Wednesday, September 29, 2010

"Just How is God Changing the Church?"

The following article by Bill Click is a present word that must be read carefully, not casually.

There are several people who felt Bill was saying that all large churches will be destroyed, that is not at all what he is saying here. Also, there was misunderstanding in all churches not having leaders; again, that is not what he is saying.

Sometimes I believe we need to read through things more than once to see what the Spirit of the Lord is saying to us. May this article bless you as it blessed Gary and I.

Bless you all – Gary and Traci Carson

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As the Body of Christ, we have been given the Spiritual capacity for Divine discernment. We now live with a better Covenant. Under the old, it was enough to know the times and what to do during them (1Chron.12:32). But now in the New, we are to know Christ Himself, "who searches the hearts and knows what the mind of the Spirit is" (Ro.8:27).

Many have been proclaiming and praying for a "shift" for some years, but now that it is clearly emerging most are getting so thrown by its arrival they struggle to make any Divine sense of it whatsoever. And in such instances- we Christians- whenever not able to make sense of anything according to our preconceptions, we usually attribute it wrongly- either to the enemy, the economy, politics, or even the end times.

The Paradox of the Kingdom to be Embraced

Here is a promise you can count on: God the Father is going to be continuing to allow, promote and even instigate continual changes which will confound the religious mind and absolutely and completely require the Church to rise up into her true Nature. This will neither slow nor stop taking place. if anything, it will accelerate and intensify.

For years, we have been attempting to shape our surroundings to our liking, and conditions to our favor. The reason we have failed is that it is not God's plan. The Lord has allowed us to attempt many false options- all in the hope that we would turn to Him. The fallacy of fruitless workings have been taken away from many already, but for some they are being knocked out from underneath them at this time. For yet others this will occur at the time the "felt need" is most severe (causing the most disappointment & even disillusion).

What can we do? As we continue through this process of the Lord, the Word of God that lives in us by the Spirit must become more alive to us as Christ's Body than ever before, especially when it comes to the reality of His sufficiency within, for and through us.

As it says in II Peter 1:3-4, "His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust."

We know that it is not enough to declare or decree such a Scripture; it must be entered into by authentically possessing the promises released by the Spirit in the same way that actual faith carries Divine "substance." In other words, something must take place in the inner man which results in the actual mind of Christ being released through the Spirit (1Cor.2:6-16).

It is always true, however (& sadly), that many will neither rightly perceive nor properly respond to the times we are going to be living in. Times which (by the grace & plan of God) are days determined by God to reveal Christ through His Church with greater power, purity and purpose than ever before. Times which- in all honesty- have already begun to unfold without our awareness, expectation or even desire.

"But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place. For we are a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing; to the one an aroma from death to death, to the other an aroma from life to life. And who is adequate for these things? For we are not like many, peddling the word of God, but as from sincerity, but as from God, we speak in Christ in the sight of God" (2Cor.2:14-17).

To this end the Word will become true for many, but in a different way than God's desired best. Instead, that "fragrance of life" that we have designed to become in Christ will instead actually be the "smell of death" to many Christians themselves, because they lack the discernment to determine that God will make a way to have his finest hour through them in the season when all those operating without His Grace will have their absolute worst.

For years, I have believed that a true understanding of what is ahead in the Kingdom of God cannot be separated from the darkness becoming increasingly dark, and the light becoming increasingly bright. I have held my peace during seasons when "cutting edge" postmillenialists posing as Apostles have misinterpreted affluence and economic expansion as a sign of the Kingdom, waiting instead for the time to "the present truth" when it would make the most "sense" to the Body (II Pe.1:12).

Timing IS everything, just ask God. He says "there is a time for everything, a season for every activity under Heaven" (Ecc.3:1). And the time is coming when instead of the majority of North American Christians being affluent (or perhaps event solvent), they will become strapped like never before. Unfortunately, this is already taking place in spheres, and I wish it were not the case. But during such seasons, the tares will become more easily seen among the wheat.

But until sifting of this degree takes place, we will neither export the true message, nor impart the true experience of Christ to those who have looked at the American church as their model for what Christianity is supposed to be (because of our resources). In actuality, we will then have to learn Christianity from those in the world who are far more deeply imbedded in it than we are, from those who have to live obediently to survive and thrive in the midst of lack, persecution, and continual uncertainty of all types.

All that has now already begun to take place to shake apart all the false foundations, will be continued and intensified by the kindness of God (Ro.2:4). This, in order that we, the church, will receive "the whole counsel of God." Only then will we be able to model the life God intended and extend the life Jesus came to give. This, so that we authentically release it to mankind. But as this takes place, many will soon discover their Christianity has not been much more than an eternal fire insurance, or an attempt to perhaps have a better life, or even the means to escape social and psychological isolation and alienation through peer grouping to have a sense of belonging.

"At that time many will fall away and will betray one another and hate one another. Many false prophets will arise and will mislead many. Because lawlessness is increased, most people's love will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end, he will be saved. This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come" (Mt.24:10-14).

The Short Term Shift that will be felt in the Church

In years past, small ministries have looked to larger ministries in many ways. Even now, many smaller ministries want to emulate and draw from larger ones. This is understandable. Smaller churches have "needed" larger, more visible and significant ones for identity, resources, assistance, expertise, accountability and even fellowship. But this will begin shifting at a rapid pace that will not be able to be prevented, until many larger ministries will have to turn to the smaller ones for their own survival.

How could this be? In the reasoning of our experience, this looks impossible, but remember: God the Father is going to be continuing to allow, promote and even instigate ongoing changes which will confound the religious mind and require the Church to rise up in her true Nature. For years, we have been attempting to shape our surroundings to our liking, and the conditions to our favor. That option has been taken away from many already, but for some it is being knocked out from under them at this time. For others it will become impossible at the time the "felt need" for it is most severe.

By looking at the common way that ministries are structured, we can more easily understand how this can be. It is common for us to understand that most larger ministries (let's say: churches of 600 attendees or more, maybe less) are most heavily attended (supported) by the tithes and offerings of the people who stand to continually be those most financially affected in the days to come.

For example: Those impacted the most by what will be taking place in our society will (continue to be) those most heavily invested in stocks, holdings, and even real estate ventures. We do not even need to comment on just how many local churches of size and influence are heavily endowed by a single or a small handful of such persons. This does not even yet take account the debt load of many ministries. As these "patron's" (let's call them) ability to contribute is continually adversely impacted, a process will unfold (that many already find themselves in the midst of):

  1. Ministry Mission has to take a back seat to debt servicing, then

  1. Debt servicing becomes the focal point of the congregation's radar screen, meaning: nothing can be seen on the horizon of vision without first and foremost being filtered through debt and its threat, and

  1. The ministry goes and stays in "crises mode" and the continual scenario is one of refinancing, begging, delaying, and defaulting.

Impossible, you say?

The second most affected group of congregants will also be impacted by what will continue to take place in our society. 401K investments which will have shrunk, and corporate pensions that may become defaulted on- to the point the government cannot pay them. This may very well continue for a while. These 2 groups are part and parcel of the majority of significant members of church churches of practically any size. Decreased access to money, coupled with job loss, foreclosure (some already face all 3 of these maladies, even now, and many others soon will), and you have the vast constituency of tithes and offerings in any and almost every ministry being brought to a very low level. The result being a church that may not shrink in size, but will have only a fraction of its previous budget available to them. Impossible?

Remember: God the Father is going to be continuing to allow, promote and even instigate ongoing changes which will confound the religious mind and require the Church to rise up in her true Nature. For years, we have been attempting to shape our surroundings to our liking, and the conditions to our favor. That crutch is being taken away.

Many corporate leaders of larger ministries will not be able to make the shift, because they will not see the changes for what they truly are and their personal wineskin and organizational structures will not allow them to move into the new with God. The New? It will feature smaller ministries coming together to function more fruitfully than many larger ones, true unity due to authentic function prevailing over organizational emphases, and an increased recognition of true apostolic authority and cooperation because of more authentic relationships that will keep ministry properties from being lost to abandonment through secular capture or financial failure.

Although there will be exceptions, it will be mostly through the smaller ministries that true "Apostles of the City" and "Territorial Sphere's of Influence" will be emerging, with survival becoming so important that some will release their pride long enough to suspend their "need to lead" so that the church truly move into the realm with God that was seen in its beginning. Why?

Smaller ministries and their leaders will not be faced with as much debt. Moreover, some of those leading smaller ministries have been better prepared for such a season, having had to make more crucial survival decisions over the years. As a result, they will know how to park the ego, trim the fluff and not allow their pride and need for reputation to influence the way they allow themselves to be known and seen. Get ready.

After all, it was under the absolute worst possible conditions that the Acts Church of Jerusalem manifested such a great move of the Spirit. But instead of our extremes and false understandings of "wealth transfer" and "blessing" as either a substitute or prerequisite for that, it will (thank God) again become more now as it was then:

"They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone kept feeling a sense of awe; and many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles. And all those who had believed were together and had all things in common; and they began selling their property and possessions and were sharing them with all, as anyone might have need. Day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved" (Acts 2:42-47).

A Call to Every Leader

My writing today is not intended to judge those whose ministries are large and unduly elevate those whose are not. It's entirely possible for those with little or no sphere of influence to be bound up in their ego, sense of self, etc. Conversely, many who are numerically fruitful may very well be so because they have submitted themselves to an extremely high degree, allowing God to give them increasing responsibility.

What I am suggesting, however, is that whatever has happened to this point will not be enough to secure this new season, neither will God feel any sort of obligation to either loose people into greater ministry or sustain any existing ministry because of a need for the fabric of either of these to remain untorn. As the Holy Spirit says through Paul:

"Whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, and may be found in Him . . . the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead."

"Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus. Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Let us therefore, as many as are perfect, have this attitude; and if in anything you have a different attitude, God will reveal that also to you" (Php.3:7-15).

The Church is being called into the Kingdom like never before. We must enter into That Reign which is larger than our own, which is greater than our reputation and influence (whether these be large or small). The Church Christ is calling us to be is bigger than our congregations, affiliations, networks, denominations and present cooperative ventures.

Begin to see everything that the church has possessed as belonging to the Kingdom (& not your corporation or any other congregation or denomination). By the Spirit, pray in the Kingdom for your city and area, for your group, network or affiliations. Be ready to be called upon to release what you have (as individuals, families or as a corporate body) for the sake of God saturating your area with His presence and purpose.

Hold on loosely to your ideas of how things should be and what way they should go, holding on tightly to the Lord who holds destiny in His hand.

No Quick Fix, Easy Way Out Solutions Being Offered

I realize that this message is more concerned with exposing and surveying issues than presenting solutions or ways to rectify dilemmas. There is a need to soberly embrace present realities so adjustments in operation can be made, expectations can be altered, and overt spiritualizing or misdirecting of responsibility can be refrained from.

The Lord will use this time to make us better than ever before, if we will daily seek to enter the narrow door.

Bill Click

www.riverofpower.org

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

"Mules in Disguise" by Traci Carson

(Published in 2008)

Years ago when I worked at a Pack Station in the
Eagle Cap Mountains of Eastern Oregon I rode my first mule. I fell in love with the beast and decided I would buy one for myself. Boy, did I have a lot to learn about this stubborn breed. Although we worked through our issues and finally came to a compromise of the wills, we still from time to time battle at who is the master. No matter how hard I may try to change him into a horse, he is still a mule.

One particular year I took him to a New Year’s Eve party at an Equestrian Center where everyone brought their horses in for team penning. Instead of bringing my horse, I thought I would bring Donovan and get him acquainted with the calves and such. Well, things didn’t go as I had planned. Instead of rounding up the calves, he attacked them! I was shocked and very apologetic for my mule’s behavior. One cowboy laughed at me and said, “You can’t train them mules to round up cows. What’s wrong with you?” Although I disagree with him because I have seen mules round up cattle, my particular mule chooses NOT to.

My passion for mules was a preparation for ministry I think. Really, I’m not being a smart-aleck; ministry can be quite challenging as you deal with people who want to do it their way, or no way at all. Regardless of the challenges and frustrations, I passionately love God’s people.

The Mule is a cross between a donkey stallion (called a jack) and a horse mare. Both male and female mules have all the correct "parts" but they are sterile and cannot reproduce. A very few (about 1 in 1 million) mare mules have had foals, but these are very, very rare. No male mule has ever sired a foal. So if you cross a mule to a mule - you get nothing! Mules must be bred by crossing a donkey and horse every time.

My point here is you can cross stubbornness (donkey), with power, strength and conquest (symbolic of a horse) and come out spiritually sterile and unable to reproduce anything substantial in the sight of God. Over the years of riding mules, there were many times when I would run into people who thought my mule was a horse. They would ewe and awe over him and then they would cock one eyebrow up and then the other and say, “Is he part donkey?”

You can try to mask stubbornness and rebellion with power, strength, conquest and what some consider beauty, but in the end you are still a mule in the eyes of the Lord.

The Lord chose to ride a donkey through the streets of Jerusalem. This prophetic act was powerful as He was demonstrating submission to His Lordship as the only way to navigate into the New Jerusalem. He is not returning on a donkey or a mule, He is returning on an obedient majestic horse.

In our Lord’s second coming He is returning to the Spiritual Jerusalem on a white horse. In Revelation 19:11 we read where the heavens opened up and He who is Faithful, True and in Righteousness, who also judges and makes war is sitting upon a white horse. White is symbolic of purity, righteousness and holiness. The horse is symbolic of power, strength and conquest. He is returning in and through and upon a people who are holy, pure and righteous (in His righteousness). They abide in Him and not themselves. They are strong in the Lord and in the power of His might, therefore being conquerors.

The New Jerusalem which is above and is free (Gal.4:26), and where we come unto Mount Zion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem…to the general assembly and church of the firstborn (Heb.12:22-23). The first Jerusalem (which is natural) was in bondage, but the second (spiritual Jerusalem) is not – Praise Jesus!

In Song of Solomon 1:9, the Bridegroom says to His bride, “I have compared you to a horse in Pharaoh’s chariot.” When you think about this statement, it is quite a compliment as a horse chosen for Pharaoh’s chariot is a horse that has allowed its independent spirit to be broken, and has won the affection and favor of the king.

The Holy Spirit presents Himself to you and me in the arena of life, waiting for us to come to Him (Ps.32:8-9). When we come to Him and allow Him to break us, we then begin to see the demonstration of a meek and quiet spirit. We must give the Lord permission to break all that is not of Him, allowing the breaking process within. If we constantly fight against His will and insist on our own rights, this breaking will never take place. We will watch others pass us by who trusted and allowed the breaking process and therefore "hitched to the chariot of the King" bringing Him forth in all His glory.

You will never see a mule hitched to the chariot of the King, no matter how beautiful, powerful or smart they are.



www.voiceofthetrumpet.org

"The Scattering Movement" by John Burton


To say that I’m concerned would be a gross understatement. There is a scattering movement in the nation that’s causing deep harm to the mission of the church. This scattering of believers is so widespread that we are seeing theologies and philosophies emerging that support the idea that it’s actually healthy to disband and withdraw. It becoming common to hear people say things like, “The church isn’t a building,” or, “I am the church, so I don’t have to go ‘to church’.”

The idea is that people have become so wounded or dissatisfied with their experience in the church that they have decided that it’s not only better but actually biblically acceptable to minimize participation in an organized church setting.
This mindset is threatening the corporate mission to a terrifying degree.

YOU ARE NOT THE CHURCH
If we understand the meaning of the word ‘church’ we could never presume that we alone are the church. That idea is contrary to the origin of the word (ekklesia, meaning “assembly”). In fact, that word has secular origins. It literally means an assembly of people who have been called together by an authority in the city or region. Wow! That sheds a lot of light on what the church is.

The church is an assembly of people organized under defined governmental leadership. It’s a regular gathering of people who are deeply agreed and in pursuit of mission advance with apostles, prophets and other governmental leaders.
Further, the pure definition of the word reveals that it isn’t used as easily in the context of the global company of believers as it is in the regional and local gathering of believers. The definition reveals that it’s a well defined local group vs. a loosely defined larger group of people (who mostly don’t know each other at all).

We can’t be a part of the church if we aren’t gathered together with other parts of the church. Church is corporate.
Additionally, the church is a group of people who assemble, fellowship, pray and respond together to apostolic teaching. That can’t happen in a more nebulous global context. The church has inherent in it’s core call the expectation of assembly and a corporate response so as to ensure the local mission is fulfilled. Again, a fulfilled mission can’t be realized without this type of intentional and faithful participation at a local level where communication and commonality are clearly defined.

WHAT ABOUT HAVING CHURCH ONLINE?
I agree that there is much to enjoy and gain from this amazing technological world. We can watch church services online (I was watching one myself just tonight), listen to worship, meet Christians in forums and on Facebook, pray for one another and involve ourselves in Kingdom business in very unique ways.

However, if this is the limit of one’s involvement, there are some key issues to be considered:


1. DEVOID OF APOSTOLIC LEADERSHIP—
There is most probably (there are exceptions) no clearly defined apostolic leadership involved. We have to know who we’re called to serve with. We have to all hear, together, in our local congregation, how we are to respond in mission advance. What’s God calling our leaders to focus on? How are we to participate? What are the goals? What steps must we take to prepare ourselves to see this come to pass?

2. LACK OF STRATEGIC CORPORATE INTERCESSION—
While not impossible, it’s very hard to involve ourselves in the number one purpose of the church this way—corporate intercession. We just have to be together to pray with unity and consistency if we are to have the sufficient strength to see significant impact.

3. NO ACCOUNTABILITY—
Accountability and discipline are nearly non-existent outside of the context of the local church. Most who flock from the church and into alternative spiritual activities do so to avoid conflict, accountability and correction from leadership. We have to understand that this is a critical part of the refining process. We must be receptive and humble and ready to be challenged—even if the leaders God established for us are exceptionally flawed and out of touch with our needs.

4. PROMOTES MISUNDERSTANDING OF THE PURPOSE OF THE CHURCH—
It can quite easily reinforce a wrong understanding of the purpose of the church. I would say this is the most serious issue. The prevailing thought these days is that the church is there for us. Whatever needs we have, we can get many of them met in the church. So, we attend if we are ministered to. Or, we may determine that we can get what we’re looking for without regular church attendance. So, the church becomes unnecessary to us.

Friend, this concept is a defilement of the church. I can’t say it any less striking than that. We are called to gather together with other believers to intercede for the nations. We are there to give, to serve, to minister, to pray, to grow. The church isn’t primarily there for us, we are to be there for the mission of the church. We may say that we don’t need the church but have we considered that the church needs us?
I believe the scattering movement is one of the enemy’s most urgent assaults in these current times. He knows the power of unified togetherness. He used that very strategy when attempting to build a tower to Heaven.

God himself said that the successful plan of unity would actually succeed if scattering didn’t happen!
Now, when the church must be together continually as we advance against the kingdom of darkness, the enemy has every intention of pulling people out of that mission. The scattering and loose commitment to God’s method of prayer-driven Kingdom advance is resulting in an weak and impotent army. In a day when less than two services a month equates to ‘normal’ church attendance, I believe we must see the 24/7 church advance in strength, unity, commitment and power. Instead of two services a month, I believe we’ll see it become normal to be in church many times a month as we pray together, receive apostolic instruction, move out in ministry and take the fire of the Holy Spirit to the world—together.