RED ALERT
Forty Day Gatekeeper Initiative for Turtle Island June 10-July 20, 2011
Day Seven::Friday, June 17, 2011
By James C. Stephens
I picked up a copy of Overcomer magazine and an article popped out at me written by Victor Reid, the Principle of Redcliffe College entitled, “You are special!…Beautiful!..and full of potential.”
I recall years ago, a veteran missionary at Grace Community Church refer to me jokingly as his “special ministry.” While it was said in love, it was also used by the church as a term for the handicapped. People with ‘special needs.’ As I think about that, it seems a bit condescending and a bit Pharisaical and classist. Who’s to say that people without apparent physical handicaps are not suffering from other unapparent handicaps?
“And to the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write,
‘These things says the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God: “I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot.
“Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’—and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked—I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see.
As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches” (Revelation 3:14-22).
The LORD looks at our hearts.
According to Reid, “In our very broken society many people are suffering from a negative self image.” I don’t think Reid is coming merely from a pop-psychological perspective here. Our society is suffering as a result of general and personal disobedience. Individuals, whether they are raised in good or bad environments still make choices about the path they take. Reid continues, “Our worldview has been corrupted and distorted by experiences and/or events.” I’d say that even then, experiences and events can be viewed through lenses which shape our worldview. You can look at two children who have been raised in an abusive environment and sometimes find that they have very different views of the same upbringing and a totally different outlook about the world. Others raised in ideal environments do nothing but complain about their situation and have a morose outlook on life.
As a gatekeeper, I recall speaking to a large fellowship group of young couples at a major evangelical church and mentioned how Paul Carus, the founder of Open Court Publishers was so enamoured by Buddhism at the 1893 Parliament of the World’s Religions in Chicago that he’d written The Gospel According to Buddha. After my talk, two sets of parents came up to me independently and expressed concern about a textbook used in the Church’s elementary school published by a company with the same name. They asked if I could investigate the connection.
When I called Open Court and asked if it was the company founded by Paul Carus they proudly confirmed that it was one and the same and was now run by his son. They also volunteered that they published textbooks and used some of their profits to hire Buddhist monks in California to translate Asian Buddhist texts into English. I also discovered that Open Court was the textbook of choice for the Los Angeles County School District.
Although the administration of the seminary and school were not thrilled with my discovery, I did receive a “post it note” month’s later quietly letting me know that the textbooks were replaced with more appropriate material.
When a physician sees that someone is doing something that may harm his patient or others, they are constrained by the Hippocratic Oath to take preventive measures to protect their patient. Today, I sadly heard of the passing of one of our old Buddhist friends, but was shocked to hear that a doctor had told her husband of her diagnosis about cancer, but the husband did not let his wife know. Gatekeepers, whistle-blower’s, sounders of the alarm, gadflies, and “general disturbers of the peace” like Gandalf in Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings, are not always welcomed with a bouquet of roses.
Welcome to the ministry of occasional turning over tables like our Master Yeshua.
So we are sinner’s marred by the fall. And yet “When God wanted a Job (Job 33:4); and Moses (1 Samuel 12:6), an Isaiah (Is. 49:1-50); a Jeremiah (Jer.1:1-4); or a Paul (Gal.1:15), He was not reduced to rummaging around in the masses of humanity looking for one. He made one!! And He makes each one of us as He wants us to be” (Victor Reid).
We are ‘special.” We are “bara” newly created like the heavens and the earth, one of a kind for His glory. Hand made by the Master Potter “yatsar” shaped, molded, formed. Specially created. “Specially found in a way that no other element of creation was made, from the dust of the earth (Genesis 2:7-8). We are unique and priceless.” And He paid the ultimate price to redeem us with His precious blood.
Don’t you love Him? He lets Jacob know he’s just a worm. But what a worm! The humble will inherit the earth. He wants humble hearts. He called us by name, created us, purchased us, redeemed us, claimed us, and has given us a new heart. We are new creatures in Christ Jesus! As the worm sheds its skin, the old cacoon, it’s transformed into a glorious free butterfly. Wow! Do you get it? Do you know who you are? Shake off the shackles, exercise your faith, open your eyes friend! We’ve got work to do!
Confession: I exist as a result of the deliberate activity of YHWH! I am NOT an accident! I am made for a purpose. I am being brought to completion, to fulfillment by YHWH in order to fulfill the purpose for which He created me.” WOW.
God made us. Our brethren He has also purchased with His precious blood. Who are we to despise His choice, His work as our Master? If we devalue His work in creating us, “It not only undervalues our worth, it is destructive of our potential because we cannot hope to achieve what he made us for and we will lie twitching in the ditch of false humility (I’m not good enough), despair (life sucks), and self-pity (no one likes me, I’m not smart enough, pretty enough, tall enough, my parents didn’t….) in a state of spiritual paralysis. It is also destructive of our relationships with our fellow men and women because we will be distrustful and negative about them, not recognizing that the Creator, Potter, Maker has also made them.”
The unknown Michelangelo was given an opportunity to complete what several artisans had failed to accomplish. When he saw the huge unfinished piece of marble that was to become the famous sculpture of the Biblical hero David, he said ‘When I saw the piece of marble, I saw David in the stone. My only job was to chip away what didn’t belong there.’
The Creator knows who we really are, better than we do. Entrust yourselves to Him and His process of sanctification. “Commit your way to the LORD and He will direct your path.”
If He has called you to be involved in His work, don’t turn a deaf ear. Give yourself to the Hand of the Master. Reinhard Bonnke, an evangelist in Africa who saw hundreds of thousands of people give their life to the LORD, later asked the LORD, why did You chose me?
The LORD told him, “You were my fourth choice. The others before you were disobedient.”
So the race doesn’t belong to those who are swifter, faster, brighter, but to those who are obedient to the will of God. Some will tell us that they’ve been disobedient; that they’ve not been about the Father’s business. But they still choose refuse to change. I can’t. I won’t. Their pride and will holds them in bondage.
This day, choose whom you will serve.
PRAISE: Psalm 139:13-18. So in God’s sight you and I really are beautiful, gifted and ‘special.’
“To be men unashamed (Mark 9:34-38).
………….
“Anyone who preaches the Gospel has true greatness in their mouth and it’s the greatest thing that we could ever speak because it is God’s eternal Word which is confirmed as we preach it by the Holy Spirit.
I would say to anyone don’t be timid. Don’t be intimidated. Keep storming the gates of hell. Jesus says unhinge them. And we will plunder hell and populate heaven as we keep preaching the Gospel and bringing those who got saved in contact with Bible believing churches where they can be nourished and where they themselves can become preachers of the Word of God.
I think we often don’t like to offend people, but we don’t mind to offend God. We must preach the Gospel as it is. If we preach what the apostles preach we will get what the apostles got. It is no secret. It is as simple as that. So to anyone who wants to launch out to preach the Gospel, I would say preach the cross of Christ, teach the blood of Jesus Christ, make a clear, clear call for a decision for Jesus and don’t forget to pray for the sick because this is part for the Great Commission and that is part and parcel of our job. We pray for the sick to be healed and Jesus does the healing. All glory and honor goes to Him.”
Reinhard Bonnke
DAY EIGHT will address the duties of a gatekeeper through the examples of one model wherein the covenant community of Los Angeles county came together to prayerfully address a series of events.
About jstephens