Jeremy Sargent

2011-04-05T15:20:00.001+12:00

One of the greatest privileges in life is to learn to be a person that God will rest upon. He already lives in every born again Believer. But He doesn't rest upon all of us. One way I like to say it is, "He is in me for my sake, but He is upon me for yours." When He is upon us, it especially changes others around us. Jesus modeled this lifestyle in the story of His baptism in water.

When Jesus was baptized, He came out of the water, the Heavens opened, the Father spoke, and then the Holy Spirit came upon Him as a dove and remained. "John testified saying, 'I have seen the Spirit descending as a dove out of Heaven, and He remained upon Him'" (John 1:32). If, in the natural, I have a dove sitting on my shoulder and I want to go about life without it flying away, how am I going to live? Every step would be with the dove in mind.

As we become faithful in learning how to host the presence of the Lord, it is important to understand that there is a tension between two realities: He has been given to us without measure, yet what we enjoy on a daily basis has been "measured" to us according to our faithfulness. In other words, we have access to the unlimited measure of God's presence, but He doesn't entrust Himself to untrustworthy people. All of the measurements are set up on our end of the equation. He typically entrusts us with the measure of the presence we are willing to jealously guard.

We are to become His resting place—the place from which the exploits of Heaven are accomplished. For when the Lord rests upon a person, there is actually an atmospheric shift that takes place wherever that person goes. How do you think Peter's shadow healed people? Our shadow will always release whatever overshadows us. When we learn to host the presence of the Lord, we get more breakthroughs by accident than ever used to happen on purpose. That is a possibility for every Believer every day.

One of the conflicts we face in learning to host the presence is sometimes found in the very lessons we learned from the previous seasons. Believe it or not, those principles sometimes war against the actual presence of the Lord upon us. We are to use principles to plan by, but we must learn to live from the presence. And if there's a conflict between the two, presence always wins out over principle.

For example, I may be accustomed to aggressively pursuing the will of God for my life. My key verse might be Matthew 11:12, "and the violent take it by force." Living by principle has me apply what I have learned up to this point—violent faith. But in this story, the presence of God may be leading me to "receive the Kingdom as a child" (Luke 18:17). If you live entirely by principles only, you will make assumptions in certain moments and seasons that are entirely based on Scripture, but they will be in conflict with the Spirit. In this example, both violent faith and childlike faith are Biblical. It is the Holy Spirit who knows how we are to respond in each particular season or in a given situation.

We are supposed to be well grounded in what God has said so we can discern what He is saying. It is the presence of God that gives me access to continuous ongoing faith, because faith comes by hearing, not having heard. "So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God" (Romans 10:17). Learning to host the presence of God provides the atmosphere of the heart where faith becomes natural and normal.

Let's commit ourselves to become the resting place of God


			Jeremy Sargent
			Customer Solutions Specialist Residential Solutions Centre Phone 123
			T F E	0800 10 80 10 ex 75777 jeremy.sargent@telecom.co.nz
			www.telecom.co.nz

2010-08-12T15:34:00.002+12:00

Principles for Leaders to Release the Supernatural

Many leaders long to see the people they serve walk in power, healing and the prophetic, especially outside the church. No longer satisfied to build a traditional ministry; they are stirred to impact their city. A passion is growing to see their regions and their campuses saturated in the glory of God, people surrendering their lives to Jesus, and the culture reflecting the Kingdom of God. But this shift in thinking requires a different set of tools, and we are compelled to seek revelation on how to make this become a reality. One of the most frequent questions I am asked by leaders is, “How can I release the supernatural in my ministry.”

In Matthew 5:16, Jesus makes it clear that one of the main keys to seeing the glory of God invade a city is a people shining their light—so those around them encounter their works. That word “works” is not referring to “random acts of kindness”, but rather, what Jesus demonstrated throughout His ministry as the sick were healed, the dead raised, the lame walked, and the blind received sight. In other words, as we manifest God’s power by laying hands on the diseased, prophesy over the broken, and radically love the lonely; our light will blaze through the darkness.

If we are going to empower people to transform their cities and campuses for Jesus, our methods must move beyond holding events to equipping lifestyles. As grateful as I am for the testimonies of the supernatural at our Jesus Culture conferences, I am only truly satisfied when I see these encounters multiply in and through the lives of the attendees when they return home. We are still learning everyday but here are a few keys.

1) Demonstrate God’s extravagant love
Healing, prophetic ministry, and signs and wonders are all extremely exhilarating. When one lays hands on someone who had scoliosis and physically feels their back straightening out, it is an amazing experience. Most importantly though, as healings and prophecy begin to flow, it is crucial we contend for love to remain the core reason and motivation for ministering in power. Galatians 5:6 tells us that faith works through love. Faith to demonstrate the power of God flows through love. The Kingdom we represent is founded in love and we are called to display it not only in word—but also in power (1 Corinthians 4:20). Signs and wonders are to point people toward a greater reality—the extravagant love of God. If we don’t equip our people to ground their walk in love, healing becomes just another fad that’s fun temporarily, but with no lasting affect.

2) Teach That The Anointing Is For Everyone
The level of anointing that many of the fathers and mothers of the faith operated in like John G. Lake, Oral Roberts, and Kathryn Kuhlman is available to all who are hungry for it. My senior pastor, Bill Johnson describes it this way: “God gives certain individuals a ‘spike’ in human experience, not so they can merely gather people around themselves to minister to them, but that they would be positioned with favor to equip the saints, so that their ‘high point’ becomes the new norm.” The anointing is available for everyone... young and old, extrovert and introvert, new and mature Christian. Our people must be given the opportunity to step out in the anointing. Whether it is having them pray for each other during a meeting, on their campuses, in their homes, or in their workplaces people need frequent opportunities to experience this reality.

3) Make room
At our church we make room for the supernatural. Every service we pray for the sick. Whether it is trained ministry team or the congregation praying for one another. It might be in the middle or at the end during the ministry time, but there will always be an occasion for those in need of a supernatural encounter to receive prayer. We have this same focus with the youth ministry and my leaders and I model it and do it with the youth. We regularly give part of every meeting for words of knowledge, healing prayer, prophetic opportunities and the like.

I would encourage you to reassess your agenda and rearrange your schedule to give them as many occasions as possible to lay hands on those in need of a physical healing. The more you make room for it in their lives, the more it will happen naturally elsewhere and become a lifestyle.

4) Develop a culture of risk
Among university students, I noticed a pattern inhibiting them from experiencing the breakthroughs in healing they desired. These students passionately believed in healing but were not seeing it regularly. “Pressing in” to see healing, they were not actually “stepping out” to pray for people. They were crying out for God to move—but they themselves were not moving! There was a sense that if they persevered long enough in prayer, an anointing would fall from Heaven and they would obtain results. While I absolutely believe we need to reach for a greater anointing, we all have an anointing to minister supernaturally that is available right now. But it requires us to position ourselves to take risks. When you are faithful with what you currently have, the Lord entrusts you with more.

As leaders we are responsible to nurture an environment within our ministry that both encourages and necessitates risk. In the midst of their insecurities our people thrive when leaders come alongside and call out the greatness in them as they take risks in the supernatural.

If we as leaders are going to expect the people we serve to take risks outside the walls of the church we must give them opportunities inside the church and inside community to develop. As they learn to take risks in a safe environment their confidence grows in public. For example, train your people in healing and the prophetic and then push them to give words of knowledge or prophesy over their peers. When someone needs healing, ask people to pray for him or her. They might be scared and nervous but stand with them, and champion their courage.

You will likely find that many are afraid to fail. This is one of the main reasons why many people never see the power of God demonstrated in their life. They are frozen by the thought, “What if I step out and nothing happens?” This fear must be overcome. Strengthen them to conquer this fear. Many times the results we are seeking are on the other side of persistence. I heard one time that John Wimber prayed for a 1,000 people before he saw his first breakthrough in healing. The more we take risks and God shows up in answer to our prayers, the more we will mature into expressing a supernatural lifestyle.

5) Use Testimonies of Power To Unlock Their Potential
This is a simple but profound principle. If your people are not living in the realm of the supernatural, continually bring before them stories of the miraculous being outworked. This communicates what is possible, and if God will use one person in that way He will use them as well. Christians instinctively know they are designed to demonstrate the Kingdom; therefore testimonies reach deep inside to awaken those areas in their life. If you don’t have any testimonies within your community, then borrow someone else’s. God is no respecter of persoNS

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for,
the evidence of things not seen.”

Faith is the mirror of the heart that reflects the realities of
an unseen world—the actual substance of His Kingdom.
Through the prayer of faith we are able to pull the reality of
His world into this one. That is the function of faith.

Faith has its anchor in the unseen realm. It lives from the invisible toward the visible. Faith actualizes what it realizes. The Scriptures contrast the life of faith with the limitations of natural sight. Faith provides eyes for the heart.

Jesus expects people to see from the heart. He once called a group of religious leaders hypocrites because they could discern the weather but couldn’t discern the times. It’s obvious why Jesus would prefer people to recognize the times (spiritual climate and seasons) over natural weather conditions, but it’s not quite so apparent why He would consider them hypocrites if they didn’t.

Many of us have thought that the ability to see into the spiritual realm is more the result of a special gift than an unused potential of everyone. I remind you that Jesus addresses this charge to the Pharisees and Sadducees. The very fact that they, of all people, were required to see is evidence that everyone has been given this ability. They became blind to His dominion because of their own corrupted hearts and were judged for their unfulfilled potential.

We are born again by grace through faith. The born again experience enables us to see from the heart. A heart that doesn’t see is a hard heart. Faith was never intended only to get us into the family. Rather, it is the nature of life in this family. Faith sees. It brings His Kingdom into focus. All of the Father’s resources, all of His benefits, are accessible through faith.

To encourage us in our capacity to see, Jesus gave specific instruction, “Seek first the kingdom of God….” Paul taught us, “Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.” He also stated, “For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.” The Bible instructs us to turn our attention toward the invisible. This theme is repeated enough in Scripture to make those of us bound by the logic of this Western culture quite nervous.

Herein lies the secret to the supernatural realm that we want restored to the Church. Jesus told us that He only did what He saw His Father do. Such an insight is vital for those who want more. The power of His actions, for instance, the mud in the eye of the blind, is rooted in His ability to see.

WORSHIP AND THE SCHOOL OF FAITH

God is very committed to teaching us how to see. To make this possible He gave us the Holy Spirit as a tutor. The curriculum that He uses is quite varied. But the one class we all qualify for is the greatest of all Christian privileges—worship. Learning how to see is not the purpose for our worship, but it is a wonderful by-product.

Those who worship in spirit and truth, as mentioned in John 4:23-24, learn to follow the Holy Spirit’s lead. His realm is called the kingdom of God. The throne of God, which becomes established upon the praises of His people, is the center of that Kingdom. It’s in the environment of worship that we learn things that go way beyond what our intellect can grasp—and the greatest of these lessons is the value of His Presence. David was so affected by this that all his other exploits pale in comparison to his abandoned heart for God. We know that he learned to see into God’s realm because of statements like, “I have set the Lord always before me; because He is at my right hand I shall not be moved.” The Presence of God affected his seeing. He would constantly practice recognizing the Presence of God. He saw God daily, not with the natural eyes, but with the eyes of faith. That priceless revelation was given to a worshiper.

The privilege of worship is a good beginning place for those unaccustomed to addressing some of these kinds of themes found in Scripture. It’s in that wonderful ministry that we can learn to pay attention to this God-given gift: the ability to see with the heart. As we learn to worship with purity of heart, our eyes will continue to open. And we can expect to see what He wants us to see.

SEEING THE INVISIBLE

The invisible realm is superior to the natural. The reality of that invisible world dominates the natural world we live in…both positively and negatively. Because the invisible is superior to the natural, faith is anchored in the unseen.

Faith lives within the revealed will of God. When I have misconceptions of who He is and what He is like, my faith is restricted by those misconceptions. For example, if I believe that God allows sickness in order to build character, I’ll not have confidence praying in most situations where healing is needed. But, if I believe that sickness is to the body what sin is to the soul, then no disease will intimidate me. Faith is much more free to develop when we truly see the heart of God as good.

The same misconceptions of God affect those who need to have faith for their own miracle. A woman who needed a miracle once told me that she felt God had allowed her sickness for a purpose. I told her that if I treated my children that way I’d be arrested for child abuse. She agreed and eventually allowed me to pray for her. After truth came into her heart, her healing came minutes later.

Unbelief is anchored in what is visible or reasonable apart from God. It honors the natural realm as superior to the invisible. The apostle Paul states that what you can see is temporal, and what you can’t see is eternal. Unbelief is faith in the inferior.

The natural realm is the anchor of unbelief. But that realm is not to be considered as evil. Rather the humble of heart recognize the hand of God through what is seen. God has created all things to speak of Him—whether it is rivers and trees, or angels and heaven. The natural realm carries the witness of His greatness…for those with eyes to see and ears to hear.

REALIST/MATERIALIST

Most all of the people that I’ve known who are filled with unbelief have called themselves realists. This is an honest evaluation, but not one to be proud of. Those kinds of realists believe more in what is visible than they do in what they can’t see. Put another way, they believe the material world rules over the spiritual world.

Materialism has been thought simply to be the accumulation of goods. Although it includes that, it is much more. I can own nothing and still be materialistic. I can want nothing and be materialistic because materialism is faith in the natural as the superior reality.

We are a sensual society with a culture shaped by what is picked up through the senses. We’re trained to believe only in what we see. Real faith is not living in denial of the natural realm. If the doctor says you have a tumor, it’s silly to pretend that it’s not there. That’s not faith. However, faith is founded on a reality that is superior to that tumor. I can acknowledge the existence of a tumor and still have faith in the provision of His stripes for my healing…I was provisionally healed 2,000 years ago. It is the product of the kingdom of heaven—a superior reality. There are no tumors in heaven, and faith brings that reality into this one.

Would satan like to inflict heaven with cancer? Of course he would. But he has no dominion there. He only has dominion here when and where man has come into agreement.

LIVING IN DENIAL

Fear of appearing to live in denial is what keeps many from faith. Why is what anyone thinks so important to you that you’d not be willing to risk all to trust God? The fear of man is very strongly associated with unbelief. Conversely, the fear of God and faith are very closely related.

People of faith are also realists. They just have their foundation in a superior reality.

Unbelief is actually faith in something other than God. He is jealous over our hearts. The one whose primary trust is in another grieves the Holy Spirit.

IT’S NOT IN THE HEAD

Faith is born of the Spirit in the hearts of mankind. Faith is neither intellectual nor anti-intellectual. It is superior to the intellect. The Bible does not say, with the mind man believes! Through faith, man is able to come into agreement with the mind of God.

When we submit the things of God to the mind of man, unbelief and religion are the results. When we submit the mind of man to the things of God, we end up with faith and a renewed mind. The mind makes a wonderful servant, but a terrible master.

Much of the opposition to revival comes from soul-driven Christians. The apostle Paul calls them carnal. They have not learned how to be led by the Spirit. Anything that doesn’t make sense to their rational mind is automatically in conflict with Scripture. This way of thinking is accepted all throughout the Church in Western civilization, which should explain why our God so often looks just like us.

Most of the goals of the modern church can be accomplished without God. All we need is people, money, and a common objective. Determination can achieve great things. But success is not necessarily a sign that the goal was from God. Little exists in church life to ensure that we are being directed and empowered by the Holy Spirit. Returning to the ministry of Jesus is the only insurance we have of accomplishing such a goal.

FAITH FROM A RELATIONSHIP

The Holy Spirit lives in my spirit. That is the place of communion with God. As we learn to receive from our spirits we learn how to be Spirit led.

“By faith, we understand.” Faith is the foundation for all true intellectualism. When we learn to learn that way, we open ourselves up to grow in true faith because faith does not require understanding to function.

I’m sure that most of you have had this experience—you’ve been reading the Bible, and a verse jumps out at you. There is great excitement over this verse that seems to give so much life and encouragement to you. Yet initially you couldn’t teach or explain that verse if your life depended on it. What happened is this: Your spirit received the life-giving power of the word from the Holy Spirit. When we learn to receive from our spirit, our mind becomes the student and is therefore subject to the Holy Spirit. Through the process of revelation and experience our mind eventually obtains understanding. That is biblical learning—the spirit giving influence to the mind.

FAITH IS BOTH SUBSTANCE AND EVIDENCE

“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”

Faith is the mirror of the heart that reflects the realities of His world into ours. It is the substance of the unseen realm. This wonderful gift from God is the initial earthly manifestation of what exists in His Kingdom. It is a testimony of an invisible realm called the Kingdom of God. Through prayer we are able to pull that reality into this one—that is how faith functions.

If I go into the local pizza parlor and order a pizza, they will give me a number and a receipt. I am to place that number in a conspicuous place on the table. Someone may walk in off the street and come to my table and announce that they won’t give me any pizza. I’ll just point to the number and tell him, When pizza number 52 is done, it’s mine! That number is the substance of the pizza hoped for. If that guy tells me that my number isn’t any good, I’ll point to my receipt. It verifies the value of the number. When my pizza is done, the waiter will walk around looking for my number. How does the product of heaven know where to land? He looks for the substance…the number. If a question comes up over the validity of my number, my receipt, which is contained in the Bible, verifies my right to both the number and the pizza.

Heaven is not moved simply by the needs of man. It’s not that God doesn’t care. It was out of His great compassion that He sent Jesus. When God is moved by human need He seldom fixes the problem outright; instead, He provides Kingdom principles that when embraced correct the problems. If God was moved solely by human need then countries like India and Haiti would become the wealthiest nations in the world. It doesn’t work like that. Heaven is moved by faith. Faith is the currency of heaven.

THE SOURCE OF FAITH

“Faith comes by hearing….” It does not say that it comes from having heard. It is the listening heart, in the present tense, that is ready for heaven’s deposit of faith. Abraham heard God tell him to sacrifice his son Isaac. When he drew back the sword to slay his son the Lord spoke again. This time He told Abraham that the test was over and that he passed—he was not to sacrifice his son. Had he only done what God had said he would have killed his son. Hearing now is a key to faith.

The apostle Paul was driven by the command, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel….” However, when he was ready to preach the gospel in Asia, God said no. What God had said appeared to be in conflict with what God was saying. Paul then prepared to go to Bithynia. Again, God said no. Following this Paul had a dream of a man calling out to him from Macedonia. This was recognized as the will of God, and they went.

Even though we may know the will of God from Scripture, we still need the Holy Spirit to help us with the interpretation, application, and empowerment to perform His will.

FEARFULNESS

The biblical command repeated most often is: Do not fear. Why? Fear attacks the foundation of our relationship with God…our faith. Fear is faith in the devil; it is also called unbelief. Jesus would ask His fearful disciples, “Why are you so faithless?” because fearfulness is the same as faithlessness. Fear and faith cannot coexist—they work against each other.

The devil is called Beelzebub, which means, lord of the flies. He and his hosts are attracted to decay. We once had a freezer in a building detached from our house. One Sunday we came home from church only to be hit with a wall of smell that is unfortunately hard to forget. I realized in an instant what had happened. Our freezer had died. I thought the stench I had smelled for days was because my boys forgot to take all of the trash to the dump. Instead it was the ever-rotting meat and bear hide in the freezer.

From the front seat of my car I looked at the window of the shop about 40 feet away. It was black with flies…a number that is still hard to imagine these many years later. The freezer was filled with all sorts of meat. Flies found a happy breeding ground in spoiled flesh and were multiplying in unbelievable numbers. Both the meat and the freezer were taken to the dump.

Issues such as bitterness, jealousy, and hatred qualify as the decay of the heart that invites the devil to come and give influence—yes, even to Christians. Remember Paul’s admonition to the church of Ephesus, “Neither give place to the devil.” Fear is also a decay of the heart. It attracts the demonic in the same way as bitterness and hatred. How did the flies know where my freezer was? Through the scent of decaying meat. Fear gives off a similar scent. Like faith, fear is substance in the spiritual realm. Satan has no power except through our agreement. Fear becomes our heart’s response when we come into agreement with his intimidating suggestions.

REACT OR RESPOND

Many who have feared the excesses made by others in the name of faith have ironically embraced unbelief. Reaction to error usually produces error. Response to truth always wins out over those who react to error. Some people would have no belief system were it not for the error of others. Their thoughts and teachings are the antithesis of what others believe and practice. As a result those who strive for balance become anemic. The word balance has come to mean middle of the road—of no threat to people or the devil, with little risk, and above all…the best way to keep our nice image intact.

The Church warns its members about the great sin of presumption. God warns us of the sin of unbelief. Jesus didn’t say, When I return will I find people who are excessive and presumptuous? He was concerned about finding people with faith, the kind He displayed. While we often huddle in groups of like-minded people, those with faith blaze a trail that threatens all of our comfort zones. Faith offends the stationary.

People of great faith are hard to live with. Their reasoning is otherworldly. My grandfather, a pastor, sat under the ministry of several great men and women of God of the early 1900s. He used to tell me how not everyone liked Smith Wigglesworth. His faith made other people feel uncomfortable. We either become like them or we avoid them. We find their lifestyle either contagious or offensive with little neutral ground. Smith is well loved today…but it’s only because he’s dead. Israel loved their dead prophets too.

There’s something amazing about unbelief—it is able to fulfill its own expectations. Unbelief is safe because it takes no risk and almost always gets what it expects. Then, after a person gets the answer for their unbelief, they can say, I told you so.

A SUPERIOR REALITY

My faith is not just an abiding faith; it is active. It is aggressive by nature. It has focus and purpose. Faith grabs hold of the reality of the Kingdom and forcefully and violently brings it into a collision with this natural one. An inferior kingdom cannot stand.

One of the more common things people tell me when I’m about to pray for their healing is, “I know God can do it.” So does the devil. At best that is hope…not faith. Faith knows He will.

For one who has faith, there is nothing impossible. There are no impossibilities when there is faith…and there are no exceptions.

Sheri, for instance, came forward for prayer after a wonderful meeting just outside of Nashville, Tennessee. She had suffered with Lupus for 24 years, the last four of which had gone into Pulmonary Hypertension. It had gotten so bad that she had to have an aluminum shunt placed into her heart. To this a pump was attached, which supplied the needed medication to keep her alive. Her doctor told her that without this medication she could live for only three minutes.

When she walked up to me, I actually felt a presence of something I had never felt in that measure before. It was faith. I actually stood back and stared at her for a few moments realizing that I was seeing something completely new for me. As she received prayer, she fell to the ground under the power of God. When she got up I asked her how she was doing. She described a heat that was on her chest. (Heat often accompanies God’s healing touch.) As she left I told her, your faith got you this one!

That was Saturday night. At 7 a.m. that following morning the Lord spoke to her saying she didn’t need the medication any more. So she removed it. She showed up 14 hours later giving testimony of God’s wonderful healing power.

She has since had the aluminum shunt removed—she doesn’t need it anymore!

EARS TO HEAR

“So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” Notice it does not say, faith comes from having heard. The whole nature of faith implies a relationship with God that is current. The emphasis is on hearing…in the now! In Genesis God told Abraham to sacrifice Isaac. As Abraham raised the knife to slay his son God spoke again. This time He told him not to slay his son, as he had passed the test of being willing to do anything for God. It’s a good thing that Abraham’s only connection with God was not just over what was said, but was based upon what He was saying!

ANSWERS FOR LIFE’S IMPOSSIBILITIES

What this world needs is for the Church to return to a show and tell message on the kingdom of God. They need an anchor that is greater than everything they can see. The world system has no answers to the world’s increasing problems—every solution is only temporary.

Dale came to my office to confess sin. He lived quite some distance from my city, but because he had deceived us out of some money, he felt the need to come and confess in person. After I expressed both God’s and my forgiveness, I asked him about his back. He had walked into my office with difficulty and was obviously in great pain. He lifted his shirt to show me two scars that ran on each side of the spine the full length. He had broken his back some years earlier and had recently been in a car accident that further aggravated his injury. He then told me that God would probably like to heal him, but that he just got in His way. I told him he wasn’t big enough. All I could picture was the greatness of God and the puny condition of man. He looked at me with a stunned look on his face. I went on to explain that God was really big and could pretty much do as He pleased. Although Dale didn’t move into great faith, he did begin to doubt his doubt. That was all it took. I laid hands on his back and invited the Holy Spirit to come and give His gift of healing. I then commanded it to be healed. He bent over, placing his hands flat on the floor, saying, “I can’t do that!” He proceeded to do it over and over again, each time declaring, “I can’t do that!” He left pain-free with full movement and a heart full of praise. This was a man who could barely walk only moments before.

Faith is not the absence of doubt; it’s the presence of belief. I may not always feel that I have great faith. But I can always obey, laying my hands on someone and praying. It’s a mistake for me to ever examine my faith. I seldom find it. It’s better for me to obey quickly. After it’s over I can look back and see that my obedience came from faith.

THE CLUSTER BOMB EFFECT

When the corporate level of faith grows, it has what I call a cluster bomb effect, where innocent bystanders get touched by the miracle-working power of God.

Francis is a woman who had esophagus cancer. One Sunday morning during worship she leaned over to her husband and said, “I was just healed!” She felt the fire of God touch her hands and concluded that it represented God’s healing touch. When she went to the doctor she told him of her experience. His response was, “This kind does not go away.” After examining her he stated, “Not only do you not have cancer, you have a new esophagus!”

Corporate faith pulls on heaven in marvelous ways. His world becomes manifest all around us.

Sharon had suffered an accident many years ago in which she had destroyed a tendon that ran down her leg. It left her with restricted movement and partial numbness in her foot. I was giving an altar call for people to get right with God during one of our Saturday night meetings. She began to make all kinds of noise. I stopped the altar call and asked her what happened. She told us of the tingling feeling that ran down her leg and the subsequent restoration of all movement and feeling to her foot. A creative miracle happened without anyone praying.

The crowd at this particular meeting was quite small. But power is not in the number of people in attendance. It’s the number of people in agreement. Exponential power is the product of the unity of faith.

In some meetings it’s easy to mistake enthusiasm for faith. In that setting I emphasize the use of testimonies to stir peoples’ hearts to believe for the impossible so He might invade.

MORE THAN BEING LOUD

Just as fear is a tangible element in the spirit world, so faith is tangible there. In the natural a loud voice may intimidate another man. But devils know the difference between the one who is truly bold and aggressive because of their faith, and the one who is simply covering his fears with aggressive behavior. Christians often use this tactic when casting out devils. Many of us have yelled threats, called on angels for help, promised to make it harder on the demons on Judgment Day, and other foolish things only to try and cover immature fear. Real faith is anchored in the invisible realm and is connected to the authority given in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.

The authority to cast out demons is found in rest. Rest is the climate that faith grows in. It comes out of the peace of God. And it is the Prince of Peace who will soon crush satan underneath our feet! What is restful for us is violent to the powers of hell. That is the violent nature of faith.

This is not to be a soulish attempt at self-confidence or self-determination. Instead it is a moving of the heart into a place of surrender…a place of rest. A surrendered heart is a heart of faith. And faith must be present to please God.

VIOLENCE AND FAITH

“Until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force.”

Two blind men who sat by the road called out to Jesus. People told them to be quiet. That only hardened their determination. They became more desperate and cried out all the louder. He called them forth and healed them saying, “The kingdom has come near you.” He attributed their miracle to their faith.

A woman who had hemorrhaged for 12 years pressed through a crowd. When she was finally able to touch the garment of Jesus, she was healed. He attributed it to her faith.

The stories of this kind are many, all with similar endings—they were healed or delivered because of their faith. Faith may quietly press in, or it may cry out very loudly, but it is always violent in the spirit world. It grabs hold of an invisible reality and won’t let go. Taking the Kingdom by faith is the violent act that is necessary to come into what God has made available.

FAITH EMPOWERS

An automobile may have several hundred horsepower. But the car will go nowhere until the clutch is released, connecting the power contained in the running motor and transferring that power to the wheels. So it is with faith. We have all the power of heaven behind us. But it is our faith that connects what is available to the circumstances at hand. Faith takes what is available and makes it actual.

It’s not illegal to try to grow in faith. It’s not wrong to seek for signs and the increase of miracles. Those are all within the rights of the believer. But learning how to pray is the task at hand. It is the only thing the disciples asked Jesus to teach them. And so we will examine His Model Prayer for insights on His view of prayer and the release of His dominion

2010-01-13T18:22:00.000+13:00

10. The problem of sin
"Sin is the despairing refusal to find your deepest identity in your relationship and service to God. Sin is seeking to become oneself, to get an identity, apart from him." (162) The primary way to define sin is "the making of good things into ultimate things. It is seeking to establish a sense of self by making something else more central to your significance, purpose, and happiness than your relationship to God." (162)

"Every person is desperately seeking…'cosmic significance.'" "Our need for worth is so powerful that whatever we base our identity and value on we essentially 'deify.' We will look to it with all the passion and intensity of worship and devotion, even if we think of ourselves as highly irreligious." (163, citing Ernest Becker)

"…sin destroys us personally. Identity apart from God is inherently unstable. Without God, our sense of worth may seem solid on the surface, but it never is--it can desert you in a moment." (164) "There is no way to avoid this insecurity outside of God." "An identity not based on God also leads inevitably to deep forms of addiction."

"Building our lives on something besides God not only hurts us if we don't get the desires of our hearts, but also if we do." (166) "…if you don't live for Jesus you will live for something else." (172)
We need love in order to survive. We thrive when we are loved by others. Without love, we fall apart, we lose our way, we enter despair. In the words of Robert Palmer, we are truly addicted to love:
We are addicted to love, and it’s out of control.
We would give anything and everything to find it.
Here is where I begin to hold to a conspiracy theory.
There’s more going on here than meets the eye.
It’s as if we’ve been purposefully designed with a factory defect that keeps us searching… for love.[2]
McManus argues that the pursuit of love plays more of a role in human history than the survival of the fittest: “We cannot live unaffected by love. We are most alive when we find it, most devastated when we lose it, most empty when we give up on it, most inhumane when we betray it, and most passionate when we pursue it
What if our soul’s craving for love is an indication that we have been created by Love for Love. If, as the New Testament proclaims, God is love, than our search for love is, in actuality, a search for God. “If God is love, it is maddening when we are running from God and yet searching for love.”[5]
The truth that God is love – and consequently, that we have been made by Love for Love – is at the heart of the incarnation of God in Jesus Christ. McManus argues that the reason God came in the flesh was for this very purpose – to fully manifest his love to others, something that can only be done personally: “If the message that God wants to get across to us is just about getting our beliefs right, then he didn’t need to come himself… There is only reason for God to come himself, because in issues of love, you just can’t have someone else stand in for you.”[6]
McManus’ final entry under “Intimacy” – “Entry #21” – is titled “Love is Not a Four-Letter Word.” The sole contents of this entry are the classic Beatles’ lyrics, “All you need is love” followed by the New Testament phrase, “God is Love.”
Surveys
The overall impression you get from the book is that our big problem isn’t sin but a lack of self-actualisation
Deep in our souls there's a longing for God. Often it's almost silenced by the busyness of our days. But it's there. A quiet aching--an unrelenting desire. A soul craving that only God can satisfy.

But God is a stretch. Is God real? Why should I believe in God? Scientifically, he can’t be proven. Rationally, he can’t be boxed into a neat little passage. Not only that, but why believe in something I’ve never experienced? Why believe the word of people I don’t know if I trust?

Who did Jesus think he was? And why should I care?
Still have questions?: Ask us
Trust. We may not realize it, but what we believe to be true (and I’m not just talking about God) is directly tied to who we think we can trust. I doubt the truth in political ads because I have little trust for politicians. I know the motives of the credit card offers I often get, so I don’t believe that there are no hidden catches. Truth is tied to trust. We will not believe someone we do not trust, and we do not trust easily.
At least, we like to think so. But if we break it down, there are many things we trust without as much as a backward glance.
I trust the laws of the universe that say the sun will rise tomorrow. I trust that the ozone layer will not be depleted in the next half hour and I will continue to breathe without any problems. I trust that my pay cheque will be deposited in my account on Friday as my employers have promised. I trust that my chair will continue to hold me up, and I trust that my mom loves me even if she doesn’t say so every day.
So why don’t we trust God, or even the people who say they trust God?
For a lot of people, the answer is one word: Religion. Capital-R, organized, hierarchical, power-structure Religion.
If you stepped into a toxic religious environment, you were right to run, even if Jesus’ name was attached to it. And by the way, when you did that, you weren’t running farther from Jesus but closer to him. You just have to be careful not to come to the tragic conclusion that just because you’ve experienced something that was false and maybe even toxic, there is nothing that is good. Even when you find yourself frustrated, even when you feel that you’ve been duped or deceived, even when you think something is true and later discover it is false, you should take solace in this; something inside you knows the difference.
Something within you not only compels you to search for truth, but has a soul reaction to it. – Erwin McManus
Jesus and Religion aren’t synonymous. Jesus and God are. Jesus and Truth are. Jesus and Trust are.
I know I’m not pulling out big empirical proofs for God’s existence. I don’t intend on it, and neither does Erwin’s book. But what we are both saying, if you’re still with me, is this:
Humanity is a profound mystery. We share desires that are universal, yet unique to our species. Where do they come from? What is their origin? To find this out, we have to know ourselves. As we explore our souls, we find echoes and traces of something bigger than ourselves. We find traces of the source of these cravings for intimacy, destiny, meaning. To find these cravings fulfilled, we have to seek the Source. We have to find God.
If it’s a part of our make-up, it has to have a source. Like looking at the Mona Lisa makes us aware that there’s a painter, so our intricacies point to something bigger. And there’s a Source, then he will have the answers. He will know why and how and what it is exactly that we can’t understand, even after staring for hours at a canvas, even after days of solitude and soul-reflection.
The most life-changing and illuminating decision I ever made was to choose to trust God. To take as truth that Jesus is the Source of all that I am and that He has all the answers. Not only that, but that He is the answer.
I thought for a while that God could meet my needs and stop my soul cravings. Now I know that isn’t the case.
My soul doesn’t crave something from God; my soul craves God. And by the way, so does yours.
That’s why everything else will leave you unsatisfied in the end. But don’t let this frustrate you; just let it fuel you. – Erwin McManus
The desire for fulfillment is universal. From the moment we are born we recognize within ourselves an insatiable hunger for more of life. We try to grasp onto every experience, enjoy every relationship, and maximize every opportunity. Yet even as we strive to fill our lives to the brim with adventures, we are never fully satisfied.
You don’t have to look too far before you run into a myriad of quotes on the topic of living life to the fullest. Carpe Diem translates from the Latin into Seize the Day and appears everywhere from graduation presents to plaques. Living a full and satisfying life is at the top of our inborn priorities, and yet it seems to be a goal that is impossible to reach completely.
Insatiable by Design
It is not a matter of chance that humans not only seek to survive but actually thrive. This desire to live rather than simply exist is what separates us from animals, and it is one of the many ways in which God made human beings unique. We were created with the ability to feel emotions, and the hunger to grow and learn because we were created by God in his own image. God is the creator, source and definition of life and it is these characteristics of him that cause us to be creative and drive us to live enjoy and treasure life.
Where’s the Disconnect?
If we were created by God himself to live fulfilling lives, why do so many of us feel like we are running on empty? And why does it seem like most of the time religion hurts rather than helps the cause of a life fully lived? Though we were created by God to live lives that are rich and satisfying, they can only be made complete by a relationship with Him. The Bible says that, “He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end.” (Ecclesiastes 3:11)
God gave us many things which are pleasurable and which he made to enjoy, but their sole purpose was only ever to point us towards him. Without this relationship, every experience is dulled by being limited to itself. It no longer satisfies its original purpose – to point us towards the Creator who imagined it.
He engrained in our hearts the knowledge of a reality much greater than our temporal existence. When we expect to live completely fulfilling lives without God, we expect something of life that it was never designed to do.
About Jesus
A life to the fullest is a life that is characterized by being in relationship with Jesus, because he himself is the definition of life. John 14:6 identifies Jesus as the life. It reads, “Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
Christ is not only the life but he is also the truth and the way in which we can have a fulfilling relationship with God the way we were designed to. We cannot pick and choose which parts of Jesus we accept and which we don’t. Just in the same way that we cannot choose to be in relationship with certain parts of any individual, we cannot live with Christ fully if we do not accept him as the truth and the way, as well as the life.
What does Truth and Way mean exactly?
Accepting Christ as the truth and the way means appropriating Christ’s ways as our own ways, and recognizing him as the source of all truth. This is not a popular choice. Instead, we naturally prefer to have control of our lives and create our own definitions of right and wrong. This is evident in the prominence of brokenness in our world resulting from our poor choices. It is these choices that the bible defines as sin.
Sin translated from the Greek means “missing the mark.” God created us to have a full satisfying life filled with his presence. We miss the mark when we live any other way than in unity with God. However, we are unable to experience this unity because we have chosen another path rather than God’s.
Sin is not a recent phenomenon. When Adam and Eve chose to disobey God, they chose their own version of life and thus sinned. They traded in the truth of God, his perfect mark, and instead bought into a lie of independent living that could never fulfill its false promise of freedom.
As we see and experience now, this life apart from God turned out to be not life at all but instead brokenness. It is similar to that of a child who desires the freedom to run into traffic. In their eyes they are living more fully when they run freely, but the parent knows that this kind of “full living” results in death.
Romans 6:23 explains this in spiritual terns, “For the wages of sin is death.” The wage we deserve for our choice to live outside of God’s will for us is death: eternal separation from God and everything that is good. This is what is often understood as hell. However, these negative consequences affect our experience of life here on earth too, causing brokenness and in a very real sense spiritual death.
And so we have our world, a series of hit and runs, where we run freely to gain freedom, but end up paying with our entire lives. The life that Christ offers us is spiritual life. Christ’s life allows us to be re-united with God the Father who created our lives and desires to show us for what purposes he gave us these lives. It is here that we can leave behind empty lives of striving and instead experience satisfied lives that are full of purpose and meaning.
How does Christ restore our relationship with God?
As we’ve already discussed, our attempt to independently live from God results in the natural consequence of spiritual death. However, God desires life for us to such a great extent that he made a way through Christ for us to have that life restored. The second half of Romans 6:23 tells us that though “the wages of sin is death, the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
John 3:16 is also another popularly quoted passage in the Bible, and it is so for a valid reason. It tells us that “God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
Jesus Christ, God’s Son was both fully God and fully human. He was able to live a life in perfect unity with God because he lived it in perfect obedience to him. Unjustly, Christ was crucified on the cross, a perfect God sacrificed to cover the wages of sin we deserve. At the same time Christ is able to welcome us into life because he himself did not stay surrendered to death. Three days after Christ died on the cross he rose again, and was resurrected to life.
What’s my part?
Christ’s death and life means we do not have to give up our physical lives, but it does mean we must make an active choice to surrender our right to live independent lives of sin, and instead accept and welcome God’s way of life.
This requires us to confess to God that we have chosen to live apart from him, and to commit to live a life dedicated to him. It is here that can accept Jesus’ gift of having lived and died on our behalf before God, and acknowledge that this is the only way our relationship with God can be made right. He must not only be the guide (or Lord) of our lives, but also our Saviour from a spiritual death and slavery to sin.

Does this mean I’ll always be happy?
Happiness is one of the many emotions that we have been given by God and we can accept it as one of his good gifts. However, like any other emotion it is dependent on circumstances and can quickly vanish. It fades when your child becomes sick, when the career of your dreams turns out to be the world’s worst job and when you age at an ever increasing speed.
God may not guarantee us constant happiness when we begin a relationship with him, but he does promise to be an ever flowing source of joy. Joy knows and reminds us that our security is in our restored relationship with God and the eternal life he has promised us. It comes with knowing God and is based on his faithfulness.
There comes a choice:
Deuteronomy 30:19-20 holds a challenge that each of us must respond to, “This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the LORD your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the LORD is your life.”

Where are you today? Are you ready to allow God to be your life?
If you are, the final step is a prayer asking God to come into your life and make you the person he wants you to be. Prayer is just talking to God. There is no right or wrong way to do it. God is not concerned about the words that you choose. He cares about the state of your heart. He hears you, the words aren’t that important. This is a suggested prayer you might want to use if you’d like to begin a relationship with God.
Jesus, I want to know you personally. I know that I am a sinner and that nothing I could do can make up for that. Thank you for dying in my place and paying the price for my sin. I know that my sin doesn’t separate me from God anymore. Thank you for forgiving me. I know that you love me and that I will spend eternity with you. I want you to be my Savior. Come into my life and take control, make me the person you want me to be.
This craving for love and intimacy begins in us when we are just young children. When my daughter was young, I read her fairy tales. Her favorite part was always when the prince and princess fell in love. She believed someday a prince would come into her life. For many of us, even as adults, we still believe as she did.
What we are often unaware of is that we are created for intimacy. We are deeply relational and desire to be loved and accepted. This love that we try to find and then attain throughout our lives, is actually impossible in and of ourselves. People will always let us down. Even those who love us most will not be able to live up to our expectations.
We crave to be filled with the sense of satisfaction and confidence, which often results when we are in intimate relationships. Some strive to fill that with sex and love and are often left feeling empty and broken. It’s possible we are looking in the wrong place to fill that void. Our deepest craving for intimacy is actually spiritual. As we discover a deep and meaningful relationship with God, our core craving becomes satisfied giving us a foundation to work through the sometimes-rocky relationships we find ourselves in. If you find yourself in a painful place in your relationship and need someone to talk to, we are here and would love to talk to you
Everyone has “cravings” … desires and needs that must be fulfilled. If they aren’t, then our lives themselves seem unfulfilled. It seems that no matter how much we have, or experience, we always want more.
Maybe these cravings, which can’t be satisfied adequately by any of the things in this world, aren’t there by accident. Maybe they are there to encourage us to look for something even greater.
read a book called Soul Cravings by Erwin McManus. These are my thoughts (McManus’ quotes are in italics).
It’s hard to define the things inside my heart. I wonder if I’m the only one who feels what I feel and wants what I want. Am I the same as others in this mass of humanity, or am I alone in my experiences?
Maybe you sometimes feel the same way.
In high school, I had a vague notion that when I graduated I would take off for a couple days, go somewhere in the wild, set up a tent, and spend three days with myself. My hope was that at the end of the time, with nothing but myself and some food, I would have a better idea of who I am and what I want, and where to head with my life.
It’s six years later, and I would still like a getaway like that. Even to myself, I’m a mystery.

Love For a Lifetime: How I got past the parental rejection of my childhood
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I know I want things, but I can’t always recognize what they are. Sometimes I hear people (especially musicians) articulate some profound thought or experience that resonates with my heart, and I wonder, “How do they know? Are we that much the same?”
Some themes in life are reoccurring. In many different ways, different places and different voices, human desires are articulated.
o Intimacy
o Destiny
o Meaning
It seems that these are integral parts of the human make-up, but why? What makes us long for these things?
Given all the problems love can create, why do we keep longing for it? How many thousands of years will it take for us to learn? How many Romeos and Juliets need to lie dead on the floor before we’re willing to give up this perverse addiction? Oh, I know they weren’t real, but then again, is love? If evolution is our preferred understanding of the human story, why can’t we evolve ourselves out of this primal Achilles’ heel we know as love? And don’t give me this thing about the propagation of the species. Love isn’t necessary for reproduction – just sex is. All you need is attraction, not emotion…If intimacy is only about attraction, we could just keep lust and dispense with love. But it just won’t go away. – Erwin McManus
When I first read this, I stopped and went through it again. And then a third time. Yeah. Why do we crave love? Why do I want to be known so deeply, to know someone and trust them and be trustworthy?
It is not enough for me to be kind of cool, or for me to have had a moment or two of meaningful connection. I want it to go on. I stress over relational disharmony, I crave connection – not just a physical connection, but a deep emotional bond of being known and being wanted.
All of us long to become something more than we are. We are driven to achieve, moved to accomplish, fueled by ambition. It burns hotter in some than in others, but it is within all of us. We’re all searching for our unique purpose, our divine destiny, or simply a sense of significance or some measure of success…all of us are united in our desperate attempt to make a future for ourselves. We all desperately want to achieve something, to accomplish something; we just don’t know what. Worse than that, we don’t even understand why. Yet that doesn’t stop us from searching. – Erwin McManus
It’s true, I think to myself. I do want to achieve. I don’t know what exactly, but something. I don’t want to sit here in anonymity for the rest of my life. But why? I could get by, I’m sure. Why wouldn’t that be enough?
Have you ever thought about this? What drives us to do, to accomplish? Why do we want to make the world a better place – for myself at least, if not for others? Where does our creative urge come from, and why are we not content to be spoon-fed for the rest of our lives?
This may be a jump for some, but Erwin and I both think it has to do with God. Not God who sits in a palace and points his lightning-trident at anyone he catches doing wrong, but God who loves us and created us with purpose and creativity. God who created us with the hope that we would do good and not harm.
Crave Intimacy?
These are a few excerpts from Erwin McManus’ book Soul Cravings. The human condition is fascinating, our desire to be known and loved. We are left asking ourselves: Why can’t we evolve past our need to be loved?
“Given all the problems love can create, why do we keep longing for it? How many thousands of years will it take for us to learn? How many Romeos and Juliets need to lie dead on the floor before we’re willing to give up on this perverse addiction? Oh, I know they weren’t real, but then again, is love? If evolution is our preferred understanding of the human story, why can’t we evolve ourselves out of this primal Achilles’ heel we know as love? And don’t give me this thing about the propagation of the species. Love isn’t necessary for reproduction – just sex is. All you need is attraction, not emotion… If intimacy is only about attraction, we could just keep lust and dispense with love. But it won’t go away… It seems humiliating to say it, but we need to be loved.”
~ Erwin McManus, Soul Cravings, Entry 2 ~
“We will reshape, redesign, and remake ourselves to be a part of a broader community. We will go to great lengths and great pains to become insiders. At one end of the spectrum, we will pierce ourselves, tattoo ourselves, and mutilate ourselves to be our unique selves, who look like a lot of other people. At the other end of the spectrum, we will use Botox, collagen, and plastic surgery to become what we hope other people will love. We will go through hell weeks, allow ourselves to be demeaned during hazing, and even commit unimaginable acts of violence to make it through an initiation just so that we can belong, so that we can be apart of a tribe. In the end we are all tribal. We are created by a relational God for relationship. God made us for relationships, and we only begin to experience life fully when we move toward healthy relationships and healthy community. Your soul will never be satisfied with anything less. When we are estranged from God, we drift from love. Without God we lose our source of love but not our need for love
I am the truth
Do you crave meaning?
In this day and age, “meaning” is a tricky concept. The way Erwin McManus’ book Soul Cravings talks about it, it’s about significance, truth and trust. Those three things are closely entwined…and we can’t deny that truth and trust matter. They matter immensely. So what does Erwin have to say about truth?
“I didn’t need everything fixed. I certainly didn’t need all the answers. I just needed to know the truth. We underestimate the healing power of truth. We also underestimate how desperately our souls long for truth. Our souls crave truth. We want to know the truth. We need to know the truth. The human spirit isn’t designed to live a lie. Ironically, the only reason we are capable of lying is that we are able to know the truth. Even without any external guidelines or boundaries, we know a lie when we tell one. We have a filter within us that separates truth from falsehood. We assume this is simply a part of being human, but we shouldn’t underestimate what this says about us as a species… Not only is it unhealthy to be lied to, but it is corrosive to our souls to lie and deceive others. We weren’t designed to live a lie or even to tell one. Even if you don’t believe in God, don’t believe in objective truth, and don’t believe in any moral absolutes, you still have to grapple with the unusual human phenomenon that we become psychologically and relationally sick when we live a lie and we find an environment of truthfulness, even when the truth is more painful than the lie.”
~ Erwin McManus, Soul Cravings, Entry 2 ~
“Our souls crave to know the truth, and we need to pursue it at all cost. Whatever the implication, whatever it takes us, we must search for meaning, strive for understanding, struggle to make sense of life, never give up on the belief that the truth is out there.”
~ Erwin McManus, Soul Cravings, Entry 2 ~
“Jesus didn’t come advocating a better idea. While history is filled with great teachers, being the best of them was never Jesus’ goal or ambition. He never said to his disciples, “This is the truth. Follow it.” Instead, he said something far more compelling. Jesus’ claim was nothing less than “I am the truth.” Jesus moves truth from impersonal to personal. He moved it from rational to relational. He was telling his disciples the truth isn’t an answer; it is a person. You don’t come to know the truth as a result of an academic pursuit. You might discover an endless number of things that are true along the way, but this is not the truth your soul is craving. No matter how many true things you come to know, they will never leave you satisfied until you find your way to the One who is the very source of truth.”
~Erwin McManus, Soul Cravings, Entry 17 ~
Crave Destiny?
These two quotes capture what Erwin is trying to get us to understand about our souls and our futures.
“Why are we most alive when we are pursuing a great dream? Why is it that we need a reason to live? Why do we need to feel that we are in some way unique? Why is it that when we conclude our lives don’t matter, we lose the will to live? The maddening reality is that each and every one of us has been created with a soul craving to become – to become something – something better, something different, something special, something unique, something admired, something valued, something more than we are… We not only assume the future and believe in the future, but we’re all searching for a future.”
~ Erwin McManus, Soul Cravings, Entry 11 ~
“You can choose to believe that your spirit has lived a thousand times before and that in a previous life you were a bug – or even worse than that, it’s the life to come. Or you can choose to believe that you are the result of some kind of genetic mutation that arbitrarily happened through the evolutionary process. But remember this, what can settle your mind will not settle your soul. It will stir it up. You are a unique creation made by God to live and not simply exist. Your soul longs to find its ultimate purpose. It will not rest until you do. Your soul craves destiny. Your soul desires. It always will. You were created as a creative being. You were made to grow, to dream, to achieve. Your soul is letting you know you come from God and your life is intended to be God-sized and God-inspired.”
~ Erwin McManus, Soul Cravings, Entry 23 ~
Is it true that we were created with purpose? Why do we long to achieve? What makes us want to become more than we are right now?
McManus wants readers to come to know themselves and meet God on the journey. "This thing that haunts you, that never seems satisfied, the cravings in your soul that you are unable to satiate through all the success that the world can bring—this is your soul screaming for God."

shows readers how our need for intimacy, meaning, and destiny point to the existence of God and our need to connect with Him. This book will deeply stir readers to consider and chase after the spiritual implications of their souls' deepest longings.

f there is an answer to be found in SOUL CRAVINGS, it is this: our cravings begin and end with God. Throughout, McManus reminds us that, ultimately, whatever it is that we crave most --- for instance, love --- is already available to us in our relationship with God. And trying to fill those cravings with anything other than God is not only futile but can also be destructive. He writes: "No matter what we become, it is never enough. Our souls always crave more. It's not because they're insatiable, but because we know there's more to be had." That "more" is a life of intimacy, destiny and meaning --- all of which can only be found in a life with God
Time after time, Keller shows us that the answer to the slavery that idols bring - is not simply to love these good things less - but to love Christ more, and throughout this short book, Keller's insightful exploration of the gospel through some of the familiar stories of the bible, helps and encourages us to do this.

have been reading this book in pieces as I have been preaching on idolatry this autumn. I've referenced it numerous times. A few quotes I've used...
We never imagine that getting our heart's deepest desires might be the worst thing that can ever happen to us. (p 1)
If we are not willing to hurt our career in order to do God's will, our job will become a counterfeit god. (p 14)
The idol of success cannot be just expelled, it must be replaced. The human heart's desire for a particular valuable object may be conquered, but its need to have some such object is unconquerable. (p 93)
The normal response to our sense of powerlessness is to deny it, to find people to dominate and control in order to live in that denial. (p 124-125)
I have to be honest...Counterfeit Gods has brought some serious conviction in my heart. A part of it is the sermons I've prepared with the book as a foundational resource (though I haven't preached through this book). But mostly it's been the words of Keller, who knows how to take biblical truth and deliver it to the heart in practical and profound ways. My idols have been exposed.
Counterfeit Gods will be sitting on our church book table, given to those in leadership, and recommended to any number of people. It will have great benefit for both Christians and non-Christians. I can't reco
Keller is a good student not only of Scripture but of culture as well and he understands that we “civilized” people are quick to try and distance ourselves from idolatry, conjuring up images of stone and wooden figures that we literally bow before. So he wastes no time defining idolatry:
It is anything more important to you than God, anything that absorbs your heart and imagination more than God, anything you seek to give you what only God can give.” (xvii)
Keller presses this point until it is (rightfully) uncomfortable, noting that we have a tendency to turn good things life into the best things, making idols out of not only obvious things like money, sex and power, but also less obvious things like family and romantic love. Nearly anything can function as an idol in our lives. This is why Martin Luther insisted that our breaking any of the last 9 Commandments is because we already broke the first. Keller paraphrases Luther:
“We never break the other commandments without breaking the first one. Why do we fail to love or keep promises or live unselfishly? Of course, the general answer is ‘because we are weak and sinful,’ but the specific answer in any actual circumstance is that there is something you feel you must have to be happy, something that is more important to your heart than God himself. We would not lie unless we first had made something-human approval, reputation, power over others, financial advantage-more important and valuable to our hearts than the grace and favor of God. The secret to change is identify and dismantle the counterfeit gods of your heart (166)”.
idols cannot simply be removed. They must be replaced (155).”
The antidote, of course, is Jesus:
“Jesus must become more beautiful to your imagination, more attractive to your heart, than your idol…If you uproot the idol and fail to ‘plant’ the love of Christ in its place, the idol will grow back (172).”
Keller masterfully but mercifully demonstrates time and time again how Jesus is the only real cure for our idolatry. He leaves us no doubt that we are all idolaters, but then gives “the only Hope that matters.”
This is a valuable book and a must-read for every believer.
The New York Times bestselling author of The Reason for God and The Prodigal God and a nationally renowned minister, Timothy Keller exposes the error of making good things "ultimate" in his latest book, and shows readers a new path toward a hope that lasts.

Success, true love, and the life you’ve always wanted. Many of us placed our faith in these things, believing they held the key to happiness, but with a sneaking suspicion they might not deliver. The recent economic meltdown has cast a harsh new light on these pursuits. In a matter of months, fortunes, marriages, careers, and a secure retirement have disappeared for millions of people. No wonder so many of us feel lost, alone, disenchanted, and resentful. But the truth is that we made lesser gods of these good things -gods that can’t give us what we really need. There is only one God who can wholly satisfy our cravings- and now is the perfect time to meet him again, or for the first time.

The Bible tells us that the human heart is an "idol- factory," taking good things and making them into idols that drive us. In Counterfeit Gods, Keller applies his trademark approach to show us how a proper understanding of the Bible reveals the unvarnished truth about societal ideals and our own hearts. This powerful message will cement Keller’s reputation as a critical thinker and pastor, and comes at a crucial time-for both the faithful and the skeptical.
Author Bio
Timothy Keller opened Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Manhattan in 1989, and now ministers to more than 9,000 regular Sunday attendees, plus the members of fifty "church plants" nationwide. He is also the author of The Prodigal God and the New York Times bestseller The Reason for God.
Table of Contents
Introduction: The Idol Factory...ix
ONE All You’ve Ever Wanted...1
TWO Love Is Not All You Need...22
THREE Money Changes Everything...48
FOUR The Seduction of Success...72
FIVE The Power and the Glory...97
SIX The Hidden Idols in Our Lives...126
SEVEN The End of Counterfeit Gods...154
Epilogue: Finding and Replacing Your Idols...165
Notes...178
Bibliography...206
Acknowledgments...209
Publisher's Weekly
Author of The Reason for God and senior pastor of New York’s Redeemer Presbyterian Church, Keller asserts that the chaos of the global financial crisis offers a rare opportunity, as individuals and as a society, to discern the “glittering gods” that enslave us. “The only way to free ourselves from the destructive influence of counterfeit gods is to turn back to the true one,” writes Keller, mercilessly dissecting the things he believes keep men and women from acknowledging their sin and God’s love, grace and centrality. Shadowed by the pastor’s austere Reformed vision of the depth and shape-shifting forms of human depravity, this sometimes bleak series of linked meditations weaves the spiritual journeys of biblical figures like the Old Testament soldier Naaman with insights from more modern figures, including 19th-century industrialist Andrew Carnegie, contemporary author Malcolm Gladwell and retired tennis star Chris Evert. A work of recession spirituality and cultural criticism, this volume will appeal to those who share Keller’s conviction that the journey away from idolatry and toward God can sometimes take a lifetime. (Oct. 20) Copyright 2009 Reed Business Information.
Customer Reviews

Keller invites us to explore our deepest longings and motivations and to wean us off the gods that we pursue, by directing us to Jesus Christ. Although this book is, in many ways, a challenging, even a painful book to read as it lays bear the longings of our own hearts, it offers fresh hope for those of us whose gods have let us down.

In an accessible and masterful way, Keller reveals how we can take good things (career, love, family, material things) and make them "ultimate" things - seeking in them a security and fulfillment that are are never unable to deliver. He is also realistic about the hold that our idols have upon us, recognising that only a living encounter with God can deal with their stubbornness, as Christ himself becomes what it ultimate in our lives. Time after time, Keller shows us that the answer to the slavery that idols bring - is not simply to love these good things less - but to love Christ more, and throughout this short book, Keller's insightful exploration of the gospel through some of the familiar stories of the bible, helps and encourages us to do this.

I can't recommend this book too highly and I'm itching to read it with others and to allow its message and insights to work more deeply in me.

cs lewis quotes

2010-01-12T21:36:00.002+13:00

Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another: "What! You too? I thought I was the only one."
— C.S. Lewis
tags: friendship 8,174 people liked it

"I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else."
— C.S. Lewis
tags: christianity, religion, sun 2,773 people liked it

To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything and your heart will be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact you must give it to no one, not even an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements. Lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket, safe, dark, motionless, airless, it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable. To love is to be vulnerable."
— C.S. Lewis (The Four Loves)
tags: love 1,782 people liked it

"(The Christian) does not think God will love us because we are good, but that God will make us good because He loves us."
— C.S. Lewis
tags: christianity, god, religion 1,240 people liked it

"If we find ourselves with a desire that nothing in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that we were made for another world."
— C.S. Lewis
tags: god, world 1,142 people liked it

"A children's story that can only be enjoyed by children is not a good children's story in the slightest."
— C.S. Lewis
tags: children-s, entertainment, stories 963 people liked it

"No book is really worth reading at the age of ten which is not equally – and often far more – worth reading at the age of fifty and beyond."
— C.S. Lewis
tags: age, books, reading 826 people liked it

"Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on; you knew that those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised. But presently He starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make any sense. What on earth is He up to? The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of - throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were being made into a decent little cottage: but He is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it Himself."
— C.S. Lewis (Mere Christianity)
tags: god, house, religion 787 people liked it

"Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art.... It has no survival value; rather it is one of those things that give value to survival. "
— C.S. Lewis
tags: friendship, inspirational 705 people liked it

"We are not necessarily doubting that God will do the best for us; we are wondering how painful the best will turn out to be."
— C.S. Lewis
tags: god 616 people liked it

"A man can no more diminish God's glory by refusing to worship Him than a lunatic can put out the sun by scribbling the word "darkness" on the walls of his cell."
— C.S. Lewis
tags: god, religion 541 people liked it

"God can't give us peace and happiness apart from Himself because there is no such thing."
— C.S. Lewis
tags: god, happiness, religion 528 people liked it

"You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream."
— C.S. Lewis
tags: age, dreams, goals 486 people liked it

"I'm on Aslan's side even if there isn't any Aslan to lead it. I'm going to live as like a Narnian as I can even if there isn't any Narnia."
— C.S. Lewis (The Silver Chair)
tags: hell, love, safe 458 people liked it

"Atheism turns out to be too simple. If the whole universe has no meaning, we should never have found out that it has no meaning..."
— C.S. Lewis
tags: atheism, religion 392 people liked it

"It is a good rule after reading a new book, never to allow yourself another new one till you have read an old one in between."
— C.S. Lewis
tags: books, old-books, reading 360 people liked it

"The task of the modern educator is not to cut down jungles, but to irrigate deserts."
— C.S. Lewis

I pray because I can't help myself. I pray because I'm helpless. I pray because the need flows out of me all the time- waking and sleeping. It doesn't change God- it changes me."
— C.S. Lewis
tags: inspirational, prayer 308 people liked it

"Love is not affectionate feeling, but a steady wish for the loved person's ultimate good as far as it can be obtained."
— C.S. Lewis
tags: love 297 people liked it

"I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept his claim to be God. That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic — on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg — or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God, but let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to."
— C.S. Lewis
tags: faith, god, jesus 283 people liked it

"Pain insists upon being attended to. God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our consciences, but shouts in our pains. It is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world."
— C.S. Lewis
tags: god, pain 267 people liked it

"I can't imagine a man really enjoying a book and reading it only once."
— C.S. Lewis
tags: books, reading 261 people liked it

"The homemaker has the ultimate career. All other careers exist for one purpose only - and that is to support the ultimate career. "
— C.S. Lewis
tags: family 249 people liked it

"It would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased."
— C.S. Lewis (Weight of Glory and Other Addresses)
tags: christianity 249 people liked it

"Some day you will be old enough to start reading fairy tales again."
— C.S. Lewis (The World's Last Night: And Other Essays)
tags: age, fairy-tales 232 people liked it

"Why love if losing hurts so much? We love to know that we are not alone."
— C.S. Lewis
tags: alone, love 231 people liked it

"If you look for truth, you may find comfort in the end; if you look for comfort you will not get either comfort or truth only soft soap and wishful thinking to begin, and in the end, despair."
— C.S. Lewis
tags: truth 204 people liked it

"Even in literature and art, no man who bothers about originality will ever be original: whereas if you simply try to tell the truth (without caring twopence how often it has been told before) you will, nine times out of ten, become original without ever having noticed it."
— C.S. Lewis (Mere Christianity)
tags: art, books 203 people liked it

"He died not for men, but for each man. If each man had been the only man made, He would have done no less."
— C.S. Lewis
tags: god, religion 194 people liked it

"Now the trouble about trying to make yourself stupider than you really are is that you very often succeed."
— C.S. Lewis (The Magician's Nephew)
tags: stupid 183 people liked it

"There was a boy called Eustace Clarence Scrubb, and he almost deserved it."
— C.S. Lewis (The Voyage of the "Dawn Treader")
tags: first-sentence 179 people liked it

"Eating and reading are two pleasures that combine admirably."
— C.S. Lewis
tags: eating, reading 171 people liked it

"You can make anything by writing."
— C.S. Lewis
tags: writing 164 people liked it

"She's the sort of woman who lives for others - you can tell the others by their hunted expression."
— C.S. Lewis (The Screwtape Letters)
tags: humor, women, zealousness 156 people liked it

"There are only two kinds of people in the end: those who say to God, "Thy will be done," and those to whom God says, in the end, "Thy will be done." All that are in Hell, choose it. Without that self-choice there could be no Hell. No soul that seriously and constantly desires joy will ever miss it. Those who seek find. Those who knock it is opened. "
— C.S. Lewis (The Great Divorce)
tags: free-will, hell 148 people liked it

"It isn't Narnia, you know," sobbed Lucy. "It's you. We shan't meet you there. And how can we live, never meeting you?"
"But you shall meet me, dear one," said Aslan.
"Are -are you there too, Sir?" said Edmund.
"I am," said Aslan. "But there I have another name. You must learn to know me by that name. This was the very reason why you were brought to Narnia, that by knowing me here for a little, you may know me better there."
— C.S. Lewis (The Voyage of the Dawn Treader)
tags: aslan, narnia 137 people liked it

"Education without values, as useful as it is, seems rather to make man a more clever devil."
— C.S. Lewis

Miracles are a retelling in small letters of the very same story which is written across the whole world in letters too large for some of us to see."
— C.S. Lewis
tags: miracles 132 people liked it

"To be a Christian means to forgive the inexcusable because God has forgiven the inexcusable in you."
— C.S. Lewis
tags: christianity, forgiveness, god 123 people liked it

"It is when we notice the dirt that God is most present in us; it is the very sign of His presence."
— C.S. Lewis
tags: god, religion 121 people liked it

"Experience is a brutal teacher, but you learn. My God, do you learn."
— C.S. Lewis
tags: education, experience, inspirational 114 people liked it

"It is a good rule . . . to keep the clean sea breeze of the centuries blowing through our minds, and this can be done only by reading old books."
— C.S. Lewis
tags: books, wisdom 111 people liked it

"Reality, in fact, is usually something you could not have guessed. That is one of the reasons I believe Christianity. It is a religion you could not have guessed. If it offered us just the kind of universe we had always expected, I should feel we were making it up. But, in fact, it is not the sort of thing anyone would have made up. It has just that queer twist about it that real things have. So let us leave behind all these boys' philosophies--these over simple answers. The problem is not simple and the answer is not going to be simple either."
— C.S. Lewis
tags: christianity 100 people liked it

"You never know how much you really believe anything until its truth or falsehood becomes a matter of life and death to you."
— C.S. Lewis
tags: death, life, truth 100 people liked it

"There are far, far better things ahead than any we leave behind."
— C.S. Lewis
95 people liked it

"Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance, the only thing it cannot be is moderately important."
— C.S. Lewis
tags: christianity, religious 94 people liked it

"I am a product [...of] endless books. My father bought all the books he read and never got rid of any of them. There were books in the study, books in the drawing room, books in the cloakroom, books (two deep) in the great bookcase on the landing, books in a bedroom, books piled as high as my shoulder in the cistern attic, books of all kinds reflecting every transient stage of my parents' interest, books readable and unreadable, books suitable for a child and books most emphatically not. Nothing was forbidden me. In the seemingly endless rainy afternoons I took volume after volume from the shelves. I had always the same certainty of finding a book that was new to me as a man who walks into a field has of finding a new blade of grass."
— C.S. Lewis
tags: books 91 people liked it

"If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world."
— C.S. Lewis (Mere Christianity)
tags: christianity, faith 87 people liked it

"Nothing is yet in its true form."
— C.S. Lewis
tags: truth 86 people liked it

"You come of the Lord Adam and the Lady Eve," said Aslan. "And that is both honour enough to erect the head of the poorest beggar, and shame enough to bow the shoulders of the greatest emperor on earth. Be content."
— C.S. Lewis (Prince Caspian)
tags: inspirational 85 people liked it

"I know now, Lord, why you utter no answer. You are yourself the answer. Before your face questions die away. What other answer would suffice?"
— C.S. Lewis
84 people liked it

"Don't say it was delightful; make us say delightful when we've read the description. You see, all those words (horrifying, wonderful, hideous, exquisite) are only like saying to your readers Please will you do the job for me."
— C.S. Lewis
tags: words, writing 83 people liked it

"A silly idea is current that good people do not know what temptation means. This is an obvious lie. Only those who try to resist temptation know how strong it is... A man who gives in to temptation after five minutes simply does not know what it would have been like an hour later. That is why bad people, in one sense, know very little about badness. They have lived a sheltered life by always giving in."
— C.S. Lewis (Mere Christianity)
tags: christianity, temptation 79 people liked it

"One word, Ma'am," he said, coming back from the fire; limping, because of the pain. "One word. All you've been saying is quite right, I shouldn't wonder. I'm a chap who always liked to know the worst and then put the best face I can on it. So I won't deny any of what you said. But there's one more thing to be said, even so. Suppose we have only dreamed, or made up, all those things-trees and grass and sun and moon and stars and Aslan himself. Suppose we have. Then all I can say is that, in that case, the made-up things seem a good deal more important than the real ones. Suppose this black pit of a kingdom of yours is the only world. Well, it strikes me as a pretty poor one. And that's a funny thing, when you come to think of it. We're just babies making up a game, if you're right. But four babies playing a game can make a play-world which licks your real world hollow. That's why I'm going to stand by the play world. I'm on Aslan's side even if there isn't any Aslan to lead it. I'm going to live as like a Narnian as I can even if there isn't any Narnia. So, thanking you kindly for our supper, if these two gentlemen and the young lady are ready, we're leaving your court at once and setting out in the dark to spend our lives looking for Overland. Not that our lives will be very long, I should think; but that's a small loss if the world's as dull a place as you say."
— C.S. Lewis (The Silver Chair)
tags: puddleglum 78 people liked it

"That's the worst of girls," said Edmund to Peter and the Dwarf. "They never can carry a map in their heads."
"That's because our heads have something inside them," said Lucy."
— C.S. Lewis (Prince Caspian)
77 people liked it

"’You do not yet look as happy as I mean you to be.’
Lucy said, ‘We’re so afraid of being sent away, Aslan. And you have sent us back into our own world so often.’
‘No fear of that,’ said Aslan. ‘Have you not guessed?’
Their hearts leaped and a wild hope rose within them.
‘There was a real railway accident,’ said Aslan softly. ‘Your father and mother and all of you are – as you used to call it in the Shadowlands – dead. The term is over: the holidays have begun. The dream is over: this is the morning.’
And as He spoke He no longer looked to them like a lion; but the things that began to happen after that were so great and beautiful that I cannot write them. And for us this is the end of all the stories, and we can most truly say that they all lived happily ever after. But for them it was only the beginning of the real story. All their life in this world and all their adventures in Narnia had only been the cover and the title page: now at last they were beginning Chapter One of the Great Story, which no one on earth has ever read: which goes on for ever: in which every chapter is better than the one before."
— C.S. Lewis (The Last Battle)
tags: happy 74 people liked it

"A proud man is always looking down on things and people; and, of course, as long as you are looking down, you cannot see something that is above you."
— C.S. Lewis (Mere Christianity)

john piper quotes

2010-01-12T21:34:00.000+13:00

God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him"
— John Piper
tags: christian, living, theology 53 people liked it

"Grace is the pleasure of God to magnify the worth of God by giving sinners the right and power to delight in God without obscuring the glory of God."
— John Piper
tags: religion 33 people liked it

"The wisdom of God devised a way for the love of God to deliver sinners from the wrath of God while not compromising the righteousness of God."
— John Piper (Desiring God: Meditations of a Christian Hedonist)
tags: christianity 25 people liked it

"If you don't feel strong desires for the manifestation of the glory of God, it is not because you have drunk deeply and are satisfied. It is because you have nibbled so long at the table of the world. Your soul is stuffed with small things, and there is no room for the great."
— John Piper (A Hunger for God)
tags: desire, hunger 19 people liked it

"Missions is not the ultimate goal of the church. Worship is. Missions exists because worship doesn't."
— John Piper
tags: missions, reformed, theology 16 people liked it

"Fight for us, O God, that we not drift numb and blind and foolish into vain and empty excitements. Life is too short, too precious, too painful to waste on worldly bubbles that burst. Heaven is too great, hell is too horrible, eternity is too long that we should putter around on the porch of eternity."
— John Piper
tags: reformed, theology 13 people liked it

"It is better to lose your life than to waste it."
— John Piper
tags: reformed, theology 12 people liked it

"Death is like my car. It takes me where I want to go."
— John Piper
11 people liked it

"Do you feel loved by God because you believe he makes much of you, or because you believe he frees you and empowers you to enjoy making much of him?"
— John Piper
tags: reformed, theology 11 people liked it

"Christ did not die to forgive sinners who go on treasuring anything above seeing and savoring God. And people who would be happy in heaven if Christ were not there, will not be there. The gospel is not a way to get people to heaven; it is a way to get people to God. It's a way of overcoming every obstacle to everlasting joy in God. If we don't want God above all things, we have not been converted by the gospel."
— John Piper (God Is the Gospel: Meditations on God's Love as the Gift of Himself)
tags: reformed, theology 11 people liked it

"If you live gladly to make others glad in God, your life will be hard, your risks will be high, and your joy will be full."
— John Piper (Don't Waste Your Life Study Guide)
tags: faith 11 people liked it

"The greatest enemy of hunger for God is not poison but apple pie.
It is not the banquet of the wicked that dulls our appetite for
heaven, but endless nibbling at the table of the world. It is not
the X-rated video, but the prime-time dribble of triviality we
drink in every night."
— John Piper (A Hunger for God: Desiring God through Fasting and Prayer)
tags: desire, fasting, god, nibbling 9 people liked it

""The strength of patience hangs on our capacity to believe that God is up to something good for us in all our delays and detours.""
— John Piper (Battling Unbelief: Defeating Sin with Superior Pleasure)
8 people liked it

"Suffering in the path of Christian obedience, with joy - because the steadfast love of the Lord is better than life (Psalm 63:3) - is the clearest display of the worth of God in our lives. Therefore, faith-filled suffering is essential in this world for the most intense, authentic worship. When we are most satisfied with God in suffering, he will be most glorified in us in worship. Our problem is not styles of music. Our problem is styles of life. When we embrace more affliction for the worth of Christ, there will be more fruit in the worship of Christ.

"
— John Piper (Tested by Fire)
tags: suffering 7 people liked it

"Reading is more important to me than eating."
— John Piper
7 people liked it

""All of history is moving toward one great goal, the white-hot worship of God and His Son among all the peoples of the earth. Missions is not that goal. It is the means. And for that reason it is the second greatest human activity in the world.""
— John Piper
6 people liked it

"Not to abide in Jesus’ love would mean that we stop believing that we are loved by Jesus. We look at our circumstances - perhaps persecution or disease or abandonment - and we conclude that we are not loved by Jesus anymore. That’s the opposite of abiding in the love of Jesus. So abiding in his love means continuing to believe, moment by moment, that we are loved."
— John Piper (What Jesus Demands from the World)
5 people liked it

"What is the essence of evil? It is forsaking a living fountain for broken cisterns. God gets derision and we get death. They are one: choosing sugarcoated misery we mock the lifegiving God. It was meant to be another way: God's glory exalted in our everlasting joy.
"
— John Piper
5 people liked it

"The critical question for our generation—and for every generation—
is this: If you could have heaven, with no sickness, and with all the
friends you ever had on earth, and all the food you ever liked, and
all the leisure activities you ever enjoyed, and all the natural beauties
you ever saw, all the physical pleasures you ever tasted, and no
human conflict or any natural disasters, could you be satisfied with
heaven, if Christ were not there? "
— John Piper (God Is the Gospel: Meditations on God's Love as the Gift of Himself)
tags: heaven 5 people liked it

"”As soon as we discover we have a problem, God has already been working on it and the solution is on the way…If we believe in the God of Romans 8:28, we will always remember that by the time we know a problem exists, God has already been working on it and his solution is on the way.”"
— John Piper (Taste and See: Savoring the Supremacy of God in All of Life)
3 people liked it

The ultimate good of the gospel is seeing and savoring the beauty and value of God. God’s wrath and our sin obstruct that vision and that pleasure. You can’t see and savor God as supremely satisfying while you are full of rebellion against Him and He is full of wrath against you. The removal of this wrath and this rebellion is what the gospel is for. The ultimate aim of the gospel is the display of God’s glory and the removal of every obstacle to our seeing it and savoring it as our highest treasure. “Behold Your God!” is the most gracious command and the best gift of the gospel. If we do not see Him and savor Him as our greatest fortune, we have not obeyed or believed the gospel."
— John Piper (God Is the Gospel: Meditations on God's Love as the Gift of Himself)
tags: gospel-centred 3 people liked it

"Woe to us if we get our satisfaction from the food in the kitchen and the TV in the den and the sex in the bedroom with an occasional tribute to the cement blocks in the basement! God wills to be displayed and known and loved and cherished and worshiped."
— John Piper
tags: reformed, theology 3 people liked it

"Ignatius, when he heard the clock strike, would say, "Now I have another hour to answer for." (Eph. 5:16)"
— John Piper
3 people liked it

". . . the only legitimate reason that kingship is not attractive to us is because in this age and this world the only kings available are finite and sinful. Listen to C. S. Lewis describe why he believes in democracy:

A great deal of democratic enthusiasm descends from the ideas of people like Rousseau, who believed in democracy because they thought mankind so wise and good that everyone deserved a share in the government. The danger of defending democracy on those grounds is that they’re not true. . . I find that they’re not true without looking further than myself. I don’t deserve a share in governing a hen-roost, much less a nation. . . . The real reason for democracy is . . . Mankind is so fallen that no man can be trusted with unchecked power over his fellows. Aristotle said that some people were only fit to be slaves. I do not contradict him. But I reject slavery because I see no men fit to be masters.1

If there could be a king who is not limited in his wisdom and power and goodness and love for his subjects, then monarchy would be the best of all governments. If such a ruler could ever rise in the world—with no weakness, no folly, no sin—then no wise and humble person would ever want democracy again.

The question is not whether God broke into the universe as a king. He did. The question is: What kind of king is he? What difference would his kingship make for you?

[from: http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibra... ]"
— John Piper
tags: democracy, god, kingship 2 people liked it

"Your daddy is standing in a swimming pool out a little bit from the edge. You are, let’s say, three years old and standing on the edge of the pool. Daddy holds out his arms to you and says, “Jump, I’ll catch you. I promise.” Now, how do you make your daddy look good at that moment? Answer: trust him and jump. Have faith in him and jump. That makes him look strong and wise and loving. But if you won’t jump, if you shake your head and run away from the edge, you make your daddy look bad. It looks like you are saying, “he can’t catch me” or “he won’t catch me” or “it’s not a good idea to do what he tells me to do.” And all three of those make your dad look bad.

But you don’t want to make God look bad. So you trust him. Then you make him look good–which he really is. And that is what we mean when we say, “Faith glorifies God” or “Faith gives God glory.” It makes him look as good as he really is. So trusting God is really important.

And the harder it seems for him to fulfill his promise, the better he looks when you trust him. Suppose that you are at the deep end of a pool by the diving board. You are four years old and can’t swim, and your daddy is at the other end of the pool. Suddenly a big, mean dog crawls under the fence and shows his teeth and growls at you and starts coming toward you to bite you. You crawl up on the diving board and walk toward the end to get away from him. The dog puts his front paws up on the diving board. Just then, your daddy sees what’s happening and calls out, “Johnny, jump in the water. I’ll get you.”

Now, you have never jumped from one meter high and you can’t swim and your daddy is not underneath you and this water is way over your head. How do you make your daddy look good in that moment? You jump. And almost as soon as you hit the water, you feel his hands under your arms and he treads water holding you safely while someone chases the dog away. Then he takes you to the side of the pool.

We give glory to God when we trust him to do what he has promised to do–especially when all human possibilities are exhausted. Faith glorifies God. That is why God planned for faith to be the way we are justified."
— John Piper
tags: inspirational 2 people liked it

"One of the great uses of Twitter and Facebook will be to prove at the Last Day that prayerlessness was not from lack of time."
— John Piper
2 people liked it

"heaven is a place of unparalleled and indescribable joy"
— John Piper
2 people liked it

"The charge of blasphemy is loaded. The point is to pack a wallop behind the charge that in our worship services God simply doesn't come through for who he is. He is unwittingly belittled. For those who are stunned by the indescribable magnitude of what God has made, not to mention the infinite greatness of the One who made it, the steady diet on Sunday morning of practical how-to's and psychological soothing and relational therapy and tactical planning seem dramatically out of touch with Reality - the God of overwhelming greatness."
— John Piper (Let the Nations Be Glad! 2d ed.)
1 person liked it

"The logic of the Bible says: Act according to God's "will of command," not according to his "will of decree." God's "will of decree" is whatever comes to pass. "If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that" (James 4:15). God's "will of decree" ordained that his Son be betrayed (Luke 22:22), ridiculed (Isaiah 53:3), mocked (Luke 18:32), flogged (Matthew 20:19), forsaken (Matthew 26:31), pierced (John 19:37), and killed (Mark 9:31). But the Bible teaches us plainly that we should not betray, ridicule, mock, flog, forsake, pierce, or kill innocent people. That is God's "will of command." We do not look at the death of Jesus, clearly willed by God, and conclude that killing Jesus is good and that we should join the mockers."
— John Piper (Desiring God)
tags: bible-logic, christian-living, god, sovereinity 1 person liked it

"We can say that true gratitude does not give rise to the debtor's ethic because it gives rise to faith in future grace. With true gratitude there is such a delight in the worth of God's past grace, that we are driven on to experience more and more of it in the future...it is done by transforming gratitude into faith as it turns from contemplating the pleasures of past grace and starts contemplating the promises of the future. "
— John Piper
tags: christ, faith 1 person liked it

"God is pursuing with omnipotent passion a worldwide purpose of gathering joyful worshipers for Himself from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. He has an inexhaustible enthusiasm for the supremacy of His name among the nations. Therefore, let us bring our affections into line with His, and, for the sake of His name, let us renounce the quest for worldly comforts and join His global purpose."
— John Piper
tags: missions, reformed, theology 1 person liked it

"“Have you ever wondered what it feels like to have a love for the lost? This is a term we use as part of our Christian jargon. Many believers search their hearts in condemnation, looking for the arrival of some feeling of benevolence that will propel them into bold evangelism. It will never happen. It is impossible to love “the lost”. You can’t feel deeply for an abstraction or a concept. You would find it impossible to love deeply an unfamiliar individual portrayed in a photograph, let alone a nation or a race or something as vague as “all lost people”.

Don’t wait for a feeling or love in order to share Christ with a stranger. You already love your heavenly Father, and you know that this stranger is created by Him, but separated from Him, so take those first steps in evangelism because you love God. It is not primarily out of compassion for humanity that we share our faith or pray for the lost; it is first of all, love for God.”
"
— John Piper

MY KING

2009-12-01T11:08:00.000+13:00

My King..
Is the King of the Jews
The King of Israel
The King of the ages
The King of glory
The King of ALL Kings
And the Lord of Lords

He's enduringly strong
He's entirely sincere
He's eternally steadfast
He's Immorally graceful
He's impartially merciful

He's a sinners savior
He's the center piece of civilization
He's unparalleled
He's unprecedented
He's the fundamental doctrine of true theology

He supplies strength to the weak
He's available to the tempted and tried
He sympathizes and He saves
He strengthens and sustains
He guards and He guides
He heals the sick
He cleansed the leapers
He forgives sinners
He delivers the captives
He defends the feeble
He blesses the young
He serves the unfortunate
He regards the aged
He rewards the diligent
He beautifies the meager

He's the key to knowledge
He's the wellspring of wisdom
He's the doorway of deliverance
He's the pathway of peace
He's the roadway of righteousness
He's the highway of holiness

His life is matchless
His goodness is limitless
His mercy is everlasting
His love never changes
His word is enough
His grace is sufficient
His reign is righteous
His yoke is easy
His burden is light

He's indescribable
He's incomprehensible
He's invincible
He's irresistible

You cant outlive Him
You cant live without Him
The pharisees couldn't stand Him,
but they found out they couldn't stop Him
Pilate found no fault in Him
Herod couldn't kill Him
Death couldn't handle Him,
and the grave couldn't hold Him!

THAT'S MY KING!

S.M Lockridge

The Exchanged Life

2009-12-01T08:21:00.002+13:00

What is "The Exchanged Life?"

In a nut shell, the exchanged life is Christ living His life through us, rather than us trying to make life work through our own efforts and resources. It is made possible by the believer's union with Christ in His death, burial and resurrection
(Romans 6-8).

God created man with certain essential, or basic, needs. Among them are the need to be loved and accepted and to have value and worth. The moment you are born, you are driven to get these needs met. The unique ways in which you try to meet your basic God-given needs for love, acceptance, value and worth is your "flesh."
Your particular versions of flesh are the unique ways that you have lived by and depended on to meet your needs. Your flesh "patterns" were developed based on the messages that you received about yourself as you were growing up. These messages helped form your "identity."

It is you trying to meet your needs independent of Christ with the only resources you have available to you: your mind, will, emotions and your physical body. The flesh is the primary thing that hinders us from knowing and experiencing the victorious Christian life. Living in the flesh is also known as the self-life.

Because we are all born in Adam, born without the life or God in our spirits and thus spiritually dead to God, we are forced to live out of our resources. As a result of dealing with the impossibility of getting our needs met, we are driven to make up for this deficiency. The desire to have our needs met is so great that it consumes our energy; we become solely focused on that longing. We become thoroughly and intensely self-centered in our quest for love, acceptance, value and significance.

The final result of being born spiritually dead is the loss of identity. We were created to have the life of God within us, (in our human spirit) yet are brought into the world without it. Therefore, our very reason for existence is not apparent to us. We are born in a condition of not knowing who we are, but being driven to find out.

There are only 2 kinds of inner life, Adam-life or Christ-life (Romans 5:14-19). All of us are born with Adam-life; a spirit without the life of God. It was the life of God that Adam lost in the garden. Therefore, our sins are not our only problem, but rather the dead spirit within. The blood of Christ washes away our sin, but it does not wash away the Adam-life.

How can this inner life be changed? Our dead spirit is not to be patched up but put to death and exchanged for a new life. That inner dead spirit cannot be changed. It has been exchanged. Galatians 2:20 states, "I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me, and delivered Himself up for me."

This is what happens when a person is born again; he receives the life of Christ. He is no longer the same type of human, possessing Adam-life, but is a child of God, acquiring the life of Christ, and thus a new creation, and one with a new identity.

We believe the Scriptures that Christ was crucified for us. Do we not also believe the same Scriptures that teach we were crucified with Christ? God has created something completely new inside of you. This is a spiritual reality, not just positional truth. That is your true identity.

"If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life shall lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he is the one who will save it." Jesus says the way to life is through death, and if anyone is to follow Him, they must deny self.

2009-11-20T14:54:00.002+13:00

HOW CAN I KNOW GOD?

What is Christianity? Some say it is a philosophy, others say it is an ethical stance, while still others claim it is actually an experience. None of these things really gets to the heart of the matter, however. Each is something a Christian has, but not one of them serves as a definition of what a Christian is. Christianity has at its core a transaction between a person and God. A person who becomes a Christian moves from knowing about God distantly to knowing about him directly and intimately. Christianity is knowing God.

“Now this is eternal life; that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.” John 17:3

Why do I need to know God?
Our desire for personal knowledge of God is strong, but we usually fail to recognize that desire for what it is. The longings which arise in us when we first fall in love or first think of some foreign country or first take up some subject that excites us are longings which no marriage, no travel, no learning can ever really satisfy When we first fall in love, when we first marry, when we finally break into our chosen field, when we at last get that weekend house—these Breakthroughs arouse in us anticipation of something which, as it turns out, never occurs. We eventually discover that our desire for that precious something is a longing no lover or career or achievement, even the best possible ones, can ever satisfy. The satisfaction fades even as we close our fingers around our goal. Nothing delivers the joy it seemed to promise.

“Many of us avoid the yawning emptiness through busyness or denial, but at best there is just a postponement”

There are several ways to respond to this

By blaming the things themselves
By finding fault in everyone and everything around you. You believe that a better spouse, a better career, a better boss or salary would finally yield the elusive joy. Many of the most successful people of the world are like this – bored, discontented, running from new thing to new thing, often changing counselors, mates, partners, or settings.

By blaming yourself
By trying harder to live up to standards. Many people believe they have made poor choices or have failed to measure up to challenges and to achieve the things that would give them joy and satisfaction. Such people are wracked with self doubts and tend to burn themselves out. They think, “If only I could reach my goals, then this emptiness would be gone.” But it is not so.

By blaming life itself
By giving up seeking fulfillment at all. This is the person who says, “Yes, when I was young I was idealistic, but at my age I have stopped howling after the moon.” This makes you become CYNICAL; you decide to repress that part
of yourself that once wanted fulfillment and joy. But you become hard, you stop hopeing for anything at all and you can feel yourself losing your humanity, compassion, and joy.

By blaming and recognizing your separation from God
If there's nothing in this world that will ever satisfy me, then it means that I am made for something beyond this world.

Creatures are not born with desires unless satisfaction for those desires exists. A baby feels hunger: well, there is such a thing as food. A duckling wants to swim: well, there is such a thing as water. Men feel sexual desire: well, there is such a thing as sex. If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world. If none of my earthly pleasures satisfy it that does not mean that the universe is a fraud. Probably earthly pleasures were never meant to satisfy it, but only to arouse it, to suggest the real thing. CS Lewis

By seeing that the emptiness comes from your separation from God, and by establishing a personal relationship with him

In order to form a personal relationship with God, you must know four things

Why we are here
God created us and built us for a relationship with him. God made a good beautiful world filled with people who share in this life of joy and peace by knowing, serving, and loving god and one another.

What went wrong?
Instead we chose (and re-affirm daily) to center our lives on ourselves and on the pursuit of things rather than on God and others. Because humans were created to live for him (to worship), we can’t eliminate him without choosing some other object of ultimate devotion to give our lives meaning.
So we cling to idols, centering our lives on things that promise to give us meaning but drive us and enslave us : success, relationships, influence, love, comfort, and so on . This is the very root of all SIN, its not only breaking the rules,( a violation of law) but its building our identity our sense of worth on anything,(even a good thing) other than GOD( a violation of love)

What does that mean?
To live for anything else but God leads to breakdown and decay, as it removes us from the very source that sustains and supports us. When a fish leaves the water, which he was built for, he is not free, but dead. .We once had the world we all wanted- a world of peace and justice without death disease or conflict, but by turning from God this has lead to the disintegration of creation and the loss of peace within ourselves, between ourselves and in nature itself .War, Hunger, RACISM,POVERTY,INJUSTICE and Death are all symptoms of these

Worshiping other things besides God leads to a loss of meaning. If we achieve these things, they cannot deliver satisfaction, because they were never meant to be “gods.”They were never meant to replace God. Worshiping other things besides God also leads to self- image problems. We end up defining ourselves in terms of our achievement in these things. We must have them or all is lost; so they drive us to work too hard, or they fill us with terror if they are jeopardized.

What puts the world right?
EVEN THOUGH God lost us he determined to win us back He entered history in the person of Jesus in order to deal with all the causes and results of our broken relationship with him. He first lived a perfect life, loving God with all his heart, soul, and mind, fulfilling all human obligation to God. He lived the life you owed—a perfect record. Then, instead of receiving his deserved reward (eternal life), Jesus gave his life as a sacrifice for our sins, taking the punishment and Death each of us owed.

By his sacrificial life and death he both exemplifies the life we must live and rescues us from the life we have lived. By his resurrection he proved who he was and showed us the future — new bodies and a completely renewed and restored new heavens and new earth in which the world is restored to full joy, justice, peace, and glory.

What you must do

Repent
There first must be an admission that you have been living as your own master, Worshipping the wrong things, violating God loves laws. “Repentance” means you ask forgiveness and turn from that stance with a willingness to live for and center on him.

Believe.
Faith is transferring your trust from your own efforts to the efforts of Christ. You were relying on other things to make you acceptable, but now you consciously begin relying on what Jesus did for your acceptance with God. When we believe and rely on Jesus' work and record (rather than ours) for our relationship to God, his healing kingdom power comes upon us and begins to work through us. Christ gives us a radically new identity, freeing us from both self-righteousness and self condemnation. This liberates us to accept people we once excluded, and to break the bondage of things (even good things) that once drove us. He puts us into a new community of people which gives a partial, but real, foretaste of the healing of the world that God will accomplish when Jesus returns

Receive
Pray after this fashion: “I see I am more flawed and sinful than I ever dared believe, but that I am even more loved and accepted than I ever dared hope. I turn from my old life of living for myself. I have nothing in my record to merit your approval, but I now rest in what Jesus did and ask to be accepted into God’s family for his sake.”

When you make this transaction, two things happen at once:
1)Our sins are wiped out permanently, his perfect life record is transferred to our account you are adopted legally into God’s family.
2)The Holy Spirit enters your heart and begins to change you into the character of Jesus.

Follow through
Tell a Christian friend about your commitment. Get yourself training in the basic Christian disciplines of prayer, worship, Bible study, and fellowship with other Christians.

2009-06-30T09:11:00.001+12:00

Had to answer three questions for a youth audience on the subject of doubt Here were my answers:

What is doubt to you?
Doubt is a very powerful force in the life of a Christian. Galileo called doubt the father and pioneer of invention Doubt is not the opposite of faith; the opposite of faith is unbelief. Doubt is at the half way stage between unbelief and faith and has to decide between the two.
The presence of doubt is not the problem the critical issue is what we do with it when it arises The point is that Jesus, he’s not worried about it, in fact he welcomes it .In mark 9 a man comes to Jesus one day and confessed to his struggle with doubt, but Jesus didn’t see his doubt as a sign of unbelief but of faith because of his willingness to bring his doubts to Jesus and lay then at his feet

How do you deal with doubt?
A diver who catches fish for exotic aquariums, mentioned that the most popular fish is the shark, reason being that a shark can adapt its size to its environment its in, put it in a tank and its size can be contained to fit inside ,where as release it into the big wide ocean and they can grow up to 4 m long. What are the environments that contain doubt and release faith?
Praise -praise is the language of victory, praise is the language of faith. God inhabits the praises of his people (It literally decentralises doubt and centralises God)
Prayer- Prayer is the key that unlocks the biggest doors of doubt.
People- Holy spirit, friends, leaders.

All these three environments help me to doubt my doubts, bring perspective and create forward movement in my life.

Can you have doubt and faith at the same?
Absolutely. Where you find one you will find the other. Doubt is a great breeding ground for faith to be born. The key is that when doubt comes don’t let it paralyse u, but use it to propel you forward towards a life of faith and discovery in God People who God used greatly in the bible,Abaham,Moses,Jeremiah,Elijah, Peter, all had doubts but also lived great lives of faith Because they didn’t see them as only a struggle, but a springboard towards greater things.

What ever you are facing, what ever the issues are in your world , the challenges that you are up against I want to encourage you, don’t give up get down , but get up and go for it. God has empowered you and I to doubt our doubts, and live a life of faith and hope. Yes The future is uncertain, but with God on our side we can move toward it with confidence, shape the future and be the difference the world needs to see

Dan Kimball's The emerging church

2009-04-02T08:55:00.002+13:00

Dan Kimball's The emerging church: Vintage Christianity for New generations

MODERN CHURCH vs EMERGING CHURCH

MODERN = Evangelism is an event that you invite people to.

EMERGING = Evangelism is a process that occurs through relationship,trust, and example.

MODERN = Evangelism is primarily concerned with getting people intoheaven.

EMERGING = Evangelism is concerned with people's experiencing thereality of living under the reign of his kingdom now.

MODERN = Evangelism is focused on pre-Christians.

EMERGING = Evangelism is focused on post-Christians.

MODERN = Evangelism is done by evangelists.

EMERGING = Evangelism is done by disciples.

MODERN = Evangelism is something you do in addition to discipleship.

EMERGING = Evangelism is part of being a disciple.

MODERN = Evangelism is a message

EMERGING = Evangelism is a conversation.

MODERN = Evangelism uses reason and proofs for apologetics.

EMERGING = Evangelism uses the church being the church as the primaryapologetic.

MODERN = Missions is a department of the church.

EMERGING = The church is a mission.

Book review

2009-03-25T11:19:00.004+13:00

Some thoughts form John Bevere's book "Breaking intimidation"

Chapter 2 "Two extremes"

Two extremes that will throw a believers life out of balance
The first extreme is pursuing power: the second extreme is false humility .The proper balance is found in the life of timothy,who cultivated godly character rather than pursue power and stirred up his gift rather than than have false humility
As Christians character should be our first priorityand pursuit. What our Heavenly father looks for is not power ,its character.its a sad fact that many in the church pursue the power and anointing of the spirit while sidestepping the pursit of godly character.
1st Corinthians 1 instructs us to pursue love and desire spiritual gifts" .However we have perverted that command . We pursue the gifts and the anointing and just wish for the fruit of love in our lives.God is love and until we walk in love we will not attain his nature .
Some Christians will travel great distances -hundreds of miles to go to miracle,prophetic or anointing service but they are unwilling to deal with the anger ,unforgivesness or bitterness in their own hearts,This is evidence that the emphasis is on power rather than character.
The spiritual manifestations at these services may be of God but we have to deal with the inner man too.the unwillingness to deal with the inward has opened up many people to deception.its wonderful that people are so hungry for the power of God ,but lets not neglect purity of heart
We have seen many ministers fall.But the didn't fall when they committed their first act of immorality.no they began to fall earlier-the day success in ministry became more important than their intimate relationship with God. Jesus said blessed are those who are pure in heart,for they shall see God(matt 5.8) .He did not say 'blessed are those who have a successful ministry.he said without a pure heart you will not see God!
The apostle Paul highest goal was to know him (Phil 3vs 8-10) before the power of the resurrection .Judas cast out devils,healed the sick,and preached the gospel .he even left his business to become disciple but where did he end up?
The goal of a Christian is not the power of God or ministry its to know Christ. When we are intimate with god we will reproduce what he intends .The people who know their god shall be strong and carry out great exploits (Dan 11:32)
Pauls sole ambition was to know him (Phil 3:8-10) Moses said Show me your way that I may know you (Exodus 33:13).David cried out ,One thing I have desired that I may dwell in your house all the days of my life,to behold the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple(ps27 vs. 4) And again "my souls thirsts for you;my flesh longs for you
Some people quage their spiritual maturity by their ability to prophesy or flow with the spirit , as if they think that's a stamp on their character. yet we need to remember gifts are given and not earn .A donkey spoke and saw into the realm of the spirit. A rooster crowed three times and convicted Peter. Does that make these beasts spiritual?
Jesus said that many will call upon the Lord and expect entrance into his kingdom,only to be denied.They will have done miracles,cast our demons and prophesised in his name .But he will answer Depart from me ,you who practice lawlessness!(Matt 7:23). The anointing of God is not his approval .Saul prophesised after God had rejected him (1 Samuel 19:23-24) .Caiaphas prophesised while his one goal was to kill the son of God(John 11 49-51)
We must have gods heart to obey his will without it we will walk in a merely a shadow of his anointing. Paul measured Timothy's virtues by the purity of his heart and the faithfulness of his service .We must also set this standard before us and allow the holy spirit to accurately weigh us .
Its more important to pursue a right relationship with god than a formula to move in his power

Responsibility

2008-11-06T09:49:00.004+13:00

One of the most important lessons I have learnt through ministry is my responsibilty towards the people I lead. Its all to easy for a leader to develop a Saviour complex or to try and be a White Knight towards every person and in every suituation.

I have learnt that this approach not only limits their growth because they are never being empowered to think for themselves, it also can affects my growth,because you can get prideful when they are doing everything right and you can feel like a failure when they are doing everything wrong.

To prevent this happening we need to remember we are not responsible for people but to them. Is thier a difference?Yes their is and its incredibly freeing.

When I’m responsible to people I understand they have a choice. When I’m responsible for people I think I should decide for them.

When I’m responsible to people I know they must figure out their next step. When I’m responsible for people I try to tell them what their next step is.

When I’m responsible to people I allow them to bear the brunt of the consequences for their own chosen actions. When I’m responsible for people I assume the guilt, or worse the shame, for them.

When I’m responsible to people I engage in their journey, offering encouragement and teaching. When I’m responsible for people I try to direct their journey, never allowing them to wrestle, mess up or make a wrong turn.

When I’m responsible to people I talk to God on their behalf. When I’m responsible for people I talk to people a lot on God’s behalf.”

2008-11-05T11:25:00.002+13:00

Why Did the Chicken Cross the Road:

BARACK OBAMA:
The chicken crossed the road because it was time for a CHANGE! The chicken wanted CHANGE!

JOHN MC CAIN:
My friends, that chicken crossed the road because he recognized the need to engage in cooperation and dialogue with all the chickens on the other side of the road

HILLARY CLINTON:
When I was First Lady, I personally helped that little chicken to cross the road. This experience makes me uniquely qualified to ensure — right from Day One! — that every chicken in this country gets the chance it deserves to cross the road. But then, this really isn’t about me…….

DR. PHIL:
The problem we have here is that this chicken won’t realize that he must first deal with the problem on ‘THIS’ side of the road before it goes after the problem on the ‘OTHER SIDE’ of the road. What we need to do is help him realize how stupid he’s acting by not taking on his ‘CURRENT’problems before adding ‘NEW’ problems.

OPRAH:
Well, I understand that the chicken is having problems, which is why he wants to cross this road so bad. So instead of having the chicken learn from his mistakes and take falls, which is a part of life, I’m going to give this chicken a car so that he can just drive across the road and not live his life like the rest of the chickens.

GEORGE W. BUSH:
We don’t really care why the chicken crossed the road. We just want to know if the chicken is on our side of the road, or not. The chicken is either against us, or for us. There is no middle ground here.

COLIN POWELL:
Now to the left of the screen, you can clearly see the satellite image of the chicken crossing the road…

ANDERSON COOPER - CNN:
We have reason to believe there is a chicken, but we have not yet been allowed to have access to the other side of the road.

JOHN KERRY:
Although I voted to let the chicken cross the road, I am now against it! It was the wrong road to cross, and I was misled about the chicken’s intentions. I am not for it now, and will remain against it.

NANCY GRACE:
That chicken crossed the road because he’s GUILTY! You can see it in his eyes and the way he walks.

PAT BUCHANAN:
To steal the job of a decent, hardworking American.

DR SEUSS:
Did the chicken cross the road? Did he cross it with a toad? Yes, the chicken crossed the road, but why it crossed I’ve not been told.

ERNEST HEMINGWAY:
To die in the rain. Alone.

BARBARA WALTERS:
Isn’t that interesting? In a few moments, we will be listening to the chicken tell, for the first time, the heart warming story of how it experienced a serious case of molting, and went on to accomplish its life long dream of crossing the road.

ARISTOTLE:
It is the nature of chickens to cross the road.

BILL GATES:
I have just released eChicken2008, which will not only cross roads, but will lay eggs, file your important documents, and balance your check book. Internet Explorer is an integral part of the Chicken. This new platform is much more stable and will never crash
reboot.

ALBERT EINSTEIN:
Did the chicken really cross the road, or did the road move beneath the chicken?

BILL CLINTON:
I did not cross the road with THAT chicken. What is your definition of chicken?

AL GORE:
I invented the chicken!

COLONEL SANDERS:
Did I miss one?

Progress

2008-11-05T08:36:00.002+13:00

This is a picture of two men installing and setting solid steel pillars in concrete to stop vehicles from parking on the pavement outside a sports bar in downtown some yet-to-be identified place. They are cleaning up at the end of the day.

Do you notice anything wrong with this Photo??
How long did it take you to realise ?

Got me thinking how often I’m so focused on my tasks that I forget to look up and around...evaluate my progress in the context of my surroundings.

When it comes to progress, how can we really tell if we are leaning in towards the purposes of God,or are we leaning out ?

Busyness can be an attraction ,but its also a very good distraction.

What things to you have in place in your life to make sure you and Jesus are interested in the same things ?

2008-11-04T09:30:00.007+13:00

Making Vision Stick-Andy Stanley

“Vision is a mental picture of what could be, fuelled by passion that this should be.” Vision always begins as a burden.

5 Things That Help Make Vision Stick

1. State It Simply
Memorable is portable. If you’re going to have vision that sticks it has to be portable and memorable.
People in our church aren’t asking stupid questions, they’re just telling us that we’re doing a poor job communicating our vision.
What is the vision of your church?
If you’re vision is going to stick, it has to be really, really, really portable & memorable.
What’s the one sentence job description for everyone in your organization?

2. Cast It Convincingly
Components of Good Vision (Nehemiah 2)
1. Define the problem.
2. Offer a solution.
3. Explain Why & Why now?

Your vision needs to be the solution to a problem.

1. What must be done in the environment you find yourself in?
2. What would go undone if your organization ceased to exist?
3. Smart businesses have crafted themselves as a solution to a problem.

Explain Why & Why Now?
1. What makes this the time to do something new in that community?
2. The ‘Why’ & the ‘Why Now?’ is where the passion comes in.

3. Repeat It Regularly
Look at the rhythm/cycles of your organization.
1. Spend the time when the most people are there to vision cast.
2. Discover those moments that are most important to cast vision and build it into your regular systems.
Vision doesn’t stick, vision leaks.

4. Celebrate It Systematically
When you catch somebody living out the vision the way you anticipated, you need to celebrate them – Celebrate the Win.
Stories do more to clarify & illustrate vision than anything else.
Are you missing opportunities to showcase the wins in your church?

5. Embrace It Personally & Publicly
Anytime you can illustrate personally your vision, you need to do it because your people need to see that you are embracing the vision personally

Dare you!!

2008-09-04T15:04:00.000+12:00

Who is game enough to pray this ?

May God bless you with discomfort at easy answers, half truths, and superficial relationships, so that you may live deep within your heart.

May God bless you with anger at injustice, oppression, and exploitation of people, so that you may work for justice, freedom and peace.

May God bless you with tears to shed for those who suffer from pain, rejection, starvation, and war, so that you may reach out your hand to comfort them and to turn their pain in to joy.

And may God bless you with enough foolishness to believe that you can make a difference in this world, so that you can do what others claim cannot be done.

-Fransiscan prayer quoted by Craig Groeshel at Leadership Summit 08

Be Holy For I Am The Lord

2008-09-04T10:59:00.007+12:00

Leviticus 20:7 Sanctify yourselves therefore, and be ye holy: for I am the LORD

I want to talk about something that should be the natural way of life for every Christian, but is rarely seen today, and that is how to live godly lives in this ungodly world.

Let me make this clear, I love the church. I have been a Christian for 15 years and have missed 3 Sundays. When our family go away on holiday the first thing we do is look up the churches in the phone book to find one to go to. So this is not a dig at the church by looking at a current problem .Its to try and facilitate discussion around potential solutions.

I have been wrestling with this issue over the last few weeks, in the light of the recent moral and spiritual misadventures of two prominent Christian leaders.

What have we learnt from this tragedy? What are we doing in our lives, and the lives we lead to avoid this happening?

I grieve for the body of Christ when this happens .No one wins, people are hurt, angry, disappointed, and the name of Jesus is treaded in mud. Yes people can be and are restored, healed, forgiven and do go on in life.

For the record I have prayed, am praying and will continue to pray for all involved.

But that’s not the biggest reason I am grieving, the biggest reason I am grieving is because when ever something like this happens why is the church so quick to go into damage control rather than preventative control. Why do we take the position of the ambulance at the bottom of the hill rather than be the gate at the top.

I have heard messages on how to handle failure; How Jesus restores broken and fallen people. Great theology .Grace is God .Grace is the Bible. But we take Grace to the extreme when we try so hard to justify sin, and justify why we behave in a certain way.

Wouldn’t it make sense to not only show us how to mop up the mess but also how to avoid the disaster

I want to hear how to overcome sin, not just how to respond when we are overcome by sin

The Bible is not only a repair book for those that have fallen it’s a prepare book for those that want to live victorious

God says we can be HOLY .We CAN be victorious over the flesh.
ARE we pursuing this? Do WE believe this?

In many of our churches today, we're not taught anything at all about the separated life unto godliness and holiness. In fact, if someone preaches holiness, they're labelled a "legalist."

What we now find as a result, is many people who name the name of Christ, just go on living in their sin proclaiming that they really know Him, and that God understands why they do the things they do, and there'll be no price to pay for their sin.

One writer said "Many so-called Christians are so far from holy living, that they virtually have contests to see who can come closest to the pit of sin without falling in." It's sad that many times in this politically correct age, we give them a politically correct gospel filled with pop-psychology, and think we're doing the will of God, when in reality we're taking them by the hand and walking with them down the road that leads to hell.

God is looking for a people who are not interested in pleasing anyone but Him. We as Christians are responsible for this generation, to show them the truth not only in what we say, but more importantly, by how we live.

I will leave you with a quote from D M Moody

A holy life will make the deepest impression. Lighthouses blow no horns, they just shine.

Turning Vision into reality

2008-09-03T07:47:00.003+12:00

Got a real treat for you today an interview with John C. Maxwell And Ron F. McManus about Turning Vision Into Reality. Enjoy

Hudson Taylor on Prayer

2008-09-02T10:23:00.003+12:00

Do not have your concert first, and then tune your instrument afterwards. Begin the day with the Word of God and prayer, and get first of all into harmony with Him.”

Since the days of Pentecost, has the whole church ever put aside every other work and waited upon Him for ten days, that the Spirit’s power might be manifested? We give too much attention to method and machinery and resources, and too little to the source of power."

"The power of prayer has never been tried to its full capacity in any church. If we want to see mighty wonders of divine grace and power wrought in the place of weakness, failure and disappointment, let the whole Church answer God's standing challenged; "Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things, which thou knows not."

"You must go forward on your knees.""

All God’s giants have been weak men, who did great things for God because they believed that God would be with them."

“The branch of the vine does not worry, and toil, and rush here to seek for sunshine, and there to find rain. No; it rests in union and communion with the vine; and at the right time, and in the right way, is the right fruit found on it. Let us so abide in the Lord Jesus.”

"In Shansi I found Chinese Christians who were accustomed to spend time in fasting and prayer. They recognized that this fasting, which so many dislike, which requires faith in God, since it makes one feel weak and poorly, is really a Divinely appointed means of grace. Perhaps the greatest hindrance to our work is our own imagined strength; and in fasting we learn what poor, weak creatures we are-dependent on a meal of meat for the little strength which we are so apt to lean upon."

"I have found that there are three stages in every great work of God: first, it is impossible, then it is difficult, then it is done."

Quotes on prayer

2008-09-02T09:33:00.001+12:00

We waste most of our time trying to get God to do something He has already done—or praying for God to do something He told us to do. --Jacquelyn K. Heasley

The Church is looking for better methods; God is looking for better men. The Holy Ghost does not flow through methods, but through men. He does not come on machinery, but on men. He does not anoint plans, but men…Men of prayer." --E. M. Bounds

Notice, we never pray for folks we gossip about, and we never gossip about the folk for whom we pray! For prayer is a great deterrent. --Leonard Ravenhill

Of all the things Christ wants for us, loving Him and focusing our attention on Him are the most important.~ Charles Stanley

No one is a firmer believer in the power of prayer than the devil; not that he practices it, but he suffers from it. ~Guy H. King

We must move from asking God to take care of the things that are breaking our hearts, to praying about the things that are breaking His heart. ~Margaret Gibb

Prayer is not overcoming God's reluctance, but laying hold of His willingness." Martin Luther.

I would rather teach one man to pray than ten men to preach.” Charles Spurgeon

Before we can pray, "Lord, Thy King dom come," we must be willing to pray, "My Kingdom go." ~Alan Redpath

One should never initiate anything that he cannot saturate with prayer."

What the church needs today is not more machinery or better, not new organizations or more novel methods, but men whom the Holy Ghost can use— men of prayer, men mighty in prayer" E.M. Bounds

"Prayer does not fit us for the greater work; prayer is the greater work." Oswald Chambers.

"There has never been a spiritual awakening in any country or locality that did not begin in united prayer." A.T. Pierson

Prayer is not getting man's will done in heaven, but getting God's will done on earth. It is not overcoming God's reluctance but laying hold of God's willingness."

The greatest tragedy of life is not unanswered prayer, buy unoffered prayer."F.B. Meyer

Pray as if everything depended on God and work as if everything depended upon man."Francis J. Spellman

God shapes the world by prayer. The prayers of God’s saints are the capitol stock of heaven by which God carries on His great work upon the earth.E.M. Bounds

Why do we pray ?

2008-08-26T09:18:00.005+12:00

Nothing of eternal significance happens apart from God .
Jesus said it clearly "Apart from me you can to nothing" John 15:5.
People who neglect a close relationship through Christ will be unable to fulfil Gods will through their lives .Its that simple,yet many people struggle in their prayer lives.

Leaders struggle in their prayer lives.Leaders are doers,and many people think prayer is to passive.Leaders are men and women of action.They are programmed to get results.They are also busy people on tight schedules.Taking time to pray can seem like wasting precious time,but I assure you if you don't you will look back on all your activity,and see inspite of your best efforts nothing of eternal significance occurred.

2.Prayer is essential because it continually fills us with the Holy spirit.
We can not fill ourselves with the Holy Spirit only God can (Ephesians 5:18).While all Christians have the holy Spirit in their lives,the condition of being filled with The Holy Spirit comes through consistent,concentrated prayer.Gods promise is "You will seek me and find me when you search for me with all your heart" Jeremiah 29:13

It's a bit like the difference between rowing a boat and sailing a boat. Rowing is all about your own effort and what you can do. Sailing is about positioning yourself to catch the wind - a power not your own. If the wind doesn't blow, you aren't going anywhere BUT once you catch the wind, watch out! You'll be hanging on for the ride of your life.

3.Gods wisdom is the third reason for dedicated praying.
God is wiser than the most astute leader .He knows the future,he knows what our opponents are thinking ,he knows what the economy will be like .God knows what he wants to accomplish and how he intends to do it. God loves playing show and tell with his Kids!!.Gods invitation to us is this .Call to me and I will tell you great and mighty things which you don't know Jeremiah 33:3.

This is the type of relationship God has made available to us .This is the spiritual GPS that God has given us to navigate through life .

Leading Your Church Through Change

2008-07-24T14:36:00.006+12:00

If their are two things that you can count on happening in Life -they would be Jesus and change.
Often change is resisted because it can take us out of our comfort zones,but its so nessecary for growth in our relationship with Christ . So how does one lead not only themselves through change ,but others also. Check this out -its been so helpful

Leading Your Church Through Change -Mark Conner

Church leaders are “change agents”, called by God to initiate change by moving people forward to where they need to be.I believe that every leader needs a “model” for leading change.

I have put one together from the life of Nehemiah that has been a great help to me.Here are eight steps to leading effective change in your church. You will also find them helpful for leading change amongst any other group or organisation.

See the Need for Change.

All positive change begins with seeing the need for it first. Change for change’s sake is crazy, but change aimed at helping people and improving things is essential. Allow God to place a burden on your heart about the way things are.

Receive a Clear Vision from God.

All vision begins with seeing the big picture of what God wants to do. As you spend time in prayer, God will show you what He can do through you and give you a vision of a preferred future. Every leader needs to invest time into receiving a clear vision from God for their life and ministry. Effective leaders tie all change to vision and purpose. They know where they’re headed and why.

Create a Strategic Plan.

You need to know exactly what God wants you to do (vision) and then think through all of the details of how you will do it (strategy). Wise leaders take their God-given vision and form it into a plan that describes how and when the vision will become a reality. This takes time and involves a process. It needs wise and godly counsel from other leaders. The more significant the change, the more necessary it is to have the input from all perspectives.

Speak to the Influencers.

Unless the people who were in positions of influence buy into the vision, the change will not occur.When speaking to the influencers, don’t present the solution first. Speak about the problem so that they agree on the need for change. Unless people see and embrace the need for change, they will not be willing to pay the price or be committed to the work required to bring the change about. People need to understand the purpose of the change and see the benefits it will bring. When people see the need for change and catch a realistic vision of how things could be better, they become motivated to become part of the solution.

Organise the Work to be Done.

Vision has to be broken down into a strategic plan that enables people to take simple steps towards realistic goals. A church leader must seek to acquire ownership from the entire congregation for positive change to take place. It needs to become their vision so that they are committed enough to work towards it.

Deal with the Opposing Forces.

I wish I could tell you that there will be no problems when you lead change but the reality is that movement causes friction. Resistance to change is normal and so we need to prepare for it and handle it wisely. In every change, there will be opposing forces. Someone or something will face loss, despite the many gains. You may encounter anger, frustration, fear, uncertainty and disappointment during the transition. Wise leaders think through the possible reactions or problems and avoid unnecessary conflict by preparing for and addressing these forces in advance.

Communicate Continually.

When leading change, we must stay close to the change process and actively lead the transition from the old to the new. People need to be constantly inspired and motivated about the importance of the vision and the progress that is being made. We all tend to drift and vision can easily become blurred. Wise leaders constantly bring the vision back into focus and never allow people to be satisfied with the way things are.

Don’t Give Up.

Announcing a change or coming up with a vision statement is the easy part of leading change. It’s harder to then translate that vision into a workable plan. But it’s even more difficult to implement that plan step by step and monitor it until it is completed. This takes diligence, patience and focused attention. However, oh, the joy and fulfilment that comes when you are able to bring about positive change. Don’t give up. Persevere. If the vision is from God, it’s worth fighting for. Don’t chop and change direction. Yes, make adjustments along the way, but finish what you start.

Commit to it and be willing to pay the price.

I think the most challenging task of leadership is to manage change and transition. The key issue is to know in your own spirit that God is leading you and that you are moving out in His will for your ministry and your church. The giants will be there and the need for courage will be great, but God will not fail you or let you fail. As you seek Him, He will guide you, give you wisdom and favour with the people. Change is not easy. In fact, it can be very uncomfortable. However, the church must change if it is to be what God intends it to be in the world.

P.S. This article is summarised from the last chapter of the book, Transfoming Your Church, available from the CityLife Church online bookshop or from Christian bookstores. Also, consider purchasing my most recent book, Pass the Baton - Successful Leadership Transition, in which I outline the key principles that have helped CityLife Church move effectively through three successive senior leaders over it’s forty year history.

Labels: Leadership

Lessons from The Boat

2008-07-23T09:00:00.003+12:00

Want to blog an outline of a message I preached a while ago,these are the points
I will fill in the gaps over the next few days.

It was a day of a Dream

It was a day of Decision

It was a day of Dismay

It was day of Dependance

It was a day of Discovery

LEADER TO LEADER

2008-07-22T10:19:00.002+12:00

Just listened to a fantastic interview by podcast of Brian Houston (Pastor of Sydney Hillsong Church) interviewing Bishop T D Jakes, and to my delight found a written account of the interview.

If you would like the audio -Let me know and I can arrange.
Just follow this link to read the interview:Be interested in your comments.

The church needs more Studds!!!

2008-07-22T07:04:00.001+12:00

Wow, is all I can say -O week went off,over 300 cards given out ,121 want to know how to be connected to Christ. Thats huge ,better still over 80% of those have been phoned ,while 100% have been sent a letter and personally invited to our BIG ASK pre christians programme we are running next week,up at the university in the college halls.

121 said they want to know how to be connected to Christ.
I have said to the team that when you go fishing with a net,and not a pole thats whats happens:poles are inclusive -nets are exclusive.

Jesus never went fishing with a pole. He fished with a net .
Its who so ever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
When you die to the dream of being a success and live for the dream of being a blessing ,you will bless more people by accident than you will on purpose.

This is why the church exsists, and until the future of the world matters more to the church than the future of the church the church has no future.

Jesus didn't die to keep us safe. He died to make us dangerous! The will of God is not an insurance plan. It's a daring plan. In fact, the will of God doesn't get easier. God gives us more difficult, daring, and dangerous things to do! Read Hebrews 11.

In the words of a daring twentieth-century missionary, C.T. Studd, "Some want to live within the sound of church or chapel bell; I want to run a rescue shop within a yard of hell."

The church needs more Studds!

121 that said YES to knowing how to connect to Christ
How would you love those people,how would you serve those people ,how would you bless those people in a way that would answer that question really well for them .

Interested in your thoughts

Plugged In

2008-07-16T07:34:00.005+12:00

We had the first day of our "Plugged In" reach campaign yesterday .Check out this earlier blog for details .Thanks to Braden,Paul,Linda,Kirsty,Callior and Sonya who came up to help out

We managed to get people to fill out over 120 '"Plugged In" cards in just over an hour and a half
With over 50 of those people wanting to know how to have a Relationship with Christ

We have already started to phone these people and ask them along to the 'The Big Ask" class

We are up there again today and Thursday. Jesus said the Harvest is plentiful but the labourers are few ,gotta love it when people improve on the the few to reach the many !

O week

2008-07-05T09:12:00.005+12:00

Wow its been a busy week, looked after 2 extra kids for a few days, I was sick for 2 days, and saw my cousin off at the airport

Waikato University has thier B semester starting form the week of the 14th July . We have an exciting plan in place to connect with Students and then connect them into a relationship with Christ.

The Theme that we are running with is Plugged in. On the front of the card is this picture and on the back it follows on from the theme ,by asking the question on a personal level

In our world, “staying connected” has perhaps never been easier. TV, Internet, Cell Phones, iPods, Laptops, BlackBerrys, Webcams…and the list goes on. Amazingly, though, amidst all of this “connection” we continue to see more and more loneliness and isolation.

The question is, “Who and what are we connected to?”

They fill in a series of questions ,including the question "Would you like to know how to have a realationship with Christ. Our aim is to have 500 students fill out the card ,I guess the draw for a free IPOD is a great hook!

The people who would like to know how to have a realationship with Christ ,will be phoned within 48hrs and will be sent a CD which will have a 15 minute Gospel presentation called "Just Stop And Think",Life stories of a couple of people, link to church website,and an invitation along to a next steps course called "The Big Ask".

This will run for 4 weeks, and then for those that are wanting to carry on doing Life togther with Christ and others ,we will just keep on keeping on.

Its great when you have a a fantastic team around you , together you can do so much more.

There is nothing like a sea of new faces to breath fresh life and vision into the Church

On a personal note ,I wont be blogging for the next 7 days as are away .See you when I get back Jeremy

Where Does God Go on Mondays

2008-06-30T11:05:00.000+12:00

Hope you enjoy it as much asI did . Interested in your comments

Where Does God Go on Mondays By Danny Guglielmucci

How To Last In Ministry

2008-06-30T09:49:00.000+12:00

Read a great post on Pastor Dave Fergusons Blog ,reagarding a message he had listened to by Pastor Rick Warren ,in regard to Ministry Burnout.

The thoughts of The Apostle Paul always challenge me.I have run the race,I have fought the good fight ,I have finished the race. God wants all of us to Run Fight and Finish well.

Developing People

2008-06-25T08:28:00.003+12:00

When you are in leading people ,the purpose is to take people from where they are to where they can be. Most people don’t see their potential. They tend to see their faults and their limitations. We tend to see people’s past and their present. God sees our present and our future. He speaks into our future calling us to places where we haven’t yet been.

Someone once said the greatest use of your life is to spend it on something that will outlast it .

Thats why I love ministry because its all about creating vision in people lives and working with them to make that reality.Here is a great post from Pastor Craig Groeschel on this very subject of Developing People

Leadership “Be attitudes”

2008-06-20T14:37:00.002+12:00

10 Essential Leadership “Be attitudes”

Lead from what you know but you reproduce who you are

1. Be a person of integrity ·

The work of Christ always begins in our hearts and works outward · Same on inside as you are on the outside · Leaders are often gifted.
They can begin to depend on their gift for success, to the neglect of their character · Daniel was incredibly gifted, ten times more than the next most wisest ·
Daniel 6:10 – “… he went home and got down on his knees and prayed as was his daily custom.” · Integrity isn’t developed in a day, its daily

2. Be a faithful servant ·

Don’t serve to get recognized or for promotion · Everything you do in the name of Jesus is significant ·
Your service prepares you for your calling and your calling prepares you for your service ·

In David there was a 20-year gap between the prophecy and the fulfillment. This is called process. Process prepares you for what he has called us to be. If he made us immediately into what we would be we would screw it up. Saul – chasing donkeys and then king – it messed him up. God didn’t do that to David, he took him through process

3. Be passionate ·

If you don’t have passion you will be consumed · Psalm 69.9 – passion for your house will consume me … the joy of the Lord is our strength and the oil that keeps our motors running · The word enthusiasm comes from the ancient Greek word EN +THEOS meaning “inspired by or possessed by God”.

4. Be growing in grace ·

2nd Peter 3.18 tells us to grow in grace. Grace itself does not grow. We grow in grace · If we fail to understand grace, we try to earn favour with God. End up in mere religious works. Entrapped. We must come to the understanding of how much God really loves us and forgives us · Heb 13.9 says that our hearts must be established by grace

5. Be knowledgeable in the basics ·

Don’t need insights in the secret mysteries of the Bible · But we need to understand basics as well · Unity/Offences/Forgiveness/Identity etc– Who we are and Whose we are · We can’t consistently perform in a way that’s inconsistent with the way we see our self ·

Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it’s thinking of yourself less

6. Be teachable ·

Read books · Talk with people further along the journey than yourself · Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, strength and mind · The purposes of God being fulfilled dependent on God’s people thinking well

7. Be an opportunity taker ·

The righteous shall live by Faith · Faith is characterized by risk and adventure · This gets us out of the boat and out on the water · We need to shift from continually asking God what he wants, or what he wants us to do, and ask for the courage to do what we already know

8. Be yourself ·

Adopt from others but adapt to yourself · You are all Gods got, and you are the best God has got · He doesn’t keep a secret recipe up in heaven

9. Be plugged into God ·

Must be fueled by eternal connection · John 15vs 5.The time that you invest in your relationship with Christ isn’t preparation for the work, it is the work · 2 Corinthians 8:5 - “... gave themselves first to the Lord and then to others as was Gods will” ·

If your output exceeds your input, your upkeep will be your downfall ·

The Starving Baker represents the person who is so busy feeding others that he neglects feeding himself. Sometimes leaders put so much into the people they lead that they fail to nourish their own lives. “Their ‘talk’ is great. Their ‘walk’ becomes fake.” “They are spiritually starving … so close to food, yet never eating.”

10. Be surrendered to God ·

Nelson Mandela said our greatest threat is not so much that we are inadequate but that we are powerful beyond measure · To the degree that you come under power and authority will be to the degree that you are in power and authority · Luke 7. Roman centurion

Comfort or Comfortable ?

2008-06-20T09:52:00.005+12:00

Christians are more uncomfortable doing evangelsim ,than Non Christians themselves

Please read that again -Nice and Slowly .Wow what a disturbing trend.

What can we do to change this around -What can you do?-What are you doing?

What is God concerned with most for all lives?
Is is that we are comforted or that we are comfortable?

My own conviction is that ,God is more concerned about our comfort than making us comfortable .Jesus didn't die to keep us safe. He died to make us dangerous! The will of God is not an insurance plan. It's a daring plan. In fact, the will of God doesn't get easier. God gives us more difficult, daring, and dangerous things to do! Read Hebrews 11.

In the words of a daring twentieth-century missionary, C.T. Studd,
"Some want to live within the sound of church or chapel bell; I want to run a rescue shop within a yard of hell." The church needs more Studds!

How To Last in Ministry

2008-06-20T09:11:00.002+12:00

Read a great post on Pastor Dave Fergusons blog regarding a message he had listened to by Pastor Rick Warren ,in regard to Ministry Burnout. Some great lessons to apply here

Rick Warren - Preaching On Purpose

2008-06-20T08:17:00.004+12:00

RICKS THOUGHTS ON "PREACHING ON PURPOSE"

Nothing is a more powerful force in your church than the preaching.
God's purpose is to make us like Christ. (II Corinthians 3:18)
God wants to bring conviction and change our conduct and character.
"...that the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.: II Timothy 3:16,17
Teaching the Bible is not about is not ultimately producing maturity; it's about ministry and mission.
Application is what is lacking in most teaching.
Our preaching needs to "build bridges" from the scripture to life.

HOW TO PREPARE TO PREACH ON PURPOSE

Study the text. (observation)
Find the timeless truth. (interpretation)
Think of your audience. (contextualization)
Apply the truth to their situation (personalization)

10 THINGS I'VE LEARNED ABOUT PREACHING ON PURPOSE

All behavior is based on a belief. We do what we do (good or bad) because we believe something about the behavior.
When we sin we think that is the best decision in the moment. When you figure out the lie behind the behavior you will be a better preacher.
Change always starts in your mind.
To help people change we must change their beliefs first. The battle of sin always starts with helping people to see the lie they believe. You must expose the lie.
Trying to change people's behavior without changing their beliefs is a waste of time.
We need to lead people to repentance. Repentance is simply getting people to change their mind. Repentance is another term for a paradigm shift. "Metanoia" means to change your mind; it is not change you're behavior.
You don't change people's minds; the applied word of God does change their minds.
Changing the way I act is the result or fruit of repentance.
The "deepest" kind of preaching is preaching for repentance.
To produce lasting life change: enlighten the mind, engage the emotions, and challenge the will.

Why We Do What We Do

2008-06-19T08:45:00.002+12:00

Our heart and vision at Eastside Apostolic is to Win people to Christ and Develop them.
That is the purpose and passion behind everything we do. Our strategy to do that is simple.

We want to help people experience God, excel in spiritual growth, and express his love to the world. Simply put, Love God ,Grow together and Reach Our World .

At Eastside our primary environment to help people experience God is our Services . Our desire is that people would drawn to Christ through the worship, preaching, and fellowship.

Our primary ministry to help people excel in spiritual growth is Lifegroups. These groups meet at various times and locations throughout the city. There are groups for adults, youth, and young adults. While each has a slightly different focus, they are all centered on helping people grow in love for God and one another.

And finally, our primary avenue for helping people express God’s love is through ministry teams and outreach events. From cafe,host teams to visual media and sound, there are many ways to get involved in ministry.

One thing I never want to forget is why we are here and why we are doing what we’re doing.

With so much at stake, we must remember always to keep the Main Thing the Main Thing

The Power Of Example

2008-06-18T07:44:00.002+12:00

Here is an excellent post regarding the power of living a life of example from Dunstan Bell ,who is the principal of Kings Bible College.

Living a life of Example

The combination of Concern and Oppurtunity

2008-06-17T15:27:00.003+12:00

One of my goals of Reverb this year is to grow our evangelism muscle.

I love what Willow Creek church say about their approach to evangelism.
If you cut us we bleed evangelism." Their evangelistic temperature is white hot
No wonder they call themselves a missionary church rather than a missions church
Huge Distinction!

And it's not about sharing our faith out of guilt. It's about being so excited about who God is and what God has done that I can't not talk about it.

I love what one writer described his personal definitions of worship and evangelism.
Worship is bragging about God to God. Evangelism is bragging about God to others.
I think evangelism is a simple extension of worship.

Let's not stop bragging about God when we walk out of church!

At the Last Leaders Life Group I spoke about the powerful combination of concern and opportunity working together

When we only presenting evangelistic opportunities to Christians, but don’t work to raise the concern level, a very small response will be the outcome. But equally so when we only work on the concerned level and don’t present opportunity to people nothing happens, as a concern always needs a cause to attach itself to.

So what comes first concern or opportunity, the chicken or the egg? The chicken of concern always comes first, and births the egg of opportunity.

This is illustrated in the Good Samaritan story where 3 people were faced with the same opportunity, but 2 had a concern deficit disorder and chose not to respond. The 3rd person the Good Samaritan, had grown his concern level enough so when opportunity presented itself, he did something about it,

Concern and opportunity working in combination is powerful

So what can you do to grow your concern level for the Lost?

2008-06-17T15:22:00.000+12:00

Communicating to Change Lives (Pt.7)

The fifth and final question I ask is …

5. “How will I say it?” [The Method]

Be practical. If the goal of preaching is changed lives, then application is the primary task of preaching! Knowledge doesn’t change the world, but action does (Luke 10:37. James 1:22). Interpretation of the Bible (what it means) is not enough. We must bring people to application (what they are to do). Exhortation without application leads to frustration. Jesus came to give life, not just information.

Always aim for a specific action (Matthew 28:20). Tell them why – explain the benefits. Show them how. We need far less “ought to” preaching and far more “how to” preaching. “Yes, but how?” People are looking for practical answers. We need clearer application not just deeper interpretation. Don’t be a commentator (content focus). Be a communicator (application focus). Changed lives are the goal, not just explained content.

A “lecturer” speaks about the Bible, is concerned about the facts (literary analysis), and seeks to inform. A “pastoral preacher” speaks from the Bible about the congregation, tells them what God wants from them, and is concerned about people. Life-changing preaching does not talk to the people about the Bible. Instead, it talks to the people about themselves - their questions, hurts, fears and struggles - from the Bible. Preach to people about their lives. Don't just lecture about a topic.

Finally, be creative. Make the message interesting (Proverbs 15:2. Ecclesiastes 12:10). Saying, “We’re not here to entertain”, sounds spiritual. Our message is too important to present it in a boring manner. “Entertainment” is simply capturing and holding the attention of an extended period of time. We are communicators of the greatest message in the world. It is a sin to bore people with the Bible. People will think that God is boring.

Never make a point without a picture. Have an illustration for every exhortation. A picture or story is better than a definition. A point gets to the head. A story gets to the heart. Use visuals, drama, or role-playing. We live in a visual generation. Get people involved. Use humour. Be interesting, appealing and delightful.

Humour relaxes people, it lowers defences, and it creates positive emotion. It’s not a sin to help people feel good.

Learn from others. No one can be brilliant every week. God has called us to be effective, not just original. Listen to good communicators and learn from them. Keep fresh. Ask for feedback.

2008-06-17T15:16:00.000+12:00

Communicating to Change Lives (Pt.6)

The fourth question I ask is …

4. “Who is talking?” [The Messenger]

This makes me have a good look at myself. In many ways, as a communicator, you are the message. How you speak is very important – your personal style. Your personal style is a combination of your personality and your attitude. This has a big part in determining the impact of your message.

The basic elements of communication are message content, body language and voice quality. Communication experts tells us that effective communication is 7% content, 55% body language (things such as eye contact, a smile, gestures, dress, and appropriate movement), and 38% voice quality (things such as appropriate volume, pitch, and vocabulary).

When thinking about yourself as the communicator of your message, be enthusiastic. Do you really believe what you’re teaching? Are you excited about it? Do you believe it can change people’s lives? Put life and energy into your message. Inspire people. Make it interesting. Have a great attitude that’s contagious. Do it with excellence. Put a lot into it and show the audience their value.

Be open and personal. Honestly share your struggles, mistakes and weaknesses (2 Corinthians 1:8; 6:11. 1 Thessalonians 2:8). Be transparent. Drop your mask and let people see your heart. Talk about your problems. You’ll get people’s attention. Authenticity and genuineness are attractive. Share who you are and what you are currently learning. Be a model. This is the most effective way to change people. The minister is the message. The Word must become flesh (incarnated). Get people to trust you by being real.

Be encouraging. That’s purpose of God’s message as recorded in the Bible (Rom.15:4) and of everyone who speaks for God (1 Corinthians 14:3). Life is tough. Everyone’s had a tough week. People need their faith reinforced, their hope renewed and their love restored. Don’t tell it like it is. Tell it like it can be. “You have the potential to be … Here’s how.” Lift people to a higher level. Be positive. Jesus came to save, not condemn. He message was good news and so is ours.

The number one factor in communication is like-ability. If people like you, they’ll listen to you. Love them and they’ll like you. What you have to say (content) vs. how you say it (style) - both are important! Be yourself!

2008-06-17T15:13:00.000+12:00

Communicating to Change Lives (Pt.5)

The third question I ask is …

3. “What will I say?” [The Message]

Once you have established your purpose and formulated an objective statement, you are ready to do your research and prepare the content of your message. Purpose first, then content and outline.

Ask yourself what the Bible say about this subject or the audience’s needs. We don’t have to make the Bible relevant. It already is! We have to show its relevance by applying it to people’s needs.

Gather information on your topic from Bible study, personal experience, and other resources (books, articles, statistics, research, or advice from other people). Think of any illustrations that could support your message. Once you’ve done your research, narrow your ideas into a few points. Be brief and concise - keep it fast paced. Eliminate what's unnecessary. Summarise key points.

Next arrange everything into a logical sequence. The basic parts of your message are: (1) the opening or introduction where you gain rapport, generate interest, and establish a need to talk about your topic; (2) the main body of your message (organised around your main objective); and (3) your close or conclusion, where you summaries and call for action and/or a response.

Work on the transitions so that you tie each part together smoothly. Each new point should begin with an overview statement and conclude with a bridging statement to lead the audience to the next point. Help move your listeners from thought to thought with you.

Also, consider the time element. How much time should you give to introduction, body (key points) and conclusion? What is most important? Allocate time according to priority.

2008-06-17T15:12:00.000+12:00

Communicating to Change Lives (Pt.4)

The second question I ask is …

2. “What am I trying to say?” [Purpose]

Purpose is basic and central in preaching. You need a well-understood, clearly articulated and biblically justifiable purpose for your message. It is on this that you plan and execute everything you do when you preach. Whatever you do in a sermon, you should do consciously and deliberately to achieve some purpose. Everything should have its objective and you ought to know what that is.

Your purpose may be to inform, to equip, convince, or to motivate. It addresses what people should learn, believe, disbelieve or do. What do you want them to know or do?

If you can't write the objective of your speech in a single sentence, then either you're trying to say too much or you don't know what you're talking about. If you don't know what you're aiming at, you'll be sure to hit it. You will never be effective unless you know exactly what you want to accomplish with your message and thoroughly plan your strategy for achieving that goal.

Prayerfully choose a subject, then a central theme, and then narrow that down to a clear objective. Most topical messages are either in the form of an obligation message – ‘You should …’ or an enabling message – ‘You can …’ The logical question for the first is ‘Why?’ while the obvious question in response to the second is ‘How?’ For example, you might speak a message with an objective of communicating the message ‘You should pray’ and then you’ll show people why. Or you might speak on ‘You can be free from worry’ and the message will teach people how.

Whatever you speak on, it is essential that you have a clear purpose for your message and a single objective that you are trying to accomplish. Everything you then do or say in your message needs to contribute to this overall goal.

2008-06-17T15:10:00.000+12:00

Communicating to Change Lives (Pt.3)

Every time I prepare to speak, I ask myself five questions. Let’s begin with the first question.

1. “Who am I speaking to?” [The Audience]

When preparing to speak, I always start with my audience. Who am I speaking to? The first question is not “What do I speak on?” It is “Who am I speaking to and what are their needs?” The goal of teaching is to move people from where they are to where they need to be. Where do we start? Where they are!

We should always begin with: the patient, not the medicine; the student, not the curriculum; the customer, not the product; and the audience, not the message. Preachers at times are the only group who don’t do this! Something can be good in and of itself, yet irrelevant if it doesn’t match the needs of those being spoken to. Jesus always started where people were, not with the next lesson in his Scripture reading. The majority of his teaching to the crowd began with their needs. This determined his preaching agenda (Luke 4:18-19). We should do the same. The aim is to find ‘common ground’ (1 Corinthians 9:22-23) so you can speak words that will be helpful and beneficial (Ephesians 4:29).

Who are you speaking to? Think of your listeners right from the beginning. If you don't meet a real need, then your message is a waste of time. A message that is specific is much more powerful than a general motivational message. For every sermon we preach, people are asking, “Am I interested in that subject or not?” If they aren't, it doesn't matter how effective our delivery is, they won’t be attentive nor will they benefit from the message, no matter how good we think it is.

Ask questions about things such as people’s needs, problems, stresses, challenges, hurts, and interest. Get appropriate and relevant information. Do all you can to know all you can about your audience. Take a survey of your congregation or of the needs in your community – “I wish someone would preach about …”

If we don’t do this step well, then we will be scratching where people aren’t itching!

2008-06-17T15:05:00.002+12:00

Communicating to Change Lives (Pt.2)

Jesus was a master communicator and therefore he is our model for preaching to change lives. Jesus was the greatest speaker, teacher and communicator who ever existed. He spoke to large audiences in places like the synagogues, the mountainside, the seaside, and in the streets. He addressed small groups such as the Pharisees who liked to debate him, the disciples who wanted to learn from him, and his friends such as Mary, Martha and Lazarus who conversed with him about their daily needs. He also spent time one-on-one with people like the Samaritan woman and the rich young ruler.

Jesus was always prepared and he spoke with authority and confidence. So much so that the people were often amazed at his teaching (Matthew 7:28-29). He used simple language (not shallow, but easy to understand) yet the awed the educated. He used a variety of techniques (parables, object lessons - coin, analogies, humour, role models, questioning, and lectures). No wonder the Gospel writers tell us that the common people heard him gladly – they listened to him with delight (Mark 12:37).

In John 12:49, Jesus tells us that the Father told him what to say (the content of his message) and how to say it (the delivery style of his message). Both of these are important. Through learning from Jesus, the disciples gained confidence in speaking even though lacking in formal education (Acts 4:13).

The objective of our communication is not oratory or brilliant speech but to make the message clear so that people can respond (1 Corinthians 2:4-5). The great commission commands us all to be teachers of the gospel and of God's ways of living. There must be a balance between our preparation (skill) and our dependence on the Holy Spirit (anointing).

Tomorrow we’ll begin looking at five questions I ask myself every time I prepare to speak.

Communicating to change lives

2008-05-20T07:38:00.005+12:00

Hi everyone!

Mark Conner, senior pastor of CityLife Church in Melbourne, Australia - a church with around 5000 people attending each weekend in a number of locations, has done an excellent series on communicating to change lives

Mark's Blog is one of my personal favorites. Its great to have people like Mark, who is a bit further along the leadership journey than I am, to learn from and gleam off

It has 5 parts to it , so I will post 1 part per day
Enjoy!

Communicating to Change Lives (Pt.1)

TEAM EFFORT

2008-05-16T08:34:00.003+12:00

TEAM EFFORT THE PRINCIPLES

Team effort doesn’t happen by accident. It takes focused effort from the leader to make it a reality. Here are some lessons in team building, from John Maxwell

1. Express the God-given vision for growth and excellence regularly.

2. Clearly communicate and regularly update specific goals.

3. Share consistent information about progress toward the goals.

4. Make every effort to help team members identify and utilize their spiritual gifts.

5. Provide ample opportunities to improve the skills necessary to complete the goals.

6. Keep individual spiritual vitality a priority, and find ways to encourage it.

7. Express gratitude publicly and privately for faithful and effective service.

8. If a team member is not performing adequately, confront the problem with love, andprovide an opportunity for additional training or resources to improve performance.

9. Saturate the atmosphere with openness, understanding, and affirmation.

10. Demonstrate to the team your commitment to excellence, personal integrity, and spiritual vitality.

11. Devote top-quality time to building a strong administrative team who will move thewhole team toward the vision.

12. Recruit additional positive team members, and make it an ongoing priority.

What ones jump of the page and speak to you?

My suggestion is pick two that you want to focus on and action this week. Remember buliding a strong team culture doesn't happen in a day, it happens daily.

Let me know how you get on

Happy Mothers day

2008-05-10T12:53:00.001+12:00

Simply Amazing!

Peanuts or Continents?

2008-03-01T13:50:00.001+13:00

Do you know why I often ask Christians, 'What's the biggest thing you've asked God for this week?' I remind them that they are going to God, the Father, and the Maker of the universe. The One who holds the world in His hands. What did you ask God for? Did you ask for peanuts, toys, trinkets, or did you ask for continents?

I want to tell you… it's tragic!

The little itsy-bitsy things we ask of our Almighty God. Sure, nothing is too small--but also nothing is too big. Let's learn to ask from our big God some of those big things He talks about."

Dawson Trotman, Founder, The Navigators

Crash

2008-03-01T09:15:00.000+13:00

Crash

In his book, The Barbarian Way, Erwin McManus writes about different animal groups. If you’ve studied ornithology or entomology or herpetology, you know that different groups of creatures have different names.

A group of fish is called a school. Ants are called colonies and bees are called a swarm. Cattle are herds, birds are flocks, and a tribe of lions is a pride. For what it’s worth, a group of buzzards is called a committee!

But here’s my personal favorite: a group of rhinos is called a crash.
That name seems so fitting! Believe it or not, a rhino can run about thirty miles per hour which is pretty amazing considering how much weight they are carrying! They are actually faster than squirrels which can run about twenty-six miles per hour. There’s a mental image!

Here’s the funny thing. Rhinos have terrible eyesight. They can only see about thirty feet in front of themselves. So they are running thirty miles an hour with no idea what’s at thirty-one feet! You would think they’d be timid creatures because they can’t see very far in front of themselves. But God, in his amazingly creative foresight, gave rhinos a big horn on the front of their head.

Erwin McManus piggy-backs off the crash analogy: “The future is uncertain, but we need to move toward it with confidence. There’s a future to be created, a humanity to be liberated. We need to stop wasting our time and stop being afraid of what we cannot see and do not know. We need to move forward full of force because of what we do know.”

Great quote

2008-03-01T08:41:00.001+13:00

I love the way Erwin McManus says it in his book Unstoppable Force:

“The center of God’s will is not a safe place but the most dangerous place in the world.”

Then he makes a great distinction:

“To live outside of God’s will puts us in danger; to live in his will makes us dangerous.”

RADAR, BUCKETS, CHUNKS, and MARINATE.

2008-02-28T13:56:00.001+13:00

Rob Bell is the Teaching Pastor at Mars Hill Bible Church in Michigan. He is a speaker, author, and the creator of the Nooma visual presentations. Rob is a very interesting person – creative, arty, humble and insightful. He also has some excellent tips on sermon preparation and how to be always on the look out for insights well ahead of when we preach them. He uses four words to describe his process: RADAR, BUCKETS, CHUNKS, and MARINATE.

Let me unpack those for you ...

RADAR
As communicators of God's Word we need to have our spiritual radar on all the time. Preaching preparation is not something we set aside for a specific day each week. We need to be listening to God's promptings ALL the time - while talking to people, while driving down the street, while watching the news, while reading the Bible ... all the time. God can turn an ordinary place into a sacred place, just like he did for Jacob sleeping out in a desert area (Gen.28:10-17). The truth is that God is everywhere and he is speaking all the time. Are we tuned in? How easily we can miss God at work all around us at each moment of the day. Preaching preparation is be a lifestyle. Wake up and get your radar on!

BUCKETS
We need a way to capture these thoughts and ideas as we receive them. Write down whatever moves you. You might choose to use a paper notepad or in a Word file on your computer. But create a heap of buckets to record your insights. If you don't, you'll forget them.

CHUNKS
Over time, some of your individual thoughts and ideas will start to connect together with similar thoughts and ideas to form 'chunks'. A fragment starts to form part of a larger story. It could be a Bible verse, a thought from a TV advertisement, something someone said to you, or a reflection you had - all on a similar topic. Begin to chunk them together. They become the foundation for entire messages or segments of messages.

MARINATE
The best meat is marinated! It's tender and tasty. In the same way, the best messages are ones that you have been marinating in your spirit for a while (even for months), not something you threw together on Saturday evening. Ensure that the message is part of you and that it's something you're living out. Allow the Word to become flesh in you. You can't fake this or do it quickly. Allow God's words to become your words. Your teaching will drip with depth and anointing. You will know it and so will those who listen.
As we take time to hear from God, then deliver His message with creativity and passion, His Spirit will use our words to bring about positive change in people's lives. Go for it!

Seven Keys to Discovering Your Destiny

2008-02-28T07:58:00.003+13:00

Seven Keys to Discovering Your Destiny
1. Understand Grace.
II Peter 3:18 tells us to grow in grace. Grace itself does not grow. We grow in grace.
If we fail to understand grace, we try to earn favor with God. End up in mere religious works. Entrapped. We must come to the understanding of how much God really loves us and forgives us.
Heb. 13:9 says that our hearts must be established by grace.

2. Develop Faith.
Faith comes by hearing the Word of God. The more Word we have in us, the more faith we will have. Faith must be developed.
*Read the Word. *Believe the Word. *Speak the Word. *Act on the Word.

3. Be a Jesus Person.
John 15 - Develop a strong, personal, intimate relationship with Jesus not just a Sunday morning, congregational kind of relationship.
"I want to be a Jesus Person, not a miracle person. Not a healing person. Not a worship person. Not a tongues person."

4. Forget the past and forgive.
Isa. 43:18-19 tells us to forget the former things. You can't go forward if you are always looking in your rear view mirror.

5. Be quick to obey the Holy Spirit.
If we don't obey quickly, the enemy comes in to steal the Word. (like in the parable of the sower). We must obey quickly because the devil will try to come and convince you that it was only you, not God.God has a school of obedience. The first way we learn to obey is in the area of giving. God uses those who are in obedience in tithing and giving. We learn to hear His voice and obey.

6. Be teachable and submitted.
Matt 8:6 -10. Amount of power you have in the Spirit realm will be related to your submission. We must be submitted, humble and willing to learn.

7. Live your life with passion and eternal perspective.
God wants your whole heart! Be on FIRE for Him!

Faith, Hope and Love

2008-02-26T23:46:00.002+13:00

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
1 Corinthians 13vs 13

The core of an Apostolic movement is: Faith, Hope and Love.

Our communities of faith must:
Live by Faith (defined by risk and sacrifice)
Be known by Love
Be a voice of Hope

Altars to God or Monuments to yourself?

2008-02-21T08:03:00.003+13:00

Excellent post from Pastor Mark Batterson,its a ripper

This morning I'm doing a session at the Evolve Conference titled The Secure Leader. I'm going to use Saul as a case study in insecurity. Two verses represent two defining moments in his life.
I'm going to use Saul as a case study in insecurity.

Two verses represent two defining moments in his life."I Samuel 14:35: "And Saul built an altar to God; the first one he had ever built." So far so good. Saul is building altars to God. But fast-forward one chapter.

I Samuel 15:12 says, "Saul went up to Carmel to build a monument to himself." Somewhere between those two verses, Saul stopped building altars to God and started building monuments to himself. "There is a fine line between Thy Kingdom Come and My Kingdom Come. At some point, it was no longer about God. It was about Saul."

Here are seven habits of secure leaders:
"1) Don't play the comparison game. "No one wins! Comparison either leads to pride or jealousy!"

2) Success isn't numbers"
Saul got caught up in the numbers game. And David had better stats. Listen, if my children grow up to love God and everything else falls apart I'm successful. But if NCC grows to 50,000 people and I sell 10,000,000 books it means nothing if my family falls apart. Jesus was successful because he poured his life into twelve people!"

3) Celebrate your failures.
"Insecure people are afraid of failing. Secure people laugh at themselves. They celebrate failure because it accentuates what God can do inspite of us!"

4) Don't panic"
Saul panics when his men start scattering so he makes a sacrifice instead of waiting for Samuel. Insecure people get nervous. They give up. Secure leaders hang in there no matter what."

5) Don't get defensive
How you handle criticism will make you or break you. You need tough skin and a soft heart. If you're insecure your defense mechanisms will get the best of you. So instead of leading out of imagination you'll lead out of insecurity.

6) Surround yourself with the right people"Who was Saul's greatest asset? David. But if you are insecure, your greatest asset will become your greatest threat. And it will short-circuit your ability to surround yourself with a great team. And it will limit your influence.

"7) Keep building altars to God"
God often uses us at our point of insecurity because then He gets all the credit. I pray for the favor of God as much as anything else because I want God to do things for me that I cannot do for myself. And every time we experience God's blessing we need to build an altar. The blessings of God either turn into pride or praise. Are you building altars to God or monuments to yourself?"

Four Rules of Preaching

2008-02-18T09:15:00.004+13:00

Sorry about the lack of blogging over the last week ,I havent been to well.
On the positive side I was able to have a little bit of time surfing the Blogging World

Found this article on preaching form Dunstan Bells blog site

About two years ago I heard Chris Hill share TD Jakes' four rules of preaching - here's an exert...

1. Study Yourself Full
Know absolutely everything you can about the text you’re speaking on

- when was this text written
- why was it written
- who wrote it
- who was it written to

Look at the text from the perspective of every person and object. For example: If preaching on Job, don’t just be Job, be his wife, be his friends, be the boil!

When approaching a text, don’t speak from what you’ve heard others say about that text.
Know the text so well that you can live it

2 Timothy 2:15
Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

It only takes one person to stand up and ask a question at the end of your sermon; if you don’t know the answer your credibility is gone.

Study one hour for every five minutes you plan to speak
- i.e. 30 minute sermon, 6 hours study text

2. Think Yourself Clear

Once you have gathered your information/revelation of the text, you must think your way through it logically
Points are the skeleton of your sermon upon which you layer the muscle (revelation)
A sermon with no points is pointless; a sermon with too many points is a porcupine and nobody can handle it
It’s often difficult to communicate with your mouth what you hear in your heart, therefore say your sermon out loud before you come to preach it

3. Pray Yourself Hot

> Prayer burns you hot with passion
> Prayer gets the sermon from your head to your heart
> Prayer gives you a burden for the people
> If I’m not red hot about it before I speak, I have not prayed enough
> Pray for one hour for every five minutes you plan to speak

4. Let Yourself Go

> We have a generation that is looking for people to keep it real. One of the characteristics of a postmodern generation is that they want things real.

> "Preacher, don’t cover up, smile, and pretend that your life is perfect. If you’re perfect, I don’t want to listen to you because my life is not perfect and I cannot relate to you."

> Any speaker you enjoy shows you that they are a real person
> Only when you’re transparent will the light of Jesus shine through you.

> Preaching is the process of unzipping yourself and letting people see your guts. Let people see your raw emotions, let them see that you have highs and lows.

> When you get up to speak, let everything that’s burning inside of you come out and don’t worry about how you look or what people are thinking.

> When you have diligently studied your text, given your sermon structure, and prayed yourself hot, only then can you let yourself go

The "Tyrany of Busyness"

2008-02-08T13:59:00.000+13:00

I was reading my good mate Clive Smits Blog on "busyness".

I really appreciated what he had to say.
I believe part of what makes a great leader is that you are able to survey the horision ,and make nessecary changes before you are forced to.
So thanks Clive for the heads up and for watching my back

I also wanted to add a few things to..

If you get busy ,skip your devotions.
Signed Satan

Some peoples definition of life balance is rushing from place to place in moderation

I try to live by the motto. "The key to living a fulfilled life is to foucus on the things that are really important and to disregard everything else".

The best way to spend your life is to invest it in the things that are going to outlast you .
When everything is a manageable pace its easy to see these things ,but the tyrony of '"busyness" is that it so often clouds over the obvious.

We have to work hard to stop that happening. I love this story

The Big Rocks

One day an expert in time management was speaking to a group business students and, to drive home a point, used an illustration those students will never forget. As he stood in front of the group of high powered over achievers he said, "Okay, time for a quiz."
Then he pulled out a one-gallon, wide mouthed Mason jar and set it on the table in front of him. Then he produced about a dozen fist-sized rocks and carefully placed them, one at a time, into the jar.
When the jar was filled to the top and no more rocks would fit inside, he asked, "Is this jar full?"
Everyone in the class said, "Yes."

Then he said, "Really?" He reached under the table and pulled out a bucket of gravel. Then he dumped some gravel in and shook the jar causing pieces of gravel to work themselves down into the space between the big rocks. Then he asked the group once more, "Is the jar full?"
By this time the class was on to him. "Probably not," one of them answered.
"Good!" he replied. He reached under the table and brought out a bucket of sand. He started dumping the sand in the jar and it went into all of the spaces left between the rocks and the gravel. Once more he asked the question, "Is this jar full?"
"No!" the class shouted. Once again he said, "Good."

Then he grabbed a pitcher of water and began to pour it in until the jar was filled to the brim. Then he looked at the class and asked, "What is the point of this illustration?"
One eager beaver raised his hand and said, "The point is, no matter how full your schedule is, if you try really hard you can always fit some more things in it!"
"No," the speaker replied, "that's not the point. The truth this illustration teaches us is: If you don't put the big rocks in first, you'll never get them in at all."

What are the 'big rocks' in your life?
Your relatinship with God? Your husband or wife? Your children? Your loved ones? Your health? Your education? Your dreams? A worthy cause? Teaching or mentoring others? Doing things that you love? Time for yourself?

Remember to put these BIG ROCKS in first or you'll never get them in at all. If you sweat the little stuff (the gravel, the sand) then you'll fill your life with little things you worry about that don't really matter, and you'll never have the real quality time you need to spend on the big, important stuff (the big rocks).

So, tonight, or in the morning, when you are reflecting on this short story, ask yourself this question: What are the 'big rocks' in my life? Then, put those in your jar first.

Love it

2008-02-05T09:33:00.000+13:00

This is a quote from Ravi Zacharias that has huge implications for evangelism in the emerging culture.

"We must learn to find the back door to people’s hearts because the front door is heavily guarded."

Engaging Culture

2008-01-26T00:29:00.000+13:00

Mark Conner shares some interesting thoughts on how to be relevant in the world we live in

When it comes to culture, including media (TV, movies, etc), there are three different approaches that Christians tend to take:

1. Reject Culture.
Some Christians see the world as ‘evil’ (and at times, rightly so) and therefore all culture is to be rejected. Christians are called to be ‘holy’ which means to be ‘separate’ from the world. Christians end up living in their own sub-culture – with Christian communities, Christian bookshops, Christian TV, and even Christian jewelry! The danger with this approach is that Christians end up very ‘different’ from the world but because of their isolation they have ‘no audience’ and therefore no positive ‘influence’ on the world.

2. Embrace Culture.
Other Christians go the other way – they fully embrace culture in response to Jesus command to live ‘in’ the world. The danger with this approach is that if we uncritically embrace everything in our culture, we can end up no different than the world we live in. As a result, we have no message to offer them, despite the fact that we have relationships with them. We aren’t isolated, as in the first approach, but we are so immersed in the culture that we lose our distinctiveness.

3. Engage Culture.
A more balanced approach, modelled exceptionally well by Jesus, is for us to ‘engage’ with our culture. We are to be ‘in’ the world, but we are also called to be ‘not of’ the world. Jesus’ used metaphors for this – ‘salt’ and ‘light’. Both of these things make an impact but only when there is proximity. Salt in the salt shaker has no affect and light only helps if it is shining in the darkness.

The first two approaches are easy - they are 'black' and 'white'. The third approach is much more difficult - even risky. It's 'grey' ... but it's well worth the effort.
Jesus spent a lot of time with people far from God and, amazingly, he never got angry or aggressive with them (‘sinners’). The only people he did get angry with were extremely religious people, especially the Pharisees who were very legalistic.

Which way do you lean? Do you tend to reject culture too easily? Do you tend to embrace culture too much? How could you engage with culture more effectively this week?

They like Jesus but not the Church

2008-01-25T23:33:00.000+13:00

Found a great article on the website "missional church network"
Raises some good thoughts

I have been reading Dan Kimball’s new book “They Like Jesus But Not The Church.” I have found several insights from the book to be helpful. One section I found funny (in a sad kind of way) is titled “The Transformation From Excited Missionary Into Citizen Of The Bubble.” In this section of the book Kimball shares his observation concerning what happens to many believers as they “mature” in their Christian walk.

Phase 1: We become Christians
In this phase Kimball reminds Christians of the time they first placed their faith in Christ, understood the grace of God, and experienced the excitement and joy of learning new things from the Bible. He writes, “Remember that burst of understanding God’s grace and joy in Jesus as you told your non-Christian friends about your faith? Probably this occurred in a natural way, since you were friends rather than strangers. . . This is only natural because generally everyone in a new Christian’s circle of friends is outside of the church.”

Phase 2: We become part of church life
As we get involved in the life of the church, we make Christian friends and participate in all kinds of church activities with them. New believers tend to slowly lose touch with non-Christian friends and become more and more immersed in Christian activities. The reality is that the longer we are Christians the fewer the number of friends we have who are not Christians. Again Kimball writes, “Even though Christians often work alongside non-Christians or have non-Christian neighbors or sit next to non-believing students in class, we generally tend not to actually befriend them, or pray regularly for them, or get involved in their lives so they trust us and we can be salt and light of Jesus to them.”

Phase 3: We become part of the Christian bubble
“As we slowly withdraw from ongoing relationships with those outside the church and focus on relationships with those inside the church, something happens. Once, it was more natural and even exciting to share life with people at work or at school, with relatives, or with neighbors. But slowly we begin to see evangelism as something the church does, primarily through events. We get more excited about going overseas to the mission field on summer trips than about the mission field we live in every day.

We start to see evangelism as inviting people to go to a church, where the pastor will do the evangelizing and explain Christianity, instead of spending time with people and talking with them and being the church to them. . . . During this phase, we stop praying daily for those who don’t know Jesus and instead pray for our church’s latest building project or latest program.”

Phase 4: We become Jonah
After being citizens of the bubble for several years we begin to complain and point out the terrible things happening in the culture. Like Jonah we don’t want anything to do with those who aren’t following God as we are. Like Jonah, we may even have a secret sense of delight thinking about how God will one day punish all those sinners in our towns and cities. “And like Jonah, who, even after God gave him a second chance and he saw the people of Ninevah repent and cry out to God, complained about not having shade over his head and being uncomfortable, we complain about how well the church is providing what we want and grow numb to the fact that people all around us need the love and grace of Jesus.”

At this point Kimball makes reference to the Talking Heads song “Once in a Lifetime” when David Byrne cries out “My God! What have I done?” Or in our case maybe “My God! What have I become?”

How much of an accurate description do you feel this is?
How can we turn this pattern around?
Interested in your comments

Great Quote

2008-01-25T15:23:00.000+13:00

"God doesnt change you in order to love you,he loves you in order to change you"

A Great Question

2008-01-24T13:35:00.000+13:00

I am on a blogging roll today

Romans 8.31
For what shall we shall in response to this?.If God be for us who can be against us .

Do you believe God is for you always?
If not why not and when isnt he?
Does it matter?

Interested in your thoughts

Prime the Pump

2008-01-24T11:00:00.000+13:00

ONCE THERE was a man lost in the desert, near death from thirst. He wandered aimlessly through the burning sand for many days, growing weaker by the moment. At long last he saw an oasis far in the distance. !. But then he noticed something strange about this particular oasis.Instead of a pool of water, or a well, or a spring bubbling up from the ground, the man found a pump. And beside the pump were two objects—a small jar of water, and a parchment note.

The note explained that a leather gasket within the pump must be saturated with water for the pump to work. Within the jar was just enough water for this purpose.The note also warned the reader not to drink from the jar. Every drop must be poured into an opening at the base of the pump to soak the heat-dried gasket. Then, as the leather softened and expanded, an unlimited supply of sweet water would be available. The parchment's final instructions were to refill the container for the next traveler's use.

The man faced a dilemma. He was dying of thirst, and he had found water. Not much, of course. Maybe not even enough to save his life. But it seemed the height of folly to pour it away, down the base of the pump. On the other hand, if the note was accurate, by pouring out the small quantity of water, he would then have all he wanted.

Our own personal pumps must be primed every day, lest they run dry.

If your output exceeeds your input ,Your upkeep will be your downfall!

How do you prime your personal pump?

Great quote

2008-01-24T08:37:00.000+13:00

Churches that don’t get hit while crossing the street of true effectiveness don’t look both ways they look three.

They look upwardly to God (worship), inwardly to serving the needs of the body (servanthood and the use of spiritual gifts) and outwardly to reach the community for Christ (outreach)

Weakness

2008-01-24T08:22:00.001+13:00

Darryl Dash shares on the Christian theme of weakness .Here is a portion

Jesus consistently taught about laying aside our rights, becoming weak like children, and rejoicing when we were under-appreciated. He identified with those who were outcasts and powerless. He taught that the tiniest of seeds becomes the haven of birds. His entire ministry was predicated upon God’s strength showing up in weakness.

Yet I find myself consistently impressed with the strong. I do not naturally like the way of weakness.I praise God for large and strong churches, but I worry that we often think that God needs powerful churches and important people to do his work.

Scripture shows us that some of the most powerful and influential people in redemption’s history squandered their influence, while God has used humble nobodies to change the world.

Iit’s important to remind ourselves of the strength of weakness. Perhaps God is most at work today in people and churches that will never be written up in books, and will never make the conference circuit. God’s strength still shows up most powerfully in weakness.

Starbucks

2008-01-23T12:18:00.001+13:00

Even looking at this soothes the pain.

Random thoughts

2008-01-18T10:52:00.001+13:00

“Maturity is the gap time between what you know and obedience.”

Prevailing Churches

2008-01-16T14:23:00.000+13:00

PREVAILING CHURCHES

Bill Hybels, pastor of Willow Creek Church listed the five qualities of prevailing churches.

1. Prevailing Churches are those where lost people are being found. "The only thing worse than a church where no-one is finding Christ is a church where no-one is finding Christ and no-one is really bothered by that."

2. Prevailing Churches are those where found people are being discipled into the likeness of Jesus.

3. Prevailing Churches are those where lonely people are enfolded in a community of love. One of the highest values in the New Testament is that of community.

4. Prevailing Churches are those where spectators leave the stands, find their spiritual gifts and start serving in the church. "You would never ask anyone in our church if they serve in the church. That's a terrible question. It's unthinkable that you wouldn't serve Jesus in your local church. So we never ask if they serve but where they serve."

5. Prevailing Churches release resources to the work of God in the church and among the poor. "Budgets are moral documents. Tell me you care for the poor and then show me in your budget."

The Cause Driven Church

2008-01-16T13:25:00.001+13:00

The Cause Driven Church by Erwin Raphael McManus

The early church existed with a dynamic tension: it was both expanding and consolidating - growing and unifying. The Bible tells us that first century believers “shared everything in common” and that “the church was being added to day by day.”

We want our church to live in this same tension.This tension is illustrated by two biblical images - the body of Christ and the army of God. The body of Christ is centered on community; the army of God is centered on cause.Healthy community flows out of a unified cause - not the other way around. Jesus called his disciples and said, “Follow me. I’ll make you fishers of men.” This was not an offer of community. “Follow me and I will give you something worthy of giving your life to” is a statement of cause. But the neat thing is, when they came to the cause, they found community like they never knew could exist. That’s the power of the church.

One danger of the American church is that we often try to offer people community without cause. Without cause, you’re just another civic organization. You don’t have life transformation.Jesus said, “I have come to the world to seek and to save that which is lost.”

The cause of Christ is accomplished by expanding the kingdom of God.Communicating the gospel in a postmodern context can make us feel forced to compete with the entertainment industry. You might be able to compete if you have millions of dollars and that level of expertise. Most of us don’t. We have only one advantage that neither Hollywood nor MTV has. We have the presence and power of the living God!Why in the world would we eliminate God’s power from our core strategy and actually move to a deficit rather than to an advantage?

Followers

2008-01-15T09:55:00.001+13:00

So many blogs, books and seminars talk about "How to be a Great Leader" and rightfully so.

If we are going to see people come to Christ, we must be leading them, but what we as leaders often miss is in order to be a good leader, you must first have good followers. With all that is written about being a leader, this week I'm going to post a few thoughts on "Followership" (the counter to leadership!).

Anyone who wants to jumpstart in and offer a few comments before I start, feel free

Theme Verse

2008-01-08T14:02:00.001+13:00

I decided to begin the New Year buy reading John 15 ,and one verse has become a theme verse for this year.

John 15vs 5

I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing

Let me make a confession: I don't feel like I spent enough time abiding in Christ this past year.

As a Christian I have always valued prayer and bible reading, but through my actions showed that it was more important than essential

If I am reading this verse right it would suggest that in wanting to live a fruitful life abiding in Christ is more essential than important.It could not be more clearer,than the word saying without me you can do nothing.

As a leader , Bible study can become a professional endeavor. It is so easy to study the Bible for the wrong reasons. I can study it looking for what God wants to say through me instead of what God wants to do in me.

When thinking about values I quess the continual challenge for us as Christians is to ensure that there is congruence between what we say matters most and how we’re really living. Are our preferred values our actual values? The truth is that often we’re disappointed with ourselves.

Most of us feel some pain because we realise that the way we are living does not fully match what we say really matters most to us. It’s like our lives are out of sync. There is a “gap” between what we really value and how we are living

The good news is that the gospel is not just about eternal life in the hereafter but about another kind of life available to us right now. It’s about “transformation” – you and I changing and growing to become more like Jesus, someone who knew what mattered most and lived in total harmony with it every moment of every day (Gal.4:19. Rom.12:2. 2 Cor.3:18).

So This year, I will spend a little less time"Keeping up with the Joneses" and a lot more time "Keeping up with Christ".

Heres to a successful 2008!

The Peril of Success

2008-01-01T10:59:00.000+13:00

Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself."

It is usually when we are struggling and things are not going well that we need to find time by ourselves with God. Our spiritual reflexes are to wait until something is going wrong relationally, vocationally or physically and then we find some time alone with God.

Not Jesus.

The crowds are swelling to an all-time high. They are wanting to see him do miracles and listen to his teachings. Things are so out of hand that it looks like they might make him their king whether he wants to be or not and what does Jesus do?

He withdraws to a quiet place all by himself to spend time with the Father. This is a great reminder. The time when we need God the most is not just in our desperation, but also in our success. In some ways it is during our times of great success that we are most vulnerable.

We tend to think we have done this on our own and that if we just continue to do what we have done more and more success will come our way. Success is a kind of drug that keeps us from feeling the spiritual pangs in our life.

I need to withdraw from it all to be with God everyday. Success or failure I need to hear from God everyday!

The Peril Of Success

2007-12-31T10:17:00.000+13:00

John 6:15 - "Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself."

I want to blog on this verse in the next few days ,interested in your thoughts about it first

Great Quote

2007-12-18T13:32:00.000+13:00

"To many church's are majoring on being relevant ,while minoring on being reachable."
Jeremy Sargent

Great Quote

2007-12-18T08:44:00.000+13:00

“The world will never starve for lack of wonders, but only for lack of wonder”.G.K. Chesterton

Leadership Challenges Part 3

2007-12-14T09:23:00.001+13:00

This is part 3 on Leadership Challenges

8. Strained Family

When a Young Lion does something, they do it full-tilt-boogie (all the way). This can many times put pressure on the wife and kids, especially if the lion is used to living a college lifestyle; up early, going hard all day, up late, making stuff happen, taking all the little jobs. In the early days of a church, the pastor usually does everything, and the family may suffer.

9. No Margin

Everything is about building the new church, so exercise, reading, relaxing, dates with your spouse, close community with friends, and time with nothing planned become obsolete. Young Lions like to have every day packed with productive things to do so we can end the day and say “…that was a good day, look at all I accomplished.”

10. Losing The First Love

From personal experience, I can say that all of the creativity and energy that Young Lions have penned up inside their hearts and heads can distract them from the main thing; staying connected to the Vine. In John 15, Jesus made it clear that if we remain in Him, we will bear much fruit, but apart from Him, we can do nothing. NOTHING.

Young Lions must not forget that we are called first to Christ, not success or church planting or executive decision-making. He must always remain our first love. Just wanted to share a post with you by Clayton King founder of Crossroads Worldwide Ministries about the potential pitfalls and dangers "Young Lions" face in ministry.

Its been helpful hasn't it?

Interested in your comments

Challenges of Leadership Part 2

2007-12-14T09:22:00.003+13:00

Part 2 of "Young Lions"

4. Sense of Invincibility

To quote Travis Tritt, Young Lions sometimes feel “10 foot tall and bullet proof” without realizing that it takes 5 seconds to destroy with it took 20 years to build. Each of us is susceptible to any and all temptations without the grace of God and the protection of our brothers and sisters.

5. Theological Ignorance

I have heard this one so many times…”Don’t bore me with theology, let’s get busy reaching people for Jesus!” Sure. Sounds cute and epic. But that is the fastest way to build a really big church fast, and then watch it fall apart even faster. All that we do is based on theological beliefs. We must be as deep as we are wide.

6. Isolation

Based on a fear of confrontation or being rejected by others, Young Lions often seal themselves off from the voices and opinions of others. We don’t need a committee for every decision, but we need clarity and wisdom. Proverbs says these come from wise counsel. We do not get that when we role solo.

7. Constant Comparison

With so many new churches sprouting up and so many nationally known pastors and ministries on the map, it becomes a struggle to not always look to them and ask why you are not as big, edgy, innovative, creative, post-modern, hip, or cool, or why you have not yet written a book on church planting or the emerging church. This type of comparison can possibly be a result of insecurity or a result of being too busy to get a clear word from God about the direction HE wants you to take your church. Model, don’t copy.

Challenges of Leadership

2007-12-14T09:22:00.001+13:00

Just wanted to share a post with you by Clayton King founder of Crossroads Worldwide Ministries about the potential pitfalls and dangers "Young Lions" face in ministry. Its another 3 part series.Enjoy.

DANGERS FOR THE YOUNG LIONS
1. Extreme Zeal

Is this always bad? Not always, but it can lead to a stressed lifestyle where the church becomes a means to an end, i.e. building a successful church in youthful zeal makes you feel like a success. God builds His church with or without us. The goal is not success, it is faithfulness to the end.

2. Unrealistic Pace

Ministry is a marathon, but Young Lions don’t understand that yet. They (we) treat it like a sprint, end up fatigued too early in the race to finish, and quit or disqualify themselves before the finish line.

3. Lack of Perspective

Young Lions have yet to make all the mistakes, meet all the people, listen to all the conversations, read all the books, reflect on all the mess-ups, and pay attention to all the warnings that they eventually will. Only time (year stacked upon year of hard ministry) can bring this.

Advoiding Pitfalls- Part 3

2007-12-14T09:20:00.001+13:00

Last of the 3 points today on the subject of advoiding pitfalls Hope its been as helpful to me as its been to you Jeremy

7. Live modestly and give extravagantly.
In a few more years the selfish, money-focused doctrines that tainted charismatic churches in the 1980s and 1990s will be gone. God is bringing balance and correction to a message that has encouraged greed. I do not know Texas pastor Robert Morris personally, but he has become a long-distance mentor to me in the financial area. His book The Blessed Life has redefined how we charismatics should view money. Bottom line: We don’t give to get, even though we know God blesses generosity. We give to give.

8. Don’t build your own kingdom.
In the previous season leaders got away with naming their ministries after themselves. That will not work today. The one-man show is over. Leadership today is about building a team. Those who think they can “do it all”—and take all the credit—will end up with meager results when their work is tested by God’s fire.

9. Develop keen discernment.
The devil is on the prowl, and we can’t afford to be ignorant of his schemes. Leaders must develop an early warning system if we expect to survive. You must develop a team of watchful intercessors who are committed to praying for you. Those whose ministries are crashing and burning today most likely ignored prophetic counsel from people who saw disaster coming.

10. Maintain your spiritual passion.
People who experience moral failure almost always lose their spiritual passion first. Being filled with the Holy Spirit is not just a one-time encounter. Because we “leak,” we need to be refilled and recharged regularly. We will burn out quickly if we don’t stay plugged into the Source. The man who led me to Christ, Barry St. Clair, taught me to have a daily appointment with God

.I try to guard my time in prayer and Bible study because I know I can’t give what I don’t have. The more I read His Word, the deeper and stronger it grows inside me, providing daily revelation of the Savior—and giving me more and more reasons to make Him my magnificent obsession.

Advoiding Pitfalls Part 2

2007-12-14T09:19:00.001+13:00

4. Stay in touch with the real world.

Ministry is about loving people. (Duh!) But you will never develop compassion unless you are close enough to the grass roots to smell the poverty, lay hands on the sickness and cry with those who are in pain. The days are over when preachers can arrive in limousines to announce salvation. The Lord is requiring all His servants to come down to earth.

5. Don’t allow people to make you a celebrity.

Before Jesus began His ministry, the devil showed Him the kingdoms of the world and offered Him fame and fortune. The enemy of your soul will try to cut you a similar deal. Resist every urge to become a star. Don’t let people put you on a pedestal. If the spirit of entitlement is seducing you, humble yourself and wash some feet. That is what true ministry is about.

6. Make family a priority.

We have crusaded against abortion and gay marriage, yet at the same time many in our movement have neglected their spouses and children. People need to know that what we preach works at home. The Bible makes it plain: “But if a man does not know how to manage his own household, how will he take care of the church of God?” (1 Tim. 3:5, NASB). If we enforced this one biblical principle today, most of the shenanigans happening in charismatic leadership would end overnight.

Part 3 tommorow.

Advoiding pitfalls

2007-12-14T08:20:00.000+13:00

Recently a young pastor wrote J. Lee Grady, editor of the Charismatic/Pentecostal magazine Charisma and asked how he might avoid the pitfalls that other leaders have fallen into.

After all no one starts out planning to ruin their lives in a moral scandal. Grady gave some great advice which I am posting here. There are 9 so I am going to do this over 3 postings. To allow readers to digest and think about it All young leaders please read this, meditate upon it and put into action.

1. Live a humble, transparent life.

Just because you are a leader doesn’t mean you don’t have issues. You are a flawed, broken individual who has experienced the miracle of God’s mercy. Resist the temptation to live in denial about your weaknesses. Don’t take yourself too seriously.
Stay in close relationship with mature mentors and trusted peers who know your temptations, insecurities and any past addictions. Confess your sins to God and to your inner circle regularly.

2. Stay open to correction.

Many of those whose ministries are imploding today either worked in isolation or they surrounded themselves with yes men. As your ministry grows, increase the number of people who speak into your life.
If your colleagues are rubber-stamping everything you do, consider that a warning sign. If they tell you they can’t correct you because you are either authoritarian or subtly controlling, take a sabbatical and get counseling immediately.

3. Audit your actions regularly.

God watches the way we handle the little things. Are you telling the truth? Are you mishandling ministry finances? Are you “fudging” in any area of sexual purity? Do you have checks and balances set in place so that you always comply with the law?
God sees every Web site you visit, every personal expense you charge to your ministry account and every exaggeration (i.e., lie) you put in your newsletter.

Interested in your comments about this

Great Book

2007-12-11T08:35:00.000+13:00

I love the below paragraph from the book I am reading at the moment called ‘The Church Of Irrestible Influence” by Robert Lewis

It’s a very good book, insightful, inspiring and practical.

I love the church of Jesus Christ. I love the truth it stands for. I love the life it alone can give. Despite it shortcomings due to the open arms it offers sinners, it still remains the greatest force on earth for good.

Nothing else is like it or can match it, especially when it is healthy.It alone possesses the supernatural message of truth that can transform the worst of humanity in a instant, while unleashing the best of it over a lifetime.

Love it

Interested in your comments

Bula Fiji

2007-12-07T09:36:00.001+13:00

Hi all, just got back form Fiji, after having a wonderful time
Wow what a place, what an experience.

Glad I saw the many sides of Fiji, people who visit Fiji and only stay behind the four walls of the resort must miss out on experiencing true Fijian culture
I loved the rawness of the country, untouched by the many so-called advances of the modern world.
It was nice to step back in time, when life was without cell phones, internet, when people chatted to each other face to face rather than through a virtual world.

As you travel through life you find out that there are many things that divide people ,race,languaue,social and economic status to name a few.
But one language is universal, and that language crosses over every cultural, ethnic and social barrier ,the language of love.

They say people often forget what you say, sometimes they forget what you do, but the never forget how you make them feel.

Vinaka Fiji ,I certainly am a better person for the experience

Thankyou

2007-11-23T12:53:00.000+13:00

I will be taking the next week of from Blogging as I will me overseas with Amanda,we are going to Fiji to celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary.

Yes that's right 10 years ago on the 30th November 1997 , as a fresh faced 24 year old I pledged my wedding vows before God and others to Amanda.

And what I said back then ,I also say now with much deeper conviction.To know her just as a friend would be a privilege ,to have her as my wife , to have her as my helpmate and loyal companion is like a wonderful dream that you just don't want to wake up from.

I can honestly say that she is the greatest example of a Proverbs 31 women I know.

Thanks for the last 10 years Amanda

2007-11-22T11:35:00.000+13:00

I am taking a break from blogging for a few days,as I am heading away for a overseas trip
While their I want to take the time to do a personal stock-take on the last 12 months,by asking myself these following questions.

The ten questions leadership guru John Maxwell regularly asks himself provide a helpful springboard for a self-audit …

1. Am I investing in myself? This is a personal growth question.

2. Am I Genuinely Interested In Others? This is a motive question.

3. Am I Doing What I Love and Loving What I Do? This is a passion question.

4. Am I Investing My Time with the Right People? This is a relationship question.

5. Am I Staying in My Strength Zone? This is an effectiveness question.

6. Am I Taking Others to a Higher Level? This is a mission question.

7. Am I Taking Care of Today? This is a success question.

8. Am I Taking Time To Think? This is a leadership question.

9. Am I Developing Leaders? This is a legacy question.

10. Am I Pleasing God? This is an eternity question

Interested in your comments
Gods strength and blessings on your life while I am away
Jeremy

Character

2007-11-22T08:33:00.000+13:00

Another thought on Character

"The greatest tradgedy in christian leadership is when a leaders giftings is wanting to take them further than their character is willing to follow"

Great Minds

2007-11-20T13:02:00.000+13:00

Awesome Quote
"Great minds discuss ideas; Average minds discuss events; Small minds discuss people."

Character

2007-11-20T12:44:00.001+13:00

Thoughts on Character

Character is not what a person will be in the future. Character is what a person is at this present time. Pressure reveals the way a person really is.

Character is not how a person acts. Character is also how a person thinks, their motives and attitudes. To change one’s character one must go deeper than actions.

Character does not appear without pressure. A person’s true character surfaces when the heat is on.

Character is not just what people can see. Character is what other people do not see. Works are not always the sign of a good character. Man looks at the outward appearance but God looks at the heart.

Character is not limited to having wisdom to comment on the behavior of others. Intellectually knowing how to act, think and feel consistently with Bible principles may be a far cry from actually living in harmony with those principles.

Character is not limited to relationships between Christians. How a person interacts with unbelievers also demonstrates their true character.

Character is not limited to a person’s relationship with their spiritual family. It also shows in how he treats his natural family.

(Thoughts from Frank Damazio’s book 'The Making of a Leader')

Salvation or Sandwiches

2007-11-20T10:48:00.000+13:00

Bill Hybles, who pastors one of America’s largest churches, Willow Creek, was asked whether he thought it was more important for Christians to provide the hungry with salvation or a sandwich.

I liked his response …

“One of the great joys of my life has been to pastor a church that is unusually intentional about reaching people far from God. For 32 years now, I have had a front-row seat to observe how lost people get found and how found people get grown up. In my experience, the sandwich question is irrefutably answered as the Holy Spirit does his sanctifying work in the heart and mind of a freshly-redeemed person. What I mean by that is in virtually every case, when I see a life get transformed by the atoning work of Christ, it is not long before that new believer sees the plight of the poor.

"Usually within months of a person's salvation experience, there is both a sincere desire to pass on the message of Christ to any and all, and an equally intense desire to do whatever is necessary in the name of Christ to eradicate injustice, relieve oppression, and alleviate suffering of any kind. Selfless service of this sort isn’t normal according to human nature; purely and simply, the desires are born out of the work of the Holy Spirit.

"My point is that if new Christ-followers were not misguided by those who force an either-or mindset to the sandwich question, I am quite sure that the Holy Spirit himself would lead them eventually to adopt a both-and approach.

"In my teaching and leadership over the past several years, I have relied on two words to help keep our congregation at Willow Creek balanced on these issues: redeem and restore. I love how those two words fall phonetically, but more important, I love how they fall theologically. There’s nothing better than to see new believers around our church begin to weave those words into their everyday vocabulary; better still is when they begin to live them out in their everyday lives.”

I love it!

One Liners

2007-11-16T15:22:00.001+13:00

1.The will of God will never take you where the grace of God wont protect you

2.When does faith kick in ,at the end of our reach

3.Some minds are like concrete thoroughly mixed up and permantely set

4.The Task ahead is never as great as the Power behind us

5.I would rather be a wet walker walker than a dry boat talker

6.I would rather be a amateur eagle than a professional chicken

7.Today’s strutting peacocks can easily become tomorrow’s feather dusters."

8.Promotion doesn’t come from the east or the west it comes from God but it comes through people

9.Ministry that impresses heaven and ministry that impresses earth are polls apart.

10.Humility is not thinking less of yourself its thinking of yourself less

Its Better to Prepare than Repair

2007-11-16T09:42:00.000+13:00

Recently National Geographic ran an article about the Alaskan bull moose. The males of the species battle for dominance during the fall breeding season, literally going head-to-head with antlers crunching together as they collide.

Often the antlers, their only weapon are broken. That ensures defeat. The heftiest moose, with the largest and strongest antlers, triumphs. Therefore, the battle fought in the fall is really won during the summer, when the moose eat continually. The one that consumes the best diet for growing antlers and gaining weight will be the heavyweight in the fight. Those that eat inadequately sport weaker antlers and less bulk.

There is a lesson here for us. Spiritual battles await. Satan will choose a season to attack. Will we be victorious, or will we fall? Much depends on what we do now—before the wars begin. The bull-moose principle: Enduring faith, strength, and wisdom for trials are best developed before they’re needed.

Great Quote

2007-11-09T13:57:00.000+13:00

I love John Maxwell categorization of defining moments.

He said defining moments are ground breakers when you set a new direction in your life, heart breakers that force you to rearrange your life, cloud breakers when you see with greater clarity and chart breakers when you break through limitations that have held you back

Jesus or Barabbas

2007-11-09T12:25:00.000+13:00

I preached this twice recently, the second time it was spoken in English and translated into Cambodian.Here is an outline of the message

When God created Adam he gave Adam a garden, with it came instructions not just to tend the garden but to transform the garden , not just to maintain it but to modify it.

It the same with us today when he describes us as Salt, Light, he is saying we are people who are agents of change, people who are on this earth to make a difference. To live a life of significance, of influence and power.

I firmly believe that how much of this, we will actually become depends a lot on how serious we take this below verse.

Wanting to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them. He had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified.Mark 15:15

We are just like Pilate, we are in the same position faced with the same question.

For Pilate it was a case of who was he going to release into the crowd and who was he going to keep.For us its what are the things we need to keep hold of and what are the things we need to let go?

And it is a constant question, a constant choice, a constant place we find ourselves in as we walk through this journey of life, what are the things we need to let go of in life and what are the things we need to keep hold of.

We need to let go of the past, of resentment, regret, we need to let go of unforgiveness, low expectation, lordship over our own life

We need to keep hold of Gods promises, Gods truth, Gods Love, We need to keep hold of hope. We need to keep hold of one another

In your own personal life, which is getting the victory, what are you setting free and what are you holding on to.

What is you’re “Barabbas”, what does that represent in you? What is that “something” that you know runs rampant in you at the ultimate expense of your relationship with Jesus?

What is your Jesus and what does that represent to you?

Christianese

2007-11-08T08:20:00.000+13:00

This is the best definition of Sanctification I have ever heard

Its what happens when Jesus takes us out of the world,takes the world out of us and then sends us back into the world to make a difference

Breakthrough Evangelism

2007-11-07T08:13:00.000+13:00

I love the story in Mark chapter 2 about the 4 men carrying the person to Jesus on a stretcher

I used this story recently in a message I gave to highlight five attributes of people that bring others to Jesus. Here are some of my thoughts

Attribute 1# They understand you can't hide the presence of God
Mark 2vs 1

Jesus states our role as Christians is a transformational one Salt and Light
In the same way that salt is not designed to stay in a shaker,the church is never meant to be insular from the world .We are Gods hands and feet on the earth and we need to be seen and felt in the trenches of human experience .

God does not want his church to play hide and seek with the world where we hide and they seek us he wants us to play seek and save with the world where we seek them and he save them .

The unchurched have a deep awareness of God ,especially in a crisis.However they do not have an awareness of the church.When the unchurched think God they don't think church.To them the God of heaven has no earthy address.But the church is gods address on earth

That's why when my mate went through a painful marriage breakup,he went to his Mum for her purse ,his mates for the pub and me for prayer,because to him I am the church.

The truth is we are light ,some days you may feel you are a 30 watt, some days a 60 , or 100 watt bulb,it doesn't matter your light will shine, don't hide it

Attribute 2#They preach the gospel
Mark 2vs 2

In John 1:14 it says Jesus was full of grace and truth
Grace says I will love you no matter what, I call this influence
Truth says I will speak the truth no matter what, I call this evangelism

Jesus was the perfect combination of both and made this clear when he chose the passage of Luke 4:18-19 to describe his mission and his ministry

The Apostle Paul was as "eager to remember the poor" as he was as "eager to preach the gospel" .

By themselves grace and truth are dangerous
Grace without truth or influence without evangelism can be Christianity without a backbone, goodness without God

Likewise truth without grace or evangelism without influence can be Christianity without a heart , God without goodness.

As Christians we can influence many unchurched people but I don’t want to influence all and evangelise none. Influence is good, its necessary ,it’s kingdom, it’s salting, it’s touching people’s lives, but it’s not necessarily evangelism

No doubt there are many people in Hell who were influenced by the church but never evangelised. I don’t want to just influence my community, my work colleagues, school friends or neighbours; I also want to share Christ with them.

Great Quote

2007-11-07T08:06:00.000+13:00

"Until the future of the world matters more to the church than the future of the church..the church has no future."

One liners

2007-11-07T07:00:00.000+13:00

I love collecting one liners ,short and sharp statements that make a point stand out . Here are some that I like

1."The work of the Lord can never become more important than the Lord of the work.

"2 "If you don't live by priorities you'll live by pressures."

3 "If your output exceeds your input, then your upkeep will be your downfall."

4 "The job of the pastor is not to meet everybody's needs but to make sure everybody's needs are met."

5 "It's sad to see men and women who signed up to become fishers of men settling down and becoming keepers of aquariums."

6""A missionary is not one who crosses the sea. A missionary is one who sees cross the fence.

7 "God doesn’t call the qualified he qualifies the called

Be a Conducter not an Insulator

2007-11-03T08:21:00.000+13:00

On January 21, 1930, the name of Harold Vidian became synonymous with heroism. On that day, England’s King George V was scheduled to give the opening address at the London Arms Conference.

The king’s message was to be sent by radio all around the world.A few minutes before the king was to speak, a member of the CBS staff tripped over an electrical wire and broke it, cutting off the whole American audience. With no hesitation, chief control operator Harold Vidian grasped one end of the broken wire in his right hand and the other in his left, thus restoring the circuit. Electricity surged through his body.

Ignoring the pain, Vidian held on until the king had finished his address.

I see in this a challenge for Christians. The message of the King of kings must go to the whole world. But only as we allow God’s power to pass through us can the Lord’s saving gospel be transmitted.Paul wrote, "How shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard?" If we are willing to serve as conduits, regardless of the cost to us, the good news will be proclaimed around the world.

In the Classic book by Dr. Seuss…Green Eggs and Ham. Sam I am wanted his friend to eat Green Eggs and Ham.If Sam had been of a "take it or leave it" type Christian than when his friend said, "I do not like them Sam-I-Am, I do not like green eggs and ham." then Sam would have said, "OK. No problem" and that would have been the end of the story.

Sam would have happily gone on his way and his friend would never have experienced the joy of eating green eggs and ham. But no, Sam wasn't content to take no for an answer. Luckily for his friend, Sam perservered and kept on trying; because he new how important it was that his friend make the decision to try green eggs and ham.

We need to be Sam I am's
We must allow the power to flow through us if it is going to do any good.

Great quote

2007-11-03T08:07:00.000+13:00

It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; because there is not effort without error and shortcomings; but who does actually strive to do the deed; who knows the great enthusiasm, the great devotion, who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement and who at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly. So that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.”

Theodore Roosevelt(American 26th US President)

Walking on Water

2007-11-02T14:07:00.000+13:00

John Ortberg in his book "If you want to walk on the water ,you have to get out of the boat" highlights several principles from Peters experience in matthew 14 ,and uses other examples in scripture to show us that their is a consistent pattern that people go through ,when they step out in faith to experience more of the power and the presence of God

1.There is always a call.

God asks an ordinary person to engage in an act of extraordinary trust, that of getting out of the boat.

2.There is always fear.

God has a habit of asking people to do things that are scary to them.
It may be a fear of inadequacy (“I am slow of speech and slow of tongue,” Moses said
It may be a fear of failure “The land we explored devours those who live in it, cried the spies sent out to the Promised Land”.
It may even be a fear of God (“For I knew you were a hard man, seeking to reap where you did not sow,” claimed the servant in Jesus parable.
But one way or another, their will be fear.

3.There is always reassurance.

God promises his presence (the Lord is with you, Mighty warriour!”An angel assures Gideon who had certainly never been addressed by that title before).God also promises to give whatever gifts are needed to fulfil his assignment (“I will help you to speak, and teach you what to say” he tells stuttering Moses)

4.There is always a decision.

Sometimes, as with Moses and Gideon, people say yes to Gods call .Sometimes, as with the 10 frightened spies, or the rich young ruler who spoke with Jesus, they say no. But always people must decide.

5.There is always a changed life.

Those who say yes to Gods call don’t walk the walk perfectly –not by a long shot .But because they say yes to God ,they learn and grow even from their failures .And they become part of his actions to redeem the world .
Those who say no are changed to .They become a little harder ,a little more resistant to his calling ,a little more likely to say no the next time .What ever the decision it changes a life –and it changes the world that little life touches

3rd "Gut Check Question"

2007-11-02T10:57:00.000+13:00

#3 - Am I Understanding How Big God Is?

In the book of Matthew chapter 16 Jesus states he has given the church authority and influence to build and to advance his Kingdom on earth but to what decree that this will be done is wrapped up in the question he asks to Peter “Who do you say I am”

When you think of God, what comes to mind?
A.W. Tozer once said, “We tend by a secret law of the soul to move toward our mental image of God.” If our ideas about God are coming from the wrong places, then our God will be too small.

God’s Word, His Son, and creation give us ideas about the Creator. In Romans 1, Paul tells us that creation reveals God’s glory, but men have suppressed this knowledge

I think many Christians live with a “God in a Box.” We put parameters on God that do not really hold true. We create fences rather than gateways. By doing this, we create our own notion of God instead of believe in God as he shows himself to us. We have made a God that is explainable, bound up by the human mind and only as powerful as we will let him be, as a result we limit His ability to work in us and to bless others through our lives.

We will need to let God out of the box of our limited understanding and imagination if we are to become all that He wants us to be. We will need to let God be GOD!

Is God getting bigger as you get to know him more?

2nd "Gut Check Question"

2007-11-01T09:50:00.000+13:00

One of my favorite things I do once a year is watch reruns of the Rocky movies not that I am a huge fan of boxing -but I love the thought of the ordinary guy overcoming the odds and becoming a champion .One of my favorite quotes of Rocky 3 is when Mick turns to Rocky and says.

"But then the worst thing happened that could happen to any fighter,you got civilised

I dont believe that Christ has called us to a passive Faith ,where we just sit out our time on earth playing it safe while waiting for Christs return . Faith is spelt RISK ,and it doesnt matter to what degree that is ,as much as to the fact that we are taking them .When I say "them" I mean doing the things that cause our spirit to soar and our stomach to sink

I never want to be one of those leaders who only say , “Well, you know, I am praying about it!” Many Christians can often use prayer as an excuse for inactivity…but because it sounds spiritual then no one can argue. (please hear this in the context of risk)

I laugh when I read I Samuel 17, the story of David and Goliath.
In reading that story it is clear in I Samuel 17:16 that the Israelites were held in bondage for 40 days by the giant.
I am sure they prayed for God to remove the giant…maybe they sang songs to God about what a giant killer He was…or better yet, they began Bible studies on how to kill a giant. BUT–it wasn’t until David walked down into the valley and cut off the big fellas head off ,that people were set free.

David took a risk. Peter took a risk and because he did he is known as a wet water walker rather than only a dry boat talker

What is the risk that God wants you to take.Take a walk and see what Christ will do