Keeping Christ as Lord in Your Heart

1Pe 3:15 but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts...

I want to hold this phrase up as a standard of life for a Christian today. I understand that the KJV and others have a different reading. Newer translations are based on older manuscripts found since the KJV was translated. In any case, either version gives us a foundational truth.

Yes, there are foundational truths. These are standards of truth we can stand on and our feet will not move. We can base our walk on them. We may not understand them fully, and we must grow into them, but they are for us to trust, to cling to, and to expect God to honor in us.

Why hold this phrase up as a standard?

First, the Lordship of Christ is under attack. The enemy must remove the idea from Christians that Jesus is Lord. The attack has taken an intellectual turn in saying that "Lord" is an old-fashioned term, not in use anymore. Jesus is better to be called Master, rather than Lord, since it has more meaning for today's youth.

Second, just as the Lordship of Christ is being de-valued, so is the aspect of His title "the Christ", meaning "the Anointed One". Peter said in his sermon in Acts 2, God has made Him both "Lord and Christ...." The enemy will attack this anointing because it is the measure of His office as Prophet, Priest and King. Remove the recognition of that office, and you have an earthly Jesus, who was a great teacher, and someone we can aspire to be like.

Both attacks are happening now. Both are very powerful deceptions. Many in the church are deceived by the enemy. Many want to follow this earthly Jesus. There is no power there. There is no life changing power. The resurrection has yet to take place in this theology. Watch when someone speaks or writes about 'Jesus'. Who are they speaking about?

I think this is very old attack. There is nothing new here. It was happening in the Church in the time of the Apostles. Paul dealt with this, I think, in 2 Cor 5:16.

2Co 5:16 Therefore from now on we recognize no man according to the flesh; even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him thus no longer.

Many might have known Christ in the flesh. They may have even touched Him. That would be no claim to fame, Paul is saying. We are not to know Christ in the flesh. We are to know Him in the Spirit. This is where the attack is aimed at. To pull Christians away from knowing the full revelation of Jesus Christ Lord. It is a revelation. It is for everyone who desires to follow the Lord.

Pray for eyes to see this. Then, if God reveals anything to you, watch out. The enemy will come shortly after to steal that from you.

We Believe...

There is the Apostles Creed. We don't pay much attention to it, although I'd say we wouldn't find anything wrong with it. We get uncomfortable setting things like what we believe in permanent castings. Having said that, I want to declare something that is always in the back of our mind as a fellowship. This is not our creed. This is not printed anywhere, and we don't hold up any doctrines that people must believe in order to fellowship with us (other than that Christ is Lord, and Savior). No one has to sign a document to prove they agree with us or what we believe.

Still, it's good to take a stand and declare what we believe, in principle. Here are seven principles we stand for. Our fellowship is based on a true heartfelt holding to these ideals. Out of these principles, we meet together:

We believe in:

1. The Headship of Christ
( This is why we gather in this way)

2. The Oneness of the Body
(We come out of divisions, to return to unity)

3. The Presence of the Holy Spirit
(No program, no design. We dare not take the place of the Holy Spirit)

4. The Universal Priesthood of All Believers
(No division of clergy and laity. Until all believers exercise priesthood - you will not see the Church)

5. The Church is a Holy Habitation
("I will build My Church"...using living stones...until all flesh is cast out)

6. The Church is a Family
(Little children...young men...fathers)

7. The Lord is Maturing His Body
(So that His Body will be ready for Him when He returns)

Note: the totality of what we believe is found in the scriptures. These 7 principles are fully detailed, with illustrations, throughout the entire 66 books comprising the Bible, but not seen clearly without help from the Holy Spirit.

Taken from spoken ministry of Stephen Kaung, April, 1995, Richmond, Va.

The Church in Russia (part of it, anyway)

I am recovering from my last two weeks spent in the Republic of Udmurtia, The Russian Federation. It is nine hours in time away from us, and a world of difference in cultures. But, the Spirit in the brothers and sisters is the same Spirit in us here.

What a privilege it is to be with all the saints there. I spent most mornings in a Bible School speaking to this year’s class of future missionaries, rehabilitation workers, pastors and worship leaders. They were hungry for anything God said, and they wanted to know what everything meant, and how to apply to their lives. They wrote notes furiously (in part, because their notebooks were graded, it’s true), and they were always very attentive. Of course, I spoke in the mornings, and once lunch was over, they tended to drift mentally.

This was my second trip there, and I like going in the spring because the students have heard months of teaching, they have gone out on “practice”, they have been exposed to a number of things, so they are not totally green. It’s good to be able to ask them questions, and get them thinking. They are past the stage by this time of first-time introductions. They want to know the real nitty-gritty of what it means to walk with the Lord. They want to know what fasting really means, when they fast. They want to be equipped with whatever tools are available to them. It s a tough life where they live, the divorce rate is 80%, suicide happens everyday, alcoholism and drug addiction are common among all age groups. Homelessness is everywhere, even when the temperature drops to 40 below zero. The salary they can expect as pastors will be close to $30 a month, assuming they plant a successful church in a village that can support them. They will learn to fast because there will often not be any food to eat. There will be no frills in their lives. No eating out. No creamer in their coffee. No coffee, and tea will be thin. They will have two, maybe three sets of clothes, one fancy, one or two plain to mix and match. There will be no car, and if there is, there will be no gas. After a few years in the ministry, they might have a church with 20 members, mostly older women suffering from a deeply ingrained spirit of religion (it is from a life in the orthodox church). All the people they minister to will be living in the same conditions they are in. All will respond to an alter call. All will desperately want to be prayed for and few will be set free from the weight of the spiritual bondages they are entangled by. Their husbands, if they have one still around, will be damaged by vodka, and useless in the home. There is no understanding of a family, other than people can have children, and children grow up to be just like their parents.

But, if these students walk with the Lord, remain faithful over time, the Lord will bless them. I saw humility. I saw waiting upon the Lord. I saw true pastoral hearts. I saw vision. I was supposed to encourage them, just by coming to their church, but they taught me so much. There are nearly 250 church plantings in the small area surrounding Izhevsk. I could only visit 6 or 7 of them. Time was too short. I needed 6 hours of sleep at night (I only got 3 to 4 most nights).

I learned more from this visit than last year’s visit. I will be months processing, pondering, and shaking my head. How different the church is here, than there? What can I see from all this? What insight can I gain? What can the Lord reveal to me? What do I do with this?

Two things I had on my heart to do. First, I wanted to tell them that we are all equal in Christ. There is no male-female, no bond-free. I had to do more than say that. I wanted to demonstrate it in real manner. So I asked that I be able to eat with the students. This is not usually done. The teachers/staff have a separate dinning room. There is a kind of class structure that separates the students from the pastors/teachers/staff. I wanted to show that there was equality. I was allowed to eat with them. Pretty unheard of, I think, but you would not believe how rewarding it is to be with the students. What a joy to break bread with them (I spoke on that, BTW), and be with them. They responded as well, allowing us into their world. We joked, and laughed, and ate the same food (bowl of excellent soup, three slices of Russian bread, plate full of some carb, usually macaroni, and a different glass of something like tea, apricot compote, chocolate flavored tea everyday, and a vitamin). And, I can tell you most Russians of all sizes eat faster than anyone. Phew!

The second thing I wanted to do, was take some students with me when I visited a local church or work. I was able to do that once, and could have again, but time was so short, and planning was so last-minute. But, if there is ministry to be done, it is very helpful to take some students with us to expose them to it.

There is more, and pictures. We will show them as time goes on, and I think through the whole time. I will be thinking and praying for the students everyday for the foreseeable future. They are the future of the Church in Udmurtia.

More 46 Hours...Maybe it was 48...(continued)

Where was I? Yes, saying good-bye to the faithful Zhenny (Zhen-ya).

We hop into the van at 10:45 for what should be a three and a half hours ride to Perm (200 km away). But, you can't get to Perm in three and a half hours if you drive under 57 km/h average. That is, if you drive at anything less than 57.14 km/h for even a few minutes, you will not get there in time. You must maintain 57.14 km/h for the entire distance, or speed up occasionally to compensate for the time spent at less than that set speed. Got it?

We drove most of the night at way less than 57.14 km/h. Oh, yeah. Roads had gone bad. Crossing the Urals at night, in the snow, at 40 km/h, is a bad way to get to Perm in a set time. Dear brother Eddy is also a Beatles fan. He wanted to hear just the right Beatles song to sing along with, but didn't know which track that was, so he would play 3 seconds of all the tracks on a CD until he got to the right one. Then he would joyfully sing along to "Let It Be" with all his heart. He learns english that way, too. Great exercise.

I don't bother to sleep. No real need to.

Ok, to make a long ride short. We get to the airport right after the check-in has closed. Well, maybe not right after. The plane was still on the ground, let's just say that. Pastor Eddy is a bit worked up that he might have driven to Perm for nothing, so he goes to the office to beg and plead to let us on. They relent, and allow us through. That is an amazing bit of daring-do. This is Russia, you know. Things are not meant to be easy here. But, we go through the check-in, scanning, and Passport Control. We are in the lounge, waiting for the boarding.

There is a large contingent of what appear to be Central American males. They are young, fun-loving guys, but too chubby to be athletes of any sport I can think of. What they are doing in Perm, I have no idea. It is frustrating to wonder, and have no idea. When we get on the plane, they behave like they have never been on a plane before, taking pictures of everything in sight. The stewardesses all get many flashes pointed at them. The act of the seatbelt safety demo is met with more flashes than the red carpet at the Academy Awards. Oh, and when she came with a box of (your choice: cheese or ham) pre-made sandwiches for breakfast, every angle had to be immortalized in digital memory. After breakfast, the team got real drowsy and it was great fun to snap eack other when they were sleeping with mouth open, and drool coming out.

We flew to Frankfurt Main in Germany. There was no reason to sleep along the way, as food I paid for was more important. Once in Germany, the trick of translating and spending Euros was more fun than snoozing, so...

Six hours later we board the big jet for the trip across the ocean. They feed or water you on this one every hour. It's like being in a hospital, so I hear, that as soon as you get to sleep, they come around to ask you if you are ok. Or feed you. Or give you a hot towel.

Then the movie was one I had seen (Zorro), but it was fun to watch again. I guess. Maybe I should have slept. But I wasn't really tired. I did cat nap two or three times, but never deeply, and never for more than a Seinfeld episode.

We arrived in the US on time at 5:10 PM, Saturday afternoon. We go through the Passport line easily, and wait for our bags. They never show, which makes it real easy to get through Customs. No bags, no declaration. By 6PM we are out and heading for the parking. It's 2 hour drive from PHL to home, and I am glad I wasn't driving.

We arrive at 8ish. I'm not ready to go right to bed. I want to see how many emails I got. I wan't expecting to see 3500. But, sometime right after I left, a SPAM filter expired on the email server and I began getting 300 emails a day. That's cool. So did everyone else at work, too. I was out of communication. Never knew it. Took a while to clean out all the "medical" emails and investment advice.

Got to bed and slept, finally, for 10 hours.

God was with us the whole way. There was only one time when I got real nervous, and that was the time I thought I might be stuck there for another couple of days. But, I would have said there was a reason, and would have not complained. I believe all that happens to us has a purpose. Buying the boxes of crackers with euros in the store in Germany and carrying them in my backpack was a good idea. I was able to bring something back. To eat.

I'd go again. In a minute. I had a bad cold, and lost my voice right after getting there. The ministry was never hindered. We got chased out of one village by the local branch of the KGB. We spoke before drunks and old women. The Bible School students were the best.

Let's go...

46 Hours With No Sleep?

It can be done. It was done. I'm afraid I did it. I got up Friday morning at 5 AM in Izhevsk, Udmurtia, Russian Federation, to study and pray about what I would tell the Bible School students that morning. We packed out things for the last day there, and left for the school at 8:50 AM.

I spoke all morning, had lunch with the students, and a final good-bye to them. We loaded into a late model Lada and headed for a small town 3 hours south of Izhevsk. The weather that had been beautiful all two weeks turned ugly and the snik (russian snow) fell and froze. We got to the village, ministered, and had dinner with the pastor and his wife. Lovely people living in a harsh, spiritually hard land. They have electricity, but no running water. All water is carried in, and the toilet is at the end of the house, outside, along a frozen slippery path.

We all hit the outhouse, and headed back to the car, walking across a slanted bridge (pictures later in the week). The clock is ticking now, and we MUST be back in Izhevsk by no later than 10 PM to make the van connection to Perm. It's 7:15 PM. No room for errors. Road conditions have deteriorated.

10 minutes out of town, we have to turn around. The pastor has forgotten some kind of stamp or something. He calls Mrs. Pastor to meet at the raod with said stamp. 13 minutes later he rolls down window to receive stamp and hears Lada exhaust pipe rumbling. Sanctified Russian disgust sounds vaguely familiar to English disgust. We roll slowly back toward the north and Izhevsk. He makes several cell phone calls and agrees to be met halfway by unknown Pastor on the way. Car swap in order. Great.

Tick-tick-tick...

We stop in Mozhga, to meet new pastor. It turns out to be our friend, the ever cheerful pastor Nicolea. Wonderful bear of a man who loves to help. I had spoken at his church earlier in the week, so it was old home moment. We all pile into his church van and head at slightly faster 60 KPH toward Izhevsk.

Tick-tick-tick...

We make it at 10:30. Run to pack last things and change for the trip to Perm. Church van does not arrive. Should have been there. Nope. Not yet. On their way. We wait outside in the cold, dark, icy front landing of Zhenny's apartment building (directly across from the huge Lada factory). I lose connection with time, but think it is 10:45 PM when van with Pastor Eduard (number two man in Work of Faith Church) appears.

We say goodbye and fairwell to our hostess and translator, Zhenny (Pronounced: "Zhen-ya", who went everywhere I went, and said everything I said).

More later...must meet Peggy for lunch...

All Done, On to Russia

Well, the bags are packed, we're ready to go...no, that sounds too much like a very old song. We are ready.

I go to Russia this afternoon (it takes two whole days to get there) with two messages: First, the Power of Praise with Understanding (Ps 47), and second, the faith of a little girl and her faithfulness (2 Kings 5). I hope to be able to share these messages everywhere I go.

I hope to speak to the Bible School, and if I do, I will use the first two chapters of Acts to talk about the Church and what it should look like (2:42).

I have seen several unexpected sources of supply come (not just money), that prove God. I have not asked anyone for anything, but the supply keeps coming. This is very rewarding.

See you in two weeks with a report on what God is doing in Russia.

Getting Ready For Russia

Less than a week to go until we leave for Russia. We are allowed two 50 pound duffles, and one carry-on. We have to keep the duffles under 50 pounds, or the charges go way up. We like to bring gifts for people we meet, and for the children in the orphanages we will visit. The weight limit will make packing difficult, but we will take a much as we can. Peanut butter is heavy, by the way.

We will be at the Bible School, and I am looking forward to speaking there to the students. I will use Acts chapter one and two, and talk about how the Church came to life on the earth. The real message is in verse 42 of chapter 2. What a wonderful passage to use to see the Church as the Lord Jesus began building it.

Remember, there is no "early Church". There is only the one building, and we are in Christ, in whom the whole building, being fitted together is growing into a holy temple in the Lord; Eph 2:21

Ah, the pizza is here. Time to go...

The Progression of Praise

As I have said, I have grown to appreciate the Psalms more than ever. I used to ignore them as poetry and song lyrics, and obscure messages to Israel. But, as time passes, I see more in each Psalm that applies to us here and now.

There is a progression of Praise hidden in plain sight in the last 6 Psalms. There is not enough space to detail all six Psalms, but let it suffice to just show the progression in the first verse of each of the Psalms from Psalm 145 to 150:

Psa 145:1 A Psalm of Praise, of David. I Will extol Thee, my God, O King; And I will bless Thy name forever and ever.

Praise begins in our minds, in a dedicated, willful, intelligent giving of praise to God, the King of the universe. We should make a decision to bless His name forever. But, the point is, that it begins with our mind. It is rooted in the self. We give ourselves to praise. The word here is “I”. “I” will extol Thee, “my” God. Begin to praise with your mind fully engaged. We are to praise.

Psa 146:1 Praise the LORD! Praise the LORD, O my soul!

Now praise goes deeper. It begins in the intellect, choosing to praise, and moves to the deeper part of us: our soul. That is our whole conscious being. We give all of ourselves to the praise of the Lord. It is at this point that we recognize, for the first time, that He is Lord. He is more than God; He is Lord. Our soul digs deeply into the truth that He is Lord, and deserves our praise.

Psa 147:1 Praise the LORD! For it is good to sing praises to our God; For it is pleasant and praise is becoming.

Praise is now having an effect on us. It is taking us over. We are no longer just being strenuous praisers, we are seeing the depth and delight of praise. It is changing us. It is bringing us to a unity with the Lord. We move into true fellowship with Him, and we are changed. We are becoming a beautiful object through Him.

Psa 148:1 Praise the LORD! Praise the LORD from the heavens; Praise Him in the heights!

As we move into fellowship with Him, we are brought closer to Him, and we see Him for Who He is, and especially, where He is. He is high and lifted up. He is exalted. And, we are brought up together with Him. Our praise has now changed from coming from our minds, through our souls and our very beings, to lifting us to the presence of the Lord of All. Our praise becomes heavenly. It is now spiritual. God is seeking those who will worship in Spirit and in truth. This is now coming into that reality. Only those willing to die to themselves, leaving the love of the earth behind can enter into the height of praise. Praise will enter into the heavenlies. We are, after all, seated with Christ in the heavenly places.

Psa 149:1 Praise the LORD! Sing to the LORD a new song, And His praise in the congregation of the godly ones.

Now we see a change brought about in us. It is a new song. There is something beyond singing songs. There is something beyond praise that comes from our minds, as a decision to praise. There is a praise that comes because we are changed into the new spiritual person. Who will truly praise the Lord? Only a spiritual person. Who is a spiritual person? One who has been given a new song, a song to sing in the congregation of the godly ones, is a spiritual person. This is a corporate praise. This is a greater praise than what an individual can offer. This is the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. This is a song that, when a group sings, you can only hear one voice, not many. This is heavenly inspired praise.

Psa 150:1 Praise the LORD! Praise God in His sanctuary; Praise Him in His mighty expanse.

This is the highest praise. We have left the confines of the earth, and we have seen that there is no limit to the Lord. He is bigger than the universe He created. This is not, by any stretch of imagination, an out-of-body experience. That is false. That is new-age. No. This is the experience of a mature, Spirit led, cleansed, sanctified, totally-focused, believer in the Lord Jesus. The flesh has been dealt with; the past is behind. Well, that may seem impossible, and with man, it is. But, with God, all things are possible, and the way to the depth of praise, is by faith. That is all. The way to the heights is by faith.

No matter where, or when, we can enter the depths of praise. Praise can reach the highest heaven from the depth of any despair. We can be in a car, in gathering, or in a Philippian jail. The place does not matter; it is the source that matters.