9 Bad Charismatic Habits We Need to Break

I love the Holy Spirit's gifts. But some of our "Spirit-filled" practices are questionable.

Anybody who has read this column before knows I'm unapologetically charismatic in my theology. I love the Holy Spirit, and I believe the New Testament calls us to make room for manifestations of the Spirit. The apostle Paul gave guidelines for the gift of prophecy; he saw dramatic healings; he experienced supernatural visions; and he told church leaders not to forbid speaking in tongues (see 1 Cor. 14:39). Paul was the epitome of charismatic spirituality.

But not everything we do today in the name of the Holy Spirit is a valid expression of His power. Over the past four decades, we charismatics have invented some lame practices that not only make us look silly but actually turn people off to our message. I figure we started these behaviors because of immaturity—and I can laugh about them because I've done some of them myself. But it's 2013, and I think God expects more of us.

I realize this can be sensitive if you have one or more of these bad habits. But please pray over this list before you blast me for being critical.

1. The body slam. There are times when people feel woozy or weak-kneed when the Holy Spirit touches them. I leave room for that. But can we please stop pushing people to the floor? Any minister who hits, shoves or slaps people at a church altar is being extremely rude. He is also relying on his own swagger to demonstrate he has the power to "slay" people in the Spirit. If you pushed someone to the floor, God had nothing to do with it.

2. The courtesy drop. We've all done it. Many people fall while receiving prayer because they figure it's the spiritual thing to do. But there is nothing in Scripture that says you have to fall to receive healing or an anointing. You receive by faith. It's perfectly fine to stay standing. And you may actually protect yourself from getting stepped on!

3. The song that never ends. I used to love the chorus "Let It Rain" until some churches drove this tune into the ground by playing it 159 times in a row. After the first 30 go-rounds, I want to scream, "Change the channel!" God doesn't listen to us more intently if we are repetitive, as if we were doing a rain dance to make Him hear us. It's OK to end the song and start a new one!

4. The amateur flag corp. Banners and flags became a hot worship trend in the 1980s, and pageantry can still be effective when practiced and performed for an audience. But where did we get the idea that waving flags, sticks or other sharp objects within two feet of people's faces was a smart idea?

5. The wannabe telethon offering. I have been in meetings where the preacher gave a 25-minute offering sermon (before the main message) and then asked everyone in the audience to parade to the front for the next 15 minutes. Yes, giving money to God is worship. But when the offering takes longer than any other part of the service, I start to wonder if we are being taken for a ride.

6. The sermon with seven endings. Speaking of money, I wish I had a dollar for every time a preacher has said, "I'm starting to close." I don't mind a long sermon, and I've been guilty of going over my time limit. But you are flat-out lying if you tell an audience you're finishing when you actually still have half an hour to go.

7. The praise-a-go-go dancers. I love to dance in church—and it's normal in many of the ethnic congregations I visit. But I fear we unleashed a monster when we encouraged amateur dance teams to hop around on stage in unitards—in front of visitors! It's not unspiritual to ask: "Will this look goofy?"

8. The ear-shattering amp. When the early church prayed, the buildings shook. Today we shake our buildings by turning up the volume of our sound systems. You know they are too loud when church members pop in earplugs during worship. "Charismatic" does not mean "loud," and our spirituality is not measured in decibels.

9. The "jump-start" glossalalia. I will never apologize for the gift of tongues, and I believe it is a wonderful gift every Christian can have. But somone got the idea they could "prime the pump" by asking people to repeat certain phrases in order to uncork a prayer language. Asking someone to say, "I tie my bow tie, I tie my bow tie," is not going to prompt a miracle. Quit manipulating the Holy Spirit.

The apostle Paul, in laying down guidelines for charismatic gifts, told the Corinthians, "When I became a man, I put away childish things" (1 Cor. 13:11). As we embrace the Spirit's work, let's allow Him to guide us into maturity so we don't foolishly squander His power.

J. Lee Grady is the former editor of Charisma and the director of The Mordecai Project (themordecaiproject.org). You can follow him on Twitter at @leegrady. He is the author of 10 Lies the Church Tells Women, 10 Lies Men Believe, The Holy Spirit Is Not for Sale, Fearless Daughters of the Bible and other books.

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Original Page: http://www.charismamag.com/blogs/fire-in-my-bones/17503-9-bad-charismatic-habits-we-need-to-break

Stain

I Saw People Screaming and Shouting Inside Church...

Olufamous.com have gotten similar messages before but none touched us like this one did. We are at a cross road in the world today with too many strange and negative events unfolding by the minutes. Atrocities are now a past time for many people who should know better.

Is the time for people to pay for their actions now here? See the revelation below...

I saw it again. This time more scary. The end-time is more than nigh. 

It will happen like a flash unexpected and time shall be no more for repentance. In my dream, I didn't make it to heaven despite I was saying my last prayer for forgiveness of sins, it was as if God shut his ears. I saw multitude of people running into a church. But inside that church, screaming and shouting everywhere; people making utterances to heaven. 

Behold it was as if a strange spirit entered into some people more clearly, I remember seeing an old man who was beside me whom the said spirit entered into and as he let out a cry, he disappeared and few other people. At that point, I realized that the rapture has taken place. I cried the more. 

Immediately, the devil took over and started making mockery of the left over Christians. He had a register of everyone's name.... At this point, I woke up. 

The end is more than near. Don't keep this message and don't get annoyed when u receive this just do God a favour and keep re broadcasting. You might save a lost soul. God bless you!

By Emmanuel Adekunle

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Original Page: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/OluFamousBlog/~3/_wn2Ah9V0B8/i-saw-people-screaming-and-shouting.html

Xtian news

5 Questions BEFORE You Preach by Joel Mayward -SermonCentral.com

You've done the prep, you've put in the time. These five questions will finish the job.

5 Questions BEFORE You Preach

You've done the prep, you've put in the time. These five questions will finish the job.

I'm preaching in my church's main service this upcoming Sunday, so I've been busy preparing what God would have me say to our church family.

Every time I preach/teach, I keep these five questions before me as a sort of grid to keep my content focused in the right places. These aren't my own questions; I think I stole the basic framework from Bob Hyatt (I honestly can't remember), but over the years I've tweaked and shaped them into my own.

Here are five questions I ask myself as I prepare a message: Where in the message do I ...

1. Clearly point to Jesus?

Whatever the topic or the passage of Scripture that we're addressing, I strive to preach Jesus every single time.

I tend to lean toward narrative preaching, having been influenced by Eugene Lowry's book, The Homiletical Plot. In the narrative of the sermon, the Gospel message and the person of Jesus tend to be the "climax" of each story, with the whole sermonic narrative leading up to Him.

I strive to share about the Father and Holy Spirit too, keeping the sermon trinitarian, but the nature of kerygma is to preach Christ and Him crucified.

2. Speak to Christians?

I try to specifically address the Christians listening to the sermon, acknowledging that even if a person has been in church and following Jesus for a long time, the gospel is still good news.

Good news never gets old, and Christians need specific and clear reminders of its goodness.

3. Speak to non-Christians?

I also try to address people who may be investigating spirituality and Christianity who are not yet followers of Christ, usually with a statement preceded by "if you're just checking out church and this whole Jesus thing, then ... "

This is out of a desire to be inclusive and to recognize/acknowledge that not everyone in a church or youth service knows Jesus yet. I don't have a hidden agenda either. I make my agenda quite clear — I hope they come to know Jesus because He's the source of life and love and joy and grace.

4. Speak to the heart/attitude?

This is where Jesus went every time.

While outward actions and behaviors are also valuable, they are only a reflection of the inward heart motivations we carry. If I'm just speaking to behaviors, or only giving application points that are behavioral in nature, I'm missing a huge component of spirituality: the heart, the interior, the desires and affections of the human soul. 

5. Give people something to do immediately?

In harmony with speaking to the heart, I want to also give a clear and defined action step for people to do.

If a person hears a sermon and can walk out the door thinking, "That was nice ... but I have no clue what to do with any of that," then I haven't communicated clearly enough.

There need to be clear pathways on how to respond, whether that's relationally, emotionally or with a particular action. Pray for someone today. Sign up for this class or mission trip. Forgive someone in your heart. Read a passage of Scripture every day this week. Go invite one of your neighbors to dinner or coffee.

Specific, clear,and immediate practical steps need to be taken lest we become only hearers of the Word and not doers.

What question resonates with you the most? Pastors and preachers: What questions do you ask yourself when you're preparing to preach?

http://www.sermoncentral.com/pastors-preaching-articles/joel-mayward-5-questions-before-you-preach-1556.asp?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=scnewsletter&utm_content=SC+Update+20130423

Xtian

How to Start a Women's Ministry - Philosophy First - OutreachMagazine.com

http://www.outreachmagazine.com/

How to Start a Women's Ministry - Philosophy First

One of my favorite aspects of church planting is that things are ground-up; theology is becoming reality, philosophy is becoming practice. In other words, if you have ideas of how church can be, you can make them happen. Doors are wide open, obstacles are few.

 

And in church planting, you're starting something new almost all the time, whether it's a children's ministry, a small group, an elder team, a prayer ministry, or an outreach strategy. 

 

It must also be said that seeing an idea to fruition can also be one the greatest challenges in church planting, and because church planters are seeing multiple ideas to fruition at the same time, it is quite the juggling act. This greenhouse-like atmosphere requires diligence, patience, and back-breaking hard work. Most of all, I believe, it requires thinking through the whys of church. These whys lead to the hows; philosophy of ministry leads to practice and structure.

 

My husband and the other elders do most of this philosophizing, but when our church reached a point when we needed a more structured women's ministry, which was around the start of year three, the idea-generating fell to me. With an empty drawing board before me, I felt the weight of my decisions. Just how do you go about starting a women's ministry?

 

I realized quickly that the philosophy—the whys—behind the women's ministry would be the most important decision I ever made. The whys would inform everything we did for and with women in our church. Why would this ministry exist?

 

From our ministry experience, I've seen that there are two main whys for women's ministry: to gather women together around an activity for fellowship or to introduce women into a process of spiritual growth. One is event-based, the other is a relationship-based. I knew that we could do a series of unrelated events that brought women together or that we could develop a process of connecting that would lead to one-on-one or small group discipleship. In the latter, events would serve as an entry into relationships. There would need to be a What next? after every event, whether it was a small group Bible study or a discipleship relationship or a way to invest in other women.

 

Honestly, this is still a work in process. We are two years in and still constantly trying to adjust how this philosophy plays out practically. The philosophy of our women's ministry is that we would constantly drill down to discipleship. We invite women into Bible study, needs-based ministries, or occasional events so that women can connect in spiritually-sharpening relationships.

 

For many of you, as you are starting a women's ministry from the ground up, I encourage you to think about the why's of what you're building. Those whys will anchor you when you're discouraged and help you know what you should or shouldn't give your attention to. Those whys are everything.

 

Your turn: tell us the philosophy behind any ministry you're leading, whether it's your children, women's ministry, or children's ministry. What are your whys?

Christine is a stay-at-home mom, writer, and ministry sidekick to Kyle, her husband. They've been married since 2000 and have three boys. Kyle is the church planting pastor of a church in Virginia. Learn more »

Xtian

TD Jakes is sick of the "Hollywood spirit" in the church

Bishop T.D. Jakes, Potter House mega-church pastor, says he's had enough of certain preachers always claiming the limelight like movie stars and so-called Christians supporting them. "I am so sick of this Hollywood spirit that has overtaken the church!" he told his congregation. The comment raised eyebrows, because Jakes is among the most well-known preachers in all of Hollywood. Jakes went on to say, "We do not have to have big names to have a big move of God." He continued, "I got filled up with the Holy Ghost by somebody that didn't have no name at all."

Jakes went on to state that preachers who are not well-known are having trouble getting the majority of Christians to listen to them. If they're not famous with the media, people don't want to know them, according to Jakes. He states that mega-churches are killing the small pastors off.

According to research that shows the increasing growth of mega-churches, in 2010 there was one mega-church for every 200,000 Americans. This shows a drastic rise from 1960 when there was on one mega-church for every 7.5 million Americans.   Jakes seems to feel that this has created a generation of pastors who are seeking fame over the spirit of God and that their congregations ultimately suffer.

Jakes doesn't like the idea of "only following the most popular preachers," so he is bringing unknown preachers into his church to speak to his congregation.  "I was saved for years and didn't see anybody who was on TV," he said, adding, "We gotta put this Hollywood spirit out of the church and go back to moving in the power of the Holy Ghost. "

Jakes, who must admit that he is quite famous himself, says that this was not always the case.  The pastor reminisced about the time when he was an unknown preacher struggling to fill his church pews and getting little or no support from the public.  Once his message caught on, his church became one of the most respected on earth, but the climb wasn't easy.

Since that time, Jakes has been named by Time Magazine as one of the most popular preachers on the planet.  He is now making movies, and is regularly seen among the Hollywood elite.  He was also heavily criticized for being photographed hugging former President George W. Bush after hundreds  black people died in New Orleans due to the lack of response by the Bush Administration.  But Pastor Jakes brushes all that aside and gives the glory, honor and credit to Jesus Christ, the name above all names.

Read more: All Christian News

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Original Page: http://www.ynaija.com/huh-td-jakes-is-sick-of-the-hollywood-spirit-in-the-church/

Xtian

Faith Without Works: Are You Really a Christian?

Recently I taught through Matthew 10 at our Friday morning Man in the Mirror Bible study. I described the chapter as "Jesus Pilot Tests the Great Commission."

After spending two years with his disciples, Jesus selected the 12 men he wanted, then sent them to pilot test his strategy for total global conquest. The Great Commission is for us too. In praying for his disciples, Jesus said, "As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world.... I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message" (John 17:18, 20, NIV).  

During one of several messages on Matthew 10, I told the men I had a couple of hard things to say. First, "If you are getting better treatment than described in Matthew 10, are you sure you are on the right path?" Second, "You either need to do the work (of making disciples), get trained to do the work, or admit that you're not really in the deal."

One of my dear friends told me that he thought I was too harsh. I thought a lot about that. The next week, I explained to the men at our Bible study that I would rather give men false doubt about their salvation than false assurance. Actually, I said I would rather not make an error in either direction! I would rather be able to walk the tightrope and neither cause men to wrongly doubt their salvation when they are saved, nor wrongly believe they are saved if they are not.

Oversimplifying the Gospel
If you were going to err—and I hope you don't—would it not be better for some men who are saved to wrongly doubt their salvation? Here's the problem. All the risks of false doubt are temporal, but all the risks of false assurance are eternal. Again, I would rather not make a mistake at all. But if I do, God save me from oversimplifying what the gospel must cost a man—"easy believism."

Actually, I am struck by how blunt Jesus is. For example, in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said, "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven" (Matt. 7:21). Authentic discipleship is more than professing faith.

We Are Created for Good Works
In the famous passage Ephesians 2:8-9, Paul made it clear that we are saved by grace alone, through faith alone, and not because of anything we do. Yet in verse 10, he goes on to say, "For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."

Good works, deeds, or bearing fruit are integral to Christian faith. James wrote, "What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds?... Faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead" (James 2:14, 17). Martin Luther's chief lieutenant, Philip Melanchthon, said, "Justification is by faith alone, but not by a faith that is alone."

So What Does It Mean?
If a man has truly and earnestly repented of his sins and put his faith in Jesus Christ alone for his eternal salvation, then the matter is settled.

However, if a man professes faith and produces no fruit, he would be wise to question the authenticity of his faith. Better to risk false doubt than false assurance.

Someone who has been walking with Christ for a long time will usually produce more fruit than someone who has recently made a profession of faith. If a man doesn't produce fruit early on, that doesn't mean he will not do so as he matures spiritually. Yet if a man produces no fruit after many years of professing faith, he would be wise to be concerned.

Nevertheless, it's biblical for the quality of our service to Christ to differ from person to person. We see that in Matthew 25 in the parable of the talents. In 1 Corinthians 3:11-15 we're told, "For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ." In other words, no good work can improve on your salvation.

However, the text goes on to say, "If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light ... If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames."

So the message is: If you have genuinely repented of your sins and received Jesus as your Savior, then you are saved for all eternity. However, if you are of "weak faith" and don't apply yourself, your salvation will be like "escaping through the flames."

The Incomparable Love of God
Every single human being on the face of the planet was created by God, is known intimately by God, and is taken care of by him. He knows our thoughts from afar. He knows every breath we take. He knows every word before it forms on the tip of our tongue. He knit us together in our mother's womb (see Ps. 139).

He watches everyone closely, examining every person on earth (see Ps. 11:4). Every hair on our heads has been counted (see Matt. 10:30). He has determined how long we will live and the exact places where we will live (see Acts 17:26).

You are very special to God. God loves you very much. Nothing you do will ever make you good enough for God to love you. Nothing you have done will ever make you bad enough for God not to forgive you. Your salvation does not depend on doing good works, yet genuine salvation results in good works. Good works don't earn merit. Good works don't lead to the cross, but are the evidence that you have the cross.

Make Your Salvation Sure
Let's not take salvation for granted. Let's not tell men who sit on their thumbs, "That's okay. Don't worry about it. God loves you anyway." Instead, let's exhort men to faith and the good deeds that demonstrate faith. That was Paul's message, "I was not disobedient to the vision from heaven. ... I preached that they should repent and turn to God and prove their repentance by their deeds" (Acts 26:19-20).

You and I are of infinite value to the One who created us, sustains us and, if we turn to him in humble, repentant faith, will redeem us. To be a Christian is to be a disciple of Jesus. To be a disciple of Jesus is the highest honor to which a human being can aspire. How does that happen?

God loves you very much, and he wants you to repent of your sins, put your faith in Jesus, and then give evidence of your repentance by doing the work for which you have been created. That's the simple, beautiful message of the gospel.

If anyone has been relying on "easy believism," they can make their salvation sure by faith and repentance, then do the work—or get trained to do the work. Our great God has something very special he wants each of us to do.

Pat Morley is the Founder and CEO of Man in the Mirror. After building one of Florida's 100 largest privately held companies, in 1991, he founded Man in the Mirror, a non-profit organization to help men find meaning and purpose in life. Dr. Morley is the bestselling author of The Man in the Mirror, No Man Left Behind, Dad in the Mirror, and A Man's Guide to the Spiritual Disciplines.

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Original Page: http://www.charismamag.com/life/men/17334-faith-without-works-are-you-really-a-christian

Xtian

Quit Trying to Be Big … and Just Be Faithful

Our culture says bigger is better. But in the kingdom of God, less is often more.

There's nothing more disheartening to a preacher than to see empty seats in a church service. I'll be honest—I like meetings where you have to pull out extra chairs and put people in the aisles. Why? Because I assume if God's blessing is on a meeting it will be packed. I like numbers because, in my carnal thinking, crowds are more significant.

Our culture puts value on things depending on how popular they are, and we are guilty of applying this rule in the church. We like big. We even rate churches based on size. We know that the three largest churches in America in 2013 are (1) Joel Osteen's Lakewood Church, (2) Andy Stanley's North Point Ministries and (3) Bill Hybels' Willow Creek Community Church. The assumption is that these churches are leading the way in making spiritual impact.

But God doesn't evaluate us based on numbers, nor does He rate our effectiveness by comparing us to someone else. Many pastors of small or mid-size churches get discouraged because they evaluate their ministries by counting the number of rear ends in seats or the amount of money in offering plates. But God's ways are not our ways! Remember these kingdom principles:

Less is sometimes more. Jesus attracted big crowds, but the numbers didn't impress Him because He knew many who were healed in His meetings wouldn't follow Him to the cross. He even told one of His crowds that the gospel seeds He was sowing would be eaten by birds, scorched and withered, or choked by thorns (see Mark 4:3-8). Only a small percentage, He said, would bear fruit. Jesus was looking for quality, not quantity.

In the end, after thousands heard Jesus' messages and ate His free lunches, only 120 of His followers gathered in the Upper Room on the day of Pentecost. That is not an impressive number, and today's church growth specialists might say Jesus failed to break the 200 barrier within three years of ministry!

Follow the cloud, not the crowd. There are a few crowd shots in the book of Acts. But most scenes of the early church are less impressive. An Ethiopian is converted on a desert road. The Holy Spirit falls on members of an Italian family gathered in a home in Caesarea. A woman named Lydia comes to Christ at a small prayer gathering by a river in Philippi. She becomes the first convert in Europe.

Why are these seemingly inconsequential stories highlighted in Scripture? Because God moves as powerfully in one-on-one conversations and small group gatherings as He does in big meetings. When we follow the cloud of His presence, He often leads us to the one instead of the many.

The book of Acts ends with a scene of Paul ministering quietly to people in a small apartment while he is under house arrest (see Acts 28:30-31). Paul certainly didn't measure His impact by large buildings, big mailing lists, media exposure or book sales. (His writings didn't become popular until he was dead!)

Make disciples, don't entertain audiences. Every man's work will be tested by fire, and every ministry will be evaluated not by church-growth experts but by God's holy standards. Sitting in a church does not make a person a faithful follower of Jesus. Don't confuse disciples with pew-warmers. He will not evaluate us by how many people were in attendance, or even by how many danced in the aisles or shouted when we preached, but by how many disciples we made.

Stop trying to be popular. The three largest concerts in history were performed by (1) Indian singer Babbu Maan, who recently attracted 4.8 million fans; (2) raspy-voiced British rocker Rod Stewart; and (3) French New Age composer Jean Michel Jarre. If you asked, "Who in the world is Babbu Maan?" then you prove my point. Crowds or fleeting popularity do not determine significance.

Justin Bieber has more Twitter followers—37.3 million—than anyone on the planet. He is followed by Lady Gaga and Katy Perry. We are supposed to be impressed, because in our culture, value is determined by star power. But you have to wonder: Is this 19-year-old pop singer the world's most powerful man? No, because in the light of eternity the size of Bieber's fan base is as meaningless as how frequently he changes his hairstyle.

Let's stop evaluating our own effectiveness—and each other's—by crowd size. Be faithful with the people you have, whether it is a home church of seven, an office Bible study of 10, a rural congregation of 30 or a megachurch of 2,000. Whether you are ministering to a handful of inmates, a roomful of Alzheimer's patients, a dozen orphans or one depressed friend, forget your need for the spotlight. Just let Jesus use you, and make Him popular.

J. Lee Grady is the former editor of Charisma and the director of The Mordecai Project (themordecaiproject.org). His latest book is Fearless Daughers of the Bible.

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Original Page: http://www.charismamag.com/blogs/fire-in-my-bones/17340-quit-trying-to-be-big-and-just-be-faithful

Xtian

Your Trial May Take You to the Next Level

I remember exactly where I was when the meaning of James 1:2-3 dawned on me. I wasn't at an all-night prayer meeting. I wasn't at the end of a 40-day fast. No, I was at a pizzeria in Kissimmee, Fla., in the summer of 1979, and I had just lost my temper.

I had been looking forward to enjoying a pizza from this particular place. But everything went wrong. First, the pizzas took 45 minutes to prepare. Then, as I carried them to my motel room through the pouring rain, they fell out of their wet paper bag into a puddle of water.

I had already told off the manager because I'd waited so long for the first set of pizzas. Now I was going to have to face him again to get new ones.

"How could all this happen?" I asked myself.

That's when James 1:2-3 came to me: "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance" (NIV).

This verse had already been on my mind for weeks, since I was planning to preach on the book of James in the autumn. As I returned to the pizzeria, I said to myself, "Either James 1:2 is true or it isn't. And if I plan to preach on it shortly, I had better begin practicing what I preach!"

This trial of having everything go wrong with a long-awaited pizza, when people all over the world are starving, hurting, living in poverty or dying from disease, is almost too silly to mention. It was hardly the greatest trial a person could suffer.

But I have to tell you, this episode—this "trial"—was pivotal in my life. Minutes before I returned to the pizzeria to apologize with genuine meekness to the manager, I repented before God for my anger and behavior.

In that moment a new phrase was born to me: "dignifying the trial." I decided then and there to dignify that situation by accepting the entire matter as something that God sent. It was a divine setup.

I not only repented to the Lord, but I also thanked Him for the whole thing. I apologized to the manager and cheerfully waited for another pizza. (For some reason, he wouldn't let me pay.)

When I returned to my family at the motel, I was a different person.

A GOD-GIVEN PRIVILEGE
According to James 1:2, a trial is a God-given privilege that we are to "consider" pure joy. The Greek word is hegeomai, meaning "to value highly, to esteem." In other words, what would naturally make us feel the opposite—upset or sorry for ourselves—is to be valued as a wonderful opportunity.

How do we make that adjustment in our thinking? Only by sufficient motivation. We must be inspired or stimulated to look at trials in a positive manner.

Take Moses, for example. The Bible says he "regarded" disgrace for the sake of Christ to be of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, "because he was looking ahead to his reward" (Heb. 11:26).

Hebrews 12:2 tells us that Jesus Himself endured the cross because of "the joy that was set before him." He did not enjoy the taunts or relish the physical pain. But He considered the cross pure joy because pure joy was coming. And it came!

The message of James 1:2 is that trials are a good thing, if we have a positive attitude toward them when they come. James certainly doesn't say we will enjoy trials. Instead, we must endure them.

But we can regard the thought of them as pure joy because of what they can do for us.

Every trial has the potential to lead to great reward. James wants us to see that—by faith. He wants us to understand that trials are the gateway to God's anointing in our lives.

THE GATEWAY TO GOD'S ANOINTING
If it is anointing you want, then expect suffering. If it is a great anointing you want, anticipate great suffering at some stage.

When I say, "anointing," I am talking about the power of the Holy Spirit to make us do what we do with ease and without fatigue. The main reason for burnout and fatigue among Christians is almost certainly because we go beyond our anointing; we go outside it rather than functioning within it.

We can pray for greater anointing—for the ability to do what we previously could not do in our own strength. This is a legitimate desire; Paul told us to earnestly desire the greater gifts (see 1 Cor. 12:31). God will answer this request so long as it is in His will and sought with His glory in mind (see 1 John 5:14).

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Just don't be surprised when you wake up one morning with an enormous trial in front of you. Instead, grasp it with both hands, and consider it pure joy. It is a fairly strong hint from the Lord that you are going to receive the anointing you desire.

Of course, James does not specifically use the word "anointing." His exact words are, "Consider it pure joy…because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance" (James 1:1-3, emphasis added).

What does perseverance have to do with anointing? Perseverance is the next step forward—the link to a brilliant future. God does not lead us from A to Z, but from A to B.

During a trial, the immediate need is for perseverance. It is not the ultimate goal; but it is what enables you to reach the goal that James envisions: "Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything" (James 1:4).

By dignifying your trial, James says, you will reach a place of indescribable peace and the highest level of anointing. You will have a soul uncluttered by greed and a heart filled with the very presence of God. You will experience pure joy.

DIGNIFYING YOUR TRIAL
Are you ready to dignify your trials and experience more joy and a greater anointing than you have ever known? Here are eight steps you can take when your time of testing comes:

1. Welcome the trial. Welcome your trial as you would welcome the Holy Spirit; for it is the Holy Spirit who is behind the whole ordeal, along with the Father and the Son. Even though the beginning of a trial can be painful, say to the Lord, "I know You have sent this to me, and I want to get the maximum benefit You had in mind when You ordained it." This way, you begin to dignify the trial from the first moment.

2. Don't panic. Satan's immediate goal when he is given permission to attack is to get you to panic. This is why he is compared to a roaring lion (see 1 Pet. 5:8). The reason for the roar is to intimidate and cause fear and panic—to make you think you are defeated even before anything has happened.

Remember that God OK'd your trial before it came to you. He reckoned that you were able to cope, or He would not have allowed it (see 1 Cor. 10:13). As the psalmist put it, "Do not fret—it leads only to evil" (Ps. 37:8).

3. See the trial as a compliment to you from God. The kind of trial that God has allowed you to have is very possibly one that could not be granted to others around you. Whereas your first reaction (understandably) may be to feel sorry for yourself, on reflection you should be able to see that God gave this trial to you for one reason: You are up to it.

4. Never forget that God allowed the trial. This point must be stressed because Satan wants you to feel sorry for yourself, point the finger at others, and become angry and bitter toward God. Instead, when a trial comes, stop and realize: This scenario has passed through God's filtering process. He could have stopped it, yes, but He didn't.

Try not to get hung up on the vexing theological question of whether God caused—or only permitted—the trial to happen. There is a fine line between the two, and nobody in the history of the world has it all figured out.

Besides, whether your trial is something as big as physical pain or as small as losing your keys, it doesn't matter if God caused it or simply allowed it. You know this much: He let it happen. Your task is to dignify the trial, whether it is big or small.

5. Know that there is a purpose in the trial. Were it not for this, there would be no point in counting a trial "pure joy." James states that the immediate purpose of a trial is to develop perseverance that leads to joy so wonderful, you lack nothing.

Here is James 1:2-4 translated in The Message: "Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don't try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way."

There is a purpose in what you're going through. It may be to refine you; to teach you a lesson; to equip you; or to teach you self-control. The bottom line is that every trial is designed to make you more like Jesus.

6. Don't try to end the trial. As The Message puts it, "Don't try to get out of anything prematurely." God will end your trial at the right time. It will last as long as it's supposed to last. Try to end it before its time, and you will fail the test.

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Your assignment is to dignify the trial by letting it run its course, however long God decides that will be. If you do nothing to bring about its conclusion—if you let God be in control of the timing—you will not only pass the test, but you will also enjoy the fruit of righteousness that God purposed for you.

7. Don't grumble. Here's a sobering thought: God puts grumbling alongside idolatry and sexual sin in the lists of evil deeds that brought His wrath down on ancient Israel (see 1 Cor. 10:1-12).

It takes no talent or training to criticize and complain. It is part of being a sinner. It takes great grace to endure trials and keep quiet in the hard times.

Remember, God wants you to pass the test far more than you do. Why? First, because He loves you so much that He rejoices when you experience pure joy.

Second, it brings Him glory when you dignify your trial by cheerfully enduring. So trust God in the midst of your trial, and don't grumble.

8. Don't go looking for trials. If pure joy is the ultimate result of dignifying a trial, you might logically assume that you should go looking for fiery trials. Wrong. The qualification for a trial to be dignified is that it happens without you doing a thing to precipitate it.

Jesus told us to pray that we would not enter into temptation, or trial (see Matt. 6:13). But when a trial comes—and it comes without you causing it—consider it pure joy.

You may never have another trial that is like the one you are in right now. Dignify it. Welcome it without panic or grumbling.

Know that God has allowed this trial for a great purpose, and endure it to the end. You will be glad you did!

Read a companion devotional.

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R.T. Kendall is the author of Pure Joy (Charisma House), from which this article is adapted.

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Original Page: http://www.charismamag.com/life/women/10105-your-trial-may-take-you-to-the-next-level

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John Bevere Answers: 'When Should I Leave My Church?'

I'm often asked, "When should I leave a church or ministry team? How bad does it have to get?"

I respond, "Who sent you to the church you presently attend?"

The majority of the time they answer, "God did."

"If God sent you," I reply, "do not leave until God releases you. If the Lord is silent, He is often saying, 'Don't change a thing. Do not leave. Stay where I have placed you!'"

When God does instruct you to leave, you will go out with peace, no matter what the condition of the ministry: "For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace" Is. 55:12, KJV). Therefore, your departure will not be based on the actions or behavior of others but rather on the Spirit's leading.

So leaving a ministry is not based on how bad things are. To leave with an offended or critical spirit is not the plan of God. It is reacting rather than acting on His guidance. Romans 8:14 (NKJV) says, "For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God."

Notice it does not say, "For as many as react to difficult situations, these are sons of God."

Almost every time the word son is used in the New Testament, it comes from the two Greek words teknon and huios. A good definition for the word teknon is "one who is a son by mere fact of birth."

When my first son, Addison, was born, he was John Bevere's son by mere fact that he came from my wife and me. When he was in the nursery in the midst of all the other newborns, you could not recognize him as my son by personality. When friends and family came to visit, they could not pick him out except by the nametag above his crib. He did not possess anything that set him apart. Addison would be considered a teknon of John and Lisa Bevere.

We find teknon used in Romans 8:15–16. It says that because we have received the spirit of adoption, "the Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children [teknon] of God." When a person receives Jesus Christ as Lord, he is a child of God by fact of the new birth experience. (See John 1:12.)

The other Greek word translated sons in the New Testament is huios. Many times it is used in the New Testament to describe "one who can be identified as a son because he displays the character or characteristics of his parents." As my son Addison grew, he started looking and acting like his father. When Addison was 6, Lisa and I took a trip and left him with my parents. My mother told my wife that Addison was almost a carbon copy of his daddy. His personality was like mine when I was his age. As he has grown, he has become more like his dad. He now can be recognized as John Bevere's son, not only by the fact of his birth but also by the characteristics and a personality that resemble his father's.

So, to put it simply, the Greek word teknon means "babies or immature sons," and the Greek word huios is most often used to describe "mature sons."

Looking at Romans 8:14 again, it reads: "For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons [huios] of God." We can see clearly here that it is the mature sons who are led by the Spirit of God.

Immature Christians are less likely to follow the leading of the Spirit of God. Most often they react or respond emotionally or intellectually to circumstances they face. They have not yet learned to act only on the Spirit of God's leading.

As Addison grows, he will progress in character development. The more mature he becomes, the more responsibility I will entrust to him. It is wrong for him to stay immature. It is not God's will that we remain babies.

One way the character of Addison has grown is by facing difficult situations. When he started school, he met up with some "bullies." I heard some of the things these rough kids were doing and saying to my son, and I wanted to go and deal with it. But I knew that would be wrong. For me to intervene would hinder Addison's growth.

So my wife and I continued to counsel him at home, preparing him to face the persecutions at school. He grew in character through obeying our counsel in the midst of his suffering.

This is similar to what God does with us. The Bible says, "Though He [Jesus] was a Son [Huios], yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered" (Heb. 5:8, emphasis added).

Physical growth is a function of time. No 2-year-old child has ever been 6 feet tall. Intellectual growth is a function of learning. Spiritual growth is a function of neither time nor learning, but rather of obedience. Now look at what Peter says: "Therefore, since Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mind, for he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin" (1 Pet. 4:1, emphasis added).

A person who has ceased from sin is a perfectly obedient child of God. He is mature. He chooses God's ways, not his own. Just as Jesus learned obedience by the things He suffered, we learn obedience by the difficult circumstances we face. When we obey the Word of God that is spoken by the Holy Spirit, we will grow and mature in times of conflict and suffering.

Our knowledge of Scripture is not the key. Obedience is.

Now we understand one reason why we have people in the church who have been Christians for 20 years, who can quote verses and chapters of the Bible, who have heard a thousand sermons and have read many books but still wear spiritual diapers. Every time they meet with difficult situations, rather than responding by the Spirit of God, they seek to protect themselves in their own way. They are "always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth" (2 Tim. 3:7). They never come to the knowledge of the truth because they do not apply it.

Truth must be allowed to have its way in our lives if we are going to grow and mature. It is not enough to give mental assent to truth without obeying it. Even though we continue to learn, we never mature because of disobedience.

John Bevere is a popular speaker at conferences and churches and the author of best-sellers The Bait of Satan and The Fear of the Lord. He is host of The Messenger TV show and directs Messenger International ministry. This article was excerpted from his popular book The Bait of Satan. 

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Original Page: http://www.charismamag.com/spirit/spiritual-growth/17288-john-bevere-answers-when-should-i-leave-my-church

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Do You Unknowingly Exalt Men Above God?

Anytime we exalt the men of God above the God of men, the church has been charmed. I thoroughly and wholeheartedly believe in honoring deserving men and women of God. This is right and well pleasing in the sight of the Lord. Paul instructs us in the Book of Romans to give honor where honor is due. Quite honestly, honor is a rare commodity in many Christian circles nowadays. We would do well if we practiced giving honor to those who merit it more. But trouble is on the horizon when we exalt our leaders as if they are Gods and give glory to them that is due the Lord. Men can and should be honored, but they must never be worshipped.

When men are worshipped, people blindly follow a minister. If the minister does not walk in humility and stop people from exalting him, it becomes truly a case of the blind leading the blind.

Only those blind to reality would allow themselves to be worshipped. We must never allow the praise of others to blind us of who we really are.

Paul and Barnabus immediately cried out for the people not to worship them. Do you know why they reacted so desperately and intensely? They did so because they knew who they were and what they had the ability to become without the Lord. They understood that if God abandoned them, they were through.

Even in today's church when pride walks in, God walks out. The church is spellbound when she holds her leadership to no biblical standard of behavior. When people are so taken by the gifting of the minister that they lose sight of the One who gave the minister the gift to begin with, they've been charmed. The ruler, pastor, bishop, or church leader who does not operate in submission to God and His Word is an illegitimate leader. It doesn't matter how smooth or gifted an orator the preacher is, or how great he or she is in ministry, all must be held to the standard of God's Word.

Ministers are not worthy of our worship. The church is charmed when it falls deeper in love with the messenger than the message.

Paul was a man who embraced the tranquility of humility. He had incredible peace in knowing who he had become in the Lord. He was so busy exalting this Jesus who had transformed his life, he had no time or desire to exalt himself. The message he brought to the people of that region was simple and pure. It revolved around one central theme: grace.

Paul's precious preaching stood in total opposition to everything the Galatians had been raised to believe. These people had been bound up their entire lives by the shackles of paganism. Their rituals and heathen festivals dominated their very existence. As much as one-third of their calendar days had been reserved for worshipping, sacrificing to, and reverencing their false gods. The weight of their religion hung around their necks and choked the very life out of them. It must have been an arduous existence as they desperately attempted to fulfill every pagan prerequisite of the day.

Ministers are not worthy of our worship. The church is charmed when it falls deeper in love with the messenger than the message.

No matter what they did for their gods, there was always more to do. No matter what they presented to their false deities, they were constantly implored to bring more. There was always another sacrifice, another festival, another demand, or another ritual. In all their striving they were never granted peace or resolve; they could never do enough to satisfy their nonexistent taskmasters.

Into this atmosphere of never-ending, never-satisfying paganism arises a man with a new message—a message that spoke of a savior named Jesus. Can you imagine how amazed these people must have been as they heard the message of Christ and His death on the cross? A message that said, "You don't have to sacrifice to Me; I was sacrificed for you." The message of the cross was life transforming to these desperate people. For the first time ever they heard a message revolving around what their God had already done for them instead of what they should do for their gods.

The gospel must have seemed like a deluge of refreshing cold water in a dry and thirsty desert. Grace, what a concept! Grace whispered into all the unending ritualism and said, "It isn't what you can do; it's what Jesus has done!" I can only imagine the relief and tears of joy as they began to grasp the concept of the incredible love of Jesus.

Even now, reacquaint yourself with the grace of Jesus in your life. Break every spell of striving off of yourself, and rest in the beauty of what Jesus has done, not in the futility of what you can do.

Jim Raley is the senior pastor of Calvary Christian Center in Florida. He is the author of Hell's Spells, from which this article was excerpted. 

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Original Page: http://www.charismamag.com/spirit/spiritual-growth/17331-do-you-unknowingly-exalt-men-above-god

Eugene Peterson: Vocation and the Art of Pastoring - OutreachMagazine.com

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Eugene Peterson: Vocation and the Art of Pastoring

Eugene Peterson, best known for his common-language translation of the Bible, The Message, has helped guide the church, through his masterful writing, to a deeper understanding of spiritual formation, pastoral calling and ecclesiology. In this short interview, Peterson discusses his views on vocation, church size and the importance of being "locally" minded in your ministry.    

On the vocation of a pastor

Well, this is where most of the satisfaction comes in being a pastor, in being local and being personal. The vocation of the pastor is one of the best in which you can learn to find out ways to be intimate with people and to understand the actual location where you live. We're people with our feet on the ground, and who else gets to do this in quite the way a pastor can do? 

You know, a doctor deals with bodies who are disembodied from place and relationships, and the businessman is dealing with commercial transactions that have nothing to do with relationships as far as he's concerned. But a pastor gets to do it all; the whole thing comes together, and the pastor knows whole entire families and neighborhoods and gets to see the whole thing: the good, the bad, the indifferent, the sick, the healthy. 

I think it's a glorious vocation to get called into, and it saddens me when pastors eliminate so much of it just by ignoring the actual circumstances in which they live and try to plant something that's disincarnate and using programs instead of relationships in order to cultivate the Christian life. 

On church size

It's very difficult to develop maturity in a place where the size is so huge. I'm thinking particularly about pastors. How can you preach to people you don't know? The sermons become, and the church is run, primarily through programs, which are inherently depersonalizing. And so you're choosing a way to have church which makes it very difficult to be at church.  Of course, there are many good things that happen.  You can have mission projects and world influence in what's going on, and you can certainly say what needs to be said. 

You know, our primary theological tenant is the Trinity. God is personal, and He's interpersonal. 

There is nothing God does that doesn't come from a Trinitarian sort of an operation, and when we start to develop strategies that bypass the personal, the local, then it seems to me we're just hamstringing ourselves.  

Advice for young pastors and leaders

There are twenty hundred different ways of being a pastor, and there's probably no vocation in which you're able to be yourself, with your whole self as a pastor. And I think it's important for each of us to say, "What's gone into the making of me as a pastor?" and use the strengths that I've been given, the experiences I've been given to be a faithful servant of Jesus Christ. 

But I think local and personal is very important. There are a lot of different ways to preach a sermon or teach a class or visit somebody in the hospital, but if we try to take somebody else's mantle and put on us, it's like Saul's armor. It just doesn't work. 

It might look really good, but we can't move in it. It keeps us from being ourselves.

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