Paul’s Secret Power by Keith Giles
*(taken from the book-in-progress- "The Power Of Weakness")
If I’ve learned anything in my spiritual journey, it’s that God often allows us to go through challenges, difficulty, sorrow and pain so that we can learn the deeper lessons of faith and life in the Kingdom.
I know that many Christians struggle with this concept of God as one who is good, and yet still allows suffering for his children.
I mean, aren’t we the “King’s Kids”? Don’t we have the promise of blessing and plenty as devoted followers of Jesus? Didn’t God promise that we are healed by the stripes of Jesus? Isn’t it always God’s will that we be healthy and happy?
The short answer is, “No, He doesn’t”.
Perhaps one day I will write a book about how God, who is good, allows us, His children, to endure suffering in this life, as part of His mercy to us. For now, let me suggest that we stop and consider the original “King’s Kid” and how God allowed Him to suffer when He walked upon this Earth. The crucifixion notwithstanding, Jesus was born into a poor family (see Luke 2:24 and then Leviticus 12:8), endured the death of Joseph, his earthly father, walked everywhere, and was homeless (Matthew 8:20). What more should we expect as adoptive sons and daughters of the King?
As A.W. Tozer declares, “Our great honor lies in being just what Jesus was and is. To be accepted by those who accept Him, rejected by all who reject Him, loved by those who love Him and hated by everyone who hates Him. What greater glory could come to any man?” (“Born After Midnight” pp. 58-59, 1959, Christian Publications, Inc., Camp Hill PA.)
If this isn’t enough, Jesus himself promised us that, “In this life, you will have trouble” (John 16:33) and Paul the Apostle, who yearns to know the “fellowship of sharing in his sufferings” (Philipians 3:10), spent most of his ministry cold and starving in prison, as did many other disciples. Even those considered “Super Apostles” gladly shared in the sufferings of Jesus here in this life.
Hebrews has an astounding verse which declares that many of our heroes in the faith went to their graves having never received what was promised to them by God. “All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance.” (Hebrews 11:13)
My own spiritual journey has proven this to be true; that God allows suffering in order to teach us how to walk by faith and to trust in Him alone. God has our eternal happiness in mind, not our temporal comfort.
Paul the Apostle knew this to be true.
In 2 Corinthians, chapter 12, Paul begins to tell us how God allowed him to suffer in order to teach him an awesome truth.
Paul was living with a “thorn in the flesh” and desperately wanted God to remove it.
We don’t know exactly what this “thorn” was, but most scholars believe that it had something to do with his eyes, perhaps cataracts or partial blindness. There are numerous clues throughout the letters of Paul that suggest that his eyes were failing him. In Galatians 4:14-15 he refers to this illness by saying, “my illness was a trial to you” and “you would have torn out your own eyes and given them to me”, further suggesting that his thorn was connected to an eye problem. He remarks that he has written in “large letters” as he wrote with his “own hand” the closing portion of Galatians chapter 6. This, say scholars, was indicative of his failing eyesight. It also makes sense that Paul’s eyes were weak due to the nature of his conversion, where he was knocked from his horse by a blinding light and later had to be healed in order to regain his sight, as recorded in Acts 9.
Whatever Paul’s thorn, we know from the second letter to the Corinthians that it was something he dearly wanted to be healed of.
So, Paul the Apostle, one of the giants of the Christian faith, who lead the first missionary expeditions to the nations of the Gentiles, who wrote most of the entire New Testament, who healed the sick and performed miraculous signs and wonders in the name of Jesus, gets on his knees and pleads for God to heal him.
God, who is good, says “No”.
Not once, not twice, but three times. God’s answer was “No”.
And then God adds this sentence in reply to Paul’s plea for healing, “My Grace is sufficient for you, and my power is made perfect in weakness.”
We have missed this incredible truth, for the most part. Especially when we listen to and embrace doctrine that says that God always wants us to be healthy and happy and wealthy and prosperous by this world’s standards.
When we endure hardship, we attribute this to Satan. We must be under some sort of spiritual attack. We come to God but only to beg him to take away the pain and remove the thorn from our side because we cannot imagine that God, who is good, might have a lesson of trust that He wants to walk us through.
The first chapter of James is one of my favorite sections of scripture. In this passage, James, the half-brother of Jesus himself, teaches us to “consider it pure joy, my brothers, when you endure hardships of many kinds…for we know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”
I used to think that James was saying we should just smile through the pain. Grin and bear it, if you will. But, over time, I have come to really understand how we, as followers of Jesus, can seriously consider it pure joy when we endure hardships of many kinds.
What James is speaking of is a simple trust that all things, including our hardships, come from God, who is good, for the purpose of making us who we want to be in our heart of hearts.
When we endure hardships, our faith is tested. This is when we discover if what we say we believe is really what we believe or not. If we never have an opportunity to put our faith to the test, we’ll never know if we can stand on it or not.
When I was out of work for over a year and a half, with a wife and two small boys to car for, I learned more than I ever thought I could about my own, real faith.
I knew through that experience that God was really near to me. That He really heard my prayers. That He would really give me daily bread if I would simply sit back and trust in Him alone.
Faith, says James, develops something called perseverance. Perseverance is the kind of faith, the quality of faith, that will not let go of God, no matter what.
It’s the quality of faith we see in the life of Job, who endures the most traumatic suffering allowed by God, who is good, and finds the words to say, “Though He slay me, yet will I praise Him.” (Job 13:15)
That’s perseverance, and it is this quality of faith that we can only develop as we endure hardships of many kinds. As Job did. As Paul did. As you and I do.
I can’t speak for any of you, but as for me, I dearly want that kind of faith. I want the sort of faith in God which, tried in the fire, emerges as pure, refined gold.
James tells us that we can’t have that kind of faith unless we endure trials and hardships “of many kinds,” and so, we can honestly and sincerely count it pure joy when those opportunities come to test our faith and burn away the doubt and the fears of our flesh, to reveal the sort of faith that trusts in God no matter what.
James goes on to say that this process of enduring hardship, with joy, is the path to maturity where we will truly “not lack anything”.
So, in a way, it is true that God’s ultimate plan is to lead us through our life and eventually to bring us to the place where we “want for nothing”, however His path and His plan doesn’t always involve earthly wealth and a life of leisure. Instead, God’s plan is to perform the greatest miracle of all; to transform someone like you, someone like me, into the image of His own son, Jesus.
Until we let go of the worldly twist on the Gospel, which says that God’s plan is to give us a rose garden life flowing with ease and comfort, we will never have our own eyes healed to see what Paul saw that day when his prayer for healing went unanswered.
Until we are able to see that we can honestly count it pure joy to endure suffering and refine our faith in Him we’ll never understand the mystery that God’s power is made perfect in our weakness.
Luckily for us, Paul gets it. He is able to see something with spiritual eyes that his own failing, physical eyes, could never hope to view, the power of Christ revealed in our flesh.
“I will boast all the more in my weakness for it is the power of Christ working in me!”
*kg
(Read: 1 Corinthians 1:27, 1 Corinthians 1:18-31 and 2 Corinthians 12:9)
**
To reply to me, DO NOT reply to this email. I will not get it. Instead, send your comments to me directly at:
elysiansky (at) hotmail (dot) com.
***
THE GOSPEL: FOR HERE OR TO GO? - The six-part series is running over at both Neil Cole's CMA Resources (www.cmaresources.org) and also at Ginkworld.net. If you've missed this series, I'd encourage you to check them out online. You can read up to part 4 over at Ginkworld.net and CMA has up to part 3 so far. Enjoy!
***
CHURCH IN THE PARK- Several of us will be meeting next Sunday morning to begin praying for wisdom and direction as we look towards starting a new Sunday morning church that will meet and worship and share food and read the Gospels together in a local park. More as things develop.
**
[END TRANSMISSION]
Saturday, September 30, 2006
Monday, September 25, 2006
Emerging Missionaries
[subversive underground] EMERGING MISSIONARIES by Keith Giles
Wendy and I have been hosting "The Mission" house church for about nine months now in our home. Every Thursday night at 6pm friends start showing up with food enough to share with everyone. We hold hands in a circle in our kitchen and invite the Holy Spirit to join us in our meal together, leading us throughout the evening as our guest of honor.
Fellowship time is enjoyed throughout the shared meal. During the summer months we've enjoyed eating out on the covered patio on the back porch. This is really where we get to fellowship with one another, and experience "Koinonia" together; a sense of being in communion with God and with one another at the same time.
After this we move into the den carrying hot mugs of coffee and our Bibles. Usually we enjoy communion together before a time of worship, but sometimes we mix it up and start with worship and end with communion. Either way, after this time we move into the "share time" where each person shares with the group something encouraging that God has spoken to them or revealed to them in their own walk throughout the week. It can be a scripture verse, an insight into God's Word or a life lesson learned by walking with Jesus through challenging times. Sometimes we stop and pray for a person's need on the spot, or encourage them where we see God wanting to lift them up. Sometimes we read entire chapters of the Bible together and share what we hear God saying to us through the Word. At any rate, we all share together equally. Children and teenagers and adults all share and listen to one another. Usually the more piercing insights come from those among us who are still in elementary school.
What I have seen happening lately is what is most encouraging to me. Lately I've seen God begin to call some of us out of our comfort zones to become missionaries in our culture. This is especially encouraging to me because our entire vision was to have a house church that wasn't exclusively inward-focused but that also realized the calling each follower of Jesus has to be a missionary...hence the name of our house church- "The Mission".
One woman in our group has felt called to lead a Girl's Club for a few of the girls who live at the motel where we minister each month. Her heart is to provide a loving example of God's love to these girls, sharing her life with them, encouraging them and showing them who Jesus is.
Another woman in our group, an artist, is sensing God's call to use her art outside the walls of the Church. She's praying and listening for God's voice, as she creates art in her sun room, for direction and guidance from Him so that her art reflects His glory outside of the church building and out on the streets where real life is lived.
Still another woman is praying about becoming a mentor to a young girl by signing up to become a Big Sister to a troubled teen. We've seen so much growth in her life over the years, as her friend, and now, on her own, she is realizing that she has something to share with others to help them overcome the challenges of life.
My wife and I have felt a strong calling to be missionaries to the families on our street. We did a five week "Kids Club" in our home this summer where the neighborhood kids came and learned about Jesus while having fun playing games, watching magic tricks and eating pizza.
Just recently, to my amazement, a new vision was spoken in our group. One of our women is feeling called to start a Church In The Park where we would take what we do on Thursday evenings and meet in a local park to share food, worship and read the Gospels in a public place, inviting anyone who wanted to join us in the park to share the food, and the fellowship with us.
I can't tell you how excited I am about this. This is better than anything I could have dreamed up on my own. Now several in our group, and even some outside The Mission, are feeling called to start meeting on Sunday mornings in a local park, sharing food, sharing Jesus, with anyone God brings our way. We will invite and welcome the homeless, the lonely, to sit and share food with us. We will worship out loud in the park and invite families, children, the elderly, the sick, or whomever is around us, to listen to the words of Jesus as we read the Gospels together on the grass.
I look at this and I wonder, why couldn't more people do something just like this in their own city, in their own neighborhood? Aren't we all called to share what God has given us, our time, talent and treasure, with others?
Several people have shared with me their own testimony of how God has called them to worship in the park, or to invite their neighbors over for a celebration time, or to step out of their comfort zones to love others, and this is very exciting stuff.
When everyday, ordinary people realize that they are the Church, the ambassadors of Christ, and walk in obedience to the Holy Spirit, loving others, sharing their time and showing true compassion, without an agenda, the full power of discipleship comes into play. We become the people He has called us to be, we emerge as the Body of Christ, we realize our unique gifting, we discover our need for God's Grace every single day, and we experience the necessary encouragement of our own brothers and sisters in Christ for the daily service we give to others on Christ's behalf.
I pray that more and more we would all listen for the voice of God calling us outward, urging us to lift up our heads to see the fields that are white unto harvest.
"...whoever wants to be first must be your slave--just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many"- JESUS (Matt 20:27-28)
-kg
**
*to reply to this email, do NOT hit "reply" because I WILL NOT get it. Instead, send your email to me directly at "elysiansky (at) hotmail (dot) com".
**
*Yes...I am STILL on the job trail. What gives?! God is showing Himself faithful to us, as always. He's provided for us financially, through various means (mostly generous, giving friends and family members), and He's given us peace as we wait for His next open door. Thank you for your continued prayers for our family during this time. I have a job interview today at 1:30pm and a few others down the road. I know God has something in mind for us, I just pray we can discover it soon.
Peas,
kg
http://www.keithgiles.com
[END TRANSMISSION]
Wendy and I have been hosting "The Mission" house church for about nine months now in our home. Every Thursday night at 6pm friends start showing up with food enough to share with everyone. We hold hands in a circle in our kitchen and invite the Holy Spirit to join us in our meal together, leading us throughout the evening as our guest of honor.
Fellowship time is enjoyed throughout the shared meal. During the summer months we've enjoyed eating out on the covered patio on the back porch. This is really where we get to fellowship with one another, and experience "Koinonia" together; a sense of being in communion with God and with one another at the same time.
After this we move into the den carrying hot mugs of coffee and our Bibles. Usually we enjoy communion together before a time of worship, but sometimes we mix it up and start with worship and end with communion. Either way, after this time we move into the "share time" where each person shares with the group something encouraging that God has spoken to them or revealed to them in their own walk throughout the week. It can be a scripture verse, an insight into God's Word or a life lesson learned by walking with Jesus through challenging times. Sometimes we stop and pray for a person's need on the spot, or encourage them where we see God wanting to lift them up. Sometimes we read entire chapters of the Bible together and share what we hear God saying to us through the Word. At any rate, we all share together equally. Children and teenagers and adults all share and listen to one another. Usually the more piercing insights come from those among us who are still in elementary school.
What I have seen happening lately is what is most encouraging to me. Lately I've seen God begin to call some of us out of our comfort zones to become missionaries in our culture. This is especially encouraging to me because our entire vision was to have a house church that wasn't exclusively inward-focused but that also realized the calling each follower of Jesus has to be a missionary...hence the name of our house church- "The Mission".
One woman in our group has felt called to lead a Girl's Club for a few of the girls who live at the motel where we minister each month. Her heart is to provide a loving example of God's love to these girls, sharing her life with them, encouraging them and showing them who Jesus is.
Another woman in our group, an artist, is sensing God's call to use her art outside the walls of the Church. She's praying and listening for God's voice, as she creates art in her sun room, for direction and guidance from Him so that her art reflects His glory outside of the church building and out on the streets where real life is lived.
Still another woman is praying about becoming a mentor to a young girl by signing up to become a Big Sister to a troubled teen. We've seen so much growth in her life over the years, as her friend, and now, on her own, she is realizing that she has something to share with others to help them overcome the challenges of life.
My wife and I have felt a strong calling to be missionaries to the families on our street. We did a five week "Kids Club" in our home this summer where the neighborhood kids came and learned about Jesus while having fun playing games, watching magic tricks and eating pizza.
Just recently, to my amazement, a new vision was spoken in our group. One of our women is feeling called to start a Church In The Park where we would take what we do on Thursday evenings and meet in a local park to share food, worship and read the Gospels in a public place, inviting anyone who wanted to join us in the park to share the food, and the fellowship with us.
I can't tell you how excited I am about this. This is better than anything I could have dreamed up on my own. Now several in our group, and even some outside The Mission, are feeling called to start meeting on Sunday mornings in a local park, sharing food, sharing Jesus, with anyone God brings our way. We will invite and welcome the homeless, the lonely, to sit and share food with us. We will worship out loud in the park and invite families, children, the elderly, the sick, or whomever is around us, to listen to the words of Jesus as we read the Gospels together on the grass.
I look at this and I wonder, why couldn't more people do something just like this in their own city, in their own neighborhood? Aren't we all called to share what God has given us, our time, talent and treasure, with others?
Several people have shared with me their own testimony of how God has called them to worship in the park, or to invite their neighbors over for a celebration time, or to step out of their comfort zones to love others, and this is very exciting stuff.
When everyday, ordinary people realize that they are the Church, the ambassadors of Christ, and walk in obedience to the Holy Spirit, loving others, sharing their time and showing true compassion, without an agenda, the full power of discipleship comes into play. We become the people He has called us to be, we emerge as the Body of Christ, we realize our unique gifting, we discover our need for God's Grace every single day, and we experience the necessary encouragement of our own brothers and sisters in Christ for the daily service we give to others on Christ's behalf.
I pray that more and more we would all listen for the voice of God calling us outward, urging us to lift up our heads to see the fields that are white unto harvest.
"...whoever wants to be first must be your slave--just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many"- JESUS (Matt 20:27-28)
-kg
**
*to reply to this email, do NOT hit "reply" because I WILL NOT get it. Instead, send your email to me directly at "elysiansky (at) hotmail (dot) com".
**
*Yes...I am STILL on the job trail. What gives?! God is showing Himself faithful to us, as always. He's provided for us financially, through various means (mostly generous, giving friends and family members), and He's given us peace as we wait for His next open door. Thank you for your continued prayers for our family during this time. I have a job interview today at 1:30pm and a few others down the road. I know God has something in mind for us, I just pray we can discover it soon.
Peas,
kg
http://www.keithgiles.com
[END TRANSMISSION]
Monday, September 18, 2006
EYEBALLS: RE-SEND
*Re-sending due to complications in previous newsletter.
thanks,
kg
A Church Full Of Eyeballs? By Keith Giles
"If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body." - 1 Corinthians 12:19
In the first letter of Paul to the Corinthians we learn that God has graciously given a generous helping of spiritual gifts to the Church for the purpose of building up and encouraging the Body.
The Church today, by and large, does not have a very well developed understanding of these gifts. Few churches accept that these gifts are even intended for you and I to operate in today, but even for those who do believe that these gifts are for us to use, there is an alarming lack of Biblical perspective on the practical application and employment of such a wide variety of spiritual manifestations.
Usually we only see a handful of the gifts being elevated in terms of importance, and sometimes even seen as necessary for Salvation and/or as evidence for being truly filled with the Spirit.
Let's take a fresh look at the Scripture and see what God's Word really wants to teach us about these gifts and how to use them.
First, God does indeed intend for the Church to be built up though the use of these gifts as He sovereignly distributes them among us, His Body. (1 Cor 12:18-19)
As one who was raised a good Southern Baptist, I have never desired any of these more outward manifestations such as prophecy or speaking in tongues. Whenever the subject were brought up I was happy to report that I had the spiritual gift to be a teacher, to be a pastor, and to encourage others. This, according to Paul and the rest of the New Testament, is a valid response. These are all identified as Spiritual Gifts and it is the Holy Spirit who is the source of such gifts to the Body.
However, early one morning, a few months ago, as I was praying alone in my living room I suddenly realized that I wasn't praying in English. "Oh," I thought to myself, "this must be what it's like to pray in tongues." Then I wondered what it would be like if I could understand these words. Just as quickly as I thought that, I began to understand what the words meant. The whole thing transpired very matter-of-factly. I didn't feel tingles. I wasn't having an emotional experience. I wasn't even asking God to fill me with the Spirit or to let me speak in tongues. I think I was praying for direction in my life or something mundane. Suddenly, out of the blue, I found myself with a gift of tongues that I never even asked for.
In fact, it was only months later that I wondered if it had been an isolated event or not. "I wonder if I can just turn it on and off myself," I thought, and then I started to try to pray in the same way again. Sure enough, the gift was still there, waiting to be used if and when I needed it.
I don't often tell that story. (I'm a former Southern Baptist, you know.) Even though I've spent several years among the Vineyard churches in Southern California, I have never once wanted to speak in tongues. If God hadn’t just handed this gift to me I would never have asked for it. Maybe God knew that and that’s why He just decided to give it to me. Like a gift, I guess.
The mistake many churches make in regards to the outward gifts is to focus only on these as evidence of being filled with the Spirit or, sometimes, Salvation itself. Both of which are misguided and un-Biblical.
There are 28 specific gifts of the Spirit listed in the Scriptures. These are broken down as follows: Speaking Gifts (13), Serving Gifts (9), Power Gifts (3), and People Gifts (5).
In 1 Corinthians, Chapter 12, Paul clarifies for us what our view of these Spiritual Gifts should look like. He explains how it is God who gives us these gifts, as He chooses, for the purpose of making the Body stronger. "But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as He wanted them to be." (verse 18)
Just below that, Paul makes the final point when he says, starting in verse 29, "Are all Apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? But eagerly desire the greater gifts. And now I will show you the most excellent way," he says, before going on in the next chapter to explain what the "most excellent way" really is. Hint: It's love.
Paul's admonition to us, when it comes to Spiritual Gifts, is first to recognize that not everyone is the same. "If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be?" (v. 17) We need to accept that not everyone will have the gift of healing. Not everyone will have the gift of tongues. Some might have the gift of Administration (1 Cor 12:28), or some may operate in the spiritual gifting of Craftsmanship (Exodus 31:3) or Hospitality (1 Peter 4:10). If so, we should not treat them any differently than we would someone who could heal the sick or prophesy. Every gift is necessary and important. Every person matters.
Would you want to be part of a church, for example, where the pastor only emphasized the spiritual gifts of martyrdom and celibacy, to the exclusion of the other 26 gifts? How would that make everyone else in the church feel who had one of the other gifts and not the gift of celibacy or martyrdom? When churches focus on only a handful of gifts, they make everyone without those gifts feel unimportant and disqualified from acceptable forms of service and ministry within the Body. This is why Paul encourages us to honor every member of the Body, and every gifting, as being of equal honor and importance. "If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be?" (v. 17).
Secondly, Paul reminds us our differences in gifting are by design. God intended it to be this way. We can't be frustrated as pastors or church-members if everyone doesn't speak in tongues or heal the sick. God never intended this. God intended that the 28 different gifts be distributed, as He directs, for the purpose of making the entire Body healthy and effective. We should be thankful that our churches are not made up of people who are just like us.
Thirdly, and probably most importantly, Paul reminds us that the greatest of all things is not being an Apostle or speaking in tongues or even prophesying, but instead the greatest of all gifts is the gift to love others. This is the only universal gift of the Spirit to every believer, the spiritual gift to love as Jesus loved. In fact, it's so central to the reality of following Jesus that it's not even an option for us. Jesus commands His disciples to love one another. He says that if we love one another it will be the evidence that we really are His disciples. It's part of our spiritual DNA as followers of Jesus. The one thing all of us should have in common is love for others.
"My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you." – JESUS (John 15:12)
Jesus instructed His disciples to love the Lord God with all their heart, soul, mind and strength, and to love others as they love themselves. (Matt 22:37-40) Paul reminds us of this so that we don't forget that our first goal is to love.
If there could be a return to a balanced view of the Spiritual Gifts in our churches today, I believe that would be good thing. We can use a refresher course on Paul's simple instruction on how gifts are various, and how God's intention is not for everyone to heal or speak in tongues or prophesy, but that everyone should be happy with whatever gift He gives them, not for their own pride, but for use in the service of others.
But, even more than that, I believe what is needed most in our churches today is a realization that, "If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries, and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that moves mountains, but have not love, I am nothing." – 1 Corinthians 13:2
Maybe we could edit the words of that old worship song to say, "More love, less posturing, more acceptance of others gifts in my life"? But if our hearts could change to be more loving towards each other in this area, maybe our songs could stay the same.
So, if you have the spiritual gift of administration, or service, or acts of mercy, or celibacy, you are an important and necessary part of our Body. You matter. We need you. Be encouraged that God made you for a purpose and that He has gifted you to be a blessing to others. Even if they don't accept you, or your gifting, you can love and serve them anyway because of the example of Jesus.
"And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love." - 1 Cor 13:13
- http://www.keithgiles.com
**
BIBLICAL LISTINGS OF THE 28 SPIRITUAL GIFTS OF THE SPIRT
*Ephesians 4:11
Apostles; Prophets; Evangelists; Pastors; Teachers.
*1 Cor 12:8-11
Word of Wisdom; Word of Knowledge; Faith; Healing; Miracles; Prophecy; Discerning Spirits; Tongues; Interpreting tongues.
*Romans 12:6-8
Prophecy; Service; Teaching; Exhortation; Giving; Leading; Acts of Mercy
*Miscellaneous
Administration (1 Cor 12:28); Hospitality (1 Pet 4:10); Celibacy (1 Cor 7:7); Martyrdom (1 Cor 13:3); Prophesying in Song (1 Chr 25:2 & 7); Prophesying with instruments (1 Chr 25: 1 & 6); Craftsmanship (Ex 31:3); Dream interpretation (Gen 41:12)
**
JOB SEARCH: I'm still on the hunt for a new full-time job. So, if you know of any great ministries or organizations looking for someone with a background in writing, sales, marketing, or teaching, please feel free to let me know. Otherwise, I appreciate your prayers for our family during this time of transition.
**
CHURCH IN THE PARK: Several of us at "The Mission" house church have been praying about starting a Sunday Morning Church in a local park. Our plan is to simply gather, share food, invite strangers to join us, study the Gospels and worship and pray for each other under a tree somewhere each Sunday morning. This has been a wonderful answer to my prayers and I'm excited about stepping out into the community to "be the church" in a public place. Please pray for us as we step out!
**
COMING SOON:
New articles are brewing in my little brain. Here's a glimpse of what's on the back burner...
*SUBVERSIVE ARTS: A plan to influence culture via creative subversion.
*THE COMMANDS OF JESUS: In the Great Commission, Jesus gave instructions for His disciples to teach others to obey all that He had commanded. Most of us don't know what those commands were. I think we need to know. At least, I do.
*HOUSE CHURCH 101: What is house church? How is it different from traditional church? A practical observation of basic house church practices.
**
To reply to this email, please don't reply to this message. I will not get it. Instead, email me direct at:
elysiansky(at)hotmail(dot)com
**
[END TRANSMISSION]
thanks,
kg
A Church Full Of Eyeballs? By Keith Giles
"If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body." - 1 Corinthians 12:19
In the first letter of Paul to the Corinthians we learn that God has graciously given a generous helping of spiritual gifts to the Church for the purpose of building up and encouraging the Body.
The Church today, by and large, does not have a very well developed understanding of these gifts. Few churches accept that these gifts are even intended for you and I to operate in today, but even for those who do believe that these gifts are for us to use, there is an alarming lack of Biblical perspective on the practical application and employment of such a wide variety of spiritual manifestations.
Usually we only see a handful of the gifts being elevated in terms of importance, and sometimes even seen as necessary for Salvation and/or as evidence for being truly filled with the Spirit.
Let's take a fresh look at the Scripture and see what God's Word really wants to teach us about these gifts and how to use them.
First, God does indeed intend for the Church to be built up though the use of these gifts as He sovereignly distributes them among us, His Body. (1 Cor 12:18-19)
As one who was raised a good Southern Baptist, I have never desired any of these more outward manifestations such as prophecy or speaking in tongues. Whenever the subject were brought up I was happy to report that I had the spiritual gift to be a teacher, to be a pastor, and to encourage others. This, according to Paul and the rest of the New Testament, is a valid response. These are all identified as Spiritual Gifts and it is the Holy Spirit who is the source of such gifts to the Body.
However, early one morning, a few months ago, as I was praying alone in my living room I suddenly realized that I wasn't praying in English. "Oh," I thought to myself, "this must be what it's like to pray in tongues." Then I wondered what it would be like if I could understand these words. Just as quickly as I thought that, I began to understand what the words meant. The whole thing transpired very matter-of-factly. I didn't feel tingles. I wasn't having an emotional experience. I wasn't even asking God to fill me with the Spirit or to let me speak in tongues. I think I was praying for direction in my life or something mundane. Suddenly, out of the blue, I found myself with a gift of tongues that I never even asked for.
In fact, it was only months later that I wondered if it had been an isolated event or not. "I wonder if I can just turn it on and off myself," I thought, and then I started to try to pray in the same way again. Sure enough, the gift was still there, waiting to be used if and when I needed it.
I don't often tell that story. (I'm a former Southern Baptist, you know.) Even though I've spent several years among the Vineyard churches in Southern California, I have never once wanted to speak in tongues. If God hadn’t just handed this gift to me I would never have asked for it. Maybe God knew that and that’s why He just decided to give it to me. Like a gift, I guess.
The mistake many churches make in regards to the outward gifts is to focus only on these as evidence of being filled with the Spirit or, sometimes, Salvation itself. Both of which are misguided and un-Biblical.
There are 28 specific gifts of the Spirit listed in the Scriptures. These are broken down as follows: Speaking Gifts (13), Serving Gifts (9), Power Gifts (3), and People Gifts (5).
In 1 Corinthians, Chapter 12, Paul clarifies for us what our view of these Spiritual Gifts should look like. He explains how it is God who gives us these gifts, as He chooses, for the purpose of making the Body stronger. "But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as He wanted them to be." (verse 18)
Just below that, Paul makes the final point when he says, starting in verse 29, "Are all Apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? But eagerly desire the greater gifts. And now I will show you the most excellent way," he says, before going on in the next chapter to explain what the "most excellent way" really is. Hint: It's love.
Paul's admonition to us, when it comes to Spiritual Gifts, is first to recognize that not everyone is the same. "If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be?" (v. 17) We need to accept that not everyone will have the gift of healing. Not everyone will have the gift of tongues. Some might have the gift of Administration (1 Cor 12:28), or some may operate in the spiritual gifting of Craftsmanship (Exodus 31:3) or Hospitality (1 Peter 4:10). If so, we should not treat them any differently than we would someone who could heal the sick or prophesy. Every gift is necessary and important. Every person matters.
Would you want to be part of a church, for example, where the pastor only emphasized the spiritual gifts of martyrdom and celibacy, to the exclusion of the other 26 gifts? How would that make everyone else in the church feel who had one of the other gifts and not the gift of celibacy or martyrdom? When churches focus on only a handful of gifts, they make everyone without those gifts feel unimportant and disqualified from acceptable forms of service and ministry within the Body. This is why Paul encourages us to honor every member of the Body, and every gifting, as being of equal honor and importance. "If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be?" (v. 17).
Secondly, Paul reminds us our differences in gifting are by design. God intended it to be this way. We can't be frustrated as pastors or church-members if everyone doesn't speak in tongues or heal the sick. God never intended this. God intended that the 28 different gifts be distributed, as He directs, for the purpose of making the entire Body healthy and effective. We should be thankful that our churches are not made up of people who are just like us.
Thirdly, and probably most importantly, Paul reminds us that the greatest of all things is not being an Apostle or speaking in tongues or even prophesying, but instead the greatest of all gifts is the gift to love others. This is the only universal gift of the Spirit to every believer, the spiritual gift to love as Jesus loved. In fact, it's so central to the reality of following Jesus that it's not even an option for us. Jesus commands His disciples to love one another. He says that if we love one another it will be the evidence that we really are His disciples. It's part of our spiritual DNA as followers of Jesus. The one thing all of us should have in common is love for others.
"My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you." – JESUS (John 15:12)
Jesus instructed His disciples to love the Lord God with all their heart, soul, mind and strength, and to love others as they love themselves. (Matt 22:37-40) Paul reminds us of this so that we don't forget that our first goal is to love.
If there could be a return to a balanced view of the Spiritual Gifts in our churches today, I believe that would be good thing. We can use a refresher course on Paul's simple instruction on how gifts are various, and how God's intention is not for everyone to heal or speak in tongues or prophesy, but that everyone should be happy with whatever gift He gives them, not for their own pride, but for use in the service of others.
But, even more than that, I believe what is needed most in our churches today is a realization that, "If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries, and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that moves mountains, but have not love, I am nothing." – 1 Corinthians 13:2
Maybe we could edit the words of that old worship song to say, "More love, less posturing, more acceptance of others gifts in my life"? But if our hearts could change to be more loving towards each other in this area, maybe our songs could stay the same.
So, if you have the spiritual gift of administration, or service, or acts of mercy, or celibacy, you are an important and necessary part of our Body. You matter. We need you. Be encouraged that God made you for a purpose and that He has gifted you to be a blessing to others. Even if they don't accept you, or your gifting, you can love and serve them anyway because of the example of Jesus.
"And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love." - 1 Cor 13:13
- http://www.keithgiles.com
**
BIBLICAL LISTINGS OF THE 28 SPIRITUAL GIFTS OF THE SPIRT
*Ephesians 4:11
Apostles; Prophets; Evangelists; Pastors; Teachers.
*1 Cor 12:8-11
Word of Wisdom; Word of Knowledge; Faith; Healing; Miracles; Prophecy; Discerning Spirits; Tongues; Interpreting tongues.
*Romans 12:6-8
Prophecy; Service; Teaching; Exhortation; Giving; Leading; Acts of Mercy
*Miscellaneous
Administration (1 Cor 12:28); Hospitality (1 Pet 4:10); Celibacy (1 Cor 7:7); Martyrdom (1 Cor 13:3); Prophesying in Song (1 Chr 25:2 & 7); Prophesying with instruments (1 Chr 25: 1 & 6); Craftsmanship (Ex 31:3); Dream interpretation (Gen 41:12)
**
JOB SEARCH: I'm still on the hunt for a new full-time job. So, if you know of any great ministries or organizations looking for someone with a background in writing, sales, marketing, or teaching, please feel free to let me know. Otherwise, I appreciate your prayers for our family during this time of transition.
**
CHURCH IN THE PARK: Several of us at "The Mission" house church have been praying about starting a Sunday Morning Church in a local park. Our plan is to simply gather, share food, invite strangers to join us, study the Gospels and worship and pray for each other under a tree somewhere each Sunday morning. This has been a wonderful answer to my prayers and I'm excited about stepping out into the community to "be the church" in a public place. Please pray for us as we step out!
**
COMING SOON:
New articles are brewing in my little brain. Here's a glimpse of what's on the back burner...
*SUBVERSIVE ARTS: A plan to influence culture via creative subversion.
*THE COMMANDS OF JESUS: In the Great Commission, Jesus gave instructions for His disciples to teach others to obey all that He had commanded. Most of us don't know what those commands were. I think we need to know. At least, I do.
*HOUSE CHURCH 101: What is house church? How is it different from traditional church? A practical observation of basic house church practices.
**
To reply to this email, please don't reply to this message. I will not get it. Instead, email me direct at:
elysiansky(at)hotmail(dot)com
**
[END TRANSMISSION]
Saturday, September 16, 2006
A CHURCH FULL OF EYEBALLS?
A Church Full Of Eyeballs? By Keith Giles
"If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body." - 1 Corinthians 12:19
In the first letter of Paul to the Corinthians we learn that God has graciously given a generous helping of spiritual gifts to the Church for the purpose of building up and encouraging the Body.
The Church today, by and large, does not have a very well developed understanding of these gifts. Few churches accept that these gifts are even intended for you and I to operate in today, but even for those who do believe that these gifts are for us to use, there is an alarming lack of Biblical perspective on the practical application and employment of such a wide variety of spiritual manifestations.
Usually we only see a handful of the gifts being elevated in terms of importance, and sometimes even seen as necessary for Salvation and/or as evidence for being truly filled with the Spirit.
Let's take a fresh look at the Scripture and see what God's Word really wants to teach us about these gifts and how to use them.
First, God does indeed intend for the Church to be built up though the use of these gifts as He sovereignly distributes them among us, His Body. (1 Cor 12:18-19)
As one who was raised a good Southern Baptist, I have never desired any of these more outward manifestations such as prophecy or speaking in tongues. Whenever the subject were brought up I was happy to report that I had the spiritual gift to be a teacher, to be a pastor, and to encourage others. This, according to Paul and the rest of the New Testament, is a valid response. These are all identified as Spiritual Gifts and it is the Holy Spirit who is the source of such gifts to the Body.
However, early one morning, a few months ago, as I was praying alone in my living room I suddenly realized that I wasn't praying in English. "Oh," I thought to myself, "this must be what it's like to pray in tongues." Then I wondered what it would be like if I could understand these words. Just as quickly as I thought that, I began to understand what the words meant. The whole thing transpired very matter-of-factly. I didn't feel tingles. I wasn't having an emotional experience. I wasn't even asking God to fill me with the Spirit or to let me speak in tongues. I think I was praying for direction in my life or something mundane. Suddenly, out of the blue, I found myself with a gift of tongues that I never even asked for.
In fact, it was only months later that I wondered if it had been an isolated event or not. "I wonder if I can just turn it on and off myself," I thought, and then I started to try to pray in the same way again. Sure enough, the gift was still there, waiting to be used if and when I needed it.
I don't often tell that story. (I'm a former Southern Baptist, you know.) Even though I've spent several years among the Vineyard churches in Southern California, I have never once wanted to speak in tongues. If God hadn’t just handed this gift to me I would never have asked for it. Maybe God knew that and that’s why He just decided to give it to me. Like a gift, I guess.
The mistake many churches make in regards to the outward gifts is to focus only on these as evidence of being filled with the Spirit or, sometimes, Salvation itself. Both of which are misguided and un-Biblical.
There are 28 specific gifts of the Spirit listed in the Scriptures. These are broken down as follows: Speaking Gifts (13), Serving Gifts (9), Power Gifts (3), and People Gifts (5).
In 1 Corinthians, Chapter 12, Paul clarifies for us what our view of these Spiritual Gifts should look like. He explains how it is God who gives us these gifts, as He chooses, for the purpose of making the Body stronger. "But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as He wanted them to be." (verse 18)
Just below that, Paul makes the final point when he says, starting in verse 29, "Are all Apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? But eagerly desire the greater gifts. And now I will show you the most excellent way," he says, before going on in the next chapter to explain what the "most excellent way" really is. Hint: It's love.
Paul's admonition to us, when it comes to Spiritual Gifts, is first to recognize that not everyone is the same. "If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be?" (v. 17) We need to accept that not everyone will have the gift of healing. Not everyone will have the gift of tongues. Some might have the gift of Administration (1 Cor 12:28), or some may operate in the spiritual gifting of Craftsmanship (Exodus 31:3) or Hospitality (1 Peter 4:10). If so, we should not treat them any differently than we would someone who could heal the sick or prophesy. Every gift is necessary and important. Every person matters.
Would you want to be part of a church, for example, where the pastor only emphasized the spiritual gifts of martyrdom and celibacy, to the exclusion of the other 26 gifts? How would that make everyone else in the church feel who had one of the other gifts and not the gift of celibacy or martyrdom? When churches focus on only a handful of gifts, they make everyone without those gifts feel unimportant and disqualified from acceptable forms of service and ministry within the Body. This is why Paul encourages us to honor every member of the Body, and every gifting, as being of equal honor and importance. "If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be?" (v. 17).
Secondly, Paul reminds us our differences in gifting are by design. God intended it to be this way. We can't be frustrated as pastors or church-members if everyone doesn't speak in tongues or heal the sick. God never intended this. God intended that the 28 different gifts be distributed, as He directs, for the purpose of making the entire Body healthy and effective. We should be thankful that our churches are not made up of people who are just like us.
Thirdly, and probably most importantly, Paul reminds us that the greatest of all things is not being an Apostle or speaking in tongues or even prophesying, but instead the greatest of all gifts is the gift to love others. This is the only universal gift of the Spirit to every believer, the spiritual gift to love as Jesus loved. In fact, it's so central to the reality of following Jesus that it's not even an option for us. Jesus commands His disciples to love one another. He says that if we love one another it will be the evidence that we really are His disciples. It's part of our spiritual DNA as followers of Jesus. The one thing all of us should have in common is love for others.
"My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you." – JESUS (John 15:12)
Jesus instructed His disciples to love the Lord God with all their heart, soul, mind and strength, and to love others as they love themselves. (Matt 22:37-40) Paul reminds us of this so that we don't forget that our first goal is to love.
If there could be a return to a balanced view of the Spiritual Gifts in our churches today, I believe that would be good thing. We can use a refresher course on Paul's simple instruction on how gifts are various, and how God's intention is not for everyone to heal or speak in tongues or prophesy, but that everyone should be happy with whatever gift He gives them, not for their own pride, but for use in the service of others.
But, even more than that, I believe what is needed most in our churches today is a realization that, "If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries, and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that moves mountains, but have not love, I am nothing." – 1 Corinthians 13:2
Maybe we could edit the words of that old worship song to say, "More love, less posturing, more acceptance of others gifts in my life"? But if our hearts could change to be more loving towards each other in this area, maybe our songs could stay the same.
So, if you have the spiritual gift of administration, or service, or acts of mercy, or celibacy, you are an important and necessary part of our Body. You matter. We need you. Be encouraged that God made you for a purpose and that He has gifted you to be a blessing to others. Even if they don't accept you, or your gifting, you can love and serve them anyway because of the example of Jesus.
"And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love." - 1 Cor 13:13
- http://www.keithgiles.com
**
BIBLICAL LISTINGS OF THE 28 SPIRITUAL GIFTS OF THE SPIRT
*Ephesians 4:11
Apostles; Prophets; Evangelists; Pastors; Teachers.
*1 Cor 12:8-11
Word of Wisdom; Word of Knowledge; Faith; Healing; Miracles; Prophecy; Discerning Spirits; Tongues; Interpreting tongues.
*Romans 12:6-8
Prophecy; Service; Teaching; Exhortation; Giving; Leading; Acts of Mercy
*Miscellaneous
Administration (1 Cor 12:28); Hospitality (1 Pet 4:10); Celibacy (1 Cor 7:7); Martyrdom (1 Cor 13:3); Prophesying in Song (1 Chr 25:2 & 7); Prophesying with instruments (1 Chr 25: 1 & 6); Craftsmanship (Ex 31:3); Dream interpretation (Gen 41:12)
**
JOB SEARCH: I'm still on the hunt for a new full-time job. So, if you know of any great ministries or organizations looking for someone with a background in writing, sales, marketing, or teaching, please feel free to let me know. Otherwise, I appreciate your prayers for our family during this time of transition.
**
CHURCH IN THE PARK: Several of us at "The Mission" house church have been praying about starting a Sunday Morning Church in a local park. Our plan is to simply gather, share food, invite strangers to join us, study the Gospels and worship and pray for each other under a tree somewhere each Sunday morning. This has been a wonderful answer to my prayers and I'm excited about stepping out into the community to "be the church" in a public place. Please pray for us as we step out!
**
COMING SOON:
New articles are brewing in my little brain. Here's a glimpse of what's on the back burner...
*SUBVERSIVE ARTS: A plan to influence culture via creative subversion.
*THE COMMANDS OF JESUS: In the Great Commission, Jesus gave instructions for His disciples to teach others to obey all that He had commanded. Most of us don't know what those commands were. I think we need to know. At least, I do.
*HOUSE CHURCH 101: What is house church? How is it different from traditional church? A practical observation of basic house church practices.
**
To reply to this email, please don't reply to this message. I will not get it. Instead, email me direct at:
elysiansky(at)hotmail(dot)com
**
[END TRANSMISSION]
"If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body." - 1 Corinthians 12:19
In the first letter of Paul to the Corinthians we learn that God has graciously given a generous helping of spiritual gifts to the Church for the purpose of building up and encouraging the Body.
The Church today, by and large, does not have a very well developed understanding of these gifts. Few churches accept that these gifts are even intended for you and I to operate in today, but even for those who do believe that these gifts are for us to use, there is an alarming lack of Biblical perspective on the practical application and employment of such a wide variety of spiritual manifestations.
Usually we only see a handful of the gifts being elevated in terms of importance, and sometimes even seen as necessary for Salvation and/or as evidence for being truly filled with the Spirit.
Let's take a fresh look at the Scripture and see what God's Word really wants to teach us about these gifts and how to use them.
First, God does indeed intend for the Church to be built up though the use of these gifts as He sovereignly distributes them among us, His Body. (1 Cor 12:18-19)
As one who was raised a good Southern Baptist, I have never desired any of these more outward manifestations such as prophecy or speaking in tongues. Whenever the subject were brought up I was happy to report that I had the spiritual gift to be a teacher, to be a pastor, and to encourage others. This, according to Paul and the rest of the New Testament, is a valid response. These are all identified as Spiritual Gifts and it is the Holy Spirit who is the source of such gifts to the Body.
However, early one morning, a few months ago, as I was praying alone in my living room I suddenly realized that I wasn't praying in English. "Oh," I thought to myself, "this must be what it's like to pray in tongues." Then I wondered what it would be like if I could understand these words. Just as quickly as I thought that, I began to understand what the words meant. The whole thing transpired very matter-of-factly. I didn't feel tingles. I wasn't having an emotional experience. I wasn't even asking God to fill me with the Spirit or to let me speak in tongues. I think I was praying for direction in my life or something mundane. Suddenly, out of the blue, I found myself with a gift of tongues that I never even asked for.
In fact, it was only months later that I wondered if it had been an isolated event or not. "I wonder if I can just turn it on and off myself," I thought, and then I started to try to pray in the same way again. Sure enough, the gift was still there, waiting to be used if and when I needed it.
I don't often tell that story. (I'm a former Southern Baptist, you know.) Even though I've spent several years among the Vineyard churches in Southern California, I have never once wanted to speak in tongues. If God hadn’t just handed this gift to me I would never have asked for it. Maybe God knew that and that’s why He just decided to give it to me. Like a gift, I guess.
The mistake many churches make in regards to the outward gifts is to focus only on these as evidence of being filled with the Spirit or, sometimes, Salvation itself. Both of which are misguided and un-Biblical.
There are 28 specific gifts of the Spirit listed in the Scriptures. These are broken down as follows: Speaking Gifts (13), Serving Gifts (9), Power Gifts (3), and People Gifts (5).
In 1 Corinthians, Chapter 12, Paul clarifies for us what our view of these Spiritual Gifts should look like. He explains how it is God who gives us these gifts, as He chooses, for the purpose of making the Body stronger. "But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as He wanted them to be." (verse 18)
Just below that, Paul makes the final point when he says, starting in verse 29, "Are all Apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? But eagerly desire the greater gifts. And now I will show you the most excellent way," he says, before going on in the next chapter to explain what the "most excellent way" really is. Hint: It's love.
Paul's admonition to us, when it comes to Spiritual Gifts, is first to recognize that not everyone is the same. "If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be?" (v. 17) We need to accept that not everyone will have the gift of healing. Not everyone will have the gift of tongues. Some might have the gift of Administration (1 Cor 12:28), or some may operate in the spiritual gifting of Craftsmanship (Exodus 31:3) or Hospitality (1 Peter 4:10). If so, we should not treat them any differently than we would someone who could heal the sick or prophesy. Every gift is necessary and important. Every person matters.
Would you want to be part of a church, for example, where the pastor only emphasized the spiritual gifts of martyrdom and celibacy, to the exclusion of the other 26 gifts? How would that make everyone else in the church feel who had one of the other gifts and not the gift of celibacy or martyrdom? When churches focus on only a handful of gifts, they make everyone without those gifts feel unimportant and disqualified from acceptable forms of service and ministry within the Body. This is why Paul encourages us to honor every member of the Body, and every gifting, as being of equal honor and importance. "If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be?" (v. 17).
Secondly, Paul reminds us our differences in gifting are by design. God intended it to be this way. We can't be frustrated as pastors or church-members if everyone doesn't speak in tongues or heal the sick. God never intended this. God intended that the 28 different gifts be distributed, as He directs, for the purpose of making the entire Body healthy and effective. We should be thankful that our churches are not made up of people who are just like us.
Thirdly, and probably most importantly, Paul reminds us that the greatest of all things is not being an Apostle or speaking in tongues or even prophesying, but instead the greatest of all gifts is the gift to love others. This is the only universal gift of the Spirit to every believer, the spiritual gift to love as Jesus loved. In fact, it's so central to the reality of following Jesus that it's not even an option for us. Jesus commands His disciples to love one another. He says that if we love one another it will be the evidence that we really are His disciples. It's part of our spiritual DNA as followers of Jesus. The one thing all of us should have in common is love for others.
"My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you." – JESUS (John 15:12)
Jesus instructed His disciples to love the Lord God with all their heart, soul, mind and strength, and to love others as they love themselves. (Matt 22:37-40) Paul reminds us of this so that we don't forget that our first goal is to love.
If there could be a return to a balanced view of the Spiritual Gifts in our churches today, I believe that would be good thing. We can use a refresher course on Paul's simple instruction on how gifts are various, and how God's intention is not for everyone to heal or speak in tongues or prophesy, but that everyone should be happy with whatever gift He gives them, not for their own pride, but for use in the service of others.
But, even more than that, I believe what is needed most in our churches today is a realization that, "If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries, and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that moves mountains, but have not love, I am nothing." – 1 Corinthians 13:2
Maybe we could edit the words of that old worship song to say, "More love, less posturing, more acceptance of others gifts in my life"? But if our hearts could change to be more loving towards each other in this area, maybe our songs could stay the same.
So, if you have the spiritual gift of administration, or service, or acts of mercy, or celibacy, you are an important and necessary part of our Body. You matter. We need you. Be encouraged that God made you for a purpose and that He has gifted you to be a blessing to others. Even if they don't accept you, or your gifting, you can love and serve them anyway because of the example of Jesus.
"And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love." - 1 Cor 13:13
- http://www.keithgiles.com
**
BIBLICAL LISTINGS OF THE 28 SPIRITUAL GIFTS OF THE SPIRT
*Ephesians 4:11
Apostles; Prophets; Evangelists; Pastors; Teachers.
*1 Cor 12:8-11
Word of Wisdom; Word of Knowledge; Faith; Healing; Miracles; Prophecy; Discerning Spirits; Tongues; Interpreting tongues.
*Romans 12:6-8
Prophecy; Service; Teaching; Exhortation; Giving; Leading; Acts of Mercy
*Miscellaneous
Administration (1 Cor 12:28); Hospitality (1 Pet 4:10); Celibacy (1 Cor 7:7); Martyrdom (1 Cor 13:3); Prophesying in Song (1 Chr 25:2 & 7); Prophesying with instruments (1 Chr 25: 1 & 6); Craftsmanship (Ex 31:3); Dream interpretation (Gen 41:12)
**
JOB SEARCH: I'm still on the hunt for a new full-time job. So, if you know of any great ministries or organizations looking for someone with a background in writing, sales, marketing, or teaching, please feel free to let me know. Otherwise, I appreciate your prayers for our family during this time of transition.
**
CHURCH IN THE PARK: Several of us at "The Mission" house church have been praying about starting a Sunday Morning Church in a local park. Our plan is to simply gather, share food, invite strangers to join us, study the Gospels and worship and pray for each other under a tree somewhere each Sunday morning. This has been a wonderful answer to my prayers and I'm excited about stepping out into the community to "be the church" in a public place. Please pray for us as we step out!
**
COMING SOON:
New articles are brewing in my little brain. Here's a glimpse of what's on the back burner...
*SUBVERSIVE ARTS: A plan to influence culture via creative subversion.
*THE COMMANDS OF JESUS: In the Great Commission, Jesus gave instructions for His disciples to teach others to obey all that He had commanded. Most of us don't know what those commands were. I think we need to know. At least, I do.
*HOUSE CHURCH 101: What is house church? How is it different from traditional church? A practical observation of basic house church practices.
**
To reply to this email, please don't reply to this message. I will not get it. Instead, email me direct at:
elysiansky(at)hotmail(dot)com
**
[END TRANSMISSION]
Saturday, September 09, 2006
[subversive underground] WONDERS
TO REPLY TO THIS EMAIL PLEASE DON'T HIT "REPLY".
I WILL NOT GET IT!
INSTEAD- Send any responses to me directly at:
"elysiansky" (at) "HOTMAIL" (dot) "com"
**
WONDERS by Keith Giles
Even as a former Southern Baptist pastor, I am one who believes in the miraculous. I have seen and experienced the touch of God in my life and I know that God is still in the business of healing the sick and raising the dead.
For example, when I was in High School, my father fell off our house and crushed three of his vertebrae. One was cracked, one was crushed, and one was powdered. The Doctors took X-Rays and showed him the damage. He was told that, even if they could find the best surgeon in the world to do the operation, he would have only a fifty-fifty chance of being paralyzed from the neck down.
A few days later, just before he was to have a CAT Scan on the injury, our pastor and one of our deacons dropped by to pray for my Dad. The next day the Doctor apologized to my Dad because he said he was holding an X-Ray in one hand, showing the damage, and a CAT Scan in the other, showing that everything was fully healed.
To this day my father is alive and has no problems with his neck. God healed him miraculously.
I have also seen my oldest son, who couldn’t keep any food down for hours, healed instantly when we prayed for him. His fever left, his appetite returned and he ate like a horse.
Time and again I have been a first-hand witness to the power of God to heal.
Having said that, I am compelled to address the tendency some have to pursue signs and wonders more than they pursue following Jesus in humility and obedience.
There is a verse of scripture that is often misused when the discussion of signs and wonders comes up. In John 14:12, Jesus tells his followers, “I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask me for anything in my name and I will do it. If you love me, you will obey what I command. And I will ask the Father and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever- the Spirit of truth.”
Most who quote this passage usually stop at the part where Jesus says, “He will do even greater things...” because that’s what they want to hear. However, when you read this entire chapter in context, the overall sense of what Jesus is trying to say is tied to obedience and submission to Him and to His teaching. As He continues on in this same chapter, Jesus says, “Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me.” And later on in the same chapter Jesus says again, “..If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching…He who does not love me will not obey my teaching.”
Jesus obviously is concerned here that His disciples take Him seriously and obey what He commands. That much is clear. The Lord Jesus wants us to devote ourselves to His teaching and allow Him to lead our lives.
Jesus does say that those who have faith in Him will also do what Jesus has done. But does that necessarily mean “work miracles”? Most usually do assume that he means “Signs and Wonders” exclusively, however an honest look at the ministry and life of Jesus reveals that, aside from the miracles, Jesus also did a few other things too.
What are the things that Jesus did? Jesus was one who loved the unlovable, he showed compassion to the broken and lonely, he confronted the religious teachers of the day regarding hypocrisy and he preached the Good News of the Kingdom to the most sinful people in the society around him.
What I wish people would see is that Jesus is inviting His followers, you and I included, to live their lives exactly as He did.
Just one chapter previous to this, (in chapter 15, verse 12), Jesus washes His disciples feet. Then he says, “Do you understand what I have done for you?...Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.”
Why can’t we get excited about this verse the way we get excited about the verse one page over where Jesus seems to suggest we get to have a healing ministry where the dead are raised to life?
Again, I know that God does raise the dead. I’m not arguing this point. I am concerned that we play favorites with the commands and promises of Jesus. I am concerned that we only want to follow the parts of the Gospel that we like best and we want to forget the parts that are inconvenient.
In context, Jesus is saying that, if we have faith in him, we will both follow him obediently, doing whatever He commands, and in so doing He will bring glory to the Father whenever the miraculous is necessary to advance the Kingdom.
The verse in John chapter 14 is teaching us to follow the example of Jesus, to wash people’s feet, to love the least and the lost, to have compassion on the blind and the deaf, and to love them as He loved them. In this same attitude of compassion for people, Jesus urges us to pray and ask for God to heal them, so that the Father might be glorified.
The testimony of the early church, as seen in the book of Acts, and in the first 300 years of church history, is that those who heard Jesus say this took it to heart. They did continue the compassionate ministry of Jesus to the poor. They did sell their homes and land in order to buy food and support widows and orphans. They did have compassion on the leper and the blind. They did heal many of them miraculously in the power of the name of Jesus.
My point is that the early Christians did both. They showed compassion to the poor and the sick, and they also prayed for them in faith so that they might be healed.
What they didn’t do was to ignore the part about serving the poor (because who wants to do that?) and jump straight to the part where Jesus tells us we get to do “even greater things” than He did.
First, we must begin with the simple obedience to Jesus that compels us to wash the feet of others, as He did. Jesus urged His disciples that just knowing this wasn’t enough. “Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.” (John 13:17)
The problem is, we have it in our heads that, if we know the words of Jesus we will be blessed. Jesus emphatically says, “No!” here. Instead, Jesus promises that, once we know these things, the blessing only comes “if you do them.”
The question is, when are we going to start? If we don’t begin by doing the things that Jesus was doing, I believe we will never get to the place where we can do even greater things than He did.
One chapter later, Jesus is reminding His disciples that “without me you can do nothing.” - (John 15:5)
My hope is that, as we begin to embrace all of what Jesus taught us, walking as He walked, serving as He served, loving as He loved, we might find that we’re not so uptight about whether or not God works a miraculous healing in our midst or not.
I am convinced that the greatest miracle any of us will ever experience is the transformation of our weak, empty lives into the glorious image of Jesus Himself.
This miracle begins when we surrender to Jesus. It begins when we realize that He is the Lord of Glory and we lay down our lives in obedience to Him, taking up our own cross daily to follow Him, one day at a time.
What more can we ask for than this? How could we ever truly understand the miracle of knowing the Creator of the Universe as a friend, as an adoptive Father, and still audaciously cry out “More, Lord, More!”?
On that day, two thousand years ago, when the Father allowed His perfect Son to suffer and die in our place, enduring shame, humiliation and torment; taking our place on a rugged cross outside Jerusalem; the power of God was revealed in all of its unspeakable Glory.
There can never be any greater sign or wonder given to any of us than this.
-kg
**
STILL LOOKING: I'm still on the job trail after over two months of searching. Please keep me in your prayers as I seek for God's direction and guidance for a new fulltime job.
**
PRAY: Things are moving forward with a possible Sunday Morning gathering where we can go out into the community and "be the church", possibly in a park nearby. More details later...
**
NEW ARTICLES: If you've not been by the main site recently, there are a lot of new articles to check out. Such as...
*OUT OF THE BLUE
*JESUS THE RADICAL
*A TEST OF FAITH
*THE HOUSE OF ELEVEN WINDOWS
*HOW TO EMPOWER OTHERS
*SECOND REFORMATION BY BOB SEARS
*CELEBRATION OF SECRECY
**
*TO REPLY TO THIS EMAIL PLEASE DON'T HIT "REPLY". I WILL NOT GET IT!
INSTEAD: Send any responses to me directly at:
"elysiansky" (at) "HOTMAIL" (dot) "com"
**
[END TRANSMISSION]
I WILL NOT GET IT!
INSTEAD- Send any responses to me directly at:
"elysiansky" (at) "HOTMAIL" (dot) "com"
**
WONDERS by Keith Giles
Even as a former Southern Baptist pastor, I am one who believes in the miraculous. I have seen and experienced the touch of God in my life and I know that God is still in the business of healing the sick and raising the dead.
For example, when I was in High School, my father fell off our house and crushed three of his vertebrae. One was cracked, one was crushed, and one was powdered. The Doctors took X-Rays and showed him the damage. He was told that, even if they could find the best surgeon in the world to do the operation, he would have only a fifty-fifty chance of being paralyzed from the neck down.
A few days later, just before he was to have a CAT Scan on the injury, our pastor and one of our deacons dropped by to pray for my Dad. The next day the Doctor apologized to my Dad because he said he was holding an X-Ray in one hand, showing the damage, and a CAT Scan in the other, showing that everything was fully healed.
To this day my father is alive and has no problems with his neck. God healed him miraculously.
I have also seen my oldest son, who couldn’t keep any food down for hours, healed instantly when we prayed for him. His fever left, his appetite returned and he ate like a horse.
Time and again I have been a first-hand witness to the power of God to heal.
Having said that, I am compelled to address the tendency some have to pursue signs and wonders more than they pursue following Jesus in humility and obedience.
There is a verse of scripture that is often misused when the discussion of signs and wonders comes up. In John 14:12, Jesus tells his followers, “I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask me for anything in my name and I will do it. If you love me, you will obey what I command. And I will ask the Father and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever- the Spirit of truth.”
Most who quote this passage usually stop at the part where Jesus says, “He will do even greater things...” because that’s what they want to hear. However, when you read this entire chapter in context, the overall sense of what Jesus is trying to say is tied to obedience and submission to Him and to His teaching. As He continues on in this same chapter, Jesus says, “Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me.” And later on in the same chapter Jesus says again, “..If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching…He who does not love me will not obey my teaching.”
Jesus obviously is concerned here that His disciples take Him seriously and obey what He commands. That much is clear. The Lord Jesus wants us to devote ourselves to His teaching and allow Him to lead our lives.
Jesus does say that those who have faith in Him will also do what Jesus has done. But does that necessarily mean “work miracles”? Most usually do assume that he means “Signs and Wonders” exclusively, however an honest look at the ministry and life of Jesus reveals that, aside from the miracles, Jesus also did a few other things too.
What are the things that Jesus did? Jesus was one who loved the unlovable, he showed compassion to the broken and lonely, he confronted the religious teachers of the day regarding hypocrisy and he preached the Good News of the Kingdom to the most sinful people in the society around him.
What I wish people would see is that Jesus is inviting His followers, you and I included, to live their lives exactly as He did.
Just one chapter previous to this, (in chapter 15, verse 12), Jesus washes His disciples feet. Then he says, “Do you understand what I have done for you?...Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.”
Why can’t we get excited about this verse the way we get excited about the verse one page over where Jesus seems to suggest we get to have a healing ministry where the dead are raised to life?
Again, I know that God does raise the dead. I’m not arguing this point. I am concerned that we play favorites with the commands and promises of Jesus. I am concerned that we only want to follow the parts of the Gospel that we like best and we want to forget the parts that are inconvenient.
In context, Jesus is saying that, if we have faith in him, we will both follow him obediently, doing whatever He commands, and in so doing He will bring glory to the Father whenever the miraculous is necessary to advance the Kingdom.
The verse in John chapter 14 is teaching us to follow the example of Jesus, to wash people’s feet, to love the least and the lost, to have compassion on the blind and the deaf, and to love them as He loved them. In this same attitude of compassion for people, Jesus urges us to pray and ask for God to heal them, so that the Father might be glorified.
The testimony of the early church, as seen in the book of Acts, and in the first 300 years of church history, is that those who heard Jesus say this took it to heart. They did continue the compassionate ministry of Jesus to the poor. They did sell their homes and land in order to buy food and support widows and orphans. They did have compassion on the leper and the blind. They did heal many of them miraculously in the power of the name of Jesus.
My point is that the early Christians did both. They showed compassion to the poor and the sick, and they also prayed for them in faith so that they might be healed.
What they didn’t do was to ignore the part about serving the poor (because who wants to do that?) and jump straight to the part where Jesus tells us we get to do “even greater things” than He did.
First, we must begin with the simple obedience to Jesus that compels us to wash the feet of others, as He did. Jesus urged His disciples that just knowing this wasn’t enough. “Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.” (John 13:17)
The problem is, we have it in our heads that, if we know the words of Jesus we will be blessed. Jesus emphatically says, “No!” here. Instead, Jesus promises that, once we know these things, the blessing only comes “if you do them.”
The question is, when are we going to start? If we don’t begin by doing the things that Jesus was doing, I believe we will never get to the place where we can do even greater things than He did.
One chapter later, Jesus is reminding His disciples that “without me you can do nothing.” - (John 15:5)
My hope is that, as we begin to embrace all of what Jesus taught us, walking as He walked, serving as He served, loving as He loved, we might find that we’re not so uptight about whether or not God works a miraculous healing in our midst or not.
I am convinced that the greatest miracle any of us will ever experience is the transformation of our weak, empty lives into the glorious image of Jesus Himself.
This miracle begins when we surrender to Jesus. It begins when we realize that He is the Lord of Glory and we lay down our lives in obedience to Him, taking up our own cross daily to follow Him, one day at a time.
What more can we ask for than this? How could we ever truly understand the miracle of knowing the Creator of the Universe as a friend, as an adoptive Father, and still audaciously cry out “More, Lord, More!”?
On that day, two thousand years ago, when the Father allowed His perfect Son to suffer and die in our place, enduring shame, humiliation and torment; taking our place on a rugged cross outside Jerusalem; the power of God was revealed in all of its unspeakable Glory.
There can never be any greater sign or wonder given to any of us than this.
-kg
**
STILL LOOKING: I'm still on the job trail after over two months of searching. Please keep me in your prayers as I seek for God's direction and guidance for a new fulltime job.
**
PRAY: Things are moving forward with a possible Sunday Morning gathering where we can go out into the community and "be the church", possibly in a park nearby. More details later...
**
NEW ARTICLES: If you've not been by the main site recently, there are a lot of new articles to check out. Such as...
*OUT OF THE BLUE
*JESUS THE RADICAL
*A TEST OF FAITH
*THE HOUSE OF ELEVEN WINDOWS
*HOW TO EMPOWER OTHERS
*SECOND REFORMATION BY BOB SEARS
*CELEBRATION OF SECRECY
**
*TO REPLY TO THIS EMAIL PLEASE DON'T HIT "REPLY". I WILL NOT GET IT!
INSTEAD: Send any responses to me directly at:
"elysiansky" (at) "HOTMAIL" (dot) "com"
**
[END TRANSMISSION]
Saturday, September 02, 2006
[subversive underground] SIGNS
SIGNS AND WONDERS by Keith Giles
In my brief career as an on-staff pastor over the last fifteen years, I’ve noticed a curious trend that has continued to perplex me. It’s the contemporary bent towards a desire to experience the next “Azusa Street” or “Brownsville Revival”, or “Toronto Blessing”. Of course, these tendencies are more prevalent in certain circles, but it’s something I’ve had to deal with, or at least to observe from a distance.
My first reaction to this sort of desire to see signs and wonders displayed in the Sunday morning service is to ask, “Why?” I mean, honestly, I don’t get it. Do we seek after signs and wonders in order to put butts in the seats? I confess, my immediate guess is that many senior pastors seek after this sort of miraculous outpouring because it will bring more people to their church and increase their ministry. Never mind that, to increase their ministry they could simply practice evangelism, and train their people to share their faith in more effective ways. If more people were coming to faith in Christ, wouldn’t that be miracle enough? Have we forgotten that salvation itself is a miracle of God too?
Perhaps the search for signs and wonders is the symptom of a lack of faith? It seems ironic, but I think it’s possible that, in some cases, the two are connected. Because the people have a weak faith life, or their walk with Jesus is getting predictable, they surmise that what is needed is a jolt of a good old-fashioned miracle on a Sunday morning. This is indicative of someone who wants a short-cut to maturity of faith. Rather than to practice the spiritual disciplines and learn to surrender to Christ on a daily basis, they would rather that God simply touch them and zap them into a greater sense of love and commitment to Himself. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work that way.
I’ve actually heard pastors cry out for God to “Raise the Dead” or declare that they want to see “Blind eyes opened, deaf ears hear”, and what they don’t realize is that, for the dead to be raised in our midst, one of us will have to die. In order to see the miraculous cure, you have to go where the broken, the infirmed, the dieing, are at. Or maybe we'll have to be the one's who suffer so that we can experience the touch of God on our lives.
Jesus experienced this same phenomenon in his ministry. As he traveled around healing people, he began to draw large crowds. True enough, the solution to a sagging attendance is the miraculous. However, Jesus did all he could to discourage this kind of growth. He saw it as an artificial growth based on superficiality. To counteract this, Jesus would ask those he healed from blindness and deafness not to tell anyone about what had happened to them, but to keep it a secret. Of course, no one can keep secret when they’ve been miraculously healed, so they did tell everyone and Jesus would end up leaving that region because the crowds would grow too large for him to operate.
Do you get that? Jesus spent his time healing people, not to draw crowds, but simply because he loved people. The Gospels tell us, time and again, that Jesus would look upon the persons in need and that he had compassion on them and healed them. His miracles were not about putting butts in the seats, or about growing his ministry. It wasn’t about spreading his own personal fame. It wasn’t about the show. It was simply about compassion.
I sometimes wonder if the reason more churches in American aren’t experiencing the miraculous outpouring of signs and wonders is connected to their lack of compassion for the sick and the broken, the dieing and the lame.
If we were all as desperate to see people made well, out of a sincere compassion for them, as we were to see God do a magic show for us, perhaps we’d see the power of God poured out again?
Maybe what we lack in our churches isn’t faith, but simple compassion for others?
If we wanted God to heal someone because we genuinely loved them as He did, and not out of a desire for personal gain, or for the entertainment factor, perhaps the Spirit of God would open up Heaven and rain down upon us all the power we needed to help people in need?
Even if we changed our hearts and began to develop a love for other people, it would be a forward step in itself, regardless of whether or not God were to do a miracle in our midst. At least we’d become a people with a heart like His, and I for one would prefer to be a follower of Jesus who had a heart like His than to be a filled with the power to heal and have a heart that is proud and self-serving.
“If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love…if I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains…if I give all that I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.” – 1 Corinthians 13:1-3
-kg
***
EMPLOYMENT UPDATE: I've been working temporarily at The Healthcare Foundation For Orange County as an administrative assistant. This could turn into a full-time job. Not sure yet what I want to do, but I'm praying for God's direction. Thanks to everyone who has been praying my job search. Keep on praying!
**
UPCOMING ARTICLES: I've been brewing up a few new articles lately. Here's a quick snapshot of things to come...
1) "Subversive Arts"- A while back my friends Scott Laumann, Bill Burgess and I were praying and strategizing about a way to confront the culture via the arts. I came across some of our correspondence during that time and want to re-visit some of these ideas. Maybe some of you want to do something similar? We'll see...
2) "Practive vs Belief"- I've been mulling over the discussion of practicing Christianity versus the idea that belief is enough. There is a tension between knowledge, truth, doctrine, and the simple practice of living a life like Jesus. Are the two things mutually exclusive? What is the proper balance between belief and practice?
3) "The Mission: Emerging Missionaries"- I'm witnessing a wonderul stage of growth in our house church members. We're learning from one another how to discover our mission field and step out into the world as messengers of The Kingdom.
4) "Starting A Non-Profit?"- Lately I'm thinking more and more about the feasiblity of starting my own non-profit that would care for children here in Orange County who live in motels, or on the streets. This would tie into the ministry to under-age prostitutes as well.
**
THE GOSPEL: FOR HERE OR TO GO?- Part 3 is up now at Ginkworld.net. Part 2 is up at CMAResources.com. The complete booklet (with additional material) will be self-published before the end of this year (I hope). More later...
**
[END TRANSMISSION]
In my brief career as an on-staff pastor over the last fifteen years, I’ve noticed a curious trend that has continued to perplex me. It’s the contemporary bent towards a desire to experience the next “Azusa Street” or “Brownsville Revival”, or “Toronto Blessing”. Of course, these tendencies are more prevalent in certain circles, but it’s something I’ve had to deal with, or at least to observe from a distance.
My first reaction to this sort of desire to see signs and wonders displayed in the Sunday morning service is to ask, “Why?” I mean, honestly, I don’t get it. Do we seek after signs and wonders in order to put butts in the seats? I confess, my immediate guess is that many senior pastors seek after this sort of miraculous outpouring because it will bring more people to their church and increase their ministry. Never mind that, to increase their ministry they could simply practice evangelism, and train their people to share their faith in more effective ways. If more people were coming to faith in Christ, wouldn’t that be miracle enough? Have we forgotten that salvation itself is a miracle of God too?
Perhaps the search for signs and wonders is the symptom of a lack of faith? It seems ironic, but I think it’s possible that, in some cases, the two are connected. Because the people have a weak faith life, or their walk with Jesus is getting predictable, they surmise that what is needed is a jolt of a good old-fashioned miracle on a Sunday morning. This is indicative of someone who wants a short-cut to maturity of faith. Rather than to practice the spiritual disciplines and learn to surrender to Christ on a daily basis, they would rather that God simply touch them and zap them into a greater sense of love and commitment to Himself. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work that way.
I’ve actually heard pastors cry out for God to “Raise the Dead” or declare that they want to see “Blind eyes opened, deaf ears hear”, and what they don’t realize is that, for the dead to be raised in our midst, one of us will have to die. In order to see the miraculous cure, you have to go where the broken, the infirmed, the dieing, are at. Or maybe we'll have to be the one's who suffer so that we can experience the touch of God on our lives.
Jesus experienced this same phenomenon in his ministry. As he traveled around healing people, he began to draw large crowds. True enough, the solution to a sagging attendance is the miraculous. However, Jesus did all he could to discourage this kind of growth. He saw it as an artificial growth based on superficiality. To counteract this, Jesus would ask those he healed from blindness and deafness not to tell anyone about what had happened to them, but to keep it a secret. Of course, no one can keep secret when they’ve been miraculously healed, so they did tell everyone and Jesus would end up leaving that region because the crowds would grow too large for him to operate.
Do you get that? Jesus spent his time healing people, not to draw crowds, but simply because he loved people. The Gospels tell us, time and again, that Jesus would look upon the persons in need and that he had compassion on them and healed them. His miracles were not about putting butts in the seats, or about growing his ministry. It wasn’t about spreading his own personal fame. It wasn’t about the show. It was simply about compassion.
I sometimes wonder if the reason more churches in American aren’t experiencing the miraculous outpouring of signs and wonders is connected to their lack of compassion for the sick and the broken, the dieing and the lame.
If we were all as desperate to see people made well, out of a sincere compassion for them, as we were to see God do a magic show for us, perhaps we’d see the power of God poured out again?
Maybe what we lack in our churches isn’t faith, but simple compassion for others?
If we wanted God to heal someone because we genuinely loved them as He did, and not out of a desire for personal gain, or for the entertainment factor, perhaps the Spirit of God would open up Heaven and rain down upon us all the power we needed to help people in need?
Even if we changed our hearts and began to develop a love for other people, it would be a forward step in itself, regardless of whether or not God were to do a miracle in our midst. At least we’d become a people with a heart like His, and I for one would prefer to be a follower of Jesus who had a heart like His than to be a filled with the power to heal and have a heart that is proud and self-serving.
“If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love…if I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains…if I give all that I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.” – 1 Corinthians 13:1-3
-kg
***
EMPLOYMENT UPDATE: I've been working temporarily at The Healthcare Foundation For Orange County as an administrative assistant. This could turn into a full-time job. Not sure yet what I want to do, but I'm praying for God's direction. Thanks to everyone who has been praying my job search. Keep on praying!
**
UPCOMING ARTICLES: I've been brewing up a few new articles lately. Here's a quick snapshot of things to come...
1) "Subversive Arts"- A while back my friends Scott Laumann, Bill Burgess and I were praying and strategizing about a way to confront the culture via the arts. I came across some of our correspondence during that time and want to re-visit some of these ideas. Maybe some of you want to do something similar? We'll see...
2) "Practive vs Belief"- I've been mulling over the discussion of practicing Christianity versus the idea that belief is enough. There is a tension between knowledge, truth, doctrine, and the simple practice of living a life like Jesus. Are the two things mutually exclusive? What is the proper balance between belief and practice?
3) "The Mission: Emerging Missionaries"- I'm witnessing a wonderul stage of growth in our house church members. We're learning from one another how to discover our mission field and step out into the world as messengers of The Kingdom.
4) "Starting A Non-Profit?"- Lately I'm thinking more and more about the feasiblity of starting my own non-profit that would care for children here in Orange County who live in motels, or on the streets. This would tie into the ministry to under-age prostitutes as well.
**
THE GOSPEL: FOR HERE OR TO GO?- Part 3 is up now at Ginkworld.net. Part 2 is up at CMAResources.com. The complete booklet (with additional material) will be self-published before the end of this year (I hope). More later...
**
[END TRANSMISSION]
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