What mental image do the words “thundering feet” bring to mind? Maybe you think of hundreds of soldiers marching in unison across a parade ground, each step sounding like “thunder.” Perhaps it’s a picture of the beautiful and huge Clydesdale horses as a team of six pulls a wagon on a snowy, wintry night. Or maybe it’s a picture from a western movie as a gang of bad guys rides through the night to attack the remote home of the “good guy” rancher.
In 2 Kings 7 we see another picture of “thundering feet.” The king of Aram, Ben-hadad, had laid siege to Israel in the city of Samaria. Trapped in the city was the royal household of Israel and the prophet Elisha. The Arameans had cut off all food supplies and the situation was getting desperate; the people of the city were resorting to increasingly terrible and uncivil behavior.
Just when things were at their very worst, the unexpected happened and the massive army of the Arameans fled. Verses 6 and 7 say: “For the Lord had caused the army of the Syrians to hear the noise of chariots and the noise of horses—the noise of a great army; so they said to one another, Look, the king of Israel has hired against us the kings of the Hittites and the kings of the Egyptians to attack us! Therefore they arose and fled at twilight, and left the camp intact—their tents, their horses, and their donkeys—and they fled for their lives.”
The Arameans (Syrians) had been frightened by the “thundering feet” of what they thought was an approaching army. The noise was so deafening that terror gripped the Aramean soldiers and they fled, leaving their equipment, weapons, food, clothes and animals. The “thundering feet” of the approaching army had overwhelmed them and they went AWOL.
Now let’s rewind the tape and see what really happened. Remember, there is a famine in the besieged city of Samaria. The people of the city are behaving badly. Out by the main gate of the city four men are dying with leprosy and they agreed among themselves, “If we go into the city, we will die and if we stay here and do nothing, we will die. Let’s go over to the camp of the Arameans and surrender; the worst thing that can happen to us is that we will die. Maybe they will take pity on us and spare us and give us a little to eat. So what do we have to lose? Nothing! Let’s go!”
It wasn’t a great army that caused the Arameans to flee, it was the shuffling footsteps of four sick and dying lepers walking across the desert sand. How does God take the muted footsteps of four men who are sick and hardly walking and make it sound like the terrifying march of thousands of armor-clad warriors ready for battle? How does God do that? I don’t have a clue. Heaven’s technical abilities are far beyond anything any of us can understand. I just know that God can do things like that.
The “thundering feet” of the lepers became the point of deliverance for all of Israel. When the lepers discovered that the enemy had fled, they began to plunder the tents and supplies of the encampment. It wasn’t long before the lepers realized that what they were doing was not right and they said, “We are not doing right. This day is a day of good news, and we remain silent” (2 Kings 7:9).
The lepers rushed back to the city as fast as their shuffling feet and sick bodies would take them and reported the good news. After some initial disbelief, the people of the city came out and joined in the plundering. In one day they had gone from “The cupboard is bare and I may eat your left leg today” to “It’s party time!”
Today is a day of good news for us. God loves to confound our enemies and that’s good news. I call what happened with the four lepers “the confounding effect.” I base this on 1 Corinthians 1:27: “But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty.”
Our acts of obedience and steps of faith are the fuel that releases the “confounding effect.”
In Joshua 6, the children of Israel were confronted with the impenetrable walls of the city of Jericho and the haughty arrogance of the people of the city. But God gave them instructions and under Joshua’s leadership, the children of Israel followed them exactly and released the “confounding effect” on Jericho.
For seven days the children of Israel marched around the city of Jericho. One time each day they marched and said nothing. On the seventh day, they were instructed to march seven times around the city and at the end of the march to break their silence by shouting. What did their marching do to the walls? Nothing! What did their shouting do to the walls? Nothing! But their obedience and faith did; it released the thunder of God’s “confounding ” and down came the walls.
Our acts of obedience and steps of faith are the fuel that releases the “confounding” to work on our behalf.
Monday, October 29, 2007
Thursday, October 25, 2007
A FEW GOOD MEN!
Recently I read through an issue of Christianity Today and one of the articles featured a controversial megachurch in the northwest. The church’s approach to the community and their style of ministry is both extremely contemporary and conservatively evangelical. One of the controversial issues with the pastor and his style of leadership is how adamant he is about “no women in leadership.” This church does not allow any women to serve as church elders. As I read that part of the article, I thought, “So what else is new? This position certainly is not new; it is merely a tired and hotly debated issue.”
Chauvinism is very much a part of the evangelical community. In recent polls by ABC News and the Barna Organization, statistics show that the U.S. evangelical community is roughly 60% female and 40% “other” (mostly males and a few Canadians). Isn’t it interesting that a predominately chauvinistic church structure is less attractive to men? One would think that with all the strutting and posturing of the “male” leadership in the church, more men would be attracted but such is not the case. As a result, we see that another of the reasons why the American church is sputtering and without power is that we have so few “mighty men.”
Earlier in my life I was deeply influenced by Pastor Jack Hayford, founding pastor of The Church on the Way, Van Nuys, CA. One of the things that profoundly impacted me was a statement that I heard Pastor Jack make in person, and also repeat in his book, The Church on the Way. The statement was, “Without strong men, you cannot have a strong church!” Hayford not only verbalized the statement, he believed it and made it an integral part of The Church on the Way ministry.
My family attended The Church on the Way for 14 years. The entire time we were there, regular teaching times just for the men of the church were conducted. One Saturday morning a month about 500 to 600 men would come together for three to four hours for fellowship and food, but mostly for teaching. This was a time of teaching men how to be godly men, strong husbands, strong fathers, strong leaders. After a time of worship, Dr. Hayford almost always taught the first session of the day and then we would break for coffee and a simple breakfast, after which we would break into smaller elective groups taught by others. I remember one session that Pastor Jack taught on “why men should sing in church.” I don’t think I have ever heard anybody else teach on this and he made it an important truth for the men to understand and act on. The next day the church reached a new level in its worship time as hundreds of men that had previously wimped out when it came to opening their mouths and worshipping with singing absolutely let fly, whether they were on tune or not. It was incredible!
Month after month Pastor Hayford and his staff taught the men of the church how to be men of God. Solid biblical teaching on everything from worship, sex, family, discipline, giving, prayer, study…you name it and we received teaching on it. Pastor Jack made it a priority to train the men of his church and, as a consequence, he saw the development of hundreds of men growing into a band of “mighty men.” The Church on the Way grew to be one of the strongest congregations in the southern California area not only in size but in spiritual impact.
I was thrilled with the strong men’s ministries that we saw develop in the 80’s and 90’s when thousands of men would gather in stadiums and arenas for a day of worship and teaching. Unfortunately, it seems that it was more of a fad than it was a reformation. It appears to me that we are almost back to where we were before all this began.
Men’s ministry belongs in the local church. Men’s ministry is, under the best of circumstances, difficult. A few weeks ago the church that my wife and I attend released the fall and winter schedule of teaching classes (electives) available for the church. Listed were eight elective classes for the ladies of the church and three for the men. In our current state of mind in the western church, that’s about right and it’s absolutely wrong.
If the current wimpish attitude by church leadership doesn’t change toward training men, we will never have a really strong church. (Let me apologize to any leaders who might read this and feel like I am criticizing them. I am sorry that you feel that way, but the truth is the truth, so get over it). A key that I learned at The Church on the Way was “If men’s ministry is not a priority with the senior pastor, it will not be with the church.” As the head goes, so goes the body!
I read a chapter like 2 Samuel 23 which is a listing of David’s mighty men and their exploits and I am left with a sense of awe and huge nagging questions. “Why don’t we see more of this today? Where are the great heroes of today? Why are we not seeing a new generation of leaders rising? Why are we not seeing a rising of ‘mighty men’ like 50 and 100 years ago?” For all the talk of faith and growth and success, in many circles it is just “empty” talk!
Where are a few good men?
Chauvinism is very much a part of the evangelical community. In recent polls by ABC News and the Barna Organization, statistics show that the U.S. evangelical community is roughly 60% female and 40% “other” (mostly males and a few Canadians). Isn’t it interesting that a predominately chauvinistic church structure is less attractive to men? One would think that with all the strutting and posturing of the “male” leadership in the church, more men would be attracted but such is not the case. As a result, we see that another of the reasons why the American church is sputtering and without power is that we have so few “mighty men.”
Earlier in my life I was deeply influenced by Pastor Jack Hayford, founding pastor of The Church on the Way, Van Nuys, CA. One of the things that profoundly impacted me was a statement that I heard Pastor Jack make in person, and also repeat in his book, The Church on the Way. The statement was, “Without strong men, you cannot have a strong church!” Hayford not only verbalized the statement, he believed it and made it an integral part of The Church on the Way ministry.
My family attended The Church on the Way for 14 years. The entire time we were there, regular teaching times just for the men of the church were conducted. One Saturday morning a month about 500 to 600 men would come together for three to four hours for fellowship and food, but mostly for teaching. This was a time of teaching men how to be godly men, strong husbands, strong fathers, strong leaders. After a time of worship, Dr. Hayford almost always taught the first session of the day and then we would break for coffee and a simple breakfast, after which we would break into smaller elective groups taught by others. I remember one session that Pastor Jack taught on “why men should sing in church.” I don’t think I have ever heard anybody else teach on this and he made it an important truth for the men to understand and act on. The next day the church reached a new level in its worship time as hundreds of men that had previously wimped out when it came to opening their mouths and worshipping with singing absolutely let fly, whether they were on tune or not. It was incredible!
Month after month Pastor Hayford and his staff taught the men of the church how to be men of God. Solid biblical teaching on everything from worship, sex, family, discipline, giving, prayer, study…you name it and we received teaching on it. Pastor Jack made it a priority to train the men of his church and, as a consequence, he saw the development of hundreds of men growing into a band of “mighty men.” The Church on the Way grew to be one of the strongest congregations in the southern California area not only in size but in spiritual impact.
I was thrilled with the strong men’s ministries that we saw develop in the 80’s and 90’s when thousands of men would gather in stadiums and arenas for a day of worship and teaching. Unfortunately, it seems that it was more of a fad than it was a reformation. It appears to me that we are almost back to where we were before all this began.
Men’s ministry belongs in the local church. Men’s ministry is, under the best of circumstances, difficult. A few weeks ago the church that my wife and I attend released the fall and winter schedule of teaching classes (electives) available for the church. Listed were eight elective classes for the ladies of the church and three for the men. In our current state of mind in the western church, that’s about right and it’s absolutely wrong.
If the current wimpish attitude by church leadership doesn’t change toward training men, we will never have a really strong church. (Let me apologize to any leaders who might read this and feel like I am criticizing them. I am sorry that you feel that way, but the truth is the truth, so get over it). A key that I learned at The Church on the Way was “If men’s ministry is not a priority with the senior pastor, it will not be with the church.” As the head goes, so goes the body!
I read a chapter like 2 Samuel 23 which is a listing of David’s mighty men and their exploits and I am left with a sense of awe and huge nagging questions. “Why don’t we see more of this today? Where are the great heroes of today? Why are we not seeing a new generation of leaders rising? Why are we not seeing a rising of ‘mighty men’ like 50 and 100 years ago?” For all the talk of faith and growth and success, in many circles it is just “empty” talk!
Where are a few good men?
Monday, October 22, 2007
IN THE NAME OF JESUS!
Three of the most frequently quoted and generally misunderstood words in the modern church world are “in Jesus’ name.” We often hear a prayer finished with the phrase, “In Jesus’ name.” For many, it has become a closing statement that is often used without any real serious mental awareness of what is being said. It has become as common a closing statement as saying, “Have a good day!” which is more of a nice gesture than an actual statement of care.
I have been convicted by my own laxity over the expression. A few weeks ago I received a handwritten note from a friend who had written to wish me well in recovering from surgery. As my friend concluded his note, he apologized for not writing earlier but indicated that his ministry had been going through some struggles. He finished his note triumphantly by saying that they had seen a wonderful victory over the difficulties—“In the name of Jesus!”
It was the simple eloquence of that handwritten note that jarred me and I realized how lax I had become in properly using the power and authority that has been given to us as followers of Jesus Christ. I had allowed the name of Jesus to become a period at the end of my prayers. It had become another way of saying, “Amen,” a kind of verbal filler. A mantra of sorts.
Jesus gave to his disciples and to us a “power of attorney” to use His name when we are carrying out business on His behalf. A very simple definition of “power of attorney” is “an authority by which one person delegates another to act for him or her.”
“And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.” (John 14:13-14 NIV)
In Matthew 28:18&19 Jesus said to His disciples,
“All authority (all power of rule) in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Go then and make disciples of all the nations.” (Amplified)
The One to whom all authority in heaven and on earth has been given extends to us the “power of attorney,” the right to act on His behalf.
To put it bluntly, when we pray and ask God to meet the need of someone who is sick or in need, or we ask God to intervene in a personal situation, and we know that we are praying in His will and not out of selfishness or greed, we can be assured that Jesus is backing our prayer.
Prayer is a great privilege. To pray and to appropriately use the “name of Jesus” is a privilege with a power attachment. When we pray and use “the name,” it is because we understand that He is granting us the authority to use His authority. This is not a privilege to be taken lightly.
Let me illustrate what I am trying to say this way. A policeman may pull you over and give you a ticket for speeding (in our family this only happens to my wife and eldest daughter, better known as the scofflaw sisters). The police officer does not have the personal authority to give you that ticket but he is granted the authority by the laws of the land. The policeman is exercising his delegated authority. Likewise, Jesus has delegated authority to us and we bring that into play when we pray, “In Jesus’ name.”
Jesus taught us that we were to use His name as a part of our personal arsenal in facing all that life pushes at us. In Mark 16:17-18 He said:
“And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.” (NIV)
I don’t believe Jesus was giving a definitive list of the five things that he would respond to by the use of His name. He was illustrating for us “the power attachment” that would be available to us in all parts of our journey.
I have been convicted by my own laxity over the expression. A few weeks ago I received a handwritten note from a friend who had written to wish me well in recovering from surgery. As my friend concluded his note, he apologized for not writing earlier but indicated that his ministry had been going through some struggles. He finished his note triumphantly by saying that they had seen a wonderful victory over the difficulties—“In the name of Jesus!”
It was the simple eloquence of that handwritten note that jarred me and I realized how lax I had become in properly using the power and authority that has been given to us as followers of Jesus Christ. I had allowed the name of Jesus to become a period at the end of my prayers. It had become another way of saying, “Amen,” a kind of verbal filler. A mantra of sorts.
Jesus gave to his disciples and to us a “power of attorney” to use His name when we are carrying out business on His behalf. A very simple definition of “power of attorney” is “an authority by which one person delegates another to act for him or her.”
“And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.” (John 14:13-14 NIV)
In Matthew 28:18&19 Jesus said to His disciples,
“All authority (all power of rule) in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Go then and make disciples of all the nations.” (Amplified)
The One to whom all authority in heaven and on earth has been given extends to us the “power of attorney,” the right to act on His behalf.
To put it bluntly, when we pray and ask God to meet the need of someone who is sick or in need, or we ask God to intervene in a personal situation, and we know that we are praying in His will and not out of selfishness or greed, we can be assured that Jesus is backing our prayer.
Prayer is a great privilege. To pray and to appropriately use the “name of Jesus” is a privilege with a power attachment. When we pray and use “the name,” it is because we understand that He is granting us the authority to use His authority. This is not a privilege to be taken lightly.
Let me illustrate what I am trying to say this way. A policeman may pull you over and give you a ticket for speeding (in our family this only happens to my wife and eldest daughter, better known as the scofflaw sisters). The police officer does not have the personal authority to give you that ticket but he is granted the authority by the laws of the land. The policeman is exercising his delegated authority. Likewise, Jesus has delegated authority to us and we bring that into play when we pray, “In Jesus’ name.”
Jesus taught us that we were to use His name as a part of our personal arsenal in facing all that life pushes at us. In Mark 16:17-18 He said:
“And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.” (NIV)
I don’t believe Jesus was giving a definitive list of the five things that he would respond to by the use of His name. He was illustrating for us “the power attachment” that would be available to us in all parts of our journey.
Friday, October 19, 2007
IT WASN'T AL GORE AFTER ALL!
“A merry heart does good, like medicine” (Proverbs 17:22)
The True Origin of the Internet
In ancient Israel, it came to pass that a trader by the name of Abraham Com did take unto himself a young wife by the name of Dot.
And Dot Com was a comely woman, broad of shoulder and long of leg. Indeed, she had been called 'Amazon Dot Com.'
And she said unto Abraham, her husband, "Why doth thou travel far from town to town with thy goods when thou can trade without ever leaving thy tent?"
And Abraham did look at her as though she were several saddle bags short of a camel load, but simply said, "How, dear?" And Dot replied, "I will place drums in all the towns and drums in between to send messages saying what you have for sale and they will reply telling you which hath the best price. And the sale can be made on the drums and delivery made by Uriah's Pony Stable (UPS)."
Abraham thought long and decided he would let Dot have her way with the drums. And the drums rang out and were an immediate success. Abraham sold all the goods he had at the top price, without ever moving from his tent.
But this success did arouse envy. A man named Maccabia did secrete himself inside Abraham's drum and was accused of insider trading. And the young men did take to Dot Com's trading as doth the greedy horsefly take to camel dung. They were called Nomadic Ecclesiastical Rich Dominican Siderites, or NERDS for short.
And lo, the land was so feverish with joy at the new riches and the deafening sound of drums that no one noticed that the real riches were going to the drum maker, one Brother William of Gates, who bought up every drum company in the land. And indeed did insist on making drums that would work only with Brother Gates' drumheads and drumsticks.
And Dot did say, "Oh, Abraham, what we have started is being taken over by others."
And as Abraham looked out over the Bay of Ezekiel, or as it came to be known "eBay" he said, "We need a name that reflects what we are."
And Dot replied, "Young Ambitious Hebrew Owner Operators."
"YAHOO," said Abraham.
And that is how it all began. It wasn't Al Gore after all.
(Borrowed with gratitude from Beliefnet.com)
The True Origin of the Internet
In ancient Israel, it came to pass that a trader by the name of Abraham Com did take unto himself a young wife by the name of Dot.
And Dot Com was a comely woman, broad of shoulder and long of leg. Indeed, she had been called 'Amazon Dot Com.'
And she said unto Abraham, her husband, "Why doth thou travel far from town to town with thy goods when thou can trade without ever leaving thy tent?"
And Abraham did look at her as though she were several saddle bags short of a camel load, but simply said, "How, dear?" And Dot replied, "I will place drums in all the towns and drums in between to send messages saying what you have for sale and they will reply telling you which hath the best price. And the sale can be made on the drums and delivery made by Uriah's Pony Stable (UPS)."
Abraham thought long and decided he would let Dot have her way with the drums. And the drums rang out and were an immediate success. Abraham sold all the goods he had at the top price, without ever moving from his tent.
But this success did arouse envy. A man named Maccabia did secrete himself inside Abraham's drum and was accused of insider trading. And the young men did take to Dot Com's trading as doth the greedy horsefly take to camel dung. They were called Nomadic Ecclesiastical Rich Dominican Siderites, or NERDS for short.
And lo, the land was so feverish with joy at the new riches and the deafening sound of drums that no one noticed that the real riches were going to the drum maker, one Brother William of Gates, who bought up every drum company in the land. And indeed did insist on making drums that would work only with Brother Gates' drumheads and drumsticks.
And Dot did say, "Oh, Abraham, what we have started is being taken over by others."
And as Abraham looked out over the Bay of Ezekiel, or as it came to be known "eBay" he said, "We need a name that reflects what we are."
And Dot replied, "Young Ambitious Hebrew Owner Operators."
"YAHOO," said Abraham.
And that is how it all began. It wasn't Al Gore after all.
(Borrowed with gratitude from Beliefnet.com)
Sunday, October 14, 2007
DISHONESTY IN THE FAMILY
One of the most intriguing biblical accounts of a miracle healing is found in 2 Kings 5. The cast of characters: Namaan, the leper; Elisha, the prophet; and Gehazi, the servant of Elisha.
Namaan’s story is unusually interesting because he was the commander of the army of the Syrians, who were longtime enemies of the Jews. Apparently, Namaan’s leperosy was not contagious and would not immediately take his life. But he was desperate and when he heard of Elisha’s powerful ministry, he secured permission to go into enemy territory for help. In order to get the full impact of Namaan’s journey to healing, read all of 2 Kings 5.
Namaan knocked on Elisha’s door begging for help and Elisha did not even bother coming to the door to talk to him. The prophet simply instructed his servant, “Tell Namaan to go and wash in the Jordan River seven times and he will be healed.”
Elisha was not anything like Naaman thought he would be; in fact, Namaan was dumbfounded and all his preconceptions were destroyed. His retort to the servant was, “But I said to myself, ‘He will surely come out to me and stand and call upon the name of the Lord his God and wave his hand and the leprosy would be healed.’” I wonder if he had seen a certain evangelist on Christian TV back in Syria? Namaan had serious misconceptions of how his healing would unfold.
After some debate, Namaan reluctantly did what the prophet of God had instructed…and he was miraculously healed! Leprosy was a type of AIDS of his day and the miracle was astonishing. Namaan did exactly the right thing in response to his healing. He testified before the prophet and all those who were with him with these words, “Indeed, now I know that there is no God in all the earth, except in Israel.”
Namaan was so filled with gratitude to God and to the man of God, that he offered a gift to Elisha for his part in directing him to his healing. Elisha quickly and rightly turned down the gift and Namaan and his companions left to return home, healed and happy.
Gehazi, Elisha’s servant, had a different thought, however, and decided that it might not be such a bad thing to take some money and clothing for the miracle. Secretly, Gehazi slipped away from Elisha and chased down Namaan.
Gehazi lied to and manipulated Namaan into believing that he did need to give a gift for his healing and Namaan, fresh in the afterglow of a miracle, not only gave Gehazi what he suggested but he doubled the amount that was requested.
When Gehazi returned to Elisha’s home, the prophet asked, “Where did you go?” Gehazi lied to the prophet and said “I didn’t go anywhere!” Elisha then recounted what he had seen in the Spirit and what Gehazi had done in manipulating Namaan’s miracle for his own dishonest gain. Elisha’s chilling closing statement in verse 27 was, “Namaan’s sickness will be upon you and your family, forever!”
What does this story have to do with us? Well, the fact is that the spirit of Gehazi is loose in the church today.
When a teacher or a preacher suggests that your healing, your blessing, your miracle, the answer to your prayer is bound up and can only be released by a financial gift, we are seeing the spirit of Gehazi at work in the church.
The spirit of Gehazi is a lying spirit. It is a lie for anyone to tell you that your answer is contingent on your making a gift to them or to their ministry or to any ministry. God’s gifts are free and cannot be bought with money. God’s Word teaches us to give and to give generously but not like this, not “buying” a miracle. God extends His miracle-working power not because of us but in spite of us. God blesses us out of love and mercy; it’s called grace and it’s a free gift! (Ephesians 2:8)
The spirit of Gehazi is a manipulative spirit. It is not just a lying spirit, but it is a spirit that is willing to manipulate the Word and God’s people for unjust financial gain.
Sadly, the spirit of Gehazi has not brought the blessing that it promised into the church. What the spirit of Gehazi has brought is weakness and sickness of spirit. It has compromised the body of Christ and brought reproach and shame instead of blessing and liberty. Greed and covetousness are not a blessing—they are a curse.
The spirit of Gehazi is loose in the church!
Namaan’s story is unusually interesting because he was the commander of the army of the Syrians, who were longtime enemies of the Jews. Apparently, Namaan’s leperosy was not contagious and would not immediately take his life. But he was desperate and when he heard of Elisha’s powerful ministry, he secured permission to go into enemy territory for help. In order to get the full impact of Namaan’s journey to healing, read all of 2 Kings 5.
Namaan knocked on Elisha’s door begging for help and Elisha did not even bother coming to the door to talk to him. The prophet simply instructed his servant, “Tell Namaan to go and wash in the Jordan River seven times and he will be healed.”
Elisha was not anything like Naaman thought he would be; in fact, Namaan was dumbfounded and all his preconceptions were destroyed. His retort to the servant was, “But I said to myself, ‘He will surely come out to me and stand and call upon the name of the Lord his God and wave his hand and the leprosy would be healed.’” I wonder if he had seen a certain evangelist on Christian TV back in Syria? Namaan had serious misconceptions of how his healing would unfold.
After some debate, Namaan reluctantly did what the prophet of God had instructed…and he was miraculously healed! Leprosy was a type of AIDS of his day and the miracle was astonishing. Namaan did exactly the right thing in response to his healing. He testified before the prophet and all those who were with him with these words, “Indeed, now I know that there is no God in all the earth, except in Israel.”
Namaan was so filled with gratitude to God and to the man of God, that he offered a gift to Elisha for his part in directing him to his healing. Elisha quickly and rightly turned down the gift and Namaan and his companions left to return home, healed and happy.
Gehazi, Elisha’s servant, had a different thought, however, and decided that it might not be such a bad thing to take some money and clothing for the miracle. Secretly, Gehazi slipped away from Elisha and chased down Namaan.
Gehazi lied to and manipulated Namaan into believing that he did need to give a gift for his healing and Namaan, fresh in the afterglow of a miracle, not only gave Gehazi what he suggested but he doubled the amount that was requested.
When Gehazi returned to Elisha’s home, the prophet asked, “Where did you go?” Gehazi lied to the prophet and said “I didn’t go anywhere!” Elisha then recounted what he had seen in the Spirit and what Gehazi had done in manipulating Namaan’s miracle for his own dishonest gain. Elisha’s chilling closing statement in verse 27 was, “Namaan’s sickness will be upon you and your family, forever!”
What does this story have to do with us? Well, the fact is that the spirit of Gehazi is loose in the church today.
When a teacher or a preacher suggests that your healing, your blessing, your miracle, the answer to your prayer is bound up and can only be released by a financial gift, we are seeing the spirit of Gehazi at work in the church.
The spirit of Gehazi is a lying spirit. It is a lie for anyone to tell you that your answer is contingent on your making a gift to them or to their ministry or to any ministry. God’s gifts are free and cannot be bought with money. God’s Word teaches us to give and to give generously but not like this, not “buying” a miracle. God extends His miracle-working power not because of us but in spite of us. God blesses us out of love and mercy; it’s called grace and it’s a free gift! (Ephesians 2:8)
The spirit of Gehazi is a manipulative spirit. It is not just a lying spirit, but it is a spirit that is willing to manipulate the Word and God’s people for unjust financial gain.
Sadly, the spirit of Gehazi has not brought the blessing that it promised into the church. What the spirit of Gehazi has brought is weakness and sickness of spirit. It has compromised the body of Christ and brought reproach and shame instead of blessing and liberty. Greed and covetousness are not a blessing—they are a curse.
The spirit of Gehazi is loose in the church!
Monday, October 8, 2007
WHEN ALL HELL BREAKS LOOSE!
Paul is entering the final chapters of his life when he sets sail for Rome in Acts 27. This was a voyage Paul wanted to make, but not this way! He had been arrested in Jerusalem and falsely accused of defiling the temple. As was his right as a Roman citizen, Paul eventually asked that his case be referred to Rome for final determination. And so, while Paul wanted to go to Rome to encourage the church there and to preach the Gospel and to possibly go on to evangelize Spain, this was not the way he had envisioned he would go—but he was going to Rome.
The journey begins in late summer and the travel, by ship, was slow. The ship had arrived at Crete, which is off the tip of Greece and about half way to Rome, when they entered into the “dangerous season.” The “dangerous season” is the rough weather season in the Mediterranean from mid-September to early November, all shipping was shut down from then until winter was over.
When they stopped to pick up supplies in Crete, Paul warned the Roman centurion that they were pushing their luck and it was his recommendation that they winter in Crete. The centurion did not listen to Paul and was persuaded by the ship owner and the captain to keep going. They continued on their way and disaster struck them in the form of a hurricane-like storm. I think it is important to note that Paul had no control over these circumstances; he had voiced his concern and it was rejected by others who were more concerned about schedules and monetary return than safety.
In Acts 27:14-19 we see a pattern of human attempts to find a “survival mechanism”. The hurricane-like storm hit with a fury and the boat and all aboard were in serious danger.
Vs.14—“we let her drive.” “We can ride this out; there is no use fighting it; if we are patient, everything will be OK!” How many times have we heard people say this? “The intensity of the situation was just too great for me to handle, so I saw no reason to resist!”
Vs.15—“the skiff”—a small boat that was too small to be of any practical use, it was like having life jackets for 20 people when 276 were needed.
Vs.17—“cables to under-gird the ship”—these are the self-help methods that are pushed at us for us to use and under-gird our lives when things are falling apart. The self-help section of the bookstore is full of this material. Primarily useful in making the authors rich, this is pop psychology that appeals to the “quick fix” desire in all of us. This is the “Dr. Phil” of the moment.
Vs.18—“they lightened the ship”—“Quick!” we say, “You need to repent of everything that you have not repented of.” And we quickly repent of everything we can think of, including eating too many Krispy Kreme donuts (that was a Freudian moment). We try to dump our excess baggage, feeling that our little secret sin has brought the disaster down on us.
Vs.19—“we threw the ships tackle overboard”—What gave a ship a profile, its own personality, was its rigging, its tackle. How often do we attack our own personality when things are going wrong? We make statements to ourselves like, “If only I weren’t so (you fill in the blank).” God made each of us as a “one-of-a-kind personality” so don’t try and dismantle it. Instead, try and re-channel it, with the Lord’s help, of course. I have lost count of the number of times I have heard, “If only I didn’t have this temper, can God take away my temper?” And the answer is no! If He did you would be ….nothing!
While all this was going on, Paul got alone with the Lord and God gave him a word for the crew and all the passengers…and here it is.
When hell is all around,
1. Don’t abandon the ship but quit the human attempts to turn the tables on hell. (Acts 27:31-32)
2. Don’t go into a survival mode that jeopardizes both your spiritual life and your physical wellbeing. “Today is the fourteenth day you have waited and continued without food and eaten nothing. Therefore I urge you to take nourishment, for this is for your survival” (33-34). Not only are we to take nourishment for our physical bodies, but for our spiritual man as well—stay prayerful, stay in the Word, stay in fellowship, stay in the faith, and keep on worshiping.
3. They did what Paul instructed them to do, and not one of the 276 people on board was lost.
When all hell breaks loose we are encouraged to resist the temptation to go into a survival mode, to go and hide in a cave. We are to continue our daily walk with Him: worship, pray, read the Word, believe and trust. (This is the spiritual equivalence of “taking nourishment.”) When the hurricane of hell breaks loose and everything around you is flying in all directions, you are ready…because you are already doing the right things! Just keep doing what you have been doing!
The journey begins in late summer and the travel, by ship, was slow. The ship had arrived at Crete, which is off the tip of Greece and about half way to Rome, when they entered into the “dangerous season.” The “dangerous season” is the rough weather season in the Mediterranean from mid-September to early November, all shipping was shut down from then until winter was over.
When they stopped to pick up supplies in Crete, Paul warned the Roman centurion that they were pushing their luck and it was his recommendation that they winter in Crete. The centurion did not listen to Paul and was persuaded by the ship owner and the captain to keep going. They continued on their way and disaster struck them in the form of a hurricane-like storm. I think it is important to note that Paul had no control over these circumstances; he had voiced his concern and it was rejected by others who were more concerned about schedules and monetary return than safety.
In Acts 27:14-19 we see a pattern of human attempts to find a “survival mechanism”. The hurricane-like storm hit with a fury and the boat and all aboard were in serious danger.
Vs.14—“we let her drive.” “We can ride this out; there is no use fighting it; if we are patient, everything will be OK!” How many times have we heard people say this? “The intensity of the situation was just too great for me to handle, so I saw no reason to resist!”
Vs.15—“the skiff”—a small boat that was too small to be of any practical use, it was like having life jackets for 20 people when 276 were needed.
Vs.17—“cables to under-gird the ship”—these are the self-help methods that are pushed at us for us to use and under-gird our lives when things are falling apart. The self-help section of the bookstore is full of this material. Primarily useful in making the authors rich, this is pop psychology that appeals to the “quick fix” desire in all of us. This is the “Dr. Phil” of the moment.
Vs.18—“they lightened the ship”—“Quick!” we say, “You need to repent of everything that you have not repented of.” And we quickly repent of everything we can think of, including eating too many Krispy Kreme donuts (that was a Freudian moment). We try to dump our excess baggage, feeling that our little secret sin has brought the disaster down on us.
Vs.19—“we threw the ships tackle overboard”—What gave a ship a profile, its own personality, was its rigging, its tackle. How often do we attack our own personality when things are going wrong? We make statements to ourselves like, “If only I weren’t so (you fill in the blank).” God made each of us as a “one-of-a-kind personality” so don’t try and dismantle it. Instead, try and re-channel it, with the Lord’s help, of course. I have lost count of the number of times I have heard, “If only I didn’t have this temper, can God take away my temper?” And the answer is no! If He did you would be ….nothing!
While all this was going on, Paul got alone with the Lord and God gave him a word for the crew and all the passengers…and here it is.
When hell is all around,
1. Don’t abandon the ship but quit the human attempts to turn the tables on hell. (Acts 27:31-32)
2. Don’t go into a survival mode that jeopardizes both your spiritual life and your physical wellbeing. “Today is the fourteenth day you have waited and continued without food and eaten nothing. Therefore I urge you to take nourishment, for this is for your survival” (33-34). Not only are we to take nourishment for our physical bodies, but for our spiritual man as well—stay prayerful, stay in the Word, stay in fellowship, stay in the faith, and keep on worshiping.
3. They did what Paul instructed them to do, and not one of the 276 people on board was lost.
When all hell breaks loose we are encouraged to resist the temptation to go into a survival mode, to go and hide in a cave. We are to continue our daily walk with Him: worship, pray, read the Word, believe and trust. (This is the spiritual equivalence of “taking nourishment.”) When the hurricane of hell breaks loose and everything around you is flying in all directions, you are ready…because you are already doing the right things! Just keep doing what you have been doing!
Friday, October 5, 2007
KNOWING THE MASTER'S VOICE
One of my favorite devotional books is a small book written by David Wilkerson, in 1967, entitled “I’m Not Mad at God”. I’m not sure this book is still in print. Here is one of the powerful devotional thoughts.
KNOWING THE MASTER’S VOICE
“My sheep know my voice—they hear when I call. A stranger they will not follow, for they know not the sound of his voice” (John 10).
Is it possible to really know when the Lord is speaking? Can we be sure it is not the enemy? All the Word of God leads us to believe that our Lord desires to speak clearly to His children—daily, frequently, and on every matter!
Three tests to determine His voice are:
1. He speaks with a familiar sound—no tension, strangeness or harshness. His voice is soft, sure and constant.
2. He always speaks in loving guidance. He never condemns His children. He speaks softly and tenderly; never does He take away our victory or peace. Even when he speaks negatively, it is with love and kindness.
3. His voice causes great rejoicing! “The bride hath the bridegroom, but the friend that standeth nearby rejoiceth greatly at the sound of his voice.” (John 3:29)
(I’m Not Mad At God, copyright 1967, Bethany Fellowship, Inc., Minneapolis, MN)
KNOWING THE MASTER’S VOICE
“My sheep know my voice—they hear when I call. A stranger they will not follow, for they know not the sound of his voice” (John 10).
Is it possible to really know when the Lord is speaking? Can we be sure it is not the enemy? All the Word of God leads us to believe that our Lord desires to speak clearly to His children—daily, frequently, and on every matter!
Three tests to determine His voice are:
1. He speaks with a familiar sound—no tension, strangeness or harshness. His voice is soft, sure and constant.
2. He always speaks in loving guidance. He never condemns His children. He speaks softly and tenderly; never does He take away our victory or peace. Even when he speaks negatively, it is with love and kindness.
3. His voice causes great rejoicing! “The bride hath the bridegroom, but the friend that standeth nearby rejoiceth greatly at the sound of his voice.” (John 3:29)
(I’m Not Mad At God, copyright 1967, Bethany Fellowship, Inc., Minneapolis, MN)
Monday, October 1, 2007
THE WAY OF THE GENTILES
In Matthew 10:5 Jesus gave instructions to his disciples as he prepared them to take the message of the Kingdom to the house of Israel. His first sentence is, “Do not go into the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter a city of the Samaritans.” Jesus’ disciples were to take the message only to the Jews and no one else.
Obviously this passage does not mean the same thing to us as it did to them. We are the Gentiles, the message has come to us, and we, for argument’s sake, live in the unclean cities of the Samaritans. The plain fact is that everything changed at Calvary. The disciples were being given pre-Calvary instructions and we live on the “after” side of Calvary. Many of the men to whom these instructions were initially extended by Jesus were later the leaders of the church in the first century. It was these men who led the first-century church that quite literally exploded among the Gentiles. Most of the great first-century churches were in wicked cities like Corinth and Rome, of all places.
“Do not go into the way of the Gentiles.” Now I ask you, how are we supposed to look at a phrase like this? Perhaps the easiest thing to do is just ignore the phrase, just pretend it isn’t there. If you like, I can lend you a black marker with a broad tip and you can just “censor” this passage, put a heavy black line through these words, and then you won’t have to try to understand what God was saying to us. Or we can try to discover why the Holy Spirit led the early church to keep these words in the manuscript. Maybe we had better try this before we break out the marker or get a pair of scissors to cut the passage out of our Bibles.
I believe the phrase “the way of the Gentiles” refers to an entire way of life that is in stark contrast to “the way of the Kingdom.” In Matthew 6:25-34, Jesus talks at length about worrying or being preoccupied with the cares of life, including housing, clothing, food and life in general. In verse 32, Jesus says, “For after all these things the Gentiles seek.” He was not putting us down, He was using “the way of the Gentiles” to describe a way of life that is opposite to life in God’s Kingdom. I believe that “the way of the Gentiles” describes the world as it is without the influence of God and His saving love through His Son Jesus Christ, without the influence of the Word, and without the presence of the Holy Spirit! “The way of the Gentiles” is the driving force that people live in, in the natural, carnal world.
The injunction then of Matthew 10:5 takes on a special meaning to us who are Gentiles and are alive after the work of Calvary was accomplished. It has special meaning for us who have embraced the sacrifice of Christ on Calvary. “Do not go into the way of the Gentiles” then becomes a very clear teaching that we are not to make the guiding principles of our life the same as the ones that drive those outside God’s Kingdom. The authenticity of New Testament Christianity is lost when we try to become like the world.
In the last few weeks in my regular reading of the news, I have observed the following about Christian leaders who seem to be struggling with understanding what it means to be “in the Kingdom.”
1. I read about XXXX, the cussing pastor. XXXX is the pastor of a large conservative church and occasionally is known to use swear words in the pulpit. I didn’t use the real name to protect the guilty. I wonder what verses he has “censored” in his Bible?
2. A well-known speaker who is advocating that Christians become much more aggressive and assertive in personal relations. This speaker is known to be very abusive to his staff and seemingly touts this as “becoming a more mature Christian.” I wonder where the fruits of the Spirit fit in for this person or maybe “as a mature Christian” he is making use of the broad tip marker?
3. A well-known pastor and his equally well-known wife who are publicly divorcing without a moment off for personal restoration or apparently any kind of pastoral counseling. Has the day of the “throw-away marriage” finally overwhelmed the church? Better get the marker warmed up on this one!
4. A well-known pastor who brags about his tattoos, his love of fine wine, who ignores the financial shenanigans of his church, and has introduced his personal masseuse to his congregation. The “masseuse” is allegedly a converted porn star. (We sincerely hope and pray that last part is true since the other parts of the “testimony” are questionable at best.)
Hello, hello, anybody listening? There are some large parts of Jesus’ and Paul’s teachings that have to go away to make this one smell right. Better bring two markers!
I don’t have all the answers to how to stay free from the “way of the Gentiles.” Paul refers to it in Ephesians 2:2 as “the course of this world” and then immediately ties the phrase to the influence of “the prince of the power of the air” (better known as the devil). I do know that Jesus doesn’t want us living according to the “course of this world” and having our life aligned with the evil purposes of the enemy. I do know that Jesus died to open the door to life in the Kingdom for all who will enter. God has given us an abundant life to live and yet for some there is an almost mystical attraction to go back and live like God has no part in our lives, go back to the way it used to be, go back to the “way of the Gentiles”!
Obviously this passage does not mean the same thing to us as it did to them. We are the Gentiles, the message has come to us, and we, for argument’s sake, live in the unclean cities of the Samaritans. The plain fact is that everything changed at Calvary. The disciples were being given pre-Calvary instructions and we live on the “after” side of Calvary. Many of the men to whom these instructions were initially extended by Jesus were later the leaders of the church in the first century. It was these men who led the first-century church that quite literally exploded among the Gentiles. Most of the great first-century churches were in wicked cities like Corinth and Rome, of all places.
“Do not go into the way of the Gentiles.” Now I ask you, how are we supposed to look at a phrase like this? Perhaps the easiest thing to do is just ignore the phrase, just pretend it isn’t there. If you like, I can lend you a black marker with a broad tip and you can just “censor” this passage, put a heavy black line through these words, and then you won’t have to try to understand what God was saying to us. Or we can try to discover why the Holy Spirit led the early church to keep these words in the manuscript. Maybe we had better try this before we break out the marker or get a pair of scissors to cut the passage out of our Bibles.
I believe the phrase “the way of the Gentiles” refers to an entire way of life that is in stark contrast to “the way of the Kingdom.” In Matthew 6:25-34, Jesus talks at length about worrying or being preoccupied with the cares of life, including housing, clothing, food and life in general. In verse 32, Jesus says, “For after all these things the Gentiles seek.” He was not putting us down, He was using “the way of the Gentiles” to describe a way of life that is opposite to life in God’s Kingdom. I believe that “the way of the Gentiles” describes the world as it is without the influence of God and His saving love through His Son Jesus Christ, without the influence of the Word, and without the presence of the Holy Spirit! “The way of the Gentiles” is the driving force that people live in, in the natural, carnal world.
The injunction then of Matthew 10:5 takes on a special meaning to us who are Gentiles and are alive after the work of Calvary was accomplished. It has special meaning for us who have embraced the sacrifice of Christ on Calvary. “Do not go into the way of the Gentiles” then becomes a very clear teaching that we are not to make the guiding principles of our life the same as the ones that drive those outside God’s Kingdom. The authenticity of New Testament Christianity is lost when we try to become like the world.
In the last few weeks in my regular reading of the news, I have observed the following about Christian leaders who seem to be struggling with understanding what it means to be “in the Kingdom.”
1. I read about XXXX, the cussing pastor. XXXX is the pastor of a large conservative church and occasionally is known to use swear words in the pulpit. I didn’t use the real name to protect the guilty. I wonder what verses he has “censored” in his Bible?
2. A well-known speaker who is advocating that Christians become much more aggressive and assertive in personal relations. This speaker is known to be very abusive to his staff and seemingly touts this as “becoming a more mature Christian.” I wonder where the fruits of the Spirit fit in for this person or maybe “as a mature Christian” he is making use of the broad tip marker?
3. A well-known pastor and his equally well-known wife who are publicly divorcing without a moment off for personal restoration or apparently any kind of pastoral counseling. Has the day of the “throw-away marriage” finally overwhelmed the church? Better get the marker warmed up on this one!
4. A well-known pastor who brags about his tattoos, his love of fine wine, who ignores the financial shenanigans of his church, and has introduced his personal masseuse to his congregation. The “masseuse” is allegedly a converted porn star. (We sincerely hope and pray that last part is true since the other parts of the “testimony” are questionable at best.)
Hello, hello, anybody listening? There are some large parts of Jesus’ and Paul’s teachings that have to go away to make this one smell right. Better bring two markers!
I don’t have all the answers to how to stay free from the “way of the Gentiles.” Paul refers to it in Ephesians 2:2 as “the course of this world” and then immediately ties the phrase to the influence of “the prince of the power of the air” (better known as the devil). I do know that Jesus doesn’t want us living according to the “course of this world” and having our life aligned with the evil purposes of the enemy. I do know that Jesus died to open the door to life in the Kingdom for all who will enter. God has given us an abundant life to live and yet for some there is an almost mystical attraction to go back and live like God has no part in our lives, go back to the way it used to be, go back to the “way of the Gentiles”!
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