Where is Our Center ?

This is actually a reposting of and old blog entry.  However, in light of issues that I have been seeing in the Bride of Christ far too frequently,  I am quite sure Father wants me to re-post it today.  

One of my dearest friends recently told me in an email things he had decided to do.  As I was about to click the send button, Father prompted me to offer a copy of my response to you also.

Dear _____________,

Here is the fundamental question with which you must wrestle to a real conclusion:

Does Jesus have the final authority over all your decisions ?

Father God has undertaken to prove to you His love for you.

The Holy Spirit has been speaking with you on a regular basis.

But, the crucial question is whether Jesus is Lord or not.

He has proven himself to be the one who loves and forgives.

He has proven himself to be your provider.

He has healed your body such that despite the destructive stresses you have put on it you are able to function fairly normally.

But, Lordship requires submission in response to His proven love.

Up to this point in your life you have always reserved the right to say no to anything He may ask of you.

It is a power and ability that each of us has.

But, the implication of saying Jesus is Lord is that I have given up that right and said to Him, “Whatever you ask of me I will do it as you give me grace.”

Your growth into the fullness of all that His love would provide for you requires that you allow Him to be Lord with absolutely final authority over all your decisions.  It requires giving up your right to live a self centered life.

All of creation is waiting with anticipation for you to decide.

His, thus Yours,

Stuart

Because We Have Love

The thing that was so strong and powerful about the impact that Jesus had on the earth is that he loved people. He genuinely loved them. He was a servant to them. He set aside everything that he had a right to in heaven and he took on the form of a servant. If you’re going to be a genuine disciple maker, that must be your starting point. You must start by setting aside all the right religion. Then begin to be a servant to people in a way that builds relationships with people: genuine, honest, loving relationships.  

On one occasion, when I walked into a hotel where I was scheduled to speak, the woman who owns the hotel greeted me. I told her my name and she said “Oh, yes, you are Kim’s friend.” I had walked into a place where someone else who had a relationship, had prepared the way for me by building the relationship for me before I arrived.

When you want Jesus to be recognized as he enters into peoples lives, be a friend to them. Then they will recognize Him and say, “Oh yes, you’re the Jesus my friend loves.” You see, relationship is the key to becoming effective. Without relationship it won’t work.

ALL ministry crosses a bridge of relationship !

You don’t have the authority, not in heaven and not on earth, to make any man go where he doesn’t want to go. You can’t get somebody saved who doesn’t want to be saved. You can’t make someone a disciple who doesn’t want to be a disciple. God honors our humanity and he has given us the right to make our own decisions about our lives. If you try to take that away from someone by manipulating him, pressuring him and putting all your religious guilt trips on him, all you will do is drive him further and further away from the real Kingdom of God. Oh, you might get him to engage in some religious behavior you like. But, you will not get him closer to God.

So even though you’ve heard or read someone's neat little technique or script for how to get somebody to make a decision to accept Jesus as Lord, you should understand something. That technique won’t do anything for you. In fact the Holy Spirit probably has a better technique for you somewhere in your style of living. Even your own technique won’t do anything for you unless you first build a relationship and then get to know the person well enough to help him see where he is living in opposition to himself. If you can’t build the relationship, you have nothing left to do.  If you strive and argue and present the apologetics of Christianity without relationship it is likely you will have driven the person further from Jesus.

There’s a really simple starting point for the whole process of sharing the good news of Jesus. That starting point is to love people. If you don’t know how to love people, there are two things that are true. One is that you don’t know how much you are loved and the other is you’re not really thinking about other people. 

If you can love people and you can’t do anything else, that’s still the very best starting point because it is the goodness of God that brings men to repentance. It’s pouring out the love of God on them lavishly that brings men to repentance. It’s not your judgment; it’s not your doctrine; it’s not your speeches; it’s not your tracts; it’s not your church meetings; it’s NONE of that! It’s the goodness of God that brings men to repentance. So hear me and hear the Lord. The way the world will know that Jesus has come, is that they will experience the love. Learn to love people.

                     ____________________________________

By this shall men know that you are my disciples because you have love ...

                     ____________________________________

His, thus Yours,

Stuart 

The Final Authority

In your life, who has the final authority to make the decisions about: how you will live your life; what you will do or what you won’t do? Who has that final authority?

Now if you were 3 or 4 years old and I asked you that question, the only reasonable answer you could give me is “mommy” or “daddy”. I’ve been traveling over several continents, I’ve continuously run into people who still answer “mommy or daddy” or a substitute for mommy or daddy. Wives say my husband. Husbands say my wife. Some are religious people and say, “Well, when I have a decision to make I talk to the pastor.”

Now all of those are obviously a kind of escape: they’re ways in which we can avoid the personal responsibility. Others have matured to accept responsibility. In words not quite so eloquent, like the poet they proclaim, “I am the master of my fate. I am the captain of my soul.”

The truth of the matter is this: Whoever is the final decision making authority in your life, that person is your Lord. You see, that’s what Lordship means. It means the final authority to make the decisions.

With that understanding, I suggest that you consider this; Jesus knows more about your life than you do. He knows what happened in your past. He knows what happened in the past generations and the things that are affecting you today. He knows what’s happening all around you in the present time and he even knows what other people are thinking about you right now. He knows all about your future too. He knows what you will be facing at 4:00 tomorrow afternoon. He knows the end from the beginning.

Now, here’s another thing you ought to know about Jesus: He loves you. Completely! Enough to die for you!

Now, I know that there have been many times when you actually have not loved yourself. Remember when you felt so foolish you could have kicked yourself? Remember when you wanted to go and kill yourself? Have you noticed the self destructive things you do as you drink, or drive, or use drugs, or let others use you? A person who loves you does not treat you like that.

I also know that you don’t know as much about your own life as Jesus does. Do you remember what you were thinking the day you were 4 days old? He does. Do you know what God the Father planned for you before you were born? He does. Do you know what that woman is thinking about you right now? He does. Do you know what the traffic will be like on the way home tomorrow? He does.

He knows everything about you. Everything! He knows every detail and he still loves you.

So just answer a simple question for yourself. Who’s the better decision-maker for you; someone who actually loves you; someone who knows everything there is to know about the decisions to be made; or someone who only sometimes loves you and doesn’t know everything about those decisions?

When you get to this point you recognize that it really is just common sense to let Jesus be Lord of your life and to yield to him all the authority to make the final decisions for your life.

Let me just pause for a moment to ask you another simple question. Have you already asked Jesus to come and be your decision-maker? If not there is no reason why you can not do so right now. He is not waiting for you to be good enough or for you to earn the right. He is ready right now. Are you? If you are ready just tell Him so:

Jesus, I invite you to be the final authority for all my decisions. As you help me, whatever you say I will do. I choose to stop doing things my way and do everything your way. Please help me.

What have I just done with you? I’ve taken you through a simple step by step process of demonstrating how one might talk to someone and bring him or her to the point of making a decision to receive Jesus as Lord. However, in doing so I haven’t used any religious phrases at all. If you go to someone and say to him, “Are you born again?” I can tell you what response you’ll get from him. The response will be whatever he thinks will get you to go away. He’s been attacked by “Christians” before and he has no desire to go through that again.

Here’s the real problem. This is a lesson in evangelism. In the New Testament there was only one person who got the title of evangelist. His name was Phillip. When you read the story of what he did in Acts 8, you see how he met the Ethiopian eunuch and you discover something that is really fascinating about his interaction with that Ethiopian. You discover that he didn’t try to tell the Ethiopian anything until the Ethiopian asked him a question. Philip asked him questions but didn’t try to tell him anything about God until the Ethiopian asked him a question. I suggest to you that one of the single greatest problems in the history of the modern church is that we keep trying to answer questions that nobody is asking. 

 ____________________________________

Stop trying to answer questions that nobody is asking. 

____________________________________

Stop preaching to people who don’t have any questions. Start seeing God has a completely different approach. The plain truth is that ALL service crosses a bridge of relationship. You can never serve anyone with whom you do not have some depth of relationship. 

His, thus Yours,

Stuart

Weapons of our Warfare -- PEACE

Weapons of Our Warfare

  OUR PEACE

For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. II Cor. 10:3-4 

A day or two ago I was chatting with a lovely couple with whom I have had an ongoing relationship.  They were each telling me about the stress that had permeated their lives.  I spent some time with each listening to the reasons they each had for being stressed.  As they talked the issues through they each began to realize that the reasons they gave were in reality merely excuses for their having relinquished their self-control of their reactions to people and circumstances and choosing not to maintain the Peace that each believer has been given as a gift from the Prince of Peace.

Jesus has sent each us who follow Him to walk on the Earth in the same manner in which He had been sent by the Father.  He walked as the Prince of Peace.  He gave to His followers His gift of Peace.  Thus He empowered each of us to also walk as princes of Peace. Our personal Peace is our God given right as sons of the most high God.  His gifts are without repentance.  Thus, He will not take it back.  Moreover,  no one in all the universe has either the power or the authority to steal it from us.  If we lose our Peace it is because we voluntarily chose to give it up in response to Satan's deceptions.

Moreover, as princes of Peace we are empowered to speak and impart peace to situations and to other people.  When we are confronted with confusion and chaos often the most effective response is to speak peace into the situation.  This was demonstrated by Jesus when confronted by a violent storm.  Unlike the men around Him He did not relinquish His Peace; rather He spoke peace into the storm.  

A few years ago I was sitting at a round table in a restaurant with some friends.  As we were chatting and preparing to order our food a young woman arrived a bit late.  She took the only remaining seat, beside me.  As she was getting settled, I wanted her to feel included so I turned and asked her, "Hi, how are you, today?"

She did something most of us find unusual.  She gave an honest answer.  She said, "Well, I am beginning to have a Panic Attack  right now."  

I knew that Panic Attacks can become quite serious.  At times progressing to the point where medical attention is required for the person's survival.  But, I wanted to have lunch with my friends not with a group of the local paramedics.  I also knew that persons having a Panic Attack most often respond to words of reassurance with the perverse idea that if you believe reassurance is needed then there really is some thing to Panic About.  As the woman on the other side of me began pouring out motherly words of comfort and assurance, I was watching the young lady's eyes become more and more dilated and her respiration become more and more rapid and shallow.  I began listening for some instruction from Holy Spirit.  What could I, a stranger to this young lady, do ?

I turned to her and looked her in the eyes.  In a gentle but definitely instructional voice just loud enough to override the motherly assurances, I said, "Receive peace. My Peace I give to you."

Instantly, I was watching as her eyes ceased dilating and began to return to normal.  Her breathing slowed and she took a deep calming inhalation.  Within moments she had returned to normal and we were all chatting around the table as though nothing had happened out of the ordinary.

Often whether it is an individual "on the brink"  or a group caught up in argument, the simplest and most effective tool to set people free is to simply impart peace into them and their surrounding circumstances. 

His, thus yours,

  Stuart

Stuart, Where Are You ?

Stuart, Where Are You ?

This is the question I have been asking myself as I awake each morning for the last few days.  

Today the answer was "Hmm, I am in Villahermosa, Tabasco, Mexico."

Last week I was in Belize City, Belize, Central America.  Next week I will be in Cuenca, Ecuador.

Despite the hours sitting in aircraft and waiting in airports and going through immigration and customs procedures I am finding brothers and sisters in the Kingdom of God in many places.

Some of these siblings are new friends like a lovely lady in Belize City who every year takes time from her busy work schedule to help American Christian  youth and Belizian Christian youth build relationships with each other while they work together in a project to help a small rural village.  Other of my spiritual siblings are old friends whom I have known for more than ten years.

I am reminded of a lesson Holy Spirit taught me many years ago:

At the time I was driving around the Washington, DC, beltway having a discussion with Him about His idea that I needed to change the ways I was treating people.  In response to Him I exclaimed, "Well, if that is what you want, I will need a whole new mind set about people."

In response He asked me, "How does the Apostle Paul write?"

I knew immediately what  He meant.  Paul as a writer often presents a seemingly impossible problem followed by God's answer to it in the next paragraph.

In Romans Paul exhorts us to be transformed by the renewing of our minds.  He tells us if we get our minds renewed we will become experts on what is the perfect will of God.However, I had heard many preachers talk about the importance of being transformed by the renewing of my mind.  But, no one ever told me an effective answer as to how to get my mind renewed. 

I know a young woman who was a very, very, difficult teenager for her Godly parents to raise.  She became so difficult that for a period her parents were forced to put her into a psychiatric care center for teens.  If there were an immoral or dangerous thing for a teen to do she would be doing it.  When she went away from home to go to college about an hour drive away she continued her rebellious ways.  She became pregnant.  The day she discovered she was pregnant: She stopped smoking. She stopped drinking.  She stopped 

using illegal drugs.  The following weekend: She went home to her parents and was reconciled with them.  

Why this sudden change?  Why did she suddenly develop a whole new mind?  For her the explanation is simple and obvious.  She became aware that her foolish choices were no longer only damaging her life. Those choices were now also threatening the life of the child who was growing within her body.  Good decisions that she was not willing to make for her own well-being she was suddenly committed to make for the benefit of the child who was  unable to escape growing within her.

Immediately after Paul exhorts us to get our mind renewed, he points out that we are all members of the Body of Christ and we belong to all the other members.  Therefore what happens to one of us happens to all of us.   So, even though you have never met Luke or Jonathan, my friends who are African apostles in Kenya and Zimbabwe, whatever you do also affects them.  If hidden in a hotel in a strange city, you pick a path of self destructive sin.  You are also being destructive to every other member of the Body of Christ.  

Why?

Because we all belong to you and you belong to all of us.  If, instead, you choose to serve God and build your faith by a period of praying in the Spirit, you will certainly build up the faith of the whole Body of Christ.  The other members of the Body of Christ can not escape being affected by your decisions just as the unborn child can not escape being affected by the mother's decisions.

This is the reason that it is so important to Paul, and to Jesus, that you do not think of yourself more highly than you should. With sober judgement consider the effect you are having all across the World.  Consider the children of  God whose lives you will change.  Then your mind will truly be renewed.

His, thus Yours,

Stuart

What is My Calling

So far as I can tell neither Holy Spirit nor I work well with short answer questions.  But we both would like to be supportive in your efforts to find your roles and functions in the Bride of Christ.

Initially as you pursue this search, please note God's promise to us through Noah.  There will always be spring time and harvest.  By implication then there will also be the seasons when the crops are growing and there is not as much to do and seasons when the ground lies fallow and  there is nothing to do but rest.  Thus, summers for going to the beach and on picnics, and winters when we snuggle with loved ones and study are just as real as the busy seasons of sowing crops and reaping harvests.  Notice, however, that the spiritual seasons of our lives, unlike the agrarian seasons of the farm, are not necessarily three months evenly spaced through one calendar year.  Jesus, for example, went through about 30 years of preparation for only about 2 years of spring time planting and only a few months of harvesting.

Notice also all sons of God are first people.  All are called to live in the world even though they are no longer of the world.  Thus, we all have multiple roles and functions in our lives. If we do not work we are not entitled to eat.  If we neglect our spouses or our children we are not following the principles of the Kingdom.  So, a man may be anointed as an apostle, nevertheless if he marries and fathers children there will be a long season in his life when his primary roles will be to provide for his household, love and protect his wife, and disciple his children.  A woman who marries has a long season of her life primarily devoted to honoring her husband, bearing children and rearing them in the nurture of God.  As a matter of God's grace all of these activities, which get very little recognition from the world, also serve as the tools Father God uses to mature us and prepare us for the later seasons of our lives when we lay down our lives for the Bride of Christ. It is crucially important that we do not seek to skip the training periods.

His, thus Yours,

Stuart

Disciples ?

In the 4th chapter of Ephesians we’re told that the Lord has given us apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers. He’s given us these gifts to equip the saints, but so often have I heard it said that we have these apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers to bring the body of Christ to maturity and to the full stature of the manhood of Christ. On many occasions, I’ve heard people say that this is the function of those in the fivefold ministry.

When you read Ephesians 4 carefully, you realize that it is the saints that do the work to bring the body of Christ to maturity. It’s not when the apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers do the work, but when the saints do the work that we will all come to the fullness of the stature of Christ.

You see, if there are 100 of us in an assembly of believers and we have one apostle and one prophet and one pastor and one teacher and one evangelist among us, they should do 5 % of the work of the ministry. The rest of us should do the other 95% of the work of the ministry. But where have we been in the historic institutional church? If you ask somebody to name the minister in your congregation, you typically get the name of the person who stands up front.

So welcome to the real world of the Kingdom of God. Every one of us is a minister. A disciple, when completed, should be a saint who is basically equipped to do the work of the ministry. He’s someone who is able to be a disciple maker as well as a disciple. That is the work of the ministry.

The great commission is not about making converts...it’s about making disciples. 

When we talk about equipping the saints, with what are they to be equipped? There are some essential ingredients in the life or character of a disciple, which basically equip him for the work of the ministry. As you begin to understand what they are, you will understand your own role in equipping and being equipped for the work of the ministry because every man of God needs to see himself as continuously living on both sides of the equation. You need to be constantly receiving further equipping in your life and you need to be one who is discipling others and equipping them as well. Here is a list of basic starting equipment. It is certainly not exhaustive. But, it will give any saint a good start if these tools are in hand as he begins to undertake the work of serving others to make disciples.

I am basically equipped for the work of the ministry if:

1. 1)  Jesus is actually Lord over my life.

   Who has the authority to make the ultimate decisions in your life? - Romans 10:9-10

2. 2)  I am filled with the Holy Spirit, receiving:

   1. A)  The Character of Christ; - Galatians 5:22-23

   2. B)  The Power of the Spirit; - I Corinthians 12:8-9

   3. C)  The Revelation of God - I Corinthians 2:10-16

3. 3)  I openly receive God's love. -- I John 4 7-21 and Matthew 10:8

4. 4)  I freely forgive others. - Matthew 6:12; Matthew 18:23-33

5. 5)  I release others from judgment. - Matthew 7:1-2

6. 6)  I am free from the iniquities of generations and interpersonal bondage. -- Galatians 6:7-8 and Exodus 20:5-6

7. 7)  I remain free from demons. -- Matthew 8:16

8. 8)  I am established as a disciple in a relationship, which provides an example, love and

   accountability. - Matthew 20:25-28; Hebrews 13:7 and 17
   Who am I looking for to watch over my soul? -Matthew 26:36-41 and John 17:1-7

   1. 1)  A man in whom I see Christ. - Matthew 28:18

   2. 2)  Who is connected in relationship. Matthew 8:9; Romans 8:29; Hebrews 2:10-11

   3. 3)  Who loves me such that I trust him. -- Matthew 7:6

   4. 4)  Who will seek God's vision for my life. -- Philippians 2:20-21

   5. 5)  Who, when I ask, will accept responsibility. -Hebrews 13:17

9. 9)  I am faithful to the Lord in my finances:

   1. A)  Tithing; -- Malachi 3:10

   2. B)  Making offerings; II Corinthians 9:1-10

   3. C)  Giving Alms; -- Acts: 10:4; James 1:27

   4. D)  Becoming debt free. -- Proverbs 22:7

10. 10)  I am free from relying upon:

    1. A)  Traditions of Men; -- Matthew 15:6

    2. B)  My own performance; -- Galatians 2:21 

             C) Human wisdom. -- I Corinthians 1:17

11. 11)  I have basic familiarity with:

    1. A)  The Scriptures -- II Timothy 3:16-17

    2. B)  The elementary doctrines of Hebrews 6:1-2.

12. 12)  I have vision for the Bride of Christ including:

    1. A)  Her eternal nature. -- Hebrews 12:28-29

    2. B)  Her unity -- John 17:20-21

    3. C)  The function of the five gift ministries -- Ephesians 4:11-12

    4. D)  The ministry of the saints -- Ephesians 4:12-13

13. 13)  I hear God. -- Matthew 16:13-18; John 10:27

14. 14)  I have a personal sense of vision and calling. - Ephesians 4:1

15. 15)  I am a servant to Christ, His people, and those He loves. -- Philippians 2:5-7

16. 16)  I am daily:

    1. A)  Emptying myself; -- Philippians 2:5-7

    2. B)  Denying myself; -- Luke 9:23,

    3. C)  Choosing to die to my own desires. -- Luke 9:23

17)  I humble myself acknowledging my continuing need for God's grace.

His, thus Yours,

Stuart

Power Power

During the late 1800s and early 1900s a demonically led radical transition occurred throughout Western Civilization.  It was far too complex to fully discuss here.  (The subject would make a great focal point for a Doctoral Dissertation.)  In essence, the secular humanist embracing of the religion of evolution and rejection of the inspiration of Scripture left a society without a moral rudder.  This precipitated the demise of valuing people based upon their characters.  This opened the door to such doctrines as Dale Carnegie's How to Win Friends and Influence People, a guide book for manipulating people by creating appearances in order to seduce their approval.  We moved from promotion based on character to promotion based on appearances.  Recognizing this transition makes the modern political and economic chaos make perfect sense.

Another corollary result of this transition has been an enhanced desire for persons to accumulate personal power.  This power gathering is rarely for the purpose of more effectively serving others.  Rather it is an accumulation of power for pride.  When we no longer value personal honor and character personal pride and self image become the focal point of our existence.  In 1776 a group of political leaders unanimously signed a public document of international diplomacy guaranteeing it with a pledge of their "sacred honor."  Today it is difficult to find leaders either in politics or even in the institutions calling themselves the church who demonstrate any honor sacred or secular.  Expediency, compromise, and the illusions of power are readily noticed but "sacred honor," what is that?

While these macro changes in our "civilization" have been occurring, personal changes have followed suit.  Many sociologic discussions make reference to the weakening of the nuclear family unit.  But visiting in people's homes reveals that most of the families are not units at all.  Rather they are battlefields contesting who will hold the power.  Husbands seek to dominate wives by loud noises and imposed fear.  Wives seek to manipulate husbands by controlling the flow of information, sexual favors, and attacks upon the man's self-image.  Parents individually and jointly seek to dominate the children.  Children assert their independence from parents by emotional withdrawal, deception and rebellion.  Children seek to dominate each other by bullying and imitation of the same tactics they watch in their parents.  The marvel is not how many teenaged pregnancies we face but how few.

What is the highest goal in any human organization?  It is to be perceived as the one in charge, the one who controls and influences others.  

William P. Young in his marvelous book, The Shack, helps us come to grips with many concepts about the three in one nature of  God.  Outside the Bible, this book is a better source for understanding the character of God than anything else I have seen in more than 50 years of walking with Jesus.  It is a little slow in the first 60 pages but then it becomes a really fun read for anyone who wants to come to a real friendship with the whole of God.  It is fiction not theology but it is wonderful.

At page 122 of The Shack its main character Mack is responding as each of the three persons of God act like they cannot comprehend his question.

"You know what I am talking about." Mack was a little frustrated.  "I am talking about who is in charge. Don't you have a chain of command?"

"....  (Holy Spirit begins to explain.)  ... we have no concept of final authority among us, only unity.  We are in a circle of relationship, not a chain of command .... What you are seeing here is relationship without any overlay of power. .... Humans are so lost and damaged that to you it is almost incomprehensible that people could work or live together without someone being in charge." ....

"It is one reason why experiencing relationship is so difficult for you," Jesus added. ....

(Holy Spirit continued,) .... Authority, as you usually think of it, is merely the excuse the strong use to make others conform to what they want."

In the Bible, however, Jesus made it very plain that leadership is not to be by power or authority.  We are not to take titles of power or authority like father or teacher or head of the family or head of the church.  Rather, we are to conduct ourselves as servants empowering others and setting them free.  We are to use the power and authority He has given us over demons to assist other people rather than trying to assert power or authority over people.

The husband who loves his wife as Christ loves the true Church, His Bride, is not trying to control her.  He is absolving her of all blame and empowering her to follow what she has heard Papa God lead her to do.  The Pastor who loves his flock as Jesus loves is the man who humbly takes on the form of a servant not the form of a leader.  He humbly lets his life be open and seen so that people can follow his faith not his flesh.  He is not afraid to admit to his failures and weaknesses.  He never commands.  He loves and sets people free to follow the voice of the Great Shepherd as they hear Him not as the pastor interprets Him.

Beloved let us love one another. For love is of God.

His, thus Yours,

Stuart