Daily Huddle - Sat Oct 12, 2019 Worth Doing Poorly

Love you all, praying for you.

Praise God – He reminds us of things – from long ago.  Sometimes to remember, sometimes for new meaning or new application.  There’s a sermon I remember from when I was young – from well over 30 years ago.  It’s had an impact on me.  I can’t really remember one thing the preacher said… but I do remember the sermon title.  If anything is worth doing, it’s worth doing poorly.  I think preachers sometimes choose sermon titles that almost seem opposite of what one would expect, even not Biblical, perhaps to get attention, or attendance.  What was interesting about this title – it seemed to fly in the face of everything we’ve been taught.   Clearly God expects our best.  He deserves it.  God told the Israelites to give Him their best – their first fruits, a tithe of all of their increase, the lamb had to be spotless, the best one, not the leftovers.  Absolutely God wants excellence from us.  He is excellent.  But excellent in obedience, precedes excellent in effort, and excellence in effort precedes excellent result.  Praying you’ll review the PRISM Topic – Diligent – a good reminder to do everything to the glory of God.  But this sermon title has stuck with me because while it seemed opposed to what God’s Word teaches us – it perhaps is really not.  God often challenges us with something that doesn’t seem right at first glance.  That's because His ways are higher than ours.    Sometimes the biggest enemy of the best is the good.  Just because it's good, doesn't mean its God's best, or God's best or God's will for you right now.  That’s why PiVAT before dinner is so important.  You need God’s plan for you for tomorrow – not yours.  His ways are higher than ours.  Not that we couldn’t think of anything good to do, it’s just that His ways, His thing for us to do – His way of doing it and His timing are infinitely better than ours.  Sometimes good is the biggest enemy of the best God has for us.  But also, sometimes the biggest enemy of the good God has for you – is the risk of doing it poorly – which means you won’t even start.  Have you ever been afraid to start something God put in your heart to do you, or do something God definitely told you to do – because you don’t feel you are talented enough?  That it wouldn’t be good enough?  Not worthy of the best God deserves?  Others or someone else can do it so much better than me… He devil wants you to think that doing it poorly means - not worth doing it at all.  But God says – don’t despise the day of small beginnings.  Sometimes God just wants you to do it.  Here's what God says.  Zechariah 4:10 - Do not despise these small beginnings, for the LORD rejoices to see the work begin…  Maybe its PRISM, maybe it’s praying in the Spirit, prophecy, Evangelism, or even beginning a ministry.  You don’t need a 501c3 to start a ministry.  What is ministry anyway?  Anything that serves others – or shares the Gospel – the good news that Jesus loves them, and died in their place so they could spend eternity with Him.  Ministry is anything that demonstrates the love of Jesus, like He did – when He washed His disciple’s feet.  You don’t have to be Billy Graham – to tell someone about Jesus.  You don’t have to be an expert – to lead someone to Christ?  And you don’t have to have memorized the latest evangelistic method or strategy.  Just give your testimony.  Just tell someone what God did.  Someone said, “They can argue your theology, but they can’t argue your testimony.”  Do you want to be in ministry?  To share the good news of Jesus?  To be used of God?  Just try the Best Question Ever – praying that you’ll listen to that PRISM Topic today.  When God tells you to do something, you won’t be excellent at it yet.  He doesn’t call experts, He calls the “whosover will.”  The first time you do it, won’t be your best ever.  The mere fact that the more you do something God told you to do, the better you will get at it – also means comparatively – how you did it the first time – kinda sucked.  It wasn’t that good – but God can still use it.  He always honors obedience.  So I think that preacher was right.  If it’s worth doing – it’s worth doing poorly.  Praying that you’ll review the PRISM Topic – Progress.  The mere fact that God has progress for you – means you will get better at it – then you were at first.  It might not start out the greatest.  But the Greatest can use it for His Glory.  Praying that you’ll ask Him today?  Is there anything you told me to do poorly?  Not badly, but poorly.  With all my heart and ability  - when my ability isn’t that great… small beginnings.  That something you’re not really good at yet, but He wants you to begin.  Don’t let the devil steal God’s beginnings for you – just because you’re not great at it yet.  David killed Goliath with a sling shot – but the first stone he slung was probably not too great.  I wonder how many windows he broke – before He finally hit what he was aiming at.  The sheep were probably nervous at first, but one day a Giant would fall.  Praying that whatever God tells you to do in your PiVAT before dinner – or His Spirit leading throughout the day – that you would never delay obedience, just because you aren’t good at it yet.  Praying that you will obey no matter what He tells you – no matter what it looks like the first time. 
 
Love you all
dad