Knowing Jesus vs. Understanding Principles

Many may grasp a strong understanding of kingdom principles. They may know the power of the name of Jesus. Even the demons understand the power of His Name. But understanding Jesus and kingdom principles is not the same as knowing Jesus. To those who understand but do not know, He will say, “Depart.”

How do we know Jesus? We worship Him, declaring His goodness. Worshipping a God who we believe chooses to do good and bad in the name of sovereignty is not Jesus. The “Gospel” is translated: the too good to be true news. Believe it or not, God is good all the time despite what some people think. He doesn’t shift with our opinions and isn’t moved by our theology.

Another way we can know Jesus is by love. Without Jesus, we don’t know love. Love is a cycle of loving others as you love yourself. Unhindered, unselfish, persistent, unconditional love. Jesus is the source of love that we tap into. From that love, power flows out. Out of our love for Jesus we are quick to receive what He has for us.

What if God rejected our best? How insulting! We can be so quick to insult the Lord by refusing to accept, whether by stubbornness, shame, religion, or ungodly beliefs, the gifts that God has for those who love Him. Be thankful, receive, and when you feel nothing but disgust with personal encounters with others and discomfort in your circumstance, go back to love. Love is more than feeling and emotion. It is beyond your senses. Love is Jesus. Against all odds, love never fails.

Relationships, Marriage, and Simple Advice

Everybody wants companionship. Those who deny it are in denial of a God given desire. Adam was made in the image of God. Then Eve hit the scene. When they became one flesh, they had returned to the full image of God. We too have a desire to return to the full image of God by becoming one with our spouse. In this (different) blog, I am going to get to the heart of the matter and answer some questions that have kept many humans awake at night.

Is there such a thing as “the one”? Yes. His name is Jesus. In context to this topic, outside of marriage, I don’t believe so. When you enter into a marriage covenant, then, yes, that person is the only one. Sound strange? Maybe. But once you're in it, you're in it. There is no plan B. Make sure you love the person and understand this bit of revelation: You will spend the rest of your life with them and must reconcile your differences-oh my!

Too many couples are miserable in their first year of marriage. Here are some things to help avoid misery.

Move out of your parents’ house. Husbands, sacrifice some things you love in order to spend more time with your wife. Wives, leave the parents out of the picture so your husband can get to know you. Fly far, far away from the nest if that’s what it takes.

Budget effectively. There’s no formula to this but wisdom is required in order to budget successfully. As you budget, give your first fruits, tithes and offerings unto God. He will multiply it back.

Don’t leave the other person behind. If you travel, or have a ministry, do it together. Recognize, nurture, protect, defend, and charge the call of God on your spouse’s life if it’s the death of you. Too many ministers travel abroad as half a person.

Date and rest together. Do not ware yourselves out, even if it is doing the Lord’s work. Set an example for younger generations to see that you cannot exhaust yourself with ministry.

Keeli and I hosted the worship team at our house every Tuesday night. Being a college student means late nights, no curfew, and countless energy. Late one worship night, I approached my friend and said,

“When I married Keeli, certain things changed. I’m going to have to ask you to leave.”

I didn’t say it out of rudeness but out of love. Not just love for my wife, but for the students. They will have spouse of their own one day and need to see a husband set a good example of purposing to spend time with his wife. Such standards get ingrained and woven into their desires for good mates. Ever since, our friend has kept a close eye on the clock and, before the hour gets too late, he’ll begin packing everyone’s instruments and gear. With everyone’s attention, he cheerfully reminds them,

“When Keeli and Jonathan got married, things changed. It’s time for us to go!”

I have heard the tired tale of wanting to stay single so that one day they can be martyred for the Lord. While this can spark a new topic on the purposes of God and His desire for us to have life in abundance, long and fruitful, He said it was not good for man to be alone.

An instant deposit of favor is given to a man who finds a wife. A man who finds a wife finds a good thing. Since being married, greater opportunities and more open doors have been presented before us. It’s favor from Jesus!

In closing, one item that I want to be addressed is mixing the prophetic and relationships. I have seen the prophetic abused too often when dealing with relationships. The root of this is idolatry. When people pray and see that special person’s face they tend to believe the Lord is speaking to them. It can end in heartache when the discovery is made that the person does not feel the same way. Remember, love between two people is what it is… between two people. Effective love is not a one way street. Love towards one person that is not returned hurts and God’s heart is for ours not to be broken.

God loves marriage and we want to see fruitful marriages that multiply the kingdom of God around the world!

Transformation > Revival

Revival has a starting point and a stopping point. Transformation doesn't fall into the old form. I don't want to say we are looking for transformation. The kingdom of heaven does not come with close observation. Many expect a "move" of God, inferring that the responsibility is no longer ours, as believers. However, God has reconciled us back to the place where dominion is ours on the earth, to multiply what is godly and subdue what is evil. We are not looking for transformation... Rather, we are bringing transformation with Holy Spirit.

Let's go to square one for a moment. What does the transformation we are bringing supposed to look like? The answer: Heaven on earth. Heaven isn't gained by good sermons, programs, events, or cover dishes. Heaven is Jesus and Jesus is love. His love is transformation... totally supernatural, yet somehow tangible; tangible, yet supernatural. Transformation is a cycle of Christ’s love.

The Lord operates in cycles. The greatest commandment is a cycle. Love God. This is the source of all love because God is love. Then love your neighbors as yourself. It’s impossible to accomplish one without the other. You can’t give away what you don’t have. Edify yourself (by praying in tongues) and edify others (by prophesying). Cycles don’t end.

Transformation is heaven on earth, where the sick are healed, the dead are raised, people are liberated from the trauma of a past they don’t wish to remember, and where they are loved unconditionally with the everlasting, powerful love of Jesus.

It Doesn't Make Sense!

"It doesn't make sense!"

These famous last words haunt skeptics and excite believers! The human mind cannot contain God, nor can we understand why He does what He does. We were given the option to know Him, not understand Him. He cannot be confined to a book, restricted by our theology, or held at arm’s length from people. No matter how advanced we believe our understanding is of God, He seems to take pleasure in leaving us speechless by appearing outside of the box we thought we had Him trapped in.

There would be nights that I would wait on the Lord. His response would often come in gold dust. As I would retract my hands, I would see gold sparkling across them. I, then, would begin to cry and wonder, “Why is God mindful of me?” Then I begin to ask, “Why gold dust? It doesn’t make sense!” As if God was worried about being too materialistic by giving gold. Mark it as a sign and a wonder to show His tangible love.

There have been three times my wife and I have seen the Lord supernaturally put arches in flat feet. In one meeting where this happened, one lady had cancer. She wasn’t healed of the cancer but she wasn’t resentful that her friend received a healthy set of supernatural arches in her feet. She rejoiced with her friend! Our response to God, why He does what He does, and His timing should never be in anger. He isn’t second guessing what He does or who He is, even if we react bitterly towards Him.

Why does He shower people with gold dust? Why did He put arches in our friend’s feet in a meeting where someone else had cancer? Nobody can say why. It doesn’t make sense… to us! There’s no formula to God. He is moved by faith, hope, and love because He is faith, hope, and love.

Healing Prayer Template

We have access to multitudes through social media, email and video chatting. While there are benefits and backfires to these technological interactions, we can communicate the same powerful love of God to a virtual world in which these multitudes have settled. As communication methods are on the rise, mediums of ministering, encouraging, edifying, and releasing the kingdom are now at our fingertips.

I have seen emails come in the system asking for prayer for those who are in critical condition. I typed a prayer for healing in response. The next day, the first email I read was uncharacteristically joyful and began with: GOD IS A MIRACLE GOD! Both men were healed and doctors were stunned, baffled, and in awe of the sudden recovery!

Without faith, it is impossible to please God. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word. God's Word is Spirit and can bend reality to conform to His perfect will, so that all men can know salvation (Greek: sozo; saved, healed, and delivered). These New Covenant rights reflect the completed work of the cross. Sins, like our sicknesses, have been forgiven, as our bodies have been healed. All bought, once and once for all, by the Blood of Jesus: the God-man!

Below is a template for a prayer of healing you can email or message those who are sick. There is no formula... Just faith! Feel free to adjust for personal prayer, like the name of the victim of infirmity and the condition of which they suffer. Whenever Jesus commissioned someone to preach the gospel, He commanded them to heal the sick. You are called to do the same out of love!

Healing Prayer Template

Dear Lord Jesus,

We thank you that You are the Word (John 1:1-5, 14) and You are the same yesterday, today, and forevermore (Hebrews 13:8). You didn’t do anything without seeing the Father do it first (John 5:19-20), and, by that, you knew the kingdom and will of God. You demonstrated that kingdom by healing all those that were sick (Matthew4:23-25, 15:30-31, Acts 10:38). You commissioned Your disciples to do as You did (Matthew 10:7-8, Mark 16:15-20, John 14:12). As You endured the cross, You not only took our sins, but by Your stripes we were healed (Isaiah 53:4-5, I Peter 2:24).

Your unchanging Word says that the prayer of faith shall save the sick (James 5:15) and that when two agree on earth concerning anything we ask, the Father in heaven will do it (Matthew 18:19).

We agree for complete healing in Jesus’ name! We command the body to come into perfect alignment just as you created it to be and we bind all sickness and pain in the name of Jesus Christ (Matthew 18:18).

You established these promises in the Word. We thank you for complete healing and the testimony to follow! We thank you for the New Covenant that you have given Your people through the finished work of the cross and Your resurrection! We thank you that your kingdom is empty of sickness, infirmities, diseases, and illness. We thank you Your kingdom is righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit (Romans 14:17). You came to give life and life in abundance (John 10:10).

Just as you said, “It is finished,” we receive the complete work by faith in Jesus’ name-

Amen

Where Train Meets Tracks

Unlike the fruit of the Spirit, being baptized in the Holy Spirit does not measure spiritual maturity. Just as we are saved by believing, confessing, and receiving, we receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit by asking and believing we have what we say. Receiving from the Lord is grounded in faith and not in our "righteous works" or "holy high horse" status, wealth, knowledge, intellect, hermeneutics, or Biblical theology. Being baptized in the Holy Spirit equips us to do the works that Jesus did and greater.

The world around us cries out for tangible evidence that God is real, alive, and cares for His creation. This cry is rarely satisfied with debate, intellect, talk, sermons, religion, traditions, or theology. Jesus prayed that the kingdom and will of God would come on earth as it is in heaven. The kingdom came with demonstration in power. After being baptized in the Holy Spirit, Jesus demonstrated the kingdom of God by healing all who were sick and oppressed by the devil. Jesus held a controversial countenance of love as He stared down the barrel of religion. The traditions of men make the power of God null and void. The spirit of religion killed Jesus and attempts, to this day, to create an atmosphere of unbelief. Anti-Christ isn't just anti-Jesus. Christ was not Jesus' last name. Christ means "the anointed one." The anointing only comes by the Holy Spirit. Anti-Christ is anti-Holy Spirit and anti-Holy Spirit power.

The kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power. The only way to fully preach the gospel is to operate in the power of the Holy Spirit with signs and wonders confirming the Word that is preached. The only gospel that Jesus preached was the kingdom of God. It wasn't the gospel of prosperity, healing, grace or even salvation. All of those are great and important for living an effective Christian life. They are under the umbrella of the the gospel of the kingdom. This is the only gospel that will usher in the coming of our Lord and it is only fully preached with signs, wonders, and miracles from our Lord working in and through His people that are fulfilling the responsibility given by receiving the fullness of power in the Holy Spirit!

Our salvation is not determined by being baptized in the Holy Spirit, but it could hold the key to someone else receiving Jesus as their Lord and Savior. The Holy Spirit, besides sealing our salvation when we are saved, empowers us to be a witness when we are baptized (or filled) with the Holy Spirit. A witness is someone who can afford evidence. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, the evidence at our disposal testifies of Jesus and His radical love.

The Holy Spirit shows Himself by enabling certain gifts. These gifts are useless without love. Imagine a train, the power of God in us, running smoothly on tracks, the love of God in us. If we're running with no tracks, we're going nowhere. Desiring spiritual gifts is not a selfish desire. We are told to earnestly desire (or zealously lust after) spiritual gifts because they are for the sole purpose of serving others and showing them the fierce love of our Lord.

The name of Jesus will bend reality to break every wall of defense a person has built so He can show His unconditional love for them. Spiritual gifts will never harm a person, will never contradict the Word of God, and will always reflect the heart, will, and kingdom of God. Jesus could do nothing without first seeing His Father commission the act. Jesus' life commissions us to do what he did and greater. This includes healing the sick, casting out demons, raising the dead, walking on water, prophesying to strangers, and making disciples.

As Jesus was united with His Father by being filled with the Holy Spirit, we too, as the Body of Christ, can only be united together by the same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead.