Pastor Bob’s Blog

This last week a really great couple moved to town.  They’d visited the church once, and I’d had the chance to be in touch with them by Facebook.  Wonderful folks.

One of the guys in the church stepped up and offered to help them move in.  His mom, who also is active at Abundant Life, made food for them.

People try to over-spiritualize love.  Jesus said that no one can have greater love than to lay down one’s life for his friends.  (John 15:13).  That may mean dying, but it doesn’t have to.  It could mean lifting couches instead of fishing.  Or making food instead of going shopping.

Doing something useful for someone else when you’d rather do something else is a great expression of love.  God’s love isn’t a squishy feeling two teenagers feel.  It’s something active.

Here’s the word the Lord gave me.  “Love isn’t love until it gives or does something for someone else.”  So go do something for someone or give something to someone.  Don’t do it with a frown.  Do it with a smile.  And when you’re doing it, don’t take the credit for being a do-gooder.  Give the Lord the credit.  Tell them God loves them.

I can guarantee you.  You’ll never have more fun than when you’re living the Love.

Janet and Craig Watson.

Today I received a Skype call from my dear friend, Craig Watson, the pastor of Eagle Christian Ministries in Durban, South Africa.  Cherie and I have a covenant relationship by divine appointment with Craig and his wife, Janet, and we are becoming closely knit together in the Spirit.  Craig and Janet have been in Athens and have ministered at Abundant Life Church.  Talking with Craig via Skype (a free computer to computer “telephone” call) with web cams was like being in the same room with him.

Craig shared with me that his greatest passion over the last many months has been to live in the presence of God.  For years he has enjoyed daily fellowship with the Lord.  Lately, though, he has been hungry for the Lord’s presence, and has begun to spend each Wednesday morning in prayer and fasting before God.  The result has been striking.  Craig has experienced wonderful times of fellowship and received extraordinary revelation and anointing from God.

To Craig’s flesh, taking Wednesday morning to seek God seemed like a big sacrifice.  In addition to pastoring, Craig and Janet operate an international logistics business that is thriving in famine.  Time is not something he possesses in excess.  But he made the quality decision to make time to seek God, and has reaped enormous rewards, both in the Spirit and in the natural.

Craig reflected, and I agree, that we’re not “professional preachers” delivering a joke, three points, and a story.  We shouldn’t preach just to preach.  Instead, we need to preach from a position squarely in the presence of God.  The presence of God and the anointing that accompanies His presence makes the difference between just a nice message and a rhema word from God that will change the lives of the hearers, open blind eyes, heal bodies, bring deliverance to the captives, and cause miracles to occur.  Like Moses, we should not preach or do anything unless the presence of the Lord goes with us.  (Exodus 33:15).

In your own life, seek the presence of God and let it transform you.  Make a quality decision to spend time in the Word of God, being quiet before the Lord, and hearing His voice.  In your marriage, your job, your health, and every other part of your life, seek first His kingdom – and His presence – and everything you need He will supply to you.  (Matthew 6:33).   And when He supplies it, it won’t be by small degrees.  It will be exceedingly above all you can ask or think (Ephesians 3:20) and according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:19).

Seek His presence, and let Him transform you!

I’ve been preaching a series drawn from the church’s foundation scripture, John 10:10:  The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy.  I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.  (NKJV)  Part of that abundant life is divine health.

Believers in the Lord Jesus Christ should not be afraid of the “Swine Flu.”  Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law.  (Galatians 3:13 NKJV).  Every sickness and every plague is under the curse of the law.  (Deuteronomy 28:61 NKJV).  Logically, then, Christ has redeemed us from every sickness and plague – including the Swine Flu.  It’s part of why He came.  Isaiah, forseeing what Jesus would do, prophesied:

Yet it was our sickness he was bearing, our suffering that he endured.  We accounted him plagued, smitten and afflicted by God; But he was wounded because of our sins, crushed because of our iniquities.  He bore the chastisement that made us whole, and by his bruises we were healed.  (Isaiah 53:4-5 JPS).

Don’t be like Job.  A hedge was around him, but he lowered it by fear.  “For the thing I greatly feared has come upon me, and what I dreaded has happened to me.”  (Job 3:25 NKJV).  We have not been given a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and a sound mind.  (2 Timothy 1:7).  So keep the faith hedge up.

I recommended to my congregation that they just turn off the TV and close the newspaper stories that sow seeds of fear about the Swine Flu.  Yes get your rest.  Yes drink plenty of water.  Yes get your exercise and eat right.  But spend more time reading the Word, meditating on it, and confessing it over yourself than you do fretting and worrying about Swine Flu.  Christ has redeemed you from it.  So at night, turn off your light, roll over, and fall asleep safe in the Lord.

When my dad died in 1992, one friend told me, “I know you’ll make it through because you live at the foot of the cross.”  That sounded good.  I’ve come to realize, though, that God doesn’t intend for us to live at the foot of the cross because Jesus isn’t there any more.

First, let me say I understand that the cross is critical to all we enjoy in Christ Jesus.  We would not be saved, Holy Spirit filled children of God without the work Jesus did on the cross.

But Jesus didn’t stay on the cross.  He didn’t stay in the tomb.  He is seated at the right hand of the Father in heavenly places, far above all principality and power and mighit and dominion and every name, with all things under His feet.  (Ephesians 1:20-22).  And bless God, He raised us up together and made us to sit together in Jesus in heavenly places.  (Ephesians 2:6).

Christians need to stop focusing just on the cross and begin focusing on the throne.  Jesus was the sacrifice, but now He’s the conquering King.  And 1 John 4:17 says as He is, so are we in this world.  As the Holy Spirit spoke to my heart yesterday, “Most of the body of Christ has left resurrection power in the tomb.”

We do not need to be crying at the foot of the cross, even if we sin.  No.  Gratefully and in faith, we need to appropriate 1 John 1:9, and confess our sins, receive our cleansing, and go on to conquer.  We should not be weeping at the cross in any circumstances.  We are, instead, supposed to reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.  (Romans 5:17).

Jesus isn’t still in the manger.  He’s not on the cross.  He’s not in the tomb.  He’s on the throne.  We need to take our eyes off the cross and fix them on the throne, then go and do the “greater works” He called us to do, bless God!

Is God limited in how much He can bless us?  My answer may surprise you.  He is limited.  By what?  By the level of our faith.

In Matthew 9:27-30, we read the account of Jesus ministering to two blind men.  When Jesus touched their eyes, He said, “According to your faith let it be to you.”  They were healed.

What if their faith were for something less than receiving sight.  Maybe they had faith to get a guide dog, or a cane, or an assistant.  If so, they would have limited Jesus to providing a guide dog, a cane, or an assistant.  But they didn’t.  They had heard the word.  He probably preached as He did in Luke 4:18, from the prophet Isaiah, that He was anointed to bring recovery of sight to the blind.  Faith came, and they received according to their faith.

The people of Jesus’ own home town limited Him.  In Mark 6:1-6, we learn that people were offended because they thought Jesus was being “uppity.”  Jesus could do no might work, and He marveled at their unbelief.

The widow in 2 Kings 4:1-7 needed supernatural provision to pay her debts.  She believed Elisha that if she borrowed vessels and poured in oil, the Lord would provide for her and her sons.  When did the oil stop?  When the vessels ran out.  She and her sons limited God by their vision.  If they had borrowed more vessels, they would have been given more oil.

Let’s not limit God.  If we see the image of ourselves God portrays in the Bible, and that image becomes bigger in us than the circumstances around us, and if we act on the faith we get from the Word of God, then God can do great things for us.

God wants us to receive from Him, whether it’s healing, deliverance, prosperity, or salvation.  But it will be done for us according to our faith.  Let’s take the limits off of our faith!

I’m preaching a series entitled, “Faith That Pleases God.”  The foundation scriptures are Hebrews 11:6 (it is impossible to please God without faith) and Romans 14:23 (whatever is not of faith is sin).

If we drill down through unbelief, we’ll usually find a trust problem.  If I trust God, and if I trust His word, then faith is easy.  If not, it’s hard.

It’s true in our natural lives, too.  If I tell my wife that dinner will be ready at 7:00, she’ll be at the table with her appetite – if she trusts me and what I say.  If she doesn’t, then at 6:30 she’ll be on the phone ordering pizza.

Do we trust God?  Or do we trust the counterfeit?

Hezekiah was one who trusted God.  Let’s unpack his story, which is found in 2 Kings 18 and 19.

Hezekiah became the king of Judah at age 25.  He trusted in the Lord (2 Kings 18:5), and the Lord was with him so that he prospered (2 Kings 18:7).

The king of Assyria attacked Judah and captured some of the walled cities.  Hezekiah tried to appease the Assyrian king, Sennacherib, by giving him gold and silver from the temple.  Not surprisingly, it didn’t work.

Sennacherib was preparing to attack the seat of the government of Judah, Jerusalem.  He sent a representative to taunt the people and to tempt them away from the Lord.  He told them the gods of the other nations hadn’t been able to save the other nations from Sennacherib, and the Lord couldn’t either.  He promised them that if they subjected themselves to Sennacherib, and gave him a gift, they would “eat from [their] own vine, and everyone from his own fig tree,” and that every one of them would come to another land of grain and new wine, bread, and vineyards.  (2 Kings 18:31-32).  He offered them a counterfeit blessing that looked deceptively like the Blessing of the Lord.

The people of Judah didn’t bite.  They kept their mouths shut.  Hezekiah went before the Lord, and asked Isaiah, the prophet of the Lord, for advice.  Isaiah spoke a prophetic word that Sennacherib would be routed and killed.

Hezekiah and Judah could have bitten for the counterfeit blessing.  But they didn’t.  No, Hezekiah had read the accounts of how the Lord had saved his ancestor David.  He’d read (and maybe sung) David’s psalms, many of which were written when David was under attack.  Hezekiah knew the promises of the Torah, and what was promised him in the Blessing.  He had a prophetic word from Isaiah.  Hezekiah trusted the Lord and the written and prophetic word of the Lord.

Will we bite for the counterfeit blessing?  Or will we hold out for the real Blessing of the Lord?  Will we fall prey to taunts, even by fellow Christians, that God doesn’t really heal or prosper?  Or will we stand on the promises of His Word?

Until you and I trust the Lord and His word, we will never really live by faith.  And if we don’t live by faith, we’ll never please God.

Trust Him.  He is faithful!

One of my Facebook friends posted this.  It’s really silly – but true.  In times of economic distress, the LAST thing I’d want to do is to stop tithing my tithe to the Lord.  So give it a look, yo!

Tithe Rap

During this morning’s service, I preached from Matthew 25:31-46.  The title of the word preached was “Sheep of the Good Shepherd.”  The basic theme was this.  If we are really disciples of the Lord Jesus, people will be able to see the fruit of our salvation.  In this discourse on the Mount of Olives, Jesus talked pointedly about what that fruit will look like.  Surely the fruit of our salvation will be evident when we minister to our neighbors, but it will be especially evident as we minister to “brethren” of Jesus who are in need.  Who are His brethren?  They’re other Christians.  (Romans 8:29 calls Jesus the firstborn among many brethren).

Isn’t that what Jesus called the “new commandment?”  In John 13:34-35 (NKJV), Jesus plainly told us how we and anyone looking at us will know if we’re His disciples:

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.  By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.

If we are really followers of Jesus, we will be moved to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, house the homeless, and visit the prisoner – especially those of the household of faith (Galatians 6:10) – knowing that when we do, we’ll be feeding, clothing, housing, and visiting Jesus.  If we refuse to do those things, we really need to do some serious soul searching and be honest with ourselves about whether we’re really followers of Jesus.  Read the passage from Matthew 25.  It’s true.

Abundant Life Church was just approved as a host site for Angel Food Ministries (www.angelfoodministries.com).  Soon, once we have been trained, we will begin ministering food to people in Southeastern Ohio.  As so many people are struggling in the current economy, we will be able to feed them (and by extension, Jesus) – and to share the good news of the gospel.

I’m excited.  This is just one more way that Abundant Life Church can be the feet, hands, and heart of Jesus in this area.  If you want to be involved, contact Jeff Dolman, who is the elder in charge.  If you leave a message on the church’s answering machine, he’ll call you back.  Or track him down at church.

Let’s all be sheep together, and not goats!  And with the Holy Spirit on us, He can use us to be ministers of His love and to change peoples’ lives!

I read an article today in Ohio University’s student newspaper. The point of the article was that people are giving less at church because they’re worried about the economy. The reporter spoke with some pastors who reported that their churches’ incomes were down.
The reporter had left a message for me, but I didn’t get it until after the story was posted. I’m sorry about that, because I could have given her a different perspective.
At Abundant Life Church, our tithes and offerings are higher than last year at this time. Why? First, the Lord is blessing our people – just as His Word promises.   Second, our people are not afraid. They take God at His Word. He says He’ll supply all our needs according to His riches in glory, and He promised He would open the windows of heaven and pour out a blessing to those who tithe. Our people are tithers and givers.  Maybe you’d stop tithing and giving if you didn’t believe what God promised in the Bible and were afraid God wouldn’t do what He said He’d do. But if you really believe Him, and you understand the laws of tithing and of sowing and reaping, you’ll give more in tough times, not less.
What’s the effect of the economic downturn on Abundant Life Church? We’re becoming more attuned to other people’s needs, and are prepared to live out the commandment of love by giving to others from what the Lord has blessed us with.
For anyone who has no earthly clue what I’m talking about, I’d recommend that you read Malachi 3:8-12 as a starting point. Take what the Lord is saying by faith, expect Him to perform His word, and tithe to your church and sow (give above your tithe), and watch the Lord perform His word!!

Last Sunday, I preached on the first section of the prophetic word the Lord gave me for 2009.  “Rebirth” was the title of the message.  (You can listen to it on the “Resources” page of the church website, or on our iTunes podcast).  One of the points of the prophetic word said we should pray for the reapers and be a reaper.

When it comes to helping people be born again, we can fulfill one, two, or all three of the three roles involved:

1. We can be a pray-er (Matthew 9:37-38; Luke 10:2- pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers to the harvest).
2. We can be a sower of the word of salvation into the person’s heart.
3. We can be the reaper who leads the person to pray the prayer (or make the confession) of salvation.

During my time alone with the Lord this morning, he took me to Amos 9:13, and I got really excited:

“Behold, the days are coming,” says the Lord, “When the plowman shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes him who sows seed. . . “  (NKJV)

What is a plowman?  He’s the guy who breaks up the ground to prepare it for the seed to be sown.  The person who is praying for the sowers and reapers is the plowman – preparing the way in the spirit realm for the Word of God to be sown and for the the person who is the object of the prayer to be reaped into the Kingdom.

The Lord is telling us through the prophet Amos that the whole process of praying, sowing the Word, and reaping souls will be tightly compressed.  Each person will be born again so fast that the reaper (the last one in the process) will catch up with the plowman (the pray-er) as the plowman is praying for the next person!  I believe this is that time!  These are those days!

That means the Body of Christ will be reaping souls left and right in 2009.  Figuratively speaking, the pray-er, the sower, and the reaper will be stumbling over one another trying to keep up with the pace of salvations.  Glory to God!

We’re already seeing it.  Riley Stephenson is the Minister of Evangelism at Eagle Mountain International Church on the grounds of Kenneth Copeland Ministries in Fort Worth, Texas.  Brother Riley leads teams of people into the malls, shops, and streets of Forth Worth and other cities where Brother and Sister Copeland have meetings.  The Lord used Brother Riley and his teams to pray, sow, and reap people into the Kingdom by the thousands last year, and the pace will pick up this year.

I expect to see the same thing at Abundant Life Church and throughout the Earth in 2009.  Plowmen, you’d better be praying, because the sowers and reapers are gaining on you!!