Uber and Airbnb

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Jesus had 5,000 people following Him, far away from their homes, without food, and with no clear idea of where they were heading. And yet they went anyway. They followed because that’s how badly they wanted to hear Him and learn from Him. This wasn’t a seeker-sensitive group. This group was hungry to learn more than they were hungry to eat.

But what is even more intriguing and inspiring is not what the masses do but what Jesus does when He gets His largest audience to hear His life-changing message. He doesn’t start a megachurch, He doesn’t create a conference, and He doesn’t launch a podcast. He preaches the Word of God, feeds the people physically, and then jumps in a boat with His disciples to sail away somewhere else!

What was He thinking? Most church leaders today would call that a wasted opportunity. Possibly even foolish. But not Jesus. Jesus was not using the same scorecard we use to measure our ministries.

Jesus saw His main ministry as discipling His chosen twelve. So, he left the multitude and went off to have quality and focused time with His disciples. We often see discipleship as a burden and something we don’t have time for because we are busy ministering. Jesus knew that faith a mile wide but only an inch deep could never compare with a few good men and women who were fully devoted to the cause. Most of us in ministry are focused on building an audience, but Jesus was committed to building an army. It’s far easier to build an event people attend than a culture people adhere to. 

John Wesley, one of my heroes, understood this when he said, “Give me one hundred preachers who fear nothing but sin and desire nothing but God, and I care not a straw whether they be clergymen or laymen, [they] alone will shake the gates of hell and set up the kingdom of heaven upon earth.”

John Wesley discipled young men reproducing himself so that these young men would buy into the cause of the Kingdom and multiply the work that he was doing. 

Jesus changed the world, even though He lived in only one tiny corner of it. He discipled people who discipled people who discipled people who discipled people, creating an unbroken chain that continues today all around the world.

The great thing about discipleship is that when we start making disciples, we stop relying on the church to feed us. Instead we start relying on the church to launch us. We move away from being a mere member and turn towards being devoted owners. We move from an audience mentality to an army mentality. This is not only what most people want (especially millennials); it’s what they need. It’s what we all need.

The irony is that the business world is doing a better job at this than the church is. Here’s what I mean.

Do you know what car company has more cars on a global scale than any other?

More cars across the world than Ford?

More cars across the world than Volkswagen?

More cars across the world than Toyota?

That company would be Uber.

Do you know what company rents more property globally than any other hotel chain?

More properties across the world than Hilton?

More properties across the world than Marriott?

And definitely more properties across the world than Motel 6?

That company would be Airbnb.

You know what’s brilliant about their strategies? The companies don’t own any of what makes them so powerful and successful. Uber’s platform has access to millions of cars globally, but they don’t own any of it. Their people do. Airbnb’s platform is disrupting the hotel industry, but they don’t own any property. Their people do.

These companies are benefiting from the perks of discipleship and multiplication. They haven’t just gained an audience off fans (like the charismatic leaders of churches). They have raised an army of owners and have thus decentralized leadership. What is beautiful about decentralized leadership structures is that they’re not dependent on their charismatic leader for survival. It’s the devoted contributors who are the real heart and soul of the operation. 

This is what discipleship is all about. Training. Growth of the person. Ownership! Decentralization! Multiplication! 

And in the process, taking a greater market share which is what Jesus meant when He said, “Occupy until I come.” Uber and Airbnb are doing what the Church should have been doing. But, it is never too late to adjust the way we do church and become biblical. It is time to tear down the church that man has built and allow Jesus to build His church, His way.

Living For Jesus! Really?

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We are all busy trying to live life for Jesus. Live a life-style pleasing to Him. Fulfilling His command to love God with everything we are. Loving others as He would love them. We are “living for Jesus” or, at least, trying to. 

But, I had a thought the other day. Yes, I do think and often think deeply about things we simply take for granted or look at but only with a surface glance. I hate living life on the surface. I detest life being an inch deep and a mile wide. So, I give a great deal of thought to a great many things.

Why are we “living for Jesus?” After all, most times we would have to admit that we fail when we try and life life for Jesus. We simply are not Jesus. We don’t love like He does. We don’t forgive as freely and deeply as He does. We are not as accepting and understanding as He is. So, we try to be like Him and end up, most times, failing. Then we feel guilty We condemn ourselves. We feel like we failed again. 

Here’s a question… Where in the Bible does it say we are to be “living for Jesus?” You know what? It isn’t in the Bible. It is something man has made up and we were taught to do because it sounds biblical and spiritual. Could it be simply more religion?

How did I get started going down this path of thought? Good question. I was reading my Bible and I saw that Paul said: “I have been crucified with Christ (so we are dead). It is no longer I who live (because we are dead), but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God who loves me and gave Himself for me.” (Galatians 2:20)

The Passion Translation puts it this way… “And now the essence of this new life is no longer mine, for the Anointed One lives His life through me – we live in union as one! My new life is empowered by the faith of the Son of God who loves me so much that He gave Himself for me, and dispenses His life into mine!”

So, instead of living for Jesus we are to die to self and let Christ live His life through us. That is much more biblical than the former way of trying to live life.  

This means we must yield to Him and trust Him. This is what Ephesians 5:18 is all about. “And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit.” Paul is stating that just as the alcohol in the wine, when you are drunk, controls your thoughts, words, actions, and attitude. So, yield to the Holy Spirit and trust Him so that He can live life through you and your words, thoughts, actions, and attitude would be that of Christ Himself. 

Henry Blackaby wrote, “We are so activity oriented that we assume we were saved for a task we are to perform rather than for a relationship to enjoy.” I agree. Remembering that out of that amazing relationship with Jesus will come things He will want us to become involved in (Ephesians 2:10). These involvements are so we are in the right place at the right time to release Him to minister through us.

Thus the initial call and ministry of every believer is to “Follow Me.” As we do He works in us to form and mould us into people with hearts for the lost. Then He works through us touching lives with His love, acceptance, and forgiveness. We simply yield and follow His lead allowing the Spirit who lives in us to flow from us touching others and setting them free. This was plainly set out for us through the teaching and words of Jesus…

John 7:38-39a “Whoever believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of the hear will flow rivers of living water.’ Now this He said about the Spirit…”

“Believe in Me so that rivers of living water will burst out from within you, flowing from your innermost being, just like the Scripture says! Jesus was prophesying about the Holy Spirit…” (The Passion Translation)

Again, please note, it is the Spirit flowing from within you not you trying to live for Jesus or being like Jesus. Just trust Him and follow Him as He said. And He will live His life through you and touch many others with His love. Jesus

To Set On Fire

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After Jesus rose from the dead He appeared to a number of disciples individually and then to the disciples as they were fishing. He had told them recently (Luke 24:49) that they were to go and wait in Jerusalem until they received the promised baptism in the Holy Spirit. But instead of doing as He had asked seven of them went out fishing. 

One wonders if the reason they did not catch any fish was because they were not suppose to be fishing – but waiting in Jerusalem. So, after a whole night of fishing and catching nothing, Jesus tells them to cast their nets on the starboard side and they catch so many fish that they have an issue bringing the net into the boat. It is then that John realizes that it is the Lord who has spoken to them from the shore. He tells Peter. Peter jumps in and swims to shore. Interesting to note: Peter began to follow Jesus because of a great catch of fish (Luke 5:2-10). So Jesus now repeats that miracle inviting Peter to begin to follow Him again. 

A time of cooking a meal begins. Jesus has already begun to broil fish and He has some bread. But He asks them to add to the fish from their catch. They do so and settle in for a meal around the campfire. After they had eaten their breakfast together Jesus says to Simon (John 21:15) “Simon, son of John, do you burn with love for me more than these?”

When Jesus announced that He would be crucified and die, Peter had said that he would never leave Jesus nor deny he was a disciple even if it cost him (Peter) his life. He then said that even if no one else followed, he would. Jesus told him he would actually deny Him three times before the morning sunrise. And, that is what happened. Now, Jesus asks him, in front of the other disciples, if he loved Him more than the other disciples (referencing Peter’s comment “even if they – the other disciples – do not follow…”)

Jesus asks him three times, “Do you love Me?” Because Peter had denied knowing Jesus or being His disciple three times that eventful night. The Aramaic word for “love” is hooba and it is taken from a root word that means “to set on fire.” So, Jesus is asking Peter, “Do you burn with love for Me?”

The message for us today: Our love for Jesus must be passionate and kindle a holy fire within our hearts.

Peter denied Jesus three times and so Jesus asks Peter three times if he had a burning passion for Him. Only the third time does Peter actually give an affirmative answer… “You know that I burn with love for you!” (John 21:17) 

The story goes on and at the end of John 21 Jesus prophesies over Peter telling him how he would, in his old age, die for the faith and glorify God. Again, building on Peter’s initial denial of Jesus, the Lord now completes the circle and ends with – “You were right however Peter, you will lay down your life for me.” 

I love the way the Scriptures simply fall together in such an amazing way. 

So, do we, His disciples, truly “burn with love” for Jesus? Loving Him with our whole being? Is He first in our lives? Does He have our whole heart? 

As we quickly come to the close of the first month in the new year 2020 it would be a good time to get honest and real and see if we truly “burn with love.” If we do, then we need to add more fuel to that flame. If we don’t, then we need to blow on the embers and “fan into flames” the love that was once there. 

Don’t enter the next month without taking some time to see what or who you burn with passion for.

The Knowledge of Jesus

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Last time we were chatting about “the spirit of wisdom and revelation” (Ephesians 1:17). And, we saw the necessity for releasing revelation in our lives as believers and disciples of Jesus. Let’s continue with the verses we are looking at.

Ephesians 1:16-18a “I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened …” (ESV)

The Passion Translation: “… my heart is always full and overflowing with thanks to God for you as I constantly remember you in my prayers. I pray that the Father of glory, the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, would impart to you the riches of the Spirit of wisdom and the Spirit of revelation to know him through your deepening intimacy with him.

I pray that the light of God will illuminate the eyes of your imagination …”

The key to receiving revelation is found in coming to know Jesus better and deeper every day. The spirit of wisdom and revelation is released in direct relationship to our level and depth of intimacy with God the Father and Jesus His Son. When we are born again God, our loving heavenly Father, gives us a gift. This gift is deposited in our born again spirit. Romans 6:23b states, “… the gift of God is eternal life.” This is not ‘to live forever’ because all human life ever conceived lives forever. The gift called ‘eternal life’ is defined for us in John 17:3 … “This is eternal life, that you may know God the Father and Jesus Christ whom He sent…” The word ‘know’ means “intimacy with.” We have the supernatural ability to ‘intimately know’ God the Father and Jesus, our Lord and Saviour.

The more we come to know Him the more godly wisdom we will have. Not worldly wisdom but godly wisdom (James 1:5). The more wisdom our hearts hold the more revelation we will receive. So, our focus in the coming months must be to know Jesus better. The real Jesus. The radical revolutionary that we see in the pages of the four gospels – Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. The same radicalness that transfers over to the apostles and the early believers when they were born again and baptized in the Holy Spirit. Their story starts in the book of Acts and continues through all the letters addressed and written to the church fellowships in various cities and towns as the gospel was preached and the Kingdom spread pushing back the darkness.

Get to know Jesus. Look at how He lived. What did He value? What did He say and how did He say it? How did He treat people? Who were His friends? How did He disciple and mentor His followers and disciples? What was His relationship with non-believers like? His attitude? His prayer life? His heart for the people? These and many other questions can be answered as we read the four accounts of His life and ministry. But, as we read we need to read slowly and let the words and actions of Jesus sink deep into our hearts. We need to dwell on what we see and discover. We need to apply the truths we are observing about His life to our own lives … so we can become more and more like Him as the Scriptures state so clearly.

There is much that can be said in this regard …

John 15 – He is the Vine and we are the branches

John 14 – You will do what I do 

Acts 17 – “In Him we live and move and have our being”

But, like Paul the apostle we should pray a second prayer…

Philippians 3:10 “that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death…” (ESV)

The Passion Translation: “And I continually long to know the wonders of Jesus more fully and to experience the overflowing power of his resurrection working in me. I will be one with him in his sufferings and I will be one with him in his death.”

Let’s view 2020 as a gift from the Lord to come to know Him intimately; deeper and better than ever before.

Spirit of Revelation

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There is a real need today in the Church – even the Spirit-filled side of the Church – to be praying what Paul the apostle prayed for his people in the city of Ephesus. This was a church that he had planted. In Acts 19 Paul finds a group of disciples. He soon discovers that they are not disciples of Jesus. They are disciples of John the Baptist. So, he shares the gospel with them and they are born again. He immediately baptizes them in water by immersion. As they come out of the water he lays hands on them and baptizes them in the Holy Spirit. The begin to prophesy and speak in tongues. (Acts 19:1-6)

He stays with them in Ephesus and lays the foundation for a very powerful church. This church within two years of being birthed has reached every person in Asia with the word of the Lord (Acts 19:10). They were a powerful and Spirit-filled church expanding the Kingdom and making disciples as Jesus had commanded. (Acts 19:10)

In writing a few years later to this church now numbering 50,000 in a city of 200,000 he tells them that he is praying for them. This is not out of the ordinary as apostles are fathers and they pray for their children. What is fascinating is what he prays. Listen to his prayer very carefully…

Ephesians 1:16-18a “I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you I’n my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened…”

These were Spirit-filled, Baptized in the Holy Spirit, moving in the supernatural gifts of the Spirit believers. Yet, Paul prays for them that they might receive the “spirit of wisdom and revelation…” Why?

It is not so that they could speak about future events coming upon the Church and the world. That is the role and ministry of both apostles and prophets. I believe there are two main reasons a regular believer needs to activate the Holy Spirit’s role of bringing revelation to God’s people

First, when reading the Scriptures the believer needs the Holy Spirit to guide Him in all truth. And, to reveal the things that Scriptures speaks to us that Jesus did not while with us ministering for three years. As well as understanding the depths of the truths that He did share during His early ministry. (John 16:12-13)

An example would be when the disciples witnessed Jesus praying afterwards said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray.” (Luke 11:1) When the average believer reads this their mind says, ‘teach us how to pray.’ And so, we have systems of prayer that have been developed from the Lord’s Prayer (really the disciples prayer) teaching us “how” to pray. But this is not what the Word said. 

The disciples witnessed Jesus’ intimate relationship with His Heavenly Father and the way they spoke to each other. They realized that the way they were praying was nothing like what they were witnessing. They realized that they were not praying – they were simply following a formula and a ritual. Which, while watching and hearing Jesus pray, suddenly seemed totally inadequate and not really prayer as it should have been understood and practiced. So, they said to Jesus, “Lord, teach us to pray.” Teach us how to have this intimate relationship that we see you have with the Father as you share fellowship with Him. 

Powerful revelation brought to my heart and mind while reading Scripture recently. 

And, secondly, we need the guidance of the Holy Spirit in our daily lives. And so the Holy Spirit can reveal truth that we need to know for that specific day. He can reveal to us situations where we will have opportunity to share the word of the Lord as the church in Ephesus did. He can give us a word for a friend, a co-worker, or even a stranger. He can reveal wisdom – godly wisdom – to counter the worldly wisdom that we come up against daily. 

So, Paul prays for his people to release the Spirit of wisdom and revelation. And, I believe that we need to be praying that same prayer for ourselves and for others today so we can walk in the fullness of the calling and purpose that is upon our lives as disciples of Jesus in the world today.

Spiritually Restless

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In the last few weeks we have been setting the stage for 2020 

We looked at how the Church will be changing so as to impact people’s lives

What God is doing in His Kingdom and with the Church Jesus is building

We looked at the role of prayer and the Holy Spirit

And some of the principles of powerful prayer from the life of Jesus

We looked at how we can’t be passive if we want to be a part of what God is doing

Passive in our personal lives nor passive spiritually 

And, in the midst of this I have mentioned the “spiritually restless” Read more

Com’n Church

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Well, I just finished several hours of conversation with a wonderful Christin man here in my city. We have known each other for many years, even decades. So, a long coffee and a chat about an upcoming event that I will not be able to participate in because I will be in the nation of Vietnam. However, he needed someone to bounce things off of and give feedback and suggestions regarding what is being planned.

During the conversation I was thinking about how out of touch with reality – today’s society, culture, and younger generations – the Church really is. I spoke up and shard what I was thinking and what I know by experience as I speak with both believers and non-believers. I shared because I honestly think we need to be much more aware of what is happening around us and what the current trends are so that we don’t continue to be, in many ways, irrelevant in the eyes of the world.

A positive example of an organization that is recognizing reality and grappling with it is the Canadian Legion. They have come to realize that their membership is dwindling rather quickly as those who fought in World War One and Two and other lesser wars since the end of World War Two die off. So, they have begun to advertise in the media for new members. You don’t need to be old. You don’t need to have been in the armed forces or have fought a war. If you want to help with their programs and be a part of their corporate life then you are welcome to become a member.

In Canada there are several negative examples of being out of touch with the world. Radio Shack use to be a key player in the electronics business – even selling some of the earliest desktop computers. However, they did not keep up with the times and their stores closed one after another. Some underwent a major revamping and became Circuit City but the major role that the original company played was never recovered. The business is a shadow of what it once was.

A second example would be the Christian Church – especially denominational churches. We are living in challenging times. Our society here in North America is post-Christian. Our world is now centered around instant communications and social media. We don’t wait until 11:00p to watch the evening news. You can watch it on-line any time you want. We text. We don’t often call. People shop on-line … yes, even for a church to attend. You can get better music and worship on line than in the local church. The same can be said for teachings. And yet we often simply do what we have always done and wonder why the results are dismal. The Church is thus seen as irrelevant and, like the dinosaurs, something that will soon die off. So, Com’n church – it is time to change.

Again, to share the Gospel of the Kingdom with non-believers today is totally different than 40 years ago. In fact vastly different than even 10 or 5 years ago. The younger generations no longer enters a church building for wedding or funerals. Most take place in alternate facilities. The younger generations do not have a Bible or have really never read one if they happen to possess one. The Bible is not seen as inspired or even God’s Word to people. Common church words like sin, sinner, repent, justification and sanctification simply have no meaning and no reference point to even glean some meaning from them. We need to adjust our approach (methods) accordingly. Not the message. Just the methods we use to share the message. 

And then you read in Acts 17 where it talks about disciples of Jesus entering the city of Thessalonica and the townspeople panic because those who have turned their world upside down are coming to their city.  (Acts 17:6)

We need to become aware of what is happening around us and then change so as to respond in a meaningful, in-touch way. Thus we would actually be able to influence and impact where we are living with the Gospel of the Kingdom. We need to become a counterculture and no longer settle for being a subculture. Jesus was a radical revolutionary who hated religion and loved people. We should follow in His footsteps as we take the good news to those He loves and died for on the cross. 

So, com’n church! If we want others to find Jesus we need to speak into where they are at. On a daily basis people struggle with depression, addictions, loneliness, financial issues, relational stress, paying the bills, and a multitude of other issues. They are not thinking about the mark of the beast and the abomination of desolation (Matthew 24:15) with the approaching of the end times and the rapture. Com’n church! Let’s get real and become aware of what is going on around us outside of the small and closed off church world that we find so comforting and safe. Let’s speak into our culture and society and talk about things that matter to those who are not saved. 

Teach Us To Pray

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It is amazing what we think the Bible is saying when really it is not. So many passages become so familiar to those of us who read it daily and have done so over the years, even decades. So, we read the words but they don’t speak to us because we assume we know what they say. We know the story. We know the teaching of Jesus. We have been here, read that before. It is almost like we are wearing “religious glasses” that prevent us from seeing old truths in new ways. And, that definitely prevent us from seeing any real new truth. 

But God’’s Word states that it is living, active, alive and working inside us.

Hebrews 4:12 “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”

The Passion Translation: “For we have the living Word of God, which is full of energy, and it pierces more sharply than a two-edged sword. It will even penetrate to the very core of our being where soul and spirit, bone and marrow meet! It interprets and reveals the true thoughts and secret motives of our hearts.”

So, maybe, just maybe, we need to pray and ask the Holy Spirit to remove our traditional or religious glasses and give us new eyes – spiritual eyes – to see new truths and even old truths in a new light.

One personal example I have recently experienced is found in Luke, Chapter 11…

Luke 11:1 says, “One day Jesus was praying in a certain place and when He finished one of His disciples said to Him, ‘Lord, teach us to pray just as John taught his disciples.’”

Notice it does not say “teach us how to pray,” which is often misquoted. It says “teach us to pray.”

The disciples had been with Jesus in one of His times of prayer. And, as they watched Him and listened to how He was praying and what He was praying they recognized something. There was a revelation. Something deep inside these young men who were following Jesus clicked and they realized that what they called prayer was really nothing like what Jesus experienced as prayer. They came to the realization (revelation) that they totally misunderstood what prayer was and how prayer worked. So, they realized that there were, in Jesus’ terms, prayerless.

So, they turned to Jesus and said, “teach us to pray.” In other words, obviously what we have been doing over the years – the traditional prayers of the Jewish faith – is not prayer as you experience it, Lord. So, teach us to pray. Not “how to pray” but “to pray.” Basic reality.

I would suggest that this is a dangerous, powerful prayer to pray. We should not pray this request unless we really mean it, because God will often use trials and hardships and difficulties to teach us to pray. He will totally change what we view as prayer and revolutionize our time with the Father that we now call our “quiet time” or “devotional life.” 

I, for one, want to have Jesus totally stir up and change my prayer life. I am praying “Lord, teach me to pray (as you prayed and continue to pray today at the right hand of the Father.” 

Come, Follow Me

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The Church has lost the message of “Come, follow Me,” replacing it with … what? “Come and listen to me.”

That is not what Jesus said or did. In Matthew 4:19 Jesus said, “Follow Me and I will make you fishers of men.” The Passion Translation renders this verse as: “Come and follow Me, and I will transform you into men who catch people for God.” So, the obvious points here…

1> If we are not fishing (sharing the Gospel) and love of God with others) we are not following Jesus. We are literally deceiving ourselves that everything is alright between us and God. It’s not, unless…

2> As we follow Jesus He will be forming and transforming us into people who attract others into the Kingdom. He will be working on our character, our values and morals, our perspective on life, as well as our daily life-style. So, if we are not changing, growing, maturing then we are obviously not following Him. We are not disciples. Fans, yes! Disciples, no!

3> This is a process which takes place over time as we follow Him and, in the Scriptures, see how He relates to people and how He shares the love of God. We are then to follow His example and implement changes that allow us to become more like Him. So, there is a desperate need to study the four Gospels examining in detail the way Jesus lived His life and how He treated people and built healthy, Kingdom relationships.

4> We learn by studying His actions, attitude, and His relational skills as recorded in the Bible. But, it is more than information. What we observe and learn must translate into action and life change in us. Or, as James wrote, we must be doers of the Word and not just hearers. Faith without works is dead.

5> We need to become sensitive to His voice (the voice of the Holy Spirit) so that He can speak directly to our hearts and minds as we follow Him and go about our daily activities. Opportunities are there to share Jesus each and every day as we “go into all our world.” We need to slow down so we can see the opportunities and take advantage of the doors God is opening.

6> Obedience is necessary – For disciples this is not an option but a command. Whatever He says to us we must obey and do. Jesus said, “If you love Me, you will obey Me.” Very plain and seriously blunt. 

7> Obviously, we need to make a decision to walk closely with Him and follow Him regardless of where that might take us and allow Him to transform us. Give Him permission to change us. This means trusting Him with everything we are (our inner life), everything we have (our outer world) and all that we do. 

8> Following Jesus will certainly take us out of our safe, secure, and comfortable place and seriously challenge everything about our life; stretching us mentally, spiritually, relationally, socially, and emotionally. No stretching going on then maybe you are not following the biblical Jesus – the real radical revolutionary we read about in the four gospel accounts of His life. 

9> “Come, follow Me” is an invitation to a life-long journey of becoming which does not end even when we die and enter Heaven. There is always more to know about Jesus and thus more personal growth and development as we apply what we are seeing and learning to our daily lives.   

10> This means we need to stop seeing salvation as the destination. We have our ‘fire insurance’ and we are good to go. That is a ‘salvation culture’. We get saved, we come to church, we learn, we go home. Repeat. We need to embrace a “Kingdom culture” where salvation is seen as the start of a long journey as we join the great cause of establishing the Kingdom of God in every corner of every nation. We don’t come to just listen, we come to grow and be equipped so that we can then “go.”

Let the change begin now. Let it begin with us. You, me, and the corporate “us” known as the Church. 

There Is No Off-Season

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The year we have just entered is a year when the Gospel will be setting more people free than any other year in your lifetime. As we pray and the Holy Spirit works opportunities will open for us to share the love of God. And, that love is discovered and received through the finished work of Jesus the Christ. So, we need to be ready to share the Gospel of the Kingdom (Matthew 24:14) as doors open allowing us to do so. 

The key to being ready to plant seeds and bring in the harvest is preparation. Always being ready. The most excellent athletes in the world have this principal down pat.

Every sport has an off-season. This is the time when players who have been enduring a long, exhausting season take a break to relax and rejuvenate. All sports have these designated periods of rest. The best competitors will take a few weeks to allow their bodies to recuperate, but then they’ll use the rest of the time to prepare for the next season.

They train.

They lift weights.

They run.

They go through drills.

They push their bodies to the limit so that they will not only be ready for the next season but will also be better than the previous season.

The Bible clearly states that there is no off-season for an ambassador of God. And we are all ambassadors (2 Corinthians 5:20). Paul wrote to his protégé, Timothy, “I give you this charge: Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke, and encourage – with great patience and careful instruction” (2 Timothy 4:1-2).

Notice this wasn’t a casual suggestion, but a charge. A strong command for all believers – not just pastors – to be ready to preach the Word anytime, anywhere, to anyone. When it’s convenient, and when it’s not. When it’s easily accepted, and when it is adamantly rejected. Our circumstances, situations, or surroundings do not alter the charge.

The mandate is still the same – no matter if you’re in Southern California, Mexico City, Bangladesh, South Africa, or any other region of the world: preach the Word!

God’s Word is precious. It is everlasting, unchanging Truth. We as believers have been given the awesome responsibility to become stewards of the Word of God. It is our duty and spiritual obligation. Now is the time to preach the Gospel … more than ever before. It is exciting to anticipate Jesus’ return to this earth – but until that happens there are specific mandates God has made clear to every Christian.

Receive the Word. Be faithful with the Word. And preach the Word as often as you can. 

To preach the Word simply means to share the love of God with others you relate to and those you don’t. It is more than helping or serving someone in a physical way. It must always include speaking God’s Word to them – sharing your experience of being born again and set free by the Cross of Christ. You will, of course, need to be familiar with the Gospel of the Kingdom. You will also need to learn how to share that good news with others in a way that they can understand and receive it. And, you need to become sensitive to the Holy Spirit’s work and let Him do what He does best – convict the person of their sin (John 16:8-10). So there is some training to undergo. 

And, as important, realize that when you are speaking to another generation – that although the message has not changed the method by which you share it must. You need to approach each generation differently and be sensitive to where they are at in their understanding of spiritual truths  and in their spiritual journey.

We are mandated to be ready to share. But, there is a season of intense preparation and I believe we have entered that season here at the start of 2020. 

If your church is not teaching you how to share the life-changing Gospel of the Kingdom, change churches. Find one that believes in being born again and that teaches, trains, and equips believers to share the Gospel with others. Find someone more mature than you are who is “going into al the world and making disciples” and ask them to teach you how to do what they are doing. It is your responsibility to fulfil this command that Paul writes to Timothy about. And, everyone of us will be held accountable for what we have done in this regard.