In 2016, Who Will "Go!"? - Sent to Shine, Not to Blend.

John 8:12

Then Jesus Christ spoke to them again saying, "I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness , but have the light of life."

John 1:5

And the Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend [overcome] it.

Folks, we are not "blenders;" we are "shiners" If you have been blending in in 2015, it's your time to SHINE!

What are you leaving behind in 2015 and not taking into 2016?

So how are we going to SHINE in 2016. Well, everything starts with being in God's presence. It's where I need to start and where you need to start. And frankly, I have been very distracted lately to spend enough time just in God's presence in a posture of waiting and listening. That's the reason I take off at times to get back on track and away from the craziness. For me it's crucial. God gave us the Sabbath so that we can operate from a place of Sabbath rest. We are not meant to be in motion constantly, neither physically nor mentally. But we are meant to be in His presence at all times.

Why do we need to be in His presence?

It sustains us.

Nehemiah 8:10

Then he said to them, “Go your way, eat the fat, drink the sweet, and send portions to those for whom nothing is prepared; for this day is holy to our Lord. Do not sorrow, for the joy of the Lord is your strength."

The Bible tells us that "in the presence of God is fullness of joy." (Ps. 16:11) Elsewhere it tells us that "the joy of the Lord is our strength." (Neh. 8:10).

Not only are we strengthened in His presence, we also receive revelation in His presence. John the Revelator was in His presence on the Sabbath when he experienced what we now know as the book of "The Revelation of Jesus Christ."

Aha! In God's presence He reveals Jesus to us! And if in fact we become what, or in this case Whom, we behold, then and only then can we do what Jesus did and the more that He promised we would do (John 14:12). That was His promise to us before He returned to the Father in heaven. 

So back to shining.

Why are we to shine and not blend? What's the point?

Habakkuk 2:14:

For the earth will be filled [W]ith the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, [A]s the waters cover the sea.

So the question is, what exactly does that mean? How is God filling the earth with the knowledge of His glory?

Well, it's really a "who" exactly is God using to spread the knowledge of the glory of the Lord? His own, that's who. It's those people who are filled with the Holy Spirit and with fire AND who spend their time in the presence of the Lord so that when they are sent, they can in be His media for spreading the knowledge of the glory. It's as simple as that.

Friends, we need to be spending time in God's presence. That is the first order of business in being used by God. There is no shortcut for this. [I am preaching to me here.] Studying the Word isn't enough, although it is key to demonstrating Who God is. Spending time with others in fellowship isn't enough. We must spend time in His presence alone in worship, prayer, listening, soaking. Yes, there is a crucial place for corporate worship, prayer, and fellowship but there is no substitute for one of One time with God! I don't care how anointed you are. You will eventually run out of steam because in the presence of the Lord is fullness of joy" and "the joy of the Lord is our strength." That is why so many in ministry burn out. They replace time with the King for ministry in His service. This was never to be the case.

The world is waiting. And while some are to be senders in the long term, everyone is sent in some capacity. Jesus sent us all. The entire Church is not suppose to just hang out in little, or large, boxes of buildings. We must mobilize!

This isn't just me, folks, that's the heart of God. The last thing Jesus told us when He went back to the Father in heaven was to "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations..."

Here's the full quotation from Matthew 28:19:
"Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Amen."

There are many instances of the biblical mandate to "Go!" Let's look at 3 specific instances. In each of these accounts, God Himself is calling us to go, not His representatives. That should be enough for us to take heed. Two of these are Old Testament accounts and 1 is in the New Testament:

1. Moses - See the account in Exodus 3.
In verse 10 God says to Moses: "Come now, therefore, and I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring My people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt." Then Moses gave God all the excuses why he was the wrong person to be sent. God did not buy it and finally Moses submitted to God's will. And the rest is His-story.

2. Isaiah - See the account in Isaiah 6. In verse 8
The prophet says, "Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: 'Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?" Then I said, "Here am I! Send me."
Before this, Isaiah, too, was telling the Lord that he was unfit to speak to the people on God's behalf because they had dirty mouths and so did he. God then sent an angel to cleanse Isaiah's lips with coal from the fire in heaven. God always cleans us up and prepares us to do His will. He never sends us out without as orphans.

3. Jesus - See the New Testament particularly Matthew 28:18-20.

Jesus tells us to "All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.


So although we have access to His authority as we go about doing as He commanded us to do, there can be no glory without suffering as we see in the life of Jesus. We, as His followers, should expect no less. To go through life expecting life to be all rosy is not to expect to live the Christian life. The servant is not better than the Master: If Jesus suffered, we should expect the same. Only we will never suffer what He did. He took it all on for us; death, the grave, and worst, the wrath of God for sin. That we do not have to experience God's wrath; He has already done it. But that only works if we have consciously accepted what He has done. Our suffering is but a light affliction compared to His and compared to what we gain in the here and now. and in the life to come in eternity. That's the Good News of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

So .. in 2016, who will go for Him? Who will go and ...?

...  make disciples of all nations [peoples] (Matt. 28:19)

...  shine their light in dark places (John 8:12)

...  preach the Gospel (tell the people of the Way to God) (Matt. 28:20). And so...

...  spread the knowledge of the glory of God throughout the earth (Hab. 2:14)

Will you?

The fields are white unto harvest, but the laborers are few. Jesus tells us in Luke 10:2, “The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few; therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.


Will you be one?

My prayer for each of us in the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ in 2016 is ...

"Lord, send forth your laborers."

Friends, the creation is groaning for the sons of God to arise. So ...

"Arise, sons of God, AND Go!"

A World in Need of a Savior - What Christmas is Really About

16For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. ¹⁷ For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.

 ¹⁸ “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. ¹⁹ And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. ²⁰ For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. ²¹ But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.”

“Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas/Happy New Year season of remembering the greatest Gift to mankind. It's been a pretty somber and sobering Christmas season for me. I sent out no gift list as I truly had no interest in the exchanging of gifts. (We did anyway) But a few weeks ago, I was so impacted by the reality of the First Christmas that I could think of little else. Everything seemed off and so wrong and the focus seemed so very much askew and I could not shake it. Something was different. I was different. I thought back to the First Christmas. How did they celebrate it? Well, the magi brought gifts to Jesus of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. I personally believe that this is a season to bring Him our gifts instead of us seeking and expecting to receive gifts for ourselves. I had to ask myself. What do I bring Him this year? What parts of myself have I failed to submit? What about you? Have you given yourself to Him at all? All important questions to not just ponder but honestly take them to Him...then listen.”

I posted the quotation above as my Christmas and New Year’s greeting the day after Christmas but I wanted to say so much more. Most people go through life never knowing why they were put here on earth. Instead they use up all their time gathering stuff, working at jobs they were never meant to, and gathering people and relationships they were never meant to. No direction. I certainly don’t want that to be me or you for that matter. That is why I wrote the book: “Walking in Fulfillment of Prophetic Revelation: The Naturally Supernatural Life.” The whole premise of the book is to find out why we are here. In order to do that, we must seek, find, and follow the One Who put us here. Then and only then can we be truly fulfilled. Everything else is only designed to distract and derail our callings and destinies.

Many people find the notion of salvation or the fact that they need to be “saved” nonsensical, offensive, and so many other responses in between those extremes. I get it. I was there, we have all been there. Many also believe that just knowing and “believing” there is a God and being a “good” person is enough so that even if there is such a thing as eternal life, they’d be all set. I dare say that in God’s original design there was to be no need of salvation. That necessity was initiated by man himself. God put the couple in the Garden, asked them to tend it and eat from whichever tree they desired, except for the one tree, that they were not even supposed to touch. They ate from that one forbidden tree, then each proceeded to blame the other for their disobedience. It would be humorous if it weren’t so sad. And the thing is, there are many of us who would say, "if it were me, I wouldn’t disobey." Oh, yeah? Are you sure you wouldn’t?

Sin is awfully enticing. In fact, you rarely hear the word in your average Sunday morning sermon anymore. So much is acceptable that those who even bring up the subject of sin are seen as legalistic, old-fashioned, prudish, and a host of other adjectives. I suppose you would have to use the same adjectives to describe Jesus who told people to go and sin no more. In one case, he told the man, go and sin no more lest something worse happen to you. But let me get into the meat of what I have to share today.

Sin is a powerfully destructive force yet is so enticing so that the level of pleasure is no indication of the level of devastation it causes. It promises pleasure with no consequences yet, there are always consequences. Sin will destroy the very thing it is presumed to enhance. It is the only thing Satan has “authored.” Remember, he is a thief, a liar, and perhaps above all of those thing, a deceiver. He is the master of deceit and a mere human is no match for him. The Bible tells us he comes “to steal, kill, and destroy.” What does he destroy? Everything he touches that is good and which comes from God. But there is a divine Antidote. His name is Jesus, and He comes “to give life and to give it more abundantly.”

Satan cannot give or do anything that results in life. He can only bring death and destruction. Jesus gives life and more abundant life. Which one do you want? Seems like an easy choice doesn’t it? Except for the demonic power of the deceiver, it is quite easy. But the deceiver does not advertise the destruction he seeks to bring; instead, he lures people with pleasure and seemingly good things. Ever notice how some things, activities, and people just seem to pull you in? There is a godly type of attraction to things and people of light; but the darkness also mimics by drawing people to that which will destroy them...in the end.

So what is sin? In a nutshell, it is living in rejection of the Son of God, Jesus Christ. How do we reject the Son? By ignoring, actively defying, and disobeying His Word in the form of His instructions for life - the Bible. And I am not just referring to the Commandments, the Old Testament 10 or the New Testament- 2, which encompasses the OT-10. I am also referring to godly biblical counsel, a biblical prophetic word, parental guidance, etc. God has ordained our lives to be lived out in submission to His guidelines to secure our peace, our freedom from the evil one, and success in life. He never promised us that we would have no troubles, but most of our troubles are self-imposed as we live out of alignment with Him. When we live in submission to His Word, we will be in peaceful covenant with Him. In that place, and I am not speaking about our perfection, He moves heaven and earth to make sure we get to our destination, fulfilling our destiny and callings in Christ Jesus.

Not convinced yet that sin is bad? Sin breaks covenant and opens the door to lawlessness in our lives and the lives of those we influence. That is why state-sanctioned sin like abortion on demand, homosexual “coupling,” which cannot be “marriage” since by definition, marriage is between a man and a woman. What’s the big deal? Marriage is not a human construct but a divinely ordained institution that is the foundation of all society. If marriage is eroded, then society cannot be that far behind. The definition of marriage, therefore, cannot be altered by man even when done by the government. Homosexual coupling is a regressive rather than a progressive movement; anything that moves a society away from God moves it closer to non-existence. Notice that in human history, empires come and seem to be invincible, but only for a season, then they pass away and it is difficult to determine why. God will only allow evil to be in play for a season until its time is fulfilled. Such is the case with everything under the sun. Seasons.

Just as with personal lawlessness, state-sanctioned sin will lead to wider spread lawlessness, oppression, and eventually anarchy, and or subjugation to some other nation. The reason is that the law, both divine and civil, is designed to ensure that we can live together peaceably as a society. God is the very Author of peace, not the state. However, God does use the state to maintain the peace in society. Therefore, when the state rejects God, His hand of protection is withdrawn in degrees so that man can realize His absolute helplessness without God.

So when tragedy strikes and people ask, “Where was God when such and such happened?” Was God invited in to secure the peace or was He rejected so that His protection was limited. When He is involved good is guaranteed even if at first it's not apparent. And, yes, thankfully, God is sovereign, merciful, gracious, and good; but man is allowed to reject Him and His influence. We see this played out in ancient Israel during its cycles of submitting to God and rejecting God only to fall into the hands of oppressors. In addition to everything God does and is, we cannot forget that He is holy. And did you know that He also requires us to be Holy? "Be holy as I am holy". That is only possible in Christ. The sticking point is that His holiness requires a sacrifice for sin. Knowing our inability to provide a proper eternal sacrifice, God Himself had provided one even before the foundation of the world. In His omniscience, He knew the course of mankind would lead to sin and destruction, yet He created man anyway.

The thing that boggles the mind is that if God, Who has made man, gave him His instructions for living abundantly, provided the Ultimate Sacrifice when it became necessary, is all powerful (omnipotent), all-knowing (omniscient), everywhere all at once (omnipresent), eternal (always was, is, and always will be), cannot be trusted, then who can be? Certainly no human can be. Why does mankind, who has constantly failed at playing god, think he has a better way? It’s insane.

We are incapable of solving any problem without revelation from Him. He is responsible for every discovery: scientific, technological, spiritual or otherwise. There is no possibility of existence without Him. Why then do we insist on defying Him? And then there is the fact that He loves unconditionally eternally. One would think that would be enough. But it apparently is not. If it was, everyone would seek to serve and follow Jesus. Back to Christmas.

During Christmas, we celebrate, hopefully, His coming to earth to become our Passover Lamb. He could not have humbled Himself any more than by choosing to be born of an unmarried virgin from a working class family. In addition, He was not born in a home or a place for people, but a stable for the animals so it probably did not smell very nice. This stable was more of a cave and not one according to modern standards. His baby cradle was a feeding trough. There were no government dignitaries present. Barely the circumstances surrounding the birth of a King. Yet, every bit according to the plan of God down to the minutest detail. Consider, Jesus was the spotless Lamb that would be the sacrifice for all mankind; hence the stable where the animals were kept. He is the Bread of Life, hence the feeding trough in which He was laid.

There was not a more humble way for Him to enter into His experience as a human being. And in His coming, He knew the rejection He would face by the very people He made. He was born to die for those very people and all of mankind. He knew the death He would die was the worse death possibly, which was not only excruciatingly slow and torturous, but accursed under the law of God.

When we celebrate Christmas we dress up ourselves and our homes in fineries and glitter but it is the cold hard truth of these conditions of God’s entry into His creation in the form of the Second Person of the Trinity, Jesus Christ, the Son of God that has captured me this Christmas of 2015. God chose the lowliest station for His birth even though there is none that is higher than He.

For me, Christmas, especially this year, has become a very humbling time. Hi have not been jolly because of this revelation that God came to die for my sin. That lovely and adorable little baby had one purpose and it was to die for you and me.

Jesus Christ, the Son of God, was given as a ransom for man. But the One requiring the ransom was the One providing it. This gives new meaning to God providing “seed to the sower, and bread to the eater.” Jesus Christ was that seed that died and went into the ground to redeem all life.” And why did He do it? We know that God needs nothing. He did not need man. He was complete in and of Himself before He created man as He was afterwards. He could have destroyed Adam and Eve and just scrap the whole idea of man. Instead He waited till Noah’s generation when man had become so wicked that the creation was so putrid He had to destroy it. Yet, He did not utterly destroy all life. He saved Noah and His household, 8 people altogether, and samples of all of animal life because the animals are incapable of sin. For a second time, He could have destroyed all of humanity in regret. But He did not.

He could have destroyed man when, one after the other evil empires would terrorize the world shedding innocent blood and ruling in tyranny those made in His image, But He did not. Instead, He sent a Savior in His Son Jesus Christ so that He would not have to destroy the Creation that time after time, man corrupts. Why? Because He is Love and He loves us.

So in Jesus, God provided the Ransom to settle the issue of sin once and for all to those who would accept and follow in His footsteps. He wanted to reconcile with His creation and restore right relationship for eternity. The only way He could guarantee the successful and safe “return” of His family was to do it Himself. He sacrificed One Son and gained billions of sons and daughter. He made a “risky” investment of His Best so that we could be His, too.

And that is what Christmas is about. It is a time of divine humbling and a thing to behold. Who can understand it?

 ¹⁶ For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. ¹⁷ For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.

 ¹⁸ “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. ¹⁹ And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. ²⁰ For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. ²¹ But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.”

Consider the following quotation from "The Pilgrims Progress" by John Bunyan:

"I think it makes my heart bleed to think He should bleed for me. Oh, you loving One! Oh, you blessed One! You deserve to have me, for you have bought me. You deserve to have me all, for you paid for me ten thousand times more than I am worth." [p.287, revised and updated by L Edward Hazelbaker, Bridge-Logos, Alachua, FL,1998.]

When God Says Do Something, Position Yourself to Do it

We all know it takes resources to build, no matter what you are building. And some "buildings" take more resources than others. So that when the thing is big, there can be a level of panic as if we need to do it ourselves in our own flesh. Why do we panic when the thing is big? If God is the One who said to do it, how is it our business how He chooses to provide for it? I know that we are people of faith in the One for Whom nothing is impossible but when that "knowledge" is put to the test, are we getting a low, high, or "just passing" grades? Only the Lord knows.

LIMITING GOD

I recently had a lesson in just such a case. I almost canceled something because I did not have the faith but thought if the Lord did not provide for it, I must not be meant to do it. Or was I just lazy in exercising my faith in God to provide as He has been all along? That same day as I was pondering canceling the thing, I received a bonus check exactly the amount needed. He was confirming His call again for the umpteenth time It caught my attention. What else was I lacking faith for that He has told me to do? Had I position my heart in faith to do it?  What did I give up on to quickly because of opposition and perceived limitation? Frankly, I was concerned about the answer.

FAITH AND TRUST

I just posted a blog on idolatry and recognizing where we are putting our trust. If our trust is in something or someone other than God, we are committing idolatry and violating the First Commandment of the Old Covenant which is the Greatest Commandment of the New Covenant. I believe some points in that previous multi-word post are worth drawing out and repeating here for greater emphasis. I believe it's that important not only for me but for everyone the Lord has given a vision for expanding His Kingdom.

We know that wealth is not bad in and of itself, but when that wealth is our idol, then we have a problem. Similarly, when we hesitate to do something that God has directed us to do because of a lack of resources, financial and otherwise, that thing that is preventing us from moving forward is an idol. If I don't have it, I cannot obey God. Jesus accused the disciples of having little faith. Yet, He also said that all we needed was a little faith. Seems like he was really saying the disciples had practically no faith.

If I can't trust God to provide the resources for that which He has instructed me to do, then He is not a very resourceful God. But then, if we believer the Bible, which tells us that nothing is impossible for Him, and that He owns everything then we are hypocrites. Yes, I include myself in that group. How many things have I not delayed doing because of my little faith? A good bit. Now, does the devil bring doubt and resistance and all manner of schemes to prevent us from doing God's work? Most definitely, but Jesus has overcome the devil and in Jesus we are victorious every time. You and I get into trouble when we get in the flesh and our own souls pull us down and we believe the devil, or his messengers, lies of limitation.

If God has asked you to do something, no matter how big or small, believer also that He will and perhaps, has already provided the resources to accomplish it. With a God all things are possible. (Mark 10:27). 

HE IS A REWARDER OF THOSE WHO DILIGENTLY SEEK HIM

Remember in Mark where the rich young ruler walked away sad because he could not bring himself to do what the Good Teacher instructed? The Peter reminded Jesus that they what they had given up to follow Jesus as if Jesus did not know? Jesus went on the tell them that when a person gives up their family, lands, and homes for the Gospel, they receive property and family and friends 100 fold. Now, that's a 10000% return on the investment to get technical. What is He saying, having stuff is nothing, He can give you stuff. Having Him is EVERYTHING! That's I have to remember Matthew 6:33 and live by it as best I could and the Holy Spirit helps me. And that is, to "[s]eek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and everything else will be added to you."

Hebrews 11:6

⁶ But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

Having Jesus is having everything. But He did not stop there, he said, (to recap):

MARK 10:29-30

²⁹ So Jesus answered and said, “Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My sake and the gospel’s, ³⁰ who shall not receive a hundredfold now in this time—houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions—and in the age to come, eternal life."

1. You will be given 100 fold of what you "invested" for the Kingdom sake for a 10000% return.

2. He will give "in this time." [This is not a heavenly reward but an earthly one]

2. You will have persecution along with it, so there is a great personal cost in the giving up and in the return. And ....

3. Eternal life!!!!!! [That's the heavenly reward.]

And that eternal life is not just an eternal existence. When Jesus spoke about life it was abundant life, not just existence. That means life to the fullest, and in ways we cannot imagine while here in this flesh on this earth. Let's face it; just having eternal life would be enough, but the Lord will be indebted to no one, even though we are the ones Who owe Him a world of debt we could never repay. The whole equation is divinely skewed in our favor. We win all day long.

So what if we have to put up with a momentary affliction? So what if we are treated unfairly. So what is people talk about you behind your back. So what. So what. So what. You are His and no one or nothing can take that away from you or you away from Him.

Be encouraged. What we gain now and in the life to come is so much more glorious than any temporary difficulty we face on this side of eternity. We are not alone. He is with us even to the ends of the earth.

I leave you with this:

2 Corinthians 4:16-18

¹⁶ Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. ¹⁷ For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, ¹⁸ while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.

Think on these things.


AFFLICTIONS ARE TEMPORARY BUT THE GLORY IS ETERNAL. TRUST GOD AND DO ALL THAT HE INSTRUCTS YOU TO DO WALKING BY FAITH AND NOT BY SIGHT.
 

May God bless you!

A Multi-Purpose Word for This Season: Trusting God, Walking by Faith, Avoiding Modern Day Idolatry

What or whom do you trust in? Be honest, now. Is it you mom, dad, a close friend, a spouse or child? When I say depend, I mean if you did not have that person in your life doing what they do, you think your life would fall apart. If it's not a person, is it an organization, a profession, a habit, a hobby, money, plan, dream, goal? Be careful, you might be placing your trust where it does not belong. You might have a false god, what the Bible calls an idol. Sounds too harsh? Consider the following Scriptures and present yourself to the Lord for His review. If He identifies something, repent and ask Him to help you, then trust in Him alone for your deliverance.

First, let's look at a very popular Scripture; the one about the "rich young ruler." Notice he had a lot going for him: wealth, youth, and power. A powerful trio where having just one of these in abundance would be a strong detractor from submitting to God. But having all  three must have made it very difficult to walk away from it. So it's no wonder the story ended the way it did. But what else is Jesus trying to teach us in this passage of Scripture? Quite a bit as we'll soon see.

IN WHOM DO YOU TRUST OR PLACE YOUR HOPES AND DREAMS

Mark 10:17-22

¹⁷ Now as He was going out on the road, one came running, knelt before Him, and asked Him, “Good Teacher, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?”

¹⁸ So Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. ¹⁹ You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery,’ ‘Do not murder,’ ‘Do not steal,’ ‘Do not bear false witness,’ ‘Do not defraud,’ ‘Honor your father and your mother.’”

²⁰ And he answered and said to Him, “Teacher, all these things I have kept from my youth.”

²¹ Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “One thing you lack: Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow Me.”

²² But he was sad at this word, and went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.

THE RICH YOUNG RULER'S PROBLEM

The rich young ruler had a problem of enormous proportions, but when he came to Jesus hungry for answers, he did not come with a matching willingness to do whatever was the "Good Teacher" instructed. Therefore, he learned that he had a problem in addition to the one for which he sought an answer. He knew he did not have eternal life, but he did not know that his wealth and power were more important to him than living in paradise with God forever. He was completely carnal and he though there was a shortcut to heaven other than Jesus. You see he was not willing to go the way of the Jesus, the Way. In the end, he refused to submit to the ultimate Ruler.

Bottom line, if you are trusting in something in this way, it's your god. I don't mean you trust that the chair is sturdy so when you sit in it you won't fall. Not that kind of trust. I mean the kind of trust that says, when I get this or that thing or person, I'll be all set. Or, how about this one? When I have enough money for this or that thing that God told me to do, I'll do it. But, friends if God has given you the green light, it ought not to be so. Stay with me. I have tested this. It is the difference between a brass heaven and an open one. Everyone wants an open heaven and it's faith that opens the way for God to move miraculously in our lives. The minute I believe I am doing it and not God's power working within me, I'm in trouble.

Mind you, Jesus is not saying riches are bad, so don't run out and take a vow of poverty or enjoy your lack. He is, however, saying that when you trust in, or depend upon those riches for your deliverance, that's the problem of idolatry. There has only been one Deliverer and His name is Jesus Christ. When He is replaced by person, power, place or thing there is another problem. More on this in our conclusion.

FAITH IS CRUCIAL

Please keep in mind you do not have to be rich for money to be your idol. If you have ever said, when I have the money I will do what God has told me to do. You have made money your god and your deliverer. If God says to do a thing, your job is to set out to do it. It does not make sense, it may seem crazy but “[We walk by  and not by sight.” (2 Cor. 5:7, Habakkuk 2:4) . A few points about faith:

1. Faith is not dependent upon you having the means to do a thing, then you would not need faith. Faith is required before you receive the means to do the thing God has asked you to do. I can try to explain this a million ways to Sunday and I still could not articulate being in faith.

2. Faith is substance of what you’re hoping for and evidence of what you have not seen. (Heb. 11:1) That means, it's the ability to (touch in) hope and to (behold) see what is not yet visible.

3. It is impossible to walk in faith and in the flesh at the same time. You will only walk away frustrated. 

4. The baptism from Jesus with the Holy Spirit and fire activates this spiritual component of salvation, that is, walking by faith and not by sight.

5. None of us have this down pat, but as we walk with the Lord and trust in Him day after day, we hopefully advance in this area. 

6. Finally, faith carries with it a component of humility. Habakkuk 2:4 tells us: "Behold the proud, His soul is not upright in him; But the just shall live by his faith." You cannot dependent upon God and be puffed up in independence at the same time.

7. There is no pleasing God without faith so get it by "hearing and hearing the Word of God." It all starts and ends with God. (Heb. 11:6)

8. Faith enables you to trust God at all times.

YOU MAY BE ASKED TO GIVE UP A LOT FOR THE SAKE OF THE GOSPEL MESSAGE 

Mark 10:23-28

²³ Then Jesus looked around and said to His disciples, “How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God!” ²⁴ And the disciples were astonished at His words. But Jesus answered again and said to them, “Children, how hard it is for those who trust in riches^[d] to enter the kingdom of God! ²⁵ It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”

²⁶ And they were greatly astonished, saying among themselves, “Who then can be saved?”

²⁷ But Jesus looked at them and said, “With men it is impossible, but not with God; for with God all things are possible.”

²⁸ Then Peter began to say to Him, “See, we have left all and followed You.”

THE REWARDS FOR THOSE WHO "GIVE .... UP" MUCH FOR THE GOSPEL MESSAGE

MARK 10:29-30

²⁹ So Jesus answered and said, “Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My sake and the gospel’s, ³⁰ who shall not receive a hundredfold now in this time—houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions—and in the age to come, eternal life."

TRUE GREATNESS COMES FROM SERVING OTHERS NOT IN BEING SERVED 

Mark 10:43-45

 ^43 "Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant. ⁴⁴ And whoever of you desires to be first shall be slave of all. ⁴⁵ For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”

PROGRESSION OF THIS PASSAGE OF SCRIPTURE in MARK 10

Have you ever wondered about the progression within this passage of Scripture? Taking a closer look what do we see? [Please note that the following quotations are paraphrases of the modern day language equivalent.]

First, Jesus challenges the wealthy young guy who sees himself as perfect and refused to give up his riches because....the Bible tells us he was very rich. And essentially, to him, God was not worth it. And realizing his struggle Jesus tells us how very difficult for the rich to enter the Kingdom because, after all, they have their riches to "save" them. But He cautions us that there is indeed hope because nothing is impossible for God.

You may you have all the world but you don't have God, you have nothing. "For what does it profit a man to gain the world and lose his own soul." (Matt. 16:26) Sadly, that is the choice the rich young ruler chose.

Second, Peter pipes in and says, "See, Lord, we're not like that guy, we left all and followed you." [Paraphrasing]. Then the Lord says something shocking, "I know what you gave up, your families, relationships, property for the sake of the gospel, but I am a debtor to no man. So you know what? Everyone who makes such an investment in the Gospel, I will repay 100 times. But it will come with persecution."  In other words, you'll get back more than you gave but it will come at a high personal price.

Third, He says, "but greatness is not about having great possessions and worldly influence, like that rich young ruler, the greatest person is the one who is the greatest servant. Mine is an upside down [to the world] Kingdom, the last shall be first, the one at the bottom who has my heart of service, is the one who is really at the top.

Taking it all together, He is saying, "I may ask you to give up all your people and your stuff, but don't worry I am good to My Word and will repay generously in this life. But even apart from all of that, the greatest is the one who serves the most like I am serving right now."

ABOUND AND ABASE 

As an important side note: That is why the Apostle Paul could say I could be content in any situation in which He places me. I can have much or I can have little. It does not matter. In Philippians 4:10-13, he says:  

¹¹ Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: ¹² I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. ¹³ I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

Of course, people often quote that last verse out of the context of ministry and submission to God to their detriment. Outside of the will of God and without the Holy Spirit, it is impossible to live this out. Only the grace of God can allow someone like Paul to say such a thing after so many beatings and imprisonments. He was satisfied with God.

THE GREATEST COMMANDMENT -  WHO/WHAT IS YOUR GOD? 

Deuteronomy 5:7-8 

7‘You shall have no other gods before Me.  

⁸ ‘You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; ⁹ you shall not bow down to them nor serve them.   

If someone or something other than God is whom or what you look to for relief, whether it's  drugs, relationships, money, power, then that is your god and you are in violation of the first and greatest Commandment. You have replaced Almighty God. And although you may not physically bow to a thing or person, but you are subject and submissive in a way you should only be to God, then you are an idolater. So both of these most important Commandments deal with giving God the highest place and serving only Him. In the New Testament, Jesus Christ repeats these Old Testament Commandment to worship only God. Now it's not just having other gods but loving God with our entire beings. Jesus added this component of love as the ultimate worship of God because He was the ultimate manifestation of God's love. (John 3:16).

Lest you think I am singling you out, I'm not. We have all been "guilty" from time to time of allowing others, whether people or things, to take the place of honor only God deserves in our lives. We have done this because it's easier to trust in someone we see or something over which we have control. But we do find out, sometimes more quickly than others, that these mini-gods pale. Yet, we often just move onto some other mini-god, until we surrender to the One true God who never fails us whereas people or things, no matter who or what, will always fail us. Thankfully, life is designed that way so that we can never be satisfied until our trust is in God through the Son, Jesus Christ.

Friends, our greatest gift to God Who gave us His Son is to ...

"Love the Lord your God with all you heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind; and 'love your neighbor as yourself.'" (Luke 10:27)

Love: The Ultimate Perfecter of the Spiritual Gifts

When we love we are being like God? But it's not just any kind of love and certainly not what the world portrays as love in movies. For starters, true love looks like 1 Corinthians 13, 1 John 4:8, and let's not forget John 3:16. Everyone knows at least the last portion of that Scripture including non-followers of Jesus. "He who does not love does not know God, for God is love."

Why do I bring the Bible into this discussion? After all, you may not be a Bible reader, and you may not even think the Bible is relevant to today's society. But you would be wrong because God is the very definition of love and He is the same yesterday, today, and forever; therefore He is always current. 

Why is love so important other than the fact that we all need it? The reason is where there is a vacuum of God's love, the enemy of our souls will seek to fill that gap with something else.
It's important to note that we are speaking of "agape," or unconditional love. Not romantic or "eros" love or even "philia" friendly love. This is the type of love that never changes just as God never does.

1 Corinthians 13 is a fascinating passage of Scripture for several reasons including the normal lesson on what love looks like. And we will discuss that here but I really want to look at Paul's connection between the spiritual gifts and love. I find it fascinating because we in the Church, especially in charismatic circles, but so much emphasis on the gifts, yours truly included, but Paul warns us about that. He warns us that the gifts are imperfect outside of the ministry of love which is the divine component that perfects them. That's because God is love and God is perfect. Do whatever you do in His love and you do it in perfection.

For instance, the partial gift of prophecy, faith, tongues, will all fail but since love never fails, when that which is perfect comes, it perfects the gifts. Notice that Paul is not referring to when we get  the great by and by, He is referring t now. That is why he begins this discourse with operating in the gifts without love amounts to nothing.

"The Greatest Gift

13 Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. ² And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. ³ And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing.

The spiritual in operation in the highest level done without love is nothing. That's hard for us to imagine in the church because we have such a celebrity mentality with out own brand of superstars in the faith. When they are operating in love, great! God is in it, but when it's apart from his genuine expression of love, it's just a gift operating in partiality no matter how impressive. (See my blogpost on the "Lesson on Spiritual Warfare: Prophecy vs. the Occult at http://asoniamorris.blogspot.com/2015/01/lesson-on-spiritual-warfare-prophecy-vs.html )

What does true love look like:

⁴ Love suffers long (patient) and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; ⁵ does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; ⁶ does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; ⁷ bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
⁸ Love never fails..."

Love is all of these things that really do not seems exceptional or outstanding or even really that impressive. They certainly do not seem spiritual by any means. Yet, that is how God chooses to describe how we are to love each other. Lest you think this perfection is an impossible standard God calls us to, this is a horizontal, human to human love that He expects us to 'administer' to each other. Walking in this kind of love is absolutely impossible without the infilling of the Holy Spirit. I don't care how amazing you are. You cannot do it without God's Spirit in you to accomplish it.

Keep in mind when Jesus gave His final charge before returning to the Father in heaven, He said, "I will go with you, I will never leave you nor forsake you." Matthew 28:19. That does not only refer to going on the foreign mission field to preach the Gospel and live among tribal people. That includes everything He told us to do that we are to continue in, even something as simple as loving our neighbor. I cannot be forgiving, love people who treat me badly, or any of it, without Him doing it through me. That is, I yield myself to Him on a daily basis in submission, and I don't have to struggle to do what He's told me to. He knows the human frame with all of our idiosyncrasies and weaknesses.

8" But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away. ⁹ For we know in part and we prophesy in part. ¹⁰ But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away.

Again the partial nature of the gives without love as the perfector. Prophecies on their own will fail, just tongues on their own will cease, knowledge on its own will disappear, because they are all partial but ...

¹³ And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

When the perfector, love has come on the scene, that which was partial is partial no more, it has been made whole, just like the One who makes all things new.

I leave you with 1 John 4:8: "He who does not love, does not know God, for God is love."

The corollary is: He who loves, knows God, because God is love.

And that is because true love is not just a human emotion but a divine impartation.

As life gets more difficult and things heat up on the world scene, let's trust God to help us to apply the perfecting power of love with reckless abandon.

Revisiting: "Freedom"

This is probably going to be my shortest post, but it will not be any less important to living the best life in Christ possible on this side of eternity.

How many of us have heard the Scripture: "You shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free." Believers and non-believers as well love to quote that Scripture but quoting it does not make a person free from bondage known or unknown. You see, there is a 4 "step" process to gaining true freedom.

John 8:31-32

If you continue in my word, you shall be my disciples indeed; And you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free:

31“Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are my disciples indeed.

32 And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”

Freedom has 4 steps, or rather phases:

Phase 1: Action: The believer must ABIDE , or another translation says CONTINUE, in His word.

I like CONTINUE better because it eliminates the person to "gets saved" then continues to do their own thing. Call it emotional reactionary decision, but whatever it is and for whatever reason, the person does not CONTINUE to follow Christ, obey His Word, submit to His ways, experience a change of heart from carnal being to a spiritual being.

Phase 2: Result: Becoming a genuine disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ.

This is the result of walking in step 1. A disciple is one who imitates the master ... what He does, what He says, His views even at times very inconvenient, His decisions, etc. A basic step is believing that every word in the Scripture is true without either error or contradiction.

Phase 3: Result: You will know the truth.

Another result of continuing or abiding in His word. In John 14:6, Jesus tells us that He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. So it follows that abiding or continuing to follow Him will result in knowing real truth. By truth, I mean truth as God deems it not man's construct of truth.

Phase 4: Result: The truth shall make you free.

Isn't it just like God do 3 things where we are only required to do 1. All we need to do is follow Him. Then all of these results will take place. We will be His disciples, know the truth, and walk in freedom. What a great deal!

But the opposite is also true: If we do not continue in His word, we are not His disciples, therefore, we will not know the truth and we will not be free. Put in that way, it adds a sobering effect to the notion of ignoring, disobeying, and just plain being ignorant of the ways of God. Thankfully, we have been given a Road Map, a Life Manual, a Love Letter, in the Bible.

The Disciples - and our usual - Response
But then you have the disciples response to this call to freedom. He was basically saying, "Listen, I won't always be with you guys so you have to continue even when I have left in order to be my true disciples, know the truth and walk in freedom no matter what people do to you for my sake." He knew they would be tempted to turn and run when things go tough so this encouragement was crucial. But they didn't get it. Look at their response.

33 “They answered Him, “We are Abraham's descendants, and have never been in bondage to anyone. How can You say, ‘You will be made free?”

They got proud. They denied they even had a need for freedom. Were they saying, we don't need to do what you just told us because we are Abraham's descendants and have not need for freedom. Did they forget the 400 years of bondage in Egypt? It's safe to say, they got a little proud. You would think by then they would have learned.

Isn't that like us, though? We deny we have a problem and our absolute need for God. Jesus was saying if you do this you would need deliverance later or of another kind because you I am telling a way that guarantees your freedom.

I am sure we all give God a little attitude at times, perhaps some of us more than others. Of course, not on purpose but by our actions we say we know better and do our own thing. In those moments we risk bondage because we are not continuing to follow Him.

This is a journey. Let's do ourselves the favor of following Christ no matter how inconvenient or even dangerous at time. True freedom transcends physical comforts or limitations because we will follow Him all the way into paradise.

Who's in?