This article was revised on June 3, 2008, to better explain the points being made. A special thanks goes to Revivalfire for the detailed comment he posted that got me to re-hash what was written. God bless!

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Last week I talked about the Popular False Gospel, which has to do with a one-sided, man-centered gospel that appeals to our flesh. Today I want to bring attention to what I call the "Inactive False Gospel." This is the flipside of the "popular" version. It's also one-sided--only presenting the truth about God.

Like the popular gospel, this version is 100% true but is really only 50% of the whole truth. In addition to the truth about God, it usually involves the truth of our eternity in heaven...so there's a little bit of a benefit to man. It sometimes involves the idea of being "born again" or being made into a "new creation," which is better by far--but God Jesus didn't merely save us for the sake of some nebulous transformation--He came that we might have LIFE, and that more abundantly! Another aspect that is often left out is the reality of God hearing our prayers and answering them (some people teach that prayer is merely God's way of changing us until we submit to what He was going to do anyway). But this form of false gospel always neglects the present-day empowerment of believers through the indwelling Holy Spirit.

First we'll deal with heaven as a future hope. It is true that by receiving Christ as Lord, we also receive an eternal home in heaven. The full Gospel, however, is "The Gospel of the Kingdom." The Kingdom of Heaven is a PRESENT reality! Jesus said that the Kingdom is AT HAND! Paul said that we are NOW seated with Christ in the heavenly realms (Eph. 2:6)! If all we have is a future hope, then life is nothing but a waiting room. But Jesus taught us to pray, "Thy Kingdom, COME! Thy will, BE DONE! here ON EARTH just as it is in Heaven!" We can be a part of God's supernatural activity here and now!

Second, I talked about how "born again" or "new creation" teaching is a lot better, but is still often missing the mark. As Revivalfire pointed out in the comments section, a true understanding of these terms reveals that they are defined by the resurrection power of the Holy Spirit. There's no error there. The problem is that once we are raised up with Christ as new creations, what do we do with it? Do we just live like nice people and stop doing bad things? Check out what the Apostle Pauls says in the following scriptures.

First, we'll see that we have died with Christ, which results in our resurrection with Him:

Romans 6:5-13--If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin--because anyone who has died has been freed from sin.

Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God.

In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness (NIV).

But we have a tendency to stop here. The fact is, Jesus didn't JUST die and raise again so that we could be free from sin through the resurrection power of the Holy Spirit. He ALSO ascended into heaven so that we might be made partners there as well:

Ephesians 2:4-7--But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions--it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.

So many people miss this third aspect of the Good News! It's the part that brings us into citizenship in the Kingdom of Heaven.

See, it's one thing to have the Holy Spirit living within you, bringing new life, and empowering you to live as a new creation. But this in itself is not what it is to be seated with Christ in the heavenly realms here and now!

In the spiritual realm, we get to be right next to our Father in Heaven. It's a place of intimacy with Him. It's a place of power and authority. It's a place where we can see our circumstances from heaven's perspective and face trials with joy. A partial gospel leaves you earthly-minded, but the complete Gospel brings you into the fullness of partnership with Christ!

Think about it: Jesus prayed that we might be one with Him. Jesus is no longer hanging on the cross, so he's not just talking about dying to self. And Jesus is no longer standing outside the tomb or walking the earth, so there must be something more. Jesus IS, however, presently seated in heaven at the right hand of the Father; AND WE GET TO BE PARTNERS WITH HIM THERE! Isn't that GOOD NEWS?!

The third thing I mentioned in the beginning of this article was regarding our theology on prayer. This, as Revivalfire pointed out, is not really a part of the Gospel--it's just a teaching perspective. However, I believe it is directly related to everything I just shared about being partners with Christ in His ascension. If we are partners with Christ, seated at the right hand of God, then we have a place of intimate relationship with our Father. Read through the Old and New Testaments and you will find many instances of God reasoning with man or inviting us to do so. "Come, let us reason together." One prime example is in Exodus 32 where God was about to bring a plague on His people to destroy them and then start all over again with Moses. But Moses reasoned with God and pleaded for another way. The Bible says in verse 14 that God relented...or, in some translations, God repented!

The Almighty, Holy, Omnipotent God has invited us into a place of intimate relationship and partnership with Him. Jesus set the example: "I only do what I see my Father doing." But Jesus also prayed some very clear things, asking His Father to do things that we could speculate for ages whether or not they would have happened apart from Christ's prayers. The issue is not whether or not God already intended to do these things--it's that apart from man's participation, He would not have. If Moses had not fought for the Israelites in prayer, God would have been bound to His word that He would destroy them with a plague. Perhaps He really wanted to do what Moses was asking, and perhaps He was testing Moses. But the fact still remains that God would not threaten one thing and then do another apart from someone stepping into the picture and speaking to Him as a friend. That friendship is something Christ made possible for us all--and it is definitely part of the Gospel!

The defining factor of an "Inactive False Gospel" is an absence of this ascended life. That means you don't see God's supernatural authority and works of power being demonstrated through His people. This happens when people don't realize what it is to truly be made partners with Jesus Christ. It's a false gospel. It's empty! It's powerless! It's inactive!

Most interesting to me, though, is that this can happen regardless of one's stance on the baptism in the Holy Spirit or spiritual gifts. As I mentioned in my first article on false gospels, it is entirely possible to preach the full Gospel but only practice it in part. It's not uncommon for a preacher to declare all the wonders of "the priesthood of believers" and the gifts of the Holy Spirit while the congregation sits powerless in the pews.

I was raised in a Pentecostal church and spent most of my life thinking that the extent of the Holy Spirit's empowerment in my life was my ability to speak in tongues. I had come to believe a false gospel (not that this is what was being preached from the pulpit--it's just what I believed). The limitations of this false gospel kept me from discovering the rest of the gifts of the Holy Spirit until I was 17 years old!

There are far too many churches--whether they have correct doctrine about the Holy Spirit or not--that practice an inactive false gospel. Regardless of their teaching or beliefs, they do not function as the Body of Christ. As a church, they are devoid of genuine miracles. They do not experience the healing power of God (except perhaps through some special, visiting minister...or someone far away in a place like Lakeland, Florida, for example). They practice their natural talents but miss out on the supernatural gifts that can only be performed through them by God. It's a false Gospel!

Notice how I said "as a church." I'm not suggesting that you MUST work miracles and heal the sick in order to be living the true Gospel--that's not biblical. However, the Bible does indeed say that we are a body made up of many parts. It says that the Holy Spirit distributes to each one as He sees fit. Just because you've personally never healed anyone in Jesus' name doesn't make you any less of a Christian. However, if you're part of a church that never sees any of the spiritual gifts at work in your midst, then it's very likely that you have drifted into an inactive practice of the gospel. Something needs to change!

The full Gospel is an active Gospel. It is a "good news" that is carried out in the power of the Holy Spirit! It is demonstrated by Christians who have sought the Holy Spirit for His overflowing presence and taken steps of faith to reveal His power and love in the world today! It is a Gospel of miracles, healings, prophecies, hospitality, generocity, mercy, faith, discerning spirits, and the like! It is a Gospel just like what was demonstrated by Jesus Christ and His disciples in the New Testament! It is an active lifestyle of performing the "greater works" Jesus promised we would do (John 14:12)!

Remember: if you have died with Christ (by choosing to put your former, sinful way of life to death), then you have also been raised with Him through the resurrection power of the Holy Spirit. And if you have been raised with Him, then you are NOW seated with Him in the heavenly realms! You have power and authority that flows from your intimacy with the Father. Don't miss this essential part of the Gospel!

The next "false gospel" I'll be addressing is what I call an "Incoherent False Gospel." It's probably not what you might think, though, so check back soon for the full explanation. Also, thank you, Revivalfire, for stirring me up to clarify these important points.

God bless!
--Art--

Why are people so uncomfortable with change? To be honest, I don't think it's in our nature; I think it's in our culture.

Our men's group just finished studying the book Wild at Heart: Discovering the Secret of a Man's Soul, and it was a life-altering study for me. One of the key points is that as men we have a deep inner need for three basic things: (1) an adventure to live, (2) a battle to fight, and (3) a beauty to rescue. Author John Eldredge says that these three things are at the core of who we are as men. Women, on the other hand, have slightly different needs. They want to be captivating, they want to join us in our adventure, and they want us to fight for them.

John Eldredge points out that the American church at large demasculates men by convincing us that we should be passive, nice, and sugar-coated. Contrast this with the Chinese church where the men are encouraged to suffer and die for the sake of the Gospel! Now that's an adventure!

Back to the issue of change (I'll tie this together in a moment).

This past week, my church encountered a change that shook things up quite a bit. We're rather small with an average attendance of 50 people on a Sunday, so this wasn't too dramatic--but it was change none the less! In short, we rotated everything in our main meeting room 90 degrees to the right.

Personally, I have to admit that I was a little annoyed because it became a lot more restricting. Everything was closer together because the room is narrower in this direction. Everyone was seated closer together, and all our musicians were squeezed together too.

But I also have to confess that the Lord used this whole scenario to reveal to me an area where my sinful nature still had not been dealt with. After the meeting, several people came up to me and made comments on how they weren't especially thrilled with the new setup, and I just said, "I'm not going to say anything now because I need to make sure my heart is right before talking about this, but I'm not particularly thrilled with the changes either."

Then the Holy Spirit started working on me, and I thought, "What is there in me that would make me a point person for all this murmering?"

I realized that my own heart was resistant to the change and was upset because it didn't facillitate my own agenda. I like having the chairs in a half-circle rather than two columns because it makes things more interactive. I like having the musicians spread out because we have more room. Furthermore, I didn't like that the change made us look more like a traditional church.

But instead of just recognizing these personal feelings, I became passive agressive. I burried my feelings and pretended to be cordial with the people who petitioned for the change in the first place. Their reasoning was that we can fit more people, folks won't have to walk accross the front of the room to enter or exit, and people are less disctractable. Why should those things bother me?

Because I had my own agenda and couldn't handle things not being the way I like them. I had been instrumental in moving the sanctuary to the less traditional position, and so this felt like an attack on me! But it wasn't--it was a change being made for the sake of functionality and building the Church! I had formed a judgment in my heart that these people couldn't break free from the traditional church model, when in actuality, I was the one who couldn't break free from my own favorite model of church! I was guilty of the very thing I was judging them for!

Romans 2:1--Therefore you are inexcusable, O man, whoever you are who judge, for in whatever you judge another you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things (NKJV).

I think our resistance to change is not a matter of "not liking new things;" I believe it is that we like what we have, and we've begun to personally identify with these things. Be careful how you judge the viewpoints of others, because you who judge are guilty of the same things!

Returning to Wild at Heart, I believe there is something to be said about how the Church should handle change. Our men need to be adventurous enough to embrace change and daring enough to lay down our personal agendas to walk in unity. With this in place, our women can more easily feel secure enough to join us in the adventure. That's not a husband/wife issue--it's how males and females in general can function together in this spiritual family we call "the church."

Any time you struggle with change in the Church, examine yourself and see if it's just your personal preference that's bothering you. Be daring enough to die to self! I say this because I sense that the Lord is bringing some significant changes to the American church over the next few decades. I'm writing a book about these changes right now entitled Wildfire Christianity, which should be complete some time within the next six months. For now, though, my challenge is this: Get ready for change!

Today I was watching "Animal Planet" and they had a special about a wildlife preserve where the young bull elephants started brutally killing the rhinos. The solution was to bring in an older, more mature herd of elephants to model appropriate behavior for the younger ones and hopefully provide some sort of behavioral infratructure that would help tame the younger animals. It worked.

In the church, we need to have a similar principle; but we must be careful with the way we put it into practice. My pastor tells a story about when he was first saved, he met with the elders of his church and passionately shared his testimony and some of his ideas. The elders looked at him blankly and one said, "Don't worry, in a little while you'll calm down and be just like us."

"God forbid!" he replied (though he admits it was more in pride and disdain than in love).

In contrast, take a look at Esther 4:10-16. King Xerxes ordered that all the Jews be annihilated (if you've ever seen the movie 300, yes, that is the same Xerxes that was attacking the Spartans). Esther was a jewish woman who had been taken to be his queen. The following story comes in where Esther's cousin Mordecai (who had raised her) has suggested that she appear before King Xerxes. Esther then sends one of the king's eunuchs named Hathach to her cousin Mordecai:

Esther 4:10-16--Then she instructed him to say to Mordecai, "All the king's officials and the people of the royal provinces know that for any man or woman who approaches the king in the inner court without being summoned the king has but one law: that he be put to death. The only exception to this is for the king to extend the gold scepter to him and spare his life. But thirty days have passed since I was called to go to the king."

When Esther's words were reported to Mordecai, he sent back this answer: "Do not think that because you are in the king's house you alone of all the Jews will escape. For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father's family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?"

Then Esther sent this reply to Mordecai: "Go, gather together all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my maids will fast as you do. When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish."

So Mordecai went away and carried out all of Esther's instructions(NIV).

Esther, here, is the younger generation, and Mordecai is the older. Do you see the magnitude of what took place in this story? Rather than Mordecai telling Esther to "calm down and wait this out," he called forth exploits. Not only that, but Esther relied on him for spiritual support by asking him to fast for her and gather others to do the same. And Mordecai agreed!

Here we see generational unity. Like the elephants in my opening example, it's not so much a matter of the older generation "calming down" the younger as it is the older generation providing a scaffolding for the younger to flourish within! Mordecai suggested that Esther risk her life for the sake of God's people, and he stood by her with prayer and fasting.

There is a strong Biblical precedent in both the Old and New Testaments for generational unity, mentoring, and spiritual fathering/mothering. If you're young and you do not have a mature spiritual mentor who challenges you to acts of faith, the I would recommend you get looking for one! Otherwise, you might end up like those young bull elephants being destructive rather than productive (I've been there, and it truly does take spiritual mentoring to help us gain focus and direction for our lives).

And if you would consider yourself one of the older generation, then I call for you to take us youngsters under your wing and call forth great exploits for the kingdom of God! We don't need you to calm us down or tell us how to "play it safe." We need you to fast and pray for us so that we can fulfill the purpose for which we were born and help reveal our Father's Kingdom in the earth! We need you to be our "Mordecai" and speak identity into our lives. We need you to challenge us in faith--not fear--and call forth exploits!

In the name of Jesus, I challenge each reader to bridge the generational gap and demonstrate unity in the Church no matter your age. The Lord has promised that in the last days He would send forth the spirit of Elijah to call the hearts of the fathers to their sons and the hearts of the sons to their fathers. Now is the time--more than ever--that we need unity among the generations!

What is the "True Church?"

Is it defined by our big cathedrals with stained glass windows and mass choirs?

Is it defined by our fancy stage-shows with rock bands, lights, and illustrated sermons?

Is it defined by the hundreds of thousands of North Koreans who huddle together in secret meetings of 4 or 5 people for worship, fellowship, discipleship, and communion (if they get caught, they would be imprisoned, tortured, or even killed).

The true Church has no specific method or program that we can look at and say, "That's it!"--but it does have some very important scriptural qualities that are consistent throughout.

If you read through the book of Acts, you will find the word "Church" used rather often--and it always spoke of the people more than a system or religion. Here are a few examples:

• Acts 5:11--"Great fear seized the church." A religion can't experience fear--people do.
• Acts 8:1--The Church was persecuted and scattered. You don't persecute buildings, methods, religion, or programs--you persecute people. And if you scatter a building or oganization, it falls apart--but when the Church was scattered, it only served to spread the Gospel further!
• Acts 9:31--"Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria enjoyed a time of peace. It was strengthened; and encouraged by the Holy Spirit, it grew in numbers, living in the fear of the Lord." These are qualities of people--not programs.
• Acts 12:5--The church prayed. Only people can do this--not a building or program.

Then we find out in Colossians 4:15 that someone (a woman at that) had church in her house!

So what is the "True Church?"

1 Corinthians 11:18 presents a beautiful clue as to what the "True Church" really is (even though this verse is talking about something else in context). It says right there in the middle: "...when you come together as a church..." In other words, Christians are Christians; but we become "the Church" when we come together!

The New Testament is full of instances where "The Church" is shown to be "The Body of Christ." And we're told over and over again that we are all different parts with many different roles. Even Jesus pointed out that He is present when we come together:

Matthew 18:20--For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them (NIV).

Yes Jesus is within every individual Christian through the Holy Spirit, but He is only in the midst of us when we come together!

God does not call us to be individuals who invent our own personal brand of spirituality and wave the banner of "Just Jesus and me--I don't need anyone else." Such people are not only missing out on the love and fellowship that come from the true church, but they are also cutting themselves off from the full measure of Christian authority. Jesus didn't say that the Gates of Hell will not prevail against a single Christian--He said that they will not prevail against the Church!

There's more to be said about authority in the Church (which is built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets--Ephesians 2:20) and the fact that it's possible (and good) to organize and mobilize the Church (see Paul's letters to Timothy); but we'll save these for another time. For now, simply remember this:

We need each other! Let's come together and BE the church!

The Holy Spirit is certainly supernatural, but He is also very practical. The supernatural things He does are always for a purpose (although, admittedly, we don't always know what that purpose is at the time).

Furthermore, I think sometimes the Holy Spirit is so active in our lives that we don't give Him credit for the things He's doing. For instance, my small group recently doubled in size. I could call that a coincidence, or I could observe that people have been drawn to our group because of the Holy Spirit's presence!

And this week we planted two more small groups (a men's group on Wednesdays and a ladies' group on Saturdays). And the most exciting part to me is that I'm not the one leading these groups! Other people are catching vision from God and running with it!

Tonight we held our first men's group meeting, and four people were able to attend. I'm reminded of Zechariah 4:10 that says "Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin..." (NLT). Certainly, we could sense the Lord rejoicing!

And here's where the practicality of it all comes back into play. People were moving in the power of the Holy Spirit and not even realizing it! That's how practical He is! My one friend started moving in the gift of a "word of wisdom" as the Holy Spirit supernaturally gave him the right words to speak to another man in the group. When I pointed it out, he said, "Wow, thanks--I was wondering if my words had any purpose." We all started to laugh because the rest of us knew how profound his advice actually was!

Then, as I mentioned something about the trials in our lives being used by God to perfect us, another man in our group had a vision and didn't even realize it! He said, "You know, as you were saying that, I started picturing a swordsmith hammering a sword into the perfect shape so that it's balanced just right and won't break in a battle."

I said, "You weren't just picturing that on your own--the Holy Spirit was giving you a vision! I'm glad you shared that!" A surprised smile started to spread across his face as if to say, "God gave me a vision?? Wow!"

Sometimes we don't realize just how active the Holy Spirit is in our lives, and frankly, it robs glory from our Father in heaven! We need to start encouraging one another to see the Holy Spirit's activity in their lives so that we can all notice Him in our own lives! We should recognize Him in the practical things of life and not just in our events and Christian meetings. The Holy Spirit wants to be your everyday companion in all things. He's the Guide and the Comforter. He is our Advocate. He's the Living Water that should be overflowing from each of our lives! He empowers us, He leads us, He helps us, and He ministers through us!

So I want to challenge you in the coming days to look for the activity of the Holy Spirit in your everyday life. He's probably moving at this moment right under your nose!

Here it comes: the moment you’ve been waiting for. Slowly, regally, the waiter in his tuxedo slips out the kitchen door with his tray held high. It’s as though he’s gliding across the floor in a choreographed dance. His eyes are lightly closed in confidence. A towel is draped softly over his arm. The white of his gloves gleams with perfection. There’s something regal about his performance that somehow enhances the anticipation.

The aroma of garlic and herbs wafts through the air. You begin to salivate. This is it! The waiter strides up next to you and the platter flows gently to the table before you. Beneath that shiny silver lid is the steak the whole world has been raving about. People say that once you taste the stake from this restaurant, “everything else is just cow.” You tuck your cloth napkin into your shirt and grin brightly as the waiter twirls his hand over the lid and swiftly lifts it past your head.

As the puff of steam rises theatrically into the air, the corners of your mouth fall with your chin. You don’t know if this is a mistake or some cruel prank. Everything seemed so wonderful, but the plate in front of you doesn’t have a steak on it—or at least you can’t see it if there is one. Instead, you have a six-inch pile of herbs and seasonings.

With your eyebrows curled upward, you look speechlessly to the waiter, but he’s already dancing back to the kitchen. Your gaze returns to the overpowering mountain of seasonings that awaits your consumption.

Finally—perhaps because you concede, or maybe just because you’re curious—you scoop the seasonings one spoonful at a time into your empty coffee mug. After a few minutes of your archeological dig, you unearth the shape of a steak. It really was in there! And now that you’ve worked your way down to the bare minimum, you sprinkle a pinch of salt and pepper on your meal.

Perfect.

“Is everything to your liking?” inquires the manager as he strolls up to your table.

“Well,” you begin, “It is now. What’s with the heap of spices my steak came buried in?”

“Oh no!” replies the apologetic manager, “This has happened before. I’m so sorry. You see, the master chef prepares the meal to his perfect liking, but there are about fifteen other cooks under his training who sometimes come along and add to his masterpiece. They must have all slipped a little in before your waiter brought it out.”

“I see. Well, it’s alright now.”

You cut your first piece from the tender slab of meat and it melts on your tongue. Yes, it’s true what they said; this is the best steak around—as long as it’s not lost in the seasoning.

Seasoning is great in moderation, but when it overpowers the meat, you might as well be eating shoe leather because it’ll taste the same anyhow. Ever notice how we’ve done the same thing with Christianity?

Jesus came and demonstrated something so simple. Now, two thousand years later, we have added fancy buildings, traditions, rituals, rock bands, stage lights, festivals, potlucks, outreaches, home groups, books, CDs, DVDs, Sunday School, family nights, illustrated sermons, colleges, weekend retreats (take a breath), summer camps, private schools, and more sermons in one day than we could hear in a lifetime. These things aren’t evil—they’re “seasonings” meant to enhance the meat of Christianity. The problem comes when the steak gets buried in the flavor. Sometimes it even gets swapped for “shoe leather” and we don’t even know it.

There are so many churches today that have all the right seasonings, but their meat is not the true meat of Christianity. Christ's true Church is foundationally built on Him alone, and any "seasonings" added to the mix must clearly reveal Him. Anything that distracts us from Jesus Christ is not of God. Even our focus on the Holy Spirit should bring us closer to Christ! Jesus said that the Holy Spirit will "take from what is Mine and make it known to you."

Real Christianity is not defined by the rituals, programs, events, and meetings that we hold--these are nothing but seasonings meant to enhance the flavor of the person of Christ. They should point to Him--not overpowering, but complimenting.

Psalm 34:8--Taste and see that the Lord is good!

Today I came accross some nuggets of wisdom in one of my all-time favorite books, The Heavenly Man: By Paul Hattaway. It's a biography (written in the first person) of "Brother Yun" who has been instrumental in multiplying and unifying the underground Church in Communist China. Yun has faced imprisonment, severe torture, and ultimately exile over the years; and yet his resolve for Christ stands firm. His life is marked with one miracle and spiritual encounter after the next, and he has the "fruit" in his life to confirm it: thousands of new converts, secret missionary training schools, hundreds of thousands of missionaries who are presently giving their lives for Christ throughout Muslim-dominated countries, and much more.

Anyhow, on pages 296 and 297 of the book, Yun is quoted as saying:

When I'm in the West I see all the mighty church buildings and all the expensive equipment, plush carpets, and state-of-the-art sound systems. I can assure the Western Church with absolute certainty that you don't need any more church buildings. Church buildings will never bring the revival you seek. The pursuit of more posessions will never bring revival. Jesus truly stated, "A man's life does not consist in the abundance of his posessions." Luke 12:15.

The first thing needed for revival to return to your churches is the Word of the Lord....Not only is knowledge of God's Word missing, but obedience to that Word. There's not much action taking place.

When revival came to the believers in China, the result was thousands of evangelists being sent out to all corners of the nation, carrying fire from the altar of God with them. When God moves in the West, it seems you want to stop and enjoy His presence and blessings too long, and build an altar to your experiences....All genuine revivals of the Lord result in believers responding with action and soul winning. When God truly moves on your heart you cannot remain silent...

I've seen people in Western churches worshipping as if they're already in heaven. Then someone invariably brings a comforting message like, "My children, I love you. Don't be afraid, I'm with you." I'm not opposed to such words, but why is it that nobody seems to hear a word from the Lord like, "My child, I want to send you to the slums of Asia or the darkness of Africa to be my messenger to people dying in their sin"?

...Just because you have a church building doesn't necessarily mean Jesus is with you. He is not welcome in many churches today. In Revelation 3:20, Jesus said, "Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me."

Often this verse is used as an invitation for salvation, but actually the context Jesus was speaking in was very different. He was standing outside the door of the church in Laodicea, knocking to get in!

I would strongly recommend this book--these paragraphs only scratch the surface of what Yun has to share about his visits to the Western churches (that's us, by the way). Many people in my small group (myself included) have been stirred deeply by the Holy Spirit as they read, and it has revolutionized the way we practice our Christianity. Here's a link to buy it from Amazon.com, which I've found is the best price anywhere.

In summary, 25,000 people come to Christ every day in China alone while we struggle to hold on to the one or two people a year who raise their hands in our church meetings. American churches (in general) have plenty of posessions, rituals, and professionalism, but very little of God's Spirit. It comes as no surprise to me that the economy of China is booming right now while our own dollar is plummeting. We need to return to God as a nation!

Some time ago I started looking into the five ministries listed in Ephesians 4:11-13...

It was [Christ] who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ (NIV).

First of all, notice the word "until." Jesus gave us apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers:

• UNTIL we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of Christ,
• UNTIL we become mature, and
• UNTIL we attain to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

Now ask yourself, honestly: Has the general Christian population reached any of these conditions? It does say, "...until we all..." Have we all achieved this yet?

My humble opinion: Nope.

So what's my point? Simply that this is Scriptural evidence that there are still apostles, prophets, pastors, evangelists, and teachers today. It's a little confusing, though, because our terminology has changed with time and culture. Today our Church leaders have names like, Pastor, Priest, Missionary, Bishop, Reverend, Cardinal, Parson, Rector, Monk, Pope, Chaplian, and even Doctor. These are man-made titles and organizational positions that help us maintain structure in our Christian organizations; but the true Church is not an organization but rather an organism (see my post on January 12).

But regardless of a person's title, these five forms of ministry have not changed in the Church. According to the above scripture, apostles, prophets, pastors, evangelists, pastors, and teachers exist "to prepare God's people for works of service." Another version says, "...for the equipping of the saints." And the Scripture also reveals that these ministries are appointed and given by God Himself--not a school, denomination, organization, institution, or agency.

Chances are, if a person goes to the trouble of becomming a minister, it's because they feel called by God to equip people--so don't think I'm stomping on credentials here. Yet the question arises: before they went to school, were they pastors? Before they got a degree, were they teachers? For that matter, what about after they went to school and got a degree? Is that the indication that they are ready?

The fact is, the Prophet Samuel found a little shepherd boy named David and anointed him to be the king of Israel as directed by God. Several years later, that anointing came into fruition, and he accepted his God-given role. Just as receiving the "calling" did not make David a king right away, we should understand that it is not up to man to determine when a person is ready to enter ministry. It is up to God.

If you feel called by God into ministry, the best thing to do is start looking for Him to release you into that ministry. Don't try to run off and do everything right away because--like David--it might not be time yet. But also, don't wait until you have all the earthly, man-established "requirements" either. Just as it is true that not all "reverends" are true "pastors," "prophtes," "teachers," and so forth; neither are all pastors, prophets, teachers, etc. necessarily "reverends" with institutional education and documentation. Anyone--regardless of education--can be used by God as a minister. All that matters is that God appoints you.

One final word of advice: do not try to promote yourself. If you truly are an apostle, prophet, pastor, evangelist, or teacher, the Holy Spirit will confirm your ministry Himself and people will be naturally drawn to you. Those who have to convince others of their role do not have that role. If God has appointed you, He will affirm your ministry; but if you have appointed yourself--even with good intentions--the Spirit of God will stand against you, and you will be judged along with all those you lead astray. We need a healthy fear of God if we are going to follow Him in ministry.

James 3:1--Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly (NIV).

I have a great deal of respect and love for all Christian churches because they serve as rallying-points for the saints to worship collectively, receive solid teaching of doctrine, meet other Christ-followers, fund missionary endeavors, organize large-scale community service, and more. Churches as we know them are part of God's plan in mobilizing His people to impact the world.

But there's a problem. At some point these organizations began to define our Christianity rather than the Holy Spirit's activity. The Bible calls us "the Body of Christ." That's an "organism" not an "organization." Organizations are great, but if we miss the inner application that comes from the Holy Spirit, we're nothing more than a moral social club. When it comes down to eternity, Jesus isn't going to ask you what church you attended--He's going to judge you on whether or not you knew Him personally. I should mention, though, that this is not an invitation to go live your own customized brand of faith--fellowship with the "Body of Christ" IS fellowship with Christ, and the Word of God is clear that we need to be with other believers. The problem arises when our definition of "faith" becomes purely horizontal and lacks anything vertical. In other words, it is earth-based rather than heaven-based.

What we're left with is a world who knows Christians as "those people who go to church" rather than "those people who know God." Dr. Bob Roberts, Jr., wrote in his book, Transformation:

The church has been stripped of its influence in the West today, not because it has lost its wealth and position in society--it hasn't--but because the church has lost its credibility. On the whole, we can hardly change ourselves, much less the world. We cannot consistently live the message we herald to the world, but never have we been more effective at religious marketing of products that help us appear as if we are living it. As a result, the growing perception is that the church is religious but not spiritual. It has style but not enough substance.

Unless we make a shift in our mindset from "going to church" to "being the church," we'll just continue to be fake-smiling, suit-wearing, wallet-emptying, song-singing, liturgy-quoting, pie-eating, religious drones who sit in pretty little rows week after week like canned vegetables in the refrigerator--never changing.

Is this what Jesus died for?

Wow! At last night's small group meeting, the 13 of us present encountered a powerful move of God! We started with someone saying how odd it was, while watching a TV documentary, that there was a white-collared Priest (denomination unknown) stating there is no Hell. My friend said, "I can't believe there are people in authority who would be so oblivious to the truth!"

Of course, I saw right away the correlation between this statement and the blog post I made yesterday about true and false prophets. Not only that, but several other people I know have been sensing the Lord speaking about His judgments and the necessity for there to be a "Fear of God" in America today. God is thundering from heaven, and those whose ears are tuned have heard the warning.

But the move of God last night merely started there. Before long, one of the long-time members of our group openly confessed how distant she had been feeling from God. It seemed at first that it was just her problem, but suddenly you could see conviction settling in on the faces of several others of us present.

I said, "I hope this doesn't sound inconsiderate or like I'm just brushing you off, but I think what you're crying out for here is a group-wide issue. You're feeling this way--and many of us are feeling this way too--because we haven't truly been being the Church! We've let you down--we've let each other down. This cry of your heart for the fire of God and the presence of God is not your own--it's His!"

Another person chimed in, "I need to pray more. I haven't been praying at all."

I said, "Well, let's act on that right now and all of us pray...And I want to push you a little and ask if you'd open for us."

What followed was group-wide, passionate prayer and open repentance. People began crying out for God's presence and power. We openly confessed our sins and received the forgiveness of God. We got to watch as the Holy Spirit moved in every person's heart. Even the newest believers in our group were speaking prophetically and praying for the more seasoned Christians. The power of God moved in our midst and stirred us up to action. In fact, we all made a commitment to take action for God's Kingdom this week. We even planned some time when we could go out and minister as a group.

But I don't think this was all a coincidence. Yesterday--after writing yesterday's blog post--someone sent me the following article from Charisma Magazine's editor, J. Lee Grady. I steadfastly believe that the events of last night and the similar happenings at my church on Sunday are the direct result of the 21-day fast called for in this article. Read the article and see if you don't see the correlations. Hundreds, and perhaps even thousands of Christians are fasting and praying right now for revival in America, and I believe we're already reaping the benefits--even though we didn't know about the fast until a few days into it.

I want to encourage you to join me and the many others in entering into this special season of fasting and praying for America. It doesn't matter if you're late joining--what matters is that you care enough to join at all.

God bless you as you join us in seeking God for more movements like the one I shared above! I pray that His power will move in your own churches and small groups even more powerfully than He did in ours!
________________________________________________

A DESPERATE CRY for REVIVAL in 2008
-by J. Lee Grady.

...Never in my 15 years at Charisma have I known a time of such intense spiritual turbulence. God is shaking everything that can be shaken, including our Christian colleges, our megachurches and our most prominent ministries.

At a time when a U.S. senator is investigating the financial practices of six well-known preachers, I sense that God has taken out His holy plumb line to conduct His own detailed inspection of every church and ministry in this country. He wants to unleash a nationwide revival, but He must bring His correction first.

These are desperate times that require desperate measures. That is why I have joined with the Awakening America Alliance to call for a solemn 21-day fast that runs from January 1-21. Here’s a list of the things I’m praying for during the next three weeks:

1. The fear of God. Holiness was so tangible among early Christians that false prophets were blinded and greedy liars fell over dead. As a result of God’s judgment on Ananias and Sapphira, “great fear came over the whole church” (Acts 5:11, NASB).

Where is this sense of “shock and awe” today? How can Christians be so cavalier about divorce or so flippant about adultery? How can television preachers sleep at night after robbing God’s people with manipulative fundraising appeals?

We celebrate His mercy but ignore His severity. We need a thunderclap from heaven and a display of Elijah’s fire to remind a wayward church that God will not be mocked.

2. Integrity and purity in the church. Our movement hit rock-bottom in October when charismatic pastor Donnie Earl Paulk of Atlanta announced to his stunned congregation that a DNA test had proved he is not the nephew of Bishop Earl Paulk but is in fact his son.

That such unspeakable depravity was permitted to thrive for decades at the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit is an indictment against the elder Paulk and all leaders who refused to challenge his behavior when they first learned about it years ago.

This and other recent religious scandals have so tarnished our credibility that we have become a curious freak show. Many unbelievers now associate ministers with wife-swapping, wife- beating, no-fault divorce, gay affairs and $10,000-a-night hotel rooms. We need a Holy Ghost housecleaning.

3. A return to evangelism. In the 1970s we were less sophisticated but so much more zealous for Jesus. We handed out tracts and witnessed to everyone. Sharing our faith was the priority. Yet most people in churches today have never led anyone to Christ.

We are no longer contagious. Spirit-filled believers spend more time chasing “financial breakthroughs” than lost souls. We have rejected sacrifice and compassion and embraced a counterfeit gospel that produces bored, selfish spectators.

4. Godly leadership. As we head into an election season it’s obvious that our nation is facing a leadership crisis. But this leadership vacuum is not just in the political arena. Many of our spiritual fathers have disappointed us, either by their own moral failures or by their refusal to confront sin.

I pray that God does not give us the president we deserve in 2008. If we cry out for mercy, perhaps He will upset the current slate of candidates and put someone in the White House who can model Christian integrity. May He also give us spiritual shepherds who care more for the flock than for the crowd’s applause.

5. A national spiritual awakening. There were seasons in America’s past when sinners became so convicted of their sins that they collapsed under the weight of their guilt. During the days of revivalists George Whitefield and Charles Finney, huge waves of conversions led to a widespread transformation of society. Drunks became sober, prison inmates sang hymns, stingy business owners stopped oppressing their workers, atheists surrendered their unbelief and rebellious children returned to faith.

Can such a movement happen again? It must or our country will descend into its darkest hour. I urge you to join me in this solemn fast. Pray with desperation for the five topics outlined here. We can’t settle for anything less than a heavenly visitation.

~J. Lee Grady is editor of Charisma.
SOURCE: http://www.charismanews.com/

One of the signs that God reveals through His people is the raising of the dead, and it's happening all over the world right now. Surprised?

I just watched a video of Pastor Bill Johnson from Bethel Church in Redding California; and in it, he said something that gripped me: "Why did Jesus raise the dead? Because not everyone who dies dies in God’s timing….It’s time we adjust our theology to be consistent with the person of Jesus Christ. He messed up every funeral He attended, including His own."

Why do we in the church just explain death away? "Oh, it must have been God's will." Instead, we should be pursuing God for radical demonstrations of power in the earth! I'm sure there are a million reasons why God sometimes doesn't raise the dead even after prayer, but that should not deter us. God is a person and He is sovereign, but He invites us to reason with Him. In the Scriptures, we see Moses reasoning with God and convincing Him to relent from the judgment of death He had decreed:

Exodus 32:9-14--"I have seen these people," the LORD said to Moses, "and they are a stiff-necked people. Now leave me alone so that my anger may burn against them and that I may destroy them. Then I will make you into a great nation."

But Moses sought the favor of the LORD his God. "O LORD," he said, "why should your anger burn against your people, whom you brought out of Egypt with great power and a mighty hand? Why should the Egyptians say, 'It was with evil intent that he brought them out, to kill them in the mountains and to wipe them off the face of the earth'? Turn from your fierce anger; relent and do not bring disaster on your people. Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac and Israel, to whom you swore by your own self: 'I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and I will give your descendants all this land I promised them, and it will be their inheritance forever.' " Then the LORD relented and did not bring on his people the disaster he had threatened (NIV, emphasis added).

This is the kind of reasoning I'm talking about. My time spent in that atheist forum was eye-opening. I saw people crying out for a sign and no sign was given them. No matter how many testimonies I shared, it wasn't enough. No matter how much credible evidence I offered, they found a loophole to shoot it down. What these atheists need is not evidence, but rather first-hand experience! We, the Church, need to be demonstrating the power of God--not just in our churches, but in the market place! Why? Because the atheists won't come to your church!

Christians all over the world are demonstrating the power of God no matter where they go. It's happening in America too, but far less frequently. Whether you (like me) are a person who looks for opportunities to demonstrate God's power or you fit the status quo of mediocre Christianity, we need to collectively repent as a nation for our overall apathy toward the Great Commission that Jesus gave us.

Let's go into all the world! Let's heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the leper, and cast out demons! Let's prophesy, work miracles, and free the oppressed in the name of Jesus! And let's do the more practical things too--feed the hungry, care for the widows and orphans, give to the poor, and care for the stranger! And let's do all of it in the name of Jesus!

This world needs to see a movement of Christians who are demonstrating the love and power of God--not just some isolated instances and anecdotal evidence. Let's BE the Body of Christ and truly reveal Him in America!

Yesterday was Christmas. And as much as the bulk of American Christian voices out there like to complain about how Christmas is suppressed and Christian values are in peril, I want to share a different angle. Namely this:

Christmas happened. That's right! The "liberal media" didn't get their way and destroy our celebration of Christ's birth; the atheists didn't burn down our manger scenes; and the pagans didn't toilet paper our Christmas trees. Nobody marched into our churches and shut down our gatherings. No one was hauled away and tortured.

No one, that is, in our country at least. The most recent issue of Voice of the Martyrs Magazine (Christmas 2007) had a story about Iranian Christians in a secret meeting huddled around a chocolate birthday cake to celebrate Christ. In Iran, Christians are heavily persecuted and risk imprisonment, torture, and even death for their beliefs.

All over the world--in 51 different nations--Christianity is illegal. Christians in these hostile areas don't waste their time with petty protests and boycotts. They just keep spreading the Gospel like wildfire. In fact, in the same magazine I just mentioned, it was reported that the lowest statistical conversion rate of people in Iran accepting the Gospel after hearing it is 70%! In countries like Iran, the Church faces a harsh, heartless government who is convinced that Christianity will undermine their rule. And they also face the Islamist extremists who hold the belief that "Christian pigs must be slaughtered."

But in America, it seems our greatest threat is that Lowe's is selling "Holiday Trees." What a great wave of persecution it is that we are facing! And what's this? The city won't set up a nativity scene on their public land? We're doomed! And, oh my! The restaurant we're in will only play "Frosty the Snow Man" and "Rudolph." What an assault on the Church!

I think not. To be honest, there are times when I wish there were more persecution in America. Then we would see more real Christians spreading the Gospel instead of spreading propaganda and aggravation. We would see Christians shining shamelessly for Christ rather than standing up glaringly for their religion's posterity. It appears that America uses our "freedom of religion" as freedom to be religious.

So next year, America, feel free to boycott all the companies that don't support Christmas. That's your right. Feel free to write your city a heartfelt letter about how much you would like to have a nativity scene in front of City Hall. And by all means, crank up the volume on your favorite Christ-centered Christmas CD and roll down your windows (no matter how cold it is)! But don't waste your time complaining! That's against the Bible, and it is anti-Christ.

Philippians 2:14-16--Do EVERYTHING without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe as you hold out the word of life...(NIV, emphasis mine).

Jesus is not revealed when we become obnoxious protestors. He is revealed when we reveal Him! People won't get saved because they see a nativity scene; but they will fall to their knees and repent if they start encountering the supernatural in our midst!

1 Corinthians 14:24,25--But if an unbeliever or someone who does not understand comes in while everybody is prophesying, he will be convinced by all that he is a sinner and will be judged by all, and the secrets of his heart will be laid bare. So he will fall down and worship God, exclaiming, "God is really among you!" (NIV).

What will you put more emphasis into in the coming year? Convincing the world to let you be a Christian, or convincing them that they should know Christ too? Is it more Biblical to ask God for the "gift of protesting" or the "gift of prophecy?" What will be your response?

I want to personally repent on behalf of my brothers and sisters in Christ who have forgotten the true meaning of Christmas. Not that Christ was born, but that He lives TODAY and His Spirit is alive TODAY because 2000 years ago He came to the earth, died on a cross, rose to life, and ascended into heaven to sit at the right hand of the Father! I don't care how much you fight for the Christmas traditions to be maintained--if you're not living in unity with Him today, you have absolutely nothing.

As much as Christmas is a time to come to terms with the miracles surrounding the physical birth of our Lord and all the prophecies that He fulfilled, it is also a time to recognize that He is still alive today and has given us His Holy Spirit. It's more important that we reveal the current Christ than it is that we reveal the infant Christ. That's not to say that we shouldn't celebrate His birth; but it is to say that our complaining stands in direct opposition to His nature. It's okay to stand up for your beliefs, but don't try to take the speck of dust out of your brother's eye until you've removed that big ugly plank from your own eye!

Until the American Church repents for all the complaining, angry letters, strife-building e-mails, and judgmental exclamations that we spread around like dung every Christmas, Jesus will remain hidden and persecuted by those who claim to support Him most: you and me. But if we will cease from these sinful reactions, turn our hearts toward God, and start walking in true Christianity, our words will be effective and our actions will have the power of God to back us up. Why would we settle for anything less?

My girlfriend Robin has a double major in computer programming and sign-language. They're diverse fields, but they fit her personality really well. Anyhow, she was asked to translate a children's Christmas production at a little church in Taylor, MI; and this morning was the day. This being her first "gig," I went along to support her.

It was a small church as far as the building was concerned, but the sanctuary quickly packed out to capacity as the meeting neared its start time. The band started their first song, and everything seemed really traditional. I didn't see people closing their eyes, raising their hands, dancing, or otherwise posturing themselves for worship, but they sure did sing! With passion!

And then I was taken by surprise--before the last song was sung, a whole line of white-haired men in suits lined up across the front of the room, and another gentleman came to the microphone and read a series of profound scriptures about Jesus Christ. Then he invited everyone in the congregation who was sick or otherwise in need of physical healing to come forward for prayer while the worship team sang the last song.

And so, there was James 5:16 in action--people who were sick were going to the elders of their church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of Jesus Christ. It was awesome to see!

Now, admittedly, it's not like I saw people jumping out of wheelchairs; and I was a little bothered that the man who was deaf (who Robin was translating for) remained in his place. But it appeared to me that this was a regular thing they did at this church--and chances are that if the prayers were ineffective, the place wouldn't have been packed out like it was.

How often do we read something in the Bible and say, "Yes, that's what a Christian ought to do," and then we just keep doing things the way we've been doing them? This church read something in Scripture and applied it right there in their Sunday morning meeting! Now, I don't want to sound hard to please, but I've got another bone for you to chew on: what about the words of Paul in 1 Corinthians where He says, "You may all prophesy." Or what about all the other supernatural gifts of the Spirit of which "all of these must be done..."? Is there a way to implement more than just healing in a church service? Or is this just further proof that "church" cannot be confined to a Sunday morning meeting?

Spiritual Power and the Nature of Christ

I've got to shoot straight with you: In the Bible, God spoke through prophets, and He spoke through a donkey. He spoke through Apostles, and he even spoke through Pharisees (religious leaders).

One does not need to be perfect or holy to be used by God. Take a look some time at chapters 9 through 11 of the Gospel of Luke. First you'll find Jesus sending out his 12 disciples, giving them authority to cast out demons, heal the sick, raise the dead, and cleanse people with leprosy. And guess what? They do it!

Nevertheless, in the next several paragraphs we find Jesus rebuking those same disciples several times. In one case He points out their lack of faith. Then they start arguing over who will be greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven. Then they start getting exclusivistic and forbidding other people to cast out demons in the name of Jesus. And worst of all, they revealed their murderous thoughts by asking Jesus if they should "call down fire" on a villiage who didn't welcome them. That's all in Chapter 9.

At this point, one might think Jesus would learn His lesson and think twice about the calibre of people he's sending out to represent Him. But guess what? As soon as Chapter 10 starts, He sends out 72 of them! Sure enough, they work miracles too! And then guess what happens? At the start of Chapter 11, one of them asks, "Lord, teach us to pray." They weren't even confident in their prayer lives yet!

Now why do I bring all this up? Well there are two reasons. First, it means you have no excuses if you're not being used by God on some level. Second, it means that even if you are being used by God, that doesn't prove that you're perfect!

It's so common for us to see people in ministry who have flaws in the integrity department. Whether it's Catholic Priests molesting children, Ted Haggard engaging in sexual immorality, or Joyce Meyers using ministry money to buy a $20,000 toilet, the principle is still the same. Unfortunately, what we often do as a culture is equate their teachings and ministry with their integrity. In our minds, if the person is flawed, it must mean their message and methods are flawed too.

But who apart from Christ Himself is without flaws? The whole Bible was written by people with flaws! Whether you like it or not, many of those pages were penned by murderers, adulterers, and liars.

We've got our perspective backwards. If someone has flaws, it doesn't mean their message is necessarily flawed. Rather it merely proves the message of the Bible: that God uses the foolish things of this world to shame the wise. He uses the humble--not the perfect. He uses the willing--not the immaculate. I only say that because apart from Christ, no one is perfect or immaculate.

The key here is simply that we must be humble, obedient, willing, and faithful; and God will be able to use us well. But don't let ministry become a mask behind which you hide your flaws. Power does not equal perfection, and it should not be treated as such. Rather, confess openly and remain transparent before God and man. Allow God to transform you inwardly. Let people know that you're real and not manufactured. Nobody likes a plastic smile. Continuously seek the transformational power of God and not just the demonstrative power of God. Stay humble, and don't think of yourself more highly than you ought.