What is Christ Looking For?

Another way of looking at the question posed in the title of this post is, "What do we have to give Christ that He wants?"

Do you know?

If we even have an inkling of a desire to please Christ within us, we know that there isn't much we have that interests Him. While He loves us because He is love, that isn't a reflection upon us as being attractive objects of love for Him, rather it's a reflection of His nature - which is love itself.

We know that God created with the ultimate intent of filling all things with Himself; specifically mankind.

So we know that Christ created man for Himself in order that man would be filled with His person. Overall that's the culmination of the creation of mankind, but there's an obvious path we must travel to get there.

We must understand that eternal things are always; they are there or happening at once without the effect of space or time upon them. But when those eternal things are created or brought into the physical realm, they are progressively unveiled and made.

It would take a lot of impartation to reveal much of the practicals and revelation of what was just said. But there is a simple but powerful thing to learn in the light of all of this, and it relates to where it all begins, and in reality, how we travel this fantastic path initiated by Christ Himself.

When considering all of this, there is something Christ looks for above all other things in us. Without it there really isn't any hope that His purpose will ever have a chance of being fulfilled in us to His satisfaction.

Is there anything we have to give to Christ? Is there anything we have to offer that He doesn't already have? Is there anything we can do that will add to who He is?

The obvious answer to these questions is "no"!

So when we clear all the mist away and get get down to the very basics of and foundation of Christ in relationship to His people, there is only one thing we have to offer Him that He has an interest in: our hearts!

No matter what He does in us or strength He adds to us, there is nothing in that which is really satisfying to Him. In the end and at the bottom (or really top) of all things as it relates to the heart of Christ, is that we are willing to have Him open up our hearts to fellowship openly with Him first, and then out from there with one another.

When we look at New Jerusalem coming down from heaven, we see only a few things within her. We have light, a throne, a tree, a river, and a golden street or path. That's it. That's what Christ's bride is filled with.

The path? That path travels through the hearts of God's people. It's the very center of all that is contained within the bride of Christ. Christ is of course that path or street, and that path is meant to be the heartbeat of the people of God.

If Christ doesn't have our hearts, there is nothing else He's really interested in. Without our hearts nothing else matters.

But if He has our hearts, than we are on a journey, a journey within that includes His throne, the tree of life, the river of the Spirit and the life of Christ lighting it all up.

In the end, we can offer up nothing to Christ but our hearts. Everything else of fellowship flows from that.

Having said all this, we really don't have the will or power to do this without Him. Ask Him to help and empower you to offer up your heart to Him. He is more than willing and able to do it. It's the starting place and foundation of everything else in connection to our relationship with Christ.

A Lesson from the 'Jesus People'

I think that in the distant future, historians interested in Christian history will look back at what's called the "Jesus people" movement and identify it as a turning point in history overall.

Why do I say that?

Not because of the elements connected to what happened, as most of them fell by the wayside and very little is left today from the experience. While there are people who do connect it with some ongoing Churches today, overall it has largely been neglected or misunderstood as to its importance.

What were some of the characteristics connected to it? Community, innocence, passion, spontaneity, little leadership, creativity, ordinary people, communalism, excesses in some cases, organic, simplicity and short-term thinking, among many other things.

While much of that is important, it's not what makes the experience significant. What makes it significant is that God Himself initiated the move; it was happening outside the institutional church and institutional leaders. That's one of the reasons when many have commented on it throughout the years, much of the excesses are mentioned, rather than the tremendous strengths involved as well.

As a matter of fact, when the institutional church finally caught up with them, the impetus was winding down, and the 1972 event called Explo 72 was probably the final nail in the coffin. At that event none other than Billy Graham and Bill Bright played significant roles in the meetings which attracted tens of thousands.

A lot of believers have felt that the watering down of the message and institutional church leaders influencing the naive new believers into wearing the right clothes and hair lengths (outward appearances) took the focus off of the simple love of Jesus they had been centered on.

The point I want to bring up though is one of the major reasons the movement stalled and failed, and what we can learn from it.

Primarily it was a victim of its own success. When it became public knowledge and the media began to cover it, it was doomed to failure.

This is important because it's far better when important change like this happens that believers can grow up in relative anonymity until God may choose to reveal Himself through them at the right time - if ever.

Very few believers can ever handle publicity or fame, and shouldn't really have to. Yet the media world we live in makes it hard to grow up spiritually in obscurity.

And if we do happen to become known, we start to think it's the Holy Spirit moving, when in fact it can be the very opposite. As Paul said, he was little known but well known. We need to be the same way. The church may know us, but we won't be popular in the world, and neither should we be.

It's far better to grow and live life in Christ in a quiet and peaceable manner, than it is to become well known and untold pressures put upon us.

There are ways to make an impact without becoming famous or important in our own eyes. The costs of becoming visible in the climate we live in is far too much of a price to pay.

Even so, we will be tested as to our foundations and commitment to the eternal purpose of God lived in us. It's hard enough to do it in everyday life, let alone adding fuel to the fire by allowing ourselves to be put under the type of scrutiny and opening ourselves up to all the people with agendas out there.

We need to be careful how we hold our stewardship of the eternal purpose of God. It's far more profitable to grow and learn spontaneously by the Spirit of God over a long period of time, than use the old methods of trying to increase through our own strength, strategies and plans, thinking we're called to do so.

The reason this is such a temptation is we see something of the heart of Christ in His purpose, as then respond in our own strength, thinking we're increasing the kingdom of God, when in reality we're building our own kingdoms out from ourselves rather than out from Him.

In the end, I don't think what began to happen in the mid 1960s was a failure in any way. What it did was remind us that God can easily move outside the institutional church system, and can make an extraordinary impact on the lives of men and women who want only Him.

The key thing we need to learn if we want to go forward is to stay focused on Christ alone, and stay away from the temptation to become well known. Even if we are approached and we think it's a good opportunity to grow and become known, I would stay away from it and quietly let the Lord do His work.

After all, He's never in a hurry.

This isn't to discourage growth, just that it has to be growth from God rather than human ingenuity and thinking.

What happened with the publicity connected to the Jesus people was the immaturity of the new and primarily young believers was used as an excuse to attack the overall impetus of what God was doing, and the end result was that publicity caused the purpose to really be stillborn before it was able to take root.

We are at that stage again, as Chrisians start to look seriously at alternative ways of meeting as the church and what it really means. Unfortunately there are already those who are off the foundation of Jesus Christ and embracing all sorts of irrelevant worldly issues rather than the only thing that really matters.

Don't be discouraged though if you're not one of them. All the publicity they're attempting to generate will fall by the wayside relatively soon, as it always does.

For those serious and focused on Christ alone, we need to continue to hold to the head and not be tempted to let go.

Much of what the Jesus people experienced for a short period of time was from God and gave a little glimpse of what is in store for the future of the church. Let us not be in too much of a hurry to grow and become well known, rather let us continue to root down deep into Him and never move off of that.

For those of you who have gathered quietly for a number of years, this doesn't mean growth won't come to you, just be careful of it coming forth from Jesus and not from the current temptation to make it a popular experience.

Knowing Christ: Individually and Corporately - Part 3

Eph. 4:16 - From Him (Christ) the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.

Continuing on with the complimentary lifestyle that emerges from being one body but many parts, let's look at this verse to see how it simply operates in practicality.

First of all note "From Him," which determines the rest of the practical outworking of the body. For each part to properly do its work, we must be in Him to receive from Him. By in Him I mean in constant union with Christ so we can than bring forth His life to others in the body.

The next part telling us that the body is joined and held together by supporting ligaments because each part is doing its work. Here again we have the complmentary aspect of being one body but many parts.

Again, there can be no body if the parts aren't operating, as with a real, physical body it would shut down and either be sick or eventually die if the parts aren't doing what they're meant to do.

Remember that the end of the eternal purpose of God is to be all in all. This is meant to be seen in the physical world we live in through the body of Christ. This will never happen unless the people of God are in fellowship with Christ, and from there share the things Christ is doing in them with others in the church when they meet together.

Of course this goes beyond meetings to every aspect of life, as many things are practical and not only sharing through talking in meetings.

But the reason why a people are held together is because of this rich variety of sharing of things with one another which creates a type of bond that is eternal. This is why I say that there must be a strong individual relationship and connection with the Lord in order for the corporate body of Christ to emerge.

The body of Christ isn't a glob, but a conglomeration of many parts functioning in a way that makes the whole of Christ be seen. At least that's the goal of the Lord in living within us.

Knowing Christ: Individually and Corporately - Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4

Knowing Christ: Individually and Corporately - Part 2

Remember last post when we talked about going to the Godhead to see how things work? Here's one scripture that extends the understanding of that reality.

1 Cor. 12:4-6 (NIV)

"There are different kinds of gifts but the same Spirit. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working but the same God works all of them in all men."

In other words, while there is an extraordinary variety of ways to express and reveal Christ through His people, it's the same God doing it all.

Remember the context of all of this was the Corinthians were scattered all over the place, separating into cliques and basically divided amongst themselves because they didn't understand that variety and oneness weren't in conflict with each other in the Godhead, rather they complimented one another.

Individuals who saw the Lord in certain ways weren't to separate because others saw another aspect of the Lord. It was the sharing of the Lord with one another that made them a body, a people. The problem with the Corinthians is they would separate over everything that came along, including those that brought a message to them.

Paul said it perfectly in verse 12 of I Cor. 12, saying it this way:

"The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ.

In verse 14 Paul continues saying, "Now the body is not made up of one part but of many," and in verse 19 he asks the rhetorical question: "If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts but one body." v27 - "Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you a part of it."

The point of all of this is if you feel the tension and inner conflict concerning being one and many, remember that Paul explains to us the two compliment one another, and exist in time together. You can't have one without the other. You can't have corporate without individuality.

If you attempt to make something corporate without the body parts functioning in their role, you end up with something called a glob; a monstrosity. On the other hand if you have an individual unconnected to the body, they serve no purpose and have no impact on showing forth the many-sided wisdom that Christ is.

Only the body can truly show forth Christ, and that's done through each part properly functioning. To function properly they need to be in union with the Lord.

When this is lived out properly and healthily, the individual parts of the body show forth Christ far greater than could ever be seen, and at the same time the body than gives something back to individual parts which makes them grow in Christ in a way they couldn't on their own. This is how the two compliment one another. When this is lived out, the tension between the two disappears and flow together in a fantastic way.

One thing to keep in mind here, when taking into account the word individual, I'm not referring to what many in the Western world would call "independent." What I'm saying is the people of God can only truly show forth Christ in His fulness by offering up what each one of them have individually. The result is to see Christ in a way that can't be seen individually, no matter how far advanced a person is.

Knowing Christ: Individually and Corporately - Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4

Knowing Christ: Individually and Corporately - Part 1

In the next several posts I want to talk about knowing Christ. What I want to do is help some of you in the area of individual versus corporately knowing Christ. There is sometimes confusion and uncertainty concerning the two dwelling together.

The reason this becomes an issue for those meeting outside institutional Christianity, is if we're following the right path, we'll in the beginning years have a focus on the corporate aspect of learning Christ (especially Westerners), as we're more of an individualist people than those from the East.

Sometimes those who understand the lack of corporateness in the Western church tend to focus so much on it that it can sometimes confuse and frustrate those who have a strong relationship with the Lord, and in some cases even make them feel guilty for doing it. This isn't done intentionally or in a evil manner, it's just that the focus on corporateness can make people feel uncomfortable pursuing the Lord in their private time individually.

What we need to do is go directly to the Godhead and see how things are done there.

One of the basic truths concerning the Godhead are that they are three but one and one but three. This is where we are to begin. In the scriptures concerning the practical outworking of the Godhead, we see that Father is called the Father of spirits, Jesus the bishop of the soul, and the Spirit the redeemer of the body. This doesn't mean there was any lack of oneness simply because they had specialties they ministered to. Rather it was from that oneness that it happened.

In the church we also see that while we are to be one, we at the same time operate in a variety of ways within that oneness. The reason we operate in a variety of ways is because we have something of the Lord to share with others. That sharing is what enlarges us corporately, and causes us to see the Lord in a much larger way. The way we get there is to know the Lord individually, share it corporately and see and grow in the Lord in a wider, fuller and deeper way than we could alone.

In the many years I've lived in the church outside the institutional churc boundaries, I've seen the ebb and flow of corporate and individual knowing of the Lord. The two work together and not alone. If you attempt to be solely corporate, an odd type of thing emerges, to the point where I've heard some even call themselves a "glob." The problem with something like this is the people can have community and hang out together, but also have a very limited experience and expression of Christ because they are fixated on the corporate part at the expense of the individual.

The point is you can hang out and do things together and still have a very limited relationship with the Lord. Again, the two must work together to have a healthy emergence of the image of God.

If brothers and sisters aren't individually pursuing and fellowshipping with the Lord, they sure aren't going to be able to come together and offer anything to one another that will have spiritual significance.

Knowing Christ: Individually and Corporately - Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4

Jesus Christ: The Tree of Life - 5

Have you ever wondered what it was that Adam and Eve saw when they went to the center of the Garden of Eden and the Tree of Life and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil stood side by side? The contrast is extraordinary.

Remember one thing concerning Adam and Eve at this portion of their lives: they saw things as they were, so when they viewed these two trees that didn't have an origin on Earth, they saw them in a unique way, and how they saw them, especially with Eve, was a huge factor in the fateful decision to eat of the wrong tree.

It's tempting to really get into the depths of what really happened at that time, but the simplicity of it is enough, because in the end, that was one of the key elements of what was going on.

Paul mentions that in the time of the temptation of Eve, she was deceived concerning maintaining the simplicity of devotion to Christ. That was the major issue concerning the two trees. One offered simplicity, devotion and dependence on the life of Christ, and fellowship with Him, while the other offered independence from God, and a different type of knowledge, wisdom and food.

This is the center of the powerful story of Martha and Mary, where Martha attempted to influence Jesus to get Mary away from being centered on Him, where Jesus responded it was really the only thing that mattered, and He wasn't going to take that away from her.

Satan offered Eve the opportunity to be like God, without the help and dependence upon God; without the need to internalize and fellowship with Him within, which is part of what it meant to eat the fruit of the tree. To eat it meant to internalize the relationship we were offered with Christ.

The other major element was that the Tree of Life, or Christ, wasn't an attractive tree, whereas the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil was, as represented by Satan, who was a beautiful being at one time.

While spiritually Christ as the Tree of Life was attractive from the point of view of God, to natural man he wasn't, as the cross was at the center of the Tree, and built into it. This is something many Christians to this day resist. It's one of the major reasons much of the inner fellowship with Christ isn't pursued, because it means dying to self, and the application of the work of the cross within. Not many are willing to go that route anymore.

So when Satan started getting Eve's eyes fixated on the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, the idea was to get her to completely forget about the Tree of Life, which he succeeded at doing. History has unveiled the results of that mistake.

When Adam and Eve viewed the two trees, the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil was far more attractive and conducive to humanity than the counterintuitive Tree of Life. Even in their sinless state, immediately before partaking of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, the desire for an easier way to live was pursued by the old man; the first Adam.

What's interesting, taking into account that Eve was deceived but Adam wasn't, is that even though Adam wasn't deceived, he preferred to internalize a life form contrary to who God was. It looked wiser and easier, but in the end it was devastating and resulted in life being even harder.

To this day the major job our spiritual enemy continues to do is keep our eyes off of the simplicity of devotion to Christ, and eat of a tree that complicates and distracts us from that simple fellowship with Him, which is how Jesus describes of eternal life is, which was embedded in Him, the Tree of Life.

We must battle to eat of the Tree of Life once again, and remind one another to do it often. More on this in the next post.

Jesus Christ: The Tree of Life Series

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6

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Jesus Christ: The Tree of Life - 1

Over the next several posts we'll take a look at Jesus Christ as the Tree of Life. Having insight into, and embracing Christ as the Tree of Life is extremely valuable; especially in this age of instant communication, where not only the volume of news and communication can overwhelm people, but the nature and content of that communication as well.

The reason the Tree of Life was in the center of the garden of Eden was because He was meant to be the center of all life. While that has been true in eternity, it is true as well in the created world we live on.

Just about everything that surrounds us can move us off the important reason and purpose for our existence: intimate fellowship with the Godhead. Christ represents that as the Tree of Life.

Only internalizing the fruit of that Tree could give us the life we were created to live. Adam and Eve failed to do it, and chose a different course, a course most continue to follow to this day, even though they take the name of Christ upon them.

I believe that there is no hope for someone refusing to internalize Christ as their life. When I say no hope, I mean by that not being able to consciously live by another life within us. We'll be tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine blowing around out there. Our lives will be a continuous exercise in futility and frustration as we can't figure out why when we're believers in Christ, we seem to never have the peace, rest and satisfaction that should come with that.

We'll consume the knowledge of good and evil that will always produce death rather than life. It's an endless circle when that route is taken, and you can't get off it unless you choose the Tree of Life over that.

We're not simply talking about someone getting saved; that's simply the doorway into what we were meant to be and focus on: the eternal purpose. It gets us right with God so we can get back to what our true calling really is.

Jesus Christ is the Tree of Life, and unless we pursue internalizing Him and fellowshipping with Him inside of us, we'll be on a journey of never being fulfilled, as the purpose we were created for isn't understood or embraced.

When I mention pursuing internalizing Him above, I mean by that allowing Him to change us within, and into His image; not just positionally, but in practice. To do that we must fellowship and be with Him at all times.

So in these next several posts we'll talk about Adam and Eve at the beginning, what happened in the Garden, and what it is they saw when tempted.

Jesus Christ: The Tree of Life Series
Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6
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God’s Invisible Realm

One of the aspects of the early church that was emphasized and lived out from day to day was the realization that there was another world that was much higher and more real than the one that we could interact with concerning our senses.

As we all know our Lord dwells in heaven. His will there is done completely and perfectly. He reigns there with complete and total response to His desires.

I want to touch on a couple of aspects of where He dwells. First, it is the real world. This world that we can see with our natural eyes and interact with from our senses is only a shadow of that realm. When people many times tell us to live in the real world, they don’t really know what they are talking about. The real world is a spiritual world, a land of spirit. The physical world is the world that is secondary.

That is why when Jesus responds to the request to teach His disciples how to pray, one of the things that He tells us is to ask that His kingdom would come and His will would be done on this world in the same way that it is done in heaven.

Jesus didn’t come to take dominion in heaven, He came to take dominion of earth. Heaven is perfectly executed in His rule and reign. It’s the earth that He has purposed to reveal Himself in.

When I say the earth I mean that inner work in the hearts of brothers and sisters. Jesus revealed to us that it is what is inside of us that needs the cleaning, not the outside. If we clean the inside, the outside will take care of itself.

This is why when He reveals the pattern of the tabernacle and the temple to us in the Old Testament, we always have the inner place that moves out to the outer place. This is that inner work that Christ does within us through the Spirit. This is heaven coming down to earth.

Again when we look at New Jerusalem coming down out of heaven, we see that river flowing out throughout the city, this is the Spirit of God moving from within to without.  

The point is that God brings this world into the spirits of believers. This world is none other than Himself living in the very recesses of our beings.

Heaven itself, in the person of Jesus Christ, through the Holy Spirit dwells within us in a most real way. Nothing anywhere in earth or in heaven is greater than this reality. Nothing is more intimate or transforming.

Yet few really comprehend what this amazing Christ within us means. We are told that our hope of glory is Christ within us, and that is very true.

We need to embrace this with everything that we are able so that Christ may have His way in the earth.

Jesus tells us that the kingdom of God does not come with observation. That’s because of the truth that His kingdom isn’t of or from this world.

The religious leaders of Jesus’ day were flustered by not knowing where Jesus came from. They saw the kingdom of God being revealed within their midst and yet quibbled about what city He had been born in; like this had any relevance to heaven coming to earth right before their eyes.

The first Adam was from the earth, the second Adam was the Lord from heaven. His roots were in another realm, and so are ours. That’s why Jesus says of His disciples that they were not of this world either.

When you believe you are born from another realm, another world that is different and greater than this one, you will cause great offense to some people, including other believers. Whether you know it or not this offends many of you. You are trying to please those in this world rather than our Lord who is from heaven.

We must understand that our roots are in heaven and this is what we pray will come down and expand into this tragic world.

We must learn to love this deep, inner working of the Spirit of God within us as He shapes and forms us into the image of Jesus Christ.

We live in this world but live from another. We will never be able to respond to our Lord’s desire if we don’t hold close the reality of a world beyond the one we see with our natural eyes.