A Time of Identification...

In Judges chapter 7, Gideon was preparing to go to war. God told Gideon that he had too many fighting men and that he needed to reduce the numbers. This was so that God would receive the glory and not the army. The 1st step in reducing the numbers was that Gideon announced that anyone who was fearful and trembling should leave. 22,000 went home and 10,000 remained ready to fight. God then instructed Gideon to have the men go down to the water so that he could further "sift" them. Based on how they drank, they were chosen for battle or were told to return home. Out of an initial 32,000 men, God chose 300. He said that this was all that Gideon would need and they accomplished an astonishing victory.

Two Thursdays ago, God told me to scan the crowd during the teaching time of the service. He told me to make a mental note of who was there and who was not there. It was not a complete checking of the Church roster, but the Holy Spirit showed me very specific cases of who was missing and who was there. Both lists surprised me. He told me that this was a moment of IDENTIFICATION. I saw one person in particular who I would not have expected to come to the prayer meeting and God has already directed me to involve him more as a leader in ministry. There were 3 people who were not there who God has instructed me not to give leadership positions in ministry at this time. 2 of those 3 were at the prayer portion of the service but they left during the teaching which is when the Lord told me to take count. Why? I could guess but that is not my responsibility and I don't want to assume. God knows why and I need to simply obey Him.

Is that unfair? They probably had important things to do... maybe they needed to meet with someone and maybe even pray with people. These are not wrong things, but God chooses people at His time. All of those soldiers in Gideon's day had good intentions and God was not saying that some were necessarily better then others... they drank from the same pool of water. But there are times when your actions will IDENTIFY you. I'm not talking about skill, talent or anointing... I'm talking about something more in the spirit realm then that. I'm sure some of the 300 wondered why they used their hands to drink that time and that others who put their face in the water to drink wondered why they drank that way, that time as well...

Thursday night has not been the only time that the Lord has been speaking to me about IDENTIFYING people to serve and lead. This is a time that we are re-structuring the Church. These last two weeks have held many similar experiences for me. God has assured me that He doesn't need a huge force to do great things... He just wants the right people in the right place at the right time. If all of the right leaders are not here yet, they certainly are on their way...

I simply want to encourage you that God's positioning is best. Just be faithful to hear the voice of the Holy Spirit so that you will not only drink of the wonderful pool of refreshing at ICCJ, but that you will IDENTIFY yourself by the manner in which you conduct yourself.

Here are a couple of examples. Though we all love God, we don't all know how to express His love and we must learn to connect with people in a way that opens their hearts to receive His love. The same water can be dispensed differently. Though we have all heard the vision of ICCJ, some embrace it and know how to communicate it and integrate it, and others need to learn how to do this. God honors preparation and He chooses us based on the manner in which we drink of and share His goodness with others.

One last point... please don't be offended if you aren't chosen for a position or ministry that you have your eye on, even if you feel you are prepared. It is God who promotes and it is God who sometimes says to go home for awhile. The battle belongs to the Lord!