His Masterpiece 2

As we completed our series through Ephesians several things have come to light ...

Exegetical series have incredible weight and value for Redemption City Church to become the church that we believe Gods wants us to be. These series keep us honest and keep us preaching the full / whole council of God (Acts 20:20 and 27).

Exegetical series are hard work! They are hard work to study and prepare for, they are hard work to deliver and, sometimes they are hard work to listen to BUT, if we desire to see discipleship, growth in the word and, a robust faith we are going to have to develop the spiritual fortitude necessary for this  vital form of preaching!

Ephesians has given us a great sense of the central role of the church in working out God’s redemptive plan for our city!

Ephesians is the antidote for radical individualism that is so rampant in our day. This attitude can simply be described as “The gospel of self” and is a key reason so many are giving up on local church community and settling for self-directed spirituality.

Ephesians reaffirms, again and again, the central role and value of the church as being God’s “intent”, purpose and plan for our spiritual growth and maturity. 
The answer to all our cultural challenges is still ... THE GOSPEL! Jesus is STILL God’s total provision for man's total need for all time (Dudley Daniel). There is still no app, no life hack, no shortcut, no instant solution, simply because none of these options require faith. Jesus has a path laid out for us that includes individual choices / responsibilities and, community of faith choices / responsibilities that we are to pursue Christlikeness within. And, that within all of this God chooses to partner with us, through his community of faith to fulfill his mission to reach the world with the good news of Jesus Christ.

What an incredible book.
What an incredible gift Jesus is to us.
What a joy to be part of an authentic, biblical, local church.
What a great future we have as we look to establish more and more of His plan and pattern for us as a church.

The Power of Thanksgiving

I have always loved the story of Jesus feeding the 5000 (Luke 9:10-17) I believe it is recorded in all but one of The Gospels ... but in each account, these similar phrases occur ... Jesus “looked up” AND “gave thanks”.

The key is in the first phrase for if we can look up to see the glory and the majesty of our great God ... if we can look up and see the indescribable beauty of Jesus ... If we can look up acknowledging the abiding presence, love and, guidance of the Holy Spirit ... we will simply not be anything but thankful. There is something in looking up that communicates us taking our eyes off the immediate, the circumstantial and the temporary . If we can look up and grasp something of the width, depth and, breadth of The Gospel ... if we can understand what it cost God to ransom us ... and what that communicates about the value that He places on us ... if we could grasp something of the power of the gospel for our friends, family, coworkers, neighbors, neighborhoods, and nations ... our only response, surely, would be a heart full of gratitude! when we can find ways to express that gratitude in word AND deed we will see something of the multiplying effect of the grace of God over our live. When we can find ways to live out these truths in every area of our lives we will  live in increasing measures of His glory and grace. 

Happy Thanksgiving y’all  

His Masterpiece 1

Our Current preaching series “His Masterpiece”  a six-week series through the book of Ephesians has stirred me afresh for the beauty of the local church. 

Commentators have called Ephesians; 

The crown of Pauls writing 

The divinest composition of man 

The queen of the epistles 

What is fascinating in this letter to the church in Ephesus, that has obviously gripped many before us is the idea that some have, somehow, ended up High Theology / Low Church. IE a high view of God but a low view of the church. I don't believe we are being asked to swap those values … move from High theology / High church to Low Theology / High Church … But believe as John Stott says in his commentary on Ephesians that “a reading of Ephesians will result in High Theology AND High Church. 

What an important message then but how much more important in our day of what sociologists have defined as radical individualism and what some have called the McChurch Mentality. To quote John Stott again “ For by His death Christ demolished the Jew - Gentile and God - Man barriers and is now creating in relationship to himself a single, new multicultural community which is both the family he loves and the temple that He lives in” 

My desire for us that call Redemption City Church home is that we would elevate biblical truth over cultural relevance … that we would not pander to “radical individualism” or buy into the McChurch mentality that is so prevalent in our day but that we would be gripped by the biblical conviction of a high view of God AND a high view of the church! 

To be continued …

Lazy is not a personality type … it is a character flaw!

Lazy is not a personality type ... it is a character flaw!

2 Cor 8:17 for Titus not only welcomed our appeal, but is coming to you with much enthusiasm and on his own initiative. 

Scripture also speaks about a "Spirit of self-discipline" I believe this is one of the keys for those who desire to see the purposes of God advance ... the Gospel preached and people discipled. Lazy people will quickly settle into the "status quo" ... Lazy people will always seek the lowest common denominator. Lazy people will always seek the path of least resistance. People of the initiative, enthusiasm  and self-discipline have the motivation to seek the "more" of God. They ask the "What next?" and "where to from here?" questions. They are committed to increased level of commitment, service and sacrifice if that is what is required. People of initiative and enthusiasm look for opportunities to advance the mission. They are not satisfied with "same old same old" they are selfless self-starters. who not only initiate ideas and projects they have the self-discipline to see them through to completion. If we lack in this area .. for heavens sake let's lean on the Lord asking Him to adjust our character so that we can redeem spiritual ambition

The number 1 reason New Years resolutions don't work is that we are not created to go more than 24 hours without a fresh start ... without  fresh grace!  I am so delighted that Jesus won a salvation for you and I that is soaked in ... Love, grace and mercy EVERYDAY.  I couldn't imagine messing up / disappointing / tripping up and then having to wait to Jan 1st next year to get a fresh start!  Lam 3:19 - 24 has long been a favorite portion of scripture for me!  As we go into the new year let us "Call this to mind" ... "Because of His great love we are not consumed, for His compassions NEVER fail. They are new EVERY morning; GREAT is your faithfulness. I say to myself The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for Him"  Let's trust / believe / pray for big things EVERYDAY as we enjoy His love mercy and grace EVERYDAY!

The Problem w/ Prayer!

The problem with prayer is, for the most part, we have reduced it to a program, a meeting, a conversation or a concept! I am stirred this morning by Luke 18:2-8, the story of the persistent widow who kept "bothering" the judge until he gave her justice. Jesus then earths it for us wonderfully by saying "And will not God bring about justice for His chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night". Now we would be in bondage if we made this about our prayer, our effort! The point is simply that prayer is one of the most powerful tools in the hands of believers and leaders! This is what Leonard Ravenhill has to say about it in his book Why Revival Tarries. "The pastor who is not praying is playing; the people who are not praying are straying." He goes on to say ... "We have many organizers but few agonizers; many singers few clingers; many Pastors few wrestlers; many fears few years; much fashion little passion; many interferers few intercessors. Failing here we fail everywhere"  As I read this scripture and these words I am challenged to take prayer out of the "program", to take prayer out of the meeting, to stop talking about and conceptualizing it and to put prayer back in its rightful place as the language and culture of every believer and every church!

Keep on Asking ... Keep on seeking ... Keep on knocking

Most often churches / movements / men that God uses to usher in revival / restoration / release are birthed, founded and continuously found in the place of prayer.  Prayer declares and demonstrates our absolute dependence and reliance on Him. Focuses our thoughts, actions and hearts on His purposes and plans, and increases our desire to play our part in His redemptive plan.  I am stirred this morning by the encouragement of Luke 11:5-10 ... In these few Scriptures Jesus asks us to "Keep on asking" ... "Keep on knocking" ... "Keep on seeking" as Wiersbe puts it "Don't come to God only in the midnight emergencies but keep in constant communion with your Father"  My prayer this morning: May prayer move from something we do to very nature and culture of who we are. May prayer move from a time slot and a program to an attitude and language.

BUT BECAUSE YOU SAY SO

BECAUSE YOU SAY SO! Luke 5:4-7 tells the story of Jesus instructing the disciples to let down their nets in spite of the fact that they have been working hard all night and had not caught anything. I love Simon's response "BUT BECAUSE YOU SAY SO" when they let down their nets they catch such a load of fish that they have to call the other boat to help them and even then the catch is too large and both boats are in danger of sinking! What is it that The Lord is asking us to do afresh in this season? Perhaps we have "tried" it. Perhaps we have labored "all night" without fruit! Perhaps there has been a barren season in an area of our walk / call / ministry? I believe this is the season that God is saying "Let down your nets" the question is will we be intimidated by past experience or will be bold enough to say "BECAUSE YOU SAY SO"?

NCMI Mexico Fiesta 2011 Update!

Just a quick update about our Celebration and Outreach in Mexico 

We are picking up some cool momentum and the churches in Mexico are pumped for the event and trusting for many salvations! 

We would love to have you join us! We are sending teams out onto the street everyday, joining the churches to pray for thier city and nation as well as celebrating the goodness and kindness of God to us and our partnerships in Mexico.

Dates are March 22 - 27th 

Watch the link below for a promo video 

NCMI Mexico Fiesta 2011

Contact Ann Johnson for further details 

Ann Johnson

Love to see you there 

Terry Kreuger 

Matthew Part 6 - Salt and Light

Mathew 5:1 – 16

Many of you know how much I enjoy photography. I am not brave enough to call my self a photographer but I do enjoy taking cool pictures. There is a huge difference between a snapshot and a good photograph, and while there are many components that make a cool photo I want to focus on two of the simplest tools in the photographer’s toolbox … lenses. A wide-angle lens allows you to stand back and get the full vista, the full breadth of the view. A zoom lens allows you to zoom in a little closer to get more of the detail. I want to look at the first 16 verses of Mathew 5 firstly through a wide angle lens then secondly zoom in a little to capture the detail

The wide-angle view of Mathew 5 is simply Jesus teaching (vv2) us how we should conduct ourselves in the household of faith. If I were to paraphrase the text it would look something like this. “I trust you will act as if you are poor in spirit when you are around each other. Humility is one of the keys to the Kingdom and if you practice it you will find your inheritance in the kingdom. I hope you never loose the ability to mourn with each other. I hope you will never harden your hearts to effects of sin but will always be there for each other at moment of pain and sadness. I desire that gentleness and kindness are always the currency of your community life. I hope you never become satisfied but rather remain hungry for my righteousness among my people. I hope your community is filled with peacemakers who take forgiveness and reconciliation seriously! I want to teach you about courage also so that you are prepared and will persevere through tough times.”

I believe Jesus is asking us to behave in these ways around each other. He is giving us some distinctives, some community and personal attributes that should mark our communities of faith and set us apart in this world.

That is the wide-angle view and here comes the zoom.

BUT … He does not stop there! Jesus jumps immediately to those outside of the community of faith, giving us the well-worn parable of salt and light! I believe if we combine these two views we will realize that Jesus is telling us that one of the most irresistible and compelling witnesses for salvation is the community described in the beatitudes. I have long said, “There is no point in being the best kept secret in town”. A community that displays these attributes would be hard to hide!  This kind of community will penetrate and preserve … as salt does! And it will pierce the darkness and proclaim the truth … as light does!

“Changed Lives … change lives” vv16 asks each one of us to be bold, to let our light shine and to invite others into our lives so that they can see how distinctive we are and ultimately the scriptures tells us, when we do that they will “praise our father in heaven”

Matthew Part 5 - Healing ...

Matthew Part 5

Matthew 4:23 25

This amazing Chapter culminates in something of a healing revival.

We must however take note that Jesus taught in their synagogs AND preached the “Good News” of the kingdom, then saw some dramatic healings. This is not prescriptive but simply descriptive I know, but we can however glean some lessons from the text

Jesus gave himself to teaching. The simple impartation of knowledge. Teaching and explaining, undoing and informing. Laying a foundation for what was to come next and that was preaching the “Good News” that the Kingdom of heaven was at hand. This preaching took on a much more declarative and challenging tone. It came with the authority of the one who brought it, was backed up by the one who sent Him and was confirmed by the demonstration of the power of the Holy Spirit.

What a cool pattern emerges here. Teaching, Preaching and demonstrating the life of the Spirit. As I look at this pattern I am reminded of a conversation that I had last week with a friend who has planted an outstanding church about 30min drive from us. As we talked through the life of the Spirit and the challenges of church planting we came to the necessity of explaining some of what we do when we have visitors or those that may be a little more conservative than us in the meeting. I think we make a mistake when we assume that everyone is as comfortable with the move of the Spirit as we may be. A simple explanation of what we are doing need add no more 20/30 seconds and yet will have a profound effect in helping people to understand what God is doing and ultimately open themselves more to His dealings.

Proclamation is the declarative announcing of The Gospel with power, anointing and authority. The kingdom of heaven is near! Your sins have been forgiven! God will never be angry with you again for the wrath of God has been fully satisfied on the Cross! THAT is indeed “Good News”

I am convinced of this: Good News and good deeds still go together! Healing here by the power of The Spirit represents good deeds and so much more! I would define good deeds as broadly as any action that changes that person’s immediate circumstances or situation

What glorious goals to desire … that the mysteries of God would be given adequate explanation so that the thoughts that stand against them would be torn down - We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. (2 Cor 10:5)

That the proclamation of The Gospel would once again ring out with clarity, conviction, power, anointing and authority

AND that the life of the Spirit would be so honored and celebrated that the manifestations of His presences would be obvious

No wonder this text ends with … “Large crowds followed Him”! 

Mathew Part 4 - Come follow me ...

Mathew Part 4

Matthew 4:18 – 22

Come follow me … and I will make you

I have often wondered what Jesus saw in those fishermen?

One of the greatest abilities we can ask God for is the ability to look down the hallway of time to see what God sees in an individual. When we get a glimpse of what that person will look like when God shows up in his world it can stir us and lift our faith to see more come to him and more come through for him.

The two aspects of this that I want of look at today have to do with salvation and leadership. I love the adventure of meeting someone who has net yet responded to Christ. I love the stirring of the Holy Spirit when He begins to lift my faith because he has shown me what he sees in this person.

Certainly one of the most dramatic examples of this happened when we first moved to Los Angeles. Part of leading that church included oversight of a preschool that ran on the campus. One afternoon a young father showed up to pick up his daughter as I was walking across the parking lot. He was in his late 20’s, shaved head, with multiple tattoos! He seriously looked like a white supremacist! I knew instantly that this guy was going to be my next salvation project. As I walked away, praying for him I heard the Spirit of God say that he would become one of my elders! As you can imagine my faith was lifted, stirred and impassioned for this young father. A couple of months later he got saved and about 18mts after that we ordained him onto the eldership of River Church.

The other aspect of this is leadership development. Several years ago while we were still pastoring in South Africa a young man joined our church. He lacked confidence and stuttered badly. But I had heard God about this guys future and it was an incredible privilege to watch what God The Father “made” him over the next few years. Today he leads a thriving church in North America, with a dynamic team that he has developed and the impact of his ministry is felt far beyond the walls of his church.

I wonder what Jesus saw when he looked at those fishermen? There is no indicator from scripture that he had met them before or that He had a protracted conversation with them. He simply saw something in these men that prompted him to issue the most incredible life changing invitation of all time … “Come follow me … I will make you …” 

Surely it is our highest privilege to follow Him. Surely it is just as high a privilege to invite others to follow Him into this amazing journey, be it those that have not yet met him or those that He desires to bring through into a fuller expression of leadership. Either way – it all starts when we see what He sees in people. 

Matthew Part 3 - Word and Spirit

Matthew Part 3

Word and Spirit

Mathew 1:1 – 10

I have always loved chapter four of Mathew. This chapter is full of intrigue and insight. It opens with the temptation of Jesus then moves quickly through the launch of His public ministry, the calling of His first disciples and culminates in something of a healing revival.

There are few places in Scripture where the Word and Spirit debate are spoken into more clearly than right here in this dynamic chapter.

Jesus is led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by satan. Luke gives us a fuller picture of what being led by the Spirit looked like. Luke 1:1 says that Jesus was full of the Holy Spirit AND was led by the Spirit. Then Luke 1:14 says He returned “in the power” of the Spirit

So if you can allow me a bit of preacher’s license here to skip between these two texts, Jesus is “full of” and “led by” the Holy Spirit when he is tempted by satan. Yet three times he answers, “It is written”! I love the brilliance of the word of God, yet it is mostly so simple that the “unschooled and ordinary” of Acts 4:13 can get it. This is brilliant yet plain for all to see – Jesus “Full of” AND “led by” the Holy Spirit still needed the word of God to refute and dismiss what must surely have been one of the greatest challenges He faced outside of the cross.

I have been amazed that there is still a debate out there about word OR Spirit, or what the balance is between the two. The brilliant simplicity of this chapter is that we need both for victory, both for sustainability and both to come to fullness.  

Mathew Part 2 - John the baptist.

Mathew Chapter 3

John the baptist

When I was younger (much younger) I seriously identified with John the Baptist. The only problem is I am about as prophetic as a sack of hammers!

Nevertheless there as some great lessons we can learn from this radical, desert walking prophet of old.

The central theme of Jesus ministry here on earth was repentance and John comes as a forerunner of this message. There is good reason for this: without repentance we have no way of entering the Kingdom of Jesus Christ. John’s message of repentance should be as clear in our Gospel preaching today as it was then “Repent for the Kingdom of heaven is near” Jesus speaks graphically in the Luke 15 parable of the lost sheep about the celebration in heaven when one sinner repents.

What a sober reminder Jeremiah 23:21 +22 have always been …

I did not send these prophets,

      yet they have run with their message;

      I did not speak to them,

      yet they have prophesied.

      But if they had stood in my council,

      they would have proclaimed my words to my people

      and would have turned them from their evil ways

      and from their evil deeds.

When we are HIS mouth-piece and we heed HIS council and we proclaim HIS words to HIS people repentance will be the result!

The other characteristic that stands out for me about John is Humility. I love Mathew 3:3 “a voice of one calling in the desert” I would like to imagine that as a conversation “Who are you John?” we ask. “A voice” he replies. Nothing more - nothing less. Just a mouthpiece to be used by God to get HIS message to a nation and a generation.

The third characteristic is simplicity. John lived a simple life that challenged the religious leaders of day who lived, by comparison, in relative luxury. Here was a man who needed very little but a sip of honey and an occasional grasshopper to snack on.

Jesus likewise said the son of man has nowhere to lay his head. (Luke 9:58)

Paul says I have learned the secret of being content ... (Phil 4:11+12) I am not advocating for a lifestyle of poverty but simplicity where the voices that so easily drown out the prophetic voice of our God are silenced! I love Paul’s language here “The secret”  … a secret is simply something we are without knowledge on … a mystery. Then “content” – to be satisfied! Have we lost the knowledge of what is it means to be satisfied? Or are we simply looking for that satisfaction in the wrong places?

These lessons are simple, not always easy to live out but simple none-the-less.

Repentance, humility and simplicity are the currency of those who would go ahead proclaiming the good news of Jesus death and resurrection.

May our attitudes always be one of repentance. May our language be salted with humility and may our lifestyle and our message represent simplicity. 

Matthew Part 1 - God the Story-Teller

It continually fascinates me that the bible is not simply a book of lists or instructions

Would be so much easier

But that somehow God is his infinite wisdom chose to reveal himself as a storyteller … and of this I am convinced that he is still revealing himself in the same way in our day.

His revelation and stories are no longer thru Abraham and Hosea and Jeremiah … but through the lives of ordinary believers

So lets look at this part of the story

We have to imagine ourselves not as key players in the story but as bystanders …

Imagine being in the village when the news breaks that that Mary is pregnant!

She is engaged … which meant much more then than it does today … in those days to break an engagement was a similar process to getting a divorce … engagement was a legally binding contract … engaged partners were referred to as husband and wife they were for all intents and purposes married but with out the privilege of physical intimacy

For Mary to have been unfaithful during this time was considered to be adultery … she could have been judged publicly and if found guilty stoned to death

And by the time this is recorded, historians tell us that she was about 4 months pregnant there was no hiding it!

What shame this could have brought on Mary and Joseph as well as their families

Can you imagine the whispers in the crowd at the market place and at the well?

So Mary pregnant hey? … obviously Joseph decided to get a head start on the marriage thing!

Maybe it wasn’t Joseph?

Maybe she has been stepping out on him?

Now can you imagine living with that shame and it taking 30 + years before at the cross it declared surely this man was the Son of God!

Thirty years imagine living that story for the Glory of God!

But you also have to wonder what Mary and Joseph did on a day-to-day Basis … the baby after all had to be fed and cleaned and bathed and looked after … you see God the storyteller works thru the ordinary events of our lives

But back to our story

The creator of the universe, the King of kings, born in a barn. God is unveiling a new economy ... an economy of grace  

The news of the Savior’s birth is not announced to the cultural elites or the middle class, but to shepherds. Smelly, unkempt, hill-dwelling, bottom-caste outsiders. And to add insult to injury, the signs of the Savior’s birth are comprehended not by the religious but by the Magi, about whom we know very little.

The Scriptures tell us that something cataclysmic was going on. As Mary labored, an evil stirred that was so great, that it called for the blood of all Bethlehem’s infant sons.

Only God the storyteller could come up with a story as magnificent and as intriguing as this

Jesus is THE story of History … He is the central theme … the alpha and the omega the beginning and the end … the author and finisher of our faith …

But as I have said … I believe God wants to write his story on our hearts and tell the story of His goodness and grace through our lives today

You see when we put our lives in His hands we become his workmanship (Ephesians 2:10) … that word is more closely aligned with “Poem” … we become his poem of love and grace to those around us

At times we can feel as if we are out of control … but God is never out of control His is omniscient … all knowing

He is omnipotent … all powerful

he is Omnipresent … everywhere at the same time and He is:

The centerpiece of civilization

He is the central them of scripture and of all theology

            In Genesis … he is the creator

            In Exodus he is our deliverer leader

            In Leviticus he is our High Priest

            In Joshua He is the captain of our salvation

            In The psalms he is the Lord our shepherd

            In proverbs he is the wisdom of God

           

            In Matthew He is the Messiah

            In Mark he is the Miracle worker

            In Luke he is the Son of man

            In John he is the Son of God

And we can go through all of scripture like that until we get to the book of Revelation where he is The King of Kings and the Lord of Lords

            The Alpha and the Omega

            The lion of the tribe of Judah

            The lamb who was slain 

            The word of God

            The bright morning star

When we put our lives in the hands of the storyteller our story becomes His story through us. 

The ark (Genesis 6) … very detailed instructions for how to build the ark and yet there is no mention of a rudder or sails the two things that could have been used by Noah and the people on the Ark to steer …

And yet those 8 people in that ark represented the whole future of mankind.

See our lives in God’s hands is really the safest place we can be.

            The safest place on earth during the flood was in the Ark!

Only God the Storyteller can come up with stories as magnificent as this. What are the stories He wants to tell this year, through your life / your marriage / your finances / your children? 

Siyabonga

This post is a little tongue in cheek! After my recent adventure of being robbed at gunpoint in South Africa the reality that each country has its own challenges no matter how “good”, has never been more real to me. Trying to replace my iphone has been as much of an adventure as getting robbed the only difference is that AT&T do it with a smile on their face and call it “customer service” Here is a summery of my dealings with the aforementioned AT&T. Firstly I have a family plan which allows me to have 5 lines on the same account, obviously my line, the one that was stolen was the primary line. So I call AT&T to ask them to switch from 4364 to 1536 both lines on the same account, “Thank you for your call Mr. Kreuger that will be a $54 charge” I spent about 15min trying to figure out what the 54 clams was for and never received an answer. Surely in our day switching from one line to another line on the same account should be as easy as a couple of clicks of a mouse. “Siyabonga Mr. Kreuger - $54.” Then I ask if I can cancel the line of the phone that was stolen. “Sure Mr. Kreuger that will be $350 early penalty for closing the line, or alternatively that line is only costing you $9.99 per month you could just leave it suspended and just let your contract run out - $240.” “Siyabonga Mr. Kreuger $240 or $350 the choice is yours.” “No problem,” I say “can I just purchase another iPhone and reactivate the line?” “Sure you can do that Mr. Kreuger but you are not due for an upgrade so we are going to have to charge you a $200 early upgrade penalty.” No amount of explaining that I already had an iPhone and was not trying to upgrade but replace the phone could convince them the $200 was an unnecessary and unfair charge. So at the end of the day I have $54 + $240 + $200 plus the charge of the new phone $299 for a total of $793. “Siyabonga Mr. Kreuger AT&T values you as a customer. Is there anything else I can do for you today?” “No thank you” I replied “you’ve done quite enough already”

Now as I said in the beginning of this post each nation has its challenges. In South Africa I had Mr. Siyabonga holding a gun to my head to rob me. Here in the USA I have Mrs. Siyabonga at AT&T smiling and helpful wearing the mask of customer service … In South Africa I had Mr. Siyabonga brutal and merciless … In the USA I had Mrs. Siyabonga sophisticated and yet still merciless … both had their hands out for piles of my hard earned cash. One had a gun in one hand the other had a contract but somehow I cannot help feeling the result was the same! Siyabonga is the Zulu word for thank you. So Siyabonga to you Mr. and Mrs Siyabonga!

MY GOD IS FAITHFUL!!!

My Father is so faithful ... for those of you who don't know ... on the last day of my trip to South Africa I was robbed of a substantial amount of money at gunpoint ... the primary point of my thankfulness is for my life! Irrespective of the money stolen ... my kids still have a father and my wife still has a husband. Gods faithfulness and protection were amazingly evident in a situation that could have ended a 100 different ways and none of the other 99 were as good as the way it did end. BUT my father is way more faithful than simply providing safety ... Less than 48 hours after the incident I have been blessed with more than was stolen as well as a brand new watch that is much better than the one also taken in the robbery. MY GOD IS FAITHFUL! 

As I lay awake last night with the security and comfort of my family around me, I found myself incredibly frustrated by what had been a bad end to a great trip ... I felt God lead me to  Psalm 37 ... which opens with "Do not fret because of evil men ..." The whole Psalm is an amazing encouragement and has one of my favorite versus VV25 "I was young and now I am old but I have never seen the righteous forsaken nor their children begging for bread."

I want to tell you my friends ... with one gun pressed to my head above my left eye and another in my spine ... MY GOD IS FAITHFUL! 

I want to tell you my friends ... with my passport and all other travel documents stolen on the day of my departure back to the USA I flew out on time with brand new travel documents from the Department of Home Affairs within two hours of being robbed ... MY GOD IS FAITHFUL!

I want to tell you my friends that with my 78 year old father my 88 year old uncle as well as my nephew and his wife who is pregnant all within the immediate vicinity yet not one of us harmed ... MY GOD IS FAITHFUL!

I want to tell you my friends within 48 hours I have been over-blessed and as I said earlier I have received back more than was stolen including a brand new watch, I believe, speaking of a new season for us ... MY GOD IS FAITHFUL!!!

To all of you who prayed as the news went out of what had happened ... so many texted and called ... so many of you stood with us in faith ... you are warriors ... you have been instruments in the hands of My Father ... to all of you I want to say MY GOD IS FAITHFUL!!!!

My Beloved Africa

My Beloved Africa

At Times your rivers have run red with the blood of your own people

As well as that of those who tried to invade you

At Times your hills have echoed with the cries of hungry mothers

With even hungrier children

At Times the roar of violent gunfire has drowned the trumpet of the Elephant,

The roar of the Lion and the bark of the Kudu

At Times your sun has risen and fallen day after day

And decade after decade on the unchanging misery of your people

But At This Time your salvation is near. Tell your neighbors and tell your children

For At This Time the light of your dawn is approaching. Be ready my people to throw of the chains of poverty and injustice.

For At This Time you have been chosen of the Lord,

And he will guide you and satisfy you

For At This Time your father will speak a blessing over you,

You will build houses and live in them

You will plant crops and enjoy the fruit of your labor

For At This Time says the Lord

Your healing will quickly appear

And your righteousness will shine like the African sun

For This is Your time …

My Beloved Africa

The Gospel to the Poor

The Gospel to the Poor

Our Lord had incredible affinity and identification with the poor, being born into a family that at his circumcision offered pigeons, (Luke 2:24) the offering prescribed for the poorest of families (Lev 12:8).

Jesus full of grace and truth deliberately chose Isaiah 61 as the key text for

His first sermon (Luke 4:16 - 19). This text begins with these wonderful words:  

The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me,

      because the LORD has anointed me

      to preach good news to the poor.

And yet I find myself asking the question “Is there really Good News for the poor?” When the gospel comes to one’s life negative cycles are broken, sin is dealt with, forgiveness extended and new destinies are sealed in the gracious purposes of God.  What is the good news then that will break cycles that have kept people and people groups enslaved in poverty for generations? Does God not have a plan for them? The bulk of outreach or ministry to the poor has historically focused on programs that bring immediate comfort yet leave little lasting impression. The Scriptures however encourage us to a higher calling. To bring lasting change, to exercise auditable transformation as we reach out with hands of mercy to help those who have little means of helping themselves.

Is there really a gospel; is there really “Good News” that will break the cyclic curse of generational poverty?

The other key Text that we must look at is the Levitical law about the Year of Jubilee (Lev 25). The Jubilee came after 7 cycles of 7years or every 50^th year. The key component of this law which God declared as holy (Lev 25:12) was that all property was to revert to it’s original owner (Lev 25:13), and all that had been sold into slavery were to receive their freedom (Lev 25:40 - 41). The intent of our Father seems clear in the writing of this holy law, He was making a divine way to ensure that there was a way out of generational poverty. No man or woman or their offspring could be condemned to poverty for life. Property was to be returned to its original owner, debts were cancelled and slaves freed. Some have said that were these laws to be enforced in our day it would bring about the collapse of the world’s economy. And so it might! But I do not think that releases us from seeking ways not just to comfort but also to break the kind of poverty that has kept people in bondage for generations. This law of Jubilee is the ultimate grace antidote to the greed we see driving so much of our free market society.  It is the law working out what was demonstrated in the crossing, no one gathered too little, no one gathered too much (Ex 16:6  - 18).

Surly the clarity of the call of God and our understanding of what is happening in our day demands a wise response? Ephesians is clear that God’s intent is that now through the church the manifold wisdom of God become known (Eph 3:10). We have to put ourselves in the place of responsibility asking God for divine wisdom and insight into what needs to be done. We must begin to build partnerships with business. The church has to rise up in this time, speak for those who do not have a voice, go to those who cannot come to us and to share the many great blessings that God has given us. Frances Schaeffer in his book “How should we then live?” speaks about the issue of the “non-compassionate use of wealth”. He lists this as one of the areas that the post reformation church failed to deal with. This really is an issue that the church needs to be heard on. Individual generosity cannot excuse corporate silence. The Church must speak out and act out. We must be the good news as well as tell the good news. We cannot simply stand by while the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. The church must look to develop strategic partnerships with those in business. Entrepreneurs need to be stirred, encouraged and released to pursue compassionate capitalism, fueling and funding projects that will bring generational change to those who need it most. Generational change could be defined as that which would bring change to this generation and the next. These projects will need to go beyond simply meeting immediate need and will have to begin to look towards education, skills training and entrepreneurial opportunities created. We don’t simply need big givers we need big thinkers!!! We need creative solutions as well as prophetic direction and insight. Indiscriminate giving will do us great harm. We must look for authentic partnerships. We must be strategic and focused. So that we are not simply blessing on a case by case scenario but we are partnering with those that are already doing it effectively, helping them to reach more, faster.

The last text we want to look at is the parable of the Good Samaritan

(Luke 10:25 - 37). In this divine drama the only player that is not identified is the victim, he is simply “a man”. This becomes interesting in the light of the question asked about who was a neighbor to the victim. The deliberate omission of identity can lead us to only one conclusion that “the man” was indeed “everyman” or simply put mankind. This is a daunting thought and an overwhelming concept but we must resist the temptation to take on what is easy, to take on what is doable, to take on a pet project that we can control. We must give ourselves over to the bigness of our God, heed his call to “the poor” and bring all the Good News that will set them free from cycles that have enslaved them for decades.

Let’s finish where we started

¹      The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me,

      because the LORD has anointed me

      to preach good news to the poor.

      He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,

      to proclaim freedom for the captives

      and release from darkness for the prisoners, ◙

²      to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor

      and the day of vengeance of our God,

      to comfort all who mourn,

       ³and provide for those who grieve in Zion—

      to bestow on them a crown of beauty

      instead of ashes,

      the oil of gladness

      instead of mourning,

      and a garment of praise

      instead of a spirit of despair.

      They will be called oaks of righteousness,

      a planting of the LORD

      for the display of his splendor.

⁴      They will rebuild the ancient ruins

      and restore the places long devastated;

      they will renew the ruined cities

      that have been devastated for generations.

This text starts with the preaching of the good news to the poor but moves us quickly towards restoration of places “long devastated” renewing “ruined cities” and ending devastation that has lasted for “generations”.

Let the Church arise to the high and glorious place God has intended for her. Let the church arise to “be” the good news to those who need good news the most.

The Centurion Project

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