Easter Exhortation

4/23/11

Greetings,

I hope this letter finds everyone doing wonderfully. Instead of a letter this week, I am simply going to give an exhortation. Jesus suffered the most painful death possible for the sins of me and you. This weekend we keep that in remembrance, along with His resurrection and victory. His death was for all of us. When we reject and mistreat other Christians, we mistreat the very people that Jesus died for. This Easter, as you celebrate the resurrection of Jesus, remember that we are all one in Him. God bless you.

“By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.” (John 13:35)

Personal Testimony (Daniel Duval)

4/16/11

Greetings,

                This week is going to be slightly different than most. When I was praying about what to write in this letter, God said to simply open up about myself. Since I virtually never write about myself I was taken off-guard. After a short time of meditation, I realized that this was a fantastic idea (God’s ideas are always fantastic). I am going to focus on my testimony of overcoming difficulties I’ve encountered in the body of Christ. If my message is unity, it is good to see how I live this out.

                I want to begin by saying that my message was not originally unity. In fact, based on my experience one would think that this would be the last message God would give to someone like me. When I gave my life back to Jesus my first revelation was that without God life has no meaning or purpose. It was very straightforward, but it was absolutely profound to me. I had a revelation that apart from God, the only purpose I could achieve was a counterfeit. In my excitement and zeal for God I started to write a novel to explain this revelation (which ultimately came to nothing). This was the first evidence of my excessive desire to do something for God.

                After this, I came across some material that opened my eyes to flaws in the Roman Catholic Church and their way of doing things. I wanted to become a campus activist and begin passing out anti-Catholic propaganda. I assembled a team and developed an action plan. Fortunately nothing came of it. How foolish I was, to think that attacking others would bring fruit and glorify God—I was still immature. Some look at how Jesus addressed the Pharisees calling them “a brood of vipers” and make that their concept for ministry. There is a time for this type of stand, but it is not often. These people don’t understand that this was a response of Jesus to the attacks of the Pharisees against Him; Jesus did not hunt them down to attack their false doctrine. He preached the truth to the people, and the truth gave the Pharisees more problems than anything else, because the truth set the people free.

                As I sought out God He transformed every aspect of my life. My character improved, my attitude improved, I stopped getting drunk, I got delivered from pornography, and I began to hang out more and more with Christian people. I distanced myself from my party friends and although it was difficult at first, it was for the best. I committed myself to a church and submitted myself to the discipleship process of one of the pastors.

                I began to attend this church at the outset of 2006 and by spring of 2007 I got myself kicked out. I disagreed with the head pastor on an issue, and I was not permitted to stay unless I chose to agree with him and abandon what had been revealed to me. At this point I had to pray earnestly (and so would anyone else in this position). The fact of the matter is, if I was wrong and I left carrying my error, it could have led to significant destruction in my life. On the other hand, if God was leading me where the leadership would not take me, then by leaving I would be allowing God the room He needed. After I had a firm conviction that I had heard from God, I left. I still wonder what God was thinking when He assigned me the message of unity because with such a controversial start to my walk with Him it begs the question. I imagine it went something like this. Look at this guy! He’s perfect for this message of unity. He is so haphazard… getting kicked out of churches and stuff… and he’s extremely efficient.  He’ll probably even be willing to pick up two additional messages that will make people hate him. Let’s see… yup he did. Hahaha! (Of course I’m kidding!)

                I was endowed not only the message of unity, but the reality of nephilim (if you read my book you’ll understand), and the understanding of a post-tribulation rapture. Taking this a step further: I flow in the gifts of the Holy Spirit, I cast out demons, and yes, I do keep tabs on the developing global conspiracy to bring about a New Age with a New World Order! My position is basically as controversial as possible. In spite of this, I am also preaching unity of the church. In the natural, this sounds like backwards thinking. It feels like backwards thinking too!

                My life is not easy by any stretch of the imagination. A lot of people would like to argue with me, put me down, and tell their Christian friends to steer clear of me. Of course, no one can argue the scriptural validity of what I say; they just don’t want to hear it.

                In the face of all of my obstacles, God expects me to be a model for my message. Talk about tough! However, by His grace I do it. Most people that talk to me will realize that I am one of the most difficult people to argue with. Why? One reason is because we are not to preach through strife or vain glory but of good will. We need to understand that strife is not just a noun, it is a spirit.

“Some indeed preach Christ even of envy and strife; and some also of good will:” (Philippians 1:15)

 Two, we must understand what the Bible means when it instructs us to speak the truth in love.

                “That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:” (Ephesians 4:14-15)

                Speaking the truth in love is not something for novices. This ability identifies that an individual is growing up into all things, even Christ. I define speaking the truth in love as: speaking the right truth, at the right time, with the right motive. This is hard. This requires a state of being perpetually led by the Spirit. This means that I am also being continually filled by the Spirit (Ephesians 5:18). Unity requires that we press on towards maturity. When people tell me things I know to be false, I will wait for a green light from the Holy Spirit before a rebuttal. If no green light comes, I stay quiet, and they leave feeling justified. The Holy Spirit knows if my response will bear fruit, and fruit is my number one concern above being right or being heard.

                This is how I can balance my difficult disposition with my call and vision. I know plenty of truth that I don’t communicate at all. I don’t communicate it because there will not be fruit. As I continue to honor God with my heart, with my submission to authority I may disagree with, and with my respect for my brothers and sisters in the body of Christ; I will see continual promotion. As I am faithful, God gives me platforms and opens doors to communicate the vision that He has put inside of me. In this way I can continue to influence people according to the vision on the inside of me, and maintain a bond of unity to the greatest degree possible.

I will add that this can only work when I am on God’s side. If I have other agendas in my heart, God will not promote me, and I’ll be fighting with everyone else to get heard. Since my messages are inspired, I have perfect confidence and perfect peace. This is modeled in the angel’s response to Joshua upon entering the Promised Land (Joshua 5:13-15). Joshua encountered the angel that was the captain of the Lord’s army. When asking whose side the angel is on, Joshua gives the angel two options: our side or their side. The angel simply responds, “No.” Joshua asked if God was on his side, but the angel’s answer reveals to us that Joshua was getting on God’s side.

The armies of God are on God’s side. When I am on God’s side, His armies fight for me. As a matter of fact, I can even command His armies according to His Word. This confidence comes from being on His side, and I have no excuse for not trusting in His power and keeping a bond of peace. I know that when people come against me, they really come against God. Like God told Paul, “It is hard to kick against the goads.” Goads at that time were basically spear heads. Ever kick a spear head? This is what it’s like trying to stand in the way of God’s agenda, or the people he uses to accomplish it.

In closing this letter, I simply want to say that in this hour God’s army is fighting for unity. Unity is going to come as we naturally desire to get on God’s side. Most of the harshest divisions in the body of Christ erupt when two people or two groups take positions that are both out of line with God’s Word and plan. For example, someone might say 1+1=3 and another might say 1+1=4. Both are wrong and since neither has truth, this will be the most vicious dispute. How can either side settle on the wrong conclusion with a good conscience?

Discussion

1.       How do you respond to your brothers and sisters in Christ when they say something you don’t agree with?

2.       What is your heart motive when it comes to discussing differences in perspective with other Christians?

3.       Are you confident that you are on God’s side, or do you try to get Him on your side?

4.       How do you receive correction when it comes from the Word of God?

5.       What is your heart when considering the issue of submission to authority?

Unity and the History of Israel

4/9/11

Greetings,

                This week we are going to take a peek into Israel’s history. Israel first began to become powerful in the incubator of Egypt.

“And the children of Israel were fruitful, and increased abundantly, and multiplied, and waxed exceeding mighty; and the land was filled with them.” (Exodus 1:7)

When the Egyptians saw how much Israel had multiplied and how powerful they were becoming their solution was to oppress and enslave them (Exodus 1:8-11). The move to enslave Israel was not a move of convenience or practicality. It was a decision based upon fear. They were afraid that a rebellion from the people of Israel would result in their downfall. It is important to point out that this occurred during Egypt’s role as the world power. Israel was just getting started as a nation, and the inherent power that they possessed eluded them.

The same is true of the body of Christ. After the ascension of Jesus the church immediately began to explode. Satan made a move based upon fear. His decision was to oppress the people of God because of their strength. He has never stopped. Satan oppresses you because of God’s strength in you. The moment we realize the inherent power that God has delivered to us as His people, it’s over for the enemy’s kingdom. Unfortunately, this fact is still eluding a majority of us today.

The bondage of Israel was no surprise to God because He actually appointed this time of incubation for the nation. He prophesied this to Abraham saying that the children of Israel would be afflicted four hundred years in a land that was not theirs (Genesis 15:13). When the time was up, God sent Moses to deliver the people of Israel. By the use of plagues and judgments God set Israel free from the Egyptian bondage and led them into the wilderness of the Sinai Peninsula. Israel remained there for forty years before finally entering the Promised Land.

During their time in the wilderness they were attacked by giants and they won every battle. A significant reason for this was the fact that under Moses all of the tribes were united. This unity continued under Joshua’s rule as he led the children of Israel into the Promised Land. As long as they were united and obedient to God, they were taking territory. This came to an unfortunate end with the passing of Joshua. The people of Israel failed to remain united after he died. Every tribe began to seek after their own self-interests. They not only fell into idolatry and sin, but they also failed to continue taking territory.

We are looking at an ancient picture of a timeless concept. When unity breaks down people will fail to continually take territory. When we consider that one of the purposes of the kingdom of God is to take territory from the enemy, it is easy to point out that our discord is not only an offense to God but a great obstacle to His agenda.

As a result of the selfishness of the tribes of Israel, their inability to work together, and their idolatry, the people repeatedly found themselves in bondage to their enemies. They were often facing hopeless situations. Throughout the book of Judges, God would continually have to appoint judges that would deliver the people of Israel from their enemies. How would the judges do this? They would unite the tribes and lead them into victory. They would cleanse the land of sin and idolatry and reunite the people to the heart of God. Unity did not come apart from reuniting people to the heart of God because unity of His people is the heart of God.

                The people of Israel eventually asked God for a king, and although God was not particularly happy about this, He gave them one. Saul became king over Israel and the people united and began to win battles against their enemies again. The Kingdom of Israel under David continued to expand and became very powerful. When David died the kingdom of Israel united under the leadership of Solomon and became extremely wealthy as well.  The nation even ceased from war. Unfortunately Solomon fell into gross sin.

                After Solomon’s death, the consequences were devastating. The kingdom became divided into the Northern kingdom and the Southern kingdom. Ten of the tribes formed the Northern kingdom and Judah, Levi, and Benjamin (2 Chronicles 11:5-13) formed the Southern kingdom. Both kingdoms eventually fell into the hands of their enemies. The northern tribes fell to Assyria, and later on the southern tribes fell to Babylon. Leading up to this ultimate demise, the kingdoms even conducted open war with each other (2 Kings 14:8-14). Their failure to center their focus on God’s heart and fulfill His purpose for them as a nation led to their destruction. Moving forward, the nation would never again have the potential of becoming a world power and would continue to struggle through intense adversity. They are still struggling through intense adversity today.

By taking a brief glance at the history of Israel we can glean some vitally important concepts:

1.       When a kingdom is divided against itself it cannot stand

2.       A kingdom that is composed of God’s people can only remain united when His heart is at the center of their ambitions

When a kingdom of God’s people tries to unite on an agenda that is in opposition with God’s heart ,they will not have any more success than those that refuse to unite altogether. Many groups within the body of Christ are desperately trying to rally troops, unite and strengthen themselves—among themselves. They are so concerned with defending their tradition that it blinds them to the bigger plan and purpose of God.

We have to make our focus and the center of our ambitions the heart of God. If we do this, it is impossible to conclude that we do not need other parts of the body of Christ; even when we do not entirely agree with them. Even in our disagreement, if we agree to seek God together we will find ourselves rallied around His agenda and taking territory for the kingdom of heaven. As we press into this type of conduct, it is my firm conviction that we will naturally begin to agree upon more and more. The time is now!

Discussion

1.       Why did Egypt enslave Israel?

2.       Why does Satan oppress Christians?

3.       What do we learn about the historical church from the parable of the 10 virgins?

4.       What two vitally important concepts do we learn from historical Israel?

5.       What must we focus on to overcome the obstacles to unity?

Two Gospels

04/02/11

Greetings,

                The core of Christianity is the gospel of the kingdom. Why do I say this? This is this gospel that Jesus preached.

                “Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God,” (Mark 1:14)

                Many times the gospel of the kingdom and the gospel of Jesus Christ get treated as if they were the same thing. Let’s get our bearings fixed by first defining the word “gospel.” There are three different Greek words that are translated to “gospel” in the Bible. The first is euaggelizo which means to “announce good news.” The second word is euaggelion, a derivation of the first simply meaning “a good message.” The third word is proeuaggelizomai which means “to announce glad news in advance.” When we talk about the gospel of the kingdom, we are essentially discussing the good news of the kingdom and its implications for us. Likewise, when we talk about the gospel of Jesus Christ, we are discussing the goods news that Jesus Christ died for our sins and rose on the third day victoriously. Below is a reference to the gospel of Jesus Christ:

                “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God;” (Mark 1:1)

                Our confusion is mainly the result of misplaced emphasis. In other words, we put our focus on the wrong word. We think that when we see the word “gospel” we are always discussing the same thing. This is akin to saying that every time we see the word “large” we are talking about the same thing. By using the word “large” I could be referring to a large box, a large car, a large house, and so forth. The word large tells me something about what I’m actually referring to.

                It is not so different with the word gospel. Gospel simply means “good news.” If I went to a hospital and had a successful heart surgery I could, in essence, turn around and tell you the gospel of my heart surgeon. Why? His talent and ability meant good news for my heart! With this said, we need to understand that the Bible talks about the good news of the kingdom of God (or heaven) and the good news of Jesus Christ. Both are found in scripture. The important thing to understand is that just because they are both good news for us, they are not the same thing.

                The gospel of Jesus Christ provides the power necessary for our salvation.

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.” (Romans 1:16)

                We openly recognize that the gospel of Jesus Christ is the foundation of our faith. Without the gospel of Jesus Christ there is no salvation. Without salvation, we cannot be redeemed to God. The entire foundation of Christianity is removed with the removal of this gospel. If Jesus wasn’t fully God and fully man and if He did not die for our sins being raised to life on the third day, there would be no purpose for Christianity. There would be no power in it and our faith would become nothing more than dead, empty religion.

The gospel of Jesus Christ provides the necessary information for sinners to become believers. However, this is not where the Christian faith was intended to stop. Once we receive Jesus we are spiritually translated into His kingdom. Our spirit is reborn and we begin to exist in the dimension of God while simultaneously existing on earth.

“Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:” (Colossians 1:13)

This is crucial for our understanding. We are translated into the kingdom “of” Jesus. This means that Jesus has a kingdom. Furthermore, Jesus is King over His kingdom. The gospel of Jesus introduces us to the good news of the Person, but the gospel of the kingdom introduces us to the good news of His dimension and reality. In other words, if the gospel of Jesus Christ is level one then the gospel of the kingdom is level two. We can simplify this with a working definition of the kingdom of God. The kingdom of God is the dimension where God is King.

Let’s explain this a bit further. The gospel of Jesus Christ is evidenced when a sinner repents and receives Jesus as their Lord and Savior. Although there is no observable change (except for their mood, facial expression, and potentially some tears) the new believer will begin to experience a relationship with a Person that will change their life. The gospel of the kingdom has different evidence. Consider how Jesus explains it.

“But if I with the finger of God cast out devils, no doubt the kingdom of God is come upon you.” (Luke 17:20)

What is Jesus saying here? He is saying that one kingdom is displacing another. Devils are members of the kingdom of darkness. The kingdom of darkness has excessive territory in the earth—all of which is held illegally. The kingdom of God is a different kingdom. It is a higher dimension. When it comes upon a group, a home, a city, or a nation, it displaces the kingdom of darkness and takes over that territory. It overtakes and overcomes. This is why when the kingdom of God came upon Israel through the ministry of Jesus demons were displaced.

Let’s look at this a different way. Pretend that Chuck (arbitrary name) is a Chinese citizen. Chuck does not have a Mongolian visa. If he goes to Mongolia, they have the legal right to arrest and deport him. He has no right to be there. Now let’s say Chuck is doing his business in China, but suddenly Mongolia takes control of the Chinese government and makes all former Chinese citizens illegal. According to the new law that has taken effect, Chuck must leave. They have taken control of the territory where he was doing his business and legally taken away his rights. As the ruling power they can now make the laws. In this example Mongolia represents the kingdom of God, China is the kingdom of darkness, and Chuck would be a lowly devil.

When we are dealing with the kingdom of God we are dealing with the manifestation of God’s reality in the earth. This kingdom has the power and potential to displace the kingdom of darkness from entire geographies. This is only part of the gospel of the kingdom and it is certainly good news! However, this also raises the bar for us because the kingdom of God cannot manifest and take territory from the kingdom of darkness without our cooperation.

“And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.” (Matthew 24:14)

What many have failed to realized is that it is not the preaching of the gospel of Jesus that will precede the second coming, but it is the gospel of the kingdom. This involves the display of the power of God through His people, releasing the kingdom and reality of God across entire geographies. God’s reality includes the unity of His people. If we want Jesus to come back soon, we need to get with the program and unify to cooperate with His agenda.

Discussion

1.       Is the gospel of Jesus the same as the gospel of the kingdom?

2.       What is the gospel of Jesus?

3.       What is the gospel of the kingdom?

4.       What are the implications of Matthew 24:14?

5.       Why is unity important when considering the concept of God’s kingdom?