Do You Love Him Enough To Serve Him

Some of us are tired of trying to serve the Lord Jesus without the anointing to empower us to do so. Without the anointing we are doing it in our own strength and maybe for some people that is good enough. It is good enough to go to church. It is good enough to say you are Christian. It is good enough  not to participate in bad things.

Maybe for some it is good enough to be a good person, but being a good person does not make you the disciple Jesus called you to be. It makes you a moral person, and morality is not Christianity.

Somewhere along the way we have lost the extremity of love to which Jesus called us. We seem to ignore the fact that he called us to love him with all our heart, all our mind and all our strength. We seem to conveniently forget that nothing in our life can come before our love for him. We seem to ignorantly believe that Jesus was speaking about a unique situation when he spoke to the rich young ruler, telling him to sell all he had, giving to the poor and then returning to follow Jesus. And we are only willing to apply this to his finances and not to the many things that possess our hearts today.

There are scriptures after scriptures that clearly state that a relationship with Yahweh is all or nothing. To be possessed by the Spirit is to give up all rights and all self-determination. As Paul the apostle stated it:

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. And the life that I now live in my body, I live by faith, indeed, by the faithfulness of God’s Son, who loved me and gave himself for me. (Galatians 2:20)

I don't really know how we can get away with believing this and not living it's implications. If we study the passage about the vine we discover that as branches we get life from the vine. If we try to be anything other than branches we are disconnected from the vine and there is no life in us.

It is important to understand that it is possible to recognize Jesus without submitting to his Lordship. We can worship him without living for him. We can live the appearance of godly lives with no power, and many of us are there.

There is nothing strange about the power of the Spirit in us. It is not a strange fire, as some have called it, but a much desired and needed fire. It is what Jesus has always intended to possess us because the Spirit is God in us. It should not be abnormal for believers but instead a daily living. Without this anointing we can only serve in the flesh, but we are now spiritual children and need to learn to live as such.

As long as we are distracted by the hundreds of distractions surrounding us in our daily living, we are diminishing the power of the Spirit in us. But, do we care enough to do anything about it? Is Jesus more important than anything else? Do we love him above all things? Is it really true of us, that we no longer live but it is Jesus who lives in us?

Jesus, revive your people again.

Don't Go Without The Spirit

Being spiritually minded does not mean the same thing as being Spirit-filled. I find it hard to understand Christians who love the Lord but deny his power in them. They will deal with everything within their limited understanding and refuse to allow Yahweh to be the God of "everything is possible". People look at Jesus and say, "But that was Jesus, Son of God". They fail to understand that Jesus also set for us an example of what it is to live by the Spirit. Read this:

Jesus returned from the Jordan River full of the Holy Spirit, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness. (Luke 4:1)

Jesus was fully God and fully man, having set aside his divinity, and operated in the same manner we have been given to operate; by the Holy Spirit. Jesus did nothing in his divinity but relied on the Spirit for all things. He did not take on the enemy in his own strength but entered the desert full of the Holy Spirit. He was led by the Holy Spirit. So what makes us think we don't need the Holy Spirit and that we are wise within ourselves or that our human strength will carry the day? But it goes beyond even this.

Every day we deny the power of Jesus in us to carry out his work. We decide what we will do according to our abilities, limiting him to those abilities, not stepping out in faith because we have barely even begun to understand what faith means. We serve by what we know, not by the promises. Yet, how did Jesus minister and teach?

Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and news about him spread throughout the whole countryside. He taught in their synagogues and was praised by everyone. (Luke 4:14-15)

Why do we ignore the obvious? Is it simply because we are uncomfortable losing control? Is it because we are afraid to let him be Lord in case he takes us places we don't want to go, to do things we don't want to do? Do we really think he needs our wisdom, our intelligence or our talents? He does not want us to serve him in our limitations but in his possibilities.

Let's stop teaching, preaching, and serving in our own strength and start seeking his anointing through the Spirit to do his work through us. The world doesn't need to hear what we think or to see what we can do. The world needs to see Jesus in us so we need to let him take us beyond ourselves. Let us learn to walk in the Spirit for the sake of the world.

But By My Spirit

You can dedicate what you do as an act of love for Jesus or you can decide to do only the will of the Father. The first is an act of love that depends on you. The second is obedience, that comes from the root of love. The first is what you decide to do. The second is what you are compelled to do. The first is often done in your own strength, ability and talent. The second is done by the power of Yahweh.

Jesus did not dedicate what he did as an act of love for Father. He came in obedience. He lived in obedience. He acted in obedience. He spoke in obedience. Read through the gospel of John and it will become clear to you that Jesus did not act on his own but only did what he was directed to do by the Father. His was a remarkable life of obedience right up to his final breath and beyond. He never asked blessing from the Father for his plans. He had no plans. He did what he was told to do, in love.

In order to be able to carrying out Father's plan, Jesus was given the Holy Spirit at the very beginning. Although he was equally God and equally man, he set aside his claim to the divinity to walk like you and me on this earth. He was given the Spirit so he could demonstrate for us how we are to do what he commands us to do; to do as he did. We too have been given the Spirit so we can follow in Jesus' steps, obeying the will of the Father. Too few people see it this way and often live by option one instead of option two.

We are too quick to read through what we think has become overly familiar. We miss the parts of Scripture where the Spirit led Jesus into the desert, out of the desert, to this place and then that. After writing it so many times the Spirit must have thought we would understand and so did not mention it every time after the beginning. When you read it with open eyes you begin to see things like Luke 5:17b:

"And the power of the Lord (Adonai) was present to heal them." (NKJV)

The New American Standard has it as:

"And the power of the Lord (Adonai) was present for him to perform healing."

What does that tell us? Jesus was given power through the Holy Spirit to do what was needed when it was needed, just like today. Unfortunately we overlook this and continue to go for option one. We do not seek or expect the Lord's anointing (power) and simply do what we think is best, in our own strength and ability. We make our plans and ask him to bless them. This comes from a lack of understanding or simple laziness. It takes effort to seek the will of Father. It takes time in prayer and being in the Word. It takes an emptying of self and a filling of the Spirit. It's easier just to seek blessing because it is a simple matter to overlook scripture:

"'Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,' says the Lord of hosts." (Zechariah 4:6)

Remember the words of Jesus just before he ascended:

"But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." (Acts 1:8)

We have been given the Spirit for many reasons but one of them is so we can receive power for what needs to be done in the moment. If it is to preach then preach, if it is to heal then heal, if it is to cast out demons then cast out demons. He always equips us with his power for his will. We refer to it as the anointing of God. And when we have developed an ongoing, intimate relationship with him, we are given to know his specific will for the moment. We have not been left on our own to figure it out. May we never attempt to serve the Lord without his anointing for the task.

I leave you with this, Paul's prayerful desire for the Colossians:

"For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy; giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light." (Colossians 1:9-12) 

Yes, we can live out option one and continue seeking blessings on our plans but these are done without his divine power and will not stand the testing fire. That's a lot of wasted time and energy. Or we can go with option two, and spend our lives occupied with Father's business, following his instructions, involved with a work that will last all eternity. Work within the anointing.

1 Timothy 1: A Shout Out To The Apostles and Prophets Of This Age

Don't be surprised if there is a great shaking in the Church in the months to follow. I cannot imagine the Lord leaving us in the state we are in. I love the Bride and will defend her to my dying breath but we must also judge ourselves in this matter: we are getting it wrong. There is nothing we can do to correct our situation except humble ourselves and allow the Spirit to bring in correct.

What is wrong?

Consider apostle Paul's words to Timothy, the revelation he had received about his place in the Kingdom:

“Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.” This saying is true, and it can be trusted. I was the worst sinner of all! But since I was worse than anyone else, God had mercy on me and let me be an example of the endless patience of Christ Jesus. He did this so that others would put their faith in Christ and have eternal life. (1 Timothy 1:15-16)

Paul understood that he was a trophy of grace. Jesus was not interested in using Paul's intellect or great talents; he desired to use Paul as an example. Paul knew he was the worst of the worse. He had attacked the Church, the Bride. In doing so he had attacked Jesus. He was the cause of a great persecution which resulted in the death and jailing of believers. But Paul had come to understand that he was called to proclaim the gospel of grace, not because of his great intellect or skills but because of who he had been and what God had done.

There are not too many places that would accept Paul today because we have lost the importance of God's grace and anointing. We still judge by the flesh. There are not a lot of people that would accept an uneducated fisherman like Peter over their churches because he has no letters behind his name. What a foolish Church we have become, rejecting the anointed in favour of the educated. Even worse, we take the anointed and educate it out of them.

I consider my apostle a "Peter". He is extremely rough around the edges, educated in the Spirit and only a few course in man. He drives me crazy at times but he is almost always spot on because of the anointing of God. One thing about this man is for sure, the anointing cannot be denied. Yet he is rejected in the "acceptable"Christian circles because they look to his past, they look to his education, they look to the rough edges, and over-look the anointing and his authority as an apostle. Crazy. Stupid. To deny the blessings of the Lord because we can't look past the flesh. And there are many more like him,being denied their rightful place because of man-made standards.

There is a great shaking that is coming, to knock down what belongs to man, and to raise up what is of God. It will be a hard thing but a good thing. Do not mourn but rejoice that the Head is bringing correction to the Body so the glory of the Father will again be revealed to all who have a heart to see it. May the apostles and prophets take their strength in the Lord and be brave enough to take their place despite the plans of the enemy. And in the authority of Jesus we come against those plans and call to the apostles and prophets to rise up in the anointing Jesus has given them.

Why Are We Playing Church?

Many of us go through the motions with God without any substance to it. It is like a well worn routine, like what you do in the morning. Your alarm goes off. You slowly get up, put on a house coat, use the washroom, take a shower, brush your teeth, get dressed, have some cereal, have a cup of coffee, catch the same bus at the same time every day, because that is your morning routine. You don't think about it, you just do it. Most of us are like this with God. But that is not what he intended for us and it is not what honours him. In fact, there is no value to it unless it is by faith and empowered by the Spirit.

I have heard countless times from Christians, "How do I know he is real?" Well, if you have to ask that question you have never experienced the anointing of God; you have never been bathed in the Spirit; you have never stood in his presence. And this is the problem: Too many Christians are living a religious life instead of a Spirit-filled life.

Don't you want to know that he is real and present every moment of your day? Don't you want to hear from him and receive instruction from him? Don't you want to experience his power as you speak his Word and act on his love? That is what it is to be controlled by the Spirit.

Consider Peter for a moment. Peter was an Everyman. He represents you and me, the simple and common people. There was nothing special about him. He was uneducated. A fisherman. He got it wrong as often as he got it right. He lived by extremes; all or nothing. This was the man who first confessed Jesus as the Son of God one minute and then tried to dictate to him the next. He is the man who pledged his undying support to Jesus one day and then denied him three times the next. But then something happened to change Peter into what Jesus called him to be; the same thing that is suppose to happen to us.

The cross provided salvation, forgiveness, for everything in Peter's life, even the denials. It opened the door to the possibility of transformation, going from what he had been to the new creation the Father desired for him to be. But the power for this transformation came later. The power to live a victorious life in Jesus came after the cross. Jesus, in us, took place after the cross and it happened with the receiving of the Holy Spirit.

Peter went from a hot and cold guy to a spiritual giant. Soon after receiving the Spirit, Peter addressed a crowd and the anointing was so strong on him, the power of God so evident that three thousand people accepted Jesus under the conviction of the Holy Spirit. That is the difference between doing things for God in our strength and knowledge compared to doing it under the conviction and power of the Holy Spirit. We need that anointing.

Good is not good enough in this dying world. I am sure Peter would have served Jesus adequately, with lots of ups and downs, but compare that to the man Peter became. The man who people lined the streets to see in the hopes that his shadow would fall on them and they would be healed. Check it out for yourself in Acts 5. That is the power of God worked through us by the Holy Spirit. It was intended for us as much as the apostles.

We have settled for the ordinary. We go through the motions but they lack conviction and power. That doesn't mean our love isn't real. It simply means that we have lost the knowledge we once had and because we no longer understand the Spirit and who we are in Jesus, we live our religious lives in the best way we can, honestly loving God. But we are wrong for it.The Word clearly states that anything that does not come by faith is sin. It's one and the same.

Jesus stated we would do greater things than he had done, but now we scoff and ridicule those who take him at his word, surrender control to the Spirit, and walk as Jesus walked. We should not be operating for God without the anointing of the Spirit. Without the Spirit we are doing it in our own strength and anything we do like that, even though it is in Jesus' name, will not be honoured and will be burnt up.

I know this may sound strange to you and you may be content with your little life and your little service and your little love, but check it out for yourself. Do a study on the Spirit. Search for the Spirit in the gospels and you will discover that Jesus did nothing in his own ability but always by the Spirit. Do the same thing with the book of Acts and you will discover the apostles only operated by the Spirit.

What a travesty that the vast majority of the Church knows nothing of the manifestation of the Spirit, of the anointing, of the power or of the conviction. What are we doing playing at Church? Renew me Lord, in your power and strength. Come great Spirit, we need you. Come great Spirit we pray. Come in your strength and your power. Come in your own special way. I am praying for you and me both friend.

Letting Them See Jesus

The other day one of our regular customers came into the store. It was a Sunday and the church was meeting in the dinning area for worship service. I had stepped out of the service to get something and saw the customer at the counter speaking with my son, so I went over to greet him. He shook my hand briskly and promptly told me that he knew I was a real man of God. He then went on to explain that every time he sees me he sees an aura around me and it makes him glad. He then expressed his affection to my son and me for our ongoing kindness to him and he promptly left.

I am not under some illusion that I walk around with an aura but I understood what this man was trying to express. He sensed the presence of God and he described it in the only manner he knew how. I share this with you, not with the intention of "hey look at me", but as an example of what some people are able to see in us. Everyone can see it but many choose not too because if they acknowledged it they would also have to acknowledge the conviction of the Spirit, and that would provoke a decision.

I remind you today that your time on this earth is not about you seeking the blessings of a comfortable life. You are a vessel of the Holy Spirit, the only presence of God that some people will ever experience. Wherever you go, Jesus is right there with you, not just for your benefit but for the sake of a dying world. But, are our behaviour, words and actions putting up a screen so that others cannot see Jesus, only our unkindness?

Words matter. So do actions. So does attitude; as does love, forgiveness, mercy and grace. All the things that God has done for us, we are to do for others. That's what Jesus said. "Freely you have received; freely give." Jesus also told us something incredible in his prayer for us as he spoke to the Father on our behalf:

I am one with them, and you are one with me, so that they may become completely one. Then this world’s people will know that you sent me. They will know that you love my followers as much as you love me. (John 17:23, CEV)

It is the "aura" that people see, our oneness with Jesus and each other. They see him in our unity and compassion for people. They see him in our words and actions. They don't see the kindness and love of people. They can find that in any good, well meaning organization. I am talking about the actual presence of God, the anointing that comes through our being possessed by the Holy Spirit.

Anyone can perform acts of kindness, but when that kindness is offered in the authority of Jesus Christ, his presence is also felt, and there is power behind that action. We can do nothing apart from Jesus. That is what he told us. He told us we have to stay connected to the vine, and he is that vine, or we would dry up and be thrown into the fire. Acts of kindness amount to nothing if they are done apart from Jesus. We are not here to perform acts of kindness but to carry the presence of Jesus, so that others will see him in us; the kindness will be provoked in us by the Spirit of God in us. They need to see the "aura", the anointing, the power, the thing that sets us apart from this world. They need to see Jesus.

My friends, it is not about a written code or meeting certain expectations. It is not about being well thought of or accepted as a kind person in this world. It is about total surrender to the Spirit, walking in obedience, getting out of the way and allowing people to see Jesus. It is about Jesus being lifted up in us, being one with him so that only he is seen in us. May they see the "aura" in you today.

Usurping God's Authority

It is hard not to think with the world's mindset when we have been raised, educated and operate in it every day. We do it without thinking about it and that's probably the greatest problem: we don't think. Too often we put our mind in neutral and go with the flow. As Christians we mistakenly think that our first impulse will be for God, that it is second nature to us. But it isn't. We have to make a concerted effort to think with the mind of Christ. We have to make a conscience decision to walk with the Spirit, taking actions that would please God instead of our flesh.

God's ways are far from what we want. His desire is hard for us to fathom over our own. We think because something is a good idea and it is doable that we should just go ahead and do it. We think that just because something looks like it would honour God we have the authority to do it. When will we learn?

Too often we put all the emphasis on ability. Just because I am able to do something does not mean I should. Just because I have better qualities to be a leader does not mean I am God's choice to lead. The reverse also applies; just because I don't have the best leadership qualifications doesn't mean I am not called to lead. Come on people, we have the Bible. When are we going to start seeing God's heart in it?

There were those who thought they could do a better job of leading Israel than Moses. Even Moses' own family came against him at one point, jealous over his authority. Who knows, maybe there were those with better ability than Moses but it didn't matter. God had chosen Moses and the only ability Moses needed was obedience and faithfulness to God who instructed him. Maybe that's the real problem. Maybe we don't realize that leadership in the Church is not about how well a person can lead but instead how obedient a person is to God instructions and directions. Jesus is the head of the Church, not man.

We seem to have lost respect for the anointed and maybe it's because we have left the anointing aside when it comes to us choosing our king, oops, I mean leaders, pastors. David was one who understood the anointing. He was chosen as king long before he became king. He understood that it was not given to him to remove Saul, but instead to replace him when God had removed him. It took time. It took time because David refused to usurp God's authority. God had put Saul in place and God would remove him. I'm not saying that it is a model for today but simply pointing out that David understood what was going on and how leadership worked from God's perspective.

I am concerned for the Church and have been for many years. Our emphasis is all wrong when it comes to leadership. Our expectations are wrong. The mindset of the leaders is wrong. The Church is being run and directed by a bunch of highly educated executives who act more like business people needing to report to their board of directors and must always please the stockholders.  No wonder there is lack of God's power in the Church; we've left God out.

Why can't we set aside all the garbage, all our best practices, all our church growth, emerging church ideas and seek again the will of our God? Why can't we allow him to shake up the whole Church so that the anointing will fall back into place and we can be a real people who desire nothing more than God's will? Why can't we put the emphasis back on walking in the Spirit instead of our own intellect? Oh yeah, we are stuck in the world's mindset. Oh God, send your cleansing, correcting purifying fire today, that the Bride may rise up in the full glory of the Groom.

What Are We Missing?

If you were to take a survey of family and friends, what do you think they would list as your number one strength? Is it your charm? Perhaps your whit? Maybe you have superior intellect or great musical ability? Could it be your talent for making and keeping friends? Loyalty, dependability, determination, maturity? It's funny how some people see traits in us that we would never see in ourselves. But would any of your friends say you are a person of grace?

I have met some awesome people in my time. Some were great preachers and others great evangelists. I have met prophets and teachers whose revelation and understanding make me look like a beginner in God's Word. But whatever we are and whatever we have can all be made useless without a practical application of God's grace. It is only in the context of God's love that we can begin to grasp the profoundness and the life impacting nature of grace.

Perhaps it is for this reason that the Apostle Paul spent so much precious time encouraging Timothy in this, in his last letter to his friend. He writes:

You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. (2 Timothy 2:1)

So many people want to walk in Jesus' footsteps but fail to understand those steps are things of grace. Every minute he lived here, every breath he took, every step he made, every word he spoke were done in the grace of God. We didn't deserve any of it.The only thing we had earned was God's wrath but here he was rescuing us in an action of grace to his enemy and setting an example of how we have been transformed. Yes, we were transformed to be vessels of this great ointment called grace.

If you say you love Jesus and yet hold on to even a pebble of hatred, you have not really experienced the love of God. If you become impatient easily, avoid certain people, love some more than others, then you have not grasped the nature of God's grace. If you keep a list of wrongs, fail to forgive wrongs done to you, find it impossible to be kind to those who hate you, then you do not understand the true cost of following Jesus.

It is not a matter of us trying to love others. No matter how hard we try we will never be able to find it in ourselves to love as God loves. We don't have it in ourselves to be like Jesus. Many have tried; all have failed. We can become like a good person. We can become a person people admire as we allow our strong traits to shine through and try to keep our bad ones hidden. But in Jesus nothing is hidden that will not be exposed.

The only way we can live the grace that we have been shown is by allowing Jesus to live through us. We have to die to ourselves, stop pushing for what we want, stop running from God to gain the world. We have to empty ourselves and allow the Spirit of God to have full control so that the anointing of God will be on us, and the new character, the character of Jesus will be seen by all. Then we will live a life of grace. Then the world will see the difference and know there is a difference. They may hate us for it but at least they will know.

Would your friends say grace is a word that describes you?

Jesus Chooses, Not Us

Even after all these years I still find it amazing that God chooses to use the foolish of this world to confound the wise. Unfortunately the "wise" choose to see the vessel instead of hear the message and reject both. I am not referring to the world here. I am speaking of the Church. We still don't get it. We don't get that God uses whoever he wants whenever he chooses. We don't get that it has little to do with education and much to do with obedience. We don't get that it is not about our talents and everything about God's anointing. We don't get that Jesus' chooses us, we don't choose Jesus, when it comes to calling and purpose.

The apostle Paul was a foolish man when he was called Saul. To the Jews he was a success. He was a young scholar, learning under the best, filled with zeal for Israel. He was so zealous and ignorant of God that he actually attacked the one he supposedly loved and served. Jesus looked at this man who hated the Church so much that he set his mind upon destroying it, and chose him to bring to the world the gospel of grace. Grace was nothing new, but Jesus was about to bring Saul to a greater revelation of it than anyone else had ever received. But here was Saul, a great persecutor of the Church. What would Jesus do?

Jesus did for Saul the same thing he has done for all of us; he reached out and allowed him to make a decision. Perhaps Saul's encounter with Jesus was a little more dramatic than yours, but then again Jesus really needed to get his attention. Jesus met with him, revealed his glory to him, appointed and anointed him for his task. Saul became Paul, the great herald of the gospel of grace. Paul never forgot this moment. He never forgot the charge given to him. He never took it lightly:

And of this gospel I was appointed a herald and an apostle and a teacher. (2 Timothy 1:11)

We don't get to decide. We don't get to choose what we feel comfortable with and do that. We don't get to tell God what we are willing to do for him. We are servants. We listen for the Master's voice. When he appoints us he equips us. The last thing we want to do is try to walk in a calling that is not ours, trying to do it in our strength and ending up destroyed. When we are called by God for what we must do, we will look back at that moment again and again to remember it was not our choosing but God's. It makes a big difference when you end up suffering for that calling. In your strength you will quit and run away. In God's strength and energy you will stand your ground and remain faithful to the task.

Too many people are choosing their own calling. Too many people are operating in Jesus`name but lack authority. Too many people are being destroyed, quitting, walking away because they chose and were not appointed. It looks so simple at the beginning. It looks like a simple choice but you have no idea of the trials, persecutions, suffering that marks the way. In the Lord we have joy and peace but if you have chosen that path for yourself you are facing destruction.

Set your mind and heart on things above and listen. Listen for the Master`s voice and obey. It does not matter the task we are called to. The only thing that counts is faithfulness to that which we have been given to do. Obedience, faithfulness, determination, going the distance is success in our calling and it is possible because we were chosen.

Content Of Our Prayer

What is the subject of most of your prayers? Most often they are about ourselves; usually rushed emergency prayers. If they are not emergency prayers then they are about us getting closer to God, asking for our eyes to be opened, wanting to sense his presence. How often do we pray for other people? How often do we listen to what is going on around us? How much do we watch and pray? You are a power house of God's mercy and grace with the ability to affect what is happening around you. That's the authority you have through Jesus.

How often do you contend in prayer for those who have been called as leaders in the Body of Christ? You know, those men and women who have set everything aside to make people their business, for the sake of the Kingdom? Doesn't matter if you call them elders, pastors, missionaries, evangelists, prophets or apostles, they are all in great need of your prayer support. How many do you know? For how many do you pray?

Apostle Paul was not above soliciting prayer from the Body of Christ:

And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. (Colossians 4:3)

All the human effort on this planet cannot even begin to budge some doors, but prayer flings the doors wide open. I can't explain why God has chosen to work through our prayers but he does. Prayer is an absolute necessity in the work of the Kingdom and people who are looking for doors to be opened so they can preach the Good News need us to be praying. But it is not just about opportunities.

Apostle Paul added:

Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should. (v. 4)

We need to pray for the anointing of the workers. We can do a lot in our flesh but we can't do in our flesh anything that will be of any eternal good. The work of the Kingdom needs the anointing of God so it will be proclaimed "clearly", as it should. Without the anointing our words land on deaf ears. Pray for the anointing.

We should each have a list of leaders we are supporting in prayer. Let them know you are one of their prayer supporters and I am sure they will supply you with a list of their prayer needs. Fight for them every day. Make the vast majority of the content of your prayers about others and you will see things begin to change for you.

Far From Ordinary

You are not ordinary. You are far from ordinary. You may have been ordinary but you are not ordinary any more. It is done; you are finished with being ordinary. Whatever you were, forget about it. Whatever limitations you had, forget about it. Whatever people think about you, forget about it.

This is what struck me as I read through Amos the other day. He was one of the prophets of the Old Testament. As a prophet he was given a message from God for the king and the kingdom and it wasn't always pleasant. However, prophets didn't get to choose what to say as they were simply messengers. It is because of the message that most prophets were seldom respected or treated well. No one wants to be told that what they are doing is wrong.

The king of Israel did not like what Amos was saying so he ordered him out of the kingdom. This was Amos' response:

I was neither a prophet nor a prophet’s son, but I was a shepherd, and I also took care of sycamore-fig trees. But the Lord took me from tending the flock and said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to my people Israel.’ Now then, hear the word of the Lord. (Amos 7:14-16)

Notice his credentials? He only had one: "The Lord took me". He did not come from a line of prophets. He had no education or training. He was a farmer. A farmer! What business do farmers have in being God's prophets? The same business as fishermen and tax collectors. The same business as miners and construction workers. The same business as a hamburger flipper and newspaper sellers. The same business as students and stay at home moms.

There is only one credential anyone needs to preach the word or do anything in the Kingdom of Jesus: Be anointed by God.

I can`t say this enough. Professionalism has taken over the church. Credentials are all that matters. When I identify myself as a pastor most people look for my credibility by asking where I trained or studied. My credentials are found in the anointing of God and if you cannot sense that anointing then walk away. The well educated, the "trained", businessmen and teachers should not be heading up the Church as they do today. Jesus is the head and the Holy Spirit is the power. We have too many thinkers and not enough doers. Too much self-direction and not enough anointing.

When you are sure of your calling and know the anointing of God, not even kings can scare you. No authority on this earth can turn you aside from you purpose. No discouragement or fear can turn you back. Amos heard what the king said and responded with "God sent me to prophesy to Israel, now hear the word of the Lord." I really appreciate that. He says "I was nothing but God chose me and I am obeying". You have to appreciate the obedience.

My friend, know your calling. Accept the anointing. Obey what the Lord says. Ignore the haters. The only one you are ever going to answer to is Jesus and all he is looking for is obedience. So forget what anyone else tells you and respond to the Spirit who is revealing the calling, anointing you for the task and is directing you what to do. If there are true elders in your church, they will know the calling that is there and they will confirm what the Lord has put on you. Unfortunately there are many who call themselves elders who have never been anointed for the responsibility. So, you may have to accept and trust that God has called and anointed you. Listen to the Spirit. That is the only voice to which you should be listening

Thank you Amos.

An Uneducated Pastor

Can you imagine volunteering for your job instead of getting paid? Imagine walking into your boss and telling him you don't need the company computer, you are going to provide your own. Or a bus driver telling the city he's going to provide his own bus? Silly, right? Yet so many of us do that with God. He doesn't want anything from us except our friendship, love, emptiness and availability  For everything he calls us to he equips. Yet, most of us turn down his provision and try to resource the tasks ourselves.

How many things do you do in God's name that actually come from you? How many times have you spoken from your wisdom, served in your strength, reacted by your conviction, given from your riches? We can do a fair job in our own ability but God intends for us to go beyond fair to supernatural, beyond anything we could have ever imagined. When we do things in his anointing everything changes. He doesn't need anything we have to offer, he pours it out on us. Wow! do we ever have it backwards.

This is what the great apostle Paul requested the Ephesians to pray for him:

Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should. (Ephesians 6:19-20)

"Words may be given me", he writes. Paul did not speak from his own great knowledge and training. Paul did not speak from his own opinion or speculation. Paul did not study for four years to come up with the gospel of grace. Paul was in-filled by the Spirit. equipped, enabled and empowered to be the apostle to the Gentiles. He was given the revelation of the gospel of grace through the Spirit of God.

We've gone crazy with education. Knowledge is great. All minds should be expanded to the best of our capacity but God is not dependent on our education. We do not have to go off and be trained according to the methods of man before we can preach, teach and evangelize. A pastor does not need letters after his name and neither do apostles, prophets, evangelists and teachers. There is nothing wrong with Bible colleges but God doesn't require them. We need to have Paul's understanding of God's equipping.

Style and methods do not mean anything compared to the anointing of God. We need more servants who are dependent on God for all things than we need educated men and women filling the positions in the Church. We need men and women who say to God "here am I send me" and desire their lips to be touched by the burning coal. We need men and women who understand that their power to serve comes from the Holy Spirit not seminary courses. We need men and women of God who are more interested in the anointing than in man's recognition of their studies.

I would rather sit under the training of an uneducated former alcoholic, saved by grace, empowered by the Holy Spirit than the best trained and educated seminary graduate. The anointing of God is all that we need to serve him to the full potential to which he has called us. Do not let anyone tell you any different. God's training school is all you need. Put your confidence in Jesus and you will be amazed how he uses you for his glory.

High-Jacked By Teachers

A couple of Sundays ago my pastor, who is the apostle to the church I pastor, brought a word about grace. It wasn't the grace that you and I talk about all the time, the grace that makes it possible for our sins to be forgiven. He spoke on the grace that we operate in, that allows us to be what God has called us to be. It is a grace that is portioned out according to Jesus' purpose for us:

But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. (Ephesians 4:7)

Taking your place in the Body of Christ is not like choosing a career. In choosing a career you either pick what you enjoy doing or what will give you the biggest return for your investment. If you decide to become a doctor you are guaranteed work but it is a huge investment. In the Body of Christ you don't get to choose your place because it is God who decides. Whatever you become is not by your choice or your investment, it is not even according to your natural ability, it is only by the calling of God:

It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers. (Ephesians 4:11)

This is a verse much of the Church ignores or dismisses in this age of self-choice. It is Jesus who sets aside, sanctifies for his purpose. It is Jesus who chose the trainers for the Body and he anointed them with what they need to do the job. He called, he equipped and he established, by his grace. Those called to such responsibility do so by God's grace not their ability.

Today we require the "leadership" to be well educated. They are chosen by a selection board. Their calling is either verified or denied by people. They have to have letters behind their name instead of clear signs of the anointing of Jesus. Their ability to balance the financial books outweigh any need for the evidence of the Spirit operating in them. Gone is the need for the grace of God, replaced by the career minded.

Somewhere along the line teachers have high-jacked the Body of Christ. Perhaps it was in a bid for more respect from the world. But it is wrong. Jesus did not choose the scholars of his day, he chose by the grace that was being apportioned. He chose those who were teachable, those with little value, the fishermen and tax collectors. He gave them great value and they learned, being reshaped, becoming men of awesome power and strength. They had more than letters after their name, they had Jesus written over their name.

Of course it is not just the trainers that Paul writes of. Read 1 Corinthians 12 to understand the structure and real beauty of the Church. He wrote that this grace has been given to each of us, as Jesus has apportioned it. To each of us. There are no spectator seats in the Body of Christ. Each part has an important place and role, and their function, your function, is vital to the purpose of the Body.

Not according to your ability, desire or even intelligence. It doesn't matter if you have no education or you have 12 doctorates. Your education or lack thereof is not what matters. Jesus is not looking for scholars but for those who are teachable and are willing to be shaped into what Jesus desires. He is calling those who are willing to accept and operate in the grace he has given, never questioning, just obeying. It's not by your choice but by God's grace and all he is looking for is a love response from you, a response of obedience. Do you know what grace has been apportioned to you? Have you taken your place in the Body of Christ? Are you operating in the anointing of the Spirit?