A Multitude of Purposes

Anytime God does anything, it is usually for a multitude of purposes and reasons. This is why the wisdom of God is referred to as manifold wisdom.

"His intent is that now through the church, the manifold wisdom of God be made known to rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, according to his eternal purpose which he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord." Ephesians 3:10,11

The Greek word used for "manifold" is polupoikilos. It means something that has many and diverse characteristics. Now Remember, wisdom itself in simple terms is clear direction (James 1 and Proverbs 2,3,4). And in that clear direction their is a lot going in the Lord. In other words....he is doing a lot of things all at once. When God gives us a simple direction, he accomplishes a lot of things through our simple act of obedience.

When the Lord moved me to Albuquerque in 1997 he was doing many things in my life:

• Furthering my doctrinal foundation and continuing to teach my how to hear his voice.
• Cleansing my soul through further discipline.
• Preparing me to be married.
• Leading others to the Lord through my ministry and then discipling them.
• Giving me a greater heart of servitude at my job.
• Preparing me for management and showing me how servant-leadership really worked within his Kingdom.

When the Lord led me back to Texas with my wife and two kids he was doing many things in our lives:

• Furthering our character in him.
• Using us in a body of believers to establish, strengthen and settle them in the foundational aspects of Christ.
• Raising our boys in the Lord.
• Drawing me close to my natural family before my mother's death.
• Continuing to teach me how to manage a business according to his leading.  

When the Lord moved us to Merida, MX he did so for a multitude of reasons:

• He showed us that the American model of church, when exported, doesn't always bring forth life in those who God is calling.
• He furthered our character in him.
• He showed us what socialism really does to nations of men and how it affects the Body of Christ.
• He used us to plant a church.
• He removed the stench and familiarity of American sins from our spiritual nostrils for a time so that when we returned it stood out to us more clearly, therefore enabling us to more readily speak and preach against sin and the selfish ambitions of men.

When he moved us back to Texas he did so for many reasons:

• To look after my grandmother who is in her twilight years and set her estate in order.
• To get a look at the American church from a new perspective.
• To start our ministries.
• To fulfill various prophetic words that we had received in previous years.
• To walk both of my sons through key stages in their development with the proper resources at our disposal.

One of the positions that Cessationist Theology takes is that once Jew and Gentile were reconciled during the time of the first generation of apostles, the need for a subsequent baptism of the Spirit with the evidence of signs and wonders was no longer needed by God. Their argument is simply that this was to kick-start the flow of reconciliation between Jew and the entire Gentile world and that once this was accomplished, things reverted to a new order and flow in the Spirit. Cessationists now argue that God would no longer do things the same way as he did in the book of Acts. 

Let's take a look at that position.

Just as their is a multitude of purposes for everything God does in our lives at the giving of wisdom, so their was a multitude of purposes in the book of Acts for the baptism of water and subsequent baptism of the Spirit with signs following.

• Power for each individual believer to endure the process of circumcision that we might each overcome the world, the flesh and the devil and, in the process, be fully reconciled to God.
• Power to be reconciled to our fellow man. Jew and Gentile reconciliation as an example.
• Continuing with the process of subsequent baptism of both Water and Spirit. This set the doctrine of subsequence as a pattern for churches to follow in the order of baptisms. This was first displayed in the lives of the Israelites as they emerged from Egyptian Bondage (See 1 Cor 10), Elisha the prophet in 2 Kings 2, and Jesus in all four gospels.

When signs, wonders and miracles are displayed in the life of an individual, it overpowers the natural senses of man to judge falsely and gives outward evidence of the internal workings of the Spirit. The Jew needed to witness such events in Acts 8 and Acts 10 to begin destroying their long standing prejudices against everything and everyone that was Non-Jew.

However, this same tendency towards prejudice exists in the heart of every man.

"Man is born to sin as surely as sparks fly upward." Job 5:7

While we were in Yucatan, Mexico doing missions work the one thing that we took notice of the most within the Body of Christ was the deep prejudice that often existed between Spaniards and Mayans in the city of Merida. They simply didn't intermingle in the secular culture and this always carried over into the Body of Christ. I had a pastor at a church we attended tell me on more than one occasion that he simply could not get the Body to break through into reconciliation with regards to these two groups of Mexican nationals. They refused to eat together, sit together, socialize.......It was really bad.

It reminded me of the deep root prejudices we have long seen in our nation between those of African-American descent and Anglo Saxon descent. When God really began to address this issue of reconciliation in our nation and specifically within the Body of Christ was at the outpouring of the Spirit at the Azusa Street revival in 1906. The Power of God was present in signs, wonders, miracles and tongues to reconcile men to one another. The same power that was made manifest at Pentecost and later in Acts 8 and 10 was also being made known in Southern California during the early part of the last century.

God's approach was no different between Azusa St. and Jerusalem. Only the outpouring of Power was able to help in the breakthrough. The problem my pastor friend had in his church was rooted primarily in his theology. He simply didn't believe in a subsequent outpouring of the Spirit with signs and wonders. This power is given that we might be first be reconciled to God and, in the process, be reconciled to on another.

"All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them.. And he has committed to us the ministry of reconciliation." 2 Corinthians 5:18,19

My friend doesn't believe in the Power that is made manifest at a subsequent outpouring of the Spirit. He believes that when you put your faith in Christ and are water baptized that Jesus automatically baptizes every believer in the Spirit. Yet some of the fruit of his ministry says otherwise. Why?

"Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates his brother is still in the darkness. Whoever loves his brother lives in the light, and there is nothing in him to make him stumble. But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness; he does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded him." 1 John 1:9-11

He doesn't consistently minister in the level of Power that breaks the everyday prejudices that every man holds towards someone or some group of people. My friends wants it to happen but he refuses to subscribe to the spiritual remedy that would cause the reconciliation to occur.

And not only is it Spanish Yucatecos and Mayan Yucatecos that hate each other. Both of those groups only get along when they are opposing a greater threat.....Mexicans from outside the state of Yucatan.

"The chief priests and the teachers of the law were standing there, vehemently accusing him. Then Herod and his soldiers ridiculed and mocked him. Dressing him in an elegant robe, they sent him back to Pilate. That day Herod and Pilate became friends - before this they had been enemies." Luke 23:10-12

Spanish and Mayan Yucatecos have discovered a common enemy: Mexican nationals that are non-Yucatecos. So in the Body of Christ in the Yucatan you have three groups of people primarily. Most of our friends within the Body of Christ were composed of this third group of people. Many of them are from Mexico City. These outsiders are mostly of Aztec descent and comprise the majority of Mexican citizens from Mexico City all the way up through the northern part of their country.

Mexico is a nation of roughly 100 million people. Over 20% of their total population lives in that one city so it is not uncommon to know someone from that area when you live in Mexico.

My wife and I had many Non-Yucateco Christians friends in Merida that would tell us that the Yucatecos refused to eat with them or have them over for dinner. Most Yucatecos refused to socialize with Mexicans of Aztec descent. Now what does this all sound like? And why does their seem to be little to no breakthrough on an ongoing basis?

"When Peter came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he was clearly in the wrong. Before certain men came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles. But when they arrived, he began to draw back and separate himself from the Gentiles because he was afraid of those who belonged to the circumcision group. The other Jews joined him in his hypocrisy, so that by their hypocrisy even Barnabas was led astray. When I saw that they were not acting in line with the truth of the gospel, I said to Peter in front of them all, 'You are a Jew, yet you live like a Gentile and not like a Jew. How is it, then, that you force Gentiles to follow Jewish customs?" Acts 2:11-14

Even if you have a dispensation of power such as recorded in Acts, people retrace from time to time. The dross of sin that God burns from our hearts comes out in layers and different measures over the course of time. Peter was no different than any of us. He was a man just like us. And he needed what we need: Faith, Grace, Forgiveness and an ongoing dispensation of Power.

Do we really think it was just a Jew to Gentile issue? Isn't it a male to female, slave to free, black to white, American to Mexican, Spaniard to Mayan, Yucateco to Non-Yucateco issue?

JEB

Talitha Koum!

Last week I flew up to Houston to make the three day drive back down to Merida with someone who is moving his family here from Florida. While the trip was an adventure in and of itself, warranting it's own post on this blog, I feel compelled to share a story pertaining to a family in Nashville, TN that Christine and I know personally. The family I am speaking of is the daughter and the son-in-law of my former pastor and still close friend and spiritual father Ron Crosby. Ron performed mine and Christine's wedding ceremony thirteen years ago and the family I am speaking of was also in attendance at our wedding. 

As the story goes.....I was on my first day's driving between Corpus Christi, TX and Tampico, Mexico last Saturday when I got a phone call from my wife. She explained to me that she had talked with Ron and that Ron's youngest granddaughter Elizabeth had drowned in the swimming pool at home. Elizabeth is two years old and the youngest of 9 children. Michael and Tammy are her parents. Tammy is Ron's daughter.

Apparently the gate to the pool at Michael and Tammy's house had been accidentally left open and Elizabeth had wandered away and slipped in through the gate and had fallen into the pool and drowned. When they found her they pulled her out of the pool, and as Ron relayed the story to me, she had turned blue and swollen and was completely dead. Tammy told Ron that when she looked into Elizabeth's eyes she could see that she was completely dead. She wasn't there anymore. She had no vitals, her heart was not beating and her body had completely shut down.

Michael, Elizabeth's dad and Ron's son-in-law, began to pray over her and rebuke the spirit of death and speak life back into his daughter. In that time Tammy had called her dad and asked him to pray for them. While doing so they asked the Lord to remove all water from her lungs, restart her heart, put oxygen back into her blood and cause her blood to recirculate. All of this happened exactly as they had prayed and Elizabeth came back to life. In all she was apparently dead for about 20 minutes.  

"For the kingdom of God is not about talk, it's about power." 1 Corinthians 4:20

Why do I share this with you? In February we had a several of our Mexican friends from church over for a dinner party and I shared with them testimony of the power of God and how God can even raise men from the dead, even today. I told them I knew of an American businessman whom God told to move to Guadalajara, Mexico many years ago. This man had shared with Ron and I how he had seen God move powerfully amongst the Mexican people, even in ways he had never seen in America. His stories of power and faith in the church in Mexico always intrigued me.

As I shared these things with these brethren in our home I could see openness in several of them. The Lord's desire is that our faith rest not in the wisdom of man but in God's power.

"My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power, so that your faith might not rest on men's wisdom, but on God's power." 1 Corinthians 2:4,5

Michael and Tammy's faith rest in the power of God. When tested, they turned to the Lord. Yes, they called 911 and the EMT's eventually showed up. But they exercised their faith, prayed and wielded the sword of the Spirit as the first option. They prayed and they moved in faith.

"You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did." James 2:22

Their faith was in God. And he did not fail them. By the time the ambulance showed up Elizabeth had come back to life.

"Talitha koum!" Mark 5:41

As we all move forward in the realm of time we need mountain-moving faith in context of our relational faith. We have a relationship with the Lord and within that relational faith the Lord gives us mountain-moving faith from time to time. In Relational Faith God says, "Go here. Take this job. Do this. Do that. Marry this person. Start this business. Take this vacation. Raise your kids like this. Buy this car. Prepare for this trial. Sell this item or give money to that person." Those are relational commands. That is relational faith. That is hearing God on a relational basis and doing what we are told to do.

"We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands. The man who says 'I know him,' but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But if anyone obeys his word, God's love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in God must walk as Jesus did." 1 John 2:3-6

And how did Jesus walk? Simply put....he walked in relational faith with God the Father.

"I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does." John 5:19 

"For I did not speak of my own accord, but the Father who sent me commanded me what to say and how to say it. I know what his command leads to eternal life. So whatever I say is just what the Father has told me to say." John 12:49,50

"I and the Father are one." John 10:30

Jesus and the Father are one through relational faith. And as we walk as Jesus did we become one with both he and the Father. In our oneness with him we have the embodiment of relational faith. We hear God and act relationally. Faith is hearing God and acting (Romans 10:17). And within that relationship we need to believe in the Power of God. We need to have mountain-moving faith within that relational-faith.

"I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. he will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father." John 14:12

"And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well." Mark 16:17,18

We move in miracles, signs and wonders within the relational faith that we have in him. Relationship encompasses miracles. Relationship breeds power. And the power of God validates the depth of our relationship with him.

There are two types of faith. First relational faith, then mountain-moving faith. First relationship. Then power.
Be Blessed,

JEB

www.miraclesinmerida.blogspot.com.

"With" to "In"



Why didn't we think of that?

 Growing up as an American kid in the 70's and 80's it seemed like the dividing line between families that had alot of money and families that didn't was having a swimming pool. Back then I hardly knew of anyone that had an in-ground pool. The only people that we knew that did were wealthier people who could pay cash for one. Back then there was no such thing as pool loans. You paid with cash. And in my mind, having a swimming pool was the dividing line between being wealthy and being a middle-class family. If you had one it was a sign of wealth. If you didn't, well, you weren't rich. Simple as that.

In Mexico there are socio-economic divisions that are marked by clear signs that tell which class you are in. It is quite a bit different than the signs one might see in the U.S. Here everyone dresses like a million dollars. Everyone spends money on clothes. Clothing is not one of the signs. But there are two things that families do or don't have here that can tell whether they have crossed over or are crossing over from being poor to becoming a middle class family. One is having a car. Public transportation is a very big deal in Mexico as many people do not have vehicles. I would say at least half of the people in Merida do not have a car.  Many people either walk, ride a bike, ride a motorcyle/moped, take the bus or take a cab. Having a car in Mexico creates a dividing line, a sign that an individual may in fact be progressing or has progressed from one socio-economic level to another.



An individual mini-split A/C unit.   

The second thing that I have noticed here is that people that are progressing from the lower socio-economic class to the middle-class have an ammenity in their homes that many people in the United States see as a basic staple of life: Air Conditioning. Here we have no need for central heat. But I can tell you it is hard to live here year-round without A/C. We were running our air-conditioners every night up until December. However, many people here still do not have air-conditioning. And it can get well over 100 degrees Farenheit here in the month of May. When you combine that with our humidity levels it can feel like 120 degrees outside. Yet, many people here don't buy A/C units simply because they can't afford it. Nor can they afford to pay the increased electric costs that goes with running one.

Over the years I have come to realize that there are things that create spiritual dividing lines within the kingdom of God. These dividing lines are signs or markers that indicate whether or not an individual is progressing from one level to another. Assuming that a person has been born-again in Christ and has crossed over from death to life, an individual must realize that there are signs of progression even within God's Kingdom. Within God's Kingdom there is an initial marker of sorts that indicates that you have progressed to the next spiritual level. We are commanded to move beyond just being born-again. And this dividing line is marked by an event, an experience that affects how we pray, how intimately we hear God, what kinds of giftings we can function in and ultimately how much spiritual jurisdiction the Lord entrusts to us as we progress from season to season. This event, this experience I am referring to is called the Baptism of the Holy Spirit.

In Acts chapters 2, 8, 18 and 19 we see a progression in the lives of Christians from one level to another through the Baptism of the Holy Spirit.

"When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from Heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that seperated and came to rest on each one of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them." Acts 2:1-4

"But when they (Samaritans) beleived Philip as he preached the good news of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.....When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them. When they arrrived, they prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit, because the Holy Spirit had not come upon any of them; they had simply been baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus (Water Baptism). Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit." Acts 8:12,14-17

"Meanwhile a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was a learned man, with a thorough knowledge of the Scriptures. He had been instructed in the way of the Lord, and he spoke with great fervor and taught about Jesus accurately, though he knew only the baptism of John. He began to speak boldly in the synagogue. When Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they invited him to their home and explained to him the way of God more adequately." Acts 18: 24-26

"While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul took the road through the interior and arrived at Ephesus. There he found some disciples and asked them, 'Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?' They answered, 'No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.' So Paul asked, 'Then what baptism did you receive?' 'John's baptism,' they replied. Paul said, 'John's baptism was a baptism of repentance. He told the people to believe in the one coming after him, that is, in Jesus.' On hearing this, they were baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus. When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied. There were about twelve men in all." Acts 19:1-7


In Acts 2 we see over 100 Christians, men and women who have spent 40 days with the resurrected Christ, receiving the baptism of the Spirit with the evidence of tongues. In Acts 8 we see men and women who have been led to a saving faith in Christ. They have become born-again. But they were men and women who did not have an infilling of the Spirit. And we see them receiving the Spirit at the laying on of the apostles hands. In Acts 18 we see the apostle Apollos (See 1 Cor 4:6,9) in his early years in Christ. He knew the way of the Lord and taught about Jesus accurately. But he was a Christian who needed to cross over to another level, specifically as it pertained to his experience in the baptisms. Priscilla and Aquilla helped walk him through this. They helped him move through to another spiritual level. In Acts 19 we see 12 men receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit with the evidence of tongues and prophesy. These 12 men were already Christians. Verse one in that chapter refers to them as disciples.

What do the Christians in all four chapters have in common? Simply put, the Spirit of God went form being "with" them to being "in" them.

"And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever - the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither see him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you." John 14:16,17

From "with" to "in." Jesus told us that there is a progression from "with" to "in." I went through this progression. I first heard about Jesus when I was 8 years old. I had seed planted in my heart that, from that time laid dormant within me until I was 24. At age 24 I gave my heart completely over to the Lord. I began to hear his voice. I began to have dreams and visions. I began to repent from many things. And I was water baptized as a sign of this repentance and obedience to his voice on April 9, 1995. The Spirit was "with" me. He was speaking to me. He was showing me initial steps of repentance and faith to take. But he was not "in" me. He was speaking to my heart which was in me but he, the Spirit of Truth, was not fully in me.

On March 9, 1996 I received the baptism of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit came "into" me. I spoke in the tongues of angels.

"If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels....." 1 Corinthians 13:1

I pray in the tongues of angels every day as I am with the Lord in prayer. We are commanded to do so. We are to speak to God often and utter mysteries with our spirit by his Spirit.

"For anyone who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God. Indeed, no one understands him; he utters mysteries with his spirit." 1 Corinthians 14:1,2

We are commanded to pray both with our minds and with our spirits.

"So what shall I do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will also pray with my mind; I will sing with my spirit, but I will also sing with my mind." 1 Corinthians 14:15

We cannot do both apart from the infilling, the baptism of his Spirit. Once a man receives the baptism of the Spirit he operates in measures of God's grace and ultimately measures of spiritual jurisdiction that he can and would not otherwise.

I have written in previous posts about fundamental facets of Spiritual Prayer. I can tell you plainly that a man or woman can never enter into the fullness of spiritual prayer apart from the Baptism of the Holy Spirit with the gift of tongues. You just can't. Often I do not know what to pray for. So I fill in those gaps of time, those periods of time when I am seeking discerment in prayer, with the spiritual tongues of angels.

"We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will." Romans 8:27

The resurrected Jesus is the one that baptizes us with his seven-fold Spirit.

"But after me will come one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire." Matthew 3:11

"These are the words of him who holds the sevenfold Spirit of God and the seven stars." Revelation 3:1

"The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him - the Sprit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of power, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord - and he will delight in the fear of the Lord." Isaiah 11:2,3

And as the resurrected Jesus baptizes us with his seven-fold Spirit, the blessed Holy Spirit, we come into measures of power, grace, gifting, calling and holiness that we wouldn't otherwise.

We are commanded to wait on God in our early days.

"They that wait on the Lord shall renew their strength." Isaiah 40:31

"Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit." Acts 1:4,5

We wait on the Lord. In Acts 2,8,18 and 19 we see people that had been waiting on God in some shape or form. They were waiting on the next thing God had form them. The were looking for the next thing in God. As they did, God filled them and they went forward as God allowed them to. But not until they received the infilling. We are commanded to wait for it. The "it" being Him.

We started in the beginning with physical parallels. In every society you can see socio-economic signs that indicate the purchasing power and economic class of each household. In some countries it's a swimming pool, a car or something as simple as air-conditioning. When you see these things they are an indicator of how far someone has progressed financially.

The same applies spiritually. There are indicators in the kingdom of God that show how "enriched" people are spiritually. Certain things show how wealthy people have become spiritually speaking. It's not physical wealth. It's spiritual wealth. Possessing certain things, having certain experiences, can serve as an indication of the progression of spiritual health and wealth in the lives of believers. The Baptism of the Spirit and the power and gifting that flows out of that empowerment is one of the foundational signs of progression and growth, spiritually speaking. It's a sign of progression. It's not the end all. But it will affect what kind of doctrine, counsel, prophesy, gifting and level of empowerment that a believer abides in. And ultimately, whether we want to believe it or not, it is an indicator of how much spiritual maturity a believer will be able to attain.

I have been eager to write about this for some time but have been waiting for the Lord to show me the context in which to do so. This is so fundamental yet so necessary that if not experienced will cause an individual to come to a screeching halt in their relationship with the Lord. It creates stagnancy like you cannot imagine. People can get put on hold for years, decades, even for the rest of their natural lives because of the absence of the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Don't let this happen to you. God wants to pour out his Spirit in these last days on us and our children. Remember the words of the apostle Peter:

"Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgivness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off - for all whom the Lord our God will call." Acts 2:38,39 

The promise is for us and our children. Get in the position of receiving. Adopt the doctrine that God has made his Spirit available to us and ask for it. Ask and wait. Ask and wait. If we have it then we need to pray that our children receive it as well. That is where Christine and I are at with our sons.

"If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?" Luke 11:13

Ask of him and wait. Be Baptized in the Holy Spirit.

In Christ,

JEB

P.S. One of my very good friends in the Lord has an 11 year old daughter. She just received the baptism of the Holy Spirit. He told that she goes into hours of prayer just praying in the Spirit. Isn't that exciting? Praise God for what he has done and will do for us.