June 2, 2011
Called Out and Called In

Most everybody knows that the church is the "called out assembly", ekklesia in the Greek.  Most understand we were extracted from the dominion of darkness and carried into the Kingdom of our Lord (Col. 1:13).  Most also see this as being plucked out of darkness at the moment when we accepted Jesus Christ as our personal Savior.  This term is only lately used in Christianity having been coined in the mid 1800's and used extensively by Charles Fuller in his "Old Fashioned Revival Hour" radio program in the mid 1940's--1960's.  The term, no doubt, was used to deepen the truth of God's intense love for every person.  It was not intended to de-emphasize the corporate nature of our lives.  However, that de-emphasis resulted just the same.

Because of the prolonged use of the "personal Savior" term, the under-standing of Jesus being the Savior of the body is hardly ever used (Eph. 5:23).  Consequently, it is what can Jesus do for me?  A more self-centered Christianity is the byproduct.

It is hard to calculate how much this thinking has hindered the growth of the body when most men are looking out for themselves.  All are seeking something and few are looking to give something.  The matter is worsened by ministries who constantly pander to this selfishness and traffic in the gospel peddling all manner of forms of how to get more out of our relationship with Jesus.  This is gas on a deadly fire.

Many are taught to exercise their faith to get Jesus to release His blessings and promises to us.  This would make us independent procurers, using our personal faith in our Personal Jesus to meet our needs, obtain our healings and so on.  What many have received is broken hearts instead of promised blessings.  The church is full of anxious believers hoping to get an answer in the current message from the pulpit.  That's a very limited delivery system.

People who are personally saved by a personal Savior function more individually.  They have little expectation of the body providing counsel, love, gifts of the Spirit and all except perhaps from the professional clergy.  These people look for personal answers in order to make personal decisions for personal lives.  The church of today is filled with personally saved, personally loved and personally selfish believers.  Most read the bible as though it was free of plural pronouns.  You is always me, hardly ever all of us.  Yes, God's Word is for me, but not just for me.  Our paradigm needs changing from me to we.  You in the singular must also be you in the plural.

While thou which is a personal pronoun is recorded in the New Testament over 600 times, ye which is a plural pronoun is recorded over 1,100 times.  This is almost 2 to 1.  Let's look at Matt. 7:11, "If ye being evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those that ask Him?"  Jesus is speaking to us in the plural.  The heart of God is for all of us, not just me.  It is time for you + me to = we.  Seeing our Christianity only through singular pronouns reinforces individualism and restricts corporate growth.

We know we are called out, but do we really know how powerfully and purposefully what we are called into?  All of us are called into a corporate life - a community of love and faith.  Our personal identity is in our corporate standing as members of the Kingdom of God, the Family of God, the Body of Christ, the Bride of Christ, the Temple of God and the Army of God.  In order to live full lives as individuals we must live corporately.  It is Christ in US, the hope of glory (Col. 1:27); not just Christ in me.  Our identity is not just personal, it is plural.  Only in this way do we exist as the Godhead exists as a community of One with the Father loving the Son and the Son loving the Father in the communion of the Holy Spirit.

We (ye, plural) are called into one body (Col. 3:15).  This body is visible, local and tangible with all of its members interacting with one another.  It is not merely a mystical, universal, body with floating mystical disconnected parts that may join up from time to time.  When we are set in the body as God sees fit (1 Cor. 12:18), we can conduct ourselves in a manner reflecting the knowledge that we are a local, visible, and tangible expression of Christ.  All of us receive a ministry to build one another up in love till we all reach to the measure of the stature of Christ, to become a complete corporate man made up of many members (Eph. 4:13, 16).

The many member ministry is all inclusive.  Nobody is excluded.  The purpose is corporate and the goal is not just an end result but the working of every member along the way.  The human body is comprised of joints, bands and ligaments just as Paul says that the same is true of the body of Christ.  A joint is established when two members come together at a specific place and at that point a channel of Christ is opened to both connecting members.  When we in a local body begin to minister to one another at these joints, the body is being filled with Christ as the Holy Spirit releases spiritual gifts.  As body members come together to serve one another, they increase the potential of having their own needs met by another member.  Joints are the places of blessing.  With this knowledge, we become accountable and responsible to one another.

If, on the other hand, we do not allow for the flow of Holy Spirit through many different members we run the risk of being like a body whose immune system is shut down causing the body to be weak and sickly.  This is true today as we have so many individual members standing in faith by themselves and examining their faith wondering why it is taking so long for God to answer, when the answer may be next to them, sitting in the same pew or seat alongside them.  It may not be God or one's faith that is the problem.  It could be an ineffective delivery system, the church.

But again, if we have received a personal Savior, does that cause us to put our Lord into a category like a personal trainer, or personal chef, or personal banker or whatever personal helper we can have?  Is He here just for us or are we here for Him?  Did Jesus come to have us minister to Him or did He come to serve (Matt. 20:28)?  If we are to be like Him, we are here to minister to others.  The body is not comprised of ministers and receivers.  We are all ministers and all of us receive from one another.  Jesus Christ is not just my Savior; He is Savior of the body (Eph. 5:23).  Jesus is continually "saving" us (healing, protecting, delivering and making well) by using the body through which He releases Himself through us to us.

How can we restore this truth?

First, we must accept that we all are called into particular bodies of Christ and set there as it pleases Him (1 Cor. 12:18).  He places us in imperfect bodies and then has us work towards perfecting the body together.  If we give ourselves to Him first, then we can give ourselves more easily to the body.  When believers think they are in a particular body only of their choosing, they come and they go, and go easier when it is not to their liking.  This all requires a paradigm change.

Second, we must accept the dynamics of the body we are in.  It is designed to cause us both pain and joy.  Love works best when there is pain around.

Third, we must exercise understanding, wisdom, love, faith, forgiveness, patience and longsuffering in every encounter with one another.  Without these working in us we easily quit on one another.  We must repent of our hastiness.

Fourth, we must accept pain, suffering, being hurt by someone, as well as hurting someone, as facts of life in the body.  This means we cry together, laugh together, play and pray together, overcome together and best of all grow together in love.

Fifth, we find our gifts and ministries as we compassionately reach out to one another.  Looking for our gifts and ministries before loving the body is really selfishness on our parts.  It is in the context of love (1 Cor. 13) that gifts work best and are most easily identified in us.

Sixth, the pulpit must give space for the people.  Even though God has been restoring the five-fold ministries to the church (apostle, prophet, evangelist, teacher and pastor), they in no way replace the need for every member ministry.  The five-fold are equippers of the rest of us so all of us do all the work together.

Finally, we need Holy Spirit, as without Him we can do nothing.  We need His power and presence to continue God's purpose.  We need His sovereignty, suddenness, spontaneity, and constant fillings.  This way we can see Jesus in the body, supreme and preeminent.  Holy Spirit, deliver us from our singular thinking and make us truly members one of another, Amen.
 

May 18, 2011
Origins

The church has always been in the heart of God, even before creation (Eph. 1:4, Eph. 3:11). It was His intention.

This eternal purpose, though hidden in God (Eph. 3:9), has been shown in type through the ages.  First, we see this in the creation of Adam and subsequently Eve as she was taken from his side while Adam was put to sleep.  This foreshadowed the death of Christ who also was put to “sleep”.   His side pierced with blood and water flowing out symbolizing the birth of the church.  In both of these examples, the life that came from Adam and Christ was compatible and of the same kind.  This principle of all things reproducing after their kind was instilled in the creative act of God (Gen. 1:24-25).

The kind of life that comes to us must be clearly known or we are in danger of living out of what we were and not what we are.  Of course, we know we are born of the Spirit and from heaven (above) John 3:3-7.  But what more does that mean?  To understand this we look to what Jesus said of the life in the Godhead.  What exists there is what is to exist in us, everything after its kind.

Jesus prayed that we be one just as the Father and Son are one (John 17:21-24). How are they one?  They are one in Spirit and in love.  John 4:24 declares God is Spirit and 1 John 4:8 says He is love.  These truths mean that the nature of God is Spirit and the character of God is love.  We, too, who are born of the Spirit, are spiritual and endued with love which has been transmitted to us in our rebirth.

If the Father loves the Son and the Son loves the Father in the communion of the Holy Spirit, how should we be any different in that we, too, love the Father and the Son and one another as ourselves?  Jesus said the whole law, and all the prophets, are fulfilled in this commandment (Mat. 22:37-40).  If love is truly at work in us, then we will not say we love God on the one hand while not loving our brother and sister on the other.  This makes us liars when we say we love God but show none to our brothers (I John 4:20-21).  We can love God and our brothers simultaneously.  This is not merely an emotion or feeling of love, but acts of love.  Love is a verb.  We have a huge range of scripture to draw from when it comes to acts of love, but let me suggest one that gives us an overall attitude for every time we come together as the Lord’s body (Eph. 4:11-16).

This amazing scripture reveals a timeless condition of life of the body whereby it exists to build itself up in love with every part contributing to the rest, forming joints where at that connection a sharing of the life of the Spirit in gifts and acts of love is conducted.  There is a goal of reaching the full measure of the stature of Christ with love as the driving principle.  When we love the body in this way, we also love God.  If this is our goal, how will there be time or place for anything that appears as loveless conduct in word or deed?  Will we be religious or righteous?  Will we be loving or loveless?  Those on the receiving end of our acts always know the difference.  Most of all, God knows when we show love.

There is a question that remains to be answered.  Is it hard to love?  Let me share a little story I will call the Micah principle.  A young lad in our congregation named Micah recently received Christ.  He had before then a terrible anger and hostility towards his siblings and defiance towards his parents.  He came forward with his parents, Jake and Inez, to testify and in the simplest of terms said “It was easy for me to be bad. Now it is easier to be good.”

It’s been said that origin determines the course of something.  Much of the failure of the church is that it doesn’t understand its origin or roots.  Being true to what we are is easier than trying to be something we are not sure we have the ability to become.

January 6, 2011
More Thoughts On Revival

All that the Father wants to do He informs those who will declare it for Him. The reason is that He sends His word into the world like He did at creation, speaking and causing creation. Events come to pass because His word is true and cannot return to Him void. God spoke to Isaiah 700 years before the birth of Jesus, Isa. 9:6-7 that a child is born and that He would be King over an everlasting Kingdom the peace of which there would be no end.
 

However many times this was read to a hopeful audience we do not know. Many who heard the word died in hope. Isaiah himself didn’t live to enjoy his own revelation. But we have. We are living close to the end of all things that Peter spoke of 1Pet. 4:7.  Most of the things that are now being prophesied will occur in the lifetime of the hearers. Prophecy in the New Testament period is contained within prophecy of the Old Testament. By that I mean that the Old Covenant prophets speaking of Jesus had their prophecies fulfilled when He came. The prophecies now are about what we can expect in connection with His having come and the consequences to the believer and unbeliever as a result of His having come into the world. History is His Story.
 

What God is saying now is that a revival is coming, the likes of which the world has not seen, at least since the season of the Welsh revival and the Azusa Street outpouring. It will come during the lives of those who prophesy this and those who read this.  In the same manner that prophets of old felt the truth in their bones, there are those now feeling that truth in their bones about revival. Revival is the only thing that can rescue the church, bringing it to life. The greatest harvest of souls is coming. The seemingly insurmountable problems facing mankind are lying in wait for the supernatural solutions of God and His righteousness that is about to be revealed in His children.
 

A new company of prophets is arising. They carry the hope of revival. It is their message and it consumes them. Zeal of the Lord of Hosts is the fuel for their passion. A love for the Lord is at the heart of it all. He must be glorified in His body. He must receive the rewards of His sacrifice. He is worthy.  Those who declare this are jealous for the Lord’s reputation in His body. He must be lifted up in His saints. The reproach upon the church must be removed. It is about His Kingdom, power and glory.
 

Before the revival comes we can expect some confusion, some disappointments and definitely some resistance. What King Herod did to stop the fulfillment of prophecy about Jesus being born or what Pharaoh did to prevent Moses from coming to the aid of the Jews in Egypt are exposures of what Satan will attempt to do to kill the prophetic hope in the church.  Satan may not kill those who are prophesying about the coming revival, but he will attempt to take their hearts out by discouragement or disappointment or resistance or personal trials. Distraction is another old tactic. What he will attempt with the prophets he will attempt with the core of praying saints who are the vital link in the chain of prophecy coming to pass. Revival will not happen without prayer for it. That is one of the automatic conditions for revival to come. The other is repentance.
 

Peter warned that in the last days scoffers would come and deride saying “Where is the promise of his coming?” 2Pet.3:4. In like manner we will hear “Where is the revival you have been praying about?” Or, “we don’t need a revival, we’re fine; look at our attendance.” Many will continue to run to the next great meeting with the promise of signs, wonders, miracles and healings. But no repentance, no prayer, no need for revival. All is as it was. And the world neither sees us, nor hears us, nor cares about us. When do we recognize our need?
 

Those who face the greatest resistance are those who are praying. They do the most damage to the enemy. They come into conformity to the Lord’s purposes, His will to be done on earth. They make it possible for the coming rain to refresh the church, to soften its heart, to bring repentance and a massive outpouring. More signs, wonders, healings and miracles will come as a result of their praying. In addition, a harvest of souls and a return of backsliders. But they get tired, they feel alone. They brave cold nights and small numbers. They don’t see any signs yet. No storm clouds appear with the promise of rain.
 

The rest of the body of Christ is distracted with its problems, its trials. It is too busy to pray, (that is an oxymoron in the Kingdom). It is worried about the economy, the wars on terrorism, the government, unemployment, fear of losing their jobs, their kids getting into schools, drugs and other influences on their children, finding a husband  or a wife, having enough money to retire, the crazy weather, calamities, earthquakes, famines, floods, and world hunger. If that isn’t enough there are increasing robberies, bank and credit card changes to get more of their money in fees, the rising cost of food and gas, the threat of overseas economies taking over areas of manufacturing and service to the internet market. For the savviest there are concerns about the balance of trade and deficits, the security or insecurity of the nation’s borders, theft in Medicare, world pandemics.  And so they look for man-made answers. Surely a revival couldn’t address these issues some think. But history proves those who think that to be utterly wrong. A revival is the cure of all ills. When the soul of the church is touched, it then touches the world and the world is changed. Society is changed because men are changed. Everything changes, everything. From economy to government, no social endeavor is outside the bounds of a revival.
 

It is unfortunate but true that men do not aspire to things they know nothing about. Few in our generation have experienced revival let alone have taken the time to read up on the extraordinary history changing results of past revivals. We have had some outstanding moves of God in the last 2 decades (I speak of the Toronto and Pensacola, Florida moves of the Spirit) with many returning to the Lord, salvations and spiritual refreshing and recovery, no one can say for sure the full effect of those outpourings on individuals and churches. But how much was society as a whole impacted? We can’t say for sure.
 

My careful opinion (without any offense intended), is that society was not that impacted at least significantly. I speak from my own experiences of 6 years of receiving tremendous outpourings in our fellowship with 100’s of people coming through our doors to receive Holy Spirit refreshing. During this time we experienced extraordinary miracles. (In one such miracle an overweight man lost over 40lbs instantly, his clothes almost falling off his body). But people do not come to Jesus because they witness a miracle. They come to Christ because the truth has penetrated their souls and Holy Spirit has brought conviction of sin, repentance and rebirth.  Perhaps if the church was truly transformed, society would follow. That has been the unbroken historical pattern. But as long as the church behaves like the world, the world will behave like the world. There are some deep lessons to learn from our blessed times.
 

One of these lessons that comes our my attention is that the devil doesn’t care how high we jump, how loud we shout, laugh, rejoice and even ask forgiveness for sin in the presence of Holy Spirit. Nor does it matter how deep our teachings are and how wonderful our revelations or even how many get healed. Want matters to the devil is that we don’t change. As long as we act towards our brothers and sisters in Christ in the same manner we did before the Spirit came he is satisfied. As long as we remain careless and indifferent towards the lost, that is fine with the enemy. As long as we deny Holy Spirit guidance and quench and grieve Him in our daily walk, the devil is happy. He doesn’t care as long as we keep this whole business inside the four walls of our gatherings, and then come out into the world the same as we did when we came in.  A second lesson that I have come away with is that we were self-centered in our experiences with God. We looked to receive from Him blessings. We belong to a consumer society and everything is for us. But the reality is that the blessing is for us to serve Him better. It was meant to help change us to be like our Lord.

When society changes because the church has changed, we will know it. In order to know that this actually happened in the past, we have to look to revivals of the past and read of the changes they brought. Stories of crime almost disappearing, economies being restored, government, education, the arts and entertainment and media being impacted to reflect a kinder, gentler more caring society have accompanied past revivals. In other words, the ills of the world that man would like to change but can’t, are changed by the incredible presence of the Lord. His life changing presence permeates the church, touches society and transforms it. Such was the case in the 1904 Welsh Revival.
 

Our Need Today

There are two types of ministries needed today to work with Holy Spirit to facilitate the coming revival. The first is prayer ministry and the second is a prophetic, teaching, exhorting ministry. God is raising up both. Sometimes they are combined into one.
 

It has been quoted many times that God doesn’t do anything that He doesn’t first reveal to His servants the prophets, Amos 3:7. It can be said that He also includes those who He can trust to pray about what He reveals. Within this dynamic of God revealing His heart for revival it is hard to say which of these ministries come first. It seems they arrive simultaneously and often those who get impregnated to pray act as prophets declaring the burden. It is too massive to contain. The one ministry stimulates the other and both stimulate the church.

Recently I have noticed a change in the prophetic ministry in our own congregation. Presently there are more prophetic/exhortations to endure, maintain, continue on, persevere, and stay the course. These are accompanied with words of God’s greatness and assurance of His faithfulness. These words are exhorting and encouraging us about the coming revival. He needs us to pray because that is what He has always used to bring revivals. Prayer is the pathway to revival. Praying for a long time without seeing results is a work empowered by the Holy Spirit and none other. The flesh gets weak. It is the Spirit that is willing.
 

The prophetic word often exhorts us to a holy life empowered by Holy Spirit. Many times there are words encouraging change in character and behavior. Real repentance is not just sorrow, but change. Those who teach and prophesy that a great move of God is coming and leave off any reference of repentance from sin and conformity to Christ doom the church to live as it has. Blessings without accompanying responsibility only mean selfishness revisited.
 

So it is that the prophetic ministry can enhance the prayer ministry and the prayer ministry stimulates the prophetic. Both energize the church, and bring repentance. And this tandem ministry will go on until He comes and rains righteousness on us.  The key word is until. There is no other specific date. We are to seek God until He comes, Hosea 10:12.
 

The guarantee that God will come and bring revival is contained in the burden to pray which in fact comes from Him. History shows that when God wants to do something extraordinary, He sets His people praying. The Holy Spirit comes as the Spirit of grace and supplication to enable the praying saints, Zech. 12:10. In response to these prayers come prophetic words dreams and visions to encourage us. It is God wanting and working to fulfill His own desire using us as His instruments to bring His will to earth. It is divine cooperation at one of the highest levels to produce some of the greatest acts of God history knows of.
 

It is in my heart to say that we are going to see the greatest revival of the last 100+ years and maybe the greatest revival the world has ever seen.  Certainly the conditions are right. Just look at the world. Look at the church. Can you see the need? Ask the Lord to enhance your vision, your passion and to give you His heart and the longing for revival. Ask Him for it if you have no desire for it as yet. As soon as you ask, He will give it. He is looking for you to do so. Both the church and the world are waiting.