Demolishing strongholds in Church, ready to punish every disobedience

The passage we're  considering  (2 Corinthians 10:3-6),  ends with “bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled” (v.6).  This verse points to the need for church discipline,  but  only after obedience is “fulfilled.”  A clue is found in 11:4, “For if  anyone preaches another Jesus ...,  or if you receive a different spirit .....  or gospel ..... you may well put up with it!”  We can discern three things here, that   firstly doctrinal error (thoughts captive, another gospel), secondly lack of obedience,  and thirdly    receiving a different spirit.  How to deal with what, and when, is not always black and white, and we need to make sure we don't get love and truth out of balance

 There are passages where we the wicked person should be expelled (1 Corinthians 5:13).  But “the servant of the Lord must ....tbe gentle to all, able to teach, patient, in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance” (2 Timothy 2:24, 25).  Consider someone who insists on twisting a clear “no” of Scripture into a “yes”  (2 Peter 3:16), and teaches it. This is a different spirit, and 1 Corinthians 5:13 applies. But since all true discipline is about reconciliation he should be let back if and when appropriate  (2 Corinthians 2:7). But what do you do about  a new convert who is married, living with another man, has children from multiple partners,  and there's now stability with the children,  calling the latest one “Daddy”?  When we take the gospel into the darkest of places, it's bound to be messy. But  “Where there are no oxen, the stall is clean” (Proverbs 14:4).

May times we need the Spirit of the Lord to guide us (James 1:5).  Do we answer a fool according to his folly,  or not (see  2 September post)?   We need to leave room for people to come to terms with their sin. With regard our obedience being fulfilled,  there are so many clear commands we tend to ignore. Some examples, confess your faults one to another, if your brother sins against you go to him  ... if he will not hear the church, treat him like a tax collector, come out from among them (James 5:16;  Matthew 18:15ff; 2 Corinthians 6:17).  But we must  also consider the above command to Timothy.  These relational commands are often difficult to discern in terms of, if and when to put them into practice, and they have been abused.  Sometimes they have been adhered to strictly and without love and without leaving room for repentance.  Sometimes there' s a partial but twisted following of the commandment. I have heard Matthew 18:15ff misquoted, for example,  as “If your brother sins against you,  treat him like a tax collector”  This short circuits the whole  point of the passage,  which is about reconciliation. There is much need for clear teaching on these things. 

Father, it's so easy to get love and truth out of balance. We need to be  wise as serpents and harmless as doves.  Thank You for Your promise,  that when we lack wisdom and ask You for it,  it will be given (James 1:5). I'm in no position to judge anyone Lord, but there are times we need to obey the difficult commands of Scripture. Help us to do it well Lord, in such a way there can  be no legitimate cause for offence in Jesus Name Amen

Discipleship: Strongholds and the mighty weapons of our warfare

In case you hadn't noticed, Christianity and the Judeo -Christian values of Western culture are under attack. As I said before, the prince of darkness has been discipling the nations. And if the Lord is to heal our land, then there are many things we need to repent of (2 Chronicles 7:14). Rather than being salt and light to the culture we have isolated ourselves, while at the same time being and more and more conformed to the world. This morning we are starting to examine “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled (2 Corinthians 10:3-6).

Paul is being accused of timidity, and of acting in worldly ways (“according to the flesh” verses 1, 2). As with the armour, Paul uses a military metaphor. The war is primarily spiritual, and the resources to fight it are also spiritual (vv. 3, 4; Ephesians 6:12; Zechariah 4:6). Though the context of this passage is of Paul's dealing with the Corinthian church, the principles and strategies of spiritual warfare it contains are much more widely applicable. In particular, the Christian's weapons are mighty (have dunamos power) to pull down strongholds. Strongholds are interlocking thoughts and ideas that ultimately come from the enemy (Ephesians 6:12), and which he plants in our minds, and uses to promote and fortify his philosophies (verse 5). The weapons enable the defeat of arguments, lofty prideful attitudes, and of ideas that look down contemptuously on orthodox Christian teaching and morality. The lofty arguments of our day include arrogant expressions of atheism, and the proud and often self righteous accusations levelled against all Christians, accusing us of hate and fear while at the same time claiming that their positions are virtuous.

The passage also points to the need of church discipline (Paul's willingness to punish all disobedience), but only after full obedience to the apostolic teaching. Where obedience is not fulfilled, the Lord needs to deal with us first (v. 6)! Another thing to mention, is that the Corinthian church is under apostolic authority, and points to the need for a serious discussion in the Church about five fold ministry (Ephesians 4:11). Being under apostolic authority, is not the same as the church being an institution by the way!” But in closing this morning I want to say that just because the problems are the same inside and outside the church, does not mean we deal with them the same way (1 Corinthians 5:10). And one of the most important tasks of the church in this age is to understand the times and to know what to do in both areas (1 Chronicles 12:3).

Father, not only do we need to understanding the times and to know what to do, we need to know our weapons, how to use them, and how they are so very different from the world's. Thank You Lord for those You are raising up to confront the culture, both those within the faith and without, in particular for what we can learn from the debates on line. Help us to study to be approved unto God, and to discern Your leading in in knowing what to do in Jesus Name Amen

Operating two dimensionally in inward, upward, outward discipleship

Yesterday we talked about some of the unintended consequences of operating in just one of the inward, upward and outward journeys. But the same is also true when we do only two of the three. For years I was ignorant of even the need of the inward journey, but it affected both of the other two. In the outward journey, I was operating out of a co-dependent interpretation of the beatitudes, going not only the second mile, but twenty fifth! This robbed those I was seeking to help, of the maturing and self respect that comes with taking responsibility for their own stuff. It also trained them to feel and act entitled. My upward journey was also far from being unaffected, as I was trying to get my identity and significance from what I did for God, rather than from my position as His sonship, I was operating out of an orphan spirit.

Many in the helping professions do the inward and outward journeys, but omit the upward journey. I'm told, for example, that many clinical Psychologists sit under take multiple hours of counselling. In this way knowing themselves helps them to see more clearly what others need. I mean in the end we are all very much the same. I understand though that there's much burn out in these professions, with the helpers becoming hardened or cynical. When this happens, those needing help are not likely to be treated with respect or dignity, and the help becomes somewhat toxic. In ongoing difficult situations we likely cannot continue to give love, if we're not receiving it. Many times in both the inward and the outward journeys we may know what to do, but be unable to do it (Romans 7:8). The upward journey, when fully entered into, can give us the love, power and wisdom to do what without Him, is impossible. It can also bring healing when we're suffering from burn out. On the upward journey, the love of God is poured out into our hearts. And actually without Him we can do nothing (Romans 5:5; John 15:5). 

The saying that best encapsulates inward and upward without outward is “Faith without works is dead” (James 2:17). I like the illustration that compares the sea of Galilee to the dead sea. Water flows both in and out of the Galilee, and it's healthy. The dead sea is dead, because nothing flows out of it. In the end, we need the outward journey to remain healthy. However, since the outward journey is the very last step of twelve step programs, the deeply wounded may first need periods of convalescence. We may have our hands full with the inward and the upward journey for a while. And there are times in deep recovery when we might not be so nice to be around for a while, and there is a time to withdraw for while (Ecclesiastes 3:1, 3b, 5b). Eventually though we will need to come back and obey “Freely you have received, freely give” (Matthew 10:6).

Father, it's so, so easy to get these things our of balance and slip in one, or more of these ways. And when we do please nudge us through Your Word and Your Spirt and bring us back on track. We need Your help Lord to do discipleship in a holistic way. Help us not to be weary in doing well in these things. Help us to realize that holistic discipleship is “life long learning.” Thank You for You work in us, in Jesus Name Amen

Holistic discipleship is trinitarian inward, upward, outward

The essence of what I have called “trinity” (lower case ’t’) is unity in diversity, interconnectedness and interrelatedness (see the January posts "Trinity and trinity"). Mankind, being made in the image of God,  is trinity body, soul and spirit. But most of the time we think and operate as one dimensional man. Most of the time, but in fact we have started to discover the interrelatedness. We talk, for example,  about psychosomatic (soul – body) illnesses. Secular self help is mostly about the inward journey, and too easily turns inward. A large part of the church is concerned only with the upward journey saying we don't need inner healing “It's all under the blood brother!” In the meantime we operate out of our  hurts, habits and hangups, and do little about the outward journey. The split between the liberal and the conservative church began early last century, with liberals saying we should feed the poor, and conservatives saying we should preach the gospel. Jesus commanded, and did both, not one to the exclusion of the other!

Concerning the outward journey, the Green Party, for example,  base their actions and principles on social justice, environmentalism and nonviolence. It's not that any of these things are wrong in principle, but rather that they tend to be one dimensional and while they address some issues can actually be detrimental to others (see Unintended consequences October posts). Holistic discipleship can be expressed in terms of obedience to the first commandment trinity. We are to love with the Lord with all our heart, mind and soul, and to do this with everything we are and have. Since the second commandment is “like unto the first” (Matthew 23:37-39), we are being told here that loving our neighbour as ourselves,  is intricately interconnected with loving Him with all our heart, mind, soul and strength. You see when we love the Lord in this way, we cannot help but love what He loves. And He loves you and me.

And it's only out of this love for God and ourselves, that we are able to fully love our neighbour as He intends that we love ourselves. Since, for example. we so easily project our own faults onto others, if  we do not love ourselves or are not merciful to ourselves, we are not likely to be merciful to our neighbour. So  am I saying that we should not attempt to love our neighbour  if we have not yet learned to love ourselves? Well no, there are two things I keep saying that are relevant here. The first is that it's not all about our level of maturity that impresses the world, but rather the degree to which we are being transformed from one degree of glory to another (2 Corinthians 3:18). It's not about having arrived, but rather secondly, it's about practicing our discipleship. Paul puts it this way “not that I have already reached the goal or am already perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me” (Philippians 3:12).

Father, thank You that when we do discipleship the way that You intend, it is truly holistic. We not only get to love ourselves we even get to like ourselves. In this way as we continue to practice receiving all that You have for us, and all that You call us to be,  that we are more and more able to do the outward journey  “Freely you have received, freely give,” in Jesus Name Amen

Discipleship: Advent and the importance of story

Every culture has stories that define it, stories about who we are, what we believe and where we came from. They define us, give us our identity, and are vehicles to communicate our values, traditions and beliefs. They give us our individual, as well as family and national identities. When we loose our sense of identity, we inevitably operate out of an orphan spirit. Surely it's because we no longer know who we are, that the orphan spirit is so characterizes of the age. It also seems to me that at lest part of the reason the Jews were able to keep their identity over two millennia of exile, is that even in their isolation from each other, they continued to celebrate the stories of what God had done for them. Passover is a prime example, it celebrates the story of the deliverance of Israel from slavery in Egypt. The Christian's stories similarly celebrate what God has done in delivering us from the slavery of sin. They include Advent, of course, the story of the birth of Christ.

Israel was commanded over and over to remember what the Lord had done (i.e Deuteronomy 15:15; 7:18; 8:2,18; 9:7, 27 etc., etc.). And there is wisdom and strength in what the liturgical churches do in following the lectionaries, celebrating Christmas, Easter and Pentecost etc. Of course as part of war on Western culture, in the name of tolerance and offense, we are increasingly being told to tone it down. In particular politically correct doctrine dictates we restrict ourselves to wishing each other happy holidays. Actually I don't mind. I give a dazzling  smile and answer “Merry Christmas.” If I am challenged, I turn away wrath by answering softly “It's not my intention to offend, but rather to celebrate the hope, peace, joy and love that's available when I embrace the Christmas story. The happy holiday 'story doesn't seem to cut it for me!””

Such encounters actually cause me to remember my story, and to consider just how many prophecies the birth of Jesus Christ fulfilled. Some of these, given millennia before, are “Unto us a child is born ...” (Isaiah 9:7). Also the child born was of David's line, born of a virgin (Isaiah 11:1; 7:14), of the tribe of Judah (Genesis 49:10), in Bethlehem in Ephrathah (Micah 5:1-2). And prophecy is not just about Advent! An in depth study of prophecy and its fulfillment, gives such confirmation not only of the Christmas story, but also that we have not followed cleverly devised stories when we were told about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ in power (2 Peter 1:16). Peter, talking about Jesus' transformation on the mountain tells us he was an “eyewitnesses of his majesty” (Matthew 17:1-13). And while not an eyewitnesses of his majesty in this way, I do have testimony of how He has transformed my life and the lives of many others, and how He has demonstrated His power in healing in my, and other people's bodies. Who knows, perhaps others saying “Happy holidays” will give me a chance to share some of this?

So Father, help me know how to give Your answer through me to the “Happy holidays” greetings. Let it even open up opportunities to share. Thank You Lord for the seasonal reminder of all You have done. And Lord as we approach the season, help us to not get caught up in the commercialism, and to remember in prayer, and in practical ways, those for whom this is a very difficult season in Jesus Name Amen

Go make disciples: Sons of Issachar, seven mountains of influence

I mentioned earlier that if we don’t obey the command to disciple the nations, there is one who will, and that he is making war on  Western culture. We are to be wise as serpents and as harmless as doves, and as part of this,  we need to be like the sons of Issachar who had understanding of the times, to knew what to do (Matthew 10:16; 1 Chronicles 12:3). God has, in fact, been raising up His prophets and speaking to us of the need to contend for the kingdom in “seven mountains” of influence,  the government, the media, Arts and Entertainment, the Education mountains, the Business mountain and the Church and Family mountains. Some Christians have trouble with this, teaching that it's unbiblical. I came across this quote on the internet “We should have an impact on society, but not through domination or forceful change. Rather, we are to share the love of God with others, stand up for truth, and eagerly await Jesus' return when He will make all things new.”

Who could disagree? Certainly we must not use domination or force as a means of changing the culture. This would be to use the enemy's weapons. Unfortunately, these things are far from missing from both our past and present, and are things of which we need to repent, in order to claim the promise of Him healing our land (2 Chronicles 7:14). But how can we be salt and light if we sit in splendid isolation waiting, and doing nothing as the world goes to hell in a hand basket (see 1 Corinthians 5:10)? Surely our interactions with society should imitate the way Jesus interacted with the world (Mark 2:16).  Should we not applaud what God is doing in moving Christians to produce Christian movies? And if we can applaud getting involved in that mountain, why not in others? What about contributing to the legal costs of those opposing legislation that seeks to make illegal, the getting of help for unwanted same sex desires? And should not parents be concerned about the things being taught in schools that are bringing gender confusion to vulnerable children,  encouraging sexual experimentation in the guise of  discovering one's orientation? Should we not  be willing to get involved in PTA's and other areas of influence?

What about teaching Christians good business practices in our disciplship, and encourage Christians to open business that operate with integrity? Is there not a need, for example, for local automotive - repair shops, where there is honesty, integrity and fair pricing? And might this not bring other business into line, which were loosing business because of the competition of honest business practices? Is this not the leaven of the Kingdom? Certainly there are Christians in all of thses mountains, but they are likely very isolated, and in need of support. But how will they find support if we teach that the things are wrong? We need to pray for those in those already in these mountains, and for more Christians to get involved. And would it not make sense to make these things part of discipleship?

 Lord,  the enemy has come in like a flood, but thank You that as we pray You are raising a standard against him (Isaiah 59:19). Teach us to be like the sons of Issachar, help us to understand and to know what You would have us do, and then to do it. As always Lord we need Your help, and we're asking for it in Jesus Name Amen

Holistic Biblical discipleship: The inward, upward and outward journeys

The fallout from the fall (Genesis 3:1-7), includes four alienations (four breaches of peace). They are the alienation of man from God, the alienation of man from man, the alienation of man from himself, and the alienation of man from the created order. The alienation of man from God manifested itself in hiding, in Adam’s case he hid among the trees of the garden (verse 8). Silly really, no one can hide himself from God (Jeremiah 23:24). The manifestation of man's alienation from man started with Adam blaming both the woman and God, for his sin (verse 12) and progressed from there. The alienation of man from himself manifests itself in the whole variety of physical, mental, emotional and spiritual problems that, at some level, we all have. The manifestation of the alienation man from the created order is the reality that ground brings forth both thorns and thistles, and in the blood sweat and tears of our struggles (verses 17,18). Salvation history documents the work God has wrought to accomplish reconciliation in all four of these alienations. And what I am calling holistic, Biblical discipleship is about us learning to do our part in cooperating with God in His primary purpose which is redemption in these four areas (Ephesians 1:10; Romans 8:19).

John Arnott describes this as being inward, upward and outward journeys. I think of the inward and upward components as being represented by the vertical beam of the cross. Taken together they comprise our relationship with God and with ourselves. The horizontal cross piece, represents our relationship with others, discipling each other, and the nations, in the stewardship of God. Discipleship of the Christian is most effective when he is abiding at the foot of the cross, in humble appreciation of all that the cross accomplished for us, and in us. Paradoxically when we abide there, we are in a real sense seated with Christ in heavenly places (Ephesians 2:6). It is from this place of security, that the Lord sends us out to disciple first our individual Jerusalems, then our Judeas, our Samarias and ultimately the uttermost parts of the earth (Acts 1:8).

Whether we know it or not, whether we are in Chris or not, one way or another, we are variously seeking these reconciliations. Secular Psychology is essentially seeking to reconcile man with himself, but without the help and healing we get in partnership with God. Much of it, without it being realized is based on Biblical principles given thousands of years earlier! Many twelve step programs speak of a higher power, but if it's not Christ, it will not produce fullness of life (John 19:10). Likewise we expect fullness of life if we do not do the hard work of this reconciliation. It's called inner healing! Much of the church is either ignorant of it, or dismissive of it. What I am saying, is that if this aspect of reconciliation is not incorporated into discipleship, then it's not utilizing the whole council of God (Acts 20:27), and it's not what I am calling holistic discipleship!

Father, only You understand why the church is so resistant to tapping into all that You did in sending sent Jesus to heal the broken hearted, and to set the captives fee (Luke 4:18). But it's hard work Lord, so please help us to enter into it, or to enter more fully. I'm not willing to settle for anything less than the fullness of life You call us to. It's a process Lord, so please continue Your work in us, in Jesus Name Amen