The Heart of Worship
The heart is an amazing mechanism. It is the central core of what makes our bodies function. The heart is defined as a muscle that pumps the blood through a serious of various sized veins and arteries allowing it to service the entire body. There are internal organs you can function without. But, nothing in your body can survive without blood, and blood cannot flow without being pumped through a distribution system that is powered by a heart.
When it became necessary for my Father to undergo heart surgery several years ago it was amazing to me what was involved in replacing a valve, and bypassing several arteries that were no longer functional. The doctors were extremely kind in trying to explain the process in simple terms that we could understand. I think the one thing that remains more clear to me than anything else the doctors said was this, “This is a very serious, possibly fatal task. Anytime you open the heart, best case scenario, you are risking everything.” There was no question in our minds as to the seriousness of the operation. Because his heart would have to be completely stopped there was no guarantee that the doctors could actually get a sustained heart rhythm started again. The risks were enormous but without it my Father had a 100% prognosis of eminent death. Some decisions become so desperate that the risks are outweighed by the fact that there are no other options.
In a spiritual sense, as we seek to understand the structure and functions of the Body of Christ, I believe the central mechanism, or the heart, is in fact worship. Worship is the single action that sustains on a continual basis all other endeavors of the Christian walk and life. The first commandment given to Moses in Exodus 20 determines the priority of worship, “You shall have no other gods before me.” Worship is the heart of our spiritual quest to know and understand God. The term idolatry exists solely as the all-encompassing alternative to worshipping anything other than God!
At the risk of being stereotyped and labeled I want to open the heart of worship. Some decisions become so desperate that the risks are outweighed by the fact that there are no other options. I believe worship is that important and stands alone in a list of what must be engaged for our spiritual life. There is something vitally wrong with Christianity and to correct it we need spiritual open-heart surgery.
We are given the surgical tools we need in Hebrews 4:12. ” the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Let’s allow the word of God to cut away and by-pass everything that is congesting our spiritual heart.
Psalms 27:4 gives us the primary heart of worship, “One thing have I desired of the Lord…that I may dwell in the House of the Lord…to behold His beauty. This is the heart of worship.
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Who Is Jesus To You?
This week we are in our Breakthrough Fasting & Prayer. Our ministry engages in seven days of consecration each month beginning on the first Sunday of the month. One of the areas of revelation God is speaking to us about this week is on the subject of His identity. Matthew 16:13-19, records the dialogue Jesus has with His Disciples on the topic. He asks two questions. The first is, “Who do men say that I am?” Jesus wanted to hear from His Disciples what the common perception of Him was, by the people they had seen and ministered to. Jesus’ question is really, “What are people saying about me?” The answer was a variety of past influences that people were identifying Jesus with. How much of our perception of Jesus is based on our past influences?
Look now at the second question Jesus asked in Matthew 16, “Who do you say that I am?” The revelation of the Holy Spirit to us this week is found in this question, “Who is Jesus to you right now?” How are you recognizing God in your life? God proclaims in Exodus 3:6, “…I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob…”! He was collectively their God, but He was known of each of them in individual terms, in many different ways. I can say that while I understand what those who have gone before me say about God, and how awesome their experiences are, it cannot compare to the mighty way He has revealed Himself to me!
You and I have an incredible opportunity to experience a revelation of Jesus Christ like we have never seen Him before. This is a good day for us to start over with a fresh slate of faith! Make a new commitment to consecrate ourselves to God through fasting and prayer. There is something about Him that He wants to show that we cannot see without separating ourselves for a season and giving Him our undivided attention. The depths of God are never opened casually. Psalm 42:7, reveals this mystery, “Deep calls unto deep at the noise of thy waterspouts…”!
A supernatural invitation into the deep things of God can only be issued from a deep place of intentional consecration. What is it worth to us to know the mysteries of Jesus? Jesus said we can know these mysteries in Mark 4:11, “…unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all these things are done in parables…” When you and I and unplugged from the secular humanism that permeates our lives we will hear that invitation. Ephesians 1:9 gives us the promise that God has, “made known unto us the mystery of his will…” You and I are being offered the opportunity to experience God in the same fashion as the first Church. This invitation is referenced in Colossians 1:26 as, “the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints.”
I realize how radical it must seem to commit a concentrated effort on a monthly basis of fasting and prayer for seven days. I can assure you this did not come flippantly, or of my own desires. Before this year began in January, I had not made a priority out of fasting. The occasional one or three day fast, a couple of times each year was plenty for me. But early in the Spring of last year I began to hear a call from the Spirit to receive revelation by radical faith. That call was answered and followed by radical life changes that demanded a total abandonment of everything that did not have an explicit ministry purpose.
Today, I can tell you that I have seen the “Fields of Plenty” just over the horizon of the swirling, muddy, torrential waters of this passage God has called me to make. I have witnessed the attack and defeat of multiple demonic assaults. What I am asking you to do now is too make this crossing with me. I can’t lead you where I am not willing to go. I am asking you to embrace Hebrews 4:11 as we, “labor therefore to enter into that rest…” There is a remnant people who are answering the call of the deep. Join that remnant people today!
You may view the two daily services at www.communitylifefellowship.org. Morning Manna is broadcast at 6:30 AM, CST. The Evening Sacrifice is broadcast live at 7:00 PM, CST.
Look now at the second question Jesus asked in Matthew 16, “Who do you say that I am?” The revelation of the Holy Spirit to us this week is found in this question, “Who is Jesus to you right now?” How are you recognizing God in your life? God proclaims in Exodus 3:6, “…I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob…”! He was collectively their God, but He was known of each of them in individual terms, in many different ways. I can say that while I understand what those who have gone before me say about God, and how awesome their experiences are, it cannot compare to the mighty way He has revealed Himself to me!
You and I have an incredible opportunity to experience a revelation of Jesus Christ like we have never seen Him before. This is a good day for us to start over with a fresh slate of faith! Make a new commitment to consecrate ourselves to God through fasting and prayer. There is something about Him that He wants to show that we cannot see without separating ourselves for a season and giving Him our undivided attention. The depths of God are never opened casually. Psalm 42:7, reveals this mystery, “Deep calls unto deep at the noise of thy waterspouts…”!
A supernatural invitation into the deep things of God can only be issued from a deep place of intentional consecration. What is it worth to us to know the mysteries of Jesus? Jesus said we can know these mysteries in Mark 4:11, “…unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all these things are done in parables…” When you and I and unplugged from the secular humanism that permeates our lives we will hear that invitation. Ephesians 1:9 gives us the promise that God has, “made known unto us the mystery of his will…” You and I are being offered the opportunity to experience God in the same fashion as the first Church. This invitation is referenced in Colossians 1:26 as, “the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints.”
I realize how radical it must seem to commit a concentrated effort on a monthly basis of fasting and prayer for seven days. I can assure you this did not come flippantly, or of my own desires. Before this year began in January, I had not made a priority out of fasting. The occasional one or three day fast, a couple of times each year was plenty for me. But early in the Spring of last year I began to hear a call from the Spirit to receive revelation by radical faith. That call was answered and followed by radical life changes that demanded a total abandonment of everything that did not have an explicit ministry purpose.
Today, I can tell you that I have seen the “Fields of Plenty” just over the horizon of the swirling, muddy, torrential waters of this passage God has called me to make. I have witnessed the attack and defeat of multiple demonic assaults. What I am asking you to do now is too make this crossing with me. I can’t lead you where I am not willing to go. I am asking you to embrace Hebrews 4:11 as we, “labor therefore to enter into that rest…” There is a remnant people who are answering the call of the deep. Join that remnant people today!
You may view the two daily services at www.communitylifefellowship.org. Morning Manna is broadcast at 6:30 AM, CST. The Evening Sacrifice is broadcast live at 7:00 PM, CST.
Fields Of Plenty
I want to share a dream I believe God gave me this past week. It was revelation to me-maybe it will help you. In the dream I was at a river crossing. The water was very muddy and dark; you could not see below the surface. I was entering the water to cross over to the other side where Fields of Plenty were waiting. An overwhelming sense of fear was upon me as I entered the water; I sensed something was there but could not see anything. I remember in my hand was a walking stick approximately five to six feet long. Once I was fully engaged in the river crossing up to my waist, out of the water raised a crocodile looking creature, lunging to attack me. Without thought I put the rod in the center of the creature’s back and held it firmly on the bottom of the river bed.
It was amazing that as the rod touched the back of the crocodile creature that the muddy water turned clear and I could see that it was held without movement of the river’s bottom. Thinking about it now as I right it seems strange that the creature was not thrashing and turning, trying to continue its attack. The rod had completely paralyzed the crocodile. I sensed the creature go limp after some time and it appeared the crocodile was dead. As I removed the rod from the creatures back it floated lifelessly away; carried by the current of the river and I continued my crossing to the fields of plenty.
When I had crossed over half way I remember the feeling joy and expectancy for what was waiting on the other side, then suddenly fear once again captivated me. Hearing the slightest of water movement behind me I turned to see the crocodile ferociously thrusting out of the water, mouth open, coming from behind to destroy me. Instinctively, I raised the rod to strike the creature in the back again. As I was turning to strike the crocodile, a voice within me spoke and said, “Place the rod on crown of his head”! With a supernatural force I cannot explain, I plunged the rod into the crown of the creatures head. What happened next still baffles me as I write these words even now. When the rod touched the crown of the creatures head, the crocodile exploded from its belly underneath and the eruption continued from the middle to both ends of the crocodile until the entire outer skin was completely flat. It was if the creature had been professional skinned and prepared for display. I awoke from the dream at this time and told no one about it until I received the revelation I am about to share with you.
Here is what I believe it means to me, and maybe you. For some time now we have been in a water crossing to harvest fields of plenty. The scripture makes the parallel many times between water and the Spirit. (John 4:13-14; John 7:38; Isaiah 44:3-4) The water crossing I saw was a spiritual passage of trust and obedience. This is what our prayer and fasting has been since the first of this year. The muddy water refers to our inability to see where our feet are being placed. We are being led by the Spirit and we must trust that process. (Joshua 1:9)
I believe the creature that I saw in my dream to be a demonic entity the scripture refers to as Leviathan. (Job 3:8; Job 41:1; Psalms 74:14; Psalms 104:26; Isaiah 27:1) In the context of a crocodile, this demon lurks in the darkness of the spiritual underworld for the specific purpose of attacking those in passage to fields of plenty. When the attack is from an unseen force whose entrance is heralded by fear, its explicit purpose is to destroy you at the point of entering your promised land of harvest filled with fields of plenty!
The rod, similar to a walking stick in my hand, was symbolic of the anointing to perform miracles as in the fashion of Aaron’s Rod that budded. (Numbers 17) The miraculous budding of Aaron’s rod was in response to God’s request for every tribe of Israel to place a single rod, twelve rods in total in the tabernacle for a sign against the murmurings of the rebellious. Aaron’s rod budded, blossomed, and produced a crop of almonds! We have the promise of harvest in our hands. The rod was more than just a symbol. God commanded Moses to place it in the Ark of the Covenant as a sacred reminder that what God has promised needs no natural understanding to be performed and completed. Revelation requires no reason.
The first time the rod was placed on the demonic spirit it immobilized the attack. No demon can withstand the miraculous power of God! But the demon was only temporarily suspended from the attack and played dead to get released from the pressure of the miraculous. In this passage we have been too quick to accept the suspension of demonic attack without pressing for total abandon of the enemy’s assignment. We perceived our deliverance to be complete when it was only partial. Our pride caused us to rejoice prematurely! This passage we are in will not be complete until we are standing on the Holy Ground of a supernatural outpouring! We cannot accept anything less than a total revival of the early Church’s example of the power and demonstration of the Holy Ghost!
The second attack by the demonic force came from the murky shadows of the past-from behind. When we rejoice because demons are subject to us we lose sight of the eternal purpose of our crossing. (Luke 10:20) Pride is the deception of believing a stunned demon is a defeated foe. In the dream I was instructed to, “Place the rod on crown of his head”! The only way we can effectively overcome the enemy who is attacking us is to strike the head; the center of its evil purpose. (John 10:10) The stronghold is in the mind! We must strike the thoughts (2 Corinthians 10:5) that are coming from the demons sent to attack us. In the dream, once the rod touched the head of the crocodile, the entire creature was turned into a display of God’s ability to finish our passage! (2 Timothy 1:12) This second attack is an attempt to use your pride in securing the stronghold of your thoughts.
There are more people falling prey to this second attack right now than at any other time I can recall in my ministry. People receive a spiritual victory that appears to be complete only to allow pride to set them up for the deception of trusting their abilities instead of acknowledging God. (Proverbs 3:5-6) There is a second attack coming to stop your passage. It is a battle for your thoughts and the stronghold of your mind. Mental fatigue regarding things of the Spirit is a symptom of this second attack. You must strike the head of this demon with a stringent embracing of the supernatural. The rod in your hand is the presence of the miracles God has already done through you. That testimony is your weapon to crush this second attack and cross over into the fields of plenty. This dream was so real to me. I believe there will be more revelation coming out of this experience in the coming days.
It was amazing that as the rod touched the back of the crocodile creature that the muddy water turned clear and I could see that it was held without movement of the river’s bottom. Thinking about it now as I right it seems strange that the creature was not thrashing and turning, trying to continue its attack. The rod had completely paralyzed the crocodile. I sensed the creature go limp after some time and it appeared the crocodile was dead. As I removed the rod from the creatures back it floated lifelessly away; carried by the current of the river and I continued my crossing to the fields of plenty.
When I had crossed over half way I remember the feeling joy and expectancy for what was waiting on the other side, then suddenly fear once again captivated me. Hearing the slightest of water movement behind me I turned to see the crocodile ferociously thrusting out of the water, mouth open, coming from behind to destroy me. Instinctively, I raised the rod to strike the creature in the back again. As I was turning to strike the crocodile, a voice within me spoke and said, “Place the rod on crown of his head”! With a supernatural force I cannot explain, I plunged the rod into the crown of the creatures head. What happened next still baffles me as I write these words even now. When the rod touched the crown of the creatures head, the crocodile exploded from its belly underneath and the eruption continued from the middle to both ends of the crocodile until the entire outer skin was completely flat. It was if the creature had been professional skinned and prepared for display. I awoke from the dream at this time and told no one about it until I received the revelation I am about to share with you.
Here is what I believe it means to me, and maybe you. For some time now we have been in a water crossing to harvest fields of plenty. The scripture makes the parallel many times between water and the Spirit. (John 4:13-14; John 7:38; Isaiah 44:3-4) The water crossing I saw was a spiritual passage of trust and obedience. This is what our prayer and fasting has been since the first of this year. The muddy water refers to our inability to see where our feet are being placed. We are being led by the Spirit and we must trust that process. (Joshua 1:9)
I believe the creature that I saw in my dream to be a demonic entity the scripture refers to as Leviathan. (Job 3:8; Job 41:1; Psalms 74:14; Psalms 104:26; Isaiah 27:1) In the context of a crocodile, this demon lurks in the darkness of the spiritual underworld for the specific purpose of attacking those in passage to fields of plenty. When the attack is from an unseen force whose entrance is heralded by fear, its explicit purpose is to destroy you at the point of entering your promised land of harvest filled with fields of plenty!
The rod, similar to a walking stick in my hand, was symbolic of the anointing to perform miracles as in the fashion of Aaron’s Rod that budded. (Numbers 17) The miraculous budding of Aaron’s rod was in response to God’s request for every tribe of Israel to place a single rod, twelve rods in total in the tabernacle for a sign against the murmurings of the rebellious. Aaron’s rod budded, blossomed, and produced a crop of almonds! We have the promise of harvest in our hands. The rod was more than just a symbol. God commanded Moses to place it in the Ark of the Covenant as a sacred reminder that what God has promised needs no natural understanding to be performed and completed. Revelation requires no reason.
The first time the rod was placed on the demonic spirit it immobilized the attack. No demon can withstand the miraculous power of God! But the demon was only temporarily suspended from the attack and played dead to get released from the pressure of the miraculous. In this passage we have been too quick to accept the suspension of demonic attack without pressing for total abandon of the enemy’s assignment. We perceived our deliverance to be complete when it was only partial. Our pride caused us to rejoice prematurely! This passage we are in will not be complete until we are standing on the Holy Ground of a supernatural outpouring! We cannot accept anything less than a total revival of the early Church’s example of the power and demonstration of the Holy Ghost!
The second attack by the demonic force came from the murky shadows of the past-from behind. When we rejoice because demons are subject to us we lose sight of the eternal purpose of our crossing. (Luke 10:20) Pride is the deception of believing a stunned demon is a defeated foe. In the dream I was instructed to, “Place the rod on crown of his head”! The only way we can effectively overcome the enemy who is attacking us is to strike the head; the center of its evil purpose. (John 10:10) The stronghold is in the mind! We must strike the thoughts (2 Corinthians 10:5) that are coming from the demons sent to attack us. In the dream, once the rod touched the head of the crocodile, the entire creature was turned into a display of God’s ability to finish our passage! (2 Timothy 1:12) This second attack is an attempt to use your pride in securing the stronghold of your thoughts.
There are more people falling prey to this second attack right now than at any other time I can recall in my ministry. People receive a spiritual victory that appears to be complete only to allow pride to set them up for the deception of trusting their abilities instead of acknowledging God. (Proverbs 3:5-6) There is a second attack coming to stop your passage. It is a battle for your thoughts and the stronghold of your mind. Mental fatigue regarding things of the Spirit is a symptom of this second attack. You must strike the head of this demon with a stringent embracing of the supernatural. The rod in your hand is the presence of the miracles God has already done through you. That testimony is your weapon to crush this second attack and cross over into the fields of plenty. This dream was so real to me. I believe there will be more revelation coming out of this experience in the coming days.
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
New Testament Church Marketing Plan
I have been involved with Christians for most of my life. My entrance to the Christian world was the experiences I received from visits to the Baptist church with my Uncle and the Pentecostal church with my Aunt. The decision to be Baptist or Pentecostal was really a simple process. Here is how it was played out; if we went to the Baptist church our Uncle would take us out to lunch; if we went to the Pentecostal church they gave cool gifts for coming to the service (on Easter Sunday they gave live baby chicks-no hunger could top that). My religious experience was solely based on how hungry I was when I woke up on Sunday morning. Really, after all these years nothing has changed. My experiences with God are still driven by my hunger for Him.
After thirty-six years of Christianity you would think that one would have seen it all, but I am still amazed at the methods employed to lead people to Christ. Evangelism is certainly a Christian buzz word we use when we refer to attracting new people to our church. What is evangelism? In the simplest terms it is the sharing of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Every church has their brand of evangelism based on the affinity they share for an introduction to Christ. But let me ask you this, “What was the original pattern that was used when the church began in the Book of Acts?” What was the marketing plan used by those who actually heard Jesus say himself, “Go into all the world and preach the Gospel”?
We use every method available to make the Gospel accessible to the world. Direct mail, websites, print advertising, streaming video over the Internet, and on the rarest of occasions we might even actually speak to someone face to face. The Book of Acts chronicles the beginning of the church, and the infectious spread of its reach into their world. Without radio, television, or the Internet, one hundred and twenty people grew to three thousand in one day. Let me introduce you to the Book of Acts Marketing Plan: The Power and Demonstration of The Holy Ghost! After all these years and quantum leaps in technology it still remains the most effective form of evangelism the church has ever experienced.
Recently I viewed a service of the Lakeland outpouring in Florida and was amazed at the simplicity of the entire process. Worship was the entrance into the presence of God, followed by instruction to apply that presence to your individual life, completed by sending it out to someone else. The service I viewed was attended by over twelve thousand from many nations-the overwhelming majority there because they had received as first-hand account of the Power and Demonstration of the Holy Ghost. Of course religion was denouncing the process just like they did in Acts. But make no mistake; the results of the Power and Demonstration of the Holy Ghost are always the same-lives are changed forever!
There is no substitute for the Power and Demonstration of the Holy Ghost! From the Book of Acts the entire world came to know Jesus Christ through the Power and Demonstration of the Holy Ghost. You and I today are walking with Christ as a result on that initial marketing plan. It is time for Christians to return to the Power and Demonstration of the Holy Ghost! Just like those who were waiting in the upper room, we must tarry with prayer and fasting until the fire falls from Heaven. For all of our modern methods there is still nothing more powerful that a first-hand experience by someone who has been under the influence of the Power and Demonstration of the Holy Ghost!
How long do you and I intend to pretend that our apathy to the Power and Demonstration of the Holy Ghost is sustainable? We must abandon all hope of a status quo existence of Christian clichés, powerless presentations of sermons and teachings, and the boredom of bearing no spiritual burden of fasting and prayer! We cannot connect to the original church of Acts without entering the doorway of the Power and Demonstration of the Holy Ghost. We must have the treasure of Heaven, the Holy Spirit, in these earthen vessels that we are. That empty yearning for something deeper than the cycle of riding a spiritual roller coaster is a divine desire impregnated within you for the Power and Demonstration of the Holy Ghost!
Without mass media; absent of light speed technology; void of the ease of modern communication; the church of Acts turned their world upside down with the single greatest marketing plan the universe has ever experienced. It was the Power and Demonstration of the Holy Ghost. It was, and continues to be, the best hope of a lost humanity in a temporary world held together by grace, where the imminent dawn of eternity can be physically felt by all!
I have been involved with Christians for most of my life. My entrance to the Christian world was the experiences I received from visits to the Baptist church with my Uncle and the Pentecostal church with my Aunt. The decision to be Baptist or Pentecostal was really a simple process. Here is how it was played out; if we went to the Baptist church our Uncle would take us out to lunch; if we went to the Pentecostal church they gave cool gifts for coming to the service (on Easter Sunday they gave live baby chicks-no hunger could top that). My religious experience was solely based on how hungry I was when I woke up on Sunday morning. Really, after all these years nothing has changed. My experiences with God are still driven by my hunger for Him.
After thirty-six years of Christianity you would think that one would have seen it all, but I am still amazed at the methods employed to lead people to Christ. Evangelism is certainly a Christian buzz word we use when we refer to attracting new people to our church. What is evangelism? In the simplest terms it is the sharing of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Every church has their brand of evangelism based on the affinity they share for an introduction to Christ. But let me ask you this, “What was the original pattern that was used when the church began in the Book of Acts?” What was the marketing plan used by those who actually heard Jesus say himself, “Go into all the world and preach the Gospel”?
We use every method available to make the Gospel accessible to the world. Direct mail, websites, print advertising, streaming video over the Internet, and on the rarest of occasions we might even actually speak to someone face to face. The Book of Acts chronicles the beginning of the church, and the infectious spread of its reach into their world. Without radio, television, or the Internet, one hundred and twenty people grew to three thousand in one day. Let me introduce you to the Book of Acts Marketing Plan: The Power and Demonstration of The Holy Ghost! After all these years and quantum leaps in technology it still remains the most effective form of evangelism the church has ever experienced.
Recently I viewed a service of the Lakeland outpouring in Florida and was amazed at the simplicity of the entire process. Worship was the entrance into the presence of God, followed by instruction to apply that presence to your individual life, completed by sending it out to someone else. The service I viewed was attended by over twelve thousand from many nations-the overwhelming majority there because they had received as first-hand account of the Power and Demonstration of the Holy Ghost. Of course religion was denouncing the process just like they did in Acts. But make no mistake; the results of the Power and Demonstration of the Holy Ghost are always the same-lives are changed forever!
There is no substitute for the Power and Demonstration of the Holy Ghost! From the Book of Acts the entire world came to know Jesus Christ through the Power and Demonstration of the Holy Ghost. You and I today are walking with Christ as a result on that initial marketing plan. It is time for Christians to return to the Power and Demonstration of the Holy Ghost! Just like those who were waiting in the upper room, we must tarry with prayer and fasting until the fire falls from Heaven. For all of our modern methods there is still nothing more powerful that a first-hand experience by someone who has been under the influence of the Power and Demonstration of the Holy Ghost!
How long do you and I intend to pretend that our apathy to the Power and Demonstration of the Holy Ghost is sustainable? We must abandon all hope of a status quo existence of Christian clichés, powerless presentations of sermons and teachings, and the boredom of bearing no spiritual burden of fasting and prayer! We cannot connect to the original church of Acts without entering the doorway of the Power and Demonstration of the Holy Ghost. We must have the treasure of Heaven, the Holy Spirit, in these earthen vessels that we are. That empty yearning for something deeper than the cycle of riding a spiritual roller coaster is a divine desire impregnated within you for the Power and Demonstration of the Holy Ghost!
Without mass media; absent of light speed technology; void of the ease of modern communication; the church of Acts turned their world upside down with the single greatest marketing plan the universe has ever experienced. It was the Power and Demonstration of the Holy Ghost. It was, and continues to be, the best hope of a lost humanity in a temporary world held together by grace, where the imminent dawn of eternity can be physically felt by all!
Friday, May 30, 2008
There are many wonderful events I can recall from the childhood I spent in the rural areas of my early development. Actually, we lived so far back in the woods we did not experience the sunrise until noon! Anyway, what I was trying to share with you was the country school phenomenon known as the “Science Fair.” I know you have probably heard of Science Fairs before, but I am quite sure those were worlds away from the dark and sinister, completely humorous event we called, “The Science Fair.”
You could count of the usual six-dozen, Baking Soda and Sprite spewing Volcanoes, and of course the stillborn collection of farm animals exhibited in one-gallon glass containers filled with formaldehyde. And who could forget the twenty-one stages of an unborn chicken, from the egg to the chick, displayed in actual form through the visual enhancement of a Gerber Baby Food Jar! See what I mean! Our Science Fair was a little different. What I remember the most about it, beyond the wild array of subjects and objects was this; you were graded and awarded on presentation, not on quality of content!
How is your presentation coming? You know, that whole - Worship as a lifestyle - thing? Let me help you understand something about the way your worship is graded. You will be awarded on presentation, not quality of content!
Romans 12:1, gives us the requirement, “Present you bodies a living sacrifice, holy and accept able to God, which is your reasonable service.” I want you to know that you have been given a 100%, failsafe, proven beyond all doubt, formula for success when it comes to your presentation of worship to God. All He is asking for is who you are! The only way you can fail to receive the “First Prize” in your worship to God is to withhold who you are from Him.
Look at this incredible scene with me from John 4. In the heat of the day, around noon, Jesus sits alone by a well. A woman comes to the well and Jesus first statement to her was a request, “Give me a drink.” We learn later in the text that she is an outcast breed, coming to the well ay an odd time to avoid social confrontation, because she is a five-time divorcee, and is currently in a relationship that has no requirements attached to it. Now hear Jesus opening request, “Give me a drink.” Jesus is not interested in what she is. He is not concerned with what she has done. There is no qualifier to determine the level of her worthiness. Jesus wants who she is! He is asking her to make a presentation to Him of who she is!
You can hear her shock, “Why are you asking me for a drink?” Jesus reply is simple, “I really want to give you drink of everlasting life.” The woman observes, “You have nothing to draw the water with.” Jesus looks at her and makes it clear, “You are the vessel I will use and what I give you will be a well of living water, springing up from within.”
What God wants in a Presentation of Worship is you, as you are, where you are!
You could count of the usual six-dozen, Baking Soda and Sprite spewing Volcanoes, and of course the stillborn collection of farm animals exhibited in one-gallon glass containers filled with formaldehyde. And who could forget the twenty-one stages of an unborn chicken, from the egg to the chick, displayed in actual form through the visual enhancement of a Gerber Baby Food Jar! See what I mean! Our Science Fair was a little different. What I remember the most about it, beyond the wild array of subjects and objects was this; you were graded and awarded on presentation, not on quality of content!
How is your presentation coming? You know, that whole - Worship as a lifestyle - thing? Let me help you understand something about the way your worship is graded. You will be awarded on presentation, not quality of content!
Romans 12:1, gives us the requirement, “Present you bodies a living sacrifice, holy and accept able to God, which is your reasonable service.” I want you to know that you have been given a 100%, failsafe, proven beyond all doubt, formula for success when it comes to your presentation of worship to God. All He is asking for is who you are! The only way you can fail to receive the “First Prize” in your worship to God is to withhold who you are from Him.
Look at this incredible scene with me from John 4. In the heat of the day, around noon, Jesus sits alone by a well. A woman comes to the well and Jesus first statement to her was a request, “Give me a drink.” We learn later in the text that she is an outcast breed, coming to the well ay an odd time to avoid social confrontation, because she is a five-time divorcee, and is currently in a relationship that has no requirements attached to it. Now hear Jesus opening request, “Give me a drink.” Jesus is not interested in what she is. He is not concerned with what she has done. There is no qualifier to determine the level of her worthiness. Jesus wants who she is! He is asking her to make a presentation to Him of who she is!
You can hear her shock, “Why are you asking me for a drink?” Jesus reply is simple, “I really want to give you drink of everlasting life.” The woman observes, “You have nothing to draw the water with.” Jesus looks at her and makes it clear, “You are the vessel I will use and what I give you will be a well of living water, springing up from within.”
What God wants in a Presentation of Worship is you, as you are, where you are!
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Graduation Gifts
I only have one child left in High School so my requirements to that institution are diminishing. Except, at this time of year when Graduation Ceremonies take place. As a Pastor I am still a bit old fashioned in that I like to watch the High School Graduates in our church walk across the stage and receive their Diploma. I think maybe I get a little humor at their expense when I hear their name called to make their grand exit from High School by allowing myself this one thought, “You have no idea what you are in for!”
This year I was privileged to enjoy that thought six times in the various ceremonies we attended. But there was one that left an indelible impression on me. One particular ceremony allowed me to witness the Love of God in a tangible manner.
One of the young Graduates in our church was adopted at birth by a loving family that has served God with their lives. The child was raised in the nurture and admonition of the Lord and given a life of security and advancement. Recently the young teen expressed a desire to meet her “birth” Mother. Her parents allowed the process to unfold at its own pace.
When my wife and I arrived to sit with the family at the Graduation Ceremony we were introduced to the Graduate’s “birth” Mother. I thought how incredible it was for the parents to extend this invitation to a woman they had met through paperwork only, eighteen years ago. We extended the proper greetings and then took our seat. I was moved by the compassion this family was living out before me.
As the ceremony progressed, the “birth” Mother was overcome with emotion and was visibly shaken. It was then I saw the Love of God. The parents moved from their seats to put their arms around the “birth” Mother and sit with her the rest of the ceremony. As they consoled her with their love I could sense the presence of God smiling in adoration of the scene, and the hearts of the Godly parents whose only motivation was the same on that day as it was eighteen years ago; thankfulness and gratitude for the gift of life and love they had experienced in the child they were given.
The night went on with dinner and festivities but as I write these words today I am still moved by the gifts we each hold, that we never give. Who could you reach out to in love today? Who could you extend the gift of forgiveness to right now with a simple phone call? Which relative could receive a letter of apology from you today and be set free from years of anguish? We all have gifts to give, why not release them today?
This year I was privileged to enjoy that thought six times in the various ceremonies we attended. But there was one that left an indelible impression on me. One particular ceremony allowed me to witness the Love of God in a tangible manner.
One of the young Graduates in our church was adopted at birth by a loving family that has served God with their lives. The child was raised in the nurture and admonition of the Lord and given a life of security and advancement. Recently the young teen expressed a desire to meet her “birth” Mother. Her parents allowed the process to unfold at its own pace.
When my wife and I arrived to sit with the family at the Graduation Ceremony we were introduced to the Graduate’s “birth” Mother. I thought how incredible it was for the parents to extend this invitation to a woman they had met through paperwork only, eighteen years ago. We extended the proper greetings and then took our seat. I was moved by the compassion this family was living out before me.
As the ceremony progressed, the “birth” Mother was overcome with emotion and was visibly shaken. It was then I saw the Love of God. The parents moved from their seats to put their arms around the “birth” Mother and sit with her the rest of the ceremony. As they consoled her with their love I could sense the presence of God smiling in adoration of the scene, and the hearts of the Godly parents whose only motivation was the same on that day as it was eighteen years ago; thankfulness and gratitude for the gift of life and love they had experienced in the child they were given.
The night went on with dinner and festivities but as I write these words today I am still moved by the gifts we each hold, that we never give. Who could you reach out to in love today? Who could you extend the gift of forgiveness to right now with a simple phone call? Which relative could receive a letter of apology from you today and be set free from years of anguish? We all have gifts to give, why not release them today?
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
The events of the coming week would be a whirlwind of activity and emotion. There must a been a foreboding sense of the impending dread that was carrying the group around Jesus as they left the city of Jericho to begin the sixty mile walk to Jerusalem. In His parables and teachings, Jesus had tried to convey to the group the nature of His purpose on the earth. Over the past three years Jesus had constantly painted the landscape of the Disciples’ minds with the clear and distinct calling he was here to fulfill. When Jesus openly tells His followers, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son,” the directive is candidly proclaimed. He is here to die, so the world may live in Him.
Blind Bartemaeus cries out to Jesus as He walks out of Jericho for the last time. Jesus opens the eyes of the blind man. Destiny is pushing Jesus to Jerusalem, yet He stops to heal the blind. How significant is it that Bartemaeus will be able to see the proceedings over the next week? Is this act of divine intervention a sign that points us to pay close attention to what is about to take place?
Jesus arrives at Bethany, a suburb of Jerusalem, and spends an evening at the home of Lazarus where Mary anoints Him with expensive oil in preparation for His death. The Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem; The Last Supper; Washing the Disciples feet; Judas the Betrayer identified; The Arrest in Gethsemane; Jesus’ Trial before the High Priest; Peter’s Denial; Pilate’s Court; and finally, The Crucifixion.
Throughout all of the tragedy and triumph recorded in the final week of Jesus’ earthly life, there is one figure that is always present and receives more than one scriptural reference. Her name is Mary. We find her in John 20:1; making her way to the last place she could accompany Jesus, the tomb. The scripture makes the distinction, “while it was still dark!” What possesses a person to visit the graveyard while it is still dark? There are times in our lives when personal faith will not permit us to wait any longer without conclusive evidence. Even if the timing is not right, in spite of the natural barriers and preconceived notions of acceptable methods, faith pushes you into extraordinary actions. Even if it means going to the place of death in the cloak of night! It is possible that the unyielding presence of your determined spirit that will not sit quietly within you any longer is the supernatural expectation of what God has already done that you are not aware of!
One thing is lucid; what Mary was about to experience will clearly define the difference between listening to what Jesus had said, and living out in real time the words He had given them. Let me bring it right to where we are on this Easter Sunday. Jesus had outlined the details of His death, burial, and resurrection; the events we would come to know as Easter. The reality is this; until Mary had witnessed “Easter” for herself, until she had seen “Easter” with her own eyes, the revelation could not have been complete.
Mary is not prepared for what she finds at the last location of her faith. Her reaction reveals her expectations. Mary fully anticipated finding everything as she left it three days earlier. When she gets through the darkness to the tomb she saw the stone that sealed the tomb was gone. Her immediate response was to run to Peter and John and let them know the depth of the travesty. Listen to her words, “they have taken away the Lord out of the tomb and we don’t know where they have laid Him.” Let me ask you the question I would ask Mary, “Who is they?” Why do we always have some unnamed, unidentified force that becomes the scapegoat for the areas of God that we cannot explain? “They” is always known to us personally, but always referred to in a broader, ambiguous term when we share our calamities with others. There are some things about God that you will never learn in a group setting. Easter will never be real to you until it becomes a personal experience that you embrace in a singular fashion. You may walk with Jesus all the way from Jericho to Jerusalem. You may hear Him describe all that He is and will be. You may witness in person the crucifixion of Jesus and accompany his broken body all the way to the burial. But until you press through the darkness of your personal doubt, to the finality of completely trusting God with what you cannot reconcile, you have not really seen Jesus. Mary has a hunger for Jesus that is born of her deliverance from who she was, and the person she was made through her relationship with Jesus Christ.
When Peter and John join the scene they instantly run to the tomb and survey the setting. They notice the linen grave clothes that wrapped the body of Jesus, and the handkerchief that covered His head neatly folded. John 20:8 states that when John saw this setting he believed. Consider that Mary’s desperate attempt to solicit help in locating Jesus actually became the catalyst that birthed John’s personal conversion to the revelation of the resurrection. Peter and John, satisfied with what they had found, and it’s effect on them, turned and went back to their own homes. They had seen enough. They were satisfied. They were resolved with the experience.
But Mary could not leave. She is still standing at the tomb after the other disciples are gone. As she cries the scriptures states, “she stooped down and looked into the tomb.” How many times have you remained after everyone else has gone home with his or her spiritual experience? Did you think you were crazy when everyone else went home happy, and you still were hungry for more of God? Has your broken heart driven you to your knees with the weight of being unfulfilled? When Mary fell to her knees she saw something inside the empty tomb. There were two angels sitting at each end of the tomb. Mary is seeing directly into the supernatural realm. Peter did not see the angels! John, even with his conversion did not see the angels. Both of these men had returned to their homes satisfied with the experiences they had received.
Look into the area of your despair. What you thought was just an empty tomb of tragedy is the arena God has chosen to invite you to the supernatural. I know Jesus is not in the tomb, Mary! But the tomb is not empty. There are two supernatural witnesses waiting to reveal the heart of God to you.
What transpires next is the bridge between believing and knowing. The angels ask Mary a question that seems harsh and uncaring from a natural standpoint. They want to know why she is crying. From her perspective it is blatantly obvious, “they have taken my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him.” But from the angels vantage point the question was justified. Mary saw the tragedy, the angels saw the triumph!
There must have been something in Mary’s spirit that was stirred by the setting of what she was witnessing. Have you ever sensed something significant was happening around you? Do you know how it feels when you think someone is behind you, or following you? Mary turns from the angels question and is face to face with Jesus. It is possible that the restless feeling you are experiencing could be the presence of something supernatural. Turn around and look. Turn from what you have been focused on, and embrace what you are sensing.
Face to face with Jesus, Mary hears the same question the angels had asked her. Mary responds in the same manner as before. Then Jesus speaks one word to her. He calls her name, “Mary!” When Jesus speaks her name, suddenly everything is clear. She knows it is Jesus. She now understands the process of the prior week. Mary sees Easter for the first time herself. I think it is interesting that the key word, or divine phrase that is used to bring Mary into the supernatural revelation of Jesus Christ is her own name. When God speaks your name will you be able to accept it as divine? Are you so intent on hearing something else as your personal sign from God that He has already called you name over and over and yet because it was just your name, you didn’t recognize it as divine?
Today! Right now! This moment! Listen for the sound of your name being spoken by the Holy Spirit. Until you’ve seen Easter for yourself, it is nothing more to you that an annual reminder of your personal loss and tragedy. Look into what you think is just emptiness, there is a supernatural invitation waiting for your to embrace.
Blind Bartemaeus cries out to Jesus as He walks out of Jericho for the last time. Jesus opens the eyes of the blind man. Destiny is pushing Jesus to Jerusalem, yet He stops to heal the blind. How significant is it that Bartemaeus will be able to see the proceedings over the next week? Is this act of divine intervention a sign that points us to pay close attention to what is about to take place?
Jesus arrives at Bethany, a suburb of Jerusalem, and spends an evening at the home of Lazarus where Mary anoints Him with expensive oil in preparation for His death. The Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem; The Last Supper; Washing the Disciples feet; Judas the Betrayer identified; The Arrest in Gethsemane; Jesus’ Trial before the High Priest; Peter’s Denial; Pilate’s Court; and finally, The Crucifixion.
Throughout all of the tragedy and triumph recorded in the final week of Jesus’ earthly life, there is one figure that is always present and receives more than one scriptural reference. Her name is Mary. We find her in John 20:1; making her way to the last place she could accompany Jesus, the tomb. The scripture makes the distinction, “while it was still dark!” What possesses a person to visit the graveyard while it is still dark? There are times in our lives when personal faith will not permit us to wait any longer without conclusive evidence. Even if the timing is not right, in spite of the natural barriers and preconceived notions of acceptable methods, faith pushes you into extraordinary actions. Even if it means going to the place of death in the cloak of night! It is possible that the unyielding presence of your determined spirit that will not sit quietly within you any longer is the supernatural expectation of what God has already done that you are not aware of!
One thing is lucid; what Mary was about to experience will clearly define the difference between listening to what Jesus had said, and living out in real time the words He had given them. Let me bring it right to where we are on this Easter Sunday. Jesus had outlined the details of His death, burial, and resurrection; the events we would come to know as Easter. The reality is this; until Mary had witnessed “Easter” for herself, until she had seen “Easter” with her own eyes, the revelation could not have been complete.
Mary is not prepared for what she finds at the last location of her faith. Her reaction reveals her expectations. Mary fully anticipated finding everything as she left it three days earlier. When she gets through the darkness to the tomb she saw the stone that sealed the tomb was gone. Her immediate response was to run to Peter and John and let them know the depth of the travesty. Listen to her words, “they have taken away the Lord out of the tomb and we don’t know where they have laid Him.” Let me ask you the question I would ask Mary, “Who is they?” Why do we always have some unnamed, unidentified force that becomes the scapegoat for the areas of God that we cannot explain? “They” is always known to us personally, but always referred to in a broader, ambiguous term when we share our calamities with others. There are some things about God that you will never learn in a group setting. Easter will never be real to you until it becomes a personal experience that you embrace in a singular fashion. You may walk with Jesus all the way from Jericho to Jerusalem. You may hear Him describe all that He is and will be. You may witness in person the crucifixion of Jesus and accompany his broken body all the way to the burial. But until you press through the darkness of your personal doubt, to the finality of completely trusting God with what you cannot reconcile, you have not really seen Jesus. Mary has a hunger for Jesus that is born of her deliverance from who she was, and the person she was made through her relationship with Jesus Christ.
When Peter and John join the scene they instantly run to the tomb and survey the setting. They notice the linen grave clothes that wrapped the body of Jesus, and the handkerchief that covered His head neatly folded. John 20:8 states that when John saw this setting he believed. Consider that Mary’s desperate attempt to solicit help in locating Jesus actually became the catalyst that birthed John’s personal conversion to the revelation of the resurrection. Peter and John, satisfied with what they had found, and it’s effect on them, turned and went back to their own homes. They had seen enough. They were satisfied. They were resolved with the experience.
But Mary could not leave. She is still standing at the tomb after the other disciples are gone. As she cries the scriptures states, “she stooped down and looked into the tomb.” How many times have you remained after everyone else has gone home with his or her spiritual experience? Did you think you were crazy when everyone else went home happy, and you still were hungry for more of God? Has your broken heart driven you to your knees with the weight of being unfulfilled? When Mary fell to her knees she saw something inside the empty tomb. There were two angels sitting at each end of the tomb. Mary is seeing directly into the supernatural realm. Peter did not see the angels! John, even with his conversion did not see the angels. Both of these men had returned to their homes satisfied with the experiences they had received.
Look into the area of your despair. What you thought was just an empty tomb of tragedy is the arena God has chosen to invite you to the supernatural. I know Jesus is not in the tomb, Mary! But the tomb is not empty. There are two supernatural witnesses waiting to reveal the heart of God to you.
What transpires next is the bridge between believing and knowing. The angels ask Mary a question that seems harsh and uncaring from a natural standpoint. They want to know why she is crying. From her perspective it is blatantly obvious, “they have taken my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him.” But from the angels vantage point the question was justified. Mary saw the tragedy, the angels saw the triumph!
There must have been something in Mary’s spirit that was stirred by the setting of what she was witnessing. Have you ever sensed something significant was happening around you? Do you know how it feels when you think someone is behind you, or following you? Mary turns from the angels question and is face to face with Jesus. It is possible that the restless feeling you are experiencing could be the presence of something supernatural. Turn around and look. Turn from what you have been focused on, and embrace what you are sensing.
Face to face with Jesus, Mary hears the same question the angels had asked her. Mary responds in the same manner as before. Then Jesus speaks one word to her. He calls her name, “Mary!” When Jesus speaks her name, suddenly everything is clear. She knows it is Jesus. She now understands the process of the prior week. Mary sees Easter for the first time herself. I think it is interesting that the key word, or divine phrase that is used to bring Mary into the supernatural revelation of Jesus Christ is her own name. When God speaks your name will you be able to accept it as divine? Are you so intent on hearing something else as your personal sign from God that He has already called you name over and over and yet because it was just your name, you didn’t recognize it as divine?
Today! Right now! This moment! Listen for the sound of your name being spoken by the Holy Spirit. Until you’ve seen Easter for yourself, it is nothing more to you that an annual reminder of your personal loss and tragedy. Look into what you think is just emptiness, there is a supernatural invitation waiting for your to embrace.
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