Book of Acts Church | Radical Disciples

Posts Tagged ‘Book of Acts Church’

What does a “Luke-warm” Christian look like?

Posted: January 29, 2015 in Uncategorized
Tags: Book of Acts Church, Francis Chan, lukewarm Christian, radical disciples

Here it is 3:22 am in the morning and I am wide awake with a troubled heart. I had a terrible night sleeping as my heart was heavy with the thought of all of our brothers and sisters being slain in the Middle east and in part of the continent of Africa by Muslim extremist. I wonder how many Christians in this nation are burdened by this fact or are they so busy worrying about their own little world that the passion of the Lord for His Children around the globe has not found its way into their hearts. Just looking at my 10 year old son and thinking of the little ones who even though giving the opportunity to renounce Christ and bow to a false god, willingly accept death rather than renounce their Lord.

Are our Children being raised with the same reverence for the Holy God we serve or are we simply raising up an army of lip service saints unwilling to face the true call of Christ. After all what is the message today coming out of main-stream Christianity in this nation? Is it not in large but a message of self help, personal financial wealth built around the theme of all that God will do for you rather than the true message of the Lord of what we should be doing for our neighbors out of our love and gratitude to a Holy Loving Father in Heaven? We even have churches putting on seminars about retirement plans were as Jesus taught that we are to store our treasures up in Heaven.

Is it not sad to anyone else that we live in a day when sacrifice is a foreign word in much of the Church. In fact I would dare say that much of the call to follow Christ put forth by Jesus Himself has been greatly watered down to a point where one would have to ask the question are such people who answered the modern day call really followers of Christ at all?

Everyone seeks the blessings yet few want to be in the position to empty themselves for another. People understand the word servant in that “isn’t that what others do”? One needs but to look around and listen to other Christians talking to see that so many seem to have a dim flame of the passion at best for the lost whereas the first century Church had a bright burning FLAME.

Now I can say with full confidence that it is not because the Bible had changed over time rather that the content or delivery of message of the Bible has been twisted to suite a people who want to live in comfort rather than living a life sold out to the One who brings true comfort to those in need. I know there will be those who flare up and call me out as judging others and so be it but I write this not to judge anyone rather to judge the message of the modern day Church against the message taught in the Word. I ask with with and in the authority of Gods Holy Word where is the fruit of ones salvation?

Have we become so spiritually blind that we can not see that this nation right now reaping what it has spiritual sown for the past 50 plus years? Have we gone to far? I would emphatically say no, for the mercy of God is there still waiting for His House to humble itself, repent for its neglect and love of the world and turn back to Him as its first love.

Ye the hour is urgent and we must turn back to the foundational teaching of our faith as found in the Word of God from which we can clearly see that the radical call to follow Christ has not changed. For at this time I would I dare say that if Paul or Peter where alive today they would rightly dispute that what some consider today as being an overly radical follower of Jesus Christ was in fact normal Christianity in the first century. Or the real question to consider would they even recognize the average go to Church on Sunday believer as a true follower of the Master they submitted and committed their lives to follow even unto death.

So in light of how Jesus called people to follow Him and the definition to which Christ said would define a true follower, one must ask Am I a “Luke-warm Christian”. The following is a list of what might be considered a Luke-warm Christian was derived from Francis Chan’ book Crazy love as he explored this very subject:

1. Lukewarm people attend church fairly regularly. It is what is expected of them, what they believe “good Christians do, so they go. (Isaiah 29:13)

2. Lukewarm people give money to charity and to the church…as long as it doesn’t impinge on their standard of living. If they have a little extra and it is easy and safe to give, they do so. After all, God loves a cheerful giver, right? (1 Chronicles 21:24; Luke 21:1-4)

3. Lukewarm people tend to choose what is popular over what is right when they are in conflict. They desire to fit in both at church and outside of church; they care more about what people think of their actions (like church attendance and giving) than what God thinks of their hearts and lives (Luke 6:26; Rev. 3:1; Matthew 23:5-7).

4. Lukewarm people don’t really want to be saved from their sin; they want only to be saved from the penalty of their sin. They don’t genuinely hate sin and aren’t truly sorry for it; they’re merely sorry because God is going to punish them. Lukewarm people don’t really believe that this new life Jesus offers is better than the old sinful one (John 10:10; Romans 6:1-2).

5. Lukewarm people are moved by stories about people who do radical things for Christ, yet they do not act. They assume such action is for “extreme” Christians, not average ones. Lukewarm people call “radical” what Jesus expected of all His followers (James 1:22; James 4:17; Matthew 21:28-31).

6. Lukewarm people rarely share their faith with their neighbors, coworkers, or friends. They do not want to be rejected, nor do they want to make people uncomfortable by talking about private issues like religion (Matthew 10:32-33).

7. Lukewarm people gauge their morality or “goodness” by comparing themselves to the secular world. They feel satisfied that while they aren’t as hard-core for Jesus as so-and-so, they are nowhere as horrible as the guy down the street (Luke 18:11-12).

8. Lukewarm people say they love Jesus, and He is, indeed, a part of their lives. But only a part. They give Him a section of their time, their money, and thoughts, but He isn’t allowed to control their lives (Luke 9:57-62).

9. Lukewarm people love God, but they do not love Him with all their heart, soul, and strength. They would be quick to assure you that they try to love God that much, but that sort of total devotion isn’t really possible for the average person; it’s only for pastors and missionaries and radicals (Matthew 22:37-38).

10. Lukewarm people love others but do not seek to love others as much as they love themselves. Their love of others is typically focused on those who love them in return, like family, friends, and other people they know and connect with. There is little love left over for those who cannot love them back, much less for those who intentionally slight them, whose kids are better athletes than theirs, or with whom conversations are awkward or uncomfortable. Their love is highly conditional and very selective, and generally comes with strings attached (Matthew 5:43-47; Luke 14:12-14).

11. Lukewarm people will serve God and others, but there are limits to how far they will go or how much time, money and energy they are willing to give (Luke 18:21-25).

12. Lukewarm people think about life on earth much more often than eternity in heaven. Daily life is mostly focused on today’s to-do list, this week’s schedule, and next month’s vacation. Rarely, if ever, do they intently consider the life to come. Regarding this, C.S. Lewis wrote, “If you read history you will find that the Christians who did most for the present world were precisely those who thought most of the next. It is since Christians have largely ceased to think of the other world that they have become so ineffective in this” (Philippians 3:18-20; Colossians 3:2).

13. Lukewarm people are thankful for their luxuries and comforts, and rarely consider trying to give as much as possible to the poor. They are quick to point out, “Jesus never said money is the root of all evil, only that the love of money is.” Untold numbers of lukewarm people feel “Called” to minister to the rich; very few feel “called” to minister to the poor (Matthew 25:34, 40; Isaiah 58:6-7).

14. Lukewarm people do whatever is necessary to keep themselves from feeling too guilty. They want to do the bare minimum, to be “good enough” without it requiring too much of them. They ask, “How far can I go before it’s considered a sin?” instead of “How can I keep myself pure as a temple of the Holy Spirit?” They ask, “How much do I have to give?” instead of “How much can I give?” They ask, “How much time should I spend praying and reading my Bible? Instead of “I wish I didn’t have to go to work, so I could sit here and read longer!” (1 Chronicles 29:14; Matthew 13:44-46).

15. Lukewarm people are continually concerned with playing it safe; they are slaves to the god of control. This focus on safe living keeps them from sacrificing and risking for God (1 Timothy 6:17-18; Matthew 10:28).

16. Lukewarm people feel secure because they attend church, made a profession of faith at age twelve, were baptized, come from a Christian family, vote Republican, or live in America. Just as the prophets in the Old Testament warned Israel that they were not safe just because they lived in the land of Israel, so we are not safe just because we wear the label Christian or because some people persist in calling us a “Christian nation” (Matthew 7:21; Amos 6:1)

17. Lukewarm people do not live by faith; their lives are structured so they never have to. They don’t have to trust God if something unexpected happens-they have their savings account. They don’t need God to help them – they have their retirement plan in place. They don’t genuinely seek out what life God would have them live – they have life figured and mapped out. They don’t depend on God on a daily basis – their refrigerators are full and, for the most part, they are in good health. The truth is, their lives wouldn’t look much different if they suddenly stopped believing in God (Luke 12:16-21; Hebrews 11).

18. Lukewarm people probably drink and swear less than average, but besides that, they really aren’t very different from your typical unbeliever. They equate their partially sanitized lives with holiness, but they couldn’t be more wrong (Matthew 23:25-28).

Written by Russ Welch

PROSPERITY GOSPEL?

Posted: July 11, 2013 in disciples life, Kingdom Teaching, Prophetic, teaching, wilderness
Tags: Book of Acts Church, Christian life, deception, Doctrines, Prosperity gospel

Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? . . . Therefore do not worry, saying, “What shall we eat?” or “What shall we drink?” or, “What shall we wear?” Matthew 6:25-26

These are the words of our Lord when He was teaching the multitudes what is important in this life, and to not worry about having what you need, as God knows what you need, even before we may ask Him in prayer. When pondering this great truth, that we trust in God for our very sustenance, and the breath we breathe, I think on people who ask me about Prosperity Gospel and the many tele-evangelist that speak of “Name it and Claim it” theology. Is it biblical and is God pleased with the so called “ministers” that drive fancy cars, live in expensive homes (sometimes several of them) and jet set all around the world spreading their “doctrine” purporting that we have a kindly “Grandfather in the sky” that just loves to make us all rich. Does He and is there something more than meets the eye for the followers of this aberration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ? I won’t speak for God if He is pleased, but you must determine that for yourself by their fruits. For an indepth examination of this movement follow this URL:

http://www.deceptioninthechurch.com/word-faith.html

Newsflash: Benny Hinn caught in a awkward moment with Paula White, another prosperity gospel “minister”. Won’t these folks learn?

http://ivarfjeld.wordpress.com/2010/08/01/benny-hinn-caught-in-adultery-and-web-of-lies-in-rome/

I believe that these ministers are taking scripture and twisting it into what I believe is a “fleecing” of the flock for the multitudes who desire riches in this life, instead of seeking riches in the next life. They pull scriptures as proof text to their cause such as:

“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it will be opened to you.” –Matthew 7:7

Many-among them preachers of the “prosperity gospel”-believe that the focus of this verse is on receiving things, that is, that we will get whatever we ask for as long as we ask according to God’s will. While this is a true principle, if put in terms of materialism, it misses the real point Jesus intended because He never appeals to our vanity or instructs us to satisfy human nature’s selfish desires. I have a dear sister in Christ who laments that she is surrounded by false teachings of prosperity gospel and the dumbing down of the church with its feel good message, in direct conflict with scripture. It takes faith and courage not to be swept away by the lust of the flesh and the pride of life. This is what these modern churches are professing. It’s not about reaching the lost for Jesus Christ, but making churches social clubs, or not churches at all, but a shopping mall and coffee shops, and “hey, if you like this shopping experience, come to church and we’ll give you some more food for your fleshly appetite. Would you like some more coffee?” What is wrong with this picture?

God’s Word is about “giving to others” not “getting rich”. It’s a give Gospel, not a get gospel. Leading that person to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ as their only hope for eternal life should be every Christian’s priority focus. That is the way God has intended for each of us as Christians to work for His harvest of souls. We should be more concerned about reaching out to others to meet their needs, instead of hording riches in this life that will all eventually fade away, as so much dust in the wind anyway. What did Jesus say?

Matthew 6:19 Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:

6:20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:

6:21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

Sunday Morning Tele-Evangelist or TBN

I see many of these preachers on the Satanic box we have in the corner of most living rooms, called your TV, come on with their fancy station call letters, ie. TBN, (paid with God’s tithe) begging for more money. I remember back many years ago of PTL and Jim Bakker doing little preaching but begging for more money. Where was the instruction? Where was the teaching of the whole counsel of the Word of God? There was none of it. Then we went through the likes of Jimmy Swaggart and his indiscretions with a paid prostitute, twice. Today we have more wolves in sheep’s clothing that have entered into our midst and have perverted the Gospel to their own riches. Tele-Evangelism is big business and has made these men fabulously wealthy. I think of people like Joel Olsteen, Benny Hinn, Paul Crouch, Creflo Dollar, Kenneth Copeland and just about anybody that comes on this station called Trinity Broadcasting Network (sic) and utter a lot of false statements. They make me shutter with their arrogance and demanding that God give everyone the goose that laid the golden egg, or the fancy house, or the big car, expensive clothes, fancy jewelry and they want that all for you? Really? God warned us in His Word of such men:

Matthew 7:15 Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.

7:16 Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?

7:17 Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.

7:18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.

7:19 Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.

These tele-evangelist today are not ministers of God’s Word, but preach a “Purpose Driven Life” or Mo’ Money! They are professors and purveyors of the human pride and the need for “stuff.” They preach an aberration of God’s Word, and another gospel that Paul warned us about. Galatians,

1:6 I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel:

1:7 Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ.

1:8 But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.

1:9 As we said before, so say I now again, if any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.

When was the last time that you saw any of these slick preachers get up with open Bible in hand and preach the unadulterated truth of God’s Word? I’ve seen many of them, most of them with headsets on and speaking for hours and never, never quote scripture. NOT ONCE!! Does a Berean study of God’s Word support their oratory and fancy words? What do we hear if we sit in front of the box in your living room and listen to them for more than 5 minutes? We hear a social gospel and a feel good message of personal development, not Jesus Christ and Him crucified which they do not proclaim. They drone on about what you need to do to have the “good life” in this world, deal with depression that you don’t have the lastest gadget or the newest car out there, or get whatever else that you may want. You need a purpose, and they give you one, “get mo’ stuff”.

There’s only one catch, to get mo’ stuff, you must send them your mo’ money. Give till it hurts and hurts some more. Not just 10% or 20%, but give more as a sign of faith in the goodness of God. They call it “seed” money. Plant your seed and God will give you back more than you can give. They call upon this verse:

Luke 6:38 Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.

Is this what our Lord was talking about that to give till it hurts to these ministries gives you a heads up on receiving from God whatever you can think of or pray for? I’ve heard so many people stand up and say that you just have to reach out and claim with both hands by speaking the words, and God will bring it to pass. That is the “Name it and Claim it” Theology dubbed Word of Faith. So many people miss what God is telling us through the Words of His Son when He spoke about giving to others. These preachers of a false gospel invoke a “Grandfatherly God” who gives His children whatever they desire. Or another one is that they hold God hostage in their misguided belief that God cannot refuse them anything, because He Said So!! So they think. God loves a cheerful giver who expects nothing in return, but to give in order to get ‘mo stuff” is misdirected and a sign of being selfish in your attitude and not about giving out of love of your neighbor!

AS YOU DO UNTO OTHERS….

Human nature tends to value the wrong things in life-to eat, drink, and be merry-things without eternal worth. Because of this temptation, people’s main anxiety concerns accumulating this world’s luxuries. A rich man may even be embarrassed by his inability to store his hoarded wealth, but he never considered using his riches for the benefit of others. Irishman Jonathan Swift observed, “Nothing is so hard for those who abound in riches as to conceive how others can be in want.” A generous person, however, sees the needs of others first

Proverbs 11:25-26;). The liberal soul shall be made fat: and he that watereth shall be watered also himself.

11:26 He that withholdeth corn, the people shall curse him: but blessing shall be upon the head of him that selleth it.

11:27 He that diligently seeketh good procureth favour: but he that seeketh mischief, it shall come unto him.

We should sow goodness and generosity so we will reap the same as Paul said in:

Galatians 6:7-10,

6:7 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.

6:8 For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.

6:9 And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.

Do we not see that if we are generous and think of others before our selves, that what we give to others individually will bring us friends and allies in this life, that when we need something, they are the first to be there to meet out needs in return?

Galatians 6:10 As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.

I don’t begrudge giving for the help of brethren in need or want and neither should any Christian brethren. Nor do we turn away from helping our fellow man when the opportunity arises, but we give to the ministry as was done to the Levitical priesthood in the Old Testament for their work of ministering in the Temple in Jerusalem as they had no inheritance but the work of God. It is the same as meeting the needs of ministers who spread the Good News of the coming Kingdom of God, but not to the extent that these preachers mentioned live lavish lifestyles and fall into sins of the flesh that have been zealously, even with delight reported by our news media when one of them is caught “with his pants down” so to speak.

1st Timothy 5:17 Let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honour, especially they who labour in the word and doctrine.

5:18 For the scripture saith, Thou shalt not muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn. And, The labourer is worthy of his reward.

Adam Clarke comments here,

Almost every critic of note allows that double honor, here, signifies reward, stipend, wages. Let him have a double or a larger salary who rules well; and why? Because in the discharge of his office he must be at expense, in proportion to his diligence, in visiting and relieving the sick, in lodging and providing for strangers; in a word in his being given to hospitality which was required of every minister.

The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, on this same section, states,

Elders, those who directed the affairs of the church. Those who performed their functions well were worthy of double honor. Since the word honor (5092) in this case means compensation, remuneration ‘that which is paid in honor of another’s work ‘double honor probably refers to an honorarium or wage.

It says a wage because of expenses doing their duties of the office, requires being supported by the members under their ministry to promote the Kingdom of God, not riches that would embarrass most sane men of God, if they be of a true and upright soldier for promoting salvation through no other but Jesus Christ and His shed blood on Calvary. Ministers should be protecting the flock, not fleecing them, but leading them to a life found in Jesus Christ. They should not, must not take advantage of the poor soul who believes their unscriptural message and follows them due to ignorance of the Truth found in their Bible, which they may not even read or understand.

I have family members who have been caught up in the personality of these charlatans, because they are charismatic and speak a feel good gospel. Who doesn’t want to feel good about their life and a brighter future? It’s a terrible mindset that leads people to follow men, instead of God found in the pages of your bible. These are people who are unfamiliar with the scriptures, or they have been led astray by idolizing men in white suits and preacher haircuts used in many gospel quartets of the past. Don’t they look the part? Don’t they look “holy” to you? Don’t you just love to hear them speak and hang onto every word they say, punctuated with a quick “hallelujahs” or “praise the Lord.” They get you excited. You feel euphoric, giddy while clapping your hands in agreement and calling out “Amen, brother,” and then they hit you with the message they came for all along which is, I need your money in all their Elmer Gantry impersonations.

JESUS AND THE RICH YOUNG RULER

I am reminded of the rich man that came to Jesus and asked Him a question:

Matthew 19:16 And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?

19:17 And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.

Reading on down, Jesus said:

19:21 Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.

19:22 But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions.

19:23 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven.

19:24 And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.

Unlike what many of us would do, Christ avoids becoming mired in a dispute about the rich man’s claim that he has kept the law and what does he lack, but gets right to the bottom line: The young man’s love of the world. He tells him to sell his possessions, give the money away, and follow Him as a disciple. Yet, the young ruler was unwilling to do this. His treasure was here on earth. His money exerted a stronger tug on his heart than Jesus Christ did. Matthew Henry says in his commentary, “When we embrace Christ, we must let go of the world, for we cannot serve God and money.”

That is the unseen message that drives the Prosperity Gospel, the love of this world and the love of money and riches. The more we have in luxuries, the more we are tied to this world. The more we are intoxicated with the Prosperity Gospel and its promise of riches supplied by our following these men who preach another “gospel”, then the more we rely on ourselves and our ability to get wealth by holding God hostage and holding these men up as our examples of righteous living. Ultimately, the sad truth is more we will ignore what is the most important, or should be, in our lives. It is a dangerous road many have been led astray upon. We must seek the Kingdom of God and His righteousness:

Matthew 6:33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

6:34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

Finally, my brethren and those who follow this teaching, turn to the only supplier of your every need and ask Him for what is best for your growth as a follower of Jesus Christ and His coming Kingdom here on earth. Remember in closing what Paul wrote in Philippians:

4:19 But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

– By Pastor Mike Taylor – http://www.churchofgod-usa.org/1/post/2013/07/prosperity-gospel.html

A Christless Pentecost

Posted: April 4, 2013 in disciples life, Kingdom Teaching, Prophetic, teaching, wilderness
Tags: Baptism of fire, Book of Acts Church, Bride of Christ, David Wilkerson

The following is a prophetic warning from Azusa Street 75 years ago, concerning the dangers of a Chrisiless Pentecost!

Frank Bartleman was an eyewitness to the out-pouring of the Holy Spirit in 1907 at Azusa Street, Los Angeles. He has been characterized as the Reporter of the Azusa Street Revival. Nearly 75 years ago, during the outpouring, he wrote a tract warning of a Christless Pentecost

He warned: “We may not hold a doctrine, or seek an experience, except in Christ. Many are willing to seek power in order to perform miracles, draw attention and adoration of the people to themselves, thus robbing Christ of His glory, and making a fair showing in the flesh. The greatest need would seem to be for true followers of the meek and lowly Jesus. Religious enthusiasm easily goes to seed. The human spirit so predominates the show-off, religious spirit. But we must stick to our text-Christ.

“Any work that exalts the Holy Ghost or ‘gifts’ above Jesus will finally end up in fanaticism. Whatever causes us to exalt and love Jesus is well and safe. The reverse will ruin all. The Holy Ghost is a great light, but focused on Jesus always for His revealing.

“Where the Holy Ghost is actually in control, Jesus is proclaimed the Head-the Holy Ghost, His executive.”

In another place, Brother Bartleman warned:

“The temptation seems to be toward empty manifestations. This does not require any particular cross, or death to the self-life. Hence it is always popular.

“We may not put power, gifts, the Holy Ghost, or in fact anything ahead of Jesus. Any mission that exalts even the Holy Ghost above the Lord Jesus Christ is bound for the rocks of error and fanaticism.

“There seems to be a great danger of losing sight of the fact that Jesus was ‘all in all’ The work of Calvary, the atonement, must be the center for our consideration. The Holy Ghost will never draw our attention from Christ to Himself, but rather reveal Christ in a fuller way. We are in danger of slighting Jesus – getting Him ‘lost in the temple,’ by the exaltation of the Holy Ghost and of the gifts of the Spirit. Jesus must be the center of everything.”

I do not take Brother Bartleman’s warning lightly. The danger of a Christless Pentecost is very real today. I say to you it is possible to gather Spirit-filled people in one place, praising and lifting up their hands – and still have Christ walking among them as a stranger!

It’s true He said, “Where two or three have gathered together in My name, there I am in their midst.” (Matt. 18:20 NASB) But He can be in our midst as a stranger! Ignored, unrecognized – even by those who meet in His name! The Jews gathered every Sabbath in the synagogue to speak of His name, and to prophesy of His coming. They praised the name of the Father who promised to send Him. They spoke the Messiah’s name with awe and reverence. Then, when He came and walked among them – He was not recognized! He was a stranger to them!

Christ, a stranger in the midst of a Spirit-filled congregation? A stranger in the midst of those who speak His name – who worship the Father who sent Him? A stranger to those who sing His hosannas, who call Him “Lord, Lord”?

Yes! Absolutely yes! It is not only possible – it is happening among God’s chosen people today!

Let me show you three ways in which we are making Christ a stranger In our midst! May the Holy Spirit take away our spiritual blindness so we can once again see Him as He really is – LORD OF ALL!

I. We Make Christ A Stranger – By Giving The Holy Spirit Pre-Eminence Over Him!
Christ, and Christ alone, must be the center of life and worship!

“And He is the head of the body, the Church: who Is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things He might have the pre-eminence. For it pleased the Father that in Him should all fullness dwell…” (Col. 1:18-19 KJV)

“That in all things He might have the pre-eminence…” That is – distinguished and spoken of above all others. Having first place in all things. Not even the Holy Spirit is to be exalted above that name! The upper room must never overshadow the Cross! We dare not think of Christ as simply the one who sent the Holy Spirit. In other words, “Thank You, Jesus, for sending someone better.” Christ sent the Holy Spirit to reveal His own fullness within us.

When the Holy Spirit becomes the center of our attention, the church gets out of focus! The Holy Spirit descended upon Christ as He came out of baptismal waters, and the Father said of Him: “This is My beloved Son – In whom I am well pleased…” The Spirit descended bodily like a dove, but the focus was on the Lamb of God – who taketh away the sins of the world. Not the dove, but the Lamb!

Christ told His disciples of a coming Pentecost, when the Spirit would be outpoured for a single purpose: It was to be a power given to lift up the name of Christ! “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost Is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto Me… unto the uttermost part of the earth…” (Acts 1:8 KJV)

Jesus made it clear that when the Spirit comes He will not draw attention to Himself, but will focus on Christ’s words. He will exalt Christ.

“…when He, the Spirit of truth, is come… He shall not speak of Himself… He shall glorify Me: for He shall receive of Mine, and shall show it unto you. All things that the Father hath are Mine: therefore said I, that He shall take of Mine, and shall show It unto you.” (John 16:13-15 KJV)

Jesus said, “He will show you My glory, My power, My Kingdom. He will remind you of all My words.” The primary work of the Holy Spirit is not fellowship, although He does bring believers together as one in Christ. It is not ecstasy. It is not simply to teach us an unlearned tongue. The Spirit has come to exalt Christ! To guide all mankind to the truth that Christ is Lord! It is not enough to say the Spirit has brought us close to each other – He must bring us closer to Christ!

The fullness of the Spirit is the fullness of Christ If you do not have a consuming love for Christ, you do not have a Holy Ghost baptism! Christ, the baptizer, sent the Holy Spirit to fire our souls over lost humanity, to get us out into the highways and hedges to reach the unsaved. To shake up our lazy lifestyles and get us to doing His work. The blessed Holy Spirit will be grieved, and finally withdraw, the moment men try to exalt Him above the Son of God! He will not permit His power to be abused by those who want only the gift and not Christ, the Giver!

What is a true Holy Ghost meeting? Is it where people all speak with tongues? Or where people are healed? Where saints jump for joy? Where saints are prophesying? More – much more than that! It is where Christ is being exalted, where His holiness pierces the soul, where men and women fall before His holy throne, broken, humbled – crying, “Holy, Holy.” The moving of the Holy Spirit is a moving closer to Christ, deeper in Christ, with a greater submission to His Lordship!

II. Christ Is Made A Stranger When People Praise Him, But Will Not Pray To Him!
We praise a Christ to whom we will not pray! We have become a praising people, but not a praying people. For many of God’s people the prayer closet is a relic of the past. “Why ask God for what He has already promised? Just get hold of the promises and simply command deliverances!” We no longer want Christ as much as we want what He can do for us. We want an escape from pain and suffering. We want our troubles to vanish. And we are so caught up in our escape from pain, we lose the true meaning of the Cross. We refuse crosses and losses – no Gethsemane for us! No nights of agony! We don’t even know this suffering, bleeding, resurrected Christ!

We want His healing power. We want His promises of prosperity. We want His protection. We want more of this earth’s goods. We want His happiness. But we really don’t want Him alone!

The Church once confessed its sins – now it confesses its rights

How many of us would serve Him if He offered nothing but Himself? No healing. No success. No prosperity. No worldly blessings. No miracles, signs, or wonders. What if – once again we had to take joyfully the spoiling of our goods? What if – instead of clear sailing and problem-free living, we faced shipwreck, fears within and fightings without? What if – instead of painless living, we suffered cruel mockings, stoning, bloodshed – being sawn asunder? What if – instead of our beautiful homes and cars, we had to wander about in deserts in sheepskins, hiding in dens and caves? What if – instead of prosperity, we were destitute, afflicted, and tormented? And the only better thing provided for us was Christ?

Very few of God’s people pray anymore! They are too busy working for Jesus to talk to Him! Ministers especially have become so busy doing kingdom work, they have little or no time left to pray. There is time to visit, to build, to travel, time to vacation, to attend meetings, time for recreation, reading, counseling – but no time to pray!

Preachers who do not pray become promoters. They become frustrated building contractors. When they lose touch with God, they lose touch with their people and their needs. Preachers who don’t pray have egos that spin out of control. They want their own way. They substitute sweat for unction (anointing).

Evangelists who do not pray become stars, storytellers. They lack humility, so they manipulate crowds through emotional gimmicks. The cry of many pastors is, “Oh, God, where can I find an evangelist who doesn’t care about money, or who is not promoting something? One who can bring heaven down and make Christ real! Oh, God – give me a praying man to bring my congregation to its knees!” The shame of this generation is that we have too many talented men of God and only a few who have touched God in prayer.

There is even less praying in the congregation! I’m 100% for getting prayer back in our public schools! But that’s not God’s real problem! His problem is getting prayer back in our homes! His problem is to get His own chosen people to pray! And you are a phony if you fight for school prayer and neglect secret-closet praying yourself!

Do we pray? Oh, yes! When we need something. We have the formula down pat – “in the name of Jesus.” All we need Him for is to counter sign our petition checks before the Father.

I am weary of hearing people say, “This is such a busy age – I have no time to pray. I’d like to, but I don’t have time.” No! It’s not lack of time; it is a lack of desire. We make time for what we really want to do. Look at our Christian young people! Wasting hours of time playing Pac-Man, Galaxy War, goofing off, bored, restless, looking for some action! But no time to pray! No time for Jesus! Oh, God! Somehow! Some way! Get this generation on its knees. Not just the Lord’s Prayer, but a daily communion with Christ .

Our Savior, who has the care and concern for multiplied universes, has the time to pray just for you! He takes the time to intercede for you before the throne of God (Heb. 7:25), and you say you do not have time to pray to Him!

We work feverishly for a Christ we ignore. We will go anywhere, do anything, in His name. But we will not pray. We will sing in a choir. We will visit the sick and the prisoners. But we will not pray. We will counsel the hurt and needy; we will stay up all night to comfort a friend, but we will not pray. We will fight corruption! We will crusade for morality! We will stand up against nuclear weapons! But we will not pray!

Most of all, we don’t pray because we really don’t believe it works. Prayer is a bloody battleground! It is where victories are won! A place to die to self! A place where a holy God exposes secret sin! No wonder Satan tries to hinder prayer! A praying man sends a shudder through hell. That man or woman is marked because Satan knows prayer is the power that crushes his kingdom. Satan is not afraid of power-hungry saints, but he trembles at the sound of a praying saint!

III. Christ Is Made a Stranger In Our Midst – When We Want His Power More Than His Purity!
Reader Harris, an Englishman and director of The Pentecostal League of Prayer, once challenged a congregation on this matter of power and purity. He said, “Those who want power, line up to my right. Those who want purity, line up to my left.” The congregation lined up 10 to 1 – for POWER!

In the book of Acts, Pentecost was synonymous with purity more than power. Peter told the council at Jerusalem what God did at the house of Cornelius, “God…giving them the Holy Ghost, even as He did unto us…purifying their hearts by faith…” (Acts 15:8-9 KJV)

Who is the man or woman of God who has power? Is it the one who can heal the sick and raise the dead? Is it the one who can best talk in tongues and prophesy? Is it the one who draws the most people and builds the greatest church? No! The one with the power – is the one with the purity! “…the righteous are bold as a lion… (Proverbs 28:1 KJV)

The prophet Malachi prophesied of a supernatural purge coming to God’s house.

“… the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to His temple… but who may abide the day of His coming? And who shall stand when He appeareth? For He is like a refiner’s fire, and like fuller’s soap. And He shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and He shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness.” (Malachi 3:1-3 KJV)

This is a dual prophecy. He speaks of Christ’s first coming, and also of His second! He will come again suddenly, as a thief in the night. But first, He will purify His Church.

We are not ready for the coming of Christ! Is this the Church triumphant? Covetous, divorcing, depressed, worldly-minded, grasping for materialism and success, competitive, lukewarm, adulterous, rich and increased with goods, unaware of spiritual blindness and poverty, pleasure-loving, recreation-minded, consumed with sports, politics, and power – is this the Church Jesus is coming for? Simply coping, filled with fear and anxiety, satisfied only to have good health and happiness?

My Bible says He is coming back for an overcoming Church! A Church without spot or wrinkle! A people whose affections are on things above! A people with clean hands and pure hearts. A people who are looking for His coming! A people with a “new Jerusalem state of mind.”

The question is no longer, “What can my faith get me? What miracle will He perform for me?” The question now is -“How shall I stand before Him? How shall I make it at the judgment?” “… who shall stand when He appeareth?” (Malachi 3:2 KJV)

The question is no longer, “How do! feel – how do! get happiness? How do I get the desire of my heart?”

The question Is-“Can I withstand that moment when I stand before the Judgment Seat of Christ? How can I withstand when I’ve lived so carelessly, so selfishly, so neglectful of His great salvation?” The central issue now has nothing to do with this world at all. At issue is-“HAVE I NEGLECTED CHRIST IN THIS MIDNIGHT HOUR?”

The purge is going to begin in the pulpit! “…He shall purify the sons of Levi…” (Malachi 3:3 KJV) God is going to accomplish that by “turning up the heat ” God is going to make things so hot, so fiery, so intense, God’s men will be driven to their knees! This is the fire of the Holy Ghost! It is the fire of persecution. It is the fire of tribulation. The fire of unbelievable hardships, ridicule, gossip, financial problems. He is going to shake everything that can be shaken! He is going to shake, and scrub, and burn, and purge – and purify!

No man or woman of God will escape the purging! God is determined to get all the dross and filth out of us. The purge will spread from the pulpit to the pew! Get ready, saints! God is getting ready to expose all sin, all adultery, all foolishness! The Holy Ghost is going to reprove us of sin. How can you play games when God puts you in His crucible and turns up the fire? Your Holy Ghost baptism is going to have some fire put to it now!

Malachi said-“…the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven: and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up…” (Malachi 4:1 KJV)

God also promises to bring down the strongholds of the enemy! He is going to once and for all let the devil and the world know who has the power!

If God is about to do all that the prophets predicted He would – WHAT A GLORIOUS FUTURE JUST AHEAD!

A purged, purified ministry!

A Church that God is calling back to repentance and holiness.

A people washed, cleansed – offering praises in true righteousness.

A revival among our young people! Drug strongholds coming down! Alcohol and divorce no longer prevalent among God’s people.

The sound of prayer-intercession!

A people of God who will discern between the holy and the unholy!

Everywhere, God’s people turning again to the Word.

A tested, tried people, once again devoted to the Person of Jesus Christ!

His Person being lifted up to draw all men to Him!

Christ no longer the stranger in our midst, but CROWNED – PRE-EMINENT!

A Pentecost that truly exalts the name and power of Jesus Christ, the Lord of all.

By David Wilkerson

Message on the second baptism Baptism Baptism of fire

The Radical Christian

Posted: February 22, 2013 in disciples life, Kingdom Teaching, teaching, wilderness
Tags: Book of Acts Church, disciples, discipleship, radical christianity, radical disciples, sin

1. What is a radical?

“Radical” is one of those words that’s thrown around so casually now that it’s lost nearly all of its force and its distinctive meaning. In general use, it is close to a synonym of “good”. But its true meaning is to do with the concept of a root. A radical change is one that comes from the root; a radical politician is one who wants to change the roots of the political system; and a radical Christian is one whose roots are in Christ.

So the key question for us is this: what is the root of our lives? What does everything else grow from?

Paul draws out the importance of our root in the letter to the Colossians:

So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness
— Colossians 2:6-7

And Jesus describes it in the parable of the sower:

[Jesus] told them many things in parables, saying: “A farmer went out to sow his seed. […] Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root.”
[…]

“Listen then to what the parable of the sower means […] The one who received the seed that fell on rocky places is the man who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. But since he has no root, he lasts only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, he quickly falls away.”
— Matthew 13:3, 5-6, 18, 20-21

For us, as for plants, every aspect of our health and growth is determined by the nourishment we get from our root. A plant with no root will die, and a Christian whose root is not in Christ will find his faith dying. It is as simple as that.

A radical Christ hears the radical call of Jesus and obeys, not because he manages to persuade himself that it’s the best thing, or out of a sense of duty, but because his root is in Christ and so following the call is the obvious, natural thing to do.

The call of Jesus is as demanding to us to today as it was to his first disciples two thousand years ago:

Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.”
— Matthew 16:24

I want to be clear that being radical, in this biblical sense, is very different from being weird. Christians come across as weird when they’re trying too hard to be something they’re not, to force themselves into a spiritual or cultural mold that doesn’t fit their real identity. But being radical means nothing more or less that being true to the identity that God has given us.

2. How radical does God expect us to be?

In the opening section of his classic 1981 book The Radical Christian, Arthur Wallis writes:

If any man professes to call himself a child of God, a disciple of Christ, or a citizen of the kingdom, and yet is bereft of this radicalism, he would be well advised to take a long hard look at his Christian profession. Can it be real gold without this hallmark?
[…]

The radical Christian […] is not a special Christian. He simply qualifies for New Testament normality.
— Arthur Wallis, The Radical Christian, p15

The bible doesn’t envisage any other kind of Christian than what we’re calling “radical”. In the New Testament, radical Christians would not be called radical, they’d just be called Christians!

Being a radical Christian is not a special, high call that’s just reserved for a few special people. It is what God desires for each of us, expects from each of us, and has equipped each of us for. There is no real alternative.

When Dave Nunn (leader of the Bermondsey NFI church and helping with this plant) was a new and enthusiastic Christian, someone suggested that he should read Watchman Nee’s book The Normal Christian Life. He didn’t bother, because his attitude was that he wasn’t interested in just being a mundane, ordinary Christian; he wanted more than that from God. But years later, when he finally read the book, he found that that was precisely the book’s point:

What is the normal Christian life? We do well at the outset to ponder this question. The object of these studies is to show that it is something very different from the life of the average Christian.
[…]

The Apostle Paul gives us his own definition of the Christian life in Galatians 2:20. It is “no longer I, but Christ”. Here he is not stating something special or peculiar – a high level of Christianity. He is, we believe, presenting God’s normal for a Christian, which can be summarised in the words: I live no longer, but Christ lives His life in me.
— Watchman Nee, The Normal Christian Life, opening words.

2 Corinthians 5:17 says “if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” We are new people – God has given us a new root. Now he expects us to live from that new root instead of continuing to live our old lives from an old root. Doing this is nothing more than being true to what we are. It is holiness in its sense of wholeness.

3. How important is it to be radical?

In the first letter to the Corinthians, Paul spells out how important the way we live our lives is:

Each one should be careful how he builds. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man’s work. If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames.
— 1 Corinthians 3:10-15

This is a stern warning. The message here is that it is not enough just to cruise through a Christianised life on autopilot. Comfortable, middle-class church-attendance is not going to impress God. The warning to the Laodicean church in Revelation is even more thought-provoking:

I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm – neither hot nor cold – I am about to spit you out of my mouth. You say, “I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.” But you do not realise that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.
— Revelation 3:15-17

We must not sing “Jesus be the centre” and then make him peripheral, one ingredient among many in our lifestyle. If we inventory our lives and find that we’re going: family, job, God, football, then something is desperately wrong.

Treating Jesus as an optional extra, a “lifestyle accessory” may be the single greatest hindrance to our evangelism. Although there are many styles of evangelism, there are ultimately only two basic approaches. The first can be characterised by the phrase “ask Jesus into your life”, and is all about adding him in to whatever else our lives already consist of. The is completely unbiblical. Jesus never offered anyone anything like that. The second approach can be characterised by the phrase “give your life to Jesus”, and is an accurate representation of the offer that he made then and still makes now.

We must be ever vigilant against the tendency to drift from the second of these approaches, which can be perceived as threatening and confrontational, to the first, which is much less demanding for the people we’re talking to. When we present the gospel in terms of “here’s something nice you should add to your lifestyle”, we offend God, deceive our hearers and waste our time. The gospel of Jesus is much more stark: “Repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand!”

4. What is a radical Christian like?

The number one characteristic of a radical Christian is that he or she loves God more than anyone or anything else. In Paul’s case, his passion for God was so great that he actively looked forward to his own death:

To me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labour for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body.
— Philippians 1:21-24

The second characteristic is that a radical Christian works hard at the work God has given him or her to do. That’s not the same as burning out on meeting other people’s needs, but a recognition of God’s call and a response to it. Again, Paul is an excellent example:

By the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of [the apostles] – yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.

— 1 Corinthians 15:10
We see both of these attributes together in a single, paradoxical verse from the letter to the Philippians, in which Paul tells them:

Work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you.
— Philippians 2:12-13

Here, the motivation to work hard is that God is already at work in us, and has already worked in us; but our response to that is not laziness but a determination to respond to God’s work in us by working at what he has given us to do. Again, please understand, this emphatically does not mean that we work to earn God’s approval. Quite the converse: we work hard as a response to the fact that God has already given us his approval. We’re not trying to earn love, but to please someone who already loves us.

These are quite abstract descriptions of what a radical Christian is like. That’s how it has to be: there is no “badge of office”. I knew four people in the church at Bermondsey who were (and still are) radical Christians.

One is a full-time worker for the church and an outstanding preacher and worship leader.

Another is less visibly involved in public ministry but does a lot of work behind the scenes with groups like homeless people.
A third has, so far as I’m aware, no formal role within the church at all except as a member.

The fourth went alone to Africa to be a missionary in a Muslim country.

In each of them, the radical Christianity that God called them to is expressed differently. That’s because God deals with each person individually. Not everyone is called to be a missionary in Africa; but everyone is called to live a radical Christian life with Jesus at the very center of it.

5. How can we be radical?

When Nick asked me to preach this week, he wanted me to be much more practical than I usually am, and asked me to include “top tips for holiness”. I’ve thought about this, and the fact is I just can’t do it. The kind of radicalism I’m talking about here must by its very nature start at the root and work its way upwards and outwards. We can’t get there by imposing rules on our behavior.

So what can we do? It’s very, very simple. God says:

You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.
— Jeremiah 29:13

That’s all.

Remember that in the passage from Revelation earlier, God says to the Laodicean church, “You do not realise that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.” To realise that, and to hunger and thirst for more, is Step One towards biblical, Jesus-centred radicalism – just as in Alcoholics Anonymous’s twelve-step program, step one is to admit that you have a problem. That’s why Jesus says:

Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.
— Matthew 5:3, 6

If we want to be radical, if we want Jesus to be the root of our lives, then all that is required is that we make him the centre. It’s not necessarily easy, but it’s simple. And it all comes from the hunger for God that Jesus described in the sermon on the mount.

Where does that hunger come from? Well, hopefully from sermons like this one! Also from reading the bible, from anointed Christian music (which does not mean all Christian music), from time spent in prayer. My number one hope for this session is that people will go away from it hungrier for God than before.

Finally, to anyone who became a Christian in response to an invitation of the “ask Jesus into your heart” variety, I was to say this: sorry, you were misled. The call of Jesus to you now is the same it was then, but it wasn’t explained to you. That call is to turn your whole life over to him. Please do.

~Mike Taylor

Have you not counted the cost?

Posted: December 17, 2012 in disciples life, Kingdom Teaching, teaching, wilderness
Tags: Book of Acts Church, Kingdom teaching, radical disciples

Luke 14: 25-33: “And there went great multitudes with him: and he turned, and said unto them, 26 ‘If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. And whosoever does not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple. 28 For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first, and count the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it? 29 Lest perhaps, after he has laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him, 30 Saying, ‘This man began to build, and was not able to finish.’ 31 Or what king, going to make war against another king, does not sit down first, and consider whether he be able with ten thousand to meet him who is coming against him with twenty thousand? 32 Or else, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends delegation and asks conditions of peace. 33 So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be my disciple.”

Now I don’t see how anyone can read this saying of Jesus a not ask himself, “Am I really a disciple of Jesus?” These words challenge the most earnest Christian to examine himself and to feel a certain fear. How much more should it cause to tremble any so-called Christian who is careless, lukewarm, and not deadly serious about his obedience to Christ!

At this point in Jesus’s ministry a great crowd was following Him. Among then were people He knew were not serious, who were only superficially interested. He had enemies in the crowd as well as friends, some caught up in the excitement of this strange new teacher, some who thought they were serious, but Jesus knew they were not true disciple material. So He uttered these words of challenge, with a design to reduce the crowd, to send away those who were not willing to go all the way to the cross with Him. So He said:

“If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple…whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be my disciple.”

Was Jesus speaking only to the crowd, or is He speaking to us today? Most certainly He was speaking to us today. He said, “if any man,” “whosoever,” and “whoever.” That’s universal and applies to every believer. Jesus wants to admonish us today, to warn us that He will not tolerate a half-hearted service.

Before we look at this passage more closely I want to explain a couple of things. First of all, the word “hate” in the Bible does not always have the same negative force that our word has today. It sometimes merely means to love one thing less than another. For example, God says, “Jacob I loved; Esau I hated.” It’s obvious that God did not hate Esau in our sense of the word. He blessed him and made a great nation from his seed. But God chose Jacob over Esau to carry on the promised birthright. In Genesis chapter 29 we read: “Now God saw that Leah was hated, and He opened her womb, but Rachel was barren.” The NAS & the NIV translate is “unloved,” and “not loved.” Jacob did not hate Leah in the sense of having malice towards her. But he thought less of her than of Rachel, with whom he was in love. You cannot serve two masters; rather you will hate the one and love the other. Again this seems to be the weaker meaning of hate. You will serve the one and disregard the other. You have to choose. So you see when Jesus says that we are to hate “father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters,” He is saying that we must make a clear choice between Jesus and our family. The Bible teaches us that we are not to hate anyone in the sense of holding malice towards them, or wishing them ill. This would be especially true of our family. But the Christian life involves clear separation and radical choices.

When He says that we must hate our own lives, what does He mean? Are we to have self-hatred? Then how could He tell us to love our neighbor as we love ourselves? Paul says, “no one hates his own body.” No. What Jesus means is that we must choose Christ over our on life, our interests, our ambition, our safety, EVERYTHING.

And of course, Jesus was not inviting his disciples to carry a literal cross made of wood. He was speaking figuratively. We have a cross to carry, so what is our cross? What did He mean when He said: “Whoever does not take up his cross and follow Me cannot be my disciple”? Well, there are two crosses in the Christian’s life: Christ’s and his own. The Cross of Jesus is the cross by which we are saved; our own cross is the cross on which our own wills are crucified. I believe that our cross speaks of those moment—and they come to us daily—when our will crosses the will of God. God’s vertical, heavenly Will meets our horizontal, fleshly will. The two cross. And when that happens, our wills must give way to God’s.

And when Jesus said to forsake all, did He mean that we must sell all that we have, give it to the poor, and make ourselves homeless or enter a monastery? No, of course not. But He did mean something quite radical. He meant that we must let nothing, nothing—no material possession, no relationship, no profession, NOTHING come before Him in our lives!

Even after we have softened them somewhat, these are very strong words, aren’t they? These, and some of the other hard sayings of our Lord, would (as I said) challenge the most committed and faithful Christian. They would call the most serious and saintly believer to examine himself. How much more are they a reproach to the half-hearted, lukewarm, Sunday-only, part-time Christian! Jesus makes it plain in another place that He would rather a person be cold and indifferent towards Him than to be lukewarm. Where is the place, then, for the half-hearted, off-and-on Christian here? In this saying of Jesus, He lays to rest once and for all any notion that He will tolerate a half-hearted service.

When I speak of a Sunday-only Christian, I’m not referring so much to Church attendance as to the quality of our Christian lives throughout the week. I’m not talking about people who only come to Church on Sunday morning. For all I know they may have a deep, rich devotional life throughout the week. They may read the Bible and pray more than people who come to Church every time the doors open. Church attendance is significant, and it often indicates how serious a person is in his or her faith. But what I’m calling a Sunday-only Christian is a person whose only real contact with God and with other Christians is Sunday morning. The rest of the week they are pretty much like everyone else. They never open their Bibles.

They seldom pray, and when they do it’s to say grace at table or to send themselves off to sleep. Their neighbors, co-workers, and friends hardly know they are Christians, so little do they differ from their unsaved associates. Grace is wonderful; thank God for grace. But grace does not cover a lax, off-and-on, half-hearted service to Christ.

Based on these, and some other hard sayings of the Lord, I don’t think I have the right to present the Gospel in a soft, seductive way. Some of the hugely popular, seeker-friendly churches today never preach on these hard saying of the Lord. They preach only positive messages. They don’t want sinners to feel uncomfortable in their services. I’m afraid they may be swelling their rosters with unsaved (or at the very least) immature Christians. I see little resemblance between the way these churches make “disciple” and the way Jesus and the Apostles did. Jesus sought to warn off the unserious from following Him. These churches seem to want as members the same people that Jesus sent away.

When I was going to the jail to teach and preach, I noticed that the other minister would offer the invitation very gently, so as not to scare the potential convert off. “Every eye close, no one looking around. Now if you want to follow Christ, just slip your hand up. Don’t be shy. No one is looking. Yes, I see that hand. Anyone else? Praise God. Now if you raised your hand just come to the front.” Then he would quietly lead those who came forward in his version of the “sinner’s prayer,” with usually no mention made of repentance. So ineffective was this method that some prayed “the Sinner’s Prayer” every time we met. One man raised his hand when asked who was a Christian, then came forward at the invitation and prayed to be saved again. Bless their hearts, some of them prayed to be saved a dozen times.
Based on these and other hard sayings of Christ, I took a very different approach. I told them not to come forward unless they were deadly serious. I told them not to play games with God, not to pray for salvation unless they really meant to live for Him. When they did come forward, I had them repent of their sins, to ask out loud for God to forgive them, and to declare their intention to follow Christ with their whole hearts. When they went back to their seats, I said, “Now turn around and look at those around you. Look them in the eye and tell them this: “With God’s help I intend to follow Christ with all of my heart.” Then they sat down. I instructed them to study the Bible and pray, and when they got out to find a Bible-believing Church and to be baptized as soon as possible

Jesus Emphasized the Cost

Jesus didn’t emphasize the advantages of discipleship, although we know there are many and great; no, He emphasized the cost of discipleship. And He urged anyone who would follow Him to count the cost. In another place He said, “Whoever puts his hand to the plow and looks back is not worthy to be my disciple.” He is saying, in effect, “If you’re not determined to go all the way with Me, turn back now.”

There is a time to count the cost, to calculate just how far we will go with Jesus. There’s a time to ask, “How much of the world am I willing to give up?” How much do I really love the Lord? Am I willing to give up all sin? Can I get to heaven without being a fanatic for Jesus? Am I content to be a lukewarm Christian? But the time to ask these questions is before professing to “follow Jesus.” We need to settle that before we commit to follow Christ. These scriptures, if they mean anything, mean that following Christ can’t be a halfway thing. It’s worse to follow Him with half a heart than not to follow Him at all. After we have taken the measure of our commitment, then there’s no turning back, no lukewarm service, no compromise with the world.

In the strongest possible words Jesus says that He will not endure lukewarm Christianity.

Rev. 3:14-16: “To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation. 15 I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! 16 So, because you are lukewarm — neither hot nor cold — I am about to spit you out of my mouth.”

Pretty clear, isn’t it? Pretty clear, and pretty scary. People are lax and careless in their Christian walk for two reasons. They don’t fear God as they should, and they don’t love Him as they should. No devout, earnest Christian should be afraid of God’s punishment. But even the most sincere Christian walks in a kind of reverent, godly fear. And a person who isn’t trying his hardest to obey God in all things has every reason to fear. Even the Law commands us to love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength. Should not a Christian who is only half-heartedly serving God have fear? If we love Him we keep His commandments. If we do not love Him enough to obey Him, we should fear.

I John 4:18: “There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.”

If you are not serving God with all your heart, I want you to be afraid. Only perfect, obedient love drives out fear. I want your fear to spur you to action, to repentance, to a fierce determination to be all out for Christ.

I see nothing in all of God’s word to offer comfort to any man, woman, or young person, who is not on fire for the Lord, who is not willing to forsake all for Him, who does not put Him before family, friends, and future. On the contrary, lukewarm Christians are nauseating to Christ, and He is going to spit them out.

Discipleship is a serious business, a life-or-death matter. You must decide whether or not you will surrender the rest of your heart to Him if it is still in anyway divided. If you are holding back any aspect of your life from Him, you are not truly His disciple.

Let meditate on the words of this song:

Have Thine Own Way, Lord

Have Thine own way, Lord, have Thine own way.
Thou art the Potter; I am the clay.
Mold me and make me, after Thy will,
While I am waiting, yielded and still.

Have Thine own way, Lord, have Thine own way.
Search me and try me, Master, today.
Whiter than snow, Lord, wash me just now,
As in Thy presence, humbly I bow.

Have Thine own way, Lord, have Thine own way.
Hold o’er my being absolute sway.
Fill with Thy Spirit, till all can see
Christ only, always, living in me.

Amen

This article was shared from http://www.pearlofgreatvalue.com/CostofDiscipleship.php

What will History’s testimony of this generations disciples be?

Posted: September 11, 2012 in disciples life, Kingdom Teaching, teaching, wilderness
Tags: Book of Acts Church, disciples, radical disciples, sin, worldly kingdom

By Russ Welch

We must ask ourselves what is “untouchable” in our lives? I mean, what is there in our lives that we are not willing to sacrifice in order to serve the Lord? Is it work? Family? Friends? Reputation? Finances? Houses?

Whatever it is, until you are able to surrender it upon the alter of obedience, you will never truly be sold-out to the Master. The enemy knows it as well and it is that very thing that the enemy will key in on until he has you cornered.

Radically sold-out to Jesus or sold-out to the world?

“Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels, and then he shall reward every man according to his works.” (Matt 16:24-27)

We can see how this passage strikes a death blow to the current trend in much of the modern day Christianity that echoes and leans toward self-centered consumption. Many people wish to identify themselves with Christianity only for what they can get out of it. They view Jesus as a utilitarian genie, fulfilling every whim.

Sadly we find that some (with a growing number) in the Charismatic movement say Jesus wants to make you healthy, wealthy, and happy. If you are not all those things, then you supposedly don’t have enough faith to appropriate what’s yours. They claim Christianity is designed so you can get everything you need and want.

We even see where evangelicals and fundamentalists through the years have been guilty of propagating a Jesus who is a panacea for everything. They promote the get without the give, and the gain without the pain. Self-esteem promoters tell us Jesus came to boost our self-image. But they have fallen victim to narcissism–the pervasive self-love of contemporary society.

We must have a radical mindset transformation to where we realize that true disciples (radical disciples) have counted the cost, weighed their options, and they have stood their ground upon a personal & spiritual conviction that there is nothing in this world that can even remotely compare to the Lord nor is there anything that would hinder them from whole hearted totally abandoned life of servant-hood to Him….Just as history testifies to when we read about the radical disciples in the early years of the Church, when men and women who had counted themselves as bond servants unto their Lord, King and Master Jesus Christ even in the face of death.

We can read in the scriptures of how first century disciples “rejoiced that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name” (Acts 5:41). These simple, humble, but dedicated and convicted people were willing to risk and, if necessary, lose security, property, limb, and even life for Christ’s sake. And yet we think we are “suffering above and beyond the call of duty” if our religion might cause the loss of some “friends,” the approval of our family, or the esteem of the social leaders in our area.

History testifies to the fact that disciples of the first century Church, as well as those of earlier periods in our own nation, could always be identified because they lived “soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world” (Titus 2:12). Although they did not seek to be “odd-balls” or non-conformists just for the sake of being eccentric, they were different even as Peter indicated in 1 Peter. 2:9-12.

Yet with great sorrow we find that a large scale portion of the modern day Christianity has ushered in the era of being,”more tolerant” and “open-minded” about sin than before. To such an extent that we have become amassed with those who call themselves followers of Christ who dress (or undress), curse, drink, smoke, fill their minds with smut, and divorce, etc., just like the world around them to such a degree that it is next to impossible to tell who is the Christian and who is not by the way they live.

Brothers & sisters, these things ought not so to be!

Now, I am not saying that these qualities do not exist anymore today, or that the church is failing. There are many devoted disciples; I know some of them. We must realize that the Lords people in this generation have great possibilities. Yet we must also realize that these trends seem to be developing among us as they have in every previous era and I mention them only to warn us to be on guard. Unless each one of us has the kind of attitude displayed by the people of God of the first-century as revealed in the New Testament, we cannot be the kind of influence He wants us to be in this life, and we simply will not get to heaven

So, one of the questions that must be asked today is;

How shall history look back upon this generations disciples?

Shall History testify to a generation of “radical disciples” who were Radically sold-out servants to Christ the King or will it testify to a generation of “servants of compromise” who sold-out their King for the comforts of this World……?

Jesus does not want Luke warm followers – He desires Radicals

Posted: August 26, 2012 in disciples life, Kingdom Teaching, Prophetic, teaching, wilderness
Tags: Book of Acts Church, Bride of Christ, Kingdom life, Kingdom living, kingdom of darkness, Kingdom teaching, radical christianity, radical disciples

Jesus does not want Luke warm followers – He desires Radicals – in fact He clearly state states that if we are not radical about following Him He shall spit us out of His mouth. (Rev 3:16)

As the return of the Lord draws closer and closer, I believe we the Church are in a very crucial season and the enemy know that is is bringing great confusion into the Body. I see this especially as we look at calling of man verses the commandments of the Lord Jesus Christ in regard to “Grow or Discipleship” As we look at what the word disciple means we need to realize the enemy is out to destroy, twist, distort and pervert the teachings of Christ and today we are challenged with some real misconceptions of discipleship and what radical discipleship looks like.

So today let us ask the question what does disciple in the Bible really mean?

The word disciple comes from a Greek word which means, someone who not only learns but becomes attached to one’s teacher and becomes his follower in doctrine and conduct of life. In other words a disciple is someone who walks in the footsteps of his master or emulates his lifestyle.

Let us ask this question of ourselves today – Does my life emulate the life of Jesus?

There are a number of initiatives over the years that have been fruitful and not so fruitful. If we do not allow Holy Ghost to direct us, and together spend time in prayer and the Word we can end up leaning more on mans leadership than that of the Father.

We have seen this in our generation such as the of discipleship teachings that came out of the “Shepherding movement” which brought forth a perversion of discipleship teachings. In all honesty it birthed a season of “perverse and unbiblical obedience” to leaders. Many still struggle with these teachings today. Only the allowance of Holy Ghost to have the freedom to bring forth the Fire of Gods purity into our hearts and meetings can be a safe Spiritual wall against the influence of such dark deceptive doctrines, though they appear to be gentle as sheep these doctrines are wolves who seek to scatter and destroy the Lords sheep.

We must seek the Father guidance and come to the realization that there is more to this Christian life than what many are living. We must realize that the call of Christ on ever person who proclaims Him as Lord is a radical call.

If we open the Word of God and read it under the “Super-Vision” of Holy Ghost, we will indeed see that true Biblical discipleship if anything is radical. This is chiefly because it was taught and practiced by a leader who was more radical than his contemporaries. What he said and did practically blew the myths of leadership, and traditional views of serving God. Christ’s discipleship model is so radical because of its call, the cost and the rewards.

And to quelch the negative narrative that many will try to inject here by claiming that I am speaking about “work-based” salvation, let it be known that I believe that salvation is a free gift from God; you don’t have to do anything to earn it but everything else after getting saved is costly. If you ask the early disciples, the church reformers or any great men and women of God what price you must pay in following Christ, they would unashamedly without any hesitation would echo the very words of Christ who said, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever looses his life for me will find it.” Let these words deeply sink into our hearts.

We must not be fooled by the watered down gospel being taught in many Churches today. My friends the Gospel truth is, following Christ comes with a huge price tag attached to it. It calls for a life style of self denial, giving up of our rights, and willingness to go through suffering, pain, heartache and possibly death. What comforts or pleasures are you willing to deny yourself in order to know Christ? It is about time that we stop fighting; grumbling and quarreling among ourselves over who will make the next meat balls and spaghetti meal and as a Church take a deeper look at radical discipleship.

Sadly many “leaders” in the Church are playing a game with the Lord’s sheep today, they are like political leaders vying for the most sheep that they may be seen as a great leader whose Church is the largest one in the city, thus their anointing must be seen as superior to all the other shepherds in the territory. They love titles and you will see them amass them like badges of honor “doctors, bishops, rev, apostles etc – some will even be Rev, Pastor Dr, author, apostle so and so, as though by displaying their titles brings honor – Oh they will get the honor here for sure and then stand before the Father and answer why they sought to steal the honor and praise of His people meant for His Son.

Yet while we sit around deliberating on the merits and challenges of radical discipleship there are literally thousands of our brothers and sisters who are paying the price with their lives because of their obedience to the call of their master. I was moved and deeply challenged by the stand that young Iranian Pastor Yousuf took, though he was offered freedom from execution simply if he confessed that, Mohammed is the great prophet of God but he simply refused to deny his master and prepared to die. What an example of a radical disciple of Christ.

Are your ears open today – Do you not hear the alarm sounding across the land? Do you not here the Master Jesus Christ calling you for a radical discipleship. Are you willing to pick up your cross and follow Jesus? May the Lord help all of us with courage to radically follow Him, even if it means loosing our lives? My prayer is that all of us will hear the words of Jesus at the end of our life’s journey that are recorded in Rev 2:7, “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.” Amen

My take: Why my church rebelled against the American Dream

Posted: June 15, 2012 in disciples life, Kingdom Teaching, teaching, wilderness
Tags: Book of Acts Church, david platt, disciples, Kingdom living, radical christianity, radical disciples

Editor’s Note: David Platt, Ph.D., is the author of the New York Times bestseller Radical: Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream and is senior pastor of the 4,000-member Church at Brook Hills in Birmingham, Alabama.

By David Platt, Special to CNN

We American Christians have a way of taking the Jesus of the Bible and twisting him into a version of Jesus that we are more comfortable with.

A nice middle-class American Jesus. A Jesus who doesn’t mind materialism and would never call us to give away everything we have. A Jesus who is fine with nominal devotion that does not infringe on our comforts.

A Jesus who wants us to be balanced, who wants us to avoid dangerous extremes, and who for that matter wants us to avoid danger altogether. A Jesus who brings comfort and prosperity to us as we live out our Christian spin on the American Dream.

But lately I’ve begun to have hope that the situation is changing.

The 20th-century historian who coined the term “American Dream,” James Truslow Adams, defined it as “a dream… in which each man and each woman shall be able to attain the fullest stature of which they are innately capable, and be recognized by others for what they are.”

But many of us are realizing that Jesus has different priorities. Instead of congratulating us on our self-fulfillment, he confronts us with our inability to accomplish anything of value apart from God. Instead of wanting us to be recognized by others, he beckons us to die to ourselves and seek above all the glory of God.

In my own faith family, the Church at Brook Hills, we have tried to get out from under the American Dream mindset and start living and serving differently.

Like many other large American churches, we had a multimillion-dollar campus and plans to make it even larger to house programs that would cater to our own desires. But then we started looking at the world we live in.

It’s a world where 26,000 children die every day of starvation or a preventable disease. A world where billions live in situations of such grinding poverty that an American middle-class neighborhood looks like Beverly Hills by comparison. A world where more than a billion people have never even heard the name Jesus. So we asked ourselves, “What are we spending our time and money on that is less important than meeting these needs?” And that’s when things started to change.

First we gave away our entire surplus fund – $500,000 – through partnerships with churches in India, where 41 percent of the world’s poor live. Then we trimmed another $1.5 million from our budget and used the savings to build wells, improve education, provide medical care and share the gospel in impoverished places around the world. Literally hundreds of church members have gone overseas temporarily or permanently to serve in such places.

And it’s not just distant needs we’re trying to meet. It’s also needs near at hand.

One day I called up the Department of Human Resources in Shelby County, Alabama, where our church is located, and asked, “How many families would you need in order to take care of all the foster and adoption needs that we have in our county?”

The woman I was talking to laughed.

I said, “No, really, if a miracle were to take place, how many families would be sufficient to cover all the different needs you have?”

She replied, “It would be a miracle if we had 150 more families.”

When I shared this conversation with our church, over 160 families signed up to help with foster care and adoption. We don’t want even one child in our county to be without a loving home. It’s not the way of the American Dream. It doesn’t add to our comfort, prosperity, or ease. But we are discovering the indescribable joy of sacrificial love for others, and along the way we are learning more about the inexpressible wonder of God’s sacrificial love for us.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I love my country and I couldn’t be more grateful for its hard-won freedoms. The challenge before we American Christians, as I see it, is to use the freedoms, resources, and opportunities at our disposal while making sure not to embrace values and assumptions that contradict what God has said in the Bible.

I believe God has a dream for people today. It’s just not the same as the American Dream.

I believe God is saying to us that real success is found in radical sacrifice. That ultimate satisfaction is found not in making much of ourselves but in making much of him. That the purpose of our lives transcends the country and culture in which we live. That meaning is found in community, not individualism. That joy is found in generosity, not materialism. And that Jesus is a reward worth risking everything for.

Indeed, the gospel compels us to live for the glory of God in a world of urgent spiritual and physical need, and this is a dream worth giving our lives to pursue.

http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2010/12/23/my-take-why-my-church-rebelled-against-the-american-dream/

“I believe that David Platt is another Radical disciple of Jesus in our day, yet Christ calls each of us to be as radical as the disciples of the Bible” ` Radicaldisciples blog founder & Author Russ Welch

Spiritual Church (Ekklesia)

Posted: October 7, 2011 in disciples life, Kingdom Teaching, Prophetic, teaching, wilderness
Tags: Book of Acts Church, Bride of Christ, Kingdom life, kingdom of darkness, Kingdom of God, Spirit led life

We are as explorers moving day by day further into a new land , a land we have never before seen, filled with things we have not yet known. Almost every day of our journey reveals awesome sights about which we may have heard but were unable to understand or even imagine until our eyes feast upon it, and all of our senses are quickened as we examine it with great excitement. Suddenly, what we have only read about and could not fully understand now makes perfect sense as we partake of and experience the reality of that which has previously been only a promise.

The future has come to us now. The glorious reality of God and His kingdom reality is presenting itself more as we reach each new horizon and partake of the previously unseen spiritual reality of God. Truly our eyes are lifted up unto the hills of God far above the darkness of the fallen world unto the heavenly order descending from above. Truly what God has prepared for those that love Him had never entered our natural minds until this blessed day in which the Holy Spirit is revealing it to a new generation of maturing sons of God.

We are more than being revived. We are being made alive in areas where we have never lived before. Our spiritual senses and spiritual lives have been so dulled by centuries of natural living and natural reasoning and understanding that, though we were alive, we were as dead being blind and deaf to supernatural spiritual reality.

The supernatural works of God were foreign and appeared impossible to us. We relegated all current supernatural to only demonic sorcery. The supernatural gifts of the Spirit that should have been part of our daily lives were not functioning. Our natural animal instinctive living led us to look unto our own ways devised by our prideful natural minds to provide for our natural appetites, while the world died spiritually and drifted into a realm of deep darkness far from the light and life of spiritual living in God.

We made church into a human endeavor of natural functions and developed religion in an attempt to reach God with our natural efforts. We took a devious shortcut to life and developed religious forms and ways to eliminate the costly real way of the cross of self denial and acceptance of spiritual reality. In bypassing our personal cross experience, we missed the resurrection life of Jesus that came to move us out of our natural ways and into the supernatural spiritual ways of resurrection life in God.

Praise God we have come to a new horizon, and the brightness of the light of God has appeared. Forerunner scouts have returned to the camp of explorers with glorious reports of real spiritual life of God just ahead, and we are moving out at first daylight to experience the real assembling of God with His people in spiritual gatherings with God.

The Ekklesia church is not a natural thing it is a spiritual reality. The Ekklesia is made up of spiritual beings called out of the natural world and into spiritual reality gathered unto God in the Spirit – a spiritual gathering of living stones � an assembly of Spirit God, Jesus, many angels, and spirits of just men made mature in Jesus. All of our questions about headship, structure, and organization of church are dissolved as the Ekklesia comes together in the Spirit in the heavenly New Jerusalem on earth as it is in heaven.

Heb 12:22-24: But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven, to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect, to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than that of Abel.

For many centuries the church has been, for the most part, a gathering of natural beings with only occasional visitations of the Spirit touching the spirit within mankind. For the most part, natural effort went into performing religious rituals and praying mostly faithless prayers to a perceived distant God. It became a lukewarm church primarily concerned with social order and well-being. Skilled orators preached from a level of a higher caste than the ordinary laity who sat quietly at weekly meetings. Some received a sense of guilt and need for repentance of their sins, while others day-dreamed or fought to stay awake.

Probably no one even thought or dreamed of a gathering of spiritual beings on earth together with an innumerable company of angels, God the judge of all, Jesus the firstborn, and spirits of just men made perfect. We are so accustomed to living in the natural earthly side of our natural/spiritual being that the concept of the spiritual heavenly Jerusalem gathering on earth is hard for us to even think.

I believe God is speaking to His people today to step out of our natural side into our spiritual being side and look over the next horizon into the gathering of spiritual beings with Christ Jesus, Father God, holy angels, and spirits of others redeemed by the blood and living in the better things of the spiritual realm. The Holy Spirit brings all this to pass. Our spirits come together with the Holy Spirit and the entire God family and multitudes of angels.

Can we see it? Can we allow the reality of the spiritual Ekklesia to enter into our minds? Can we prepare now to come together in our next gathering as spiritual beings and not as natural people? No longer filled with conversation and considerations of natural things but filled with spiritual things � waiting upon the Spirit, instead of natural planning. This is moving into the next horizon of the reality of walking in the Spirit, abiding in Him and He in us. This is God dwelling with His people. The light of His glory will fill the room, and our hearts will knit together with God and one another.

2 Cor 6:16: �.. For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will dwell in them And walk among them. I will be their God, And they shall be My people.”

Rev 21:3: And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God.

Rev 21:23: The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light.

Supernatural will become natural in spiritual gatherings. There will be no need for pumping and hype, no need for natural human intervention and control. The Spirit of God will rule as the headship of Christ Jesus becomes fully evident. It is the family of God from heaven and earth coming together, worshiping the One who sits upon the throne in perfect harmony � multitudes of angels blending their voices with the spirits of justified men in heavenly melody rising to high crescendos and flowing as a mountain stream lightly through the valley and suddenly flowing with great strength and joy into a glorious waterfall to again come into deep pools of fresh sweet clear life in perfect peace – heaven and earth in perfect harmony praising God upon the throne.

Mat 18:20: “For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.”

John 4:23-24: “But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”

Keep on pursuing love.
It never fails.

Ron McGatlin

Study that ye be not deceived

Posted: September 5, 2011 in disciples life, Kingdom Teaching, Prophetic, teaching, wilderness
Tags: Book of Acts Church, Bride of Christ, discipleship, Doctrines, false disciple, Kingdom life, Kingdom living, Kingdom of God, radical disciples, Spirit led life, the Word

Study and be eager and do your utmost to present yourself to God approved (tested by trial), a workman who has no cause to be ashamed, correctly analyzing and accurately dividing [rightly handling and skillfully teaching] the Word of Truth. ( 2 Tim 2:15)

We live in the era of great technological advancements, with a wealth of different scriptural views out there it is ever so easy to be swayed from one doctrine to another simply by the mastery of the writer. We are bombarded with different opinions that if our foundation is week we can fall for that which is not of the Lord.

So many depend upon the study of others and blindly trust what they teach and write with never taking to the One who has been sent of the Father to guide in all Spiritual truths. Yet we are the ones ultimately responsible for that which we believe and adhere too.

The King James translates that as “study.” However, modern translations typically do not agree because the meaning and usage of this English word has changed. To us, study means “hit the books,” “learn,” “analyze, investigate, examine, scrutinize,” or “earnestly contemplate.” But the Greek word means something quite a bit different. It literally means to “make speed,” “to hurry.” It conveys the sense of “to make earnest effort; be prompt to labor.”

In almost all modern translations, “study” is rendered “be diligent,” “work hard,” or “do your best.”

The primary question, then, is, “What can we do to show ourselves approved by God?” because God’s charge is, “Hurry to do it! Be quick about it! Be diligent at it. Do your best.”

As well shepherd/teachers are held at a higher responsibility of the Lord to teaching the truth – This means as teachers we are held accountable for what we teach. Many such persons today are swayed by emotions with the desire for unity out-weighing the commands of the Lord to bring correction and rebuke when the Spirit call’s for it.

But again, as individual’s we must guard our hearts that we be not fooled and led astray by a false doctrine. Proverbs 4: 23 state’s this plainly:

“Guard your heart more than anything else, because the source of your life flows from it’.

Many today in their zealousness to see the signs, wonders and miracles of the Lord have been swayed by false teachings which are not of the Lord, chasing after strange fires. Via the internet and media we have inundated with what appears to be of the Lord, yet in truth grieves the Holy Ghost for it is but the promotion of what man can do and people are been worshiping men and ministries rather than the Lord God Himself.

I myself fell into such deception and for several years wondered around in this wilderness of strange fires. I praise God for Holy Ghost never relented in His sending up red flags and with such there was always a sense of unrest. For where the Lord is being mocked the Spirit will not rest.

More and more Holy Ghost drew me to the Word and as I began to weigh the things I saw happening in the “ministry” to the Word of God and allowed Holy Ghost to bring forth truth and revelation the doorway to what was of God began to open.

Today I still believe in signs, wonders and miracles – yet I do not either chase after them or worship them. I can but look out side at nature itself and see the Glory of the Lord – I can look at a new born child and see the wonder of God.

Have I seen or experienced miracles?

Yes I have and I know that we serve the same God of the Old and New Testament who can show up as He did in the Bible, the same God who parted the Red sea, Who can raise the dead and heal the leper. Yet again, I choose not to worship the signs, rather I choose to worship He from whom the signs come from.

I pray daily for discernment that I be not fooled by false signs, wonders and miracles and I believe that if we truly allow Holy Ghost to lead our lives and keep our eyes on the Lord we shall not be fooled. For the Word proclaims:

“For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform signs and miracles to deceive the elect–if that were possible”. (Mark 134:22)

Notice the Lord says “if that were possible”. Is it possible? Yes it is if we leave it upon our own wisdom and ability to distinguish between what is true and what is false – yet if we are led of the Spirit we shall never be fooled.

Brother and sisters let us walk with Spiritual eyes open, being ever led of the Spirit of the Lord God Almighty, that we not be counted among those who have been led astray having falling for a false gospel being deceived by the light of a false and strange fire.

We are in a day that calls for radical disciples, equipped with Holy Ghost vision, empowered to bring down the walls of deception with the authority of their King, Jesus the Christ, to not only quench the fiery darts of the enemy but to also thru the power of His Spirit put out the strange fires built in the camp of the saints.

For we serve an Awesome and loving Father, who desires the very best for His children and longs to see the Bride break forth in the power of His Authority that He may release His Glory thru them for the world to see.

Radical Disciples – A Remnant Revolution

Latest Posts

Categories