John Fenn, What More Do You Want #5 (Scared of Cops)

Hi all,

When Barb and I were in high school she was a 'flag girl' with the marching band, one of several assigned a flag on a long pole that would perform synchronized maneuvers during breaks in athletic events.

 

One night after a football game we were driving to her house so she could change clothes and then we'd get some pizza: I remember it like it was yesterday - the uniform was like a cheerleader's, bright red and blue of the school colors, with the flag pole was sticking out the back window as we drove along, the warm night...

 

Suddenly, a police officer going the other direction passed us, then did a U-turn as he turned on his lights and siren, and pulled us over. I knew I wasn't speeding and assured Barb it would be okay.

 

He was very business-like and his flashlight ('torch' for UK influenced friends) shone directly on our faces, then around the car, then back to us...finally he said a white 2 door car like mine had been involved in a gas station robbery a few minutes earlier, with a man and woman, and we fit the description. I calmly replied we'd come from the football game, my girlfriend was a flag girl as he could see, and we were headed to her house from the game, not from a robbery. Wonder of wonders he believed the obvious, and we went our way.

 

At first my heart had been beating pretty fast, but at the same time I was secure in the fact we had done nothing wrong - not speeding, not driving reckless, and we certainly hadn't robbed a gas station. If my conscience hadn't been clear, I would have been afraid of the law, but instead I was at peace because inside I knew we were righteous in the eyes of the law, secure you might say, in that grace.

 

Sanctification

Paul asked the Galatians if having begun in the Spirit, were they now being matured by the law? The answer is no, of course. Paul was urging them to be secure in Christ and the truth of the new creation of the human spirit in Him, rather than be afraid they were missing God because people were telling them they had to obey x and y rules.

 

Paul said if you love God and love your neighbor as yourself*, you are fulfilling the law - so rest in that grace of Christ in you. It's that simple. Don't complicate your faith - He also said it is the devil's tactic to complicate our faith** by seducing us into a more complicated faith. *Romans 13:8-10, **II Corinthians 11:3-4

 

The basic logic of sanctification goes like this: We are born again, but we have to allow the life in our spirit to flow out of our spirit to renew our mind (thoughts/emotions) and then to our body, which becomes a living sacrifice to walk in God's ways. No problem so far. Living from spirit to soul to body.

 

Paul's issue with the Galatians was that people were manipulating (witchcraft) believers by telling them what they could and could not do to please God, rather than directing them to obeying Christ from the inside out.

 

For example

Back in 1986 I was an Associate pastor in Boulder, Colorado helping a young woman trying to save her marriage. Her husband had become involved through a co-worker, with a local church that was part of the Church of Christ denomination. They believed unless you were baptized in water in their church you could not be saved.

 

The husband of this young woman wanted to serve God, and even though he was born again and was baptized with the Holy Spirit, he became concerned for his salvation due to his co-worker's constant arguing their doctrine all work week long. Badgered into submission coupled with his fear of missing God, he gave in.

 

But simply being born again their way wasn't enough. Now he had to become 'sanctified'. The elders of that church went through his wife's closet, throwing out any clothing they said was too suggestive, flattering, or sexy. The husband was told to burn the clothes rather than donate or sell them, lest he cause other women to sin as (they said) his wife was doing.

 

Next, they demanded they get rid of the TV because it could open him up to sin. Then it was the removal of all newspapers, magazines, and books from the home except the Bible and their church magazine and teachings. When the elders found out he and his wife went to the community swimming pool they outlawed that, saying other women in swim suits might cause him to lust after them.

 

All that was done in the name of 'sanctification'. Now that he was born again according to their standards, he must be sanctified, and you can clearly see from last week's teaching how this is a perfect example of witchcraft - the manipulation of God's Word and people for the purpose of external control. They ended up divorcing because he said, his wife was now unsaved and refusing to submit to him. He began in the Spirit, but believed the lie he would be made mature and complete by 'the law' - the flesh's efforts to please God.

 

But wait, there's more

A few years later in another church, a lady expressed concerned for her unsaved husband. She ran off a list of things she was doing in the church: She volunteered with the children's church and with the Christian school, she was active in the women's ministry, never missed a church service, was in charge of the church nursery, tithed off her household allowance...and she wanted to know why God hadn't answered her prayer for her husband's salvation. Should she fast 1 day a week? What could she do to be more holy that God might be inclined to answer her prayer? She was trying to be 'sanctified' so her prayers would be answered.

 

My advice was grace - I told her to stay completely away from church for 1 month and take the time she would normally be involved in a church activity to be with her husband and their children - the husband can't compete with God, so bring God in her to him and show him the love and attention he and their children deserve, for the Lord is in that first and foremost. On a Sunday morning 3 weeks later, the whole family walked through the door, the husband having decided to believe on the Lord and serve Him when he saw the change in his wife - and they were active during the rest of our time at that church.

 

Are you living from the inside out, or from the outside in?

Having begun in the Spirit, we must be matured in the Spirit. We don't begin by the Spirit but then matured by legalism and its external rules and regulations. (Galatians 3:1-3)

 

Legalism/law is simply this - trying to gain acceptance or forgiveness from God though your own efforts.

 

Sanctification is this - a lifestyle of living from the inside out in a series of small decisions for righteousness,  from a position of grace and peace, with the certainty that Christ is in us guiding every step and decision submitted to Him. 

 

We live in, and then out to our lives from a secure position in Christ, loving Him from the inside out, maturing because we want to, because we love Him, not because we fear if we do something wrong we've opened the door to some disease, disaster, or tragedy.

 

Fear

SO many people are involved in various religious activities just because they are afraid of 'missing God' or 'opening themselves up' to disaster, disease or tragedy. They don't know or ignore Romans 5:1-5 that says we are at peace with God and He with us, and we live in grace. Fear is often the root of religious efforts.

 

An many just want to learn more to draw them closer to God, whether that knowledge is Jewish roots, or attending conferences and meetings of various subjects to learn they hope, the single key that will open heaven for them so they can have an answered prayer. Christ is in us - get with Him in there.

 

My experience has been that nearly all miracles I've seen in my life have flowed from my intimacy with Him, and never from doing this or that ABOUT or FOR Him, but rather spending time WITH Him. Be aware that Christ is in you. You have the mind of God in you. Live by the rule Paul told the Galatians - the new creation is what matters, and if you do this, peace and mercy will be upon you.

 

We have Christ in us - what more could we want? New subject next week.

    Until then, blessings,

        John Fenn

www.cwowi.org and email me at cwowi@aol.com

 

 

 

New CD/MP3 Series

 

Sleep:

What God Says About Sleep, Isomnia, and How He Speaks to Us in Our Sleep

(2 cd/MP3, $12/set or MP3 $10)

The Bible is surprisingly informative about sleep, why it eludes us, how to get a good night's sleep, and how and why the Lord speaks to us in our sleep. This series uncovers many scriptures about these issues, includes some scriptural ancient Rabbinical beliefs, and combines them with modern practical advice on how to apply what the Word teaches. You'll come away more knowledgeable about the Biblical subject of sleep and how & why the Lord uses sleep to speak to us!

Very excited about this!

The Fruit of the Spirit New Audio Teaching from Chip Brogden

Hello Dave!

It's been nearly a year since I released a new audio teaching,

And for the last few months I really thought I was "done" with teaching.

The Lord has been doing some really good things in Karla and me. Maybe I'll get to share some of that with you later on.

But right now I want to share with you one of the most practical teachings I've ever put out.

In this massive, eight-part series (nearly twelve hours of teaching) we’ll look at all nine characteristics of spiritual fruit, and we’ll discuss the difference between the “plastic fruit” that is just for show and the real fruit that is evidence of a transformed character.

Please go here to read a full description of this program and a detailed table of contents:

http://www.chipbrogden.com/product/the-fruit-of-the-spirit/

I am your brother,

Rick Warren on the 4 Things That Beat Us Up in Ministry—And How to Respond

By Rick Warren

• Print Version

“We put in long hours, we experience a unique form of loneliness and we face difficult decisions every day. It’s easy to get discouraged.”

We put in long hours, we experience a unique form of loneliness and we face difficult decisions every day. It’s easy to get discouraged.
And I think discouragement is one of the most deadly of diseases. Everybody can catch it, and you can catch it more than once. It’s highly contagious and spreads easily and quickly.
But here’s the good news: Discouragement is curable. Whenever I get discouraged, I head straight to Nehemiah. This great leader of ancient Israel understood there were four reasons for discouragement in ministry.
First, you get fatigued. You simply get tired as the laborers did in Nehemiah 4:10. We’re human beings, and we wear out. You cannot burn the candle at both ends. So if you’re discouraged, it may be that you don’t have to change anything. You just need a vacation! Sometimes the most spiritual thing you can do is go to bed.
Second, you get frustrated. Nehemiah says there was rubble all around. So much that it was getting in the way of rebuilding the wall. Do you have rubble in your ministry? Have you noticed that anytime you start doing something new, the trash starts piling up? If you don’t clean it out periodically, it’s going to stop your progress. You can’t avoid it, so you need to learn to recognize it and dispose of it quickly so you don’t lose focus on your original intention.
Now, what is the rubble in your life? I think rubble is the trivial things that waste your time and energy and prevent you from accomplishing what God’s called you to do. It could be committee meetings. It could be television. It could be just about anything that turns you from God’s purposes.
The third cause of discouragement is failure. They were unable to finish their task as quickly as originally planned, and as a result, their confidence went down the drain. They were thinking, “We were stupid to think we could ever rebuild this wall.” And you might be thinking, “I was dumb to ever think I could lead this church. I can’t do it any more.” You feel like a failure.
But you know what I do when I don’t reach a goal on time? I just set a new goal. I don’t give up. The fact is—if you’re in the ministry, you’re going to fail. Everybody fails. Everybody does dumb things. So the issue is not that you failed—it’s how you are going to respond to your failure. Do you give into self-pity? Do you start blaming other people? Do you start complaining, “It’s impossible”? Or do you re-focus on God’s intentions and start moving again?
Finally, fear causes discouragement. Nehemiah 4:11 says this: “Also our enemies said, ‘Before they know it or see us we will be right there among them and will kill them and put an end to their work.’” You know the background to this story. You’ve preached on Nehemiah before, and you know there were people who did not want the wall to be rebuilt. They were doing everything they could to keep that from happening. First, they criticized the Jews, and then they ridiculed the Jews. When that didn’t work, they threatened the Jews.

Notice who gets fearful the quickest: “Then the Jews who lived near them came and told us ten times over, `Wherever you turn, they will attack us’” (Nehemiah 4:12). The people most affected by fear are those who hang around negative people. If you’re going to control the negative thoughts in your life, you’ve got to get away from negative people as much as you can. It’s like the old saying, “If you’re going to soar with the eagles, you can’t run with the turkeys.”
Let me ask you this: What fear is causing you to be discouraged? The fear of criticism? Embarrassment? That you’re not capable of the task? That you can’t handle pressure? How can you tell when fear is causing discouragement in your life?
It’s simple. You have an intense desire to run! “I’ve got to get out of this! I’ve got to leave the ministry! I’ve got to leave this church!” Yet, I’ve learned in life that it’s rarely God’s will for me to run from a difficult situation. If you don’t learn in one place, guess what? God just gives you another chance to learn somewhere else. Otherwise, you just jump from the frying pan into the fire. Running from fear only makes it bigger. So, don’t try to escape from life’s pressures.
If you’ll just hang in there, you’ll outlast that carnal person who’s giving you so much trouble in your church. But it’s important that you stick it out. A friend of mine in Los Angeles says, “When you go to a new church, the first year is the honeymoon. The pastor can do nothing wrong. The second year, usually the pastor can do nothing right. The third year, usually, somebody has to go. And it may be that just like God had to kill off a couple million Jews in the desert before He’d let them go into the Promised Land, God may have to move some people out of your church before He fulfills the vision that He’s given you.” Never give up.
Reflection:
What is it that causes discouragement in your life? Maybe you’re just fatigued. You’re just out of energy. It was the most relaxing day of my life when I resigned as General Manager of the universe. I realized something: The world did not fall apart the day I did that. I felt like I was Atlas—the whole world was on my shoulders. Would you relax and take a deep breath right now and just let it out and let God drain that stress out of your life? Let God take those pressures, those problems, those people, those circumstances, those critics, those challenges and those impossible situations.
Take a deep breath and just let it out. And rest. Maybe you need to take a vacation. I read a statement the other day that was a great stress reliever to me. “No football team in history ever won a game without substitutions.” If you feel like you have to be there every Sunday, you’re wrong.  Maybe you need to start a regular exercise program. For instance, try walking. If you walk two miles a day, you’ll get more energy. Maybe you need to start watching your nutrition, or develop a hobby, something you enjoy so much you’re willing to leave your work for it. And sometimes that’s hard to do when you love the ministry as much as we do. But you need it if you’re going to last in the ministry.
Maybe you have frustration in your life and that’s why you’re discouraged. Rubble has piled up and your desk is heavy with work, deadlines and commitments. You’re trying to burn the candle at both ends. What you need to do is reorganize your life. Say, “God, help me see that I’m not doing the wrong thing. I’m just doing it in the wrong way.”
Maybe you’re discouraged because you feel like a failure. You say, “I’ve been in this place for six months (or six years), and I feel like I’m treading water.” You’re never a failure if what you’re doing is ultimately for the glory of God. Maybe God’s just been trying to teach you some lessons. He wants you to stay there but to do things in a different way. Maybe He wants you to move on. Only God can tell you when to let go and when to hold on. But never give up on your dream! If you feel like you’re a failure, listen to this: “There is, therefore, no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” God does not condemn you. God loves you. God’s not mad at you. God is on your side. “If God be for us, who can be against us.” One plus God equals a majority.
One of the great truths of scripture is that God is the God of the second chance, and He lets you start over. He says, “I will restore the years that the locusts have eaten.” If you would commit yourself and say, “Christ, whether I have five years or 50 years left, I want to commit it to You. I want to renew my life commitment to You right now. Lord, whether you take me home next week or in 50 or 60 years, I want the rest of my life to be the best of my life.”
Maybe you’re discouraged because of fear. You’re dealing with fears like, “I can’t handle this. It’s too much responsibility.” Maybe it’s the fear that you don’t deserve it. It’s the fear of criticism. Fear will destroy your life, if you let it. But you can choose to resist the discouragement. Say, “God, help me get my eyes off the problem—off the circumstance—and keep my eyes on You.” Tension is a warning light that you have taken your eyes off the Lord. When you get tense, it’s God saying, “You’ve lost your focus.” “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on Thee.”
Resist the devil and his discouragement. Recognize where it’s coming from—the answer may be just around the corner. Anybody who watches basketball knows that the game is often won in the final second.
Pray this prayer: Heavenly Father, I thank You that Your work done Your way will not lack Your support. I thank You that You can use me in a significant way. Lord, help me have a new vision and new inspiration that comes not from motivation or psychology but from knowing You. Help me realize that sometimes You have to make me lie down in green pastures in order to get my attention. Help me spend some time by those still waters that will restore my soul. Lord, I look to You for strength. I thank You that—for whatever it is that You’ve called me to do—You will bring it to pass. I thank You that I can be confident of this, that You who began a good work in my life will bring it to completion in the day of Christ. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Free Life Principle Notes: Sowing and Reaping

• Print Version

"Dr. Stanley's Life Principles Notes will help you apply the truth of the Scripture to your own life."

Free Life Principle Notes

Download and share these Life Principle Notes in PDF format from Dr. Charles Stanley, The Principle of Sowing and Reaping.
From Dr. Stanley, “Every choice has a consequence. If we make wise, godly decisions, we can expect God to reward us for our faithfulness. If we make rash or sinful choices, we can anticipate negative consequences (Gal. 6:7-8). In other words, you reap what you sow, more than you sow, and later than you sow.”
You can view a message and read sermon notes from Dr. Stanley online at the InTouch Ministries site.

Get Download Now

What If Groups Were More Like a Super Bowl Party?

By Allen White

• Print Version

“The Super Bowl is a natural gathering time.”

Some pastors treat Super Bowl Sunday like the enemy of spiritual growth. Services get rescheduled reluctantly at some churches. Some persist with Sunday evening services and get very small crowds. I’ve even heard a few pastors over the years refer to those football-apathetic, church-loving types as “God’s Chosen.” After all, the “heathen” (a.k.a. the rest of the congregation) are at home enjoying the game and probably are watching those commercials too. But, what if Super Bowl parties actually promoted group life?
The Super Bowl is a natural gathering time. Friends get together with a boatload of guacamole and other snacks, cheer for their favorite team, or the winning team if their team isn’t playing, and hang out for several hours together. The kids run in and out, but nobody minds. (So much for the childcare issue.) What if your small groups looked more like a Super Bowl party than what people are afraid a small group might be? Groups could be fun, and casual, and fun!
The simple fact your people have friends to invite to a party is the first step toward group life. They already have a group! They just need something intentional and interesting to help them grow spiritually.

The Timing Is Amazing

One of the biggest obstacles to kicking off a church-wide campaign or even a small group semester in January is that there simply is not enough time to recruit leaders and form groups before the series typically starts in early to mid-January. If you try to recruit leaders and form groups in December, forget it. People don’t think about the new year until they are in the new year. But, what if your series ran between Super Bowl Sunday and Easter? And, even if your semester or church-wide campaign already started, who says you can’t start a few more groups out of Super Bowl parties? There’s no law against it.

It’s Not Too Late

If you haven’t planned a group launch, you still have time. Find an easy-to-use video-based curriculum. Ask your members to commit to a Super Bowl Party. Then, at the party have them casually mention they’re starting a small group, if anybody is interested. Instant groups!
By offering either a live and in-person briefing or an online briefing, you can give the new recruits enough to get them started with their group. Just cover the basics. Don’t overload them with details.
Ask your established group leaders to help by checking in on these new leaders over the course of the study. Each established leader should only be assigned to one or two new leaders, so the coaching doesn’t overwhelm the established leaders own small group. Read more basics about coaching here.
I realize I am springing this idea on some of you. Run a pilot. Do an experiment with a few people to see how groups can get started from Super Bowl parties. Try something new, and you could reach your small group goals for 2016!

The Occasional

 

The Occasional

Special Welcome To 6 New Locations in January.

• Germany
• Puerto Rico (green arrow)
• United States: California, Ohio, Rhode Island, Washington
• Add your location to the map.

Simple Church Global Network :: a house church planting network
SimpleChurchAtHome.com
Skype :: 407.429.7281

Prevenience in West Africa

Prevenience in West Africa
February 2, 2016

Often I post these LK10 Newsletters on Facebook. Soon after I posted my last article on prevenience, a Facebook friend ministering in West Africa posted the following response...

"Saw it (ie, prevenience) happen here in Mali 4 weeks ago..in a unreached 100% Muslim group. We have been trying for 4 years... all of a sudden God did his work without us. Today, over 4000 of the group (of 8000 in this small ethnic group) are sitting listening to the Gospel in audio format... praying in Jesus name... and trying to decide for sure how and if they will leave Islam for Jesus.
It all started as conversations from within the people. When we heard, we dropped off 700 micro sd memory chips for use in simple cell phones. They started listening. Gone viral with them Bluetoothing it to everyone else, and to yet a second group of people... our plans failed... God went ahead this time... we are following sowing in the gospel only for this illiterate people."

Notice that my friend's role was to be a good "attention payer"...  "when we heard".  Then, he was able to "join God in what He was doing"...  "we dropped off 700 micro sd memory chips".

Do you have a good prevenience story?  Send it to me and I'll share it with the LK10 Community.  John.lk10@gmail.com