CONVICTED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT

RUTH

For some reason in the opening sessions of the three days lecturing on the Holy Spirit at a School for Missions in Bandung, I focused quite a bit on the purpose of the Holy Spirit to make a New Creation, and one important characteristic of the New Creation is discipline.

In the third session, in the late afternoon, I asked for testimonies, because it was obvious that people were being touched by the Holy Spirit. Ruth's testimony surprised everyone! She came forward and related that during the worship time we had in the second session (about 45 minutes of seeking God in worship), the Holy Spirit had spoken to her heart and convicted her that she must be obedient to her husband.She had quite a bit of explanation and story telling, most of which I couldn't understand, but it was clear that she was explaining how her husband was a very organized, methodical man (you can see it in him - very reserved, intellectual type) and she did not like doing things his way.

She confessed she had often been rebellious and apologized and asked forgiveness to his face in front of the whole class. He, like the man he is, stood and listened and accepted without any apparent emotion (obviously needs some work, too).

I encourage testimonies because others are encouraged by them and the Word says in Revelation that the enemy is overcome by the blood of the Lamb and the testimonies of the saints. It is my desire to inflict as much damage as possible to the enemy! We have had lots of testimonies of how the Lord touched people, convicted people, set people free.

I write this at the end of the second day. One more day to go, will have to miss the evening session to catch the overnight train back to Surabaya to fulfill duties at school on Thursday.

This morning I was greeted by the school coordinator with the comment that the students are much more lively today than ever before: more enthusiastic about doing their chores, more eager to help each other, more loving toward each other.

Ahh, this is the work of the Holy Spirit!

TRAIL or DESTINATION?

A comment about the prevous posting 'Sermon on the Mount.'

Isn't it just like life - some of us pass quickly by what seems familiar to us, eager to get 'somewhere.' We are destination focused, we are goal oriented people (notice I include myself). I don't know about you other goal oriented people, but I have little patience with or understanding of those who just enjoy the trail, and could care less where it takes them, or even if there is a destination.

I am sure they just as well can't understand us. Yet, on this hike, I came to appreciate many dimensions of these disciples that I had not seen before.

Maybe highlight for me was the girls up until nearly 4AM, laughing, giggling, shouting, really enjoying themselves (except for one - snoring!).

Sheep and shepherds come in all kinds of packages, each one precious to God. Know that it is he that has made you and not you yourself, and he delights in you! You are the sheep of his pasture! See Psalm 100:3.

SERMON ON THE MOUNT

As we walked the trail up the mountain, planning to reach the top and have prayer and our worship service there, it soon became evident that most of the group was into the walk, not the destination. Frequent stops for photos, to observe flora and fauna (such very unusual things as carrots and goats - but then these are city kids and it was new to them!) caused the time to pass more quickly than the miles, so with quite a long way to go, we choose this nearly dry waterfall and river bed for our spot.

Theme for the morning was ‘In the Lord’s house’ based on Psalm 135:1-4. We concluded that the gentle sound of what little water was still falling and flowing, and the birds, and occasional rustle of wind in the trees, made this truly a House of the Lord. Many in the group were visibly touched as we paused for listening and hearing God’s voice in the quiet of his creation.

More to come on this and other blogs.

RELUCTANT PARENT

One of the teachers at school came to me this past week. She has come off and on for the past four years that I have been working at the school, and is an extremely sensitive person. She is especially sensitive to the Holy Spirit, and has dreams and visions. From the beginning, I could tell from the dreams and visions she shared with me that the Lord was calling her to be a proactive evangelist. She has resisted this idea, preferring to just be an example and not speak about Jesus, not want to actively enter into someone else’s rebirth and spiritual growth.

She came to me in distress because a 16 year old was pestering her for answers and help. She had hung up on the girl, refusing to help, saying that she could and should hear God for herself . Since I have been down a similar path in accepting the role of spiritual father, I recognized the symptoms of a reluctant parent.

For those of you who are not aware, when I was asked to work for the school, I was specifically requested to be ‘spiritual father’ to faculty and staff. This was five years ago, and I was extremely uncomfortable with this idea. One of my friends pointed out that for the past 20 years the Lord has been bringing young people into my life and I have in fact been acting as spiritual parent to them. In nearly every Youth With A Mission school and multi-day seminar with young people, there are some who request to call me ‘Daddy.’ Current group is my Monday evening disciple group. They call themselves my disciples (the word in Indonesian is the same for student and disciple), they call me ‘uncle’ as do youth of several different generations here and in the Philippines. Some of their children call me ‘Lolo’ in PI or ‘Opa’ which is grandpa in the respective countries. At any rate, I was a very reluctant parent, though I have gotten used to it over the years.

I could see that the Lord was thrusting the young woman into the ministry which she refused to initiate. She was very uncomfortable with the girl hanging on to her. She was not willing to make the commitment and pay the cost that saving lives costs. After talking with her about these things and praying for her, she had a new perspective of this girl and also of her responsibilities, and even more, of her desires toward this young girl.

How about you? Do you know that there is a parallel between the physical and the spiritual worlds? Did you know that just as in the physical, babies born are expected to grow up, get married and have children, so spiritual babies are expected to grow up and nurture spiritual children. Are you a reluctant parent, or even worse, a child who refuses to grow up and take responsibilities of adulthood spiritually?

Did you know that it is Shepherds job to make shepherds, but sheep are supposed to make sheep? Most churches expect paid staff (shepherds) to do the evangelism (making sheep). Not their job. Think about that one for awhile.

GBU

SHEPHERDS AND SHEEP - TRAUMA

Prov 14:4 Where no oxen are, the crib is clean:

but much increase is by the strength of the ox.

Christian life would be much easier if it weren't for those other Christians!

Some background: One of the things I do is work with teachers and staff at a Christian school. Among other things, I counsel and pray for them. This school year has seen some great changes.

Last school year, there were four distinct schools. Now they are grouped into lower school and high school, with a head of schools for each group. These heads of schools are both Australian. The school and most of the staff are Indonesian, as are the students. The heads of schools have some really different ideas about what to do and how to do it. It is producing trauma.

A person came to me and started crying on my shoulder: one of her tasks had been torn away from her and given to another, without consultation or planning! This was not professional, not fair, not right! She was hurt. She was experiencing trauma.

As we talked, it emerged that in fact the task that had been taken away was a task that she really didn’t like. It also came forth that this really produced some relief for her overload. In fact, the event seemed like a perfect answer to her previous prayers! But . . . "it isn’t right!" "It isn’t fair!"

One of the secular management seminars I attended long ago presented a question that has stuck with me, and served me well in my Christian walk. Would you rather be right (with your facts and circumstances) or free?
In the case of this woman, and in fact the majority of cases in which I hear complaints about ‘fairness’ the event actually was an answer to prayer, just not exactly how they had pictured it. The traumatic event actually frees them from unwanted burdens.

James 1:2-4 says to count it joy when trials (trauma) comes upon you, for it works . . . until we become perfect, lacking nothing. If only we could hear and receive this teaching, we could look with a better (less defensive) eye to many problems and see how they are actually blessings (not even in disguise, except for our blindness) and answers to prayer! If we could remember the question Would you rather be right, or free? And choose Freedom in Christ and stop grumbling and complaining, we would escape much trauma and enter much joy (Phil 2:14 applies - do everything without complaining or arguing).

The other side of the coin is that often Christians are unthinking and unprofessional in their dealings with one another, hurting others unnecessarily just because they are inconsiderate. We should be careful not to be a stumbling block to a Christian who has not yet discovered how to be Free From Trauma in Christ!

THE SEMINARS

The Seminars that I do for pastors and church leaders have been developed over the past 20 years. My very first seminars were in 1985 for pastors in the Assemblies of God churches in Hawaii. Topic was Team Building. My seminars are designed for three days, but can be shortened to just 6 hours. Of course in the longer seminars ability to apply the principles and techniques can be practiced and become much more practical and realistic.

My seminars range from very practical management topics (such as Time Management, Team Building, Small Group Dynamics, Conflict Resolution, etc) to practical church-goer activation (Healing prayer, Holy Spirit and Gifts of the Spirit) to basic Christian doctrine and practice (Born Again, Spirit Filled, Spiritual Maturity). All are aimed at transformation rather that education (though both take place), and at replacing bad habits of thought, speach, and practice with Godly habits through enlightenment (shining the light of the Word of God) upon lives. I am a very practically oriented person.

Most common testimony from seminars: "Now I understand."
Favorite testimony: "I have been rebuked and am set free."

--HK--

SHEPHERDS AND SHEEP - CREATING YOUR LIFE

Note: This story was carried in an earlier email report, but I wanted to post something on Shepherds and Sheep in keeping with our INSIDE OUT theme this week.
James 1:2-8 Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.
The first week of December I was in Central Java. Among other activities was a one-day seminar with pastors from poor areas. Average congregation size was under 30. It is a hard life. Our host was a church which gathers these pastors (there were 133 in attendance this day) for teaching, encouragement, and for handouts of food and clothing.

My understanding is that you get the promises of the Bible you can believe. Promises are for believers. Unfortunately, I have noticed in the twenty years of doing seminars for pastors and church leaders that what they preach and what they live are not quite the same. As we see from James (above) this double minded man will receive nothing from the Lord. Hence they live in poverty rather than the abundance God promises believers.

One testimony I received after being with them was "You shocked them." Even though I shocked them, they liked it, and have invited me back! One way I shock them:
First, they confess they believe Psalm 23 verse 1 which says in Indonesian I have no lack. Then, after distracting them from that (yes, I do set them up) I ask them if any of them have any needs (lack something, in Indonesian). They have been programmed to beg and expect from outside visitors, especially Americans handouts. In fact they were attending primarily for the handouts!

Of course, in response, they with nearly one voice were lifting hands and calling out their affirmation of being in great need. Then I stop and remind them of their earlier statement that they have no needs, and now they are claiming great needs. I ask them which is true?

Sheep and shepherds alike often profess from the safety of the church sanctuary what they believe, yet when it comes to being bold enough to put these beliefs in practice, there is a different tune. James says that faith without works is dead, because it indicates a double minded person, and a double minded person will receive nothing from the Lord.

Check it out for yourself, in your own life. Are you receiving, living in the abundance promised by God, or in lack? Living in lack looks at what can be seen and sees that it is not enough (it doesn't matter how much it is). Living in abundance looks at what God says you have, and then goes and finds it since it often can't be seen at first.

INSIDE OUT living - knowing that what God promises, he has already supplied. Shepherds and sheep alike often fail to live the abundant life because they live outside in. They are backward-looking, not forward looking, and allow the past experience to control their expectations, rather than expecting the promises of God to show up when needed.