The Most Important Things

Nike didn’t invent that phrase and it’s not theirs to trademark. God’s the one who started it all. He created the earth and everything in it. He just did it. So, now it’s your turn. Act like God and just do it!

That’s right, stop procrastinating. Stop thinking about it. Stop caring what other people think. Just do it. Jesus picked up His cross, went ahead and did it. He lived a perfect, sinless life. He went through a brutal destruction of His body and then rose again! Paul, was totally blind and went to a strangers house. Scales fell of his eyes, then he went and preached the gospel to the world. He just did it. King David, a teenager, just went out and did it. He lopped the head off of a giant, against all odds and “wisdom.” You can do it, too. Don’t wait. Don’t fear. Don’t hesitate.

You could fail marvelously or you could succeed enormously. Either way, there’s only one way to find out…Just do it!

The righteous man fell 7x and picked himself up. That means he tried it 7x. Probably 7 more than you! Just do it already!

You must be fed up with your present situation, to change your future! Just do it. Get fed up with today and make tomorrow amazing. Lift your eyes and say, “if God is for me who can POSSIBLY be against me?” And then do it.

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.

“In those days Israel had no king; all the people did whatever seemed right in their own eyes.” Judges 17:6, 18:1, 19:1, 21:25.

I am no scholar, but any time the bible lists something more than once I take notice. Here, the bible records 4 different times where “Israel had no king” and “the people did whatever seemed right in their own eyes.” What’s so important about this? This is the definition of religious anarchy. Basically, you have a god-aware people who have a form of godliness but are denying the relationship. They are all living as individualistic towns under their tribe (Judah, Benjamin, Manasseh, et al.) and doing whatever seems right to them. It is only when they are under extreme duress and trouble that they cry out to God.

Is this beginning to sound familiar? Whenever you have a god-aware people, who have no relationship with God, you have spiritual apathy. Whenever there is no king and people do whatever is right in their own eyes, you have anarchy. Whenever you only talk to God is when things go horribly wrong, you have no relationship. To be in a kingdom means that you submit to a king, belong to a king and are a part of the king’s domain. The religious anarchy mindset is one that pervades our current Christian culture in America. We are all a part of our tribes (this church or that denomination). We are pretty much doing whatever seems right to us – see the different examples of how the “gospel” is preached. (Note: the fact that we have “gospels” that are specific i.e. prosperity, full, baptist, etc. is a sign that we do not have a common king, because in a Kingdom there are no opposing factions). We are aware that God is there, but few actually have real relationship with Him. Then, when our nation begins to crumble, we cry out and ask God why He is punishing us?

The solution to this problem? Seek first the kingdom of God AND His righteousness and all these things will be added to you. Get into the kingdom, submit WHOLLY to the King and join the King’s army. It’s really that simple. Total surrender to the Lord Jesus Christ is the answer. We should be doing whatever is right in HIS EYES. There is righteousness, peace and joy in the Kingdom of God. So, are you going to surrender to the King?

I have had these scriptures rumbling about in my spirit for the last month or so. I figured I would share them. They are good ones (as different from “non-good scriptures”

Is. 59:14, 15 – Our courts oppose the righteous, and justice is nowhere to be found. Truth stumbles in the streets, and HONESTY has been OUTLAWED. Yes, truth is gone, and anyone who renounces evil is attacked.

WOW! Sound familiar? Yes. Sounds like the current state of affairs in the world today. In the non-christian world we should always expect this type of “law.” The scary scenario is when this sort of thinking creeps into the Kingdom of God on Earth.

The part that really provoked my spirit is where it says, “honesty has been outlawed.” That’s a dangerous statement. Especially when placed into the context of our ultra-politically correct society. Even more dangerous when you consider that it has creeped into our church language through decades of secular barraging. Ever heard this statement? “We don’t want to hear what you’re against, but what you’re for.” Harmless, right? Makes sense even. But in all honesty. Jesus, God, the Bible, et al talk a lot about what they are against. (And what they are for.)

This kind of honesty is getting very close to being outlawed. In some church circles you can no longer even refer to people as sinners, heathens, gentiles etc. Even though that’s what the bible describes US as. Bible language will never sit well with people living in sin.

Imagine if Paul, in his numerous lists of sins in his epistles, lived today? Would he have watered his list of sins down? I doubt it. Holiness brings authority. Paul simply states what kind of people do not inherit the Kingdom of God. If Paul lived today, he would most assuredly be on the list of “preachers who preach hellfire messages.” Why? Because he spoke honestly.

Now, somewhere out there, someone is thinking how judgmental?! That person is wrong for thinking that way. That person is the same person who wants to outlaw honesty and let truth continue to stumble through our streets getting mugged and beaten by hypocrisy and lies.

Anyone who renounces evil is attacked! A healthy reminder that the world must come up to the standard set by God, through His divine enablement of the HOLY Spirit. Speak the truth in love. And the truth is: we are all sinners. We all need Jesus to save us. And we all need to live holy lives.

p.s. Jamie is awesome.

I have been wrestling with modern ideas of the church as of late. Questions have been circling in my spirit about all the things taking place on a national level, or more specifically, a western church level. While I can see and recognize a great deal of good coming about. There are also many things that just aren’t sitting right. I won’t tackle all of them in this particular blog, but I do want to convey a revelation on the church.

For me, one of the biggest questions hitting me week in and week out is this: who is church for? This seems like a dumb question on the surface. But this will be one of the premier definitions of our era. Is church for the unsaved? (or whatever your term for them is) Or is church for the believer? This is the question that gets me. Let me first define what I mean by church, I should say I am specifically talking about “Sunday Morning”. Is Sunday morning for the unsaved, the saved, or both? The reason this is such a big question to me is that shapes the way we craft messages, view the work of the Holy Spirit, relate to others etc. It opens up a huge can of worms. It will define what we call church to an entire generation.

For example, if Sunday is for the unsaved, why do I the believer go? Do I go to tithe? I can do that online any day of the week. Do I go for fellowship? I can go to one of the numerous groups that meet throughout the week. Do I go to hear the preaching of the word? I can go online to watch a streaming service live; even better I can watch some of the nation’s best preachers. So, if Sunday is exclusively for the unbeliever why should a believer go? Especially when I can get all of my “fellowship” via these other sources? There are countless churches taking this approach to Sunday. Sunday becomes a drawing tool and the main source of outreach.

Well, maybe Sunday is for the believer. Paul tells us that the 5-fold ministers are for the equipping of the saints. So, Sunday is the day for equipping believers to reach people all week long. Besides, will unbelievers really understand worship? (Ezek. 44 talks about not allowing “foreigners” into the temple to worship because they have not surrendered to the Lord) Will an unbeliever fully understand tithing or offering? They also may not be prepared to hear the word of the Lord. This all makes sense to me. Sunday is for believers it allows us to minister freely by the power of the Spirit and not be constrained by time, because we’re here to worship and connect with God. There are countless churches who minister this way and, simply out of principle, throw in a salvation altar call at the end of the sermon just to cover all the bases.

The question then arises, where do people get saved? (If not Sunday morning) Or where do I bring my friends to meet Jesus? Or the question can also be raised, why does there have to be a distinction? Can’t we have both and all of us get along? No. Anytime there are multiple visions for anything it creates division. Anytime there is division or “double-mindedness” it creates instability, confusion and a lack of God’s blessing. (Read James 1) So, there must be an answer.

My conclusion, “church” (or the Sunday service) was originally intended for the believer. It was meant to equip, impart and prepare the NT believers to reach out during the rest of the week. When you couple this with daily ministering to the unsaved through home groups and public preaching by the apostolic team; it made for a dynamic explosion of growth. I think this model is fairly well outlined in the book of Acts and in the Pauline Epistles. Salvation and discipleship should take place in smaller more definitive settings. Settings, where true relationships are formed. If someone gets saved in a home group they are more likely to stick around and grow vs. someone who said a prayer at an altar. Why? Relationship. They are in a setting that is all about relationship. They are with people they trust and who will keep them accountable to their new decision. This is why babies aren’t handed off by anonymous storks, but are born into families. The mother and father are to take responsibility to raise and nurture the child to full maturity.

So, what do you think?

It’s hard to truly fathom heaven and eternity. In fact, in hebrew, the definition of eternity is time outside of the mind. So, having said that how can finite beings truly comprehend the infinite? Only through the mind of the Spirit (the mind of Christ).

It’s very easy to get caught up in earthly thinking. You have bills to pay, circumstances to overcome, trials to walk through and offenses to forgive. Those are things that happen everyday, there’s no avoiding them. Yet, in the midst of this God has called us to not think like that. He has called us to “set our minds on things above and not on this earth” (col.3:2). He has told us that we should constantly be allowing the mind of Christ to invade our natural mind. Paul says in Phil. 3:19, “…their god is their appetite, they brag about shameful things, and they THINK ONLY ABOUT THIS LIFE HERE ON EARTH”(NLT).

What an excellent verse! It points out the current state of many christians! We think only about life here on earth. What are going to eat, what are we going to wear, where are we going to live; these are all valid questions yet Jesus has specifically instructed us to seek His kingdom first. Those are all finite, earthly things. Jesus’ kingdom is infinite and heavenly. It will last forever. That’s where our mind should be. That’s where we should be looking.

So why don’t we? I believe it boils down to one truth that has not been spoken on enough in recent years. The second coming of Jesus. Yea. For real. Because we don’t hear this doctrine being preached at all (in reality) a mindset has settled in. It is, “Jesus won’t come back in my lifetime”. No one on Earth can even make that claim. The bible most definitely contradicts claims like that. (See Phil. 4:5, James 4:13-17 for some of my favs) Because of a lack of teaching on this doctrine there is an enormous amount apathy in churches across the globe. Why should I witness? Jesus isn’t coming back for a long time. I can witness later. WRONG. Nobody, except the Father, knows the time. Therefore we should be witnesses. (Acts 1:8)

Take this as a healthy reminder, Jesus is coming back. We do not know how many days are left. Therefore set your mind on eternal things – salvation, discipleship, righteousness, etc. Not on things on the earth, for the Kingdom of God is not eating and drinking (earthly things) it is righteousness, peace and joy (eternal things, that can be experienced on earth) in the Holy Ghost! Let a sense of urgency flow into your spirit right now.

The battle rages on in the kingdom: to drink or not to drink. Many denominations have relaxed their stance on ministers drinking alcohol. Many mainline preachers have given themselves over to social drinking (and the occasional curse word) and decried it as “relevant” and “I am not perfect”. These comments are of course ludicrous and obvious for a number of reasons, here’s one: relevance has nothing to do with you being friends with the world. (The book of James can instruct you in that basic premise, specifically James 4:4.) As a result of the rise Christians accepting lower standards, we continue down the broad path of compromise. All the while asking ourselves, “why don’t we see the miracles of the New Testament?”

I was reading in my daily reading plan and came across this verse, Isaiah 5:22:

I laughed. I found it amusing and scary. When ministers talk casually about substance abuse or misuse, I think we all need to do some soul searching and bible reading. We are not in a good place. When the world’s pleasures (or wines of the world) become our primary focus over the harvest and discipleship… renewing of the mind must occur.

I know what the “heroes” will say, Paul tells Timothy to take a little wine. Jesus was CALLED a wine bibber, His first miracle was turning water into wine, etc. Well, you are not the Son of God (who is God), neither do you walk in Paul’s apostolic authority/miracles/writing 2/3rds of the NT/ anointing. Not a good enough reasoning? How about we go back to Genesis and read that we are to have dominion over ALL the earth? Including (but not limited to) hops, grapes, animals, satan and spiders. So, are you being dominated by hops and grapes? Or are you having dominion?

It’s time we stopped having a fetish for the world’s pleasures and gave ourselves over to the New Wine of the Holy Ghost – righteousness, peace and joy in the Kingdom, not eating and drinking.