I will never forget a day in Jerusalem sitting with a group of pastors relaxing and enjoying the cool shade below the leafy trees over looking the empty tomb of Jesus. Jonathan Leach rose to address us with exaggerated earnestness and a profoundly pensive face. His opening phrase shocked me to the core! "Jesus Christ was a total and complete failure..."
The protracted pause produced the desired effect. Dignified reclining pastors sat bolt upright and instantly became chronic asthmatics gasping for air! Corporate cardiac arrest was imminent, as souls filled with volcanic outrage were about to erupt, anti-blasphemy missiles prepared to launch! At which point Jonathan casually continued. "...at funerals. For in order to have a successful funeral the corpse must stay dead." Surely we, the priesthood of all believers, should have the same passionate response today when we detect discern or sniff any odor of death percolating up through the ground, over the sewers of hell and insidiously wafting over the Church. The musty smell of the sepulcher settling on the living stones of God is a blasphemous contradiction! A living Saviour demands a living Church. For the same power that raised Jesus from the dead, is toward us who believe, and our souls were created to be river beds for the life of God to flow!
The protracted pause produced the desired effect. Dignified reclining pastors sat bolt upright and instantly became chronic asthmatics gasping for air! Corporate cardiac arrest was imminent, as souls filled with volcanic outrage were about to erupt, anti-blasphemy missiles prepared to launch! At which point Jonathan casually continued. "...at funerals. For in order to have a successful funeral the corpse must stay dead." Surely we, the priesthood of all believers, should have the same passionate response today when we detect discern or sniff any odor of death percolating up through the ground, over the sewers of hell and insidiously wafting over the Church. The musty smell of the sepulcher settling on the living stones of God is a blasphemous contradiction! A living Saviour demands a living Church. For the same power that raised Jesus from the dead, is toward us who believe, and our souls were created to be river beds for the life of God to flow!
What is the evidence of God's life in our midst? Firstly, I believe it's very helpful to be clear on what it is not.
1. It is not essentially noise, dancing, excitement etc. Sadly many worship services are filled almost entirely with songs about us. This has almost become an obsession. We sing about our freedom, our blessing, how we can sing and dance, how our chains are broken. These songs are sung with the same gusto that fanatical sports fans sing their victory songs when their teams win. It is basically self indulgent. Very rarely will you be in a service today where almost all the songs are entirely taken up with the attributes of God Himself!-His holiness, His purity, the clean, righteousness of His anger and intense wrath, His power, the wonder of His immutable Being, His majestic authority, reign and rule, His unlimited almighty, inexhaustible strength, the true terror of His fearful judgment, His infinite wisdom, justice, glory, integrity, His tenderness, love and grace, mercy, kindness, redeeming goodness and patience. Think very honestly about the average services you have participated in over the last year. What was the focus of most of the songs? God's life very rarely flows for long in a bubblegum-popcorn praise culture that focuses mostly on our benefits but away from His attributes-lots of noise, movement and excitement but very little supernatural owe, wonder and miraculous atmosphere.
1. It is not essentially noise, dancing, excitement etc. Sadly many worship services are filled almost entirely with songs about us. This has almost become an obsession. We sing about our freedom, our blessing, how we can sing and dance, how our chains are broken. These songs are sung with the same gusto that fanatical sports fans sing their victory songs when their teams win. It is basically self indulgent. Very rarely will you be in a service today where almost all the songs are entirely taken up with the attributes of God Himself!-His holiness, His purity, the clean, righteousness of His anger and intense wrath, His power, the wonder of His immutable Being, His majestic authority, reign and rule, His unlimited almighty, inexhaustible strength, the true terror of His fearful judgment, His infinite wisdom, justice, glory, integrity, His tenderness, love and grace, mercy, kindness, redeeming goodness and patience. Think very honestly about the average services you have participated in over the last year. What was the focus of most of the songs? God's life very rarely flows for long in a bubblegum-popcorn praise culture that focuses mostly on our benefits but away from His attributes-lots of noise, movement and excitement but very little supernatural owe, wonder and miraculous atmosphere.
2. It is not just good ethics and morality. Satan is very adept in his seductive cunning and deceit in convincing people that the tree of knowledge of good and evil is far superior to the Tree of Life. Trying to just do good and avoid evil brings the curse of death. There are those today who appear to be morally, ethically and theologically sound, but demonic death exudes from them, even through their polite political smiles that are in cunning conformity to the Pharisee's protocol so alien and foreign to Christ. It is not just for outwardly bad activities that God removes His candlestick but it is often in the midst of many outwardly good activities that God eventually removes His candlestick from a church (Revelation 2:1-5).
3. It is not being weird-some who have laid claim to the miraculous life of God have exhibited such bizarre behavior, mannerisms and tones of voice that Hollywood has not been entirely unfair in its portrayal of us. Jesus could never be identified with the myriad of religious sub-cultures that we see today. His entire life revealed a texture of sanity so attractive, convicting and authentic. He was naturally supernatural and supernaturally natural. What is the evidence of God's life in our midst? Fruitfulness! People being saved on a regular basis! Enemies of God being reconciled through His death on the cross and saved through His life! (Romans 5:10). Regular healings, signs, miracles and wonders! Radically changed lives! Ever-increasing victory over sin and demonic oppression! Increasing deep, sincere love for one another! The Kingdom of God powerfully advancing in measurable ways, not in sentimental ways!
In the organizational model of the Church, self promotion, political maneuvering and hype gains prestige and position. In the organic model of the Church, fruitfulness is the sign of intimacy with God and divine endorsement. God's test for those in rebellion and contention against Moses and Aaron was simple. They were to write their name on the staff and leave it in the tent of the testimony overnight. God said, "The staff belonging to the man I choose will sprout, and I will rid myself of this constant grumbling against you by the Israelites." (Numbers 17). God is not interested in beautiful sentimental staffs but in budding fruitful staffs! How vain and foolish are our "works of God" if there is no God at work? (Galatians 2:8). It is not what we do for God that has any worth; it is what God does through us that counts! (Romans 15:18-19). God is infinitely more skilled in using us than we are in using God! What we try to do for God will always at best be earthly, human, ordinary and at worst, impart death! (Hebrews 9:14). What God does through us will be super-natural, sublime, extra-ordinary, transcendent, miraculous, sometimes frightening and shocking but irrefutable proof of God endorsing us by doing things through us this is impossible for us to do! That's evidence of His life! Sounds like a description of the church in Acts 2 to Acts 6!
Practically, how do we stay in this flow of His life?
1. By recognizing, by revelation. That we are in partnership with God! The Bible says we are God's fellow workers, co-laborers together with God and co-heirs with Christ! (1Corinthians 2:18; Romans 8:17). Mark 16:20 says after Jesus was taken up into heaven, "...The Lord worked with them..." The secret is letting God take the initiative and we make the responses. This is organic life. This requires sensitivity out of intimacy and servant hearted obedience that flows from faith motivated by love.
1. By recognizing, by revelation. That we are in partnership with God! The Bible says we are God's fellow workers, co-laborers together with God and co-heirs with Christ! (1Corinthians 2:18; Romans 8:17). Mark 16:20 says after Jesus was taken up into heaven, "...The Lord worked with them..." The secret is letting God take the initiative and we make the responses. This is organic life. This requires sensitivity out of intimacy and servant hearted obedience that flows from faith motivated by love.
2. By Recognizing, by revelation, that what the enemy intends for evil, God intends for our good. Pressure, failure, betrayal and criticism should not drive us into sulking, withdrawal, bitterness and self pity. We should see pressure as God's opportunity to expose and put to death in us self reliance, selfish ambition, self promotion, independence and pride. We should rejoice with relief and gratitude to God that pressure exposes such dangerous and ugly characteristics in us! Instead of self justifying, covering up and being defensive, we should repent! What a wonderful opportunity to be delivered from self deception and enter into deeper dependence and reliance on God's grace. This humility creates a greater capacity in us to cooperate, comply and conform to Christ in a more tender, sensitive and pure partnership that produces a greater demonstration and display of His life and power through us! (2Corintians 1:8-11; 2Corintians 3:16-18).
3. By recognizing by revelation that we are essentially spirit beings-God is Spirit (John 4:24); God has form (John 5:37), and we are made in God's image! It is a mistake to think of ourselves as natural beings who are trying to be spiritual. Actually we are spirit beings living in a natural world. The world of the Spirit is not foreign to us; it is home! Sadly, some Christians think that it requires intense periods of prayer and fasting to make brief sorties into the Spirit realm for a temporary manifestation or revelation from God, as though it were unnatural for spirit beings to be conscious of and know the realm of the Spirit. Once we recognize, by revelation, that we are essentially spirit beings it will be just as easy to touch the realm of the spirit as it is to touch the natural world.
4. By recognizing, by revelation, our need for boldness. Intimidation and the fear of man is the number one hindrance that restricts the flow of God's life through us! It takes boldness to release God's life. The early Church regularly prayed for boldness and so should we! (Acts 4:29). Paul asked the Church to pray for him to be fearless (Ephesians 6:19) and so should we on a regular basis! We are ambassadors of the highest government in the universe, given a direct commission from the nail scarred One who has already authorized us as ministers of the New Covenant, not of the letter which kills, but of the Spirit that brings life. Let God arise and His enemies be scattered! Let life swallow up death! Let the Prince of life be exalted among the nations!
We love you Jesus!
By Rob Rufus in the "Let's talk" - "Our Values" edition
3 comments:
What's the "Let's Talk", "Our Values" edition.....? A book or something by Rob, a message.....Just curious! I loved this post, very helpful insight....
The "Let's Talk" is a quaterly mag from the NCMI guys (http://www.letstalkmag.com/).
Awesome, thanks!
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