Big One 6 - Effective Discipling

Obvious Obstacle
Most new Christians are not discipled and only a few are released into a ministry. God will not entrust us with more new Christians until we can care for those he has already given us.

Most Christians who emerge in a ministry have had to teach themselves. They have to start from scratch, so they do not reach their full potential. We need every Christian functioning fully in their calling and ministry, if we are to be victorious.

Obvious Solution
Every new Christians should be discipled by a more mature Christian. The most important thing will be to learn how to hear God speak. Disciples can then learn from him themselves, with an elder watching from the distance.

Every Christian should be released into a ministry. Elders will replicate their ministries in those they disciple. If elders have a variety of gifts, a variety of ministries will emerge among their disciples.

Big One Five - Balanced Leadership

Very Obstinate Obstacle
One professional leader cannot be Jesus. Only a body of people can contain the fullness of the Spirit. The modern pastor/leader does not exist in the scriptures. Dependence on professional leaders and hierarchy has paralysed his body.

Missing ministries weaken a church. Without an evangelist, it will not grow. Without a prophet, it will lack vision and holiness. Without several pastors, new Christians will not grow.

Absolutely Essential Solution
A church should be led by a balanced team of elders, including:

• a prophet to ask the tough questions, expand vision and encourage holiness
• an evangelist with a passion for the lost and a gifting for sharing the gospel
• several pastor-teachers to help new Christians grow, to watch over the flock and build unity
• an apostle to bring enthusiasm and push ahead to break new ground.

Politicians and Lies

Why do politicians and lies go together

I presume the reason is that politicians are concerned about their image.

In the last few weeks in New Zealand, several politicians from all sides of the political spectrum have appeared to lie to protect their image.

If a ruler listens to lies,
all his officials become
wicked. (Psalm 29:12)

A politician who will lie to protect their image is dangerous.

Fourth Big One - Spiritual Protection

Obstinate Obstacles
Most Christians do not really understand spiritual protection, so the enemy has been able to pick us off one by one. Too many are standing alone, with others.

The shield of faith cannot cover our backs, so full protection comes through being in relationship with other Christians.

Essential Solution
Resistance in unity with other Christians is the key to dealing with an evil attack. We all need friends to challenge us, elders to warn us if we don not listen. We need friends to stand with against evil and elders who can really do spiritual battle for us.

Real soldiers do not go into battle without proper protection in place.

Big One Three - Be Filled with the Spirit

Obstinate Obstacle
Baptism in the Holy Spirit is good, but not enough. An experience several years ago does not ensure that I am moving in the Spirit now. We are not doing all that Jesus promised we would do, so we must be well short of the fullness of the Spirit.

Essential Solution
The Holy Spirit loves to flow out of our midst into the world and touch the lives of those in need. If we do not go with him, he will go without us. The Holy Spirit can only flow out, if he is flowing in every day. He should be our best friend who goes everywhere that we go.

Big One Two - One Another Stuff

Obstinate Obstacle
Love is the essential ingredient that unites a Church. Jesus commanded us to love one another, as he loves us, so that the world would see him through us. Our selfishness and lack of love has often grieved the Spirit and limited our witness. When people of the world look at the church. many see disunity, not love.

Essential Solution
Love means doing the One Another Stuff.

• Carry each other's burdens
• Forgive one another
• Submit to one another
• Live in peace with each other
• Be kind to each other
• Encourage one another daily
• Offer hospitality to one another
• Serve each other
• Pray for each other
• and many more.

Loving God is easy, the real challenge is loving those alongside me us in the body in a practical way.

Big One No One (No 1) - Real Relationships

Obstinate Obstacle
Shallow relationships are an obstacle to revival. The Holy Spirit prefers to work in a group of people that is bound together by love, but the church is dislocated and disjointed. Meeting for an hour on a Sunday does not develop strong relationships. The body will have to be joined together again, before revival life can flow through it.

Essential Solution
Going to church will not produce a revival. We must build real fellowship based on strong relationships with other Christians, so the Holy Spirit can move powerfully in the body. God will not force us together, so we must choose to relate to other Christians. We might need to live closer together, so we can meet more often, support each other strongly and be the church where we live.

Twelve Big Ones

That is enough of politics for a while. Over the next few days I am going to write about obstacles to revival.

In the 1980s and 1990s, many Christians believed that God would send revival to the Church. However, despite passionate prayer and immense effort nothing happened. Now many believe that God did not speak, and have become discouraged about the future of the church. I believe that the problem is not with God, but with us. At least twelve big blockages have prevented the Holy Spirit from moving freely. We must change these, before we will see revival.

What Would Jesus Change?

A friend asked, “What aspects of our lives are shaped by the world, rather than the gospel?” Here is my answer.

Consumerism

• Serving our status
• Maintaining our comfort
• Selfishness

Individualism and Independence

• High fences around houses
• Unknown neighbours
• A room for every family member
• Solving out own problems

Working hard at Working

• Most of our lives spent working
• Often at work we do not like
• Often doing things that are not part of our calling

Faith in the State Divine

• Trusting the state to solve every problem
• “The government should do something about it”, we say
• Giving the state authority to decide right and wrong
• Allowing the state to take half of all that we earn

Toleration of trash

• Inability to discern evil
• Evil is called good and good is called evil
• Silence as the beast emerges
• Acceptance of marginal advertising

Doctors first, God second

• Faith in drugs
• Reliance on remedies
• Salvation by surgeons

Pastor/leaders

We will never understand Eph 4, if we try to make the ascension ministries fit round modern church structures. The problem is that the modern pastor-leader role just does not exist in the New Testament. Apart from real sheep shepherds and Jesus the Chief shepherd, the Greek word shepherd is only used as a noun once in the New Testament. That is in Eph 4:11, and there it is used to describe a gift, not an office.

The word pastor is used as a verb in Acts 20:17,27 and 1 Pet 5:1,2. In both these cases, elders are told to shepherd (verb) the flock that is in their care. We do not have a verb for shepherd in English, so it is usually translated with the verb “to be” plus the noun shepherd/pastor. This translation is misleading, because it makes sound like an office. “Tend” or “look after” would be a better translation. These two passages both say that shepherding is something that elders should do. The use of a verb rather than a noun suggests that Peter and Paul are telling elders what to do, rather than giving them a name. Therefore, pastor is not a higher-level ministry, but a responsibility given to elders.

Shepherds watch over their sheep, so "tending" includes "watching". Therefore, it is interesting that these two passages also give elders a role in exercising “oversight” (watching over). Titus 1:6,7; Phil 1:1 and 1 Tim 3:1,2 also imply that overseer is another title that was used for elders. We confuse situation by transliterating the Greek word episkopos as bishop. Actually it is just a word meaning “watch over”, which is a task that elders are commanded to do by Peter and Paul.

When Rulers love Bribes

The prophet Isaiah said:

Your rulers are rebels, companions of thieves;
they all love bribes and chase after gifts.
They do not defend the cause of the fatherless;
the widow's case does not come before them.

Therefore the Lord, the LORD Almighty,
the Mighty One of Israel, declares:
"Ah, I will get relief from my foes and avenge myself on my enemies.
I will turn my hand against you;
I will thoroughly purge away your dross
and remove all your impurities.
I will restore your judges as in days of old,
your counselors as at the beginning.
Afterward you will be called the City of Righteousness,
the Faithful City." (Is 1:23-26)

Politicians who indulge in bribes are living dangerously,
and put their nation at risk.

Election Bribery

As our election draws near, the major political parites are resorting to bribery. One major party is offering taxcuts for everyone. The other is offering free loans to students and benefits to most families.

By justice a king gives a country stability,
but one who is greedy for
bribes tears it down.
(Prov 29:4)

Rulers who indulge in bribery tear down a nation.

Accepting a bribe is a serious sin. Paying bribes with money that is not your own must be even worse. What are these people doing to our nation?

Proverbs 17:23 says that the wicked man accepts a bribe. By offering bribes our politicians are trying to make us wicked.

Suburban Prostitution

A Christchurch law limiting brothels to a narrowly defined central city block has been quashed by the High Court. This raises some interesting issues about the authority of the state.

Prostitution is a sin and not a crime. This means that the civil government does not have authority to ban or punish prostitution

Civil government has authority to punish violence and kidnapping. It should get involved when young women are forced into prostitution.

The civil government does not have authority to stop a person from conducting a business in their home. It can only intervene if the business commits a crime.

------------------------------------

Jesus dined with sinners and prostitutes (Luke 36-38).

While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew's house, many tax collectors and "sinners" came and ate with him and his disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and 'sinners'?"

On hearing this, Jesus said, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. But go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.' For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners." (Matthew 9:10-13)

If prostitutes move into the suburbs, it will be easier for Christians to follow Jesus example and invite them round for Sunday lunch.

Pro-Family %&(#!!!!

As the breakdown of the family becomes a serious problem in many Western nations, political parties are starting to advocate pro-family policies.

A pro-family government is actually anti-family.
A truly pro-family government is anti-government.

Terrorism and the Beast

Daniel's vision of worldwide terrorism was preceded by a vision of an Islamic Revival. It was followed by a vision of a terrible beast.

The fourth beast is a fourth kingdom that will appear on earth. It will be different from all the other kingdoms and will devour the whole earth, trampling it down and crushing it (Dan 7:23).

The terrible beast is an empire that dominates the entire world.

Modern terrorism is very difficult to control and is often used as a justification for central governments taking power for themselves. Following 7/11 and 7/7, many governments have passsed anti-terrorism laws that give them tremendous powers for use against enemies of the state. The most serious consequence of terrorism will be an enormous increase in state power. Worldwide terrorism may be the catalyst that brings for the Terrible Beast that Daniel saw in his vision.

Worldwide Terrorism

In the last few years, terrorism has become a serious problems in many parts of the world. This change was prophesied by Daniel, when je saw a vision of a leopard rising out of the sea.

After that, I looked, and there before me was another beast, one that looked like a leopard. And on its back it had four wings like those of a bird. This beast had four heads, and it was given authority to rule (Dan 7:6).

The leopard is an animal known for its agility and intelligence. It lies in wait near a town to tear to pieces anyone who ventures out (Jer 5:6; Hos 13:7). It is also very swift (Hab 1:8). The two pairs of wings are also an indication of swiftness and speed.

The beast has four heads and it is given authority to rule. The number four represents the earth. A head stands for authority, so the four heads mean that this beast has authority throughout the earth. This suggests that the beast is not a nation, but a worldwide movement.

The beast comes out of the sea. The sea refers to the people of the earth, so this movement hides among ordinary people. In 1986 I wrote the following words.

I believe it could be a description of International Terrorism. In recent years, a worldwide network of terrorist groups has sprung up. These groups are very agile: they go underground for a time, and then when the time is right, they strike at a place where society is vulnerable. They move very quickly, and by the time their crime is discovered, they have gone underground again. This terrorist movement is agile and violent, just like a leopard (Glorious Kingdom, p.78).

The prophecies of Daniel are important for understanding what is happening in the modern world. Those who study his vision will not be surprised by the growth of worldwide terrorism.

Jesus Died for our Liability

Liability cannot be limited or removed by passing a law.

If liability could be dealt with that easily, Jesus would not have had to die on the cross. God could have passed a law to limite liability for sin.

The truth is that we are accountable for our actions, so Jesus became liable for our sin and died to pay the cost.

A limited liability law does not eliminate liability, it just shifts liability from the guilty to the innocent. The same thing happened with our sin. The difference is that Jesus willing took our libability from us. Those lumbered by limited liability laws have no choice.

Big God, Small Business

A common fallacy is that business cannot function without limited liability laws. That is not true, but business would have to change in ways that are good.

Removal of the limited liability laws would make people more careful about where they invest their money. Boards of directors would have to be more careful in scrutinising the actions of company managment. Better stewardship would result.

The family business would become a more popular model, as the relationship between investors and managers becomes more important. Families would be strengthened.

Small businesses would be less affected, as banks gejnerally require the shareholders of small limited liability companies to give a personal guarantee for any money they borrow. Banks are to cunning to allow the government to shift liability to them.

Corprate sturctures would change, as large conglomerates would be a more risky investment. Large conglomerates do have the power to bully governments and manipulate. The Virtual Beast would be constrained.

We have a big God, we do not need big business.

Limited Liability

The worst example of collusion between government and business is the limited liability laws. These laws are now normal throughout the world.

Company owners are free to make unlimited profits. The limited liability laws, limit their losses to the value of their initial investment, if the company fails. The aim is to encourage business growth for the benefit of the economy.

When governments pass limited liability laws, they are doing something they do not have the power to do. Liability can only be removed when someone pays the price. Jesus was able to wipe out our liability for sin, because he paid the penalty on the cross. Governments think that they can wipe out liability by simply decreeing that it will be limited. They do not have that power, because they are unwilling to pay the price.

Governments cannot limit or eliminate liability for business losses. All they can do is shift the liability to others who are not responsible. When a limited liability company goes broke, the owners walk away with limited losses. The rest of the cost is shifted to the creditors of the failed company. The businesses that have supplyed goods and services to the failed company have to bear the cost, even though they have acted in good faith. The government lets the people who were responsible for the business failure go free, but forces those were not responsible to carry the cost.

Governments cannot limit liability. All they can do is shift liability from those who were responsible to those who have acted in good faith. That is not justice.

When the government punishes those who do good and rewards those who makes mistakes, we have tyranny.

Business Success

There are two ways that a business can succeed.

The best way to succeed is to provide goods or servicces that people want. A business cannot force people to buy things, so if people do not want their products, the business will fail.

The other way that a business can gain success is to collude with the government to get a privileged position in the economy. Many business regulations are designed to protect an incumbent business from competition. Businesses frequently ask the government to protect them from competition from imports. They always claim to be acting in the interest of the country, but they are the ones that benefit most.

Collusion between business and government is always dangerous. On their own, businesses have to serve consumers to suceed. When businesses gets the support of government, they are using the coercive powers of government to change what consumers buy. This may be good for the business, but consumers lose their freedom.

When business and government are working together, consumers should beware.