"They HAD potential" - Something i don't want to hear!

Every individual must write his or her own ending to this story!

Luke 15:28-32
28 And he was angry, and would not go in: therefore came his father out, and intreated him.
31 And he said unto him, Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine.
32 It was meet that we should make merry, and be glad: for this thy brother was dead, and is alive again; and was lost, and is found.

The petition he heard from his father.

1. It was a petition of pleading

• The father went out and “entreated” this boy to come in to the feast.
• The word “entreat” means “to come alongside of another to offer aid and comfort, to beg, to console, to comfort, to encourage".
• It is the same word that is translated “Comforter” in John 16:13 and is one of the names of the Holy Spirit. This father loved him.

2. It was a petition of promise

• The father praised him for his efforts, and reminded him that everything was already his! In effect, this father was saying, “I value you and our relationship together more than I value your works".
• This boy could have enjoyed fellowship with the father anytime he wanted, but apparently, he was too wrapped up within his own legalism and narrow-mindedness to realise it.
• This boy wanted what the father had, but he did not want the father, and he did not want anyone else to have the father either.
• What a tragedy!

3. It was a petition of priorities

• The father tells this boy that is was “meet” that they should have this celebration. The word “meet” means “necessary”. To the father, the return of the lost son was a cause for celebration.
• A lost one had been found.
• One considered dead was now alive again.

You see, instead of pouting, this boy could have been partying!

• Look at this chapter: everyone is happy but this boy.
• The shepherd is happy. The woman is happy.
• The father is happy. The lost son is happy.
• The servants are happy. The only person in misery is this elder brother.

And, he is miserable because he refuses to be happy. The feast is there, all he has to do is go in and enjoy himself. But, he is standing out there pouting, because he didn’t get his way and because he is not the center of attention!

Have you ever noticed that this is an open-ended story?
Did the elder brother ever come into the feast? We don’t know.
I think Jesus left it this way for a reason.

And here is that reason: Every individual must write his or her own ending to this story!

That's my five minutes!

What's the Older Brother's problem?

Luke 15:30 tells us what the older brothers problem was. “But as soon as this thy son was come, which hath devoured thy living with harlots, thou hast killed for him the fatted calf”. Who told him this boy had spent his money on harlots? Did someone SMS him? Did he check his brothers Facebook? Certainly not….

He hasn’t even talked to the boy or to the father. Do you know what’s wrong with him? He’s jealous! He may be at home in his body, but he is in the far country in his heart!

He is as far away from the father as was the other son when he went away. All he wants to do is live it up like the other boy did! But, He can’t, so he gets mad that one who did the very things he wants to do in his heart has been received by the father.

This is what was wrong with the Pharisees. They kept the letter of the Law outwardly, but in their hearts, they longed for sin!

You don’t have to be a drunk to be out of God’s will! You don’t have to be an adulterer to be in the far country spiritually. You can serve your church, sing in the choir, preach the Word, or anything else you want to name and still be out of God’s will!

You can sit in church (the house) mad and resentful over things that may have happened in the past or even in the church. You can look pious and righteous today, but have a heart full of malice because of what someone said or did to you. That puts you in the far country.

When you listen to this boy talk to the father, you quickly realize that he is proud, disrespectful, arrogant, defensive and angry. There is obviously something wrong with the way he is looking at what is happening here. He should be overjoyed that his brother has returned safely from the far country. He should be rejoicing that the father has received a lost son home again. But all he can do is whine, pout and complain.

Notice how this young man handled his anger. He attacked, he criticized and he blamed! This lets you know that his heart is not right!

Why? Because your outward attitudes and actions are a mirror into your heart. OUT OF THE ABUNDANCE OF THE HEART – THE MOUTH SPEAKS! (Matthew 12:34)

To be continued…..

The Older Brother.....lost in the House!

Luke 15:25-30
[25] …and as he came and drew nigh to the house, he heard musick and dancing. [26] And he called one of the servants, and asked what these things meant. [27] And he said unto him, Thy brother is come; and thy father hath killed the fatted calf, because he hath received him safe and sound. [28] And he was angry, and would not go in: therefore came his father out, and intreated him. [29] And he answering said to his father, Lo, these many years do I serve thee, neither transgressed I at any time thy commandment: and yet thou never gavest me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends: [30] But as soon as this thy son was come, which hath devoured thy living with harlots, thou hast killed for him the fatted calf.

We often forget the older brother in this story. Very often the focus is always on the prodigal son. But the older brother was also lost…..He was lost in the house! In reading the this story, we find that the older brother had a problem with his motives. When he hears that there is a celebration, he is angry and he refuses to go in to the party. His father comes out and gently pleads with him to come in with the others. His reply to his father is very telling of this boy’s heart.

In verse 29, he reminds the father of his faithful service and complains that he has never been given a feast for what he has done.

It is amazing how many books on church growth point out this problem. It is very common when a church begins to grow and focus on the lost that some people feel like they are missing out and become disgruntled. Those “in the house” want it to be all about them….just like the older brother.

The bottom line here is this:
1. The older brother did not care that his lost brother had come home.
2. The older brother did not care about that which pleased the father.
3. The older brother did not care about the glory of the father, he wanted the glory for what he had been doing.
4. The older brother did not even care about the father, he did what he did for what he could get out of it.
5. The older brother even saw his service to the father as “slavery”.

Watch out for the Spirit of the “older brother”. He didn’t serve his father out of love for the father, but out of a desire to help himself.

What are your motives for what we do? Paul tells us there is but one valid motive.
1 Corinthians 10:31 “…whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.”

To be continued……

The Sons Return

It was a happy reunion.

Luke 15:20-24 “And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him. And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son. But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet: And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry: For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry.”

He found a father filled with love, compassion and grace who received him and loved him back into fellowship!

Now the son is back and he’s standing there in the rags of his sins. He doesn’t look like a child of this father. But, the father orders the best of his robes to be brought and to be put on the son. This robe would cover all the stains and dirt of the pig pen and make him look like the father! What a beautiful picture of Jesus our saviour….when a sinner comes home, they also receive a robe from the heavenly Father. The ring represents the priviledges, and the shoes his position (only slaves went barefoot, sons wore shoes). There was much rejoicing….the son had come home. The fatted calf was the Father's way of sharing His joy with all around.

But the elder brother just couldn’t seem to see the positive side of his younger brothers return. Sadly, this elder brother is a picture of one who is involved in the things of God, but who, sadly, has no real relationship with the father. He might be in the father’s house, but he is still lost. He is still in the “far country” in his heart!

The father loves the elder brother as well!

The elder brother held a position of privilege. As the elder brother he is entitled to two-thirds of His father’s possessions (Deut. 21:17). Since his younger brother has already received his part of the inheritance, (v. 12), everything remaining belongs to the elder brother.

The elder brother was still being productive. The text says that the elder brother was “in the fields”….he’s busy doing the father’s business while his brother is off “living it up”.

The elder brother is a picture of the Pharisees. These people were also in a place of privilege. The looked good to the people around then, but there was a problem within their hearts. The elder brother was lost!

We must be careful that even though we may consider ourselves “mature Christians” and have been serving God for many years….we can still be lost in the house! Your are a good moral person. You come to church. You don’t drink, steal or cheat. You have been baptized and are a church member. From all outward appearances, you are as good as anybody around you. But, just as Jesus could look into the heart of the Pharisee and see his lost condition, He can look within your heart and see that you are lost too.

You can be good, moral and active in the church and still be lost.

To be continued…….

The Lost Son

He left home saying “Give me!”. He returns home saying “Make me!”

Luke 15 has been called God’s Lost and Found Department. In Luke 15, Jesus used four illustrations dealing with the lost and with His’ desire to see them saved and restored to fellowship with Him. He talks about the lost sheep (1 sheep out of 100, 1%), the lost coin (1 coin out of 10, 10%), and then Jesus talked about the lost son (1 son from 2, 50%).

We hear so much about the story of the prodigal son, but it is the older brother that I want to reflect on in this post.

Luke 15:11-12 “A certain man had two sons: And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living”. The request of this younger son was for his share of the inheritance.

In our culture it is the ultimate in “rudeness” to ask for your inheritance! In effect, the son was saying to his father “Dad, I wish you were dead and had no more say in my life! I am tired of you and I want to be free from you and your control in my life”. For the father, it was a shocking and selfish request. The son was seriously self-centred. Even the words “Give me” in verse 12 make me cringe! His life is all wrapped up within himself and he cares for no one else, especially not the father.

The father could have refused and kicked the son out, but he doesn’t. The Bible says, “And he divided unto them his living”. The younger son wanted what the father could give him, but he did not want the father!

It was before too long that the son met a harsh reality.

Luke 15:13-16 “And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living. And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land; and he began to be in want. And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country; and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat: and no man gave unto him”. He crash and burned…..big time!

The son gets just what he wants, but soon finds out that “all that glitters is not gold”!

He blew the inheritance on “riotous living”, a life totally given over to sinfulness and wickedness. When the son left home, he also left behind all his moral restraints. Did he have a good time? Oh yes! There is Pleasure in Sin for a Season! (Hebrews 11:25)

Eventually his money ran out and along with the money, he also lost the friends who had helped him spend it (isn’t that always the way?). The far country, a land of “wine, women and song” had become a land of “weeping, worry and sorrow”.

This portion of scripture shows us the consequences of sin. Sin brings separation (he left the father and the provision of the family), sin brings sorrow (he wanted), sin brings shame (eating with the pigs), sin brings suffering (no home, no help and no hope), sin brings sadness (he is alone and lonely).

Luke 15:17-20 “And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father's have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, and am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants. And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him.”

“When he came to himself” This boy’s time in the far country had been a time of insanity. He hadn’t been thinking clearly!

He makes up his mind to go home! He is tired of life in the far country. He longs for fellowship with the father. He wants to go where he can be loved, fed and cared for.

He left home saying “Give me!”.
He returns home saying “Make me!”

To be continued……

The Bitter is Sweet

1 Peter 4:12 Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you:

James 1:2-4 My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.

Count it all joy - the trying of your faith is the thing that is perfecting you.

I want to talk about the process of perfecting. If we can really get ahold of what these writers are saying we’ll understand that there is something in this process of perfection that is not scary. That actually the bitter is sweet.

If we are to ever be successful in our calling, it will not happen unless first there is a testing. Anyone who has walked with God and had any success in their ministry will understand that there is a process of testing, a process of perfecting. You see, whatever talent, ability you have been gifted with, it must be given back to God. He hands it to us, we are inspired, there is a lot of zeal. It isn’t all about inspiration and excitement……there are testing times. Wisdom comes through the testing times.

Whoever you are and whatever you are doing for God, this time of testing may not always be pleasant. There is no-one here that is exempt from this perfection process, this testing process.

Human nature seeks the sunshine.
Human nature seeks the comfortable. But we can’t always have the sweet without the bitter.
You can’t have the sunshine and no rain.
You can’t have the sunshine and no clouds.

It is in the struggles and testing in our lives that God is perfecting us, this is growth and maturity.

There is no doubt that we are going to face some things and go through some things because God is getting ready to pour a blessing out on our life. He is going to take us through the bitter water and the hard times…but he will pour a blessing out on us. If God is going to perfect us…there has to be some battles, some hardships, some hot times.

Psalm 126:5-6 They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.

The that sow in tears shall reap in joy. You can’t have the sweet water all the time. If you want the blessing of God, there is a testing that is going to come along side it.

Sometimes we have to taste the bitter before we taste the sweet.

Moses crossed the red sea…it happened along time before he got there. He spend 40 years in the wilderness.

Paul turned the world upside down….but before this there were beatings and hardship.

You are in good company….everyone wants sweet water…but we need to be thankful for the bitter water of perfecting. If there are no tears, there will be no laughter. If there is no bitter water, there will be no sweet.

When the bitter waters come, that is Gods place of perfecting. The bitter is what makes the sweet enjoyable.

Be encouraged!

That's my five minutes!

Because of the Times 2009

On 12 November 2008, i blogged about my upcoming visit to Alexandria, Louisiana for Because of the Times.

BOTT is a conference for ministers and their families hosted by the Pentecostal of Alexandria in Louisiana USA. Thousands of ministers from numerous Apostolic organisations gather with a desire to pursue the deity and vision of Almighty God. It is a time for preachers to be fed and replenished and a time where programs, positions, and prominence are laid aside to let God unify the body and install His purpose in our hearts. BOTT follows a basic format is 13 anointed speakers with diverse delivery methods.

BOTT 2009 was life changing for me.

• the ministry was life-changing (see my revised all-time Top 10 sermons from BOTT);
• the worship / music was first class;
• i met some fantastic people and life long friends (Chris Endsley, Sonny Warbington, Russ Cripps, Johnathan Dean, Paul Pamer, Robby Emery, Kevin Howard, Jimmy Toney);
• got to hang with Wayne Francis, Chris Austin, Angel L Baez jnr and a heap of other cool church planters;
• had great conversation with my travelling buddy Stanley Harvey;
• the food was crazy....i put on 3 kgs in 10 days! (go the BBQ Pork Ribs with unsweet ice tea);
• i got to meet all of the Manguns, Terry Shock and a pile of others who i really look up to in the ministry (i shouldn't name drop hey);
• message by Mark Morgan on the following weekend at POA was unbelievable - "The Tale of Two Trees";
• i went to Tioga - UPC Campground and got to see "the Tabernacle";
• Alexandria is a quite place - i still can't understand why people in the streets wear hunting camo? the weather is crazy as well....i thought Melbourne was bad!
• the people of the POA would have to be some of the most hospitable people that i have ever met - i now understand why they call it "southern hospitality";

Here is my revised Top 10 BOTT sermons (life changing for me). Note: I haven't heard most of the messages pre 1995 so i am probably missing some real "bell ringers" - please forgive me!

As of November 2008

1. This is a Lost World and We Have a Mandate to Reach it - Anthony Mangun
2. 21st Century Apostolic – Anthony Mangun
3. We are measured by God’s pattern – Anthony Mangun
4. Man’s Greatest Need is God’s Greatest Desire (Knowing God) - Jeff Arnold
5. When you stop measuring the miracle will happen – Jeff Arnold
6. Life’s Three Greatest Words (I Am Persuaded) – Jeff Arnold
7. Hath Israel No Sons – Wayne Huntley
8. Condemnation Interferes with Intimacy – Gerald Jeffers
9. There is no substitute for Sons – Wayne Huntley
10. Addicted – Matthew Maddix

After BOTT 2009

1. This is a Lost World and We Have a Mandate to Reach it - Anthony Mangun
2. 21st Century Apostolic – Anthony Mangun
3. Prisoner in the Land of Fulfillment - Royce Wilson (2009)
4. Rediscovering Refuge - Terry Shock (2009)
5. We are measured by God’s pattern – Anthony Mangun
6. Man’s Greatest Need is God’s Greatest Desire (Knowing God) - Jeff Arnold
7. When you stop measuring the miracle will happen – Jeff Arnold
8. Life’s Three Greatest Words (I Am Persuaded) – Jeff Arnold
9. It's time for Aaron's Rod to Bud - Anthony Mangun (2009)
10. Hath Israel No Sons – Wayne Huntley
11. Condemnation Interferes with Intimacy – Gerald Jeffers
12. The Miracle of More or Less - Wayne Huntley (2009)
13. There is no substitute for Sons – Wayne Huntley
14. Addicted – Matthew Maddix

Don't Quit

Jeremiah 33:3
3 Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.

Mark 11:24
24 Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.

I didn’t give you that promise…God gave it to you.

Winston Churchill….never give up! The entirety of his speech was “never give up”. It was impacting…only three words.

Hebrews 10:35-38
35 Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompense of reward.
36 For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise.
37 For yet, a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry.
38 Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him.

After you’ve done the will of God, you need patience. He didn’t say that after you’ve done the will of God then suddenly God will pour out the promise….he said it is going to take some patience. Even after doing the will of God, you still need patience.

Don’t lose heart and abort the plan that God has for your life! I am telling you, don’t give up and don’t give in….don’t quit!

Endurance, determination, grit, fortitude, determination, prevailing, perseverance. Don’t’ quit!

Ministry is a Must!

Matthew 20:28
28: Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.

We need a revelation of personal ministry. A determination to minister like we’ve never ministered before. Why?

1. Ministry is how we are like Jesus.
2. Ministry is the key to personal and kingdom fulfilment.

You don’t have to have an assignment to minister. You don’t have to wait until someone gives you a ministry.

You don’t need to have an assignment to purchase a CD of a sermon for someone who could use it.

You don’t need a title to pick some groceries up for someone who is going through a hard time.

You don’t need a position to “prayer walk” your community, visit someone in hospital, visit the nursing home, make a call of encouragement.

We need to see ourselves as ministry! Jesus came to minister, not to be ministered to!

Joseph was in prison and it wasn’t even his fault. He refused to look at his problems and mistakes. When the kings men came to prison he ministered to them. Do you know what got him up there in the kingdom? It was his sensitivity to the needs of those he met in prison. That's ministry!

We all deal with failures and mistakes. But even in those times we must continue to minister. There is tremendous joy and satisfaction when we get our focus off ourselves and onto ministry.

The reason why some people can’t move into a fulfilled life is because they don’t minister! They are always focused on themselves. Satan said “I will exalt myself”. Selfishness is satanic.

There is liberating power and revelation in ministry! For some people the only thing standing between them and peace/fulfilment is a renewed desire to minister to others and take the focus off themselves.

What are the real needs in people’s lives. Salvation, redemption, the blood of Jesus. But the gateway to these real needs is through the felt needs. Focus on the felt needs and then move to the real need. It will move you into a fulfilled life! Reach out to somebody!If you want to feel like your life matters….then reach out to somebody!

That's my five minutes!

Set Apart for His Use - Doing Great things for God

1 Peter 1:13
13: Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;

I want to start by quoting my friend Paul Glass (a quote he made on Facebook recently). "I want to be apart of something BIG, even if it's just in my head".

“Gird up the loins of your mind.”

This was a meaningful metaphor for first-century believers. In New Testament days men wore long robes that were a hindrance whenever they needed to move quickly or work. Men also wore a belt around their waist, so that when they need to do some strenuous work, they could shorten the robe by pulling it up in the belt, giving them the freedom to run, fight, or whatever they needed to do. This was called “girding your loins.” Now what does the loins have to do with the mind?

When Peter said to gird up the loins of your mind, he was telling us to prepare yourself for strenuous mental activity. Your mind has become a battlefield; get ready to fight, get ready for some hard work. If you are going to be great for God – you need to gird up the loins of your mind!

Two verse down, Peter is talking about holiness. He used the metaphor of “girding us the loins of your mind” as a means to explain that living a life of holiness is battle. Holiness is being “set apart for God’s use”. I can testify that trying to be “set apart for God’s use” in this world is a battle – a daily battle. Trying to be in the world but not of the world is a battle – a daily battle. But Paul told us – it begin in the mind. Being set apart of God’s use (holiness) begins in the mind!
I want to do great things for God. The Bible says “Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us” (Ephesians 3:20). We can see God do things beyond our wildest dream if we would just allow the power of God (the Holy Spirit) to work through us! That can only happen if we are “set apart for His use”.

That’s my five minutes!

Our Effectiveness

Knowing God’s purpose for your life is one of the best things you could ever find out. Further to that, living a life that fulfills God’s purpose is even better. Everybody in the body of Christ has the call of God upon their life. Unfortunately we often reserve this “call” just for the ministry. But God has called all of us “into the kingdom for such a time as this”. God has a unique plan and purpose for our life. When we are filled with his Spirit, we have everything we need to see God do great things through our life!

I have met a lot of people with tremendous potential. I have met people who are fulfilling their potential and I have met those who are yet to fulfil their potential. Sadly, I’ve been around long enough to have seen people who once had great potential. The ditches on the sides of the road of life are full of people with potential. It is my passion to see young people realising their God-ordained potential.

I don’t care how much potential that you’ve got, because potential alone is not enough. It is about realising our potential, it is about our potential becoming an actuality.

Jesus paid the price for our salvation – we will pay the price for our effectiveness. There are a lot of people “speaking in tongues” – but not effective, not living in the realm of their God-ordained potential. There are a lot of people that “mean well” – but they aren’t effective. The parable about the man who buried his talent is a case in point – he “meant well” – but he wasn’t effective.

We need some people to step up. We need young people to step up and show the world that Jesus can make a major difference in our life – but not just that! We need young people to step up and show the world that Jesus can make a major difference through our life. God did not make a mistake when he matched us with this day!

This may shock some people, but we must realise that we are either helping people get to heaven, or we are helping them go to hell. We must come to grips with this – this is the bottom line. There is no neutral. The worst advertisement for Christianity is a lukewarm Christian. When a non-Christian sees a lukewarm Christian they cannot help but see that it is a boring life. Sitting on the fence offers nothing except splinters!

So we have two choices – it’s easy!
Live for Jesus – an abundant life and an eternity in heaven.
Live for Satan – enjoy the pleasures of this world for a season (there is pleasure out there – but just for a season).

I’m not going to pretend that people aren’t having fun out there. They are! But in the end, they will not be happy. The “fun” is short lived – it is just for a season. When the season is over, the song by U2 rings true – “I still haven’t found what I’m looking for!”

I want to emphasise again that there is no such thing as redemptive neutral – being in this world and effecting no-one. We are all effecting someone – it just depend on what way we are effecting them. We must stop and do a self assessment of our life. We need to take time to examine ourselves. We need to take the Bible and do a diagnosis on our Christian walk and our effectiveness. If your truly connected to the vine there will be fruit – fruit of the Spirit. Secondly, picture yourself laying at the front of the church in a wooden box!

It may sound a bit morbid, but start by writing your eulogy. Put yourself in the box and ask yourself – “What is the preacher going to be able to say with integrity!” We must live it not so that they can say it then!

That’s my five minutes!