Two types of leaders. Which will you become? by Frank Viola

In our leadership-frenzied Christian culture, I've opted for a different label for leadership.

That label is influence.

Despite the unhealthy love-affair that countless Christians have with "leadership" and being "a leader," the truth is, if you're a follower of Jesus Christ, you're an influencer.

Your influence may be large or small, it may be good or bad, but it exists.

In this UNFILTERED update, I want to address two types of influencers in the body of Christ. And I'd like to do so by using an experience I had many years ago with two very different kinds of leaders.

At the time, both had considerable influence. But in terms of their character and leadership-style, they were light years apart. And so each influencer represents two very different kinds of leadership with drastically different results.

Influencer 1

The first leader was a gifted speaker and writer. He held a PhD in charm. And when he was at the top of his game, he was unparalleled in articulating certain topics about which he was passionate.

As with most gifted communicators, whenever he spoke in public, one part of the audience would descend into a "take his head off" feeding frenzy, while others who would hardly squirm, never once reaching for their smart phones.

However, this influencer suffered from a piercing narcissism to which he was completely blind. And as with most narcissistic types, he became easily jealous of others who were as gifted - or more gifted -- than he.

Even during his public talks, his megalomania would betray itself as he'd wax eloquent about himself and his accomplishments.

Despite his outward warmness, he viewed other mortals as projects to advance his own ministry rather than people made in God's image. He had no capacity to accept advice from others, even when it would have spared him lots of failure and frustration.

While he would speak compellingly about brokenness and humility, he was routinely threatened by the popularity of others. Notoriously vain and monstrously insecure, he'd often engage in petty back-biting, school-yard belittling, and even slander, all to compensate for his insecurities. He'd routinely bad mouth others just to work off his own demons.

These character defects made him toxic.

Because he never dealt with the insecurities that possessed his soul, he routinely projected the darkest parts of his heart onto others, recklessly (and wrongly) imputing evil motives to them. He was also quick to blame other people for his own failures.

Today, this man's ministry has shriveled down to nothing. Virtually all the people who once supported him bailed out long ago. He burned through secretaries, co-workers, donors, and friends like most of us go through pistachio nuts. His tissues of lies eventually shredded all around him.

His life was a study in self-sabotage.

To my knowledge, he's never come to terms with the damage he's brought to so many. Nor has he ever repented and apologized to those he hurt. Instead, he appears to remain fixated on his own legacy, whatever is left of it.

The tragedy here is that the vision for his life was struck down by his own hand. When his ship came in (and it did several times), he was found waiting at the airport.

A prominent Yankee once described the late Billy Martin (former manager of the Yanks) this way,

"Billy Martin is one of the most complex people I've ever met. Billy really is a funny guy. He's nice, he's mean. He's good and bad. He's kind and he's cruel. He's done some intelligent things and he's done some dumb things. He would be an absolutely fascinating character study for someone who knows a lot more about psychology than I do. There were times when he was as nice to me as a man could be, and there were times when he went as far as out of his way as possible to hurt me as a ball player and as a man. He's said complimentary things about me. He's said a ton of negative things. The many faces of Billy Martin."

This description fits the influencer I just described like a glove. But unlike Billy Martin, who had thousands of people show up at his funeral, unless Influencer 1 repents and apologizes to the countless people he's hurt, his funeral will be attended by a small cluster of true believers and his legacy will be rapidly forgotten.

What a man builds with his gifts, he can just as quickly destroy by his character.

Infuencer 2

The second influencer was the smartest man I've ever met. Yet one of the most humble.

He possessed amazing wit, impressing everyone he met. Especially people in ministry, including Bible scholars and theologians who held more degrees than a thermometer. Down to the man or woman, they would all walk away awed after a conversation with him.

Whenever he spoke, he held people spellbound. (This includes people like me, who has a toddler-like attention span.)

People left his presence enriched, encouraged, and inspired. (Taking my cue from this man, I strive to do the same.)

I learned more from him than anyone else. Yet despite his incredible gifting, he was more interested in others than in himself . Their lives, their heartaches, their joys, and their pain. Unselfishly, he made himself available to listen to them -- even for hours -- and offer encouragement and wise counsel.

This leader also had an uncanny ability to validate people, even the most difficult. I watched him deal with high-maintenance befuddled souls and he'd instinctively disarm their anger and emotional turbulence.

He knew how to throw a blanket of calm over smoldering fires. His quick wit and ability to use humor to disarm people in turmoil was profoundly impressive. And I credit him for teaching me how to employ this same skill.

This particular man didn't think much about his legacy. He lived in the present, and his lived-example was an example to others. Myself included.

As to having a robust knowledge of the Lord, the Scriptures, and history, he was without peer. And so was his gift to unpack lofty insights into simple language.

He existed to serve, not to show off.

He existed to inform, not impress.

He existed to do good, not look good.

He existed to make a difference, not a name or a legacy.

Recap

Two influencers. Two very different characters and styles. Two very different results.

The first leader had an unchecked ego. As a result, he has virtually no influence today, except for a small handful of fawning sycophants who don't know him very well.

The other leader still emits the fragrance of Jesus to all who come in contact with him. And even though I've never once heard him talk about his legacy, it lives on in myself and others whom he touched.

10 Take Aways

Here are ten take-aways I learned from observing both influencers. Since each one of you has influence in this world, I hope you'll seek to build each lesson into your own life.

1. Know your own limitations. The body of Christ has many functions and gifts. You don't have them all. So learn to rely on others who excel in those areas that you don't. And lay down your need for control. Delegate.

2. People aren't projects or stepping stones to advance your own ministry. Learn to love and honor others for their own sake. As Paul said in Philippians 2, look out for their interests. Great leaders want others to supersede them. Insecure leaders can't release the limelight.

3. Always have peers -- people who can speak into your life. If you consider yourself too "gifted" to have peers, you're living in a dream world. One that will eventually become a nightmare. It won't be long before the rope runs out. The first leader refused to have peers in his life. The second welcomed them.

4. Never judge the motives of others. While you are free to evaluate the actions and ideas of other people, imputing motives to their hearts only reveals what's in your own.

5. Be quick to apologize if you've wronged someone. Great leaders apologize to people even when it's not entirely their fault. Mending relationships (wherever possible) is more important to them than being right. They consistently take the high road, not just preach about it.

6. Major in Matthew 7:12. If you don't know what that text is, go read it and tattoo it on your forehead (spiritually, that is). The first leader believed the worst about others. The second leader would never speak ill of another believer. If he heard something negative about a fellow Christian, he dismissed it. If he was concerned, he'd go to the person who was gossiped about directly to inquire -- the same thing all of us would want if the shoe was sitting on our foot. So learn to live Matthew 7:12 in all situations. It's a description of the life of Jesus Christ when walked out in shoe leather.

7. People will follow your way of life more than your words, for better or for worse. The first leader's followers carved themselves into his image. They followed what he did, not so much what he said. Consequently, they were petty, insecure, judged the motives of others, become easily jealous, were given to one-upmanship and humiliating others, and trafficked in believing and spreading slander. Never forget: people will follow your bad traits more than your good ones.

8. Own your mistakes and don't blame God's people. The first leader was quick to blame his failing ministry on everyone else. Blaming others and guilt-tripping them is the mark of a poor leader. Good leaders acknowledge their mistakes and take responsibility.

9. Don't over promise and under-deliver. The first leader would often share impressive ideas, plans, and goals. He was superb at bluster. But he'd rarely follow through to the end, which eroded trust and respect. Never say things just to impress people. Make good on what you promise. Deliver.

10. Forget about leading others; make serving them your business. The first leader was more interested in leading than serving. The second leader never talked about "leadership" nor did he seem to view himself as a "leader." He was too occupied with serving. So bury your penchant for wanting to lead, and excel at serving.

This article was written by Frank Viola and was published in his exclusive Unfiltered update list which goes out every month to his email subscribers. If you enjoy this update, you can get these Unfiltered updates by signing up here. It’s FREE.

No More Spineless Christianity

The apostle Paul not only confronted sin but named specific sins when he preached. Why can’t we?

People often complain about angry preachers. I don’t like them either, and I agree that if a person mixes a sermon with hateful language (or if he believes God has called him to picket other churches), he’s in the wrong profession. Yet today we’ve jumped to the opposite extreme. Now we are afraid to confront sin.

We can’t preach about materialism because we might offend rich people in the audience—as well as the poor people who buy Lotto tickets every week. We can’t preach about fornication because there are people in the church who are living together. We can’t preach about domestic violence because there are deacons who sometimes hit their wives. We can’t preach about homosexuality because our culture says it’s hateful to call that a sin.

And the list goes on. In fact, some preachers are avoiding the word sin altogether because it’s too negative. And we all know that the latest polls show people want a positive message.

This temptation to dilute the gospel has produced a new recipe for a trendy sermon. We start with some great motivational speaking (“Your past does not define your future!”), add a few quarts of cheap grace (“Don’t focus on your sin!”), pour in some prosperity gospel (“Run to this altar and grab your financial breakthrough!”), flavor it with some trendy pop psychology (“It’s all about you!”) and voila!—you end up with a goopy mess of pabulum that not even a baby Christian could survive on.

I’ve often wondered how the apostle Paul would view our “positive” American gospel. Just before he was martyred, Paul gave his spiritual son Timothy clear instructions on how to keep his message on track. He said, “Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction” (2 Tim. 4:2, NASB).

We’ve rewritten Paul’s words today. Our rule is, “Preach what the people want to hear! Avoid controversy! Stroke, soothe and pacify the people so they will come back next week!” Is it any wonder that this low-protein spiritual diet has produced an anemic church?

Paul’s preaching in the first century was unquestionably confrontational. He didn’t hold back from addressing sin, nor was he afraid to call sin what it is. Paul knew that a spineless Christianity would produce spineless Christians. He told Timothy that biblical preaching would require three brave verbs:

Reprove. The Greek word here, elegcho, means “to convict, admonish or expose” or “to show one his fault.” The word can also mean “to scold” or “to reprimand.” Anyone who has ever been on the receiving end of a mother’s discipline knows that reproof can be the purest form of love.

Rebuke. The word epitimao means “to admonish strongly” or “to charge strictly.” The English definition means “to express sharp, stern disapproval.” And the origin of the word means “to beat or strike.” I’m not talking here about a preacher who beats people with the Bible. Screaming at people is not biblical rebuke. But when was the last time you felt the Holy Spirit strike you in your conscience during a sermon?

Exhort. This is the gentlest of the three words. Parakaleo can be used to mean “to comfort” or “to call alongside.” It’s the same root word used to describe the Holy Spirit, who is our Comforter. True biblical preaching not only exposes sin and warns us of its consequences, but it calls us to reach out to God for help to overcome our weakness. When we challenge sin we must provide a means of grace for deliverance and healing.

Paul was also not afraid to name sins. I recently did a survey of all of Paul’s epistles to see how he addressed sexual immorality. I discovered that he confronted sexual sin head-on in 10 of his 13 epistles. He boldly called out adultery, fornication, sensuality and homosexuality in a culture that was saturated in hedonism.

After exhorting the Thessalonians to practice abstinence, he rebuked them sternly by saying that anyone who opposes God’s laws about sex “is not rejecting man but the God who gives His Holy Spirit to you” (1 Thess. 4:8). Those are strong words. They need to be repeated in our pulpits today.

Paul wasn’t trying to win any popularity contests, and his comments about sex would get him blacklisted today if he tried to buy airtime. Yet when he penned those tough words, he was speaking from God’s heart—with love—under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit to all of us.

It’s time for us to grow a backbone. Let’s get rid of weak Christianity, spineless preachers and jellyfish morals. Let’s preach the message of the Bible instead of a neutered version. Let’s not only point out sin but also point people to the only hope they have of overcoming it—our strong Savior, whose death on the cross was the ultimate confrontation of sin.

J. Lee Grady is the former editor of Charisma and the director of the Mordecai Project(themordecaiproject.org). You can follow him on Twitter at @leegrady. He is the author of The Holy Spirit Is Not for Sale and other books.

GEORGE FOX - Too RADICAL!!

Andrew Strom:- A reader wrote to me recently about the radical
ministry of George Fox from centuries ago. Here was a man who
feared nothing, who walked the earth in leather clothes, who was
so against the organized religion of his day that he called church
buildings "steeple houses" and frightened off many a "hireling" in
the charge thereof - before preaching to the congregation himself!!
There has rarely been an anointed Reformer or Revivalist as radical
as George Fox.

As reader 'Tom' wrote to me:

"I have read a number of items on revival, but to my knowledge, no
one has referenced George Fox who lived in the 1600s in England
during a tumultuous time. He spent times in jail for his outspoken
faith and because he challenged the clergy of the day. His teaching
was the most practical and uncompromising I have encountered
on the matter of holiness and regeneration.

An interesting thing about him and perhaps the reason he goes
unnoticed, is that his ministry mirrors that of the book of Acts,
except that his foes are not Judaism but apostate Christianity.
In other words, his time is contemporary in many ways with ours.
Because of this, many may avoid him since he was entirely
separated from organized religion!"

GEORGE FOX - the HOLY RADICAL
-by David Smithers.

In the year of 1647, a large man with piercing eyes named George
Fox started preaching throughout the towns and villages of England.
He prayed and fasted often, traveling with no other companion but
his Bible. He proclaimed a gospel of purity, power and repentance.

When George Fox began preaching, many churches were dead
and bound in man-made traditions and formalism. When the Church
drifts into formalism, the world drifts into further ungodliness. The
methods and appearance of George Fox to some, seemed quite
offensive and extreme. It is sometimes necessary for God's
prophets to be unconventional in order to thoroughly awaken the
indifferent and hard hearted.

Soon after George Fox began to preach, he had a remarkable
spiritual experience that lasted fourteen days. A certain Mr. Brown,
while on his death bed prophesied many great things concerning
Fox. "When this man was buried," says Fox, "a great work of the
Lord fell on me." During this mighty baptism of the Spirit, Fox
received a remarkable gift of discernment. "He seemed to be able
to read the character of men by looking at them." Miraculous
healings also accompanied his ministry. Through prayer and the
laying on of hands, the sick were often healed and devils were
cast out to the glory of Christ. When George Fox preached men
would shake and tremble. "The name Quaker was given to Fox
and his followers because of the quaking of the men who came
to scoff but stayed to pray." This remarkable power seemed to
accompany the preaching of Fox wherever he went.

Fox preached that Jesus Christ is the author of a faith which
purifies and gives victory over sin. He fervently exhorted men to
pursue complete holiness rather than empty religious ceremonies.
As a result, he was often beaten, stoned and driven out of town.
It is estimated that perhaps no other man since the time of the
Reformation was persecuted and imprisoned as often as George
Fox. He usually went about the country on foot, dressed in his
famous suit of leather clothes, which it is believed he made
himself. He often slept outside under a tree or in some haystack.
Fox also often pointed out that what was commonly called the
Church was only a building. He boldly declared that only the
fervent believers of Christ were the living stones of the true Church.

"Above all George Fox excelled in prayer." It was his habit to wait
in silence for the movement of the Holy Spirit and then begin to
pray, causing whole congregations to be shaken and humbled
under the hand of God Almighty. "As he prayed the power of God
came down in such a marvelous manner the very building seemed
to rock." Through the ministry of George Fox, a glimmer of Apostolic
power was revealed to seventeenth century England. He was a man
of the Spirit in an age that emphasized theological and scriptural
accuracy at the expense of the power of the Holy Ghost. He always
stressed the importance of a Spirit filled life and refused to let dead
orthodoxy be a veil for the works of the flesh.

If we as believers are content with a gospel that merely comforts
our conscience and perseveres our traditions, then we are also
content to forsake the gospel of Christ and the Apostles. God
help us to truly seek the kind of praying and preaching that will
once again make men tremble in the presence of Jesus Christ.

-Please comment on this topic at the following website-

http://www.johnthebaptisttv.com/

-Original Source-

http://www.watchword.org/

It’s (Past) Time for a Charismatic Reformation

In honor of Reformation Day, here are some complaints I’m nailing on the Wittenberg door.

 

Long before there was an Occupy Wall Street, Martin Luther staged the most important protest in history. He was upset because Roman Catholic officials were promising people forgiveness or early escape from purgatory in exchange for money. So on October 31, 1517, Luther nailed a long list of complaints on the door of a church in Wittenberg, Germany.

Luther’s famous 95 theses were translated from Latin into German and spread abroad. Like a medieval Jeremiah, Luther dared to ask questions that had never been asked, and he challenged a pope who was supposedly infallible. Through this brave monk, the Holy Spirit sparked the Protestant Reformation and restored the doctrine of grace to a church that had become corrupt, religious, dysfunctional, political and spiritually dead.

“I’ve grown increasingly aware that the so-called ‘Spirit-filled’ church of today struggles with many of the same things the Catholic church faced in the 1500s. We don’t have ‘indulgences’—we have telethons. We don’t have popes—we have super-apostles.”

I am no Luther, but I’ve grown increasingly aware that the so-called “Spirit-filled” church of today struggles with many of the same things the Catholic church faced in the 1500s. We don’t have “indulgences”—we have telethons. We don’t have popes—we have super-apostles. We don’t support an untouchable priesthood—we throw our money at celebrity evangelists who own fleets of private jets.

In honor of Reformation Day, I’m offering my own list of needed reforms in our movement. And since I can’t hammer these on the Wittenberg door, I’ll post them online. Feel free to nail them everywhere.

1. Let’s reform our theology. The Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity. He is God and He is holy. He is not an “it.” He is not a blob, a force, or an innate power. We must stop manipulating Him, commanding Him and throwing Him around.

2. Let’s return to the Bible. The Word of God is the foundation for the Christian experience. Any dramatic experience, no matter how spiritual it seems, must be tested by the Word and the Holy Spirit’s discernment. Visions, dreams, prophecies and encounters with angels must be in line with Scripture. If we don’t test them we could end up spreading deception.

3. It’s time for personal responsibility. We charismatics must stop blaming everything on demons. People are usually the problem.

4. Stop playing games. Spiritual warfare is a reality, but we are not going to win the world to Jesus just by shouting at demonic principalities. We must pray, preach and persevere to see ultimate victory.

5. Stop the foolishness. People who hit, slap or push others during prayer should be asked to sit down until they learn gentleness is a fruit of the Holy Spirit.

6. End all spiritual extortion now. Christian television ministries must cease and desist from all manipulative fundraising tactics. We must stop giving platforms to ministers who make outlandish claims of supernatural financial returns, especially when Scripture is twisted, deadlines are imposed and the poor are exploited.

7. No more Lone Rangers. Those who claim to be ministers of God—whether they are traveling evangelists, local pastors or heads of ministries—must be accountable to other leaders. Any who refuse to submit their lives to godly discipline should be corrected.

8. Expose the creeps. Churches should start doing background checks on traveling ministers. Preachers who have been hiding criminal records, lying about their past marriages, preying on women or refusing to pay child support should be exposed as charlatans and shunned if they do not repent.

9. Stop faking the anointing. God is God, and He does not need our “help” to manifest Himself. That means we don’t sprinkle glitter on ourselves to suggest God’s glory is with us, hide fake jewels on the floor to prove we are anointed or pull chicken feathers out of our sleeves to pretend angels are in the room. This is lying to the Holy Spirit.

10. Let’s return to purity. We’ve had enough scandals. The charismatic church must develop a system for the restoration of fallen ministers. Those who fall morally can be restored, but they must be willing to submit to a process of healing rather than rushing immediately back into the pulpit.

11. We need humility. Ministers who demand celebrity treatment, require lavish salaries, insist on titles or exhibit aloofness from others are guilty of spiritual pride.

12. No more big shots. Apostles are the bondslaves of Christ, and should be the most impeccable models of humility. True apostles do not wield top-down, hierarchical authority over the church. They serve the church from the bottom up as true servants.

13. Never promote gifts at the expense of character. Those who operate in prophecy, healing and miracles must also exhibit the fruit of the Spirit. And while we continue to encourage the gift of tongues, let’s make sure we don’t treat it like some kind of badge of superiority. The world needs to see our love, not our glossolalia.

14. Hold the prophets accountable. Those who refuse to take responsibility for inaccurate statements should not be given platforms. And “prophets” who live immoral lives don’t deserve a public voice.

15. Let’s make the main thing the main thing. The purpose of the Holy Spirit’s anointing is to empower us to reach others. We are at a crossroads today: Either we continue off-course, entertained by our charismatic sideshows, or we throw ourselves into evangelism, church planting, missions, discipleship, and compassionate ministry that helps the poor and fights injustice. Churches that embrace this New Reformation will focus on God’s priorities.

J. Lee Grady is contributing editor of Charisma. You can follow him on Twitter at leegrady. He expounds on these topics in his 2010 book The Holy Spirit Is Not for Sale (Chosen).

Be a Man... Biblically - Paul Washer

When the Church's Enemy is the Church

E. Glenn Wagner (FutureLead)

Ever feel like spiritual terrorists are ambushing your church? Jesus told us that the work of authentic ministry would be resisted. He said "I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it" (Matthew 16:18). The implication is that, although the gates of Hades will not ultimately prevail, they will always be trying to overcome Christ's church.

But the longer I'm in ministry, the more I'm beginning to think that "the gates of Hades" aren't our biggest problem. After all, Jesus said they would fail. To be honest, I see more kingdom resistance coming from within the church than from without. This wouldn't be the first time God's people resisted him. Stephen made it clear that Israel, God's Old Testament people, "always resisted the Holy Spirit" (Acts 7:50). God's chosen people we're actually obstacles to him. They were the gates against whom God had to prevail. The church can be the same thing, if we're not careful.

I'm beginning to think that if Jesus was teaching today, he might say something like, "I will build my church, and the gates of the church will not prevail against." Or, "I will build my church, and the gates of the pastors will not prevail against it." Or, "I will build my church, and the gates of the Elders and deacons will not prevail against it."

Maybe we've been giving Satan and hell too much credit for resisting the work of the church. Maybe, just maybe, the gates that are currently prevailing are us! Through our refusal to change, adapt, live by faith, listen to and follow the voice of God, and risk all for the sake of Christ we could be God's greatest obstacles in building his church. Leaders, we need to be sure that we're not resisting the move of God in our midst. We need to be certain that we've not allowed Satan and hell to go on vacation by doing their job of resisting God for them.

We need to look at every area of our churches to be sure they're designed to welcome God not resist him. Think of your leadership, worship, small groups, spiritual development, evangelism, and structure and ask yourself, "In this area of our church, are we in any way resisting God and doing Satan's work for him?"

We need to return again and again to the pattern laid out in James 4:7. We're to "Submit to God," and "resist the devil." Let's be sure we're not submitting to the devil and resisting God.

By the way, I realize that when Stephen told Israel they were resisting God, they became, "furious and gnashed their teeth" (Acts 7:54). Then they proceeded to stone him. If I've evoked the same feeling in you, please send your stones to the editor, he'll add them to his growing collection.

E. Glenn Wagner is the founder and president of FutureLead (www.futurelead.org), an organization committed to equipping people to live and lead with purpose, passion and power. He's the author of numerous books including, God: An Honest Conversation for the Undecided (Waterbrook Press) and his latest book, Fire In Your Bones (Life Bridge). To schedule Glenn to speak or for more information, please contact info@futurelead.org.

Simony, Nepotism and Cronyism- Oh My!

by Davon Huss
Acts 8:4-25

Introduction:
In February 2001, Adam Burtle, a 20 year old student at the University of Washington put his soul up for auction on eBay. The ad read: "Hardly used. I make no warranties as to the condition of my soul. As of now it is near mint condition, with only minor scratches. Due to difficulties involved with removing my soul the winning bidder will either have to settle for night of yummy Thai food and watching Indiana Jones Movies, or wait until my natural death."

The bidding started at a nickel; his ex-girlfriend bid it up to $6.66, the mark of the "Beast." In the final hour of bidding, the price rose from $56 to $400, placed by a woman in Des Moines, Iowa…

But then eBay officials learned of the auction and removed the listing before bidding closed. EBay spokesman Kevin Pursglove explained "EBay is only for pieces of merchandise that a seller can deliver to a buyer. This individual cannot deliver his soul to anyone". (EBay also forbids the selling of drugs, alcohol, guns and body parts).

People will do all kinds of things for money… some are apparently even willing to sell their souls on E-Bay

WBTU:
A. Start with two characters here, Simon and Philip:

1. Simon
a. Simon was a magician. b. Simon thought he was someone great. c. Now I need to make it clear that this is NOT the kind of magic that we think of when we think of magic; this is the real kind of magic. d. Simon practiced witchcraft. The Bible does indeed teach that this sort of thing is real. e. The power comes from the devil. f. Simon was full of Satan and he was full of himself.

2. Philip
a. Now Philip comes to town. Philip is an interesting contrast to Simon. b. Philip has great power, but no one is calling him the great power. c. There is no mentioning of Philip boasting about himself or thinking he was great. Philip did not come to town to draw attention to him; he came to preach the name of Jesus. He didn’t exalt himself but he exalted Jesus Christ. e. Philip had the Holy Spirit. Philip had a greater power than Simon. f. Philip was not the divine power, but a divine servant. Philip was there to bring glory to God, not to himself.

B. Simon and Philip meet
1. Simon was astonished by the great signs and miracles that Philip preformed.
2. Simon knew that what he had was nothing compared to what Philip had.
3. Simon knew that he was nothing compared to Christ.
4. Simon believed in the Lord Jesus Christ and was baptized.
5. Philip baptized SIMON—the "divine power" was baptized by the divine servant.

C. Was Simon really saved? Was he really a Christian?
1. We don’t know anyone’s heart but we see in Vs. 13 much evidence of salvation.
2. Simon believed like the rest of the Samaritans. Simon was obedient to the gospel by putting on Christ through baptism like the rest of the Samaritans. Simon left what he was doing; he left the sorcery and followed Philip. Simon was willing to set aside his desires, his way of life, to follow Philip, to follow Christ. He was willing to learn more by following Philip.

D. One problem in vs. 14-17
1. Look at these verses. Does anybody see a problem here?
2. Now… for those of you who don’t understand WHY that would be a problem, it would help for us to go back to Acts 2 and read what Peter told the crowd at Pentecost: Acts 2:38 says: "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”
3. If you want to be saved: Repent of your sins And be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ AND – when you do that You shall receive forgiveness of your sins AND the gift the Holy Spirit
4. BUT… in Acts 8 we have hundreds of people who responded to Philip’s preaching. They believe… they’re baptized and yet they don’t seem to have the Holy Spirit yet!

What’s the deal? This leaves us with only two options:
a. Either the Samaritans were not saved until Peter and John came to Samaria (EVEN tho’ they had BELIEVED and were BAPTIZED) b. OR, something else is happening here.

When Acts 8:16 tells us that “the Holy Spirit had not yet come upon any of them; they had simply been baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus” it’s not trying to say that baptism didn’t accomplish anything. As Acts 2:38 tells us, the result of repentance and baptism was forgiveness of sins and the reception of the gift of the Holy Spirit. What Acts 8:16 is saying is - baptism wasn’t intended to impart these dynamic gifts of the Spirit (things like tongues and prophecy) that apparently could only be received by the laying on of apostolic hands. AND that’s obviously what had happened in Samaria because Acts 8:18 tells us “…Simon SAW that the Spirit was given at the laying on of the apostles’ hands…”

- He didn’t just THINK that this is what had happened
- He wasn’t just TAUGHT that this is what happened…
- He actually SAW results when the Apostles laid hands on the Samaritans

E. The apostles had the power to pass on miraculous gifts. Power can lead to corruption, abuse of that power. This is what we see Simon asking Peter to do in Vs. 19. I doubt that Peter could make Simon an apostle and give him the ability to give out the miraculous, but this is what Simon wanted.

F. Simon, before he came to Christ, was a worldly man. He fleeced the people of their money and he probably still had some of it after he came to Christ. He used that money to get what he wanted. If he found someone who could do a particular trick or magical power, he probably paid that person to show him how to do it. Simon probably was just going back to his old ways! Don’t be too hard on Simon! Old habits die hard!

G. (2 Cor 5:16 NIV) So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Simon was regarding Peter and what he was doing from a worldly point of view. Therefore, Simon responded in a worldly way.

H. (Gal 5:6 NIV) The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.

J. We should not value anything except this! We should not fear anything or anyone but God. Jesus Christ should be #1.

Thesis: Let’s look at three forms of corruption that we need to guard against!

For instances:
I. Simony (Money)

A. Money is good to have. Without it, we do not eat, we do not have a place to live and we do not have clothing to wear. Beyond this, money makes little contribution to life. Money will buy luxury, but it will not buy spiritual power. Money will buy advancement, but it will not buy the recognition of God. Money will by favor and accolade, but it will not buy respect. Money will buy a library, but it will not buy insight or wisdom. Money can buy a prostitute, but it cannot buy love. Money can buy diamonds, but it cannot buy a sparkle in the eyes. Money can buy pleasure and entertainment, but it cannot buy happiness. Money can buy medicine, but it cannot buy health. Money can buy a house, but it cannot buy a home.

B. Simon started a curse in the church that exists to this day “simony”- this is seeking to buy power with money.

C. "Do everything to make so and so happy! Whatever they want is great! We need their money!" Isn’t that evaluating people from a worldly point of view?

D. Another way- "I give a great deal of money to this church and it is going to go my way. If it doesn’t go my way, I am taking my money someplace else!"

E. (1 Tim 6:9 NIV) People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. (1 Tim 6:10 NIV) For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.

F. The important thing is faith expressed through love.

II. Nepotism (family)

A. This is favoritism shown to relatives, family. This is fine and natural but when it gets immoral, then it is a problem. To have a close knit family is good but when our family gets in the way of our relationship with Christ, then it’s a problem.

B. This term is used many times to describe giving a family member a position of power but that family member is not qualified for that position. He/she only gets it because they are family. It’s like the Godfather idea. What’s important is the family. Even if it is immoral, do it for the family.

C. Someone comes up to the preacher and says, “Hey, don’t preach about drunkenness anymore. Uncle Jed doesn’t like it. If you preach on it again, Uncle Jed is going to leave and we are going to leave with him. Even though we never drink, we support Uncle Jed because he’s family.”

D. Or how about this one. Uncle Jed has a strong opinion about something at the church. He doesn’t get his way. He encourages the rest of his family to raise a stink at the church. The rest of his family probably doesn’t care that much about it, but they support Uncle Jed because he’s family. After all, blood is thicker than water and we need to stand by the family even if they might be wrong.

E. (Luke 14:26 NIV) "If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters--yes, even his own life--he cannot be my disciple.

F. This word hate that Jesus’ uses is probably an exaggeration for the sake of emphasis. Jesus is not saying that we must leave and hate our family, disown them. What he is saying is that we better not value family above our relationship with Christ, because that can lead to spiritual problems.

G. (Isa 1:4 NIV) Ah, sinful nation, a people loaded with guilt, a brood of evildoers, children given to corruption! They have forsaken the LORD; they have spurned the Holy One of Israel and turned their backs on him.

H. Yes, we as parents need to give tough love to our children. In my ministries I have seen parents that would do anything for their children. These parents enable their children to engage in their sins.

I. The important thing is faith expressed through love and sometimes that has to be tough love especially with family.

III. Cronyism (friends)

A. Favoritism shown to friends without regard for their qualifications.

B. Wikepedia- The Good Ol’ Boy Network describes a system of social networking and perceptions alleged to exist prevalently among certain communities and social strata in the United States. Although the term originated in The South, these networks can be found throughout the US and the rest of the Western world. It is typically taken to refer to informal social, religious, business, and political associations. The good ol’ boy network is said to manifest in institutions such as conservative churches and the local bar.

C. Another way to describe this is the country club.

D. Another way to describe this is a fraternity or sorority.

E. To have close friends is good but when our friends get in the way of our relationship with Christ, then it’s a problem.

F. Jesus talked about friendship. (John 15:13 NIV) Greater love has no one than this that he lay down his life for his friends. (John 15:14 NIV) You are my friends if you do what I command. (John 15:15 NIV) I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.

G. Jesus’ love for us is sacrificial. But what we are talking about here is a love that is more selfish. You scratch my back, I scratch your back. (Luke 23:12 NIV) That day Herod and Pilate became friends--before this they had been enemies. Do we believe that Herod and Pilate would die for each other? Hardly!

H. As a matter of fact these corruptions are more evident in the political and business world than in the church. I am sure that many of you have seen these things I am talking about in operation out there in the world. This is how the world operates. It’s not what you know it’s who you know, family and friends.

I. There is a problem with friendship and it is that it can be more exclusive than inclusive. It is hard to break into the circle of friends. Why are we not growing? Because we are more exclusive than inclusive.

J. This corruption is expressed in the same way as families like we have mentioned. However, we must add to this one that many times it is expressed in the church with seniority. As a matter of fact, the word crony comes from a Greek word that refers to a long time, a long time friend. The ones who have been involved the longest want the greatest number of favors. If those with the greatest seniority do not get their way, then they are mad and want to cause problems.

K. Again, the issue is faith expressed through love. IT should not be an issue of seniority, friends, family or money. It should be about Jesus Christ. This is our highest motivation: to please Christ.

So what:
A. (James 2:1 NIV) My brothers, as believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, don’t show favoritism.

B. Vs. 20-23- Peter looks this man dead in the eye and basically says – You’re going to hell!” In fact, J.B. Phillips translation says exactly that: Peter replied: “Go to hell with your money.”

C. We can also look other people in the eye and say, "If you value these relationships with family and friends more than our faith in Christ, then you can go with your family and friends to eternal condemnation."

D. Peter was not condemning this man Simon but he was throwing a cup of cold water into his face to get him to wake up.

E. Simon asks Peter to pray for him. If you need prayer, or if you need to be baptized, or if you need to repent, come forward.

Accountable and Responsible in Christian Fellowship

by Dusty Rayburn
Locust Fork, Alabama, United States

March 29th, 2011
In the Word - 1 John

We are called to be accountable and responsible in Christian fellowship. We are tasked to love and encourage. We are to help each other live a life that is wholly pleasing unto God.

So, when a brother or sister in the body stumbles, how do we react? Do we gossip about them? Do we publicly condemn them? Do we separate ourselves from them?

Jesus, teaches us the right way to respond:

Matthew 18:15-17 (NIV, ©2011)

15 “If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over. 16 But if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’17 If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church; and if they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector.

So what are we to do?
1.Be involved with one another enough to recognize sin in each others’ lives.
2.Work together one on one (in private) to identify the sin and correct it.
3.If the individual ignores the private correction and help, add a couple more to the team.
4.If they still continue in sin, bring it to the church.
5.Then, if they disregard the correction, treat them as an unbeliever.

Jesus teaches us to be responsible for our brothers and sisters in Christ, but He is also teaching that we are accountable to them.

John reminds us to keep each other in prayer :

1 John 5:16-17 (NIV, ©2011)

16 If you see any brother or sister commit a sin that does not lead to death, you should pray and God will give them life. I refer to those whose sin does not lead to death. There is a sin that leads to death. I am not saying that you should pray about that. 17 All wrongdoing is sin, and there is sin that does not lead to death.

Every step of the process requires love, honesty, and humility. We are not called to lord sin over each other, but rather to lovingly help each other live a life worthy of our calling.

There is more to fellowship than good times and worship services. In the Body of Christ, we are responsible and accountable for each other. Alone we may falter and fail. Together in covenant relationship with God and the fellowship of believers, there is victory.

Will you join me in fellowship? Will you be responsible and hold me accountable?

Will you allow me to join you? Will you allow me to be responsible and hold you accountable?

The Mystery of Righteousness by Ray Stedman

Read the Scripture: 1 John 3:6-7

It is my great hope that there is coming to all, as we study together in First John, a growing awareness that every Christian must be a revolutionary because Christ is a revolutionary. God does not like the status quo. He is grieved and hurt by racial hatred, by war, by poverty, by unhappy homes, by human strife. God is a revolutionist: he is determined to protest these conditions, whenever and wherever they occur. But more than that, he is determined to correct them, to deliver men from them. Speaking generally, it would not be wrong to say that God is in full sympathy with most of the goals of the radical groups that exist today. He sees clearly the same things against which they are protesting. But there are two things that mark the difference between God's revolutionary methods and those of the radicals:

First, God thoroughly understands and identifies the underlying cause of these problems. He names it for us. We saw it last time in Verse 4 of Chapter 3 of First John: Lawlessness! That is the problem: a revolt against reality. It is not economic distress, it is not class warfare, it is not pressure politics behind the problem of human strife and unrest. All of these are symptoms of an underlying cause. The underlying cause is, simply, man rebelling against the laws of his own being. That is the problem. It is civil war in the heart of every man, both that of the radical as well as the respectable. In other words, men have already caught the disease they are trying so desperately to cure.

The second thing that marks the difference in God's approach to these problems is that he has, himself, already done the only thing that can be done to correct this. In the mystery of the cross and the resurrection of Jesus Christ, he has provided a means by which to break the grip of this lawless principle upon human beings, and to permit us to become gripped, instead, by the more powerful principle of love -- and all this done in the person of Jesus Christ, his Son. This is what John declares to us in the verse we looked at in our last study,

You know that he appeared to take away sins[or lawlessness], and in him there is no lawlessness. (1 John 3:5 RSV)

Well, what is in him, if there is no lawlessness? Obviously, the trouble with us is lawlessness. We do not like something, and so we do not do it. Even though it is the right thing to do, even though we know it is for our best interests, if we do not like it, we do not do it. So we are lawless, whether we are respectable in other areas, or radical. This is the problem. But "in him there is no lawlessness." Well, what is in him? Love. In him there is love. We have learned in Romans that love is the fulfilling of the Law, that when someone acts in genuine love he fulfills all the Law there is to be fulfilled. This explains the link between love and righteousness. Here is another one of the great terms of the gospel, righteousness. Anyone who fulfills the Law is righteous, and since love is the fulfilling of the Law, therefore, righteousness is love behaving. That is all it is.

We have already learned many times in our studies together that love is the very being of God, the essence of his nature, and thus of the nature of Christ. John says, God is love. Yet that life which is love, is also light. It illuminates, it clarifies, it dispels darkness, it breaks through our confusion and our lack of understanding and makes us see things as they are. We read of the Lord Jesus, "in him was life, and the life was the light of men," (John 1:4 RSV). So, with this threefold gift of love, of light, and of life, when Christ enters a human heart he destroys lawlessness. Lawlessness is the destruction of life, the extinguishing of light, and the violation of love. Now what could be simpler, as a solution to the problems of life than that? That strikes at the very heart of discord. That is why, as we saw last, the gospel is the greatest revolution of all times, the revolution that occurs at the deepest level of the human heart and life.

Now the great question is, "How do we lay hold of this threefold gift in actual daily practice?" How does the gift of love from Christ destroy and push out the lawlessness of our lives? In what way does it happen? We have seen it all before, but John now beautifully summarizes it for us in Verses 6 and 7 of Chapter 3:

No one who abides in him sins; no one who sins has either seen him or known him. Little children, let no one deceive you. He who does right is righteous, as he[Christ] is righteous. (1 John 3:6-7 RSV)

Here is the mystery of righteousness. John does not call it that, but Paul refers to it as "the mystery of God-likeness, or godliness" (1 Timothy 3:16 KJV), i.e., the way by which a man or a woman, or a boy or a girl, begins to live like God, to become God-like though remaining a man. To become God-like in his attitudes, his outlook, his actions and his reactions. If you read the Old Testament, you know that certain men of olden times discovered this secret. They became, to a great extent, God-like, they lived like God. Abraham, for instance, Joseph, Moses, King David, and others. They became stabilized, outgoing, love-oriented, they became men in every true sense of the word.

The secret was hidden to most. Actually, of course, it has always been the same secret, it was Christ in them. That is forever the secret of God-likeness. But no one understood that in the Old Testament days, they could not because it had not yet become historically evident. But now, Paul says (and John and Peter and others), the mystery has been made clear. Paul calls this, in Colossians, "the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now made manifest to his saints," Colossians 1:26 RSV). Let me share with you the full passage in which that occurs, as it is found in Phillips' translation.

I am a minister of the church, by divine commission, a commission granted to me for your benefit, and for a special purpose: that I might fully declare God's Word -- that sacred mystery which up till now has been hidden in every age and every generation, but which is now as clear as daylight to those who love God. They are those to whom God has planned to give a vision of the full wonder and splendor of his secret plan for the nations. (Colossians 1:25-27a J. B. Phillips)

Did you hear that? God has a secret plan for the nations. That is at once the explanation of, and the remedy for, all the evil that exists in the human race. Now he goes on,

And the secret is simply this: Christ in you! Yes, Christ in you, bringing with him the hope of all the glorious things to come. (Colossians 1:27b J. B. Phillips)

Now those are not just so many beautiful words. That is a very practical proposition which God is working out through human history, and is making available to men. Peter says the same thing in other words, in his second letter (the Living Letters translation):

For as you know Him better[i.e., Christ], He will give you through His great power, everything you need for living a truly good life: He even shares His own glory and His own goodness with us! And by that same mighty power He has given us all the other rich and wonderful blessings He promised; for instance, the promise to save us from the lust and rottenness all around us, and to give us His own character. (2 Peter 1:3-4 Living Letters)

That is the Good News. John puts it bluntly and plainly, "No one who abides in him sins." Or, to use the interchangeable term for sin which he has just given us, "No one who abides in him lives lawlessly."

Perhaps some will say, "Now, wait a minute! Isn't this a contradiction? In the first chapter, Verse 8, John says, 'If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.' And now, in Chapter 3, he says, 'No one who abides in him [Christ] sins.' How is this? And isn't it even more positively put in Verse 9 of Chapter 3, 'No one born of God commits sin; for God's nature abides in him, and he cannot sin because he is born of God.'" Surely this is a bit of a problem.

In Verse 6 he says a Christian does not sin; in Verse 9 he says he cannot sin, because he is born of God. Yet, again in Chapter 1, he says, "if we say we do not sin, we are liars"; and in Chapter 2, Verse 1, "if any one does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous." Admittedly, we have come to one of the most difficult passages of Scripture. But yet it is a very important one, and is not a contradiction. The man who writes this is no fool, he is an intelligent person. He does not say on one page something that contradicts himself on another page. He is an inspired apostle, and writes with wisdom, intelligence, and understanding. The problem does not lie in the text; the problem, if anywhere, lies with us. We must think this through, we must give our attention to this. I propose, therefore, that we take some time with this passage because of its importance, that we might understand the working of the mystery of evil in human life, and, likewise, the mystery of righteousness which counteracts it.

We shall examine this problem in much greater detail in future messages, but, for the present, I will point out that the problem is really settled by the tense of the verb the apostle employs here, "No one who abides in him sins." He uses the present continuous tense for the word sinsto mean "no one who abides in him keeps on sinning" or lives in lawlessness. If John had wanted to refer to a single act of sin there is a Greek tense that would have made it very clear. He could have employed the aorist tense which would then have said, without any question, "No one who abides in him can commit even one single act of sin." But he did not say that. He used instead this continuous tense, and to note this will help us a great deal in understanding the passage. So he is saying, "Any one who abides in Christ does not go on living in sin." He cannot live lawlessly, he does not keep on sinning.

But now do not miss the trees because we are so intent upon the wood. How do you avoid living lawlessly? How does one come to this place of not living sinfully? Well, as he puts it, it is all in this one word, abides. "No one who abides in him sins." Remember that in Chapter 2 he had said, "And now, little children, abide in him, so that when he appears he may have confidence and not shrink from him in shame at his coming," (1 John 2:28 RSV). The key is abiding. We have already seen that the relationship of a believer to Jesus Christ, involves him in two aspects. Abiding in Christ is an advance on simply being "in Christ." Our Lord himself spoke of these two aspects of a disciple's relationship to him. He described them by these words, "you in me, and I in you," (John 14:20b RSV). Now those two aspects are very important:

"You in me" is to be in Christ. It is to believe, to receive Jesus Christ. It is to be joined in a union with him that results in new birth, the impartation of his life and love to us, by an act of faith. It is to receive him, to act upon his invitation to come into your life. When you do, you are "in Christ." You are in union with him. "You in me," that is the first union. But that is not the aspect John is describing here. That union does not necessarily result in being freed from the bondage of sin. Oh, it makes freedom possible, it is all potentially there, but in itself it does not result in deliverance. That is why, as we have seen, it is quite possible to be "in Christ" and go on living for a time in sin, lawlessly.

But it is the second relationship, "I in you," Christ in us, experienced by an attitude of faith, in which he makes his home in our hearts, that frees us from sin's reign. We allow him to live through us, we expect him to do so, in every moment of our experience. It is this that is called abiding, and it is this that results in freeing us from the bondage and the power of sin, so that we can live godly, God-like lives.

As you read through the Scriptures you discover certain things that are produced by this abiding relationship. In the great 15th chapter of John's gospel, Jesus said these words: "He who abides in me, and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit," (John 15:5b RSV). So abounding fruit comes from this relationship of abiding. Abiding is abounding. The fruit, of course, is the fruit of the Spirit -- love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness and self-control. These are the marks of One who abides.

Later on in that same chapter, Verse 7, he says, "If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you will, and it shall be done for you," (John 15:7 RSV). Here effectual prayer is a result, not of being "in Christ," but of "abiding in Christ." Are your prayers being answered? Are you seeing God at work in your experience? Are the things you ask for that are clearly in line with his great program or men coming to pass in the lives of individuals for whom you pray? This is the promise, "If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you will [within that relationship], and it shall be done for you."

Now John says, "No one who abides in him sins," i.e., lives lawlessly. He is able to live Godlike. Therefore, this relationship of abiding is very important. "Well," you say, "just what is it? This is what bothers me. I've heard all these great promises before -- and God knows I want them -- but it eludes me. What is this abiding, anyway?" Well, let us ask the Lord again for clarification on this. Once again in the 15th chapter of John's Gospel, Jesus says these words, "If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love," (John 15:10a RSV). That is putting it plainly, is it not? If you obey me, you will abide in me. "And he that abides in me ... bears much fruit," (John 15:5). "He that abides in me can ask whatever he will and it will be done," John 15:7). "He that abides in me will not sin," 1 John 3:6a). "If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love," (John 15:10). Of course, that obedience is by faith; i.e., this is not an exhortation to give ourselves to a groveling, dogged obedience, saying, "Here's a rule and I've got to do it." No, no. It is an expectant obedience, an obedience that acts expecting him to come through to make it a joy. That is the whole secret. It is by faith.

Well, how does this work in practice? Since Christ is in you, if you are a believer, you are in him and he is in you, then you need but set yourself to do what he says, expecting him to act, and the minute you start doing it, the power to carry it through will be there, to make you able to do it and to make it a joy. It is like those Israelites in the Old Testament who were told to cross first the Red Sea and later the river Jordan. Here was a body of water before them, but the command of God has to go through the water. It looked like suicide, utter foolishness. The worst thing they could do would be to plunge headlong into the depths of the waters. But, on each occasion, as the children of Israel stepped down and their feet touched the water, the waters parted and they went on through. It was when they acted on what they were told to do, despite any appearance that anything was happening, that it happened. Of course, this was not simply a thoughtless, spectacular miracle. It was a parable, designed to teach us how God acts.

When we hear his command to us, whether we feel like it will work or not, the whole idea is to obey. Act on it! Do what he says! When we do, we discover that the minute we begin to act, the power of God acts also. What we are hoping to accomplish will be accomplished. It works out as God said. We discover that God is at work within us. That is what Jesus means, "If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love," (John 15:10a RSV). This is also what Paul is saying to the Philippians. "Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to do of his good pleasure -- the thing that pleases him," (Philippians 2:12).

Do you find it difficult to love some, for instance? This is one of the most nagging, persistent problems of life. Someone treats us cruelly, or indifferently, and our natural reaction, stemming from our tie with Adam, is immediately to strike back, to avenge ourselves, to cut them off, don't speak to them, or to say something caustic. We wish to avenge ourselves. But that is not the command of the Lord. His word is crystal clear. "Vengeance is mine, says the Lord," (Romans 12:19). Do not avenge yourself. He says, "Love your enemies... Do good to those who hate you and despitefully use you. Pray for your enemies," (Matthew 5:44). "Love one another," (John 13:34, 15:12, 15:17, et al). But you do not feel like doing that; in fact, that is the last thing you feel like doing. You are like those priests who did not feel like putting their feet in that cold, dirty water of the Jordan River, either. But God had said to do it. And when the soles of their feet touched the water, they parted, and the people went on through.

So, when you set yourself to act toward this individual whom you are finding it difficult to love as love would act; if you do something that love would do to that individual; if you respond to him as those who love him would respond; if you obey God, in other words, you will find that if you are expecting him to act, he will. The feeling of love will follow your act instead of preceding it, and you will discover that your whole relationship, your whole attitude, to the individual is different. You will see him no longer as an obstacle standing across your pathway, opposing what you want to do, but you will see him as a person with a problem -- a problem like the problems you have had -- who needs understanding and acceptance. Then the problem will clear up, as your problems have cleared up.

Are you tempted to lust? Are you tempted, in this sex-saturated society, to give way to lusts and desires of the flesh that you know are wrong? Well, there is plenty of it around today and in respectable circles, too. But the word of God is, "Flee youthful lusts, because they war against the soul," 2 Timothy 2:22 KJV). It is not that sex is wrong. Sex is wonderful. Sex is what God made it to be; it is his gift to humanity. But the improper use of it is wrong. So God says, flee youthful lusts because they will destroy you, they war against you. Well then, obey them! Turn from them and turn to him in expectant faith and you will find there is an immediate sense of release, a flood of cleansing, purifying, love from him that makes your renunciation not an act of dogged, dismal determination, but an act of delight, of gladness and freedom. What a difference!

Even an unregenerate man, a non-Christian, if he wants to for one reason or another, can set his will against doing something that is harmful or wrong or evil, and can stop it. Certainly he can. But he will not have any particular joy in doing so. He will be acting from a grim, dismal determination to walk in this way, with no compensating light or gladness. But the difference for a Christian is that when he so acts, Christ is there. We obey him, and thus we abide in his love. Every act of renunciation against these forces that would destroy us results in an accompanying sense of glorification, of joy, causing us to rejoice in God's grace.

If you have him, you can do these things. If you cannot do them, it is because you do not have him. That is why John goes on to add here, "no one who sins has either seen him or known him." That is, so strong is our link with him, and so powerful are the cleansing tides of his life in us, that if we say we have Christ in us and do not show some evidence of it, in increasing degree, then we have been deceiving ourselves. We do not have him at all. We have never seen him or known him. If you can live content with evil, without a struggle, deliberately doing what the Word of God declares is not right; if you can go on thus, and it does not particularly bother you, you have no struggle with it, then you have no right to name yourself a Christian. That is what John is saying. You have not seen him, you have not known him. Jesus Christ came into the world, and into your life, to destroy lawlessness. That is his goal. That is the revolution he is set on bringing to pass. If this is not happening, then you do not have him, for he will not change his purpose. He is moving to this end. This is what he came for, and this is what he will do.

You are only kidding yourself if you think you have him because you know many Bible verses or you can recite certain creeds, you have been attending church all your life, or your whole family is Christian. You are deceiving yourself. No, one who lives lawlessly has either seen him or known him. So he concludes in Verse 7,


Little children, let no one deceive you. (1 John 3:7a RSV)

Oh, they will try. There is much attempt today to put on a pious front and make it look real, but do not let them kid you. The true sign is this: "He who does right is righteous." Remember, righteousness is love behaving rightly. He who acts that way (and that kind of love always involves self-sacrifice), it is because he is linked to the Righteous One. There is no other way to act righteously than that:

He who does right is righteous, as he is righteous. (1 John 3:7b RSV)

It is interesting that in the original language here the pronoun he is literally, "that one." It appears also in Verse 5. "You know that 'that one' appeared to take away sins." And Verse 7, "Little children, let no one deceive you. He who does right is righteous, as 'that one' is righteous." It is almost as though John is seeing Christ standing there. So close is he to him, it is as though he were standing right there, and John refers to him as "that one." He who does right is righteous because that one is righteous, and he is living in him. Because he is living in him, there must be righteousness breaking out from time to time in that individual's life. It has got to be there. When a person discovers this and learns to abide in him, all the time expecting that one to be working in him, then he soon learns he cannot do anything without him. But he discovers that with him, he can do anything he asks. That is why Paul says, "I can do all things, through Christ who strengthens me," Philippians 4:13).

Prayer:

What a wonderful revolutionary thing this is, our Father. What a glorious transformation of human life is involved in this. How it searches us out and probes us, plumbing the depths of our conscious as well as our unconscious life, doing radical things to us, changing us from the inside out, from the bottom up. We thank you, Lord, that this is the continuing experience of those who come in contact with this glorious, wonderful Person, our Lord Jesus Christ, who lives and walks among men, who offers himself to us for this very purpose. Make us all here living examples of this revolutionary movement, challenging the status quo, refusing to accept things as they are, because we have caught a vision of things as they might be. We ask this in Christ's name, Amen.

A Pastor's Authority

A Pastor's Authority Series: Servant Leadership
Author: Ray C. Stedman

Mark 10:42-43a
42Jesus called them together and said, "You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. 43Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant,New International VersionRather than being lords, he went on to say, disciples are to be servants of one another and the greatest is the one who is servant of all.

By these words Jesus indicates that an entirely different system of government than that employed by the world should prevail among Christians. Authority among Christians is not derived from the same source as worldly authority, nor is it to be exercised in the same manner. The world's view of authority places men over one another, as in a military command structure, a business executive hierarchy, or a governmental system. This is as it should be. Urged by the competitiveness created by the Fall, and faced with the rebelliousness and ruthlessness of sinful human nature, the world could not function without the use of command structures and executive decision.

But as Jesus carefully stated, "...it shall not be so among you." Disciples are always in a different relationship to one another than worldlings are. Christians are brothers and sisters, children of one Father, and members one of another. Jesus put it clearly in Matthew 23:8 (RSV): "One is your Master, and all you are brethren."

Throughout twenty centuries the church has virtually ignored these words. Probably with the best of intentions, it has nevertheless repeatedly borrowed in toto the authority structures of the world, changed the names of executives from kings, generals, captains, presidents, governors, secretaries, heads, and chiefs to popes, patriarchs, bishops, stewards, deacons, pastors, and elders, and gone merrily on its way, lording it over the brethren and thus destroying the model of servanthood which our Lord intended. Christians have so totally forgotten Jesus' words that they frequently have set up the world's pattern of government without bothering to change the names, and have operated churches, mission organizations, youth organizations, schools, colleges, and seminaries, all in the name of Jesus Christ, but with presidents, directors, managers, heads and chiefs in no way different from corresponding secular structures.

It is probably too late to do much about altering the many structures that are commonly called "para-church" or "quasichurch" organizations, but certainly Jesus' words must not be ignored in the worship and training functions of the church itself. Somewhere, surely, the words of Jesus, "...it shall not be so among you," must find some effect. Yet in most churches today an unthinking acceptance has been given to the idea that the pastor is the final voice of authority in both doctrine and practice, and that he is the executive officer of the church with respect to administration. But surely, if a pope over the whole church is bad, a pope in every church is no better!

It is clear from the Scriptures that the apostles were concerned about the danger of developing ecclesiastical bosses. In Second Corinthians 1:24a (RSV), Paul reminds the Corinthians concerning his own apostolic authority: "Not that we lord it over your faith; we work with you for your joy, ..." In the same letter he describes, with apparent disapproval, how the Corinthians reacted to certain leaders among themselves: "For you bear it if a man makes slaves of you, or preys upon you, or takes advantage of you, or puts on airs, or strikes you in the face," (2 Corinthians 11:20 (RSV)). Peter, too, is careful to warn the elders (and he includes himself among them) not to govern by being "domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock," (1 Peter 5:3 RSV). And John speaks strongly against Diotrephes "who likes to put himself first, and takes it on himself to put some out of the church," (3 John 1:9-10). These first-century examples of church bosses indicate how easily churches then, as in the 20th century, ignored the words of Jesus, "it shall not be so among you."

But if the church is not to imitate the world in this matter, what is it to do? Leadership must certainly be exercised within the church, and there must be some form of authority. What is it to be? The question is answered in Jesus' words: "One is your Master," (Matthew 23:8b KJV). All too long churches have behaved as if Jesus were far away in heaven, and he has left it up to church leaders to make their own decisions, and run their own affairs. But Jesus himself had assured them in giving the Great Commission, "Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the age," (Matthew 28:20b). And in Matthew 18:20 (RSV) he reiterated, "... where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them." Clearly this indicates that he is present not only in the church as a whole but in every local church as well. It is Jesus himself, therefore, who is the ultimate authority within every body of Christians, and he is quite prepared to exercise his authority through the instrument he himself has ordained -- the elderhood.

The task of the elders is not to run the church themselves, but to determine how the Lord in their midst wishes to run his church. Much of this he has already made known through the Scriptures, which describe the impartation and exercise of spiritual gifts, the availability of resurrection power, and the responsibility of believers to bear one another's burdens, confess sins to one another, teach, admonish, and reprove one another, and witness to and serve the needs of a hurting world.

In the day-to-day decisions which every church faces, elders are to seek and find the mind of the Lord through an uncoerced unanimity, reached after thorough and biblically-related discussion. Thus, ultimate authority, even in practical matters, is vested in the Lord and in no one else. This is what the book of Acts reveals in its description of the initiative actions of the Holy Spirit, who obviously planned and ordered the evangelizing strategy of the early church (Acts 8, 13, etc.). The elders sought the mind of the Spirit, and, when it was made clear to them, they acted with unity of thought and purpose. ("For it has seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay upon you no greater burden..." (Acts 15:28a RSV). The authority, therefore, was not the authority of men, but of God, and it was expressed not through men, acting as individuals, but through the collective, united agreement of men whom the Spirit had led to eldership (see Acts 20:28).

The point is: no one man is the sole expression of the mind of the Spirit: No individual has authority from God to direct the affairs of the church. A plurality of elders is necessary as a safeguard to the all-too-human tendency to play God over other people. Even then, the authority exercised is not one of domination and arbitrary decree over anyone. The ability of a servant to influence anyone else does not lie in ordering someone around, but by obtaining their voluntary consent. This is the nature of all authority among Christians, even that of the Lord himself! He does not force our obedience, but obtains it by love, expressed either in circumstantial discipline or by awakening gratitude through the meeting of our desperate needs.

The true authority of elders and other leaders in the church, then, is that of respect, aroused by their own loving and godly example. This is the force of two verses which are often cited by those who claim a unique authority of pastors over church members. The first is found in First Thessalonians 5:12-13a (RSV), "But we beseech you, brethren, to respect those who labor among you, and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, and to esteem them very highly in love because of their work." The key phrase is "and are over you in the Lord." The Greek word in question is prohistamenous. Though this is translated "over you" in both the Revised Standard and King James versions, the word itself contains no implication of being "over" another. The New English Bible more properly renders it, "... and in the Lord's fellowship are your leaders and counselors." The thought in the word is that of "standing before" others, not of "ruling over" them. It is the common word for leadership. Leaders can lead only if they are able to persuade some to follow.

Another verse used to support command authority is Hebrews 13:17a (RSV), which the Revised Standard Version renders, "Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as men who will have to give account." The imperative translated "obey" is from the word peitho, "to persuade." In the middle voice, used here, Thayer's lexicon gives its meaning as "to suffer one's self to be persuaded." Again there is no thought of a right to command someone against his will, but the clear thrust is that leaders are persuaders whose ability to persuade arises not from a smooth tongue or a dominant personality, but from a personal walk which evokes respect.

At this point many may be tempted to say, "What difference does it make? After all, the pattern of command authority is too widely established to alter now, and, besides, many churches seem to be doing all right as it is; why try to change now?"

In response, consider the following:

The Bible indicates that any deviation from the divine plan inevitably produces weakness, division, strife, increasing fruitlessness, and, ultimately, death. The present low state of many churches is testimony to the effects of ignoring, over a long period of time, God's way of working.

A command structure of authority in the church deprives the world of any model or demonstration of a different way of life than the one it already lives by. Worldlings see no difference in the church, and can see no reason why they should change and believe.

A command authority inevitably produces resentment, repression, exploitation and, finally, rebellion. It is the law, which Scripture assures us we can never redeem or restore, but which must, by its very nature, condemn and repress.

The desire of the Lord Jesus to show to the world a wholly new form of authority which is consistent with grace, not law, is nullified by a command structure among Christians, and the gospel of dying-to-live is denied even before it is proclaimed. This means that God is robbed of his glory and distorted before the watching world. Nothing could be more serious than this!

Admittedly, a call for a change of this nature is radical, even revolutionary. But since when was the church called to be a conforming society? Is it not high time we took seriously our Lord's words: "it shall not be so among you"?

Constant Pitfall!

Isaiah 10:15 Shall the ax boast itself against him who chops with it? Or shall the saw exalt itself against him who saws with it? As if a rod could wield itself against those who lift it up, Or as if a staff could lift up, as if it were not wood!

One constant pitfall we must watch for is taking credit for something that God does in or through us, or using the gifts and callings of God for self-exaltation.

In that light it may be easier to handle poverty, weakness, or insignificance, than wealth, ability, power or authority, since poverty and frailty are not normally things we boast about, and they cause us to recognize our need for God.

Prosperity, gifting, and anointing, on the other hand can be powerful temptations, leading to pride, covetousness, and self-sufficiency.

Saul, who came from a humble background, was anointed king of Israel, yet his heart was revealed when the Lord exalted him, but he exulted in his own position, eventually coveting it so severely he became a fierce enemy of God. The Lord then removed His spirit from Saul and the true condition of the man became apparent to everyone.

Even the great Solomon whose gifting, anointing, and prosperity were unsurpassed in some ways, seems to have taken for granted his abilities and wealth, and, somehow, rationalizing his blatant disobedience to God's law, he fell into idolatry and brought disaster to the Kingdom of Israel. This seems amazing, given the fact that Solomon's most precious gift was his wisdom. (Those with this gift should take note).

My Godly friends, be careful how you handle the gifts and successes that God gives you! Enjoy His blessings as you serve in your family, business, or ministry - but never forget where it all comes from, and to whom the glory belongs, cause if you do, He will be sure to remind you.

Worthy Nerws Brief
WB Worthy Devotion Journal

Wolves in Shepherd's clothing by Thomas Lee (My Sinchew)

The popular American religious author Philip Yancey once told a story about one of his friends who does charity work among homeless people in Chicago.

His friend told him that one woman he was helping was a cocaine addict who was so desperate that she would prostitute her two-year-old daughter to men to earn money for her drug addiction. The woman was homeless, had bad health, and had no one to turn to for help. Yancey’s friend was overwhelmed and shocked by her pathetic and piteous condition.

Being a pastor, Yancey’s friend asked the woman why she didn’t seek help from a church.
The pastor said that he would never forget the look of absolute ingenuous horror in her expression as she exclaimed scornfully, “Church! Why would I ever go there? I am already feeling bad enough, they would just make me feel worse!”

The woman’s contemptuous reaction to the pastor’s suggestion that she could seek help from the church may seem unwarranted and unjustified by many church goers, particularly those living a comfortable upmarket lifestyle, but the sad unfortunate truth is that the church is often thought of being insensitive, insusceptible and immune to what is happening in the world, even by many of its own members, especially the poorer ones.

The church is often perceived as being so wrapped up within itself, with its leadership concerned only with mega building projects, organizing overseas holidays masquerading as “mission trips”, usually with the pastor and his family going for free, and often pandering to some of its members’ baser instincts of greed for materialism by preaching a gospel of prosperity.

The church, and its pastor and leaders, in other words, have no compassion on, or time for a world that is suffering and perishing. The poor and underprivileged, even in their midst, are ignored and disregarded or even looked upon with disdain. Rules are bent to accept the rich as members and leaders although they may not meet the requirements of the church constitution. These rich people are given preferential and favoured treatment, notwithstanding their questionable morality and unethical practices in their business, so long as they give big donation to the church and big fat lovc gifts to the pastor.

According to Philip Yancey, there are many people in need outside the church who would rather turn anywhere for help then to the church.

Why are people, including many sidelined and neglected poor church members, having such a negative perception of the church? What is wrong with the church?

The answer, I believe, is perhaps that the church and its pastor and leaders have strayed from their spiritual faith and sidetracked into the modern-day materialism of large budgets, fancy church complexes with swimming pools, and impressive acoustic worship auditorium with great entertainment environment.

Many modern mega churches are no more the kind of church where people in dire situation can come and find help and comfort, a place where the widows, the orphans, the lonely, the sick, the poor, the jobless, the desperate can come and find a home and hope for their lives. Instead, many of those who go to church today go for the entertainment in the music, songs and drama, and for the motivational talks camouflaged as sermons, and smirched with fanciful stories of outlandish experiences, mostly fabricated or exaggerated. If the pastor makes the congregation laughs, he is a good preacher!

It is no doubt that many local churches are increasingly becoming irrelevant to those who truly need help. This is simply because they have evolved into a sort of corporate commercialized institutions, where the pastor behaves and dresses like a CEO, working in a posh office, driving a luxury car, and exercising supreme authority over his exclusive church empire, the equivalent of the Little Napoleons in the civil service. It was reported in The Star recently that one such pastor sacked 400 church members for questioning his accountability in the financial management of the church.

The abuse of religious authority in such churches is generally covered up even by those who know it is wrong and unacceptable, simply because of the deceptive teaching and misconceived idea that it is wrong to question “God’s anointed” which many pastors claim to be. This spiritual blackmail is used by many recalcitrant and hypocritical pastors to seize control over the intellectually deficient, emotionally weak, and gullible church members to maintain and preserve their status and power in their churches.

I have done some extensive study and research over the last few years on many churches, and one significant thing I discovered is that most of the churches under the grip of the wolves in shepherd’s clothing have pastors who have made church work a career or profession, and they mostly start church work straight from secondary schools. These pastors have no secular professional qualification or job experience, and are totally at a loss if they have to work in the marketplace outside the church.

The stable and decent churches are usually pastored by those who have given up promising and well-paying professions and jobs to serve God. These people could easily have become successful and rich in the corporate world, but chose to give up the good life to serve God and people. We have many of these truly godly people in our midst, like NECF chairman Pastor Eu Hong Seng, Methodist Church Bishop Dr Hwa Yung, DUMC senior pastor Dr Daniel Ho, Malaysia Bible Seminary principal Dr Jason Lim, etc.

Thank God, there are still many faithful and honest persons serving the churches but, increasingly, there are also many who are using the church to make a fast buck, deceiving those theologically illiterate and gullible. Some of these wolves in shepherd’s clothing are calling themselves anointed apostles and prophets, and organizing and holding all sorts of conferences and seminars almost every weekends, with big fat fees of course, to deceive those attending their conferences and seminars to give, give, and give, while these false apostles and false prophets laugh all the way to the bank.

So, what is an ideal church?

Let me narrate a story that Philip Yancey told about a leper colony in India. A visitor was being shown around the leper colony when he saw a group of people laughing at a prank played by two young men, one riding on the other's back, pretending to be a horse and a rider. They were having loads of fun, and the crowd was certainly amused by their jocosity. But what amazed the visitor was that he saw that the man who carried his friend was blind, and the man on his back was lame. The one who could not see used his feet; the one who could not walk used his eyes. Together they helped each other, and they found great joy in doing it.

This, I believe, in essence is what a church should be -- each member using his or her strength to make up for another's weakness.

The Apostle Paul told the Galatian church to bear one another's burdens and so fulfill the purpose for which it was established. And in his letter to the Corinthian church, Paul describes the church as a body of which every part is important, with its own special function. An African proverb says that when a thorn pierces the foot, the whole body must bend over to pull it out. This kind of interdependence is a basic characteristic of the church.

This is what the modern church should be, not having mega complexes with swimming pools, not auditorium that looks like a disco, not prosperity teaching.

When a person goes to a church, he or she should be able to feel he or she is wanted, is a part of a loving and caring group. It is the place where the widows, the orphans, the lonely, the sick, the poor, the jobless, the desperate can come and find a home and hope for their lives.

[NOTE: This Weekend Reflection column deals with issues concerning religion, ethics and universal values. If you have anything you want Thomas to write on, you can e-mail him at tomlee48@gmail.com]
( The opinions expressed by the writer do not necessarily reflect those of MySinchew ) MySinchew 2010-08-20

Pastors Question Francis Chan's Decision to Leave Megachurch

Popular author and preacher Francis Chan was recently questioned by fellow pastors who tried to wrap their heads around Chan's decision to leave his megachurch.

Francis Chan, former senior pastor of Cornerstone Church in Simi Valley, Calif., addresses questions about his decision to let go of his church and follow a stirring in his heart. The discussion included Pastor Mark Driscoll of Mars Hill Church in Seattle and Pastor Joshua Harris of Gaithersburg, Md. Related

Francis Chan Takes Step of Faith, Lets Go of Megachurch Calif. Pastor Frustrated with 'Comfortable' Christianity

'Professional Pastor' Wants to Love Jesus Again

"I'll be honest. Everybody thinks you're cuckoo for cocoa puffs. You got a good church going on and you hit the eject button and now you're the international man of fu Manchu mystery," said Pastor Mark Driscoll of Mars Hill Church in Seattle.

"What is going on? What are you thinking?"

Chan announced in April that he would be letting go of Cornerstone Church in Simi Valley, Calif. – a church he founded 16 years ago – to follow a stirring in his heart. He preached his last sermon there in May and has since been speaking to Christians and pastors alike about his restlessness with comfortable Christianity and his desire to surrender himself fully to God.

Responding to Driscoll during a frank yet lighthearted discussion – that also included Pastor Joshua Harris of Gaithersburg, Md. – about his decision, Chan said, "A lot of it is personal. A lot of it is when I look at the Scriptures I see this commitment, this devotion, this hardcore 'we will follow, we'll do anything, we're all about going out and making disciples.'"

He said he wanted to start over and get a core group of disciples who just try 100 percent to follow the life he felt was clearly spelled out in Scripture.

"While I feel like I'm getting closer and closer to what the spirit is leading me to do based on my convictions of Scripture, I don't think I can totally get there by constantly tweaking," he explained.

"I've read the book (Bible). I got this theology in my head. I have all these thoughts and convictions. Let me just start something fresh with all of those convictions rather than constantly tweaking something that I may have possibly taken in the wrong direction for a little while."

Driscoll and Harris, who are council members of The Gospel Coalition, expressed some concern over starting something and leaving and wondered if he would repeat that pattern in the future.

"How long do you think you'll be at the new work before discontentment or frustration sets in because if I was in the core group I would ask that question. Is this a discontentedness in your soul that won't ever be satisfied?" the Mars Hill pastor asked.

Harris also offered, "If everybody out there just said 'hey, let me go start something new' ... that's an important thing to realize. We do need guys who are in an established church and go 'you know what, maybe it's not alright but here's how I can slowly over time build and redirect in certain ways and so on.'"

While Chan can't predict what will happen in the future, he said he doubts that he will go through what some see as a "crisis" again because he has felt this stirring since high school. He just never had the courage to say it out loud and to follow it.

"I don't know how to explain it other than there's always been this core conviction of 'something's not right and I think I know what it is but I'll just keep quiet,'" he explained. "Now, I want to express it and live it and just go 'now, I believe I'm living in congruence with the whole New Testament.'"

"Maybe I'm dreaming but I got to go for it."

He also stressed that his leaving Cornerstone was for the church's own good. "It's kind of diverting some of this 'I must hear from Francis.' By staying there, I was causing, not causing the whole problem but I wasn't helping the issue."

Driscoll questioned Chan on the theology behind some of his thinking to give everything up.

"It seems to me that if the primary view of sanctification comes through simplicity, poverty, suffering, if you don't get those things it's almost like when God blesses, it's hard to be sanctified because you don't know what to do with it," Driscoll said. "And so you almost have to get rid of that which is complicated, make life hurt a little more, go to a third world country, and/or adopt poverty and give it all away because you're only allowing God to sanctify in the preconceived ways.

"What if God wants to sanctify you through not poverty but generosity, not suffering but blessing, and what if it's not through simplicity but complexity?"

Driscoll cautioned that Chan could be following a "poverty theology," which he said is "the same error as prosperity theology – that holiness comes from have or have not, not who is."

Chan has experienced tremendous success with his books, including Crazy Love, and as a pastor and sought-after speaker. Cornerstone Church grew to be one of the largest churches in California.

He indicated that he could easily write a check for a new hospital.

While he agreed that what he's doing could become a pursuit of poverty, he said he doesn't believe it's that.

"I believe it's motivated by love and a desire to be Christ-like," he responded. "I don't want to suffer needlessly or just to suffer."

"To me, the core issue here has to be love," he said. "I think in times of prosperity, for me, I look at Scripture and go 'Wow, this is awesome. Look at this great selling book, all this money, what do I want to do? I want to give it to the people who need it.' I get excited about that.

"I get excited about becoming a picture of Christ. Of course I have the right to get the stuff that I want and enjoy it but it's again letting go of that, not holding on to that and saying here's an example, let me lay that down, and go and lay down my life for the brothers."

He added that living simply and being able to be generous is a dream come true for him and his wife.

"Gosh, here's all these people who are dying and in need. When I met them, that's when I fell in love with them and it actually was a joy to give. It's not like 'ah, I'm too rich God's going to get mad at me,'" he said.

And, "this is not like 'oh, Francis, such a martyr, he gives everything up,'" he added.

Four months after making the big announcement, Chan is still not certain what God is calling him to, though he has mentioned Los Angeles as the likely destination. He has mentioned that he plans to visit a third world country with his family to care for victims of the slave trade and orphans while spending time seeking the Lord.

"I don't even know when I'm going to end up," he said. "Maybe there's more of a fog that I'm in that I realize."

But what he does know is that there is pride in him that has destroyed him in many ways and he just want to spend the next season of his life purifying that.