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August 31, 2010
Kingdom Living Today 34. Our Lord Calls Each Of Us To An Earnest Heart

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How have you represented Jesus today?

 

Dear Friends,
Our next Kingdom Living Today story, 34. Our Lord Calls Each Of Us To An Earnest Heart, is available. In this anecdote the home fellowship family discusses what it means to be consumed with pure devotion to Jesus and the earnestness of heart that's needed in order to live according to His will and purposes. As the faith family comes to realize in the course of their discussion, along with dedication to be conformed to the character of Jesus and purposing out of love to do His will comes His spiritual power to bring that about. Anything less results in reliance on religious forms and practices—a poor substitute indeed.

While writing this e-mail we came upon a message that was preached over 50 years ago as a warning against the seduction to which Evangelical Christianity was giving in even back then, a seduction which has today so profoundly prevailed and overpowered. We wanted to include this message here so that you might mourn how the cross of Jesus Christ has been nullified in the false gospels so widely preached today.


The Cross:  New vs. Old
A. W. Tozer (1897-1963)
"Then Jesus said to His disciples,
"If anyone desires to come after Me,
let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me."
(Matthew 16:24)


"All unannounced and mostly undetected there has come in modern times a new cross into popular evangelical circles. It is like the old cross, but different; the likenesses are superficial, the differences fundamental.

From this new cross has sprung a new philosophy of the Christian life; and from that new philosophy has come a new evangelical technique, a new type of meeting and a new kind of preaching. This new evangelism employs the same language as the old, but its content is not the same and its emphasis not as before.

Good, Clean Fun
The old cross would have no truck with the world. For Adam's proud flesh it meant the end of the journey. It carried into effect the sentence imposed by the law of Sinai. The new cross is not opposed to the human race; rather, it is a friendly pal, and if understood aright, it is the source of oceans of good clean fun and innocent enjoyment. It lets Adam live without interference. His life motivation is unchanged; he still lives for his own pleasure, only now he takes delight in singing choruses and watching religious movies instead of bawdy songs and drinking hard liquor. The accent is still on enjoyment, though the fun is now on a higher plane morally, if not intellectually.

The World but at a Higher Level
The new cross encourages a new and entirely different evangelistic approach. The evangelist does not demand abnegation of the old life before the new life can be received. He preaches not contrasts but similarities. He seeks to key into public interest by showing that Christianity makes no unpleasant demands; rather it offers the same things the world does, only on a higher level. Whatever the sin-mad world happens to be clamoring after at the moment is cleverly shown to be the very thing the Gospel offers; only the religious product is better.

Following Human Taste and Reasoning
The new cross does not slay the sinner, it redirects him. It gears him into a cleaner and jollier way of living and saves his self-respect. To the self-assertive it says, "Come and assert yourself for Christ." To the egoist it says, "Come and do your boasting in the Lord." To the thrill seeker it says, "Come and enjoy the thrill of Christian fellowship." The Modern message is slanted in the direction of the current vogue, thereby catering to human taste and reasoning.

The philosophy back of this kind of thing may be sincere, but its sincerity does not save it from being false. It is false because it is blind. It misses completely all the meaning of the cross.

A Symbol of Death or of Redirection?
The old cross is a symbol of death. It stands for the abrupt violent end of a human being. The man in Roman times who took up his cross and started down the road had already said goodbye to his friends. He was not coming back. He was not going to have his life redirected; he was going out to have it ended. The cross made no compromise, modified nothing, spared nothing, it slew all of the man, completely and for good. It did not try to keep on good terms with its victim. It struck swift and hard, and when it had finished its work the man was no more.

The race of Adam is under death sentence. There is no commutation, and no escape. God cannot approve any of the fruits of sin, however innocent they may appear or beautiful to the eyes of men. God salvages the individual by liquidating him, and then raising him again to newness of life. God offers life, but not an improved old life. The life He offers is life out of death.  It stands always on the far side of the cross.  Among the plastic saints of our times Jesus has to do all the dying and all we want is to hear another sermon about His dying. We want to be saved but we insist that Christ do all the dying.  No cross for us, no dethronement, no dying.  We remain king within the little kingdom of Mansoul and wear our tinsel crown with all the pride of a Caesar; but we doom ourselves to shadows and weakness and spiritual sterility.

Not Diplomats but Prophets
That evangelism which draws friendly parallels between the ways of God and the ways of men is false to the Bible and cruel to the souls of the hearers. The faith of Christ does not parallel the world; it intersects it. In coming to Christ we do not bring our old life up onto a higher plane; we leave it at the cross. The corn of wheat must fall into the ground and die. We who preach the Gospel must not think of ourselves as public relations agents sent to establish good will between Christ and the world. We must not imagine ourselves commissioned to make Christ acceptable to Big Businessmen, or the Press, or the World of Sports, or Modern Education. We are not diplomats but prophets, and our message is not a compromise but an ultimatum.

God offers life, but not an improved old life. The life He offers is life out of death. It stands always on the far side of the cross; whoever would possess it must pass under the rod. He must repudiate himself and concur in God's just sentence against him.

So subtle is self that scarcely anyone is conscious of its presence. Because man is born a rebel, he is unaware that he is one. His constant assertion of self, as far as he thinks of it at all, appears to him a perfectly normal thing.  He is willing to share himself, sometimes even to sacrifice himself for a desired end, but never to dethrone himself. Sin has many manifestations, but its essence is one. A moral being, created to worship before the throne of God, sits on the throne of his own selfhood and from that elevated position declares, "I AM."  That is sin in its concentrated essence; yet because it is natural it appears to be good.

"What shall we do?" (Acts 2:37) is the deep heart cry of every man who suddenly realizes that he is a usurper and sits on a stolen throne... There must be a work of God in destruction before we are free.  We must invite the cross to do its deadly work within us... Our uncrucified flesh will rob us of purity of heart, Christ-likeness of character, spiritual insight, fruitfulness; and more than all, it will hide from us the vision of God's face.

If I see aright, the cross of popular Evangelicalism is not the cross of the New Testament. It is, rather, a new bright ornament upon the bosom of a self-assured and carnal Christianity. The old cross slew men; the new cross entertains them. The old cross condemned; the new cross amuses.  The old cross destroyed confidence in the flesh; the new cross encourages it.

Repent, Believe, and Forsake
What does this mean to the individual, the condemned man who would find life in Christ Jesus? How can this theology be translated into life? Simply, he must repent and believe. He must forsake his sins and then go on to forsake himself. Let him cover nothing, defend nothing, excuse nothing. Let him not seek to make terms with God, but let him bow his head before the stroke of God's stern displeasure.

Having done this let him gaze with simple trust upon the risen Savior, and from Him will come life and re-birth and cleansing and power. The cross that ended the earthly life of Jesus now puts an end to the sinner, and the power that raised Christ from the dead now raises him to a new life along with Christ."

If you're not dead to yourself and alive in Christ, experiencing His spiritual power through you, we ask you to consider which cross have you embraced: the New or the Old?

Your servants for His glory,
Mike & Sue

 

August 26, 2010
Kingdom Living Today 33. Blessed Are The Meek, For They Will Inherit The Earth

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How have you represented Jesus today?

Dear Friends,
Our next Kingdom Living Today story, 33. Blessed Are The Meek, For They Will Inherit The Earth, is available for download. In this anecdote Jack is invited to become a spiritual grandfather to a group of teenage boys Josh has gathered together. Any older person who's headed for the narrow gate can identify with Jack's joy and sense of privilege in being able to disciple young men in the footsteps of Jesus.




A few days ago I [Mike] was standing outside the Post Office near Peterson Air Force Base with our bicycles as Sue was mailing a present to our niece. As a C-130 aircraft passed overhead on its way in for a landing, a thought passed through my mind. I'd been the Maintenance Officer on a helo detachment in Vietnam and embedded in my training was the knowledge that every part on each aircraft had been tested to determine how long it would last. Then the words, "Everyone must be tested" kept playing over and over again. This struck a familiar chord as I'd recently read Paul's admonition, "We are not trying to please men but God, who tests our hearts" (1 Thessalonians 2:4).

If you think of testing within an academic setting, you probably still experience stomach-tightening at the memory of it. That's because academic tests are generally a pass/fail measurement of what you've retained in your mind or have achieved in a skill. Once the test is over, you can breathe a sigh of relief if you've passed (or groan if you've failed and have to repeat your preparation!). That's NOT what we're talking about here in regard to testing.

Thankfully, when Scripture describes testing, it's far more concerned with ongoing character development and inner motive than an evaluation of knowledge or accomplishment. The concept of our Father testing us is threaded throughout the Bible as a means of proving whether or not our hearts, and therefore our faith, are genuine. According to the biblical meaning of the word test, He's looking for hearts that are worthy through endurance to keep loving and following Jesus in obedient trust. That's a far cry from the shallow parroting of scripted prayers and man-pleasing activities so common in American religious settings today.

Both Testaments abound with references to God's testing His people to prove their perseverance and authentic love for Him:
"The crucible for silver and the furnace for gold, but the LORD tests the heart" (Proverbs 17:3); "Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him" (James 1:12). Even our father, the Hebrew Abraham, was tested (Genesis 22:1 and also Hebrews 11:17). And, testing for irreproachability in their character and in the way they live is commanded by Paul for deacons before they can serve fellow followers of Jesus (1 Timothy 3:10).

So God testing us shouldn't be foreign. Yet for many this idea is strange if we don't understand from His Word why He tests us. Consider the metaphors of a crucible and a furnace, above, that God uses to compare with the testing He puts us through. A crucible, like a furnace, is a vessel that uses intense heat to melt something. The goal is to remove worthless dross so that only the refined, purified part remains. This objective is comparable to our Father as the Vinedresser in John 15:1-8. Removal of that which is worthless is essential to our spiritual well-being: "He cuts off every branch that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit He prunes so that it will be even more fruitful" (v.2).

Chopping off or burning away whatever is worthless or unfruitful in us is a demonstration of our Father's love for each and every one of His children. As James notes in the verse above (1:12), the testing that comes through our trials and suffering reveals the genuineness of our love for God—and results in the wondrous promise of the crown of eternal life. Is whatever you're going through now worth the joy of His love for you and the hope for a heavenly welcome? We know from what He's taken us through in our own lives and from the testimonies of those we've talked with over the years who've gone through severe trials that agape love has been the fruit of what we've suffered.

Yet, suffering can produce a tragic alternative to love for those who are not trained by it according to Father's purposes. Instead of seeing His mighty and loving sovereign hand behind all that they've endured, many grow bitter toward God and distrust Him. This is particularly true if the trials they went through occurred before they entered His Covenant through Jesus and became indwelled by His Spirit. As we've talked with other followers of Jesus, we've been convinced that our Father uses events even before we become His children to begin the process of Christ-like character development in our mind, will and emotions. To their own ongoing hurt, many miss this important understanding. They're unable to embrace their past emotional hurt as part of our omniscient Father's plan to grow them in the character of His Son. (See Hebrews 5:7-9.)

God's messenger Peter leaves no doubt that our Lord's purposes for the trials we undergo are designed for our good so that our proven trust will reap honor and praise when our Lord returns. Our inheritance when we've stood the test is kept for us in heaven — which is why the apostle exhorts us to keep rejoicing in that promise yet to come! "In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your trust—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed" (1 Peter 1:6,7).

Look at the connection between trust and proved. When trust is proven, it's genuine, the real thing. Our understanding of what genuine is comes from the Latin word genuinus, referring to genu, or the ‘knee’. The Roman custom was for a father to acknowledge a newborn child as his by placing him or her on his knee. Consider this: When our Father's children prove themselves to be genuinely His, we're like His Son, Jesus—Who is the Firstborn of all of us (Romans 8:29). As Paul assures us, we partake of authentic fellowship with Jesus and with all others who share in His sufferings because this is God's instrument by which He transforms our character into that of our Lord: "I want to know Christ and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in His sufferings, becoming like Him in His death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead" (Philippians 3:10).

Points to keep in mind
Our Father uses suffering and trials in our life in order to:
• help rid us of ALL conformity to the goals and values of the world (see James 4:4; 1 John 2:15-17).
• help us trust in Him in each and every area of our life (see Proverbs 29:25; Jeremiah 17:7; Hebrews 11:6).
• help nurture our hearts to deepen our love for Him and for all others we encounter. He fully desires that His children reflect the same sacrificial love as His Son, Jesus (see Luke 10:27; Galatians 5:6; Revelation 12:11).

If you, your family, and those you fellowship with will keep these three goals in mind, you will not only be able to readily cooperate with your Father's motives behind testing your heart, but you'll also be equipped to encourage each other during times of trial and testing. When those close to you are going through the crucible and furnace of God's perfecting of their character, you're needed to encourage them to hang in there until He accomplishes the purifying He requires. Don't commiserate with them—you'll only prolong the process! Instead, keep pointing to the faithfulness of our Lord and to the joy that lies ahead in their patient endurance (see Hebrews 12:2).

"No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful.
Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace
for those who have been trained by it" (Hebrews 12:11).


This verse summarizes our Father's disciplining of His children that's delineated in Hebrews chapter 12. Discipline is His way to change us from what we were—ruled by our sin nature—so that we might be brought into conformity to His Son, Jesus. Throughout the Book of Hebrews the writer establishes Jesus as "Priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek" (Hebrews 5:6; 6:20; 7:17,20). Who is Melchizedek, the king of Salem and priest of God Most High? We're told that "his name means “king of righteousness” and that “king of Salem” means “king of peace" (Hebrews 7:2).

Did you notice that the goal of the trials and testing our Father puts His children through as part of our discipline in Hebrews 12:11, above, is "righteousness" and "peace?" In essence, these are the character indicators that evidence that our trials and testing are enabling us to become more like Jesus.
(For more on the importance of the Melchizedek Priesthood of Jesus, see our March 2001 Newsletter: Living as the Family of Melchizedek. The Melchizedek Priesthood through Jesus replaced the Levitical priesthood and ALL of its reliance on religion. Jesus came to establish a Kingdom in which each of His followers has a part to play within His priesthood of believers. Please, read this newsletter.)

Part of the reason for the trials and testing we must go through is that our Father does not want His children to conform to the sinful, self-seeking values and goals of this world:
"Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—His good, pleasing and perfect will" (Romans 12:2).

Can you discern what's of God and what's of this world? Really, have you taken the time to make sure you don't conform to the goals and motives of this world? Last Saturday we were selling some books at a home school fair on behalf of dear friends. As we talked with various mothers whose children had graduated from home schooling, all they could describe is how successful their children had become in the world—their achievements, their jobs, their homes. Over the years we've rarely heard any Christian parents, home schoolers included, who describe their children's success in Kingdom terms of pleasing our Lord and bringing others into His fold through their life choices.

Out of love for our Lord Jesus and love for the next generations, don't disadvantage your children or grandchildren with the same painful trials and testing that you went through so that the dross of worldly conformity might be burned from your life. We know from experience that there's hardly a parent reading this e-mail who was raised in a home whose chief goal was to train their children to love their Lord wholeheartedly and fulfill their part in the Kingdom of God. So each of us needs to learn how to be Kingdom parents and grandparents as we instill Kingdom values in our young. Please, don't raise your children and grandchildren to have to suffer needless trials and testing because you were reluctant or resistant to role model and instill in them a Kingdom lifestyle and purpose.

On the journey with you,
Mike and Sue

 

August 21, 2010
Kingdom Living Today 32. To Our Lord Belong Wisdom And Counsel

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How have you represented Jesus today?

Dear Friends,
Our next Kingdom Living Today story, 32. To Our Lord Belong Wisdom And Counsel, is attached. In this anecdote Brett and Lacie find themselves in a very unusual situation with another couple. Only through seeking the guidance of the Spirit of Jesus within them are they able to turn painful circumstances into praises to our Lord. Truly in this story is proverbial wisdom manifested: "Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight" (Proverbs 3:5,6).


God is Judging Christendom Because of the
Wandering Unrepentant

We've noted previously that we live in a senior mobile home park in Colorado Springs. When we came here from northern Arizona in 2002 after sharing the Hebraic foundations with Native Americans, we received prophecies that God was going to "hide us out in Egypt" for a time. This relative seclusion is exactly what we've needed in order to produce the variety of videos and other materials that we now have available on our website.

"Egypt" does have its irritants! This summer we and our immediate neighbors have been plagued by two feral cats that frequently howl at various times throughout the night. Sleep eluded us for over a week. Also, a squirrel has attacked our deck furniture, ripping out the stuffing for her nest. There are various means to rid ourselves of the animals, and we've been implementing them. Our problem, however, isn't just the wildlife and what they're doing, but other neighbors who think they're being caring by feeding these critters! Many people don't realize that because of feral cats, many song birds have disappeared in this country, allowing insect populations in some areas to escalate. And, feral cats are also rabies carriers.

There is a spiritual lesson in this that the Holy Spirit showed us. It has to do with confronting sin today. In the earliest faith communities there were three ways you could leave: 1. You could be sent forth. If you were sent forth, you'd normally have letters of introduction to indicate your good standing as a follower of Jesus (see Acts 15:23;28:21; 1 Corinthians 16:3). 2. You could die. 3. You could be excommunicated for unrepentance. Since people fellowshipped with others in their own neighborhood, if you were excommunicated, that fact would be common knowledge (as would be the previous two ways as well).

In 1983, when I (Mike) began counseling religious leaders during our 10 years at a retreat center in Connecticut, I developed a list of about 45 unrepentant people who wandered from one congregation to another in our area. (The list comprised individuals whose names came up at our monthly clergy breakfast gatherings and in the course of conversations with congregational leaders.) Each of these people was very divisive and self-serving, creating hostility and alienation among members (see 2Timothy 2:23-26). When the leadership of one body became aware of what these folks were doing and confronted them did they then move on to the next congregation. What surprised and grieved me was that when any of the divisive started to attend a new faith community, not one of the clergy contacted the previous congregation to find out why that person left.

One morning I handed out my list to the clergy group and in so doing, a hidden motive in the hearts of many of them was exposed. The reason none of them contacted the prior congregation about a divisive individual was the sin of competition. Each man was happy to have the difficult person because he was convinced he'd do better with them than the previous leadership had. When each of them saw the names of the various people who'd passed through their congregation and owned up to the damage done by them within their flock, their own sin of competition was exposed, along with their toleration for sin in their congregations as well. Leaders who'd let the "wolves" enter and leave their congregation realized that they'd failed a particular responsibility as shepherds:"You have not brought back the strays or searched for the lost" (Ezekiel 34:4; see also Matthew 18:15-17).

The Messiness of Confronting Sin

The failure of so many within westernized Christendom to deal biblically with the unrepentant is similar to our problem with the cats, the squirrel, and the people who feed them. When we uphold communal righteousness according to God's Word by confronting the unrepentant (Matthew 18:15-17), we appear narrow-minded or "legalistic" by those who extend "fellowship" to the unrepentant and receive them without question.

In our neighborhood we're taking action to end the cat-howling and destruction of property by the squirrels. Taking biblical action is also what the righteous must do with the unrepentant in their midst so that they might repent and be restored to fellowship with our Father. We who enjoy having our prayers answered so that our testimonies attest to our Father's glory must confront the unrepentant even if it gets "messy." Our Father is grieved when we resist doing this, for as He says through Peter, judgment begins with the family of God (1Peter 4:17). Furthermore, “If it is hard for the righteous to be saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?” (1Peter 4:18).

Ezekiel clearly articulates our responsibility to warn our brothers and sisters who are bent on living unrighteously: "When I say to the wicked, ‘O wicked man, you will surely die,’ and you do not speak out to dissuade him from his ways, that wicked man will die for his sin, and I will hold you accountable for his blood. But if you do warn the wicked man to turn from his ways and he does not do so, he will die for his sin, but you will have saved yourself'" (Ezekiel 33:8,9). James as well offers this admonition to Jesus followers to warn those whose ways are sinful before our holy God: "My brothers, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring him back, remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save him from death and cover over a multitude of sins" (James 5:19,20).

Perhaps you fear the possible messiness of confrontation so you resist confronting the sins of those with whom you fellowship. You mistakenly think you're being "tolerant" or "loving" by allowing them to hurt themselves or others close to them through their actions. But do you fully understand how you're failing others by your disobedience? Let us shed some light on the issue. The other night we saw on the news how the Taliban were helping flood victims in Pakistan. We went online to find out where the Taliban gets its funding. This is what we found at several reliable websites:

"The United States military is helping fund both sides of the war in Afghanistan, knowingly financing a Mafia-like collection of warlords and some of the very insurgents American troops are battling, according to Afghan and American officials and a new Congressional study released today."

Unbelievable! We're giving money to our enemy to kill our own men and women! How ludicrous! This hurts us even more because we personally know and pray for military personnel who are fighting in Afghanistan. Take a lesson from the stupidity of this government's policy: According to God's words spoken through His prophet Ezekiel, if you refuse to confront the sins of those you fellowship with, the other person will die in their sins but God will hold you accountable. Do you really want to find out the consequence of not being an authentic brother or sister in Christ toward this person?

The worst of God's judgment on this nation is yet to come. Our collective personal and communal repentance may yet cause Him to relent. Remember, our holy and merciful Father was willing to save Sodom if 10 righteous people could be found (Genesis 18:32). Tragically, 10 couldn't be found and the results were horrifying. And this isn't an isolated instance but rather a warning to us today of the wages of ongoing unrighteousness (see 2 Peter 2:4-9; 17-22)

Prior to the destruction of Jerusalem, God challenged the prophet Jeremiah, "Go up and down the streets of Jerusalem, look around and consider, search through her squares. If you can find but one person who deals honestly and seeks the truth, I will forgive this city" (Jeremiah 5:1). Since our God doesn't make idle promises, it appears that not one person could be found who dealt honestly and sought the truth.

Do you seek the truth?
• Would God consider you one of the righteous who love Him and intentionally pursue a life that pleases Him?
• Would He count your family among the righteous?
• Would your faith community be included with the righteous?

If you can't answer an emphatic "YES!" to all three questions, then you are part of the problem of the coming judgment when He's calling you to be part of the solution. Isn't it time for you and those who will join you to return under the blood of Christ through repentance?  Perhaps our Father will "pass over" you and those with you who live repentantly—or, as with Daniel's three young companions, He'll strengthen you to endure patiently whatever befalls you because you do love Him and live with obedient trust.

Again, Peter's warning to us today: “If it is hard for the righteous to be saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?” (1 Peter 4:18).

Mike & Sue

P.S. If you're unfamiliar with the level of purposeful intensity our Lord Jesus calls for and empowers in those who belong to Him, we'd like to suggest two spiritual classics for you. The first is In His Steps by Charles M. Sheldon which captures the fervency we need as we seek and do our Lord's will.
The second book is Hinds Feet On High Places by Hannah Hurnard which reveals the pilgrimage aspect to our salvation and how we all must leave the familiarity of our stronghold-based relationships in order to genuinely follow the Shepherd of our souls. It also wonderfully reveals the issues each of us must face in our sanctification into Christ's character on our way to our salvation. (We've written a discussion guide entitled, Going to the High Places, to accompany this book. It's a free download on our website.)

August 14, 2010
Kingdom Living Today 31. Don’t Be Afraid Of Them, For I Am With You

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How have you represented Jesus today?

Dear Friends,
Our next Kingdom Living Today story, 31. Do Not Be Afraid Of Them, For I Am With You, is available for download. In this anecdote Jack has been invited to meet with the local ecumenical council of clergy. He knows he'll be interacting with individuals whose very occupation has no biblical foundation. However, in order to not have the meeting break down into a war of words, the Holy Spirit has inspired him to send copies of the Prodigal Church booklet in advance to each cleric to read. The subsequent gathering is remarkable!

Do You Speak Christianese Without Christ?

As you've noticed in the Kingdom Living Today narratives, The conversations among Kingdom-minded people reflect a dynamic relationship with our Lord Jesus and a deep desire to do His will—no matter what the cost. This is our earnest hope for each of you. In this light, we want to discuss something that may be hindering your daily pursuit of a Kingdom responsiveness of love-motivated obedient trust, especially if you've had an extensive "churched" background.

Having worked among so many church groups and denominations over the last 33 years, we've come to recognize the "Christianese" that churched people get accustomed to in their conversations. That is, they develop their own religious vocabulary that enables them to identify with each other because they speak the same "spiritual lingo." Some religious groups are more insistent than others in instilling among their members a "Christian" vocabulary that represents their particular creedal bent.

This practice may not sound harmful, but consider this: Christianese can be used by a person or a group of people to ward off any determination to obey God's commands. While they can really "talk the talk", their lives are often beset by relational shallowness and hidden attitudinal sin. That's because they don't want their inner darkness to be exposed — especially their rebellious heart against fully obeying Lord Jesus in fulfilling their part in Kingdom service no matter what the cost.

The more devoted a person or religious group is to their creedal allegiance and practices than they are to a love-motivated obedience to Jesus, the more Christianese they use.

On the other hand:
The more determined a person or group is to keep deepening an intimate relationship with the indwelling Spirit of Christ and to do His will, the less religious lingo they use. Their discussion reflects a personal intimacy with Jesus that's revealed by both a yearning to become more like Him and a desire to please Him. These people "WALK the talk."

Many years ago, an older wise seminary professor, Dr. Roger Nicole, shared an important lesson with me (Mike) as we talked over a cup of coffee:
"One of the problems you’ll face when you leave here is resolving issues between Christians over controversy about Bible truths. Most Christians think that 'faith in God' includes 'faith in their religious practices.' But by mixing the two, they attach the emotional commitment they should have to their trust in God to a resistance to change any of their faith practices. It’s this resistance to change that turns practices into denominational traditions."

In subsequent years of counseling religious leaders and working among various religious groups at our retreat center, we found his words to be all too true. When we returned from our research in Israel in 1994, there were an estimated 24,000 competing religious sects and denominations within Christendom. Now there are over 38,000.

One of the hindrances that keeps millions from being devoted more to Jesus than to their particular religious practices is the seminary training received by their leaders. The practices and techniques taught at seminaries strongly impact congregations and parachurch organizations. Therefore, what is carried out from the pulpit on down is a loyalty to denominational practices and rituals that far supersedes devotion to our Lord Jesus and His revealed will (rhema) that the Bible repeatedly calls for.
How can you recognize if this has happened within your own spiritual circle? When you ask people the source of their particular practices, the pathway doesn't lead to Jesus as the Head of His called-out ones. Instead, they refer to some accepted observance or tradition that people before them in that denomination have established and perpetuated.

In Discussing How To Restore The Early Church, Lesson 20. The Impact of Hellenist Seminaries, we recount some of Mike's experiences at seminary from 1978-82. Here's an excerpt:

"One morning, my professor, Dr. Charles Schauffele, asked, 'Would you do a project analyzing the fruit of this seminary? I’ve been here over thirty years, and I don’t know if I’ve wasted my time.' I accepted his request. Through the use of surveys and interviews I studied the nearby congregations to which some of the seminary’s clergy graduates had gone to minister. When Dr. Schauffele read the results of the research, that elderly gentleman sat in front of me and wept. Not one of the graduates I’d surveyed had demonstrated a God-vision for what He desired for each congregation. Instead, these men perceived their pastoral position from the vantage point of religious practices and perspectives they’d been taught at seminary:

• Dutifully carrying out the tasks the seminary had inculcated in them;
• Appraising themselves as the most valued person in the congregation and focusing their efforts on maintaining their central position of control over their faith community;
• Over-esteeming the value of their rhetorical preaching and the vast amount of time devoted to weekly sermon preparation;
• Nagging themselves about their financial security and continually seeking ways to ensure greater income;
• Making sure nothing unpleasant or challenging 'rocked the boat' of their congregational headship."

Seminaries instruct prospective pastors in how to keep an organization running well. In other words, it's easy for ambitious, inexperienced young people to go to seminaries and learn techniques that will keep a religious system functioning smoothly. When they graduate and get to their place of ministry, they recruit warm bodies who will employ the methods their seminaries taught them. Sadly, the entire arrangement is independent of our Lord Jesus for guidance or empowerment.

On the other hand:
Jesus lived side by side with Twelve for over three years and role-modeled how to put into practice our Father's will. It's more demanding, and takes far longer, to learn to love and trust a Sovereign God Who makes sure our life experience involves total dependence and reliance on His faithfulness. As with Jesus' method of making disciples: it requires personal relationship and intentional load-bearing to reproduce the same lifestyle. This is why the shepherds of the earliest followers of Jesus were older, wiser men who had been prepared through life experience to authentically represent Father's compassion for His children.



"You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them
you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about Me, yet you refuse to come to Me to have life" (John 5:40).


Jesus criticized religious leaders of His day because they failed to realize that the Scriptures, the Hebrew passages they so ardently pursued, point to a dynamic personal relationship with Him. When you're devoted to someone in an intimate relationship, your language reflects that personal involvement and interaction. This principle is the same regarding your intimate interaction with the Spirit of Christ within you: Your language — what you say and how you say it — will reflect a living and loving relationship with our Lord. And out of that devotion, your life will reflect action that's prompted by His Spirit befitting your service to Him in His Kingdom.

The religious leaders whom Jesus criticized in John 5:40, above, relied on their Scriptural knowledge and interpretation of it but not on a trust-driven relationship with God. We've noted in Lifebyte 69. What God’s People Must Do To Regain Spiritual Power and in other writings that a personal need to be "born again" had been taught by the Hebraic stream of rabbis over 200 years before the coming of Jesus. Being born again was a shift from following the letter of the Law to living in a love-based, obedient-trust relationship with God in the pattern of our forefather Abraham. When you were “born from above,” you underwent a major change in your spiritual life: from religious practice (or no practice) to full trust and reliance on the Lord of Heaven.

The religious leaders of Jesus's day were well aware of this truth. Yet they refused to be born again through recognizing that Torah and the Prophets were being fulfilled in the Person of Messiah Jesus. Let this resistance not be so with you. Take a careful look at your own life and at those with whom you have close fellowship. Discuss the following questions with them, purposing to make the changes that will please our Father:

• Do your words and conversations reflect an active, responsive relationship with our Lord Jesus and a deep desire to please our Father? 
• Or, are your conversations filled with religious phraseology you've been taught but evidence nothing that would point to a dynamic and authentic relationship with Him?
• Are you quick to spout religious lingo to nonbelievers whether you know them well or not? Do they, in fact, cringe when you bandy these phrases about, realizing that inside you really don't care about them as people?



"If we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord.
So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord" (Romans 14:8).


You may be aware that most of the commands given in the Newer Testament are in the plural sense of "you all", intended for several people to keep collectively rather than just one person. Collective obedience requires cooperation, not only to put our Lord's commands into practice but also to help each other in our sanctification into His likeness. Below is a diagram that depicts the role of Christ-followers as encouragers, correcters, and rebukers in the lives of those with whom we have close fellowship as brothers and sisters in His Spirit. The consequences when we don't help each other this way along the journey are grave, even perhaps crossing the line into eternal damnation.





May you be an instrument our Lord uses to help others be true to Him in the encroaching darkness.
Mike & Sue

P.S. We recently received a short note from Tom White of Voice of the Martyrs. We thought his words of encouragement might bless you:

"God delights in using his people to create something beautiful "out of nothing." We Christians don't win or lose in society. We stay close to what God is doing and become part of it, even if we look like failures. I encourage you in your own Christian walk. It doesn't matter if our efforts never look glorious. Eternity reveals what is fool's gold and what is real."

 

August 5, 2010
Kingdom Living Today 30. Today’s Decisions Cause Tomorrow’s Consequences

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How have you represented Jesus today?

Dear Friends,
Our next Kingdom Living Today story, 30. Today’s Decisions Cause Tomorrow’s Consequences, is attached. In this anecdote Nate and Jessica, a couple Jack and Dee have been discipling, ask for some important counsel. The young people had fornicated before marriage and the Holy Spirit was convicting them that current problems in their relationship were a result of past sins. Also, Nate is offered a promotion at work if he's willing to spend two weeks a month on the road. God's perspective is definitely needed!


"How Many Have You Won To Christ?"

If you're on the mailing list of The Voice of the Martyrs monthly magazine, then you probably took note of the above question in the August 2010 issue. This is what the Egyptian woman, Noora, asked of the man who had proposed to her. Noora had suffered severely for her faith and had learned to love and serve Jesus all the more. She didn't want to marry a man who wasn't equally dedicated to being used by our Lord as His witness!

It's been our observation over the years that the more devoted a person is to Jesus as Lord of their life, the more attentive they are about the commitment to Him in others before they extend biblical fellowship as an authentic brother or sister.
Conversely, the more a person finds comfort and self-satisfaction in their own religious complacency, the less concerned they are about the spiritual state of others.

Upholding criteria for extending genuine fellowship (NOT today's spiritually meaningless social activities) is very biblical. In fact, examining the spiritual state of other people is strongly encouraged (see Acts 20:28). The most important reason for this is to uphold communal righteousness so that the Name of Jesus not be brought down in your midst by giving way to sin's deceit. (See Psalms 32:2; 1Peter 1:13-16.) There's a second motive for confirming that those who wish to fellowship as biblical faith family with you are purposing to live uprightly: to keep out the spiritual wolves whose hearts are of this world. Their compromise with Truth and their desire to live according to worldly standards may entice you away from wholehearted devotion to Jesus and loving, obedient trust (see Acts 20:29-31).

Early on in his ministry, the Apostle Paul had his faith and doctrine tested by recognized elders to make sure that the message he'd be sharing aligned with scriptural truth. Only then was he received as an emissary to non-Jews:
"James, Peter and John, those reputed to be pillars, gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship when they recognized the grace given to me. They agreed that we should go to the Gentiles, and they to the Jews" (Galatians 2:9).

• Would James, Peter and John extend the right hand of fellowship to you — their meaningful endorsement that you are indeed indwelled by the Spirit of Christ and living by His Word?
• What criteria do you use to extend biblical fellowship to others?
• Do you know what the biblical definition of fellowship is according to how the writers (and therefore our Father) intended it to be understood?

Our fellowship with others originates with our fellowship with our Father and His Son, Jesus through His Spirit in us. This fellowship is grounded on the biblical parameter that we are free from unconfessed sin — thus purified from all unrighteousness (see 1 John 1:3,9). Our fellowship with others in Christ who are living in repentance out of love for Him is the foundation for the relational connectedness the first followers of Jesus embraced — communal righteousness.

Western culture, including much of westernized Christendom, is dominated by "political correctness" (the doctrines and standards embraced by the powermongers and people of influence). Therefore, many followers of Jesus who are called by His Word to confirm the spiritual condition of others balk, fearing to ask the appropriate questions. We're surrounded by such a demand for "tolerance" (except, of course, when it comes to the Gospel of Christ!) that any testing or verification of one's relationship with Christ is decreed narrow-minded or even cultish. That's why any call for communal righteousness by those who have sought to apply the Hebraic foundations of loving, obedient trust has been generally denounced as "legalistic". Perhaps the response the Spirit has given us will encourage you as well: We're seeing our prayers answered and our heavenly Father receiving testimonies of praise through this. So why would we forfeit His delight in answering us by entertaining the unrepentant in our midst?

"Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith;
test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you
—unless, of course, you fail the test?" (2 Corinthians 13:5)

Paul penned the above command in a plural sense as a call to those within a collective faith community to test themselves for spiritual authenticity. The first line of testing, however, is the individual, who through self-examination needs to discern if the Holy Spirit is convicting him or her of any sin. Through confessing any revealed sin, repenting of it and receiving the cleansing forgiveness of our Father, we are then free to renew our covenant in Christ through communion:

"A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself. That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep. But if we judged ourselves, we would not come under judgment" (1 Corinthians 11:28-31).

How many thousands of Christians bring judgment on themselves by participating in communion with unconfessed sin? Do you think our Father sits back idly while an unrepentant people who profane the precious body and blood of Jesus?

In Discussing How To Restore The Early Church, Lesson 45 (a free download at our website) we recount this anecdote:
"While at the retreat center Mike was approached by the elders of a particular congregation because so many of the women were miscarrying. He questioned these men about the level of tolerated sin within the congregation and the defilement of their communion gathering through unrepentant sin. The leaders prayed about this and confronted the congregation. The Spirit brought them to repentance, and out of love for Christ they stayed repentant. The miscarriages ceased and many new babies were welcomed into their midst!"

We encourage you: Don't be reluctant to scrutinize your own spiritual condition, and to love Jesus enough to discern the spiritual condition of everyone in your fellowship for His Name's sake.
Mike & Sue