Room For Development (Basement- Motives)

The Apostle Paul says we are God's building 1 Cor. 3:9. One translation says we are His house. Again he stated, "Haven’t you yet learned that your body is the home of the Holy Spirit God gave you, and that he lives within you? Your own body does not belong to you" 1 Cor. 6:19 (TLB).

The word "temple," in the Greek culture denoted the "abode of the gods" and was used to refer to a literal structure or building associated with, dedicated to and set apart to be a dwelling place for a deity. either pagan gods (Acts 17:24) or the true God (Mt 23:16). It describes the place where a deity was worshipped (cp. Zacharias ministering to God in Lk 1:9).

Today I want to discuss the different rooms in a home comparing them to our relationship with God.

BASEMENT (motives): The basement is at the very bottom of a home. It's usually dark and not visited very often. From the basement you can check out the foundation making sure your house is stable and secure.

The word "motive" is defined as the reason behind a certain course of action. It's the WHY behind the WHAT. When some asks, "why'd you do that?" They're really asking what was the motive behind what you did.

People do various things for various reasons. They may simply be seeking attention. They may be using someone for an ulterior motive. Sometime it's hard to tell just why people do certain things. I've seen people do the right thing but for all the wrong reasons.

Reasons I've found why people do what they do:

1. People do things because of pride and praise. Their action are done because it makes them look good in the eyes of others and they'll get the glory that belongs to God. An example of this is in the ares of giving. Remember, it's not wrong that people know what and how much you give. But if you give to be seen, you'd better think twice because it will be of no benefit to you.
2. People do things out of fear. They won't obey God for fear of failing. They won't speak up for fear of rejection and criticism. I remember years ago when the Holy Spirit prompted me to give a prophecy during a service, but I was afraid I'd miss it so I failed to obey.

I've also seen people do something wrong, but their heart was right. Asa reigned as king in Jerusalem for 41 years. The Bible says he did right in the eyes of God. "But the high places were not removed: nevertheless Asa's heart was perfect with the LORD all his days" 1 Kg 15:14. Notice Asa did not remove the high places, nevertheless his heart was right. Even though he failed to remove the high place his motive was right and God excepted it.

This should give us hope. Sometimes we fail to the right thing, but because our heart is right, God excepts us anyway. I believe that most people would do better if they knew better. Don't be like some people who use the excuse, "God knows my heart," to continue to ack in a manner that's displeasing to Him.

I believe the real motivation behind everything we do should be LOVE! Love for God and love for people. We can be confident that if we are motivated by love for God and love others our hearts will be pleasing to God.

Questions to ask before making a decision to ack:

1. What would Jesus do or say?
2. Is what I'm about to do or say expedient? Does it edify (build up, embolden, encourage)?
3. Will it hinder or help your Christian life?
4. Will it bring honor and glory to the Lord?
5. Will it make a weaker Christian stumble?

On The Move: The Disciple As A Strangers And A Pilgrims

Those who heard the call to follow Jesus understood that it meant forsaking their way of life and being trained by Him as a disciple.

This is consistent with God’s call to Abraham. Abraham was told to leave his land, kindred, and father’s house and follow the Lord to a land of promise. In the process, he learned the mind-set of a tent-dweller. When Abraham’s descendants went down to Egypt (symbolic of the world), they lost their tent perspective. Soon the pressure of their bondage caused them to cry out to God for deliverance.

God brought them “out of the house of bondage” (see Deuteronomy 13:5) and restored their perspective of tent dwelling in the wilderness. God also lived with them in a tent (the Tabernacle) and had them look to heaven for their daily bread and daily direction. In the land of promise they lived in goodly houses, but God warned them never to lose their tent mind-set. So, He established an annual feast in which they would live in a tent for one week and be reminded of their total dependence upon God. (See Leviticus 23:34.)

A tent mind-set is realizing that this world is not our home and that we are on a holy pursuit of God’s kingdom with total dependence on Him as “strangers and pilgrims.”

Peter speaks of this mind-set as a powerful basis for conquering lust: “Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul” (I Peter 2:11).

A tent mind-set helps us lay aside temporal things and see the value in eternal things, such as discipling others. Therefore, when a would-be follower of Jesus volunteered his services, Jesus immediately focused on his need for a tent mind-set by saying, “The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head” (Matthew 8:20). There is nothing wrong with living in a house as long as we don’t lose a tent mind-set and view our home as a temporary base from which to fulfill the Great Commission.