Pure Religion by Tony Cooke

Pure Religion
Tony Cooke

Pure ReligionAccording to today’s politically correct and tolerant society, the last thing in the world a Christian should ever do is to state or imply that one person’s religion is better than another’s.  We are supposed to embrace the idea that all religious expressions are equal and that all roads ultimately lead to the same destination.  Fortunately, it appears that the Apostle James missed being “enlightened” by these perspectives, and he delineated sharply between religion that is “useless” and religion that is “pure and undefiled.”  He said:

James 1:26-27 (NKJV)
26 If anyone among you thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one’s religion is useless. 27 Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.

It’s interesting to realize that the words “religious” and “religion” are only used a grand total of seven times in the entire Bible (King James and New King James versions), and three of these usages are in the two verses above.

Have you noticed how quick people are to avoid having the term “religious” applied to them?

    1. In the late 70’s, there was a popular song, “I’m Not Religious; I Just Love the Lord.”
    2. It’s not uncommon today for someone to say, “I’m not religious, but I am spiritual.” 
    3. Many preachers (myself included) have said something to this effect: “Jesus came to bring us into relationship with God; not to establish a religion.”

There are pros and cons to this approach.  I have a sense of caution when some say, “I’m not religious, but I am spiritual.”  Certainly, some who decline being labeled ‘religious’ have a profound love for God and dedication to His people.  They may simply be distancing themselves from certain dead, ritualistic practices or legalistic beliefs that they found to produce bondage and to be unscriptural.  But I wonder if others who deny being religious are simply refusing to be submitted to any proper biblical authority, choosing instead to do everything on their own terms while embracing a hodge podge of beliefs based merely on personal preferences.

So let’s look at what the Bible (James 1:26-27 in particular) says about religion.  It stands to reason that if there is a religion that is useless, we might assume there is also a religion that is useful.  If there is a religion that is pure and undefiled, there might also be a religion that is impure and defiled.  Our goal, then, should be to identify the traits of a religion that are useful, pure, and undefiled.

Useful, Pure, and Undefiled Religion is Identified by These Four Traits:

  • SPEECH – Exercising Self-Control – In 1:26, James speaks of useful religion as that which results in a controlled tongue, and he proceeds to say in 3:2 that “…those who control their tongue can also control themselves in every other way” (NLT).  In other words, it appears that being able to control our words is a major key to being able to establish self-control over all of our lives.  As you study Scripture, there is an extensive list of “sins of the tongue” (e.g., gossip, slander, backbiting, complaining, cursing, blaspheming, lying, boasting, flattery, etc.).  Controlling the tongue, though, is not just an issue of avoiding its negative usages, but it is also a matter of speaking the right words (blessing, encouraging, edifying, etc.).  This is what makes the tongue the “small rudder” (James 3:4) that guides the direction of the our lives.
  • SELF-AWARENESS – Avoiding Self-Deception – As soon as James addresses the failure to control one’s tongue, he refers to the person who “deceives his own heart” (James 1:26).  In 1:22, he says, “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only deceiving yourselves.”  Deception is distorted perception.  Therefore, self-deception is a distorted perception of oneself.  The Pharisee who prayed, “God, I thank You that I am not like other men…” (see Luke 18:11-14) thought he was better than others and was right with God because of His religiosity and good works, but God said he was not justified because he exalted himself.  The Laodiceans were self-deceived as well.  They said that they were rich, wealthy, and had need of nothing, but Jesus said they were wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked (Revelation 3:17).  We need to do what Paul instructed the Corinthians to do: “Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves” (2 Corinthians 12:5).  How do we test ourselves?  James indicates that it’s not just hearing the word, but it’s meditation upon and doing the word – applying the word in our lives – that keeps us free from deception and enables us to be blessed (1:22-25).
  • SERVICE – Caring for the Hurting – In 1:27, James identifies “…to visit orphans and widows in their trouble” as a trait of pure and undefiled religion.  Sometimes we think of orphans as a child who has lost both parents, and while this is a correct understanding, the Hebrew culture was even broader in its definition.  The Hebrews also considered a child an orphan who had lost only its father.  One commentary notes that, “Orphans and widows are often grouped together because they constitute the two social classes most open to exploitation and therefore most needing help and concern.”  Anything that is important to God should be important to us, and Psalm 68:5-6 says, “A father of the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in His holy habitation.  God sets the solitary in families…”  James did not advocate a “religion” that was theological, spiritual, or devotional only.  He believed that pure religion sought to help the hurting.  When James and other leaders in the Jerusalem church recognized the grace and assignment that God had given Paul and Barnabas, they not only offered them the right hand of fellowship, but “They desired only that we should remember the poor, the very thing which I also was eager to do” (Galatians 2:10).
  • SEPARATION – Keeping Oneself Unspotted from the World – The fourth trait that James identifies as a correct religious expression has to do with personal purity.  James was neither apologetic or unclear about the corruption and contamination of the world, as opposed to the purity and holiness that God desires for those that are His.  In 1:21 (NLT), James said, “So get rid of all the filth and evil in your lives, and humbly accept the message God has planted in your hearts, for it is strong enough to save your souls.”  In 4:4 (NKJV), James rebuked those who had been compromising with the world: “Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.”  Paul advocated this same type of separation and cleansing when he said, “…let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God” (2 Corinthians 7:1).

In James’ presentation of useful, pure, and undefiled religion, he covers both an internal and an external expression.  When James speaks of self-control, avoiding self-deception, and keeping oneself unspotted from the world, he is dealing with the inner-life of the believer.  When he speaks of caring for orphans and widows, he is speaking of the external expression of God’s love through the believer.

It seems that some want to approach this with an either/or attitude.  They either want to focus on their personal piety or they want to focus on good works.  For example, when you study the Church at Thyatira (Revelation 2:18-29) you find Jesus commending this group for having increased in works, love, and service, but they were also abounding in immorality and idolatry.  They were doing well in the area of compassion and charitable works, but they had not heeded the biblical admonition to keep themselves unspotted by the world.  Others, it seems, are deeply concerned about their own spirituality and holiness, but don’t seem to care anything about hurting individuals around them.

James did not instruct us to choose either personal holiness or compassionate service.  Useful, pure, and undefiled religion doesn’t give us an either/or option; it is a both/and proposition.  We may have a natural inclination toward one of these two branches (internal devotion or external expression), but God wants us growing and thriving in both areas.  I don’t suppose it’s wrong to say, “I’m not religious, but I am very spiritual” as long as we are abounding in self-control, avoiding self-deception, caring for the hurting, and maintaining personal holiness.  But if we do consider ourselves religious (in the right sense), let’s make sure that we are truly cultivating and thriving in those disciplines that God says are useful, pure, and undefiled.

What Does it Mean to be Qualified?

What Does it Mean to be Qualified?
Tony Cooke

Qualified Tony CookeThe following article is excerpted from the upcoming book, “Qualified: Serving God with Integrity and Finishing Your Course with Honor.” It will be released no later than July, but you can order your copy today!

It has been said that “God does not call the qualified; He qualifies the called.” God calls us and desires to work in our lives to qualify us for godly service, but we need to participate in an on-going process of growth, obedience, and development. I’ve often pondered the words of the Lord Jesus when He said (Matthew 22:14, NKJV), “For many are called, but few are chosen.” What is the difference between those who are called and those who go on to be chosen? Is it possible that those who are chosen are those who have cooperated more fully with their Caller and their calling?

We can respond or not respond.
We can obey or not obey.
We can cooperate or not cooperate.
We can follow completely, partially, or not at all.

Oswald Sanders said, “Our Lord made clear to James and John that high position in the Kingdom of God is reserved for those whose hearts – even the secret places where no one else probes – are qualified.”

Those that were selected to help Moses (Exodus 18:21) were to meet certain qualifications:

• They were to be capable and competent
• They were to be God-fearing
• They were to be people of honesty and integrity
• They were to be incorruptible, hating covetousness and immune to bribery

Those selected to serve in the church in Jerusalem (Acts 6:3) also had to exhibit certain characteristics:

• They were to be well respected, trusted, and have a good reputation
• They were to full of the Holy Spirit
• They were to be full of wisdom

The Apostle Paul recognized that the journey of spiritual leadership is challenging and that great diligence is required to finish well. Likening the Christian journey to a track race, he said:

1 Corinthians 9:24-27 (NLT)
24 Don’t you realize that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize? So run to win! 25 All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize. 26 So I run with purpose in every step. I am not just shadowboxing. 27 I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified.

Notice that Paul wasn’t just concerned about “preaching to others.” He was diligent to discipline his own body and, as the NKJV says, “bring it into subjection.” Paul realized before he could lead others, he first had to lead himself. Before he could effectively influence others, he first had to influence himself to stay on-course. It is terribly unfortunate when ministers seek to excel in their “public performance” but deteriorate in their character and integrity. Patsy Cameneti once remarked, “In the process of becoming great preachers, some become lousy Christians.”

Diego Mesa is a friend who pastors in southern California. He used to run marathons and participate in triathlons. In the early ’80’s he felt great as he finished third in a very competitive event. He had done well in the swimming, cycling, and running, and he went happily to collect his prize of $250 (that was a lot of money to him back then). Instead, he received a check for $175 and was informed that he had neglected to wear his helmet during the cycling portion of the event. As a result, $75 had been deducted from his award. I wonder how many believers, including preachers, will stand before the Lord, thinking they’d done wonderful things for him, only to find out their reward has been affected by wrong motives, attitudes, or methods.

Paul advised Timothy, a young pastor, “…athletes cannot win the prize unless they follow the rules” (2 Timothy 2:5, NLT). In trying to avoid legalism, many have downplayed the idea of “rules,” but there are definite guidelines involved in carrying out fruitful and effective ministerial service, and likewise, ignoring or violating such precepts can greatly diminish one’s productivity and effectiveness, and ultimately affect their reward.

In speaking to one group of believers, Paul said, “Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you are disqualified. But I trust that you will know that we are not disqualified” (2 Corinthians 13:5-6).

In order to become disqualified, it seems that a person would have to become qualified in the first place. Speaking of his own ministry, Paul said, “God tested us thoroughly to make sure we were qualified to be trusted with this Message” (1 Thessalonians 2:3 MSG).

Our task is to pursue whole-heartedly those characteristics that qualify us for effective service, and eradicate those traits from our lives that would disqualify us. Paul’s analogy and admonition in 2 Timothy 2:20-21 (NLT) supports this entirely.

“In a wealthy home some utensils are made of gold and silver, and some are made of wood and clay. The expensive utensils are used for special occasions, and the cheap ones are for everyday use. If you keep yourself pure, you will be a special utensil for honorable use. Your life will be clean, and you will be ready for the Master to use you for every good work.”

Men and women don’t become great by accident. They are carried into greatness by great values, great decisions, great convictions, great principles, and great actions. One person said, “Make your decisions, and your decisions will make you.”

• Make it your determined effort not to grow lax or sloppy in your morals, values, and convictions, even if others around you seem to be.
• Don’t let yourself simply “go with the crowd” when their values or morals are lacking.
• Embrace the highest and the best that God has for you.
• Don’t let His Word be a book of ideals to you from which you can selectively and occasionally live, but let them be your commandments—orders given by one in authority about which there is no choice and from which there is no retreat!

Daniel didn’t stumble into integrity; the excellency of his character was deliberate and intentional. Daniel 1:8 (NKJV) says, “But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself…”

Paul advised the believers to “…take thought for what is honest and proper and noble [aiming to be above reproach] in the sight of everyone” (Romans 12:17, AMP).

In November of 1948, shortly before his ministry was launched into major national prominence, Billy Graham met with three of his top associates (Cliff Barrows, George Beverly Shea, and Grady Wilson) to discuss ways to lead their ministry with integrity and avoid scandalous, shameful practices which had brought reproach on many in evangelistic-type ministries. In what became known as the “Modesto Manifesto,” Graham and his team identified four areas of concern and resolved to conduct themselves with the upmost integrity in these matters.

The four areas that were identified included:

• The shady handling of money
• Sexual immorality
• Badmouthing others doing similar work
• Exaggerated accomplishments

Billy spoke of these guidelines, saying, “In reality, it did not mark a radical departure for us; we had always held these principles. It did, however, settle in our hearts and minds once and for all, the determination that integrity would be the hallmark of both our lives and our ministry.”

Here are some of decisions principled leaders have already made.

• To be 100% honest in all of one’s dealings.
• To stay completely submitted to the principles of honor and integrity in God’s Word.
• To be a good steward of one’s body, mind, finances, and gifts.
• If wrong is done, to make it right.
• To be completely faithful to one’s spouse and to maintain moral purity in every way.
• To take the “high road” in all dealings in life.
• To treat all people with dignity and respect.
• To never try to get ahead or make oneself look good by tearing down others.
• To be the best possible example of Christlikeness.
• To never exploit or take advantage of anyone, especially the weak and vulnerable.
• To be an authentic person, not living behind a front or facade.
• To do what is in the best interests of others; seeking their edification and avoiding what will bring harm to others.

It’s important to keep in mind that if God had to wait until we were flawlessly perfect to use us, no one would ever be used by God. All of us are a work in progress. It’s not where we’ve been that matters; it’s where we’re headed now that counts. Your past is no excuse to keep you from the future that God has for you. God has a work for you to do, and He wants you to fulfill it with integrity and honor. God help us all to become and remain qualified!

Order your copy of “Qualified: Serving God with Integrity and Finishing Your Course with Honor” today!

Pride and Spiritual Leadership by Tony Cooke

Pride and Spiritual Leadership
Tony Cooke

qualified tony cookeSpiritual leaders must be aware of and guard themselves against the intoxicating and devastating influence of pride, especially when experiencing success. Pride is insidious. It deceives the one infected, causing him to think "more" of himself, and "less" of God.

• Pride was a major factor in Lucifer’s downfall. Ezekiel 28:17 says, "Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty." The result of this pride? "…you have said in your heart: ‘I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God"’ (Isaiah 14:13).

• The Apostle Paul taught that a novice was not to be appointed as a bishop, "…lest being puffed up with pride he fall into the same condemnation as the devil" (1 Timothy 3:6).

• Before King Saul became prideful, arrogant, and disobedient, Samuel referred to an earlier time: "When you were small in your own sight, were you not made the head of the tribes of Israel, and the Lord anointed you king over Israel?" (1 Samuel 15:17, AMP).

• King Uzziah fell into pride after God had given him success. "…He did what was right in the sight of the LORD… and as long as he sought the LORD, God made him prosper. So his fame spread far and wide, for he was marvelously helped till he became strong. But when he was strong his heart was lifted up, to his destruction" (2 Chronicles 26:4-5, 15-16).

• Proverbs 16:18 says, "Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall."

• James 4:6 and 1 Peter 5:5 both say, "God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble."

Others have observed the connection between power, success, and pride. In 1887, Lord Acton wrote, "Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely." Before that, Abraham Lincoln had said, "Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power." Gifted British author and Bible teacher, Donald Gee, said, "Any burst of popularity and success calls for a disciplined personality to sustain it untarnished. It can easily spell spiritual ruin. It takes a steady hand to carry a full cup."

Gordon Lindsay’s ministry allowed him to witness the rise and fall of many prominent ministers during the Pentecostal and healing revivals in America. He noted, "Some spiritual moves have been blessed of God, and then suddenly have faded away because of the presumptuous and erratic conduct of certain leaders. One such move occurred some years ago in America.

At first we rejoiced in this outpouring of the Spirit. But very soon we saw something develop that alarmed us. Some of the leaders were claiming that they were the ‘Powerhouse’ and all other churches were ‘dried up.’ They said that people should come to them to get recharged. When we saw such bold pretensions, we realized that the usefulness of such leaders could not last long."

Elsewhere, Lindsay wrote, "Certain men of God, once mightily used of the Lord were not able to stand prosperity, but became erratic and inconsistent in their conduct, and in the end passed from the scene under a cloud, and some even in disgrace. The human ego, unchecked, can only lead to one sad end—abasement and shame. This is God’s universe, and He will not share His glory with fleshly ambition. Spiritual security may be found only in humility."

Robert Foster said, "When we make ourselves more than nothing, we make God less than everything." Similarly, Andrew Murray noted, "As long as we are something, God cannot be all."

How Is Pride Revealed in Spiritual Leadership?

• Taking Credit for God’s Grace

Humble ministers not only recognize the absolute necessity of the ability of God at work in their lives, but they also recognize the valuable contributions of other people who work with them and for them. They are quick to give credit to others and to show gratitude for the service of others.

• Carnal Ambition

Jesus made it clear that His Kingdom was not going to be based on dog-eat-dog politics or the "get-ahead-at-any-cost" system of the world. In God’s Kingdom, it is His responsibility to call, appoint, and promote; it is man’s responsibility to serve.

• Self-Centeredness

Have you ever met people who were so self-focused that in conversation and in preaching, everything related back to them instead of to God or God’s people. If you were telling them about something that happened to you, they were quick to interrupt with, "That reminds of the time that I…" Someone said, "Conceit is the only disease known to man that makes everyone sick except the one who has it."

• An Attitude of Superiority

Through inappropriate conduct, some leaders may actually be promoting and fueling the complaints that, by their very authority, they are trying to suppress. Certain leaders feel they should never be questioned: "Don’t question anything I say or do. What I say and do is right, because I am God’s man!" Such a presumptuous sense of infallibility is a sure indicator that pride has brought great blindness.

• The Absence of a Servant’s Heart

Jesus made it clear in His ministry that He had not come to be served, but to serve (Matthew 20:28). If we forget that and begin to act like others are here to serve us, then we have made more of ourselves than Jesus made of Himself.

• Disregard for Others

Spiritual leaders should be courteous, polite, respectful, and appreciative of others. They should not be "respecters of persons," treating people of high standing with respect, while treating others in a condescending manner. Romans 12:16 (MSG) says, "Get along with each other; don’t be stuck-up. Make friends with nobodies; don’t be the great somebody." The NLT renders the middle part of that verse, "Don’t be too proud to enjoy the company of ordinary people."

• Grandiosity

When grandiosity is present, truth is secondary to image-projection and image-maintenance. Everything is exaggerated. Numbers are stretched to make the leader look good. Stories are embellished. Name dropping is done regularly in an attempt to establish a glowing reputation and to boost one’s ego. Some preachers have personalized generic illustrations while preaching, presenting the story as though it was their story. Such deceptiveness is always a violation of personal integrity, and when discovered, damages a leader’s credibility.

A Word of Caution
There is certainly a bona fide way of exercising authority in legitimate spiritual leadership. There are times when leaders need to take a strong stand and deal firmly with certain situations; this does not make him a dictator or a tyrant.

A godly leader is not a doormat to be trampled upon by disgruntled "saints" or a piñata to be beaten by unruly congregants. Spiritual leadership is not found in the lack of authority, but in the proper use of authority. Even when Paul was dealing with conflict, he told believers, "I want to use the authority the Lord has given me to strengthen you, not to tear you down" (2 Corinthians 13:10, NLT).

This should be the heart-cry of every person in spiritual leadership. We lead to benefit those whom we have the privilege of serving. Our leadership should build, benefit, and bless others. Pride is a ministry killer, that is diametrically opposed to God’s nature and His plan for our lives.

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This article is an excerpt from Tony’s book, "Qualified: Serving God with Integrity and Finishing Your Course with Honor. To order, click here.

The Power of Talking To Yourself

The Power of Talking to Yourself
Rev. Tony Cooke

One of the reasons that Lisa and I love sharing the Word of God around the world is because it is the truth of His Word that changes lives.  When people come to the knowledge of His Word, they are acquiring the tools and skills necessary to experience transformation in their lives.

It’s true that we can’t necessarily control every circumstance in life, but we can, through the power of God’s enabling Spirit, choose what kind of attitude and response we are going to have in the midst of every situation we face.

Lisa recently came across the following humorous story that really communicates a powerful truth:

A man observed a woman in the grocery store with a three-year-old girl in her basket. As they passed the cookie section, the little girl asked for cookies and her mother told her, "No." The little girl immediately began to whine and fuss, and the mother said quietly, "Now Jane, we just have half of the aisles left to go through – don’t be upset. It won’t be long now."

Soon, they came to the candy aisle and the little girl began to shout for candy.

When told she couldn’t have any, she began to cry. The mother said, "There, there, Jane, don’t cry – only two more aisles to go and then we’ll be checking out."

When they got to the checkout stand, the little girl immediately began to clamor for gum and burst into a terrible tantrum upon discovering there’d be no gum purchased. The mother said serenely, "Jane, we’ll be through this check out stand in five minutes and then you can go home and have a nice nap."

The man followed them out to the parking lot and stopped the woman to compliment her. "I couldn’t help noticing how patient you were with little Jane.

It’s quite commendable," he remarked.

The mother replied, "I’m Jane. My little girl’s name is Tammy."

This mom had really tapped into a great principle of successful living.  She realized that she was in a situation where it was important to do some talking to herself!  Zig Ziglar said, "The most influential person who will talk to you all day is you, so you should be very careful about what you say to you!"

The Bible contains several references of David talking to himself as a means of comforting, encouraging, and strengthening himself.  Consider the following from the Psalms:

Psalm 42:11 11 Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God…

Psalm 103:1-5 Bless the LORD, O my soul; And all that is within me, bless His holy name! 2 Bless the LORD, O my soul, And forget not all His benefits: 3 Who forgives all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases, 4 Who redeems your life from destruction, Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies, 5 Who satisfies your mouth with good things, So that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

Psalm 116:7 7 Return to your rest, O my soul,
For the LORD has dealt bountifully with you.

Psalm 119:52 52 I remembered Your judgments of old, O LORD,
And have comforted myself.

Notice that David talked to himself!  He didn’t ask himself how he felt; he told himself how to feel.  He didn’t listen to himself; he talked to himself.  He didn’t let the outside atmosphere govern him; he created his own “atmosphere” by the words he spoke to himself.

An even more graphic example of David speaking to himself occurred when David and his men had been out on a military expedition.  When they came home, another army had raided their village, taken everything dear to them (wives, children, possessions, etc.) and burnt the village.

1 Samuel 30:3-4, 6 3 So David and his men came to the city, and there it was, burned with fire; and their wives, their sons, and their daughters had been taken captive. 4 Then David and the people who were with him lifted up their voices and wept, until they had no more power to weep. 6 Now David was greatly distressed, for the people spoke of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and his daughters. But David strengthened [or encouraged] himself in the LORD his God.

What about you?  Have circumstances been speaking to you?  Have the actions of other people been speaking to you?  Have emotions been speaking to you?  If so, it’s important that you be speaking even more to yourself!

Tell yourself the truth!
Tell yourself that He will never leave you or forsake you.
Tell yourself that greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world.
Tell yourself that you are more than a conqueror through Him who loves you.
Tell yourself that you can do all things through Christ who strengthens you.
Tell yourself that you are forgiven.
Tell yourself that there is no condemnation to you since you are in Christ Jesus.
Tell yourself that his mercies are new every morning.
Tell yourself that no one can separate you from the love of God.
Tell yourself that no one is able to take you out of the Father’s hand.

 

Remember, it’s the words you speak that ultimately govern you!

If this teaching has encouraged you, you may want to order an audio CD message by the same title, “The Power of Talking to Yourself.”  For information on ordering that CD, please click here.

Practical Lessons from the Trinity by Tony Cooke


Practical Lessons from the Trinity
by Tony Cooke

Lessons from the TrinityHaving grown up in a mainline denominational church, I was used to hearing about the Trinity. Every Sunday as church was being dismissed, we sang the Doxology, which ended with the admonition, "Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost." After decades of studying the Scripture, I am more impressed than ever before with the majestic and harmonious working of the members of the Trinity.

Foundations of Pentecostal Theology says, "We approach the study of the TRINITY with a deep sense of awe. All study of the Nature of God defies our full comprehension, but the Tri-unity of God is the greatest of all Divine mysteries." It proceeds to say, "The Tri-unity of God is, in fact, the foundation stone of the Christian faith. Every time in Church history that the doctrine of the Trinity has been compromised, the other major Bible tenets have also been compromised or abandoned."

I appreciate John Wesley’s statement ("Bring me a worm that can comprehend a man, and then I will show you a man that can comprehend the triune God."). However, I believe we should open up our hearts and minds to learn all that we can about God’s wonderful nature. If you’ve not read such great ancient documents as the Nicene Creed, the Apostles’ Creed, and the Athanasian Creed, I encourage you to do so. It’s even more important to study the Scripture diligently and notice how the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit work together for our benefit. Consider the following:

Matthew 3:16-17
16 When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. 17 And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."

J.C. Ryle said, "It was the whole Trinity, which at the beginning of creation said, ‘Let us make man’ (Gen. 1:26). It was the whole Trinity again, which at the beginning of the Gospel seemed to say, ‘Let us save man’ (Mt. 3:16-17)."

Matthew 28:18-19
18 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit…

Luke 1:35
35 And the angel answered and said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God.

John 14:16, 26
16 And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever…
27 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.

Acts 7:55
55 But he [Stephen], being full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God…

Acts 10:38
38 how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil…

Acts 20:28
28 Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.

Ephesians 1:2-13 teaches us:

• the Father chose us
• the Son redeemed us
• the Holy Spirit sealed us.

2 Corinthians 13:14
14 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.

Hebrews 9:14
14 how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? 


1 Peter 1:2
2 elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ…

These Scriptures reveal the cooperative nature of the Trinity. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit work seamlessly in concert with one another. There is no jealousy or competition amongst them. We see more of this cooperative nature in what has been called Jesus’ "high priestly prayer" in John 17.

John 17:20-22
20 I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; 21 that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. 22 And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one…

Jesus here is praying to the Father, and while the Holy Spirit is not mentioned by Name, we know that He is present. Who else would have been inspiring this prayer? Jesus prayed that our teamwork – the teamwork of the church – would be reflective of the teamwork displayed by the Trinity.

Stop and think about the teamwork of the Trinity!

• The Father plans – He is the Architect.
• The Son performs – He carries out what the Father planned.
• The Spirit reveals – He reveals and enforces what the Father has planned and what the Son has performed.

No member of the Godhead ever acts independently or out of sync with the other members.

Consider redemption.

• God the Father planned it.
• God the Son carried it out (by dying on the cross).
• The Holy Spirit reveals it to our hearts.

Consider creation.

• God the Father planned it.
• God the Son carried it out (John 1:3; Colossians 1:16; Hebrews 1:2).
• God the Holy Spirit, "…was moving (hovering, brooding) over the face of the waters" (Genesis 1:2, AMP).

In addition to the great lesson of teamwork from the Trinity, we also learn what perfect obedience and submission looks like.

Philippians 2:6-8 (NLT)
6 Though he [Jesus] was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. 7 Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, 8 he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross.

R.C. Sproul said, "Within the Holy Trinity we see that in principle the notion of subordination does not carry with it the notion of inferiority… Christ willingly submitted to the Father, without a word of protest. It is precisely that willingness that we are called to imitate in submitting ourselves to authority."

John 5:19
19 I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself. He does only what he sees the Father doing. Whatever the Father does, the Son also does.

John 5:30
30 I can do nothing on my own. I judge as God tells me. Therefore, my judgment is just, because I carry out the will of the one who sent me, not my own will.

John 7:16
16 My message is not my own; it comes from God who sent me.

While the Trinity is a towering, majestic doctrine of the Bible, it also has practical application in our lives! May we, the Church, operate in the same kind of teamwork as that of the Trinity, and may we, as individuals, exhibit the same kind of submission and obedience to the Father that Jesus did.

Is it Stupid to Play by the Rules?

Is it Stupid to Play by the Rules?
Rev. Tony Cooke

In Psalm 37 and 73, frustration is expressed at seeing people “get ahead,” even though they’ve cut corners and compromised, while the righteous seem to not be making as much progress. Psalm 73:13 (The Message Version) even says, “I’ve been stupid to play by the rules; what has it gotten me? The truth is though, that it’s only those who play by God’s rules who are going to be standing in the end (the psalmist acknowledged the error of his frustration later in Psalm 73).

Benjamin Disraeli said, “Principle is ever my motto, not expediency.” Expedience refers to pursuing whatever is immediately advantageous or personally desirable without a view toward the ethics, morality, or principle involved in the matter. A person of principle is one who establishes a high code of values, and then consistently lives out those values.

Henry Ward Beecher said, “Expedients are for the hour, but principles are for the ages. Just because the rains descend, and the winds blow, we cannot afford to build on shifting sands.” When you see people cutting corners and compromising to get quick results or immediate gratification, don’t feel that your integrity is in vain. Know that you’re building on a solid foundation—one that will endure and remain over time.

In examining the lives of honorable men and women throughout church history, we find that they possessed strong values and convictions. These were not vague, floating aspirations, but they had consciously identified their values and often had articulated them.

John G. Lake wrote out what he called, “My Consecration as a Christian.” One of his values was expressed this way: “I will always strive to be a peacemaker. First, by being peaceful myself and avoiding all unfruitful contentions, and treating all with justice and regarding their rights and their free agency, never trying to force any to my point of view. If I should offend anyone knowingly, I shall immediately apologize. I will not scatter evil reports about any person, and so try to defame their character, or repeat things that I am not certain of being true. I will strive to remove the curse of strife among the brethren by acting as a peacemaker.”

Another great minister who clearly articulated his values was Jonathon Edwards. His verbiage reflects his era, but he certainly embraced and expressed some great principles, such as:
6. Resolved, to live with all my might, while I do live.
14. Resolved, never to do anything out of revenge.
17. Resolved, that I will live so as I shall wish I had done when I come to die.
54. Whenever I hear anything spoken in conversation of any person, if I think it would be praiseworthy in me, Resolved to endeavor to imitate it.

Men and women don’t become great by accident. They are carried into greatness by great values, great decisions, great convictions, great principles, and great actions. One person said, “Make your decisions, and your decisions will make you.” Make it your determined effort not to grow lax or sloppy in your morals, values, and convictions, even if others around you seem to be. Don’t let yourself simply “go with the crowd.” Embrace the highest and the best that God has for you. Don’t let His Word be a book of ideals to you from which you can selectively and occasionally live, but let them be your commandments—orders given by one in authority about which there is no choice and from which there is no retreat!

The Bread by the Door – Understanding the Power of Association by Tony Cooke

The Bread by the Door – Understanding the Power of Association Rev. Tony Cooke

We were greatly encouraged by the many expressions of love and support that we received following my father’s death (November 16, 2007).  Each phone call, e-mail, card, flower arrangement, etc. meant so much to us, and each one seemed to release grace and strength to us.

I feel like I learned and grew through the experience of my father’s death, and I’d like to share one of those lessons in this article.  My parents’ home sits on a small lake, and my father enjoyed feeding the ducks.  It was a daily event for him to take several slices of bread and go out to the end of their deck and throw pieces of bread to the ducks.  I enjoyed doing that with him during my visits.

Following his death, we were staying at their house.  I had been to the hospital to check on my mother, and before Lisa left the house to run an errand she had found a loaf of bread in the kitchen.  So as not to let it go to waste, she leaned the loaf of bread against the back door, thinking that I might want to feed it to the ducks.  When I got back to the house and saw the bread, a wave of emotion hit me as I was flooded with memories of the times when dad fed the ducks.

The Power of Association

There was an association between an object (the bread) and a memory (my dad).  This association was powerful.  I later thought of an association that early disciples in Joppa made concerning a beloved lady named Dorcas and the clothing items she had made for them.  When Dorcas died, Acts 9:39 tells us: “The room was filled with widows who were weeping and showing him the coats and other clothes Dorcas had made for them.”  Those objects (the coats and other clothes) had come from Dorcas’ hands and heart.  They were tangible expressions of her love and her servant’s heart.  Now, in her absence, they had become even more meaningful and dear to her friends.

Isn’t this just like communion?  When we take the bread and the cup, there should be an association that takes place in our mind.  It may or may not be emotional the way it was when I saw the loaf of bread at my father’s back door or when the friends of Dorcas held up the clothing items she’d made, but it should always be meaningful when we partake of communion and as we make the association—remembering Jesus’ sacrifice for us by the bread and the cup that we hold in our hands.

A Package from Home

Another story that illustrates the power of association comes from the life of Dietrich Bonhoffer, the gifted seminary professor and pastor who stood against the policies of Adolf Hitler.[i]  His church was shut down by the Nazis in 1937, and he was ordered not to teach, preach, or publish any type of material.  On April 5, 1943, he was arrested and jailed for helping smuggle fourteen Jews to Switzerland.  Two years later Bonhoffer was hanged just days before the Allies swept in to liberate Germany.

In reading Bonhoffer’s Letters and Papers from Prison, it becomes apparent how much affection and love he had for his family.  He often requested that they send him certain items from home, and when he received them, he would respond with “thank you” letters that overflowed with heartfelt gratitude.  Sometimes his nieces and nephews would send him a piece of their candy, and he was always moved that they remembered him.  One letter in particular that he wrote about ten weeks after his arrest is particularly insightful:

“It’s Monday, and I was just sitting down to a dinner of turnips and potatoes when a package you sent by Ruth arrived.  Such things give me greater joy than I can say.  Although I am utterly convinced that nothing can break the bonds between us, I seem to need some outward token or sign to reassure me.  In this way, material things become the vehicles of spiritual realities.  I suppose it’s rather like the felt need in our religion for the sacraments.”

Bonhoffer knew that his parents loved him.  But he still longed for that love to be shown in some tangible way.  The package that he received from home with a book, a sweater, a comb was a tangible expression of the spiritual and emotional bond that he felt with his family.

I like the phrase he used:  “Material things become the vehicles of spiritual realities.”

In reality, the loaf of bread I saw at the back door of my parents’ home was nothing more than a loaf of bread.  But because of memories and association, it meant much more than that to me at that moment and in that place.

Someone once said, “I might pick a rosebud off a tree, and it would be a rosebud and no more.  The one I love in all the world might pluck a rosebud off a tree and give it to me, and it would be a rosebud and a great deal more.  The meaning would be changed because she gave it to me.”

I understand that communion and water baptism stand in a class by themselves as ordinances of the Church.  They communicate in powerful ways the association that we have with Christ’s broken body and shed blood (communion) and His death, burial and resurrection (water baptism).  But are there other powerful associations that can strengthen us?  Are there other “material things” that “become the vehicles of spiritual realities?”  I believe there are, and I believe they are as simple as the expressions of love shown by believers to one another.  Paul experienced this as he was encouraged when he saw the believers cheering him on as he marched toward Rome (Acts 28:15). 

As I was dealing with the death of my father, calls and notes of encouragement from friends also became vehicles of spiritual realities.  I was reminded afresh of the power of love and the impact of personal concern.  Those “touches” were truly expressions that I will always associate with God’s love.  May we be encouraged to live in such a way that people will always associate us with Him, and to love in such a way that we are vehicles of God’s spiritual realities to impact others.

[i] This portion of the article was inspired by an article in the January 1, 1994 edition of Leadership Journal, entitled “Beyond Infosermons.”

Our Most Overlooked Asset

OUR MOST OVERLOOKED ASSET?
By Rev. Tony Cooke

People who yearn to do God’s will and positively influence others are always looking for ways to increase their effectiveness. I believe one of the most essential characteristics we have at our disposal-kindness-has often been overlooked. There may be those who think of kindness as somehow inferior to seemingly more dynamic or spectacular gifts, but kindness is an attribute of God that can produce amazing results when it is released through us.

Bible commentator Alexander Maclaren said, "Kindness makes a person attractive. If you would win the world, melt it, do not hammer it." William Barclay echoed a similar sentiment when he noted, "More people have been brought into the church by the kindness of real Christian love than by all the theological arguments in the world."

Abraham Lincoln said, "I care not for a man’s religion whose dog and cat are not better off for it." In short, if your faith doesn’t translate into your being a nicer person, it hasn’t transformed you the way God desires. The ancient philosopher Plato emphasized the necessity of kindness when he said, "Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a harder battle." Henry James remarked, "Three things in life are important: The first is to be kind. The second is to be kind. The third is to be kind."

Most students of the Bible remember that there was a time when the Kingdom of Israel went through a split. The ten northern tribes (known as Israel) split from the two southern tribes (Judah and Benjamin). What many don’t recall, though, is the occasion for this split occurring. Solomon had died, and the people, because of the massive projects Solomon had led them in, were exhausted. They came to the new king, Reheboam, and essentially asked him to ease up on them a bit.

Reheboam first did a wise thing. He went and asked the older men, Solomon’s advisors, what he should do. They gave him this counsel: "If you are kind to these people, and please them, and speak good words to them, they will be your servants forever" (2 Chronicles 10:7). If you recall the story, though, Reheboam rejected the wise counsel of the old men, and responded to the people harshly, roughly, and rudely. As a result, he lost ten of the twelve tribes he would have governed. Kindness would have been good for the people and good for Reheboam’s leadership, but he was oblivious to its significance.

True kindness is not an act or a facade we put on to manipulate others. Rather, it is rooted in having a genuine concern and interest in the welfare and well-being of people, and is expressed in demonstrating that care to others in tangible ways. Kindness is one of the most desirable attributes we can develop in our lives. Proverbs 19:22 says, "What is desired in a man is kindness." Abraham Heschel said, "When I was young, I used to admire intelligent people. Now I admire kind people."

Every believer would do well to embrace the philosophy by which William Penn lived: "I expect to pass through life but once. If, therefore, there can be any kindness I can show, or any good thing I can do to any fellow being, let me do it now and not defer or neglect it, as I shall not pass this way again." May God bless and help us all as we grow in kindness toward others.

It’s Not What You Think by Tony Cooke

It’s Not What You Think by Rev. Tony Cooke

Albert Einstein said, “Thinking like we always have is what got us where we are.  It is not going to get us where we are going.”  One of the great quests of life is simply to get from point A to point B—from where we are now to where we need to be.  Of course, action is a huge part of the journey, but thinking the right thoughts is also essential.  Many never progress because they never change the way they think. 

It seems like all the people in the Bible who successfully completed their journey had to undergo a radical change in their thinking and perspective.  The Psalmist said (50:21), “You thought that I was altogether like you; but I will rebuke you, and set them in order before your eyes.”  God powerfully confronted Israel about their limited thinking when He said (Isaiah 55:8-9): “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,” says the LORD.  “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.”

I believe that God continually seeks to help us move forward, but this means that we have to be willing to stretch and grow.  We’ve all probably heard the phrase, “If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always be what you’ve always been.”  Yet to do something differently, it really helps to first think differently.  Thank God that He loves us enough to challenge us, stretch us, and even to correct us when our knowledge and perspective of Him is not what it should be. 

Consider the following people who had to make a radical change in their thinking:

  • Abram was very comfortable in Ur of the Chaldees, but God called him on a journey of faith.
  • Moses was very comfortable herding sheep in the wilderness, but God’s people needed a deliverer.
  • Jonah was very comfortable preaching in Israel, but the people of Nineveh needed to hear from God.
  • Nehemiah was very comfortable as the king’s cupbearer, but the walls of Jerusalem needed to be rebuilt.
  • Peter was very comfortable as a fisherman, but Jesus saw another purpose for his life.
  • Paul was very comfortable as a Pharisee, but God needed a great church-planter.

All of these had ideas about what they wanted and where they were headed in life, but God, in essence, told them, “It’s not what you think.”

Samuel (1 Samuel 16:6-13) almost anointed the wrong person to be the new king of Israel because he was so impressed with the stature and appearance of David’s brother, Eliab.  But God told Samuel, “It’s not what you think.”  Samuel had to discover that “the LORD does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7).

Naaman (2 Kings 5:1-14) almost missed out on receiving from God because he had a preconceived idea of how God would heal him; he expected Elisha to come out and wave his hand over him and pray for him.  But when Elisha sent a message for him to go dip in the Jordan River, Naaman became angry and almost walked away.  Fortunately, one of Naaman’s servants persuaded him to abandon his preconceived ideas and cooperate with God’s appointed method (as illogical as it seemed).  In essence, God was saying to Naaman, “It’s not what you think.”

When Jesus went to the cross, it appeared that His entire mission had ended in utter disaster.  The world thought He had failed.  Two of his disciples even expressed their disappointment and disillusionment on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-34).  Their hopes had been dashed and they thought that Jesus was still dead, but God said, “It’s not what you think.”  The living Jesus revealed Himself to them, and they realized their hope had not been in vain.

Millions of Gentiles needed to hear the Gospel, and God gave Peter a prophetic challenge to step into some unexplored territory (Acts 10:9-23), but Peter resisted, thinking that he was correct in maintaining all of his predetermined ideas.  The Lord, in essence, said to him, “It’s not what you think.”  Peter learned that he should not call unclean that which God had cleansed, and the doorway of faith was opened to the Gentiles.

Psalms 78:41 tells us that the children of Israel “…limited the Holy One of Israel.”  How many times have we limited God in our own lives by having preconceived ideas that restricted our vision of who God was and what He wanted to accomplish in and through our lives?  Many never receive from God or progress in the will of God for their lives because they never get free from their preconceived ideas or step out of their comfort zone.

If we don’t like the results we’re getting, it’s good to examine what’s beneath the surface.  Stephen Covey said, “Your systems are perfectly designed to get the results that you are getting.”  Our prayer for you this month is that you will have innovative and creative ideas and to see and explore any new possibilities that God might be placing before you.  Ephesians 3:20 says that God “is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think,” so if you hear God say to you, “It’s not what you think,” be glad because He’s got something great in store for you!

One Who Went by Tony Cooke

One Who Went
Tony Cooke

One Who Went by Tony CookeThe eyes of the world have been on Japan for the last few weeks as it experienced a 9.0 earthquake, a tsunami that brought unimaginable devastation, and a nuclear incident that has been described as at least a partial meltdown. As these events unfolded, millions around the world have witnessed the pain and suffering of the Japanese people. As I observed these happenings, I also thought of how the relationship between the U.S.A. and Japan has changed over the past several decades, and how two nations have gone from being bitter enemies to friends and allies.

At the conclusion of World War II, General Douglas MacArthur recognized the spiritual vacuum that existed in the war-torn nation and asked evangelical leaders who were visiting Tokyo to send him 1,000 missionaries. MacArthur also requested U.S. missionary organizations to send “Bibles, Bibles, and more Bibles” to Japan. One of the missionaries who responded (not just to MacArthur’s request, but to the Lord’s call) was a man named Jacob Daniel “Jake” DeShazer.

Prior to becoming a missionary, Jake was one of the bombardiers of the famed “Doolittle Raiders.” After a bombing run on Tokyo, DeShazer and seven others on plane # 16 had to bail out, and were captured by the Japanese army. Jake ended up spending forty months in Japanese captivity which involved beatings, torture, and terrible deprivations. Twenty-four of these months were spent in solitary confinement. During this time as a POW, DeShazer was able to spend three weeks reading a Bible, and while doing so, he gave his life and his heart completely to Jesus Christ.

What followed in Jake DeShazer’s life is a most powerful testimony of forgiveness, redemption, and reconciliation. Having been full of hatred and a desire for revenge, DeShazer’s heart was changed, and God filled him with love for the Japanese people. After the war, he returned to Japan where he spent thirty years as a missionary. One person whose Jake’s ministry impacted was Mitsuo Fuchida, the lead pilot and commander of the 360 Japanese planes that had dealt a devastating blow to Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.

After the war, this former Japanese warrior was handed a pamphlet entitled “I Was a Prisoner of Japan,” which shared DeShazer’s Christian testimony. Fuchida then purchased a Bible, read it, and was powerfully convicted of God’s love. With tears, he gave his heart entirely to the Lord Jesus Christ, and in the years that followed, these two men preached—together and separately—to thousands across Japan, leading many to the Lord.

Fuchida said, “As an evangelist, I have traveled across Japan and the Orient introducing others to the One Who changed my life. I believe with all my heart that those who will direct Japan—and all other nations—in the decades to come must not ignore the message of Jesus Christ. Youth must realize that He is the only hope for this troubled world. I would give anything to retract my actions of twenty-nine years ago at Pearl Harbor, but it is impossible. Instead, I now work at striking the death-blow to the basic hatred which infests the human heart and causes such tragedies. And that hatred cannot be uprooted without assistance from Jesus Christ.”

This is a miracle that only God’s grace can accomplish! Two men—bitter enemies, becoming brothers in Christ, friends, and co-workers in the Gospel. It is this God-kind of love that must be operative in the world today to demonstrate God’s power and glory.

The Great Reconciler
Lisa recently wrote something that came up in her heart during prayer and study. It was a question that she wanted to capture and she shared it with me. The note read, “If the Lord did not ordain it, does He redeem it?” I thought about that and I believe it is true that God does redeem and brings the best possible outcomes out of events and circumstances He did not ordain.

When tragedies and crises occur, our natural tendency is to ask, “Why?” It is understandable that such a question would arise, but perhaps the better question we can ask is, “What?” For example, “God, I know you did not ordain or cause all of this chaos and confusion, but what do you want me to do that will result in your glory and your plan being accomplished in the midst of all this?” Asking “why?” may lead to philosophical musings, but asking “what?” prepares us to take redemptive action. Jake DeShazer didn’t sit around asking why that terrible war happened, he asked God what he could do to express and reveal God’s love to a needy and hurting people.

I’m not going to try to answer the question of why the earthquake happened in Japan, but I do know that “the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now,” and that “the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God” (Romans 8:20, 22). This planet we are living on is reeling under the effects of the curse, and there is coming a day when there will be a new earth (Peter 3:13; Revelation 21:1).

We await the One Who will make all things new (Revelation 21:5), but in the meantime, we are going to be busy as ministers of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:18-19), doing as much good as we can possibly do. Speaking of the Lord Jesus Christ, Colossians 1:19-20 says, “For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell, and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross.” That is why Jesus came, and that is the basis for both the mission and the message of the Church today!

May you never be paralyzed by the “why,” but may you be energized by the “what.”

What Does “I’m Not Under the Law” Really Mean? by Tony Cooke

What Does “I’m Not Under the Law” Really Mean?
Tony Cooke

Under the LawWhen a believer says, “I’m not under the law,” we usually assume that the person is really saying, “I’m not under the law of Moses.” This reflects an accurate understanding of Scripture. Even a casual study of Romans and Galatians will support this. For example, Paul was clearly speaking about the law of Moses when he wrote:

Romans 3:19-20
19 Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. 20 Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin.

Galatians 2:16
16 knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law; for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified.

Galatians 3:10-11
For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse; for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law, to do them.” 11 But that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, for “the just shall live by faith.”

But here are some important questions:

1. Does not being “under the law” mean that Christians are lawless?

2. Does it mean that there is no governing influence or authority in their lives?

3. Does not being “under the law” mean that believers have no moral restraints or ethical guidelines whatsoever?

If these are examples of what a Christian means in his not being “under the law” statement, then we have a real problem relative to the rest of God’s Word. Paul said, “But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law” (Galatians 5:18). Our purpose in life is not simply to be out from under the bondage of rules and regulations relative to the Old Testament; rather, God’s goal is that our lives be fully governed by the Holy Spirit, His Word, and His love.

It is essential that we understand that the word “law” in Scripture does not always refer to the law of Moses. Even in the Old Testament, Proverbs 31:26 refers to “the law of kindness.” When we move into the New Testament, we discover that the usage of the word law – referring to a guiding and governing principle – has a much broader range of meaning than simply “the law of Moses.”

1. Romans 3:27 refers to “the law of faith.”

2. Romans 8:2 mentions “the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus.”

3. Galatians 6:2 tells us to, “Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.”

4. James 1:25 refers to “the perfect law of liberty.” (also mentioned in James 2:12)

5. James 2:8 refers to love (loving your neighbor as yourself) as “the royal law.”

As powerful as all of these references are, perhaps the most penetrating insight that delineates “the law of Moses” from other aspects of God’s principles of governance and influence toward our lives is found in Paul’s statement…

1 Corinthians 9:21 (NLT)
21 When I am with the Gentiles who do not follow the Jewish law, I too live apart from that law so I can bring them to Christ. But I do not ignore the law of God; I obey the law of Christ.

Notice that Paul differentiates “the Jewish law” from “the law of God” and the “law of Christ.” If I say, “I’m not under the law” and I’m referring to the law of Moses (or as Paul calls it here, “the Jewish law”), that’s perfectly appropriate. But if I mean that I’m free to do whatever I want and I can live however I want, without any consideration for the influence of God’s Word and Spirit in my life, then I have grossly and terribly misunderstood the teaching of the New Testament.

Romans 13:8-10
8 …he who loves another has fulfilled the law. 9 For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not bear false witness,” “You shall not covet,” and if there is any other commandment, are all summed up in this saying, namely, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 10 Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.

It should be clearly understood that the word “law” is not a bad word in the Bible. The law of Moses could not justify us; it was never intended to. Even so, the problem was not the law itself. The problem was US!  Paul said that “the law is holy, and the commandment holy and just and good” (Romans 7:21). He said, “…the law is spiritual…” (Romans 7:14), and again, “..the law is good if one uses it lawfully…” (1 Timothy 1:8). The law set a righteous standard to which we could not measure up. Therefore, it is our trusting in the law to save us that is futile. When we trust in our performance (which can never measure up to absolute perfection), we are trusting in ourselves and not the redemptive work of Christ. So the law of Moses, in and of itself, is good; it simply revealed that we were not.

What is used 100% negatively in Scripture is not the concept of law, but rather the concept of lawlessness. If you get a concordance and look up lawless and lawlessness in Scripture, the references are absolutely negative. John said, “Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness” (1 John 3:4).

As Christians, we are not under the law of Moses, but we are certainly not lawless. Even the New Testament doctrine of grace, often set in contradistinction to law (see John 1:17), in no way leads a believer toward lawlessness. Paul said, “For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace. What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Certainly not!” (Romans 6:14-15).

Why should a believer focus more on the negative than on the positive? Instead of simply saying, “I’m not under the law [of Moses],” perhaps we should consider focusing more on what actually does govern and influence our lives. Why don’t we confess this:

  1. The royal law governs me.
  2. The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus governs me.
  3. I am under the influence of God’s love, His Spirit, His Word, and His Grace.
  4. The law of Christ enables me to become everything God wants me to be, and empowers me to effectively carry out God’s will for my life!” 

Like Paul, we can say, “not that I am without the law of God and lawless toward Him, but that I am [especially keeping] within and committed to the law of Christ” (1 Corinthians 9:21, AMP).

Things Aren’t Always As They Seem by Tony Cooke


Things Aren’t Always As They Seem
Tony Cooke

Tony CookeCharles Spurgeon and his wife owned chickens, and people noted that they never gave any of the eggs away, but would only sell them. Some people felt they should have been more generous and accused them of being stingy and greedy. The Spurgeons were aware of these rumblings and criticisms, but never responded. It was only after Mrs. Spurgeon had passed away that the full story was revealed—the profits from the sale of the eggs were used by the Spurgeons to support two elderly widows.

We run into problems when we make rigid, iron-clad determinations about people or situations when we don’t have sufficient information. Proverbs 18:13 (AMP) says, “He who answers a matter before he hears the facts—it is folly and shame to him.”

In John 7:24, Jesus said, “Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment.” The NLT renders that, “Look beneath the surface so you can judge correctly.”

The human race was plunged into darkness (at least in part) because things were not as they seemed to Eve. “So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate” (Genesis 3:6). Would Eve have eaten the fruit if she could have seen what was really going to happen? Her first-born son murdering her second-born? All the diseases, plagues, wars, and heartache that would ravage the human race as a result of sin? Things aren’t always as they seem.

Proverbs 14:12 and 16:25 both say, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.”

How many people have been hurt because they were deceived and taken in by a wolf in sheep’s clothing? We need wisdom and discernment to know the truth, because things aren’t always as they seem. The story of Ananias and Sapphira is a good example of this (Acts 5:1-10).

Seldom do we know all the facts, but sometimes, even when we are aware of certain information, God sees a greater redemptive reality beyond our perspective. Dottie Rambo penned the words, “He looked beyond my faults and saw my need.” When Jesus was here on this earth, He didn’t simply see who men were on the outside, but He saw their heart, their needs, and their potential.

Jesus looked beyond…

  1. the clumsiness and impulsivity of Peter and saw an empowered preacher.
  2. the rambunctious turbulence of John and saw the “Apostle of Love.”
  3. the checkered past of the woman at the well and saw a transformed testifier.
  4. the rage of Saul of Tarsus and saw a church builder and an epistle writer.
  5. the suffering He Himself would endure on the cross and saw us coming to Him as a redeemed and purified people.

This penetrating gaze—one that looks beyond the superficial—has been around a long time. In 1 Samuel 16:7, God told Samuel, “For the LORD does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” Later, Paul asked a congregation this question: “Do you look at things according to the outward appearance?” (2 Corinthians 10:7).

Earlier, Paul admonished this same church not to, “…get ahead of the Master and jump to conclusions with your judgments before all the evidence is in. When he comes, he will bring out in the open and place in evidence all kinds of things we never even dreamed of—inner motives and purposes and prayers. Only then will any one of us get to hear the ‘Well done!’ of God” (1 Corinthians 4:5, MSG).

Sometimes it’s hard not to react quickly and jump to conclusions, but wisdom teaches us not to be rash. James 1:19 (NLT) says, “You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry.”

A pastor was once informed by a few different people that a certain church member had been bad-mouthing him and the church. As he thought about it, the pastor became angry, and he thought of calling the man in, rebuking him sharply, and giving him an ultimatum—Repent or leave! As the pastor prayed, though, his heart was quickened by the Holy Spirit not to react carnally to these reports.

The pastor prepared himself for the meeting spiritually, and when he visited with the man, it was not to counter-attack, but to reach out to him in love and concern. He said, “John, I’ve heard from more than a couple of people that you’ve been saying some pretty harsh things against me and the church. I’m concerned for you, John, because I know you’re a good man, and I know something drastic must have happened in your life for me to be hearing these things. How can I help you?”

At this, the man broke down and said, “Pastor, I’m so sorry. I have said bad things, and I had no right saying them. The truth is that I’ve been told by my company that I’m going to be laid off. My wife told me that if I lose my job, she’s going to leave me. I’ve been mad at God, and I’ve taken it out on you and the church. I’m wrong. I repent. And I ask you to forgive me.”

The two men prayed together, and God did a work of healing and restoration in the man’s life. Isn’t that wonderful? Instead of reacting carnally to the “fact” of the man’s criticisms, the pastor responded to a deeper need in the man’s life. This is a beautiful illustration of Proverbs 10:12, which says, “Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all sins.” Love doesn’t condone, justify, or excuse sin; love is more interested in healing the person than in exposing or punishing him.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow made a couple of great statements that would be good for us to keep in mind as we go through life:

    1. “Every man has his secret sorrows which the world knows not; and often times we call a man cold when he is only sad.”
    2. “If we could read the secret history of our enemies we should find in each man’s life sorrow and suffering enough to disarm all hostility.”

Plato even weighed in with some good, common sense advice along these same lines: "Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle."

It is good to be reminded that we are not omniscient, and even when something appears a certain way, our perception is not necessarily accurate. When Jesus died and was laid in the tomb, it appeared to be nothing but an absolute, totally demoralizing defeat. Two sad disciples on the road to Emmaus said to the risen Lord (they did not recognize Him at that time), “…we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel” (Luke 24:21).

The greatest miracle in all of human history had occurred. The Resurrected Jesus was right in front of them. Yet they were downcast and despondent because they were only seeing things according to their perception and according to the appearance of things that had happened!

When we face adversity, and things appear entirely negative, we need to remember that things aren’t always as they seem. 2 Corinthians 4:18 says, “…we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.”

There was a time when one of Elisha’s servants was in major panic mode because they were surrounded by enemy troops. In the natural, they were grossly outnumbered and outgunned. Elisha, who didn’t seem to be the least bit concerned, told him, “Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” Then, “Elisha prayed, and said, ‘LORD, I pray, open his eyes that he may see.’ Then the LORD opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw. And behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha” (2 Kings 6:16-17). Things aren’t always as they seem.

What is it that you’re facing that may not be as it appears? Is there a seemingly good opportunity before you that, in reality, is more of a mine field than anything else? Is there a situation that looks rough, but in reality, it’s a gold mine? May God help us have spiritual insight and keen discernment, and may we never forget that things are not always as they appear.

It’s a Great Time Not To Worry

It’s a Great Time Not to Worry
Rev. Tony Cooke

As I’ve traveled all over, it’s been interesting to see how people are handling the pressures and tensions in life. Just recently, an individual from the east coast told me, “People around here are on edge all the time.”

Mickey Rivers, a one-time outfielder for the Texas Rangers (baseball team), said the following about his philosophy of life: "Ain’t no sense worrying about things you got control over, because if you got control over them, ain’t no sense worrying. And there ain’t no sense worrying about things you got no control over either, because if you got no control over them, ain’t no sense worrying."

We need to keep in mind that our God is a God of Peace, and that Jesus is the Prince of Peace! No doubt, we’ll have opportunities to be distracted and dismayed, but by following God’s Word, we can stay strong in God’s peace.

Take a moment and meditate on the following Scriptures:

Isaiah 32:17-18 (NKJV)
17 The work of righteousness will be peace, And the effect of righteousness, quietness and assurance forever.
18 My people will dwell in a peaceful habitation, In secure dwellings, and in quiet resting places.

Isaiah 26:3 (Amplified)
3 You will guard him and keep him in perfect and constant peace whose mind [both its inclination and its character] is stayed on You, because he commits himself to You, leans on You, and hopes confidently in You.

John 16:33 (NKJV)
33 These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.

Matthew 11:28-30 (The Message Version)
28 Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. 29 Walk with me and work with me — watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. 30 Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.

Philippians 4:6-7 (Amplified)
6 Do not fret or have any anxiety about anything, but in every circumstance and in everything, by prayer and petition (definite requests), with thanksgiving, continue to make your wants known to God.
7 And God’s peace [shall be yours, that tranquil state of a soul assured of its salvation through Christ, and so fearing nothing from God and being content with its earthly lot of whatever sort that is, that peace] which transcends all understanding shall garrison and mount guard over your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

Did you know that it’s typically easier to preach the Word than it is to live it. Paul told the Philippians, “Be anxious for nothing…” but he acknowledged to the Corinthians that there was a pressure he had to deal with daily, “the care of all the churches.” The word “care” that Paul used in 2 Corinthians 11:28 is the same word that Peter used when he said, “Casting all your care upon Him.”

Paul also admonished Timothy that “God has not given us a spirit of fear,” but he acknowledged in 2 Corinthians 7:5 that when he was in Macedonia, “We were troubled on every side. Outside were conflicts, inside were fears.”

I’m not sharing this so that we’ll have a cop-out for not acting on and applying the Word of God in our own lives, but to emphasize the reality that we are all still growing. God did not call us based on our perfection. If He had, He couldn’t use any of us. Paul said that God, “…has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began” (2 Timothy 1:9).

The devil loves to point out all the ways we fall short of the ideal, and try to bring discouragement and condemnation into our lives. After all, he’s still the accuser of the brethren.

As for the continuing process of growth, we can all say with Paul, “I am still not all I should be, but I am focusing all my energies on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I strain to reach the end of the race and receive the prize…” (Philippians 3:13-14, NLT)

Paul made another excellent statement to the Philippians, and this is our sentiment toward you as well: “There has never been the slightest doubt in my mind that the God who started this great work in you would keep at it and bring it to a flourishing finish on the very day Christ Jesus appears” (Philippians 1:6, The Message).

One individual wrote a checklist of the “Symptoms of Inner Peace.” Based on this checklist, how are you doing in the area of peace?

* A tendency to think and act spontaneously, rather than on fears based on past experiences
* An unmistakable ability to enjoy each moment
* A loss of interest in judging other people
* A loss of interest in condemning yourself
* A loss of interest in interpreting the actions of others
* A loss of the ability to worry
* Frequent, overwhelming episodes of appreciation
* Contented feelings of connectedness with others and with God’s creation
* Frequent attacks of smiling
* An increased susceptibility to love—to freely receive the love extended by others, as well as the uncontrollable urge to extend it

Our prayer for you is that your heart will be strong and fully established in God’s wonderful peace!

Multi-Dimensional Ministry by Tony Cooke


Multi-Dimensional Ministry
Tony Cooke

One thing is certain about ministry; it is not one-dimensional. Ministry requires that we be able to adapt ourselves and our methods to different people and to different situations. Consider some of the following Scriptures that express this necessity:

Romans 12:15
15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep.

1 Thessalonians 5:14
14 Now we exhort you, brethren, warn those who are unruly, comfort the fainthearted, uphold the weak, be patient with all.

Jude 22-23
22 And on some have compassion, making a distinction; 23 but others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire, hating even the garment defiled by the flesh.

If these weren’t enough to make us realize that we’ve got to be flexible, strategic, and targeted in how we minister to people, we can always remember how uniquely Jesus ministered to different individuals and how Paul stated, “I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some” (1 Corinthians 9:22).

One-dimensional ministry occurs when there is no flexibility in our methods, our styles, or our message. It’s a cookie-cutter approach that assumes “one size fits all.” Abram Maslow summarized this type of mentality when he said, “If you only have a hammer, you tend to see every problem as a nail.”

Paul was keenly aware that there are different components are involved for thorough, comprehensive ministry to take place. That awareness was reflected when he summarized his work in Ephesus.

Acts 20:20-21, 26-27
20 how I kept back nothing that was helpful, but proclaimed it to you, and taught you publicly and from house to house, 
21 testifying to Jews, and also to Greeks, repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.
26 Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all men.
27 For I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God.

In the above verses, Paul refers to ministering:

  • Publicly and from house to house > This represents multi-dimensional venues.
  • To Jews and Greeks > multi-dimensional people groups.
  • Repentance and faith > multi-dimensional content.

When Paul related that he had shared with them the “whole counsel of God,” he was making it clear that he had been thorough and complete in covering all the bases with them. He had given them a comprehensive foundation in the things of God. He had not just covered a few favorite topics, but had taught them everything that God had wanted him to convey to them.

In the summer of 1981, I attended an evangelism conference in Kansas City. During one of the workshops, a speaker addressed major attributes of the church in the book of Acts, identifying seven traits, each of which began with the Greek letters kappa (K) or delta (D). Though I don’t remember the presenter or the title of the session, I still remember those points. They remind me yet today that the church is not a one-dimensional entity. Any pastor can review this list and ask the question, “How are we doing in emphasizing things that were vital in the life of the early church?”

Key Characteristics of the Early Church

1. Kerygma (Proclamation)

This word can refer to the content of what is preached, or the act of preaching itself. Kerygma was eventually understood as the initial message proclaimed by the apostles as they introduced unbelievers to Christ. In other words, it was the foundational truth of the gospel that was proclaimed to persuade individuals to put their faith in and to become followers of Christ. A great example of kerygma is found in 1 Corinthians 15:3. “For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,  and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures…”

2. Didache (Teaching)

This word refers to “doctrine” or “teaching.” Once people had responded to the kerygma and had put their faith in Christ, it was necessary to teach them and establish them in the truths of the Word of God. After preaching and leading to people to Christ, Paul labored extensively teaching them. Referring to his time in Corinth, Acts 18:11 says, “he continued there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.”

3. Koinonia (Fellowship)

Part of Thayer’s definition for this word is, “…that in which any person or thing is inherently fixed, implanted, or with which it is intimately connected…” Acts 2:42 describes the richness of communion enjoyed by the early church. “And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship [koinonia], in the breaking of bread, and in prayers.”

4. Kartartismos (Equipping)

The leaders of the early church did not see their role as that of entertaining the saints, but as that of equipping the saints! Ephesians 4:11-12 (AMP) says, “And His gifts were [varied; He Himself appointed and gave men to us] some to be apostles (special messengers), some prophets (inspired preachers and expounders), some evangelists (preachers of the Gospel, traveling missionaries), some pastors (shepherds of His flock) and teachers. His intention was the perfecting and the full equipping of the saints (His consecrated people), [that they should do] the work of ministering toward building up Christ’s body (the church)…” That word, equip (kartartismos), was used of fishermen repairing their nets, of a doctor setting a bone, or of a house being furnished. It meant to bring something or someone into the condition it was intended to be so that it was adequate for its intended task.

5. Diaspora (Scattering)

Diaspora, which means “scattered abroad,” is used twice early in Acts 8. Verse 1 says, “At that time a great persecution arose against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles.” Verse 4 then says, “Therefore those who were scattered went everywhere preaching the word.” It’s interesting that the first evangelistic scattering of the believers was not in response to prayer or a missions strategy, but rather, was a reaction to persecution.

6. Diakonia (Serving)

You may recognize that word as being somewhat similar to “deacon.” It refers to ministry or serving. Jesus not only modeled this virtue through his life, but also said, “…the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve…” This reminds us that when we follow the example of the Lord Jesus, we also will seek to serve both the plan of God and the people of God.

7. Doxa (Glory)

Doxa is where we get the word, doxology. The New Bible Dictionary says that this word, doxa, refers to, “…the revelation of the character and the presence of God in the Person and work of Jesus Christ. He is the outshining of the divine glory (Heb. 1:3).”
Ephesians 3:21 (NLT) says, “Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen.”

Recognizing these seven vital functions and emphases of the local church can provide a helpful checklist. We can study these areas, and then ask ourselves how we’re doing in our ministries and our churches. Where we sense we’re doing well, we can be glad and continue to cooperate with the Lord. If we sense a deficiency in one or more of these areas, we can prayerfully consider how we increase our effectiveness with Heaven’s help.

The God of New Beginnings

The God of New Beginnings
Rev. Tony Cooke

Lamentations 3:22-23

22 Through the LORD’s mercies we are not consumed, Because His compassions fail not.
23 They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness.

This is a beautiful way of saying that God is ever ready to forgive, to restore, and to renew.

He is ever ready to give new beginnings, yet so many seem hindered by their past.

You may have seen people who are stuck, frozen in time, and never progressing

Their identity seems to be locked into past failures and past disappointments, while old attitudes, old mentalities, and old patterns continue to prevail in their lives.

People who were raised in negative, critical homes must overcome that influence.

Saul, the first king of Israel had to address small thinking that would have hindered his progress. Consider Saul’s response when Samuel began to prepare him for stepping into something bigger than he’d ever experienced:

1 Samuel 9:21

21 And Saul answered and said,"Am I not a Benjamite, of the smallest of the tribes of Israel, and my family the least of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin? Why then do you speak like this to me?"

In his book, The Five Love Languages, Gary Chapman said: "I am amazed by how many individuals mess up every new day with yesterday. They insist on bringing into today the failures of yesterday and in doing so pollute a potentially wonderful day."

What do you carry from day to day that hinders you from moving forward?

* Guilt?
* A sense of failure?
* A sense of damaged identity?
* Perceiving yourself as inferior? A second-class Christian?
* The fear of people?
* A fear of rejection?

God does not want these things – and they are rooted in past experiences – lording over you…

…Restricting you

…Binding you

…Limiting you

Some people think the only way to experience change is externally.

They will say:

"If I only had a new spouse…"

"If I only had a new job…:

"If I only lived somewhere else…"

You can change all these and still be miserable unless you get renewed on the inside.

God’s mercies are new every morning.

God’s compassions are new every morning.

God’s faithfulness is new every morning.

The life God has given us is an adventure, a journey, a race

He didn’t say He’d be with us until things get rough.

He didn’t say He’d be with us until we missed it.

He said He’d be with us always – even to the end of the age!

The problem is not God abandoning us.

The problem is us failing to access, failing to take advantage of, and failing to release our faith in…

* God’s everlasting mercies
* His unfailing and always new compassions
* His faithfulness

I want to talk today about a few people who had to access God’s mercy in order to put the past behind them – in doing so, they truly met the God of new beginnings!

Some people mistakenly think the great men of the Bible were men who never fell, when in fact, they were simply men who knew how to get up and keep on going.

Before I talk about Bible characters…

SIR WINSTON CHURCHILL was at the bottom of his class all the way through high school, and his teachers didn’t consider him good enough in math to enter Woolwich, the military academy for cadets seeking commissions in the Royal Army. Instead, they encouraged him to apply to Sandhurst, the academy that catered to Cavalry and Infantry men. He flunked the entrance exam twice. He passed on his third try but didn’t score high enough for a place in the Infantry. This "under achiever" went on to hold the supreme military command as prime minister and minister of defense in Britain’s World War II effort. His life and career became synonymous with Britain’s story and its survival.

ALBERT EINSTEIN passed the entrance exam to the Federal Polytechnic College in Zurich, Switzerland on his second attempt.

THE RED BARON crashed on his first solo flight. Two weeks later he took the first test required for a pilot’s certificate and flunked. Deteremined, however, he continued training until he passed and was assigned to combat. Over the next 10 years, the World War II German flying ace downed 80 Allied planes in dogfights.

ABRAHAM LINCOLN’s mother died when he was nine years of age. At 23, he invested in a small store. Three years later his business partner died, leaving him in debt for years to come. At 37, on his third try, he was finally elected to Congress. He ran again two years later but wasn’t re-elected. Two years later he was rejected for Land Officer. At 45, he ran for Senate and lost. Two years later, he lost the nomination for vice president. At 49, he ran for Senate again…and lost again. At 51 he was finally elected president of the United States, but with only 40 percent of the popular vote.

THOMAS ALVA EDISON had no formal education; in fact, he quit grade school after three months when his teacher called him "addled." It is said that a reporter asked Edison, who had experienced approximately 2,000 unsuccessful experiments on the incandescent light bulb, what it felt like to have failed so many times. It is reported that Edison said, "I never failed once. I simply found out 2,000 ways it didn’t work."

I don’t know where all these people stood spiritually, but they certainly demonstrated a biblical attitude of determination.

Proverbs 24:16

16 For a righteous man may fall seven times and rise again,

But the wicked shall fall by calamity.

MOSES

Acts 7:22-28

22 And Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and deeds.
23 "Now when he was forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brethren, the children of Israel.
24 And seeing one of them suffer wrong, he defended and avenged him who was oppressed, and struck down the Egyptian.
25 For he supposed that his brethren would have understood that God would deliver them by his hand, but they did not understand.
26 And the next day he appeared to two of them as they were fighting, and tried to reconcile them, saying, ‘Men, you are brethren; why do you wrong one another?’
27 But he who did his neighbor wrong pushed him away, saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and a judge over us?
28 Do you want to kill me as you did the Egyptian yesterday?’

Moses had the right idea, but wrong timing and wrong method. When God spoke to him 40 years later, Moses was tremendously reluctant and said:

* Who am I?
* They will not believe me nor listen to me.
* I am not eloquent.

Moses had to come to a place of believing more in God’s current mercy than in his own past mistakes.

DAVID

David, the man after God’s own heart, (the sweet Psalmist of Israel), had to get past the guilt of murder and adultery.

PETER

Luke 22:31-34 31And the Lord said, "Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat.
32 But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren."
33 But he said to Him, "Lord, I am ready to go with You, both to prison and to death."
34 Then He said, "I tell you, Peter, the rooster shall not crow this day before you will deny three times that you know

Jesus knew ahead of time that Peter was going to fail, and He

* loved him anyway
* saved him anyway
* called him anyway

If you will hold on to your faith in the midst of a failure, your faith will convert you from failure back to success.

PAUL

1 Timothy 1:12-13

12 And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who has enabled me, because He counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry,
13 although I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an insolent man; but I obtained mercy because I did it ignorantly in unbelief.

Philippians 3:13

13 Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead…

All of these men had to receive the mercy and the compassion to start over again.

If there’s hope for them, there’s hope for us.

The God of new beginnings worked in their lives and He’ll work in yours!

There are people in congregations across the country who have quit on the inside – they’re just going through the motions.

People have resigned themselves on the inside to binding limitations, but the God of new beginnings wants to

o renew you
o rejuvenate you
o refresh you

But you’ve got to let Him. You’ve got to let go of the past. You cannot quit and wallow in past failures

More Than a Sermon – More Than a Preacher by Tony Cooke


More Than a Sermon – More Than a Preacher
Tony Cooke

More Than a Sermon Tony CookeIt’s amazing how we can focus on certain aspects of Scripture at one point in our lives, only to see richer, broader, deeper thoughts in surrounding and complementary passages as we mature through time, growth, and experience.

For example, when I was a Bible School student and young in ministry. I was very excited about Matthew 9:35, which says, “Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people.”

This verse highlights three major emphases of Jesus’ ministry: teaching, preaching, and healing. There’s nothing wrong with loving that verse (I still do). However, my problem (or limitation) was that I locked on to that verse so strongly, that I forgot to see the significance and relevance of some of the verses that follow.

I assumed that if we just taught, preached, and laid hands on the sick, that everyone’s needs would be gloriously (and permanently) met, and that no other type of ministry would be needed. As a young assistant pastor, I looked at one-on-one ministry (spiritual guidance and offering encouragement), hospital visitation, reaching out to first-time visitors, etc. as somehow being inferior to pulpit ministry, almost as a “necessary evil.” After all (I reasoned), if people would just listen to our anointed sermons, they would be all taken care of, be made perfectly whole, and have no other needs.

I have not ceased to highly value and esteem the ministry of the Word and the Spirit—not at all. It’s something that Jesus did, and it’s still vital today. But I didn’t notice something back then that I’ve since come to see and appreciate. Stop and think for a moment. Has anyone ever been more anointed in their teaching, preaching, and healing ministry than Jesus? No! He had the Spirit without measure (John 3:34).

So, if teaching, preaching, and healing was the total sum of all ministry, I would assume that wherever people were exposed to such ministry, every need would have been met, every individual would have been gloriously transformed, and everyone in those communities would have been catapulted into unparalleled bliss. Is that what happened? Not really.

After Jesus had gone about “all the cities and villages” teaching, preaching, and healing, we read this : “But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd” (Matthew 9:37).

Wait a minute. Aren’t these the same people that Jesus had just ministered to? Even with His awesome ministry, after He had taught, preached, and healed in all the cities and villages, people still had great needs. The Amplified rendering of this verse says, “He was moved with pity and sympathy for them, because they were bewildered (harassed and distressed and dejected and helpless), like sheep without a shepherd.” Imagine how troubled these folks were before Jesus ministered to them!

Jesus had taught, preached, and healed, but He saw the people still facing great need and requiring the ministry of a “shepherd.” Obviously, teaching is good, but people need more than just a “teaching center.” Preaching is good, but people need more than just a “revival center.” Healing is good, but people need more than just a “healing service.” Jesus acknowledged the need for shepherds… for pastors. Not just people with a title, but leaders who really express the heart and compassion of the Great Shepherd!

When I was about to resign from my first position as an assistant pastor in 1983 to go teach at Rhema, I found myself speculating what kind of impact my ministry might have had at that church, and what types of things people might say upon our departure. To my shock, not one single person thanked me for “this sermon” or for “that Bible lesson.” What people did express appreciation for were the times I’d sat with a family through a surgery, spending time with them when they were in a crisis, praying with them individually when their world seemed to be falling apart.

While teaching, preaching, and healing are vital, sometimes the most impacting ministry takes place personally through a pastoral touch… through the presence of someone expressing the heart of Jesus, the Great Shepherd. Having a pastor’s heart and engaging in pastoral care does not take the place of teaching, preaching, and healing, but it builds upon it! It’s not an either/or proposition; it’s both/and. But the expansion of ministerial perspective doesn’t stop here. We see another element in the next two verses.

Matthew 9:37-38
37 Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. 38 Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.”

Do you notice the progression of thought?

  1. The Word and the Spirit (teaching, preaching, and healing)
  2. Pastoral Ministry (He saw them as sheep without a shepherd)
  3. The Multiplication of Laborers (one person can’t do all the work)

Imagine a pastor who initially thinks it’s all about pulpit ministry, and later comes to see the significance of personal ministry. If he dives into trying to meet all of the needs of the people on a personal level, he’ll soon realize how taxing, demanding, and draining that can be. It won’t be long before he cries out to God as Moses did, “I can’t carry all these people by myself! The load is far too heavy! If this is how you intend to treat me, just go ahead and kill me. Do me a favor and spare me this misery!” (Numbers 11:14-15, NLT).

At this point (and hopefully, before this point), the multiplication of laborers is realized to be imperative. As a minister’s perspective evolves, he grows out of the idea that he can do it all himself (or that he can do it all from the pulpit). He realizes that “doing ministry” is important, but “developing ministers” is absolutely essential, not only for his own survival, but also for healthy Kingdom expansion.

Further, those he develops can’t just have the skills of ministry, but they have to have the heart of ministry. Could this be reflected in Paul’s remarks? “Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing” (1 Corinthians 13:1-2).

Finally, there is to be a consistent multiplication of laborers. After Jesus demonstrated the ministry of the Word and the Spirit (through teaching, preaching, and healing), after He emphasized that ministry has to be done with a Shepherd’s heart, and after He encouraged them to pray for multiplied laborers, he implemented that exact same strategy with His own team.

Matthew 10:1, 5
1 And when He had called His twelve disciples to Him, He gave them power over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease.
5 These twelve Jesus sent out and commanded them, saying…

Having become fully man, Jesus was working through the limitation of being in a single, earthly body. So he multiplied Himself through the laborers that He had loved and trained. This same multiplication of laborers is found in the Great Commission itself:
“All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore…” (Matthew 28:18-19).

Likewise, Paul demonstrated this same understanding when he told Timothy, “…the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also” (2 Timothy 2:2).

So what should our perspective of ministry be?

  • Teaching, preaching, and healing are foundational. The ministry of the Word and the Spirit are primary functions of ministry.
  • Ministry, though, must be done from the heart of Jesus, the Great Shepherd. Ministry is not a one-time sermon or single prayer line. A shepherd continues with the flock, and provides on-going care, feeding, and ministry.
  • Ministry is also not a one-man show or responsibility. True ministry involves the multiplication of laborers: training, delegating, and releasing others into the harvest.

May God’s wonderful plan continue to unfold before us, and may we walk in it faithfully.

Another Look at Multi-Dimensional Ministry by Tony Cooke


Another Look at Multi-Dimensional Ministry
Tony Cooke

This is a sequel to a previously published article here.

Multi-Dimensional MinistryAs a young Bible school student, I heard Brother Hagin emphasize three major aspects of Jesus’ ministry that are mentioned in Matthew 9:35. “Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people.” Brother Hagin would enumerate them, and we would often recite the concise summary with him: “Jesus went about teaching, preaching, and healing.”

Knowing that we, too, were called to do the works of Jesus (John 14:12), I, and probably hundreds of other young, zealous students, anticipated the day when we would graduate, and being filled with the Word and the Spirit, would launch out to shake and change the world through teaching, preaching, and healing. In more recent times, I’ve compared notes with others who went to school around the time I did, and it appears that most of us felt we were going to save humanity single-handedly by our dynamic messages and powerful anointing.

With all due respect to the vital role of teaching, preaching, and healing, my peers and I were in for a big surprise. While we saw positive results, none of us ended up single-handedly saving the world through our “great ministries.” It shouldn’t have been a surprise to me, but it was. In reflecting on my journey, I realize that Brother Hagin also taught the verses that follow Matthew 9:35, but I was guilty of a mistake made by many—I only focused on the part of the verse that I wanted to hear, and ignored or greatly downplayed the surrounding verses. It would be years before the connected verses would sink in, enabling me to have a deeper (and more realistic) picture of what ministry is really all about.

No doubt that Jesus’ teaching and preaching were powerful. It was said of Jesus (John 7:46), “No man ever spoke like this Man!” While different ministers today have different levels of grace and anointing upon them, Jesus had the Spirit without measure (John 4:34). In addition to the conviction and enlightenment that came through His teaching and preaching, we also know that there were many powerful demonstrations as Jesus healed “every sickness and disease among the people.” My subconscious assumption (or presumption), then, was that wherever Jesus ministered, everyone would have been propelled into a carefree state of utopia and everyone would be perpetually happy, every marriage healthy, every person victorious, etc. But is that what happened after Jesus had ministered in all these cities and villages? The very next verse clarifies this matter.

Matthew 9:36 (AMP)
36 When He saw the throngs, He was moved with pity and sympathy for them, because they were bewildered (harassed and distressed and dejected and helpless), like sheep without a shepherd.

Could that be true? After Jesus had taught, preached, and healed, He still saw people who were bewildered, harassed, distressed, dejected, and helpless. I wonder what kind of shape the people were in before He ministered to them? Did Jesus help them through His ministry? Absolutely! Were there still needs among the people? Most clearly. As vital and foundational as teaching, preaching, and healing are, Jesus recognized a missing piece of the puzzle. He saw the people as sheep without a shepherd.

Teaching and preaching is crucial, but people need more than a teaching or revival center. The ministering of God’s healing power is essential, but people need more than a healing class or a prayer line. Jesus stated that the people were in need of a shepherd. Rightly so, we think of the pastoral office—those men and women who are called to lead, feed, and guide congregations—those who fit the characteristics Jesus outlined in John 10, who call the sheep by name, who continue with the flock, etc. These provide ongoing care, discipleship, and ministry to God’s people. Thank God for pastors!

When I resigned from the church where I served as an assistant pastor from 1980-83, I was surprised by the nature of the “thank you’s” I received from the congregation. Even though I worked very hard at developing the teaching gift, I don’t recall people expressing thanks for any sermons, Bible lessons, or teaching series. Instead, people thanked me for the times I sat with them during a loved one’s surgery, when I helped them with funeral arrangements for a family member who had passed away, or for encouraging and comforting individuals when they had faced various crises of life.

To this day, I greatly value teaching, preaching, and healing, but I’ve learned to additionally appreciate the personal touch that comes through pastoral care. I’ve also come to believe there are people who don’t necessarily stand in the pastoral office, but who function very proficiently in loving and caring for others “pastorally.” These might be people who are great encouragers, who operate strongly in what Paul calls “mercy” in Romans 12:8, or who exercise what is referred to as “hospitality” in various places throughout the New Testament. When we see saints loving and encouraging others so beautifully, we are reminded that God did not intend for one single person (The Pastor) to do all of the caring within a given congregation.

The quickest way for a congregation to burn out their pastor is to expect him (or her) to do all of the encouraging, all of the comforting, all of the praying for people. Perhaps this is why we have all the “one another” Scriptures in the New Testament telling believers to do these things mutually amongst themselves. Certainly we need recognized leaders, and nothing I’m saying is meant to take away from the significance of the pastoral office. I’m simply saying that pastors weren’t meant to simply do all of the loving, caring, and encouraging, but pastors are given to equip the saints so that all the saints can do the work of the ministry (Ephesians 4:11-16).

This may help us understand what Jesus said next in Matthew 9:37-38, right after He acknowledge the absolute necessity of shepherds. “Then He said to His disciples, ‘The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.’”

So what does multi-dimensional ministry look like?

  1. It starts with a strong foundation of teaching, preaching, and healing. The ministry of the Word and the Spirit are essential.Building upon that foundation, we see the vital need for effective pastoral ministry. This can involve both individuals who stand in the pastoral office, and it can also be extended and expressed through people who work under the supervision of ministry leaders, expressing the love and care of God to people in need.
  2. Multi-dimensional ministry culminates when there is a multiplication of laborers (as Jesus directed). One person was never intended to carry the full weight of ministry, but with a multiplication of laborers and strong leaders, the varied needs and demands of ministry can be met through many working together to fulfill the plan and purpose of God.
  3. I’ve learned that one person can’t do it all, but if the Word and Spirit are preeminent, and if people are cared for through nurturing, caring relationships, and if there is a multiplication of laborers, there is no limit to what the Body of Christ can accomplish.

Remember that what God desires to accomplish through His Body is more diverse than what one person alone can facilitate; it takes all of us working together. I like what Rick Warren said about this: “Healthy, lasting church growth is multidimensional. My definition of a growing church has five facets. Every church needs to grow warmer through fellowship, deeper through discipleship, stronger through worship, broader through ministry, and larger through evangelism.”

Mastering the Paradoxes of Ministry Tony Cooke


Mastering the Paradoxes of Ministry
Tony Cooke

Ministry ParadoxA paradox involves the presentation of two ideas which seem to be contradictory, but are in fact, complementary. A few classic examples in Scripture of paradoxical statements are:

  •  “…when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Corinthians 12:10)
  •  We are in the world, but we are not of the world (John 17:11, 14)
  •  “I am crucified with Christ; nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me…” (Galatians 2:20)

In his classic, “Make Me an Instrument,” Francis of Assisi captured the essence of paradox when he prayed: “…for it is in giving that we receive, it is in pardoning that we are pardoned, it is in dying that we awake to eternal life.”

Richard B. Hansenis said, “Paradox is the wild territory within which most ministers live and work. We see unseen things. We conquer by yielding. We find rest under a yoke. We reign by serving. We are made great by becoming small. We are exalted when we are humble. We become wise by being fools for Christ’s sake. We are made free by becoming bondservants. We gain strength when we are weak. We triumph through defeat. We find victory by glorying in our infirmities. We live by dying.”

Parádoxos is a word common in secular Greek for “an unusual event contrary to belief or expectation.”  Its only use in the New Testament is in Luke 5:26: “And they were all amazed, and they glorified God and were filled with fear, saying, "We have seen strange [parádoxos] things today!”

The word here literally means “things which are contrary to opinion, expectation, or belief.” The Amplified Bible renders this, “We have seen wonderful and strange and incredible and unthinkable things today!” Does that seem like a pretty good description of ministry? Sometimes it’s wonderful. Sometimes it’s strange. Sometimes it’s incredible. Sometimes it’s unthinkable.

God’s kingdom is full of paradoxes. We might like to only deal with one end of the spectrum (the good side), but those who survive and thrive are those who learn to deal effectively with all aspects of ministry. We recognize that serving God offers us many “both/and” scenarios… not just “either/or” situations. Consider these statements by the Apostle Paul that reflect paradox.

2 Corinthians 6:8-10
8 by honor and dishonor, by evil report and good report; as deceivers, and yet true; 9 as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold we live; as chastened, and yet not killed; 10 as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things.

2 Corinthians 4:8-11
8 We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; 9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed —  10 always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. 11 For we who live are always delivered to death for Jesus’ sake, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh.

How many seemingly conflicting and contradictory statements can someone make in one letter? How many seemingly conflicting and contradictory emotions can one minister experience in one season of life? In a Peanuts comic strip, Charlie Brown tells Lucy the universal axiom, “Life has its ups and downs.” Lucy is seen screaming in the last box, “I don’t want downs. I want ups, ups, and more ups. The truth is that life involves learning to deal with the good and the bad, and ministry involves a broad spectrum of experiences as well.

Jesus not only got, “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord,” He also got “Crucify him, crucify him!” Ministers need to know how to deal with both criticism and praise—with the ups and the downs. In Acts 14:18, Paul is barely able to keep the multitude from offering sacrifices to him and Barnabas as gods. In Acts 14:19, one verse later, the same multitude is stoning Paul and dragging him out of the city, assuming that they’ve killed him.

Perhaps what we experience—going from one end of the spectrum to the other—isn’t quite as drastic as what Paul experienced, but many ministers know what it is:

  • To go from the funeral home to the wedding rehearsal. You weep with those that weep and you rejoice with those that rejoice.
  • To be overwhelmed by the amazing love and kindness of a church member one day, and feel the sting of betrayal by someone else the next day.
  • To have someone tell you how grateful they are for your ministry and share how their life has been totally changed, only to be followed by a meeting with someone else who is telling you that they’re leaving your church.

Paul dealt with these paradoxes—these seemingly contradictory situations—and so did David. David had the most wonderful relationship imaginable with Jonathan. He also had the most horrible relationship imaginable with Saul. 1 Samuel 18:3, we read that, “Jonathan and David made a covenant, because he loved him as his own soul.” In verse 11, just a few verses later, Saul is throwing a spear at David, saying, “I will pin David to the wall!” David’s experience could have been the inspiration for the opening statement of “A Tale of Two Cities:” “It was the best of times. It was the worst of times.”

The question is: Can we get our mind and our emotions around these circumstances and these dynamics without being pulled apart by them?

  • Pilots have to deal with crosswinds and wind shear.
  • Swimmers have to deal with riptides and undertow.
  • Ministers have to deal with paradoxes—these situations that seemingly pull us in different directions.

Have you ever considered the fact that Proverbs 26:4-5 (NLT) seems to give us completely contradictory instructions? “Don’t answer the foolish arguments of fools, or you will become as foolish as they are. Be sure to answer the foolish arguments of fools, or they will become wise in their own estimation.” So how is a believer supposed to know what to do when encountering foolishness? Do we ignore it or address it? I think this Scripture indicates that there is a time for both, and we must have wisdom and direction from the Holy Spirit to know which is an appropriate response in a given situation.

A lot of what we’ve mentioned so far is situational and relational. But we also deal with paradoxes theologically. Theological paradoxes are often those issues where people take one side of an issue and exalt it to the neglect of another issue. They take two issues that both involve truth, but instead of realizing the complementary nature of these issues, they perceive them as somehow being contradictory and exclusive.

  • There is something true about the sovereignty of God, and there is something true about human responsibility (the free will of man). It’s not an either/or… it is a both/and.
  • Some hold to an emphasis on an unchanging God, while others herald the power of prevailing prayer. There is truth in both concepts.
  • What about the transcendence and the imminence of God? The God who dwells in eternity and the God who is present with us right now? They are the same God.
  • Is God Three, or is God One? There is truth regarding the Trinity of God, and there is also truth regarding the Unity of God.
  • Is Jesus human or is Jesus divine? It’s not an “either/or.”  It’s a “both/and.”
  • Romans 11:22 says, “Therefore consider the goodness and severity of God…”
  • In 2 Corinthians, Paul referred both to “the Father of mercies and God of all comfort,” but also to “the terror of the Lord” (1:3 and 5:11).
  • Hebrews 4:11 says, “Let us labor therefore to enter into that rest…”
  • What about the paradox of faith and works?
  • We are not saved by works, but we are saved “unto good works” (Ephesians 2:9-10).
  • We are to “Study to show ourselves approved unto God,” but we must not “lean to our own understanding” (2 Timothy 2:15 and Proverbs 3:5).
  • A man who surrenders himself over to the Lordship of Jesus—who becomes a bond-slave of Christ—experiences absolute liberty and freedom, while a man who insists on being free from the rule of God wears a ball and chain throughout his life.

All of these are paradoxical ideas, and we’ll always be lacking if we think we have to choose either/or when it comes to the great truths of Scripture. Many times, we feel a tension between these truths…yet with God, we know that He holds all of these things in perfect harmony. Hansenis said, “Paradox beckons us into Mystery, and offers a wholesome reminder that God is infinitely greater than our ideas about God.”

May we receive great wisdom from God to walk skillfully in His paths!

Loving the Old Testament By Rev. Tony Cooke

Loving the Old Testament
By Rev. Tony Cooke

For the past several months, I have been reading the Old Testament slowly and systematically, and it has done my soul good.  I have always majored on the New Testament, and I’m sure that this will always be the case; after all, that is OUR Covenant.  But there has been something very rich and meaningful that I’ve been enjoying in mulling over God’s dealings with humanity prior to the coming of Jesus.

Paul was referring to the Old Testament writings when he said, “Every Scripture is God-breathed (given by His inspiration) and profitable for instruction, for reproof and conviction of sin, for correction of error and discipline in obedience, [and] for training in righteousness (in holy living, in conformity to God’s will in thought, purpose, and action).[i]  Paul further validated the value of the Old Testament in Romans 15:14 and 1 Corinthians 10:11.

  • “For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope.” (NKJV)
  • “All these events happened to them as examples for us. They were written down to warn us, who live at the time when this age is drawing to a close.” (NLT)

In spite of the high value that Jesus and the Apostles placed on the Old Testament writings, there are still those who are fairly dismissive of it.  You may have been in a conversation with someone and brought up a principle from the Old Testament, only to have your statement trivialized by the response, “Yes, but that’s from the Old Testament.”  I realize we are not under the Law of Moses, but the Old Testament contains so much more than just “the Law.”  Much of the Old Testament reflects eternal principles that transcend all covenants and ages!

For example, the principle of the Sabbath was first articulated in Genesis 2:2-3, long before Mosaic regulations were placed upon it.  It is true that we are not under the Old Testament Law of the Sabbath, but we are asking for serious trouble if we don’t honor the principle of the Sabbath in our lives (we all need rest).  Likewise, the tithe existed long before the imposition of any Mosaic regulations as a principle and expression of faith.  The book of Proverbs isn’t simply Old Testament; it’s the eternal wisdom of God.  If we violate those principles from Proverbs (such as diligence, integrity, and self-control) we can still experience very negative consequences.

Today, it seems that some are quick to cry “legalism!” if any kinds of boundaries or guidelines for behavior are communicated.  While no serious student of the New Testament wants to live under or put others under Mosaic legalism, it’s important to realize that many of the standards associated with “the Law” are actually clearly taught in the New Testament as well.  For example, in just a few verses in Ephesians, Paul tells believers:

  • Stop telling lies (4:25).
  • Quit stealing (4:28).
  • Don’t use foul or abusive language (4:29).
  • Let there be no sexual immorality, impurity, or greed among you (5:3).

Are those admonitions legalism?  No!  But to label and reject such commands as legalism certainly opens up the door to a life of lasciviousness.  If you’re perfect in all those areas, will you earn your salvation?  No!  We are saved by grace through faith, but because we are saved, we want to live in a way that pleases God and reflects obedience to the standards that He has articulated in both the Old and New Testaments.  The fact that many of these principles were first articulated in the Old Testament merely strengthens and reinforces the fact that God wants us honoring His standards and living in a way that truly pleases Him.  God’s grace, properly understood, gives us the ability to obey Him. 

What about the heart-cry of David in the book of Psalms?  When he acknowledged his sin and repented with tears, is that just an Old Testament phenomenon?  Or is confession of sin and repentance a transcendent principle that teaches us something yet today?  I think if we look at the New Testament, we see that these are also timeless truths.  When Paul addressed an issue of blatant sin in the Corinthian church, he said (1 Corinthians 5:2, Message), “And you’re so above it all that it doesn’t even faze you! Shouldn’t this break your hearts? Shouldn’t it bring you to your knees in tears?”

In another place, we see the same type of heartfelt, passionate repentance that David exhibited in the Psalms being demonstrated by the Corinthian believers (2 Corinthians 7:11, Message): “And now, isn’t it wonderful all the ways in which this distress has goaded you closer to God? You’re more alive, more concerned, more sensitive, more reverent, more human, more passionate, more responsible. Looked at from any angle, you’ve come out of this with purity of heart.”  Grace in the New Testament should not cause believers to have a flippant disregard for sin and for things that grieve the Holy Spirit.  The presence of repentance and the pursuit of purity in the Old Testament should not diminish our spiritual needs or our need to respond appropriately to God as New Testament believers.

And what about the great exploits of men and women of faith throughout the Old Testament?  If you rip those from the minds of believers today, you’ll also have to remove the entire 11th Chapter of Hebrews.  Those narratives are not irrelevant simply because they happened before Jesus came; they remain as stellar examples of faith and obedience to inspire us as we seek to follow God with their same fervency.

Throughout Church history, some have greatly minimized the significance of the Old Testament.  One radical example is the second century heretic and Gnostic, Marcion.  The son of the Bishop of Pontus, he rejected the entire Old Testament and any New Testament writings that he felt had any positive inclination toward the Old Testament or toward Jewish readers.  The “canon” he proposed for his many followers contained only a heavily edited version of Luke’s Gospel and ten of Paul’s epistles.  Marcion went so far as to proclaim that the harsh and inconsistent God of the Old Testament was an entirely different God than the God and Father of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Though some have tried to entirely eradicate the influence of the Old Testament in the life of the believer, we should consider the value placed on the Old Testament throughout the New.

“There are more than 250 direct quotations from the Old Testament to be found on the pages of the New.  Even more important are the vast number of references and allusions which… draw on the terminology of modes of thought and expression to be found in the Hebrew Scriptures.  One scholar lists a total of 1,603 quotations, references, and allusions which link the New Testament with the Old.

The Book of Isaiah is the most frequently used Old Testament book, with a total of 308 New Testament allusions.  Psalms runs a close second with 303 references.  In the New Testament, Revelation makes most frequent allusions to the Old Testament with 574 references, more than one-third the total number in the entire New Testament.  The book of Acts contains 169, Luke 140, Matthew 135, Hebrews 115, and Romans 103. 

All of the New Testament writers assumed that God’s dealings with man in the history of redemption form a continuous whole, out of which whole came both the Old and New Testaments.  A “New” Covenant implies an “Old” Covenant, to which it stands in relation as well as in contrast.  Indeed the idea of fulfillment of the Old Testament in the New means continuity with the past, as well as the introduction of something new.  Neither the Old Testament nor the New is fully understandable without the other.  Both form two halves of a perfect whole.  The Old Testament without the New is like a head without a body.  Tertullian said, ‘In the Old Testament, the New is concealed; in the New Testament the Old is revealed.’”[ii]

Martin Luther said, “I beg every devout Christian not to despise the simplicity of language and the stories found in the Old Testament.  He should remember that, however simple the Old Testament may seem, it contains the words, works, judgments, and actions of God himself.  Indeed the simplicity makes fools of the wise and clever, and allows the poor and simple to see the ways of God.  Therefore submit your thoughts and feelings to the stories you read, and let yourself be carried like a child to God.”

I realize that the entire Word of God—both the Old and the New Testaments—must be rightly divided.  We need to have good tools of Bible interpretation to know how to make wise and accurate applications of the Scripture.  But anyone who would have a disrespectful or dismissive attitude toward the wonderful principles of the Old Testament (or the clear commands of the New Testament) has certainly violated Jesus’ description (Matthew 13:52, NLT) of a good Bible teacher: “Every teacher of religious law who has become a disciple in the Kingdom of Heaven is like a person who brings out of the storehouse the new teachings as well as the old.”

May God help and strengthen each of us as we endeavor to walk in the full counsel of God!

[i] 2 Timothy 3:16 (Amplified Version)

[ii] “Exploring the Old Testament,” Edited by W.T. Purkiser.  Beacon Hill Press, 1955.

Are You Making Pearls or Just Getting Irritated? Rev. Tony Cooke

Are You Making Pearls or Just Getting Irritated? Rev. Tony Cooke

There is a great lesson for us in understanding the formation of pearls.  Natural pearls are formed when a grain of sand or another object slips in between one of the two shells of the oyster.  Because of the irritating nature of the sand, the oyster encapsulates it in layers of “mother of pearl” secretion, and the pearl grows in size as the number of layers increases and the iridescent gem is formed.

So the next time you find yourself in disagreement with someone (or someone in disagreement with you), ask yourself this question: “Am I just getting irritated, or am I making a pearl?”  Wisdom teaches us to benefit from disagreements and to make each incident, no matter how irritating it may seem at first, into a redemptive growth experience.

Heraclitus, the ancient Greek philosopher (his friends just called him Cletus), said: “The unlike is joined together, and from differences results the most beautiful harmony, and all things take place by strife.”  My natural reaction to the word strife is to recoil against it as being evil and undesirable, and there certainly is a toxic form of strife that destroys and injures.  But there is another understanding of this principle that is far less sinister. 

When people with good hearts disagree, but are respectful and teachable, there is a great benefit that occurs.  This is the kind of advantage that is derived from the principle spoken of in Proverbs 27:17 (NLT): “As iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend.”  I have seen wonderful men clash over a disagreement, but because they kept an open-heart and didn’t write each other off, became best of friends (or resumed a great friendship), and both of them learned and were broadened because of what they learned in working through the disagreement.

George Whitfield had sharp disagreement with John Wesley on the Calvinistic-Arminian issue, and yet when Whitfield was asked (antagonistically) if he thought he would see John Wesley in heaven, Whitfield responded, “I fear not, for he will be so near the eternal throne and we at such a distance, we shall hardly get sight of him.” 

Cultivating the Art of Redemptive Disagreement

I have long been amazed at the graciousness, character, and maturity displayed by Peter after incurring the public rebuke of an angry Apostle Paul.  Paul not only corrected Peter in front of the congregation in Antioch, but then he related the event in his epistle to the Galatians, which resulted in the conflict being “replayed” over and over for believers in countless generations (Galatians 2:11-14).

While Paul was correct doctrinally, you’ve got to admire how Peter so humbly responded.  He probably felt hurt and chafed at the rebuke initially—that’s something we can only speculate about.  What we do know is that he ultimately allowed this experience to make him better, not bitter.  Lesser men, embarrassed, would have likely held a grudge and been driven to discredit Paul.  But Peter allowed the disagreement to season him and refused to let it to poison him.

Instead of operating out of insecurity because of Paul’s great intellect, Peter later honored and even defended Paul: “This is what our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you with the wisdom God gave him—speaking of these things in all of his letters. Some of his comments are hard to understand, and those who are ignorant and unstable have twisted his letters to mean something quite different, just as they do with other parts of Scripture” (2 Peter 3:15-16, NLT).

When I was younger (and operating out of much insecurity myself), it was vitally important to me to be right.  When I graduated from Bible school, I was nearly omniscient (or thought I was) and was on the alert to quickly defeat any belief or idea that did not agree with mine.  As I’ve aged a bit, it’s amazing how much less I know now than I did nearly 30 years ago.  I still hold strongly to certain core beliefs, and I think that is important.  But I’ve also learned to be more respectful of people’s beliefs, ideas, and viewpoints that may disagree with mine.  Instead of seeing them as threats to be defeated, I now see them as learning opportunities.  I’ve found it very liberating to embrace the attitude (in many non-essential matters relating to styles, methods, etc.) that “You don’t have to be wrong for me to be right.”  I appreciate the oft-stated principle, ‘In essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; and in all things, charity.’”

Many wise individuals have learned to benefit, grow, and learn through conflict—they have cultivated the art of redemptive disagreement.  Consider the following:

• “Agreement makes us soft and complacent; disagreement brings out our strength.  Our real enemies are the people who make us feel so good that we are slowly, but inexorably, pulled down into the quicksand of smugness and self-satisfaction.” (Sydney Harris)

• “We find comfort among those who agree with us – growth among those who don’t.”  (Frank A. Clark)

• “When we are debating an issue, loyalty means giving me your honest opinion, whether you think I’ll like it or not.  Disagreement at this stage, stimulates me.  But once a decision has been made, the debate ends.  From that point on, loyalty means executing the decision as if it were your own.”  (Colin Powell)

• “I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me.” (Dudley Field Malone)

• “The people to fear are not those who disagree with you, but those who disagree with you and are too cowardly to let you know.”  (Napoleon Bonaparte)

• “He who has learned to disagree without being disagreeable has discovered the most valuable secret of a diplomat.”  (Robert Estabrook)

• “A certain amount of opposition is a great help to a man; it is what he wants and must have to be good for anything.  Hardship and opposition are the native soil of manhood and self-reliance.”  (John Neal)

• "Get a friend to tell you your faults, or better still, welcome an enemy who will watch you keenly and sting you savagely. What a blessing such an irritating critic will be to a wise man, what an intolerable nuisance to a fool!" (Charles H. Spurgeon)

• Benjamin Disraeli humorously said, “My idea of an agreeable person is a person who agrees with me.”

In “The Grace Awakening,” Charles Swindoll shared the following guidelines for modeling grace through disagreeable times:

  • Always leave room for an opposing viewpoint.
  • If an argument must occur, don’t assassinate.
  • If you don’t get your way, get over it, get on with life.
  • Sometimes the best solution is separation.

On that fourth point, Swindoll cited Paul and Barnabas, and said, “If I can’t go on with the way things are in a particular ministry, I need to resign!  But in doing so I should not drag people through my unresolved conflicts because I didn’t get my way.  If separation is the best solution, doing it graciously is essential.

I trust that we’ll all be receptive to the wisdom and grace that will enable us to do what Paul said in Romans 12:18 (NKJV):  “If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men.”

Are You “Looking After” or “Looking Up?” by Tony Cooke

Are You “Looking After” or “Looking Up?” Rev. Tony Cooke

Perhaps you’ve heard about the little boy who was given an orange by a man. The boy’s mother asked, “What do you say to the nice man?” The little boy thought for a second, handed the orange back, and said, “Peel it.”  There’s a little bit of gratitude lacking there, wouldn’t you say?

As we approach Thanksgiving, this is a great time to stop and remember how much we have to be thankful for.  Lisa and I are so grateful for the privilege of being able to share our heart with you each month, for those who have supported financially and through prayer, and we thank God for the tremendous opportunities we’ve had this year to strengthen churches and leaders.

With a “Global Economic Crisis” being declared this past month (with all of its accompanying angst), I was reminded of the strength of a German minister named Martin Rinkart who ministered in the 1600s during the Thirty Years’ War.  This was a most devastating time in German history, as the nation’s population was reduced from 16 to 6 million due to war, plagues, and famines.  It is said that in one year alone Rinkart buried 4,000 people.  Even though he carried out his ministry in such a difficult time, Rinkart had an unswerving confidence in God, and he ended up writing one of the most loved hymns of the German church, “Now Thank We All Our God.”  The first verse reads:

Now thank we all our God, with heart and hands and voices,
who wondrous things hath done, in whom his world rejoices;
who from our mother’s arms hath blessed us on our way
with countless gifts of love, and still is ours today.

It’s remarkable to think that someone who witnessed that much pain and suffering could have such praise and thanksgiving welling up out of his heart, but he did.  This is no “doom and gloom” newsletter, and I thank God that He’s made a covenant with us, and that He’s given us inside information!  This is the victory that has overcome the world — our faith (1 John 5:4).

Focus is Essential

One of the recurring themes of Scripture has to do with our focus—what are eyes our fixed upon.  Jesus described end-time events and said that there would be “distress of nations, with perplexity” (Luke 21:25).  He then described two different directions that people could look:

  • In the next verse, Jesus referred to, “Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth.” 
  • Two verses later, He said, “…when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.” 

We all have to answer the question: Are we “looking after” or “looking up?”

In the Old Testament, there are some beautiful “Beholds” (compliments of Isaiah and Zechariah) that directed the people of God to focus their attention on Him!

1. BEHOLD YOUR KING! – Zechariah 9:9

This messianic prophecy foreshadows Jesus’ triumphal entry into the city of Jerusalem.  “Behold your King!” corresponds to Matthew’s portrayal of Jesus as the King.  Beholding Him as such reminds us that we under the Lord’s authority and reign.

2. BEHOLD MY SERVANT! – Isaiah 52:13

Isaiah 52:13 says, “…Behold, My Servant shall deal prudently; He shall be exalted and extolled and be very high.”  Jesus is not only the King of Kings, but He came and lived as One who served.  Mark’s Gospel especially emphasizes Jesus as a servant.  When we see Jesus as the Servant, we are reminded of His willingness to meet our needs at the Father’s request.

3. BEHOLD THE MAN! – Zechariah 6:12

Luke’s Gospel underscores Jesus’ humanity.  Because Jesus was made like us in all things, and was in all points tempted as we are (yet without sin), He is able to aid us in our challenges, and is touched with the feelings of our infirmities (Hebrews 2:17-18; 4:15).  Seeing Him in His humanity reminds us of how truly He identified Himself with us.

4. BEHOLD YOUR GOD! – Isaiah 40:9

The prophet Isaiah uttered many of the most beautiful and lofty descriptions of God, including this one which urges His people to behold their God.

Isaiah 40:9

9 O Zion, You who bring good tidings, Get up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, You who bring good tidings, Lift up your voice with strength, Lift it up, be not afraid; Say to the cities of Judah, "Behold your God!"

John’s Gospel reveals the Deity of Jesus.  It’s wonderful that Jesus is the King, a Servant, and fully man, but behind it all is His Deity.  He was and is God manifested in the flesh.  His Deity reminds us of his absolute ability to accomplish His good will and pleasure.

We saw what happens when people focus on the turbulence on the earth, but what happens when we set our gaze steadfast upon the Lord, even in troubled times?  Psalms 34:5 says, “They looked to Him and were radiant, and their faces were not ashamed.”  That sounds a lot better than hearts fainting for fear, doesn’t it?

The world is providing plenty for us to look at, and I do believe we need to be wise.  I’m not saying that we should be like the ostrich and stick our heads in the sand.  Our assignment in life is not to live in denial of the challenges around us, but to believe in a God who is bigger than those challenges, and to walk in faith and wisdom. 

In closing, let me just mention a few more Scriptures that pertain to where our focus should be:

  • “Look to Me, and be saved, all you ends of the earth!  For I am God, and there is no other.” (Isaiah 45:22)
  • “…lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest!” (John 4:35)
  • “…we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.” (2 Corinthians 4:18)
  • “…looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ…” (Titus 2:13) 
  • “…looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith…” (Hebrews 12:2)
  •   “…keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.” (Jude 21)

May God give us all 20-20 vision as we behold Him, look to Him, and keep our focus on Him!

Living Deliberately

Living Deliberately
By Tony Cooke

Every time January rolls around, people begin speculating about what the New Year will bring. One individual said, "My interest is in the future because I am going to spend the rest of my life there." As understandable as that perspective is, Winston Churchill emphasized the importance of maintaining focus on "today" when he said, "It is a mistake to look too far ahead. Only one link of the chain of destiny can be handled at a time." Planning in life is important, but a great future will only be ours if we do the vital and necessary things today!

In his book, "You Can Live a Purposeful Life," James Emery White related a series of questions to help us determine if we’ve considered and identified our core values:

* If I knew that tomorrow would be the last full day of my life, how would I spend the day?
* At the end of my life, what do I want to look back and say I’ve accomplished?
* If a list of adjectives were compiled to describe my life, what words would I like on that list?
* If I were to die tomorrow, what would I want people to remember as my most important achievement?
* Am I investing myself in those things that matter to me?
* Is there any person or cause I would be willing to die for?
* If I were contemplating suicide, what are five reasons for not killing myself?
* What is vitally important to me, what has some importance, and what is a complete waste to me?
* If I were to write a letter to my children about what was most important in my life, what would I tell them?
* If only a single word could be written on my tombstone, what would that word be?

It’s easy to waste time and energy in life worrying about things over which we have no control, instead of focusing on and acting on those very important issues that we do have control over. If you find yourself being tempted this year to be distracted by the many cares of this world, remind yourself of the importance of living deliberately according to the values that are really vital to you.

What Do You See When You Look on the Table?

Someone once said, “I might pick a rosebud off a tree, and it would be a rosebud and no more. The one I love in all the world might pluck a rosebud off a tree and give it to me, and it would be a rosebud and a great deal more. The meaning would be changed because she gave it to me.” … read more

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Process, Event, and the Little Red Hen By Tony Cooke

Process, Event, and the Little Red Hen
By Tony Cooke

Little Red HenMany years ago at a church service, I gave an altar call and a handful of people responded; one of these being a boy in his early teens. I had a self-congratulatory thought as though I was somehow responsible for these responses. Reality came quickly as a dear lady approached and let me know how thankful she was that God had touched her grandson’s heart. This grandmother told me that she had been praying for years for her grandson to come to the Lord. I realized that “I” wasn’t the cause of this young man coming to the Lord at all. I had been privileged to have a role in the overall process, but the gospel, the Power of the Holy Spirit, and this lady’s prayers were the major components of the process that led to this glorious event.

Getting born-again is an event. Many people can remember the moment their heart was convicted and they prayed to accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. That is truly a glorious event. But there was a process that preceded and led up to that event; it didn’t “just happen.” God knew you before the foundation of the world. Jesus came and performed the great work of redemption in His death, burial, and resurrection. Then the Holy Spirit came and worked through laborers to get you the gospel and to draw you to the point of faith.

Once the event of the new birth occurred in our lives, it launched us into another process: discipleship – being a fully committed follower of the Lord Jesus Christ. Praying “the sinners prayer” wasn’t a final step; it was a first step. Billy Graham said, “Being a Christian is more than just an instantaneous conversion – it is a daily process whereby you grow to be more and more like Christ.”

The Day of Pentecost was an event for the 120 gathered in the upper room, but it wasn’t an event for the sake of the event itself. It was a catalyst for other events and processes that were to follow. That glorious event launched those affected into a lifestyle (or process) of serving, witnessing, and continually being filled with and being led by the Spirit of God.

The word “event” comes from a Latin word meaning “to happen.” It refers to an outcome, a result, or an occurrence. In physics, an event is “an occurrence that is sharply localized at a single point in space and instant of time.” On the other hand, “process” refers to various steps, changes, or actions that progressively build upon one another and lead to a certain outcome or result.

Thanksgiving dinner may be the event, but just ask the cook; it took a process to get ready for and to prepare for the event. A team winning the championship game is an event, but all of the practicing and preparation by the winning team was a process. It’s very easy to focus on the event and to prize it above all else, while at the same time forgetting or not appreciating the process (or processes) that made the event possible.

Mature Believers Value Both Process and Event

I don’t know what it is about human nature, but I think all of us tend to love the event, but not care too much for the process. We look for the destination, but we don’t always appreciate the journey. We tend to love the results, but we don’t always want to take the steps necessary to experience the results.

One of David’s mighty men was named Eleazar. 2 Samuel 23:7 says, “He killed Philistines until his hand was too tired to lift his sword, and the LORD gave him a great victory that day. The rest of the army did not return until it was time to collect the plunder!” The victory and the collecting of the spoils was a great event. The process that led to the event was the battle. Eleazar embraced the process, but everyone else only wanted to enjoy the event that followed.

That reminds me of the story many of us read as a child called “The Little Red Hen.” Do you remember it? The little red hen lived with a duck, a pig, and a cat. The hen found a grain of corn, planted it, harvested it, took the kernels to be turned into flour, and made the flour into bread. At every step, she asked the others if they would help her, and always received a negative response. However, when she sat down to eat the bread, everyone else wanted to partake. The story perfectly illustrates how people love the event (the finished product), but don’t necessarily want to participate in the process.

You’ve probably heard about the struggle a butterfly undergoes as it works its way out of its chrysalis (cocoon). It is a struggle (a process) as it works and fights its way out, but it is that very struggle that enables the wings of the butterfly to develop properly so that it can both be and fly beautifully (the outcome or the event). There is character that is developed in our lives through the growing process that enables us to be healthy and appreciate the outcomes we later experience in life. Perhaps that’s why Proverbs 20:21 tells us, “An inheritance gained hastily at the beginning will not be blessed at the end.”

For us…

A Sunday morning church service is an event, but all the prayer, planning, and preparation that goes on behind the scenes is a process.

The rapture of the church is an event, but “occupying until He comes” is a process.

Hearing “Well done, thou good and faithful servant” will be an event, but the obedience that leads up to that is a process. 2 Timothy 2:5 says, “if anyone competes in athletics, he is not crowned [the event] unless he competes according to the rules [the process].

Mike Krzyzewski of Duke’s basketball team said, “Our goal is not to win. It’s to play together and play hard. Then, winning takes care of itself.” At first glance, his statement seems to be counter-intuitive, but he’s differentiating between process and event. He’s saying that if his team will focus on the right components of the process, they’ll experience the right outcome (or event).

Likewise, famed boxer of yesteryear, Joe Frazier noted, “You can map out a fight plan or a life plan. But when the action starts, you’re down to your reflexes. That’s where your roadwork shows. If you cheated on that in the dark of the morning, you’re getting found out now under the bright lights.” The training in the dark of the morning he referred to is the process; the big match under the bright lights is the event.

Over the years, I’ve observed that some Christians are thrill-seekers, always pursuing a greater spiritual high (event) than their last one. They travel here, there, and everywhere looking for the most dynamic services they can find. The more sensational the better. Please don’t misunderstand me; I’m thankful for services where God touches people in profound and meaningful ways, but “events” that we have with God should lead us into a process of transformation, service, obedience, and discipleship; not simply cause us to pursue more events.

I remember hearing Brother Hagin say something once that really shocked me. He said that often, instantaneous healings are more of a curse than a blessing. I couldn’t fathom that being true until he explained what he had observed over the years. He said that when people received an instantaneous healing, it was often based on the faith, gift, or anointing of another person, and they often lost that healing. Then, they had no idea of what to do to receive healing. However, when people received healing as a result of a process…of their faith being built on the word of God, and allowing His word to be medicine to their flesh, they not only received their healing, but they also knew how to maintain their healing. Of course, we appreciate instant healings (Jesus ministered these consistently), but let’s understand what Brother Hagin was communicating.

Let’s celebrate and fully pursue both great processes and great events. Like so many of the things God makes available to us, it’s really not an either/or proposition. Most often, it’s a matter of both/and. Let’s go after and actively embrace everything that God has for us, whether it’s in the form of a process or an event!

Is it Live, or is it Memorex? By Tony Cooke


Is it Live, or is it Memorex?
By Tony Cooke

life or memorexI remember a decades-old television commercial from Memorex, a company that made cassette tapes. A glass was shown sitting on a table while the voice of Ella Fitzgerald was heard singing. When a certain high note was hit, the glass shattered and the viewer was asked, “Is it live, or is it Memorex?” The point is that the quality of their product was so high that taped recordings were essentially indistinguishable from the live voice.

If you stop and think about it, our lives are supposed to be a duplication, of sorts, of the Lord Jesus Christ.

    1. Luke 6:40 says, “A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone who is perfectly trained will be like his teacher.” 
    2. Ephesians 5:1 in the Amplified reads, “Therefore be imitators of God [copy Him and follow His example], as well-beloved children [imitate their father].”  
    3. “He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked” (1 John 2:6).

This makes me wonder what kind of “reproduction quality” is happening in our lives. Is it possible for us to be so infused with and transformed by God’s Spirit that what comes out of us is “indistinguishable” from God Himself? The Spirit of God had worked so deeply and profoundly in the life of the Apostle Paul that he seemed to wrestle at times with the question, “Is this me, or is it God in me?”

Galatians 2:20 (KJV)
20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me…

1 Corinthians 15:10
10 I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.

What a delightful dilemma! The indwelling work of the Holy Spirit within Paul’s human spirit was such that he said, “I live” or “I worked,” but then he would have to clarify and say, “…but it really wasn’t me… at least it certainly wasn’t just me; it was Christ living and working through me.”

Paul did not believe that Christ dwelling in him meant that he had been thrown into a state of passivity, inactivity, or irresponsibility. Certainly he rested in the finished work of Christ, recognizing that God was the source of all life and power within him, but still he recognized that he was an active participant with God. He recognized his complete dependence upon God, but he also recognized that God desired his active cooperation and involvement in serving, obeying, and fulfilling Heaven’s plan for his life.

For example, Paul said in Colossians 1:29 (Amplified), “For this I labor [unto weariness], striving with all the superhuman energy which He so mightily enkindles and works within me.” So back to an earlier question, “Was this Paul, or was this God?” I don’t think we can answer that as an either/or; I think it is clearly a both/and. It was God working in and through Paul, AND it was Paul yielding to and cooperating with God.

Don’t Expect God To Do What He Told You To Do
We need to accurately discern what God’s role is in our lives, and what is our role; what are His responsibilities and what are our responsibilities? If people simply think that God is going to do everything, they can slip into a sense of irresponsibility and passivity that is certainly not supported or encouraged by the New Testament. On the other hand, if people think that they are going to do it all (without the empowerment and enablement of God), they are going to end up worn out and exhausted.

Paul did not say, “I don’t live at all; it’s all Christ.” Neither did he say, “I didn’t do any work of any kind, it was only God’s grace doing it all.” Paul said, “Nevertheless, I live…” and “I labored more abundantly than they all…” He qualified his role, though, by recognizing God as the Source of his life and his labors.

I remember hearing about an individual who read Romans 8:26 (“…the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us…”) and said that he had quit praying since and was just letting the Holy Spirit do all of his praying for him. No, we can’t expect God to do what He’s clearly told us to do, but we can trust Him to help and empower us as we obey Him.

What About Works? 
Ephesians 2:9 and Titus 3:5 emphatically state that our salvation is NOT based on our works! The gift of salvation is God’s part. He offers that to us freely based on the finished work of Christ. However, if you read just a bit further, Ephesians 2:10 and Titus 3:8 says that we are saved for good works and that we are to maintain good works. That is our part! 

Together, salvation by grace through faith AND good works which result from and follow that salvation point us toward “the whole counsel of God.” This does not present a contradiction; rather, a progression. Salvation, of course, starts with God saving us when we were completely incapable of saving ourselves. But having saved us and made us His children through faith, He works in us to do the degree that we see Philippians 2:13 (AMP) becoming a reality in our lives: “Not in your own strength] for it is God Who is all the while effectually at work in you [energizing and creating in you the power and desire], both to will and to work for His good pleasure and satisfaction and delight.”

Is this you, or is this God? It is neither you or God exclusively. It is God working in you and it is you yielding yourself in submission and obedience to God. The verse which precedes that statement tells believers to, “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling” (Philippians 2:12, NKJV). Notice that Paul did not say to work for your salvation, but rather, to work it out. The Amplified renders verse 12, “…work out (cultivate, carry out to the goal, and fully complete) your own salvation with reverence and awe and trembling…”

We are seated with Christ in heavenly places (Ephesians 2:6), but we also have to walk in this world (Ephesians 4:1) and stand against spiritual wickedness (Ephesians 6:10). In being seated, we rest in the finished work of Christ. In walking and standing, we act on the finished work of Christ.

What About Cleansing?
Does God cleanse us or do we cleanse ourselves? Every Christian I know would heartily rejoice in the fact that God, through the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, has cleansed us from all sin! As a matter of fact, we read of this great truth in Hebrews 9:14: “…how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?”

While Hebrews 9:14 stresses God’s part in our cleansing, various other Scriptures emphasize our responsibility in cooperating with and obeying God in the overall process of living a holy life here on earth. 2 Corinthians 7:1 (NKJV) says, “Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.”

Someone might say, “Wait a minute! If God cleanses us, then how do we cleanse ourselves? Wouldn’t that be unnecessary?” That’s a very logical question, but we need to understand that these types of Scriptures are not contradictory; they are complementary. There is a God-ward side of our redemption (what He did for us) and a man-ward side (how we respond to what He did).

The book of Ephesians illustrates this perfectly. Chapters 1-3 can be summed up in a single word: Done. Those first three chapters of Ephesians emphasize what Christ has done for us. There we find that we have been “blessed with every spiritual blessing in heavenly places” (1:3), have been “accepted in the beloved” (1:6), and that we are seated with Christ in heavenly places (2:6). All of that speaks of what He has already done for us in and in us.

But Paul doesn’t stop with “Done.” In Ephesians 4-6 he proceeds to instruct believers about “Do.” He addresses what we are to do and how are we to live in the light of what Christ has done for us. The Bible doesn’t just teach about the spiritual life we have from Christ, but it also teaches us about the practical lifestyle we are to lead because of Christ. Ephesians 4:1 sets the tone for the remainder of the epistle: “I… beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called…”

Is it God or is it us? The truth is that it is both. God does His part and we do our part.    Jude 24 says that God, “…is able to keep you from stumbling” and 1 Peter 1:5 says that we are “kept by the power of God…” God’s part is clearly articulated, but as we read other Scriptures, we see that we have a part to play as well. John said, “he who has been born of God keeps himself” (1 John 5:18) and also, “Little children, keep yourselves from idols” (1 John 5:21). Jude also instructed believers, “keep yourselves in the love of God” (Jude 21). James even said that a component of pure religion is, “to keep oneself unspotted from the world” (James 1:27).

Paul said that Christ gave Himself for us so that He might, “purify for Himself His own special people” (Titus 2:14). Then he tells Timothy, “keep yourself pure” (1 Timothy 5:22). The Apostle John said, “everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure” (1 John 3:3). So, does God purify us, or do we purify ourselves? The answer is a resounding yes! We should never think that we can do anything of spiritual or eternal significance apart from His enablement, assistance, and empowerment, but neither should we think that true discipleship involves a passive, inactive, or disengaged state on our part. The wonderful, finished work of Christ does not nullify our responsibility to be “doers of the Word” (James 1:22). As we trust and follow the Lord Jesus Christ, we actively yield to, obey, and cooperate with His plan and purpose being worked out in our lives.