A call to action by evangelist Fabian Grech.

Here are some alarming truths about how many are still unreached with gospel of Jesus Christ!

The world population is about 6.70 billion. The population among the unreached people groups is about 2.74 billion – that is 40.9% of the world’s population. Can you imagine over 2 billion people who know no one who can show them Jesus? That is 1 out of 3 people!

Most of the people are in Asia, Middle East and North Africa. Most of these people are Muslims. I have personally been in Tunisia and there are 400 believers from a population of 9 million people. Libya has a population of 5 million people, and there are only 20 believers. There are a total of 1.5 billion Muslims in the world with only about 2,300 missionaries sharing with them.

And the list goes on and on…
This is a call to action!!

About 107 people die per minute, that is about 6390 die in 1 hour!
This a call to action!!

What are you living for? What are you burning for? You only have 1 life to live!
Here are some important words from our Master:

“And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.” Matthew 24:14

“Do you not say, ‘There are 4 months and then comes the harvest? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest!” John 4:35

“The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few.” Matthew 9:37

“How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “ How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, Who bring glad tidings of good things!” Romans 10:14,15.

Then Paul expressed about his life, “My ambition has always been to preach the Good News where the name of Christ has never been heard, rather than where a church has already been started by someone else. I have been following the plan spoken of in the Scriptures, where it says, “Those who have never been told about him will see, and those who have never heard of him will understand.” In fact, my visit to you has been delayed so long because I have been preaching in these places.” Romans 15:20-22

90% of missionaries go to “Christianized” people groups. Only 3 out 0f 100 missionaries go live among these 2 billion people. More money is embezzled by ‘church’ leaders than is spent on the unreached.
We must do something about this! To whom much is given, much will be required.
It is encouraging to know that the second largest mission force is among the Koreans. Recently the Chinese pledged 100,000 new missionaries.

This is a call to action!!

You can see a lot of updated info., statistics, maps, videos about the unreached at http://www.joshuaproject.net/

Videos can be seen at: http://www.joshuaproject.net/unreached-people-videos.php

There are many people in the body of Christ who are asking God these two questions:

“WHY? Why have I been prayed for to be healed, and yet, I’m still suffering?”

“WHEN? When, Lord, will I be healed?”

Perhaps some of you reading this have asked these two questions.
You have requested prayer. The pastor or a visiting evangelist laid hands on you for healing, but you stayed the same as before. You cannot help but wonder, “Why?”
You see in the scriptures that “…Jesus… went about doing good: healing ALL who were oppressed of the devil…” – Acts 10:38
You believe it is God’s will for you to be healed, based on the promises and provisions of the New Testament….and you are CORRECT!
So, now you ask, “When, Lord?”

I asked these same questions myself. You see, several years ago, I received a revelation about healing from Luke 4:18 and Matthew 10. I began to see multitudes healed on a regular basis OUTSIDE THE 4 WALLS OF THE CHURCH! But…inside the church, it was a completely different story.

This perplexed me and caused me much anguish. I spent much time of the next few years, praying, fasting and asking Father about it. Then, I received another great revelation from Scripture. As a result, I now see as many healed inside the Church as I do outside the Church.

The answer is found in several passages of scripture. We’ll look first at James 5:14-16:

“Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.

A great part of my failure INSIDE the Church, among BELIEVERS, was that I was trying to apply the same principles there as I was using in the “…As you go,…” area.

You see, our Lord Jesus, in the days of His flesh, healed ALL that were sick…BUT…NOT ONE OF THEM WAS A CHRISTIAN when He healed them! Many times, after healing them He would warn, “Sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto you!”

All Jesus required of these sinners to GET HEALED was enough faith to ALLOW Him to touch them and say, BE HEALED!…or RISE AND WALK!…

Now that Jesus has gone to the cross, died, been buried and has risen again from death, He has born-again children of God who sometimes need healing. We, as followers of Jesus Christ are no longer ignorant sinners. We are born of God! We Know Him! We have His words and we read them (or at least, we should). “To whom MUCH is given, Much is required”.

Notice verse 14 of James 5, “Is ANY sick AMONG YOU?” Then, in verse 16, “…confess your faults (sins) one to another, and pray one for another THAT YOU MAY BE HEALED…”

You see, my dear brother/sister, the Father requires something MORE of us!
As we will see in future articles on this subject as we go over a number of passages of scripture in detail, the primary hindrances to healing inside the Church, are bitterness, resentment and unforgiveness.

The Church at Corinth, in the days of the Apostle Paul, was faced with this same situation. Some of them had become sick and were not healed. Others became sick and actually died as a result. This brought up the inevitable question, “WHY?”

Paul endeavored to answer it in his first letter to the Corinthians. In 1Cor. 11:17-18(AMP):

“But in what I instruct [you] next I do not commend [you], because when you meet together, it is not for the better but for the worse. For in the first place, when you assemble as a congregation, I hear that there are cliques (divisions and factions) among you; and I in part believe it”.

Also, in verses 27-31(AMP),we read this concerning the taking of communion:

So then whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in a way that is unworthy [of Him] will be guilty of [profaning and sinning against] the body and blood of the Lord. Let a man [thoroughly] examine himself, and [only when he has done] so should he eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discriminating and recognizing with due appreciation that [it is Christ's] body, eats and drinks a sentence (a verdict of judgment) upon himself. That [careless and unworthy participation] is the reason many of you are weak and sickly, and quite enough of you have fallen into the sleep of death. For if we searchingly examined ourselves [detecting our shortcomings and recognizing our own condition], we should not be judged and penalty decreed [by the divine judgment].

Brothers and sisters in Christ, THERE IS HEALING IN THE ATONEMENT, and that is what communion represents. We can be healed as we partake, UNLESS WE PARTAKE UNWORTHILY, NOT DISCERNING THE LORD’S BODY!

We are commanded by our Lord Jesus Christ to WALK IN LOVE, PERIOD!  We are even exhorted to “Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you and pray for them which spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be the children of your Father which is in Heaven. For He makes His sun to shine on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the just and the unjust. For if you love them which love you, what thanks do you have…? And if you greet your brothers only, How are you different…? Be ye therefore perfect (mature, walking in love), even as your Father which is in Heaven is perfect (loves His enemies).” – Matt. 5:44-48.

WE ARE THE BODY OF CHRIST!

Communion is a representation of His body. The bread represents His body. He took stripes on His body to provide for our healing. Are you beginning to get the picture here? Communion means “common-union”.  When we allow bitterness, resentment, unforgiveness, envy, strife, jealousy, slander, etc… to have a place in us, we divide the body of Christ. These things hinder your faith and cause your heart to condemn you.

1 John 3:18-23:

My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.  And hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before him.  For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things. Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God.  And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight.  And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment.

Perhaps you are thinking, “YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT THEY DID!”

The greater the offense – the greater the opportunity to exercise the God kind of love, and FORGIVE!

Remember the story of Joseph in the book of Genesis? His brothers did him wrong, and THEY WERE THE PEOPLE OF GOD!!! Did he hold it against them? No, and he wasn’t even born-again!

DO YOU WANT TO BE HEALED?  Forgive those who’ve wronged you.

Your servant-brother,

Joel Crumpton

If you would like to hear more on this subject and go further in depth with both *being* healed, and ministering healing you may want to listen to our two part series of our Fire On Your Head Podcast

“Are Any Among You sick?”

Download this episode (right click and save)

“As you Go, Heal the Sick!”

Download this episode (right click and save)

Editor’s note:   Britt Williams is the pastor of Consuming Fire Fellowship, in Woodville Mississippi. The following article is something I came across on Facebook when several of my contacts posted this article on their profiles.  I was challenged and convicted by many of the points, and though we don’t agree with every point or feel that some of the ministry methods the author engages in are of our personal preference or style, we did feel enough in common with this article to share with our readers to be given a challenging perspective on the role of conviction.  Any comments and thoughts are welcome.  And we hope and believe it will be of benefit to you as you read.

In this article, we revisit an often overlooked and forgotten fundamental of gospel preaching; the convicting power of God, an essential component in the experience of conversion. Conviction is that divine power that convinces and draws the sinner to Jesus. Thus, unless men are convicted and convinced of their awful sinfulness before a holy God they will never come to the Lord Jesus Christ.

“No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.”
-John 6:44

Jesus presents us with an absolute, the theological implications thereof, are often overlooked/neglected in this hour of seeker-sensitive, easy-believism. Sadly, the tendency today is to overlook, redefine, or ignore altogether the necessity of conviction in the new birth experience. If we fail to understand the dynamics of the gospel, and conviction in particular, we are ill prepared to be a witness for Jesus. Now, if conviction is absolutely essential in the conversion of souls, then we must desire to see lost sinners come under conviction, yes? This being true, let us consider what the Bible tells us about true Holy Ghost conviction.

I. FIRST, HOW MIGHT WE DEFINE CONVICTION?

John 6:44a No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him…

Now, we’ve heard this term “conviction” many times before, but what does it actually mean? According to Webster’s 1828 Dictionary, “conviction” can be described as…

The act of compelling one to admit the truth of a charge; the act of convincing of sinfulness; the state of being convinced; the state of being sensible or aware of guilt. By conviction, a sinner is brought to repentance.

Thus, conviction is the experience of the sinner being awakened to the sinfulness, the penalty, and the only remedy of his sin. There is perhaps nothing in the human experience more disturbing, unsettling, and gut wrenching than Holy Ghost conviction. If it were not for its glorious end, it would be accurate to call conviction awful and terrible torment of the mind and soul. And remember, we, above all, must desire/have this happen to those we hope to win to Jesus.

II. AS I MENTIONED, CONVICTION IS AN ABSOLUTE NECESSITY FOR CONVERSION.

John 6:44a No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him…

Our text irrefutably teaches the absolute: no man will come to Jesus apart from God’s convicting power. Now, contrary to popular thought, fallen humanity has no innate interest in God, but rather, is predisposed to evade and hate Him. And thus, there has never been even one man who sought God of his own accord: not because we can’t, but we won’t.

Psalm 10:4 The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God: God is not in all his thoughts.

I heard a preacher say, “the increased popularity of the occult proves men are spiritually hungry, searching for a God they don’t know.” Such a statement presupposes three unscriptural and illogical concepts:

a. Sinners can seek God apart from God.

Romans 3:11 …there is none that seeketh after God.

b. Sinners can sincerely seek God and not find Him.

Jeremiah 29:13 And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.

c. Sinners are completely oblivious to God, His nature, and His law.

Romans 1:20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse…

Such unscriptural notions reveal how little we understand about the gospel and the new birth. No, men infatuated with the devil may mean many things, but certainly not that they are hungry for God. The Bible teaches that sinners, by their sins, are utterly alienated from God. This separation is not merely a difference of opinion, or a philosophical misunderstanding. No, the sinner has willfully set himself against God: his ultimate enemy. The sinner is a rebel against God, His authority, His law, His gospel, and His Son. Sinners are willfully separated from God and have chosen to remain in a hostile position of opposition toward Him.

Romans 8:7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.

We no longer believe this, the sinner is somehow, unconsciously seen as some kind of victim. And this one truth alone necessitates the utter need for the prevenient grace of conviction: they will never come, except the Father draw. Thus, as our text teaches, without conviction, no sinner will ever seek God.

III. THERE ARE THREE ESSENTIALS IN HOLY GHOST CONVICTION.

John 16:8 And when he is come, he will reprove (convict) the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment…

There can be no Holy Ghost conviction apart from the reproof regarding sin, righteousness, and judgment. And perhaps there are no three topics more rejected in the professing church, and more hated in the world. Should we wonder why there is so little Holy Ghost conviction? Yes, the gospel preacher’s message, if anointed and led by the Spirit of God, will emphasize reproof. And his rebuke will concentrate on the sinner’s sin, his lack of righteousness, and the judgment he will soon face. Now, the world and religious hypocrites hate such preaching, accusing it to be, “judgmental/offensive/counterproductive.” Over the years, the professing church, carnal, backslid, and seeking the approval of man, has been seduced by such reasoning. Above all, they seek to avoid the preachy image, bending over backwards to be non-offensive and make the sinner feel comfortable. There is an obvious denial of Biblical conviction. That leads me to our next point…

IV. THE CATALYSTS FOR CONVICTION.

Romans 10:14 …how shall they hear without a preacher?

Without a true Gospel preacher there can be no Holy Ghost conviction to draw the sinner. Gospel preaching is God’s ordained means to communicate the gospel. And as we pointed out, his message, for the most part, will be a message of reproof: declaring the law to expose sin, lifting up Jesus to define righteousness, and boldly warning of the great and terrible day of God’s judgment. If we don’t get back to preaching the fundamental gospel message, men will never truly be drawn to Jesus. There can never be Holy Ghost conviction without Holy Ghost preaching (not Holy Ghost singing, not even Holy Ghost living alone). No, the human vessel, consecrated wholly to God, filled with God’s Spirit, declaring God’s Word is essential to God’s method of drawing.

John 12:32 And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.

Yet, the modern church, Biblically illiterate and carnally motivated, has thought to promote the gospel like a bargain rummage sale. They say, “if we are prosperous, joyful, blessed, folks will come to get what we have.” Indeed, they may, but this is not the right motivation (see John 6). Or, they reason, “if they see miracles, they will believe the gospel.” They apparently forget that Jesus, in the parable of the rich man and Lazarus, renounced such thinking…

Luke 16:31 …if they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.

Others say, “If they just see Jesus in us they’ll come knocking at our door.” But the Bible says…

Isaiah 53:3 He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

In light of the absolute stated in Isaiah 53 how can this be? No, as the Bible teaches, we must first GO, before they will ever be under conviction and then COME.

VI. THE NATURE OF THE CONVICTION EXPERIENCE.

John 6:44 No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him…

As we’ve mentioned, conviction is synonymous with reproof for sin, which produces a crisis. Holy confrontation always draws a line, gives an ultimatum, and forces a moral choice.

Hebrews 12:11 Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous…

Conviction literally compels lost sinners to do what they would never do themselves. To consider what they would never consider otherwise: look at the Greek word translated draw in John 6:44…

Draw: {Greek} hel-koo’-o, Literally or figuratively to drag.

It is a crisis, not a circus: serious, grave, and sober. A man diagnosed with cancer has some hard decisions to make, nevertheless, they are necessary. Likewise, the man under the eternal sentence of divine conviction realizes his latter end. It is no laughing matter. Conviction is, above all, loving, compassionate, and merciful beyond human comprehension: but to the unregenerate it seems tormenting. It is an affront to the sensibilities, a slap in the face of fallen human pride, and an offensive and brutal attack on sinful self-worth. And it will only lift when the sinner either repents or resists to the point of grieving God’s Spirit.

VI. FINALLY, THE DIFFERENT RESPONSES TO CONVICTION.

John 7:12, 41, 43 And there was much murmuring among the people concerning him: for some said, He is a good man: others said, Nay; but he deceiveth the people…Others said, This is the Christ. But some said, Shall Christ come out of Galilee? So there was a division among the people because of him.

Conviction brings men face to face with the Biblical Jesus, and then they must make a gut-wrenching choice. They must either believe the gospel and therefore forfeit their own life to gain Christ, or reject Christ, so as to justify their sin. There is no middle ground, conviction either breaks a man or hardens him. For those who resist conviction reactions can run from insanity to violent persecution, but react, all men do.

May God help us to get out of the way and allow God’s Spirit to drag sinners to Jesus.

Ephesians 4b-Learning to Walk in a Mature Manner

1. 1. 4:17-24 Walking in Maturity 1 – What Goes In
   a. In context with verse 15, which stated that we grow up in all aspects, I believe this next section deals with some aspects that can hinder our growth if we do not deal with them and grow out of them. What goes in: Verses 17-24 deal with things that we allow into our lives, minds, and spirits, that influence us. I title the next section, vv 25-32, What Comes Out. This pertains to how we influence, act, speak; essentially our character. The order is significant because what we allow in will affect what comes out. These things that we must grow out of are childish; so the next point is going to be about putting aside childish things.

   b. 1 Corinthians 13:9-12[1] - We individually and corporately are presented with a revelation of Jesus Christ the more we grow and the closer we get to the return of Christ, the more clear that revelation becomes. The ministry gifts and the spiritual gifts are given so that all the pieces (the partial) may come together to give us a greater and greater revelation of Jesus until we see Him fully revealed and face to face (12). The knowledge of Him will increase until we know Him fully just as He has fully known us. These gifts are given until Christ is full unveiled in glory. When this happens, we will not need the partial (gifts) that bring revelation of Jesus because we are in His presence. Love will remain, so we need that hear because that is the greatest revelation of Jesus to any one and when we are looking Him in the face[2], the gifts will no longer be needed, but until then, we need all the revelations that He gives us of Himself so we can be like Him, (but not neglecting to love).

   1. c. 4:17-19 Getting closer to and growing up in Jesus means putting away things we got away with when we were spiritual babies. And we are still doing them; we will grow by putting them aside. Gentiles, here, refers to unbelievers since most of them were possibly gentiles. He is referring to a way of living which he is about to describe rather than a race of people.
   2. 4:20-24 These childish and worldly things are not characteristic of Christ.  We came to Him in His perfection and in our weakness. We grow by turning that weakness into strength (Eph 3:16). The darkness is driven away the closer we get to the light of Jesus. We should not try to remain as we were before we met Christ. 22 – We lay that old self down renewing our minds[3], and putting on the new self in Christ. We are walking toward fullness and not continuing in sin[4].

2. 4:25-32 Walking in Maturity 2 – What Comes Out

1. a. 4:25 We must be real with each other speaking the truth in love. Remember if we hurt another member of the Body we are actually hurting ourselves. We are also hurting the body as a whole.
2. b. 4:26 We will be angry and that is not wrong. There will be disagreements within the body. This is our family and we should lovingly resolve our problems.
3. c. 4:27 When we get mad and gossip or let bitterness build up, we are giving satan a foothold, room for deceit and division. Not letting the sun go sown may mean dealing with the problem quickly and no letting it settle in our hearts. 
4. d. 4:28-29 The Body is the source and we must help all with all their needs. Our words have power. They affect all who hear them; us, people, God. We need to bless and lift up. We need to not sin when we are angry by saying something that we will regret. If we want our words to have power when we speak then we need to watch what we say!
5. e. 4:30 All these things we do and say can hinder us in our ministry. They grieve the Holy Spirit. If He strengthens our inner-man, and we grieve Him, then we are weakening our inner-man. Growth is giving place to the Spirit in all things. Our life is not our own it belongs to God. He leads us and guides us as sons. Let us not act like bastards. Embrace His presence in our lives and He will lead us away form these things. If we resist Him in this then there will be resistance in our ministry. For growth inside and out, we must not grieve the Holy Spirit.
6. f. 4:31-32 All of these things divide, but we must seek the unity of the Spirit in the Body. We must be forgiving in all things. Authentic church consists of authentic believers who are not false with one another, but they are real with each other, and are able to forgive because they love each other.

[2] When you’re face to face, the picture is not needed, but until then the picture will be of great comfort.

[3] Cross ref Romans 12:1-2.

[4] Holiness is not perfection, but the pursuit thereof. We are not perfect, but we can be perfect (Matt 5:48), as He is perfect (He being the key). We should be walking away from sin and towards the Lord.

Ephesians Part 1: Introduction

Ephesians Part 2: Chapter 1

Ephesians Part 3:  Chapter 2

Ephesians Part 4: Chapter 3

Ephesians Part 5: Chapter 4a

Ephesians Part 6: Chapter 4b

“For I will pour out water on the thirsty land
And streams on the dry ground;
I will pour out My Spirit on your offspring
And My blessing on your descendants.” -Is. 44.3

Of this verse, the “good pastor” Robert Murray McCheyne once remarked:

There are no other words in the whole Bible that have been oftener in my heart and oftener on my tongue than these.

The passage applies directly to Israel, but the principle of the promise can be applied to all contexts where the Creator is active amongst men. Where the land thirsts for righteousness and mercy, and where men thirst for God in recognition of the dryness of their own hearts, the word stands true that He will “pour out water” from heaven, and His own interpretation of the image is that He will pour out His Spirit on our offspring, and his blessing on our descendants.

I would rather be found in the tension of spiritual thirst, without having yet seen the water to come, than to be drunk and satisfied with the wine of this age. I would rather be as a cracked desert ground, and aware of my dryness, than to be full of the delusion of self-satisfied living. To be able to thirst after God is a great gift from heaven. To yearn for Him in the barren wastelands is better than to be satisfied without Him in the man-made reservoirs of the city.

To be at ease and full without the outpouring of His Spirit is to live in a delusion. I may whittle away a lifetime without really thirsting, taking sips from fashion, swigs from sport, gulps from Hollywood, and guzzles from religion, and my life will end in deception. My children will have been robbed of a glory and knowledge of God that could have been theirs, had I been a man of thirst.

But I may live a life of thirst, and in my weakness, yearn for Him in the quiet places of the desert, and the promise will one day be answered. I know not when. I know not the hour of visitation. But the certitude cannot be shaken, for He Himself has declared it. He will “pour out water upon the thirsty land,” and my children will see something of His glory that they would have missed if I had settled for something less than God Himself.

If only the world knew of the glory of thirsting for Him! If only the Church weren’t so distracted and filled from the “buffet” that the world offers us and the busy mentality that modern “ministry” puts before us.

Though I have heard of His great love, and experienced it on many glorious occasions, it still staggers me that He longs to pour out His own Spirit upon us, and our children. It matters not that I’m a dry and cracked soul. In fact, that is the ground upon which He copiously pours out His holy rain. Oh, to live a life of anticipatory thirst. To ache for God Himself, until He comes and makes all things new. This is blessedness indeed.

Oh then wish more for God, burn more with desire,
Covet more the dear sight of his marvellous Face;
Pray louder, pray longer, for the sweet gift of fire
To come down on thy heart with its whirlwinds of grace.

Yes pine for thy God, fainting soul! ever pine;
Oh languish mid all that life brings thee of mirth;
Famished, thirsty, and restless, -let such life be thine,-
For what sight is to heaven, desire is to earth.

(Frederick Faber, as quoted in The Christian Book of Mystical Verse, compiled by A.W. Tozer; Christian Publications, 1963; pp. 56-57)

He will pour out water, dear soul. Thirst then! Thirst after Him…

“…. the Jerusalem which is above is free….” -Gal. 4.26a

“For the one who has entered His rest has himself also rested from his own works….” -Heb. 4.10

There is a sabbath rest which has been opened up to God’s people through the cross, and we need to resist all religious activity that flows from any other place. Even prayer itself is subject to lesser and unheavenly influences, for if our intercessions spring from our own emotions or minds, or are robotic and contrived, we are not likely touching the heart of God or pushing back the powers of darkness. We need to come into the prayers of Jesus Himself, not by striving, but by a radical surrender to His heart, and harmony with His mind. This is where the authority lies, which we shall see from a man who knew this reality in real life experience.

Thomas Haire was one of a remnant in history who was acquainted with the rarefied air of the heavenly Jerusalem, and his prayers moved things in spiritual places and shifted things on the earth in a manner that we know far too little of as the Church of modern America. We would do well to hear from this remarkable man.

He was a friend and co-intercessor with Leonard Ravenhill, and travelled with him in a manner much like Father Nash, who was Charles Finney’s “Epaphras” (Col. 4.12-14) during the great seasons of revival and awakening in the 19th century. Haire and Nash were both less known than the men they travelled with, but their labors were no less impactful, and only the Day of the Lord will tell how profoundly their obedience and love invaded history with the light of eternity.

A.W. Tozer was so impressed with Haire’s character and prayer life, that he wrote a booklet about his life even before Brother Haire went on to be with the Lord. I want to leave you with a few thoughts from this life-long intercessor, who happened also to be a professional plumber from Ireland. We can learn something from a man who spent over 50 years praying 4 hours a day, decades of which he went sleepless for 3 nights a week, giving himself over to Spirit-endued intercession on behalf of the Church, and a dying world that he loved so fervently.

I haven’t the time or space to note all of the elements of his devotion, which would challenge and encourage any open-hearted believer. You can find Tozer’s full account online if you search for it.

What hits my heart presently is that Thomas Haire, according to Tozer, was the kindest and most tranquil man that he had ever known, and though his devotion to prayer and intercession was marked with awesome intensity and depth, he was not a tense personality, as many who pursue revival seem to be. This marks him out as unique, I believe, for his sabbath peace was also combined with a remarkable authority and dominion in prayer that we have rarely seen in our day. Souls passed from darkness to light, many were healed physically, and God was glorified wonderfully on the wings of Thomas Haire’s prayers. Through all of the remarkable answers to prayer, revivals, and movings of God, he was also a very gentle and kind man, who could move from a ground-breaking season of intercession to making a child laugh through a humorous remark. He was rare indeed.

Tozer writes of Haire:

…. always he is relaxed and free from strain. He will not allow himself to get righteously upset about anything. ‘I lie near to the heart of God,’ he says, ‘and I fear nothing in the world.’

That he lies near to God’s heart is more than a passing notion to Tom. It is all very real and practical. ‘God opens His heart,’ he says, ‘and takes us in. In God all things are beneath our feet. All power is given to us and we share God’s almightiness.’ He has no confidence at all in mankind, but believes that God must be all in all. Not even our loftiest human desires or holiest prayers are acceptable to God. ‘The river flows from beneath the throne,’ he explains, ‘and its source is not of this world. So the source of our prayers must be Christ Himself hidden in our hearts.’

‘Too many of God’s people are straining for faith,’ says Tom, ‘and holding on hard trying to exercise it. This will never do at all. The flesh cannot believe no matter how hard it tries, and we only wear ourselves out with our human efforts. True faith is the gift of God to an obedient soul and comes of itself without effort. The source of faith is Christ in us. It is a fruit of the Spirit.’

(A.W. Tozer, Thomas Haire: The Praying Plumber of Lisburn; Rare Christian Books)

Of prayer, Tozer gives us more of Haire’s thoughts:

According to Tom, there is such a thing as strategic prayer, that is, prayer that takes into account what the devil is trying to accomplish and where he is working, and attacks him at that strategic point. ‘Don’t waste your time praying around the edges,’ he says. ‘Go for the devil direct. Pray him loose from souls. Weaken his hold on people by direct attack. Then your prayers will count and the work of God will get done.’

Tom makes much of the believer’s authority in Christ. Over the protests of the cautious expositor, he appropriates Scripture that might be proved to belong to a future age. ‘God says we are kings and priests,’ he declares, ‘and what is a king without a kingdom? There is a sphere where we can have full dominion in prayer. Complete authority is ours. We only need to ask and we shall receive.’ If this were mere theory we might dismiss it as being simply an error in interpretation, but is has been proved in the fires of practical living. God has given to His praying servant great power to command, to demand, and the results have been and are many and unusual.

I dare say the kind of authority and dominion Mr. Haire spoke of is something scarcely touched in our generation. There have been many boasts of dominion, shouts of authority, and we have cranked up the music loud enough to move every soul in the building, but the heavens are not moved by sweat and noise. The depth of Christ’s character and the profound union with God that Tom Haire had come into were the foundations of his great authority in prayer.

Before Tozer convinced Haire that his story needed to be told for the sake of the Body, the old praying plumber resisted the idea. Not wanting to be popularized or tempted with fame, he replied in his own Irish way, “I don’t want to lose me power with God.” His secret life with God, formed through decades of engaging in prayer, was more precious to him than anything else in his life or ministry.

Do our self-promoting ministries know anything of such “power with God”? Are we guarding a deep and holy union with Christ that has been formed through years of concentrated prayer and worship, or are we being tossed to and fro by the latest teaching or movement? Have we neglected the primacy of secret prayer and leaned too hard into public efforts, expending energy, burning time, and building works that are mostly “wood, hay, and stubble”? Are we rooted and grounded in the love of Christ, or barely keeping our heads afloat, drinking in the spirit of the world and following Christian fads? Thomas Haire’s “power with God” is a quickening reminder of the possibilities of grace, the glories of communion with God, and the remarkable sabbath rest and authority that the Lord places upon a man when he is in harmony with Christ through the Spirit of prayer.

May the Lord raise up tender-hearted, fervent, holy, and hidden laborers again in our day. May we cast off any pursuit that causes us to lose our power with God. May we shake off all that stifles the Spirit of prayer. May we put first things first once and for all. May the same Spirit that rested on Thomas Haire, make His habitation amidst the Church at large, for the glory of Jesus!

“Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.” (Revelation 3:20)

When I was younger and worked at a day camp, we were given Scripture verses we had to memorize in order to know how to share the Gospel with kids who may be interested in giving their lives to the Lord. I think memorization is a good idea for helping get the Word in us, and therefore I’m not against having an understanding of where the Word of God says certain things we base our hopes and understanding on.  However, I usually hear the concept of Jesus standing outside, “knocking at the door of our hearts” used in an evangelistic sense towards unbelievers. It’s not.

Though I’m not discounting its meaning for the unbeliever to enter into that relationship and let Christ in, I think there’s such a deeper meaning to it than just ‘letting God in’ as if He’s lonely and wants us to let Him in so He can have some company–as though Jesus is a loner and giving our lives to Him is a favor we’re doing Him like letting him sit at our table in the cafeteria during lunch.

We have to remember that Christ was speaking to seven churches, and in this specific context was saying this to the Church of Laodecia.  Previously we’re told the Lord found them lukewarm and would spit them out of his mouth ( 3:16), and that He finds them wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked (v.17) despite their perception of themselves to be rich and lacking nothing.  He goes on to state “Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.” (v.19-20)  Interesting how leaving that verse in its context helps shed clear light, but I digress.

I stated in a previous article that I recommended reading the book of Revelation right after reading the Song of Solomon, and therefore I’m of the opinion that what this passage is really talking about is displayed in the fifth chapter of that Song.  We’re gleaning heavily from S.J. Hill’s “Song of Solomon: Rich Language For a King’s Devotion To His Bride.”

I slept, but my heart was awake. A sound! My beloved is knocking.”Open to me, my sister, my love, my dove, my perfect one, for my head is wet with dew, my locks with the drops of the night.” I had put off my garment; how could I put it on? I had bathed my feet; how could I soil them?  My beloved put his hand to the latch, and my heart was thrilled within me.  I arose to open to my beloved, and my hands dripped with myrrh, my fingers with liquid myrrh, on the handles of the bolt.
I opened to my beloved, but my beloved had turned and gone. My soul failed me when he spoke. I sought him, but found him not; I called him, but he gave no answer.

(Song of Solomon 5:2-6)

The Bridegroom’s knock here refers to the initiative God takes in bringing His Bride into new dimensions of His Spirit.  Jesus’ purpose in knocking is to get her to open up completely to Him.  He wants all of us.  The context–being in bed and having expected that Her Bridegroom would be there as well–demonstrates that she is in a place of mature obedience, and not one of refusing to get out of bed and answer the door for Him.  Sleep speaks of being in a place of rest.  The Bride has complete confidence in the Lord, and she is resting–but her heart is ‘awake’ in the sense that she is willing to walk in obedience without any conscious area of compromise, without any hesitation.  She was at a point where normally, He was there next to her, but on this occasion, she awoke to find He was gone, but calling her–knocking from outside.

“I have taken off my robe; how can I put it on again?”

Her robe (garments) speak of her own works (see Rev 19:7-9).  She’s simply saying, “I’m not standing before You on my own merits.  I’ve taken off my robe and I’ve put on Your robe of righteousness.” Her statement “…I have washed my feet, how can I defile them?” is not reflective of her refusing to obey Him, but instead, a commitment to avoid spiritual defilement.  How could she defile herself by disobeying Him in light of the great love He had for her?  She is simply saying “I’ve done it my way.  My feet were dirty with my own walk, but now they have been cleansed by the Lord.”

The ‘hand’ of the Beloved on the latch of the door, signifies the grace of God (see Acts 11:21-23).  The “latch of the door” itself representing the door of her heart.  The Bride’s heart yearned for Him as she heard His voice, and she arose instantly in response to open the door of her heart to Him.  This depicts Her full obedience. Her response was not one of compromise, lethargy or lukewarmness.

“…my hands dripped with myrrh, my fingers with liquid myrrh, on the handles of the bolt.”

Myrrh in Scripture speaks of suffering and death.  This is a picture of the Bride opening up her heart so the Cross will touch every area of her life.

This is also the type of fellowship Christ–the Bridegroom–is seeking and looking for.  He is standing at the door of our hearts, knocking and seeking for the same response and reaction as He obtains from His Bride in the Song: immediate and unquestioning obedience and loyalty.  “I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.” We are to respond to this call, not just let Him carry the relationship.  We love Him because He first loved us (1 John 4:19). He longs for a people whose heart skips a beat at the thought of Him.  He is looking for a people whose breath is taken away at the sound of His voice, not out of fear and trembling alone–though an appropriate response–but out of delight and fascination.

Jesus Christ delights in us, His people.  He is fascinated with you and I, and it is true that He longs for the same passion to be reciprocated towards Him.  He longs for a people He can have fully to Himself.  Not out of fear, or out of religious obligation, but out of holy fascination that He is worthy of such instant obedience.  From a place of delight and joy, not out of fear of punishment or reprisal for not measuring up to a religious standard.  He’s looking for a people He can rest with.  The Son of God is looking for a people who are not bored with Church, but consumed with a passion for Him and His presence.

There is much ministry and activity going on today in the Body of Christ.  The statistics of pastors burning out annually and dropping out of the ministry are staggering.  The amount of ministers who continue plugging away at church endeavors, and running programs for the people–though good and noble, but yet void of the presence of God–is higher than it ever should be.  No ministry, church, or leader will ever produce any fruit except it come from the secret and intimate place with the Lover of their soul.  Jesus longs to work through, and live in a people who will let Him.  Not just to bless our programs that we run and ask Him to be involved in as an after thought, but to allow Him to have all of us.  There will be no earth shaking revival fire spreading across the earth without a people who are wholly consumed with Him.

He’s looking for, and seeking…you.  Will you answer Him?

Ephesians 4a –The Authentic Church

1. 4:1-9 Fulfilling the Call We must walk worthy of this calling. ”Calling’” in context with this study, refers to building on our position in Christ, seated at His right hand in the heavenly places (2:6), fulfilling His call and administering His fullness to all things on heaven and in the earth.

This is a very important thing we do: preach the Gospel. It should be taken very seriously. It is the whole reason for our existence; the privilege of sharing with others out of our relationship with Jesus. After describing all these great mysteries and the purpose of the church, and the secrets of the Spiritual Realm, he urges us, out of the seriousness of the Gospel–of which he is imprisoned–to walk out this stuff that he has been describing, which is Our calling, to walk worthy of this great and privileged calling to which we’ve been called.

a. 4:1- Honor of Persecution - He is a prisoner of the Lord: this is a brash statement considering he is imprisoned by men. The Lord made Paul worthy to suffer imprisonment, which is a great honor in the kingdom (Heb. 11, Acts 5:4), because of all that Jesus suffered. Paul may be limited in the natural, but he still has access to God in the Spirit (Eph. 3:12) and still causes movement and change in the spiritual and natural realms. His person was imprisoned but his Spirit was free. (2 Tim. 3:12) Many in the church are afraid to even speak of this (in the West) but in many ways it’s a gift to make us more like Jesus. As stated here (2 Tim) it’s a mark of genuine authentic Christianity. We shouldn’t be weird and long for pain but when the trials come, we can have faith and press through in Jesus. In the latter part of this verse, Paul’s essentially saying ‘if I’m in prison for this Gospel, the least you can do is walk worthy’. He doesn’t just encourage us–he implores us with all urgency–that if we’re going to walk in the fullness, then we must in character and conduct, and in all function walk worthy of the call.

2. 4:2-6 Unity In The Body as there is unity in the Trinity, a mature church doesn’t fight against each other, they’re in unison. Not only must we individually learn how to walk in fullness, we must learn how to walk in fullness within the Body. There is only one body to be apart of and we must get along.

3. 2:7-9 We’re not all the same.  God has ordained it that way, each of us are called specifically to our own unique and individual calling. All of these different gifts and callings come together as one Revelation of Jesus Christ in the Earth.  You’ve got a spiritual body–working in unity in their spiritual gifts–that form a spiritual people in their spiritual gifts, and that form a spiritual people in the earth. In the context of the flow, he is taking us into the maturity of the fullness of Christ, and setting us up for the way the church is to function in its leadership which is to properly attain and reach this maturity to a greater degree. This is an authentic church. This is the way the Spirit set up the church so it would be full.

4. 4:10-16  The Ministry of Fullness

a. 4:10 He is far above and fills all things. This is significant, because the one who is above all in all (v.11)  is about to   give the gifts (of these ministries–or you could say some of himself) the church, which needs these functioning properly and in unity for the church to be the fullness of Him who fills all in all. That’s why this section is preceded with character development and working together, so we understand the significance of those gifts and their functioning harmoniously in the body to be an accurate and complete representation of Christ in the Earth. The gifts which he is about to describe are foundational and absolutely essential for a properly living and breathing community of believers

b. 2:20.4:11- The Ministry Gifts – The Fivefold Ministry[1]This is NT church structure. This is not for the sake of ruler-ship, but servitude. As we saw in the previous verses, these gifts are for serving the body in unity. Helping one another achieve maturity helps the whole body achieve maturity. And, as we will see in the later verses, these gifts must be present and functioning within the body (church), for it to be real and alive, and fulfilling the call of God. We are seeing these gifts restored to the church, and thank God for that. Hhowever, unless they are fully restored and begin to grow and mature into their rightful place in the Body, then the church will never walk in the fullness[2] of Christ as mature believers. The very reason God gave these gifts was so that the church would walk in fullness. He has called us to maturity and He has given us the gifts to us here.

1. Apostles[3] – The apostle serves all and helps all–even the other ministry gifts–attain, develop, walk in, and release them in their calling. They are the builders and foundation layers (along with prophets). They assure proper growth of the over all body. They walk in the power of God, and are commissioned by Jesus–sent ones–building the kingdom of Heaven in the earth. The term comes from a title given to a Roman general sent to change the culture of a conquered land to that of Rome in attempt to lessen the chance of a rebellion. In application we can see that apostles are sent by Jesus to change the culture of earth to the culture of heaven. Remember where we are seated in heavenly places, we  are meant to bring that to this realm.
2. Prophets – Prophets do not just prophesy. They are prophetic. They discern the time and seasons. And direct the body in the right direction. Their life is a revelation of the Word carried out.
3. Evangelist – NT evangelist would go out, often to new places, and demonstrate[4] the power of God as witness to Jesus as Lord. They usually confront the local spiritual authorities and relinquish them of their power. They showed the locality Jesus.
4. Pastors – They shepherd and teach [5]. They help individuals and fellowships in their walk and in the growing process, keeping watch over their souls.
5. Teachers – Similar to pastors; they teach all aspects of the Christian life: the Word, the things of the Spirit, operation of spiritual gifts; and equipping for ministry.

1. c. 4:12 The reason for these gifts is for the equipping of the saints. This is active; we are always being equipped for what lies ahead for us to do for the Gospel. Ministry is service. We serve others and God by ministering His life to their needs. We are the ones that administer His kingdom to the earth and we need these gifts to fulfill the calling. The saints must be equipped for the work of ministry for the Body to be built up. 2:21-The building is being fitted together and is growing only if theses gifts are present and ministering according to their vocation. In a practical sense, these gifts are the trades that are required if the church is going to grow into a building that fills the earth. An authentic church-that which is real- has these gifts in full and proper operation. Anybody that denies these gifts as a vital part of the church, will not reach maturity, the knowledge of the Son, or walk in fullness. This is unauthentic and unreal according to the biblical mold[6].

1. d. 4:13 We will go phrase by phrase through this verse to dissect its meaning and application to the context of which we have been studying and that of the authentic church.

1. i. Until is a strong word to start the sentence here. Many use this to say that these gifts haves passed away and are no longer needed today. First of all, has the church reached what is described in this verse? Not hardly. Secondly, if we read in context with verse 12, we see it used differently. Building up of the Body, until we all attain to the unity…knowledge of the Son of God… a mature man… fullness. We are built up to attain these things: this place of knowledge, maturity and, fullness in Christ. The ministry gifts are given to make us reach this goal. Until, is not used to indicate that the gifts will be taken when the building is finished (even though the church is not even close to completion–theoretically). Until means that the goal of these gifts is the Fullness of God; the place we are reaching for.
2. ii. Unity – In v 4:3, we read: being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. This is necessary in the function of the gifts, because part of the purpose of the gifts is for the church to attain to the unity of the faith. Imagine all the dividing walls in the church coming down and there is one massive Body with Jesus at the head, pushing back and destroying the gates of hell, and advancing the kingdom with signs, wonders and miracles.
3. iii. The Knowledge of the Son of God – These gifts mentor us. Imagine someone representing all these gifts. They have lived a lifetime walking with God, knowing Him, knowing Jesus, knowing the Holy Spirit, knowing the Word, knowing the power of ministry in the Spirit, knowing His suffering, love, etc. And, while I am still a young man, the person comes to me and pours all they know into me. I may still lack the experience, but I will have gained a lifetime of the knowledge of God from them. In essence, I will start where they are leaving off. I will receive the baton from them instead of starting the race over for myself.

•2Kings 2:11-14 Elisha was with Elijah when he was taken to heaven. Elijah had poured all of his life into Elisha. Elisha saw what God had done for Elijah. When Elijah was gone Elisha had a deep knowledge of the Lord. Where is the Lord, the God of Elijah? He knew, even without the personal command experience, that God would answer Him, just as He had done for Elijah, and the water parted.

–        Where are the Elijahs of God? We need the fivefold gifts in total operation for true discipleship to flourish. Where are those who know God and pour that knowledge into the young ones?

–        Malachi 4:5-6 – This is the restoration of the hearts. Instead of the older revival generation cursing the younger one, as being not of God; they raise them up.

With this kind of generational transfer, the kingdom will ignite in the Earth. This is the hearts of the sons turning to the fathers and the hearts of the fathers turning to the sons; learning from and loving each other.

•Remember 1 Cor 2: The church must have this spiritual knowledge of Jesus. We are next to Jesus at the highest place in the spiritual realm (Eph 2:6). We should be masters at spiritual matters. This is where we really live, not here; yet, that is how we can have so much impact here.

1. iv. Mature Man – We are being built up to attain maturity[7]. The church has been amateurs long enough. Our profession is to dictate the supernatural theory as fact, as a result of our faith in Christ. Do we possess supernatural theology or just head knowledge? We need to be individually mature and corporately mature, which is why he stresses unity here. We need to stand as one body, not a divided one. If we seek to bring out the best in others, then we will bring out the best in ourselves!
2. v. Measure of the stature – Fullness of Christ – We measure up to Christ. The Body needs to be like Jesus. We put ourselves down and then use it as a reason/excuse not to grow up. Because of his blood, He allows us to measure up to Him. He seated us next to Himself and wants us to do greater things than He did. Now, when we understand our real position in Christ; we will understand measuring up to a stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ. A church in fullness will be like millions of Jesuses changing the world[8].
   1. C. 4:14 This is grown up Christianity. Knowing our place in Christ and walking it out. The devil knows that once this machine[9] starts producing power, it cannot be stopped. He will try to keep the church from growing and reaching any level of maturity or fullness, with all of his might and forces. Paul prepares us for this attack and resistance from the wicked with the armor of God listed in chapter 6. The church in Acts changed not only their generation, but every generation since then. What would a generation that walked like that do today? What about a generation that has even greater power than they? How much could the world handle? How many generations of fathers raising up sons in the Gospel of power would it take to totally change things for good? I believe that with this kind of testimony it would not be long before all Israel was saved and Jesus return. This is a mature and authentic church.

1. a. Maturity is grown up. We are now solid in our faith and doctrine, no longer bouncing form here to there[10]. This why the devil deceives us. Every group thinks that they are the right ones and many refuse to work together as a body[11].
   1. D. 4:15 – These verses describe an authentically living body working and growing together in Christ. All aspects of our walk should be in maturity.
   2. E. 4:16 - This culminates in this section: These are different gifts. Not everyone who does something in the kingdom will look and act the same. We must understand that the one who is different than us is doing their part. If we abuse them we are only hurting ourselves. I would not smash my finger in the door because I scratched myself too much[12]. Every part must be working for growth to occur. The mortar that holds the building (the church) together is love.

[2] The church today has a major absence of these gifts. Especially apostles and prophets: Recently though, there has been some, and even a great deal of restoration of the gifts. We are still light-years away from where we should be though. (The Spirit can change that in an instant, though.) Even the pastoral gift is away from its NT counterpart. Many are more CEO-like than shepherd-like. These gifts have not passed away as some claim; but in reality they are a vital part to NT church life.

[3] The descriptions are not exacting, but general.   Nor are they an in-depth examination of all that the gifts pertain to. This is just a quick summary in context to the perspective from which we are studying Ephesians.

[4] NT evangelism is not like what we see mainstream churches doing. Back then, men filled with the power of God would go to a place in demonstration of the Spirit’s power (1 Cor 2:4-5). This led to people believing in God rather than a new faction of men. Evangelism is not just a great and convincing speaker, nor is it handing out tracks. I am not negating these things, but this does not characterize an evangelist as we see in Scripture. Acts 8 describes Philip’s first evangelistic journey. Since he is the only one in the Bible, specifically called an evangelist (Acts 21:8), what he did here probably characterizes what an evangelist does. 8:4-He proclaimed Christ to them; 8:6-The people heard and saw signs which he was performing; 8:7-Unclean spirits were cast out and the sick were healed; 8:8-There was much rejoicing; 8:11-12-He broke the power of the spiritual authority controlling the city and got their attention on Jesus; even the sorcerer got saved (13).; 8:14-15-He worked with the apostles in planting and building the church. Later, he was spoken to by angels and transported by the Spirit. Every aspect of his ministry was utterly supernatural, shoe=wing people the existence and power of God. It is necessary that the church has proper evangelism restored. In 2 Tim 4:5, Paul is raising up Timothy as an apostle, and part of his exhortation is for Timothy to do the work of an evangelist, then He says fulfill your ministry. Timothy was an apostle, but this required proper evangelism for that to be fulfilled (I am not being dogmatic here, just relating scripture to the point).

[5] See footnote 23.

[6] The mold is a flexible one and moves like the wind-John3:8. Mold was used to drive home the point. I am not saying that these people are not saved or that they are not real Christians. I am saying that they will lack all that God has for them and will need to embrace these things if they want the fullness of Christ.

[7] We will specifically discuss maturity in the Walking in Maturity sections: Just putting it in context here-which will set up the aforementioned section.

[8] I know there is only one Jesus. I am saying that a whole church full of people that are utterly Christ-like will have a great influence and impact, changing the world.

[9] In using machine, I am referring to the correct functioning system of preaching, building the church and sending out laborers to plant new works.

[10] There will always be times of growth, debate, and discussion; I am speaking of drastic doctrinal shifts when we hear the latest trend to hit the church. The TV, and even our “Christian” channels, often teaches what is popular, not what is solid Biblical truth.

[11] I am not saying compromise for tolerance. There is a truth doctrinally and we should aspire for that truth, but it should not keep us from working with and loving other members of the Body.

[12] See 1 Corinthians 12:14-26.

Ephesians Part 1: Introduction

Ephesians Part 2: Chapter 1

Ephesians Part 3:  Chapter 2

Ephesians Part 4: Chapter 3

Ephesians Part 5: Chapter 4a

“What is your beloved more than another beloved, O most beautiful among women?, Where has your beloved gone,
O most beautiful among women? Where has your beloved turned, that we may seek him with you?”

(Song of Solomon 5:9, 6:1)

Many individuals’ souls cry out for the living God, but they don’t want to go through this messy jello we call ‘The Church” in order to respond to the longing of their soul towards the Maker.

The following post is something I wrote four years ago for my personal blog, but I’m tweaking it to share here.  I’ve been meditating on and re-reading the Song of Solomon lately, and after spending time in corporate prayer with some individuals from my home church in Canada, I felt the contents of this old post come back to my mind and felt like it needed to be re-posted.  We were having a conversation regarding some individuals we each knew and where they were in their relationship with the Lord, and how ’sick of church’ these individuals were (and are), but for some reason they’ve visited with us or enjoyed fellowshipping with us on Sunday mornings.

We are all called to evangelize the lost

I want to take a passage of Scripture that’s not commonly taught from, and show what I feel evangelism really is. It’s not the “4 Spiritual Laws”, it’s not “Turn or Burn” and it’s not “loving them into the kingdom”, “friendship evangelism” or the “Romans Road”—each an example of methodology commonly used in various circles of the Body of Christ I’ve come across.  I’ve encountered proponents of various evangelistic methods who tout theirs as the only valid way to share the Gospel. I think evangelism includes those things and some methods, but it’s not any of those things all by themselves. To borrow what the Psalmist said, it can be defined simply as “teaching transgressors His ways.”(Ps 51:13)

Somehow in the Body of Christ we complicate things so much, and I’ve even been asked things when attending social functions like “my unsaved friend so and so is here, can you talk to him because you’re good at evangelizing?” Something is wrong when every member of the Body can’t just share why “their beloved is more than another beloved.” Don’t we have a Lover to share about? People won’t shut up when they’re in love and have a new boyfriend or girlfriend, but Jesus, the true love of our lives who’s closer than a brother is hard to talk about?

I’m not isolating this passage all by itself and using it exclusively to say something, either. I just think there’s a different angle to our witness that’s demonstrated here than any of the varieties of methods or emphases out there.

The passage I want to submit to you for consideration is in Song of Solomon. Something needs to take place in our lives that causes us to get asked “What is your beloved more than another beloved, that you thus adjure us?“ (S.O.S. 5:9b)  People don’t come to Christ because our church services are excellent.  They don’t come because we stand on a street corner open air preaching–at least not in and of itself.  If I could pinpoint my best method of evangelism, it’s spending time in the presence of Jesus and then sharing from that experience.

Taking too much time to give a backdrop of this book would take away from the point I’m getting at about sharing our faith, but this book is a love story/song, between a man and woman.  This book would do a world of good in the believer’s life to read it if they want a revelation of who they are in regards to being the Bride of Christ.  However, it’s neglected for whatever reason by so many in the body of Christ for either lack of understanding the symbolism and allegory, or just plain hardness of heart–in some cases. I think this is one of–if not THE–most amazing book in the Bible, and next time you read Song of Solomon read the book of Revelation right after it as the ‘follow-up’ with bridal paradigms instead of end-times Left Behind kind of perspective, for Revelation is the story of the Bridegroom coming back for His Bride and in full force not letting anything get in His way and dealing with those that have messed with His lover—the Bride of Christ/The Church!  But I’m digressing.

What is your beloved more than another beloved?

At this point in the narrative, the woman, the Shulamite, is seeking for her beloved, a type of Christ, who has left after an encounter where he knocked on her door during the night, in the rain, and she was lazy in answering it. There are interesting parallels and ramifications in that idea alone which I might explore in another blog entry—Jesus, the Gentlemen “leaves” when it appeared He was unwanted or unappreciated. But in searching again for ‘more of Him’, she asks her companions–the daughters of Jerusalem if they’ve seen Him, and that if they do, to give a message to Him for her that she is lovesick–to which comes the reply I’m struck by: “What is your beloved more than another beloved, O most beautiful among women? What is your beloved more than another beloved, that you thus adjure us?”

It is here in the next several verses that the Shulamite goes into one of her detailed and allegorical descriptions of her beloved. It is a fascinating read, and filled with symbolism which would make for another lengthy blog entry (or series) for another time–the notes in the margin of several of my Bibles are jam-packed with tiny writings about each of the ten features she describes about Him. I’ll post it here to wet your appetite to study for yourselves.

My beloved is radiant and ruddy, distinguished among ten thousand.
His head is the finest gold; his locks are wavy, black as a raven.
His eyes are like doves beside streams of water, bathed in milk, sitting beside a full pool.
His cheeks are like beds of spices, mounds of sweet-smelling herbs. His lips are lilies, dripping liquid myrrh.
His arms are rods of gold, set with jewels. His body is polished ivory, bedecked with sapphires.
His legs are alabaster columns, set on bases of gold. His appearance is like Lebanon, choice as the cedars.
His mouth is most sweet, and he is altogether desirable. This is my beloved and this is my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem.
(Song of Solomon 5:10-16, Emphasis mine)

When people look at our lives, and pay attention or ask us the reason for the hope that we have, what impression are they left with and what questions do they ask? Do they tell you “oh that’s good for you, but I have my own ideologies.” Or are they persuaded that yours is “the fairest among ten thousand”, and couldn’t be compared with any other ‘gods’ or idols, and reply “Where has your beloved gone? Where has your beloved turned, that we may seek him with you?”

You see, the Shulamite, lovesick for her Bridegroom King, merely shared with the daughters of Jerusalem what she knew. This response was a description of who He was to her, not a detailed theological discourse about why they should be saved. This maybe could be described as worship, for where the Son of Man is lifted up, all men (and women) are drawn to Him. People don’t come to Christ because our church services are excellent.  They don’t come because we stand on a street corner open air preaching in and of itself, or because we hand out tracts on occasion.

I remember one of the most powerful times of which I led someone to the Lord, didn’t come because I was trying to evangelize her in the particular conversation we were having.  This acquaintance instant-messaged me, and asked me how God has ever answered any of my prayers.  Somehow after we moved to talking on the phone long distance (for I was in Pensacola, FL and she in Canada) scales were seeming to fall from her eyes and I was blessed to lead her in prayer to give her life to the Lord Jesus then and there–all from having an answer for why my Jesus is the Lord God and why some other god isn’t, which was the jist of her questioning before we got to that point.

We are not required to get a 5 year PhD in Bible College before we can share Christ with others!  We are merely required to have a response for those who ask (1 Peter 3:15).  That’s the only requirement, and if you’re saved, you qualify. It’s not the job of an evangelist to do it for us, but we are all called to restore that which is lost—whether it be a spiritual healing of seeing someone saved, or a physical healing from laying hands on the sick or whether it be deliverance and seeing someone set free from bondages in their life—we are all capable and required to do this ourselves.

In a courtroom setting all a witness is is someone who describes what they’ve seen or witnessed. Every believer has a testimony. Were you there when your conversion happened? Then you’re an effective witness. Don’t wait until you’ve read all the books Ray Comfort has ever written before you’re confident in sharing your faith. Just share who Jesus is to you and how He changed your life. There is nothing wrong with getting more familiar and effective at doing it, you know that we’ll never be perfect at anything, so give it a start now and then get better at sharing your faith as time goes on, but for the sake of a lost and dying world around you don’t wait until you’re good at it before starting.

Just be able to answer why your beloved is more than another beloved.