Four Characteristics of Faith

Last summer (2012) I taught a class called “Communion with God” through Solid Rock Ministry Training School. There were 15 students in the class, all hungry to know God more and deepen their relationship with Him. I couldn’t ask for a greater environment as week in and week out we encountered God in a unique way. If you are in the Milwaukee area and are looking to do the same, Solid Rock is the place for you. Our desire is to lay foundational teaching for a passionate relationship with Jesus as well as to equip the saints for the work of ministry.

I want to take a few moments to give you snapshot into a particular topic that we talked about during our class, and something that has been incredibly powerful for me personally. 

Note: For this to be especially useful to you, I recommend taking time to look up the verses. There is a lot more that could be said about each characteristic, but I have chosen to make each as simple and concise as possible!

The following are four Characteristics of Faith:

1. Faith is aggressive in it’s appearance (Mt. 11:12). What I mean by this is when people saw Jesus, they would often do things they had never done before, and probably would never do if not for His presence. The Woman with the issue of blood pushed through a crowd just to touch His garment believing she would be healed (Lk. 8:43-48). Four men with a paralyzed friend could not get to Jesus because of the crowds so they decided to cut a hole in the roof of Jesus’ home just to lower their friend in on a bed so He could be healed (Mk. 2:1-12). Faith is always accompanied by willingness to do what has not been done before, for the sake of receiving what couldn’t be received without it. "Faith is spelled R-I-S-K" -John Wimber
2. Faith is submissive in its attitude (Mt. 11:28). Faith does not come by exercising extraordinary will, it comes through a surrender to the finished work of Christ. As you rest in Jesus' finished work, works of faith become a natural and consistent occurrence in your life. Those who act aggressively out of faith do so because of the internal surrender to the truth of His greatness and acknowledgment of their powerlessness without Him (Mt. 5:3, Jn. 15:5).
3. Faith is affectionate in its conduct (Js. 2:14-17, 1 Jn. 3:16-18). “Faith works through love” (Gal. 5:6). Works of faith are meant to be expressions of love – not just another accolade to decorate your ministry career. “The aim of our charge is love that issues from… a sincere faith.” (1 Tim. 1:5). When love is our motivation, faith will move mountains.
4. Faith is Vocal in its expression (2 Cor. 4:13). Jesus taught that the mouth is the place of overflow from the heart (Mt. 12:34). Those who have faith in their hearts cannot help but release it in their words. A vital part of every believer’s life is grasping the significance of confessing truth, because the demonstration of the Spirit follows the declaration of the believer. This is foundational when learning how to exercise the authority we have in Christ through faith.

These four characteristics of faith are not comprehensive. They are simply things I have found to be true in the word of God that I have applied practically to my life.  I hope they are just as helpful to you.

Be Blessed!

Andrew

PS - Any and all comments are appreciated! I'd love to hear what the Lord is speaking to you as you read through this - I learn a lot myself from it!

The Battle for Your Mind!

One of my primary responsibilities as a pastor is to empower the family of God to grow up in all things into Him who is the head – into Christ (Eph. 4:15). More than a responsibility, it is a great passion for my life – I want to see the people of God walking in their destiny. One of the many avenues that I get the privilege of doing that is through writing, hence these blogs. I appreciate you taking the time to read them, and even more that you apply these things to your life! (3 Jn. 4)

                                           _________________________________________________

If every promise in the bible is for the believer (which it is), and you were the enemy, what would you try to scramble? If you answered the belief system of the believer, you are correct.

There are two elements that are at play every time a promise of God is realized in a person's life:

1. The promise given by God
2. Belief in the promise by the believer

Because the promises of God cannot be changed or altered in any way, the enemy goes after your belief system – in other words, he seeks to wholly corrupt your mind through deception.

The battleground of the Christian life is largely in our minds. As I pointed out in my last blog, God wants us “to change the way we see things until His Kingdom fills our consciousness” (Mt. 4:17). Satan’s objective is literally the opposite in that he wants our minds fully given over to his kingdom; and he has been working tirelessly towards that end for Millennia.

I say this to make you aware of the war that is being waged over your life at this very moment – the likelihood that Satan has strategies in place working to scramble your belief system right now is extremely high. Why? Because if he can somehow keep you from believing that God's promises are for you, then they will never be experienced and appreciated by you. Some reading this may not think that's all that big a deal, but do not be fooled – failing to realize the promises of God in your life come at the high cost of your life.

This begs the question, what are you doing now to hinder what the enemy is seeking to do? Hopefully you have some solid answers to this question. Either way, I will provide a few that will be helpful to you below:

1. Spend time seeking God through His Word today. The Word of God is given to us in order to shape and mold our belief system. As we grow in the knowledge of God, we become more convinced of heavenly things than we do anything else. That is to say that the Word of God has been given to you as your primary weapon to protect the promises of God on your life.
2. Spend time thanking God for His promises to you. You will be glad you did, because thankfulness positions you to realize what God has already promised you. In John 11, Jesus first thanked His Father for hearing Him before He made the command that raised Lazarus from the dead. Never underestimate the value that thankfulness plays in realizing God's promises! (For another powerful example, meditate on the story of the ten lepers in Luke 17).
3.  Spend all your time walking by faith. In other words, learn to value what God says over what anything else seems to be saying. By doing so you declare to the enemy that neither he nor your circumstances have dominion over you, the promises of God do. If you learn to do this you will learn what it looks like to walk victoriously through every season of life, I promise you.

Be Blessed!

Andrew

(As always, any and all comments are welcomed below. I would particularly love to hear any other answers that you have in mind in regards to that last question! Also, if this blog blesses you in any way, please share it with others via facebook/twitter/etc.)

A Contagion in the Church?

There is a contagion (a harmful or corrupting influence with the tendency to spread) in the church today. It has been slowly devouring God’s people – leaving them depressed, powerless, and without genuine purpose. The sad thing is that most have not perceived it. Instead, they have simply received its effects as if that’s just the way it is supposed to be. The contagion I am speaking of is none other than a distorted Gospel.

This distorted Gospel is preached from our pulpits and propagated through our small groups. Its effects are more serious and more far-reaching than we would ever give it credit. Its external effects are unmistakable because it is first pervasive in our thinking. This has been the aim of the enemy from day one: to distort the Gospel and rob its power to transform every part of a person’s life – beginning with their perspective.

Jesus’ first message was aimed at our perspective (“repent for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand” [Mt. 4:17]). Repentance, simply put, is a change in perspective. What Jesus is calling us to do is to change the way we see things until His Kingdom fills our consciousness. When we see and believe the Gospel rightly, it will have its intended effect on the whole person!

The distorted Gospel is taught in such a way that sin fills our consciousness.  This causes us to become more aware of the potential for sin than we are of the already finished work of Christ (Jn. 19:30). When this happens we lose sight of our value to God and put on a false identity – something the bible calls “the old self” (Col. 3:9), out of which wickedness flows as a natural consequence.

But God did not fearfully and wonderfully make us so that we would live perpetually under the effects of a sinful nature (a false identity). He made us in His image – to be an expression of His glory on the earth (our true identity)! It was for this purpose that He died – to restore that which was lost (Lk. 19:10)! He has now separated our sins from us as far as the east is from the west (Ps. 103:12)! In doing so He made provision to get sin off of us so that the truth about who He created us to be would manifest itself! You are now commanded to reckon yourself dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus! Come on, admit it – that just makes you free!

We are to preach and teach the Gospel of the Kingdom so that our perspective shifts towards Jesus (Acts 26:18) and not towards sin. Doing so will bring us into a God consciousness – a great place to be! When this happens, we are “renewed in the spirit of our minds” and put on “the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness” (Eph. 4:24), where sin is not named amongst us and good works become a natural consequence (Eph. 2:10, Titus 2:14).

This blog is already too long, so I’ll just leave you with a few questions in light of the things above (I encourage you to not ask yourself these things. Ask the Holy Spirit!):

• Am I primarily living from a sin consciousness or a God consciousness?
• What do you want to reveal to me about the power of the Gospel that will transform the way I see things today?

Be Blessed!

Andrew

(As Always, your thoughts are appreciated below in the comments section)

A Resolution Towards Your Resolutions

It’s a well-known tradition to make a resolution going into the New Year. A resolution, by definition, is “a course of action determined or decided upon; a firm determination or resolve”. While I am not against resolutions, I am against waiting until New Years to make any (but don't not make any on New Year's either!) Having said that, I do want to encourage anyone reading this to make a resolution in regards to your resolutions with me.

Resolutions by nature initiate change where change is honestly needed. We have all made them (whether we know it or not). In fact, our culture is full of people who gladly sign the proverbial dotted-line during this time of year on a new resolution that they hope will fulfill their expectations of a “better life”. Those resolutions consist of everything from working out more in order to shave off a few unwanted pounds, to spending more time with family and friends.

Many of the common resolutions people make in light of creating a “better life” for themselves can be great things, and I’m not here to tell anyone to stop making them. Today I simply want to challenge you to approach this year of resolutions differently: Let’s not make today about a resolution that will fulfill our expectations for a “better life”; instead let us resolve ourselves to make a year’s worth of resolutions based upon God’s expectations for a surrendered life. After all, Jesus did not come to give us a “better life” according to our expectations, but rather to exemplify the surrendered life according to His Father’s expectations.

“...the Son can do nothing of His own accord, but only what He sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise.” (Jn. 5:19)

“I seek not my own will, but the will of Him who sent me.” (Jn. 5:30)

“…for I always do the things that are pleasing to Him [the Father].” (Jn. 8:29)

Here are the first of my resolutions for 2013:

• To pursue God beyond any pursuit of Him I have had in the past.
• To make room for an insatiable hunger for His presence moment by moment.
• To never make excuses for powerlessness in my life.

We have been given life in order that we would bear the image of the Eternal God. This year I want my resolutions to be motivated to that end. I hope you do too!

Be Blessed!

Andrew

(If you have any resolutions that you want to share, please post them below in the comments section. I would love to hear and be inspired by any resolutions that you have made!)

Do Not Fear, Only Believe

"Do not fear, only believe." (Mk. 5:36)

Jesus always says the best stuff.

Be Blessed!
Andrew

Confessing Jesus From the Book of Hebrews

A few days ago I went through the book of Hebrews specifically with the intention of discovering every explicit truth about Jesus I could find within it’s pages. I did this for two primary reasons:

1. To broaden my confession about who He is.

2. To broaden my confession about what He has accomplished on my behalf.

In total, I found fifty-two clear truths about Jesus my first time through (some of these truths repeated a number of times throughout the book. I did not, however, include the recurring ones in my final count). The following is a list of all fifty-two – in order of when they appear in the book with verses included for each:

•       Jesus is the Son of God and heir of all things (Heb. 1:2)

•       Jesus is the creator of the universe (Heb. 1:2)

•       Jesus is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of His nature (Heb. 1:3)

•       Jesus upholds the universe by His word (Heb. 1:3)

•       Jesus is better than angels (Heb. 1:3)

•       Jesus now sits at the right hand of power/majesty (Heb. 1:3)

•       Jesus' throne is forever (Heb. 1:8) and His years will have no end (Heb. 1:12)

•       Jesus will have everything put in subjection under His feet (Heb. 2:8)

•       Jesus is crowned with glory and honor because of His suffering and death (Heb. 2:9)

•       Jesus has tasted death for everyone (Heb. 2:9)

•       Jesus is the founder of salvation (Heb. 2:10)

•       Jesus is not ashamed to call us brothers (Heb. 2:11)

•       Jesus has destroyed the devil (Heb. 2:14)

•       Jesus became 100% man (Heb. 2:17)

•       Jesus is the merciful and faithful high priest (Heb. 2:17)

•       Jesus helps those who are being tempted (Heb. 2:18)

•       Jesus is the apostle and high priest of our confession (Heb. 3:1)

•       Jesus is worthy of more honor than Moses as the builder of all things (Heb. 3:3-4)

•       Jesus is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword (Heb. 4:12)

•       Jesus was and is without sin (Heb. 4:15)

•       Jesus is a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek (Heb. 5:6)

•       Jesus is the source of eternal salvation to all who obey Him (Heb. 5:9)

•       Jesus cannot lie (Heb. 6:18)

•       Jesus has gone as a forerunner to open the veil on our behalf (Heb. 6:20)

•       Jesus is the King of righteousness (Heb. 7:2)

•       Jesus is the King of peace (Heb. 7:2)

•       Jesus is without genealogy and has neither beginning of days nor end of life (Heb. 7:3)

•       Jesus lives (Heb. 7:8)

•       Jesus became a priest on the basis of the power of an indestructible life (Heb. 7:16)

•       Jesus is the better hope through which we draw near to God (Heb. 7:19)

•       Jesus is the guarantor of a better covenant (Heb. 7:22)

•       Jesus holds the priesthood permanently (Heb. 7:24)

•       Jesus is able to save to the uttermost those who would draw near to God through Him (Heb. 7:25)

•       Jesus lives to make intercession (Heb. 7:25)

•       Jesus is holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens (Heb. 7:26)

•       Jesus is the minister in the holy places (Heb. 8:2)

•       Jesus is the mediator of a better covenant that is enacted on better promises (Heb. 8:6)

•       Jesus has secured an eternal redemption (Heb. 9:12)

•       Jesus has entered heaven to appear in the presence of God on our behalf (Heb. 9:24)

•       Jesus appeared once for all to put away sin (Heb. 9:26)

•       Jesus will appear a second time (Heb. 9:28)

•       Jesus came to do the will of God (Heb. 10:7)

•       Jesus has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified (Heb. 10:14)

•       Jesus is faithful to His promises (Heb. 10:23)

•       Jesus is a better possession and an abiding one (Heb. 10:34)

•       Jesus is the author and perfecter of our faith (Heb. 12:2)

•       Jesus' blood speaks a better word than the blood of Abel (Heb. 12:24)

•       Jesus is a consuming fire (Heb. 12:29)

•       Jesus will never leave us nor forsake us (Heb. 13:5)

•       Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Heb. 13:8)

•       Jesus is the great shepherd (Heb. 13:20)

•       Jesus is deserving of eternal glory and honor (Heb. 13:21)

There is a high likelihood that I missed a few in there, so if anyone finds any that I overlooked please let me know in the comments section below.

I put these in my blog not to impress you, but rather to help you. I’m serious when I say that confession of truth is one of the most important disciplines we can possibly cultivate in our lives. It has strengthened my own walk with God tremendously and I know that it will yours.

Challenge: Take 10/day for 5 days this week and put them into your confession. You will be amazed at how much your faith in who Jesus is and what He has done will grow!

Be Blessed!

Andrew

You Have Been Sent

"As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you." (Jn. 20:21)

There is no doubt that this statement of Jesus' has profound ramifications. The problem is that I had never really considered them before. Maybe you are in the same boat? Well sit back and allow me to share some thoughts!

Just a short time before Jesus left His disciples on their own he dropped this statement on them. Now for sure Jesus had dropped plenty of other mind-blowing statements on them, but I believe that this one may have set in with even more force than any prior to it. Was it because it was it was coming from their newly resurrected friend? Perhaps. Was it because it was immediately followed by them receiving the indwelling Spirit for the first time? Likely. Was it because the reality of their divine destiny just became that much clearer? Also very likely.

To tell you the truth, every one of these reasons (not to mention countless others) probably made this statement pierce the hearts of the disciples. And the fact is that this statement ought to pierce our hearts in similar fashion. In the same way that Jesus was sent by His Father, we have also been sent. Humbled.. Privileged.... Responsible........ All words that came rushing to my mind as I pondered the implications that I have become a co-laborer with Christ in His mission to:

• Seek and to save the lost (Lk. 19:10)
• Destroy the works of the Devil (1 Jn. 3:8)
• Reveal the Father (Mt. 11:27)
• Proclaim the Gospel of the Kingdom (Mt. 4:23)
• Heal the sick (Mt. 4:23, Mt. 10:8)
• Raise the dead (Mt. 10:8)
• Cast out Demons (Mt. 10:8)
• Make Disciples (Mt. 28:18-20)
• Forgive people of their sin (Jn. 20:23, 2 Cor. 5:19)
• Testify to the truth (Jn. 18:37)
• Serve (Mt. 20:28)

(This list is by no means comprehensive; it is just a sampling of verses that I considered during the short time I wrote this. Any more that you can think of would help me to expound on this topic and would be greatly appreciated! Please put them in the comments section below.)

Now to be sure, His work is unrepeatable (Heb. 9:26) - but His works are meant to be repeated and even amplified (Jn. 14:12). For all who have put their faith in Christ: We have been welcomed into a partnership with God (2 Cor. 6:1) that is beyond the ability for words to fully describe. This is an important element of our divine destiny that we must surrender to - In the same way that Jesus was sent, so are we.

We have both the privilege and the responsibility to bear fruit for God. This fruit would be impossible to bear except for one fact: we have been given the Spirit of the resurrected Christ - He lives in us and through us (Col. 1:27, Gal. 2:20). The impossible has become possible. There are no longer any viable excuses. With Jesus' words in Jn. 20:21-22, all who have been born-again into a living hope are left with no other options but to partner with the God of the impossible. That is good news!

Be Blessed!

Andrew