"We Are Hated Because We Are Feared"

Are you a disciple of Jesus Christ? A born-again believer?

If so, then you are counted in the world to be among those who are feared.

That's right. We are the subtle world antagonizers. We are topics of deep and lengthy discussions. We are fanatical, and fanatics are generally feared.

However, that's not the real reason. In actuality we are feared because of Jesus. Jesus in us.

Even Satan and the demons fear Jesus. The Word says they "tremble" at the thought of Jesus (James 2:19).

The world serves Satan. Satan fears Jesus. Satan is the controller of the world. We are spiritually united with Jesus.

The world fearing us is the fallout from Satan fearing Jesus.

See the struggle?

Luke 22:2 (AMP) - "And the chief priests and the scribes were seeking how to do away with [Jesus], for they feared the people."

They feared the people and they still fear us.

That doesn't bother me in the least, and it shouldn't bother you. They strived to kill Jesus (Satan using people). We are targeted as well.

Look at this:

Luke 22:3 (AMP) - "But [then] Satan entered into Judas, called Iscariot, who was one of the Twelve [apostles]."  (Note: Satan didn't literally "enter in" to Judas. This simply means that he spiritually united with him).

Fear at work.  Satan at work in his inadvertant followers. The deceived. The uninfromed. The victims.

Luke 22:4 (AMP) - "And he went away and discussed with the chief priests and captains how he might betray Him and deliver Him up to them."

Judas was a dupe. Just like the world is duped. 

Satan is the blinder and the veil that prevents the unbeliever from perceiving the gospel.

2 Corinthians 4:4 (AMP) - "For the god of this world has blinded the unbelievers' minds [that they should not discern the truth], preventing them from seeing the illuminating light of the Gospel of the glory of Christ (the Messiah), Who is the Image and Likeness of God."

They tried to do away with Jesus, and thought they had been successful. Satan didn't realize that by killing Jesus it was going to empower the Church to be multiplied into many manifestations of Jesus. As we are the Body of Christ, we now give Satan a big pain in the neck, as he has to deal with Jesus on a daily basis  because millions of followers are operating in the very Name he tried to erase! The Church alive and prevailing against the gates of hell itself!

Realize you are feared. Don't gloat over it. Don't even try to exploit it. Simply rest in it. It's Jesus. I don't mind being shunned, talked about, avoided. I gave up that personal pride long ago when I was crucified with Him and ceased to exist as whom I used to be (Galatians 2:20).

I'll trade the adoration of the world for the love and union with Christ any day of the week.

Keepin' it Real,

Pastor Kevin <><

"What Is Your Present Status?"

There has to be a difference in who you are now as opposed to who you once were. If you fancy yourself a believer in Christ that is.

This is a short message today.

I simply want you to examine yourself after you read this verse.

Ephesians 4:22 (AMP) - "Strip yourselves of your former nature [put off and discard your old unrenewed self] which characterized your previous manner of life and becomes corrupt through lusts and desires that spring from delusion."

Ask yourself, "Does this verse describe me as something I have done, or something I need to do?"

Hopefully it is something you have done, as Paul says that the above verse is contingent on the following:

Verse 21 - "Assuming that you have really heard Him and been taught by Him, as [all] Truth is in Jesus [embodied and personified in Him]."

If you haven't met and known Jesus then there is no former nature. There is just the unregenerated, non- born again, you. You are acting accordingly to the rules of sin and hell.

But... if you have met Jesus, and you have believed in Him as your Lord and Savior, then there is NO excuse for living like you haven't.

Jesus IS Truth, and Truth brings change.

I'll just leave you to quietly decide.

Keepin' it Real,

Pastor Kevin <><

"Passive Defeat"

It's rarely a scene from "The Exorcist" that believers will face in others or battle themselves. It's hardly ever a demonic onslaught with demons and fallen angels showing up at the foot of your bed. While it's certainly possible, and I've been a part of some wild and crazy deliverance sessions myself, the devil is generally a little more subtle.

Satan is very satisfied with the "passive defeat" of believers. It's where he does his finest work. They don't even realize that their struggle is straight from the war room of hell.

This is why Paul said to be on our toes.

Ephesians 4:27 (AMP) - "Leave no [such] room or foothold for the devil [give no opportunity to him]."

No opportunity means we cover all the doors and windows. No foothold means we don't give him any permission to act by giving him opportunity to capitalize on our weaknesses.

In passive defeat you probably never saw it coming. You never saw it coming because you weren't watching for it or protecting against it.

"Pastor, all I need is Jesus. I don't need to do anything else. Jesus and the Holy Spirit got my back!"

Uh, yeah. Let me know how that's working out for you down the road. The devil loves folks like that. The next headache you get just might be the headlock he has you in.

Don't be foolish. No one knew His enemy more than Jesus, and He expects us to as well. 

Understand your power as a believer and the authority you have in Jesus.

It really is a battle over authority. The devil wants to rule you. You don't have to let him. Period.

Passive defeat is when you can't discern God from the devil. You start becoming confused about which voice you should be listening to. Alternative choices start to look good to you. You begin to make poor choices and those choices are not good ones. Remember, it's "passive", so you never really see it coming. 

Signs of passive defeat is that you start to form unreliable opinions about the Word. Your pastor all of a sudden becomes a source of contention. You find fault with your church. You stop associating with friends you have trusted and loved for years. Incrementally your entire social and spiritual structure completely changes almost overnight.

EVERYBODY sees it happening. Everybody but you. 

You end up on the floor wondering what happened. Passive defeat.

You let it happen. You can't even blame the devil. He is doing what he does. He just did it to you.

You were passive. He defeated you. Passive defeat. It wasn't even painful. At least not during the process.

Oh...he's good at what he does.

Be better at what a believer does.

Leave NO room.  Allow NO foothold. Attack the gates of hell with more Jesus everyday.

Keepin' it Real,

Pastor Kevin <><

"It's Payback Time!"

It's funny how the term "payback" might give people the wrong impression. I wonder how many who read this today will think it pertains to some sort of retribution? It could serve as a litmus test to show how much carnal thinking has entered into the Church.

What it refers to is that we should demand that others open their hearts as wide to us as we do to them.

Sounds like a foreign concept doesn't it? God's ways are surely not our ways. However, God's way is the right way. The world (and even some of the Church) has gone the wrong way.

2 Corinthians 6:11-13 (AMP) - "11 Our mouth is open to you, Corinthians [we are hiding nothing, keeping nothing back], and our heart is expanded wide [for you]! 12 There is no lack of room for you in [our hearts], but you lack room in your own affections [for us]. 13 By way of return then, do this for me—I speak as to children—open wide your hearts also [to us].

Paul wasn't asking here. He was demanding something he knew was full well due to him because it was the Jesus Way.

Paul wasn't saying this because he was feeling unloved or shortchanged. 

Carefully consider this now...Paul was saying this for our benefit. WE need to love back because it is good for us to do so. A lack of affection in the heart is a dangerous signal. A lack of affection, a lack of love, shows and incompleteness. It show immaturity in Christ. It shows that we are missing the mark. If we can't love the best of us, how in the world will we love the worst of the human race? 

You may be pondering this as you read. You may even be applying this to your own situation (I hope you are!). You may even recognize that you lack in this area (I suspect many will).

You may also be thinking, "Pastor...how can I change this poor attitude and lack of affection on my part?"

It's right there in the passage! Isn't God great? He challenges us with truth and then even provides the remedy! You don't need to run to the witch doctor for pills and analysis. You only need to do one simple task.

Open WIDE your heart! Emphasis on WIDE. That's the problem. Our hearts are too small. They need to be enlarged, they need to open wider toward those who need love.

Again, this is for us. We reap the benefit from hearts turned toward others. A wide open heart is a heart that propels us to action. When your heart is bursting for the needs of others, you will find a way to serve and meet those needs.

I can hardly imagine what a world teeming with this truth would look like.

I trust it would look something like heaven.

Thy Kingdom come on earth AS IT IS in heaven.

Keepin' it Real,

Pastor Kevin <><

"Welcome Home, Jesus!"

Imagine going back to the town or city you grew up in, only to have the people conspire against you and try to throw you off a cliff? And those were the church folk.

Welcome home. Not exactly what was included in your itinerary.

Luke 4:29 (AMP) - "And rising up, they pushed and drove Him out of the town, and [laying hold of Him] they led Him to the [projecting] upper part of the hill on which their town was built, that they might hurl Him headlong down [over the cliff]."

They were in such a frenzy to kill Jesus that they lost awareness of Him and He slipped away.

Jesus was not surprised. He knew His mission. He knew the hearts of men.

There was only one thing on His mind as He traveled those 3 1/2 years. You and me.

Luke 4:24 (AMP) - "Then He said, Solemnly I say to you, no prophet is acceptable and welcome in his [own] town (country)."

Jesus knew of the Prophets intimately. He saw the persecutions they faced in their own homeland.

What would be the reaction of your church if Jesus came to visit? Would He be embraced, or would He be viewed as the wet blanket?

Your church is His hometown.

You would be surprised at how He would be treated. In some churches it would be like a factory owner making his yearly visit to check on morale and production. The workers would smile at him all the while hoping he would just hurry through and leave so things could get back to normal.

Jesus is either your honored King and given a place of utmost prominence, or He is subjugated to a place of dishonor below whatever pet doctrines are exploited for the sake of religious success.

Does your House have room for the Builder?

I couldn't remain at a place where my King was not honored every day the doors were open and all points in between.

Soon He will come and gather those who have honored Him. His Church will be triumphant because He will find faith where it belongs.

Keepin' it Real,

Pastor Kevin <><

"Am I? Really."

Cain murders his own brother. When God asks him where Abel is, Cain replies.

Genesis 4:9 (AMP) - "And the Lord said to Cain, Where is Abel your brother? And he said, I do not know. Am I my brother's keeper?"

Remember who is giving the response. It is Cain and he is ducking his responsibility to cover his tracks. He lies to God.

Today one might respond with "I don't know. It's wasn't my turn to watch him."

I have actually heard Christians say "I'm not my brother's keeper".

God disagrees and it is contrary to His Word.

In Hebrew the word for "keeper" is "shamar", which means to save, guard, and protect.

So...are you your fellow man's (brother's) keeper?

When it comes to the issue of their salvation and well being, indeed we are.

A chilling reminder from God lest we forget or misunderstand:

Ezekiel 33:8-9 (KJV) - "When I say unto the wicked, O wicked man, thou shalt surely die; if thou dost not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand. 9 Nevertheless, if thou warn the wicked of his way to turn from it; if he do not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul."

God required Abel's blood from Cain.

Paul reminds us in Romans 10:14  - "But how are people to call upon Him Whom they have not believed [in Whom they have no faith, on Whom they have no reliance]? And how are they to believe in Him [adhere to, trust in, and rely upon Him] of Whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without a preacher?"

It's a design of God's that we need to rely upon each other. The foundation is love. This is not some religious obligation. This is the Jesus way of life. It's how He operated, and it is His example to us. How will the lost be saved if we do not love them enough to tell them?

We are our brother's keeper because we love our brother (fellow human being). If we love them we will care about whether they are saved, healed, and delivered. It is "shamar", which is essentially the Hebrew version of "Sozo".

The Church essentially grows by conversion, not by believers moving around from church to church. The local church might grow that way, but the universal Body of Christ does not. 

Never be content, or be caught up, with numbers games. They might not tell the whole truth. Be content only when you are in God's will. His will is always that you (yes YOU) grow the Kingdom by conversion.

The blood of the lost will cry out to God as surely as did Abel's. 

God will want to know why.

Keepin' it Real,

Pastor Kevin <><

"Trust God's Stuff"

Did you ever walk away from something in which you had put a lot of time and effort into? And then after you made your choice, whatever it was you left suddenly explodes with everything that you had hoped would have happened when you were there?

I think of Don Mattingly, better known as "Donnie Baseball", who played his entire career as a New York Yankee. He was one of baseball's superstars, as well as one of the all-time Yankee greats. He played his entire career during a time when the Yankees never made the playoffs and World Series. In 1995 they made the playoffs for the first time with Mattingly, and then he abruptly retired at the end of that season. In 1996 the Yankees went all the way and won the World Series for the first time in over 20 years. Donnie Baseball just missed it. Bad timing on his part.

I think that believers do that at times. They grow impatient and stop trusting God. They end up making poor decisions that will haunt them forever.

John 14:1 (AMP) - "DO NOT let your hearts be troubled (distressed, agitated). You believe in and adhere to and trust in and rely on God; believe in and adhere to and trust in and rely also on Me."

The troubled heart. The wounded spirit. Sometimes a person's need grows so large that they think it is bigger than God. If they think it is bigger than God then they are in essence accusing God of being a failure.  

The remedy for this is not to apply the scripture when trouble arises, but to stay in it and live in it!

Don't let yourself become distressed and agitated. Exchange those damaging emotions for the Truth. Instead of fretting exercise faith and action toward trusting and relying and embracing God.

Embrace God and trust what He has given you. Trust where He is leading you. Listen to His voice and simply obey it. Don't overthink issues of uncertainty. Know that it is His voice, and once you have determined that, follow through and execute His plan.

Believe. Trust. Rely.

It's all Him. That's where the adherence comes in. Stick to Him like glue even when it feels like it is all coming apart. Particularly when it feels like it is all coming apart.

No matter what, always trust God's stuff.

Keepin' it Real,

Pastor Kevin <><