Pastor Wayne Cordeiro
October 6, 2002 - W0240

What is your most important asset? Is it your money, your good looks, your connections or your education? What is it?

God says that our greatest asset is our spirit. Why? Well, your spirit defines your attitude, dictates your friendsÖ it even determines your destiny. Your spirit is that important! Itís one of the most important assets that you have. How are you doing in developing that?

The Bible tells of quite a few successful people and they all had one thing in common: an extraordinary spirit. These people with extraordinary spirits included Abraham, Joshua, Esther, and Paul. Yet scratch beneath the surface of their superstardom today, beneath their notorious success as spiritual giants, and youíll see that they all faced huge odds and were able to overcome them because of their extraordinary spirits.

Did you know that God didnít make the Promised Land available to all of the Israelites? That sounds weird but actually, itís true. God made the Promised Land available only to those that had extraordinary spirits!

When God instructed Moses to send out 12 spies to take a look at the Promised Land, 10 came back with a negative report. They said, ìwe canít attack those people; they are stronger than we are.î Their spirits were defeated. But one of the spies, Caleb, said, ìWe should go in there and take that land.î Nevertheless the othersí grumbling became so toxic that it infected everyone and they didnít take the land.

So God told Moses to step aside because He wanted to destroy the whole lot. However Moses pleaded with God to forgive his people. ìSo the Lord said, ëI have pardoned them according to your word;Ö But My servant Caleb, because he has had a different spirit and has followed Me fully, I will bring into the land which he entered, and his descendants shall take possession of itî (Num. 14:20-24). God reserved the Promised Land for those who had a different spirit. The rest died off in the desert!

God has promises for our lives as well. However, we will not enter into them if we have a wrong spirit. We must be a people with extraordinary spirits. And in order to achieve Godís promises, we must understand how to develop that kind of spirit.

One of Godís greatest examples of this extraordinary spirit was in a man named Daniel. Remember how God placed Daniel in the middle of Babylon, a dark nation? They didnít want to have anything to do with God yet Daniel shined as a light there because of his ìextraordinary spirit.î Similarly, look at whatís happening in our country. Weíre pulling God out of the Hawaii police oath and the American pledge of allegiance. Recently a church was ordered by law to take down a cross on its own property. Every vestige of God is slowly being removed, and slowly this nation is becoming a godless nation and its citizens a ìdark and perverse generation.î

Why did God place Daniel, you and I in Babylonian-like societies? God says, ìIím going to put you in the middle of a crooked and perverse generation among whom you must appear as lights in the world.î Our light shines brightest wherever it is the darkest, but we must not be sucked into the vacuum of godless surroundings. Instead we must develop in such a way that not only will we be lights in the world, but to go beyond and also become extraordinary!

Danielís story opens up with King Belshazzar giving a banquet. He took the things consecrated to Godís templeóchalices, cups, and bowlsóand began using them for terrible purposes: drinking wine and toasting his own gods. ìSuddenly fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote on the plaster of the wall: ëMene, Mene, Tekel, Parsin.î God was writing to King Belshazzar, but he couldnít understand what it said.

So he called for the wisest men to interpret it, but they had no clue. Just then, ìThe queen spoke and said, ëThere is a man in your kingdom in whom is a spirit of the holy gods. This was because an extraordinary spirit, knowledge and insight, interpretation of dreams, explanation of enigmas, and solving of difficult problems were found in DanielÖ.íî (Dan. 5:10-12)

In the midst of a terribly dark and perverse generation, Daniel was still known for his extraordinary spirit. And because of it, he was called by the royal court to help solve a tragic problem. How can we, like Daniel, develop an extraordinary spirit and shine our light in the midst of a dark and perverse generation?

DEVELOPING AN EXTRAORDINARY SPIRIT:

?        YOUR SPIRIT WILL IDENTIFY YOU MORE THAN ANY OTHER QUALITY.

ìThen Daniel began distinguishing himself among the commissioners and satraps because he had an extraordinary spirit, and the king planned to appoint him over the entire kingdom.î (Dan. 6:3)

One of your most important assets is the spirit with which you respond to things. Whether itís problems, corrections, or improving your lifeówhat kind of spirit do you have? Are you reticent, defensive, contentious, or are you open, submissive, humble and seeking Godís solutions? Like Daniel, who was identified by his extraordinary spirit, our spirit will identify us too. Thatís what God is looking for in each of us because (remember) His promises are available only to those who have that kind of spirit.

ìExtraordinaryî in the Hebrew language is a word for ìjudging; distinguishable or able to be seen at a distance.î It means that people will notice the most obvious or distinguishable thing about you. What do people first notice about you?

Q1: What is the most distinguishable thing about you? Would people identify you in the same way?

Given that your spirit will identify you more than any other quality, letís make sure our spirit is distinguished as one that shines Godís light. The second essential in developing an extraordinary spirit is toÖ

?        STEWARD YOUR SPIRIT WELL.

ìWatch over you heart with all diligence, for from it flow the springs of life.î (Pr. 4:23) ìThe good man out of the good treasure of his heart will bring forth what is good. An evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart will bring forth what is evil.î (Mt. 12:35)

We choose the treasure weíre going to build in our heart or in our spirit. For example, if we keep bad experiences and memories, it will pile up as evil treasure and eventually exude toxins that corrode the rest of our lives. Sure, even as people who follow God, we will have our measure of tough times. However, our core is determined by developing a spirit that is extraordinary and not defeated. If weíre faithful to steward good memories and thoughts, we build up a good treasure that exudes through us to bless others. Thatís what we want!

Thatís why whenever a bad experience happens to me, I think, ìWhat can I learn from that?î Then I hold on to the lesson and discard the rest. What happens then is that Iím left with wisdom and Iím challenged and motivated to be better. Keep in your memory the good things and learn the lessons from the bad experiences, but discard the rest.

How do we do that? Just as you discard bad photos and not include them in your photo albums, the same should be true of what we keep in our hearts. Oftentimes our hearts hold bad photos instead of good ones. We tend to forget all the wonderful times and instead keep the mistakes and problems. Then every time we open our heart we see ugly pictures. Indeed, bad experiences are inevitable, but take the wisdom and lessons from them and discard the rest. Thatís how you begin to build good treasure.

Q2: How have your experiences helped or hindered you from building good treasure?

Remember, your spirit will identify you more than any other quality. Therefore, steward your spirit well by keeping only the good and the lessons of the bad, then discarding the rest. The next necessary step that will help you in your spirit development is toÖ

?        RAISE THE TIDE OF YOUR SPIRIT.

ìA joyful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit dries up the bones.î (Pr. 17:22) ìThe spirit of a man can endure his sickness, but a broken spirit who can bear?î (Pr. 18:14)  

Having a broken spirit will eventually collapse and crush you. How then do you make problem solving easier? Try raising the tide of your spirit. Then you will be able to rise above any circumstance.

I was talking to a junior high pastor and he related how he was having some staff problems. They were contentious and he wanted to just be rid of them. I shared with him that usually when someone is a problem and Iím butting heads with them, often itís my own maturity level thatís an issue, and not so much his or hers. So instead, in order to exercise a greater maturity, try raising the tide of your spirit. Though your problem will still be there, youíll not just define the problem or get upset about it; youíll be able to resolve the problem without running headlong into others all the time.

Q3: If youíve experienced conflicts with coworkers, have you been able to resolve your problems? If not, how do you think you can apply this lesson to help you?

How do you develop the kind of spirit Daniel had, an extraordinary spirit? First, remember that your spirit identifies you. Second, develop a spirit you want to be known for. Then, raise the tide of your spirit so that problem solving will be easier. And finally, let me give you two essential guidelines that will assist you:

TWO WAYS TO DEVELOP AN EXTRAORDINARY SPIRIT:

1.      IDENTIFY WITH GOD EARLY ON.

ìBut Daniel made up his mind that he would not defile himself with the kingís choice food or with the wineÖ.î (Dan. 1:8)

Sometimes we stand neutral because we donít want anyone to know that weíre identified with God. We enjoy His blessings but remain lukewarm instead of standing firm in our convictions. If weíre unsure of what side weíre on, Godís power wonít be available to us. In order for God to really begin to develop an extraordinary spirit, we must identify with God early on.

Daniel did that. The Bible says that one of the ways the Hebrew people would identify with God was through their diets. They would only eat kosher food. But when he was deported to Babylon, this godless nation said that in order to be a part of them, Daniel and his people would have to consume their food and drink. ìBut Daniel made up his mind that he would not defile himself,î because he identified with God.

Q4: Are you wholehearted in your commitment to God? How do you reflect that in the way that you live?

Can people tell that you identify with God? Is there anything about your life that shows that you identify with God or are you neutral? Some time ago I wrote in my journal that if I died I would like people to say that I was known for an extraordinary spirit, that I identified with God. After I wrote it out, it was like the Lord said, ìNow live that. Make that real, make that true!î

I encourage you to do the same. Identify with God early on. And the last vital guideline to developing the extraordinary spirit is:

2.      LIVE FOR A CAUSE GREATER THAN SELF.

ìNow when Daniel knew that the document was signed, he continued kneeling on his knees three times a day, praying and giving thanks before his God, as he had been doing previously.î (Dan. 6:10) ìSet your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth.î (Col. 3:2)

Daniel identified with God early on and was seen praying three times a day. For that reason, a commissioner asked the king to make it illegal for anyone to pray to any god except the king. If they did, they would be thrown into the lionís den. They knew Daniel identified with God and wanted to test his commitment. Well, he just kept praying so they indicted him and threw him into the lionís den. But God protected Daniel and He will protect us when we live for a cause greater than our own comfort.

When Anna and I go through problems, we are diligent to work things out. If we donít, the outcome would not just end our marriage but affect many others who would be discouraged or confused. They may even give up. Itís all about the Kingdom of God and not about us. And for the sake of the Kingdom, we must do well. If we just live for the cause of how good we feel, weíre in trouble. But living for a cause greater than self will help you resolve problems quickly.

Q5: In what ways do you feel you can serve others for the sake of the Kingdom?

Last year the tragedy of September 11 brought celebrities together to donate their time to raise millions of dollars. Actor George Clooney said, ìIf you look around youíll see these stars setting up tables, passing out pizza, serving and helping. No one is vying for camera time.î I thought, What would cause these famous people to be instantly transformed into service? Then I realized that all of sudden there was a cause a larger than themselves.

The same is true for you and I. We live for a cause bigger than ourselves. And God gives us guidelines to remember as we continue to develop extraordinary spirits. First, know that your spirit identifies you more than any other quality. Therefore, you must develop that spirit well. Then to help make problem solving easier, raise the tide of your spirit. The next point that is equally important is to identify with God early on. Finally, live for a cause bigger than yourself. In these things, youíll see your spirit begin to shine and weíll become a people with an extraordinary spirit, able to receive the promises of God.

Q6: What most impacted you about the lesson today? How will you use what you learned to live differently and be identified by an extraordinary spirit?

 MAHALO NUI to a woman known for her spirit of faith, Mrs. Rhonda Pang.J