOWN OPENLY. If you do these things, SHOW yourself to the world". They too, were disappointed that Jesus was now loosing His popularity. So they encourage His ministry but with a selfish motive - "SHOW the WORLD what you can DO"! They might have said, "After all, is not the approval of ministry shown in its success and popularity?"

Jesus however, knew something about his brothers that even they themselves did not know. It was that they did not KNOW HIM or BELIEVE IN HIM. While they knew him "after the flesh" and knew Him as their brother, they did not know Him as the SON OF GOD and as their SAVIOR. And, Jesus knew something about His own purpose from God and the timing of it. So, He tells them, "My time is not yet come". We are then told that he STAYED in Galilee while they went ahead to the feast. He stayed following the will of God not the recommendation of this brothers. Jesus did not stay because He was afraid of the Jews who were seeking to kill Him, for he later did go and faced them - teaching openly in the Temple. He stayed because God had a time for Him to go up and He would not be influenced by the suggestion of His brothers to step aside from the will of God's timing for Him.

A similar occurrence happened later in John chapter eleven. Lazarus, Jesus' very good friend, had gotten sick and Mary and Martha, Lazarus's sisters, sent for Jesus to come. They knew that Jesus had healed others and He could heal Lazaurs also. So, surely He would heal His very good friend who had ministered to Him and given Him hospitality many times. But, we are told that when Jesus heard it, He STAYED two more days - in fact He stayed until Lazarus died. Why did He not follow the request of his friends and go to Lazarus. Because God had a time and a further glory for Lazarus than being raised from a sick bed. Jesus, in the will and timing of God would raise him from the DEAD!!! Surely, if Jesus had been a "people pleaser" He would have left immediately at the request of his beloved friends but He waited on GOD, His Father.

This type of incident is repeated over and over again in the Life and Ministry of the LORD Jesus and there is not enough time to mention all the examples. These are given, however, for us to make application in our own lives. They bring us back to the question I asked at the beginning, "Are you a "people pleaser"? Are the reasons you do the things you do in your life to please others (even when and if they are very good requests and recommendations) or to please GOD. How can we know when it is okay to please others. I must tell you that by nature, I am a "people pleaser". It is difficult for me to say "NO" to others - but, I have found that in many cases I have to when I clearly know that the suggestion is in opposition to God's time and will for me. I have discovered a few ways for me to discern when to follow man's opinion and when not to. One way is the clear instruction from the WORD OF GOD. Another is committing the situation to PRAYER and then to wait the PROVIDENTIAL leading of God, the Holy Spirit in the situation. It has been said that, "God's ways are behind the scene and He moves all the scenes He is behind". So, finally, it comes to trusting HIM as you have sought clear instruction from his Word, prayerfully committed it to Him and then follow the leading before you. Many times, you may not clearly know whether to follow the recommendation. In such cases you must follow the best course before you, doing all things for the GLORY of GOD, in LOVE and for the EDIFICATION of others, trusting that the LORD who has promised to be with you, IS with you in the situation.

We should also be careful not to judge others in their decisions to reject our suggestions. Jesus carefully warns the people not to judge according to appearance (things are not always as they APPEAR to be) but to judge righteous judgment. Remember that God has a will and time in other's lives too and it may not be according to our recommendations for them. My prayer is that we all may carefully and prayerfully follow the LORD, pleasing HIM in all things - even when it means displeasing others. May we become "GOD PLEASERS" not "PEOPLE PLEASERS"!!