Friday, August 31, 2012

PERSONAL REVIVAL


The last several years have been among the richest of my life in terms of spiritual renewal, or perhaps you can call it personal revival. Yes, the same period has been challenging healthwise, but the Lord has been very near and the times of communion have been powerful and enriching.

A few weeks ago I wrote about the promises in Isaiah 58:10-11. As we “pour ourselves out” in caring for the needy and afflicted, God responds by pouring out His promises on us. About two and a half years ago Carol and I began to work with CareCenter Ministries, a wonderful organization here in Dallas. CCM is one of the finest “urban” ministries I have seen in over 40 years of being around all kinds of good inner-city ministries. We work with them several days a week teaching, writing, consulting and helping in any way we can. We have chosen to “pour ourselves out” to the hungry and afflicted of Southeast Dallas through CareCenter and God has blessed us richly. As we have “poured out,” He has “poured in.”

The website for CareCenter Ministries is www.carecenterministries.org. If the Lord speaks to you about praying for or supporting CCM, then do so with confidence. This ministry is as complete and righteously run as any I have ever seen — a quality ministry! They really love the area they serve and they are reaching deep into the community with all types of outreaches. The fruit God is bringing forth is quite incredible. This is good soil, so sow generously!

I am committed to living in personal revival, and the primary key to doing so is hunger: “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied [filled]” (Matthew 5:6, ESV). If there is no hunger, no desire for more of God, for more prayer, for more of the Word, then there will be no revival.

Here are three things I have learned over the years that keep me constantly moving in the direction of “more of Him, more of the Spirit.”

     1.  Filling my heart and mind with the Word.

“This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success” (Joshua 1:8, ESV).

I would strongly recommend that you be in the Word every day. Find a translation you are comfortable with and have a Bible-reading plan of some kind. Just get the Word into you! Fill your heart and mind with the Word of God. Personally, I am committed to starting every day by spending time in the Word and in prayer.

     2.   Clear the way through repentance. 

      This is a word that is not always well received by Jesus followers.   Some bristle when repentance is spoken of. Their attitude is, “I repented once and that’s enough!” The truth about life as a believer is that along the way we pick up junk (habits, thoughts, sins, trash) that is wrong. It is carnal and sinful and it gets attached to our lives. Unless it is dealt with, it will inhibit the flowing of the Spirit of God. God doesn’t leave us because we’ve become fans of trashy reality TV, but the freedom of His moving and flowing in our lives can be curtailed by the junk that we have accumulated. Very honestly, God and His Spirit will not play second fiddle to some of the junk we take into our lives; in theological terms, this is idolatry and that is a serious no-no! So we must clear the path to personal revival and we do that by repenting and confessing. Two verses of Scripture to help on this are:

·      1 John 1:9 – “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (ESV). John was writing to followers of Jesus about their need to stay clean before the Lord.

·      Proverbs 1:23 – “If you turn [repent] at my reproof, behold, I will pour out my spirit to you; I will make my words known to you” (ESV). This is wisdom speaking and who is wisdom but God? This is a promise of God for every believer. Simply put, God is saying, “When you repent and turn from your mistakes and wickedness, the way is clear and I can pour out of My Spirit and open up to you the truths of My Word.”

In reading about the genesis of virtually every revival outpouring in history you will find God’s people repenting, confessing sin as the Spirit begins to move. The moment they begin to repent, the outpouring intensifies and grows.

     3.   Pray for revival and ask the Holy Spirit to lead you.

I am dismayed at the lack of interest in prayer in the contemporary church. It is disheartening to see how much attention is paid to public image and crowds and how little attention is given to prayer and study of the Word. There are few prayer meetings, few calls for fasting, but we do love our rock ’n’ roll music and our sixty-minute worship services.

We need to ask God for revival. We should not expect to receive unless we ask.
“You do not have, because you do not ask” (James 4:2, ESV).

Don’t be shy about asking the Holy Spirit to lead you into personal revival. He is the Spirit of God living in you and as we have been given the right to speak to God, we also have every right to speak to the Holy Spirit. In doing so, we honor Him and release Him to be our guide.

“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened” (Matthew 7:7-8, ESV). 

Ask and keep on asking; seek and keep on seeking; knock and knock until the door is opened!

Friday, August 24, 2012

THE SECRET OF PAUL



Carol and I attend Hope Fellowship, a wonderful church in Frisco, TX, (Senior Pastor, John McKinzie). Frisco is a fast-growing area just north of Dallas and the growth of the church mirrors the growth of the area.
This summer on four consecutive Tuesday nights, the church presented a Bible study on the book of Philippians. The four chapters of the book had four different teachers each covering a chapter. 
I was elated when I was asked to teach on Philippians 4. I felt they had given me a gold mine to play in. What a chapter — so rich, so full of incredible truth! I actually felt just a little sorry for the other teachers, as I felt I got the best of the letter to teach from.
Among the great truths Paul presents in chapter 4 is his teaching on God’s provision and learning to be content. The apostle makes the following statement: “I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content . . . I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:11-13, ESV).
“I can do all things through him who strengthens me” is one of the best-known of all Paul’s teachings. It is important that we understand the context, however, before we make broad, generalized statements about this powerful truth.
Paul founded the church in Philippi about eleven years before this letter was written. Over the years Paul had nurtured the church, visited them, and stayed in contact through his letters. The church became one of Paul’s staunchest support groups and on more than one occasion they sent financial gifts to help in his missionary travels. At the time of this letter, the church was concerned for Paul because he was in prison in Rome. They expressed their love and concern by again sending a gift of support. Paul’s wrote this letter to thank the church, to let them know how he was, and to encourage them to keep on serving God.
For Paul to make the statement, “I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content,” is truly amazing on several levels. First, Paul was raised in the lap of luxury. He came from a wealthy family that lived very well. He was educated in the best schools, available only to those with the wealth to afford them. Those who have known wealth and lived in luxury often have a difficult time when their standard of living is adjusted downward. Second, Paul had gone through some very difficult and trying circumstances: being imprisoned, beaten, stoned, shipwrecked, and in danger (see 2 Corinthians 11:24-27). Yet Paul could say, “I have learned to be content.”
Years ago a staff member sat in my office and poured out a story of personal frustration and disappointment. I was serving as Executive Vice President of a missionary evangelism ministry in Los Angeles. The ministry had about 125 staff working in and through the U.S. office and this staff member was one of our key leaders.
After the leader finished talking to me, I shared the following: “I know you like to play Rook (a card game). At the beginning of a hand when the dealer is passing out the cards, do you get to choose the ones that make up your hand? Of course not! You play the hand you are given and you do your best with what you have been dealt. Our life as Christians is somewhat similar to playing a card game. You play the hand you are given. But as followers of Christ we have a huge advantage over those who are not. We have Christ’s promise that He will be with us every moment. In addition, we have God’s Word and the Holy Spirit to comfort, lead and guide us.” (It took me about ten minutes to say what I have just summarized in three or four sentences.)
Together the staff member and I talked about God’s promises and about having a realistic view of the Christian life, and then we prayed together. Early the next morning when I walked into my office, I found a small gold picture frame in the middle of my desk with a single Rook card in the frame. I knew the staff member had gotten the message and was learning the secret of facing every situation and saying in faith, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”
The word content as Paul uses it in verse 11 is referring to “needing no assistance, sufficient in one’s self.” I believe Paul is saying that his contentment in life is not wrapped up in his circumstances, good or bad, but is found in his relationship with Jesus Christ — and he doesn’t need more than that.
That is why Paul could say, “I have found the secret!”



Friday, August 17, 2012

SO YOU WANT THE BLESSING OF GOD!



“You shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail” (Isaiah 58:11, ESV).

I believe there is a desire to have success in life in the heart of every person and every child of God has a desire to live in the blessing of the Lord and the power of the Holy Spirit.

When Isaiah shared the above promise, there was a tragic irony to what he was saying. He was prophesying to a people who said they wanted the blessing of God, who followed religious routine, but it was all show. God did not hear their empty prayers or even show respect to their fasting. In fact, God was angry with the Jewish people over their showy legalistic behavior.

As a prophet/watchman, Isaiah got the unenviable responsibility of telling his own people, “God is unhappy with you!”

God’s word to Isaiah was, “Cry aloud; do not hold back; lift up your voice like a trumpet; declare to my people their transgression, to the house of Jacob their sins” (58:1).

Why was God so upset? Simply put, it was because their fasting and prayer, their coming to the house of God for worship, was nothing but show. They wanted the blessing of God to expend it on their own pleasure. “You seek your own pleasure . . . fasting like yours this day will not make your voice to be heard on high” (verses 3-4).

Tragically, these people had known the blessing of God. They had seen it over and over in God’s leading, protecting and providing for their nation. Even so they had drifted away from real worship to religious routine. The worship, the sacrifices, the prayers and the fasting all meant little to them. The people wanted the blessing of God but wanted nothing to do with Him. They wanted God’s blessing on their businesses but they had no intention of living like God’s people.  They had no intention of treating their employees like they wanted God to treat them.

I need to stop for just a moment and tell you that as I write this and study Isaiah 58, I hear the Spirit of God saying, “This is a prophetic word to the church in America/Canada right now. The church largely wants My blessing but they are not seeking Me!”

Isaiah shouted the message to his people, “God is unhappy and He does not respect or respond to your prayers and your fasting.” Along with this hard message of rebuke, however, came an incredible message of promise.

There is not room here to lay out all the powerful teaching and promise that Isaiah presents in this chapter. Two verses strongly stand out to me as a prescription for seeing the blessing of God and the flowing of the Spirit of God in our lives — now!

“If you pour yourself out for the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then shall your light rise in the darkness and your gloom be as the noonday. And the Lord will guide you continually and satisfy your desire in scorched places and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail” (Isaiah 58:10-11, ESV).

 I think the first part of verse 10 is very clear. We are to give of our own personal resources, our money, our possessions, our time and talent to help meet the needs of those who are lost and in need. When the disciples asked Jesus to send the hungry crowd away and have someone else feed them, Jesus responded, “You give them something to eat” (Mark 6:37, ESV). Jesus refused to let His disciples off the hook then — and now. No believer today is free from the injunction, “You give them something to eat.” We all have a part to play in “pouring ourselves out.”

Find a ministry that is reaching out to the needy in your area, perhaps through your church, and “pour yourself out” by giving, praying and working to reach the needy, the underserved, the lost. You may say, “Well, this is not something I want to do. I’ll leave this in the hands of others.” If that is your attitude then don’t expect to see the blessing of God flowing freely in your life. God is not happy with followers who want His blessing so they can brag about it and fill up their own pleasure cup!

Here are the incredible promises God makes to those who “pour themselves out”

·         “Your light will rise in the darkness and your gloom be as the noonday.” I believe this is speaking of the blessing and favor of God resting on your life. It will rise up out of what appeared to be hopeless despair and will become a shining testimony of God’s faithfulness.

·         “And the Lord will guide you continually.” What a promise! If God is constantly guiding, what more can you ask? If He is leading and we are listening then how can things go wrong?

·         “And will satisfy your desire in scorched places.” Even in the most desolate, unlikely circumstances you will experience God’s blessing and fulfillment.

·         “And make your bones strong.”  Tired, weary and depleted from the struggle as we “pour out” to the needy? God promises that we will experience His restoring/renewing of our strength. “He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might He increases strength” (Isaiah 40:29, ESV). As you pour out, God will pour in healing and restoration to the broken places in you.

·          “And you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.” These few words are full of the rich imagery of a productive, fruitful garden and an overflowing spring feeding the productivity of the garden. Among the images used in Scripture to describe the Holy Spirit is the word water. “Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water. Now this he said about the Spirit” (John 7:37-38, ESV). This is a promise of the blessing of God and power of the Spirit flowing in and through the life of the obedient.

“You can trust His promises . . . all of them!” (David Wilkerson)

Friday, August 10, 2012

HOLINESS OR HYPOCRISY?



There are hot-button issues that elicit strong reactions just by mentioning them. Same-sex marriage and abortion are two that always seem to produce emotional responses. Likewise, some hot-button issues in the church bring out the same kind of emotional and sometimes “over-the-top” responses. One such topic in the church for many years has been the subject of holiness.

I was raised in a conservative, Spirit-filled home in western Canada. The church we attended preached a very strong message of Spirit fullness and grace. Even though there was a stronger than normal emphasis on grace, there were plenty of things we were not allowed to do as children. For instance, we could not go outside and play on Sundays. Attending movies was forbidden, as was bowling. These taboos were a part of the holiness message of that time. In other parts of the country, the holiness message forbade women to wear makeup. They were not to adorn themselves with jewelry or wear short skirts — and other infamous “sins” were forbidden.

A large part of the Spirit-filled community of the first half of the last century came out of the Holiness Movement that had its beginnings   under the ministry of John Wesley, the founder of Methodism. As time passed, some of the new denominations became rather legalistic, and holiness became a message of dos, don’ts and rules.
 
In the 1980’s the American church found itself in the middle of a changing church culture that was being heavily influenced by secular and religious media, especially Christian television and a few very strong “on-camera” personalities. One of those loud voices was a Southern evangelist who was well known for his bombastic and legalistic messages reviling makeup, short skirts and worldliness in general. The evangelist had a huge following as he thundered his holiness message across the airways. His audience stayed huge until one day it was discovered that he was enjoying the company of prostitutes. His behavior was not holiness — it was hypocrisy. Sadly, once this door was opened, there followed a flood of revelations about similar behavior by other well-known Christian leaders.

Since the mid-eighties, the subject of holiness has pretty much disappeared from view in large segments of the Spirit-filled and contemporary church. The embarrassment of the past hypocrisy caused the church to retreat from an important truth. At the same time, taking advantage of our embarrassment, the worldliness of our secular society pushed its way deeply into our compromised, contemporary church.

Holiness is important to every believer. But to understand why we need to be pursuing holy lives, we first need to understand what holiness is and what it is not.

Holiness is the consistent living out of our love relationship with God which we have been brought into through the gospel of Jesus Christ. Those of us who have received adoption as a son or daughter are learning to be good children and true to our Father. In simplified terms, this is holiness.

Legalistic holiness consists merely of dos and don’ts, of outward appearances, and of obeying certain routines. This is the hypocritical holiness of the Pharisees to whom Jesus said, Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, pretenders (hypocrites)! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the plate, but within they are full of extortion (prey, spoil, plunder) and grasping self-indulgence. You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and of the plate, so that the outside may be clean also” (Matthew 23:25-26, Amplified Bible).

Legalistic holiness is man-pleasing and carnal, for its behavior is in opposition to how God sees His children. “For the Lord sees not as man sees; for man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7).

True holiness is not a scary word nor should it be a subject that brings up controversy. Powerful truths have always had some who take the truth being taught and overstate it or twist it in an attempt to make it say what they want. For example, just think of what has been done to the message of God’s desire to bless His children. Some have taken that powerful truth and pushed it to the extreme by teaching that God intends every believer to be wealthy — and that is just not true or biblically supportable. God promises to meet our need, not our greed!

True holiness is authentic Christian living that rises out of our love and gratitude to God. True holiness is a heart that is pure before the Lord. True holiness is found in those who are hungry to serve and please their heavenly Father. True holiness is found in those who are doers of the Word and not hearers only. True holiness is found in those who allow the Holy Spirit to not just dwell in them but to fill them to overflowing. The Holy Spirit is the agent of holiness and the fruit of His overflowing (Galatians 5:22-23) is the fruit of an authentic, holy life!

Friday, August 3, 2012

GUARDED BY THE PEACE OF GOD



Paul was insistent that the church at Philippi be a prayerful and thankful church. Ten times in this rather brief letter Paul encouraged the Philippians to be rejoicing people. “Rejoice,” he said. “Be happy by finding your joy in the Lord.” And then he would repeat himself as if to emphasize the importance of being joyful. Paul was not teaching that the church should just have a positive attitude but that they should embrace the fact that God is in control and be confident. Paul was teaching that joy is in the Lord.

“Rejoice in the Lord always; and I will say, Rejoice” (Philippians 4:4).

Paul told the Philippians that giving in to anxiety and worrying was wrong. “Do not be anxious about anything” (verse 6). Francis Chan wrote: “Worry implies that we don’t quite trust that God is big enough, powerful enough, or loving enough to take care of what’s happening in our lives.” Instead, Paul says, “In everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God” (verse 6).

But before we get too excited about this, let’s make certain that we are reading Paul’s injunction clearly. “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.”

This is a challenging exhortation and bears repeating: “Don’t be anxious about anything but pray about everything with thanksgiving!”

Paul adds the word supplication to his call to pray. The word means intensity and earnestness in extended prayer — it is not a general prayer but is very specific, intense and prevailing.

The original word used for thanksgiving in Philippians 4:6 is the word from which we get the word Eucharist. Here it means “with thanksgiving to God in worship.” The phrase “with thanksgiving” has special meaning for me. Let me explain.

Almost two years ago I was diagnosed with a cancerous growth in my throat, specifically in one of the lymph glands. Having the doctors tell you that you have a malignant tumor will ruin any day. The first thing Carol and I did was pray together and commit our lives afresh to the Lord. We asked for His divine guidance and, specifically, for His healing power to touch my body. I then called our pastor and arranged for the elders of our church to pray for me. With every fiber of my being I wanted to be instantly healed — and I would be healed, but not quite instantly.

The doctors were concerned because they could not identify where this cancer was coming from. They like to do that so that they can, destroy that point of origin in the body, if possible. They never could find that in me and so they prepared a very aggressive treatment plan. For over eight weeks I went every morning (M-F) for radiation in my throat, and part of that time I was also connected to a portable chemo pump twenty-four hours a day for five days of each week.

It was a grueling time and I am so grateful for a supportive wife and family and praying friends.

If I am susceptible to anxiety and fear, it’s usually when I’m tired or not feeling well. During the treatment period, there were many nights when I couldn’t sleep so rather than toss and turn and disturb my wife, I got up and went into our den. More than once I found myself beginning to get anxious. I would think, “Is this the end?” and anxiety and fear would try to take hold.

I learned during times like this to begin to worship, to be thankful, to rejoice in the Lord. But how could I be thankful when all hell was breaking loose? Very simply! I would just begin to thank the Lord for my salvation, for His blessings on my family, for my wife, my children, my grandchildren, my church, my pastors, my friends, for His Word, for His promises, for all the good things I had seen Him do over my life. I would name them one by one and give thanks to Him for all He had done.

The more I worshiped Him and the more I gave myself to worship, the more the anxiety and fear diminished. It is a discipline to worship when you are sick or under pressure. Your mind and perhaps your body will tell you not to do it, and that is where the discipline comes in — you worship anyway! At first it may seem wooden and remote. It may not be easy but it puts the powers of hell to flight and invites the presence of God — and with His presence comes His peace.
 
Psalm 22:3 says, “You (Father God) are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel.”  We are the spiritual Israel and when we, God’s children, begin to worship and praise Him, we are literally enthroning Him in our lives. Fear and anxiety cannot coexist with God’s presence; His presence takes precedence and anxiety/fear is banished and the peace of God comes.

Note the progression of Paul’s teaching. First, he says, “Pray about everything,” and then he adds, “with thanksgiving.” Finally, he says, “The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard (keep) your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7). We pray, we give thanks and then the peace comes.

The word guard, or keep as it is in the King James, is a very expressive military term. It means to establish a military post, to protect with a garrison. Paul is saying that when we give ourselves to the Lord in prayer and thanksgiving, He blesses us with His peace which cannot be disturbed. We are garrisoned and protected by the peace of God when anxiety threatens.

It is our worship that brings the peace of God into our hearts and as we continue to worship, the peace of God continues to guard our hearts.