Tag Archives: Cross

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!

The Blood or the Boondoggle

Posted on by under Bible, Christian, Disciple, Discipleship, Excellence, faith, LifeGiving, maturity, Righteousness, School Of The Spirit, teaching, Training

There is a move afoot within certain segments of Christianity that gives intellectual, emotional and material support to something that is very grievous to God. This move is a counterfeit move to genuine moves of God.

That move is the reconstitution of the Law, Levitical priesthood and the animal sacrifices associated with it.

Christians who offer support for this move on any level are in danger of trampling underfoot the blood of Jesus. Christians need to take a serious look at their loyalty to the One who shed His blood to redeem them from sin, and a senseless religious culture that has no life in it.

Hebrews 10

“1 For the Law, since it has only a shadow of the good things to come and not the very form of things, can never, by the same sacrifices which they offer continually year by year, make perfect those who draw near. 2 Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, because the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have had consciousness of sins. 3 But in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins year by year. 4 For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. 5 Therefore, when He comes into the world, He says, “Sacrifice and offering You have not desired, But a body You have prepared for Me; 6 In whole burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin you have taken no pleasure. 7 “Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come (In the scroll of the book it is written of Me) To do Your will, O God.’ ” 8 After saying above, “Sacrifices and offerings and whole burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin you have not desired, nor have you taken pleasure in them” (which are offered according to the Law), 9 then He said, “Behold, I have come to do Your will.” He takes away the first in order to establish the second. 10 By this will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.”

This text is just one of many in the New Testament that prove that the only blood that has ever counted in the court room of God’s Department of Justice is the blood of Jesus. Notice what Jesus is quoted as saying.

  • “Sacrifice and offering [of animals] You [Father] have not desired”
  • “A [human] body You [Father] have prepared for Me”
  • “You [Father] have taken no pleasure in whole burnt offerings and [animal] sacrifices for sin”
  • “You [Father] have not desired or taken pleasure in the Law’s requirement to sacrifice animals”
  • “[Father] I have come to do Your will”

The writer of Hebrews makes these stark statements:

  • “The Law was only a shadow”
  • “The Law was not the good things to come [future of when the Law was given]”
  • “The Law is not the form [image, likeness] of things [to come]”
  • “The Law can never make something or someone perfect”
    • Which infers what, or who was to come would make things perfect
  • “The Law kept the worshiper conscious of sin”
  • “The Law reminds the worshiper they are a sinner”
  • “It is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins”
  • “Therefore when He comes into the world”
    • Inferring a Perfect One was coming into the world
  • “He [the Perfect One coming into the world] would take away the first [lifeless Law] in order to establish [set in permanently] the second”
    • The second is the sacrifice of Jesus’s body [blood] once for all

Jesus is called the Lamb slain before the foundation of the world. When He came into the world it was to bring into time that which was instituted in eternity past. The “once for all” statement is referring to the eternal aspect of His bodily sacrifice that manifested in time nearly 2,000 years ago. This truth tells us that the Law, the Levitical priesthood and all the animal sacrifices point people to an eternal past, present and future reality.

The Law, Levitical priesthood and all the animal sacrifices were a sign to a past decision that was going to manifest in a future time in the fulness of time. When the fulness of time came, as per God’s timing, Jesus entered the world as a human being to lay down His life as the life giving Lamb of God.

To reinstitute the Law, Levitical priesthood and the animal sacrifices associated with them is an affront to God the Father, the Cross and blood of Jesus, and the Holy Spirit by which Christ was sanctified to God. You cannot hold onto the resurrected Christ and hold onto a dead religious system. You must choose Christ or Judaism!

Hebrews 9

“11 But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things to come, He entered through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this creation; 12 and not through the blood of goats and calves, but through His own blood, He entered the holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption. 13 For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling those who have been defiled sanctify for the cleansing of the flesh, 14 how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?”

The writer of Hebrews states in this text:

  • Jesus appears as a high priest
    • In other texts this is explained in more detail
  • Jesus entered through a greater and more perfect tabernacle
    • This tabernacle was not made with human hands
      • This speaks both of the heavenly tabernacle that was the model for the tabernacle of Moses and the temple David wanted to build
      • It also speaks of the human body [temple] that God used to tabernacle with man through Jesus
        • Man did not build either of those tabernacles
    • This tabernacle is not of this [natural] creation
  • The blood of animals and the ashes of heifers are inferior to the blood of Christ
  • Those can never cleanse the conscience from dead works
  • Jesus shed His own blood to sanctify believers
  • Jesus offered Himself without blemish through the eternal Spirit
    • This qualified Him to be the Lamb slain to pay for all sin
    • Jesus’ offering is the only offering to clean a conscience from dead [worthless and lifeless] works
    • Jesus’ offering is the only offering where we can serve the living God

Why on earth are Christians supporting this failed religious system? They are either deceived or they have deserted Christ. Neither of those options are good.

With all the compassion I have I warn you to stay away from anyone who is providing support for the heresy of Jewish religious worship. There is no life in it and it will disqualify you from the life that is in Christ Jesus.

The Book of Hebrews was written to exalt Christ and dethrone Jewish worship. I encourage you to take the time to read this great Book. Read it slowly and pay attention to the warnings along with the exaltation of Jesus Christ.

Look at the early warning statements given by the writer of Hebrews.

  • 2:1 – “we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard”
  • 2:1 – “so that we do not drift away from it”
  • 2:3 – “how will we escape”
  • 2:3 – “if we neglect so great a salvation”
  • 3:6 – “whose house we are, if we hold fast our confidence and the boast of our hope firm until the end”
  • 3:8 – “Do not harden your hearts”
  • 3:12 – “Take care, brethren”
  • 3:12 – “that there not be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God”

The writer of Hebrews continues throughout his epistle giving warning to his readers to remain loyal to Christ and run from those who were trying to draw them back under the boondoggle of Judaism.

And now those of you who read this blog are warned. Is it Christ or compromise?

Keep HIS Faith! Keep HIS Passion! Keep HIS Purpose!

Dr. Kevin M. Drury, DMin

A Hisstorymaker

 

 

 

 

Within! With Out?

Posted on by under Bible, Christian, Excellence, Hard Work, LifeGiving, Righteousness, School Of The Spirit, Teamwork, Training

Whatever your interior reality is will determine what you release into the reality that is your life! Whatever is closed to you will only be opened to you as you open up to the possibility that its reality is not yours!

Joshua 6

“1 Now Jericho was tightly shut because of the sons of Israel; no one went out and no one came in. 2 The Lord said to Joshua, See, I have given Jericho into your hand, with its king and the valiant warriors.'”

Have you ever noticed that the very thing that God says is yours becomes ‘tightly shut’ when you show up to possess it?

Jericho was closed! Jericho was not going to open up simply because those who were given it showed up to receive it!

Jericho was a city that was the initial city the children of Israel were to conquer in order for them to conquer the land God promised Abram and his Seed.

The physical land of promise was not the entire land that was promised. We learn this from Paul in Romans 4:13. “For the promise to Abraham or to his descendants that he would be heir of the world was not through the Law, but through the righteousness of faith.”

So, just like Jericho was not the extent of Abraham’s physical seed’s inheritance, neither was Canaan land the extent of what God promised and showed Abraham He was giving to him.

Seeing is believing!

The faith teachers teach that faith believes before you see.

Yet, when God was promising Abram and Joshua what was theirs by a gift He showed them limited natural things to reveal the scope of His promises to them.

Genesis 13

“14 The Lord said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him, ‘Now lift up your eyes and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward; 15 for all the land which you see, I will give it to you and to your descendants forever.'”

God then instructed Abram to put feet to his faith. “‘Arise, walk about the land through its length and breadth; for I will give it to you.'” [Verse 17]

In my upcoming Book, Who Is The Israel of God, And What Does That Have To Do With Me, I talk about how Abram had an encounter with the Lord on the Cross.

God told Abram to look north, south, east and west for all the land that he could “see” would be given to him and to his Seed forever. He then told Abram to “Arise and walk across the land, or carry the cross he saw on the land of promise.”

That gifted land represented the entire planet. But Abram had to obey God’s command to see it and walk across what he could see in the natural.

God will give a glimpse of what He is giving and commands us to see to the farthest regions of what He calls us to reach and realize.

Seeing is believing!

Joshua saw a walled city tightly secured and impenetrable in the natural!

What has God shown you that looks impossible from your vantage point?

What has God given you that you know there is no way in the natural you can take [receive] what God has promised you?

What do you see when you look at the very place, thing, or people that God says is yours?

Seeing is believing!

I believe this is one reason Jesus would later say, “According to your faith will it be done to [for] you.”

Faith does not deny what is naturally confronting you. Faith sees beyond any impossibility to what God says is true, and then it motivates you to move forward with confidence that every challenge will be overcome.

Faith comes [is revealed and received] by hearing what God says is the truth. Faith is  activated when we move out from where we are to where God says we are supposed to be, and into what we are supposed to be doing.

Jericho was tightly shut! Its walls were so huge they could not be penetrated naturally!

How was Joshua and the children of Israel supposed to take it? First they had to face the obvious which was what they saw in the natural. Second, they had to believe God by believing that God knew how to overcome the challenges posed in the natural. Third, they had to hear what God commanded them to do. Fourth, they had to obey all that God said for them to do. And lastly, they had to begin walking!

That last step is usually the hardest step. I know I listed it last but the first step forward is always the hardest step you will take. Talking yourself into starting begins with changing your self talk!

“I can’t!” “I’m not!” “It won’t!” “It can’t!” These are not the motivating messages that inspire an invasion into the impossible!

Now to the title Within! With Out?

Jesus said, “The kingdom is within you.” He also said, “You must be born again in order to see the kingdom.” He also said, You must be born of the Spirit and water to enter the kingdom.” [Luke 17:21; John 3:3, 5]

You will never enter what you cannot, or will not see!

If you do not win the war within you will never win the war around you!

You will do without until you overcome what is within you that contradicts what God says to you!

If you can not see the possibilities arise within you ,you will never see the impossibilities fall around you!

The kingdom of God within you is given to you to see what God has given to you that does not yet have His kingdom within it!

Getting you to heaven is not God’s goal! Getting heaven in you so you can reveal and release heaven here on earth is God’s goal! That is why Jesus said to pray, “Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done IN earth as it IS IN heaven.” [Matthew 6:10 KJVB]

Why do you think God commanded Joshua and the children of Israel to walk around Jericho one time for six straight days?

Why do you think God commanded Joshua and the children of Israel to walk around Jericho seven times on the seventh day?

Remember, God told Moses no work was to be done on the seventh day as it was a day of rest. Yet, on this seventh day they were to work [walk] more than on the first six days of work. To me this proves once and for all and beyond any shadow of a doubt that Sabbath rest has nothing to do with a specific day. Sabbath rest has always been about obeying God. The writer of Hebrews makes this abundantly clear to those who have the ability to see what God had revealed.

Hebrew’s says to labor to enter God’s rest! What does labor and rest have in common? Do you see the conundrum?

God commanded Joshua and the children of Israel to walk around Jericho a total of 13 times before the miracle would happen. Why thirteen? Well six is the number of fallen man and seven is the number of God’s perfection. So we could say God one upped fallen man!

Thirteen is also a number that represents rebellion! For instance:

  • Nimrod was the 13th in Ham’s lineage. Nimrod tried to replace God!
  • The valley of Hinnom or its variation occurs 13 times in Scripture! Hinnom is the place rebellious Jews burned their children to the false god Molech!
  • In the first century Gehenna, the Greek equivalent of Hinnom, represented the place of future punishment for rebelliousness!
  • In Romans chapter 1 Paul lists 23 characteristics of sinful people. Hater’s of God is number 13!
  • The dragon of Revelation is mentioned 13 times!

You should get the picture [pun intended]! So God commanded the war against rebellion to begin with extreme obedience. Everything to be overcome must be overtaken by the opposite spirit the spiritual war involves!

Joshua:

  • Don’t look at those walls!
  • Don’t look at those gates!
  • Don’t look at those warriors!
  • Don’t look at that king!

Joshua:

  • See the city that I have given to you!

If you pass this test then every test after that will not seem so terrible!

See, I believe that each time Joshua and the children of Israel walked around that city they saw something they did not see the previous times they walked it.

I believe each time they walked around that city they began to see what God was saying they were receiving.

I believe as they saw less of what was in their way they began to believe that what was beyond what they were seeing was within their reach!

What is within your reach that you still don’t see because what you are focusing on is keeping you from seeing what God has given you?

Seeing is believing!

Dr. Kevin M. Drury, DMin

A Hisstorymaker

 

 

Context Is Crucial To Understanding

Posted on by under Bible, Christian, Excellence, LifeGiving, Righteousness, School Of The Spirit, Training

You will never understand me if you do not understand this blog. There are so many Christians that do not have the stomach for warfare. They have no situational awareness of spiritual dynamics or demonstrative tough love.

What I mean by what I just said is this, modern Christianity has been infiltrated by a political spirit which says we must “reach across the aisle” in order to come to an agreement we can all live with. Friends, that is not why Jesus came and it is most certainly not how Jesus lived His life. Jesus came to take over!

Jesus came for conviction, not consensus! So repent!

Everyone who does not surrender surrenders their right to represent Him in the world!

To the Christians wanting to “reach across the aisle”, doing good equals being nice, and being kind means never speaking into the spiritual malaise and compromise in a region.

By the way, there is only one verse in the Bible with the word ‘nice’ in it and it is not a nice verse.

Jeremiah 12:6 NAS

“For even your brothers and the household of your father, even they have dealt treacherously with you, even they have cried aloud after you. Do not believe them, although they may say nice things to you.”

There are prophetic voices today that are called to speak into the spiritual superficiality of the saints in their sphere of influence. People not in tune with the Voice the prophetic voices are proclaiming find it easy to sit in judgement, all the while railing against the judgment prophetic voices are adjudicating.

Can’t we all get along is not a Biblical or Christian core value. It is a seeker sensitive superficial substitute for kingdom love and confrontation. It is powerless to change a life for it only holds a form of godliness while denying God’s power. Paul said to have nothing to do with people holding on to that subversion of kingdom life. I choose not to hang around with or listen to anyone who has a form of being godly without really representing God.

Too many Christians and their leaders are more concerned with advancing their kingdom and padding their pocket book than advancing God’s kingdom and reproducing Him in His people. Convenience is their core value and making sure they have their supplies stock piled controls their ability to speak truth when truth is not in vogue.

There is a gross misunderstanding on what “doing good” means. Jesus went about “doing good” but He also healed all those “oppressed with the devil.” This means so much more than casting devils out of people. I believe it includes that but advances to the place of casting people out of the devil.

Kevin, what do you mean? What I mean is Jesus functioned in full deliverance mode. He delivered people oppressed by the devil but He told people to stop playing around with the devil.

Here is a verse that is quoted often but misunderstood, misdiagnosed and misapplied.

Galatians 6:10

“So then, while we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, and especially to those who are of the household  of the  faith.”

What does doing good mean? And do you see how the good that is done is done for the good of everyone?

First of all, doing good Biblically has everything to do with setting and upholding a righteous standard. It involves doing the honorable thing that brings forth excellence and accomplishes the greatest benefit for everyone involved! Sometimes ‘doing good’ means someone gets their feelings hurt. Like those folks in the Temple who watched as Jesus tossed them and all their stuff out of His House!

For those who are not getting it yet, our standard is the life and ministry of Jesus, and the Word of God.

Secondly, the word kindness in the New Testament has everything to do with being fit for service, being useful and making the most of God using us to represent Him in the world. It also means ensuring those in your sphere of influence are fit for service and useful to God. There is no room for the unfit or useless in the fight of faith, or the fight for faith!

Jude 1 Weymouth

“33 Dear friends, although I was eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I found it necessary to write to you and urge you to continue your vigorous defense of the faith that was passed down to the saints once and for all. 4 For some people have slipped in among you unnoticed. They were written about long ago as being deserving of this condemnation because they are ungodly. They turn the grace of our God into uncontrollable lust and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.”

The greatest danger to Christianity are Christians who “slipped in unnoticed.” To slip in unnoticed one would have to have an appearance that creates a sense of security, all the while carry dangerous core values of compromise.

These slippery pretenders turn the grace of God into uncontrollable lust and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ. By the way, Jude was writing to “believers”. These false believers believe that because God has already forgiven every sin of every person in Christ they can continue living like they have never personally met Jesus, much less gotten saved.

Lust does not necessarily have to do with illicit sexual behavior, although it can include it. Lust is a heart matter than drives a person to pursue that which is not theirs, or those who are not theirs. A person can lust for happiness and pursue relationships with people who will meet their felt needs but turn them away from the Lordship of Jesus.

They also “deny” our only Master and Lord. They don’t deny His existence for that would immediately give them away as pretenders. No, these smooth talkers look like saints but live like devils, in the church.

Jude says they are “deserving of condemnation because they are ungodly.” In other words, they are not like God nor are they really God’s. Only those who are “in Christ” are free from condemnation. When someone says, “I am a Christian” but are living like a sinner then condemnation is their reward.

Paul writes stating these type of people “dilute” the message of the Cross. Reducing the powerful effect of the Cross of Christ can manifest in many ways. One of those is to lower love to a level less than how Jesus demonstrated love. Some of his “love” was very confrontational and emotional! God’s love is not benign, wimpy or without an expected end.

God’s love manifested in the Man Christ Jesus so God could redeem fallen man! God did not send Love for the sake of running a pointless errand. Some Christians have reduced Love to something without real meaning, or purpose. As I have said many times before, there are way too many Christians who have created a Jesus made in their image.

Love came for the purpose of redemption, reconciliation, restoration, reformation and especially revolution. If your love does not include those things then your love is pointless, and redemptively powerless!

Jude writes, “to continue your vigorous defense of THE faith that was passed down once for all.”

To “defend vigorously” literally means to enter into the struggle for the integrity of THE faith. If you are not willing to enter that battle then it is better for you to stay out of the struggle. It comes from two Greek words – 1] to endeavor with strenuous zeal, to contend with all adversaries, and to compete against all opponents; and 2] to position yourself in, on, near, above, against, across and before that which is being contended against.

This word literally means to engage in close hand combat! Are you up for that? If not, stay out of the way! Everything and everyone that resists THE faith and the faithful is to be exposed, uprooted and removed. It may take until harvest time but it will happen.

If you cannot believe it just read how Jesus and the apostles dealt with those who were in their way! You will have to read without all your religiously biased opinions.

This ‘the faith’ is the one Jesus lived, modeled, died to defend, rose from the dead for, ascended into heaven in order to pour the Holy Spirit out on saints who are called to go and represent Him to a world He loves.

There are a lot of “faiths” preached but they are not congruent with THE faith Jesus handed off to the saints.

For instance, Paul  exhorts Timothy, the apostle in Ephesus with this,

1 Timothy 1

“18 This command I entrust to you, Timothy, my son, in accordance with the prophecies previously made concerning you, that by them you fight the good fight, 19 keeping faith and a good conscience, which some have rejected and suffered shipwreck in regard to their  faith. 20 Among  these are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan, so that they will be taught not to blaspheme.”

Paul felt the need to “command” his spiritual son Timothy to do some very specific things.

  • Use the prophecies spoken to him to fight the good fight
  • Keep faith and a good conscience

But then he tells Timothy something so “not Christian”, at least to the “contemporary”, “relevant”, and “seeker” Christian. Paul handed Hymenaeus and Alexander over to Satan so they would stop blaspheming. To blaspheme means they were saying things that were not true. Misrepresenting truth can begin benignly but end up being a malignancy! Today we would call these men fake news reporters.

Hymenaeus’ name means belonging to marriage. He was a heretic because he presented himself as being a legitimate part of the Bride of Christ. He misrepresented Christ to people in the Body and misrepresented himself to the Body. He was a Christian in name only.

Alexander’s name means man defender. His sin must have been siding with Hymenaeus instead of upholding God’s honor and the honor of God’s man, Paul. Alexander was a man pleaser so he lived his life defending men who did not defend God.

Paul “handed” them over to Satan. Paul simply removed his apostolic covering from their lives and Satan had free reign to mistreat them. Paul had already turned a non repentant believer in Corinth over to Satan for not repenting of his grievous sin.

To “hand over” means to put into the use of another. In essence what this means is Paul’s feeling was – “If you want to behave like the devil then I take my hands off of you and place you in the hands of the one you are truly serving.”

How is that for seeker sensitive Christian love? The problem with this kind of loving discipline is in our day there are hundreds of churches a “Christian” can run to to escape the discipline of the Lord.

There are churches in every town that would love to have another body to count as they count the number of people attending their “worship” services. In the first century this type of behavior was not possible. There was one church in every city so it was very easy to pastor the population.

The writer of Hebrews details which faith Jude is writing about:

Hebrews 2 Amplified

“1 SINCE ALL this is true, we ought to pay much closer attention than ever to the truths that we have heard, lest in any way we drift past [them] and slip away. 2 For if the message given through angels [the Law spoken by them to Moses] was authentic and proved sure, and every violation and disobedience received an appropriate (just and adequate) penalty, 3 How shall we escape [appropriate retribution] if we neglect and refuse to pay attention to such a great salvation [as is now offered to us, letting it drift past us forever]? For it was declared at first by the Lord [Himself], and it was confirmed to us and proved to be real and genuine by those who personally heard [Him speak]. 4 [Besides this evidence] it was also established and plainly endorsed by God, Who showed His approval of it by signs and wonders and various miraculous manifestations of [His] power and by imparting the gifts of the Holy Spirit [to the believers] according to His own will.”

Look at the warnings and the instructions on the faith!

Warnings: About the great gift of salvation [THE faith]

  • We must pay much closer attention
  • We must not drift past
  • We must not slip away
  • How shall we escape
  • If we neglect
  • If we refuse to pay attention

Instructions: About the great salvation [THE faith]

  • It [message of salvation / message of THE faith]
  • Was declare at first by the Lord Himself – Originator of THE faith
  • It was continued by those who heard Him – 2nd generation of the keepers of THE faith
  • It was confirmed to us – 3rd generation of the keepers of THE faith
  • It was established and endorsed by God
  • God approved of it
  • By signs, wonders, various miraculous manifestations of His power
  • By imparting the gifts of the Holy Spirit to the believers according to His own will

My friends, that is THE ONLY Faith that is relevant! It was the only relevant faith in the 1st century and it is the only relevant faith in the 21st century.

Is that the faith that you profess?

Is that the faith that you defend?

If not, then you did not get the THE faith Jesus started or you are too compromised to defend God’s honor!

Dr. Kevin M. Drury, DMin

A Hisstorymaker

 

 

Who Wounded Me, And Why?

Posted on by under Bible, Christian, Excellence, LifeGiving, Righteousness, School Of The Spirit, Training

There are a lot of wounded Christians in the world!

Many suffer wounds from self inflicted poor choices!

Others suffer from wounds inflicted by insecure leaders!

Still others suffer from wounds from immature believers, or unbelievers!

There are Christians who have been, or continue to be wounded [persecuted] for their faith in Christ Jesus!

And then there are the ones who have been wounded by God and Godly leaders!

Please do not misunderstand my intentions. I am not writing to cast fault on or castigate anyone. I am a person, a Godly leader, who has wounded people and has been wounded by people.

Some of the wounds I have inflicted were out of my stupidity and immaturity. Other wounds have been spot on out of the word, will and ways of God.

When Godly leaders wound out of stupidity or immaturity we should quickly bring healing and restoration, or at least attempt to bring them to those we have wounded. Unfortunately, many of the wounded refuse to be restored because their wounds provide cover for their insecurities, irresponsibilities and inabilities. It is much easier to blame the leader who wounded them than to work through the issues that caused the wounds.

In this blog I want to address when Godly leaders representing God, wound people, and the proper way for the wounded to handle it in a Godly manner.

“Come, let us return to the LORD. For He has torn us,
but He will heal us; He has wounded us, but He will bandage us.”
Hosea 6:1 NAS

This verse lets us know there are times when God will wound us for the purpose of healing us in places and ways we otherwise would have never experienced.

It may be difficult to face the truth that God actually has our best interests in His heart when He wounds us, but that is the truth!

This is not to say that God will not heal a person who suffers from self-inflicted wounds, or from wounds that fall into any of the categories mentioned above. God is really good at intervening when we “deserve” it or not.

Volumes have been written and still are being written about all of the various ways Christians have been wounded. In this blog I want to address the last group, the ones that God and Godly leaders wound.

When God and Godly leaders wound us there is the possibility that genuine healing will go to the deepest places of our being where root problems exist that we may not be aware are there. These wounds have the potential to expose the real issue[s] that have plagued us in life, and in many instance for our whole life.

How we respond will determine the depth of healing we will experience and the length of time our healing will last.

Hebrews 12:4 Amplified Bible
“For the Word that God speaks is alive and full of power [making it active, operative, energizing, and effective]; it is sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating to the dividing line of the  breath of life (soul) and [the immortal] spirit, and of joints and marrow [of the deepest parts of our nature], exposing and sifting and analyzing and judging the very thoughts and purposes of the heart.”

When God speaks directly to us or indirectly though Godly leaders, those words can pierce us to the deepest parts of our being. Even “dividing soul from spirit” which is really a remarkable and necessary thing.

His word[s] “expose and sift and analyze and judge the very thoughts and purposes of the [our] heart.” God digs real deep in order to get to the real problem. Many times the real problem lies in the lies we believe. Our thoughts [dwelling on the lies] affect our purpose in life. When our heart is filled with purposes that are not Godly then God will send Godly leaders on purpose who can and will expose, sift, analyze and judge what we have allowed in our heart.

Jesus Himself said the following that we should pay careful attention to as it pertains to what we are dealing with in this blog.

“The words that I speak to you are spirit, they are life.” [John 6:63 NKJ]

The words of Jesus, which are the Word of God and the sword of the Spirit, are spirit and release life even when what He says to us hurts like crazy!

The context of His statement is Jesus was confronting the mindsets of the religiously minded, including those of His disciples. When He made this statement He had expanded the number of disciples from 12 to 82 or 84 depending on which historical information you choose to believe.

You can find all of this in John 6. Because of what Jesus was saying [teaching, releasing] the Jewish religious leaders were offended and many of His disciples walked away from Him. Turning to the 12 He said, “Do you want to go away also?”

The reason all of this happened was because they said, “This is a difficult statement; who can listen to it?” [Verse 60]

The difficult statement was about eating His flesh and drinking His blood!

The word ‘difficult’ according to Thayer’s Dictionary of New Testament Words means: hard, harsh, violent, rough, intolerant, offensive. The root word means: From the hip to the toes.

In other words, Jesus’ words were strategically placed to affect their walk and what they produced. Toes help to bring balance and traction when we walk or run. The hip region involves the reproductive region. Jesus was dealing with their inability to function when their feelings got hurt. He does not want or need disciples who whine and complain when they hear things that wound them.

Look at what happened on the Day of Pentecost in the first century –

“36 Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.” 37 Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, ‘Men and brethren, what shall we do?’ 38 Then Peter said to them, ‘Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.’ 40 And with many other words he testified and exhorted them, saying, ‘Be saved from this perverse generation.’ 41 Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them.” [Acts 2 NKJ]

Peter said some things that were very hard for the Jewish people to hear.

There are those today that cannot face the force of these words Peter spoke.

“Therefore let ALL THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom YOU crucified, both Lord and Christ.”

There are many even today in the Christian Zionist and Messianic Jewish movements that refuse to hear these sharp words. People want to placate the Jews and eliminate the full responsibility of every Jewish person because in their mind only a few Jews were responsible for the murder of Jesus.

God and Peter had a different position than the Christian Zionists and Messianic Jews of today. The Jews of Peter’s day even had a different opinion because his words pierced through the religious rhetoric they had lived with their entire lives.

God’s words spoken out of Peter’s mouth ‘cut to the [their] heart’ to the point that they asked Peter and the rest of those standing there, ‘What shall we do?’ The word ‘cut’ or ‘pierce’ is the Greek word katanýssō [kat-an-oos’-so] and it means to pain the mind sharply; to agitate violently. Part of the root word means to pierce with severe and even deadly wounds. Ouch!

Peter was not concerned about the emotional well being of those Jews in Jerusalem that day. He was more concerned with their eternal well being.

God’s word like a sword cut them deeply and thoroughly and resulted in a response that led to the redemption of those who ‘gladly received his word.’ In other words, Peter’s words produced death and life all at the same time. Come on somebody!

What happened to those who did not gladly receive his sharp word? We don’t know but what we do know is they did not get right with God right then. Hopefully they had other opportunities that they took full advantage of later, and before it was too late for them.

Today, it is rare indeed for church leaders to be so bold when addressing the people assembled to hear them.

I firmly believe that too many Christians are emotionally driven to the point that there has been an effeminization of the church. Feel good Christianity is ruining Biblical Christianity.

Where are the real warriors who can take a blow and not blow up?

Where are the manly men who when wounded don’t run for cover and cower in their hurt feelings?

Where are the David’s who stand in the service of the Saul’s they are assigned to serve even after multiple attempts to take their lives?

Where are the John the Baptist’s who understand their role and don’t get wounded by not being the main attraction?

Where are the Paul’s who when misunderstood and maligned stay faithful to their assignment?

Where are the wounded warriors who in their pain plan for promotion by helping alleviate the pain others are experiencing?

The healing that can come from the kind of wounds God inflicts will elevate us into new places and possibilities in God. Failure to be healed can lead us to more places of pain where we may never be healed.

I remember standing in a line behind a leader that I have the utmost respect for to get a meal in the house of another leader that I have the utmost respect for. The conversation moved to our children and grandchildren. I made the “mistake” of saying what so many people say, “I wished I would have had my grandchildren first.” The leader I was standing behind said, “Well, I actually enjoyed raising my children.”

I was handed an opportunity to not only hold on to an offence, but to also impale myself on that fence [play on words], if I had allowed the offense to take hold. I was wounded because I was not implying I did not enjoy my 3 children when they were younger. Because I did not take offense, the wound carried on it enabled me to see more clearly that I was not communicating my heart very well by quoting that oft quoted statement.

Why would a loving God, and loving Godly leaders, wound another Christian?

This blog will not come close to fully answering this question but I do want to address a very real problem that exists in most church communities. And that problem is: Christians who function out of their soul, and primarily their emotions, not their spirit.

Our human spirit is the place where God, who is Spirit, resides after we surrender to His Lordship in our lives. This is called in Scripture being born again, the new birth, a new creation and other monikers.

Our soul is comprised of our mind [intellect, memories, imagination, etc], our will [decision making] and our emotions [feelings].

All three of these components of our soul are vitally important to us as believers but they are never to be the leading areas of how we relate to God or other people, especially the Godly leaders that God gives us to help us mature in Him.

One problem arises when God, or one of His Godly leaders says something to us we do not want to hear. When we do not agree with what we are being told we can become defensive and from that defensive position begin building a case against the one causing us the discomfort.

When God or one of His Godly leaders say things that adversely affect our emotions, or give us instructions we do not like or agree with we are faced with a dilemma. If we do not feel like doing it, or we do not feel like it is correct, or we do not feel it is God, when God or one of His Godly leaders confront us, we can get wounded.

This is especially true when we are confronted in a way that is “not how we would have done it.” People think that if someone rebukes them they have been abused. I am not sure what they think ‘rebuke’ looks like but just the sound of it does not sound like it is fun.

Paul said, “Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove,  rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction.” [2 Timothy 4:2 NAS]

Rebuke here means to censure severely, to admonish or charge sharply.

Rebuke hurts our feelings!

Rebuke also means to raise the value of, to honor. It is actually an honor to be rebuked because the goal is the establishment of the correct value of the person rebuked. It raises their value in their own eyes. Usually a person who sees great value in a person rebukes them to shake them up in hopes they will see what the person rebuking them has seen in them.

Hurt feelings really becomes magnified when neither God, nor His Godly leaders cave to the emotional response and rejection of what they have asked, or required the person to do.

 

“But at these words he  was saddened, and he went away grieving, for he was one who owned much property.” Mark 10:22 NAS

When you read the entire context of the interaction between Jesus and the person who approached Him you discover that Jesus did not chase the person down to renegotiate the terms of following Him. What Jesus said hurt the person’s feelings. We know this because the text says ‘he was saddened’ and that he ‘went away grieving.’

When we respond out of our feelings instead of our spirit, we reject what God or Godly leaders have proposed or reveal to us is the will of God for our lives, because we don’t “feel” it.

This person had ‘much property’ and those possessions possessed him! Jesus will go after everything we possess to make sure we are totally committed to being possessed by only Him. And if our feelings get hurt oh well!

Another problem that arises when we are led by our feelings instead of our spirit is we lose sight of the heart of God and the heart of Godly leaders.

Our feelings can fool us and when that happens we look really foolish!

Our feelings make us feel like God or the Godly leader really does not have our best interests at heart. This feeling creates suspicion and then our mind [memory] kicks in to “remember” how we have been wounded in the past. Our imagination takes over to create scenarios that confirm our suspicions.

 

All of this of course is a virtual reality that has little or no basis in truth!

I have been guilty of doing this, as well as being the recipient of wounds from others who have totally created in their minds a reality that is not real.

This is a very dangerous way to operate in life, especially in the life of the community of believers that God has planted [set] us in. The enemy is more than happy to seize on our suspicions in order to separate us from the very people God has chosen to help develop godly character in us.

“Faithful are the wounds of a friend,

but the kisses of an enemy are lavish and deceitful.”

Proverbs 27:6 Amplified Bible

Contrary to the theology of many Christians, God, as a friend, will wound us. God and Godly leaders will do and say things that wound us. In the same way enemies [those pretending to be friends] will publicly “kiss” us while privately undermining us and our authority in their life or the lives of others we are leading.

Judas was valued beyond what he had proven he was worthy to be valued. Judas was a thief and a betrayer and Jesus knew it from the beginning. Jesus knowing these things about Judas did not stop Jesus from befriending and empowering him.

Judas was still in the group of 12 disciples when Jesus made this statement in John 15, “14 You are My friends if you do whatever I command you. 15 No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you.”

Did you see the requirement for friendship with Jesus? “You are My friends if you do whatever I command you.” Yikes! Yep! How did that ‘I don’t have to perform for relationship with Jesus’ theology work out for Judas? It won’t work out any better for us either!

Jesus called His disciples His friends but to be His friends they had to do what He commanded.

Kingdom leaders extend honor, trust and influence to people who have not earned it. And because of that kind of leadership they open themselves up to betrayal at the hands of those who will not grow up and out of their selfish lifestyle.

Kingdom leaders also have certain expectations of how they will be treated [valued] by those they befriend.

Behaving in this way gives place for a Judas to show up and show out but it also creates a culture where world changers can emerge as well.

Trust me – and I hope you will – there are a lot of leaders who are wounded by those they lead and many do not get the same love as those who have been wounded by a leader. There is a “well they are leaders so they can handle it” attitude in the church. Or worse, “they are a leader who probably deserves the pain they are going through.”

I am not apologizing for any leader who through their own selfishness, immaturity or irresponsibility has wounded anyone, including myself.

When we as leaders wound people out of our own stupidity and immaturity we need to do all we can to bring healing to that person or the people we have wounded. I said that earlier!

I work with both leaders and followers of leaders who have been wounded!

Kingdom leaders for the most part do handle their wounds, and they typically don’t respond in kind or run away from their assignment. A real Kingdom leader learns very early on to run to the cross and release their wounds on the One who was wounded for all of our transgressions.

Many times those who wound leaders run away at the first “wound” they receive from the leader without attempting to understand why they got wounded.

“Am I wounded because I am too sensitive or am I wounded because I just got hit with a sledgehammer [metaphorically] undeservedly?” Regardless of the reason we are wounded our first response should be – “How should I respond to my wound and the person who wounded me?” And, “Why was I wounded?”

 “Iron is made sharp with iron,
and one man is made sharp by a friend.”
Proverbs 27:17 New Life Bible

I like to describe this verse to people as – “God and Godly leaders [people] will rub you the right way.” This rubbing is intended to sharpen us and make us more brilliant [spectacular], so that we will be more effective in our kingdom assignment.

I understand that leaders are held to a higher standard and I agree we should. But that does not mean that a leader who gets trampled by those who are living out of their emotions should not be loved through the wounds they receive.

I also understand why most kingdom leaders have very few friends, and especially friends from the folks they lead. People struggle separating friendship from leadership. Both ships carry people but they may carry those people in different directions.

Leaders will invariably have to make decisions for the good of all on their ship that will not sit well with certain individuals [friends] who will not handle it well.

I am very open with the people I lead, especially those who want to “join” us as members of our church family. I say often, “I am not called to make friends. I am called to make disciples to Jesus Christ. If we happen to be friends in the process great.”

Unfortunately many people never accept this and have gotten their feelings hurt when decisions are made, or confrontations occur, that they do not agree with.

“I thought we were friends!” “I did too” is usually my response.

I don’t know how many times I have been forced to say, “If this is your response to what I have said, or done, then what does that say about our relationship?”

The word relationship is made up of 4 words. They are:

  • Relation – Connection that has accountability with behavior
  • Ship – A large vessel that carries people or cargo from one place to  another. Ships travel in one direction at one speed. The people or cargo on the ship may be on different levels but they still travel together.
  • Relations – Connections that have accountability with behavior
  • Hip – At the side or face to face depending on the level of intimacy

Or, “Help me understand why you are reacting like this?”

Again, I remind you that I am not casting blame or castigating those who are not blameless.

Misunderstanding God and His motives and the motives of His Godly leaders lead God’s people to places and other people who will “kiss” [publicly affirm] them but who can never truly lead them to where God has called them.

Developing the ability to forgive those who wound us is critical to the maturation process. That forgiveness must be given to God as well and to His Godly leaders.

As a kingdom leader who has spent many hours with wounded people I have found that when genuine forgiveness is granted, it gives the wounded person a brand new perspective on the person or people who have wounded them.

I know from personal experience that many wounds come from expectations we place on leaders that they are not responsible for.

For instance, Paul wrote to the believers in Corinth saying, “For though you might have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet you do not have many fathers; for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you [I am your spiritual father] through the gospel.” [1 Corinthians 4:15 NKJ]

When we are wanting to relate to a leader who God has given to us as a father, when they are just our teacher, our feelings can get hurt – badly hurt.

The expectation of fathering from someone God has not given to us as a father creates a sense of abandonment. This feeling creates all kinds of rejection issues that if not dealt with will cause us great harm spiritually, emotionally and in some cases physically.

This is especially true as it pertains to people who have been abandoned by someone they valued.

Fathers have a special place in our lives and can speak to us in ways that are supposed to hurt our feelings. Teachers just don’t have that same level of access to our hearts.

All fathers teach but not every teacher is a father!

Fathers are more interested in who they teach!

Teacher’s are more interested in what they teach!

Father’s want their children to surpass them in life!

Teacher’s need their children to remain below them so they will have someone to teach!

When a father speaks in a way that wounds us and we do not respond well then we have eliminated the possibility for our maturation process to reach the fatherhood level of maturity.

When we reject the wounding of our father we retard our growth!

“5 And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons: “My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, Nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him; 6 For whom the Lord loves He chastens, and scourges every son whom He receives. 7 If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten? 8 But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons.” [Hebrews 12 NAS]

The writer of Hebrews makes it abundantly clear that God chastens [mentioned 5x], rebukes, and scourges His sons. None of that sounds or feels fun! By the way, some of the Gospel writers use this same Greek word for scourge to describe the scourging Jesus endured. I know!

To those who endure these dealings of the Lord move on in maturity. To those who reject these dealings become illegitimate.

A case in point of properly processing being wounded can be found when Paul, as the father of the Christian community in Corinth, dealt severely with the community, community leaders, and individual Christian who was sinning in their midst [1 Corinthians 5].

“It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and such sexual immorality as is not even named  among the Gentiles–that a man has his father’s wife!” [Verse 1]

  • This was grievious even to the unsaved mind!

“And you are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he who has done this deed might be taken away from among you.” [Verse 2]

  • Paul challenges the community’s unwillingness to keep corruption out of their midst. He calls them “puffed up” meaning in his mind they had exalted themselves above the God they served through their self inflated opinion of themselves.

”3 For I indeed, as absent in body but present in spirit, have already judged (as though I were present) him who has so done this deed. 4 In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when you are gathered together, along with my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, 5 deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.” [Verse 3-5]

  • This sounds severe doesn’t it? Paul, the daddy, made a judicial decision even though he was not physically present. He was present “in spirit” which means his connection to them was not based on an emotional connection but was rooted and grounded in the spirit, by the Holy Spirit. Paul goes on to say what his judicial decision was. “Deliver such a one [the one sinning] to satan for the destruction of his flesh.” In essence what Paul was saying is this – “This member of the church will not repent and stop living for the devil so I am releasing him to the devil. I am removing my fatherly covering because he refuses to change his direction.” How did Paul know this since he was not present to “counsel” the person? By his spirit! Paul’s goal in this judicial decision was the salvation of the person’s spirit.

“6 Your glorying is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? 7 Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened.” [Verse 6,7]

  • Here again Paul is addressing the attitude of the community of believers. Apparently they were proud of the way they were “loving” this person who refused to repent. Paul commands them to clean house or have the house corrupted by the sinful behavior.

“I wrote to you in my epistle not to keep company with sexually immoral people.” [Verse 9]

  • This is in reference to an unknown letter Paul had written to them. Paul says, “Do not keep company with sexually immoral people.” This is in reference to his previous statement to purge the ungodly person with the ungodly lifestyle from their community.

“But now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother, who is sexually immoral, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner–not even to eat with such a person.” [Verse 11]

  • Paul reiterates his insistence that the church keep the community pure. If a “brother” is a real brother he will not live a lifestyle that is contrary to family life.

“Therefore “put away from yourselves the evil person.” [Verse 13]

This is rather direct is it not? This is not ‘Let’s not offend anyone’ is it?

Let us take a look at the end result of Paul’s wounding words!

He said in 2 Corinthians 7, “2 Open your hearts to us. We have wronged no one, we have corrupted no one, we have cheated no one.”

  • This is a bold statement revealing the need of the people he wounded to expose themselves to him in such a way that they are not restricted in their affections. Paul said that he nor anyone on his apostolic team had wronged or corrupted anyone. He also said that they had not cheated anyone either. I wonder how many Christians are cheated by leaders who are afraid to speak in a way that wounds the wayward?

“3 I do not say this to condemn; for I have said before that you are in our hearts, to die together and to live together.”

  • This is the language of a father as he relates his heart for the people he is responsible for. Wounding is not for the purpose of condemning. Quite the contrary. Wounding is for restoration!
“4 Great is my boldness of speech toward you, great is my boasting on your behalf. I am filled with comfort. I am exceedingly joyful in all our tribulation.”
  • Real kingdom fathers are not afraid of hurting the feelings of the people they are assigned to be a father to. They temper their boldness with comfort and overflowing joy as they face and deal with the pressures associated with family life. They do not couch their words with compromise.

“8 For even if I made you sorry with my letter, I do not regret it; though I did regret it. For I perceive that the same epistle made you sorry, though only for a while.”

  • Once again this father in the faith communicates that his fatherly discipline wounded his spiritual children and how he did not regret it because the wound was short lived.

“9 Now I rejoice, not that you were made sorry, but that your sorrow led to repentance. For you were made sorry in a godly manner, that you might suffer loss from us in nothing.”

  • Ah, the intent of the wounding is made known. Obviously the context here is the allowance of a gross sin to remain in the Christian community in Corinth. The principle of wounding can be applied to many instances. The results vary on how those who are wounded handle the pain and the process the pain is associated with.

“10 For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death.”

  • The Corinthian believers, once they got over the fact that Paul wounded them, responded correctly which resulted in salvation [forgiveness, deliverance and restoration to God and His community]. Paul delineates between the proper response [repentance] and an improper response [death].

“11 For observe this very thing, that you sorrowed in a godly manner: What diligence it produced in you, what clearing of yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what vehement desire, what zeal, what vindication! In all things you proved yourselves to be clear in this matter.”

  • Here is how everyone knew they responded correctly, and how we know that we have responded correctly, when a Godly leader wounds us.
    • The people responsible responded by:
      • Becoming more committed to the well being of the community
      • Clearing themselves – meaning they fixed the problem instead of hiding it or pretending there was not one
      • Being incensed at their previous pathetic behavior
      • Restoring their reverence [respect] for God and His community
      • Restoring their zeal for God, the people of God and the things of God was on display
      • Clearing themselves by virtue of their correct response

“12 Therefore, although I wrote to you, I did not do it for the sake of him who had done the wrong, nor for the sake of him who suffered wrong, but that our care for you in the sight of God might appear to you.”

  • Look at what Paul just said [wrote]. I did not introduce the wound into the community for the people involved in the problem. I did it so that you would know just how much we care for you, and how much God was watching what we did to you, and for our honor for God and His community of holy people that will be positively affected by how we dealt with you.

Paul, as the spiritual father hurt some feelings, and he intended to do it to get a Godly response which would lead to a Godly result.

Now that is why God and Godly leaders wound you!

I hope you can accept it!

I hope you will respond positively to it!

I also hope you will repent if you have not and return to your ‘father’ and yield to the chastening process so you will be a true son in the faith.

Keep HIS Faith! Keep HIS Passion!

Dr. Kevin M. Drury
One of HIS Hisstorymakers

Foolish Preachers Versus The Foolishness Of Preaching!

Posted on by under Bible, Christian, Excellence, LifeGiving, Righteousness, School Of The Spirit, Training

God is pleased with the foolishness of preaching but not with the foolishness of preachers!

There are way too many examples of how preachers are foolish to cover them all in this blog but I do want to focus on some of them.

There is not a lot of evidence in the Scripture explaining the phrase “foolishness of preaching” so I will not be spending much time trying to detail how that plays out.

Preaching styles vary for many reasons and may create the sense of it being foolish.

A preacher’s style may be staid, or animated. Preaching may come through a monotone preacher or one whose voice fluctuates between the extremes of shouting and a whisper.

Some preachers use notes and never vary from their notes, and others may never use notes. Some use notes as launching platforms where the wind of the Holy Spirit takes off through them and they end up “preaching prophetically”. Some stand stationary behind the pulpit and others roam all over the place.

The phrase “foolishness of preaching” may simply mean that the idea of someone presuming to speak for God is considered foolish by certain people who have no value for the verbal communication of the Word of God, or for those who say they speak for God.

I mean, “You actually believe you hear from God?” That is totally foolish to some people!

Here is what Paul said in Romans 1:18 KJV – “For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.”

Paul would later say that he “preached Christ and Him crucified.” The cross, the crucifixion, and everything purchased on it should always be central and the core value of any message taught. I do not mean that every message should specifically mention the cross. But the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus is the message of the gospel we teach.

The cross and the “foolish” preaching of it is foolishness to those who are perishing because they refuse to accept and embrace the power of the cross.

The message of the cross is so much broader than a get out of hell message. It is a get out of hell and a get hell out of you message. That is the power of the cross!

1 Corinthians 1:21 KJV

“For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.”

This verse reveals a lot and one main aspect of the revelation is that God only saves those who believe.

There are foolish preachers preaching that everyone is saved by God because God in Christ is not counting people’s sins against them. They provide the verse of Scripture to prove their point.

2 Corinthians 5:19 NKJ [In Part]

“God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them.”

There are key phrases in Scripture that foolish preachers miss, misuse, mistake, and mis-represent. Some of them are “in Christ”, “through Christ”, “with Christ”, “by Christ”, etc.

Everyone is not saved unless they are “in Christ”. Jesus is the Savior of all mankind but only those who believe are saved.

1 Timothy 4:10 NKJ

“For to this end we both labor and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of those who believe.”

Foolish preachers rarely if ever suffer for their labor, much less suffer reproach. To be reproached means to be criticized for your refusal to compromise your experiences in God for the pleasure of man, the popularity with men, or for a position or paycheck from men.

It means to have people be disappointed in you and disapprove of you because of your stand for God and not with them or for them in their unwillingness to grow up in Christ. Immaturity and irresponsibility seems to be chic in certain Christian circles.

I am long over the people who think the mission of the church is to “have fun” and everyone just “get along”.

There is only One Savior and that is Jesus Christ. Jesus came to save everyone but only those who “believe” will be saved.

How can we know we or someone else is really saved, or that we are a believer in Jesus?

Persuaded To The Point Of Persecution!

If we are not taking heat for our “believing” there is a good chance we are not a Biblical believer.
2 Timothy 3:12 NAS
“Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.”
Demonstrations Of Miraculous Signs!
Mark 16:15-20 The Message Bible
“15 Then he said, ‘Go into the world. Go everywhere and announce the Message of God’s good news to one and all. 16 Whoever believes and is baptized is saved; whoever refuses to believe is damned. 17 These are some of the signs that will accompany believers: They will throw out demons in my name, they will speak in new tongues, 18 they will take snakes in their hands, they will drink poison and not be hurt, they will lay hands on the sick and make them well.’ 19 Then the Master Jesus, after briefing them, was taken up to heaven, and he sat down beside God in the place of honor. 20 And the disciples went everywhere preaching, the Master working right with them, validating the Message with indisputable evidence.”
What are the indisputable evidences that validate that we are Biblical believers in Jesus Christ?
Are there miraculous manifestations of God and His power in our teaching ministry?
Does our preaching attract God? Does Jesus come to work with us? Or is the work we are doing for Him devoid of Him? Are we are relying completely on our own prowess to convince the people we are teaching that God is real?

Are We New Or Are We The Same Old Person?

2 Corinthians 5:17-20 NAS

“17 Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. 18 Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, 19 namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation. 20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.”

There must be a reconciliation with God that results in a radically new life in Christ. This is implying there has been a breach in the relationship and a new connection must be made between the one who disconnected and God who waits for the wayward one to come to Him.

This new connection to God results in the person becoming new in every aspect. That person may not perfectly live out their “newness” but the change is such that those that know them the best know they are “new.”

You may be able to fool members of a church you hide in but you cannot fool the ones you live life with.

Our “being new” and “living new” should cause consternation in the people we used to live life with. If it doesn’t how new are we?

1 Peter 4:1-4 NKJ

“1 Therefore, since Christ suffered for us  in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mind, for he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, 2 that he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh for the lusts of men, but for the will of God. 3 For we have spent enough of our past lifetime in doing the will of the Gentiles–when we walked in lewdness, lusts, drunkenness, revelries, drinking parties, and abominable idolatries. 4 In regard to these, they think it strange that you do not run with them in the same flood of dissipation, speaking evil of you.”

Do we even believe we can cease sinning? Not if we are sitting under the ministry of foolish preachers who teach we cannot overcome temptation and sin.

We have wasted too much time already and there is not enough time to keep wasting time.

Here again, is our new lifestyle attracting persecution, reproach, and or criticism?

If not, why not?

What is the problem?

Paul, in our 1 Corinthians 1:21 text, states that the world did not know God because of the limitations of the wisdom of the world. God, in His wisdom chose to make Himself known through the foolishness [by man’s standards] of [the] preaching of His gospel, so that the world could be saved by God, in Christ.

How do preachers become foolish?

Paul reveals one way in verse 17 of 1 Corinthians chapter 1 [KJV] – “For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect.”

Here are some other translations of this very important verse:

God’s Word Translation

“Christ didn’t send me to baptize. Instead, he sent me to spread the Good News. I didn’t use intellectual arguments. That would have made the cross of Christ lose its meaning.”

NET Bible

“For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel–and not with clever speech, so that the cross of Christ would not become useless.”

International Standard Version

“For the Messiah did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, not with eloquent wisdom, so the cross of the Messiah won’t be emptied of its power.”

Aramaic Bible In Plain English

“For The Messiah sent me not to baptize, but to preach The Good News, not in wisdom of words, lest the crucifixion of The Messiah would be rejected.”

Weymouth New Testament

“Christ did not send me to baptize, but to proclaim the Good News; and not in merely wise words–lest the Cross of Christ should be deprived of its power.”

Living Bible

“For Christ didn’t send me to baptize, and even if my preaching sounds poor, for I do not fill my sermons with profound words and high sounding ideas, for fear of diluting the mighty power there is in the simple message of the cross of Christ.”

Preachers become foolish by preaching their own wisdom founded on their own ways and word, and not the wisdom of God which is centered on the Cross of Christ.

The Cross of Christ involves so much more than Jesus hanging on it for 6 hours until He gave up His life for the world.

The Cross of Christ is the place of payment for all that Christ purchased for the world. Jesus demonstrated all that He would purchase prior to His purchasing it all on the Cross. He did it by teaching [using words] and by demonstrating [not using words but using God’s authority and power] to intervene in the helplessness and hopelessness of mankind’s condition.

Friends, the message of the Cross can be watered down [Living Bible] and made of “none effect” [King James].

The preaching of the Cross of Christ must be accompanied by demonstrations of the Spirit and power or it is watered down to the wisdom and natural abilities of men.

The preachers who preach without demonstrations of the Spirit and power are foolish.

Jesus was known as a preacher [teacher] who moved past just talking about God’s message to man. He proved what He taught by performing signs and wonders and miracles.

“1 Now there was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews; 2 this man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, “Rabbi, we know that You have come from God as a teacher; for no one can do these signs  that You do unless God is with him.” [John 3 NAS]

The proof that God was with Jesus in His teaching [preaching, proclaiming and explaining God’s message to man] ministry was the “signs” that He did in conjunction with His teaching.

Even the foolish preacher Nicodemus had enough character to acknowledge God set Jesus apart from the traditional teachers in Israel.

Did you notice Nicodemus did not say the proof God was with Christ was the way Jesus used words to teach the people? That is not to say Jesus did not have a way with words as we will see later.

It is interesting to me how a teacher in Israel recognized a teacher sent by God. Signs always point to the greater reality the sign represents.

Where are the present day foolish preachers who will acknowledge there is a lack of completeness in their personal teaching ministry if there is no “signs” accompanying their messages. Where are their messages pointing the people they are teaching?

Look at what Luke says in Acts 1:1 NKJ – “The former account I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach.”

Luke confirms the teaching ministry of Jesus was broader than a vocal ministry. There was a “doing” and a “teaching”. This is real kingdom ministry.

Why Are People Attracted To Our Ministry?

Luke 5:15 NAS

“But the news about Him was spreading even farther, and large crowds were gathering to hear Him and to be healed of their sicknesses.”

There are a lot of preachers and teachers who through their motivational speaking abilities, their natural charisma, or their business acumen   attract a lot of people to their meetings. But how many of the people who come to hear also come to be healed?

Foolish preachers create church cultures that “believe in the miraculous” but never give people an opportunity to be healed proving they do not truly believe. If there is not corresponding activity of our “belief” then what we “believe” is useless.

Some say, “Well, we don’t want anyone to be disappointed if they do not get healed so we don’t “focus” on healing or other miraculous activity.”

My God folks! Do they not realize they are disappointing the very people who need God’s miraculous intervention, whether it be physical, emotional or spiritual?

Do The People We Teach Recognize God’s Authority On Our Teaching?

Matthew 7:28,29 NKJ

“28And so it was, when Jesus had ended these sayings, that the people were astonished at His teaching, 29for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.”

Foolish preachers can say all the right things but if what they are saying is not releasing God’s authority then they are wasting their time and the time of those who came to hear them.

Is Our Teaching Tickling Ears Or Transforming Lives?

2 Timothy 4:1-4

“1 I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom: 2 preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction. 3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, 4 and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths.”

Paul is speaking to his spiritual son Timothy and former world traveler on his apostolic missionary team. He gives Timothy a solemn [serious] charge where God the Father and Christ Jesus are witnesses and the Ones who will be the ultimate judges of the living and the dead.

Folks, teaching for God is a serious calling. Paul tells Timothy to preach the word; be ready when you feel ready or not. Then he raises the bar for those who are not settling for being a foolish preacher.

Preach the word of God – With gravity and authority which must be listened to and obeyed.

Reprove – With conviction in order to convict by exposing the fallacy of false beliefs, to reprehend severely, to reprehend and call people to give an account of their behavior.

Rebuke – To censure severely to reveal the true value of those being taught. To honor by not allowing people to live below the price Jesus paid and the standard that price provides them.

Exhort -To call people up to their rightful place in Christ.

How? With great patience [endurance] and instruction [foundational and revelational teaching that creates an inner structure within those being taught that will be able to support everything God want to release to and though them]!

Why? For the time will come when they will NOT endure sound doctrine but will constantly want their ears tickled.

The result will be those who sit under the teachings of foolish preachers will only seek out those teachers who affirm their immaturity based on what they desire, not what God desires for them.

These fools will turn their ears away from the truth [what they need to hear and what God wants them to hear] and those preachers of foolishness who proclaim the truth to them, and ultimately they will turn toward myths [false fables].

What a sad commentary of the culture of compromise that began with a foolish preacher who compromised his or her personal call.

Paul differentiates between the foolishness of foolish preaching and God’s definition of the foolishness of preaching in 1 Corinthians chapter two verses 1-5 KJV –

“1 And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God. 2 For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified. 3 And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling. 4 And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power: 5  That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.”

When preachers reduce their preaching to what they can do through their own enticing words their preaching has become man’s wisdom and not God’s. God’s wisdom is revealed in the manifestation of the demonstration of the Holy Spirit and [His] power.

Paul came in “weakness”! This means he recognized his human limitations and allowed for God’s strength to manifest.

Paul came in “fear”! Paul had a holy reverence for God and the responsibility the call of God to represent Him posed for him!

Paul came in “much trembling”! Paul knew the work of God must be executed in the power of the Spirit of God and he dealt with the anxiety that his responsibility at times was overwhelming!

The result of that kind of teaching ministry is “your faith should not stand on the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.”

This is startling to me. The goal of preaching [teaching] is that people’s faith would be in the power of God and in the God who possesses all power. Teaching ministry should be not be in the wisdom of the natural intellectual or oratorical abilities of the one teaching for God.

Going back to the original text in 1 Corinthians 1:21 we see how God chooses to save people and His choice is through the foolishness of preaching.

How can we tell when those who preach are foolish instead of operating in the foolishness of preaching?
Galatians 6:12 NAS
“Those who desire to  make a good showing in the flesh try to compel  you to be circumcised, simply so that they will not be persecuted for  the cross of Christ.”
In other words, a key motivation of a foolish preacher originates in the flesh, not the Spirit. They substitute and propagate outward appearances  instead of inward transformation.

One last text I want to share with you in this blog to test the theology of Biblical preaching  of foolishness is found in Romans chapter 15:

“15 But I have written very boldly to you on some points so as to remind you again, because of the grace that was given me from God, 16 to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles, ministering as a priest the gospel of God, so that my offering of the Gentiles may become acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit. 17 Therefore in Christ Jesus I have found reason for boasting in things pertaining to God. 18 For I will not presume to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me, resulting in the obedience of the Gentiles by word and deed, 19 in the power of signs and wonders, in the power of the Spirit; so that from Jerusalem and round about as far as Illyricum I have fully preached the gospel of Christ. 20 And thus I aspired to preach the gospel, not where Christ was already named, so that I would not build on another man’s foundation.”

Foolish preachers rarely if ever write or teach boldly, much less very boldly!

Paul is emphasizing how daring he was in his writing to the believers in Rome. He was boldly courageous, not worrying about how people may “feel” about the way he communicated truths to them.

Foolish preachers couch their communication in non-confrontational ways so as not to “hurt” the feelings of the people they are teaching.

Paul is saying he wrote to them as if he would never have the opportunity to “speak” to them again. This created a sense of urgency in what he said and how he said it. What he communicated needed to have maximum impact, especially if he never spoke to them again.

He goes on to say many things in this text.

Verse 15

Paul tells them that it is God’s grace that gives him the boldness. Foolish preachers and foolish people think God’s grace gives them license to be immature and irresponsible.

Verse 16

Paul says that he is a servant [minister] and priest [representative of the people to God and a representative of God to the people] to the Gentiles. He continues by stating his ministry is an offering that he wants to be acceptable to and sanctified by the Holy Spirit. This is so much different than the man pleasing ministry of the foolish preacher.

Verse 17

Paul says that his boasting in Christ pertains to the things pertaining to God, not man. Foolish preachers boast in the things that pertain to themselves, or other people. Primarily they complement the people they surround themselves with who facilitate their foolishness. Their primary subject is themselves and what they have accomplished.

Verse 18

To Paul presumption is not a good plan. He does not dare to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through him. In other words, he upholds the standard of His many experiences in Christ uncompromisingly, and the evidence of his commitment is the obedience of the Gentiles to God in how they live and in what they say. Their lifestyle does not contradict or betray their lips.

Verse 19

Once again Paul speaks of the importance of signs, wonders and miracles in the ministry of teaching in every place he traveled for Christ. Paul said he “fully preached the gospel”. The gospel is never fully preached where signs, wonders and miracles are absent.

Verse 20

Paul did not want to minister on another man’s foundation. Foundations are vitally important to the overall success of what is being built. In order to endure the tests of time Paul made sure his ministry was built on the life and ministry of Jesus Christ, the One who authored Christian ministry.

If all gospel teachers followed Jesus and Paul’s methodology of ministry there would not be any foolish preachers.

Lord, help us to raise up a massive army of preachers of foolishness, and fire all the ones who are just foolish preachers.

This is a huge subject that I have only scratched the surface in this blog! As always in my writing and speaking ministry I hope, pray and expect you will do your own research to verify that what I am saying is Biblically correct.

My reason in writing and teaching is so that your life and ministry will be as effective as the Holy Spirit who calls you to minister for Him desires it to be!

Keep HIS Faith! Keep HIS Passion!

Dr. Kevin M. Drury

One Of HIS Hisstorymakers