WHERE ARE THE FLOWERS?
By Wade Martin Hughes, Sr.
Kyfingers@aol.com
TEXT:
Gal 6:9 And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.
James 1:2 Count it all JOY...when?? When we have hard
test? How can we do this? vs 2) When we see tests have have a purpose / a plan.
But see tests and patience are modern day bad words!!
Luke 21: 19 In your patience possess ye your souls. How’s that for a ugly ducking??
James 1:4 But let patience have her perfect work....
Psa. 23...The Lord is my shepherd I shall not WANT
I am again pondering:
Gal 6:9 And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.
When I was a school teacher, I taught my students to
watch for the word IF in writing, as it should be
identified as a trigger word of possibility.
Therefore catch the possibilities here listed...
it is possible to faint in weariness or to thrive in
opportunity.
There is a spirit of error that would infest Christian workers if we allow our choices to so take us to this area.
This spirit of error is feeling and wanting to see
what I have done or the need to see what God has
done.
May I identify this as a spirit of error an not offend anyone??
Please listen my fellow workers.....
We go through seasons.
Wisdom will learn to identify seasons...
plus real wisdom not only identifies spiritual
seasons but prepares for the up coming season.
(Prov 6:6)Lesson from the ANTS?
Few ever discipline their heart for preparation for
up coming seassons.
My neighbor heats with wood, in the hot part of
summer, I can hear the chain saw buzzing for he
knows winter is coming.
How wise would we be to see winter coming to prepare
in the word.
If we can’t see the little picture of today’s plan who will prepare by faith for season’s picture??
1 Cor 14:8 For if the trumpet give an uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself to battle??
Few prepare for battle, for we forget we are in a war, and some even teach that we modern Christians shall be exempt from the storms and trials that Elijah, Moses and others faced.
So we expect the easy road???
What about the best road??
Nothing in life creates more deep seated anxieties than the false assumption that life should be free from anxieties and problems.
Let me first establish, problems within them self will not neccessarily make you weak or strong.....
Problems and obstacles are neutral, it is what we do
that determines the work?
Problems and obstacles will just show if you be
strong, or if you be weak.
We don’t want to fight the good fight, ....is this
wisdom??
Psa 139:23 Search me , O God, and know my heart: TRY ME, and know my thoughts.
There is this most stupid argument going on with some, should we pray for patience??
This is not smart question.
You don’t have to pray for patience, for does not
life teach all living of any walk that patience will
come??
My thought is what does the word say??
James’ book addresses practical Christian living,
therefore we spend more time in Revelations, but
James has some real lessons on patience, we must
learn.
Patience with self/others is a requirement to please
God.
If we want to be perfect and entire?? Is that our goal??
James 1:2 Count it all JOY...when??
When we have hard test? How can we do this?
vs 2) When we see tests have have a purpose / a
plan.
A teacher is not mean when he tests his students??
No, he is preparing them.
But see tests and patience are modern day bad words!!
Luke 21: 19 In your patience possess ye your souls.
How’s that for a ugly ducking??
James 1:4 But let patience have her perfect work....(there is a plan behind every test) .. that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.
Wanting nothing??
The Lord is my shepherd I shall not WANT.
Many think God is A SANTA CLAUS TO MEET OUR DEMANDS RIGHT NOW.
I know a fat person that prays for a parking place near the mall doors, and she gets mad at God when He doesn’t answer. She will take a handcapped place if needed, she should be parking way out and walking for exercise.
How many fat Christians are looking for God to open
easy ways and not BEST ways??
Often pastors tire of humanness and weaknesses in growing saints, and then we pratice spiritual abortion and call that growth?
Why does a baby learn to walk??
As baby crawls on sore knees, a adult walks by
without near the effort and much more speed, and
baby thinks ....this crawling ain’t all it is
cracked up to be....that walking sure beats this.
There are models for the baby to follow.
Where are the spiritual models for that will work
and show??
Some baby’s learn at 9 months, a real good crawler
is usually slower to walk.
This is true in the church, some have greater
distances and obstacles and traditions to break.
Do we kill the son that is not walking by 12
months?? No, we hold their hand more, to teach them
trust.
My mom would put a clothes pen in the hand of the
baby and hold to the clothes pen,
(young people do not know what clothes pens are,
thank you dryer), then after trust in the pen,
she would let go of the pen and the baby would walk
thinking there was secruity there.
God give us some spiritual leaders that will have patience with all, especially the slower to develop.
Some times we need wisdom, the front pack of easy learners will run off and leave the slow ones to become dwarf/midget throw aways.
Again, back to school teacher days, sometimes the slower learner grasp the ideal and would hold on to the lesson longer than the quick, apparently smarter student.
Doctor Laura says the super smart people do little in life, the ball of life is pushed by just average people staying and pecking away at the menial.
Many of the great people in life were slow to develop.
President Glover Cleveland couldn’t read until he was 10 to 11 years old. Stupid?
Harlan Sanders was a fauilure at 63 and started cooking chicken, and now is known around the world. Harlan Sanders gave a million dollars to the college where I graduated in 1974, I shook hands with him.
See, we need a model to follow as Paul was to the Christians of his day.
I am pondering a spirit of error that develops in ministry, or a spiritual attitude that leads to error.
How many Christian leaders would like to see now the fruits of their labor and our goal become the visible.
This fall, Linda and I moved into our first home.
I did some preparation work, and two men came and
laid forms and poured 17 yards of concrete for our
back patio and car port. (some day a car port)
At the end of six hours of work, there was a
beautiful slab of concrete.
I stood and admired the work as the sun went down.
I said "WOW".
I loved seeing what the work of our hands
accomplished.
I thought, Lord I would like a job where at the end
of the day, I could see the fruits of my labor.
We built a wooden deck on front, 21 x18, at the end
of the day we were not finished, but I sat out
there and admired all the sawing and framing and
nailing.
I said, Lord I should have been a carpenter, it pays
better, I could care less about pay.
But at the end of the day I could looked back and to
see what I had accomplished.
By lunch the next day, I grabbed a seat in the shade
and admired our work.
By sun down, I had me a easy chair and with Linda,
my precious wife, we sat for the first time on a
beautiful deck and enjoyed the stars from the level
of a finished product.
Then, I lusted for a job where in I could see what
I have invested my time and effort.
I am in the wrong calling for that??
Years of honored work can be seldom acknowledged in
ministry.
I have this love of trophies. Trophies show what you have done. Sometimes trophies are even given to losers.
If that is the truth, where are my trophies, I cry??
I have one tiny little trophy that I drove Brother
Vannucci’s boys from his church to an Assemblies Of
God State Tourney 17 years ago, and one of the boys
asked for me a trophy, I just drove them there.
Now, if you interprete this as a sadness, you are
very wrong.
As a teenager I could have won many trophies in the
Church of God talent competitions. No teen was
better than I, I just felt gospel competetors is not
the mind of Christ.
What I am saying is my life has been invested out of the spot light. That is my choice. I traveled 6 years on a silver eagle bus, recorded albums, tapes and had request for autographs...I have had a few standing ovations for showy guitar solo’s, I have done studio work with my music, but I made a decision 21 years ago, that the applause of men fades too quickly.
Much of this was shallowness and vanity. Since I have given myself to pastoring, I have not had one request for an autograph. Now, my playing is a requirement of the job ... and we are like home, home on the range ... where seldom is heard an encouraging word ... again this has been my choice...
I play for a different motive....the slobbers of old folks in resthomes..my reward an occassional kiss...and many hugs...this could be stupidity? or this could be a search??
Many of the most talented musicans I have known have found excuses to bury their talent. They could bless many...and bless the Lord...but their talents are hung neath the juniper tree....yet we say God would you do this for me??
Well, I must draw a conclusion.
Here, we go.
An old lady spent much of her summer setting and swinging in the old swing hanging on her front porch. Her husband had been dead several years and she had withdrawn from all but the closest family. Her lonely time grew and grew??
One spring day, the old lady went out in the garage and dug the old roto-tiller out from under the rusty tub that covered the engine. Seems the old lady had found a big bag of seeds that was a vine that would bear bright red flowers. The old lady loved bright red things. She made a decision, get out of the swing and grow beautiful flowers to enjoy.
With great excitement,she pulled real hard on the rope, and with great effort she finally got the old roto-tiller to run.
There was a wall of concrete blocks between her and the neighbors driveway. The blocks were laid...a block and a space, or a gap...then another block and a space all the way down the driveway,....all the way to the garage.
With great effort the old lady plowed betwen the driveway and the wall. She blistered her hands, her back hurt, but the jarring roto-tiller finished the task.
With feelings of accomplishment and pride, she got down on her knees and planted all the seeds in several rows along the wall.
The rains came, the Lord blessed the little seeds and the sun shine warmed the ground. One day the little old lady saw the heads of the plant break forth, and the vines grew and grew ....until the vines completely covered the wall.
The vines so grew that the wall could not be seen. She would set daily in the swing and watch the progress of the vine. This was great joy to the old lady.
Beautiful vines ....but no flowers, zero. da nada, nothing.
Where are all my bright red flowers??
One day after much dissapointment and great thought the lady decided...I planted those vines for flowers, bright red flowers and there are none. I am going to cut those dumb empty vines down and burn them.
She went down the drive way into the garage and got the rusty old hoe, sharpened the edge and started chopping the vines down.
About the third vine was chopped down and she grinned ear to ear. The neighbor pulling into his drive way, skidded to a halt and jumped out of his car and ran over to her .
He said, "What on earth are you doing?? I know this is your property and that is your vine, and you can do as you chose. But, why are you cutting down this vine??"
The old lady explained to the kind neighbor, "I planted this not for the vine but for the bright red flowers, and there are none.
After all my sweat and blisters and watering, not one flower. I am cutting this down because there are no red flowers and that is why I planted them!!!"
Without one word the neighbor took the feeble old lady by the hand and lead her to the other side of the wall.
And on his side of the fence, there were over a million of the brightest red flowers you ever saw, between every block were many of the brillant blossoms.
Maybe there aren’t very many trophies in your case?? Maybe others never see what you do?
But who are we working for??
Are we looking for the applause and praise of man?? Why do we sing?
Why do we preach?
Why do we visit the widows?
Why are we pastoring??
Many find great comfort in the verse Matthew 25: 40 Inasmuch as ye have done it unto the least of these....ye have done it unto me.
This is very neat.
But I am haunted by Matthew 25:45 Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not unto me.
What about what we have NOT.
I saw a book in the Christian book store, God does not want fat people! This hurt me to tears. God loves fat people, and He wants them. ( I am not fat, I am fluffy)
We can’t all be like Pat Boone and Anita Bryant.
We will not all grow at the same rate.
Yes, there will be many that skip the prayer meeting to go to the singing. That is people.
Love them anyway, walk before them.
Yes, there will be those that talk about you, may your good works make their mouth non-effective.
We are not LION-KILLERS, God never called us to be LION-TAMERS.
Moses got in mucho trouble turning his rock speaking into a showy rock hitting.
We are not entertainers.
We are not Gospel Comedians....we carry the flaming word into a lost and dying world.
Are you in a talent contest?? a talent show?? Are you looking for a popularity contest to decide you are the BESTEST?
What about the verse hidden in Matthew19:30...But many that are first shall be last; and the last shall be first.
I feel this verse is talking about the spirit of error that developes in ministry.
Note: not all the first will be last.
This is not attacking "THE BIG BOYS."
Some will keep their position, but many will be part
of what I call the great turn around.
We must quit despising the day of the small things?? Zech 4:10.
No act of kindness no matter how small will ever be forgotten.
Who won Billy Graham to the Lord?
God’s greatest gifts are given in the crucibles (vessel designed to take great heat)
and we seldom ever praise the Lord.
If God deems it the best to remove the thorn, He will remove it!
If God uses the thorn to refine us, then so be it. 2 Cor. 12:6-10, for the grace of God is sufficient...for my strength is made perfect in weakness.
I believe we often waste who we are by wanting to be someone else, my co-labors find joy in the ministry, His JOY is our strength.
Know God has called you and will enable you. If you sing....SING UNTO THE LORD. If you preach.....PREACH UNTO THE LORD.
Be big enough to be small, but also be small enough to be BIG.
We are nothing, HE IS EVERYTHING.
Don’t be afraid to fail, for it is what you do after failure that will make or break you?
Happiness is a poor goal, happiness should be a process.
I close with Philipians 4:17 NOT BECAUSE I DESIRE A GIFT, BUT I DESIRE FRUIT THAT MAY ABOUND TO YOUR ACCOUNT.
Why should God give you a second song to sing until you have sung the first one until everybody knows it??
If you are little in ministry.....look to God, find one smaller and minister to them.
If you are medium in ministry.....look to God, find one smaller & minister to them.
If you are BIG in ministry .....look to God, find one smaller and minister.
Some may not see their flowers ’til the other side of the wall, just sow, water, and fertilize.....leave the rest to God.
We need momma’s to see children as ministry? We need husbands to see wifes as a ministry? For all real ministry is .....is seeing a need and then trying to do something about the need...real ministry is not like the Lions club, we must invoke the Lord’s help to be effective, BABY, YOU GONASEE YOU HAVE SOME RED FLOWERS, PLANT SOME MORE.
GOD GRANT THE PASTORS TO HAVE ENCOURAGEMENT, IN JESUS’ NAME .
His servant,
Wade Martin Hughes Sr
Kyfingers@aol.com
I sow my time and effort for Jesus, you can help enlarge my hands.
