The Most Important Things

Kingdom DNA is what Jesus carried with Him during His time on earth. Kingdom DNA is the impartation of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit carries within Himself this Kingdom DNA. He, the Holy Spirit, was given to Jesus at baptism and He was given to the disciples at Pentecost. Kingdom DNA is what the disciples imparted to as many as would receive it at the advent of the church. Kingdom DNA sets captives free, opens the eyes of the blind, destroys poverty, abolishes sickness and disease and releases the power of God on earth. It is the desire of God that His Kingdom [DNA] come on earth as it is in heaven. So…how do we unlock it in our life? Here’s 4 simple keys that will unlock and unleash the power of the Kingdom in your life!

1. Have complete integrity. John 1:47 “Here is a genuine son of Israel–a man of complete integrity.” You have nothing to hide and everything to show, that will make you a genuine son or daughter. Complete integrity is what Jesus walked in at all times. So should we.
2. Do whatever He tells you. John 2:5 Jesus has shown us and told us what we need to be doing. (See Mt. 28 for more info) So, get out there and DO IT! The Holy Spirit is speaking, listen to Him.
3. Passion for the house. John 2:15-17 “Passion for your house has consumed me.” Hate anything that does not fit in the Kingdom, run to those things which are of the Kingdom. Jesus made a whip and chased impurity out of the house. Make yourself a spiritual whip and whip the impurity out of your own life. Let passion for the Kingdom flow through you!
4. Walk in the divine nature. John 2:24-25 Jesus knew the nature of man, that it was always to do wrong. His divine nature continually confronted human nature (and won, I might add). His divine nature caused the religious to run away and the hungry to run towards Him. He was totally different from mankind because He was totally submitted to the divine nature! Submit your nature to God’s.

If you are hungry you will be filled! Unleash the Kingdom of God on this earth, starting in your own life first!

Recently, I have been talking with my children about the “First Answer.” What is the “First Answer?” It’s, Yes. The reason we have been talking about this is that excuses, arguments and “buts” arise when an instruction is given. Nobody is looking for any of those. We are all very tired of hearing excuses as to why things can’t get done (i.e. controlled budget in the gov’t or why a project “can’t” be done). I would rather have someone tell me, “no” than make excuses. At that point, I can deal with their rebellion because it is blatant and obvious. Whereas somebody who is always giving excuses tries to veil their motives through a partial “yes.”  Yet, we live in a culture today that has ZERO respect for yes and no. And, in many instances, is afraid of saying: “no.”

Don’t believe me? When asked by Facebook if somebody is your friend, what are your options? Yes and no? Wrong. It’s “confirm” and “not now.” Why is that? Fear of responsibility and follow through. (It’s also a measure of tolerance. Who are you to say if somebody is your friend or not.) If somebody friended you and you hit “not now” you have the chance to weasel out of why you declined their “friending.” You just didn’t want to be friends with them right now. Contrast that with this answer, “No, I do not know you. Therefore, I am declining your friend request.” Sounds harsh? Not really. Yet, too much tolerance and political correctness in our lives pushes us into the grey areas of life. To the point that we live in fear of being considered “intolerant.” So, what does Jesus have to say about yes and no?

Jesus has always been very clear about the answers we are to have. He was also very clear with His answers. He says in the Gospels to let your “Yes be yes and your no, no.” Later, Paul writes “All His promises in Christ Jesus are Yes and Amen.” (paraphrased.) These are insights into how God desires us to respond.  There’s also the parable of the 2 men who the Master offered work to. One said, “no” and later came back to work. The other said, “yes” and never got around to it. This only furthers our example of being forthright and honest in our answers.

The point that is being made here is that our first answer to Jesus should be yes, and we should follow through with it. I want my children to be people of their word, accountability and responsibility. I want to be that too! My first answer to authority and to Jesus is YES! And Amen!

What’s your first answer?

I love Jesus. I love His word, it always builds my faith and increases my understanding. There is a major lack, in the church today, of spiritual understanding. Many are not aware of the Holy Spirit or are quickly stuffing Him away. We need spiritual understanding to help us in every situation because we live in a spiritual world. Anyone of us can have natural understanding, just by living life. But there IS a difference between natural understanding and spiritual understanding. We MUST discern and pursue spiritual understanding. Spiritual understanding is an awareness, recognition and dedication to hearing the what the Spirit is saying.

If you are not aware that the Holy Spirit wants to speak to you all the time, you lack spiritual understanding. If you are not recognizing the Holy Spirit is working (and wants to work) in every situation, you lack spiritual understanding. If you are not pursuing intimacy with the Holy Spirit everyday, you will never have spiritual understanding!

In Matthew 13:12 Jesus says this, “to those who listen to my teaching, more understanding will be given, and they will have an abundance of knowledge.” I call this the “spiritual understanding parable of the talents.” If you don’t use the understanding given to you by the Holy Spirit, you will lose it. This situation happens in many believers lives. They hear something from God and they don’t apply it or search it out. The result is that they lose their understanding. I don’t want to be that way. I want to be so hungry to hear God’s voice, that I hear something from Him everyday!

In fact, it has been my personal goal to hear from the voice of God everyday of my life. This has helped me understand the bible, the world and many other things. But the Holy Spirit has spoken to me, recently, and put a new goal in my spirit. The goal is this: to be “in the Spirit” all day long. It may sound simple, but let me tell you–it takes more effort than it sounds! Yet I have found great joy in walking in the Spirit! And it has only been by the Spirit that I have been able to walk in the Spirit for any amount of my day. (Full disclosure: I have not lived a whole day in the Spirit yet. But I press on!)

I would encourage you today, be hungry for more of the Holy Spirit. Pursue understanding that comes from the Holy Spirit! Make yourself recognize and be aware that the Holy Spirit was given by Jesus, to help you out…in everything! In all your getting get understanding, in the Spirit!

I am sure we are all familiar with the phrase, “opportunity knocks.” Well, it’s true. There are many forms of opportunity and it’s “knocking.” Typically, we associate that phrase with some sort of financial gain, but that’s not all it represents. Here are 3 opportunities you should NEVER pass up!

1) The opportunity to receive Jesus Christ. Rev. 3:20, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, Iwill come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.” Jesus was never overly aggressive in His ministry. He never opened “doors” Himself. He would knock and wait for each individual to open it. Open the door. If you miss this opportunity, it could be your last!

2) The opportunity to serve. Servanthood is a seed into the life of another person! You may not have any material possession to sow into somebody’s life. But you do have your life! Sow your life into serving others. As you serve others you will gain favor and more opportunity to serve. Rebecca served Abraham’s servant unquestioningly and her reward was: her husband Isaac, the inheritance of Abraham and birthing Israel! All she did was serve. Who can you serve today?

3) The opportunity to learn. This is important because, learning (and more importantly revelation from God) increases our capacity. I love to read books that expand and push my thinking outside of the norm. Having said, that I won’t just read anything. I am very selective as to what goes into my spirit through my mind. My first love is the word of God and I read it everyday.

Also, learning doesn’t come from books. Who is mentoring you? Who is holding you accountable in your life? Who is pushing you to be great? If you want uncommon results you need an uncommon mentor. (Think Elijah and Elisha.) You need to find a mentor who will press you onto greater results. Often times, this is someone who is not easy to be around. Elijah told Elisha to leave him 3 different times! He also asked Elisha what he wanted, after Elisha had burned all of his livelihood! Talk about hard stuff! Jesus told people to eat His flesh and drink His blood. He told them to let the dead bury themselves. Paul told Timothy he had to be circumcised. The list goes on. If you want uncommon success, you must find an uncommon mentor.

The door of your life is being knocked on today. Open the door! Receive Jesus! Find someone to serve! Read a book! Find an uncommon mentor!

For the record, I have three kids. That’s why I know lots of Disney movie quotes. So…ever seen the movie Tangled? There’s a part in the movie (which is a re-make of the Rapunzel story) where Rapunzel just wants to live out her dream. To do that she needs a thief to make that happen. This thief has a dream to retire on a private island with lots of money. Rapunzel’s dream is to get out and see the world. At one point, they go into a pub filled with thugs and all these tough guys start singing about the dreams they have. It’s really funny. At the end of the scene, one of the thugs says to Rapunzel, “go, live your dream!” The thief answers, “Thanks. I will.” To which the thug responds, “Your dream stinks. I was talking to her.”

I said all of that to ask this, does your dream stink? Is your dream a selfish, isolated dream? Or is it a dream that is from God’s heart? How do you know if your dream comes from God’s heart? Here’s a great quote from John Piper that makes reference to our topic:

“The critical question for our generation—and for every generation—
is this: If you could have heaven, with no sickness, and with all the
friends you ever had on earth, and all the food you ever liked, and
all the leisure activities you ever enjoyed, and all the natural beauties
you ever saw, all the physical pleasures you ever tasted, and no
human conflict or any natural disasters, could you be satisfied with
heaven, if Christ were not there?”

What does that have to do with your dream, you ask? The above quote can easily define most American’s dream. And it stinks. If your dream is void of Jesus Christ it’s not from God. If you can accomplish your dream without Jesus Christ, it’s not from God. If your dream is all about you and what you can get for yourself, it’s not from God. Your dream stinks, because it reeks of the flesh. We must begin to dream like God does. We must see how God sees the world. He does not see the world in profit and loss, or possessions gained. He sees the world as family to be born, brothers and sisters to be reconciled, lives to be healed, heaven to be received.

Reinhard Bonnke is known for this quote, “a blood-washed Africa.” He’s been known to stare off into space in the middle of a conversation and when asked what’s the matter? He will respond, “a blood-washed Africa.” He has a dream from God that is so entrenched into his life that it consumes his thoughts. And note that it is not for himself, it’s what God wants. That’s a dream that will come to pass! (To date, he has seen over 50 million souls in Africa come to salvation in the last 10 years.) It’s time to change our dream. I used to dream about being wealthy and having this or that. Not anymore. I have a dream that makes me cry, pray and laugh because it’s for God and there’s no way I can “make it happen.” Can your dream be fulfilled with more money? Can your dream be fulfilled without God’s help? (I am not talking about “God helping you” win the lotto either.)

I will end with this verse, John 4:35, “But I say wake up and look around. The fields are already ripe for harvest…and the fruit they harvest is people brought to eternal life.” This is God’s dream: people brought to Eternal Life! Let’s allow His dream to sink deep into our spirits and begin to lift our eyes! What’s your dream?

Spiritually dull is becoming the norm in the western church. We seem to have placed an inordinate amount of focus on the temporal. We are always thinking about how to improve our lives on earth or how we can become more successful. Of course, we have created elaborate justifications for it all. We say things like: I want to be rich to bless others. Or, we are just trying to reach more people by becoming more diplomatic in our gospel presentation.(note: I am not against generosity and/or gospel preaching) Instead of preaching in–depth messages and bringing more believers to maturity we end up creating a fickle, temporal christianity. A kind of christianity that gets offended and hurt at basic gospel truths. The writer of Hebrews puts it this way: “There is much more we would like to say about this, but it is difficult to explain, especially since you are spiritually dull and don’t seem to listen.” OUCH! Imagine how immature those believers had to have been for them to say that! What’s even more shocking is that the writer is talking to jewish converts. Jews were required to memorize the first 5 books of the “bible.” As opposed to our 1–minute bible christianity.

Anyway, the argument gets worse as he continues, “you have been believers so long now that you OUGHT to be teaching others.” OUCH again! How many christians are held back or are afraid to teach others? Part of that is their own fault, part is the fault of the american church which has done a poor job of properly maturing believers. There are countless christians who really should be discipling/ teaching others but are not because they are content to sit and “listen” to the word. This ought not be so!

Finally, the writer gets to this part, “Solid food is for those who are mature, who through training have the skill to recognize the difference between right and wrong.(also good and evil)” It’s on that verse that I want to focus. A definition of immaturity can be this: the inability to discern the difference between right and wrong. That seems overly simplistic, doesn’t it? Yet, how many christians do you know who cannot do that? They cannot discern that listening to music with overtly sexual and/or perverted themes is evil. They cannot discern that watching horror movies is wrong. They cannot discern that rebellion and pride are still sin in God’s eyes. All the while they continue to do their own will rather than submit to God. If you desire to be mature in your faith, you must begin to understand the difference between good and evil and right and wrong. The only way to do this is to know the Word of God and to know the God of the Word.

Notice also, how it says “who through training have the skill?” There is no shortage of training offered christians in America. We have bible colleges, internships and every church has a litany of training courses for believers. Yet, the problem is that no one has the skill to recognize the difference. Why is that?! (I say it’s the training, but that’s for another post.)

God’s desire that everyone of us become mature believers. Here’s a way I look at it: if you have ever been in a relationship, then you know that the more time goes on the greater you understand the other person and their nuances.You really begin to understand what they like and don’t like. This same idea can be applied to God, the one who created relationship. If you want to know what God loves and hates – SPEND TIME WITH HIM AND HIS WORD! It really is that simple. The more you know Him and become like Him, the more mature you will become. Our goal is to become like Jesus through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Whatever you obsess about, you will be possessed about. This is a simple way that the devil works in our life. He will work overtime to get us obsessed with something. We get obsessed with money. Or we get obsessed with having material items. Or we get obsessed about a negative thought. The more you obsess on something the deeper it will get into your mind. Then, the deeper it gets into your mind it begins to saturate into your spirit. That obsession opens a door to the demonic and allows for oppression (and possession if it goes too far) which has no place in a Believer’s life!

Perhaps, you have been obsessing about past failures. Or maybe you have been obsessing about something bad that happened in your life. No matter what you are obsessing about, STOP! Obsession will lead to possession. That’s why the Bible tells us to forgive, it tells us to focus on heaven, it tells us to fix our eyes on Jesus, etc. The Bible is filled with all kinds of exhortations to stop obsessing about our ourselves and this earth!

One of our greatest obsessions, right now in America, is with the temporal. We are obsessed with clothes, homes, cars, church buildings and the list goes on. Yet, we give no thought to the the eternal. A great benefit of the Bible is it’s timeless message. It applies to all mankind past, present, and future! It will never grow old or old-fashioned. But how much of our stress and tension is related to our temporal mindset? All of it! If you are madly in love with Jesus, you’re serving Him faithfully, and pleasing Him; what is there to be stressed about? Some would say, “I am stressed about making more money.” Well if you are content with what God has given you (and if you live in the USA you are in the top 10% of the richest people in the world) there’s no reason to stress, God will provide. What about my job? If you’re pleasing God, you will definitely be pleasing your employers and walking in God’s perfect will.

Too many Christians stumble over sins that continue to haunt them all their life. Why? Obsession. They are obsessed with trying to “conquer” their flesh. When, in reality, they should be obsessed with Jesus. The writer of Hebrews puts it this way, “…let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up…” Then he answers our question of “how?” He says, “we do this by KEEPING OUR EYES on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith.”

The answer to your obsession with sin and how to get over it, is to be obsessed with the One who defeated sin! Be obsessed with the eternal. Be obsessed with Jesus!

In 1 Thessalonians 5:19, Paul instructs, “Do not stifle the Holy Spirit.” The NKJV says, “do not quench the Spirit.”

This verse has been rolling around my spirit lately. And I have been asking the Holy Spirit what exactly does it mean? While I don’t purport to have full revelation on this verse (or any other for that matter), I did want to share some thoughts about what this verse means.

First of all, not quenching the Holy Spirit is not about an individual liking or disliking something(i.e. room temperature, certain types of music, etc.). That has more to do with distraction of the mind rather than a quenching of the Spirit. Whenever we get into the spiritual realm we must realize that time ceases to exist. God dwells in eternity, which in Hebrew means “time outside of the mind.” So, in the spiritual realm we must be aware that things that we have in our modern day society to compliment a moving of the Spirit have only been around a short time. Read the bible and you will see that Jesus performed mighty miracles on the streets with no piano playing softly in the background nor was there any microphone. There was not even any air-conditioning! Once we understand this, it helps to understand the Spirit even more. In other words, the Spirit can move anywhere, anytime for any reason!

In light of that, how is He quenched then? One of the way the Holy Spirit is quenched is when we tease someone for being spiritual. Ever been in the flesh and somebody was getting into the Spirit and you kind of tease them for being “so spiritual” or “super-spiritual?” Guilty as charged! Sometimes, people have been praying in the Spirit or singing worship songs and in my heart I was opposed to that. How fleshly can I be?! I know you have never done that before. But the Holy Spirit convicted me and said, “how dare you attempt to quench what I am doing in someone else’s life!” Why would we ever keep someone from being spiritual? Or, perhaps someone was going to read their bible and you convinced them to do something else. Or, maybe you were just joking about how the Spirit moved in the “old days(laughter, rolling on the floor, etc).”

Another example of stifling the Spirit, is this current wave of “transparency” that is sweeping through the church. I believe accountability is much needed in American churches, I am all for that! But I am against the carnal cravings and confessions of pastors and Christians. It’s a lowering of the bar in the Spirit. One could say, “well pastor so and so listens to ____.” Or, “pastor such and such infatuates about this celebrity, so can I.” Many times, I have read a tweet or something of that nature and thought that is so carnal. And in that very instance, my own self would say, “stop being so spiritual!” I rebuke that lie. If we are not being spiritual, the only other alternative is carnal. I would rather be “super-spiritual” on twitter, facebook, at home and in church. Christians being carnal only gives us justification and license to continue in our powerless carnality. I think we have enough of that without the body of Christ contributing. Paul said he knew a man who was caught UP in the SPIRIT! Paul was not caught in the carnal realm, he was caught up in the Spirit!

Have you been carnal? Would you like to stop stifling the Spirit in your life and walk in His power? Pray this prayer from your heart and make a decision to live in the Spirit.

Forgive me Lord for quenching the pursuit of the supernatural in my own life and anyone else’s life! I am going to get caught up in the Spirit. I am going to set my mind on things above (in heaven) and not on this earth. I will not quench the Spirit. I release the Holy Spirit to flow in my life!

I recently twoted (past tense of tweet) a research statistic that said, “about 7000 people in America have not heard the Gospel.” (www.joshuaproject.net) Wow that’s awesome! Or at least that’s the first thought that should come into our minds. But then something else should kick in, for example: reality! If 7000 people have not heard the Gospel in the USA, how can we possibly be in the state of affairs we are currently in? Now, I understand that this particular stat does not mean that only 7000 people in America are not saved. But it should mean that many people have had the opportunity to hear the Gospel and make a decision to live for Christ or not. A significant portion of America would say they are Christian too.

However, my problem is that are Americans actually “hearing” the Gospel or some hybrid message? Galatians 3:1, “Oh, foolish Galatians! Who has cast an evil spell on you? For the meaning of Jesus Christ’s death was made as clear to you as if you had seen a picture of his death on the cross.” I wonder if that’s what we have been preaching in our churches? A message of the cross that is clear as a picture. Or have we been given over to compromise and comfort in our messages? (That’s a rhetorical and resounding yes!) Am I advocating hellfire and brimstone messages? (Rhetorical no!) I am advocating balance, not compromise. Every person needs to hear the Gospel, plain and simple. They need to be able to make a clear, conscious decision to live for Jesus or not.

[Here's a good doctrinal statement, "anything the bible says ENTIRELY about a subject is the truth." The key in this statement is "entirely." What does Jesus say, entirely, about salvation, heaven and hell, finances, healing etc? You have to take all the scriptures that relate to your specific subject and read them all to come to the truth.]

Why am I saying all of this? Because we, the American church, have compromised long enough. If you know the lyrics to Lady Gaga’s newest album, you have compromised. [Here's a quote from Madonna's successor, Lady Gaga. "I wrote that song [born this way] in 10 minutes. Once I wrote that song, the ‘gates’ opened and the album came quickly after.” (from Vogue Magazine) I can guarantee you she’s talking about the gates of hell. I have seen clips of the video to that song. It looks like the gates of hell opened up and spewed it’s influence all over that video. Is this what any Christian should be allowing to be in their mind, let alone coming out of their mouth?] If you have ignored the conviction of the Holy Spirit lately, you have compromised. If you have not shared the Gospel with someone recently, you have compromised. Please, stop compromising! The world will not be “attracted” to Christ. They will respond to the miracles, signs and wonders that come with His Kingdom authority. If you are compromised, you will not have any authority! And that was one of the main claims about Jesus, how much authority He had! The church in America is powerless or more accurately, wields no authority. Why? Because of compromise.

No believer should be unequally yoked or partnering up with Belial. Stop compromising. Stop allowing yourself to be bewitched. Come back under the shelter of the cross to find true refuge and freedom.

Yep. It’s that time of year again. The annual top 10 list. This year I have decided to line out my top 10 books of the year. For the record, these will all be non-fiction books. I can’t remember the last time I read a fiction book (probably college and probably the “left behind” series until it got weird). I am currently reading “Decision Points” by George W. Bush, it will take until the new year to finish it. I have also included some light commentary, not an in-depth review. So, without further ado…

10) For God’s Sake Grow up!  David Ravenhill (Son of Leonard Ravenhill) – The title is pretty self-explanatory. A very direct book on Christian maturity.

9) Successful Leadership through the Government of 12, Caesar Castellanos – A really good book on leadership, not necessarily a vision all should follow.
7 Levels of Intimacy, Matthew Kelly – A well written book about relationships. Relationships (along with biblical principles and finances) are things that should be read over and over again. The mind needs to be renewed continuously.

7) Boundaries, Townsend and Cloud – I finally read it. And it’s good. A book all should read.

6) Shadow Boxing, Henry Malone – A new classic on deliverance, freedom and fasting.

5) The Fires of His Holiness, Sergio Scataglini – God is Holy and wants His people to be Holy. A really great perspective and revelation on being holy.

4) Kenneth Hagin – A Fresh Anointing, How to turn your faith loose, Healing belongs to us – 3 mini-books by Dad Hagin. If you have never read one of his books, you should. They are essentials to understanding faith.

3) Paul, the Spirit and the people of God, Gordon Fee – This book is an amazing exegesis on the use of the word s/Spirit in the New Testament.. Brilliant writing about true community in the body of Christ. It’s actually a slimmed down version of 7000 page work I may peruse that in 2011.

2) The Cross, Cathy Ciaramitaro – 300+ pages on everything that took place before, leading up to, during and after the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ. This radically transformed my perspective on so many things this year.

And finally….

1) Alan Hirsch. He’s not a book but, an author of two of the best books I have read in a long time. They are, The Forgotten Ways and Untamed, respectively. “The Forgotten Ways” is a great book on the body of Christ and surrounding revival movements. “Untamed” is a book on discipleship. But not in the way we typically think about it. He tackles some of the greatest hindrances and battles the American/ Western church faces today. For example, consumerism, sexuality and our view of Jesus. Both of these are must reads.

And the real number 1 is the bible. Read it everyday, for the rest of your life.