A Kingdom Divided

03/26/11

Greetings,

                I hope this letter finds everyone doing well. We’ll begin this week with the fact that the body of Christ is the extension of God’s kingdom into the earth. We are all members of this same kingdom. God does not have a Baptist kingdom, a Lutheran kingdom, and a Charismatic kingdom. He has His kingdom, and when we receive Jesus as our Lord and Savior we begin to participate in it. The kingdom of God is the dimension wherein God is king. Look at what Jesus says regarding kingdoms in general.

                “And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand:” (Matthew 12:25)

                What is desolation?  The Greek word translated desolation is eremoo which means to lay waste or to come to nought. To come to nought means to come to nothing. This means that division brings a kingdom that was originally wonderful and properly ordered to nothing. Division is a destructive force. Arguments and discord are destructive forces. We are the kingdom of God and we are divided against ourselves. As a result, we fight against the purposes and plans of God and bring the extension of His kingdom in the earth to desolation.

                There is a table in the book The Bridger Generation by Thom S Rainer (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Homan Publishers, 1997). Some of you may be familiar with this information but for those that aren’t, this is the situation at hand.

·         Builders (born 1927-1945): 65% Bible-based believers

·         Boomers (born 1946-1964): 35% Bible-based believers

·         Busters (born 1965-1983): 16% Bible-based believers

·         Bridgers (or Millenials, born 1984 or later): 4% Bible based believers

These numbers are not moving in a positive direction. In fact, some have projected that this nation is on the verge of losing an entire generation to the agenda of the enemy. This sounds to me like something coming to nothing. This sounds to me like desolation.

I want to simply address things in a straightforward manner in this letter. Many times we have backwards thinking. Backwards thinking is entertaining a thought process that takes us backwards. For instance if I own a company and I want to increase productivity I must do something proactive. If I do nothing, I can expect that nothing will change. Doing nothing encourages the activity that is already taking place because human nature perceives that if nothing is being addressed, nothing needs to be changed. We are creatures of habit.

Let’s say that I as the same business owner decide to take action. My great idea is to put all of my workers in separate buildings and ensure that they have no communication with one another. This is backwards thinking. This will decrease productivity and increase cost. It will stifle all operations. By stifling operations, this activity will take the business backwards, not forwards.

If we are under the assumption that denominations work, we have backwards thinking. If we are under the assumption all churches can serve God separately and expect Him to change society, we have backwards thinking. These concepts don’t work because if they did, they would be working. I know this sounds absolutely ridiculous but it needs to be said. If the systems of “advancing God’s kingdom” that are in place worked, then the statistics of society would reflect that. When statistics do not reflect that, we can only conclude on one thing. What we are doing is not working.

Backwards thinking argues that it will work later. Backwards thinking argues that eventually, if we just keep doing the same thing we’ve always done, the results will change. Backwards thinking argues that unity is impossible, and because it is too hard, there must be other alternatives. As for me, I reject backwards thinking. There is only one problem—what about everyone else?

How do you tell someone that thinks backwards that they need to shift the “gear box” in their brain? Sometimes when I think about the body of Christ I think about NASCAR. These are a collection of the most finely tuned and powerful cars in the world. What a race they run! However, if NASCAR was the body of Christ we could expect that some of the cars would start the race in reverse. Those driving in reverse represent those with backwards thinking. Throughout the race there would be constant chaos and devastating accidents. Even the cars that are trying to go forward would be getting knocked off the road by the cars going in reverse. This represents the dichotomy in the body of Christ between those that are trying to move forward in the midst of those with backwards thinking.

How frustrating if every time we went to watch NASCAR, we saw the same phenomenon? The race would start, some of the cars would go backwards, and everyone would end up in a wreck. Let’s take a look at what Jesus says one more time.

“And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand:” (Matthew 12:25)

I have a question for you. Is Satan responsible for bringing the kingdom of God into desolation? Some may answer with a resounding YES! They may say that our difficulties are his fault entirely. Here’s a second question: since when was Satan more powerful than God? Desolation comes when a kingdom divides against itself. Think about the NASCAR example. When all that happens is a crash and pile up at the beginning of every race, it’s easy to get disillusioned about the entertainment value of tuning into NASCAR. I’d argue that their ratings would eventually drop to all-time lows. Even a box car derby that has all the cars going in one direction and getting somewhere would be more effective at bringing in ratings. We are so busy getting nowhere, that we are entranced by the limited effectiveness of Satan’s box car derby when it steals our fire.

As long as we are divided, Satan’s box car derby will be more effective. Of course, our backwards thinking enforces our division and we in essence have been digging our own proverbial grave. It’s time to get a grip. When we do God has awesome things in store, leading up to entire geographies that will manifest the kingdom of heaven on earth before the return of Jesus. Let’s lay down our backwards thinking and get with the program. It’s time to unify the church—plain and simple.

Discussion

1.       What leads to desolation in a kingdom?

2.       What is backwards thinking?

3.       What are some examples of backwards thinking in the church today?

4.       How has your thinking about unity in the church been backwards?

5.       Is Satan to blame for all of our problems as the church?

The Legos Example

3/19/11

Greetings,

                When I was young I used to love to build with Legos. The fun that I derived from them came through a process. The process would begin with a birthday, Christmas, or a random gesture of grace from my parents. At these times I would get a brand new set! The Lego set would come in a pretty box that included bags of unassembled pieces and an instruction book. I would use the instruction book to put the Legos together one step at a time until I reached the last page and the set was complete. As promised, it would look just like the picture on the box.

                The second phase would come within a few minutes. After I was done admiring the work and showing it to anyone around, I would play with it. The only problem was that once the Lego set was assembled the interaction with the toy was limited. After a few hours, or maybe a few days, I would take it apart and add the pieces to a huge box of other disassembled Lego bricks. I would use these bricks to build inventions of my own imagination. This is where the majority of the fun came from.

                We are like the Lego bricks that I used to play with. We are all necessary parts of the body of Christ. When we all come together it reveals Jesus. We all have a purpose and a design dedicated to fulfilling that purpose. Every brick that comes with the Lego set is designed specifically to establish one aspect of that project. There may be some identical pieces or pieces that appear particularly unique, but even so, they are all necessary. Without the presence of the other bricks the individual pieces can never fulfill their ultimate purpose. Every piece joins with the other pieces to correctly assemble the set. They are all members of the same project.

“For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office: So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another. “ (Romans 12:4-5)

We must work towards properly fitting together believers in the local church. The local church is kind of like the Lego set that comes in the box on birthdays or at Christmas. Every time God births a new local church, He has a vision for it like the picture that is displayed on the outside of the Lego box. Each believer that joins that church, when properly trained and released, becomes a necessary piece of that set.

Every Lego set builds something unique. Whether it is a plane and runway, a setting from a recent movie, or a spaceship, every Lego set creates something innovative. How successful would Lego be if all they sold were one kind of block? Would it make any sense to only include 300 pieces that all looked exactly the same? How boring. Our churches were never intended to produce cookie cutter Christians.

Moreover, what if the Lego set only included half of the necessary pieces? Although the set required the use of all of the pieces, any piece designated “female” was left out. Obviously the finished product would have more than a few holes. We might even have to implement the use of “foreign” objects to compensate for the lack: possibly toothpicks, Elmer’s glue, pebbles, and so forth. Let us take a lesson from Lego. Our churches were never meant to be built on the gifts and callings of men only. Junia was a woman who held the apostolic office in the early church—this was no coincidence.

“Salute Andronicus and Junia, my kinsmen, and my fellow-prisoners, who are of note among the apostles, who also were in Christ before me.” (Romans 16:7)

Unity comes by embracing the gifts, talents, and abilities of others regardless of how unique or exceptional they may be. Let’s pretend that there were only 300 purposes that God distributed throughout the whole earth. Forcing others to fulfill the same purpose would only allow 1 out of every 300 people to embrace their destiny. Destiny can only be achieved when it is in line with the purpose for which we were created. With that said, imagine that there are as many purposes as there are people. Every person is unique, and every person has their unique set of gifts, talents, and abilities. Achieving a common vision or goal comes by properly utilizing and coordinating the talents and callings of those that are present in our local bodies, not by training others to reject their purpose because it isn’t understood.

When building a Lego set from the box we must use the instruction booklet. Our instruction booklet is the word of God, rightly divided. This includes the Bible and the word He speaks to us today through the Holy Spirit. This allows us to use the pieces that come in the set the right way. If we don’t use the instruction book we are likely to build the set the wrong way. Like the picture on the box of the Lego set, God has a vision for every local body. Not only must the local body define this vision, but it must receive God’s plan for building it. This involves hearing from God and fitting the callings and talents of the body together in a way that will properly assemble God’s purpose. The natural result of using the instruction booklet to build a Lego set is a properly built project. The natural result of properly fitting together the gifts and callings of a body are unity and fulfillment of corporate purpose.

Once the corporate purpose is being fulfilled it is amazing to look at. The builder can begin to play with the creation and experiment with all of its functions. Unfortunately, this is where the parable runs into a problem. When I would finish building the Lego set and had spent some time playing with it I would get bored. Once a body begins to achieve its purpose, the vision must expand. Consider another example. When I have a checklist and I complete every item on that check list, it’s good for nothing but to become recycled paper.  The only way to renew the purpose of a check list is to add new items to the checklist so that I can continue to use it to meet my goals.

Once a local church has achieved God’s vision for it corporately, its vision needs to immediately expand. It is not an entity unto itself but part of something larger. Once I had finished playing with the Lego set, it was time to break it apart and add it to the box of other Lego sets. I would then use these pieces to build inventions of my own imagination. The only way I could achieve the construction of these new and revelatory projects was to combine the elements of the individual sets. This is what God wants to do with the body of Christ. God has plans for His body that have not yet entered into our imaginations, but when we are ready He promises to reveal them to us by His Spirit.

“But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.” (1 Corinthians 2:9-10)

                We first need to settle that in order to achieve the corporate purpose of a local church we need to use the members of our body as they were intended to be used. We must stop training people to reject their purpose because of religion, fear, and insecurity. Second, we must not only receive God’s vision for the local body but also establish His plan for achieving it. Third, we must understand that God has significant purposes for Christians beyond their local body. God wants to use us in citywide, statewide, and nationwide projects that require members from different bodies to come together according to the purposes in His heart.

Discussion

1.       What do the individual Lego blocks represent?

2.       What does the use of an instruction book to assemble a Lego set represent?

3.       What does the picture on the box of the Lego set represent?

4.       What needs to happen when a local church begins to achieve its vision?

5.       What does building new inventions using pieces from various Lego sets represent?

The Father's Love

3/12/11

Greetings,

                This week we are going to be focusing on the Father’s heart. We often find it easy to identify with the person of the Godhead named Jesus. After all, He is the one that died for us. It is also in the power of the name of Jesus that we pray. Even regarding the works of the Holy Spirit, the purpose is to bring glory to the Son. The gospel we preach is the gospel of Jesus Christ. Where does the Father fit into this and what is His heart?

                In the Old Testament, we find a lot of information regarding the Father. He calls Himself Jehovah, El Shaddai, I AM, YHWH, and many other names. In the process of reading the Old Testament, it is not uncommon for people to get disillusioned. When they see the strictness of God and the way He destroyed the enemies of Israel and at times the nation of Israel itself it creates questions.  When they see descriptions of God as angry or jealous (consider Judges 2:14) some have concluded that He must be bitter. With this perspective it becomes almost necessary to view Jesus as our “get out of jail free card.” In other words, Jesus is the only reason that we can find love or favor from God.

                This problem is compounded by the nature of men and the faults they have as earthly fathers. Jesus is Jesus, and there is only one. However, the word “father” will always come with a lens. When I put on pink sunglasses, everything is tinted pink. Likewise, when I put on black sunglasses, everything is tinted black. Our “lens” impacts the way we process what we are experiencing.

The word “father” will first bring memories and associations we have made with our natural father and other father figures in our lives. These memories become a lens through which we initially view our heavenly Father. If our father figures were abusive, that will be our initial perspective of our heavenly Father. If our father figures were distant, that will be our initial perspective of our heavenly Father. In other words, we project our earthly experience with father figures onto our heavenly Father.

                When it comes to understanding the “Father’s heart” this phrase will initially mean many things to many people. It will have as many meanings as there are earthly experiences with fathers. Anytime we approach teaching on the Father, terms need to be defined, and barriers need to be broken. What issues are you overcoming when you consider your earthly father? When you consider the thoughts that immediately come to mind when posed with this question, you have an initial idea of what stands between you and embracing the truth of the Father’s heart towards you.

                The crux of the matter is found in the following verse:

                “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)

                The essence of the Father’s heart is love. Every characteristic of the Father, whether found in the Old or New Testament must be understood through this lens. This is the only lens of truth. Any other revelation of the Father’s heart that excludes His love is false, erroneous, and unacceptable. Without the Father’s love, there would be no Jesus. Jesus is the express image of the Father (Hebrews 1:3).

                Think about what was necessary for God to send the Messiah. Before Jesus could begin His ministry, a forerunner had to come. This forerunner was John the Baptist. What do you think was meant when the Bible says he had to make straight the paths?

                “As it is written in the prophets, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.” (Mark 1:2-3)

                John the Baptist preached a message of repentance. He was actually Elijah who was prophesied to return (Matthew 11:14), and His mission was to turn the hearts of the children to the fathers and the hearts of the fathers to the children. In order to prepare the way for Jesus, the people first had to be prepared to embrace the Father. This was the root, the source, the inspiration, and the great underlying motive of John’s work. Think about that. The work of Jesus was only permitted after a work of reconciliation between the Father and the children. The work of Jesus was a result of the Father’s heart; it was not in spite of it. When people heeded John’s preaching he would baptize them in water for the remission of sins. Bringing reconciliation between the Father and the children made straight the paths for Jesus.

“Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD: And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.” (Malachi 4:5-6)

It is amazing to think that we can accept the love of Jesus and reject the love of the Father, but believe it or not this is true for many Christians. For instance, how is it possible for a perfect heavenly Father to accept us when our imperfect earthly father rejected us? Within the human mind this naturally presents a gap in logic. It simply makes no sense that perfection could love and accept what imperfection despised. Furthermore, how can we trust a being with infinite power and authority when we have had our trust betrayed by men with extremely limited power and authority? The fear of having our trust betrayed by God can be crippling. This is even worse in cases where the enemy has deceived individuals into believing that their trust has already been betrayed by God.

The question remains: What is the Father’s heart towards you? He sings over you and has true and passionate joy over you (Zephaniah 3:17). A full expression of Him and His heart could kill your mortal body (Exodus 33:20). Not even the death of His own Son would hinder His purpose to provide a means of eternal acceptance for you (John 3:16, Ephesians 1:6). He wanted Jesus to die for you more than Jesus Himself wanted to die for you—remember that Jesus asked the Father if there were any other way (Matthew 26:39). You are the reason why it pleased the Father to bruise His Son (Isaiah 53:10).

                It is one thing to view ourselves in perspective with the Father’s heart. It is another revelation entirely to view our brethren with this perspective. God’s heart is the same towards all of His children, and His desire is that we look upon each other through His eyes. Unity is the Father’s heart for us. He wants us to become one, and this unity is to be established under the umbrella of the revelation of His love for each of us. He wants us to see ourselves and our brethren as He sees us, and regard ourselves and our brethren as He regards us. Consider that Jesus only spoke what He heard His Father saying.

“For I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak.” (John 12:49)

In the following prayer of Jesus, we will see Him revealing the Father’s heart for those that would go on to believe in Him. He prays that we would be united in the same way He and the Father are one. Unity is a work of reconciliation and therefore it is a work of the Father’s heart.  For many of us, this thought seems out of touch with reality, but whose reality is winning in your life… yours or God’s?

“And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are.” (John 17:11)

Discussion

1.       How has the relationship with your earthly father affected your ability to relate to your heavenly Father?

2.       Have you forgiven your earthly father for the ways in which he has let you down?

3.       When you think about your heavenly Father, what are the first thoughts that come to mind?

4.       How can your embrace of the Father’s love impact your ability to love others?

5.       What is the Father’s heart for the body of Christ?

The River of God

3/5/11

Greetings,

                God created nature and nature is beautiful. Make no mistake; I am not a fan of the pollen, the mosquitoes, and everything else that reminds us that the earth is under a curse. However, even with the flaws of our planet, it is incredible what a midnight walk on the beach without shoes can do for the soul. It is incredible how sitting up in a tree rooted on the edge of a flowing river strikes peace, pleasure, and satisfaction into our hearts.

                This week we are going to talk about the rivers. What do rivers have to do with unity or the Word of God? In the millennial kingdom, meaning the 1000 year period that Jesus rules on the earth after His second coming, a river will flow from the temple that will bring healing.

                “Then brought he me out of the way of the gate northward, and led me about the way without unto the utter gate by the way that looketh eastward; and, behold, there ran out waters on the right side… Then said he unto me, These waters issue out toward the east country, and go down into the desert, and go into the sea: which being brought forth into the sea, the waters shall be healed. And it shall come to pass, that every thing that liveth, which moveth, whithersoever the rivers shall come, shall live: and there shall be a very great multitude of fish, because these waters shall come thither: for they shall be healed; and every thing shall live whither the river cometh.” (Ezekiel 47:2, 8-9)

We will witness life and healing everywhere this river goes. The Bible also prophetically describes another river. After the millennial rule God will create a new heaven and a new earth. In this new earth there will yet again be a river, and from this river will spring forth the tree of life whose leaves are specifically for the healing of the nations.

“And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.” (Revelation 22:1-2)

Rivers in the Word of God bring healing. We can identify with this even now. There are entire CD’s that are sold with little more than recordings of flowing rivers. The effects of a flowing river are tremendous upon the soul. They refresh our feelings and emotions, they bring tranquility, they help us to process and organize our thoughts, and in the solitude of their presence we cannot help but unwind. Is it any wonder that the Bible describes rivers as bringing healing? However, the temporary and limited healing effects that rivers have today will be supernaturally amplified by God in coming ages.

In the Bible, water is symbolically representative of the Word of God. Below I have inserted brackets to bring context to the verse.

“That he [God] might sanctify and cleanse it [the church] with the washing of water by the word” (Ephesians 5:26)

This verse explains that God’s Word has the effect of water on the church, and with it we are washed and made clean. The Bible contains the Word of God. Jesus is also called the Word of God in John 1. This is why Jesus and His Word are one. Jesus is the word made flesh (John 1:14). In essence, when God washes us in the water of His word He is washing us with the perfume and essence of Jesus. The more we are washed, the more we look like, smell like, think like, and live like Jesus. This is what the Bible means by the word sanctification. The word “sanctify” means to set apart.

In order to be washed by water, we need a continual supply of fresh water. Showers are a relatively new invention. Before the existence of indoor plumbing, baths were taken in buckets, in public baths, and in rivers. All of these methods of cleansing allowed for a fresh supply of water to be brought in and used. On the same tangent the Bible is the living Word of God. The Bible is always relevant, as the Holy Spirit has an unlimited supply of fresh water with which to spiritually wash us. If the Bible were not the living Word, eventually it would stagnate and become lifeless.

Have you ever seen dirty bath water? It can get fairly gross. Now imagine a game of football in the mud. If one bathtub of water were intended to be the cleansing agent for the entire Pittsburg Steelers football team, what would that water look like after 80 to 90 players all took their turn, one at a time, scrubbing down their mud, filth, sweat, and blood in the same bathtub. First of all, it should be pointed out that after the first few players got done with this water, it would no longer be sufficient for cleansing. Most of the players that got in this water would come out dirtier and smellier than they were when they got it. Now imagine that after they all got done, you had to refresh your thirst with the same water.

The Bible has something interesting to say about the river during the millennium. The millennium is something that is not well understood by most, primarily because it is assumed that it has no relevance to our lives today. This couldn’t be further from the truth, but for today let us focus on one aspect of this coming world. Not all of it will be fully healed after Jesus returns. Consider the following passage:

“But the miry places thereof and the marishes thereof shall not be healed; they shall be given to salt.” (Ezekiel 47:11)

This verse comes from the same passage that was quoted at the beginning of this letter. It makes a reference to swamps and marshes that will not be healed in the millennium. Instead, they will be given to salt. Why? They are not connected to the life source present in the river. Whenever water stagnates, it becomes gross, polluted, and undesirable.

Now let’s consider this symbolically. The river is God’s Word that washes, cleanses, and makes new. God’s Word brings healing. However, the marshes will not experience God’s healing. The reason is that they are not connected to the source of the water. They simply have taken some of the water, separated themselves from the source, and let the water stagnate. This is the Word that is unconnected from the source in populations of God’s people. They will not receive healing.

In order to bring unity to the body of Christ much healing will be required. People must be healed personally, families must see restoration, and leaders must reconcile. This power to bring this healing only comes with a constant supply of fresh water. There are groups within Christianity that refuse fresh water. They have built walls around themselves and made themselves into marshes. They are the football players that shower and drink out of the same bathtub. They suffer spiritual death and decay and think that they are doing God a favor. They will not receive healing, and many will be unable to unite. Even in the millennium, the actual marshes that scripture refers to will not receive healing.

God is against exclusivity, segregation, and stagnation. Please, do not reject the word of unity for the sake of doctrine. Many have rejected truth for the sake of doctrine. There is no nobility in rejecting unity because Minister X disagrees with “line 28 on page 302” of your denominational handbook of doctrine. There is no nobility in this. Do not become a marsh; step out into the river and find refreshing, healing, peace, and restoration.

Discussion

1.       How does time spent in solitude around flowing water affect you personally? How do you see God in this?

2.       Symbolically, what does water represent?

3.       Symbolically, what can a river represent?

4.       Have you ever witnessed a spiritual marsh? What are the qualities and characteristics of such places?

5.       Considering the issue of unity in the body of Christ, where do you stand at this point in time?