GET OVER YOURSELF

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Are you a control freak? Really, are you? There is a basic tendency for all of us to want to be in control. At the heart of this tendency is the deadliest of the seven deadlies-pride! Pride is believing that you can actually control things in your life. It's when you push your Creator-God aside and take over the universe for awhile.

There's an old Jewish proverb that says: "Pride is the mask of one's own faults." It's when you know deep down that you are not able to control anything, so instead of admitting it, you put on your pride mask. The thing about this is that most people handle life in this way and therefore are playing the game along with you and protect themselves by not taking off that mask. However, pride has a way of showing itself with the destruction that is caused. This fits one of the most popular of proverbs about pride: "Pride goes before destruction; a haughty spirit before a fall."Your pride will be discovered by its damaging results. When this happens, you will be given another chance to be honest about yourself and abandon your attitude of pride. But even though the opportunity to come clean about yourself presents itself, it's very hard not to live in the state of denial in order to continue playing the game.

When I see the ugly head of pride showing up in my life and in the life of others, I just want to say: GET OVER YOURSELF! That's really what is happening. There is too much of yourself that preoccupies all of your thoughts and choices. When your life becomes "all about you", you are wrapping your life up in a very small package-insignificant and inadequate.

Jesus teaches the answer for this pride problem. He says:"If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me." (Luke 9:23) He uses the word "deny", but He is actually saying: GET OVER YOURSELF so there is room for Me in your life!

Denying yourself or getting over yourself is really what humility is all about. Humility is having a right evaluation of yourself before God. It's believing what God says about you is true and believing what God says about Himself is true.

The most interesting thing about humility is that the more you grow spiritually the more humble you will become. As you grow in your walk with Jesus you will see your life more clearly and will have a better handle on having a right evaluation about who you are before God. Paul, in his letters to the followers of Jesus actually seems to be growing backwards. As the years pass he goes lower; he grows downward! And as his self-esteem sinks, he sees God more clearly as the awesome One who owns and empowers him. He is able to understand what Jesus meant when He said:"Without Me you can do nothing." Check it out:

FIRST-Paul says in his early years: "I am the least of the apostles." (1 Corinthians 15:9) He sees himself as about 13 on the list of the ones Jesus chose to lead out in following Him. Thirteenth! Now that's pretty high up in the ranks of the followers of Jesus.

SECOND-As Paul moves into his middle years he says: "I am the very least of all the saints." (Ephesians 3:8) He now sees himself a little less on the totem pole of Jesus' followers. He is now no longer thirteenth, but he is the least of all of the saints!

THIRD-Then, later in Paul's ministry, his view of himself is even worse! He says: "I am the chief of sinners." (1 Timothy 1:15) Whoa! He has gone from thirteenth place to the least of all the saints and now he sees himself as the worst sinner of all! What a reversal! That is the great thing about humility. The more humble you are the more grace you embrace to become more spiritually mature. It is a faith-walk with your Creator-God!

Now, one of the most popular criticisms of a faith-walk of humbling yourself before God is that your faith is a crutch. "Oh, your faith in God is just a crutch!" Have you ever heard that? It's one of the most common attacks thrust against believers. I have come to realize that the accusation is absolutely right! Faith IS a crutch! But there is nothing wrong with that at all. It's a natural thing-even understandable! Let me offer two reasons for my thinking:

First, a crutch is good when you need it! If your ankle is broken or badly sprained, a crutch is absolutely necessary. You can't get around very well without one. When you see someone using crutches, you don't criticize them or belittle them for using them. Since they are hurting and have been damaged, it's natural, even wise, to use the crutches! The same is true about your life. When you are in need, hurt and damaged, it's natural to search for a set of crutches!

Second, a crutch allows you to become healed! Those who are in need of crutches and use them will find healing and relief over time. If you need crutches and don't use them, you just prolong your pain and prevent your healing!

If you have a pulse, then you have a real need for a set of spiritual crutches. In fact, humans don't work well when unplugged from a personal relationship with the Creator. Humility is based upon this personal relationship with your Creator-as I said earlier-a right evaluation of yourself before God. There is a wickedness and a wonder about who you are. You have within you a wickedness that is able to do most anything, any place at any time. When you see your need for God, you fall into line before your Creator and you are the created one. But you're not as bad as you could be! There is also a wonder about you! You have been created in the image of your Creator. When you have a right evaluation of yourself-wickedness and wonder, you take on a true humility.

This humility, then, is to spill over into your relationships, so that you treat everyone else as a fellow-created being. Without humility, pride and self-centeredness reign in your life! Pride is such a prevalent and prominent problem of the human condition-so much so that only a personal relationship with your Creator has the capability of diminishing this deadly, spiritual cancer. This is the reason for the following Biblical principle: HUMBLE YOURSELF & GOD WILL EXALT YOU! EXALT YOURSELF & GOD WILL HUMBLE YOU!

You can only secure your spiritual crutches by faith-faith in your Creator! So your faith is a crutch. You desperately need it! Maybe the image of crutches isn't strong enough. There have been many times when I have felt that my need for God is so great that it would be better to call it an IRON LUNG!

Hey, don't you think it's time to GET OVER YOURSELF? Think it over!

ANYONE ANONYMOUS

ANYONE ANONYMOUS is a game plan for starting over at any level. The Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous are not only to be applied to the alcoholic, but to any problem you might face. This approach transforms the Twelve Steps into 6 practical steps for you to go from stuck to starting over!

MYTHING OUT ON JESUS AND HIS TEACHINGS

If you want to be like Jesus or allow Him to be incarnated in and through you, you must get to know what Jesus really did and said. The normal tendency is for believers in Jesus to accept and teach the many Christian rumors that we've always been told were true. Yet many of these rumors are myths; they just aren't true! So stop mything out and check out this new book and CD!

TABLE OF CONTENTS 

MYTH #1—Jesus Is Owned By Christianity.

MYTH #2—Jesus Is The Founder Of The Institution Of The Christian Church.

MYTH #3—Jesus Wants The Entire World To Be Converted To Christianity.

MYTH #4—Jesus Shows All Believers How To Go To Heaven.

MYTH #5—You Must Believe Jesus Is The Son Of God To Follow Him.

MYTH #6—Jesus Is Narrow And Exclusive.

MYTH #7—Jesus Came To Take All Believers Out Of Here.

MYTH #7—Jesus Came To Take All Believers Out Of Here. (continued)

MYTH #8— Jesus Teaches What The World Needs Now Is Love.

MYTH #9—Jesus Prefers Mega-Churches And Mega-Ministries.

MYTH #10—Jesus Is Hated By The World And So Are His Disciples.

MYTH #11—The Study Of The Bible Will Give You Eternal Life.

MYTH #12—Most Of Jesus’ Teachings Are About The Church.

MYTH #13—Jesus Teaches Hate For Family Members.

MYTH #14—God Dwells In Holy Buildings Today.

MYTH #15—“Going To Church” Is Jesus’ Idea.

MYTH #16—Jesus Can Only Truly Be Revealed Through The Bible.

MYTH #17—Jesus Wants Us To Change The World.

MYTH #18—Jesus Wants Us To Focus On Relevance.

MYTH #19—Jesus Plus Nothing Is Simpler And Easier To Live.

MYTH #20—Jesus Takes A Stand Against Sinners.

MYTH #21—Jesus’ Message Is Spread Best By Talking.

MYTH #22—Jesus Sent Paul Primarily To The Gentiles.

MYTH #23—Christ Is Jesus’ Last Name.

MYTH #24—Satan Didn’t Believe Jesus Was Son Of God.

MYTH #25—Jesus Requires That All Pray The “Sinner’s Prayer”.

MYTH #26—To Jesus Salvation Was All About Eternal Life.

MYTH #27—The Finished Work Of Jesus Was To Die.

MYTH #28—Jesus Is Opposed To Allah.

MYTH #29—Jesus Wants You To Be Healthy, Wealthy & Successful.

MYTH #30—Jesus Taught A Lot About Hell.

MYTH #31—Missing The Message Of Jesus Began In The Organized Church.

MYTH #32—Jesus Taught When He Is Coming Back Again.

“I am afraid, lest as the serpent deceived by his craftiness, that your minds might be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Jesus.”

CHRISTIANITY ISN'T THE WAY; JESUS IS

I’ve spent most of my life seeking to understand how to relate to the non-churched, non-Christian world. My books and speaking platforms have all had a crossover flavor to them and I finally ended up at the peak of professional speaking opportunities on the largest platforms in addition to pastoring one of the early mega-churches.

During that season of my life I came to the conclusion that only Jesus could transform our lives.
1. NOT Churchianity
2. NOT Christianity
3. NOT conversion methods
4. ONLY JESUS

I came to the conclusion that in order to reach the non-churched world I would have to separate myself from mainstream churches and Christianity. So, I did that to a certain degree, but I still had to take up offerings to to keep the church and its staff alive.

In the second season of my life Jesus apprehended my heart in a fresh way and poised me toward taking this same JESUS PLUS NOTHING message beyond the “secular”, non-churched world into the 7 major cultures of the world.

So, now my focus and perpendicular learning curve have taken me to a simple understanding of Jesus and the Kingdom. I've spent so much time and energy unlearning a lot of my theological premises I received at graduate seminary while a student and professor. It's been a fresh look at Jesus and His message of the good news of the Kingdom. He only mentions “church” twice, yet we are all about building and uplifting the church. His message was not the church, but all about the Kingdom.

In this journey now we are working with the 7 primary cultures of the world—Buddhist, Hindu, Moslem, Jewish, Animist, Christian and Atheist/Agnostic. We don't present Christianity to them, but Jesus. We teach them to follow the teachings and principles of Jesus as the early disciples did. It took a while for the disciples to become believers. However, it's important to note that being a believer is not enough—the demons believe, false prophets/teachers of Matthew 7 are believers and we are believers. So, what's the difference? Jesus says, "Only those who do the will of my Father will enter the Kingdom." So "hear my words and practice them"....

We are working with the Buddhist youth. What is so amazing is that these young Buddhists are followers of Jesus. It's just like hanging out with the early disciples while Jesus is out for the evening. It is mind-blowing! We are seeing the same results with the other cultures. Jesus trumps everything else. Not Christianity, but Jesus. My concern is that we must stick to the teachings and principles of Jesus without depending upon a set of beliefs or a theological system that man has built around Jesus. I believe Jesus never was a Christian and doesn’t want to be.

The problem I sense with making Christianity the answer or making the ultimate goal for a person to become a Christian is the following:

We are using and promoting terms (Christian and Christianity) that are NOT even used by Jesus. And, when New Testament writers don't make this their identification mark for the Jesus movement.  Worse, we have transformed these terms into sacred goals for not only our lives, but the entire world. By doing this we set it up for people to hate Christians and Christianity, even lumping it altogether with the West. Therefore, so many do not hear the Good News. So many miss the most attractive person ever—Jesus.

Many people use the term “Christianity” and mean by it a personal relationship with Jesus. However, words must be chosen well in order to communicate most clearly. So, consider these observations:

FIRST—Making Western Cultural Christianity the primary way to God implies all other cultural religions are wrong and Western Cultural Christianity is right. It tells people that to be a Follower of Jesus, one must also undergo a cultural transformation to Western Christian culture. It’s as if Western Christian culture and Western Cultural Christians own Jesus. This is not scriptural; Jesus is not exclusive, but all-inclusive.

SECOND—Making Christianity the primary way to God implies and requires that Christians must convert the world to Western Cultural Christianity. Obviously, this requires a vast array of evangelistic campaigns, exporting Christian music and Christian doctrine, which is really a brand of Christianity from the West, with the intent of changing the audience to a more western culture. This creates a prideful, imperialistic, cultural type of evangelism. It creates a situation where people of other religions are the “enemy of our faith” who must convert to “our side,” instead of simply following Jesus within their context. The turn-off level is great and very offensive to many who don’t want to reject their culture in order to come to Jesus. The truth is that only Jesus through His Spirit is able to bring about spiritual transformation. This is not a cultural transformation, but a heart transformation.

THIRD—Making Western Cultural Christianity the primary way to God brings with it a narrow view of God—Jesus and the Kingdom. God and Jesus are limited as being from the West. It’s a negation of God’s full creation of every culture, nation and tribe and thereby diminishing the cultural richness of the Creator-God.

FOURTH—Making Christianity the primary way to God reduces Jesus and the Kingdom to a religious system, competing for the hearts and minds of men and women everywhere. Christianity is another religious system on par with the religions of the world. Jesus and the Kingdom are not! We cannot change people with religious rituals and programs; that is pride. Only a personal relationship with Jesus, who is above all religions, can and will change people; from the inside out.

Christianity as another religious system acting as if it is the only way to God or the right way to God stirs up negative reactions and attitudes from the non-Christian world, criticism from the media and persecution of the Christian “missionaries” and their activities around the world. This attitude and teaching that Christianity is right and all others are wrong merges quite well with the smug attitude of the West believing we are always right and better than most everyone else.

E. Stanley Jones’ approach in the Indian culture was marked by his meeting with Mahatma Ghandi. Ghandi had just returned from his work in South Africa. He asked Ghandi how he might make the Good News more effective in the nation of India. Without skipping a beat, Ghandi offered two suggestions to Jones. First, “If you Christians would practice the teachings and principles of Jesus, that would go a long way in communicating your faith.” Second, “If you would study our culture and religion, then you will find we aren’t all that bad and reprehensible.” Jones found these to be profound enough to make them the cornerstone of his approach to not only the Indian culture, but the cultures of the world.

FIFTH—Making Christianity the primary way to God rejects the life and teachings of Jesus. Jesus is for the entire world. Jesus never urged anyone to become a part of a Christian culture or to join a Synagogue or Church. His only concern seems to be the person’s heart of faith and the subsequent act of whether or not the person becomes a follower of Jesus.

Jesus made it a habit of reaching out to people from all kinds of religious and cultural backgrounds. NOTE the following illustrations of how the approach of Jesus and his disciples was all-inclusive:

• John 4:12—Woman at the well was a Samaritan with very different beliefs regarding the center of worship. He left her with cultural beliefs intact, except that He trumped the center of worship by saying that someday the center of worship will not be in a given location, but in your heart. Jesus was not promoting a new religion; he was offering a personal relationship with God. This personal relationship would transform both her religion and the Hebrew religion. We give Satan too much credit, he is not a creator! He can only steal and destroy what God has made. A personal relationship with Jesus would take what Satan had stolen back for God and replace what he had destroyed.
• Acts 10:28—Peter’s experience with the non-Jews. After Peter was supernaturally led to the house of Cornelius by a radical vision from God, he told them: "I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism but accepts men from every nation who fear him and do what is right.”
• Mark 7:26—The Syrophoenician woman. She was a gentile from a godless culture. Her faith was evident in her persistent conversation with Jesus about her daughter. Jesus honored her faith, however He didn’t pull her into a new religious system or study class, nor did He have her renounce her cultural upbringing. When Jesus conversed with the Samaritan woman, He didn't make certain to warn her of her false beliefs and be sure to change the mountain where she worshipped. There was no renunciation of her false doctrines.
The presence of Jesus will change a person from the inside out to be like Jesus. God’s presence will convict their hearts in His time of what needs to be changed in their personal and cultural ways; NOT US!
• Luke 9:54—Rebuke of James & John. They suggested that Jesus call down fire from heaven to destroy the Samaritans who were not of the Jewish faith. Jesus rebuked them soundly.
• Mark 6:45-7:23—Trip to Gennesaret. Do you notice how many times the Gospel writers refer to going to the other side of the Sea of Galilee? Whenever they were on the Jewish side, they crossed over to the other side. Why? Jesus performed the same works among the gentile world. He never urged them to change their religious culture, but let them remain right where they grew up. However, they were drawn to Him.
• Matthew 15:30; Mark 7:24-8:9—Trips to Tyre, Sidon and Decapolis. All of these were non-Jewish areas where Jesus ministered.
• Mark 7:31-38; Matthew 15:29-38—Feeding of the 4000. It’s almost as if Jesus made a point doing the same miracles among the gentiles as He did with the Jews. This was a feeding within the world of the gentiles.
• Matthew 8:5—The Roman Centurion. No doubt the Roman Centurion grew up with the Roman gods, yet Jesus does not speak to this at all. His concern was his faith. When Jesus declared the Roman official's faith as outstanding, even greater than He had seen among the house of Israel, Jesus didn't tell this man to make sure to repent and go renounce the many Roman deities or his faith would be for nought.
• Matthew 8:10-11—Continuation of the Centurion story. Further in the scene in the healing of the Roman Centurion’s servant, Jesus says: "I tell you the truth, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith. I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.”
• Matthew 24:14—Jesus’ message regarding the nations of the world. Here Jesus says: “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.”
• Matthew 28:18-20—The great commission of Jesus. Jesus repeatedly gives the same command to His disciples before His departure: MAKE DISCIPLES OF ALL NATIONS.
• John 10:16—Jesus mentions “other sheep” that are His. Who are these other sheep? Could it be that they are from the various cultures of the world? Could they be those spoken of in Romans 2:14-15 and 1 John 4:7?
• Acts 15:1-29—The first followers of Jesus were all Jews. When the first gentiles (everyone else) came to Jesus, some religious Jews insisted that all followers of Jesus must become cultural Jews. The apostles clearly decided against this. All people could be Followers of Jesus without changing their culture.
• Acts 17:26-27—Message of Paul in Athens. “From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us.” God made the nations—all nations—were made by God in such a way so that all men might seek and find God.
• Acts 17—When Paul spoke before the gentile audience in Athens, he didn't quote Scripture, didn't use Jesus' name at first, stroked them for their many idols of worship and proceeded to explain to them who this UNKNOWN GOD is that they commemorated. He didn't call for the renunciation of these "gods" and he used their “heathen” poems to explain what God is like (Acts 17:28), yet many believed in Jesus that day. What's that all about? I don’t know many with this kind of approach.
• Acts 8:26-40—When the Ethiopian eunuch was approached by Philip, sent by God to do so for this Divine appointment, why doesn't Philip bring up the renunciation of his Ethiopian culture? They had already built many temples to some gods back then, so why not a call for renunciation of these gods...and especially before baptizing this eunuch, which must have served to make him feel he was now OK with God and a follower of Jesus?
• I Corinthians. 9:19-22—Cultural identification. “Though I am free and belong to no one, I have made myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God's law but am under Christ's law), so as to win those not having the law. To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some.” NOTE the strategy here was not to export a given culture to another, but to identify with the culture in such a way to introduce Jesus to that culture.
• Revelation 5:9—Every tribe and tongue and people and nation. Jesus came to reach all of these, not by exporting any given tribe, tongue, people or nation, but from within each of these faith in Jesus naturally emerges. Since the Creator-God is the source of all people, He has already marked all of these people groups. The word translated as “nations” is actually “ethnos” in the Greek. This is where we get the word “ethnic” from; in other words, there will be every cultural group in heaven.
• Anyone, anywhere can be a follower of Jesus— Cultural Jews, Hindus, Buddhists, Animists, Agnostics, Moslems, and even Christians can all be followers of Jesus. Christians have said for years that a cultural Jew doesn’t have to renounce being Jewish in order to follow Jesus. Following Jesus makes a person’s Jewishness more full and meaningful. I believe this translates into the many cultures of the world. Following Jesus brings out the fullness of any and all cultures. A cultural Buddhist can be a follower of Jesus. A cultural Moslem can be a follower of Jesus. It’s just like a cultural Catholic can be a follower of Jesus without renouncing his cultural background or cultural Baptist or a cultural Methodist. Anyone can be a follower of Jesus and still remain within his or her cultural background...and this is quite Biblical as demonstrated above. It also makes it much better for reaching others within that culture.
NOTE that each of the above passages has to do with the good news of Jesus and the Kingdom reaching to the ends of the world—to everyone everywhere.

To take this one step further, there is a spirit of anti-Christ taught in Scripture. “Anti” is not only "against Christ", but "instead of Christ", therefore anything that takes us away from JESUS PLUS NOTHING is not only an add-on, but in the spirit of anti-Christ. This is why Paul says, "I am afraid as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness that your minds might be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ" (II Cor. 11). I wonder if this is what is going on in our ministries.
I don’t want to slam any church or Christian leader by what I’m saying, but I do want to be helpful in awakening leaders everywhere to the simplicity and purity of following Jesus. I have pastored a few churches over the years and know how easy it is to fall into the habit-patterns of keeping the "show" going—whether it is the Sunday morning service, the youth program, the children's ministry, and the obligatory prayer-letter back to supporters. Sometimes we get caught in the trap of pleasing our constituencies and are not free to see Jesus and His teachings as they are. We pray for a special releasing of the people of God everywhere to be free to see what Jesus said and did and JUST DO WHAT HE SAYS.
By the way, when Jesus spoke of being hated by the world as He was hated, He was referring to the religious leaders (“They will put you out of their synagogues.”) and that's where I receive most of my attacks...from those brothers who ought to know better.
Jesus and the kingdom are spread through a few who have been transformed by the power of Jesus.

PERSONAL TRANSFORMATION is what is normally called “conversion” and because of a misunderstanding of what this is, the modern missionary movement has attempted to “convert” the natives throughout the world. This is what I call “doing missionary work the hard way.” No missionary, no matter how effective, has the power to produce genuine, spiritual transformation.

The great modern missionary, E. Stanley Jones, was confounded by this problem and was a quick-study on what Jesus would do in other cultures. He said: “In conversion you are not attached primarily to an order, nor to an institution, nor a movement, nor a set of beliefs, nor a code of action—you are attached primarily to a Person, and secondarily to these other things.
To pass from estrangement from God to be a son of God is the basic fact of conversion. That altered relationship with God gives you an altered relationship with yourself, with your brother man, with nature, with the universe.”
Recently a blogger by the name of Bill stated this beautifully when he said, “The more I study Jesus’ message the more I’m convinced that it is non-religious. In fact, until the modern mission movement that began in the late eighteenth century, Christianity mostly moved into culture rather than converting it. That is, Christian missions more often converted the heart but left much of the culture intact. For the past 200 years, we have been converting whole cultures to the Euro-American style of Christianity…. What I’m beginning to understand is that the ‘Good News’ requires little change in culture—which often includes a religion. The gospel message is relational and spiritual, not religious.”
And that relational, spiritual transformation can only happen through the power of Jesus, not Christianity.
Why has the church become a distribution center for religious aspirin? Most people only go to church at baptisms, marriages and funerals—only to be hatched, matched and dispatched.

Why is the church viewed as irrelevant and out of step with the culture? Why is the church so impotent ƒand dying out in the USA at the rate of 70+ churches per week? Why is the church not expanding in our country?

The building and expansion of little local kingdoms called churches has replaced genuine transformation through the good news of Jesus and the Kingdom. Jesus mentioned the “church” only twice and spent His entire ministry teaching the principles of the Kingdom. Christianity, though well-intentioned, has placed the emphasis in the wrong place and is missing the power of personal transformation. The emphasis must be upon Jesus and the Kingdom and churches gather in the name of Jesus to teach and practice the Kingdom lifestyle.

So, it’s not so important that a person becomes a Christian or Catholic or Baptist or Adventist or whatever. What’s important to be a follower of Jesus.

THE KINGDOM SECRET (New Book Available)

A non-religious, cross-cultural examination of Jesus of Nazareth and the Kingdom of God!

INTRODUCTION

PERSONAL TESTIMONY…The Jesus Journey
Nearly five years ago, after holding the position of Founding and Senior Pastor of a mega-church, publishing fourteen books and finally achieving the privilege of speaking on the largest corporate platforms in America, Jesus apprehended my life. This experience quickly spread to my wife, Diana, and is now moving through our children and grandchildren. The journey is like riding a roller-coaster—always being in the front seat. The adventure is the most authentic, transformational and fulfilling we’ve ever known. Everything else pales in comparison.

There’s a catch to all of this. While our learning curve is nearly perpendicular, we have come to realize that much of what we have learned must be unlearned. We’ve been educated beyond our intelligence to the point that we’ve spent most of my life DOING THINGS OUR WAY FOR JESUS. This time around we are stubbornly focused on three habits:
1. Walking with Jesus.
2. Walking with others.
3. Waiting on Jesus to lead out with orders and opportunities.
When asked, “What’s happening?” or “What are you up to these days?”, we have learned to respond, “I’m doing the toughest thing I’ve ever done in my life. I’m attempting to follow the teachings and principles of Jesus.” These are not empty words or clichés. What we are learning as we gather together around Jesus is to interpret the popular WWJD? personally and as a group. WHAT WOULD JESUS DO? To ask the question is to discover the answer. But there’s more to WWJD? than originally thought. It’s WDJD?...WHAT DID JESUS DO? We’re learning more and more that the most important thing of all is to do what Jesus did in every way possible.

A major theme for our spiritual journey has become JESUS PLUS NOTHING. Our tendency is to complicate Jesus and our relationship with Him. And, that tendency leads to smothering the dynamic of following Jesus with a multitude of ADD-ONS. These add-ons may be good, but they are not the best and become insidious distractions away from the simplicity of devotion to Jesus.

Since Jesus apprehended our lives in the past few years, we and a few of our friends are stubbornly devoted to:
• Embrace the teachings and principles of Jesus as a lifestyle.
• Mentor others to do the same.
• Believe God for raising up leaders for the harvest.
• Empower the youth of the world.
• Restore the broken, abused, addicted and poor.
• Serve everyone Jesus brings to me.

PERSONAL TRANSFORMATION…Why this study?
The purpose of this study is all about Jesus transforming your life. Enter into this study with an open heart and a prayer for the Lord to change you inside out. Make it your goal to stubbornly follow Jesus. So, first begin with YOU—take the time to study and embrace it for yourself. Make it your passion to be a follower of Jesus.

Consider sharing this study with a few. We’re convinced that where two or three are gathered together Jesus will show up—meaningfully and powerfully. So, if you knew that Jesus was going to show up some place, wouldn’t do whatever you had to do to be there. Study this with a few. Encourage each person to do his/her personal study and then come together to share all that was received in the process. You will be amazed at the dynamic of Jesus showing up in your midst.


THE REVOLUTION IS STILL ON
THE IRRESISTIBLE PERSON—THE IRREVERSIBLE KINGDOM

In the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve enjoyed the presence of God. They were all set—good jobs, lush place to live, great retirement benefits and a personal relationship with God. They were to fulfill three purposes:
• REFLECT the image of the Creator-God…man and woman were the image of God!
• REPRODUCE godly children and fill up the earth with them!
• REIGN together against evil…to cultivate and guard the garden...co-rulers with the Creator!

Well, without laying more blame on the woman or the man, it’s sufficient to note that they blew it—each in his/her own way. You see, they had only one prohibition that was set up by God. However you want to characterize that prohibition and the subsequent encounter with the serpent who lured them into breaking that universal law set up by their Creator, THEY BLEW IT. They blew it by not trusting their Creator-God and disobeying what He said.

What’s interesting is that by breaking the law of God (disobeying Him) they not only broke the law, but the law broke them. They were kicked out of the Garden. There were three definitive consequences:
1. They lost the Kingdom where they were co-rulers with their Creator.
2. They lost the personal relationship with the Creator-God.
3. They lost the abiding presence of God’s Spirit within them.
And ever since that great loss mankind has been desperately trying to recover. It seems that the hole in the soul of every man and woman can be attributed to those three losses—the Kingdom of God, the personal relationship with God and God’s abiding presence through His Spirit. NOTE they didn’t lose heaven, but gave up the Kingdom, personal relationship and abiding presence on earth.

Since that epic rebellion against the Creator-God, men and women have become enslaved by the very things they were supposed to rule.
• PLANTS have been used to produce a variety of drugs and alcohol to be abused with the end result of being addicted and controlled by them.
• PASSIONS in mankind have easily become out of control to the point of wallowing in them to the point of living life lustily rather than living life passionately.
• POSSESSIONS have easily taken a prominent place in our lives and we live under the deception that people, places and things can make us happy.
All of these promise so much more than they can deliver!

Every religion, philosophy and politic is a noble attempt to fill up that hole in the soul...
• To seek the Kingdom.
• To seek to re-establish a personal relationship with the Creator.
• To seek the abiding presence of God.

NOTE that most every religion is setting up a system and many times an obstacle course to make your way through in order to get out of here—to heaven, nirvana, eden, shangri-la, paradise or the promised land. I see every religious system as well-meaning attempt with its desires and standards. Christians are trying to be the best Christians, Buddhists the best Buddhists, as are Hindus, Moslems, Jews, and Animists. Since God created all peoples and is holding them together, eternity has been placed in everyone’s heart to grope for God. At the core of this groping is this deep ache from the hole in the soul. They are seeking the Kingdom, seeking that personal relationship with the Creator-God and seeking an abiding presence with God as in the beginning in the Garden of Eden.

But setting up ways to get out of here doesn’t seem to be the way of God; it’s the way of man. Nor is it God’s way to set up a system of do’s and don’ts to avoid going to hell. It’s interesting to note that there was no system set up there and no worship, but a relationship with the Creator-God, walking together in the Garden. This is why, after establishing a massive system of sacrifices and feasts, the Lord says through the prophets, “I want compassion rather than your sacrifices.” God wants a relationship. I like the distinction made between religion and relationship. Religion is man’s best attempt to avoid going to hell. Relationship says, “I’ve already been to hell and don’t want to go back!” Religion is man’s idea. A relationship is God’s idea.

God has not given us a way to get out of here. That’s not the direction! He’s doing all that He can to get down here—to dwell among us. So, this is what God has been up to ever since man lost the Kingdom, the personal relationship and abiding presence of God. Through the priests, the judges, the kings, and the prophets God wanted to dwell among those who would trust Him and those people would be a blessing to all the nations of the world. During that time the presence of God through His Spirit came upon individuals to empower them for a temporary task and then would depart.

After the prophets, there was a period of 400 silent years. It was at this point that Jesus was sent to earth. His mission was to reveal the GOOD NEWS OF THE KINGDOM and by doing this to restore what mankind had lost—the Kingdom, the personal relationship and the abiding presence of God. So, Jesus announced the Kingdom, established the personal relationship and introduced the abiding presence of God for all to experience. He brought the Kingdom of God to earth, because He is the King. Wherever the King is, there is the Kingdom. He was the dwelling place of God on earth, fully indwelt with the Spirit of God. God had finally come down here to dwell among those who would trust Him.

Jesus did one more amazing thing. He re-introduced the Spirit of God as the abiding presence of God—to permanently indwell people again as in the Garden. And, with this introduction it is again possible to enjoy a personal relationship with the Creator-God once again—to walk with Him in the Garden. So, the Kingdom, the abiding presence and the personal relationship with God are no longer longings and things hoped for, but they have become a reality in Jesus.

He came to turn the religious stress into REST. Jesus said, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." You can have all that was ever lost in the Garden. Jesus can fill up the hole in your soul.

In this study you will discover for yourself what it means to know the irresistible Jesus and the irreversible Kingdom of God. Jesus came as a revolutionary. The revolution is all about restoration and transformation. And, you will come to understand that the revolution is still on today!


TABLE OF CONTENTS


I. 3 Reasons To Be A Follower of Jesus (John 1:1-14...Colossians 1:15-20)

II. What Does The Kingdom of God Look Like Now? (Matthew 13)

III. How Jesus and His Kingdom Spread (Acts 2:42...Matthew 28:18-20...Acts 1:8)

IV. The Power of the Few & Personal Transformation (I Thessalonians 1)

V. The Power of Persuasion & the 21st Century Jesus Movement (I Thessalonians 2)

VI. The Finished Work of Jesus (John 17)

VII. The Photograph of Kingdom Righteousness (Matthew 5:1:16)

VIII. The Precepts of Kingdom Righteousness (Matthew 5:17-48)

IX. The Practices of Kingdom Righteousness (Matthew 6:1-18)

X. The Priority of Kingdom Righteousness (Matthew 6:19-34)

XI. The Perspective of Kingdom Righteousness (Matthew 7:1-12)

XII. The Perseverance of Kingdom Righteousness (Matthew 7:13-29)



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THE 10 COMMANDMENTS OF REALITY

1. The universe is a universe of moral consequences; you reap what you sow.
2. The morally and spiritually fit survive; the rest perish.
3. The Jesus way is written into the structure of the universe.
4. Humility and obedience are the secret of knowledge and power.
5. An organism can expend as much as it receives and no more; therefore receptivity is the first law of life.
6. The second law of life is: you must lose your life to find it again—self-realization comes through self-renunciation for a cause; the cause is the Gospel—the Good News.
7. Greatness comes through service and only through service.
8. Love is the fundamental law of human relationships.
9. Life is an external growth; when you cease to grow you begin to cease to live, you begin to die.
10. All life is lifted by self-sacrifice—by the self-giving love of a cross.

Jesus revealed in his own person and life the laws underlying the universe. What is covert in the universe became overt in him. He is the revelation of God and the universe that God created. Reality is shot through and through with Jesus. He is woven into the very texture of its being, the soul of its soul.

The God who revealed himself through Jesus is the same God who created the universe and built into that universe the laws of the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom of God is. It is built into the nature of reality and is the way reality works. When you discover those laws underlying reality, you discover the laws of the Kingdom.

Jesus said, “The kingdom of God is within you.” It is written in your tissues, your nerve cells, your blood, into you. It is also written into your relationships with each other; it is the way you are made to live corporately; it is the law of our corporate life.

E. STANLEY JONES

THE POWER OF THE FEW--Legacy of Ed Neteland

The Lasting Legacy of Ed Neteland

"A friend is someone who knows the song in your heart and can sing it back to you when you have forgotten the words." This is a primary role Ed Neteland played in the lives of so many leaders around the world. Ed befriended so many who never knew what friendship meant, until he passed through. Without a doubt one of the greatest privileges of my life is that I can count Ed Neteland as a dear friend and colleague who has marked my life and ministry indelibly.

Ed always had a Scripture to share with me that was appropriate to the moment. He knew and loved the Scriptures and it showed. He was an unparalleled example of waiting on the Lord and putting his trust in Him. Ed never sought a job. He trusted the Lord to bring him what was next. His walk with Jesus was so simple and so authentic.

Ed believed in me. He was the master of affirmation. He relentlessly queried me as to what God called me to do. He saw a person's vision as the most important issue in life. Once I was able to put my vision into words, then Ed held me to it. There was no obstacle and no impossibility that could keep me from doing what I was called to do in Ed's mind.

There are two things that stick out to me that have marked my life so deeply.
FIRST-About 20 years ago Ed challenged me to develop a curriculum that would take a new follower of Jesus into some level of spiritual maturity. He believed that since I have spent so much time in the marketplace with men and women who were coming from a non-biblical background that I ought to be able to see Jesus through their eyes and lead them along in their spiritual journey. I tried my best on several occasions, but it was never quite right. He praised what I had come up with, but we both knew it was still short of the mark.

Then a few months ago, I announced to Ed that I finally discovered it. We are now writing a curriculum that can be followed by anyone from a non-Christian background-Buddhist, Hindu, Moslem, Jew, Animist and Agnostic. It is a way to simply and purely introduce people to Jesus from every religious and cultural background. It lifts Jesus up to His rightful place and recognizes that Jesus isn't owned by Christianity or Christians. Ed loved the concept and gave it his blessing and a few helpful insights.

SECOND-Ed was into a practice-a personal ministry focus-that may be the blueprint for spiritual revolution. Ed was devoted to the power of the few. When I initially wrote out my personal, life vision it was stated: I want to empower the masses of the world to be and to do all that God created me to be and to do. Ed never did like this vision, because of one word-masses. He repeatedly cautioned me that it is impossible to empower the masses. "You can empower individuals, but not the masses," he said. So, just to please Ed and get him off my back I inserted "individuals" for "masses", but I really didn't embrace it. Well, I didn't embrace it until the last four years.

After all these years, I finally got it. When Jesus came to reach the world, He didn't do it the way I would have. I would have set up as many mass seminars and workshops as possible; even sponsor a few more of those mass luncheons of 5000 or more throughout the country. Now, that would have had impact.

But, not Jesus. Jesus called 3 to come alongside Him-just to be with Him. Then 12, then 72. He poured His life into a few and the movement exploded and is still exploding today. It's the power of the few. Paul didn't work alone. He took others along with him. And, he had help in writing his letters. With respect to I & II Thessalonians Paul didn't write those letters alone. It was Paul, Silas and Timothy who wrote them. But even more important is that the relationship between those 3 men was so dynamic that many Thessalonians began following Jesus and their testimony spread throughout all of Asia Minor. By the way, they were only in Thessalonica for 3 and a half weeks. This is a clear example of "where two or three are gathered in the name of Jesus", He will show up in their midst.

In my thinking, "the power of the few" principle was so embraced by Ed Neteland that the impact of his investment in the few that he touched will continue to echo forth throughout the world in great multiples.

It doesn't take much to observe how effective this principle works, when you examine the life of Dr. Ed Neteland. You need go no further than to note his investment in "Project Pearl" where 1 million bibles were taken into China. That investment could result in millions of Chinese being introduced to Jesus. Project Pearl was just one project that God used Ed Neteland to direct. There are so many more-many more like me who are today marking others with the marks of Ed Neteland upon our lives. Every time I write, every time I speak and every time I share any wisdom or experience another, I am a living legacy to my dear friend and mentor, Ed Neteland.

Note: Ed Neteland died on Sunday, December 3, at the age of 74 years.