A Supernatural Affair: In the Beginning, Pt. 2

Previously, On A Supernatural Affair”… In the beginning, at the point of creation, we find that God created man. God created man for one purpose, relationship with Himself. We are created for relationship. Relationships are some of the most amazing and difficult things we get to participate in as we live on this planet. We are blessed by them and at times we feel cursed by the relationships we have been in. God wants to show His supernatural power in the context of our natural existence through empowering us to be like Him within the realm of our relationships… Let’s continue the Journey!

Thinking along these lines think of this. God did not stop with just a relationship between He and man; the most important relationship we can or will ever be involved in. The Bible says that God saw that it was not good for man to be alone, then he created woman. Man needed someone else, a peer, to share this existence with. The second most important relationship we have the opportunity to be engaged in is marriage. Then from that relationship came others, because God told the man and the woman, in the context of the marriage relationship, “Be fruitful and multiply” and then the family was created. More relationships to participate in. Then as families grew, other communities developed, like tribes and clans, that became villages and cities, states and nations. All based on the relationships of the humans God created.

If our ability to relate to one another in any of these contexts is diminished then brokenness and chaos ensues. The first breach of relationship occurred between God and man, (Genesis3)which is the foundational relationship that all others are built on. With that relationship damaged, all others are left open to brokenness. With broken down relationships came divorce, litigation, abuse, addiction, conflict, wars and the list goes on and on.

So, how does this brokenness in our relationships find healing? God spends the rest of the Old Testament years developing this idea of reconciliation, that starts with one thing: Forgiveness. Then in the New Testament the Eternal Creator shows up in human form. For what reason? To extend the hand of forgiveness to His creation, so that the process of putting things back into their original context could begin. It took a supernatural God to step into our natural world for us to really understand it. The scriptures tells us:

“In the beginning the Word already existed.
The Word was with God,
and the Word was God.
He existed in the beginning with God.
God created everything through him,
and nothing was created except through him.
The Word gave life to everything that was created,
and his life brought light to everyone.” (Jn 1:1-4. NLT) and then

“So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son.” (Jn 1:14) Where it says unfailing love and faithfulness, it can also be translated “Grace and Truth”. He, Jesus, came to give us what we didn’t deserve, forgiveness or grace, and to give us an honest representation of what our Heavenly Father is.

Jesus later would say, “He that is with you shall be in you.” He was making a reference to the fact that when He would leave after His death and resurrection and rejoin The Father , that the Holy Spirit then would come to live inside of the ones who would follow Him, Christ. If we follow Jesus His Holy Spirit comes to reside inside of us, then we also should be representations of “unfailing love and faithfulness” or “Grace and truth”. We should be agents of forgiveness. We, as natural human beings, should take on the very supernatural role of being forgiveness ambassadors. Our relationships should function in a very supernatural way.

We have to choose to follow Christ, but we must also choose to allow Him to work supernaturally in us. What comes natural is to want to respond with malice or vengeance. Jesus always calls us to not what is merely natural, but what is supernatural. Our relationships can and must take on a supernatural flavor that is based on the love of God, exhibited among us, that takes the shape of forgiveness. Jesus told us that all people would know we were His followers by the love expressed among us. Part of that love expression is His love expressed to us, gets expressed through us taking the shape of forgiveness. So literally forgiveness is a supernatural affair. A love affair between the Creator and you. His love for us so superseded our mess ups that created a brake down of relationship, that He went to an extreme measure to show us forgiveness. In response, our love for Him should so supersede any damage we have suffered, that we would go to whatever extent He requires of us to express that same forgiveness. The amazing thing about it is He gives us the power through His indwelling spirit to actually do that!!!! Whatta you say? Let’s embark upon this Supernatural Affair that began in the loving heart of God!

Stay tuned! More to Come!!!!

A Supernatural Affair: In The Beginning Pt.1

Growing up in a Pentecostal church as a young boy, I have spent most of my journey as a follower of Christ in Pentecostal/Charismatic circles.  There have always been displays of the supernatural working of God around my life.  I believe whole heartedly that God still interacts with the human race supernaturally.  I love when God’s supernaturality (I think I just made up a word) intersects our reality.  God is beyond what is natural; He is outside of space, time, etc. and at times he intervenes in our natural existence and shows His love, grace, truth, and power in amazing ways.

For those of us who are charismatics, many times we think that the supernatural quality of God , the Holy Spirit, is expressed predominantly, and in some cases only within the confines of a gathering of believers, a church service.  I do love those times when “God shows up”, (that’s a cliché we use at church at times).  The song list, agenda, and sermon notes are thrown out because we did not know what God wanted to do before we all gathered together.  We had a plan, but He, God, had a bigger and better plan.   As great as those times are, if we think that God gives His supernatural power to just have a good, out of the ordinary church service, then we are only cheapening that power.  I know we need to be refreshed by His presence, and encouraged in ways that are out of the ordinary. I love those times and grow greatly out of them.   We, many times, think of God’s power being only displayed in those gatherings and needing to be displayed through the nine gifts of the spirit (1 Corinthians 12).  My issue with that kind of thinking is this.  Jesus said go get together as believers, wait for the Holy spirit.   There is no problem with us gathering as believers and expecting “God to show up”.  That is what Jesus told them to do, but He didn’t stop there.  He said when the Holy Spirit comes up on you will be witnesses literally, everywhere (Acts 1:8).

How would that witnessing take place?  Well to answer that question we must go back to the beginning.  In the beginning, at the point of creation,  we find that God created man.  God created man for one purpose, relationship with Himself.   We are created for relationship.   Relationships are some of the most amazing and difficult things we get to participate in as we live on this planet.  We are blessed by them and at times we feel cursed by the relationships we have been in.   God wants to show His supernatural power in the context of our natural existence through empowering us to be like Him within the realm of our relationships… Stayed tuned for more.

A Supernatural Trajectory

Just wanted to drop a note & tell you to keep your eyes open.  I have been been contending with some thoughts about an issue that is imperative that we as followers of this guy named Jesus grow with & in.  It is something we all benefit from, have received, hopefully have given, and that will take our walk with Him & our involvement with others to a “WNL” (those of you who need a translation that means, ” A Whole Nutha Level”).  It will revolutionize how we live life if we will allow God to work us in this area.  I don’t know what will happen.  But it excites me & scares me all at the same time!  I’ve got a lot stirring in my heart about it. It seems like I every time I open the scriptures I see it.  Every interaction I have with someone it comes up.  I’ve  seen all kinds of opportunities lately for it to be expressed.  At the same time I sense and feel  and have experienced resistance to it.  I guess when God begins to allow our buttons to be pushed for the purpose of molding & shaping us to be more of what His son is there is a natural inclination in us to resist that.  But what comes natural is what God has given us the power to overcome.  So will you join me in this journey of overcoming what comes naturally to cross into a supernatural realm?   I may have the first excerpt posted here later this week.  It’s already partially written.   Let’s take a Supernatural Trajectory whatta ya say!?

When Betrayal Comes Knockin’

Over the last few days, actually longer than that, I have had to watch families deal with the idea of betrayal.  It has not been pleasant or easy, in fact, I would say it some of the ugliest circumstances I have ever had to help people walk through.  As always if we are going to call ourselves “Christians”, “Christ-followers”, etc., we have to follow the example that Christ left us.  There are three things we can employ when dealing with betrayal.

The First thing to use is Grace.  Grace is giving someone something they don’t deserve.  Jesus in John 13, not only washes the feet of all of His disciples.  That is awesome to consider, but even more so when you consider that there is a betrayer in the midst & Jesus knows it, and washes his feet anyway!  When we can do for people what they don’t deserve we are growing in Christlikeness.

Second, thing we should consider is the need for us to operate in forgiveness.  Grace is for the betrayer, forgiveness is for us.  I read a quote recently, that fits here,  ”Unforgiveness is like drinking rat poison, then waiting for the rat to die.”  (Hang in there you’ll get it.  Get it? Rat!  Anyway…)   When we forgive we are truly reflecting the likeness and image of Christ.  Remember some of His last words:  ”Father, Forgive them, they don’t know what they do.”   Most of the time they do not know what they did, how much pain was inflicted & how many people it effected. But we will keep our hearts from poison when we forgive them anyway.

Thirdly, we have to consider what happens if we use grace & forgiveness & they seemingly have no effect.  I think at times we will find those who absolutely refuse to ackowledge they have done anything wrong, or that if they do acknowledge their betrayal they refuse to do anything to alter the lifestyle they are leading that continues to betray and inflict pain.  Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 5 that when they blatantly are living in such away & are calling themselves followers of Christ that we become the agents of correction by “handing Him over Satan so that His sinful nature will be destroyed so that He will be saved on the day the Lord returns.”  How do we do that?  Paul goes on to say, “I meant that you are not to associate with anyone who claims to be a believer yet indulges in sexual sin, or is greedy, or worships idols, or is abusive, or is a drunkard, or cheats people. Don’t even eat with such people.” (verse 11)  Again, this is referring to those who are considered followers of Christ, & have taken up a lifestyle that is in direct conflict to God’s known will, His Word.  We have to deal with people who are not followers differently, because they do not call themselves brothers/sisters. That maybe a blog for another day.

This is really the same thing Jesus taught in the parable of the Prodigal Son.   The son makes some horrible choices, literally betrays his father, all his father stands for, & all his father taught him.  The father lets Him go, runs no interference, makes no contact that we are aware of, woos him back in no way.  Literally has nothing to do with him.    Eventually, the son’s life is all but completely destroyed & realizes its time to come home, then & only then does the father come off the porch.  Sometimes we become a safety net for a person, when God wants them to have no safety net  because He wants to use it so destroy the things that would eventually destroy them.  Forgiveness should remain in operation during this process, & is evident because the father doesn’t wait,b ut comes running off the porch to greet the son because he wasn’t drinking the “rat poison” & then was able to bestow grace by throwing a party.

I struggle with the last point the most.  I have a hard time thinking that the same hands God would use to shine light to a dark world by reaching toward it, would be the same hands that would bring correction by pulling them back.  I have to trust God in that moment that He is doing things that I  am incapable of doing by working in the heart of the ones that seem so far away.  Let’s try Our best to be Christ when Betrayal comes knockin’. Let us employ grace when possible, Let us continually employ forgiveness, & let us become unemployed  as safety nets only when absolutely necessary.

Parenthood: Thanks Mom!

This weekend we will celebrate Mother’s Day. An opportunity for each of us NOT to be even associated with the people described in Proverbs 30:11, “Some people curse their father and do not thank their mother.”

Mom we do want to say “Thanks!”, & we want you to be encouraged. At CT this weekend we will start a series called “Parenthood”, that will culminate with baby dedications on May 22.

We realize that many of you moms are what Proverbs 31 describes: “She gets up before dawn to prepare breakfast for her household and plan the day’s work …” (Pr 31:15) and “She carefully watches everything in her household and suffers nothing from laziness.” (Pr 31:27) Some of you may not be actively doing the things described there, but you have done those things for multiplied years, & sown seed into our lives forever. Because of that we want to say “thanks”.

We know there are things that drive you crazy. Like piles of clothes left in the floor, dirty dishes left laying around, “sudden” changes of schedule that others of us have known about for weeks. Yet with each day you love us seemingly more & more, in spite of the craziness that your care for others creates in your own life.

Our Father in heaven wants you to know that you are not alone. His eyes are ever on you, His ear is ever bent toward you, & His hands are always at work on your behalf. He wants you to also know that His Strength is holding you & that you can face all the tomorrows & future because of that hold He has on you, your house, your children, all of your life. He will not relax, or let go of that hold. Let Him have the frustration, worry & weariness & He will “give your rest, rest for your souls.” He will allow you to be clothed rightly: “She is clothed with strength and dignity, and she laughs without fear of the future.” (Pr 31:25)

All of you “children” do something significant for your Mom to say thanks. Then invite her & any other mom you know to join us at CT this weekend.
Oh yeah! One last thing! I almost forgot! If you get her to show up this weekend she’ll get to hear from one of her peers, my wife, some things God has laid on heart for the express purpose of encouraging her!  Don’t let her miss it!

Born Again – Nailing it!

This morning we talked about Crucified: How to Live Through a Crucifixion. It is the time of year where we spend more time considering the salvation that Jesus offers & the power to Live that the His resurrection offers. Galatians 2:20 states: “My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” Jesus’ invitation to life runs directly through the doorway of death. We want the resurrection power with out the crucifixion hour. It is impossible to find life in Christ without dying. Remember Jesus words? “He who loses his life will find it.” Paul goes on to say In Galatians 5:24-25The thing that marks our lives is our trust in Jesus & the fact that we have allowed His power to crucify our Passions ( sufferings & misfortune) & our Desires (lust, cravings, etc.). These are the things that keep us from living the life He has ordained us to walk in, the things that keep us from walking in the relationship he wants to have with us. Our passions, the things where our lives are touched by suffering, motivate us to trust in our own ability to keep us safe from ever being hurt again, Our desires, the things that bring us satisfaction & fulfillment the things that our lives are built around attaining & enjoying all come into competition with Jesus & they have to die!

On the way home I heard this song & thought I would share it with you.  & is kinda loud but I hope you won’t allow that to take away from the lyrics & message content. Being born again, means that your old self has died. Those things that once motivated & satisfied you are nailed to the cross, &in their place a new life has been resurrected! Keep those things nailed to the cross. As you watch & listen, see you & Jesus nailing them to the cross! Grab the word! Live in the Spirit! Be real with the Body of Christ around you (remember James 5:16) & there you will find the power to live the life God wants for you! Click this link to check it out:   BORN AGAIN

Rallying Around Your Own

A few years ago, over the course of several years we had the opportunity to slaughter beef, with several other families.  (Yes we eat meat, & greatly enjoy it! I’ve even been known to go hunting before. SHHHH! Don’t tell anyone! )  It was a great experience to watch families come together for the mutual benefit of all.  Usually you could watch as each of the cows would be “dropped” with one shot.  On one particular Saturday that did not happen.   This would be a teaching moment between myself & the Holy Spirit.  It was amazing to watch as the herd, recognized the damage to one of their own, the on going danger, & then rally around the wounded member, even purposely standing between the hurting member & the “shooter”.

Now again, this week, I have had to watch Satan take a pot shot at one of our families, taking the life of a 26 year old girl, who had grown up in our church.  The amazing thing about it was to watch the church rally around its own.  The body of Christ truly was the body of Christ mourning with those who mourn & weeping with those who weep.  Each joint was supplying what was necessary to help the wounded family get through the most tragic of circumstances.  Whether is was something as simple as a hug, phone call or prayer.  Some supplied food, spent time just being there, helping construct a power point slide show for the funeral, parking cars, ushering & making sure people knew where restrooms were, serving food, running sound, & the list goes on & on.  It was truly amazing to observe!

What were the results?  A family in need was well taken care of.  I heard a sister say, “I honestly don’t know what I would do in this without Jesus & church family around me.  I don’t know how people survive things like this without a church family around them.”  Guess what else happened.  Five people responded to Christ when an offer of salvation was offered to a packed house at the funeral service.  It reminded me of Jesus telling  His disciples that people would recognize we are his disciples because we love one another.  People recognized the brevity of life, the reality of eternity, & the necessity of salvation because of the Body rallying around its own during a tragic circumstance.  Praise God!

CT, I am so glad I get to be a part of what God is doing with us!  There is not another group of believers like you in the whole world!  Those of you who are not a part of Church Triumphant, but responded as the Body of Christ thank you for rallying around the wounded with us!  We are truly grateful.  Continue to pray for the Holman/Weatherhead family in their grief & for those who made commitments to Christ as they discover what He has for them.

Secret Church- Are you a Receiver or a Reproducer?

“We are, by nature receivers.  Even if we have a desire to learn God’s Word, we still listen from a default self-centered mind-set that is always asking What can I get out of this?  But as we have seen this is unbiblical Christianity… What if we began to think, How can I listen to His Word so that I am equipped to teach this Word to others?

This changes everything.  All of a sudden the pen & the paper come out.  Note taking is not the measure of how committed we are to making  disciples, but if we are hearing God’s Word taught in order to teach others, then we want to get it down as best we can.  When we realize we have the responsibility to teach the Word, it changes everything about how we hear the Word.

It also changes who hears the Word.  Now the Word that is being preached in a worship gathering or taught in a small-group setting is subsequently being translated into contexts and spheres of influence represented all across a church.  God’s Word is no longer just being heard in a building; it is being multiplied throughout a community.  It is multiplying because the people of God are no longer listening as if his Word is intended to stop with them.  They are now living as if God’s Word is intended to spread through them.” (Excerpt from “Radical” by David Platt, pp.102-103, Multnomah Books)

This is where the Word of God changes the world.  We are preparing to participate in “Secret Church” with David Platt and his congregation on Good Friday Evening, from 7pm-1am, via simulcast.  Our hope is to lock into God’s Word & the greater body of Jesus Christ, as well as the persecuted church. This is not for us to merely gain knowledge.  It is for us to be transformed by The Word.  Not for us to merely come to some understanding but for us to take what we know & use it to help others understand.  It is time for our Christianity to stop revolving around what we want, what we like, what is comfortable, & for our lives to revolve around what He wants, what others need, & to transform those around us. That is what should motivate us.  That is when we grow up in our faith.  Listen to these words from Hebrews 5:12-14 :

You have been believers so long now that you ought to be teaching others. Instead, you need someone to teach you again the basic things about God’s word.^* You are like babies who need milk and cannot eat solid food. ¹³ For someone who lives on milk is still an infant and doesn’t know how to do what is right. ¹⁴ Solid food is for those who are mature, who through training have the skill to recognize the difference between right and wrong.“ (New Living Translation)

It is in the place of action & on the job trainging that we grow up.  Just like Romans 12:1-2.  We present our bodies to God to be used by Him, allowing what we continue to discover about His word to form us into what he wants, so that we can more clearly understand what His will is, & His will is that none should perish but that all should come to repentance,  going & make dsiciples of all people.  That means all of us!

Please join us for Secret Church, tickets are $5.  You can get them at the table in the foyer this Sunday before & after services.  Mark April 22 on yourcalendar & do not allow anything to hinder you from being there!  Again, for more info check out www. secretchurch.org or www churcht.org

Do yourself another favor & get your hands on a copy of “Radical” by David Platt.  You will be glad you did!

 

Secret Church- SHHHHH! Tell Everyone!

Many of you may have seen the things in our church bulletin & newsletter concerning an event called “Secret Church” . Hopefully it has struck a cord of curiosity in your mind, & prayerfully has struck a cord of hunger in your heart. So what is Secret Church?

You may have heard some of us talking about a book entitled “Radical” by a pastor from Birmingham, named David Platt. Secret Church was birthed in the heart of David Platt after a mission trip to China ministering to & with China’s underground church movement. After observing & participating in the hunger Chinese Christians had for prayer & the study of God’s Word he wondered would American Christians exhibit & grow in that same kind of hunger if given the opportunity. To take a quote from the book:

“No sound system.

No band.

No guitar.

No entertainment.

No cushioned chairs.

No heated or air-conditioned building.

Nothing but the people of God & the Word of God.

God’s Word is enough for millions of believers who gather in house churches just like this one. His word is enough for millions of other believers who huddle in African jungles, South American rain forests, and Middle Eastern cities.  But is it enough for us?”…

“At Brook Hills (the church he pastors) we decided to answer this question. We actually stripped away the entertainment value and invited people to come together simply to study God’s Word for hours at a time. We called it Secret Church…We would interrupt the six-hour bible study periodically to pray for our brothers and sisters around the world who are forced to gather secretly. We would also pray for ourselves, that we would learn to love the Word as they do…We weren’t sure how many would show up at that first meeting, but by night’s end about a thousand people were gathered.” (“Radical” by David Platt, pp.26-27, Multnomah Books, ©2010)

We have a great opportunity to join with David Platt & his faith family at Brook Hills Church, & other believers around the nation and the world, because they are making the Good Friday Secret Church available live via internet simulcast. We will be joining literally thousands perhaps millions of people to dig into God’s Word & pray for other believers who are persecuted around the world.

I’m sure you have to be asking what will we be studying for six hours? (FYI, David says they have never finished on time.) To answer that question let me quote the FAQ sheet that was sent to us for the Secret Church Simulcast: “ Crucifixion, Salvation, and the Glory of God – From cover to cover in Scripture, God’s grand design is to display His glory in the salvation of sinners. The climax of this redemptive plan is the cross of Christ, where God pours out His wrath due sin upon His Son so that we might receive His mercy. But how is Christ’s work on the cross applied to our lives? In the words of the Philippian jailer, ‘What must we do to be saved?’ During this Secret Church, we will explore how the Bible answers this question as we consider God’s love, Christ’s atonement, and the Christian’s conversion, regeneration, justification, sanctification, and eventual glorification. In the end, we will find ourselves boasting only in the cross of Christ, through which we have received the grace of God and by which we now live for the glory of God.”

I guess my question for you is how will CT answer the question David Platt asked in his book, is God’s Word enough for us?  Would we give an entire evening up for the sole purpose of study & prayer.  We proved we could go without food, some conveniences, & creature comforts for three weeks in January during the Awakening.  Can we take it to the next level & really dig deep into God’s Word & truly make Him, The Word, our focus?  Here is our chance to find out if He is enough for us.

_Oh, by the way if you haven’t read “Radical”, YOU need to.

Secret Church will be simulcast at Church Triumphant on Good Friday, April 22 from 7pm to 1am.  Cost is $5 (for a study guide).  You may buy a ticket in our church café before & after services or at Praises Family Books & Gifts in Chillicothe.  For more info check these links out:

www.secretchurch.org

www.churcht.org

Come dig deeper with us!!!  Hope to see you on Good Friday!





Transformation~A radical change

Aaron’s message on February 13th really made me stop and think. Do I just want a subtitution or do I want a transformation? When I’m going through an affliction my flesh always wants the easy fix, but my spirit wants to be transformed. I would like for God to just take care of the situation, of course, with the out come of my liking, but I know this won’t produce a transformation. I’m thankful that God’s grace is available to me when I choose to allow Him to transform me!

trans·for·ma·tion ~ change in form, appearance, nature, or character. ~ a change or alteration, esp a radical one

I pray that when we find ourselves in a situation that is causing affliction we cry out to God, not with the purpose of a “quick fix”, but for Him to tranform our nature and charatcer to be more like His. A change that is radical! A radical change hurts and it’s hard, but the end result is worth every bit of change God does in us.

Isaiah 62:2-3
And the nations will see your righteousness,
And all kings your glory;
And you will be called by a new name,
Which the mouth of the Lord will designate.
You will also be a crown of beauty in the hand of the Lord,
And a royal diadem in the hand of your God.

WOW!!! That’s what I want on the other side of affliction. A new name and to be a  jewel in the hand of MY God.

Rachel