"Quiet The Opposition With The Proof"

It's not hard to believe that there would be anyone who would argue against Divine Healing, Salvation, Deliverance, or any other grace filled action done in the name of Jesus Christ. Except when it comes from within the Body of Christ from other believers.

In any event, wherever the opposition comes from (and it will), be prapeared to offer the proof that cannot be argued against.

Acts 4:14 (AMP) - "And since they saw the man who had been cured standing there beside them, they could not contradict the fact or say anything in opposition."

Flabbergasting silence.  They COULD NOT do what opposers and naysayers normally say and do.

You can't argue against what is plainly standing before you.

This doesn't mean they will like you any better or support you. But it will at least get their attention. It might get a few over to the right side of things.

I can't imagine a church that doesn't operate in doing what Jesus and His disciples did. I just can't.

I can't fathom a person walking into my church and not at least having the opportunity to be changed and made whole. I remember the days when it wasn't like that, but when the Spirit of Christ gets a hold of you about that you are either going to yield to Him or be disobedient.

You cannot argue with results. You cannot throw your religion against a movement of God. It will sputter and fail.

Changed lives is the greatest form of evangelism there is. It was Jesus' preferred method.

Hallelujah, it is mine as well! Don't tell me my Jesus isn't real! Don't tell me healing and deliverance is not for today! I will SHOW you how it is real! I will PROVE to you it is real!

In these days leading up to Resurrection Sunday, what a great way to testify that Jesus is alive! Get someone saved, healed, or delivered. Bring them to a church where the Spirit is alive and moving. Get them somewhere where the proof is undeniable!

Jesus is alive! I can prove it! So should you!

Keepin' it Real,

Pastor Kevin <><

"So, When They Look At You, What Are They Seeing?"

What do people see in you? About you? Do they marvel at your knowledge? Your expertise in certain areas? Are they impressed with your pedigree? Your level of achivement? Documented degrees of education? How about just that you're a sensitive, caring, and all around great person who would give others the shirt off your back!

All fine things, but nothing to boast about in the greater scheme. Society is fickle. Build 100 bridges and they will honor you with awards for being a great bridge builder.  Let those same people find out about one isolated and dishonorable thing you may have done years before and they will reign criticisms upon you that will erase the memory of anything good you have ever done. Such is the eternal unworthiness of carnal achievement.

So...maybe a better way to put this is, "when they look at you, what do YOU want them to see?"

Acts 4:13 (AMP) - "Now when they saw the boldness and unfettered eloquence of Peter and John and perceived that they were unlearned and untrained in the schools [common men with no educational advantages], they marveled; and they recognized that they had been with Jesus."

Peter and John were not Rhodes scholars. They weren't rabbinical sages. They were rough cut fishermen. It appears that at times they may not have even been successful fishermen. Jesus gave them identity. He gave them Himself. 

Jesus indelibly rubbed off on them. So much so that it was immediately recognizeable. They were looking at Peter and John, but they were seeing Jesus.

"...that they had been with Jesus."

I honestly believe, if the best we ever accomplish in this life is that, we will be completely satisifed.

Galatians 2:20 (AMP) - "I have been crucified with Christ [in Him I have shared His crucifixion]; it is no longer I who live, but Christ (the Messiah) lives in me; and the life I now live in the body I live by faith in (by adherence to and reliance on and complete trust in) the Son of God, Who loved me and gave Himself up for me."

This is my personal verse that I live by. It says everything. I meet many people as a pastor. I communicate with and interact with them all week long.  I am often flattered by their kind words and remarks about me.

If my name is forgotten and Jesus is made known, then everything I ever wanted in this life will be fulfilled.

I know I'm not so hot. I know that anything good, or gracious, or kind, or compassionate, or loving, that somehow is able to fight its way to the surface, is not anything I could make manifest as a personal quality of my character.

Anything about me that is tolerable at all is strictly because of Jesus in me. I am a dead man. I no longer live. If you met me without Jesus you might not like that person. I hope you quickly forget me but remember Jesus forever.

Remember Jesus forever. Jesus forever. Jesus. Forever.

My wife Joan's favorite bumper sticker: "Know Jesus, know peace. No Jesus, no peace."

No failures in Jesus because Jesus never fails.

Keepin' it Real,

Pastor Kevin <><

"All I Have To Do Is Mention Jesus"

I'm always guaranteed a response at the mere mention of Jesus. People will either roll their eyes, lash out at me, or just plain break out in a wave of joyful praise. Even sickness and addictions flee at the mere sound of Jesus.

Now I ask you...who or what brings such a response?

No one. Nothing.

Jesus is the Man. Love Him. Hate Him. Disbelieve Him. Ignore Him.

Doesn't change a thing. HE IS THE MAN!

Acts 4:12 (AMP) - "And there is salvation in and through no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by and in which we must be saved."

He is the single most important figure to ever walk the planet in all of world history.

He is your only hope of eternal life.

There is simply no other way to Heaven. Here or there.

He is one of the most despised and rejected figures in human history and He never harmed or hurt another living creature (Acts 4:11). He is the Creator of the Universe and all that's in it (John 1).

If you never meet Him in this life, you will in the next. He will either be your Greeter or He will be your Judge.

I know Him personally. He is my Brother and my Friend. We share the same Father.

I hope you know Him as well as I do. I hope you speak to Him often each day. 

At the mere mention of His Name situations and moments change.

Salvation. Healing. Deliverance.

Do you need any of those things today?

Listen...quietly...Jesus...Jesus...Jesus...

No sweeter Name. No greater comfort. No greater joy. No greater peace. Jesus.

Call on Him won't you? For any and all needs. Even now...

...Jesus...

All I ever have to do is just mention His Name and things change.

Keepin' it Real,

Pastor Kevin <><

"It's Jesus Who Rattles Your Cage, Not Me!"

It's always been Jesus. Century after century people have raged against the messenger trying to strike out against the Author.

Acts 4:10 (AMP) - "Let it be known and understood by all of you, and by the whole house of Israel, that in the name and through the power and authority of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, Whom you crucified, [but] Whom God raised from the dead, in Him and by means of Him this man is standing here before you well and sound in body."

This just isn't about the "whole house of Israel". We had a part in crucifying Him too.

If you're like me you have exchanged that for joining Him as the crucified.

Through this Jesus and His sacrifice, we have been set free. We are well and sound!

This still riles up the religious in heart. It is a threat not a joy. Much like Jesus threatened the livelihood of the Pharisee, so it is today with the religious. Relax. The people belong to Jesus.

The pure message of who Jesus is and what He did conflicts in places we should not expect.

Go ahead. Tell someone to shed their phylacteries and festive robes and stoles. Tell them that all they need is the Name.

They will lash out with sarcasm and controlled rage. Seething underneath over that you dare to challenge the religious correctness that is attempting to steal the thunder of God away from the Church.

Jesus is not ready to concede to that. 

Don't shoot me. I came out of that pagan ritualistic voodoo and it kept me entombed for half my life. I'm just the messnger with a warning in desperate times. Jesus is on the threshing floor. Are you the wheat or the chaff? The bug or the windshield?

Run. Run toward the freedom and liberty in Christ. Flee. Flee from religious staleness like you are running from a man with a gun. Flee from those who will drag you back to the Law we have been freed from.

Jesus. In all His pure and uncomplicated form. Savior. Healer. Deliverer.

Sozo. Get some o dat.

Keepin' it Real,

Pastor Kevin <><

"It Is A Scandalous Thing To Follow Jesus"

Want to do something that is meaningful as we approach our celebration of the death and resurrection of Jesus? 

Openly follow Him. Tell people, as many as you can, with total abandon to the consequences.

And yes...there will be consequences.

It is a scandalous thing to openly declare and follow Jesus Christ. Even today.

Romans 9:33 (KJV) - "As it is written, Behold, I lay in Zion a stumblingstone and rock of offense: and whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed."

The translation for the word "offense" in this verse is the Greek word "skandalon". It will be scandalous, cause a scandal, when you follow Jesus. 

But it also says that you will never be ashamed when you do. 

Jesus is that "Rock of Offense". 

1 Peter 2:8 (AMP) - "A Stone that will cause stumbling and a Rock that will give [men] offense; they stumble because they disobey and disbelieve [God's] Word."

People will either trip over Him or stand upon Him. They will see Him as the Door or a wall. 

Love Him or hate Him, it doesn't change Who He is.

It's you who need to be changed.

Please don't insult Him by making 40 day resolutions or marking your bodies in false religious piety. These things are an affront to God. Do you honestly believe that by "giving up" some ridiculous passion like chocolate or cigarettes for a short period of time, all the while pining to return to them at the end of your 40 day "wandering", that it will impress God for some special favor?  Why do some believers long to return to the very Law that Christ has freed them from?

Instead, how about using this season of reflection and celebration to introduce Jesus to as many people as you can?

Or is it easier to give up your Snickers bars? Is it easier to smear your forehead with dirt for a few hours? 

Sure it is. That's what's wrong with it. Something about the road to hell being paved with good intentions. Silly rabbit.

Telling people about Jesus costs something. It will open you up to scandal. It might embarrass you. It will make you nervous. It will cost you family and friends. It might make you a social pariah.

But it will also enlarge you and your territory. It will extend your circle of brotherhood.

Most of all it is the one and only thing that you can actually do that accomplishes one single eternal thing in all of your short little life on this planet. 

It pleases God when you tell people about His Son. It causes a party in Heaven.

Well done sheeple. Wash the dirt off your face and praise God. Eat those Snickers but tell somebody about Jesus while you're doing it!

Hey...I know...but as always, I'm just...

...Keepin' it Real. Nobody goes to hell on my watch.

Pastor Kevin <><

"It Doesn't Have To Be A Battle"

All of this "battling against the flesh" stuff has taken a life of its own. 

Let's clarify something. It's abnormal Christian behavior to be in a constant battle between your flesh and the Holy Spirit. It is not God's plan for you. His plan is that you would settle the issue once for all.

Galatians 5:16 (AMP) - "But I say, walk and live [habitually] in the [Holy] Spirit [responsive to and controlled and guided by the Spirit]; then you will certainly not gratify the cravings and desires of the flesh (of human nature without God)."

 What has happened is that it has become a huge copout. When failure in the flesh strikes Christians will cop a plea that they couldn't help it because "you win some, you lose some". Or worse, "that ol' devil just kicked my butt today, but we'll get him tomorrow."

They read verse 17 out of context with verse 16.

(17) For the desires of the flesh are opposed to the [Holy] Spirit, and the [desires of the] Spirit are opposed to the flesh (godless human nature); for these are antagonistic to each other [continually withstanding and in conflict with each other], so that you are not free but are prevented from doing what you desire to do.

Verse 16 says what to do, verse 17 shows what happens when we do not. It is not a condition that is without remedy. It is is a statement of facts which will occur if verse 16 is ignored.

Look at verse 18:

"But if you are guided (led) by the [Holy] Spirit, you are not subject to the Law."

You see, what happens is when you concede your life to the power of the flesh, and say you continually fail in this "battle of the flesh and Spirit", Paul references it to reverting back to a graceless Law! He is essentially saying that it is normal to be yielded to the Spirit, and when we do that we will live a powerful victory in grace, not defeat under the legal system of "battling the flesh".

Understand something. There is really no battle. It's a "no contest". You can't battle the flesh. You are fighting yourself. It's like the house divided against itself.

Only the Holy Spirit can fight that battle and defeat it. The flesh needs to be crucified, not merely subdued. It's not a back and forth proposition of one day you win, one day you lose.

This is the way Paul says it should be:  "(24) And those who belong to Christ Jesus (the Messiah) have crucified the flesh (the godless human nature) with its passions and appetites and desires."

You have to take a stand and draw the line in the sand. Whom do you serve? Is it Jesus? If so, then realize the power that comes with that. If you belong to Him than that battle has been won already.

Why do you continue to live in flux, with your testimony being dragged through the mud everytime you fail? Or do you think that IS your testimony? Do you subscribe to the false notion that you are still "a sinner saved by grace", rather than the truth that you were once a sinner but now you are saved from that former life with the flesh crucified with Jesus?

You've been tricked into believing a lie. You have been tricked into a false identity. You have been tricked into catastrophic misinterpretation of God's Word. The result of that is a complete and total breakdown of truth to the point where you have become the polar oppoiste of who you are supposed to be in Jesus!

My friend, I hate to tell you this, but if you are believing that a daily battle with the flesh is normal, then you are the tail, not the head. Polar opposite.

Let's right the ship.

"(25) If we live by the [Holy] Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. [If by the Holy Spirit we have our life in God, let us go forward walking in line, our conduct controlled by the Spirit.]"

 Start walking in the Spirit. You have the power. It is your inherited right as an adopted child of the King.

Keepin' it Real,

Pastor Kevin <><

"Faith To Faith"

Time for a faith check.

Are you living what you believe? Faith is not static. It is not an element that merely makes up the composition of what is defined as being "Christian". It is not "easy believism".

Faith moves. It runs. It is fluid. 

Simply put, faith gets more faith.

Romans 1:17 (AMP) - "For in the Gospel a righteousness which God ascribes is revealed, both springing from faith and leading to faith [disclosed through the way of faith that arouses to more faith]. As it is written, The man who through faith is just and upright shall live and shall live by faith."

There is no getting around it. If you "have" faith you will live according to that level. It's like water. It will seek it's level.

The question is, "Will you respond?".

It's not good enough to just say you have faith. Your actions may deny that statement.

Do you live the faith you speak of. Do you walk the talk?

You will if your faith is well placed and you truly believe it. 

Springing from faith, leading to more faith, and continuing in that forever. That's normal Christian living.

Keepin' it Real,

Pastor Kevin <><