Ps 145:4 GOD’S WORD translation

So today, while sitting at Starbucks, I took some time to really listen to the music of Jesus Culture. I have heard of them and even caught snippets of their music, but never really stopped to listen: I am glad I did!

What struck me most about the music and I assume it is representational of the musicians and their movement, was the passionate hunger for Jesus. Songs like “You Won’t Relent,” to me was like a duet of God’s passion for us and a hungry soul longing for intimacy with Him. It was all I could do to keep the tears from flowing (after all, I was in Starbucks!).

As my mind reeled with thoughts, I began to ruminate on the generational differences. The next generation’s expression of faith is not the same as ours and godly leaders need to recognize this and liberate them!

In this thought process, I was taken back to a discussion I had in Albany GA with Vincent Hunt, a progressive thinker of the generation after me. We were discussing that there did not have to be a generational divide, but an empowering and releasing from one to the next. The illustration we discussed was a bow and arrow.

In short, the purpose of the bow is to propel the arrow forward as it is released to hit the mark. Neither is effective without the other. It is from the bow that the arrow receives power and direction. The bow and arrow are different from each other, but their purpose is to work together to accomplish a mutual task.

The problem arises, when you draw the bow and attempt to hold the arrow to long. The tension that builds will result in an increased potential for the arrow to go astray and miss the mark: neither bow nor arrow will fulfill their purpose.

The idea here is each generation is different. It is the responsibility of the “older” generation to provide direction and empowerment as they RELEASE the next generation! The “elders” are to pass on the truth and testimonies of faith to the “younger” generation and trust Jesus to do his part as they walk out their faith, just as we did.

In my communications with individuals of the generations following after me, the main comment I hear is that they want spiritual fathers that will nurture, love them and trust them. I admire one characteristic statements from the Jesus Culture website: “They would be connected with spiritual fathers and mothers and aligned under their covering.” I believe there is a generation ready to step up: IF they can find the generation before them to empower and release them!

For years, I have heard 1 Chronicles 12:32 preached regarding the times we live in. The New Living Translations puts it this way: “From the tribe of Issachar, there were 200 leaders of the tribe with their relatives. All these men understood the signs of the times and knew the best course for Israel to take“  (emphasis added). In my opinion, if there is ever a time for this to be true it is now.

The necessity of this text is not because of the evils of the world, but because of the transition of the ekklesia (church) into kingdom manifestation. We are at a crucial karios moment in God’s plan: not just a generational change, but also a spiritual mindset transformation. We are at a time and place that my generation of ministry (I’m only 51) notches the arrow, pulls the bow back AND releases the arrow!

So, my final challenge:

• To the “older” generation, find the “young” person, invest in them, love them, trust them and release them!
• To the “younger” generation, find that “older” person who is trying to understand, be patient with us. Seek the wisdom of our scars, listen to the story of what God has done, and use it to build your faith!

P.S. – Please forgive the slight disjointedness of this post: it was written on the fly as I was sitting at Starbucks. It is my desire to be one of those “older” generational members that understands the times and what is necessary for the church to do!

For the most part, contemporary Christianity focuses on only two aspects of the Gospel (Good News), the fall and redemption. The goal of many churches is to win the lost, getting them to a personal experience of redemption. To accomplish this, much of the preaching focuses on either our deplorable sinful state or the grace of His redemption. Neither of which I deny is true.

Once someone experiences this redemption, it seems the preaching and ministry focuses on how we need to live to maintain this state of redemption. Some ministries, it seems, use the fall or sin as a form of manipulation to keep us in a state of repentance, seeking afresh the redemption. Unfortunately, the ultimate outcome can be condemnation and a guilt complex: we come believe God cannot or will not use us because we are in such bad shape.

Now, before you crucify me, please understand: I acknowledge our fallen state from Adam and our need of saving grace and a true transformed life of repentance. But what I have experienced and others have expressed to me is never moving beyond this fall/sin and redemption/repentance cycle. It is a common statement among preachers: “You get what you preach.” Well if we continually focus on this cycle, what we get is fearful, guilt ridden, inactive pew sitters: most just hoping to make it into heaven.

The Gospel is Good News and it is greater than this!

The fullness of the Gospel story actually begins at creation: Man was created to be God’s image and representative! Yes Adam sinned and lost the representational role, but the Good News of Jesus Christ is that he came to restore man BACK to God’s original plan – restoration to be His representative.

So from this context, we can see the Good News actually has four components: It is Creation, Fall, Redemption and Restoration. The Good News is not just we have been redeemed, but we have been restored! (pardon me while I shout a bit!)

The application then is if we live in the restoration of the Gospel, we will view our lives from that perspective and begin to bring Jesus in an incarnational way to our daily lives. It is here we find that we have the authority to demonstrate the power of His kingdom, revealing to this world there is a greater life available. This is the Good News!

So, I have been told by credible sources that I do not think normal! I guess it is so: I tend to ask a lot of question, searching for the underlying reason of many things. A few years ago I got to thinking: Why did God do the creation thing? What’s His purpose for the earth, animals and man? The awesome thing about these questions is: God showed me an answer in His word! This answer, I believe, is truly the foundation for the Good News (I will cover this in another Apostolic Note).

So what was His answer to my off the wall question, why did he create the earth? The word of God tells us in the following texts:

• Num 14:21 But as truly as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the LORD.
• Hab 2:14 For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.
• Isa 6:3 And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.

From these texts we can begin to see a purpose for this created earth: God wanted to fill it with his glory. So…. Ok, this obviously prompts another question: What is the glory of God?

Glory Defined

In the OT, the most common word for “glory” is Kabhodh and according to the ISBE (1) it means “weight,” “heaviness,” and hence in its primary uses it conveys the idea of some external, physical manifestation of dignity, preeminence or majesty. The reference is most frequently, however, to the external manifestations.” In its most significant usages “it describes the form in which Jehovah (Yahweh) reveals Himself or is the sign and manifestation of His presence. Kabhodh conveys the idea of some physical, external manifestation; most commonly when God would reveal himself or his presence.” Based on this understanding, the glory of the Lord was some awesome, majestic physical manifestation that God would use to reveal His presence.

We see this played out in numerous occasions in the scriptures regarding “The glory of the Lord,” when there was a demonstrated manifestation, allowing individuals to recognize the Lords presence. Some of these include:

• The glory of the Lord appeared in a cloud as Aaron spoke – Exodus 16:10
• The glory of the Lord appeared in a cloud and as fire on Mt Sinai – Exodus 24:16-17
• The glory of the Lord appeared as cloud in the tabernacle – Exodus 40:34-35
• Four times in Numbers it states that the glory of the Lord “appeared.” – Num 14:10, 16:19 & 19, 20:6
  • The word “appeared” in these texts is ra’ah and means:
  • “to see, observe, perceive, get acquainted with, gain understanding, examine, look after (see to), choose, discover.”(2)
  • Basically ra’ah connotes seeing with one’s eyes:(3)
  • God speaks of those “which have seen” his glory in Egypt and the wilderness – Num 14:22
    • “which have seen” is the same ra’ah above
  • When Solomon dedicated the temple, the glory of the Lord filled the temple – 2 Ch 5:14
    • Fire came with this appearance – 2 Ch 7:3
  • Isaiah prophesied that the glory of the Lord would appear and it would be seen – Isa 35:2, 40:5
  • Ezekiel repeatedly referenced seeing the glory of the Lord – Eze 1:28, 3:23, 10:4 & 18, 11:23

  These texts and others state to us that glory, in reference to the Lord, spoke of a recognizable, demonstrable manifestation of God’s presence. There was no doubt in the minds of those who witnessed the glory, of whose presence they were in.

  We see a similar pattern in the usage of glory in the NT

  • Jesus told Martha if “thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God” – John 11:40
    • According to Vines, the word “see is optomai” and simply means “to see.”
  • Stephen as he was being stoned, “saw the glory of God” – Acts 7:55
  • Paul states that we are beholding the glory of the Lord – 2 Cor 3:18
  • In Revelation we are told the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God. – Rev 15:8

  The most common NT word for glory is “doxa,” and: “primarily signifies an opinion, estimate, and hence, the honor resulting from a good opinion. It is used of the nature and acts of God in self-manifestation, i. e., what He essentially is and does, as exhibited in whatever way he reveals Himself” (4) According to Dr. Spiros Zodhiates (5), “doxa” has the following meanings: To “recognize a person or thing for what it is. Appearance, form, that appearance of a person which catches the eye or attracts attention, commanding recognition.”

  The practical usage of doxa is that God’s form or appearance of manifestation would bring about an opinion, estimation and recognition of who he is. Thus, the glory was a way of God revealing himself in a knowable way.

  The point of giving so many references is this: the biblical principle of glory is a visible manifestation that attracted the attention and brought recognition of the presence of God. It is all about the revelation of Him!

  When teaching our Living In Kingdom Authority series the working definition we use is a compilation of many resources and is as follows: Glory is a form or appearance that attracts attention and brings recognition – of who God is.

  Creation
  Now, to tie this back into creation: The eternal God, who is a spirit (Jn 4:24), which according to Jesus, does not have “flesh and bones” (Lk 24:39) has sought to reveal himself. To accomplish this, He created a place called earth to fill with His form or appearance that would attract attention and bring recognition of who He is. In short, an invisible and intangible God desired to make himself knowable.

  In the next few Apostolic Notes, we will discuss the importance of glory as it relates to understanding of the purpose for Adam, Jesus, the Gospel and the born again believer.

  In the meantime, when you read the term “glory,” think of “the form or appearance that attracts attention and brings recognition.” See how it will bring to light the scripture, especially the New Testament.

  Next apostolic note, we will present the idea of How God’s Glory would fill the earth.

  —————————————-
  (1) International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia, Electronic Database Copyright (c)1996 by Biblesoft
  (2) Biblesoft’s New Exhaustive Strong’s Numbers and Concordance with Expanded Greek-Hebrew Dictionary. Copyright © 1994, 2003 Biblesoft, Inc. and International Bible Translators, Inc.)
  (3) Vine’s Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words, Copyright (c)1985, Thomas Nelson Publishers
  (4) Vine’s Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words, Copyright (c)1985, Thomas Nelson Publishers
  (5) Lexical Aids To The New Testament

It is a common theme today for many individuals to write, blog and preach about how the church needs to focus on discipleship, becoming more like Jesus. In fact, it seems to be the mantra of many today, maybe even mine.

Maybe we need to stop and think a little before we move on: what Jesus are we trying to be like?

It seems in many circles we have an image of Jesus that is portrayed as a sanitized moral perfectionist. An example whose lifestyle is that of a set of characteristics, evidenced by living particular guidelines: when accomplished, one is deemed pure, holy, righteous etc. Is this the Jesus we are to be like? I am not sure…

A casual observer of Jesus would have seen someone quite different.

He was selfless and submitted.
He came to do the will of the one who sent him
He came as a religious revolutionary, challenging the paradigms of tradition
He taught a kingdom and proved its existence by demonstration

He was homeless, and penniless
He was hungry and tired
He was misunderstood by those he came to help
He was missed by those who were looking for him

Do I really want to be like Jesus?

He was called illegitimate, sinner, drunkard and demon possessed
His own family ridiculed him
He was deserted by those closest to him

Do I really want to be like Jesus?

He didn’t preach a conference, but He spoke to thousands
o    But he had to provide the lunch
The bulk of his ministry was not some Toastmasters 3 point homily
o    But stories so simple, a child could grasp
He didn’t have a fancy church edifice
His “pulpit” was found in boats, on hillsides, in the wilderness, along the roadside

Do I really want to be like Jesus?

His ministry was not one day a week
He impacted lives in the daily rub of the ordinary or mundane
He touched the untouchable, loved the unlovable, forgave the unforgivable, valued the valueless and gave to the undeserving
He was despised, rejected, criticized, condemned and ultimately crucified!

Do I really want to be like Jesus?

Yet…
He opened blind eyes
The lame walked
The dumb talked
Demons were cast out

He told us
o    If I lose my life, I would find it
o    We would be persecuted for His name sake

o    All power is given to Him – now we are to Go!
o    He was sending us just as he had been sent
o    That we would do Greater works than His
o    He would not leave nor forsake us
o    He would be with us to the end of the earth

Do I really want to be like Jesus? Yes, but I must deal with the war of the flesh and spirit. It is the Spirit with in me, calling, compelling me to be what He desires. Yet is my natural man that is partial to self, judging the cost of my comfort and pride before I fully commit.  So maybe my prayer should focus more on the daily dying to self: then the Spiritual would begin to manifest.

What say ye?

The simple truth is we have all the same commissioning from the Lord: He has instructed us to “Go and make disciples.(1)” So, no matter where we find ourselves in living for God or our status in life, we all have the same purpose – we are to make disciples.

The wonderful challenge comes in discovering how we are to use our individual uniqueness to fulfill this purpose. Paul addressed this issue when he wrote to the church at Corinth, elaborating to them that they were each created as different members of the body of Christ, but each was equally important to the functioning of the body.(2) It is still the same today: we are each uniquely gifted and equally important to the purpose of the body.

It is our individual giftings that will qualify us to circulate in different environments effectively demonstrating our King and establishing disciple making relationships.

So if we all have the same purpose and are uniquely equipped to accomplish this purpose, what seems to be the challenge to successfully accomplish this?

I believe part of the challenge is the traditional model of discipleship development of gathering and containment. The typical church creates attractional events to gather the lost to a service to hear the Gospel. Once someone is born again, there is typically a series of classes that will teach a biblical morality and particular lifestyle. Discipleship is judged by the successful completion and adherence to this material.

In contrast to this process we see Jesus words “Go and make disciples.” The two key words of this statement: “Go & Make.”

“Go”
This is probably the toughest word to be obedient to. To quote part of the Law of Inertia “A body at rest remains at rest …unless acted upon by an external force.” The challenge to “go” is we must must overcome the lack of inertia: this requires energy. We must grasp that we are sent,(3) motivating us to leave our present place of rest, both physically (church building) and spiritually. We must be missional minded, we cannot expect the people to come to us. Jesus went to those who needed Him: “for god so loved the world, he gave.” Jesus stated “As thou has sent me into the world.” The true nature of being apostolic demonstrated by our going. The proof we have been sent is that we go.

“Make”
This is the second challenging word and it implies a process, it requires my involvement. It means I must invest my time, energy, vulnerability: it cannot be a one time event.

In their teaching series, The Story Formed Way, the leaders of SOMA missional community state: “The word make implies a process—a process that has steps to it and is intentional.” To make disciples requires us to plan to get involved in the lives of those around us, initiating intentional relationships. Again from the SOMA leaders: “discipleship process begins at the point of relationship, not at the point of conversion!” In todays culture, many people want to see the proof of our God, lived out in daily relationships before they choose to believe in Him.

So back to our purpose. Each of us has been uniquely gifted and sent to enter the process of relationships with those who do not know Jesus. It is within these relationships, in the daily rub of life, others will come to see the transformational power of Jesus in our lives, then choosing to enter a saving discipling relationship Him.

Today, choose to GO AND MAKE a disciple!
———-
(1) Matthew 28:19-20
(2) 1 Corinthians 12
(3) John 17:18

The 4th segment of Lesson 1 Living in Kingdom Authority.
This session focuses on how Jesus has renewed and restored us back to Adam’s original purpose: God’s image and glory bearers.

Living In Kingdom Authority 1d – Man’s Purpose Restored

One of the components of staging is the outside, particularly the front door: in real estate terms it is called “curb appeal.” This may actually be the most important part of staging. Curb appeal is how the house is viewed from the street. It is the place where the average people go buy and it is the first impression of the home. Done right, curb appeal is an invitation; it grabs the attention and says “this is what you are looking for!” It is a strong magnet, drawing those who pass by to come in and explore the rest of the house.

The better the curb appeal, the more likely for people to enter the front door.

One day, while sitting at my office (Starbucks) a pastor friend and I were discussing a particular ministry he was developing in the assembly he was leading. His comment was it was to be the front door of the church. This got my mind going. I began to think about “the front door” and the idea of “curb appeal.”

The front door to the church is not glassed commercial double doors, stained doors or solid wood doors. Neither is the front door to the church some particular program, ministry or mode of evangelism. The front door to the church is you and I!

Let me clarify this a little more. Contrary to traditional religion, the church is not a building were people gather one day a week to partake of some religious performance. The church is the body of born again believers who have been called out to exercise the authority of Jesus Christ, thereby demonstrating the miraculous power of His Kingdom. In short, the church is you and I!

As the church, we are the representatives of Jesus and his kingdom. It is how we present ourselves (staging) that determines if the church is attractive to others. Breaking it down, the way we live our lives, manage our homes, how we interact with those around us; this is the “curb appeal” of the church (or kingdom). In the day-to-day rub of ordinary life, we find we have an opportunity to make Jesus and his church attractive to others. When we respond to the situations of life as Jesus would, we are presenting an attractive front door for individuals to enter. Obviously, the more attractive I make Jesus, the more people will want to enter.

So, I guess this brings a up a question for all of us to address:
How inviting is my “curb appeal?”

The first session in this series presents God’s original purpose for creation and mankind.
This segment is the third to this lesson and covers what it means to be the Image of God.

Living In Kingdom Authority 1c

Part a – God’s Purpose, Your Purpose
Part b – The Glory of God

The first session in this series presents God’s original purpose for creation and mankind.

This segment discusses what the meaning the Glory of God and its application to His purpose,  the Gospel and our lives.

Living In Kingdom Authority 1b

Part a – God’s Purpose, Your Purpose

The first session in this series presents God’s original purpose for creation and mankind. This segment is the intro to this lesson. I discuss the process of thinking and how the Lord illuminated truths and my understanding to Kingdom Authority.

Living In Kingdom Authority 1a – Introduction

View Part B  here

View Part C here