Simple Church Success

At the end of pondering Romans 9:1-18 (printed below)  I feel comforted.

The comfort is in the reassurance that God, NOT man, wins!

This is especially comforting when our lives, nation, and world seem increasingly chaotic.

God wins…even against the carelessness of Esau who despised his birthright.

Esau-ness runs rampant in our own flesh. Right?

Nevertheless, God wins anyway!

And I have hope in his calming presence through Christ’s birthright in me.

God wins…even against the mighty power of Pharoah who believed he was the god even more powerful than The God.

Pharaoh-ness plays the supreme rebel against God in our own flesh. Right?

Still God wins again!

And I have rest because his will is stronger than mine! Mine surrenders…his delivers!

God wins…even when his own people (Israel and us), who have all the gifts and knowledge, go sideways into religion and away from relationship with Jesus.

Religious-ness constantly tries to be the self-comforter in our own flesh.  Right?

God wins past all that through his love that will never leave us!

So, no matter how it looks on our earthly level God clearly is in charge.

And, because of Christ working within us,  we submit our own:

• careless Esau-ness
• power-driven Pharaoh-ness
• self-comforting of religious-ness

to God’s almighty sovereign God-ness

and Peace (after our repeated, seemingly repetitious, surrenders)

“attendeth our way.”

As we surrender our names, kingdoms, and wills with the cry:

 Thy Name

 be hallowed

Thy Kingdom

 come

Thy Will

be done

on earth

right here

in me

right here

in us!

Romans 9:1–18, ESV

“I am speaking the truth in Christ—I am not lying; my conscience bears me witness in the Holy Spirit— that I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen according to the flesh. They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises. To them belong the patriarchs, and from their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ, who is God over all, blessed forever. Amen. But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel, and not all are children of Abraham because they are his offspring, but “Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.” This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring. For this is what the promise said: “About this time next year I will return, and Sarah shall have a son.” And not only so, but also when Rebekah had conceived children by one man, our forefather Isaac, though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad—in order that God’s purpose of election might continue, not because of works but because of him who calls— she was told, “The older will serve the younger.” As it is written, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.” What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God’s part? By no means! For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy. For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, “For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I might show my power in you, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.” So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills.”

I asked international missions leader and Bible scholar,  George Lee, whom I met at my son, Seth, and daughter-in-law, Lisa’s house church in Texas a few weeks ago.   As we’ve gotten acquainted and prayed for simple church success together  I asked him to write for Simple Church Success  and within a couple of days George has this great article ready to go!

Be blessed as you read.   I was.     Thank you, Brother George!

SIMPLE CHURCH
by George Lee

A simple ‘church’, according to biblical terminology, is simply an assembly that is “called out”. If we fail to understand at least this much about ‘simple church’ we miss its fundamental character.

Its Greek term (from the noun “ekklesia” derived from the compound verb “ek-kaleo” meaning to ‘call out’) was used for the public assembly of the citizens of the Greek city-state, in which political and judicial decisions were made. In the Old Testament, it corresponded to a Hebrew term for any kind of assembly; but of special relevance to its later New Testament usage, it also denoted the assembly of the people of Israel to hear the word of God, either at Mt. Sinai or later on Mt. Zion.

But as an “assembly”, the church is unlike any other. Chronologically, the first use of the word in the New Testament was by Paul in his first letter to the believers at Thessalonica: “to the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ” (1:1). The phrase “in God the Father” distinguished the Christian “assembly” from mere public and civic ones; and “[in] the Lord Jesus Christ” separated the Christian gathering from Jewish synagogue assemblies.

So a “church” is an assembly in God the Father and his Son Jesus Christ. As such, they have been ‘called out’ from estrangement from God into inclusion as his gathered people (Col. 1:13; 1 Peter 2:9, 10). But the inclusion into God’s kingdom is not a mere static condition – it is a dynamic reality! We are called out to declare God’s praises (1 Pet. 2:9). And we praise him best with evidences of a transformed life and its consequent acts of service (cf. Rom. 12:1, 2; Heb. 13:15, 16). Our assemblies are opportunities to encourage one another in Christ’s service and to model it!

But our “assembly” is not only a reminder that we are “called out” but also “sent out”. Jesus told his disciples that “I chose you to go and bear fruit” and he prayed that as God “sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world” (John 15:16; 17:18). So it is entirely appropriate that “simple church” also actively seeks Christ’s mission to unbelievers and unreached peoples. Its assembly gives to, prays for, and sends out. As a society of ‘called out’ ones, it also ‘calls out’ others to join them as the fellowship of Jesus’ followers. In fact, it is perhaps not a stretch that Jesus’ “two or three” gathered in his name are those emissaries sent out to the ‘fields ripe for harvest’ (and/or those first few people who respond to the good news). Simple church can be on the mission field!

I was 12 years old when my 18 year old brother, Dave, had a cancerous cyst surgically removed from his back between his shoulder blades.  During his operation my folks and I went to get some food at a diner close to the hospital.

When my meal came I discovered that couldn’t eat it.  On top of that, I began to cry.  This shocked me.  I’d never missed a beat, let alone a meal over someone else’s struggle, until that moment.

I found out that I really loved my brother that day.

When I Googled up images of compassion a picture of two American soldiers embracing popped up. Helmets were off, something bad had happened, clearly grief was occuring, and compassion was emerging from the hidden place of the heart.

One of them was comforting the other.    Men hugging.  Soldiers embracing.  Intellect and logic are sidelined.  Machismo is forgotten. Walls are down.  Comfort.  Love.

My writing about this rises up from Paul’s talk in Romans 9 about his willingness to go to hell for certain people.  My main thought is that is not just a saintly antecdote about Paul for us to admire, but, perhaps, a model for us to discover within ourselves.

9:1  “Truly I am saying in Christ, I am not lying, it is bearing witness together with me, my conscience in the Holy Spirit.”

What Paul is going to tell us may sound unbelievable. So he testifies to its truthfulness and reaffirms it with the witness of his conscience and of the Holy Spirit.

 9:2 “That sorrow with me is great and unceasing pain in my heart.”

Did Paul work this up, earn it, or get good at it because he was a mighty Super-Apostle ( a title he disdained)?    Or was it already there insdie of hims as a gift of God’s love, waiting to be discovered through the Holy Spirit?   I’m suspecting the latter.

He doesn’t say that he wants or needs to get rid of this sorrow.    It sounds like Paul is saying it a permanent part of his inner life.   That’s almost un-American and heretical for us “pursuers of happiness”!

9:3 “For I could be wishing myself to be cut off from Christ on behalf of my brethren the ones born with me according to the flesh.”

Again, I ask, is Paul unique or do we all have this passion for someone or ones in the Holy Spirit?   Paul claims this consciousness is in the Holy Spirit.

What if this unselfish passion is already within us for a certain people or groups? What difference would that make?

A huge one I’m sure!  Huge in our zeal, focus, and lifestyle.

 So the question I ask is “Who would I be willing to go to hell for if I could?”

This is very confrontational. I’m not sure I have an answer but I may only be pondering in my flesh.

Perhaps the Holy Spirit will take me there as he did Paul, with “groanings that cannot be uttered.”

This gives me hope that compassion can resurrect from within our “new man” and within us as the Body of Christ.  Simple Church Good Samaritans would no longer wait in this hurting and rebellious world.  Compassion would take action!

But it does started within before any action.  Paul becomes convinced of the sincerity of his hypothetical willingness to go to hell for others.  If he could have he would have.  And he knows it.

Do we?

Jesus, of course, actually did “go to hell” for us…body soul and spirit through the cross. He was the man of sorrows.  Jesus wept.

“Father, give us the Holy Spirit compassion of Paul, through our Lord Jesus. Thank you.  Amen. “

Let’s give ‘em  heaven!   -  John Parker

The apostle, Paul, aware of his influence in the lives of others, asks,

“Who is sufficient for these things?”

The implied answer is:

No one — in their own self-sufficency.

and

Every one — in the sufficiency of Christ.

If you feel in over your head today call out, his hand is right there waiting to pull you back up, and walk with you.

I know.  I just called!

“Such is the confidence that we have through Christ toward God. Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God, who has made us sufficient to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.”  (2 Corinthians 2:16; 3:4–6, ESV)

“I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5, ESV)

“I can do all things through him who strengthens me.” (Philippians 4:13, ESV)

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A Simple Church Success subscriber and partner J.M.  is getting out of the box. 

She emailed with her Subject Line saying:  “Pray” 

Then she  wrote:  “John,    I’m so excited I want to be part, always have liked the “2 or 3″ concept. I   bought a copy of Megashift. and am re-reading the last part( from page 150),  The 1st part about all the miracles, I don’t need for inspiration, I fully believe in miracles,  the “little ones’ are all around us. & the Big ones happen, too. Rutz’s  ideas are a little too complicated, BUT it’s a start. I’m filled with joy. & want to continue.   That’s why I wrote “Pray” in the subject line, for me, please.   -  J.M.

Her email  is a good intro to this article I wrote for my newspaper column a few weeks ago and that I want to share with you now.   Here goes!

Seth Godin’s article entitled “Extending the Narrative” (www.sethgodin.com) arrived in my email inbox recently.  In it he talks about getting outside-of-the-box, so I’m stepping out of the writing-mostly-my-own-stuff-box and sharing all 514 of Seth’s words with you.

“Did you wake up fresh today, a new start, a blank slate with resources and opportunities… or is today yet another day of living out the narrative you’ve been engaged in for years?

“For all of us, it’s the latter. We maintain our worldview, our biases, our grudges and our affections. We nurse our grudges and see the very same person (and situation) in the mirror today that we did yesterday. We may have a tiny break, a bit of freshness, but no, there’s no complete fresh start available to us.

“Marketers have been using this persistence to their advantage forever. They sell us a car or a trip or a service that fits the story we tell ourselves. I don’t buy it because it’s the right thing for everyone, I buy it because it’s right for me, the us I invented, the I that’s part of the story I’ve been telling myself for a long time.

“The socialite walks into the ski shop and buys a $3000 ski jacket she’ll wear once. Why? Not because she’ll stay warmer in it more than a different jacket, but because that’s what someone like her does. It’s part of her story. In fact, it’s easier for her to buy the jacket than it is to change her story.

“If you went to bed as a loyal company man or an impatient entrepreneur or as the put-upon retiree or the lady who lunches, chances are you woke up that way as well. Which is certainly safe and easy and consistent and non-confusing. But is it helping?

“We dismiss the mid-life crisis as an aberration to be avoided or ridiculed, as a dangerous blip in a consistent narrative. But what if we had them all the time? What if we took the resources and trust and momentum that helps us but decided to let the other stuff go?

“It’s painful to even consider giving up the narrative we use to navigate our life. We vividly remember the last time we made an investment that didn’t match our self-story, or the last time we went to the ‘wrong’ restaurant or acted the ‘wrong’ way in a sales call. No, that’s too risky, especially now, in this economy.

“So we play it safe and go back to our story.

“The truth though, is that doing what you’ve been doing is going to get you what you’ve been getting. If the narrative is getting in the way, if the archetypes you’ve been modeling and the worldview you’ve been nursing no longer match the culture, the economy or your goals, something’s got to give.

“When decisions roll around–from what to have for breakfast, to whether or not to make that investment to what TV show (or none) to watch on TV tonight, the question to ask is: Is this a reflex that’s part of my long-told story, or is this actually a good decision? When patterns in engagements with the people around you become well-worn and ineffective, are they persistent because they have to be, or because the story demands it?”

My favorite Seth comment is:  “It’s painful to even consider giving up the narrative we use to navigate our life.”   

Jesus said it this way, “No one puts new wine into old wineskins. For the new wine would burst the wineskins, spilling the wine and ruining the skins. New wine must be stored in new wineskins. But no one who drinks the old wine seems to want the new wine. ‘The old is just fine,’ they say.” (Luke 5:37–39)

How are your boxes and skins lately?

Let’s Keep Giving ‘em Heaven!

At Andy and Nancy’s house church Thursday, Melody brought up a passage she’d been thinking about since the Easter sunrise simple church style gathering most of us had enjoyed last Sunday.   She said that she’d rarely thought about it until now, had never heard it taught,  and that it was startling to contemplate.

The she read it to us.  Here it is:

“And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit. And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split. The tombs also were opened. And many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many.” (Matthew 27:50–53, ESV)

And as she read it a revelation-picture-prophecy came to me.

“That’s us!  The believers right now!” I thought.

And it came!  Boom! Boom! Boom!

Boom!  “Jesus cried out again with a loud voice…”  Announcing  the  heavenly crisis, breakthrough, opening, or epoch!

Boom! “…and yielded up his spirit…”  As Jesus releases his spirit into the heavenlies the Holy Spirit can enter us and bring fresh resurrection life to us!  Now! Today!

Boom!  “The curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom.”  The heavenlies are now open!  Now we can see and enter and hear and live  in his presence at all times.  He did the tearing from top to bottom.  He  opens the heavens and in his presence we live and move and have our being.  Where shall we go from his presence?

Boom!  “And the earth shook…”  Now all things are being shaken in our lives including how we are being and doing church!  (Hebrews 12:26-29 )  The unshakable kingdom is here now.  Any shaking going on in your life?   Count it all joy!   Plus know that there’s shaking going on in those living around you.   What opportunites await us!

Boom!  “and the rocks were split”  I saw us “saints” busting and bursting out of our earthly dungeons, weights and burdens that have stopped us for so long!  It was a comic book picture – like when a super-hero breaks though the rocks — only God was doing it!

Boom!  “And many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised…”   We’ve been asleep in our drunken worldiness.  He is waking us up to light and life.

“Awake, O sleeper,
and arise from the dead,
and Christ will shine on you.”
—Ephesians 5:14—

Boom! “…and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many.”   Your place of resurrection is your “holy city.”  Go into it and appear to many!

This ”prophecy“ I submit to you.
Don’t despise it.   Test it.  Hold onto what is good.  Dump the rest.
(1 Thessalonians 5:19-22)

At Lloyd and Desta’s House Church Tuesday we read Proverbs 10 (since it was April 10th!)

As I listened a great revelation came:  “The righteous in Proverbs can be applied to your new spirit man.  The wicked can be applied to your flesh.”

I’d been avoiding Proverbs lately because it seemed so law based.  But now it has broken open for me in a whole new way and I am applying Ephesians 6:12 (wrestling in the spirit not the flesh) to it!   The Holy Spirit and the New Testament showed up to help me understand the Old Testament through the Living Word Jesus Christ, and the veil of Moses is lifted! (2 Cor. 3:15-17)

Woo-Hoo! Yahoo! and Yippee-Ki-Yay!

So today, as I read Proverbs 13:2 (April 13th!) …

“From the fruit of his mouth a man eats what is good,
    but the desire of the treacherous is for violence”

… 1.) I claim that my new spirit person in Christ eats good fruit from the fruit of his mouth! And
… 2.) I recognize that my old antichrist flesh in which no good thing dwells,  is treacherous and desires violence!  And that it’s so done because of our resurrection Saviour Jesus!

And I don’t have to get under it as law now,  but my new “righteous-in-Jesus Christ” man can use it for discernment and rejoice in the resurrection and the gift of the Holy Spirit at work for our victory!

Jesus wins!  Yippee Ki Yay!

“I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers…” (Ephesians 1:16, ESV)

When I read this today I got attacked with guilt, works, shame, and overwhelm.  Condemnation wanted to take a whack at me too.

I won’t honor those evil ones by elaborating on their buckets of cold water and screeches of discouragement about my prayer life and not praying for everyone on the Simple Church Success list by name, etc.  The end result of their shaming would have been to kill me with works and lists and human efforts and law. Not of God at all!

As I waited and prayed and took my under-attack-being back up to the Lord he showed me that the “you” is plural!  (Southerners would clarify this through most of the NT epistles by writing, ”All y’all!”)

Then I recognized that, because of the Lord in me, I am indeed thrilled and thankful for all of you, just like Paul!  Very Cool!  Exciting!

And I am!   I am rejoicing right now as I type this to YOU that YOU are interested enough in Simple Church to be reading this.    I am so thankful for your interest in the subject that so greatly interests me — reaching the world for Christ through each of us —  together — and maximizing our simple church skills, leadership, and influence with those the Lord puts with us.

And next I saw that I can remember all of you!  (all y’all)

With the prayer that Paul prays in Ephesians 17-19 beginning with a “Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation in the Knowledge of Him!”

“In Jesus Name, I bind religious condemning spirits off of us and call in the Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation over all of us right now!”

~~

P.S. Let’s pray Luke 10:2 with others to the Lord!