As He Was, Pt. 3 - The Bridge

"On the same day, when evening had come, He said to them, 'Let us cross over to the other side.' Now when they had left the multitude, they took Him along in the boat as He was. And other little boats were also with Him."
Mark 4:35-36

I am focusing on the words, "...as He was" from this passage recognizing that, in order to represent Him to the world, we must understand "how He was".

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Jesus straddled the 2 covenants, which is why He was constantly challenging their way of thinking. If you can challenge a way of thinking you can open a mind.

Too often we are caught in our own doctrine or ways of thinking. Religion vaccinates us (indoctrinates us) against the truth. We stop thinking. When the truth finally invades us, we reject it like an infection. How many times did someone preach to you before you finally HEARD the truth? Your mind had to be opened.

Jesus would say, “You heard it THIS way, but I say it’s THIS way” over and over, trying to bridge them to the new covenant, using His time here, in the flesh, to introduce them (and us!) to a new way of thinking that would be necessary in order for us to represent Him after He left. He came to break us from our old way of thinking.

They looked to an Old Testament God Who was distant and only reachable through a sacrifice and a priest. Jesus changed that. He makes God available to ANY who believe.

They tried to convince Jesus that He wasn’t able to do what He said He could do, but He proved them wrong. “The man who was demon-possessed is now sitting and in his right mind”. Prove them wrong! Don’t let anyone put you down. You’re a believer! You are God’s best!

You’ll always be opposed when you seek to bring the truth. A storm arose when He got in the vessel to go to the other side

We’ve got to take Him to the world “as He is”.

The power is in the declaration of the Good News!

Preach the Gospel and see people saved.

Preach the Gospel and see people set free.

Preach the Gospel and see people healed.

Preach the Gospel and see people loved.

Preach the Gospel and see people empowered.

Preach the Gospel and see people lifted up.

Preach the Gospel and see people encouraged to love and move in His power to take this Gospel – this Good News – to the world!

Cross over out of an Old Testament model into the New Testament miracle life. Take it to the crazy people – wherever you go.

This is a new life. A new day. You can carry Him as He is.

As He Was, Pt. 2 - The Mandate

"On the same day, when evening had come, He said to them, 'Let us cross over to the other side.' Now when they had left the multitude, they took Him along in the boat as He was. And other little boats were also with Him."
Mark 4:35-36

I am focusing on the words, "...as He was" from this passage recognizing that, in order to represent Him to the world, we must understand "how He was".

Today we focus on His role in restoring our mandate.

God set us in His beautiful creation with a mandate. It is found in Genesis, Chapter 1:28 “Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, subdue, and have dominion”. It was a mandate that expressed God’s heart in involving man in His conquest to fill the earth with His glory. God was counting on man to do his part. He trusted Adam to take the instruction he was given and to faithfully conduct himself.

Our authority to carry out this mandate was forfeited when, in the Garden, Adam submitted to the serpent ("You are slave to him whom you obey" - Romans 6:16).

The Old Testament laws were enacted to teach us about the need for redemption and to begin our way back to partnership with God. Blood became necessary. A precious and perfect sacrifice was necessary. One could only be made clean through an act or ritual conducted by a priest and a blood sacrifice declared to be perfect.

But the priests made it a business. They set themselves up to be the ones to benefit from the plan of God. THEY were the important ones. THEY were the holy ones.

Religion prospered. But the people lost sight of God. And, distant from their Creator, they lost sight of themselves and their purpose.

From Isaiah Chapter 1:

“To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices to Me?” says the LORD.
“I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams and the fat of fed cattle.
I do not delight in the blood of bulls, or of lambs or goats.
When you come to appear before Me, who has required this from your hand,
To trample My courts?
Bring no more futile sacrifices; Incense is an abomination to Me.
The New Moons, the Sabbaths, and the calling of assemblies—
I cannot endure iniquity and the sacred meeting.
Your New Moons and your appointed feast my soul hates;
They are a trouble to Me, I am weary of bearing them."

Thankfully, “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14). “God was manifested in the flesh” (1 Timothy 3:16). For 33 years He walked in the flesh as our example. And then He fulfilled His role as Redeemer - the Perfect Sacrifice, once and for all. His blood was shed to provide access to God for every Believer, not just the privileged.

As Redeemer He bought us back. As Our Example He showed us what God is like and what WE can be like.

Our mandate is restored as we re-engage in His purpose, understanding the weight of the matter that God has set upon us.

Jesus is our example. He shows us the way. What He did - AS HE WAS - we can do AS HE IS, because the same Spirit lives in us.

More tomorrow.

As He Was

"On the same day, when evening had come, He said to them, 'Let us cross over to the other side.' Now when they had left the multitude, they took Him along in the boat as He was. And other little boats were also with Him."
Mark 4: 35-36

This is a familiar account that shows the magnificent freeing power of Jesus. It can be read in full at Mark 4:35 - 5:20.

Why must we cross over? Because there are crazy people out there who are unable to free themselves from their bonds. Their behavior and their spiritual condition bind them to themselves.

We must cross over to the other side. What is on the other side for you? What person? What neighbor? What fellow worker? What family? What people? What nation?

And what will you bring with you?

From Mark chapter 4, verse 36: "They took Him along…as He was."

There is great confusion in the church world over “how Jesus was”.

In the 2,000 years since God was with us in Christ, religion has re-shaped His image.

It’s not a new strategy of the enemy. It’s straight from the Garden. If the enemy can get us to question what God has said or done (Genesis 3:1), he will be successful at compromising the truth in us. And compromised truth will only bring a compromised victory, which is what we have today. Sure we have had some success. We have vibrant music and meetings and great preaching. Beautiful buildings and TV shows and church programs. But it’s hard to accept this as the life for which Jesus died. I may be willing to give MY life for what we have in the church today, but I don’t think I would give my son’s life.

It is the same for God. I believe He envisions something more. And if we can find our way back to the Truth, we will finally be set free - and be alive enough to set others free.

If His seed in us is virtuous, the fruit is virtuous. And we will cross over our boundaries of religion and philosophy and man-made doctrine and see the demoniac set free. If we are going to do this, we must do as the disciples did in Mark, Chapter 4 and take Jesus along "…as He was”.

More on this tomorrow.

Do We Need the Holy Spirit?

"Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth:
for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak:
and he will shew you things to come.
He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you.
All things that the Father hath are mine:
therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall shew it unto you."
(John 16:13-15)

"And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit..." (Acts 2:4).

Jesus taught us that the Holy Spirit would come and that he would glorify Jesus.

In the Book of Acts we see the day of Pentecost - and the promise is fulfilled.

The coming of the Holy Spirit is not celebrated as a "second-coming" of God in another form, but as the provision for our very present revelation of Christ.

The Holy Spirit did not come as a replacement for Christ, but as a Revealer of Christ - to us and through us. He came to show us that the same Spirit that raised Christ Jesus from the dead could live IN US! (Romans 8:11).

His coming established us as the place out of which God would operate. No longer in a Temple made of hands (Mark 14:18), or in a single flesh man, but in a many-membered Body (1 Corinthians 12:20).

If you are a member of the Body of Christ, by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8) you are a Temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 3:16) by whom Christ is revealed to and through you.

Yes. We need the Holy Spirit.

The Ministry of the Holy Spirit IN Us

We must take care not to reduce the ministry of the Holy Spirit only to speaking in other tongues. Or to experience the Holy Spirit as a distant dove that will occasionally light on us - if we pray really hard.

Jesus said of the Holy Spirit:

"It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away,
the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.
And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:
Of sin, because they believe not on me;
Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more;
Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.
I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now.
Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth:
for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak:
and he will shew you things to come.
He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you.
All things that the Father hath are mine:
therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall shew it unto you."
(John 16:7b-15)

Jesus gave us commandments through the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:1-3).
We receive power through the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:7-9; Romans 15:19; Ephesians 3:16; 1 Thessalonians 1:5).
We understand things to come through the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:16; 4:25).
The Holy Spirit is witness to things with us (Acts 5:31-33; 15:28; Romans 9:1; Hebrews 2:4; 10:14; 1 John 5:6-8).
The Holy Spirit IN us validates us for service (Acts 6:3, 5; 18:25; 20:28; 1 Corinthians 2:4; 1 Corinthians 12:8-11; 2 Corinthians 1:22; 3:3; 5:5; Ephesians 1:13).
The Holy Spirit opens our eyes (Acts 7:55; 1 Corinthians 2:10; Ephesians 3:5).
The Holy Spirit speaks to us (Acts 8:29; 10:19; 11:12; 13:2; 16:6-8; 20:23; 21:4; 21:11; 1 Corinthians 2:13; 1 Timothy 4:1; Hebrews 3:7; Revelation 2:7, 11, 17, 29; 3:6, 13, 22; 14:13; 22:17).
The Holy Spirit translates us (Acts 8:39).
We are comforted by the Holy Spirit (Acts 9:31; Ephesians 1:19).
We are led by the Holy Spirit (Acts 13:4; Romans 8:1-9, 14, 26-27; Galatians 5:16, 18; Galatians 5:25; Ephesians 6:18; Jude 1:20).
The Holy Spirit empowers us to love (Romans 5:5; 15:30; 2 Corinthians 6:6; Colossians 1:8).
The Holy Spirit carries righteousness, peace, hope, and joy (Romans 14:17; 15:13; Galatians 5:5, 22; 1 Thessalonians 1:6).
We are taught by the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 2:13; Ephesians 4:30; Hebrews 9:8).
We are united in the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:13; 2 Corinthians 3:18; 13:14; Ephesians 2:18, 4:3-4).
The Holy Spirit frees us (2 Corinthians 3:17).
Our offerings are sanctified by the Holy Spirit (Romans 15:16).

The Holy Spirit will show us Christ (Romans 1:4).
We are sanctified/justified by the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:11; 2 Thessalonians 2:13; 1 Timothy 3:16; Titus 3:5; 1 Peter 1:2).
The Holy Spirit quickened the body of Christ (1 Peter 3:18).

The Old Testament prophets and Gospel-period believers experienced a Holy Spirit that was UPON, AROUND, or THROUGH them.

We, after the cross and Pentecost, experience a Holy Spirit that is IN us (Romans 8:11; 1 Corinthians 3:16; 6:19; 2 Timothy 1:14; 1 John 3:24; 4:13).

The Holy Spirit doesn't seek glory, but points us to and reveals the ministry of Jesus IN us. And we will do greater things.

Yielding to God

It is necessary, when yielding to God, to yield completely to God.

There's a wonderful illustration of this in the 12th and13th chapters of Genesis.

"Now the LORD had said to Abram:
'Get out of your country,
From your family
And from your father’s house,
To a land that I will show you.'"
(Genesis 12:1)

God's instructions were clear, including the dictate to "Get out...from your family". But Abraham didn't yield completely to this command. He took both his father and Lot, and paid dearly for each offense.

He only got as far as Haran, which is halfway to Canaan. He could go no further until his father died.

How many times do we drag something or someone along on our way to pursuing what God has for us? Only absolute yielding will bring complete fulfillment of the promise.

And, as for Lot, strife arose between Abraham and Lot as they prospered. Abraham yielded to Lot (Genesis 13:7-9) and, after this yielding, God showed Abraham his inheritance:

"And the LORD said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him: “Lift your eyes now and look from the place where you are—northward, southward, eastward, and westward; for all the land which you see I give to you and your descendants forever."
Genesis 13:14-15

As long as we cling to what we think is ours, we won't realize what we are promised. We think we are prospering because of what we can cling to, when we are lacking because of what we aren't willing to yield.

It is the yielded spirit that gets the inheritance.

Yield to the Spirit of God. Hold, with a light touch, what you claim to be yours.

Discover as Abraham did that, when you yield, what He has for you is far greater.

The Practice Field - repost

I think one of the most helpful things we can do for the next generation of leaders is to allow them to express their sense of what God is doing in their lives and to practice what they have learned from scripture.

I am finding that people, especially young people, are not interested in what you have to say until they are sure they have said- or will be able to say - what they want to say. It's a by-product of a generation that, for the most part as children of the Boomers, has been indulged or over-indulged.

I know this: God expects a lot from them. So much has been given (Luke 12:48).

In giving them a place to practice what they know, we provide an opportunity to succeed. A place where the principles that scripture is instilling in them get tested and pass, building faith and confidence in the character of God.

And practice isn't the same as observing. They have far too many opportunities to just be an observer. Practice means walking in the place where THEY are responsible for recognizing what God wants to do AT THAT MOMENT.

Dr. TL Osborn once told me that most of what we call the "anointing" comes from having experienced God's Presence in a similar way or circumstance. The more we see God move through us, the more sensitive we are to recognize what He is doing and what He wants to do next. That prepares us for expecting the miraculous on a regular basis. You know where He's going because you've been there before. That confidence comes from seeing Him move and looks like spiritual insight.

Are you in position to encourage a young person out of their comfort zone and into a place where they can learn to recognize how God moves - in and through them? You are in position to shape the next generation.

Our Sinless Life?

Paul, in the ninth chapter of his second letter to the church at Corinth, is reminding the Corinthian churches of a gift they had proposed for the believers in Jerusalem. He ends this reminder with the declaration: "Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!" (2 Corinthians 9:15).

His reference to God's grace and the gift of Christ as "indescribable" is a powerful reminder to us of what was done to release us from our weighty sin.

There is much theological debate on original sin and on the subject of whether or not a believer can/should/must live without sin. I don't intend to resolve that debate. If the theologians have been (for centuries!) struggling with the apparent contradictory scripture on this subject, I can only conclude that this debate, like a parable, will serve to cause us to dig deep and examine the matters of our own heart.

If we side with those who say that a sinless life is necessary for salvation, perhaps our hearts demand an accounting of others' actions as we stand in judgment. Clearly, Jesus cautioned against this (Luke 6:37). This could serve to shame us in our own faults or lead us to pride. Many seem to fall (publicly) because of this stance. However, if we favor an acceptance of sin in the life of a believer, we settle for a lower nature. This liberality is dangerous, too.

I bear witness to the writings of one of Jesus' dearest friends, the Apostle John, in his discussion on the matter (1 John 2). He, at once, recognizes the pursuit of holiness as good while acknowledging our Advocate in the case that we fail in the pursuit.

At any rate, our gift to Him of a sinless life (however possible!) can never compare to the "indescribable gift" of His Son to us.

Missions Change the World, Starting with You

It's remarkable to me how people setting out to change the world are deeply changed by it.

There's something about lifting our eyes and seeing the field that alters our perspective on our own life.

Mission trip after trip, whether I've gone myself or heard testimonies from others, I grow in suspicion over Jesus' motivation for sending us "...into all the world (to) preach the Gospel to every creature" (Mark 16:15). Could it be He was doing that for our sake?

The same dynamics that operate THERE operate HERE. The giving of our time, the attention to a new face, the unselfish gesture, the leading of the Holy Spirit, the unrushed pace.

Surely, we CAN change nations; but what of the thought that nations can change us - making us more loving, compassionate, focused, grateful, effective, fervent - and powerful - at home?

The mission field is a great training ground for how we should live at home.

Go.

The Way of the Unfaithful... - repost

Solomon, in his Proverbs, tells us that, "...the way of the unfaithful is hard" (Proverbs 13:15). The whole book of Proverbs is like a song of praise, declaring the merits of the path of the righteous, as compared to the path of the wicked.

Kierkegaard said, "It costs a man just as much or even more to go to hell than to come to heaven". I am sure that is true. I can't imagine negotiating the questions and issues of this life without Christ.

Just the nuclear question of purpose, around which the matter of our lives circulates, hangs unstable without the core element of Creator.

There is none more lost than a man without Christ.

Jesus said, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light" (Matthew 11:28-30).

The way of the unfaithful is hard. But His yoke is easy.

Preach the Gospel. We have Good News.

Prayer That Changes Things

Indeed, prayer has a powerful effect on how we carry out our lives. Jesus advised us to, "Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation" (Matthew 26:41), indicating that there is an effect that prayer has on our ability to stand strong in a contrary world. There is a direct and indirect influence on our conduct that comes through conversing with God on a regular basis.

But this profound influence on ourselves is not the only aim of prayer.

Prayer as a discipline, without the objectives of improving our fellowship with the Father and positioning ourselves to be His instruments in advancing the purposes of His Kingdom, would be a dry and selfish thing.

Praying regularly makes us ready to pray in an instant. The more we pray, in an ongoing way, the more we think to pray and the more we make ourselves available to draw on the spiritual reserve that has been laid up to bring about His will here on Earth ("After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven").

To "pray without ceasing" (1 Thessalonians 5:17; Philippians 4:6) is the key. To train ourselves to be in an attitude of prayer at all times means we can invoke the very Presence of God in every situation.

Prayer that we "disappear into", as in a closet, becomes training for prayer that is "without ceasing". And this is relevant, productive prayer that makes us active in the spirit and agents of change in the natural.

On "Not Being Fed Meat"

Recently I heard two teachings from unrelated ministries that, at first glance, had nothing to do with each other. But when considering the picture as a whole, it was like superficially contrary verses that suddenly bring revelation when viewed in a proper Light.

One message had to do with a survey that concluded that the overwhelming number of people leaving a church are leaving because they claimed they were "not being fed enough meat".

The other message had to do with the will of the Father as our "meat".

There are many references to "meat" in the New Testament. Most are referencing meat that is consumed at a meal.

Other times it is a spiritual reference. Several by Paul (1 Corinthians 10:1-4; 1 Corinthians 3:1-2), by the writer of Hebrews (5:12-14), and several times by Jesus (John 4:30-34; 6:26-27).

I want to look at Jesus' use of the word in John 4:34:

"Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work."

When we are mature (read Paul's "meat" scriptures) we understand "meat" in the context that Jesus spoke of it. We change our expectation of a church providing a "meal" for us and we turn from wanting more and more in order to be satisfied to looking inward to discover what God is requiring of us. Then we go to work.

We don't leave the church, we leave our excuses.

That is where we are satisfied with mature food, by fulfilling His will for us.

If we want more meat, perhaps we should stop demanding more from a teaching or a Pastor or a conference, and we should commit ourselves to getting fed how Jesus got fed - by doing the will of God.

Start at the beginning - repost

Sometimes we want things really really badly. But, even when it comes to the things of God, we've got to start at the right place. It's a heart-issue.

If we want grace we begin by loving God. That produces humility, and humility brings grace (Proverbs 3:34).

If we want financial security we begin by loving people. That leads us to giving and giving secures our receiving (Luke 6:38).

If we want a guarantee of eternal life, we begin by loving God and loving people.

From the Gospel of Luke...

"And behold, a certain lawyer stood up and tested Him, saying, 'Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?'
He said to him, 'What is written in the law? What is your reading of it?'
So he answered and said, “ ‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,’ and ‘your neighbor as yourself’” (Luke 10:25-27).

Start at the beginning. Love God. Love people. The rest will take care of itself.