Obscure Objectives

Over the past several weeks, I have found myself concentrating on clear objective rather than vague ideas and premises. It is so easy for us as Christian men and women to take an idea and try to accomplish something without taking the extra time to break it down into objectives that are clear. This rings true in church many times. We want to meet the needs of people and take the shotgun approach to meeting needs. Many times the shotgun approach yields to bandaid programs for surgical wound needs.

I agree with the ready fire aim mentality, however God has called us to use the sense that he gives each one of us. We should be constantly doing for others and in turn fulfilling the great commission, but without a balance in our prayer life and spiritual life we are for all intents and purposes trying to earn something we cannot buy. The product is God's favor and acceptance.

We cannot buy salvation and acceptance from God. Simon the Sorcerer tried and was rebuked. He wanted the power that comes from the Holy Spirit in each believer. He recognized it as true greater power, but did not attain it due to the heart. Isn't it interesting that everything that we do for God is measured not by the accomplishments we achieve but rather the intent of our heart.

To truly experience God bigger than you could ever imagine, check your heart, go to God in prayer, and give him a whole effort. You will be surprised at the outcome.

Unrest

I have been watching the happenings in the middle east over the past month, and today one of the Fox News journalist made a remark that stuck in my head. They were talking about the political unrest in Libya and how this was going to effect the price of oil. Then, one of the US analysts said the situation in Libya is different than Egypt because there is no strong military in Libya and there is no one waiting in the wings to take the reigns of power for the country. There will be civil unrest unless someone takes control and provides stability.

This statement brought me back to a Sunday School class I taught about a month and a half ago. We talked about the stage setting for the antichrist to rise to power. There will be political unrest and violence happening, earthquakes, wars, rumors of wars, and the like. Can anyone see a parallel here? I am not saying the antichrist is about to arise but I am saying however that the stage is shaping up for him to make an entrance.

Should this freak you out as a believer? Absolutely not! It should motivate you to action. Jesus Christ's return is closer now than it has ever been. People are seeking a power that is bigger than themselves. They don't know what to call it. They are hungry for truth and the taste for the lies of the world is not satisfying them any longer. It is time for us as a church to wake up and understand that the divine power in each of us given by God to fulfill his purposes is screaming at us to wake up, wipe the sleep from our eyes, and get busy. This is the last push.

A revival bigger than we could ever imagine is coming. Are you ready to stand up and move and use what God has given you?

God's Timing

What do these things have in common? A man losing his job, a sick child, another man's dream of a place to help people, a college degree that doesn't seem to make sense, and a desire to serve God no matter what. The answer is quite simple. It is God's timing that brings it all together and works it for the good.

If you consider these instances individually then you cannot see the common thread. Please understand my point here. I am not saying God plans for a child to be sick or plans for a person to lose their job, what I am saying is that scripture is right when it says "and we know in all things God works for the good of those who diligently seek him." We are not promised roses and chocolates all the time in our Christian lives. We are promised in fact the opposite. Trials, tribulation and persecution are the items listed for the believer. So it is with that premise that I write this.

Last night, I watched as community members, local church youth groups, and skeptics piled into The Underground. The Underground is a youth center located in Spencer Iowa at the Spencer Dream Center. It was opening night. There were over 120 individuals who signed the check-in book. There were lots of laughs and games played. More importantly there were lives that were forever changed. Of the 121 individuals who signed in 98 of them made some commitment for Christ. Twenty four of the students accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and savior of their lives. The other seventy four students proclaimed that want to allow God to use them for His purpose in their lives.

So what do the items listed earlier have in common? That man is me. In January of 2009 my son Joel was born at 28 weeks and 2 days. You can read my blog about that. At that time I had to fulfill my obligations as a youth pastor as well as still be a father to my two older children, as well as, be a husband to my wife who was with our newborn 2 and 1/2 hours away, and take care of the house work and meals. I would like to take this time to thank the Kraft company for you never fail child favorite. I had gotten my teaching degree in music and education, but was not even coming close to using what i had learned.

The other man was from the west coast and a successful pastor. Answering the leading of God, he began to look for a position at another church. He interviewed in the middle of the mid-west. As he drove by the old hotel he had a God idea. The kicker here is that through a short intricate series of events things suddenly snapped into place. It lead me to interview a unity of vision. Last night that vision came to pass and the results earlier mentioned were the result.

God is truly bigger than we can imagine

The Full Gospel Life

"Are we living the full gospel life or not" I wish I could take credit for this question, but I cannot. My wife spouted out this little nugget while we were talking about church culture and Christian culture. She said I could use it so I am going to . This question really made me think. When we read in the Bible we see healing and miracles taking place. We don't see a preacher really preaching a sermon and a worship team laying down some sweet lyrics before these happen either. The miracles and healing happened as a response to something much greater than a sermon or a song. The power of the full gospel was experienced when faith met with action and created a response.

The response of sickness in the response to faith and action was that sickness could not continue on and gave way to the power of the creator restoring creation. The response to depression and demonic possession was that demons could not stay where true faith and power were under operation. Depression gave way to joy and hope and a desire to help others rather than concentrate on oneself.

Many people have been under the impression that the full gospel life is just about freedom in worship or the freedom to speak in a prayer language that only God can understand, but that impression leaves the full gospel life extremely one dimensional. Yes we have the freedom to worship. Yes we have the communication with God, but what are we doing with it? Do we have faith in action or just actions spurred by our own ability to get ourselves hyped up?

Unless we actually live the full gospel life and incorporate all the different areas and benefits into one living breathing practicing faith that leads us to the realization that the world is on a path to destruction and it is up to us to do something about it, then we are just exploiting the full gospel life for the areas we think are important enough to use. What is the full gospel life? Find out and apply the scriptures to your life. Let your prayers be seasoned with power that comes from believing that when we pray we are actually praying on earth as it is in heaven. When we talk to people, allow the Holy Spirit to speak through you with passion and zeal. When we walk in the world, let the world see transformed individuals empowered by God Almighty.

Sadly, many choose not to live the full gospel life, not because of doctrine or theologies but a much more intimate thing conviction. If a person truly gives over to the full gospel life, the sin of flesh will sting like a wasp. Disobedience will cut like a knife to the soul. The spiritual senses of a person who is trying to live the full gospel life are heightened to recognize the attacks that come against them. The full gospel live will drive you to your knees, however on your knees you find freedom, love, grace and mercy, and most of all hope.

God wants to be bigger than your imagination. He desires for us to know him fully and live the full gospel life. Will you do it? It is totally worth it.

A measure

This morning as I was jogging, I heard something that almost stopped me in my tracks. I was sort of happy about it because I was out of breath, but I cannot stop thinking about it. "If you are still measuring your offerings then you have yet to understand His true worth.) Think about that for just a minute or two. How often do we measure our offering. We can become so concerned with the 10% that we begin to place that value on God. Isn't God worth more than 10%? I know what some of you are thinking. The Bible only says give a tenth to the storehouse. You are right, but that is what is required. In Psalms we read that, a sacrifice that costs us nothing is not really a sacrifice at all. Enough said about the money thing. Here is where my mind really started to ponder this statement. What about the other things of God?

In worship, do we measure what we give? Many of us allow our body and physical state to dictate what we will give without even pressing ourselves for just a little more. We keep our hands at the same level as other people so we do not appear to be to fanatical. We pray privately at our seat when we feel compelled to come forward and pray openly. We glue ourself to the seat when our spirit wants to stand. We get in our mind that if the worship team sings one more fast song then we will clap and enter in. We can get so caught up in measuring that we forget we serve a God who is without measure.

When we comprehend His true worth in our life, we loose the restraints of the world and we want to give. The chorus that says Lord I give you my heart, I give you my soul comes to mind. The writers of the worship songs we sing in our churches today are trying to invoke that sense of awesomeness and greatness. No matter how prolific the pen connected to the thoughts might be, the realization of God's awesomeness and majesty is still up to us. Are you ready for something more than what you have already? If so, God is ready to make is presence in your life bigger than you can imagine.

Bigger and Better

There is a danger that many people fall prey to on a daily basis and they don't even realize it. It stifles the creativity of creative individuals and snuffs out the confidence of the once confident individuals. It is the giving in of our will to past failure or ridicule. Many of us have at one time or another tried and failed at something or tried something and had someone else ridicule our idea or effort. In our minds, we think there is no way I am going to do this again, and in our heart, we build walls of protection to guard from the sting of failure or ridicule. Then, when the opportunity arises to shine, we falter in our effort out of fear. If we don't try it is certain that we will never succeed, but I think John Maxwell put it pretty clear when he stated that success is measured by the number of past failures you stand on.

If you take off the cap of past fear and understand the power of positive effort, you can find yourself in more success than you know what to do with. Satan would love to rob us of our ability to dream and dream big. We can experience life bigger than our imagination if we just hold tight to the success of the King of Kings and remember that the same King of the universe of heaven and earth is the same King that says we are full heirs of the kingdom of God. We are promised favor, but to receive favor we have to move past the fear that keeps us from doing anything. We must try to do something before we can actually do something.

Live life BIG!

Trumping Experiences

This week as I was in my prayer and quiet time with God, I had what I can only describe as a vision from God. It was of the youth group here at the church. The image I saw was very vivid. It was of the students praying for each other for miracles and healing. As they prayed, people were being healed and miracles were happening. The thing that struck me was they did not even realize it was happening. At first, I thought it was odd, but then I realized that is where God wanted to take us as a group. He wants miracles and healing to be commonplace. Then, the vision began to fade and a feeling of sorrow and sadness came over me. I asked God why the sadness and sorrow, and the answer made me very aware of the state of youth ministry here and abroad.

Past experiences have defused the miracles and healing. I began to think about this thought. All I can say is it is true. Remember the fire and the zeal that you once had when you first were saved and you felt invincible. You knew God was there and you knew that God could do anything. What happened? Where is the continued zeal and fire in your life presently? Where did it go? Honestly, life happened. The number one deception of the enemy when it comes to crushing zeal is not the world in most cases it is Christians who are trying to "help" you.

Why can't God work miracles daily in peoples lives? Just because he didn't work miracles in that well intentioned Christian's life who is just trying to be "realistic" doesn't mean that he does not want to move. The fact is unless we expect miracles and healing to be happening and have faith for it then they will be rare at best. Expect miracles. Expect healing. I am not saying that doctors don't have their place and calling. They do and I am thankful for them. The point I am trying to get to is We should be experiencing more miracles and healing in our churches and homes. The shadow of past experiences hinders miracles and healing. They plague our faith with thoughts of failure or inadequacy.

I pray that you remember this saying. If you remember it, I promise it will change your prayer time. It will embolden you to expect the miraculous and desire to see the supernatural daily. Ready for it? Here it is. GOD'S WORD TRUMPS OUR PAST EXPERIENCES. It does not matter what you have done or what has been said to you or about you. God's word and it's promises are what counts. John 14:12-14 says ask and I will do it. Matthew 4:23 says Jesus went throughout healing every sickness and disease and driving out evil spirits. John also says we will do even greater things than Jesus did.

It is time we as Christians have the joy that goes with serving the God of the universe. Malachi 4:2 says that those who revere the Lord will experience God he will rise up with healing in his wings and we will leap for joy like a calf released from a stall. God wants us to have joy and completeness in him. If you get this I know God will become bigger than your imagination.