Found at www.truthworks.org
“He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?” (Romans 8:32).
Years ago there was a very wealthy man who, with his devoted young son, shared a passion for art collecting. Together they traveled around the world, adding only the finest art treasures to their collection. Priceless works by Picasso, Van Gogh, Monet and many others adorned the walls of the family estate.
The widowed elder man watched with satisfaction, as his only child became an experienced art collector. The son's trained eye and sharp business mind caused his father to beam with pride as they dealt with art collectors around the world.
As winter approached, war engulfed the nation, and the young man left to serve his country. After only a few short weeks, his father received a telegram. His beloved son was missing in action. The art collector anxiously awaited more news, fearing he would never see his son again. Within days, his fears were confirmed. The young man had died while rushing a fellow soldier to a medic.
Distraught and lonely, the old man faced the upcoming Christmas holidays with anguish and sadness. The joy of the season, a season that he and his son had so looked forward to, would visit his house no longer.
On Christmas morning, a knock on the door awakened the depressed old man. As he walked to the door, the masterpieces of art on the walls only reminded him that his son was not coming home. He opened the door, and a soldier greeted him with a large package in his hand.
"I was a friend of your son," the soldier said. "I was the one he was rescuing when he died. May I come in for a few moments? I have something to show you." As the two began to talk, the solider told of how the man's son had told everyone of his father's love of fine art.
"I'm an artist," said the soldier, "and I want to give you this."
“He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?” (Romans 8:32).
As the old man unwrapped the package, the paper gave way to reveal a portrait of the man's son, which the soldier had painted. Though the world would never consider it the work of a genius, the painting featured the young man's face in striking detail.
Overcome with emotion, the man thanked the soldier, promising to hang the picture above the fireplace. A few hours later, after the soldier had departed, the old man set about his task. True to his word, the painting went above the fireplace, pushing aside thousands of dollars of paintings. And then the man sat in his chair and spent Christmas gazing at the gift he had been given.
The following spring, the old man became ill and passed away. The art world was in high anticipation! According to the will of the old man, all of the art would be auctioned on Christmas day, the day he had received his greatest gift.
The day soon arrived and art collectors from around the world gathered to bid on some of the world's most spectacular paintings. Dreams would be fulfilled this day; greatness would be achieved as many would claim "I have the greatest collection." The auction began with a painting that was not on any museum's list. It was the painting of the man's son.
The auctioneer asked for an opening bid. The room was silent. "Who will open the bidding with $100?" he asked. Minutes passed. No one spoke. From the back of the room came, "Who cares about that painting? It's just a picture of his son. Let's forget it and go on to the truly valuable items."
More voices echoed in agreement.
"No, we have to sell this one first," replied the auctioneer. "Now, who will take the son?"
Finally, a friend of the old man spoke. "Will you take fifty dollars for the painting? That's all I have. I knew the boy, so I'd like to have it.
"I have a bid of fifty dollars," called the auctioneer. "Will anyone go higher?"
After more silence, the auctioneer said, "Going once, going twice. Gone."
The gavel fell. Cheers filled the room and someone exclaimed, "Now we can get on with it and we can bid on these great treasures!" The auctioneer looked at the audience and announced that the auction was over.
Stunned disbelief quieted the room. Someone spoke up and asked, "What do you mean it's over? What about all of these paintings? There are millions of dollars of art here! We demand that you explain what's going on!"
"It's very simple,” the auctioneer replied. “According to the will of the father, whoever takes the son . . . gets it all."
The Bible says, “He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?” (Romans 8:32). Receive Jesus into your life, and you get everything that God has to give!
Take the Son, and get it all!
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
A Final Verdict by R.T. Kendall
Although this is an old article concerning "yesterday's" news about the Lakeland fiasco in 2008, I felt that it was appropriate and needful to post for future clarity. We desperately need to be grounded in the "Gospel of God" (Romans 1:1) so that we can immediately discern when one is preaching a false Gospel. Enjoy!
Sep/Oct 2008
A Final Verdict
By R. T. Kendall
It takes more courage to say Lakeland isn’t of God. Why, then, am I so sure that’s the case?
I can think of nothing worse than for God to be powerfully at work and I miss it—all because I was biased and devoid of discernment. All my life I have waited for an authentic work of God not unlike the Great Awakening in Jonathan Edwards’ day. In more recent years I have hoped to see the beginning of “last day ministries”—when Isaac succeeds Ishmael—which would precede the second coming. God owes me nothing, and it may please Him to bypass me entirely in what He chooses to do.
At first, I wondered if passing me by might be happening with regard to Lakeland, Fla. I say this because over time I became more and more uneasy with what was going on there. For three months I watched the Lakeland meetings virtually every night. I prayed intensely for the evangelist and for the people there—not for any “problems” that I saw, but simply for God’s will to be done completely, regardless of what I thought. I would stand before the TV screen and pray for my own healing. I tried very, very hard to support this strange move, especially when some of my closest friends were endorsing it and urging me to do the same. Furthermore, knowing that God loves to do what makes some of us say “yuck,” I was prepared all over again for this to happen.
But Wait ...
What complicated things most of all was that people were apparently being healed. At the time of this writing there had been 37 resurrections from the dead reported. If only one of them had a coroner’s death certificate it would be a serious matter to say that what was going on there was not of God. The fact that ABC News could find no documentary evidence of a miracle was not enough to sway me one way or the other. I was even prepared—for a while—to overlook the claim that the angel Emma was the secret explanation for the special revelations and miracles. I believe in angels. What if Emma were a part of the “yuck” factor?
It took a little bit of courage for me to endorse the Toronto Blessing in 1994. I have never regretted this. I was going to need courage again—this time to endorse Lakeland.
But a funny thing kept gripping me: It would take even more courage to say that the Lakeland phenomenon is not of God. Did I have the courage to say this? After all, I was reluctantly coming to the conclusion that it was not of God—but would I say it?
Yes. At the end of the day it came down to one thing: Is the Bible true or not? If the Lakeland happenings are of God, then what I have preached for the last 50 years is nonsense. Yes, Lakeland was making me say “yuck”; but not all that makes us say “yuck” is of God.
Case for Objection
My reasons for coming to such a definitive resolve were unfortunate but self-evident the more I watched the progression of events at Lakeland.
First, never once have I heard a clear message of the gospel of Jesus Christ from the Lakeland platform—except when a guest speaker did it.
Second, when people were being baptized in the name of the Father, the Son and “Bam! Bam!” it both trivialized the Trinity and baptism itself. This is serious, serious trivializing.
Third, if you were to ask how much a fear of God and conviction of sin emanated from these services—on a scale of one to 100, I would say zero.
In 1994 I addressed a group of prominent evangelical leaders in London, having been assigned the topic of “The Biblical Features of Revival.” I recently looked at my notes to see how Lakeland measured up. Not even close.
A great awakening would, among several other things I don’t have the space to go into here, demonstrate the centrality of biblical preaching. Preaching itself in Lakeland has been minimal, and what preaching there has been calls more attention to angels, miracles and manifestations than to Jesus who died on the cross.
I’m sorry, but my heart is sick that these meetings have excited so many good people. They are indeed good people, very sincere. Many of them have been a part of previous moves of the Spirit. And since church history has taught us that those who were in the middle of a move of the Spirit often lead the way in opposing the next work of the Spirit, some did not want to be seen doing this. I can understand that.
When one is reported to have been to the Third Heaven (as the main evangelist of Lakeland has stated) and told not to preach Jesus (because everybody already knows about Him) but rather angels (which people know little about), I can only call this “another gospel” as in Galatians 1.
I would go to the stake for the gospel of salvation that Paul preached, one that emphasizes reliance solely in the precious blood of Christ. I would certainly not go to the stake for the Lakeland message—and would be afraid to face God if I did.
It comes to this: Is the Bible true? Because I believe the Bible, I can testify: The jury of my mind on Lakeland is in.
Leave Lakeland alone.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
R.T. Kendall was the pastor of Westminster Chapel in London for 25 years. He is the author of numerous books, including his latest, God Gives Second Chances. Visit his Web site at rtkendallministries.com.
This article appeared in the Sep/Oct 2008 issue.
Sep/Oct 2008
A Final Verdict
By R. T. Kendall
It takes more courage to say Lakeland isn’t of God. Why, then, am I so sure that’s the case?
I can think of nothing worse than for God to be powerfully at work and I miss it—all because I was biased and devoid of discernment. All my life I have waited for an authentic work of God not unlike the Great Awakening in Jonathan Edwards’ day. In more recent years I have hoped to see the beginning of “last day ministries”—when Isaac succeeds Ishmael—which would precede the second coming. God owes me nothing, and it may please Him to bypass me entirely in what He chooses to do.
At first, I wondered if passing me by might be happening with regard to Lakeland, Fla. I say this because over time I became more and more uneasy with what was going on there. For three months I watched the Lakeland meetings virtually every night. I prayed intensely for the evangelist and for the people there—not for any “problems” that I saw, but simply for God’s will to be done completely, regardless of what I thought. I would stand before the TV screen and pray for my own healing. I tried very, very hard to support this strange move, especially when some of my closest friends were endorsing it and urging me to do the same. Furthermore, knowing that God loves to do what makes some of us say “yuck,” I was prepared all over again for this to happen.
But Wait ...
What complicated things most of all was that people were apparently being healed. At the time of this writing there had been 37 resurrections from the dead reported. If only one of them had a coroner’s death certificate it would be a serious matter to say that what was going on there was not of God. The fact that ABC News could find no documentary evidence of a miracle was not enough to sway me one way or the other. I was even prepared—for a while—to overlook the claim that the angel Emma was the secret explanation for the special revelations and miracles. I believe in angels. What if Emma were a part of the “yuck” factor?
It took a little bit of courage for me to endorse the Toronto Blessing in 1994. I have never regretted this. I was going to need courage again—this time to endorse Lakeland.
But a funny thing kept gripping me: It would take even more courage to say that the Lakeland phenomenon is not of God. Did I have the courage to say this? After all, I was reluctantly coming to the conclusion that it was not of God—but would I say it?
Yes. At the end of the day it came down to one thing: Is the Bible true or not? If the Lakeland happenings are of God, then what I have preached for the last 50 years is nonsense. Yes, Lakeland was making me say “yuck”; but not all that makes us say “yuck” is of God.
Case for Objection
My reasons for coming to such a definitive resolve were unfortunate but self-evident the more I watched the progression of events at Lakeland.
First, never once have I heard a clear message of the gospel of Jesus Christ from the Lakeland platform—except when a guest speaker did it.
Second, when people were being baptized in the name of the Father, the Son and “Bam! Bam!” it both trivialized the Trinity and baptism itself. This is serious, serious trivializing.
Third, if you were to ask how much a fear of God and conviction of sin emanated from these services—on a scale of one to 100, I would say zero.
In 1994 I addressed a group of prominent evangelical leaders in London, having been assigned the topic of “The Biblical Features of Revival.” I recently looked at my notes to see how Lakeland measured up. Not even close.
A great awakening would, among several other things I don’t have the space to go into here, demonstrate the centrality of biblical preaching. Preaching itself in Lakeland has been minimal, and what preaching there has been calls more attention to angels, miracles and manifestations than to Jesus who died on the cross.
I’m sorry, but my heart is sick that these meetings have excited so many good people. They are indeed good people, very sincere. Many of them have been a part of previous moves of the Spirit. And since church history has taught us that those who were in the middle of a move of the Spirit often lead the way in opposing the next work of the Spirit, some did not want to be seen doing this. I can understand that.
When one is reported to have been to the Third Heaven (as the main evangelist of Lakeland has stated) and told not to preach Jesus (because everybody already knows about Him) but rather angels (which people know little about), I can only call this “another gospel” as in Galatians 1.
I would go to the stake for the gospel of salvation that Paul preached, one that emphasizes reliance solely in the precious blood of Christ. I would certainly not go to the stake for the Lakeland message—and would be afraid to face God if I did.
It comes to this: Is the Bible true? Because I believe the Bible, I can testify: The jury of my mind on Lakeland is in.
Leave Lakeland alone.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
R.T. Kendall was the pastor of Westminster Chapel in London for 25 years. He is the author of numerous books, including his latest, God Gives Second Chances. Visit his Web site at rtkendallministries.com.
This article appeared in the Sep/Oct 2008 issue.
Billy Graham's Suit (Great story!)
Billy Graham is now 90 years old with Parkinson's disease..
In January 2000, leaders in Charlotte, North Carolina,
invited their favorite son, Billy Graham, to a luncheon in
his honor.
Billy initially hesitated to accept the invitation because he
struggles with Parkinson's disease. But the Charlotte
leaders said, 'We don't expect a major address. Just
come and let us honor you.' So he agreed..
After wonderful things were said about him, Dr. Graham
stepped to the rostrum, looked at the crowd, and said,
'I'm reminded today of Albert Einstein, the great physicist who
this month has been honored by Time magazine as the
Man of the Century. Einstein was once traveling from
Princeton on a train when the conductor came down the
aisle, punching the tickets of every passenger. When he
came to Einstein, Einstein reached in his vest pocket. He
couldn't find his ticket, so he reached in his trouser pockets.
It wasn't there, so he looked in his briefcase but couldn't find it.
Then he looked in the seat beside him. He still couldn't find it.
The conductor said, 'Dr. Einstein, I know who you are.
We all know who you are. I'm sure you bought a ticket.
Don't worry about it.'
Einstein nodded appreciatively. The conductor continued
down the aisle punching tickets. As he was ready to
move to the next car, he turned around and saw the great
physicist down on his hands and knees looking under his
seat for his ticket.
The conductor rushed back and said, 'Dr. Einstein,
Dr. Einstein, don't worry, I know who you are No problem.
You don't need a ticket. I'm sure you bought one.'
Einstein looked at him and said, 'Young man, I too, know who I am.
What I don't know is where I'm going.''
Having said that Billy Graham continued, 'See the suit I'm wearing?
It's a brand new suit. My children, and my grandchildren
are telling me I've gotten a little slovenly in my old age. I used to be
a bit more fastidious. So I went out and bought a new suit for this
luncheon and one more occasion.
You know what that occasion is? This is the suit in which
I'll be buried. But when you hear I'm dead, I don't want
you to immediately remember the suit I'm wearing.
I want you to remember this:
I not only know who I am .. I also know where I'm going.'
In January 2000, leaders in Charlotte, North Carolina,
invited their favorite son, Billy Graham, to a luncheon in
his honor.
Billy initially hesitated to accept the invitation because he
struggles with Parkinson's disease. But the Charlotte
leaders said, 'We don't expect a major address. Just
come and let us honor you.' So he agreed..
After wonderful things were said about him, Dr. Graham
stepped to the rostrum, looked at the crowd, and said,
'I'm reminded today of Albert Einstein, the great physicist who
this month has been honored by Time magazine as the
Man of the Century. Einstein was once traveling from
Princeton on a train when the conductor came down the
aisle, punching the tickets of every passenger. When he
came to Einstein, Einstein reached in his vest pocket. He
couldn't find his ticket, so he reached in his trouser pockets.
It wasn't there, so he looked in his briefcase but couldn't find it.
Then he looked in the seat beside him. He still couldn't find it.
The conductor said, 'Dr. Einstein, I know who you are.
We all know who you are. I'm sure you bought a ticket.
Don't worry about it.'
Einstein nodded appreciatively. The conductor continued
down the aisle punching tickets. As he was ready to
move to the next car, he turned around and saw the great
physicist down on his hands and knees looking under his
seat for his ticket.
The conductor rushed back and said, 'Dr. Einstein,
Dr. Einstein, don't worry, I know who you are No problem.
You don't need a ticket. I'm sure you bought one.'
Einstein looked at him and said, 'Young man, I too, know who I am.
What I don't know is where I'm going.''
Having said that Billy Graham continued, 'See the suit I'm wearing?
It's a brand new suit. My children, and my grandchildren
are telling me I've gotten a little slovenly in my old age. I used to be
a bit more fastidious. So I went out and bought a new suit for this
luncheon and one more occasion.
You know what that occasion is? This is the suit in which
I'll be buried. But when you hear I'm dead, I don't want
you to immediately remember the suit I'm wearing.
I want you to remember this:
I not only know who I am .. I also know where I'm going.'
___________________________________________________
"Life without God is like an unsharpened pencil - it has no point."
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Rick Joyner Quote on Moral Clarity
“Moral clarity and moral resolve will always push the darkness back. Martin Luther is one of the great examples of this in history. He was but a monk, living in a small village in a nation that at the time was broken and obscure. However, when Martin Luther took his stand on his convictions and refused to compromise them regardless of the consequences, the whole world changed. No conqueror in history changed the political landscape of the world as much as that one monk did by taking his stand for the truth as he saw it. Even thought he was not right about everything, and even had some very bad theology mixed into his beliefs, he did have moral clarity in a time when very few others did. Such will set the course of history just like he did. Such people are desperately needed in these times.” -Rick Joyner, 2004 article
Monday, November 30, 2009
December '09 Newsletter Bob Yarbrough
Citiprayer For December, 2009
Dear “listeners” in prayer,
Those who receive my teaching letters will not be surprised when I say that I am moving into new areas of under-standing as it relates to prayer. My own life experience has moved me to a place where I am free to explore the meaning of prayer outside the regular venues of traditional prayer. What I am discovering has been liberating and fulfilling. I am trying to share some of my discoveries with you in the teaching articles each month.
It is not my intention to offend or upset anyone by relating my personal growth in a more satisfying approach to prayer. But if you desire to go higher in your experience of prayer, I hope that my insights may be an encouraging help to your progress.
I am blessed to report that those who are helped financially by your gifts through Citiprayer are seeing growth in the vision of united, believing prayer. As the year closes, it is a good time to say that I appreciate those who do give to this vision. I also want to restate my position that no one should give for any motive other than a sense that you are being obedient to what the Lord is leading you to do. If your giving is in any way a burden and not a blessing, then I want to release you to enjoy the freedom that is ours in Christ.
May you know special joys in this season of the celebration of the coming of our Savior.
One with you in the Life of Christ,
Bob
Beyond Prayer Requests
By Wayne Jacobsen
“I don’t think I can pray that way for you.”
You’d thought I’d just cussed by the way the mouths around the table soundlessly fell open. The woman who had just asked us to pray that God would keep her teenage daughter from moving in with her boyfriend was perhaps the most shocked of all.
My home group had just finished dinner together and sharing about our lives from the past week. With obvious distress, Kris had told of her daughter’s plan to move in with her boyfriend that weekend.
I’ve got to warn you now that I have a low tolerance for prayer requests I don’t think God will answer. They breed a fatalistic attitude about prayer: Let’s hurl up a request and hope for the best. Mostly I’ve kept that to myself at times like this, but had grown increasingly uncomfortable with my silence.
Once they all caught their breath, I explained. “I think all of us here can understand why you want God to stop her from doing that, and if anyone here feels that’s what God wants, you’re free to pray that way. I’m wondering, however, that if we do so we will be asking God violate someone’s will and I think that is more to do with witchcraft than prayer.”
I could see Kris was about to lose it in frustration or anger so I hurried on. “What I would pray is that God would reveal himself to your daughter and let her see clearly the choice she is making. And I would pray that God will show you how to trust him and love your daughter even if she makes the stupidest mistake of her young life.”
I had hardly finished when Kris blurted out through her tears, “That’s exactly what I need.” We gathered around her and what could have been an innocuous exercise in prayer became a marvelous discovery of how God works in difficult situations.
How am I deceiving myself if I believe that whenever I get what I want it is an answer to prayer? -Oswald Chambers
THE NEW COVENANT PARADIGM OF PRAYER
[Continuation of NEW CREATION PRAYING – CALLING WHAT IS IN HEAVEN TO MANIFEST ON EARTH, November, 2009].
Everybody prays. Whether it is a formalized religious petition or a simple “O, God” escaping the lips of a professed atheist in a moment of crisis, instinctively, human beings feel weakness and dependency that cry out for help. This “prayer instinct” is timeless and universal. It is a residual unconscious memory of the time our first parents communed with God in the paradise of their innocence as children with their Father. But the further man wandered from that garden following his choice to “go it alone” and be his own “god” by knowing “good and evil” in his alienated mind, the deeper he fell into the pit of superstitious fear of the God he once knew. Pagan rituals replaced intimate communion.
Into this perverted religious context, God in His mercy sent the corrective blessing of the Law that came through Moses. Instead of a capricious God made in the image of fallen man, “I AM” revealed Himself as ONE who could be trusted to manifest Himself in ways consistent with His Nature as the Source of all reality: “Hear, O Israel: The Lord Our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.” [Deut. 6:4] The commandments laid down by Moses were meant to reform the behavior of the people and deliver them from the superstitious fears of the pagans who “…suppressed the truth by their wickedness, so that “their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened” [Rom. 1:18,21].
The Law was God’s preparatory school for the coming of Christ to the consciousness of mankind. “What then was the purpose of the law? It was added because of transgressions until the Seed to whom the promise referred had come” [Rom. 3:19]. After generations the law developed the consciousness of the “chosen people” to a new level that should have been ready to receive the Word made flesh in Jesus. Sadly, only a small remnant of the favored nation responded as God desired. As John, the Lord’s beloved disciple observed:
“He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him.
He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.
Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God –
Children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God…
We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father full of grace and truth” [Jn. 1]
Those who have received him and entered into the “New Covenant that is in his blood” experience again the communion God desires for His sons. We no longer “pray” to the false god of our mind’s own making, but pass through the “veil” of flesh into the Holy place of union with God in Christ. Paul’s instruction in the way of faith has everything to do with the new paradigm of prayer. Meditate with understanding on the significance of his words recorded in Romans 10:5-10 concerning the “righteousness” [the right way] of relating to God by faith:
…the righteousness that is by faith says: ‘Do not say in your heart, ‘who will ascend into heaven,’ (that is, to bring Christ down) or ‘who will descend into the deep?’ (that is to bring Christ up from the dead”).
New Covenant faith prayer is not bounded by laws of physical limitations – space and time, but operates in the Spirit realm.
But what does it say? “The Word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,” that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming: that if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believed and are justified,
and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.”
Those who pray “in the Spirit” by faith, do not make up their own prayers! Rather, as we wait upon the Lord in the Silence, the Word of God “planted in you” [Js. 1:21] by “the anointing you have from the Holy One” [1 Jn. 2:20] releases you to enter into the intercession being continually made within us by the Holy Spirit [Rom 8:26]. Knowing by faith that Christ is alive in our very own consciousness (heart), we “confess” with our mouth that Living Word which is proceeding from the Mouth of God. This “saves us” from the futile way of pagan prayer so prevalent around us.
May we begin to realize our union with Christ [Jn. 14:20] in heavenly places! If we really believe that “God chose us in Christ before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight” [Eph. 1:4], and if we trust that “no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless” [Ps. 84:11] , we can stop asking as the pagans do for “things” God promised to “add to us.” Instead, we can seek that Kingdom where God reigns within us [See Matt. 6:32,33]. Then with all God’s children we may pray that His “kingdom may come on earth as it is in heaven” and in our hearts! [See Matt. 6:9 and Colossians 3:15-17].
Dear “listeners” in prayer,
Those who receive my teaching letters will not be surprised when I say that I am moving into new areas of under-standing as it relates to prayer. My own life experience has moved me to a place where I am free to explore the meaning of prayer outside the regular venues of traditional prayer. What I am discovering has been liberating and fulfilling. I am trying to share some of my discoveries with you in the teaching articles each month.
It is not my intention to offend or upset anyone by relating my personal growth in a more satisfying approach to prayer. But if you desire to go higher in your experience of prayer, I hope that my insights may be an encouraging help to your progress.
I am blessed to report that those who are helped financially by your gifts through Citiprayer are seeing growth in the vision of united, believing prayer. As the year closes, it is a good time to say that I appreciate those who do give to this vision. I also want to restate my position that no one should give for any motive other than a sense that you are being obedient to what the Lord is leading you to do. If your giving is in any way a burden and not a blessing, then I want to release you to enjoy the freedom that is ours in Christ.
May you know special joys in this season of the celebration of the coming of our Savior.
One with you in the Life of Christ,
Bob
Beyond Prayer Requests
By Wayne Jacobsen
“I don’t think I can pray that way for you.”
You’d thought I’d just cussed by the way the mouths around the table soundlessly fell open. The woman who had just asked us to pray that God would keep her teenage daughter from moving in with her boyfriend was perhaps the most shocked of all.
My home group had just finished dinner together and sharing about our lives from the past week. With obvious distress, Kris had told of her daughter’s plan to move in with her boyfriend that weekend.
I’ve got to warn you now that I have a low tolerance for prayer requests I don’t think God will answer. They breed a fatalistic attitude about prayer: Let’s hurl up a request and hope for the best. Mostly I’ve kept that to myself at times like this, but had grown increasingly uncomfortable with my silence.
Once they all caught their breath, I explained. “I think all of us here can understand why you want God to stop her from doing that, and if anyone here feels that’s what God wants, you’re free to pray that way. I’m wondering, however, that if we do so we will be asking God violate someone’s will and I think that is more to do with witchcraft than prayer.”
I could see Kris was about to lose it in frustration or anger so I hurried on. “What I would pray is that God would reveal himself to your daughter and let her see clearly the choice she is making. And I would pray that God will show you how to trust him and love your daughter even if she makes the stupidest mistake of her young life.”
I had hardly finished when Kris blurted out through her tears, “That’s exactly what I need.” We gathered around her and what could have been an innocuous exercise in prayer became a marvelous discovery of how God works in difficult situations.
How am I deceiving myself if I believe that whenever I get what I want it is an answer to prayer? -Oswald Chambers
THE NEW COVENANT PARADIGM OF PRAYER
[Continuation of NEW CREATION PRAYING – CALLING WHAT IS IN HEAVEN TO MANIFEST ON EARTH, November, 2009].
Everybody prays. Whether it is a formalized religious petition or a simple “O, God” escaping the lips of a professed atheist in a moment of crisis, instinctively, human beings feel weakness and dependency that cry out for help. This “prayer instinct” is timeless and universal. It is a residual unconscious memory of the time our first parents communed with God in the paradise of their innocence as children with their Father. But the further man wandered from that garden following his choice to “go it alone” and be his own “god” by knowing “good and evil” in his alienated mind, the deeper he fell into the pit of superstitious fear of the God he once knew. Pagan rituals replaced intimate communion.
Into this perverted religious context, God in His mercy sent the corrective blessing of the Law that came through Moses. Instead of a capricious God made in the image of fallen man, “I AM” revealed Himself as ONE who could be trusted to manifest Himself in ways consistent with His Nature as the Source of all reality: “Hear, O Israel: The Lord Our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.” [Deut. 6:4] The commandments laid down by Moses were meant to reform the behavior of the people and deliver them from the superstitious fears of the pagans who “…suppressed the truth by their wickedness, so that “their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened” [Rom. 1:18,21].
The Law was God’s preparatory school for the coming of Christ to the consciousness of mankind. “What then was the purpose of the law? It was added because of transgressions until the Seed to whom the promise referred had come” [Rom. 3:19]. After generations the law developed the consciousness of the “chosen people” to a new level that should have been ready to receive the Word made flesh in Jesus. Sadly, only a small remnant of the favored nation responded as God desired. As John, the Lord’s beloved disciple observed:
“He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him.
He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.
Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God –
Children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God…
We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father full of grace and truth” [Jn. 1]
Those who have received him and entered into the “New Covenant that is in his blood” experience again the communion God desires for His sons. We no longer “pray” to the false god of our mind’s own making, but pass through the “veil” of flesh into the Holy place of union with God in Christ. Paul’s instruction in the way of faith has everything to do with the new paradigm of prayer. Meditate with understanding on the significance of his words recorded in Romans 10:5-10 concerning the “righteousness” [the right way] of relating to God by faith:
…the righteousness that is by faith says: ‘Do not say in your heart, ‘who will ascend into heaven,’ (that is, to bring Christ down) or ‘who will descend into the deep?’ (that is to bring Christ up from the dead”).
New Covenant faith prayer is not bounded by laws of physical limitations – space and time, but operates in the Spirit realm.
But what does it say? “The Word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,” that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming: that if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believed and are justified,
and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.”
Those who pray “in the Spirit” by faith, do not make up their own prayers! Rather, as we wait upon the Lord in the Silence, the Word of God “planted in you” [Js. 1:21] by “the anointing you have from the Holy One” [1 Jn. 2:20] releases you to enter into the intercession being continually made within us by the Holy Spirit [Rom 8:26]. Knowing by faith that Christ is alive in our very own consciousness (heart), we “confess” with our mouth that Living Word which is proceeding from the Mouth of God. This “saves us” from the futile way of pagan prayer so prevalent around us.
May we begin to realize our union with Christ [Jn. 14:20] in heavenly places! If we really believe that “God chose us in Christ before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight” [Eph. 1:4], and if we trust that “no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless” [Ps. 84:11] , we can stop asking as the pagans do for “things” God promised to “add to us.” Instead, we can seek that Kingdom where God reigns within us [See Matt. 6:32,33]. Then with all God’s children we may pray that His “kingdom may come on earth as it is in heaven” and in our hearts! [See Matt. 6:9 and Colossians 3:15-17].
November '09 Newsletter by Bob Yarbrough
Dear “Light-points” of Christ,
You may recall President Bush, ’41 calling for “a thousand “points of light” to serve the common good. The Lord has called and appointed many thousands to be “the light of the world,” to pierce the night of each generation until the dawning of the Day when His Bright Appearing dispels the present darkness.
To early Christians Paul spoke of God at work in them as they lived in “a crooked and depraved generation.” He assured them that they were shining like “stars in the universe” as they focused the “word of life” through the prism of their individual persons. [Phil. 2:14-16].
Part of the privilege of our high calling in this generation is be points in which the Light of Christ radiates from us through the spiritual frequency of prayer. In the Old Covenant era, they saw Christ’s Light from afar. Yet of them, like John the Baptist [even though Jesus called him the greatest prophet of that time], it was written: “He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light – the true light that gives light…” [John 1:8,9]
In glorious contrast, consider the revelation of our state recorded in Ephesians 5:8-20: “For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord.” Note that through our union with Christ we don’t just witness light, but we are Light! This spiritual revelation is the basis for the kind of life God means for us to manifest. “Live as children of Light!” is God’s command. If we do, the “fruit of Light” will be produced by the Spirit who is in us: “goodness, righteousness and truth.”
What follows in these verses describes the prayerful life under the New Covenant: By transparent lives that focus on “Christ in us”, we “…find out what pleases the Lord.” This causes us to break fellowship “with the fruitless deeds of darkness.” Our very lives expose the lie of evil. By conscious awareness of the Living Christ in us we reflect heaven.
The constant admonition to our soul is this:
“Wake up, O sleeper, rise from the dead,
and Christ will shine on you.” [v. 14]
If we live in this continual awareness of our union with Christ we will be “wise” as we “understand what the Lord’s will is.” The community of such “Spirit-filled” hearts will be joyful, thankful and mutually submissive to Christ in one another [based on verses 15-21].
The deepest desire of my ministry is to help everyone understand that under the New Covenant, prayer is abiding in the conscious awareness of our present union with Christ in the Holy Spirit. May the Spirit of Truth that is in you quicken this to your hearts as you meditate on the two lessons on prayer of last month and this month. As the Lord’s face “shines on you” I believe three things will happen in your life:
You will become who you are.
I trust you have believed all that the Word tells us about our standing “in Christ.” We are what He says we are: We are “Light in the Lord.” As we resist the Father of Lies who tells us we are “only poor lost sinners” and begin to “put on Christ” you will begin to see a wonderful transformation as you “put off your old self which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires, and be made new in the attitude of your minds, and put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness [Ephesians 4:22-24]. You really are a “new creation” – let it be!
You will understand what you know.
As a New Covenant person you have truth in you by the Holy Spirit. John insists, “You have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth.” Let the Word become flesh in you!
You will “do what you do.”
This phrase is often spoken by gifted athletes. You are gifted by the Spirit to do whatever Christ has called you to do. Just “stop stopping it.” Let it flow! He guides, He oversees, and He rewards!
Shine, Jesus, Shine - in all your servants!
Bob Yarbrough
NEW CREATION PRAYING – CALLING WHAT IS IN HEAVEN TO MANIFEST ON EARTH
“…What counts is a new creation. Peace and mercy to all who follow this rule…”
In our last lesson we wrote of the contrast of New Covenant prayer with previous understandings of prayer. We sought to show how our prayer flows out of an intimate relationship of Father and Son as we realize our union with Christ in the Spiritual realm – “heavenly places.” In this present teaching we want to encourage our hearts to understand how this prayer proceeds from heaven to affect the earth in a redemptive way. Isaiah prophesied about earth-changing prayer when he wrote:
Whoever invokes a blessing in the land will do so by the God of truth…. For the past troubles will be forgotten and hidden from my eyes. Behold, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered or come to mind. But be glad and rejoice in what I will create…” Isaiah 65:16-18.
The striking contrast of New Creation prayer centers around forgetting “the former things” and beholding what God promises “I will create…” The “former things” are things that appear to be real in the natural dimension. Most “praying” is absorbed with these things so that we are often overcome by what we see with the natural eye and believe with the natural mind. So, our “prayers” are about sin, sickness and strife, and we languish “under the circumstances,” ever ‘burdened with a load of care.”
In preparing our hearts to pray New Creation prayers we must first “…humble ourselves under God’s mighty hand,…cast all our anxiety on him who cares for us,…be self-controlled and alert…, and resist our enemy, the devil, by standing firm in the faith…” [1 Peter 5: 6-9]. Then, as we wait patiently on the Lord, the “veil” of the illusion of mere appearances is taken away, and we begin to “…reflect the Lord’s glory…being transformed into his likeness…” [2 Cor. 3:18]. And Then, a door in our consciousness opens and “the voice…[says] “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.” In that Spiritual dimension, beholding “the kingdom prepared for us since the creation of the world” [Matt. 25:14], and praying in the Spirit, we call forth the will of God to be done on earth as we have seen it in heaven!
Having prayed in this way, we turn again to the earthly scene empowered “…to live holy and godly lives, as we look forward to the day of God …[and] in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness.” [2 Peter 3:11-13]. Though in the natural realm “…at present we do not see everything subject of to him…we do see Jesus” [Heb. 2:8,9], Having become “heavenly minded” we are used by the Lord for “earthly good” as we let the Light of Christ shine through us to the darkness of our world.
Meditate upon the spiritual implication of the prophetic call found in Isaiah 42:8,9 and 43:18,19:
“See, the former thing have taken place, and new things I declare; before they spring into being I announce them to you.”
“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?”
Can you perceive it? Do you know that this New Creation has come? You are the first-fruits and the promise of what is to come. The kingdom of God is within you now and will come forth in the fullness of time! Receive my witness of the Word that comes out of the Silence to encourage our souls:
From the barren desert, the blossoming Rose - the new thing- springs up. Such “offspring” are about their Father’s business, released from earthly ties to follow the Lamb wherever He goes.
Though the Dragon seeks to devour them as soon as they are born, they will be hidden in the secret place of the Most High for their appointed destiny. Because they call no man ‘father,’ and their Mother is the Jerusalem that is above, they are in the world but not of it, spiritual but not religious.
Because they are begotten by and for the Eternal One, the Father gives himself freely to them. They are becoming springs in the desert and the thirsty are finding refreshing for their souls.
The God of the kingdom of “Was” is gone, forgotten. The Holy Presence of Christ in the eternal “Now” has come. Awake, sleeping ones, rise from your grave, for the light of Christ’s new day shines on you.
“So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view…if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation.” [2 Cor. 5:16-18]
[Rejoice, Blessed ones in the New Covenant as you pray New Creation prayers; more to follow, God willing. BRY]
You may recall President Bush, ’41 calling for “a thousand “points of light” to serve the common good. The Lord has called and appointed many thousands to be “the light of the world,” to pierce the night of each generation until the dawning of the Day when His Bright Appearing dispels the present darkness.
To early Christians Paul spoke of God at work in them as they lived in “a crooked and depraved generation.” He assured them that they were shining like “stars in the universe” as they focused the “word of life” through the prism of their individual persons. [Phil. 2:14-16].
Part of the privilege of our high calling in this generation is be points in which the Light of Christ radiates from us through the spiritual frequency of prayer. In the Old Covenant era, they saw Christ’s Light from afar. Yet of them, like John the Baptist [even though Jesus called him the greatest prophet of that time], it was written: “He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light – the true light that gives light…” [John 1:8,9]
In glorious contrast, consider the revelation of our state recorded in Ephesians 5:8-20: “For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord.” Note that through our union with Christ we don’t just witness light, but we are Light! This spiritual revelation is the basis for the kind of life God means for us to manifest. “Live as children of Light!” is God’s command. If we do, the “fruit of Light” will be produced by the Spirit who is in us: “goodness, righteousness and truth.”
What follows in these verses describes the prayerful life under the New Covenant: By transparent lives that focus on “Christ in us”, we “…find out what pleases the Lord.” This causes us to break fellowship “with the fruitless deeds of darkness.” Our very lives expose the lie of evil. By conscious awareness of the Living Christ in us we reflect heaven.
The constant admonition to our soul is this:
“Wake up, O sleeper, rise from the dead,
and Christ will shine on you.” [v. 14]
If we live in this continual awareness of our union with Christ we will be “wise” as we “understand what the Lord’s will is.” The community of such “Spirit-filled” hearts will be joyful, thankful and mutually submissive to Christ in one another [based on verses 15-21].
The deepest desire of my ministry is to help everyone understand that under the New Covenant, prayer is abiding in the conscious awareness of our present union with Christ in the Holy Spirit. May the Spirit of Truth that is in you quicken this to your hearts as you meditate on the two lessons on prayer of last month and this month. As the Lord’s face “shines on you” I believe three things will happen in your life:
You will become who you are.
I trust you have believed all that the Word tells us about our standing “in Christ.” We are what He says we are: We are “Light in the Lord.” As we resist the Father of Lies who tells us we are “only poor lost sinners” and begin to “put on Christ” you will begin to see a wonderful transformation as you “put off your old self which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires, and be made new in the attitude of your minds, and put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness [Ephesians 4:22-24]. You really are a “new creation” – let it be!
You will understand what you know.
As a New Covenant person you have truth in you by the Holy Spirit. John insists, “You have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth.” Let the Word become flesh in you!
You will “do what you do.”
This phrase is often spoken by gifted athletes. You are gifted by the Spirit to do whatever Christ has called you to do. Just “stop stopping it.” Let it flow! He guides, He oversees, and He rewards!
Shine, Jesus, Shine - in all your servants!
Bob Yarbrough
NEW CREATION PRAYING – CALLING WHAT IS IN HEAVEN TO MANIFEST ON EARTH
“…What counts is a new creation. Peace and mercy to all who follow this rule…”
In our last lesson we wrote of the contrast of New Covenant prayer with previous understandings of prayer. We sought to show how our prayer flows out of an intimate relationship of Father and Son as we realize our union with Christ in the Spiritual realm – “heavenly places.” In this present teaching we want to encourage our hearts to understand how this prayer proceeds from heaven to affect the earth in a redemptive way. Isaiah prophesied about earth-changing prayer when he wrote:
Whoever invokes a blessing in the land will do so by the God of truth…. For the past troubles will be forgotten and hidden from my eyes. Behold, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered or come to mind. But be glad and rejoice in what I will create…” Isaiah 65:16-18.
The striking contrast of New Creation prayer centers around forgetting “the former things” and beholding what God promises “I will create…” The “former things” are things that appear to be real in the natural dimension. Most “praying” is absorbed with these things so that we are often overcome by what we see with the natural eye and believe with the natural mind. So, our “prayers” are about sin, sickness and strife, and we languish “under the circumstances,” ever ‘burdened with a load of care.”
In preparing our hearts to pray New Creation prayers we must first “…humble ourselves under God’s mighty hand,…cast all our anxiety on him who cares for us,…be self-controlled and alert…, and resist our enemy, the devil, by standing firm in the faith…” [1 Peter 5: 6-9]. Then, as we wait patiently on the Lord, the “veil” of the illusion of mere appearances is taken away, and we begin to “…reflect the Lord’s glory…being transformed into his likeness…” [2 Cor. 3:18]. And Then, a door in our consciousness opens and “the voice…[says] “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.” In that Spiritual dimension, beholding “the kingdom prepared for us since the creation of the world” [Matt. 25:14], and praying in the Spirit, we call forth the will of God to be done on earth as we have seen it in heaven!
Having prayed in this way, we turn again to the earthly scene empowered “…to live holy and godly lives, as we look forward to the day of God …[and] in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness.” [2 Peter 3:11-13]. Though in the natural realm “…at present we do not see everything subject of to him…we do see Jesus” [Heb. 2:8,9], Having become “heavenly minded” we are used by the Lord for “earthly good” as we let the Light of Christ shine through us to the darkness of our world.
Meditate upon the spiritual implication of the prophetic call found in Isaiah 42:8,9 and 43:18,19:
“See, the former thing have taken place, and new things I declare; before they spring into being I announce them to you.”
“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?”
Can you perceive it? Do you know that this New Creation has come? You are the first-fruits and the promise of what is to come. The kingdom of God is within you now and will come forth in the fullness of time! Receive my witness of the Word that comes out of the Silence to encourage our souls:
From the barren desert, the blossoming Rose - the new thing- springs up. Such “offspring” are about their Father’s business, released from earthly ties to follow the Lamb wherever He goes.
Though the Dragon seeks to devour them as soon as they are born, they will be hidden in the secret place of the Most High for their appointed destiny. Because they call no man ‘father,’ and their Mother is the Jerusalem that is above, they are in the world but not of it, spiritual but not religious.
Because they are begotten by and for the Eternal One, the Father gives himself freely to them. They are becoming springs in the desert and the thirsty are finding refreshing for their souls.
The God of the kingdom of “Was” is gone, forgotten. The Holy Presence of Christ in the eternal “Now” has come. Awake, sleeping ones, rise from your grave, for the light of Christ’s new day shines on you.
“So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view…if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation.” [2 Cor. 5:16-18]
[Rejoice, Blessed ones in the New Covenant as you pray New Creation prayers; more to follow, God willing. BRY]
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Psalm 62:5-8
Psalm 62: 5-8
v.5 Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from him.
v.6 He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will not be shaken.
v.7 My salvation and my honor depend on God; he is my mighty rock, my refuge.
v.8 Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts to him,
for God is our refuge.
v.5 Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from him.
v.6 He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will not be shaken.
v.7 My salvation and my honor depend on God; he is my mighty rock, my refuge.
v.8 Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts to him,
for God is our refuge.
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Truly Christ-Centered Leader Development by Malcolm Webber, Ph.D.
Truly Christ-Centered Leader Development
By Malcolm Webber, Ph.D. www.LeadershipLetters.com
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
God’s ultimate purpose in all things revolves around His Son:
having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth – in Him. (Eph. 1:9-10, NKJV)
The Son of God, Himself, is the final and complete revelation of God (Heb. 1:1-2). He fully reveals the Father (John 1:18; 16:15; 17:10, 26; Col. 1:19). Everything is “under His feet” (1 Cor. 15:27). All things were created through Him and for Him, and all things are held together by Him (Col. 1:16-17). In everything, He has the preeminence (Col. 1:18).
Accordingly, the biblical model of leader development revolves specifically around the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ. Healthy leader development must be entirely Christ-centered, Christ-focused, Christ-absorbed. The Son of God is all in all!
For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power. (Col. 2:9-10, NKJV)
In previous Letters, we have examined both the goal and the process of Christian leader development. In everything, leader development must revolve around the Son of God.
First, the goal of leader development must be Jesus Christ. All five of the necessary elements of healthy leadership are connected directly to Him:
Christ (John 15:5; Gal. 2:20; Col. 2:6). Apart from union with Christ, we will accomplish nothing of any eternal value. “Apart from me you can do nothing.”
Community (Eph. 1:23; 2:21-22; 3:16-19; 4:11-16; 5:31-32). Spiritual maturity is a corporate experience. First, Christ builds community; the leader’s union with Christ will be expressed in the leader living together with others in the Community in self-giving love, in true servanthood. Second, community builds Christ; it is in nurturing and accountable relationships with others that the leader will fully experience the indwelling life of Christ.
Character (Phil. 1:11; Is. 64:6). Human righteousness, apart from His indwelling life, is “filthy rags” in God’s eyes. True righteousness “comes through Jesus Christ.”
Calling (1 Cor. 3:11-13; Gal. 1:1). Neither man nor ministry should be first; in all things, Christ must have the preeminence. Today, so much is done in the church to serve either man’s need or his ambition; but God is only glorified through His own vision, He is only pleased with what He initiated.
Competencies (2 Cor. 3:5-6; Phil. 3:4-11; 4:13; Col. 1:10-12; 1 Pet. 4:11; Zech. 4:6). All of man’s greatest accomplishments are “rubbish” compared to that which comes from Jesus’ indwelling life.
We could build our emerging leaders to shine brilliantly in every human capacity, but if we have neglected to bring them into deep union with Christ, from Whom the whole person is properly built, they will ultimately experience failure in both life and ministry.
Second, the process of leader development must be Jesus Christ. He is the Source of power in all four of the Dynamics of Transformation:
Spiritual (2 Cor. 3:18). There was a veil in our hearts of separation between us and God. In Christ, God has removed this veil. Now, inwardly, we can see Him, we can hear Him, we can touch Him. As we look inwardly at Him we are transformed into His likeness, by His Spirit, from one realm of glory to another.
Relational (Eph. 4:16). Corporately, we are united with the eternal self-giving fellowship of the triune Godhead. The Father loves the Son who loves the Spirit who loves the Father and the Son – through us! It is “from Him [that] the whole body… grows and builds itself up in love.”
Experiential (2 Cor. 1:8-9; 12:7-10). Challenges and sufferings take us beyond our own strength and we are forced (often for the first time) to look away from ourselves and to truly rely, with deep surrender, on Him; that is how we are changed.
Instructional (2 Tim. 3:16-17). “All Scripture is God-breathed” – this is not only a proof text for the doctrine of the inspiration of Scripture; it is a revelation of specifically how the Word changes us. Our interaction with the Word of God must go beyond human intellectualism. It is through the breath of His Spirit upon His Word that we are transformed.
Our training programs might harness the latest and greatest of human wisdom and methods, but if we do not bring our emerging leaders into face-to-face encounters with the Son of God (1 John 1:1-3) – through spiritual, relational, experiential and instructional dynamics – their lives will not be transformed.
Thus, leader development must revolve around Him in everything.
It is an extraordinary and utterly disastrous error to ignore, neglect or assume the intentional centrality of the Son of God in practical Christian leader development in both its goal and process. Jesus, Himself, is the Goal and He is the Process.
Today, in many nations, Christian leaders are returning to their first love – to Him. Burned out and frustrated, they are recognizing that they have been absorbed in His work more than in His Person, and that they are much better equipped in knowledge about Him than in living union with Him.
Of all of the many necessary paradigm shifts that Christian leader development is currently undergoing, this is the deepest, the most profound, the most vital.
Let us return to the centrality and the preeminence of the Person of Jesus Christ, the Son of the Living God, in Christian leader development. He, Himself, is our Process and our Goal; He, Himself, is our Journey and our Destination.
For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever! Amen. (Rom. 11:36)
Distribution:
You may distribute the Letter to anyone you wish, in any form you wish, as long as the Letter is distributed in its entirety (including entire footer) and at no charge.
All content © 1998-2009, Malcolm Webber, Ph.D., Strategic Global Assistance, Inc. All rights reserved.
By Malcolm Webber, Ph.D. www.LeadershipLetters.com
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
God’s ultimate purpose in all things revolves around His Son:
having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth – in Him. (Eph. 1:9-10, NKJV)
The Son of God, Himself, is the final and complete revelation of God (Heb. 1:1-2). He fully reveals the Father (John 1:18; 16:15; 17:10, 26; Col. 1:19). Everything is “under His feet” (1 Cor. 15:27). All things were created through Him and for Him, and all things are held together by Him (Col. 1:16-17). In everything, He has the preeminence (Col. 1:18).
Accordingly, the biblical model of leader development revolves specifically around the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ. Healthy leader development must be entirely Christ-centered, Christ-focused, Christ-absorbed. The Son of God is all in all!
For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power. (Col. 2:9-10, NKJV)
In previous Letters, we have examined both the goal and the process of Christian leader development. In everything, leader development must revolve around the Son of God.
First, the goal of leader development must be Jesus Christ. All five of the necessary elements of healthy leadership are connected directly to Him:
Christ (John 15:5; Gal. 2:20; Col. 2:6). Apart from union with Christ, we will accomplish nothing of any eternal value. “Apart from me you can do nothing.”
Community (Eph. 1:23; 2:21-22; 3:16-19; 4:11-16; 5:31-32). Spiritual maturity is a corporate experience. First, Christ builds community; the leader’s union with Christ will be expressed in the leader living together with others in the Community in self-giving love, in true servanthood. Second, community builds Christ; it is in nurturing and accountable relationships with others that the leader will fully experience the indwelling life of Christ.
Character (Phil. 1:11; Is. 64:6). Human righteousness, apart from His indwelling life, is “filthy rags” in God’s eyes. True righteousness “comes through Jesus Christ.”
Calling (1 Cor. 3:11-13; Gal. 1:1). Neither man nor ministry should be first; in all things, Christ must have the preeminence. Today, so much is done in the church to serve either man’s need or his ambition; but God is only glorified through His own vision, He is only pleased with what He initiated.
Competencies (2 Cor. 3:5-6; Phil. 3:4-11; 4:13; Col. 1:10-12; 1 Pet. 4:11; Zech. 4:6). All of man’s greatest accomplishments are “rubbish” compared to that which comes from Jesus’ indwelling life.
We could build our emerging leaders to shine brilliantly in every human capacity, but if we have neglected to bring them into deep union with Christ, from Whom the whole person is properly built, they will ultimately experience failure in both life and ministry.
Second, the process of leader development must be Jesus Christ. He is the Source of power in all four of the Dynamics of Transformation:
Spiritual (2 Cor. 3:18). There was a veil in our hearts of separation between us and God. In Christ, God has removed this veil. Now, inwardly, we can see Him, we can hear Him, we can touch Him. As we look inwardly at Him we are transformed into His likeness, by His Spirit, from one realm of glory to another.
Relational (Eph. 4:16). Corporately, we are united with the eternal self-giving fellowship of the triune Godhead. The Father loves the Son who loves the Spirit who loves the Father and the Son – through us! It is “from Him [that] the whole body… grows and builds itself up in love.”
Experiential (2 Cor. 1:8-9; 12:7-10). Challenges and sufferings take us beyond our own strength and we are forced (often for the first time) to look away from ourselves and to truly rely, with deep surrender, on Him; that is how we are changed.
Instructional (2 Tim. 3:16-17). “All Scripture is God-breathed” – this is not only a proof text for the doctrine of the inspiration of Scripture; it is a revelation of specifically how the Word changes us. Our interaction with the Word of God must go beyond human intellectualism. It is through the breath of His Spirit upon His Word that we are transformed.
Our training programs might harness the latest and greatest of human wisdom and methods, but if we do not bring our emerging leaders into face-to-face encounters with the Son of God (1 John 1:1-3) – through spiritual, relational, experiential and instructional dynamics – their lives will not be transformed.
Thus, leader development must revolve around Him in everything.
It is an extraordinary and utterly disastrous error to ignore, neglect or assume the intentional centrality of the Son of God in practical Christian leader development in both its goal and process. Jesus, Himself, is the Goal and He is the Process.
Today, in many nations, Christian leaders are returning to their first love – to Him. Burned out and frustrated, they are recognizing that they have been absorbed in His work more than in His Person, and that they are much better equipped in knowledge about Him than in living union with Him.
Of all of the many necessary paradigm shifts that Christian leader development is currently undergoing, this is the deepest, the most profound, the most vital.
Let us return to the centrality and the preeminence of the Person of Jesus Christ, the Son of the Living God, in Christian leader development. He, Himself, is our Process and our Goal; He, Himself, is our Journey and our Destination.
For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever! Amen. (Rom. 11:36)
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Friday, November 20, 2009
3900 Marbles
A friend forwarded me an email that struck a chord in my heart. I thought I would pass it along to my fellow blog readers. Blessings!
3900 MARBLES
The older I get, the more I enjoy Saturday mornings. Perhaps it's the quiet solitude that comes with being the first to rise, or maybe it's the unbounded joy of not having to be at work. Either way, the first few hours of a Saturday morning are most enjoyable.
A few weeks ago, I was shuffling toward the garage with a steaming cup of coffee in one hand and the morning paper in the other. What began as a typical Saturday morning turned into one of those lessons that life seems to hand you from time to time. Let me tell you about it:
I turned the dial up into the phone portion of the band on my ham radio in order to listen to a Saturday morning swap net. Along the way, I came across an older sounding chap, with a tremendous signal and a golden voice. You know the kind, he sounded like he should be in the broadcasting business. He was telling whom-ever he was talking with something about 'a thousand marbles.' I was intrigued and stopped to listen to what he had to say....
' Well, Tom, it sure sounds like you're busy with your job. I'm sure they pay you well but it's a shame you have to be away from home and your family so much. Hard to believe a young fellow should have to work sixty or seventy hours a week to make ends meet. It's too bad you missed your daughter's 'dance recital' he continued. 'Let me tell you something that has helped me keep my own priorities.' And that's when he began to explain his theory of a 'thousand marbles.'
'You see, I sat down one day and did a little arithmetic. The average person lives about seventy-five years. I know, some live more and some live less, but on average, folks live about seventy-five years.
'Now then, I multiplied 75 times 52 and I came up with 3900, which is the number of Saturdays that the average person has in their entire lifetime. Now, stick with me, Tom, I'm getting to the important part.
It took me until I was fifty-five years old to think about all this in any detail', he went on, 'and by that time I had lived through over twenty-eight hundred Saturdays.' 'I got to thinking that if I lived to be seventy-five, I only had about a thousand of them left to enjoy. So I went to a toy store and bought every single marble they had. I ended up having to visit three toy stores to round up 1000 marbles I took them home and put them inside a large, clear plastic container right here in the shack next to my gear.'
'Every Saturday since then, I have taken one marble out and thrown it away. I found that by watching the marbles diminish, I focused more on the really important things in life.
There's nothing like watching your time here on this earth run out to help get your priorities straight .'
'Now let me tell you one last thing before I sign-off with you and take my lovely wife out for breakfast. This morning, I took the very last marble out of the container. I figure that if I make it until next Saturday then I have been given a little extra time. And the one thing we can all use is a little more time.'
'It was nice to meet you Tom, I hope you spend more time with your family, and I hope to meet you again here on the band. This is a 75 Year old Man, K9NZQ, clear and going QRT, good morning!'
You could have heard a pin drop on the band when this fellow signed off. I guess he gave us all a lot to think about. I had planned to work on the antenna that morning, and then I was going to meet up with a few hams to work on the next club newsletter.
Instead, I went upstairs and woke my wife up with a kiss. 'C'mon honey, I'm taking you and the kids to breakfast.' 'What brought this on?' she asked with a smile. 'Oh, nothing special, it's just been a long time since we spent a Saturday together with the kids. And hey, can we stop at a toy store while we're out? I need to buy some marbles.
3900 MARBLES
The older I get, the more I enjoy Saturday mornings. Perhaps it's the quiet solitude that comes with being the first to rise, or maybe it's the unbounded joy of not having to be at work. Either way, the first few hours of a Saturday morning are most enjoyable.
A few weeks ago, I was shuffling toward the garage with a steaming cup of coffee in one hand and the morning paper in the other. What began as a typical Saturday morning turned into one of those lessons that life seems to hand you from time to time. Let me tell you about it:
I turned the dial up into the phone portion of the band on my ham radio in order to listen to a Saturday morning swap net. Along the way, I came across an older sounding chap, with a tremendous signal and a golden voice. You know the kind, he sounded like he should be in the broadcasting business. He was telling whom-ever he was talking with something about 'a thousand marbles.' I was intrigued and stopped to listen to what he had to say....
' Well, Tom, it sure sounds like you're busy with your job. I'm sure they pay you well but it's a shame you have to be away from home and your family so much. Hard to believe a young fellow should have to work sixty or seventy hours a week to make ends meet. It's too bad you missed your daughter's 'dance recital' he continued. 'Let me tell you something that has helped me keep my own priorities.' And that's when he began to explain his theory of a 'thousand marbles.'
'You see, I sat down one day and did a little arithmetic. The average person lives about seventy-five years. I know, some live more and some live less, but on average, folks live about seventy-five years.
'Now then, I multiplied 75 times 52 and I came up with 3900, which is the number of Saturdays that the average person has in their entire lifetime. Now, stick with me, Tom, I'm getting to the important part.
It took me until I was fifty-five years old to think about all this in any detail', he went on, 'and by that time I had lived through over twenty-eight hundred Saturdays.' 'I got to thinking that if I lived to be seventy-five, I only had about a thousand of them left to enjoy. So I went to a toy store and bought every single marble they had. I ended up having to visit three toy stores to round up 1000 marbles I took them home and put them inside a large, clear plastic container right here in the shack next to my gear.'
'Every Saturday since then, I have taken one marble out and thrown it away. I found that by watching the marbles diminish, I focused more on the really important things in life.
There's nothing like watching your time here on this earth run out to help get your priorities straight .'
'Now let me tell you one last thing before I sign-off with you and take my lovely wife out for breakfast. This morning, I took the very last marble out of the container. I figure that if I make it until next Saturday then I have been given a little extra time. And the one thing we can all use is a little more time.'
'It was nice to meet you Tom, I hope you spend more time with your family, and I hope to meet you again here on the band. This is a 75 Year old Man, K9NZQ, clear and going QRT, good morning!'
You could have heard a pin drop on the band when this fellow signed off. I guess he gave us all a lot to think about. I had planned to work on the antenna that morning, and then I was going to meet up with a few hams to work on the next club newsletter.
Instead, I went upstairs and woke my wife up with a kiss. 'C'mon honey, I'm taking you and the kids to breakfast.' 'What brought this on?' she asked with a smile. 'Oh, nothing special, it's just been a long time since we spent a Saturday together with the kids. And hey, can we stop at a toy store while we're out? I need to buy some marbles.
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
ITINERARY for TEXAS TRIP
This schedule continues to be a work-in-progress…check back periodically for updates.
Monday, November 9
Fly into Austin at 2pm
7pm—THE JOURNEY under the Tent in Belton, Texas. Hosted by Steve Burke of The Lord Will Provide ministries.
Address
Grothway Square
2427 N Main Street
Belton, TX
Tuesday, November 10
12pm—THE JOURNEY under the Tent
7pm—“Fire & Lightening” in Waco, TX (Mark & Patty Short)
I will be ministering as the Holy Spirit leads.
Address
Worship Room at Budget Printing
630 Texas Central Pkwy. Ste. 102
Waco, TX 76712
Wednesday, November 11
12pm—THE JOURNEY under the Tent
7pm—THE JOURNEY under the Tent
Thursday, November 12
At this point I don't have anything scheduled.
Friday, November 13
10:30am—Tom Dooley flies into Austin airport
11:30am—lunch with Barb Bucklin and key leaders in Austin
Evening—still in the works...check back later for update info.
Saturday, November 14
12pm—Luncheon & Leadership Training followed by prophetic ministry as the Lord leads. Waco, Texas.
By Invitation Only
7pm—Temple Tabernacle Church: Brian Francis Hume
Address: Temple Tabernacle Church
4903 Midway Dr.
Temple, TX 76502
Sunday, November 13
10am—Temple Tabernacle Church: Dr. Tom Dooley
4:40pm—Tom departs from Austin airport
Monday, November 13
9:35am—Depart from the Austin airport
Monday, November 9
Fly into Austin at 2pm
7pm—THE JOURNEY under the Tent in Belton, Texas. Hosted by Steve Burke of The Lord Will Provide ministries.
Address
Grothway Square
2427 N Main Street
Belton, TX
Tuesday, November 10
12pm—THE JOURNEY under the Tent
7pm—“Fire & Lightening” in Waco, TX (Mark & Patty Short)
I will be ministering as the Holy Spirit leads.
Address
Worship Room at Budget Printing
630 Texas Central Pkwy. Ste. 102
Waco, TX 76712
Wednesday, November 11
12pm—THE JOURNEY under the Tent
7pm—THE JOURNEY under the Tent
Thursday, November 12
At this point I don't have anything scheduled.
Friday, November 13
10:30am—Tom Dooley flies into Austin airport
11:30am—lunch with Barb Bucklin and key leaders in Austin
Evening—still in the works...check back later for update info.
Saturday, November 14
12pm—Luncheon & Leadership Training followed by prophetic ministry as the Lord leads. Waco, Texas.
By Invitation Only
7pm—Temple Tabernacle Church: Brian Francis Hume
Address: Temple Tabernacle Church
4903 Midway Dr.
Temple, TX 76502
Sunday, November 13
10am—Temple Tabernacle Church: Dr. Tom Dooley
4:40pm—Tom departs from Austin airport
Monday, November 13
9:35am—Depart from the Austin airport
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