Spiritual maturity – Wisdom From the Word

Prayer and Distraction

Many long years ago, okay, 1990, I was pastoring a little church in the country. We regularly sang a song with the following line, ‘Enter into Canaan and possess your possessions for I will go before you saith the Lord.’ What has often come to me over the years is the question of whether we possess our possessions or they possess us. Now in the age of social media I believe that question is more urgent. Social media apps are designed to capture and keep our attention to make money for those who run them. Their presence in our lives is both pernicious and pervasive.

In line with this, years ago, I read some material from Dr. Carolyn Leaf about brain function and attention and she referred to the idea of multitasking as a myth. She called it ‘milkshake multitasking’ and her point was that neurologically we can’t focus on more than one thing at a time so when we attempt to do so everything is shaken up and done poorly. More recent research has demonstrated the cost of trying to multitask. A simple example. If you had 20 minutes to do a task at work and 5 minutes to check your personal email or other social media messages it could be done in 25 minutes, if done sequentially. If you attempted the same task by working for 5 minutes on your task, engaged for 1 minute glance with a social media app, then went back to your work task you lose time. Your brain takes time to refocus and transition from one task to another so your process takes longer than the 25 minutes allotted. Over a day it adds up to a lot.

Think of applying this to prayer. You begin, get distracted by something, come back, get distracted, and on it goes. Do you every really focus on the subject at hand – communion with the Lord?

Another issue is reading. If we do most of our reading on electronic devices we tend to skip over words more than reading on paper and we retain less information. Kindle devices seem to be a bit better and are more like reading a hard copy.

With this brief overview we can now look at how we can approach prayer and scripture. If your first impulse is to turn on or check our phone when you awake, resist the temptation. The social media apps on your phone are designed to capture and keep your attention. One of the inventions coming from the social media companies is infinite scrolling. When you finish one page another one automatically loads. They don’t have to function that way, they do because again, this helps to capture and keep your attention. With what they track and gather I am confident that for most of us the social media giants know much more about us and our likes and habits than our nearest neighbours!

My recommendation, set aside time in the morning to focus on prayer and worship, read a hard copy of your bible. Taking a few minutes doing it on your phone may seem more efficient, it isn’t, and will do more to fracture your attention. Scripture calls us to do a couple of things.

¹⁰ Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth! Psalm 46:10 (NKJV)

¹⁵ And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful. Colossians 3:15 (NKJV)

These things require our attention and focus. The context of Psalm 46:10 is warfare and the message from Yahweh is to be still, relax and watch Him work. The context of Colossians 3:15 is setting our thoughts and affections on heavenly things and the result is His peace.

Doing these things require intentionality on our part. Distractions have always tried to turn us away from individual prayer and worship and our current culture works harder than any other time in history to draw our thoughts and affections to other things. If you are struggling, it a cultural battle not just an individual one. Seek His face for help and seek out help from godly friends.

Practically I know I check my phone and social media regularly during the day. I do this because I keep my notifications on mute 99.9% of the time. I only turn on the ringer on my phone on if I am expecting a call. Otherwise, I call people back. I know many years ago when I first had a work BlackBerry about a week into my having it, I walked across the street to the Rogers store and asked them how to turn off the vibrate on my emails. The staff person I spoke with was shocked. I explained that I received plenty of emails and I didn’t need to know every time I received one, I could simply check regularly.

These were simply strategies I used. I don’t know if this is an issue for you, I do know research says it is a growing problem in our culture so, commit some time, seek His face and decide if you need to make any lifestyle adjustments to focus your heart on Jesus.

The Power of the Cross

One more post from my older writing. Next week I will look at prayer and social media distractions.

THE MESSAGE OF THE CROSS – THE POWER OF GOD – 1 CORINTHIANS 1:18 (OCTOBER 1992)

In continuing on with the idea of spiritual maturity I want to look at the work of the cross in our lives. I believe that as we look at what the scriptures teach we will find a new liberty in our walk with Him.

The foundation for understanding how the cross works in our lives is the awareness of the place of the spirit and soul in relation to the cross. When we are born again Christ joins His Spirit to our spirit (1 Cor. 6:17, Rom. 8:9). At this time the sin nature/old man is crucified and Christ imparts His life and Himself to our spirits so that we are born again as a new creation (Rom. 6:9, Gal. 2:20, 2 Cor. 5:17, Col. 3:9-10). The work of the cross in our spirits takes place at conversion and is a one time event never to be repeated.

The reason we do not necessarily walk after the Spirit in newness of life is that the cross needs to work in the soul/flesh and this work needs to continue until we die or Christ returns. To walk after the Spirit means taking up the cross so that we do not walk after the soul. (Matt. 10:38, 16:24-26, Mk. 8:34, 10:21, Lk. 9:23, 14:27).

Taking up the cross does not mean crucifying ourselves. Nowhere in the scriptures are we told to crucify ourselves because it is impossible. We are told to take up the cross and to recognize that we are already crucified. If taking up the cross meant crucifixion it would mean either a very slow painful process or one which needs to be often repeated because Jesus said we are to take up the cross daily (Lk. 9:23). The taking up of the cross is simply the submission of our will to His will, not self crucifixion.

Christ’s cross was submission to His Father’s will and that is the cross we are also called to carry. When Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane to the point that He was sweating blood (Lk. 22:44) there was no confusion in His mind regarding His Father’s will. The battle was Jesus knowing His Father’s will and His soul wanting to draw back from the horror that He knew lay ahead. He was choosing to submit when He said, “not my will, but Yours, be done.” Keep in mind that there was no sin in Christ’s soul.

The soul life is our natural life and is described by Paul as the fleshly/carnal nature or the carnal man (Rom. 7:14,18,25, 8:1, 3-9, 12-13, 1 Cor. 3:1-4). To be carnal or spiritually immature is to be in the habit of walking after the flesh or desires of the soul rather than submitting to the cross and denying our soul/self.

To walk after the Spirit means that not only do we have to cease doing evil deeds but good deeds as well. The tree of the knowledge of good and evil is the personification of the soul life, whereas the tree of life is the personification of the spiritual life. For Jesus to be made manifest means that not only do have to recognize the evil works of the flesh but also; “good deeds” rooted in things like selfish ambition (Gal. 5:20) that produce confusion and an open door to demonic deception (Jas. 3:16), or simply our desire to do what we know needs to be done, like Moses trying to be the deliverer of Israel 40 years ahead of Yahweh’s schedule.

The idea of ceasing our good deeds in an offensive doctrine but true nevertheless. It has always been, and always will be in the Kingdom of God, that works born of the flesh are flesh and works born of the Spirit are spirit (Jn. 3:6). The soul is unable to produce that which is spiritual (1 Cor. 15:45).

I earlier mentioned the idea that the soul is not to be crucified. Not only is it not to be crucified, it is instead to be purified by submission to the leading of the Spirit. 1 Peter 1:22 says, “you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit.” The soul is purified as it submits to the Spirit. This is the true taking up of the cross.

We need to be aware that no matter how pure the soul becomes, it (just like Christ’s in the Garden) can never take the lead in spiritual matters because it lacks the capacity. It was designed to be the servant of the spirit and when it embraces this place it prospers (3 Jn. 2). It can prosper in no other way.

The idea of taking up the cross is very important in our daily lives. An example from my own life relates to prayer. I was praying one morning and had a sense in my spirit that it was time to stop and go upstairs to have breakfast with my family. At this time I was also aware in my mind (soul) of some things I thought it was important to pray about so I continued to pray. Almost immediately I realized I was not praying in the Spirit and had to repent of my rebellion before I went up for breakfast.

I can think of other illustrations as simple as not taking that dessert or extra helping at the table when the Holy Spirit says no, or not exercising our rights out of submission to the Holy Spirit. When someone has wronged us and we have every legal right to seek justice we need to seek the mind of the Lord on the matter. When we feel anger or bitterness at something someone has said or done, no matter how right the cause, we need to repent of our wrong heart attitude and submit to Him. When we truly submit grace comes flowing into our hearts, our feelings change and the fruit of the Spirit is made manifest.

These are for the most part simple things but very important as they release His grace in our lives as we obey. I know that if we are not faithful in the little things He is not able to trust us with the larger things (Lk. 6:10). The big battles are won or lost by the character we cultivate in the little daily decisions that can seem so inconsequential.

Having said all of the above, Romans 8:1-2 best sums up the Christian walk. As we daily choose to submit and take up the cross it becomes a habit and we know the cross as the power of God. By walking after the Spirit we experience the reality of the law of the Spirit of life moving against and overcoming the law of sin and death. The result is the mind being conformed to the likeness of Christ (Col. 3:10, Eph. 4:23) and the fruit of the Spirit being seen in our lives (Gal. 5:22-23). The message of the cross is the power of God!

A Heart of Wisdom

I am returning to regular posts as my book is progressing well. For the next bit I am posting some articles I wrote over 30 years ago that are very relevant for today. In the early 1990’s I did a monthly article called The Apostolic Gospel and later compiled them into a booklet. Below is an excerpt.

THE APOSTOLIC GOSPEL: A HEART OF WISDOM

“So teach us to number our days that we may gain a heart of wisdom” Ps. 90:12). In this hour the Holy Spirit desires to stir up in our hearts the reality of Moses’ prophetic cry to Yahweh. In this passage the Hebrew word translated as gain is bow or boh; it implies movement and means to gain or bring forth or carry. The Holy Spirit is teaching us that at the end of our days we will bring, gain, or carry the contents of our heart to the Judgment Seat. Moses’ desire is that each of us will bring to the Judgment Seat a heart filled with the fruits of wisdom. The Holy Spirit desires that we understand the requirement of presenting our hearts to Jesus when we stand before Him. Just as we can bring nothing to merit salvation, neither will we be able to present our own works at the Judgment Seat. All we can present is our hearts. All creation will know in that hour whether the treasure we have been carrying in our hearts (Matt 6:21) consists of gold, silver, and precious stones; or wood, hay, and stubble (1 Cor. 3:12-15). As the contents of our hearts pass under the fiery gaze of Jesus’ eyes (Rev.1:14) all that is not of Him will be consumed. That which sprang from faith will remain as our dead works are consumed (Heb. 6:1).

Gaining hearts of wisdom is an area where we, the church, greatly need to be exercised, and it is one of the many areas in which the Holy Spirit desires to lead us “into all truth” (Jn. 16:13). There is a great need for us to understand the scriptural reality that “He has put eternity in their (our) hearts.” (Eccl. 3:11). When we understand that the foundation of eternity has been laid in our hearts our first choice is whether to spend that eternity in heaven or hell. If we choose heaven, we must further decide whether to truly live out of the eternity dwelling in our hearts. It is only in embracing this mode of living that we can ever hope to “gain a heart of wisdom” because our hearts are the centres of our value systems and the centres of our needs. They colour and touch every area of our lives. Wise hearts are those that have learned to “seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness” (Matt. 6:33) and come into agreement with Jesus and His values, “You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve.” (Lk. 4:8).

To live this way, we need to understand that there is much more to the walk of a believer than simply being born again. The New Testament is filled with the truth that we have been empowered and are responsible to walk in newness of life (Rom. 6:4) and that we will be judged in terms of how well we have walked out that new life (2 Cor. 5:10, Rom. 14:10-12, Eph.2:10, 4:1, Phil. 2:12). Sadly, most of us in the church are either ignorant or terribly neglectful of these truths because we are so conformed to the world (Rom. 12:2, 13:11-14, 2 Cor. 5:15, Eph 4:1, 17).

A heart of wisdom recognizes that Jesus commissioned us (anointed, gave us authority and ability) to “make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit teaching them to observe all that I (He) have commanded (us)” (Matt. 28:19-20). This passage is pregnant with possibility and importance in terms of our calling, commission and responsibility as believers. We need to awaken to our responsibility! Paul said, “it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed.” (Rom. 13:11).

To carry out the “Great Commission” we need to understand that not only are we called to make disciples of individual members of all nations (Greek ethnos, ethnic groups or nationalities, people groups), but we are called to disciple entire nations. The Lord has called the church, not democracy, communism, humanism, or any other created thing (Rom. 8:37-39, Matt. 5:14-16), to be the light of the world. With the calling we have both the authority and responsibility to speak to the situations and institutions affecting our nations, and to provide the light to lead them out of darkness (Eph. 5:8-14). I am not suggesting that the church should use political power to take over countries of the world, because His kingdom is not of this world (Jn. 18:36, Matt. 6:9-10). We are however called to give light to our leaders and to set an example for the world to follow, rather than us following the ways of the world.

For example, one time I listened to a “Christian” radio program talking about a talent contest for “worship” bands. Concepts like this make me wonder if we as the church have drifted so far away from the Lord that we are not even able to recognize or discern when we have embraced the ways of Satan? Have we invited him right into our midst, as Saul did by bringing king Agag back to Israel, thinking he could control the enemy he had conquered? Would we exercise any more discernment if we thought about having contests for the sermon of the week in our local assemblies? Do we not understand that our weapons are not carnal?

Our foolishness in these areas demonstrates an ignorance of the Lord, of His ways, and knowing the power of the cross. This is but one example of our many failures to walk out our commission to teach the nations His ways. The scriptures are clear that there will come a time when “the law shall come forth out of Zion and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.” (Is. 2:1-3). I believe there will be a literal fulfillment of this in Jerusalem, and through Israel, when Yahweh gathers His people back to their land. There is, however, also the reality that this prophecy speaks of the commission of the church to be a standard for the nations. This means that we have a responsibility to come to maturity and then teach individuals, people groups, and nations to discern between good and evil (Heb. 5:13-14).

To walk in this reality and truly walk out our calling in the earth we need to function in a much greater level of anointing then that which is presently observable in most aspects of the local church. We need to learn to go beyond our programs and ideologies and into the Holy of Holies to dwell in His presence and draw on His wisdom. All the gifts listed in 1 Corinthians 12 and the love that motivates them in 1 Corinthians 13 need to be drawn out from behind the veil so that they transition from hope to reality. We also need the fivefold ministry of Ephesians 4:11 to function in individual members of the body if the body is to be properly equipped to come to maturity. Much of the present day church is functioning in the spiritual gifts to a limited extent and some segments have discerned the need for the fivefold ministry. We are beginning to wake up to and walk in these job descriptions. With these signs of hope and life in this time of darkness, let us press in to see the glory of the Lord manifest to a needy world through a mature body (Is. 60:1-2).

I say these things not to condemn, but rather to encourage and exhort us to search the scriptures and follow after the exhortations in them. Jesus was very clear that our eternal position in His kingdom will be based on how we walk out His teachings (Matt. 5:19) and the words of Paul strongly exhort us, “Be diligent to present yourselves approved to God, a workman who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” (2 Tim. 2:15).

Understanding the Times

There are important times and seasons. In Greek there are two words used in scripture for time, chronos (Chronos was the Greek god of time) and kairos. Chronos is the source of our word chronology, sequential ordered events, chronological time. Kairos is more qualitative and refers to the right time or moment. We have a great example of kairos in the 1 Chronicles.

³² of the sons of Issachar who had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do, their chiefs were two hundred; and all their brethren were at their command; 1 Chronicles 12:32 (NKJV)

This verse is part of a larger narrative referring to the nation of Israel gathering to make David king over all Israel. It was the right time in the life of the nation. In a similar way we have key times and seasons in the life of our culture and nation. If we are to know what to do, we need to understand the times.

Yet beyond understanding we also need to act. The sons of Issachar turned their knowledge into wisdom through action. Over the years I have many times illustrated the difference between knowledge and wisdom using the idea of standing in the middle of the road with a large truck heading directly at you. Knowledge is knowing you should get out of the way, wisdom is moving! Wisdom is strategically applied knowledge.

Which brings us back to our time and culture. In Canada, as a nation, we are not in a good place. We have soaring federal debt that is presently so bad that all of the federal GST (Goods and Services Tax) that is collected goes toward paying the interest on our debt, none to principal, and sadly we have a Prime Minister who just tabled and passed a new budget that is going to significantly increase our debt. Our culture has shifted in recent decades from being supportive of Judeo-Christian values to either ignoring them or being openly hostile toward them.

So, in this season in our culture is there an option available to shift our nation to sound values and sound stable fiscal policy? One answer is found in Proverbs.

¹¹ By the blessing of the upright the city is exalted, But it is overthrown by the mouth of the wicked. Proverbs 11:11 (NKJV)

Jeremiah had the same perspective, but in a more pointed manner.

⁷ And seek the peace of the city where I have caused you to be carried away captive, and pray to the Lord for it; for in its peace you will have peace. ⁸ For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Do not let your prophets and your diviners who are in your midst deceive you, nor listen to your dreams which you cause to be dreamed. ⁹ For they prophesy falsely to you in My name; I have not sent them, says the Lord. ¹⁰ For thus says the Lord: After seventy years are completed at Babylon, I will visit you and perform My good word toward you, and cause you to return to this place. ¹¹ For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Jeremiah 29:7–11 (NKJV)

The context was Yahweh’s people going into captivity. Through Jeremiah, He told them to “seek the peace of the city where I have caused you to be carried away captive.” The reason being that no matter what the false prophets said, and even though Yahweh promised to return them to Jerusalem, most of them would never see that promise realized because Yahweh was clear that they were going to be in a seventy-year captivity.

If we apply this to us, no matter how godly or ungodly our leadership at the federal, provincial and municipal levels our calling is to bless our nation, province/territory and city to see it raised up to righteousness. This means praying for leaders, speaking truth and life into our culture and being a force for righteousness wherever we are. When more of us do this we will see a shift toward righteousness in our nation.

NOTE – In line with the theme of Understanding the Times, in a few weeks I would have completed 11 years of weekly blog posts, week after week without exception, I began the first week of January 2014. However, I believe the Lord wants me to take a break to focus on the book I am writing. I will decide next steps in a few weeks. I am also having a second knee replacement in mid December. In the meantime, since I began writing my blog it has grown to over 800 pages of theologically sound searchable teaching material. Thanks for reading and please pray as I write and discern the next steps. Given His call on my life, I will continue to teach until my last breath as it is inherent in who and what I am!

The Place of Intervention

The Lord has a plan. We see the loss of the garden in Genesis 3 and the restoration of the garden and the city of God in Revelation 21-22. In regard to His planning scripture makes the following comment.

¹¹ In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will, Ephesians 1:11 (NKJV)

Let’s linger on this phrase, “who works all things according to the counsel of His will.” God will accomplish His ultimate purpose in all of creation. Our hearts can rest confidently in this reality. At the same time, we have no guarantee that we will accomplish all He has prepared for us or how others will respond to His call.

¹⁰ For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. Ephesians 2:10 (NKJV)

The ‘should’ in this verse implies something obligatory, in line with the famous Romans 12:1-2, an exhortation to present ourselves to Him as a living sacrifice to serve His purposes. We also have Peter clearly stating Yahweh’s heart toward the lost.

⁹ The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. 2 Peter 3:9 (NKJV)

Knowing this we still know that many will be lost because they choose to not respond to His calling. As noted at the beginning we began in a garden and we will end there. Yahweh will fulfill His overall purpose but who will be part of it is the open part of scripture that depends on the exercise of our will in response to His drawing.

I remember decades ago Rick Joyner sharing that he asked the Lord why he used John Wimber that way he did. The Lord responded along the lines of, “When I knocked on his door he answered.” Think of Ananias, in Acts 9:10-18. Yahweh appears in a vision and asks Ananias to go and pray for Saul of Tarsus. What if Ananias had rationalized that this vision wasn’t from the Lord because he knew the danger? The answer is Yahweh would have sent someone else and Ananias would have missed a deep and powerful blessing. What if those who rejected the outpouring of the Spirit at Azusa Street had said yes earlier? Who else would now be in the kingdom? What if Wilberforce had rejected his commission by the Lord to end slavery in Great Britain? It would have eventually happened through someone else.

What does this have to do with my title, The Place of Intervention? Where He first intervenes is generally in the calls and nudges to obedience. When our heart responds correctly, He offers more. A good scriptural example, one I encourage you to look up and read, is the broader story of Saul and David. I have heard many assert that Saul was the people’s choice and David the Lord’s choice. We can see from scripture that isn’t true.

¹³ And Samuel said to Saul, “You have done foolishly. You have not kept the commandment of the Lord your God, which He commanded you. For now the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. ¹⁴ But now your kingdom shall not continue. The Lord has sought for Himself a man after His own heart, and the Lord has commanded him to be commander over His people, because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you.” 1 Samuel 13:13–14 (NKJV)

Here the covenant that Samuel said Yahweh wanted to give Saul, to establish his kingdom forever, was the covenant that David received. Why? Saul’s heart stopped responding to Yahweh and shifted to responding to the people instead.

The place of intervention is the place of our meeting with Him and choosing to walk with an obedient heart. May we always choose obedience.

Babies, Birth and Revival Part 1

We begin with babies and birth. First, I confess, when I hear someone from a couple say, “We’re pregnant” I have an internal reaction that I sometimes verbalize, “we” are not pregnant, the woman is pregnant. Now, while both pending parents may be excited about the birth, the process is dependent on what happens with the mother. For a healthy natural birth to take place the mother needs to pay attention to her health but she still doesn’t determine the time of birth. As the time of the baby’s arrival nears there are things that can be done to facilitate labour, but in a truly natural process it is the moving of the baby into the birth canal that brings on the labour. Which brings us to revival and cultural transformation.

When Yahweh wants to do something on the earth He first stirs something in the heavenly realm and inspires intercessors to pray (the labour pains) that birth the move of the Spirit in the earth. I have at times looked at the history of various revivals and I personally don’t know of a single one that wasn’t birthed through prayer in response to His leading. Some I am more familiar with are the Welsh and Azusa Street revivals. The key intercessor behind the Welsh Revival was Evan Roberts with his famous prayer, “Lord bend me!” bursting passionately from his heart. With Azuza street the revival initially began more than once but leaders were offended by what the Spirit was doing and shut it down. Each time it moved locations until it was embraced. The key intercessor was Frank Bartleman who was so given to prayer that some of his friends were worried about his health. Bartleman’s response was that he would rather die in fasting and prayer than not see revival.

At this point in history, I don’t personally know anyone with that level of intercessory heart for revival and reformation here in my nation. That of course doesn’t mean there are none, merely that I am not aware of them. We know about Evan Roberts and Frank Bartleman as we know history. Presently I know many of us express a longing for revival and some a longing for and understanding of reformation. In that context I believe we need to develop a greater sensitivity to His presence and leading. We can miss opportunities related to our calling and purpose and opportunities for our culture.

An example of this that I have come back to again and again for over thirty years is Moses. In Exodus 33 we see a transition take place.

¹² Then Moses said to the Lord, “See, You say to me, ‘Bring up this people.’ But You have not let me know whom You will send with me. Yet You have said, ‘I know you by name, and you have also found grace in My sight.’ ¹³ Now therefore, I pray, if I have found grace in Your sight, show me now Your way, that I may know You and that I may find grace in Your sight. And consider that this nation is Your people.” ¹⁴ And He said, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” ¹⁵ Then he said to Him, “If Your Presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here. ¹⁶ For how then will it be known that Your people and I have found grace in Your sight, except You go with us? So we shall be separate, Your people and I, from all the people who are upon the face of the earth.” ¹⁷ So the Lord said to Moses, “I will also do this thing that you have spoken; for you have found grace in My sight, and I know you by name.” ¹⁸ And he said, “Please, show me Your glory.” Exodus 33:12–18 (NKJV)

For context Moses had his first encounter with Yahweh at the burning bush and many after. Yet here, even though Yahweh has already promised to send his presence, and Moses has been dwelling in it in the tent of meeting in His presence, he has a sudden realization, he doesn’t really know Yahweh in an intimate way! Thus he asks Yahweh to show him His way then asks to see His glory, His character or nature. This is unfolded when Moses goes back up the mountain and is hidden in the cleft of the rock.

Now back to us. Have we spent time in His presence, in prayer meetings and church services but not really gotten to know His heart? Have we cried out in longing to know the One with us and to see His glory? Is He stirring your heart in this direction?

Engagement and Education Part 2

Some decades ago, at the beginning of the 1990’s, I took a certificate program in adult and continuing education at our local university. Given that Jesus has called and anointed me to teach this was a good use of my time. Something that stands out for me during this time was a debate I had with some of my classmates. We were all working in our respective fields and had education as part of our role to varying degrees. At the time two things that were popular were a focus on facilitation and felt needs. We were encouraged to respond to the felt needs of adults and be facilitators not teachers.

I engendered some debate and was pretty much a lone voice with the concern I raised. I shared that from my perspective there wasn’t anything wrong with the idea of teaching and I saw facilitation as something a good teacher did. I also asserted that a responsibility of good teachers was not only to respond to felt needs but to discern what people actually needed and teach them that as well. In light of that let’s review our calling and responsibility as believers in light of what Jesus instructed.

¹⁸ And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. ¹⁹ Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen. Matthew 28:18–20 (NKJV)

Of interest here is that Jesus didn’t instruct us to respond to felt needs, He instructed us to teach and observe all the things that He had commanded. While Jesus did respond to felt needs; He healed the sick and fed the hungry, His broader messianic mission is presented in Luke.

¹⁸ “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed; ¹⁹ To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.” Luke 4:18–19 (NKJV)

Jesus response to felt needs was always in the context of His broader mission, calling people to repentance and submission to the kingdom of God, which is what The Great Commission in Matthew 28 reinforces. After all Jesus began His mission this way.

¹⁴ Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, ¹⁵ and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.” Mark 1:14–15 (NKJV)

This shows us that while Jesus responded to felt needs, it was an aspect of His ministry and should be an aspect of ours, it now dominates and twists our culture. If we look at our current culture wars and outrage, felt needs dominate. We see it in the socialist agenda, the gender debates, the political groups and on it goes. We have come to the place where we deny reality out of a desire to enshrine felt needs rather than support truth and reality. We are living in a season that Paul warned us about.

³ For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; 2 Timothy 4:3 (NKJV)

We are there and it is not a good place to be, thus I leave us with a reflective question. Where in our culture is the church taking ground? If your answer is that it isn’t, here is the next question. Do we capitulate to our culture or change strategies?

We will look at strategy next time.

Engagement and Education Part 1

Here I am going to share a bit about my role the last few years of work prior to retirement. Not to reminisce, but to look at how it relates to our mission as believers and our broader role and responsibility as the body of Christ. I was the Director of Engagement and Education in one of the legislative offices. As the Director of my team, my responsibility and the role of my staff was to engage and educate both within the organization and externally. I also played a role in setting organizational direction as a member of the Strategic Leadership Team.

Engagement was about the responsibility to engage with those within or aligned with the purposes of the organization to create alliances and educate them around common interests. Engagement and education with those outside and not aligned with the purposes of the organization took the form of sharing and building or furthering relationships.

The role of the office was provincial which meant that I needed to keep my staff engaged with the broader issues in the province but also needed to keep my staff in the two major cities 300 kilometres apart engaged and focused on the same mission across the province. In terms of the broader structure my boss reported to a standing committee of the Legislature so his authority came from that relationship and he then delegated that authority to those of us that reported to him.

Now let’s apply this to the church, beginning with a passage I suspect most of us are familiar with to some degree.

Here the making of disciples (not just converts) was the mission and it required, and still does, both engagement and education. The scope of the mission is outlined in Jesus final command before His ascension.

⁸ But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” Acts 1:8 (NKJV)

Practically this means, as noted above in my job example, that we need to engage with and educate both within and outside the church. By church I am referring to people not buildings. Engaging within the body needs to focus on building relationships leading to discipleship (education). Engaging outside the body needs to focus on sharing the truth of the gospel (education) and seeking to bring others into the kingdom then discipling them.

It is one thing to simply encourage us to go and do but prior to issuing His commands Jesus modeled for His followers how to do the work of the kingdom and trained them. After He commissioned them, He said upon leaving that the Holy Spirit would come and continue to help them. We still need the Spirit as the reality is that what Jesus commanded in Matthew 28 and Acts 1 requires strategy and intentionality on our part. I encourage you to seek Him in this regard.

We will delve more into strategy next week.

In the Presence of our Enemies

Here we continue to engage in looking at our walk with Jesus because it is the most important thing we can do. As part of that process, we will look at portions of the most famous Psalm in the world. I am not going to go over all of it, though I do highly recommend Phillip Keller’s book; A Shepherd Looks at the 23 Psalm it is older but very sound. In addition to looking at Psalm 23 there are some New Testament passages I want to consider. Now to the 23 Psalm.

A Psalm of David. ¹ The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. ² He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. ³ He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake. ⁴ Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. ⁵ You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over. ⁶ Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me All the days of my life; And I will dwell in the house of the Lord Forever. Psalm 23 (NKJV)

There are two key things to consider, the ‘valley of the shadow of death’ and a table prepared for us, ‘in the presence of my enemies.’ These phrases both imply that our spiritual walk will involve challenges. Now, I confess, I want a regular unencumbered comfortable life. Some may think of it as boring but I like my routines and structure, my prayer and study area at home and workout area in our basement. I don’t particularly like to travel, unless it involves things like mountains, hiking or Pickleball (don’t ask why I am writing this from Portugal!). Though I have mediated conflicts for three decades I don’t like conflict, I do however recognize the value of engaging in it for a greater purpose. Which is one reason I am an administrator in a Christian and Atheist debate group on Facebook. I think defending our faith is important.

I say all that because we need to recognize that Jesus never called us to the life I desire – the comfortable life. He called us to advance His kingdom, which means we need to live in a fallen world demonstrating a character often at odds with the values of this fallen world. Jesus said the path is narrow and that in this world we will face trials and troubles but that He has given us His peace to endure them

³³ These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” John 16:33 (NKJV)

Given all of this one way to assess how we are doing is contained in something Paul wrote.

¹⁷ for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. Romans 14:17 (NKJV)

While there is a broader context a key point Paul was making was that if we are walking as we should be then our life should be manifesting righteousness, peace and joy. If these things are not evident then we have either wandered off the path of life or given in to a spiritual attack and been sidelined in our walk. If this sounds a bit harsh, let me point out that I am merely highlighting scripture. This is our calling. If I am walking in intimacy with Jesus then how can I not think righteous thoughts, demonstrate righteous behavior and manifest peace and joy?

I encourage you to spend some time reflecting on this and next time we will look at how we engage in spiritual warfare to walk in righteousness, peace and joy.

People, Pace and Presence

While hiking in the mountains with a group of people this past summer I was at the front and in conversation with someone near me I said, “When you are leading you need to pay attention to two things, people and pace.” The idea here being that you need to make sure everyone is okay on the hike and you need to set a pace that people can follow. Now, you likely noticed that I added the word presence to my title. I will explain why.

In carrying this idea over to our spiritual journey with Jesus I think these three elements are important. Who are we walking with? Are we able to walk together at a functional pace? Notice I said functional, not comfortable. At times we need our walk challenged. Lastly, and most important, are we walking in Jesus’ presence?

I enjoy hiking and I enjoy working with others. When I was working, at times I had staff who were open to having supervision while walking. It is hard to take notes but I found walking dialogue often more effective than sitting in an office. There is something about walking with others, which may be why Paul used the analogy.

¹ And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, ² in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, ³ among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others. Ephesians 2:1–3 (NKJV)

¹⁰ For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. Ephesians 2:10 (NKJV)

Paul describes our pre-conversion life as a walk, but a walk, ‘according to the course of this world’ whereas after our conversion our call is to walk in the ‘good works’ that the Lord prepared before for us.

Thus, when people say ‘God has a plan for your life’ that is true. There is no guarantee however that we will ‘walk’ it out. This is where people, pace and presence come in. What helps us walk it out is those we walk with. We need to find those we can keep pace with and also those who will push us beyond things we think we are capable of doing.

When I was younger, I learned a good deal in a few months from a gentleman name Rene. He wasn’t a spiritual mentor nor do I think he planned to be a mentor, he just was. My first winter out of high school I spent working for a trucking company moving oil rigs, at times in brutally cold conditions. I worked mostly with Rene Bilidou, farmer in the summer, truck driver in the winter. I was the swamper, which meant Rene drove and I walked and ran around behind the truck (imagine a very large tow truck to try and get the image) while we tore down and put oil rigs back together on oil leases and hauled components to the next site.

That is the background. Rene taught me many things, pushed me to do things I didn’t think could be done, and was patient in teaching me when I failed. Being 19 at the time, I of course had plenty of great ideas on how to do things, most of them wrong. Rene had the wisdom to let me try and fail so that I was in a more teachable space and then he would show me how to do things correctly. Rene was a practical rather than a spiritual mentor. In our Christian walk we need spiritual mentors who are also practical and walk with us like that, mentors who allow us to make mistakes, help us learn from them, and keep pointing us in the right direction.

This leads us to presence. The key factor in our walking with others is pursuing Jesus’ presence. We need to pursue Him ourselves and we need to walk with others who both pursue Him and push us to do the same. The potential for failure is this endeavour is readily available, for example, consider the following verse.

²⁴ God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands. Acts 17:24 (NKJV)

Paul said Yahweh doesn’t dwell in material structures and he also noted in 1 Corinthians (3:16-17 and 6:19-20) that our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit, his point being to affirm what he said in Acts. In the Old Testament the temple was built and sacrifices were made to create sacred space and Yahweh dwelt on the mercy seat of the ark of the covenant. Yet at Jesus crucifixion Matthew, Mark and Luke all reference the veil in the temple being torn. This meant two things, Yahweh was coming out of the temple and would be available everywhere (think of Acts 2 and the Spirit being poured out at Pentecost) and that as Hebrews says, there was now free and bold access to the throne of grace, the mercy seat (Heb. 4:14-16).

Let me pull this back together. I am in Saville as I write this, and yesterday I visited an ornate old church building and as I left reflected on what I had been writing. Of note, I didn’t encounter His presence there. In terms of People, Pace and Presence, People walked together to build this and other amazing edifices (we have our own in North America) but at some point, they walked away from His presence and began following religion instead of Jesus. They reverted to thinking that buildings rather than His body, the church, could contain His presence. While we may use buildings to serve His purposes, it is people that host His presence. Thus, in our individual walks we need to find people with whom we can keep pace and with whom we encounter His presence.