Check out the new Kingdom Study page (above on top banner) and join me in finding out more about the Kingdom of heaven. I’ll try to post there as often as I can. Let me know your thoughts and questions. May His Kingdom Come and His Will be done in your life today!!
With Pastor Sharon Mahoney at Orchard Road Christian Center starting Sept 11th, Sundays for eight weeks, 10:30AM (Paul Room) . Sign up begins this coming Sunday at the ORCC Info Center or by reply email. There is a $10 registration fee paid at the first class which will cover materials for the class.
Prophetic Ministry (God speaking to us) is often accomplished through the Gifts of the Holy Spirit, Dreams, and Visions. In this course we will discover:
- · What Prophetic ministry is,
- · The History of Prophetic Ministry
- · How God Communicates: Hearing His Voice
- · The Gifts Of The Holy Spirit
- · Visions and Dreams
- · How to be used in Prophetic Ministry
- · How to be used in Prophetic Evangelism
Here’s a little preview of the workshop:
What is Prophetic Ministry?
Did you know that God spoke hundreds of times to His people through His prophets in the Old Testament of coming events? In fact, approximately 300 such prophecies told of Jesus’ coming, His life, His ministry, His death, resurrection, and ascension to His reign as King of God’s Kingdom. Hundreds of others foretell the demise of God’s enemies and the restoration of Israel to its present state as a nation. Many have told the history of nations in advance and some have foretold individual men’s actions before they were ever born. One account is about King Cyrus in Isaiah 45, a prophecy recorded by Isaiah almost 200 years before his birth! What’s even more amazing is that God used this pagan king as a type and shadow of the coming Messiah and His Kingdom. Fulfilled prophecy is one of the key reasons the Bible has authority to represent God in the earth.
But what we are going to study in this workshop is not a history lesson of past prophecies coming to pass. We are going to learn how to be a part of fulfilling prophecy today and extend the Kingdom of God to the people that we come into contact daily.
So what is Prophetic Ministry:
One pastor told me: “It is the supernatural revelation and impartation of the Holy Spirit for the purpose of edifying & building up an individual or a group through exhortation, edification and comfort. It is accomplished through worship, psalms and spiritual songs, the gifts of the Spirit such as prophecy, interpretation of tongues, words of knowledge, wisdom and discernment, physical and emotional healings, miracles and signs and wonders. Its ultimate purpose is to cause growth of the body for the building up of itself in love (Eph 4:11-16) resulting in revival and equipping and mobilizing the body into evangelism.”
The Prophetic in short is God speaking. It begins with all the prophetic passages in the Old Testament fulfilled in Christ and His Kingdom in the New Testament and throughout the Church Age up to and beyond today.
The Prophetic often speaks the language of types and shadows. For example: King David’s victorious kingdom represents (is a type and shadow of) Christ’s coming Kingdom. King David represents Jesus as the Shepherd King. Mt. Zion, the place where David instituted 24/7 worship before the tabernacled Ark of the Covenant, where God manifested His glory in response, represents the Church worshipping her King and the answering Holy Spirit. God’s character is revealed as the people approach by grace, without regard for the Law’s requirements. The only requirement is the hunger and thirst of their hearts to know Him. That’s a revelation of the new covenant that Jesus brought. The restoration of David’s tabernacle was foretold in Acts 15:15-18 and we have seen it further fulfilled in the revelation and outpouring of prophetic worship “in order that the rest of mankind may seek the Lord…”
Prophetic voices, pictures, worship, ministry and even evangelism is all based in God speaking to us, our hearing His voice through all these and many other mediums and in turn, following His leading. That often involves interpreting His message and then moving in the gifts of the Spirit to minister it to others and bearing the fruit of the Spirit to be effective. The passage in I Corinthians 13 makes it clear that if we don’t love, all our efforts are but a noisy gong. Love is of course, subjective but we can cut through the fog by checking our motives. Is it about others or all about me.
The Prophetic Ministry is also based in the Kingdom of God in contrast to church. The Kingdom of God is wherever Jesus is Lord and where the voice of the Spirit of the Lord is sought, listened to and obeyed. This is how the Kingdom is revealed and comes on earth.
The Prophetic Ministry is experienced through spiritual revelation. Our All-Knowing God supernaturally reveals what is in the hearts and minds of people to willing believers in order for His heart about these things to be delivered to edify, exhort, and comfort.
Prophetic Ministry (God speaking to us) is often accomplished through the Gifts of the Holy Spirit, Dreams, and Visions. In this course we will discover:
- · What Prophetic ministry is,
- · The History of Prophetic Ministry
- · How God Communicates: Hearing His Voice
- · The Gifts Of The Holy Spirit
- · Visions and Dreams
- · How to be used in Prophetic Ministry
- · How to be used in Prophetic Evangelism
Obviously if we are going to hear God’s voice, we have to position ourselves to listen. There are many ways but here’s a few not so religious ways:
- Psalm 100 tells us we enter by thanksgiving and praise. Just begin to thank Him for all He has done for you and watch how quickly the Holy Spirit’s presence manifests.
- Worship that goes to the heart (this is not song singing) this is your heart cries put to music.
- Crying out for “mercy” – the Lord answers a contrite and humble heart.
- Hunger & Thirst for Him – recognize your real need and desire for Him and declare it to Him
- Get quiet – shut out all the world’s noise and get quiet before Him. Ask Him to speak to you. You may be surprised at how He will come most times to edify, encourage and comfort you!
- Journal your prayer time – “My heart overflows with a good theme; I address my verses to the King; my tongue is the pen of a ready writer…Ps 45:1”
Posted in CURRENT | Tagged evangelism, gifts of the spirit, ministry, prophecy, prophetic, revival | Leave a Comment »
I bind unto myself today
The strong Name of the Trinity,
By invocation of the same,
The Three in One and One in Three.
I bind this day to me for ever.
By power of faith, Christ’s incarnation;
His baptism in the Jordan river;
His death on Cross for my salvation;
His bursting from the spicèd tomb;
His riding up the heavenly way;
His coming at the day of doom;* I bind unto myself today.
I bind unto myself the power
Of the great love of the cherubim;
The sweet ‘well done’ in judgment hour,
The service of the seraphim,
Confessors’ faith, Apostles’ word,
The Patriarchs’ prayers, the Prophets’ scrolls,
All good deeds done unto the Lord,
And purity of virgin souls.
I bind unto myself today
The virtues of the starlit heaven,
The glorious sun’s life-giving ray,
The whiteness of the moon at even,
The flashing of the lightning free,
The whirling wind’s tempestuous shocks,
The stable earth, the deep salt sea,
Around the old eternal rocks.
I bind unto myself today
The power of God to hold and lead,
His eye to watch, His might to stay,
His ear to hearken to my need.
The wisdom of my God to teach,
His hand to guide, His shield to ward,
The word of God to give me speech,
His heavenly host to be my guard.
Against the demon snares of sin,
The vice that gives temptation force,
The natural lusts that war within,
The hostile men that mar my course;
Or few or many, far or nigh,
In every place and in all hours,
Against their fierce hostility,
I bind to me these holy powers.
Against all Satan’s spells and wiles,
Against false words of heresy,
Against the knowledge that defiles,
Against the heart’s idolatry,
Against the wizard’s evil craft,
Against the death wound and the burning,
The choking wave and the poisoned shaft,
Protect me, Christ, till Thy returning.
Christ be with me, Christ within me,
Christ behind me, Christ before me,
Christ beside me, Christ to win me,
Christ to comfort and restore me.
Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ in quiet, Christ in danger,
Christ in hearts of all that love me,
Christ in mouth of friend and stranger.
I bind unto myself the Name,
The strong Name of the Trinity;
By invocation of the same.
The Three in One, and One in Three,
Of Whom all nature hath creation,
Eternal Father, Spirit, Word:
Praise to the Lord of my salvation,
Salvation is of Christ the Lord.
Posted in My stories | Leave a Comment »
Overnight Stay in the Lion’s Den
I’ve been sharing a little about my CR journey so far. In my last post I shared about my hiding in plain sight, withdrawn in my affections and while in the middle of church ministry, quietly hurting. After working through previous steps, I came to Principle six, Step eight: “Evaluate all my relationships. Offer forgiveness to those who have hurt me and make amends for harm I’ve done to others, except when to do so would harm them or others…We made a list of all persons we had harmed and became willing to make amends to them all.”
From my inventory, I made my list of those I needed to forgive, but I had been here many, many times before. Then, my Lord Jesus confronted me about my inability to forgive all the offenses of the last few decades in such a way I could not resist. With His nail pierced hands stretched out at me, He asked me to really and finally forgive all the dozens of people I had on my list of all their offenses: all the assaults, malice, betrayals, abandonments, thefts, manipulations, lies, wrongs, and failures. AND wow, what an amazing experience! What a sense of freedom and newness!
Now I’m in the midst of doing amends. Even before I started, I realized the outcome could range anywhere from another “wonderful” experience down to a tragic episode of “My name is Earl,” only not funny. By the way, it has been weird how two out of the past three videos I’ve picked wound up having someone working the twelve steps but was not in the review [Diminished Capacity and Ondine – I do recommend both – they’ll bring a smile to your face].
Oh, that reminds me I should introduce myself: “Hi, my name is Sharon. I’m a pastor’s wife and a serious believer in Jesus Christ as my Savior and my Lord, who is helping me overcome counter-dependency, a relationship killing issue only recently discovered by psychologists which stems from separation anxiety (and “blah, blah, blah”) but an issue the Bible has addressed for many millennia. I’m very thankful for this revelation which came through some psychologists’ book I “happened” right when I started CR. The behaviors list absolutely nailed me. Their behavioral research and insight on the maturing process opened my eyes to answers that had eluded me. Some of the book’s exercises have given me and my husband tools we have sorely needed all our married years. Unfortunately I can’t recommend it, because it excludes Jesus as a Healer of my brokenness. Though they don’t know it, they actually teach redemption and transformation though I admit some of their methods have amused us. They’d make awesome believers so everyone pray for them. God knows their names.
So back to the latest step, I prayed about whom I needed to ask forgiveness. This is really where the rubber meets the road, putting all those prayers of commitment to do His Will into action. If you’ve ever done this, you know how really disturbingly scary it is. After all, I’m going to be pointing out the “800lb gorilla in the room” each of the people I’ve hurt thinks about every time they see me. Unless of course, they are a member in good standing of the very rare club of people who either choose to never be offended or who have learned the wisdom of completely forgiving someone as soon after being offended as possible. This is the club I’d like to earn membership in this year. But I can’t tell if they’re a member until we’re in the middle of the visit, so I don’t know how someone is going to react. Lord, please give me strength and courage.
I should add this disclaimer here: please forgive me if you haven’t heard from me but feel you should. God is giving me a great deal of mercy on this and knows who I can handle at this point. Most likely if He gave me the whole list of all the people I’ve offended in one sitting, I’d fold! Please give Him (& me) time and who knows, you may hear from me yet.
There are a few things I must commit to do if I want to actually receive forgiveness. First is to confess the wrong without excuse, blame, or explanation. I sinned against you. That’s it! Second ask for forgiveness. That’s all, nothing else! If you receive forgiveness, be grateful, count yourself blessed, and close the book on it.
Well my first visit went really well. I mean I couldn’t have been met with more grace and forgiveness. I purposed to share all I was convicted of having done and then asked them to share what they wished I’d never done to them or had failed to do. That’s again really scary because for me that’s like dropping all the walls out of the way and asking someone to take a shot. I don’t recommend it unless you really know the other person’s heart and trust them and/or you are desperate to reconcile the chasm between you. Anyway, sure enough I was reminded of a real failure on my part (by the way, to admit I failed at anything is a huge hurdle!) and I realized how it had been very hurtful to them and selfishly protective of me. It was another occurrence of my being so “right” but really being so wrong that had resulted in another’s hurt. I admitted it was wrong, started to make an excuse, but cut it short. I was wrong that was all there was to it. Then, I was forgiven. Yes, just like that, the burden of it all was gone. I will always regret what I did but now I’m forgiven and so grateful, so very grateful. I wasn’t sure what I felt the first hour after our meeting but in the days since I’ve been freer, happier.
In fact, I was on my way to my second amends when suddenly I was struck by the beauty of our Colorado fall. I don’t usually enjoy fall…to me it means soon there’ll be snow, and slush and icy roads. But on that day I was different. Suddenly all the brilliance of the yellows and oranges of the trees and the reds and purples of bushes alongside the evergreens made me think: This is God’s seasonal fireworks “finale”. Since late spring and all through summer, the beauty of colorful flowers and blossoming trees sang to us like a peaceful lullaby, but He’s saved the crescendo, the vivid explosion of all things botanical to bring this year’s “show” to a glorious close. It made me smile at how present He is, in all seasons and in the present difficult times.
I wasn’t sure what to expect at that amends meeting. The person is so very precious to me but our relationship has been bumpy this year. Again I had prayed about what offenses I needed to confess, as well as a list of offensive attitudes. And when I finished giving my list, I again asked if there was anything I had done or had not done that I hadn’t included, knowing there was, and desperately wanting to heal the gap between us. And true to the honest heart I know, out they came, not just offenses but deep hurts. And finally my real sin was spoken: that my actions said I didn’t love. There it was! The secret I’d thought I could keep hidden, was exposed to the light. Why was I like that? I had no excuse. Then I thought: it’s obvious, isn’t it? I’m broken. I do the things I don’t want to do and those things I desire to do, I fail to do. It’s a confession of my condition. I need fixing – it’s why I’m in CR. I had hurt someone I had never intended to hurt. I so agreed. I deserved to be executed. But I ask forgiveness. Then things got a little rushed and we suddenly had to pack up to go, but before we were out the door, I heard “I forgive you.” I came away different than from the first meeting. Now I also ached because of my sin against another. This was what I had feared, and now I’ll have to wrestle through the night to survive.
Soon that overnight stay in the lion’s den began. “He prowls about seeking whom he may devour” you know. And he loves to have genuine offenses to charge me with, to condemn me, and to tempt and scare me with. First to arrive was the fear of being separated forever from someone I love, then the fear of suffering pain. What choices will I make? Will I trust God to heal us? The flesh wanted to deny I was wrong, to declare self-righteousness, to argue the charges, to cry out, “Who needs them anyway?” The sharpened claws of judgment and criticism threatened while the sharp teeth of blame showed ready to devour.
I’ve not been abandoned here tonight. He is with me and those nailed scarred hands are shielding me, upholding me. I’ll not return to my old ways – with His grace I’ll continue to admit I’m wrong, I’m broke, I’m not perfect, I make mistakes, I’m not strong or invincible, I’m not entitled to a pity party, not justified in being unloving and unforgiving, angry, resentful and not going to become bitter. I do need help: His and that of other people. Most of all, I need this person, and hers, to be in my life because I do love them!
To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example that you should follow in his steps. “He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.” When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly. He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed…for you were like sheep going astray, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls. (I Peter 2:21-25)
Posted in Celebrate Recovery | Tagged amends, Celebrate Recovery, counter-dependence, forgiveness, Inventory, relationships, steps | Leave a Comment »
Continuing with our study on connecting with the Holy Spirit, let’s look in John 4 where Jesus spoke to the woman at the well. In verse ten, He says to her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.” He is speaking of the Holy Spirit who is also the gift of God, the gift of the Father (Matt 7:11; Acts 2:38; 8:20; 10:45) and of the water that He could give her, a type of the Holy Spirit, the water from a well of eternal life. Like a well, the Holy Spirit quenches the thirst of every human soul with His indwelling presence which gives new life to all who come to believe Jesus is the Son of God who died for our sins and was resurrected to give us new life. The Holy Spirit indwells us from the moment we believe and confess Jesus is Lord.
At our recent Women’s Connect, I used a drop of food coloring in the bottom of a glass set inside a clear glass pitcher. When a little water was poured into the glass, the colored water appeared representing the Holy Spirit’s presence inside our hearts at our new birth.
John 4:14 “…whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst.” This indwelling satisfies our hunger and thirst; the filling of that God shaped hole in every human heart.
But Jesus didn’t stop there, “…Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” He prophesied that this water would “spring up.” In Num 21:17, God’s people broke out singing: “Spring up O well” Do you remember that old song:
“Spring up, O well, within my soul; spring up, O well, and make me whole.”
Jesus wanted her to know that there is an additional dimension of this “Water” that was available to her. As John the Baptist said of Jesus in John 1:33, “He is the one who baptizes in the Holy Spirit.”
Now there are at least three baptisms for believers in the New Testament. The following chart tells how each takes place:
Baptism In (subst) Agent Uniting Us In His:____
Water (Rom 6:5) Believers Death and resurrection
Body of Christ (I Cor. 12:13) Holy Spirit His Church
Holy Spirit (Jn. 1:33; Acts 1-2) Jesus His Essence & Power
As you can see the substance, agent, and purpose are different in each one. Focusing on the Baptism in the Holy Spirit we see that Jesus is the agent who performs this baptism. The substance we are baptized into is the Holy Spirit and this baptism unites us to His complete filling, His essence, presence and power. A look at the original word for baptism helps us get a clearer picture of this:
Baptismo: the process used in pickling or dyeing cloth:
1) In dyeing cloth, it meant to immerse the cloth until every fiber was permeated/ united with the dye and changed to the color of the dye.
2) In pickling – another word, Bapto meant to temporarily dip the “cuke” into boiling water, preparing it for change but our word, Baptismo meant to immerse in vinegar until a permanent change took place.
So to be baptized in the Holy Spirit means to be immersed until every part of our being is permeated and united with the Holy Spirit of Christ and we are overwhelmed with His fullness. The process of change is begun. As we continue to be filled with the Spirit (Eph. 5:18) transformation will continue throughout our lives until we are thoroughly “pickled” in His Spirit!
2 Cor. 3:17-18 Now the Lord is the Spirit and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But we all, with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory…this is the ultimate makeover!
Acts 1:8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you and you shall be My witnesses…
Acts 2:33 “Therefore, having been exalted to the right hand of God and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He has poured forth this which you both see and hear.”
Remember that glass in the pitcher? If we pour the water into the glass until it not only fills but overflows and even fills up the pitcher. The glass is not just filled but immersed in the water – that is Baptismo – that is what the baptism in the Holy Spirit is supposed to look like: Not just in us, but filling us and upon us.
Putting on the Spirit: He not only indwells us, but springs up from inside and clothes us with His Presence, His Person and His Power, becoming our constant source of Life and a source of life for others.
Posted in Holy Spirit | Tagged baptism in the Holy Spirit | Leave a Comment »
“Wait and listen, every who is thirsty! Come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Yes, come, buy [priceless, spiritual] wine and milk without money and without price [simply for the self-surrender that accepts the blessing].” (Isaiah 55:1 AMP)
Isn’t this the oddest advertisement? We know the scriptures were written for all time, even for our society today. This scripture sounds a bit like the familiar commercial spots we are bombarded with daily only with a new “spin.” At first glance it looks like the kind of ad that sounds too good to be true. Something for nothing! We know that cannot be. We must have read it wrong. Sure enough, on our second reading, we realize what is being offered is not free at all. Instead, its price is self-surrender. That costs us everything, our very life! But now, we find we are hooked. We have read it twice and like all well written ads it has stirred up the hunger and thirst that lies deep within us. We know we have to have this spiritual wine and milk but are we able to afford it? Are we able to pay the price for the drink we so desperately need? Are we hungry and thirsty enough?
“I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; I would that you were cold or hot. So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth. Because you say, “I am rich and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing,” and you do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked, I advise you to buy from Me gold refined by fire, that you may become rich, and white garments, that you may clothe yourself, and that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and eye salve to anoint your eyes, that you may see. Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline; be zealous therefore and repent…He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches (Revelations 3:14-22)
There is a great renewal taking place throughout the Body of Christ. Some of it is evident in public meetings but much of it is taking place quietly and deeply in the hearts of believers. There are hot spots where the Harvest is being reaped, but there is still a vast majority of the American church that suffers being lukewarm. That is no secret to most believers. I heard it said recently that lukewarm comes from the hot being mixed with the cold. Indeed Jesus said He wished we were one or the other. We go to our “hot” hopping revivals but return to our cold Christian walks. Secretly we ask ourselves, “Why is that? Why can’t I maintain the zeal of those times?” If our walks are not on fire too, mixing the two only produces lukewarm Christianity. What is the cause of this lukewarmness anyway and how has it come upon us? The American church today is made up of Christians who have been believers for many years and a new generation of believers. Many of us can remember the church thirty years ago that was on fire winning the lost in multitudes, and making disciples steeled against compromising with the world. Who would believe that was us two decades ago? We hardly resemble our early selves. What changed in us over the years? Could it be we compromised with the world’s system too much? Could it be we started to compete with the world rather than overcome it?
In the account of Jesus cleansing of the temple of those who were selling and exchanging money, the first three gospels record Jesus’ words as “It is written, And My House shall be a House of Prayer but you have made it a robbers’ den (Matt. 21:12-13; Mark 11:15-17; Luke 19:45-46).”
John’s gospel however adds this illumination, “And to those who were selling the doves He said, ‘Take these things away; stop making My Father’s house a house of merchandise.’ His disciples remembered that it was written, ‘Zeal for thy house will consume me.’”
Has commercialism killed our zeal for the things of God? When the American church last experienced great harvest we were truly consumed by zeal for His house. Back then we dared those to whom we witnessed to sell out to Jesus, to “come and die” and become His disciple. Today, we peddle the blessings of God in the world’s market place with the latest of its techniques, trying to be relevant. Back then we were not satisfied until we saw a new convert baptized, trained, practicing the disciplines of a Christian walk and winning others to the Lord. Today, there is no sign of that kind of zeal. We just hope those who come to the altar this service will show up again next service so we can catch their ear for a little while longer. We want them to hear the church’s commercials, birthed out of our well designed marketing plans strategic to producing supporters. Because we have adopted using the same commercialism that bombards them daily out in the world it is no wonder that most believers in our churches have now been made consumers and not disciples.
The consumer and disciple hold vastly different attitudes. Consumers come to meet their own need. They come to look over the merchandise. They come looking for a bargain. They come to be sold something. If the sales pitch is good enough, they will buy into it. If we sell them well enough, they will buy into the announcements. That is if the price is not too high. It is the same with the offering. If we sell the building fund with the right slogan, gimmicks and enthusiasm, they may buy into it. The sermon, once the vehicle for proclaiming the gospel, is no different, nor the altar call. If we offer them a deal they cannot refuse, they will likely respond with a commitment. Because we have encouraged this consumer mentality in the people by selling them the kingdom rather than proclaiming its truth, we now have to market ourselves at every turn or the customers will move on to the church down the street. So we hire professional musicians for the best music. It does not matter that they may not even be born-again, just as long as they can play. We build the most appealing buildings on the most commercially desirable plots next to the highways and byways so we can be visible in the market place. Never mind that this usually takes us out of the neighborhoods and away from the families that really need ministry today. We’ve spent thousands on media advertisement and promotion but little to do on promoting responsible personal relationships that builds a community of believers.
Of course, we are aware that today’s consumers are prone to buy into someone else’s marketing tomorrow if we do not keep their attention. So we must have them in as many services as we can each week and be sure there is a letter from us in their mail box when they go home. Since that often proves to not be enough we also show up on the radio during drive time talking at them and even take out television spots at the precise times we think they might be watching. We are like obnoxious suitors pursuing their hand. Like the world’s market around us we intrude on their private lives as much as we possibly can, competing for their devotion. We tell them how they are lacking but we have the what they need. Why are we surprised when we peer into glazed over eyes. They’ve learned the only way to survive this commercialized world we live in is to tune out as much as possible. The glazed over faces in Sunday morning’s services are evidence of survival not rejection. They come to church to “tune out” much as we all do in front of the tube. We have produced “couch-potato” Christians, instead of disciples.
The average person looking for a church today approaches it like buying a car. They look for the church that has the most to offer. They are looking for the best children’s ministry, the most creative and entertaining fine arts program, the most supportive programs for men, for women, for parents, and for singles and of course, the finest preaching. They are consumers. They are going to spend their time and their tithe, even some offerings on this activity of church attending so they want the most for it. As consumers, they come in when they want and they leave when they want. Each service time is approached much like going to the grocery store to pick up some milk or the fast food restaurant for dinner. They go at their convenience. They arrive around “church time” and leave when they have gotten what they want. They usually are completely unaware of the needs of those around them, or that they may be walking out during an altar call. In the long haul, they have no sense of accountability to the establishment, usually withdrawing their patronage without a word unless they have a complaint about the service they did or did not receive. Many churches are actually conforming to these mindsets, cutting services to an hour, sometimes using satellite branches where the attendees view a video screen for the preaching. Easy in, sing a couple songs, view a video, easy out, then I’m on my way to the mall. I don’t blame the churches or the pastors. They’re just hoping they can get a little of God’s word into someone. Perhaps they’ll act on it.
Somewhere in the past couple of decades, we stopped making disciples and look what it is costing the church. Disciples approach the church so differently. They own not their lives, but acknowledge they are what has been bought with a price, even Christ’s blood. They come to the body of believers out of obedience to His Spirit. They see themselves as the Church. They really are not concerned with buildings, musicians, or programs. They just know if they have been sent there, there must a place in that body for them to share their gifts and give of their ministry. They have not devalued themselves. They know they have a supply to share with another that could change a life. They come as servants ready to serve. They come in as worshippers not as an audience to be entertained. They come hungry to be taught. They know the wisdom of remaining “as a child” and are learners all their lives. Their zeal perseveres day in and day out.
They are disciplined with self-control and respect the other members of the body, their time and their gifts. They honor others’ unique giftings as valuable by humbling themselves to receive from other members of the Body. They are the ones that are faithfully at the assemblies first and the ones that leave last because they see themselves as having something someone else may need. If you are one of these disciples you, “consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more, as you see the day drawing near (Hebrews 10:24-25).”
Disciples make themselves available. They see areas of service as areas of ministry and seek out places they can help, no matter how obscure or menial the service. They are not consumers but contributors. They serve out of grace and in the fear of the Lord, not out of obligation and the fear of man. They are humble and able to come along into the pastures in which the Spirit of God is leading their body. They are a delight to any pastor that is also trying to obey the Chief Shepherd’s calling. They naturally drink the spiritual milk and wine that the Spirit offers because they live a life of self-surrender. They are fruitful and multiply themselves. They daily pay the price of taking up their cross, not out of convenience but of conviction. They are rare like diamonds and more valuable than silver and gold. Jesus’ Great Commission calls us to be these disciples and to make more of them.
“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations…,” (Matthew 28:19)
We have been taken out of this world for the Master’s use so let’s ask Him to take the world out of us. Let’s buy from Him the gold refined by fire, the white garments of a sincere faith, and eye salve to anoint our eyes that we may see His Kingdom. Let’s press into Him until we are changed again from consumers in the market place to disciples and disciplers in His Kingdom.
more about “What this world needs – Casting Crowns“, posted with vodpod
Posted in Emergent or Emergency, revival now | Tagged advertising, believers, church, commercialism, consumerism, consuming, discipleship | Leave a Comment »
Girlfriends—you are invited every 2nd Friday night of the month for:
girls’ night out – Oct 10th
7pm – 9pm
October Topic: Keeping Joy in Our Family Relationships
a place for girlfriends to:
· connect & build new valuable relationships
· share cross generationally issues & answers
· worship together
· participate in panel discussions
· hear great special speakers
· receive prayer and personal ministry
Orchard Road Christian Center Realwomen Women’s Ministry
8081 Orchard Rd, Greenwood Village, CO
Dessert Bar and childcare provided*
*RSVP registration needed at Info Center or email sharonm@mhmin.org
For information on realwomen go to http://realwomenatorcc.wordpress.com
Posted in connections, worship | Tagged 2nd Friday night, build friendships, connect, discussions, Family Relationships, generations, Girls Night Out, girlsfriends, joy, ministry, panel, speakers, woemn's issues, worship | Leave a Comment »
more about “Steve Allen’s Infectious Laughter“, posted with vodpod
Sometimes we just need to laugh! Sometimes we do laugh when there’s nothing funny and sometimes we can’t stop laughing even when we try. But have you ever laughed in your dreams and woke up wondering what was so funny? I had that happen last night! I had fallen asleep from a very busy day that ended with facilitating the DivorceCare for Women group at church. One of the things we talked about there was how in the midst of all the strife, we can’t let others steal our joy from us. I just wanted to encourage the ladies to not let their really tough situation steal everything from them, especially their joy. The Lord has been encouraging me the last few months about keeping my Joy which is such a great evidence of His presence in my life. Well, in the middle of the night, I’m dreaming of who-knows-what and laughing so hard my sides start hurting and I couldn’t catch my breathe. I actually woke up momentarily ridiculously amused but quickly fell back to sleep to find myself laughing uncontrollably all over again. I don’t know about you but I love laughter and don’t get enough of it. I’m married to a man with a great sense of humor and like me, when the going has gotten tough, chooses to “cachinnate” (actual synonym for laugh, which made me giggle reading it) rather than cry or get mad. I’m always glad I’m in the room when he loses it. Our whole family has
often spent long moments of side splitting, rolling on the floor, eyes watering laughter together.
But you have to understand I don’t laugh in my dreams all that much. Wish I did more. It’s very fun and I woke up with a smile on my face, refreshed more than usual. There has only been one other time I remember this happening to me. It was back in September of 1993. We had attended a meeting at Calvary Temple where Rodney Howard-Brown and his wife were ministering the unusual revival laughter stuff. Those of you who got in on it at the time know what I mean. We were desperate for God to do something in our lives at that time as it was one of the harder seasons of our life. I was pulled out of the crowd and prayed for and took my “courtesy drop” ( 
) but didn’t feel anything unique at that moment. We went home, went to bed and soon I found myself dreaming that a huge bell-jar was coming down over my head. When its lip reached my shoulders I began to laugh uncontrollably. I was laughing so hard out loud I woke myself up. Afraid I would wake up my husband, I tried to calm down and go back to sleep. As soon as I fell off again, here came the jar and once again I was giggling and heehawing harder than before until it woke me again. The short of it is that laughter went on all night long. I thought I’d be worn out the next day but woke up feeling great. I turned to Pat and said, with a smile on my face, “We’ve got to get back to those meetings today!” We did and we were never the same again…
”In Your Presence is fulness of Joy” (Psalm 16:11)
Posted in My stories, revival history | Tagged Dreams, giggling, hard seasons, joy, laugh, laughter, presence of the Lord, revival, revival laughter, Rodney Howard-Brown, trials | 1 Comment »
We’ve been teaching in the FFS since the first of September and thought I’d share my notes in parts here on the blog. Hope it is helpful.
COLOSSIANS – OUR IDENTIFICATION IN CHRIST (FFS – Fall 2008)
Colossians 1:2 Paul opens his letter to the Colossians with to the…saints in Christ…
This study is on our identification in Christ, one of the most important teachings a believer can get a hold of, third only to our salvation and the baptism of the Holy Spirit.
Paul’s Gospel – Colossians 1:25-28 “to whom God willed to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. 28 We proclaim Him, admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom, so that we may present every man complete in Christ.”
Because the Bible is progressive revelation, this mystery of what God would do to reconcile us to Him was hidden in the Old Testament and not revealed until it was given to Paul to proclaim in his mission and write in his letters on the New Testament.
We need the Old Testament as Paul tells us in I Corinthians 10:1-13 for the history of mankind, God’s covenants, Israel and its examples, etc. but we must be New Testament or Covenant believers. I encourage you, if you are already born-again get on past the gospels. And if you are already spirit-filled get past the book of Acts and get into the epistles where the good news for believers is!
Paul’s Gospel reveals the mystery: God has put the Spirit of Christ in us & put us in Christ!
Mysterion- ancient Greek – secrets, unspoken initiation rites, “secret hand shake” - In the NT this word is always connected with dynamic verbs denoting revelation and proclamation. Paul uses the phrase 20x in his NT writings, 4x in Colossians alone.
This revelation is not found in the OT that is the mystery that God’s plan of redemption thru His own Son would result in:
1. Christ in you, the hope of glory – your identity before the world
2. You in Christ – your identity before God
Next part: We are immigrants in a new land!
Posted in discipleship | Tagged basic Christian doctrine, colossians, faith, identification in Christ, St. Paul | 1 Comment »
Colossians 1:9-14 is one of six prayers in New Testament that the Holy Spirit inspired Paul to pray and write into the scriptures for believers. The 13th verse of this prayer says, “…who hath delivered us from the power of darkness; and hath translated us into the kingdom of His dear Son.”
Sometimes it helpful to see how a verse is translated in other versions to get a better understanding:
NKJ: “conveyed us into the Kingdom”
NIV: “brought us in the Kingdom of His Son”
AMP: “The Father has delivered and drawn us to Himself out of the control and the dominion of darkness and has transferred us into the kingdom of the Son of His love.”
Conybeare: “and transplanted us…”
The other words used, translated, transferred, transplanted, brought in, conveyed tell us we were changed and moved all in one instant. At our new birth, we moved from the old country which was ruled by darkness into the Son’s Kingdom. We are immigrants moved into God’s Kingdom.
For Immigrants to succeed in a new country, they have to learn:
· the language of the new country
· the founding principles and government of the new country
· the new laws
· the new privileges & the new benefits
· Most important, the old ID’s from other country are not good anymore
o ID’s tell what we look like, our address, who issued it, expiration date, etc.
· Have to get a new ID – issued by the government of the new nation
· So we as believers have to get a hold of our new ID from God in the Word
Obviously we weren’t physically moved, or even mentally or emotionally moved.
What was transplanted and changed?
I Thess. 5:23 says, “Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit, and soul, and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
God created humans as three or tri-part beings: a spirit with a soul living in a body. Say this:
‘I am a spirit, I have a soul, and I live in a body.’
If you had an ID card for your spirit before your new birth it would have these facts:
· Citizen of domain of darkness (Col 1:13)
· Dead in transgression-spiritually dead or separated from God (Eph 2:5)
· DNA of the Evil one, sons of disobedience, by nature children of wrath (Eph 2:2).
That’s the condition we are in before we are “delivered…and translated into His Kingdom.”
One more point: we are legal immigrants, and now first class citizens of His Kingdom which means we have all the rights and privileges of citizenship in the Kingdom of God. Are you living as a second class citizen, an “illegal,” not exercising your rights or receiving the benefits of the privileges, or as a first class citizen in God’s Kingdom? There’s a huge difference.
Posted in Teachings: Identification in Christ | Tagged colossians, identification in Christ, immigrants, prayers, spiritual kingdom, Teachings: Identification in Christ | Leave a Comment »
February 2009 – LOVE: The Challenge of the Great Commandment
(or “Oh my gosh, who’s going to help me obey this one?”)
To Begin our study, please read Matt 22:37-40
The scriptures command us to love God and love others as you love yourself. In addition, Jesus emphasized this command by saying the keeping of the whole Law is summed up in His one new commandment to love one anothe, as the following verses repeat:
John 13:34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another.
I John 3:23 And this is His commandment, that we believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as He commanded us.
John 15:12 This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you.
Love others as Jesus loves us – WOW – that’s very challenging to me. As we continue looking into it, the real meaning of this commandment is only going to become an even greater challenge to us before it gets better. Stick with me though because I’m also going to give you the key to meeting it.
For many of us to love God is not so hard most of the time, but to love others and love them as we love ourselves, that is not so easy. Many of us struggle with even liking, much less loving, ourselves. We are often hardest on ourselves, demanding and judging ourselves and we end up doing the same to others. We’re miserable with our own condition and can’t stand to be reminded of it when we see it in others. I love the verses in Romans 14:4 says: “Who are you to judge the servant of another? To his own master he stands or falls; and stand he will, for the Lord is able to make him stand.” Oh, thank God for His insight into our hearts and this firm word to “lay off” judging ourselves or other believers, all His servants. I’m sure if we would heed this word, the Body of Christ would be a safer place for us all.
Let’s look at this word LOVE: I say, ‘I love my husband, Pat, my kids, my cat, chocolate, the ocean and warm weather.’ Our English word “love” gets used for an affection for almost anyone or anything.
However, the Greeks used several words to distinguish ‘love’ from the many different kinds of affection or desires. Here are the most common four:
- Eros: lowest form – meaning: to desire, to have/to take possession – sexual/spiritual connotation – in Greek mythology, gods’ intercourse with humans produced heroes from eros. Never used in NT. In English = LUST.
- Stergos: the natural familial love between parents and children, siblings, relatives, used in Rom 12:10
- Phileo: friendship affection – brotherly love, mutual affection, conditional reciprocating affection
- Agapeo: Highest form of love, the Godkind of Love – unconditional, unmerited, based on the perspective and choice of the lover: Agape always chooses to value the recipient worthy of favor regardless of their actions This Godkind of Love counts you and me as precious and valuable, always worthy of His favor.
My grandmother expressed it well when she would tell me, “I don’t always like what you do, but I always love you.”
The scriptures above that we read at the beginning all use the word “agape:” Jesus command is to agape God, ourselves, and others. (I warned you the challenge was only going to get harder.)
Agape Love: IS NOT an emotion or feeling or reaction to someone else’s actions. Agape loves the unlovely, doesn’t just tolerate them, but lays its life down for them, even for enemies. Think of the hardest person to get along with or even your worst enemy, someone who let you down when you needed them most, someone who abandoned you, someone who abused you, or an unfaithful one who betrayed you, an ex-friend, ex-lover, an ex-husband. We hear so much about forgiveness but do we go on to obey the command to love as well. Could you agape any of these?
Before I was saved, I thought love was some kind of passionate feelings, infatuation, romantic, music & roses, etc. Then I read I Cor. 13:4-8 Let’s look at the characteristics as “is and isn’t.”
I Corinthians 13: 4-8 says LOVE IS:
- Is patient
- Is kind
- Rejoices with truth
- Bears all things,
- Believes all things, has faith in others
- Hopes all things, expects the best from others
- Endures all things, hangs in there
- Is not envious or jealous
- Is not boastful
- Is not arrogant or conceded
- Is not unbecoming
- Is not self seeking
- Is not provoked
- Is not bitter
- Is not vindictive
LOVE never fails, is never a waste of time, is never in vain.
NO WONDER I FAILED AT LOVE – I DIDN’T KNOW WHAT IT WAS AT ALL. I NEEDED AN UPGRADE TO THIS KIND OF LOVE.
I John 4:16 says God is love. We could easily put God’s name in front of each of these characteristics. Try reading it that way -This is how God loves you. This is how Jesus loves you. You might be thinking, “Easy for Him – since HE is God.” But I have to remind myself that He would not command us to do something if He didn’t know that we would be able to obey. Considering this in my study, the Holy Spirit directed me to John 21:15-17.
This is the episode of Jesus meeting the disciples after His resurrection on the shores of Gallilee and his conversation with Peter. This is the way it reads in the Greek: In the first two exchanges, Jesus asks Peter: “Do you agape Me?” Peter answers: “Lord, You know I phileo You.” Did you catch that? Peter downgraded his love to phileo – He knew he lacked what it took to agape. And he knew Jesus knew it too.
But in the third exchange Jesus asked “Do you phileo Me?” Why did Jesus downgrade or lower the bar, His expectation of Peter? Peter needed an UPGRADE to agape. “Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, “Do you phileo Me?” Have you ever insisted on deminishing yourself to someone who wanted to raise you up and finally had them agree with you? That is such a grievious experience. But Peter was only confessing what Jesus had to have known was the best he believed he could do. Jesus knew what the new birth was going to put into Peter, a living seed that could bear supernatural fruit.
READ Galatians 5:13-25 The fruit of a tree is the evidence of its core: Apple tree or Lemon tree
An apple tree comes from the seed at the core of an apple. It’s destined to bear apples. When we receive Jesus we receive the Holy Spirit and we are born again. Our DNA is changed to bear the fruit of the Spirit because He is at our core. The fruit of the Spirit is agape love. So if it is already in us, why doesn’t this love come natural? Like a tree, whether we bear fruit or not depends upon on one thing.
In the late 80′s we lived in San Diego, planting a new church. We often drove out into the Borrego desert which during those years was in drought. The desert was dry and desolate with miles of sand but no plants. The year after moving back to Denver, we visited San Diego and on the way drove through the Borrego. The drought had broken and the rains had come. The desert looked like a forest with desert plants 10-12 feet tall, blossoming and bearing fruit. Where did all this foliage come from? No one had sown seed over these hundreds of miles of desert. The seed was from former foliage that had laid dorment in the sand until the rains came and caused it to spout, grow, and bear fruit.
Peter said, “for you have been born again not of seed which is perishable, but imperishable, that is, through the living and abiding word of God.” (I Pet. 1:23) When we are born again, we recieve the Holy Spirit like a seed. He resides in us promising such great potential. When we surrender to the Spirit to fills us, we are baptized into Him, He waters us and causes us to bear fruit. That surrender means we walk after the Spirit, letting Him lead us and be in control of us which results in the Fruit of the Spirit. The first fruit of the Spirit is LOVE. The seed of AGAPE is in us and destined to bear fruit through us.
Peter obviously recieved the upgraded love for he writes in I Peter 1:8 “…though you have not seen Him, you agape love Him…” When did Peter discover this?
The first 2 chapters of Acts tells us when and how it happened.
- In Acts 1:5, Jesus promised to ‘baptize’ us with the Holy Spirit – He promised to send the Rain the seed of the new birth needed.
- Acts 1:8, and you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you…(the power of walking in the Spirit is one of the most supernatural witnesses a believer can possess)
- 2:1-4, They were all filled with the Holy Spirit
- 2:14, Peter was filled with the UPGRADED AGAPE Love and boldly began to proclaim , “It shall be in the last days that I will pour forth My Spirit upon all Mankind, vs. 33 Jesus having received from the Father, the promise of the Holy Spirit, He has poured forth this which you both see and hear…vs. 39 for the promise is for you and your children and for all who are many generations off, as many as the Lord our God shall call to Himself.”
Though we receive the Holy Spirit when we are born-again, we don’t regularly experience His power to do the impossible until we have been baptized in the Spirit and begin to use the prayer language He gives us that enables us to really live in the Spirit, and bear the fruit of AGAPE! To remind us of this, Jude wrote:
“…Beloved, build yourselves up on your most holy faith; praying in the Holy Spirit; keep yourselves in the agape love of God…” Jude 20-21
Jesus Wants to give you this same upgraded love so you will have the power to LOVE supernaturally:
- Those who want this power to walk after the Spirit and live the supernatural love life of a Christian must start by trusting Jesus as Savior and Lord.
- Give Him control (make Him your Lord) and ask Him to baptize you in His Spirit, letting Him be the source and guide of all your LIFE. In return, He will give you the ability to pray beyond your own understanding in a prayer language only God understands. I Cor. 14:2, 14-15.
- Many of us have received this upgrade already but haven’t been kept in the love of God because we are not praying in the Spirit like we should. Would you join me in committing to pray in the Spirit more? Even intercede daily, Romans 8:26; Jude 20-21.
Posted in discipleship, prayers | Tagged baptized in the spirit, bible study, great commandment, Holy Spirit, love, prayer, prayer language, spirit filled | Leave a Comment »
“Wait and listen, every who is thirsty! Come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Yes, come, buy [priceless, spiritual] wine and milk without money and without price [simply for the self-surrender that accepts the blessing].” (Isaiah 55:1 AMP)
Isn’t this the oddest advertisement? We know the scriptures were written for all time, even for our society today. This scripture sounds a bit like the familiar commercial spots we are bombarded with daily only with a new “spin.” At first glance it looks like the kind of ad that sounds too good to be true. Something for nothing! We know that cannot be. We must have read it wrong. Sure enough, on our second reading, we realize what is being offered is not free at all. Instead, its price is self-surrender. That costs us everything, our very life! But now, we find we are hooked. We have read it twice and like all well written ads it has stirred up the hunger and thirst that lies deep within us. We know we have to have this spiritual wine and milk but are we able to afford it? Are we able to pay the price for the drink we so desperately need? Are we hungry and thirsty enough?
“I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; I would that you were cold or hot. So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth. Because you say, “I am rich and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing,” and you do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked, I advise you to buy from Me gold refined by fire, that you may become rich, and white garments, that you may clothe yourself, and that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and eye salve to anoint your eyes, that you may see. Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline; be zealous therefore and repent…He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches (Revelations 3:14-22)
There is a great renewal taking place throughout the Body of Christ. Some of it is evident in public meetings but much of it is taking place quietly and deeply in the hearts of believers. There are hot spots where the Harvest is being reaped, but there is still a vast majority of the American church that suffers being lukewarm. That is no secret to most believers. I heard it said recently that lukewarm comes from the hot being mixed with the cold. Indeed Jesus said He wished we were one or the other. We go to our “hot” hopping revivals but return to our cold Christian walks. Secretly we ask ourselves, “Why is that? Why can’t I maintain the zeal of those times?” If our walks are not on fire too, mixing the two only produces lukewarm Christianity. What is the cause of this lukewarmness anyway and how has it come upon us? The American church today is made up of Christians who have been believers for many years and a new generation of believers. Many of us can remember the church thirty years ago that was on fire winning the lost in multitudes, and making disciples steeled against compromising with the world. Who would believe that was us two decades ago? We hardly resemble our early selves. What changed in us over the years? Could it be we compromised with the world’s system too much? Could it be we started to compete with the world rather than overcome it?
In the account of Jesus cleansing of the temple of those who were selling and exchanging money, the first three gospels record Jesus’ words as “It is written, And My House shall be a House of Prayer but you have made it a robbers’ den (Matt. 21:12-13; Mark 11:15-17; Luke 19:45-46).”
John’s gospel however adds this illumination, “And to those who were selling the doves He said, ‘Take these things away; stop making My Father’s house a house of merchandise.’ His disciples remembered that it was written, ‘Zeal for thy house will consume me.’”
Has commercialism killed our zeal for the things of God? When the American church last experienced great harvest we were truly consumed by zeal for His house. Back then we dared those to whom we witnessed to sell out to Jesus, to “come and die” and become His disciple. Today, we peddle the blessings of God in the world’s market place with the latest of its techniques, trying to be relevant. Back then we were not satisfied until we saw a new convert baptized, trained, practicing the disciplines of a Christian walk and winning others to the Lord. Today, there is no sign of that kind of zeal. We just hope those who come to the altar this service will show up again next service so we can catch their ear for a little while longer. We want them to hear the church’s commercials, birthed out of our well designed marketing plans strategic to producing supporters. Because we have adopted using the same commercialism that bombards them daily out in the world it is no wonder that most believers in our churches have now been made consumers and not disciples.
The consumer and disciple hold vastly different attitudes. Consumers come to meet their own need. They come to look over the merchandise. They come looking for a bargain. They come to be sold something. If the sales pitch is good enough, they will buy into it. If we sell them well enough, they will buy into the announcements. That is if the price is not too high. It is the same with the offering. If we sell the building fund with the right slogan, gimmicks and enthusiasm, they may buy into it. The sermon, once the vehicle for proclaiming the gospel, is no different, nor the altar call. If we offer them a deal they cannot refuse, they will likely respond with a commitment. Because we have encouraged this consumer mentality in the people by selling them the kingdom rather than proclaiming its truth, we now have to market ourselves at every turn or the customers will move on to the church down the street. So we hire professional musicians for the best music. It does not matter that they may not even be born-again, just as long as they can play. We build the most appealing buildings on the most commercially desirable plots next to the highways and byways so we can be visible in the market place. Never mind that this usually takes us out of the neighborhoods and away from the families that really need ministry today. We’ve spent thousands on media advertisement and promotion but little to do on promoting responsible personal relationships that builds a community of believers.
Of course, we are aware that today’s consumers are prone to buy into someone else’s marketing tomorrow if we do not keep their attention. So we must have them in as many services as we can each week and be sure there is a letter from us in their mail box when they go home. Since that often proves to not be enough we also show up on the radio during drive time talking at them and even take out television spots at the precise times we think they might be watching. We are like obnoxious suitors pursuing their hand. Like the world’s market around us we intrude on their private lives as much as we possibly can, competing for their devotion. We tell them how they are lacking but we have the what they need. Why are we surprised when we peer into glazed over eyes. They’ve learned the only way to survive this commercialized world we live in is to tune out as much as possible. The glazed over faces in Sunday morning’s services are evidence of survival not rejection. They come to church to “tune out” much as we all do in front of the tube. We have produced “couch-potato” Christians, instead of disciples.
The average person looking for a church today approaches it like buying a car. They look for the church that has the most to offer. They are looking for the best children’s ministry, the most creative and entertaining fine arts program, the most supportive programs for men, for women, for parents, and for singles and of course, the finest preaching. They are consumers. They are going to spend their time and their tithe, even some offerings on this activity of church attending so they want the most for it. As consumers, they come in when they want and they leave when they want. Each service time is approached much like going to the grocery store to pick up some milk or the fast food restaurant for dinner. They go at their convenience. They arrive around “church time” and leave when they have gotten what they want. They usually are completely unaware of the needs of those around them, or that they may be walking out during an altar call. In the long haul, they have no sense of accountability to the establishment, usually withdrawing their patronage without a word unless they have a complaint about the service they did or did not receive. Many churches are actually conforming to these mindsets, cutting services to an hour, sometimes using satellite branches where the attendees view a video screen for the preaching. Easy in, sing a couple songs, view a video, easy out, then I’m on my way to the mall. I don’t blame the churches or the pastors. They’re just hoping they can get a little of God’s word into someone. Perhaps they’ll act on it.
Somewhere in the past couple of decades, we stopped making disciples and look what it is costing the church. Disciples approach the church so differently. They own not their lives, but acknowledge they are what has been bought with a price, even Christ’s blood. They come to the body of believers out of obedience to His Spirit. They see themselves as the Church. They really are not concerned with buildings, musicians, or programs. They just know if they have been sent there, there must a place in that body for them to share their gifts and give of their ministry. They have not devalued themselves. They know they have a supply to share with another that could change a life. They come as servants ready to serve. They come in as worshippers not as an audience to be entertained. They come hungry to be taught. They know the wisdom of remaining “as a child” and are learners all their lives. Their zeal perseveres day in and day out.
They are disciplined with self-control and respect the other members of the body, their time and their gifts. They honor others’ unique giftings as valuable by humbling themselves to receive from other members of the Body. They are the ones that are faithfully at the assemblies first and the ones that leave last because they see themselves as having something someone else may need. If you are one of these disciples you, “consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more, as you see the day drawing near (Hebrews 10:24-25).”
Disciples make themselves available. They see areas of service as areas of ministry and seek out places they can help, no matter how obscure or menial the service. They are not consumers but contributors. They serve out of grace and in the fear of the Lord, not out of obligation and the fear of man. They are humble and able to come along into the pastures in which the Spirit of God is leading their body. They are a delight to any pastor that is also trying to obey the Chief Shepherd’s calling. They naturally drink the spiritual milk and wine that the Spirit offers because they live a life of self-surrender. They are fruitful and multiply themselves. They daily pay the price of taking up their cross, not out of convenience but of conviction. They are rare like diamonds and more valuable than silver and gold. Jesus’ Great Commission calls us to be these disciples and to make more of them.
“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations…,” (Matthew 28:19)
We have been taken out of this world for the Master’s use so let’s ask Him to take the world out of us. Let’s buy from Him the gold refined by fire, the white garments of a sincere faith, and eye salve to anoint our eyes that we may see His Kingdom. Let’s press into Him until we are changed again from consumers in the market place to disciples and disciplers in His Kingdom.
more about “What this world needs – Casting Crowns“, posted with vodpod
Posted in discipleship, revival now | Tagged consumer, discipleship, His Kingdom, practicality, relevance, world, worship | Leave a Comment »
As promised, I am posting the teaching we are doing in Women’s Connect here. Check out the new page “The Holy Spirit Series” above or http://theriverblog.wordpress.com/the-holy-spirit-series/ to start reading these.
I also want to share a link to Pastor Robert Morris series on the Holy Spirit, probably one of the best I’ve heard in years: http://www.gatewaypeople.com/index.php?action=res_series_details&sid=170
Posted in Holy Spirit | Tagged Holy Spirit | Leave a Comment »
DIY: my plan or His plan
In our Prophetic Workshop we’ve been learning to recognize the many ways God speaks to us. Recently He surprised me with one of these during my Bible meditation time. As I was reading a certain verse from the New Testament, a worship song playing on my iPod sang the exact same words in sync with my reading them!! Wow. Talk about a “I’m speaking to you” moment from the Lord. The day before He had reminded me of revival’s prerequisite “surrender.” Then came this “iBible sync” from II Corinthians 12:10, specifically, “when I am weak, then I am strong.” I want to share what this encouraging word meant to me.
If I admit “when I am weak” and abandon DIYing it, He will do through me what I’d never accomplish, “then I am strong.” There’s an old saying: Let go and let God!”
But this isn’t as easy as “1, 2, 3, now let go!” We humans are very complex. Our soul has all kinds of reasons why we insist on DIYing it. It’s bred in us from our original parents. We’ve got hidden agendas, massive insecurities, fears we’d never voice and so on, all the result of sin’s presence. Plus we often have a whole plethora of fixes for our situations that we have either been trained in or dreamed up ourselves. And if we exhaust all those ideas, we can always Google our problem and up pops another endless list of DIY solutions. We insist we can fix anything. And sometimes we do and sometimes we don’t. There in lies what often confuses us. Why do our DIY’s sometimes work but at other times, they run us into a brick wall. What are we to believe when that happens?
Jesus came into this earth as a human with one great advantage: He was free of sin and free of the effects of sin. As the second Adam, He didn’t choose the DIY route which the first Adam originated and perfected. Instead, as John’s gospel repeats numerous times, He only did what He saw the Father doing. He only said what the Father told Him to say. He was completely surrendered and committed to the Father’s perspective and plan for accomplishing a second chance for mankind.
There are some situations that God has given us a mind and wisdom to solve for ourselves and He allows us the DIY project, even blessing it. He is for us and never against us. He loves us dearly and as any parent, wants us happy and according to His Word will generously bless our efforts. Here’s where we mistake our DIY successes for “strengths.” After a lifetime of fixes that have worked, we mistakenly think we’re pretty good at solving our own problems and that God wants us DIYing. Then we hit that wall. We come to a place in life where nothing we do works. We can’t fix it!
The thing is that as believers we are called to be Spirit-led and not DIY led. Eventually we’re going to run up against those circumstances whose outcome is critical to His plans. In those, He wants us to give up our brainy ideas and let Him lead us to His solution and desired result which probably won’t be what we’d think to do ourselves or look anything like what we want.
I think this is where the Apostle Paul was. By the context of the previous chapter, we know the “problem” he faced came from harassing religious spirits that followed him everywhere, stirring up life threatening persecution and harrowing circumstances. The enemy hates the gospel of grace! In his ministry, he had seen many miracles, healings and deliverances for others just for the asking in Jesus’ name. So why couldn’t he end his problem the same way? The faith-filled entreaties he made on behalf of others didn’t work for him. Why was that? All he wanted was to be able to go about teaching and preaching the message God had given him in the places to which God led him minus these persecutions.
II Cor. 12:10 includes the phrase, “for Christ’s sake.” Paul said he gladly boasted in all these attacks the enemy continued to use against him because they were “for Christ’s sake.” That’s what we need to ask ourselves when we are trying to fix the “wall”. If the situation, from God’s perspective, can be ”for Christ’s sake,” that is, it’s outcome could extend His Kingdom or miss it completely, or could bring Jesus renown or perhaps bring Him shame, or any number of other results and we insist on the DIY approach then we may find ourselves working against God’s plans and desires.
When Paul surrendered, he caught the eternal perspective of God’s plan for his life which involved a purposeful journey. He would be imprisoned several times, eventually brought before Caesar and condemned to his death but during the journey he would write down two-thirds of the New Testament for the rest of us to read. We would not have known the revelation Paul preached that “turned the world upside down” had he not fulfilled this destiny. That “higher” plan has enlarge the Kingdom for the past two millenia. His unresolved problem, his “weaknesses” that he came to “boast” in, were indeed “for Christ’s sake,” for the extension of Jesus’ Kingdom to the uttermost parts of the world. Paul surrendered his DIY remedy and fulfilled God’s greater purpose.
I’m endeavoring to live out that grace that enabled Jesus to completely abstain from the DIY but I don’t always hear Him so clearly. In the meantime I take comfort in Paul’s example. I’m not in any way comparing my life to that of Paul’s but in principle, I’ve realized that as long as I insist on DIYing my problems whose outcomes have significance in God’s plan, I remain blind to His greater purpose. And how do I know which ones are insignificant? The best thing I can do is surrender like Paul and see where the Spirit leads. As the verse said in sync with the song, “when I am weak, then I am strong.” When I admit I don’t know what God knows about situations then He can lead me and use me “for Christ’s sake”.
I’d much rather boast in the “unseen” of God’s perspective and means than to brag on my DIY talents and miss His plan. And let’s face it, when considering the infinity of our Eternal God’s knowledge, we have to admit even the brightest human has only a small byte of data from which to draw to fix any situation, even with Google. In comparison, that is a pathetic weakness.
“Do It Yourself” or Surrender & Let God Lead? I choose the second. I choose to surrender and discover His perspective and desired outcomes. Who, but He, knows the significance?
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