Celebrate What God has Done!

There was once a great and mighty citadel of the faith. It’s members were many, it’s band large, it’s youth growing in the faith, it’s members organized and energized, it’s outreach far and wide, it’s services many and multiplied, and it’s reputation, as one of the premier citadels of the mighty army.

Long it endured in the golden circle of great bastions, led by great heroes of the faith forward and onward. But not so long ago the citadel experienced a mighty fall. It’s leader had done terrible things in secret and the secrets were exposed.

The once mighty citadel fell into disrepair, the doors closed, and the facility was shut. Yet five years later, the citadel rose from the grave, led on by a series of new heroes who attempted valiantly to bring the fallen citadel back to it’s once mighty prestige.

The citadel that had once been dead, rose back to life, though it never did regain the renown and might it once held. Yet the rebirth was secure, and a new day had come, and all would be well.

This is the story of The Salvation Army Owosso.

In many of the most difficult transitions and changes in our lives we eventually come to a point where we realize everything is going to be ok. We’ve walked through the dark feelings, the grief, the depression, and we’ve found a new path.

The disciples of the Lord Jesus have been through an astonishing and difficult journey. They first saw Jesus betrayed and arrested. Peter himself denied he even knew Jesus. They saw their dearest friend their Lord crucified, killed, and buried.

Yet three days later they saw the unthinkable happen, Jesus rose from the dead. Nothing like this had ever happened in human history. Suddenly everything was different.

Jesus helped Peter and the others to repent after having abandoned him during the crucifixion. He encouraged and restored them. And they were shocked.

Have you ever had an experience in your life where you thought it was all over and suddenly, everything changed?

It’s an extremely energizing experience. It fills you with hope. You begin to believe that there is good in the world and that good things can happen.

So Jesus is with the disciples, appearing them again and again over a period of forty days.

Then we see a particular occasion when Jesus gives the disciples special instructions:

“On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” –Acts 1:4-5

In difficult changes in life, traumatic events, sudden shifts, we do experience pain and grief, yet at the other end of the transition we often find a very unexpected and blessed gift.

For the disciples they are told to wait patiently for God the Father to send the Holy Spirit to live within them.

Again we see waiting, patience, trusting God in the waiting. But they’ve just saw Jesus rise from the dead. They’ve seen a dead man alive again and eating with them and teaching them. They’ve seen the impossible happen.

Yet I bet it was still hard to wait for the Spirit. We’ve all seen God do amazing things in our lives and in the lives of those around us. But how quickly we forget and begin to doubt again.

In Owosso, when I moved here, I was hit very hard by fear and depression, coming here to a place where I knew no one. It would’ve been easy to give up or quit. But I found a family of people that I love. The gift was waiting on the other side of fear and pain.

C.S Lewis after great loss in his life indicated he was surprised by joy suddenly. He said joy bursts into our lives when we stop trying to manipulate events and do the good in front of us God has given us to do.

Next we see the disciples question Jesus:

“Then they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”

He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” – Acts 1:6-8

The disciples expect that now, right now, Jesus will set everything right. Right now. They assume Jesus will take his seat on the throne of Israel and begin overthrowing the roman empire.

But that isn’t what happens at all.

When big changes happen we assume, alright well this must be the end. It’s all over. But it’s actually just one step along the way.

I know every place I’ve been to do ministry, it feels permanent while I’m there, it feels like the end all be all, until I move to the next place God calls me.

Many days it feels like Jesus could return any moment. But time keeps going.

Jesus redirects us away from what we’re expecting, to what he’s actually planning.

So, so, so many times I have expectations about what God is going to do next. Or what God wants me to focus on. Or what God has for me to do that day. And God will completely change my focus, and completely redirect me toward something totally different.

Can you relate? Like C.S. Lewis said, those things we think of as interruptions are actually our life.

“The great thing, if one can, is to stop regarding all the unpleasant things as interruptions of one's 'own,' or 'real' life. The truth is of course that what one calls the interruptions are precisely one's real life -- the life God is sending one day by day.” -C.S. Lewis

God uses change to redirect.

Which is sometimes hard.

Can you imagine how the disciples have longed for the restoration of Israel? Day and night they must’ve longed for it. Their whole lives they had believed a messiah would come who would defeat the romans.

Instead Jesus essentially says actually you’re going to be leaving Israel, I’m not going to restore Israel right now. I’m sending you to the world to preach the gospel. I wonder if they felt disappointed or even angry.

But God redirects us toward His plan, not our own. Our emotions catch up later.

Next, we see the big moment, Jesus is gone.

“After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.

They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.” –Acts 1:9-11

The disciples have their instructions, wait for the Holy Spirit. Jesus is now gone, back up to heaven, to the right hand of the Father.

Jesus is promised to return one day, by two messengers of God who suddenly appear with the disciples.

Can you imagine seeing Jesus rise up into the sky? That is crazy. He lifts off the ground and launches into heaven. That’s beyond anything we could imagine. And yet two thousand years ago it happened right in front of their eyes.

They were on the mount of olives. Which leads many to believe that when Jesus returns, he will return on the mount of olives.

But the disciples are caught up in the moment. I think sometimes in big changes we freeze up. We’re so traumatized we just stop. We get stuck in trauma. We get stuck in depression. We give up, in the extreme troubles.

Don’t get stuck in the past. Don’t get stuck in the way things used to be. Embrace the new.

It’s a good reminder from the messengers of God, don’t just stand here looking into the sky. Get to work. The victory is won. The Lord has given us good work to do. Now let’s get to it!

Next, we see in verses 12-14: “Then the apostles returned to Jerusalem from the hill called the Mount of Olives, a Sabbath day’s walk from the city. When they arrived, they went upstairs to the room where they were staying. Those present were Peter, John, James and Andrew; Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew; James son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.” –Acts 1:12-14

What do the disciples do? They keep gathering together. And they engage in constant times of prayer.

When my day is messed up, or I’m feeling depressed or I’m upset, the best thing I can always do and go somewhere quiet and begin praying. Not just a few words, but a good long sustained prayer, telling God exactly how I feel.

Prayer is the answer.

Always remember that. I can’t think of many situations where prayer isn’t the answer.

Early on in recovery I would feel thirsty for a drink, and I would go into the side bedroom at my mom’s old house, and get on my face before God, on my knees, and say, "God help me."

When I was devastated because a romantic relationship didn’t work out, I would find that quiet place, and pray, "God help me."

When work was crazy and I feel so exhausted and empty and stressed, I find that quiet place, and sit down on my chair, and say "Lord, I just can’t right now."

When drama blows up on social media and people are criticizing me, I shut the computer off, lay down in bed, and start talking to God in the darkness.

Get alone and prayer. Better yet, get together with a group of others and pray together. I would say of all the meetings we’ve hosted at The Salvation Army, the ones I loved most were our prayer meetings. Once a month, or once a week during kettle season, we would gather in the morning in the chapel and pray together for a good hour. It was wonderful.

The disciples gather together it says “constantly” in prayer. Daily I think this means, they would have set times where they would all gather and talk to God. What if you did that? Outside of church, you invited people over and prayed? How would your life change? How would your church change?

Next we see in verses 15-26 that the disciples gather to find a replacement for Judas, who had betrayed Jesus.

It says in 23-26: “So they nominated two men: Joseph called Barsabbas (also known as Justus) and Matthias. Then they prayed, “Lord, you know everyone’s heart. Show us which of these two you have chosen to take over this apostolic ministry, which Judas left to go where he belongs.” Then they cast lots, and the lot fell to Matthias; so he was added to the eleven apostles.” –Acts 1:23-26

This is a good reminder that not everyone who gathers among us in the church are actually of us. Many will come and go.

Many have come to me after services and asked me, “Where is so and so?” And I would often simply say, I have no idea. Many simply stop coming. That’s not always a bad thing either.

They may have moved to a new area, or God called them elsewhere. But, just as often, I think it’s they’ve abandoned the mission.

Often, as we pray God will remove from the body people who are disruptive or dangerous as well. So always pray in those circumstances. Just as much, pray for those who depart, that God would restore them to the fellowship.

Not everyone makes it through a hard transition. Many will give up unfortunately and depart. Pray for them. And if you can, go and visit them, and minister to them. Maybe they need a loving friend to encourage them to come back.

Yet God will often add someone new to take their place, someone who will become a new part of our family. Praise the Lord! 

So the disciples wait and wait, they meet together and pray, they keep the fellowship, and finally, finally, finally the day comes.

Notice how they kept meeting together, they didn’t drift apart. So then it says:

“When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.” -Acts 2:1-4

Breakthroughs and victories come when we least expect it.

The power of God descends suddenly, rapidly, unexpectedly.



In the driest seasons of my life, where it feels like God is a million miles away, and the coldness and bitterness of daily life seems to reign supreme, and I’m just trying to hold on the downward trajectory of sorrow and pain, it’s in those moments when it seems least likely that God could ever break through into that dryness, it’s in those times, when I’ve waited patiently, that suddenly God breaks through, and the dry desert turns to a lush blooming forest.

Do you believe He can? You haven’t seen it yet. You’ve tasted the rough sand in your mouth for so long. Do you still believe He can? I still believe.

The Holy Spirit bursts forth into that place where the disciples are gathered and they are shocked and excited, and amazed! Tongues of fire separate and descend into each believer. They are filled with the Spirit. And they begin speaking in new languages. They are empowered by God now, for victory, for service.

Peter preaches a mighty sermon to the crowds who witness this event, and three thousand people get saved. This begins their ministry, empowered by the Spirit of God.

They now do what their Master did. They mimic what Jesus did. They proclaim it bravely. Through the Holy Spirit, the body of believers grows. And they prosper. They achieve victory.

And it brings celebration, devotion, love, unity, and every good thing. That’s what we’ve seen here at the salvation army, and we should celebrate.

It says in Acts 2:42-47: “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43 Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. 44 All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45 They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. 46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.”

Celebration. Rejoicing. Praising God. Enjoying the favor of all people. Signs and wonders performed by the apostles. Devotion to the teachings of God, fellowship with one another, and eating together, and to prayer.

These are all hallmarks of the church, the body of Christ, us.

They sold property and possessions and gave to anyone in need. Everyday they met together. They met in each other’s homes. Their hearts were sincere.

And the Lord kept adding to their number daily, those who were being saved. Wow.

Now that’s a reason to celebrate. Celebrate what God has done here, what God is doing, and what God will do in the future friends.

Review of Main Points:

1. In change we often find a surprising gift

2. God uses change to redirect us

3. Trauma causes us to Freeze Up

4. Prayer is the Answer

5. Some will depart during transitions

6. Breakthrough comes when we least expect it

7. Celebrate

He is faithful. He is faithful for the future just as much as he has been in the past. Trust Him for the road ahead. Though it seems so very uncertain, God is trustworthy, our part is to hold on tight as God begins to do a new thing in our lives. The future is bright. Praise the Lord!

What is your True Name? What God Calls You

"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

What is your true name? My first thought was of Helen Keller, and how she was originally treated by her family as an invalid. But then someone came into her life, Anne Sullivan, who called her by a different name. Sullivan once said, "We imagine that we want to escape our selfish and commonplace existence, but we cling desperately to our chains." Sullivan helped Helen Keller to find purpose and hope. And she eventually became one of the great heroes of American history. But it took someone coming and calling Helen by a different name.

It reminds me of the John 5:6 when Jesus meets the man by the pool of Bethesda. He asked him first, "Do you want to get well?" (John 5:6). Sometimes we aren't ready for a new name yet. And we have to be encouraged to want to escape our chains.

I recall when I was fourteen or fifteen my family was convinced that there was something wrong with me. I was struggling in school and my parents were approaching a divorce. As they prescribed different medications, one after another to try to make me better, more and more I embraced the idea that there was something wrong with me. It became a new belief within me, that there was something wrong with Justin. And for the next twenty years of my life, it became a belief in me, that I needed some substance, some drug or chemical, to be OK. This manifested as medications, prescriptions, drinking, smoking, vitamins, home remedies, anything to give myself what I needed to be OK. It has taken me years, even after becoming a Christian to reset that false belief, and understand, I don't need a pill to make me right. In Christ, I am OK. God is the only one I need to be right.

I can also share the example of father Marian. Back in 2012, before I was a Christian, I had overdosed, and so many hundreds of people had looked at me with condemnation, I had begun to believe that name, that I didn't matter, that I was a nobody. But father Marian, with a single look in his eyes, of the love of Jesus, spoke a new name over me. That name was "beloved of God" and "brother in Christ." The power of that changed my life, I couldn't ignore that new name spoken over me.

The Lord Jesus has changed my name. My name is Justin which has two meanings, one is justice, the other is justified. Without Christ, I was on my way toward judgment before the throne of God. I would face the justice of God. But, because of the perfect sacrifice of Jesus Christ, I have been justified before God. I have peace with God. I'm royalty, adopted, beloved, and new in Him. And my future is paradise, if I'll continue to walk in this new name, a city called the New Jerusalem (Revelation 21-22).

"Naming" is such a powerful concept either for good or evil. In the United States sometimes it's used for good, we name a problem and then we can deal with the problem. That's why it's good to have human trafficking awareness events, we've got to name the problem and then solve it. 

But we see it happen in politics a lot, names are changed, words are flipped around, to confuse the issue. So we use clever phrases and words to mask the real issue. And then it can't be dealt with properly, until it's named properly. We also see "naming" used in the battles between the right and left in the United States. The right calls the left woke and crazy, and the left calls the right racist and extreme. The news media encourages the name calling and the false naming. And pretty soon people are convinced that they are enemies. People stop talking to each other because both parties and the news media have created dividing lines by polarizing through false naming. 

If Americans could just talk to each other, without seeing each other as enemies, we could work through this issues. But the news media and politicians demonize, demonize, demonize to the point that we fear and hate each other. There used to be so many talk shows on news media where politicians would debate policies, but less and less do we see debates. Instead people polarize, and refuse to talk to each other, and call each other hateful and bigoted and woke and crazy instead of sitting down and finding common ground.

But humanity has always had a naming problem. It goes all the way back to the garden of Eden. Satan tempted the first humans to believe a lie instead of the truth. And unfortunately they fell for the lie. And ever since then humanity constantly tries to redefine good and evil to fit our desires. 

Adam gave names to the animals (Gen 2:19). But after the fall, humans began to use that power for evil, twisting the meaning of everything to fit what we wanted, to give ourselves permission to do things that we know are wrong. 

To this day we tend to resist what God has said in His word. We can't accept it. We want to be the god. We want to rewrite reality to fit our values. But what God has spoken is true. God has the final word in naming reality, and humanity itself.

Many biblical concepts are difficult to accept. Hard realities are tough to face. But God invites us to enter into something with Him, called "wrestling." God wrestled with Jacob. And Jacob, which means "deceiver" received a new name, that new name was Israel which means, "wrestles with God." If we we enter boldly into seeking God, and wrestling with God, through this process God will help us to accept His truths and reject the lies of the enemy. And God willing, we will receive a new name in all this. A name from the throne of God, for one who has wrestled with God and accepted His truth.

When we allow Jesus in, Jesus speaks life over us and that's the most powerful naming in the universe, it erases every false name spoke in the past, and speaks the truth over us in power. We reject lies, embrace truth, and receive a new name, the true name we were always meant to carry. The name from the throne of God, calling us who we really are. But again, it's also left up to us, if we want to "get well" or stay sick. Choose life and live! 

Jesus Asks: Do you Love Me?

On February 8th of 2023 a revival broke out at Asbury University and lasted for 144 hours. It started with a simple chapel service where a message was given that led students to seek God. This revival led to thousands and thousands of people descending on the small town to experience the revival. The news of it spread across the globe. Evangelical leaders attempted to come and take the stage, but the students refused, they didn’t want any figure head or big name leader, just the Holy Spirit in control.

You might wonder, what brought about this revival? Was it a great sermon? Nope. Was it amazing worship music? No. Was it a call to evangelism? No. Was it filled with great apologetics? No. Was it social justice? No. Was it a hellfire sermon? No. Was it an encouraging prosperity message? No.

One simple fact made it so very powerful: The Holy Spirit brought repentance. People honestly confessed their failures, people honestly confessed that they had not kept Jesus first. The love of God changed their hearts through this honest submission.

We saw how Jesus prayed for his disciples and then they left for the garden of gethsemane. There Jesus knew he would be arrested by the authorities.

Just as Jesus had predicted, he was arrested, betrayed by Judas Iscariot, and he was taken into custody.

I imagine it was a dark, dark night. I imagine the sorrow and fear among the disciples was strong.

The Roman soldiers and temple guards came to Jesus and his disciples and said they were looking for Jesus of Nazareth. And Jesus replied, “I am he.”

Judas gave a signal to the guards to let them know which of the disciples was Jesus, so he came and kissed Jesus on the cheek, to indicate, this is the correct one to arrest.

Peter in a fit of anger and fear struck out with his sword. But Jesus commanded him to put his sword away.

Nine of the disciples fled at that moment. But Peter and John followed the group of soldiers as they led Jesus away.

Then it says, in John 18:15-17, “Simon Peter and another disciple followed Jesus. That other disciple was well known to the High Priest, so he went with Jesus into the courtyard of the High Priest's house, 16 while Peter stayed outside by the gate. Then the other disciple went back out, spoke to the girl at the gate, and brought Peter inside. 17 The girl at the gate said to Peter, “Aren't you also one of the disciples of that man?”

“No, I am not,” answered Peter.”

Peter once said to Jesus, even if everyone else denies you, I will never deny you (Matthew 26:33).

To that Jesus replied, “Truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “this very night, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times.” (Matthew 26:34).

Let’s examine ourselves. How was our conduct over the last few years? Did we keep Jesus first in everything?

Or have we been living double lives?

Did we attend church faithfully? Or did we show up rarely?

Did we tithe and give offers? Or were we selfish with our money?

When's the last time you shared your faith with… anyone?

When’s the last time you brought someone new to church with you?

Have you prayed day and night for the people in this community and in this church?

Or have you been lazy and self-focused?

Have you seen victories over sin in your life, or are you living in secret sin?

Sometimes, when we see failure, we have to look in the mirror. Like Simon Peter, he failed Jesus. He denied he even knew him.

The rock had become as shaky as a reed in the wind.

Next, in verses 18-25, “It was cold, and the servants and officials stood around a fire they had made to keep warm. Peter also was standing with them, warming himself.

19 Meanwhile, the high priest questioned Jesus about his disciples and his teaching.

20 “I have spoken openly to the world,” Jesus replied. “I always taught in synagogues or at the temple, where all the Jews come together. I said nothing in secret. 21 Why question me? Ask those who heard me. Surely they know what I said.”

22 When Jesus said this, one of the officials nearby slapped him in the face. “Is this the way you answer the high priest?” he demanded.

23 “If I said something wrong,” Jesus replied, “testify as to what is wrong. But if I spoke the truth, why did you strike me?” 24 Then Annas sent him bound to Caiaphas the high priest.

25 Meanwhile, Simon Peter was still standing there warming himself. So they asked him, “You aren’t one of his disciples too, are you?”

He denied it, saying, “I am not.” -John 18:18-25

Aren’t you a disciple of Jesus? Peter said, I’m not. What about you? What happens when everything falls apart? What happens when the rest of the followers scatter into the wilderness? What will you do?

Would you die for Jesus Christ? If the American authorities came to your door and threatened to arrest you and have you executed for your faith in Jesus, what would you do?

I hope and pray I would say, Jesus is my savior no matter what! They might say, well, if you deny Jesus, we’ll give you money, we’ll make you famous, you’ll be well taken care of, you’ll never have a problem again, just deny your savior.

I hope I would reply, “Never.”

But my own behavior is a sign. I say I would never deny Jesus. But how often is it that I can’t be bothered to even show up to church on Sunday? I can’t be bothered to visit someone struggling. I can’t be bothered to whisper a prayer. I can’t be bothered to help out, or tithe, or carry a few boxes into the corps, I can’t be bothered. Then why in the world should I believe that I would not deny Jesus?

Communities in the west are becoming increasingly hostile to Christianity. You can’t imagine what I’ve seen friends over the last five years. I’ve seen so many people abandon this church. I’ve seen our name salted in this community. I’ve seen other charities in the area stab us in the back. I’ve seen people spread rumors. I’ve seen people steal from us. I’ve seen people trash us on social media. My car was keyed by disgruntled clients. I was physically attacked. Theres never enough funding.

So considering all that, it’s just not a given that we’d all die for Jesus, can we really assume that? The community is growing increasingly hostile to Christianity. So we must examine ourselves, as America turns against God, would I be willing to die for my savior? If I say yes, then my action should match, I should be utterly devoted to Jesus, utterly focused on my church activity, utterly heart-burdened for those who don’t know Him out there.

Next, it says, “One of the high priest’s servants, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, challenged him, “Didn’t I see you with him in the garden?”

Again Peter denied it, and at that moment a rooster began to crow.”
–John 18:26-27

We’ve talked about your part in all this, the part of the community, but what about me?

I’ve failed and fallen short in so many ways over the last five years. I can tell you that much. I can relate to Peter, just as all of us can.

Let me tell you about my failures. I’ve allowed fear to control and hinder my leadership. I’ve allowed pride to disrupt and influence the way I teach and preach. I’ve allowed lust to take hold in my life, in the past. I’ve not been bold enough in my leadership, I’ve been fearful to confront and rebuke people who were out of control. I didn’t reach out enough, spend enough time in your homes.

But for years I was doubleminded, and played a double-life. Thank the Lord he has purified that out of me through suffering and much sorrow. And that sorrow, sickness, pain and frustration led to repentance. I was humbled by the Lord, delivered from pride, and lust and fears, and that was a gift from the Lord.

Many of you noticed how sick I was for really the last two and a half years. And that was God’s gift to humble me and deliver me from pride, and doublemindedness, and make me whole before Him.

If you are in a dark season, pray and ask God if it’s for the purpose of repentance. Maybe God is bringing you through sorrows so you will confess your sin before him and repent. Not every sorrow season is like that, but if it is that, don’t miss this golden opportunity, it is a gift from God. Use the sorrow to draw you toward repentance.

Peter has denied Jesus three times. One might think, the story is over. But it is not over.

Similarly, with each of you, with this community, and with me, the story is not over.

Jesus is taken before the authorities. Jesus goes through his all night ordeal before the high priest and before the romans. Jesus is mocked and beaten. Jesus carries his cross to Golgotha. Jesus is nailed to the cross. Jesus is lifted up upon the cross. And Jesus dies for our sins upon that cross.

Jesus is the only one who can do it. Each of us, the disciples, even Peter, we fall short. We mess it up. We miss the mark. But Jesus doesn’t. Jesus gains total victory. Jesus wins the day. Jesus completes His mission.

Meanwhile the disciples are in hiding, behind locked doors, in fear of the roman authorities and the Jewish leaders. Three days go by, of I’m sure, much mourning, and sorrow and weeping.

The disciples hear then, of strange rumors of Jesus being alive again, but no one is sure what to believe.

One day Peter and the disciples go fishing. 

“Simon Peter, Thomas, Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples were together. “I’m going out to fish,” Simon Peter told them, and they said, “We’ll go with you.” So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.” –John 21:2-3

Peter seems to be going back to his old life, he used to be a fishermen, Jesus had called him to fish for people, but now Peter returns to his old ways.

Our own shortcomings may make us want to run to our old lives.

I wonder how many of you here, after the morning services are discontinued, after myself and Chelsey have departed will go back to your old lives? Forget everything that happened over the last five years…?

Then I wonder how many of you will hear the voice of Jesus calling to you from the shore.

The disciples heard a voice call to them: "He called out to them, “Friends, haven’t you any fish?”

“No,” they answered.

He said, “Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.” When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish.” -John 21:5-6

When we’ve failed Jesus, Jesus comes to us and ministers to us. Jesus reminds us who we really are, and Jesus invites us to make a change.

The disciples go back to their old life, and Jesus meets them where they are, and calls them back home to Himself.

“Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” As soon as Simon Peter heard him say, “It is the Lord,” he wrapped his outer garment around him (for he had taken it off) and jumped into the water. The other disciples followed in the boat, towing the net full of fish, for they were not far from shore, about a hundred yards. When they landed, they saw a fire of burning coals there with fish on it, and some bread.” – John 21:7-9

When we hear the voice of the master in our bitterness and regret and confusion and in our running away, we should be like Simon Peter and jump into the water and swim toward Jesus as fast as we can.

When we’ve failed we feel like it’s all over, we’re done, we’ve lost. But when we see Jesus show up, we jump for joy, because His love moves us so completely.

You mean he still loves me, even when I fail or make a mistake? Yes.

So many times you guys I’ve felt so sinful, after I sinned, I know I did something so bad, so nasty, and I come with a contrite heart to Jesus, and I ask His forgiveness and I feel then very quickly that he has forgiven me, and I lose it, I just want to cry with joy at his mercy, humility and compassion for me.

Next Jesus sits down with Peter, and he asks Peter a very important question. It says:

When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?”

“Yes, Lord,” he said, “you know that I love you.”

Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.”

Again Jesus said, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”

He answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.”

Jesus said, “Take care of my sheep.”

The third time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”

Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love me?” He said, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.”

Jesus said, “Feed my sheep.” -John 21:15-17

Peter had denied Jesus three times. And Jesus invites Peter here to repent of his denial.

Peter had said he loved Jesus, but by his actions he had denied Him. But that wasn’t the end of the story.

Jesus comes to Peter and asks him the same question three times, “Do you love me?”

And Peter is restored, as he declares from the heart, “ I love you Lord.”

Peter used his mouth to declare he did not know Jesus, now he declares with his mouth, I do know Jesus.

And Peter from this moment forward would proclaim Jesus to all, never denying His master again. Peter would one day even give His life for Jesus.

Jesus invites us to repent, and restores us completely as we turn back to Him.

What about you? Peter’s sorrow led to repentance. Examine your own heart today. Do you really love Jesus with all your heart? If you do, do your actions match up with what you’re saying?

Allow the Lord to bring sorrow if repentance is needed. Allow the Lord to prick your heart. Allow the Lord to speak into your life some hard truth today.

Over the last few years, what have been your triumphs? What about your mistakes and failures?

Are you caught in a secret sin? He can set you free.

Are you struggling with depression? He can lift you up.

Do you feel like you didn’t go all in for Jesus the last few years? Recommit your heart to Him.

Do you feel like you’ve not served your fellow Christians faithfully? Ask God to help you practice your faith more actively.

Seek the Lord right now. Ask God for forgiveness. Ask God to change your heart. Ask God to transform you. God wants to move in your heart. And true repentance brings revival. Maybe today is the first day of a personal revival in your life. Be like Peter. Jesus came to him and asked him, do you love me?

Do you hear the voice of the Master Jesus saying it to you, “Do you love me?” Repent right now of any sins in your life. Or maybe you just need to repent of not putting Jesus first in your life? Take some time and pray right now. Jesus will restore you!

Review of Main Points:

1. Examining Ourselves: Where have we failed Him?
2. Examining the Community: Would we die for Him?
3. Examining Leadership: What about church leaders?
4. Where we fail Jesus succeeds
5. Our own shortcomings may make us want to run to our old lives
6. When we’ve failed Jesus, Jesus comes to us and ministers to us (and we run toward Him) 
7. Jesus invites us to Repent, and restores us completely as we turn back to Him

The Ultimate Attainment: Union with God

Many great saints I’ve known, even in the Salvation army, many are retiring now, and they say that when they retire, they are grateful that God did not show them the entire path all the ups and downs because they would not have been able to handle the thought of it. But step by step, along the road, they handled it by God’s grace of not showing them what was ahead.

Similarly, we do not easily submit to all this burning up of dross within us. We do not naturally want the self to be leveled. We do not want to be buried with Christ in his cross and alive with Christ in His resurrection. We naturally resist the death of self.

“God wishes to make your soul pure. He purifies it by His Wisdom just as a refiner purifies metal in the furnace. Fire in the only thing which can purify gold. Again, the fire that consumes us—utterly—is His highest wisdom.” -Jeanne Guyon, p. 128

But look back to the moment when you first gave your life to Christ: “At that time you made an unreserved surrender of your being to God. Not only that, you surrendered yourself to all that God wills for you. It was at that very time that you gave your total consent to whatever God might wish to require of you.” -Jeanne Guyon, p. 131

I remember that moment back in 2012 when I called on the name of Jesus Christ. It was a miracle in itself. When we call on Jesus, it’s a divine moment I believe. God reaches down and invites us to call on the name of Jesus. In that moment we can, by His grace, call out. But, then all heaven waits in breathless anticipation: What will he do? I felt that moment. All heaven waiting. God waiting. Angels waiting. Silent.

I felt the draw of heaven, “call out.” And at that moment I said to myself alright, I’m going to do it. I’m going to cry out. Then I did. Jesus save me!

And the uproar of heaven at that moment, my goodness I felt it, the quaking, as all heaven rejoiced, the angels cried out in joy, another lost soul has called upon the name of Jesus Christ and found salvation.

Oh what joy in heaven over one sinner who repents! (Luke 15:7).

That began the journey. Now fast forward to 2021. I had been betrayed. My health was crumbling, serious stomach issues, barely functioning, lost hope, lonely, no friends, battling pride, battling lust, it was like all the gold within me had turned black.

“…when your Lord actually began burning, destroying, and purifying, you did not recognize that it was the hand of the Lord in your life. You certainly did not recognize the operation as something good. You had the very opposite impression! Instead, you saw all that beautiful gold in you turning black in the fire rather than becoming bright as you had expected. You stood looking at the circumstances around you that were producing all that tragedy in your life. You thought that all the purity in your life was being lost.”

That is the refiners fire, where God is molding us and shaping us, and removing from the impure elements from us.

1 Peter 1:7 ESV So that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

In those moments, I have one response initially. The reaction I think is to run. Get out. I’ve been there many times. I’m out of here. Run! This refiners fire is too hot.

But very quickly, I decide against it. Which again is a miracle from God. Because I remember the miracle of faith in me and it remains there. I trust God. This is right, the pain and grief that is happening. So I stay.

Second, I will often attempt some drastic or intense action to defeat or overthrow the refining fire.

I get to work, I must visit a doctor, see a therapist, read a self-help book, manipulate the situation to escape the pain, I try to take control away from God, and force things to go my way. This fails again and again, if it is indeed God’s refining fire and not some controversy I’ve caused against myself.

If it’s not God’s refining fire and just some problem I’ve caused or some evil done against me, then I should get to work against it. But if it is from God, and refining, then I should not take action, unless God inspires action, at the appropriate time.

Don’t run, don’t attempt manipulative actions, just remain passive, draw into God’s arms and allow Him to do His work.

“So you see, God’s justice and God’s wisdom must come like a pitiless and devouring fire. That fire destroys all that is earthly. The fire destroys the sensual, the carnal, and all self-activity.” P. 130

We remain passive, we stand firm, we allow God to do His work on us. Don’t run friends. Don’t manipulate. Stay seated in the chair as the master grooms you.

There is a third concern though, we can run, or we can manipulate events to try to stop it, both of those we naturally avoid ,but a third danger is that we refuse to learn the lesson we’re supposed to learn.

I recall that God brought me to our spring campaigns to test me, I met this woman, and I decided to start dating her, but as I prayed, I knew it wasn’t God’s will. We did eventually break up. But it was very painful. Because we kindled emotions toward each other, because we both wanted a relationship so bad. But in the end, it was not God’s will. So about 6 months later, the Lord brought another woman before me, and said alright Justin, did you learn the lesson? Let’s see what you do this time. And only by his grace, I liked this woman much more than the first, but through prayer, and fasting, God helped me to know it wasn’t meant to be, by His grace, I did not engage in a relationship with her, though she was near me weekly for a whole year.

Often I worry we do the opposite, we refuse to learn the lesson, we keep repeating the bad behavior over and over, even though God has taught us how bad it is time and again.

What is this refining fire doing in you? It’s slowly eliminating self in all it’s manifestations, greed, pride, ego, manipulation, control, selfishness, self-seeking, lust, and bad attitudes of the heart.

For what purpose exactly? To destroy you? To delete you? To replace you with a carbon copy of Jesus? No.

God is not trying to remove you. He’s restoring you, to the person you were always meant to be, someone fundamentally plugged into God. Someone who functions in union with God.

Yet God will also leave thorns in your flesh, to keep you humble as well, so you don’t become prideful and one day say, “Who is the Lord?”

“God allows defects to remain in the dearest of His saints so He can preserve that saint from corruption and hide him in the secret of His presence.” -129

That isn’t sin he leaves, he won’t leave adultery in you, so you keep sleeping around on your wife, and you can say well that’s my thorn in the flesh. No. But it may be some temptation or mental health issue or physical health issue or weakness in you, that keeps you humble and reliant on God.

You are of value. Death to self is not annihilation of your soul. Death to self is removing the chains of your dependence on yourself and rebuilding you in a way in which you are connected to God and focused on His will.

Star Trek reference, becoming a Christian is not becoming a Borg drone, where you get assimilated, your true self is destroyed, and you become a drone doing whatever the hive mind tells you. That’s not Christianity.

Becoming a Christian is like being a lamp who discovers the plug to receive power to light up. Becoming a Christian is like being an orphan bird who never knew she could fly, and finds her nest, reunites with her mother, and her mother teaches her to fly.

Becoming a Christian is like being a caterpillar, and you know you’re meant for something more but you could never do it yourself, but the transformation, the cocoon turns you into a butterfly. And you fly free. You are no longer a caterpillar, but you are still you.

The best example I can give is from my own life. I sat in my broken-down room day after day, year after year drinking, doing drugs, writing stories, going for walks, biking to get booze, making money, to spend on bad things, chasing women, and exploring dark realities.

Now today, I am very different. I still write stories, but they are not selfish stories about self, they are stories about God and His kingdom and mysteries. I’m still me, still a writer, but it’s now pointed toward the good.

I used to go for walks and bike rides to get booze and pills. Now I go for walks and bike rides to experience the beauty of nature. Same thing, pointed in a new direction.

I used to make money to fuel self. Now my money is used for meeting my needs, and tithing, and giving offerings for God’s kingdom.

I used to chase women. Now I married one woman whom I love. Still have sexual desire, but it’s reoriented to fit into God’s way of doing things. It now obeys His instructions.

God does not destroy our soul. He changes our soul to function as it was always intended to: in Union with Him.

As we yield more and more to the refiners fire which is purifying the gold of our soul, we learn to yield more and more to God. Submit to Him. Let Him lead our lives.

“…at this point you begin to yield yourself up to the impulses of the divine Spirit until you are totally absorbed with Him. You are in total concert with His will in all things- at all times.

This is union. Divine union. The self is ended. The human will is totally passive and responds to every movement of God’s will.” -p.133

We’re at the end of the book, Experiencing the Depths of Jesus Christ, last chapter, so of course, Madam Guyon reminds us, “I need not warn you, this is a process that, indeed, takes a long time.”

Do I think a lot of us are at this point? No I don’t. But by God’s grace we will get there. This is a journey, a pathway we walk day by day.

The mistake I see many Christians make though, is as they cross the hills and the valleys, the forests, and cabins of this deep journey toward union with God, at some point they give up, and build a cabin and stop on the road. They don’t go any further. They make some excuse for why they can’t really be bothered to draw nearer to God than where they are at now. Don’t get stuck on the road.

Believe that you can know God more deeply than you do today.

And if your “self” has gotten in the way, which it often does, and we say, well I don’t want to go any further. Pray about this. And ask God to help you pick up your bag and continue further down this glorious road of union with God.

If one thousand Christians went all in for God, and all the way on the road to maturity, deep connection with God, it would shake the world, it would change the united states forever.

We see revival circle around heroes who were totally submitted to God, William Booth, John Wesley, Charles Finney, George Whitefield, Smith Wigglesworth, John G. Lake, and on and on the list goes.

It doesn’t take someone larger than life. St. Francis Assisi even said, if God can use me, he can use anyone. He wasn’t special. He was just someone that decided God would have everything of him.

Go onward, toward ultimate perfection, which is union with God, where God really has all of you, and you are indeed dead to self, and alive to Christ. The self-centered self-controlled life is gone, and your entire will, your seat of decisions is entirely linked to Christ, you are dead to self, and alive to Christ, in how you make choices, you are entirely centered on Christ, and self no longer has control.

What is the end purpose of all this? Enjoyment of God.

Once we are reborn in Jesus Christ, which is justification, and then submitted to God in our will, which is sanctification, which is to be dead to self and alive to Christ, then we are free to find our ultimate eternal purpose: Enjoying God in new and amazing ways for all time in paradise.

There are two positions that I’d like you take, the first is what we’ve been talking about already, to allow the human will to be guided by the Divine will at all times, that is to be led by the Spirit. (Yes, this is truly possible, we can really be led by God at all times.)

Second, is the mindset of simplicity, that God is all. It’s the mindset of total trust, trust as a child trusts a loving parent. In this childlike mindset of simplicity, God is all, we will not be tempted to tinker with God’s word to make it fit our desires, and we will avoid pride as well, which is the sin of Satan, to refuse to accept God’s word and truth as written, and to rebel against it in the heart.

You may think well I don’t do that. Any scripture you reject because you don’t like it, or because it doesn’t fit your theology, or because you can’t emotionally handle it, it is because you have not come to the scripture as a child, you’ve come as one judging the scripture, submit to it instead, as a child, accept it as God’s heart.

One thing I like to remind myself of is this: If I find a scripture I don’t like, I must be wrong. That is submitting the self to God.

You’re probably thinking about someone else right now, someone you believe is wrong about a particular scripture or theological issue, stop that. And look at yourself. “Well, I’m not wrong about anything.” Yes, you are. What scriptures am I ignoring? What emotions am I allowing to twist the scripture?

Simplicity, God is all, approaching as a child, and Spirit-led, self is led by the divine will.

If we keep those two tools in our belt on this pilgrimage road of union with God, then we will always continue on toward the final summit.

But remember this truth: “No one can put himself into union with God. It would not be possible, no matter how great the effort. The soul’s union with God is something God alone does.” -p.136

So could we really push harder and harder down the road of death to self and alive to Christ? No we could not. Paradoxically, on this road which we walk, only God can initiate, sustain, build, and consummate divine union with Him. God acts on us, as we seek Him. We can’t force it to happen through human effort. As Jesus said, human power is of no use at all.

From John 6:63, “63 The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you—they are full of the Spirit[e] and life.

“63 What gives life is God's Spirit; human power is of no use at all. The words I have spoken to you bring God's life-giving Spirit.” -GNT

We humans so quickly return to the flesh to seek God, but all this must be done in the Spirit, step by step, at God’s leading and in God’s timing.

That’s one stumbling block, self effort. Another is stopping on the road and settling for something less. A final stumbling block is pride. Pride would say this is just a bunch of mystical nonsense, and reject it outright. I’ve seen that many times. Our pride rejects it before we even open the door to it. That’s why again, we must approach as a child.

In conclusion, let’s summarize the journey itself. The start of the journey is salvation, we receive Jesus Christ as savior, and we begin our journey to know God deeply.

Many Christians stop there, I got salvation, I’m good, I’m done, and that’s wrong, and dangerous, because the scripture says not all those who say to me lord lord will enter eternal life but only those who do the will of my father in heaven.

Then again what if we really are led by God in our lives, but we’re a fairly average Christian, who honestly loves Jesus and does His will, but we never attain to the level of a John Wesley or a William Booth does that mean we’re going to hell? Not at all.

But the door is open to a deeper walk. What pushes us forward in the journey is the sense that I can go deeper with God. I can seek God more deeply.

And from one point of glory to another we grow in our walk with God. Year by year, through rivers, across dry plains, through deep dark forests, up into the mountains, plateaus, and heights, we grow and grow, until we reach the consummation of the journey, that is, union with God, the self no longer controls us at all, we are led by the Spirit of God, God is all to us, with childlike faith, and so we continue on, until one day, the ultimate end goal is met, when we reach heaven, and find perfect union with God there, forever, which is, enjoyment of God forever, in new and beautiful ways.

Review of Main Points:

1. Part of God’s grace is not showing us all the future steps on the journey

2. God enables us to call out to Jesus for salvation: But the choice remains with you if you will cry out or not

3. God enables us to be slowly changed over time (sanctification) bur we have the choice to be taught by it or reject the learning

4. God will leave a thorn in our flesh to keep us humble and reliant on Him

5. God is not trying to destroy your soul or who you are, but bring out your true self in Christ

6. Avoid the danger of stopping on the journey out of the desire to preserve the old self

7. Revival circles around great heroes of the faith who were entirely submitted to God (God had all of them)

8. Embrace a two-fold mindset: Simplicity, God is all as a child views a parent, and entirely allowing the divine will to guide your will (choices)

9. Paradoxically, we can’t force ourselves into union with God by trying harder, God initiates this deep union with God

10. The final goal in union with God is: Enjoyment in God in this life and for all eternity

Slowing Down to Listen to God

God has really been challenging me to step outside my comfort zone in my relationship with Him. I was recently at a conference, and during the time of reflection after one of the meetings it was clear to me that I had been trying to take my will back from God, and guide my own life. I hadn’t done it completely, but I was starting to want to pull away. I think because it’s been painful lately, the hurts of ministry and of my personal life have made me want to turn away, and turn inward.

God challenged me to simply re-submit my will and life to Him. And let Him be in control. That’s the foundation of helping anyone else, is first going into the heart of God.

I need God to change my heart again and again so that I’m in alignment with His way of thinking. That doesn’t happen naturally. It takes intentionally spending long amounts of time with God.

Long ago when Mother Teresa made plans for her life, she had not been moved by the suffering the children of Calcutta as a reason to go there and serve. Instead she had been so close to the heart of God that she moved in that direction of service instinctually.

It took me slowing down at the conference, stopping everything and just sitting with God, my journal and a Bible, and asking God to speak to me. And then listening. God did speak, and it was powerful.

At the conference God gave me several encounters with other pastors at the conference. There were many opportunities for ministry. And in particular, ministering to pastors that I wouldn’t normally associate with. God does that. He brings people to us that we wouldn’t normally associate with. And when I encountered these people I just tried to listen, treat them with kindness and respect, and do my best to hear their hurts and when God gave me opportunity, I tried to speak a word that could bring inspiration and healing.

I sometimes dread visiting public places and going to conferences because God often brings me into uncomfortable conversations. It’s stressful. I’m an introvert. I just want to sit by the people I know and feel comfortable. Yet God calls me to connect with others again and again that I wouldn’t normally connect with. 

Yet when I think about it, that’s what Jesus did. He didn’t just stay with people who thought like him. He ministered to Samaritans. He ate with tax collectors. He debated with the Pharisees. He spoke to important leaders like Nicodemus. He ministered to gentiles. 

So, I’m learning. I’m a work in progress. The Holy Spirit calls me out of my comfort zone. It’s hard, because I’m already so tired, and exhausted, and I have way too much on my plate. But the Holy Spirit is gentle and helps me in those situations to not feel too overwhelmed.

Let him that would move the world, first move himself

When I think about the greatest evils in world history, the Nazi take over of Germany, or the communist uprising in Russia, I wonder, what would I have done? But I don't have to wonder. Because everyday I make the decision to either be a servant of Christ, or self-indulgent. I want to believe that I can make a difference. I want to believe that I can change the world in Christ, for the better.

The greatest asset has been looking within at my own heart. It's so easy to blame external circumstances or the inaction of others, and whine and complain about how the church isn't doing enough. How easy it is to complain about others! But what about me? What about my actions? Who am I going to be? That's the real question.

It's also the recognition that I can't fix my own heart with a hammer, nails, and a glue gun. It just won't work. 

Only God can change my heart. Only the Holy Spirit within can build me into a true hero of the faith. Only Jesus Christ himself can make me into who I was always meant to be, a servant-minded loving kind truth telling peacemaker. 

Of course I can cooperate with God in what he's doing, I can be careful to pray fervently, worship intently, study the word thoroughly, engage in concrete actions daily, and love God and others with a whole heart. But in the end, it is God who shifts my heart, as the word says, "from one degree of glory to another" into His likeness (2 Cor 3:18). As God does that work in me, it will be truly beautiful to behold.

So my goal will be to consistently engage myself first in the action of loving God, then the loving others will come naturally. As Socrates said, "Let him that would move the world, first move himself.” 

If I can get that right, and let God move me toward himself, by surrendering honestly to His lead, then I can begin to move the world toward Jesus Christ.

Invite the Holy Spirit to Continuously Change your Heart

I think the single most important take-away I’ve gleaned from my life as a believer is to look within at my own heart and ask the Holy Spirit to change my heart. 

If I can find ways to cooperate with God in the heart-change needed in me, whether it’s prayer or practical actions of service, or reading the word, or gathering with a small group, then anything is possible. If I can find a way to let God change my heart deeply, then I can make a huge difference in the world, because my heart will be utterly focused on God’s purposes. If not, then I’ll always be divided within, and unable to make a real difference in spreading the gospel or meeting human needs.

I’ve always longed for “lasting change” to come about because of the presence of our church in the community. I think a single church can have a massive impact on a city. Even just one small church can bring massive change for good to a community. Or it can have little to no impact. 

Honestly I think the best way to do that is to get one person at a time saved, sanctified, and firmly focused on their discipleship journey to heaven. One person who becomes a Christian, even just one, has a big footprint in their city. Imagine five, or twenty, or one hundred, or five thousand, pretty soon, the gospel will spread everywhere, and if Christians are rightly trained to love their neighbors, meet needs, and serve each other, it will make the city a beautiful place to live.

The biggest challenge in all this is the selfish nature of American society. That coupled with wealth and affluence makes many apathetic to the gospel message. But there is great hope in prayer, spreading the gospel intentionally, and ministering to people in their desperate moments. 

We all have moments when we’re hurting and desperate, even in the affluence of American society. If we can reach people in those circumstances, they are often more likely to listen and respond to the gospel message. Pain brings change, as they say.

The Source of our Prosperity: Retaining the Knowledge of Where our Blessings come From

It's so easy to begin to take for granted all we have. That is the cycle of nations in fact. Israel would often forget that God was the source of their prosperity. And as soon as they forgot the source of their prosperity, they began to believe it came from their own genius. And the path to destruction was paved, and they began to walk it. 

Do you understand how absolutely vital this is? Where is my prosperity from? Heaven or Earth? If I get this wrong or right, it will guide me either down the right path or the road of disaster. 

I am truly privileged to live in a nation that has such prosperity and wealth. I look at everything I have, the things I own, the fact that I have electricity, a motor vehicle, a warm house, a safe neighborhood, and it reminds me that billions around the globe don't have access to half of these amenities. At the same time many Americans don't, and I have to remember that as well. But it makes me feel extremely grateful to live in this nation where I enjoy religious freedom, freedom of speech, abundant food, shelter, and endless entertainment.

I'm extremely privileged. I grew up in a two parent household. I've never seen war out my bedroom window. I never was homeless. I never went without food. I have internet, movies, television, videogames, insurance, investments, on and on the list goes.

I think the worst assumption that arises out of the numerous privileges that I enjoy is the danger of assuming that all this abundance came from the genius of the people of the society. Or from my own abilities. I think most people assume that the United States is so prosperous because of the ability of the people. That is certainly not the case.

The only reason I enjoy so many blessings is because God has provided all of this abundance. Unfortunately the abundance has led to a nation that has forgotten God. Why? We didn't steward the blessing. We took it for granted.

I try to stop and pause, in my prayer times, and say, "God, I don't take any of this for granted. I know every good and perfect gift comes from above, from the Father of the Heavenly Lights."

It reminds me of Abraham Lincoln's Thanksgiving Proclamation (1863) in which he stated, "No human counsel hath devised, nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy." During that time the United States was brutally divided along ideological lines. It's similar today in our country we find a nation deeply divided over ideological lines. He reminded the people, that we need to refocus our attention on God. We need to remember every good gift comes from God.

That's the danger of privilege. We have many blessings. I have many blessings. So I must learn to steward this privilege I find myself in, with so much abundance, wealth, influence, and higher learning, by always remembering that anything I have is from God. I must "Give God all the glory."

I must always make sure I never let the privileged state I find myself in become an excuse to mistreat someone, or to think that I'm better than anyone else. Wealth can easily make us assume that we're better than someone who is poor or who lives in a hut or shack. But it's not true! We're both made in the image of God. We're entirely equal in value before God. We've got to steward the privilege by seeing it as a gift from God to have wealth and influence, while at the same time making sure we use our wealth and influence to bless those who have less than us.

Lastly, I think it's staying very humble as well. It says in James 1:9-10, "9 Believers in humble circumstances ought to take pride in their high position. 10 But the rich should take pride in their humiliation—since they will pass away like a wild flower." 

People like us, who are devastatingly wealthy compared to the rest of the world, ought to stay intensely humble. Take pride in their humiliation. Because we will pass away, and all the wealth and influence will pass away with us.

Christ in the Heart: It's just that Simple

In all this deep discussion of prayer and God’s presence and turning ourselves toward Him, we must always return to the basic, simple understanding of who Jesus Christ is to us.

You can sit in church your whole life and never let Christ into your heart. You can try very hard to adjust your outward behaviors but never let His love into yourself.

Many I believe who claim to be Christians are actually rebels against God. They are hard at work trying to be good everyday, not because they love God, but because they desire to prove that they are already good.

They may not fully realize it, but they have blocked God out, and their practice of religion is simply trying to be good without God to prove to God that they are good. And that is the road to hell.

If you are in that path right now you’re in great danger. I recall I was at a conference and we at the table were talking about the Lord, talking about God’s presence, and one person at the table became increasingly uncomfortable. As the Spirit surged around that table, she got up and left. It was astonishing. But I wonder, what was really going on inside her? Does she know Jesus or is she trying to be good to prove to God how good she is?

What I want for each of you is to be able to look into your own heart right now and examine yourself, and then look to Jesus Christ the Lord, and then look back at your own heart, and say three words:

“I Know Him.”

And you’ll know its either true, or not true, when you say it in your heart.

“I Know Him.” I really know Him. I know Jesus. Jesus knows me. We are one. He is my savior. I’m his brother. God is my Father. It’s really true.

Now recently I met with a young man in my office who I’ve known for years here. He expressed his love for God. He expressed how he prays. He knows about Jesus. He talks to Jesus. I dare say he may indeed know Jesus in his heart.

But his actions don’t line up with whom he claims.

I’ve seen this many times. Someone who does know Jesus in their heart. But they are living in so many sins. And the excuse he gave me was that everyone sins, you can’t ever be perfect.

Christians do battle sin. But they are not controlled by sin. Sin does not consume them.

For a Christian sin is like walking through an area of puddles. Sometimes you successfully avoid the puddle, in fact as you pay attention more closely, you avoid the puddles more and more effectively.

But occasionally, you step into a puddle, your shoe is soaked in mud, and you shake off your boot, clean it off, and keep going.

That is very different from someone who is in the swamp up to their ankles and rarely sees dry ground.

These are two separate situations that need remedy. I’m sure some of us here are in the first camp. We’ve never really let Jesus into our hearts. We’ve tried so hard to be good without Him. And we’re exhausted and empty, and we need to let His love in to change us from the inside.

Is that you? Repent right now. Invite Jesus in. Call on the name of your savior, Jesus Christ help me!

Second group, you really do know Jesus in your heart, but you’ve allowed sin to dominate your life. You’ve made excuses for it. You’ve rationalized why it’s ok. You’ve ignored the conviction of the Holy Spirit. And you are living a double-life.

And you probably think it’s too late for you. But you would be wrong. It’s not too late.

You can get real with your savior right now, admit to Jesus Christ what you’ve done, and ask for His help. But here’s the hard part, you’ve got to let go of your pride, and let Him be God.

When he tells you to go to AA, you just go, you don’t argue. When he tells you to read that book, or go reconcile with your enemy or old friend, you just do it. Don’t argue. Don’t try to rationalize. Just take that first step of obedience.

And that first step will begin to lead you down a road of real victory where you’ll see sin after sin vanish from your life in the blood of Jesus.

Walk the road of miracles. It takes courage, but in Him, you will find such victory.

I walk that road. It’s a glorious road. You’ll be amazed. Now take the first step. What is Jesus asking you to do? Is to go to rehab? Read a book? Meet with your pastor? Attend a conference? Embrace the road of victory, victory over sin!

In all this we want to return to the simple knowledge of Jesus Christ, the simple relationship to know who Jesus is, to love Him and be loved by Him.

Real inner knowledge of Jesus. What if every pastor and teacher taught their people the simple path of knowing Jesus, His life, His crucifixion, His resurrection, His parables and teachings, the sermon on the mount, and the kind of life he lived?

As Jeanne Guyon said… “We would see the simple farmer, as he plowed his field, spend his days in the blessing of the presence of God. The shepherd, while watching his flocks, would have the same abandoned love for the Lord which marked the early Christians. The factory worker, while laboring with his outward man, would be renewed with strength in his inner man.” -Jeanne Guyon, p. 118

That farmer, that shepherd, that factory worker knows Jesus in their heart. They really know Him. They’ve honestly authentically called on Jesus to save them from who they were, and as a result, they are no longer who they were.

Call on Jesus right now, and ask Him, "Jesus save me from who I am now, and make me someone completely new."

We have to go straight to the heart.

As Jeanne Guyon wrote, “Go straight to the heart! Laying down rules and trying to change the outward behavior will not produce a work that will endure in the life of a Christian.” -Jeanne Guyon, p. 118

I can’t change your outward behavior. Government and laws can’t change your outward behavior. We just find ways to get around the laws or avoid the authorities. Outward rules can’t produce righteousness. Only a heart change can do that. Only total surrender to God can do that. That often comes in a time of crisis in our lives.

For an unsaved person, as you grope toward God in the dark, the heart should be your target. The mind will argue, the mind will rationalize, the mind will justify, the mind will try to dance around the facts, but not the heart. The heart knows that God is real. 

The mind when given apologetics, evidence for God’s existence, explanations for the problem of evil, is able to dodge and weave and escape and argue and create any sort of pathway away from the truth.

But the heart is different. You can tell a person, God is real, you can see it through nature, cosmology, and DNA and so on. But the mind may say well all this is ridiculous, how could there be a God, where did God come from, how could Jesus rise from the dead, it’s all ridiculous!

But when you go to the heart, directly, and indicate to the heart, you know in your heart that God is really real. You also know that you’ve sinned against God. You know you’ve done wrong. And you know deep down that you need a savior. And you know when you read the Bible, something deep inside your heart says, “It may sound odd. Yet I know it’s all true.”

In the heart is where you believe in Jesus and find salvation. In the heart is where you come to a state of desperation strong enough to call out to Him for forgiveness. In the heart is where you come to Him. 

We wrestle in that back and forth between heart and mind, resisting it and embracing the truth, and when that crisis culminates, you will either cry out to Him, or turn further away from Him. But we’re offered that option again and again and again in our lives.

After the heart has been changed, after the heart has given itself over to Jesus, after you’ve allowed Jesus to be the King of your heart, to have authority over you, then, after, we begin to instruct the mind in the ways of God. And from degree to degree the mind is transformed.

And you add power and logic to your faith through apologetics after salvation. You learn the evidences for God’s existence, you learn the scientific facts, you learn the historical realities, you learn the manuscript evidence, and slowly but surely your mind becomes the defender of the heart reality that already exists.

That is all the lead up to salvation, the battle within the heart to be willing to turn oneself over to God completely. That’s surrender to God. That’s asking Jesus to forgive your sins. That’s repenting of your sins and allowing God to remove them from your heart.

Now we’re off on the journey together toward heaven. And so it becomes a daily pattern of seeking God within each day. Because the moment of salvation is not the end of the journey, it’s the beginning.

Now for the believer to prosper they must learn on their own to continuously seek God. Not just in church. Not just on Sunday. But all week.

Jeanne Guyon writes, “Accomplishing all this is very easy. How? Simply teach a believer to seek God within his own heart. Show the new Christian that he can set his mind on Jesus Christ and return to Him whenever he has wandered away.” -Jeanne Guyon, p.121

Does that mean that you actually will? I have no idea if you do or not. I get you for an hour here on Sunday. I pray for you, and I know you pray for each other during the week, but at the end of the day, I don’t actually know if you take any of this and apply it. That’s between you and God. I’ve done my job to tell you plainly what to do next to grow in your relationship with Him.

If you don’t then you’ll have to explain that to God on judgment day. But I’ve done my part.

Your goal should be a single eye on God. As Jeanne Guyon writes:

“Furthermore, show him he should do all and suffer all with a single eye to please his God.” -Jeanne Guyon, p. 121

The goal is, to seek to please God in your life.

Just as much, your goal is to express love for God and be loved by God.

“The simple, undisguised emotions of love express infinitely more to Him than the words of any language.” -Jeanne Guyon, p.123

All this happens in the heart. Love expressed toward God is more important than any words. That’s what God wants. For us to learn to love Him with all of our heart.

This is all very simple salvation in Jesus. Love Him in your heart. Cry out to Him in your heart. Let your heart go to that place of inviting Him in. Let your heart be desperate enough to want Him. Then once being changed by Him, seek to love Him, and please Him the rest of your life. 

Jeanne Guyon writes, “It is amazing and delightful to see that it is the simplest Christians who often progress farthest in an inner relationship with Jesus Christ!” -Jeanne Guyon, p. 123

The greatest heroes of the Christian faith were not necessarily the most brilliant men and women. They were simple people who hungered for God. Brother Lawrence was a dishwasher at a monastery, Madam Guyon was not a pastor, Smith Wigglesworth was a plumber, Peter, James and John were fishermen, it’s the simplest of people who God uses. 

They were simple, but the word of God made them special, because they sought it out so diligently. 

As the scripture says about wisdom: “Let all who are simple come to my house!” To those who have no sense she says, “Come, eat my food and drink the wine I have mixed." -Proverbs 9:4-5

And as Jesus himself said: “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children” -Matthew 11:25

In conclusion, allow God into your heart! It's that simple. It’s in the heart we believe and are saved. Pray right now and invite Him in to save you, to change you, and to lead you down the victorious pilgrimage road to heaven.

Review of Main Points:
1. Avoid the trap of trying to prove to God that you are already good – repent of this evil way, and ask for forgiveness of your sins, and let Jesus change you

2. A true believer is able to say in the heart: “I Know Him”

3. A genuine believer lost in sin can find the victory road in allowing Jesus to direct their pathway out of sin

4. Go to the Heart to find a true knowledge of God, then afterward train the mind to follow what the heart has found in Christ

5. The believer having found their love must now keep their eye on one main purpose: To please God

6. What God wants most from you is for you to honestly love Him, and to honestly receive His love

7. The most simple Christian is often the one who takes the relationship with God the furthest