No Longer

 "But Jesus rebuked him, saying, 'Be silent, and come out of him.' " Mark 1:25

There's a true story concerning a powerful eastern ruler in the ancient world. He was intent on conquest and was leading his army on a planned invasion of a nearby land. This land happened to be an ally of Rome, the mightiest empire of that time. In response to this threat, Rome didn't send an opposing army, but rather two diplomats who met the invaders and their ruler on the way. They had a simple message. They told him, "Rome says that you shall go this far and no further." The ruler, despite his might and ability to destroy these two, was cowed, and he and his army turned around and went back to their own country. It was not the presence of the two men that frightened them, but the power and authority of the Roman empire they represented. We who call ourselves His must learn from this. We have an enemy, satan, who is intent on destruction, especially as concerns God's people. In ourselves, we are no threat to him, but when we stand in the authority and power of the One whose we are, that enemy, that devil, can do nothing but retreat. Yet how many of us live and stand in His authority?

I have seen so many lives shattered and destroyed by sin. In this last week, I saw another. It never gets easier. Two weeks ago many in our church fellowship went out into the neighborhoods of Lynchburg, Virginia to distribute Christmas food boxes to those in need. All of us saw more than just physical and material need. We saw deep spiritual need as well. In fact, that need was the deepest of all. Their poverty was great in the physical sense, but even greater in the spiritual. They were living in cycles of defeat, and time and practice has proven that their deliverance will not come from government programs or other man centered efforts. It can only come from the One who came to make us free. The One who breaks these cycles of sin and defeat, Jesus Christ.

In nearly four decades of ministry, I have seen so many lives, marriages, and families destroyed by a plethora of addictions and habits. Many of these made attempts to be free of them, but far too many times, they would end up being swallowed anew by these tormentors. They never really knew freedom. I believe that to a great degree, it's because they didn't believe that they could.

Many, too many, have been those who called themselves His. The chains that bound them were never broken. The enemy that stalked them did so relentlessly, and in the end, they were defeated again. The cycle just kept repeating itself. The end of the cycle will always be death. But it needn't be so.

Someone said that there are things in our lives that need to be told "no longer." No longer will I be a slave to you. No longer will you bring destruction to my life, my marriage, my family. No longer will I live in bondage to you. No longer will I live in your grip. The key in this is that when we say this, we do not say it in our authority, but in His. Just as the two diplomats possessed no ability in themselves to turn back that army, neither do we. However, the empire they represented did, and if we are His, His Kingdom is infinitely greater and more powerful than all the kingdoms of the world together could ever be. No kingdom can stand against Him, especially not the kingdom of darkness and death.

What thing or things in your life, your family, your marriage do you need to say "no longer" to? To what "voices" whispering, or shouting, do you need to say "be silent"? Confronted by a demon possessed man in a synagouge, Jesus, in complete authority, silenced it, cast it out. In Christ we have such authority. You have such authority. This year, each day, let us live and walk in that authority. It is time to say, in His power, enough, no longer, no more. And we'll watch the enemy flee every time.

Blessings,

Pastor O

Two Christmases

 "I said the the Lord, You are my Master. Apart from You I have no good thing." Psalm 16:2

I first wrote this in 2004, and felt led to once again share it, with a new addition at the end. It is not about me, but about the wonder of Immanuel, God With Us. It's a kind of "Tale Of Two Christmas', widely different, but present with the same Christ. It's my prayer that He blesses you in the reading.

The first experience took place in Colorado Springs, nearly 25 years ago, during the first year of my study for the ministry. I was single, away from home and family, and alone, as my roommates had left to be with their families. Before they'd left, we'd gotten a tree, and draped it with as many decorations and lights as it could hold. I remember Christmas Eve, after returning from my church's special service, lying on my sofa, listening to the songs of the 2nd Chapter of Acts, gazing at the tree and the lights. Here, over 1500 miles from family, separated from friends, physically alone, I had a sense of His Presence unlike anything I had known in my young walk with Him. In that small apartment, my Lord was with me, giving me Himself. I would open no presents that night, something my family always did, but it wouldn't matter. I had the gift of my Jesus, and nothing else mattered. The joy of my Lord flowed out of my heart. I had never experienced such a visitation before, and while He has come to me in so many beautiful ways since then, I've never again had a time with Him quite like that. For one who'd come out of deep darkness only a year before, it was, and is, a gift to be treasured all the rest of my days. It was my happiest Christmas.

The second time happened 9 years later, on a church campground on a bitterly cold night the week before Christmas. My wife had left me several months before. In the midst of that, I'd had to resign my church, and leave the ministry. I was working at a Coca-Cola distribution center in Charlottesville, Virginia, driving a forklift. I had just returned to the campground. It was late at night, and very dark. The place was almost completely empty of life. My heart was filled with an indescribable ache. Each day I would drive in, and each night I would drive back, constantly asking the Lord, "How did I end up here? Why did you let this happen? Father, where are you?" As I parked my car and got out, the intense cold hit my face. It couldn't have been more than 10 degrees out. I remember the thought that came to me as if it were yesterday. A voice that came from a much deeper darkness than made up that nighttime. It whispered, "Aren't you weary of the pain? Everything has been lost. Can it ever be good again? It can all be over. All you need do is walk into those woods over there. Lie down. Go to sleep, It will be over." At that moment, in the midst of what seemed complete hopelessness, I looked towards those woods. It was then that I heard another voice. It was soft, but mighty. It was Him. The Jesus, my Jesus, who'd come to me in the midst of my most special Christmas, had also come to me in the time of my darkest. The same Jesus. I didn't hear words so much as truth. I was not alone. This was not the end. Where I was now, was not where I would stay. I had life, and though the enemy sought to destroy it, I would live. I would laugh again. I would live again. I was living now.

With that I went to the small cottage I was staying in, and just like in that small apartment 9 years before, I was washed with His Presence. I was not alone. He was with me, and true to His word, my life didn't end there. Neither does it end here. There will still be pain. There is pain now, but whether in laughter or sorrow, times of light, or times of darkness, He is, and will always be, Immanuel. God with us. With me. With you. He is the same, yesterday, today, and forever.

It may be as you come upon this season, you find yourself in a place you never thought you'd be, or a place you can do nothing to change. Please know that no matter how cut off you may feel, how alone you might think yourself to be, you are not. Into your time, this time, allow Immanuel, Jesus to come. He will, and He will not leave. This is not the place you will stay, it is not here that you will die. He will bring you out. There is life for you, abundant and free. Let Him lead you into it.

Here, in 2020, I find myself grieving a new and personal loss. I do not grieve it alone. Besides the many friends He has surrounded me with to share the burden, He, above all, shares and carries it with and for me. In the pain, I know His joy. He remains always, Immanuel, God with us. God with me.

Blessings,

Pastor O

Desperate

 "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they will be filled." Matthew 5:6

There are a few movies that I watch every year at Christmastime. One of them is "It's A Wonderful Life." The hero, George Bailey, feeling trapped in a hometown he'd been desperate to escape, comes to a place, through the errors of another, where he sees life as so hopeless as to wish he'd never been born. The angels of heaven are watching it all, and in response to his condition, send an apprentice angel to help. This angel has granted his desire, and so begins a journey with George to see just what his life, and those that he loved would have been like had he never been born. After this terrifying experience, George finds himself on the same bridge he had earlier contemplated throwing himself off. This time however, he cries out to God, begging Him for another chance, begging to once more have life. His words really struck, "Please God. I want to live. I want to live." George was desperate for life. My question for us is, are we?

Jesus said that He came to give life, and to give it abundantly. How many of us are living lives that not only look abundant, but actually are? Yes, we may have goods, investments, financial security, but those are not what makes for abundance. If they were we would not see so many who have these living lives of complete emptiness. What makes for the abundance Jesus promised are His peace, His contentment, His joy, His very Presence in us. Such life fills us with gratitude, because we have an open door for relationship with Him. We live in the fullness of knowing that whatever we face, He faces it with us, and He has already brought us the victory in it. We live secure, knowing that nothing can touch or steal His life within us. We live in hope not only for this life, but for eternal life. We live in the riches of our inheritance in Him, and we know and experience the truth of His promise, that we have all things in Him. But again, how many have such a life? How many who call Him Lord live so far beneath His promises to us as to be a scandal in heaven? How many of us have squandered the life He has given us in Christ, and worse, aren't even aware that we are, and not missing it when we do? We're so satisfied with this earthly life we have no hunger or desire for His Kingdom life. Perhaps we need some kind of "George Bailey experience" in order to desire it at all.

As you read this, can you or I really say that we live each day hungering and thirsting after His righteousness, His life, His presence? Some quick prayers in the morning or evening, along with a few Scriptures read, and we feel we've fulfilled our obligation. Now it's on to those things that really matter. Except that we don't realize that "those things" lead not to life, but death. If we did, we would be like George, crying out to Him, "Please God, I want to live. I want to live."

What is your desperation level for having the fullness of His Life and Spirit? Someone said that if there is anything you desire more than being filled with His Spirit, you will never be filled with His Spirit. This is the root of our problem. We desire many things more than His Spirit and Life. So what we get is mediocrity. Shallowness. Lukewarmness. And we're satisfied. And because of it, because of the cost to the Father to give us the offer of all His fullness through His Son Jesus Christ, we are a scandal in heaven. Lord forgive us.

As you read this today, and as I write it, are we filled with the hunger I speak of? Do we have the desperation of George Bailey? Do we want to live? Fully, freely, in Him? George Bailey was desperate beyond words. Are we?

Blessings,

Pastor O

Bursting Through

 "When darkness overtakes the godly, light will come bursting in." Psalm 112:4....."I would have lost heart, unless I had believed I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living." Psalm 27:3

I was so very blessed to become a believer under the wise and godly pastoring of a great man. So many things that he said in that one year of being under his ministry have stayed with me in the more than 40 years that have followed. I still seek his counsel and wisdom all these years later. Often he would speak of finding a verse, a promise, a word from Him, and then "living there." It took me some time to realize and experience what it was he spoke of, but when I did, I came to know the deep peace and strength that came from doing so. I believe today, more than any other time in our lives, we need to live in the power of His word. There are so many Scriptures that call me to that, but the above two are where I want to focus today.

Only those lacking in any kind of spiritual discernment would say that there is not a darkness hovering over our nation, and all nations. To some degree this has always been so, but the darkness has grown and is growing. More, that darkness is filled with a demonic life that seeks to smother and destroy all those that it covers. All of us would be without hope if it were not for this truth: for those who are His, no matter the strength and thickness of the darkness, His light will break through it. His light will reach our hearts, our minds. It will put to flight both the enemy in it, and his plans through it. This truth has to be settled in our hearts. We must "know whom we have believed." We must be persuaded that He will show up, even in the thickest darkness.

The other day, in our staff meeting at church, a good brother brought a devotional and talked of our need to expect to see His goodness, glory, and light, no matter how extensive the need, the threat, the giants, or the mountains. Expect it, be looking for it. Know that He will come. He will come and save. He will burst through. He will not fail.

Growing up just outside of Pittsburgh, there were at one time, 7 great steel mills that operated 24/7. One of them was just over the river from our house. Something that took place every night at around 10 pm was that the mills furnaces would release the gases and such from the never ending fires within, and their power was such that the entire sky would be flooded with an orange light. Such was its strength that my room would flare with that light. Every night. Every night I could expect it, and every night it would come. No matter how dark the night, it would come. So it is with the Father and His people. So it will always be with the Father and His people.

Two thousand years ago, the Father sent His Son into a world cloaked in darkness. His Son, Jesus Christ is Light, and as His Word says, "In Him there is no darkness at all." The Jews had long been looking for Him, expecting Him. Even many non-Jews had a sense of something that was coming, that would change everything. His Light was about to burst through. It did burst through, and it has burst through in countless ways since. We can expect it. It will come. It has come. In Jesus Christ, it will continue to come. But we must be looking and expecting. Are we? Are you?

He promised that "the people who live in darkness will see a great light." At age 29, my life, shrouded in darkness, saw a great light. It was Christ the King. Many times since, as darkness sought to overtake me, His light came bursting through. The darkness will always be the darkness, seeking to overtake us. His light, if we will believe and trust it, will always burst through.....if we will live in the trust and expectation that it will. We will see His light, His goodness, His life. The darkest dungeon will flame with His light. Never cease to look for it, for He will not cease to send it.

Blessings,

Pastor O

Sunday's Coming

"You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above." John 19:11..."One of the amazing ironies about the crucifixion of Jesus is that while evil is winning the battle - rather handily in fact - God is winning the war." Chris Tiegreen

Jesus' words in the midst of what appeared to be His total defeat must be taken to heart by those who are His. We certainly are living in a day in our culture where the darkness seems to be beating back His Light. Yet appearances are deceiving. They were 2000 years ago as Christ stood before the Roman governor Pontius Pilate, and they remain so today in the face of all the political and social upheaval and the threat of Covid-19. The enemy seems to be running wild through the camp of the people of God. It's a lie. As Tiegreen says, "God hasn't lost His grip on the devil's leash." He never has. He never will.

It's popular in some places to say that the devil knows he's defeated. A pastor friend of mine disputes that, saying that to the contrary, he refuses, and will always refuse to believe that he's beaten. But he is beaten and his defiance will not change the outcome of what the purposes of our God are in the midst of what might appear to be reality. Jesus was crucified on a Friday, and He rose on the third day, Sunday. There's an Easter sermon titled, "It's Friday, but Sunday's coming." We, His people, must live in that truth, that reality. No matter how dark and desperate our "Friday" may be, His Sunday is coming. Trust in that. Trust in Him.

Right now in this world and particularly in our culture, Satan is raging. Much is happening that we may well ask God, "Why?" It may seem that His presence and power are missing, and the enemy clearly has the upper hand. We may feel ourselves as victims of it all. Our response must be as that of our Lord. We answer the enemy's terrorizing with our own holy defiance. He has no power over us but for what our Father has allowed him, and that power is only temporary. We're not victims at all. We're victors. Not just in eternity, but in the present. We will "see the glory of the Lord in the land of the living."

In our rational, logical westernized way of seeing things, we have lost sight of the spiritual war that takes place ceaselessly around us, and too often, within us. As a result, we judge all by our circumstances and natural senses instead of by His Word and our knowledge of Him. Jesus, as He stood before the arrogant power of Rome, the mightiest empire in the world, knew that it was He who is the Victor. We must do the same. We must know and live in the truth of what Joseph, sold by his jealous brothers into slavery in Egypt more than a 1000 years before Christ, knew. That what the enemy meant through them for his harm, God had turned into good. He rose from enslaved prisoner to governor of all Egypt, and was the instrument of saving his people, near death in a famine.

The devil, and his many tools, Pilate, the Pharisees, Rome itself, never saw the resurrection coming. When he did see it, he fled before His power. We can be sure of this; His resurrection power has not lessened and we will see it unleashed in the midst of these days. How and when are in His hands, but it will take the enemy, who thinks he has the upper hand, completely by surprise again. Take heart, in whatever place you may find yourself today. It may be Friday, but Sunday is coming.

Blessings,

Pastor O 

Cheap Disciples

 "If you want to be My disciple, you must, by comparison, hate everyone else - your father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters - yes, even your own life. Otherwise you cannot be My disciple. And if you do not carry your own cross and follow Me, you cannot be My disciple." Luke 14:26-27......"We have a cheap Christianity that makes no demands for total allegiance to Christ our Lord. Our Lord could have had a multitude of cheap disciples, but always made discipleship costly and often lost His crowd."

....Vance Havner

I once had a little book titled "The Difficult Sayings Of Jesus." I don't remember if the above verses were in it, but they certainly are among His most difficult. After all, how do we reconcile His words telling us to hate those who would naturally be the ones we most love? It doesn't make sense to our flesh, so it requires discernment to see what He's saying here. He is not telling us to literally hate them as we understand the word. He is telling us that to follow Him will mean that we will make choices in our devotion that make others feel like we do hate them as we choose our devotion to Him over devotion to them. We do love them, but our first love is given to Him. And that love will cost, especially in our relationships with others. No matter how precious another may be to us, He is more precious. The choice will cause pain, to them, and more, to us. It is all part of the cross carrying He calls us to.

Frankly, this truth is not much found in a great deal of the message and invitation of the church unto the lost and unconverted. We like to emphasize the benefits, the "perks" of coming to Him. Peace, abundance, joy, heaven....especially heaven on earth, and all as we would define them. The message of the cross doesn't find much room there. It's out of sync with the offer. Mark Buchanan said that we present Jesus as "The Caterer King." He provides....richly and lavishly. Our part is to simply enjoy. He paid the price, we reap the benefits. There is no place for, or thought of the cross as we sit at His table and feast on His gifts. What we end up with are a horde of cheap disciples who know nothing of what Dietrich Bonhoeffer called "the cost of discipleship." Bonhoeffer called that message one of "cheap grace." His grace that cost Him everything to give but costs us nothing to live in.

Here in the west, in America, we have specialized in cheap grace and cheap discipleship. King David said that he would not offer His God "worship that costs me nothing." We invite people to do so each week in so many of our fellowships, but I believe that message will not much longer survive. I believe the churches that center their message to "consumers of His blessings," will have little if anything to offer when life suddenly seems to have so little of those to offer. When personal comfort begins to be threatened in our culture, which it already has, professors of Jesus Christ will need to have a strength that is not of this world. A strength too few know of. A strength that only comes by way of the cross, the tomb, and the resurrection. A strength that is forged in the fire. A strength that comes when iron enters into our souls.

I believe a pruning of the church has already begun. Cheap disciples will be and are the first to be pruned. Not because He wishes to be rid of them but because they have no wish to be anything more. Every fellowship must allow His Spirit to search its heart in order to know just what their message has been and continues to be; centered on the desires of the flesh or upon Christ and His cross. Have we produced and are we producing cheap disciples or true ones. Which is our church/ Which are we?

Blessings,

Pastor O

The Wind

 "And suddenly there came from heaven a noise like a violent rushing wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting." Acts 2:2

I came across a kind of illustration the other day about the ways and ministry of the Holy Spirit. A Los Angeles meteorologist was discussing the heavy smog that was hovering over the city and showing no signs of moving off. It was choking the life of the city and people. He said that the only solution would be that a wind "from somewhere else" needed to blow over the city in order to expunge the smog. I don't think there can be a better picture of the cleansing power of His Holy Spirit.

There is a heavy "smog" covering our nation, indeed, all the nations. It is the smog of sin in all of its forms. We are reaping the harvest of our rebellion and rejection of God and His Son, Jesus Christ. Like that smog over Los Angeles, it is literally choking our lives from us. Yet we seem in the main, unaware of it. Amazingly, we seem greatly concerned about the physical pollution of our world while we appear oblivious to the pollution of sin that is far more deadly. We need a wind from somewhere else, somewhere not of this world, but from Him.

Keith Green sang a song called "Rushing Wind," with the lyric, "Rushing wind blow through this temple, blowing out the dust within." The smog and dust of sin is not only all around us, but also within us. The pollution of this world, our breathing of it's atmosphere, has invaded our hearts and minds. We need His heavenly wind to blow anew over and into His Church. Into me and into you. And we need to know that sometimes, oftentimes, perhaps this time, the blowing wind may come violently. No matter how the wind of His Spirit comes, may it come now.

There are so many cases in His Word where the Lord came, moved, acted, "suddenly." In a sudden moment, everything changed. Everything was different. Such was the case at Pentecost when His Holy Spirit came upon those gathered in the upper room. Jesus had told them to come together and wait upon the pouring out of His promised Spirit. I believe, indeed, I know He has called us to do so anew right now. We need to live in expectation of His "suddenly." We need to be seeking, waiting, ready.

It has been said that heaven is a prepared place for a prepared people. So it is as concerns the pouring out of His Spirit upon a dry land, people, and church. When He suddenly comes in power, it will be for a prepared people ready to receive all His fullness. I want to be among them. Do you?

Paul Baloche in his song, "Over and Over," sings the lyric, "The wind is beginning to blow, I can feel it. The river is starting to flow, I can see it. These are the days of His Presence, times of refreshing." So they are. The wind from another place is blowing. Will we be prepared to not only hear and feel it, but receive it? The spiritual smog, dust, and pollution needs to be blown away and out of us. May it come upon us now. May it come upon you, and me, now. These are the days of His Presence. May we full present for the fullness of His Presence.

Blessings,

Pastor O

Not Peace

 "Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword." Matthew 10:34....

..."When twice-born people try to make their way through a world run by once-born people, trouble is sure to come." Vance Havner

There are many in the church today who have real problems with Jesus' words in Matthew 10:34. After all, didn't Jesus speak about the peace He promised to all who came to Him? He was never speaking of the kind of peace the world gives, and He said so. He told them He didn't give as the world did. The peace of the world is defined as a absence of outer conflict, something the flesh has convinced us we can have, even though the history of the human race proves that we have never been able to find it or have it. Christ's peace is of the spirit, the heart, and the mind. When the fullness of His Kingdom comes, we will have both inner and outer peace, but until then, as He warned, we will experience trouble. It comes with the package of being a Christian, a believer.

We go to great lengths, especially in the church, to keep the peace. Sometimes it seems as if our motto is "Peace at any cost." We don't want to rile up the flock, and neither do we wish to rile up the world. We have fallen to, in many places, of wanting the world to like us, accept us, and be attractive to them. This gave rise to the "seeker sensitive" movement of the 1980's and 90's. It seemed to "work." Crowds came to the churches who emphasized it. The deep problem was, admitted by many who were a part of it, that the majority of the crowd never demonstrated much spiritual growth. They were not deeply challenged in their hearts and spirit. We see the wreckage of that approach in many of those same churches today. We have forgotten what Jesus is telling us in the above Scripture. We cannot have a truce with the world system. The kingdom of this world must and will clash with the Kingdom of God. Each is totally alien to the other. The difference is, the Kingdom of God comes against the kingdom of the world in the power of His Spirit, Life, Presence and Love. The kingdom of the world will ever and always come against His Kingdom with naked opposition and open hate. We have always seen such to a degree. We are seeing it as never before in our culture right now. There is no room for compromise. Jesus the Gentle Shepherd is real, but so is Jesus the Warrior King. It is the Warrior King who is most needed right now.

This is no call for us to take up the weapons of the world. It is a time to take up the weapons of the Kingdom. The full armor of God as listed in Ephesians for sure, but none more so than wielding the Sword of the Spirit, His Holy Word. We must wield that Word from the pulpit, but also in our communities. Where we work, in the schools our children attend, with the government we elect, in short, in every corner of our culture. Such will not bring an outward peace. Such will not make us popular or acceptable. Such will surely put us in danger. God's Word is absolute, and the flesh hates absolutes. It will fight on every front, but if we are truly to be the people of God, we must not shrink back from the fight. We speak the truth in love, but we speak the truth...regardless of the cost.

This is daunting to all of us so used to a comfortable faith. I don't believe we will ever know such again. It was never real faith anyway. This is the time for courage in Christ, and that courage must first be found in the church. It will cost, but oh what we will gain......I close with this story of a 19th century missionary couple who embarked upon a ministry to the jungles of Africa. As they neared that great continent, the ship's captain told them,"You'll die in those jungles." The husband replied, "Captain, we died before we started." Such is the call of the Warrior King to a warrior people. When we have "died" to all that would keep us from His purpose and will, what is there left to fear? What is left that you and I still fear?

Blessings,

Pastor O

Perspective

 "Jesus looked at them intently and said, 'Humanly speaking it is impossible. But not with God. Nothing is impossible with God" Mark 11:27....."Then He said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life." John 11:25

Our faith walk will always be a matter of perspective; ours and of our Father's. In Mark 11, Jesus had been telling His disciples how hard it was for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of heaven, for his life was centered on what he owned. The disciples, looking at things from a human viewpoint, knowing that the natural inclination of the human heart was to achieve, gain more, and look after their own good, wondered then how anyone could enter the Kingdom of God? It was an impossibility, and they were right. Jesus said they were right.....as they saw things. But, as for how He and His Father saw it, nothing, including the salvation of a rich man, was impossible with God. Not even the self-centered, idol worshiping hearts of fallen men and women. And He seals this truth in another verse from the Gospel of John. Jesus, standing at the tomb of Lazarus, tells Lazarus' sister, who believed her brother beyond even His help, that he wasn't. He wasn't because Jesus Christ was the resurrection and the life. Nothing, including death, was beyond His power. Jesus knew all this to be true. Do we?

I think our great problem, particularly here in the rational minded thinking of the west, is our tendency, even in the church, to view all things from an earthbound perspective. We rarely seem able to see things as He does, from the perspective of eternity. Which brings to mind an illustration I came across not long ago. One man was climbing a mountain trail when a terrible storm suddenly blew up. The hiker was so engulfed in the storm that he could not see even 5 feet in front of him. All was dark. At the same time, another man was in a plane, flying high above that same mountain, and as he looked down, he saw the small pocket where the storm was happening, and also that all around that storm was sunlight and clarity. He knew the storm would soon move off and the light and sight that was there, but unseen by the hiker, would show it itself. The hiker only saw the storm. The passenger in the plane saw so much more than that. So it is with us and our God. We only see the immediate difficulty and base our faith on that. Jesus, at the tomb, doesn't see the stone that seals it, but the resurrection power in Him that renders the stone powerless. He has the perspective of eternity, and that is the perspective that the church must have in these days, and in all days. Kingdom perspective and Kingdom sight.

A good pastor friend said that a great problem with most of us is that we live in the realm of "possibility thinking," From this place we see everything from the perspective of what is possible within our understanding. What is possible is limited by the borders of what we think can happen. Where we need to be is in the realm of nothing is impossible for God." There, nothing is beyond His ability. There are no limits to what He is able to do. So, there are no limits to what we believe He can do. In that place, we live with the perspective of eternity. In that place, we aren't blinded by the tomb, but see with the eyes of the One who is the resurrection and the life. Two realms; two mindsets, and two kinds of vision. One or the other will be ours. Which one will we, you, live in?

Blessings,

Pastor O

3 Questions

"Jesus replied, 'I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God" John 3:3..."Why do you call Me 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do what I say?" Luke "Did you receive the Holy Spirit since you believed?" Acts 19:2...."It is amazing how church people who have been left alone so long and not disturbed from the pulpit react when such pointed questions are asked: they resent them as intrusions into their private and personal affairs." Vance Havner

Havner once wrote that he believed that three questions should be emphasized in any Christ centered church; Have you been born again?... Is Jesus your Lord?... Have you been filled with the Spirit? Simple questions that are too infrequently asked of most members of a fellowship, if they are asked at all. We don't mind if these questions are asked of the unchurched and unconverted, but let them be asked of us and for sure, the one who asks is poking the hornet's nest.

We have slipped into the deception of believing that because someone is regularly seen in worship services, they would answer yes to all three of the questions. To ask them is seen as rude, even judgemental. We say our job is to love everyone and let God decide who is, and who is not His. This is a cop-out of the highest order. Of this Havner says, "If this is as serious as we say, isn't it important enough to bring to the attention of every soul knowing that any one of them might be in eternity before tomorrow?" I'm convicted by this question. How about you?

The fact of the matter is, in the majority of evangelical fellowships, only the first question is much asked, and even that one comes forth in a watered down manner. We encourage people to "choose Jesus," as if we're doing Him the greatest favor in the choosing. Somehow we forget the Scripture that tells us that He chose us even before we knew Him. We invite the lost to come to Him, but usually don't tell them why they must, and the consequence of refusing to do so. There is no conviction of and confession of sin. There is no true repentance. Therefore there is no true transformation. They've believed on a Savior who has yet to actually be their Savior. That's why the first question must be asked in such a way that it pierces the heart of the one who is asked.

As for the second question, is He our Lord, we give almost no thought to it when we say that He is. The reality is that Jesus is welcome in many fellowships as Savior, but not as Lord. This is not new. The crowds were with Jesus as He healed them, fed them, and provided for them. In John 6, when He called them to total surrender, most turned back. Our flesh doesn't have a problem with the Jesus as Savior Package. It's with the Jesus Is Lord one that it rebels. Our flesh knows that a death sentence has been pronounced upon it when He truly becomes Lord.

The last question may be the most avoided of all. We have so little understanding of what it is to be filled with the Spirit. Certainly bad teaching has given rise to excess in the ministry and understanding of the Holy Spirit, but Scripture is clear that there is a work of the Spirit that ushers in the fullness of His life and power. It enables us to live an overcoming life and frees us from the control of our flesh with all its impulses. This fullness gives us the power to live in the victory we are called to, commanded to in Scripture. The weakness of so many believers today testifies to the lack of His fullness in so many lives.

These questions demand answers. Yes, they can make us uncomfortable, to as Oswald Chambers put it, "shuffle our feet in His Presence." But if the church in the west is to be what He has purposed us to be, they must be addressed. We can be sure, there will be backlash from those comfortable in their "faith," but who is it that we serve?

I'm not proposing some kind of inquisition here. Just a commitment to address these questions from our pulpits. Havner tells of a missionary who in the field, after each service of whatever church she was in, stationed herself at the door and asked each as they left, "Have you been born again?" In some way, that, and the other questions must be asked whenever we proclaim His Word and Truth. Is it being asked in your fellowship? What do you suppose would be the answer if it were? What would be the answer from you? Are you truly transformed? Is He truly your Lord? Do you truly walk in all the fullness of the Holy Spirit?

Blessings,

Pastor O 

Pajama Warriors

 "Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour." I Peter 5:8...."And when your light shines, it will expose their evil deeds. This is why it is said, 'Awake, O sleeper, rise up from the dead, and Christ will give you light.' " Ephesians 5:14

I recently heard a guest on James Robison's "Life Today" speak of spiritual warfare, and something he said caught my attention. He said that it was those in the church, sleeping in tents with their pajamas on, who were overcome when the enemy came through the camp. They were in their pajamas, sleepwear, and not their spiritual armor, dressed and ready for battle. To me it is a clear portrait of the American church. We are full of "Pajama Warriors," and not warriors of the Kingdom.

It's a stretch to refer to these sleeping brethren as warriors at all. Just what are they contending for? If they fight for a kingdom at all, it is usually for the maintaining of their own. Most live unaware that such a battle is raging around them because they can't even see it right before them. The enemy prowls our "camps" and we have no "guards" posted to warn of his approach or offer combat in response. So we continually see fellowships overrun, ministries destroyed, and lives crushed. All the while the armor and weapons He has made available to us are gathering rust in a forgotten corner. We know that the devil is real, we just don't think he's that real.

Scripture says he seeks those that he might devour, which means he can only do so to those who are unarmed and unprotected. He has no power against those who are. He flees at the sight of those who face him with the shield of faith, the shoes of peace, the breastplate of righteousness, and the sword of the spirit, which is the living word of God. More, our armor covers are front, and not our back, because the believer is never in the mode of retreat, but always pressing forward. Pressing forward regardless of the apparent might of the enemy before them. His Word says that He trains our hands for battle. He can only do this with those who actually engage in the battle. Pajama warriors never leave the comfort of their tents and beds. So the camp, the church, the ministry, the family, home, marriage, are overrun. Where has he overrun as concerns you?

Pajama warriors have no place in His camp. They never have. We must answer His battle cry. We must arise from our slumber, step out as His Light, and expose the works of darkness wherever they are taking place and wherever we find ourselves. If we don't do so, we will surely be "killed" in our sleep. Let us shed our pajamas, don our armor, grasp our swords, and step out into the battle. It is more real than all that we have believed to be real.

In The Lord of the Rings movie, "The Two Towers," Theoden, King of Rohan, is faced with the forces of the evil wizard Saruman. Aragorn, the rightful King of Gondor, urges him to ride out with his men and face him in battle. Theoden, wavering in his confidence, replies, "I will not risk open war," to which Aragorn says, "Open war is upon you whether you would risk it or not." That is what we must know. Open war is upon us, regardless of what we have believed. Evil grows, but it must recede before the people of God, clothed in His armor, using His weapons. Let us step out and forward, as we behold the evil one fleeing before us. The battle is the Lord's.

Blessings,

Pastor O

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Where?

"He struck the water with Elijah's cloak and cried out, 'Where is the Lord, the God of Elijah?' Then the water divided and Elisha went across." 2 Kings 2:14

I remember seeing a response to Elisha's question of "Where is the God of Elijah," and it was, "He is seeking a man with the heart of Elijah." Elisha was such a man. There have been many more, both men and women. Moses was that man, as was David, Daniel, Isaiah, virtually all of the Old Testament prophets, as well as Peter, John, the disciples, Martha and Mary, and of course, the apostle Paul. Beyond these goes a line of names known only to Him, but who also possessed the heart of Elijah. The question for you and me is, are we found among those names?

What is it that marks such a heart? Certainly it is not that it gives forth perfect behavior. All of those above were flawed people. Some of them failed Him completely at times. What marked them though was that they all had hearts that pursued His heart with a passion that could not be quenched. Not by the circumstances around and before them, and not by their own failings. David was called a "man after God's own heart." David had a heart that in any and all places, would relentlessly pursue the heart of his Father. He wanted to live in His Presence, His fullness, His all. This was life. Anywhere else was not. Is this what marks us? If not, why not?

Vance Havner said, "We are so subnormal that to be normal would be counted abnormal." Why is this so? Why is it that to be a surrendered, passionate pursuer of His presence and life is considered odd and out of place in the Body of Christ? Why do we look at such and think, if not actually say that they are, "so heavenly minded as to be of no earthly good?" How did we come to be this "subnormal?" It should be, as someone put it, that we be so heavenly minded as to be of much earthly good. Judging by the state of our culture, we, His church, have not been able to accomplish much earthly good.

Elisha asked God for a double portion of the spirit that his mentor Elijah walked in. I wonder how many of us desire even a fraction of it? What would be our state if we pursued Him with even a portion of the zeal with which we pursue our own comfort and well being? Elijah and Elisha beheld wondrous miracles. How many are we seeing? How many do we even expect to see? How many of us, when facing the challenges of our day, have hearts that cry out, "Where is the God of Elijah?"

Scripture says to the effect, that His eyes roam the earth seeking those whose hearts are fully His. Those with the heart of Elijah. It is these who will behold the God of Elijah. It is these who will behold the miraculous works He'll be pouring out upon His church, and through His church, a lost nation and world. Where is the God of Elijah? He's right before us, searching our hearts to see if we may be modern day Elijah's. What is He finding, in you, and in me?

Blessings,

Pastor O 

Revolution

Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. For the darkness shall cover the earth and deep darkness the peoples; but the Lord shall rise upon you, and His glory shall be seen upon you." Isaiah 60:1

Back in the 1960's, a movement took place in America that came to be known as the counterculture revolution. It touched, and in many ways, transformed every aspect of America. It did so through political and social activism, music and media, and most every form of communication. Seemingly overnight, the mindset of the country was changed. Many forms of long accepted and biblically based thoughts on morality were mocked, laughed at, and sought to be done away with. The parents and grandparents of that time didn't recognize the nation and culture they now lived in. The effects of that revolution have evolved into what we see today, which we, at least to a degree, were a part of that earlier revolution. We have reaped the fruits of it. As the Bible says, we sowed the wind and reaped the whirlwind. Now, we desperately need a new revolution. The rising of a new counterculture. It must be centered upon the Spirit of God moving through the hearts and lives of His people. The question is, are we fit vessels for such a move?

Jim Garlow says that there are 374,000 professing Christian churches in America. Studies show that 72% of them DO NOT base their faith on the authority of Scripture or have a worldview filtered through the authority of Scripture. What this should tell us, beyond the obvious shock, is that the needed revolution has to begin in the church. Scripture says that His judgement will begin in the house of His people, and folks, we are ripe for such judgement. Our sin, apathy, lukewarmness, and watering down of Scriptural truth must be brought out into the open. We are hearing much of the need for transparency in the political arena, much more is such transparency needed in the church. It is time for a spiritual counterculture to arise within the church to challenge and transform the prevailing, crumbling culture of the church of the west.

The enemy didn't really do his work overnight. He'd been laying the groundwork for it all for decades. This is plainly seen in the writings of Tozer, Ravenhill, Sparks, Havner, and Chambers. All of them saw what was happening. All of them warned of its coming. All of them were right. We must take hope, because God has been laying the groundwork in His church for not just decades, but centuries. His voice is being heard through many voices and their numbers grow by the day. Hunger and thirst for His righteousness increases by the day as well. More and more are responding to His call. A revolution is brewing. A holy counterculture is being raised up. Darkness may cover the earth, but the glory of the Lord has risen, and rises. It will be seen upon His people.

It is time, past time, to take back what the enemy has stolen from us. The only means of doing so is to be swept up in His holy revolution, swept up in His Kingdom counterculture. I want to be a part. His Word says that the gates of hell will not prevail against the power of God through His people. There's an old Jesus movement song with the lyric, "A Christian and an outlaw are rebels to the world." May we gladly be such, conquering and overthrowing not through violence, but through His love, power, glory, and truth. It is time for a revolution. Let the revolution begin. Indeed, it has begun. Who among us will join it?

Blessings,

Pastor O 

Power

 "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." Acts 1:8...."Too many people assemble at God's house who don't really believe in the power of God." Vance Havner

I came across a story recently from Vance Havner, where a pastor came across one of his consistently absent members and said, "Well, I haven't seen you in church much of late." "No," he said. "you know how it's been. The children have been sick, and then it's rained and rained and rained." The pastor said, "Well, it's always dry at church." "Yeah," he said, "that's another reason why I haven't been coming."

That story may draw a laugh, but sadly, there's a lot more truth in it than we care to admit. Too often, what we call a worship service has become more of a production that an encounter with a supernatural God. J. Lee Grady writes, "In trying to be trendy and relevant, we've replaced spiritual anointing with cool music, graphics, sermons, and programs that look and sound great but lack any real spiritual punch." The Bible tells of how His glory filled His Temple to the degree that His priests could only look on in wonder. Jack Hayford tells of the New Year's Day morning when he walked into his tiny church's sanctuary and beheld a mist everywhere in the room. He believed it could only be the glory and presence of God, and from that day on his little fellowship became a center of revival, especially among the disaffected youth of the 60's. I wonder, with the prevalence of so many churches using smoke machines, that if such a presence of His Spirit would even be noticed by the majority?

In too much of our worship, unintentional though it may be, we've become so locked into our agenda for the service that we leave no place for His. We have the right desire to draw people to Him, but we've inserted ourselves and what we can do rather than seeing Him totally free and in control of all of it. Despite all our efforts, we end up being dry rather than drenched in His presence. We can only hold people's attention for so long with our religious "smoke and mirrors." At some point they'll look elsewhere for bigger thrills, or simply stop looking and seeking at all.

In our churches, how many are coming expecting to really encounter Him in the Spirit? Or, are they simply satisfied with some good music, a nice message, and few spiritual "fuzzies?" Are we satisfied with sips and nibble of the water and bread of Life, or the crumbs from His table? Do we look and believe for the days of miracles and outpourings? Do our hearts yearn for these to the degree that we will cry out for His awakening until the awakening comes? Or, do we just go on, satisfied with our slick programs that look and sound great, but are mostly devoid of His Presence and power?

I do know this; if ever His power and presence does fall upon us, as promised in Acts 1:8. our days of begging people to come to church, and to be involved in real ministry when they do, will be over. Holy fire brings hearts to Him, and burns up all the dross within when it does. My hunger for this grows by the day. I want to seek this above all. Will you join with me?

Blessings,

Pastor O

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