Happy Day after Father's Day. It's Monday morning, the coffee's brewing, the Bible's open and it's time to create some notes to you especially as a follow-up to Sunday at AGF in Bristol, NH.
REJOICE! After two years of invites, a young 10 year old boy came to AGF with his classmate (the persistent inviter) and during KidZone, the boy asked the leader how he could become a Christ-Follower. Right there, right then the young boy gave his life to Jesus to follow Him forever. Father's Day by the Heavenly Father Kingdom Advance! Praise be to our God!
REPORT! These past seven weeks at AGF Sunday Worship, the Bible Talks have centered around Jesus' Mission being our Mission. We want to equip the Ecclesia for the future. The Body follows ... Jesus. The Body serves ... Jesus and all. The Body lives ... Jesus in our world. And the Body proclaims ... Jesus (using His unique message and methods).
MISSION ... has been challenging the "norms" of what many of us think about church and evangelism. In fact many of these "norms" have been deeply set it in our systems for years. It is difficult to change even when the world around you is constantly changing and you've always heard, "Jesus the SAME, Yesterday, Today and Forever."
Yes! Jesus is the same. But how he treated those He contacted often varied. He uniquely dealt with each one where they were at: Sinners, Saints and Sadducees. His message was the same but tailored to the listener. His method had boundaries as well. He spoke the truth in love. He did not brow-beat or argue. Quarreling was not a characteristic of the Jesus Mission. Christ made a distinction between the spiritual, the emotional, the cultural and the political. He was not uninterested in those issues but His Mission dealt with "Heart-Needs". Once the "rescue" occurred, all the forces of heaven began the "heart-tenderizing" to the Ways of the Kingdom! Jesus' Message and Method of the Mission were geared to ENTRANCE INTO THE KINGDOM.
That, my friends, is our Mission as well! We are called to uniquely and individually deal with the spiritual issue at hand. The lost need to be loved and listened to ... even if it rubs you wrong politically, emotionally and culturally. Notice I said "lovingly listen". We mistake, at times, listening to accepting. As a Christ-Follower, you can't accept sin or sinful behavior. You can't mix-up the two. But without lovingly listening you will never be afforded the opportunity to lovingly share. You see, Jesus never compromised his stance on sin. But His dealing with the sinner went right to their heart - touching them spiritually. There were those who responded positively to His message. Others walk away without any response. In either case, Jesus impacted their lives. The "Rescue-Squad" is called to pull the lost out of darkness with the Message of the Jesus Gospel ... not the political or social or emotional or cultural gospel. Any of those other things Jesus Christ by His Holy Spirit deals with AFTER THEY ENTER THE KINGDOM!
If you recall, I read this story by Larry Osborne, Pastor of NorthCoast Church in southern California. It emphasizes the very issue of NOT dealing with the non-spiritual but being fully focused on the spiritual. As you can see by this true story, the non-spiritual issues began to change after THE Spiritual Issue was dealt with! So here it is again:
“A number of years ago, a middle-aged man came barging into my office. He demanded that I baptize him. And he wanted me to do it right then. I had no idea who he was. So I asked him to calm down and tell me his story. I told him I wasn’t in the habit of baptizing complete strangers within minutes of meeting them. “You don’t understand,” he said. “I need to be baptized right now!” “Right now?” “Yes, right now,” he explained. “Can you tell me why?” I asked. “I’m moving. Tomorrow,” he said. “Where?” “Salt Lake City. “I’ll turn the water on,” I said, “But first, you have to tell me your story.” He then explained that his marriage had been in deep weeds, and his wife had given him an ultimatum. They needed to start counseling, go to church, or do something to work on it, or she would leave. So he decided to try our church. He added that he worked for a newspaper. “I’m part of the liberal media. I knew I was the enemy. So I sat in the back and waited for you to bash my friends and me, especially since we were in the middle of an election cycle. “But you never did. All you talked about was Jesus and the Bible. “A couple of months ago I said that prayer to start following Jesus. Then I got this great offer to be a managing editor in Salt Lake. I need to get baptized before we go.” So I baptized him. A few years later he showed up again, this time at the front of the stage after a weekend service. He reintroduced himself and told me the rest of his story. He moved. He found a good church. He was now leading a small group Bible study, and his wife was in charge of the Sunday school ministry. After he left, I pondered how different his story would have been if we’d fallen into the trap of trading persuasion for warfare. He would have come and sat in the back row of the church only to have his suspicions confirmed. He and his ilk were the enemy. No doubt he would have shut down, stopped listening, and stopped coming. We would have unwittingly aided and abetted the enemy by pushing someone who was on the verge of breaking free further into the darkness. Which sadly happens all too often when our target shifts from persuasion to warfare.”
Now, allow me to say this. At AGF, we have given opportunities to dialogue about the Bible Talk in the past. Even yesterday it became clear to me that dialogue and sharing had crossed the line from Bible Facts to Human Opinion.
While we are all entitled to our opinions as free citizens of the USA, the Body of Christ does not operate under human opinion or "druthers" (as I call it). It operates under the mighty Word of Christ. With that said, since Jesus taught us to lovingly listen ... we must give everyone a forum to share ... even if it's opinions. BUT NOT in a session of praise and worship to the King of kings and Lord of lords. Right HERE on this blog you have an opportunity to voice your feelings, disagreements, opinions and heart cries in the comment section below. Do that. It is fully welcome.
Why are we making this decision? It is because of Matthew 28:17-20 (NIV) "When they saw him, they worshipped him: but some doubted. The Jesus came to them and said, 'All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.'"
Thanks for understanding and remember ... comment below! May God bless your day as you seek to walk in His Light!
REJOICE! After two years of invites, a young 10 year old boy came to AGF with his classmate (the persistent inviter) and during KidZone, the boy asked the leader how he could become a Christ-Follower. Right there, right then the young boy gave his life to Jesus to follow Him forever. Father's Day by the Heavenly Father Kingdom Advance! Praise be to our God!
REPORT! These past seven weeks at AGF Sunday Worship, the Bible Talks have centered around Jesus' Mission being our Mission. We want to equip the Ecclesia for the future. The Body follows ... Jesus. The Body serves ... Jesus and all. The Body lives ... Jesus in our world. And the Body proclaims ... Jesus (using His unique message and methods).
MISSION ... has been challenging the "norms" of what many of us think about church and evangelism. In fact many of these "norms" have been deeply set it in our systems for years. It is difficult to change even when the world around you is constantly changing and you've always heard, "Jesus the SAME, Yesterday, Today and Forever."
Yes! Jesus is the same. But how he treated those He contacted often varied. He uniquely dealt with each one where they were at: Sinners, Saints and Sadducees. His message was the same but tailored to the listener. His method had boundaries as well. He spoke the truth in love. He did not brow-beat or argue. Quarreling was not a characteristic of the Jesus Mission. Christ made a distinction between the spiritual, the emotional, the cultural and the political. He was not uninterested in those issues but His Mission dealt with "Heart-Needs". Once the "rescue" occurred, all the forces of heaven began the "heart-tenderizing" to the Ways of the Kingdom! Jesus' Message and Method of the Mission were geared to ENTRANCE INTO THE KINGDOM.
That, my friends, is our Mission as well! We are called to uniquely and individually deal with the spiritual issue at hand. The lost need to be loved and listened to ... even if it rubs you wrong politically, emotionally and culturally. Notice I said "lovingly listen". We mistake, at times, listening to accepting. As a Christ-Follower, you can't accept sin or sinful behavior. You can't mix-up the two. But without lovingly listening you will never be afforded the opportunity to lovingly share. You see, Jesus never compromised his stance on sin. But His dealing with the sinner went right to their heart - touching them spiritually. There were those who responded positively to His message. Others walk away without any response. In either case, Jesus impacted their lives. The "Rescue-Squad" is called to pull the lost out of darkness with the Message of the Jesus Gospel ... not the political or social or emotional or cultural gospel. Any of those other things Jesus Christ by His Holy Spirit deals with AFTER THEY ENTER THE KINGDOM!
If you recall, I read this story by Larry Osborne, Pastor of NorthCoast Church in southern California. It emphasizes the very issue of NOT dealing with the non-spiritual but being fully focused on the spiritual. As you can see by this true story, the non-spiritual issues began to change after THE Spiritual Issue was dealt with! So here it is again:
“A number of years ago, a middle-aged man came barging into my office. He demanded that I baptize him. And he wanted me to do it right then. I had no idea who he was. So I asked him to calm down and tell me his story. I told him I wasn’t in the habit of baptizing complete strangers within minutes of meeting them. “You don’t understand,” he said. “I need to be baptized right now!” “Right now?” “Yes, right now,” he explained. “Can you tell me why?” I asked. “I’m moving. Tomorrow,” he said. “Where?” “Salt Lake City. “I’ll turn the water on,” I said, “But first, you have to tell me your story.” He then explained that his marriage had been in deep weeds, and his wife had given him an ultimatum. They needed to start counseling, go to church, or do something to work on it, or she would leave. So he decided to try our church. He added that he worked for a newspaper. “I’m part of the liberal media. I knew I was the enemy. So I sat in the back and waited for you to bash my friends and me, especially since we were in the middle of an election cycle. “But you never did. All you talked about was Jesus and the Bible. “A couple of months ago I said that prayer to start following Jesus. Then I got this great offer to be a managing editor in Salt Lake. I need to get baptized before we go.” So I baptized him. A few years later he showed up again, this time at the front of the stage after a weekend service. He reintroduced himself and told me the rest of his story. He moved. He found a good church. He was now leading a small group Bible study, and his wife was in charge of the Sunday school ministry. After he left, I pondered how different his story would have been if we’d fallen into the trap of trading persuasion for warfare. He would have come and sat in the back row of the church only to have his suspicions confirmed. He and his ilk were the enemy. No doubt he would have shut down, stopped listening, and stopped coming. We would have unwittingly aided and abetted the enemy by pushing someone who was on the verge of breaking free further into the darkness. Which sadly happens all too often when our target shifts from persuasion to warfare.”
Now, allow me to say this. At AGF, we have given opportunities to dialogue about the Bible Talk in the past. Even yesterday it became clear to me that dialogue and sharing had crossed the line from Bible Facts to Human Opinion.
While we are all entitled to our opinions as free citizens of the USA, the Body of Christ does not operate under human opinion or "druthers" (as I call it). It operates under the mighty Word of Christ. With that said, since Jesus taught us to lovingly listen ... we must give everyone a forum to share ... even if it's opinions. BUT NOT in a session of praise and worship to the King of kings and Lord of lords. Right HERE on this blog you have an opportunity to voice your feelings, disagreements, opinions and heart cries in the comment section below. Do that. It is fully welcome.
Why are we making this decision? It is because of Matthew 28:17-20 (NIV) "When they saw him, they worshipped him: but some doubted. The Jesus came to them and said, 'All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.'"
Thanks for understanding and remember ... comment below! May God bless your day as you seek to walk in His Light!
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