Zandstra-isms

I have had the privilege of listening to my friend Doug Zandstra speak at the Family Prayer Center in Tulsa several times.  Now Doug is an evangelist, so he mostly exhorts, edifies and encourages people when he speaks.  However, once in a while he drops a nugget of wisdom that amazes me.  So, I believe we can benefit from some "Zandstra-isms."

"caSINo"   Need I say more?

When talking about God speaking to him, he said, "I know it was God talking to me because the devil never calls you 'Son' - he calls you SCUM!"

Then from this morning, while talking about praying for a man who had cancer, "Get MAD at the devil!  MAD means Miracles and Deliverance!"

Can't wait to hear what else will come out of his mouth!  I hope to have more Zandsta-isms to post soon.

And Now, A Word About Words

In the modern church in America, we do see problems.  I won't go into details, but if you've seen any news lately, on your own, you can think of reports about famous preachers caught in sexual scandals, financial shenanigans, or engaging in abusive, controlling behavior towards their staff, followers, or church members.

All these problems have one source - the flesh.  Now some would ask, "What about the Devil?  Doesn't he create problems for believers?"  Yes, he does, but only by appealing to the unmortified flesh of believers.

Through my recent Bible reading, and comparing what I see there with what I see in the church today, I believe I have discovered a problem that might contribute to some of the other problems in the church.  This problem is very subtle in the way it affects the church.

So, what is the problem?

We have substituted man-made religious meanings for New Testament words.  In other words, we use NT words with different meanings than what was given them in the NT.

How bad a problem is this?

In some cases, not too bad.  With some words, we haven't really changed the meaning too much, but just enough that we have lost some aspect of their original meaning, so that we have a gap in our understanding that hampers us from walking in the full truth of God's Word.

In other cases, the discrepancy between modern church usage and NT usage puts us in a position of nearly contradicting God's Word.  Sometimes, the modern meaning isn't contradictory, but foreign to what the word means.

Consider the incident recorded in Matthew 15: 1 -9:

Then some Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said, "Why do Your disciples break the tradition of the elders?  For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread."  And He answered and said to them, "Why do you yourselves transgress the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition?  For God said, 'HONOR YOUR FATHER AND MOTHER,' and, 'HE WHO SPEAKS EVIL OF FATHER OR MOTHER IS TO BE PUT TO DEATH.'  But you say, 'Whoever says to his father or mother, "Whatever I have that would help you has been given to God," he is not to honor his father or his mother.'  And by this you invalidated the word of God for the sake of your tradition.  You hypocrites, rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you: 'THIS PEOPLE HONORS ME WITH THEIR LIPS, BUT THEIR HEART IS FAR AWAY FROM ME.  BUT IN VAIN DO THEY WORSHIP ME, TEACHING AS DOCTRINES THE PRECEPTS OF MEN.' "
(Matt. 15:1-9 NASB)


In this passage, the religious people got onto Jesus because His followers weren't performing the religious, traditional, ritualistic method of hand washing before meals.  Jesus responded by telling them what He thought of their religious traditions!

Now, you might wonder what traditions have to do with words.  How are traditions passed down?  By words!

The religious people invalidated God's Word through their words!

If you still don't see the danger of changing the meaning of words in God's Word, consider what Satan first said to Eve: "Indeed, has God said...."  (Gen. 3: 1)

The reason why this problem could contribute to other problem is that we could be operating in the flesh, but we think we're okay because we're using words taken from the Bible.  We think that we are saying the same thing the New Testament is saying, but we're really not.  On the flip side of this danger, we have become so accustomed to the religious meanings, when we read the NT, we think it's saying the same thing we are.

Now, you might think I'm just trying to get picky about words.  I hope I'm not.  I don't want you to stop using scriptural words; I want you to use them with understanding.

Which words am I talking about?  Stay tuned...

GOD IN A BOX

I used to hear people talk about how religion puts “God in box,” that is, how religious people put restrictions on God: God can't, God won't, God doesn't do certain things, or He doesn't do things in a certain way.   In reality, they just put restrictions on what they believe God will do, and thus restrict what they can receive from Him.

Now, I am sure that the Scriptures are clear that God doesn't lie, that He cannot lie, He doesn't change His Word, and He never does anything contrary to His Word.  How can someone who is Truth lie?

But sadly, many people do pass up God's blessings because of these restrictions they put on God.  Another name for these restrictions is 'unbelief.'

Now where did this 'God in a box' concept come from in the first place?

Surprisingly, the answer is: GOD!

Ever hear of the Ark of the Covenant?   Ever wonder what that was all about?

The short answer is that God wanted a way to be with His people, the Israelites.  He couldn't manifest His presence all the time among them, for no man at that time could stand to be around such a holy being.  So, he gave them a plan for a tabernacle (tent) that would house the Ark of the Covenant, a special gold-plated box that would represent God's presence.   Along with the Tabernacle and the Ark, God instituted a priesthood and a sacrificial system to allow people to come before Him, and He could then dwell among them. [Exodus 25 - 30]

[A preacher name Judson Cornwall wrote a book years ago about the construction of the Tabernacle of Moses and the Ark of the Covenant, and all the symbolism involved that points to Jesus and the New Covenant.   The title of the book is Let Us Draw Near. If you want to know more about the Tabernacle and the Ark, I highly recommend that book.]

Now, God is not limited by space or distance.   You do not have to be geographically close to a special box or structure for God to hear and answer your prayers.  Even after the construction of the Ark and the Tabernacle, the Old Testament contains many stories of God working miracles in places not close to the Ark.

By the time Jesus appeared, three things dominated Jewish thought: the Law of Moses, the Jerusalem Temple, and the coming Messiah.

They focused on the Law because they saw their neglect of, and disobedience to, the Law as the cause of the Babylonian Captivity and the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple.

They focused on the Temple because it was the successor to the Tabernacle of Moses, the Law spoke so much about the Tabernacle and the priesthood, and they had fought so hard to maintain the sanctity of the Temple.

They focused on the Messiah because they wanted a Deliverer to rise up and lead them out from under the Roman Empire.

Because of their focus on these things, when the true Messiah, Jesus, arrived, they could not see that God was manifesting Himself through this carpenter's son, this itinerant rabbi, Who did astounding miracles, and said things that were even more astounding than His miracles.   They could not see that He was God in the flesh. [John 1:14; Matthew 1:23]

So, now the “box” that held God's presence was the body of Jesus of Nazareth!

After the Death and Resurrection of Jesus, the New Birth became possible.   Anyone who now believes in Jesus is born again into God's Kingdom. [John 3:1 – 8, 13 - 17]

Jesus also promised he would never leave us or forsake us, that He would not leave us as orphans.  He is in US! [Matthew 28:20; John 14:18; Colossians 1:26 - 27]

Now, God is not just in one “box,” He is in many “boxes!” [2 Corinthians 4:7; 1 Corinthians 6:19 -20]

So, the “God in a box” concept is not a bad thing, as long as each born again believer sees himself as a “box” where God dwells.

Now, I see many believers trapped by the Old Testament style “God in a box” mentality – that God dwells in church buildings, that you can only experience His Presence in a church building, etc.

How did this mentality enter into the Church?

A little study on the English word, “church” gives us a clue.   That word comes from a Greek word, “kyriakos.”  That word comes from two other Greek words that mean “lord” and “house.”   It literally means “Lord's house.”

Is this the same word used in the Greek New Testament? No. As far as I know, it never appears in the GNT.

Greek was the predominate language of the Early Church for the first several centuries.   However, the Church never owned any buildings for the first 200 years or so.   Christians would meet in homes, schools, amphitheaters, lecture halls, or anywhere they found a place that was suitable.   When the Church began to buy or erect their own buildings, they called them "kyriakos", the Lord's Houses.

Over time, because of the origin of the word, “church” became associated more with buildings than with people.   Church leaders began to teach that God dwelt only in those buildings.   So, that's how the OT style “God in a box” mentality came into the Church.  After all, isn't a house or building just a big box?

But this association of “church” with buildings does not line up with what the New Testament really teaches.

The Greek word that is translated as “church” in English is “ekklesia.”   It means “a called out assembly.”   An assembly of what?   Building materials?   After all, aren't buildings assembled out of boards, bricks, blocks, pipe, wire, etc.  But these materials are not called out.   You would question the competence of a carpenter who called out, “Here boards! Come here so I can cut you into the right length, and nail you into place.”

So, what is being assembled?   People!

In Acts 19, Luke uses the word “ekklesia” to refer to the crowd in Ephesus that demonstrated against Paul's ministry.   This word occurs in verses 32, 39 and 41. In verses 30 and 33, Luke uses the word “demos” to refer to the same group.   This word means “people.”   We use it in the prefix of the words “demographic” and “democracy.”

Why would Luke use the word “ekklesia” to refer to this crowd of people?   They were called out by the guild of coppersmiths that made household shrines to Diana (or Artemis), the goddess worshiped by the Ephesians.  The coppersmiths called out this assembly of people to protest the preaching of Paul, because he was leading people away from Diana to Jesus.  As people turned from Diana to Jesus, they stopped buying shrines, and that hurt the coppersmiths' business.   They wanted to let it be known they didn't like this, and they wanted help in expressing their displeasure, so they called out an assembly of those still faithful to Diana.

I could say more about the “ekklesia” of Jesus, but that is for another time.  My point in bringing this up now is that when the New Testament uses the word “church,” it is not talking about a building.  The NT never, never, never, never, and I mean not ever, not at any time whatsoever, and I am absolutely, positively certain that the NT never uses the word “church” to refer to a building.  It ALWAYS refers to people!

Now, like I said earlier, the “God in a box” concept is not necessarily bad as long as we change the concept. We hear a lot today about thinking outside the box.   I say, “Let's rethink the box!”

Not only is each born again believer a “God-box,” but we collectively, as the Church, are the “God-box!” [2 Corinthians 6:14 – 18; Ephesians 2: 19 – 22; Revelation 21:1 - 3]

Excuses Exposed

When one of those who were reclining at the table with Him heard this, he said to Him, "Blessed is everyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!"  But He said to him, "A man was giving a big dinner, and he invited many; and at the dinner hour he sent his slave to say to those who had been invited, 'Come; for everything is ready now.'  But they all alike began to make excuses.  The first one said to him, 'I have bought a piece of land and I need to go out and look at it; please consider me excused.'  Another one said, 'I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to try them out; please consider me excused.'  Another one said, 'I have married a wife, and for that reason I cannot come.'  And the slave came back and reported this to his master.  Then the head of the household became angry and said to his slave, 'Go out at once into the streets and lanes of the city and bring in here the poor and crippled and blind and lame.'  And the slave said, 'Master, what you commanded has been done, and still there is room.'  And the master said to the slave, 'Go out into the highways and along the hedges, and compel them to come in, so that my house may be filled.  For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste of my dinner.' "
(Luke 14: 15-24 NASB)

Recently, while Mark Jenkins was delivering a message on Luke 14 (Make War Not Peace - http://www.markjenkinsministries.org/index.php/media-folder/messages/video/126-make-war-not-peace), the Holy Spirit opened my eyes to the true nature of the excuses the invited guests gave for why they couldn't come to the dinner.

Excuse #1 (v. 18)  Need to inspect a recently bought piece of land = Investment 
                          Whatever we have have invested our time, money or effort into for a return; anything we
                          value more than the fellowship we are called to.

Excuse #2 (v. 19)  Need to test 5 yoke of oxen = Ministry
                          What we do for others that we think we do for God.  We think we are pleasing God
                          because we are doing it for God.

Excuse #3 (v. 20) Just got married = Relationship
                          Any relationships we are committed to more than our relationship to God.

Now this is a bare-bones breakdown on these excuses.  Each one could lead to a message or blog post on its own.  I offer them to you for your own meditation.

Hope & Faith - They're Electric! (Revisited)

Several years ago, I wrote an article that became a blog post:  Hope & Faith - They're Electric!

http://lightseekerok.blogspot.com/2009/06/hope-and-faith-theyre-electric.html

A few weeks ago, Pastor Tim Stemple began a series of messages based on Gary Carpenter's Face to Face document, "The God of Hope."  During the first message, the Holy Spirit gave me an analogy that illustrates the electric nature of the relationship between Hope and Faith that should help people who might still have a problem understanding the concepts presented the original blog post.  Almost anyone should be able to understand this illustration, and remember it, because it is based on something that people are familiar with - something that people have held in their own hands.

Think of Hope as a battery for a handheld device.   It could be a flashlight, cellphone, radio, MP3 player or any handheld item that runs on electricity.  A battery, or battery pack, is a great example of Hope for one reason: it contains potential.  The chemical composition of a battery's parts differ in their electrical characteristics in a way that creates an electrical potential.  However, no electrical current will flow until the battery is connected to a circuit.

The handheld device represents Faith because it contains the circuit that will use the current from the battery.  But, even when the battery is inserted into the device, the current doesn't flow until the device is switched on.  The switch is your will.  You must choose to use your Faith to allow the current generated by your Hope to work.

Notice a couple of things here.  A battery has potential whether or not it is in or connected to the device.  The device is useful only when the batter is in it.  The battery without the battery is useless, and the device without the the battery is useless.

I hope this illustration is tangible enough to make these concepts clear to you.

I am sure that most people have enough experience with battery-operated devices to know that batteries run down, and some batteries are rechargeable.  This brings me to some good news - our Hope is rechargeable!  (1 Cor. 14: 4; Jude 20)

Actually, batteries are never really charged or discharged.  As a battery is used, chemical changes take place inside the battery that converts some of the electrolyte (the stuff between the terminals) into crystals that resist the flow of current.  At some point, this internal resistance will grow to the level where it blocks the flow of electricity.  The battery still has potential, but not enough to overcome the resistance.  This resistance represents unbelief.

"Rechargeable" batteries can be made be made useful again by passing a current through them in the reverse direction.  This creates heat that melts the crystals and lowers the internal resistance of the battery.  Prayer, especially praying in tongues, is the current that melts our unbelief.  Sometimes, we need more prayer than usual to overcome our unbelief.  That's where fasting comes in, if we see fasting as praying instead of eating.

Profound Things I Have Heard Baptist Pastors Say

Even though I did not grow up in church, I joined a Southern Baptist church in junior high.  Not long afterwards, I got involved in the Jesus and Charismatic movements.  Even though I have learned much from those environments, I do remember hearing some profound things said by Baptist pastors.

My first pastor was Howard Boyd, who was a truck driver that became a preacher.  He once said, "It doesn't matter how many times you have been through the Bible - what matters is how many times the Bible has been through you."

What did he mean by this?

At the time, another Baptist pastor was getting some attention for having memorized the entire Bible.  This prompted a discussion among the youth at the church as to how he could do that, and all the time involved.  Several said they hadn't even read through Bible even once.  That's when Pastor Boyd said what he did.

What he meant was that no matter how many times you have read the Bible cover-to-cover, what does matter is how many times the Bible has exposed something in you that needs to be dealt with.

Several years later, even though I was Spirit-filled, I attended another Baptist church because I believed that was where God wanted me.  Pastor Gary Cook once talked about wisdom and morality.  He said that as a young man, he made decisions based only on right and wrong, but things wouldn't go well afterwards.   Then he started making decisions on what was the wisest thing to do in the situation, and he got better results.  He didn't have to worry about the morality of his decisions either, for a wise decision will always be morally right.

Hmm, something to gnaw on...

Why Amateur Radio: A Lesson For Believers

During this morning's 10 AM service, towards the end of the worship, I wasn't thinking about ham radio, but a thought about ham radio popped into my mind.  Then the Holy Spirit opened my eyes to the spiritual significance of that thought.

This afternoon, I wrote a short piece for a ham radio bulletin that I produce, and then included it in a post on my general blog, Random Contact.  The piece is entitled "Why Amateur Radio?"  Here is that post:

This is an excerpt from the TRO Signal Bulletin for 02 SEP 12:

As ham radio leaders are fond of reminding us, amateur radio is a hobby.  Most people that become hams do so because they enjoy doing things with radios.  Ham radio offers many opportunities to have fun, as well as chances for education, personal development, and fellowship.  But why should the government continue to allow ham radio to exist?

Much of what we do can be, and is, done by professional technicians and engineers.  If anyone wants to work with radios, they can go to school to get the training or education they need.  

Most of the professionals design, build, and maintain the communications systems used by the military, law enforcement, fire service, emergency medical, emergency management and other government agencies, as well as the broadcast industries that keep the general public informed.  Don't forget those that work to keep both the landline and cellular phone systems going. These systems do work most of the time, and nowdays, we see more and more interoperability incorporated into these systems.  In light of how well these system perform most of the time, someone might question the need for amateur radio.

But what often happens to these systems in major emergencies and disasters?  They fail, due to damage to the equipment, loss of power, or they become overloaded by the amount of traffic they have to handle immediately.

When this happens, the professionals concentrate their efforts on restoring and repairing these systems.  But vital messages still need to be passed.  The professionals don't have the time to handle this traffic.  What is obviously needed is a backup system already in place or easily deployable.  Amateur radio is that system.  That's why, "When All Else Fails...."

Craig Fugate, FEMA Administrator, recognized this at a recent conference, where he said, "But when you need Amateur Radio, you really need them."

For more about this conference and Fugate's remarks, go to this website:

http://nyc-arecs.org/last_line.html

The TRO Signal Bulletin is a text-only publication that I produce on behalf of the Tulsa Repeater Organization, and I send it out over the club's WA5LVT Yahoogroup.  It focuses on ham radio events and activities in the Tulsa, Oklahoma area.  To receive the Bulletin, you can sign up at the WA5LVT Yahoogroup here: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/WA5LVT/

"When All Else Fails...." refers to a catchphrase developed by the ARRL (American Radio Relay League), "When all else fails, Amateur Radio."  This emphasizes the fact that government and non-government responding agencies often have to rely on ham radio when normal communication systems go down during earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes, etc.  Hams are able to do this because they take the time to gain knowledge of radio systems, they have their own equipment, they maintain their own equipment, and they develop and maintain their communications skills.

But what is the spiritual significance of this?

Think of the fivefold ministries as the equivalent of the professionals spoken of in this article.  That's how religion often depicts them anyway.

Now equate natural and man-made disasters with spiritual warfare and/or opportunities for ministry, especially attacks on the whole Body of Christ.  During these times, the "professionals" might not be available to help people with their needs.  Someone needs to be able to fill that gap!  Who will that be?

As hams step in with their own equipment, their own technical knowledge, and their own skills to fill a very important need in a critical situation when the professionals are not available, so must believers take the time to pursue their own relationships with the Father, to develop their own faith and character, so that when the fivefold ministries aren't available, they will be able to meet the needs presented to them!  This applies whether the needs are the believer's own needs, or the needs of others.