I will never forget a message I heard by Bishop T.D. Jakes not long after my near-death experience, in which he shared that a lot of younger pastors and bishops ask him how to get to his level of faith. Jakes explained, "it took a whole lot of suffering, pain and trials for me to grow to where I'm at in my faith. Like watching my mother Odith die after seeing her suffer from various illnesses all her life. You see faith doesn't come easily or overnight. My mother trusted God to heal and restore her time and again. That's how my momma taught me, even when she died. No, you don't want to get to where I'm at in my faith." I remember thinking to myself that, "hey, I almost died. No one knows more about pain and suffering, then I do. I mean how much harder can it get then not only almost dying. But also having to learn how to walk, talk and even smile again?" In a way you might say that I thought I "had arrived." Boy was I wrong(I'll explain later.)
You see just like with the faith of our fathers , it takes hard times and mistakes, some we make more than once to grow in our faith. Phillip Yancey once said, "The Bible never belittles disappointment, but it does add one key word: temporary -- What we feel now, we will not always feel. Our disappointment is itself a sign, and aching, a hunger for something better. And faith is, in the end, a kind of homesickness -- for a home we have never visited but have never once stopped longing for."
Jill Briscoe says, "the storms in my life have become workshops where I can practice my faith in God's sovereignty." Look at Noah, it had never rained before and then God says He's going to flood the Earth, so what! C.H. Spugeon says, "Noah is the picture of one who is the Lord's witness during evil days, and lives through them faithfully, enduring unto the end. It was his to be delivered from death by death. The ark was, so to speak, a coffin to him: he entered it, and became a dead man to the old world; and within its enclosure he was floated into a new world, to become the founder and father of a new race. As in the figure of baptism we see life by burial, so was it with this chosen patriarch; he passed by burial in the ark into a NEW LIFE."
It's a lot like working out, most people want to do fast short reps with light weight which is pointless, as I mentioned earlier in this series, you want slow controlled reps with heavy weight to stretch the muscle. It's called T.U.T(time under tension.) That way you keep the blood in the muscle and it stretches the muscle beyond its normal limits. If you do fast reps the momentum helps you cheat and your muscles don't do the work, thus they don't grow! It's just like with spiritual growth, whether it's patience or faith. It takes time and hard work! That is what this blog will cover, because the apostle Paul urges us in his letter to Ephesus to, "take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one."Besides everyone knows the sword and the shield work together!!
FAITH?
The Hebrew root aman means firm, something that is supported or secure. This word is used in Isaiah 22:23 for a nail that is fastened to a "secure" place. Derived from this root is the word emun meaning a craftsman. A craftsman is one who is firm and secure in his talent. Also derived from aman is the word emunah meaning firmness, something or someone that is firm in their actions. When the Hebrew word emunah is translated as faith misconceptions of its meaning occur. Faith is usually perceived as a knowing while the Hebrew emunah is a firm action. To have faith in God is not knowing that God exists or knowing that He will act, rather it is that the one with emunah will act with firmness toward God's will. When Aaron and Hur held Moses' hands up during the Israelite's battle with the Amalekites, his hands remained steady(emunah) till sunset.
The word "faith" translated from the Greek πιστις (pi'stis), was primarily used in the New Testament with the Greek perfect tense and translates as a noun-verb hybrid; which is not adequately conveyed by the English noun. Pi'stis in the New Testament context is a physical action, based upon a mental belief and sustained with confidence. Belief, in this context is non-synonymous with faith because, belief primarily conveys the mental action, thought of confidence, trust, and/or firm persuasion, not the physical act. It's kind of like a dog's bark, not only is it the sound a dog makes, it's what it does. John Piper once said, "We give glory to God when we trust Him to do what He has promised to do–especially when all human possibilities are exhausted. Faith glorifies God. That is why God planned for faith to be the way we are justified." This is why Jesus' half-brother James tells us, "faith without works is dead." ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS, it is so much more than saying what you believe. Even President Barack Obama has said, "faith is not just something you have, it's something you do." .
In his best-selling book Radical, author David Platt writes, "a third man approached Jesus and told him that he wanted to follow Him, but before he did, he wanted to say goodbye to his family. Jesus wouldn't let him. He told the man, 'no one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service to the kingdom of God.' Plainly put, a relationship with Jesus requires total, superior, and exclusive devotion. Become homeless. Let someone else bury your dad. Don't even say goodbye to your family. The events of Luke 9 were not isolated events in the life of Jesus, either. On one occasion, when surrounded by a crowd of eager followers, Jesus turned and then remarked, 'if anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters-- yes, even his own life-- he cannot be My disciple.' Imagine hearing these words from an obscure Jewish teacher in the first century. He just lost most of us at hello. But then He continued: 'anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. 'Now this is taking it to another level, pick up an instrument of torture and follow Me.' As if this were not enough, Jesus finished His seeker-sensitive plea with a pull at your heartstrings conclusion. 'Any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple.' Give up everything you have, carry a cross, and hate your family. This sounds a lot different than 'admit, believe, profess, and pray a prayer after me.' He was calling them to abandon their careers. They were reorienting their entire life's work around discipleship to Jesus. Their plans and dreams were now being swallowed up in His. Let's put ourselves in the shoes of these eager followers of Jesus in the first century. This is where we come face-to-face with a dangerous reality. We do have to give up everything we have to follow Jesus. We do have to love Him in a way that makes our closest relationships in this world look like hate. And it is entirely possible that He will tell us to sell everything we have and give it to the poor. But we don't want to believe it."I learned this recently as I watched two of my dreams and heart's desires die, it sucks and it hurts. But we must understand this is how faith looks. It is not our good works or "acts of righteousness(I'll explain later.)
Now let's look at Abram, we often think of his obedience to God to sacrifice his son Isaac at the altar being the pinnacle of his faith. But we forget his lack of faith in God to fulfill His promise of children. He didn't even trust God to protect him and his wife in Egypt. The prophet Moses tells us in Genesis, "as he was about to enter Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, 'I know what a beautiful wife you are. When the Egyptians see you, they will say, 'this is his wife.' And they will kill me but will let you live. Say you are my sister, so that I will be treated well for your sake and my life will be spared because of you.' Oops, first mistake. Men, by this time Sarai was in her late seventies, possibly early eighties and Abram still found her to be beautiful, take notes.
Abram then takes matters into his own hands and sleeps with his wife's servant to have a child. Mistake number two and we are still paying for it today aren't we? The animosity between Muslims and Christians is as strong as ever, welcome to religion. After all of that God changed Abram(father)'s name to Abraham(father of many) and He blessed Abraham with another child. Even after all of Abram's mistakes and lack of faith, God shows mercy and grace, then gives him another son. this is some CRAZY LOVE. Next God decides to test him by telling Abraham, "take your son, your only son, whom you love-- Isaac-- and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there at the altar on the mountain I will show you. As the two of them went on together, Isaac spoke up and said to his father, 'father?' 'Yes, my son?' Abraham replied. 'The fire and wood are here, 'Isaac said, 'but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?' Abraham answered, 'God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.' The two of them went on together." Do you see how Abraham was depending on God? That is faith. And we all know how God provided the lamb. Sir Thomas Browne famously said, "to believe only possibilities is not faith, but mere Philosophy." You see we sing the old Christian hymn. GREAT IS THY FAITHFULNESS. But we don't want to live to the music.
Take for instance my car. I know the basics of how to take care of my car, like checking the fluids and keeping the air pressure in the tires correct. I know how to put gas in the tank and turn the ignition on. But I don't know how the car converts the gas and makes the engine run. Or how the valves and the cylinders work together to make the car go(Aaron, I'm not you.) To be completely honest, I really don't worry about it, unless the car won't go. I just get in my car every day and turn the ignition on trusting it will run. Or take for instance my finger that I hurt. The only thing that I knew for sure was I NEED A DOCTOR. I didn't know what he would do to help me. I just went to him and trusted him to help me. That is how faith works. We just need to know the basics."No one comes to the Father except through the Son." I've accepted that, there is no need to GO CRAZY trying to figure out God's grace and mercy.
Karina Smirnoff recently said on dancing with the stars( hey, I'm a dancer at heart,) "Over-analysis leads to paralysis." I was a victim of this about a year ago myself. When I felt God leading me to move back to Colorado. But, I didn't trust God to help me and I didn't move. Sometimes you just have to take a LEAP OF FAITH and MAKE YOUR MOVE. Then let God worry about the details. Brother Garvin, hopefully one day, maybe when I'm grown I will be able to make that move. Life is like a roller coaster, there will be ups and downs, some you see coming and some you don't(wink, wank!) Just enjoy the ride, right brother Steve.
In his book Radical, David Platt explains, "some may wonder at this point about how people in the Old Testament were saved. Paul argues in Romans 4-11 that Abraham and others in the Old Testament were saved by grace through faith in the coming Christ. Though they did not know all the details, they were trusting in the redemption God would bring through Christ. Based on their example, some have concluded that people today can also be saved through a general trust in God. Even though they have never heard of Christ. That Scripture gives no evidence of this once Christ has come. The thrust of the New Testament is that Christ has indeed come. And that people must believe in His person and work on the cross for their salvation(Romans 10;9-10.) Now, obviously, if people can't come to God. Apart from faith in Christ, then this truth is not encouraging for those who have never heard of Christ." We'll talk about this more later.
Next let's look at Job. He was on top of the world and feared God. And we all know how he lost everything. Most people condemn Job's wife for her insisting that Job curse God. But we fail to realize, everything Job lost his wife lost also and at the same time. Job and his wife are two sides of the same coin, after all they are "one flesh"(I'll talk more about oneness later.) The difference is how they reacted to God in their storm. Job trusted God to sustain him. Job was really livin'it, wasn't he? Phillip Yancey says, "the point of the Book of Job is not suffering: where is God When It hurts? The prologue (chapters 1-2) dealt with that issue. The point of the Book of Job is faith: Where is Job when it hurts?"
John Cobb(Pastoral care and counseling) says, "to trust in God calls for attention to what God is doing, to making oneself sensitive to what God requires, to aligning one's will with God's aims and call. It requires a shift from an attitude of control and manipulation to one of openness and receptivity. Discernment and discrimination become more important than trying to shape events to meet the projected goals. Of course, the God who speaks to us in the life processes of our bodies and souls addresses us also through other people, their tradition, and especially to those saints and spiritual giants who have lived from and for God with peculiar fullness. We can test our discernment against theirs and in community with others who seek to understand God's call today.
In his book Pure Eyes Craig Gross writes, "We hurt from things that happen to us or from things we have or haven't done. That's where we are. Presumably, we want to be in a place where we no longer hurt, where we feel no pain, and where we achieve a sense of peace, contentment, and focus. That place of peace, contentment, and focus is union with God. Paul wrote in first Corinthians 14:33, 'God is not a God of disorder but of peace.' In Psalm 85:8 the writer said, 'I will listen to what God the Lord will say; He promises peace to His people, His saints.' And God wants us to live with Him. 'For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life' (John 3:16.) In other words, God doesn't just want us to be okay--- He wants us to be exalted and ecstatic. He doesn't just want us to be sober, though that's a good starting point-- He wants us to be fulfilled and alive. So how do we go from where we are--- realizing the hurts, struggles and frustrations that have led us to using pornography-- to where we need to be, in concert and union with God? There are a number of action steps, but they all lead up to one central principle: faith. Your faith is the most powerful tool you have available to overcome your addiction. When you accept Christ as your Lord and Savior, you did not accept some impossible goal of perfection. Instead, you invite the Holy Spirit into your very being as your counselor, sent by God in Jesus' name, to 'teach you all things' and 'remind you of everything [Jesus] has said to you' (John 14:26.) Our faith in Christ isn't just a scarce idea that directs our actions. Our faith provides the way for the very real Spirit of God to live inside of us, giving us the power to surmount the seemingly impossible. Just as your addiction is not about pornography, your challenge is not just about beating the devil; it's about letting God show you what's holding you back from your potential. Let go of the past, let go the FUTURE, and let God dictate the direction of your life. Ephesians 4:22-24 says, 'you were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness."
Next, let's look at David, his faith in God did not just manifest the moment before he faced Goliath. God had already tested and prepared David for this battle while he was still in the fields herding the sheep. The prophet Samuel tells us in his first letter that David declared, "your servant has been keeping his father's sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off the sheep from the flock, I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God. The Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine."
We all know how David defeated his giant and God exalted him to be king. The prophet Samuel tells us in his second letter, "one evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing(mistake number one.) The woman was a very beautiful, and David sent someone to find out about her(mistake number two.) The man said, 'she is Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite.' Then David sent messengers to get her. She came to him, and he slept with her(now she was purifying herself from her monthly uncleanliness.) Then she went back home. The woman conceived and sent word to David, saying, 'I am pregnant. In the morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it with Uriah. He wrote , 'put Uriah in front where the fighting is fiercest. Then withdraw all from him so he will be struck down and die'(mistake number three.) Although God had chosen David, most of his reign as King, David was either making mistakes or running from them. He then wrote most of the book of Psalms describing his need and dependence on God for help. In Psalm 61 David declares, "for you have been my refuge, a STRONG TOWER against my enemy." More notably of the Psalms is Psalm 91.
SHIELDS?
In the foreword of Peggy Ruth's Psalm 91(God's Shield of Protection) LT Carey H. Cash; Chaplin, USN wrote, "Gen. George C. Marshall, U.S. Army Chief of Staff during World War II once said, 'we are building morale, not on supreme confidence in our ability to conquer and subdue other peoples; not an reliance on things of steel and the super-excellence of guns and planes and bomb sights, but on things more potent. We are building it on belief: for it is what men believe that makes them invincible.' During my experience as a chaplain to a battalion of the U.S. Marines in Iraq, I saw firsthand what happens when belief in Almighty God floods the hearts and souls of men and women rushing into battle. This supreme confidence in God is not Foxhole religion or superficial faith-- it is a life-changing decision to place oneself in the loving hands of Him who is greater than the battlefield."
Verses four and five of Psalm 91 in particular apply this blog, "He will cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you will find refuge; His faithfulness will be your shield and rampart. You will not be afraid of the arrow that flies by day." Ruth explains, "arrows are deliberately sent by the enemy and are carefully aimed at the spot that will cause the most damage. They are targeted toward areas where our mind is not renewed by the word of God-- perhaps an area where we are still losing her temper, or where we are still easily offended, or perhaps, an area of rebellion or fear! Seldom does the enemy attack us in an area where we are built-up and strong. He attacks us where we're still struggling. That's why we have to run to God! And when we do battle using our spiritual weapons, the enemies arrows will not approach us."
If you remember, the church at Ephesus had its share of run-ins with the Roman army. For a Roman soldier even with his ARMOR ON his shield was his main source of protection. Depending on his rank he was issued a specific type of shield; there was the Parmula, a small light shield, the Clipeus, a large, oval body shield, and the most famous in the Scutum. Scutum is the Latin word for "shield". A rectangular, semi-cylindrical body shield. Its curved shape protected the front and the sides. The scutum was not only a defensive tool, it was a weapon in it's own right. The central raised portion in the middle was forged from one piece of iron or bronze and was not only used as protection for the left hand, but also as a weapon. The raised boss would be thrust into the enemy's face or chest, causing severe injury and disabling them. Then the sword was thrust forward into the opponent's body. The type of shield depended on the soldier's function in the Army as well as his rank.
When the Roman army wanted to make an advance or attack an enemy stronghold, the soldiers lined up in a particular formation. One of the Romans most famous formations was the Tortoise or Turtle; this was where they marched in a rectangular formation. The people at the front would hold their shields, which were rectangular, in front of them where as the people at the side would hold their shields to the side which was open to attack. The soldiers in the middle of the rectangle would hold their shields over their heads, creating a box with all the men inside. This was a very strong, tight formation and the soldiers could, if they had been invented by then, hold a bulldozer up on top of them. They could march up to a fort in that formation and not one of them would get hurt. The defenders, rather than using ranged weapons, would have to charge them. The Romans, even though it was not the best form of attack, could jab their swords out of the box while being protected by their shields. In this formation they could march right up to the gates of the stronghold, then the soldiers on the front line would part and soldiers and specialists inside the Tortoise would come out and storm the gates of the stronghold. I can imagine this as a medieval form of transformers, a number of individual men coming together to form a completely new thing.
BUILDINGS?
What an amazing picture of the church. Just as the apostle Paul wrote in his letter to the church in Rome, "so it is with Christ's body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other." To the church in Corinth he wrote, "For even as the body is one and yet has many members, and all the members of the body, though they are many, are one body, so also is Christ." It is why the church today is so jacked-up! We have gotten so caught up in building religious temples and buildings that we have forgotten what the church really is. It's not buildings and property. It's not committees or offices. It's you and me. There is no mention of the word church in the Old Testament. Just God's calling of Israel as His CHOZEN people. There were buildings and temples for housing the Ark of the covenant and for offering sacrifices. All that was part of the old covenant God had with his people. But we are part of the new covenant. Jesus became our offering and our hero. That is why the veil in the Temple was torn from top to bottom when He was crucified. We now have direct access to God through Jesus, right? Matthew tells us that Jesus declared to Peter, "I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it." The Greek word used for church in the New Testament is the word EKKLESIA(Ecclesia) which means called out ones or summoned, assembled with a purpose. When Jesus decided to build His church, He picked a man, who would one day deny Him "three times" to build His church on.
It started with twelve untrained men He told to GO and make disciples . This is what church building is. It's not multi-million dollar cathedrals or state-of-the-art sanctuaries with all of the bells and whistles or even the coffee house by the entrance. No, discipleship is kingdom business and SPIRITUAL BUSINESS. Let me go ahead and CLEAR THE AIR, I understand the functionality of the building. But I also understand the dysfunctionality of it. And I know the writer of Hebrews says, "Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another--and all the more as you see the Day approaching." But the emphasis can't be on buildings and we can't stay inside them like Noah did the ark. David Platt continues in his book Radical," we are the plan of God, there is no plan B. God sent His servants. His servants preach. People hear. Hearers believe. Believers call. Everyone who calls is saved."
On one occasion the apostle John says, "It was nearly time for the Jewish Passover celebration, so Jesus went to Jerusalem. In the Temple area He saw merchants selling cattle, sheep, and doves for sacrifices; He also saw dealers at tables exchanging foreign money. Jesus made a whip from some ropes and chased them all out of the Temple. He drove out the sheep and cattle, scattered the money changers’ coins over the floor, and turned over their tables. Then going over to the people who sold doves, He told them, “Get these things out of here. Stop turning my Father’s house into a marketplace!” Have we done this again. John continues, "then the Jews demanded of Him, 'what miraculous sign can you show us to prove your authority to do all this?' Jesus answered them, 'Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days." Again Jesus wasn't talking about a BUILDING was He? This is why the apostle Paul wrote in his first letter to the church at Corinth, "don't you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? … So you must honor God with your body."
On the back cover of Jesus Wants to Save Christians(a manifesto for the church in Exile) Rob Bell explains, "there is a church in our area that recently added an addition to their building which cost more than $20 million. Our local newspaper ran a a front page story not too long ago revealing that one in five people in our city lives in poverty. This is a book about those two numbers. It's a book about faith and fear, wealth and war, poverty, power, safety, terror and Bibles, Bombs and homeland security; it's about anti-empires and the truth that everybody's a priest; it's about oppression, occupation, and what happens when Christians support, animate, and participate in the very things Jesus came to set people free from." If you remember, David's first son Solomon got caught up in the TEMPLE making business, using slaves to build them only a few generations after God had SET FREE the Israelites from being slaves in Egypt.
Bell continues in his book Jesus wants to save the Christians, "the old Jerusalem had been known for the Temple that Solomon built there. This wasn't lost on the prophets. They promised that even the Temple would be transformed in this new reality. Ezekiel wanted people to 'consider its perfection.(Ezekiel 43:10.) Isaiah described just what that 'perfection' would be: 'they will bring all your people, from all the nations to My holy mountain in Jerusalem(Isaiah 66:20.) And 'the mount of the Lord's Temple will be established to the highest of the mountains; it will be exalted above the hills, and all the nations will stream to it(Isaiah 2:2.) What does Isaiah say will happen in Jerusalem? There will be a Temple big enough for the whole world to worship in. A Temple big enough for the whole world? Are we reading correctly? How could a city, let alone a Temple, ever be big enough? Zachariah answers, 'Jerusalem will be a city without walls because of the great number of people and animals in it(Zachariah 2;4.) No Bricks, no stone, no walls. But the prophets didn't stop there. A new exodus, a new way, a new marriage with a new covenant, a new city with a new Temple, one big enough for the whole world to worship together in-- what's left for the prophets to promise? What's left is love. Isaiah says in chapter 19 that 'in that day there will be an altar to the Lord in the heart of Egypt,' and 'it will be a sign and witness to the Lord Almighty in the land of Egypt(Isaiah 19; 19-20.) Egypt, according to their ancestors, was the enemy, the oppressor. So what's an altar doing there? Imagine Isaiah's first audience wrestling with these promises. Our worst enemy will become our brothers and sisters in peace?"
ONE 2.O?
Again this is how Jesus pictured His bride. A bunch of jacked-up people coming together as one group of Holy people with one dream. This is another area where we have gotten it all jacked-up within the body. The apostle Paul wrote in his letter to the church at colossae, "In this new life, it doesn't matter if you are a Jew or a Gentile, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbaric, uncivilized, slave, or free. Christ is all that matters, and He lives in all of us." You might say that we become FACELESS within the body. If buildings and temples aren't what Jesus had in mind when He established His church, then how does going into a building and filling out a piece of paper give us church membership? No, the apostle John tells us, ""For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life(John 3;16.)" So we put our faith in Jesus, He gives us His Spirit and we become part of His body. That's our CHURCH MEMBERSHIP.
There is no first or second church in the town, there is no New Hope, there is only one hope. In the letter to the church that Mark wrote there is an interesting story about two brothers, "James and John, the sons of Zebedee asking Jesus to do whatever they wanted and "let one of us sit at your and the other your left in Your glory." Mark goes on to tell us that the other disciples, "became indignant with James and John." And Jesus called them back together and explained, "whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. Even the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many." Bill Purvis says, "this is why the apostle John tells us that before He went to the cross, Jesus prayed the real Lord's prayer, 'that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.' I know most of you are thinking that the Lord's prayer is in Matthew, but isn't that how Jesus taught His disciples to pray. How we should pray for ourselves? But the prayer in John was Jesus' prayer for His church, to be one." Jesus doesn't need forgiveness He gives it. The Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. once said "it is appalling that the most segregated hour of Christian America is eleven o'clock on Sunday morning."
There should never be a question of whose church you are going to. I know this may strike a nerve with some of the pastors reading this, last I checked the church is Jesus' bride,ouch. It is not your church or my church. The principle that applies here is the same principle that pastors may use in marriage counseling. The moment you say "I BELIEVE", there is no more ME, MYSELF AND I, we become "one." U can't go 2 church, because we are the church! Last month I went to a concert at my old high school that was organized to help raise money for families in need within the community. During the concert there were pastors from three different buildings on stage at various times and you could feel that koinia so strongly it gave you goosebumps! Three different congregations were mixed together within the auditorium. Now that's church, that's who we are. Also last month I had dinner with a friend and some of her friends from the building she goes to on Sundays. Her small group's motto is "doing life together." Which is really what church is supposed to be about isn't it? The author of Hebrews tells us, "but encourage one another daily, as long as it is called today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness."
I've recently had some friends(you know who you are) tell me that they didn't think they can get to where I am in my WALK. I told them that I didn't want to be where I am. We're all on the journey together, we are fellowship of the unashamed. The apostle Paul tells us in his letter to the church in Rome I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile(Romans 116.) For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed-- a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: 'the righteous will live by faith." John Twelve Hawks said, "Walking is easy ... but it requires faith to find the right path." After all one day we will all BOW DOWN before the throne of God as we sing the CHAMPION'S SONG, the Revelation song.
Most of you know about my accident and my experience with alcohol and drugs. However. only a few of you know the how jacked-up my family life was. Or the hatred and anger that I felt towards my parents. Nor WHERE YOU THERE as I watched as the healing hands of God healed them both permanently in 2004. You don't know about my disappointments in love(which is another leap of faith altogether, right guys?) After all, FAITH, HOPE AND LOVE really all work together don't they? Or about my own insecurities because of my disability. You see this is MY STORY about WHAT I'VE OVERCOME, I've seen what faith can do. That's why I love Him like I do . You have your story, neither is any better than the other. I just know that it's getting through the gut-wrenching hard times is what builds faith, not avoiding them. We all have SECRETS AND REGRETS. There is never a question of superiority.
In his book Crazy Love, Francis Chan explains, "most of us, to some degree, have a difficult time believing, or accepting God's absolute and unlimited love for us. The reason we don't receive, trust, or see His love varies from one person to the next, but we all miss out because of it. My belief in God's love was still theoretical, not a reality I lived out or experienced." This is one more reason why we must have a personal relationship with Jesus. As the prophet Jeremiah tells us, "for I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Our unique circumstances and faith is part of God's plan for us. Aaron, you don't have to be a next Steven Furtick or Mac Powell, UBU. God is planning on it.
The apostle Paul put it this way in his letter to the church in Rome, " For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you." EVERBOYEVERYGIRL has faith. It doesn't matter if you have faith like potatoes or faith the size of the mustard seed. Matthew shares with us in his letter, Jesus replied, "because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you." Rob Thurman once said, "Funny thing about faith ... it goes a lot faster than it comes." It's a lot like going to the gym and working out, when I know that I am going to lift weight that I might not be able to handle all my own. I make sure that I get a spotter. Not to do the work for me but to steady it, so I can get through my workout. That's why we need each other, because there are times in life when the load gets too heavy and you need a brother or sister to come alongside and remind you. "NO MATTER WHAT, you CAN'T QUIT." if I ever lose my faith in you , God. I need a TRUE BELIEVER to come along side me and say lift up your face and keep the faith.
The times when we are DESPERATE and HANGING ON BY A THREAD are the times we need to hear a friend share an encouraging Scripture or say, " I'll be there ,you're not alone" That's when you can FEEL IT IN YOUR HEART, the still small voice that helps us keep breathing and we CAN'T SHUT UP about His love for us and we remember, anything is possible with God. THOM S. RAINER says, "Faith and optimism are contagious." There is no need to pray, "LORD give me a sign," besides where's the faith in that? The writer of Hebrews continues, "by faith Abraham, even though he was past age--and Sarah herself was barren--was enabled to become a father because he considered Him faithful who had made the promise. And so from this one man, and he was as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore. These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were PERSUADED of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth."
God's grace is free to all who believe in Jesus. Not just the ones who have their act together or have the big house with a white picket fence and 2.5 kids plus a dog. No, even when I've made a mess of me I know you are for me, God. You see, I BELIEVE IN LOVE. A love that covers all when I believe in Him and He will HOLD ME. I recently saw the movie Love Happens(hey, I'm a helpless romantic!) In it Burke Ryan is an author who suffered the loss of his wife and he makes his living by holding seminars helping others deal with their grief and getting back to living their lives. Not realizing that he still hadn't conquered his own demons. Sadly, a lot of the time people in church are more concerned about junk in others lives than they are about their own junk. We think our "good works"or acts of kindness will give us merit with God.
In his new book Christian Atheist, author Craig Groeschel explains, "God is interested not only in our actions but also in our hearts(sound familiar?)-- In particular, our attitude toward Him. Do our good works overflow from knowing Him? Or do we live as though God is simply watching and checking our accomplishments off some heavenly to do list? Did you get a star for going to church? Being nice? Giving money to charity? Some of us tried to earn God's acceptance without truly knowing His heart. And after this life is over, Jesus will say to such individuals. 'You wanted no part of a relationship with Me. Go away'(Matt. 7;21-23.) Countless well-intentioned people believing God but they don't know Him personally. Many of us look the part. Or you think are Christians because, you know, it's not like were Buddhists. We believe in God, but our lives don't reflect who He really is." The prophet Isaiah put it this way, "how then can we be saved? All of us have become like one who is unclean. And all our righteous acts are like filthy rags." These "filthy rags" were the rags that women used during their monthly time when they were unclean, their period. The purpose of these rags was to absorb the blood. I wonder if Isaiah is trying to tell us that these "good works" absorb the blood believers are covered with through the price Jesus paid on the cross? Which is appropriate since this month we celebrate Easter, which really is about the beautiful blood Jesus shed on the cross, not some stupid Easter bunny, sorry kiddos!
This is why when my brother or sister makes a mistake we should not treat them as an OUTCAST. Instead we should love on them. The apostle Paul tells me I must BEAR WITH YOU. As Paul states in his letter to the church in Rome, "we who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the week and not to please ourselves." For "we have all sinned and fall short of the glory of God(I know I have and still do.)" You may not have a problem with alcohol or drugs or even with lust. It may be pride or greed, in some way you are jacked-up! In the last month I have heard more about about Rob Bell's newest book than I have about Easter. If you know me, you've heard me say, "like Martin Luther, 'my conscience is submissive to the word of God.' If it doesn't line up with the word of God, then I disagree with it. But I will read the book for myself at some point in time to see what the book really says. Allen, it's like you told me years ago, "I may not like everything on the menu at Ryan's. But I still eat there."
In my opinion, the church already has its share of false prophets and false doctrines, like the INVASION of the prosperity gospel . This is another reason the church is so jacked-up, people have bought into another lie. Yes, God does want us to experience PROSPERITY. But the devil has taken that truth and twisted it into something completely different, you can HAVE IT ALL and God will help you do anything you want. It is also known as the “Word of Faith,” the believer is told to use God, whereas the truth of biblical Christianity is just the opposite—God uses the believer. Word of Faith or prosperity theology sees the Holy Spirit as a power to be put to use for whatever the believer wills. The Bible teaches that the Holy Spirit is a Person who enables the believer to do God's will. The prosperity gospel movement closely resembles some of the destructive greed sects that infiltrated the early church. Paul and the other apostles were not accommodating to or conciliatory with the false teachers who propagated such heresy. They identified them as dangerous false teachers and urged Christians to avoid them. And we need to take our LAST STAND, make war and SHUT 'EM DOWN.
Through the prophet Ezra, God promises, if my people(not buildings), who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land(2 Chronicles 7;14.) Jesus' half-brother James reminds us, "but He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, "God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble ...Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will lift you up." In closing this blog. I pray that you see why we need to change our CHURCH DISCIPLINE and take up our shield of faith, if we are going to win in SPIRITUAL WARFARE.
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