Finding the right balance

As our church begins a month of prayer for Canada on June 1st I wanted to take a moment and explore two statements embedded in our National anthem. I think it is imperative that we find the proper balance between these statements because if they are not understood and held in balance, we will fail to see the restoration of our Nation that Psalm 72:8 prophetically declares (“…and He shall have dominion.’) The statements I’m referring to are, ‘God keep our land’ and, ‘we stand on guard’. These statements represent the Sovereignty of God and, the responsibility of man. Too often the Church swings from one extreme to the next and misses out on the Kingdom advance found in the place of balance between these two.
We must understand that the ONLY hope for our Nation is Jesus Christ. Our Nation will not be restored through a political movement, an environmental effort or, a social agenda. Even though these may produce some good they will not provide the answer that mankind desperately needs. The great need in our Nation is not Senate reform, tax relief, lower gas prices or anything that man can produce on his own. The need in our Nation is for Jesus Christ. He, and He alone, can stand against the advance of evil and shine a light that will cut through the darkness and produce life. So without question, it is only God who can keep our land. However, we can’t allow this truth to incorrectly lead us to the place where we abdicate our responsibility in God’s plan for keeping the land.
For too long Christians have been lulled into a misguided sense of peace, or complacency, under the guise that ‘it will all work out because God is in charge.’ Certainly God is in charge but the Bible clearly shows us that God has chosen to work through people in the restoration of lives & Nations. This truth is powerfully demonstrated in Ezekiel 22:30 where God - the keeper of the land - says He looked for a man – someone to stand on guard – but couldn’t find one, so the advancing presence of evil was able to continue in its destructive path.
We must never move from the place of knowing God is in charge and ‘greater is He that is in us than he that is in the world’ 1 John 4:4-6. But in the same breath, neither can we move from the place of fully accepting our responsibility as agents of change in the land. We must accept and take up our rightful positions as guards in our land. We guard the land through; a righteous lifestyle, a commitment to unity of the body and, personally participating in the mission of Jesus Christ through His designated ‘vehicle’ to reach the world – the local church.
The balance we need to find between these two statements is summed up best in the phrase, ‘Pray as if it all depended on God, and serve as if it all depended on you.’ To simply serve without a dependence on God is absolutely unfruitful and to do little or nothing because ‘God will take care of it’ is to allow the continued advance of evil in our land.

Are you ready to be relentless?

In our day of comfortable complacency, unfinished projects, and broken commitments, it is rare to see someone who is relentless. And indicator of how rare this characteristic is can be evidenced by the fact that our friend the pink bunny is able to stand out in our minds and sell many batteries simply because he keeps going and going and going….

While the energizer bunny may make it look simple to be relentless the truth is actually quite different. Being relentless is not natural, or easy, but it is absolutely possible. In 1 Samuel 30:1-23 we read about an incident in the life of David that teaches us how to be relentless in our pursuit of what the enemy has stolen from us. This passage gives us at least 5 things we must consider if we are going to be relentless.
1. DECIDE v.8– You will have to decide do you want to go for something you don’t have and haven’t seen. Will you live beyond your experience. Far to many people are content to live with their current reality yet Hebrews 11:6 says it is impossible to please God without faith and Hebrews 11:1 tells us that faith is the confident expectation and pursuit of what is not yet seen.

2. DEAL WITH DISCOURAGEMENT v.3,4- You have to protect yourself from the discouragement that can come with obstacles. Someone who is relentless isn’t someone who ‘gives it a good try and then quits’, someone who is relentless is someone who keeps going until there is breakthrough.

3. DON’T GET DISTRACTED V.6- You can’t get distracted by the words and actions of others. There will be many situations when you could think about yourself, your needs and your desires. You will constantly be confronted with the opportunity to place your needs and desires above the Kingdom.

4. BE DETERMINED v.18 - Be determined to get it everything you are going for. Don’t settle for 99% of what God has for you. The greatest obstacle to tomorrows victory can be today’s blessing. It is easy to get comfortable. To rationalize away what remains to be done based on what has already been accomplished.

5. DISTRIBUTE v.23 - Be willing to distribute the blessings. Not everyone will journey with you but when you make advances for the Kingdom share the blessings.

The end is really the beginning

What happens when we reach the end of something? Are we finished? Do we stop? Is it over? Are we done? This weekend, as we conclude our 4th year of Master’s Commission, 15 students are finishing up a journey that began last September. They have done a commendable job of learning and serving and have demonstrated a perseverance that should be desirous of us all.

As we watch them preparing to close this chapter of their life I would like us to consider the correct Biblical perspective for finishing something. While not all of us will participate in Master’s Commission, we will all sit through a sermon, attend a conference, go on a retreat or serve on a mission’s trip. Although these endeavours may range from several minutes to multiple months I don’t believe there length should have any affect on our approach to their completion. Whether we have just sat through a 35 minute sermon (Naomi happened to preach that day) or been away from home for 9 months I believe that the Bible calls all of us to a similar approach to the wrapping up of these initiatives.

In James 1:22 we are instructed to do more than just listen to God’s Word, we are directed to apply His Word to our lives. The idea is that we would take that which we have heard (learned) and allow it to shape and influence our life from that point forward. This one verse gives us the correct perspective that we should have as we prepare to wrap up every sermon, retreat, conference, missions trip and master’s commission. In this way, the end of something really becomes the beginning of something even greater. If at the end of a Sunday sermon, or year of Master’s Commission, we believe that we are ‘done’ then we have missed the point and purpose of what we just participated in. Not only do we miss out on the real purpose of what we have just completed but we make ourselves vulnerable to deception. If, under the assumption of being ‘finished’, we fail to apply what we have learned then we open a door in our lives to be misled and fooled (James 1:23,24). It is for this reason, that we must all see the end as the beginning. The finish line of one thing becomes the starting line for the next and we continually apply and build upon what is being spoken into our lives.
So well done students, and now let the real task begin!

Is it really that complicated?

“I just don’t know where I fit…” I heard this statement the other day from a very sincere believer. I could tell from their tone of voice and the expression on their face that this was a haunting question they desperately wanted answered.
I have also heard the inverse statement of this question, “I don’t think I fit here (anymore)”.

I must admit, questions and statements like the above leave me genuinely stymied not to mention a little (all right a lot!) frustrated. I’m not frustrated with the people, I’m frustrated with the work of the deceiver and divider of the brethren (Genesis 3:1). The enemy has been able to successfully shape a readily accepted perspective on the Church that is simply not true. In what should be the most welcoming community on earth, where absolutely everyone fits regardless of age, colour, background and baggage, the enemy has been able to segment and compartmentalize people causing at least 2 tragic outcomes; 1. The isolation and insecurity of individuals and, 2. The weakening of the Church.

When I open a jigsaw puzzle and begin to sort the pieces I know with certainty that every piece, regardless of shape, size and colour, fits. It doesn’t even enter my mind that there may be redundant or unusable pieces, everyone of those pieces is absolutely necessary to display the image they were intended to. While I may not yet know the exact place each piece fits, I know that they all fit and are all necessary to complete the picture. It would be ludicrous to take 100 pieces from the box and try to make a separate picture. The only thing that would happen is that both would be incomplete and fail to display what they were created to.

I believe that for the Church to properly, and fully, display the image that we were created to – that of Jesus Christ (1 Cor. 12) we must rid ourselves of the destructive notion that not everyone fits or that there is more than one image we are to display. We need to approach church life with the simple confidence that everyone (including ourselves) fits and there is only one image that we are all called to display – a family (every age) of believers displaying Jesus Christ to the world (in word & deed) through their unity and love for one another. When we can do this we’ll stop hearing, “I don’t think I fit here anymore”, and the quest to find one’s specific place will be free from the insecurity that wondering if you actually have a place brings. This will bring a much greater strength to the church (Eph 4:16) and a much greater depth of love and relationship in the church.

Spies in the land…

I am down in Portland with Naomi and a group of leaders from the church. We have spent the last 3 days participating in City Bible Church’s leadership conference and it has been inspiring, challenging and refreshing. We were invited down as guests after Pastor Frank spoke at our leadership conference in February. When Pastor Frank came to our conference in February he was able to bring a few other leaders and they were all unanimously impacted, and impressed, by the spiritual atmosphere and culture of our church. Beyond what their human eyes and ears picked up, they sensed something and were stirred by it. Holy Spirit quickened something within them about the destiny of Northgate Foursquare and they felt that our participation in their conference would be a benefit to us as we stepped into what God has called us to. So we came down not as conference attendees but as spies in the land. We came to observe and receive from an apostolic, multi-site church that is equipping, resourcing, sending and influential.

In no uncertain terms are we trying to be, or imitate, City Bible Church. God has called them to be them, and us to be us (now that’s profound!) and for us to pursue anything less (or more) than our unique call and culture would be sinful. That being said however, there is a benefit in intentionally placing ourselves in situations where God can enlarge, and clarify, the vision and our understanding of it. This was what we felt God call us to after our leadership conference - 1. Declare more boldly and freely who you are and, 2. More intentionally step into it – and it was why we made the trek southward to participate in this conference.

As leaders we are trying to diligently prepare for what God is calling us to. It is our desire that nothing in us would in any way hinder what God desires to do in and through our family. As we walk through this process of surrender, stretching, and submission, I pray that everyone in our church family would do the same. That we would all be willing, and ready, to do whatever is necessary to possess our future. I can tell you with certainty that the report of these “spies” is a good one. Through eyes of faith we have seen the promised land and we CAN possess it. With God as our guide, and our willing hearts it is absolutely possible. I have such an expectancy about what lies ahead for our family and I pray earnestly that God will give me the grace and wisdom to impart that expectancy to each of our family members and then lead us all in possessing our future.

A fresh set of eyes

We’ve just wrapped up our weekend of ministry with Clive Pick and I believe that it will prove to be a very significant weekend in the shaping of our family. As Clive shared about the importance of living under Open Heavens we were challenged to not only live in complete obedience to God’s instructions regarding tithing but to increase our expectation and demand on the covenant that we activate by returning our tithes. We need to have an undiminished expectation that as the Heavens open the resources of Heaven will be poured into our land resulting in healings, salvation, relationships restored and all manner of Kingdom expressions.

Over the course of the weekend Clive had the opportunity to meet with some of our leadership and during this time he shared some areas of growth within our church that he had discerned and observed. It has been 3 years since Clive was last with us (November 2004) and it was encouraging to hear what a fresh set of eyes observed in our House. Sometimes when we are around something all the time a couple of things can happen. We can either miss the growth that is happening or become so accustomed to what we have that it becomes common place and ordinary instead of a blessing.

As we brought Clive in to minister at our House we received more than his message and anointing, we received his fresh set of eyes to see what God has been doing in our family. I pray that through his fresh eyes we would all be encouraged by what God is doing as He builds the House. For all of us who are labouring for His Kingdom to come on earth as it is in Heaven I pray that these observations will bring a fresh encouragement and determination to continue contending together for the fulfillment of ALL God’s promises.

Here are 5 areas of growth that Clive discerned and observed in our family:

1. A greater maturity in our family
2. A sweeter and stronger anointing in worship
3. A higher level of responsiveness to the message
4. A strong unity and relationship in the leadership
5. A confidence that God IS birthing something through us (last time it was an expectancy that God WOULD birth something)

An UN-critical mass

One of the prevailing messages in the Bible is ‘to gather’. Throughout its pages we read instructions, and see examples of God’s desire to gather people together. In His amazing grace He calls people from every walk of life, every conceivable human condition, and invites them to gather in His Name and around His purposes. In His mercy He accepts each of us as we are, but according to His justice He compels us to lay aside the influences, wounds, and baggage of a destructive kingdom and embrace the values and life that are found in His Kingdom.

This message of gathering together is affirmed, and reaffirmed, in passages like:
• Psalm 68:5 – God sets the solitary into family
• Hebrews 10:24 – Don’t stop gathering together as some are in the habit of doing
• Acts 2:46; 5:12 – As they continued to meet together God’s power was displayed
• 1 Corinthians 12:27 – God sets each person in the Body (speaking of a local church)
• Ephesians 1:5 – It has always been God’s plan to bring us into family
• Philippians 1:27 – No matter what happens continue to contend together

As we respond to God’s desire for us to gather and come into the place of cooperation with one another we become a very strong evangelistic voice to the world. The way we treat one another, serve one another, and love one another, presents the world with an undeniable object lesson of God’s love and power. Each time that we choose to gather together, and subsequently choose to maintain our ‘gathering’ we present a picture to the world of a God who genuinely makes a difference in the lives of people.

It is for this reason that the evil one works diligently to undermine our coming together. Our gathering together is strengthened in the place of humility, service and submission so the evil one deceptively promotes an agenda of pride, selfishness, and offense to drive us apart. If these conditions are left unattended they will tear at the fabric of our gathering and ultimately break it apart. When this happens, the picture of God’s love and power that our gathering portrays is tarnished and become less attractive to the world with each passing day.

As our family continues to walk under the banner of ‘Contending Together’ it is my prayer that we will diligently maintain our commitment to gather and see others added to our gathering. We will each need to guard our hearts against pride, selfishness and offense and allow others to hold us accountable towards that end. In doing this we can effectively gather around the Name and purposes of God and form an UNcritical mass that would influence our region, Nation and the Nations for the glorious cause of Christ.