My brothers and sisters,
How do we pursue this heartfelt passion of reflecting the character of the Father here on earth without striking battle lines within our own family? When is it that everything but Christ fades from our vision into the background of man-made distinctions? How do we walk together with those who have determined the distinctions they have constructed are important to their faith and walk?
They are many that have experienced great hurt in any number of fellowships whether they be labeled institutional, simple, organic, para-church etc. There are many large, denomination or independent, gatherings of people who are doing great things for the kingdom of God and doing so with His blessing. We must be very careful not to add more clutter around the centrality of Jesus and forget the Father’s heart in all of this. The Father is always seeking to restore and He actively seeks to speak to His children. Therein is the rub; what is He saying to you personally about this young lady? What is your part? Let the Holy Spirit steer you and lead you to His conclusion. No matter where she is to fellowship, build the appropriate relationship and begin the disciple’s process of living life together. Seek the Lord and sincerely ask “What is my part in this Lord?” He will answer. Teach this new believer from the beginning that the Father speaks to her heart as well; show her how to listen.
It will be a mystery to us at times as to how someone can “do this” or “do that” and call it “church”. It will be a mystery to us, but that is perfectly natural, we aren’t building it. In Matthew 16 Jesus clearly tells us all “I will build my church…” and He is without a doubt building His church. Whatever dissolves and is blown away as so much chaff, He did not build. The gates of hell will not prevail, not “might not”, but will not. He told us to go and make disciples, that is our call and design; be one and make one or two or ….you get the picture.
Jesus does not need us to defend His work, it will defend itself. This is a lesson I have begun to process over these last few months by seeking to be a part of what He is building by doing what He tells me and forfeiting the mission to tear down what man has constructed. If it is to fall down, it will fall on its own. If we do what we do in the Body His way, what is supposed to die will reveal itself.
It is the sincere conviction of many that the institutional church is dying and divinely so. That may be the case, I’m not sure, but I do know this; the Church is not dying, it is growing. The labels (IC) can die or be birthed again and again, they are something we have created, defined, embraced and then abandoned. New labels (constructs, movements, denominations) we should be wary of creating because by definition and design they divide. How wonderful would it be to be “Simply Church” instead of Simple Church? Living the abundant life instead of labeling the next: “this is where you get it”.
The church that is growing is the church who seeks the heart of the matter; the Father desired sons from the beginning and made provision for restoration (from the beginning) of these sons (men and women: Galatians 3.28) for the purpose of enjoying a familial relationship forever. There is a relationship with meaning that isn’t just perceived, but realized in living life together. Our Lord’s battle involves the hearts of men and so must ours. We protect what we build and fail; sometimes we defend what we build and say Jesus built it, and still fail. If we strive to be a part of His building program beginning with the hearts of men, then we needn’t be concerned, there is no failure possible.
What do you do with the new believer? Begin the walk of family with them, teaching the ways of the household; show them where the Father has hidden the good cookies! We do not know how much time with have with anyone God has put in front of us; it could be days or many years. We do know that He has a part for us to play and we are to be attentive to their needs and His purposes. Pour out the life that lives in you for however long you can and be listening.
How do we walk in fellowship with those of us with different “definitions” of what is appropriate in this Kingdom walk? Take every opportunity to build and forget the tearing down, if it is hay and stubble there is a wind that will come along eventually. Agree on God’s goodness and man’s desperation in most things and take every opportunity to share what you have been told to share by the Father. Michael rightly pointed out that The Father hates division, hates it and only those who are willing to approach unity in the Father’s desire for His children will be able to see the bigger picture from His perspective. There will be differences always, but they pale in comparison to how important each one of us is to Him and our mission to impart the truth of that importance to one another.
Whether we meet in buildings, houses, Moose Lodges (my personal favorite), store fronts, book stores, Chick fil-A (another personal favorite), Ice skating rink (not a favorite) or Starbucks it doesn’t really matter. Remember Jesus spoke in the synagogues, and they were the creation of man and weren’t the Father’s intention for the Jews.
Can we address the heart of the matter wherever we are in such a way that Jesus is preeminent in all things and the Kingdom that is at hand becomes evident? If we fellowship where it is not; begin to reveal what needs to be built and forget about tearing anything down, it will fall on its own, but our relationships with one another and Him should stand by the grace of God.
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Memories
Memories
What does God remember?
We generally emphasize what God forgets; or better said; what He chooses to forget. Do we stop and think what it is that He remembers about us? We travel these years, however many we have, clinging to memories that we cherish so that we can visit backwards in time and think on something or someone that touched us moved us emotionally. We think back and smile and our hearts are refreshed when we think of the little boy in the fighter pilot jacket or little girl stockings with the frilly behind that constantly need to be adjusted. We reminisce at times because we long for those days or maybe we reflect back when we face the reality that half of our lives have passed us by.
The Father remembers His promises to His people: In Psalm 105.8 the psalmist tells us that the Father remembers His covenant forever, even for a thousands generations. When we are tempted to say God has not provided, we must ask ourselves; “Is it what He has promised?”. How many times have I been guilty of blaming God or failing to believe because of my circumstances when my circumstance is caused by the effects of believing in what the Father has not promised or provided? When we ask; “Are we living in the promise?”, that is a relevant question. If we find that we are not living in what was promised then many of our questions answer themselves.
When we do to others what we see Him doing with us.
When relationships become difficult and seem to be out of control or seem to be irreparable, then we must look to see if these relationships are being lived out in what God remembers; His covenant. God promises to bless forgiveness, humility, obedience and yes even sacrifice. Is this evident in our relationships? If not we shouldn’t expect the Father to nourish that relationship, the Father is not an enabler of what is not pleasing to Him, but is willing to bring whatever is submitted to Him into the promise of His remembrance.
It isn’t enough to wish for good things to happen in our relationships with one another. When our relationships are building what we want to forget, then they are not a reflection of the Father’s heart. We should be looking towards forgetting what is not reflective of the Father and pursue what is worthy of remembrance.
God doesn’t want us to have premarital sex because sex is bad. God doesn’t want us to have premarital sex because it isn’t worthy of remembrance, it doesn’t reflect commitment that Christ has for his bride; and building something that is cherished. God doesn’t want us to forgive because nothing bad happens to us, because it does. God wants us to forgive because it isn’t worth remembering, it doesn’t reflect something that is to be cherished.
Not building memories and failing to forgive is tragic and sinful.
The word tells us that the Father is faithful and just in forgiving our sin; why? He doesn’t want to remember, he doesn’t desire to build His memories on what has hurt us or our relationship with Him. Like an earthly Father he wants to put away in the deepest places what has separated us from memories that are worthwhile, that will last forever, that reflect the covenant of the Father.
We must be those that love to cling to memories that are worthy. Just as the older saint who just can’t seem to let go of those things from the past our Father clings to the memories we have built with Him. The grandmother who runs her hand over photographs from the past or the father who touches that item his son cherished when he was a young boy illustrate for us I believe what our father desires. We must forsake what has brought bad memories in our lives and understand that they were not the Father’s intention. We must begin to build what He wants to remember and live out our lives building memories that are His intention.
If you cannot forgive, you cannot forget and if you cannot forget you cannot move forward and live out what is worthy of remembrance. Something very tragic happens when we allow this: You can make the mistake of attributing your inability to forgive and forget with Our Fathers ability to do the same. Your desire for someone else to feel your pain means you view God the same way; that He wants you to suffer for what you’ve done and nothing is further from the truth. If you see God as cruel, you are cruel. If you see God as not caring, then you don’t care. You forgive because it offers the possibility of restoration, you forget because you choose to; that is what the Jesus has made possible and modeled for us.
How tragic would it be for you to have your memories thrown away because none of them are cherished? Hanging onto what plagues you and then in the end knowing that it isn’t what you should have held so tightly, that it should have been forgotten and something else should have been built and cherished.
God wants to remember us for what is memorable, not what sin has caused. He wants to disregard what is not worthy of remembering and we should strive to do the same. In short, he wants to remember us as part of what He has promised. We must do the same if we want a life worth living; giving to God what is forgettable and wasn’t what He intended. Living a life that builds memories for eternity, looking backwards on our lives as lives consecrated and as a part of a covenant that lasts forever. If you want God to remember you, you must be willing to forgive and forget what He is willing to forgive and forget.
Begin to build what is memorable to God by taking the first step of releasing what He wants to forget. Remove yourself from the burden and influence of what has separated you from God and rejoin what was intended to begin with. Jesus provided the way and made us the promise (1 John 1.9).
Call out to Him to remember you and give to Him what should be forgotten.
Our father is always willing to take from us what we should be willing to give up. I say should be willing to give up, because many times it just seems to hard. We have been hurt or we have hurt someone else and we do not feel that we have been made to feel better about it and we just will not let it go.
There should be a “calling out”. David cried out repeatedly because he needed to. David was arrogant at times but he was not arrogant enough to think God did not hear him and wanted to put his sin away. Arrogant seems to be an odd word here, but think about it. How arrogant do you have to be to think that you do not have to let go of the sin that plagues you even though Jesus had to die for it. When you say you don’t have to call out to God and let Him hear you, then you are your own God and your pride is evident.
David knew some very important truths; God never forgot him and was available to mend, to forgive, to rebuild what was torn apart. David knew that God wanted to build on their relationship something that could not be forgotten. David knew that God wanted him to be a representation of who the Father was to all those around him that he was accountable for and he knew what do when he was no longer that representation: He cried out to God and always remembered the “He remembers his covenant forever”.
We are a forgiven people; at least the possibility is there.
The Father is forgetful because he chooses to be.
Building memories in the promise of the Father’s intentions is freedom.
Our Father wants to remember us.
What does God remember?
We generally emphasize what God forgets; or better said; what He chooses to forget. Do we stop and think what it is that He remembers about us? We travel these years, however many we have, clinging to memories that we cherish so that we can visit backwards in time and think on something or someone that touched us moved us emotionally. We think back and smile and our hearts are refreshed when we think of the little boy in the fighter pilot jacket or little girl stockings with the frilly behind that constantly need to be adjusted. We reminisce at times because we long for those days or maybe we reflect back when we face the reality that half of our lives have passed us by.
The Father remembers His promises to His people: In Psalm 105.8 the psalmist tells us that the Father remembers His covenant forever, even for a thousands generations. When we are tempted to say God has not provided, we must ask ourselves; “Is it what He has promised?”. How many times have I been guilty of blaming God or failing to believe because of my circumstances when my circumstance is caused by the effects of believing in what the Father has not promised or provided? When we ask; “Are we living in the promise?”, that is a relevant question. If we find that we are not living in what was promised then many of our questions answer themselves.
When we do to others what we see Him doing with us.
When relationships become difficult and seem to be out of control or seem to be irreparable, then we must look to see if these relationships are being lived out in what God remembers; His covenant. God promises to bless forgiveness, humility, obedience and yes even sacrifice. Is this evident in our relationships? If not we shouldn’t expect the Father to nourish that relationship, the Father is not an enabler of what is not pleasing to Him, but is willing to bring whatever is submitted to Him into the promise of His remembrance.
It isn’t enough to wish for good things to happen in our relationships with one another. When our relationships are building what we want to forget, then they are not a reflection of the Father’s heart. We should be looking towards forgetting what is not reflective of the Father and pursue what is worthy of remembrance.
God doesn’t want us to have premarital sex because sex is bad. God doesn’t want us to have premarital sex because it isn’t worthy of remembrance, it doesn’t reflect commitment that Christ has for his bride; and building something that is cherished. God doesn’t want us to forgive because nothing bad happens to us, because it does. God wants us to forgive because it isn’t worth remembering, it doesn’t reflect something that is to be cherished.
Not building memories and failing to forgive is tragic and sinful.
The word tells us that the Father is faithful and just in forgiving our sin; why? He doesn’t want to remember, he doesn’t desire to build His memories on what has hurt us or our relationship with Him. Like an earthly Father he wants to put away in the deepest places what has separated us from memories that are worthwhile, that will last forever, that reflect the covenant of the Father.
We must be those that love to cling to memories that are worthy. Just as the older saint who just can’t seem to let go of those things from the past our Father clings to the memories we have built with Him. The grandmother who runs her hand over photographs from the past or the father who touches that item his son cherished when he was a young boy illustrate for us I believe what our father desires. We must forsake what has brought bad memories in our lives and understand that they were not the Father’s intention. We must begin to build what He wants to remember and live out our lives building memories that are His intention.
If you cannot forgive, you cannot forget and if you cannot forget you cannot move forward and live out what is worthy of remembrance. Something very tragic happens when we allow this: You can make the mistake of attributing your inability to forgive and forget with Our Fathers ability to do the same. Your desire for someone else to feel your pain means you view God the same way; that He wants you to suffer for what you’ve done and nothing is further from the truth. If you see God as cruel, you are cruel. If you see God as not caring, then you don’t care. You forgive because it offers the possibility of restoration, you forget because you choose to; that is what the Jesus has made possible and modeled for us.
How tragic would it be for you to have your memories thrown away because none of them are cherished? Hanging onto what plagues you and then in the end knowing that it isn’t what you should have held so tightly, that it should have been forgotten and something else should have been built and cherished.
God wants to remember us for what is memorable, not what sin has caused. He wants to disregard what is not worthy of remembering and we should strive to do the same. In short, he wants to remember us as part of what He has promised. We must do the same if we want a life worth living; giving to God what is forgettable and wasn’t what He intended. Living a life that builds memories for eternity, looking backwards on our lives as lives consecrated and as a part of a covenant that lasts forever. If you want God to remember you, you must be willing to forgive and forget what He is willing to forgive and forget.
Begin to build what is memorable to God by taking the first step of releasing what He wants to forget. Remove yourself from the burden and influence of what has separated you from God and rejoin what was intended to begin with. Jesus provided the way and made us the promise (1 John 1.9).
Call out to Him to remember you and give to Him what should be forgotten.
Our father is always willing to take from us what we should be willing to give up. I say should be willing to give up, because many times it just seems to hard. We have been hurt or we have hurt someone else and we do not feel that we have been made to feel better about it and we just will not let it go.
There should be a “calling out”. David cried out repeatedly because he needed to. David was arrogant at times but he was not arrogant enough to think God did not hear him and wanted to put his sin away. Arrogant seems to be an odd word here, but think about it. How arrogant do you have to be to think that you do not have to let go of the sin that plagues you even though Jesus had to die for it. When you say you don’t have to call out to God and let Him hear you, then you are your own God and your pride is evident.
David knew some very important truths; God never forgot him and was available to mend, to forgive, to rebuild what was torn apart. David knew that God wanted to build on their relationship something that could not be forgotten. David knew that God wanted him to be a representation of who the Father was to all those around him that he was accountable for and he knew what do when he was no longer that representation: He cried out to God and always remembered the “He remembers his covenant forever”.
We are a forgiven people; at least the possibility is there.
The Father is forgetful because he chooses to be.
Building memories in the promise of the Father’s intentions is freedom.
Our Father wants to remember us.
Thursday, April 16, 2009
The Body in Virginia Beach
House church is up and running…and we aren’t running it!
For everyone who is wondering what we have been up to and how everything is coming along in our ministry efforts, here is a quick update on our church family.
We have completed the transition to simple church, house church, (so many labels)and we are currently meeting in one another’s homes. We began as Hope Chapel about a year and a half ago in a building graciously loaned to us by a former ministry partner. We as a family have decided to forego alliance with a denomination and I myself have determined that I should forfeit my credentials and resign from my current denomination. There are a few reasons for this but none of them being a conflict or disagreement with anyone involved, it is just simply; this is where Jesus has led us.
We began our transition on a fateful day about a year ago when I determined that we would do a true communion service sitting together breaking bread and eating a full meal following the New Testament pattern. In the midst of all of this something became readily apparent and profoundly moving; the Father’s desire for His children. As we joined together and sat eating and sharing, singing, praying and teaching interactively ; we began “being the church” instead of attending another “church meeting”. We as a family quickly determined that this is how we would continue to meet as a family and as we have the Lord has been so faithful in providing like minded brothers and sisters and His Word (1Corinthians 14 and Ephesians 4) to confirm that we were following His leading. A few things began to occur within our family:
1.) We genuinely began to speak into one another’s lives, walking together and rubbing up against one another throughout the week.
2.) Pressure to “perform”, “plan” and organize disappeared. We go no further than we would plan to have house guests, which is what we are doing.
3.) Ugly stuff came up; it is difficult to hide who you are when you are living lives in a family of 15-20 people.
4.) People began to tell one another the things they used to only tell the “pastor”.
5.) People have the freedom to bring a word, sing a song, read a poem or anything else the Lord has placed on their hearts.
6.) The Holy Spirit’s gifting has begun to become evident in each person and people began to manifest those gifting(s).
7.) We are not pressured by financial obligations or salaries and each person can keep their own tithes and offerings until the lord moves them to give them to a ministry or person God has placed on their hearts.
8.) Special teaching when required has become interactive and meaningful, but not a one man show.
9.) We have begun to believe that Jesus can orchestrate our gatherings.
We are far from perfecting ourselves or believing that we have found a “new thing”, but what we have found has blessed us all beyond measure. We have found Him again in the midst of everything, and that is sufficient. It seems so simple to some of us but the reality is exactly what He said it would be; He will build His church. There is an under swell in the Bride that is God sent and we are at the beginnings of something very special in the Body of Christ.
I have come to the place where all my ministry training and experience have revealed themselves as hay and stubble. I have come to a place where discipleship has become living life together instead of a curriculum or program. I have come to a place of striving to make Jesus preeminent in everything I do and I let Him surround me with people with the same pursuit. No programs, building projects, no entertainment, no egos, no salaries, no organizations, nothing man devised is permitted in this place; and it is a good place.
.
We have perfected none of this, but we continue to walk towards Him together and allowing Him to change us. We cannot fix one another but we can fix our eyes on Him together.
For everyone who is wondering what we have been up to and how everything is coming along in our ministry efforts, here is a quick update on our church family.
We have completed the transition to simple church, house church, (so many labels)and we are currently meeting in one another’s homes. We began as Hope Chapel about a year and a half ago in a building graciously loaned to us by a former ministry partner. We as a family have decided to forego alliance with a denomination and I myself have determined that I should forfeit my credentials and resign from my current denomination. There are a few reasons for this but none of them being a conflict or disagreement with anyone involved, it is just simply; this is where Jesus has led us.
We began our transition on a fateful day about a year ago when I determined that we would do a true communion service sitting together breaking bread and eating a full meal following the New Testament pattern. In the midst of all of this something became readily apparent and profoundly moving; the Father’s desire for His children. As we joined together and sat eating and sharing, singing, praying and teaching interactively ; we began “being the church” instead of attending another “church meeting”. We as a family quickly determined that this is how we would continue to meet as a family and as we have the Lord has been so faithful in providing like minded brothers and sisters and His Word (1Corinthians 14 and Ephesians 4) to confirm that we were following His leading. A few things began to occur within our family:
1.) We genuinely began to speak into one another’s lives, walking together and rubbing up against one another throughout the week.
2.) Pressure to “perform”, “plan” and organize disappeared. We go no further than we would plan to have house guests, which is what we are doing.
3.) Ugly stuff came up; it is difficult to hide who you are when you are living lives in a family of 15-20 people.
4.) People began to tell one another the things they used to only tell the “pastor”.
5.) People have the freedom to bring a word, sing a song, read a poem or anything else the Lord has placed on their hearts.
6.) The Holy Spirit’s gifting has begun to become evident in each person and people began to manifest those gifting(s).
7.) We are not pressured by financial obligations or salaries and each person can keep their own tithes and offerings until the lord moves them to give them to a ministry or person God has placed on their hearts.
8.) Special teaching when required has become interactive and meaningful, but not a one man show.
9.) We have begun to believe that Jesus can orchestrate our gatherings.
We are far from perfecting ourselves or believing that we have found a “new thing”, but what we have found has blessed us all beyond measure. We have found Him again in the midst of everything, and that is sufficient. It seems so simple to some of us but the reality is exactly what He said it would be; He will build His church. There is an under swell in the Bride that is God sent and we are at the beginnings of something very special in the Body of Christ.
I have come to the place where all my ministry training and experience have revealed themselves as hay and stubble. I have come to a place where discipleship has become living life together instead of a curriculum or program. I have come to a place of striving to make Jesus preeminent in everything I do and I let Him surround me with people with the same pursuit. No programs, building projects, no entertainment, no egos, no salaries, no organizations, nothing man devised is permitted in this place; and it is a good place.
.
We have perfected none of this, but we continue to walk towards Him together and allowing Him to change us. We cannot fix one another but we can fix our eyes on Him together.
Sunday, March 1, 2009
You....Go feed (Luke Chapter 9)
Provision readily available, but not apparent.What faith enables us to go without protesting “but I don’t even have”
Jesus told them and I believe tells us to feed them with something that it is readily available but most times, not apparent. His response here is the same as it is for us today; I will give you. Faith connects us with the invisible reality that provision is available for what we have been given to do. We must resist the temptation to fall back on what man can provide or can manufacture. If it is not organic; is it of God?
• What is natural for us when faith is required? I believe it should be what naturally happens in subjection to the Holy Spirit and therein lays the problem.
• Jesus is no longer physically standing in our midst, but the Holy Spirit bids us “you go feed”. We (the church) at times don’t know His voice; we have forgotten how to hear.
Ideally
The evidence of the thing that God has placed within and is hoped for in our minds; our heart pursues; even when not readily apparent. We are to see it; that which is not apparent in the physical. When the Father speaks to our hearts and directs our way that is where our faith begins. One crucial aspect of Faith is this; The Holy Spirit is sending (or pulling) us to a place that the Father has already prepared. What we are doing has to be seen,pursued, and prepared by God.
• We can readily make something happen, but if we proceed as directed, stepping into what has already been prepared, then we will be a part of what the Father desires to reveal.
• I could very well see a church, a job, or a relationship that I believe God wants to occur when God never intended it. For example; If I know the Father spoke to my heart and said “Now is the time for “fill in the blank”, and I could very well run out and grab the first one available and felt as if what I was doing what had been “okay ed” by the Father. In reality I may be grabbing something and manufacturing something never intended, never prepared.
• This happens so many times to so many of God’s children: and it grieves me to recognize it when someone intends to do the will of God and steps into a place that has not been provided or prepared. It is gut wrenching to realize that you are at a point of frustration and pain because you are not where you were intended to be or how you were intended to be there at the proper time. (John 3.27 – Grabbing vs. Receiving)
Guarding against reliance on past provision and revelation; stuck in a season.
Of course you cannot remain in the same season spiritually speaking, forever. What has been revealed in the past and what will be revealed in the future will change; why do we forget that? Perhaps we want to hang on to the salad days? What has been provided in the past and the desires of the one who provided it should serve as a reminder of faithfulness; but will not suffice when beginning a new thing. It is when we begin with only the assurance of being told, “you go”. Unfortunately, we usually want to begin with what we have experienced, do that again, replicate the past when the only similar catalyst is faith and unfortunately, it could be misplaced. Remember THAT God moved; but don’t rely on Him to move or behave exactly the same way every time. The substance of His intentions always remains the same: "He desires and loves us" and every new thing He does reveals this.
We at times look to past acts of the Father and try to bottle it and replicate it believing we have begun a new "thing", when in reality the Father moves uniquely and purposefully each time He speaks to us. I am really amazed that someone has not gathered 5 and 7 baskets and called everyone to a local park to feed them fish. Yes the Father may choose to do things similarly in several instances, but God forbid that our interactions with the Father and following His lead would result in repeating the same thing over and over again. Imagine your earthly father teaching you to ride your bike over and over again until you are an old man! Riding a bike is fun, but there is a time to move on. Our earthly fathers should want to reveal something new as we grow and mature until we represent them and their character. Our heavenly Father is in the revelation business as well, He came up with it! His love and our faith in that love enable us to trust what is being revealed and learn to represent our Father's character here on earth. Showing His heart in all matters and distributing to others what is readily available.
• Could it be that so many institutional churches are dying because of their efforts to replicate something that has already happened and the season has passed? Could it be that many of us are not recognizing what is being revealed by our Father? Namely that our old source of provision (what we can come up with) will no longer do.
Our call is to “go and provide what I have given you”, see what is not evident, and accomplish that which I have given you in the way that I have made provision for. This must be the underlying heartbeat to our actions; this is our battle cry; this is faith.
It is ours to give; His to provide (Mark 9.14)We forget at times that we are carriers of what Christ has provided and is providing. We do not impact or change circumstances because we are waiting on a benefactor to write a large check or our people to pledge money when in fact the baskets are ready and what is to be provided is sitting in the Lord’s storehouse in HIS people. Many times we are powerless because we fail to recognize that we already possess what is required; King Jesus and what He has placed within. He reveals what we are to do, it is in front of us, He is in front of us, and many times we are looking past Him to our own provision to ensure "success". The irony is that this always fails and somehow ends up in the "hay and stubble" category. Can you imagine the Apostles sitting down and going over "How to build a team in your ministry" before distributing the loaves and fishes? To the faithless what the Father provides is sometimes unrecognizable.
• We have no faith that the Lord is providing for what He has directed so we do not distribute what He has already given in resources, time, gifts,prayer and living life together! As a matter of fact we are at times not looking to Him at all. This is evident where we have focused on the "pastor" or latest "successful" leader who has had great results in whatever new program. We are waiting to see the bread before we divvy up baskets and blessing what is coming. Unfortunately I am afraid it isn't Christ's bread at all, but man's. "Evangelical Christianity" has become a punchline and rightly so, because we have tried to provide and protect ourselves, and that is definitely NOT what the father intended.
• Either we are ambassadors or we are not. We either carry the weight of the Kingdom’s spiritual authority or we do not. It is not man that provides the substance that nourishes, it is the King. We need no provision past what God has provided.
• Reliance on the Holy Spirit to recognize what is needed is required. “This kind only cannot be driven out by anything but prayer and fasting.” The Lord is forewarning us that there will be more required in the future.
Faithless and twisted generation
How faithless is this generation? Not just the world; but us as children of God? We know it to be twisted, but where has our faith gone? Has it gone up in smoke with the market crash? How will the church pay for where it has put its faith in the political arena? Jesus had shown us already what was possible and we drifted to sleep resting in the lap of the Republican party, trusting in the Stock Market, building institutions that although well intentioned, have propagated a new gospel. Could we have not done better?
SO:
• You have been provided what is needed. What is the Father telling you to do? (Go feed).
• The Holy Spirit is pulling us someplace we should be; the fish and bread are there; even if we can’t see them, SEEK REVELATION.
• Remember past provision; reflect on the faithfulness and remember God’s goodness.
• Have faith in new provision. Ask yourself are you recognizing what the Father is providing? Where He is pulling? DO NOT SEEK MAN'S PROVISION AND PROTECTION.
• We are either ambassadors or we’re not.
Those who forget the lessons of faith with the miraculous provision lack real spiritual authority and power when later required. Those who did not remember when they distributed the King’s provision cannot exercise His authority when confronted. We indeed have someplace to be and we should ensure that it is a place He has brought us, prepared for us and provided for beforehand....even when not readily apparent.
Jesus told them and I believe tells us to feed them with something that it is readily available but most times, not apparent. His response here is the same as it is for us today; I will give you. Faith connects us with the invisible reality that provision is available for what we have been given to do. We must resist the temptation to fall back on what man can provide or can manufacture. If it is not organic; is it of God?
• What is natural for us when faith is required? I believe it should be what naturally happens in subjection to the Holy Spirit and therein lays the problem.
• Jesus is no longer physically standing in our midst, but the Holy Spirit bids us “you go feed”. We (the church) at times don’t know His voice; we have forgotten how to hear.
Ideally
The evidence of the thing that God has placed within and is hoped for in our minds; our heart pursues; even when not readily apparent. We are to see it; that which is not apparent in the physical. When the Father speaks to our hearts and directs our way that is where our faith begins. One crucial aspect of Faith is this; The Holy Spirit is sending (or pulling) us to a place that the Father has already prepared. What we are doing has to be seen,pursued, and prepared by God.
• We can readily make something happen, but if we proceed as directed, stepping into what has already been prepared, then we will be a part of what the Father desires to reveal.
• I could very well see a church, a job, or a relationship that I believe God wants to occur when God never intended it. For example; If I know the Father spoke to my heart and said “Now is the time for “fill in the blank”, and I could very well run out and grab the first one available and felt as if what I was doing what had been “okay ed” by the Father. In reality I may be grabbing something and manufacturing something never intended, never prepared.
• This happens so many times to so many of God’s children: and it grieves me to recognize it when someone intends to do the will of God and steps into a place that has not been provided or prepared. It is gut wrenching to realize that you are at a point of frustration and pain because you are not where you were intended to be or how you were intended to be there at the proper time. (John 3.27 – Grabbing vs. Receiving)
Guarding against reliance on past provision and revelation; stuck in a season.
Of course you cannot remain in the same season spiritually speaking, forever. What has been revealed in the past and what will be revealed in the future will change; why do we forget that? Perhaps we want to hang on to the salad days? What has been provided in the past and the desires of the one who provided it should serve as a reminder of faithfulness; but will not suffice when beginning a new thing. It is when we begin with only the assurance of being told, “you go”. Unfortunately, we usually want to begin with what we have experienced, do that again, replicate the past when the only similar catalyst is faith and unfortunately, it could be misplaced. Remember THAT God moved; but don’t rely on Him to move or behave exactly the same way every time. The substance of His intentions always remains the same: "He desires and loves us" and every new thing He does reveals this.
We at times look to past acts of the Father and try to bottle it and replicate it believing we have begun a new "thing", when in reality the Father moves uniquely and purposefully each time He speaks to us. I am really amazed that someone has not gathered 5 and 7 baskets and called everyone to a local park to feed them fish. Yes the Father may choose to do things similarly in several instances, but God forbid that our interactions with the Father and following His lead would result in repeating the same thing over and over again. Imagine your earthly father teaching you to ride your bike over and over again until you are an old man! Riding a bike is fun, but there is a time to move on. Our earthly fathers should want to reveal something new as we grow and mature until we represent them and their character. Our heavenly Father is in the revelation business as well, He came up with it! His love and our faith in that love enable us to trust what is being revealed and learn to represent our Father's character here on earth. Showing His heart in all matters and distributing to others what is readily available.
• Could it be that so many institutional churches are dying because of their efforts to replicate something that has already happened and the season has passed? Could it be that many of us are not recognizing what is being revealed by our Father? Namely that our old source of provision (what we can come up with) will no longer do.
Our call is to “go and provide what I have given you”, see what is not evident, and accomplish that which I have given you in the way that I have made provision for. This must be the underlying heartbeat to our actions; this is our battle cry; this is faith.
It is ours to give; His to provide (Mark 9.14)We forget at times that we are carriers of what Christ has provided and is providing. We do not impact or change circumstances because we are waiting on a benefactor to write a large check or our people to pledge money when in fact the baskets are ready and what is to be provided is sitting in the Lord’s storehouse in HIS people. Many times we are powerless because we fail to recognize that we already possess what is required; King Jesus and what He has placed within. He reveals what we are to do, it is in front of us, He is in front of us, and many times we are looking past Him to our own provision to ensure "success". The irony is that this always fails and somehow ends up in the "hay and stubble" category. Can you imagine the Apostles sitting down and going over "How to build a team in your ministry" before distributing the loaves and fishes? To the faithless what the Father provides is sometimes unrecognizable.
• We have no faith that the Lord is providing for what He has directed so we do not distribute what He has already given in resources, time, gifts,prayer and living life together! As a matter of fact we are at times not looking to Him at all. This is evident where we have focused on the "pastor" or latest "successful" leader who has had great results in whatever new program. We are waiting to see the bread before we divvy up baskets and blessing what is coming. Unfortunately I am afraid it isn't Christ's bread at all, but man's. "Evangelical Christianity" has become a punchline and rightly so, because we have tried to provide and protect ourselves, and that is definitely NOT what the father intended.
• Either we are ambassadors or we are not. We either carry the weight of the Kingdom’s spiritual authority or we do not. It is not man that provides the substance that nourishes, it is the King. We need no provision past what God has provided.
• Reliance on the Holy Spirit to recognize what is needed is required. “This kind only cannot be driven out by anything but prayer and fasting.” The Lord is forewarning us that there will be more required in the future.
Faithless and twisted generation
How faithless is this generation? Not just the world; but us as children of God? We know it to be twisted, but where has our faith gone? Has it gone up in smoke with the market crash? How will the church pay for where it has put its faith in the political arena? Jesus had shown us already what was possible and we drifted to sleep resting in the lap of the Republican party, trusting in the Stock Market, building institutions that although well intentioned, have propagated a new gospel. Could we have not done better?
SO:
• You have been provided what is needed. What is the Father telling you to do? (Go feed).
• The Holy Spirit is pulling us someplace we should be; the fish and bread are there; even if we can’t see them, SEEK REVELATION.
• Remember past provision; reflect on the faithfulness and remember God’s goodness.
• Have faith in new provision. Ask yourself are you recognizing what the Father is providing? Where He is pulling? DO NOT SEEK MAN'S PROVISION AND PROTECTION.
• We are either ambassadors or we’re not.
Those who forget the lessons of faith with the miraculous provision lack real spiritual authority and power when later required. Those who did not remember when they distributed the King’s provision cannot exercise His authority when confronted. We indeed have someplace to be and we should ensure that it is a place He has brought us, prepared for us and provided for beforehand....even when not readily apparent.
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