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Have you ever wondered, “What was I thinking?” Probably the craziest time in my life was my teen years. I had a wonderful Christian mother and was also surrounded by sincere believers in Christ. That, however did not stop me from doing stupid things, like shoplifting, vandalism and even breaking into a store to steal from others. By God’s grace, yes, HIS GRACE, I was eventually caught and punished. Several weeks of incarceration halted my life of crime, but it would not be until several years later that I would return to the wonderful life that Christ had planned for me.

To this day I do not understand how I could have hurt my mother so. How I could embarrass my family and shame myself after all the good things I had been taught and the examples I had seen?

This experience has taught me to be cautious of how I look at others. If God had not intervened for me through the justice system, through supportive family, friends and teachers, what direction my life might have taken? These are things for which I cannot take any credit.

However this cautiousness in itself does not satisfy my concerns for the situations we as a society, a community are in. If I look at a young person whose main activity in life is exploiting other young people by hooking them on addicting chemicals, or if I see the devastation that another young man causes through terrorism, yes, I can say, “there but by God’s grace go I.” Under the same circumstances of course, that could have been me. While this realization may help me, does it help anyone else?

People need compassion and empathy, but they also need the truth. They need direction, like the direction I received as a teen. I fear that in our day we like to take the easy way out. It can be very difficult to find the balance between compassion and lovingly telling the truth. We have to start somewhere. We cannot walk in everyone elses shoes, but we do all have some things in common. We have all sinned and have come short of the glory of God. We can all receive forgiveness and restoration through faith in the work that Jesus accomplished for us in His death and resurrection.

When I remember how obstinate and hard-headed I was as a teenager, I can understand how our youth might be motivated to do stupid things as well. At the same time, my hope is that they do not have to make the same mistakes. This may sound hard on my part, but if they do make these kinds of mistakes, I pray that God’s grace might provide for the helpful kind of discipline that I received back then!

Perhaps you could join with me in praying for the necessary wisdom to reach others with compassion and faith. These are so needed in our time.

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Have you ever considered the difference between faith and presumption, or optimism and wishful thinking? While we understand that these words may represent differing concepts to many of us, we are fortunate to have the Biblical record as a common point of reference. While both optimists and pessimists might see the Bible as a powerful resource for reinforcing their views, we are those who hunger and thirst for living Truth in the Person of Jesus Christ! In Him alone can we possess a confidence that will see us through these troubled times!

In the life of Jesus we see a perfect portrait of the character, grace and love of God. In the second letter of Paul to the Corinthians we also find a powerful and eloquent ballad describing God’s love. Many of the heavenly attributes of God in Christ are put forth in the 13th chapter of this letter. No other treatment of this subject has so powerfully touched the lives of as many generations as this one, which no doubt sprang from Paul’s relationship with Christ Himself.

Optimists should rejoice to read such encouraging statements concerning the Love of our all-powerful God! In fact, His Love is our primary source of optimism! They will find much comfort in the fact that the Love of God in us “believes all things, and hopes all things,” but it is likely that wishful thinkers will cower from the adjacent statements that His Love in us also “suffers long, bearing all things and enduring all things.”

You see, Biblical, Christ-centered optimism is costly. It requires a price that many of our modern self-centered people are not willing to pay. They prefer a “new age” brand of faith that requires nothing of them. But the followers of the Lord of the Universe know their power springs from the laying down of their lives for others in His Name.

It appears easier and more appealing for some to make shallow confessions and affirmations that everything will work out all right. This could be merely cowardice clothed in presumption and wishful thinking. But Biblical optimism is active, and is always accompanied by the appropriate actions which are given by the direction of God Himself.

In the life of Jesus, our supreme example, we see a wonderful combination of faith, courage, and positive action. His optimism was based on His love, willingness and ability to do whatever necessary to bring about that positive result.

During the time of my writing this, an associate and I are working on a decorating project. I have the confidence that this job will be completed and that we will be rewarded for our efforts. We have the needed skills, resources, energy, time and willingness to do the work. But the main reason for my optimism is that WE ARE HERE NOW, doing the work! Likewise, the love of Christ is an active, positive, working force that is committed to the welfare of His loved ones.

Let us observe the life of Jesus of Nazareth, the most positive man that ever lived! Where did He get His limitless source of energy and determination? From the Heart of His Father, of course! Here is the one and only source of unconditional Love and power that all of us must draw from! It was from this Source that He obtained the positive ability to heal, save, and deliver the oppressed.

Jesus’ optimism did not forego the cross which He was born to bear, but it did see Him through to the glorious triumph which was also His destiny! For the joy set before Him, He endured the cross, and rose again for our deliverance! Likewise all children of God should know that suffering according to the will of God will only secure our victory in Him! No amount of positive thinking will help us to avoid the distasteful aspects of His plan for us. Our optimism is based on the riches of His glory and grace — not on our present outward circumstances! He alone is our past, present and future victory! Our faith, hope, and confidence towards a final and joyful outcome can only be based upon our relationship with Him!

While some continue to trust in sinful and faithless humans, it would be wiser to place our confidence in an all-knowing, all-powerful and ALL-LOVING GOD! Is this not the more courageous view? Would it not be actually easier to pronounce defeat and death over the creation of God when all outward evidence seems to support this woeful ending?

Who among us will join the ranks of the FAITHFUL, those who pray for and tenaciously live in the expectation of God’s kingdom? Who will draw from the Heart of the Savior Himself, a courageous optimism, one in which they freely and unselfishly participate?

In the same breath I must warn those who smugly proclaim “peace and safety,” being preoccupied with their own personal goals and desires. Woe unto you, says the Lord! Sudden destruction awaits you, for you hunger not for His Reign in the earth! This is not faith in Christ nor Biblical optimism. It is fleshly minds endeavoring to convince themselves of the lie of all the ages. Beware! This thinking may appear to bear fruit for a season, but not the resurrection life of Christ. True victory in Him must always be preceded by the work of His Cross in us. And our positive confessions in Christ can never compromise the Godly principles of honesty, integrity and eternal or experiential truth.

Out of the optimistic heart and mind of God, Christ, and His people, the seeds of a new heaven and new earth are presently being sown. As Jesus believed in the Kingdom of God unto his death at the hands of the Romans, so also is He bringing forth souls who believe and trust in His almighty, unfailing purpose. Their belief is more than merely a mental assent. It is a confidence for which they too are willing to die. While some may find a glorious martyr’s triumph, others will experience the slow and daily working of the Cross in their lives. They too are sustained by an inner joy that only knowing His eternal purpose and gracious Person can provide.

While living in His Joy, and the daily awareness of His Presence, they give themselves to seeing His reign of righteousness, peace and joy in themselves and the world around them. Their hearts are in perfect agreement with His mission to proclaim good news to the poor; to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, recovering of sight to the blind, setting at liberty those who are bruised, and preaching the acceptable year of the Lord. (Luke 4:18-19)

As members of His Body in particular, they contribute to these positive goals by simply functioning in the purpose for which He has created them. How mysterious, how wise and yet how simplistic is His great plan! May everyone of us continue to learn of Him, Jesus Christ, the magnificent Lord of the universe! May we also obtain an optimism and confidence in Him for which we will never be ashamed.

Let us gain courage and hope from the words of the prophet: “Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low; and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways shall be made smooth; And all flesh shall see the salvation of God” (Luke 3:5-6). Out of our intimate relationships with Him, we are learning that His faithfulness will not fail us, and His kingdom cannot be moved.

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(Original radio broadcast from April 3, 1998)

In our last message we focussed on the revolutionary aspects of Jesus and His message, the Gospel of the Kingdom. It is my conviction that Satan has successfully distracted the North American Church by promising to satisfy our desires for ease and comfort and predictability. He has fooled many of us into believing that God is pleased with our efforts to create wonderful plans and programs and religious activities that give us a false sense of security.

He knows that when we all truly find our ultimate peace, security and sense of belonging in the awesome Love of God, and in the embrace of His loving family, a radical, irreversible change in our every thought, feeling and action will take place!

THIS is Kingdom activity! It begins in the deep, hidden recesses of our hearts, to cleanse and transform us from within! It lifts us up into heavenly dimensions in Christ, where God, His Kingdom, and His throne become a reality unto us!

Away with myths and fables and endless discussions on philosophy — give us Christ!

Father, send us servants like Paul, who boldly admitted his weaknesses, while continually acknowledging the all-sufficiency of our Lord Jesus Christ!

2 Cor 4:3-6: But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.

For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

Lord give us preachers who are not afraid to proclaim the revelation of Jesus Christ and His Gospel! God is shining into your hearts TODAY! You are beginning to see The face of Jesus Christ our Lord — TODAY!

Herein is the beginning of a radical revolution! It begins as we surrender our lives to the power of His Word and the security of His Love! It frees us from forms, traditions, religious thinking, and the condemnation that our best will never be good enough!

My brother, my sister in Christ, you are accepted in the Beloved! You belong to Jesus! Now you must arise and walk in the reality of His Love!

The perfect Love of God can cast out your fears! The fear of failure. The fear of rejection. Even the fear of death!

Receive His Love today! This is the Good News of the wonderful, righteous reign of God! He is putting His enemies — your doubts, fears, disillusionments, your pain, despair and bitterness — under His feet! He is liberating your captive soul! Praise the Name of the Lord!

This brings us to another important Kingdom principle — Kingdom growth and expansion. The pleasure of our God is to increase the intensity of His righteousness, peace and joy in this earth, and the level of freedom that His Creation experiences in Him. He does this in two basic directions.

The first is on the personal level. The second is on the corporate or universal level. In other words, He expands His work in the earth as we individually grow unto spiritual maturity, and also as others are brought into His Kingdom by the hearing of the Good News!

How beautiful is the running of those who run with the Good News of the Grace of our God! How wonderful is the message — our God reigns!

This is where many of us can easily get out of balance. We either focus only on internal growth or only external growth. Regardless of your area of ministry, whether in the local church, or out on the mission field, we must always be mindful of both.

When any believer becomes focussed entirely on his or her own personal concerns, or even preoccupied with their own circle of Christian fellowship, death begins to set in. We then begin to lose our Kingdom vision, or at least an important element of it. This is crucial. Likewise we can forget about the details of our personal walk with God and time with the brothers and sisters while pursuing the grand vision of winning the world to Him.

The cure for these extremes is Christ-centeredness, and kingdom consciousness. Yes, God bought your salvation with the blood of Jesus Christ, but He was also IN CHRIST, reconciling THE WORLD unto Himself! How can we possibly grow in the grace and the knowledge of Jesus Christ, while ignoring His very Heart?

I challenge you all today to rediscover your vision of His unfailing Love! Remember when you readily believed that all things were possible in God? Do you remember when your prayers were bold and audacious, for you understood the great potential of confident trust in His desire to bless His Creation?

Have the difficulties of Kingdom living foreshadowed your view of His eternal purpose? Have the testings of your faith left you weak and weary, or the disciplines of your Heavenly Father discouraged you?

Remember the admonition to despise not the discipline of the Lord, nor to faint when you are corrected by Him, for whom the Lord loves, He disciplines. But if you are without discipline, you are bastards, and not sons.

Today is a day to be healed and encouraged! The Father has been preparing you for His good work! Simply submit to His processing and the power of His wonderful Love!

You are the apple of His eye! He cares for you so much more than you could ever imagine! And for this reason He is shaking both you and me from our self-centeredness! He knows how this inhibits our full experience of His abundant Life!

How can we be delivered from our self absorption? Know this first: You will never deliver yourself from anything. Our world is being presently filled with self-help books, tapes and programs that may be of some use. But here we are talking about Kingdom Living — not band aids! We are being immersed into the grace, the love, the power, and the fire of the Holy Spirit if God!

Jesus Christ is your Saviour, your baptizer in the Holy Spirit and your Lord! Receive all of Him! Receive His forgiveness and grace, and also receive the fullness of His Life into your being! He wants to manifest His Kingdom Life in you and in this earth today!

Kingdom growth is a dynamic reality. But sometimes we become preoccupied with the growth of OUR ministries, OUR churches, OUR plans and ambitions!

Jesus is building both His Church, and establishing His Kingdom. We do have a part to play in all of this, but we must be sure to just stay out of His way! The burden of this ministry is to see God’s people released from the bondages of self, sin, sickness, religion, materialism, and our independent attitudes. Only the Good News of the Kingdom of God can accomplish this!

The churches of this country are filled with self-centered, comfortable pew warmers, who have little concern for the progress of God’s eternal purposes. Could it be that our message has been too watered down and too weak?

Even some of the churches that are in so called “revival” have little impact on the communities that surround them. Let me tell you that the Gospel of the Kingdom of God is volatile! One who has been touched by its power will not easily continue in the modes of the past!

Jesus Christ is a man of consuming love and compassion for all! His seeking and saving of the lost knows no boundaries! If 99% of all men, women and children were to become saved, He would not be satisfied! He would leave the security of the fold to find the very last one!

This is the Heart of His Kingdom! Wherever His nature, His Character, His Holiness, His gentleness, goodness, meekness, faith, temperance, long suffering, love joy and peace are found — there is the manifestation of His reign in the earth!

And not only that — but His determination to see the fullness of His life revealed unto and in mankind is unrelenting! Jesus is the Eternal Living Word of God, and when He declared in the beginning: “Let us make man in our own image, and likeness, and let them have dominion over all the earth,” all of the forces of the universe began moving towards this end!

How many of us have been drained of energy for this “Christian” Life? How many of us have become discouraged, as if in a losing battle? Well be of good cheer, you are ready to participate in the Battle of the Lord, becoming strong in Him, and in the power of HIS MIGHT! You can now begin to rest in Him, and take His Yoke upon you! Learn of Him! Then all of your striving can be according to His Working, which works in you mightily! (Colossians 1:29)

Simply give yourself to Him, allowing His Grace to impart unto you the very energy of God towards accomplishing His Eternal Purpose in you. In so doing you will naturally stir up the spiritual gifts that are already in you by virtue of His generosity.

Ministers, teachers, pastors and preachers: Listen to the Lord today. Forsake the yokes that men and religion have placed upon you. Begin today to flow only in the special abilities that have been placed in your life by His very ascension! Then you will begin to see lazy pew warmers become active participants, equipped for service in His Kingdom!

Don’t worry anymore about church attendance, and the maintenance of the building. Let others do that! Your concern and God’s concern is for the advance of His reign of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Ghost! God wants to release you unto joyous liberty in Him as well!

Heavenly Father,

You know we have touched on some sensitive issues today. We ask today that you will by your Spirit speak to our hearts, not in the Words of a mere man, but in your divine heavenly counsels. Only your eternal truth can free our minds and our lives unto your wonderful goals. May they ever be our goals as well!

In the Lovely Name of Jesus,
Amen

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