Congratulations! You’ve been selected to be a moderator at an upcoming virtual event! Here are some things to consider as you prepare for your session.
Prepare the speakers. Prior to the event, discuss the flow of virtual session with the speakers. Review content and logistics. For example, if you are moderating a panel discussion, you may want to guide the response order (e.g. “Let’s hear from John, and Erin will follow.”) This directs the speakers and reduces the chance they will talk over each other (which could be fun, actually.)
Pro tip:Share your cell phone numbers between presenters and moderators. If an emergency arises, you will want to contact each other quickly.
Prepare the audience. As moderator, you are the host of the virtual session. It’s up to you to make the session go smoothly. This means managing not only content and rhythm but technology too.
As people join your virtual room—but prior to the start of the presentation—you might occasionally remind them they are on mute. (Some platforms allow you to set this as the default “upon entry” state; this is preferred.) Also, though it should have been posted with the link to join and the session description, remind them what time your session will start. You may also post this in the chat.
Once it’s time for the presentation to begin, greet the audience and establish the ground rules. Some basic considerations might include:
Will you mute participants?
Will you be recording the presentation? If so, announce when recording has begun and announce when recording is being ended.
When can the audience expect you’ll take their questions (during or after?)
Should participants submit questions in the chat or use some other method for being called upon?
If you’re using chat, do you need a co-moderator to help track, organize and prioritize the questions?
If there is more than one speaker, how will you bring each speaker into the discussion?
Listen well. If you’re hosting a panel discussion, you need to pay particularly close attention to listen for interesting things that come up in the conversation. Your line of questioning needs to be established but still held loosely enough to change directions if the conversation takes an important turn.
Use dry runs for practice. Do any of your presenters need to show slides? Do you need to play a video or audio clip? Will you be recording? Make sure you and your presenters have tested these features beforehand because nuances shift between different webinar platforms (e.g Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Cisco Webex, Google Hangouts, Facebook Live, etc.) Schedule a number of practice sessions (otherwise known as “dry runs”) to ensure everyone is familiar with the software.
Let go. You can’t control everything. Do your best to put the presenters (and yourself) at ease. Prepare as best you can for the worst, but pray for the best. Enjoy the journey!
Moderator Session Checklist
Here are the beginnings of a session moderator checklist. Use this list as a starting point for framing the moderator responsibilities for your next virtual summit or event.
At session start
Ensure all audience members are muted.
Remind folks they are on mute and that they should use the chat feature to ask a question.
If they don’t see chat, they can raise their hand to be unmuted.
Let attendees know when questions will be answered by presenters (e.g. at set times during the talk or at the end.)
If they are having an audio/video issue, advise them to log out and log back into the conference platform. If that fails, they should restart their machine.
Are you offering continuing education units (CEUs)? Have attendees who need CEUs check in at the beginning of the session and check out at the end via chat. Transfer these names to whatever log your administrating authority is using.
Announce the session will be recorded and press ‘record’ on the control bar.
Introduce your presenters.
During the session
Monitor the chat for questions.
Ask questions to the presenters at the pre-determined times. (Pro tip: Have some canned questions ready in case the audience is slow to ask.)
At session end
Thank the presenters and attendees for a great session.
Remind folks who need CEUs to check out via chat.
Announce and stop the recording.
Hover until most of the attendees have left the room and then close the session.
[UPDATE 1/28/2023] An expanded lesson on the Olivet Discourse can now be found at ProphecyCourse.org.
When I first began to wrestle with Jesus’ Olivet Discourse (which emerges from a heated Matthew 23, rests solidly in Matthew 24 and then ascends into end-of-days judgment by Matthew 25), I struggled.
At one point, I thought I had it figured out. Like many others, I determined there had to be a line drawn somewhere through the middle of Matthew 24 in order to make sense of the end-of-the-world, imminent rapture language that appears by v29-31:
Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:
And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
Some folks seem to rightly read a local 70AD judgment coming to Jerusalem into Matthew 24:1-14, but then they pull Matthew 24:15-31 out of that century and project it 2,000+ years later into our own not-so-distant future. After this, it becomes anyone’s guess as to who and when the rest of Matthew 24 is given.
When I hacked at the Olivet Discourse like this, I drew my line at v29 (even though our Lord says “IMMEDIATELY AFTER the tribulation of those days…”). I figured that was the clear dividing line that had somehow been missed by Bible scholars immemorial. At this point, I still didn’t understand the Jewish apocryphal language surrounding the “day of the Lord”, so I was reading these expressions of speech literally. That was my mistake.
(Interestingly, some folks will thoughtfully look at the synoptic counterparts–Mark 13 and Luke 21–and even draw the line in different places depending on the book.)
Consider this. Matthew, Mark and Luke are considered the synoptic gospels because they’re so in sync with one another, right? A lot of overlap in their accounts of the life and words of Jesus but different enough that we recognize they were written independently of one another, likely via oral tradition.
One of the key places I struggled with (and, in other passages, still struggle with) was understanding Jewish expressions.
The Abomination of Desolation
As we read the Olivet Discourse, we must be wary of getting caught by the difference between the Jewish idioms and our modern day understanding.
For instance, Matthew 24 says, “…the abomination that brings desolation…standing in the holy place…” but Luke 21:20 makes it clear, “…when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies…” Both passages are speaking of the same impending destruction, however Matthew uses an expression first-century Jews would be familiar with and Dr. Luke spells it out for his first-century, emerging-from-paganism Gentile audience.
2,000 years later, that contrast helps us understand the “abomination of desolation” reference. Indeed, the pagan Roman army would turn out to be the abomination that brought desolation to Jerusalem.
The Sun, Moon and Stars
Jewish idioms around impending judgment abound in all three gospels, where we have the sun, moon and stars being put out, stormy seas and heaven being shaken. If one doesn’t understand the “day of the Lord” language, a modern, 21st century reader may end up taking this literally.
Isaiah 13:9-11, we see judgment coming to Babylon at the hand of the Medes fulfilled in 539 BC.
Nahum 1:3, we have judgment coming to Nineveh at the hands of the Babylonians and Medes, as fulfilled in 612 BC.
Jeremiah 46:10 and Ezekiel 30, where the prophets lament judgment coming to Egypt at the hand of the Babylonians.
Finally, still more Old Testament examples of the day of the Lord can be found in: Zechariah 14, Obadiah and Isaiah 34 (judgment over Edom), Lamentations 2:22, and Malachi 4:5-6 (foreshadowing the fall of Israel by 70AD.)
If We Only Knew Our Old Testament
So if we were intimately familiar with the Old Testament witnesses, by the time we get to Matthew 24, Mark 13 and Luke 21, we would be well-versed on Jewish apocryphal language, right? But we’re not, Church. If you’re anything like me, you didn’t grow up with the Word as a central study in my life like a citizen of Judah would have in the first century. I grew up in the West, 2,000 years removed.
The moral of this story: Many of the Jewish cultural allusions are lost to us and have to be learned in order to arrive at the original context and meaning.
All this to say, I don’t believe Jesus departs from warning His disciples of the incoming doom heading for Israel and Jerusalem to drop in a tidbit that won’t come to fruition for thousands of years (though He actually seems to end up there by Matthew 25?)
Our Lord was speaking to that generation and His words were fulfilled within a Biblical generation, 40 years later, when the Roman armies razed Jerusalem in 70AD. Prophesy fulfilled.
What are the conditions for eternal salvation according to the Bible? The verses that come immediately to mind are Ephesians 2:8-9: “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.” Grace is another word for a free gift and faith means to trust or be firmly persuaded. So it involves a free gift and includes a trust in something or someone. In John 3:16, that someone is “His only begotten Son” a clear reference to Jesus Christ. When one trusts in Jesus Christ as “His only begotten Son”, he is ready to receive a free gift, a gift that cannot be received by human works. It is the gift of salvation in Ephesians 2:8, but this gift may also be referred to as eternal life (John 3:16). And what about the gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38)? This is an amazing gift!
In John 4, Jesus and His disciples were traveling to Galilee from Judea and He made a point to travel through Samaria, a route not normally traveled by a good Jew. This was intentional because He had a divine appointment with a Samaritan (Gentile) woman. In verse 10, Jesus spoke to her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.” Of course, Jesus was teaching her, a Gentile about salvation, how to receive eternal life (verse 14). He was teaching her that the elements of salvation were the recognition of the Giver, Who He is, and that He has a free gift for her.
Later in the conversation, she recognizes Him as a prophet (verse 19) and then in verses 25-26, Jesus confirms that He is the Messiah. How do we know she got saved? In verses 28-29, “So the woman left her waterpot, and went into the city and said to the men, ‘Come, see a man who told me all the things that I have done; this is not the Christ, is it?’“ She became the first missionary in the New Testament age. She accepted the free gift when she recognized the Giver.
The simplicity of the Gospel
This is the simplicity of the Gospel. Saul of Tarsus was on his way to Damascus as an esteemed Pharisee when something profound took place. He tells the story this way in Acts 26:14-16, “And when we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew dialect, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’ And I said, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ And the Lord said, ‘I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. But get up and stand on your feet; for this purpose I have appeared to you, to appoint you a minister and a witness not only to the things which you have seen, but also to the things in which I will appear to you.” In that moment Saul came to realize that Jesus of Nazareth was the Messiah and he was being promoted into his gift. The manifestation of that gift in soon-to-be Paul’s life was the incredible ministry that God was calling him to, that he would be the Apostle to the Gentiles.
There’s another example to consider here. It’s found in Acts 16 when Paul and Silas are imprisoned in a Philippian jail. The reasons why are not important to this conversation. God decided that Paul and Silas were no longer to remain in jail, so He sent an earthquake to shake the foundations of the prison house and the prison doors were opened. The jailer woke up to see this miraculous event and drew his sword to kill himself, believing that the magistrate would have him put to death since the prisoners were escaping. In verses 28-29, “But Paul cried out with a loud voice, saying, ‘Do not harm yourself, for we are all here!’ And he called for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear he fell down before Paul and Silas”. His question to them is still sounding today: “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”
Their answer also rings true today: “Believe in [epi – on] the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.” This jailer and his whole household believed in Jesus as Lord and were gloriously saved. They acknowledged the Giver and received the gift of life, eternal life. It’s so simple yet so profound.
What a gift
There is so much more to the free gift. In Romans 5:15-17, “But the free gift is not like the transgression. For if by the transgression of the one the many died, much more did the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abound to the many. The gift is not like that which came through the one who sinned; for on the one hand the judgment arose from one transgression resulting in condemnation, but on the other hand the free gift arose from many transgressions resulting in justification. For if by the transgression of the one, death reigned through the one, much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.”
This gift is not only free, but much more, abounding to many. This gift solves the transgression problem and becomes the gift of righteousness, resulting in the believer “reigning in life through the One, Jesus Christ”. What a gift!
One of the most important words in the Old Testament Hebrew is “hesed”. While it is translated “mercy” in the King James, hesed may be better translated as “lovingkindness”. According to Spiros Zodhiates, a 20th century Greek scholar, hesed goes beyond mercy and encompasses more completely the idea of God’s loyalty to covenant obligations. “Because of His kindness, He meets the needs of His creation by delivering them from enemies and despair.” It was intended that the Israelites would not only receive it, but be ready to show it.
In Deuteronomy 7:9, “Know therefore that the Lord your God, He is God, the faithful God, who keeps His covenant and His lovingkindness to a thousandth generation with those who love Him and keep His commandments.” Hesed is the evidence of a God totally committed to His covenant with His people. Because God loves His people, He expresses that love in the form of kindness and not judgement (James 2:13). It also includes the sense of strength and steadfastness and is also translated “steadfast love”.
Psalm 136 may be the most complete statement of God’s hesed to His people. It has 26 verses and each one ends with the phrase, “for His lovingkindness is everlasting”. It is the story of God’s faithful expression of love toward His people from creation throughout all of their challenges. Verse 26 concludes the psalm with, “Give thanks to the God of heaven, for His lovingkindness is everlasting.” The reference to God as the God of heaven takes His hesed beyond the Israelites and to all His creation.
Hesed for Hagar and Ishmael
One great example of hesed is the way God treated Hagar and Ishmael in Genesis 21. Sarah was having great difficulty sharing her home with her Egyptian maid and her son borne to Abraham. As a result, she told her husband to, “Drive out this maid and her son, for the son of this maid shall not be an heir with my son Isaac” (v 10). Abraham was distressed by this because Ishmael was his son, but God told him to honor Sarah’s demands. So he took the two out to the wilderness, gave them bread and water and left them to their own care.
The account does not end there. In verses 15-21, the story continues. Once the water was used up, Hagar cried out to God for hesed toward her son. This initiated a conversation with an angel of God, who said to her, “What is the matter with you, Hagar? Do not fear, for God has heard the voice of the lad where he is. Arise, lift up the lad, and hold him by the hand, for I will make a great nation of him.” God demonstrated His hesed to them by first providing a well for water and then in verse 20, “God was with the lad and he grew.”
A Story to Illustrate Hesed
I once heard a story about a young expectant mother working in Israel who was afraid she might lose her job once she delivered her baby (this was before Israel had enacted laws regarding maternity leave.) This woman was the sole supporter of her family as her husband had recently lost his job. During an informal lunch gathering at work, the woman mentioned her predicament to her co-workers in earshot of the company’s owner, Mr. Fleisher. However, Mr. Fleisher showed no signs that he had heard anything.
Shortly afterward, the conversation shifted, and the employees began talking about where their families had come from and how they had arrived in Israel. Suddenly Mr. Fleisher showed interest as the young woman talked about her roots in Brooklyn. He wanted to know details about where she lived and her grandfather’s name—even what synagogue he had attended. The woman was taken aback but supplied all the information. Abruptly, Mr. Fleisher left the room and returned a few minutes later with red eyes.
Tearfully he explained to the young woman how his father, who had been an electrician, died leaving the family penniless. There was another, more successful Jewish electrician in the community, who had been friends with his father. Upon the loss of his colleague, this man filled the family’s bare cupboards for weeks. Then he spent a month going through the deceased man’s old supplies and selling them, giving every penny earned to the widow and her family. Mr. Fleisher explained that the man who had done all this kindness for his family was this woman’s grandfather. He concluded, “You will always have a job here, and I’ll give your husband one too.”
In Micah 6:8, “He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, to love kindness (hesed), and to walk humbly with your God?” The requirements of a great relationship with God are doing justice, that is bringing justice to others, love hesed which is to show lovingkindness, and be humble before God and man.
Count on God’s Hesed
“I have not hidden Your righteousness within my heart; I have spoken of Your faithfulness and Your salvation; I have not concealed Your lovingkindness and Your truth from the great congregation. You, O Lord, will not withhold Your compassion from me; Your lovingkindness and Your truth will continually preserve me. For evils beyond number have surrounded me; my iniquities have overtaken me, so that I am not able to see; they are more numerous than the hairs of my head, and my heart has failed me.” (Psalm 40:10-12)
Like King David, we can count on hesed since it is the nature of God. Paul spoke of it in Romans 2:4 when he challenged the Roman Christians not to think lightly of the riches of God’s kindness—His hesed—since it leads one to repentance. But it was their stubbornness and unrepentant heart that kept them from experiencing the riches of hesed.
No one likes pain. But some kind of discomfort is part of God’s purpose for His servants. The apostle Paul’s life teaches us five things we need to accept about being a chosen vessel.
The Bible is a mysterious book. We catch a glimpse of this mystery unfolding in Revelation 12:7, “And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels…”
Where did this war come from?
The Bible answers this question in Ezekiel 28:11-17, and offers a similar explanation in Isaiah 14:12-15. In summary, we see that God created Lucifer perfect until iniquity was found in him (Ezekiel 28:15). When his heart was lifted up because of his beauty (v 17), his ambition grew to the point of desiring to be like God (Isaiah 14:14) culminating in a war against God (Revelation 12:7). As a result, Lucifer (Satan) and his angels were cast down to the earth (v 9).
What does a war have to do with being a chosen vessel?
Having been cast to the earth, the Devil continues to fight, but his opposition is not leveled at God directly. He now directs his warfare against God’s people (v 17). He is the head of an army of fallen angels, whose ultimate mission is to hinder the work and will of God on earth.
Enter: You!
This is the context in which your calling is embedded – the Devil is at war and has a host that he commands, but God also has an army and He is enlisting soldiers. He is seeking labourers. There is a call for warriors!
Everything about being a chosen vessel is wrapped up in this truth (besides the fact that we were created for God’s pleasure, Revelation 4:11). There is a war between the kingdom of light and the kingdom of darkness. Nothing about being a chosen vessel is in a vacuum- it’s all related to this one cause.
You will never walk in your purpose as you should without acknowledging the reality of this war. Without keeping the cause in mind, every chosen vessel of God is susceptible to complacency.
The Call
Acts 9:1-16
So here comes God seeking vessels to use and what does He do? He meets us in our mess! What kind of a holy, Supreme Being comes to unclean people seeking to draft them into His holy army with a holy cause?!
Well, without meaning to sound disrespectful to God, I have to say it: God actually doesn’t have any choice! You see, I can’t tell God that I’m too sinful for Him to use, then direct Him to yonder hills to find someone else over there who is more worthy.
If He goes to yonder hills, He’s still going to find someone else’s mess!
We all start off in sin and God knows it. (Please note I said start off!)
Never use your situation to tell God He can’t use you.
The apostle Paul is a clear example of this predicament because he was once a mess! In Acts 7:58, we see him consenting to the unjust stoning of Stephen. In Acts 9:1, we see him turning up the heat on Christians with threatenings and slaughter. In Acts 9:13, we see the disciple Ananias hesitant to encounter Paul even after his conversion, because he had heard of the evil he had done to the saints at Jerusalem. In 1 Timothy 1:15, Paul calls himself a chief of sinners. (Did I mention he was a mess?)
But where did the Lord meet him? Right on the road to Damascus with a letter in hand against the Lord! Wow! What an unabashed call! God was not afraid to step into the pathway of a sinner and pull him off it. Jesus introduced Himself to Paul while he was an enemy of the faith, and called him to be an ambassador of that same faith.
That’s the nature of the call: God takes us out of the kingdom of darkness, drafts us into His kingdom of light, then uses us to fight against that kingdom out of which He took us. Awesome!
But even after getting saved, God’s call will still come to us when we are not ready!
I was told that I was going to marry a minister when I was around 16 years old. Though this was legally the age of consent, the idea of getting married was incredulous to me. I had never had a boyfriend up to that point and I was just about to enter University.
I had my whole life ahead of me and I had it all planned out. I can assure you that marriage was not in that plan! In fact, when my Women’s President looked at me that fateful night and told me that the Lord wanted me to marry a pastor, my exact words were: Miss, me not even waa married much less fi go married Paasta! (Jamaican Creole). Translation: Miss, I don’t even want to get married let alone to marry a Pastor!
But look at me now–married to a minister, with children!
Don’t let the state in which God calls you prevent you from graciously accepting it, humbly saying yes, and obediently yielding to the process that will prepare you for it. (Oh yes! There will be a process!)
The Cost
Acts 9:16, 2 Corinthians 11:23-27
Paul is also an example of suffering. In Acts 9:15-16, the disciple Ananias receives a word for the new Brother Paul–it includes a sobering prophecy of things he must suffer for Jesus. We find a synopsis of this prophecy’s fulfilment in 2 Corinthians 11:23-27. Stripes, prisons, beatings and perils galore were among the apostle’s afflictions.
And just when Paul had gone through such intense suffering for Jesus’ sake, He prepared a thorn just for him too! (2 Corinthians 12:7). Paul had a dear price to pay for serving His new master.
Affliction is part of the calling
We love to hear that we are called for great things in God. We relish the thought of being used by God. We even admire those who we see the Lord using and enjoy being fed by what God pours out through them. All of that is good, but we also like to hide from the idea that affliction is a part of the calling.
The glory of seeing our brethren ministering in God’s will can blind us to what they have been through, and go through even daily for it! Paul had an advantage over some of us, though, because at least God told him he would suffer!
When God showed Joseph his destiny, we see no evidence in Scripture that God told him about the suffering that awaited him in the process (Genesis 37:5-11, 18-28; 39:20). Truth be told, many of us fall into Joseph’s category–God shows us the glory but never mentions the pain.
Here’s a heads up: pain is coming with your calling! And if you are already in pain, I’m here to tell you it’s normal!
Personal example
My husband was never and has to date not, been accepted by my birth family. There are no words to fully describe the internal warfare I bore because of that. I struggled between choosing to go where I knew God was leading me, versus wanting to please my parents and trying not to feel rejected by them.
Why did that have to happen? Why couldn’t the two worlds have just seamlessly joined together? After all, my parents are Christians so why did there have to be a choice between Christian parents and God’s will?
I concluded that it was either the Devil who spoke to me about a husband so I could end up confused, or, I was mad. I don’t ever want anyone to feel like you’re losing your mind. It’s a horrible feeling. But that’s what I went through in the will of God. I no longer feel that way about being mad, thankfully. But at the time of writing, I still can feel the strain and awkwardness of juggling relationship with birth family over here, and walking in love with someone who is still not acknowledged or honoured by them on the other side.
Suffering isn’t so strange!
If we look back or look around us, we have seen, and some of us have even experienced, suffering in non-Christian circles. People have suffered for the sake of getting a University degree for example. When I was a university student, my low financial status meant that I would buy a cheap pack of biscuits, sip some water from the water coolers, and call that lunch! Then I would go pass the rest of my ‘lunch time’ in the lecture hall waiting for my next class to start.
Many other students had similar experiences in university, and most of them weren’t even Christians. They weren’t doing it for God, but they suffered! In fact, the world is riddled with examples of persons who are even suffering because they have rejected Christ.
So let’s not be wimps when it comes on to suffering. We only need to gird up our minds with the expectation that there will be a cost to being called.
I’ll also hasten to mention a revelation Paul received from God when he had that thorn in his flesh: when we are weak, then are we strong for God’s grace is sufficient! (2 Corinthians 12:7-10) Never try to opt out of the price that you have to pay for pleasing God. Like Paul, let us rather glory in our infirmities that the power of Christ may rest on us.
The Comfort
2 Corinthians 1:3-5, Psalm 23:4
In 2 Corinthians 1:3-5, the same Paul who went through stoning and imprisonments offers a surprising testimony. He is able to testify of a reality that the world does not understand- the possibility of peace in the storm; weeping with hope; comfort in suffering.
The suffering of the world is a common suffering. It is depressing, hopeless, empty, lonely, and cold. The suffering of a chosen vessel of God is a peculiar suffering because it is set apart for the peculiar people. (1 Peter 2:9)
The suffering of the world is comfortless; the suffering that comes with obedience to the call, purpose and will of God comes with consolation.
And this is the consolation: Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for God is with me! (Psalm 23:4) Hallelujah! I am not alone!
The fellowship of His suffering
There is an intimacy with God that is reserved for only those who suffer. It is a special hug. It is an embrace so tender, and is hidden from and inaccessible to those who have never been tried.
Paul had been there. He was deliberate when he used the term ‘fellowship’ with regard to Christ’s suffering in Philippians 3:10. He also wrote in Romans 8:17, to remind us that when we suffer with Christ we will also be glorified together. Note that we suffer with. There is a togetherness with Christ, a fellowship with Him, that brings sweet consolation in our afflictions.
When I suffer in the will of God, I get front row seats to a revelation of His comforting capacity that other humans (and even some Christians) don’t get. I am blessed to be afflicted because I get with it an equivalent level of consolation. The suffering is real, the pain too, but God gives grace to go through. He gives comfort that keeps us in peace.
And what is more, I get to share that same comfort I get from God with others who are going through their afflictions! I now have a compassion and deeper sense of understanding for any minister’s wife who is in my position. In fact, all the trials that I have been through in God’s will have tenderized me. My praying is different and my comments are different toward other servants of God. I now bear their burdens in prayer and travail.
Instead of quickly and harshly criticizing another of God’s chosen vessels, I find myself groaning when I hear of their fall to sin or of their struggle with various afflictions. I may not get to meet any of them, but I can share the comfort of God with them through intercession. What a privilege! What an honour! What an awesome blessing!
But to whom do I owe this empathising ability? I can only give as I am graciously given by the Holy Spirit. He is still with me and is still consoling, comforting and strengthening me.
The Confidence
1 Kings 17:1-9, Acts 19:13-16
Confidence as a chosen vessel is in the context of provision, and also in the context of authority.
Confidence of Provision
When you know that God is the One who called and sent you, there is a trust that God will provide. This is a trust you display in spite of what you see in front of you. There may even be times when it is our obedience to the will of God that takes us from a physical state of plenty: Paul declared that he had experienced hunger and thirst in 2 Corinthians 11:27. Elijah declared a famine in Israel and guess what? It affected him too! But God commanded ravens and a widow to feed him. (1 Kings 17:4,9).
Know this: you may not have the overflow you would like to have or even once had, and all because you have stepped out in obedience to the call of God on your life.
At the Lord’s direction, I had not worked outside the home since getting married, and my husband was a full time minister in a very small independent ministry.
Then, we became tenants for three years. We had to pay rent, utilities, and buy groceries for the whole family. It was sometimes a bit precarious, and we had some rough patches where our utilities were cut off for a while, but faithfully, God kept on providing. Our children were never forsaken.
When you move in the direction and will of God, rest assured there will be provision. You will be sustained!
Confidence of Authority
Another level to being confident is in facing the dragon and his angels mentioned in Revelation 12:17. It is a confidence in war.
The sons of Sceva (Acts 19:13-16) took something on themselves. God had not given it to them. So, when faced with a particularly stubborn demon, they were overcome. As we go forward in ministry, we must know that we did not choose ourselves. As Paul was busy going about his own affairs, even so many of us were minding our own business when God stepped in with His call.
You may sometimes see this in a negative light, but this is what gives you power to stand in the face of the enemy. You may sometimes feel like God imposed Himself on you and now has you suffering for it. But rejoice about it, because that is the source of your authority.
When we go out by ourselves, we go limited in power and authority because we bear witness of our limited selves. But when a chosen vessel steps out, he or she goes not in his or her name, but in the name of the One who came and interrupted that life for His purpose.
I didn’t ask for marriage. Many of you never asked for ministry. As chosen vessels we did not take this on ourselves; it was God who called, chose, processed and sent us. When we stand before principalities and powers or even the Devil himself, we have all authority to say, “Back up!”
Sceva’s sons couldn’t do this because they took something upon themselves that can only work when we are sent!
The power of ongoing submission
As being called by God brings authority over the Devil, so ongoing submission to God and His will help to maintain that authority.
Here’s an example. I know God wanted me to marry, and to marry a pastor, and to specifically marry my husband. That makes me confident to contend with the enemy for my marriage and family when the Devil tries to enter.
But I also have an ongoing responsibility to daily honour God in my marriage and family–loving, submitting to, supporting and reverencing my husband; loving my children and teaching them to fear God.
What do these activities have to do with waging war against the kingdom of darkness? EVERYTHING!
As chosen vessels of God, we can never take a break from surrendering to the call or the cost of the call. We should never assume that we have yielded once and for all. As new challenges arise, we can be confident of victory when we are continuing to position ourselves in the will of God.
I dare not give you the impression that this is easy. Daily submission (to both God and my husband) takes daily death to self. But when we face a principality in prayer, we can rejoice when we look back at the painful tests we have passed.
It isn’t confidence in self-righteousness. Rather, it is bearing a limp from a wounded hip, so we can have power with God (Genesis 3:24-31).
Final Thoughts
God’s perfect will is the best thing that could ever happen to someone–suffering included! It is therefore something to be surrendered to, rather than to be resisted.
Have you ever experienced fear in your life? Everyone has definitely experienced it at some point. However, how you deal with the spirit of fear will be the deciding factor as to whether you will triumph or lose.
Fear silently whispers to you that the situation you are facing is insurmountable or the challenge ahead of you has never been conquered so everything may still work against you. You need to understand what is fear, how it works against you, and how to rise above it.
What is Fear?
How would you describe fear? It is a tool used by the devil to create misery in your life and to eventually destroy your life. It starts as a thought and eventually leads to emotions that hold us captive. This then tries to manipulate you towards foolish actions or even prevents you from taking a bold step and doing something that would change your situation and bring glory to God.
In simple terms, fear holds you back and prevents you from actualizing your dreams in life. God’s desire is that you walk by faith. The moment you choose to live by faith in God, you start to experience fulfilment, satisfaction, peace, and joy in your heart.
In the book of Proverbs 23:7, the Bible says:
“as a man thinks in his heart, so is he”.
Whichever way your mind thinks will influence your reactions and progress. Put your faith in God, think positively, and conquer all odds.
Is the Spirit of Fear Holding You Back?
How many times have you wondered whether you are doing the right thing or making the correct decision? Are you among the many people blessed with great gifts and talents from God but are not making use of them because you tried once and failed?
Many people live in frustration because they allow fear to rule over them. They end up living a life completely different from that which God had purposed for them.
Let Christ Take Charge
Allow Christ to come into your life and take charge of everything thereof. When Christ takes over, He replaces your fear with faith in Him, He clears out all doubt and He refines you into a new and focused being. He opens your eyes to your purpose in life and ably guides you towards fulfilment fearlessly!
As you study the Word of God and meditate upon it, you will be able to clearly pinpoint the fears holding you back and consequently rise above them through Christ in you. Your purpose will then come into clear focus ready for you to take the next step towards living a fulfilled life.
Put Your Faith in God and You’ll Never Go Wrong
Whenever you allow the spirit of fear to rule your life, you become enslaved to a life of mediocrity, pain, and regrets. You end up living as if you are caged in a prison.
When you study the word of God, you will encounter the phrase “fear not” on many occasions. The Bible commands you to believe in God, to cast all your burdens unto Him, and to believe that He has good plans for you.
The Bible, in Joshua 8:1, says:
“And the Lord said unto Joshua, Fear not, neither be thou dismayed: take all the people of war with thee, and arise, go up to Ai: see, I have given into thy hand the king of Ai, and his people, and his city, and his land.”
This was a strong assurance to Joshua that in every step of the way, God was in charge. In the same way, God is in charge of your destiny, fear not!
Because God is all-knowing, He already understands that fear is a problem you always encounter. This is why He doesn’t condemn you when you are in fear. All He wants is to set you free from that bondage.
Whenever God commands, “Fear not,” He goes ahead to assure you that He will be there to see you through everything. He reminds you that He is God and reigns above everything else.
God has already given you the power to overcome fear. Fear chains you to ordinary and unfulfilled life. Trust in God and allow Him to empower you to overcome all obstacles brought about by fear. Whenever you overcome fear, you open doors to a fresh, higher, and more beautiful beginning in your life.
How to Overcome the Spirit of Fear
1. Name Your Fears
When you decide to name your fears, you take away their power. Take a step of faith and name them before God in your prayer and reclaim power over them. Render them inconsequential by naming them and placing the name of Jesus, the name that is above every other name, above them.
2. Hold on To the Promises of God
The Bible says that the word of God is like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces. Read and meditate upon it. Let His promises live in you and mould you into a fresh creature as He breaks every spirit of doubt and fear from your life.
3. Surrender Your Fears to God
Fears that hold you back from actualizing your potential and living as per God’s purpose should be cast unto Jesus. Surrender them one by one. Give them to God with a simple prayer. Keep praying from your heart and let go.
4. Envision Your Success
Through the power of imagination, you can influence the outcomes of situations. Trigger your success story by visualizing success in your mind. If possible, get a piece of paper and note down in a simple form the vision for success in your life.
5. Take Action
Rise up in faith and take a step of faith towards your dreams. You may encounter challenges but keep holding your head high. Take a rest if you must but do not give up.
Nace Volcic is a founder and president of Operando society. He is a lay missionary from Slovenia and author of three published books. With his wife, he travels around the world, visits missions in third world countries, helps as a volunteer, and writes about it on the blog https://en.operando.org.
