The Soil of the Kingdom

In Ephesians 1, we are told that we have been given the Holy Spirit as a pledge of our inheritance.  In essence the seed of Heaven has been invested in us in the person of the Holy Spirit.  That investment grows in us as we cultivate an atmosphere within is us that will allow it to grow.  That atmosphere is cultivated through belief.  The word believe in the greek, means “to allow”.  It implies that I am taking an attitude of vulnerability, I am allowing myself to be influenced by the Spirit. 

Hosea 10:12

Sow with a view to righteousness,

Reap in accordance with kindness;

Break up your fallow ground,

For it is time to seek the LORD

Until He comes to rain righteousness on you.

In Matthew 13 Jesus taught us about the power of influence.  He related it to our ability to receive the kingdom.  Jesus used 4 types of soil to describe which conditions were right for the seed of the Kingdom to take root.  As the sower sowed his seed some of it fell on the side of the road.  This seed was quickly eaten by the birds.  This represents soil that is not prepared to receive the seed.  It represents a person who hears the word but isn’t prepared to receive it and before it can have effect the enemy steals it.  I also believe that this soil represents areas in our hearts that have not yet come under the influence of the truth that’s within us.  I see what I’m prepared to see and in this case I’m not yet prepared to see this particular truth grow in my life.  Unfortunately, in this case my perspective is blinded by truth that is being stolen from me.  This is where I embrace what is familiar instead of what can transform me because I don’t believe I can change.  The enemy will continually steal life lines that get thrown to me because he knows that if I embrace truth in this area I will become transformed.  Another danger with this type of soil is that we hear truth and we actually begin to think that we know truth because we’ve heard it before.  We believe we know it because it sounds familiar but the reality of that truth isn’t evidenced in our lives.  This is very dangerous because it has the affect of creating a callous on our spirit not realizing that our spirit actually needs to allow itself to be influenced by His Spirit within me.  The Holy Spirit is not only in me, He is with me.  This is an important aspect because as I learn to walk with Him I allow myself to be influenced by Him.  If I don’t allow this reality I will only be content with Him being in me.  I’ll live with the belief that having him in me is enough for me to change.  If I want to change I have to be teachable, otherwise I’m believing lies. 

Jesus then talks about seed that is thrown in rocky places.  It immediately grows but that growth cannot be sustained because there is no depth of soil.  As new believers we get so excited about our new found faith and it is typical for us to have a quick growth spurt.  After awhile that fire seems to die down a little and in some cases a lot.  In this scenario we ride a lot on emotion and experience.  While neither emotion or experience are bad things we have to rely on more than just those things.  Faith operates out of the unseen realm.  If I’m only allowing myself to grow on the basis of what God does for me, when I have difficulties, I will blame him for what is happening to me because I’ve only known his influence in places that I’ve had breakthrough.  I’ve never allowed him to influence me in the process of adversity.  Often our friendships grow as we go through difficulties or challenges together.  When we make it through these circumstances our friendships are stronger because of what we have survived together.  It’s no different in our relationship with God.  As we learn to praise him, thank him, glorify him and walk with him in the hard places our bond will grow.  In our weakness, His strength begins to be revealed in us.  We need the soil of our heart to be receptive to the seed He sows in us by cultivating a lifestyle of belief. 

The seed that fell among thorns was choked out by worry and fear.  Fear destroys faith because it drives out love.  Fear causes the word in our lives to become unfruitful.  It causes us to live in doubt that God can actually do what he says.  It actually causes us to protect ourselves from the very solutions we carry.  Fear is a cancer that causes our minds to attack our own belief system.  Fear causes me to forget that I am a new creation and that my mind is being renewed to prove that God is real.  Fear is destructive.  This soil traps the fruitfulness of the seed that is within me and never allows it to grow.  It keeps everything locked out including love which is the only antidote to fear.  You were designed to receive love, the thorns need to be destroyed so that you can receive love and defeat fear.  Perfect Love casts out every fear.

The good soil represents the areas of our heart that have been yielded entirely to him.  Often these areas have been cultivated by creating history with God.  We’ve experienced his breakthrough in this area and we known his character.  If we know his character we will know his ways.  If we trust His intentions we’ll be able to endure His intensity.  These are areas that we have broken up fallow ground and embraced our position of righteousness. 

That’s the View from Here…

Did God Really Say?

The church has for years been known for telling people what they should and shouldn’t do.  In recent years, it seems, that we have embraced more of an atmosphere of freedom.  Religion and rules have given way to an emphasis on relationship.  I love it!  As with anything we embrace, however, there are always extremes.  I’ve been seeing a trend, recently, where believers are choosing sin and calling it freedom.  We’ve decided that grace empowers us to make our own choices, so we can now do whatever we want and call it freedom.  The only problem with this is that grace empowers us to overcome sin not live in it.  As Paul said, all things are lawful, but not all things are profitable.   I believe we’ve missed the point of freedom. 

There were two trees in the garden; the tree of Life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.   Adam and Eve could eat from the Tree of Life at any time but they couldn’t eat from the tree in the center of the garden called the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.  God had told them that in the day they ate of it they would die.  Well, that day came.  The enemy came to Eve and began to question what God had said.  He said “The Lord knows that in the day you eat of it you will be just like him, knowing good and evil.”  They ate of the fruit of the tree and the result was guilt and shame for their condition, they saw that they were naked, they saw that they were uncovered.  Life is meant to be experienced in relationship to the Father.  He is Life.  When we choose to reduce our lives down to determining what is right and wrong outside of that relationship we are not experiencing life; we are existing.  Our ability to judge right and wrong is limited to our perspective and life experience.  We have access to what God thinks through the Holy Spirit.  1 Corinthians 2 says that the Spirit searches the depths of God and reveals Him to us.  We can see from His perspective, which is unlimited.  Our ability to determine what is right and wrong should flow through our relationship with Him.

Beyond having his perspective, why is this important?  It’s important because our connection to Him allows us to receive His love.  Romans 8:39 tells us that we overwhelmingly conquer through His love.  If we are going to defeat the negative instincts that seek to influence us, we are going to have to learn how to receive His love.  Here are some things that His love does for us…

A.) Love Empowers

 Love restores the standard in our lives.  Love helps us to subordinate our impulses to our values.  When I got married, love created a new value in my life.  I had been seeking to find the right person to spend the rest of my life with.  When I found the right person I made a choice to value her above all others.  That choice revealed the value I had for her.  That choice created a standard in my life.  Jaime was the one for me and it removed all other options.  When we give our lives to Jesus we make a similar choice.  We remove all other options for the one that our soul loves.  Self-Control isn’t saying no to numerous options it’s saying yes to the only one who matters.  The yes that you have for him should eliminate the other options.  The yes that we have for him gives us access to life.  Another example of how love empowers us, is through forgiveness.  Forgiveness is one of the powerful resources we have.   When we forgive we are making a statement that we will not allow what has happened to us to control us.  We are also saying that we will not allow the person who hurt us to control us.  Our desire to hold them accountable places them in control of our lives because we won’t be satisfied until they get what we feel they deserve.  We have no control over that, we only have control over our response.  Forgiveness is powerful because I choose to take my life back and not allow hurt or the person who hurt me to control me.

B.) Love Gives

God is Love.  His greatest demonstration of that love was the gift of His son.  Wealth in the Kingdom isn’t measured by how much you have but by how much you give away.  This is not only a financial truth it operates, physically, emotionally and spiritually as well.  In the kingdom the more you give the more the capacity you have to receive.  Each time you receive you have a greater capacity to give and on and on it goes.  Our ability to receive God’s love should create the motive for ministry, if it doesn’t then I give conditionally.  True love isn’t focused on what it receives but on what it gives away.

C.) Love Destroys Fear

Perfect love cast out all fear.  I would think that Faith would destroy fear but that isn’t the case; Love does.  Fear paralyzes us, Love sets us free.  Fear makes our world small, Love explores impossibilities.  Fear attacks our identity, Love celebrates it.  Fear destroys faith, Love embraces it.   God’s love in our lives and the ability we have to receive it destroys the fears in our lives so that we can pursue our call with confidence.

So how do we receive this Love?  That seems to be our greatest struggle.  We receive love through believing.  The word believe in the greek means to allow.  We allow ourselves to come under the influence of the Holy Spirit in our lives.  The Holy Spirit’s job is to reveal the love of God to us.  As we allow the truths of God’s love to influence us, we are able to receive His love.  We come to understand that there is nothing we can do to earn his love.  He has freely given it to us and our job is simply to receive it.

How do I know if I’m receiving His love?

The Bible says in Romans 14:17 that the Kingdom is righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.  Righteousness is a state of being.  We receive righteousness through Christ’s gift.  Peace and Joy are the outflow of that relationship.  I  know I’m receiving His love when peace and joy are the outcome of my beliefs. 

The Myth of Community

Community is an amazing concept.  People coming together with common interest serving one another to better their environment, or something like that.  Sounds like a great plan.  Community can be life giving, empowering and relationally fulfilling.  Community can also be hurtful, polarizing and relationally destructive.  So how do we create a healthy community?  While I don't have a definitive answer for that, I do have a few ideas.  In Mark 4:25 Jesus said, "for whoever has, to him more shall be given; and whoever doesn't have, even what he has shall be taken away from him."  That's a cheery verse eh?  I think there are some keys in this scripture that we need to see.

Key #1 I am responsible for me.  I am responsible for what has been invested in me.  I am responsible for my choices.  I can't place the responsibility I have for myself on anyone else.  If I do, I immediately become a victim.

Key #2 I have something to give.  Because I am responsible for me, I have the ability to invest my gift in community.  I benefit from community by bringing my gift and enjoying the gifts that others bring to the table.  I don't control what they bring, but I do control what I bring.  When I withhold my gift, I have made the choice to disconnect.

Key #3 There's a difference between contributing and giving.  While I realize this may be semantics, many people wish to contribute to community because they want to be recognized or it makes them feel better about themselves.  To me the difference between making a contribution and giving is that, unlike contributing, giving doesn't need recognition.  When we give we do so because Jesus first gave to us.  It isn't because we are so generous, it's because it is who we are.  Jesus didn't give because we deserved it, He gave because it is who He is.

Key #4  Using your gift allows you to develop more.  In the kingdom, wealth isn't measured by how much you have, but by how much you give away.  This isn't a self serving statement.  It was the point Jesus was making in Mark 4:25.  If you invest your gifts they will grow, if you don't you will lose even what you have.  Which brings me to the myth of community....

The Myth of community is that community is where I get all of my needs met.  There is a sense of entitlement in this myth.  It is the responsibility of people in the community to care for me and look out for me.  While this does happen in community, when our expectation is that community is about others meeting my needs, I will withhold my gifts until they do.  I will withhold my love until others show me love.  Community isn't primarily about what you get, its about what you give.  How will you contribute?  How will you become a positive influence in your community?  As you invest your gift you will see others around you grow and your influence will grow.  Let's destroy entitlement and embrace the heart of a servant.  It worked for Jesus, It should work for us.

That's the View from Here

A Father Who Loves Failures

I meet so many people who struggle with their identity based on their past choices.  They want to believe that they're different; that they've matured, but the way they view themselves actually causes them to keep making the same mistakes.  In Jesus, we are a new creation, old things have passed away all things have become new.  To embrace this new creation reality I have to change the way I think.  The greek word for repentance is the word metanoia; it means to think on a higher level.  When I change the way I think about myself it begins to change my behavior.  Einstein said "the significant problems we face today cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them."  We can't solve our identity issues by thinking the way we used to think.  Our thinking needs to be influenced by our new creation reality.  Here are some thoughts that might help you change the way you look at yourself...

a.) God is a good father
He loves you right where you are at.  He loves you if you pursue him and he loves you if you never have plans to pursue him.  Your behavior doesn't affect his love you.

b.) The Father love isn't trumped by our failures.
Jesus died for us while we were still sinners.  He didn't love us because we were qualified for it.  He loved us in our old identity and receiving that love is the key to walking in your new identity.  His love changes your history.

c.) Receiving His love will change you.
This is the key.  It's easy to know about God's love but actually receiving can be a different story.  Sometimes we don't feel worthy of the love because of what we've done.  (See above thought)  Viewing ourselves through our mistakes makes us feel like we have to earn God's love.  We feel a need to be punished because we don't believe that his love is really strong enough to overcome what we have done.  Love covers our sin.  Love restores the standard of identity in our lives.  Allowing him to love you will change the way you see yourself.  Don't try to measure up; you won't.  Don't give up because you don't feel you measure up, that will only lead you to do the things that caused you to feel unworthy in the first place.  He loves you, and the only condition placed on that love is your willingness to receive it.

Seeing yourself through the lens of his love will show you what it's like to be seated with him in heavenly places...

and that the View From Here.

Hope

I’ve heard it said that hope is the eager and confident expectation of something good.  I like that definition.  However, for many of us, hope seems more related to chance than a sure thing.  “I sure hope I get that raise, I hope my kids do well in school, I hope I have enough money for retirement”, these statements don’t sound like I’m eagerly expecting something good.  I think the problem lies in our definition of the word hope.  Hope isn’t related to chance.  In Hebrew’s 6:19 it says that we have hope as an anchor for the soul.  Hope is meant to keep us focused on the big picture.  In the Old Testament Israel’s hope was in God’s promises.  Those promises became anchors for them in difficult times and helped them to overcome the obstacles they faced.  Even when they were in captivity they would hang on to the promises of deliverance and those promises were, no doubt, a huge part of how they were able to make it out of such difficult times.  In the New Testament our hope isn’t primarily found in the promises as much as it is found in the Person.  Our hope is Jesus.  Too often we place our anchor in the hope that our circumstances will change and when they don’t change or seemingly will never change, we get discouraged.  We live in what the Bible calls hope deferred.  That verse goes on to say that a desire fulfilled is a tree of life.  The word desire can be broken up to mean “of the father”, de meaning of and sire meaning father.  Our hope is found in Him.  He really is Christ in us the hope of glory.  Even in the Old Testament model, the promise was really meant to lead people to the presence.  No matter what we are going through or what we have been through His presence will always be an anchor for our soul.  It is the one true hope that we have. 

That's the View From Here...