Do you desire to be just like Jesus?

Most of us would agree that the essence of holiness is Christlikeness, right? At the end of the day, if our lives don’t exemplify Jesus, then I would suggest that we’re chasing the wrong things. Jesus should be the centrality of our churches, ministries, and lives. John said, “The one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked” (1 John 2:6). What does it mean to walk as Jesus did? Stated differently, how do we discover His central mission?

Do you know what is opposite to faith?

I’ll answer that question in a moment. Paul wrote, “Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day. For our momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison” (2 Cor. 4:12-17). Our momentary, light affliction he said? This is coming from a guy who was beaten with rods, stoned, shipwrecked, went without sleep, hungered and thirsted, exposed to the cold, and spent his life in danger of thieves, Gentiles, and false brethren (see 2 Cor. 11:23-28). He called those experiences “momentary, light afflictions.”

Have you ever been mistreated while doing ministry?

Two guys in the Bible by the names of Paul and Barnabas were severely mistreated while ministering. The Bible says, “And the word of the Lord was being spread through the whole region. But the Jews incited the devout women of prominence and the leading men of the city, and instigated a persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and drove them out of their district.” Paul and Barnabas were not even ministering to the Jews when this took place. They had been at Antioch in Pisidia ministering on the Sabbath, but some jealous Jews showed up and contradicted everything that was being preached (see Acts 13:44-45). Paul essentially said, “No problem! We’ll turn to the Gentiles.” And sure enough, they did. The Gentiles received the Word with great eagerness, but it wasn’t long until this angry religious spirit rose up against Paul and Barnabas once again. This time the Jews incited such a commotion that Paul and Barnabas were driven out of the district.

Did you know that in the kingdom of God the way to live is to die?

Obviously, I don’t mean suicide; rather, I’m referring to dying to ourselves. This is called the “kingdom paradox.” The way to win is to lose, the way to be first is to be last, the way up is down, the way to lead is to serve, and the way to live is to die. The only way that Jesus can truly be visible is when we get out of His way. The apostle Paul obviously understood that concept, because he said in Galatians 2:20, “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.” Paul died to self. Moreover, he lived “dead to self” because he said, “…the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God.” Paul’s life was consumed by Christ; his focus was on Christ and not on himself. He also wrote, “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain” (Phil. 1:21). In a sense, Paul died to his life every day so that he could live by faith in Christ.

The apostle Paul wrote, “But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good” (1 Cor. 12:7). To each person, Paul said. No one is left out of this blessing. If you are Spirit-filled, then this includes you. To every one of us is “given” (didomi). This is a present tense verb that states something being bestowed or imparted without stopping. In other words, there is no end to the impartation that is given to us. What is imparted? Paul said the manifestation of the Spirit. The word manifestation (phanerosis) indicates something being displayed or disclosed. It means to announce, reveal, or to show something off. What is being disclosed? Better stated, who is being disclosed? Who is being manifested through each of us? The answer is the Holy Spirit!

The apostle Paul admitted to being afraid of something. Of course everything that I read about him in the Bible would indicate that he was fearless. For example, Paul was preaching the gospel in a city called Lystra and Jews came from the surrounding areas of Antioch and Iconium, and after they stirred up the crowds they stoned him. Supposing Paul to be dead, they dragged his body out of the city and left him. The Bible says, “But while the disciples stood around him, he got up” (Acts 14:20). It might be worth mentioning that when Paul “got up,” it also means to be raised up from the dead. Some scholars believe that Paul was dead and the disciples raised him to life. Rather he was dead or not makes no difference to the point that I want to underscore, what really challenges me about Paul is that when he got up he went back into the city where he was persecuted. Not only that, he actually returned to the two cities where the angry Jews came from: Antioch and Iconium. While most people would have packed their bags and left town, Paul returned to the very place where he was stoned to death. How is that for fearlessness? It’s this guy who wrote, “But I am afraid” (2 Cor. 11:3). Granted, by his own admission he was speaking with a bit of hyperbole and foolishness when he said that, but the truth remains that there was something substantial that weighed heavy on Paul’s heart.

I’m not advocating that we live with our fingers on our spiritual pulse wondering if we’ve fallen from grace, but if we’re not walking in truth then we’ve stepped into error. Jesus said His Word is truth, and it’s His truth that sanctifies us (see John 17:17). There is no greater truth than God’s Word; His Word has the capacity to cleanse, heal, deliver, and empower our lives to make a transformational difference in our communities. Stepping outside of His Word opens us to deception. The capacity of His Word is rendered ineffective when we step outside His truth. Consequently, the possibilities of healing and deliverance—of being sanctified—are hindered when we don’t remain in the truth. John stated it this way: “If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin” (1 John 1:6-7). We stay in the truth by walking in the Light; by remaining in intimacy with Jesus and in agreement with His Word.

I am coming to the end of a three-week sabbatical that my church has graciously given me and I would like to write about what I’ve seen and experienced. I was granted seven weeks, but three were spent on the road with my friend Dan Bohi. Most people reading this realize that his calling to itinerant ministry has led him to crisscross the United States many times preaching in a hundred or more churches each year. I couldn’t think of a better way to spend a few weeks than basking in the manifest presence of God night after night. We began in Columbus, OH where I joined Dan and our journey took us to Shattuck, OK for one night and then to Las Vegas for a four-day crusade. We left Las Vegas and drove to southwest Indiana for a four-day crusade, and then to Willard, OH for one night. Leaving Ohio, we drove to Dallas, TX for a four-day crusade.

Are you trapped by an offense?

In Paul’s second letter to Timothy he wrote about those who were trapped by the enemy. He actually referred to “the snare of the devil” (2 Tim. 2:26). The word “snare” (pagis) refers to a trap, snare, or noose. This word describes how birds are suddenly entangled and caught. One of the greatest traps the enemy uses against God’s people is an offense. Jesus said, “It is impossible that no offenses should come” (Luke 17:1 NKJV). Somehow, someway, you’re going to be challenged with an offense. Someone is going to say or do something that hurts you, and if you don’t remain in the Spirit you will be ensnared by the offense. In fact, the word “offense” (skandalon) can be translated trap. It actually refers to the stick or trigger in the trap. This same word can be translated “stumbling block” because if one becomes trapped by an offense they will usually stumble into sin. 

Are you a spiritual orphan or a spiritual son/daughter?

Last week we looked at spiritual strongholds and we defined them as “a mindset impregnated with hopelessness that causes us to accept as unchangeable situations that we know are contrary to the will of God.” Almost every week I meet believers in churches who live and think as spiritual orphans. It’s a terrible stronghold that keeps us believing that we’re never good enough, that we never quite measure up, or that we haven’t been blessed like everyone else. Jesus told His followers, “I will not leave you as orphans” (John 14:18).