"Your name is ointment poured forth. Therefore the virgins love you." - Song of Songs 1:3
When Moses asked God to "show me Your glory", God did not respond by giving him a glimpse of heaven, or some spectacular demonstration of His power through a sign or wonder. God's response was to declare to Moses His name! A name, according to Song of Songs, which is so fragrant that causes us to love Him! As I meditated on these passages today, I was particularly struck by the conversation that precedes the declaration of God's name in Exodus 34.
In Exodus 33:17, God begins the encounter by saying to Moses "you have found favor in My sight, and I know you by name". We have often heard it said that God know our name, which is amazing! But as I meditated on these words I realized that it was more than just, "how neat, the uncreated God can address me by the name which my parents called me at birth!" - it says that God knows me by name. Put another way, we could say that by our name we are known by God. To be even more specific, our name is the way in which God relates to us - how we can expect Him to encounter us.
But sometimes our names do not reflect the plans that God has for our lives, and God proceeds to call us by a new name. Throughout the Scriptures there are great examples of this reality, with one of the most obvious being Abram being changed to Abraham (Father of a Multitude). It was after this name change that he went on to become the father of both the Jews through Issac and the Muslim nations through Ishmael. His grandson Jacob also had his name, which meant "Deceiver", changed by God at the end of his days of turmoil and unrest. Thousands of years later we have another great example in Simon, who had his name changed to Peter (Rock), in preparation for the building of Christ's Church on the foundation of Peters life and ministry.
So what is in a name? According to Scripture, a lot!
God reveals His glory through His name. He continuously declares His name to us, as a declaration of who He is and how He has chosen to relate to us.
The question then becomes, by what name have we been called? By our family? By our friends? Our enemies? By God? And by what name do we live by? 'Loser'? 'Geek'? 'Princess'? 'Son'?
As I think about these things I'm left with a couple of questions:
1) What names have I embraced about myself?
2) What name does God declare over me?
The truth is that I will live my life based upon the name that I believe in, not what others believe about me. If God calls me "Friend", but I don't accept that name, then I will not relate to Him as a friend. If God calls me a "Son" or "Daughter", but can't receive that name, then I will struggle to know Him as a "Father", because the two names are inseparable. However, if I believe that I am a "Loser", "Failure", "Rebel" or any other name, I will live toward God and others by that name. On the positive side, if I accept that He calls me "Bride", "Beloved", "Adopted Son" and "Joint Heir with Christ", then I will be able to relate to Him in a much different way!
As I sit here thinking about the names by which I call my children, I am reminded of the passage: "Life and death are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat it's fruit." - Prov 18:21
The names that we call one another are monumental to the lives that we live. We need to hear and accept names rightly, and weigh them under the light of God's word and what He has declared over us. We must agree with God, which is humility, about the names we live by. Has God called you "Righteous"? Is that hard to accept? Has God called you "Accepted", but you still believe that you are rejected? What names are we going to live by? And more importantly, which of His own names is God using to reveal Himself through in this season or your life? Healer! Provider! Deliverer!
Bless you today! I pray that God will bless you with a Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him. That you might know what He declares over you today by the testimony of Jesus.
Wednesday, 24 November 2010
Wednesday, 8 September 2010
The Perfect Revelation of God
Today I was reading Luke 6 and was reminded of this profound truth - God has revealed Himself through His commands.
It all started as I continued my wonderful journey in the Gospel of Luke. I have been in it now for well over a week and I'm just entering into the sixth chapter. In verse 30, while teaching the same content as the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus calls His listeners to "give to everyone who asks of you". It is my practice to underline all Scriptures that reveal the nature of God with a blue highlighter, and suddenly I felt the need to underline this particular command in blue. What was Holy Spirit revealing to me? I began to ponder the implications of this command and how it revealed who God is.
Suddenly 1 Peter was coming to mind again; "be Holy, as I am Holy". I am to do the very things that God does. God only asks me to do what He does, and like Jesus, I am to only do what I see my Father doing.
As I pondered this for a while my heart began to get stirred up. If I am commanded to do as He would do, and be as He would be, and He has asked me to give to anyone who asks, then I am also right to conclude that He too will "give to everyone who asks"! For God will not ask me to do something that He has is not willing to do Himself. He leads by example, for Hebrews says that He is both the Author and Perfecter of our faith. That means that He wrote it and then fulfilled it so that we would have an example to follow after.
Now my heart was excited as I began to grow in my knowledge of the Holy. A revelation found within the very commands of Scripture. So what else could I learn about God through looking at His commands?
Obviously, the command "give to everyone who asks" is a little easier to make connect with God's heart because we have other Scriptures that explicitly declare the same aspect of His nature. Matthew 7:7-12, 21:22, and 1 John 3:22 all tell us that God will give to those who ask. But what about the other commands? Does the same hold true for them as well? The answer to that question is a resounding "YES"! It is true of all of God's precepts; anything that God asks us to do has within itself the promise that He will do, and has already done, the very same thing for us (only to it's perfection). In fact, after teaching us in Matthew 7 to "ask, seek and knock", Jesus concludes His excerpt on the art of giving to everyone who asks by saying these words:
"So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets."
If 'do unto others' is how Jesus concludes His teaching regarding how the Father will respond to those who ask, and we know that we too are to give to those who ask. What should we conclude about His statement that this very principle sums up the Law and the Prophets? What does that tell us about God's heart as revealed through the Law?
So I began to ask myself the question. What does it look like to read the Law through the lens of that principle of doing unto others? If He only asks me to do what He does, and He declares that it sums up the Law, then what will He do for me through my obedience to His commands?
I took a few moments to meditate on some well known commands written in the Law of Moses, focusing on God's aspect of the command - His promised response attached to my obedience, and what it reveals about His nature. I also took some time to search out and attach other Scriptural references to ensure that I was not merely making up my own revelation, but that it actually agreed with the revelation given to us by the Prophets and most importantly, Jesus.
Here are my meditations:
"You shall have no other God before Me":...if you will depend upon Me alone, then I will be your entire Source and will supply all your needs in and of Myself. I know what you have need of before you ask. Pagans run after food and drink, but don't worry about it because you are no longer foreign to me. As you have chosen Me, so will I chose you as the object of My blessing. (Phil 4:19, Matt 12:29-31)
"You shall not commit adultery" : ...as you have chosen to be faithful to Me, so also will I be Faithful to you. I will never leave you nor forsake you. As a Bridegroom marries His bride, so will I marry you and be faithful to you forever, for I will put an end to death and then nothing shall separate our love, both now and forever! (Romans 8:38-39, Isaiah 62:5, 1 Corinthians 15:26, Rev 19:9)
"You shall not steal": ...do not take what is not yours, and in return, I too covenant that I will not violate your free will by taking anything of your own that has not been freely given to Me, including your transgressions! (Matt 11:28, Matt 6:12, 1 John 1:9, Exodus 34:7, Deut 7:10)
Those are just a few examples that I chose to meditate upon while writing this post, but the Bible is full of these promises (because it is full of God's commands!) So the next time you come across a command, why not take some time and ask Holy Spirit to reveal to you the glory of His promises hidden within each of His commands. His commands were never meant to be burdensome, but are the means by which we enter into His rest, while demonstrating our love towards Him. Yet even more amazingly, they are the means by which He chooses to lavish His blessing upon those who have ears to hear and who hunger and thirst after His righteousness.
I hope you enjoyed this as much as I did. I pray that you have a great day of revelation as you gaze upon Jesus through the lens of God's perfect law!
Blessings,
Jon
For these two bear witness to the righteousness of Jesus - the Law and the Prophets. And do not suppose that He came to throw down the law or the prophets - He did not come to throw down, but to fulfill them. For we have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote - Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph. (Romans 3:21, Matt 5:17, John 1:45)
It all started as I continued my wonderful journey in the Gospel of Luke. I have been in it now for well over a week and I'm just entering into the sixth chapter. In verse 30, while teaching the same content as the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus calls His listeners to "give to everyone who asks of you". It is my practice to underline all Scriptures that reveal the nature of God with a blue highlighter, and suddenly I felt the need to underline this particular command in blue. What was Holy Spirit revealing to me? I began to ponder the implications of this command and how it revealed who God is.
Suddenly 1 Peter was coming to mind again; "be Holy, as I am Holy". I am to do the very things that God does. God only asks me to do what He does, and like Jesus, I am to only do what I see my Father doing.
As I pondered this for a while my heart began to get stirred up. If I am commanded to do as He would do, and be as He would be, and He has asked me to give to anyone who asks, then I am also right to conclude that He too will "give to everyone who asks"! For God will not ask me to do something that He has is not willing to do Himself. He leads by example, for Hebrews says that He is both the Author and Perfecter of our faith. That means that He wrote it and then fulfilled it so that we would have an example to follow after.
Now my heart was excited as I began to grow in my knowledge of the Holy. A revelation found within the very commands of Scripture. So what else could I learn about God through looking at His commands?
Obviously, the command "give to everyone who asks" is a little easier to make connect with God's heart because we have other Scriptures that explicitly declare the same aspect of His nature. Matthew 7:7-12, 21:22, and 1 John 3:22 all tell us that God will give to those who ask. But what about the other commands? Does the same hold true for them as well? The answer to that question is a resounding "YES"! It is true of all of God's precepts; anything that God asks us to do has within itself the promise that He will do, and has already done, the very same thing for us (only to it's perfection). In fact, after teaching us in Matthew 7 to "ask, seek and knock", Jesus concludes His excerpt on the art of giving to everyone who asks by saying these words:
"So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets."
If 'do unto others' is how Jesus concludes His teaching regarding how the Father will respond to those who ask, and we know that we too are to give to those who ask. What should we conclude about His statement that this very principle sums up the Law and the Prophets? What does that tell us about God's heart as revealed through the Law?
So I began to ask myself the question. What does it look like to read the Law through the lens of that principle of doing unto others? If He only asks me to do what He does, and He declares that it sums up the Law, then what will He do for me through my obedience to His commands?
I took a few moments to meditate on some well known commands written in the Law of Moses, focusing on God's aspect of the command - His promised response attached to my obedience, and what it reveals about His nature. I also took some time to search out and attach other Scriptural references to ensure that I was not merely making up my own revelation, but that it actually agreed with the revelation given to us by the Prophets and most importantly, Jesus.
Here are my meditations:
"You shall have no other God before Me":...if you will depend upon Me alone, then I will be your entire Source and will supply all your needs in and of Myself. I know what you have need of before you ask. Pagans run after food and drink, but don't worry about it because you are no longer foreign to me. As you have chosen Me, so will I chose you as the object of My blessing. (Phil 4:19, Matt 12:29-31)
"You shall not commit adultery" : ...as you have chosen to be faithful to Me, so also will I be Faithful to you. I will never leave you nor forsake you. As a Bridegroom marries His bride, so will I marry you and be faithful to you forever, for I will put an end to death and then nothing shall separate our love, both now and forever! (Romans 8:38-39, Isaiah 62:5, 1 Corinthians 15:26, Rev 19:9)
"You shall not steal": ...do not take what is not yours, and in return, I too covenant that I will not violate your free will by taking anything of your own that has not been freely given to Me, including your transgressions! (Matt 11:28, Matt 6:12, 1 John 1:9, Exodus 34:7, Deut 7:10)
Those are just a few examples that I chose to meditate upon while writing this post, but the Bible is full of these promises (because it is full of God's commands!) So the next time you come across a command, why not take some time and ask Holy Spirit to reveal to you the glory of His promises hidden within each of His commands. His commands were never meant to be burdensome, but are the means by which we enter into His rest, while demonstrating our love towards Him. Yet even more amazingly, they are the means by which He chooses to lavish His blessing upon those who have ears to hear and who hunger and thirst after His righteousness.
I hope you enjoyed this as much as I did. I pray that you have a great day of revelation as you gaze upon Jesus through the lens of God's perfect law!
Blessings,
Jon
"The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul.
The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple.
The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart.
The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes." - Psalm 19:7-8
For these two bear witness to the righteousness of Jesus - the Law and the Prophets. And do not suppose that He came to throw down the law or the prophets - He did not come to throw down, but to fulfill them. For we have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote - Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph. (Romans 3:21, Matt 5:17, John 1:45)
Saturday, 4 September 2010
Christian Fundraisers Part II
I received a "spirited" comment from someone regarding my recent post "Christian Fundraisers" and unfortunately, in my haste, deleted the comment from record. I wish I had not done so, as it raised some important clarifications regarding finances and the Kingdom.
So, this is a response letter to Anonymous. I hope you take the time to read it:
Dear Anonymous,
Thank you for your comment. I would like to start by apologizing for my abbreviated post in which I only communicated on one aspect of Christian Fundraisers. The truth of the matter is that us "IHOPer's" have a great appreciation for those who "work hard" and are a "blessing" through gifts of finance. You are the reason that missionary exploits, including those of the International House of Prayer, are carried out around the globe and the gospel is being preached to all nations. Thank You!
In the book of Nehemiah we see an excellent example of the need for people such as yourself. After being in captivity, Jewish exiles returned to Jerusalem and rebuilt the Temple, and demonstrated the partnership between those who "work hard" and the "lazy farts" who are called to minister before the Lord.
"So in the days of Zerubbabel and of Nehemiah, all Israel contributed the daily portions for the singers and gatekeepers. They also set aside the portion for the other Levites, and the Levites set aside the portion for the descendants of Aaron." - Nehemiah 12:47 (NIV)
The entire country was funding the House of Prayer! However, we see that partnership soon fell apart and Nehemiah once again had to bring reformation back to Israel:
The Scriptures tell us that God's precepts are perfect, good for reviving the soul, rejoicing the heart and bringing light to the eyes. (Psalm 19) And conversely, our own interpretations of His precepts open the door to sin, which is crouching at our door waiting to destroy us. (Genesis 4:7, 1 Peter 5:8).
And so we must be clear - raising money is not a sin and praying is not laziness - disobedience is sin! Therefore, if God has asked me to do one thing, and I determine to do another; no matter how good, noble and right it may appear, I have committed rebellion against God. I have gone the way of Cain and murder is crouching at my door.
One well understood teaching of Scripture is in regards to the poor; we are to take up an offering and distribute the money for their benefit. For us to merely wish them well and pray for their needs, when we have the means of feeding and clothing their naked bodies demonstrates that we have not been made perfect in love (read James 2). Likewise, we have a clear command on what to do with our sick. (James 5) If we have someone who is sick among us and we do not call the elders to pray and anoint this person with oil, then we too have misappropriated God's commands.
Or beloved James has a wealth of teaching for us, and once again brings it into perspective when he declared: "Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn’t do it, sins." - James 4:17.
It is our knowledge of God's will that makes us responsible for doing God's will, and doing it in it's appropriate context. For as my wife would say "Doing the right thing at the wrong time is still the wrong thing!". We must be diligent in never misappropriating God's commands, interchanging one directive for another. We are to continuously be listening to His voice, trusting and obeying the One who is both the Author and perfecter of our faith.
In closing, I would like to apologize for not esteeming in my previous post those who faithfully give money for the Kingdom. You are a blessing to us all. May prayer is that we will both grow in our understanding of what is pleasing and acceptable in the eyes of our Lord, so that when He soon returns we may be found faithful. Bless you in your giving and my desire is that you will be able to bless me in my prayers.
Sincerely,
Jon Loeppky
So, this is a response letter to Anonymous. I hope you take the time to read it:
Dear Anonymous,
Thank you for your comment. I would like to start by apologizing for my abbreviated post in which I only communicated on one aspect of Christian Fundraisers. The truth of the matter is that us "IHOPer's" have a great appreciation for those who "work hard" and are a "blessing" through gifts of finance. You are the reason that missionary exploits, including those of the International House of Prayer, are carried out around the globe and the gospel is being preached to all nations. Thank You!
In the book of Nehemiah we see an excellent example of the need for people such as yourself. After being in captivity, Jewish exiles returned to Jerusalem and rebuilt the Temple, and demonstrated the partnership between those who "work hard" and the "lazy farts" who are called to minister before the Lord.
"So in the days of Zerubbabel and of Nehemiah, all Israel contributed the daily portions for the singers and gatekeepers. They also set aside the portion for the other Levites, and the Levites set aside the portion for the descendants of Aaron." - Nehemiah 12:47 (NIV)
The entire country was funding the House of Prayer! However, we see that partnership soon fell apart and Nehemiah once again had to bring reformation back to Israel:
"...I was not in Jerusalem, for in the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes king of Babylon I had returned to the king. Some time later I asked his permission and came back to Jerusalem. Here I learned about the evil thing...I was greatly displeased and threw all Tobiah’s household goods out of the room. I gave orders to purify the rooms, and then I put back into them the equipment of the house of God, with the grain offerings and the incense. I also learned that the portions assigned to the Levites had not been given to them, and that all the Levites and singers responsible for the service had gone back to their own fields. So I rebuked the officials and asked them, “Why is the house of God neglected?” Then I called them together and stationed them at their posts. All Judah brought the tithes of grain, new wine and oil into the storerooms." - Nehemiah 13:6-12 (NIV)
The Family of God has always been asked to be one of many parts with different assignments. For some of us, that assignment is being in the place of night and day worship and intercession, and it is our joy! Others, perhaps yourself, have been asked to minister as laborers in the market place. It is your joy to bring finances into the storehouses for the purpose of funding God's work in the earth. That too is our joy!
Our Father has asked His children to bring to Him offerings of gold, silver and bronze for the purpose of funding His work in the earth, and I would be greatly amiss if I portrayed God as anything less then the "Divine Fundraiser". Today He continues to call us to raise money for the work of the Kingdom, including the modern day expression of the temple, the priests and many other mandates such as widows and orphans. It is His chosen method of sacrifice and we do well to agree with His statue, and that is my concern. Agreeing with what God has prescribed as His chosen means of demonstrating Himself.
We don't need to look far into human history to see that we have a disposition for adapting God's commands. In Genesis 3, Eve modified "You must not eat" into "...if we touch it we will die". That personal interpretation of God's expressed will was disastrous for all of us! Undoubtedly, Eve was just doing what she thought best by extending the bounds of God's command to further protect herself. It had the appearance of wisdom but it was a clear deviation from God's revealed will.
Not long after that we see the sins of the father being visited upon the children. Genesis 4 says this:
"In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the Lord. But Abel brought fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering, but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast. Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it.” Gensis 4:4-7 (NIV)
It is apparent in this passage that both Cain and Abel had knowledge of what the Lord had prescribed. We don't know exactly what that statute was but it is apparent from the Lord's response that Cain had not done as he was commanded. Cain was a farmer, and in his eyes the fruit of the soil would have held great value and pride. It was the fruit of his labor and would surely be equally as good as the fat of an animal. His actions demonstrate that he was bringing to God what he thought would be pleasing, otherwise he would not have been downcast by the Lord not looking favorably upon it. Cain did what he thought was best and that made a way for him to enter into great sin, he killed his brother by agreeing to participate with the spirit of murder.
My concern for us today is that we have once again gone the way of Cain and misappropriated God's command in regards to dealing with the sick. God gave us a specific directive when it comes to how we should deal with those who are sick among us:
"Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven." - James 5:14 (NIV)
And so we must be clear - raising money is not a sin and praying is not laziness - disobedience is sin! Therefore, if God has asked me to do one thing, and I determine to do another; no matter how good, noble and right it may appear, I have committed rebellion against God. I have gone the way of Cain and murder is crouching at my door.
One well understood teaching of Scripture is in regards to the poor; we are to take up an offering and distribute the money for their benefit. For us to merely wish them well and pray for their needs, when we have the means of feeding and clothing their naked bodies demonstrates that we have not been made perfect in love (read James 2). Likewise, we have a clear command on what to do with our sick. (James 5) If we have someone who is sick among us and we do not call the elders to pray and anoint this person with oil, then we too have misappropriated God's commands.
Or beloved James has a wealth of teaching for us, and once again brings it into perspective when he declared: "Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn’t do it, sins." - James 4:17.
It is our knowledge of God's will that makes us responsible for doing God's will, and doing it in it's appropriate context. For as my wife would say "Doing the right thing at the wrong time is still the wrong thing!". We must be diligent in never misappropriating God's commands, interchanging one directive for another. We are to continuously be listening to His voice, trusting and obeying the One who is both the Author and perfecter of our faith.
In closing, I would like to apologize for not esteeming in my previous post those who faithfully give money for the Kingdom. You are a blessing to us all. May prayer is that we will both grow in our understanding of what is pleasing and acceptable in the eyes of our Lord, so that when He soon returns we may be found faithful. Bless you in your giving and my desire is that you will be able to bless me in my prayers.
Sincerely,
Jon Loeppky
Saturday, 28 August 2010
Christian Fundraisers and the Lack of Prayer
This will not be a long post, I just need to as the saying goes "get something off of my chest"...
I have been tweaked recently by well meaning, sincere Christians who want me to help them raise money for someone in their congregation who needs medical treatment for some kind of ailment that doctors can't resolve. The hope is that by raising enough money they can send this poor tormented soul half-way around the globe to receive cutting edge medical treatments that will save them from all of their pain and sorrow.
My issue is not with receiving medical treatment. (I will leave that discussion for another day). My issue is with the notion of putting our hope in something other then the Gospel which Jesus demonstrated.
When's the last time you heard of a church advertising that they were hosting a community wide prayer meeting (and perhaps a corporate fast) for the express purpose of experiencing breakthrough in the area of physical healing? How many times in your life have you been asked to come over and anoint someone with oil, and pray for them that they might get well?
James tells us that this is what we should do, and that the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well. Jesus commanded that we go out and preach the Gospel, which includes healing the sick, driving out demons and raising the dead! God is a healer and He never changes. If the prayer offered in faith makes the sick person well, then are we saying that not one person in our church, or surrounding community of faith has enough faith to make a single sick person well? That is what our actions declare, and James also says that our actions are the demonstration of our true measure of faith. "I will show you my faith by what I do".
So, what are we doing? We are hosting fundraisers instead of prayer meetings! Our actions condemn us!!
We have taken on a false gospel which says that raising money takes just as much faith as praying for healing. This is what I need to get off of my chest. I declare this to both the seen and unseen realms. To those who believe and those who doubt. This is my confession:
Jesus heals! It is an abomination to His Name that we not rely upon Him for our deliverance and healing by anointing the sick with oil and praying for their recovery. Isaiah declared that Jesus would bare the shame of dying on a cross for the express purpose of healing ALL of our diseases. How dare we disregard such a gift and turn aside to trusting in human wisdom and ability. Christ is our only hope and salvation. He is the one who heals all of our diseases.
Jesus, on behalf of my sin and the sins of your people I repent for our lack of faith and trust in Your word.
Healing experienced through prayer is not a theology, it is the reality of Heaven, a reality which Jesus taught us to bring to earth through prayer. "Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven."
We must believe the entire revelation of Scripture, not just the part about the forgiveness of sins.
Thanks, my chest feels better.
I have been tweaked recently by well meaning, sincere Christians who want me to help them raise money for someone in their congregation who needs medical treatment for some kind of ailment that doctors can't resolve. The hope is that by raising enough money they can send this poor tormented soul half-way around the globe to receive cutting edge medical treatments that will save them from all of their pain and sorrow.
My issue is not with receiving medical treatment. (I will leave that discussion for another day). My issue is with the notion of putting our hope in something other then the Gospel which Jesus demonstrated.
When's the last time you heard of a church advertising that they were hosting a community wide prayer meeting (and perhaps a corporate fast) for the express purpose of experiencing breakthrough in the area of physical healing? How many times in your life have you been asked to come over and anoint someone with oil, and pray for them that they might get well?
James tells us that this is what we should do, and that the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well. Jesus commanded that we go out and preach the Gospel, which includes healing the sick, driving out demons and raising the dead! God is a healer and He never changes. If the prayer offered in faith makes the sick person well, then are we saying that not one person in our church, or surrounding community of faith has enough faith to make a single sick person well? That is what our actions declare, and James also says that our actions are the demonstration of our true measure of faith. "I will show you my faith by what I do".
So, what are we doing? We are hosting fundraisers instead of prayer meetings! Our actions condemn us!!
We have taken on a false gospel which says that raising money takes just as much faith as praying for healing. This is what I need to get off of my chest. I declare this to both the seen and unseen realms. To those who believe and those who doubt. This is my confession:
Jesus heals! It is an abomination to His Name that we not rely upon Him for our deliverance and healing by anointing the sick with oil and praying for their recovery. Isaiah declared that Jesus would bare the shame of dying on a cross for the express purpose of healing ALL of our diseases. How dare we disregard such a gift and turn aside to trusting in human wisdom and ability. Christ is our only hope and salvation. He is the one who heals all of our diseases.
Jesus, on behalf of my sin and the sins of your people I repent for our lack of faith and trust in Your word.
Healing experienced through prayer is not a theology, it is the reality of Heaven, a reality which Jesus taught us to bring to earth through prayer. "Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven."
We must believe the entire revelation of Scripture, not just the part about the forgiveness of sins.
Thanks, my chest feels better.
Friday, 13 August 2010
Love IS...
"Love is not an emotion, it's a choice" - Dan In Real Life
The other day someone quoted this statement to me and it really tweaked my spirit (but not in a good way). I was provoked with what I can only describe as a Holy jealousy for God's good name.
The idea that love is simply an act of the will and can exist without emotion is, I believe, an incomplete and immature understanding of love.
Now I know what some of you are thinking. "That's not what he meant! He meant that love is not birthed nor ruled by our emotions because our emotions can lie to us, deceive us and lead us astray. Love always loves, no matter what one is feeling."
This may be true, but I would suggest that we may be confusing three different things. Three different kingdoms, with three different Kings. The kingdoms of lust, law and love.
The Kingdom of Lust exists where emotions rule and reign. Intellect and the Holy Spirit are overruled by passions and desires of the soul and body to "feel" good. It is typified by the statement "if it feels good do it".
The second Kingdom, the Kingdom of Law, can be found where human will and intellect are perceived as King. This kingdom is not motivated by emotional outcomes and often takes solace in the presence of hardship for the sake of doing the "right thing". Where this king is present you will find deep rooted religion and legalism. It may understand the mission of love, but it has little or no revelation of the heart behind the mission.
Finally, there is the Kingdom of Love. A kingdom in which all things come under the rule and reign of the Holy Spirit, including His Desires, His Will and His Emotions. It is found where Jesus has been crowned King over the lives of normal human beings like you and I, and can be summed up in the statement "I know longer live, but Christ lives in me". It encompasses more then emotions or will, it is a place where love influences all aspects of our existence (body, mind, soul and spirit).
Therefore, we must restrain from defining "love" solely by emotion or willful response. Love is bigger then that. Love is what happens when the human heart, soul, mind and body all encounter the One True God. A God who is Loving, Wise and Affectionate. Through our relating to that God, or relationship, the Holy Spirit then produces love within you and I. For you see, love is a fruit of the Spirit, and can therefore only be produced by the Spirit of God.
But let us back-track a bit and look at what, and who, defines "love"?
1 John says that "God is (the definition of) love", and therefore His whole nature is what gives us our context for understanding His attribute of Love. Therefore, to ascribe that love can exist simply by the power of our own free will would mean that we would have to ascend to the belief that God is without emotion. It is to say that God is stoic, emotionless and of no affection.
However, we know this to be untrue, for the writer of Colossians states that God is motivated by pleasure/emotions. "It was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him..." 1 Colossians 1:19-20 (NASB).
But what about the "Love Chapter", 1 Corinthians 13? Is it not void of emotion and largely descriptive of choices?
When describing the greatest of all things, Paul, under the direction of Holy Spirit, used the Greek word "agape" to define the attribute of love. Agape, which we translate as "love/charity" is rightly understood as "affection", and Websters defines "affection" as being 'a moderate feeling or emotion' .
True love, as understood as "having the attribute of God", must be understood as being fully emotional! To say otherwise is to say that Gods love, and therefore His nature, can be expressed independently of His other attributes by a mere act of the intellect and will. It is to separate the attribute of His love from the expressions of His emotions; like the fact that His city is glad, in His presence is the fullness of joy, His eyes are a flame of fire (passion), His name is Jealous and He authored the vividly passionate Song of Songs!
God is a God who dwells amidst the full range of emotions, and He is motivated by experiencing pleasing emotions. I believe no other verse expresses His pleasure motivated personality like Hebrews 12:2 "....Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross...(NIV)"
God is motivated by affection, and our love, when mature, will also be affectionate. To say that we have love and remain without emotional affection means that we are either immature in our development as children of God, or, we are by human striving counterfeiting the Divine attribute - we are man-ufacturing our own form of love - making it in our own likeness and image.
God is love and all love comes from God and through God in the form of His Son and Spirit. Therefore, any expression that we deem as "love" that is void of affectionate emotion is misrepresenting the nature of God. In fact, any expression of love that does not uphold the attributes of God is a false-love, and the implications of that requirement within our present cultural definitions of "love" are far reaching.
This is not to say that all those who lack emotional affection are functioning apart from God; but it is to say that our love is incomplete. We must be diligent in reminding ourselves of the full nature of God's love, and continue to pursue the manifestation of His perfect love - love that is full of emotion.
Paul writes about this perfection in maturity in Philippians 3:12 saying: "Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect (mature), but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me." (emphasis added).
And why did Christ take hold of it? For Joy!
For God so loved the world that for the joy set before Him He endured the cross. Many of us know what Christ did on the cross, but we must also identify with why He did it. He did it for love - a love that was motivated by the emotion of joy.
True! Love is not merely an emotion; it is the very fountain of all pleasure by which God's perfect and pleasing will flows into both heaven and earth.
Never before has it been more important for His children to stand up and honor love and the name of the Lord, defending His true nature as the affectionate God of all love, joy and good pleasure.
Let us move beyond choice and enter into the affections of Christ and our glorious inheritance in Him.
Blessings,
Jon
The other day someone quoted this statement to me and it really tweaked my spirit (but not in a good way). I was provoked with what I can only describe as a Holy jealousy for God's good name.
The idea that love is simply an act of the will and can exist without emotion is, I believe, an incomplete and immature understanding of love.
Now I know what some of you are thinking. "That's not what he meant! He meant that love is not birthed nor ruled by our emotions because our emotions can lie to us, deceive us and lead us astray. Love always loves, no matter what one is feeling."
This may be true, but I would suggest that we may be confusing three different things. Three different kingdoms, with three different Kings. The kingdoms of lust, law and love.
The Kingdom of Lust exists where emotions rule and reign. Intellect and the Holy Spirit are overruled by passions and desires of the soul and body to "feel" good. It is typified by the statement "if it feels good do it".
The second Kingdom, the Kingdom of Law, can be found where human will and intellect are perceived as King. This kingdom is not motivated by emotional outcomes and often takes solace in the presence of hardship for the sake of doing the "right thing". Where this king is present you will find deep rooted religion and legalism. It may understand the mission of love, but it has little or no revelation of the heart behind the mission.
Finally, there is the Kingdom of Love. A kingdom in which all things come under the rule and reign of the Holy Spirit, including His Desires, His Will and His Emotions. It is found where Jesus has been crowned King over the lives of normal human beings like you and I, and can be summed up in the statement "I know longer live, but Christ lives in me". It encompasses more then emotions or will, it is a place where love influences all aspects of our existence (body, mind, soul and spirit).
Therefore, we must restrain from defining "love" solely by emotion or willful response. Love is bigger then that. Love is what happens when the human heart, soul, mind and body all encounter the One True God. A God who is Loving, Wise and Affectionate. Through our relating to that God, or relationship, the Holy Spirit then produces love within you and I. For you see, love is a fruit of the Spirit, and can therefore only be produced by the Spirit of God.
But let us back-track a bit and look at what, and who, defines "love"?
1 John says that "God is (the definition of) love", and therefore His whole nature is what gives us our context for understanding His attribute of Love. Therefore, to ascribe that love can exist simply by the power of our own free will would mean that we would have to ascend to the belief that God is without emotion. It is to say that God is stoic, emotionless and of no affection.
However, we know this to be untrue, for the writer of Colossians states that God is motivated by pleasure/emotions. "It was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him..." 1 Colossians 1:19-20 (NASB).
But what about the "Love Chapter", 1 Corinthians 13? Is it not void of emotion and largely descriptive of choices?
When describing the greatest of all things, Paul, under the direction of Holy Spirit, used the Greek word "agape" to define the attribute of love. Agape, which we translate as "love/charity" is rightly understood as "affection", and Websters defines "affection" as being 'a moderate feeling or emotion' .
True love, as understood as "having the attribute of God", must be understood as being fully emotional! To say otherwise is to say that Gods love, and therefore His nature, can be expressed independently of His other attributes by a mere act of the intellect and will. It is to separate the attribute of His love from the expressions of His emotions; like the fact that His city is glad, in His presence is the fullness of joy, His eyes are a flame of fire (passion), His name is Jealous and He authored the vividly passionate Song of Songs!
God is a God who dwells amidst the full range of emotions, and He is motivated by experiencing pleasing emotions. I believe no other verse expresses His pleasure motivated personality like Hebrews 12:2 "....Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross...(NIV)"
God is motivated by affection, and our love, when mature, will also be affectionate. To say that we have love and remain without emotional affection means that we are either immature in our development as children of God, or, we are by human striving counterfeiting the Divine attribute - we are man-ufacturing our own form of love - making it in our own likeness and image.
God is love and all love comes from God and through God in the form of His Son and Spirit. Therefore, any expression that we deem as "love" that is void of affectionate emotion is misrepresenting the nature of God. In fact, any expression of love that does not uphold the attributes of God is a false-love, and the implications of that requirement within our present cultural definitions of "love" are far reaching.
This is not to say that all those who lack emotional affection are functioning apart from God; but it is to say that our love is incomplete. We must be diligent in reminding ourselves of the full nature of God's love, and continue to pursue the manifestation of His perfect love - love that is full of emotion.
Paul writes about this perfection in maturity in Philippians 3:12 saying: "Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect (mature), but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me." (emphasis added).
And why did Christ take hold of it? For Joy!
For God so loved the world that for the joy set before Him He endured the cross. Many of us know what Christ did on the cross, but we must also identify with why He did it. He did it for love - a love that was motivated by the emotion of joy.
True! Love is not merely an emotion; it is the very fountain of all pleasure by which God's perfect and pleasing will flows into both heaven and earth.
Never before has it been more important for His children to stand up and honor love and the name of the Lord, defending His true nature as the affectionate God of all love, joy and good pleasure.
Let us move beyond choice and enter into the affections of Christ and our glorious inheritance in Him.
Blessings,
Jon
Saturday, 3 July 2010
The Bride Forsaking Her Father's House
"Listen, O daughter, consider and give ear: Forget your people and your father’s house."
I was listening to Misty Edwards in the prayer room sing about the nature of love. She was giving a prophetic call to the Bride to die to herself, to give up her name, her fathers house and take upon herself the name and house of Jesus. To die to her old family and be grafted into His.
As I listened to this call I was struck by the stark contrast between the Word of God and the spirit of this present age. Among today's woman, even christian woman, we see a fight to retain their names, family association and former identities upon entering into the covenant of marriage. The world demands that she hold on to who she was, while heaven invites her to "forget your father's house".
The evidence of this shift can be seen throughout the Mennonite community that we live in where many younger woman have forsaken their husbands family name, reclaimed their maiden name or adopted a hyphenated variation of the two.
What a contrast to this culture 30 years ago. I remember growing up in a community where I often heard older woman referred to as "Mrs. Bill Reimer", or "Mrs. George Penner". It was not a degrading thing for them to be associated with your husbands name. In fact, I always perceived it as a thing of honor. Perhaps it was because these men were of notable character and reputation, but I think it had more to do with the humility of these Godly wives.
I can't imagine the offense that would be incurred today's "liberated" woman if they were to be associated merely by their husbands name! It would cause an absolute outrage, if not externally, most assuredly internally. And yet, as followers of Jesus, is this not the way that we have been shown? Is this not exactly how God intended to display His glory?
God created marriage to display His nature, His glory! He is relationship. He is submissive to Himself. He honors Himself. He is fruitful and is set on having many children. Each partner, both male and female, manifest various aspects of God's nature in the earth. This is the way God designed it, and it is Good!
The identity of a wife is more then just being legally bound to a husband; she is a shadow, a copy, a picture of the divine relationship that Jesus has planned for those who love Him. Wives have the distinct honor of displaying God's desire for us. She re-presents His Beloved to the earth in how she interacts with her earthly husband. This is the glory that she has been created to display - the glory of Christ, the humble King, who made Himself of no reputation and submitted Himself to the will of His Father.
But this is more then just for wives! This is the invitation to all humanity, the call to forsake your former life, dying to it, and uniting yourself to your Husband, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords! Just as Christ died to Himself for our sake, He has now called His bride to die to herself, to leave her fathers house and unite herself to Him - taking on His identity, His leadership, His name and to forsake her former father and mother. Who are our father and mother? Adam and Eve, who bore us into sin and death.
This is the glory of which wives are to testify to! The glorious message of a Husband who gave up Himself to redeem her from Death. And so, when we see woman struggling to cling to their earthly father's name and their maiden identity, they are unknowingly prophesying a message of compromise and half-hearted commitment to Jesus. It is as though they have given themselves to Christ, but do not want to give up the benefits of their father's house.
This is what the nation of Israel has struggled with for thousands of years, being set apart and wholly devoted to the One True God. Is it any wonder that God started the Law with the commandment, you shall have no other God's besides Me! He was declaring that Israel was to have One Husband, One God - and in return, they would be His "one true love".
And then God goes on from there and declares, "Do not take My name in vain". Many of us have wrongly interpreted this as being about cursing, but it is so much more then that. God is declaring to His Beloved, "Do not say that you are going to be my wife (to take My name upon yourselves) and then not live as My wife." God wants a Bride who is going to be fully devoted to Him, forsaking all others and clinging to Him alone. When we take on the name of Christ, we are to be fully devoted to Him. In not doing so, the church has effectively mired the name of Christ in the earth, being largely known today as hypocrites. God is jealous for His name and does not want His bride to be dragging it through the mud, anymore then a husband wants to have his wife sleeping around as though she weren't married.
And so, we see in the first commandments, God's eternal commitment to us. In return, as part of the covenant, He asks that we commit ourselves to Him also; forsaking all other Gods, kingdoms and affections. We are to be satisfied by Him and Him alone. This is the testimony that wives have been commanded to declare! And it is the truth that Satan has desperately been trying to destroy from the very beginning! God's faithfulness to His Beloved made manifest by husband's and wives.
I believe that today's women are losing out on the divine blessing found in reflecting God's heart to the earth. Why? Because they have accepted a false teaching on what it means to be "equals". A teaching that robs them of the eternal blessing of manifesting God's nature through forsaking themselves and uniting themselves to their husband. A woman's decision to hold on to her former identity is about more then natural names, it is a prophetic picture of the church's struggle to become wholly surrendered to her Bridegroom.
Wives will always be a prophetic image of the Divine Love relationship between Christ and His Church. The question is, are we going to be the picture of obedience or rebellion? Are we going to forsake all others and enter into the promised inheritance, or drift back and forth between two houses, two Father's and two Kingdoms?
It is my earnest desire that Christ would restore to woman the joy of being a divine reflection of the Bride - a picture of His surrender, humility and glory. How can this happen? I believe it will begin when husband's encounter the revelation of Christ as a cherishing Husband, wholly devoted to the one He describes as "dark yet lovely" and "all together beautiful". When husbands love their wives as Christ loves us, then our wives will be freed from the fear of total surrender.
We have a long way to go, but God will be faithful to complete what He has started! And He started marriage right from the very beginning. Marriage is both the first and last picture of His nature manifested through humanity in this age, and I have great confidence that He will restore it to it's predetermined glory in the days to come.
If you are a wife; may God bless you with the joy of being fully surrendered.
If you are a husband; may God bless you with the grace to be a cherishing servant.
This is His glory in us.
"Listen, O daughter, consider and give ear: Forget your people and your father’s house.
The king is enthralled by your beauty; honor him, for he is your lord."
-
Jon
I was listening to Misty Edwards in the prayer room sing about the nature of love. She was giving a prophetic call to the Bride to die to herself, to give up her name, her fathers house and take upon herself the name and house of Jesus. To die to her old family and be grafted into His.
As I listened to this call I was struck by the stark contrast between the Word of God and the spirit of this present age. Among today's woman, even christian woman, we see a fight to retain their names, family association and former identities upon entering into the covenant of marriage. The world demands that she hold on to who she was, while heaven invites her to "forget your father's house".
The evidence of this shift can be seen throughout the Mennonite community that we live in where many younger woman have forsaken their husbands family name, reclaimed their maiden name or adopted a hyphenated variation of the two.
What a contrast to this culture 30 years ago. I remember growing up in a community where I often heard older woman referred to as "Mrs. Bill Reimer", or "Mrs. George Penner". It was not a degrading thing for them to be associated with your husbands name. In fact, I always perceived it as a thing of honor. Perhaps it was because these men were of notable character and reputation, but I think it had more to do with the humility of these Godly wives.
I can't imagine the offense that would be incurred today's "liberated" woman if they were to be associated merely by their husbands name! It would cause an absolute outrage, if not externally, most assuredly internally. And yet, as followers of Jesus, is this not the way that we have been shown? Is this not exactly how God intended to display His glory?
God created marriage to display His nature, His glory! He is relationship. He is submissive to Himself. He honors Himself. He is fruitful and is set on having many children. Each partner, both male and female, manifest various aspects of God's nature in the earth. This is the way God designed it, and it is Good!
The identity of a wife is more then just being legally bound to a husband; she is a shadow, a copy, a picture of the divine relationship that Jesus has planned for those who love Him. Wives have the distinct honor of displaying God's desire for us. She re-presents His Beloved to the earth in how she interacts with her earthly husband. This is the glory that she has been created to display - the glory of Christ, the humble King, who made Himself of no reputation and submitted Himself to the will of His Father.
But this is more then just for wives! This is the invitation to all humanity, the call to forsake your former life, dying to it, and uniting yourself to your Husband, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords! Just as Christ died to Himself for our sake, He has now called His bride to die to herself, to leave her fathers house and unite herself to Him - taking on His identity, His leadership, His name and to forsake her former father and mother. Who are our father and mother? Adam and Eve, who bore us into sin and death.
This is the glory of which wives are to testify to! The glorious message of a Husband who gave up Himself to redeem her from Death. And so, when we see woman struggling to cling to their earthly father's name and their maiden identity, they are unknowingly prophesying a message of compromise and half-hearted commitment to Jesus. It is as though they have given themselves to Christ, but do not want to give up the benefits of their father's house.
This is what the nation of Israel has struggled with for thousands of years, being set apart and wholly devoted to the One True God. Is it any wonder that God started the Law with the commandment, you shall have no other God's besides Me! He was declaring that Israel was to have One Husband, One God - and in return, they would be His "one true love".
And then God goes on from there and declares, "Do not take My name in vain". Many of us have wrongly interpreted this as being about cursing, but it is so much more then that. God is declaring to His Beloved, "Do not say that you are going to be my wife (to take My name upon yourselves) and then not live as My wife." God wants a Bride who is going to be fully devoted to Him, forsaking all others and clinging to Him alone. When we take on the name of Christ, we are to be fully devoted to Him. In not doing so, the church has effectively mired the name of Christ in the earth, being largely known today as hypocrites. God is jealous for His name and does not want His bride to be dragging it through the mud, anymore then a husband wants to have his wife sleeping around as though she weren't married.
And so, we see in the first commandments, God's eternal commitment to us. In return, as part of the covenant, He asks that we commit ourselves to Him also; forsaking all other Gods, kingdoms and affections. We are to be satisfied by Him and Him alone. This is the testimony that wives have been commanded to declare! And it is the truth that Satan has desperately been trying to destroy from the very beginning! God's faithfulness to His Beloved made manifest by husband's and wives.
I believe that today's women are losing out on the divine blessing found in reflecting God's heart to the earth. Why? Because they have accepted a false teaching on what it means to be "equals". A teaching that robs them of the eternal blessing of manifesting God's nature through forsaking themselves and uniting themselves to their husband. A woman's decision to hold on to her former identity is about more then natural names, it is a prophetic picture of the church's struggle to become wholly surrendered to her Bridegroom.
Wives will always be a prophetic image of the Divine Love relationship between Christ and His Church. The question is, are we going to be the picture of obedience or rebellion? Are we going to forsake all others and enter into the promised inheritance, or drift back and forth between two houses, two Father's and two Kingdoms?
It is my earnest desire that Christ would restore to woman the joy of being a divine reflection of the Bride - a picture of His surrender, humility and glory. How can this happen? I believe it will begin when husband's encounter the revelation of Christ as a cherishing Husband, wholly devoted to the one He describes as "dark yet lovely" and "all together beautiful". When husbands love their wives as Christ loves us, then our wives will be freed from the fear of total surrender.
We have a long way to go, but God will be faithful to complete what He has started! And He started marriage right from the very beginning. Marriage is both the first and last picture of His nature manifested through humanity in this age, and I have great confidence that He will restore it to it's predetermined glory in the days to come.
If you are a wife; may God bless you with the joy of being fully surrendered.
If you are a husband; may God bless you with the grace to be a cherishing servant.
This is His glory in us.
"Listen, O daughter, consider and give ear: Forget your people and your father’s house.
The king is enthralled by your beauty; honor him, for he is your lord."
-
Jon
Wednesday, 23 June 2010
Do You Really Want My Glory To Come?
"Lord, Show us your Glory! Pour our Your Spirit on your sons and daughters!"
If you have been around the prayer movement any length of time or are interested in revival, spiritual break through or evangelism you have probably prayed a prayer similar to the one above. They are simple words, that when answered, have the power to transform entire cities, regions and nations. But have we ever stopped to consider what we are actually asking for?
The other night during a regional prayer meeting as we began praying this prayer, God suddenly responded to our intercession in an unexpected way. How did He respond? He asked us a question:
"Do you really want My Glory to come?"
The immediate answer in our hearts was "Yes, of course we want Your glory to come!!". We want to see our region impacted with a revelation of Jesus. We want to see people healed, power on the preaching of the word, breakthroughs in evangelism and experiencing really awesome times of worship! Yes Lord, we want Your Glory to come!
He continued to ask the question.
"Do you really want My Glory to come?"
"Do you really want My Glory to come?"
"Everything's going to change! Everything's going to change!"
"Do you really want My Glory to come?"
As the question kept being repeated, the reality of what we were asking for began to sink into my heart and I realized that it was so much greater then I had every truly considered.
I began to realize that my idea of His Glory coming largely entailed what my friend Brian describes as "Church on Steroids". It's essentially Church exactly the way we know it now, except for the fact that the worship time is now totally awesome, the message finally rocks and when we pray for people at the end of the service we actually experience some sort of Holy Spirit manifestation (even if they don't get healed, delivered or transformed).
The problem with that picture is this; it assumes that everything we are doing right now is totally sanctified and submitted to the leading of the Holy Spirit. It assumes that our lives, programs and methods of doing church are perfect and all that we lack is a bit of Holy Spirit power to take them over the top! It says to the heavenly hosts; "We're all good! We just need a bit of energy on this thing!!".
But what will really happen when God pours out His Spirit upon us? Will it simply make everything we're already doing a lot more enjoyable? Or is there something that we are missing?
The more I pondered this question, the more I began to see things differently. The more I realized that everything would change. Not merely because God is itching to do something "new", but because His presence would require that everything change! For God is Holy and in Him there is no darkness at all! (1 John 1:5). That means that everything that is now contaminated by compromise would need to experience instant and radical purification in order for it to remain, or else it would come to it's ultimate demise!
Oh, How we dream of living in the "Acts 2 Reality"! We want the buildings to shake! We want to see tongues of fire!! We want to experience the thrill of seeing thousands saved in a day!!! We want to walk down the street and have the lame healed by the passing of our shadow!(Acts 19)
But what about the ramifications of such encounters?
What about the dramatic increase in the need for radical holiness? "Be Holy for I am Holy". God is Holy, and where His presence dwells there is nothing but holiness. Consider the story of Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5), who fell to the ground dead because they told a single lie! That too is the Acts 2 reality!! God's presence always produces radical holiness (whether we want it or not). Are we ready to encounter such holiness? Are we ready to lose all of the things that we currently cherish which God considers items of compromise?
You see, right now we don't feel a lot of urgency in the area of holiness, but when His Glory comes, those days of saying "It's a process" and being slow to obey will go by the wayside. His Glory will come and will demand that anything that will remain in His presence be Holy.
And what about other Acts 2 Realities?
Who is going to baptize the 3,000 new converts that come into the Kingdom in a day? Based upon the way we do baptism now, with pre-baptism classes, public testimonies and submersing each candidate individually (in front of their friends and family), that process alone would take well over 13 DAYS to complete! By the time we would be finished baptizing the converts from the first day of God's presence being poured out we could potentially have a backlog of 39,000 people waiting to be baptized!
But wait, there's more!
Who's going to do the ongoing discipleship required of these new converts? Who will train them up in the basic understanding of the Word, prayer, communion, confession, repentance and the gifts of the Holy Spirit? We could easily see 250 small groups be formed within a single day. We can't expect our Pastors to handle such a workload. So that means you and I will have to become teachers, preachers and bible study leaders overnight. And don't kid yourself, you're not going to be walking them through the latest best-selling Bible study manual bought through your local Bible Bookshop. It will most likely be you, a bible and two dozen hungry new believers crammed into your living room - no worksheets, lots of questions and plenty of spiritual activity (both Good and Evil).
Paul, before he left on one of his missionary journeys led a bible study that lasted all night (and was broken up in the middle because someone needed to be raised from the dead after falling asleep (Acts 20). Are we ready for that to aspect of His Glory coming?
And what about this spiritual warfare? What about healing, deliverance and miracles? Who is going to do the prayer ministry for all of the sick people who are suddenly lining up outside of our churches, homes and places of employment? It won't just happen in a flash, it will most likely take real people praying for other real people. I'm sure the Lord will provide angelic messengers and supernatural encounters, but we will still be the main graceforce in this outpouring.
And what about when our long day of ministering is done? Am I prepared for my neighbor to show up at 3 am with his sick daughter because he heard that when I pray for people Jesus comes with power to heal?
Who's going to dispose of all of the unneeded medical equipment? The drugs and corresponding paraphernalia? How about the mountains of pornographic magazines, DVD's, alcohol and other substances that start piling up outside of our homes, churches and stadiums?
And then the persecution will come! The enemy will begin to openly hate us (Matt 24:9), stirring up the hearts of wicked men against those who profess the name of Jesus. We will be put in prison (Acts 12). We will be beaten (Acts 16). We will have people attempt to kill us (Acts 21), and sometimes they will succeed (Acts 7).
These are all part of what happens when God's Glory comes upon His people with power! This is included in the fullness of the Acts 2 reality. This is what we are really praying for!
Rest assures, there will also be much rejoicing! It will be a time of great joy, celebration and pleasure as we experience a foretaste of what it will be like when Jesus rules the earth from Jerusalem. Yes, we will have exceedingly great revelation of the beauty and majesty of our Lord Jesus Christ, and His name will begin to receive the glory that it is due! True worship will be in abundance as the glory of the Lord is revealed on the earth.
What I have envisioned here is merely a glimpse of what will happen when the Lord pours out His Spirit upon us and a more complete picture of what we have actually been asking God to do. So let us not be shortsighted in what we are asking. His Glory will do more than bring a bit of "fire" upon our regular weekly meetings. It will come like an all-consuming fire that purifies everything within His presence.
Will it cost us? Yes, but only the things we didn't really need.
Will it be worth it? Absolutely!
"So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal." - 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 (ESV)
So join with me, and many others, in lifting up this cry before our Father:
"Lord, let Your Glory fall upon us! Amen."
-
Jon
If you have been around the prayer movement any length of time or are interested in revival, spiritual break through or evangelism you have probably prayed a prayer similar to the one above. They are simple words, that when answered, have the power to transform entire cities, regions and nations. But have we ever stopped to consider what we are actually asking for?
The other night during a regional prayer meeting as we began praying this prayer, God suddenly responded to our intercession in an unexpected way. How did He respond? He asked us a question:
"Do you really want My Glory to come?"
The immediate answer in our hearts was "Yes, of course we want Your glory to come!!". We want to see our region impacted with a revelation of Jesus. We want to see people healed, power on the preaching of the word, breakthroughs in evangelism and experiencing really awesome times of worship! Yes Lord, we want Your Glory to come!
He continued to ask the question.
"Do you really want My Glory to come?"
"Do you really want My Glory to come?"
"Everything's going to change! Everything's going to change!"
"Do you really want My Glory to come?"
As the question kept being repeated, the reality of what we were asking for began to sink into my heart and I realized that it was so much greater then I had every truly considered.
I began to realize that my idea of His Glory coming largely entailed what my friend Brian describes as "Church on Steroids". It's essentially Church exactly the way we know it now, except for the fact that the worship time is now totally awesome, the message finally rocks and when we pray for people at the end of the service we actually experience some sort of Holy Spirit manifestation (even if they don't get healed, delivered or transformed).
The problem with that picture is this; it assumes that everything we are doing right now is totally sanctified and submitted to the leading of the Holy Spirit. It assumes that our lives, programs and methods of doing church are perfect and all that we lack is a bit of Holy Spirit power to take them over the top! It says to the heavenly hosts; "We're all good! We just need a bit of energy on this thing!!".
But what will really happen when God pours out His Spirit upon us? Will it simply make everything we're already doing a lot more enjoyable? Or is there something that we are missing?
The more I pondered this question, the more I began to see things differently. The more I realized that everything would change. Not merely because God is itching to do something "new", but because His presence would require that everything change! For God is Holy and in Him there is no darkness at all! (1 John 1:5). That means that everything that is now contaminated by compromise would need to experience instant and radical purification in order for it to remain, or else it would come to it's ultimate demise!
Oh, How we dream of living in the "Acts 2 Reality"! We want the buildings to shake! We want to see tongues of fire!! We want to experience the thrill of seeing thousands saved in a day!!! We want to walk down the street and have the lame healed by the passing of our shadow!(Acts 19)
But what about the ramifications of such encounters?
What about the dramatic increase in the need for radical holiness? "Be Holy for I am Holy". God is Holy, and where His presence dwells there is nothing but holiness. Consider the story of Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5), who fell to the ground dead because they told a single lie! That too is the Acts 2 reality!! God's presence always produces radical holiness (whether we want it or not). Are we ready to encounter such holiness? Are we ready to lose all of the things that we currently cherish which God considers items of compromise?
You see, right now we don't feel a lot of urgency in the area of holiness, but when His Glory comes, those days of saying "It's a process" and being slow to obey will go by the wayside. His Glory will come and will demand that anything that will remain in His presence be Holy.
And what about other Acts 2 Realities?
Who is going to baptize the 3,000 new converts that come into the Kingdom in a day? Based upon the way we do baptism now, with pre-baptism classes, public testimonies and submersing each candidate individually (in front of their friends and family), that process alone would take well over 13 DAYS to complete! By the time we would be finished baptizing the converts from the first day of God's presence being poured out we could potentially have a backlog of 39,000 people waiting to be baptized!
But wait, there's more!
Who's going to do the ongoing discipleship required of these new converts? Who will train them up in the basic understanding of the Word, prayer, communion, confession, repentance and the gifts of the Holy Spirit? We could easily see 250 small groups be formed within a single day. We can't expect our Pastors to handle such a workload. So that means you and I will have to become teachers, preachers and bible study leaders overnight. And don't kid yourself, you're not going to be walking them through the latest best-selling Bible study manual bought through your local Bible Bookshop. It will most likely be you, a bible and two dozen hungry new believers crammed into your living room - no worksheets, lots of questions and plenty of spiritual activity (both Good and Evil).
Paul, before he left on one of his missionary journeys led a bible study that lasted all night (and was broken up in the middle because someone needed to be raised from the dead after falling asleep (Acts 20). Are we ready for that to aspect of His Glory coming?
And what about this spiritual warfare? What about healing, deliverance and miracles? Who is going to do the prayer ministry for all of the sick people who are suddenly lining up outside of our churches, homes and places of employment? It won't just happen in a flash, it will most likely take real people praying for other real people. I'm sure the Lord will provide angelic messengers and supernatural encounters, but we will still be the main graceforce in this outpouring.
And what about when our long day of ministering is done? Am I prepared for my neighbor to show up at 3 am with his sick daughter because he heard that when I pray for people Jesus comes with power to heal?
Who's going to dispose of all of the unneeded medical equipment? The drugs and corresponding paraphernalia? How about the mountains of pornographic magazines, DVD's, alcohol and other substances that start piling up outside of our homes, churches and stadiums?
And then the persecution will come! The enemy will begin to openly hate us (Matt 24:9), stirring up the hearts of wicked men against those who profess the name of Jesus. We will be put in prison (Acts 12). We will be beaten (Acts 16). We will have people attempt to kill us (Acts 21), and sometimes they will succeed (Acts 7).
These are all part of what happens when God's Glory comes upon His people with power! This is included in the fullness of the Acts 2 reality. This is what we are really praying for!
Rest assures, there will also be much rejoicing! It will be a time of great joy, celebration and pleasure as we experience a foretaste of what it will be like when Jesus rules the earth from Jerusalem. Yes, we will have exceedingly great revelation of the beauty and majesty of our Lord Jesus Christ, and His name will begin to receive the glory that it is due! True worship will be in abundance as the glory of the Lord is revealed on the earth.
What I have envisioned here is merely a glimpse of what will happen when the Lord pours out His Spirit upon us and a more complete picture of what we have actually been asking God to do. So let us not be shortsighted in what we are asking. His Glory will do more than bring a bit of "fire" upon our regular weekly meetings. It will come like an all-consuming fire that purifies everything within His presence.
Will it cost us? Yes, but only the things we didn't really need.
Will it be worth it? Absolutely!
"So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal." - 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 (ESV)
So join with me, and many others, in lifting up this cry before our Father:
"Lord, let Your Glory fall upon us! Amen."
-
Jon
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)