Anonymous, Anonymous

After 5 years, someone found this blog. I thought it was basically tucked away in some dark, forgotten corner of the warehouse they use for ignored blogs. After all, who does blogs anymore? Blogs? They are so...so...2006.

I read the post referred to by Anonymous. It was on the 23^rd Psalm, one of my favorites. I liked the post. I almost didn't think I had written it. But, I did. That was 5 years ago.

Around the time I wrote that post, I was traveling to Russia during the summer, to see the Church, meet other Christians, and speak to as many people as I could. Since the last time I visited Russia, I bought an iPod and began listening to podcasts of various ministries. Things have really changed in the three years since I got that iPod. I have said on several occasions, "I wish I knew then, what I know now". I trust that does not sound like a conceited opinion. My intent is that, over a period of time, like three years, we should all be able to look back and say that of ourselves. We have learned. We have grown. We were not bad. We were not ignorant. But, we are more informed now. We are more mature now. We have more sensitivity now.

While in China, I want to see the Church. I saw it in Russia. I want to compare what I see. I think I will be very humbled in the presence of those who live in the fear of arrest and torture every day for what we consider our rights.

Will I see the Church at Smyrna? Or Laodicea? Or another one? I have been studying the Church at Corinth in preparation. They are our example of the "every" Church. They have every problem, and every gift. They have it all. They are "Saints by calling". They are beautiful, and they are ugly, all at the same time. They are us.

Whatever I see in person, I want to look past the surface and see the Spirit. It should be fun. Even after 30 hours of travel to get there.

Thanks, Anonymous.

Are you Late For Church?

2Co 13:14 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all.

There absolutely is no early church, no later cburch. There is no primitive church. The Church in Acts 2 is the same Church that Christ said He would build (Mat 16). He began building it in Acts 2, and He is still building it today. It is all the same building.

Why in the world (that’s a loaded phrase) do we insist on thinking that what we have today is so superior, so much more modern, so more refined than what we see in Acts?

The fact is, what we see in Acts 2, Ephesians, 1 and 2 Timothy, Titus, and many other places, is the exact, precise Church we must have today. It matters not at all that it was 2000 years ago. The true Church, the Body of Christ, is eternal, not made with hands. It is made with gold, silver, precious stones. All that we see today, in the structure, organization, outlook, education, calling, hierarchy, authority, finances, is all wood, hay, and stubble.

I don't mean to be too hard on today's church. Well, it's hard not to be too hard; there are so many things that are wrong with the Church. Even 100 years ago there were those who felt the Church was in ruins. It has not improved any since then. In fact, it is much worse now. Still, many people have great complaints to make about the Church. Any idea which complaints are valid, and which are based on whims? A liberal, post-modern will complain that the church is too dead and unresponsive to the community. A conservative, evangelical might bemoan the lack of evangelism. An youngish, urban or suburban believer might want more programs and bigger parking lots, with a pizza bar and coffee lounge outside the main auditorium. We all have something to find fault with in the Church.

Where does the Lord find fault? What does He fault? If anything, it would be our turning away from Him, and not being totally devoted to Him. That is it. Not having that first love that we once had. Perhaps it is thinking we are rich, and in need of nothing. Perhaps it is letting go of things we once had and can't hang on to.

The Church that Christ is building is alive, living, growing, filled with the Spirit, led by the Spirit, under the headship of Christ. It’s all so simple.

This Thing Could Hurt Someone

Act 19:13 But also some of the Jewish exorcists, who went from place to place, attempted to name over those who had the evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, "I adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preaches."

Yesterday, we got a call about a house in Salisbury. The lady had died, and the son wanted to clean out the place and get it ready to sell. He sent three street guys in to move out everything. They got some moved, but when they got to the attic, things began happening. Noises, boxes moving, things actually flying around. They hustled out, never to return. We were asked if we would go and exorcise the thing. Apparently, they were concerned that this thing was capable of hurting someone. It was very powerful.

There was probably something in that attic that shouldn't be there, that was evil, and this thing claimed an ownership of it, and didn't want anyone messing with it. Territory is very important in the spiritual realm. There are many stories in the Old Testament about fighting over land. The concept of "land" can mean this very issue of "territory" (but, that is an aside).

In discussing it with another brother, I felt it wasn't something we should do. This house, family, person was not a member of our assembly, so it really isn't in our jurisdiction.. I've been through a time of prayer for a house, and I know it can be done. We have had to do it for someone in our assembly. They had some things in the house that were "new-age" and there were real things happening, voices and the like. They were not aware of the things brought into the house. It had been one of the children who was searching out the eastern spiritual realm. We prayed one evening, and walked all over the house. They cleaned out the idols and things associated with the demonic. The problems went completely away.

For this house, though, not being a member, or known brother or sister in need, it wasn't what we should do. There is a limit to what we should do. If they had been a part of our body, we would have a different responsibility. We would have the responsibility to protect and help them. It would be our jurisdiction, and I would have no problem going (then, too, if the Lord sent us, there would be no issue, we would go).

We are not in the exorcism business, but the care and protection business of those given to us to watch over.

Then, at that point, we would ask for a sense of our authority, and a boldness, and sensitivity, and pray, pray, pray. I'd say a day or so of prayer and fasting would be necessary. But, I believe the Lord in us is greater than he who is in the world.

Dealing with the spirtual realm is a serious business. You know, it is the business of those who know the Lord. We are called to face this kind of evil and deal with it. We do have the authority. That is, we are offered it. There are times, though, when we do not take the authority, or can not, because we have neglected the walk with the Lord, and we do not have the authority. We are babes, carnal Christians, who have no business confronting evil. We should just meet on Sunday mornings and have our service, or meet in a house and have a meal and a casual, informal get-together with a liturgy or two and maybe a sacrament of some kind.

But, walk with the Lord, and we will be called to a higher purpose. It is quite real. I do not see the current generation even being aware of the invisible. Today, it is all about 'me'. Tomorrow will reveal a weakness and a poverty in spiritual matters such as the world has not seen since before the Lord walked on the earth.

Except, these things are being addressed in other parts if the world. Evil is being faced. It is being confronted. The Kingdom of Heaven is growing stronger, and people are being added to it daily. But, not so much in America, the post-Christian nation.

Further note: I visitied a homeless shelter in Russia that had been taken over by a Church for their ministry. When they first took over the house, there was an evil presence in the house. It was very powerful. People had lived and died in the building, and there was a sense of death in several rooms. Death was in the air almost. A sofa in one room particularly had been said to have been the death bed of someone. There was a coffin in another room. The sister who was moving in to be in charge of the home tried sleeping there. This was to be her new home. The first few nights were very difficult for her. There were noises, doors slamming, winds, and general pandemonium all night long. She couldn't sleep. She wasn't afraid, she just couldn't sleep for all the crashing and banging. A few brothers went through the house. They removed the coffin, the sofa, and all the older furniture that had this sense of death hanging over them. They went praying through the house, in every room. The atmosphere changed. The house became "sanctified". The sister slept solidly from that night on. Many people have had their lives rebuilt in that house. It is a testimony of the power of God and His Church over the principalities and powers in the air.

Who is a Christian?

Act 11:26 … And it came about that for an entire year they met with the church, and taught considerable numbers; and the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch.

Who wants to be a Christian? Who can become a Christian? What qualifies a person to be a Christian? It might be trusting in Christ. It might be the condition of being born from above. It might be many things. But, in Antioch, the disciples were the ones first called Christians.

This is an historic event, in time and place, when the descriptive name “Christian” came into being. But, it is more than that, if we are willing to trust that God had more to tell us than an historic fact. If we want to believe, then what we see is the necessary qualification to be called a “Christian”. It is to first be a disciple.

We are to be disciples. We are to be students. We are to be taught. We are to learn with considerable others. We are to recognize spiritual authority. We are to walk with the Lord. We are to proclaim the Lordship of Christ (He is Lord). We are to surrender all that we are and all that we have. We are to deny ourselves and pick up our cross and follow Him. We are to know the difference between the flesh and the spirit. We are to walk by the Spirit, and not by the flesh. We are to distrust our self-life, and cling to the Life of Christ. We are to know that we are crucified with Christ, and it is no longer we who live but Christ Who lives in us. We are to grow into Him. We are to change from glory to glory. We are to have ears to hear what the Spirit is saying to the Churches. We are to love not our lives. We are to have the ministry of reconciliation. We are to love the brethren. We are to continually devote ourselves to the apostles teaching, fellowship, the breaking of bread, and the prayers. We are to not be tossed here and there by waves, and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men. We are to be strong in the Lord, and the strength of His might. We are to stand firm, and having done all to stand. We are to pray at all times in the Spirit. We are to overcome.

Then we will be called “Christians”.

The Most Significant, Important Passage For Us

We are a small fellowship in Delaware. We have been in existence for around 30 years. One of the founding principles is a strong love of the Word of God. We place a heavy emphasis on learning, studying, knowing and using the Word. All revelation comes from the source, the Word of God. We have many brothers and sisters who know the Word in a living way. It is something that can be felt, in worship and meeting times. The Bibles are well worn here.

We also don’t have a pastor. We have elders who are responsible for the health and well being of the group. Among the 6 of the brothers, no one is more in charge than another. There is no senior elder. There is no superior elder. There is no elder who desires to be the leader. The brothers need to constantly be listening and watching and praying and studying. We all have full-time jobs or careers. No one is a F/T pastor/elder. There are no robes. There is no pay. Life goes on.

At last night’s meeting, the question was asked: “What is the Most Important, Significant Passage For Us”? To explain, if there was only one passage of Scripture to speak on, and you had only one Sunday to speak, in the light of what we know about our fellowship, what would that passage be? I thought it right to post the results:

Harry: “hold fast” from Rev. 3:11
Jake: “be steadfast” from 1Cor 15:58
Lex: “live/walk by the spirit” from Gal. 5:25
Bobby: “ equipping of the saints” from Eph. 4:12
Jeff: “Who do men say that I Am”? from Mat. 16:16

One brother was missing, and will be polled later in the week.

We will pray on these, and ponder our initial impressions. If we hold to these passages, we will then speak on them as we gain some ground on each one.

One possible result will be, if we take a step back and look at these as a whole, we will get a picture of the spiritual condition of our fellowship. We will see where we are, how we are, and who we are. That sort of thing. This is a very good exercise for us. It brings us to face ourselves and where we are.

Another thing: we are not issue oriented, as many others are today. The headlines and trends flowing through the Church pass over us with not so much as a ripple. Is it because we are in rural Delaware? Or because the most important issues are those that come from Scripture and deal with the inner person, growth, relationship with Christ in the innermost being, things like that? Our concept of walking with Christ means dealing with, and being dealt with, the issues of flesh and spirit, maturity in Christ, wisdom and understanding in the knowledge of His will. Out of these things come all that we are and are becoming. We are more missional because of this than we ever have been. We are reaching out around the world in ways we never even prayed would come to pass. It is incredible how God has used us. But, we don't seek to be used, we seek Him. We desire He do the rest.

The Multitudes Were Christ Followers, Too

Joh 6:2 And a great multitude was following Him, because they were seeing the signs which He was performing on those who were sick.
Joh 6:3 And Jesus went up on the mountain, and there He sat with His disciples.

Luk 12:1 Under these circumstances, after so many thousands of the multitude had gathered together that they were stepping on one another, He began saying to His disciples first

There have always been many followers of Christ. At times He was continually surrounded, pressed upon, crowded, to the point of having to get into a boat once and row out onto a lake. These were people eagerly desiring to receive something from Christ. They wanted to be near Jesus. They followed Him as far as they could, even beyond human wisdom, to the desolate places where there was no food.

But He always turned first to His disciples. They were the ones He spoke to. They were the ones He taught first. For some reason, He even, and this might be hard to understand, many might not agree with this, but He actually left the multitude, completely. He fed them, and then left them.

Joh 6:15 Jesus therefore perceiving that they were intending to come and take Him by force, to make Him king, withdrew again to the mountain by Himself alone.
Joh 6:16 Now when evening came, His disciples went down to the sea,
Joh 6:17 and after getting into a boat, they started to cross the sea to Capernaum. And it had already become dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them.

All this highlights the relationship the Lord Jesus had with the “multitudes”. There were many who followed. But, He didn’t give them everything they wanted. What they wanted, and what He wanted to give them were often two entirely different things. They wanted to be fed, healed, and impressed with signs and wonders. They did not have the capacity to hear and understand what He said. They could only take in things on a very earthly level.

His disciples were not much better, it is true. They had to be told the same lessons many times. But He was sharing with them things that the Holy Spirit would one day bring to their remembrance. In other words, He was planting seeds in them that would one day bring a harvest. Until the day of the Holy Spirit, there was no understanding of the things He told them.

So, who are we: multitudes or disciples? There is still a multitude of Christ Followers. I think I see the multitudes following Jesus (or their idea of someone called Jesus), but along with the multitude there are few disciples in the crowd. The people are stepping on each other. They are looking for food, but that is all. They don’t listen. They don’t want to hear. I see no capacity to hear the voice of the Lord.

Oh, there are some very educated people in the multitudes. I am impressed with the skills and knowledge. But the Spirit is lacking. There is no yielding. There is no submitting to the Word of the Lord. The Word is not known any more. Oh, the Bible is studied. The text is analyzed. But the Word is not known. It is hidden. It is a mystery. It is hard to understand anymore. It is not plain. It is filled with stories. Parts that once were used for proofs of the mind of Christ are now considered secrets, mysteries, and unattainable thoughts.

The disciples are turning into multitudes right in front of us. So, it is not such a difficult thing to call yourself a Christ Follower. There will always be many who follow Christ, but not all will be disciples.

CFs follow because they want something. That something is almost always at complete odds with the will of the Lord Jesus. They want to be fed, to be healed, or shown a sign. What's wrong with those things? Are they not in the will of God? Well, CFs need to tell the Jesus what to do. They want to control the work of the Lord. They want Jesus to become what they want Him to be. They will take Him by force, if need be, to make Him what they want. While the Lord walked this earth, they wanted Him to be king of a new land of Israel. Today, CFs want Him to be a king of their own private kingdom. It's the same today as it was 2000 years ago. Come be a king in our kingdom. But, be king the way we want you to be. You'll do that, right, Jesus?
CFs ultimately want the Lord Jesus to follow them.

Disciples follow because they are learners and students. They wait upon the Lord. They follow because they are called. They have heard the Lord say to them ,"Come, follow Me". Disciples are willing to let the Lord teach them, and deal with them, and discipline them. This is the way of the disciple. Disciples learn what the will of God is by walking with Him.

They follow, but they don't lead. They listen, but they don't speak. They obey, but they don't argue. They believe, but they don't doubt. They study, but they don't guess. They weep, but they don't laugh. They speak, but they don't yell. They fast, but they don't starve. They ask, but they don't demand. They seek, but they don't lose. They knock, but they don't pound. They sing, but they don't entertain. They pray, but they don't complain. They sit, but they don't struggle. They walk, but they don't run. They stand, but they don't fight. They trust, but they don't shrink back. They know, but they don't imagine. They yield, but they don't surrender. They praise, but they don't curse. They love, but they don't lust.

All disciples should be Christ Followers, but not all Christ Followers are disciples.

Re-Thinking the Title of This Blog

After reading Colossians 1:6 there seems to be a problem with the title of this blog. It was a clever title at the time, but right now it isn't right. There is an error in the assumption that the Gospel does a single work, and then stops, moves on to the next people, gets preached somewhere else, effects another area, then it all stops.

Colossians 1:6 says differently.

Col 1:6 which has come to you, just as in all the world also it is constantly bearing fruit and increasing, even as it has been doing in you also since the day you heard of it and understood the grace of God in truth;

The Gospel is constantly bearing fruit. It's not just a one-time salvation bringer. It's not just the carrier of a heaven's hope. It is a living thing that is constantly bearing fruit. We bear fruit, but the fruit is not of us. The fruit is coming from the hidden work of the Gospel that works in us. It was still working in the Colossians, which is why Paul was able to pray for them such a specific prayer in verse 9.

It seems that the young bond-servant (Epaphras, a young man who gave up his will, to know and follow the will of Him Who sent him), told Paul that these people in his home church had a special love in the Spirit (not "of" the Spirit, or "for" the Spirit, but "in" the Spirit!). Paul heard this and said "Oh! Here is something I have been waiting to hear. Here is a people who have something greater than they had before, when they just had a love for all God's people. They have a love in the Spirit! This is beyond them. This love is outside of their ability. It is a reaching love that has power. It goes to more than just God's people. It goes to the whole town, to the next village, and even to the remotest part of the world. And, it goes to the very heart of God into His very nature and character. This love in the Spirit is a pure, Godly love that draws people closer to the heart and mind and will of the Lord. It sees into the heart of God. But, oh, we need to pray now. Now we can pray! There needs to be a direction! Love without purpose, direction, is just window-dressing. It goes nowhere. It is pretty, but not useful. They need to see God's purpose in giving them this love. They need to understand what possessing the love in the Spirit means."

So, he prays the tremendous prayer in verse 9.

Col 1:9 For this reason also, since the day we heard of it, we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding,

Only because he was told of this special love generated of and by and through the Holy Spirit can Paul pray this prayer. He heard that these people were becoming a spiritual people. So, he prayed that they would understand. Yes, to combat the error that was creeping into the church from the gnostics, but even more to the point that they would be a spiritual people with spiritual understanding. He wanted them to know the eternal purpose of God, and now they began to have the capacity to see it.

What a work the Gospel was doing in them! What fruit! What power! They were growing and bearing fruit, and Paul prayed that everything they did, every activity, would bear this fruit. It can't happen unless they walk completely in this new life of the Spirit. There is no fruit in the flesh. There is no growing anything in the flesh, but more flesh.

Where is the fruit today? Where is the Gospel bearing this fruit here? It is in parts of the world. Right now in Russia, there is fruit. But it is a hard battle. There is much oppostion. But the Gospel is thriving in the darkest of places. It is constantly bearing fruit, just like the scriptures say. The fields are white unto harvest with the fruit of the Gospel.