Two Narratives

There are two narratives of the world unfolding in front of us simultaneously. Isaiah 60:1-2 says,
“Arise, shine for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you. See, darkness covers the earth and deep darkness the peoples, but the Lord rises upon you and his glory is over you.”

In the narrative of heaven, we are rising and the light of God shines upon us. His glory is manifest as we look upon Him. In the narrative of the world, built upon Satan’s lies, darkness is covering the earth and a deep, impenetrable darkness is covering all the people of the earth.

Many around us today are saying that the world has never been darker, nor have they struggled as hard in it. The economy is failing, people are out of work. The housing market is in a shambles. Across the globe there are wars, sectarian violence, and religiously inspired terrorism. Cultural norms are falling daily, threatening our sense of normalcy and security. Temptation and distraction increases with the stress level. That is the narrative that Satan wants us to believe, and to focus on.

The other narrative is not as easy to see, at least with our physical eyes. This is the narrative of heaven. In this narrative, we are rising not falling. We may have been knocked down, but we are coming up with strength. In fact, this is what the word “arise” means; to stand with power. In the narrative of heaven, we are shining with heavenly light and the glory of God is upon us. The light dispels the darkness around us and the glory of God reflects our adoption into heaven.

But which of these narratives are we listening to? Which one are we seeing unfold around us? Is it the narrative of light and glory, or the narrative of depression, dread and confusion?

You have a choice. Both narratives are around us all the time. The narrative of heaven is in the spiritual realm and it is invading earth daily. The narrative of the world is manifest around us in the physical world constantly. What we choose to see, where we choose to look, by our beliefs and our behavior will determine which narrative we see around us. And the narrative that we focus on determines our attitude; saved, hopeful, and victorious or depressed, cynical, and fatalistic.

So how can we choose? It isn’t that most people want to be depressed, cynical, or fatalistic. It’s just very hard to be hopeful and victorious when all around us we see pain, misery and disorder. How can we be joyful when the world is such a hurting place.

The answer is that we must trust in the world that we cannot see. We must have faith; faith in the eternal promises of God and His always-good character. In 2 Kings 6, the King of Aram is furious with Elisha because he is able to tell the King of Israel every move that Aram is going to make before it happens. The Aramean king sends troops to capture Elisha. As they arrive the following exchange occurs between Elisha and his servant.

"When the servant of the man of God got up and went out early the next morning, an army with horses and chariots had surrounded the city. "Oh no, my lord! What shall we do?" the servant asked. "Don't be afraid," the prophet answered. "Those who are with us are more than those who are with them." And Elisha prayed, "Open his eyes, LORD, so that he may see." Then the LORD opened the servant's eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha."

We, like Elijah’s servant, mostly do not have the heavenly sight to see the hosts of angels that we have fighting for us. Steeped in the world, aligned with the things of the world, beholden to worldly views and activities, it is a struggle to break out of the worldly mindset. We must pray for divine sight and choose to put on heavenly glasses. We must fill ourselves with the things of heaven. We must choose to regard that which is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent or praiseworthy.

And if you now are tempted to begin doing a spiritual triathlon because you believe that the spiritual response must be equal to the darkness of the world which besets us, remember that Jesus was able to save the whole world, for all time, by shedding one drop of blood. It is not the length, breadth, height or weight of the effort which counts, it is the heart behind it. By His attitude and love for mankind, Jesus was able to make the death of one human being into the salvation of mankind.

And when we have done all that, and possibly the onslaught has not abated, What next? As Paul said in Ephesians 6, “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.” At the end of our efforts to see and understand God’s way, there is no other choice but to stand.

A God for the Less than Perfect

"Among them will be the blind and the lame, expectant mothers and mothers in labor" (Jer.31:8)

After His correction has been fulfilled, He promises to gather the outcasts. But He isn't only looking for the perfect people. He will also take the blind - those who cannot see perfectly, the lame - those who habitually fall short, the expectant mothers - those who have a promise, but haven't found it yet, and the mothers in labor - those who are struggling to manifest the promise in their daily walk. Praise be to God! We have such a God that after all our sin has forced Him to mete out sever correction, even after that He is willing to gather up the less than perfect people.

Don't be deceived folks, we are all less than perfect. Anyone of us who imagines ourselves to be "ok" on the behavior scale is kidding him or herself. Not one of us can be justified by what we do. Even if we succeed in getting rid of the big "planks" there is a sin in our lives that is so subtle that we will never completely understand it or eliminate it. If we are to be gathered we all need the grace that Jeremiah testified to in this passage.

I'm not saying to stop trying to perfect yourself, that's a life long journey. But when you consider how you will return to Glory, and who will be with you, remember that He has already promised to gather the blind, lame, not-there-yet, and haven't-put-it-all-together-yet folks too. And be glad of it, because guess what....you're one of them.

We Are Family!

His unchanging plan has always been to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. And this gave him great pleasure. Eph 1:5 (NLT)

His plan is to make us one of His own. We are sons and daughters. We are beloved in a way that earthly relations cannot adequately imitate. The best earthly father; the most loving, kind, gentle, patient, forgiving, generous, compassionate, investing-in-us, attendant, wise, and helpful man cannot begin to approach our Father in heaven.

Like a pouting child in the corner or one preoccupied with our own pursuits, we do not see the constant love that He has for us. Too often trials and tragedy comes to our lives, and in these times we suffer and hurt. The world seems lonely and without answers. A loved one lost. Cancer diagnosed. A marriage ending. A desperately desired thing not gained. Oh, the cares of the world can overwhelm us. And we know not where to turn. What friend can speak us to and bring peace again? What earthly mother or father can replace that which has been lost? What doctor can heal the cancer that does not respond to medicine?

Jesus our friend; God our father, Holy Spirit our ever present comforter. He is our rock. He is our comforter, healer, hope, peace... the only path for changing that which burdens our heart. He is more faithful than any friend and more capable than any other. If there is a retraction of that which the world deals to us, it is in Him. And all for free. It is not bought with good works or perfect obedience, but with the currency of belief and faith. A simple, “I believe in you. I acknowledge you.” will do. He is there. He is there to hear our cry and to comfort.

In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.

In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths. (Prov. 3:6)

Simple, straightforward. If I acknowledge God in all that I do, He will direct my path. In fact, if I acknowledge Him in all that I do, He will actually make my path level and smooth. That’s meaning of “direct” in the Hebrew translation.

Think of this in the terms of the world. Each day, as I walk to work, go to school, eat breakfast, whatever, I acknowledge that God is there. And in exchange, He shows me a path for my life that is smooth and level. Right? How come it doesn’t work that way?

In my life, “smooth” and “level” is definitely not the norm. There are bothersome insurance companies, tax returns, kids who don’t do what is good for them or easy for me, people who promise work but never come through, and credit card companies that don’t understand my cash flow. This path isn’t level, and it definitely isn’t smooth.

What then? How can His word, which is always true and flawless, be understood? If reality doesn’t match His injunction, what am I to do? Shall I reject His word, and ultimately Him because He is incompatible or worse, irrelevant? Or shall I pretend that the incompatibility does not exist. Yes, yes that’s what the word says...ignore the man behind the curtain, blah, blah, blah.

NO! Neither. Herein lies a perfect example of changing our minds. Let us be conformed to God’s understanding of the verse, and then we will see the truth and the power of it in our lives.

To acknowledge Him in everything we do is to promote Him and His ways to the superior position, and to choose to lower ourselves to an inferior position. Let’s look at the context of verse six and we will see His meaning.

Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.

In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil.

God says to us –

• · Trust me
• · Don’t rely upon what you can see or perceive
• · Don’t be your own wisdom
• · Fear me, and
• · Depart from evil

To experience the smooth and level way, we must acknowledge Him in every area of our lives. To acknowledge Him, we do five things. First, we must trust Him. We must truly believe that He has the right understanding of all things and His purpose for us is good.

Second, we must put off our own understanding. God is not saying that we have no understanding of our own. He made us with an intellect and an ability to choose. But, He is saying that there are things that we are not aware of that affect the outcome, and these are things of which we are not aware. In the parlance of the Wizard of Oz, “Well, that’s a horse of a different color!”

Third, don’t rely on your wisdom. Your wisdom comes from the world. It’s built on your experiences in life, the desires of your body (which is corrupt), and what seems like the right thing to do at the moment. In every way, your wisdom is less perfect than His. He knows all. He is not influenced by a corrupted body. He is perfectly aware of what will be for your good. So His wisdom is better.

Fourth, fear Him. Not “fear”, as in that dude is going to hurt me. But fear, as in the respect and honor that we give to a doctor who is trying to save the life of a child. He knows best. If there is anyone that can make a difference, then he can. God is worthy of that respect, no matter how much we may wish to differ or to rebel against it. He knows all, is in all, and is timeless. He can see the end before the beginning. Respect that. Honor that. Know that with all this power and knowledge, His ultimate purpose is to benefit you.

Finally, depart from evil; not because He will hate you or cast you out. But because where there is evil He will not be. When we invite evil into our presence, then it envelopes us. Not because evil is greater, but because He loves and respects us enough to allow us to choose our path, and in the place where evil is, we have made a choice to have it instead of Him. Flee from evil, so that we will always remain with Him, and in His perfect will.

Five steps; trust Him, don’t rely upon your own understanding, accept His wisdom, respect Him, and flee from evil, and your path will be clear, smooth and level.

Turn off Your Life (Self) Support

There are some areas of our lives that are on life (read self) support and they need to die. “Life support” sustains a life that nature no longer can. In medicine it can give a severely injured or sick person a chance to recover. But in the spiritual life Christ never intended for us to have “life support”.

People on life support are non-functional, they do not interact with anyone, they are not conscious and cannot give life to others around them. People on life support are focused on sustaining what they have, even if it isn’t working very well. Instead of moving forward they are looking backward.

In life, God intended that there would be times of death and rebirth. Accepting Jesus is just one example of spiritual death and resurrection. But after we become Christians there are times and seasons that require us to die again. “Life support” – all of our efforts to remain where we are and resist the “death” that God is trying to bring – prevents us from moving into the new, the better that He intends for us.

Think about it. What areas of your life are non-functional? Not interacting with others? Not producing life around you, and in you? Turn off the ventilator. Stop trying to sustain the old life and trust Jesus to resurrect a new, better life for you. Read John 11 and Haggai 2.

Black Shirts

It's getting warm here in Texas, but not too warm yet. This morning, I put on a black short sleeve short that I got at the end of the last warm Texas season ...about a month ago. I like this shirt. It hasn't been worn too much, it's soft, it looks good, and it's definitely a different color than all my other green and khaki shirts.

After I put it on, however, I realized my black shirt has one drawback; lint. As I looked down, I could see every single fiber that was attached to my beautiful black shirt, but which did not originate with it. I could see hairs, fibers from every other shirt I own, dryer lint, in fact every speck of a color lighter than black, which is all colors, was clinging to me and screaming out to the world, "Here I am!!"

I like being neat, so this bothered me. I mean I'm not a neat freak. I don't have to be perfect every time I leave the house. Mostly, I don't even bother to iron my shirts. But lint, unpolished shoes, and that sort of thing just bugs me. So, the lint on my shirt bugged me.

That's when the voice kicked in with some revelation. "It's because you're wearing black," he said. When you wear black the flaws stand out.

The same is true of our lives. When we wear black - a bad attitude, sadness, depression, etc. - the flaws stand out. Black has value. It's serious, stark, powerful; it's makes a statement. But we all have to be careful that black doesn't become our defining color. And remember, when you wear black, your flaws will be more visible.

Flammable Environments

Today, God is seeking flammable environments. He’s seeking them in individual hearts, in small groups, and in churches. He’s seeking them everywhere His Spirit is present. Flammable environments are those places where His presence can break out, and where we will see the release of His transforming power. But divine flammability, like material flammability is the result of a certain order. For those who want to see a fire burn in their midst, God is calling us at this time to pay attention to the order of flammability.

Fire requires fuel, heat, oxygen and a spark. Material fuels, solids and liquids, do not burn. In order to burn, a fuel source must be heated to the point where it begins to release flammable gases. As these gases combine with oxygen they become flammable. Introduce the smallest spark, and a raging fire will begin. Interestingly, once the fire has been lit, the heat of the fire causes the fuel to release more flammable vapors. Absent a cooling effect or a lack of oxygen, the fire will grow and continue as long as fuel is available.

But there is an order to flammability. Fire will not occur unless the elements of combustion are present in the correct amount and order. Add a spark before the flammable gases are present and the fuel fails to ignite. If the fuel source is insufficiently heated, flammable vapors will not be released. If there is too little oxygen the fire will fail too.

So also with divine fire. God’s intent at this time in history is to light fires around the world that will change us and the world forever. Remember, we are the light of the world. To do this, He must first light the fire within the body of Christ.

As with a material fire, there are elements of divine fire that must be present for ignition to occur. Prayer, worship and submission are the heat that dissipates humidity (a fire retardant) and prepares the fuel for ignition. The fuel of divine fire is the hearts of His people. A singular focus on seeing the Kingdom manifest, and purity of heart will transform us into the kindling that can be easily ignited. Divine revelation and the rhema word is the oxygen of holy fire. Passion for God and holy desperation is the heat of the fire that will sustain and magnify the fire.

The Divine Order

In this time, our individual and collective focus must be on making ourselves flammable. Hearing this, some will know immediately which elements of flammability are lacking. Some of us know that we are not praying and worshipping with the intent of making our environment flammable. Some of us know that we are not in right alignment with our authorities, or that we are more concerned with the things of the world than the Kingdom of God. But of greater concern is that many of us think we are doing all the right things to create a flammable environment and we are frustrated because we are not seeing the fire. There’s a smoldering, a flare-up here or there, but no FIRE!

God says that there is an order to fire. Ask any firefighter and they will tell you that the people around a house or building that catches fire were not aware that they were in a flammable environment. The elements were there, but they were not in proper order. At some point, however, the elements came into proper order and a fire broke out.

The order of divine fire is not the order of one part humility, two parts passion, three parts worship and prayer! It is not formulaic. It is divine. Spiritually we can stack the kindling and the wood just so, open a window, and turn up the heat, but God is our match.

If we want to set a God fire, we have to bring the elements into proper order. Right now God is calling us to pay attention to our environment. Look for the murmuring that brings humidity. Look for subtle rebellion and individuality in our corporate expressions of faith that quench flammability. Examine yourself and see if your heart is ready to be the fuel for the fire.

Pay attention to order. There is an order that is expressed in the scripture that is not the way of the law, but which is the way of the ancient order that preceded the law. Here too we find the elements of the Kingdom. Look for them, and look for the ways, actions, behaviors, opinions, beliefs, values, morals, and other human expressions that are opposed to them. Are you worshipping with a heart to please God or to please the people in the audience? Are you giving your best to God to see Him transform the widow’s mite into a burning fire, or because your gift is 10% of your paycheck? Examine yourself and your environment. If you find that either is out of order do not condemn it, but address it with a spirit of edification, instruction, and encouragement. Let us be encouraged that God is waiting to set us on fire.

To the body of Christ today the divine order is subtle. To the ancients, to Paul, it would have been second nature. But to us, who are so steeped in this world, the order is not always easy to see. Ask Holy Spirit for revelation. Look for the smoldering and smoke where there is no FIRE. There you will find the place that is meant to burn, but does not have the right order.

Two Fires

In closing, let’s look at two significant fires in the Bible. In 1 Kings 18 Elijah confronts the prophets of Baal in a titanic battle of good versus evil. Determined to show the people of Israel who the one true God was, God prompts Elijah to challenge the prophets of Baal to a battle of fire. Elijah has a bull split in two. One side of the bull is set on an altar of wood for Baal and the other on an altar for Jehovah. According to Elijah’s challenge, both groups would pray and the one to answer with fire from heaven would be declared as the one true God. Despite their best, evil practices the prophets of Baal were unable to call down fire from heaven.

Elijah watched the prophets of Baal from sunup to sundown, and then at the end of the day he acted. First, he called the people to himself. Next he repaired the altar of the Lord, which was in ruins. He then dug a large trench around the altar, arranged the wood and butchered the bull. Finally, in order to put a sharp point on his demonstration, Elijah ordered the attendants to pour four large jars of water over the altar, three times in succession. The scripture says, “The water ran down around the altar and even filled the trench.” Then Elijah prayed.

Then the fire of the Lord fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil, and also licked up the water in the trench. (1 Kings 18:38)

In response to this incredible conflagration, the people fell to the ground and cried, “the Lord, he is the God; the Lord, he is the God.” Sadly within hours Jezebel had promised to murder Elijah and the national revelation of Jehovah was a mere footnote.

A second famous fire in the Bible occurs in Acts chapter one and two. In chapter one Jesus promised that God would send the Holy Spirit to the church after he was gone. On the fortieth day after his resurrection, Jesus was taken up into heaven. The disciples returned to Jerusalem, as instructed by Jesus to wait for the Holy Spirit. For ten days they met together continuously, praying and worshipping. They also appointed a disciple to replace Judas.

So it was that on the day of Pentecost, as they were gathered together, there was the sound of rushing wind and tongues of fire came to rest on every member of the assembly. And,“all of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues.” (Acts 2:4)

At the sound of the rushing wind, Jews from all over the empire gathered around the believers. Amazement gave way to skepticism, and skepticism to derision. But Peter, sensing the moment, interpreted the words of the prophet Joel and began to explain the events of the past fifty days to them. At the conclusion of His message, the scripture tells us that 3,000 accepted his message and chose to be baptized.

While these stories are inspiring in and of themselves, God is making two particular points here. First, notice how in each story there is a process of preparation and order. Elijah called the people to attention. He restored the holiness of the place, by restoring the altar that the prophets of Baal had profaned. Finally, he arranged the fuel for the fire and prepared the sacrifice. Elijah knew God’s ways. Not just the way of the law, but the way of the ancients, and he prepared the ground for God to come.

In Acts, the disciples obeyed Jesus by returning to Jerusalem to await the outpouring of the Spirit. They gathered together, likely praying, worshipping and ministering to one another. And they restored the order of the body by replacing Judas with a new disciple. Through these steps both Elijah and the disciples prepared the environment for flammability.

But God is also showing us a second important point. The results of the fires were not the same. Elijah’s confrontation, and God’s overwhelming response was an Old Testament archetype. Elijah prepared the environment and God acted, but the people were not transformed. Ahab and Jezebel continued on in their corruption and the people followed blindly after them. Why? Despite Elijah’s many power encounters with the Lord, the people of the time were hemmed in by the law and a lack of revelation. It was not yet time, and their hearts were not yet prepared. The only heart that longed to see God break out was Elijah’s. And so the fire that began on Mt. Carmel went out as quickly as it came.

Notice the difference with the dispensation of the Holy Spirit in Acts 2. The disciples prepared the environment, and their hearts burned to see the comforter that their master had promised to send. Having walked with Jesus, having received from him His authority, having been birthed in faith unto power, the people who knew God were prepared to respond. This time when the rushing wind and the fire appeared, it started a fire that continues to burn even today.

Today, God is looking for flammable environments. He’s looking for people, groups and churches that are ready to burn and that can sustain the fire. Right now is a critical time for the body of Christ and the world. To ignite the all consuming fire that will transform us and the world, there is a divine order that must be manifested. As with Elijah and the disciples we must do our part to create that order. It will not be created by a formula or by some hyper-legalistic examination of the scriptures. It will manifest in the people, groups and churches that have prepared their hearts, which have listened for His instructions, which are dedicated to the order of flammability.

Ultimately, fires occur where and when God directs. But it is up to us what the effect of that fire will be once it breaks out. Will we be an eternal flame or a momentary blow torch?