THE CRUCIFIED LIFE

We live in a time in which the “spirit of the age” has spiritually, made inroads upon us and in the church. The crucified life Christ talks about in the Gospels seems to be non-existent. The influence of this world colors our mind, our heart, and our spirituality leaving its mark even upon our soul. We (that is me too at times) are slow to learn even the simplest lessons in the school of the Spirit. We should never become involved in doctrinal issues, arguing, or splitting hairs over minor points of no real spiritual significance. In God there are absolutes (the Gospel message which we seem to ignore) and then there are optionals (everything else that has little no bearing on our spiritual growth and development) that we seem to want to die for. Rather it should be we are to respond and move in spiritual quickening and revelation, heeding the words of Christ, “But when you do alms, let not your left hand know what your right hand does. That your alms may be in secret; and your Father which sees in secret Himself shall reward you openly.” (Matthew 6:3-4) This concept of secrecy should not to be limited to the act of giving, as the principle holds true in all areas of Christian witness and ministry. It is a fundamental fact that man seeks expression. He should do so to develop a normal personality and character. This places a responsibility upon us as the flesh nature has become so dominant in man’s methods and that we may unconsciously allow its ways to sweep in and rule even in our spiritual life experiences. These experiences and our expressions also are a reflection of how much of our life has been crucified with Christ. We must remember this clear-cut and poignant truth, “Than which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit” (John 3:6). This is a truth upon which all real Christian life and spirituality is built. It is basic and fundamental, but at the same time spiritual. Now we should not restrict the meaning of this phrase, “that which is born of the flesh is flesh” as referring merely to a function of our physical body. This is a true concept, but far too limited. Whatever has its inception and is birthed from a fleshly origin, forever remains in the realm of the earthly, and fleshly. These cannot under any circumstances become spiritual or bear spiritual fruitage. On the other hand, whatever is “born of the Spirit” (whatever has its inception from and is birthed through the Spirit) is always spiritual in issue and fruition. All the service and work of man (though they may be considered as being “spiritual” by some) are merely a natural and religious expression. They have their origin from within the good, religious nature of man’s being and he gives it free expression in the form of church services, service, and good works. Not being born of the Spirit they can never be spiritual nor can they ever merit a spiritual reward. The ways and methods of man by nature are diametrically opposed to the ways and laws of the Spirit. The question in the last analysis is not, “Is this a true ministry?” It is rather a question of motives and the birthplace of its manifestation; is it of the “spirit,” or of the “flesh?” This is the day of exhibition and exploitation. Many struggle to be seen, heard, and known. This is what man does, but not the Spirit. In John Jesus told the disciples, “He shall not speak of (or from) Himself (that is on His Own initiative) He shall glorify Me, for He shall receive of Mine, and shall show it to you.” (John 16:13-14) The Spirit does not detract from, but rather focuses the attention where it belongs - upon the Lord Jesus. If the ministry is truly in the Spirit, the instrument will be hidden. Self-effacement will be the atmosphere. How awkward and reluctant our flesh is when it gets out of hearing and out of sight. When I was pastoring in Germany I was told a mighty man of God was coming from Ghana, well he was a man from Ghana, but he was not a mighty man nor was he a mighty man of God. He started preaching by singing (a typical African tradition) songs to loosen up the crowd, but when he opened up the Bible he spent more time rolling around on the floor like some baby than he did in preaching the word of God. The people loved it! Deceived!! He was a showman he had a great show, but it was nothing of the LORD it was born of the flesh. Most Christians respond to the LORD when given the LORD an opportunity to be expressed, but most Christians are do not give the LORD any opportunity and do not really know how the Spirit of God really moves. They are waiting for some organ roll to thrill them or someone to go up the piano scale effecting our emotions. These ploys are not of the Spirit of the LORD they are cheap parlor tricks to engage our emotion and feelings, a substitute. They are born of the flesh and will never no ever manifest the works of the Spirit and when we separate grace from truth and mix it with theater and showmanship we get a distorted version of God and His precious salvation. Sadly not only men, but most of the church today has lost sight of what it means to be born of the Spirit. You know if we do not have levels of restrictions and limitations operating in our lives we do not have a correct concept of grace thus grace is NOT operating in our lives. Grace does not give us “a get out of jail card” to do whatsoever we want to do, say, or go, but holds us hard and fast to the truth found in the word of God and the word of God spoken to us. In the Old Testament grace (grace is always tied to truth) provided from the truth (by the law) said, “thou shall not kill,” but the grace (tied to truth) found in the New Testament by Jesus said, “Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment: 22But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.” (Matthew 5:21-22) In the Old Testament the truth of the law said, “do not commit adultery,” but in the New Testament of grace tied to truth Jesus said, "Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: 28But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.” (Matthew 5:27-28) Did you get that? Not do not do it, but if you think about committing adultery you have already done it. Grace always holds us to a higher standard of righteousness, never forgives laziness and slothfulness and requires discipline and sacrifice in our walk with God and man. In A. W. Tozer’s wrote in his book The Crucified Life he states, “over the last half century a steady decline in the spiritual quality of Christian religion in America, no informed person will attempt to deny. I am not speaking of the liberalism and modernism, but of that evangelical wing of Christianity to which I myself belong by theological conviction and personal choice. I believe the situation has become so serious that the earnest observer is forced to wonder whether our popular evangelical religion today is indeed the true faith of our fathers or simply some form of paganism thinly disguised with a veneer of Christianity to make it acceptable to those who want to call them Christians. Turn to the church page of any city newspaper or leaf through some of the popular magazines today and what you will find there will make you sick at heart. We have come to our present low state as the result of an almost fanatical emphasis on grace to the total exclusion of obedience, self-discipline, patience, personal holiness, cross carrying, discipleship, and other such precious doctrines of the New Testament. These doctrines cannot be made to harmonize with the doctrine of grace taught by most modern church fathers. Certainly, though these teachings are not denied they are either allowed to die from neglect or relegated to a footnote with so many explanations and interpretations as to make them ineffective. The grace that amazed our fathers -- that brought them to their knees in tears and trembling worship has by deadly familiarity become so mundane that it scarcely affects us at all. That which was so wondrous to the Moravians and Methodist and their immediate spiritual descendents had become cheap to a generation of Christians devoted to their own pursuits and engrossed in their own pleasures.” In these days of man’s exhibition we often have become overly suspicious of motives. In some cases one hardly dares to be simply courteous for he will be misunderstood. Someone might think we are attempting to “put something over” if we are polite. But the Word tells us, “Be not forgetful to entertain strangers; for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.” (Hebrews 13:2). The disciples on their way to Emmaus, were courteous enough to invite the Stranger to walk with them, and to enter with them into their destination. As the result of a simple act of kindness, a revelation came to hungry hearts. So much of value and real worth often hinges upon a seeming trifle. I cannot begin to tell you how I almost missed God by almost missing the little things He was doing. Remember “little is much, if God is in it.” Do not fear to obey His commands they are not grievous. He is seeking refreshment today. Can you not spread before Him a humble meal in the quiet, hidden place of your heart? But remember, He may not wear the form you are expecting. He often “hungers” in the form of broken humanity. The forms He wears are many. So serve the deep hunger of the needy one and satisfy their need. In so doing you may open the door to a deeper revelation of who He really is. If the words preached do not prick our heart and bring us into a place of reflection and soul searching then what you are listening to is not the Gospel message. If words preached makes us happy and emotional then it is not the Gospel message, it is another message that is anti-Christ or against the message of Christ. The Gospel message must be a mirror to be able to see our heart condition, ourselves, and how much we are NOT like Jesus Christ anything else is a lie and the truth is not in them. My friend there is a cross we are to bear (our crucified life) daily and at the heart of that cross is our will whereby our will to do, say, and go as we will is laid across God’s will for our lives. This cross is the crucified life we must submit to be able to win Christ, to be able to be in Christ, and yes even to be seated with Christ in heavenly places. There is a price we must pay to walk with the LORD, Jesus paid with His life and is the servant greater than the Master? I think not. We too must go to the cross and be crucified on the cross the Father has for us bear. Then and only then will we ever hope to come into the resurrection life of God where we rule and reign with Him in this life and in the next lives to come. Written by David Stahl

THANK YOU

I do not know about you, but to me there seems to be a great lack of common courtesy and civility in the world today and worse this lack of basic manners have crept over into the church. The general rule of common courtesy and decency is to praise in public and discipline (a bad word for most Christians) in private seems to be something I learned in the Navy that does not apply to the Christian world. Did you know God wants us to have more courtesy and manners than those folks in the world? But, that is not what I see going on in the church. Now please do not misunderstand me here I am NOT saying we should do things for God and our fellow man for a “pat on the back” or a “well done,” but when someone does something for you (especially if they go above and beyond what is expected) the least we should say is “thank you.” To do less is nothing more than arrogance and a heart condition that screams of a genuine lack of gratitude and thankfulness to God and man. Paul told the church at Rome, “Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.” (Romans 1:21) Not being thankful to God and man most often is due to our imagining we are better than someone else and need not express our gratitude for their service and express they are equal to us. Please let me give you a few examples I have seen recently in my life, examples of things that are not getting better and something I feel God truly hates. You know when we do not “But speak the truth in love so that they may grow up in all things . . .” (Ephesians 4:15) as Paul taught the Church at Ephesus then we are rejecting the truth of the word of God for the person we are to be sharing with. We have rejected the truth for the individual and now the Holy Spirit cannot work in their life. Faith comes by hearing! When we speak the truth and they hear our words have it be; the Scriptures, a thus says the LORD, or holding their feet to the fire on a point of courtesy, morality, or holiness God then can begin to work in their lives. I have a pastor friend in Africa who could not get a visa to come to the States. In the past he had no problem, but with the new regulations and restrictions America has put into place to prevent terrorism he could not get a visa unless tons of paper work was completed on his end and by the people hosting him. Another friend asked me to fill out the paperwork for him so our mutual friend could come, but after finding out the extent of the paperwork and the private ministry information I would have to reveal I declined. Now in the past I have called my State Senator to request a letter from him to be sent to the Consulate or Embassy on behalf of a friend wanting to come to the States. The letter is not you must give this individual a visa, but I am aware this individual wants to come to my States; which is another way of saying please give this guy a visa. I have done this for two other pastors with successful results. Now I do not want to abuse this kindness from our Senator’s office and like to use it only for emergencies, but since he was a good friend I went above and beyond and called. After many days of calls and many emails my pastor friend in Africa got his visa. Wonderful he got his visa, but months later (by chance from my brother) I heard my pastor friend from Africa was in the States. Now here is my point. When my pastor friend from Africa came to the States he never once called or emailed letting me know (just to say hi) he was in the States, and the real kicker is as of this date my pastor friend from Africa has never said “thank you” for helping him get a visa. This my friend is arrogant and a self-serving attitude that God is not happy with. We think just because God dealt with our sin our character flaws have been dealt with also, well my friend I am here to tell you that is wrong thinking. Did you know God is more concerned about our character then He is about our sin, abilities and gifts? He can do something about our sin, abilities and gifts, but our character flaws like not saying thank you is something He expects US to handle and when we allow these to become a major part of our character it destroys our Christians witness and the authority God gives us as leaders and ministers of the Gospel. Bad attitudes and ungratefulness does not speak of a clean and humble heart. There is another example I would like to share with you. I am not sure if a lot of folks know, but I have contacts in the US government from my days as a Joint Medical Planner where containers (40x40 dry wall) can be sent from door to door in some cases for free. Yes that is right for free. I have helped send containers to Nigeria, Kenya, Peru and in the process at different stages of sending container for free through the US government to: two different ministries in Mozambique, one ministry in Ghana, and another ministry in Nigeria. Again to do this I must go above and beyond what is expected in a normal relationship and requires many hours of phone calls and time behind the computer imputing all of the information into a special database I have access. I get nothing for this help (except a pat on the back from God which is enough) only stress and sometimes frustration with dealing with international issues. Of the four containers yet to be sent (for free mind you) the only way I hear from these folks is when I call or email them. Never has any of them picked up the phone and brought me up to speed with what was going on so I could contact my contact (who I really want to keep happy) in the US government and let them know why the delay. Weeks even months go by before I call or email and ask what is going on and usually get something like, “well you know we have been very busy around here at church.” When someone does you a favor (especially when they go out of their way) you should take their time and effort serious and thank them every time you talk with them, not to do so is nothing short of arrogance, selfishness, and self-serving. Not to do so is just a reflection of thankless heart condition. Remember the verse, “O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. 35A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things.” (Matthew 12:34-35) Whatsoever is in your heart will come out your mouth. Maybe that is why God teaches us to keep our peace? I find people who have nothing seem to be more thankful than people who are trying to protect their treasures. And the reverse of that truth is true; whatsoever is not in your heart (like saying thank you) will not come out your mouth. If you have to force yourself or even make an effort to remember to say things like: thank you, you are welcome, or please (all common words of kindness and courtesy) shame on you it is a reflection of a heart condition whereby God has not been allowed to work on your character. You know the people we really love the words, “I love you” just comes off our lips without any thought or effort, it is automatic they are in our heart and they come rolling off our lips without any pretense or thought. When I call Mike Olufemi (our Operations Director at our Maternity Clinic) in Aveile, Nigeria with our monthly payment for salaries and maintenance Mike starts the conversation off by saying “I love you” and then goes on for about ten more “I love yous” before we settle down and talk business. Mike does not have much (and he is thankful) on this earth, but his heart is full of love for me and God thus, “out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.” What a joy it is to talk with him when he calls two or three times a month just to say “hello” or at the beginning of the month when we send our support. We start our conversation with “I love you” and end our conversation with “I love you” and everything else between is sweet music. This inability to express thankfulness and gratitude is nothing more than a sign our flesh is alive and well and we have not allowed God to deal our flesh a death blow. Our mighty flesh (our ungodly attitude, emotions, and feelings) must be destroyed. How can the might of flesh surrender to the Almighty? It is very difficult, if not impossible. This is the reason why it must be destroyed. We see this in the victory of the Children of Israel over the Egyptians, "Pharaoh's chariots and his host hath he cast into the sea: his chosen captains also are drowned in the Red sea." (Exodus 15:4) Like the Egyptians our strength and might must drown, but the weakness of the flesh is another story. Weakness surrenders much easier than strength does. And in that surrender the Lord's strength can become what He intends it to be, " . . . And he said unto me, My (the Lord's) grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness . . . " (II Corinthians 12:9) When our mighty flesh cannot surrender, the Lord performs a mercy killing. "But He overthrew Pharaoh and his host in the Red sea: for his mercy endureth for ever." (Psalm 136:15) God intends for our flesh to surrender, this is His intention. We are to have a soft heart where our flesh automatically (this is God’s intention) submits to God’s direction and will in obedience and when it does not submit to God we must allow God to work in our lives to the point where He can deliver our flesh (ultimately) a death blow, if not then the next steps along the continuum of His dealings and judgments in our lives are harder on us and our relationships. And in the end if we do not allow God to work in our lives our salvation (sorry my Baptist friends) could be lost. So how important is saying “thank you?” In the short run seemingly not important after all we have God’s and our brother’s and sister’s grace to fall back on, but in the long run how important is our salvation? “Thank you” for taking time to read this article. Written by David Stahl

ALL IN TIME

One of my easiest times of God’s drawing me in my late teens was when the late Sammy Hall came to our high school in Fayetteville, NC and put on a concert. Wow he was great he had the entire school student and staff on their feet in the gym and to think he was singing Christian music. He shared his testimony of how drugs and alcohol almost ruined his life many of the kids were crying (me included) then he sang a song called, “Plenty of Time” that talked about the many chances this person had to accept Christ, but at the end of his life all he had was time separated from God. Chance after chance to give their heart to the LORD, but they were young and had plenty of time. The last verse goes something like this; before I knew what happened my life seemed to pass away and millions were gathered there for it was judgment day and now here I stand with nothing but time. You know time is an amazing thing in our lives. Did you know time is the only thing in our lives we cannot get back once it passes? Time is not owned by man, but is owned by God. I hear people say (even I have said this before) I would like to go back to the good old days when life was much simpler or when the Spirit of God would fall in a special way, well this is impossible because there is no more good old days anymore they are over we cannot go back. The falling of the Spirit is not dependent on a certain time, but on our willingness to become the vessel it requires to be to have the Spirit of God to fall on and move through. The same for the future there is no future there is only now. Time consists of only the here and now. There is no past or future only the here and now. In Romans Paul said, “And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. 12The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light. 13Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying.” (Romans 13:11-13) Did you know many people do not know what time it is? Many people are asleep and do not know it is time to wake up before it is too late. Paul said it is “high time to awake out of sleep” or at the beginning of the fourth watch (the morning watch) of the night when it is the darkest. Unless we wake up we cannot “cast off the works of darkness” and “put on the armour of light.” There is a divine spiritual principle operating here, we must first put off, take off, or cast off before we can put on. And unless we wake up and put on light we will always walk in darkness. Time is defined two ways in the Bible. The first way we can find in Matthew when Herod was talking with the Wise Men, “Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, enquired of them diligently what time the star appeared.8And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also.” (Matthew 2:7-8) Here the word “time” is Strong’s #5550, chronos; time either long or short. It is where we get the word chronological or to order of things like; 1, 2, 3, 4 or young to old, day to night, etc. This use of time by God establishes a continuous physical order to our lives and even our universe that can be used to establish a beginning and an end. We see this use of time when God established seed time and harvest. It is a time that physical processes function within and cannot move outside the limitations and restrictions of its sequencing. Now there is another understanding of time used in the Bible that has more of a spiritual usage. Again in Matthew we read, “And when he was come to the other side into the country of the Gergesenes, there met him two possessed with devils, coming out of the tombs, exceeding fierce, so that no man might pass by that way. 29And, behold, they cried out, saying, What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? art thou come hither to torment us before the time?” (Matthew 8:28-29) Here the word “time” is Strong’s #2540, kairos; a fixed and definite time, the time when things are brought to crisis, a limited period of time. Here Jesus is passing by and some demons cried out to Him questioning Him whether or not He has come to cut their time short. I find it amazing the demons knew of their time to operate and knew of the time in the future when they will be tormented. This word for “time” is more spiritual in nature and projection. It is for a defined duration and for a limited span unlike “chronos” which is continual and must operate well within the bounds of physical order. In Ephesians we read, “Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light. 15See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, 16Redeeming the time, because the days are evil. 17Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is.” (Ephesians 5:14-16) Time is often tied in Scripture to sleeping or people asleep spiritually. Time also is often tied in Scripture to God’s will. Here Paul encourages the Church at Ephesus to “redeem the time.” Here the word “redeeming” is Strong’s #1805 which means; to make wise and sacred use of every opportunity for doing good, so that zeal and well doing are as it were the purchase money by which we make the time our own. This can only be done in “kairos” time because this redemption is a short time of acting. All that we do in God spiritually must be done in “kairos” time. God has an appointed time for us to do things and when this time is over we have moved outside the will and purpose God has ordained. When we moved to Germany and started Christliche Gemeinde Stuttgart it was for a period of time. I was not to keep pastoring even though I could and I am sure God would have still continued to bless, but that was not what God wanted for me, my family, and others. I have seen this play out time and time again in my life and in the lives of others. We have a limited amount of time to do things for God on the earth. We have even less time to do specific things God has purposed and planned for us to. God holds everything in His balance scale of time and He expects us to know what time it is and He expects us to move with Him in whatsoever He is doing in and through us. This time thing is amazing. We think we have tomorrow and like Sammy Hall’s song we have “Plenty of Time,” well that is wrong thinking my friend. God’s word tells us that He does not promise no man (mankind which included women) tomorrow. In James we read, “Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.” (James 4:14) In other words our life is like smoke or steam that appears for a short “kairos” of time. I like the question, “For what is your life?” Wow what a question. The answer can be answered by different people in different ways, but all must answer the question it is bound up in this thing called time and in time the answer will be revealed. One thing for sure whatever we do for God we must not be slow at it and not waste time. Remember time once spent can never be recovered, but how funny it is that we can waste something so precious as time. Let us purpose in our heart not to waste the time God has given us. Let us redeem (is a money term) the time God has given us and yield the investment God is looking for in us and the time He has invested in us. You know our salvation is expressed in term of money, our redemption is a term whereby something was bought back. Jesus bought back (redeemed us by the time spent on the cross) our soul through His precious blood. Our life is a mirror in time a reflection of what is. Walter Beuttler said the Holy Spirit was like a camera He revealed an image of reality. So we must desire to become the expressed image (that mirror) of the Father and in time we will be that image as we are changed from glory to glory. Written by David Stahl