EKKLESIA

MANIFESTING CHRIST

2012-02-09T18:31:00.000-08:00

"What things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ.
Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the
knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the
loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain
Christ." PHILIPPIANS 3:7,8

The ones who have been sufficiently broken eventually manifest very
little of their self, and very much of Christ. God must work long
and hard with us to bring us to this place, but what a glorious day
it is when we are able to bow our heads and finally surrender
everything.

What joy it is to look back over all that the Lord has led us
through and realize His purpose in both the good times and the bad
times, to behold the goodness and the severity of God in His
dealings with us.

This is Discipleship This is Church

2012-02-02T19:04:00.000-08:00

A FRESH START

2012-02-02T18:25:00.000-08:00

"That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born
of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, 'You
must be born again.'" JOHN 3:6,7

Jesus said that to see His Kingdom "you must be born-again." To
enter His Kingdom, He requires us to "become as little children"
(Matthew 18:3).

That is another way of saying, "You have to start all over again.
You cannot make any progress with Me so long as you cling to the
old way of thinking, perceiving, understanding, and interacting. I
cannot pour new wine into old wineskins because it would ruin both.
You need a new wineskin - a new heart, a new mind, a new
understanding of things in order to receive what I wish to give
you."

HAVING A FATHER'S HEART

2012-01-26T17:29:00.000-08:00

"And I will very gladly spend and be spent for you;
though the more abundantly I love you, the less I am loved."
2 CORINTHIANS 12:15

Paul gave us an example to follow. Don't just look at his calling
and his gifting and his revelation. Look at his heart of love. He
gave all - not just for the Lord, but for the Lord's people. And
they were a most carnal, unappreciative bunch of people. Even so,
the heart of a father is demonstrated. That is the reason he had
authority. I tell you his authority was not in his title, his
position, or his status as having taught the believers there. His
authority was not in his calling, gift, or revelation. His
authority was in the abundant love he showed.

Make no mistake: I am not there yet. I still struggle with how to
be a good brother, much less a spiritual father with abundant love
for everyone. I obviously have a long way to go, but now I see the
missing ingredient and I am following after Love. How about you?

JANUARY FRIENDS LETTER

2012-01-25T18:32:00.000-08:00

Greetings Friends
‎ "My name is Ania, I am 20 years old. Before coming to Christ, my life was a nightmare. Our mother was a drunk,& my sister Ira & I were given wine at 6 years at her parties. We often spent nights in basements and attics of apartment blocks. We drank & smoked marijuana. At age 11, my sister (she is elder) & I were raped in a beastly manner & after that we often thought about suicide. By 13 I was living with a drug addict who beat me & at 14 I had Umed, my baby boy. When my boyfriend went to jail & my sister & I had no money for food, we prostituted ourselves. Eventually we hit bottom & didnt want to live. It was only because of my son that I did not commit suicide. At the end of 2010 uncle Sergey came to us & started talking about Jesus. We repented & received Him & our lives have changed. We started learning to read & write & now we can read the Bible by ourselves. In the summer of 2011 we were water baptized & now we are serving girls who are like we were in the past. We gather girls and boys from the streets, hold fellowship with them & talk about Jesus. There are some who have received Him. Now we are praying for a home. We have been through a tragic life and understand them. Whoever reads my testimony, please pray over my sister and me, so that we would be able to lead many addicted girls and prostitutes to Christ. Blessings to you in the Lord, Ania and Ira"

Yes, Jesus changes lives and we have the privilege of partnering with our friends there as He does so. The story above is from Tajikistan. Will you pray with them for a home? Our friends in Kazakhstan have just started their second "Doma Mira" (House of Peace) residential community.

Friends in Pakistan want to translate "The Luke 10 Manual" into Urdu, Punjabi and Pashtu and give a copy to all the church leaders in Pakistan, Saqib "My soul has a great passion to change the mind set of all these brothers and sisters who are wasting their energies and resources trying to build western style Mega Churches." They can print for under $2.50 per copy and will start with 2,000 in Urdu. Will you pray about helping with this project? Western governments have spent billions combating terrorists. Let us help release a wave of Jesus followers.

A Burmese friend will publish 1,000 in Burmese and we need help with that project as well. Their cost is $2.00/copy. The Norwegian version came out last fall and one friend there said it was the most important book he has ever read! Not sure I would say that but it does pack a punch. Another Norwegian friend paid double for the book, "It was worth a double!" Need a Norwegian copy? Contact Inger at ingerjek@gmail.com

To order the English version of Luke 10 go to www.harvest-now.org and click on the book and Lulu will send you your order.

Opportunities are growing and so are the challenges.
We appreciate your friendship, prayers and partnership in putting the go in the gospel.
Steve & Marilyn

www.harvest-now.org
www.harvest-now.org

BEYOND BORN AGAIN

2012-01-25T18:17:00.000-08:00

"God... Who desires all men
to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth."
1 TIMOTHY 2:4

Here we see one will of God with two expressions - a gate and a
path. We enter the gate in a moment, but we walk the path over
time. We are saved in a moment, but we come to the full-knowledge
(epignosis) of Christ over time. So John 3:3 is not telling us
about our ending, but our beginning. Birth is the beginning of
Life, not the goal of Life. The goal in view here is not being
born-again, but entering the Kingdom.

Jesus does not just say, "You must be born again." If He did then
we might be correct in saying that is all there is to it. But Jesus
says, "Unless you are born again, you cannot see or enter into the
Kingdom of God." It is clear that the Kingdom is what we are trying
to gain entrance into, and while being born again is the gate, the
ultimate destination of the Kingdom of God is at the end of the
path.

THE LION AND THE LAMB

2012-01-19T00:40:00.000-08:00

"His feet were like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace."
REVELATION 1:15

When John was given a revelation of Christ in the Isle of Patmos he
described the feet of Jesus as "fine brass as if refined in a
furnace." Brass is a symbol of judgment, and the furnace is a
symbol of wrath, purification, and refinement. This dimension of
the Lord Jesus was something quite new to John.

Because Jesus did not come to judge the world right away, but to
save it, we tend to think of Jesus only in terms of the "Lamb" -
meek, silent, longsuffering, and turning the other cheek. He
certainly is all that.

Yet here we get a glimpse of Jesus as the "Lion." He said He was
indeed a King, but that His Kingdom was not of this world. Up until
now the kingly aspect of Christ and the majestic glory of His
Kingdom had remained hidden.

CRUCIFIED WITH CHRIST

2012-01-18T05:03:00.000-08:00

"I have been crucified with Christ;
it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me."
GALATIANS 2:20

Paul says that even though he was crucified, he lives. Does Paul
mean to say that he was raised from the dead with Jesus also? If
so, why have we not heard about this before now? Finally he says he
is not really living at all, but Christ lives in him. To the
natural mind, of course, this all sounds very strange. This is why
we must discern spiritual things spiritually.

It should be obvious that Paul is talking about something other
than a physical crucifixion and a physical death, burial, and
resurrection. Although he says, "I was crucified with Christ" he
does not mean that he was present with Christ in the flesh at the
moment of crucifixion; instead, he intends to show us something
much more profound.

We will soon discover that this experience of being crucified with
Christ is not unique to the apostle Paul, but is true of every
born-again child of God. Not only Paul, but all disciples of Jesus
have been crucified with Christ.

TEMPLES MADE BY MEN

2011-12-08T19:52:00.000-08:00

"God does not live in temples made by man." ACTS 17:24 ESV

We are not zealous for the establishment of any earthly nation, but for a heavenly nation of kings and priests (Revelation 5:10). We are not praying for the building of a physical temple, but a spiritual temple, a house of living stones, of which Jesus Christ is the Cornerstone, Builder and Architect. We are not looking for the appearance of an earthly Messiah, but a Heavenly Messiah, Who is building His Ekklesia upon the earth; we are not of the earth. This is not our home, for we are from above. Though in the world, we are not of it. We will not eat its meat or drink its wine, and we will not bow down to its idols. Though we live in the shadow of Babylon, we are not afraid of its fiery furnace or its den of lions, for our God is able to deliver us.

The heavens do rule. We affirm it boldly and confidently, regardless of appearances to the contrary. The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory belongs to God (Matthew 6:13) - not man, not the devil, not the nations of this world.

THE PATH OF RESSURECTION

2011-12-06T22:43:00.000-08:00

"I am the resurrection and the life.
He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live."
JOHN 11:25

The Cross does not represent Death - it represents Life out of Death. Jesus does not refer to Himself as the Crucifixion and the Death, but He calls Himself the Resurrection and the Life. Even so, this Resurrection and Life implies that there has been a very real, thorough death. You cannot resurrect someone who has not died.

God wills that all of us stand together with Christ on resurrection ground where death has no power over us. That is certainly a powerful ground to stand upon, but there is no direct route to get there. The path to resurrection takes us through the Cross, for there can be no Resurrection and Life apart from crucifixion and death.

MEEKLY ACCEPT THE CROSS

2011-12-04T23:33:00.000-08:00

"We were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father,
even so we also should walk in newness of life." ROMANS 6:4

The Cross is the means by which God reduces us to Christ, that we may be raised to new Life. What cannot be accomplished in a lifetime of self-effort is easily accomplished in God through the Cross.

We may take many shortcuts along the way and attempt to escape the inevitable, but the day we cease striving and meekly accept the Cross we find everything is done for us.

THE EKKLESIA UNDERGROUND

2011-12-01T23:23:00.000-08:00

"In due season we shall reap..."
GALATIANS 6:9

The good news is that even if the Ekklesia has been underground, it is still growing and developing. When the season is right it will burst forth and once again those who have eyes to see will indeed discern the blade, the head, and the full grain in the head. In fact the blades have already broken ground in several places and we are even beginning to see some grain taking shape. If you have traced the recovery of the Heavenly Order so far then you know there have been many obstacles and hindrances to God's Will over the last six thousand years or so of the history of mankind.

So far God has defeated everything that rose up to challenge His Purpose in Christ. Not only has He defeated it, but He has actually used evil to bring about good and further increase His Son. The Scriptures provide us with every expectation and assurance that God will continue to do the same with our generation. He is very much an active part of world affairs, whether they be secular or sacred.

GOD CHOSE THE WEAK

2011-11-28T19:42:00.000-08:00

God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong."
1 CORINTHIANS 1:27 ESV

The Wisdom of God teaches us differently. This Wisdom tells us that the weak things are chosen to overcome the strong things, and power works concurrently with weakness.

God desires to give you power, but that power only comes through weakness. Any power not obtained through weakness is illegitimate, no matter how spiritual it appears. The only legitimate power is granted to those who have been made weak. Power is birthed in weakness. Many exude a certain "power," but there is not the corresponding weakness. Hence, the power only gives them an occasion for boasting. To remedy this, God has ordained that all who would have His power must first be weakened and made empty - we refer to this as being "broken." The purpose of weakness and suffering is to open the way for His Power. The instrument God uses to weaken us is the Cross. Therefore, the Cross is power through weakness.

NO NEED FOR TEACHER?

2011-11-22T18:12:00.000-08:00

"The anointing which you have received from Him abides in you, and you do not need that anyone teach you."
1 JOHN 2:27

It was God who gave apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers to His Ekklesia, to encourage, edify, and establish all of us deeper into Christ. Can the Holy Spirit in John contradict the Holy Spirit in Paul? By no means.

What then? John was the sole survivor of the first twelve apostles, and now he is very old. Naturally he is concerned with the welfare of the Ekklesia after his death. So God comforts John, and then John comforts us, with this truth: even if we do not have access to the apostle, or prophet, or evangelist, or pastor and teacher, we are still instructed inwardly. The Ekklesia that Jesus is building is not dependent upon the great men or women of God. We are grateful to the ministry gifts when we have them, but we are not dependent upon them for our Life. The Life is greater than the ministers through which it may be ministered.

WHOM WILL YOU SERVE?

2011-11-07T01:11:00.000-08:00

"No one can serve two masters, for either
he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other." MATTHEW 6:24

The context of this passage is talking about mammon (the love of, and the endless pursuit of, wealth). But the principle applies to everything else. There can only be one master in your life. You can only serve one thing at a time. You are not free to do as you please. Even if you say you serve no one, you are still serving Self. So which will it be? Jesus says if you love Him then you will hate everything else. What does that mean?

It means that you will allow nothing and no one to take the place of the One you love - not for a day, not for an hour, not for a minute. If our love for the Lord is strong then we will learn to hate everything which competes against Him. We will despise anything that seeks to hinder our relationship with Christ.

THE GLORY IS YOURS

2011-11-01T20:18:00.000-07:00

"Yours is the Kingdom, and the Power,
and the Glory forever. Amen."
MATTHEW 6:13

There is a Remnant of called-out ones who have seen the Glory of the Son and WILL seek the interests of God's Only Begotten One. In a time when men solicit the glory and honor and power from one another, there is a Holy Nation of priests and kings who will give the Son the glory He deserves, declaring, "YOURS IS THE GLORY, we will render to You, and to You alone, the glory due Your Name."

TESTIMONY FOLLOWS REVELATION

2011-10-28T23:19:00.000-07:00

"'Who do you say that I am?' Simon Peter answered and said, 'You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.'"
MATTHEW 16:15,16

Jesus did not teach Peter what to say, He merely revealed Himself to Peter. He did not sit down with His disciples and say, "I am the Christ, the Son of the Living God. Now repeat that after Me several times, and I will test you on this in the morning." He did not teach them a catechism or a rosary or a mantra or a confession, He merely revealed Himself to them as He in fact is. They made the confession in due course, having revelation.

The Testimony of Jesus always springs forth from the Revelation of Christ. If we do not have the Revelation then we cannot have the Testimony. That is to say, we cannot bear witness of what we have seen and heard if we have not, in fact, seen or heard anything. We try to get people to confess in order that they may ATTAIN to something, but true confession comes forth naturally after they have OBTAINED it.

NOT YET

2011-10-17T23:00:00.000-07:00

"We do not yet see all things put under Him; but we see Jesus."
HEBREWS 2:8,9

Today, Scripture acknowledges, we do not YET see all things submitted to Him. I must say I find that word "YET" terribly exciting! That word "YET" means that something is in store for everything that remains unsubmitted to the Lord Jesus Christ. The presence of the word "YET" means its manifestation is inevitable.

We are not pretending to see something that does not really exist - yes, we agree that we do not YET see all things submitted to Him, things are bad, and will probably get worse; BUT we do see JESUS, and for the Christian who seeks first the Kingdom of God, that revelation is sufficient. You may see every fact to the contrary and argue against Him, but we see Who He is by revelation, and by revelation we know that what we see happening in the unsubmitted earth today will be set in order when Christ and His Kingdom are manifest in all of creation.

A CHRIST CENTERED UNIVERSE

2011-10-11T23:38:00.001-07:00

"'You have put all things in subjection under His feet.' For in that He put all in subjection under Him, He left nothing
that is not put under Him."
HEBREWS 2:8

This possession and subjection of all things to Christ is not a passive, disinterested, distant, absentee ownership, like a clock that was once wound and now ticks all by itself long after the watchmaker has left it. Make no mistake: at the core of this spiritual and physical universe is a living, powerful, proactive Personality at work to bring fallen creation back to its original state, back into line with God's Purpose, Heart, Mind, Desire, and Plan, which is CHRIST FILLING ALL THINGS, CHRIST UPHOLDING ALL THINGS, CHRIST AT THE CENTER OF ALL THINGS!

Come quickly Lord Jesus! May Your Kingdom be manifest!

STRENGTH THROUGH WEAKNESS

2011-10-04T21:17:00.000-07:00

""In my prosperity I said, 'I shall never be moved.'" PSALM 30:6

It should be obvious that God will not give us grace while we are still proud. Why? Because He will allow no flesh to glory in His presence. When we cease doing what we cannot do then He begins to do what we cannot. The problem is that we still think we can do so many things. We must learn sooner, rather than later, that "apart from Me you can do nothing" (John 15:5). Nothing!

But it is human nature to try and do it ourselves. This human nature is the flesh. It prevents us from entering into Grace. God cannot save someone who is still trying to save themselves. Similarly, God cannot do what we are still trying to do. He will wait - weeks, months, or years - until we have exhausted our strength. When our strength is completely gone and we finally go to Him in weakness, He becomes our Strength and we find Grace is there to do the impossible. Then we know it was not us, but the Lord. All praise goes to Him, and we retain nothing for ourselves.

FREEDOM FROM FEAR!

2011-09-17T00:57:00.000-07:00

FREEDOM FROM FEAR!
by Chip Brogden

"There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love" (I Jn. 4:18, ESV).

Most of our fears are a consequence of not knowing God well enough. Fear comes from uncertainty. If we are confident, secure, and certain about who we are in Christ, and who Christ is in us, then we won't be worried about what the devil might do, and we won't be worried about what other people might do.

Now folks, that's a lot off your plate. Imagine what a relief it would be to just live your life in friendship with God, unaffected by worries and fears about the devil, unmoved by worries and fears about other people - what they might think, what they might say, what they might do.

Think about all you could accomplish if you were truly unafraid. I'm not saying you go out and take foolish risks. I'm saying fear holds us back. God tells us to go but we're afraid to go. God tells us to stay put but we're afraid to stay put. God gives us something to say but we're afraid to say it. God gives us a talent or a gift that will bless and encourage and help other people, but we're afraid we'll make a mistake, or afraid we'll look foolish, or afraid we might fail.

Let me go ahead and allay those fears right now. Let me share something with you that will set you free from fear of failure, fear of making mistakes. I'm still relatively young, but I've been at this for a long time. People say, "How can you know so much and be so young?" I'll tell you why, it's because I've made enough mistakes for three people twice my age. By the time I was twenty I had made enough mistakes for someone eighty. I have failed more times than I have succeeded. I have fallen down, gotten up, fallen down, gotten up, fallen down, gotten up, and sometimes I think God created me to be an example to others of what NOT to do. I'm only just beginning to experience some victories, some successes, some fruitfulness. I've had to learn it the hard way.

But here's what I want to share with you, to set you free from fear of failure, fear of making mistakes, fear of stepping out, fear of stepping up. Here's what God showed me: His plan, and His purpose for my life, is based on my making lots of mistakes. His plan accounts for the fact that I'm going to fail. He already has that factored into the equation. We don't take God by surprise, or derail His purpose, by anything we do or fail to do. His purpose and His plan for your life is not dependent on you never making a mistake. Not only does He know that you will make mistakes, and you will fail, He makes His plans based on the fact that things are going to come along to try and mess up His plans.

Have you ever made plans to do something? Do you plan for things to go wrong, or do you plan for things to go right? Most people come up with a plan and the plan assumes everything is going to go the way it should. But what happens? Something always goes wrong, and then the plan collapses.

For me it happens every Saturday. My wife gives me a little home repair project, and I think it's going to be pretty simple, just need a hammer and some nails and this and that. So I plan to take five minutes to do this simple repair. Then I get five minutes into the project and realize it's worse than I thought, I need a watchamacallit and a thingamajig and I don't have what I need, so now I have to make a trip to the store. They don't have what I need so I have to go somewhere else. Then I come home and the part I thought I needed doesn't fit, I need something larger or something smaller, and now I have to go back to the store again. What should have been a five minute project becomes a five hour ordeal.

Now, do you think God is like that? Do you think He is so foolish as to have one plan that relies upon you and me doing everything perfectly, never making a mistake? Do you think you can make a mistake or fail so miserably that you can outsmart God and thwart His plan for your life?

Certainly we can delay His purpose, and we can bring a lot of unnecessary suffering on ourselves by being willfully disobedient, but if our heart is right and we're doing the best we know how to do then God is able to work everything out for His glory, even our mistakes, even our failures, EVEN OUR SINS. I'm not saying go out and sin, because there are consequences for sin. I'm talking about your past right now. Don't worry that your past disqualifies you, because it doesn't. You can't go back and undo these past mistakes, past failures, past sins. I'm saying don't let fear about your past keep you from loving God now, living life now.

Don't worry about being perfect in the future, because God's purpose for your life is based on you being imperfect. God wants to show the world how He can take anything and bring good out of it, how He can take imperfect people who make mistakes and still do something good with their lives.
That is going to be the history of mankind, we're all going to be amazed one day when we look back and see how God worked all things together for good, brought light out of darkness, and used evil for good.

WORRY FREE LIVING

2011-09-15T19:50:00.000-07:00

"Do not worry about tomorrow."
MATTHEW 6:34

Most of us, from time to time or nearly all of the time, worry about something - our health, our finances, our loved ones, and so on. Yet the Scriptures say to take no thought for your lives and be anxious for nothing. Why is worry a sin? I know we consider it "only human," but worry really implies a lack of trust in God. It is believing a lie. Identify the lie and you can quickly discover the Truth. What is the lie? That God is somehow less than sufficient, that perhaps He will not come through for us.

So you see, the enemy gets us to believe a lie, and then gets us to think that we are just being "human." So then we accept something less than the normal Christian life - overcoming - and think that is just the way it is. Remember: satan has no power apart from our belief in his lie.

Daily Dying

2011-09-15T00:03:00.000-07:00

"Our old man was crucified with Him."
ROMANS 6:6

Thank God for the Cross of Jesus Christ! For it is there that my sins are forgiven; it is there that the "old man" died. Yet it is also true that there is something as wicked, if not more wicked, than sin, and that is Self. It is true that every sin is rooted in Self.

As we must initially accept His death for sin, so we must daily accept our death to Self. As we are once crucified with Him for the remission of sins, so we must daily take up the Cross, deny our Self, and follow Him. We walk in the narrow Way just as we entered the narrow Gate - by way of the Cross.

Glimpsing Another World

2011-09-13T20:55:00.000-07:00

"Suddenly a great light from heaven shone around me. And I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, 'Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?'" ACTS 22:6,7

All it takes is a millisecond of time for the Revelation to strike you down. I recall when I first received the Revelation of Jesus Christ. I had had many religious and spiritual experiences up to that point, more than the average person. I had been a pastor and teacher for many years. I thought I really knew the Lord. But one day God revealed His Son IN me. I was sitting in the backyard reading the Word and without warning, in my heart of hearts, I "saw" (not with my eyes, but inwardly) Jesus seated at God's right hand, and I saw myself raised and seated with Him in heavenly places (Ephesians 2:6).

That day was like walking out of one room and into another, closing the door behind me. I got a glimpse into another world. I saw the real Jesus and realized He was nothing like flesh and blood had said. Hallelujah!

GREATER IS HE

2011-09-12T21:30:00.000-07:00

"You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world."
1 JOHN 4:4

John declares that no matter what comes against us, the One within us is Greater. It does not matter what you feel like, what you see, what you hear, what people say, or what the devil does. It does not matter if Lazarus is dead for four days and is beginning to stink. It does not matter if the girl dies before Jesus can get there. It does not matter if the waves are about to capsize the boat. It does not matter if Paul is stoned and left for dead. Lazarus will be raised, the girl will be brought back to life, and the storm will be silenced, and Paul will preach again.

The Greater is always Greater, and the Lesser is always Lesser. We only have a problem when we see everything else as "greater" and see Christ as "lesser."

No Argument Necessary

2011-09-05T21:39:00.000-07:00

"While they were talking and discussing together, Jesus himself drew near and went with them. But their eyes were kept from recognizing him." LUKE 24:15,16 ESV

You see that Christ is revealed or hidden from men as He so desires. So many professed disciples of the Lord Jesus fail to recognize Him.

Even His closest disciples are prone to doubt and unbelief. After the resurrection, Thomas declared, "I will not believe unless I see the scars and put my hand into the wound in His side." When Jesus therefore appeared to them He did not argue or try to convince Thomas. He simply said, "Look! See My hands and My feet!" When Thomas saw the Lord, he spontaneously cried out, "My Lord, and my God!" This is revelation. Revelation does not require any arguing or convincing, as if it all depends on how well we can make a defense of the Gospel. I see no argument in the Lord Jesus, I only see Him. Seeing Him, I am convinced, and no argument is necessary.

Do we look for another?

2011-09-04T21:16:00.000-07:00

"When John had heard in prison about the
works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples and said to Him, 'Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?'"
MATTHEW 11:2,3

Have you discovered Him yet, and is He enough, or do you look for another? We do not proclaim the preeminence of Christ because it is a nice doctrine to believe in; for us, it is a matter of life and death, because everything hinges on whether or not Jesus is preeminent. If He is preeminent then He is Enough, and there is nothing else but Him, and there is nothing worth proclaiming except Him.

To John in prison, and to us wherever we may happen to be, Jesus says, "No, you did not make a mistake. I am the One, but I am more than you can imagine, more than you dare to dream. Blessed are they who are not offended in Me."

THE MESSAGE OF THE CROSS

2011-08-28T22:29:00.000-07:00

"The message of the cross... to us
who are being saved, it is the power of God." 1 CORINTHIANS 1:18

It does not matter what your situation is; the Cross is sufficient. If the Cross is the power of God for salvation, then the Cross is also the power of God for your relationships, your spiritual growth and development, your life's purpose, your encouragement and strength, and your victory over everything which hinders and distracts and comes against you. At one time in your life you learned you could not save yourself - that was the work of the Cross.

Now, accept the work of the Cross and learn that just as you could not save yourself, neither can you love God, love your neighbor, forgive those who have sinned against you, cast out devils, be a bold witness for Christ, or fulfill your destiny in your own strength. Just as you once relied upon Christ to save you, so now you must rely upon Christ to live through you every day. Just as you continually rely upon Christ for salvation, so you must continually rely upon Christ for everything else.

Older is Not Always Elder

2011-08-26T22:28:00.000-07:00

"Let no one despise your youth,
but be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity." 1 TIMOTHY 4:12

An older person is not necessarily a spiritual elder. We do not look to the age of a person's physical body when determining their spiritual maturity. Of course, we owe a certain amount of respect to the aged by virtue of their seniority; but they may not necessarily be our elder in the things of the Lord.

One can be older chronologically and be quite immature in spiritual matters. Likewise, a relatively young man or woman can have a deep relationship with the Lord and be light years ahead of those two or three times their age. A young man or woman who knows God is more elder than a senior citizen who does not know God. We cannot judge by the flesh, or we will be misled.

Shalom,
Blog ini merupakan bagian dari pelayanan dunia maya (e-ministry) dari Eagles Nest Ministries dan pelayanan pastoral (e-church) Eagles Nest Fellowship. Pelayanan kami memiliki visi untuk “Memberitakan Kabar Baik, memuridkan dan mengutus setiap anak Tuhan untuk ‘menjadi gereja’ dimanapun mereka berada”.
Pelayanan kami fokus pada penginjilan, missi penanaman gereja, pemuridan dan memperlengkapi tubuh Kristus. Kerinduan kami dapat mengutus setiap anak Tuhan untuk dapat menjadi terang dan garam dimanapun mereka berada sebagai saksi Kristus hingga Kerajaan Tuhan ditegakkan dan diperluas.
Pelayanan kami berada di bawah naungan Tuhan Yesus Kristus, di dunia kami merupakan utusan Injil dari lembaga United Christian Faith Ministries.
Bagi saudara seiman yang mau konseling, turut terlibat pelayanan, mendoakan, bersahabat dengan kami atau menyalurkan dana untuk perluasan Kerajaan Tuhan dapat menghubungi kami di 081330135643 atau email: davebroos@yahoo.co.uk atau melalui Facebook (Dave Broos). Sedangkan bagi mereka yang mau mendukung pelayanan ini melalui dana dapat menyalurkannya melalui Bank BCA no rek 0081824788 atas nama Dave Broos.
God bless you all,
Salam dan doa,
Ps. Dave Broos

WILL HE FIND FAITH?

2011-08-24T23:08:00.000-07:00

"When the Son of Man comes,
will He really find faith on the earth?"
LUKE 18:8

This is perhaps one of the most intriguing questions Jesus ever put forth - from a human perspective it almost sounds as if He wonders about it Himself. There is no doubt that He will perform what He has promised to us; but will we perform what we have promised to Him? Can we patiently wait for Him to fulfill His Word, no matter how long it takes?

Rest assured that, "Now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed" (Romans 13:11). Two thousand years after His promise we are even closer to its fulfillment.

Shalom,
Blog ini merupakan bagian dari pelayanan dunia maya (e-ministry) dari Eagles Nest Ministries dan pelayanan pastoral (e-church) Eagles Nest Fellowship. Pelayanan kami memiliki visi untuk “Memberitakan Kabar Baik, memuridkan dan mengutus setiap anak Tuhan untuk ‘menjadi gereja’ dimanapun mereka berada”.
Pelayanan kami fokus pada penginjilan, missi penanaman gereja, pemuridan dan memperlengkapi tubuh Kristus. Kerinduan kami dapat mengutus setiap anak Tuhan untuk dapat menjadi terang dan garam dimanapun mereka berada sebagai saksi Kristus hingga Kerajaan Tuhan ditegakkan dan diperluas.
Pelayanan kami berada di bawah naungan Tuhan Yesus Kristus, di dunia kami merupakan utusan Injil dari lembaga United Christian Faith Ministries.
Bagi saudara seiman yang mau konseling, turut terlibat pelayanan, mendoakan, bersahabat dengan kami atau menyalurkan dana untuk perluasan Kerajaan Tuhan dapat menghubungi kami di 081330135643 atau email: davebroos@yahoo.co.uk atau melalui Facebook (Dave Broos). Sedangkan bagi mereka yang mau mendukung pelayanan ini melalui dana dapat menyalurkannya melalui Bank BCA no rek 0081824788 atas nama Dave Broos.
God bless you all,
Salam dan doa,
Ps. Dave Broos

THE OVERFLOWING CUP

2011-08-22T21:50:00.000-07:00

"The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
You anoint my head with oil; my cup runs over."
PSALM 23:1,5

An anointed head and a cup that runs over - this is the hallmark of the Christian. An anointed head exudes a heavenly fragrance that sets us apart from the world, even though we walk about in it daily. It is bearing the Testimony of Jesus that witnesses of a heavenly reality that is quite distinct from the earthly fact. The cup that runs over means we have an ample supply of the Life of the Lord. If we can contain ourselves then we have yet to touch the Lord. For once we have indeed touched the Lord we will overflow. We will not be able to contain Him.

All who walk with the Shepherd should experience Infinite Supply: a never-ending flow of the Life, Light, and Love of the Lord Jesus Himself. This is the normal Christian life, and it is God's provision for every disciple.

LABORING ABUNDANTLY

2011-08-20T03:18:00.000-07:00

"To this end I also labor, striving
according to His working which works in me mightily."
COLOSSIANS 1:29

The one who rests in Christ will produce more fruit than the one who strives with self-effort. This is demonstrated in Scripture and in the real-life experience of countless saints.

There is no question that Paul worked, labored, and toiled. But the difference with Paul is he knew that he was laboring according to Christ working in him. Was Paul lazy? By contrast, he was more fruitful than ever. The end result is his statement, "I labored more abundantly than them all," quickly qualified with, "yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me" (1 Corinthians 15:10). The "I can do all things" must always be followed with "through Christ Who strengthens me." If we trust in the Life we will be anything but passive.

THE MINISTRY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

2011-08-17T00:51:00.000-07:00

"He will guide you into all truth."
JOHN 16:13

Since Jesus is the Truth, the Holy Spirit will lead us into all truth by increasing Christ. The Scriptures that tell us about Jesus are inspired by the Holy Spirit. The ability to understand those Scriptures is given by the Holy Spirit. The fruit that comes from abiding in Jesus is the result of the Holy Spirit.

If you learn anything concerning Jesus and His Irresistible Kingdom by reading this book it will not be because of me. My ability to write is a gift of the Holy Spirit so that Christ will be increased; likewise, your ability to read and comprehend what is written is a gift of the Holy Spirit. And when I stop writing, and you stop reading, and we go forth to put into practice what we have learned, we will do so by, through, and because of the Holy Spirit, Whom the Father has given, to lead us and guide us deeper into Christ.

CHALLENGING THE LIE OF THE ENEMY

2011-08-16T04:45:00.000-07:00

"If we say that we have fellowship with Him,
and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth."
1 JOHN 1:6

Overcomers are learning to bridge the gap between what they SAY they believe and how they really LIVE.

The one that overcomes is constantly challenging the lie of the enemy and demonstrating the preeminence of Christ over all things. When every lie is destroyed then the dragon is defeated, for it cannot control what it cannot deceive.

Most of what we see and hear is an illusion. It is not the Truth, but a lie, a distortion. Our eyes and our ears cannot be trusted. We must have heavenly vision and heavenly hearing.

DISCIPLES BEFORE MINISTERS & WORKERS

2011-08-15T02:10:00.000-07:00

"A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master."
MATTHEW 10:24

Jesus said go into all the world and make disciples. It is not that ministers and workers are unimportant; indeed they are. But what is the priority? Can a man or a woman truly be a minister or worker on behalf of the Kingdom if they are not a disciple first? Of course not. They can minister and work themselves to death and still be in the flesh, doing many mighty works in the name of Jesus and not know Him at all.

PERSECUTED FOR THE KINGDOM

2011-08-12T21:58:00.000-07:00

"All who desire to live a godly life in
Christ Jesus will be persecuted."
2 TIMOTHY 3:12 ESV

Persecution should come as no surprise to those who seek first the Kingdom of God, because that kind of singlehearted pursuit for things Above will only antagonize those earthly-minded folk who cannot comprehend that level of Righteousness where Jesus is really All and Everything.

Persecution for the sake of that all-encompassing Righteousness, that universal dominion of Christ on His Throne, is the best proof we could possibly give that we really are kings and priests. The depth of our sufferings reveals the depth of our relationship with God, and if our suffering is light then our relationship is certainly shallow. When we can take up the Cross daily and follow after Christ then the centurions of this world will be able to look at us and say, "Surely this person is a son or daughter of God. Not only do they represent Him with their life, they represent Him with their death."

The Blessing is in the Breaking

2011-08-11T02:12:00.000-07:00

"It came to pass, as He sat at the table with them,
that He took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them.
Then their eyes were opened and they knew Him; and
He vanished from their sight."
LUKE 24:30,31

After Jesus blessed the bread, and broke it, and gave it to them, their eyes were opened and they knew Him. Until you have the blessing and the breaking your eyes will remain closed. Blessings alone do not open our eyes. Indeed, blessings by themselves tend to close our eyes. We do not come to know Him in the blessing, but in the breaking. Then what we already have in Him will be revealed. Our eyes will be opened and we will see that He has been standing there the whole time.

Do you want to know Him? Do you want to see Him for Who He is? Do you want to go deeper? Do you want to have your eyes opened? Embrace the blessing AND the breaking; receive them both. If you are a bruised reed or a broken cistern, take heart, because you are making progress.

How to Keep the Sabbath

2011-08-09T02:13:00.000-07:00

How to Keep the Sabbath
by Chip Brogden
"The Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath day" (Mt. 12:8).

The Sabbath (and every other thing in the Old Covenant) points to a spiritual fulfillment in Christ. Jesus is not bound by any rule, or regulation, or tradition, that says thou shalt, or thou shalt not. He is Lord over the Sabbath; the Sabbath is not lord over Him.

We who are in Christ do keep the Sabbath, but the Sabbath for us is not a day of the week. It is certainly not a day for attending religious services. It has nothing to do with the calendar. If we want to keep the Sabbath we need only abide, continue, and dwell in Christ, as the branch abides, continues, and dwells in the Vine. For the branch is resting in the Vine. The branch does not struggle or worry or force itself through sheer effort to produce fruit. Instead, it simply lives in union with the Vine, and in that sense, it rests. It trusts in the Life of the Vine to produce the fruit. And this is the principle of the Sabbath rest.

Now we see this rest in Christ. You would suppose that, as the Son of God, He had the liberty and freedom to say and do whatever He pleased. But He frankly stated, "I do nothing of Myself. It is the Father that dwells in Me, and He does the works." This, my friend, is rest. He is the Lord of the Sabbath. Jesus mastered the art of observing the Sabbath day. What does it mean? It means I do nothing of Myself. My teaching is not My own, but it belongs to the One Who sent Me. And I do nothing except what I see my Father do, and I speak nothing except what I hear my Father speak. That is extraordinary. But that is what it means to rest in the Lord.

Now our relationship to Christ is to be exactly the same as Christ's relationship to the Father. I do nothing apart from Christ. I speak nothing apart from Christ. And I do nothing and speak nothing in my own strength, but I trust in the life of the Lord Jesus to do in me and through me what I cannot do.

Or, if you like, it is the place Paul describes in Galatians 2:20: "It is no longer I who lives, but Christ who lives in me." Not I, but Christ. This is the secret to the Christian life. And may I say that this: "not I, but Christ" is the normal Christian life. It is the way it is supposed to be, from the very beginning.

Remember that Adam's first day of life, after he was created, was a day of rest. Now the Christian life begins the same way. If any one is in Christ, the Bible says that he or she is a new creation. You are born-again; you are born from above. And the first lesson you learn in this spiritual life in Christ is not doing, but being; it is not working, but resting.

How disappointing that the harlot church - the religious system - does not teach you how to enter into rest. It wants to immediately put you to work. And so you wear yourself out, trying to be holy, trying to be more like Christ, trying to please people - the pastor, the elders, your fellow church members. And you sometimes feel as if you can never do enough. You can never give enough, you can never volunteer enough, you can never attend enough. And my, the guilt you feel whenever you say no, or whenever you feel as if you aren't doing enough!

Your first day in Christ is a day of rest. Now let's not get tied down to a calendar. That first "day" in Christ may take weeks or years. We are after the spiritual principle of the Sabbath day, and we are not talking about a twenty-four hour period. This is something you learn and you walk in the rest of your life. How unfortunate that people do not begin with resting in Christ. They get saved, and they go to work for religion, and they are like a slave living in Egypt instead of a Hebrew living in the land of milk and honey. Then after so many years of slavery they become institutionalized, and think this is the way the Christian life is supposed to be.

Well, it is that way for many people, but it does not have to be that way. Your first day in Christ is a day of rest. Works will come. But your first day as a new creature in Christ is a day of rest. It will be a day of rest until you learn what it means to abide in Christ, to dwell in Him, to rest in His finished work. That is the basis of everything else. If the word "season" helps you to understand this better than a "day" then think of it as a Sabbath season. But the first lesson is how to rest. That is the principle of the Sabbath.

I hope you are beginning to see how far and beyond this goes. From this perspective you see how silly it is to get all worked up into a lather over Sunday or Saturday, Sabbath day or Lord's day, what you can do and what you can't do. Those are arguments for little children. Let us go on to maturity. Let us put away childish things and become men and women of spiritual wisdom and discernment. God is after a spiritual condition, a spiritual result, and to get it He goes to work deep within your heart. That is the basis of the New Covenant.

Kings and Priests of Love

2011-08-08T02:13:00.000-07:00

""Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy."
MATTHEW 5:7

God is "rich in mercy" (Ephesians 2:4). Entry into His Kingdom is established upon the principles of grace, mercy, and forgiveness. To live in His Kingdom is to experience the grace, mercy, and forgiveness of God on a daily basis. The nature of the Kingdom reflects the character of its King. If this is so, how can we claim to be representatives of this Kingdom of Love and refuse to forgive as freely as we have been forgiven? If we have been forgiven by God then we have an obligation to forgive others - not for their sake, not for our sake, but for the sake of the Kingdom.

It would be inconceivable to claim to be a king and priest of a Kingdom based on forgiveness of sins and, at the same time, allow unforgiveness and bitterness to remain in our personal life. It will be difficult for people to believe God can forgive them if His own people are unable or unwilling to forgive one another.

Thirty Seconds of Seeing

2011-08-06T20:35:00.000-07:00

"He turned to His disciples and said
privately, 'Blessed are the eyes which see the things
you see; for I tell you that many prophets and kings have desired
to see what you see, and have not seen it, and to hear what
you hear, and have not heard it.'"
LUKE 10:23,24

The object of Christianity is not to give people a teaching or to lead them in a prayer, but to introduce them to a Man. I would rather have thirty seconds of seeing than thirty years of preaching. People can listen to me preach all their life and never understand a word, but if the Lord opens their eyes to SEE Who I am preaching about then they will understand everything.

No Need To Act Spiritual

2011-08-04T22:23:00.000-07:00

"Do not fear, for those who
are with us are more than those who are with them."
2 KINGS 6:16

Elisha saw differently, and so he thought, spoke, and behaved differently. So often we try to adopt a certain way of thinking, speaking, and acting in hopes of becoming victorious. If this is your intention then you are already defeated. If victory lies in something you must do then you will never be able to do enough. "Acting spiritual" does not produce victory, for victory is not what I do or do not do: Victory is Christ.

The Secret of Abounding Grace

2011-08-03T22:54:00.000-07:00

"God is able to make all grace abound toward you."
2 CORINTHIANS 9:8

God will not LEAD you where His grace cannot KEEP you. That is to say, when we undertake the work assigned to us by the Lord we will find the Life of the Lord is present to give us all the inner spiritual strength to see it through to completion.

I am not saying everything will go smoothly and you will never have any self-doubt or fear. Far from it. But listen to what Paul says: "We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed" (2 Corinthians 4:8,9). His secret? "I also labor, striving according to His working which works in me mightily" (Colossians 1:29). Not I, but Christ. This is the secret to the Christian life and it is the key to all fruitful spiritual work.

Deliver Us From "Things"

2011-08-01T22:30:00.000-07:00

"When they had lifted up their eyes,
they saw no one but Jesus only."
MATTHEW 17:8

When we SEE an ever-increasing Christ Who is destined to fill all things, then we will be delivered from smallness and narrow-mindedness. We do not overcome a thing by focusing our attention and directing our energies against that THING. "Things" will keep us busy from morning until night, and from night until morning.

May God deliver us from "things" and show us His Son! We must learn to keep the focus of our heart on the Lord Jesus Christ, Who MUST increase. Then there is no room for "things" anymore. They are simply swallowed up in Victory.

Radical Adjustment

2011-07-31T22:10:00.000-07:00

"If I have told you earthly
things and you do not believe, how will you believe
if I tell you heavenly things?"
JOHN 3:12

The path of progress, of spiritual maturity, hinges upon our willingness to let go of the old ways and embrace the new ways; to rise above the lower order of things and walk in a higher order - a heavenly way, a spiritual way, as opposed to the earthly, natural, carnal way that we are so used to walking. Repentance is a continual process of agreeing with what God shows us about ourselves and then making the necessary adjustments.

The Holy Spirit is intent upon making radical adjustments - to create in us a willingness to look at things differently; an eagerness to begin seeing things as God sees them, regardless of how uncomfortable that may be; to value the things that He values and let go of lesser things; to align ourselves with His Mind and Will for all things; to leave our ground altogether and come onto His ground - regardless of the consequences.

TOUCHING "BELIEFS" VS TOUCHING CHRIST

2011-07-29T20:33:00.000-07:00

"Put on the new man which was created
according to God, in true righteousness and holiness."
EPHESIANS 4:24

The old man (self) is put off, and the New Man (Christ) is put on - this is Christianity. Christ then becomes my Righteousness and my Holiness. But too many of us take a natural, intellectual approach to Christianity. We think if only we can instruct people concerning the tenets of our faith, or persuade them with a logical argument, or woo them with some emotional plea, then we will have disciples. This is a falsehood. That is not Spirit and Life.

Christianity is not memorizing certain doctrines or disseminating a systematic theology or having people repeat a so-called "Sinner's Prayer." Christianity is becoming one with a God-Man! You can have all the other in its proper place, but for too long that "other" has been offered as Christianity. And so people touch our beliefs, our doctrines, our religion, our theology, our zeal, but they do not touch a Living Christ.

THE ESSENCE OF SPIRITUAL MATURITY

2011-07-26T20:38:00.000-07:00

"Indeed I also count all things
loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my
Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things,
and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ."
PHILIPPIANS 3:8

For the Christian, Christ is increasing, Christ is becoming larger and larger, Christ is becoming the focus. It is quite simple to see who is, and who is not, living up to this standard.

The more spiritually mature a person is the more Christ-centered they cannot help but become. This is the unavoidable and inevitable consequence of becoming a Christian, a disciple of Jesus. This is how the Holy Spirit leads each and every true believer, and there are no exceptions to the rule. It is as predictable and certain as the sunrise following after the darkness of night.

A WORD FROM TOZER

2011-07-26T04:27:00.000-07:00

THE CHURCH - DIFFERENT FROM the WORLD
-by A.W. Tozer.

Therefore "Come out from among them and be separate," says the
Lord. "Do not touch what is unclean, and I will receive you."
- 2 Corinthians 6:17

The church's mightiest influence is felt when she is different from
the world in which she lives. Her power lies in her being different,
rises with the degree in which she differs and sinks as the
difference diminishes.

This is so fully and clearly taught in the Scriptures and so well
illustrated in Church history that it is hard to see how we can miss
it. But miss it we do, for we hear constantly that the Church must
try to be as much like the world as possible, excepting, of course,
where the world is too, too sinful....

Let us plant ourselves on the hill of Zion and invite the world to
come over to us, but never under any circumstances will we go
over to them. The cross is the symbol of Christianity, and the
cross speaks of death and separation, never of compromise. No
one ever compromised with a cross. The cross separated between
the dead and the living. The timid and the fearful will cry "Extreme!"
and they will be right. The cross is the essence of all that is
extreme and final. The message of Christ is a call across a gulf
from death to life, from sin to righteousness and from Satan to
God. (-The Set of the Sail, 35, 36).

-From the book, 'Tozer on Christian Leadership', published by
WingSpread Publishers.

LEARNING CURVES

2011-07-11T00:52:00.000-07:00

Friends, Most will read the book of Acts and see the first apostles as the epitome of maturity, power and grace who did not need to learn or develop. Indeed as Luke writes Acts he records the events without any value judgements and we could think that each action was exactly as it should have been. Is that so?

In Acts 6:1 Luke records "there arose a complaint against the Hebrews by the Hellenists because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution". Cultural prejudice in paradise! The response of the twelve was to appoint deacons to make sure no prejudice was involved in food distribution since they did not think it "desirable that (they) should leave the word of God and serve tables". Interesting response from men whose feet the Master had washed and who had heard His words "Whatever is done unto the least is done unto me." They still had not absorbed the teaching of Matthew 20:25- 28 given when they were arguing about who was going to be greatest!

The sentence, "But we will give ourselves continually to pray and the ministry of the word." has been used and abused to support a priestly, clergy, special class over the rest of the church. I wonder if the false apostles which Paul talked about used this as well? Was this why Paul was so insistent in his testimony and teaching of Acts 20:33- 35 that apostolic servants work to provide for not only themselves but also for those who are with them?

The apostles were commanded in Acts 1:8 to be witnesses to Jesus in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria "and to the end of the earth." By Acts 8:1 they and all the church were still in Jerusalem but due to "great persecution.... they were all scattered... except the apostles". The apostles were the ones who heard the command to go and they were the only ones who stayed? Why were they able to stay? Acts 6:7 records that "a great number of the priests were obedient to the faith". Had the apostles become friendly with or enough of a part of the religious establishment that they were protected and did not have to flee with the "ordinary" believers?

Even when the apostles had begun to go, Galatians 3:9 records that they were only still going to the "circumcised" while giving "the right hand of fellowship" that Paul and Barnabas should go to the Gentiles. Twelve for a minority group in the empire and and two for the rest of the world? The truth, of course is that the twelve did go to the world and gave their lives for the gospel but it took them awhile! They had their journey. They had their learning curve.

Maybe this is why Paul was a bit dismissive of them when he says that James, Peter and John "seemed to be something" twice in Galatians 2:6 and then says that they "seemed to be pillars" in verse 9. Or maybe Paul's problem with them was them being unclear over the circumcision thing and having to confront Peter on that one?

Why did he have to confront Peter? When Peter was alone with them, he ate with both the Gentiles- no problem but when the believers from Jerusalem came who were still jealous of the law, Peter separated himself and would no longer eat with the Gentiles. Galatians 2:11- 14 records that Paul, rebuking him for his duplicity, "withstood him to his face, because he was to be blamed.... before them all" since this duplicity had already spread to the rest of the team. This is real iron sharpening iron and being done publicly. Do you think Paul was out of line? Do you think those you walk with would accept public rebuke?

It could be said that one of the steepest learning curves for the apostles was how to share the Kingdom without imposing their Jewish culture and background. Peter needed a vision to prepare him to go to the house of Cornelius. The first council was convened to settle this issue. One of the most heartening comments about "The Luke 10 Manual" comes from a brother who has chosen to remain in his muslim culture, "This manual presents the Kingdom of God stripped of all western religious institutionalism and culture values like nothing else that I have read." May I encourage you to go to www.lulu.com and order your copy?

Many have commented that one proof that the Scriptures are inspired is that they give a real accounts of the heroes of faith, not sanitized, romanticized and idealized fictions. The struggles are there. The failures are there. The world is not offended by our struggles. It is offended by our attempt to hide our struggles and failures behind masks of spirituality and perfection. Humility and struggle does not offend but hypocrisy does. Yes, the early apostles and the early church had a learning curve.

I trust that does not offend you.
I trust that encourages you.
We have certainly had our learning curve!
Thanks to all of you who are sharing our journey.
Steve & Marilyn

A CHALLENGING STORY

2011-06-05T18:41:00.000-07:00

Friends, let me share a story with you as related to me by a Canadian friend who spends significant time in India. His last trip there was earlier this year during which time he met an Indian brother with a very challenging testimony. This brother, whose name is Randeep, was a nominal, Christian who identified himself as such simply because his parents were Christian and he was not a Muslim or Hindu.

However, his mother became an ardent follower of Jesus and felt to go to an area in Northern India near the border with Tibet. Her family felt she was crazy and refused to go with her so she went alone. Two years later Randeep and his Hindu wife decided to visit her. While Randeep was walking along a street he saw a Hindu priest trying to cast evil spirits out of a totally demonized woman who was writhing on the sidewalk. As he walked past, he heard a voice command him to pray for the woman and set her free. He kept walking arguing with the voice that he did not know what to say. Again the voice came commanding him to help the woman and said, "Do you not think I can manifest myself through anyone on this street should I choose to do so?"

He walked back and as he did so heard the priest telling the woman to bring certain offerings to the temple. Righteous anger rose up in him and he rebuked the priest for laying more burdens upon the woman and then laid his hands upon her to pray. To his amazement, for the first time in his life, he began to pray in tongues and the woman was set free.

The next morning he woke up to the noise of a crowd milling around outside the house. He became afraid that something had gone wrong with the woman and they were there to beat him up. So his mother went out to see what was going on. They asked her, "Does Jesus lives here?" "Yes He does.", was her reply. So they invited the crowd into the house and prayed for them all. That was the beginning of seven years of great grace and miracles.

Soon his mother was saying to Randeep that he needed to begin to teach the new followers but his question was what to teach them? Knowing it was Jesus who had spoken to him, he began to read the gospels to find out who Jesus was and what He did. Reading that Jesus had twelve disciples, he did the same and began to follow Jesus with them. Realizing that their state had twelve districts, after three years with his disciples, he sent them to start all over again in each of those twelve states. That was fifteen years ago and now this movement has baptized over 150,000 plus those baptized by other teams they have trained.

Once he had sent out his twelve disciples Randeep needed to start over again and seeking to obey Jesus in Luke 10 he moved to a new city and began to walk the streets. After three months of praying, walking, blessing the city and seeking a man of peace, a man came to him and said, "I have seen you walking by day after day. Why?" Randeep explained what he was doing and the man asked him to come into his home to pray for his sick wife. Jesus healed the woman and that home became the house of peace for the beginning of a new multiplication of the generations of Jesus Christ.

As my friend interviewed many to understand the dynamic of the movement, one phrase was repeated over and over. The phrase? "The Holy Spirit spoke, the Holy Spirit moved me, the Holy Spirit led me..." These believers had been connected to Jesus by the Holy Spirit. They had not been connected to a human leader, to a book, to a doctrine, to a system- they had been plunged deep into relationship with Jesus.

It is sad that one of the challenges this movement has to face is from western missionaries who have come to them and charge them with not planting "real" churches since they have no buildings, no bible schools and no paid, professional clergy. How can they be so blind? Jesus forgive them. How do these followers of Jesus respond to that charge? "We are simply following the example and words of Jesus. We are healing the sick, casting out the demons, raising the dead, baptizing those who believe, making disciples who do the same and forming communities of disciple who meet where ever life happens. Where is your fruit?"

We are challenged again about the simplicity of following Jesus
Jesus you capture our hearts again and again
Steve & Marilyn

www.harvest-now.org

Ziklag: The Test of Kings

2011-03-01T03:47:00.000-08:00

Ziklag: The Test of Kings
by Chip Brogden

http://theschoolofchrist.org/articles/ziklag-the-test-of-kings.html

"...But David encouraged himself in the Lord His God."
(I Samuel 30:6b).

Early in my Christian walk I somehow reached the erroneous conclusion that if you love God and do what His Word says then nothing bad will ever happen to you. This idea was reinforced by teachers and preachers who claimed that people who knew how to exercise their faith and operate under the anointing and walk in the Spirit would never get sick, become depressed, lose money, or come under spiritual attack.

Time and experience are patient teachers, and in their classroom I learned a different view of life.

Consider the life of David, "a man after God's own heart", the "sweet psalmist of Israel." Surely a man after God's own heart will never have to experience terrible trials, afflictions, misunderstanding, suffering, rejection, pain or misfortune!

But in David we see that even someone who is after God's own heart, someone who seeks Him early and often, someone who desires Him more than anything else - yes, THAT kind of person, ESPECIALLY that kind of person! - will be called upon to endure some of the most excruciating physical, emotional, and spiritual rigors imaginable.

DISASTER AT ZIKLAG

David's problems began as soon as he was anointed! As soon as his calling and destiny was confirmed by Samuel the prophet, David became a target for the jealous rage of Saul. The anointing, for David, was like a huge sign around his neck that invited trouble.

I Samuel 30 records one of the severest tests in David's life. Circumstances would force him into a "do or die" situation. His response to this test would either confirm his destiny as king or destroy him completely. There would be no warning for what was about to happen, and there would be no second chances.

"And it came to pass, when David and his men were come to Ziklag on the third day, that the Amalekites had invaded the south, and Ziklag, and smitten Ziklag, and burned it with fire; And had taken the women captives, that were therein: they slew not any, either great or small, but carried them away, and went on their way. So David and his men came to the city, and, behold, it was burned with fire; and their wives, and their sons, and their daughters, were taken captives" (I Samuel 30:1-3).

How do you respond to impossible situations? How do you react when everything you hold dear is taken from you? The first reaction is quite natural, quite human, and quite understandable:

"Then David and the people that were with him lifted up their voice and wept, until they had no more power to weep" (I Samuel 30:4).

I cannot imagine what those six hundred screaming, crying men sounded like. It must have been the most awful sound in the world. They wept, and cried, and screamed out in agony, until they had no more power to weep. How long did this go on? I don't know, but the episode left them emotionally bankrupt, absolutely numb from grief, with no more power to cry even though they wanted to.

But it would get worse before it got better!

WILL YOU CHOOSE TO GET BITTER, OR GET BETTER?

"And David's two wives were taken captives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the wife of Nabal the Carmelite. And David was greatly distressed; for the people spake of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and for his daughters..." (I Samuel 30:5,6a).

Not only did David have to deal with his own personal loss, but he also had to deal with the combined losses of his men, who were now looking for someone to blame. David, as the leader, was the most likely target. Facing Goliath is one thing, but dealing with six hundred angry, grief-stricken men is another.

It looked like David was done for. Six hundred angry men coming against one man. There could be no escape from this.

I believe that every one of us will, at least one time in our life, come face-to-face with a Ziklag experience. Everything you have in this world is either taken away or burning down right before your eyes.

Friends, I have learned that when things like this "come to pass" in your life, you have a choice. You can get bitter, or you can get better. Six hundred men chose to get bitter. That is the easy path. One man chose to get better. That is the narrow path.

Kings are anointed by God and selected based on how they respond to situations like this.

How would you respond?

In a similar situation, many of us would have had this conversation with ourselves: "I thought God had called me. I thought God had anointed me to be king of Israel. But that was a long time ago, and I have seen nothing but trouble ever since. I have spent the best years of my life running from Saul. I did the right thing, and now I'm being punished. What do I have to show for it? Absolutely nothing! I've lost my family and everything I have is going up in smoke. The people are ready to stone me. Everything is against me. I quit! I give up! Just let me die so I can have some peace! God can keep his anointing, it's too much of a price to pay."

I know most of us would say this because most of us HAVE said this at one time or another. I have given up many times (at least temporarily) because the pressure was too great. The easiest thing to do in a situation like this is to just lay down and die. And that is what most people end up doing.

David had an opportunity to do the same thing.

This verse could have very easily read:

"And David was greatly distressed; for the people spake of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and for his daughters. So David gave up, and the people stoned him, and tossed his body onto the burning rubble of Ziklag. And God was very displeased and began looking for a new king..."

This worst-case scenario is actually played out in real-life with real brothers and sisters who have a real calling from God but are on the verge of giving up because Ziklag has left them wounded, hurt, bitter, disillusioned, jaded, frustrated, or disappointed.

Brothers and sisters, Ziklag can either be your graveyard or your greatest opportunity. The decision is yours.

"BUT DAVID ENCOURAGED HIMSELF"

What did David do?

"...But David encouraged himself in the Lord His God." (I Samuel 30:6b).

Thank the Lord for "but"! The sheer weight of things was piling up. The pressure was enormous. One bad thing after another was coming against David. One tiny word - "but" - introduces something new, something different, something that rises up to stand against all this doom, depression, disillusionment, distress, and desperation.

Nothing had changed and the situation looked hopeless - but David encouraged himself in the Lord His God.

In a similar situation we might call the pastor to come pray for us. We might look for a prophet to give us a word. We might go to our brothers and sisters and ask them to pray for a breakthrough. If we have people around us then we can and should ask for their prayers and support. Yet David had none of this.

What do you do when all visible means of support have collapsed? What do you do when the people you used to be friends with are now ready to stone you? And what do you do when you are all alone? The easiest thing to do is quit.

"But David encouraged himself in the Lord His God."

One translation says, "But David strengthened himself in the Lord His God." Another version says, "But David took courage from the Lord His God."

How did he do it? Was it a special song? Was it a special prayer? Was it something he confessed? Exactly how did David encourage himself?

We do not know, because the Bible does not say specifically. He probably did a little of all the above. He probably went back in time and remembered how the Lord helped him to kill the lion and the bear who tried to steal his father's sheep. He probably thought about the time the Lord helped him to slay Goliath. He probably thought about all the times when the Lord had delivered him from being destroyed by Saul.

All that is speculation, but here is what I want you to know: if David could encourage himself in the Lord, so can you. You can encourage YOURSELF.

Since most people are takers, and not givers, most people are looking to receive encouragement, not give it. It is very difficult to find encouragement in other people. I am always appreciative of encouraging letters and kind words when I receive them, but I cannot always depend on other people to encourage me. Neither can you.

"But David encouraged HIMSELF."

You have to learn to encourage yourself. You will not always find encouragement in your circumstances. It is not easy to look on the ashes of your life and imagine anything good coming out of it. Fiery trials and difficult tests are not conducive to encouragement. Most of the things in this world are specifically designed to DIScourage you.

"But David encouraged HIMSELF."

When the enemy says, "You've lost everything", you can encourage yourself in the Lord your God!

When friends forsake you and the people say, "It's all your fault", you can encourage yourself in the Lord your God!

When your circumstances say, "You'll never make it out alive," you can encourage yourself in the Lord your God!

What is the secret to David's strength? Where did David find encouragement? Certainly not in his situation. Not in the prophet Samuel. Not in his family and friends.

"But David encouraged himself IN THE LORD his God."

In the Lord! In the Lord! In the Lord!

This is why Paul could say, "When I am weak, then I am strong. Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say, rejoice! Because it is GOD Who is working in you, and He WILL complete the good work He has begun in you, and ALL THINGS are working together for good according to HIS purpose!"

This is not some kind of positive confession, faith-promise formula. It is not up to you, it is up to Him, and since you have nothing to lose anyway, you have everything to gain by casting yourself completely upon the Lord and finding your strength IN HIM.

PURSUE AND RECOVER ALL!

When David had encouraged himself in the Lord, and asked God what to do next, the Lord said,

"Pursue: for thou shalt surely overtake them, and without fail recover all" (I Samuel 30:8b).

And so David wiped away his tears, took his sword, led his six hundred angry men into battle, defeated the enemy, and recovered everything they had lost.

That's what it means to be a king.

On that day, David turned tragedy into triumph. He passed the Ziklag test. He did not have his crown yet - that would come later, but that did not matter right now. He did not need a crown or a throne to prove he was a king. His kingship was demonstrated there in the rubble of Ziklag, where he learned to encourage himself in the Lord His God.

Don't ever give up! Ziklag is not your final resting place, it is only the test of kings. Encourage yourself in the Lord, pursue, recover, and move forward. This is your destiny, and this is the word of the Lord to you. May it be so!

I am your brother,
Chip Brogden

The Two-Fold Work of the Cross

2011-02-13T18:53:00.000-08:00

The Two-Fold Work of the Cross
by Chip Brogden

http://theschoolofchrist.org/articles/the-two-fold-work-of-the-cross.html

"Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps" (I Peter 2:21).

If we were to ask a Christian, "Have you accepted the work of the Cross?" Many of them would say yes. If you ask them what the work of the Cross is, they would respond by saying that the work of the Cross is the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus for the sins of the world.

While this is true enough, it can be misleading. A better question to ask is, "Have you accepted the two-fold work of the Cross?" Try this out on a few Christians and you will probably get a puzzled reply along the lines of, "What is the two-fold work of the Cross?" That is because most people are only familiar with one side of the Cross, not both sides.

For many years I was only taught one aspect of the Cross - that is, the cross on which Jesus died for me. That is all I knew, and so that is all I taught. On this cross He was crucified as my substitute. He laid down His life for me. His precious blood was shed for the forgiveness of my sins. Not only that, but the Bible says that God laid on Jesus the iniquity of us all. John the Baptist calls Him, "The Lamb of God Who takes away the sins of the whole world."

By identifying with His sacrificial death, He becomes our Substitute. We enter into His finished work. We are made one with Him there on the Cross. Thank God we do not have to pay this debt, for it has been paid for us. We do not have to go to the Cross and be crucified for our sins.

I would suggest that almost every Christian is familiar with this aspect of the Cross. It is the foundation of evangelicalism, the basis of millions of sermons to millions of believers. It is the truth, and we thank God for the truth whenever it is proclaimed.

There is another side to this Cross, another dimension of the same truth, which is not as well-known, and is hardly preached at all. As a result, many believers are content to embrace the "Sinner's Cross"; that is, they have confessed Jesus as Savior, and they understand and accept Him as their Substitute. It is certainly true that Jesus is our Substitute, and that He died on the Cross for us. But as we have said, there is a two-fold work of the Cross.

Peter alludes to this two-fold work when he writes, "Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps." Christ suffered FOR us; that is the first aspect. But He left us an EXAMPLE; that is the second aspect.

So the work of the Cross is two-fold. First, Jesus is our Substitute. Secondly, He is our Example. In the first case, He took up the Cross. In the second case, I take up the Cross. The first work of the Cross is for the Sinner; the second work of the Cross is for the Disciple.

Jesus said that the way to Life is through a narrow Gate and a difficult Path. The Gate is only the beginning of the journey; it is not the destination. So we must have both the Gate and the Path. One is not complete without the other. Once we are through the Gate, there is a Path for us to walk. The Gate makes it possible for us to walk the Path, but the Gate is incomplete without the Path. The Life is at the end of the Path, not at the beginning.

This corresponds to the two-fold work of the Cross. The "Sinner's Cross" is the Gate. Because Jesus is my Substitute, I can now walk the Path. The "Disciple's Cross" is the Path. Now I am following His example. Can you see the difference?

Jesus says the way to Life is through a Narrow Gate and a Difficult Path. The Narrow Gate is Christ. It is Narrow because He is the Only Way. But why is the Path so difficult? Partly because it is much easier, much more appealing, to accept Jesus as a Substitute than to accept Him as an Example. Stated differently, it is much more appealing to accept Jesus as Savior than to accept Him as Lord. With a simple prayer I can acknowledge Him as my Substitute and Savior. But to make Him my Example and my Lord, to actually walk in His footsteps, is not so appealing.

Why? In the first case I simply embrace the "Sinner's Cross" and everything is done for me. But in the second case I must take up the "Disciple's Cross" and actually follow in the steps of the Master. It only takes a moment to pass through the Gate, but the Path takes a lifetime of walking.

Peter wrote of this two-fold work of the Cross, but we see in Matthew 16 that he did not always have this understanding. In Matthew 16 we see Jesus as our Substitute and our Example all in one chapter. First there is Jesus as the Substitute. He begins to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, suffer many things, be killed, and raised the third day. For His sins? No, for our sins. So in this He is our Substitute.

Peter, taking offense over this, pulls Jesus aside and begins to rebuke Him. Imagine! Peter is rebuking the Lord Jesus over this issue of the Cross. It is, indeed, a difficult thing to comprehend. But Jesus turns and rebukes Peter. Yes, it will be so. I will go to Jerusalem and die for the sins of the world. I must complete My substitutionary work.

But the two-fold work of the Cross goes deeper than the physical death of Jesus. And so Jesus immediately begins to speak to them, not about HIS Cross, but about THEIR Cross:

"Then Jesus said to His disciples, 'If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it'" (Matthew 16:24,25).

Peter objected to the death of the Lord Jesus and wanted to prevent His crucifixion. The Lord Jesus responded that not only must the Master be crucified, but anyone who desired to follow after the Master would, of necessity, have to take up their Cross as well.

Peter eventually learned this lesson, and it is time we learned it as well. Jesus is both my Substitute and my Example. Jesus, is both my Savior and my Lord. Jesus is both the Narrow Gate and the Difficult Path.

If there is any doubt as to the reason for a lack of power, a lack of joy, a lack of faithfulness, a lack of Spirit-and-Truth today, we need only examine a person's ultimate attitude towards the Cross. Is the Cross, to them, something that Jesus saved them FROM, or something that Jesus saved them FOR? The fruit, or the lack thereof, tells the whole story. For there never will be, and there never can be, any fruitfulness apart from embracing the two-fold work of the Cross.

The question will of course arise: can Jesus be Savior, but not be Lord? Can I accept the salvation but not the discipleship? Can I enter the Gate but not walk the Path? And the underlying concern is really this: can I pray the Sinner's Prayer, live any way I please, and still go to heaven when I die?

The question itself is very revealing in the ones who ask it. Consider that it takes two beams to make a Cross; one beam is not enough. If we accept only half of the two-fold work of the Cross then we have not truly embraced the Cross. If we continue to preach an easy Gospel and bring sinners to an easy Jesus by having them pray an easy prayer then we are guilty of propagating another gospel, a false gospel, a Gate without a Path.

The Rich Young Ruler came to Jesus with the exact same concern: what must I do to inherit eternal life? His primary concern was going to heaven when he died. For many Christians that is the ultimate objective and the motivation behind everything they do. In actuality, Jesus said comparatively little about "going to heaven when you die." But He had quite a bit to say about being obedient to the will of God and producing fruit while you're still living here on earth.

To the Rich Young Ruler who wanted to be saved, Jesus offered discipleship, not salvation:

"Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, 'One thing you lack: Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow Me.' But he was sad at this word, and went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. Then Jesus looked around and said to His disciples, "How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God!'" (Mark 10:21-23).

Not "how EASY for them to enter the Kingdom of God", but "how HARD it is". The two-fold work of the Cross is a hard saying for rich and for poor alike. Many turn away sad and sorrowful at the thought of taking up the Cross as a disciple. For that reason, only the first half of the two-fold work of the Cross is preached.

I suspect that the Rich Young Ruler would have eagerly accepted Jesus as his Substitute - because the subtle implication is that since Jesus died on the Cross, I won't have to die! But like all the other suggestions of the adversary, this too is only a partial truth. For the whole truth is that the work of the Cross is two-fold, and we can embrace both, or neither, but we cannot keep one and discard the other.

You may be concerned that if we make salvation contingent on discipleship then fewer people would get saved. That's exactly the point. This is precisely what Jesus meant when He said, "Few find it" (Matthew 7:14b).

So what are we do to? Should we continue to give false comfort to those who are unwilling to take up their Cross, deny Self, and follow Jesus? By no means. Instead, let us endeavor to show others, by example, that the only way to Life is through Death; the only way to reign with Him is to suffer with Him; not those who hear, but those who hear and put into practice, are His true disciples.

May the Lord Jesus Himself bear witness of these things, that they are true. Amen.

I am your brother,
Chip Brogden
Chip Brogden
http://www.TheSchoolOfChrist.Org

Kingdom 2

2011-02-12T20:27:00.000-08:00

Hi all,
Remember to use cwowi@aol.com for personal email, and you may subscribe or unsubscribe by following the link at the very end of this email.

Have you wondered if the Lord accepts the praises of the person across the church from you who lied about and hurt you, yet they are right there in church like nothing happened? Do you think 'turn the other cheek' means being willing to be misused and suffer loss? (wrong) My newest series, "Forgiveness, How to be a forgiving person in an unforgiving world" answer questions like these and more! The link is to the right.

Kingdom of God
Remember from last week, Jesus is the king of the kingdom of God, and He spent time eating and drinking what was set before him, spending the night with them in their homes, walking through the countryside, sitting around the campfire. What a king! What a kingdom, where the common man was valued and had something to offer.

Jesus taught about the culture and values of the kingdom of God among the people during daily life; values very different from both the Roman and first century Jewish culture around them. Herod nor the religious rulers, minor kings, mixed with the common man, spoke on their level, or valued daily hardships of life.

When Jesus was alive He taught of the kingdom of God. When He was resurrected, Acts 1:3 says in those 40 days He taught them about the kingdom of God. A few years later, Acts 8:12 says when Philip preached in Samaria, they believed him concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ.

Some 30 years later still the book of Acts concludes in 28:31 saying Paul '..proclaimed the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ with boldness and without any hindrance from his home'.

They carried that awareness and culture of the kingdom, that of the approachable and relevant King, to the people! Not Hollywood Jesus, not a Lord where you have to climb 120 steps on your knees to light a candle, but a down to earth King and Lord, who now lives in us. That's a kingdom unlike any other, and they taught about it and lived it throughout the New Testament.

Our focus?
Jesus was offering people citizenship in a whole other kingdom with a whole other set of values than what Imperial Rome, the Jewish religious aristocracy, or the gods, goddesses and temples of Rome offered. Today the gospel of the kingdom remains as different from modern life and churchianity as it was from Rome.

Are we as aware as they were that we are citizens of the kingdom of God? Are we presenting a whole picture of the culture and values of the kingdom? Do we practice our faith the same way Paul and the writers of the New Testament did?

Church culture says 'turn or burn', or maybe no confrontation, just 'seek', raise your hand, meet the pastor after the service in the reception room. Church culture says 'join us' in competing marquees each posting a witty saying as a means of saying 'come here'. Is that church culture or kingdom culture?

The Bible values relationships; we value numbers. The Bible converts people by teaching and then doing as we walk through life together - the older teaching the younger, the experienced teaching the new to the faith in relationship; we wonder how many attended and how big the offering was.

They gathered people in homes recognizing the home and the family together as the core place for learning about God ever since Adam & Eve were joined in the garden by the Lord; we gather people into large auditoriums where the family separates to age appropriate groups to hear strangers tell them about God.

Their faith was dirty. They knew each other, walked through life's struggles with each other, challenged, offended, forgave and worked through difficulties with each other; we have a sterilized faith where we give money in the offering and someone else will be involved with 'those people'.

They taught the whole package of another kingdom with a different set of values - the kingdom of God; we present a tiny sliver over and over until people think that is what God is all about. As a result, the churches that were once 'cutting edge' of what God is doing, have become irrelevant to their generation and even a laughing stock to anyone with an objective mind, as empty as most of the denominations that preceded them down the path into traditions of men and social irrelevance.

But...People are mentally and prayerfully sorting these things out in an internal struggle. In one column they are listing values of the church world around them, in another column they are listing things that resonate in their heart, in their spirit.

Bible reality
If you read the Great Commission, there is nothing about being born again. There is nothing about tent meetings or revival meetings or crusade evangelism designed to get a count of hands raised or collect cards with names on them for a count of how many 'decisions' were made. Praise God for the people won to the Lord using those methods, but what if we went back to spreading our faith as they did?

Jesus said spread the gospel by 'teaching them to observe and to do what I commanded you". This is relationship, for teaching and observing cover both the learning elements of teaching, while 'to do what I commanded you' is the demonstration in daily life of how to apply what Jesus taught. Mt 28:20

Mark 16:20 says signs followed the believers. Healings of body and soul were the results of them having been in a home, in relationship with others in the faith - healings and other miracles were the aroma of wholeness lingering as they taught and showed others how to live their faith.

Today we advertise miracles and healings BEFORE they happen to get people to come because we have no relationship with them - just another meeting to go to and maybe see a miracle, making us no different than an ambulance chaser who just wants to see what's happening, or the John 6:26 people who followed Jesus not for eternal life, but because their appetites were satisfied. Which group do we want to be in?

It has been observed and I've said it and will say it again; Christianity started out as a relationship when God came to man in Israel. It went to Greece to become a philosophy, to Rome to become a religion, to Europe to become tradition, and to the USA to become an enterprise.

The book of Acts is normal Christianity
I remember realizing this as a teenager. I remember telling myself the denominations are not normal, they are abnormal. They all may think that what I believe is abnormal, but the reverse is true. Acts is normal.

It is normal to see people healed, to see demons cast out, to have experiences seeing angels and/or the Lord as in the book of Acts. It is normal to have close friends in the faith, meeting in homes in informal meetings. What I see around me; the structure, the hype, the merchandising, the honoring of one gift above all else, is abnormal, even dysfunctional...the book of Acts is normal Christianity. It is how the kingdom was practiced by our founding fathers of the faith.

That's one reason Barb and I latched onto what we called at the time in the mid 1970's, 'prayer meetings', and grew so fast. Thursday night was a meeting in a church basement - a bunch of teens and a church elder who opened the building for us. Saturday night was at a farm house with a mix of all ages. Sunday night was with a smaller group of teenagers rotating host homes.

We worshipped, we prayed, the gifts flowed, no matter who was leading, they would always lay aside the direction they thought the meeting would go if the Lord took it another direction. But we often had contact with each other during the week. Some saw each other at school. Hours were invested on the phone or in person talking through family situations or growth in Christ decisions to be made, always one generation of experience helping the younger generation, even if there were only months separating our ages, spiritually one was an elder in the faith while the other was a babe in Christ, yet we were all equal.

For the first time in history perhaps, at least in terms of numbers this big, people are leaving church and not falling away from God, but finding Him. They are finding him in true relationships, in home meetings, just as the book of Acts presents.

We have become as the heroes of the faith in Hebrews 11:16: "But now they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly, therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared for them a city."

Next week - walking it out
Blessings,
John Fenn
www.supernaturalhousechurch. org

Forty Trends Back To Simplicity

2011-01-09T03:45:00.000-08:00

Dear Friends on my A Word in Season list,
I am writing a book entitled THE STAINED GLASS WINDOW - Forty Trends Back to Simplicity and I am sending it out to friends and family to get their feedback to do the final edit before publishing. I would be grateful if you would read each of the forty trends. Some are more lengthy than others, most are only one page. The entire book is based on the current phenomena of the house church movement around the world. Please do not judge the whole message till you have read it all. Any comments from you will be helpful, both pro and con. Here is the second trend.

Trend #2.

From "Christianity" to Christ . . . not a religion, a philosophy or a system but Christ in me, living his life in me and through me.

The word "Christianity" is not found in the Bible. The early church did not build a religious system or a formal priesthood, or organization, or denomination. They were "followers of The Way." It was a way of life. But deeper than that, it was a new relationship with God. It was Christ in you, the hope of glory!

No other religion in the history of the world has been established on the same ground as that of Jesus Christ. Every other religious leader who ever lived also died and remained in the grave. Jesus died and rose again, but more than that, he reincarnates himself in the lives of his followers. It is "Christ in you!" This is the genius and the uniqueness of being "in Christ!" And since I am in Christ, Christ is also in me!

Jesus said, "He who dwells in me, the works that I do shall he do also, and greater works than these shall he do." That is exactly how we are to operate. The normal Christian life is God in me doing the same kind of works Jesus did. Paul had grasped this truth when he said, "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me." In another place he says, "For me to live is Christ." Again he said that the "mystery" that had been hidden from ages and from generations was, "Christ in you, the hope of glory." Christ in me is the only hope of glory, which means the outshining radiance of the presence of God shining through my life.

The most powerful personal letter I have ever read explaining his experience of the spiritual mystery of Christ in you, was written by the man who founded the China Inland Mission, J. Hudson Taylor. Here is his letter written to his sister, Amelia, October, 1869 while he was still in China in the early days of that Mission: (used by permission of OMF International) May his testimony bring this truth to us in all it's beauty and transforming power.

"My own dear sister - So many thanks for your long dear letter. I do not think you have written me such a letter since we have been in China. I know it is with you as it is with me. It is not that you will not. It is simply that you cannot. Mind and body will not bear more than a certain amount of strain, or do more than a certain amount of work.

As to work, mine was never so plentiful, so responsible, or so difficult; but the weight and strain are all gone. The last month or more has been, perhaps, the happiest of my life; and I long to tell you a little of what the Lord has done for my soul.

I do not know how far I may be able to make myself intelligible about it, for there is nothing new or strange or wonderful - and yet, all is new! In a word: “Whereas I was blind, now I see.”

Perhaps I shall make myself more clear if I go back a little. Well, Dearie, my mind has been greatly exercised for the past six or eight months, feeling the need personally, and for our Mission, of more holiness, more life and power in our souls. But personal need stood first and was the greatest. I felt the ingratitude, the danger, the sin of not living nearer to God. I prayed, agonized, fasted, strove, made resolutions, read the Word more diligently, sought more time for retirement and meditation - but all was without avail. Every day, almost every hour, the consciousness of sin oppressed me.

I knew that if I could only abide in Christ, all would be well, but I could not. I would begin the day with prayer, determined not to take my eyes from Him for a moment, but pressure of duties, sometimes very trying, constant interruptions, often very wearing, would cause me to forget Him. Then one’s nerves get so fretted in this climate that temptations to irritability, hard thoughts and sometimes unkind words are all the more difficult to control. Each day brought its register of sin, failure, and lack of power. To will was indeed present with me, but how to perform, I found not.

Then came the question, “Is there no rescue? Must it be like this till the end - constant conflict and, instead of victory, too often defeat?” How, too, could I preach with sincerity that to those who receive Jesus, “to them gave He power to become the sons of God" (i.e. God-like) when it was not so in my experience? Instead of growing stronger, I seemed to be getting weaker and to have less power against sin; and no wonder, for faith and even hope were getting very low. I hated myself; I hated my sin; and yet I gained no strength against it.

I felt I was a child of God. His Spirit in my heart would cry, in spite of all, “Abba, Father” but to rise to my privileges as a child, I was utterly powerless. I thought that holiness was to be gradually attained by a diligent use of the means of grace. I felt that there was nothing I so much desired in this world, nothing I so much needed. But the more I pursued and strove after holiness, the more it eluded my grasp, till hope itself almost died out and I began to think that perhaps to make heaven the sweeter, God would not give it to us in this life.

I do not think I was striving to attain it in my own strength. I knew I was powerless. I told the Lord so and asked Him to give me help and strength and sometimes I almost believed He would keep and uphold me. But on looking back in the evening, there was sin and failure to confess and mourn before God.

I would not give you the impression that this was the daily experience of all those long, weary months, but it tended to be a too frequent state of soul and I almost ended up in despair. And yet, never did Christ seem more precious a Savior who could and would save such a sinner! And sometimes there were seasons not only of peace but of joy in the Lord. But they were fleeting and at best there was a sad lack of power. Oh, how good the Lord has been in bringing this conflict to an end!

All the time I felt assured that there was in Christ all I needed, but the practical question was how to get it out. He was rich, but I was poor; He was strong, but I was weak. I knew full well that there was in the vine, in the root, the stem, abundant fatness; but how to get it into my puny little branch was the question.

As gradually the light dawned on me, I saw that faith was the only prerequisite to laying hold of His fullness and making it my own. But I did not have this faith . . . I strove for it, but it would not come; I tried to exercise it, but in vain. Seeing more and more the wondrous supply of grace laid up in Jesus, the fullness of our precious Savior - my helplessness and guilt seemed to increase. Sins committed appeared but as trifles compared with the sin of unbelief which was their cause, which could not or would not take God at His word, but rather made Him a liar! Unbelief was, I felt, the damning sin of the world - yet I indulged in it. I prayed for faith but it did not come. What was I to do?

When my agony of soul was at its height, a sentence in a letter from dear McCarthy was used to remove the scales from my eyes, and the Spirit of God revealed the truth of our oneness with Jesus as I had never seen it before. McCarthy, who had been much exercised by the same sense of failure, but saw the light before I did, wrote (I quote from memory): “But how to get faith strengthened? Not by striving after faith, but by resting on the Faithful One.”

As I read I saw it all! “If we believe not, He remains faithful.” I looked to Jesus and saw (and when I saw, oh, how joy flowed) that He had said, “I will never leave you.” “Ah, here is rest!” I thought. “I have striven in vain to rest in Him. I’ll strive no more. For has He not promised to abide with me - never to leave me, never to fail me?” And Dearie, He never will!

But this was not all He showed me; nor one half. As I thought of the vine and the branches, what light the blessed Spirit poured directly into my soul! How great seemed my mistake in having wished to get the sap, the fullness, out of Him! I saw not only that Jesus would never leave me, but that I was a member of His body, of His flesh and of His bones. The vine now I see is not the root merely, but all - root, stem, branches, twigs, leaves, flowers, fruit; and Jesus is not only that; He is soil and sunshine, air and showers, and ten thousand times more than we have ever dreamed, wished for, or needed. Oh the joy of seeing this truth! I do pray that the eyes of your understanding may be enlightened, that you may know and enjoy the riches freely given us in Christ.

Oh, my dear sister, it is a wonderful thing to be really one with a risen and exalted Savior, to be a member of Christ! Think what it involves. Can Christ be rich and I poor? Can your right hand be rich and the left poor? Or your head well fed while your body starves? Again, think of this bearing on prayer. Could a bank clerk say to a customer, “It was only your hand that wrote that check, not you,” or “I cannot pay this sum to your hand, but only to yourself?” No more can your prayers, or mine, be discredited if offered in the name of Jesus (i.e. not in your own name, or even for the sake of Jesus, but on the ground that we are His, His members) so long as we keep within the extent of Christ’s credit - a considerably wide limit!

If we ask anything unscriptural or not in accordance with the will of God, Christ Himself could not do that; but “If we ask anything according to His will, He hears us; and . . . we know that we have the petitions that we desired of Him.”

The sweetest part, if one may speak of one part being sweeter than another, is the rest which full identification with Christ brings. I am no longer anxious about anything, as I realize this; for He, I know, is able to carry out His will and His will is mine. It makes no difference where He places me or how. That is rather for Him to consider than for me; for in the easiest positions He must give me His grace, and in the most difficult His grace is sufficient.

It matters little to my servant whether I send him to buy a few dollars worth of things or the most expensive articles. In either case he looks to me for the money and brings me his purchases. So if God places me in great perplexity, must He not give me much guidance; or in positions of great difficulty, much grace; or in circumstances of great pressure and trial, much strength? There is no fear that His resources will be unequal to the emergency! And His resources are mine for He is mine, and is with me and dwells in me.

All this springs from the believer's oneness with Christ. And since Christ is now living in my heart by faith, how happy I have been! I wish I could tell you instead of writing about it.

I am no better than before (in one sense, I do not wish to be, nor am I striving to be); but I am dead and buried with Christ - yes, and risen too and ascended; and now Christ lives in me, and “the life that I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

I now believe that I am dead to sin. God reckons me so, and tells me to reckon myself so. He knows best. All my past experiences may have shown that it was not so; but I dare not say it is not, when He says it is. I feel and know that old things have passed away. I am as capable of sinning as ever, but Christ is realized as present as never before. He cannot sin; and He can keep me from sinning.

Faith, I now see, is “the substance of things hoped for” and not mere shadow. It is not less than sight, but more. Sight only shows the outward forms of things; faith gives the substance. You can rest on substance; you can feed on substance. Christ dwelling in the heart by faith (i.e. faith in His word of promise) is power indeed, is life indeed. And Christ and sin will not dwell together; nor can we experience His presence with love of the world or carefulness about “many things.”

And now I must close. I have not said half I would like to say if I had more time. May God give you the grace to lay hold on these blessed truths! Do not let us continue to say, in effect, “Who shall ascend into heaven? That is, to bring Christ down from above.” In other words, do not let us consider Him as far off when God has made us one with Him, members of His very body. Nor should we look upon this experience, these truths, as only for the few. They are the birthright of every child of God, and no one can dispense with them without dishonor to our Lord. The only power for deliverance from sin or for serving the Lord is Christ. Your own affectionate brother, J. Hudson Taylor"

--
Robert Fitts
76-6309 Haku Pl
Kona, HI 96740
robertjoni@gmail.com
www.robertfitts.com

THE STAINED GLASS BARRIER

2011-01-07T03:44:00.000-08:00

PRESENT TRENDS BACK TO SIMPLE CHURCH

From the sanctuaries to the streets . . . doing the works of Jesus wherever we find a need.

As we read through the life of Jesus in the New Testament it is difficult to find him organizing a religious gathering or an evangelistic meeting, or any kind of meeting. It seems that all of his large meetings, such as the feeding of the five thousand or the multitudes that gathered on the shores of the Sea of Galilee all took place more or less spontaneously as crowds would gather to hear what he was saying and to be healed of their diseases.

Jesus sometimes spoke in the synagogues on the Sabbath. Once he sent out the seventy, two by two, into the towns and cities where he himself would come later. He arranged for the final meal with his disciples, but aside from that, most of his earthly ministry took place as he walked among the people, taught them, and met their needs as he moved about in the ordinary events of daily life.

Jesus’ strategy was to go where the people were; to see the needs and minister to those needs. We find him healing a man at the Pool of Siloam as he walked by and saw his need. We see him feeding the hungry, ministering, teaching in the Temple, teaching on the streets, at the beach, in a synagogue or on a mountainside.

Once as he sat near a well waiting for the disciples to return with food for lunch he spoke the word of life to a woman of Samaria who had come to draw water. This resulted in making a trip to her town where so many people were listening and receiving his word that he stayed in that town two whole days preaching the Kingdom of God.

Nicodemus came to him at night seeking to know who he was and Jesus shared with him the message of salvation. It was to Nicodemus that Jesus spoke the most life changing sentence ever uttered, "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life." (John 3:16)

As he walked along a crowded road one day he saw Zaccheus, a man small of stature, who had climbed a tree to get a better look at Jesus as he passed by. Jesus invited him to come down from the tree and as they ate a meal together Jesus led him out of his darkness into the light of life. Zaccheus became a different man right on the spot!

He healed Peter’s mother-in-law of a fever when he arrived at their house for a meal. She immediately arose from her bed of affliction and began to serve them.

Jesus' primary ministry was spontaneous responses to the needs of people as he walked through each day. In every place where he found people in need, he met that need in the power of the Holy Spirit.

At the age of seventeen, when I first started going to church, it was a tremendous challenge to learn "church talk." The King James Bible was the only Bible people used in those days in West Texas. Everybody prayed using King James language. It was unthinkable to address God in our prayers as "you." To be respectful we had to use "thee" and "thou." Then there was "wouldst" and "couldst" and "whence" and "hither" and "whither" and "thither." I finally got used to it but it took me a while.

Then I had another problem, I was finding it difficult to talk to people about spiritual things when I was not in a church setting; to talk about Jesus to people at work or to my friends who did not know Jesus was a huge leap of faith for me!

Then, the day came when I knew God was calling me to preach! The thought that I was to stand up on a stage behind a pulpit and speak formally to a lot of people through a microphone was the scariest thing I could imagine! At age seventeen, the first time I had to do that, I became physically ill as I sat on the platform awaiting my time to talk. I almost vomited on stage right there in front of the congregation, but somehow I got through the ordeal. It was only a three - minute talk on "Youth Night" at our church, but it was a major challenge for me!

From the time I was a very small boy, I was always very shy and quiet around people. The fear of man was on me something awful for as long as I can remember! But I went off to Bible College and finally learned how to bring formal teachings from the pulpit and how to lead in prayer in a public meeting. But in spite of the curious language we always used as we preached and prayed in church, somehow I learned how to witness to unsaved people one on one.

But something was still missing. It was not the spontaneous, unplanned kinds of things that Jesus did in his ministry. All our evangelistic and teaching ministries had to be planned well in advance so that we could be well prepared and most of our evangelistic efforts were inside the four walls of a church building. I was still not trained to always be ready to minister healing to the sick or do the other things Jesus did such as, speak a word of wisdom, a word of knowledge, a word of prophecy or rebuke the devil as I went about my daily routine. That was all in another realm of ministry that I learned to move in later on, but at the time, I trembled to even think about it.

Recently God has given me a way to move toward the Jesus kind of spontaneous ministry. It is by praying daily with another believer the Divine Appointment Prayer: "Father, give us a divine appointment today with someone who is hungry for God, or sick, or in need, and give us the grace to minister the love of Jesus in the power of the Holy Spirit." God is answering that prayer for us and I am encouraging people everywhere to find a partner and pray that prayer together daily in person or by phone. It is exciting what God will do in answer to that simple prayer of agreement! "If any two of you on earth shall agree as touching anything that they shall ask, it shall be done for them by my Father in heaven." - Jesus

Robert Fitts
76-6309 Haku Pl
Kona, HI 96740
robertjoni@gmail.com
www.robertfitts.com

A Declaration of Unity
I belong to everything that belongs to Jesus and everything that belongs to Jesus belongs to me! It's not us and them. It's just us! There's only one Body of Christ, and the problems of the church, the whole church, are our problems, for we are the church and we can do more united than we can do divided! So let's unify, simplify, and multiply!

Divine Appointment Prayer
Father, give me a divine appointment today with someone who is hungry for God, or sick, or in need, and give me grace to minister the love of Jesus in the power of the Holy Spirit.

Winning the War on Terror by Prayer
Father, give every terrorist an encounter with Jesus such as Paul had on the road to Damascus.

Living to Give
Father, make me a generous giver today! Show me where to give and what to give, and let all my giving bring glory to the name of Jesus.

Grace, YES! Law, NO!
Law demands, demands, demands
But gives me neither feet nor hands
Grace and Truth are better things
They bid me fly and give me wings

Life is relationships - A Letter from Steve Hill

2011-01-03T03:51:00.000-08:00

Hello Friends
We trust you have had a great Christmas Season with family and friends. Please receive our best wishes for the New Year! Speaking of the New Year- the New Year's letter of 2009 was one of our most forwarded posts. Missed it? Go to www.harvest-now.org and pull up "Prophetic Word for 2009". And while you are there click on "The Luke 10 Manual" to order your electronic or hard copy.

Now to building coffins. This may not seem like a great way to start a new year but several recent blogs, conversations, tweets have turned on the subject of theology and the merits of differing theological systems. If one is honest, they will need to admit that their system of choice works as long as they do not include the scriptures that form the basis of a rival system. Interesting problem! God gave us a collection of historical accounts, poems, legal systems, sacrificial systems, moral laws, prophecies, dreams, visions and letters arranged in 66 books, written over thousands of years of His relationship with us. Then we try to make a rational system out of it? We cannot make a rational system out of our relationship with our spouse and we try to do so with our relationship with God?

Every theological system is like a coffin. The only body you can get to fit into it is a dead one. Making the coffin more and more complex to try to accommodate more and more of the mystery of God misses the point. If your reason could create a logical system that could fully contain God, your reason would be God. God will not fit in any coffin no matter how many bits you try to chop off nor how many scriptures you try to ignore.

The universe is not rationally ordered nor is it rationally determined. If God wanted to write a book of theology He could have done so. He is smart enough. He did not so why do we try? We do worse than build theological coffins. We try to force God into them. The only God that fits is a dead one. The comfort of rationalism and the arrogance of having the right doctrine is that it becomes the end in itself. You got it right. You do not have to do anything else. And your God is in a coffin where you do not have to deal with Him.

The universe is relationally ordered. God is a Father and God is a love relationship of Father, Word and Holy Spirit. Their union is a mystery of love and mutual honour. Our lives are relationally ordered. That is why the moral law is eternal. Moral law has to do with relationships. There is no rational system that can protect you from the risk, uncertainty, vulnerability demanded by authentic relationships. The practical extension of rationalism is legalism. Hearts protected from life by rules and fear.

The universe is relationally determined. The future, in general and my future in particular, is determined by my relationship with God and with others. God is a Father who is passionate to share Himself with a family. The Father and the Holy Spirit are passionate to present a bride to the Son. The Father and the Son are passionate to create a living temple for the Holy Spirit. The Word and the Spirit are passionate to present all things to the Father so that He might be all and in all.

This is not to say that the universe is unreasonable. It is reasonable, predictable, seasonal and purposeful. It is not absurd but neither is it rational. Someone has said that the first question of the age of reason is suicide- why should I live? The end of rationalism is nihilism. Absurdity and rationalism are two sides of the same coin. What is rational is not necessarily meaningful.

Truth is not a system of thought. Truth is not correct doctrine. Truth is a person whose name is Jesus. In Him are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. In Him are judgement and forgiveness, wrath and mercy, law and grace, God's freedom to choose and man' s freedom to choose, His freedom to love and my freedom to love. In Him all truths hold together in living tension. Even the ones that we cannot reconcile in our rational systems. Even the scriptures that we try to ignore.

The challenge and sharp discomfort of a relationally ordered universe is that the God who is love says that right belief is not enough. He says that even the devils believe and tremble. He says that if I say I love Him and do not love my brother, I am a liar.

My life in God is fulfilled as I love Him and love my enemies.
The universe is ordered by love.
My future is determined by love expressed in simple but often difficult serving of others.

"By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoever has this world's goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him? My little children let us not love in word or in tongue but in deed and in truth." I John 3:16- 18

Life is relationships.
Thanks to all of you for your friendship in 2010.
May this increase in 2011.
Steve & Marilyn

"95 THESES to the MODERN EVANGELICAL CHURCH"

2010-11-26T04:30:00.000-08:00

"95 THESES to the MODERN EVANGELICAL CHURCH"
-by Greg Gordon.
[Founder of Sermonindex.net]

1. The “church” at large has forgotten that the chief end of man is to glorify
God. (Rom 16:27; 1Cor 6:20; Mt 6:9; 1Cor 10:31)

2. Christians ignore most of the methods, practices and principles found in the
book of Acts. (Acts 2:42,44; Acts 2:46; Acts 2:38)

3. Many treat “church” like any other social club or sports event that they
might attend. (Acts 2:46; Heb 10:25; Acts 1:14)

4. We’ve made Christianity about the individual rather than the community of
believers. (Rom 12:5; 1Cor 12:12; 2Tim 4:16)

5. In most “churches” the priesthood of all believers isn’t acknowledged and
the role of pastor is abused. (1Pt 2:9; 1Cor 12:12; Eph 4:11-13)

6. The “church” as a whole has lost the concept of their being grafted into the
promises given to Israel. (Rom 11:15, 17-18, 20, 25)

7. There needs to be a recovery of teaching the whole counsel of God,
especially in expository form. (Acts 20:27; 1Tim 4:6, 2Tim 2:15)

8. We take it too lightly that we have the blessing and honor of having God’s
Scriptures in our possession. (Ps 119:16; Acts 13:44; Neh 8:9)

9. There has never been more access to the Word of God, yet so little reading
of it. (1Tim 4:13; Neh 8:1-3; Ps 119:59)

10. Some read the Scriptures to attain knowledge, but do not practice what they
read. (Jam 1:22; Mt 7:21; 3Jn 4)

11. Worship has become an idol in many “churches”. The music often resembles
that of the world. (Amos 5:23; Phil 4:8; 1Jn 5:21)

12. The world is shaping the views of the “church” more than the “church”
shaping the world. (Rom 12:2; Mt 5:13; 1Cor 1:22-23)

13. The “church” spends more money on dog food than on missions. (2Cor 9:6; Lk
21:2; Acts 4:34-35)

14. We take lightly the cost of discipleship laid out by Jesus Christ and do
not deny our lives. (Lk 14:33; Lk 14:26-27; Mt 8:19-20)

15. There is a lack of true discipleship and making others to be obedient
disciples. (Mt 28:20; 2Tim 2:2; 2Tim 2:14)

16. Many subscribe to the error that parts of life are to be spiritual while
others are to be secular. (1Pt 4:2; Col 3:3; 1Jn 2:6)

17. Modern Christians often find Jesus’ command to sacrifice and serve
abhorrent. (Phil 2:21; Jam 3:16; Rom 12:1-2)

18. Self disciplines in the Christian life such as fasting and praying are
considered legalistic. (2Tim 2:21; 2Tim 1:8; Mt 6:17)

19. Little thought and contemplation is put towards the lostness of men, the
seriousness of the Gospel. (Phil 3:8; Gal 2:20; Heb 10:34)

20. We are living with an epidemic of cheap grace with flippant confession and
shallow consecration. (Lk 14:28-30; Lk 14:26; Jam 4:8)

21. Since the inception of the Church, the Gospel had the requirements of
repentance and discipleship. (Acts 2:38; Lk 14:26; Jn 8:31)

22. Now forgiveness is offered without repentance, discipleship without
obedience, salvation without sanctity. (Heb 10:29; 4:11; Lk 13:24)

23. Introspection, counting the cost, godly sorrow over sin, are all foreign to
many in the “church”. (Acts 2:37; Ps 119:9; Heb 6:1-2)

24. The modern church loves itself more than its neighbor. (1Cor 3:3; Gal 5:13;
Phil 2:3)

25. The church must repent of its idolization of personality, and of business
principles. (2Cor 2:17; 1Cor 3:5; 1Cor 12:23)

26. Many elders and pastors of the “church” sadly are fleecing the flock to
supply their own wants. (Jn 10:12-13; 1Pt 5:2-3; Rev 2:15)

27. The qualities most in demand in today’s pastorate are frequently foreign to
the Scriptures. (1Tim 3:2-3; 1Tim 3:5; 1Tim 1:5-7)

28. The professionalization of the pastorate is a sin and needs to be repented
of. (2Cor 11:13; Gal 3:1; Gal 2:6)

29. There must be repentance for the ambitious desire and idolization of the
celebrity pastorate. (3Jn 9; Jer 17:5; 1Cor 12:22)

30. Pastors must trust the Spirit, not statistics. (2Sam 24:1; 1Cor 1:25; Rom
8:14)

31. Modern day prophets are being stoned by criticism and neglect. (2Tim 4:3-4;
Gal 1:10; Jer 1:7-8)

32. God’s prophets are ill-treated and shunned by most “christians” considered
too harsh or extreme. (Jer 6:10; Isa 6:9-10; Gal 4:16)

33. The prophets prophesy falsely, priests rule by their own power; and my
people love to have it so. (Mt 24:4, 11-12; 1Cor 1:19, Jude 8 )

34. There are many false gospels being preached from pulpits in our day. (2Cor
11:4; Gal 1:8-9; Jude 16)

35. There is an epidemic of a “mock” salvation message. It is correct in
doctrine, but false in reality. (2Cor 3:6; 1Jn 5:11-12; Rom 8:9)

36. A salvation that does not make men holy is trusted in by a deceived
multitude. (Jude 4; Rom 8:1; Rom 6:17-18)

37. There is a needed perseverance in the truths of the Gospel without
unbelief. (Eph 1:1; Heb 6:11-12; Heb 10:26-27)

38. A great need is to see “christians” become saints in actual experience.
(1Jn 2:29; Col 3:5-8; Tit 3:8)

39. Many professors of religion are forbidding people to be a part of the holy
body of Christ. (Mt 23:13; Ps 119:1-2; 2Pt 1:3-4)

40. Preaching has become all about the happiness of man and not the glory of
God. (Jn 6:26; Rom 4:20; 1Pt 4:11)

41. Preachers give smooth words to entice men, yet very few give any words of
correction or rebuke. (Jer 6:14; Pro 1:23; 1Tim 5:20)

42. Run from gospels that focus on our success and prosperity in the name of
Jesus Christ. (Jn 2:16; Acts 20:33; Jer 6:13)

43. Run from gospels that focus on self-improvement. (1Tim 6:5; Heb 12:14; Jam
4:14)

44. Run from churches where men, and not Christ, are glorified. (Col 1:18; Jude
25; Jn 16:14)

45. Run from churches where there is no Bible, no cross, no mention of the
blood of Christ. (1Pt 1:18-19; Eph 3:13; Rev 1:5)

46. Run from churches where the worship leaves you cold, where there’s no sense
of God’s presence. (1Cor 5:4; Ps 80:14-15; Jer 12:11)

47. Run from churches where you’re comfortable in your sin. (1Cor 14:25; Heb
10:30-31; Heb 4:13)

48. Run from churches that use the pulpit of God for a personal agenda. (Jude
10-11,19; 3Jn 9)

49. Run from those who preach division between races and cultures. (Jam 2:4,
Gal 3:28, Rev 5:9)

50. Run from ungodly, spasmodic movements and endless empty prophesying. (Jer
5:13; 1Cor 14:33, 1Jn 2:16)

51. Run from preachers who tell mostly stories and jokes. (Eph 5:4; Tit 1:8;
2:12)

52. Run from those that are only after money, who use one gimmick after another
to get your money. (2Pt 2:3; 2Cor 12:14; 1Cor 9:18)

53. The phrase “accept Jesus as your personal Saviour” is not found in the
Scriptures. (Rom 10:9-10; Col 1:13; Acts 26:20)

54. Evidence of true conversion does not seem important to modern day
Christians. (1Jn 2:6; 1Jn 4:17; Mt 7:20)

55. Thousands of sinners think of God as having only one attribute: Love! But
they continue in sin. (Rom 1:18; Acts 5:11; Ps 2:12)

56. “God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life!” has hindered true
evangelism. (Rom 3:19; Acts 26:18; Phil 3:18-21)

57. A Gospel of love and grace only, without the law of God being preached.
This is a doctrine of Satan. (2Tim 4:3-4; Rom 2:4-5; 3:19)

58. There has clearly arisen a careless mixture of 20th century reasoning with
God’s revelation. (Col 2:8; Rom 1:25; Gal 1:6)

59. Decisionism and the “sinner’s prayer” has been a major cause of false
conversions in the “church”. (2Pt 2:1-2; Eph 2:4-5; 2Cor 5:17-18)

60. Many will be surprised to hear Jesus say, “I never knew you, depart from
me.” (Mt 7:22-23; 1Cor 6:9-10; Gal 5:19-21)

61. Men have taken the place of the Holy Spirit in confirming men in their
supposed salvation. (1Jn 2:3-5; 2Ths 1:8; Gal 6:12-15)

62. The doctrine of hell and eternal suffering is something little grasped by
most professing “christians”. (Mt 13:42; Jam 5:1; Ps 9:17)

63. The judgment seat of Christ is perhaps one of the most neglected topics in
the modern pulpit. (2Cor 5:10; Rom 14:10; 1Cor 3:13)

64. The second coming of Christ needs to be re-instated as the church’s general
thrust and burden. (1Jn 3:2-3; Col 3:4-6; 1Ths 4:14-17)

65. The church has lost the fear of God and has over emphasized the love of
God. (Heb 12:28-29; Lk 12:5; Heb 10:31)

66. The church has left evangelism to a few trained professionals. (Acts 8:1,4;
Acts 4:29; Rom 10:14)

67. Repentance is considered a one-time act in modern evangelism rather than a
way of life. (Rev 3:19; Heb 12:17; 2Pt 3:9)

68. The Lordship of Jesus Christ is something that is not taught in many
pulpits. (Acts 2:36; 1Cor 12:3; Rom 6:18)

69. Many in “churches” are not open to correction, church discipline or rebuke.
(1Cor 5:5; 1Cor 11:31-32; Heb 12:7-9)

70. Some preach salvation as a theory instead of persuading men to come to
Christ. (Jn 5:40; Col 1:28; 2Cor 4:5)

71. There has been a loss of the fullness and majesty of the gospel. (1Tim
1:11; Jude 25; Rom 15:29)

72. There is little mention of sin or the depravity of man from “church”
pulpits. (Jn 3:20; Gal 5:19-21; Eph 5:5)

73. Covetousness, consumerism, and coddling of the world’s goods does not
appear wrong. (Jer 22:17; 1Jn 2:15-16; 1Tim 3:3)

74. Little is made of the resurrection of Jesus Christ in churches or in
evangelism. (1Cor 15:14-15; Acts 4:10, 33)

75. The “church” has relied more on technology than God. (Zech 4:6; 1Cor 1:21;
2:4)

76. The prayer meeting is considered one of the least important meetings in the
“church”. (1Tim 2:1; Acts 4:31; Phil 4:6)

77. Pastors have never prayed less than they do in the “church” today. (Jer
10:21; Phil 2:21; Eph 6:18-19)

78. Very few are waiting on God for His direction and purpose for His Church.
(Eph 1:11; Ps 37:7; Isa 40:31)

79. The “church” has many organizers, but few agonizers. (Phil 3:18-19; Rom 9:1-
3; Jer 9:1)

80. We need to have the gifts of the Spirit restored again to the “church”.
(2Tim 4:2; 1Cor 14:39; 1Cor 12:31)

81. A serious, sober, self-controlled Christianity is very seldom found or
preached. (2Pt 3:11; 1Pt 4:7; Jude 3)

82. The “church” at large has forgotten how to pray. (1Jn 3:22; Acts 6:4; 1Ths
5:17)

83. Many “churches” are more dependent on tradition than the leading of the
Holy Spirit. (Mk 7:13; Acts 16:6; Acts 13:2)

84. Multitudes of professors preach and teach: that you cannot be freed from
sin. (Rom 16:18; Rom 6:1-2; 2Pt 2:1)

85. The Apostles and Christ always preached the possibility to walk free from
sin. (Tit 2:11-12; 1Pt 1:14-16; Rom 6:19)

86. Sinners are not saved to sin, but rather, saved to holiness and good works.
(Rom 6:13; Eph 2:10; 2Pt 3:14)

87. Cheap grace means the justification of sin without the justification of the
sinner. (2Tim 2:19; 1Pt 4:17-18; 2Tim 3:12)

88. A baptism of holiness, a demonstration of godly living is the crying need
of our day. (1Tim 6:3; 2Ths 3:6; 2Ths 2:13)

89. Many are confused about obedience, and good works that are readily
mentioned in the Scriptures. (Tit 3:8; Jn 10:32; Rev 3:15)

90. Little emphasis is put on the plan of God to make us like Jesus Christ in
“churches”. (1Pt 1:14-16; 1Jn 2:6; 1Pt 4:1)

91. Christ did not die on the cross to obtain a worldly “church” but for a
“glorious Church.” (Eph 5:27; Tit 2:14; Col 4:12)

92. Christ does not come into an unregenerate and impure heart as many
contemporary theologians say. (2Cor 5:17; Mt 5:8; Eze 18:31)

93. A holy Church is God’s blessing to the world; an unholy “church” is God’s
judgment upon the world. (Mt 5:14,16; Eph 4:1; 1Ths 2:12)

94. If Christianity is to make any headway in the present time, it must be
proved to be more than a theory. (2Ths 3:6-7; 1Ths 4:1,11-12)

95. Unbelief has gagged and bound us as risen Lazarus! We need release in this
final hour! (Heb 3:12-14; 1Cor 3:21-23; Heb 11:6)

-Please comment on these "New 95 Theses" at the following site-

http://www.johnthebaptisttv.com/

Do you miss church?

2010-10-01T20:13:00.000-07:00

Some thoughts from Karla

Dear Friends,

For those of you who are "outside the camp"...

How many times do you catch yourself missing the things that "church" offers?

Especially this time of year, with the holidays approaching, it can be a lonely time for some who used to go to church.

Do you miss the singing, praise and worship, Women's ministry, Men's ministry, potluck dinners, preaching, tithing/giving, children's ministries, even listening to people giving "prophetic words" (just to name a few).

Ask yourself a question...

Are the "things" that I miss really ministering to the LORD or to ME?

Really look deep into yourself and ask this question.

"Church" for the most part gives you the mindset of Martha. Busy little Martha, trying to minister to others, much serving, and even fulfilling her own need to be needed; maybe even fulfilling a desire to be in charge (because she thought Mary should be doing more to help her).

How many of you can remember working your butt off in churches thinking, "Why isn't everyone else working as hard as me?"

But we see Mary is sitting at the feet of Jesus, ministering to Him.

A lot of people write in and ask us what it means or looks like to minister to the Lord. I always picture Mary sitting quietly at Jesus' feet. She has no other person on her mind or any concerns other than sitting at His feet and listening, talking, sharing, and loving the Lord Jesus while He is right there in front of her.

Did she do this 24/7? No, of course not. Jesus went on with what His Father had Him to do, and Mary went on to do her daily things that needed to be done. But remember that she did take time out to sit at His feet and Jesus said this is what is needed.

So when you start to miss the things you once enjoyed so much in "church", remember where the Lord has brought you. Do not be like the children of Israel who always complained and wanted to go back to Egypt, thinking you had it better in "church".

There is a reason and a purpose for bringing you out. Let the Lord guide you in this new walk. Let Him teach you His ways - which are far better then your ways or the church's ways. And remember that the main lesson is: He will increase and I will decrease. This process is not an easy one but you have to go through it!

In Him,

Karla Brogden
http://www.TheSchoolOfChrist.Org

Chinese House Churches Raided, Two Foreign Pastors Missing

2010-10-01T19:43:00.000-07:00

Chinese House Churches Raided, Two Foreign Pastors Missing

By Dan Wooding
Founder of ASSIST Ministries

SICHUAN/HENAN, CHINA (ANS) -- ChinaAid (www.ChinaAid.org) has told the ASSIST News Service that on Sunday, September 26, 2010, Youqing Church in Qu County, Da Prefecture, Sichuan province, China, was raided by the local police.

"Objects were smashed, books were confiscated and people were taken to the local police station," said a ChinaAid spokesperson. "Their family members were requested to pay money to bail out the detainees.

"On September 29th at 5 p.m. local time, four of the church members attempted to negotiate with Sichuan police in hopes of having their confiscated belongings returned to them in accordance with law. Instead, they were arrested on the spot."

ChinaAid is also reporting that a raid was conducted on Wednesday,September 22, 2010, at around 4 p.m on the Mid-Autumn Festival Day where a house church meeting in Wancheng District, Nanyang City, Henan province ,was invaded and all who were present, except for one elderly woman, were arrested.

"Two foreign pastors present at the meeting, one from the United States and one from Russia, were detained and so was their translator," said the spokesperson. "During the arrests, one member of the church, Ma Hanzhong, was beaten. The whereabouts of the two foreign instructors are unknown. The officials of Henan province have threatened to sentence the detained believers to re-education through labor."

In both of these critical cases, ChinaAid calls for worldwide attention and advocacy on behalf of those in need.

"We encourage Christians to stand with the persecuted and continue to pray for them," added the ChinaAid spokesperson.

WHY Are THEY LEAVING the CHURCHES??

2010-09-30T23:11:00.000-07:00

WHY Are THEY LEAVING the CHURCHES??
-Andrew Strom.

Since we have been discussing the "Out-of-church" Christians,
I think it is very important for us all - including church leaders - to
look at the reasons why these people are leaving. Very often they
are NOT "church-hoppers" or backsliders. A lot of them are leaving
because they believe the CHURCH is backsliding!

So many people write to me from all over the world saying that
they have tried and tried - but they cannot find any fellowship in
their town that seems remotely biblical. They tell me they have
looked hard - but they are either cold, formal, or anti-charismatic
on one hand - or "hyper-charismaniac" or 'seeker-sensitive' on
the other. There hardly seems to be any balanced biblical approach
whichever way they turn.

It is easy to pass glib remarks like "There is no perfect church"
but my heart truly goes out to these ones because the church
scene has been bad for awhile - and seemingly growing worse
and worse. So what are people to do?

Below are some accounts that people have sent me about why
they have left the churches. We would love your comments on
this too at our website (link at the end)-

From: Peggy (-USA):
"My husband and I have been Christians for 30 years, home group
leaders for much of that time; my husband has also been a worship
leader for most of that time. However, now we are among the "out
of church" that your message describes, although we do continue
to meet and pray with other believers who feel the same longing
for something more real than we have experienced for longer than
we care to remember. The cry of our hearts is *not* to live on our
memories of incredible intimacy with God in years past, but to
discover Him anew and in deeper ways than ever before. We are
desperate for Him. In light of that hunger, the emptiness of our
church experience, a church we'd attended for 17 years, was
more than we could bear."

From: Randy (-USA):
"I read an explanation of why the phenomenon is growing - the out-
of-church Christians. They say that we are lone rangers, backsliders,
not team players, have bitter root judgements.... This can't be
further from the truth. When we have been attending church, we
find- No God - No Power- No Gospel- Bad Agendas- Poor Leader-
ship- Bad teaching- Bad programs- No Christ- No Healing- No
miracles. Just a struggle for personal power and control. I can't tell
you how many times I have been treated like I am not going to
Heaven because I am not attending church. So, the sad part is,
where do we take our gifts, our tithes, and our love - but out to the
streets. We know many who have left the church, who are
committed as prayer warriors, intercessors, missionaries, and
worshippers. Wanting to share their gifts from God..."

From: Dorie (Canada)-
"I wanted to write to you because I am so frustrated and don't know
what to do anymore... I grew up in a church denomination that was
wacky-charismatic with little-to-no-discernment and a lot of control/
spiritual abuse. About 10 years ago, the Lord gave me my first
wake-up call, grabbing my attention and then 5-6 years ago, another
big, final one...

Now I haven't really been "a part of a Sunday-morning-church" for
a long, long time. I have "fellowship" with some Evangelical
Christians here in Calgary, but just can't seem to be able to sit
through the dry services that seem filled with flowery messages,
as opaque as milk. (I want meat!!!) The worship feels like it is
being led by robots as do the people in the congregation. Or else,
the charismatic churches (Vineyard, Pentecostal, non-
denominational) where they're not considered to be "dry" (so-to-
speak), are just plain wacky! My problem is: I miss really good
worship music and intimate worship times with people who love
to worship and aren't being forced-to, but the only handful of
churches I know that have it, are wacky. People (worship leaders/
intercessors) are acting like Stacey Campbell and I get turned off
so much that I can't tolerate the rest of the service. I feel so torn.
I can't seem to find a church to "fit" in.

I've tried different denominations with no success. The last
evangelical "small group" I was in, ended breaking up because the
small-group pastor was purposely hiding the fact that a christian
couple who were co-leading with him, were living together and not
married. (Once saved, no need for any more personal repentance,
is what he preaches. Greasy-grace. Argh!)... The pastor also told
other young christians in that group that "sex before marriage was
fine"...

I have tried so many places and I'm not being fussy or picky, it
just seems really, really hard and weird here... I really want the
fellowship. I can't seem to fit anywhere, and I am so frustrated that
I could just cry. I long to be with like-minded people, sold-out,
crazy-on-fire for Jesus, totally unashamed. Christians here seem
so focused on their careers, and houses, and cars, and vacations
and I feel like a stinkin' hippie around them because I can't live for
those things!!

What do you do when you want so desperately to be in a fellowship
of believers that is growing strong in the Word, intimate and deep
in worship, and not wacky? I am so discouraged and have a hard
time believing that it exists..."

-Please comment on this topic at the website below-

http://www.johnthebaptisttv.com/

IN-CHURCH, OUT-of-CHURCH, FUTURE CHURCH

2010-09-29T01:10:00.000-07:00

IN-CHURCH, OUT-of-CHURCH, FUTURE CHURCH
-by Andrew Strom.

I have met and fellowshipped with many wonderful Christian people
over the years - from all kinds of backgrounds. But I just need to
comment on this "In-church/ Out-of-church" thing - because it
keeps cropping up.

Let me be clear about this. I meet wonderful "In-church" people all
the time that I absolutely love - and I meet lovely "Out-of-church"
people too that I absolutely love. One of the biggest problems is
that often these two groups do not understand each other at all.
And neither do they necessarily see the need for a "future church"
that is beyond anything that any of us are seeing - a church that
is literally just like the Book of Acts. That is supposed to be our
goal - but too often we are satisfied basically where we are.

CHALLENGES FOR the "IN-CHURCH"

Many of the Christians who are totally "in" the church system truly
see the need for "change". They are not wanting to sit still. They
see there has been a great "decline" in Christianity away from the
old paths - and they are praying that God will move to restore and
purify His Bride. I have met many godly, warm-hearted people like
this who care passionately about God's kingdom and His true
gospel. I usually get on very well with such ones because we
share a common desire to see things "righted" - especially the
gospel message that has become so diluted and lost.

I guess the biggest challenge that I see in these settings is that
I believe God is about to move "outside the box" in such a drastic
way that if we allow ourselves to be too attached to the current
"system" or "way of church" - then we can easily get left behind.
To get us back to true "Book of Acts" Christianity will take such
a leap - and such change - that I wonder if we truly have it in us
to go with Him where He wants to go. How "loosely" do we hold
all these things - our buildings, our "meeting formats", our labels,
titles and ways of doing things? When these things are shaken
or challenged, it is sometimes surprising to discover what a hold
they have on us - even if we think they don't. This is the biggest
challenge that the "system"-type people face, I believe.

But our love of the true gospel and true "Bible" Christianity will
take us a long way.

CHALLENGES FOR the "OUT-Of-CHURCH"

I have moved amongst many 'House-church' and "Out-of-church"
type Christians (which are not the same thing) over the years. In
fact I have been part of these circles myself at times. One of the
biggest problems I have seen is that some of us really thought
we had the major "answer" to the church's problems. Those of us
in the 'House church' movement would think, "If only the church
would get out of buildings and into houses and become more
'relational' - most of our problems would be solved!" We truly
thought that simply by "changing boxes" we could get back the
Book of Acts church! What we ended up with, of course, was
simply the same people in a different "shell" - slightly more
'relational' - but hardly anything like the power and purity of the
early Christians. We had changed the outward "form" but the
POWER of Jesus Christ was still mostly lacking.

I can remember having arguments over "plurality of eldership", the
precise "correct" way of taking the Lord's Supper, and all kinds of
things. None of it seemed to make the slightest bit of difference.
That is because the "outward" things and the 'form' of things
are all "secondary". This is not where the power is. But it took
such a long time to learn this lesson.

The "Out-of-church" people are even more radical. They often
fellowship with almost no-one - and many of them will tell you that
the organized church is the "whore of babylon", etc. A lot of them
are lovely people with a real heart for people and for TRUTH. But
some can be very judgmental and harsh. They will often "write off"
church people as being totally bound by "religion". But I found
many of us in that circle had our own "anti-religion" religion going
on! We despised having "leaders" or "organized" things of any
kind. We said we believed in the "5 fold" ministries but we couldn't
stand to have any actual "leaders" - even godly ones. And we
were secretly filled with PRIDE - because we could see everything
that was wrong with the "system". Man - did I have a "humbling"
coming when I got into this mindset! I was so "religiously" anti-
religious. I was so filled with arrogance and looked down my nose
at so many "system" people! I "judged" them just because they
went to a "building" on Sunday! God forgive me.

Of course, none of this is the answer either. I had to repent. I had
to RENOUNCE very deeply this harsh "anti-religion" religion that
made me so proud and arrogant towards people. I found that many
of them loved Jesus just as much as I did. And many of them
prayed more and were kinder, more loving and more godly than
I'd ever been. I had been kidding myself. When it boiled right down,
we "out-of-church" types were no closer to the Book of Acts than
many of the "system" people that we judged so harshly. We just
knew more "stuff" (supposedly). But clearly it wasn't the stuff that mattered.

It was only when I deeply repented and RENOUNCED this whole
prideful mindset that God gradually began to show me what was
really important. And it was not the "outward" stuff - though of
course there is some importance to structure, etc.

Each of these things (below) I believe will be a crucial part of the
FUTURE CHURCH that God wants to bring about. You could
literally write a book about each one - they are so important.
It was these very things that meant the early church SHONE
FORTH the GLORY OF JESUS every day. Here they are-

We must have-
(1) An APOSTOLIC gospel being preached with Apostolic-type
anointing and authority. (Whenever this has happened down
through history there has been real Revival). -SO CRUCIAL.
(2) The powerful moving of the HOLY SPIRIT - filling people, healing
people, convicting people, transforming people.
(3) REAL LOVE and an emphasis on ministering to the POOR.
(-Just like the early church).
(3) REAL DISCIPLES who actually "forsake all" to follow Jesus.
(4) REAL PRAYER - in the Holy Spirit. -And lots of it!!
(5) THE WHOLE BODY MINISTERING - Starting with the "5-fold"
ministries - whose goal is to release the whole body into ministry.
(6) MIRACLES and HEALINGS. -These are a must!

Of course, we could go on and on. But let me just conclude by
saying this:-

It doesn't matter if we are "In-church", Out-of-church, Over-churched
or under-churched. If we don't have the above things (which the
early church had in abundance) then we really don't have ANYTHING.
It doesn't matter what we "know" or whether we meet in houses,
barns, on the streets or in sun-porches. If we don't have these
crucial things that the early church majored on, then we really
have NOTHING that matters.

So I don't really care if you are "out" churched, "over" churched,
"thru" churched or "half" churched. We need to pursue and
pursue until we GET REAL CHRISTIANITY BACK!! And none of
us have got it - so we had all better repent of our pride and start
seeking that which is lost! A glorious Bride beckons. What price
are we willing to pay to see her glory restored?

-Please comment on this article at the website below-

http://www.johnthebaptisttv.com/

The Law of Life

2010-09-28T01:52:00.001-07:00

The Law of Life
by Chip Brogden

“For the Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the Law of Sin and Death (Romans 8:2).”

Two laws are mentioned in this passage of Scripture: the Law of Life, and the Law of Sin and Death. We who are in Christ Jesus have been delivered from the Law of Sin and Death and are under a new law, which is the Law of Life.

The difference between a theoretical walk with Christ and a practical walk with Christ hinges upon being able to differentiate between the Law of Life and the Law of Death. In the Garden the choice was between the Knowledge of Good and Evil (Law of Death) or the Tree of Life (Law of Life). We must make the same choice today. Christians are much exercised in trying to discern between good and evil, right and wrong, Spirit and flesh. It seems the more we try to figure this out the more frustrated we become. Instead, God would have us come to the Tree of Life. This Life will instruct us in all things, including what is right and what is wrong, yet it is deeper than mere knowledge.

Since it is the Law of Life then we can count upon it to work every time. A law is something which states that a predictable result will occur whenever the same conditions are in place. If it happens once it may be an accident. If it happens two or three times it may be a coincidence. But if it happens a million or a billion times without fail then it is a law. For example, because of the Law of Gravity, if I release a ball into the air then it will fall to the ground. It does not matter how many times I perform this exercise, the result will be the same. It is a law.

Similarly, there is a Law of Sin and Death and there is a Law of Life. In order to live victoriously we do not need ten or twenty principles or keys. All we need to do is cooperate with the Law of Life. It is a sad fact that too many Christians find it easier to cooperate with the Law of Sin and Death than they do the Law of Life. They have no doubt as to the power of the negative law, but they have difficulty believing in the power of the positive law. Hopefully as we discuss these things it will be an encouragement to many who are struggling to overcome sin, self, and satan.

THE LAW OF LIFE MEANS CONTINUING IN CHRIST

“Unless you eat My flesh and drink My blood you do not have eternal Life in you [Gate]… Whoever continues to eat My flesh and drink My blood continues to live in union with Me and I in union with him… Whoever keeps on eating Me will live because of Me [Path] (John 6:53, 56, 57b Williams Translation).”

It is amazing to see just how often Christ presents us with a Gate and a Path. I believe by now we all know what the Gate is. My burden is to see disciples brought down the Path, so I see the Path everywhere I look in the Scripture. How does this relate to our study? In this way: the Gate of eternal Life is to receive the Lord as food and drink, but the Path is to continue eating and drinking.

The Lord’s words here are not meant to be interpreted literally, for He says, “The words I speak are Spirit and Life, and the flesh profits nothing.” But let us look at literal food and drink for a moment. The Lord tells us that He is meat indeed, and drink indeed. Just how often do we eat and drink? Unless we are fasting, our eating and drinking occur daily, several times a day in fact. That is why I selected the Williams Translation of these passages, because it gives us the continuing action of the Greek verb – “keeps on eating” and “keeps on drinking”. It is not just a once-and-for-all thing, but a continual thing. It is abiding. It is a Gate and a Path.

Now where have we failed? By thinking of eternal Life in terms of a Gate and not a Path. This accounts for our weakness. Eternal Life is not everlasting existence (everyone has that already); it is Christ living in me and I living in Christ continually. I do not eat a single meal at the beginning of my life which is meant to sustain me for the rest of my life. Not at all! Every day I require food and drink, not only to remain healthy, but to simply maintain my natural life. How can it be any less true of Christ?

The Law of Life says our Life is contingent upon continuing in the Lord Jesus as we received the Lord Jesus (Colossians 2:6). I do not have Life today because I received the Lord in 1979. No! I have Life today because today I received the Lord, eating His flesh and drinking His blood. I have no Life of my own, so I am dependant upon His Life to sustain me daily. Since we must have Life every day, we must eat His flesh and drink His blood everyday. Everything hinges upon this.

THE LAW OF LIFE MEANS CHRIST IS OUR SATISFACTION

“I am the Bread of Life. He that comes to Me will never hunger, and he that believes on Me will never thirst (John 6:35).”

Here we have another principle of how the Law of Life operates. The presence of this Life within the believer will create hunger and thirst for Christ. What is more, this hunger and thirst for Christ cannot be filled or quenched with anything else – including blessings, power, spiritual gifts, or Christian service. It is hard to convince new converts of this, but those of us who have been around a long time should know by now that Christ is what makes a Christian.

Teresa of Avila wrote, “Anyone who fails to go forward, begins to go back, and love, I believe, can never be content to stay for long where it is.” It is a paradox that A.W. Tozer wrote about in “The Pursuit of God”: how can one who has found the Lord continue to hunger and thirst for Him as though He was yet undiscovered?

The answer is two-fold. In the first place, the Lord is much higher, deeper, longer, wider, and larger than we have imagined Him to be. He is so great, in fact, that it will takes additional ages and generations beyond this dimension in order for us to come to the epignosis of Christ. Paul certainly knew the Lord, but near the end of his life he proclaimed his highest aspiration was, “to know Him.”

In the second place, as we have seen already, the Law of Life requires a constant abiding. Having once come to the Lord as Life, now we continually receive Him as our Life. Why are so many dissatisfied? Because they are looking for other things – even good things, spiritual things – to fill a void which only Christ can fill. I am not talking about sinners, I am talking about Christians who look for religious things to fill the void Christ was meant to fill. They are no different than sinners who look for sinful things to fill the same void. This Life accepts no substitutes. It does not perpetuate itself through religious activity, spiritual experiences, hours of prayer, listening to sermons, or long periods of meditation. The Life is perpetuated when we touch the Living Christ directly. And once we know how, we may touch Him immediately and constantly.

So how does Christ satisfy our hunger and thirst? Of course the crowds were looking to have a miracle performed to fill their stomachs. To a certain extent we expect the same sort of miracle. We have no abundance, hence multitudes of Christians flock to churches every week to be fed. We wonder why we live such an up-and-down existence.

Christ is Life. Where is your life? Is it in a church? Is it in a ministry? Is it in a series of mountaintop experiences? Is it in a system of worship or prayer or spiritual exercises? It is possible to have all this as something apart from Christ. How do I know it is possible? Because I have sought all those things for myself and discovered that it is possible to have those things and not have Christ. That is not to say that they do not leave a good feeling or make one think he is spiritual – but Christ is not in my feelings and He is not in my emotion.

Those who hunger and thirst after Righteousness – Christ – will be filled. Thus, the one who is filled is never hungry or thirsty. So on the one hand I want to know the Lord and my desire for Him increases day by day; but it is not the desperate search of a hungry or thirsty man who is fainting and wasting away. I am full of Him because He fills me. There is my “Life, and Life more abundantly.” My Life is not in what He gives me, but in Who He is.

The ones who do not know this are the ones who have to run all over the world looking for a spiritual experience, the next move of God, or a more powerful “anointing”. They are the ones who simply MUST be inside a church building once or twice a week, and if they miss one service they immediately become depressed or backslidden. How is this possible? Because they have been taught that Life is church attendance, or power, or anointing, or feeling God move upon them in a tangible way. But if this were so then they would not need to be constantly filled and refilled.

On reading what has been written thus far I am sure some people are turning in their Bibles to Ephesians 5:18, where Paul writes, “Be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess – but be filled with the Spirit.” They will correctly point out that the Greek tense here is “be being filled”, in other words, be continuously filled. Does this not justify a pursuit of spiritual experiences and additional fillings, they will ask? Not at all; rather, it underscores what we have been saying all along. If we abide in Christ and come to Him then we will be continually filled with His Spirit. We will be satisfied, and will not have to seek out some kind of experience that tickles our flesh.

As a drug addict is never satisfied, so a religious addict is never satisfied. The drug addict and the religious addict must always search for a bigger and better “high”. Without this high they are irritable and bad-tempered. Deny them their “fix” and they will become intolerable. Suggest that they have a problem and they will begin to view YOU as the problem. Some say they are really hungry and thirsty for God, so they are going to go here or there because they want “fresh fire” or “greater anointing” or whatever. What they are really hungry and thirsty for is a fix, a spiritual experience, a feeling of power, a manifestation, the feeling of a gentle breeze blowing on them, someone to wave their hand over them and give them a “new word” and so on. Where is Christ in this kind of an atmosphere? In this orgy of sensation He is nowhere to be found.

We must stop looking for a Jesus “out there” and look for the Christ who is within us. If we would just once come to Christ in simplicity we would immediately meet Him. It would be better for us to lock ourselves alone into a room and just sit there quietly before the Lord for one hour than to travel back and forth to all these meetings, looking for something loud, powerful, and demonstrative. It is the Spirit which gives Life; the flesh profits nothing. I have one question: are you satisfied after all those experiences? If you are, then why do you have to keep running around for more of the same? Do you abide in Christ as Life, or not? And if you are not satisfied, can you not see why?

So what are we saying? Simply this: the Law of Life says that the presence of Christ within the believer results in spiritual satisfaction. If we have Him then we will never hunger or thirst again, because He is Infinite Supply. Anything less than spiritual satisfaction indicates that there is a problem. I am not saying that one should be content with their progress and present knowledge of Christ so that they stop growing; but I am saying that no matter what stage of progress you may be at presently, Christ should be your satisfaction. We must differentiate between seeking Christ and seeking some feeling in our emotion in the name of an “outpouring” or “move” of God. May I emphatically state that God already poured out everything He has when He gave His Son to us to be our Life! If we are still waiting for God to “move” then I have to believe we do not fully appreciate that God’s greatest move was revealing His Son in us. How can we keep looking for anything else when we have everything in Him already?

THE LAW OF LIFE MEANS THE WAY TO GOD IS OPEN

So how do we touch Him directly? “He who comes to Me.” Can it really be this easy? A better question is, why should it be difficult? I can come to Him whether I am driving down the street, walking down the sidewalk, or sitting in my chair. I can come to Him whether it is Sunday morning or Tuesday night or Friday afternoon. I can come to Him in a large group, or with two or three, or all by myself. I can come to Him in the desert, in the garden, in the church building, or in the prison camp. I am prevented from doing many things due to circumstance, location, state of mind, or resources. But one thing I cannot be prevented from doing is coming to the Lord.

Must I stand, or bow down, or lay on my face? Am I supposed to whisper, shout, or say nothing at all? Should I sing, or pray, or recite the Scriptures, or be still? What difference does it make? None at all, so long as I come to the Lord. He does not tell us what to do, what to say, or what to expect. He just says, “Come to Me, and you will not be hungry or thirsty.” Religion would like to teach us a method and a formula for everything, but Christ is no religion. There are no ceremonies, rituals, rites of initiation or barriers to entry as in the Old Testament. Nor do we have to spend hours and days praying, fasting, or meditating. This is a New Way, and this Way is open. All we have to do is present ourselves to Christ.

Many of us are still prone to asking a lot of questions about how to have this kind of relationship with Christ. But if we will trust in the Life, then the Life will lead us. By comparison, I am not concerned with the Law of Gravity. I do not worry about floating away into space, and I do not have to keep reminding myself to walk according to the Law of Gravity. I just go along as usual and never give it a thought, confident that gravity will keep me where I am supposed to be. Even if I do not know there is such a thing as gravity I am nevertheless held firmly to the earth. If we would have that same faith in the Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus then all our questions would be answered. This Law of Life will operate whether we understand it or know about it (of course, we do want to know how it operates so we can cooperate with it, but it works in spite of our ignorance).

The branch who abides in the Vine does not have to know how it abides. So long as it abides, it shares in the Life of the Vine. It does not have to ask how it works, and it does not have to be concerned with producing the fruit. It does nothing but abide, and the Life of the Vine keeps it. The Vine and the Branches is a reality; it is not a parable. Jesus did not say, “The Kingdom of God is like the Vine and the Branches.” That would have been a parable. Instead, Jesus says, “I am the Vine, and you are the Branches.” This is no simile or metaphor, it is reality. What does it mean? That we are one, and we share in a common Life. Everything happens according to the Law of Life in Christ. But since it is easy to become philosophical and ethereal concerning this, let us quickly bring it down to a practical application and discover how we may cooperate with it.

THE LAW OF LIFE MEANS “NOT I, BUT CHRIST”

“I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live: yet not I, but Christ lives in me (Galatians 2:20a).”

You may be interested in knowing how the Lord taught me to live according to the Law of Life. I learned from the Scriptures that Christ lived in me, and I had no life of my own. I understood that Christianity is not about trying to be like Jesus, but is about Jesus Himself living in me and through me. This is what is called the Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus. So then I realized that it is not about me at all, my weakness, or my feelings one way or the other. All that mattered was Christ in me, doing what I cannot do in myself.

As I was taking a shower one morning the Spirit began to repeat to me over and over again, “Trust in My Life! Trust in My Life!” I thought that was too easy to do, Christianity must be more difficult than this. But this soft Voice was persistent. It was not a command, but a challenge. Finally I agreed to trust in His Life, and I went about my business.

It was not long before the first test came. I did not like to wash dishes, but the first thing my wife asked me to do that morning was wash the dishes. Oh no! Immediately I clenched my jaws together and felt my blood pressure rise. You must understand that I used to have a temper which once caused me to slam a car door so hard that I broke the glass out of it. So my natural response to this dirty kitchen was to explode and say that I was too busy and besides, it is not my job anyway! That was my first thought.

But at that exact moment I recalled what the Spirit had been telling me: “Trust in My Life!” So I went to the Lord, not outwardly, but inwardly, and said, “I cannot clean this stupid kitchen! I have better things to do. I hate this dirty job. Nevertheless, I trust in Your Life to do in me and through me what I am unable and unwilling to do myself.” Neither my feelings nor my emotions went away, but I obediently began washing the dishes, and waited to see what, if anything, would happen.

I cannot say when exactly it happened, but at some point I became conscious of the Law of Life taking over and washing those dishes. What was at first a repulsive thing soon became a joyous occasion, and I began to smile. I realized that it was not I, but Christ, Who was doing this chore. It was almost as if I was observing myself doing it, marveling at how well it was going, but at the same time, incredulous that it was so easy! It was like riding a bicycle for the first time, when you finally “get it”, and you wonder why it took you so long to figure it out.

The dishes were soon done and the kitchen was cleaned, but the lesson learned that day stayed with me forever. It convinced me that Jesus Christ lives. I know that Jesus lives because Jesus washed those dishes! That was more proof to me than a thousand sermons. I could not do what I just did. Or to be more correct, I could do it if I forced myself to, but I could not do it with such joy and peace! It was not so much the outward thing that was done as it was the spirit and manner in which it was performed. My Christian life changed from “What Would Jesus Do?” to “Watch What Jesus Does!”

Now you may think that is a silly example, but we must begin with baby steps. There is no need to go out and put yourself through a major test. If you cannot pass the smallest of tests, what makes you think the larger tests will be any easier? It is not the size of a thing that matters, it is learning the lesson of the Law of Life. The Lord was not trying to teach me about doing housework, but was teaching me how to cooperate with His Life.

The Law of Gravity brings objects to the ground. It does not matter to Gravity how large or small the object is. It works the same with acorns as it does with airplanes. Likewise, I know today that it does not matter if I am called upon to wash dishes, mow the lawn, write an article, preach a message, cast out a demon, love my neighbor, forgive my enemy, or lay down my life. It makes no difference to the Life. It is not I, but Christ, who does these things. The principle is the same, and the Life cannot fail. If I give up my life, if I give up my self-effort, then He begins to do what I cannot do. This is Christianity.

The Law of Life means that I do not try to be or do anything in my own strength. Instead, the Life leads me, the Life instructs me, and the Life gives me the words and the actions. I am not a Christian because I believe in the Bible, follow the teachings of Jesus, and live a good life. I am a Christian because Christ is my Life. Since Christ is my Life, I no longer live, but it is Christ who lives in me. I do nothing to achieve this, it just is. Because He lives, I live. In Him I live; in Him I move; in Him I have my being (Acts 17:28a).

Again, let us make this practical. Does a fish become a fish by swimming under the water, or does it swim under the water because it is a fish? Does it say to itself, “I am a fish, therefore, I must learn to act like a fish. I must remember to breathe through my gills and move my body back and forth.” Absolutely not. Or what about a bird? Does a bird become a bird once it learns to fly through the air? Or does it fly through the air because it is a bird? Which is it? Of course, the bird is a bird, and therefore it flies. It does not have to be instructed per se, but when it is pushed out of the nest it flaps its wings. It is its nature to do so. So doing does not create being, doing flows out of being.

Now the Law of Life in Christ does not try to make us into something we are not. The very presence of the Life in us demonstrates that Christ already indwells us. We are not trying to be like Christ, and we are not trying to live like a Christian. Since we ARE in Him, we WALK in Him. Our works come from what we are, not what we are trying to be. We do not receive His Life so that we can work very hard to be like Jesus. That is like the fish having to remind itself that since it is a fish therefore it must swim. Or, like a bird having to keep telling itself through positive confession that it must remember to fly. Yet Christians keep reminding themselves, “Now that I am a Christian, I must remember to read the Bible, pray, and live a holy life. I must not forget to love my neighbor and smile no matter what happens.” Can you see the problem here? With this mentality we cannot cooperate with the Life, because we would be depending on our life instead of His.

This is why we cannot look for a method, formula, or technique to try and teach people spirituality. It is like taking a bird and putting it in a school to teach it to fly. Just let the bird go and it will fly all by itself! Why do we not take a fish and give it a technique for swimming? You know very well that when you drop the fish into the water it will just swim away of its own accord. But we try to teach Christians three keys to spiritual growth, or four principles of Christian living, or seven ways to overcome, or a ten-step process to this thing or that thing. What we should be doing is letting these people loose and allowing them to discover how wonderful this Life in them is, how the Christ Who indwells them will teach them everything.

THE LAW OF LIFE MEANS “ABIDE IN ME, AND YOU WILL PRODUCE MUCH FRUIT”

“I am the Vine, and you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, will produce much fruit: for apart from Me you can do nothing (John 15:5).”

It is amazing the number of Christians who believe it is up to them to produce fruit. This teaching is, to them, like trying to force a square peg through a round hole. They become obsessed with making something happen, thinking it is all up to their effort, their willpower, their determination, to grow up into Christ. To suggest that they cease from their labor is to make light of all their hard work up until now, and this offends them! They begin in the Spirit, but look to the flesh (self-effort) to complete the work. That is not the Christ-Life! The fruit will come of its own accord, provided we abide in Him.

But look at the last part of the verse: “Apart from Me you can do nothing.” It is similar to John 5:15, which says, “The Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do: for whatever the Father does, the Son does.” And John 14:10: “I speak nothing of Myself. It is the Father that dwells in Me, and He does the works.” As the Son can do nothing apart from the Father Who dwells within Him, so we can do nothing apart from the Son who dwells within us. The question is not whether or not we will work out our salvation, but under whose power will we work it out? Is it our willpower, or is it Christ? Is it our effort, or is it the Law of Life?

Are we making a case for idle passivity? By no means. We are not suggesting that Christians cease all effort, only that Christians cease all SELF-effort. The Law of Life is more powerful and active than anything generated or maintained by self-effort. With self-effort I am always at the mercy of how I feel. If I feel spiritual then I can pray for hours at a time. But if I do not feel spiritual then I cannot even pray five minutes. This is why so many believers live their lives like a roller-coaster. They do not live according to principle, according to the Law of Life. Thinking it is up to them to become Christlike, they turn an easy yoke and a light burden into a difficult yoke and a heavy burden – difficult and heavy for themselves, and for those who must live and work around them.

The one who rests in Christ will produce more fruit than the one who strives with self-effort. This is demonstrated in Scripture and in the real-life experience of countless saints. Paul proclaimed, “I labor, striving according to His working which works in me mightily.” There is no question that Paul worked, labored, and toiled. But the difference with Paul is he knew that he was laboring according to Christ working in him. Was Paul lazy? By contrast, he was more fruitful than ever. The end result is his statement, “I labored more abundantly than them all,” quickly qualified with, “yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me (I Corinthians 15:10).” The “I can do all things” must always be followed with “through Christ who strengthens me.” If we trust in the Life we will be anything but passive.

THE LAW OF LIFE MEANS CHRIST WILL TEACH US EVERYTHING WE NEED TO KNOW

“The anointing which you received from Him remains in you. And no need are you constantly having that anyone be constantly teaching you. But even as His anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true and is not a lie, and even as He taught you, be constantly abiding in Him (I John 2:27, Wuest Expanded Translation).”

I hope every Christian will one day learn that they are already anointed, and that their Anointing is a Person named Jesus Christ. Then they will see that they do not have to travel to Brother So-And-So’s meeting to get the “anointing”. They will not seek out a prophet to give them a “word”. They will learn to live according to the Law of Life, and this Life will teach them everything they need to know. That will be a wonderful day, and thankfully, more and more believers are coming to the knowledge of this truth.

Now the Scripture says that we do not need any man to teach us, for the Anointing (Christ) Who indwells us will teach us all things. More than anything else I consider myself a teacher, so I pondered this for a long time. What use is there for me to teach anything? For that matter, why do we need teachers at all? Would it not be better for each of us to be taught of God directly, without the interference of a human teacher? Then I received insight into this Scripture. It cannot be telling us that we do not need teachers, for it was God who gave apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers to His Church, to encourage, edify, and establish all of us deeper into Christ. Can the Holy Spirit in John contradict the Holy Spirit in Paul? By no means. What then? John was the sole survivor of the first twelve apostles, and now he is very old. Naturally he is concerned with the welfare of the Church after his death. So God comforts John, and then John comforts us, with this truth: even if we do not have access to the apostle, or prophet, or evangelist, or pastor and teacher, we are still instructed inwardly. The Church that Jesus is building is not dependant upon the great men or women of God. We are grateful to the ministry gifts when we have them, but we are not dependent upon them for our Life. The Life is greater than the ministers through which it may be ministered.

Some feel they just cannot get along without consulting someone who is perceived to be a spiritual authority so they can ask them what they should do. Such dependence upon man can become a snare – both for the ones seeking advice and for the ones giving advice. At times we should seek out the advice of others, but the point is that the Life will instruct us individually, and when the Life within us responds, then we “need no man to teach us”. The Life will also “amen” what others tell us, or it will voice its disagreement with what we are told. We can trust the Life completely, whereas we dare not put confidence in man, no matter how good and spiritual the counsel may be.

The problem with us is that we do not have the patience to listen for this inward instruction. We too quickly put our confidence in flesh and blood. It is easier and speedier to have someone tell us, “Yes, you should do this” or “No, you should not do that.” The question is not should or should not; the question is, how is the Life instructing you? If we do not know what the Life is telling us, then we should be still and be quiet until we DO know. But all too often we know well enough what we are to do, and we are looking for a way out of it; or we are trying to get confirmation from this thing or that thing before we will obey. This is why we have a hard time hearing to begin with. How many times does God have to repeat Himself? How many times does He have to confirm something before we will obey? It sounds spiritual and humble to question and wait, but if the Life has already instructed us then any delay on our part is really disobedience.

THE LAW OF LIFE MEANS “HE MUST INCREASE, BUT I MUST DECREASE”

“Let that which you have heard from the beginning abide in you. If what you have heard from the beginning abides in you, you will also continue in the Son and in the Father; and this is the promise He has promised us: eternal Life (I John 2:24,25).”

There is still much of Him to learn and to experience. There is much growing which must take place. The Path is a process. We are hardly ever as far along as we imagine ourselves to be. But we have not been talking about spiritual maturity, but spiritual satisfaction. If, in abiding continually in the Lord, He becomes our food and our drink, then we will grow. Growth is not the result of time, it is the natural result of Christ increasing and us decreasing. The Law of Life says that Christ must increase. Now we can do nothing to speed up this process, but we can certainly hinder or quench it.

According to Paul, it is the Law of Sin and Death that keeps me doing the evil that I do not want to do, and prevents me from doing the good I want to do. Ironically, this sounds like the normal experience of the majority of believers, and they call it the Christian life! It is not! How is that any different than any other person in the world? From observing Christians for years I now realize that most have an unwavering assurance and complete confidence in the Law of Sin and Death. They think it is normal to struggle against sin and work their way towards being Christ-like. Talk to them about holiness and they are full of excuses why it cannot be achieved (again, seeing holiness as a goal they must attain to instead of a Person they must abide in). The bottom line is this: they have more faith in the Law of Sin and Death than they do the Law of Life. The sort of life you lead is evidence to which Law you have the most faith in.

Greater is He that is within me! The question is not “what” will deliver me, but “who” will deliver me from this cycle of trying and failing? “I thank God [it is done] through Jesus Christ (Romans 7:25).” I have the Man! I do not need anything else. I simply abide in Him, and the Law of Life takes over where I leave off. Before, I could not do the good that I longed to do, but what was impossible before is now easy with the Law of Life. Before, I could not keep myself from doing the very thing I hated, but with the Law of Life I am kept from doing the things I hate. The Law of Life stands over against the Law of Sin and Death, and if we will have at least as much faith in Life as we do in Death, we will soon walk as we should.

Thank God! The Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the Law of Sin and Death. HAS MADE ME FREE. With the Law of Life I do not have to struggle. To struggle is to strive, and striving is the Law of Sin and Death. The Law of Life is “not I, but Christ.” I cannot overcome, nevertheless, the One Who Overcomes lives within me; therefore I am an overcomer. It is not about me, and it is all about Him. It is all of grace!

May the Lord bring us into the fullness of His Life, and may we trust the sufficiency of the Indwelling Christ to perform the good work He has begun in us. Amen.

Forgotten Words of Jesus

2010-07-05T01:10:00.000-07:00

Forgotten Words of Jesus by Frank Viola
As long as I’ve been a Christian, I’ve noted two spiritual pillars that are incredibly difficult to keep in mind. They are all-too easy to forget. One is to rejoice in our suffering. The other is to put ourselves in the shoes of another person whenever we’re dealing on the level of human relationships.

I will confess that I’ve had a hard time remembering these two things. And I’m in need of constant reminding of them.

And so is every other Christian.

So often, you and I are put in situations that involve other people, whether they be Christians or non-Christians. Our spiritual instincts always urge and prompt us to love . . . for God is love. But what does love look like on the ground? And how do we know if we’re really loving others?

I believe it will always look like this . . . “Treat others the way you would want to be treated if you were in their situation.”

In the words of our Lord: So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets. (Matthew 7:12)

Consequently, if you don’t wish for your motives to be imputed with evil, then don’t impute others with evil motives. If you don’t wish to be judged, then don’t judge others. If you don’t wish to be gossiped about, then don’t gossip about others. If you don’t wish to be personally attacked, then don’t attack others personally. If you wish for others to give you the benefit of the doubt and think the best of you, then give others the benefit of the doubt and think the best of them. If you wish to be treated with kindness and understanding, then treat others with kindness and understanding. If you wish to be forgiven, then forgive others, etc.

I believe that in whatever situation we find ourselves in, if we would simply ask ourselves this question before God . . . “How would I wish to be treated if I were in this situation?” . . . His mind would become quite clear to us.

That simple question would cut down so much of our prayers where we “seek God,” asking, “Lord, how do I deal with such-and-such … what’s your mind on this situation which involves so-and-so?”

Now here’s a wild thought. What would happen if beginning today, every Christian on the planet would treat everyone else the way they would want to be treated? What would it do for the church, for the Kingdom of God, for the world, and for those non-Christians who are turned off by Christianity because of how Christians treat one another? (You know, like Ghandi who said: “I would become a Christian if it weren’t for the Christians”).

Consider that for a moment.

Undoubtedly, this won’t happen until Christ sets the world right. But each of us can begin to ask the Lord to make this real in our own lives now . . . today.

Living by Christ . . . living by Divine life . . . manifests itself in this way: Treating others the way we would want to be treated in every situation. For that is the conduct of Divine life. And the nature of Divine life is love.

SEDUCING SPIRIT

2010-07-02T20:32:00.000-07:00

Hi all,
Links to my newest cd series "Things the Lord taught me about...Prayer and Worship" are to the right, as well as my July travel schedule with email links to join us if you are in those areas.

Departing from the faith
I Timothy 4:1 says "The Spirit speaks expressly that in the latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of demons..."

The phrase 'depart from the faith' is key. Lest we misunderstand, departing from the faith does NOT mean rejecting Jesus, it means to depart from sound and balanced faith.

The Greek word here means to step away from. They are seduced to step away from sound and balanced faith but they love God. This stepping away from is done slowly in the way a seduction is gradual, and it takes many forms.

Most of us know someone who has departed from the faith - they love Jesus - but they've departed balanced faith to follow some teaching or teacher or pet doctrine that becomes their whole focus - heaven, end times, angels, money, extreme discipleship where they have to ask 'an elder' for permission on decisions, etc.

We've also seen highly visible leaders who have been unfaithful in their marriages, left their spouse or had their spouse leave them, had substance abuse issues and more, and after the briefest of time away if at all, are right back in the pulpit - in some cases the ministry doesn't miss a beat while their marriage falls apart.

How demonic seduction works
Paul goes on to list a couple doctrines of demons that will arise in the last days, and one of them is celibacy. By looking at this doctrine we can see patterns of the ways demons work their strategy.
(Peter defined the last days in Acts 2:16-21 as starting with Pentecost and ending at Jesus' return. For a more complete study of how celibacy became policy in the Roman Catholic church I'll provide a link to Wikipedia at the end)

Early on celibacy began with Godly motives; some taking vows of chastity to emulate the life of Jesus and Paul, who in his case felt he could better concentrate on ministry if he was single (I Cor 7: 7, 32-33).

So by the mid 100's & 200's AD other leaders started lives of celibacy - no problem if they as individuals make a choice to not marry nor engage in sexual relations- it became the 'in' thing among some leaders.

But a church hierarchy strongly took control after Constantine legalized Christianity in the early 300's AD. By 385AD Pope Siricius twisted scripture teaching that in Moses' day Levitical priests lived in the temple away from their wives during their time of service, therefore God must want priests to abstain from sexual relations while they serve Him. So the next step was that if a minister was married he could not have sex with his wife because he was a priest in service to God, and then it moved to ruling a priest could not be married at all.

You can see the seduction begins with Godly motives but error in application; the lifting of one scripture or example, twisting it slightly, and elevating it to the point of ignoring other scriptures which could balance it out. For instance, Paul also said in I Corinthians 7 that if a person does marry they haven't sinned, he advises spouses to only abstain from sexual relations for a season of fasting and prayer, and then come together again, and there were many husband/wife teams that worked with him. They also ignore the fact Peter was married and that qualifications for leadership included having a solid marriage and family life. (I Cor 7:2-5; Rom 16:3, 7; Mk 1:30; I Tim 3)

Whether it's celibacy in the 3rd century or rationalizing the leaving of one's wife to marry the secretary but continue in ministry with no accountability in the 21st century, it's all a seduction away from sound and balanced faith by ignoring the whole of God's counsel in favor of exalting one passage or ministry above God.

Demons that teach
Paul says some will "give heed to seducing spirits and teachings (doctrines) of demons." Perhaps it's strange to think that demons teach, but the fact is Satan counterfeits the things of God.

Here's how the genuine works. God gives revelation to people by the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth. Then that person shares the revelation they have received, and it can be confirmed by scripture, others who know the Spirit of Truth and scripture, and/or is a pattern consistent with the Word as a whole.

Demons imitate that, giving revelation to people who are open to it, often with tantalizing experiences that aren't consistent with the Word, with half truths and enough of what seems right so others can be seduced too, or they exalt 'the ministry' focusing on healings or impact to justify continuing on.

Then those people share that revelation in meetings and it becomes 'a move of God' to those people. Those experiences and revelations are not consistent with scripture nor can they be found chapter and verse - arrogance sets in and some ministers claim their revelation goes beyond the Word.

The fact is that a minister's experiences may be genuine, and congregations may even experience manifestations that are real because in submission to the leader those spirits have freedom to manifest, but the roots are demonic for the purpose of spiritually seducing Christians, thus bringing a mix of the genuine and the demonic.

Demonic revelation often also disguises itself as rationalization of sin - that's a big part of the seduction. The New Testament teaches in I Timothy 3 that strong moral character and strong marriage and family are requirements for leadership, yet some are seduced away to ignore that; their spouse leaving them or divorcing the wife to marry a secretary, or the wife leaving because the minister is abusive and won't submit to counsel so is forced to leave - often these things barely slows 'the ministry' at all.

It's no accident that Paul uses 'seduction' to describe a spiritual process of error, for sexual seduction is closely related. Thus if a minister has a past or current life involving sexual sin it's a very small step for a demon to share a revelation that leads to rationalizing away God's Word in a spiritual seduction.

Some look at dramatic healings and say he and it must be God, yet others will respond to the Spirit of Truth within and the Word and recognize it is not genuine. God made a donkey talk, so healings are a sign of the grace of God, not an endorsement of the donkey.

Angel worship
Let no one defraud you...insisting on self-abasement and worship of angels, taking his stand on visions he claims he has seen, vainly puffed up by his sensuous notions and inflated by his unspiritual thoughts and fleshly conceit." (Col 2:18)

The phrase 'vainly puffed up' is a phrase in the Greek using 'eike' which means 'to no purpose' and 'phusioo', which means 'puffed up'. It describes a person puffed up for no reason - their depth of character, revelation, and experiences are false or demonic in origin - they have nothing to be proud of.

This word 'puffed up' is closely related to 'pride' as used in I Timothy 6:4-5 where Paul said some ministers are proud and 'think gain is godliness', but they 'know nothing'. The word 'pride' is 'tuphoo' - it's where we get 'typhoon' which is a Pacific Ocean hurricane (Atlantic Ocean hurricanes are called hurricanes).

It means 'to puff up and wrap in smoke', indicating the swirling of candle smoke after the flame is blown out. A person conceals themselves with a swirl of ministry or spectacular revelations or teachings
though inside they are puffed up in pride, and it is a demonic seduction in progress. Think of the spinning and swirling of a hurricane - they are seduced by spirits and demonic teaching and surround themselves with this swirl of revelation and spirituality - but it's false. (And like a hurricane, leaves destruction in their wake)

Seduction is at work: Congregations, ministry partners, people who go to their meetings - all ignore the scripture that requires a strong family life and moral character in leaders so they can go see a miracle or feathers or gold dust or hear what some angel supposedly said. They look for the spectacular while ignoring the supernatural process of discipleship God is trying to do in their lives - which seems too hard, or maybe mundane and boring to be God after all.

The Word is clear; Leaders must have a strong moral character and solid marriage and family life, and that's how they are measured, and from that the genuine revelations and experiences follow. When you hear teaching, see miracles, hear of experiences a minister claims, dig a bit to look at the person's marital history and moral character. If they have an unfaithful past, are they fully restored and is their ministry balanced? If he/she measures up to I Timothy 3, then fine, but if not, don't be deceived by a talking donkey.

Here is the link about the history of celibacy: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Clerical_celibacy

Blessings,
John Fenn
www.supernaturalhousechurch. org

HOUSE CHURCH MOVEMENT?

2010-06-13T01:53:00.000-07:00

Why are we accepting the term, “house church movement?” A movement denotes a temporary condition that will eventually move aside for the next “movement” that comes along.

What I have observed is that there is a growing trend to “systematize” the house church (more correctly referred to as the Ekklesia.)

The way things are going, the house church will have rites, systems and procedures that will rival the traditional church that so many are being called out from by the Holy Spirit.

Conferences, coaching, seminars etc. that promise “success” in house church operation and growth are looking just like the conferences, coaching, seminars etc. offered by the traditional church.

“Seekers” are targets for opportunists who offer “guarantees” of “success” at creating a house church. Who measures "success?" How can spiritual growth be "guaranteed? "

Being led by the Spirit is slowly being replaced by systems and procedures (can we say Sadducees and Pharisees?)

Coming soon: The House Church Denomination with its splits and divisions. The only difference from the traditional church will be the location if we allow the legalists to set up systems.

Be careful to keep your eyes on Jesus and not on systems.

Frank Coleman

The Emerging Church

2010-06-11T00:25:00.000-07:00

The Emerging Church

by Josh Crofton

Recently the Lord has been speaking to me about the emerging church and how

it is going to affect the many kingdoms of this world. I know this may sound like a tall order for the current church, but we are entering into a cultural shift in the body of Christ. The majority of Christian influence has been from within the four walls of a church building where we have gathered to worship and be trained. Currently God has been making it clear that we are no longer able to remain hidden from the world, but it is now time for many to be released into their place of influence where they are needed the most.

God has kept his hand upon this generation, not letting them make the same mistakes that have been seen in the past. There have been spiritual fathers assigned to this emerging generation, these fathers have said yes to the call of God and watched over these new leaders that are about to arise. God has given these fathers the wisdom and grace to help the up and coming generation stay on course as they mature. I believe that one of the primary things God has accomplished through our present leadership in the church is found in the book of Malachi.

Malachi 4: 5-6 Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. And he will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the earth with a curse.

There has been great healing in the heart and soul of this present generation because true spiritual fathers have taken the time to embrace the many that have been wounded and discarded. Because of this, a sense of purpose and direction has been released to the up and coming generation that will empower them to move forward into their assignment from God.

We have now entered into a time where assignments from heaven are being released. Many of the future leaders of the church are going to carry an anointing much like that of Moses, where a spirit of deliverance will be upon them as they lead the church through turbulent times. Gods timing is so precise in this hour because He has caused a generation to rise up that will deal with some of the greatest crises that the world has ever seen. God has equipped the leaders of the church to deal with global issues that will affect nations and kingdoms with the solutions that come straight from the throne of God. There will be many people that choose to allow fear and anxiety to overtake them in times of perplexity, but the anointing of God that is upon the church will be a beacon of hope and abundant life in the midst of what will seem like gross darkness.

Isaiah 60: 1-2 Arise, shine; for your light has come! And the glory of the Lord is risen upon you. For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and deep darkness the people; but the Lord will arise over you, and His glory will be seen upon you.

Prophetic Voices

As leaders, we owe it to the future generations not to forfeit their future by letting theologies of hopelessness and despair be the prevailing voices of so called prophecy in the church. This kind of ministry is not looking at current events from a heavenly perspective, but from an earthly one that prophesies based on natural events rather than spiritual knowledge. Until the final appearing of Jesus Christ, there will always be a victorious church that is radiating with the glory of God upon them. This kind of message will cause an entire generation to arise and shine as they establish the authority and dominion of Gods kingdom in the earth.

Technology

One of the primary fields that will be affected by the up and coming generation is the field of technology. As time continues to unfold, there will be a merger in the realm of prophecy and technology, as prophets are going to arise in this field that will create forms of technology that will change our current understanding of media and travel. God is going to release heavenly inventions that will greatly enhance our ways of living while at the same time giving us a clearer understanding of how heaven works and what kind of activity happens in the realm of the Spirit. Technology is a blessing from God, and while there have been many that have used it for evil purposes, God is about to lead the body of Christ into a great place of influence in this field.

Spiritual & Natural

Spiritual authority is going to be released through this generation to deal with many of the enemy's strongholds that have kept the world in a state of spiritual blindness (2 Corinthians 4:3-4). God is raising up an apostolic/prophetic leadership that will deal directly with many of these spiritual influences that have been hindering the furtherance of the gospel and keeping many from hearing the truth of the gospel. I believe as this kind of leadership begins to emerge through out the earth, there will be an outpouring of revelation that will reveal the person of Jesus Christ and give the world a true understanding of His love toward them.

Many of the future leaders in government and positions of influence will be kingdom minded individuals that have the heart and mind of God for our nation. God is raising up leaders in these positions that will possess real solutions for many of the problems our nation has been facing. These leaders will possess wisdom and favor as they seek God for the answers to deal with many of the hard questions we are facing.

Luke 2:52 And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.

Wise Stewards

There is a transference of wealth that is going to take place in the church, as finances and resources are going to be put in the hands of those that have allowed a process of faithfulness to work in their spirits. Many have said that God is going to take the money from the wicked and give it to Gods people; I believe that this is not an accurate statement because God is all about stewardship. That is why our nation has been in the financial mess we have seen, because bad stewardship has been the "norm". God is raising up leaders that will know how to steward the finances that have been given to them, they will not squander the wealth that has been entrusted to them, because they will have the right perspective about money. Some of the most creative entrepreneurs are going to arise out of this generation that will not let the state of any economy keep them from prospering. They will have the wisdom and foresight to navigate through any storm, while they continue to prosper and be a blessing to the church.

The future only looks dark if you can't see the light, but we have a promise from Jesus that WE are the light of the world.

Matthew 5:14-16 You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lamp stand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.

Josh Crofton

Now Back To Our Story

2010-06-06T18:29:00.000-07:00

Now Back To Our Story by David VanCronkhite
A few years ago I wrote an article titled "A Few Degrees Off" for my "Pondering the Journey" series. The gist of it was how far off base we can become when we start our life-journey with a simple truth that is practiced or presented in a way that sets the compass just a little off. So it was with my journey.

I got "saved" and was immediately instructed to begin memorizing scriptures. Nothing wrong with that. I mean, how can anyone who desires to know God and follow Him argue with memorizing scriptures? But there was something not quite right. What if all we learn and take away, as I did, are lifeless laws and wooden words and miss the journey of the amazing stories of God encounters?

For me, the Book became merely a collection of scriptures. It was several decades before I realized it was a collection of stories of real people attempting to find a real God in the midst of real life. And life was and is a series of experiences--a few successes, a lot of failures and how we deal with a very relational God who desires to have life-infusing, two-way conversations.

I realized then that if we miss the stories, we'll never find the unfathomable love of God. I never knew, for instance, the depth of the story of God and Moses. Oh, I could quote the key scriptures surrounding the interaction of the two to prove my theology about God and man. But a story?

In Exodus 34 we find Moses desperate to know God, and God desperate for Moses to know Him. The Creator of the Universe tells this failure-of-a-man how to be successful, how to know Him, and how to become fully human the way he was intended to be. The words and story here--how God wants to impregnate all of mankind with His DNA--were never meant to become theological statements, but an ongoing, epic tale instilling hope and faith into a confused world.

Moses said "God, reveal yourself to me." And God answered, revealing His DNA, the unchanging character of I AM that I AM. "Look at it and then tell the people who I am so they will have a hope and a future." God, in His most awe-inspiring moment, began to show Himself to a murderer He had put His hand on, just as He desires to put His hand on each of us.

The Creator within us

The Creator slowly, painstakingly begins to describe what it means to have Him forever live, not only among us, but within us. He details the very nature of the Seed that He promises to impregnate us with, not in a natural way but, as Nicodemus would find out generations later, in a most supernatural way. And all this thousands of years before He sends the One to display the mystery and the availability of the Seed.

According to this story that crosses across testaments and supercedes any theology, God says that we can imitate Him if we'll let Him change us from within. It will take a supernatural birth. But when the Seed is planted, when we are impregnated, the world will know that something has happened to us.

Religion says, "Do this and do that." Even more, it says, "Don't do this and don't do that." God says, "Be this and be that because My Seed is in your spirit. We will journey together and I will point out where you have missed the mark. Your desires will begin to shift from pleasing yourself to pleasing me. And here is how you can please me. Be like I am. Act like I act."

God revealed to Moses the secret, the mystery of transformation. We take on His nature and must become like Him because the essence and character of God now dwells within us. "I am compassionate, gracious, slow to anger, merciful, truthful, covenantally faithful and forgiving," God told Moses. "That is how I want to be represented among the people. I want them to know Me that way. And if that is who I am, then that is how those who represent me must be."

Because our focus frequently has become more on theological certainty than relational faithfulness, we have become a generation that can hurl so-called truths at one another but cannot live life with one another. Yet, in our relations to man, whether a friend, a stranger or enemy, God calls us to reveal His character, to take on His very nature.

The Book is the love story of the ages. God tells Moses that He is Jealous for Him, not of him. God wants all of His love. And He tells us today that all He wants is for us to see, feel, hear, touch, taste this amazing love and love Him back.

How do we love like that? Not by theology or the law, but by Agape, By the germination and bursting forth of the Seed in us which is centered on pleasing the Father, expressing itself by doing good to our neighbors, strangers, and our enemies. Simply put, it is letting the Seed within begin the journey of daily transformation of a spirit that will eventually transform even the mind, soul and body.

Too many people today know us to be followers of God because of the scripture we quote and the theology we defend. It's time they recognize us as Christ followers because we are troublemakers with only one concern: to please the Father and allow the DNA of His Seed to grow and mature. Let us be known as "those people" who are compassionate, gracious, slow to anger, merciful, covenantally faithful, forgiving, and therefore, so, so rich in agape.

Can that really take place in our lives? Indeed. It's about a Seed, a supernatural Seed and being supernaturally impregnated from above. God, in His greatest mystery, will transform us in a moment and begin a journey to mature the Seed. It will be a journey back to the beginning of the story of the ages.

And because change is inevitable, I, for one, would rather sit on my porch with a neighbor sharing a love story than convincing them of my theological uncertainty.

Comments for David - david.vancronkhite@gmail.com

Church As We Know It is Over

2010-06-06T17:59:00.000-07:00

Church As We Know It is Over by Don Nori Sr.
The Church is at a major crossroads in her multi- millennial sojourn through time upon this earth. She has some very big decisions to make. But most of us are not aware of the change that is in the Wind. For church, as we know it, is over.

The church, (the one being built by Jesus, not this monstrosity of a system we incorrectly call the Church), will move on with the gentle sound of His voice. The Church He is building will not need an earthquake, a hurricane, or pixie dust floating in the air to get her attention. His sheep hear His voice and follow Him because they follow His voice. This will be a big test of who we really are and whose kingdom we are really building. If it is His Kingdom, we will leap at the sound of His voice and go where he leads us. If we are building the counterfeit, we will not be so inclined to move very quickly. For there is much to lose and much to risk in responding to Him whilst building anything of our own.

The charismatics, the Pentecostals and the revivalists are all crowding at the river Jordan. The Holy Spirit is urging, calling, leading them to cross, but few have the faith to cross because few have the faith to risk what they have built. Maybe that is the problem…we have built it and it is OURS. We must protect what is ours at all costs, even at the cost of moving on with the Lord. It is always so easy to camp along the river rather than risk the dangers of fording the rapids, even when you have the voice of the Lord drawing you on..

So we invent, discover and imagine all kinds of histrionics to keep everyone satisfied where they are… on the wrong side of the river. We go around the things He has shown us again and again. We devise newer and more complicated ways of saying and doing the things we have know for years. Oh, we will occasionally look longingly across the river, wondering if there really is more over there, but the safety is always here. Few will admit that we have lost the faith, the daring and the adventure of our earlier days. Although denominationalism is anathema to us, we gather around the same things and build the same walls and defend our position with the same conviction and piety as all those who have gone before us.

But those who do not cross the river do not change the world. It is true, they do not rock the boat, but they do not see anything new, experience anything deeper than what has been “felt and telt” many, many times and for many, many years.

God does not talk in circles. He has a definite destination in mind and He fully intends to have a people that will be willing to be lead to the deepest reservoirs of His love and the very fullness of His Life.

Church as we know it is over. He is about to wrestle control of His own church from the carnal hands of insecure, angry, controlling and legalistic men and women, to build His own church, just as He promised He would.

Church as we know it is passing away. The thing we have called church is but a dim shadow of the life-giving, empowering wholeness of that for which Jesus died, rather, rose from the dead to lavish upon mere mortal men.

We have asked for wealth when He wanted to give us nations. We focused on our healing when He wanted to make us healers. We have searched for mercy and compassion when He had called us to carry those same treasures to a dying world. We are self-examining when He wants us to be pouring ourselves out so others can find Him.

There is no doubt. The self-centered, need-oriented, program-driven, growth-addicted destiny-snatching, dream-killing counterfeit is about to be replaced by His church; a company of loosely connected people held together only by the bonds of love. This people is the Christ-centered, Kingdom-declaring, light-shining heart throb of God Himself. His people hear His voice and respond with joy and anticipation, not fear and uncertainty. They are a devil-ignoring, life-giving, God-honoring group of worshipers whose greatest fulfillment in life is to be called to His service by the gentle sound of His voice. This church understands that the hands Jesus will stretch out to heal will be their hands. They know they are His hug, His smile, His encouraging word and the world’s only hope of glory.

The solution is clear…You are the church that Jesus Himself, is building!

TRUE KINGDOM ECONOMICS

2010-05-25T18:27:00.000-07:00

Friends
The stock markets are dropping amid worry of default on national debts. We read the headlines and we also receive letters (like the one below) and struggle with how to adequately respond to our friends.

Peace of God be to you, One of our brothers, an Uzbeck named Hasan Mullah, has been put into a psychiatric clinic for becoming a Christian. He was given shots of harmful substances, but Jesus made it so tthat they did not have their affects. Pray for him. Please pray for me as I am facing a lot of pressure from people that are of heavy influences. Also I undergo financial difficulties. Again I need to make IDs for the guys, or else the police are getting on us. Otherwise things are normal. Blessings be to you, Sergey

Unhappy with your government? You do not face government sanctioned persecution nor do you have to deal with street level corruption! Normally addicts or released prisoners are not harassed by the police but followers of Jesus are.

Worried about your financial future? What if your husband was killed for his faith in Jesus and you have no means to support yourself or your children? Or what if your husband divorced you because of your faith? That is the situation for many widows and orphans in a tribal area of Pakistan. Help us help friends there.

Worried about health care? What if there was nothing unless you paid up front? That is what friends in Kyrgyzstan are facing right now as they help victims of the violence there. Will you please help us help them?

How many versions of the Bible do you own? What of over 20 million people with no culturally suitable version in their language? We are praying for this project. Interested? Please contact us.

How many Christian books decorate your shelves? We are publishing "The Luke 10 Manual" in Russian and in Kyrgyze. The Tajik version is coming. We need your help to get these out to multiply the Jesus model of simple, obedience based discipleship through those nations!

Yes, many needs but in some sense that is not the point. We need to give! Jesus in Matthew 6:25- 34 commanded us not to worry and said that those who seek the Kingdom (the people of the King) first will have all things added to them. Paul in the Message version of I Timothy 6:17- 19 is also very direct,

"Tell those rich in this world's wealth to quit being so full of themselves and so obsessed with money, which is here to day and gone tomorrow. Tell them to go after God, who piles on all the riches we could every manage- to do good, to be rich in helping others, to be extravagantly generous. If they do that, they'll build a treasury that will last, gaining life that is truly life."

There you have been told!

You may place your gift on Stichting Harvest Now, IBAN # NL. 47. ABNA . 040 56 06 087, Houten, NL. Or you may place money on Pay Pal at stevehill@harvest-now.com but make sure to press personal and then gift so that Pay Pal does not deduct fees from your gift. They have enough money already! Thank you and God bless you!

For Harvest
Steve & Marilyn Hill
_____________________________________________________

www.harvest-now.org

North America
35 Colony Trail Blvd
Holland Landing ON L9N 1C6
+1.905.836.8943

Europe
Hoenderhoeve 23
Houten 3992 XK, NL
+31.30.638.4377

UNDANGAN Simple Church Network

2010-05-17T21:02:00.000-07:00

UNDANGAN
Simple Church Network

Shallom,

Kepada saudara saudariku dalam Kristus Yesus, Simple Church Network, merupakan sebuah komunitas orang percaya yang terbeban pada penanaman gereja dan mereka yang perduli terhadap apa yang tengah Tuhan kerjakan dalam kehidupan umatNYA. Di seluruh dunia dewasa ini Tuhan tengah membangkitkan pria maupun wanita untuk terlibat bersamaNYA memasuki pengalaman dan petualangan baru yang menantang. IA memanggil kita semua untuk terlibat dalam pelebaran KerajaanNya dengan melahirkan banyak keluarga Kristus yang bergairah dalam Dia (simple churches = gereja sederhana, gereja organik, gereja rumah,dll) di seluruh wilayah dan kelompok suku bangsa.
Simple Church Network bukanlah sebuah organisasi tetapi kumpulan penanam gereja yang berkumpul sebagai saudara seiman dan keluarga dalam Tuhan. Saling berbagi pengalaman, pelajaran, mendoakan, mendukung pelayanan seorang dengan yang lainnya, menasehati dan lain-lain. Tanpa memandang ia berasal dari denominasi atau organisasi mana. Sebab kita semua satu dalam tubuh Kristus.

APAKAH SIMPLE CHURCH NETWORK?

Kami adalah keluarga penanam gereja. Tuhan Yesus memanggil kita semua untuk terlibat dalam Amanat AgungNYA. Kita dipanggil untuk melahirkan keluarga-keluarga baru secara rohani (yang sering disebut simple church, gereja rumah atau gereja organik). Kita dipanggil untuk memultiplikasikan gereja dan memobilisasi setiap anak Tuhan untuk terlibat dalam pelebaran Kerajaan Tuhan.
Kami adalah komunitas praktisi. Kami adalah sebuah komunitas praktisi penanam gereja. Kita di sini bukanlah kumpulan “pakar”, tetapi kumpulan orang yang mau belajar bersama.
Kami adalah komunitas keluarga. Komunitas ini tidak memiliki kepemimpinan dengan sistem sentralisasi tetapi desentralisasi. Kita ingin bergerak bersama secara fleksibel dengan keunikannya masing-masing dan dengan kecepatan optimal tidak dibatasi oleh sistem hierarki yang kaku dan menghambat. Kita menitik beratkan pada sisi kekeluargaan dan kebersamaan.
Kami berjejaring dengan LK10 dan Outreach Fellowship International. Dua badan ini telah menjadi rekan dan juga mentor kami dalam hal penanaman gereja sederhana atau simple church.
Kami mengikuti teladan pelayanan Tuhan Yesus. Langkah awal pelayanan Tuhan Yesus memilih 12 orang murid, di mana Ia menginvestasikan hidupnya pada mereka (Lukas 6:40). Lalu Ia mengutus mereka untuk masuk ke kota maupun desa, menemui keluarga-keluarga memberitakan Kabar Baik dan memuridkan mereka, memulai gereja di rumah-rumah. Setelah itu mereka melaporkan apa yang telah dikerjakan pada Yesus (Lukas 9:10). Pada tahap ke dua, kita melihat kini Tuhan Yesus mengutus 72 orang murid, untuk melakukan tugas yang sama dan lalu mereka pun memberikan laporan atas apa yang telah terjadi (Lukas 10:17). Kerinduan kami sebagai murid-murid Kristus adalah untuk mengikuti pola yang telah IA berikan dengan memuridkan orang percaya, mengutus mereka dan saling menguatkan dalam memperlebar Kerajaan Tuhan.

DESKRIPSI BAGI YANG MAU MENJADI BAGIAN SIMPLE CHURCH NETWORK

Rekan jejaring Simple Church Network

1. Seorang yang memiliki hati dan gaya hidup seorang ayah atau ibu rohani (1 Tes 2:1-12). Mereka berfungsi sebagai seorang pemimpin berhati hamba yang merindukan setiap “anak rohani” yang dimentor beroleh keberhasilan (Mat 20:25-28). Ia memiliki karakter yang terefleksikan dalam kehidupan sehari-hari dari seorang episkopos (penilik) dalam 1 Tim 3.
2. Seorang yang memiliki hati dalam penanaman gereja Tuhan, pemuridan, kesatuan tubuh Kristus dan pelebaran Kerajaan Tuhan; seorang yang isi hatinya tampak dalam pekerjaannya. Seorang yang mungkin pernah atau tengah mementor paling tidak dua buah penanaman/perintisan gereja (simple/house/organic/emerging church). Simple Church Network tidak pernah membatasi rekanannya dalam berorganisasi. Mereka dapat saja terlibat dan melayani di dalam organisasi/institusi gereja tradisional atau sebuah denominasi atau yayasan Kristen (parachurch).
3. Seorang yang setiap hari berdoa sesuai Luk 10:2b, meminta penuai-penuai baru di ladang Tuhan. Seorang yang tak berhenti berdoa dan mencari “man or woman of peace”(orang yang layak menerima damai sejahtera) di dalam sebuah wilayah atau kelompok tertentu. Luk 11:5-10, 18:1-8, Pkh 4:9-12.
4. Seorang yang dalam tiap kesempatan mengajarkan semua orang percaya untuk taat pada semua pengajaran Tuhan Yesus (Mat 28:20).
5. Seorang yang merasakan panggilan Tuhan atas suatu wilayah (lingkungan tetangga, kota, propinsi, negara dst) atau suatu kelompok suku dan budaya tertentu (suku terabaikan, suku yang mayoritas belum percaya, subkultur {punk, gothic, bikers, anggota gang/mafia, skaters, dst}, postmodern dst). Seorang yang bersedia berjejaring dan saling memperlengkapi di dalam jaringan ini. Dimana setiap saat kita saling berkomunikasi melalui milist, email, chatting, blog, SMS, telpon atau bertatap muka dalam pertemuan tahunan. Dimana setiap rekan jejaring bersama-sama mencari wajah Tuhan untuk mendapatkan strategi dalam memperlebar Kerajaan Tuhan dengan cara yang beragam, kita disini tidak mau terjebak dalam “penyeragaman strategi”.
6. Seorang yang secara pribadi siap untuk membina hubungan dengan semua rekan jejaring dalam skala nasional. Siap untuk bersama rekan yang lain untuk hidup saling memperlengkapi dalam jejaring regional.
7. Seorang yang pembelajar (memiliki hati yang mau diajar) dan pengajar/pelatih bagi penanam gereja lainnya (atau bagi mereka yang baru mau melangkah menjadi penanam gereja). Seorang yang mau belajar dalam Konferensi Simple Church Network dan mengajar dalam konferensi tersebut.

TIM SIMPLE CHURCH NETWORK AKAN:

1. Kami akan membawa diri Anda dalam hati kami (Kel 28:29) dan berdoa bagi Anda (Fil 1:3-11).
2. Kami akan ada untuk Anda melalui telpon, e-mail atau mengunjungimu kalau hal itu memungkinkan (1 Tes 2:8).
3. Kami akan menyediakan bahan-bahan pelajaran bila diperlukan untuk memperlengkapi Anda maupun jemaat (http://gerejaperjanjianbaru.blogpsot.com , http://enonlinebibleschool.blogspot.com , http://zoeministries.blogspot.com, www.LK10.com, www.robertfitts.com , dll)
4. Kami akan menghubungkan diri Anda dengan rekan-rekan jejaring lainnya dalam jejaring ini.

CONTACT PERSON:

DAVE BROOS
E-mail : davebroos@yahoo.co.uk
Mobile phone : +6281330135643

“MENILIK SEJARAH GEREJA MULA-MULA" (E-BOOK BE THE CHURCH)

2010-05-12T22:57:00.000-07:00

“MENILIK SEJARAH GEREJA MULA-MULA”

Gereja yang sejati jauh lebih dari sekedar terfokus pada struktur organisasi dan badan hukum maupun masalah anggaran dasar dan rumahtangga.

Matius 28:18-20 Yesus mendekati mereka dan berkata: “Kepada-Ku telah diberikan segala kuasa di sorga dan di bumi. Karena itu pergilah, jadikanlah semua bangsa murid-Ku dan baptislah mereka dalam nama Bapa dan Anak dan Roh Kudus, dan ajarlah mereka melakukan segala sesuatu yang telah Kuperintahkan kepadamu. Dan ketahuilah, Aku menyertai kamu senantiasa sampai kepada akhir zaman.”
Gereja Tuhan ditugaskan untuk menjadikan semua bangsa murid Tuhan Yesus. Kita dapat melihat intervensi ilahi sejak awal Tuhan Yesus memberikan Amanat Agung ini, Ia berjanji akan menyertai kita semua sampai akhir zaman dan segala kuasa ada dalam tanganNya.

Kitab Kisah Para Rasul dimulai dengan pertemuan 120 murid Tuhan di sebuah tingkap di Yerusalem dan saat itu mereka mengalami ketakutan. Saat itulah Tuhan Yesus membaptis mereka dengan Roh Kudus sesuai janjiNya sebelum Ia naik ke sorga. Kisah Para Rasul 1:8, ‘Tetapi kamu akan menerima kuasa, kalau Roh Kudus turun ke atas kamu, dan kamu akan menjadi saksi-Ku di Yerusalem dan di seluruh Yudea dan Samaria dan sampai ke ujung bumi.” Rasa takut itu lenyap dan mereka dipenuhi keberanian untuk mengabarkan Injil. Ketika mereka mengalami kepenuhan Roh Kudus, mereka berubah menjadi saksi Kristus. Saksi di dalam bahasa Yunani adalah martus yang berarti saksi atau martir. Gereja mula-mula zaman para rasul atau murid Kristus dimulai tahun 70-130.
Dalam kurun waktu satu generasi, Injil sudah diberitakan di seluruh Asia Kecil, memasuki Eropa, jemaat-jemaat kecil didirikan di semua kota besar, bahkan Roma yang kala itu merupakan pusat dunia.
Jemaat mula-mula ini bersifat misioner. Mereka self governing (memimpin diri sendiri, mandiri secara kepemimpinan), self supporting (mandiri secara keuangan), self propagating (giat memberitakan Injil) dan self reproducing (berkembang secara natural).

Saat gereja mengalami aniaya yang berat, orang Kristen memulai suatu tradisi menggambar lengkungan di tanah menggunakan kaki atau tongkat mereka. Bila orang di hadapannya menggambar lengkungan kedua yang berlawanan dengan yang pertama hingga membentuk gambar ikan maka mereka berdua tahu bahwa mereka merupakan saudara seiman sehingga mereka dapat bersekutu bersama dengan bebas.

Gereja mula-mula diperlengkapi oleh pelayanan lima jawatan, Efesus 4:11-15 “Dan Ia (Tuhan Yesus)lah yang memberikan baik rasul-rasul maupun nabi-nabi, baik pemberita-pemberita Injil maupun gembala-gembala dan pengajar-pengajar, untuk memperlengkapi orang-orang kudus bagi pekerjaan pelayanan, bagi pembangunan tubuh Kristus, sampai kita semua telah mencapai kesatuan iman dan pengetahuan yang benar tentang Anak Allah, kedewasaan penuh, dan tingkat pertumbuhan yang sesuai dengan kepenuhan Kristus, sehingga kita bukan lagi anak-anak, yang diombang-ambingkan oleh rupa-rupa angin pengajaran, oleh permainan palsu manusia dalam kelicikan mereka yang menyesatkan, tetapi dengan teguh berpegang kepada kebenaran di dalam kasih kita bertumbuh di dalam segala hal ke arah Dia, Kristus, yang adalah Kepala.” Mereka pada umumnya berpindah-pindah sesuai pimpinan dan bimbingan Roh Kudus.

Sedangkan pemimpin dalam jemaat mula-mula adalah penatua (penilik) bersama diaken. Ini bukanlah sekedar jabatan tetapi lebih pada fungsi pemimpin sebagai seorang teladan, ayah dan hamba. Dapat dengan jelas kita baca di dalam 1 Timotius 3:1-13 Benarlah perkataan ini: “Orang yang menghendaki jabatan penilik jemaat menginginkan pekerjaan yang indah.” Karena itu penilik jemaat haruslah seorang yang tak bercacat, suami dari satu isteri, dapat menahan diri, bijaksana, sopan, suka memberi tumpangan, cakap mengajar orang, bukan peminum, bukan pemarah melainkan peramah, pendamai, bukan hamba uang, seorang kepala keluarga yang baik, disegani dan dihormati oleh anak-anaknya. Jikalau seorang tidak tahu mengepalai keluarganya sendiri, bagaimanakah ia dapat mengurus Jemaat Allah? Janganlah ia seorang yang baru bertobat, agar jangan ia menjadi sombong dan kena hukuman Iblis. Hendaklah ia juga mempunyai nama baik di luar jemaat, agar jangan ia digugat orang dan jatuh ke dalam jerat Iblis. Demikian juga diaken-diaken haruslah orang terhormat, jangan bercabang lidah, jangan penggemar anggur, jangan serakah, melainkan orang yang memelihara rahasia iman dalam hati nurani yang suci. Mereka juga harus diuji dahulu, baru ditetapkan dalam pelayanan itu setelah ternyata mereka tak bercacat. Demikian pula isteri-isteri hendaklah orang terhormat, jangan pemfitnah, hendaklah dapat menahan diri dan dapat dipercayai dalam segala hal. Diaken haruslah suami dari satu isteri dan mengurus anak-anaknya dan keluarganya dengan baik. Karena mereka yang melayani dengan baik beroleh kedudukan yang baik sehingga dalam iman kepada Kristus Yesus mereka dapat bersaksi dengan leluasa.
It’s about character! Kepemimpinan dalam gereja mula-mula menekankan pada ketaatan, karakter dan teladan bagi “keluarga rohani”nya.

Pada abad pertama umat Tuhan bersekutu dan beribadah di rumah masing-masing dan tidak mempunyai gedung ibadah khusus. Mereka beribadah tanpa memakai suatu tata ibadah yang tersusun rapi.
Mereka saling mendoakan, menyembah Tuhan dengan bebas, ada pengajaran, makan bersama, saling menguatkan dan membantu. Mereka terbuka pada pimpinan Roh Kudus, sebagaimana tertulis dalam 1 Korintus 14:26-28 “Jadi bagaimana sekarang, saudara-saudara? Bilamana kamu berkumpul, hendaklah tiap-tiap orang mempersembahkan sesuatu: yang seorang mazmur, yang lain pengajaran, atau penyataan Allah, atau karunia bahasa roh, atau karunia untuk menafsirkan bahasa roh, tetapi semuanya itu harus dipergunakan untuk membangun. Jika ada yang berkata-kata dengan bahasa roh, biarlah dua atau sebanyak-banyaknya tiga orang, seorang demi seorang, dan harus ada seorang lain untuk menafsirkannya. Jika tidak ada orang yang dapat menafsirkannya, hendaklah mereka berdiam diri dalam pertemuan Jemaat dan hanya boleh berkata-kata kepada dirinya sendiri dan kepada Allah.” Demikian pula dalam Efesus 5:18c-21, “tetapi hendaklah kamu penuh dengan Roh, dan berkata-katalah seorang kepada yang lain dalam mazmur, kidung puji-pujian dan nyanyian rohani. Bernyanyi dan bersoraklah bagi Tuhan dengan segenap hati. Ucaplah syukur senantiasa atas segala sesuatu dalam nama Tuhan kita Yesus Kristus kepada Allah dan Bapa kita dan rendahkanlah dirimu seorang kepada yang lain di dalam takut akan Kristus. Atau sebagaimana kita baca dalam Kisah Para Rasul 2:42-47 Mereka bertekun dalam pengajaran rasul-rasul dan dalam persekutuan. Dan mereka selalu berkumpul untuk memecahkan roti dan berdoa. Maka ketakutanlah mereka semua, sedang rasul-rasul itu mengadakan banyak mujizat dan tanda. Dan semua orang yang telah menjadi percaya tetap bersatu, dan segala kepunyaan mereka adalah kepunyaan bersama, dan selalu ada dari mereka yang menjual harta miliknya, lalu membagi-bagikannya kepada semua orang sesuai dengan keperluan masing-masing. Dengan bertekun dan dengan sehati mereka berkumpul tiap-tiap hari dalam Bait Allah. Mereka memecahkan roti di rumah masing-masing secara bergilir dan makan bersama-sama dengan gembira dan dengan tulus hati, sambil memuji Allah. Dan mereka disukai semua orang. Dan tiap-tiap hari Tuhan menambah jumlah mereka dengan orang yang diselamatkan.
Jemaat mula-mula memiliki kekuatan dan keuntungan. Dalam sebuah ibadah di rumah atmosfir yang terbangun adalah suasana kekeluargaan, masing-masing saling mengenal dan lahirnya kepedulian dalam persekutuan lebih nyata.
Dengan pertemuan di rumah, kita dapat menghindari hal-hal yang kurang praktis. Umpamanya masalah pakaian formil yang membuat beberapa orang merasa rendah diri, masalah harus bersikap “hormat dan kudus”,dstnya. Dalam pertemuan di rumah perbedaan di antara lapisan masyarakat dapat lebih mudah diatasi.
Jumlah umat Tuhan yang lebih sedikit memberikan kesempatan bagi setiap orang untuk berfungsi di dalam ibadah dan bertumbuh secara kerohanian.
Mereka tidak memerlukan dana besar untuk membeli tanah, mendirikan bangunan, pemeliharaan dan izin gedung gereja. Uang persembahan digunakan untuk membangun “gereja” (umat Tuhan) yang membutuhkan, membiayai perjalanan para rasul dan pelayanan lima jawatan yang ada, pekabaran Injil dan pelayanan diakonia(sosial).
Dalam gereja mula-mula (di rumah) pemimpin dan jemaat lebih mudah mengatasi pencobaan. Salah satunya kesombongan rohani menganggap diri sebagai “selebritis rohani”(orang penting) atau kesombongan organisasi. Sebagaimana sering terjadi kini ketika jumlah anggota jemaat bertambah besar dan aset organisasi bernilai milyaran rupiah, karakter pemimpian maupun anggota jemaatnya berubah.
Pengkaderan pemimpin lebih mudah dalam jemaat mula-mula. Menjadi pemimpin pada saat itu lebih menekankan pada fungsi membapai dan melayani sesama bukan sebagai sebuah jabatan bergengsi sebagaimana terjadi dalam gereja modern. Dimana pemimpin gereja lebih mirip CEO sebuah perusahaan mapan dengan gaji besar. Patut disayangkan hal ini terjadi.
Jemaat mula-mula lebih fleksibel, mereka dapat bertemu di rumah bahkan di kuburan bawah tanah (katakombe), di dalam gua atau hutan. Meski coba dihambat mereka merambat semakin dibabat mereka makin mencuat. Jemaat ini sudah teruji sulit untuk dihambat meskipun mengalami penganiayaan berat bahkan dapat dikatakan sadis.
Jemaat mula-mula menekankan setiap anggotanya untuk menjadi pelaku firman Tuhan dan berfungsi memperluas Kerajaan Allah. Jemaat modern lebih suka mendengarkan khotbah, dengan hanya sekedar mendengar saja kita hanya belajar sedikit. 10% dari apa yang kita dengar sajalah yang masih kita ingat dalam tempo 3 hari. Bandingkan dengan jemaat mula-mula yang bukan saja melakukannya tetapi juga mengajarkannya pada murid atau orang percaya lain, 90% apa yang mereka dapatkan menjadi bagian dalam kehidupan mereka.

Jemaat mula-mula memberitakan Injil secara natural, semua orang terlibat dalam pelebaran Kerajaan Allah dan dalam hal menghasilkan murid bukan semata tugas para rasul saja. Bandingkan dengan gereja modern kita yang menitikberatkan tugas pelayanan atau pekerjaan Tuhan hanya pada sekelompok rohaniwan. Lingkup memenangkan jiwa baru dan menanam gereja baru pun kini dikerjakan oleh “pasukan elit rohaniwan” yang kita kenal sebagai penginjil dan misionaris. Tidak heran kini gereja “mandul”.

SAAT TERJADI DEGRADASI DALAM GEREJA

Gereja mula-mula secara alamiah bertemu dari rumah ke rumah, biasanya mereka berkumpul dalam sebuah ruangan yang cukup besar di salah satu jemaat. Para ahli sejarah gereja sepakat bahwa jumlah mereka berkisar 15-20 orang. Ketika jumlah mereka membesar, otomatis mereka akan memulai kelompok baru di rumah jemaat yang lain. Jika tidak maka dapat dipastikan akan timbul masalah. Origen, dalam khotbahnya di gereja rumah di Kaisarea mengatakan,”Orang-orang yang bersembunyi dalam jumlah besar biasanya memiliki kisah yang mengenaskan.”
Pada tahun 95, Rasul Yohanes meninggal di Efesus, ia merupakan rasul dan murid Tuhan Yesus terakhir yang meninggal dunia sedangkan yang lainnya telah mati sebagai martir. Sejak saat itulah perlahan-lahan “gereja mula-mula” mulai memudar sinar dan pengaruhnya. Tahun 100 baptisan Roh Kudus hilang dari pengajaran gereja, disusul dengan hilangnya pengajaran tentang penumpangan tangan dan nubuatan pada tahun130. Tahun 160, kepemimpinan jamak (kepenatuaan) digantikan dengan sistem keuskupan. Lebih celaka lagi tahun 180 muncul denominasi pertama (denominasi berasal dari kata Denome = the name artinya nama), tanpa sadar roh Babel (Kejadian 11:1-9) menyelusup ke dalam gereja Tuhan sepeninggal Yohanes, membuat umat Tuhan mulai terpecah belah dan kesatuan lokal dalam sebuah kota hilang dari gereja. Tahun 185 baptisan orang percaya hilang dan tahun 210 keimamatan orang percaya mulai digantikan imam-imam profesional. Dan tahun 225 spontanitas dalam pertemuan ibadah lenyap.
Tahun 300, gereja kehilangan pengajaran kekudusan dalam keluarga dan para imam dilarang menikah mulai saat itu. Kekristenan yang tadinya menekankan kekuatan pada hubungan (relation) terhadap Tuhan dan sesama saudara seiman, kini mulai terjebak pada keagamawian (religion) yang menekankan pada upaya manusia berbuat kebajikan terhadap Tuhan dan sesama. Ketaatan bukan karena kasih (dengan rela hati) tetapi hukum (dengan berat hati).
Gereja mula-mula makin melemah, sekitar tahun 311-313 pemerintah Romawi mengeluarkan Edik (dekrit) Milano dimana kekristenan menjadi salah satu agama di antara agama-agama lain (diakui resmi). Seiring bertobatnya kaisar Konstantin dan menjadi Kristen pada tahun 312. Hingga sejak itu tidak ada lagi penganiayaan terhadap orang Kristen. Tetapi sejak saat itu pula orang Kristen mulai beribadah di gedung ibadah yang disediakan pemerintah Romawi. Dilayani oleh kaum rohaniwan yang akan memimpin semua acara keagamaan seperti pemberkatan nikah, baptisan air, pentahbisan “imam” dan kegiatan keagamaan lainnya.
Pada masa itu negara memberi kuasa bagi para “imam” untuk menekan mereka yang tidak taat kepada peraturan yang ada. Mereka yang tidak mau taat akan menghadapi konsekwensi dibunuh atau dihukum jika melanggar peraturan kerohanian dan standar-standar yang telah ditetapkan. Gereja sudah menjadi tawar dan padam kala itu. Pada masa itu gereja hidup berdampingan dan kompromi dengan agama-agama palsu.

Kurang lebih tahun 320, permulaan sebuah kebiasaan baru dengan menggunakan lilin di dalam kebaktian dan berdirinya biara pertama yang didirikan oleh Pachomius di Mesir. Tadinya “gereja” mendapatkan amanat dari Tuhan untuk berfungsi sebagai garam dan terang di tengah masyarakat tetapi kini “gereja” menarik diri dari tempatnya. Gereja mengasingkan diri dari dunia yang gelap kala biara berdiri. Kelompok orang percaya yang seharusnya menjadi teladan dalam masyarakat kini mengasingkan diri demi menjaga kekudusan, punya waktu lebih dengan Tuhan, dll. Tujuannya baik, idenya baik tetapi tidak semua tujuan dan ide baik berasal dari Tuhan. (Good destiny and good idea are not always God’s destiny and idea)
Setahun kemudian 321, hari Minggu ditetapkan sebagai hari raya kudus di seluruh wilayah kekaisaran Romawi. Dan sejak tahun 336, perayaan Natal ditetapkan sebagai hari suci umat Kristen di Roma. 25 Desember atau Natal sebelumnya adalah perayaan hari lahirnya Dewa Matahari dimana diubah sebagai perayaan hari lahirnya Tuhan Yesus pada saat itu. Pada tahun 350 mulai muncul prinsip amal sebagai pengganti pengajaran keselamatan adalah kasih karunia Tuhan melalui pengorbanan Kristus di kayu salib.

Tahun 380 keluarlah Edik (dekrit) Theodosius 1 Agung yang menyatakan kekristenan sebagai agama satu-satunya dalam kekaisaran Romawi. Edik atau dekrit ini diberlakukan di seluruh kekaisaran Romawi pada tahun 392. Gereja mulai berkompromi dengan kekafiran, gereja lebih mengutamakan gedung sebagai tempat suci, berdoa pada patung, mimbar atau altar, beragam atribut hingga menjadikan doa sebagai mantra. Inilah awal yang saya namakan “kecelakaan gereja”. Setiap warga Romawi dipaksa menjadi anggota gereja dan harus percaya kepada “Lex Dei” yaitu hukum iman. Segala kelompok dan gerakan, termasuk orang Kristen yang berkumpul di rumah dilarang bertemu. Beribadah di rumah menjadi sebuah kegiatan terlarang dan barangsiapa tetap melakukannya akan ditangkap sebagai seorang kriminal. Mulailah terjadi sebuah era dimana “gereja” menganiaya gereja.

Praktek baptisan percik dimulai pada tahun 400, hukum indulgensia (pengampunan dosa) mulai diajarkan dan populer. Sejak itu dimulailah perjalanan gereja memasuki “the dark ages” selama 1200 tahun.
Setelah itu gereja makin lama makin meninggalkan “the sound doctrine”(doktrin yang benar). Tahun 431 adalah permulaan penyembahan kepada Bunda Maria (theotokos). Sejak tahun 440 hingga 460 Leo 1 Agung menjadi Paus pertama dalam arti sebagai pemimpin penuh dari gereja sebagai wakil Tuhan di muka bumi. Tahun 593 muncul dogma Api Penyucian (purgatorium) yang ditetapkan oleh Paus Gregor 1 Agung. Pada tahun 600 muncul doa kepada Bunda Maria, orang-orang suci dan para malaikat semakin berkembang.

Saat degradasi terjadi dalam gereja muncullah Muhammad pada tahun 570-632 dan agama Islam berkembang. Wilayah-wilayah yang dahulunya telah dimenangkan bagi Tuhan kala itu beralih imannya akibat “degradasi” iman yang terjadi dalam gereja.
Hingga suatu hari terjadi “sejarah hitam” yang dilakukan oleh gereja yaitu “perang salib”. Gereja yang seharusnya hidup dalam kasih, menyatakan kasih dan dikenal sebagai orang-orang yang penuh kasih sayang menjadi kaum barbar dengan mengatasnamakan Tuhan.

How do I start a house church?

2010-05-07T19:40:00.000-07:00

A very practical "Weekly Thoughts" today: How do I start a house church?
Right after "How can I find a house church in my area?", "How do I start a house church?" is the 2nd most common question I receive. There are several things to consider.

In scripture we have the names of several people who were the original hosts/leaders of their own house church; Lydia in Philippi, Jason in Thessalonica, Titus Justus and Crispus in Corinth, Priscilla and Aquila in Ephesus (and at another time in Rome), Philemon in Colossae, a lady named Nymphas in Laodicea.
(Acts 16:15, 40; 17:5; 18:7-8; I Cor 16:19; Rom 16: 3-5; Col 4:15, Philemon 2)

The pattern is that usually the full burden does not rest on any one individual - they had help. For instance, we are told Lydia had employees and the Philippian jailer and family, Philemon had employees, and in Corinth the Jewish leader of the synagogue Crispus teamed up with the Roman, Titus Justus. Apparently though, Priscilla and Aquila, a husband and wife team, appear quite gifted with hospitality for they are mentioned as hosting the church in their homes both in Rome and Ephesus - wherever they went apparently they hosted the church.

We have found the same pattern to be true; unless really graced with hospitality, you will need to team up with someone at some point. Maybe at the start you can host and lead alone, but after a bit the Lord will usually bring someone alongside on the same spiritual page to bear the load. From there we've found that rotating homes and leaders each week shares the load and brings everyone up spiritually. If at some point you don't start rotating leaders and homes each week, meetings become a miniature of what we left, with everyone looking to one couple or one leader for 'the word'.

Intentional
Many house churches start by de-churched friends inviting other de-churched friends over for a meal, some prayer, worship, study in the Word - and talk of home based church. House churches differ from prayer meetings or Bible studies in that people who attend are serious and purposeful about why they are meeting on a regular basis.

We use the word 'intentional' in several applications here in our Tulsa churches. We are intentional about each other, intentional about how and why we meet, intentional neighbors and intentional about moving those we fellowship with 'up' in our priorities in life - in prayer, in fellowship, in communication between meetings.

One does not just start a house church without these careful considerations. This is not just another event to fill the week, it is intentional Christianity, relationship based faith and relationship based church.

Starting
Earlier in this series I spoke of following Jesus' instructions from Luke 10 of finding people of peace. These are people who accept you for you long before they accept Jesus. They are family, friends/neighbors and those in the community, and co-workers. They are people within your existing sphere of influence. There are many people, believers and unbelievers, who prefer to come to a living room rather than a church building.

Thus hosting starts very small scale, often 1 or 2 others. Have a meal in your home, then have a time of worship and prayer and discussion...that's how it starts. That said, I know one situation where a couple decided after a time of not going anywhere to church to invite everyone they knew that was de-churched. They started right off with 6 or 7 couples and families!

Intentional prayer
When a house church actually meets varies, but a threshold is crossed when people realize the seriousness of what they are doing - mentally the jump is made that this is more than just friends having a meal and time in the Lord - this is their spiritual home and their spiritual family.

When that happens sometimes the switch is made to meeting Sunday mornings, sometimes Saturdays, sometimes a weekday night - but the mental change happens that this is church, this is my spiritual family.

So here is what happens typically, but not all the time, just a sample: People arrive and visit for the first 1/2 hour or so. (The host has put out some water and finger foods - maybe cheese and crackers and fruit - something simple.)

After the first 1/2 hour or so the host/hostess who may also be the leader(s) for the meeting, starts by asking for prayer requests...after a time of sharing those requests everyone starts praying for those needs. At this point anything can happen - people may want prayer personally, and people will lay hands on them and see what the Lord may say through the gifts of the Spirit, or just prayer.

Depending on the gifting of the leader, the group may start worshipping, or maybe just continue in prayer and the flow of the gifts of the Spirit, or right into a Bible study or hearing what is on the heart of the leader of that meeting.

Intentional worship
Worship flows from the heart, born from the existing intimacy and vibrancy of each person's closeness with the Father and Jesus, and a true worshipper can at a moments notice break forth in their own words adoration and love for the Father and Jesus. They need no cd or instrument, or if there is such, those things merely accompany the existing melody in the worshipper's heart.

God inhabits the praise and worship of his people, so if people in house church are not willing to worship vibrantly from their hearts (or not willing to learn to find their own words and melody) they're not as likely to have the manifest presence of the Holy Spirit (and gifts of the Spirit moving) in that meeting.

When people want the baptism with the Holy Spirit but struggle speaking in tongues, in many of those cases they don't know how, nor practice worship on their own - to truly get lost in the Spirit in their expression of love to the Father.

Side note: Most 'big' healings I've been a part of both personally and with others, involves the person receiving during worship, getting so caught up in expressing their love for the Father and Jesus that just being in the Father's presence, where there is no lack, heals them.

Think of it; the Greek word for 'worship' is pros-kuneo, pros meaning 'toward' and kuneo meaning 'to kiss'. Worship is therefore the intentional ("towards") kissing of the Father God - a full on expression of love - and He is seeking those who will worship from their spirit and in truth (pure motives) to worship him.

But if you say 'Let's worship' in most churches of any structure, and if you don't have someone else's music and lyrics, people don't know how to express that kind of love to the Father. That's one reason Paul says to "Speak to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, offering praise and voices and making melody in your heart to the Lord. And in everything give thanks." (Eph 5:19-20)

(So maybe a house church needs to purposely study worship a bit and not have a cd for a season until people learn how to worship, how to use their own words instead of a song writers to tell Father God why they love Him, and why they love Jesus?)

Intentional Word
The things of God involve the Spirit and the Word - both elements must be present. If you have the Spirit without the Word people get off balance. If you have the Word without the Spirit things are dry and boring.

If people in house church are not willing to move from their heart - if they haven't mentally prepared to be active and go over and lay hands on someone and expect God to speak through them or give them a word for that person - then house church will stagnate.

In many meetings the vibrancy of prayer and worship lead naturally into a study and discussion of the Word, though in practice the Word and prayer and worship may follow any order, differing according to how the leader feels led for that meeting.

This is where people get nervous - the expectation that they will bring forth a study or message. In house church though everything is discussion oriented, not sermon oriented. Many excellent times in the Lord have started with merely a single verse, or a single thought about a single verse even. You're among friends, others will fill in the gaps because it's discussion oriented...relax, share what's on your heart, it's safe.

Paul told the Corinthians "When you come together every one of you has a psalm (worship/prayer), revelation (something God showed me, this week or another time), doctrine (something God taught me this week or another time), tongues/interpretation (freedom to move in the gifts of the Spirit)." I Cor 14:26

Depending on the way God created whoever is leading is how the meeting will go. A leader more graced in intercessory prayer may lead everyone in worship and prayer, a teacher may forgo worship in favor of a deep study in the Word, someone may just have one recurring thought that stayed with them all week they'd like to share (a revelation) - and it goes from there.

The point is that it is intentional. Whoever is leading is seeking the Father for the upcoming meeting. My pattern has been, and often this is the case with others I've discovered, is along about Wednesday (for a Sunday meeting) the Father starts putting a thought or verse or Psalm or revelation or subject on the leader's heart - and they think on that for those several days before the Sunday meeting. It's natural, flowing, and completely easy because a person can be themselves, as the Father directs them.

Intentional relationships
A house church revolves around people as guests in someone's home, getting to know one another. As such one of our founding verses is Galatians 2:9: "But when Peter, James and John...perceived the grace in Barnabus and me, they gave us the right hand of fellowship..."

Perceiving the grace is essential to knowing and loving people of varying ages, races, backgrounds, and life experience. Perceiving the grace in the verse above meant that though Peter and the others were called to the Jews and Paul to the Gentiles, they were in fellowship and relationship. Peter would later write that some of what Paul wrote was hard to understand, meaning that even though he didn't fully understand Paul's call, teachings, or life experience, he perceived the grace and loved him. (II Pet 3:16)

This means we look for Jesus in another person - when you find Jesus in them and what He has done and is doing in them, their past, their race, their socio-economic standing falls into the category of irrelevance. This is how we walk in love with people who are very different from us - perceive in your spirit Jesus in them, and love Him in them.

House churches do go through stages though. We've found that for the first 90 days all are on best behavior. In the 3-6 month time frame (if they stick around), personality conflicts arise and people have to learn to perceive the grace in others. In the 6-9 month time frame they work through it all, learning how to be proactive in meetings and walk in love, and by 12 months a core group of friends has worked through personality conflicts and grown to truly enjoy each other's company. Somewhere in the 6 month to 18 month time frame a house church starts turning outward to invite others - though this varies widely.

Intentionally connected
Lastly, there are no stand alone house churches in the New Testament. Many start off as individual house churches, all alone, like in Acts 11 in Antioch, or Acts 16 in Philippi. But at some point each house church sought to be connected to an apostle and a larger network of house churches. From those relationships people wrote back and forth, traveled back and forth, sent money back and forth - they were connected to each other.

It must have been some discussion in Corinth, for according to I Corinthians 3 they were acting like un-born again people, so caught up in strife were they over this issue - some said they wanted to be associated with Apollos, some with Paul - he told them it shouldn't be a point of strife and they were acting like babies. Later in chapter 9 he told them he was the most instrumental in their spiritual life and they should be supporting him, but the point is they wanted to be connected.

In Antioch, once connected to the leaders in Jerusalem, they sent an offering to help against a prophesied famine, and Paul thanks the churches in Philippi (which started you'll recall in Lydia's house) for sending support twice while he started the house church in Thessalonica - they wanted to help start other house churches by extension through Paul's ministry. (Acts 11:29, 16:40/17:1-8, Phil 4:15-16)

And in II Corinthians 8 Paul is receiving an offering for the leaders and believers in Jerusalem from the Corinthians and once again mentions the house churches of Philippi and area (Macedonia) giving as well - so Philippi was connect to Thessalonica and also to Corinth and all were connected to Paul who was also connected to Jerusalem....and on it goes.

We try to emulate Paul - he sought to build relationships not a network. Networking and those relationships developed naturally over time, but relationships were the point.

And that is why this second foundational verse is so important, from II Corinthians 1:24: "Not that we would have dominion over your faith, but are helpers of your joy, for by your own faith you stand."

Neither Paul nor we have dominion over someone's faith - each house church is an independent, real church. Our part as leaders, and as others in a network, is to be helpers of joy. And there is great peace in that.

Be intentional, you can do it, you're not alone!

New subject next week,
Blessings,
John Fenn
www.supernaturalhousechurch.org

House church culture

2010-05-05T02:32:00.000-07:00

House church culture
Today I'll share about the 'culture', the 'mind set' of house church especially geared towards those thinking about house church - I think this will help define differences for you. If you're in house church, my hope is that it will further define some of those intangibles that make house church, house church.

I'll make some generalized statements about traditional church structure for the purpose of comparison and making a point, and as such I am not trying to offend, merely making generalized observations.

As such, the major difference in house church culture from traditional church culture is this: Traditional church has trained whole generations to look at church as 'what can it do for me' or 'what it can do for my family', rather than "How can I grow in Christ in safe relationships with true friends, and contribute to the overall well being of a (home based) family of faith, that is also outwardly directed to my community."

Some years ago I consulted with traditional churches and Bible schools, and I would have the pastor distribute questionnaires asking why people chose that church. Without fail pastors were surprised and humbled when the results were tallied. "Sermon" was way down the list in terms of why people went to any given church. "Children's church/youth group" and "nursery" were nearly always the #1 reasons, followed by 'good music' or 'good worship'. One pastor's sermons even fell below 'parking lot shuttle service'.

Some use church for social reasons too. They use the nursery and children's church as a babysitter so they can have a break, or as a means to meet people their own age, or they love sitting back and listening to a choir or full band. I've had several lukewarm husbands tell me candidly when away from their on-fire-for-the-Lord wives that they come to church mainly 'because it's good for business'.

Ouch
By contrast, the culture of house church can be illustrated by quoting an Indian man when a friend of mine visited his country. He told my friend: "You Americans preach a different gospel than we do. You tell people if you receive Jesus as Lord you will gain your health, you will gain money, you will gain your family and business. We tell people if you receive Jesus as Lord you may lose your health, you may lose your money, you may lose your family, you may lose your business, you may even lose your life."

People in house church have a different set of priorities. We think in terms of the relationships we have within house church are so rich that we'd like to include others in those relationships, and so look for people of peace in our existing spheres of influence in family, community, and work to get to know better and invite to our living rooms.

We in house church think how to include others in our lives, traditional thinking seeks to include others in programs.

House church is messy. We get to know one another and as such pray for each other and track those prayers weekly. We know when someone is having a hard time financially and have the opportunity and responsibility to respond, both individually and as a (house) church.

Traditional church is sanitized Christianity, sanitized faith. It's largely reduced to theory and best case scenarios. You can give money to a program without ever having to actually know a person and their situation. In house church you get to know the person for whom the formulas didn't work. You share their hurts, their victories.

House church in involved Christianity. Rather than give to programs where specialists in a particular 'outreach' go to prisons or take meals to the sick or collect and distribute food and clothes or work on someone's house in need of repair, those in house church become those 'specialists' for people for those in our midst. WE take the food ourselves. WE go take money to pay an electric bill, or work on someone's house.

Outside the box
Traditional churches are by nature inwardly directed - not an indictment, just fact. By their nature they are all about attracting people which attracts money and volunteers to carry forth the vision of the church. In my consulting days the #1 question pastors asked was "How do I shut the back door?" (Keep people from leaving) coupled with it: "And how do I grow my church or school?"

For that reason all their problem solving thinking is confined to that structure. If there is a social need - start a program (clothing, bus, singles, young married's, food pantry). That thinking goes to the congregation as well; if this church doesn't meet my needs or those of my family, we'll leave and search for another traditional church that has the program we need.

House church is comprised of people who value the relationships they have in that house church as a foundation in Christ. Therefore solutions to issues are found via relationships. Someone needs food while recovering from surgery; organize everyone who meets in the living room to take food to them because when one hurts we all hurt - not a program, but a house church community response.

Young families needs not being met? Divide out to a young family house church and start inviting other de-churched Christians or people of peace non-Christians to house church. Someone doesn't have transportation to the meetings, YOU go out of your way to pick them up and then drop them back home.

We don't think in terms of 'if our needs aren't met we'll go to another church', but rather, how can I be part of the solution? What provision has the Lord made for us and our family in our larger house church family? How can we be outwardly focused to bring others into the richness that we have in these relationships in house church?

Lastly...
House church meetings require preparation, especially for the leader(s) that day. This isn't for people who want to sit back and not participate nor have anything to share. Whoever is leading that day is expected to take it seriously, spending time in the Word or prayer and with the Lord to get a leading on the direction for that meeting. If whoever is leading does not do this, house churches become social meetings revolving around fellowship, food, light prayer, but no real spiritual meat, and it stagnates.

So for all those thinking about house church, many of whom this is the first time receiving my Weekly Thoughts, I encourage you to read #1 and #2 on this subject at our home page under 'articles'. House church meetings meet with purpose, with priorities being the people in that house church - and growth in Christ. Next week, the last of the series...how to start, how to walk in love with such diverse people, and more!

Blessings,
John Fenn
www.supernaturalhousechurch.org

“APAKAH GEREJA ?” (E-BOOK BE THE CHURCH)

2010-05-04T04:01:00.000-07:00

“APAKAH GEREJA ?”

Saat kita mendengar kata gereja, apakah yang terlintas dalam benak kita? Bagi mayoritas orang itu merupakan sebuah tempat atau gedung ibadah bagi umat Kristen, mungkin dengan lambang salib di atas kubah gedung tersebut. Tetapi benarkah gereja merupakan sebuah tempat? Sebagian orang lagi menganggap gereja sebagai acara kebaktian (khususnya hari Minggu). Benarkah gereja hanya tentang acara semata? Ada pula yang menganggap gereja adalah organisasi agama dimana seorang Kristen wajib tergabung di dalamnya. Beberapa orang menyatakan gereja merupakan organisasi keagamaan yang sudah disahkan atau ditetapkan sebuah denominasi tertentu yang diakui pemerintah. Pernah suatu kali saya bertanya pada beberapa orang Kristen, mengapa mereka menjadi anggota gereja. Jawabannya, cukup mengejutkan, mereka bergabung agar mereka bisa diberkati pernikahannya atau dimakamkan saat meninggal. Benarkah gereja hanya semata organisasi buatan manusia? Apakah sesempit itu makna kita menjadi anggota dari keluarga Allah? Kita perlu menemukan kembali makna dari gereja itu sebenarnya.

Kata “church” (bahasa Inggris), “kerk” (bahasa Belanda), “die Kirkche (bahasa Jerman) atau gereja dalam bahasa Indonesia (kata ini kita diadopsi dari bahasa Portugis “igreja”) sebenarnya berasal dari kata sifat dalam bahasa Yunani kuriakos yang berarti “dari Tuhan” atau “milik kepunyaan Tuhan”. Sedangkan kata benda dalam bahasa Yunani yang mendekati konsep ini adalah sunagoge yang dapat berarti ganda; “umat Tuhan dan tempat khusus dimana mereka berkumpul”. Di dalam Perjanjian Lama kata jemaat mempunyai dua pengertian, yaitu edah yang digunakan untuk menyebut sekumpulan umat Israel (Keluaran 12:47) dan kahal yang digunakan untuk menyebut umat Israel sebagai jemaat yang berhubungan dengan ibadah kepada Allah (Imamat 16:17). Namun menariknya dari arti-arti di atas tak ada satupun yang digunakan dalam Alkitab untuk mengacu pada jemaat atau gereja.
Kata gereja pertama kali disebut dalam Matius 16:18, “Akupun berkata kepadamu:”Engkau adalah Petrus dan di atas batu karang ini Aku akan mendirikan jemaatKu dan alam maut tidak akan menguasainya.” Kata Bahasa Yunani yang Yesus gunakan ialah “ Ekkaleo” dan Yesus adalah orang pertama yang menggunakannya setelah zaman para nabi berakhir. Sebelumnya para nabi memberitakan kehendak Allah dengan pola berpikir kerajaan (Kingdom minded). Artinya semua nabi yang ada sebelum Yesus (termasuk Yohanes Pembaptis) menggunakan istilah Kerajaan. Kata Ekkaleo yang merupakan akar kata dari Ekklesia yang punya pengertian “dipanggil keluar”, merupakan istilah yang menunjuk kepada sebuah kelompok masyarakat yang dipanggil keluar, yang dipilih untuk berdiri di pintu gerbang untuk membuat/mengambil keputusan yang mempengaruhi sebuah kota. Gereja = Kerajaan.
Setiap kali kata “gereja” muncul dalam Perjanjian Baru ia berasal dari kata ekklesia. Kata ini tidak seperti kuriakos maupun sunagoge sebab ekklesia tidak pernah mengacu pada bangunan atau tempat menyembah. Kata ini selalu mengacu pada sebuah pertemuan, kumpulan orang atau jemaat. Di luar Perjanjian Baru, kata ekklesia ini digunakan oleh perkumpulan politik yang secara teratur bertemu untuk suatu tujuan yaitu membuat keputusan atas kota dimana mereka tinggal. Yesus menggunakan kata-kata yang pasti telah dimengerti oleh orang-orang yang mendengarkanNya.
Jadi gereja bukanlah gedung atau denominasi tetapi kumpulan orang-orang yang dipanggil keluar untuk melakukan keputusan Allah terhadap suatu daerah tertentu. Sebagaimana tertulis dalam I Petrus 2:5-9,” Dan biarlah kamu juga dipergunakan sebagai batu hidup untuk pembangunan suatu rumah rohani, bagi suatu imamat kudus, untuk mempersembahkan persembahan rohani yang karena Yesus Kristus berkenan kepada Allah. Sebab ada tertulis dalam Kitab Suci: “Sesungguhnya, Aku meletakkan di Sion sebuah batu yang terpilih, sebuah batu penjuru yang mahal, dan siapa yang percaya kepada-Nya, tidak akan dipermalukan.” Karena itu bagi kamu, yang percaya, ia mahal, tetapi bagi mereka yang tidak percaya: “Batu yang telah dibuang oleh tukang-tukang bangunan, telah menjadi batu penjuru, juga telah menjadi batu sentuhan dan suatu batu sandungan.” Mereka tersandung padanya, karena mereka tidak taat kepada Firman Allah; dan untuk itu mereka juga telah disediakan. Tetapi kamulah bangsa yang terpilih, imamat yang rajani, bangsa yang kudus, umat kepunyaan Allah sendiri, supaya kamu memberitakan perbuatan-perbuatan yang besar dari Dia, yang telah memanggil kamu keluar dari kegelapan kepada terang-Nya yang ajaib.
Gereja bukanlah organisasi, acara, program atau bangunan, sebab gereja adalah kumpulan orang percaya. Gereja tidak bergantung pada adanya gedung, organisasi, acara atau program. Bahkan dalam Kamus Alkitab yang ada dalam Alkitab terbitan LAI pun menyebutkan arti gereja atau jemaat sebagai “Persekutuan orang-orang yang percaya kepada Yesus Kristus, baik yang di satu tempat maupun keseluruhan persekutuan Kristen. Juga disebut Tubuh Kristus yang didiami Roh Kudus. Bahasa Yunaninya ekklesia berarti perkumpulan orang-orang yang dipanggil dan dipilih Tuhan.
Wouw, sesuatu yang mengejutkan Anda? Kalau ya, fasten your seat belt, please (harap kencangkan sabuk pengaman Anda). Akan ada banyak hal yang mungkin mengejutkan Anda di halaman-halaman selanjutnya.
TAHUKAH ANDA KAPAN KITA MENGGUNAKAN “GEDUNG”?
Gedung pertemuan ibadah baru dikenal pada tahun 327 M yang diprakarsai oleh Kaisar Konstantin. Gedung ibadah tersebut dibangun berdasarkan basilika Romawi yang mengikuti model kuil-kuil penyembahan berhala Yunani. Sebelum masa itu gereja mula-mula bertumbuh, berkembang dan mempengaruhi dunia tanpa gedung ibadah. Kita harus mengingat bahwa Kaisar Konstantin merupakan penyembah Dewa Matahari sebelumnya.
Melalui pengorbanan Yesus Kristus di atas kayu salib, Ia telah membuat rumah Allah yang baru yaitu gereja atau kita sebagai kumpulan orang percaya. Tuhan Yesus menyatakan, “Jawab Yesus kepada mereka: “Rombak Bait Allah ini, dan dalam tiga hari Aku akan mendirikannya kembali.” Lalu kata orang Yahudi kepada-Nya: “Empat puluh enam tahun orang mendirikan Bait Allah ini dan Engkau dapat membangunnya dalam tiga hari?”Tetapi yang dimaksudkan-Nya dengan Bait Allah ialah tubuh-Nya sendiri” (Yohanes 2:19-21). Lebih jauh lagi ada tertulis dalam Alkitab, “Jika ada orang yang membinasakan bait Allah, maka Allah akan membinasakan dia. Sebab bait Allah adalah kudus dan bait Allah itu ialah kamu. Atau tidak tahukah kamu, bahwa tubuhmu adalah bait Roh Kudus yang diam di dalam kamu, Roh Kudus yang kamu peroleh dari Allah, -- dan bahwa kamu bukan milik kamu sendiri?” (1 Korintus 3:17, 6:19). Allah tidak berdiam di dalam gedung konstruksi buatan manusia, itu merupakan pelecehan terhadap karya Kristus di atas kayu salib. Ada tertulis dalam Kisah Para Rasul 7:48,”Tetapi Yang Mahatinggi tidak diam di dalam apa yang dibuat oleh tangan manusia.” Ia tinggal dalam diri kita dan bukan di sebuah gedung. Kini tubuh kita adalah bait Allah yang harus dijaga kekudusannya setiap saat.
Gereja mula-mula berkumpul di rumah-rumah, inilah pola Allah bagi gerejaNya. Ini merupakan pola penggembalaan dimana setiap anggota saling memperhatikan, peduli, berkorban, melengkapi, terbuka, belajar dan bertumbuh bersama. Bahkan strategi penginjilan Yesus adalah melalui rumah – rumah. Dalam Matius 10:12-14,” Apabila kamu masuk rumah orang, berilah salam kepada mereka. Jika mereka layak menerimanya, salammu itu turun ke atasnya, jika tidak, salammu itu kembali kepadamu. Dan apabila seorang tidak menerima kamu dan tidak mendengar perkataanmu, keluarlah dan tinggalkanlah rumah atau kota itu dan kebaskanlah debunya dari kakimu.” Atau dalam Lukas 10:5-7,” Kalau kamu memasuki suatu rumah, katakanlah lebih dahulu: Damai sejahtera bagi rumah ini. Dan jikalau di situ ada orang yang layak menerima damai sejahtera, maka salammu itu akan tinggal atasnya. Tetapi jika tidak, salammu itu kembali kepadamu. Tinggallah dalam rumah itu, makan dan minumlah apa yang diberikan orang kepadamu, sebab seorang pekerja patut mendapat upahnya. Janganlah berpindah-pindah rumah.” Orang Kristen berkumpul di rumah-rumah atau dapat dikatakan mereka bergereja di rumah. Apakah ini alkitabiah? Ya, tentu saja apa yang saya tuliskan memiliki dasar Alkitab.
Kisah Para Rasul 2:46 “Dengan bertekun dan dengan sehati mereka berkumpul tiap-tiap hari dalam Bait Allah (*). Mereka memecahkan roti di rumah masing-masing secara bergilir dan makan bersama-sama dengan gembira dan dengan tulus hati.”
Kisah Para Rasul 5:42 Dan setiap hari mereka melanjutkan pengajaran mereka di Bait Allah(*) dan di rumah-rumah orang dan memberitakan Injil tentang Yesus yang adalah Mesias.
(*) Jemaat mula-mula berkumpul di “Bait Allah” (hanya ada di kota Yerusalem saja) saat mereka belum dianiaya oleh orang Yahudi. Namun itupun bukan berarti mereka berkumpul dan berada di dalamnya sebab hanya kaum Lewi saja yang boleh berada di dalam. Ingat struktur Bait Allah yang terbagi pada tiga bagian yaitu halaman, ruang kudus dan ruang maha kudus. Jemaat mula-mula mereka berada di “halaman” saja. Halaman merupakan tempat hang out pada masa itu. Bait Allah pun “hanya” ada di Yerusalem. Sebagai gambaran bagi kita yang hidup di Indonesia, bila Anda berada di Alun-alun sebuah kota biasanya juga terdapat sebuah “tempat ibadah” dan dihadapan tempat ibadah tersebut biasanya ada halaman atau taman dimana orang-orang dapat berkumpul atau melakukan suatu aktivitas. Jadi bila anda membaca Kisah Para Rasul dan membaca jemaat mula-mula berkumpul di bait Allah, mereka tidak beribadah sebagaimana di gereja modern kita dewasa ini. Bait Allah bukanlah gedung gereja sebagaimana yang kita gunakan kini.
Kisah Para Rasul 8:3 Tetapi Saulus berusaha membinasakan jemaat itu dan ia memasuki rumah demi rumah dan menyeret laki-laki dan perempuan ke luar dan menyerahkan mereka untuk dimasukkan ke dalam penjara.
Kisah Para Rasul 12:12 Dan setelah berpikir sebentar, pergilah ia ke rumah Maria, ibu Yohanes yang disebut juga Markus. Di situ banyak orang berkumpul dan berdoa.
Kisah Para Rasul 16:40 Lalu mereka meninggalkan penjara itu dan pergi ke rumah Lidia; dan setelah bertemu dengan saudara-saudara di situ dan menghiburkan mereka, berangkatlah kedua rasul itu.
Kisah Para Rasul 20:20 Sungguhpun demikian aku tidak pernah melalaikan apa yang berguna bagi kamu. Semua kuberitakan dan kuajarkan kepada kamu, baik di muka umum maupun dalam perkumpulan-perkumpulan di rumah kamu.
Roma 16:5 Salam juga kepada jemaat di rumah mereka. Salam kepada Epenetus, saudara yang kukasihi, yang adalah buah pertama dari daerah Asia untuk Kristus.
1 Korintus 16:19 Salam kepadamu dari Jemaat-jemaat di Asia Kecil. Akwila, Priskila dan Jemaat di rumah mereka menyampaikan berlimpah-limpah salam kepadamu.
Kolose 4:15 Sampaikan salam kami kepada saudara-saudara di Laodikia; juga kepada Nimfa dan jemaat yang ada di rumahnya.
Filemon 1:1-2 Dari Paulus, seorang hukuman karena Kristus Yesus dan dari Timotius saudara kita, kepada Filemon yang kekasih, teman sekerja kami dan kepada Apfia saudara perempuan kita dan kepada Arkhipus, teman seperjuangan kita dan kepada jemaat di rumahmu.
Pada dasarnya kata jemaat atau gereja selalu menunjuk pada jemaat yang bertemu di rumah dan tidak menunjuk pada denominasi-denominasi atau kelompok-kelompok gereja yang terorganisir ataupun pada bangunan-bangunan gedung gereja. Kelihatannya Alkitab lebih banyak memberikan informasi tentang gereja yang bertemu di rumah dari pada tentang gereja yang kita kenal sekarang ini.
Dalam Perjanjian Baru kita mengenal 3 ekspresi gereja yaitu Gereja Universal – Tubuh Kristus (Mat 16:18), Gereja Lokal atau Kota (Wahyu 2:1,8,12, 18 ; 3:1, 7, 14) dan Gereja yang bertemu di rumah-rumah ( Matius 18:15-20, Roma 16:5, dst).
Gereja ada untuk kotanya. Ia adalah agen Kerajaan Allah untuk menghadirkan KerajaanNya atas kota tersebut. Gereja ada untuk kesejahteraan kotanya. Ingat Doa Bapa Kami? Matius 6:9-10 Karena itu berdoalah demikian: Bapa kami yang di sorga, Dikuduskanlah nama-Mu, datanglah Kerajaan-Mu, jadilah kehendak-Mu di bumi seperti di sorga.
Gereja berkumpul secara teratur dan memiliki tujuan tertentu saat berkumpul.
Sedangkan gereja modern yang kita kenal saat ini adalah Gereja Denominasi (organisasi), Kongregasi (pertemuan ibadah atau kebaktian menurut tradisi setiap minggu) dan kebaktian di rumah tangga sebagai bagian program dari gereja pusat.

PERBEDAAN DALAM GEREJA MULA-MULA DAN MODERN

GEREJA MODERN GEREJA MULA-MULA
LOKASI Gedung Ibadah Di rumah-rumah
UKURAN Besar, hubungan renggang Kecil, hubungan akrab
HUBUNGAN Jauh, cenderung tidak saling kenal dan acuh Dekat, transparan, saling peduli
ADA MASALAH Cari pendeta/Gembala Sidang Saling menasehati dan membangun satu dengan yang lain
CARA HIDUP Individu, perseorangan Komunitas, kebersamaan
PUSAT Kebaktian atau ibadah di gedung ibadah, dan aktif mengikuti program yang ada Ketaatan sebagai pelaku Firman Tuhan setiap waktu yang dimulai di rumah atau keluarga
KEHIDUPAN DOA Pilihan pribadi, terbatas Penekanan yang kuat
PENGINJILAN Penjangkauan keluar oleh orang-orang khusus, melalui program-program khusus Pergi ke tetangga, saudara, teman dan masyarakat menjadi “kabar baik” dan bermultiplikasi secara alami
PEMURIDAN Kelas, buku bacaan & catatan, sedikit teladan, transfer pengetahuan “Mulut ke telinga”, teladan hidup, transfer pengetahuan dan kehidupan.
KEPEMIMPINAN Gembala Sidang, kepemimpinan tunggal Kepenatuaan, kepemimpinan jamak
TUGAS PEMIMPIN Memimpin program kerja, menyampaikan khotbah dengan baik, mendoakan jemaat, visitasi dll Memperlengkapi jemaat untuk melakukan pekerjaan Tuhan bersama-sama
KEUANGAN Persembahan & Perpuluhan dari anggota Membagi apa yang mereka miliki, jemaat mau saling berkorban bila ada sebuah kebutuhan
PENGAJARAN Menekankan pengajaran atau kepercayaan khusus dari denominasi tsb. Disampaikan oleh “orang tertentu” Mempelajari & mengaplikasikan kebenaran dalam kehidupan sehari-hari. Setiap jemaat dapat saling belajar dan berbagi.
GAYA PENGAJARAN Statis, berpusat pada khotbah atau pengajaran satu arah Kinetis, ada dialog dan tanya-jawab
KARUNIA ROHANI Kurang berperan. Hanya dilakukan oleh orang tertentu Dipraktekkan secara teratur oleh semua orang percaya untuk saling membangun
HARAPAN PADA ANGGOTA Setia hadir pada tiap program, memberi perpuluhan, masuk kelas pemuridan, aktif membantu “pelayanan”, membawa banyak orang ke “gereja” Menjadi “gereja” dimana saja, membawa “gereja” dalam masyarakat, melayani orang lain, menjadi terang dan garam di dunia, menjadi alat transformasi bagi kotanya
PERSPEKTIF Ibadah raya sebagai titik fokus Jemaat yang bertemu di rumah sebagai titik fokus
KATA KUNCI Jadilah anggota “gereja”, datang bertumbuhlah bersama kami Jadilah murid Kristus, pergi dan jadikan semua bangsa murid Kristus
MISI Mengutus utusan Injil, profesional dan sudah terlatih. Gereja mengutus dirinya sendiri untuk bermultiplikasi, jemaat menyadari semua terlibat misi dari Tuhan
KOMITMEN Memperluas institusi atau denominasi, keseragaman Memperluas Kerajaan Allah, bergerak bersama tubuh Kristus yang ada tanpa memandang “organisasinya”.
SPIRITUALITAS Kristen cek-list, ketaatan pada agama/hukum, pemisahan antara kehidupan rohani dan sekuler Menjadi “gereja”, taat karena mengasihi Tuhan, kehidupan rohani maupun sekuler manunggal