Category Archives: Covenant

Nation in Distress

Posted on by under Bible, Christian, Christianity, Commitment, Covenant, Disciple, Discipleship, Excellence, Faithful, LifeGiving, Mandate, Mature, Maturing, Message, Mission, Movement, Revolution, Righteousness, School Of The Spirit, Training, Transformation

America and the American church are in distress! Do they know it?

Here is an excerpt from an interview Fox News’ Tucker Carlson had with New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy:

Tucker Carlson to Gov. Murphy: “By what authority did you nullify the Bill of Rights in issuing this order?”

Gov. Murphy to Tucker Carlson: “I wasn’t thinking of the Bill of Rights when we did this.”

Tucker Carlson to Gov. Murphy: “Well I can tell.”

Exactly! The Bill of Rights has not been considered by any elected official, or if they have been then they have been shredded during the COVID19 Pandemic pandemonium hoax.

The religious elite in Jesus’ day asked Him basically the same question. “By what authority are you doing these things and who gave you that authority?”

Of course, Jesus knew they knew the answer and that jealousy was dictating their dumb position. So He asked them a question which if they would answer then He would tell them the answer to their questions.

They realized He boxed them in instead of them boxing Him in and they refused to answer Him,

Governor Murphy seemed to realize he was boxed in, didn’t he?

If saving lives were the goal then all the measures for COVID19 would be applied every flu season when tens of thousands [usually the mid-tens of thousands] of Americans die, hundreds of thousands of Americans are hospitalized, and tens of millions of Americans contract the flu.

Or, as I have repeatedly stated, do the non-Pandemic lives not matter to anyone, whether in the government or not?

There is no clause that empowers elected officials to suspend our Constitutional and God-given rights in an emergency. They have the right and duty to suggest certain measures but they have no right to infringe upon our rights.

We are a free people, meaning we are free from government control. And being free from government’s control we are free to define what freedom means to us, as long as we are not breaking any laws that are Constitutionally enacted.

If as free people we want to stay home, practice social distancing, or do any of the other government-mandated requirements during COVID19 then we should do that.

But we have always taken precautions when we know, or feel like someone is not healthy and could possibly make us sick.

But the government forcing us to do any of those things for the greater good or out of an abundance of caution is unAmerican and antiChrist in nature.

We need to learn American civics, or refresh our civics comprehension:

“IN CONGRESS, JULY 4, 1776

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America when in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God [emphasis mine] entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

  • Our Founders placed in our Founding Documents the reality of a Supreme Sovereign Who ruled with Laws He set forth in nature

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

  • Our Founders placed in our Founding Documents their testimony they believed in a Supreme Being called “Creator” Who gives every one of us unalienable [unable to be taken away from or given away by the possessor] Rights because only the Creator holds the authority to give or take away those Rights
    • The Rights given by the Creator are
      • Life – The Creator gives life and He can remove life
      • Liberty – The Creator sets us free from slavery to man
      • Pursuit of Happiness – The Creator gives us the intelligence to know what makes us happy

That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.

  • The Creator established governments among Men not above Men
    • No earthly government can interfere with Man’s relationship with their Creator
    • No government of governmental official has the right to stand between a person and their Creator
    • The Right of the free people is to alter or abolish government, not vice versa
  • Safety and Happiness means the government cannot divorce Safety from Happiness, because together they are a God-given right to pursue
    • In other words, the government cannot define for us what Safety and Happiness means to us
      • We define what they mean because God gave us the Right to determine them for ourselves

Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed.

  • Trivial disagreements should not result in dissolving our government but infringing on our Rights from our Creator is not trivial

But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.

  • When government decides they know what is best for us and they continue to abuse us by infringing upon our Rights, then we have the right and duty to replace the abusers with people [Guards] who will protect [guard] our God-given Rights

Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government.

The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States.

To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.”

  • England continually abused their right to govern us so We The People decided we wanted freedom, not control

President Donald J. Trump said during his Inaugural Address January 20, 2017 –

EXCERPT:

“Chief Justice Roberts, President Carter, President Clinton, President Bush, President Obama, fellow Americans, and people of the world: thank you.”

  • President Trump stood tall in the lions den of the globalist cabal and informed them and the entire world that REAL HOPE AND CHANGE HAD ARRIVED!

“We, the citizens of America, are now joined in a great national effort to rebuild our country and to restore its promise for all of our people.”

  • President Trump revealed VISION!

“Together, we will determine the course of America and the world for years to come.”

  • President Trump spoke of UNITY!

“We will face challenges. We will confront hardships. But we will get the job done.”

  • President Trump revealed RESOLVE and VICTORY!

“Today’s ceremony, however, has very special meaning. Because today we are not merely transferring power from one Administration to another, or from one party to another – but we are transferring power from Washington, D.C. and giving it back to you, the American People.”

  • President Trump revealed he fully understood who the REAL POWERFUL PEOPLE ARE – WE THE PEOPLE!

But three years later when a manufactured crisis called COVID19 was announced, some of the WE THE PEOPLE ran for cover like cockroaches when a light is turned on.

The selfish self-preservation of some trumped [pun intended] the collective Bill of Rights freedoms and protections from a tyrannical government from the collective citizenry, and rendered logic inoperable and exposed the shallowness of the “people of faith’s” faith!

Faith in God was expeditiously replaced with faith in the State!

How did We The People get here?

Is Civics even taught in our schools, whether government, home or parochial, anymore?

What exactly is being taught from church pulpits in America?

How can so many who attend church services regularly wilt so fast when faith in God and God’s wisdom are needed the most?

Could this be the answer?

Luke 8

“4 When a large crowd was coming together, and those from the various cities were journeying to Him, He spoke by way of a parable: 5 ‘The sower went out to sow his seed; and as he sowed, some fell beside the road, and it was trampled under foot and the birds of the air ate it up. 6 Other seed fell on rocky soil, and as soon as it grew up, it withered away, because it had no moisture. 7 Other seed fell among the thorns; and the thorns grew up with it and choked it out. 8 Other seed fell into the good soil, and grew up, and produced a crop a hundred times as great.’ As He said these things, He would call out, ‘He who has ears to hear, let him hear.’

9 His disciples began questioning Him as to what this parable meant.

10 And He said, ‘To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest it is in parables, so that seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand. 11 Now the parable is this: the seed is the word of God. 12 Those beside the road are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their heart, so that they will not believe and be saved. 13 Those on the rocky soil are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no firm root; they believe for a while, and in time of temptation fall away. 14 The seed which fell among the thorns, these are the ones who have heard, and as they go on their way they are choked with worries and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to maturity. 15 But the seed in the good soil, these are the ones who have heard the word in an honest and good heart, and hold it fast, and bear fruit with perseverance.'”

Jesus made it abundantly clear certain people would see and hear with understanding and others would not. He then gave examples of why.

  • Those granted the ability to see and hear
    • Have honest and good hearts that bear much fruit with perseverance
    • These people persevere [continue in a course of action even in the face of difficulty or with little or no prospect of success] because their cause is noble and righteous
  • Those not granted the ability to see and hear
    • Do not protect the seed of God’s Word from demonic theft
    • Do not have firm root systems in them and fall away when tempted [no perseverance]
    • Do not value God or His word over their life [worries about riches and pleasure]

Maybe the reason people do not have what God says is required is because He sends a famine in the land for hearing God’s Word. Remember, faith comes by hearing God’s Word so if there is a famine for hearing God’s Word then there would be a lack of real faith in the land the famine exists.

Amos 8

“11 ‘Behold, days are coming,’ declares the Lord GOD, ‘When I will send a famine on the land, not a famine for bread or a thirst for water, but rather for hearing the words of the LORD.'”

My question is why would God send a famine in a land making His Word scarce?

In Amos’s prophecy, we find God’s people living selfishly, not selflessly. Isn’t that the description Jesus gave in the parable of the sower? By the way, you can find the parable of the sower in Matthew 13 and Mark 4 too.

God is patient, loving, kind and generous but He also knows what a good investment and bad investment looks like!

God determines how long He will send help to people!

  • “How I longed to gather you together . . . But you were unwilling. Therefore I am leaving your house to you . . .”

God determines how long He will strive with people!

  • “My Spirit will not always strive with man.”

God determines what people qualify for His investment or are disqualified from receiving His investment!

  • “He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. He who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. He who does not take his cross and follow Me is not worthy of Me. He who receives you receives Me. And he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me.”

God determines who He shows mercy to!

  • “So then He has mercy on whom He desires, and He hardens whom He desires.“
  • Jesus did not stop Judas from becoming a betrayer or from hanging himself.

The people He loves determine whether or not they benefit from what God invests in them. And when God determines they no longer value Him or His investment He ceases to invest and moves on to someone who has an honest and good heart.

From Genesis to Revelation that truth is clearly communicated!

Peter called God’s people:

  • A chosen race
  • A royal priesthood
  • A holy nation
  • A people for God’s own possession

Peter went on to say these people were at one time not a people and a people who had not received mercy, but now they had received mercy meaning they were what is listed above.

Your question should be? What is the condition of my heart?

Do you have an honest and good heart as defined by God?

Or is your heart in distress and in need of a transformation?

Do you need God’s mercy?

The way to know is by honestly evaluating your life by this rule –

  • Do you proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light,
    • Is your life lived in His light where you proclaim His excellencies
  • Or do you stumble because you are disobedient to the Word, and to this doom you are appointed?
    • It goes back to knowing and living by the code of life you have been given
    • If you are American you have the Constitution you are to defend and uphold
    • If you are a Christian you have the Scripture you are to defend and uphold

In 2018 China ruled live streaming church services was illegal, and a significant county in California has now ruled live worship from a church is illegal. This means no worship team can assemble at the church to live stream worship to those sheltered in place at home.

The spirit of this age is tightening its grip around the body of Christ and few members are aware or willing to cut the head of the snake off. If this continues the State will have successfully ended corporate in-person church, forever.

I have been speaking to this since the beginning with little to no acknowledgment!

Lastly, if your pastor [church leader] told you, suggested or insinuated to you that you should stay home and not physically assemble with the saints because the State [government] said not to, that pastor has disqualified himself from being your spiritual leader. Unless, of course, you want to follow someone not following the leading of the Holy Spirit.

As a Christian, you have the same right to replace any leadership that infringes on your God-given rights just like as an American citizen you have the right to remove unconstitutional rules and rulers and find new “Guards” who will guard your Rights.

I pray when or if this crisis [distress] ends God’s people will have a come to Jesus meeting with their leaders and demand they explain their decisions to infringe on their Rights as citizens of America and heaven.

In fact, why not start right now so when or if it ends you can have a fresh start under leaders who empower you, not enslave you.

Receive and steward God’s passion, power, presence, priority, process, promises, protection, provision, pruning, purging, purity, and purpose!

Dr. Kevin M. Drury, DMin
A radical spiritual revolutionary
Revolution Movement Co-Founder
http://www.revolutionmovement.org
kdrury@revolutionmovement.org

You say you want a revolution! Join our movement and turn your world upside down so God can turn His world right side up!

 

 

Three Nails

Posted on by under Bible, Christian, Christianity, Commitment, Covenant, Disciple, Discipleship, Excellence, Faithful, Hard Work, LifeGiving, Mandate, Mature, maturity, Message, Mission, Movement, Revolution, Righteousness, School Of The Spirit, Training, Transformation

Jesus, the carpenter by vocation before His river and Spirit baptism, was crucified on a Cross [Paul in Galatians called it a tree, maybe because at one time it had been a tree], is believed to have been secured on that tree by three nails!

The nails did not secure Jesus any more than Pilate had authority on his own to have Him killed.

“So Pilate said to Him, ‘You do not speak to me? Do You not know that I have authority to release You, and I have authority to crucify You?'”

Jesus shot back, “You would have no authority over Me, unless it had been given you from above [My Father]; for this reason he who delivered Me to you has the greater sin.”

So what kept Jesus on the Cross [tree]? Of course, it was not the nails that kept Jesus on that tree. For if He decided He was done with that plan He could have disintegrated the nails and the tree.

“Or do you think that I cannot appeal to My Father, and He will at once put at My disposal more than twelve legions of angels?”

What kept Jesus on that tree was His willingness to surrender to His [the] Father’s will – to the bitter [sweet] and bloody end!

“1 Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.”

Letting His example of surrender to His Father’s will encourages us in our will to stay steady and strong throughout our entire race!

In the Garden, Jesus was feeling the pressure of what He had agreed to in eternity past. “All who dwell on the earth will worship Him, everyone whose name has not been written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who has been slain.”

The KJV says it this way, “And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship Him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.”

The pressure in the olive or wine press became so great He experienced what is known as hematidrosis. Some say hematidrosis, or hematohidrosis, is caused when a person’s fight or flight response kicks into high gear. Others say when a person is in great duress, or distress, it can happen.

Whatever triggered it in Jesus He was in a real war for the salvation of the world!

“For it is for this we labor and strive, because we have fixed our hope on the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of believers.” Jesus is man’s only Savior but not all men will do the Father’s will to be saved by Him. Those who will, will be saved by Him.

“Father, is there another way to do what we agreed to?” Jesus was willing to die for the sins of all mankind but at that moment He was looking for a different process of pain than the Cross.

Finally, after three sessions of anguished prayer, He surrendered. “[Father] Not My will but Your will be done!”

Jesus had told His disciples, “I will build My church!” “I will!”

No one could fully understand what the Carpenter meant when He said that. Many still do not understand to this day.

“I will” must be understood in the context of “Your will!”

Even today, as the resurrected Jesus continues to build His church, He is operating out of His Father’s will functioning through His surrendered will. Jesus’ full surrender in the Garden of Gethsemane [oil press, or where olives or grapes are crushed so oil or juice for making wine is extracted] was not a momentary blip on histories radar screen. No, it is an eternal commitment to do His Father’s will.

His church is securely and ultimately built on the Father’s will being executed by Jesus, and everyone else who surrenders to the Father’s will.

“10 He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. 11 He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. 12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of [the will of] God.”

God is NOT every person’s Father. God is ONLY the Father to those who do His will!

So, God’s church is being built by Jesus, the Head, doing His Father’s will and as people surrender to that same will.

Have you said, “Not my will but Yours Father be done?”

If not, you are not part of His church His will is building!

Selah

Let’s look at some verses that talk about the Father’s will. These are not exclusive!

“Not everyone who says to Me, `Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter.”

  • This is being said about those who overemphasize their relationship with Christ, “Who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord.'”
  • This is being said about those who bragged to Jesus what they had done “in My name” but did not have an authentic relationship with Him – “I never knew you.”

“For whoever does the will of My Father who is in heaven, he is My brother and sister and mother.”

  • This was in response to His natural family showing up to one of His meetings wanting to see Him. He asked the assembled crowd, “Who is my mother and my brothers?” Before they could answer He answered His own question with the above text.
“For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day.”
  • This was in response to the grumbling of the Jews who could not accept His testimony of who He is.
  • “31 So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, ‘If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine, 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.“

When we take these and the many other texts together we get the whole picture of what it means to be His people, His church!

Attending Christian services does make a person a part of His church!

Giving money or time to a Christian church or ministry does make a person a part of His church!

Amending your ways does not make you a part of His church!

What makes a person part of His church? Doing His and the Father’s will is the only way to be part of His church.

Take the time to read all of John 6 where Jesus really hammers the religious people and His own disciples with what His Father’s will is. In fact, take the time to read all four gospels, and read them slowly as if you have never read them or heard any teachings on them before. You will be shocked at what you will see, find, and learn.

I promise!

Receive and steward God’s passion, power, presence, priority, process, promises, protection, provision, pruning, purging, purity, and purpose!

Dr. Kevin M. Drury, DMin
A radical spiritual revolutionary
Revolution Movement Co-Founder
http://www.revolutionmovement.org
kdrury@revolutionmovement.org

You say you want a revolution! Join our movement and turn your world upside down so God can turn His world right side up!

Fear Who?

Posted on by under Bible, Christian, Christianity, Commitment, Covenant, Disciple, Discipleship, Excellence, Faithful, Hard Work, LifeGiving, Mandate, Mature, Maturing, Message

Fear who?

“But I will warn you whom to fear: fear the One who, after He has killed, has authority to cast into hell; yes, I tell you, fear Him.”

Jesus taught that His Father could kill people and then throw them into a hellish eternity. Do you believe Jesus? If you don’t, you should!

“The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life, that one may avoid the snares of death.”

Do you really fear God?

Do you REALLY want to avoid the snares of death?

Do you fear WHO, the CDC, The NIH, the NIAID, COVID-19 or a zombie apocalypse? If you do, you should not!

According to the CDC:

79,400 Americans died in the 2017 – 2018 flu season

* CDC estimates 49 million illnesses, 959,000 hospitalizations

61,200 Americans died in the 2018 – 2019 flu season

* CDC estimates 43 million illnesses, 647,000 hospitalizations

Up to 60,000 Americans will die in the 2019 – 2020 flu season [non-COVID 19]

* CDC estimates up to 54 million [non_COVID 19] illnesses, up to 730,000 hospitalizations

Three-year flu totals 2017 – 2020:

Deaths: 200,600

Illnesses: 146 million

Hospitalizations: 1,377,959

For all of the “go beyond social distancing to self quarantining” for themselves and other believers, where was your concern and self quarantining passion for those who got the flu and for those who died, between 2017 and now?

For all of the “go beyond social distancing to self quarantining” for themselves and other believers, will you have the same concern and self quarantining passion next flu season when, if the last 3 flu seasons are a barometer, we could see deaths in the 60,000+ range, and over 40 million illnesses and between 600,000 and 1,000,000 hospitalizations? And I am not including COVID-19.

Are you planning to live the rest of your life in isolation because of what might happen that is bad, to you or through you? Dr. Tony Fauci is now saying COVID-19 could re-emerge in the 2020-2021 flu season, and beyond.

Have you ever read this verse, “He who separates [isolates, sequesters, or severs from others] himself seeks his own desire, [and] he quarrels against all sound wisdom.”

So, according to Scripture, the selfish ones are the isolationists, not the interventionists!

Fear God! Are you feeling it, yet?

We live in a feel-good society where any gesture that appears to be keeping people safe is rewarded like a participation trophy.

“Are you self-quarantining?” “Why yes I am!” “Yea, great job! Me too!”

On the other hand, “Are you self-quarantining?” “Why no I am not. I am believing God to protect me and to use me to bring peace and healing to those who are afraid and or are sick.”

“You are so self-centered! Don’t you know you could be infecting, or killing people?”

And who really is the selfish person? Who really fears God?

I totally get not everyone is on the same growth path. But it really seems those who have little to no faith want those who have more, or great faith, to show some respect and stop being so darn courageous.

People who have a history with God of being led into fiery trials are not at the mercy of those who have never been exposed to a fiery trial.

Success breeds success and makes one responsible for the standard of faith they have attained. “Let us keep living by that same standard to which we have attained.”

Fear breeds fear and faith and fear cannot coexist with each other. One of them will have to go, and will eventually go.

Socialism and Communism lower everyone’s [well, the common people’s] standard to the lowest common denominator. Uniformity is the prized possession of a socialist, communist worldview.

We are seeing these “social” core values rise and thrive in the midst of the saints. It is a sad season we have been in and are still, in Christianity.

Fear is a worse virus than the virus you are currently afraid of! And please do not insult my intelligence with the whole, “I’m not afraid, I’m being cautiously smart.”

Hmmm! Caution – care taken to avoid danger or mistakes.

If you are a Christian you are called by God into danger! “I send you out as sheep among wolves.” Does it get any more dangerous than that?

I am shocked at how many people, and supposedly Christian people, have fallen into the fear trap of, “What IF someone gives it to me or someone I care about?” Or, “What IF I give it to someone else?”

Read these verses slowly.

“The fear of man brings [permits, grants, produces, assigns] a snare [bait, lure, noose]. But he who trusts in the LORD will be exalted [inaccessably high, safely set on high, to be secure].”

Dear one, do you realize what you are doing to yourself when you allow fear to dictate to you what you will or will not do?

“Job said, ‘The thing I greatly feared [revered, respected, was in awe of] has come [arrived because I agreed with it] upon me.'”

Remember the verse at the top that said, “The fear of the LORD is a fountain [wellspring, source, flow] of life, that one may avoid [be kept from] the snares of death.” Are all your fountains in Him? Or are your fountains in your being cautiously smart?

Dear one, there is debate as to whether all that happened to Job was the result of his fearing it all would come upon him, or not. It really does not matter because Job confessed he had great fear of calamity and that calamity found him and his family.

For him to say “greatly feared’ means he must also have struggled with some “minor fears.” Here is a great question, what if Job’s lack of success in conquering minor fears fed into the greater fear’s faith that it could attack him and prevail against him?

Do you claim Psalms 91?

If you do then why do sit in your home fearful of catching something that percentage-wise is minuscule, and are afraid to venture beyond your yard? Do you actually need God’s protection from this in your own home?

Do you quote, “God has not given us [me] the spirit of fear.”?

If you do why is fear controlling your life? What if you refuse to go and the one you were to go to dies because you did not go?

Take courage, I have some better what IF’s!

What IF God actually protects you and “yours?”

What IF God uses you to bring peace to someone who is afraid?

What IF God uses you, yes you, to bring healing to someone who is fearful and sick?

What about THOSE what IF’s?

Are you teleworshiping with your church family? It takes zero faith to sanctuary in your home all the while singing, “I am not a slave to fear.”

Are you telehealing with someone who is sick – with ANY sickness? Why teleworship and not teleheal?

Why is there no area in your life where you are exercising even a mustard seed size faith?

Jesus said, “If you have faith the size of a mustard seed you can say to this mountain, ‘Be removed and cast into the sea.’”

I hear Jesus saying with a thunderous voice [Like a lion He is roaring out of Zion], “HOW COME YOU HAVE NO FAITH?”

Jesus mentions 3 levels of faith. They are, 1] No faith, 2] Little faith, and, 3] Great faith.

We all operate at different times in different levels of faith. We should never be in ‘No faith’ because Jesus has given to every person the “measure of faith.” Is it really possible to reach and live in Great Faith. The Centurion reached that level and Jesus lived in that level. And He said, “The things that I do you shall do, and greater things than these shall you do. Because I am going to the Father.”

Do you believe Jesus?

There is so much negativity and most, if not all of it, is based on a premise that is false.

People are now wanting the head of the man who is head of WHO.

Why? Because he is corrupt and in bed with communist China, and he used the P-word, which triggered a lot of people’s greatest fear – which is the zombie apocalypse.

There is compassionate courage, and then there is sympathy that is not courageous!

Sympathy consoles and even joins in with the worry ward. Compassion intervenes!

Jesus was never moved with sympathy.

Jesus was always moved with compassion! That is why He was not afraid to touch the leprous man on the head. That is why Jesus stepped into danger and defeated it at its source.

If you are a Christian, and most especially a born again and Spirit-filled Christian and have not heard God say to you, “Hunker down in your house”, then to hunker in your bunker is sin. He said, “Go into all of the world.” He did not say “all of the safe spots.” And He did not say, “Get permission from you governmental leaders.” He said to you, “Go,” you have to go!

If you are having trouble ‘going’ you probably need to drink more of His joy from the wells of salvation. Or maybe you have not drunk enough from the water that He gives that keeps you filled so you can spill. Or maybe, just maybe, you are drinking too much worldly “wine” and not enough of His new wine.

Whatever you are partaking of that is keeping you bottled up inside of you and inside of your house, stop drinking it.

This should be God’s people’s finest hour, but instead, they are holed up in their house where they hope and pray the big bad wolf doesn’t come and blow their house down!

Receive and steward God’s passion, power, presence, priority, process, promises, protection, provision, pruning, purging, purity, and purpose!

Dr. Kevin M. Drury, DMin
A radical spiritual revolutionary
Revolution Movement Co-Founder
http://www.revolutionmovement.org
kdrury@revolutionmovement.org

You say you want a revolution! Join our movement and turn your world upside down so God can turn His world right side up!

Afraid To Die Trying?

Posted on by under Bible, Christian, Christianity, Commitment, Covenant, Disciple, Discipleship, Excellence, Faithful, LifeGiving, Mandate, Mature, Maturing, Message, Mission, Movement, Revolution, Righteousness, School Of The Spirit, Training, Transformation

Afraid to die trying?

Whatever happened to, “I will give my best even if I die trying!”

Where is the, “I’m going for ‘IT’! I may die, but I am dying right now sitting in sequestration while the Spirit of God is wondering why I am where I am.”

Four lepers found themselves in a similar predicament. Famine was ravaging the land and God’s people were between a rock and a hard place. You can find their story in 2 Samuel 7. I am not going to put all the text here for time and space. But here are the important verses I want to share with you.

““Why do we sit here until we die?”

“Let us go over to the camp of the Arameans. If they spare us, we will live; and if they kill us, we will but die.”

That is so awesome! “We will but die!”

“When they came to the outskirts of the camp of the Arameans, behold, there was no one there.”

“When these lepers came to the outskirts of the camp, they entered one tent and ate and drank, and carried from there silver and gold and clothes, and went and hid them; and they returned and entered another tent and carried from there also, and went and hid them.”

“We are not doing right. This day is a day of good news, but we are keeping silent.”

Many of God’s people are like those lepers. They sit outside the gate [the place of kingdom decision making] dying. They think they are living but they are actually the living dead.

They may be spiritually alive but they are not functioning fully in their priesthood responsibilities. A part of their call and commission is dead.

They live in fear that if they engage the enemy they might die but they know enough to know where they are right now is not living either. What will they decide to do? Will they sit in sequestration and die or will they risk it all to live differently?

Many have huge callings to walk in signs and wonders and they wonder why God is not using them. Huge calls require huge risks!

The futures of people are hanging in the balance, and many of God’s have been weighed on the balance and do not measure up.

The four lepers decided to risk it and God had moved miraculously on their behalf. They moved not realizing God was waiting for them to move so He could.

They were shocked they found no resistance and started enjoying the benefits of risk.

They realized they had good news and must share it with the rest of God’s people.

You say you have good news but who are you sharing it with?

You say you believe in Psalms 91 protection but you refuse to step into danger so God can protect you.

You say you believe in healing and miracles but you are afraid to be around those who are sick.

I did not include the text in the story about the royal officer of the king, who did not believe God would intervene, who died in the excitement of the miracles as per the word of the prophet of God.

Dear leader, God showed me in a vision last year some of His leaders were going to die, in their pulpit. He did not say when, or how. He just said it would happen. You may represent Jesus the King today but a day is coming where you may die in all the excitement of what God is doing.

Where are the believers who live by this creed: “They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony. And they loved not their lives unto death.”?

What I see today are “believers” who love their life MORE THAN DEATH!

Look at what Jeremiah wrote, “If you have run with footmen and they have tired you out, Then how can you compete with horses? If you fall down in a land of peace, how will you do in the thicket of the Jordan?” [Jeremiah 12:5]

In other words, if you get weary when it is easy how will you make it when the going gets tough?

It appears that when “the going gets tough” the ’tough’ actually don’t get going. They wait until the storm passes.

COVID-19 is the veil of inconvenience that is separating the faith walkers from the faith talkers.

What is happening right now reminds me of the guys I played Minor League Baseball with who bragged like crazy in the locker room about their nightly conquests, only to find out later they spent the night in their Hotel room, alone!

Today, courage is being called “crazy!”

In Hebrews, Paul writes three times, “Today, if you hear His voice do not harden your heart.”

Jesus sent His disciples into storms to test their faith. “How come you have no faith?”

Today, we are being asked to suspend our belief that He still does that, or that He still stops storms.

Why?

Jesus fully expected His disciples to stop the storm that was sent to stop them from completing His mission, which was, “Get in the boat and let’s go to the other side!” The boat was the vehicle that took them into the storm. They could have walked around the lake. That would have taken longer but it would have been the “safer” route.

No ma’am or sir, you are only safe in Him and where He is! Where is He? He is not in man’s palatial houses of worship. He is in the marketplace where He is calling the sick, in soul and body, to Himself.

Jesus does not send His disciples on safe missions on safe routes!

We are now told to believe that He sends disciples into safe space sequestration waiting out the storm.

What if their real storm is their sequestration? “How come you have no faith?”

Why is it not just okay, but expected, that doctors, nurses, EMT’s, police, firemen, and military personnel, many who do not know or serve God, stand between plagues and people, but not God’s people?

Are they the new priests on the planet?

What about the priesthood of all believers [in Christ as Lord]?

Where are God’s generals?

Where are God’s troops?

Where is God’s David’s who wrote and sang, “I can run through a troop, and I can leap over a wall!”?

Today it is more like, “I will run through my door and hide behind my walls!”

We are in a time of war and it appears God’s generals have told God’s warriors to stand down. “At this point what difference does it make?” Well, for those standing down they sure won’t make a difference.

Our President is the Commander in Chief of all our armed forces. He and every commanding officer in every branch of our military make tough choices every day that require them to send troops into harm’s way. Some call it, “serving downrange.”

They send troops downrange because there are people down there who are in grave danger.

Jesus, as Head of the church, is Commander in Chief of His kingdom’s “armed” forces. “Arm” in scripture can denote strength, power, and might. God is Almighty! God is all-powerful! We are to walk [live] in the power of His might! We are to do all things through His ability [power, strength, and might].

But God’s generals are not obeying His orders to send warriors to Go! Preach! Heal! Raise the dead! Cleanse lepers [those with communicable diseases]!

Instead of sending them downrange, they have sent them to their personal home on the range. Speaking of the home on the range. The USA is the land of the free and home of the brave, but right now we are more like the land of the fearful and home of the sequestered.

People “downrange” are under attack and dying but no supernatural help is coming. They are on their own!

Right now God is looking at His generals to see if He can find any. If He can’t then He will find some among those who are willing to risk everything to go downrange.

Hypocrisy is pretense. It is claiming to believe something, but when what you say you believe is needed the most you are not in the place it is needed but in your safe place.

COVID-19 is revealing some very unsettling things. Groupthink has turned into group meetings on video conferencing platforms from the platform of a comfortable seat in a personal safe space.

The internet and its various technologies are a great blessing, especially in times of trouble. But they are not a “cure” all for what the world needs now. The world does not need or want to hear over the internet what we say we believe. They need and want to see what we say we believe in action.

Has the church become backseat drivers afraid of taking the wheel and driving into danger zones where life is precarious? Where are God’s “special” forces?

James wrote this about those who said they had faith.

“14 What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,” and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that?

17 Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself. 18 But someone may well say, ‘You have faith and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works.’

19 You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder. [I love this verse because it reveals devils have more faith than deceived disciples]

20 But are you willing to recognize, you foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless?

21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up Isaac his son on the altar?

22 You see that faith was working with his works, and as a result of the works, faith was perfected; 23 and the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “And Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness,” and he was called the friend of God.

24 You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone. 25 In the same way, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? 26 For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.” [James 2]

A body without its spirit is dead. So many members of Jesus’ Body operate out of their soul or flesh, and for all intents and God’s purposes are dead.

There has been a lot of blustering in the calm before the storm about faith, but the world is still sitting in sin and disease and disciples of Christ are sitting in the safety of their ease.

John Wimber said, “Faith is spelled RISK!” I don’t see risk right now, therefore I don’t see faith!

Jesus said He would send “another Comforter.” He did not say “another Comfortable.” The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of the Lord Jesus on the inside, and Jesus on the outside was not concerned with His disciple’s comfort. Read the New Testament – Jesus made people very uncomfortable.

One of the many things COVID-19 is exposing in the church is how Romans 13 has ascended above so many other verses, even commands, in the Bible. Believers are using Romans 13 to justify their fear, their lack of faith [trust in and fidelity to God and His commands].

For instance, our governments have said, “Stay at least 6 feet from each other.” Social distance practices have replaced Jesus’ command to lay hands on the sick,

Jesus did not say, “Lay hands of the safe sick.” He said, “Lay hands on the sick.”

Jesus did not say, “Lay hands on the sick when the government clears you to get close enough to the sick to be able to touch them with your hands.” He said, “Lay [your] hands on the sick.”

Have you considered that we are choosing to disconnect God from the people who need Him the most right now?

“What on earth do you mean, Kevin?”

Malachi 4:2 KJV says, “But unto you that fear My name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in His wings;”

  • This is a promise to those who fear God more than man
  • Sun [Son] of righteousness [what God says is right]
  • Arise [not stay hidden in the darkness] and shine [not sequester]
  • Healing [health, the cure, soundness of mind, deliverance, wholeness, restoration of personal and national distress]
  • Wings [extremities, farthest reach [hands]]

Habakkuk 3:4 says this, “His radiance is like the sunlight; He has rays [flashes of light, strength] flashing from His hand, and there is the hiding of His power.” It appears there is a dichotomy of truth in this verse. How can rays flash out of His hand and be hiding at the same time? The hiding speaks of being covered until it is needed. In other words, Jesus did not walk around with lightning bolts constantly firing from His hands. But when His hands were laid on people, fire flowed like a river into those He touched.

What has an abundance of caution and for the greater good accomplished? It eliminated Jesus getting His hands [us] on sick people. The secret of His power has been sequestered away in the safe spaces of those who have surrendered to Romans 13.

It is sad, so very sad! I believe heaven just weeps.

“Kevin, we have live stream where we can reach people.” Great! What will you do when the government cuts that off? You don’t think that will happen? You were not prepared for the order to shut down your ministry and go home! But that is exactly what you did. You heeled and now God cannot use you to heal!

The church is becoming more and more dependant on technology companies and secular government and health agencies. Most of whom are planning on eliminating all the freedoms we enjoy now.

So, do you confess your allegiance to Jesus but have suspended it until COVID-19 passes?

You do realize there were doctors practicing medicine in Jesus’ day? I hear you saying, “Not like they do today!” Correct but it was considered modern medicine in that day. And there is not one verse in the Gospels where Jesus instructed people to go to the doctor. NOT ONE!

Luke was a doctor who followed Paul around.

A woman with an issue of blood making her unclean to her community had spent all she had without seeing success.

And in stepped Jesus! You may refuse to believe it but He wants to step in today too!

There will be another virus and probably another Pandemic in our future. What have you forfeited this time that may have you running out of time – to represent King Jesus?

Receive and steward God’s passion, power, presence, priority, process, promises, protection, provision, pruning, purging, purity, and purpose!

Dr. Kevin M. Drury, DMin
A radical spiritual revolutionary
Revolution Movement Co-Founder
http://www.revolutionmovement.org
kdrury@revolutionmovement.org

You say you want a revolution! Join our movement and turn your world upside down so God can turn His world right side up!

 

 

 

 

Safe Salvation!

Posted on by under Bible, Christian, Christianity, Commitment, Covenant, Disciple, Discipleship, Excellence, Faithful, LifeGiving, Mandate, Mature, Maturing, Message, Mission, Movement, Revolution, Righteousness, School Of The Spirit, Training, Transformation

Safe salvation!

I want to state from the onset of this Blog that what you are about to read is written with a heavy heart of love. I have sat on something at least a year now and I believe what I was shown last year relates to what we are growing through right now. So, if you are offended by what you will read check your heart to see if God is offending you. One of His names is Rock of Offense, skandalon!

One thing this manufactured pandemic – I believe with all of my heart it is manufactured – is proving is contemporary church services are irrelevant, meaning they are not necessary for the saints to survive and thrive! By contemporary, I mean the modern service regardless if it is denominational or not.

This Blog is a righteous rant at those Christian leaders who did not fast and pray and get a direct word from God to close their services to their people or the public and to send them home without giving them the opportunity to seek God for themselves about what He wanted them to do.

If you as a leader heard God say stop your public services then I have no issue with you, unless you did not reveal that in your public announcement about suspending your services.

I never thought I would see the day where Christian leaders would practice safe salvation!

You have heard of safe sex, where you use protection to keep yourself from contracting an STD or producing a pregnancy.

Planned Parenthood, that virtuous standard-bearer of all family planning [harumph], advertises on its website 15% of vaginal sexual activity between a male and female will result in pregnancy – while using a condom.

FIFTEEN PERCENT, or 15 out of 100! That means, if that statistic is accurate, one male could impregnate 15 women out of every 100 he has vaginal intercourse with. If that is too graphic then 15 separate men would probably impregnate 15 women out of the 100 men having vaginal sex with a woman.

We have closed down our society, and church services, over a concern that a low percentage of people will be infected with CV19, and possibly die! The percent of those who die are relatively low.

So far, it is far below what the annual flu season produces, and way below what WHO said would happen. WHO said what!

Well, now, we are witnessing [pun intended] the practice of safe salvation where the people [those claiming to be Christ-filled, Christ-led, and Christ-empowered people] claiming to have the solution [anointing of the Holy Spirit] for the world’s crises are sequestered in the safe spaces of their homes – until the storm passes.

I mean until Uncle Sam says we can come out and play.

I am calling this safe salvation! You know, resting in your residence while the worship team worships and preachers preach sermons at a safe distance away via their social media and other live stream platforms.

Christian communities are actually proud they are practicing safe salvation by worshiping “together” from the safe confines of their personal property [safe places].

Wait! I actually thought the name of the Lord is a strong tower, and the righteous run into it [Him] and are safe. Has that ceased to be a reality?

Instead, they have run into their safe houses fearing the vengeance of the vicious Chinese flu! WOOOOhan that is. Wuhan sounds like WHO said! And now we discover WHO was in bed with the Chinese propaganda machine not letting it be known human to human transmission was happening. Who didn’t see that coming?

Some, who have an aversion to the heavenly law, you know, all the “Don’t do this” and, “Don’t do that” requirements for practical righteousness, immediately surrendered their sovereignty to the government’s decrees of all they could not do.

The government quickly changed the way they marketed how they want us to behave.

Social distancing is a much better sell than stay home instead of worshiping in your sanctuary! And now, as I am writing this word comes information we in Southeast Georgia will receive a Shelter in Place Order shortly from the Governor, like other states have done.

Speaking of those sanctuaries. I guess they are not all that sanctuary after all, except for the leaders, you know. It is one thing for a secular government to tell people to stay home. It is quite the other for spiritual authorities to tell their people to shelter in place and stay safe.

Safe salvation practice is where the leaders stand on their platform, separated from those that may infect them, and transmit God’s seed [Word] through song and sermon, to those ready to receive while resting in their residences.

Remember, PP says 15% will get pregnant. I wonder what % will conceive what is sown in them while they stay in their beds or on their sofas. Well, this will certainly give those who sleep in church a free pass.

Do you understand what they are saying to you, Mr. and Mrs. Sheep?

What they are saying is they feel safe around each other, not you!

Hmm, hmm!

They are communicating that you’re the unsafe portion of their ministry. They are saying you are the unknown part of the equation.

I know they presented it something like this, “Because we really care for you we want you to stay safe at your house while we come to God’s House and release important information to you through the internet.”

The leadership team made up of the media masters, worship and sermonizing teams [many mega pastors have researchers who do the heavy lifting for their sermon material], obviously feel perfectly safe around each other.

You know it is a percentage matter.

If they keep the number under 15 their chance of getting infected is minuscule.

Increasing numbers increases the chances of them getting infected.

Some of the larger churches have as many as 50 people or more involved in their worship and media teams. But they are willing to risk exposure to get you the message of the hour. How courageous of them!

I am VERY concerned about the condition of the Christian community!

I find it intriguing Christian leaders refer to earthly government officials as their “leaders” when speaking about canceling normal services and practicing physical distancing.

“To honor our leaders we are suspending normal services and encourage you to watch us on our various live stream platforms [FB, YT, etc] in the safety of your home. And PLEASE SEND US YOUR TITHE!”

I also wonder who will feel the need to return to the “sanctuary” service once they discover they can walk the beach [when that is restored], or stay in the comfy confines of their home and still “catch” the service. I mean, “Honey, think of the gas and time we will save. And we won’t have to fight with the kids to eat, get dressed so we can get out the door.”

Nowhere, including the Romans 13 text, are Christians instructed to submit to human decrees that contradict divine decrees.

Jesus never bowed to the Jewish or Roman governments, and He died for it. Herod was a political pawn who wanted to see Jesus, and Jesus called him a fox and kept moving.

Pilate said he had the authority to kill or free Jesus and Jesus told him he was not in charge! He also said, “My kingdom is not of this world.” You see, Jesus answered to a Higher Power that is still above the delegated authority in Jerusalem and Rome, and here at home too.

Herod, who accepted the praise of men instead of giving it to God was stricken by an angel, and was eaten by worms before he died!

Now, who is the Boss?

So forgive me for not agreeing with your understanding of Romans 13!

Paul, who wrote Romans 13 never surrendered his stewardship to Rome or Jerusalem.

The only thing that stopped him from moving out into the unreached world of the Roman Empire, was, believe it or not, Satan, and the Holy Spirit. Not even a putrid plague kept him sheltered in place.

This is how Peter and John responded to those who attempted to stop them from ministering in public, or at all.

“14 And seeing the man who had been healed standing with them, they had nothing to say in reply. 15 But when they had ordered them to leave the Council, they began to confer with one another, 16 saying, ‘What shall we do with these men? For the fact that a noteworthy miracle has taken place through them is apparent to all who live in Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it. 17 But so that it will not spread any further among the people, let us warn them to speak no longer to any man in this name.’

18 And when they had summoned them, they commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus.

19 But Peter and John answered and said to them, ‘Whether it is right in the sight of God to give heed to you rather than to God, you be the judge; 20 for we cannot stop speaking about what we have seen and heard.’

21 When they had threatened them further, they let them go [finding no basis on which to punish them] on account of the people, because they were all glorifying God for what had happened.” [Acts 4]

I know what you are thinking. “Kevin, this is not the same thing. What we are dealing with is a health crisis, a pandemic of Biblical proportions. Says WHO! Not Jesus! Remember Jesus, the One who sent the original apostles into the danger zones of disease and death.

We now know WHO grossly inflated the numbers. What we don’t know is why! Although one can make an educated guess and be in the ballpark, at least. Remember WHO, that bastion of trustworthiness WHO failed to inform the world humans were passing CV19 to other humans at the behest of their Chinese masters.

I agree these are two different scenarios, one was epidemic and we have a pandemic.

The ramification to the 1st-century Jewish leaders was just as threatening to their way of life. Remember, this same council was concerned Jesus’ ministry, if not thwarted, would result in the whole Jewish world going after Him.

And Rome! Rome was worried their empire would crumble under the weight of the hoards of heralds who heralded the Good News!

There was a virus spreading throughout the Jewish and Roman worlds. It was – Victory in Jesus! It was – Jesus is Lord, not Caiphas or Caesar!

All the Roman leaders did was round up the trouble makers and force them to fight each other to the death. And when that stopped amusing the people they fed them to wild beasts.

And the Jews, they scourged some and stoned others! Pleasant wouldn’t you say?

Remember Jesus’ words, “16 Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves. 17 But beware of men, for they will hand you over to the courts and scourge you in their synagogues; 18 and you will even be brought before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them and to the Gentiles.” [Matthew 10]

Or this one, “10 Then He continued by saying to them, “Nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom, 11 and there will be great earthquakes, and in various places plagues and famines; and there will be terrors and great signs from heaven. 12 But before all these things, they will lay their hands on you and will persecute you, delivering you to the synagogues and prisons, bringing you before kings and governors for My name’s sake. 13 It will lead to an opportunity for your testimony.” [Luke 21]

Plagues is an interesting word. It is the Greek word loimós / loy-mos’ and it means: A pestilence; a plague of disease.

Pestilence is even a more interesting word. It means: A fatal epidemic of disease.

Very interesting that Jesus would send His messengers right into the middle of all that mess!

I hope you notice that nowhere does Jesus say, “Now, make sure the governor okays your mission.” It AIN’T THERE FOLKS!

So much for safe salvation in their day! What a soft bunch of saints we have in our day!

Look, I understand epidemic is not a pandemic but to those people being sent into the middle of that mess they did not care whether it was epi or pan. It was a ‘demic’ [on the people] meaning they would have to trust Jesus to keep them safe in His unsafe salvation mission.

Go! Assemble! Those are commands, not suggestions. And they are not negotiable!

Jesus never checked with the Jewish religious/political leaders, or the Roman leaders, to make sure they approved of His traveling ministry or the travel of those who came from several hundred miles to be in His meetings.

Leprosy, which caused a person’s flesh to rot off was widespread in Jesus’s day. Was that the only plague plaguing the world they were to win for Jesus? I have been up close to a person with leprosy. Have you? It is not pretty or pleasant but Jesus must be presented to them.

In Jesus’ day, and most days up to this crisis, those affected would be quarantined away from the general population. Today, the general population, especially of those who claim Jesus heals the sick, are quarantined from those who need to be healed.

In Jesus’ day, the exhortation was to pray it was not in winter. Today, it is to pray there are no more than 10 people present. In some places now 2 is the maximum. Here’s to hoping those 2 are in agreement.

It is a historical fact that Christians of all generations have entered into the arena of death to bring healing and or comfort. Many have lost their lives to the very disease they were trying to defeat by bringing Christ to the hurting and dying.

Now, enter good ole Uncle Sam to the rescue. Who needs the church when we have the government?

Jesus marched on fulfilling His mission, and then He commissioned disciples to spread like wildfire all over the earth to advance His superior kingdom that destroys the works of the devil.

The church, in what should be its finest hour, has ceded that over to civil authorities. I called them in a previous Blog, the “A” Team.

Jesus’ Father sent Him to do specific ministry into a hotbed of hate and communicable diseases! And He said, “As the Father sent Me I send you. Go!”

“We can’t go, Kevin!”

“Why can’t you?”

“We saw the virus, and it is massive!”

“Our government is too! And, and, and, we were like grasshoppers in our own sight.”

Sound familiar? How did that work out for the last leadership team that lived like that?

As mentioned in the beginning of this Blog, one thing I have noticed that is absent [and I could have missed this part of the memo] from their explanation is, “We [your leadership team] have fasted and prayed and we believe the Lord has spoken instructing us to ask you to stay home until the crisis abates.”

For those leaders who did, and have looked their people in the eye and confirmed that I salute you! Well done! Great job!

For those who did not and therefore cannot look their people in the eye, I have a word for you. It is later in this Blog so please keep reading!

Something else I see, when leaders assemble the worship and media teams, and who knows who else is allowed to participate in person in order to broadcast their service to their faithful, it communicates a division between the “priests” and the laity.

It communicates the special ones are in the sanctuary but have no fear because they are looking out for everyone else’s well-being by telling them to stay home.

“Kevin, “we” did not tell them to stay home. We asked them to stay home.”

Did you ask them to pray and ask God if they were to assemble with you?

If you did not then you told them to stay home!

Have you taught them to hear from God?

Why don’t you trust them to hear from God?

Is it because you did not hear from God?

Selah

You see dear leader, at the mere suggestion from “your” [governmental] leaders you canceled your services and told your followers to follow their guidelines, not Gods. They did not order you to cancel. They suggested you cancel out of the abundance of caution and for the greater good. And you complied!

You elevated earthly authority over heavenly authority. This is much worse than what King Saul did. Saul was a people pleaser instead of a God pleaser. He wanted to make the people happy so he did what they wanted, not what God wanted. He disqualified himself from ruling in Israel.

God removed him and set in David who sought God’s heart for the people. David had a “hold” he would enter to hear from God. It was his prayer closet!

You, on the other hand, sought council from secular authorities. You got your marching orders from the media mouthpieces of the government.

Selah

This is troubling to me on many levels.

Leaders of churches and ministries have proven they will comply at the mention of potential danger.

What will they do when the government suggests they and their people get a chip implanted in them so the government can know where they are in case something bad happens to them.

You know, the government would never impede on their freedoms! Never!

“I would never allow them to do that to me or my people!” Uh-huh!

Dear leader, you just proved how easy you can be manipulated so that you [not the government] will manipulate God’s people.

Maybe you don’t realize that you are assisting the kingdoms of this world to mislead and control people.

I was so tempted to use another image for this Blog that would have been apropos but for some would have been in bad taste. So, believe it or not, I constrained my creativity and went with the safe image that also communicates important truths laid out in the next portion of this Blog.

You dear leaders have fulfilled Jeremiah’s indictment against the shepherds of Israel.

I pray you will read this text and weep!

“6 My people have become lost sheep; Their shepherds have led them astray. They have made them turn aside on the mountains; They have gone along from mountain to hill and have forgotten their resting place. 7 All who came upon them have devoured them; And their adversaries have said, ‘We are not guilty, inasmuch as they have sinned against the Lord who is the habitation of righteousness, even the Lord, the hope of their fathers.’” [Jeremiah 50]

You, by complying with a directive from someone other than Jesus, the Head of His church, have:

* Caused God’s people to be lost sheep
* Led God’s people astray [away from Jesus the Head to a secular leader]
* Made God’s people turn aside on the mountain [mountains speak of governments and authority and God’s mountain has ascended above all other mountains]
* Transitioned them from the mountain [God’s government and authority] to a hill [man’s government and authority] thinking you are making them safer when in truth you are exposing them to more danger
* Caused God’s people to forget their resting place [In Him and His government and authority]
* Positioned those you are leading to be devoured
* Have sinned against the Lord your habitation [and the habitation of His people you lead] of righteousness, the hope of the fathers of the faith

You have transitioned their hope from God to the government. You have trained them to listen to the government of man and not the government of God.

In some ways, you have become the Pharisees and Sadduccees of our day. Jesus reserved His greatest denunciation for these leaders. One reason was because they were controlled by the political spirit of their day. They wanted to make sure the politicians stayed happy and out of their hair.

You have proven how immature you are, and the people you lead.

“Those who are led by the Spirit of God, THESE are the sons [mature and trusted] of God.” By not allowing them to make their own decision after seeking God’s advice you make them more susceptible to deception.

Jesus does not communicate to His leaders and people through secular governments. He communicates through His Spirit to His prophets [spokesmen], and directly to each person personally connected to Him and in tune with His communication.

The Book of Revelation is a great template to consider.

“1 The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show to His bond-servants, the things which must soon take place; and He sent and communicated it by His angel to His bond-servant John, 2 who testified to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw. 3 Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy, and heed the things which are written in it; for the time is near.” [Revelation 1]

The resurrected Jesus communicated to His bond-servant John, by His Spirit. This was done so that Jesus could communicate to each of His bond-servants. This was a written communication that was to be read in each local church planted in 7 strategic locations in Asia Minor.

Jesus, by His Spirit, also communicates directly to His bond-servants so that when His written word is read and or preached, they will know it is He who is communicating to them.

Here is what John had to say about being protected from deceptive errors. “20 But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you all know. 21 I have not written to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it, and because no lie is of the truth. 27 As for you, the anointing which you received from Him abides in you, and you have no need for anyone to teach you; but as His anointing teaches you about all things, and is true and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you abide in Him.” [1 John 2]

He also penned these famous words – “My sheep hear My voice, and the voice of a stranger they will not follow.” This is why the secular government [strange voice] manipulated you, dear leader. God’s people that you lead, trust you.

In the sermon on the Mount Jesus instructed His current disciples and future church leaders with this admonition, “Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves.”

These false spokesmen come to the leaders of God’s people so they can have access to them through the leaders.

And you fell for it!

Jesus, the same One who spoke to and through Jeremiah generations before, called these false spokesmen, ravenous wolves!

Paul would use this same language when he spoke for the last time to the elders of the church in Ephesus.

“17 From Miletus he sent to Ephesus and called to him the elders of the church. 18 And when they had come to him, he said to them, ‘You yourselves know, from the first day that I set foot in Asia, how I was with you the whole time, 19 serving the Lord with all humility and with tears and with trials which came upon me through the plots of the Jews; 20 how I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you publicly and from house to house, 21 solemnly testifying to both Jews and Greeks of repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.

22 And now, behold, bound by the Spirit, I am on my way to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there, 23 except that the Holy Spirit solemnly testifies to me in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions await me. 24 But I do not consider my life of any account as dear to myself, so that I may finish my course and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify solemnly of the gospel of the grace of God. 25 And now, behold, I know that all of you, among whom I went about preaching the kingdom, will no longer see my face.

26 Therefore, I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all men. 27 For I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole purpose of God.

28 Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.

29 I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; 30 and from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them.

31 Therefore be on the alert, remembering that night and day for a period of three years I did not cease to admonish each one with tears. 32 And now I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified.’” {Acts 20]

Do you see the same instructions Jeremiah and Jesus spoke in this text?

Those who really know me know I do not think or talk like what is next. I tread very lightly when I feel God has revealed something of this nature to me. Thus, I have sat on this and prayed with my wife for the past year. I only release this now because we believe it is time to warn the watchmen.

Paul wrote warnings to people. I know, I am not Paul but I do have the same Spirit he had and there are times when the Spirit will speak through someone no one knows or normally listens to. So please listen for the voice of the Lord in the words you are about to read.

My recommendation to those of you who did not seek God, and therefore did not hear from Him to stop your public services and to encourage your people to shelter in place is this: Repent and publicly apologize for your sin against the Lord and the people He assigned you to lead!

My warning to those of you who did not seek God, and therefore did not hear from Him to stop your public services and for you to tell your people to shelter in place, is this: If you do not publicly repent you will face one of two judgments: 1] Disqualification to lead God’s people, or 2] Death in your pulpit.

Almost a year ago the Holy Spirit spoke to me and showed me preachers would be dying in their pulpits and some of God’s people would be dying in the “pews.”

Judgment begins in God’s House and He showed me it will begin in His house with His leaders, the same way He excoriated the leaders of the Jews who refused to repent for their sins.

Because judgment begins in His house, what will become of those outside His house?

Lampstands and lives will be removed from God’s House! God is cleaning His house!

“If the light that is in you in darkness, how great is the darkness?”

God, from the beginning, separates the light from the darkness. “God saw that the light was good, and God separated the light from the darkness.”

If you will not come out from the darkness you live in then God will remove your light from you!

Selah

Receive and steward God’s passion, power, presence, priority, process, promises, protection, provision, pruning, purging, purity, and purpose!

Dr. Kevin M. Drury, DMin
A radical spiritual revolutionary
Revolution Movement Co-Founder
http://www.revolutionmovement.org
kdrury@revolutionmovement.org

You say you want a revolution! Join our movement and turn your world upside down so God can turn His world right side up!

Opened Eyes!

Posted on by under Bible, Christian, Christianity, Commitment, Covenant, Disciple, Discipleship, Excellence, Faithful, LifeGiving, Mandate, Mature, Maturing, Message, Mission, Movement, Revolution, Righteousness, School Of The Spirit, Training, Transformation

Opened eyes!

“35 As Jesus was approaching Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the road begging.

36 Now hearing a crowd going by, he began to inquire what this was. 37 They told him that Jesus of Nazareth was passing by. 38 And he called out, saying, ‘Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!’ 39 Those who led the way were sternly telling him to be quiet; but he kept crying out all the more, ‘Son of David, have mercy on me!’

40 And Jesus stopped and commanded that he be brought to Him; and when he came near, He questioned him, 41 ‘What do you want Me to do for you?’ And he said, ‘Lord, I want to regain my sight!’

42 And Jesus said to him, ‘Receive your sight; your faith has made you well.’

43 Immediately he regained his sight and began following Him, glorifying God; and when all the people saw it, they gave praise to God.” [Luke 18]

I am focusing [pun intended] on the last portion of the chapter, but I encourage you to read the entire chapter. Please notice the chapter is bracketed [book ended] with two stories on persistence in prayer.

1] The woman who persistently sought what she NEEDED [legal [righteous] justice]
2] The blind man who Jesus asked what he WANTED [vision to fulfill his purpose]

God is interested in both what we need and want! He only wants us to want what He wants for us.

SELAH

Let’s look at the text about the blind man for a moment.

There is much to unpack in our text, but I will point out certain truths we need, must, see!

By the way, Matthew says there were 2 blind men [unidentified] and Mark identifies one man, Bartimeus.

First, Jericho means fragrance [sense of smell]. Bartimeus was sitting in a place where his sense of smell was heightened, but he could not see what he could smell. Smell and taste are closely aligned so I am sure at times he was tortured knowing he could not see what he could smell. The scents may have sent him into depths of adventure.

Second, Jericho comes from a word meaning “moon”. The moon is the light God put in the sky that governs the night [time of darkness, or when seeing is not as easy – meaning vision is not fully experienced].

Third, the Jericho of that day sat 5 miles from the Jordan River and 8 miles from the Dead Sea. Five = grace and eight = new beginnings.

It would appear Bartimeus was positioned [sitting] perfectly for God’s grace to introduce him to his new beginning.

Fourth, as we dig deeper into the root system of Jericho’s meaning we discover it means lunar cycle, or something that occurs repeatedly. The Jewish calendar is lunar, not solar, so their year is 360 days, not 365 like ours.

Twelve 30 day cycles make up their year!

This tells me Bartimeus was on a repetitive cycle [or repeat cycle] where he had plenty of time to think about what he wanted, and what he wanted was to not be on this cycle, or on this vicious visionless cycle.

Bartimeus means son of one who is highly prized [very valuable], but for some reason was unclean, impure. It comes from a word meaning contaminated.

Bartimeus’ lineage was promising and prophetic, but not conducive to health or wealth, and he became a beggar.

Beggar means applicant, one who earnestly asks. Bartimeus was so earnest Luke uses two different Greek words for ‘call [cry] out.’

The first usage is boáō [bo-ah’-o ] which means to raise a cry of joy or pain. It also means to speak or cry out in a strong voice for help.

The second usage is kraugázō [krow-gad’-zo] which means to be vehement to the point of brawling. Because his first attempt was not getting the result he desired he was willing to get physical.

This reminds me of the woman at the beginning of the chapter who refused to be denied. The Greek text indicates the judge finally realized she would physically assault him if he kept refusing her righteous request for protection.

Bartimeus wanted to apply himself. He wanted to be gainfully employed but he was not hirable or workable. His life was not working out according to his prophetic purpose. And he was over it!

Jesus opened Baritmeus’ eyes which enabled him to see the world, for the first time possibly in a long time. His eyes [vision] were closed to all the possibilities that were around him. By opening his eyes Jesus gave him the opportunity to see what was possible.

Bartimeus wanted to see – again!

What did he remember seeing that he could no longer see?

What did he see internally that made him want to see again externally?

I am reminded of Paul’s prayer in Ephesians 1 – “That the eyes of your inner [redeemed, spiritual] man be opened, that you may know what is the hope of His calling.“

I believe what Bartimeus saw repeatedly was he was very valuable, a highly prized individual, who was trapped in a life that limited what he could see and do.

I believe Bartimeus never gave up hope his vision and his purpose would be restored.

Do you know “what?”

Does what you need, and want, line up with what God wants for you?

Selah

I want you to think about what you want that will require you to see with your spiritual eyes so that when God opens your physical eyes you will be focused only on what He shows you!

Receive and steward God’s passion, power, presence, priority, process, promises, protection, provision, pruning, purging, purity, and purpose!

Dr. Kevin M. Drury, DMin
Revolution Movement Co-Founder
http://www.revolutionmovement.org
kdrury@revolutionmovement.org
912.577.4837

You say you want a revolution? Join our Movement and turn your world upside down so that God can turn the world right side up!

CAUTION!

Posted on by under Bible, Christian, Christianity, Commitment, Covenant, Disciple, Discipleship, Excellence, Faithful, LifeGiving, Mandate, Mature, Maturing, Message, Mission, Movement, Revolution, Righteousness, School Of The Spirit, Training, Transformation

Caution!

The clouds of doom and despair are gathering on the horizon. Can you see them?

Abundance of caution!

There is a phrase being employed now in overabundance. It is this, “Out of the abundance of caution.“

Most of the time what follows that phrase is, “we have decided to cancel all of our _______ until . . .”

Until what? Until the government gives us the “All clear!”?

“Out of an abundance of caution please keep a safe distance from other people.”

Social distancing [separation] is now vogue, and so is teleworking.

Now the pundits are changing what they are calling what they want us to do. It is no longer social distancing [separation], but rather a physical distancing [separation]. After all, we can stay in contact via social media so we don’t lose connection. At least until the government pulls the plug on the internet.

As I said in a previous Social Media post – “And just like that the State made everyone bow their knee to it! See how simple that was?”

Well, it has been said, “Separation makes the heart grow fonder.”

If this hysteria continues will we be televoting too? Will that be safe?

I am not a conspiracy nut. By that, I mean I do not believe everything is a conspiracy, but it also means I do not believe there are no conspiracies.

This Coronavirus pandemic is really revealing just how far a lot of people are willing to go to stay safe, and how Christians want to live out their salvation without risk.

School closings! Beach closings! Restaurant and bar closings! Cafes and coffee bars are closing! Movie theaters closing! And even public spaces [parks] too! That is a shame because fresh air and sunlight are natural disinfectants.

Now we are seeing whole cities basically shutting down. You know, out of the abundance of caution.

Schools are shutting down and some of the children will be cared for by those in the age group most vulnerable to be attacked by the virus. Thank God for those of us who by faith are fighting the stereotypical label imposed on us by the scientific statisticians.

Now the suggestion for a maximum limit of a gathering is fifty people. Fifty people! How will grocery stores stay open? Will this result in long lines of people waiting for their turn to get in? Or, will we use the internet to schedule our appointment to shop?

Social Media postings remind us farmers are still growing food [working]. That is great, but what will grocery shopping devolve into? What will be next – government-run grocery stores?

With the Stock Market plunging and businesses being forced to close – albeit “temporarily” – one might think this is all about crashing the economy and removing more of our rights. At the least, the first, second and fourth are being assailed!

Churches are having worship services without people in their “sanctuaries!” I don’t guess they were all that “sanctuary” after all!

We can adopt a new Churchianity phrase, “We are teleworshiping!” We have moved from seeker-sensitive churches to State sensitive churches! So sad!

But Kevin, “What if someone catches the virus?” What if they don’t?

People playing it safe and saved people are a dichotomy!

The Holy Spirit does not play it safe. He is called the Comforter because to live as a Biblical Christian you will be made very uncomfortable. Jesus even sends His disciples into danger zones. Are you aghast?

The Holy Spirit is the Comforter, not Comfortable!

By the way, salvation = safe, rescued, delivered, healed, healthy, whole, among other amazing things. We are only truly safe in the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.

What is so special about this pandemic that has the whole world worried? Ahh, it has the potential – – – – – – to shut the whole world down! Isn’t that what it is doing now?

What is so special about this pandemic that has much of Christiandom cowering in the corner called COVID-19?

“Abundance of caution” just does not sit well with my spirit because to me it is not a phrase the Holy Spirit uses. At least He has never used it when speaking to me. It is a phrase born out of the kingdom of this world.

Now, “Abundance of courage” is another matter altogether! That is a kingdom of God phrase!

How about, “Out of an abundance of courage we are going to storm into this crisis with the power and wisdom of God, advancing His kingdom reality as we move in faith fighting everything that is contrary to His will?”

What has happened to the family of faith?

What has happened to, “Have faith in God!”?

I do not understand the whole let’s claim the Psalms 91 protection thing by those who are sheltering in place and encouraging others to do the same! That is too much like, “Katie bar the door”, or “Batten down the hatches”, to me! Will God not protect us in a crowd.

Where is the church Jesus is building? You know the one don’t you, where the gates of hell do not prevail against it?

I bet the leper who Jesus touched was thankful He did not practice physical distancing!

Where is the lion when we need him? You know, from The Wizard of Oz. “Courage! What makes a king out of a slave? Courage!”

Scripture tells us, “The righteous are as bold as a lion.”

Paul demonstrated courage when he went to minister to a man suffering from a recurring fever and dysentery.

DYSENTERY!

Dysentery is not sanitary!

Dysentery is diarrhea with blood and mucus mixed in for good measure.

Did I say he had a recurring fever?

Would you like to lay hands on a person who was burning up with a fever and had dysentery? Would you dare to do it? It says before Paul laid hands on the man he prayed. If I were a betting man I would bet he asked the Lord how He wanted to heal the man, and the Lord said, “Lay your hands on him!”

Paul healed the man by laying his hands on him. I bet they did not have medical gloves on that island, so we could say with a fair amount of certainty Paul got his hands dirty.

Too many of the faithful are failing when they should be on the front lines fighting!

It makes me wonder if we are still suffering as slaves instead of ruling as kings.

Now that makes me sick because Christians are called to heal the sick!

“Lay hands on the sick and they will recover” only works if we are not practicing physical distancing.

Selah

Receive and steward God’s passion, power, presence, priority, process, promises, protection, provision, pruning, purging, purity, and purpose!

Dr. Kevin M. Drury, DMin
A radical spiritual revolutionary
Revolution Movement Co-Founder
http://www.revolutionmovement.org
kdrury@revolutionmovement.org

You say you want a revolution! Join our movement and turn your world upside down so God can turn His world right side up!

PANDEMIC

Posted on by under Bible, Christian, Christianity, Commitment, Covenant, Disciple, Discipleship, Excellence, Faithful, LifeGiving, Mandate, Mature, Maturing, Message, Mission, Movement, Revolution, Righteousness, School Of The Spirit, Teamwork, Training, Transformation

Pandemic!

Pandemic is the new term for “heel!”

All the government has to do now is say there is potential for harm and society comes to a halt, or they heel!

The problem with heeling is if the government becomes increasingly hostile to the heelers it will be difficult to remove their heel so that we can unheel.

There is ongoing conflict over power. Who has the power, the State or the people? Who has ultimate power over people, the State or God?

It now appears, at least for the moment, all of the 7 mountains are back firmly in the grip of the State.

It seems the church went without even a whimper!

What convinced them? Was it their 501c3 designation that whispered in their ear?

How many, especially of the signs, wonders and prophetic streams heard God say, “Submit to the governing authorities?”

How many said, “Folks, we have taught you to hear from God. We will have services and if you believe God said to attend then we will see you at our normal times. If you do not feel God wants you to attend in person we will live stream so you can participate with us.”

When Egypt was thrust into a darkness so deep they could not see their hand in front of their face, Scripture says that darkness could be felt. That is dark folks!

Yet, Israel [God’s people] had light, meaning they lived life like they had every other day!

Thank God for the technological advances that allow for people to participate in a “church” service while sitting in the safe place of their sofas. Glory!

Safe place and saved people are a dichotomy!

Selah

The word now being proclaimed in some churches today is how the Lord prepared them for “this day” by planning and providing an online community [church membership] so that the people can still be reached via the internet [live streaming].

Do these leaders not realize the same government that “suggested” you not assemble can also pull the plug on the internet. It is happening in China now. The liberal Democrat governor of Michigan is toying with martial law. Exactly!

I learned a valuable lesson when Hurricanes Matthew, Irma, and Matthew hit the Southeastern USA. I evacuated with Matthew. All the prophets [weather prognosticators] said, “Evacuate” so we did. Our area got hit. There were down trees and power lines as well as structural damage. But the time and money spent evacuating, as well as the re-entering mess made me stop and evaluate why I left.

I did not evacuate with Irma and Michael. The reason I did not evacuate with Irma and Michael was I believed the Lord said to stay put, so I stayed put.

After learning the lesson of those three Hurricanes I taught two sermons, 1] Who is Leading Us, and 2] Who is Misleading Us.

The main point was about who was influencing the decisions we make and how does that influence affect our daily lives. On their best day the government [or weather prophets] does not know what is best for me, nor can they predict the future [they can’t predict where a hurricane will hit exactly even the day of impact]. A small move one direction or the other means little to no impact or a greater impact. They do not have ultimate authority over my life. God fills all of those places and needs in my life.

We have a Constitutional right to peacefully assemble. The writer of Hebrews tells us not to forsake the assembling together of the saints. In that day, some had chosen to stop assembling, not because of the threat of a pandemic, but the threat of persecution from family, friends, others in society and the ruling government of their day – Rome.

Today, our government suggests we not assemble when the threshold of 200-250 persons is reached. By the way, I spent four hours on the beach yesterday and there was no sign of the social separation [distancing] we have been encouraged to practice.

Think of that phrase – SOCIAL SEPARATION!

What if tomorrow the threshold is lowered to 2 or 3?

Two or three are important quotas in Scripture.

  • Everything is to be confirmed by 2 or 3 witnesses
  • Agreement needs at least 2
  • Jesus promised to be assembled where 2 or 3 assemble together in His name [meaning the people there are there for Jesus and the exact purpose He is there]

The church thrives in nations where Christian worship and assembly is forbidden. The Holy Spirit leads saints to services where various numbers of believers meet together.

Those numbers may be the 2 or 3, or much larger. No one knows until they get there.
They assemble, under the threat of prison or death, to worship and study God’s Word together.

Could the church in the west function under those conditions? I doubt it!

The reason I have no confidence in most believers successfully navigating those troubled waters is that they are too conditioned to rely on the government of man instead of the government of God. Or worse, they follow leaders who are led by the governments of man instead of the government of God.

Again, thank God we have the internet and live streaming platforms to do church when we don’t physically assemble. Remember folks, those very platforms that allow us to reach the multitudes over the internet are already silencing Christian and conservative content.

Selah

Lastly, those believers who assemble under threat of prison or death, assemble in the nations where most if not all of the pandemics originate.

Selah

I pray we in America never have to find out under the most extreme conditions because what I am finding out in our current condition is sad!

Receive and steward God’s passion, power, presence, priority, process, promises, protection, provision, pruning, purging, purity, and purpose!

Dr. Kevin M. Drury, DMin

A Radical Spiritual Revolutionary

Revolution Movement Co-Founder

http://www.revolutionmovement.org
kdrury@revolutionmovement.org

You say you want a revolution! Join our movement and turn your world upside down so God can turn His world right side up!

 

Practice!

Posted on by under Bible, Christian, Christianity, Commitment, Covenant, Disciple, Discipleship, Excellence, Faithful, LifeGiving, Mandate, Mature, Maturing, Message, Mission, Movement, Revolution, Righteousness, School Of The Spirit, Training, Transformation

Practice!

The Bible talks about 2 opposing [imagine that] kinds of practice!

1. Practice righteousness
2. Practice sin

People say, “Practice does not make perfect.” That may be true but when you practice righteousness you become less perfect at sin, and when you practice sin you become less perfect at righteousness.

I believe it was the great coach Vince Lombardi who said something to the effect of, “Our practice may not make us perfect, but in pursuing perfection we will find excellence.”

Excellence is the quality of being outstanding and very good. It comes from excel which means: to be exceptionally good or proficient in an activity or subject.

So, how much practice are you putting in?

The more you practice being right with God the more right with God you prove yourself to be.

The more you practice sinning [not right with God] the more you prove you are not really right with God.

Which direction is your life heading?

What people fail to realize or admit is that practicing sin proves they do not really know God!

Know what I mean?

This may trigger some folks but I am a trigger happy preacher. Jesus said, “You are to be[come] perfect [just] as your Father in heaven is [was, is, and always will be] perfect.”

Selah

Leviticus 20:7,8 NAS – “7 You shall consecrate yourselves therefore and be[come] holy, for I am the Lord your God. 8 You shall keep My statutes and practice them; I am the LORD who sanctifies you.“

Did you notice both “you shall?” They are not in the Hebrew which means the translators believed they are inferred. When removed from the text we get four commands:

1. Consecrate yourself

2. Be holy

3. Keep My statutes

4. Practice My statutes

“I am the Lord your God,” and the Lord’s sanctifying work is supposed to produce very specific activity!

Is the Lord your God? Is God your Lord?

What activity does sanctification produce? Personal responsibility and accountability to be set apart to God, and therefore away from everything contrary to God, as well as to be[come] like the God who saved and is sanctifying you.

Salvation and sanctification are for the purpose of keeping God’s statutes [written and spoken Word] and practicing what God says, among other things.

We are to keep [observe, guard, be in charge of, retain and treasure] God’s statutes.

We are also to practice [work, produce, accomplish, advance] His statutes so that His statutes work in and through us, produce His nature in us, accomplish His will in us, and we advance in them so we can advance His kingdom.

How can we advance His kingdom if His kingdom is not advancing within us?

The Old Testament gets such a bad rap by those who want to get by with doing the bare minimum, or worse, do wrong and tell everyone God is okay with it. It is as if they feel no personal responsibility to become and remain consecrated [separate to God], and holy.

Way to many Christians believe the Old Testament is irrelevant because, “We are not under the law.” They apparently do not know the Old contains the New and the New explains the Old.

As a side bar let me inject this bit of bitter herbs into “their” theology – Romans 6:14 – “sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace.”

Hmmm! How is that grace message that gives place to sin working out for you?

While I am here, grace alone does NOT save anyone. We are NOT saved by grace! We are saved by grace THROUGH faith and faith includes fidelity to God. No fidelity, no faith because the same Greek word is translated faith and faithful! And faithfulness is a fruit of the HOLY Spirit!

“Be holy” is not merely positional. It is practical based on the position! Positional holiness must translate into practical holiness or else the person is deceived into believing he is something he never was.

Because the Lord is “your” God “you” shall consecrate YOURSELF therefore, and be[come] holy!

If you be something you will become what you be!

By the way, did you know Paul said it is possible to receive God’s grace in vain? He did! Do you want to know why he wrote not to receive God’s grace in vain? Because in the first century there were church folk who claimed a salvation by grace but they were not producing fidelity to the God they claimed saved them!

Selah

Jesus said, “Seek FIRST the kingdom of God, and His righteousness.”

If we are not pursuing [practicing] God’s righteousness we are not seeking His kingdom as a priority in our lives! That means we are either seeking our own kingdom so we can live like we want, or we are seeking the devil’s kingdom so we can live like he lives.

John cleared this up for all who are confused!

1 John 3 NAS – “7 Little children [teknion], make sure no one deceives you; the one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous; 8 the one who practices sin is of the devil; for the devil has sinned from the beginning.

The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil.

9 No one who is born of God practices sin, because His seed abides in him; and he cannot [practice] sin, because he is born of God.

10 By this the children [teknon] of God and the children [teknon] of the devil are obvious: anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor the one who does not love his brother.”

Why did John feel it was necessary to write, “make sure no one deceives you?”

Do you find it amazing Jesus came in the flesh to destroy the works of the devil? What works did Jesus come to destroy? SIN! Jesus came to destroy both the nature of sin and the activity of sin. Why? Because sin is the fruit of the devil’s nature, not God’s!

Nature infers natural and it is not natural for a child of God to practice sin!

I find it interesting “not loving his brother” is connected to “not practicing righteousness” and, “the one who practices sin is of the devil.”

This means if “you” practice sin then you are of the devil, and “you” are not my brother!

God’s seed will produce God’s life, and God’s life is righteousness! Many think because God is love God does not require anything of those he loves.

Love is so misused in today’s churchiosity culture that the first century saints would not recognize most of what is called love today.

John is known as the apostle of love because he wrote extensively on the subject. That may be because he laid his head on Jesus’ chest and heard His heartbeat!

John also writes extensively on behavioral traits in the authentic and counterfeit believer’s life!

In the above text he mentions the maturity level of “little children” and “children.” All three references use the same Greek word [or family of words]. The teknion [teknon] level of maturity is the last of four levels in the childhood stage of development, and is just under the next level which is called son [huios].

By the way, God adopts sons, not children!

Teknon children are awake, alert, and attentive to the needs of the Father and prepared to provide what He needs when He needs it. I can almost hear people say, “God does not need anything from me.” Well then, why did He call you?

Teknon children also live for the sole purpose of honoring the Father, and they will die in defense of His honor.

Do you see how this plays out in our text? “By this [practicing righteousness or practicing sin] the teknons of God and the teknons of the devil are OBVIOUS.

If it is so obvious why do so many refuse to see and or admit it?

Why do so many that say God is their Father fight to keep the moniker of “sinner?”

Why do they fight to keep the right to believe they are powerless in the sight of sin?

What does the grace they received actually produce?

If grace is not producing righteous behavior, did they receive it in vain, if indeed they truly received it?

Selah

John further states the authentic teknon of God cannot sin because God’s seed is in him! This is obviously referring to the practice of sinning, not the rare exception of sinning.

Selah

“Rare exception?” Yes, rare exception!

1 John 2 NAS – “1 My little children [teknion], I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; 2 and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world.”

John writes teknon children know sinning is not permissible by God [“may not sin”]. He then states, “if anyone sins.” Why did the Holy [HOLY] Spirit inspire John to write “IF anyone sins?” Why not write, “WHEN anyone sins?” Because sinning is not becoming to a saint [holy person]!

Just because Jesus is the propitiation for “our” sins does not mean God permits us to sin!

The propitiational work of Jesus was in destroying sin! Remember?

Propitiation means among other things, atonement. At-One-Ment!

What is meant is we are one with the One who is our propitiation! So how can we continue to practice sin when we are one with the sinless One?

Does practice make perfect? It makes perfect sense to God!

Does it make perfect sense to you?

Receive and steward God’s passion, power, presence, priority, process, promises, protection, provision, pruning, purging, purity, and purpose!

Dr. Kevin M. Drury, DMin
A radical spiritual revolutionary
Revolution Movement Co-Founder
http://www.revolutionmovement.org
kdrury@revolutionmovement.org

You say you want a revolution! Join our movement and turn your world upside down so God can turn His world right side up!

Friend of Sinners?

Posted on by under Bible, Christian, Christianity, Commitment, Covenant, Disciple, Discipleship, Excellence, Faithful, LifeGiving, Mandate, Mature, Maturing, Message, Mission, Movement, Revolution, Righteousness, School Of The Spirit, Teamwork, Training, Transformation

I have been thinking about the phrase, “friend of sinners” again.

I have heard for most of my 40 years of being a Christian that Christ Jesus is a friend of sinners. Is He?

I don’t think Jesus is a friend of sinners. Jesus is a sinner’s Savior. But friend, I don’t think so. If Jesus befriends a sinner it is to save Him from his sin and lead him to his ultimate place of divine purpose, not just be his friend.

We will see how Jesus defines friendship later in this blog.

Now, if you want to say that Jesus was, and is friendly toward sinners I will wholeheartedly agree with you. Jesus is not mean spirited toward those who live a life of sin, or who take advantage of others for the sake of increasing their wealth. But to insinuate that Jesus would ever be “in league with,” or, “to be an associate or companion of” sinners is a misuse of Jesus’ character, nature, mission, mandate, and message.

Jesus never refers to Himself as a friend of sinners. Never!

There are two texts where Jesus brings up what other people say about Him as it pertains to being a friend of sinners. Both of those texts include tax collectors.

Matthew 11

“16 But to what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the market places, who call out to the other children, 17 and say, ‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn.’ 18 For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon!’ 19 The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Behold, a gluttonous man and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds.”

Luke 7

“31 To what then shall I compare the men of this generation, and what are they like? 32 They are like children who sit in the market place and call to one another, and they say, ‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not weep.’ 33 For John the Baptist has come eating no bread and drinking no wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon!’ 34 The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Behold, a gluttonous man and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ 35 Yet wisdom is vindicated by all her children.”

Did you notice how Jesus said that His generation said things that were not correct about John or Himself? Things have not necessarily changed have they? People are still saying wrong things about John and Jesus. Both John and Jesus came preaching leave your life of sin behind, and reach out and receive the kingdom of heaven [God].

Wisdom is vindicated by all her deeds [children]! What does that even mean? One thing it means is just because the crowd [generation] says something is true does not make it true. We must look at the life and ministry of Jesus in what He did and what He said to discover truth.

When we misunderstand what John’s mission was – to prepare a people for the Lord Jesus Christ, and what Jesus’ mission was [is] – to prepare God’s people to discover the place of purpose God saves them to find – we mistake our purpose as being one day getting into a place called heaven instead of everyday getting heaven into earth.

Here are several more references where Jesus coupled tax collectors and sinners [Gentiles] together.

Matthew 5

Be Like Dad

“43 You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46 For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47 If you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? 48 Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.“

This text has to do with representing the Father as mature sons by not responding in like manner to those who are mistreating you. This is about operating out of the Spirit of the Father not the spirit of the world. This is about mature love, and not about befriending those who are evil and or just unrighteous.

Matthew 18

Keep Corruption out of My Community

“15 If your brother sins, go and show him his fault in private; if he listens to you, you have won your brother. 16 But if he does not listen to you, take one or two more with you, so that by the mouth of two or three witnesses every fact may be confirmed. 17 If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. 18 Truly I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven. 19 Again I say to you, that if two of you agree on earth about anything that they may ask, it shall be done for them by My Father who is in heaven. 20 For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst.”

‘The church’ may be the entire body, or it may be those who are the overseers and who are ultimately responsible before Jesus, the Chief Shepherd and Head of the church.

Binding and loosing here refers to stewarding the culture within the community in a local church based on what heaven allows or disallows.

Being in agreement means keeping the community of covenant keepers free of those who want to corrupt that community. Unity with heaven is a prerequisite to maintaining purity in God’s people.

The authentic church is not necessarily found in large numbers, but in the several covenant keepers who are synergizing with Him by the Holy Spirit! “Keep the unity of the Spirit” [it is the Spirit’s unity we are to protect].

Jesus’ presence is predicated on purity, not performance!

We see from Jesus that an unrepentant “brother” is to be treated [viewed, regarded as] a pagan [someone who worships false gods], and a tax collector. This means they must be treated like they are unsaved, because their soul is in danger.

Gentiles [non-Jews] were viewed as subhuman and even as animals [dogs] by the Jews! Racism is not about some modern fake white privilege. It is about the darkness of someone’s heart, regardless of their ethnicity.

Tax collectors were Jews who sold their souls to Rome in order to pad their pockets by adding additional fees or taxes to the taxes Rome required them to collect from the Jews. This was lower than low and in some circles they were worse than a Gentile.

Matthew 18 is about ex-communication and disassociation in hopes that the unrepentant brother would eventually respond in a way that protects the community he or she was once involved in, and claimed to love being in. If they refuse then the community must reject them because of their behavior. [See 1 Corinthians 5 where this process was not followed so Paul, as the spiritual father over the work, had to step in as judge].

Jesus never associated with sinners just for the sake of association, and He does not call us to do that either. Every contact Jesus made with those who did not know or love Him was redemptive, and in some cases resulted in a rebuke. This means Jesus had, and still has an agenda – to save sinners, even tax collectors!

He called Matthew, a tax collector, to be one of His original disciples. We will see later what Matthew heard about friendship with Jesus. We must learn that salvation is not about where God delivers us from, but who we become so that He can deliver us into the very place of purpose He saved us.

Mark 2

“14 As He passed by, He saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting in the tax booth, and He said to him, ‘Follow Me!’ And he got up and followed Him. 15 And it happened that He was reclining at the table in his house, and many tax collectors and sinners were dining with Jesus and His disciples; for there were many of them, and they were following Him. 16 When the scribes of the Pharisees saw that He was eating with the sinners and tax collectors, they said to His disciples, ‘Why is He eating and drinking with tax collectors and sinners ?’ 17 And hearing this, Jesus said to them, ‘It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick; I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.'”

Do you remember the Matthew 11 and Luke 7 texts above. Mark says the scribes and Pharisees [representing the generation Matthew and Luke wrote about] asked the twelve about Jesus’ eating and drinking with tax collectors and sinners.

This text clearly reveals Jesus’ heart for and purpose for being with tax collectors and sinners.  Jesus’ spending time with them was  “to call” them, and in His calling them He calls them “sick”. Jesus references Himself as a physician. This Greek word is iatrós / ee-at-ros’ and it means: to cure; heal; to make whole; to free from errors and sins; to bring about one’s salvation.

Nothing in this text indicates Jesus was palling around or fellowshipping with these tax collectors and sinners [who by the way were friends of Matthew’s], just for the sake of spending time with them. Jesus redeemed His time in hopes of redeeming those He deemed sick.

Additionally, Jesus connects righteous living with health, and sinful living with sickness. So, Jesus does not come to initially call those who are healthy [in right relationship with Him]. He comes to initially call those who don’t have a right relationship with Him to give them a chance to get and remain healthy and whole [right with Him].

Mark says of these friends of Matthew, “there were many of them, and they were following Him.” The word follow is the Greek word akolouthéō / ak-ol-oo-theh’-o which means: to join one as a disciple; become or be a disciple; side with; attend to; walk the same path or way.

This a different Greek word than what is used for those who are disciples of Jesus. That word is mathētḗs / math-ay-tes’ which means among other things: to understand what you are learning.

So, these sinners and tax collectors were being called into discipleship but had not yet chosen to be Jesus’ disciples. They may have been following Jesus but had not yet committed to what Jesus requires of all of His disciples.

How long did they follow we do not know? We do not know whether they gave up their lifestyle as sinners and tax collectors. What we do know is that Jesus called them, not to be His friend, but to be healed of their sinful behavior so they could be whole, to become His disciple, and to continue to grow in their relationship to Him as they let go of and leave behind their past life.

We get more information on Jesus’s requirements to be His disciple when He said this to the Jews in Judah who had believed Him, – “31 If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” [John 8]

John said the Jews “believed Him,” not “just believed in Him.”

Do you believe Jesus?

What does your belief produce?

So many modern Christians have no idea what it means to believe God. When it was used in the first century it meant: trust in and fidelity to. Fidelity means the quality of being faithful to; to be accurate in all the details.

To “continue in My word” does not mean commit to continually reading the word. It means commit to becoming what the word requires of all those who say they have committed their life to Christ.

I tell people often, my mandate from Jesus is to go and make disciples [to Him]. My mandate is not to go and make converts, church members or even friends. I am commissioned to make disciples and to teach them everything Jesus commanded His original disciples. If ‘we’ happen to be friends during or after that, praise the Lord. If not, praise the Lord. I will not allow ‘friendship’ to get in the way of my personal discipleship to Jesus, or my discipleship of others to Jesus.

I have lost a lot of ‘friends’ over this stance! Have you? By the way, Jesus, because of His stance did too, and still does!

Jesus, speaking to His original disciples, including Matthew the ex-tax collector, said this about being His friend. “You are My friends if you do what I command you.“ [John 15:14]

Hmmm! So, even Jesus’ disciples are not His friends if they refuse to obey what He commands.

So much for hanging out ‘for hanging out’ sakes! For heaven’s sake!

“Friend!” That is an endearing term is it not? Yet, Jesus told a parable in Matthew 22 that should shock us all into a different reality if we believe friendship with God is whatever we want it to be or define it to be.

“11 But when the king came in to look over the dinner guests, he saw a man there who was not dressed in wedding clothes, 12 and he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you come in here without wedding clothes?’ And the man was speechless. 13 Then the king said to the servants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ 14 For many are called, but few are chosen.”

Now, we can discuss the theological aspects of who this “friend” was and how he came to be in the wedding celebration dinner, or we can simply look at what Jesus is communicating here – and that is this – He determines who remains in His celebration.

In other words, accepting His invitation to attend, and entering His celebration is not His goal. His goal is, is the person worthy to remain in His celebration. Something else that jumps out at me in this text – Jesus commanded His slaves to bind His friend, and not just throw him or her out of the celebration, but to throw him or her into outer darkness.

So, who was the authentic friend of Jesus, the “friend” or the slaves who obeyed Jesus?

It is time for you and me to stop lowering the standard to what we can handle, and start rightly handling the word of truth. Jesus is not everyone’s Friend! And Jesus does not have friends who do not obey Him. The first test is usually, “You must be born again.” Or, you must undergo an authentic spiritual conversion. That is what Jesus told Nicodemus in John 3. In fact, one cannot even see to enter the kingdom without that experience.

Look at what Matthew, the ex-tax collector wrote about conversion – “Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.” [Matthew 18:3]

Remember, conversion [being spiritually born again] is required for anyone to see to enter the spiritual kingdom John the Baptist and Jesus preached.

Have you been converted? Great! What are you becoming?

I am not going down the road of the revelation of this statement either but suffice it to say Jesus revealed here that conversion is not the goal. Growing up, maturing, and becoming responsible is the goal. Apparently, according to Matthew, Jesus said conversion alone does not qualify a person to enter the kingdom God.

Those who do not, will not, or refuse to obey Jesus regardless of what it costs them are NOT His friends!

Receive and steward God’s passion, power, presence, priority, process, promises, protection, provision, pruning, purging, purity and purpose!

Dr. Kevin M. Drury, DMin
A radical spiritual revolutionary
Revolution Movement Co-Founder
http://www.revolutionmovement.org
kdrury@revolutionmovement.org

You say you want a revolution! Join our movement and turn your world upside down so God can turn His world right side up!