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Presence based is the ‘premise' of what we do, how we do it & why we do it.
Being based in His Presence - Acts 17:28 for in Him we live and move and have our being,
One aspect of being Presence based is to be fully ‘Led by the Spirit'
In fact one of the major aspects of being Presence based is about being ‘in the Spirit'.
A person can be in one or any of three states - In the flesh - In the soul or In the Spirit. In the flesh means we are controlled by the dictates & desires of the flesh. In the soul means we are controlled by the dictates & desires of the soul. In the Spirit means we are controlled by the dictates & desires of the Spirit.
Romans 8:8 - 9 (NASB) 8and those who are in the flesh cannot please God. 9However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him.
(GWT) 8Those who are under the control of the corrupt nature can't please God. 9But if God's Spirit lives in you, you are under the control of your spiritual nature, not your corrupt nature.
I don't think we need to spend much time here, as leaders we should know what being in the flesh is - the works & the fruit of the flesh. One thing to note here though is Scripture seems to indicate that being in the soul is akin to if not being in the flesh especially here in Rom 8 - They seem to work together.
The area of concern is the confusion about being in the soul or in the Spirit. Many think they are in the Spirit but are in fact walking in the soul realm. Majority of leaders think they are in the Spirit where in actual fact they are walking in the soul realm. It is no wonder as we have been taught how to do this by our culture, by our Christian training & especially as leaders by our leadership training. Our mindset is a Greek philosophical mindset.
The principles & techniques are soulish portrayed as being spiritual. We are even taught how to flow in the soul believing it is flowing in the Spirit.
Today I want to touch on one aspect.
Matthew 28:19 (CEV) 19 Go to the people of all nations and make them my disciples. Baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit,
I believe most Christian leaders are sincere & passionate about their pursuit of fulfilling the command of the Lord. Most are employing what they have learnt to achieve the goal of reaching the lost & building the Kingdom of God.
There are two major philosophies to achieving this.
1/ Going into the world & reaching the lost through any method we can come up with (as long as it is lawful).
2/ Going into the world & reaching the lost being open to the Holy Spirits direction & re-direction
In my own life I have come to a place where I needed to define where I stand with being Spirit led - where did I fit in each of those philosophies.
1/ Going into the world & reaching the lost at any cost through any method.
This I call - driven by purpose
It is said "God has given us a brain so we need to use it". That God has commissioned us to do a job & so we go & do what He commanded using anything that is at our disposal to achieve this.
This philosophy employs mostly human effort - principles, procedures & practices.
I call it purpose driven - driven by a purpose.
The purpose is to get people & make them disciples by being culturally relevant irrespective of whether it is scriptural or ‘of the Spirit' let alone being ‘in the Spirit'.
This philosophy designs our methods of outreach & church services to be ‘all inviting'.
We employ marketing & business strategies to achieve this. Market research is done to find the ‘felt need' of the community & then try to meet it. We have brainstorming meetings looking for fresh ideas to ‘reach the lost', we get on board the latest program which guarantees success in building your church only to find it usually doesn't, and then follow the next trend.
There are even movements today guaranteeing success by following their philosophy and leaders are flocking to them with total disregard to the doctrinal ‘premise' of these movements. With total blindness of the ‘spirit' of these things for the goal of success. For some, total abandonment of something they know not of - just blinded by success. You might be sitting here thinking how could they do that while in actual fact you have probably taken part in this yourself without even being aware of it. Why can I say that - because I have. Being part of the system - I took part, read books, was trained, even trained people myself in these philosophy's.
I thank God He opened my eyes a few years ago & I started seeing.
A whole other subject but akin to what I am saying is that Churches are run with the pastor being the manager & the church the business - I was trained this way, thinking it was God.
A.W. Tozer describes this philosophy
"It [‘pragmatic philosophy'] asks no embarrassing questions about the wisdom of what we are doing or even about the morality of it.... When it discovers something that works it soon finds a text to justify it, ‘consecrates' it to the Lord and plunges ahead. Next a magazine article is written about it, then a book, and finally the inventor is granted an honorary degree. After that any question about the scripturalness of things or even the moral validity of them is completely swept away. You cannot argue with success.
The method works; ergo, it must be good. "The weakness of all this is its tragic shortsightedness.... It is satisfied with present success and shakes off any suggestion that its works may go up in smoke in the day of Christ." -A.W. Tozer
The cry is God bless our plans & programs.
While there are the most sincere intentions to fulfill Gods command the premise is incorrect as they are our plans and programs, not his - they didn't come from His Spirit, but from our own skill and training. This is not to say that planning and programs cannot play a subservient role in facilitating a measure of the grace of God, but they have become the head rather than the tail. We prefer to move ahead in our own strength than to wait for God. It has been said that the pathway to hell is paved with good intentions. It is not about good intentions it is about premise.
Human Leadership
(1 Sam 8:).
Samuel had grown old, his sons abused their privileges, the ark of God's presence was gone, and the nation was ravaged by civil and moral anarchy. Not only had the glory of God departed, they faced a significant leadership crisis. Threatened by their enemies, the people lusted for a king like the other nations. "So all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel ... They said to him, vs 4-5 ‘You are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways; now appoint a king to lead us, such as all the other nations have.'"
The single greatest change, in the life of God's people, was signaled. Profound and far reaching consequences were triggered from this event, determining the spiritual direction of Israel for generations.
Their rejection of Samuel for a king was, in effect, the rejection of God as king. They were opting, instead, for human leadership. However, rather than giving them victory over their enemies, it opened the doors to an inrush of idolatry and demonic power, ending in their own defeat and captivity.
Today - Humanism has become so commonplace and accepted in the church that not only are its teachings not even recognized as such any more, but they are actually believed to be centered around God instead of man!
Greek philosophical thought (humanism) is predominantly used to build the ‘kingdom'. By using mans ideas, by being culturally relevant & programs to attract sinners.
Contrary to what is being taught in this Paradigm, the world does not reject Christianity because the churches are doing a poor job of presenting Christ. The world rejects true Christianity because it is founded on Christ.
Change Christianity to center it around the world, and the world will jump right in. But then what you are left with is no longer Christianity but merely an extension of the world into the churches.
Because the Rock of Offence is offensive to the world, neither He nor His Gospel will ever be popular. To take away what offends in order to preach an all-inclusive, tolerant, nonjudgmental Jesus is to preach another Jesus.
We don't have the right to positively recreate the Rock of Offence into someone that pleases the world.
Methods of relativism will inevitably change a message of absolutism.
It is God's message and methods that save, not the world's.
In his generation, Tozer also faced "advocates of compromise" who sought to make the world "feel at home" in the churches:
"Any evangelism which by appeal to common interests and chatter about current events seeks to establish a common ground where the sinner can feel at home is as false as the altars of Baal ever were....
"One of the most popular current errors, and ... being carried on in evangelical circles these days, is the notion that as times change the church must change with them. Christians must adapt their methods by the demands of the people.... go along with them-give them what they want. ‘The message is the same, only
the method changes,' say the advocates of compromise." -A.W. Tozer
"Heresy of method may be as deadly as heresy of message."
-A.W. Tozer
Proverbs 16:1 - 2 (NLT) 1 We can make our own plans, but the LORD gives the right answer. 2 People may be pure in their own eyes, but the LORD examines their motives.
Just because something ‘seems' to work doesn't make it God. Many are portraying that success is in numbers and so they go after anything that will give them numbers. People are taught humanistic principles & practises to build their kingdom rather than on being taught how to seek God & be Spirit led.
Obedience is the measure of success in the Kingdom.
"The Mormon Church is the fastest growing religion in the world! Doesn't this indicate that it is God's work?" 52% per decade - if we want success in terms of numbers maybe we should convert to being Mormons.
2/ Going into the world & reaching the lost being open to the Holy Spirits direction & re-direction
Spirit led - opposed to being driven by purpose.
Matthew 28 compared to
Matthew 10:7 - 8 (KJV) 7And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand. 8Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give.
You can appear to achieve Matt 28 without the Holy Spirit but you cannot do Matt 10 without Him. You can appear to achieve Matt 28 through good works but you can only do Matt 10 with the works of the Spirit.
God has not commissioned me to find out what the needs of my community are. God has not even called us to ‘meet' the needs of our community.
God has called us to proclaim, demonstrate & enforce His Kingdom. God has called us to hear His purpose & follow it.
I am not saying we shouldn't help people. But that is a by-product of the Gospel not the means of it. What is the point of helping someone with their need through natural means & them still going to hell - what is the point of giving someone a better lifestyle, giving them a false sense of security & them still going to hell because they haven't been obedient to Jesus as Lord.
Presence based people are spirit led. They are not led by trends, surveys or polls, they do not use human mechanisms to entice people into the Kingdom, they do not rely on marketing strategies or think tanks - they rely on the leading of and power of the Holy Spirit.
When you are driven by purpose, or driven by goals, or driven by performance you will miss the purpose of the Holy Spirit. You will miss His voice, because you are not listening for it. You look for ways that seem good.
Proverbs 16:25 (KJV) 25There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death. (CEV) 25 Sometimes what seems right is really a road to death.
Proverbs 21:2 (KJV) 2Every way of a man is right in his own eyes: but the LORD pondereth the hearts.
Amos 8:11 (KJV) 11Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD:
I believe we are in that day: - notice it doesn't say the word but the words of the Lord.
Being led by our heart is not necessarily being led by the Spirit.
2 Chronicles 6:7 - 9 (KJV) 7Now it was in the heart of David my father to build an house for the name of the LORD God of Israel. 8But the LORD said to David my father, Forasmuch as it was in thine heart to build an house for my name, thou didst well in that it was in thine heart: 9Notwithstanding thou shalt not build the house; but thy son which shall come forth out of thy loins, he shall build the house for my name.
So what is the answer:-
Psalms 143:10 (NCV) 10 Teach me to do what you want, because you are my God. Let your good Spirit lead me on level ground.
Isaiah 30:21 (NASB) 21Your ears will hear a word behind you, "This is the way, walk in it," whenever you turn to the right or to the left.
As you seek God - He will direct your path - He will order your steps
Psalms 37:5 (KJV) 5 Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.
(CEV) 5 Let the Lord lead you and trust him to help.
Psalms 37:23 (KJV) 23 The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way.
Romans 8:14 (NCV) 14The true children of God are those who let God's Spirit lead them.
"For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God" Leading is a confirmation of sonship, for sons are led. This work of guidance is particularly the work of the Spirit. Romans 8:14 states it and the Book of Acts amply illustrates it
Acts 8:26 (KJV) 26And the angel of the Lord spake unto Philip, saying, Arise, and go toward the south unto the way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza, which is desert.
Acts 8:29 (KJV) 29Then the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near, and join thyself to this chariot.
Acts 10:19 (KJV) 19While Peter thought on the vision, the Spirit said unto him, Behold, three men seek thee.
Acts 11:12 (NASB) 12"The Spirit told me to go with them without misgivings. These six brethren also went with me and we entered the man's house.
Acts 13:2 (KJV) 2As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them.
Acts 13:4 (KJV) 4So they, being sent forth by the Holy Ghost, departed unto Seleucia; and from thence they sailed to Cyprus.
Acts 16:6 - 7 (KJV) 6Now when they had gone throughout Phrygia and the region of Galatia, and were forbidden of the Holy Ghost to preach the word in Asia, 7After they were come to Mysia, they assayed to go into Bithynia: but the Spirit suffered them not.
These guys would have missed the purpose of the Holy Spirit if they had just gone ahead with the program.
Acts 20:22 - 23 (KJV) 22And now, behold, I go bound in the spirit unto Jerusalem, not knowing the things that shall befall me there: 23Save that the Holy Ghost witnesseth in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions abide me.
Romans 9:1 (NCV) 1I am in Christ, and I am telling you the truth; I do not lie. My conscience is ruled by the Holy Spirit, and it tells me I am not lying.
Galatians 5:18 (NCV) 18But if the Spirit is leading you, you are not under the law.
Galatians 5:25 (NCV) 25We get our new life from the Spirit, so we should follow the Spirit.
As we submit to his influence and control. The Spirit is represented as influencing, suggesting, and controlling.
That's why it is imperative that we spend time with God not just in prayer - because I have discovered much if not all of our prayer is self centred.
2 Chronicles 7:14 (KJV) 14If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.
By seeking the face of God. Learning to listen.
We are on a journey - a journey of discovering about being in His Presence. We are helping people on their journey.
We have many different schools of the Spirit teaching & encouraging people to spend time building a personal relationship with God, hearing God, experiencing Him, how to move in His power & how to see His purpose wrought.
Jeannette & I pray that these Pastors & leaders days would help you in your journey - our heart is to walk with you - to help in any way we can.
I believe we are touching the tip of the iceberg and the Lord is going to release huge revelations about the spirit realm, about moving in His power and about releasing people from humanistic bondages.
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