An excerpt from ‘Live and Lead Like Jesus’ by Tommy Stewart
Depending on what tradition you grew up in you may well have learned the Westminster Shorter Catechism. In the Catechism the question is asked: ‘What is the chief end of man’ and the answer is given ‘Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever.’
In life we aspire to glorify God in all that we do. However, I believe that this is not something God expects us to do without His help. I believe that God inspires us so that we can glorify God. So, it could be said that being inspired by God has its true purpose in glorifying God.
I believe that we are being inspired by God to:
To live a life that honours and respects God
As those who love God, I can think of no better reason for being inspired by God other than to bring honour to God. He is worthy of all the honour! To give Him honour should be our hearts desire, even if there were no reward for doing so. However, in 1 Samuel we read that God says that he who honours Him, he will he honour. Not only will he honour us, but he has established an everlasting covenant with us. We can be assured that as we continue to honour Him, he will continue to honour us. In Jeremiah 32:40 we read:
‘I will make an everlasting covenant with them: I will never stop doing good to them, and I will inspire them to fear me, so that they will never turn away from me.’
What a God we serve! he inspires us to fear Him. Fear, as used in Jeremiah is based upon the Hebrew word which means to honour and respect. What a joy to know that God inspires us so that we can honour and respect Him, and when we do, he will never stop doing good to us!
2. To live a life inspired by God’s wisdom
I am not sure about you, but I was never an A grade student. More of C grader!
However, I am thankful that, in Jesus, we have an ability to draw upon the inspiration that God gives and allow His wisdom to flow through us. In these last days I believe that God is calling us to be inspired by Him so that we can display His wisdom, not for our own glory, but for His honour and glory.
3. To live a life that inspires others
There are few greater joys that to be able to inspire others to be all that God has empowered them to be. Being inspired by God has enabled me to do so and I believe that as we seek to continue to be inspired by Jesus and by Jesus centred brothers and sisters then we can see a generation rise up. inspired by those who have intentionally chosen to be inspired by God.
4. To live a life that release God’s kingdom on earth as it is in heaven
In the prayer that Jesus taught His disciples we pray the word ‘thy kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven’. Having been inspired by God let us be those who seek to see God’s kingdom come on earth as it is heaven. The time for churches to build their own religious monuments and silos is over. The time for the Church to unite to see God’s kingdom come is now!
5. To live a life that sees the Church at work every day, everywhere.
Back in 2013 I was contacted via twitter by someone unknown to me from Australia. As it happened, David McCracken was born in Northern Ireland but has lived much of his life in New Zealand and Australia. He has become a great friend, mentor and prophetic voice in my life.
David has been a conference speaker and passionate voice for the Kingdom of God for many years. He loves the Church but sees it as being so much more than a Sunday gathering. Recently he said:
“Sunday is not ‘The Church’. Sunday inspires and equips the Church to Be ‘The Church’ on Monday!”
Like David I believe that we are being inspired by God, as the Church, so that we can be the Church every day of the week, whether that is our families, communities or workplaces. To limit the inspiration of God to a Sunday is to limit the power of God. Let us be those who are inspired by God to be His Church wherever we go.
6. To live a life that endures, through inspiration
In the business world much thought has been given to the subject of ‘resilience’. Countless books have been published and conferences held about resilience. Simply put, resilience is the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties. Over in the sporting world much has been written and said about endurance, which put simply means to have the ability to endure an unpleasant or difficult process or situation without giving way.
Being inspired, according to 1 Thessalonians 1:3, gives us hope that leads to endurance. How amazing to think that not only can we recover quickly from difficulties, but we have the ability to endure unpleasant and difficult processes and situations. Through being inspired by God we can stand the test of time.
When the writer to the Hebrews says ‘let us therefore run the race set before us’ we have the assurance that being inspired by God gives us the resilience and endurance to do so.
7. To live a life that speaks words that foretell God’s plans
To be inspired by God gives us the ability to speak prophetically into the lives of others. Revelation 22:6 talks about ‘God who inspires the prophets.’ With God’s inspiration we can call out God’s best for the lives of those we meet and those we lead. Through divine inspiration we can see in people what God sees in them. In speaking that forth we can see people released from captivity to their past and released into their divine destiny.
Prayer
Father we are so blessed to know that not only do you love us, but you continually inspire us. We thank you for the inspiration we receive through the Holy Spirit and through the life, love and works of Jesus.
We thank you that when we are inspired by you, we can inspire others to live the lives that you intended them to live. Help us each day to lean into you, to draw upon your inspiration and to walk in the power of your wisdom, as we seek to see you Kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven.
In Jesus name, Amen!
This is excerpt from ‘Live and Lead Like Jesus’ written by Christians Who Lead founder Tommy Stewart
You can purchase the book via Amazon or via http://www.liveandleadlikejesus.com/
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