Ever finished a project and thought: Is that it? The result just did not compare to the excitement that first inspired action. This is especially true if years of faithfulness, study, and prayer enabled the vision to become reality, but it was not quite what was expected. This kind of disappointment can lead to introspection.

Disappointment That Leads to Soul-Searching

I can think of a few examples in ministry such as preparing a group for outreach and then hearing about their experience of God’s great provision and the miracle of hearts touched by the Gospel. Yet, a few months after their return, the mission team’s lives do not appear to have profoundly changed as hoped. Another example might be during Bible study. A word or passage exegeted with skill opens a whole new understanding and fills hearts with joy. Then, through poor sermon delivery, lack of coffee, or lack of attendance, the whole study falls flat, and people want to flee the room as quickly as they got there. But these scenarios are not limited to ministry. Disappointment is everywhere – There is the excitement of losing weight, followed by the reality of living on a diet, paying off debt, and learning to really say no, or finishing a year-end goal at work only to realise it cost more personally in terms of health and relationships than it ever should have.

These moments of disappointment that bring us to the place of soul-searching, can be, much later, an example of the way God changes us through his sanctifying Spirit. But during our introspection, there comes a moment when we just need a word of comfort. I believe this is what Paul must have felt in Acts 23:11. “The following night the Lord stood by him and said, ‘Take courage, for as you have testified to the facts about me in Jerusalem, so you must testify also in Rome’” (ESV).

Would not Paul’s service in Jerusalem be considered faithful? It seems strange that the Lord would say, “Take courage,” unless he meant it, and that would imply Paul was down. I am not suggesting Paul was feeling sorry for himself. The text simply does not allow that interpretation. However, I know that in his shoes, I would be tempted and possibly give in. William Hines offers some insight:

“Self-pity comes when we are overwhelmed by how circumstances affect us. We may become irrational, emotional, depressed, angry or all of the above. When someone is involved in self-pity, he does not have God’s perspective because he is so concerned with what is happening to him he forgets to see the whole picture.”¹

Perspective Changes Everything

Again, I do not think Paul had given into this sin, but I find the way the Lord ministered to Paul echoes what we need when we fall prey to self pity. We need the Lord to stand by us, and we need to hear his Word. That is the perspective that will change everything.

In fact, consider that the Lord stood beside him. The word “Paraclete” is not used in the text, but is not this the meaning of it, “one who comes alongside”? Is not this an example of the Comforter’s ministry promised by Jesus? All this would seem heavy-handed if not for the following night in Jerusalem, when Paul wrestled through all of the disappointed introspection in his heart.

Let us review how he got there. He made a plan (Acts 19:21, 20:16), confirmed that he had heard from the Lord (Acts 20:22, 21:13), although he was warned before he arrived in Jerusalem (Acts 21:4, 11), and brought the offering that he collected (2 Corinthians 8-9). Upon arriving in Jerusalem, he fellowshipped with the Church and testified of all that God did (Acts 21:19-20a). But, while there, he was arrested as he tried to worship in the temple (Acts 21:27-33). He tried to address the crowd but could not finish (Acts 22:1, 21-22), then was given a chance to talk to the Sanhedrin but caused a riot (Acts 23:10). Certainly, there was so much more the apostle would have loved to say. Certainly, he had hoped for a better response, yet Scripture gives us every indication that he was faithful. Jesus stood next to Paul that night. He did not chide him; there was no rebuke. Rather, Paul received an exhortation to take courage and the gift of knowing his next assignment—he must testify in Rome. To me, this says that Jesus did not see Paul’s work in Jerusalem as a disappointment.

Take heart, or be of courage, in Greek is one word: θάρσει (thar-sey-i). It is in the present tense, second person singular, imperative, meaning Jesus is telling him personally, even commanding him. The root word θαρσέω (thar-sey-o), according to the lexicon BDAG, means “to be firm or resolute in the face of danger or adverse circumstances, be enheartened, be courageous.” It is the same word used in Mathew 9:2 when Jesus heals a paralytic man, and in verse 22 of the same chapter, when Jesus calls out the woman in the crowd who reached out to touch him. When Jesus says this word in the Gospels, he is not just cheering someone up: He is healing and ministering to their soul. In fact, one of the most touching uses of θάρσει in the Septuagint is in Zephaniah 3:16 where God comforts Israel with the promise of their deliverance. “On that day it shall be said to Jerusalem: ‘Fear not, O Zion; let not your hands grow weak.’” I believe it is in this way the Lord speaks to Paul in the night to bring him courage.

What did Paul do after this word? He went back to work and dealt with the next bit of drama thrown his way, notably an uncovered plot of some assassins in alliance with the Sanhedrin (Acts 23:12-26). Yet, that little situation got him out of Jerusalem (Acts 23:23) and closer to the day he would appeal to Cesar (Acts 25:11), and eventually, to the place of testifying in Rome.

A Time for Introspection and a Time for Courage

I believe there is a time for introspection and a time to not be afraid of disappointment because of the courage the Lord gives. Pete Scazzero describes a similar experience that he calls “the wall”—an invisible barrier that every believer hits at one moment that leads to “the dark night of the soul.” As the believer moves through the wall, Scazzero observes: “Our great temptation is to quit or go backward, but if we remain still, listening for his voice, God will insert something of himself into our character that will mark the rest of our journey with him.”² Therein lies our hope for survival. It is what God produces in our lives. Even if we can expect to pass through these times like Paul in Acts, Luke left us an open door of hope. God’s Word is the deposit, producing healing encouragement.

I believe the encouragement the Lord gave to Paul, as well as to the people Jesus healed, is also the same word he would give to us in our weakness, like in Zephaniah. Be courageous. Why? Because he is the Lord, and the work belongs to him (Ephesians 2:10). The result we are looking at in the long night of introspection and disappointment may not be accurate. Just like in the physical world, the darkness obscures our vision, and so it is in “the dark night of the soul.” In the Lord’s sovereignty, he is the Judge and the Sender. He sees clearly. That is why we can rest in his encouragement and in his peace for our soul. How do we get there? It is by means of our daily walk, trusting him implicitly. Take heart, the night will pass, and the wonderful life-giving work of the Lord will continue as we meditate on his Word, each day a little more, until his glorious coming.

NOTES

_{¹ William Hines, Leaving Yesterday Behind: A Victim No More (Oxford: Christian Focus Publications, 1997), 1463, Kindle.}

_{² Peter Scazzero, Emotionally Healthy Spirituality (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2014), 105.}

Augustine radically changed the way the world saw the light and darkness. He boldly proclaimed that darkness was not a quantifiable material or substance but was simply the absence of light. In the absence of light, darkness begins to exist. An easy concept to understand with the physical world, but what of the spiritual world? I have experienced darkness in the brightest white marble room in a Church of Scientology. I have experienced darkness in the presence of Hindu idol worship while in loving conversation with a dear Hindu friend. In the presence of candles all giving off warm light in a Wicca shop, I could best understand what the “absence of light” really was.

Spiritual darkness surrounds us in the world.

And as we enter into Halloween, we might notice things grow less discerning as the world gets even darker. To call Halloween a season of darkness is true both spiritually and physically. With the impending time change, our days are thrown off-kilter by circadian arrhythmia and the sun being in a different place seemingly than it was the day before. During fall, Seasonal Affective Disorder begins to plague those whose mental health acts as a testament to the importance of light in our lives. As natural light becomes more scarce, our bodies sometimes react physically the way our spirit reacts in the absence of light. The often prescribed treatment for SAD is called “light therapy,” in which people sit in the presence of bright, artificial light to bring about hormonal balance.

The spiritual climate begins to grow colder too, as our attention is diverted from the light and consumed with darkness. Studios save their most gruesome horror movies for release in conjunction with the Halloween season. In 2021 we saw the 12th installment of the Halloween movie series. Horror films will make millions of dollars, where it is all but certain people will watch dramatized versions of murder at the hands of a maniacal serial killer.

In this season of darkness, even the Church turns its mind toward death. Counteracting the pagan holiday Samhain, which is full of rituals commemorating the dead, the Church historically celebrates All Saints Day to remember the lives of the martyrs and saints that have come before us. It seems that as sighting the sun in the sky becomes rarer during this season, it is natural that humans ponder death and darkness in the absence of light.

So then, what is the Christian to do at this time of year? Are we to retreat to safety in hopeful wishing for the light of spring and Easter? Do we refuse to participate in Halloween, and yet not search out the opportunity to voice the reason that our Gospel has no place for the fascination of death and the demonic?

The Church has often missed its true calling in the face of darkness.

The Biblical contrast of darkness and light is impossible to miss. In Genesis, we read that darkness at one point hovered over the formless void until the fateful moment when God said, “Let there be light.” 1 John says that God is light and that there is no darkness found in Him at all. Jesus taught His disciples that they were to be like a city on a hill whose light could be seen for miles surrounding it. Those lost and wandering should find their way in the darkness because of the light of the Church. If we were able to ask Jesus face to face what to do, He would likely encourage us with some parable that teaches us that darkness stays dark until light goes into it.

A life of following Jesus is a life of following Jesus into the dark. It is the foundation of who Jesus is to His creation. In the introduction to his Gospel, John wrote, “In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” It is what Jesus does.

He dared to walk into Gerasene, a place marked by spiritual darkness where the demon-possessed man was living among tombs of the dead and healed him. We understand better what He meant in Matthew 5, when He told His disciples about the city on a hill and followed it up by telling them how ridiculous it would be to light a candle and then hide it under a basket.

Imagine being the Son of God and not venturing to the darkest places, dealing with those who have fallen into the abyss of evil found there. What then is the call of the Jesus follower in the face of evil? Well, it certainly is not to stay in Galilee. Rather, it is to cross the sea and enter into the place where all others are afraid to go because they do not serve a God of victory, life and light. Most others have no reason for boldness, but those of us who follow Jesus of Nazareth have every reason to proclaim. To not simply withdraw during seasons of darkness and evil, but to persevere and advance, knowing that the presence of light is not an accident but is something to be fueled and stewarded. The sober-minded and courageous Church shines its light for all to see that the lost and wandering will come in from the darkness to the rest found in its welcoming warmth.

The practical questions still abound, though. “Should I take my kids trick-or-treating? Can I watch horror movies?”

The issue of “celebrating” Halloween is more nuanced than just how your children secure candy or what particular movies you choose to watch. Not that every child’s costume has to be a Biblical figure, but perhaps we haven’t realized just how pervasive horror and evil has become “ok” to observe during Halloween. The more important question to address first is perhaps, “What has my attention?” It seems so easy to dwell on those things around us that evoke feelings of fear and sadness in us during this time. If we are what we consume, what are we during the month of the year when fear is commercialized? If what has our attention is what sets the direction for our life, where is our Christian walk heading when fixated on the demonic? As the days grow shorter and less sunny, reflect on life and ask, “Is this making much of the darkness?” Some families will choose not to celebrate Halloween, replacing it with something like All Saints Day. Some parents will do their best to navigate Halloween while shepherding their children away from the more evil aspects of the culture that surround it. No matter the choice, teach your children why it matters for Christians to live differently than the world around them. To not be “of” the world is not to be the same substance, which should be the natural conclusion for a group of people who the Creator has proclaimed they are made new.

Living differently does not imply that you are superior; instead, it is demonstrating what you believe. In this case, a Christian’s caution regarding evil is not out of arbitrary morality but stems from the belief that there is a spiritual world we should not take lightly. In an attempt to live differently than the world, in seeking to honor God, ask yourself, “What would make much of light?”, and live accordingly.

So as we navigate this season where horror, fear and evil seem to confront us at every turn, we ask ourselves difficult questions about just how much we participate in Halloween. The God we serve looked at His creation and saw it in its darkest times, and He still chose to involve Himself. He was not overcome or overtaken by the sheer evil He found in the darkness, and He never will be. Take courage and follow Him as He ventures into the dark looking for lost sheep, and know that wherever you go in His name, there will be light because you’ll be there.

In the world we live in today, fame is no longer confined to places like Hollywood; the flicker of fame resides in the heart of everyone with a social media account of some description.

In a moment of almost prophetic genius, Andy Warhol said in 1968, “In the future, everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes.” How right he was. In an era of viral videos and Instagram accounts, just about everyone in the world has the chance of their moment of fame. And many pursue it with everything they have. Self-promotion is no longer considered gauche or tasteless, but a necessary right of passage to attain the acclaim people desire. We’re building towers constructed with our own image of greatness.

There is a story in the Bible of a nation that built a tower to show how advanced and mighty they were. They were building a tower to heaven, but not to reach God and worship Him, no, instead, to gain renown and admiration. They wanted to show the world how great they were and to show God He was not so high above them that their greatness could not reach Him.

I am speaking, of course, of the Tower of Babel, which is described in Genesis chapter 11. In verse four of chapter 11, the people say, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves…” The desire to make a name for ourselves has been a part of human nature from the beginning. This desire, however, no matter how successful, rarely ever brings contentment. This is why we see so many unhappy famous people.

The fact is, we were not created to make our own names great but to proclaim the greatness of the name of God.

The name of Jesus. To lay our lives down for Him, so that He can be glorified. Interestingly, we see a beautiful picture of this in the very next chapter of Genesis. In stark contrast to building the Tower of BabeI, chapter 11, we see Abraham in chapter 12 coming to a new place, and building an altar to God.

God had promised Abraham the land of Canaan, and so when He came there, He built an altar to the Lord, “Abram traveled through the land as far as the site of the great tree of Moreh at Shechem. At that time, the Canaanites were in the land. The Lord appeared to Abram and said, ‘To your offspring, I will give this land.’ So he built an altar there to the Lord, who had appeared to him.”

An altar, unlike a tower, is a place of sacrifice. A place where Abraham could make a sacrifice to God, in gratitude for all he had given Him. An altar says, “You are great, Lord. You have brought me this far. My life is yours. A tower says, “Look at me; look at me. I am great. I have done great things. Adore me. Worship me.”

In a world where the norm is building towers to ourselves, I would challenge us to be more interested in lifting high the name of Jesus. One really practical way that we can check ourselves in this area is to ask ourselves if we are building altars to God or towers to ourselves.

Abraham had come to a new place when he built his altar. Are you entering a new place in your life? A new career, home, a new baby, an engagement or marriage?

I would encourage you to build a metaphorical altar to God in this new place. An altar says, “God, You brought me here. I couldn’t have achieved any of this on my own. You have led me. You have provided for me. I can take no credit but only raise a sacrifice of praise to You for all You have done for me.” An altar says, “God has brought me this far. He will bring me all the way.” An altar says, “God is faithful. I can lay my life before Him for He is good.”

A tower says, “To me be the glory.” An altar says, “To God be the glory.”

In 2019, I want to build an altar to God in my heart and lay this year before Him.

I want to say, “God, You have brought me here. Now, use me this year to spread Your fame, Your love, Your life-changing power to all those I encounter.”

If you are focused on what towers of self you will build this year, I would encourage you to re-evaluate your thinking, and instead, look to see how you can offer your life once again to the God who offered His whole life on the altar for you. He was led like a lamb to be slaughtered, the ultimate sacrifice, the ultimate altar, once for all. So how can we build towers to ourselves when He gave it all for us?

Let this year be the year that we lift high the name of Jesus in our lives, and when it comes to altars or towers, let’s make it an altar every time.

I was surprised by the following true story:

The location: Pearl Harbor The date: Sunday morning, December 7, 1941. Three hundred and fifty-three Japanese airplanes began swarming all around the harbor. Within a couple of hours, America lost eight battleships, six major airfields, almost all planes and 2,400 men. What began at 7:50 a.m. was supposedly a surprised attack. But these are the startling facts:

That morning, 50 minutes earlier, at 7 a.m., while the Japanese warplanes were 137 miles (50 minutes) away, two US soldiers on a small radar station in the Pacific scanned the screen and saw dots appearing, until the whole screen was filled. These soldiers notified their youthful supervisor, a lieutenant. No other officer was around, that being a Sunday.

The lieutenant thought these must be planes from California, and without another thought, said these crucial words: “Don’t worry about it.” There would have been time to scramble the planes at Pearl Harbor, prepare the battleships and shelter the men, but this lieutenant, at the most responsible moment of his career, failed the nation with the words, “Don’t worry about it.”

In our own lives, is there something that could wreak havoc–spiritual destruction in your life–and yet you dismiss it away, thinking, “Oh, don’t worry about it! It’s just a ‘little’ sin”? It is nothing big.” That is what we call spiritual compromise. Pearl Harbor may have been prevented if someone took the warning seriously. But because they didn’t, they said, “Don’t worry about it,” and numerous lives were lost.

Many of us may have an area of spiritual compromise in our lives as we read.

Compromise. We hear that word in politics, and we think that it is a good thing. Recently, we had a limited federal government shutdown. I heard media personalities asking the question: “When will the Republicans and Democrats reach a compromise on DACA, so we can move forward together?” Compromise: It sounds like a good thing, at least in politics. What about compromise in relationships? Compromise in marriage is not only important, it is necessary. Think of married couples going shopping together, and you’ll understand the importance of compromise.

My wife Jenn tends to shop in slow motion, like she’s leading a group of children on a field trip. There is very little attention span, lots of bathroom and snack breaks, and generally you move about .5 miles an hour. On the other hand, in a mall I’m more like a Navy Seal team on a rescue op. It’s an in-and-out mission–we’ve got to make the clothing extraction. I’m running in, almost at a frantic pace, checking the sign to find the location of the store I need; then I’m mapping out the most strategic route to find the fastest shortcut, and I’m in the store and out with my jeans in about 18 seconds, while the cashier is thinking, “Did you see something?”

So when my wife and I go shopping, we have to use this word “compromise.” I have to slow down, and simultaneously, Jenn has to speed up. We both compromise our strategies and generally enjoy our life and marriage much better that way (plus Amazon doesn’t hurt…) In politics, relationships and business agreements, compromise is important. But in our moral and spiritual lives, when we use the word “compromise,” this is a very negative thing.

Tony Evans said:

“Compromise is the cancer of the church, and we must rid Christ’s body of it. While Christians can compromise on preferences, they cannot compromise on principles. We can’t be one way on Sunday and another on Monday. This is a major problem among Christians in America today. We don’t take a stand. We don’t keep our standards. We merely shift to satisfy society.”

There was a church in Asia Minor that was beginning to take those slippery steps. Today we’re going to study the church that met in the city of Pergamum. John the Apostle was on the island of Patmos and turned around to see Jesus in all of His unveiled glory. And Jesus said, “write these things down” and then spoke a word for seven churches in Asia Minor. With each of these messages, we see the following outline:

. A City

. A Characteristic of Christ

. A Commendation

. A Criticism

. A Correction

. A Crown

The City of Pergamum

Pergamum was a religious epicenter. We’ve already looked at Smyrna–the commercial center–and Ephesus–the political center– but then there was Pergamum, the religious center. It was quite an impressive city, built high on a mountain and a very strong tower of defense. In fact, the name, “Pergamum,” means “citadel,” or “lifted up” or “high.” It had beautiful views of the country around it. Usually high places invoke a sense of wonder, awe and meditation, and the religious cults took advantage of that fact. Pergamum can also mean “marriage.” The church there was married to Christ but were allowing spiritually adulterous thoughts to creep in.

As soon as you walked into the city, you would see the imposing temple to Athena, right inside the city gate. Then there was the great temple of Caesar Augustus and also Hadrian’s temple.You look a little farther and oh, there’s the large altar to Zeus with an idol on it near the king’s palace. If that wasn’t enough, look along the side of the mountain, and you’re sure to see the temple of Dionysius, the goat god of wine. He is depicted with horns, but his upper part as a man and his lower part as a goat, with cloven feet and a tail.

When you think of the spiritual oppression with all of these temples all gathered in the same vicinity, it is no wonder that Jesus refers to this area as “the throne of Satan.” The word “parchment” derives its name from Pergamum. In fact, the people there so appreciated books, they had a library of 200,000 books second only to the library of Alexandria. Though they were immersed with piles of literature and parchment, only one divine paragraph was needed to heal them!

Characteristic of Christ

“These things says He who has the sharp two-edged sword.” Interestingly, Jesus refers to the church that is beginning to compromise back to His mouth, where the sharp, two-edged sword was extending out from. When you think of “sword” in the Bible (mentioned 404 times), in the New Testament, it is almost exclusively–though not entirely–used in the context of the Bible/the Scriptures/the Word of God.

Commendation

“I know your works, and where you dwell, where Satan’s throne is. And you hold fast to My name, and did not deny My faith even in the days in which Antipas was My faithful martyr, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells.

First, Jesus says “I know your works, and where you dwell, where Satan’s throne is.” What does “Satan’s throne” mean?

If you polled the average person and asked them, “Where is Satan’s throne?” They would invariably, unequivocally say “HELL.” Or Las Vegas or maybe even Washington, D.C. But in John’s day, Jesus would say it was in Pergamum. “Satan’s throne” was most likely referring to the large throne of Zeus, which was located in Pergamum. Interestingly, this throne was discovered by the German engineer, Carl Humann. Humann excavated the throne stone by stone and took it to Berlin, where it was reassembled in placed in the Museum of Pergamon. In 1930 the museum opened with the throne as its centerpiece. Eventually, the altar caught the eye of Albert Speer, the new chief architect for the Nazi Party. Germany’s new chancellor, Adolf Hitler, had commissioned him to design the parade grounds for the party rallies in Nuremberg. For inspiration, Speer turned to the Pergamon Altar.

Can you imagine living in the midst of “sin city?” Having the throne of Satan right down the street from you? You may not have a literal throne that you can point out, but we still dwell in the midst of a sinful people. Jesus knows that where we live in this world can prove difficult. He who dwelt in the dregs of Nazareth understands the difficulty of living in the world but not of it.

Notice the second commendation:

“You Hold Fast to My Name”—they weren’t selling out, as a whole. They remained true to God, even though they were right there in the midst of incredible evil. The verb “hold fast” (krateo) means to “grasp forcibly,” or in this figurative use, “to remain firm.” In Revelation 2:1, Jesus “holds the seven stars” as He watches over the churches and here the believers “hold fast” to His name. “My name” points to their adherence to the deity of Christ. In the midst of a pluralist society, much of the church refused to bow the knee to the false gods among them.

Willing to die for the faith—they were even willing to die for what they believed, and Jesus points out an example: Antipas—Jesus’ faithful martyr—whose name means “against all.” Antipas was the first recorded martyr of Asia. Some people believe he was slowly roasted to death in a bronze kettle during the reign of Domitian. His name represented the convictions he lived by: He would not give in nor compromise. Even if he had to be “against all,” he would not bend the knee to spiritual compromise.

So you have this great positive report from the Lord Jesus Christ. You have a wicked city but a faithful group who were willing to DIE for what they knew was right. So what’s the deal? Is that all Jesus had to say to them? No, there’s still a problem. Look at the criticism in verse 14.

Criticism

“But I have a few things against you, because you have there those who hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols, and to commit sexual immorality. Thus you also have those who hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate” (Revelation 2:14-15).

What? Not the high and lifted up citadel of Pergamum! I thought they had it all together! Perhaps at first glance. They were in the midst of evil all around them, and they were willing to die for their beliefs. But it was their behavior that was bringing them down.

Jesus mentions the doctrine of Balaam. Balaam was a prophet that Balak, the king of Moab, wanted to hire to pronounce judgment on Israel. But Balaam opened his mouth to speak for the Lord, and all he could do was utter blessings on Israel. And Balak said, “No, please don’t do that! Utter curses, not blessings.” And Balaam said, “Well, there’s no way I could do that. Even if you were to give me say, $10,000 in cash and five wives; I could never do that!”

So then again, he pronounced blessings, instead of curses, and Balak says, “No, utter curses, not blessings,” and this happened three times. Balaam said, “Hey, I said, ‘even if you offered me $10,000 in cash, I still couldn’t do that!” Then the very next verse we see that suddenly the children of Israel began to get involved in sexual immorality with the Moabite women, and God sent a plague and 24,000 of them died. What happened? Elsewhere in Numbers it says that Balaam gave them that advice.

It doesn’t say this in Numbers, but we can read between the lines. It seems Balaam was hinting at something with the money suggestion, and said, “Look, I simply can’t utter curses, but I do know these Israelite guys really well. They seem to be tempted easily by the seductive Moabite women. So bring a bunch of the women around to persuade the men to commit sexual immorality, and then God Himself will curse them; and we’re all happy: I get paid. I don’t have to lie when I prophesy. You get your curses, and we all go home happy!”

Balaam was the prophet for profit. His advice led the Israelites to compromise–and sin–and thus, his counsel was successful. Balaam’s counsel became the prototype for all false teachers.

Peter said this about false teachers:

2 Peter 2:15-19 (ESV)

“Forsaking the right way, they have gone astray. They have followed the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved gain from wrongdoing, but was rebuked for his own transgression; a speechless donkey spoke with human voice and restrained the prophet’s madness. These are waterless springs and mists driven by a storm. For them the gloom of utter darkness has been reserved. For, speaking loud boasts of folly, they entice by sensual passions of the flesh those who are barely escaping from those who live in error. They promise them freedom, but they themselves are slaves of corruption. For whatever overcomes a person, to that he is enslaved.”

So what is the doctrine of Balaam? It is to compromise what we know is morally upright for what is expedient. It’s to put stumbling blocks in front of people, things that will trip up our walk with God. For the church of Pergamum, it began by eating food sacrificed to idols; and then eventually, the slippery slope led to spiritual idolatry.

What about the teaching of the Nicolaitans? As we learned with the church of Ephesus, the Nicolaitans were followers of Nicolas, who apparently taught that you were free in Christ to do whatever you wanted to, with no consequences, a license to sin. There was a separating of the leadership and the laity–a hierarchy of superiority versus the everyday man or woman.

So the combined hybrid teaching of both Balaam and the Nicolaitans was that you could compromise your behavior and mix in what the world is doing, yet at the same time, have the reputation of being a lofty, high stronghold of authority and religious superiority.

What a sad indictment on the church. There may be some among the visible church that have compromised what they know is wrong, because either they thought they were free to do it, or there were no consequences, or because it looked fun or exciting, yet at the same time, maintaining the guise of spiritual superiority toward others.

The church of Smyrna was unbending toward compromise, even under intense persecution, but the church of Pergamum wanted to maintain their lofty standing while still allowing sin to creep in.

One official in India purportedly said off the record one time: “Don’t persecute the Christians, or they will become strong and spread. Instead, wherever you find Christians grouped together, build cinemas, drinking halls, night clubs and gambling dens, and they will destroy themselves.”

All too often this is the case. We worship Jesus on Sunday morning and put on the Christian radio station posture, and then go home and worship pleasure, or money, or success or self the rest of the week.

Spiritual compromise isn’t choosing other gods to worship INSTEAD of Jesus. It’s trying to include other gods along with our worship of Jesus.

Plenty of people are bowing down to other idols. The problem is when Christians purport to bow down to Jesus and then also choose to bow down to other gods. It’s compromise. It’s the way of Balaam.

D.L. Moody said: “Christians should live in the world, but not be filled with it. A ship lives in the water; but if the water gets into the ship, she goes to the bottom. So Christians may live in the world; but if the world gets into them, they sink.”

Compromise says, “I know I shouldn’t, but why not?” Compromise chooses to either ignore or belittle judgment that comes upon wrong behavior. You could define spiritual compromise as: Accepting a lower moral standard to live by that lessens or deadens your spiritual effectiveness. In spiritual compromise, you begin by taking a step, then another step and then another step in the direction away from your convictions and eventually toward destruction.

Sin begins in the mind, develops in the heart and comes to fruition in the body. All sin can be traced back to an initial moment of compromise.

What if the world decided to compromise one percent. That’s all? Here’s what would occur:

Verizon would have no cell service for 14 minutes each day. One point seven million pieces of first class mail lost each day. Thirty-five thousand newborn babies dropped by doctors or nurses each year. Two hundred thousand people getting the wrong drug prescriptions each year. Unsafe drinking water three days a year. Three misspelled words on the average page of type. Two million people would die from food poisoning each year. In fact, there are:

Five Slippery Steps to Spiritual Compromise:

1. A failure to purpose in our hearts ahead of time to do the right thing.

2. Underestimating evil (including the failure to recognize temptation).

3. Rationalizing.

4. A failure to consider the costly consequences.

5. A sudden, deliberate choice to give in to sin.

The best example of this sort of compromise in the Bible is Lot. Lot got into an argument with Abraham over the land because they had their own sheep, cattle and farmers, and the land wasn’t big enough for them both. So Abraham was a godly man and said, “Look out onto the land, and choose where you want to dwell.” And Lot looked, and Genesis says that he saw that the land was fertile and pleasing to the eye, so he set out for that land. What land was that? The plains near Sodom and Gomorrah. So Lot went out. You would think he would have stayed as far away from Sodom and Gomorrah as possible. But his eye was appeased, and so often it is with our eyes that we see something we want; and we head toward it. We didn’t actually do anything wrong yet, but we are taking a step closer to it, putting ourselves in danger and harm’s way. So his tents were pitched TOWARD Sodom.

The next we read about Lot, he was IN Sodom. Not only IN sin, but at the city gate, in the most prominent place, fully engulfed in culture, politics and all that Sodom had to offer. He couldn’t get out easily. His family thought he was joking when he tried to convince them to leave. That is the most saddening: Your compromise will usually affect others.

Correction

“Repent, or else I will come to you quickly and will fight against them with the sword of My mouth.”

What does that mean? If you look back in verse 12, Jesus wanted to identify Himself to this church as, “He who has the sharp, double-edged sword.” The sword is coming out of Jesus’ MOUTH. This kind of sword is used in judgment. If you do not repent of your compromise, Jesus says, “I will come with judgment and My Word, and you will reap what you have sown.” God is offering the church of Pergamum (and you and I) a chance to repent of our compromise. But not only that, He also offers a crown–a reward for those who overcome.

Crown

“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give some of the hidden manna to eat. And I will give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name written which no one knows except him who receives it”’ (Revelation 2:17).

Manna is the bread, the supernatural spiritual sustenance that God alone provided miraculously. And Jesus promises this, along with a white stone. This stone, also called “Tessera,” had many usages in the ancient Near East

(1) It could be used for a ticket to special banquets.

(2) It could be used to vote for acquittal by a jury.

(3) It could be used as a symbol of victory for an athlete.

(4) It could be used to show the freedom of a slave.

Notice that all of these represent something amazing about Jesus.

. Jesus provides Access to a banquet feast.

. Jesus brings Acquittal from the penalty of sin.

. Jesus brings Victory over sin and death.

. Jesus has Redeemed us from the curse of the law.

Many ladies had on their left hand a very expensive and beautiful stone. It was given to them by someone who loved them deeply, and probably given sacrificially, at great cost. That stone represented a relationship with someone. Amazingly, Jesus offers us a white stone, and on that stone is a name written which no one will know except the one who receives it. Jesus desires a marriage relationship without compromise-with intimacy and fellowship-with provision and an identity found in Him. And it is promised to those who overcome.

Are you already heading down the slippery slope of spiritual compromise? You may need to purpose in your heart not to sin. Or you may need to start heeding the warnings around you and start taking serious what is tempting you. Or perhaps you may need to put safeguards in place to protect your heart and mind. Perhaps someone reading this needs to repent and confess that they have given in to compromise.

Dr. Laurence M. Gould, president emeritus of Carleton College, once said this:

“I do not believe the greatest threat to our future is from bombs or guided missiles. I don’t think our civilization will end that way. I think it will die when we no longer care. Arnold Toynbee has pointed out that 19 of 21 civilizations have died from within and not by conquest from without. There were no bands playing and flags waving when these civilizations decayed. It happened slowly, in the quiet and in the dark when no one was aware.”

Does that describe you? Is there spiritual apathy that has crept in to your heart; and like the lieutenant at Pearl Harbor, you find yourself saying, “Don’t worry about it”? Are you in need of the Word of God to come and speak to your divided heart? My prayer is that you will hear the Word of God, and you will heed the Word of God. “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit is saying…” ( Revelation 2:7).

^{Enjoy “Lessons from the Church of Smyrna” & “A Letter to the Modern Church” by Pilgrim in this series.}

Don’t stop halfway! There is a story found in Genesis 11 and 12 about the call of Abraham; it is a tale about not stopping halfway. In Genesis Chapter 12 verses 1-4, we see God call Abram. “The Lord said to Abram, leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you.” This, no doubt, was a daunting call for Abram. At the time he lived in Ur of the Chaldeans (Genesis 11:28). Ur was a cosmopolitan, prosperous city. It was a city of wealth, culture and opportunity. It was from here that Abraham was called to go to, “the land I will show you.” Abram did not even know where God was calling him to; he simply had a promise that, if he would get up and go, God would show him. Abram would eventually discover, this land was Canaan, the promise land!

Interestingly, Abram likely didn’t even know the God who was calling him very well. He came from a city and a family of idol worshipers. Yet, here we have the God of the universe calling to him. Abram’s response to God’s call was only partially obedient on two counts. He did get up and leave the city of Ur, but he brought his idol worshiping family with him, even though God specifically told him to leave them behind.

The second way in which Abram was only partially obedient to God was that he stopped halfway.

They set out for Canaan, but when they came to Haran, they settled there (Genesis 11:31). It is clear that the initial disobedience in not leaving his family behind has a direct connection to his second disobedience of stopping halfway.

When God calls us out of this world into His kingdom of light, it is not good for us to try to hang onto some things from our old life, whatever they may be. Giving our life wholly to Christ is the way that we ensure we will live out His call on our life. When we keep parts of our life back, and do not fully open them to the Lord and give them into His hands, then these things can often lead us to stop halfway.

The name of the city where Abram and his family settled was Haran. Haran has a number of different meanings, it means very dry, parched; and interestingly, it also means road. When we are on a road, we are meant to be moving. A road is built to walk down, not to stop on. But that is exactly what Abram did. He stopped and settled halfway down a road. When you live a life of compromise and semi-obedience to God, you will find yourself in a very dry, parched place in your relationship to God.

The good news is, that if we look at Abram’s story, we see that, while his disobedience delayed God’s plan for his life, it did not derail it. Abram spent a long time in Haran, halfway down the road to where God was calling him; but when his father died, God’s call came again, and this time Abram got up, got moving and went to Canaan. When we think about how old Abraham and Sarah were when they had Isaac, you can’t help but wonder if the delay was due to these many years spent halfway in Haran.

But isn’t it wonderful to see how God still weaves His plan and fulfills the call on Abram’s life.

The name Abram means “father.” Isn’t it incredible to know that even as a baby, God had named and called Abram. He knew that no matter what mistakes and delays Abraham would make along the way, he would one day fulfill his name and indeed be a “father of many nations.”

Romans 11:29 tells us that “the gifts and callings of God are without repentance.”

Be encouraged that no matter how much you feel you’ve messed up, no matter how far down the wrong road you’ve gone, or no matter how long you’ve been settled halfway, God’s callings and gifts in your life are still there. God will not repent of giving them to you, no, instead, He is simply waiting for you to obey.

When Abraham was called in Genesis chapter 12, he was also given a promise. The promise stated, “I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you. I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse. And all people’s on earth will be blessed through you” (Genesis 12:2-4). It is so wonderful to see that God kept every promise to Abraham. He entered Canaan, which became Israel, his name is known and respected by the three main world religions: Jews, Christians and Muslims. Those countries who have blessed Israel have been blessed. With regard to those who have cursed Israel, Donald G. Barnhouse states, “When the Greeks overran Palestine and desecrated the altar in the Jewish temple, they were soon conquered by Rome. When Rome killed Paul and many others, and destroyed Jerusalem under Titus, Rome soon fell. Spain was reduced to a fifth-rate nation after the Inquisition against the Jews; Poland fell after the pogroms; Hitler’s Germany went down after its orgies of anti-Semitism; Britain lost her empire when she broke her faith with Israel.”

The promise goes on that all families of the earth will be blessed through Abraham, we see this promise fulfilled because Jesus, the Messiah of the world, came through the line of Abraham. You and I have also received the blessing of salvation by believing in Jesus and receiving His great salvation. But like Abraham, we have been blessed to be a blessing. This great Gospel is something that should be burning in our hearts, something that we can’t contain, something that we have an urgent desire to share with others. We, like Abraham, have been blessed to be a blessing, so let’s share this great blessing of salvation and not keep it to ourselves.

Thank God Abraham didn’t stay in Haran forever! Thank God he eventually followed God’s call, and thank God, through his lineage, we all received the gift of the Messiah. But I would like for you now to check your heart and ask yourself, have you, like Abraham, stopped halfway? You accepted the call of God to salvation, and you set off down the road with Him. But where are you now? Are you dry, parched, settled somewhere halfway down the road? I want to say to you that it’s not too late. God’s call is still good! Get out, get up, get moving! Believe me, there will be many on this earth who will be glad you did, because remember, you have been called to reach the lost. You have been blessed to be a blessing, and so if you’re stopped halfway, then there are people in this world who are missing out because they need you. They need you to fulfill the call God has placed on your life.

I don’t want to stop halfway.

I know Jesus is not just an annex to my life. He is my life. Paul says in Philippians 1:21, “ For me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.” Colossians 3:3 says, “your life is hid in Christ.” That’s the crux of it. All the other things in life that shout so loudly, that hold us back, that make us stop halfway, are just noise and meaningless distractions. And you know, if you are living in a place called “Halfway” right now, there is no peace there!

Today is the day to allow God to renew the call He has placed on your life, just as He did for Abraham after his father died. Today is the day to let the things that are holding you back die and loose their grip on your life. Today is the day to fully commit to Christ who fully committed to you, and to once again, take up your cross and follow Him, then, wait with faith-filled excitement to see what great things He will do in and through your life, just as He did with Abraham.

Many Christians begin their life in Jesus Christ somewhat ignorant of the idea of spiritual battle. They find it easy to ignore what the Bible teaches – that is, that there are spiritual beings of intelligence and power that seek to defeat and hinder God’s people. Through a combination of experience and instruction, they learn the truth of this spiritual battle, and the most common passage in the Bible regarding the spiritual conflict begins at Ephesians 6:10.

It’s a rich passage, teaching us about spiritual strength, the nature of the battle, and the armor and weapons available to the believer in the conflict. What the Apostle Paul wrote about spiritual warfare has fascinated Christians for a long time, probably because it touches the life experience of almost every follower of Jesus.

One pastor captivated by the themes of this Ephesians 6 passage was named William Gurnall. Starting in 1655, he published his book, The Christian in Complete Armour, an explanation of Ephesians 6:10-20. In his dedication, he described his book as a “mite” and a “little present,” but it contained three volumes, 261 chapters and 1,472 pages – all on those 11 verses.

This is how Gurnall subtitled his book:

“The Saint’s War Against the Devil, wherein a discovery is made of that grand enemy of God and his people, in his policies, power, seat of his empire, wickedness and chief design he hath against the saints; a magazine opened, from whence the Christian is furnished with spiritual arms for the battle, helped on with his armour, and taught the use of his weapon; together with the happy issue of the whole war.”

There is a lot to think about in the Ephesians passage, and Gurnall thought it was worth 1,472 pages. Yet I think the most important word in the famous Ephesians 6:10-20 is the first word of that passage: “finally.”

Look at the verse: “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might” (Ephesians 6:10).

The word, “finally,” obviously means that this comes at the end of the letter to the church in Ephesus – a letter in which Paul carefully established our place in Jesus, and then the basics of the Christian walk. The spiritual warfare passage is Paul’s last section dealing with the Christian walk.

We can say it this way: The foundations for success in spiritual warfare (and our entire Christian walk) are the truths and principles found in the previous sections of Ephesians. Everything about our spiritual battle comes, finally, in light of all those things described earlier in Ephesians:

. In light of all that God has done for you.

. In light of the glorious standing you have as a child of God.

. In light of His great plan of the ages that God has made you part of.

. In light of the plan for Christian maturity and growth He gives to you.

. In light of the conduct God calls every believer to live.

. In light of the filling of the Spirit and our walk in the Spirit.

. In light of all this – finally – there is a battle to fight in the Christian life.

Before you launch out into spiritual battle, give attention to the basics, the foundations of Christian living – who Jesus is and what He did for you. Build on those foundations explained from Ephesians 1:1 to 6:9, then we come to the important subject of spiritual battle – but not before.

THE BOOK

A few months ago, I decided to reread Spurgeon’s classic work, The Soul Winner. Like most people, my view is that anything Spurgeon writes is worth the time and effort to read. This book of course is no exception. While many Christian books can be tedious and dry, the only thing I found to be dry in rereading this classic was my highlighter. Paragraph after paragraph, one liner after one liner, jumped off the page as I found God calibrating my focus for the gospel needy souls in my life.

From the time I gave my life to Christ, evangelism has always been a focus for me. Maybe it’s because I came to Christ on a Monday night at Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa where the gospel was always faithfully preached by Greg Laurie. Maybe it’s because, like many of you, I realize that the foundation of Calvary Chapel is in the hope that Jesus Christ provides to any heart, no matter how dark the sin or how lost the soul.

It’s not the machinery of ministry that has built this movement. It’s the power of Christ’s cross and resurrection; a truth we can never afford to forget. With that in mind, let me share three amazing quotes from this book and some brief thoughts.

IT’S THE GOSPEL

“Beloved teachers, may you never be content with aiming at secondary benefits, or even with realizing them; may you strive for the grandest of all ends, the salvation of immortal souls! Your business is not merely to teach the children in your classes to read the Bible, not barely to inculcate the duties of morality, or even to instruct them in the mere letter of the gospel, but your high calling is to be the means, in the hand of God, of bringing life from heaven to dead souls. Your teaching on the Lord’s Day will have been a failure if your children remain dead in sin…. Resurrection, then, is our aim! To raise the dead is our mission!” (Spurgeon, The Soul Winner, 1895, p. 64)

There should be nothing more precious to us and primary in our preaching than the gospel of Jesus Christ. For the soul winner, everything springs forth from the gospel. It is the seed that brings forth the root, the trunk, the branch and the fruit. It’s not only precious because of the fruit it produces but because of what it has done and continues to do in us personally. But make no mistake, the power of the gospel alone brings forth fruit for God’s glory (John 15:8).

Our message isn’t encouraging moral reform or church going; it’s for people to be resurrected by the power of the gospel. We beckon people to come to a Person not a religion; to the one name that can save them, the name of Jesus.

A CHURCH ON FIRE TO SEE LOST PEOPLE SAVED

“I like to burn churches rather than houses, because they do not burn down, they burn up and keep on burning when the fire is of the right sort. When a bush is nothing but a bush, it is soon consumed when it is set on fire; but when it is a bush that burns on and is not consumed, we may know that God is there. So is it with a church that is flaming with holy zeal. Your work, brethren, is to set your church on fire. You may do it by speaking to the whole of the members, or you may do it by speaking to the few choice spirits, but you must do it somehow. Have a secret society for this sacred purpose, turn yourselves into a band of celestial Fenians whose aim it is to set the whole church on fire” (Spurgeon, The Soul Winner,1895, p. 56).

If God’s people are spiritually on fire for anything, it should be to see the lost saved. There’s a battle for the very soul of God’s church in America. We are a nation of consumers, and that influence is beginning to consume Christians. Gatherings are geared to satisfy the most superficial impulses, and the thought that “it’s not all about us” is gone with the wind.

May God send a fresh wind into the hearts of our pastors and churches that stokes an unquenchable fire for the lost to be saved. John Wesley once said, “I set myself on fire and people come and watch me burn.” May that fire be lit in our lives first.

BELIEVE THAT GOD WILL DO THE WORK

“The most likely instrument to do the Lord’s work is the man who expects that God will use him, and who goes forth to labor in the strength of that conviction. When success comes, he is not surprised, for he was looking for it. He sowed living seed, and he expected to reap a harvest from it; he cast his bread upon the waters, and he means to search and watch till he finds it again” (Spurgeon, The Soul Winner, 1895, p. 22).

At every church gathering we preach the gospel and extend an invitation for people to respond. By God’s grace we see many come forward to receive Christ weekly. On the other hand, when I was church planting in New Hampshire, saved souls seemed harder to come by. Nevertheless, we never gave up believing in the power of the gospel to save.

No matter where God has planted you, His purpose for your life is to proclaim the gospel, to hold it up as the light in the midst of darkness, believing that it is powerful enough to save ANY soul. God is the one who does the saving; we are the ones who do the proclaiming.
One of Satan’s most powerful tools to silence the preacher is discouragement. Keep praying, keep preaching and keep believing, whether in the workplace, in your home, at the ballfield or in the pulpit! As Paul said, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek” (Romans 1:16).

As I’m writing this article, one of the greatest soul winners, Billy Graham, has at last heard Christ say, “Well done good and faithful servant!” Billy has personally experienced, in the fullest sense, the power of his preaching. His life has left us so much to emulate and to pray for. His preaching and its impact is unsurpassed, and his integrity is unchallenged. While Billy Graham’s ministry was unique, let’s ask God to give us what He gave Billy; an unsurpassed love for the gospel of Jesus Christ, a deep and genuine burden for lost souls, a lifelong commitment to Biblical integrity, and above all, a desire for God’s glory to be magnified in the greatest way possible through our lives.

May God make soul winners of us all!

A few years back I had this great idea of restoring a 1972 Chevy Blazer 4X4. I loved that specific year, great body lines, removable top, and it looks great with a 6″ lift kit. A good friend in the restoration business started the search and called me a few days later with what he said was the perfect truck to restore. What I got in my garage was affectionately nicknamed by my kids “Mater” after the rusted-out bucket of bolts tow truck from the Disney movie Cars.

I really had no idea how much work was ahead of me. Step one was stripping the truck down to frame and body and grinding out all the rust. Everyone knows if you don’t get all the rust out it will come back with a vengeance. You can paint over it, but in time, it will bubble through the paint and eat away at the body and frame of the car. In other words, stripping is essential for not only a good restore, but one that lasts.

Sometimes the same can be said for our lives and our churches. We want an enduring work of God that brings Him glory but just covering up the imperfections won’t produce that. Sometimes what’s needed is a deeper work. This has been a prayer for our church over the last several months as we’ve seen God working in three specific areas.

1. STRIPPED OF RELIGIOUS PRIDE

Nothing is more dangerous to a genuine work of God’s Spirit than religious pride. The Pharisees stand for everything that any sane Christian doesn’t want to be. They had inflated egos perceiving themselves to be better in every way than those around them. They believed their religious works were the basis for their supposed right standing before God. They were all religious show on the outside while the things most important to God were missing on the inside. All of this and more made them inflexible old wine skins, unable (and unwilling) to contain the new wine of God’s desired work.

What a deep deception it is to believe you are God’s instrument, when in reality, you’re a hindrance to what He desires to do. That religious pride needs to be stripped away and replaced with a raw and tender heart toward Jesus. Jack Miller popularized the phrase, “Preach the gospel to yourself,” which has now been passed on by notables like John Piper and Tim Keller. It’s good advice. We need to constantly remind ourselves that it is the gospel and the gospel alone that has saved us. When pride and self-sufficiency or egotism begin to rise, we need to grind it down with the gospel and rest our hope and our work completely upon the grace of God.

2. STRIPPED OF WATERED DOWN, UN-EMPOWERED PREACHING

Since I pastor in Las Vegas, every weekend I see a very unique cross section of humanity, and the need is great. Yet, like in so many large cities, a good portion of pulpits are centering their messages on self-help sermonettes or inspirational encouragements. While the idea may be that we need to give people what they want, our real responsibility is to give them what they need, and they need Holy Spirit empowered preaching and teaching of the full counsel of God’s Word. I don’t mean teaching that is simply conveying information. D.L. Moody said, “The Bible wasn’t just given for our information but our transformation.” Our preaching and teaching stands on the power of God’s word, but it should be delivered with the fire of God’s Spirit and from hearts and minds ablaze with His presence and divine unction. Moreover, we need to travel where others fear to tread. Over the past couple of summers, we have focused on a series called “Uncensored,” where we have addressed the most controversial and taboo topics that our culture is dealing with such as transgenderism, can a Christian be gay, race, divorce, prescription drug abuse and more. I think our culture needs Spirit empowered pastors who are willing to lead the way in teaching the truth in love.

3. STRIPPED OF CATEGORIZING THE PEOPLE OF GOD

I love looking out over the congregation on any given morning and seeing an ethnically diverse group of people from all walks of life: homeschool moms, lawyers, casino executives, people who work in hospitality, former exotic dancers, prostitutes and pimps. Only God can do that. Only God can transform lives and simultaneously break down walls so that we see each other as “one in Christ.” There are no categories; the ground at the foot of the cross is level.

Sectarianism comes naturally to us, but in the church and among churches, it must die. Paul said to the church at Corinth that divisions like this are a sign of carnality in Christians. And from my experience, it hinders the progress of the Great Commission. There are moments where I want to shout to the people the famous words of Rodney King, “Can’t we all get along?” Ultimately, the answer is love and sharing His love with one another, which covers a multitude of sins and identifies us as belonging to Jesus. The world needs to see the miracle of Christ’s love working among His people.

We all share the desire of experiencing a mighty outpouring of God in our generation, a genuine work of spiritual restoration. It may be that the first step to this great God glorifying work is some good, old fashioned body work where it’s needed most, beginning with you and me.