A Heart of Thanksgiving, Part 3

As a continuation of what we’ve been discussing, which is developing and maintaining a heart of thanksgiving, I really want to focus on the next point that begins with verse 19 of 1 Thessalonians chapter 5, “Do not quench the Spirit.” Now why do you think that He put that in there? “Do not quench the Spirit.” Do you know what it means to “quench”? Literally, according to Strong’s, it means, “extinguish.” You and I have the potential, or the ability, to extinguish the Spirit. I reckon that means something akin to pouring water on a fire.

The Holy Spirit, full of life, is seeking to instruct us in truth as Jesus said the Spirit would. And instead of receiving that life and that truth, we want to throw cold water upon what the Spirit comes to bring. How awesome is the born-again experience in which God comes to live in us. I still cannot wrap my human mind around what it means to have God’s Spirit in me. How does He do that with all of us? And of course, we can give the quick “off the cuff” answer of, “Well, there’s enough of God to go around, there’s no limit,” etc., but God chooses to live in us? To dwell in us? To put His Spirit in us? Wow!

And so Paul says, “Do not quench the Spirit.” Now, how do you think it would be possible for you to quench the Spirit? Let’s take this bit-by-bit. A) Is it possible for you or I to quench the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives? B) If possible (which the Word says it is), how would we do it?
  

Well, let’s read the preceding verses. Verse 16: when we do not maintain an attitude of rejoicing, we extinguish the Spirit. Verse 17: we extinguish the Spirit by not remaining in an attitude of prayer. Again, this does not mean walking around speaking in tongues, praying in the Holy Ghost, and saying “Our Father’s” and “Hail Mary’s,” or whatever you venture to do. It doesn’t mean making a public display of prayer as the Pharisees do, praying on the corner where everybody can see how holy one thinks they might be. It means maintaining a regular communication line with God. Prayer is fellowship, relationship, and communication with God, and it involves speaking as well as listening. Transmitting as well as receiving, and we should always be ready to pray.

How do you respond to bad news? How do you respond to the needs of other people? Do you just get in there in the pity party and wallow around in the mud? I see it in church life all the time. People just wallowing in the mud together like pigs in slop sometimes. I don’t mean to be offensive. Your responsibility is not to join in the pity party; those who are mature are supposed to instruct those who are less mature, not jump into the junk with them! That is a clear sign of immaturity and a lack of spirituality. People don’t need sympathy, maybe some empathy, but sympathy is not going to change their situation. They need compassion. Compassion will seek results and positive change in that circumstance. People don’t just need your emotional input; they need the God in you to be released in their situation!

Oftentimes that comes through prayer. The next time somebody just wants you to jump in the muck with them, take their hand and pray in the name of Jesus! You’ll find out that they’re gonna try to keep pulling your hand in the muck. It’s amazing to me. “Yeah, you can pray, but, but, but,” and they’re just pulling on your arm, yanking you and trying to get you into the muck. And if you don’t maintain a proper attitude, you’ll be yucky, mucky (I don’t think I’ve ever used that term before) in no time at all! It doesn’t take long; you’ll be wallowing around in that stuff. We’re called to bring them out of the muck!

How do we extinguish the Spirit? Look at verse 18: by not giving thanks in all things. By not establishing and maintaining an attitude and a heart of thankfulness. What causes us to not be thankful? Every one of us can identify with that if we just were honest with ourselves here. Sometimes it’s a sense of entitlement. Sometimes it’s our own greed. All the time it’s the work of our flesh. There’s only one thing that keeps us from being thankful and that’s our carnality, or soulfulness, and self-centeredness/selfishness. Like James said, “You want, you want, you want, and you don’t get” (paraphrased). Why? Because you’re seeking to heap something upon yourself, and your motivation is wrong.

I’ve always seen God bless generous people, and I’m not just talking about monetarily. We all know some people who go way beyond their means, yet they do not have a lot of money. But if you ask them, they’ll tell you that they’re blessed. This is not about financial wealth. That’s just one aspect of life. Some of the happiest people that I know don’t have much at all. But my goodness sake, they are so generous, and they’re always happy. No, they’re not just always happy, they’re always rejoicing! What causes us to be dismayed is when we don’t get what we want. So what do you want? Maybe the object of your desire is the problem. What is the object of your desire? Ouch!

We’ll wrap up this series regarding a “Heart of Thanksgiving” with the next blog. Thank you so much for joining me on this journey!

~ pg

Is Tithing A Law?

How many of you believe, as the Scripture says, that the just shall live by faith? Do you really believe that? You should try saying this aloud, “The just shall live by faith. I am ‘just’; therefore, I will live by faith. I walk by faith and not by sight because I am just in the eyes of God.”

You know at least three times in the New Testament and a couple of times in the Old, we read this statement that, “the just shall live by faith.” To be “the just” means, in other words, to be the justified: those who are seen as not guilty in the eyes of God. Do you know that that’s how God sees you?

So no matter how guilty you think you are, God says, “No, you’re not.” And it’s kind of like we’re standing in a courtroom before Almighty God, and we have Jesus as our Advocate standing next to us, and God declares us “Not Guilty,” and we want to keep saying, “No, Your Honor, I really did it.” He then responds with, “You are NOT GUILTY.” Then we counter, “But, You don’t understand, I did it!” He replies, “I said, ‘NOT GUILTY.’” We want to get into an argument with God about our guilt, and the whole time God is trying to say, “You are declared, ‘NOT GUILTY!’”

Now we all know that you really did it. But when you confess your sin, He’s faithful and just to forgive you and to cleanse you from all of your unrighteousness, or in other words, all of your guilt, right? He washes it all away; it’s gone.

So the Scripture says that the just shall live by faith. Faith is a principle of God’s Kingdom. Every kingdom has a set of principles or laws by which the citizenry lives. Can we agree on that? If I live in America, I am to live according to the laws of the land. If I go to South Africa, guess what? The laws are different, and if I don’t heed the traffic laws of South Africa, I will very soon find myself in a head-on collision with another automobile, because in my opinion, they drive on the wrong side of the road!

But according to South African law, you are to drive on the left and not on the right. Right? No left! Did you get that? So every kingdom, area of domain, has a prescribed set of principles by which the citizens are to live. God’s Kingdom is certainly no exception.

A short time ago, I remember making a statement about how we sometimes get hung up on legalism. If you are one who is hypersensitive about that word/concept, then you might have a real problem with God, because oftentimes, God might appear to be legalistic. For instance, He says, “Do this; don’t do that. If you do this, you will be blessed. If you do that, over there, the opposite of it, you will not be blessed.” And if we’re not careful, that may sound a bit like legalism to our ears. All the while, God is giving us laws or principles, which are synonymous, by which we are to live because He wants us to prosper and have good health, as it states in 3 John 2.

Now if we’re going to prosper and have good health, wouldn’t we be wise to apply His principles to our lives? Do we think it’s just, fair, or equitable to live in a constant state of disobedience and expect the blessings of God to flow freely in our lives? Does that make sense? It certainly does not line up with the Word of God. In this series of blogs, there will be times that I refer to “laws.” When you hear me say that, I am simultaneously speaking of “principles,” as they are synonymous.

A principle is a law. It is a sure thing. Now, if you hear me say, “the Law,” I’m talking about something entirely different, and it’s important to understand the difference between the two and keep this in mind because the Kingdom of God is established on certain principles such as faith. Without faith it’s impossible to please God. The just shall live by faith. And how about this one: Abraham believed God, had faith in God, and trusted God. It was accounted to him as righteousness.

The Bible is actually a book of principles by which we, God’s people, are instructed to live. We are not to be ones who are simply looking for a religious experience. We’re not to be merely religious. We’re certainly not to become legalistic as the Pharisees did. However, it is important to keep in mind that God promises to bless us as we walk in the obedience that comes from faith. I’m talking about the same kind of faith that is expressed and illustrated in the life of Abraham.

We can expect the blessings of God to flow unhindered in our lives when we are a people who live principled lives based upon the Word of God.

I’ll be continuing this for the next couple of weeks in order to bring clarity to a variety of topics that are interrelated: the Law, principles, laws, obedience, blessing, curses, and tithing.

~ pg

Back To The Basics, Part 4

In my last blog, I shared Cx3’s core values: W (Worship), O (Outreach), R (Relationship), and now I’m wrapping it up with the last letter, “D,” of the acronym “WORD.”

“D” is for “Discipleship”: We, Cliffdale Christian Center, are getting back to solid discipleship. It’s not going to be for everybody. I want to go on record: our goal is not to be one of the biggest churches in Fayetteville. Never was, never will be. God bless those who have that vision; it’s a wonderful thing. I hope they see their goal fulfilled, and they have thousands and thousands of people coming to church on Sunday. Our goal is to raise disciples. That doesn’t make us better; it doesn’t make them better. I’m just saying that our goal is to make disciples. And if you’re in, “Come on.”

If you just want to be comfortable going somewhere and putting a little money in the basket every week, well, I don’t know how long you’ll want to remain around here. Stay as long as you’re comfortable, but there will be a time that you’re going to get itchy feet and say, “I ain’t stayin’ here no more. Too much is expected of me. I’d rather go where I feel better, put my money in a basket, and Pastor, don’t get in my face every week.” We’ve tried that. It doesn’t work! Not for us. And who wants that? Man, I don’t want a church full of corpses!

It is time for Cliffdale to return to our first love. Time for us to do what God has called us to do. His calling has never changed. We had changed, but God’s call on this church has never changed. And we’ll only be fulfilled when we are busy about the Father’s business and when we are doing those things that God created us to do, not only as individuals, but also as a church.

I don’t want to follow a god that I imagine what he is, and then he fits my schematic of what my idea of a god is supposed to be like. Sometimes I think that we’ve done that in the American church. Yes, God is love, and He is merciful, but you know what? He’s also fire. What are ya gonna do with that one? We’re sometimes so fearful of a word on judgment. Well, read your Bible! “Oh, we’ll just leave that part out.” What did Jesus say? He said in that day many will come to Me and say, “Lord, Lord,” and I’ll look at them and say, “Depart from Me, workers of iniquity, I never knew you.” May we not be guilty of claiming the lordship of Christ unless we are willing to obey Him!

Every kingdom has a king (king-dom, king’s dominion). The kingdom in which you live has a king, a final authority. Is it you, or is it Jesus? You live in a kingdom. The question is: who is the ruler?

So God is calling us back. Oh yes, He’s calling us up, He’s calling us deep, but He’s calling us BACK! We don’t hear too much about being called back. We want to go higher and deeper, higher and deeper, higher and deeper. “No, I’m calling you BACK to those things that you first did that were making a difference.”

And so plans are underway, and my family and our leadership are saying, “Here we are, Lord,” and if it means selling our stuff, well, so be it. “I’ll sell everything except . . . except . . . my golf clubs. I won’t sell my golf clubs.” I was looking around the other day and saying to my wife, “We gotta get rid of stuff, we gotta get rid of it, and we have to start to do some things here.” And she said, “Tell me!”

Even in the challenge that Wesley made the other day, you don’t sell something so that you can buy other things for yourself. I used the example earlier: “I’ll sell my golf clubs so I can buy a new surfboard. Huh, how about that, Jesus?” And you know what Jesus says, “Do whatever you want, just remember, I see your works. I see them. I see what you’re doing.”

Now, He did have a couple of commendations there in verse 2 of Revelation chapter 2; He saw several good things about the church at Ephesus. They had tested those who said they were apostles and found them out to be liars, and He also commended them regarding the fact that they had not taken the course of the Nicolaitans. And then He said, “He who has an ear to hear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give to him to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God.”

What is it that we have to overcome? It’s not just the powers of darkness: Satan and demons. Oftentimes the most powerful force we have to reckon with is that of our own flesh. That is why over and over again Jesus said, “If you’re going to be My disciples, then you must learn to deny yourself.” “Deny yourself,” if you don’t know, means to say “NO” to what you want. Now I would add a further challenge. Tell yourself “NO,” and see how your “self” responds. Sometimes we are so unregenerate in our soul. You can deny yourself a piece of cheesecake and practically have a self-conniption. If you don’t know what a conniption looks like, imagine your picture after you’ve told yourself no about the cheesecake. No. No. No. No. No, you cannot have your plastic Jesus. No, you can’t. God is not going to be conformed into the image that we want Him to be!

My grandmother came from Italy. If ever there was a Catholic grandma, it was my grandma. She went to mass every day and had candles and a little shrine in her bedroom. I was raised Catholic, and we were so Catholic that we had our plastic Jesus up on the dashboard, and next to Him was St. Christopher. And if you don’t know what that one is for, it’s for safe travel because Christopher carried Jesus over the river. Oh my. Hallelujah, thank God for Jesus! Huh?

There is no plastic Jesus, and He will not be conformed according to the mold that we try to put Him in. We’ve been made in His image and in His likeness. As we yield to His Spirit, we can come to a place of knowing and doing His will and that’s where we find fulfillment. That’s where we find true happiness and satisfaction in this life and even greater reward in the life to come.

~ PG

Back to the Basics

Several weeks ago I was reading the Word and one phrase kept jumping off the page at me.

“If you’re going to be my disciples, then you must deny yourself, take up your cross and follow me.” We read this in every Gospel account. So this was something that Jesus wanted to be made abundantly clear to His disciples. If you’re going to be My disciple, then you must: “if” and “must.” Sometimes I wonder how serious we truly are about our discipleship.

I remember a few years ago preaching a series that lasted approximately six months regarding becoming and being a disciple of Jesus Christ. You would have thought that I was trying to preach the church empty because the Lord just wouldn’t leave me alone about this Word, “Being a Disciple.” And it was all from the red print in the Bible. We talked about the things that Jesus said we must do if we are to be His disciples.

Here’s what a disciple of Christ looks like. You’re going to have to be willing to do “these things” if you’re going to be His disciple. And one phrase that repeatedly shows up in the Scripture is that you’re going to have to deny yourself, take up your cross every day, and you must follow Him. Those are two powerful words, “Follow Me.” We read that when Jesus would talk to a potential disciple, it was ordinary for Him to simply speak two words. I don’t care if we’re talking about Phillip the fisherman, or the tax collector, Matthew. In every case, Jesus approaches them and says these words, “Follow Me.”

And then what does Jesus do? He walks away. He keeps on walking. He doesn’t say, “If you really want to know Me, come to My comfortable environment where you can sit in a comfy chair, with carpet on the floor, and with the air conditioning set just right. And if it’s too hot or too cold, just let Us know, because We are here to make you happy. We are here to make you feel good. Everything is okay, and it’s only going to get better.”

God wants to prosper us, but may we never be so deceived as to think that He wants to prosper us just for us. That is a deception that is running rampant in the Church. Jesus says two words, “Follow Me,” and then He keeps moving. And it’s pretty obvious that relatively few took Him at His Word and were willing to follow Him until the very end.

So I received this Word early in the morning that the Lord wants you and Cliffdale to know that you have left your first love. What is a pastor to do? Well, I don’t know what else I could have done, but the first thing I did was repent. But you see, repentance doesn’t only involve saying you’re sorry. Repentance doesn’t only mean “Oh Lord, I acknowledge that I, and we, have collectively left our first love. Therefore God, I’m asking You to forgive me, and oh, I thank You that when I confess my sins, that You’re faithful and just to forgive me and cleanse me from all unrighteousness, and today I’m forgiven,” and then I go about my merry way.

No, He actually brought me to the book of Revelation, chapter two. Fortunately in this case it was not the Laodicean church. But it was another church for which the Lord had a strong Word.

This church was located in Ephesus, one of the most influential cities in Asia Minor at the time. It was a port city that had been developed to accommodate a multitude of docks and shipping; hence, a lot of commerce, money, and people moving into the area.

Look at this portion of Scripture:

¹“To the angel of the church of Ephesus write, ‘These things says He who holds the seven stars in His right hand, who walks in the midst of the seven golden lampstands: ² “I know your works, your labor, your patience, and that you cannot bear those who are evil. And you have tested those who say they are apostles and are not, and have found them liars; ³ and you have persevered and have patience, and have labored for My name’s sake and have not become weary” (Revelation 2:1-3).

So He says, “I know your labor, I see that you are working, that you are giving out, putting out.” He continues, “I see your patience, the fact that you are enduring, and you’re remaining constant and steadfast. And you’ve labored for My name’s sake and have not become weary in well-doing” (paraphrased). But then in verse 4 He says . . .

⁴Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love. ⁵Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place—unless you repent. I see your works, and I am intimately acquainted with what you do” (Revelation 2:4-5).

You can still be engaged in and very active with all of these other things and perhaps not even realize that you have left your first love. In fact, it’s possible that your work and even your ministry have become your first love. It’s feasible that other people and/or things have become your first love. It’s possible for you to think that God has prospered you so that you can buy more cars, flat screen TV’s, bigger houses, and more new clothes. It’s just possible. So the Lord says, “You have left your first love.” And then He says, “Remember therefore from where you have fallen.” Wow! Remember from where you have fallen.

I need to stop here for time’s sake, but I will continue with this story in a few days. Thank you for joining me on this journey; I am truly excited about what Christ is revealing and where He is taking us!

~ PG

Listen to the Spirit

This past weekend I experienced something that needs to be shared in order to encourage believers to listen to the Spirit. Christ sent His Spirit to dwell within and to lead, guide, and teach us. His Spirit communicates directly with our own spirit in order to feed information to our soul (mind, will, emotions). Our body is then subject to the authority of that which is leading.

This past Friday night I had an intense stirring in my spirit to pray in regard to the storms that were headed in the direction of North Carolina. It is a rare occasion for me to feel so compelled in regard to weather conditions, but I obeyed the prompting and prayed rather intently. The focus was primarily on protection for my home/family, neighborhood, and church family as well as my community. It specifically centered on a petition for God to protect peoples' lives.

The next morning, as my wife and I read and prayed together, I again felt this intense stirring to pray about the storms. We joined hands and prayed for God's protection on our home/family, neighborhood, and church family. We once again felt compelled to pray for protection on behalf of our community in regard to preservation of life.

By now most folks know about the record number of tornadoes that hit this part of the country. One of these came right past our own home in Raeford, NC, causing very minimal damage. The rest of our neighborhood was spared as well. However, areas of the city of Fayetteville and the surrounding region suffered utter destruction.

The amazing thing is that great numbers of people were not killed or seriously injured as a result of what took place. It is one thing to view a news broadcast on television. It is something else to see firsthand the destruction caused by these storms.

As our church work team went to offer aid in the aftermath of the tornadoes, I was reminded of that stirring to pray for protection against loss of life. This has encouraged me to pay very close attention to the promptings of the Spirit in the future.

We may never know the full effects of our prayer and fasting. However, we can be assured that prayer can and does change the course of history. As believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, we have the Spirit of Almighty God dwelling in us. May we honor Him by remaining sensitive and attentive to His voice.

~ PG