When Heaven Invades Earth – Ch. 10, “Powerlessness: Unnecessary & Unbalanced” 7/7/10

PBJ: “I’m not impressed with anyone’s life unless they have integrity. But I’m not happy with their life until they are dangerous (…to the powers of hell and the works of darkness). As much as I have the ability to do so, I’ll not let those around me get away with just being nice people.

“Many believers have made it their primary goal in life to be well-respected citizens of their communities. Good character enables us to be solid contributors to society, but most of what is recognized as a Christian lifestyle can be accomplished by people who don’t even know God. Every believer should be highly respected AND MORE. It’s the and more that we’re often lacking.

“While character must be at the heart of our ministries, power revolutionizes the world around us. Until the Church returns to Jesus’ model for true revolutionaries, we will continue to be recognized by the world merely as nice people – while [the world] is overcome with disease and torment, on its way to hell.

“Some Christians actually have considered it to be more noble to choose character over power. But we must not separate the two. It is an unjustifiable, illegitimate choice. Together they bring us to the only real issue – obedience.”

Pastor Johnson says that while teaching a class about the importance of having signs and wonders in the ministry of the gospel, a young man who was a student said, “I’ll pursue signs and wonders when I know I have more of the character of Christ in me.” PBJ: “As good as that may sound, it comes from a religious mindset, not a heart abandoned to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. In response to this student’s comment, I opened to the Gospel of Matthew and read the Lord’s charge (Mt. 28:19): “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations…teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you.” I then asked him, “Who have you the right to determine when you are ready to obey His command?”

IMPRESSING GOD

PBJ: “Does anyone think that God is impressed with us when we tell Him, “I’ll obey You when I have more character?” Character is shaped through obedience. Jesus commanded His disciples to go, and in goi ng they were to teach all that they had been taught. And part of what they were taught was

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specific training on how to live and operate in the miraculous (Matt. 10:1, 5-8, 17 and Luke 9:1-6). They were commanded to “heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, and cast out demons (Matt. 10:8). And now they were responsible to teach this requirement as the lifestyle for all who were to become followers of Jesus Christ. In this way, His standard could remain the standard – the norm for all who call upon the name of the Lord for salvation.

“Many consider themselves unworthy of God using them in the miraculous, and therefore never pursue that realm. Isn’t it ironic that Christians will disobey God by not diligently seeking after spiritual gifts – they won’t lay hands on the sick or seek to deliver the demonized – because they realize their need for more character. In none of the commissions of Jesus to His disciples did He deal specifically with character.

Is it possible the reason there are so few miracles in North America is because too many before us thought they had to become better Christians before God could us them? Yes! That single lie has kept us in perpetual immaturity because it protects us form the power-encounter that transforms us. The result is we have converts trained and over trained until they have no life, vision, or ingenuity left. This next generation of converts must be handles differently. We must help them by giving them their identity as world changers, provide them with a model for character, passion, and power, and open us opportunities to serve.”

In his book Fresh Fire, Mario Murillo says it like this, “When he picks up a Bible, his focus will not be on emotional healing or self-esteem. He’ll ask you where the trigger is and how you fire it. When he reads the Word, he will want to apply it to the taking over of neighborhoods for God!”

THE ANOINTING, A KEY TO PERSONAL GROWTH

In order to fully develop Christ-like character, a person has to server under the anointing. PBJ: “Anointed ministry brings us into contact with the power needed for personal transformation.” Pastor Bill calls this empowering for supernatural endeavors, and we find examples in both the OT & NT. For example, in 1 Sam. 10:6 we find the prophet Samuel saying

to soon-to-be King Saul, “Then the Spirit of the Lord will come upon you,

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and you will prophesy with them and be turned into another man.”

We find an important principle here – that the vessel of the Lord is transformed by the anointing that flows through them. That is why, as I said, it’s important to serve under anointed ministry – so that you can be exposed to the power needed for personal transformation.

1 Sam. 10:9 & 10 tell us that two things happened to Saul out of this encounter with the Holy Spirit: 1) “God gave him another heart.” 2) “Then the Spirit of the Lord came upon him, and he prophesied among them” [the prophets]. PBJ: “Saul was given an opportunity to become all that Israel needed him to be, (a king with a new heart), and learn to do all he needed to do, (hear from God and declare His words – prophesy).” Pastor Johnson goes on to explain how he had a friend in his church with a very strong, prophetic anointing that gave him a place of influence within the church. However, this man had a huge character flaw that put him spiritually crip-pled him and his family for a season. During this season, he still retained a very strong prophetic anointing. The brother thought this meant that his successful ministry was a sign of God’s approval of his private life, which happens to be a common misconception by many.

The man’s position of influence caused Pastor Bill to feel it was especially important that he bring him under discipline – the kind that brings an indivi-dual into personal victory, not punishment that bridles a person with shame.

PBJ: “No organization is any stronger than its ability to discipline its members, whether it is a business, government, church, or family. Part of my restriction was for him was to keep him from giving prophetic words for a season.” The man accepted this necessary direction.

After several months, Pastor Johnson compared the statement regarding King Saul to his friend’s situation, and Pastor became troubled. He realized that if he didn’t allow him to minister under the anointing, the he would be limiting his friend’s exposure to the anointing that was the very thing that would seal and establish his victory in the matter. PBJ: “When I released him to prophesy again, there was new purity and power in his voice. It was his personal encounter with the anointing in ministry that “turned him into another man.” PBJ’s footnote: “This illustration is not to take away from the importance of discipline. Biblical discipline is not punishment. It is

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“choosing, in love, restrictions that are best for that person and the entire church family. The length of his discipline was nearing the point at which it would have become punishment and would have kept him from the very thing he needed.”

COUNTERFEITS EXIST

PBJ: “A counterfeit hundred dollar bill does not nullify the value of the real thing. Likewise, a counterfeit, abused, or abandoned gift does not invalidate our need for the Holy Spirit’s power to live as Jesus did. Pennies are not counterfeited because they’re not worth the effort. In the same way, the devil only works to copy or distort those things in the Christian life that have the greatest potential effect. When I see others who have pursued great things in God but have failed, I get motivated to pick up where they left off. It tells me there’s a treasure in that field, and I’m ready to look for it with reckless abandon. (Reckless abandon is not the same as spiritual careless-ness. Most of the failures in the past have come because leaders became too detached from the people that God put in their lives. I pursue danger-ous things, but I keep accountable, and I work to protect my relationships on all levels. I believe this is the realm of safety that many have abandoned in their pursuit of their “treasure in the field”.

“Many of those who are embarrassed over the abuses of power, and the subsequent blemishes upon the Church, are seldom offended over the absence of signs and wonders. … But the eyes of Jesus quickly look to see if there is faith on the earth – “When I return will I find faith on earth?” Luke 18:8. For every charlatan there are a thousand good citizens who accomplish little or nothing for the Kingdom.”

THE PURPOSE OF THE POWER

To say that Jesus’ power exists only to help us overcome sin stops short of the Father’s intention that we become witnesses of another world. PBJ: “Doesn’t it seem strange that our whole Christian life should be focused on overcoming something that has already been defeated? Sin and its nature have been yanked out by the roots. Many constantly call out to God for more power to live in victory. What more can He do for us? If His death wasn’t enough, what else is there? That battle has already been fought and won! Is it possible that the process of constantly bringing up issues dealt with by the blood is what has actually given life to those issues?

“Many in the Church are camped on the wrong side of the Cross. Apostle Paul spoke to this issue when he said, “Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 6:11). The word reckon points to our need to change our minds. I don’t need power to overcome something if I’m dead to it. But I do need power for boldness (as in Acts 4:28-29) for the miraculous and for the impossible. Part of our problem is this: we are accustomed only to doing things for God that are not impossible. If God doesn’t show up and help us, we can still succeed. There must be an aspect of the Christian life that is impossible without divine intervention. “Make no mistake, character is a supreme issue with God. But His approach is much different than ours. His righteousness/ character is not built into us by our own efforts. It is developed when we quit striving and learn to abandon ourselves completely to His will.”

CLOTHED WITH POWER

The disciples were in such great need for power to become witnesses that they were not to leave Jerusalem until they had it. “Power” is dunamis, and it speaks of the miracle realm. The root word means “ability”. Imagine it – we get to be clothed with God’s ability!

Even though the remaining 11 apostles were already the most trained people in signs and wonders in history, except for Jesus Himself, they still needed to be clothed with power from on high, which came from a power encounter with God Himself. And they knew they had it when they got it!

PBJ asserts that some have said it’s improper to seek for an experience with God because of their fear of error. “After all, many deceived groups have come from those who based their beliefs on experiences in conflict with Scripture. Under the guidance of such attitudes, fear becomes our teacher. But why aren’t those same individuals afraid of belonging to the doctrinally stable camps that are powerless? Is this deception any less dangerous than that of the power abuser? Will you bury your gifts and tell the Master when He comes that you were afraid of being wrong? Power and character are so closely aligned in Scripture that you cannot be weak in one w/o undermining

the other.” In two weeks David & Diana will share; then the rest of ch. 10.