I have spent a lot of time with Keith Green over the past 3 days. I have been listening to his teachings via Sermon Index. Messages from 1979 through 1981. I am captivated by the brutal honesty on these teachings.
I hear a man whose heart is to follow Jesus and a burning desire to love God above all else. Here was a man who wavered between being hailed as a "prophet" to our generation only to be completely undone by God. This undoing showed Keith just exactly how much he didn't love others or God. He used the name, or label of prophet, to justify some behaviors that were not very godly.
Keith spoke openly about his problem and did not waver in his repentance or commitment to continue following Jesus. In his teachings, you could hear Keith's unwavering faith that the only way to live this life of following Jesus was complete abandonment to Him. This is so foreign to our culture today. A culture birthed and born out of the "ME" generation. A generation that seeks its own self comfort above everything else.
To some the idea of following Jesus is "What's in it for me?" How far off the patch could you be with that kind of thinking.
Keith truly believed (as I am coming to believe) that you cannot serve God with one hand on Him and the other on a lifestyle that seeks comfort. Our flesh rails against surrender to follow this Jesus. It only wants to build a safe place where it can be fed and nurtured. I think the words of Matthew 6:24 are still for me, here today. No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and Mammon.
Where is my loyalty? Not what I say or declare, but where is my heart, my thoughts...where are they focused? More than that is "what am I doing for the Kingdom?" Do people see Jesus when they look at me? I pray they do.
Am I feeding the poor, yet all the while loving God?
Am I visiting the sick and praying for them, all the while realizing how I have nothing to offer but my prayers in the name of Jesus?
Am I visiting or staying in contact with those who are in jail or prison.....Do I pray for them?
Am I becoming a student of God's word? Do I read....do I have devotions or am I truly being fed and shown the way to live through the Word of God.?
If I claim to have the Holy Spirit inside of me, should I not be motivated to look outside my own needs to help and minister (serve) others? I think so.
It is great that we have churches to go attend and have fellowship with other believers.....but I have a lot more time outside of church than I do inside.
Would it not stand to reason that I am on call 24/7 for the Kingdom to minister and pray and be the voice, arms, legs and heart of Jesus here in my town?
Guess what? You get to play also! What does that mean? It means that we don't sit around looking to that man up front every Sunday who gives the message, as being the only one who gets to do the things of Jesus.
Jesus turned over His kingdom to a group of men who probably couldn't get into most churches today....
He told them, "Hey guys! I want you to go out and make disciples. Get it? Make disciples..teach them the things that I taught you. Baptize them in the name of my Father, and of me and the Holy Spirit."
Make disciples.
What an incredible thing to share your story with someone and see God turn on the lights in their heart and mind. The light that only God can turn on that shows them real life that is available.
We get to "do the stuff" that Jesus did.
We get to pray for others as God heals.
We get to do spiritual warfare and see demons flee.
We get to bring healing and restoration to broken lives.
We get to see sinners saved.
That is power of the message of Jesus!
It is for today.
It is for those who believe.
It is here and now.
Crazy for Jesus? You bet I am.
Crazy enough to believe that this stuff is real.
God on you....
mb
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