The Missing Ingredient

The Missing Ingredient
By Chip Brogden www.theschoolofchrist.org
And I will very gladly spend and be spent for you; though the more abundantly I love you, the less I am loved" (II Corinthians 12:15).

Besides prayer, no other subject has been talked about more and practiced less than the subject of loving one another. We all know we are supposed to love one another. We have heard it preached a thousand times. But there is a difference between knowing the Path and walking the Path.

I want to speak specifically to the issue of love as it relates to "ministry". That word "ministry" is a loaded word now, and we really need to question someone when they use that word so we can find out what they really mean. I think most people will agree that what passes for "ministry" these days is something very far removed from the ministry practiced in the New Testament. And I am not referring to some kind of method or technique that they practiced. The "missing ingredient" is not something so superficial as meeting in homes versus meeting in buildings. How far we have fallen to think that the secret of New Testament life is found in some way of conducting a meeting.

Leadership exists in the Bible, and leadership exists in the Church. There is no getting around that. Jesus showed us, both in word and in deed, that His idea of leadership is based on service to God and to others. The question we need to ask is what constitutes godly, Spirit-led, Christ-centered, servant leadership? What makes someone a spiritual father? What really qualifies someone as an apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor, or teacher?

You might say the calling of God is what qualifies someone. Perhaps, but many are called and few are chosen. Many are called but they fail to respond to the call. You need more than a calling.

You might say the gift of God is what qualifies someone. Let me tell you something, brothers and sisters. Gifts no longer register much with me anymore. Gifted brothers and sisters are really a dime a dozen. I am just speaking frankly. Often I will meet people and come away thinking how gifted they are, but they leave me hollow inside. They have a lot of potential but I would not trust them to watch my dog much less watch over people's souls. Many of them claim to be in some kind of pastoral or prophetic or apostolic ministry. But that in and of itself does not qualify a person. I have seen gifted brothers and sisters with absolutely no wisdom, no maturity, and no spiritual discernment make a real mess of people's lives.

You might say revelation from God is what qualifies someone. I absolutely believe that revelation is a necessity for teaching others because you cannot point the way to a place you have never been. But revelation by itself does not qualify a person.

There came a time in my life when I realized I was called, and I was gifted, and God had given me great revelation, but I still lacked something. Now when I was younger I believed that having a calling from God and being gifted by God was all you needed. Then I began to learn some things by revelation and thought that was God's seal of approval upon me.

Even so, I could not get away from the fact that there were then, and there are now, lots of people in the world besides me who are called by God, have spiritual gifts, and enjoy an abundance of revelation. But God cannot trust them in any kind of a servant leadership capacity. They may have a title or a ministry but they are unqualified because they do not have the missing ingredient. I noticed they lacked something, and worse, I lacked the same thing. Eventually I discovered what everyone, including myself, is lacking.

What is the missing ingredient? The missing ingredient is LOVE.

Let me share something to illustrate what I mean. A pastor told me something that happened many years ago between him and his associate pastor. They worked together in the church but fortunately they were also good friends. He said his associate came to him one day with tears in his eyes and told him, "You're the best preacher and teacher of the Word I have ever heard in my life. But you just don't love people." When the pastor shared this story with me he had tears in his eyes, too. It was a powerful reminder to him, and an important lesson to us. We can be called and gifted and full of revelation and still fall short because we are not walking in love with people.

Now we could go to many examples of love demonstrated and love commanded in the New Testament. You know them as well as I do. But when I turn to this little obscure passage in II Corinthians 12 I find something mostly overlooked. Paul writes, "I will VERY GLADLY spend and be spent for you; though the more ABUNDANTLY I love you, the less I am loved." Now that is what qualifies a person. That is the missing ingredient.

Paul wrote this to the Corinthians. You know Paul had more trouble with the Corinthian church than all the others combined. Most people would have quit, but not Paul. Paul has the heart of a father. That is a real apostle. That is a real pastor. We know he was called, we know he was gifted, and we certainly know he had a depth of revelation. We could understand if he felt like he was wasting his time with Corinth and wanted to turn his attention elsewhere.

You see, that kind of thinking has the flesh all over it. I read something many years ago that I accepted at first as wisdom, but have since changed by mind. A man wrote, "Go where you are celebrated, not where you are tolerated." At the time I was feeling very unappreciated so I thought this was sound advice. But God has been gracious to me, and He has helped me to see that this attitude is the whole problem with "ministry" today. We love people who love us, and we serve people who serve us, and we thank people who thank us, and if you scratch my back then I'll scratch your back. What kind of Christianity is this? What if Paul only went where he was celebrated and avoided places where he was just tolerated? What a foolish statement, but this is the prevailing attitude among "ministers" today.

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 founded the church. 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?

You know, the days of a person just "showing up" to exercise their gift and do their little ministry event are just about over. I have been guilty of that, I think we all have either done it or seen others do it. Is that what Jesus has called us to do? Is that being an example? Hold some meetings, have some talks, shake hands and go home? It doesn't mean a thing if we are not loving one another. It is all tinkling brass and clanging cymbals.

Paul saw himself as a father caring for the needs of his children. He entered right into the heart of God, because that is exactly the way God sees it. That is why Paul was able to love them more even as they loved him less. There is a vacuum of that kind of leadership in the Body of Christ today. We have people who cannot even be good brothers and sisters and yet they aspire to be spiritual fathers and leaders, apostles and prophets and pastors and teachers. Instead of serving people WITH their gift they expect people to serve them BECAUSE of their gift. It is seen in things so seemingly insignificant as the pastor's reserved parking space right by the front door.

In recent months I have prayed, "God, take away my calling, take away my gifts, take away my revelation, but give me a heart of love." Really friends, we have plenty of gifted brothers and sisters. But where are the Pauls and the Peters and the Johns of our generation? Where are the spiritual fathers, the leaders, the elders, the ones giving a godly example to those who follow after? An example is most definitely being given, but all too often it is an example of what NOT to do.

Where are the ones who will very gladly spend and be spent in the service of God and of others - who will love abundantly even when they are not loved in return? One father is worth more than ten thousand teachers.

All you who are called and gifted, hear me. Love is the missing ingredient. Follow after love and the calling, the gifting, and the revelation will find its deepest and fullest expression.

"Trends in the Global House Church Movement"

Take a moment to read this & see if it resonates in your spirit.....



The Decade That Changed The Church: The longest lasting Revival in Church history took place during the Communist persecution in China from 1949 to late nineties. During this period the Christian population grew from one million to the present hundred plus million without foreign missionaries, dollars, pastors, tele-evangelists, crusades, leaders, sacred buildings, Sunday worship services, guitars, Bibles or tithing. All these have sneaked back through the backdoor and succeeded in killing the movement.

“The early churches were strong in faith and grew in numbers daily” (Acts 16:5). There was both quality and quantity. But even in the first century, the seven churches of the Revelation of St. John were already lukewarm and corrupted. Then came Bishop Ignatius (martyred AD 110) who ruled that the Bishop was to be treated on par with the Lord and that no baptisms or love feasts (Holy Communion) could be celebrated without the presence of the clergy, thus introducing the Reverend culture, killing the Body Ministry of 1 Corinthians 14:26 led by the Brethren (fraternity of men and women). This Episcopal decree resulted in 1% of the clergy dominating as legislators, administrators and worship leaders and dehumanized over 99% of believers as laymen.

Then came the Roman Emperor Constantine (CE 272-337), a sun worshipping hybrid Christian who did a lot of good but also imposed the solar cross instead of the Menorah the lamp, as the sign of the church (Revelation 1:20). He built the first Cathedral, appointed professional clergy, declared Sun-Day as a day of worship, appointed himself the virtual Pope, banned the house churches and herded all believers into the brick and mortar buildings and called it the church and corrupted the Bride for 1700 years. However the authentic church survived in secret, often illegal house churches.

Then came Martin Luther’s Reformation (AD 1545) who preached “Sola Scriptura" and "Priesthood of all Believers” but in practice further concretized church structures and the Reverend culture by banning house churches. With the voices of the apostles and prophets suppressed, the church has firmly planted herself in Babylon and sucked in the ways of the world. She has gone into the ways of the flesh and everyone is doing his own thing.

The church has however, undergone cataclysmic changes, especially in the last decade, as had not taken place in centuries. With 80-100 million followers in secret house churches in China; 100,000 house churches planted in India; one million evangelical Latin Catholics now worshipping in Basic Ecclesial Communities (BEC) and five million Americans in 30,000 house churches and several other countries reporting explosive growth, the return of the prodigal church back to the house church is a full circle reversal to God’s intended original form and function. It seems that the 2000 years of incubation period is over and suddenly the green shoots are sprouting everywhere in the spiritual landscape to welcome Christ the King

Excerpted from Victor Choudhrie's "Trends in the Global House Church Movement"

EARTHQUAKE in THE CHURCH

EARTHQUAKE in THE CHURCH - a Word
-by Phil Buck.

January 27, 2010 - Prayer time for the Church, at our home.

I heard a word in my mind saying, There’s coming an earthquake
of the magnitude 7.0 that was experienced in Haiti, only it is
coming to the Church. I have sent many warnings down through
the portals of time, that this day was coming, and now is here,
even at the door. The earthquake will start from outside the Church,
and then will permeate the Church from within. Prepare, prepare,
there will be destruction as would never have been imagined.

The rubble of the buildings of man will crumble to the ground. The
teachings of man will have come full circle. There will be people
that have bought into the man system and will be destroyed in
the rubble of the collapse, some spiritually and others both
spiritually and physically. For they have believed a lie and will
suffer the consequences of their doing.

Of those that have escaped, I see a long line extending beyond
my vision to see. They are the walking wounded from all religious
persuasions, that were not caught up totally in the man-centered
religious system of beliefs. But being exposed to the system has
left its mark in various forms on each one.

I see this line in my minds eye, people lined up at the entrance to
a white tent. This is where they are coming to receive life spiritual
life from inside the tent. Those inside the tent are like doctors
and nurses, ministering to the wounded, hurting spirits of each
one. As they help them heal, with the proper perspective and focus
of the gifts they have to offer, then they are sent from the tent
whole and ready to minister to others as they were ministered to.

"Now behold the ones on the inside of the tent, before they stepped
inside the tent they had nothing to offer in and of themselves, but
as they stepped in they received the power to work the works for
which I have call them to. This is a special people that have closed
themselves up with me. Yes, and some have been in preparation
all their lives for this time and this mission".

"I want you to see those in the tent, for they are those that have
given everything to Me. These are they that this day I’m calling
my people to come out of the religious systems of man and into
the marvelous light of my Son Jesus. Will you be counted as
numbered among those in the tent? Or will you be one of the
many in the long line?"

"Come away with me this day and give your all to me for the line
is long and is now just beginning to form. They need your gifts,
your love & your sacrifice of service. Will you be there for them?
Or will you be among them?"

-Phil Buck,
Indiana, USA.

God Seeking Temples

God Seeking Temples
By Horatius Bonar
God began with seeking worshippers, but he goes on to seek temples; or rather, in the sense which we are now to consider, in seeking worshippers he was seeking temples; and in preparing worshippers, he was preparing temples.

The Church is the great temple. Each saint is a temple. In His Church, and in each member of that Church, Jehovah dwells. ”Ye are builded together for AN HABITATION OF GOD through the Spirit” (Eph 2:22). Man was made for God to dwell in. Man thrust God out of His dwelling-place, and left Him homeless; without a habitation on earth. The universe was His; every star was His; every mountain was His: but none of these did He count fit to be His habitation. Only in the human heart would He be satisfied to dwell. Man thrust out God from His dwelling, but God would not be thus driven away. He must return; and He must return in a way which would make it impossible that He should ever be thrust out again; and He must return in a way such as will show not only the hatefulness of man’s sin in thrusting Him out, but the largeness of His own grace, and the perfection of His righteousness.

Jehovah is bent upon returning to His old dwelling-place. He might have created others, and dwelt in them. But He has purposed not to part with His old ones. It is as if He could not afford to lose these, or could not bear the thought of casting them away. ”I will return,” He says. He casts a wistful eye upon the ruins of His beloved dwelling-place, and He resolves to return and rebuild, and re-inhabit. When the Son of God was here, He had no place to lay His head. He was a homeless man in the midst of earth’s many homes. But still He did come, seeking a home, both for Himself and for the Father. The home that He sought was the human heart; and He came with this message from the Father, – ”I will dwell in them.” To this closed heart He comes, in loving earnestness, seeking entrance, that He may find for Himself and for the Father a home. Thus He speaks:
”Behold, I stand at the door and knock: if any man hear my voice and open the door, I will come in unto him, and will sup with him, and he with me” (Rev 3:20); and again He speaks, ”We will come unto him, and make our abode with him” (John 14:23). So that this is our message to the sons of men, the Father wants your heart for His dwelling, – the Son wants your heart for His dwelling.

But it is for more than dwelling that God is seeking. It is for a temple. To dwell in us, in any sense, would be infinite honour and blessedness. But to take us for His temples, to make us His Holy of Holies, His shrine of worship, His place of praise, His very heaven of heavens, is something beyond all this. Yet it is temples that God is now seeking among the sons of men; not marble shrines, nor golden altars, with fire, and blood, and incense, and gorgeous adornings; but the spirit of man, the broken and the contrite heart.
The Church is God’s temple. ”In whom ALL THE BUILDING, fitly framed together, groweth into AN HOLY TEMPLE in the Lord” (Eph 2:21). Each saint is God’s temple. ”Ye are the temple of God” (1 Cor 3:16). Our body is God’s temple. ”Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost” (1 Cor 6:19). God is seeking temples on earth, – living temples, constructed of living stones, founded on the one living stone, – ”built up a spiritual house” (1 Peter 2:5).

Of this temple God is Himself the Architect, and the Holy Spirit is the BUILDER. It is constructed after the pattern of heavenly things, according to the great eternal plan, which the purpose of the God, only wise, had designed for the manifestation of His own glory. As both the Architect and Builder are divine, we may be sure that the plan will be perfect, and that it will be carried out in all its details without failure, and without mistake. It will be beauty, completeness, and perfection throughout, – a glorious Church, without spot or wrinkle, or any such thing; in size, in symmetry, in ornament, in majesty, in stability, altogether faultless, – the mightiest and the fairest of all the works of Jehovah’s hands. In another sense, hereafter, when all things are made new, ”the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb” are the temple (Rev 21:22). But we also are the temple; both now and hereafter. Both things are true. He in us, and we in Him. We are God’s temple, and He is ours for ever.

The foundation is Christ Himself (1 Cor 3:11; Isa 28:16; 1 Peter 2:4-6). He is the rock on which we are builded; He is no less the foundation-stone which bears up the building, and knits its walls together. In the eternal plan of the divine Architect, this foundation-stone is grandly prominent, – the chief part of God’s eternal purpose; framed by God; laid by God in the fulness of time; laid in Zion; laid once for all: a sure foundation, a tried stone; one, without a rival and without a second. It was this stone, laid by God, which the apostle (if we may carry out the figure which he uses in connection with his own ministry) carried about with him from place to place, when he went through the gentile world founding churches. ”According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise master-builder, I have laid THE FOUNDATION... For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ” (1 Cor 3:10, 11). On this foundation each soul rests. From the first saint, downward to the last, it has been and it shall be so.

There is but one foundation for Old Testament saints as well as for new. On this, too, the Church of God rests; the one Church from the beginning, the one body, the one temple, filled with the one Spirit, for the worship of the one Jehovah. Not two foundations, nor two temples, nor two bodies, nor two Churches; but ONE, only one, made up of the redeemed from among men, bought with the one blood, justified with the one righteousness, saved by the one cross, expectants of the one promise, and heirs of the one glory. The stones are the saints, (1 Peter 2:5) ”Unto whom coming as unto a living stone, ye also as lively (living) stones, are built up a spiritual house.” Of the quarrying, the hewing, the polishing, the building, of these living stones I cannot here write. But each has a history of his own. Though dug out of one rock, hewn, polished and fitted in by one Spirit, yet each has come to be what he is by means of a different process, some longer, some shorter, some gentler, some rougher.

On the one foundation, they are all placed by the one hand, one upon the other, in goodly order, according to the one eternal plan in Christ Jesus our Lord; forming the one glorious temple for Jehovah’s worship and habitation. Many stones, one temple; many members, one family; many branches, one vine; many crumbs, one loaf. They are ”BUILDED TOGETHER for an habitation of God through the Spirit.” The ”unity of the faith,” (Eph 4:13), from the beginning is the pledge of the unity of the temple; and as this faith has been one since the day of the announcement of the woman’s seed, so has this temple been; the multitude of stones not marring but enhancing the unity. The ”unity of the Spirit,” too, (Eph 4:3), is both the pattern and the pledge of the temple’s unity. It has been one spirit and one temple from the beginning; not two spirits and two temples, but only one. ”There is one body and one spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.” Thus all the ”building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord” (Eph 2:21).

God is now seeking these stones for His temple among the lost sons of Adam. Worthless and unfit in themselves for use in any divine building, they are sought out and prepared by the great Builder for their place in the eternal building. Yes, God is in search of these stones now; just as He has been these many ages, since Adam, and Abel, and Seth, and Enoch, and Noah, were sought out and fitted in to form the glorious line or row of stones lying immediately above the foundation-stone. God is coming up to each son of man, degraded as he may be, an outcast, and saying, ”Wilt thou not become a stone in my temple? I seek thee: wilt thou prefer thy degradation, and reject the honour which I present to thee.”

The temple is holy (1 Cor 3:17; Psa 93:5). It is set apart for God; it is to be used for sacred purposes; it is pure in all its parts; its vessels, its walls, its gates, its furniture. It is not yet perfect, but it shall one day be so. Into it nothing that defileth shall enter. And even now God, the inhabitant of the temple, is seeking holiness of all who belong to it. ”Be ye holy, for I am holy.” Let us dread the defilement of His temple; for it is written, ”If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy” (1 Cor 3:17). For God will not be mocked, nor allow His throne to be polluted. Yet do we not defile it by sin, by worldliness, by vanity, by formality, by profanity, by our unfragrant incense, our impure praises and prayers?

Let us rejoice in the honour of being living temples, living stones, consecrated to the service of the living God. Let us walk worthy of the honour, – the honour of being filled with God, penetrated by His light, perfumed by His sweetness, gladdened by His love, and glorified by His majestic presence and indwelling fulness.

Whoever Gets to Own the Name ‘Church', Wins!

Whoever Gets to Own the Name ‘Church', Wins!
By Ben F. Gray www.vocations4life.com.au

During my 33 years as a Christian, working and leading in business, congregational settings and missions, the question: "what's the true shape, location and mission of the church?" has continually been near the top of the list of hot topics. As a friend of mine once said, "whoever gets to own the name ‘church', wins!"

However, this ongoing debate mainly focuses on the different ways in which we as Christians gather together to form communities of faith, from which outreach and subsequent growth are meant to happen. A question that could be asked here is: ‘are we looking in the right direction in our attempts to define the nature, shape and mission of the church?'

My conviction is that instead of looking at the creation God has made and locating the church (the people of God) within that setting, mostly we keep looking towards the gathered expression of the church in order to get our primary bearings.

It is becoming increasingly evident to many around the globe that the divided worldview of the 5th Century BC philosopher ‘Plato' has been the primary cause of much of the church's confusion in regards to the ‘what, where and why' of church and it's mission.

You see his worldview divided the spiritual realm from the natural realm, the secular from the sacred and separated the heaven of God from the earth. The church slowly became something distinct from the individual Christian. The essential form of this church did not change all that much in the Reformation, nor in the centuries that followed. To this day we still, for the most part, see the church as something separate to us - the people of God, living and working in society and creation. Still this place, this entity, is something that we go to or come from; be it house, local or mega-church.

Paul in 1Timothy 3:15 says that the church gathered is called to be a ‘pillar and support of the truth'. This is to say that it has a servant or partnering function, rather than a central or dominant role in relation to the church in all of creation - be it in business, health, education, family or other facet of life.

It's into this realm of truth the ‘Hebraic' vision of creation and of church enters: The Hebrews (the early church also had this same cosmology) were taught by God that the heavens were connected to the earth; that they were in relationship, in space and time, both in this age and in the age to come. When we take this integrated vision of life and apply it to books such as Ephesians - the book of the church - we begin to see a very different and stunningly beautiful shape and place for the church emerge.

In Ephesians 1 Paul speaks of the journey of Christ through the heavens to take his seat at the right hand of God. Keeping heaven connected to earth, he says (vs. 22) that Christ's feet are on the earth and that his head is over all things ‘in the heavenlies' (vs. 20). Paul then goes on to say that Christ's body, the church, is situated between them. It is so simple, yet so profound - right now Christ's body the church (that's us folks) stands in and through the created order. It's calling and mission in that creational place is, as Paul goes on to say, to be ‘the fullness of him (Christ) who fills all in all'. In effect we are to embrace the kingdom; collaborate with it in this day and time so through this engagement heaven is released in the earth, all creation is impacted and God's will is established. It is this church, now standing in every sphere of creation that we must see, equip, release and nurture.

To get a first hand view of this stunningly beautiful Bride read one of my books, ‘Heaven's Answer to Earth's Dilemma' which is about that church in creation and how we might equip it to do the work of the kingdom.

I Know Whom I Have Believed

I Know Whom I Have Believed
by Chip Brogden

The Scriptures exhort us to “grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Our spiritual growth may be generally discussed as occurring in three seasons of development. Please do not use this teaching to examine where others are, but use it to examine yourself and see if you are indeed growing and maturing in the knowledge of Christ.

I will use the terms “immature” and “childish”, but not with the intention of disdaining the young. I am simply contrasting maturity with immaturity, adulthood with childhood. My children are immature, but I cannot expect them to be anything other than immature so long as they are children. I am lovingly committed to their long-term growth. In the same way, let us not despise the spiritually immature or the weak in faith. Instead, the Word tells us to receive them and watch over them. For those of you who are further along, never forget how many years of God’s dealings it took to bring you to the level of experience you take for granted today.

With those words of introduction, let us discuss the beginning season of the Christian life.

The Child Says, “I Know WHAT I Believe”

In the beginning of the Christian walk we are primarily concerned with WHAT we believe. We depend heavily upon other Christians, the pastor, or the church to tell us what we should believe. Our belief systems are established according to what we hear, see, or are taught during these formative years of spiritual development. Not being experienced in the ways of the Lord we naturally give attention to those Christians who have known the Lord longer that we may learn the essential doctrines of our faith. Whoever or whatever influences us as a spiritual child will usually shape and mold us into what we will become twenty, thirty, or fifty years hence.

Participation in Sunday School classes, Bible studies, church attendance, retreats, conferences and seminars is seen as a desirable and necessary step towards becoming a strong Christian. Memorizing a catechism, statement of fundamental truths, or doctrinal position is often a prerequisite to church membership. As the particular belief system is identified and reinforced, the young Christian may come to identify with social labels such as Fundamentalist, Evangelical, Charismatic, or Conservative. Labels are important to the spiritually immature because it allows them to sum up an entire ideology in one succinct title which provides instant recognition and camaraderie with those of the same genre. Baptists believe certain things, as do the Methodists, the Presbyterians, the Lutherans, the Catholics, the Pentecostals, and even the so-called Non-Denominationals or Independents. Identifying yourself as one or the other immediately brings you into the good company, fellowship, and relationship with others whose particular belief systems most resemble your own.

New Christians (or old Christians who remain childish) are acutely interested in WHAT they believe, seeking to have all the I’s and T’s of their personal theology dotted and crossed. In the process they usually major in the minors and strain out a gnat to swallow a camel. Doctrinal discussion and religious wranglings are the seedbed of most vain speaking, arguments, hurt feelings, biting and devouring.

Once they are settled into WHAT they believe it is nearly impossible to convince them otherwise, and any perceived threat to their belief system is met with hostility, anger, confusion, even depression. I heard of a Bible study that was devoted to a particular issue. An outsider posed the question: WHY do you believe this? The indignant answer was, “Because the Bible says so” and a chapter and verse reference was given. But how do you know the Bible is true? Because the Bible is the Word of God. How do you know the Bible is the Word of God? Because the Bible says so. And so on.

Christians at this stage of spiritual growth cannot reply, except to say that you just have to believe it by faith (even though God has never required us to believe something without offering substantial, albeit invisible, proof – but that is a topic for another discussion). The leader of this Bible study could answer to WHAT she believed, but she could not reply to WHY she believed it because her particular belief system would not allow for a frank and open discussion on the inspiration of the very Scriptures she was citing. God said it (or the pastor said God said it) , I believe it, and that settles it. End of conversation.

Children are often told to do thus-and-so, and when they invariably ask why, the answer is usually, “Because I said so.” Such an answer is sufficient for them at THAT stage, but when the child becomes a teenager a simple “Because I said so” is insulting. As an adult it is offensive. Why is this? Because it does not allow for input, feedback, or questions. What is lost? The experience of LEARNING and becoming mature.

Is the Bible the inspired Word of God? Well of course it is. But not because it says it is, and not because the pastor says so or the church says so, or I say so. Do you know WHY it is the inspired Word of God? Have you ever wondered why? “Because the Bible says so” is sufficient enough for a new Christian, but you must move beyond the elementary if you ever hope to experience or lead others into the full knowledge of Christ.

The Young Adult Says, “I Know WHY I Believe”

The one who knows WHAT they believe is always threatened by the one who knows WHY. Unfortunately some never grow to the point that they ever ask why. They see no need to ask why, and therein lies the reason for their perpetual childhood, their incessant carnal fighting and vain blabbering. To ask why is to commit the unpardonable sin! To question the church, its leaders, or its teachings is to jeopardize your eternal soul! People with faith are not supposed to ask why. People properly submitted to authority are not supposed to ask why. If you don’t know why, they say, focus on what, and don’t worry about why.

Allow me to say it as plainly as I can: to discourage the asking of WHY is to stunt the spiritual growth of yourself and others. An immature Christian is one who does not permit himself or others to question anything incorporated into their belief system.

Yes, it is true that many who grow up in the church and begin asking WHY often appear to backslide or end up leaving the church altogether. This healthy questioning, searching, and seeking for truth Jesus called “hungering and thirsting after righteousness.” The promise is, “They shall be filled.” They are The Blessed, not The Backslidden. Jesus is simply leading them elsewhere because He cannot fill them where they are. The quest for Truth, and the subsequent filling, almost never takes place WHERE YOU ARE, but WHERE GOD WANTS TO BRING YOU. If you are hungry and thirsty for what is right, for what is true, then you will be filled. It did not say where or how, only THAT. I cannot presume to say where or how He may lead you, only that He will.

You see, knowing WHAT you believe brings a certain aura of satisfaction and security which is akin to nursing at your mothers breast. It is an important first step in the Christian life, but that is all a first step, a means to an end, not THE end. We are not suggesting that you do not have to know WHAT you believe. We are saying that real progress begins when you begin to get an inkling as to WHY you believe it. This is the middle stage of spiritual growth. Like knowing what, knowing why is an important step, but it is not the end either. It is merely a rite of passage between childishness and maturity. It is the literal enlargement of one’s capacity for Truth, and of course, for Christ Who is Truth. It is the spiritual equivalent of puberty, a time of great change, rapid growth, and of great turmoil, emotionally and spiritually.

An exciting thing begins to happen in the spiritual life of the Christian who desires to grow and mature. It is hoped that after some progress in spiritual things, once the new Christian has experienced a few defeats or disappointments, that he or she will ask, “Is there more to the Christian life than what I am experiencing?” Oh, blessed question! How God has worked long and hard to bring the Christian to this point! And the Answer which God so desires to give us is, “Yes! There is more to this Life! You have but scratched the surface!” The Question often comes to us in the middle of a church service, when everyone else seems to be worshiping the Lord and having a good time. We try to join in but the Question continues to bother us week after week until we resolve to do something about it.

But what usually happens? The church will often reassure the babes that all is well as long as they ignore how they feel, keep attending church, reading their Bibles, saying their prayers, etc. Nevertheless, the One asking the Question will not go away, and it indeed is the bidding of the Spirit of Truth Himself which ignites and fans into flame the holy desire to launch out into the Deep, the very Depths of Christ. WHAT they believe is no longer good enough, and they want to know WHY. Instead of discouraging these questions, we should welcome and invite them. We even ought to take the initiative and begin asking them of others.

What emerges after this period of soul searching, asking, seeking, and knocking is a core set of values and beliefs that are refined in the fiery furnace of real-life experience, not taught or learned out of a textbook or Sunday school class. It is the difference between singing, “Great Is Thy Faithfulness” because we know the words to the song or because we have truly experienced the great faithfulness of Jesus Christ. We know WHAT we are singing, but more importantly, we know WHY we are singing. And WHY we desire fellowship with other believers. And WHY the Bible is the inspired Word of God. And so on.

Most importantly, Christians at this stage of growth are liberated from the limiting beliefs imposed upon them by other people, even other good people. The younger children are full of argument, opinion, defense, and either/or thinking. For them, the less they think they know the more distressed they become. Pose a question to them that is not in their catechism (literal or figurative) and they will be off to look up the answer so they can impress you with the solution the next time you meet. They haven’t yet learned that there will always be someone in the world who is smarter and can come up with a more brilliant argument, right or wrong. It seems their whole goal is to confound the world with WHAT they believe.

Not so the Christians with some maturity. The Christians at this stage realize they don’t know as much as they thought they did, but they know what matters. They are no longer straining out the gnat while swallowing the camel. They do not have as many answers, but neither do they have as many questions. Their spiritual life follows a steady, even course.

The Mature Adult Says, I Know WHOM I Believe

There is a certain downside to the intermediate stage of growth, and that is a danger to lean upon our own understanding. Now that we know WHY we believe we are apt to begin teaching the younger ones. People will look to us for answers. We tend to tell them all we know, even more than we know. We are in danger of falling prey to an intellectual faith instead of a Spirit walk. Naturally speaking, teenagers and college students have a lot of knowledge. In fact, according to their own mind, they are smarter and more enlightened than anyone over the age of thirty. Once they reach thirty they will realize how little they really knew about life. Academic learning is no substitute for experience, and experience takes time. In spiritual things we will always be growing. Even the spiritually mature will continue to grow and learn.

We must see the process of maturity through to completion. To illustrate, let us imagine that we here on earth desire to reach the moon. That is a definitive goal which we can see. We can measure the distance and make plans to reach the moon. To us here on earth that is the ultimate in space exploration. Now let us imagine that one day we reach the moon. Just as we become acclimated to this enormous triumph, our eyes turn upward yet again and we see the vast expanse of space, the innumerable stars, planets, and galaxies, stretched out before us for more than 15,000,000,000 light years, and enlarging its borders faster than we could ever hope to keep up. We will never get to the end of it.

Suddenly, we realize all that we have accomplished in reaching the moon is but a drop in the bucket. In the grand scheme of the universe it is so small as to be infinitesimal. Of course you had no idea that the universe was this large while confined to the atmosphere of Earth, but now, having journeyed a bit beyond, you see just how large it is.

This, in a nutshell, is what it is to find ourselves lost in the depths of Christ. The edge of the universe is beyond our reach, but even it is finite in terms of size. This vast universe is summed up into Christ. The Creator is larger than the creation. So it follows that the more we know of Him, the less we realize we know. All the learning and spiritual experience of all the saints since the foundation of the world hardly makes a dent into the richness of Christ.

Job was left speechless after his encounter with God. He entered into a dialogue with the Creator thinking he knew what he was talking about. Thoroughly confounded and reduced to nothing, Job regretted having spoken of things that he knew nothing about. His idea of God was totally shattered. Before he had heard about God, but having seen God, he realized he didn’t know anything. Ironically, his confessed ignorance was higher and more noble than the wisdom of his counselors who claimed to know God, but had never seen Him.

This is the difference between revelation and head-knowledge, between seeing for yourself and merely hearing about. The man who says, “I don’t know” is finally beginning to know. Once he can see, he can say, “I know whom I have believed” and be accurate, even though he doesn’t know anything in and of himself. It is a case of owning nothing, but possessing everything. The Christian is poor in spirit, yet blessed with every spiritual blessing.

Christianity is a spiritual paradox designed to confound man’s wisdom and reduce him to Christ. If it were only a teaching or a philosophy, it would be easy to follow. But Christianity is not a teaching or a philosophy, it is a Man. Take away the Man and there is no Christianity. It is all about giving up your own life in order to receive the Life of Another.

The more I write, the more I realize I don’t know anything. A million words cannot convey HIM. Everything of me is filthy rags; who am I? Who am I, really? What do I know? Nothing, not one thing. Oh, I’ve seen a little fragment, and I can hardly express THAT, much less anything beyond that. I am a man of unclean lips, in a generation of people with unclean lips, and like Job there is not much else to do but sit in the ashes and loathe myself. There have been times when I laid down my pen or shut off my computer and said I would never write again. All that I thought I knew I realized I did not know. What I did know I could not find words to describe.

We don’t know this Jesus we think we know. He is Wholly Other, totally, supremely, magnificently GOD. Only God can remain silent while we speak blasphemies and heresies in His name. He allows mankind to distort and misrepresent and bring people to a place of despair, just so He can then step in and reveal Himself for Who He really is. And He is never, ever, ever, ever what you thought. Nothing is as you have been told. And then, once you meet Him, you cannot describe Him, except to say He is nothing like what you had been told. Beyond description.

When we realize we don’t know, then Christ becomes our Wisdom so we CAN know. When we are children we are apt to say, I know WHAT I believe. As we grow out of infancy and begin to wrestle with the deeper questions and issues of the Christian faith we will learn to say, I know WHY I believe. The ultimate experience, however, is to be brought to a place where we can say with confidence, I know WHOM I believe.

Knowing WHAT is a beginning. Knowing WHY is progress. Knowing WHO is maturity.

There is a time in our life when we penetrate the veil and from henceforth we KNOW Whom we have believed. It is no longer a question of belief, reason, argument, or opinion. We simply know.

Wait a minute, someone will say. First you say we cannot know Him, then you say that we can know Him. Which is it? All I can say is, it is both.

The child is preoccupied by WHAT, the young adult is consumed by WHY, and the mature believer is obsessed with WHO.

A brother wanted to know what holiness was. So, he found over 200 Scriptures on the subject, arranged them in order, and committed them to memory. Yet, he still didn’t know what holiness was. He felt empty inside. Finally he met an elderly sister who was holy. He finally saw Holiness, and it struck him to the ground. He then knew, because he saw. What he saw was not a concept or a teaching, but Holiness living through the elderly saint. It was not a virtue or a code of conduct, but a Person, Who was expressing His holiness through a yielded vessel.

Another brother was in a similar situation. He was emphatic about what he believed until someone with equal or greater argument confronted him. This occurred one day and someone pointed out several supposed “errors” in the Bible. This caused the brother to be very alarmed. He went to the same elderly lady and informed her of these alleged errors and wanted to know her opinion. She simply stated that the knowledge of God did not depend upon the answering of these questions. He thought, perhaps not to you, but to me it is important! So he spent the next year investigating what this other person had told him and found it to be untrue. But, had he simply known God He would not have found it necessary to study the whole thing and reason it out. The elderly sister was right, the knowledge of God did not depend upon the answering of those questions. If you know Who, knowing what and why become less significant.

No one illustrates this better than Paul the apostle. As the final hours were upon him, what was his testimony? He did not say, “I know what I believe.” A man of extraordinary intellect and education, he had forgotten more about Judaism and Christianity than most people will ever know.

He did not say, “I know why I believe”. Of course he knew why he believed. He didn’t have to say it. The years of persecution and prison had made him better, not bitter. For the first time in his life he knew what real joy was. But even knowing what and why would not be enough to carry him through this much suffering.

What was his secret? “I know WHOM I have believed, and I am confident that He is able to keep that which I have committed to Him.”

You can start out with WHAT, sort through it with WHY, but it ultimately leads to WHO.

Who else? Christ as all in all. Everything leads to Him. All the questions, all the answers. Everything is reduced to Him, for He is the sum of all spiritual things. When we are reduced to Him, then we will be satisfied. Let us lose our life that we may gain our Life and know Whom we have believed. Amen.

JEW OR GENTILE

Hi all,
I've been pondering how "Jewish" should Gentile believers become once they start learning of the Jewish festivals and hidden meanings in the Old Testament and traditions?

Looking for balance
I enjoy observing the 7 (main) Jewish festivals. In our house church in Tulsa this fall we met on the Feast of Trumpets, and a couple weeks later on the Feast of Tabernacles to celebrate their rich meanings and foreshadowing. Many of us have attended a Passover Seder, or even celebrate it annually, and marvel at the types and shadows of the Lord's death and resurrection found therein.

It is beyond argument that the 4 spring festivals were fulfilled on their exact day: Unleavened bread, Passover (the cross), First Fruits (the Sunday Jesus was resurrected), and Pentecost (giving of the Holy Spirit). It's also clear we will celebrate the last festival, Tabernacles, on it's exact day, for Zechariah 14:16 says all the nations will come up to Jerusalem year by year to celebrate with the Lord. Tabernacles celebrates God living with man, thus the annual celebration for the 1000 year millennium.

So it is reasonable to think the remaining 2 festivals will occur on their exact celebration days; Feast of Trumpets (resurrection of the righteous dead and hiding away with Messiah) and The Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur, a type of the cross & return of Christ). So why shouldn't we celebrate these festivals now?

What is the obligation we Gentile believers have, if any, to become part of these Jewish roots?

Old argument
This question has come up before. In Acts 13-15 Paul and Barnabus had been ministering to the Gentiles throughout the Roman Empire, teaching them of Jesus, the Jewish law, and how he fulfilled Jewish prophecy, but not requiring them to adhere to Jewish law.

But some questioned this practice. "...there arose a certain sect of the Pharisees which believed, saying that it was needful to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses." (v5)

Writing about that experience in Galatians 2:1-4, Paul said he went up to meet with the leaders in Jerusalem "...privately, lest I was in error". He wanted to make sure the freedom he taught was truly the Holy Spirit, and in agreement with the Word of God. They all met to get the mind of the Lord on the matter.

The Pharisees (which means "separated") you may recall, began as a (separatist) holiness movement about 150 BC over concerns that they couldn't tell a Jew from a Greek. The Jews at the time went to the gym like Greeks, to the spas like Greeks, to sporting events like Greeks, to the theaters like Greeks, and talked
like Greeks. So neighborhood synagogues were created as schools to train up the Jewish children in the faith and for the adults to meet and learn the Word. By the time Jesus came though, their man-made laws and traditions had become more important to them than Moses' Law, thus the conflicts with Jesus.

These Pharisee believers in Acts 15 believed Gentile believers should separate themselves (to be more holy) and follow the laws of Moses. Paul, Barnabus, and Peter argued that God himself had chosen to give Gentiles the Holy Spirit and there were no indications from God that he expected them to obey Moses (in our day we'd say 'no prophetic words'), so they should not be made to do something God had not commanded. (7-10)

James, the brother of Jesus, stood up after hearing what the Holy Spirit was doing among the Gentiles and said "...to this the words of the prophets agree. Therefore my decision is that we trouble them not, who from the Gentiles have turned to God." v19)

The Spirit and Word always agree, and his test of determining if a 'movement' is of God or not by comparing what people claim the Holy Spirit is doing against the Word remains THE way to make accurate spiritual judgements about a movement, minister, or 'outpouring'.

Their decision caused great joy among the Gentile believers as one might imagine. In short, God gave Himself to them, what could the OT law add? (v 15,19-31)

That should settle it
One would think that would be that. But the 'sect of the Pharisees' Paul dealt with in Acts 15 continued their way, to the point in Galatians 2 Paul calls them "...false brethren, who came in privately to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage." (v1-4)

Notice he said their goal was to bring people from freedom in Christ into bondage to the Law of Moses. Yet on the other hand Paul arranged his travels at one point to be back in Jerusalem to celebrate the Feast of Pentecost; so what gives? (Acts 18:21)

The fine line is this; If one wishes to observe the Jewish customs from a position of freedom and grace, they are free to do so. But if they are compelled to obey those customs because they fear they are offending God, or think they will please him more, or are incomplete in their faith, or others compel them by condemnation or under the guise of having a higher revelation, they are in error.

Rabbit trail
Paul also dealt with the Sabbath day issue in Romans 14:5-6, where he said "One man esteems one day above another; another esteems every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind. He that regards the day, regards it to the Lord; and he that regards not the day, to the Lord he does not regard it."

And again in Colossians 2:16-17: "Let no man judge you in food, drink, in respect to a holy day, or of the new moon (Feast of Trumpets), or of the Sabbath days; which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ."

In other words, if you esteem Saturday or a Jewish holy day above the rest, then what you do is unto the Lord and that is fine. The line not to be crossed is compelling another or weakening another's faith to make it a law. In this passage in Romans he dealt with vegetarians, the Sabbath, and eating meat sacrificed to idols.

To those who ate only veggies, believed one day was above the rest, or had conscience issues eating meat that had earlier been offered in sacrifice at the (pagan) temple, Paul said they were "weak in the faith" (v1). He said to receive them, but not to the point of doubtful arguments. "Let everyone be fully persuaded in his own mind." (but don't force it on others)

End of rabbit trail, back on path
Here are a few things Paul taught in Galatians about going back under the law:

"I do not frustrate the grace of God: if righteousness comes by the Law then Christ has died in vain." (2:21)
Why do something that frustrates the Father and Jesus?

"Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit are you now made mature and complete by the flesh?" (3:3)

Foolish. Yikes, that hurts. Believers, but choosing a foolish path in their faith. Consider the logic - if you have the Holy Spirit within, how can you be perfected by (external) laws? Doesn't it stand to reason that if you have the Holy Spirit within, maturity comes by walking with Him, living from the spirit man outward?

Not many miracles seen among those in bondage of the Law and religious constraints:
"He that ministers to you the Spirit and does miracles, is it by they Law or the hearing of faith?" (3:5)

Paul says that we are not servants who have to obey the master's law, but rather children of God, and our spirit calls out to Him: "Abba (daddy) Father" (4:6)

The law is not of faith (it's works), and "..a man is not justified by the works of the Law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we who believe in Jesus Christ..." (3:12, 2:16)

He says that the law was a schoolmaster to bring us to Christ, but once we have Christ we are no longer under the school master, for we are all children of God now. (3:23-26)

The obligation and hypocrisy
Paul goes on to say that those who willingly place themselves under the Law have "fallen from grace" (5:4),
and if someone is under the law, if they break just one law, they are guilty of all. (5:3)

For example Matthew 23:23: Jesus told the leaders who were so concerned with the details of doing the Law that they missed the weightier matters like right judgement, mercy, and faith, to concentrate on being sure people tithed on their mint, anise, and cumin.

Paul says if believers choose to go under the Law, they must therefore obey all the law. In this example, if they tithe, then they must tithe down to their spice rack, otherwise they are guilty of all the law and have become hypocrites.

But if you choose to tithe and/or have a regular discipline of giving, there are benefits released (II Cor 9:6-11; Lk 6:38), but it's done from a position of freedom and grace, not legalism.

If you place yourself under the law, then you can't mix clothing fibers (goodbye cotton/polyester shirts), eat fish that don't have both fins and scales (goodbye shrimp/lobster/crabs/catfish), can't have cheese on that cheeseburger, tithe down to your spice rack, and a host of other laws - (613 laws in the laws of Moses) to violate one violates all.

Paul applauded their zeal, but sought to balance them, for if they were to continue in this bondage they could end up becoming inclusive, or worse, taking a stand against or persecuting those who walk in freedom in Christ. (4:18-31)

He goes on to say that in their zeal to be more Christ-like, the answer is to live by their spirit and Holy Spirit rather than legalism: "If you are led by the Spirit you are not under the Law." (5:13-26)

"You are called to liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another. For all the law is fulfilled in this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself." (5:13-14)

And that sums it up. We Gentiles, or so minded Jews like Paul, may celebrate Jewish culture and festivals from a position of freedom as oft as we wish and to the depth we wish, but we shouldn't turn that freedom into a license for leaving grace to go (back) into bondage. This grace is given that we might serve one another in love.

Some thoughts this week...


Blessings,
John Fenn
www.supernaturalhousechurch.org

IN HIM

Hi all,
I wonder if we understand the depth of what being "in Christ" means.

This is what I've been thinking on the past few weeks.
Try to imagine a time when Father and Son were together but they had not yet created the physical universe.

Can we imagine no universe, no stars, no planets - only the Spirit realm...

Let there be...
Suddenly the physical world is spoken into existence, flowing from the unseen to become the seen. Lower life is created, then higher life, plants then animals, yet neither plant nor fish nor cow is a spirit. It is a purely physical universe.

Now let's look at this from the Father's perspective: Because you are a Spirit (John 4:24) with a spiritual body, you have no direct way to become involved with the physical. Yet because you created it, you want to be able to operate in, function in, move in, this lower physical realm.

How can you, as God and being a Spirit, move about in a physical universe? You are used to a realm where time and distance mean nothing, where there is no such thing as being tired or hungry or even having sore muscles. How can you move about in a physical world? How would you go about solving that problem?

The answer would be to create a spirit and soul being made in your likeness and image, that is then housed in a physical body. In that way this highest of 'animals' could operate in the physical world and rule it, yet would also able to operate in the spirit realm with you. Man would (therefore) be the only creation that is able to bridge the gap between God and the physical realm, and giving God a way to manifest Himself in the physical world.

He wants to move around the physical world, experience it's richness as well as its limitations. So he thought up each person who has ever lived or will live, pouring from himself to create each person's spirit and soul, to give part of his "DNA" to each of us, so that our personalities flow from his personality. Zechariah 12:1, Hebrews 12:9 and a host of other scriptures all say the Father created our spirits - he took part of himself and created each of us.

We are 'wired' therefore to work, create, imagine, because he works, creates and imagines. We love because he is love. We desire parenthood because is a parent. All that is good within us is first found in him. By virtue of being created by him, we contain his attributes, and are therefore one with him.

As God, with these spiritual/physical children to live in and through, you could now express yourself in this physical world millions of times each day all over the planet through the infinite variety of each person's personality, each person given graces, gifts that make them unique. They become your hands and feet in the physical realm. You are able to enjoy the process that is being human, to walk with people through life and death, the agonies and ecstasies of life on planet earth.

These beings would be seated with you in heavenly places (Eph 2:6), while at the same time physically walking around the earth going through life. By the same token, while you would be seated on that throne in heaven, you would also be walking through life with them, in them, along with them, experiencing life in the physical realm, expressing yourself in the physical realm, one with your creations.

In Him, One
"He that is joined to the Lord is one spirit". (I Cor 6:17)
"There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female: you are all one in Christ Jesus." (Gal 2:28)

"There is one body, one Spirit, and you are called in one hope of your calling." (Eph 4:4)
"For in him dwells the fullness of the Godhead bodily. And you are complete in him." (Col 2:10)
"In whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named" (Eph 3:14) (one family no matter location)

Enter religion
We are one with the Lord, and he is one with us. That means prayer is first and foremost a continual dialogue, a continual communion with Him who lives in us. We are never out of his presence for we are always connected to him, he in us and we in him. We can talk to him in our natural language, in tongues, in our thoughts, in the deepest ponderings of our heart - we are one with him so we are always in him, with him; and he is in us and with us.

In whatever ways we learn about Who lives within, whatever structures we create to inspire or teach us, we are still one with Him and therefore nothing can replace the importance of continual dialogue, just talking, with our indwelling Creator.

We discipline ourselves to get up at 5:15am to pray through the Lord's prayer, we pray a 21 day guide to spiritual health, we go to prayer meetings at church, we read a daily devotion or scripture memory verses - all are structures over and above the fact that we are one with him, always, 24/7.

These are fine, yet when we depend on these structures we slip into a mind set that says THAT is the way to touch God, THAT is what I must do to come into his presence, THAT is how I gain approval from him, THAT formula will cause my breakthrough, THAT conference will bring me a word from heaven.

And we develop a way of thinking that says God is over there, in that discipline, in that formula, in that meeting, all the while ignoring the fact we are ONE with him, he is always inside, and we are always seated at the throne (Eph 2:6), opening a conversation merely by directing our thoughts down inside or our lips open to say "Father".

Jesus said "The kingdom of God does not come with signs to be observed or with visible display...the kingdom of God is within your hearts. (Lk 17:20-21)

Say not...
Paul urges us not to forget our oneness with Christ: "Say not in your heart, Who will ascend into heaven to bring Christ down for us? Or who will descend into the deep, to bring Christ again from the dead (as if we could be saved by our own efforts). The Word is near you, even in your heart and mouth." (Rom 10:6-8)

The Word - the Greek word for "word" here is 'rhema'. It means a word from God directly to you. The word - God speaking to you, is in your heart and mouth!

Yet by stumbling over the simplicity that He is in me and I in Him, we go to this meeting and that looking for someone to bring heaven to earth, to bring me a word from heaven, chasing the spectacular thinking that is supernatural, while ignoring the supernatural work in our own hearts, in our spirit, ignoring HIM while chasing mere men who we think (or maybe they think as well) have the golden touch from God.

Equal among peers
As we move in the graces given us; mercy, giving, administration, serving, teaching, encouraging, discerning, prophecy, making things, working with our hands, healings, giving food to someone in need, seamstress or cook or nursing or whatever - it's all a manifestation of the Spirit of God because He is one with us and we with him. (I Cor 12:7)

Because he is in us and we in him, he is also in all who know him; family, friends, co-workers, therefore I need them and they need me, for when we see each other we are seeing God manifesting himself.

You must think like this
Ignore your feelings (emotions) that tell you God is far from you, that you can't feel him inside you. Let the truth of God's Word which seems to be a lie compared to what your feelings tell you, stand as the truth. Take a chance to believe the Word in spite of your feelings,and start making your feelings submit to God's Word.

Many go for years believing feelings instead of spiritual fact. And the truth is, the Lord will lay low and quiet in your spirit unless he is invited to 'speak up' so to speak. It is "according to you faith be it unto you." If you start thinking in line with the Word of God and what it says about us being one with the Lord, you will suddenly become more aware than ever of his indwelling presence. You'll get to know what he feels like, how he thinks, and you'll become sensitive to his voice. If you start thinking like this.

I remember first learning to look inside to my spirit, in my midsection/chest area, focusing my mind to see if I could feel him there. There were times my spirit was stirred and I latched onto those times. I remembered what that stirring, that peace, that excitement, that presence felt like, and desperately wanted to get back to and then stay on that "wavelength" that connected me with Him.

I practiced it - several times a day. One time, after shifting my attention several times to my spirit I suddenly heard "What are you doing?". Within myself I just said "Just checking to make sure you're still there." His response? Laughter, a chuckle really. Then I laughed within myself at the silliness of not believing the Word.

Because my prayer life is more or less continual - praying in tongues when I'm doing about anything - I see things differently. Pausing to stop before a meal isn't a case of now I come into your presence to bless this food, but rather oh, I need to interrupt our dialogue to include others who need to hear a prayer about blessing this food.

When someone stops to pray (say at church), I don't lower my head to suddenly 'come into his presence to pray', that "pause" everyone takes to pray is actually (to me) an interruption of my continuing dialogue, but I need to open that up to join others at that moment. When we are in church, or in my case most often, house church, and we begin to worship, it's not the end of one part of the meeting and start of another, just a continuation of dialogue that now shifts to music and worship.

Do you see what I mean? We are one with him, he is one with us. We live in his presence, I continually shift my mind's attention between my spirit man and what's happening there, and the physical realm and what's happening there. It is a discipline, a habit, a lifestyle, but anyone can do it.

Maybe I'm rambling a bit. My heart is to share along the lines of Psalm 103:7: He made known his ways unto Moses; his acts to the children of Israel. If I know His ways, the acts/miracles will follow. I do not want to chase the miracles, I want to know the ways.

What I've shared today is what I've been thinking on, and this "oneness" with him is a major "way".
Hope it made sense,
Blessings,
John Fenn
www.supernaturalhousechurch.org