The Lord has allowed my wife, Susanne, and me to begin and be part of Church Planting in an unreached area of India. She oversees support and help for an orphanage we have while I train church planters, write tracts for evangelism, provide messages for the spiritual growth of new believers and help raise basic support for the church planters.

The work is hard, not very appreciated among nominal church members, but very fulfilling with the Lord. Thinking about church planting and the emphasis it places upon the gospel (when properly focused), made me think long and hard about what it ‘really is.’

In its basic sense, it is simply the reproduction of life; bringing others to the gospel and seeing them changed by the power of God through faith. It is deliverance from the kingdom of darkness into the Kingdom of Christ. It is really simple, though in America we make it complicated with all our modern perceptions of ‘church’ and our focus on steel, brick and concrete. We think huge budgets and outward structure; we take the NT visual of church and transform it into something it is not–a humanless object.

When our hearts experience a paradigm shift to the correct theological definition of “church,” maybe we’ll see what it really is and begin moving out into our neighborhoods and workplaces with the call to offer life through Jesus, instead of simply inviting people to a building! We need church planting in America…not the reproduction of buildings and ostentatious facilities, but the reproduction of life.

What will it cost? Everything!

But, after all, isn’t that what we gave to the Lord when we surrendered to Christ?

“Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.” (1Cor. 6:19-20, ESV)

Then it happened! Around 3:30 a.m. I was awakened with a great burden to pray. The Holy Spirit had not read my sign, and He was having none of it…there was work in prayer to do and He wasn’t playing around. I spent the rest of the morning laboring in prayer, and seeking the Lord’s will about several things, and praying for many friends.

When I left at 7 a.m., I stopped to look at the sign I placed on the doorknob the night before. This all got me to thinking–How many times do we place a “Do Not Disturb” sign in areas of our life? How many times do we fail to may ourselves available for the heart wrenching work of prayer?

I was tired and had decided what I needed based upon the desires and needs of the flesh.

“Lord, forgive me…and remind me that I’ve been bought with a price and should no longer walk independent from your plan and purpose, regardless how tired or needy I may be. Break me in conviction, that I faithfully offer my faculties, talents and gifts to the Holy Spirit for Your work and Your glory! Amen.”

* First Point - Jesus discusses how a ‘grain of faith the size of a mustard seed’ contains all the power necessary to perform His will. (v. 6)

Application – The faith given to every believer at the new birth in Christ is sufficient to accomplish God’s will if we use it! While we think in terms of enormity…the Lord thinks in terms of simplicity and potentiality. If we look to what we already have in Jesus, we will discover the power to do all He commands. (Eph. 3:20)

* Second Point – Jesus discusses the relationship between servant and master. (v. 7-8) Servant is an unfortunate translation. The Greek word for servant (doulos) is ‘slave.’ A servant can come and go, with the expectation of payment. However, a slave has no rights except to obey his master.

Application – When we begin to really see that we are the ‘slave’ and not the ‘master’ in our relationship with the Lord, we will step into the position of ‘trusting’ Christ in the biblical sense of the word. Modern ‘faith teachers’ usually elevate man’s control and desires, and this leads to an attempt to manipulate God. This turns God into a religious dispensing machine and is foreign to genuine faith. Many attempt to use ‘faith’ for help in trouble, only to ignore or neglect walking with Jesus when everything is going good.

* Third Point – Jesus discusses how the ‘slave’ should not expect any ‘thank you’ for doing what was his obligation. (v. 9)

Application – Expecting a ‘thank you’ for our reasonable service is a works based reward system and is not part of the dynamics of faith. It is our privilege to be a slave to Christ because He is Enough. Our relationship must never be to earn rewards, but simply out of Love for Who He Is! If we walk in a ‘works based’ relationship, we have abandoned Grace and are trusting our goodness instead of God’s Mercy.

* Fourth Point – Jesus discussed how the ‘slave’ should do ‘all things commanded’ by the master. (v. 10a)

Application - Our faith will never increase until we learn to ‘DO’ all the things our Master has instructed us to do. Why should God give us more faith if we are not using what we already have? Too many times, we ask for an increase of faith apart from repentance for disobedience and commitment to obedience.

* Fifth Point – Jesus discusses how the ‘slave’ should continually see his ‘unworthiness’ for doing all that was commanded. (v. 10b)

Application - The continual attitude of ‘unworthiness’ is vital to our walk of faith. Nothing short-circuits our walk of faith like pride, high-mindedness or a God ‘owes me’ mentality. This is why the majority of faith teaching is erroneous–it attempts to control God and turn Him into our bell-hop and chauffeur. God has always resisted (to stand at battle against) pride…and He still does. (Jas. 4:6) The Lord will never abdicate His Lordship to the carnal desires of man.

Next time we ask the Lord to increase our faith, let’s be careful to follow the proper path to get our prayer answered. That path includes simplicity, properly understanding the slave relationship, obedience, duty and humility. There are a lot of books and sermons on how to grow in faith, but this is the answer and path that Jesus gave, and we should adhere to it closely. Every other path produces false faith, spiritual gimmickry and shallowness.

• It is disheartening to the worship team that has been praying all week and practicing to lead the congregation in worship. It makes them feel their effort is not important.
• It is a poor example to the flock, especially other men, about the importance of worship. Men will look strongly to the actions of their Pastor. If worship isn’t a priority to him, why should it be to other men?
• It leads to the false assumption that worship is beneath those spiritually mature. Pastors are held up as examples of maturity. What type of example are we showing.
• It projects that worship time is only a ‘filler’ until the real event–preaching. It dumbs down the real benefits of worship. A person who worships in spirit and truth are the best ones prepared to receive the teaching of God’s Word.

All of these reasons will cause damage to the flock. It is never intended, but the damage is real nonetheless when Pastors appear distant from worship and praise. What should Pastors do to prevent this damage?

1. If someone wants to talk, tell them this is the time to worship the Lord and you will talk with them later.
2. Be prompt to be the first one ready to sing and praise the Lord. (set the example) Delegate jobs to others in order to be the first worshipper!
3. Make worship the priority during the worship time. Let no one, unless a dire emergency, deter you from worship time!
4. Engage the Lord during worship. Nothing will prepare your heart to share God’s Word as coming from the presence of worship. Let the message you are going to share lead you into the King’s presence in worship. The Holy Spirit will flame the message during this time if we lift our hands and hearts to Him.
5. Spend the needed and sufficient time in prayer over the message before the praise and worship time. 
6. Repent to your worship team for not being engaged as an example of worship. Then, lead the flock by example. Nothing is more powerful of an example than a man who knows the Word AND who worships in freedom and liberty. Teaching and worshiping connects the mind and heart. It reveals that the gospel satisfies both the existential (heart) and rational (mind) needs of man.

The benefits the church will reap by having Pastors who are worshippers are tremendous. It leads the men into worship, shows the importance of worship, encourages the worship team, and sets a high example of the freedom and liberty that spiritual leaders should have. 

There are two great tragedies within the gathering of most churches. Pastors who do not engage in worship, and worship leaders who do not engage in sound teaching and preaching. Both must stop if we are to bring a healthy balance and example to the rest of the flock. True worship will compel us into a deeper understanding of God’s Word, and a deeper understanding of God’s Word will compel us into true worship!

Let us be men after God’s own heart, and like David, let us be examples of the joy of worship which accompanies true spiritual leadership. Yes, we have many things on our plates, but nothing should distract us from “entering His gates with thanksgiving and into His courts with praise.” (Psa. 100:4)

In order for many of our neighbors in our culture to ‘come to church,’ they must jump many hurdles to get to our services. Some of those hurdles are:

• Meeting times – do we worship a day or a person?
• Dress codes – do ties and dress slacks make us more spiritual?
• Meeting protocol – why 3 songs, an offering, a sermon and a prayer?
• Bible linguistics – why heavy theological language which most don’t understand?
• etc.

The average ‘posty’ (my term for a post-Christian person) must jump over these and many other hurdles in order to ‘fit into’ our puritanical and centralized pattern of church. Now, this does not mean that we lose our distinctive expressions or meeting protocols, but it does mean something else. That is, what if we were the ones jumping over the hurdles and invading their culture instead of looking for them to jump hurdles to get to us? What if we learned about their culture and invaded it to reach them where they are? What if, as disciples, we offered outreach, fellowship and meetings around their free time and lifestyle? What if we learned to communicate the eternal truths of the gospel in their lingo?

After reaching them in their context of life, their move into our larger meetings will be an easier transition and an enjoyable one! Easier, because they already know believers from a smaller group. Enjoyable, if our services are free from contrived, artificial or detached expressions of personal relationships.

Let’s change who jumps the hurdles…let us train our people to learn to jump the hurdles! The hurdles should be jumped from the inside out, not the outside in. Instead of ‘come and hear,’ let us begin to proclaim the call for disciples to ‘go and tell.’ We must leave our comfort zones and begin to place faith and feet on our visions.

Put on those gospel sandals…they are made for jumping hurdles.

Prophets, especially New Testament prophets, speak much like Haggai. Sure, there are times of rebuke, warning and correction. However, even during these times, the NT prophet fulfills the call to be gentle and patient, correcting without strife or quarrel. We are called to represent the Lord not only in word, but also in Spirit. It is a high calling for messengers to speak “truth in love.” (Eph. 4:15)

Prophecy in the NT carries the thrust of “edification, exhortation and comfort.” (1Cor. 14:3) In the midst of any warnings it offers hope to stir God’s people with the gentle hand of the Chief Shepherd. While today’s prophets do not add to the revelation of Scriptures, they do help the local body stay focused upon the vision for that church with timely messages birthed out of prayer and study.

We need more men like Haggai. Men who have a hot coal from God’s altar, but are wise and careful how to share it. A hot coal, if not used wisely, can cause damage instead of stirring. When used in tune with God’s heart, it brings conviction, response, encouragement and hope…it stirs!

“Then Haggai, the messenger of the LORD, spoke to the people with the LORD’s message, “I am with you, declares the LORD.” And the LORD stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people.” (Haggai 1:13-14, ESV)

Related topics:
Where Are The Prophets?
Preaching Without Power
The Death of the Prophet

The enemy loves to do one of three things:

• Over exalt what took place to get us into pride…attempting to make us feel ‘we’ did it.

Or

• Weigh us down with expectations to make it happen again and therefore get us in our own strength and producing manipulation or coercion.

Or

• Press on us to condemn, pull down, or depress us with unbelief and fatigue.

What is the answer for all of this?

• Get alone with God in prayer. (Jesus did this frequently, Mark 1:35) Let His Spirit refresh and refill us as we yield by faith to His call upon our life.
• Capture every thought to what God is speaking, and quickly identify the enemies thoughts and dismiss them through faith. (2Cor. 10:5)
• Confess anew our continual inability and need for God’s grace and mercy. (1Tim. 1:14-16)
• Confess anew our position and rights in Christ. (Eph. 1:3-23)
• Weep over His Word…allowing Him to pour His thoughts into our heart. Not in deep studies (save that for other days), but in prayer and meditation. (Psalms, example Psa. 1:2-3)
• Offer the sacrifice of praise…sing unto our faithful redeemer. (Heb. 13:15) The Lord still inhabits the praises of His people. Many times, as leaders, we focus so intently on the study of unpacking the biblical texts or helping the sheep, that we forget we simply need to release ourselves in worship and praise.

The Lord is still on His Sovereign Throne. His position of authority when the glories of heaven are falling upon us on Sunday, is the same place He sits when we face Monday morning warfare! 

Reblogged from Schreiberspace:

Why It’s Good to be the Minority Sometimes | Thoughts on Life and Leading.

Here is the link to the article and to Marty’s blog:

Shaking the Gates of Hell « ChosenRebel’s Blog.