“Lord teach us to pray, just like John taught his disciples” Luke 11:1

Jesus’ disciples made this request in Luke Chapter 11, it probably goes without saying that Luke Chapter 11 comes after Luke Chapter 10? So what’s the big “Aha!”? We’ll in Luke 10 Jesus had sent out the 70 with authority to trample serpents and scorpions, they came back rejoicing that,”even the demons were subject” to them. They had been sent out with simple yet clear instructions that had them visiting communities and declaring “Peace!”, fellowshipping with the lost, healing the sick and declaring the “gospel of the Kingdom”. Effective stuff, had they arrived? Surely this is a picture of a healthy church!? Out of the four walls, doing the stuff in the streets? There is a lot that challenges me in Luke chapter 10, I’m not convinced I’m even there yet. Am I certain that the demons are subject to me? Not really. So with Luke 10 as a backdrop, I’m amazed that they were asking to learn how to pray in Chapter 11. Doesn’t learning how to pray come before casting out demons? Isn’t the ability to cast out demons evidence of maturity? Maybe this is why this statement from Jesus is also recorded. “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children”(10v21).

“Lord, teach us to pray”, it’s this type of honest request that I am convinced the Lord wants us to make. There is no mask wearing here. We assume prayer is instinctive, it doesn’t need to be taught, surely everyone knows how to pray, it’s entry level stuff. But the disciples request in Luke 11:1  suggests they are not convinced that they can learn how to pray like Jesus or John without some help and training.

I never really paid much attention to this verse until recently. I guess when you are contending for clarity as a pastor you become more attentive to these sometimes overlooked details. So I don’t think I really knew that second part about the comparison to John teaching his disciples to pray was connected to this well known statement. What I think is important to understand about the comparison is John was a Nazirite(not a Nazarite). A nazirite, took a special vow of consecration, during times of crisis. They were prophets not priests and often arose at times when the priesthood had become corrupt and had failed to honor the Lord in their responsibilities. The emergence of a nazirite suggests that the state of the nation was on a slide and had almost reached the point of no return. Nazirite’s were like a final lifeline. It’s my belief that the first order of business of a nazirite beyond the long hair, no wine drinking & not touching dead things, was to teach the people to pray. Where the purpose of the priesthood had become cloudy due to corruption, the nazirite would remind the people of their first responsibility as a chosen people, to pray – ministering to the heart of God. In preparing the people to receive Jesus, John had been faithful in teaching his disciples to pray – and it was worth recognizing and worthy of being noted, in scripture.

There is a pattern in the book of 1 Samuel that Dean Briggs brings out in his book, “Ekklesia Rising”. He points out that Hannah, in her barrenness desperately cries out to the Lord of Hosts*. At the time a corrupt high priesthood, Eli & his sons, is on the verge of judgment. God answers Hannah’s prayer by giving her a son, Samuel – a nazirite. God speaks to the young Samuel that he is about “to do something that will make the ears of those who hear of it tingle”. This was probably the judgement of the house of Eli and the captivity of the Ark of the Covenant by the Philistines. Samuel later anoints David as King. It needs to be noted, David is the author of many of the Psalms, the prayer book of the Scriptures. This is important, and often overlooked, it is my recent understanding  that we only mature in the language of prayer, through meditating and living the Psalms. I believe it is important not to miss the role the language of the Psalms played in the ascendancy of the nation of Israel under King David. Eugene Peterson suggests, praying the psalms keeps our prayer from being dishonest and superficial. We might not be able to detect the dishonesty and superficiality, in ourselves, but God certainly can.

In the small book, “Psalms the Prayer Book of the Bible”, Dietrich Bonhoeffer opens the first chapter with this paragraph.

Chapter 1 “Lord, Teach Us to Pray!”

So spoke the disciples to Jesus. In making this request, they confessed that they were not able to pray on their own, that they had to learn to pray. The phrase “learning to pray” sounds strange to us. If the heart does not overflow and begin to pray by itself, we say, it will never “learn” to pray. But it is a dangerous error, surely very widespread among Christians, to think that the heart can pray by itself. For then we confuse wishes, hopes, sighs, laments, rejoicings – all of which the heart can do by itself – with prayer. And we confuse earth and heaven, man and God. Prayer does not mean simply to pour out one’s heart. It means rather to find the way to God and to speak with him, whether the heart is full or empty. No man can do that by himself. For that he needs Jesus Christ.

 

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, “Psalms the Prayer Book of the Bible”, Augsburg, 1970

I have often heard the frustration, from Pastors, that in many of the prayer meetings they are asked to attend the prayer times become an opportunity for others to “Pray Preach”. The “prayers” are horizontal not vertical. I’m not certain those who resolve to stick it out in the interests of contending for “unity” ever see the fog lift.

I grew up in Scotland and while studying Divinity at the University of Aberdeen, I became friends with a group of young ministers (in training) from the Islands of Lewis & Harris. My first year there we would pray every night in the dorm rooms. They would share stories of a time on the Island of Lewis where, the spirit of the Lord visited the Island at a moment in history where it appeared all was lost. But a handful of saints pressed in, learning how to pray in such a way that the Island was shaken by the holiness of God and deep conviction & repentance filled the Island. The stories were remarkable. Here, 50 years after , the grandkids of these saints had been marked by this move and there was a longing in their hearts for this benchmark to be re-realized by their generation. How did these Islanders pray? I believe the psalms were a big part of it.

For the past year I have had the privilege of serving with The Response. A call to pray for a nation at a crossroads. These events are Solemn Assemblies in the spirit of Joel 2. The more I participate in them the more I believe the Lord is using them to teach me/us how to pray, ekklesia type intercession. I believe Jesus wants to teach us how to pray in order to move us from Joel2 – solemn assemblies to become the Psalm 110 – contending ekklesia on the earth. Could part of the reason these events often don’t have a high attendance be, that the average Christian in America has tasted the victory of Luke 10 and may be under the assumption that we already know how to pray? After all it takes some honesty to be vulnerable enough to ask “to be taught how to pray”, especially if you’re a pastor. If we are indeed at Luke 10, I believe we are headed in the right direction.

Until the Light of Glory shines on the nations like he did on the Island’s of Lewis & Harris, Lord teach me how to pray.

(* )Briggs is careful to draw our attention to the name of God used by Hannah in her intercession, “Lord Sabaoth”. Hannah’s desperate intercession is the first mention of this name in scripture. Lord Sabaoth means “The Lord of the Angel Armies”. It would appear this is the appropriate name to address the Lord with in the face of unbridled human corruption. Incidentally the second mention of the name Lord Sabaoth is by David on the battlefield against Goliath. He opposes the philistine giant in the name of Jehovah Sabaoth.

“Briggs’ pattern;

1. Fervent Intercession brings forth
2. Naziritic consecration which produces
3. a clearly prophetic voice by which
4. anointed destinies are produced
5. giants are challenged and overcome and
6. the king is made known”

(*) Dean Briggs, “Ekklesia Rising, The Authority of Christ in Communities of Contending Prayer”, Champion Press, 2014

When the people of Jericho looked at Zacchaeus they saw the problem. When Jesus looked at Zacchaeus he saw the answer.

When Jesus shows up in Zacchaeus’ home town of Jericho, as usual, a crowd gathered. Zacchaeus was the chief tax collector, we are told he was a small man in stature. Along with many others in the town he was curious about Jesus and unable to see over the crowd, he climbed into a nearby sycamore tree.

This picture of Zacchaeus in the tree is important.

Zacchaeus would have paid a high amount to Rome to be the chief tax collector of this region. This job went to the highest bidder, and as chief tax collector he would have been responsible to Rome for a quota. Anything above that amount would have been his to keep. This created the platform for an unfair system of bribes. Those with adequate resources might have been tempted to bribe the chief tax collector for an adjusted tax assessment, those unable to provide bribes would have suffered from potentially unfair assessments at the hands of an unfair tax-collector. The chief tax collector would have further divided his region into smaller regions and placed deputy tax-collectors over these smaller areas. He would incentivize these deputies with similar quotas and by doing this the system of corruption would become thicker.

So into Jericho walks Jesus, and Zacchaeus because he is short but also because he is alienated from the people of Jericho has to climb into the tree to get a look at Jesus.

Poverty is not simply lack of resources. In the book, Transformation, by Ed Silvoso, Dr. Silvoso outlines the four types of poverty, 1. Material, 2. Relational, 3. Motivational, & 4. Spiritual. As we look beneath the surface of this situation in Jericho, we can see these forces at work.

Zacchaeus who is materially wealthy, is forced into the tree because of his relational & spiritual poverty. No one in Jericho really likes him & his connection to Jesus before their encounter that day was probably nonexistent which left him spiritually poor. Anyone without a relational connection to Jesus suffers from spiritual poverty. The people in Jericho were victims of material, spiritual & motivational poverty. Systemic corruption produces systemic poverty which deeply affects peoples motivational desire to put forth any effort. At their core they are afflicted with the nagging question, “What is the point of me making the effort?” This unseen tangled web is what Jesus walks into in Jericho & he doesn’t ignore it.

Seeing Zacchaeus in the tree you might think that Jesus has him in the perfect place to rebuke him for his corruption infront of the towns people, but instead of rebuking he tells Zacchaeus he wants to come to his house for dinner.

When I was thinking about this picture of Zacchaeus the head of this corrupt tax system perched in a tree, I was struck by the idea of a tree of corruption. How do you bring down a tree of corruption? Many might struggle to differentiate the complex branch structure from the root system, but here we see Jesus going right for the heart of the tree. Instead of openly rebuking Zacchaeus, he dignifies his humanity. He meets his felt need for friendship & it so deeply touches Zacchaeus that he responds by giving half his property to the poor & repaying those who have been victims of his corrupt taxation schemes, 4 times what he took from them.

The kingdom of heaven came to Jericho that day. Not only did the Kingdom come into Zacchaeus’ heart but the transformation that took place in the city of Jericho, would have had a very tangible impact towards the elimination of systemic poverty.

“Above all else guard your heart it is the wellspring … out of it flow all the issues of life.”

This may be one of the most important instructions given in the scriptures. It is found in the book of Proverbs, written by Solomon whose wisdom was renowned. Do we know how to guard our hearts? Some have allowed their hearts to grow hard in the name of protecting them. They have resolved to make themselves vulnerable for the last time, they will not be hurt again. This is not what it means to guard your heart. When we close our hearts off they begin to die. Guarding your heart means to make sure that what flows from your heart is the sweet water of life, not the bitter waters of death. The key to guarding our hearts is accessing the gracious power of Jesus. Always choosing forgiveness keeps the sweet water of life flowing from through the wellspring of our hearts. Jesus demonstrated this extraordinary power on the cross, in the moment of the greatest injustice humanity has ever or will ever commit. That same power is made available to you in the moment of your injustice. To access it we need only believe.

On December 7th 2015 Pipeline Church, the church I pastor, had the privilege of hosting the 7th Day of Doug Stringer’s 21 Day Prayer & Fasting Appeal to Heaven. I was eager to participate and was not fully aware of how significant this date would be for our fellowship.

This was a busy time in the city of Houston. The city was preparing to host the Reinhard Bonnke Crusade and Doug was honorary local chairman for that event. Doug was also preparing to facilitate the Response Louisiana, a solemn assembly in the spirit of Joel 2 called by Governor Bobby Jindal. In the past few years there has been an prophetic resurgence in understanding of ‘the Appeal to Heaven’ flag. Key Apostlic leaders have been released with this historic flag and are carrying it across the nation, reminding any who will hear of its urgent message. The phrase “An Appeal to Heaven” connotes that when all resources and justices on earth are exhausted that only “An Appeal to Heaven” remains. The flag is white with a single green pine or “evergreen” tree. Earlier in the year Doug had been presented one of these flags in Philadelphia, the nations original capital city. In the spirit of the message of this flag, Doug called a 21 day city wide time of prayer & fastedness at the beginning of December. Each night he and his team would visit a different congregation in the city and together they would ‘appeal to heaven’. Day Seven was at Pipeline.

Each of the 21 days were very significant. Infact I started to see a pattern in each day that represented each of the successive letters of the original 22 letter hebrew aleph-bet, but that is a story for another time. In an attempt to paint the picture of my understanding of Somebody Cares roll as a plumb line ministry, I will key in on Day 4 & 7. Day 4 was scheduled to be hosted at New Covenant Church in Humble. This was the same day that the 2nd of 4 regional prayer events mobilizing the city in prayer for the Reinhard Bonnke Crusade was scheduled to be held, also at New Covenant Church(NCC). Pastor Frank Mazzipicca, pastor of NCC is a friend with a sincere burden for awakening and transforming revival in our region & nation. I was aware of the preparation that had taken place in local prayer before this time & had a great sense of anticipation that in the convergence of these mighty streams, God was going to break through and show us something important.

In our own personal journey towards transforming revival God had begun to give us a much much deeper understanding of 3 important keys. The keys of covenant, personal consecration & prevailing prayer. It has been shown that every civilization in history has had an understanding of Covenant, unfortunately almost every trace of this covenant understanding has been removed from our modern cultures. This is very sad because Covenant is the language God uses to speak to us in the scriptures. Our authority as believers is established on the basis of Covenant, and it is enhanced with a fuller understanding of what a Covenant relationship gives us access too. The night before our prayer meeting at NCC, I received a phone call from Connie Fisher, a strategic intercessor in our city. I had called Connie regarding the Bonnke prayer meeting in Humble and she was returning my call to share some of her research regarding the spiritual significance of the Humble region. A conversation with Connie is always rich, but one thing she mentioned in the call struck me deeply, she mentioned the seven levels of Covenant. I was intrigued and asked for more insight. She shared it was connected to the Jewish marriage Ketubah, so I asked if she could recommend additional resources* so I could understand this better. What I began to see fit like a pattern over what was happening in our city.

Marriage is a covenant, it is one of the few remaining traces of covenant in our culture. The Hebrew Ketubah or marriage agreement is established around the drinking of 4 cups, these 4 cups represent a deeper dimension of Covenant. As the Bride & Groom and their families work through the agreement details they share a meal centered around these 4 betrothal cups. The first cup is drunk by the bride & groom & their families. It is the cup of servanthood. If the Bride is interested in the Groom when he arrives with his Father at her father’s house this cup is drunk together by everyone when her father opens the door and welcomes the groom and his father. The 2nd cup is the cup of friendship. This cup was drunk by the bride & groom and their parents as they vigorously worked through(darashed) the respective details & obligations in the ketubah. The final 3rd cup, is the cup of inheritance. This cup was drunk by the bride and groom only at the end of the meal when the details of the ketubah had been agreed upon. Drinking the 3rd cup was a seal on the agreement. The groom would then leave with his father to prepare a home for he and his bride to be. The completion of the home would be the signal the wedding day had arrived. The bride & her family would prepare her garments remaining ready for the unannounced return of the groom for the wedding supper. Only at the wedding ceremony would the final 4th cup be drunk together by the bride and groom. The 4th cup was the bridal cup.

God has been moving his people through this 4 cup pattern of restoration since the fall. In each of these stages their are two parts; God initiates and then man responds, the result is seven stages. After the fall God immediately began to restore covenant with Adam & Eve. He provided skins to cover the nakedness of Adam and Eve. To get the skins animals had to be sacrificed. Our approach to God is possible, but not without blood because God is holy. This is the first cup or servant cup, signified by blood. We see the response to this stage coming through Noah who demonstrates his love for God through his obedience in building the ark. Noah’s blood sacrifice after the flood & the subsequent sign of the rainbow transition mankind into the next phase of covenant. The 2nd cup of friendship is between God and Abraham. This covenant is sealed with a meal. Salt signifies this level of everlasting Covenant. Jacob responds to this friendship level of Covenant when he wrestles with the Angel of the Lord and receives a name change as a sign of the blessing. The 3rd cup is the cup of Sonship or Inheritance. The symbol for this stage is the sandal. When Moses is invited to remove his shoes for the place he stands is holy, he is moving man into this restored revelation of sonship. Moses is entrusted with the Torah. King David responds to the Lord at the level of a son. Forever Jesus’ throne will be called the throne of David, this speaks of inheritance. In all of these Covenant God has been progressively moving us towards this beautiful bridal dimension. All of these covenants are fulfilled in the New Covenant or Bridal Covenant. At the last supper when Jesus serves the cup(servanthood), eats the bread dipped in salt(friendship) and then washes the feet of the disciples(sonship/inheritance), he moves them through these 3 stages and then goes to the cross to pay the penalty only a lovesick groom might be willing to pay if he discovered his bride was unchaste before their wedding day. Giving his life in exchange for her guilt, rendering her righteous. Interestingly, Jesus also committed himself not to drink of the vine, (the 4th bridal cup), until he returns to collect those who accept his betrothal invitation.

This pattern can also be seen in the Lampstand that was in the Holy Place of the Tabernacle of Moses. This Lampstand was made out of a center shaft and then on each side were 3 branches. This resulted in a total of seven lamps. The central lamp is called the Shemesh, in the sequence it becomes the 4th or central lamp each of the other lamps are connected to it and draw their oil from this center Shemesh. The Shemesh light represents Jesus. It is called the servant light. When you begin to understand this pattern you see its significance in so many things. For instance the Sun in our solar system, is a servant light and it was created on the 4th day.

So what does all of this have to do with Somebody Cares and the Appeal to Heaven? This Prayer Meeting at New Covenant was the fourth on Doug’s circuit, this insight began to open to me on the eve of the 4th day, as we pressed in together at NCC, we tasted an open heaven. By the 7th day, which we hosted at Pipeline, I had started to see the many connections. That Day we presented Doug with gifts representing these 4 Covenant Stages, we even gave him a gift certificate for shoes signifying inheritance. Doug has asked for the nations as an inheritance. Plus we made a Lampstand out of “pipes” signifying these seven stages and also presented it to Doug. We also gave him a towel, plumb line & hammer. The plumb line & hammer are tools of master craftsmen. The original lampstand was hammered by a master craftsman out of one shekel (about 100lbs) of gold.

All of this may seem disconnected, but my heart and mind were in overdrive seeing many connections. Here on this 7th day, Doug had included our little “hole in the wall” fellowship on the path of this historic appeal to heaven. This 21 day Appeal was not only important for our city, but it was a time of consecration for Doug as he prepared for the Response Louisiana. I saw “The Response” like an answer to “The Call”, preparing all those who were thirsty in our generation/nation to move deeper into this bridal dimension of covenant. In the last decade God raised up Lou Engle to issue “The Call”, were we watching God raise up Doug Stringer, to lead us in “The Response”? Could these complimentary intercessory solemn assemblies be an important piece of our bridal preparation in our nation.

The other verse that helps tie everything I believed the Lord was doing on December 7th is from Zechariah 4:10. Here God gives a picture of two olive trees, a golden lamp stand, some pipes and a plumb line. Zerubbabel, whose name literally means “pressed out of Babel” is working closely with the high priest Joshua to lay the foundations that will usher in a time of restoration. The statement is made, “But these seven will be glad when they see the plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel— these are the eyes of the LORD which range to and fro throughout the earth”. When a righteous governor emerges in the land who understands that like the standard of a plumb line, the eternal standards of heaven are relevant to every generation on earth, their is great rejoicing in the heart of God.

We presented Doug the hammer and the plumb line because he is among those we recognize who operate with a mantle of grace, humility and understanding that is able to bring people together where agreement seems beyond reach. I have watched Doug use “the hammer” to delicately and masterfully bring form and connection to “the Lampstand” of the church in seasons of crisis & polarization. This is the hour where the world desperately needs to see the church shining together in all of our seven fold beauty. We are brighter together, and the ministry of Somebody Cares is like a center servant Shemesh or plumb line that keeps us focused on those things that must not be overlooked in the light of eternity.

For further study on these Covenant perspectives;

* Rediscovering the Hebrew Roots of Our Faith (Lost in Translation Book 1), Klein, John; Spears, Adam; Christopher, Michael, Selah Publishing Group, LLC, 2007

Then Israel sang this song: “Spring up, O well, sing to it! The princes dig the well, the nobles of the people dig it, by the direction of the lawgiver, with their staves. Numbers 21:17-18

Staves is a curious Hebrew word that occurs in the Old Testament (OT). The specific Hebrew word translated staves in Numbers 21:18 only occurs here in the entire Bible. In other translations this word is translated staffs. Staves appears in other parts of the OT scriptures (Ex 25:27, 30:4, 37:27) however in those passages it is a different hebrew word than is used here.

When digging a well protecting the integrity of the well is important. This is even true in modern times. Drilling companies invest alot of money to develop protective casing for the wells they dig. These casings help to protect the well walls from collapsing & probably from contamination too. This protective casing can be referred to as a stave.

In a desert wilderness, a well is essential to survival. A well meant water and water was the key to remaining alive. No life no water. As in the natural so goes the spiritual.

The Ark of the Covenant was a type of well. As the throne of God on earth it became the ultimate well. As long as Yahweh’s presence remained on that gold covered achacia box – it was the physical representation of his Holy power/glory. Holy power is the type of power that created the universe. If you are looking for a reference point for the intensity of Holy power, its probably more intense than nuclear power, its not “impersonal” and it may be up to 7X more intense than nuclear power? (Isa 30:26) So you might imagine this ferocious source of Holy power presented a transportation/human interface dilemma? How do we interact with it/Him safely? This dilemma was profoundly accentuated to King David  as he  by consensus tried to transport the Ark into Jerusalem. This ark was Holy and it couldn’t be transported any old way man pleased. It had to be done according to God’s pattern. The incredible thing is God wanted it to be transported. God wanted to be in the midst of His people. He wants his people to have access to the fullness of his strength. In order to transport the ark there has to be a reverent heart posture & surrender to the prescribed pattern of God. It had to be done his way & gladly. The prescribed method for carrying this well of eternal glory on the earth, the interface were staves. (Ex 25:27, 30:4, 37:27) It was the responsibility of the Kohathite division of the Levitical priests to carry the ark on their shoulders using staves, no carts (Num 4:4). Infact all of the sacred furniture of the Tent of Meeting was transported using staves. God’s intent in creating humanity was to carry His glory. When this sacred pattern was honored with the right heart attitude, the well of glory could be transported on the shoulders of his priesthood. In the new covenant this kicks up to another dimension. The mystery revealed by the cross, resurrection & ascension/pentecost is “Christ in you the hope of glory!” Now the Lord indwells the hearts of his priesthood. In an act of even deeper intimacy God no longer rides on top of the shoulders of his priesthood, now he chooses to abide within redeemed human hearts.

Humans are not just flesh and blood they are spirit too. Sometimes we forget this, our culture has at times even tried to minimize or deny the spiritual dimension of mans identity. When we deny this reality we really suffer.

In the same way that we must protect the integrity of a natural well by casing it with staves, for us to contain the glory of the living God we must protect the integrity of our inner man with key staves.

The three non-negotiable staves that must be in place before the Lord will release the fullness of his glory flow through our hearts and lives are; conscience; identity & vision(destiny). When these are in proper alignment we experience a different dimension in the release of God’s glory in our lives. It has been called his fullness. (Eph 3:14-19)

God’s design & desire is to bless us as his children. But he will not violate our will. He offers us life or death, blessing or curse. He goes on I want you to choose life! (Deut 30:15-20) and by implication blessing. The enemy of our souls desires to curse us.

Sometimes we hear “curse” and we think “Harry Potter!” Well long before we empower demonic principalities, a curse is simply; ascribing worthlessness to a human heart. A blessing on the other hand is ascribing value to a human heart. At is core this is the root difference between a blessing and a curse. The enemy wants to curse our conscience, curse our identity & curse our destiny. When he succeeds in doing this he leaves a vacuum for self and other things where God’s presence should be. God on the other hand wants our conscience, identity & destiny to be blessed. God also tells us the choice of whether we walk in blessing or curse is in our hands (Deut 30:15-20)

So the process begins with conscience. Conscience is what helps us determine the difference between good & evil. The discernment of good and evil is the basis of Christian maturity. The enemy desires to impede our maturity so he attempts to pervert our understanding of good & evil. “Woe to those who call good evil and evil good” Isa 5:20. Twisting good & evil is not a new strategy for the devil. However in every generation he appeals to our human pride repackaging ancient deceptions in modern sophistication. The result is each generation like many generations before tend to abandon the “outdated” ancient paths for the “new way”. Our conscience will be in one of six places; good(1 Tim 1:5,19), pure (2 Tim 1:3; 1 Tim 3:8-9), weak (1 Cor 8:7-12), defiled (1 Cor 8:7; Titus 1:15), evil/guilty(Heb 10:22), seared(1 Tim 1:5,19).

Now what is incredible about the conscience is if we repent & turn from our wickedness our conscience can also be cleansed. (Heb 9:7-14).

how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? Heb 9:14

To set this process of cleansing in motion, we must be willing to come into alignment with Jesus(repent). It is essential that we allow him to begin to teach us good(righteousness) & evil(lawlessness) as He sees it. When we ask him to cleanse our conscience, we set the first stave and the internal integrity of the well of our heart begins to be restored. When the three staves of conscience, identity and destiny are restored – we can be filled with Jesus’ fullness.

Your throne, O God, is forever and ever;
A scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Your kingdom.
9 You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness;
Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You
With the oil of gladness more than Your companions.” Heb 1:8-9

Isaiah 42:21-22

The Lord is well pleased for His righteousness’ sake;
He will exalt the law and make it honorable.
22 But this is a people robbed and plundered;
All of them are snared in holes,
And they are hidden in prison houses;
They are for prey, and no one delivers;
For plunder, and no one says, “Restore!”

 

The following twelve concluding propositions are taken from the final chapter of the book “Homosexuality and the Politics of Truth” by Jeffrey Satinover, M.D.. There is a way out!

“As we have seen, the subject of homosexuality is enormously complex, touching on many aspects of human existence: biological, psychological and spiritual. Nonetheless, we can present our conclusions in the form of twelve propositions, These are:

1. The general condition “homosexuality” is a loosely defined aspect of the overall polymorphism of human sexuality.

2. Given the present state of human nature, sexual polymorphism is natural.

3. Each individual’s homosexuality is the likely result of a complex mixture of genetic, intrauterine, and extrauterine biological factors combined with familial and social factors as well as repeatedly reinforced choices. These create a particular blend of impulses. The role of genetic influence is small, and in any event means very little in terms of compelling an individual to become homosexual.

4. The godly standard of moral behavior is much more narrowly defined than the great variety and natural polymorphism of human sexuality. Sexuality in the state of nature is therefore commonly sinful. Sanctified, it is one of God’s greatest gifts.

5. Homosexual behavior is difficult to modify because, like other forms of compulsive behavior, it involves innate impulses and reinforced choices by which sinful activities become embedded in the brain (“engraved on the heart”).

6. Ethical demands require homosexuals, like all people, to resist their natural sinful impulses.

7. Homosexuality is not a true illness, though it may be thought an illness in the spiritual sense of “soul sickness,” innate to fallen human nature. Its treatment thus opens directly into the domain of the “cure of souls.”

8. Because deeply engraved behaviors are so difficult to modify, homosexuals, like all people, have two choices: to capitulate to the behavior and its consequences or to depend on others, and on God, for help.

9. Secular programs that modify homosexual behavior are more numerous and more effective than popular opinion is led to believe.

10. Spiritual programs that lead people into dependency on God, and support them there, are even more effective. The best of these integrate into their spiritual approach the best that is offered by the secular approaches as well.

11. A pastoral understanding of the “cure” of the soul, which unfolds progressively, over a lifetime, is more than alleviation of particular symptoms; it consists of growing ever more closely toward the divinely ordained configuration that God intended for us from the beginning – and which is largely “unnatural,” not only in the area of sexuality. This process is without question a reality; it is a reality that occurs in secular settings as well as religious ones. It is a reality no less pertinent – and lifegiving – to every person, whatever his particular brokenness, than to struggling with homosexuality.

12. The modern change in opinion concerning homosexuality, though presented as scientific advance, is contradicted rather than supported by science. It is a transformation in public morals consistent with widespread abandonment of the Judeo-Christian ethic upon which our civilization is based. Though hailed as “progress,” it is really a reversion to ancient pagan practices supported by a modern restatement of gnostic moral relativism.”

(Satinover, M.D., Jeffrey, Homosexuality and the Politics of Truth, pp 245-246 Chpt. 16 “The Pagan Revolution”, Baker Books, 1996)

Recommended Resources

Jeffrey Satinover, Homosexuality and the Politics of Truth, Baker, 1996

http://www.amazon.com/Homosexuality-Politics-Truth-Jeffrey-Satinover/dp/080105625X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1414342945&sr=1-1&keywords=homosexuality+and+the+politics+of+truth

Andrew Comiskey, Pursuing Sexual Wholeness

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0884192598/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_dp_ss_1?pf_rd_p=1944687582&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=0830823689&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=09BEZHM14BTS6KZA50JE

Leanne Payne, The Broken Image

http://www.amazon.com/The-Broken-Image-Restoring-Wholeness/dp/080105334X

(Taken from the book “When God Stepped Down from Heaven” by Rev. Owen Murphy)

The HEBRIDES revival was a MANIFESTATION OF GOD! Something greater than organization, something more wonderful than a new approach in dynamic evangelism – this was GOD AT WORK! GOD IN ACTION, independent of special PERSONALITIES! And behind the mighty “turning loose” of the irresistible power of God, there was a “secret” – one minister and seven members of his church, in a little wooden barn by the side of the road, who were prepared to “stand in the gap”, and PAY THE FULL PRICE THAT GOD HAD DEMANDED that revival might come!

What was the “Secret” of these men?

(1) THEIR FAITH IN A “COVENANT-KEEPING” GOD!

Here were men who believed the tremendous fact that REVIVAL lay within their power, through the “Covenant” promises of God. Had God not declared:

“If My people, who are called by My Name, will humble themselves, and pray, and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways: then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land” (2 Chronicles 7:14)

A covenant is an “agreement” BINDING ON BOTH PARTIES. If then, God is a COVENANT KEEPING GOD,this promise is binding upon Him as well as upon us if WE fulfill OUR part of the covenant, then HE must fulfill HIS! If God is God, then He is TRUE, then HIS WORD MUST COME to pass, and we can absolutely DEPEND upon it! God has promised revival, therefore He is waiting to send it. If this was true, revival did not depend on God, but on His PEOPLE KEEPING THE CONDITIONS OF THE COVENANT! Staking everything upon this fact, three times each week they met in the little barn by the roadside to keep the “conditions” of the covenant promise, confident that their Covenant-keeping God would stand by His promise and hear from heaven.

Each night as they knelt in the straw, they would renew their faith by remembering the promise of God and then, in absolute confidence, declare before the Presence of God the CERTAINTY of the coming revival. Nothing, including the long weary months of waiting without the sign of an “answer” could weaken their confidence in the fact that their God, a COVENANT-KEEPING GOD, would fulfill His promise!

(2) THEIR HUMBLING BEFORE GOD!

“If My people … will HUMBLE themselves!” God is HOLY, and humanity must humble itself before Deity. Before man can stand upon Holy Ground he must be clean. Watch the drama of the barn by the roadside unfold itself as one of the men, slowly rising from the straw, takes up the Word and begins to read from Psalm 24.

“Who can ascend into the hill of the Lord? Who shall stand in His holy place? He that has clean hands, and a pure heart: who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully; he shall receive the blessing of the Lord.”

Like words of flame falling from the lips of a Holy God, every word seemed to burn into the very depths of the hearts of the men who gathered to do business with God.

Then, before the tremendous challenge of this declaration, unhesitatingly they fell to their knees in unreserved dedication and surrendered to God. Here were men who were prepared to meet every demand of God, whatever the personal cost might be, that revival might come. That price, which has never varied through the ages, is brokenness before God, an emptying of “self’ in all its manifestations, a forsaking of all sin and “habit,” and total surrender to God and His purposes.

(3) THEIR TRAVAILING AND PREVAILING IN PRAYER

Every revival that has broken upon the face of the earth has been preceded by the people of God upon their knees travailing before God.

For long, weary months, undeterred by the cold and discomforts of the barn: undeterred by the seeming “silence” of God; undeterred by the fact that no one else seemed concerned about revival and the world seemed to be as godless as ever; they travailed before God. Kneeling in the straw, or upon their faces before the Lord in agony of soul, they cried unto the Throne.

And how they prayed; not the half-hearted, sentimental, churchly, half-doubting prayers to which we are accustomed today and which accomplish so little. As one listened to these men literally wrestling with God, drawing into the spiritual conflict every power and energy they possessed, one was reminded of the prayer of the Master in Gethsemane:

“Who, in the days of His flesh … offered up prayers and supplications with strong cry and tears …”

The men who had covenanted to stand in the gap for revival, PRAYED! In desperation, they stormed the throne of God. Burning passion, concern for the lost, and absolute confidence in God, gripped every word that fell from their praying lips. They prayed until they lay helpless exhausted. What depths of reaching out to God! They prayed until they travailed, and they travailed until they PREVAILED! They prayed UNTIL GOD ANSWERED! TRAVAIL must always precede PREVAIL! “When Zion travailed she brought forth.”

Acts 2:42

And they continued stedfastly in the apostles teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of bread and the prayers (ASV).

Patterns are everywhere, patterns matter to God. Patterns can be subtle, especially God’s patterns. Dick Rueben, forerunner to the Pensacola Awakening, has said, “when the pattern is right the glory will fall”. In this verse from Acts we see a pattern the early church continued stedfastly in. Those words “continued stedfastly” are the subtle words of covenant obligation. A Covenant is not a lightweight agreement, it carries with it a great obligation to those who enter in. The fruit of that obligation would produce a continuing steadfastness in remembering the terms of the Covenant. These four things listed in Acts 2:42 were very important, each was an essential “ingredient” to a long anticipated pattern delivered & entrusted to them by the Son of God – the Apostle of heaven himself, Jesus. With whom they had entered an eternal Covenant.

When Jesus sat down with his disciples to eat “the Last Supper”  he told them, “with desire I have desired to eat this meal with you!”, that double emphasis on desire means it was really very special to him. I have to admit it’s a whole lot more desire for this meal than I probably have ever had for it. Have you ever really wanted to do something and whoever you are with was just not into it? or didn’t quite get why it mattered to you so much? & worse – what if they didn’t care, or they even tried to talk you out of caring so much about it. I remember taking a friend to church once and wondering what he thought of the communion part of the service. “Vampire Cannibal’s (Blood/Flesh)?”, wouldn’t it be OK just to leave that bit out? Why was this meal such a big deal to Jesus? Such a big deal that his disciples “continued stedfastly” in remembering it after he was gone. Should it be a bigger deal to me?

I love my roots. I grew up in the Salvation Army, a movement birthed by General William & Catherine Booth. The impact of the Salvation Army’s ministry on the world has transcended England in their time and continues to have a global impact to this day. Having said this communion was not part of the Salvation Army’s “stedfast worship” pattern at all. This adjustment was made because they were ministering to men from the streets struggling with addictions to alcohol. Addictions that were destroying the men and their families. The wine of communion could have easily been a stumbling block for these new converts. Non-alcoholic grape juice was not an alternative at that time. Avoiding communion in this type of ministry situation sounds reasonable to me & who can argue with the sustained fruit of the Salvation Army over the years? So coming from this tradition, it has been curious to find myself drawn to understand better the mysterious significance set before us in the pattern of the Lord’s Table.

If we are going to begin to understand the weight of this meal we have to first look at two key patterns. The pattern of the Blood Covenant and the pattern of the Holy Place & the Priesthood.

Jim Garlow & Rob Price outline in their book THE BLOOD COVENANT, the elements of the Covenant Ceremony:

Representatives,
Terms,
Blood Sacrifice,
Walk of Death,
The Mark on the Body,
Oaths & Vows,
Covenant Meals,
Memorials, and
Powerful Exchanges which included;
a. Robes,
b. Belts & Weapons,
c. Names,
d. the Oldest Male Child.

If we were to take time to analyze the 6 major covenants in the Scriptures we would find each follows this pattern to varying degrees. In the New Covenant, the ultimate fulfillment of these progressive Covenants, we find Jesus on his way to the cross sitting down with his disciples to eat a Covenant Meal.

The dominant idea in this Blood Covenant exchange was union (a sacred partnership). The strength of one covenant representative would compliment the strength of the other, or a weaker tribe may enter into a Covenant with a stronger tribe and receive the blessings of all the strength and protection of the stronger covenant party. From the disciples perspective, who probably had a clearer understanding of Covenant than we do, Jesus’ statement, “This is the New Covenant in my blood” would have been unprecedented. The Covenant Representative was about to become the Covenant Sacrifice. As Jesus’ Covenant partners the disciples would each have complete access to all the heavenly strength Jesus brought to the agreement. A strength that was about to be put on glorious display with his sacrificial death, resurrection from the dead & ascension to the right hand of the Father.

The Second Pattern that is helpful to observe when understanding the weight of this meal is the Pattern of the Priesthood & the Temple, particularly the Holy Place in the Temple. When it comes to his royal priesthood and the pattern of temples and tabernacles Jesus is very intentional. He guards these patterns jealously would be a better way to say this. Within the Holy Place, a location where only the priesthood were permitted to minister to the Lord were three items that relate to the passage in Acts 2:42. The Altar of Incense, the Lampstand and the Table of Shewbread. Within the New Covenant this responsibility would be handed over to his disciples as his royal priesthood in an unprecedented or “New” way.  Jesus was revealing the next step in the fulfillment of his pattern on earth. A step so revolutionary it would make the existing temple & priesthood obsolete. What the established Priestly order should have received as a wonderful transition they instead resisted as a threat. Even Jesus’ disciples were struggling to keep up with the way he was fulfilling prophecy before their eyes. The New Covenant Pattern is a Royal Priesthood of all believers where every believer is not only a Priest, but the heart of every Priest is also a living fully mobilized Temple of the Holy Spirit. The responsibility to minister from the Holy Place has not stopped it has transitioned to a more glorious & perfect operation from within the believers heart by the believer in the power of the Holy Spirit. The New Covenant parallel of the Lampstand becomes the Apostles Teaching, The Incense becomes the Prayers of the Saints and the Shewbread becomes the Breaking of Bread. Through the lens of Covenant is it any wonder why Jesus disciples after being asked to “remember” this meal gave themselves wholeheartedly & stedfastly to this pattern, as often as they met.

Bread in Hebrew is the word Lechem. Bethlehem is the House of Bread. Jesus the Living Bread came to the House of Bread for the Salvation of Humanity. Jesus was very clear that only true communion with him was the pathway to salvation. The Hebrew word for Battle is identical to the word Bread only the vowel’s differ – Lacham. The vowel’s are inserted only for the benefit of our English transliteration. I believe there is a very profound provision of strength in the bread of presence for those who believe.

King David when he was fleeing for his life from King Saul met Ahimelech the priest at Nob. David asks for food for his men who have left in haste from Saul. Ahimelech tells him there is only Holy Bread which he could only allow them to eat on the minimum basis that they were consecrated. According to Levitical Law only the priests were permitted to eat this bread (Matt 12:4). David assured Ahimelech that his men were consecrated & on this basis they were given the Shewbread to eat. David then asks if Ahimelech had any weapons and is told that the sword of Goliath, the slain Philistine champion, was in the tabernacle. He gave it to David who said, “there is none like it in all the land.” David and his men then left and hid from Saul amongst their enemies in Philistia. I personally believe during this exile David & his men were protecting Israel from invading enemies.

What can we take away from this in our New Covenant context?

David and his mighty men eating the Bread of Presence is a remarkable anomaly in the old testament that foreshadows this new covenant meal.  It sustained them in their journey as they prepared for the battles that lay ahead. In addition the exchange of weapons, they brought nothing to the exchange, infact they had left their own weapons in their haste to flee King Saul. But here Ahimelech gives them the weapon of their fallen enemy, ‘the finest in the land’. Could it be that the Lord wanted David to remember, “It was in my strength you conquered the giant Goliath, do not be afraid, I am with you now, continue in my strength and you will prevail“. I believe there is also a similar weapon exchange in the New Covenant. At the Table the Lord has prepared for us, we are invited to lay our carnal weapons of rebellion at his feet in exchange for his mighty weapons – “there is none like (them) in all the land”. His weapons of consecration, fasting & prevailing prayer are highly effective & capable of pulling down every lofty thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God. (2 Cor 10:4)

I believe there is great significance in the practice of breaking break together. It is more than just believers having a meal together. But when we intentionally remember the Lord’s Table as Jesus set out as a pattern, we are demonstrating great honor to Jesus. As we remember the whole-hearted way Jesus gave himself to this New Covenant at the cross, there is a contact with his presence, forgiveness, acceptance, peace, healing, strength & protection; that brings the deepest restoration to the soul. In this hour, we, as Jesus disciples also need to remember & continue stedfastly in breaking the bread of battle together. It would not be wise to forsake something Jesus desired with such desire to leave with us as a pattern.

(Incidentally the word remember is also a Covenant word and it means more than just don’t forget what we did today. In the context of Covenant it means remember by continuing to do this. It would have been received with great honor by the disciples as part of their ongoing covenant obligation to their friend & Lord)

Sources:

Garlow & Price, THE BLOOD COVENANT, Beacon Hill Press

Kenyon, THE BLOOD COVENANT, Kenyon Gospel Publishing Society

Trumbull, THE BLOOD COVENANT, Imprint Books

Reuben, PATTERN FOR REVIVAL FIRE SERIES, MP3
http://www.dickreuben.org/the-pattern-for-revival-series.html

Recently I have been studying Hebrews in greater depth. Such an important book. Not only for the 1st Century Hebrew convert to Christianity, but it is deeply significant for the follower of Christ in every generation.

As you dig into Hebrews, one of the things that stands out right from the start is the amount of times the Psalms of David are quoted. These were not simply songs that King David had written in his lifetime, but they were anthem’s pregnant with Messianic hope & expectation. They were prophetic declarations waiting for their fulfillment upon the earth.

King David stewarded his heart in such a way that he was given profound revelation of the character of God and the purposes of God for his generation and beyond. One of his Psalms spoke of the order of Melchizedek, the mysterious priestly order of Jesus. Abraham encounters the Priest King Melchizedek in the book of Genesis, 1000 years after Abraham, David writes Psalm 110 giving even greater insight into this eternal priestly order. 1000 years after King David, the writer of the book of Hebrews (whom I believe is the Apostle Paul), gives even more insight into this priestly order of Jesus.

Psalm 110 & Psalm 2 are two of the Psalms mentioned with frequency in Hebrews, and they are no “small potato” Psalms. John Calvin or Martin Luther made the comment that Psalm 110 was probably the most important Psalm. They speak of an expectation, a hope, David knew God was committed to bringing to pass on the earth. Paul’s use of these Psalms in this letter to the Hebrews is more than just him finding something helpful in ancient Jewish literature to back up his point. He is saying in Jesus’ life, death, resurrection & ascension these Psalms have gone to a totally different level in reaching there ultimate fulfillment. His intention is to inspire within his reader tremendous confidence in who Jesus is and their identity in Jesus. And also to inspire the Hebrew Christians to confidently embrace their role in Jesus’ ongoing mission.

Among the other Psalms Paul quotes in Hebrews is Psalm 8;

Hebrews 2

6 “What is man that You are mindful of him,
Or the son of man that You take care of him?
7 You have made him a little lower than the angels;
You have crowned him with glory and honor,
And set him over the works of Your hands.
8 You have put all things in subjection under his feet.

Why Psalm 8? The quote in Hebrews is followed by this statement “For in that He put all in subjection under him, He left nothing that is not put under him. But now we do not yet see all things put under him.” It is a reminder of man’s cultural mandate to subdue the earth & confirmation that it has gone to another level.

Psalm 8 is one of three Psalm’s (8, 81, 84) that are to be played on a specific instrument. If you look at the heading of these Psalms instruction is given that they be played on the Instrument of Gath (some translations read the Gittith). Gath was a Philistine stronghold city during the time of King David. The giant Goliath and his brothers came from Gath. During the 16 month period of exile from Israel in Philistia David spent time in Gath. Some have thought that David was in a backslidden state during this time, not trusting God for protection and fleeing from Saul. But the scriptures are clear that David was faithful to the Lord in all things except the matter of Uriah the Hittite (1 Kings 15:5). An alternate suggestion has been made that while he was in Philistia David was protecting the Southern border of Israel from it’s enemies. King Saul’s obsession with David had left the territory vulnerable to its real enemies.

In addition to protecting Israel, I believe David used this time to learn to play the instrument of Gath. Why would this warrior learn to play the instrument of his enemies? And why were specific instructions given that these Psalms be played on that instrument?

David understood the connection between victory & Praise. His conflicts were high stakes, his life was at stake as well as the lives of his men were affected by his choices. For this Warrior King, worship was a non-negotiable part of his existence & survival. Seven times a day he would intentionally praise God(Psalm 119:164). David was at least as disciplined in worship as he was as a soldier. It was not just preparation for warfare, it was the warfare. I believe he understood how vital praise, thanksgiving & music were for accomplishing the Father’s ultimate purposes of subduing the earth. He understood the battle was the Lord’s. The King of Glory, strong, & mighty in battle. Later when David became King over all Israel, the Tabernacle of David (Distinct from Tabernacle of Moses and Temple of Solomon) was a place of unbroken place of Worship Intercession. 24 hours a day & 365 days a year for 33 years – 5000 full time musicians were dedicated to releasing heaven’s anthems upon the earth in Israel. David had a revelation of his identity as a Priest-King on the earth. He made whole hearted worship a priority of his reign. He pursued the heart of his Father, God (Heb 1:5; 2 Sam 7:14) and was a student of his purposes & ways. Praise & Thanksgiving – Worship was indispensable. So before he came to power, during this difficult season in Gath he pressed into God, using the instrument of his foe. It was prophetic foreshadowing. It was ahead of its time. It was & is the way forward. God’s adversaries & their instruments turned into worshippers. Every knee would bow and tongue confess, it was a matter of time.

Gath incidentally means winepress. In this 16 month winepress of exile, this heavenly anthem known as Psalm 8 began to flow from the heart of David. David did not play the songs of Gath on the instrument of Gath, instead David released the anthem’s of heaven on this gentile instrument. Can you imagine what this did in the hearts of the warriors of Israel as their Warrior King began to play this Philistine instrument? No doubt it had a unique and easily distinguishable tone. When that sound broke the airwaves it would have struck such a chord in these Israelite warrior’s hearts. David who had slain the Philistine Giant; and eventually established an Israelite garrison in Philistia (1 Chron 18:1) was now releasing this heavenly anthem on this instrument that had he failed would have been used to gloat over his destruction. In the unseen realm the terror that would grip the heart’s of unseen forces of wickedness as they observed the son’s of men begin to embrace their identity upon the earth and refuse to bow to the intimidation of those assigned to bring their destruction. The audacity of this act of worship on enemy instruments, possess greater significance than we may really understand. It stands as a prophetic foreshadowing  the kingdoms of this world becoming the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ.

If you continue to dig into the significance of the Instrument of Gath, you will find that while Psalm 8 was written by David & played on the instrument of Gath, Psalm 81 & 84 are not written by him but are to be played on the same Philistine instrument.  So David, understanding the trans-generational cultural promise given to Abraham and waiting for fulfillment, must have taught Israel to play this instrument and as it was played it must have stirred  deep confidence that God who had triumphed in the past, will ultimately be victorious upon the earth.

What comes first? Not, the chicken or the egg, but rather, Conversion or Discipleship? Were Jesus disciples converted before following Him? or did they begin to follow Christ before being converted? And why does it even matter?

As we have sought to be faithful to Jesus’ cultural mandate to ‘make disciples of all nations’, these are two of the questions we have found ourselves pondering.  Immediately terms need to be defined.  What does it mean to be converted? What does discipleship mean? Important questions if we are committed to finding real answers. The apostle Paul’s conversion appears to happen very suddenly and dramatically on the road to Damascus. There was an immediate radical change in this man’s lifestyle. Other’s, like John Wesley speak of a more gradual drawing of the spirit until their ‘hearts are strangely warmed’ like Wesley’s was 24 May 1738 on Aldersgate Street. Conversion is that moment of revelation when your spiritual eyes are opened to see that Jesus truly is the Son of God & Lord of the Universe. A moment when, the light of God’s revelation breaks into the darkness of the human heart bringing greater understanding & clarity about reality. The result in the convert is a change of mind and heart, a turning from a life of selfishness & self-centeredness to a life of self-sacrifice and Christ-centeredness. It is definitely a supernatural working in by the Holy Spirit, requiring a definite faith response & working out by the convert. The convert yield’s his/her life to the Lord-ship of Jesus Christ & commits to learning & living his teachings. So what is required to move a person’s heart to this place of conversion?

Preparation is required. ‘Break up the fallow ground’. John the Baptist had been sent to prepare the way. In the culture of Jesus time it was not uncommon for a Rabbi (or Jewish Teacher) to call to himself students to be trained. Infact, it was a great honor for the student. It is believed that the region Jesus called his disciples from was an area with Rabbinic schools sensitive to God’s agenda in the earth. They were educating the people preparing them to recognize the Messiah when he came. So when Jesus began to call the men he chose to follow him there was an anticipation, a readiness. But was their response to this invitation to follow their moment of conversion? Or was this when the process of pre-conversion discipleship began?

It is maybe the clearest to see this process unfold in the life of the Apostle Peter. He has many powerful break-through moment’s with Jesus. Remember when Jesus asked, “Who do you say that I am?”, Peter’s response, “You are the Christ!” This was probably months after Jesus had given the invitation to follow him, clearly Peter was seeing something very unique in Jesus. Was this Peter’s moment of conversion? Could this be called a post/or mid-discipleship conversion? Jesus acknowledges, “Flesh & Blood has not revealed this to you Peter, but my Father in heaven”. On another occasion after many realized that the cost of following Christ was too great and left Jesus, Jesus turns to those that stayed and asked, “Will you leave me too?” Peter speaks up again on this occasion, his response, “Where can we go? Only you have the words of life.” It looks like he’s really got it until Jesus gets arrested and crucified at which point it really looks like John the beloved is the only man left standing? But after Peter’s sifting & Jesus resurrection, we see Jesus reinstate Peter asking him three times, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love me?” Peter’s response, “Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You.”

Relationship is essential to the process of discipleship, & trust is at the root of any meaningful relationship. Jesus’ great desire is for our trust in Him to grow strong. With his disciples Jesus continued to provide a safe place for them to cultivate trust while he gave them the time & evidence needed to come to their own conclusion about his identity as the Son of God. In our broken world we all to various degree’s wrestle with complex trust issues. Really working through these issues takes humility, & relationship, & time, & tenderness, & wisdom. Engaging the unconverted in the process of discipleship prior to their revelation of Jesus as Savior and Lord is not putting the cart before the horse, but rather a glimpse into the heart & processes of God. Jesus was accused of being a sinner because he ate with sinners. Was this compromise? Or was he hoping to engage them in a process that could be called pre-conversion discipleship? Someone once wisely said, “People don’t care how much you know, until they know how much you care.” An understanding of the power of belonging is at the core of us attempting to re-emphasize ways to engage in a discipleship process that produces real & lasting conversion. Creating that sense of ownership & belonging, before confronting someone about what they should believe, may not yield 100% fruit, but I am convinced it yield’s greater fruit. Taste and see that the Lord is good.