Love to all! I often struggle with the articles that come my way because I have to sift through an aweful lot of "Is this Biblical?" sorts of questions. Occasionally though, I read an article that just makes my soul glad and leads me straight to worship. This note from Mahesh Chavda does exactly that and I hope you are as encouraged as I am. Love to all, t
Mahesh Chavda:
How Big is Your Chair? The Bigger the Chair, the Greater the Authority and Victory!
Encounter with a Warring Angel
Several weeks ago I was sitting in my library when I suddenly heard a noise behind me. I turned, and there was an angel right there. He was young-looking, majestic, awesome, full of strength and joy and vigor. He was smiling, but there was also the fragrance and atmosphere of battle all around him. He was a warring angel, and he had just come from battle. I had the impression that I was not his assignment. He was literally coming from one battle and was heading off to another one. But in between he just landed momentarily, looked at me, smiled and asked, "How big is your chair?" Then, just as suddenly as he appeared, he departed.
After he left, and before I even had time to process his question, "How Big is your chair?" I realized that I was hearing music all around. In those moments that he was there, he carried with him the vibrations of the hymn, "Come Thou Almighty King: Come Thou Almighty King/Help us Thy Name to sing/Help us to Praise…Come and reign over us, Ancient of Days."
It was as if this hymn were the song of the battle the angel had just won. The sound and words lingered in the atmosphere surrounding him as he carried the message from the Lord, "How big is your chair?" Before I could even ponder the question, the Holy Spirit answered, "Psalm 22:3. You are enthroned on the praises of Your people."
When the Lord asks a question it is loaded. The message was not about my chair. It was about the Lord's chair. His throne. How big is His throne? How big is the chair we have made for Him in our hearts? We make His chair big through our praises.
We Represent the One Who is in the Big Chair
He is enthroned on our praises. God is speaking to us strategically in this hour. Make it personal in your life—become a vessel of His glory as you enthrone the King of kings in your heart. The bigger your chair, the more awesome you make God, the more awesome the release of His glory. How do we make God awesome? We begin to praise Him. We magnify the Lord as we proclaim His goodness, harmonize with His Word and exalt His mighty name. We become more and more in tune with the Throne of Heaven, and you become more aware of His awesome power and authority. You become a possessor of the truth, and in that context your chair gets bigger. The bigger the chair, the greater the authority, the greater the victory!
We represent the One who is in the big chair. He puts His servants in situations where they are responsible to bring in the Presence, to carry a big chair mentality into that situation. The bigger His throne, the more you will begin to resonate the supernatural reality of Heaven, and will see with eyes that go beyond the natural realm.
Some of the greatest warriors are the Zulu tribes in South Africa. In fact, the Zulu army used to put terror in the British Army. But just as powerful as they are in the natural, when they found Jesus, they became awesome warriors in the Spirit. These men dripped miracles, signs and wonders. They never became famous, as they were content to live simply off the land with their flocks, but they knew the King of Heaven and carried His presence.
I was friends with one of these Zulu ministers, Elijah Maswangani. We used to minister together in Jerusalem quite frequently. In one of our times together he told me the story of his mentor, an old Zulu warrior. During a crusade, he was asked to open the meeting in prayer. The old man simply stood and beheld the Lord and said, "Awesome…Awesome." Then he looked down, and once more he said, "Awesome." That was the end of our meeting, because the enthroned One suddenly appeared. The tent was filled with the Glory of God. Every stretcher was emptied. Every blind eye opened. People ran to the altar in order to meet this King and be saved. That old Zulu warrior carried a big chair.
When you get into the presence of God, you may have been praying. You may have been struggling. You may have come to an impasse in your life. But you just say, "Awesome." You just step into worship and that's it. The angels are loosed. At Bethel, Jacob came to a place where the gate to Heaven was standing open. Angels ascended and descended from the Throne to earth. Jacob said, "How awesome is this place! This is none other than the gate of Heaven." God wants to raise up people who can come into a situation and just say, "Awesome." We connect with the Living God and become a conduit for His glory to touch the earth. We behold Him, and angels take care of the details. We worship the covenant God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and He brings us into covenant breakthrough.
We often make faith religious—it's all about us quoting a hundred Scriptures, making confessions over our situation, getting our theology in order. Knowing the Word is good. Rehearsing His promises is powerful. But when faith becomes religious, it is like a rocket trying to lift us up to God, in our own strength.
There is an ease in the glory! We come into revelation of His awesomeness, His power, His majesty, and we come into communion with the God of covenant breakthrough. This is resting in the finished work of Jesus.
Thanksgiving and Rejoicing
This is how we began the Wakey Wakey: 40 Forty Days to Awaken America, and this is where we end—rejoicing in the finished work of Jesus Christ. We have fasted and prayed. We have humbled ourselves according to 2 Chronicles 7:14, and now we can rest in His promises—because His guarantee is that, "I will hear, and I will answer." We have fasted, so now let's celebrate with thanksgiving and rejoicing. How big is your chair?
When that messenger arrived in my library, the room was infused with the strains of "Come Thou Almighty King." Later when I shared with Bonnie what had happened, she immediately saw the angel had just come from victory in the American Revolution and was jubilantly heading to the next battle for our liberty—the one we are in today. One of our friends was with us, and immediately googled "Come Thou Almighty King."
Amazingly, what she found was that during the Revolutionary war a group of Hessian soldiers fighting for the British, stormed into a church on Long Island and demanded that the congregation show allegiance to the British tyranny by singing "God Save the King." The organist started the tune that we call "America" but the people, true to the colonies' cause and their God sang, "Come Thou Almighty King." The song was an anthem birthed in the Great Awakening that held spiritual authority over the tyranny and humanistic governing, and gave sound to the Rider on the White horse advancing His Kingdom in the mouths of faith-filled Believers. They had a big chair.
"The people who know their God will do exploits!" (Daniel 11:32). The people who know their God intimately, in communion with Him, will do exploits. He is giving us signs right now. Let us stand and revel in Him and His victory. Let us thank Him in advance, "calling things that are not as though they are" for the turn-around in America. Let us proclaim His goodness and mercy in awakening America. Let us celebrate!
Your praise can shape your history. Your praise can move mountains and bring Heaven down to where you are today.
Have you ever come on anything quite like this extravagant generosity of God, this deep, deep wisdom? It's way over our heads. We'll never figure it out.
Romans 11:35-36 (The Message Bible):
Is there anyone around who can explain God?
Anyone smart enough to tell Him what to do?
Anyone who has done Him such a huge favor
that God has to ask His advice?
Everything comes from Him;
Everything happens through Him;
Everything ends up in Him.
Always glory! Always praise!
Yes. Yes. Yes.
Monday, November 23, 2009
Monday, November 16, 2009
Revolutionary Prayer - Pete Grieg
Revolutionary Prayers By Pete Greig
Published: November 8th, 2009
Can our prayers change nations? Did prayer really help bring down the Berlin Wall? 20 years ago today the world watched stunned - from the Kremlin to the White House - as the wall which had separated East from West for more than quarter of a century came crashing down. And remarkably one of the sparks which detonated this seismic change was.. a weekly prayer meeting!
If you ever wonder whether prayer really can change the world, read on...
Growing up under communism, in a mining village near the East German city of Leipzig, Markus Laegel (today one of the leaders of 24-7 Germany), remembers those prayer meetings as a formative moment when he realised the power of prayer. His father worked, like most men, in an open mine where his minimal wage was supplemented by daily bottles of vodka. With almost nothing to do after work other than drink, Markus remembers a generation of his father's friends all being reduced to alcoholism while their families struggled to survive. Times were desperate living under one of the most repressive regimes on earth.
Candles and prayers
When Markus was 13, word began to spread about a weekly prayer meeting at the church of St Nicholas in Leipzig. It was said that people were daring to cry out to God for an end to the oppression of communism. That simple prayer meeting had begun several years earlier with just a handful of faithful Christians on a Monday night, but now it started to grow. Exactly a month before the wall came down no fewer than 70,000 people gathered around the church to intercede for peace. The government was alarmed and threatened to shut the church down. Doctors were so concerned that they set up an emergency clinic in the building, expecting the prayer meeting to be showered with bullets...
So many people were expressing their protest in prayer that the State was preparing for war. Markus Laegel remembers guns on the roofs of churches and tanks in the streets. But when the Berlin wall eventually fell one communist official made a surprising admission to a journalist: 'We were prepared for every eventuality,' he said, 'but not for candles and not for prayers' Red Moon Rising
Regime change
The Swiss theologian Karl Barth, who was arguably the pre-eminent theologian of prayer in the 20th century, said that 'To clasp the hands in prayer is the beginning of an uprising.' Twenty years after the prayer-fueled uprising that brought down communism in Eastern Europe, we find ourselves living under the subtler oppression of unregulated capitalism and secular humanism. Maybe it's time to to rediscover the spirit of those Leipzig Prayer Rallies once again.
Eugene Peterson's classic book 'The Contemplative Pastor' (which, let's face it, sounds about as harmless as a book can be) goes as far as describing prayer as 'a subversive activity [that] involves a more or less open act of defiance against any claim by the current regime.'
To pray for the Kingdom of God to come on earth is to invite an uprising, a regime-change, a revolution. It is subversive. But sadly we've reduced 'Thy Kingdom come' to a religious catch-phrase, short-hand merely for a few less people leaving our churches, and a few more homeless people receiving a tuna sandwich on Friday nights. By contrast, the former Dutch Prime Minister Abraham Kuyper clearly understood the revolutionary implications of Christian allegiance (and I can almost imagine his hand trembling with a mixture of terror and excitement as he wrote these words):
There is not a square inch of domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is sovereign over all, does not cry: 'It is mine!'
24-7 Prayer exists to welcome Christ into every 'square inch of domain of our human existence'. This means that, whenever we see the tyranny of enemy occupation at work in our own lives we try to pray for Christ's Kingdom to come instead. Wherever we see oppression, amongst the poor, in our educational systems, in goverment, or even in the church, we use our free wills to say defiantly: 'Not my will but your will be done'.
When we pray in this way, I'm reminded of those urgent messages tapped out in code to Allied forces by resistance fighters far behind enemy lines in the Second World. In the darkness and despair, our prayers can light up landing-strips for the invading forces of heaven. And when we come together to do this in sufficient numbers, we can move from small-scale guerilla warfare to publicly defying tanks and guns with our prayers for liberation.
24-7 and the future
After a decade of continual prayer that has touched a hundred nations and impacted so many thousands of individuals, I am unspeakably grateful to God for the 24-7 movement. But now, as we begin to look ahead to the next decade of non-stop prayer, my longing is to move from the transformation of individuals to the transformation of nations and the liberation of entire communities, through the power of concerted prayer, in the name of Jesus Christ our returning Lord!
The reception of a new world from God is under way in our time. It is apparent in the staggering, frightening emergence of new communities... Thus we are at the risky point of receiving from God what we thought God would not give; namely a new way to be human in the world.' Walter Bruegemann, Hopeful Imagination
Published: November 8th, 2009
Can our prayers change nations? Did prayer really help bring down the Berlin Wall? 20 years ago today the world watched stunned - from the Kremlin to the White House - as the wall which had separated East from West for more than quarter of a century came crashing down. And remarkably one of the sparks which detonated this seismic change was.. a weekly prayer meeting!
If you ever wonder whether prayer really can change the world, read on...
Growing up under communism, in a mining village near the East German city of Leipzig, Markus Laegel (today one of the leaders of 24-7 Germany), remembers those prayer meetings as a formative moment when he realised the power of prayer. His father worked, like most men, in an open mine where his minimal wage was supplemented by daily bottles of vodka. With almost nothing to do after work other than drink, Markus remembers a generation of his father's friends all being reduced to alcoholism while their families struggled to survive. Times were desperate living under one of the most repressive regimes on earth.
Candles and prayers
When Markus was 13, word began to spread about a weekly prayer meeting at the church of St Nicholas in Leipzig. It was said that people were daring to cry out to God for an end to the oppression of communism. That simple prayer meeting had begun several years earlier with just a handful of faithful Christians on a Monday night, but now it started to grow. Exactly a month before the wall came down no fewer than 70,000 people gathered around the church to intercede for peace. The government was alarmed and threatened to shut the church down. Doctors were so concerned that they set up an emergency clinic in the building, expecting the prayer meeting to be showered with bullets...
So many people were expressing their protest in prayer that the State was preparing for war. Markus Laegel remembers guns on the roofs of churches and tanks in the streets. But when the Berlin wall eventually fell one communist official made a surprising admission to a journalist: 'We were prepared for every eventuality,' he said, 'but not for candles and not for prayers' Red Moon Rising
Regime change
The Swiss theologian Karl Barth, who was arguably the pre-eminent theologian of prayer in the 20th century, said that 'To clasp the hands in prayer is the beginning of an uprising.' Twenty years after the prayer-fueled uprising that brought down communism in Eastern Europe, we find ourselves living under the subtler oppression of unregulated capitalism and secular humanism. Maybe it's time to to rediscover the spirit of those Leipzig Prayer Rallies once again.
Eugene Peterson's classic book 'The Contemplative Pastor' (which, let's face it, sounds about as harmless as a book can be) goes as far as describing prayer as 'a subversive activity [that] involves a more or less open act of defiance against any claim by the current regime.'
To pray for the Kingdom of God to come on earth is to invite an uprising, a regime-change, a revolution. It is subversive. But sadly we've reduced 'Thy Kingdom come' to a religious catch-phrase, short-hand merely for a few less people leaving our churches, and a few more homeless people receiving a tuna sandwich on Friday nights. By contrast, the former Dutch Prime Minister Abraham Kuyper clearly understood the revolutionary implications of Christian allegiance (and I can almost imagine his hand trembling with a mixture of terror and excitement as he wrote these words):
There is not a square inch of domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is sovereign over all, does not cry: 'It is mine!'
24-7 Prayer exists to welcome Christ into every 'square inch of domain of our human existence'. This means that, whenever we see the tyranny of enemy occupation at work in our own lives we try to pray for Christ's Kingdom to come instead. Wherever we see oppression, amongst the poor, in our educational systems, in goverment, or even in the church, we use our free wills to say defiantly: 'Not my will but your will be done'.
When we pray in this way, I'm reminded of those urgent messages tapped out in code to Allied forces by resistance fighters far behind enemy lines in the Second World. In the darkness and despair, our prayers can light up landing-strips for the invading forces of heaven. And when we come together to do this in sufficient numbers, we can move from small-scale guerilla warfare to publicly defying tanks and guns with our prayers for liberation.
24-7 and the future
After a decade of continual prayer that has touched a hundred nations and impacted so many thousands of individuals, I am unspeakably grateful to God for the 24-7 movement. But now, as we begin to look ahead to the next decade of non-stop prayer, my longing is to move from the transformation of individuals to the transformation of nations and the liberation of entire communities, through the power of concerted prayer, in the name of Jesus Christ our returning Lord!
The reception of a new world from God is under way in our time. It is apparent in the staggering, frightening emergence of new communities... Thus we are at the risky point of receiving from God what we thought God would not give; namely a new way to be human in the world.' Walter Bruegemann, Hopeful Imagination
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Something about sin- Reinhard Bonnke
The purpose of power is witness, but the purpose of holiness is holiness. The purpose of spirituality is personal - to be like God and so fulfill the ultimate purpose of God, His supreme and original reason for making man, as stated right from the beginning: "Let us make man in our image" (Gen. 1:26). God has business with each of us personally, not merely as His servants or instruments. He loves us, but not because we are useful to Him. You and I don't have relationships with our hammers and chisels. Neither does God have a relationship with us as His tools. Being used by God is simply one of the benefits, a privilege of knowing Christ.The failure of believers under the attacks of Satan is common. Some people sin openly and conceal their goodness. Others sin secretly while maintaining an appearing of goodness. Paul wrote, "Judge nothing before the appointed time" (1 Cor. 4:5). We are not qualified to preempt the judgment of the all-wise, all-knowing God. Some sins are the wounds of awful battles in which victories were won. Some men fight more temptation in a day than others do in a month. And big men can sin in a big way, a small fault becoming magnified through the lens of fame.God used David because he had extraordinary faith. Even when he murdered a man, the Holy Spirit inspired him to write one of the greatest psalms of contrition ever penned, Psalm 51. His murderous sin opened his eyes to divine greatness and graciousness. He truly repented and experienced full restoration. Romans 6:1-2 declares "What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound?Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?"
Tuesday, July 07, 2009
Judah Method's Intro - Shane Lemons
Loved this Intro to Shane's company "Judah Method" and had to pass it on . . .
What we call "Judah Method" is the method that has been known by One, before you or I existed, even before the hands of time began to spin. It is the method of personal journey and discovery that seeks self worth in the heavens. It uses knowledge of the foretold. It cries out for justice in the streets. It longs for encounter. It is the method that takes the seed of hope and plants it in the garden of faith, and in the very heart of man. And it is the method of radical, final union of what has been created throughout the ages, where restoration is ignited. And we proclaim one Hero - OUR HERO - The Lion of the Tribe of Judah, is running toward us in fierce love and the deepest desire. In this truth, we are simply ushers proclaiming and awaiting the time of Fullness and glory to arrive for those who desire to love the Hero in return. So we invite you to join us. We believe you are already on the guest list for this journey; the final restoration. Revelation 21:5 (NKJV) Then He who sat on the throne said, "Behold, I make all things new." And He said to me, "Write, for these words are true and faithful." Along with our heart's longing and message through our clothing, we also desire to provide superior quality, service and inspired design with all of our apparel. Whether you are nameless/faceless or if you are a public figure, we don't discriminate. We're not here to compete against any other clothing company. And we will never back away from the name of Jesus on our website, etc. - it is Him alone that we praise, and we won't ever try to make that hidden to try to be relevant. In our opinion, "Relevance" is only naivety if Truth is not brought into the picture of eternity. Even as you read this, God is whispering to you, longing for you to participate in this praise revolution that we at Judah Method Clothing are a part of. The reality is that we are ALL called to it. We live in a world that cries out for one main thing - Restoration. Yet, rarely do we find the world crying for it out of a heart of praise; in many cases the "world" is crying out for things out of an identity crisis. Some people and ministries understand this, but we need more that will speak about the Anointed One's ability to truly restore His Kingdom. We must understand NOW that this matters. Or are we going to let another generation miss the grand opportunity to ignite the final fire of His heart? So, join us as we call for the awakening of the generations to praise Him unlike any time in history. You were truly made for this! We're far more than a clothing company, and you are far more than a clay vessel taking up space and time. Judah Method involves you - sons and daughters of Adam, sons and daughters of God.
Who I'd like to meet:The real you.
What we call "Judah Method" is the method that has been known by One, before you or I existed, even before the hands of time began to spin. It is the method of personal journey and discovery that seeks self worth in the heavens. It uses knowledge of the foretold. It cries out for justice in the streets. It longs for encounter. It is the method that takes the seed of hope and plants it in the garden of faith, and in the very heart of man. And it is the method of radical, final union of what has been created throughout the ages, where restoration is ignited. And we proclaim one Hero - OUR HERO - The Lion of the Tribe of Judah, is running toward us in fierce love and the deepest desire. In this truth, we are simply ushers proclaiming and awaiting the time of Fullness and glory to arrive for those who desire to love the Hero in return. So we invite you to join us. We believe you are already on the guest list for this journey; the final restoration. Revelation 21:5 (NKJV) Then He who sat on the throne said, "Behold, I make all things new." And He said to me, "Write, for these words are true and faithful." Along with our heart's longing and message through our clothing, we also desire to provide superior quality, service and inspired design with all of our apparel. Whether you are nameless/faceless or if you are a public figure, we don't discriminate. We're not here to compete against any other clothing company. And we will never back away from the name of Jesus on our website, etc. - it is Him alone that we praise, and we won't ever try to make that hidden to try to be relevant. In our opinion, "Relevance" is only naivety if Truth is not brought into the picture of eternity. Even as you read this, God is whispering to you, longing for you to participate in this praise revolution that we at Judah Method Clothing are a part of. The reality is that we are ALL called to it. We live in a world that cries out for one main thing - Restoration. Yet, rarely do we find the world crying for it out of a heart of praise; in many cases the "world" is crying out for things out of an identity crisis. Some people and ministries understand this, but we need more that will speak about the Anointed One's ability to truly restore His Kingdom. We must understand NOW that this matters. Or are we going to let another generation miss the grand opportunity to ignite the final fire of His heart? So, join us as we call for the awakening of the generations to praise Him unlike any time in history. You were truly made for this! We're far more than a clothing company, and you are far more than a clay vessel taking up space and time. Judah Method involves you - sons and daughters of Adam, sons and daughters of God.
Who I'd like to meet:The real you.
Monday, June 08, 2009
The Bait - Craig Kinsley
The following article talks about something that is at the core of our hearts in IHOP-LI/The Burn: Long Island and articulates what we have been praying for week after week for 3 years now. Hope it strengthens you. love, t
Craig Kinsley: "The Bait"by Craig Kinsley Jun 5, 2009
Recently, I awoke from a dream which I knew had serious meaning both for myself and, in a larger sense, the Body of Christ. I have been in a heightened prophetic season as of late and I believe God is giving both me and our team fresh outlook on life and ministry. In the ministry of reformation, I'm finding that at times God challenges my life and thought processes without giving me a definitive answer to the question that He poses. This dream was just that sort of situation.
Without going into every detail of the dream, I will give you the highlights, and then the core, of the message. Myself and many other people I know, including my wife, died. We found ourselves in what seemed to be a large lodge on the edge of a large river. One by one each person was interviewed by a group of heavenly beings that took the form of three or four women. After the interview process, the people were placed onto a boat which took small groups to Heaven. For a long while I stood on a dock by the river and watched as one group after another disembarked down the channel. Soon, I realized that I was the only person left and began to wonder if there was a problem. As soon as I thought this, the heavenly beings were standing next to me. They said that it was my time to be interviewed, but that it wasn't my time to go.
As I walked into the room where I was to be interviewed, I had an intense feeling that what was about to happen had serious and eternal significance. I sat in a chair across from a desk which one of the beings sat behind. She posed one question to me, and only one: "Just what kind of bait were you all fishing with?" As soon as the question was posed, I awoke. It took me a few minutes to gather myself and to fully come out of the experience.As I pondered the dream, it didn't take long to grasp the core of the message. The general feeling of the dream was that God was speaking a message to me with consequences that dealt with people's eternal salvation. This wasn't something to be taken lightly. The question was simple, the answer is not. We are called as fishers of men (see Matthew 4:19; Mark 1:17). The question posed is, What exactly are we using to attract people to our message?I believe the idea of evangelism is one of the major areas of our lives, churches and ministries that God is calling us to reform. If we will have ears to hear, I believe God is guiding us to question both our thought processes toward reaching those outside of His Kingdom and the actual processes that we put into action.
"Hate the Sin, Not the Sinner"I am not a fan of clichés, especially within the Church. My reason being that when a word of wisdom becomes too commonplace, it loses its power and is no longer actually considered.The old adage, "Hate the sin, not the sinner," is a true word but has lost its power, and it is not widely understood nor practiced by a large majority of Christians. We have lost our compassion and love for those without Christ and have replaced these with a disdain and disgust for those in the world. We call this "standing for righteousness." I believe one of the keys to Jesus' effectiveness at changing the hearts of men from the world to the Kingdom, was His ability to not look at people where they are, but to look at them in the sense of where they could be. He called people out of their sin, but not simply by condemning their sin; rather, by giving them the gift of hope in something greater.
The main message that Jesus spoke of was, "Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand." This phrase has become synonymous with evangelism, as I believe it should, but how can we truly use the message of Christ in preaching the Gospel without a true understanding of Jesus' heart behind the message?The word repent has become a word that brings connotations of weeping, guilt and, at times, pain. In actuality, true repentance has nothing to do with pain, guilt or sadness. In reality, the message of repentance has its foundation in the hope of the Kingdom of Heaven being available. You see, Jesus never condemned the people, but rather gave them something better. Changing from one way of life and one thought process, which is what true repentance is, doesn't come by simply realizing that your current way of life is bad, but rather by the reality of a better way. "The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand." That is the central theme of Jesus' message. That message is what actually causes repentance.In our quest to condemn sin, we have actually begun to condemn the people that are caught in the traps of sin. We place the focus of our message on how bad sin is, rather than on how amazing Jesus is.
Before I knew Jesus, I was living in the depths of the world's system and in a drug culture. I knew what I was doing was wrong. Between my past in religion and the ingrained human knowledge of morality, I knew that the life I was living wasn't the best that my life could be. The problem was that I had tried religion; I had tried to do all of the right things, but that didn't change me. What finally changed me was the reality that something better existed. That God had ordained a destiny for my life, a destiny that had eternal significance. And the knowledge that the Kingdom of Heaven was a living reality available to me...that is what changed me.The world is looking for hope. Our current president was elected on this message. People understand that the current state of things is hopeless. They are looking for change. Between war, famine, disease, economic struggles, there isn't much to believe in. We have the answer. The grace and love of Jesus Christ is the greatest message of hope in all of eternity. Our message should be a message of hope, and leave the conviction to the Holy Spirit.
What are We Standing For?A few weeks ago I was part of a summit involving Christian leaders from every facet of entertainment, government, education and many different denominations. We gathered to discuss the current crisis facing Christianity in America and to gather a strategy to continue to move forward the message of Christ throughout society. One of the truths that I realized as I sat through a few days of deliberation, was that we as Christians are much more known for what we are against, rather than what we are for. There is much talk within the Church about standing stronger than ever against immorality, but there isn't much talk about standing for anything.The world knows that we believe homosexuality is wrong. And the majority of people know that the majority of Christians believe that marriage should be between a man and a woman. Now is not the time to stand stronger against homosexuality, now is the time to begin to let the world know why we do. Is it simply because the Bible says so? Or could there be a better way?I believe if we begin to stand for what Jesus stood for, more and more people would be attracted to our cause. Jesus' message of love and grace is sufficient. This message is what causes those in sin to leave their current life and to embrace a new life in Christ. For the most part, those outside redemption do not know that the core of our message is love and grace. Why? Maybe because it hasn't been the core of our message.
Is There Such a Thing as Too Much Grace?Some people would say, "Craig, aren't you afraid that a simple message of love and grace would cause people to be more open to sin?" This is a widespread concern for some. I understand the concern and I am not a proponent of sin; in fact, just the opposite. My belief is that the more love we acquire, the less sin we will desire. *No rhyming intended.What changed the woman caught in adultery recorded in John, Chapter 8? I believe this is one of the greatest stories of love and grace found in the Gospels. The Pharisees brought a woman to Jesus. This woman was caught in the act of adultery. There was no question that she had committed the sin in dispute. The law of the day was that this woman should be stoned. This, in the eyes of everyone present, is what should happen. Jesus stooped down to the dirt and began writing on the ground. He then posed a question to all of her accusers and condemners that had gathered: "He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first" (John 8:7).Soon all of her accusers were convicted of their own sin and left. Jesus was left alone with her. He then poses a question to the woman, "Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?" The woman replies, "No one, Lord." To this Jesus responds, "Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more." No committee needed. No discussion of what should be done. No process of healing needed. Only one thing was needed: pure and undiluted love and grace. Jesus didn't send the woman out to sin again, rather the love that He showed changed the woman.Was this too much grace? Did Jesus allow her to "get away" with her sin? Should something more have been done? You see, the love of God is so beyond our human understanding that we feel the need to insert something "more" into the process. Divine love changes people. Condemnation does not. That day the woman found hope. In her search for fulfillment and pleasure she fell into sin. In the very moment the religious system wanted to condemn her, Jesus saw an opportunity to show her the love of the Father. That is evangelism.
After Jesus' instruction to the woman, He addresses the religious leaders that were gathered to Him and says, "I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life." For the most part, our mindset says, "If you don't walk in darkness, then you can follow Jesus." The truth is that encountering the love of Jesus causes you to not walk in darkness. Follow Him and you will not follow darkness. Show people love and the darkness ceases to have power.Jesus: Was He a Minister to Sinners? Or a Friend of Sinners?Part of the reformation that is coming to the Church has already begun. I believe the message that calls us to get outside of our buildings and reach people is a needed message. We weren't called to gather people to our buildings, but rather to go out and be light in the world. I applaud this growing message in the Church, but I want to challenge you to take it a step further.
Over the years I have been challenged more and more about Jesus' life in and around those outside of redemption. Lately, what has been especially challenging to me, is the name given to Jesus, "Friend of sinners." While I was pondering this picture of Jesus recently, the Lord said to me, "Craig, was I called a minister to sinners? Or a friend of sinners?" God always seems to ask me questions in order to cause me to think. I thought to myself that I have ministered to those trapped in sin on many occasions, but can I honestly say that sinners are my friends?In our righteous quest for holiness, it seems that we have forsaken being a friend of sinners, in favor of simply seeing our time with them as a ministry opportunity. We are scared to associate with these people for fear of seeing it as condoning their lifestyle. Jesus' life of love was evident at all times. Whether He was speaking directly about the Kingdom or simply displaying the Kingdom through the Spirit that was upon His life, He was both a friend and a minister, at all times. I believe we are missing a large part of the evangelistic call, which is the call to friendship.
View Through the Eyes of Friendship
As I have sought to understand more and more how Jesus was able to so love us when we were so filthy, I believe I have grasped a key to His heart. I was taught this through the calling of Peter. Peter was a guy that I so relate to. He wasn't perfect by any means, but through the love and grace of God He was able to change the world. As Peter was fishing one day, Jesus came walking by. He simply said, "Follow Me." This wasn't Peter's first encounter with Jesus; his brother Andrew had taken Peter to Jesus prior to this in John 1:42— although this time Jesus called him not just to be near Him, but to be a part of His life in an intimate way.What would cause Peter to drop his entire life and follow this Man? I believe the key is found in the way Jesus saw Peter. Peter was a fisherman. Not a pillar of society by any means. If you've ever been to a fishing wharf, it's not the most godly place on earth. Peter was probably not the most godly man on earth, but Jesus was able to see past that. Jesus didn't see Peter according to his present circumstances, but saw him according to who he was created to be.
It is hard to see the eternal potential created within someone when we become aware of their faults. We even seem to label people according to their sin instead of according to God's design for them. Once we see a person's or a people's sin, we immediately link them to that sin. For instance, we call people trapped in drug addiction, drug addicts. We call people trapped in homosexuality, homosexuals. At times we even call people trapped in religion, Pharisees. Once we have labeled someone by their sin, it is hard to see them any other way. What caused Peter to follow Jesus so quickly could be Jesus' willingness to look past Peter's faults and into his heart. Jesus continually called Peter to a high calling. He drew him to His heart and did not let Peter's faults, even when Peter denied their relationship, disqualify him from that high calling.We should pray that God would give us the eyes of Christ, that we would be able to see the lost through their eternal destiny. Only then will we be able to effectively call them out of darkness by showing them the light.
Signs and Wonders Show the Love of the Father
As we begin to talk more and more about relationships with the lost and seeking to love, somehow it gets separated from the power of God. Miracles, signs and wonders are a vital part of demonstrating the Kingdom of God and showing people the reality of His love. We need to understand that Jesus had one life. His life as a friend was at the same time the life of a healer. His life as a teacher was also a life of a miracle worker. He didn't switch gears in order to do ministry, it all went hand in hand.Jesus taught of the necessity of signs and wonders in this often misunderstood passage concerning a nobleman and his sick son: "When he heard that Jesus had come out of Judea into Galilee, he went to Him and implored Him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death. Then Jesus said to him, 'Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will by no means believe'" (John 4:47-48). Out of context, it seems that Jesus is rebuking the man for coming to Him for healing on behalf of his son. If we look at this in context of the nature of Christ, we know that Jesus desires that we would come to Him. His gentle rebuke was not on the sign and wonder, but on not believing unless one can actually see it. You see, Jesus did perform the sign, but not in the pomp and circumstance that was expected. The man wanted Jesus to actually come to his house to perform the miracle. He didn't understand that all Jesus had to do was speak the word and it was done. Jesus simply said, "Go your way; your son lives."Jesus actually said that the works He does, the signs and wonders, are what point to Him as the Son of God (see John 10). The supernatural works of God cannot be separated from our establishment of God's Kingdom on the earth. If we are to accurately point people to the Father, we have to not simply tell them about the Father, but show them the Father.The signs and wonders themselves are not where a problem arises. The problem arises when the motivation for the supernatural becomes the building of ministry or the building of self rather than love. I cannot say it enough. Love is our foundation. Without it, none of this exists. The pursuit of love is the now word of the Lord. We have pursued the supernatural and rightly so, but why? Some have rebuked me for preaching a message that promotes the pursuit of the miraculous. I say that I am guilty as charged, but I also preach first and foremost the pursuit of love. Love mixed with power will change the world. Power absent of love will promote your own kingdom. Paul said, "Pursue love, and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy" (1 Corinthians 14:1). The gifts are needed, as long as the pursuit of love is the foundation.
The Bait
So, back to the question at hand: What bait are we using? What is or is not drawing people to our message of salvation? What bait should we be using? The answer is both quite simple and yet eternally complicated. Love is the answer. Not a manmade love, but divine love. A love that should be pursued because it is not natural. A love that Jesus displayed in such a way that the hardest of hearts could be turned to Him. A love that was demonstrated through a variety of miracles, signs and wonders. A love that broke the chains of sin and gave food to the hungry. A love that looked past natural circumstances and excavated the divine purpose buried deep within the human heart. Simply showing someone their sin doesn't change them. Showing them the way of love and life will change the world.
Craig Kinsley: "The Bait"by Craig Kinsley Jun 5, 2009
Recently, I awoke from a dream which I knew had serious meaning both for myself and, in a larger sense, the Body of Christ. I have been in a heightened prophetic season as of late and I believe God is giving both me and our team fresh outlook on life and ministry. In the ministry of reformation, I'm finding that at times God challenges my life and thought processes without giving me a definitive answer to the question that He poses. This dream was just that sort of situation.
Without going into every detail of the dream, I will give you the highlights, and then the core, of the message. Myself and many other people I know, including my wife, died. We found ourselves in what seemed to be a large lodge on the edge of a large river. One by one each person was interviewed by a group of heavenly beings that took the form of three or four women. After the interview process, the people were placed onto a boat which took small groups to Heaven. For a long while I stood on a dock by the river and watched as one group after another disembarked down the channel. Soon, I realized that I was the only person left and began to wonder if there was a problem. As soon as I thought this, the heavenly beings were standing next to me. They said that it was my time to be interviewed, but that it wasn't my time to go.
As I walked into the room where I was to be interviewed, I had an intense feeling that what was about to happen had serious and eternal significance. I sat in a chair across from a desk which one of the beings sat behind. She posed one question to me, and only one: "Just what kind of bait were you all fishing with?" As soon as the question was posed, I awoke. It took me a few minutes to gather myself and to fully come out of the experience.As I pondered the dream, it didn't take long to grasp the core of the message. The general feeling of the dream was that God was speaking a message to me with consequences that dealt with people's eternal salvation. This wasn't something to be taken lightly. The question was simple, the answer is not. We are called as fishers of men (see Matthew 4:19; Mark 1:17). The question posed is, What exactly are we using to attract people to our message?I believe the idea of evangelism is one of the major areas of our lives, churches and ministries that God is calling us to reform. If we will have ears to hear, I believe God is guiding us to question both our thought processes toward reaching those outside of His Kingdom and the actual processes that we put into action.
"Hate the Sin, Not the Sinner"I am not a fan of clichés, especially within the Church. My reason being that when a word of wisdom becomes too commonplace, it loses its power and is no longer actually considered.The old adage, "Hate the sin, not the sinner," is a true word but has lost its power, and it is not widely understood nor practiced by a large majority of Christians. We have lost our compassion and love for those without Christ and have replaced these with a disdain and disgust for those in the world. We call this "standing for righteousness." I believe one of the keys to Jesus' effectiveness at changing the hearts of men from the world to the Kingdom, was His ability to not look at people where they are, but to look at them in the sense of where they could be. He called people out of their sin, but not simply by condemning their sin; rather, by giving them the gift of hope in something greater.
The main message that Jesus spoke of was, "Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand." This phrase has become synonymous with evangelism, as I believe it should, but how can we truly use the message of Christ in preaching the Gospel without a true understanding of Jesus' heart behind the message?The word repent has become a word that brings connotations of weeping, guilt and, at times, pain. In actuality, true repentance has nothing to do with pain, guilt or sadness. In reality, the message of repentance has its foundation in the hope of the Kingdom of Heaven being available. You see, Jesus never condemned the people, but rather gave them something better. Changing from one way of life and one thought process, which is what true repentance is, doesn't come by simply realizing that your current way of life is bad, but rather by the reality of a better way. "The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand." That is the central theme of Jesus' message. That message is what actually causes repentance.In our quest to condemn sin, we have actually begun to condemn the people that are caught in the traps of sin. We place the focus of our message on how bad sin is, rather than on how amazing Jesus is.
Before I knew Jesus, I was living in the depths of the world's system and in a drug culture. I knew what I was doing was wrong. Between my past in religion and the ingrained human knowledge of morality, I knew that the life I was living wasn't the best that my life could be. The problem was that I had tried religion; I had tried to do all of the right things, but that didn't change me. What finally changed me was the reality that something better existed. That God had ordained a destiny for my life, a destiny that had eternal significance. And the knowledge that the Kingdom of Heaven was a living reality available to me...that is what changed me.The world is looking for hope. Our current president was elected on this message. People understand that the current state of things is hopeless. They are looking for change. Between war, famine, disease, economic struggles, there isn't much to believe in. We have the answer. The grace and love of Jesus Christ is the greatest message of hope in all of eternity. Our message should be a message of hope, and leave the conviction to the Holy Spirit.
What are We Standing For?A few weeks ago I was part of a summit involving Christian leaders from every facet of entertainment, government, education and many different denominations. We gathered to discuss the current crisis facing Christianity in America and to gather a strategy to continue to move forward the message of Christ throughout society. One of the truths that I realized as I sat through a few days of deliberation, was that we as Christians are much more known for what we are against, rather than what we are for. There is much talk within the Church about standing stronger than ever against immorality, but there isn't much talk about standing for anything.The world knows that we believe homosexuality is wrong. And the majority of people know that the majority of Christians believe that marriage should be between a man and a woman. Now is not the time to stand stronger against homosexuality, now is the time to begin to let the world know why we do. Is it simply because the Bible says so? Or could there be a better way?I believe if we begin to stand for what Jesus stood for, more and more people would be attracted to our cause. Jesus' message of love and grace is sufficient. This message is what causes those in sin to leave their current life and to embrace a new life in Christ. For the most part, those outside redemption do not know that the core of our message is love and grace. Why? Maybe because it hasn't been the core of our message.
Is There Such a Thing as Too Much Grace?Some people would say, "Craig, aren't you afraid that a simple message of love and grace would cause people to be more open to sin?" This is a widespread concern for some. I understand the concern and I am not a proponent of sin; in fact, just the opposite. My belief is that the more love we acquire, the less sin we will desire. *No rhyming intended.What changed the woman caught in adultery recorded in John, Chapter 8? I believe this is one of the greatest stories of love and grace found in the Gospels. The Pharisees brought a woman to Jesus. This woman was caught in the act of adultery. There was no question that she had committed the sin in dispute. The law of the day was that this woman should be stoned. This, in the eyes of everyone present, is what should happen. Jesus stooped down to the dirt and began writing on the ground. He then posed a question to all of her accusers and condemners that had gathered: "He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first" (John 8:7).Soon all of her accusers were convicted of their own sin and left. Jesus was left alone with her. He then poses a question to the woman, "Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?" The woman replies, "No one, Lord." To this Jesus responds, "Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more." No committee needed. No discussion of what should be done. No process of healing needed. Only one thing was needed: pure and undiluted love and grace. Jesus didn't send the woman out to sin again, rather the love that He showed changed the woman.Was this too much grace? Did Jesus allow her to "get away" with her sin? Should something more have been done? You see, the love of God is so beyond our human understanding that we feel the need to insert something "more" into the process. Divine love changes people. Condemnation does not. That day the woman found hope. In her search for fulfillment and pleasure she fell into sin. In the very moment the religious system wanted to condemn her, Jesus saw an opportunity to show her the love of the Father. That is evangelism.
After Jesus' instruction to the woman, He addresses the religious leaders that were gathered to Him and says, "I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life." For the most part, our mindset says, "If you don't walk in darkness, then you can follow Jesus." The truth is that encountering the love of Jesus causes you to not walk in darkness. Follow Him and you will not follow darkness. Show people love and the darkness ceases to have power.Jesus: Was He a Minister to Sinners? Or a Friend of Sinners?Part of the reformation that is coming to the Church has already begun. I believe the message that calls us to get outside of our buildings and reach people is a needed message. We weren't called to gather people to our buildings, but rather to go out and be light in the world. I applaud this growing message in the Church, but I want to challenge you to take it a step further.
Over the years I have been challenged more and more about Jesus' life in and around those outside of redemption. Lately, what has been especially challenging to me, is the name given to Jesus, "Friend of sinners." While I was pondering this picture of Jesus recently, the Lord said to me, "Craig, was I called a minister to sinners? Or a friend of sinners?" God always seems to ask me questions in order to cause me to think. I thought to myself that I have ministered to those trapped in sin on many occasions, but can I honestly say that sinners are my friends?In our righteous quest for holiness, it seems that we have forsaken being a friend of sinners, in favor of simply seeing our time with them as a ministry opportunity. We are scared to associate with these people for fear of seeing it as condoning their lifestyle. Jesus' life of love was evident at all times. Whether He was speaking directly about the Kingdom or simply displaying the Kingdom through the Spirit that was upon His life, He was both a friend and a minister, at all times. I believe we are missing a large part of the evangelistic call, which is the call to friendship.
View Through the Eyes of Friendship
As I have sought to understand more and more how Jesus was able to so love us when we were so filthy, I believe I have grasped a key to His heart. I was taught this through the calling of Peter. Peter was a guy that I so relate to. He wasn't perfect by any means, but through the love and grace of God He was able to change the world. As Peter was fishing one day, Jesus came walking by. He simply said, "Follow Me." This wasn't Peter's first encounter with Jesus; his brother Andrew had taken Peter to Jesus prior to this in John 1:42— although this time Jesus called him not just to be near Him, but to be a part of His life in an intimate way.What would cause Peter to drop his entire life and follow this Man? I believe the key is found in the way Jesus saw Peter. Peter was a fisherman. Not a pillar of society by any means. If you've ever been to a fishing wharf, it's not the most godly place on earth. Peter was probably not the most godly man on earth, but Jesus was able to see past that. Jesus didn't see Peter according to his present circumstances, but saw him according to who he was created to be.
It is hard to see the eternal potential created within someone when we become aware of their faults. We even seem to label people according to their sin instead of according to God's design for them. Once we see a person's or a people's sin, we immediately link them to that sin. For instance, we call people trapped in drug addiction, drug addicts. We call people trapped in homosexuality, homosexuals. At times we even call people trapped in religion, Pharisees. Once we have labeled someone by their sin, it is hard to see them any other way. What caused Peter to follow Jesus so quickly could be Jesus' willingness to look past Peter's faults and into his heart. Jesus continually called Peter to a high calling. He drew him to His heart and did not let Peter's faults, even when Peter denied their relationship, disqualify him from that high calling.We should pray that God would give us the eyes of Christ, that we would be able to see the lost through their eternal destiny. Only then will we be able to effectively call them out of darkness by showing them the light.
Signs and Wonders Show the Love of the Father
As we begin to talk more and more about relationships with the lost and seeking to love, somehow it gets separated from the power of God. Miracles, signs and wonders are a vital part of demonstrating the Kingdom of God and showing people the reality of His love. We need to understand that Jesus had one life. His life as a friend was at the same time the life of a healer. His life as a teacher was also a life of a miracle worker. He didn't switch gears in order to do ministry, it all went hand in hand.Jesus taught of the necessity of signs and wonders in this often misunderstood passage concerning a nobleman and his sick son: "When he heard that Jesus had come out of Judea into Galilee, he went to Him and implored Him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death. Then Jesus said to him, 'Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will by no means believe'" (John 4:47-48). Out of context, it seems that Jesus is rebuking the man for coming to Him for healing on behalf of his son. If we look at this in context of the nature of Christ, we know that Jesus desires that we would come to Him. His gentle rebuke was not on the sign and wonder, but on not believing unless one can actually see it. You see, Jesus did perform the sign, but not in the pomp and circumstance that was expected. The man wanted Jesus to actually come to his house to perform the miracle. He didn't understand that all Jesus had to do was speak the word and it was done. Jesus simply said, "Go your way; your son lives."Jesus actually said that the works He does, the signs and wonders, are what point to Him as the Son of God (see John 10). The supernatural works of God cannot be separated from our establishment of God's Kingdom on the earth. If we are to accurately point people to the Father, we have to not simply tell them about the Father, but show them the Father.The signs and wonders themselves are not where a problem arises. The problem arises when the motivation for the supernatural becomes the building of ministry or the building of self rather than love. I cannot say it enough. Love is our foundation. Without it, none of this exists. The pursuit of love is the now word of the Lord. We have pursued the supernatural and rightly so, but why? Some have rebuked me for preaching a message that promotes the pursuit of the miraculous. I say that I am guilty as charged, but I also preach first and foremost the pursuit of love. Love mixed with power will change the world. Power absent of love will promote your own kingdom. Paul said, "Pursue love, and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy" (1 Corinthians 14:1). The gifts are needed, as long as the pursuit of love is the foundation.
The Bait
So, back to the question at hand: What bait are we using? What is or is not drawing people to our message of salvation? What bait should we be using? The answer is both quite simple and yet eternally complicated. Love is the answer. Not a manmade love, but divine love. A love that should be pursued because it is not natural. A love that Jesus displayed in such a way that the hardest of hearts could be turned to Him. A love that was demonstrated through a variety of miracles, signs and wonders. A love that broke the chains of sin and gave food to the hungry. A love that looked past natural circumstances and excavated the divine purpose buried deep within the human heart. Simply showing someone their sin doesn't change them. Showing them the way of love and life will change the world.
Monday, April 27, 2009
My King - S.M. Lockridge
My King was born King.
The Bible says He's a Seven Way King.
He's the King of the Jews - that's a racial King.
He's the King of Israel - that's a National King.
He's the King of righteousness.
He's the King of the ages.
He's the King of Heaven.
He's the King of glory.
He's the King of kings and He is the Lord of lords.
Now that's my King.
Well I wonder if you know Him. Do you know Him? Don't try to mislead me. Do you know my King?
David said the Heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament show His handiwork.
My King is the only one whom there are no means of measure can define His limitless love.
No far seeing telescope can bring into visibility the coastline of His shore of supplies.
No barriers can hinder Him from pouring out His blessing.
Well, well, He's enduringly strong.
He's entirely sincere.
He's eternally steadfast.
He's immortally graceful.
He's imperially powerful.
He's impartially merciful.
That's my King.
He's God's Son.
He's the sinner's saviour.
He's the centrepiece of civilization.
He stands alone in Himself.
He's honest.
He's unique.
He's unparalleled.
He's unprecedented.
He's supreme.
He's pre-eminent.
Well, He's the grandest idea in literature.
He's the highest personality in philosophy.
He's the supreme problem in high criticism.
He's the fundamental doctrine of proved theology.
He's the carnal necessity of spiritual religion.
That's my King.
He's the miracle of the age.
He's the superlative of everything good that you choose to call Him.
Well, He's the only one able to supply all of our needs simultaneously.
He supplies strength for the weak.
He's available for the tempted and the tried.
He sympathizes and He saves.
He's strong God and He guides.
He heals the sick.
He cleanses the lepers.
He forgives sinners.
He discharged debtors.
He delivers the captives.
He defends the feeble.
He blesses the young.
He serves the unfortunate.
He regards the aged.
He rewards the diligent and He beautifies the meek.
Do you know Him?
Well, my King is a King of knowledge.
He's the wellspring of wisdom.
He's the doorway of deliverance.
He's the pathway of peace.
He's the roadway of righteousness.
He's the highway of holiness.
He's the gateway of glory.
He's the master of the mighty.
He's the captain of the conquerors.
He's the head of the heroes.
He's the leader of the legislatures.
He's the overseer of the overcomers.
He's the governor of governors.
He's the prince of princes.
He's the King of kings and He's the Lord of lords.
That's my King. Yeah. Yeah.
That's my King. My King, yeah.
His office is manifold.
His promise is sure.
His light is matchless.
His goodness is limitless.
His mercy is everlasting.
His love never changes.
His Word is enough.
His grace is sufficient.
His reign is righteous.
His yoke is easy and His burden is light.
Well. I wish I could describe Him to you, but He's indescribable. He's indescribable.
Yes. He's incomprehensible.
He's invincible.
He's irresistible.
I'm coming to tell you, the heavens of heavens cannot contain Him, let alone a man explaining Him.
You can't get Him out of your mind.
You can't get Him off of your hands.
You can't outlive Him and you can't live without Him.
Well, Pharisees couldn't stand Him, but they found out they couldn't stop Him.
Pilot couldn't find any fault in Him.
The witnesses couldn't get their testimonies to agree.
Herod couldn't kill Him.
Death couldn't handle Him and the grave couldn't hold Him.
That's my King. Yeah.
He always has been and He always will be.
I'm talking about He had no predecessor and He'll have no successor.
There's nobody before Him and there'll be nobody after Him.
You can't impeach Him and He's not going to resign.
That's my King! That's my King!
Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory.
Well, all the power belongs to my King.
We're around here talking about black power and white power and green power, but it's God's power.
Thine is the power. Yeah. And the glory.
We try to get prestige and honour and glory for ourselves, but the glory is all His.
Yes. Thine is the Kingdom and the power and glory, forever and ever and ever and ever. How long is that? And ever and ever and ever and ever. And when you get through with all of the evers, then,
Amen.
The Bible says He's a Seven Way King.
He's the King of the Jews - that's a racial King.
He's the King of Israel - that's a National King.
He's the King of righteousness.
He's the King of the ages.
He's the King of Heaven.
He's the King of glory.
He's the King of kings and He is the Lord of lords.
Now that's my King.
Well I wonder if you know Him. Do you know Him? Don't try to mislead me. Do you know my King?
David said the Heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament show His handiwork.
My King is the only one whom there are no means of measure can define His limitless love.
No far seeing telescope can bring into visibility the coastline of His shore of supplies.
No barriers can hinder Him from pouring out His blessing.
Well, well, He's enduringly strong.
He's entirely sincere.
He's eternally steadfast.
He's immortally graceful.
He's imperially powerful.
He's impartially merciful.
That's my King.
He's God's Son.
He's the sinner's saviour.
He's the centrepiece of civilization.
He stands alone in Himself.
He's honest.
He's unique.
He's unparalleled.
He's unprecedented.
He's supreme.
He's pre-eminent.
Well, He's the grandest idea in literature.
He's the highest personality in philosophy.
He's the supreme problem in high criticism.
He's the fundamental doctrine of proved theology.
He's the carnal necessity of spiritual religion.
That's my King.
He's the miracle of the age.
He's the superlative of everything good that you choose to call Him.
Well, He's the only one able to supply all of our needs simultaneously.
He supplies strength for the weak.
He's available for the tempted and the tried.
He sympathizes and He saves.
He's strong God and He guides.
He heals the sick.
He cleanses the lepers.
He forgives sinners.
He discharged debtors.
He delivers the captives.
He defends the feeble.
He blesses the young.
He serves the unfortunate.
He regards the aged.
He rewards the diligent and He beautifies the meek.
Do you know Him?
Well, my King is a King of knowledge.
He's the wellspring of wisdom.
He's the doorway of deliverance.
He's the pathway of peace.
He's the roadway of righteousness.
He's the highway of holiness.
He's the gateway of glory.
He's the master of the mighty.
He's the captain of the conquerors.
He's the head of the heroes.
He's the leader of the legislatures.
He's the overseer of the overcomers.
He's the governor of governors.
He's the prince of princes.
He's the King of kings and He's the Lord of lords.
That's my King. Yeah. Yeah.
That's my King. My King, yeah.
His office is manifold.
His promise is sure.
His light is matchless.
His goodness is limitless.
His mercy is everlasting.
His love never changes.
His Word is enough.
His grace is sufficient.
His reign is righteous.
His yoke is easy and His burden is light.
Well. I wish I could describe Him to you, but He's indescribable. He's indescribable.
Yes. He's incomprehensible.
He's invincible.
He's irresistible.
I'm coming to tell you, the heavens of heavens cannot contain Him, let alone a man explaining Him.
You can't get Him out of your mind.
You can't get Him off of your hands.
You can't outlive Him and you can't live without Him.
Well, Pharisees couldn't stand Him, but they found out they couldn't stop Him.
Pilot couldn't find any fault in Him.
The witnesses couldn't get their testimonies to agree.
Herod couldn't kill Him.
Death couldn't handle Him and the grave couldn't hold Him.
That's my King. Yeah.
He always has been and He always will be.
I'm talking about He had no predecessor and He'll have no successor.
There's nobody before Him and there'll be nobody after Him.
You can't impeach Him and He's not going to resign.
That's my King! That's my King!
Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory.
Well, all the power belongs to my King.
We're around here talking about black power and white power and green power, but it's God's power.
Thine is the power. Yeah. And the glory.
We try to get prestige and honour and glory for ourselves, but the glory is all His.
Yes. Thine is the Kingdom and the power and glory, forever and ever and ever and ever. How long is that? And ever and ever and ever and ever. And when you get through with all of the evers, then,
Amen.
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Something Else - Alfred Sergel
Have we slipped into the habit of insisting that God do what we ask or want or need him to do, treating him as an idol designed for our satisfaction? Does God serve us or do we serve God? Do we require a God that we can fully understand and control or are we willing to be obedient to what we do not understand and could never control? Is God a mystery of goodness who we embrace and trust, or is God a formula for getting the most out of life on our terms?
Have we thought all along that God is there to serve us? Do we want God in our own image or do we want God who is beyond us and over us, who we trust will do for us what only God can do in the way that only God can do it...”
-Eugene Peterson, excerpt taken from The Jesus Way
This morning my alarm went off at 6:30am. My mind began to pick up where it left off: our God gave Himself a name. That name is Jesus. Dovetailing from that idea, I began to think of the second and third commandments given to Moses.
“You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below.” (Deuteronomy 5: 7-8 TNIV)
Similar to the feeling of finding and inserting another piece to a difficult puzzle, the fog cleared just enough for me to muddle a few pre-coffee words to my wife.
“He knows us so well. He really, really knows us beyond our own knowledge of ourselves.”
Moments later, I wrote these words in my journal:
In the beginning, man created other gods.
Other gods didn’t just show up.
Other gods weren’t present at the inception of the world.
Other gods were created by man.
When Adam turned his back on God, he chose something else over a relationship with his Creator. He chose something else. He gave something else a name and he avoided, rather decided against, relationship.
How often do I choose something else?
How often do I avoid, decide against, relationship?
It’s much easier to choose something else…to, create other gods…
These gods serve us.
These gods meet our wants.
These gods LOVE us.
Why? Because we give them power.
We’re the creator. We’re in control.
In His transparency, God, our Father, recognized the weakness in our curiosity and He shows us mercy. He has always known, since His encounter with Adam, that our desire to be god would continue to reproduce at the same rate as our desire to physically procreate. We want to adjoin ourselves to something, even at the expense of our detriment.
Was Jesus, in any way, thinking of not only His disciples, but, Adam when He said “there is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”? Was God, through Jesus, not only instructing the disciples but also forgiving Adam for the rejection in the garden?
Was He, Jesus, reconciling ALL things to Himself, including Adam?
In the garden again, His eyes do search to and fro.
Are we avoiding, purposefully ignoring, His glance?
Are we, like Adam, hiding behind something else?
Have we thought all along that God is there to serve us? Do we want God in our own image or do we want God who is beyond us and over us, who we trust will do for us what only God can do in the way that only God can do it...”
-Eugene Peterson, excerpt taken from The Jesus Way
This morning my alarm went off at 6:30am. My mind began to pick up where it left off: our God gave Himself a name. That name is Jesus. Dovetailing from that idea, I began to think of the second and third commandments given to Moses.
“You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below.” (Deuteronomy 5: 7-8 TNIV)
Similar to the feeling of finding and inserting another piece to a difficult puzzle, the fog cleared just enough for me to muddle a few pre-coffee words to my wife.
“He knows us so well. He really, really knows us beyond our own knowledge of ourselves.”
Moments later, I wrote these words in my journal:
In the beginning, man created other gods.
Other gods didn’t just show up.
Other gods weren’t present at the inception of the world.
Other gods were created by man.
When Adam turned his back on God, he chose something else over a relationship with his Creator. He chose something else. He gave something else a name and he avoided, rather decided against, relationship.
How often do I choose something else?
How often do I avoid, decide against, relationship?
It’s much easier to choose something else…to, create other gods…
These gods serve us.
These gods meet our wants.
These gods LOVE us.
Why? Because we give them power.
We’re the creator. We’re in control.
In His transparency, God, our Father, recognized the weakness in our curiosity and He shows us mercy. He has always known, since His encounter with Adam, that our desire to be god would continue to reproduce at the same rate as our desire to physically procreate. We want to adjoin ourselves to something, even at the expense of our detriment.
Was Jesus, in any way, thinking of not only His disciples, but, Adam when He said “there is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”? Was God, through Jesus, not only instructing the disciples but also forgiving Adam for the rejection in the garden?
Was He, Jesus, reconciling ALL things to Himself, including Adam?
In the garden again, His eyes do search to and fro.
Are we avoiding, purposefully ignoring, His glance?
Are we, like Adam, hiding behind something else?
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Follow those who follow Christ
Francis Frangipane:
"Follow Those Who Follow Christ"
"Brethren, join in following my example, and observe those who walk according to the pattern you have in us." -Philippians 3:17
Paul faced a major problem in the first century. False teachers had slipped into the Church. The apostle warned the Philippians, and us by extension, to recognize the differences between a true man of God and a deceptive teacher or prophet. Without any sense of false humility, Paul declared that both his vision and his spiritual attitude were examples for us to follow. He instructs us in our powers of discernment to look for and "observe" leaders who exemplify the centerpiece of God's purpose, which is to possess the likeness of Christ.
The context in which Paul wrote describes both his self-righteousness before he found Christ and his utter abandonment of fleshly confidence afterward. We will study these verses carefully. For in an age of increasing deception, not everyone who cries "truth, truth" is speaking in defense of conformity to Jesus.
"Beware of the Dogs"
Paul began his discourse by revealing three distinct types of false teachers. He warned, "Beware of the dogs, beware of the evil workers, beware of the false circumcision" (Philippians 3:2). These three each have their modern counterparts.
The first group Paul identified as "the dogs." The phrase "beware of the dog(s)" is familiar to us today. It means there is a vicious animal here. In Paul's day, most dogs were scavengers that ran in packs. One could find dozens of canines eating off the rubbish heaps outside cities, their faces bent downward as they sniffed and rooted out garbage to feed upon.
Today's Church has similar people, fault-finders, who incessantly and self-righteously feed upon the garbage and failures of the human condition. Paul is saying, "Beware of those who always have something negative to say, who are continually judging or slandering others. If you listen to them, you will become like them. Their words will rob you of vision, leave you without joy, and drain you of energy."
Paul wasn't saying, of course, to completely ignore what is wrong in people. We need discernment. Let me state plainly: There are serious doctrinal errors and sins in the modern Church. But when you observe a pattern of angry, self-righteous fault finding in a person, when their primary view always seems negative, beware. Remember, Jesus warned of the Pharisees who "trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and viewed others with contempt" (Luke 18:9). Beware when your teacher must frequently tear down others to lift himself up.
"Evil Workers"
Paul next warned against the "evil workers." He describes this group briefly in the first chapter. These individuals do, in fact, proclaim Christ, but they do so from "envy...strife...selfish ambition" rather than from love (Philippians 1:15-17). For them, building a church is a competitive endeavor, a business. James also underscores this problem, saying, "For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every evil thing" (James 3:16).
Part of Paul's efforts as an apostle was to build Christ-centered unity among Christians. However, the "evil workers" were self-centered rather than Christ-centered. Before we follow any leader, we truly ought to see the influence of Christ growing in that individual's character. Look to hear the pastor speak, at least occasionally, of his or her vision of attaining Christlikeness. Look for evidences of humility; listen to hear his burden for prayer, and see how he cultivates unity with other Christian churches. If your pastor or leader is growing in these values, then he is also growing in trustworthiness. As he seeks to follow Christ, the fruit of his ministry will, most likely, be healthy.
"The Judaizers"
The third warning was aimed against the "false circumcision" (Philippians 3:2). These were the Jewish Christians who, when they were saved, tried to make Christianity an extension of Judaism. This last teaching was the most dangerous because it seemed the most plausible.
The essence of this error was that Christ's atonement was not enough for salvation; you also had to keep the whole system of Mosaic Laws to be saved. Today, people continue to import religious obligations into the salvation experience. In exposing and warning against the influence of the "false circumcision," Paul set a firewall against the bondage of legalistic requirements for salvation. And while the way is indeed narrow that leads to life, the Way is a Person: Jesus Christ. We do not arrive at our goal by keeping laws but by entrusting ourselves to the keeping of Christ.
The True Pattern
It is one thing to be able to discern what is false, but it is of much greater value to know clearly the pattern of the true. Thus, Paul uses chapter three of Philippians to reveal his attitude of heart. In so doing, he gives us the pattern of what we should look for in a leader.
After presenting his remarkable pedigree in verses 5-6 - an Israelite by birth; as to the Law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the Church; as to the righteousness defined in the Law, found blameless - Paul then renounces the very things he attained, saying: "But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ" (verse 7). For the mature, no position or esteem among men can replace the "surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus [our] Lord." The most amazing of achievements become "rubbish in order that [we] may gain Christ" (verse 8).
Paul separates himself further from the Mosaic Law, revealing that his quest is to "be found in [Christ], not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ" (verse 9). Having been saved from the consequences of the Law, and having received a new source of "righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith," Paul is liberated to pursue his true destiny: Christlikeness!
Beloved, we began this study with Paul's admonition to "observe those who walk according to the pattern you have in us" (verse 17). In the following verse, God reveals the pattern we want to copy:
"That I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead" (verses 10-11).
There is a difference between knowing a collection of religious truths and actually knowing Christ. Truth is in Jesus; He Himself is the way, the truth and the life. To know Him is eternal life, and to live in fellowship with Him is to partake of the nectar of Heaven.
Yet, knowing Christ also means knowing the fellowship of His sufferings as we lay down our lives for the redemption of others. For those suffering for Jesus, remember: participation in His sufferings is part of knowing Him.
Paul did not embrace death as an entity by itself; he embraced Christ's death, which is not only the death of self, but also the triumph of love. It is this surrender to "death for Jesus' sake" that allows "the life of Jesus [to] be manifested in our mortal flesh" (2 Corinthians 4:11).
Paul continued in Philippians, "Not that I have already...become perfect, but I press on in order that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus" (Philippians 3:12). Again, we are looking at the pattern God seeks for each of us. A mature Christian is one who lives in pursuit of God!
Paul said, "One thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus" (verses 13-14). What did Paul choose to "forget"? He let go of the wounds, forgave the offenses, and released to God the disappointments of yesterday. He pressed toward the prize of possessing Christ.
Many teachers will come and go throughout your life. Remember Paul's warnings as you pray about whose teachings might influence you. Look for those who are pressing toward the prize of Christlikeness. As for the others, pray for them, stand with them, and, as you are led by the Lord, even attend their churches and encourage them in love and prayer. But if they are not going where you are going, do not follow them!
Paul set the pattern for us. In these times of deception, accusation and false discernment, let us look for and observe those who walk after the pattern of Paul. Let us discern the influence of Jesus in those who lead us. As we clearly see the Lord, let us follow those who follow Christ.
"Follow Those Who Follow Christ"
"Brethren, join in following my example, and observe those who walk according to the pattern you have in us." -Philippians 3:17
Paul faced a major problem in the first century. False teachers had slipped into the Church. The apostle warned the Philippians, and us by extension, to recognize the differences between a true man of God and a deceptive teacher or prophet. Without any sense of false humility, Paul declared that both his vision and his spiritual attitude were examples for us to follow. He instructs us in our powers of discernment to look for and "observe" leaders who exemplify the centerpiece of God's purpose, which is to possess the likeness of Christ.
The context in which Paul wrote describes both his self-righteousness before he found Christ and his utter abandonment of fleshly confidence afterward. We will study these verses carefully. For in an age of increasing deception, not everyone who cries "truth, truth" is speaking in defense of conformity to Jesus.
"Beware of the Dogs"
Paul began his discourse by revealing three distinct types of false teachers. He warned, "Beware of the dogs, beware of the evil workers, beware of the false circumcision" (Philippians 3:2). These three each have their modern counterparts.
The first group Paul identified as "the dogs." The phrase "beware of the dog(s)" is familiar to us today. It means there is a vicious animal here. In Paul's day, most dogs were scavengers that ran in packs. One could find dozens of canines eating off the rubbish heaps outside cities, their faces bent downward as they sniffed and rooted out garbage to feed upon.
Today's Church has similar people, fault-finders, who incessantly and self-righteously feed upon the garbage and failures of the human condition. Paul is saying, "Beware of those who always have something negative to say, who are continually judging or slandering others. If you listen to them, you will become like them. Their words will rob you of vision, leave you without joy, and drain you of energy."
Paul wasn't saying, of course, to completely ignore what is wrong in people. We need discernment. Let me state plainly: There are serious doctrinal errors and sins in the modern Church. But when you observe a pattern of angry, self-righteous fault finding in a person, when their primary view always seems negative, beware. Remember, Jesus warned of the Pharisees who "trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and viewed others with contempt" (Luke 18:9). Beware when your teacher must frequently tear down others to lift himself up.
"Evil Workers"
Paul next warned against the "evil workers." He describes this group briefly in the first chapter. These individuals do, in fact, proclaim Christ, but they do so from "envy...strife...selfish ambition" rather than from love (Philippians 1:15-17). For them, building a church is a competitive endeavor, a business. James also underscores this problem, saying, "For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every evil thing" (James 3:16).
Part of Paul's efforts as an apostle was to build Christ-centered unity among Christians. However, the "evil workers" were self-centered rather than Christ-centered. Before we follow any leader, we truly ought to see the influence of Christ growing in that individual's character. Look to hear the pastor speak, at least occasionally, of his or her vision of attaining Christlikeness. Look for evidences of humility; listen to hear his burden for prayer, and see how he cultivates unity with other Christian churches. If your pastor or leader is growing in these values, then he is also growing in trustworthiness. As he seeks to follow Christ, the fruit of his ministry will, most likely, be healthy.
"The Judaizers"
The third warning was aimed against the "false circumcision" (Philippians 3:2). These were the Jewish Christians who, when they were saved, tried to make Christianity an extension of Judaism. This last teaching was the most dangerous because it seemed the most plausible.
The essence of this error was that Christ's atonement was not enough for salvation; you also had to keep the whole system of Mosaic Laws to be saved. Today, people continue to import religious obligations into the salvation experience. In exposing and warning against the influence of the "false circumcision," Paul set a firewall against the bondage of legalistic requirements for salvation. And while the way is indeed narrow that leads to life, the Way is a Person: Jesus Christ. We do not arrive at our goal by keeping laws but by entrusting ourselves to the keeping of Christ.
The True Pattern
It is one thing to be able to discern what is false, but it is of much greater value to know clearly the pattern of the true. Thus, Paul uses chapter three of Philippians to reveal his attitude of heart. In so doing, he gives us the pattern of what we should look for in a leader.
After presenting his remarkable pedigree in verses 5-6 - an Israelite by birth; as to the Law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the Church; as to the righteousness defined in the Law, found blameless - Paul then renounces the very things he attained, saying: "But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ" (verse 7). For the mature, no position or esteem among men can replace the "surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus [our] Lord." The most amazing of achievements become "rubbish in order that [we] may gain Christ" (verse 8).
Paul separates himself further from the Mosaic Law, revealing that his quest is to "be found in [Christ], not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ" (verse 9). Having been saved from the consequences of the Law, and having received a new source of "righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith," Paul is liberated to pursue his true destiny: Christlikeness!
Beloved, we began this study with Paul's admonition to "observe those who walk according to the pattern you have in us" (verse 17). In the following verse, God reveals the pattern we want to copy:
"That I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead" (verses 10-11).
There is a difference between knowing a collection of religious truths and actually knowing Christ. Truth is in Jesus; He Himself is the way, the truth and the life. To know Him is eternal life, and to live in fellowship with Him is to partake of the nectar of Heaven.
Yet, knowing Christ also means knowing the fellowship of His sufferings as we lay down our lives for the redemption of others. For those suffering for Jesus, remember: participation in His sufferings is part of knowing Him.
Paul did not embrace death as an entity by itself; he embraced Christ's death, which is not only the death of self, but also the triumph of love. It is this surrender to "death for Jesus' sake" that allows "the life of Jesus [to] be manifested in our mortal flesh" (2 Corinthians 4:11).
Paul continued in Philippians, "Not that I have already...become perfect, but I press on in order that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus" (Philippians 3:12). Again, we are looking at the pattern God seeks for each of us. A mature Christian is one who lives in pursuit of God!
Paul said, "One thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus" (verses 13-14). What did Paul choose to "forget"? He let go of the wounds, forgave the offenses, and released to God the disappointments of yesterday. He pressed toward the prize of possessing Christ.
Many teachers will come and go throughout your life. Remember Paul's warnings as you pray about whose teachings might influence you. Look for those who are pressing toward the prize of Christlikeness. As for the others, pray for them, stand with them, and, as you are led by the Lord, even attend their churches and encourage them in love and prayer. But if they are not going where you are going, do not follow them!
Paul set the pattern for us. In these times of deception, accusation and false discernment, let us look for and observe those who walk after the pattern of Paul. Let us discern the influence of Jesus in those who lead us. As we clearly see the Lord, let us follow those who follow Christ.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Heart to Heart
On another "heart" note: Been thinking for a few days about Isaiah 56 . In particular, the statement about the eunuchs and the foreigner. He says that if they keep/possess/value His sabbaths and hold dear His commitment and His covenant of love, to those He will give a better name than sons and daughters. It's a name BETTER than sons and daughters. Imagine that.
4For thus says the LORD,
"To the eunuchs who keep My sabbaths,
And choose what pleases Me,
And hold fast My covenant,
5To them I will give in My house and within My walls a memorial,
And a name better than that of sons and daughters;
I will give them an everlasting name which will not be cut off.
6"Also the foreigners who join themselves to the LORD,
To minister to Him, and to love the name of the LORD,
To be His servants, every one who keeps from profaning the sabbath
And holds fast My covenant;
7Even those I will bring to My holy mountain
And make them joyful in My house of prayer
Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be acceptable on My altar;
For My house will be called a house of prayer for all the peoples."
8The Lord GOD, who gathers the dispersed of Israel, declares,
"Yet others I will gather to them, to those already gathered."
Are the "walls" where there is a memorial actually the "walls" of God's heart? Is it a place that especially touches God's heart that He is referring to - a place that "pleases" HIM ? Is that you and I as well ? Those who choose love, who choose to minister to HIM, who understand and rest in His love and enter the Sabbath rest of Hebrews 4, who are after the little things that are actually big things that please His heart like doing "justice, loving mercy and walking humbly with their God" - who know their righteousness is in Him alone and out of that overflow express that "Rightness", that place of blessing and wholeness because Papa enjoys it SO and therefore, so do we. Because our Husband/Our Bridegroom king loves and enjoys this. Are these the sweet things we give as true romance, true overtures of our love and meeting together with Him and each other in true love and affection? Below is a devotional that landed in front of me in the midst of my ponderings and I just thought I'd pass it on. There's something about praying in/from "this" posture and from this place in and toward God's heart that is worth ruminating over. Love, t
The Special Treasure
Thought for the Week
But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light. (1 Peter 2:9)
Commentary
Now then, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be My own possession among all the peoples, for all the earth is Mine. (Exodus 19:5)
In Exodus 6:7, the LORD told the children of Israel, "I will take you for My people, and I will be your God." This phrase was an adaptation of an expression from the sphere of marriage. The ancient Near Eastern wedding formulation was "You will be my wife; I will be your husband." In the Hebrew Bible, it is common to speak of marriage as "taking" a wife. God likened Himself to a suitor and the people of Israel to the young woman He was courting. He was not content to simply redeem them from slavery; He wanted to take them as His very own people and enjoy an intimate relationship with them, like that of a husband to a wife.
This is covenantal language. God wanted to enter into a covenant with Israel. A covenant is a contractual arrangement that specifies the terms and conditions of a relationship. The marriage metaphor is a good way to understand the covenant at Sinai. The sages speak of Exodus 19 as God's betrothal of Israel. At the foot of Mount Sinai, God officially asked for Israel's hand in marriage.
He spoke to her lovingly. He reminded the people of how He had carried them out of Egypt, as if on the wings of an eagle, and how he had brought them to Himself. He promised to make them His own special treasure above all other peoples. He said, "You shall be my own possession" (Exodus 19:5). The Hebrew word that the NASB translates as "possession" is the word segulah (סגלה). Some versions translate it as "beloved treasure" or "peculiar treasure."
In the ancient Near East, the term segulah was used to describe a king's prized trophy. When a king's army vanquished an enemy, the king kept the most valuable items for his own treasure. A precious object like this was called a segulah. In Exodus 19:5, the word is used as a term of endearment for Israel. God says that He will make the Israelites into His specially prized treasure. He says that even though He owns the entire earth, Israel will always be His special people.
This can be compared to a king who had conquered many lands and possessed great wealth. His treasuries were filled with valuables, but he had one precious gemstone that he valued above all others. Rather than leave it in the treasury with the other valuables, he had it hung on a golden chain and wore it around his neck every day.
That's the way God looks at Israel and each of us. Every person who turns to Him in faith and love is added to His special treasure, His holy people.
4For thus says the LORD,
"To the eunuchs who keep My sabbaths,
And choose what pleases Me,
And hold fast My covenant,
5To them I will give in My house and within My walls a memorial,
And a name better than that of sons and daughters;
I will give them an everlasting name which will not be cut off.
6"Also the foreigners who join themselves to the LORD,
To minister to Him, and to love the name of the LORD,
To be His servants, every one who keeps from profaning the sabbath
And holds fast My covenant;
7Even those I will bring to My holy mountain
And make them joyful in My house of prayer
Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be acceptable on My altar;
For My house will be called a house of prayer for all the peoples."
8The Lord GOD, who gathers the dispersed of Israel, declares,
"Yet others I will gather to them, to those already gathered."
Are the "walls" where there is a memorial actually the "walls" of God's heart? Is it a place that especially touches God's heart that He is referring to - a place that "pleases" HIM ? Is that you and I as well ? Those who choose love, who choose to minister to HIM, who understand and rest in His love and enter the Sabbath rest of Hebrews 4, who are after the little things that are actually big things that please His heart like doing "justice, loving mercy and walking humbly with their God" - who know their righteousness is in Him alone and out of that overflow express that "Rightness", that place of blessing and wholeness because Papa enjoys it SO and therefore, so do we. Because our Husband/Our Bridegroom king loves and enjoys this. Are these the sweet things we give as true romance, true overtures of our love and meeting together with Him and each other in true love and affection? Below is a devotional that landed in front of me in the midst of my ponderings and I just thought I'd pass it on. There's something about praying in/from "this" posture and from this place in and toward God's heart that is worth ruminating over. Love, t
The Special Treasure
Thought for the Week
But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light. (1 Peter 2:9)
Commentary
Now then, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be My own possession among all the peoples, for all the earth is Mine. (Exodus 19:5)
In Exodus 6:7, the LORD told the children of Israel, "I will take you for My people, and I will be your God." This phrase was an adaptation of an expression from the sphere of marriage. The ancient Near Eastern wedding formulation was "You will be my wife; I will be your husband." In the Hebrew Bible, it is common to speak of marriage as "taking" a wife. God likened Himself to a suitor and the people of Israel to the young woman He was courting. He was not content to simply redeem them from slavery; He wanted to take them as His very own people and enjoy an intimate relationship with them, like that of a husband to a wife.
This is covenantal language. God wanted to enter into a covenant with Israel. A covenant is a contractual arrangement that specifies the terms and conditions of a relationship. The marriage metaphor is a good way to understand the covenant at Sinai. The sages speak of Exodus 19 as God's betrothal of Israel. At the foot of Mount Sinai, God officially asked for Israel's hand in marriage.
He spoke to her lovingly. He reminded the people of how He had carried them out of Egypt, as if on the wings of an eagle, and how he had brought them to Himself. He promised to make them His own special treasure above all other peoples. He said, "You shall be my own possession" (Exodus 19:5). The Hebrew word that the NASB translates as "possession" is the word segulah (סגלה). Some versions translate it as "beloved treasure" or "peculiar treasure."
In the ancient Near East, the term segulah was used to describe a king's prized trophy. When a king's army vanquished an enemy, the king kept the most valuable items for his own treasure. A precious object like this was called a segulah. In Exodus 19:5, the word is used as a term of endearment for Israel. God says that He will make the Israelites into His specially prized treasure. He says that even though He owns the entire earth, Israel will always be His special people.
This can be compared to a king who had conquered many lands and possessed great wealth. His treasuries were filled with valuables, but he had one precious gemstone that he valued above all others. Rather than leave it in the treasury with the other valuables, he had it hung on a golden chain and wore it around his neck every day.
That's the way God looks at Israel and each of us. Every person who turns to Him in faith and love is added to His special treasure, His holy people.
Thursday, January 08, 2009
Intro to IHOP-LI and The Burn: Long Island
Please join us for our first Intro to IHOP training:
January 23 - 24, 2009
Friday, January 23
7:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.
Saturday, January 24
9 a.m. until 10:00 p.m.
We will take a corporate plunge deep into Worship, Vision casting, Practical Training and Ministry; ending with a hands on Harp & Bowl worship & intercession set Saturday evening. We will provide times of personal and corporate prayer throughout the event.
Intro to IHOP-LI will include:
The Call to Prayer: History and future of the global and regional worship & prayer movement
Love + Justice = Mission
Intimacy and Urgency
The Beauty Realm of God
The Bridal Paradigm and the Marriage of Worship, Intercession and the Prophetic
Becoming a Prophet of Beauty and Prophetic Protocol
The Dynamics of a House of Prayer
Intro to the Harp and Bowl model of worship and intercession and "The Burn"
Expect deep worship/ministry to the Lord, challenging teaching, equipping, and the ministry of the Holy Spirit.
It will be an excellent on-ramp for anyone who is interested in learning more about this Global move of God as well as those who would like to carry this into their own church community. We believe it will be especially edifying for young worship leaders and intercessors being raised up in your church family as their worship and prayer life will intensify and it will inspire them to serve in their local church communities with renewed passion for the Lord Jesus Christ and His love for the Church.
Additionally, we believe It is a vital and required training for all those who have already been a part of this community and those interested in a role of servant-leadership with IHOP-LI.
Please pass this on to anyone with interest.
Registration is required! Confirmation of attendance is needed by January 20th.
There is a revised registration fee of $20 at the door. Financial Assistance is available.
Once again, confirmation of attendance is needed by January 20th in order to assure there is enough printed material available. You can confirm attendance by contacting Gworship9@yahoo.com or call 631-662-9705 for more information.
Blessings and Much Love from IHOP-LI: The Ark House of Prayer.
January 23 - 24, 2009
Friday, January 23
7:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.
Saturday, January 24
9 a.m. until 10:00 p.m.
We will take a corporate plunge deep into Worship, Vision casting, Practical Training and Ministry; ending with a hands on Harp & Bowl worship & intercession set Saturday evening. We will provide times of personal and corporate prayer throughout the event.
Intro to IHOP-LI will include:
The Call to Prayer: History and future of the global and regional worship & prayer movement
Love + Justice = Mission
Intimacy and Urgency
The Beauty Realm of God
The Bridal Paradigm and the Marriage of Worship, Intercession and the Prophetic
Becoming a Prophet of Beauty and Prophetic Protocol
The Dynamics of a House of Prayer
Intro to the Harp and Bowl model of worship and intercession and "The Burn"
Expect deep worship/ministry to the Lord, challenging teaching, equipping, and the ministry of the Holy Spirit.
It will be an excellent on-ramp for anyone who is interested in learning more about this Global move of God as well as those who would like to carry this into their own church community. We believe it will be especially edifying for young worship leaders and intercessors being raised up in your church family as their worship and prayer life will intensify and it will inspire them to serve in their local church communities with renewed passion for the Lord Jesus Christ and His love for the Church.
Additionally, we believe It is a vital and required training for all those who have already been a part of this community and those interested in a role of servant-leadership with IHOP-LI.
Please pass this on to anyone with interest.
Registration is required! Confirmation of attendance is needed by January 20th.
There is a revised registration fee of $20 at the door. Financial Assistance is available.
Once again, confirmation of attendance is needed by January 20th in order to assure there is enough printed material available. You can confirm attendance by contacting Gworship9@yahoo.com or call 631-662-9705 for more information.
Blessings and Much Love from IHOP-LI: The Ark House of Prayer.
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