Prophecy and the Holy Spirit in Today's Church

Encouragement, upbuilding, and consolation – I don't think any one of us would say we don't want that or need that in our lives.  Having people come into our lives and speak these kinds of words to us is a very important part of making it through life, and we don't need to take it lightly. 

Those three words come from 1 Corinthians 14:1-4 (ESV), where Paul is explaining spiritual gifts and how they look when used.  Specifically he is mentioning prophecy and what it should look like in New Testament living.  Paul is writing about the gifts of Tongues and Prophecy; explaining what they are and how to use them in corporate and individual settings.  As Paul clearly states tongues is meant primarily between a person and God (in a corporate setting there needs to be someone who can interpret what they are saying – 1 Corinthians 14:27-28), and prophecy is meant for the people of the church – as a way to encourage, exhort, and comfort believers in Christ. 

It really is very simple how prophecy works, the Holy Spirit brings to mind something encouraging for us to say to someone else.  This could be confirming something God has already put in their heart, it could be a word they need right now because of something hard in their life, or it could be that God wants to reveal something to that person, so He brings it in a word of prophecy. 

One example of this that happened to me about 10 years ago is when I was reading my Bible and I felt like I should write an encouraging note to someone who popped in my head.  I really didn't know this person very well at all, I barely even knew who they were, and had hardly ever even talked to them.  Needless to say, I didn't have a whole lot of confidence in this.  How am in going to write an encouraging note to this person and I have no idea what is going on in their life or where they need encouragement?

So I did what seemed like the right thing to do, I wrote a note along these lines.

I don't know what’s going on your life right now, but I felt like God told me to give this note to you and tell you that He is in control and He loves you. 

Very simple and short, but little did I know that the person I gave this note to was going through what has probably been the hardest thing in their life they have ever gone through, and that note was like the clouds opening up and God revealing himself to this person.  It was not anything that I did or about me, the words were not even that well put together, but God used it in a powerful way.

Last Sunday night at Fusion we had special guest Randy Boyd speak on Proverbs 30:18-19.  He broke down each of the 4 things in the verse and explained how God revealed to him some incredible insight into what those word pictures mean.  At the end of the message we went into a prayer time where he was praying for people, for some of the people he received a ‘word’ from the Holy Spirit to encourage, uplift, comfort them in areas they needed it. 

Living a life that is led by the Holy Spirit is not something we should be afraid of or weary of.  It should be the life we pursue so we can ‘do the works’ (Eph. 2:10) the Father has created us to do.  God never meant for us to live our lives without ‘the helper/counselor/comforter’ (John 14:16).  Jesus even said ‘it will be better if I leave’ (John 16:7), and the Holy Spirit ‘will guide you into all truth’ (John 16:13).

It is usually easy for us to understand and feel comfortable with these truths when we think about our individual lives, but many times we start to get critical, skeptical, judgmental, and doubtful when we think about how this is supposed to look in a corporate setting with others.  Let me assure you, these thoughts and feelings are very common to most of us and we should be very careful to not sin when we have these thoughts and feelings. 

Thankfully God has given us His word as a way to help us understand what is right and what is not right.  The whole chapter of 1 Corinthians 14 explains what is acceptable and what is not acceptable in corporate gathers in regards to tongues and prophecy.  Please go read that chapter and get an understanding of how God led Paul to teach us about corporate gatherings and orderly worship services. 

What do we do with these situations when or after they happen?  1 Thessalonians 5:19-21 says this, ‘Do not quench the Spirit.  Do not despise prophesies, but test everything; hold fast to what is Good.’  So our response to these situations is to have an open heart and mind to the fact that maybe God does want us to get something out of it, we do not just despise it and reject it because we are not comfortable with it.  God does many things in the Bible that were not comfortable with the people in that situation.  We test it, to see what is good and what we should throw away and get rid of. 

In the case of last Sunday testing would be taking the prophetic words Randy said about people and seeing if it was true and useful to their lives.  In many of the cases I know for a fact he was dead right on what they needed to hear and know many of them had already had that word from God planted in their hearts, this was simply confirming it and encouraging them to keep pursuing it.  If for some reason something he said was out of line or incorrect, the way we handle that is simple, we do not receive it as a word from God.  We do not claim it as a promise and do not pursue it. 

Finally, don't throw the baby out with the bath water.  If you are ever in a situation where someone does something or says something you feel is not in line with the word of God, you must discern what is right for you to do with it.  Too many times we throw all of something out because a small part of it was wrong.  I do not believe this is biblical or pleasing to God.  We have to remember that we are imperfect people with a perfect message.  Gods desire is that we discern and test what we hear and take the good from it and leave the bad/false teaching.  We do this by being lead by the Holy Spirit, not being led by what is comfortable to us; many times God will not feel comfortable to us.  

True Love

Everyone longs to give himself completely to someone...to have a close, deep, soul relationship with another...to be loved thoroughly and exclusively. But God, to a Christian says...
     "No, not until you are satisfied and fulfilled and content with being loved by Me alone...with giving yourself totally and unreservedly to Me...to having an intensely personal and unique relationship with Me alone...
     "I want you to stop planning, stop wishing, and allow Me to give you the most thrilling plan existing - one that you cannot imagine. I want you to have the best. Please allow Me to bring it to you - you just keep watching Me, expecting the greatest things - keep experiencing the satisfaction that I am - keep listening and learning the things I tell you.
     "I love you, my child, and until you discover that only in Me is your satisfaction to be found, you will not be capable of the perfect human relationship I have planned for you! You will never be united with another until you are united with Me - exclusive of anyone or anything else - exclusive of any other desires or longings.
     "You just wait! That's all. Don't be anxious. Don't worry. Don't look around at what the others have gotten or what I've given them. Don't look at the things you think you want. You just keep looking off and away and up to Me or you'll miss what I want to show you with a love far more wonderful than any you would ever dream of. You see, until you are ready and the one I have for you is ready - (I am working even this minute to have both of you ready at the same time.) - Until you are both satisfied exclusively with Me and the life I have prepared for you, you won't be able to experience the love that exemplifies your relationship with Me, and this is perfect love.
     "And dear one, I want you to have this wonderful love, and to see in the flesh, a picture of your relationship with Me, and to enjoy materially and concretely the everlasting union of beauty and perfection and love that I offer you with Myself.
     "Know that I love you utterly - I am the Comforter - Believe it and be satisfied."

 - Anonymous          

The Outsiders

Over the past few weeks, Richie has mentioned several times how, as Christians, it should be obvious that 'we are not from here.' By here, I mean of this world. As Christians, it should be clear as daylight [sorry for the cliche] that we are different.

We were meant for another place. We were meant to go home. That place and home is Heaven, where we will be in the presence of our Creator...! How insane is that?!

It's so easy to get distracted though. We grow accustomed to the ways of this world, losing our passion and desire to go home. We start to blend into the crowds of the world, becoming comfortable in the flesh.
Too bad all that is temporary.

One day, we will be in a place where eternal joy resides and sin is no more.
One day, we will be home with our Father, Creator, Savior. We will be really home.

I don't really know what else to say.

Here's some music for you guys...

• "Where I Belong" - Switchfoot
• "The Outsiders" - NeedToBreathe

Retreat Playlist

I made a playlist during the retreat for while we were thinking back on how God affected us during the weekend.
A few people were asking about songs, so I just wanted to share the playlist so you all could have it.

• "Garden" - NeedToBreathe
• "Balance" - Deas Vail
• "Thrive" - Switchfoot
• "All The Faint Lights" - Stever Moakler
• "All The Poor and Powerless" - All Sons & Daughters
• "In No Time" - MuteMath
• "Slip Away" - Josh Garrells
• "Break Me" - The Walla Recovery

Enjoy~

Faith Through The Storm

I feel like it's taken me absolutely forever to post about last week's message... Sorry about that.

May 6th, Richie talked about when Jesus calmed the storm. This event takes place in Luke 8-22-25. I recommend you take the time to read it. It's pretty amazing.
This is the story when Jesus and His disciples were out in a boat upon the water. Jesus fell asleep and a fierce storm came. The disciples freaked out and panicked. They called to Jesus, waking Him up, to save them. Jesus calmed the waters and stopped the storm, but He then questioned their faith.

A few things about the story:

• Jesus slept - Yep. He needs rest too. 
• The storm came quickly
• The Disciples cried out to Jesus
• Jesus calmed this storm

What I gathered from these points is that the Disciples first cried out to Jesus when they were overtaken by the storm, and rightly so. We should always look to Jesus instead of turning to ourselves. Also, sometimes we just really need to chill out and rest. Jesus rested, so why shouldn't we? 

There was one more point that was brought up...

Where is your faith?

The Disciples freaked out, like, lost their marbles and went bazurk. They clearly didn't have faith that Jesus was going to take care of them regardless of the storm. Jesus knew this too, that's why He called them out after He calmed the storm. 

In relation to my life, I've definitely had a lack of faith at times, most recently with school. You see, finals were going to be fine, then a few things happened that caused me to lose my confidence and faith that I would get through them just fine. 

I got a couple not-so-hot grades near the end of the semester. They seriously affected my mental state and I flipped. I was prepared for finals up until that point. I realized something though...Before I got those grades, I was doing just fine on my own, believing in myself that I could do it. After I got those grades, I lost it and realized that I had my faith in myself, and myself only. It was only after the problem that I realized I had my faith in the wrong place. 

We do that, though. We put our faith in things that we're comfortable with. Things we can usually predict pretty easily. But when something happens that we're not prepared for, we find ourselves in a helpless situation. But not really.. Jesus can provide exactly what we need, exactly when we need it. Which, by the way, does not mean that we're going to get what we need when we want it. It's all in God's timing. 

 

There's something about this, though, that you need to understand. He isn't always going to calm the storm. However, He will always be with you during the storm. That's what we need to focus on; Him. When we put Christ at the center of our attention, the storm becomes less of a problem. 

Are you putting your faith in Jesus or the storm?

I've also come to the conclusion that where you put your faith is where your foundation starts. If you put your faith in something temporary, or of this world, it's going to fail and falter. Jesus won't.

Where's your heart gone, and where's your soul?

Where did all of your faith go? 

Here's some tunes:

• "In No Time" - MUTEMATH [I know I've put this song up here several times, but please listen to it for this. Please.]
• "Battle" - Chris August
• "The Stand" - Hillsong United
• "Chaos" - MUTEMATH
• "These Hard Times" - NEEDTOBREATHE
• "Lay Em Down" - NEEDTOBREATHE
• "Balance" - Deas Vail
• "In Christ Alone" - Owl City
• "Meteor Shower" - Owl City
• "By Your Side" - Tenth Avenue North
• "Garden" - NEEDTOBREATHE
• "Always" - Switchfoot
• "Ships In The Night" - Mat Kearney

Have a fantastic week and if you need prayer or encouragement, know that we are always here for you guys.

From The Foundation To The Field

This past Sunday, Richie talked about the Parable of the Sower, in Luke 8:4-15.
The first thing I thought of when Richie told us this is what we were going to study, was the Donut Man. I'm not lying. If you grew up watching those videos when you were younger, you must remember the puppet birds that ate the seeds. If not, well...that was one of my favorite ones.

Anyways... The passage is about a farmer who sowed his seeds. He scattered them anywhere and everywhere. Some of the seeds landed on the path, leaving them victim to the feet of travelers, as well as the stomachs of hungry birds [that's what I was referring to from the movie]. Some of the seeds fell upon rock where they died because of the lack of moisture. Some of the seeds were scattered among the thorns. The seeds were able to grow some around the thorns, but as they grew, so did the thorns, which choked the plants. There were seeds that fell on good soil, though, where they grew up strong and luscious, producing a hundred times more than what was sown.
Ok, that is the summary of the parable for you to remember, but Richie broke down the telling of the parable which is what I want to focus on now.

The chronological order of events when Jesus told the parable is this:

• Talking to the crowds
• Tells a story [parable] they don't understand
• Disciples ask what it means
• Jesus tells the purpose of the parables
• Jesus explains the story
• We apply it to our lives

Pretty basic, right? But if you noticed, it says that Jesus told a story that they didn't understand. That's a little weird. Once I explain it a bit, though, it will make more sense. I promise :)

Verse 10 says this:

He said, "The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of God has been given to you, but to others I speak in parables, so that,

" 'though seeing, they may not see; though hearing, they may not understand.'

What Jesus is saying here, is that those who seek out God's word, those who are passionately pursuing God, the message has been given to them. However, those who reject the Word of God, their ears and eyes are closed to what Jesus really means by the parable. All they see is a man speaking, and all they hear is just a fable.

The more I thought about that, the more I realized that's what Jesus intended for us to do; to think about it. To let it sink in so that we would want to know more about what He meant. We have to delve deeper into the Word to find the answers Jesus wants to give us, but He wants our hearts to be searching for the answers. He wants a relationship with us, and so we have to reach out to Him just like He is reaching out to us. A way Jesus did that was through His parables. He told stories to depict a picture of salvation, but only those who desired to know what it meant, and reached out to Him in order to do so, understood it.

Now onto what Jesus was saying with that parable.

"All seeds die, but only some seeds are able to live again and produce."-Richie

First, I need to clarify what the seeds mean in relation to us.
The seeds the farmer sowed represents the Word of God and our duty, as Christians, to spread, or sow, the Word among the people of the world. So when Jesus talks about the seeds being scattered among different places, think of that as us spreading God's Word among the people we come across.

The seeds fell in four different areas; on the path, on the rock, among the thorns, and on good soil. I will start with the first area.

The seeds on the path.
The seeds that fell on the path were trampled on and snatched up and eaten by the birds. Those are the people that have heard the Word, but before they know it, Satan has taken away the Word so they may not have that in their hearts any more, keeping them from believing and becoming saved.
It seems like these people are in a vulnerable state, fragile from being trodden on, so when they have this hope, they are unable to keep it from being taken away from them.

The seeds on the rock.
The seeds that fell on the rock died from lack of moisture. They had nothing to quench their thirst and give them a base from which they could grow. These are the people that receive the Word and are stoked, ecstatic, pumped, and every other word that could describe excitement and joy, but their problem is...that's all they have. They don't have a root system to keep that passion and feeling alive.
What I think of when I hear this is the people who hear about a cause, get stoked and ready to get really involved, but then that's it. The hype fades after a few days, and eventually, they forget about it. they lack a strong base and foundation, and without that they will falter.

The seeds among the thorns.
The seeds among the thorns were able to produce plants; however, they only last for so long. The thorns grew beside them, and then around them, choking the life out of them. These are the people that have heard and excepted the Word. They grow in it, but then they are overtaken by the struggles life provides. They become burdened by the weight of Satan's yoke. They are constantly distracted by the ways and materials of the world. They are unable to mature and develop in the Word; their airway has been cut off.

The seeds that fell on the good soil. 
These seeds flourished when they sunk deep into the good soil. These seeds stand for the people that have heard the Word and have a good and receptive heart, full of passion and desire to learn more. They not only hold the Word in their heart, but they use it to produce a crop, or in terminology we can relate to, they put it to use by living it out.

There's something else about the seeds that were scattered...they are all alike. The difference to whether or not the seeds grew or not, had to do with where they landed.
We are called to spread the Word of God to everyone we encounter, but that's it. We don't know the hearts of those who hear it. They may receive it graciously and prosper in a God-filled life, or they may reject it or be torn down by the ways of the world, in turn, losing it. We weren't called to make sure they accepted the Word and built a life around it. We were called to spread the Word so that they could make a decision and either let Christ transform their heart, or reject that Hope.

Richie told us that we are to sow our seeds like the farmer, in general, who sows his seeds across vast plains, instead of the home owner, who sows his seeds in small, precise areas.
That is not to say we are not ever supposed to be like the home owner, but that comes at a different time, when specific needs are called for specific actions at specific times.

Now, a question for you all:

What do your crops look like?

Are you sowing your seeds? Where are you sowing them?
We are told to 'cultivate' the ground, which means to make our soil better. To me, that means that we need to make sure our heart is in the right place. We need to watered and nourished before we can produce, so sometimes that means we need some time before we can go out into the world and spread our seeds.
You need to be fed in order to serve.
We need to be willing to let God transform us so that we can grow in Him.
It all goes back to the foundation.

Here is a quote I found for you all:

"The world says you must change yourself in order to be a part of it. Jesus says you're already a part. And now He will change you."- Lauren Dubinsky

This is your call to action.

Music:

• "Wake Up" - All Sons & Daughters
• "The Resistance" - Josh Garrells
• "Thrive" - Switchfoot
• "Healing Begins" - Tenth Avenue North
• "Inside Out" - Hillsong United
• "Change" - Lecrae
• "Nothing Left To Lose" - NEEDTOBREATHE
• "In No Time" - MUTEMATH

Oh snap! I just searched on and off for about and hour and a half for this quote...but it's totally worth it...

"If it's changed your life, means the world to you, and you believe everyone needs it...why selfishly keep it to yourself?"- Lecrae

And All Was Forgiven...

"You don't want to master the Word of God. You want the Word of God to master you." 

Josiah started the night with that quote and it stuck with me. It's really interesting to think about how we try to mold the Word to fit our lifestyles, but really, when you think about it, the Word should be molding your lifestyle.

This past Sunday we did Fusion a little differently. Instead of the normal message, we took a turn in a direction that got you, as the body of Fusion and the body of Christ, to be a little more involved than usual. To put it simply; we had a night of discussion.
It was really awesome getting to hear all of the input from everyone and see how they perceived the passage we studied.

We studied Luke 7:36-50, which is titled [in my Bible, NIV], "Jesus Anointed by a Sinful Woman," and Josiah presented six questions to go along with the passage .
If you were not at Fusion on Sunday, I highly encourage you to read the passage and ask yourself these questions.

The first question:


     1. Which of the characters in the passage do you most identify with and why?

I think that a lot of the times, when we feel that we're at a good place with God, we think of ourselves as someone like Simon; someone who has everything figured out and just can't fail. Why would you associate yourself with a sinner, especially one who is rumored to be one of the worst? You probably wouldn't. Either you'd be too scared to approach them because who they are could rub off on you, or because you just don't to have anything to do with them. The problem is, though, that we weren't called to be in communion with God to just stay there. God pours out His love on us so we may pour it out on others, especially the lowest of the low. Of course we aren't like the sinful woman who has done so many awful things in her life that she could never really be forgiven for all of them. 

     2. Think of a time when you were forgiven for something. What did it feel like to know you were forgiven? How did it change your relationship with that person?

Oh wait. Yea, she can. Jesus died for the salvation of all sinners, remember? He didn't die for just the sinners who only committed a few sins. Nope. He died for everyone.
In verses 41 and 42, we see that the two men who owed a debt, one way more than the other, were both forgiven of their debts. The moneylender did not say the one who owed fifty denarii was cleared, but the one who owed five hundred was definitely not and still owed a huge debt. No, he said that both debts were canceled, regardless of the amounts. 

Jesus went on to ask Simon which man would love the moneylender more. Simon replied, "I suppose the one who had the bigger debt canceled" (verse 43). Jesus confirmed his answer. 

Jesus then went on to compare that story with the sinful woman that had washed His feet, declaring that her great love had gained her a forgiveness of all her sins. A forgiveness that only the Father can give. 

Jesus also pointed out that "he who has been forgiven little loves little" (verse 47). Ouch. That's the brutal truth, though, straight from Jesus.

     3. What kind of person would be the "sinful woman" be if this were a scene at Fusion? What do you think your response would be? 

Well, I've pretty much laid out the fact that the sinful woman's great love and faith caused her to receive a great forgiveness that cleared her of all her sins. You may understand what I'm trying to say by reading it, but I don't know if you really understand the situation if it were you standing in the room with the sinful woman. Think about that for a minute. If you were standing in the same room, at Fusion, with a prostitute, what would be going through your mind right now. Would you be questioning why she felt so inclined to be there? Why she thought she could be there? What exactly would you do? Would you ignore her and hope she would just leave already, or would you reach out to her? Sorry for all the questions, but they need to be asked. What would you do?

Simon acted as if she had the plague. He was astonished that Jesus even allowed her near him, let alone to touch him with her hair, which is known to be a sign of intimacy. Really, Simon was holding the woman up to his standards, rather than letting Jesus decide where she stood in terms of holiness. Hmm.. Simon was trying to play God, huh? Trying to decide whether this woman was worthy of being in Jesus' presence? That doesn't seem right.

     4. How might her actions have embarrassed Jesus? How did Jesus receive this woman and her extravagant actions? What does this show about Jesus?

I don't think Jesus was at all embarrassed by this woman. In fact, when I read the passage, all I could see was this brilliant love towards the woman. He openly welcomed her and because of her great faith, He forgives all her sins. He looked at her with a passionate love for one of His children. He didn't look at her in disdain because of all the wretched sins she had committed. Her faith saved her life. 

The main thing I think that this shows about Jesus is that He definitely wasn't just a man. No way. We judge others so easily it seems ridiculous to even think about comparing ourselves with Christ. We are no match to His greatness. 

I think it also shows, though, that He forgives even the worst of sins. He gives you new life if you truly love Him and have faith in Him. Just because your past isn't the brightest, it doesn't mean you don't have a chance at forgiveness. 

Jesus embraced the woman in love. He didn't accept her sins, but He did accept her faith and love.

That reminds me of a song where the opening line is this,

"We were born to embrace not accept it"

Shouldn't we live so that we're embracing others in love. You all know that saying, "love the sinner, hate the sin," right? Yea. Same thing.

     5. How did Jesus compare and contrast the woman and Simon? Why did Jesus rebuke Simon? 

Ok, remember when I said that Simon looked at the woman like she was the scum on the earth? Well, I sort of said that. Anyway, Simon was trying to play God when he set the standards of which he thought the woman should live up to. He didn't see that she was forgivable, showing that he lacked love for her. I think it also showed a lack of faith in Jesus. If he saw the woman and someone who could not be forgiven, he doubted was Jesus was capable of, which is forgiving everyone. 

Simon condemned her as a sinner, as if saying that he wasn't and that he didn't need Jesus' forgiveness to get to heaven. It kind of sounds like he though that because of all the good things he had done in life, he was set for heaven. Not so much, buddy.
The woman, who knew she could not compare to Jesus, poured herself out to Him through her actions. She did not try and cover up what she had done, but she accepted the fact that she had and chose to seek forgiveness. She presented herself in the most vulnerable state of humility and laid her broken pieces at Jesus' feet. He saw that her heart had changed and knew that true repentance filled her. Jesus saw hope and life for a brighter tomorrow within the heart of this broken sinner. 

Simon lacked faith and love, the woman was full of it. Jesus saw that.

     6. Where is your heart in relation to Jesus today? Is it more like Simon's or more like the woman? 

When this question was asked, I immediately thought of both. I feel like we start out like Simon, full of pride and control, highlighting others' sins to direct the attention away from ours. It's the point of reckoning, where we become vulnerable and openly broken, when we are forgiven and given a humble and passionate heart like the woman's. 

It's a daily decision, though. Each day, we must choose to have the heart of Simon or the heart of the woman. 

Something I thought about when applying all of this to my life, was that I make excuses all the time. I make excuses to make the blow of whatever I did, a little less awful. 

That's just it, though! We make excuses all the time to make our sins less prominent, but because of forgiveness, we have no reason to do that. 

We don't need to keep making up reasons to make it sound better. Think about it, sin is sin, no matter the degree. 

Also, I thought about how pride plays into this. We often don't like to receive forgiveness, because to do that, we would have to admit we were wrong in the first place. That's not so easy, huh? 

Guess what? Christ is always right, so either we're with Him or we're not. 

Guess what else? Christ just wants to forgive you! He already knows what you did, so there's really no use in hiding from Him, but He still wants to forgive you. 

All of this talk about forgiveness reminded me of when Josiah talked about forgiveness a couple weeks ago. He recited this:

I have been forgiven, so now I can forgive.

It's up to you who you choose to live like; Simon or the woman?


Here's some music for you:

• "All The Faint Lights" - Steve Moakler
• "Hold My Heart" - Tenth Avenue North
• "When A Heart Breaks" - Ben Rector
• "The Reckoning" - NEEDTOBREATHE
• "Let Us Love" - NEEDTOBREATHE
• "Beautiful Things" - Gungor
• "Save Me" - Elenowen