Explosive Pentecost!
On the day of Pentecost the kingdom of God exploded onto the scene in Jerusalem and turned the city up side down. 3,000 instantly were saved. Faith exploded into full-blown church life where people dealt with one another in sincerity and integrity. They worshipped, prayed, fellowshipped, ate together, visited from house to house, and sold their possessions to meet one another’s needs! Jerusalem, nor any other city for that matter, had seen anything like it in its entire history.
It all began with an exploding fulfillment of the promise that God made in the Old Testament, that he would pour out his Spirit on everyone in the last days, when the kingdom of God was about to reach it full realization. And that is what happened… the kingdom of God burst in on the unsuspecting Jerusalem. I know of no city in America where this is happening today. I know churches in revival, or that are being blessed or renewed. But I do not know of a single city or community that has been turned upside down by the power of God.
But pastor, you say, that’s not how God does things anymore. Really? Then what about the Welsh revival of 1904 with Evan Roberts? The ponies in the mines wouldn’t respond anymore to the miners because they were so used to being cursed at. In six months 150,000 had been saved. Pubs closed because they were empty, and former drunks were feeding and clothing their families and giving their money to the church. They paid their bills too! Smith Wigglesworth in the north of England received the baptism of the Holy Spirit in 1907 and boldly preached God’s word, though he was a very unlikely vessel for God to use. 14 were confirmed to have been raised from the dead! The Wesleyan revival is credited with averting a bloody revolution in England like France experienced. In America revivals have broken out because a few people committed themselves to prayer, only to result in 100′s and 1000′s coming to prayer and renewal. In 1906 a black preacher began preaching Pentecost and before it was all over the entire world was influenced and forever changed by the revival that exploded out of the former horse stable on Azusa Street!
What if God were looking for a place and people through whom he could bring an explosive and powerful Pentecostal revival to some city in America? Would we really deny him an available people? Are there 120 people who would step forward in Wilmington, North Carolina?
It’s Saturday Night!
It’s Saturday night, and I am thinking about Sunday. My heart is rejoicing as I listen to Praise and Worship by Hillsong. The evening is quiet and reflective. The sun just went down and it is dark outside. There is a restlessness developing in my spirit. I want to be in the sanctuary worshipping. I want to hear the passionate music swell through the building and the voices of the choir and musicians in harmony praising God.
O the glory and beauty of the voices of the saints in worship. I am ready to be thrilled as I watch those passionate few, who will not be able to hide the glory of God in their hearts, their smiles, tears, laughter, raised hands! I want to teach and preach, to be lost under the anointing of the Spirit, see the light come on in someone’s eyes, see the conviction fall, meet someone at the altar. I want to feel the presence of God, yield to him. I want to hear his voice and be brought under his power to change me in some way. I am ready for an encounter with the Lord! It’s Saturday night!
Fight for Ministry and Growth!
In John 10:10 Jesus says that the enemy comes to steal, kill and destroy. But he said, I have come to give life and give it to the fullest extent.” There is a battle raging in our world and around our spiritual lives between the enemy who is seeking to destroy us and Christ who is seeking to bring us life. It is up to us to decide which of the we will cooperate with!
If we think that personal spiritual growth is automatic as time passes, then we have fallen into the trap of the religious and pious. Religious people think it is enough to have an association with the church and even to have some kind of involvement, but as far as sacrificial investment is concerned, they have sidestepped a radical call of God to hardcore, lifetime devotion. It is hard to serve God, and it is especially hard to deepen one’s walk with Jesus Christ. The enemy resists and hinders us at every turn. He is literally seeking to steal, kill and destroy.
Ministry is the same way. To do the will of God in service and obedience requires the persistent effort of a sold-out and totally faithful disciple of Jesus Christ. The ramblers and wanderers in the church will never know the joy and satisfaction of sold-out devotion, and they tire easily of the efforts of the passionate in the church. It rocks their boats and shatters the peace of their quiet religious world. But Jesus said that the enemy comes to steal, kill and destroy, so effective and productive ministry has to be fought for inch by inch and yard by yard! It won’t come easily, but in the end it is worth the sacrifice, when God is well pleased with his servants and blesses their efforts with an anointing of power and success!
Paul the apostle said, “I have finished my course (run my race), I have fought the good fight” (2 Tim. 4:6-8). His metaphor was a serious, not a poetic one. Paul saw himself as a runner for the prize whose focus was narrowly, exclusively and obsessively toward the goal of his devotion to Christ (cf. Phil. 3:12-14). Every effort and energy was put into his fight to obey God and glorify his Lord and savior, Jesus Christ. Paul was no wimp disciple. He was rugged fighter who fought for the kingdom and to express his devotion to God. He suffered hardships and difficulties all of his life and ministry, only to enter heaven at the sharp end of a Roman executioner’s sword (cf. 2 Cor. 6:3-10; 11:23-29).
If you are not prepared to fight for ministry and spiritual growth in the church, then please get out of the way of those who will. If you do not care to sell out your heart and soul in passion and devotion to God and his will, if you will not fight for ministry, then please don’t mock, hinder, grumble and gossip about or resist those who will. They are on the side of life, life lived to its fullest in Christ.
Building!
What a powerful morning at the WFPHC today! Nine people joined the church in the worship service today. Our voices resonated with the spirit of worship in our hearts, as our team led with passion and power. They have just reoriented the platform to produce a balanced and pleasing effect for the music, choir and team. Bro. Jerry reminded us that God was preparing us to for a harvest, to bring in the sheaves. But the progress of the church has to be fought for. Like our own personal devotional life, it can’t grow unless it is tended to, and well nurtured. Well, we are ready for God to build his kingdom in us… stone by stone, block by block, one soul after another, and with anticipation and an uncompromising urgency born of serious-minded commitment, we are prepared to follow God wherever he leads this year. America may be asleep, but we do not want to miss God’s next move!
Looking in the Rearview Mirror!
Well, after all the fuss and preparation, Christmas is over… well sort of. Most of us are enjoying a couple of leisurely days before we return to work. The blessings of the season are now yielding their fruit in terms of peace and a sense of satisfaction at a year well done and closed out well. People have been saved, blessed, anointed and encouraged in our church and ministry. We now have new members poised to join us January 1, and the New Year is ahead with progress promised on our building program. God is good! We may have said goodbye to one season, but we are about to say hello to a new and exciting year!
Anything worth having and doing for God will be opposed by the enemy. Jesus said the enemy comes to kill, steal and destroy, but that he had come to bring abundant and full life (John 10:10). If we are serious about mission and ministry in our church we cannot be discouraged by opposition and difficulty. Instead we must be prepared to fight for ministry, in order to obey and glorify God (cf. Eph. 6:1-18).
Worship Christ the New Born King!
We had and exceptional day at church a week ago! The worship was keenly focused on Christ as the king and the presence of God among his people. Christmas is a time when God chooses unlikely people to accomplish his purposes and plans. Think about it… Mary a humble late-teen as mother of Jesus, Joseph a carpenter, not in the loop until three months after the conception, shepherds in the fields, lowly and outside of the village and town social life. It is amazing that God can do so much by-passing the movers and shakers of our world.
In church, it is the “Joseph’s” laboring under the shadow of the “Mary’s” that get the job done. Joseph saw that Mary got to Bethlehem and that Jesus was born in the City of David, just as the prophecy predicted. It was Joseph that provided a home and living for the family for two years in Bethlehem, before the Wise Men showed up. When it was time for them to flee, Joseph was the one that heard God’s warning, made the plans, packed up the family and made for Egypt. It was Joseph who heard from God to return and then that he needed to go on up to Nazareth. It was Joseph who raised Jesus and taught him a trade, and made sure he had an education.
Christmas is about unlikely people just like us being used by God, and having the opportunity and privilege of worshiping God in his house!
Thanksgiving!
Preachers and pastors everywhere in America are posting to their web-sites and blogging in honor of Thanksgiving. So what does an ex-patriot Brit have to say about the holiday? Well, nothing new I am sure!
I am often asked if we celebrate Thanksgiving in England. My usual joking reply is, “Of course we do, we were thankful to get rid of you lot!” The truth is, no matter who you are and where you are from, we all have something to be thankful for, in every circumstance. No matter how tough the situation you are in, there is something that you should and could express gratitude for, if you will. That is especially true of Christians. There are countless blessings in our lives that have come from God, who delights to protect and provide for his children.
A lack of gratitude is not necessarily the result of tough circumstances, as much as it is a matter of choice. When I go into a grocery store and the clerk doesn’t even make eye contact, or speak to me before sticking his hand out for my money, it is because he has made no effort to be express gratitude for my patronage. If I go around like a bear with a sore head all the time, grumbling and complaining, it is a choice that I make. The most wonderful people I have ever met in my life are people whose lives seem impossibly difficult, but who are the most pleasant and enjoyable to be around. They have chosen to have a better attitude, and to be grateful to God in the middle of life’s challenges.
The absence of hardship doesn’t make or break you. It is how you deal with life that is the measure of the person you are. A grateful and thankful attitude is what separates the man and woman of character and of God from the rest of the people in our world.
Crisp and Fresh!
There is something to be said for a clear, but cool and crisp day! It makes you glad to be alive. The cool air and bright sun just lift the spirits somehow. The trouble is we often miss it because we stay indoors where we are “comfortable”, and safe.
Even spiritually it does us good to have a fresh, crisp wind (of the Holy Spirit) blow through our lives. When there is something new and different going on, instead of hunkering down and ignoring it, why don’t you “go outside” and embrace it. Maybe the Lord is seeking to refresh you in some way. Worship a little differently. Read your Bible and pray in a different location, maybe on the beach or in the park! Go visit someone you don’t normally spend time with and try to encourage them, and have prayer with them (especially someone much younger or older than you). Pay someone in the church a compliment, whom you have never complimented before. Even if their way of doing things is not quite your cup of tea, you can compliment their dedication to God, or their passion for his kingdom, and their love for his church!
A Good Day!
Some days are just good days! It is easy to forget how good it can be to relax and simply enjoy the things that God has blessed us with. For example, my wife and I went to the Wilmington Tea Room for lunch, where we talked and drank tea over some sandwiches and pastries. No pressure, no schedule, no agenda. Now we are sitting around in our backyard doing nothing in particular!
Everyday for most of us is packed with deadlines, duties, phone calls and issues to resolve. But you don’t appreciate the wonder of God’s presence and celebrate his blessings until you have time to sit still long enough to think about them. The things that are the best about my life, God has done for me and in me. And none of those things are things at all!
Psalm 118:24
New International Version (NIV)
24 The LORD has done it this very day;
let us rejoice today and be glad
